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Tag: Anarchy

  • Protests: Military envisages anarchy, reign of terror

    Protests: Military envisages anarchy, reign of terror

    The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), says the planned nationwide protest has the potential of degenerating into anarchy, and reign of terror based on the situational analysis by the military high command.

    The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, said this while briefing newsmen on the operations of the armed forces on Thursday in Abuja.

    Buba said the military had thoroughly examined several factors such as whether or not the planned protest was motivated by opposition politics, independent parties, sovereign interference or terrorist groups amongst others.

    He said it was also examined to ascertain whether or not other organisations had fed on the frustrations of Nigerians to create the situation.

    “However, for us in the military, the constitution is clear as to how and when the military gets involved.

    “The constitution also clearly defines the roles and functions of the armed forces.

    On the other hand, while citizens have a constitutional right to peaceful protest, they do not have a right to mobilise for anarchy in order to unleash terror.

    “The contemporary context of the planned protest is to shadow happenings in Kenya which has so far been violent and unresolved to date.

    “Given the situation, there are already indicators that, unscrupulous elements are bent on hijacking the planned protest for violent purposes,’’ he said.

    Buba said that there were signs of status related violence such that persons with things as basic as a smart phone and car were targets, not leaving out those that own houses and shops.

    Other targets, according to him, includes; places of worship, businesses, markets, persons of other ethnic groups and members of opposing political party among others.

    “Based on the foregoing, the level of violence envisaged is best described as a state of anarchy.

    “It is for this reason the armed forces will not watch and allow the nation spiral out of control to such low levels.

    “Basically, the military has been exposed to wars and have witnessed situations of anarchy in countries ravaged by war, particularly during ECOMOG or during peacekeeping operations.

    “It is for this reason that, troops will act dutifully to forestall such ugly occurrences from happening in our nation,’’ he added.

    Buba urged the citizens to note that, both the timing and the atmosphere of hardship in the country had made the planned protest different from others in the past.

    He added that it was incumbent upon all to quench the fires of violence rather than ignite them.

    “It is time to let, cool heads prevail in order for government to further remedy the situation and make our nation flourish again,’’ he said.

  • Rehearsing the Anarchy – By Chidi Amuta

    Rehearsing the Anarchy – By Chidi Amuta

    Nigeria’s litany of troubles has finally anchored on two basic existential matters. Insecurity and hunger. We are all very unsafe and now the vast majority of our people are very hungry and angry. Of the two urgencies, the rise of mass hunger is indeed a novel addition to our familiar tale of serial calamities. Mass hunger and the anger and protests it can breed is a clear and urgent threat to our national security.

    The signs are already everywhere. Mass protests have held dress rehearsals in places as far flung as Minna, Kano, Suleja, Osogbo, Abeokuta and other isolated pockets around the country. The intensity of the protests has been somewhat tepid and mellow but the message is clear and unmistakable. The population of hungry Nigerians is building up into a critical mass that can make us all uncomfortable. The fear is now palpable that if the scourge of hunger is allowed to spread with the attendant protests, the business of governing Nigeria could turn into a nationwide crowd control and mob anger management operation.

    The danger in these hunger protests is in the very nature of hunger itself. Hunger is indeed an unfamiliar addition to our familiar cocktail of Nigeria’s usual calamities. Hunger in the sense of absolute lack of food of any kind in addition to the lack of the money to buy what is available and necessary, has not quite been the Nigerian thing. The poor may not feast on delicacies every day but they have always managed to find the bowl of eba, fufu, tuwo and basic grains to fill the stomach and resume praying for tomorrow as a better day.  Never before has plain simple hunger been the lot of so many Nigerians at once. But we are in a new and different place. Democracy has yielded us the unexpected dividend of universal poverty and the reality of mass starvation.

    In response to the unfolding signs of imminent mass hunger, the government has been stumbling from one gamble to another. Initially it was some palliative of sharing bags of rice to poor people in the states and the FCT. The budgeted N5 billion per state has largely been lost in a haystack of corruption allegations. Claims and counter claims over who got rice or noodles  have featured from across the country. There was a follow up pledge by some states to offer government employees cash incentives of anywhere between N10,000 and N100,000. From most states, the feedback is mostly one of serial default and unfulfilled promises.

    While this parade of guesswork has gone on, the cost of living especially food inflation has continued to gallop. Food inflation has shot up from under 30% in May to over 40% now. General inflation has similarly skyrocketed from 33% to over 39% in the same period. More frightening, the exchange rate of the Naira to major world currencies has seen the national currency dip in value from less than N500 to the dollar in May to over N1,600 to the dollar at the time of this writing. Neither the government nor the general populace have any idea of what concrete informed economic actions are being taken to alleviate a worsening economic condition. Nearly every measure or statement of solution by the Central Bank has been greeted by a worsening exchange rate scenario the day after.

    One interesting   aspect of the onset of the hunger protests is that they began while President Tinubu was away in Paris on a “private visit”. The message did get to him. He probably cared as a man with the mandate of the people to help them overcome mundane matters like hunger and cashless poverty. But he preferred dignified silence on the matter till he returned home. Since his return, the president has resumed the affairs of state as usual. He has, for instance, urged citizens to recite the national pledge after each rendition of the National Anthem. He has instructed  that limitless amounts of grains be released from the national reserves to assuage the raging hunger.

    No one has said exactly where the grains reserves are located and how much the silos hold in total. Even worse, no one has told us how hungry people who are also abjectly poor will pay for the grains. It turns out, as an afterthought, that the grains will be distributed free of charge. But the modalities are yet in the works. The promise of grains has raised other troubling questions. Without reference to any concrete evidence of concrete food production effort to support his optimism, the president has insisted that Nigeria will soon become a net exporter of food as he can envision a period of plenty in the horizon.

    As with most things in political Nigeria, the onset of mass hunger and the rising costs of living in the country have been the subject of either political football or predictable populist doublespeak among the elite. Predictably, the Nigerian elite has jumped on the hunger wagon to preach their familiar lines. The more politically minded have opted to play political football   with the hunger crisis.

    Former Emir of Kani, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has preferred shifting the blame for the current hardships from Tinubu to Mr. Buhari. This is political bad manners. Every new government is elected to solve the problems they find on the ground, not to blame the predecessor government indefinitely. That is the most elementary lesson of democratic succession. New governments that spend most of their time looking for aspects of mistakes in what they inherited end up badly as a general rule. When Barrack Obama took over from George Bush Jr., some Democrats wanted him to blame the Bush administration for the global economic meltdown of 2007-8. Obama preferred to face and solve the economic problem instead of surrendering the global economy to a litany of blames. He succeeded.

    In furtherance of the Nigerian political football about hunger and high cost of living, political megaphones of the ruling APC have blamed the governors of the rival PDP as being responsible for the hardship in the land. They did not distribute the palliatives released to them  nor have they lived up to their obligations in paying the promised allowance of N30,000 to workers in the service of their states. No one has reminded them that the same thing applies to the APC governors.

    The Nigerian Labour Congress President has questioned the efficacy of grains as an antidote to universal hunger, arguing that Nigerians are not birds that feed mostly on grains. Implicit in that cynical interrogation of governmental good intention is the common knowledge that food consists of more than grains: proteins, vegetables, fats and various other carbohydrates etc. Meanwhile even the little that is promised remains invisible.

    The Sultan of Sokoto has been closer to his  trenchant self. He has said Nigerians are now deeply frustrated, extremely hungry and very resentful. He spoilt his courageous message by insisting that it was time for Nigerians to seek repentance as our present adversities were a repercussion for our past sins.

    In similar vein, the incumbent Emir of Kano has sent the message of mass hunger and frustration more directly to the centre of power. Receiving First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu in Kano, the Emir topped up is lavish hospitality with a message through her to her husband. It was clear and direct: “please tell your husband that the people are hungry and angry”.

    The clergy is not to be left out. Pastor Enoch Adeboye has shifted the blame for our intractable insecurity and hardship to the realm of the supernatural. In his view, the leaders are doing their best but the insecurity and current hardship require divine intervention. The answer is perhaps in more prayers and supplication while patiently awaiting God’s appointed time for relief of our economic burdens. Meanwhile the scourge of hunger rages and the fire of anger consumes the land as wealthy priests ready to jet out of hell in their private jets.

    Having failed to wish away the hunger troubles through political and public opinion manipulation, the Presidency has at last managed to find the courage to confront the matter as a government. President Bola Tinubu held a very consequential meeting last Thursday with the Governors of a 36 states and Minister of the FCT. The meeting was the first tacit admission by their excellencies that the Nigerian state is now reduced to a machinery for confronting the original necessity of the nation state. The business of government is to guarantee the security of lives and property or limbs in the absence of property and to ensure the livelihood (food) of all citizens. In its classical sense, the necessity of government is the need to save humanity from the physical danger of hurt and death by his fellows while guaranteeing food and livelihood for those alive. In short, the essence of the state and government can be reduced to these two elements.

    Quite wisely, the President and the governors winded up addressing the biting urgency of security and food security. The consensus on these two is not far fetched. Prior to the last one month, insecurity in the form of banditry, kidnappings, abductions sense killings and violence was the dominant concern of most Nigerians. The idea of state police is being debated to combat bandits and kidnappers.  Meanwhile, rhetorical poverty has graduated into mass abject penury and mass hunger. While sensible normal people can take measures to avoid being kidnapped or abducted, there is no armour against unavoidable hunger.

    But when people are hungry, they become irritable and very angry. In every sense, hunger is  an instant unifier of mankind. A mass of hungry people is undifferentiated by the things that divide people in a polity. Hunger has no religion, ethnicity or region. All those whom poverty throws into the hellish pit of hunger find fellowship in the commonality of their condition.

    When a critical mass of the citizenry is reduced to an angry mob in protests about basic necessities and hunger, we have the makings of anarchy. An anarchic mob can only produce a revolution for good if the mob is infused with guiding ideas and a populist political leadership. The French were lucky that the mobs that stormed the Bastille in 1789 were armed with a slogan of ‘Equality, Freedom and Egalitarianism’. They were helped along by the arrogance of a monarchy whose queen, on learning that the people were marching to protest scarcity of bread, urged them “to go and eat cakes”! There was of course an underlying political leadership that took over the revolution and converted it into a republic after an intervening period of anarchy.

    On the contrary, a series of hunger protests over a wide area such as Nigeria can get out of hand. It could degenerate into mere anarchy if it overwhelms the state. I cannot see an informing idea nor a political leadership that can own or galvanize Nigeria’s hunger protests into a political movement. Therefore, what we may be seeing is a series of rehearsals in anarchy. The possible ensuing mayhem may fall into the hands of a cocktail of power adventurers: military despots, ethnic bigots, religious fundamentalists,  narcotics warlords and treasure- seeking gangster collectives. What began as hunger protests could lead straight into anarchy and total state meltdown.

    Perhaps it is much easier to import, mass produce or borrow food to assuage these hunger protests and mobs than allow them to consume the fragile Nigerian state and plunge us all into a 100 years of anarchy.

  • Road to anarchy: ASUU, labour and solidarity protest – By Dakuku Peterside

    Road to anarchy: ASUU, labour and solidarity protest – By Dakuku Peterside

    Barring any last-minute change of mind, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) will, this week, embark on a nationwide protest in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which has been on strike for more than six months forcing students to stay at home endlessly. The planned protest by the mother of all labour unions is to put pressure on the government to resolve ASUU demands to enable our students return to school.

    At face value, this is a sensible thing to do. The intended consequences seem noble, but we all know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Often, no one can control the outcome of events like this, and it easily dovetails into mayhem and anarchy. No matter the claim by NLC that it will control the protest and not allow it to be hijacked by hoodlums and miscreants, it is evident that it does not have what it takes to exercise such control, especially given the current socio- political and economic climate that Nigeria is facing.

    As a lover of democracy, I often support the democratic right of citizens to peaceful protest and any means of lawfully compelling the government to pay attention to issues of public interest and importance, and in this instance , education . However, in this case, I advise caution. These times and seasons are not conducive for such disruptive mass action because of the unintended consequences.

    First, this is an election season, and politicians love manipulating circumstances to achieve ignoble advantages. Any protest now may be hijacked by politicians to score cheap and needless political points.. Oftentimes, issues unrelated to the primary reason for the protest in the first place may take centre stage. A protest by NLC may be used as a platform to cause insurrection and attempt to destabilise the polity and cause confusion everywhere.

    Second, this planned protest is coming at a time of dire economic straits, with inflation hitting the roof tops, cost of diesel and petrol beyond the reach of many, collapsing social services, and
    foreign exchange scarcity. The implication is that the average Nigerian is under economic pressure, feels angry and frustrated . Mass action could add to the economic pressure families face and provide building block for unanticipated effect .

    And third, the Nigerian social milieu of heightened uncertainty and insecurity is not a conducive ecosystem for volatile protests and possible demonstrations because of the propensity for people to circumvent it for perverse objectives.

    Besides, there is sufficient evidence that when labour union protests are not managed properly to achieve the desired objective, it could spiral off to violence that can lead to radical change or anarchy. These were the cases in Italy (1920), Venezuela ( 1997), Lebanon (2020) and most recently, Sri Lanka (2022). In all these cases, situations such as the collapse of the currency, soaring inflation, and spiralling unemployment provided the fertile ground for protests by labour movements. These protests became the catalyst for unprecedented controversy and public disorder with severe national consequences in all cases. These exact situations are prevalent in Nigeria today and are getting worse by the day. These situations may provide the fuel to burn the country down, and the NLC planned protest might offer the fire for the inferno that may consume our social and political space.

    Whereas NLC intention to use the protest to draw all parties attention to the prolonged strike is germane , I have a patriotic duty to call on labour to reconsider the plan for this protest at this inauspicious moment. NLC must look at the big picture and act in the national interest. It behoves NLC to know that it will be directly and precariously liable if the protest leads to anarchy. There are better ways to show solidarity with ASUU to achieve a better result than just protesting. NLC must liaise with ASUU and mediate between it and the government on this issue, considering the historical antecedents behind this crisis.

    ASUU has been on strike for over six months, and there seems to be no end in sight of the action. ASUU is demanding that the government fulfils the agreement it entered into in the past, increase lecturers’ salaries and provide better funding for higher education in Nigeria. These demands aim to improve the quality of education and quality of living of university lecturers. These are legitimate demands, however one looks at it.

    Historically, ASUU is synonymous with strike actions in Nigeria, and for decades they have been making demands, entering into agreements with the government which the government reneges on frequently leading to industrial actions. This has been a recurring decimal in our higher institutions for over four decades, and it has defied all governments and does not seem to be exacerbating soon. ASUU -government brouhaha is endangering the future of our youths, who either have their education truncated with the concomitant effect of producing half-baked graduates or the students spending more time than necessary to complete their degrees.
    Everyone becomes a loser in this disagreement, and the nation suffers. In this disagreement, it is crucial that ASUU comes to the table with an open mind, ready to take any cause of action that will make all parties winners in the pursuit for quality education .

    ASUU must see the reality of our economic circumstances – the government is struggling to pay salaries, and we literarily borrow to finance government activities. Our revenue to debt service ratio has moved from 95% to 116%. The implicationis that all our income is not enough to service our debt. Crude oil theft has reached an embarrassing crescendo, and the government is spending billions of dollars yearly to fight insurgency, bandits, terrorists, and secessionists all over the country. The global crisis post-COVID 19 pandemic and the debilitating effects of the Russian – Ukraine war have created energy and food crises worldwide. There is also the counter narrative that a government that spends about N42b yearly to maintain the several aircrafts in the presidential fleet , spends 70 percent of its budget on recurrent expenditure and allows wastage in the management of the economy cannot in good conscience say
    it cannot not fund education . I can rightly paraphrase John F Kennedy to put this in proper perspective , “ if the pursuit of learning is not defended by the educated citizens ( leaders), it will not be defended by all “ .

    ASUU , as a body of researchers , must come to the table with a bouquet of innovative ideas on university funding that will rely less on government, student fees payment models, university-industry alliances, private sector-driven convergence and university entrepreneurship to boost the funding of our tertiary institutions. There have been calls for complete university autonomy to create a competitive university education market that may provide the funds for quality education. ASUU can advocate for a joint government and university student loan arrangement that may give a lasting solution to Nigeria’s university funding issues. Academics are great researchers, and I firmly believe that it behoves on them to come up with the best formula for solving university funding crises that will permanently eliminate ASUU strikes.

    The government, on the other hand, must show more seriousness and sincerity in negotiation with ASUU. Nigerians are fed up with the macabre dance, and many feel that government must do more to break the impasse. Government expenditure profile does not reflect the fact that it prioritises education and by extension the future of Nigerian youths. All sides in this dispute must be ready to shift positions based on current realities. They must find a win-win solution to resolve ASUU-government logjam as quickly as possible. It will be shameful if our students lose one academic year due to this strike. The government should remember that governance is a continuum and must not enter into agreements that it does not have any intentions of keeping immediately or in the future.
    The government must work with ASUU to devise a lasting solution to the problems. It is unacceptable and irresponsible for government to enter into agreements only to renege on them . The government should study how universities are funded and how academics are rewarded in other countries and learn from that. Lecturers are bona fide members of the community and spend and buy things from the same markets as others. They are entitled to a living wage and all the perks of their office. ASUU and the government must draw a line on this issue and do a quid pro quo that is mutually beneficial.

    Now is the time for all stakeholders in the education sector to rally round to save our higher education sector from collapse. We must solve the problem of strike actions once and for all if we use this opportunity to be creatively innovative in dealing with university funding. The world is moving fast, and it seems we are getting left behind. Instead of discussing the ASUU strike, we should look at how to develop the quality of our higher education to international standards.
    We must develop our universities to compete locally and globally. It is time to educate our youths, who are the hope of tomorrow, to be more productive and proactive. There is nothing better than quality education as a propeller for growth and development. Our tomorrow lies in what we do today to correct all the anomalies with
    our educational system. Let us make hay while the sun shines.

    NLC must reconsider its plans to protest in the next few days, and acknowledge the fact that we are in a precarious situation . Nearly every little act of disruptive mass action can produce unintended and adverse consequences.

  • Nigeria: From Freedom To Anarchy, By DAN AMOR

    Nigeria: From Freedom To Anarchy, By DAN AMOR

    By DAN AMOR

     

    Once upon a time, there was a young country struggling in the comity of nations to find her place in the sun. For, in this young country of brave people, it was discovered that freedom was a God-given right. So impressed were the citizens with this belief that they lit a candle to symbolize their freedom. But, in their wisdom, they knew that the flame could not burn alone. So, they lit a second candle to symbolize man’s right to govern himself. The third candle was lighted to signify that the rights of the individual were more important than the rights of the State. And finally, they lit a fourth candle to show that government should not do for the people those things which the people should do and have been doing for themselves.

     

    As the four candles of freedom burned brightly, the young country prospered. And as they prospered, they grew fat. And as they grew fat, they got lazy. When they got lazy, they asked the government to do things for them which they had been doing for themselves, and one of the candles went out. As government became bigger, the people became smaller, and the government became all important. And the rights of the individual were sacrificed to the all important rights of the State. Then the second candle went out. In their apathy and indifference, they asked those who bear armour to govern them, and the marshals of the commandist clan did, and the third candle went off. In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted security, a comfortable life, and they lost all – comfort and security and freedom.

     

    For, you see! When the freedom they wanted most was freedom from responsibility, then Nigerians ceased to be free. The last candle has been extinguished. One could assume, then, that we have it made. Never have any people at any time, anywhere, had it so good. But in our present abundance and luxury in the galaxy of power, something is wrong. People aren’t happy. They no longer walk down the streets of our cities smiling or whistling a happy tune. There is discontent, and one can sense the fear of the unknown. Everywhere, the people are grumbling, cursing, jeering and hooting. The people have mistaken baboons for monkeys.

     

    Nigerians are jittery. There seems to be a tarnish on our golden Mecca. We’ve created a new breed of men and women who can’t work but loot, just like we’ve created a new breed of men and women who crave for power for the sake of it. You had an opportunity to turn the nation to an Eldorado, but you supervised the mindless looting of our national patrimony into private pockets. You wailed and roared and were given the power, but you’re seeing it as an opportunity to favour your tribesmen at the expense of others and you’re still enmeshed in blame game while the country is bleeding. You even lack the capacity to govern a complex country of this magnitude. You are also supervising the grand looting of our national patrimony before our very eyes. Our debt overhang which was N6 trillion when you came to power is now N50trillion in just six years, with nothing to show for it. And, instead of the slogan, “God bless Nigeria”, all we now hear is, “Let us go our separate ways”. The signs aren’t too hard to read. They are the signs of internal decay – the dry rot of apathy and indifference.

     

    The symptoms of our national disease began just six years after gaining political independence from our colonial masters, when we began to penalize our collective will by banal expediency. We had come to think of our early history and the men who created it as a kind of fairytale instead of the greatest success story of all time. So we decided to ban the teaching of history in our schools. Boko Haram, bandits and armed herdsmen have forced us to shut down more than 1,000 schools in the North and more than 10 million children are compelled to drop out of school in the North because “Western education is evil”. And our leaders seem to agree with them as the schools remain shut and the children at home. Since the past fifty-five years, we have been flirting with a dangerously clever and seductive master called military rule. They misruled us in uniform and they are misruling us in ‘agbada’. And for the same length of time, we have been toying with ideas which have proven a failure in most of those countries where they have been tried.

     

    It seems to me that we are in this terrible mess for several reasons. The first is the natural evolution of human civilization. Lord Byron, in tracing the rise and fall of great nations, says that, “people go from freedom to glory, from glory to wealth, from wealth to vice, from vice to corruption, and from corruption to barbarism”. The second reason is temptation. We are being tempted as we have never been tempted before- tempted to trust even those who bear arms. Indeed, it is not an easy thing being a free Nigerian when all around us, the misguided and the misinformed tell us the government owes us all these things which up until now we have been providing for ourselves. There is yet a third reason why we are losing our freedom. Most of us accepted our present lopsided union, not because of our weaknesses, but rather because of one of our finest virtues – human compassion.

     

    Through our misguided love for unity, we believe that the cramming together of more than 250 ethnic nationalities despite obvious and staggering differences in language, religion and culture, would solve our problems as a people. By passing the buck and surrendering our personal responsibilities into the hands of murderers and looters, we absolve our guilty consciences as a nation and as individuals. And, finally, we have begun our journey to perdition for yet another reason. It is the scarcity of the courage to take challenges. For too long, too many of us have been too willing to let someone else call the shots. We have been too busy with things which, in the end, don’t count for much, and in our madness for materialism, we have forgotten how to govern. We have been letting “Ibrahim” to do it, and “Ibrahim” has been messing it up.

     

    For one shining, glorious moment of history, we had the key and the open door, and the way was there before us. Men threw off the yoke of centuries and thrust forward along that way with such hope and such brilliance that for a little while we were the light and the inspiration of black Africa. Now, the key has been thrown carelessly away – the door is closing – we are losing the way. Nigerians have inherited the greatest nation in the black world, but we are finding out it’s not easy being a free Nigerian. In spite of our enormous human and natural resources, Nigeria is, ironically, not only the most fantastically corrupt but also the most barbaric country on the face of the earth. And we have suddenly taken over from India as the poverty headquarters of the world just as Buhari came to power.

     

    Every passing day, Nigerians kill themselves with alarming impunity. Abdulsallami Abubakar, a retired General of the Nigerian Army and former head of state has said that more than 6 million illegal arms are circulating all over Nigeria. And instead of disarming the armed herdsmen, bandits and Boko Haram, our government is set to disarm the poor of their machetes, kitchen knives and hoes with which they go to farm so that the herdsmen and bandits would kill all of them. Now, there is famine in the country as farmers can no longer go to farm. Ours is the only country on the face of the earth where its leaders call terrorists “bandits” and have refused to expose sponsors of terrorism in the land. While terrorists are being protected, innocent and defenseless Nigerians are dying like ants. Yet, our rulers would tell us that they cannot declare kidnappers and killers of innocent Nigerians terrorists because they are following due process. What a stupid excuse!

     

    Nigeria remains the only country in the world in which refined ideas are jettisoned but crude prebendal manipulations are preferred. There is nowhere in the world that open grazing is preferred to ranching in animal husbandry but in Nigeria. As we gnash our teeth in hunger and desperation, we must constantly remind ourselves, and one another, that our freedom is threatened by those who promised us security instead of opportunities; and that no country has survived civil war twice. But we can pass on the heritage of personal freedom to our children with the three golden keys of leadership: personal involvement in public affairs, humility and honesty to self and the national ideal, and a recrudescence of the home and the house of God. We must reject tribalism, bigotry, fanaticism and I-know-it-all bravura. This we can do if only a lot of us will care enough to do enough. The choice is ours.

    *Amor is journalist and public affairs analyst.

  • PDP rejects direct primary, says its a plot to introduce anarchy in internal party elections

    PDP rejects direct primary, says its a plot to introduce anarchy in internal party elections

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the adoption of direct primary for the nomination of candidates for elections in political parties in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed by the Senate.

    In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP described the passage of direct primary as a retrogressive provision that seeks to wipe off the gains achieved in the nation’s electoral practice since 1999.

    “The party says the decision by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled Senate is a humongous blow to the development of democratic norms, and a plot to introduce anarchy during internal party elections as currently obtainable in the APC,” the main opposition party said.

    “The PDP holds that the provision is aimed at increasing the costs of nomination procedures thereby surrendering the processes to money bags against the wishes and aspiration of Nigerians.

    “Our party makes bold to state that with the exception of the APC, which intends to deploy looted funds in future elections, hardly will there be any political party that will be able to raise the cost of conducting internal elections under a direct primary process.”

    For the PDP, this is why the decision of the Senate has elicited “widespread rejection” from Nigerians across the board.

    It, therefore, urged the Senate to immediately deploy its appropriate legislative instruments to reverse itself on the direct primary.

    The party stressed that such a mode of conducting primary was not operable and does not reflect the wishes and aspirations of the majority of Nigerians.

    During its plenary on Tuesday, the Senate had made a series of adjustments to the Electoral Act, including bowing to pressure to give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the sole power to determine the mode of transmission of results.

    Following a motion moved by the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, the lawmakers amended Clause 43, Clause 52, Clause 63, and Clause 87 of the Act.

    Under Clause 87 which borders on the nomination of candidates by parties, the provision of subsection 1, which states that “a political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this Act shall hold direct or indirect primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which may be monitored by the Commission,” was amended.

    The new provision of Clause 87 Subsection 1 now reads, “a political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this Bill shall hold direct primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which shall be monitored by the Commission.”

  • We are watching Nigeria slip into anarchy – Rita Dominic

    We are watching Nigeria slip into anarchy – Rita Dominic

    Popular actress, Rita Dominic has lamented over the state of insecurity in the country.

    In a Twitter post on Monday, the 45-year-old role interpreter said elected officials must do more to address the worsening state of things before they get out of hand.

    According to her, there must be concentrated efforts by the government to douse the rising pressure in the country for peace to reign.

    “I am afraid that we are watching Nigeria slip into anarchy. It is surreal. Our elected officials need to work harder to douse the tension in the country. We need peace to reign. Harassing and killing innocent citizens can never solve anything,” she wrote.

     

     

    TheNewsGuru recalls that back in April, the fashionable actress revealed why she decided to disclose her relationship with Fidelis Anosike, founder of Folio Media Group, on social media last year.

    “That’s the thing…it just happened. Oh my goodness Chude! Anyway…It just happened, a spur of the moment, happiness. Once in a while, you want to share certain things with people and I felt like my lovers, had been there for me for decades,” she had said.

  • Nigeria sliding into anarchy, becoming a failed state – Governor Ishaku

    Nigeria sliding into anarchy, becoming a failed state – Governor Ishaku

    Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, has said that Nigeria is dangerously sliding into anarchy and becoming a failed state due to increased insecurity.

    The governor raised the alarm in Jalingo, the state capital, on Saturday, during an interview with journalists to mark his sixth year in office.

    He said, “Nigeria is sliding to a failed state, yes of cause Nigeria is sliding into anarchy. Even the blind can see that we are sliding into anarchy and the deaf can hear about that too.”

    According to him, the increasing spate of insecurity across the country and the inability of the military and other security agencies to address the situation were indications of anarchy.

    “The military should be in charge of flushing out insurgents. It is a disgrace if a country’s military cannot flush out insurgents within its territory,” he said, adding that, “we need a state police; we need the constitution to be amended.”

    Ishaku also stressed the need for state police noting that state governors need to be empowered by the constitution in the proper handling of security in their states.

    “I am called Executive Governor, Executive for what? If I cannot implement the decisions I take with the troops under my command? So, the state police is imperative and must come to stay. Without the state police, we are surcharging democracy, it won’t work.

    “The sooner the state police is enacted, the better.”

    The governor said all hands must be on deck for the country to overcome the current challenges by reviewing the country’s security architecture.

    On regional security outfit, he maintained that he is not in support of the establishment of regional security outfit for the North East region as was done in the South West and South-Eastern regions.

    ”On regional security outfit, the northeast is not contemplating it, I particularly do not support it, but I have since assumption of office been supporting the creation of state police.

    ”I have been the first person who said the constitution has been surcharged that is to say that, where we copied the constitution from the United States of America, it is written there that there is local police, state, and federal police and they complement each other.

    ”The issue is, we need state police, the constitution to be amended and I am not in support of regional security outfit, though it can work in other regions, for us here we have grown past that in the northeast, we are battling the insurgency.”

    He adds that Nigeria is a beautiful country that must be well managed to enjoy the beauty.

    He described his six years in office as a tortuous journey, and success with tears which his administration has successfully surmounted the evil days.

  • Attack on Police: Anarchy and Disintegration Imminent!, By Michael West

    Attack on Police: Anarchy and Disintegration Imminent!, By Michael West

    By Michael West

     

    Nigeria’s total collapse and disintegration appears imminent. One does not need a soothsayer to know this. The ominous signs are everywhere for all to see. Apart from the political turmoil instigated by cronyism, misgovernance, leadership failure and incompetence – all of which validated strident calls for restructuring of the polity and self-determination by some ethnic nationalities, the clock is ticking for the implosion of multidimensional internal conflicts that will soon climax in anarchy and splitting of the country into irredeemable fragments. This is not a prophecy of doom; even the visually impaired can see the thick cloud of imminent rain of crisis that “federal might” may not be able to contain.

     

    The incessant attack on, and killing of, Nigeria police officers and men on a daily basis calls for caution. This should not happen in any organised society. Around the world, there is no government without effective, well-equipped, well-funded and loyal police men and women in place. Police is a civil force in charge of internal security in every country. They are well defended, funded, remunerated and compensated in events of accident or death in line of duty as enshrined in each country’s constitution.

     

    But, in recent times, Nigeria police personnel have become endangered species. They are hunted, attacked and killed like preys wherever they are found in hot zones. This is unacceptable.

    There is no other way to confirm that Nigeria is a failing state than the way our policemen and officers have become easy target of attacks. Police is a central factor that holds the fabrics of Nigeria’s forced unity together; and the moment the Police is taken out of the equation, in a short time, the nation will be history.

    Unfortunately, we are fast drifting to the precipice with the way hoodlums, unknown gunmen, cultists, armed robbers, bandits and irate youths attack and kill policemen and officers in some parts of the country.

     

    Incidentally, Nigeria police have not been well appreciated by the public they serve and protect. They are seen from the prism of the bad elements in the force. The rot in the force and the brutality unleashed on civilians do not earn the force deserved corporate respect, support and appreciation. Anybody that has been a victim of police injustice and brutality will not spare a thought for them. The federal structure of the force does not help its situation either. Decent and civil people in the force are either sidelined, transferred to “Siberia” or are even implicated as “risk factors” to covert nefarious operations. Such officers do suffer denial of due promotions and placements. Ethnicity and religion are used against many competent and efficient officers in the force. Did you know that many officers have to bribe their way to the top? The mess and deprivation they experience can be very frustrating. It is believed that these are the likely reasons why they exploit innocent citizens and suspects in their custody. However, these are not justifiable reasons for the unprofessional conduct of some of them, but because the system is not allowed to function fairly, effectively and independently, it mostly accounts for the avoidable pressure and manipulation under which the Nigeria Police operate.

     

    Without trying to rationalise misconducts and illegalities, the fact remains that Police do misbehave everywhere else around the world. We have seen the Police commit murder and brutality in the most civilized countries. What is bad is bad; police are not meant to oppress or kill the citizens they are employed, trained, equipped and paid to protect. As we can also see, such erring officers are brought to justice in the court of law and sentenced accordingly. The same thing happens here, except that our judicial system grinds at snail’s speed.

     

    There are police men that have distinguished themselves in mature, responsible and civil manner. We have seen policemen being harassed, beaten, humiliated and even left half-dead without them retaliating, even when they carry weapons; but chose to endure the assaults without committing murder in the name of self-defence. Kudos to such gallant men and officers of the Nigeria Police wherever they are!

     

    Attacks on the police stand condemned. Statistics show that it is a global phenomenon that must be checkmated at all costs. For instance, a staggering 264 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2020, representing a 96% increase compared to the previous year’s figure. This is according to a release by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies reported that 60,211 officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2017. There is hardly a day that passes without us losing a policeman in line of duty in Nigeria. In the last four weeks, over 30 policemen and officers were reportedly killed at different flashpoints in the country.

     

    Nigeria is under-policed. The figure per number of citizens is grossly inadequate. While we are managing to cope with about 350, 000 personnel, half of who are assigned to individuals, private and corporate organisations, the festering insecurity engulfing the country is overstretching the available cops on duty. The time for the establishment of state and local police is now. We have to work the talk.

     

    The poor working conditions is another issue. Apart from the recent adjustment in their salary structure by the federal government following the #EndSARS nationwide protests, their incentives and fringe benefits deserve to be reviewed. A situation where officers and men will have to pay for their uniforms, boots, belts, caps, stationery for their various stations and posts is abnormal. How about the welfare and insurance scheme for them and their families? Ideally, their children should enjoy free education on the bill of the state. This should include the military. Free healthcare and subsidized holiday trips for their immediate family members. With these in place, higher commitment and dedication to duty will be guaranteed and corruption will drastically be reduced in the system. Favouritism, ethnicity and religious biases should give way for merit, seniority and federal character in the administration of the Force. This is possible only if there is the political will to do it.

     

    In the United States, Louisiana became the first state to pass what it called a “blue lives matter” law that added police officers to the hate crime statute. Texas, Kentucky and other states have followed with their own laws. Alabama currently makes it a capital offense, punishable by death, to kill a police officer. But proponents of the bill said it could provide stiffer penalties for people who attack police officers in targeted assaults. Last week, 30 men were sentenced to death for killing just one policeman during an intra-religious riots where several people sustained injuries in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

     

    Government must enforce legal provisions that protect our policemen and officers. Culprits of assaults on policemen must be speedily brought to justice with grim penalty to serve as deterrent. Doing so is the safest way to sanitize our crime-infested society. Propounding this idea does not prevent erring officers from standing trial also. I read about a recent kidnap case where the victims called the police for help and the victims were allegedly told to pay their ransom first. In another case, the policemen were reported to have offered to deliver the ransom to the kidnappers. A kidnap suspect in police net claimed that he and his gang do share the ransom with DSS officials that supplied them weapons. This is aside the cases of extra judicial killings, bribery and perversion of justice against the hapless and the poor. These are grievous offences against God and humanity. It is quite satisfactory that police authorities do not shield such personnel from prosecution; only that our judicial process grinds slowly.

     

    The most annoying are cases of AK47-wielding Fulani herdsmen arrested by vigilantes or community people. As soon as they are handed over to the police, they are released and their illegal weapons returned to them based on “orders from above.” This act of impunity must stop, except we operate a Northern Police Force.

     

    Police are law enforcers and internal security administrators that are accessible, reachable and approachable to the citizens. I stand to be corrected! They still rank among the best in Africa if they go on foreign missions. However, the situation can still be salvaged if the General Muhammadu Buhari-led government decides to be sincere by allowing the police force to operate on merit and in accordance with the principles of federal character.

     

    Quote:

    “There is no other way to confirm that Nigeria is a failing state than the way our policemen and officers have become easy target of attack. Police is a central factor that holds the fabrics of Nigeria’s forced unity together.”

     

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  • The Audacity Of Anarchy – Azu Ishiekwene

    Azu Ishiekwene

     

    There was a BBC News story in February that caught me between laughter and bemusement. The news channel reported, in very strong language matched only by the alarming reactions of the persons interviewed, a spate of stabbings across parts of south London that left at least one dead.

     

    It’s sad that anyone should take the law into their own hands, and sadder still that even one innocent person should suffer injury or die from such senseless attacks.

     

    One of the law enforcement officers interviewed, Ade Adelekan, obviously with Nigerian roots, described the south London incidents as “shocking” and went on to say that the “absolutely horrific news would devastate our community.”

     

    In comparison with what has been happening in Nigeria in recent times, Adelekan’s response to the south London attacks would appear to be outrage that should have been reserved for two-fighting. His misery however genuinely concerning, would not make it to the Sitrep of the local police authorities in Nigeria, much less become a matter of interest at the state or national level.

     

    Violence now registers in its grossest numbers and scale, and would become instant national news if it affects one or two people of power and influence. The country is sliding into anarchy and the harder you try to run from headlines of deaths and violence and destruction, the faster the news catches up with you.

     

    Even social media with its incredible capacity for the banal and the bizarre couldn’t make up the heartrending wave after wave of utterly distressing news of violence in recent times.

     

    The South East, home to one of the three largest ethnic nationalities and the theatre of a brutal civil war that left over two million dead, has been facing something worse than a crisis in the last few weeks: it’s been at war, again. Between January 8 and March 22, nine police officers have been murdered, 12 police stations burnt down and three checkpoints attacked and vandalised by gunmen.

     

    But that was only small potato compared with the horrific events that would follow. In two straight days, gunmen attacked and burnt down two major police facilities and a correctional centre in Owerri, Imo State, and released over 1,800 inmates.

     

    The attacks were bad enough. The audacious manner in which they were carried out makes Syria look like a peace haven. According to reports, the gunmen announced themselves with a carnival near the Government House in the wee hours, chanting war songs, shooting into the air, and generally making merry.

     

    For 30 minutes while the madness lasted, no one, that is, no state official stirred. Not the police whose headquarters shares a wall with the Government House where this drama was taking place, not Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo who only a few weeks earlier deployed busloads of armed policemen in an internecine war with his predecessor and political rival, not one single security official stirred.

     

    After the rehearsal in front of the Government House, which the gunmen could have recorded and shared on social media if they wanted to, they then proceeded to attack the Police headquarters and the correctional facility.

     

    In the morning, the governor, the police high command and every single public official who should have been hiding in shame rushed to the crime scene chewing microphones in a rehearsed show of pretentious rage and improvised shock and surprise. The law, they promised, would take its course – that is, after the next mayhem, and the next one…

     

    Yet, to send a message that they were not to be trifled with, the gunmen attacked another police station in the state within 24 hours. This attack came even after President Muhammadu Buhari replaced Police inspector general, Mohammed Adamu one month ahead of schedule. Weeks after Buhari said never again following the kidnap of hundreds of students from their dormitories in the North of the country, trouble came back with its own shade.

     

    The new Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has his work cut out for him. He is taking the reins at a time when the reputation of the force and public confidence in it are at their lowest.

     

    There’s hardly any search that won’t turn up the force among one of the world’s worst either for corruption or human rights abuses, ranking it in some instances, with forces in DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Haiti and Pakistan. And yet this was a force ranked among the best in international peacekeeping in the past.

     

    At the heart of the #ENDSARS protests which nearly brought Buhari’s government to its knees last year was the legend of police brutality and corruption, with stories ranging from chilling human rights abuses, to corrupt recruitment and tropes of how you can rent the force or hire arms for less than a piper’s fee. The rot is deep, very deep. And it’s beyond the missionary zeal of any new appointee.

     

    Nothing justifies the brazen attacks on police facilities and policemen or the freeing of inmates. Nothing. But it doesn’t matter how many times Buhari replaces the head of the police, until he is prepared to make more than cosmetic changes, until he is prepared to deal with the root causes of spiraling violence, including the deepening feelings of malicious exclusion, failure of intelligence and proliferation of illegal arms, things would get worse.

     

    A 2016 Oxfam report put the estimated legal and illegal small arms and light weapons circulating in Nigeria at about two million. But the number, according to former head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar, has tripled in five years, reaching six million.

     

    The unraveling of Libya apparently accounts for some of the proliferation, but no one can say for sure how many are pouring in through the porous borders and how many are hired for a fee by rogue elements in the security forces.

     

    And then there are the “soft” issues, which also appear to be just as deadly. You can tell how serious these “soft” issues are in how the debate has drifted from finding the culprits of the Imo attacks and punishing them, to name-calling and finger-pointing.

     

    Crime is crime. No one who attacks and burns down a police station and frees inmates should go unpunished, whether they are members of the Eastern Security Network, IPOB or any of their franchises.

     

    The problem is that politicians have been captured by the same mob, gang leaders and ethnic warlords they raised to win elections – the monsters they nursed over the years: those in the South West are willing captives of Sunday Igboho; those in the South East kowtow to Nnamdi Kanu; and those in the North take peace offering to Abubakar Shekau and his murderous gang of Boko Haram, bandits and herdsmen. Our politicians are done for. Unfortunately, we’re paying the price.

     

    When President Buhari who instead of showing the way with the tough, no-nonsense firmness that endeared him to Nigerians in his earlier life, choose instead to act like a captive of the mob, he lost the chance to stop the problem from escalating.

     

    With career politicians muddying the waters ahead of 2023, the perception that Buhari’s government takes sides with the partisan mob will only compound our collective misery.

     

    But we can’t – and won’t – surrender to anarchy. Of course, what appears to be the official government policy of negotiating with bandits and criminals in one part of the country, while demonising and shelling them in other parts, has emboldened criminality. It must stop.

     

    Crime is crime. Criminals should be sussed out, whoever they are and in wherever they are found, and punished as a deterrent. What happened in Imo is inexcusable. The only way to prevent it happening again whether in Imo or elsewhere in the country, is to find the perpetrators and punish them before ethnic politics inflames the tragedy.

     

    Crime thrives on indulgence. That was what the south London policeman saw. Buhari must show, by his clear unambiguous choices, that his government is not feeding anarchy.

     

    Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief LEADERSHIP

     

  • USSD: What happens to anarchy deferred?, Okoh Aihe

    USSD: What happens to anarchy deferred?, Okoh Aihe

    Okoh Aihe

    On this bright Monday morning, as I put my materials together for this Wednesday column, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, is holding a crisis meeting with the various stakeholders of the telecommunications industry in trying to ward off a USSD misunderstanding that is threatening to obscure most of the good things happening in the industry.

    In an article last week, titled: USSD CODE, CBN, Banks, Telcos and the coming of anarchy, we drew attention to a troubling development in the telecommunications industry which was capable of incapacitating operations in some areas of financial transactions, and again put more pressure on the ordinary Nigerian for whom there is little prospect of redemption from a malfunctioning democratic system.

    Goaded by a Central Bank whose leadership is reeling in power drunkenness, the bankers, in spite of previous Determination by the Nigerian Communications Commission on the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), have refused to pay for the service, thus massing up over N42bn in debt to telecoms service providers. Add the debt to the contempt in which they were held, the operators had had enough by last week and arrived on the decision to unplug the banks from their networks by Monday.

    A statement signed by Engr Gbenga Adebayo and Gbolahan Awonuga for ALTON, the industry body, titled: Withdrawal of USSD Services to Financial Service Providers due to Huge Indebtedness to Telecom Network Operators, traced the genesis of the problems and concerted efforts that were scorned by operators. While the Determination forbids the operators from charging the end-users who are the subscribers, it however requested telcos and the banks to go into negotiations and resolve all lingering issues in order to protect and sustain the financial inclusion policy of the current administration. That has not happened, prompting the telcos to tell their story.

    “During this time, Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s) have continued to provide access to USSD infrastructure and our members have continued to pay all Bank charges and fees to access the Banking industries assets and customers, despite the fact that obligations due from banks to telecoms companies for USSD services has reached over Forty-Two Billion (N42B) Naira.

    “ALTON members have continued to provide these services because our primary concern is that the millions of Nigerian customers who access financial services through USSD infrastructure everyday should be able to continue conducting their transactions. This was given greater importance when customers’ became further reliant on these services due to COVID movement restrictions. Unfortunately, as it has been impossible to agree on a structure for these payments with the banks that do not involve the end-user being asked to pay, the government has been forced to intervene to ensure that a sustainable cost-sharing solution is agreed, that does not disadvantage the consumer in the long-term.

    “We deeply regret that we have reached a point where the withdrawal of these services has become unavoidable, however, we remain committed to working closely with the relevant Ministries and regulators to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. To minimise the disruption to customers, and with the concurrence of the Honourable Minster of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission, on the huge debt to the Network operators; Mobile Network Operators will disconnect debtorFinancial Service Providers (FSPs) from USSD services, until the huge debt is paid,” ALTON said last week.

    The ALTON statement was released on Friday morning. Within a few hours the Minister has reacted, putting the ALTON line of action on ice. “The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM has directed that the impending suspension of USSD services by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) be put on hold. The suspension which was to take effect on Monday, 15th of March, 2021, was due to the lingering debt owed MNOs by commercial banks for the provision of USSD banking services …..,” the Minister said in statement signed by Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology).

    Dr Pantami also called for an urgent meeting of the various stakeholders, including the Central Bank, Telco CEOs and regulator of the telecommunications sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). When there is trouble in the house, there has to be somebody to take the lead otherwise, there will be a descent into extreme hugger-mugger. Pantami has taken the lead and deserves our encouragement. Much like what happens in the farm. You know this story if you grew up in the village, like I did. When a snake appears from the shadows, it doesn’t matter who kills it, the man or woman. The ultimate is for the snake to be neutralised and prevent it from doing harm.

    The USSD does not present a good story. Most of the people who responded to my article last week were desirous for the controversy to be resolved urgently. But since we are not in a village setting I am of the opinion that we shouldn’t let some important particles drop unnoticed.

    Plus the carryover from my observations last week where the CBN was holding meetings with telcos without the NCC, is the language of communications in recent statements. ALTON says, “….and with the concurrence of the Honourable Minster of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission…”. While the statement from the Minister’s office says: “The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM has directed that the impending suspension of USSD services by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) be put on hold”.

    Much as I appreciate the enthusiasm of the Minister and also with respect to his foresightedness, the point at issue here is that there is only one regulator for the telecommunications industry as per the contents of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, which is the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The NCC should be allowed to play lead role in regulating the industry and resolve any issues arising therefrom. While working for the health of the sector, the Minister, with his enthusiasm, should not be seen to be sowing chaos or engage in actions that can inadvertently invalidate the potency of the regulator and diminish investors’ confidence on the industry.

    Okoh Aihe writes from Abuja