TheNewsGuru

Tag: Leadership

  • Poor choice of leadership, Nigeria’s challenge, says Obi

    Poor choice of leadership, Nigeria’s challenge, says Obi

    The LP Presidential Candidate, Mr Peter Obi, has said that the country’s biggest challenge is basically that of poor choice of leadership.

    He said this during the party’s rally in Calabar on Wednesday.

    Obi, who was received by a large crowd of his supporters at the UJ Esuene Stadium, the venue of the rally, earlier had a town hall meeting with the youths.

    He thereafter paid a courtesy call on the Obong of Calabar, His Eminence, Ekpo Abasi-Otu V.

    He said that he would not only secure and unite the country, but ensure that there would be law and order if elected.

    He said his government would ensure that universities in the country functioned effectively, devoid of incessant strikes.

    Obi further spoke on his plan for the development of Cross River.

    According to him, the state has cocoa, we will develop it and ensure we export it.

    “We will also boost the tourism potential of the state because it is the tourism capital of Nigeria.

    “We want to make Nigeria work. You can trust us.

    “Don’t vote for people you cannot trust to turn around the nation,” the presidential hopeful said.

    Also, a chieftain of the party, Prof. Pat Utomi, said a new Nigeria is possible but would start with Nigerians voting the right person in 2023.

    Utomi said the country’s challenges had persisted because the people kept electing leaders that did not care for the citizens.

    He also said that the story could be changed with the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and voting right.

    The National President of the party, Mr Julius Abure, also spoke in a similar vein.

    Abure said that poor choices of leadership contributed largely to Nigeria’s development problem.

    He therefore appealed to Nigerians to make the right choice in 2023 by voting for the party’s candidates at all levels.

    Human Right Activist, Aisha Yusuf, said it was time for the electorate to vote the right persons into power.

    Yusuf said that 2023 election would determine the survival of the country and urged all Nigerians to be part of it.

    “The polling unit is our new protest ground.

    “We will vote, wait to defend our votes and ensure that Obi and his running mate, Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed, are our leaders in 2023,” she said.

  • Leadership is key to unlocking Nigeria’s growth potential – By Dakuku Peterside

    Leadership is key to unlocking Nigeria’s growth potential – By Dakuku Peterside

    Last week, this column discussed the need to rethink productivity and economic growth in Nigeria based on the presentation by foremost Economist Dr Ayo Teriba. This week, we shall look at leadership’s role in engendering a new economic growth model to give our country a leap forward.

    Nigeria’s adverse economic situation is stale news; many have accepted it as a norm that the country will continuously operate below its economic potential. This dire economic reality results from decades of bad economic policies and poor implementations, a chequered political history marred by a military incursion into politics, corruption, and the nascent difficulties occasioned by insecurity, economic sabotage, climate change, global pandemic crises and the Russian/Ukraine crisis. Nigeria is on her knees economically – with a high debt profile, poor revenue from the mono-product (crude oil) that is not even enough to service debts, inadequate foreign reserves, exchange rate crisis that has seen the value of the Naira hammered against other world currencies, high inflation, and high-interest rate.

    The Nigerian economic statistics are gloomy and are causing undue concerns for many stakeholders in the Nigeria project. Nigeria has navigated the murky waters of a financial quagmire for a few decades and has survived it, albeit with substantial economic bruises. The pervading sentiment is that no matter what happens, Nigeria will survive, things will continue as usual, and nothing will change for the better. William Pollard, a leading light in leadership, warned against this state of path dependency when he opined that “the arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” The economic policies and actions that kept us in our current financial quagmire must change for meaningful progress. Nigeria does not need the economics of survival anymore; we need the economics of growth, prosperity, and decent quality of life for Nigerians.

    One fundamental problem that is destabilising our economy is the lack of liquidity. Our negative balance of payment causes this illiquidity because our receipts from exports are far less than the expenditure on goods imported from abroad. This leads to a dwindling of our foreign reserves and a concomitant scarcity of foreign currency to fulfil the needs for the importation of foreign goods and services. This scarcity creates a parallel market that often aids the destruction of the Naira value. The unofficial devaluation of the Naira makes the cost of foreign goods expensive, even more so given the inflation ravaging some of these countries’ posts Covid-19. Local and Imported inflation is the bane of our economy.

    The Nigerian government needs to make more money from oil revenue and taxes and rely less on borrowed funds to cover recurrent and capital expenditures. They need to cover the budget deficits with massive loans from local and international institutions with high-interest rates, and we are still determining how our children will pay for these in the future. Even in an era of increase in the price of oil globally, Nigeria did not benefit maximally from this because of the low volume of oil production and oil theft that stopped Nigeria from meeting its OPEC quota monthly. The non-oil sector contributes little to Nigeria’s income statement because the bulk of these trades is for primary products with little or no extra value added to them in the value chain, and such goods command less revenue in the international market, adversely affecting our income statement.

    Unlocking Nigeria’s growth potential underscores, the need to, among other things, improve its liquidity to stabilise the system and grow the economy. The government must stabilise the exchange, interest, and inflation rates to make meaningful improvements in our economy. The exchange rate regime is a function of our foreign reserve adequacy. The global economy offers two pathways to increase our foreign reserves. It is either you earn more from exports, or you attract more foreign direct investment (FDI). Nigeria has historically preferred the path of exporting more. However, from 2010 to date, global exports have stagnated and even declined because of weak commodity prices. This has affected Nigeria drastically.

    Most countries are relying on a heavy inflow of FDI, which is the economic model chosen by Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India,and others. These countries get more FDI to compensate for shortfalls in exports. Foreign Direct investors will only come to Nigeria with offers to invest equity in public assets and a suitable investment climate. We offered foreign investors an opportunity in the Nigeria LNG project, which yielded substantial investment outcomes. We also did that with the liberalisation of the GSM sector, and we could see the investment inflow.

    The interest rate is another crucial factor in productivity and driving growth. Financial institutions provide interest rates on loans to businesses they need to run or expand their businesses. The higher the interest rates, the less likely companies will borrow for expansion, and the lower the interest rates, the more likely the companies will borrow for operational and growth reasons. Individuals also borrow from financial institutions for personal loans, credit cards, or product loans. The lower the interest rate, the more likely individuals will borrow to purchase goods and services that help businesses expand, mainly if local companies produce the goods and services. Another impact of interest rates is that they often are benchmarked with savings rates. The higher the interest rate on loans, the higher the interest rates on savings. When interest rates on savings are high, people tend to save, but when it is low, people tend to invest, especially in the equity market.

    The exchange and interest rates are monetary instruments influencing the inflation rate. Nigeria needs to stabilise its revenue by expanding its revenue sources, financialising its assets – especially its real estate, infrastructural, and portfolio assets – and maximising value chains across the various productive sectors. It needs to upskill its workforce to have the required skills in the knowledge economy, where knowledge and innovation are the keys to greater productivity. Therefore, human capital development is crucial in unleashing Nigeria’s growth potential.

    Unlocking Nigeria’s growth potential requires new economic thinking by leadership in the public and private sectors. Only good leadership that understands how to open the great possibilities of Nigeria in line with global realities and using tools and resources that work will lift Nigeria from its economic quagmire. Therefore, the 2023 Elections are providing an opportunity for a change in leadership, and Nigerians must look for leaders who understand the destination Nigeria must go to for growth and prosperity and who have what it takes to take Nigerians there. The intention of making Nigeria great is not enough, capacity, and intellectual ability to deliver are critical. The time for transformational leaders in Nigeria is now. Nigeria needs leaders that create a vision and use highly skilled individuals rather than politicians to run the economy of Nigeria. Gather intelligent people and develop and implement ways to improve revenue, optimise assets, and efficiently manage our liabilities.

    It is the responsibility of leadership to provide opportunities and the responsibility of individuals to contribute towards maximising opportunities. The government, on its part, must completely overhaul the economic system and structures to favour liquidity. Just like cash flow is the blood of a business, the government’s fiscal and external liquidity is vital in stabilising the economy. All avenues to improve the government’s income must be explored and used to make the government constantly liquid and viable.

    On top of managing its monetary policies, the government must tighten its fiscal policies to grow the per capita income and increase employment while reducing unemployment . They must create a business-friendly environment where innovation and creativity thrive, and productivity is encouraged. Productivity happens within businesses, and any harsh, volatile, or challenging business environment is tough on companies and hampers their growth. The better the business climate , the more profitable the business is, and the more profitable a business is, the more it attracts FDIs with concomitant expansions and increases both in the balance sheet of companies and their income statements.

    The government should understand the direct correlation between economic disempowerment and socio-political problems in the country. This is especially the case with youths, who, when unproductive for a while, tend to engage in anti-social behaviours, low- and high-level criminality, terrorism, banditry, and secessionism. The government must develop a plan to absorb most of our young people through training in new skills and upskilling them to fit into the new economic reality that rewards innovation and creativity higher than mundane production. They must use fiscal and monetary policies to stabilise consumer and equity prices, enhancing national resilience.

    There is no gainsaying the enormous potential to unleash its growth potentials Nigeria has. For a long time, Nigeria has been a country of potential – potentials that are never actualised. It is only transformational leadership that will transform and overhaul the system. We need this leadership in 2023 more than at any other time. It is foolhardy to do the same thing hoping for a different result repeatedly. We need leadership with the knowledge, capacity, intelligence, and experience to midwife the greatest economic re-engineering the country has ever gone through. All other stakeholders must contribute immensely by improving the value chains within the production sectors, consuming responsibly, and creating superior value that will attract material, financial and human resources from all over the world to Nigeria.

    We look forward to a new Nigeria!

  • Nigerian women are capable – Ooni of Ife

    Nigerian women are capable – Ooni of Ife

    The Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II has sought the increased inclusion of more Nigerian women in leadership positions across the country, stressing they are capable for leadership.

    Ooni Ogunwusi who doubles as Co-chairman, National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), made the call at his ancient Ile-Oodua Palace in Ile-Ife on Monday while celebrating the annual Edi Festival.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the Edi Festival is an annual ritual in Ile-ife celebrated in acknowledgment of the heroic life and sacrifice of Moremi Ajasoro, an Ife woman who helped to secure the land from foreign invaders in the early days.

    Speaking at the event, Ooni Ogunwusi, the Arole Oduduwa, explained that the prestigious culture of the Oduduwa race dignifies the female gender like their male counterparts, adding that these virtues must be upheld and practised daily in the society.

    “We all are witnesses to the outstanding performance of some Ministers, Commissioners, heads of companies and even countries across the globe.

    “Our women here in this part of the world are as capable as their counterparts anywhere globally. The difference is the opportunities that we create for them to perform optimally,” the Ooni said.

    Speaking in her capacity as the Global Ambassador of ‘Queen Moremi Ajasoro Initiative’, an Ooni’s queen, Olori Aderonke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, who flanked her husband during the event, added that the festival equally signals the start of activities for the annual Queen Moremi Ajansoro contest by young talented ladies.

    She used the occasion to announce the official opening of the portal for application for application for the 2022 edition of Moremi Ajasoro Cultural and Leadership Pageant, the winner of which will be crowned as the Queen Moremi Ajasoro (QMA) 2022, who goes home with a grant of 1m Naira, a branded car and other prizes.

    “Like the whole world is aware of, we are not just doing a beauty contest. We are doing a contest of creative ideas, leadership abilities and productivity. We call on interested young ladies to apply via designated online platforms,” Olori Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi noted.

    The outgoing QMA, Oluwabukunmi Grace Akinwale told pressmen who had sought her views on the annual cultural festival that carrying the Moremi torch of liberty is very symbolic as the torch was said to be the weapon that Moremi Ajasoro used to conquer the Ugbo people that threatened the peace of the ancient people in Ife several centuries ago.

    This year’s Edi Festival rites climaxed at night yesterday when the Ooni led members of Ife Traditional Council and the entire gathering in a 500 meter procession to the Moremi Statue of Liberty with the torch of liberty, known as INA’SAN.

  • Current leadership lacks capacity to address Nigeria’s challenges – Prof. Anya

    Current leadership lacks capacity to address Nigeria’s challenges – Prof. Anya

    Professor Anya O. Anya has said the problems facing Nigeria are multi-dimensional and require decisive leaders, who must share a common code of values to salvage the situation.

    Prof Anya, who was the speaker at the 21st Mike Okonkwo annual lecture, which was held on Thursday in Lagos State, said that the system through which leaders emerge must apply a strict set of criteria based on merit and excellence.

    “It can be said that the crying need of Nigeria is clearly to find those who can build a new Nigeria on a new foundation. Needless to emphasize such a leader commands the trust and loyalty of the followers,” said Anya.

    Quoting the late Albert Einstein, he said” “you cannot expect those who created a problem to have the capacity to solve the problem. That is the central dilemma that faces us as a people presently”.

    He said further, “the system is corrupted from the grassroots to the apex of the Leadership as demonstrated by events and the outcome of the party congress of both parties (the ruling All Progressive Congress and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party)”.

    The speaker suggested the establishment of normative values that drive social change in each major component of the geopolitical zones in the country.

    Speaking on the deteriorating state of security in the country, Anya said the first step towards a solution is to recall and mobile all retired military and paramilitary personnel, who have a reservoir of experience, expertise and patriotism that cannot be ignored.

    Bishop Mike Okonkwo, his wife peace, Commodore Ebitu Ukiye and the Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Religion and Chieftancy and Local Government, Prince Bayo Osiyemi, as they cut the cake during the 21st Annual Lecture held on Thursday in Lagos State.

    The second step he said, is to create an environment for enduring social and politic harmony and the easiest path to this according to the Professor, is to implement aspects of the 2014 National Conference that have constitutional and long term policy impact.

    He added that there was also a need to develop a strategic plan that aims to create a new environment for the selection, training and development of a leadership elite, with emphasis on teaching the youths who have the greatest potential for adaptation.

    Anya also stressed that a system of incentives, rewards and punishment conducive to the promotion of good behaviour in the economy must be in place.

    “Despite the cloud of despondency, evil and hopelessness, a new Nigeria is rising in the horizon. It will be driven by a new crop of exceptional youths, gifted in their creative talents and committed to the pursuit of merit and excellence within the framework of a new national code of values of truth, justice, equity and righteousness, ” he concluded.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the event Commodore Ebitu Ukiye, noted that never in the history of the country did things get so bad.

    “I cannot think of anytime or period this country Nigeria has ever faced the level of challenges, such as intolerance, hate and division among ethnic groups, compounded by various level of insecurity and extreme poverty,” Ukiye, a former Chief of General Staff said.

    On his part, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Religion, Chieftaincy and Local Government Prince Bayo Osiyemi, commended religious institutions for constantly preaching the need for peaceful and harmonious coexistence.

    Osiyemi who represented Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the occasion, said the state government is irrevocably committed to offering responsible and responsive leadership as evident in the massive road infrastructural and other developmental projects.

    “As stakeholders, we as government and you the governed must continue to show patriotism in playing our roles to build a nation of which we will all be proud,” the Governor said.

    He added that Lagos State remained the safest and most secure in this country at the moment, as a result of the huge investment in security architecture.

    Giving the vote of thanks, The Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) Bishop Mike Okonkwo, who used the event to mark his 77th birthday, expressed hope that things would get better.

    “God has blessed this country with so much. I don’t think there’s any country any country in the world that is endowed as this nation. There is none. The only thing is that they were able to manage what they have,” Okonkwo said.

    The highpoint of the event was the presentation of awards and gifts to winners of the 17th Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition and the cutting of cake.

    Presentation of a trophy to the winner of the 17th Bishop Mike Okonkwo Essay Competition, Miss Ayeni Oluwanifemi Bright from the State Senior High School Ikeja, Lagos State.

    Cash prizes of N100, 000, N75, 000, and N50, 000, as well as plaques, were presented to the first, second, and third winners respectively.

    The top three winning schools were presented with computers, while consolation prizes were awarded to seven other contestants who emerged fourth to 10th position.

    A final year Senior Secondary School student from the State Senior High School in Ikeja Ayeni Oluwanifemi Bright, was announced as the overall best in the completion that received over 1000 entries and she received a laptop in addition to the other gifts for the first position.

  • Christian Eriksen brings leadership to our squad – Man Utd chief

    Christian Eriksen brings leadership to our squad – Man Utd chief

    Manchester United are counting on the leadership skills of new signing Christian Eriksen.

    That’s the view of Red Devils’ Football Director, John Murtough, who made the claim after Eriksen finalised completed his move to Old Trafford.

    Murtough said: “Christian has been one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe throughout his career. It is no surprise that he had so many options this summer, so we are really happy that he was convinced that this is the right club for him.

    “In addition to his outstanding technique, Christian will add valuable experience and leadership skills to the squad, and we are looking forward to seeing the benefits of these qualities on the pitch this coming season and beyond.”

  • Virtue in Leadership: Talking About A Missing Link – By Fr. Valentine Anaweokhai

    Virtue in Leadership: Talking About A Missing Link – By Fr. Valentine Anaweokhai

    By Fr. Valentine Anaweokhai

    anavalobee@gmail.com

    Most discourses and discussions about the dominant problems affecting Nigeria as a country today point at bad leadership. The assumption is that if Nigeria addresses her leadership issue, many other problems will be solved. How true this claim is, only time will tell. But to a great extent, I agree with that same position. Unfortunately, it is obvious that the system that breeds and produces these leaders at various levels and degrees is fundamentally faulty and designed for such ends. For example, some people have frowned against the method that recently produced the presidential candidates of some major political parties, who emerged because they were the highest bidders and spenders. A situation where ‘delegates’ were carefully selected, and they voted not according to their willful consciences but according to their ‘monetized consciences.’ Where they voted, not according to who had the best of ideas and solutions to the myriads of issues bedeviling the country, but according to who paid the highest dollars. Indeed, we have begun an era of the dollarization of party primaries.

    However, one good thing is that now that the various political parties have their respective flag bearers, and vying for various elective positions across board, Nigerians should care to know the antecedents of these personalities approaching them for their votes. Over the years, the dominant yardstick for voting people into public offices and positions has been blatantly smeared with religious, political, and ethnic prejudices. This is surreptitiously playing out again, ahead of the 2023 general elections. The question is, when shall we rise above these divisive and retrogressive sentiments and biases, in choosing our leaders? At what stage in our national growth and development, shall we begin to use more objective and universal standards and criteria in choosing those who lead us and manage our scarce resources for the common good? This is very crucial for the next general elections.

    It is both a moral and civic duty and obligation to educate and conscientize people on the need to identify and watch out for candidates who possess basic virtues required in leadership. People who live by acceptable prosocial values and have outstanding qualities in leadership. People may have been inadvertently fortunate to occupy public offices in the past, but that does not qualify them for higher leadership offices and positions. Public offices should not be used for compensation. They may just have been privileged to have godfathers (mothers) who backed them up or powerful sponsors who financed their ambitions in the past. But that does not mean they deserve any of our votes this time around. Ethnic, religious, and political considerations and biases have led us to where we are today, and it is obvious that is where the political permutations are heading again this time around.

    At a time like this, Nigeria needs empathic leaders. Leaders who know the real cause of the problems of Nigeria and are willing to deal with them headlong. We need leaders who truly mean well for the people and are ready to go out there and solve the problems of insecurity, unemployment, low quality education, poor infrastructure, hunger, poor health care, minimum wage, and religious bigotry. Leaders who can feel the real sufferings and pains of the people and be ready to address them. Leaders who are ready to wear the shoes of anguish and woe of the people and take drastic steps to ameliorate them. We have had one too many cases of people who make empty campaign promises, but upon assumption of office, they turn their backs against the same people who voted for them.

    Moreso, we should be looking out for leaders who are selfless and service oriented. Leaders who understand that public office is purely about public service. Anything short of this is a contradiction. It is a glaring fact that some public servants have turned their offices to self-serving instruments. Such offices are now for self-aggrandizement, self-adulation, personal and selfish wealth acquisition, and for vain glory. We must look out for virtuous people who understand that ‘leadership is for the people, about the people, and by the people.’ If care is taken, it won’t be difficult to identify those who have such antecedents of selflessness and have dedicated their lives to the service of humanity and have not usurped their offices for purposes of victimization and vindictiveness. These are the kind of people we need now, but unfortunately, where are they?

    One of the consequences of choosing leaders based on sectional considerations, (religion, ethnicity, and politics), is that they end up working for the same sectional, regional, and hegemonic interests. Leaders must always work for the common good. We have instances where an elected public office holder would deliberately malign some citizens under his care, simply because they didn’t vote for him, or because they constitute a smaller percentage of those who voted him. We need leaders who after election, can put behind all pre-election matters and squabbles, and face the real business of governance, administration, and development, for the good of everyone. The common good here would include services, amenities, infrastructures, and resources that would improve the living condition of everyone, irrespective of class, status, condition, culture, background, and gender, as long as they guarantee human rights, dignity, and freedom.

    Having said that, we need leaders who have the poor at heart, leaders whose aspirations would include principally, a ‘preferential option for the poor’. As Antonio Gutierrez puts it, leaders who can stand by ‘dominated peoples, exploited social classes, despised races, and marginalized cultures.’ The regional, structural, and cultural lines that divide us in Nigeria, in the recent years have become so obvious and visible. More so, the divide between the extremely rich and the marginally poor is widening more than ever before on a geometric scale. The powerful rich, who double as the privileged ruling class, continue to leave no stones unturned in exploiting the poor to maintain the margins. This is the reason why till date, no refinery is working at its optimum, electricity is still epileptic to the extent that the National grid is gasping for energy to stay alive, public tertiary institutions are closed, armed conflict and terrorism is on the rise, and inflation is a sore reality. We certainly need leaders who not only care about the votes of the poor, but who care about the poor voters. We need leaders who are concerned about the dignity, freedom, rights, and welfare of the poor. Leaders who understand, according to an ancient maxim, that ‘in situation of misery, God is not neutral’. We need leaders who are ready, in the words of Elizabeth Johnson, ‘to side with the poor, not because they are more saintly or less sinful than others, but because of their situation’. A situation that is caused by the greed of a callous, avaricious, and gluttonous few.

    To say the least, we need leaders who have the fear of God more than the fear of godfathers and mothers. As the scripture says, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ Enough of leaders who bow and cow to the biddings of their sponsors and paymasters, than the will of God. We need leaders who shiver before the aura of divinity than the temple of the profane and the mundane. Leaders who fear God and love his poor and miserable children. Such are the men and women we should look out for. Such are some of the criteria we should put forward in assessing who our next president, governors, and legislators should be. We should be asking ourselves, how competent are those presenting themselves now for elective positions? Do they possess characters that align with the leadership positions they aspire for? Do they have the calling from God? This last question is grossly taken for granted and has been subtle replaced with the consensus mandate of a privileged few.

    As we look up to God for help in getting our leadership debacle right, let us remember that we all have a role to play in choosing right, who our leaders should be. When we pay less attention to the importance of virtue in leadership, and care less about appointing or electing virtuous people into public offices, but rather use very divisive and retrogressive measures to determine who govern us, then, let it be on record that we end up paying the caliber of pipers who play for us, songs of oppression, slavery, and bondage. To change this agelong dynamics, it therefore, lies in our collective will and power, to pay pipers who have character, competence, and divine calling. Pipers who are virtuous and live by standard values that are productive for human and societal growth, progress, and development. We must not let this golden opportunity slip us by.

  • NO CONFIDENCE: Conservative lawmakers vote in favour of Boris Johnson

    U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a “no-confidence” vote on Monday evening, with Conservative lawmakers voting in favor of his leadership by a margin of 211-148.

     

    The vote could have forced his resignation after the prime minister became embroiled in a series of scandals.

     

    Johnson called the vote “an extremely good result” and “conclusive” and “decisive” and said he can now focus on delivering what people care about, including rising costs and crime.

     

    “We have now the opportunity to put down all this stuff people in the media like going on about,” Johnson added.

     

    Held by Johnson’s Conservative Party, the vote was the latest challenge aimed at ending the political career of the United Kingdom’s controversial leader.

     

    “Conservative MPs made their choice tonight,” Keir Starmer, leader of the opposing Labour Party, said in a speech following the results.

    No confidence
    Boris Johnson

     

    “They have ignored the British public and hitched themselves and their party firmly to Boris Johnson, and everything that he represents.”

     

    Graham Brady, a Conservative MP, announced the vote on Monday morning, saying it had been triggered on Sunday when a 15% threshold of Conservative lawmakers in the House of Commons had decided they no longer trusted Johnson to lead.

     

    “The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force.”

     

    Members who filed no-confidence letters with Brady had dated them to coincide with the end of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Sunday, so as not to interrupt the celebration, he said.

     

    The prime minister required a simple majority to survive. The Conservative Party holds 359 seats in the U.K. Parliament, meaning he required 180 MPs to back him in order to stay in office.

     

    Despite living to fight another day, the scale of victory could still prove to be a problem. With a close vote, observers say, he could still be pressured to resign at a later date. Under the current rules, however, he will be immune from a similar challenge to his leadership for a year.

     

    Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor, won a confidence vote 200-117 in December 2018, but would still resign five months later. Johnson received an even lower percentage of support.

     

    The no-confidence vote comes after months of pressure building on Johnson’s leadership, and this is the first vote of its kind since Johnson became prime minister in July 2019.

     

    A much-publicized investigation by a top civil servant, Sue Gray, into over a dozen gatherings held at key government residences attending by Downing Street staff concluded in May.

     

    The prime minister himself was personally issued a fine by the Metropolitan Police in April for attending an illegal gathering during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, becoming the first sitting prime minister in British history to receive a sanction for breaking the law.

     

    Johnson apologized, but has since faced a chorus of calls to resign from opposition lawmakers and, now, members of his own party.

     

    The report included a photo of the prime minister making a toast at a gathering held in No. 10 to mark the departure of one of his special advisers, at a time when the nation was under a strict lockdown. There were also a number of damning details in the report, including “multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff” and instances of “excessive alcohol consumption.”

     

    “Many will be dismayed that behaviour of this kind took place on this scale at the heart of Government,” Gray wrote in the conclusion of the report. “The public have a right to expect the very highest standards of behaviour in such places and clearly what happened fell well short of this.”

     

    While the government has received praise at home and abroad for their support for Ukraine, the scandal over “Partygate” and growing concern about the cost of living has overshadowed Johnson’s recent premiership.

     

    On Friday, Johnson was booed by spectators at St. Paul’s Cathedral as he arrived for the National Service of Thanksgiving.

     

    He has received public backing from several key lawmakers ahead of the no-confidence vote, which is a secret ballot, and Johnson will reportedly address his own MPs in order to make the case for his leadership ahead of the final vote on Monday evening.

  • Nigeria in total mess as sanity and quality leadership go missing – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Nigeria in total mess as sanity and quality leadership go missing – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Nigeria is lost in sea of confusion. And there seems to be no hope, either for now or within the expected future. The Nigeria that gladiate within the comity of Nations around the world today is actually a rudderless ship. It is a country separates far away from the control base, or tower. It is hopelessly navigating its sea voyage along darkness – in a circumstance that comes with evidence of a sailing vessel without navigational equipment.

    Unfortunately, the Nigerians of this generation have already boarded this rudderless vessel. And we are already at the sea of international waters. There are more predicaments, than we anticipated at the time the voyage commenced from Port of Origin, afflicting this vessel.

    For example, Nigerians just discovered that the Sea Captain in charge and command of the ship and the voyage is not a certified Master Mariner. The Captain lacked total knowledge of what a Ship is, lacking in knowledge of commanding a ship, nor does he know anything about sea routes and voyages. Worse still is the fact that this Captain does not know anything about any of the equipment that made up the totality of the Ship.

    This is the Captain in charge of command-control of the Nigerian Ship, and Nigerians; on board the Vessel, are just discovering the Captain’s deficiencies only at the High Sea – at International Waters, at a time the Vessel is on high cruise – of sailing Eleven Nautical Miles per hour.

    There is more to increase the fear of all those on board the Vessel beyond the speed of the ship. One of the voyagers has just whispered to the hearing of many co-travelers that the Ship was heading towards the Bay of Biscay – Bay of Biscay is the most turbulent waters within the international waters of the Maritime World.

    Bay of Biscay is off Portugal waters, lying along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc’h to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal. The south area of the Bay of Biscay washes over the northern coast of Spain and is known as the Cantabrian Sea.

    That was the point where the voyagers became seriously concerned. Yet, they still hold a little of calm composure until the Whistle Blower came to whisper another bad news. And what did he say this time around that really threw all the voyagers into uncontrollable panic?

    He told them that if the Vessel was able to make it past the Bay of Biscay; which he said that he doubted, the Ship would be entering directly into the dreaded Bermuda Triangle. He [the whistle blower] assured the voyagers that he wasn’t sure if God would be able to deliver the Ship not encountering an UFO – Unidentified Flying Object, within the sea region of the Bermuda Triangle.

    The Bermuda Triangle is a mythical section of the Atlantic Ocean roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico where dozens of ships and airplanes have disappeared. The area referred to as the Bermuda Triangle, or Devil’s Triangle, covers about 500,000 square miles of ocean off the southeastern tip of Florida. Unexplained circumstances surround some of these accidents, including one in which the pilots of a squadron of U.S. Navy bombers became disoriented while flying over the area; the planes were never found. Other boats and planes have seemingly vanished from the area in good weather without even radioing distress messages.

    Above narration describes Nigeria’s situation at the moment. Let us peruse some of recent events in our beloved country that would identify our predicaments appropriately with the scenario painted above.

    First, the Punch Newspaper of Tuesday, March 1, 2022, reported a story emanating from the Federal Government, saying “Medical tourism will soon be a thing of the past”. According to the report; credited to the Minister of State for the Health Ministry – Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, ”the Federal Government advised Nigerians to seek information on the treatment of some diseases locally before thinking of going abroad”, adding, “the advice became necessary because many of its hospitals across the country were now treating some of the medical issues pushing some citizens outside the shores of the country”.

    Just 24 hours after the federal government issued this statement, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces left the soil of the country, in continuation of his medical tourism to the United Kingdom.

    We should not forget that since Muhammadu Buhari won his first election and sworn in as the country democratically elected president in 2015, he has spent 200 days in London hospital. And by the time these 14 days he staying on this medical trip is added, the Nigerian President would have spent 214 days on medical tourism.

    This time around, Buhari is leaving Nigeria and Nigerians at a time the Nigerian People are suffering and being tormented as a result of adulterated and contaminated fuel Muhammadu Buhari; in his capacity as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, imported into the country. Nigerians are spending nights – sometimes two nights, on the queue, at petrol stations across the country.

    In the first place, the Minister of Petroleum Resources – Muhammadu Buhari, refused to take responsibility for the toxic fuel he brought for Nigerians, neither would he apologise to Nigerians. And in midst of these confusions, the man left Nigerians to their fate for his medical tourism, which he told Nigerians, was coming to be a thing of the past. What a quality of leadership?

    What about the show of absurdity displayed a few days ago, when wives of the Nigerian Governors, led by Bisi Fayemi; wife of the Ekiti State Governor, who is the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, travelled all the way to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirate, to present the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari – Aisha Buhari, a birthday cake and card on the latter’s birthday.

    Huh! Can you believe this melodrama show of shame in a country where the citizens are waiting to die because of harsh economic conditions, occasioned by misrule by a government being led by Madam Aisha’s husband?

    Is someone counting the cost of that journey – in terms of flight cost, accommodation and other sundry expenses, associated from the journey of show of solidarity from the wives of the governors, to the wife of the President? Has it occurred to all Nigerians that this humongous colossal waste associated with the solidarity journey is taken from the Nigerian Till?

    Or do we need to visit any oracle to understand the predicament and mess Nigerians found themselves to know that we are in total mess and that this gigantic mess is as a result of a bolt and nut that have vanished from leadership head? Who shall restore these missing essentials back to the head of Nigeria’s leadership?

    Above remains, and shall mostly remain: for a long time to come, our predicament. Isn’t this a tragedy of leadership in our country?

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

    Contact:

    Website: www.godwintheguru.com

    You Tube Channel: Godwin The Guru

    Twitter: @godwin_buebu

    Facebook: Godwin Etakibuebu

    Facebook Page: Veteran Column

    Telegram: @friendsoftheguru

    WhatsApp: @friendsoftheguru

    Phone: +234-906-887-0014 – short messages only.

    You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; 9:30 – 11am on Lagos Talk 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].

  • Analysis: Putin’s Ukraine assault confounds Biden strategy, puts leadership to test

    Analysis: Putin’s Ukraine assault confounds Biden strategy, puts leadership to test

    He threatened to impose the harshest sanctions ever on Russia.

    He worked to galvanize U.S. allies into a united front. He supplied Ukraine with more weapons than any American president before him. And he beefed up U.S. forces on NATO’s eastern flank as reassurance of his commitment.

    Notwithstanding U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to head off a Russian attack against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin was undeterred.

    On Thursday, he authorised what he called a “special military operation” into Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, marking a new high in post-Cold War tensions.

    The scope of the offensive was not immediately clear. Explosions could be heard near Kyiv and in other parts of the country and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia carried out missile strikes on infrastructure.

    How Biden handles the crisis, which Western officials fear could spiral into the bloodiest European conflict since World War II, is expected to have profound implications for his political fortunes and U.S. relations with the world.

    Biden vowed the United States and its allies would respond decisively to Russia’s “unprovoked and unjustified attack”.

    But his handling of the biggest international crisis of his presidency has been deemed something of a mixed bag so far.

    Biden was always going to be limited because his administration made clear it would do whatever it could to help Ukraine defend itself but was not going to put troops on the ground.

    His preference for diplomacy and sanctions reflects the scant appetite Americans have for intervention after the Afghanistan and Iraq quagmires.

    Putin had the advantage of knowing Biden was not going to war against another nuclear power to protect a country that shared a long border with Russia – and with which Washington had no defense agreement.

    Biden focused instead on coordinating with NATO allies, especially those in the east, worried about the spillover from Russia’s buildup of 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders.

    Washington spearheaded an initial round of sanctions after Putin ordered troops into two separatist-controlled breakaway regions after recognising them as independent on Feb. 21.

    It was a warning shot that failed to ward off Thursday’s action.

    In the prelude, Biden’s messaging strategy was to issue dire predictions of an imminent invasion to show he knew what Putin was up to – even if he couldn’t stop him.

    A key result has been to re-energise a Western military alliance that had fallen into disrepair under Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, who had questioned the value of NATO.

    A senior European diplomat described Biden’s consultations with allies as “exemplary,” a contrast to how many partners viewed last year’s chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    Some analysts questioned, however, whether deploying a few thousand additional U.S. troops to Germany, Poland, and Romania was sufficient and suggested Biden could have done more to maintain a credible military option.

    “One of the shortcomings is the deterrence package that we’ve developed is kind of asymmetrical in that it is mostly economic and we are facing a military threat,” said Ian Kelly, a former U.S. ambassador to the OSCE and Georgia.

    Kelly said Biden could have sought activation of the NATO Response Force and sent it into Poland and the Baltic states, with the message: “You have massed troops on your border. We’re massing troops on our border; we’ll withdraw when you withdraw.”

    Analysts credit Biden with working with allies to prepare sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy and hitting Putin’s inner circle.

    He convinced Germany, long considered the weak link, to freeze approvals for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

    Next steps could include an attempt to sever Russia’s links to the global financial system.

    Some U.S. lawmakers contended it would have been more effective to slap sanctions on Russia earlier, but Biden officials insisted that would have diminished their impact now.

    U.S. officials have acknowledged that sanctions could spur higher oil prices, adding to Biden’s challenge of fighting inflation.

    It remains to be seen whether sanctions will get Putin to back down.

    Biden’s decision to declassify intelligence about what it alleged were Russian plots to fabricate pretexts for a Ukraine invasion was also praised for countering Putin’s misinformation.

    Andrew Weiss, a Russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in Washington, said this “kept Putin in the hotseat.”

    But the administration drew criticism for refusing to offer concrete evidence. Some commentators recalled intelligence claims used to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion of a renewed nuclear program that proved not to exist.

    Biden was also hailed by Western governments for sticking to NATO’s “open door” for aspiring members.

    But some critics said Biden should have been more explicit about how far away Ukraine was from entry, given that one of Putin’s chief demands was to eschew further expansion eastward of the security pact.

    Biden’s response could also have repercussions for U.S.-China relations. There is a concern if Biden appears too soft on Moscow, China could take it as acquiescence to act against self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

    As the crisis unfolded, Biden spoke regularly to world leaders, including Putin himself, taking a forceful stand with the former KGB officer to whom Trump had shown deference.

    Behind closed doors, a cross-government “Tiger Team” conducted tabletop exercises gaming out every possible scenario.

    Putin’s defiance could give Republicans a cudgel to use against Biden and his fellow Democrats in the November mid-term congressional elections, which will decide the balance of power in Washington.

    And Biden’s strategy leading up to the Russian attack will come under closer scrutiny as he charts the path forward.

    NAN

  • OPINION: Reflections on disruptive leadership thinking, citizens’ consensus and the 2023 general elections

    OPINION: Reflections on disruptive leadership thinking, citizens’ consensus and the 2023 general elections

    By Samuel Akpobome Orovwuje

    “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope … which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” – Robert F. Kennedy

    As the build-up to the 2023 general elections heightens, we must interrogate the ethno-centric and parochial leadership selection patterns of the treacherous political class and the usual game of empty promises.

    This article aims at provoking an understanding of the contemporary disruptive leadership thinking ecosystem and to reflect on the critical milestones for emancipatory and normative citizens’ consensus for democratic reform and national cohesion. Citizens’ engagement is required for the turnaround of the republic, where equity and justice are a common denominator for nation building.

    Undeniably, the political geography of chaos and leadership mismatch is already dominating newspaper headlines and television shows today – whether it be the abysmal APC, jesting opposition party (the PDP), or the irrational and treacherous 9th national assembly (vis-à-vis the 2021 Electoral Bill conundrum). These are all besides the challenges of insecurity, fuel subsidy quagmire, Igbo presidency, which are further proofs of symptoms of the fragility of the Nigerian state.

    Genuine citizens’ consensus is germane; so, too, is disruptive leadership thinking, which not only shapes whether a new set of purpose-driven leaders will emerge but is also intentional about paradigm and sustainable mind shift. A challenger leadership attitude is required to recalibrate the state capture of power and resources for meaningful development and progress. Disruptive leadership thinking begins with a strong, emancipatory and national dialogue project which seeks to challenge and recapture the Nigerian state from the ludicrousness of unrepentant political jobbers and their collaborators.

    Remarkably, the leadership skills set of character, competence and capacity can guarantee the best outcomes for the 2023 general elections. More importantly, we must move away from the primordial turn-by-turn disposition that has deprived us as a people of genuine representation and authentic nation building dialogue.

    The citizens’ consensus framework and mindset shift must interrogate past actions and current political office holders’ aspirations beyond ethnic, religious and political party lines and declarations of intent. The debate must begin with the forensic audit of sources of wealth and campaign funding. What do the presidential candidates have to offer? What do the national development strategy and manifesto of each candidate look like? What do they include? Are the strategies evidence-based? Does each candidate have a strategy? What are the indicators of project deliverables, activities, milestones and means of verification of each year outside bureaucratic channels? What are the interconnections between state revenue and expenditure framework? What are the candidates’ credentials for global political engineering and international diplomacy?

    Citizens’ spotlights and questions on agenda-setting for the 2023 general elections should be based on strong leadership, stakeholder engagement knowledge, sound people and management experience, and technical skills on public and digital diplomacy with various ethnic nationalities, civil society, media, local and state governments, the private sector, and other genuine stakeholders in the Nigerian project. Furthermore, making debates key to electioneering and ensuring parties re-orient candidates’ selection and recruitment processes help to safeguard democracy and social justice.

    Consequently, presidential candidates must have an independent and clear frame of mind. This is necessary to manage diversity and shape transformational national programmes, ensure national healing and forgiveness mechanisms by leveraging on international governance best practices.

    As citizens, it is imperative that we canvass for and support a presidential candidate that can ensure openness, listen to businesses, invest in education and skills, import ideas and talent, and learn from the other progressive jurisdictions, particularly the East Asian experience, in order to leapfrog development and governance. It is instructive to note that East Asian countries had, similar to ours, trajectories of natural resources endowments, ethnic disunity, frail institutions, weak democracy, subsistence agriculture and the negative legacy of commodity and colonial exploitation, but they were able to overcome the challenges to build a virile nation.

    Overall, the most significant approach that should shape citizens’ conversations for the 2023 general elections is a strategy of clear guiding principles, with focus on truth telling for the reconciliation of the country.

    Ceaselessly, the Office of the Citizen has become commanding in the disruptive leadership thinking ecosystem and it is the pathway forward to a sustainable social contract, transparency and accountability. Moreover, underpinning the seriousness of a national agenda and mind shift is that citizens should make social justice a key pillar in their engagements with the presidential candidates and act as accountability partners in the governance process whilst the president is in office.

    While paid publicists and other media strategists are selling their candidates through the media (traditional and social), the relevance of the press in the emergence of a credible leader cannot be over-emphasised. The media must take up the obligation of self-censorship, social responsibility and accountability to the people. They must act as strategic gate-keepers by examining those offering themselves for the office of the president. Journalists and media handlers must remain independent of political interferences. Finding the balance between generating revenue from politicians while holding onto the well-established journalistic standards and maintaining editorial independence has become imperative for credible leadership recruitment for the general elections.

    Sadly, the media scan and content analyses of those for and against some of the candidates in the last few weeks are provokingly worrisome. The power of media owners and editorial slants must also be interrogated to determine what is factual in this era of fake news and misinformation.

    The political class must respect the rule of law and the electoral process. The national assembly should speed up on their deliberations on the electoral bill and the president must speedily assent to it in the interest of the common good.

    As citizens, we must join hands to exchange ideas on the current political climate ahead of the 2023 general elections, and help promote free, fair and credible elections by prioritising disruptive leadership thinking to reset the country on the path of progress. Let a new age dawn!

     

    Orovwuje is Founder Humanitarian Care for Displaced Persons, Lagos. Nigeria. He can be reached via orovwuje@yahoo.com and on 08034745325.