"When Things Fall Apart: The End of Nigeria's Failed Ideology"

By Amb Aliyu Bin Abbas

In the annals of African history, Nigeria was once held up as a beacon of hope, a land of promise, and a testament to the possibility of unity in diversity. It was an ideology that fueled the dreams of many, both within and beyond its borders. But today, as we stand on the precipice of a shattered dream, it's become painfully clear that Nigeria, as an ideology, has crumbled.

For years, the Nigerian state has proven itself to be little more than a fiction a grand illusion that promises prosperity but delivers despair. 

It's a nation that works remarkably well for the elites and members of the establishment, who continue to thrive amid the chaos. But for the masses, Nigeria is a dystopian nightmare, a never-ending story of unfulfilled promises, and a cruel hoax.

The truth is, the Nigerian dream has devolved into a tragic comedy. With each passing cycle of governance failure, the nation's diaspora community swells as disillusioned citizens seek refuge in foreign lands. They flee the very homeland that should be their sanctuary, driven away by a nightmarish reality where basic services are a luxury, corruption is rampant, and insecurity is the order of the day.

The institutions that should serve as the pillars of a functioning democracy have crumbled under the weight of corruption and incompetence. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Electoral Tribunal, once symbols of hope, have revealed their absolute partiality to the status quo. The façade of free and fair elections has been torn asunder, exposing the deep rot within the Nigerian political system.

The consequences of this institutional decay are far-reaching. The people have lost faith in the electoral process, viewing it as a charade designed to perpetuate the rule of the few at the expense of the many. This disillusionment is not isolated; it's a ticking time bomb that threatens to explode into political upheaval.

The recent years have witnessed movements and protests across Nigeria, driven by a collective frustration with the prevailing order. From the #EndSARS protests, the end bad Governance protest to calls for secession, the voices of dissent are growing louder, and they will not be silenced. The people are no longer willing to accept the status quo, and they are demanding a fundamental restructuring of the Nigerian state.

The end of Nigeria as an ideology is not a doomsday prophecy; it's a stark reality that we can no longer ignore. The farce we call Nigeria, with its broken institutions and shattered dreams, cannot endure in its current form. It's time to acknowledge that the old order is crumbling, and it's up to the people to shape a new future.

The way forward is uncertain, but one thing is clear: the Nigerian people have the resilience and determination to chart a different course. It's time to dismantle the broken system and rebuild a Nigeria that works for all its citizens, not just the privileged few. The end of Nigeria as we know it is the beginning of a new chapter a chapter where the people reclaim their power and rewrite the story of their nation.

Amb Aliyu Bin Abbas is the Youth President of National Youth Alliance.

www.aliyubinabbas.com

An Open letter to President Bola Tinubu by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, on the State of the Nation

Your Excellency,I bring you good tidings from the more than 65 million Yoruba of South-West in Nigeria, including Edo, Delta, Kwara and Kogi States.

I also write this letter to you as one of the more than 200 million people God created as Nigerians.

We have no regret that we were created to inhabit this geographical space in the West African axis of the African continent.

In fact, we are happy to be here because I don’t know any country in the world that God has blessed, in terms of natural and human resources, like Nigeria.

Obviously, past leaders, since 1960, disappointed Nigerians with the way ‘Nigeria and Nigerians were badly led and resources selfishly managed’.

When you came with the ‘Emilokan’ coinage in the build up to the 2023 elections, many Nigerians were persuaded that as a democrat exposed to modern way of governance, you will perform better than Muhammadu Buhari, a soldier who deepened the poverty levels of Nigerians and increased insecurity from 2015 to 2023.

Today, events have proved that they were wrong.

Mr.President, to say the truth without minding whose ox is gored, you have really disappointed many Nigerians who thought you were the messiah they were waiting for.

The facts are there to speak for themselves.

On May 29, 2023 when you became the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigerians, the price of a litre of fuel was less then N200.

Today, it is more than N1000.

As the Minister of Petroleum, I ask you, what type of reforms is this?

In May 2023, Naira to a Dollar was less than N740.

Now, your two right-hand men when you were Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, Wale Edun (Finance Minister) and Yemi Cardoso (CBN Governor) are in charge of the economy.

What exactly are the fiscal, economic and financial briefings they give you daily to convince you that they know what they are doing in those two offices?

When Buhari left on May 29, 2023, many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief that insecurity would soon become history.

Pitiably today, from the North to the South, East to the West, the rate at which Nigerians are being abducted and some killed, even after ransom was paid, it was as if these blood-thirsty maniacs have just been unleashed on Nigerians from the hottest part of hell.

As the Commander-in-Chief,the rising spate of insecurity across the country has put to question the kind of briefings you get on daily basis, especially, from the Inspector- General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, the Chief of Army Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja,and other Security Chiefs on their modus operandi to send these killers to where they belong?

In August, many Nigerians came out to express their frustration on the way you are governing them.

Today, some of those arrested have been charged with treason.

In the Comity of Nations, who does that? Is that the way governments are overthrown, with placards?

Human rights activists are being harassed by security agents on a daily basis and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have become soft targets of sycophants who speak sweet words to your ears for selfish reasons.

Many Nigerians know the ‘radical’ role you played when you were Governor, and even after 2007, when you galvanised and mobilised them to challenge the status quo at the national level.

Now that you are in government, protest has suddenly become a criminal offence.God is indeed Great!!!

The plain truth is that the

recent fuel price increase by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), an agency which is under your office as the Petroleum Minister, is an attack on Nigerians.

Obviously, your administration is becoming indifferent, insensitive and unresponsive to the plights of millions of Nigerians who can no longer meet their daily needs.

This is a brutal assault on the sensibility of Nigerians.

I think you and your party should be sensitive to the plights of Nigerians.

Mr.President, don’t you think the wicked and draconian increase in fuel price, especially, at this time that Nigerians have been pushed to the wall, is a huge recipe for crisis?

Nigerians can no longer bear this economic hardship any longer.

I am writing this letter to you because of the pressure I am going through from millions of Nigerians, who erroneously, believe that I don’t want to tell you the truth because the two of us are eminent Yoruba citizens.

The truth is that the perverted, opaque, unintelligible, wicked and corrupt handling of the petroleum sector and continuous increase of fuel price under your administration (with the NNPC threatening us the price will still go up) without due regard to the laws of the land and wellbeing of Nigerians is akin to telling Nigerians to go to hell.

Mr.President, if a few of your advisers are telling you that all is well, I can confidently inform you that they are your enemies.

Former President Buhari was here and Nigerians proved to him that they were bigger than him.

If you don’t reverse this ugly trend immediately, soon, the situation may trigger further hardship across the country.

Under your watch as the President, the APC-led administration has consistently shown itself to be anti-people, unconcerned and deaf to the agonies of millions of Nigerians.

Today, more than 75 per cent of Nigerians have sunk below the poverty line. Businesses are collapsing like a badly-arranged pack of cards and the centre can no longer hold in many households.

With over 32 per cent inflation rate and close to 40 per cent unemployment rate which are expected to rise further with the latest dictatorial increase in fuel price, it is obvious that your administration offers no hope to Nigerians.

In the past 16 months,your administration has been using propaganda, power of coercion and rough tactics to oppress Nigerians.

For how long do you honestly think that despotic strategy will last?

Since last year, you have visited many countries, the latest being China.

Do you think your foreign counterparts treat their citizens the way you are treating Nigerians?

Mr.President, remember your promises to Nigerians during your numerous campaigns to all the nooks and crannies of this great country?

In just 16 months into your administration, your campaign promises have suddenly become failed promises?

Your Excellency, do you remember an Austrian-German who became the Commander-in-Chief in Germany in 1933?

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945?

Hitler, an elected democrat,

quickly transformed a democratic republic into a constitutional dictatorship.

The Fuhrer vowed to destroy democracy through the democratic process. And he did with the destruction of Germany in 1945.

Before the destruction,

the Nazi leader disabled, then dismantled the Weimar Republic.

The Fuhrer crushed political opposition, destroyed the economy and ultimately undermined Germany’s democratic structures.

When Hitler became history on April 30, 1945, Germany was in total ruins.

But due to the determination of Germans, today, that country has the biggest economy in Europe.

I hope I am wrong but I see a linkage between what happened during the ascendancy of Hitler into power and what is happening in Nigeria today.

Anyway, Nigeria is bigger than any individual.

Mr President, the time is ticking.

Ask this simple question: Are my reforms working?

I come in peace.

Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams

Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland

September 10, 2024.

NIGERIA'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY GRANTS FULL AUTONOMY TO THE 774 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, INEC TO BE CONDUCTING LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

"The National Assembly on Tuesday, granted full financial and administrative autonomy to all the 774 local council authorities across Nigeria by amending section 124 of the nation’s constitution.

The section provides a consequential provision for the making of the local councils, a full third tier government without undue interference from the state governments.

The ammendment was one of the 22 others approved by the House of Representatives last week and ratified by the Senate on Tuesday.

Both chambers had through a conference committee harmonised versions of the ammendments into the constitution carried out by each of them last month.

By the development, the National Assembly had ratified all the 23 clauses and sections that had been ammended by both chambers.

The newly ammended document which would be sent to States Houses of Assembly, for approval, also approved the creation of the Office of Auditor General of the Local Government as well as the State Local Government Service Commission.

The section equally deleted the State

Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) from the constitution thereby vesting the powers to conduct council elections on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It however, retained the immunity clause in the constitution for the President and Governors by adopting the Senate version of the ammendments on the issue and rejected the House of Representatives version which removed the immunity clause.

The National Assembly also made provisions for Independent Candidacy in future elections in Nigeria by amending sections 65 and 106 of the 1999 constitution..."

Source: social media 

Labour Rejects ₦62,000, ₦100,000 ‘Starvation Wage’: But We Cannot Declare Strike Now — NLC

NLC President Ajaero Breaks Silence on Minimum Wage Dispute, says the labour Union Cannot Declare Strike Now

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced that it will not embark on a strike action tomorrow, Tuesday, to demand a new national minimum wage.

This decision was made known by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, at the ongoing International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ajaero said: “We cannot declare strike now because the figures are with the President.”

He added that the tripartite committee’s proposals are awaiting the President’s decision, and the NLC’s National Executive Council will deliberate on the new figure once it is announced.

Democracy, governance and credible elections (1)

 

By

abiodun KOMOLAFE

There is a problem about the institutional framework in which the Nigerian state as presently constituted is based. To have democracy, good governance and credible elections, there must be institutional reforms and great accountability in government. The three are interwoven, only that we tend to think that democracy is all about elections. In any case, the fact that those ingredients are currently missing is an indication that Nigeria still has a long way to go. After all, without democracy and governance, there can’t be credible elections.

To put it politely, Nigeria, even as we speak, has very weak institutions, and without a functional justice system, she can’t be said to have credible elections. For any democracy to stand and be as its definition, the power of credibility cannot be underestimated. However, the achievement or otherwise of this ‘credibility’ is a huge task, because credibility means different things to different actors in democracy, more so as the definition hovers around the same center: the people. Notwithstanding, the issues of credibility in our elections requires a serious conference, taking into consideration the level of litigations that always go with elections in Nigeria. Take, for example, the United Kingdom where only one electoral dispute has ever gone to court over a long period of time. Of course, it is because she has a functional judiciary and nobody would want to waste his resources on frivolous litigations. The lawyer who handles such cases can even be disbarred. So, how come Nigeria remains a semi-democratic country 25 years into the 4th Republic?

In any serious democracy, it is the government that sets the right template for an election to hold. Unlike countries like Spain, France, South Africa, even some other African countries, Nigeria needs a constitutional court so that her political practitioners can originate and conclude constitutional issues in record time. In a constitutional court for instance, the needless imbroglio currently troubling the peace of Rivers State won’t even take more than two to three weeks to resolve, instead of this long-winded abracadabra, which is no doubt affecting the perception of Nigeria as an unserious economy.

What we are saying is that governance and elections are intertwined and that a political economy that is lacking in internal security mechanisms, weaponizes and actually glorifies poverty is not one where credible elections can be held because it is based on state capture. In a country under the subordination of the state to powerful individuals and vested interests, the idea is to make the people very poor so that, on an election day, prospective voters can be induced. Even when there’s no election, the masses are induced with palliatives. The tragic truth is that political entrepreneurship has become the parameter for politicking and the determinant of victory. Otherwise, why should minimum wage even be a debate in Nigeria?

Again, that’s where the late Obafemi Awolowo excelled as a leader! But how come successive leaders have not been seeing the link between the minimum wage, the purchasing power parity and investments? Call it an election gimmick but that’s why Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State deserves a standing ovation. Well, it’s not that N70,000 as minimum wage for workers in the state is fair enough but then, the governor has demonstrated that a worthy credit analyst would prefer Benin City where the purchasing power parity is N50,000.00 to Gusau where the purchasing power parity is N31,000.00. In a way, Obaseki has shown that, for any economy to attain its potentials, it is better to have 15 million people who are on a living wage of N105,000.00 per month than to have 200 million people who are on a minimum wage of N30,000.00 per month.

‘Ojú to dilè ni iroré ń so.’ (Pimples usually infect an idle face. The notorious truth is that we can’t have functional democracy, good governance and credible elections without a sound educational system. Had Nigeria also been blessed with a sensitive political class, Nigerians would have been benefiting from free and compulsory education as far back as 1974 or 1975. Of course, the difference would have been that Nigeria would not have been having all these problems because of a better educated population. Matter-of-factly, the better educated the people are, the better and the saner the choices. A better educated population is a better informed and more productive population. But when politics fails to deliver its goods to the people, waiting for much chemistry to work at the same pace for development to show up becomes the norm. Obviously, that’s what Awolowo got right and that’s why people like Joseph Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize for Economics.

Secondly, compulsory education is the best form of population control. On the day of Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the United Kingdom as the parting colonial power had 7 million more people than Nigeria. Whereas Nigeria’s population grew from 44,928,342 in 1960 to 229,152,217 in 2024, the British population has grown by only 15.34 million since 1960. The implementation of the Education Act of 1947, which made education free and compulsory up to the age of 18 in the UK led to the halving of her population within one generation. Why and how? Educated people “marry later” and have fewer children. What’s more? Educated populace is better skilled, has higher purchasing power parity and many other advantages. That’s why countries like Italy and Japan have declining population growth. They are actually begging and bribing their citizens to have more children. For Nigeria, the story is pathetically different!

Forget the delusion of grandeur, unless some steps are taken in the right direction, Nigeria as a country may be fast sliding into irrelevance. For example, South Africa is currently the biggest economy in Africa, of course with the soundest fundamentals. She is followed by Egypt and Algeria and only God knows the true occupier of the 4th position between Nigeria and Morocco. South Africa has strong institutions of the state. As a matter of fact, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is already terrified of losing the forthcoming elections. Most importantly, she has basic industries like iron and steel and machine tools. So, she manufactures and exports cars to Europe. Unlike Nigeria, South Africa doesn’t assemble cars. As former President Donald Trump once said, “if you don’t have steel, you don’t have a country.” In terms of fundamentals therefore, how to arrest Nigeria’s descent into irrelevance should be the key question.

But how did we get here? When Nigeria decided to throw away the Lyttleton’s, 1960 and 1963 Constitutions, it became obvious that the country was gone. Brazil currently operates the 1988 Constitution, which is the 7th enacted since the country’s independence in 1822, and the 6th since the proclamation of the republic in 1889. Look at today’s Brazil! She’s currently the world’s 9th largest economy. Not only that, 92% of all new cars sold in Brazil are powered, not by petroleum motor spirit, pms, but by the ethanol derived from sugarcane. For greater certainty, Brazil is a huge producer of sugarcane. Impliedly, had Nigeria kept up her existence on the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions, she’d have been powering not less than 92% of her cars by ethanol derived from cassava. After all, dear country is currently the world’s largest producer of cassava with an annual output of over 34 million tonnes of tuberous roots. What this means is that, instead of buying a litre of pms for N700.00, ethanol derived from cassava would not have cost more than N130.00. Besides, that would have been a boost for agriculture and industry would have been competitive because its cost would be lower. Added to these is that the destiny of employment generation in the country would have been given a lift-up.

● To be concluded.  

 _•ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk;_ 

 _•08098614418 - SMS only

If I perish, I perish: Mailafia's own 'obituary' which he personally wrote few days before he 'died'

Obadiah Mailafia was a Nigerian development economist, international polymath, central banker, statesman and the 2019 Nigeria Presidential election Candidate of African Democratic Congress.

Dr Obadiah Mailafia, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), shook the airwaves recently when he told a radio station that a northern governor is the commander of Boko Haram. 

He also said the terrorists were flying freely during the coronavirus lockdown. “We have met with some of their high commanders, they have sat down with us not once, not twice,” he said in the interview that was also on video. “They told us that one of the northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same. During this lockdown, their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown.”

*Kindly and carefully read through Mailafia's own 'obituary' which he personally wrote few days before he 'died'.*

After reading this, kindly comment your candid view or opinion on wether he died a natural death or he was "taken out"  - in President Obama's words - by the state.

"I am Afraid Of Abiola’s Styled Death”. 

You never know the value of freedom until you’ve lost it. The hard-won freedoms that our fathers bravely fought for are being systematically eroded in our country today.  Evil swaggers across the land like the proud harlot of Babylon. I have borrowed the title for my piece this morning from the novel by the 19th century Russian novelist Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. 

His 1864 novel recounts the story of a retired civil servant in St. Petersburg who goes underground to meditate on the existential absurdities of life in his country. My gentle readers will forgive me if my article bears some resemblance with the incoherent ramblings of Dostoevsky’s anti-hero.

Today, Monday, September 14, I am to appear for the third time before The Men in Black at their Jos Command Headquarters at 11.00 am.

The first time I received the summons, which was about a fortnight ago, I was alarmed - in fact, terrified. I have never slept in a cell ever in my life. Never had a case involving the police. I have visited nearly a hundred countries in the course of my international career and have lived in Europe, North America, West Africa and the Maghrib. I handled sensitive jobs involving billions of dollars. I have no criminal record anywhere.

Let me be transparently honest, the Department of Security Services people have treated me with firmness but with professionalism and decorum. But I went into the Lions’ Den with great trepidation. Images of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola collapsing and dying after taking a cup of tea came to my imagination. Countless, nameless compatriots have disappeared in those dungeons. Others have come out maimed and damaged for life. I have been told that somewhere in Kirikiri Prison in Lagos, there is an underground dungeon with a fence separating the prisoner from killer crocodiles. Once in a while the fence is removed and the fate of the prisoner is sealed forever in the belly of those monstrous reptiles.

I have received serious warnings that my revelations have angered some members of the political class to the extent that they want me physically eliminated. I have been warned to beware of polonium poisoning and sharp objects concealed in chairs. I know that killer squads have been paid undisclosed sums to hunt me down and to have me despatched to Elysium. I have been told that some dark forces want me in their net so that I would be poisoned by gas administered through an air conditioner. When I am getting weak and delirious, a fake doctor would be brought in to administer an injection. That injection would be my death sentence. The other day, shadowy creatures turned up at midnight at my hide-out. I had to scale the back fence and disappear.

I am a writer, intellectual and international consultant. Every minute of my working day is committed to doing serious work. Hours spent running up and down with the security agencies constitute a painful waste of my precious time. I am obsessive about cleanliness and personal hygiene. Hell, for me, is a room full of dirt, muck, bedbugs, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats and wall geckos; without a reading lantern and without my precious collection of books and Mozart playing in the background.

I am not normally given to fear. My wife accuses me of being her greatest security nightmare with my total indifference to the threat of death.

I love life and I cherish my family and friends dearly. But I fear no man – not even those who can take my physical life. God helping me, I shall live to be more than 100 like my forebears before me. My grandfather and my father lived beyond 100. It’s in our DNA. My grandfather Baba Gambo Galadima lived to be 115. He only went to join our venerable ancestors in 1992. Until his death, he had the sharpest intellect I know. He was a very handsome man in his youth, with the unmistakable gait of the warrior that he was. He maintained a regal and dignified royal bearing all his life. The British imperialists were wise enough to co-opt him as an officer of the Colonial Constabulary. By the time of his death, all of Grandpa’s 32 teeth were firmly in their place. He had no wrinkle on his brow. And his intellect remained as sharp as a razor-blade. The only downside was that his eyes were failing and his movement was slow.

I once asked him the secret of longevity. He had only four recipes: fear God; never bear false witness against anyone; watch what you eat; and never look at another man’s wife. His words of wisdom have been my guide and moral compass.

What perplexes me in my current travails is that I did not say anything that has not been said before. A prominent Sheikh recently said worse things; even pronouncing a curse on the political elites and daring them to come and arrest him. I am wondering if my persecution is not because I am a Christian or because I am from the Middle Belt. Only two former governors are currently in prison for corruption. Both are Christians from the Middle Belt. What they stole combined is less than N2bn, as contrasted with the N18bn one governor from the North was alleged to have stolen. The man is going about freely enjoying his loot. I will not stand behind anyone who has defrauded the state. But it seems clear to me that the administration of justice in Nigeria is sectional, religious and ethnic in its bias. It is contemptible.

Like Martin Luther King Jr, I am a believer in nonviolence. But I also believe that conscience is an open wound. The martyred German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed that whenever a madman is driving a truck heading towards little children, it should be our duty to stop him. In our Nigeria of today, thousands of defenceless children, women, the elderly and youths are being killed by genocidal insurgents, murderous bandits and marauding herdsmen militias. And yet, the whole world is silent. We have all been cowed into silence. Today, the spirit of fear reigns over our country like a nuclear mushroom cloud. Bonhoeffer once declared: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

For standing up for the oppressed, the bloodhounds are out for me.  Out of The Daily Trust stable where I once served as an Editorial Board member, venomous editorials and articles have been written against me. My enemies have cast aspersions on my person, qualifications and character. I was surprised, if not dismayed. They seemed more concerned about giving a dog a bad name and hanging it rather than considering the message of the dog. They have clearly exposed themselves for what they are. They obviously do not care about the thousands that have been killed. Their only worry is that we have exposed the evil plans of the Global Jihadists who want to kill millions of defenceless Nigerians. The blood of the holy martyrs will judge them!

Throughout my ordeals, I have received a groundswell of support from Muslim and Christian youths across the country. They believe that my voice is their voice. Muslim clerics have been praying for me. Clergy and laity across the churches, the Nigerian Diaspora and throughout the world have held vigils for me. Widows and orphans have fasted and prayed for me. 

If I stand before the Pharaoh today with courage and strength, it is thanks to them. Without meaning to, I have become the voice of the holy martyrs of our God. If I perish, I perish!

Ilesa Water Supply: Genesis, Challenges, Pitfalls and the Red Flag - Wale Bolorunduro

It is always good to keep the historical record of a lifetime challenge because, Nigerians forget easily and therefore, I will devote the following to the history of the Ilesa water supply, the challenges and the pitfalls.

The old Ilesa Water Supply Scheme, commissioned in 1952 in the old Western Region, supplying 2,700m3/day went into a state of disrepair in the mid – eighties as the Efon – Alaye Intake Structure (now in Ekiti State) was frequently filled with silts; efforts to de-silt became unproductive and raw water abstraction impossible. The 22km Efon – Alaye/Ilesa raw water Asbestos Cement Transmission mains became deplorable and unserviceable because of frequent damage due to old age. Also, the road expansion works on Efon - Alaye roads created, a worst scenario when several kilometres of the Transmission Mains was damaged during construction. These and others led to abandonment and complete shutdown of the treatment facilities and hence led to Ilesa inability to access public water supply and total dependence on water from doubtful sources.

 

The new Ilesa Water Supply Scheme was conceived during the administration of Uncle Bola Ige, the Executive Governor of old Oyo State when it became clear that old Ilesa water Scheme would not be able to serve Ilesa with potable water because the town was increasing in population yearly. The contract for the new scheme was awarded to Messrs. Johnson Brothers International (Nig.) Ltd at a contract price of $65M. The Eximbank (USA) loan of US70m had been secured for Oyo State Government for the procurement of essential Mechanical and Electrical equipment and services to be rendered by the Technical Partners, Johnson Brothers International (Nig.) Ltd, i.e. Johnson Brothers Corporation of Minnesota, USA. The loan agreement which was signed in 1983 by old Oyo State Government was guaranteed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Out of the external loan, some equipment and materials such as pump-sets, generators, electrical items and large diameter pipes were purchased and stored at Asejire Waterworks, Oyo State.

 

Messrs. Johnson Brother International mobilized to site in 1983 but not much work could be done when the military took over power in Nigeria on 31st December, 1983.

 

Prior to the sudden change of Government (around July/August, 1983) a sum of N7.2m and $11.6M was paid to JBI Ltd.; these payments were made in accordance to the contract agreement signed by the then Oyo State Government. The manner in which the said amount was managed by the contractors and their overseas partners, Messrs. Johnson Brothers Int’l Ltd created a lot of problem, so the project could not make much progress and became stalled and all project activities stopped. The USA Technical Partners of JBI Ltd moved out of the sites. The Eximbank Foreign loan for the project was lost. The contract with JBI (Nig.) Ltd was terminated by the old Oyo State in July 1985.

 

In 1985, Oyo State Military Government commenced negotiations with Nigerian Water Resources and Development Ltd & Messrs. Taylor Woodrow, United Kingdom (UK), the negotiations did not succeed.

 

In 1987, General Staff Headquarters, Dodan Barracks, Lagos via Letter No. GHQ/CGS/322 of February, 1987 directed Oyo State Government to allow Messrs. Johnson Brothers International Ltd. to continue with the jobs in view of the huge sum of money already committed into the project.

 

Consequent upon the above, the contract of New Ilesa Water Supply Scheme was re-awarded in conjunction with that of Ejigbo on 29th April, 1987, however, the efforts of the contractor to resuscitate Eximbank loan to execute the project failed because the Federal Government could not guarantee the loan and the Technical Partners JBC of USA withdrew in 1992.

 

The project was transferred to Osun State on its creation in August, 1991. Osun State Government decided to re-award the project to Messrs. Johnson Brothers International Ltd in 1992 but no new Contract Agreement was signed. JBI (Nig.) Ltd relied on the 1987 Contract Agreement signed with the then Oyo State Government which could not hold water.

 

All these were the efforts of the previous administrations on the New Ilesa Water Scheme since 1983; and from all the efforts narrated above, the State Government inherited two (2) large generators, some electrical equipment and about 18km of ductile iron pipes, out of which the government of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola laid over 9km from Osu to College of Education, Ilesa in an attempt to get water to Ilesa, but a drop of water has not flowed through these pipes since then. Attempts were made by Aregbesola’s Administration to utilize, the generators inherited, but all efforts failed as the manufacturer informed that the model is outdated. The remaining Ductile Iron Pipes are kept at the Centre for Black Art Culture’s compound, Abere with majority of them stacked at a school premises in Igila, on the way to Ilesa.

 

In the year 2006, the Federal Government of Nigeria awarded a contract for the construction of a dam at Kajola to Messrs. RCC, for the purpose of raw water source for Ilesa Water Supply Scheme. By 2009, the project was abandoned because of the variation needs on the contract. Due to economic devastation that was envisaged and a lot of compensations that would be paid to land owners should their land be submerged by the dam; the scope of works was reduced to the construction of a weir on Osun River and an intake structure at Kajola. An asset though, but without transmission and the distribution that take water to the doorsteps of Ijesa people, it could actually be a liability creating such pond of water without utilizing it.

Ijesaland was fortunate that his own son, Aregbesola Rauf was sworn in as the Executive Governor of Osun and at the inception of his administration in 2010, he wrote to the Federal Government on the need to complete the project as his priority. This is yielding to the yawning of his people and the clarion call of the paramount ruler of Ijesaland, His Imperial Majesty, Owa Obokun Adimula, Olokun Ola, Oba, Dr Adekunle Aromolaran, who used the 2011 and 2012 Iwude Ijesa to reinforce the demand for water supply. Through the initial powerful effort of Governor Aregbesola, the contract for the construction of weir, for water pond and intake at Kajola was re-awarded in 2012 and was completed in 2014. The upstream structure (a weir to create water pond and intake pumps) was handed over to the Water Corporation on 11th March, 2016.

The next challenges were the funding requirements for the construction of water treatment plants, transmission structures and the distribution networks that will take water to the communities, neighborhoods and doorsteps of the ijesas. The peak funding requirement would be over One hundred million dollars, about 25 billion Naira. How would Aregbeaola raise this huge fund and from which sources. How would he devote such huge fund to ijesaland alone without trading off other competing needs of the whole state. How would he handle the moral burden associated with funding and allocation of such huge funding to his people. How Ogbeni Aregbesola showed courage and demonstrated the love for his people to resolve these funding challenges (once and for all), will be documented and presented in another write up.

The pitfalls are the construction risks and the operational risks, which are already rearing their ugly heads. With destructive mining activities in Kajola and the adjoining communities, which are already altering the courses of the upstream rivers and depositing heavy metals (lead, Mercury, etc) into the rivers, the huge risk in addition to the pollution is that sufficient water may not get to the kajola pond for intake and water supply according to the ilesa water scheme, after the completion. The Government of Osun and the Ijesa community leaders must rise up to the challenges posed by these artisanal miners, with candor and with sincerity of purpose to stop them!!.

Wale Bolorunduro, PhD

Former Commissioner of Finance, Osun

2011 to 2014

NIGERIA: RESOLUTIONS OF THE NORTHERN STATES GOVERNORS’ FORUM MEETING WITH NORTHERN STATES EMIRS AND CHIEFS

 RESOLUTIONS OF THE NORTHERN STATES GOVERNORS’ FORUM MEETING WITH NORTHERN STATES EMIRS AND 

CHIEFS HELD ON MONDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER, 2021

The Northern States Governors’ Forum, in its continuous efforts to address the challenges bedeviling the Northern States convened an Emergency Meeting today Monday 27th September, 2021 at the Council Chamber Sir, Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.  The meeting was also attended by Chairmen of Northern States Traditional Council led by His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto.

2. The Forum discussed issues of Peace, Progress, Development and well-being of the Northern States.  The Forum took stock of progress made in handling challenges of Banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and insurgency.

After extensive deliberations, the following resolutions were arrived at:-

1. The Forum reviewed security updates from the Region and observed the need for a sustained synergy and coordinated efforts between the Federal and Northern States Governments while noting success of recent measures.  The meeting also noted with concern the constraint of the security services and urged the Armed Forces to embark on simultaneous operations and resolved to share the plans of the Frontline States come up with common with other Region; and assured of its readiness to work in synergy with the Federal Government of Nigeria in finding lasting solution to the current security challenges. 

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2. The Forum appreciated the ongoing onslaught against banditry, kidnapping and Boko Haram especially in the North East and parts of North West and North Central States and encouraged the Armed forces and other security agencies to sustain the tempo to enable the security challenges be permanently addressed in the shortest time.

3. The Forum received updates on the Renewable / Solar Energy Project and NOTED that request for land for the project had been submitted and are being processed by the Northern States.  The Committee had commenced negotiations in a public private arrangement and sovereign guarantees to ensure bankability of the project by multilateral financial organizations.  The Forum called on States yet to process the request for allocation of land for the project to expedite action. 

4. The meeting received updates on activities of some Committees constituted by the Northern States Governors’ Forum and NOTED that recommendations contained therein are being considered with a view to coming up with implementation strategies.

5. The Forum observed that some Northern States Governors had earlier expressed views for a power-shift to three Geo-Political Zone in the South with a view to promoting unity and peace in the Nation.  Notwithstanding their comments, the Forum unanimously condemn the statement by the Southern Governors Forum that the Presidency must go to the South. The statement is quite contradictory with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended that the elected President shall:-

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score the majority votes;

score at least 25% of the votes cast in 2/3 States of the Federation.

In the case of run-up simple majority win the election.

6. The Northern State Governors Forum considered the on-going National debate on the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT). As responsible leaders while we are constraint by the fact that the matter is sub judice we however for the purposes of educating the public make the following observations: 

(a) the judgement of the Federal high Court calls to question the constitutionality of VAT, withholding tax, education tax, Niger Delta Development Commission, National Information Technology Development Agency, 13% derivation, National Economic Development Council and many other currently levied and collected by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Federal Inlands Revenue Service.  

(b) Rivers and Lagos State Government had enacted their own VAT laws and the Southern Governors Forum have expressed support for this course of action;

(c) VAT is being confused by these State Government as a sales tax. If every State enacted its own VAT Law, multiple taxation will result in increases of prices of goods and services and collapsed in interstate trade. VAT is not a production tax like excise, but terminal tax which is paid by the ultimate consumer;

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(d) Another confusion is ignoring observation above and its “overall effect”.  The reason Lagos account for our 50% Vat collection is because most of the telecommunication companies, Banks, manufacturing and other trading activities have their headquarters in Lagos with the resultant and wrongful attribution of VAT

(e) Until and unless the Supreme Court pronounces judgement on the substantive matter between Rivers State and Federal Government, the matter is sub judice and Northern States Governors Forum would respect this. 

7. The Traditional Rulers Councils appreciated the efforts made so far by the NSGF in addressing the key areas of challenges facing the Northern States, they expressed their willingness, solidarity and collaboration with the Governors’ in addressing these challenges particularly the issue of security.  It was equally resolved that perpetrators of crimes should be dealt with irrespective of their status in the society. 

8. The Forum decried the high level of conspiracies being perpetrated by some Judicial Officers in releasing / granting bail to arrested criminals.  This attitude sabotages the fight against criminality, therefore, there the need to develop good and robust intelligence mechanism amongst States was identified as a panacea. 

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9. The Forum calls on Agencies to leave up to their responsibility, Traditional rulers are to equally mobilize their various communities in checkmating the ugly trend of criminality in their domains.

10. The Forum NOTED the ugly trend in the spread of drugs and consumption amongst the teeming youth and therefore, calls on all levels of Governments and communities to raise to the occasion by stemming the tide.

11. The Forum also call the Federal Government to expedite action on the well establish National Livestock Transformation Programme as a spring board in transiting from the open grazing system as widely practice in the North

His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Barr. Simon Bako Lalong KSGG,

Chairman, Northern States Governors' Forum.

EFCC Plans Workshop to Eradicate Pension Fraud in Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in collaboration with stakeholders in the Pension Industry, is organizing a two day Sensitization Workshop with the theme: Eradication of Pension Fraud in Nigeria.

According to the Chairman of the Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, the workshop scheduled for October 5 and 6, 2021, at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, is expected to serve as a platform for sensitization and practical exchange of information on how best to eradicate Pension Fraud in Nigeria.

Bawa further said the workshop would help highlight the areas of corrupt practices in Pension Administration and collectively develop strategies to curb the menace threatening the country’s pension schemes.

The workshop is expected to be graced by Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF); Anti-corruption agencies; Members of the Legislature and National Pension Commission (PenCom). Other participants expected at the workshop include officials from the Military Pension Board; Police Pension Board; Pension and Records, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation; Federal Ministry of Finance; Budget Office; National Union of Pensioners (NUP); Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, (PTAD); Retirement Benefit Advisors; Pension Fund Administrators and Civil Society Organisations.

By EFCC

NIGERIA'S PRESIDENT, MAJOR GEN. MUHAMMADU BUHARI APPROVES CABINET RESHUFFLE

Major Gen Buhari

The Nigerian President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari has approved a reshuffle in the cabinet formed on August 21, 2019.

According to a statement made available by a senior special adviser to Major General Buhari on (Media & Publicity Femi Adesina, the Nigeria president had in a statement to cabinet members during the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday 1st September,  announced that Mohammed Sabo Nanono, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Engr. Sale Mamman, Minister of Power were leaving the cabinet.

"In the same vein, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, Minister of Environment, was redeployed to assume office as the Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, while Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, Minister of State, Works & Housing will now be the Minister of Power."

Major Gen Buhari said the changes were sequel to the “tradition of subjecting our projects and programs implementation to independent and critical self-review” through sector reporting during Cabinet meetings and at retreats.

He added that “these significant review steps have helped to identify and strengthen weak areas, close gaps, build cohesion and synergy in governance, manage the economy and improve the delivery of public good to Nigerians.”


The full text of the statement is reproduced below:

On Wednesday 21st August, 2019 the current Federal Executive Council was sworn-in after a rigorous retreat to bring returning and new members up to speed on the accomplishments, challenges and lessons drawn from my first term in Office and to emphasise the 9 priority areas of government for the second term.



2. Two years and some months into the second term, the tradition of subjecting our projects and programs implementation to independent and critical self-review has taken firm roots through sector Reporting during Cabinet meetings and at Retreats.



3. These significant review steps have helped to identify and strengthen weak areas, close gaps, build cohesion and synergy in governance, manage the economy and improve the delivery of public good to Nigerians.



4. I must commend this cabinet for demonstrating unparalleled resilience that helped the government to navigate the disruption to global systems and governance occasioned by the emergence of COVID-19 shortly after inauguration. The weekly Federal Executive Council meetings was not spared because the traditional mode was altered.



5. As we are all aware, change is the only factor that is constant in every human endeavour and as this administration approaches its critical phase in the second term, I have found it essential to reinvigorate this cabinet in a manner that will deepen its capacity to consolidate legacy achievements.



6. Accordingly, a few cabinet changes, marking the beginning of a continuous process, have been approved. They are as follows:



Ministers Leaving the Cabinet:



I. Mohammed Sabo Nanono, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and

II. Engr. Sale Mamman, Minister of Power.



Redeployment:



I. Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, Minister of Environment, to assume office as the Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development;

II. Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, Minister of State, Works & Housing assume office as the Minister of Power.



7. In due course, substantive nominations will be made to fill the consequential vacancies in accordance with the requirements of the constitution.



8. I have personally met with the departing members to thank them for their contributions to discussions in cabinet and the invaluable services rendered to the nation. Today, effectively marks their last participation in the Federal Executive Council deliberations and I wish them the best in all future endeavours.



9. Finally, I wish to reiterate once more, that this process shall be continuous.



10. I thank you all and May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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