Minority tyranny in Delta and the Urhobo blockade: Future Consequences

When Dr. James Aggrey said in Carolina that “The white man ought to be transformed into a negro for just a few days to feel what we feel.”, he did not mean that the black man wishes to dominate or isolate himself from the whites, but was only lamenting the inhumanity of man against man, which the slave trade exemplified. And in the words of Gani Fewehimin, “Justice is the first condition of humanity”.

The height of inequity and injustice faced by the Urhobo nation today, in the governance and politics of Delta State and Nigeria, is no less grave than that historical era of slave trade. Then was not an era of democracy but of pre-colonialism. The completeness and totality of the present injustice and inequity against the Urhobo nation, especially in a young democracy such as ours in which the national economy is dependent on government, is tantamount to an imposed political and economic blockade. Yet, we have some Urhobo persons who call themselves champions of equity in Delta State and at the same time undermining the Urhobo resolve. So, the question of inequity against Urhobo has continued to put such characters on trial.

If we go by Rosseau’s postulation that “Democracy without justice is tyranny in civil guise”, then one can only conclude that Urhobo is presently under the yoke of punitive tyranny in Delta State in particular and Nigeria at large. In Delta State, the situation is incomprehensible because, this tyranny is being exercised under a governor of minority extraction (Itsekiri) against the greater majority (Urhobo). And this is a governor who ironically came into political relevance and eventual power only due to the kinship of an Urhobo man.

In the multi-ethnic democracy of Delta State, the geo-political pre-eminence of the Urhobo nation has always been clearly beyond debate. In fact, with an overwhelming landmass and population size spread across eight (8) extensive local government areas, the nationality constitutes well over a-third of the entire geo-political entity of Delta State.

In terms of contribution to the common wealth of the state, Urhobo is not only a major producer of oil, but also, by far the greatest gas producer. In fact, during the years of militancy in the riverine areas, petroleum production in Urhobo land was about the sole basis of the state’s derivation revenue. This is in addition to the facts all that the pipelines through which crude oil and petroleum products are channeled from the riverine areas to other parts of the country pass through Urhobo land which has resulted in physical deprivation of our people of vast agricultural lands upon which their livelihood depend.

Even the factor of environmental degradation which some riverine ethnic minorities in the state have relied upon to attract compensatory allocation of political concessions and economic resources is far worse in Urhobo land, because land pollution is of worse consequences than water pollution which has a shorter span due to oceanic circulation. And we have the NNPC refinery and other gas-emitting installations which pollute the air by the day; all located in Urhobo land.

It is against this background of unassailable political and economic credentials, that the Urhobo nation has been reduced to a mere appendage in the commonwealth of Delta State as evidenced by our complete lack of significant representation in the government of the state. As has been previously displayed in a graphic chart of all the seven nominees of the state government into boards of federal parastatals, none is of Urhobo extraction in addition to the much lamented absence of an Urhobo minister.

The situation at the state level of governance is even more heart-rending; as have also previously been displayed graphically. It was shown that of the ten (10) critical decision making positions in Delta State, none is an Urhobo man. In the case of commissionership appointments, it was also shown that our senatorial district has the least number of all, while the governor’s Delta South which has the least number of local government areas, has the highest number of commissioners in addition to his position as governor. Even at that, the fact is that none of the significant ministries of empowerment and development is occupied by a commissioner of Urhobo extraction; not to mention that of the ten (10) listed board chairmanships in the state, only one (1) is occupied by an Urhobo man. And now, how befitting it is that, the recently reported contract scam in DESOPADEC, in which certificates where issued and payments made without anything on site, were the projects that were supposed to be located in Urhobo land?

In all these, where is the equity the so-called bridge builders are talking about? When located in the context of the fact that presently, the state governor is from Delta South while the state capital is located in Delta North, is this then not a manifestation of a deliberate state policy of exclusion against the Urhobo people? So in a state such as ours in which the economy depends on government and in which economic empowerment flows from critical representation in government, is it not clear that a political and economic blockade has been imposed on the Urhobo people?

Agreed, there’s nothing wrong in building bridges for mutual advantage, but everything is wrong with bridge builders who only seek to build bridges through which their people are sold into slavery. Ordinarily, in a multi-ethnic state like Delta, it is the minorities who are supposed to be championing equity as the only guarantee to their sustainable survival in the long run. This is because, since democracy is essentially a rule of the majority, no matter any temporary state of advantage or disadvantage of any ethnic group in the state today, power will inexorably move to the majority one day and that’s when the very existence of the minorities will be fundamentally challenged by the imperative of equity and justice. Since it as been universally accepted that he that comes to equity must come with clean hands, what then would be the fate of a minority that once took advantage of exigential power to perpetuate grave inequity and injustice against the majority? Will their hands be clean enough to seek equity, even when they are naturally disadvantaged by their minority status?

So, these are some of the questions that should confront Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan today, as a minority extraction, presiding over this type of injustice and inequity against the Urhobo nation which Rousseau once called ‘tyranny’. The governor should ponder the future consequences of the present situation in Delta State on his minority ethnic group. As for the self-acclaimed champions of equity in Delta State among Urhobos, they should tell us if this is the equity they claim to be championing.

It was former Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Beghin who declared that the height of the six-day Middle East war, that “It is either this war is finished or we are”. For the Urhobo nation in Delta State therefore, either this tyranny is brought to an end or equity has ended in the state.

Urhobo tribe, her three core enemies

The President inaugurated the National Conference in Abuja on Monday. By so doing, he has fulfilled another promise of “this nebulously packaged Transformation Agenda”. Another noise making gathering of the people has commenced. It shall produce nothing except the desires and wishes of the man who singled out everyone that is qualified to be member, and is the President himself.

That is not to say that one or two people, or even a group or tribe, besides the President, shall not benefit from the gathering at Abuja. Yes, a few others shall definitely benefit from this jamboree that is meant to “deceive most Nigerians a little more”.

The Urhobo tribe of the Niger Delta has benefited majorly already, even before the inauguration of the Conference. This “lucky” tribe which ranked the fifth largest tribe in Nigeria re-identified and reaffirmed all her enemies in one swoop – courtesy of the selection of delegates. This is what the Urhobo Nation has benefited so far and there may be other groups or nationality that might have come into this category. But for now, l will limit my observation and comment to the Urhobo people only.

Who are these enemies of the Urhobo people? They are three, at least for now and these are: [1] Urhobo sons and daughters in politics, [2] Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan; Governor of Delta State and [3] Goodluck Jonathan; the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There is no way one can accuse these great individuals without verifiable evidence on ground. I shall attempt producing the evidences by presenting facts of conviction for everyone to peruse. But I need to say one or two things about the Urhobo of the Niger Delta region first. Who are they?

The Urhobo speaking people are geographically concentrated in the central senatorial district [or call it zone] of Delta State. It borders the Isoko, Izon, Ukwani, Itsekiri all around and with its numerical population strength, it has remained the stabilising factor of that region, ditto Nigeria as a whole. I will give only two examples of its stabilising facto role-playing for the purpose of this presentation.

Major General David Ejoor, a retired General and former Chief of Army Staff, is from Urhobo tribe. When he was the Governor of the Mid-West Region, he reverted the banishing of the Olu of Itsekiri to Ode-Itsekiri by the previous government of Western Region. He returned the monarch to Warri to the glory of the Itsekiri nation. What a beautiful role in proving to be one’s brother keeper.

The same David Ejoor, also as the Governor of Mid-West region, refused bluntly to yeild the geographical land of the region for Odumegwu Ojukwu exploitation when the later was on his suicidal voyage to annexing Nigeria. Odumegwu Ojukwu was to put a price of “either dead or alive” on David Ejoor for no other crime but “keeping Nigeria one” from his military point of view. This is the Urhobo Nation and her people that we are talking about.

However, the table has turned against this same people that would do everything to “keep their brothers safe” if it is even to their own detriment. Now, permit me to give brief details

First with the Urhobo politicians: They stand out in selling the collective political birthright of the Urhobo for their personal greed. Today, all of them queue up in Asaba for the handout from the Governor and the Governor, being such a dangerously clever political animal would always know what he wants and would always demand that he wants from them. And of course, these Urhobo politicians are willing, at all times, to pay the price of betraying the course of their people for the largesse they get from the man that controls the collective wealth of Delta State. Will posterity not question these politicians when our ancestors shall rise against them? Let us move to the second enemy.

This is the Governor himself, a man that can better be described to be Urhobo without doing injustice to his Itsekiri tribe. For the records, Emma Uduagha was brought to Urhobo land [Masogar] at a tender age of five years. He grew up cutting his teeth of wisdom in Urhobo, drank Urhobo water, ate its food and made his connection that was to eventually bring him to Asaba as a Governor. Yes, James Ibori; his predecessor in office might have been Itsekire maternally but it remains on record that the Urhobo made Uduaghan the governor. What the Urhobo are getting from Uduaghan now is an avowed stand of an enemy that must route out the people [Urhobo] politically. Time will judge as there is what is called nemesis, which shall visit every individual and their works at the end. How shall Uduaghan be judged? Only time will tell. Let us move to the third enemy.

During the general election of 2011 that brought Goodluck Jonathan to the presidency, every vote of all voters in Urhobo land was recorded for him. What do we have in return? Urhobo people that are not good enough to be minister no any important place at the federal level. Kenneth Gbagi’s appointment as Minister of State for Education by Jonathan did not come out of a slot for the Urhobo people. That young man – Gbagi – worked his way independently through his Ikiagbodo godfather to get that appointment and of course, the honey moon did not last. But why will Jonathan be this ruthless with the Urhobo?

I must admit knowing the reason for his grudge with the Urhobo as being the inimical role James Ibori played, before, during and after succeeding the late Ya’Adua as president. Ibori played it rough, l must admit. That being what it was, Jonathan became the President at the end to the glory of God. Ibori was later rounded up by the “law of Kama”, with Jonathan hand though – a hand that started from “their” godfather in Ikiagbodo.

If Ibori has been this far disgraced, why will Goodluck Jonathan not willing, at this point in time, to let the sleeping dog lie? Has every Urhobo man become James Ibori that must be treated like leper?

For now, it is only lamentation for the Urhobo people. There is a word of comfort however for this forgotten tribe of the Niger Delta. Somebody should announce to them that their hour of glory shall soon come whenever they are ready! The challenge is theirs!

GODWIN ETAKIBUEBU, a public affairs commenator , wrote from Lagos.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/03/urhobo-tribe-three-core-enemies/#sthash.TTPN35Lr.dpuf

Sanusi, APC and the PDP Allegations

The allegations by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) that the suspended CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi gave opposition APC N1billion to open offices across the country, came as a surprise, but it has now put things in proper perspective. What has however, come as a bigger surprise is that the usually vociferous party has kept a deafening silence on the grave allegation leveled against it, pretending not to have seen or read about it in the papers. Its usually active and outspoken spokesman has not deemed it necessary to oblige Nigerians a reaction from his party to such a grave allegation. It brings to good reasoning then that the allegation may have some truth to it. Otherwise, how can the opposition, usually quick to issue press statements on any issue, not react to such a grave accusation that damages its reputation and exposes it to ridicule and public odium?

Going by PDP’s allegations, APC is a principal beneficiary of a reckless public official who turned public funds in its custody, to his personal property to be used as he pleases without being accountable to anyone because CBN Act gave him autonomy or better still a ‘sovereignty’ to operate in any island and therefore to do as he wishes. 

Instructively, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi the banker turned ‘‘activist’’ and ‘’crusader’’ for remittances of oil revenue has not deemed it fit to respond to the damaging allegations against him by the PDP.

The spirited defence the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), gave the now suspended governor of the Central Bank, CBN, left many people wondering if the beleaguered CBN governor’s office had not become an extension of the APC party secretariat. The party had accused the President of witch-hunting the holy Mallam who is openly eyeing the Emirship seat. APC had claimed that Sanusi was being punished because of his allegations that $20billion was not remitted to the Federation Account. Yet Sanusi himself had flipped-flopped over the actual amount that was missing. He had earlier claimed $49.8billion and then reverted to $12billon, settled for $10.8billion before arriving at the ‘final’ $20billion.

The APC did not mind those inconsistencies. All that mattered was seeing Sanusi’s claim as its fight to rescue Nigeria. However, latest developments have shown that perhaps APC’s concern was less altruistic after all. It was a position taken by a party on the brink of losing a trusted friend and a source of free funds they have possibly been using to mobilise their ‘‘phantom 28 million members.’’

For those who don’t know, the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), had alleged that from the N680billion allegedly frittered away by Sanusi when he was in charge at the CBN, the opposition party benefitted not less than N53billion. The PDP said that notable stalwarts of the party got contracts from Sanusi when he was in the CBN.

Olisa Metuh, the spokesman of the PDP, had said that investigations revealed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its stalwarts were beneficiaries of siphoned CBN money through surreptitious diversion by the suspended CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Metuh asserted that a questionable N48 billion contract was awarded to one of the leaders of the APC just as another N5 billion was equally paid to another stalwart of the opposition party as consultancy fee.

If one may ask; Where in the world is N5 billion paid for such nebulous service as consultancy fee to an individual? Where is that done except in Nigeria? And the beneficiary is one of those pretenders strutting around on a mission to rescue Nigeria. How tragic for Nigeria that those who milk the country to its bones are the ones parading themselves as people on a rescue mission to save the country.

Metuh further alleged that: “in addition to the N1 billion diverted by the bank to the party, the bank donated N100 million each to some chieftains of APC to fund their activities last year. The bank also diverted over N1billion to the APC to open offices across the nation.”

In total, these come to N53billion. And then suddenly, the CBN governor became an “activist” and a “politician” probably fighting and funding the APC battle from within. And the party too cheered on like a pampered baby being cuddled by a doting mother. APC was on a roll and it was enjoying the darts and insults being dished out by Sanusi. Perhaps, who knows, the party may have goaded Sanusi on to become confrontational in the belief that the President can only sack him with two third of senate members. And audaciously he dared the President to go to the Senate, knowing full well that APC senators will block any such move.

Until the cookies came tumbling down, many thought that all the energy and vigour behind the party’s frequent statements were borne out of genuine desire to protect our national institutions.

Alas, it has come to light that the Party was one of the big beneficiaries of fraudulent diversion of taxpayers money to fund its activities. It has come to light that the same party that prides itself as progressive also benefitted from the looting of Nigeria by the holy Mallam who carried on as if he was clean. It has now come to light that all those strong-worded press releases by APC in defence of Sansui were based on the pecuniary gains it got from the holy Mallam. Indeed, it has come to light that the abuses and recklessness of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of the CBN can only be rivaled by the direct looting of the bank by Abacha. If one may ask; since when has it become the brief of the CBN to fund political parties? Is this what the cry for autonomy means? And why was it APC that Sanusi chose to give money and not any of the other political parties in the country? If Sanusi and APC can’t explain this, perhaps, their defenders will oblige Nigerian some reactions.

In saner climes, the outrage this kind of revelation would have generated would have ended the careers of so many people. But this is Nigeria where if you catch a thief, he ask you, ‘‘Am I the only one’’? or he will ask, ‘‘what about you’’? The next thing, he will run to court to get ex parte restraining security agencies from arrest him or better still order of perpetual injunction from arresting. And there are ever so willing judges who despite knowing how illegal such orders are, grant them without hesitation. Pronto! The thief is free to wreak more havoc on the system.

However, how one may choose to look at it, Metuh’s allegations have raised new questions. But the greater question is why APC, characteristic of its style, has not deemed it fit to respond to the allegations made by the ruling party which the Party has always vilified as corruption personified. APC as a party has always carried on with an air of puritanism. The party and its leaders have always given the impression that they don’t dip their hands into the public till. In other words, corruption is an anathema to the party. But in stark contradiction, the lifestyles of the party’s leaders do not give any credence to this pretentious Spartan disposition of the party.

In pursuance of its duty of keeping the ruling party on its toes, APC has always taken the PDP to the cleaners in the way it has been handling the affairs of the country. But the allegations that APC and some of its leading figures were beneficiaries of the Father Christmas disposition of holy Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has put a blight on the change campaign the opposition party launched as its battle cry to wrestle power from the ruling party.

What is strange to many political watchers is that APC has not officially responded to the allegations of Metuh. This is unlike APC. Its spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has suddenly been silent. Yet this is a man who is always unsparing when attacking the ruling party or when responding to any issue.

A newspaper which claimed to have spoken with Mohammed on the telephone reported that the APC chief did not seem to deny that its top members had ‘worked’ for the CBN. He said the issue was whether the said job was done or not.

“The question to ask is whether whoever got the job did it. If he did not, then the EFCC and the Police should go after such a person.”

On whether the party collected money from the suspended CBN governor to open offices, Mohammed said this was untrue.

“It is absolutely untrue. If Sanusi has given APC money, what are they waiting for? Why can’t they go to court or complain to EFCC and come and arrest us. What the PDP is doing is to divert attention from the $20 billion missing money that Nigerians are asking for explanation. $20 billion is enough to give 20,000 mega watts of electricity and tar 20,000 kilometres of road.”

Mohammed’s response (if this can be called one) does not seem to hold water. Reading between the lines, it is obvious that he did not deny the fact that APC leaders worked for the CBN as a ‘consultants.’ It was more of a question of whether those who got those ‘consultancy’ jobs executed the briefs they were given. Secondly, it is debatable if APC would not have gone to the streets crying blue murder if it was a PDP stalwart that was paid N5billion for ‘consultancy’ job.

Not surprisingly too, APC has been shouting that the CBN is autonomous. Good argument. Only that the party has not deemed it fit to ask what kind of autonomy would make a CBN Governor pay N20billion in one year as consultancy fee to lawyers; spend about N4billion on newspapers and periodicals, spend another N1.4billion for lunch on policemen and other security guards? And of course, the autonomy that made a CBN governor to donate N1billion to the opposition party to open party offices across the country. These are pertinent questions, which border on strict patriotism, that an opposition party should have asked and perhaps forced the hand of the ruling party to take a second look at the Act establishing the CBN in the first place.

However, the APC does not even have to do that again. It is even debatable if it could do that as the party has become an interested party in the whole saga. But the saga could only have worked against the said autonomy of the CBN. Now the Senate is poised to amend the Act of the CBN as questions are still being asked why an autonomy would make a CBN governor spend hundreds of billions of tax payers’ money, on any cause that catches his fancy, including funding a particular political party with taxpayers money.

While the nation is still awaiting an official response from APC, over the allegations made by the PDP, it has shown that to the party (APC) corruption seems to have different colours. When it is committed by an opposition figure, it is pardonable but when it involves the PDP or any of its members, it is corruption in its strict terms. And that is why many political watchers have been asking where the APC would get campaign funds from since the party does not ‘touch’ public funds. Perhaps, another donation from Sanusi would help out. 

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/sanusi-apc-and-the-pdp-allegations/174290/

Immigration Recruitment Tragedy

Unemployed Nigerian youths are an easy prey for the government to exploit nowadays. They are mostly hopeless and desperate; but who can blame them when the government that is supposed to look after their welfare is busy enslaving them? On Saturday, 15 March, the extent of suffering for unemployed Nigerian youths hit a new high. The shoddy national recruitment organised by the Nigerian Immigration Services, NIS, left 18 Nigerian youths, including three pregnant women, dead during a stampede in Abuja, Minna and other centres while 100 got injured. 

The recruitment exercise which took place at football stadia in Abuja and 33 states, excluding Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, summed up the level of insensitivity by the Nigerian Immigration Services and the government to the plight of the youths. The applicants were about six million; these included applicants with Masters’ degree, Bachelor’s degree, Higher National Diploma, Ordinary National Diploma, National Certificate in Education and Senior Secondary School Certificate. 

They had paid N1000 processing fee each, which translates to about N 6 billion, and they were all jostling for only 3,000 jobs. At least 17 applicants died in 2008 during a similar exercise by the Nigeria Prisons Service and NIS. Yet nobody learnt any lesson from that tragedy and it has repeated itself again. Why did the NIS outsource the recruitment to Drexel which apparently does not have the capacity to handle such a task? 

All across the world, governments employ citizens into its parastals using decent, more technical and advanced human resources technique without charging applicants processing fee but not our government. Recruitment exercise across the country has shown the staggering rate of unemployment. In Akwa Ibom State, the government was going to employ 1,000 workers recently and 75,000 people applied. In Kwara State the government wanted to recruit 425 teachers in junior and senior secondary schools across the state but 4568 applied. 

Unemployment figures have soared in recent years at a frightening pace. According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, 54 per cent of Nigerian youths were unemployed in 2012. A figure analysts claim has increased remarkably in 2013. According to the report, more than half, about 54 per cent of youth population, were unemployed. Of this female stood at 51.9 per cent and male at 48.1 per cent. 

The high unemployment percentage invariably lead many youths to crime. The NBS report stated that out of 46,836 youths recorded against different types of crimes 42,071 were male while 4765 were female. And of the crimes committed by these frustrated youths, smoking marijuana (Indian hemp) had the highest figure. 

Similarly, the National Planning Commission’s Performance Monitoring Report on Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies was catastrophic as well as disheartening. The report revealed that the unemployment rate in Nigeria in 2010 was 21.1 per cent but the figure increased to 23.9 per cent in 2011. This means that government ministries, departments and agencies are doing very little to reduce unemployment although the government has been making all kinds of empty promises. 

Nigerian youths continue to live in abject poverty and unemployment while billions of dollars is carted away by the leaders who are supposed to care for them. Unemployment is a huge time bomb that could blow up in the face of the nation if not diffused now.

Bloodbath On The Plateau

It is very unfortunate that a killing field is the catch-all phrase with which Plateau State is now easily described. And just when that description appears to cull the blood, the state lives up to it in spectacular fashion. This is unacceptable in a country with a government and the killings must stop. 

The Federal and Plateau State governments should take a hard look at the persistent destruction of lives and property on the Plateau with a view to putting a stop to it. A situation where a once serene and peaceful tourist destination has been turned into a killing field, is condemnable. 

The massacre in Plateau State has been going on for too long and has become almost intractable. Since March 2001, when the first major hostilities broke out, thousands of people have been killed and property worth billions destroyed. The socio-economic impact on the inhabitants has been enormously immeasurable. 

According to a report on Small Arms Survey released by Jana Krause as Geneva Declaration in June 2011, as many as 7, 000 people had been killed in Jos, Plateau State since 2001. This is horrendous and unacceptable. Not even in war-ravaged countries could such loss of lives within that time-frame have been recorded without an international uproar. 

The magnitude and endurance of the carnage is an indictment of both the Federal and Plateau State governments. All efforts by both governments have been futile. Somehow, government appears overwhelmed and helpless on how to manage the situation. But there should be no relenting in effort until peace is restored on the Plateau.

Between 1994 and 2010, no less than five committees have been set up by government to proffer a lasting solution to the ethnic conflict on the Plateau without respite. The committees include the Justice Aribiton Fiberisima Commission of Inquiry into the April 12, 1994 crisis in the Jos metropolis; Justice Niki Tobi Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Disturbances in Jos and its environs of September 2001; Prince Bola Ajibola Commission of Inquiry into the November 2008 Crisis; the Abisoye Panel of Inquiry of 2009 and the Solomon Lar Presidential Administrative Panel of 2010. Thereafter, the failure to implement the recommendations of the committees forced President Goodluck Jonathan to personally embark on a mission to reconcile the warring Hausa-Fulani and Berom ethnic groups.

But the president’s efforts hit the rocks following a disagreement by the major stakeholders over the implementation of the previous panel reports, which are considered critical towards achieving a lasting peace. Whereas the Berom ethnic group supported the implementation of the panel reports set up by both the Federal and Plateau State governments, the Hausa-Fulani opposed the implementation of all the past probe reports. That made the president’s exploratory meetings end in deadlock. There has been no further attempt ever since to reopen the peace talks. And the killings go on.

It is important at this juncture to situate the Jos crisis in the proper context. Whereas, agitation over land resource control and political supremacy were at the root of the crisis, sheer criminality has become the order of the day. The bloodletting over land ownership should be addressed in the national context. That is one of the critical issues a national conference should deal with especially since Nigerians of different ethnic extractions still question their oneness.

Government should, however, implement the recommendations of the various panels set up on the crisis as this would go a long way to restore peace in the area. Finally, the Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, should publicly show an appreciation of the enormity of the crisis facing his state and therefore appear, in reality and in symbolic terms, to give more attention to challenges facing the people of Plateau State.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi: The outgoing Emir of CBN

These are heady days for the imperious traditional ruler of the Nigerian financial system, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who for all intents and purposes can best be described as the Emir, rather than governor, of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Kano-born prince, who has made it abundantly clear that his only ambition in life is to become the Emir of Kano, has been conducting himself in the most power-drunk manner ever seen in a CBN governor. And being the boastful person that he is, he will forever brag about how he took on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, rubbished him in public while supposedly serving as part of his government, and nothing happened!

How did things come to this sorry pass? As every Nigerian with access to any media outlet knows, the Emir of the CBN wrote a letter to the President insinuating theft of $49.8bn from the sale of the nation’s crude oil. A while later ‘His Royal Highness’ admitted before the whole nation that he had lied in his letter. Thereafter, the CBN Emir who likes to ‘form’ (behave) like “oyinbo” (white or Englishman or woman), as we say in these parts, failed to do what a typical “oyinbo” will do when confronted with such a grave failing at his duty post; he failed to resign.

The overly gentle President Goodluck Jonathan—and every Nigerian knows that being too gentle is one of the President’s faults—reportedly asked the Emir of CBN to turn in his resignation letter and perhaps proceed to wait in Kano to achieve his life’s ambition. It was then that ‘His Royal Highness’ began quoting the Constitution (the same Constitution he has repeatedly violated by refusing to present CBN’s budget before the National Assembly), and talking two-thirds of the Senate, and a spurious claim of threat to his life. He even sent his media people to, in effect, gloat before Nigerians that, indeed, he is the Emir of CBN and cannot be removed from office.

As his ‘powerless’ subjects, Nigerians can only be grateful that the Emir of CBN does not have the same advantages of the Emir of Kano, whose throne he so sorely covets. Unlike the very dignified Emir of Kano, the Emir of CBN has a five-year tenure that will soon come to an end. ‘His Royal Highness’ has been telling whoever cares to listen that he does not want a second term at the helm of CBN. The more important question is: will any Nigerian, in his right senses, support a second term of office for this divisive, unrestrained, and attention-seeking Emir of CBN?

As a former director in the Presidency, Mr Eric Teniola, wrote in a recent public article, the person Nigeria needs as CBN governor should be “a cool-headed banker and an Economist who will not convert the office to a television studio.” This, undoubtedly, was a subtle but very clear barb at ‘His Royal Highness’, the outgoing Emir of CBN who indeed turned the office to a sitcom drama and brought the high office into disrepute during his tenure.

Besides the many allegations of immoral and gross misconduct levelled against the outgoing Emir of CBN, ‘His Royal Highness’ is on record as the most profligate CBN head the country has ever had. Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (then representing Lagos State under the ACN), once described the CBN under Sanusi as “spendthrift” and “bleeding the economy of the country.”

Hon. Gbajabiamila did not make this description without basis. As his House of Representatives colleague, Hon. Goni Bukar Lawan (PDP/Yobe) said, “The moment I heard that the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, donated N100million to victims of Boko Haram attacks in Kano State, I quickly rushed to my constitution to see if Yobe State was no longer part of Nigeria. The bombings happened in Yobe, before Kano State. So, are we not part of Nigeria?”

And yet, in this divisive, insensitive, and indecorous manner, the outgoing Emir of CBN, hid under the corporate social responsibility of the institution, went around making more unprecedented donations as if the Central Bank of Nigeria had become a relief agency.

In addition, Hon. Gbajabiamila quoted section 42 of the 1999 Constitution and other relevant statutes in decrying Sanusi’s refusal to present CBN’s budget to the National Assembly for approval. Hon. Gbajabiamila said, “Even the Federal Government brings its budget for us to approve; so if Sanusi says he does not need to do that according to Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, then he thinks the CBN is above the Federal Government.”

It is indeed amusing that the outgoing Emir of CBN can today be relying on the Constitution he does not respect to retain him for a few more months in an office he has told the world he no longer wants. One would have thought ‘His Royal Highness’ would have since left for Kano bag and baggage, in order to plot his emergence as the next Emir of Kano by all means foul and fair. What such unbridled ambition means for the current Emir of Kano is something only ‘His Royal Highness’, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the outgoing Emir of CBN, can tell the world.

In search of true democrats

No one can dispute the abysmal level of understanding of Nigerian politicians when it comes to the majesty of democracy. No one should be surprised, therefore, at their lack of sophistication in its practice. This realisation should, therefore, compel pity instead of condemnation over their current needless fight on the directive by the leadership of the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) to its members in the National Assembly to block all executive bills beginning with the 2014 appropriation bill. All Nigerians can and should do is ask their leaders to grow up! 

For the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its sympathisers, such a directive was ill-informed, self-serving and part of a grand design by a desperate opposition to capture power at all cost. More seriously, targeting such a directive at the 2014 appropriation bill was particularly seen as the height of political irresponsibility and insensitivity on the part of the APC to the plights of Nigerians who, as they argued, would be the primary victim of the order.

On the surface, this criticism of the APC’s directives would seem logical and understandable. The barrage afterall, affords the PDP an opportunity to accumulate cheap political capital, appearing as it does, to be on the side of the people. Nigerians should, however, thoroughly interrogate the sudden rejuvenation of the PDP as the champion of the popular interests of Nigerians. Close observers of the trend of governance under the PDP since 1999 will attest to the fact that the party has not been too people-friendly in its policy options and strategy. Given its antecedents, this sudden populism regarding the budget, seems more about the party’s share of the budget and not about Nigerians. After all, despite the annual increment in annual budget since 1999, and the rituals of its vetting by the National Assembly, the standard of living of an average Nigerian has hardly improved. It is bad enough that many of the criticisms fail to appreciate that an opposition party has the right to use its numerical strength to advantage in the legislature in all reasonable circumstances.

Worse still, the critics who claimed to be relying on the utilitarian philosophy of the greatest happiness for the people have pretended not to understand the context within which the APC gave the directive. For the avoidance of doubt, the APC predicated its directive upon the need to restore the rule of law in Rivers State, where for a long time, a commissioner of police, with the active connivance of the presidency, appeared to have ‘become the state’, in every sense of the expression, to the detriment of the people of the state. The level of impunity in that state has been outrageous, especially under a supposedly democratic government.

So, if only for the purpose of rescuing the government and governance of, and in Rivers State, the decision of the APC on this matter, for all intents and purposes, is not only compelling, but has been long overdue. It is like the only weapon in the hand of the ‘weak’ against the ‘strong’, a kind of the last resort to ensure some measure of balance of power against an imperial presidency, especially having exhausted all other available avenues for local remedy to no avail.

Moreover, filibustering, as it is known in principle, is a legitimate democratic tool for advancing democratic and party agenda in the legislature. The underlying assumption is that the people should be at the heart of governance and once a party has the requisite numerical strength in the legislative arm, it can force the executive arm run by another party to pursue the opposition party’s desired policies. Again, the people are central to it all. It is a tool that has been deployed on more than a few occasions in the United States, the latest being the government shutdown in 2013 over controversies regarding the health policy popularly called ‘Obamacare’. The reality in Nigeria may not necessarily be the same as the U.S., but the principles are not different. This is the beauty, the majesty of democracy.

Recent experiences at both regional and national levels have shown that in the absence of such institutional checks as the proposed blockage, people may resort to the adoption of unconventional means, especially street protests against an imperious or high-handed executive arm of government. It is, therefore, important to view what the APC did beyond partisan connotations. Rather, it should be seen as a bold and courageous step against a presumably dictatorial presidency. It was, above all else, a fight against impunity. The directive was, therefore, aimed at salvaging governance and rule of law in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria in general. For it will be too myopic and reductionist to interpret happenings in Rivers State strictly as the internal affairs of the state.

If, as the underlying principle of a dominant party in the legislative arm blocking executive excesses is to make that government behave responsibly, so be it.

This, however, is not to say that a supposed instrument of control such as this should be trivialised. While this development is welcome, the opposition needs to be careful in its deployment only in a way that will hold government accountable for its actions and inactions. If it must be deployed as a measure of last resort, as this instance suggests, it must be in the overall interest of the nation, never for partisan reasons. Only then can it generate sustainable sympathy from Nigerians and help advance the nation’s democracy and progress. 

Written by EDITOR -The Guardian Newspapers