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Tag: Magnus Onyibe

  • Much ado about multinational firms exiting Nigeria – By Magnus Onyibe

    Much ado about multinational firms exiting Nigeria – By Magnus Onyibe

    Recently, there has been a lot of talk of international corporations leaving Nigeria, presumably because of the alleged difficult business environment caused by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policies since he took office on May 29, 2023. Some Nigerians, particularly those from opposing parties, have been making a big deal out of it on conventional and social media, as if an apocalypse had occurred in Nigeria.

    Consider the situation of Guinness Nigeria, where a significant portion of Diageo, a European investor, was sold to the Tolaram Group, a Singapore-based company.Has anyone asked if our country has suffered any losses as a result of Diageo shares changing hands in Guinness Nigeria between two (2) investors?Isn’t that what happens every day on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) when stocks are traded?

    The only difference in my opinion is the size of the shares swapped between the prior and subsequent owners, which is 58.2% and that is huge. In truth, this may have been a merger and acquisition, as is customary in the financial services industry. So what’s all the fuss about?

    According to historical documents , Diageo’s formation began in 1997, when Guinness amalgamated with food and beverage distributor Grand Metropolitan PLC. The $15.8 billion transaction went successfully, and the two firms combined under the name Diageo.

    Data from Finance.yahoo.com reveals DIAGEO’s ownership.

    The leading institutional holders of the stock are:

    (1)Bank of America Corporation , $5.1M                       for 664,620,064 shares.

    (2)FMR, LLC                             $4.84M                       for631,245,335 shares.

    (3)Morgan Stanley,                          $2.6M for 339,179,731 shares

    (4)Clear Bridge Investments, LLC,  $2.35m

    Thus, what transpired with the share sales and purchases between Diageo and the Tolaram group is simply business as usual, and nothing suspicious in my opinion. Please take note that all of Diageo’s institutional investors are investment banks and entreprises based in Europe and north America.

    Interestingly, other multinational corporations that have made waves moving out of Nigeria during the last ten years—and not just in the one year under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership—are mainly American and European companies, ranging from Proctor & Gamble in Ibadan to GSK in Lagos.

    That is to say, a pattern has been gradually developing over time without the system noticing. And guess what foreign companies have been stepping in to fill the void left by American and European companies? Asian companies. These include both Chinese and Indian corporations. Even Singaporean and Lebanese firms have presence in the list.

    An Asian company that specialises in sanitary products for adults and children, similar to Proctor & Gamble, is currently in the process of opening a factory to cover the void left by P&G’s withdrawal. Just before Tolaram Group acquired Diageo’s stake in Guinness Nigeria, a group of Nigerian investors, Renaissance Group had purchased SHELL’s onshore holdings when the British and Dutch-owned oil giant made the decision to shift its activities to the offshore market and stay there solely.

    The choice to limit operations to the offshore sector is thought to have been made in order to avoid the problems that arise from subpar work or a failure to uphold corporate social responsibility, which can lead to environmental damage from careless exploration and subsequent exploitation of the oil resources in the Niger Delta, which in turn can cause unrest that exacerbates the ongoing instability in the area.

    The building sector has experienced similar events to those that have recently transpired in the oil and gas and manufacturing sectors.Since Europe was the continent that first colonised Africa, the majority of the continent’s businesses and infrastructure are either owned or run by partners in Europe or America. That is because of the transition from colonialism to neo-colonialism by the Europeans that ruled Africa.

    The colonialists used their contractors to construct roads, bridges, railways, airports, seaports, and notable architectural projects throughout Africa. Most of that occurred in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, and it’s possible that it continued until 2000. But the entry of Asian companies into the market has made them less competitive.

    While those opposed to the economic reforms claiming  that our country is down and has no hope of being resuscitated, using the analogy of whether a glass is half empty or half full, as a patroit my optics is that the glass is half full for very good reasons.

    In my opinion—I lack scientific support for this—it seems as though Asian companies have been displacing Western companies over the last 20 years or so.

    The building companies from France, Italy, and Germany that once controlled the Nigerian construction market are nowhere to be found.Currently in decline, Chinese and other Asian companies are displacing them.Who are the Chinese building all the major airports in Nigeria? Which Chinese companies are revitalising our rail networks?

    Who in Lekki, Lagos, constructed a brand-new deep-water port in a comparatively short amount of time? the Chinese people. Examine the skylines of Lagos and other major Nigerian cities to determine whose construction companies are constructing the tall buildings: Chinese, Singaporean, and Lebanese companies, not European or American companies as was previously the case.

    Indians are firmly establishing themselves in the information technology and pharmaceutical industries, much like the Chinese are dominating the construction of railroads, airports, and seaports throughout Africa, including Nigeria.

    In my opinion, if a research is done to determine whether there has actually been a loss since the departure of companies like GSK and P&G, among others, I doubt that it will not show that the Asian companies that took their place have increased employment and increased the GDP of our nation.

    I am issuing a challenge to everyone who disagrees with President Tinubu’s current reforms, citing their reasons for the departure of companies like GSK and P&G as well as Diageo’s sale of 58.2% of its shares to the Tolaram group, to carry out or commission a study to support their claims.

    It should be the mission of PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Ernst and Yong, and other multinational research firms—including the native Nairamatrics—that take pleasure in being purveyors of business statistics to disprove or validate the assertion.

    Based only on trend analysis, my educated guess is that after around 64 years of Nigeria’s political independence from Britain, the continent is only now experiencing true economic independence.

    Even though Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 and the British removed the Union Jack, neo-colonialism—the next stage of colonialism—persisted, with European and British corporations controlling the private sector and even holding a vice grip on governments.

    The Ogoni land oil exploration catastrophe, which resulted in the execution of environmental rights campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa and the iconic Ogoni 9 tragedy, was one such instance involving SHELL Nigeria. It is no secret that multinationals like as GSk and P&G run their activities out of their headquarters in New York and London.

    Why couldn’t the companies, which have been repatriating profits to their home countries over the years, be given some funds to get them through the rough patch caused by the ongoing reforms in Nigeria that have made it slightly more difficult to repatriate funds, if they were facing difficulties due to their high cost structure or restricted access to foreign exchange to procure raw materials?

    In actuality, the companies that departed Nigeria have been dependent on Nigeria to finance their operations. But because of the country’s current shaky financial services sector as a result of ongoing reforms, they have taken flight.

    This is demonstrated by the elimination of the petrol subsidy, which has caused production costs to soar; the effort to harmonise the dual foreign exchange rates, which up until now had encouraged arbitrage; and, last but not least, the exorbitant increase in the electricity tariff for the so-called Band A consumers, which is, in a sense, the straw that broke the camel’s back.

    Due to all of the aforementioned circumstances, those businesses were forced to dissolve when they realised that things in Nigeria were no longer as they had been. Maybe when they modify their business models, they will be back shortly.

    However, from the way those opposed to the ongoing reforms present the conglomerates’ exit, it appears as though the companies were charity organisations founded by USAID or Oxfam to protect Nigerians from starvation, similar to how Sir Bob Geldorf founded Band-Aid in the 1980s to help raise money to aid starving people in the Horn of Africa.

    Not to be overlooked, the goals of GSK and P&G are to generate revenue for their stockholders. Why should we lament their departure if their business models are no longer effective for them in Nigeria as they once were and they have made the decision to leave?

    Bearing in mind the hostility  of international oil companies denying access to crude oil for refining in Dangote refinery as recently alledged by Alh. Aliko Dangote, and the rough time that Mr Allen Onyema’s Airpeace had in flying Nigerians at reduced fare to London, a lucrative route hitherto monopolized by British airlines, European businesses in Nigeria appear to be lossing their competive edge and figting dirty.

    It is important to remember that the main telecom companies from Europe and America showed no interest in Nigeria when the country was unbundling its telecom industry a little more than 20 years ago. However, the licences were obtained by Econet, a Zimbabwean network, and MTN, a South African network. Together with Globacom, a network that is exclusively owned by a Nigerian, these three  networks have been controlling the market for more than 200 million users.

    Following the successful privatisation, American and European businesses have been vying for a share of the pie.A similar situation occurred in the energy sector, when no significant European businesses expressed interest at the time it was unbundled . But because of the industry changes brought about by the 2023 Electricity Act, companies like Siemens of Germany, who previously shied away from making large investments in Nigeria’s power sector, are now keeping a close eye on our nation.

    GSK, P&G, and other companies should definitely make a comeback to Nigeria sooner rather than later, since the country’s population of over 200 million makes it impossible to overlook. I can bet that if GSK and P&G had put up their firms for sale as Shell and Diageo did, local Nigerian entrepreneurs could have acquired them.

    It is in the spirit of global south-south co-operation that investments are now flowing more easily between them. With President Tinubu’s recent stringent efforts at wooing investors from the Middle East when he toured Saudi Arabia,United Arab Emirates, UAE and Qatar, Arab investors may  also sooner than later set their sights on Nigeria.

    I’ve heard comments in the media claiming that Asian and Chinese companies that are taking the place of departing European and American companies don’t adhere to good corporate governance norms.

    When SHELL Nigeria perpetrated the crimes on Ogoni territory that the international court in The Hague eventually managed to force it to clean up and is still pursuing, was it not obligated by the highly regarded corporate governance rules in its home countries of England and the Netherlands?

    The reality is that Singaporeans, Chinese, or Indians no longer lack strong standards for corporate governance. They are active in the American and European markets as a result of their engagements in those markets, so they are conversant with the standards and their economies are flourishing.

    Since no Asian companies have been found guilty when it comes to environmental abuse, such as the Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria has been adjudged guilty of environmental degredation of the Niger delta , there is no proof of that claim that they are too slack in that respect.

    Based on my experience, corporate governance regulations are typically raised during the administration of contracts and hiring processes in European and American backed multinationals .

    In any case, the  Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is doing a fairly good job of regulating publicly quoted firms, and Nigerian extractive industries regulatory agencies in the oil and gas sector are expected to keep a close eye on industries in that sector to ensure that there is not a corporate governance void left by existing Western countries.

    To sum up, I think the current reforms are good and have the potential to create a new Nigeria.I am fully aware of the extreme problems we are all facing as a result of the shockingly high cost of living brought on by the policy to remove subsidies.

    We are all on the same boat, navigating the waves of the high cost of living. To get the ship to the land, all hands must be on deck, thus we should all make  efforts even it is tiny  to support one another in order to survive without depending solely on government. Let’s engage in recreational farming in the yards around our homes during our free time. We may produce basic crops like tomatoes and vegetables, which are currently expensive, before insecurity concerns that forced our farmers to abandon their operations and the cause of the food scarcity is resolved.

    While one supports the government’s call for Nigerian farmers to return to their fields, it is imperative that it first provide sufficient protection to stop the evil ambassadors from abducting more of our hardworking farmers.

    Prioritising the use of advanced technology in the fight against insecurity is vital, as is increasing the involvement of sociologists and psychologists in a non-kinetic manner to counteract the criminality that seems to be taking over our nation.

    There has been an enormous dependence on military actions to counter the threat up to an elephant size , while the soft approach has been treated with an ant size effort.

    Barack Obama, a former US president, once cautioned, “Just because we have a big hammer doesn’t mean we have to keep hitting all the nails.”

    In order to fully reap the rewards of President Tinubu’s socioeconomic and political changes, let us take a different approach to combating religious insurgency and banditry so that our country can flourish as the reform policies being introduced by President Tinubu begin to mature.

     

    Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy advocate, development strategist, an alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and more, please visit www.magnum

  • Minimum wage, President Tinubu and the cow family – By Magnus Onyibe

    Minimum wage, President Tinubu and the cow family – By Magnus Onyibe

    I kindly request readers’ indulgence to share this captivating story, which I would like to use to demonstrate my support for President Bola Tinubu’s policy of eliminating fuel and naira subsidies—a measure that has been in place in our nation for roughly four decades.

    Hopefully, once we all understand and accept the principle behind ending the obnoxious subsidy regime, we will realize why we all must make the sacrifices that will lead to our country leapfrogging in the manner that Singapore moved from third to first-world status, as narrated by the late Lee Kuan Yew, a revered former Prime Minister of the island country, in his iconic book “From Third To First World”.

    Having set the stage, please allow me to offer an anonymously authored  anecdote that goes thus:

    A family resided on the outskirts of a tiny village. They possessed one cow and consumed its milk every day. If there wasn’t enough milk, they consumed less.If there was enough milk, they consumed it well. Consequently, that cow was critical to the mother, father, and children’s survival.

    One day, a lone traveller passed through the village. He was starving. The family generously shared their milk with the stranger, who was grateful and wished to repay the favor. When the traveler heard that there was a wise man in the area, he went to his house and told him about the cow-owning family who hosted and fed him when he was hungry. He requested advice on how to express his gratitude.

    The wise man urged him to kill the cow. The traveler was taken aback. However, because of the wise man’s reputation, he followed orders. A year later, the traveler went through the same community. This time, he observed a busy market store and a hotel.

    When he stepped into the hotel, the eldest son of the cow family was standing behind the front desk. “What happened?” inquired the traveler. “We lost our cow and had to go out and find a way to eat and so we opened a market and it grew and we opened this hotel and it is growing”. The wise man’s remarks returned to the traveler’s head.-“Kill the cow”.

    When the advice was offered, it seemed like a terrible thing to do. But, alas, it was the saving grace for the family, who had become ensconced in and gotten accustomed to their peasant lifestyle of living from hand to mouth, which they believed they were destined to lead.

    But things changed for the better for them when they got compelled to move out of their comfort zone after the cow was killed by their benefactor, who wanted to repay their kindness.

    The lesson in the preceding anecdote is that sometimes you have to let go of your security (comfort zone) and the things that keep you comfortable to progress in life.

    Obviously, the narrative above is highly relevant to our current situation in Nigeria. That is because we are so accustomed to receiving subsidies for petrol, naira, and  electricity power that we do not want to leave our comfort zone of being buffeted by subsidies derived from oil/gas sales. But now that crude oil sales is yielding less income and their production is dwindling, as a nation we ought to have woken up from slumber by saying to our leaders “ Kill the Cow” which is a euphemism for the removal of subsidy on consumption in our economy so that Nigerians can face reality like citizens of our neighboring countries that are not endowed with crude oil resources.

    Drawing a parallel, the subsidies on petrol, the naira, and electricity are analogous to the milk from the cow in the Family Cow fable.

    Presumably, the metaphorical picture is as clear as night and day for any Nigerian to grasp and understand without ambiguity the need to eliminate subsidies in our economy.

    By now it must also have dawned on some critics who have been arguing that President Tinubu should not have eliminated the subsidy without first consulting Nigerians, that the ‘traveler’ did not consult the cow family before slaughtering the cow which is the family heirloom. l can bet that they would have rejected the plan and continued to rely solely on cow milk for subsistence living until the cow died naturally.

    In light of the foregoing, contrary to the argument of the nay-sayers, removing the subsidy that was strangulating the country does not necessitate a conference with Nigerians to seek their approval, as former military president Ibrahim Babangida did during the 1984/85 IMF loan debate, after which Nigerians settled for the alternative–Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP).

    Please take note that the ‘wise man’ (IMF) had also recommended to then-head of state Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1984 to implement similar policies introduced by President Tinubu in 2023.

    Of course, one is not oblivious to the fact that Nigerians generally have disdain for the IMF which some deem to be an imperialist agent. But we would be throwing away the baby and the bathwater if we deem all IMF recommendations to be predatory and exploitative which we must reject. As a nation of intelligent citizens with a great world view, we can smartly navigate the global political and economic landscape to harness all the great benefits available as Dr Ngozi Okonjo-lweala (current WTO DG) did when she was finance minister during Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency (1999-2007) by securing a huge debt write-off for our country.

    Now, some Nigerians who like to look at crucial national issues from the periphery and partisanship will scream against me and try to lynch me on social media for analyzing our country’s current unsavory circumstances of being at a crossroads via the lens of the Cow Family narrative above.

    But they don’t bother me at all because I’ve only contributed to nation-building through my grasp of the basic difficulties plaguing our country which are largely responsible for its underdevelopment and l have proferred solutions.

    George Bernard Shaw, an Irish polemicist and political activist, once stated:

    “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

    As has been demonstrated by his very bold policy actions since taking over the reins of leadership a year ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is an acknowledged progressive politician, is not frightened of change. As a result, he took what skeptics saw as a leap into the unknown by stating at his inauguration that the “subsidy is gone”.

    In light of the consequential high cost of living crisis exacerbated by the current minimum wage agitation by organized labor, President Tinubu is currently standing between the devil and the deep blue sea. That is simply because, as he has progressed in his governance over the last year, he has realized that governing Nigeria is a little more complicated than it appeared before taking over the reins of government. But in any case, he had declared on numerous occasions that he was not seeking sympathy because applied for the job and what he is only asking of Nigerians is the sacrifice of patience. Although Mr . President appears to be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, a common term that Nigerians frequently use when they are in a quandary, he is determined to forge ahead no matter the difficulties being encountered.

    Practically, periods of decision or hesitation occur when the two best options available are both difficult and provide no reprieve or comfort. That is why President Tinubu is caught between approving the N62,000 recommendation of the team of negotiators he appointed to engage with organized labor for a new minimum wage and the N250,000 minimum demand of organized labor following the crippling strike action that was called on June 3rd,and got suspended after 48 hours.

    My hunch is that as President Tinubu heads to the office on Wednesday, he will be muttering under his breath the following words against organized labor activists, ‘ l think you picked the wrong time to demand an extraordinary rise in the minimum wage’.

    The assumption above is supported by the fact that organized labor is driving such an outrageous demand at a time when our economy is tanking, with the exchange rate rising to N1500/$1, petrol selling for around N600 per liter, food inflation exceeding 40%, and national debt exceeding N80 trillion, with roughly 98% of the national budget dedicated to servicing the monstrous debt.

    So, Mr. President is in such a precarious position that can be equated to sitting on a tinder box which is underscored by the fact that a new minimum wage negotiation driven by a 2019 minimum wage act that requires renegotiation every five (5) years has fallen due at such a critical time that the ongoing one-year-old socioeconomic reforms in Nigeria have disrupted and dislocated all the normal economic fundamentals in the country moving her from regular dynamics into uncharted territory.

    Because of the exceptional circumstances outlined above, it must be extremely difficult for him to establish which parameters to apply in determining the new minimum wage, which is required by law to be reviewed  – usually upwards, as inflation frequently rises and seldom falls in our country.

    Given the aforementioned conundrum, President Tinubu may be wondering whether it is best to base the new minimum salary on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) or pegged to an inflation rate.

    It is a particularly dilemma for the president, possibly because it is as complex as untying the fabled Gordian knot, as neither choice has redeeming qualities.

    In a classic book on negotiation based on theory of principled negotiation which aims primarily for win- win agreements and nothing else, written by Roger Fisher and Willliam Ury titled “ Getting To Yes. Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In”, the authors talked about issues creation which is aimed at meeeting the interests of all the parties engaged in the negotiation.

    It is in that spirit that President Tinubu should aim to expand the pie on the table by factoring in other considerations into his offer to workers and indeed all Nigerians.

    So, following the conclusion of the Salah celebrations, on Tuesday, June 18, and the return to work on Wednesday, President Tinubu will have to decide whether to approve a 100% increase in the minimum wage, from N30,000 to N62,000, which organized labor views as a starting point.

    In comparison, the economy as it currently stands, the government, especially at sub-national levels would find it very difficult if not impossible to support the 100% increase plus another N2,000 that her negotiators have already committed to pay to halt the strike action.

    That being the case how would it shoulder the weight of the massive N250,000 that organized labor is requesting?

    It is striking that labor negotiators have been telling Nigerians that their goal is a minimum salary of N250,000, but astute observers can see that labor activists are just using the demand for a quarter of a million naira as a red herring and gimmick.

    The best course of action for President Tinubu,in my opinion would be to accept the N62,000 minimum wage agreement reached by government negotiators on his behalf and combine it with a further offer to reverse the hurriedly and poorly packaged increase in energy rates for so-called Band A customers.

    At best the increase should be graduated and the so-called Band A high tariff regime has to be well thought out as it is killing both large and small businesses.

    Take for instance my barber in Falomo, lkoyi Lagos. When l visited his shop a week ago,l was shocked to discover that by virtue of his location, he is in Band A region. So instead of turning on the airconditioner as he usually does when l am there for a haircut, (a routine that usually  enables me to connect  directly with the hoi poloi who l get to meet there) he turned on an electric fan to save cost. How does a small barber’s shop pay N225 per kilowatt of electricity? When l advised him to increase his price for haircuts, he made it clear to me that his clients could not afford to pay more. And I doubt, all things remaining the same, if that barber’s shop would still be open for business on my next visit in a month. If the young owner realizes that the shop has become unviable , he  would unsurprisingly join the ranks of the burgeoning unemployed youths in our country and a feedstock for outlaws seeking vulnerable youths to entice into their nefarious enterprise.

    Indeed, that electricity tariff upward review policy implemented earlier this year, in my opinion, needs to be revisited to drastically reduce it so that Nigerians can breathe, to borrow a phrase popularised by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who used the term during a plenary session some time ago and drew criticism from Nigerians who saw it as contemptuous.

    In my assessment, the recent exit of some major manufacturing concerns from our shores may in part be traced to the drastic increase in electricity tariff. It may be the last straw that broke the camel’s back before their exit. So that makes it a candidate for re-calibration in the manner that the National Education Loan Fund,NELF was taken back to the lawmakers for amendment into a more functional document.

    Another reality is that the major key stakeholders directly involved in wage payment–federal, state, and local governments, as well as the organized private sector–had already spoken out boldly about their inability to bear the burden of a 100% increase in the minimum wage of N62,000 recommended by President Tinubu’s negotiating panel.

    Similarly noteworthy is the fact that organized labor may only speak or act on behalf of around 8% of Nigerian workers in the formal sector. That is because scientific studies have revealed that approximately 92% of Nigerians work in the informal sector.

    Remarkably, the above-mentioned category of workers may not be in sync with organized labor in their demand for N250,000, because the decision to raise the minimum has no direct effect on them. The assertion above is validated by the provisions in the 2019 minimum wage act which excludes them, particularly if they do not work in firms employing up to 25 people, which is the legal threshold.

    For clarity, the informal sector includes employees who work for medium and small businesses with staff strength of less than 25. It also includes domestic workers such as drivers, housekeepers, cleaners, babysitters, gardeners, and craftspeople who make a living daily. That category includes bus drivers and conductors, plumbers, mechanics, carpenters, vulcanizers, and barbers. Because the category of workers listed above are self-employed, any day the economy is shut down is a deficit for them.

    Given the forgoing circumstances, the questions I’ll pose next might appear insensitive. But we must call a spade a spade by asking how labor can demand half a million naira as a minimum wage when our country is currently resembling a ship caught in the high seas by very rough weather, with the usually robust and resilient vessel being tossed up and down by violent waves that can wreck the ship if the captain of the vessel is not a dexterous sailor. This is why President Tinubu must be very cautious and international about the decision he makes to resolve the minimum wage debacle.

    My evaluation of the nation’s current status, as described above, may appear embarrassing. But how else can one illustrate the difficult situation in a country where the value of its currency in terms of the foreign exchange rate has fluctuated like a yoyo, and general inflation is currently at an alarming 34%, with food inflation hovering around 40%, and which echoes what happened to Germany’s economy in 1923?

    According to historical records, after Germany defaulted in paying World War I (WWI) reparations to the countries involved in the devastating war that was imposed on it, many of them, particularly France, foreclosed on Germany by seizing their factories, causing massive disruptions in the country’s production activities. As a result, one U.S. dollar was equivalent to 1,000 billion German Marks between January to November of the same year.

    We will soon return to the unpleasant experience of hyperinflation in Germany by elaborating on the lessons that should be learned from that story as we confront the inflation demons that currently plague Nigeria due to the elimination of fuel, naira, and electricity subsidies and try to justify why Nigeria needs bold leaders and followers who are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to pull our nation out of the current financial quagmire.

    Given the foregoing, we must critically examine the benefits and drawbacks of the three (3) quick reform initiatives that are to blame for the economy’s decline in the interim to be fair to everyone.

    As is already known, President Tinubu announced two (2) of the reforms on the day of his inauguration, which was on March 29, 2023.

    These are the elimination of the fuel pump prize subsidy and the partial floating of the naira, which was previously supported by the proceeds from the sales of crude oil.

    The third factor is the increase to N225  and into  band A electricity tariff that was implemented approximately six months into the current administration by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the industry regulator, and Mr. Adebayo Adebayo Adelabu, the minister of power.

    The current painful condition that has overtaken Nigeria is also caused by other issues, such as the high cost of governance and corruption, which are more entrenched since they have been plaguing our country since independence in 1960 and after the civil war in 1970.

    To save time, we will ignore the previously discussed issues in favor of concentrating on the current crisis, which has arisen as a result of the renegotiation of the minimum wage for workers in the formal sector, which includes only public servants and employees of private sector companies.

    Negotiating the minimum wage in our nation has frequently devolved into some form of hiatus, as we are all well aware. Therefore, it was greatly relieved when the Minimum Wage Act, a piece of legislation, was introduced in 2019 to rationalize  government administration and organize worker relations.

    To understand how organized labor and the government might work together to resolve the complex problem of the minimum wage, it is appropriate that we look at the issues raised by labor activists, which may be broadly divided into five (5) categories:

    (1) Those who committed the crimes of round-tripping and over-invoicing were not penalised when the petrol subsidy was eliminated. For instance,  corruption has no repercussions when smugglers and border guards stand by while tankers carrying millions of barrels of petrol enter adjacent nations illegally.

    Incidentally, the key perpetrators of the graft are civil servants or members of organized labor working government organizations such as Immigration, customs, and CBN officials who enable over-invoicing in collusion with NNPC agents.Also at fault are NPA officials who record and approve the transfer of cargo from the ships to the depot, but have not been prosecuted.

    Meanwhile many top government functionaries found to be corrupt , including nearly all former governors and numerous ministers, are presently serving jail sentences or are facing legal action from the EFCC? How many corrupt officials in the public sector and accomplices in the private sector are on trial or in jail like politicians?

    That is a question that organized labor must answer.

    The second factor (2) is the withdrawal of the naira’s subsidy, which caused the exchange rate to soar from N360.00 in 2019 to N1,900 before falling to N1,500, where it is at the moment.Rent seekers who had access to the corridors of power became instant billionaires, creaming off on the difference between official and parallel market rates, which could be as high as N300–400. They engage in arbitrage without consequences because currency speculators seem to be hand in glove with the authorities, thanks to multiple exchange windows, as former CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi alluded to.

    Again, the main actors in gaming the foreign exchange system are members of organized labor. What has the activists amongst them done to bring their corrupt colleagues to book?

    The third (3rd) thorn in the flesh of labour activists is its assessment that the increase in the cost of electricity tariffs, which manufacturers (those that have managed to stay afloat) are passing on to consumers by selling their products at market reflective prices, has quadrupled and is responsible for the rising cost of living.

    The situation is exacerbated by the CBN’s increase in the Monetary Price Rate, MPR which has resulted in banks charging frightening interest rates of up to 40%, creating a sort of prickly heat for entrepreneurs who are borrowing from banks at astronomical rates to run their businesses. They ask why the government is purposely hiking bank interest rates.

    The reality is that the CBN is raising interest rate to tame inflation which would otherwise have risen above its current alarming rate.

    The workers’ union cited the fourth (4th) friction point as the government’s seeming failure to respond to their request for a reduction in the cost of governance.

    According to organised labour and a critical mass of Nigerians, the government lives in wealth while the majority suffer from poverty.

    They cite the alleged spending of N21 billion naira on the vice president’s residence, N90 billion to subsidize  the 2024 hajj pilgrimage, and the legislative arm spending N160 million each to purchase Toyota Suburban Vehicles, SUVs for the 469 legislators, while ignoring assembled in Nigeria alternatives, at a critical time when Nigerians are suffering the worst misery since the civil war 54 years ago.

    The truth is that the decision for some of the actions that just materialized might have been made by the predecessors of the current administration which did not anticipate the current turmoil.

    The case that labor is making also involves what they call the unreasonableness of embarking on the $15 coastal route that runs from Lagos to Calabar.

    Without fear of contradiction roads are criitical infrastructure that are purveyors of development. Think of the Belt and Silk road initiative of China and the fact the UAE,a country of paltry population always builds mega infrastures such as the Jebel Ali sea port and the airport in Dubai which are world class. They simply expand their horizon which is what the coastal road to calabar from lagos and from Badagry to Sokoto would accomplish for Nigeria.

    The fifth (5th) complaint tabled by organised labor in their mix of their concerns is the rampant theft of our crude oil assets, which are our country’s primary source of foreign cash.

    It’s easy to forget that less than a decade and a half ago, our country produced 2.5 million barrels of crude oil every day. We are currently producing no more than 1.2 million barrels per day on average as a result of policy inconsistencies and theft.

    Hence our country is not earning enough income to sustain subsidy.

    The chairman of Total Energies, Mr Patrick Pouyanne, identified the problem in the Nigerian oil and gas industry when he said at a recent AfricaCEOs summit in Kigali, Rwanda, that Nigeria  lags in policy formulation. Evidently, the nearly three decades that it took to pass the much vaunted Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into an act of parliament, cost Nigeria $6 billion in investment in the sector because Total Energies had to invest the money in Angola while Nigeria was dilly-dallying.

    The widespread theft of crude oil, which occurs when pipelines burst or when crude oil is diverted through unmarked pipelines, resulting in yet another enormous loss of revenue for the country is being addressed by NNPC hired private security company Tantita to stop the theft but a lot is still being stolen.

    The Holy Bible says that a rich man would have a harder time entering God’s kingdom than it would be for a camel’s head to fit through the eyes of a needle. God might be surprised to see many wealthy men in heaven given that enormous ocean-going vessels are used to steal enormous amounts of crude oil and long articulated (trucks) are used to smuggle large volumes of petrol out of our shores and land borders on a daily basis without being caught.

    That thriving crime of moving cargoes of stolen crude in huge vessels by sea and large trucks by road can be equated to a carmel’s head passing through the eye of a needle and the crime is facilated by members of the organized labor as earlier stated.

    It would not surprise me if Nigerians would have corrupted the gatekeepers in heaven because those with criminal minds among us frequently brag about how well they were able to subvert the system by claiming that “with special arrangement, they can see God.”

    Given the above-described situation, corruption and insecurity—rather than subsidies in and of themselves—are our nation’s true scourge because they permeate the entire system and may even have become ingrained in popular culture as criminality has become a thriving industry in our beleagued nation. It is not necessary to pretend that everything is well in those regards in our nation and live in denial. This is the reason I wrote two (2) whole chapters  in my most recent book, LEADING FROM THE STREETS on the subjects. The first is  titled: Corruption And Unending Fight Against lt , the second one is Ethnic Nationalism, Separatism and Religious Insurgency. The truth is that Nigerians need safe environment to farm and engage in other productiive activities as opposed to being stranded in IDP camps which is currently the lot of those in the interior, particularly northern and middlle zones .

    Without exception both politicians and government personnel are corrupt, thus the problem in Nigeria is the leadership, as novelist Chinua Achebe of blessed memory wrote in his renowned book, The Trouble With Nigeria.

    When the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF Senator George Akume castigated labor activist for switching off national electricity  grid during their strike action and accused them of having committed economic sabotage and treasonable felony, labor  leaders had pushed back by alleging that political leaders holding public offices are the real economic saboteurs.ln my piece last week after recalling by dredging up a catalogue of monumental acts of corruption perpetrated by civil/public servants who are part of organized labor, l concluded that their outburst was at best an act of righteous indignation, and it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

    The news currently making the rounds is that at 289 , Nigeria’s delegation is the highest at 2024 ILO conference in Geneva is unwieldy . In that regard is the organized labor not guilty  of the profligacy that it is accusing government of engaging in?

    The truth is that subsidies could have been managed responsibly because they are a tool for moderating or balancing an economy and society in order to mitigate spikes in costs. Even when we talk about free economies driven by market forces, the reality is that there is no such thing as an absolutely free economy devoid of interventions or modifications by government.

    Typical instances of subsidies are the Dole system in the United States of America, USA which pays unemployed people some money to tide them through until they find work. That is subsidy on consumption and the other type which is offer of student loans for people who want to go to college but can’t afford it, is subsidy on production.

    In my view, the response to organised labor’s questions Nos. 1, 2, and 3 regarding President Tinubu’s termination of the subsidy regime without devising a plan to ease the ensuing pains is that, had he announced the end of the subsidy until, say, six (6) months after taking office, the same forces that forced his predecessors to refrain from taking the risky action might have taken him hostage, and Nigeria would still be under the yoke of subsidy regime.

    Regarding the current government’s failure to punish corrupt people who committed crimes such as gaming the subsidy system, based on the experience garnered from the previous administration, which made anticorruption the focal point of its leadership, the reality is that focusing governance on anti-corruption may be popular, but it causes mass hysteria, resulting in even genuine investors fleeing  our country.

    That is largely why our country had a twin recession during President Muhamadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure. No responsible leader would be careless to fall into a similar trap.

    Regarding the CBN raising MPR,as earlier stated, government is attempting to contain inflation. If the MPR rates had not been raised, the inflation level may have doubled. Economists can agree or disagree about that strategy.In the instance of apparent wastage of funds by government, several of the initiatives that workers and Nigerians have derided are carryover decisions from previous governments. Take the vice president’s residence for instance . It certainly was not built in 12 months.

    Based on my own experience, when I first entered Delta State’s cabinet to serve as a commissioner over 20 years ago, government policies are like locomotive trains. Once they leave the station they do not stop travelling till they reach their predetermined destination. They are also similar to cultural and behavioural patterns that are difficult to break overnight.

    So, from the proposed purchase of a luxury yacht for the president, two new aircrats to add to the presidential aircraft fleet, a new residence for the vice president, humungous sum of money set aside for  funding for Muslim pilgrimage and the huge amount of money that 469 federal lawmakers spent on importing SUVs for themselves, which are given labor activists indigestion are actually obscene given the existential realities of hunger and starvation crushing a criitical mass of Nigerians, government appears to be insensitive to the plight of a critical mass of Nigerians being crushed by hunger.

    In fact some of these extravagances are what I would like to refer to as guilty pleasure. But as earlier stated,the majority of the policies predate the current administration in terms of when they were initiated and the challenges were also not anticipated at the time they were proposed.

    That is why I have been making the case that Nigerians should give the Tinubu administration, which is now in its infancy (just a year old), enough time to for her policies to unfurl, blossom  and mature. It  is the crux of the argument I made in my column a couple of weeks ago when I evaluated the government after one year of a four-year tenure, which is 25% of 100%.

    Fortunately or unfortunately, the administration is presently developing its budget for next year, for which President Tinubu will be taking full responsibility, and it is what Nigerians will be using to fully and properly review the administration after 24 months which would be halfway through the 48-month period. If the identified profligacy in the 2024 budget re-occurs in the incumbent’s 2025 budget, Nigerians will be justified in condemning him.

    The story of the Cow Family does not end there.

    It is important to note that it is a period of high inflation in Germany that resulted  in a revolt that threw up Adolp Hitler of the holocaust fame as leader of Germany. We all are well are of his tyranical rule and the legacy that he left for mankind.

    So,we should be careful of what we wish for ourselves.

    Bringing it back home here in Nigeria we may recall after military president Ibrahim Babangida put up the lMF loan proposal to a public debate and Nigerians opted for the alternative -SAP which he commenced its implementation ,he derailed  due to pressure from impatient Nigerians. Gen. Babangida buckled and stepped aside . The pressure is similar to the type currently being pilled on President Tinubu by some perhaps skeptical and clearly partisan Nigerians to scrap the policies that have moved them away from their comfort zone.

    We all have full knowledge of who took over the reins of governance from Gen. Babangida and ruled in a manner reminiscent of Adolf Hitler of Germany and brought similar infamy to Nigeria- late Gen. Sani Abacha.

    Again,my counsel is that Nigerians should becareful what they wish for , always lean on history to appreciate what it teaches and imbibe the culture of patience because governance is not a sprint, but marathon.

    That is my humble counsel which l hope l have been able to illustrate very well with the Cow Family anecdote.

     

    Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst, author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in the Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and more, please visit www.magnum.ng.l

  • Temperamental labour leaders and teachable moments in minimum wage negotiations – By Magnus Onyibe

    Temperamental labour leaders and teachable moments in minimum wage negotiations – By Magnus Onyibe

    All gloves seem to be off as organized labor leaders decided to unbraid Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF and leader of government’s team negotiating the minimum wage crisis with the organized labor leaders after they practically shut down our country last monday, 3rd June.

    As the verbal exchange between the leaders of labor and government rages on and Nigerians are lapping up all the drama, what seems to have been lost on the nation is the gravity of and dire consequences of shutting down the national grid by the obviously enraged and therefore rampaging labor activists that were intent on bringing government down to its knees via a forced lock-down.

    Has anyone considered a scenario whereby those that forcefully took control of critical and sensitive assets of our country are non state actors who have taken up arms against our country?

    Think of a scenario whereby those that switched off our electricity grid were religious insurgents-Boko Haram, ISWAP that are holding sway in the northern region or sovereign state agitators like IPOB, ECN in the eastern flanks and Oodua Peoples Congress in the south west axis of our country or environmental rights activists like Niger Delta militants in the treasure trove of Nigeria?

    Our country got very close to that apocalystic  situation on 3rd June when organized labor embarked on industrial action to enforce their demand for minimum wage increase.

    At the risk of being tagged an alarmist , the scenario described above is one of the teachable moments for me in the minimum wage increase agitation by the organized labor pitched against the federal government that is making frantic efforts to manage the crisis for an equitable solution.

    To put things in perspective, it is apropos that we reflect on the aetiology of the minimum wage crisis.

    The first to literally draw blood in the war of words was the SGF, Senator Akume whose verbal umbrage was triggered by the reported loss of some lives in hospitals country wide when labor activists forced their way into the national electricity grid to switch off power supply nationwide.  That resulted in reported loss of lives of sick people that were on life support gadgets in hospitals, even as medical doctors that could have helped save lives were stopped from going into the hospitals to attend to patients. Ideally when strikes are called , those on essential duties are not prevented from working.

    It is believed that the rampaging labor activists enforcing the industrial action that was called by the organized labor in Nigeria to force the hands of goverment to increase minimum wage from N30,000 to N500,000, which was the intial demand, but currently scaled down to N250,000, did cause avoidable loss of not only income,but the shut down resulted  in loss of lives.

    Although looses are still be counted, the two days shut down of our country stretched from the bureacracy to market/economic space all the way down to the airspace such as airports that were also shut down by the labor activists who were bent on causing massive disruption of the magnitude that would shake government.

    Obviously, unbemused about the catatrosphic consequences of the strike action that resulted in a practical lock down of our country for at least 48 hours , the SGF accused labor leaders of economic sabotage and characterized their crime as treasonble felony.

    The SGF, Senator Akume, reportedly expressed his displeasure when the executives from the National Council of Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN visited him last thursday,June 6.

    Below is how an obviously piqued SGF expressed his displeasure:

    “Nowhere in the world has labour ever tampered with the national grid. It is treason! Treasonable felony is economic sabotage; you don’t do that,” .

    “We are trying to rebuild the economy. The president is picking it up, and they want to destroy it. Of what use is that to all of us? That is not the way.”

    He concluded by saying:

    “It is not that we are not working. We are working, and that is why we implemented the N35,000 wage, which is more than the minimum wage,” he said.

    “There are buses ready to be distributed, and soon, rice and other essentials will be available.”

    Not taking the SGF’s umbraiding lying low, the leaders of organized labor have gone ballistic by pushing back via their mocking of the SGF by alleging that politicians , which is the ‘tribe’ that the SGF belongs are the real ecomomic saboteurs:

    “The SGF we are sure clearly knows those whose actions are treasonable and sabotages our economy. Those who loot our treasury around the country, those who divert public resources meant for hospitals and schools; those who are involved in foreign exchange roundtripping; padding of budgets and inflating contracts including those who steal trillions of naira in the name of subsidy are the real economic saboteurs who commit treasonable felony.

    “These people are in costly agbada and drive in convoys all around the nation occupying the corridors of power and not innocent workers who are not slaves but chose to withdraw their services because of the inhuman treatment meted on them by the government”.

    The thirty six (36) state governors that are leading the components of the country at the subnational level, all of which together constitute Nigerian nation, who felt like , to borrow a popular local cliche, that their hair was being shaven behind their back; in the sense that a national minimum wage which would be binding on them to pay workers at the state level was being discussed and decided without their input,  had to join the fray.

    In their statement they expressed the following concern:

    “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum is in agreement that a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with labour unions in their push for higher wages.

    “However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners. The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.

    “All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and can not fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes. In fact, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.”

    Expectedly , the governors have also  become targets of the fiery darts and missiles of the angry labor unions.

    They wrote:-

    “We do believe that governors have acted in bad faith.lt is unheard of for such a statement to be issued to the world in the middle of an ongoing negotiation. It is certainly in bad taste.

    “As for the veracity of their claim, nothing can be further from the truth as FAAC allocations have since moved from N700 billion to N1.2 trillion( thanks to subsidy petrol and naira subsidy removal by president Tinubu) making the governments extremely rich at the expense of the people.”

    Furthermore they bellowed:

    “We are not fixated with figures but value.

    Those who argue that moving national minumum wage from N30,000 to N60,000 is sufficiently good enough miss the point.”

    As the popular aphorism goes ‘a hungry man, is an angry man’.

    There is no arguement about the fact that Nigerian workers have been negatively impacted by the reform initiatives of the incumbent administration.

    Even President Tinubu acknowledges that fact, hence he provided an interim remedial measure, which is the Federal Government award of  N35,000 (strangely it is not being talked about very much ) as extra bonus on the N30,000 minumum wage to workers pending when the amount to replace the one that has recently expired, is agreed upon.

    All over the world, labor union leaders have the reputation of being feisty,fiery and ferocious.

    For instance , in the

    United States of America,USA, the highly influential and powerful United Auto Workers , UAW have been known to engage politicians in hot exchange of words when demanding for wage increase.

    The last showdown between UAW and their employers was in 2023 when they were demanding for 40% wage increase. Owing to the fact that the union is very influential and pack a significant voting punch, the current President of the US, Mr Joe Biden joined them in the picket lines and backed their agitation for pay increase.

    Unlike in the US where the private sector is often the largest employer of labor , in Nigeria, government is the highest employer of labor, so strike actions are often taken against the private sector employers of labor which is a tell tale sign of the abysmal level of industrialization in our country.

    In the United Kingdom,UK, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, who Britons aptly tagged the Iron Lady owing to how she was able to tame the very vocal and influential labor unions, that could significantly influence the outcomes of political parties elections and as they were holding British politicians to a ransome, was hounded until her passage on 8th April 2013 and she was even disrespected by labor activists during her funeral.

    From the narrative above, labor activists all over the world are known to be impetulent and tempestous.

    Having put things in context, to give readers the opportunity to make a fair assessment of the crisis triggered by the negotiqtion for a new minimum wage characterized by hot verbal exchanges between the SGF and organized labor currently happening in Nigeria: and the carpeting of governors by labor leaders, after the governors forum reminded the negotiators that state governments may not be able to pay the wage being demanded; let us examine the veracity of the accusation leveled by the SGF against the labor leaders that they have committed treasonable felony by switching off the national electricity grid which he pointed out as having not been done anywhere in the world.

    On the other hand ,what also needs to be tested for veracity by being put in the crucible of truth are the charges against politicians at both federal and sub national levels by the labor leaders who are claiming that they did no wrong by plunging the nation into total darkness to drive home their demand for increase in minimum wage for workers and then accussed politicians of being the real economic saboteurs.

    So, l posed the question of whether the switching off of electricity from the national grid was a treasonable felony using  Artificial Intelligence, AI tool, and below is the response:

    “Labor unions do not have the right to switch off the national electricity grid as a form of strike protest. While labor unions have the right to peaceful strike actions, sabotaging or tampering with critical infrastructure like the national electricity grid is illegal and potentially dangerous.

    Such actions could lead to serious consequences, including:

    – Endangering public safety

    – Causing widespread economic disruption

    – Damaging equipment and infrastructure

    – Violating labor laws and regulations

    Instead, labor unions typically engage in peaceful strike actions like:

    – Work stoppages

    – Picketing

    – Rallies

    – Negotiations

    Unions may also explore other creative and lawful tactics to draw attention to their demands, like social media campaigns or public outreach efforts.”

    In light of the forgoing, the SGF is right in his allegation that organized labor might have committed treasonable felony by switching off the national electricity grid because it has had grave consequences on the economy of Nigeria and lives of Nigerians.

    Given the reality above, should the ongoing negotiation between governmemt led by a justifiably miffed SGF and labor leaders fail to attain success before the expiration of the one week period of forbearance granted by organized labor when it suspended the strike for one week which ends tuesday 12, June 2024; in order to prevent a re-occurence of the treasonable felony offenses that occured on 3rd June ,should government not take steps to protect our critical assests like the national electricity grid, telephone networks, water reservoirs, airports and sea ports amongst many other such critical infrastructure to make them as impregnable as fortknox to protect them from being easily breached as had happened on 3rd June?

    The second teachable moment from the minimum wage negotiation to me is whether the labor leaders are correct in labeling politicians as the ‘real’ saboteurs when they made the statement.

    As l have always advocated, and in alignment with the title of my column which is also what l titled my latest book: “Leading From The Streets”, mass media platforms are sort of public opionon courts where everyone is free to act as litigants and appellants, as the case may be.

    Put succinctly,we all have the right to present our cases in the courts of public opinion as lawyers do in courts of law.

    After pleading our case, it is left for the  people of Nigeria, particularly those leading from the streets to make the decision in the way that judges do in law courts.

    That is one way in which we will be putting the masses who are Leading From The Streets in the centre-point of leadership.

    Ideally,that is the way it is supposed to be as it would be in consonnance with the tenets of and in alignment with the definition of democracy which is: government of the people,by the people and for the people.

    Arising from the above, and in the spirit of putting leadership in the hands of the people, it is only proper that we scrutinize the allegation by labor leaders that politicians are the ‘real’ economic saboteurs.

    Going by the fact that Mr Ahmed Idris ,a suspended Accountant General of the Federation who is a public servant and not politician was arrested and araigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for allegedly stealing a whooping N109 billion naira from government treasury between february and december 2021,the allegation against politicians is rendered spurious. That is because the claim by labor leaders that politicians are the ‘real’ economic saboteurs is disputable.

    One is also curious to know if our labor leaders  are also implying that civil servants are the ‘fake’ saboteurs, if politicians are the ‘real’ saboteurs ?

    Before Ahmed Idris, another Accountant General  of the Federation that Idris suceeded in office is Mr Jonah Otunla.

    He is another civil servant, not a politician  who served as Accountant General of the Federation between 2011 and 2015 and was also alleged to have stolen about N26 billion from federal government treasury.

    But he refunded about N6.3 billion after being arrested by the EFCC and he has been in court trying to make a case that having made a refund of some of the looted funds,he has been discharged of all criminal and civil liabilities.

    How about Abdulrasheed Maina, that was a public servant heading the defunt pension reform department of government?

    He was given the mandate to sanitize the pension fund space that had become a cesspit of corruption but he relooted what he had recovered from looters and was convicted in november 2021 for stealing 2 billion naira belonging to pensioners after a two-year trial.

    As adumbrated by one Sanusi Muhammad who in a piece published in Trojan News of 3rd december 2023, wherein he identified  a litany of acts of economic sabotage via financial corruption perpetrated,not only by politicians,but also by civil servants,it is clear that civil servants are not absolved from being economic saboteurs.

    In fact from available records, civil servants are as culpable as politicians that they are pointing their fingers at.

    So, is this a case of the kettle calling the pot black?

    In any case, is it not telling that the indicted and convicted civil servants highligted earlier are members of the ‘tribe’ of the organized labor comprising of the umbrella body of civil servants-the Nigeria Labor Congress ,NLC and Trade Union Congress,TUC headed by Joe Ajaero and  Festus Osifo who have been voiceferous in tagging politicians at both national and subnational levels as economic saboteurs?

    It is trite, but it is worth recalling the fact that the indicted and convicted civil servants are actually colleagues of the labor leaders that are expressing righteous indignation.

    The truth and sad reality is that we are all swimming in the cesspool of corruption that equates with economic sabotage, so there is no need expressing righteuors indignation of only condemning corruption when agitating for pay rise.

    How about our labor leaders becoming more innovative by creating anti corruption vanguards/squads  in government institutions to nip the crime in the bud?

    As the conventional wisdom goes.

    ‘Corruption steals from us all’.

    Is it not hypocritical that the Institutions listed below and managed by civil servants are ridden with corruption?

    They range from the Niger Delta Development Commission , NDDC, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund,NSTIF, to Universal Basic Education Commission,UBEC and Nigerian National Petroleun Company, NNPC , Niger Delta Amnesty Funds, as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN .

    It is dishonorable that all of the public agencies listed above have been associated with humungous fraud in the past several years.

    Let it be reiterated that they are being led by public/civil servants who have been engaging in economic sabotage.

    These are crimes which they try to cover up by making incredulous claims such as termites eating up invoices and snakes swallowing missing funds.

    Again , is it not rather hypocritical that there is no evidence that labor leaders reprimanded , condemned how much more sanctioned in any shape or form the referenced economic saboteurs within their ranks that have been indicted or convicted?

    Yet they are lambasting politicians for rejecting their initial scandalous demand for N500,000 as minimum wage for workers instead of focusing more on how the currently very low productivity base in our country could be boosted through investements in infrastructure such as electricity energy generating projects like  Geometric Power providing electricity solution in Aba,Abia state, Innoson Vehicles Manufacturer in Nnewi , Anambra state as well as Dangote refinery in Lekki, Lagos etc, to facilitate industrialization of our country that woud led to the creation of more jobs and prosperity for workers.

    To be clear, one is not holding brief for the members of the political class, or in any way trying to absolve them of their culpabilty in corrupt practices that expose our dear native land to economic sabotage. But l am simply drawing attention to the fact that the allegations by labor leaders that politicians are the ‘real’ saboteurs is spurious and malicious  because it is a case of the kettle calling the pot black.

    In my view, the vitriolic exchanges are unhelpful and mischevious and at best diversionary.

    Instead of chasing the shadows which the grandstanding by organized labor amounts to, they should invest more energy in identifying and addressing the primary cause/causses of the spike in the cost of living of which one of them is food insecurity and the other is due to ongoing economic reforms.

    That brings me to the 3rd teachable moment which revolves around the law governing national minimum wage negotiations.

    It would need to be reviewed because as it currently stands it negates the spirit and letter of true federalism since it empowers the federal government to pass national minimum wage , precluding state governments from fixing their minimum wage based on the resources available in the economy to support low or high wage.

    For instance, would it not be foolhardy for Lagos state that earns Internally Generated Revenue , IGR in excess of N260 billion annually pay the same minimum wage to workers in Zamfara, Ekiti or Ebonyi states with little or no economic  activities from which revenue could be derived as tax?

    Obviously the high cost of living in Lagos ( food, housing ,transportation etc) which is the economic heart beat of Nigeria, can not be compared to that of people living in the aforementioned states in the hinterlands of Nigeria which are rural with much lower costs . So it would be understandable if the workers there are paid less. Is uniform minimum wage nationwide not an aberration of autonomy which  defines true federalism?

    For instance , would US law makers pass a law that the minimum wage in the highly industrialized and populous states of California and New York should be the same paid to workers workers in less urbanized states such as Mississippi, Lousiana or New Mexico?

    The resounding answer is no!

    That is because since the size of their economes are much smaller and weak, they would not find the funds to pay salaries as high as workers are paid in California and New York states that have robust economic bases.

    A similar comparism can be made locally between Lagos, Rivers, Akwa lbom,Delta  and Ogun states that are financially bouyant versus, Ekiti, Zamfara and Ebonyi states that are barely surviving on the lean revenue from FAAC , as they generate little or no revenue internally.

    Clearly, fixing a national minimum wage that is binding on all the component states  that constitute Nigeria would vitiate the concept of autonomy that is the underguarding principle of democracy and which would contradict the concept and practice of true federalism which is central to the practice of presidential system of government that is in operation in our country.

    Arising from the above, the national mininum wage provision in section 4 of the 1999 constition of Nigeria would appear to be an aberration or a contradition of the concept and practice of true federalism which our nation prides herself as practicing.

    As such,that provision for fixing a national minimum wage in section 4 of the 1999 constitution would need to be revisited with a view to tweaking or expunging it to reflect the dynamics of autonomy intrinsinc in the practice of true federalism as it obtains in the US from where we borrowed the presidential system.

    There are several other teachable moments that one has gleaned from the ongoing minimum wage umpasse that my good friend Segun Adeniyi , the editorial board chairman of Thisday newspaper has titled: “ Minimum Wage and Maximum Rage” in his column last week,but time and space would not permit  my laying all of them out in this piece.

    Be that as it may, inflation in Nigeria, especially of the food hue has hit an all time high which is in excess of 40%.

    Obviously the N30,000 minimum wage plus the N35,000 hardship/bonus pay introduced by President Tinubu to cushion the negative fall out of the ongoing socio-economic reforms has not been good enough antidote to the current galloping inflation.

    What elementary economics teaches us is that inflation sets in when a lot of money is chasing few goods.

    Bearing that in mind, what needs to be done, in my humble opinion is increase the productive/production base of our economy.

    Of course one is aware of dollar scarcity and exit of some multinational mamufacturing firms with low capital threshold from our country.

    So, one is not being too bullish about improvements in manufactured products being abundant until the volatility in the financial sector particularly with reepect to foreign exchange rate and crude oil sales are better managed.

    But targeting food inflation that has been skybound,it appears to me that one of the ways to tackle the hardship being experienced by workers would be to boost food security which is currently like a mirrage in light of the high level of insecuriy driven by non state actors-religious insurgents, bandits and separatists/ soveriegn state agitators that have heightened insecurity and made made farming either as a profession or vocation very difficult,if not impossible.

    Since professional farming is currently highly risky in light of how Boko Haram, a couple of years ago gruesomely beheaded some farmers in Sokoto state who defiled their order not to go to farm, vocational farming in gardens around the homes of workers remains a good option to augument food supply that is fast drying up.

    Therefore, a pertinent question to ask is: are our labor leaders considering a solution to the hardships from the prism highlighted above?

    Why must money or wage increase be the only optics from which solution to current hardships is being considered?

    Are our labor leaders not aware that even if the N250,000 minimum wage that they are agitating for is agreed,in less than 3 months, all things being equal, inflation would catch up with the wage increase even if it is as high as the N500,000 that is their original demand?

    My humble counsel would be that workers should weigh all the options available and find a middle ground,even as l urge them to regard government as partners in progress not adversaries as evidenced by the barbs that they are currently being traded  with government functionaries, including those in the two branches-executive and legislative.

    Even government afficionados at both national and subnational levels have not escaped the tongue lashing by organized labor operatives, which is unfortunate because it is making our beloved country look like a theatre of the absurd to onlookers,both locally and internationally.

    How antagonizing the negotiators and excalating  the crisis would bring succur to the workers bearing the brunt remains unfathomable to me.

    On the part of government , restoring security by reining in the outlaws  that are putting lives at risk and making farming difficult, if not imposible should be priotized.

    One is assuming  that President Tinubu is on top of how to resolve the intolerable insecurity issues in our country, and positive result is yet to manifest in that sector, probably because he is rejiging the nation’s security strategy that has been  driven from a kinetic approach which entails applyiing sheer military force as solution.

    But hope for a respite seems to be on the horizon given that government is throwing in a mix of both kinetic and non kinetic strategies (which is about engagement with the society in more scientific methods) such as carrots and sticks approach to get to the route cause of the anti-social bevaviors manifesting as the menance currently hobbling the growth, development and progress of our beloved nation as well as prosperity of Nigerians.

    To make our country great,our labor leaders must transit from being mere workers to problem solvers by becoming a source of innovation and a bastion of productive workforce that would propel our country into ultimately attaining a level of human, food and  energy security that have been the dream of the masses which our leaders have been struggling to make manifest.

     

    Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and more, please visit www.magnum.ng

  • Tinubu’s first year as president has been planting time – By Magnus Onyibe

    Tinubu’s first year as president has been planting time – By Magnus Onyibe

    I would like to commence this intervention by declarng upfront that I am a man who is a devotee of the planning school of thought. So,l will be considering President Bola Tinubu’s one year in office from the prism of a farmer who devotes awesome time to planning ,planting, nurturing and harvesting the crops.

    For the benefits of those who do not posses or are not familiar with the practice  of farming ,which is the preserve of rural dwellers, l will also leverage the analogy of engineering construction that is right in the alley of city dwellers and the elite, to drive home my optimistic review of President Tinubu’s first year in office.

    Without further ado, a very critical factor that has defined the administration of president Tinubu in the past 365 days , is time.

    Even the scripture in the Holy Bible empasises the criticality of time as detailed in Ecclesiastes chapter 3:1-2

    “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, …”

    Owing to the profoundity of that counsel, one would not be surprised if the holy quoran also has an equivalent wise counsel for muslims.

    For President Tinubu, as evidenced by uprooting old policies and programs in the administration of Nigeria  and the replacement of same by planting and building new ones in timely manner,it should be obvious to the discerning that he is very time conscious because he is constrained by it.

    Given the critically valuable role that time plays in planning,it would be difficult to carry out a fair assesement of the first year of president Bola Tinubu’s watch over Nigeria without taking into cognizance the counsel  encapsulated in the scripture earlier cited.

    As we would all agree, one element that is not a friend of politicians is time.

    As an astute politician, President Bola Tinubu recognizes the criticality of time hence he seems to be in hurry to make quick impact.

    More so because, the total time allocated to him based on the provisions in the 1999 constitution of Nigeria for him to be president of Nigeria before he seeks a renewal of his mandate, is a mere four (4) years , 29 may 2023-2027.

    Arising from the above,President Tinubu may be anxoius because the expiry date is literally around the corner.

    It is in cognizance of the above, that my analytical mind tells me that president Tinubu is tending towards detesting taking the conventional grinding route to governace characterized by wide consultations and following the torturous and time consuming path of due process procedures before policies are made.

    We see that in how he annouced subsidy removal on petrol on his inauguration day and the quick passage of the law to revert to our old national anthem which was not subjected to public debate, as the attorney general had proposed, but was over ruled , simply because it was good to go since the national CONFAB had debated and green lighted it in 2014.

    That has been attested to by renowned lawyer,Mike Ozekhome who is a proponent of the national anthem change.

    Extra ordinarily, in a short period of one year under president Tinubu’s watch, he has literally unleashed an avalanche of policy reforms significantly eclipsing the number of policy changes in the entire eight (8 )years lifespan of the immediate past administration of Muhamadu Buhari.

    As the conventional wisdom goes, time waits for no one.

    So,keeping that in mind, l imagine that Mr President had to optimally allot the limited time that he has to the different aspects of his development plan (Renewed Hope Agenda) for Nigeria in order to generate maximum benefits for the electorate, before the expiration in 2027 of the validity of his four (4) years occupancy of Aso Rock Villa seat of political power.

    The assertion above ,about his aversion for bureaucracy that is time consuming is validated by the speed with which president Tinubu has churned out his new policies, in addition to the removal of petrol subsidy on inauguration day, and subsequently merging of the naira exchange rates, he also introduced electricity law 2023 leading to  increase in tarrif, including changing the national anthem from the 1978 version to the one  introduced at independence in 1960 amongst many other such policies too many to be enumerated in this piece.

    In light of the foregoing,my belief is that the first year of Tinubu as president has been a time and season for planting, to maintain the analogy of farming.

    In this second year which has just commenced, the seeds (policies and programs)that he has sown (introduced) are expected to germinate and become crops(take effect)then start bearing fruits (dividends of democracy) that would benefit the long suffering Nigerian people such that they would be motivated to renew his mandate when it is due for renewal in 2027.

    Eschewing politics, we would all agree that it will take time for the seeds planted to sprout as crops before maturing and bearing fruits ,after which it would be harvest time.

    To plant crops that have four (4) years gestation period and expect to reap the fruits in just one (1) year, would be magical, would it not?

    It is for the reasons above that one is of the conviction that the declaration of Tinubu’s presidency in a mere one year of four years mandate as a failure by critics is hasty.

    Let us think about it in a manner that is devoid of emotion.

    We were able to judge ex-president Muhamadu Buhari’s eight (8) years tenure as disastrous and locust years in the life of our country only after his two (2) terms tenure of four (4) years each had been completed. Likewise, it was claimed by some Nigerians that Goodluck Jonathan was clueless as president after his six (6 ) years of our country being under his watch.

    Is it not rather preprosterous that some Nigerians are romantically recalling the Goodluck Jonathan and Muhamadu Buhari days and some members of the commentariat are even comparing Tinubu’s only one-year reign to Buhari’s 8 years and Jonathan’s 6 years watch?

    Even more ridiculous is that some are claiming that since life was better off that time for the average Nigerian by comparing the cost of living then and now,the incumbent president Tinubu should reverse all the new policies so far introduced and revert to the status quo ante.

    That proposition reminds me of how the Israelites were clamourng for Moses to let them go back to their slavery in Egypt after their exodus that he was leading suffered initial setbacks.

    The question to ask is : are the temporary pains being experienced in the course of our journey to socioeconomic freedom led by President Tinubu bad enough to warrant a wish to go back to the torment of economic policies that were slowly but surely going to strangulate our econnomy and asphysiate our country ?

    Without a doubt, if the subsidy on petrol and naira were not removed,the income from crude oil sales that has gradually been drying up due to lower international price, dwindling international demand owing to adoption of electric vehicles in the industrialized world and low production of the commodity in the Niger delta due to policy inconsistency (Patrick Pouyanne ,CEO of Total Energies ,during the Africa CEO conference held in Rwanda recently cited it as reason for investing $6 billion in Angola instead of Nigeria), not forgeting complications from massive theft of the commodity by international oil syndicates; our cherished country was surely going the way of Venezuela -a country rich in oil but suffering from resource course. Hence that nation has been in socioeconomic doldrums, even though it is a close neigbor of the richest country in the world,USA.

    By and large,my optimistic assesment is that President Tinubu’s policies, although imperfect,(which is not unusual of new rules that often require being finetuned after being operationalized)  are meant to steer the ship of state of Nigeria off the violent currents and rapids that could result in the wreckage of the vessel sooner than imagined.

    In light of the narrative above, it would be unfair to make a full judgment call on Tinubu’s government after a mere 12 months of being in the saddle.

    At best, it is an interim assesment that could be carried out because he has only done 25%(one year) of (100%) four (4) years tenure.

    Some critics have sought to know the reason for my optimism about President Tinubu’s ability and capacity to turn the fortune of our cherished country around, and the reasons are legion.

    Take for instance the two major policies that have spiked the cost of living- subsidy removal from petrol pump price and the merging of the multiple exchange rates of the naira.

    The new higher education loan funds that would boost the pool of skilled workforce in our country is also a product of subsidy removal. That policy amounts to subsidy on production as opposed to consumption which subsidies on petrol and the Naira represent.

    Also, by ending petrol subsidy, more money is accruing to the subnational goverments for the development of the rural areas.

    The federal government is currently tackling the state governments in court with a view to making them spend the huge funds acrruing to them responsibly by compelling governors to hands-off funds that should managed by local governments for the upliftment of lives of folks at the grassroots level.

    The floating of the naira by those who took over from Mr Godwin Emefiele, as Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN governor was wrong-headed. So,it didn’t work, and it got reversed by the new CBN leadership that is trying other options. The fall out of the effort is triggering temporary instability in the market,  causing some multinational manufacturing firms with low financial thresholds to exit Nigeria.

    But as the economy becomes more stable, perhaps Nigerian investors can fill in the vacuum left by the foreign firms that exited in the manner that a consortium of local investors (Renaisance group) have bought over the assets of lnternational Oil Companies, IOCs, particularly SHELL that have recently divested from onshore Nigeria exploration activities .

    The removal of subsidies on petrol is also driving the Compressed Natural Gas, CNG initiative that has been ramped up with a view to powering mass transit buses and cars for commuters, representing an evidence of silver lining in the horizon for commutters who may be relieved of the burden of high cost of transportation.

    The reforms in the electricity sector are also accelerating investment in natural gas recovery, instead of being flared as has been the case since 1967 when oil was first discovered in Oloibiribiri, Bayelsa state.

    That is not all, as new investments in oil/gas processing facilities,not just in crude oil extraction,as we have been doing since 1967, would boost productivity and create more jobs for teeming Nigerian youths.

    Apart from Dangote mega refinery that came on stream a few months ago, multiple refineries are also being set up (although they are modular and of small capacity) to fill the local supply gap that has been depleting of our treasury  .

    When our country becomes energy-independent by not importing petrol and diesel, as Alh. Aliko Dangote, chairman/president of Dangote refinery has promised, the pressure on the naira would be reduced and the exchange rate may become less volatile just as inflation would also go down in tandem.

    Clearly, religious insurgency and banditry in the hinterlands are some of the forces driving up food inflation. As opposed to applying same methodology relied on by his prdecessors,President Tinubu could be looking at more technological ways of addressing the insecurity challenges. That would be a paradigm shift from the erstwhile kinetic approach of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari who are ex soldiers that believe in war, war as opposed to jaw jaw in their attempts to restore and guarranty security of lives and properties of Nigerians by reining in the enemies of state that have taken up arms against our country in the last two (2) decades.

    Furthermore ,the removal of subsidy on electricity following the reformed electricity law of 2023 that has also opened up the sector for more private sector investments in renewabble energy such as solar power which most Nigerians are currently embracing in the light of the high cost of electricity powered by fossil fuel that is expensive.ls that not  another reason to be optimistic?

    Although about 12 million consumers (15% of electricity users) have been tagged Band A consumers who have to pay higher tarrifs of N225 naira per kilowatt, which has also negatively impacted the cost of living at the initial stage, since manufacturers are passing the cost to consumers, the ultimate expectation is that the high tarrifs for Band A consumers would come down as more electricity suppliers come on stream with the cost to consumers coming down due to competition and from alternative sources such as wind etc.

    We witnessed the rise of costs with the introduction of GSM telephony some twenty four (24) years ago and a subsequent drop in cost of telephone calls a couple of years after the cost of technology had been significantly recouped by investors such as MTN, GLO, Econet/Airtel etc.

    The positive effect of the reform policy in the electricity  sector is that higher tarrif is also positively driving up interest in harnessing our natural gas potentials that had been left fallow all these 61 years of discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity in Nigeria.

    For instance ,some owners of  GENCOS may sell off their equity to or go into partnetships with some new investors, including state governments and very likely international investors such as Siemens of Germany that had shunned Nigeria when the sector was being unbundled.

    Incidentally, the partial removal of subsidy on electricity via increase in the tarrif for Band A consumers has also resulted in more responsible use of electricity by consumers who used to be nonchallant owing to its subsidized cost,but are currently turning off gadgets when they are not necessary.

    What is more,with the new arrangement encapsulated in the new electricity law 2023, the ideal concept of zoning the country to different players in the electricity power sector to serve as practiced in other climes,may be in the offing.

    One can go on and on but my point is made by the fact president Tinubu has spent the first one year working on Policy formulation, hence we  have seen him tweak and calibrate some policies with a view to make them fit for purpose,which is a trait that some pundits are railing against.

    As the saying goes, the morning determines the evening. There are promising signs that President Tinubu’s administration is on the right path regarding policy formulation. Nevetheless, it needs to focus more on implementation as it enters its second year, even as the task of revitalizing the economy remains ongoing.

     

    Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and more ,please visit www.magnum.ng

  • Tinubu’s first year anniversary: 3rd Mainland Bridge as metaphor for Nigeria’s transformation – By Magnus Onyibe

    Tinubu’s first year anniversary: 3rd Mainland Bridge as metaphor for Nigeria’s transformation – By Magnus Onyibe

    On April 4, 2024, residents of Lagos, Nigeria’s bustling commercial hub, breathed a collective sigh of relief. The pivotal bridge connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, spanning the expansive body of water known as the lagoon, reopened to traffic after undergoing extensive repairs. For the preceding six months, Lagosians endured arduous commutes amidst congested traffic gridlock while the bridge underwent maintenance.

    This rehabilitation initiative, commenced by the Federal Ministry of Works on November 6, 2023, targeted the 11.3-kilometer-long bridge, famously dubbed the 3rd Mainland Bridge. Its completion marked a significant milestone, alleviating the commuting woes that plagued motorists and residents of lagos for half a year.

    Coincidentally, the decision to overhaul the bridge aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s assumption of political leadership on May 29, 2023. As it would be recalled in the cause of his innauguration, he opted to terminate subsidies on petrol and abolish the dual foreign exchange system, which he identified as hindrances to Nigeria’s development.

    Much like the extensive repairs undertaken on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, Nigeria’s ongoing socioeconomic reforms, spearheaded by President Tinubu, which are deemed essential for the nation’s progress have triggered severe hardships for Nigerians. Despite the undeniable hardships these reforms have imposed on the populace, akin to the inconveniences faced by Lagosians during the 3rd mainland bridge’s rehabilitation, president Tinubu perceives them as inevitable and crucial for Nigeria’s long-term stability and growth.

    Remarkably, his  departure from conventional economic policies, epitomized by the removal of subsidies on petrol and the naira, signifies a commitment to confronting challenges head-on. This proactive approach reflects a departure from the status quo, where leaders often prioritize short-term fixes over addressing underlying structural challenges.

    Before delving deeper into the matter, it’s pertinent to contextualize this analogy between the 3rd Mainland Bridge and President Tinubu’s development agenda for Nigeria. This comparison underscores the parallel between the physical refurbishment of infrastructure and the systemic reforms aimed at rectifying deep-rooted socioeconomic imbalances in our country.

    The crux of the matter is this: President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, and he immediately recognized Nigeria’s dire situation, as the economy was teetering on the edge of collapse, and decided that drastic reforms were imperative, akin to a surgical operation, to pull the nation back from the brink. Consequently, he implemented the difficult  reforms, effectively placing the country in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a critical care section in a hospital where doctors attend to severely ill patients.

    Similarly, upon his appointment by president Tinubu, Works Minister Engineer Dave Umahi acknowledged the severe dilapidation of the 3rd Mainland Bridge. Understanding the potential for massive loss of life if the bridge were to collapse, given that it was constructed  34 years prior in 1990, Umahi made the tough decision not just to give it a facelift but to put the bridge through serious structural rehabilitation. This was essential to ensure the safety of Lagosians and improve transport infrastructure for enhanced mobility, despite the inconvenience it caused.

    In the light of the above , the metaphor of 3rd mainland bridge rehabilitation for president Tinubu’s agenda of transforming Nigeria lies in the parallel between President Tinubu’s efforts to completely overhaul Nigeria with a view to resetting the country and Minister Umahi’s initiative to refurbish the 3rd Mainland Bridge in a fundamental way. While these decisions initially caused hardship for Nigerians, they hold long-term benefits. Already, after six (6) months of hardships arising from the closure of the bridge,Lagosians are reaping the rewards of the bridge’s rehabilitation as the perennial traffic gridlock synonimous with 3rd mainland bridge has dissappeared. Arising from the above, the initial disruptions and pains that the repairs caused motorists have become like the pains experienced by women during child birth which are easily forgotten when the baby has been safely delivered .

    The hope is that President Tinubu’s painful yet necessary socioeconomic reforms will yield results as positive as the euphoria surrounding the reopening of the 3rd Mainland Bridge on April 4, 2024.

    However, as economists must admit,transforming a severely damaged economy  is no mean task. If nothing else,it requires a longer gestation period due to bureaucratic processes associated with governance. Hence even as it took six (6) months for 3rd mainland bridge (a spec on the myriads of challenges besetting Nigeria) to be delivered, it would take much longer for the impact of Tinubu’s reform policies to fully manifest. Particularly, from the initial pains to joy as was the case with the 3rd mainland bridge. So, it would be unjust to expect the rejuvenation of a nearly collapsed economy after just one year of his four )4) years tenure.

    Without a doubt, previous  administrations were aware of the 3rd Mainland Bridge’s deteriorating condition but opted for temporary fixes to avoid inconveniencing Lagosians. This neglect exposed millions of commuters to the imminent danger of a collapse. Similarly, past leaders hesitated to address the unsustainable practice of subsidizing petrol pump price and multiple exchange rate of the naira , fearing the repercussions of ending it.

    It bears repeating that the rehabilitation of the 3rd Mainland Bridge serves as a metaphor for Nigeria’s economy simply because President Tinubu’s efforts mirror the transformation of the bridge from a hazardous thoroughfare to a symbol of dramatic change. Just as the bridge now stands as a testament to transformative infrastructure development, l would argue that Tinubu aims to fortify Nigeria’s economy into a more resilient and prosperous entity, akin to the newfound safety and convenience experienced by motorists in Lagos.

    The assertion above is underscored by the widely-held belief among Nigerians that our beloved country was teetering on the brink of becoming a failed state during the previous administration. It wasn’t until the incumbent president, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, assumed office barely one year ago that there was a shift in governance style focused more on taking the bull by the horns by boldly introducing policies that would provide long term solutions to our country’s myriads of challenges.

    This sentiment was succinctly captured by the current governor of Anambra State and former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who aptly described the state of the Nigerian economy inherited by President Tinubu on May 29th last year as a ‘Dead Horse Walking’. In essence, Governor Soludo, who should know by virtue of being ex CBN governor affirmed that Nigeria was on the verge of failure before President Tinubu took office.

    It’s disheartening to note that many of those now expressing opposition to incumbent president’s  reform policies had perhaps hoped for a continuation of the previous administration’s attempts to patch up the ailing economy. However, President Tinubu recognized the need for radical change rather than merely tinkering around the edges.

    Mr President’s decision to tackle the root causes of Nigeria’s challenges, such as unsustainable subsidies, signifies a departure from the ineffective strategies of past administrations. This bold approach aims to transform the nation’s narrative for the better by addressing underlying issues head-on.

    Analogous to Minister Umahi’s decisive action in fundamentally repairing the 3rd Mainland Bridge to avert its collapse, President Tinubu’s commitment to ending subsidies on petrol and the naira signifies a resolve to renew hope for Nigerians. This entails enduring short-term inconveniences for long-term gains, akin to the repairs on the bridge.

    Even critics of the administration can not deny that the successful renovation of the 3rd Mainland Bridge stands as a testament to President Tinubu’s  reform policies, which have alleviated the plight of motorists. Other measures include redirecting more funds to states for rural development, introducing Compressed Natural Gas,CNG to reduce transportation costs via mass transit buses, launching of the Renewed Hope housing project across cities nationwide, commencing the coastal road from Lagos to Calabar to spur job creation and faciliate the harnessing of the blue economy, and implementing a student loans program to enhance access to higher education for the indigent ones thereby boosting the poll of skilled workforce in our economy . These initiatives collectively aim to revitalize the nation and uplift its citizens. But to attain the lofty goals Nigerians have to endure the pains of being weaned of their enjoyment of subsidy on consumption. It is unsurprising that arising from the withdrawal of subsidies on petrol and the naira which have had far reaching negative effects on living standards of a criitical mass of Nigerians, some of us have been suffering from what is generally known as  witdrawal syndrome which is commonly manifested by those addicted to cigarettes at the initial stage of being denied access to nicothine.

    With consistency and discipline of denying oneself of the pleaure or luxury, an addict can be cured of the desease for good.

    Certainly, there are numerous Nigerians who don’t share the optimism conveyed in this intervention regarding the brighter future that awaits them if president Tinubu pulls  off the hat trick of transforming Nigeria as it were . The negative sentiment most likely stems from their experience of the hardships caused by the ongoing socio-economic reforms, leaving them understandably frustrated and angry. It is justifiable to empathize with such skepticism and frustration, given that it’s largely fueled by the disappointments from unfulfilled promises made by previous administrations.

    It is not rocket science to figure out a clear pattern of policy reversals contributing to the prevailing cynicism. Reflecting on a few notable instances sheds light on this. One such case is Vision 2020, which presented ambitious life-altering plans, instilling hope for Nigeria’s transformation by 2020. However, these lofty aspirations remain unrealized to date, primarily due to successive administrations’ failure to execute the proposed initiatives.

    With President Tinubu’s first year anniversary holding on May 29, marking one-quarter of his four-year term, I urge Nigerians not to allow the past to shape their assesment of his promises and actions so far. Rather l implore them to grant his administration a grace period of another twelve months  for his policies to mature. Let’s observe if the seeds of development that he has planted over the past year will yield tangible results, providing relief akin to the reopening of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

    One is making the plea considering that one year in office represents only 25% of President Tinubu’s four (4) years tenure. Just as a student enrolled in a four-year degree program wouldn’t be expected to sit for their final exams after the first year, we cannot fully assess an administration’s performance based on such a short timeframe.

    Currently, one ingredient that we’re lacking  in the polity is patience-a crucial component for maintaining social unity. To cultivate this patience, the government should foster optimism for a better tomorrow by actively involving the public in its initiatives and policies, and ensuring its dedication to safeguarding the welfare of the marginalized within society. There have always been two choices open to Nigerians. These are the option of permanent regret or  of temporay pain.

    For two long our compatriots  have been wallowing in regret having been used to remaining in our comfort zones than to bear the intial pains that would usher us into a more stable and properous future. In the focus group meetings that l have had with Nigerians in the different strata of society, there is a feeling that the masses are not being carried along in the programs and policies of government.

    If Nigerians believe that they are an intergral part of the decision to move away from subsidy on consumption regime reflected by the age long petrol and naira subsidy to the new era of subsidy on production such as the recently introduced loan for university and polythenic students, they would buy into the agenda of government without much ado.

    That is why one is advocating that it is time for government to carry the masses along in governance.

    The transformation of the 3rd mainland bridge in lagos is a proof of concept that positive change from decadence to growth, progress  and prosperity for Nigeria and indeed Nigerians can happen when a visionary and bold leader is in charge.

     

    Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and more ,please visit www.magnum.ng

  • Redefining leadership by honouring leaders from the streets – By Magnus Onyibe

    Redefining leadership by honouring leaders from the streets – By Magnus Onyibe

    Vox populi, vox dei, translated into English language from latin, simply means, the voice of the people is the voice of God.

    For too long Nigerians have been conditioned into thinking that leadership can only emanate from those in the corridors of political power-government. So,majority of the populace assume that without government taking the initiative , progresive actions to improve their living conditions can not be undertaken for the good of the individuals in particular, and the nation in general. Hence, for instance ,more often than not, until the national budget is passed annually, the economy of our country suffers a paralysis of sort, as literally everyone depends on the bureacracy for sustainance. In the developed climes, government serves only as a catalyst for entepreneurship and plays the role of providing level playing field as well as serves as the guarantor of security and safety for all members of society to thrive.

    As evidence that leadership is not only from those elected into public office, but positive change can be made by individuals and as a group, six (6) outstanding Nigerian firms and individuals who have been leading from the streets by making positive impact on society were singled out for the conferment of the Leading From The Streets merit awards. The Nigerians who merited the honor are:

    Prof. Wole Soyinka: He was leading from the streets when he was jailed for 22 months by the military because of an article he wrote and published in the mass media, where he stood against the looming civil war. Our dear professor was incarcerated for speaking against the war that eventually consumed an estimated one million souls over three years (1967-1970), during which his liberty was taken away from him.

    It was no surprise that his outstanding leadership, dedication to humanity, and professional expertise did not go unnoticed internationally. Hence, in 1986, he became the Nobel laureate for literature. Prof. Soyinka could have leveraged his popularity to enter politics, as did fellow teacher and former president  Nwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania who started off as a teacher activist. However, he did not choose that path to leadership. Instead, he continued leading from the streets. For that reason, he qualifies for the Leading From The Streets award.

    Col. Dangiwa Umar: He was also leading from the streets after leaving the military while still immensely popular for his disciplined leadership style and high moral standards. Remarkably, he resisted the allure of joining politics, unlike his bosses, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who became presidents of Nigeria after their military service. Instead, he chose to stay out of government, leveraging his influence to shape policies that promote unity among Nigeria’s multiple ethnic nationalities.

    One recent occasion when he did so was when he wrote an open letter to the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to resist the temptation driven by primordial ethno-religious sentiments to delay or fail to appoint Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem as the President of the Court of Appeal, where she was the next highest jurist in the hierarchy after the retirement of the incumbent.

    Following Col. Umar’s open letter, President Buhari confirmed the appointment of Justice Dongban-Mensem, a female Christian from Plateau State as Appeal Court president. That intervention, and several others in the interest of the masses, have earned Col. Umar the Leading From The Streets award.

    Barrister Allen Onyema: The chairman and CEO of Air Peace is renowned for rescuing Nigerians abroad during times of crisis or war, resulting in their being stranded in a strange land.

    He organized rescue missions with his airplanes to Libya, Sudan, and South Africa during internal crises in these countries, including during xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa. He repeated the same feat by flying his aircraft to Ukraine to rescue Nigerians trapped when Russia invaded the country.

    To crown it all, he recently lowered the price of airline tickets to the UK by offering his flights at substantially reduced rates compared to the exorbitant amounts previously charged by foreign airlines monopolizing the routes. Another profound gesture was the rebate on ticket costs that Airpeace offers to Nigerian students to encourage them to return home during holidays.

    In his reckoning, the high cost of tickets had compelled some not to return home for many years. It is remarkable that the last time one heard of ticket rebates for students was in the days of Nigeria Airways. Barrister Onyema did all these philanthropic gestures out of love for our country, without being in the corridors of political power. As such, he qualifies to be recognized as one of the Nigerians Leading From The Streets.

    Chief Mike Adenuga, with his Globacom mobile telecommunications services, revolutionized GSM telephone costs by introducing per-second billing instead of the per-minute template operated by MTN and Econet (now Airtel) since the commencement of the service in Nigeria in 2000. With the per-minute billing system, Nigerians were burdened by the high cost of making GSM calls, as they had to pay for minutes even if their calls lasted only seconds, which was an unfair practice.

    After initial setbacks in obtaining the license to operate due to technical hitches created by bureaucracy, Chief Adenuga’s Globacom, the only indigenous GSM service provider, entered the telecommunications space with revolutionary per-second pricing, to the relief of Nigerians who could not be rescued from the exploitation by the regulatory authority, the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC).

    Chief Adenuga’s Glo also reduced the cost of SIM card packs from N15,000 to N5,000. Thus, without being in the corridors of power but from the streets, Chief Mike Adenuga has positively impacted the lives of Nigerians. Therefore,as the owner of Globacom, he merits being identified as someone Leading From The Streets and is receiving the award.

    Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, a lawyer, human rights advocate, and one-time President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has been leading from the streets. He began doing so when he led the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) in pushing for the military to relinquish their hold on political power, which began with the 1966 coup that toppled the First Republic.

    Despite personal risks to himself and fellow advocates, they dared the military, got arrested, and were consequently bludgeoned. However, they persisted until the men and women in khaki, who were usurpers of political power, were compelled to relinquish political power and retreat to their barracks. Dr. Agbakoba made all those sacrifices selflessly in the interest of the critical mass of Nigerians who were craving democratic rule, which they had been denied by the military juntas.

    Due to his immense popularity after successfully helping to end military rule, he could have ventured into politics to justifiably benefit from his hard work, as other ex-NBA presidents have done by possibly vying for the governorship of his state. Perhaps he might have succeeded in becoming the governor of Anambra State, as Akeredolu (of blessed memory) did in Ondo State after serving as NBA president. But he did not; instead, he preferred to continue Leading From The Streets, hence he is receiving the award.

    Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the foremost Nigerian leading from the streets. With his Dangote Group of companies that has touched many lives , and which began with the importation of commodities into Nigeria, he has transitioned into the largest manufacturer of the items his firm used to import. By doing so, he became the largest employer of labor in Nigeria and, by implication, the highest taxpayer. He recently remarked that 52% of the cost of cement goes to government as tax.

    Currently a multi-billionaire in dollars and the richest man in Africa, Alhaji Dangote’s latest investment in a mega refinery ($20 billion and 650,000 barrels per day capacity) in Lagos is so revolutionary that it is about to result in the shutdown of some refineries in Europe, which mainly relied on West African countries as a market for their export of petrol and diesel to power factories and homes in the region, especially in Nigeria.

    For having the confidence to invest an estimated twenty billion dollars in the 650,000-barrels-a-day refinery and fertilizer company that would not only help Nigeria but the entire continent of Africa conserve foreign exchange that was previously being sent to Europe for the importation of petroleum products and food, he is Leading From The Streets.

    To cap it all, Alhaji Dangote recently reduced the price of diesel oil from about N1,650 per liter to less than N1,000, representing about a 40% drop in price. That’s not all; with his immense wealth, he recently invested a whopping N15 billion to obtain rice and other palliatives for distribution to the vulnerable in our society and help alleviate the hardship triggered by the ongoing socio-economic reforms aimed at stabilizing our country. Africa’s most affluent man could have leveraged his popularity and vied for the presidency of Nigeria, and he might have won.

    If he did so, Dangote would have been following in the footsteps of the fabulously wealthy Chief MKO Abiola (of blessed memory), who was the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential elections. Even the current South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was one of the richest men in his country, estimated to be worth $450 million, before he contested and became president of his country in 2018.

    But Alhaji Dangote elected not to go in that direction and has been Leading From The Streets. It is for these reasons that Africa’s richest man, with a net worth of $15.5 billion and ranked 107th richest in the world, is being honored with the Leading From The Streets award.

    These individuals that have been honored, exemplify leadership through their actions and dedication to society, proving that impactful leadership transcends public office.

    It is remarkable that the honor is not bestowed only on entrepreneurs, but also on those that have demonstrated leadership through advocacy for democracy, human rights and inclusiveness of all Nigerians in the scheme of things.

    Without equivocation, the Leading From The Streets award is our own small equivalent of the Nobel Prize, and it carries the goodwill of appreciative Nigerians. It is also similar to Mo Ibrahim’s leadership award for good governance, which recognizes public officials in Africa who lead with integrity. However, unlike the Nobel and Mo Ibrahim leadership awards, the Leading From The Streets honor has no monetary value but confers social values such as respect and admiration on the recipients from all people of goodwill in our society.

    Certainly, the list of Nigerians leading from the streets who merit the award is not exhaustive. But we are starting with these six exemplary leaders. When we publicly present our forthcoming book, “Africa, Exporting Wealth, Importing Poverty,” we will unveil our next laureates, recognized not for their services to our beloved country from the corridors of political power, but for Leading From The Streets (outside of government) by breaking national barriers to deliver goods and services from Nigeria to the rest of Africa and beyond.

    For clarity, the award will feature not just those who have positively impacted our society through activities outside of government, such as the revolution of business practices leading to employment creation, whom we have just honored.

    But in the next edition of the award, we will go beyond that by also honoring those whose businesses have become conglomerates in Africa by exporting Nigerian goods and services, similar to how South Africa’s MTN and DSTV have been exported to Nigeria and the rest of Africa; Kenya’s tea, flowers, and coffee are exported to other African nations, Europe and the rest of the world; Egypt’s export of nitrogenous fertilizer around the globe; and Cote D’Ivoire’s and Ghana’s export of cocoa to the rest of the world.

    The truth is that there are firms in Nigeria fast becoming like European and American conglomerates that need to be recognized and encouraged as economic growth drivers. For instance, apart from some of the first tier banks-Zenithbank, UBA, Accessbank , Gtbank that dominate African banking landscape and with presence in Europe , Middle East, North America and Asia, there are the likes of Flutterwave and Paystack, founded by Nigerian youths and exported across the world.

    Against the foregoing backdrop, I have no doubt that Nigeria possesses the capacity to export all the products currently being exported by the fellow African countries mentioned earlier. However, our country has been hobbled by a fixation on oil and gas exports as the main source of foreign exchange income. That is a limitation responsible for Nigeria’s apparent arrested development.

    Hopefully, by rewarding those making waves in areas other than the well-beaten path of wealth creation—mainly through harnessing oil and gas resources and government contracting—they will be encouraged to continue focusing on productive paths. This includes adding value to natural raw materials, such as refining crude oil into fuel and processing raw cocoa into chocolate, as well as delivering innovative products and services like financial technology (Fintech) applications and other innovative activities such as deploying artificial intelligence, to catalyze the progress and development of our country.

    I am convinced beyond any doubt that our country is currently punching below its weight. But with the right people leading the nation,Nigeria  can get out of the woods sooner than anticipated.

    That is especially if the Renewed Hope agenda of the incumbent administration is pursued with more empathy and through leading by example as well as  concerted efforts made to carry the critical mass of Nigerians along by making them strategic partners in the socioeconomic reform agenda of the incumbent government.

    That can be achieved by getting the citizens to own it so that it would be less painful, as opposed to the current situation whereby the reforms are looking like they are being forced down the throats of the masses , willy-nilly.

     

    Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and more ,please visit www.magnum.ng

  • Leadership lessons from public presentation of “Leading From The Streets” – By Magnus Onyibe

    Leadership lessons from public presentation of “Leading From The Streets” – By Magnus Onyibe

    The much-awaited public presentation of the book, “Leading From The Streets: Media Interventions By A Public Intellectual, 1999-2019,” authored by myself, took place at the prestigious Alliance Française/Mike Adenuga, Ikoyi, Lagos, with aplomb on Wednesday, 8th May 2024.

    It was a three-in-one event that featured the unveiling of the book, a panel discussion on the theme “Tinubunomics: What’s Working, What’s Not Working, Why, And Way Forward,” and honors bestowed on six exemplary leaders from outside the corridors of power for their contributions to society by Leading From The Streets and not corridors of political power.

    The public presentation and unveiling of the book were attended by Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who served as the chairman of the occasion, the former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Segun Osoba, a media royalty, former Cross Rivers State governor, the effervescent Mr. Donald Duke, and the man who charted a path for me in politics, former Delta State governor and irrepressible national political leader, Chief James Ibori. Intellectual governors, Prof. Charles Soludo of Anambra State, and his Edo State counterpart, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, were unavoidably absent as they are outside the shores of our country, but they sent words and representatives.

    The private sector was also well represented, with the Chairman of HEIRS Holdings/UBA, Mr. Tony Elumelu, represented by the company secretary of UBA, Mr. Billy Odum, as well as Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, GMD/CEO of First Bank Holding, in attendance, personally amongst many others such as Mr. Henry Imasekha, an investment banker/Chairman of Berkely Group, and Mr. J.K Randle, one of the foremost accountants in our country. Other private sector players, too numerous to list in this short piece, were well represented, and we are most grateful to all of them.

    As one of the readers of the book pointed out, because it captures the socioeconomic and political developments in Nigeria between 1999 and 2019 in one volume, any researcher who wants to learn about the dynamics of change in the evolution of politics, societal issues, and the economy of Nigeria should plan to have the book as a companion because it would be a useful compass.

    Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who is the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, was unable to personally attend the event due to prior engagements but offered to send a representative to attend on his behalf. In a letter affirming his support for the book, he made the following observation: “By documenting history in books, we make ourselves part of the timeless fabric of humanity. That is as close to immortality as we can hope for.” He then concluded by stating: “For many years, you have been one of the preeminent public intellectuals in our country. I’m glad that your contributions through the years are now available in one easily accessible volume, and I congratulate you on this publication.”

    The Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila’s complimentary statement provides the answer to the question that has been agitating the minds of some Nigerians who have been wondering why I published “Leading From The Streets,” which was presented to the public on 8th May. As the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu rightly noted, the book chronicles my personal contributions to nation-building through media articles spanning two decades of Nigeria’s return to multi-party democracy now encapsulated in one tome.

    The hope is that the nuggets of wisdom contained in the book would give confidence to the masses and nudge long-suffering Nigerians towards pulling their skills and resources together for the prosperity of the nation and her people. It is also expected to guide those leading from the corridors of political power presently and in the future to learn from the documented past records of their predecessors so that they can avoid the mistakes of the past occupants of the seats that they presently occupy.

    There is a popular aphorism: “If you want to hide something from the black man, hide it in a book.” To the best of my knowledge, no convincing evidence has been produced to back up that adumbration.

    So, I do not subscribe to that notion; hence, I embarked on the mission of democratizing access to the book, “Leading From The Streets,” by distributing over two hundred copies nationwide free-of-charge to governors, National Assembly members, the Presidency – Vice President’s office, and the office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

    The Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of major private sector firms in telecommunications, oil/gas, including major players in the financial services sector, as well as heads of development and money deposit banks, are also among those to whom invitations were extended and copies of the book were sent.

    A significant number of ministers, heads of departments, and agencies of the government were also sent copies of the book via GiG Logistics, which is an indigenous courier firm competing with multinational logistics firms like UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc. For patriotic reasons, GiG is my preferred choice for distributing the books.

    In fact, the preference for GiG is my way of promoting the “Made in Nigeria” or “Nigeria First” mantra, which, in my view, should define the government at this point in time when Nigerians are groaning under the yoke of hardship arising from ongoing reforms in the economy, especially as the masses are complaining about the high cost of governance and the increasing burden of more taxation being imposed on them.

    After the unveiling of the book by Gen. Gowon, GCFR, alongside other dignitaries, the panel discussion on the theme “Tinubunomics: What’s Working, What’s Not Working, Why, and the Way Forward” commenced. It generated tension as one of the panelists, Mr. Bala Zarka, a chartered accountant and leader of the Ikeja Lagos district of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), declared that “Tinubunomics” (an encapsulation of the reform politics of President Tinubu) was not working.

    He became emotional in denouncing the reforms and almost drowned out the voices of the other panelists, including the moderator, Prof. Anthony Kila, Ms. Ayo Obe, a renowned civil rights lawyer, Mr. Sam Omatseye, Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation newspaper, and Dr. Dakuku Peterside, former NIMASA Director-General, who was co-opted into the panel.

    As the other panelists pointed out, some of the policies are working, such as the removal of a substantial part of the subsidy on petrol pump prices and the devaluation of the naira, which are responsible for more money currently flowing into governments at subnational levels. Hopefully, the funds would be optimally utilized by governors through channeling it into developing the rural areas where the masses reside.

    Petrol subsidy removal is also programmed to be the source of funding for the recently introduced Student Loans Fund, with Mr. Akintunde Sawyer as the Executive Secretary and Mr. Jim Ovia, the founder/Chairman of Zenith Bank, serving as the Chairman of the board. Without being said, it is expected that Mr. Ovia, who birthed Zenith Bank as the founder, a financial institution that has been a phenomenal success, will bring his magic touch to bear on the student loan initiative.

    In my estimation, the positive effect of that policy can only be equated to the late sage Obafemi Awolowo’s introduction of free education in the Western Region when he was the premier, which leapfrogged the region into the stratosphere of prosperity in terms of education and socioeconomic development compared to her peers in the Eastern and Northern regions.

    Overall, while Bala Zarka’s outburst reflects the anger of a sizable proportion of Nigerians on the streets who deem “Tinubunomics” (the incumbent government’s reforms) as not working, a significant number of Nigerians, represented by other members of the panel, see “Tinubunomics” as working, though not perfect. They emphasize that one year is too soon to objectively assess government policy. In light of the hightened level of hardship the policies are wreaking on the masses, in their view, some of the policies aimed at correcting past mistakes can be better implemented.

    Remarkably, President Tinubu has proven to be a listening leader, as he has made efforts to give a human face to some of his policies by adjusting the amount of subsidy removed in petrol prices and naira devaluation. He has also done so by slightly adjusting the electricity tariff recently increased for those in the higher rung of society—band A consumers. He has just suspended the obnoxious cyber security levy which the CBN had imposed on the banking public while he (the president) was abroad wooing potential investors into our country.

    The administration is also easing the palpable pains being experienced by the vulnerable members of society by way of palliatives handed to the masses directly and granting bridging loans to state governments as a buffer against the rising cost of living. With the incumbent government promoting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) use for mass transit buses to ease the cost of transportation, the masses may soon heave a sigh of relief.

    Although some of the highlighted initiatives are still in the conceptualization stage, they hold promises to alleviate and ameliorate the pains currently being endured by a critical mass of Nigerians.

    Understandably, the most critical element currently missing is patience, which is required from Nigerians to enable the policies driven by Tinubunomics to attain maturity. And l join the incumbent administration in pleading with our compatriots for time to enable Tinubunomics  attain maturity.

    On the flip side, the masses who are fast running out of patience are also demanding good governance and accountability via reduced cost of governance from the incumbent administration.

    And president Tinubu has committed to that, but typical of government policies, they take time to manifest.

    As the 35th president of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, stated during his inauguration in 1961: “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, But Ask What You Can Do For Your Country.” Our country appears to be in a similar socioeconomic and political situation that the US was in when President Kennedy made the speech that inspired Americans to resolve to pull the country back from the brinks economically. Similarly, for the good of all Nigerians, both those leading from the corridors of power and the ones leading from the streets, we all have to find a common ground/equilibrium so that our economy and country can take the much-awaited leap forward.

     

    Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and much more, pls visit magnum.ng.

  • Tinubunomics: What’s working, what’s not, why and way forward – By Magnus Onyibe

    Tinubunomics: What’s working, what’s not, why and way forward – By Magnus Onyibe

    The countdown to the public presentation of the long-awaited book, “Leading From The Streets: Media Interventions By A Public Intellectual 1999-2019” by Magnus Onyibe, on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, from 9 am, promptly at Alliance Française/Mike Adenuga Center in Ikoyi, Lagos, has commenced.

    The book, which is my humble contribution to nation-building in these trying times, is about how we all, as leaders in our own rights, need to support each other and the  government to survive the current hardships arising from the ongoing socioeconomic reforms. The book is a sort of elixir as it contains narratives about past mistakes and misteps by Nigerian leaders. By recalling the past leadership errors , those currently in the corridors of political power have the opportunity to learn from the past wrong judgements by leaders and make amends going forward.

    During the public presentation of the book, Nigerians will have the opportunity to make suggestions to leaders in the corridors of political power and receive candid responses.

    The Vice President, His Excellency, Kashim Shettima, is billed to be the special guest of honor, and Gen. Yakubu Gowon,oldest living Nigerian head of state will serve as the chairman of the occasion. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, will also be in attendance, just as there will be a panel of erudite and concerned Nigerians to discuss the theme “Tinubonomics: What’s working, what’s not, why, and the way forward.”

    It is expected that at the end of the event, there will be fresh perspectives injected into the leadership of our country by those leading from the streets.

    That’s because it is an opportunity, as leaders in our own rights, to suggest to the government in power what we deem necessary to move the nation forward. While Prof. Wole Soyinka,would not be available to serve as the keynote speaker as earlier scheduled because he had to travel out in a hurry to attend to a family emergency , Prof. Osagie Osaghae, DG of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, will review the book, and the popular economist Mr. Bismarck Rewane, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives, will break down in layman’s terms how petrol subsidy withdrawal and naira devaluation affect the price of bread, rice, and tomatoes in the market and what needs to be done to ameliorate the resultant hardships being experienced by a critical mass of Nigerians.

    Dr. Idowu Oyebanjo, an electricity energy management expert, will also share with Nigerians what the authorities need to do to make the removal of subsidy on electricity less painful for the masses.

    A panel of discussants, with Prof. Anthony Kila of CIAP as the moderator, Mr. Sam Omatseye, the editorial board chairman of The Nation newspaper, Ms. Ayo Obe, a renowned legal practitioner, and Mr. Bala Zakka, an accountant leading the Ikeja, Lagos branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), as members, are expected to interrogate the theme “Tinubonomics: What’s Working, What’s Not, Why, and the Way Forward.” The event will be transmitted live by Africa Independent Television, AiT, to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.

    There will also be live streaming and Zoom link-up opportunities directly to homes and offices open to those unable to attend in person.

    “Leading From The Streets” awards to deserving Nigerians will also be taking place on the sidelines of the public presentation of the book. So, effectively it is a three in one package.

    Prof. Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate who has been in the vanguard of intellectuals advocating for the unity of Nigeria and was even detained for 22 months for engaging in intellectual work of expressing his opposition to the brewing Nigerian Biafran civil war in late 1960s.

    Also, Mr. Allen Onyema, founder/CEO of Air Peace airline that has been rescuing stranded Nigerians from crisis/conflict zones internationally and recently lowered airfares between Lagos and London to the pleasure of Nigerians and chagrin of foreign airline operators that have been exploiting Nigerians will also be honored as one the remarkable Nigerians Leading From The Streets.

    By the same token,Alhaji Aliko Dangote/Dangote Refinery that also recently lowered the price of diesel to the joy of our compatriots bearing the pains of high cost of living arising from removal of subsidy on fuel, is amongst the six (6) beneficiaries that will be conferred with the Leading From The Streets honor.

    Others include Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar and Dr. Olisa Agbakoba for intergrity, uprightness and and pro- democracy advocacy just as Chief Mike Adenuga/Globacom is being recognized for rendering people-centered services such as democratizing access to GSM telephones for the masses and making telephone calls inexpensive by introducing per second as opposed to per minute billing  earlier imposed by foreign operators ,therefore making telephony affordable to all Nigerians.

    By and large, with my new book: Leading From The Streets. Media Interventiions By A Public Intellectual (1999-2019), a case is being made that Nigerians who are leaders in their own rights and outside the corridors of political power with ideas on how to move our country forward are expected to contribute their humble opinions and efforts towards making  Nigeria a better and greater country and political leaders are supposed to listen to them.

    It may be recalled that in 1961 when one of the most famous presidents of the United States of America, USA,John F. Kennedy, was being sworn into office as the 35th president, he famously stated: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”

    It is that same spirit that is driving the writing and public presentation of the book , Leading From The Streets.

    A panel discussion of the policies and programs of the incumbent administration tagged Tinubunomics and the conferrement of Leading From The Streets awards on six (6) Nigerians that have exhibited examplary leadership that have made positive impact on the nation and its people.

    The socioeconomic situation in the US before president Kennedy’s tenure was rough and tough as we are currently experiencing in Nigeria with the incumbent administration struggling to pull our country out of the woods by ending policies that had been stiffling the nation and preventing her from growing and progressing as it should.

    But with Americans being inspired by president Kennedy to resolve to work assidously together to overcome the challenges faced at that time, Americans and their  leaders implemented policies that enabled the country attain sucess and the people  became properous.

    In like manner,Nigeria can leap forward if our leaders in the corridors of political power work in harmony with those leading  from the streets.

    The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barrister Festus Keyamo, as well as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Yemi Cardoso, are expected to deliver goodwill messages during the event.

    In light of the above , as it were, the Alliance Française/Mike Adenuga Centre located at the intersection between Alfred Rewane and Osborne roads in Ikoyi, Lagos, is set to welcome and host an August event in May.

    That is because Nigerians who have been very resilient are waiting anxiously for the outcome of the very tough reforms that have inflicted a lot of pains on them, even as  the incumbent administration is encouraging the long suffering masses to endure , and promising that the economy would soon be out of the woods, especially if we all collectively put our hands on deck to pull the ship of state out of the turbulent waters in which it is currently sailing , on to the shore .

    On the part of the masses,they are demanding that government officials live by example to inspire and earn the confidence of Nigerians in their ability to  lead the nation into prosperity.

    I have no doubt that it is the matching of the pursuit of the common good of all by those leading from the presidential villa, governors mansions and those leading from the streets that our country can become more united , inclusive,properous and accomodating for all citizens.

    So ,as the current administration prepares to mark its one year anniversary of being in charge on the 29th of this month of May, it is expected that president Bola Tinubu would announce his resolve to listen more to voices from the streets and consider their views in his policy formulation and implementation activities.

    Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue with this conversation and more ,please visit www.magnum.ng

  • Unravelling the scams that plunged Nigeria into a debt trap – By Magnus Onyibe

    Unravelling the scams that plunged Nigeria into a debt trap – By Magnus Onyibe

    The reality today is that Nigeria’s total debt, comprising both local and external stocks, is, according to Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO), a whopping N107 trillion, which is humongous. The culprits for the ballooning of the debt are hugely the policy of subsidizing petrol pump prices and propping up the naira, origins of which date back about four decades ago,but were ended by President Bola Tinubu during his inaugural speech on May 29 last year.

    Subsidizing electricity is another scam that has set our country back. The government was spending as much as 67% of the total cost of generating electricity in sustaining the regime of low tariff payment. According to NERC, N2.9t was being expended at N240b per month. That is prior to the current regime of withdrawing subsidy from 15%( 12m) consumers who will be paying a whooping 240% more per kilowatts. Even then, it is being claimed by NERC that the subsidy still being paid by government for those on Band B to E would be up to the tune of N1.6 trillion or N120b per month. A gradual withdrawal of subsidy in that utility had just commenced on April 3rd, with the 15% of electricity customers (12 million) consumers bearing the brunt by being billed what has been termed cost-reflective charges of N225 per kilowattss. That is over and above the N68 previously charged premium consumers now tagged Band A.

    If the new price regime set by NERC prevails, subsidy for electricity consumers would in the process of coming to an end by beig unravelled. The third issue is the high level of corruption in the country, which is wreaking havoc on the economy and on society at large. Currently, according to Transparency International (TI), an international corruption monitoring agency, Nigeria ranks as number 145 out of 180 countries on the list of nations ridden with graft.

    There is no need to dwell further on that since it was the fulcrum of the last administration which boasted of having zero tolerance for corruption. But it ended up crashing the economy, which slipped into recession twice in 8 years, unprecedentedly. That regime did so by ommission or commission by chasing a bull into a China shop, and as it were, and ended up doing more damage than good to the economy as  investors took flight due to the hostile investment climate.

    But thanks  to the recent deft moves of both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, and Finance/Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, confidence is returning to the nation’s economy, with investors showing interest, particularly via portfolio investors taking stakes in our treasury products owing to the offer of attractive rates reminiscent of the days of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, currently Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

    Another scam, which is the fourth (4th), is the high cost of governance as reflected by the huge size of the national budget dedicated to servicing a burgeoning bureaucracy. In that respect, the Executive branch of government is making some efforts, for example, by reducing the number of officials in the entourage of top government officials traveling abroad. It has  even gone further by banning non-essential foreign trips by public servants, as well as aiming to implement the Oransanye Report on rationalization of government agencies bloating recurrent budget owing to too many civil/public servants.

    Having put in array the multiple scams hindering Nigeria from attaining her potentials, it is appropriate to commence a thorough dissection of the issues focused on in this discourse by taking a deep dive into the four (4) identified scams.

    The first is  subsidy on petrol and the naira, which is a practice perpetrated by the immediate past administration under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, which created a Ways and Means debt-an indiscriminate  printing of the naira without financial backup, to a monumental tune of N30 trillion.

    Apparently, that administration seemed hell-bent on retaining the decades-old petrol subsidy policy and was determined, as it were  to zealously defend the naira with our country’s hard-earned dollar income while borrowing to carry out its primary and basic duties of paying civil/public servants’ salaries and providing infrastructure such as roads, airports, railway lines, etc.

    The abuse of subsidies reached a point that income from the sales of oil/gas could no longer net off the burden of subsidy, such that the nation had to embark on unbridled printing of money that nearly made the Nigerian currency – the naira, look like ‘shit’ money in the manner that the Central Bank of Uganda Governor resisted printing more money at the command of then military head of state, Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada. As it may be recalled, by pointing out to his boss that “Ugandan money is now like shit money” he angered the autocratic head of state to the extent that he had to send the apex bank governor to the gallows as documented in the movie about the infamous reign of the dictator,Idi Amin Dada in Uganda.

    So, when I hear critics of the removal of subsidy on petrol and merging of foreign exchange rates of both official and parallel markets for foreign currencies, demanding that President Bola Tinubu should produce the savings from ending those economically debilitating policies, I simply grimace and shudder at the level of misunderstanding of the concept of subsidy and its removal by pundits pontification and advocating for the retention or return of subsidy.

    The truth is that no money is being gathered and saved in any particular account. That is because there is none to be saved in the first instance, since it is a case of applying the funds that could have been literally flushed down the drain in the name of subsidy on petrol and naira into interventions in other critical areas of governance needing a shot in the arm to be energized. Take for instance education loan, which is a program recently launched by the incumbent administration.

    Opening up the space for all Nigerians to have access to education up to whatever level they have capacity for is such a big deal, that in my view it is being understated. In my reckoning, it is equivalent to the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s declaration of and implementation of free education policy in the western region of Nigeria back in the days.

    It is needless restating the fact that it is that policy of free education that is largely responsible for the leapfrogging of the Yoruba nation into the pole position of leadership in education amongst the ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria. Without education loan, only God knows the number of current street urchins across the nation, particularly Lagos state, that could have been potential Robert Einsteins.

    But they have become wasted and a threat to society because their parents had no financial means to put them through school to acquire education that could have enabled them to meaningfully and positively contribute to society.

    In fact, if not for scholarship awards,(a variant of free education) most of the incredible professionals that dot our corporate and public sector landscape today would not have had the priviledge of obtaing Western education.

    Arising from the above, I would argue that democratizing education by making it accessible to all Nigerians that are keen on obtaining academic knowledge is a big deal. Although its justification would not come to full positive manifestation in the lifetime of President Tinubu’s administration. But in another decade or two, the potential geniuses hitherto compelled to become ‘area’ boys and girls (thugs and prostitutes) who are empowered through student loans initiative to be processed into medical doctors, nurses, accountants, aeronautical and space engineers as well as artificial intelligence experts, would boost the human resources capital of Nigeria such that the country would be poised to be amongst the world’s top five economies by 2075 as recently predicted by Goldman Sachs analysts.

    What those criticizing the end of subsidies seem oblivious of is the fact that in the past two decades or so, the handlers of our economy had been engaging in deficit financing. In other words, they have been borrowing financial resources locally and from abroad to fund the national budget because the projected incomes for each fiscal year being budgeted for have been falling short of the proposed expenditure.

    Effectively, the benefits of the removal of subsidies are that the humongous funds hitherto provided in budget heads to subsidize some sectors deemed to be critical – maintaining low petrol pump price and low naira/dollar exchange rate – are being channeled into other areas considered to be equally critical and productive such as education instead of the profligacy of subsidizing consumption which petrol and naira amount to.

    Apart from the fact that the action of President Tinubu has resulted in the reduction of petrol imported into our country by about 50% or one million litres per day, according to government sources, which has enabled the stemming of capital exportation out of our country to European suppliers of the commodity that was causing massive hemorrhaging of our treasury, it has boosted employment creation. That is in light of the fact that a huge chunk of our country’s imports, even up to 60%, by some accounts, are petroleum products and food based. As we can all attest, the end of petrol subsidy has also spurred investments in local refineries led by Dangote refinery with 650 million barrels per day capacity.

    That is alongside a plethora of modular refineries springing up in the oil/gas-rich Niger Delta region stretching from around Benin City in Edo State to the Warri environs in Delta State, all the way down to Owerri in Imo State axis and the Port Harcourt zone in Rivers State, whose combined capacity is already leading to a crash in the price of diesel fuel for powering electricity generating sets that power manufacturing plants in factories and our homes.

    How could all the aforementioned employment-boosting investments have been made possible without the end of petrol subsidy pronounced by President Tinubu at his inauguration on May 29 last year?

    Furthermore, in the past couple of weeks, we have seen Dangote Refinery, which has come on stream and is now supplying Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) into the Nigerian market, crash the price of the commodity by about 30-40%, from N1,650 per litre to N1,000 per litre  from the factory. The retailers are currently selling at about N1,350 per litre, which is presently the prevailing rate reflecting about N300 saving to consumers.

    Since AGO is critical to transportation cost, referred to as logistics, and it constitutes about 30% of the input in the production and supply of goods, the hardships currently being experienced by the masses triggered by the spike in the cost of commuting and the resultant hike in the cost of living may soon start easing off in the coming weeks and months, all things being equal.

    While envisaging the positive developments above, I had advocated that President Tinubu should sell off the government-owned refineries that have been undergoing turnaround maintenance at a humongous cost burden to our national treasury. That case was made in an article titled “Tinubunomics: Time to Sell Nigerian Refineries”which was published in my column of August 10 last year and widely reproduced in numerous traditional and new media platforms.

    One would like to double down on that proposition of selling down the state-owned refineries contained in the referenced article, and the assertion is based on the dictum ‘government has no business being in business’ which implies that government must cease to engage in the business of running or operating refineries, which will be more efficiently and effectively carried out by the private sector, as evidenced by the advent of Dangote Refinery in the business of refining crude oil and distributing petroleum products cost-effectively and efficiently to Nigerians.

    Capitalizing on the success recorded by Dangote Refinery and the handful of modular refineries now dotting the landscape of the Niger Delta, I am further proposing that the government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri in Rivers and Delta states should be sold to Mr. Jim Ovia or Mr. Tony Elumelu, founders, majority shareholders, and chairmen of Zenith Bank Plc and UBA Plc/HEIRS, or any other entrepreneurs who hail from that zone and have the capacity to acquire majority stakes in the three refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri and possess the ability to operate them.

    By the same token, the refinery in Kaduna currently owned by the government should be sold to the likes of Alhaji Samad Rabiu of BUA Group and Alhaji Sayyu Dantata of Dantata Group, who currently operate conglomerates and appear to have the financial capacity and ability to operate them more efficiently and effectively.

    To source the necessary expertise and personnel to operate the Nigerian refineries after purchase, there is a plethora of refineries located on the coastlines of Europe that target West African countries, including Nigeria, as the market for their products.

    Fortunately for potential buyers of the local refineries as being proposed, refineries on the coast lines of Europe are now, according to a recent report by the international news agency Reuters, on the verge of shutting down following the arrival of Dangote Refinery that is poised to take over the markets hitherto controlled by the European firms.

    The soon-to-be-laid-off personnel in the European refineries on the verge of becoming moribund would be available human resources that could be tapped into by Nigerian investors in the refineries. What is more, Nigerian local investors in the refineries being proposed for sale to local entrepreneurs could even offer the owners of the embattled and about-to-be-shutdown refineries in Europe stakes in the Nigerian refineries that has to be sold off by government to private investors.

    Another scam that nearly brought Nigeria to its knees is the subsidy on electricity, estimated to be in excess of ₦2.9 trillion.

    On multiple occasions in the previous years, and several times this year alone, the national electricity grid has collapsed. That is largely owed to the fact that the infrastructure for the transmission of electricity in our country dates back to the colonial days.

    At some point, the utility firm was known as the Electricity Company of Nigeria (ECN) before it transformed into the National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA), and finally, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). It was centrally operated and was a sort of omnibus involved in generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity.

    Those roles were performed abysmally, earning the organization the negative sobriquet “Never Expect Power Always” (NEPA) until 2013 when NEPA, through a privatization exercise, was split into three autonomous components, with each entity assigned the role of generating,transmitting, and distributing.

    With the GENCOs engaging in generating electricity and DISCOs distributing the generated power firmly under the control of private sector investors, there were slight improvements in electricity supply. But there remains a snag and drag on the rest of the chain, which is that the transmission of electricity generated remained under the control of the government because unlike the generating and distributing aspects that were hived off and handed over to private investors in 2013, the government held onto the transmission aspect through an agency known as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    That is where the national grid collapse has been occurring, manifestly the broken chain in the electricity supply sequence. That is  because even though GENCOs currently generate about 12 megawatts, only about 4 megawatts can get to our factories and homes owing to poor transmission infrastructure coupled with the bureaucratic nature of civil servants operating the system. Why the TCN was not privatized at the time with the generating and distributing functions in 2023 beats me hollow.

    When President Tinubu signed the new electricity act into law on 9th february this year, I had cause to interrogate the electricity power system in Nigeria with a view to identifying the clogs and proposing possible ways out of the conundrum in an article published in my column on.August 4 and subsequently on other media platforms titled “Tinunomics: Electricity Act 2023 As Nigeria’s lndustrial Game Changer”’

    Obviously, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is working assiduously to unravel the conundrum of graft surrounding the electricity supply system in Nigeria, which dates back to the ECN days when equipment was presumed to have been supplied to the ECN but the equipment turned out to have been round-tripped. It is disheartening that the practice of corruption and inefficiencies still pervades the electricity sector even after it has changed hands from public to the private sector.

    The Minister of Power, Adelabu, may be in a quandary as to how to rejig the system so that a single investor can be a player in all three aspects: generating, transmitting, and distributing aspects of the business, which is the practice all over the world but currently not the case in Nigeria since investors are limited to only single functions such as GENCOs and DISCOs, with TCN remaining in the purview of the government.

    Apart from concessioning or selling off TCN to private investors to enable it to have funds to boost its infrastructure (now in deplorable condition) to forestall future grid collapse, how can investors be realigned to engage in all three aspects and be assigned zones to compete with each other as is the practice in other climes?

    Cost-reflective tariff has already been introduced to about 15% of consumers designated as being on Band A by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). It  has promised that a minimum of 20 hours a day will be available to consumers on the A Band. Further  promising that Bands B to E would be added in the cost-reflective charges in a graduated manner.

    For Band A customers, the tariff has tripled from N68 to N225 per kilowatt-hour; hence, the matrix applied in arriving at that rate is being questioned. As things currently stand, it is only when that complex web, which appears as complicated as decoding the famous DA VINCI code, (that the electricity system seems to be tangled in) is resolved, that the sector, critical to the industrial takeoff of Nigeria, can be fully unraveled.

    On corruption, the Nigerian federal government, under the auspices of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Coordination Delivery Unit (CDCU), Ms. Hadiza Bala-Usman, on April 8th, launched a website for tracking and monitoring performance and delivery of services by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government. I have had cause to write about the need for citizens’ involvement in fighting corruption by tracking the activities of government via its agencies’ actions and inactions.

    That was extensively dwelt on in an article titled: “Killing Corruption With People, Power, and Technology In Nigeria,” published on August 9, 2016, in my column and also on other traditional and online platforms. The piece is also reproduced on page 454 of my new book: “Leading From The Streets: Media Interventions By A Public Intellectual, 1999-2019.”

    In the piece, I referenced a similar app.used by the World Bank for the same purpose of combating corruption in other jurisdictions by noting that:

    “One veritable tool that Nigeria is yet to fully harness in fighting corruption is technology. The blame could be placed squarely on the unstable electricity supply. Nonetheless, this would change soon with the ongoing privatization of power supply in Nigeria.”

    To buttress my point, I referenced a report published by Huffington Post on 12/9/2011 and titled “Technology Is Helping The Fight Against Corruption.” The report was authored by Caroline Anstey, Managing Director of the World Bank Group, and Leonard McCarthy, the World Bank’s Integrity Vice President.

    The duo noted that “There is no single quick fix for curbing corruption. But there are steps that can and should be taken to raise the cost of being corrupt to send a powerful message that corruption doesn’t pay. The World Bank executives concluded by stating that: “We already see how technology can make a difference. Take Indonesia, where an Urban Poverty Program, which distributes $150 million annually in World Bank and government funding, has successfully harnessed the Internet and Mobile phone technology to enhance project monitoring, transparency, and overall effectiveness.”

    So, Ms. Bala-Usman, by launching the tracker (alongside other anti-corruption measures being undertaken by anti-graft agencies EFCC and ICPC), government appear to be on the right path to combating corruptiom with technology as opposed to naming and shaming that defined the immediate past administration. To that extent, corruption, as a scam on Nigeria and Nigerians, can be said to be in the process of gradually being unraveled.

    Finally, high governance cost is another scam causing Nigeria to as it were punch below its weight. Following an uproar by Nigerians, President Tinubu has commenced the reduction of costs im the bureacracy by pruning the number of people in top government official’s entourage and even suspending non-essential travels by public servants.

    Although it is not far-reaching enough, hopefully, the Special Adviser, Ms. Bala-Usman, will monitor and ensure that the executive order is adhered to . The FGN is also believed to be on track to implement the famous Oronsaye Report on streamlining of MDAs, which have overlapping functions and therefore constitute a drain and burden that result in high cost of governance. But the Legislative branch of government, which has not been as responsive as the Executive arm, has been receiving flak from the public as it remains a culprit.

    That is principally because the majority of Nigerians believe that the cost of sustaining the National Assembly (NASS) is too high in terms of salaries and emoluments, which they deem as staggering. Remarkably, the negative perception got worse when it was revealed that an average of N160m was expended in procuring Toyota brand SUVs for each lawmaker numbering 469. Majority of Nigerians would have preferred that made in Nigeria SUVs were procured to reduce the exportation of capital and jobs from Nigeria to other countries from which the vehicles are imported.

    Arising from the above, if NASS wants to become the darling of Nigerians, it must wean itself off the unbridled taste for imported items, which the masses believe is leading to the hemorrhaging of our already very lean treasury. When that happens, it would regain the respect of Nigerians, and that scam on Nigeria and Nigerians would also be on track to being unraveled.

    To that end,the necessary first steps would be for both the Executive and Legislative branches to pass a law compelling MDAs and public officers to patronize Made-in-Nigeria products and services over and above  imported ones. That would be in consonance with the popular dictum: charity begins at home. It also speaks to the general belief that if we do not patronize our home made products and services, nobody else will do so.

    The concept is not novel since it hss been done in the past when peugeot was adopted as official car of government.

    So, NASS and the Executive arm must lead by example by patronizing Made-in-Nigeria products and services to boost local production, improve Gross National Product (GNP), by extension  Gross Domestic Product (GDP), resulting  in jobs creation  that would lead to prosperity and better standards of living for all.

    That is the surest way of unraveling the high cost of governance and other ills or negative factors currently besetting our beleaguered nation and preventing her from being on even keel to leapfrog in socioeconomic and political development as the world hss been snticipating.

     

    Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy advocate, development strategist, alumnus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in the Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    To continue this conversation and more, please visit www.magnum.ng.

  • Comparing Chibok and Yazidi girls: 10 years after, the freed and not freed – By Magnus Onyibe

    Comparing Chibok and Yazidi girls: 10 years after, the freed and not freed – By Magnus Onyibe

    It is at times like these, that I give serious consideration to thoughts that often cross my mind. It is then that I contemplate delving into my archive of articles, dusting off those that bear resemblance to current realities, and contemporizing them.

    Thereafter ,I would notify readers that these are old narratives, perhaps a decade or even three decades old, yet their content and context remain largely unchanged.

    The justification for this nagging thought process is the realization that déjà vu moments, such as the kidnapping of school children for ransom or as sex slaves, will continue to make headlines in the mass media for the foreseeable future.

    That is because little , if anything, has fundamentally changed in Nigeria’s security landscape since the Chibok girls were taken hostage a decade ago.

    The assertion above is underscored by the fact that on October 27, 2015, when I wrote and published a piece titled “ON TERRORISM: COMPARING CHIBOK AND YAZIDI GIRLS.” I did not imagine that ten years after the abduction of the 276 girls from their hostel on April 14, 2014, nearly 100 of the kidnapped Chibok girls would still be in captivity or remain unaccounted for.

    But the sad reality is exactly that, and the parents of the 91 (82 by some account) girls whose fate remains in the hands of Boko Haram are still grieving as they lament the fact that their beloved daughters are still languishing in the den of the obnoxious non-state actors -Boko haram who have been wreaking havoc on the Nigerian polity. In fact, due to the heartbreak triggered by their loss, about 45 of the parents are said to have also met their untimely death while grieving.

    Worse still, since the Chibok schoolgirls’ kidnapping happened, approximately 1400 schoolgirls and boys have been stolen by kidnappers for ransom, bringing the total number in ten years to about 1680 in over 70 attacks on schools.

    Sadly, 180 of the children and 14 of the 60 staff kidnapped lost their lives. Thats is according to recent Human Rights Watch statistics, which also states that between February and March of this year, 200 school children have been kidnapped from schools in Kaduna and Sokoto states.

    But thank God they have been released to their parents.

    To contextualize the dire situation in insecurity in our counry, I’d like to request readers’ indulgence to allow me to reproduce a significant portion of a decade-old article comparing the similar fate of the kidnapping of both Chibok girls in Nigeria and Yazidi girls in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This comparison feels fresh as not much seems to have changed in the lives of the victims and the parents who suffered the misfortune in Chibok a decade ago, while Yazidi girls appear to have been rehabilitated.

    Here is the view that l expressed and published in the mass media on 27 October, 2015:

    ———————————————

    “Just as about 300 Chibok girls were rudely woken up and yanked off their bunk beds in Maiduguri, Northeast Nigeria by Boko Haram terrorists, hundreds of Yazidi girls from Iraq, on the other side of the world were also similarly seized by the terrorist group, ISIS, under comparable circumstances.

    Long after, the unfortunate incidents sent the chill down the spines and cuddled the blood of rational humans worldwide, both victims and families have remained overwhelmed by the sad experience of sorrow, tears and blood that have become the regular trademark of terrorists.

    Memories are made of images of CNN footages of the rescue of some of the Yazidi girls from Sinjar mountain where some of them fled, when ISIS invaded their homes. Very remarkable and commendable are the rescue efforts by Western powers backed International Coalition Forces and the determination of the girls to flee into safety, demonstrating both the human spirit to survive and the sacrifice of men and women in uniform, who put themselves in harm’s way to save fellow humans.

    The assertion above is given fillip by the fact that some efforts at rescuing victims have resulted in helicopter crashes that led to fatalities of military men.

    Although both sad consequences of terrorism in Nigeria and Iraq have the common denominator of terrorism inflicted anguish and the sad consequence of human tragedy, the event in Iraq seem to be having a sort of happy ending as some of the Yazidi girls are being rescued and rehabilitated (some have undergone training in photo journalism etc and are being integrated into society as currently being depicted on CNN while the Nigerian situation remains unresolved as the hopelessness in the prospect of the Chibok girls re-uniting with their families becomes more remote.

    The simple reason for the situation described above is the intervention of coalition forces put together by Western powers, leading to the situation of some Yazidi girls being liberated from the clutches of their captors while lack of international intervention has left the Chibok girls in captivity.

    So in a nutshell, the difference between the salutary outcome in Iraq and the unsavory result in Nigeria is the level of efforts and time invested by the super powers who posses the financial resources and military muscle to take on the increasingly sophisticated terrorists in Iraq and the lack of interest or commitment by the same Western powers to the cause of the rescue of Chibok girls in Nigeria.

    Curiously, the catastrophe that befell humanity and particularly the Chibok girls, that were abducted from their school dormitory, reverberated across the globe, with celebrities like Michele Obama, wife of the U.S. President, Gordon Brown, former prime minister of Britain and Malala Yusuf-Zai, (Pakistani victim of the Taliban terrorists) as well as the movie super star, Angelina Jolie, amongst a host of other high profile personalities campaigning against the dastardly act with the hashtag ‘BringBackOurGirls’ that went viral in the social media.

    Conversely , after the CNN dedicated television coverage that revealed the pathetic conditions of the Yazidis and the nerve raking and daredevil rescue missions by coalition forces, the superpowers made concerted efforts such as bombing ISIS locations to rescue and rehabilitate the Yazidis but not so for the Chibok girls despite equally high publicity blitz elicited by the involvement of celebrities and desperate efforts made by Nigerian authorities to seek Western powers assistance in military intervention.

    The reason lies partly in the double standards in the U.S. application of the ubiquitous Leahy Law and the lack of value of the Blackman’s life viz-a-viz his or her white counterpart.

    So very often, the color of a man’s skin and not the content of his character, as the foremost USA human rights activist, Martin Luther King once posited, determines the level of adversities or tragedy he or she faces in life.

    The situation persists, whether in the USA where black discrimination has thrived as reflected in the white police officers rampant killing of black people for flimsy reasons or the hypocrisy of the Japanese, when a girl of mixed Japanese and black American descent won the Miss Japan beauty pageant and she is being shunned for being of a mixed race.

    Another disturbing anomaly in the issue of foreign relations and human rights, is the Leahy law prohibiting the sale of lethal military hardware to countries whose military have human rights abuse records.

    What happens is that while countries like Nigeria that are deemed to be in breach, are denied access to such weapons to rein in rampaging Boko Haram terrorists and rescue the Chibok girls, countries like Egypt and Israel whose military have far more horrendous human rights records-Egyptian army under General, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi overthrew democratically elected government of Mohamed Morsi, killed and jailed politicians and the Israelis have practically razed down most Palestinian cities with massive human casualties using American weapons.

    The fact is that Egypt and Israel are the U.S. strategic partners in the Middle East, hence the U.S. applies preferential standards by looking the other way when they engage in the obnoxious human rights abuses that have become a sort of emblem of both countries.

    The U.S. excuse would be that Israel needs to survive in the light of the threat of annihilation by its violent Arab and Persian neighbours and Egyptian army needed to nip in the bud the extremist tendencies of the Islamic jihadist Muslim Brotherhood that had seized sovereign power in the hitherto moderate Islamic country.

    While those excuses offered by U.S. for buffeting their Middle East allies may be germane, equally altruistic is the fact that Nigeria -the most populous Black Country in the world is also under the threat of becoming another Iraq or Libya if terrorists like Boko Haram are allowed to continue their reign of terror on innocent victims.

    Worse still, the U.S. Army records of human rights abuse stinks to the high heavens as evidenced by the recent bombing of a hospital in Kunduz, Iraq killing 22 patients and medical personnel comprising of 12 staffers of the humanitarian group, MSF popularly known as Doctors-Without-Borders.

    If you add that and a previous fatal drone attack on a wedding party (mistaken for a gathering of terrorists) to the Guantanamo bay prison atrocities , the Black Hawk (US defense contractors) wanton killing of Iraqi civilians and the so called ‘rendition’ in Europe whereby (against United Nations, Geneva convention on prisoners of war), many suspected terrorists were tortured, in some cases to death, the U.S. stance against selling arms to Nigeria becomes hypocritical and a case of the pot calling the kettle black as they lack the moral authority to pontificate.

    Just like the U.S. could make a mistake like she did in the unfortunate and sad incident in Kunduz hospital of which President Barrack Obama has now apologised and the U.S. defense authorities have suspended military support to the Syrian freedom fighters,(perhaps in the true letter and spirit of Leahy law) what’s the justification for her hard stance against Nigeria’s occasional human rights infractions , given the difficult conditions under which the military is also operating ?

    In the wisdom of the philosopher, Carrie P. Snow

    “When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find that more hideous crime has been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been in the name of rebellion”

    This perhaps underpins President Muhamadu Buhari’s presumption in his address to USA law makers during his maiden state visit to Washington DC, USA, that Western superpowers who fail to assist in providing weapons to rout Boko Haram are vicariously guilty of collusion with or are acquiescing with terrorists to kill and maim innocent Nigerians.”

    —————————————-Now, as readers might have noticed from the content of the reproduced article, I have always placed the religious insurgency crisis in an international context.

    Therefore, it is necessary to contrast what has happened to the Chibok girls with the hopelessness of Nigeria receiving necessary help to rein in the religious insurgents tormenting Nigerians, such as Boko Haram, which has now metastasized into the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), violent herders/farmers, bandits, etc., to the current status of the Yazidi girls of Iraq. As would be revealed in the latter part of this article, Yazidi leaders made frantic efforts to liberate the girls, and most have largely been set free from their captors, ISIS, and rehabilitated.

    From the narrative based on reporting by NewsHour, a broacast of American Public Broadcasting Service, PBS, it can be seen that while there have been huge improvements in the plight of the Yazidis in the Kurdish region in terms of freedom from captivity, conversly ,the condition of the Chibok girls and the kidnapping and abuse of girls have worsened in Nigeria.

    In a piece titled “Freed And Not Freed” by NewsHour special correspondent for PBS,Marcia Biggs,readers can gain a deep insights into how the Yazidi girls in the Sinjar Mountains in the Kurdish region of Iraq, who suffered a similar fate of kidnap and escape as the Chibok girls in Nigeria at the hands of religious extremists, have fared.

    Like in the case of the Chibok girls, militants from the Islamic State ISIS  group attacked a small ethnic group called the Yazidis. Men taken from the tribe were executed, and thousands of women and girls were abducted as slaves. To put things in perspective, it is proper to give a brief background on the Yazidis.

    They are a small community of less than a million people, found primarily in northern Iraq. A private and conservative community, they practice an ancient religion. At about the same time that the Chibok girls were abducted in 2014, members of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS , attacked the Yazidis, whom they consider heretics.

    Like the case of the Chibok girls, images of Yazidis trapped on Sinjar Mountain stunned the world.

    Narrating their harrowing experience, below is what one of the girls told PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent Marcia Biggs: “They brought everyone to a school, put the women upstairs, and drove the men away. I didn’t want to let my mother go, but they were pulling us from our mothers and beating us. The children were all put in cars. They said, “We’re going to sell you to others, and you will have sex with them.”

    Does the narrative above not resemble what happened to our Chibok girls?

    Could our 91 Chibok girls (some say 82), who are still unaccounted for, have been sold to buyers outside the African continent? According to NewsHour’s Marcia Biggs, in the months that followed the kidnap, a network of activists sprung up throughout Northern Iraq, an underground railroad of sorts, coordinating rescue efforts.

    Their phone numbers quickly spread among captive girls, who used smuggled phones to call for help and give their location. She further stated that: “At times, the Kurdish regional government has stepped in to grease the wheels. She added that KRG envoy, Dr. Nouri Othman told her about two girls who escaped their captors in Raqqa and ran to a nearby house but were turned away by the owner, too scared to take the chance.

    Continuing, she pointed out that Dr. Nouri Othman, Envoy to Internally Displaced Persons, Kurdish Regional Government, called the person and pleaded with him to keep the two girls at his home for a couple of days. At first, he refused. But he had to promise to pay him. “Nobody is going to risk their life without getting something in return. You have to pay them.”

    He then revealed how: “Some families are raising money to buy back their girls, racking up thousands of dollars in debt”. As for whether the government is funding a program to buy back the girls, Dr. Nouri Othman responded thus: “I’m not buying them, no. Maybe I’m paying some people. They are helping me get them back… The important thing is, I want these people to be back. They are my responsibility.”

    Can we say that our leaders before the incumbent administration, under whose watch schoolchildren were abducted in Kaduna State and all were recovered within a short period,have been as dynamic and determined to bring back the Chinok girls as the Kurdish people and authorities have been with Yazidi girls?

    Dr. Nouri Othman further told PBS that his government has spent over $1.5 million to rescue the girls. Asked if there are no ethical issues considering the fact that the money that he pays to liberate the girls might somehow get into the hands of ISIS fighters, he responded: 
 “Well, I’m not—not paying ISIS fighters. This is one. Second thing, these are Kurdish citizens. And I don’t care where the money goes personally. I care how to rescue the people.”

    Clearly, he is applying a non-kinetic approach, which is obviously more cost-effective, as evidenced by the number of girls rescued (400), as opposed to the kinetic method that Nigeria has relied upon and which has gulped trillions of naira in military hardware in the past fifteen (15)years of the intrusion of religious extremists into Nigerian  polity.

    According to Marcia Biggs’s reporting, about 400 Yazidi women and girls are now free.

    Compare that number to the mere 187 Chibok girls that have been rescued, according to the Punch Newspaper of April 15th.

    If the story shared by a 15-year-old Yazidi girl is anything to go by, our Chibok girls may no longer be on the African continent. The assertion above is derived from what the young girl told Garcia Giggs about how “she and her siblings were captured, separated, and, for four months, she was shuttled between towns and cities hundreds of miles apart, even being sent to Syria.”

    What that chilling revelation suggests to me is that if our yet-to-be-accounted-for Chibok girls are still alive, they may be very far from the African continent. Otherwise, they could have returned like the ones that have come back home from Cameroon and other neighboring countries.

    Hopefully it would not take another decade to get the tragedy to a closure.

     

    Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy advocate, and development strategist, who is an alumnus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in the Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

    For further conversation and more, please visit www.magnum.ng.