Author: Etim Etim

Celebrating Frank Abiodun Aig-Imoukhuede at 90 – By Etim Etim

“With long life I satisfy him and show him my salvation” – Psalm 91:16.

One of Nigeria’s preeminent public servants; celebrated journalist, writer, artist and poet, Frank Abiodun Aig-Imoukhuede, OON, turns 90 on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, a significant milestone in a long and chequered life. His family is rolling out the drums to celebrate him for his unparalleled attainments and memorable contributions to Nigeria. Uncle Frank, as he is fondly called by friends, associates and family, including the children, has been a household name in contemporary Nigerian arts sector in the last five decades, having played prominent roles in the organization of FESTAC’77; the conception and building of the National Arts Theatre in Lagos and the formation of National Council of Arts and Culture, among others. He’s been practically involved in every aspect of the Nigerian art form right from the end of the civil war, either as an administrator, collector, curator or connoisseur.

In his younger days, inspired by his father, Rev. Isaiah Aig-Imoukhuede who created the popular Yoruba children’s song, ‘’Iwe kiki, l’ai si oko’’; Uncle Frank was a prolific song writer, a playwright who wrote several radio plays; a sculptor who won many prizes; a musician who played many instruments; a poet who wrote many poems, mostly in Pidgin English; a story teller; photographer, who owned a dark room and a collector who kept many Nigerian artifacts at home. ‘’Our home was like many galleries; he had musical instruments from all over Africa; collected artifacts and even comics. In a week, he would buy up to 25 comics for every age group, and would read all of them’’, recalls first child, Prof Erekpitan Ola-Adisa, a professor of Architecture at the University of Jos, in an hour-long conversation with me. She continued: ‘’my dad thought that I was going to turn out as an artist; he introduced me to his friends who were artists, people like Ben Enwonwu; but even though I ended up cutting a different path, I am proud to say that what he taught me long ago has had immense impact on my career. I am very close to him; he mentored me; encouraged me and I can say that my professional growth was influenced by him’’.

Dark complexioned, tall with sharp facial features, she is a spitting image of her father. ‘’My dad found a kindred spirit in my mother’’, she continued, remembering her mother who passed away in June 2021. Pastor (Mrs) Emily Aig-Imoukhuede was also an art aficionado, who built one of the first private galleries in Lagos. A former President of Nigerian Council of Women Societies (NCWS), she was also a Minister during the Babangida regime. Ola-Adisa describes her father as a fearless man of strong convictions who raised his children on the core values of honesty and hard work.

Uncle Frank was born to Rev. Isaiah Aigbovbioise and Eunice Aig-Imoukhuede in Edunabon, in what is now Ife North LGA of Osun State., fifth child of six children. But he became the last child when two of his siblings died in infancy. Three short years later, his father died, leaving the young Frank in the care of his mother who ensured that he was well educated up to university level. Uncle Frank was born into royalty and nobility traceable from Oba Ozolua the Great, founder of the Sabongida Ora family ancestral homestead, who ruled Benin in the 15th century. Little wonder that he grew up to become Nigeria’s repository of culture and arts. A loving family man, he sired four children who are successful in their chosen fields. Following the professor is Aigboje, banker and philanthropist. Next is Mrs Kemi Balogun, known as the Servant Leader of Rebirth Ministry with members from all of Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world and married to the well-known stockbroker and capital market operator, Bolaji Balogun. The last is Aigbovbioise, who works in financial advisory and is named after his grandfather.

Over the Christmas holidays and well into January, the family has been busy putting together a reception to celebrate the new nonagenarian who had bequeathed so much for the children. In return, they adore him for varied reasons. ‘’He was a good disciplinarian who taught me how to be independent very early in life’’, said last child Aigbovbioise, Managing Director of Coronation Asset Management Limited. ‘’My dad taught me how to pay NEPA bill when I was 9 years old; and when I was in primary school, he made me pay my school fees on my own – he would give me his First Bank cheque; I would take it to the branch at Apongbon, near Marina, withdraw the cash; take it to school in Ikoyi and pay my school fees. I can say that he taught me the first principle of financial planning or planning for life which is cutting one’s coat according to its size. My dad was very particular about living within one’s means’’, he recalls with that last-born excitement. ‘’My older siblings used to act my father’s plays on TV; but my interest was reading the many comics he collected’’. Besides, Aigbovbioise enjoyed his father’s company during his travels around western Nigeria. ‘’He would take me along on his trips to Ibadan; Abeokuta, and all around most of southern Nigeria’’, he added.

The relationship between a young woman and her husband’s parents could be complicated in many ways, for many reasons. But for his daughter-in-law, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, Uncle Frank is a role model, a repository of family history, humorist and a story teller. Married to first son Aigboje means she would have to curate a special relationship with the old man. Herself a daughter of a prominent Urhobo public servant, Senator Fred Brume, Mrs Aig-Imoukhuede calls his father-in-law grandpa and holds him in high esteem and immense admiration.

’’When I first met him, he seemed an imposing and distant figure who did not suffer fools gladly. However, as I got to interacting with him more, I found out that he was a deeply intelligent and personable family-oriented man, who has passion for Nigeria’s culture and art; and is keen to share them with everyone around him’’, she told me candidly. She added matter-of-factly: ‘’He is a repository of family history, and loves to tell stories of the Imoukhuede and Aig-Imoukhuede families, making sure that we all know who is who and sharing insights into the various family personalities. He also delights in studying all his grandchildren and revealing ways in which they are similar to family members who are no longer with us. As an avid art lover, he particularly enjoys talking about art with his grandchildren and encouraging their artistic pursuits.’’ Uncle Frank has 17 grandchildren, some of whom are budding writers whose writing skills can easily be traced to his inputs.

Mrs Aig-Imoukhuede is executive vice chairman of Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, a charity she founded with her husband in 2015. Svelte and soft spoken, she speaks passionately about her relationship with her father-in-law. ‘’He treats me very nicely, with love and affection; I have learned so much from him. I learned the importance of family from him and the essence of remembering our roots. I also came to appreciate the amazing culture of our country, much of which seems to be ignored or hardly talked about. Through his stories, I discovered a Nigeria that I had never encountered before, one that is rich with beautiful traditions that deserve to be celebrated more. Nigerians definitely need more people like him; people who help us to remember our traditions and keep them alive. His amazing books in which he catalogued Nigerian culture are vitally important and should be featured on coffee tables around the world’’.

Uncle Frank grew up in Yaba with other young men who later achieved their own respective renown. The Petgraves; the Fowlers; and the late Otunba Subomi Balogun, to mention a few. Today, they are related in marriage. Aigbovioise’s wife, Funke, is Tunde Fowler’s daughter while Otunba Balogun’s son, Bolaji, is married to Uncle Frank’s daughter, Kemi.

In 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo bestowed the Order of the Niger (OON) National Award on Uncle Frank in acknowledgement of his immense contributions to the development of Nigeria’s art and culture. He deserves more: an honourary doctorate degree from one of our universities and a road in Abuja, Lagos or Benin named after him would be a fitting recognition. The children should come together and write his biography, for his has been a life of virtue, integrity and enlightened thinking.

January 8, 2025
Peter Obi: The danger that lies ahead – By Etim Etim

I knew Peter Obi in the university, although we were in different faculties. He came from a rich family, drove a new Peugeot car and always turned out like a ‘bourgeoisie’ as we mockingly referred to kids from privileged backgrounds.

The civil war had ended a few years earlier and there were scars of the fight on the walls of some buildings in the campus. Alexandra Building, where we had our General Studies, stood with blown out roof and darkened walls. Many of the students, like my roommate in the first year, were former Biafran soldiers, while others came from very humble backgrounds. The emotional toll of the war was still evident in their young lives.

In this crowd, Obi and other few fortunate students who were born into wealth easily stood out. Since his graduation in 1983, Peter Obi has gone on to achieve a lot: he’s made a lot of money from importation of foods and drinks; became a bank owner (or part owner, to be precise); won election as governor and recently contested the presidential election. But what strikes me most in his trajectory is his gradual transformation into Nigeria’s main opposition leader since he lost the election eleven months ago. Can he stay the course and is he ready for the bruises that come with such struggles? Frankly, I am worried for Mr. Obi.

Last week, Obi addressed an early morning press conference in which he spoke about the challenges of the Nigerian economy; the deprivations of the Nigerian people and his avowed commitment to continue to speak on these and other governance issues. He challenged President Tinubu to bring down the costs of governance; travel across the country by road and visit a public hospital for his routine medical examinations just to experience what ordinary people are suffering. He concluded his remarks rather ominously: ‘’It is difficult to be in opposition in this country – extremely difficult because everything is against you. Your businesses and everything you’re involved in is being dismantled. What I have faced, what I go through; what my family goes through; you won’t even believe I could still be standing and going around this country. I see colleagues at the airport, and greet them. But they don’t even want to reply because they don’t want the government of the day to see them talking to you’’. He added, in a deadpan voice: ‘’for me, I have decided that I will continue to stand by the Nigerian people and if this is the end, so be it’’.

These are typically words associated with fiery, radical and left-leaning labour leaders or opposition figures under dictatorships, but coming from a member of the propertied class, it’s quite perplexing. The elite class has been so unconcerned with the Nigerian conditions that they’ve never contemplated its end. They have answers to every problem. For poor roads, they buy cyber trucks; for poor electricity, they acquire generators and inverters; for kidnappers on the highways, they fly commercial or private and for noisome street urchins, they are protected by the police, who also carry their wives’ handbags and umbrellas. Obi can afford all these, but since has chosen to stand by the downtrodden; he should be told of the dangers that lurk ahead. Is he ready for the bruises? Africa is replete with many opposition leaders, freedom fighters and activits who have faced grave dangers for their convictions.

In the Second Republic, Chief Obafemi Awolowo easily emerged as the main opposition leader, having lost the two presidential elections in 1979 and 1983. He was backed up by the other presidential also-rans: Dr. NnamDi Azikiwe; Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim; Mallam Aminu Kano and Mr. Tunji Braithwaite, and together, they created a redoubtable hostility to the administration of Shehu Shagari. The young Sokoto prince was under constant barrage of criticisms from these old men for all of the four years he was in office. I pitied him sometimes. But to his credit, Shagari never for once took any unconstitutional action against any of them. Even when Braithwaite’s son was arrested by the police for possession of hemp, the authorities remained nice and polite to the firebrand lawyer. It was in 1985, during the regime of Gen. Buhari who toppled Shagari in a coup, that Chief Awolowo was harassed. His Apapa home was ransacked and his passport seized.

In 1993, Chief MKO Abiola, a wealthy businessman, emerged as a formidable opposition figure after the military had annulled the presidential election of that year which he won. Abiola put up a commendable fight to reclaim his mandate, but unfortunately, a large section of the political class, led by the very person who was his running mate in that election, Babagana Kingibe, was not ready for the struggle. I will recommend the book, ‘’The Struggle for June 12’’, by Frank Kokori for a good account of what it takes to be in opposition. Unfortunately, Abiola lost his life in that struggle. In the Fourth Republic, another rich businessman, Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged, first as the leader of one of the opposition parties, and later as main opposition figure. In January 2012, Tinubu led massive protests in Lagos and other South West States against President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to eliminate fuel subsidies. Weakened and embarrassed, Jonathan backtracked. Tinubu and his tribe (I don’t mean ethnic identity) continued to pummel Jonathan, calling him names and attacking his person till he lost the presidential election three years later. To his credit, Jonathan never ordered the arrest of Tinubu or plotted harm against him. But is it poetic justice that another section of the country is rising against Tinubu’s major policy reforms?

There was no clear opposition leader throughout the eight years of President Buhari. In fact, Atiku Abubarkar who was expected to play that role had retreated into his cocoon in Dubai soon after the 2015 elections. Obi’s emergence as the new opposition leader therefore is essentially filling a void left by Atiku. But will the Tinubu administration tolerant and accommodating? Although Obi is already hinting that his businesses and family are affected, he should bear in mind that the road ahead could be very rough. In a continent rife with human rights abuses, being in opposition is no walk in the park. Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Amolo Odinga was a visible opposition figure in the continent for a long time. In 1982, President Arap Moi threw him into detention for six years. Zimbawe’s Morgan Tsvangirai was routinely beaten during the regime of Robert Mugabe until he nearly lost an eye several years ago. South Africa’s Julius Malema has been charged with hate speech and expelled from ANC. Kizza Besigye of Uganda has suffered untold torture in the hands of strongman Yoweri Museveni. He has been subjected to numerous house arrests and made to face treason charges.

As Peter Obi enters the new phase of his life, I pray for his life and wellbeing and I hope that he, unlike Awolowo; Azikiwe; Kano; Waziri and MKO Abiola, will live to see a Nigeria of his dream.

January 6, 2025
Ten town halls and three summits: A midterm agenda for the governor – By Etim Etim

With just five months to hit his midterm, Gov. Umo Eno has announced that he would be holding 10 town hall meetings and three summits in 2025 to obtain feedbacks and generate new ideas to reset his policy thrusts. The town halls will hold in the 10 federal constituencies of the state while the summits will hold in Uyo with focus on power generation; tourism and business development.

At each town hall, the people would be expected to summit a memo to the government detailing the important areas of needs in their communities. These would be collated and incorporated into the 2026 budget. This is a typical bottom-up approach in management decision and leadership process. By involving local communities, individuals or village organizations and grassroots initiatives, the government wants ordinary people to be involved in decision-making, choose what best serve their needs and take ownership of government’s programs. In other words, the governor wants the ‘R’ in his ARISE agenda to originate from the people.

Sociologists and development economists believe that bottom-up approach, unlike top-down approach, prioritizes local needs and context; endears government to the people, enhances community and rural development and minimizes inter-communal rifts. Even before the first town hall meeting holds in February, I can almost guess correctly what the litany of requests would consist of: good roads; water; healthcare; more teachers for community schools; subsidizing farm inputs and such stuffs.

Town halls are very widely used in the western democracies to provide a platform for exchange of ideas between the citizens and their leaders. This would be the first time an administration in the state has adopted this approach is fashioning out its policies.

But we’ve always had summits. Gov. Udom Emmanuel held education summit towards the end of his administration. Obong Victor Attah had economic summit in 2002. Umo Eno’s three summits will bring together experts and professionals in power generation and tourism specifically to generate ideas on how to develop the sectors.

The governor wants the state to have a 24-hour electricity supply in 2026. Akwa Ibom State has an independent power plant built over 20 years ago, but unfortunately, it has not achieved its objectives. It has been mismanaged and I understand that the place is a haven of corruption, so much so that it is hugely indebted to its gas supplier.

Recently, the government instituted an audit into its finances and assets; and two months ago, its chief executive was fired for incompetence and dereliction of duty. Part of the problem was the inhibitive regulatory framework of the electricity sector which barred states from generating and distributing their own electricity.

Now that the law has been amended and state governments can now generate and distribute their own electricity to their people, the power summit should bring together egg heads in that sector, from across the country and beyond, to sit together and develop a step-by-step guide on how to achieve a stable power supply for the state.

Tourism is also another priority area for the state. With its own airline, two five- star hotels, an 18-hole golf course, a long beautiful white-sand beach, a world-class football stadium and three smaller ones, Akwa Ibom State is easily Nigeria’s tourist destination for leisure and business.

A recreation centre comprising a nine-hole par three golf course and a 10,000-capacity conference facility are in the works in the heart of the city. With these facilities, the government believes that tourism should be developed into a viable industry and the expectation is that the summit will develop a roadmap on how best to achieve this.

Akwa Ibom has six months of dry season beginning from late October and lasting through April. This means a tourism calendar that consists of golf tournaments; football matches; beach football and volley ball and cultural festivals could be developed to attract visitors to the state.

The third summit the government intends to hold this year would be with Akwa Ibom people who have reached the peak of their careers in different areas – finance; oil & gas; aviation; medicine; media; the professions; military; etc. These persons would be constituted into a network to serve many purposes, chief among which is a think tank to government and mentors to the younger generations.

I’m particularly fascinated by the governor’s mentorship development plan for Akwa Ibom youths, most of whom have had no role models in their lives. In the absence of good role models and mentors, these youngsters only have social media influencers; politicians and political thugs to look up to, and the result has been emergence of decadent and deviant behaviours in them.

For them, election rigging and electoral violence is the only sure means to attain political power and politics is the only way to make a living or make big money. But a good mentorship program helps in instilling increased confidence in the mentees, in addition to offering career guidance, skill development; problem-solving skills; networking opportunities; fresh perspectives to life and leaving a lasting legacy, among other benefits.

In addition, I ask the government to bring back Boys’ Scout; Girls Guide and Man o’ War to our schools. These organizations helped to mould our character when we grew up, and there’s no reason why our youths should not benefit from them. This year should be very hectic for the governor. I wish him the best.

January 3, 2025
Gov. Okpebholo’s visit to Akwa Ibom State and the simmering political undercurrents – By Etim Etim

Gov. Monday Okpebholo of Edo State flew into Akwa Ibom State late in the afternoon of Saturday, December 28, to visit Senator Godswill Akpabio and express his profound gratitude for the singular role the senate president played in his emergence as governor in the September 21 election. But the visit has left in its wake a swirl of political undercurrents in both Akwa Ibom and Edo States.

In Akwa Ibom, many APC chieftains are peeved that they were not invited to receive the Edo governor at Akpabio’s residence in Uyo and the dinner that was later hosted for the governor at Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene. For many, it is a further proof that the party is still as divided as it has been for years. In Edo, the visit reverberated in a different way, setting off discussions about Akpabio’s second term bid as Senate President and a possible challenge from Senator Adam Oshiomhole. The 2027 political season is unfolding in a rather dramatic way.

Unknown to many, Senator AKpabio is the main reason Okpobholo is governor today. On February 17, 2024, Dennis Idahosa, a member of the House of Representatives was declared winner of the Edo State APC governorship primary. Backed by Senator Oshiomhole, Idahosa polled 40, 483 votes, beating other candidates. But it was a very controversial nomination process.

Although the result was disputed by all other contestants, Idahosa’s main political weakness was that he is from Edo South Senatorial District, the same district the outgoing governor, Godwin Obaseki, comes from. And that’s where Akpabio, ever so quick to identify opportunities, comes in.

The Senate President reckoned that since the PDP’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo, is from Edo Central which was favoured by the zoning arrangement, and the APC and Labour Party’s candidates are from Edo South, the chance of PDP retaining victory was very high. The Senate President reasoned that APC’s chance would be brighter if the party fielded a candidate from Edo Central. But what could be done at this stage since a primary had already been held?

Mid morning that February, Senator Akpabio rushed to the Villa to discuss the dilemma with Vice President Kashim Shettima (President Tinubu was away on a foreign trip). He briefed the VP on the need to replace Idahosa with a candidate from Edo Central.

The VP listened attentively to Akpabio, but was not willing to go with Akpabio’s recommendation, apparently because he did not want to offend Oshiomhole. Undaunted, Akpabio then got on the phone and spoke to President Tinubu who was in Ethiopia He marshaled out his the merits of replacing Idahosa from Edo South with another candidate from Edo Central because of the zoning arrangement and the fact that Idahosa is from the same zone as the exiting governor. ‘’The President was convinced by Akpabio’s arguments, but on the condition that Akapbio must see to the victory of APC in the election’’, a well-placed source told this writer.

Akpabio assured the President that he would pull all stops to clinch victory. The President then called Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the party’s National Chairman, and instructed him to organize another primary. The Senate President tapped Godwin Okpeboloh, who was then a nondescript member of the Senate, to enter the race. To take care of Oshiomhole’s interest, it was decided that Idahosa will now become the deputy governorship candidate to Okpebholo.

But why was Akpabio so concerned with Edo election and the choice of APC’s candidate? The answer is self preservation. If Senator Oshiomhole returns to the Senate in 2027, he is likely to challenge Akapbio for the Senate President position.

So, in Akpabio’s calculation, it was politically expedient to whittle down Oshiomhole’s influence by denying him the opportunity to produce the governor. Akpabio only capitalized on Oshiomhole’s support for Idahosa. ‘’it was a smart political calculation by Akpabio and the Senate President had to relocate to Edo State throughout the campaigns just to ensure that Okpebholo won as President Tinubu told him’’, said an APC chieftain who was part of the intrigues.

Akpabio’s maneuvers to get Okpebholo elected typify the kind of cold calculations that our political leaders bring up just to sustain and promote their self interests. How I wish they are so innovative in dealing with our economic problems. When Governor-elect Okpebholo visited President Tinubu in the Villa after the election, the President confirmed Akpabio’s role in APC’s victory. Tinubu told the governor-elect, ‘’you have Akpabio to thank for your emergence as governor’’.

In Uyo during the Christmas holidays, the Senate President was in a buoyant mood when the Edo governor came calling. He praised Okpebholo for his self effacement and resilience and bragged about APC winning more states in the region. Is the Senate President looking at Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa or Akwa Ibom State as the next target?

From all indications, the party does not stand a chance of taking Akwa Ibom. It is too weak, divided and factionalized in the state to launch a major assault against the PDP which has governed the state since 1999. Even Akpabio’s guest list at the dinner he held for the Edo governor was telling enough. Only a handful of APC leaders like Senator Ita Enang (former Presidential Adviser); Mr. Victor Antai (NDDC Executive Director, Projects); Ezekiel Nya-Etok (Director, Federal Housing Authority); Mrs Eunice Thomas (NNPC director) and Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo (Minister of State Petroleum (gas)) attended, while chieftains like Umana Umana (former minister of Niger Delta Affairs); Chief Don Etiebet (former Petroleum Minister); Obong Nsima Ekere (Deputy governor to Akapbio himself); Sam Ewang (businessman and former military governor of Ogun and Rivers State); Mrs Valerie Ebe (another of Akapbio’s deputy governor) and Dr. Ita Udosen ( APC South-South Zonal Secretary) were among those who were not invited to the dinner party because of their perceived political disagreements with Akapbio.

‘’How can the Senate President host such a high-profile event and majority of our leaders were not invited? That’s a symptom of serious internal discord and disharmony within the party and that does not bode well for the party’’, said Elder Aniefiok Isatt, APC leader from Uyo.

December 30, 2024
Udom Emmanuel and the politics of 2027 – By Etim Etim

Former Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel, has stated categorically that he will not be contesting for senate in the 2027 election, despite pressures from politicians in the state. Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on Christmas Day at his country home in ONNA LGA, Emmanuel stressed that he was more interested in promoting peace and harmonious coexistence amongst Akwa Ibom people than contesting elections.

He asked community leaders and the youths to remain vigilant against external threats to peace in the state. ‘’Let me use this opportunity to make it clear to all that I will not be seeking the nomination of my party, PDP, or any other party for the senate seat. I am a man of my words. I don’t go back to what I said, both in secret and in open’’, he announced, eliciting applause from the audience that included the incumbent senator. The former governor, however, noted that he’s not yet retired from politics, and should he seek to contest for any other position, he would inform the people appropriately.

Emmanuel’s categorical denial of the rumours that have been swirling around his political future has put paid to widely held speculations that he was raring to fight for the ticket against the incumbent, Senator Ekong Sampson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals. ‘’I thank our leader and former governor for being a decent gentleman who does not want to break the zoning accord; political harmony and peace we have in the senatorial district. He is truly a man of integrity’’, Senator Sampson told me soon after the stakeholders’ meeting. Sampson himself has earned his stripes in grass root politics, law and journalism. He began his career as a journalist in Lagos in the early 1990s, and has since earned a Ph.D in law, in addition to a public service career.

For months since leaving office, Udom Emmanuel has been under pressure to run for the Akwa Ibom South Senatorial seat. Right from 2023 when he completed his eight-year tenure as the fourth democratically elected governor of the state, there were rumours that he was heading for the Senate. But instead, the banker-turned politician contested for Presidential nomination of the PDP in May 2022, to the surprise of many in the state. He got 38 votes, coming after Atiku Abubarkar who won 371 votes; Nyesome Wike (237 votes) and Bukola Saraki (70 votes). Failing to clinch the ticket, Emmanuel turned his eyes on the VP slot, but the position went to Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Since then, Emmanuel has slid quietly into private life, satisfied that the person he anointed to succeed him as governor, Pastor Umo Eno, had gotten the job.

However, with 2025 around the corner and preparations for another election season looming, many politicians in the state have continued to pile pressure on the former governor to throw his hat into the ring. ‘’Many of them want Udom to run because they know that as a former governor, he has the resources to spend. They’re professional politicians who live on elections; every election cycle, they will approach people they assess to be rich and try to cajole them to contest and the next thing is that they will give you a well-written proposal on ‘How to Win election’’’, said a PDP chieftain from that district. This could be a correct, but I understand that the former governor is restrained largely by the strict zoning arrangement in the senatorial district which has remained in force since 1999 when Udoma Udo Udoma was elected Senator and the incumbent senator served as his legislative page. For this season, the seat remains in Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency where the incumbent senator, Ekong Sampson, a former Local government chairman; former member of House of Assembly and a former commissioner comes from.

Udom Emmanuel’s declaration is not only a lesson to other politicians, especially former governors who see the Senate as a retirement home, it also has a wider implication for the politics of 2027 in Akwa Ibom State. His decision to stay aloof will lessen the acrimony within the ruling party and give him the latitude to devote more time for the reelection of his political godson, Gov. Umo Eno. It is also likely that Senator Godswill Akpabio will not face any internal challenge within the APC for the Ikot Ekpene senatorial district seat. However, for Uyo Senatorial District, there are indications that Senator Aniekan Bassey will have to battle for a second term nomination with other PDP heavyweights.

December 29, 2024
Recapitalization: Banks in last lap to meet deadline – By Etim Etim

With only 15 months left for banks to meet the deadline for the new share capital benchmarks, the Central Bank has warned that the March 2026 deadline will not be shifted. Speaking to this writer, a CBN director said, ‘’the idea of extension or shift of the deadline does not arise. They were given more than two years to meet the new threshold, and by our calculations, that is enough time. We are not contemplating an extension’’.

So far, of Nigeria’s 36 lenders, only Access Holdings has concluded the capital raising exercise, bringing in a little over N351 billion from its Rights Issue of 17.772 billion shares that sold for N19.75 per share. The offer closed in August. With this, Access Bank has thus become the first to meet the CBN’s N500 billion minimum capital requirements for Banks with International Authorization well ahead of the March 2026 regulatory deadline. The bank’s share capital would increase to N600 billion, N100 billion above the regulatory minimum requirement.

For the other 35 banks, the next one year will be a crowded and busy period. A few have gone far while many others are yet to make appreciable progress. Some like the other four tier one lenders – GT; UBA; First Bank and Zenith – have already announced their offers, but are yet to conclude the process, others, especially the small regional and some national banks are still lagging behind. There have been a host of challenges, though, even among the big ones.

FBN Holdings, the parent company of First Bank, has had its programme slowed down considerably by Boardroom crisis. The long drawn battle between Femi Otedola and Oba Otudeko for the control of the company has just been settled, with Otedola emerging chairman of the holding company. While Zenith Bank has had to juggle both capital raising with reconstituting itself into a holding company at the same time, GT Bank has just survived a major service disruption and customer backlash due to migration to a new IT platform.

To meet the new capital requirement, the banks are expected to go for public offers; rights issues; private placements; mergers and acquisitions or a combination of these. In terms of mergers and acquisitions, there are indications that two banks, Providus and Unity, are in talks to merge together. Both are national banks, but with a combined market share of less than 20 per cent in terms of deposit liabilities. Providus has a huge Lagos State shareholding just as Northern State governments hold huge interests in Unity Bank. ‘’That’s the only discussions in the market for now for mergers and acquisition; but I won’t be surprised if more candidates join the discussions in the next few months’’, said a senior executive of a bank.

Younger and better managed banks seem to be doing better generating new capital. Nixon Iwedi, executive director of Globus Bank said his bank is on track to meet the deadline. ‘’We are raising N150 billion through a private placement and Rights Issue. The first has been successfully completed and we are on the second phase now’’, he said, noting that they prefer to approach the process in a rather quiet and restrained manner. Globus has a national license and the minimum for this category is N200 billion.

For Access Holdings, the process has become quite a momentous. It has become the first Nigerian financial holding company to successfully execute a fully digital Rights Issue embracing the power of technology to improve access to equity capital market. By leveraging the NGX’s E-offer platform, the company provided its shareholders with a convenient and efficient subscription process, leading to the participation of many of its retail shareholders in addition to institutional investors. Speaking on the successful offer, Board Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said: “The Access brand has always resonated strongly with the local and international capital markets. Since 2004, Access Bank has raised billions of dollars in capital to meet successive CBN recapitalization directives. We are pleased that this time we are the first to breast the tape. The success of the Rights Issue demonstrates the resilience of Nigeria’s capital market and reinforces our shareholders confidence in the present value and potential of our company’’.

While a few banks are already set on a course of action to meet the deadline, many others are still weighing their options. As a CEO pointed out to me, ‘’it is too early to understand the options that they would explore. It would become clearer as we get into the second half of 2025’’.

Nonetheless, the Nigerian capital market has once again demonstrated capacity and depth to meet the expectations of investors, issuers and professionals. We saw this during the indigenization programme of Gen. Yakubu Gowon; the privatization programme of Gen. Babangida and the consolidation programme of President Obasanjo. Its mutualization a decade ago also signified the market’s ability to adapt to change.

December 28, 2024
Tinubu’s first media interview – By Etim Etim

President Tinubu’s engagement with the media Monday night was his first since his inauguration last year and it was quite telling in a few ways. For a man of his age, he showed a keen mental alertness that belies his obvious physical frailties. If the President did not have the benefit of advance questions, I give him kudos. He performed relatively better than what we saw during the campaigns.

But this was not close to the PMQs (Prime Minister’s Questions) we see every Wednesday in the British parliament. That one is the most brutal two hours in the life of every British prime minister. Tony Blair describes it as dreadful in his memoire. The media chat was far less rigorous than what Presidents go through in the White House Briefing Room. There were seven journalists who asked 12 questions in the one-hour show last night.

Reuben Abati, who introduced himself as the moderator, made introductory remarks on the recent mass deaths from stampedes for food, and asked the first question along that line. The president blamed the organizers of these events for the rowdiness and shoddy preparations and criticized Nigerians for not conducting themselves orderly when they see free food. Tinubu said that he had been sharing food at his Ikoyi home for years, but there has never been a stampede and wondered why there are no deaths or rush at food stamp centers in other countries.

There were other questions on elimination of fuel subsidy; huge debt servicing ratio in the 2025 budget; insecurity; inflation; cost of living crisis; foreign direct investment; tax reforms; food security and the new livestock ministry; and corruption – all predictable areas. But there was not a single question on foreign affairs.

Under Tinubu as ECOWAS chairman, the regional bloc almost disintegrated with the exit of three countries (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso) last year. Two weeks ago in Abuja, ECOWAS Heads of States finally and regrettably accepted their departure after discretely begging them for a year. No doubt, the leadership of ECOWAS clearly mismanaged the relationships with these countries in the wake of military coups that dismissed their democratically elected leaders.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the West African organization. It was quite a miss that the Nigerian President was not taken to task by the assembled journalists on how he handled the crisis in ECOWAS. On the domestic front, I expected questions on the debilitating political crisis in Rivers State in which the FCT Minister is the main actor. How could the president be comfortable with what’s going on in Rivers?

There were only three follow-up questions – one from Maupe Ogun-Yusuf of Channels and the two from Babajide Kolade-Otitoju of TVC, a network owned by the president. Ogun-Yusuf’s follow-up was on why subsidy was not removed in phases while Kolade-Otitoju pressed the president on his unwieldy cabinet size despite his rhetoric on cutting the cost of governance.

The lack of follow-ups was obvious when Tinubu insisted that he does not regret doing away with fuel subsidy, despite the pains it brought, and went on to assert that the government ‘’has been meeting its obligations in the last three months without going to the NNPC ’’. What does this mean? Nobody asked.

Essentially, the President meant that despite non receipt of oil revenues in the last three months, the government has been functioning – a tribute to the efficacy of the administration’s fiscal policies.

But in real terms, the president was celebrating the inability of NNPC to fulfill its obligations. This was an opportunity for the journalists to ask questions on the oil industry; oil theft; the integrity and competence of the management of the state oil company. NNPC is supposed to receive and remit oil revenues to the consolidated fund as the Constitution stipulates, just as other incomes from VAT, company income tax, port charges and other taxes. These are then shared monthly to the federal government; the 36 states; FCT and the 774 LGAs.

The inability of the NNPC to account for crude oil sales and remit to the federation account means that the country is depending on debts raised through expensive junk bonds in the European markets to meet its obligations. Another lose end of the night was the inability of the President to drill down on his controversial tax reform bills and explain them clearly to Nigerians. These proposals have generated quite a storm across a section of the country with many leading politicians expressing doubts about Tinubu’s true intents.

I had expected the president to marshal out his argument on why he is introducing a new sharing formula for VAT, for example, and other innovations embedded in the bills. He glossed over the question as if the people complaining are insignificant lot.

I was glad that Ogun-Yusuf brought up the issue of corruption. For me, corruption, incompetence and decadence are the major afflictions of this country. The President said some of his policies like the students loan scheme are meant to discourage corruption since people steal in order to pay school fees and meet other personal demands.

Not quite correct. Public officials who steal billions to build housing estates, shopping malls and luxury items are not motivated by the need to meet basic requirements. A former governor once boasted to me that he had already kept aside N1 billion to each of his four children and that they would never have access to the money until they reach adulthood.

That’s one of the reasons they steal – to build cash empires sand portfolios of real estate for their children! Overall, it is commendable that Mr. Tinubu has finally decided to speak to Nigerians directly, instead of through long and disdainful press releases from his media team. I look forward to the day a Nigerian leader will walk stand before the State House press corps and take questions from the correspondents covering the Villa. The Media Chat arrangement is getting too vapid.

December 25, 2024
Prudence is a virtue – By Etim Etim

On Monday, Akwa Ibom State government commenced a three-day appraisal of its performance for fiscal 2024, bringing all MDAs one room to present their scorecards to a cross section of the people. In his opening statement, Gov. Umo Eno made a very curious remark. He said that he has been constantly blamed by government officials for not releasing funds to them any time they asked.

His reluctance is because he’s only been judicious in managing the finances of the state and so officials should not expect to get money for everything they want. Here’s how the governor put it: ‘’If there’s anything people will blame me about, and I am sure you are going to hear more of it, it is no release of funds.

I hold money in trust for Akwa Ibom people and I will always disburse those funds (in a way) that will address the needs of the generality of Akwa Ibom people, beyond very personal needs. I hold myself accountable to the people of Akwa Ibom State for the funds we have been blessed with and I will not fritter the funds away in an attempt to play to the gallery’’.

Sometime in October, the governor told an informal group in Lagos that he’s been under constant pressure from civil servants to sponsor them to attend conferences, workshops and seminars; but since those conferences do not add much value to the government, he’d been reluctant to approve them.

‘’Anybody who wants to make money from government must be more creative than seeking to attend workshops’’, he said with a tinge of derision. We all laughed. Earlier in his administration, he had declared publicly that he was going to deploy resources as frugally as he managed his own personal funds as a businessman before he was elected.

Recently, he’s also said that he’s been using the same official vehicles he inherited from his successor despite pressures from every quarter, including car dealers to buy new ones. He was not in a hurry to change them, he said, because the vehicles are still serviceable and he detests excessiveness.

It is not rare for some politicians to make nice statements in public, only to act in opposite direction in private. But I will give this governor the benefit of doubt. He deserves our encouragement for taking a stand against reckless spending and waste of resources.

This may not make him very popular within government circles, but Akwa Ibom people will stand by him and history will judge him fairly if he’s honest about it. I have fumed repeatedly about wastefulness and corruption in Akwa Ibom government in recent years, and written a lot about corruption, incompetence and decadence (our own CID) being at the root of Nigeria’s problems. It would be a herculean task for Eno to hold off the pressures.

He would be frequently castigated for not being as ‘’generous’’ as his predecessors were. Some of them indulged in buying houses and expensive vehicles for musicians, friends and associates as gifts. A governor of the state, I am told, once gave a cash gift of £1 million (one million British pounds) to the sitting president at that time, to assist the president furnish his new apartment in London. He also funded the establishment of a cattle ranch in Kaduna for his friend, among other expensive giveaways he indulged in often. This same governor had many emirs in his payroll and was constantly dolling out huge cash payments to them, in addition to sponsoring many Northerners on pilgrimage to Mecca.

But expectedly, some people are not happy with the governor despite his good intentions. The State branch of APC in a statement issued by Iniobong John, the DG of APC Media Network, claims that the government has spent only N228.76 billion in 2024 out of the N757. 17 billion budgeted, ‘’leaving N528.41 billion unutilized’’.

‘’The excuses offered by the state governor for implementing only 30% of the 2024 budget is unacceptable’’, the statement said. This is a typical mindset of Nigerian politicians. They measure budget performance by the volume of cash spent and the amount of contracts awarded; rather than the value added to the lives of the people. If Umo Eno had spent a good part of the budget on conferences, donations, buying cars and houses for girlfriends and sponsoring emirs on pilgrimages as was our experience not long ago, perhaps the APC would have scored the government high for ‘’good budget performance’’.

If the government had elected to buy another private jet for the use of the governor and built a brand new governor’s lodge in Abuja, the governor would have been commended for ‘’putting money in peoples pockets’’ as we often hear. But for being prudent and sticking to only what is important, the government has drawn the ire of the political class in the state. They are used to easy money. Gov Eno should not budge.

I would rather he establishes a savings account for the state and put away money for future generations than throw it away on frivolities in the name of ‘’putting money into people’s pockets or budget performance’’. I support leaders who treat government’s resources with responsibility, good sense and thoughtfulness. Prudence is still a virtue and history will be kind to those who live by it.

December 20, 2024
Matters in Gov Umo Eno’s budget – By Etim Etim

By ETIM ETIM

I attended Gov. Umo Eno’s budget presentation at the state House of Assembly yesterday, the second time I would be at such a session since 1999. The first was in 2010 during the administration of Godswill Akpabio. The budget then was around N300 billion, a far cry from the N955 billion presented by Umo Eno as the 2025 appropriation estimates. In real value, the two figures might just be equal, given the deep inflation we have been enduring in almost two years. The 2025 estimates are a meagre 3% increase from the 2024 revised budget. Of the N955 billion, N300 billion is for recurrent while N655 billion is for capital expenditure (capex), indicating the administration’s focus on big-ticket infrastructures and investments. Road will receive attention and they will take up to N250 billion of the N655 billion capex. The governor said his administration is currently executing 156 road projects across the state, made up of 57 big roads and 11 community roads he initiated; 37 big roads and 51 community roads inherited from the previous administration which he is still funding. Last night, I listened to a mild debate among some friends: If a governor initiates a road project and does not pay for it; but his successor come in, pay the contractor and to get the job done, who should take credit for the job?

Like all budgets, the 2025 financial proposal contains many plans and proposals the government intends to execute across all sectors, one of which is the completion of the abandoned 10,000-capacity convention center at the Tropicana Complex. Initiated by the Akpabio administration in 2008, the Convention Centre was abandoned at the foundation stage. The rumour then was that it was discontinued because it was later discovered that the soil condition at the site was not suitable for such a mega project. I found it difficult to believe the story because such big ticket projects are always preceded by appropriate soil tests. Clearly, the rumour was unfounded. On his first anniversary celebration in May, Eno had also pledged to complete the 15-storey hotel at the Tropicana and initiate work on a new shopping complex along the Third Ring Road. The government is building a block of luxury apartments along Uruan Street in Uyo, as well as other real estate developments, including Aviation Village and other housing projects in Uyo, Abuja and Lagos.

Rebuilding old government-owned buildings in Abuja and Lagos into functional modern assets is an integral part of the administration’s economic agenda. At the budget session, the governor announced that his administration has identified and recovered 10 such buildings in Lagos and Abuja. ‘’Some are located on Broad Street, Ajose Adeogun Street and Simpson Street in Lagos, and one is in the central business district in Abuja, near the Federal Ministry of Finance. We shall turn the one in Abuja into a four-star hotel’’, he said. I know the building on Ajose Adeogun Street in Victoria Island, Lagos. In fact, I was there when it was commissioned in 1992 by the then Military Governo, but I didn’t even know that the government has property on Simpson and Broad Streets. Last month, the governor flagged off the construction of an 18-storey luxury apartment complex in Victoria Island, Lagos. Investing in high-yielding real estate business, the governor said, will improve the state’s revenue and position its economy for a future without crude oil. I should, however, note that these projects will not be completed in a budget cycle. Sequencing them over the next several years within budgetary limitations is key.

Many have said that instead of real estates, the government should have put money in agriculture and its value chain. The budget addresses that comprehensively with a list of what has been done and what should be expected in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure, security and others. He mentioned the Songhai Farming Model which is being implemented in the state, and noted that it will reposition the State for tourism, conferences and training hub for improved farming practices. He also spoke on other critical issues like the controversial crisis at the Presbyterian Senior Science College, Ididep. Eno said that while the government is fully responsible for the tuition fees of students, payment of adequate boarding fees is the duty of parents. He said: ‘’feeding students in boarding schools is the responsibility of parents, and no principal should perform the duty of a boarding master. Government has never promised to feed any student and it would not be stampeded to do so.

He stressed that parents should take responsibility for feeding their children in boarding house; after all, if these children were to be in the house, the parents would feed them. Boarding is optional in our school system ’’. The import of this is that parents should be willing to pay more for boarding of their kids, and principals should not dabble into food procurements. It’s an oblique reference to the corruption in the system which I addressed in my last article. He warned that government will shut down schools where such nefarious activities occur.

On Ibom Power, Gov. Eno said the government has undertaken a detailed technical audit of operations of Ibom Plant and is reviewing the recommendations of the report for implementation. There would be a major restructuring of the organization and operations of the plant. ‘’We have identified some operational risks including gas supply security, equipment availability and due inspections for which a program is being developed. There are challenges that we are detailing on a phased basis. The financials will be subject of some subsequent future engagement’’, he said.

The government should consider privatizing the plant to derive optimum value to the state. There is also hope for Ibom Deep Sea Port, a project the people are full of expectations for. Eno said the government has conducted a comprehensive feasibility study on Ibom Deep Seaport where onside Geo technical and Geo physical environmental scoping, port design options, amongst others have been undertaken. The next stage is for the government as project sponsor to proceed to the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) which is a crucial step in planning of complex engineering projects. Meantime, access road to the facility has been opened.

There’s practically something for every segment of the society in the 2025 budget, but let me conclude on the issue of gratuity payment. Pastor Eno said yesterday that his administration has paid over N37 billion out of N85.2 billion ‘’we met when we came in, as gratuities to retired civil servants, local government and teachers in the State. We are committed to liquidating all the backlog of gratuities in line with our campaign promises’’. Does it mean that previous administrations were not meeting this obligation?

November 28, 2024
Indeed, education is the best tool – By Etim Etim

Six weeks after the death of his wife, Gov. Umo Eno was conferred with a doctorate degree in Political Science by the University of Uyo this afternoon, making him the first sitting governor in the country to attain such qualification while in office. Congratulations to the governor.

It must be a moment of mixed emotions for him and his family as this is coming exactly two weeks to his wife’s funeral events. It should also be an inspiring occasion for Akwa Ibom youths and I urge them to learn a few lessons here, chief among which is that no matter your situation in life, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to. I know this for a fact and it is what I tell my children every day.

The second lesson is that education is a very important tool that helps you fulfill your potentials in life. Dr. Umo Eno said this much in his speech at the convocation ceremony in Uyo this afternoon. In recognition of the importance of education, the governor said, he is sustaining the compulsory free education which his predecessors have implemented since 1999.

In addition, he’s improved on the value of scholarship and bursary awards to various categories of students and is revamping primary schools to enhance learning environment. But despite these, a lot of our children are still hawking in the streets during school hours, instead of being in school. Last month, I talked with a young boy of about 10 years old, who was hawking groundnut around.

He said he dropped from school because his guardian did not buy him exercise books. His father is dead, his mother sent him to live with a guardian who has now turned him into a hawker; and so, his teacher asked him to withdraw till he gets his exercise books. There are so many cases family situations stopping our children from going to school. The government should address the nagging problem of school dropouts.

I understand that our primary schools, especially those that are located in the villages, require more teachers. The government should set in motion a rigorous recruitment process to bring in brilliant, qualified and dedicated teachers into our primary and secondary schools. The last recruitment exercise happened over five years ago. We should also emphasize vocational training and rehabilitate the dilapidated vocational schools in the state.

In terms of WAEC performance, our state has been around the 17th position consistently for many years. I am sure we can improve on that if our teachers are more dedicated and motivated. Alumni associations should launch motivational programs to encourage our students. The governor should also pay attention to the needs of the state-owned university, AKSU.

Indeed, education is a very important tool and we need to make the necessary investments to make it work for everybody.

November 10, 2024