National

By Uzair Adam Imam

A renowned political analyst, Prof. Kamilu Sani Fagge, the lead presenter in the Nigerian Guild of Editors Meeting held in Kano, has said that media play a vital role in consolidating democracy in Nigeria.

Citing historical examples, Prof. Fagge said that after Nigeria’s independence, media was at the forefront in any attempt to democratise the country.

Fagge spoke at the Tawn Hall Meeting of Guild Editors held at Tahir Guest Palace Hotel, Kano, on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

The event, supported by the US Embassy, was themed: Agenda Setting For Sustainable Democratic Culture.

Owing to the press role of holding the government accountable, Prof. Kamilu stated that media serves to deter corruption. If the media is silent about corrupt officials, many issues will have been swept under the carpet. However, “If you don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill you!”

In his remark, The Emir of Kano, Alh. Aminu Ado Bayero has urged editors and journalists to avoid spreading fake news, which hampers democracy and threatens the unity of Nigeria.

Also commenting, Prof. Auwalu Nadudu emphasised that “media has been the tool and mechanism of sustaining and protecting democracy.”

Reporters and editors of various media organisations, including students of mass communication from Bayero University and Kano State Polytechnic, were among the event participants.

Ahmadu Shehu, PhD.

As the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu begins in Abuja today, the southeast region has been locked down for three days by the secessionists loyal to him. The infamous terrorist, whose platform for hate, terrorism and wanton killings of Nigerians in the southeast is IPOB, was re-arrested on June 27, 2021, thanks to the sheer wit, bravery and incisiveness of the Nigerian intelligence community and their global counterparts. Recall that the Nigerian government had obtained a court order which proscribed IPOB as a terrorist organisation, effectively making Kanu a terrorist leader.

For most people who had listened to the dullard’s hateful sermons, watched his videos or had any information about his activities, Kanu’s offences against the Nigerian state and humanity are not in doubt. Accordingly, his actions qualify as terrorism and treason in any lawful state in the world.

Thus, the Nigerian government shouldn’t have any problem prosecuting an obvious criminal whose activities do not need to be proven, for they are self-evident. Mazi should not be spared an inch for all discerning minds – including the responsible, law-abiding, patriotic Igbos who are actually the majority. That is for the best of our nation. Whatever Shekau deserved, Mazi deserves. They are both leaders of terrorist organisations. Nigeria should make this statement as loudly as thunder that no one can disunite this country at will. We are a nation of nations, not a tribal entity.   

But, the implications of Kanu’s monstrous crimes have gone beyond him and his terrorist organisation. It has become a matter of the Igbo people and the southeast. The fact is that the solidarity seen from the southeast raises serious questions on the allegiance and commitment of the Igbo leadership to the Nigerian state.

For instance, at his first trial, Kanu’s surety was a whole senator of the federal republic, Enyinnaya Abaribe representing Abia south district. After that, Kanu brazenly abused all his bail conditions, deliberately jumped bail and cowardly disappeared into thin air.

Given his unguarded utterances and declaration of war against the Nigerian state, the military tested its microphone, hoping that Kanu was the man he says he was. Not long after the beginning of operation python dance, the coward jumped the fence, crossed all rivers and jungles barefooted and found himself in the deep pit of his shit across the ocean, leaving his comrades at the mercy of their own evil.

Still, after the heroic re-arrest of this enemy of the state, some so-called Igbo leaders were quick to let the hell loose, antagonising everyone, calling this national glory all sort of names. They call it an abuse of human rights, unlawful arrest, marginalisation, blah blah. Not long after Kanu’s whereabouts were made public by the government, prominent Igbo socio-political leaders identified with him, making overtures for the release of the dreadful criminal.

The calls for the release of Kanu has become a daily breakfast in the Nigerian media. Igbo socio-cultural groups take to the streets and the media to demand the release of their “son”, who in their view committed no crime in all his atrocities against Nigerians and Nigeria. Indeed, there has never been a single voice against this rascal from the leadership of the southeast.

Then came one of the most shocking but solid backing and endorsement for IPOB’s terrorism when “highly respected Igbo greats” led by Chief Mbazulike Ameachi met President Muhammadu Buhari to demand the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu!

Forget the fact that there is nothing “great” in demanding the release of a terrorists’ leader; this singular event means that Igbo elders and leaders are unapologetically sympathetic to Kanu and his cause.

While sociocultural groups and individuals may be excused for this disastrous disposition, the governors and political appointees of the southeast are set to meet the President for the same purpose. For clarity, these are individuals in the highest political and administrative positions, who swore to obey and protect the constitution of the federal republic, who are paid, protected and maintained by the taxpayers’ money. However, they are now coming forward to blatantly stand for a proscribed individual who proclaims secession and calls for the destruction of the very country these officials swore to serve, respect and protect.

It is clear then that the social, cultural, religious, economic and political leadership of the southeast are solidly behind the release of Mr Kanu without trial. This translates to being sympathetic to the man and his cause, for no Nigerian in their right senses would wish the perpetrators of these criminal activities to go unpunished. In essence, all the sections of the Igbo society are either overtly or covertly sympathetic or even in support of Kanu and his terrorist organisation.

Standing behind Kanu and IPOB, and yet proclaiming patriotism and even serving under the Nigerian constitution is the highest level of hypocrisy. The rest of Nigeria should tell the southeast that they can’t eat their cake and have it. The idea that the southeast is yearning for an Igbo presidency when they fight the cause of a secessionist is dumb and highly unintelligent.

The southeast needs to maintain a stand and keep to a clearly defined lane. But, before anything else, let the rest of Nigeria know where they stand. And this is the right moment and the best opportunity to restate their commitment to a united Nigeria by allowing the law to take its course against the secessionists. Failure to do this tells Nigerians that Kanu is not too far from the rest of them. In that case, a Hausa adage ba a baiwa kura ajiyar nama [you don’t trust a hyena with your meat] comes in handy.

Dr. Ahmadu Shehu writes from Kaduna and can be reached on ahmadsheehu@gmail.com   

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

The Ahmadu Bello Memorial Leadership and Governance 2022 event hosted in Kano state government house earlier today was themed “Reviving the Northern Traditional Institutions: Imperative for Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria”. 

The Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation organized the event in collaboration with the Kano state government on January 18, 2022. 

During the occasion, Vice president Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) commended Sir Ahmadu Bello Sardauna, adding that “[He] was a man of peace and courage, as well as a nurturer of traditional institutions, who demonstrated fairness and justice.”

Concerning insecurity bedevilling the North, the Vice President said that the federal government would employ technology in surveillance to fight the increased terrorism and insurgency in the country effectively.

He said: “We will also continue to ensure collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Justice, state counterparts and law enforcement agencies – to ensure that those apprehended for terrorism and violent crimes are effectively and speedily prosecuted.”

“This is a fight for this nation, and we are determined to win by the grace of God. All these evil forces will be eliminated.”

By A.F. Sesay

When we talk of politicians, we speak about them like aliens or spirits from the evil forest. People came with their own beliefs, attitudes, approaches to life, and different perspectives on divine justice and the torture in Hell. We talk of them like we do of cold, callous people whose race is bent on inflicting the greatest damage possible on the human race. But wait…who are these politicians?

Let’s keep the answer in the brain and move on to something urgent: the design of governance experience. Do we see this as something we all could do better? Should leaders and followers look at governance from the lens of user experience design? I think they should!

If every product, starting from the Constitution to the Curriculum, was designed with the people they will affect in mind. I am sure the outcomes would be different. Hardly anybody is going to look at the current Constitution and Curriculum and say: Yes, these were designed with empathy, love and responsiveness to the needs of the citizens.

If the guy who presses the button at the Electricity House has the empathy to think that somebody is going out of business with every touch of the red button, a baby is dying in the hospital, an investor is packing his bag to leave Nigeria for good, a boy is missing vital lessons because he can no longer cope with doing his assignment in the dark, a family is exposing their lives to carbon monoxide generated by generators and so on.  If he had ever approached his work like a user experience designer, many problems could have been solved by now.

If the northerner or southerner stealing from the public treasury realizes that with every kobo stolen, a citizen dies and that this corruption-induced death is agnostic of region, religion or tribe, we wouldn’t need an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Likewise, if every contractor realized that every badly-designed road is a graveyard for his fellow citizens, then potholes will become history.

If every Nigerian who had the opportunity to lead ten people or more or even less realized that these micro leadership tasks are a microcosm of the overall leadership output of the nation, then the nation’s leaders will be as upright as we want them. Suppose every employer knew that every right violated is the beginning of bad governance. In that case, the next commander-in-chief will make it a personal duty to provide the enabling ground for every citizen to thrive.

When every day becomes a reminder of the responsibility we all have as leaders in our various capacities, we will witness the birth of the ‘beautyful ones’ (apologies to Armah). There will be thoughtful and resourceful leaders in every cranny on the road to building a great nation.  

If every young person on Twitter and Facebook knew that every tweet or post could potentially destroy a life, fake news would be reduced to the barest minimum, even if it looks like a “catching cruise”. If every journalist knew that every fake report opens bigger wounds and increases the pain point of his readers, then nobody would invest millions in fact-checking. As a result, we all would have had less cause to verify the news and have fewer regrets for sharing harmful and divisive content.

We will be mentally ready to ask the right questions when we start seeing this all as a design problem and not just some issues caused by aliens or foreign species. And let’s know that INEC cannot give us what culture has deprived us of.

While scratching the surface for the past 60 years has given some temporary relief, the question of how far have we come and how many more years can we afford this mediocrity in governance here and across the continent?

We have ousted leaders we hate too much. We have brought in our tribesmen and “starmen” to power and opened doors to stupendous wealth for kinsmen. But in truth, the problems have compounded. So, it’s not an election problem; it’s culture, design and system that we have to work on.

Talking alone won’t win us good leaders. In the same vein, we can’t insult the elected into good governance. They have to want to. And the only way that happens is vision and a culture that makes it difficult for people to be bad at the top.

At the mention of Nigeria, everybody becomes an expert. But most of these experts only hit the surface, compounding the problem with false claims, unverified and alternative truths, faulty assumptions, stereotypes, bigotry, and received “wisdom”.

We have got to wake up and smell the coffee. There is a design problem out here. Until we are heavy on researching root causes and being genuinely interested in knowing all the whys of the problem, until we see ourselves beyond the just-a-citizen mindsets to the mindset of restless inventors, these problems are only growing bigger and more complex regardless of who is at the top.

We have to build a research culture and replace that with false assumptions and stereotypes. Until we see the governance products of today as collective input of everybody who played a role, no matter how little, until the people in power (from Local Government to Federal Government)  create a mechanism to capture feedback and continual improvement regularly, we will still have to come to these basics many years later.

Go to the archives and read headlines of the 70s and 80s and compare them to today’s headlines. You will observe a pattern that will shock you. In short, the design process is faulty, but we are finding it difficult to rethink the process because thinking itself will require an effort that we are not yet ready for.

A.F. Sesay sent this article via amarasesay.amir@gmail.com.

By Musa Kalim Gambo

January 15 marks 56 years since the gruesome murder of Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria. To borrow a few words from Shakespeare, both were like Colossus under whose giant feet the North strode.

The description of that Saturday’s night events still haunts many of us here in the North. Though we sincerely believe that Allah must have predestined that these servants of His were not going to exceed that day on earth, and they would die from the bullets of Igbo-led soldiers. It is still a tragedy we will never forget.

On Tuesday, January 11, Daily Trust published an opinion piece written by my excellent friend Sa’adatu Aliyu titled “Igbos too deserve Nigeria’s presidency”. When I saw the title, at first, I thought it must have been written by an Igbo ethnic nationalist from South-Eastern Nigeria, for she is expressing an opinion that is utterly alien to Northern Nigeria’s political thought and discourse. One should expect this line of thinking to come from the Igbo because the Igbo elite has popularized this illusory notion of exclusion from Nigeria’s corridors of power, especially Aso Rock, as one of the major precursors for secessionist agitation in today’s Nigeria.

By the way, this is the ethnic group that produced Nigeria’s first civilian president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, in the 1960s. Then, again on the return of democracy in 1979, Chief Alex Ekwueme emerged as Nigeria’s Vice-President.

In 2019, Atiku Abubakar had Peter Obi, a former governor of an Igbo state, as a running-mate. Unfortunately, it was a wrong calculation, and we saw how it ended. One of Obi’s major sins that stained Atiku’s ticket is that as a governor in Anambra state, he reportedly came up with policies that frustrated Northern traders and artisans in his state. This sin is an expression of the general attitude towards the Northerner in the South-East region – where the Northerner is perceived with disdain and attacked in the event of any slight provocation.

Again we cannot forget Sardauna’s warning about the Igbo tendencies and quest for dominance in every little sphere of endeavour. This warning and the pain of Sardauna’s murder is still with many of us.

But it is important to understand that even without this fear of domination, the Igbo vote on its own is inconsequential in the making of a president in a democratic Nigeria. So even without January 15, which now resembles the Roman Ides of March, when power mongers assassinated Julius Caesar, the Igbo will not make it to the president.

However, suppose we have an Igbo man in the line of succession within the political equation. In that case, a natural tragedy as it happened to Umaru Musa Yar’adua may undeservedly promote an Igbo man to occupy the exalted seat of the president. And that will be a pure work of Providence that the North will pray for God to forbid.

Some people suspect that an average Northerner hates the Igbo man; that is a wrong assumption. No, the Northerner is comfortable doing business with the Igbo man, as can be seen by the presence of Igbo businesses in every village, town, and city in the North. However, in the political scene, the average Northerner is apprehensive about the Igbo man at the apex of political power. The Northerner does not want January 15 to repeat itself in terms of the elimination of our most revered political leaders.

In the end, I like to re-emphasize, as has been emphasized by many Northern political elites, we are in a democracy. An Igbo man is free to purchase a ticket on any political party’s platform to run for any political office, including the president. If he can generate the requisite number of votes to win the election, who will stand in his way?

Let it be known very well that the presidency of this country is not a baton in a relay race that would just be handed over to the next athlete standing. No, it is a tug of war with competing parties pulling against each other on opposing sides. So, no one should come here again with that sense of entitlement declaring that the Igbos deserve Nigeria’s presidency too. Instead, they should be advised to jump into the arena and fight for the seat with the full knowledge that the North’s deciding population will not clap for them. We study and honour history, its figures, and defining events in the North.

Now, on January 15, and every other day, let’s not forget to pray for Allah’s mercy and blessing upon the souls of Sirs Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, and all other departed heroes of ours who had the progress and development of our region and people at the centre of their hearts.

Gambo writes from Zaria, Kaduna State, via kalimatics@gmail.com

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

The amalgamation of the protectorates in 1914 predetermined a united state for multiple precolonial chiefdoms. Highly diverse Nigeria featured by a rainbow of cultures is deeply fractioned along ethnic and religious lines.

Imperial misrule left a bad legacy for national unity. Regional devolution caused intense tussles among regional forces over the powerful central authority, which was the basis for post-independence sectarian disputes.

Thus, six-year-old Nigeria witnessed a catastrophic separatist war that took the lives of many heroes. Since the aftermath of the bloodletting, the country has been bedevilled with lingering ethno-nationalisms coupled with regular fatal brawls between the tribes. This was due to extreme polarization and segregation of the heterogeneous groups with no sense of togetherness, community cohesion and dovishness. 

Deeply ingrained tensions have been the order of the day. Igbos accuse Northerners of their grief and impeding their chances of realising the apex power. The Northerners equally see the Igbos as power maniacs. Yorubas feel discontented with the status quo, while minorities have the impression of a roughshod ride over them.

Tribal and religious absolutism are awful threats as multiculturalism has failed, and communities have become ever more fragmented. Patriotism has eroded, and Nigerians are less tied by the bond of nationality. They are no longer one united people and do not regard themselves as national brothers with a sense of shared identity. Hence, there is an absence of the desired unity in diversity, tolerance and integration.

Politicians must develop the impulse and genuine commitment to national unity. They must believe that this is a dire task that transcends beyond cultural exhibitions, festivities or even wearing traditional attires of host communities during political rallies. Instead, it requires solid whims, sacrifice and effective policies.

Technocrats are required to accomplish this task efficiently. They must design policies that ensure equitable treatment of the ethnocultural groups alongside the creation of space for all the divergent voices to be heard. Everybody must have a say in society. Moreover, they must devise ways to live together harmoniously, without prejudice or malice.

Integration is so effective in ensuring peaceful coexistence between fractious groups. Therefore, increased contact across the nation should be emphasised, and Nigerians should increasingly intermingle with one another. This will allow people to live closer to one another, work amicably, and ensure that relations remain peaceful. Therefore, disputes will vanish obstinately.

This can only be realised if there is an honour for individual cultural preferences in public life. All institutions must make special provisions for all Nigerians’ choices and cultural needs. So, everybody will develop a worthy stake in the social order. Policies must be put in place to accommodate the values, diet, dressing, spiritual convictions, and practices respectably.

We need to facilitate multilingualism by encouraging people to learn several native languages. Speaking one another’s languages diminishes suspicion, tensions and conflict. This will also build trust, honour and understanding across all cultures.

Social exclusion creates deficient opportunities for disadvantaged/minority groups suggesting that they don’t have equal rights. As a result, they are treated as second class citizens, hindering cohesion and egalitarianism featured by social inclusion and pluralism. Moreover, it leads to distress to the abandoned groups, which poses a persistent threat of disharmony. However, institutions must make efforts to meet the needs of all communities and not tilt towards the needs of a particular section.

Regrettably, the tribes have distorted perceptions of each other. Malevolence aggravates because of misleading histories and myths falsifying the reality and typically portraying others as diabolic. They hold malicious convictions and stereotype each other based on their previously treated beliefs. Any trivial provocation warrants the impression and becomes a basis for vengeance. The exasperation of hostilities by IPOB, ESN, Afenifere and others are clear examples.

It is needful to enact a statute outlawing attitudes of these tribes calling one another with derogatory or slur names that denigrate or demonise others. Ethnicities hardly unite if they are abusing one another.

The present mass idleness must be evaded alongside the creation of decent jobs. Graduates happen to be jobless long after they have left school. Similarly, numerous unknowledgeable youths remain redundant. Ethnic and religious skirmishes intensify every day due to hardships encountered by youths in their efforts to have a lawful means of subsistence. Many of them have the requisite skills and qualifications but found them not helpful in securing employment. They have fallen victim to anxieties, delays, and disparagement and developed a strong feeling of despair, oppression, and unfairness. Hence, they engage in crimes or sectional clashes to counter the injustice and avoid the distress of poverty.

With such dissimilarities in all parts of society, tolerance is indispensable if Nigerians want to live in peace. The capacity to live in a plural society will secure a harmonious future for multiethnic Nigeria. However, Martin Luther King Jr. once said to Americans at the peak of racial segregation that “we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

Lawi Auwal Yusuf wrote from Kano, Nigeria. He can be reached via laymaikanawa@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) rearraigns Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha on charges boardering on money laundering. He has been rearraigned in a Lagos Special Offences Court sitting at Ikeja, Lagos.

The commission made this known through a post on their verified Facebook account on Wednesday, 12-1-2022.

The post reads: “Operatives of the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, have re-arrested a suspected internet fraud star, Ismaila Mustapha for laundering funds obtained through unlawful activities of alleged proceeds of crime”

The statement also noted that Mompha was arrested on Monday, January, 10, 2022.

The Commission added that: “The suspect is currently standing trial alongside his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited on an amended twenty two-count charge boardering on cyber fraud and money laundering to the tune of N32.9bn (Thirty-two Billion Nine Hundred Thousand Naira brought against him by the EFCC”

The Instagram celebrity was first arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on October, 19, 2019. And since his first arrest has been in and out of the courtrooms.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi met President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Tuesday, where he indicates interest to contest for office of the President

Mr Umahi who defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, November, 2020, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, made this Known while briefing newsmen shortly after the closed-door meeting.

In response to a question if he is not deterred by the interests of others seeking the party’s presidential ticket, he stated, “I am not in contest with anybody; I am in contest with myself.”

Mr Umahi’s declaration is coming a day after Tinubu’s declaration of interest also at the Presidential Villa on Monday.

The former head of Nigeria’s Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan passes on today. The president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari mourns his death through a condolence message posted on his Facebook page. The post reads: “I received with profound sadness the news of the death of a great statesman and former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan.

On behalf of the Federal Government, I extend my deepest condolences to Chief Shonekan’s wife, Margaret, his loved ones, and the government and people of Ogun State.

With courageous wisdom, Chief Shonekan left his flourishing business career to become the Head of Government, at a delicate time when the country needed someone of his calm mien and pedigree to save the ship of state from sinking.

He demonstrated to all that the love for country and commitment to her development, peace and unity transcend the trappings of office and the transient nature of political power.

Nigeria owes a great debt to Chief Shonekan, the peacemaker, who even at the twilight of his lifetime never stopped believing and working for a prosperous and democratic country.

I pray that his memory will remain a blessing to Nigeria even as he finds perfect peace with Almighty God.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

Troops in Kaduna State have reportedly neutralized bandits and foiled a planned attack on Fatika town of the state.

A release issued Monday, 10-1-2022 by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, disclosed that five members of the militant group were killed in the process.

Aruwan Said that the troops who conducted clearance patrols in Giwa local government area received credible intelligence of terrorists’ movement.

However, he added that, “the troops then mobilised to Marke and Ruheya in response.”

“The outlaws were sighted and attempted to escape the advancing forces. The troops however cut off their escape route at Kwanan Bataro, and engaged them in a firefight, during which five of the terrorists were neutralized. The troops returned to base after clearing the area,” he stated.

The statement stated that governor Nasir El-Rufai expressed satisfaction at the operational feedback.

El-Rufai has also commended the troops for their proactive and sharp response to the intelligence received, encouraging them to keep up the intensity in the ongoing offensives against terrorists in the area.