Nigeria

By Muhammed Baba Isah

The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) have for long been duped with serious — dereliction in time of accessing outstanding salary structure to some extent, this can be assessed — mostly among the youngest rank personnel. However, this paramilitary institution is much younger than that of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Armed Forces. Hence, there is still a need to revamp this sector due to a higher cost of living and other things similar that bedeviled Nigerians expecially household.

Likewise, even in this poor salary structure, this cannot even be, for once, enhanced for the mismanaging of their duty by collecting of fifty naira by the roadside from driver and also harassing them if cannot pay. This intimidation of less-privilege are not part of their work.

On that account, It’s not against the increments of recent police amount (or anything similar), but rather this will go a long way in reducing the rate of taking brown-envelope and mismanaging of government access by the corps. And, of course, this can increase the level of manpower capacity in engaging the bad elements that priotise the vandalism of government items to be drastically low.

Being a prime target of the enemies, also like any other human being — security personnel owned the privilege to shows their disinterest on anything obstacle that could result in deterioration — on the discharging their duty. Because they are mostly die in war front, hence, they are still worst paid unlike any other agencies.

And therefore, under the eye of this present Commandant-General (CG), Ahmed Abubakar Audi, Ph.D, mni, OFR. Much better achievement have been put in place already — Apart from the field of providing much security items by the corps to augment tackling insecurities across the all angles of six geopolitical zones — and indeed there are also — a bunch of putting effort in laying the foundation of many training schools aside from that (of Katsina, Bauchi, Enugu and Cross River State), this will help the young generations to be seriously manage this work accordingly.

On the other side, crime is one of the major issues bedeviling contemporary Nigerian society. The menace of crime is affecting not only economic development of Nigeria but also to tarnish the image of the country in the eye of international community.

Thus, it rising serious concern about law and order in the society. And, it’s a known fact that the security and welfare of the people is primary responsibility of government — in other to address this challenges confronting Nigerians. The corps through his watch (Commandant-General), has ensure protection of lives and properties and protect the public items against vandalism as well as assist other agencies in crime prevention and control.

The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps has also succeeded in playing so many other roles — ranging from arresting so many criminals and controlling many variety of criminal activities. It empowered to maintain 24-hours surveillance over infrastructure, sites and project for the federal, state and local government.

Muhammed Baba Isah is an NSCDC personnel at Nasarawa State Command Headquarter. Writes from Jos, Plateau State. He can be contacted via muhammedisah080645@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
The Federal Government of Nigeria said in Abuja that it had spent $1.2 million to send 40 buses in Sudan to pick up at least 2,400 stranded Nigerians.
 
Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister of foreign affairs, revealed this to the State House reporters shortly after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting, which was held in the Aso Rock Villa’s Council Chambers in Abuja.
 
According to Onyeama, the exorbitant expense of the evacuation was necessary to cover security for the eleven-hour trip from Aswan to Cairo and the eight-hour journey from Luxol to Cairo, Egypt.
 
Despite their agreement to end hostilities at midnight on Monday, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces reportedly resumed fighting on Wednesday.
 
The evacuation attempt that was scheduled for Tuesday was unsuccessful because of logistical issues.
 

By Iranloye Sofiu Taiye

One of the essential elements that strengthen the unity of countries with numerous ethnicities is the mutually esteemed mode of communication, respect for their diversities, and by extension, mutual political relationship. But presently, the Nigeria social media fora are nothing but a channel for perpetrating, promoting, and sowing seeds of national discord, anchored on the uncivilised conduct of the politician and the supporters of political parties. It’s now conspicuous, apparent, and plausible that the spurious actions of the users of the social media platforms encompassing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp groups have nourished the already perturbed and suffocating political terrain. 

Glaringly, this is an indication that we have a long battle to wrestle with, considering the pandemonium that ravaged the online space aftermath of this year’s general election. It’s very disheartening and daunting that we now freely strike and attack each other on the online space devoid of decorum and let alone having regard for divergent political opinions, which ought to be the beauty of democracy. The uncultured and vulgar attitude of the Baptists, Obidient,s, and Articulators was very appalling, which invariably made users of social media jettison the esteemed hitherto cultural mode of interpersonal communication, alas! we’ve now regrettably substituted it with barbarous, sadistic, and wanton mannerisms. 

The magnificent of social media platforms being a free platform where people exchange ideas, audio-visual content, and debate political perspectives with the use of internet connection had forthwith metamorphosed into caliginous and obscurity due to the pretentious salvage rhetorically disseminated by politicians to their naive and gullible followers who have been brainwashed with the grandiloquence of their preferred candidate. Hence, mutual content-sharing and collaboration have become hallucinations in the social media space.

It’s a known fact that all the political parties now budget a humongous and whopping sum of money on social media purposely to manipulate the thinking of the people to kowtow to their interests. These are cliques and gangs the political parties recruited as an online army of soldiers to perform several tasks, including the following: cyberbullying, paddling false information, using hate hashtags, threatening and intimidating their opponents with their unguarded utterances and abusive statements, spreading derogatory anonymous articles and engaging in an illogical debate just to mislead the public. 

This is quite terrible, horrendous, and awkward. Many youths have been cajoled and fed with negative thoughts and hatred about the country. After all, youths are the major users of social media, and this uncivil engagement is a stigma on the image of our nation State. The hate speech and this needless confrontation, brawl, and hullabaloo have set the citizens against each other, which is a setback to our nascent democracy and a violation of the expression of freedom, respect for the dignity of man and freedom of association as entailed in our national constitution. 

However, Since the ill-ambitioned politicians and the hatred-fed supporters of the political parties have no monopoly on expression and the online space is free for all citizens to utilise, then the intellectuals, scholars, and objective writers should brace up their pen to engage in thoughtful and analytical political discussions, and logical debates on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other online space, to stem this delinquency before it wakes up the sleeping dogs. Let’s remember that the pen is mightier than the gun.

Note a Yoruba maxim said, “When elders are in the market square, the head of a new baby cannot be laid upside down”

Iranloye Sofiu Taiye (Optimism Mirror) is a public affairs analyst, public speaker, writer, and youth advocate. He can be reached via iranloye100@gmail.com. 

By Ishaka Mohammed

There is a clause that is capable of solving many problems, but most of us often use it only to defend our flaws. The clause is: Nobody is perfect. Instead of internalising and living with this priceless statement, we tend to remember it only when people criticise our misbehaviour or mistakes. This clause is much more than a defence tool. Its proper use comes with an invaluable gift: open-mindedness.

Almost every time I come across a war of words (especially such that involves religion) between ordinary people on social media, I quickly blame our inability or refusal to listen to alternative views. I find it unfortunate that my guesses regarding such unhealthy behaviour are usually right.

We sometimes hold certain opinions so strongly that every other view becomes repulsive. This is one reason that makes me doubt if I will ever forget the year 2007. It was a time when I realised the danger of obstinacy. I discovered that a single source or person could never attain a true scholarship. Although it is still a work in progress, when I receive an important piece of information from anyone, I try to examine it or consult other sources to confirm its reliability. 

I’ll explain my point with a few examples. In my quest to upscale my communicative competence in English, I follow certain scholars online. One of them, a professor of English, once made a social media post about English grammar, and I noticed a “wrong” pattern in the post. In an attempt to know if that was an exception to the general rules, I told him what I knew about the pattern. He never replied; he only liked my comment. If it were today, I would try to ignore his “mistake” because, considering his status, such a question could embarrass him.

Three years later, I bought a book he authored, and I noticed about six “wrong” patterns, including the one I had asked about on social media. Although the book is an interesting read, when a colleague of mine asked how she could get it for her daughter, I discouraged her because I feared that the teenager might internalise some “wrong” patterns.

Much as I would refrain from stating categorically that the prof is completely wrong, all the sources I have consulted, including the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, point to that.

Away from English grammar, there is a renowned Islamic scholar who has been on the international scene for decades. Today, like many other people, he stresses the need to avoid castigating Muslims who try to mend their ways in Ramadan, arguing that the season is an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. However, I once heard him criticise the same category of people, calling them Ramadan Muslims (who are disbelievers for 11 months, only to become the most sincere believers in Ramadan). I would say that his earlier statement was either a mistake or due to a gap in his understanding. He is a human being.

In addition, my little exposure has revealed certain mistakes my teachers (from elementary classes to university) made while I was under their tutelage. I have also realised some of my mistakes as a teacher. My students could discover even more.

This discussion points to one fact: Humans are fallible. If you pointed out one perfect human being today, I would argue that you do not know that person. Therefore, it is advisable to tread very carefully in our interactions with human beings. Although I respect my teachers, [religious] scholars and elders, I believe that there is no single person in the world today whose lifestyles are completely worthy of my imitation or whose statements are totally deserving of my adherence. Instead, I strive to expose myself to multiple sources before taking a stand on issues, especially religious ones. It is dangerous to be obsessed with a single scholar because nobody is perfect.

Ishaka Mohammed wrote from Kaduna. He can be contacted via ishakamohammed39@gmail.com.

By Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (rtd.)

When new executives with a change mandate take over an organisation, they typically invest time in reshaping its strategy and determining the kind of culture needed to succeed. Those choices guide other decisions, including who their senior managers will be and how the leaders will allocate their time. Sadly many neglect the key factor that will help determine their effectiveness: the administrative system that guides day-to-day operations in their offices. This system ensures that leaders make the most of their limited time, that information arrives at the right point in their decision-making process, and that follow-up happens without their having to check. Many new executives default to the system they’ve inherited. Often there’s a better way to handle the information flow necessary for a President to succeed—and very often, a chief of staff (CoS) can play an essential role.

The CoS to the President is a political appointee of the president who does not require Senate confirmation and who serves at the pleasure of the President. While not a legally required role, Since President Obasanjo, all Nigerian civilian presidents have appointed a chief of staff. President Obasanjo had Gen Abdullahi Mohammed, while President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had Gbolade Osinowo. The position was temporarily absent between 18 September 2008 – 17 May 2010 when President Yaradua sacked Osinowo and never appointed a replacement. President Goodluck Jonathan had Mike Oghiadomhe and Jones Arogbofa. President Muhammadu Buhari had the late Abba Kyari, and after his demise, the current CoS Prof Ibrahim Gambari. The position of CoS to the President is widely recognised as one of great power and influence, owing to daily contact with the President and control of the Office of the President. Almost all, if not all, governors in Nigeria now have a Chief of Staff, and many ministers have them.    

The CoS role originated in the military and dated back centuries. Cicero, the Roman politician and orator, used a slave named Tiro, who, according to Cicero’s biographer Zach Bankston, served as a secretary, a financial overseer, and a political strategist. Andrew Roberts’s Napoleon: A Life describes the vital role that Louis-Alexandre Berthier played in assisting Napoleon at the height of his powers. The historians Ron Chernow and Joseph Ellis have described the CoS–like a role that Alexander Hamilton played for George Washington. These people aren’t to be confused with the personal secretaries or aides-de-camp that each leader also had. Rather, they were close advisers who handled the most-delicate strategic matters and became trusted confidants. While the Chief of staff is a role that started in the military, and now, we can see it in most industries and sectors.

WHAT DOES A CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE PRESIDENT DO? 

While there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to describing the duties of a CoS in Nigeria, and each incumbent had wielded / not wielded power according to his personality and the relationship he has with his principal, the President, or the style of the President, their primary duties are making time, information, and decision-making for Mr President more effective. In other words, a CoS to Presidents helps Presidents become the best version of themselves.

The role of the chief of staff is not about dealing with administrative tasks only as he is not a PA. A CoS does not manage the President’s day-to-day schedule. The chief of staff is a leader. He/she makes high-level decisions, strategizes processes, and sets policies by devising meaningful plans and generating useful ideas, anticipating problems, and coming up with new solutions.

Paraphrasing Patrick Aylward, who breaks down the job of any CoS into five categories, I would say the job of the CoS to the President can be summed up as:

1. An air traffic controller for the President and his cabinet controlling the flow of people into the President’s office. 

2. An integrator connecting MDAs’ work streams that would otherwise remain siloed, breeding inter-ministerial/inter-agency squabbles, duplication, overlap and fragmentation.

3. A communicator linking the Presidency team and the broader FG apparatus. 

4. An honest broker and truth-teller when the President needs a wide-ranging view without turf/mandate considerations.

5. A confidant without an organisational or personal agenda-His agenda being only that of Mr President.

An effective and successful CoS to the President should be able to translate the above five categories can be translated into tasks and duties.

REQUIREMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL CoS: SKILLS AND PERSONAL QUALITIES 

The main responsibility of CoS is to help the President stay organised, which will allow him to give time to more important A items. This requires a good understanding of the business of government, effective communication skills, and the ability to manage projects and relationships. It also requires the skill to anticipate and avoid problems, add value to the President’s vision, and be intelligent on the organisational and political levels. The CoS must be excellent in the management of important projects. The ability to simplify complicated tasks, strategic thinking and problem analysis is one of their strongest suits, and they should know how to see things through, from idea to execution, even when the President himself forgets.

The best skill one would have for any position is being effective in getting the right things done. In his book The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker argues that effectiveness derives from a set of five practices anyone can learn: managing time; focusing on results (what to contribute to an organisation); building on strengths; concentrating on top priorities; and making effective decisions. Experts are agreed that the above five skills or practices are extremely useful when it comes to the chief of staff position.

Managing time: When it comes to time, presidents find it challenging to have enough of their time at their disposal and available for important matters, which do make a difference. They can get easily distracted, and leaving little time to focus on strategy is usually the outcome. A good chief of staff helps presidents record, manage, and consolidate time and reallocating time through doing, delegating, and deferring non-urgent tasks and cuts unproductive demands on time. CoS helps diagnose time wastage (e.g., excess of meetings) and communicates where the President’s time should be spent to key stakeholders.

Focusing on results: Most executives focus on efforts rather than results.. An excellent CoS redirects the President’s attention towards contribution by focusing on direct results, building values, and developing people.

Building on strengths: Presidents might not be fully aware of all the available strength points (the strengths of associates, the strengths of individual ministers and cabinet members, and even the President’s own strengths). Excellent CoS helps the President conduct strength assessments to fully comprehend the team’s strengths and how to manage them best. CoS can help redesign jobs to attract and scout the right people and talents, recognise those with weak performances, especially managers, and initiate action plans.  

Concentrating on top priorities: The need to prioritise and focus on major opportunities is the very core of a President’s job. This is what delivers results. Successful Presidents need to eliminate anything that is not worth doing and concentrate on the tasks that, if done perfectly, will make a difference. A successful CoS prepares and facilitates strategic planning processes and encourages the President to drop processes before they begin to decline. CoS leads or co-leads strategic initiatives and aims for what makes a difference rather than what is easy and safe to do.

Reaching effective decisions: With the chief of staff handling a considerable number of tasks, the President will have more time to think through big decisions, with the CoS serving as a reliable sounding board by testing opinions against facts. Without the help of a quality CoS, the President may make rash decisions, will not study the consequences of a decision before making one, and may be indecisive most of the time. An effective CoS gathers different teams’ perspectives to help Mr President understand the implications and helps direct the President to make decisions only when there is a disagreement, test opinions against facts, and compare the effort done and the risk of not taking action versus taking action.

Managing Meetings: Holding meetings is an integral part of the chief of staff’s responsibilities. Meetings represent a great demand on the President’s time, and the role of the chief of staff is to help the President never allow meetings to become the main demand on his time. To effectively manage meetings is a crucial part of the role of a chief of staff, as this chief of staff must not only manage the meeting but the people, agenda, objective, goal, strategies, and measures. To do this, the CoS must ensure all relevant MDA representatives are in the room, at the table, and participating while ensuring that meetings are designed to move the business forward with timed actions against goals. So, effectively managing team meetings is an important job requirement for the role. 

The most sophisticated chiefs of staff also assist the President in thinking through and setting policies—and making sure they are implemented. They anticipate problems and are especially sensitive to issues that require diplomacy. They function as extra eyes and ears by pointing out political potholes their bosses may not recognise (especially if the bosses are new to the company). Importantly, a CoS acts with the implicit imprimatur of the President—something that calls for humility, maturity, and situational sensitivity.

Regardless of specific responsibilities, a CoS can help a leader achieve sharp gains in productivity and impact. The CEO to the President helps the leader become better organised, with more time for A items; Manages important projects well; Helps President and his Cabinet navigate through uncertainty and risk. Required capabilities include: Can do project management, Can manage relationships, Communicating well, Organising the President’s office, Can simplify complexity, Does strategic thinking and problem analysis, Can manage the process of idea to execution, Can anticipate and avert problems, Can grasp and adding value to the president’s vision, Has organisational and political intelligence, ability to research on a full range of topics. A good CoS knows which relationships are most important to the leader’s agenda. Being organised and disciplined, showing attention to detail, and following up doggedly to ensure the right results. Ability to see what pressures the leader faces in pushing for changes and to find ways to lessen them. Finally, communication skills are crucial because the CoS must help refine the leader’s message and ensure that it is understood by the right audiences. 

WHAT KIND OF CoS SHOULD THE PRESIDENT-ELECT LOOK FOR? 

So far in the CoS role , we have seen Gen Abdullahi Mohammed (OBJ), Gbolade Osinowo (Yaradua) Mike Oghiadomhe and Jones Arogbofa (GEJ) , Abba Kyari and Prof Ibrahim Gambari (PMB) , each with his different style , the powers he wielded , and based on the style of his Principal . With respect, the most enduring name, for good or bad (depending on who you ask) is that of late Abba Kyari. Many agree there were fewer inter-ministerial squabbles and less confusion in the Presidency when Kyari was around. He left a legacy and a reputation of a rigid gate-keeper for PMB, qualities that several analysts believe are required of a CoS to the President. During the last days of his presidency, Barack Obama observed: ‘One of the things I’ve learned is that the big breakthroughs are typically the result of a lot of grunt work—just a whole lot of blocking and tackling.’ Grunt work is what chiefs of staff do.” Richard Nixon’s first chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman, garnered a reputation in Washington for the iron hand he wielded in the position—famously referring to himself as “the president’s son-of-a-bitch”, he was a rigid gatekeeper who would frequently meet with administration officials in place of the president, and then report himself to Nixon on the officials’ talking points.

Everyone requires help to achieve his or her highest potential and to sustain the effort it takes to lead a complex organisation. The right chief of staff can be an important source of assistance to leaders who are pushing their organisations and themselves to ever better performance. President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in looking for a CoS, should look for all the qualities enumerated here but in addition, look for that person that also has the capacity and personality to be a rigid gatekeeper and, like Nixon’s CoS Haldeman and PMB’s CoS late Abba Kyari be “the president’s son-of-a-bitch”. But to be an effective CoS, the President must also empower the CoS. Both Nixon’s Haldeman and PMB’s Kyari have empowered CoS.

Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (rtd.) is a Private Security Consultant and member APC PCC Security Committee.

By Muhammad Mikail

‘The amount of data being generated today is enormous; as such, it has become necessary to have a full-fledged data protection law to ensure confidentiality and privacy of the data’ – Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami

In today’s digital world, data is key to the extent that some scholars have termed ‘data as the new oil’. This speaks to the huge revenue potential data has for every country serious about growing its digital economy. Nigeria is certainly one. This data is in the form of personal information, which is frequently collected, stored, and shared by businesses, governments, and individuals.

According to Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the Hon Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, who spoke at the recently held maiden edition of the ‘Digital Economy Regional Conference’ in Abuja with the theme: Positioning West Africa’s Digital Economy for the Future, “In the fourth industrial revolution, data is key. In 48 hours, the quantity of data generated globally is equal to the quantity of data that was generated within a period of 5000 years.”

However, without clear regulations to govern the use of such data, individuals and entities are left vulnerable to privacy violations such as data breaches, identity theft, and other forms of abuse. Today, it is a global best practice to have a data protection law in place. Otherwise, nations find it difficult to attract so many interventions beneficial to their countries. A data-secured environment is an investment wonderland.

The above explains why many development partners, international financial institutions, critical stakeholders in the digital economy space and even potential investors today have continued to ask questions as to why Nigeria does not have a data protection law in place. Having such a law in place will align the country with the scores of others around the globe and make Nigeria a global player. Put differently, the costs of a lack of a proper data protection law are enormous.

To address this issue, the Federal Government of Nigeria established the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) in 2022 as the regulatory institution responsible for ensuring that people’s personal information is kept private and safe when used for ‘digital things.’ Furthermore, in January 2023, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the Nigeria Data Protection Bill presented by the Hon Minister of Communication and Digital Economy for transmission to the National Assembly for consideration.

The draft data protection Bill was sent to the National Assembly by the President in separate letters addressed to the leadership of the National Assembly and read on the floor of both chambers on Tuesday, the 4^th of April, 2023. The Bill has gone through the first and second readings and sent to the ‘Committee of Whole’ in the National Assembly to harmonise positions from both chambers. This Bill will provide a legal framework for the protection of personal information, safeguard people’s basic rights and freedoms, and establish a data protection commission for the regulation of the processing of personal information and data when passed into law.

The eight Assembly previously passed the Draft Data Protection Bill, but President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent. This was due to concerns raised by stakeholders on some identified areas and clauses in the Bill. So far, Nigeria Data Protection, in collaboration with the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project, NDID4D, has been working with critical stakeholders, captains of industries and policymakers on addressing those concerns and perfecting the bill.

Recently, a validation workshop was held to present the draft bill to stakeholders for their buy-in, comments, criticism, and suggestions to improve the bill.  Senator Ibrahim Hossein, and Rt. Hon Lado Suleja, both Chairman Senate and House Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, respectively, have, on numerous outings, conveyed the support and willingness of the National Assembly to diligently work on the bill to ensure speedy passage and eventual assent by the President.

‘Data Protection is a constitutional right in Nigeria’, is an oft-quoted statement of Prof. Pantami, the communications minister, as Section 37 of the 1999 constitution as amended provides that: “The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.” In the same vein, the core rights of data subjects under the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation provide a data subject have a right to be informed, the right of access, the right to object, the right to data portability, the right to erasure, right to restriction of processing, rights to rectification and rights regarding automated decision making.

Thus, data protection law is urgently needed in Nigeria as citizens have had one form of data or the other compromised without the ease of recovery, leading to huge financial losses, reputational damage, revenue losses, and other forms of abuse. This is pertinent, especially with the growing rate of identity theft, cyberstalking, data mining, theft, internet fraud and increasing reported cases of abuse of financial information by financial institutions, mobile service providers and telecom companies, unregulated loan credit companies and so on.

The current National Assembly needs to pass the data protection bill for President Buhari to assent to it before May 29^th, 2023. This will provide an additional layer of protection for the nation’s digital identity ecosystem and, in no small measure, safeguard the Nation’s fast-growing digital economy, boost investor’s confidence, attract foreign direct investment, improve our GDP, and ensure robust protection and safeguarding of personal information from being stolen and misused for fraudulent purposes, reducing the incidence of identity theft and fraud as well as serve as a buffer for citizens’ personal data privacy.

Data is critical to the survival of every nation’s economy, particularly in today’s digitised global home. It is on record that Nigeria is the first African country to join the developed countries in celebrating international data privacy day. This demonstrates the Nation’s drive and willingness to take its pride of place as a leading African digital economy hub amongst the comity of nations.

The data protection law is not in any way meant to punish our citizens but rather to create awareness so that we will all be data compliant. We are urged to comply. Today, because of awareness creation, collaboration amongst digital economy ecosystem partners, critical stakeholders in the data sphere, reaching out to institutions, sanctions, and interrogating others, the data protection and privacy compliance rate is on a steady increase.

Additionally, businesses and organisations will be held accountable for any data breaches or privacy violations, which will encourage them to take data protection seriously and implement proper measures to protect personal data.

The current Assembly should take due credit and ensure the speedy passage of this lofty bill, and President Buhari should quickly assent to it for the good of posterity. The passage of a comprehensive data protection law in Nigeria is urgent and should not be delayed further.

Muhammad Mikail writes from Abuja, Nigeria and can be reached via muhammadnmikail.mm@gmail.com.

By Umar Ardo, PhD

Again, having won this hard earned victory against all odds, it is critical for the sake of the country that the regime succeeds. And this success is largely dependent on four key elements; 1. The sincerity of purpose and commitment of the president in carrying out the functions of the office he contested for and which Nigerians entrusted him with; 2. Coordinated consultations and taking of advice; 3. Careful consideration of those to be appointed into key offices of government, i.e. ministers, advisers, chief executives, etc.; and 4. Learning to avoid mistakes of predecessors.

Given the underlining nationwide political variables of his coming to power, these four elements will essentially be the bedrock of determining the success or otherwise of his administration. The first point is actually an issue of intention, which entirely rests on the personal disposition of the President-elect. Once he is sincere in his intentions towards the nation in the use of state power then the rest is easy. All that will be required is to bring his noble intentions to bear in the exercise of the state power now in his control.

The second point rests on the familiar standard of the universal norm of leading through consultations and advice, which are foundational elements of successful leadership.

This third point is the institutional offices of Ministers and Special Advisers, with their functions, which are vital in the due discharge of governance. Those appointed to these offices constitute the first line of official teams for advice and execution of public policies. The success or failure of his regime rests as much on his ability as a leader as on the competence or otherwise of his ministers and advisers. This point needs further explanation.

In underscoring the point, the 1999 Constitution of our country (as amended) creates at the federal level the Council of Ministers and offices of Special Advisers for the good purpose of executing the powers and functions due to the Office of the President. This invariably means that the stability and good governance of the country are dependent on the sound character, right practice and good judgment of the President; while the well-being and quality judgment of the President depend on the knowledge, skill and honesty of his official advisers. Blessed therefore, is the President with truthful, knowledgeable, intelligent and right-doing advisers. Advising a leader, therefore, is an onerous task that necessarily requires very special proficiency to perform.

Great political thinkers agreed that ministers and advisers need five basic attributes, if their works are to be fruitful and satisfactory; i. Wisdom, whereby they will perceive clearly the outcome of everything into which the Principal may enter; ii. Knowledge, where by implications of actions of the Principal will be open to them; iii. Courage, to act as and when appropriate on the Principal; iv. Honesty, so that they will treat all things and men truthfully without exception; and v. Discipline, to keep official secrets as secret at all times. If the President is able to appoint suitable men, then he is most likely going to succeed, for “a good minister/adviser is like the ornament of the King”; but if he is unable and appoints unsuitable men, then his regime is most likely going to fail. Aristotle, that great Greekphilosopher, said that when a ‘king’ has an unsuitable [ignorant] minister/adviser, his reign will be like a cloud which passes on without dropping rain.

Instructively, in our presidential system of government, all ministers/advisers are solely appointed by the President. This means that the quality of advice and execution of public policy are also solely dependent on the kind of ministers/advisers the President-elect assembles to himself. In appointing ministers/advisers, the president’s skill or lack of it to distinguish the great disparity that exists between men who are suitable and men who are not, in itself can decide the ultimate destiny of his regime. The President-elect may well need to heed to Aristotle’s admonition; “good advisers are needed to help the King spare his reign”. The fourth point is to learn from past historical trends, especially the mistakes of his predecessors and avoid them all. I will expatiate few examples on this point.

First, is the inauguration of the National Assembly (NASS). The President-elect needs the NASS

on his side to perform optimally. To this end, the President-elect should avoid the mistakes of his predecessor and personally inaugurate the NASS so as to create an interpersonal relationship with members. This would not only forestall the crises which the Buhari’s presidency faced with the NASS in its first term, it would instead create a strong bond of goodwill and confidence-building between the two arms of government, thereby earning the executive full cooperation of the legislature. He will be able to also influence the type of leadership he needs in the legislative houses.

Second, unlike his predecessor, he must compose his governing team quickly. It is important to carefully and decisively take charge of all the levers of state power and immediately create effective authority to drive government policy thrusts, create a good first impression of the President’s leadership style, trigger people’s confidence in his government’s policy initiatives, and substantially muster public faith in his personal capacity to provide effective leadership to the country.

Third, in resolving the intractable debilitating problems of the country, especially the security issues, the President-elect should also avoid the mistakes of his predecessor. For example, in deciding the policy thrusts of his administration, he initiates the appropriate wide range consultations with necessary stakeholders; thereby appreciating the fact that the problem is more of a sociopolitical than a military one. It is therefore advisable that before the President- elect takes any decision and makes any pronouncements on any critical issue, wide ranging coordinated consultations are made with critical stakeholders so as to arrive at the best form and method of handling the issue at hand.

These consultations are important on two aspects – first, they will help formulate alternative devises that are locally initiated, people-owned, people-friendly and practically effective in the resolution of the issue at hand; second, it will be politically beneficial to the President-elect because he will be seen to be carrying the people along in his policy formulation and implementation processes. This way the people will feel part of it and therefore support it. But failure to do so will alienate the people and distance them from such policy initiatives, thus further create a poor impression of government’s policy directives with its debilitating loss of peoples’ confidence in the president’s method of governance; leading to policy implementation failure.

Fourth, is recognition and careful consideration of those who contributed to the success of the president, especially the competent and qualified amongst them. The biggest political problem of President Buhari is the outright neglect of those who contributed to his political success. The President-elect must identify, recognize and patronize those who sincerely supported and contributed to his political aspirations. This way he will retain their support and be guaranteed of their loyalty. If these points are taken into account, it is my humble submission that the Tinubu regime will succeed where others have failed.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Over 7,000 quack teachers were reported to have been remedied by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States. 

Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, the TRCN Chief Executive, made this disclosure to newsmen on Thursday at a workshop organised by the council.

At the workshop themed, “Strengthening Teachers Education: Challenges and Opportunities in Basic Sub-Sector in Nigeria”, Ajiboye lamented about the learning crisis in the country.

Ajiboye stated that the learning crisis in the country had always been attributed to poor teaching and the lack of qualified teachers.

However, he stated that the effort made by the council was to upscale the dignity of the teaching profession in the eyes of the public.

He stated, “The challenge with Nigerian education is largely attributed to poor teaching in which experienced, dedicated, committed and professional teachers were difficult to find in schools.

“The council, in order to upscale the dignity, rewards and recognition of the teaching profession, had developed a career path policy for the teaching profession,” he stated.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The National Defence College (NDC) said Nigeria’s insecurity is not inevitable if only magic technologies like artificial intelligence are to be used in the nation.

The NDC commandant, Rear Adm. Murtala Bashir, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, adding that the military needs to be ahead of the violent non-state actors to address the security challenges ravaging the country.

Over a decade, insecurity has been one of the major issues facing Nigeria and has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people, leading to the displacement of several others in the country.

The activities of bandits have badly affected the economic growth of the nation as farmers and businessmen fear the atrocious attack by the bandits who either kidnap or slaughter any misfortune individual they encounter.

However, the NDC Commandant identified measures he believed could have been used to defeat terrorists and terrorism in the country.

He said, “Technologies like artificial intelligence and others are the much-needed game changers that will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the military’s responses to the challenges facing Nigeria.

“If we’re to also avoid the experiences of the past, where Nigeria has to beg foreigners to prosecute legitimate internal security challenges against militancy, terrorism and insurgency, then we need to reappraise our research and development efforts in technology acquisition and innovation.

“We need to also revamp our military industrial complex, and these efforts must be of national outlook and driven by research and development,” he said.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
FrieslandCampina, a multinational dairy producer of the famous Three Crowns Milk and many others, has come under fire over the wrong translation of a billboard advertisement from English to Hausa.
 
Many Hausa-speaking social media users, particularly on Facebook, have taken it to their handles to criticise the company for the unprofessional translation of the advertisement.
 
Several of them attributed the error to Campina’s unwillingness to hire professional Hausa translators, adding that it might have been a work of a machine translation.

Attaching pictures to his post about the advertisement, a Facebooker named Aliyu M. Ahmad wrote: “Have you seen the work of ‘Google Translate’?
 
“This is done as if we don’t have Hausa brand designers.
 
“Please, somebody should translate it into standard Hausa.”
 
Another one, Ashir, posted, “Three Crown[s], you’ve raped the Hausa language.”
 
The Daily Reality has gone through social media pages belonging to the company but has not seen any responses to the criticism yet. They were not reachable for a reaction either.

In the past, many Hausa social media users complained about similarly terrible translations seen on billboards adverting one or another product in northern Nigeria.

Others called on the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to intervene. However, The Daily Reality has not seen such an intervention from the council as during this report.