The humanism of Gani Fawehinmi

AN embattled revolutionary once advised compatriots who might find themselves in personally tragic situations to be careful not to judge a historical epoch by their own personal fates. Let us attempt an elaboration of this admonition. A historical epoch, or development, may be considered tragic for a large section of a given segment of humanity, or even for humanity as a whole. And one may share this tragedy as a social being, as a species being, as a member of a family, as a member of a social class, group or community, as a partisan, etc. But the tragedy may in addition, impact on you in a unique, personal way.

The revolutionary was advising that while admitting the full extent of the personal impact you should not judge "the general" by "the personal", however devastating the latter may be. I have had reasons to remind myself (and sometimes, others) of this admonition several times in the recent past. The latest reminder came in the build-up to the 4th Fani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture Series organised by the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and held in Lagos on Tuesday, Janaury 15, 2008.

In the third week of November 2007, I received a notification, through multiple sources, of the Gani Fawehinmi event. The notification included a request for my participation as a speaker on the topic; "Impact of corruption on the socio-economic development of Nigeria" within the theme "Challenges of legitimacy in governance and the war against corruption". I quickly assessed the situation and concluded, mainly on account of the constraints placed on me by the present order of things, that I would not be able to participate in the event. I communicated my fears and regrets immediately. Towards the end of the year, I committed this response to paper, and dispatched it to a number of comrades and friends. I had concluded the letter with the words: "Those who know me and my relationship with Gani can guess how distressed I am at this point". The communication was followed with a very brief telephone discussion with the subject, Gani Fawehinmi.

It was at this point that I cautioned myself against visiting the pain of this disappointment on my assessment of the present social order. Specifically I decided that such a visitation would not objectively make the social order any darker than it is. Indeed, it would make my assessment less capable of withstanding the test of time. Thereafter, I decided on this piece, an introduction to a substantive work on this exceptional being, Gani Fawehinmi.

Gani Fawehinmi is one of the most productive, prolific, reported, analysed, debated, and documented public figures in Nigeria. This is not simple a product of the computer and internet revolution. My observation applies even to the period before the information and communication revolution, or before the revolution expanded to these parts. The result is that anyone who wants to conduct a research on the subject or aspects of his life, career struggles, politics, law and morality, revolution and the law, etc, will have to battle with the problem of "over-documentation".

My practical approach to this problem is two-pronged: first, to proceed from some of the most significant encounters I have had with Fawehinmi. Not encounters in general - for this will create new problems - but encounters that were at once personal and emotional, as well as political and of enduring public interest; and, secondly, to revisit three or four of the articles I had written on him, or which he had inspired. The two approaches will be complementary and mutually re-inforcing. The opening theme is humanism.

My first encounter with Gani Fawehinmi took place in a court room in Lagos in March 1975: I, as a political detainee produced in court on the orders of a High Court Judge; Gani as my unpaid lawyer. I had never seen him before then. I shall return to this first encounter. But let me continue with the listing. The second encounter, according to my list, was in September 1978. A national protest by Nigerian students had been staged earlier that year. It was tagged "Ali Must Go". A number of students and non-students were killed by armed agents of the state. Later, a number of University teachers and administrators, including my spouse and I, were dismissed by the military regime headed by General Olusegun Obasanjo. I contacted Gani Fawehinmi. The third encounter was in October 1983 when I was arrested at the Lagos Airport on my way to Ghana. From the airport, I was taken to the Awolowo road headquarters of the security agency. Somehow, the report of my secret arrest got to Gani before we even got to Awolowo Road! Mind you, we were at least a decade away from the information and communication technology revolution.

My fourth encounter with Gani Fawehinmi was in January 1987 when my colleagues in the Political Bureau (appointed by General Babangida) prevented me from further participation in the work of the body. I met Gani. The fifth encounter was in the second half of 1988 when, in company of some comrades, I went to see Gani at his chambers for a particular favour. I shall also return to this particular encounter. The sixth encounter was in December 2000 when a high profile comrade, a victim of political vendetta and incredible malice, was arrested in Calabar and falsely accused of murder. He was changed to court and detained in prison. I called on Gani, and he answered me. He dispatched a lawyer to Calabar and made a public statement - both within an hour of my speaking to him. The comrade was freed. Gani charged no fees. The seventh encounter was in the year 2002 when Gani visited Calabar on professional and political engagements. He paid me a loud courtesy visit at home. He later addressed a mini "rally" in my office, and another one in my spouse's office.

In returning to the first encounter, I shall merely quote, with minimal editing, from the article which appeared in this column on November 30, 2000, and titled For Fawehinmi and Umar: "I first met Gani Fawehinmi in March 1975. Before then, I had heard and read about him for about two years. The scene of this first encounter was the Lagos High Court, Ikoyi. I had just been brought, by road, from Sokoto Prison on the orders of the court. The order was made upon a motion filed by Fawehinmi on behalf of the Students' Union of the University of Lagos where, six months earlier, I had been appointed Lecturer in Mathematics. According to the order of my detention, presumably for attempting to overthrow the military government of General Yabuku Gowon, I was to be held in Sokoto Prison. But the military government decided to keep me and my three comrades somewhere behind Dodan Barracks.

"How Fawehinmi learnt of this, and the identities of the people who assisted him in uncovering this state deception, are for him to reveal in his memoirs. Some of these people are already dead; some are in retirement; others are still in the service of the Nigerian State. When the order to produce me in court was made, the authorities decided, as a cover-up, to rush me to Sokoto Prison. The story of my journey from Lagos to Sokoto, the attempted interception at Ilorin, my five-day stay in Sokoto Prison and my journey back to Lagos, will be sweeter in Gani's mouth. It is sufficient for me to say that Gani Fawehinmi knew all this and brought his knowledge to bear on the brilliant and fearless motion he brought before the court. Gani had never met me before then. Not only did he charge no fees, he radically and absolutely supported my fiancee (now my wife), friends and comrades, in cash and in kind, against those who preferred a policy of "gradualism" and "supplication".

"Gani's attempt to free me, of course, failed. But back in detention, after my brief appearance, I read in newspapers smuggled to me Gani's angry denunciation of the judge's capitulation to the pressure mounted by the government. He ended with the words, "I am sorry for your soul, my Lord". Even in captivity I was afraid for Gani. When we were eventually released, Gani, at his expense, organised a welcome party for us at his Surulere home and chambers. He did not attempt to recruit me for his "cause". He could not recruit me not because I was not recruitable but because his cause was universal liberation which defied political, ideological and organisational boundaries". I shall return to this theme.

"Gani Fawehinmi has remained essentially the same, except for changes in tactics demanded by changes in circumstances. In the struggle for democracy, human rights and freedom, Gani Fawehinmi is an exceptional being. He is in a class of his own. In political history he could be called a revolutionary democrat. In the history of philosophy, he could be called a radical humanist. Fidel Castro once remarked that if Che Guevara, his late comrade-in-arms, had been a Catholic, he would have been made a saint. I would say the same of Gani Fawehinmi - only that saints are not made in their lifetime".

Suharto (1921 - 2008)

SUHARTO, president of Indonesia for 32 years, died last Sunday of multiple organ failure, aged 86. A man with an enigmatic face that betrayed little or no emotion, Suharto leaves behind a mixed legacy. He will be remembered as a brutal and corrupt dictator who nevertheless lifted his country from the abyss of poverty to the pedestal of economic development. History may judge him harshly but it certainly cannot ignore him. In life as in death, Suharto looms large in his country's history.

Born to a peasant family in colonial Indonesia on June 8, 1921, Suharto's early years were rather unpleasant. His parents separated before he was two years old and the little child was thereafter shuttled between his remarried parents and other relatives. When World War II broke out in 1939, Suharto joined the Dutch colonial army in 1940, and by 1942, had risen to the post of sergeant. That was the year the Japanese, in pursuit of an Asian empire, which they described euphemistically as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, invaded and occupied Indonesia.

As in other parts of the colonial world, the war infused a new sense of urgency and momentum into nationalist agitation. Suharto and other nationalists believed that cooperation with the Japanese offered the best hope for eventual independence from the Dutch, who were in any case then under the yoke of Nazi occupation in Europe.

On August 17, 1945, two days after the Japanese surrendered to the victorious allies, Indonesia declared independence, but had to contend with the Dutch attempt to re-impose colonial rule on the country. In the event, Suharto joined the nascent Indonesian army and for the next five years fought against Dutch imperialism. Indonesian success in the war forced the Dutch to leave finally in 1949.

Over the next decade, Suharto's career in the army advanced rapidly until in 1960 he was promoted Brigadier-General. Two years later he led a military operation to recover West Irian (the modern province of Papua), the only remaining part of the Indonesian archipelago still under Dutch control. In 1963 he was made the commander of the Indonesian army's strategic command, the special force kept on permanent alert for national emergencies. This was a very important appointment that placed Suharto in a strategic position in the country's power structure.

The Indonesian military wielded tremendous power under the country's first president, Sukarno, as did the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia, or PKI). As commander of the strategic command, Suharto was the arrowhead of the anti-insurgency campaign against the Communists and other insurgency groups. For instance, when a group of pro-Communist army and air force troops attempted to overthrow the government in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, in October 1965, it was Suharto that suppressed them.

The army blamed the coup on the PKI. Over the course of the next few months, army units and Moslem groups undertook a systematic massacre of Communist sympathisers across the country, throwing the country into a state of political instability. In the midst of this uncertainty, Suharto successfully persuaded President Sukarno to authorise him to restore security and order. This effectively transferred executive authority to Suharto. The following year the Indonesian parliament formally appointed Suharto acting president and in 1968 elected him full president, supplanting Sukarno who had led the country since independence. To secure his political flank, Suharto kept Sukarno under house arrest until he died in June 1970.

Once he had secured the highest political office in his country, Suharto held steadfastly to it for the next 32 years. Since the constitution did not impose any limit on the number of terms a president could serve he was re-elected to successive five-year terms in 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998.

Suharto's ascendancy to the presidency took place at the height of the Cold War when Communism was perceived as a threat across the non-Communist world. Unlike his predecessor, Suharto took the threat seriously and devoted considerable energy and resources to national security. He destroyed the PKI and thereafter began a systematic repression of other organisations, including Moslems pursuing a religious agenda, artists seeking greater artistic freedom, politicians seeking greater freedom of expression and all those he perceived as threatening his hold on power. Suharto became the strongman of a very repressive and dictatorial regime.

Having used repression to establish political stability, Suharto turned his attention to economic development. Under his presidency Indonesia experienced tremendous economic growth, fuelled by foreign investment and economic diversification. He devoted substantial resources to the development of infrastructure and social improvement especially in health, education and family planning. Indonesians enjoyed a significant improvement in their standard of living.

However, as often happens in repressive regimes, corruption, cronyism, and nepotism crept into the country's socio-economic ethos. Members of Suharto's family and their business partners became stupendously wealthy. Suharto's re-election for the fifth time in 1998, which took place amidst the financial crisis that engulfed the country the previous year, sparked student demonstrations for democratic reforms. Police responded by shooting six students, which led to further riots that led to the death of over 500 people. With the intensification of opposition against his regime, Suharto finally bowed to pressure and resigned the presidency in May 1998.

Suharto's health deteriorated shortly thereafter becoming the main reason why the state found it difficult to prosecute him for corruption. For instance, a corruption case in which he was accused of embezzling $600 million from the state was suspended in 2000 after he suffered a series of strokes, and was eventually abandoned in 2006. A civil case was also instituted against him in July 2007. His death last Sunday may put a final seal to any attempt to prosecute him for corruption or political repression. The state may no longer gain access to his personal wealth, which Forbes Magazine estimated at $16 billion.

Nevertheless, the memory of Suharto will endure in the people's mind, if not in their hearts. Although most Indonesians may not remember him with fondness, they will give him credit when they ponder over the trajectory of their country's economic development.

Nigerians need more jobs

One hopes, that one day our country will be like the advanced countries where data are collected in respect of every citizen. From such data collected, information is given in respect of every citizen. This will help to know the number of students that will come out of colleges and tertiary institutions. Provisions are made in terms of creating employment for them before they even leave school.

Successive regimes in this country have neglected creating employment for the adult working population of this nation to the point of the hopeless that we now find ourselves. The resultant effect of this neglect is the increase in crimes, namely: armed robbery, prostitution, kidnapping, cult activities and many other vices. It is believed that some of the people that engage in these crimes are graduates of tertiary institutions.

The question is, “Why should a right– thinking graduate take to crimed?” The answer to the question cannot be far-fetched. After they must have roamed about the streets for many years without securing any job, many think of an alternative. The alternative could be positive or negative depending on the controlling force of the mind. Although it is foolish to take the negative action like going into armed robbery, we must also remember that an idle mind is the workshop of the devil.
Prostitution is on the increase not because these ladies love it but lack of employment pushed many into it.

What of youth restiveness, vardalisation our pipelines, kidnapping, touting, etc? These are result of youths not being engaged actively in productive ventures. The mind that is actively engaged in productive ventures will not be involved in these vices.
The fact that the situation is in such a terrible state does not mean that all hopes are lost. The situation can be remedied. A journey of one thousand miles starts. With a step, says a Chinese proverb. It is not the fault of Yar’Adua’s administration. He inherited them from past administrations, but with determination they can be tackled.

Remembering a treasured motherhood

ONE of the beautiful compensations of a successful matrimony is that one waddles through life with the kind presence of an understanding, caring spouse. Vicariously stated, it is a glorious fortune of the man that finds life a success if his wedlock is coupled with the audacity of a forgiving wife. From antiquity to present time, it has always been man's speculated conviction that spousal desire for marital success is to be blessed with good kids and for them to be believing servants of their creator. This is a good prayer. Notwithstanding the transient nature of such a plea, it is becoming improbable seeking out today, a typical person in our peculiar clime that can stand with ecclesiastical honour and academic excellence in an earthly career as a consequence of a motherly nurture. Every expectation of success, some menfolks diffidently argue, invariably devolves from masculine circumstance, birth, breed, or sheer providence anchored on gender brawn.


I have been opportune to read of persons with variegated experiences on either side of the motherhood divide! Some I have even met, and others I co-traveled with, courtesy of the information superhighway. The one live constantly with their tell tale signs of sheer horror, and the very other few, abound with magnificent stories of a glorious pamper and care. Serendipity or not, examples lurk in your very neck of the woods.

It is not always that a full-grown man reminisces on a great motherhood! My personal experience belongs to a different hue. It is one that flows from a unique push that is profound in its love and commitment. The only motherhood I have ever known was a great lover of Christianity, service and education. She lived her early life without an opportunity to earn earthly education, yet went on to insist that everyone must strive to excel in the knowledge and wisdom of the heavenly realm. Her offspring and their stations attest to her belief and work.

In the beginning, the heavens ordained it well. Our woman of honour was actually named Esther Ngozi Uzoukwu at birth. Many believed that the firmaments foretold her story since she was sired during a holy period according to the Easter calendar in the year of our Lord, 1930, to John and Felicia Uzoukwu Emeanuru of Umukor Nkwerre in Imo State. John Uzoukwu was a noble man, titled to the hilt according to primal Igbo culture. Esther was later to marry Francis Umelo Ihekwaba, several years prior to Francis becoming the last elected Mayor of the old Port Harcourt municipality from April 1, 1961 to the beginning of the civil unrest in the late 1960s. She was blessed with nine children - seven sons and two daughters. As a Christian woman full of good purposes, she insisted that every one's daily routine must begin and end with both knees on the floor, in humble supplication and total submission to the Almighty God. A good testament that he who kneels before God can stand before kings! Mama Esther believed strongly that persons that combined hardwork with prayerful commitment to ecclesiastical teachings would inevitably succeed in earthly engagements.

A good memento to good old maternity is to celebrate a loving motherhood always. Many owe tonnes of love and appreciation for their mother's unrequited succour and nurture. In a reading of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, I came out with the admirable impression that many mothers share certain things in common. Reading Honest Abe reminiscing that "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me; they have clung to me all my life" was a reminder of great motherhood that one misses everyday. Mine taught me graceful living, to receive everything with thanksgiving and praise, and to share all moments of love. In my book, she walked before her time.

In the end, and quite remarkably so, my mother, Esther transited to the souls triumphant in the twilight hours of the Christian worship day, a year ago on Sunday, January 28, 2007. Her long good-bye started five years earlier with a debilitating stroke that was complicated a year later by the loss of her last child and son, Uzoukwu. In the five years of her physical disability, she fought the good fight and kept the faith. Her life trailed the pathway of Paul of Tarsus in advancing Christian precepts in several fronts: economic, social and spiritual.

While alive, Esther was a firm believer and follower of Jesus the Christ. Like her biblical namesake, Queen Esther under the mentorship of Mordecai, a nationalist Jew during the reign of King Xerxes in the Citadel of Susa, she personified many biblical teachings and lived out the doctrine of being your brother's keeper. As with many of her type, that was vintage motherhood personifying the dictum of the golden rule. She loved her songs of praise. Her sonorous voice still rings true every passing day. It is our fervent belief that her spirit leaves in those hymns of the glory of God. She was such a passionate worshipper and we find solace in her many motherly footprints that continue to guide many daily routines. An avid encourager of forgiveness, she dotingly reminded us the meaning of my middle name, Maduabuchukwu!

One of the trailblazers of realism in literature, Honore' de Balzac (1799-1850), a French journalist and writer, opined that "the heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." The woman who begat me and my siblings insisted that every person must walk the talk of the golden rule. In our home and outside, she taught everyone to do to others, as one would expect or pray to be done to one. She forgave all and insisted that true conscience requires that one return every deed with a better, decent one laced with love.

It is not always that one encounters persons that are positively consumed with humility. The woman of note was very shy in her assertiveness and would frown at anyone who self-announces their presence to a public audience. Esther usually will dissuade folks from soliciting eccentric public acclaim believing that accolades must add value and inspire further accomplishments. Activities that seek recognition must be audacious in their encouragement, fierce in their inspiration and must lead others to greater heights.

Usually, many adherents of the great religions strive to personify character recognition in their preachments. My Esther strove to imitate the Christian piety as espoused severally in the Pauline letters. As a memento, and since she missed the birth of my twin children by a couple of weeks, the one mirrors the Pauline steadfastness to the faith and the other is a testimony of her sterling qualities that begat many a child of God.

Many have composed and sung their dirge for her transition. We miss her wise counsel though, and her love, care and profound sense of family is immeasurable. We can never ask for more. And if we, her Christian co-workers and natal children, are to choose again, if it is even permitted for humankind to choose, we will choose her all over again as our mother and guide. She was a great rallying hand that personified in more ways than one the biblical Dorcas in living gracefully yet understanding personal privations.

It is apposite to pass with some stirring confessionals about great motherhood from some great ones in history. The counsel of the famous number one, George Washington (1732-1799), about his beginnings is instructive and unique: "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." This is a good inspiration for us and anyone who have experienced great motherhood notwithstanding the temporal loss of the physical person. The icing comes from the number 16th, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), about whom many may feel was never able to get over his mother's guardian nature when he claimed that: "All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." The joys of experiencing great motherhood can never be lost on the man, no matter the status and locus in society.

It has been about one year since the final physical exit of my mother, Esther, and it can never be taken away from us that her spirit lives on. She was the very first person who taught me that a moulder of young minds must first set out to be a servant. She surely deserves her rest in the Lord.

Stemming frequent fuel price hikes

When crude oil price in the international market attained an all-time high of $100 per barrel earlier in the month, there was mild apprehension locally that the standard government response of jerking up prices of petroleum products was imminent. And to step up the apprehension, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was said to have written to the Minister for Energy (Petroleum), Mr. Odein Ajumogboia, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Labour to convene a stakeholders’ meeting on the matter.

The president had asked them to ensure that the meeting reached a common position on how to handle the likelihood of domestic oil prices being eroded by the increase in the international market. That meeting held on January 8, 2008 and the fear of another round of petroleum price hike was arrested. Discussion on that was not part of the meeting and government has said it is not contemplating increasing pump prices.

So, this time, Nigerians have been spared the usual social and economic troubles that are associated with hike in petroleum pump prices and their aftermath. We commend government for honouring the agreement it reached last June with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that it will not increase petroleum prices until one year – that is until June this year – even if there is a jolt in the international market, as it has happened now.

Again, we are delighted that the meeting between the NLC and the Ministries of Energy (Petroleum) and Labour came at the time it did. Specifically, it delights us that the meeting was a departure from the crisis-solving one to crisis-preventive measure. The meeting, as both sides reported, was to find a framework for establishing a larger forum that can put an end to the periodic crises that have troubled the industry. We encourage both sides to consolidate on this first constructive meeting.

For years now, petroleum prices have constituted a major, constant friction between government and the populace represented by the NLC. Government, during each round of price increase, always gave several reasons ranging from the nuisance of smuggling to the burden of oil subsidy.

The first increase in petroleum products was in 1978 when the then General Olusegun Obasanjo as military head of state, jerked it up from 8 kobo to 15 kobo. In a way, that was the death of innocence, as far as prices of the products are concerned. Since then, it has been coming in torrents as the crude oil prices fluctuate in the international market. Today, the PMS (petrol) sells for N70 from N65 last June.

Nigerians are interested in having an enduring price mechanism for petroleum prices. But more importantly, we agree with a wider segment of the society that domestic petroleum products prices should be insulated from the ebb and flow of the international crude prices. Also it is important for government to begin to think more creatively and find creative policy interventions, just as it should look for political will and capacity to engage vested interests in order to find a lasting solution to the crisis of petroleum supply, distribution and pricing.

Again, the case must be made for the revitalization of domestic refineries. It is acknowledged that prices of petroleum products would not only be cheaper, but will also be manageable with the existence of refineries. We also agree that because Nigeria is a major world producer of oil, its nationals are deserving of premium benefits.

And that would mean that the controversial issue of subsidy should not have a place in our circumstance. Nigerians deserve subsidy in petroleum products like other nationals are deserving of and are enjoying subsidies in their country’s area of comparative advantage. Subsidy is also a mechanism to stimulate economic development of both individual citizens and a nation.

Interception of fake currencies

Recently, the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) intercepted N14.21 billion fake currencies within three months. The currencies, which were reportedly recovered between October and December last year, consist of £894.774 (N202.77 million), $117.06 million (N13.55 billion) and 2.64 Euros (N451.88 million).

According to the Post Master-General of the Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Baba, the currencies were concealed in more than 4,000 scam letters destined for the United States, Britain, Germany and France. Others are China, Japan, Canada and Brazil. The interception was made possible through the assistance of the British Serious Organized Crime Agency and the Postal Inspectorate Unit of the US Postal Service.

About 2,500 fake international passports being sent to countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East, North and South America as well as US were also intercepted during the period. Also recovered were 105 digital cameras, 55 Cam-coders and more than 100 assorted high-end digital mobile handsets fraudulently sourced through the Internet by some unscrupulous persons.

Baba, who spoke to journalists in Abuja recently on the 2008 Pan African Post Day Celebration, said that the recovered items had been returned to their owners in accordance with international postal regulations.

The NIPOST boss said that this breakthrough in the fight against fraudsters was made possible with the support and cooperation of officials of EFCC, the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service.

We commend NIPOST and other agencies of government and their foreign partners who made it possible to intercept the scam letters that contained the fake currencies. It is a pity that while the government is busy fighting corruption; some of its misguided citizens are involved in fraudulent activities that dent the image of the country.

We urge the NIPOST, EFCC and others involved in this haul to keep it up and be more vigilant to intercept future ones. The NIPOST example should serve as a model that other agencies should emulate. The war on corruption should not be seen as the job of EFCC alone. For the nation to win this war, all citizens must contribute meaningfully to its prosecution. We suggest that NIPOST in collaboration with the International Police (INTERPOL) should arrest the perpetrators of the crime alongside their foreign accomplices and make them face the law. Both the senders and the receivers of these fraudulent letters should be apprehended and dealt with accordingly.

We call on the leadership of the country to work on the spiritual and moral aspects of our life. They can do this by being exemplary. We believe that organizing the society on the path of moral rectitude would invariably discourage this type of behaviour. The unbridled acquisitiveness, opulence and ostentation displayed by the ruling elite might lure some citizens to engage in fraud.

The mindless looting of public treasury by our erstwhile political leaders might engender corruption among the citizenry. To stop this cankerworm, the government should stop paying lip service to poverty eradication by creating jobs for the teeming army of unemployed Nigerians.

The West Africa we should know

FOR somet ime now, you only need to tune to the ubiquitous Cable News Network (CNN) to see various nations of the world coming up with ingenious adverts, with the fundamental aim of stimulating our appetite to visit these sections of the globe. Particularly, I have been attracted to the adverts of Egypt, India and Greece and the ways they have registered in my subconscious are amazing testaments to the creative capabilities of the human mind.

Egypt advertises its very precious assets - the sun, the pyramids and the Pharaohs. The nation of India draws our attention to the richness of its diversity and believe me that diversity can be a thing to behold. On her own part, Greece highlights its ancient memoirs spiced with the tantalizing allure of the Mediterranean climate that have enjoyed for centuries. However that is television. In reality, many times, there is a fundamental disconnect between what we are presented with and what reality bestows on us. There is a caveat here, it is important to note that it is always worth our while to visit new territories. It is an experience that unleashes our energy, gives us exposure and helps us to properly evaluate what we have in our own environment.

Travel is exposure and exposure is education. This is why one of the methods of keeping slaves enslaved, during the slave era, was that they were prevented from traveling. In the course of travel, we make discoveries, our youth is renewed and our energies re-invigorated. We become like little children who are always happy because they are always discovering new things. As the byline of that airline goes... keep on discovering.

Travel is another reason why tourism should be encouraged. These and more are motivation for encouraging Nigerians to travel especially when they are on their annual leave from work. All travel does not have to be Europe or the Americas for it to be exhilarating. It is my pleasure to inform you that all the qualities previously mentioned in association with Egypt, India and Greece are present in all of West Africa; though in smaller dimensions but present nonetheless.

A couple of years ago, we were to go to New York for a UN civil society meeting and the safety tour we were given as visitors was one of the most restrictive I have ever seen. Not even the alleys of Moscow or Rio de Janeiro have that amount of restrictions. Anyway, those were the days before Rudi Giuliani. However, it was a particularly interesting discovery for me.

Incidentally, in spite of having this knowledge at the back of my mind, I was not particularly expectant when I had my first visit to the countries on the West African coast. And I must say I was in for a big surprise. Most of West Africa is alike. The customs and cultures of the people are strikingly similar. A significant proportion of us speak Hausa. We were in Bamako for about a week practically incommunicado because of the inability to speak French only to discover on the last day that some of them speak Hausa; a language that some of us could converse in. Sometime in 2005, we were in St Petersburg, Russia and we met with some government officials from the Republic of Benin and there was the same language problem. We were later to discover that we could communicate in Yoruba!

One thing that we have that is hardly replicated is our climate of all-year summer! Those that go sailing can do it all year round on the coast of West Africa. The waters are warm and we do not have too many sharks! In comparison, what we have in existence is about there to four months of grace in Europe and most of the North America.

Moving further, apart from the strong competition with the Somalians, Ethiopians and Brazilians, I believe that western Africans are obviously the most beautiful people in the world - believe me, we really are! We can also be very friendly people and that is traditionally ingrained in our culture. It is interesting to note that we all look alike; the clothes and cosmetics may slightly differ but we can all pass for one another; apart from the language issue of course. There is a lot more to be said about West Africa but I would rather leave it to your discovery. Do make a plan to visit a country in West Africa. Take some time to see other parts of our land, the land of amazing history and limitless potential.

At the close of business, our hosts decided to take us to a restaurant whose name when interpreted means the lagoon. Nestling in a body of water, the building had the look and fell of a big boat. In our tendency for adventure, we took up a table on the corridors. There we saw and heard the ceaseless waves of the ocean current beating upon the boat. The ambience was perfect antidote to the stress we had gone through the whole day as we went about our issues of perfecting telecoms operations in a region begging for development.

About then, I now realised that a local version of Jazz music playing at the background in what perhaps is a calculated attempt to calm the tense nerves and set the tune for a wonderful evening. At this time, the environment was now ripe for all manner of anecdotes and jokes; natural components of a lovely evening. The gentleman to take the order came to our table dressed up in the uniforms of a naval officer. The menu as you would have guessed was replete with all manner of sea food in various versions and after a very lovely evening, we realised that we were not on one of the archipelagos in the Scandinavia nor was it spring-time on the coast of France - this is a restaurant in West Africa, a place that will have the same good ambience all year round.

Unlike other countries of the world that spend so much on advertising and statistics-laden special supplements, we are not obliged to go in that direction. We can start by waking up the need for French in our schools. One reason we never learnt the language was that we were informed that we would never need the language.

A second step would be encouraging regional tourism with all the attendant benefits. We should ensure that messages to the different audiences do not overlap or conflict. We would want to avoid a situation where a reputation as a holiday destination will be muffled by the perception of war-torn countries. This responsibility exists for those in charge of our government and our tourism industry to brand tourism destinations via innovations. Projects would ensure systemic incentives for mid-income people and perhaps another package for journalists and other media people. It is easier said than done, nevertheless it needs to be done.

Merging anti-corruption agencies

Since the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, dropped hints that government was considering the possibility of merging anti-corruption agencies, different motives have been ascribed to the proposal.

Aondoakaa had, during the inauguration of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) may be merged to avoid duplication of duties for the agencies. To this effect, the minister directed the concerned agencies to work out the possibility of streamlining their activities with a view to, possibly, becoming one organization.

The House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary has since taken up the matter. A bill to be presented to the House on the issue is being considered. The committee says it plans to stimulate debate and discussion aimed at streamlining the existing anti-corruption agencies in a manner that would guarantee independence of actions and funding as well as guard against over-concentration of powers.

In a country like ours where the issue of corruption has been politicized, the proposal to merge the anti-graft agencies has elicited politically-tainted reactions in a number of circles. It has, for instance, been argued by some that merging the agencies in question would have an undesirable effect on the battle against corruption.

But beyond canvassing the argument, we were not told by the proponents of this point of view how a merger can affect the drive against corruption. For us, such a compulsive disposition to opposing views that are lacking in logic or commonsense is one of the problems with the polity. When policies or plans of government are dismissed as untenable by armchair critics without sparing sufficient thought for the merits of the plan, then there is every cause to worry.

The real danger here is that policies which may otherwise be beneficial to the country could be discredited and, consequently, abandoned at the level of conception. We hope that the proposal on the merger of the anti-graft agencies will not suffer this fate.

But if we must take a clear-headed look at the three agencies in question, we will readily see that their functions overlap. The EFCC and the ICPC are largely the same. What may vary is their modus operandi. Before the EFCC was created, the ICPC was there to deal with issues of corruption. We do not really see what the EFCC has done which the ICPC cannot do.

If the ICPC did not break fresh grounds in the corruption war, it was probably because its leadership was not very enthusiastic or overzealous about the job it had to do. In the face of this lethargy, an EFCC which was enthusiastic about the job it was set up to do pulled the rug off ICPC’s feet. If the ICPC is weaned of its lethargy and the EFCC purged of its overzealousness, we will have a streamlined organization that will be in a stronger position to tackle corruption.

In proposing this, we must also recognize the fact that the CCT has always been there to try alleged corrupt officials. It is the same trial that EFCC is making a fetish of through the courts. There is therefore a point of convergence between them. We believe that merging these three agencies will not only make their operations better coordinated, it will make the agency that will emerge from the merger stronger and all-embracing.

To ensure that the proposed merger brings about the much needed synergy in the activities of the agencies, each agency, as they exist now, should be collapsed into a department of the larger body. With that, they will be given roles that will not be interwoven with what another department is doing.
The ICPC, the EFCC and the CCT, as presently constituted, have overlapping roles. Efforts are therefore being duplicated in certain areas.

We can do with this waste.

Dilemma of the Nigerian Youth

It is very alarming, shameful or rather painful that Nigeria, a country that claims to have dedicated and enlightened leaders, does not know its problem let alone knowing the cause of it. It is really annoying and embarrassing too that a country of 47 years old still wallows in confusion over the root of its problems. One of which is its youths.

We all know that youth is the life-wire of any society. Whether this country believe it or not, the age bracket of 18 to 55, 60 is the prime bracket of every society. The country, if care is not taken, as we see today, lacks tomorrow. Don’t misunderstand this. Or if there is a tomorrow for this country, it is the tomorrow of a selected few, by a selected family.

Probably the family of the selected few that are on it now. We say God forbid. But a word with our youths, mostly those job-seekers we see in the streets with their files fastened to them, will make us doubt a brighter tomorrow. Some of these youths have lost hope and confidence in themselves just because the frustration and discrimination meted out to them by their leaders.

The question is: where are we going from here, as a country? I know this question is repeatedly asked but the answer remains unsupplied. A good leader of any nation should be a leader that knows how to exploit and tap the strength of its youth to enrich the nation and at the same time, make its youths fulfilled. Mr. President’s first priority should be how to utilize the human resources at his disposal.

Law against indecent dressing

A member of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Eme Ekaette, has hinted that the National Assembly would soon promulgate a law against indecent dressing in the country. Ekaette is the Senate’s Committee Chairperson on Women and Youth.

She spoke to the press recently and agonized that indecent dressing amongst Nigerians has continued to promote all manner of vices in the society. The senator was worried that if nothing was done to stall the onslaught, more harm would be done to both our national psyche and the moral foundation of the country. She said: “I believe that there are certain parts of the body that must be covered. You cannot go naked in the name of fashion.” That was profoundly said.

We share Senator Ekaette’s angst. There is indeed general concern about the way many Nigerians dress these days, especially our womenfolk and we want to believe that the senator’s worries are instructed by this. It is a genuine concern because what we have these days in the name of fashion is nothing short of nudity. It has become so pervasive that you can hardly distinguish between married and unmarried women.

It is a big shame that some of our mothers and sisters have continued to debase themselves in the name of fashion. As the senator said, decency and even our traditional norms and practices demand that a woman clothe herself properly. Traditionally, there are some parts of the body that must not be exposed. But that would now seem like a tale from the past. Indeed, it is scandalizing.

We believe that there must be sanctity of the human anatomy, particularly those parts that are recognized as private. Unfortunately, it would seem that most of our activities and perceptions have conspired against our sense of decency and which of course includes the way we dress. These are times when most of our cognitions are daily assaulted by sex and sensuality. Even our language and advertisement materials and presentations are now couched in obvious amorous guises. We agree therefore that there is a high degree of human debasement in the way many Nigerians now dress.


To that extent, we align ourselves with the distinguished senator. We appreciate where she is coming from and want to agree also that she means well. It is a genuine concern from a wife, a mother a sister and a respectable member of the Senate of the Federal Republic. However, we are at pains to agree with the notion that dressing should be legislated.

Much as we accept that dressing in some ways (as we see today in our society) is capable of promoting immorality of the sexual type, it is not in the place of the National Assembly or anybody whatsoever to promulgate laws prescribing how people should dress. For one, it is against the spirit and letters of the Rights to Personal Liberty as enshrined in Section 35 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

Also, the impossibility of enacting a law against indecent dressing, as it is being proposed, would derive from the fact that it is just as impossible to define what indecent dressing means. In other words, how would indecent dressing be defined to accommodate all shades of individual idiosyncrasies of every Nigerian? Dressing, as a human fancy, is a matter of value. Which will mean that any action whosoever that would legislate the way people dress would amount to value judgment. Such is against natural justice and fairness.

We therefore say no to any bill that seeks to legislate how Nigerians dress.
Also, asking that such thing as indecent dressing be outlawed, would amount to exercise in futility and to some extent an act in frivolity. Let there be no mistake about it, we are concerned about the moral degeneracy in our society today and part of it is the subject at hand. However, we shall rather apply our energies and resources to things that are practicable.

And again we should ask this pertinent question: Is it enforceable? Can we, in honesty, enforce any law against dressing in this country? The answer is obvious – we cannot. Instead of attempting to legislate the way Nigerians dress, we suggest that the campaign and crusade against indecent dressing be left to homes, NGOs and faith-based organizations.

Bush’s proposed visit to Africa

President George W. Bush Jnr. of United States of America will from February 15-21 visit Africa. He will be in five African countries including Benin Republic, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. Unlike five years ago, Bush would not visit Nigeria.

Bush’s choice of countries to visit should not have aroused concern but for the objectives of the visit which Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary, stated was to “review first hand the progress made since his last visit in 2003 in efforts to increase economic development and fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other treatable diseases, as a result of the United States’ robust programmes in these areas.”


Nigeria featured prominently on Bush’s visit in 2003 where he pledged and gave assistance in areas mentioned. It is surprising the US government would want first hand information on progress in these other countries while it deliberately left out Nigeria.


The US can decide which countries to visit just as a host country might chose to turn down an offer of visit by another country.


However the reasons given for the visit to Africa dictate that in view of Nigeria’s status in the continent it should be on the itinerary of the US President, if only to have first hand feel of progress made in the identified areas and for the US to determine areas of further assistance if need be.
Bush’s decision to leave out Nigeria during his coming visit is instructive.

Those in-charge of our foreign policy should learn quickly from this. Our nation is sovereign and should not pander to the selfish interests of another country — not even the United States.


Our diplomats should embrace diplomacy that would not diminish the sovereignty of our country. In December, they hurriedly packaged a state visit at the instance of US government for President Umaru Yar’Adua. The purpose was to force AFRICOM on the nation.


President Yar’Adua due to mounting public outrage at home could not accede to the request of the American government. For jettisoning its request, Bush may be showing his displeasure, but the Americans must have learnt too that we can say no.


Nigeria should call the bluff of US and focus more on ways that would make it a force to reckon with in Africa and the world. Relationships among nations must be symbiotic. No nation has a right to impose its views on another.

The Nigerian government will do well by putting the US where it belongs while pursuing our national interests.


When the Americans realise that we want to assert our sovereignty, they will accord us some respect. Bush’s presidency is in its twilights and cannot do much for Nigeria before he leaves office.

Keeping healthy traditional practices

I FIRST came across the term "Harmful Traditional Practices" in 1995 while working on a Female Genital Mutilation enlightenment campaign with Chuck Mike. Contrary to the belief held in certain quarters, that female circumcision had the backing of the Koran and the Bible, our Area Task Force was able to enlighten our community about it being a harmful traditional practice. This evil act, perpetrated on the female gender by other females often occur under questionable hygienic conditions, and is known to have left victims psychologically and emotionally traumatised. The qualifier 'Harmful' intrigued me, and it helped to answer those who thought we were trying to be more white than the White man. We were not calling for an eradication of all traditional practices, only for those deemed harmful. And it turns out, there are quite a few of them.

Widowhood rites in certain communities. What purpose does it serve to have a widow drink the water used to wash her husband's corpse given what we know today about bacteria? Should such a woman die from this unhealthy practice, especially if she has a suppressed immune system not known to all including herself? And for this, the enforcers get away with saying her guilt killed her. In some cultures, the women are 'divided' to other men in the family like mere property! I remember my father was to have inherited my uncle's wife, Mama Kofo. So, was Kofo now to go from being my cousin to being my sister? And how was my mother and Mama Kofo expected to maintain the cordial relationship they enjoyed hitherto? Needless to say, the arrangement did not stick.

In Itsekiri and Urhobo land, you are expected to shave your hair bald when a family member dies. Why? I was told, so that the family member has money to live with in the after-life. Really. And you don't get the choice of going to a barber's salon where you can have some peace of mind regarding the process. In fact, you might be held down forcefully, during which you can get a cut that could develop to an infection. Yet, tradition demands it.

The traditional inheritance laws amuse me on many fronts. First, women cannot inherit properties - they being lesser mortals I presume. Meanwhile, I am yet to find the man who refuses to inherit from his mother! Men would let their mother - females and therefore lesser mortals - be their benefactors, and would choose to send their sisters away empty handed in the name of tradition. Traditionalists can also choose to be melodramatic and ignore a women's status as a legally married wife. She is asked to turn over everything she worked with her husband to accomplish. If the man has other children outside, they can say the property should be divided by 'gate.' So for example, this legally married wife who had four children for her husband will get one thousand naira for her and her kids, as would each of three other women who had one child each for her husband!

And of course, my favourite is the extended family traditional rights. My mother has been dead for over 24 years. Since she does not come from a magical village, you can imagine that several of her relatives have passed away since then. Not once, have we her children received a broom, as share from some dead relatives. Yet, our relatives are entitled to a share of proceedings from renting or selling her property. Not too long ago, my brother told me that we had actually been asked to come and table everything so that the 'family' can share the property. I tell you, it's possible to label a cow a desk table under certain traditions! Given the lack of 'real' purpose for certain traditional practices, I am an advocate for the eradication of harmful traditional practices. I concede however, that certain traditional practices should be kept and continually passed along from generation to generation.

I love the practice of respect for elders and for seniors. I am amazed when sometimes, I get the feeling that my actions are being considered subservient. It's just that tradition respects thing that won't allow for veiled rudeness under the guise of being blunt and outspoken, because truth be told, you can be blunt and outspoken without being rude. I like the traditional

practice of being decently clad. It's not about being civilised or exposed. How many people want to be more civilised than Queen Elizabeth?

But till date, being decently attired remains a norm. I love the tradition of being answerable, character wise, to not only your parents, but other elders in your family, in your neighbourhood and even in the community. It means you behave yourself whether you are at home or on campus, or whether your parents are in town or have travelled. I love the traditional practice of helping the less fortunate in the family. Many of them, given the chance at a better life have since transformed to pillars in their family. These practices and many more, we should keep. We know for a fact that our society has suffered where we have discarded them.

Today, I really want to advocate for the practice of 'keeping family secrets, secret' - you know, that word of caution about 'not washing dirty linens in public.' It bothered me greatly to hear that Chief FRA Williams' sons are in court over property issues. While I welcome the idea of people waking up to the realities of the power of law over tradition or sentiments in inheritance issues, I truly wished some other family (call me weird) was making the revelation. Theirs was a simple and straight-forward case. The

disclosure of the results of DNA testing for MKO Abiola's children would have been laughable if it were not so pathetic. The act may have spoken ill of some women, but it definitely also spoke ill of Abiola. What kind of a man leaves others to fight his battles for him? If Abiola had any credibility, and doubted the paternity of some children, why couldn't he be man enough to address it while he was living? I do not condone fraudulent behaviour, but I tell you, many people know of families where the husband isn't the biological father of 'his' children. But who really is a child's parent? The ones who enable their birth, or the ones who assume responsibility for their living with love?

Simbiat's children could have stood out as Abiola's 'exceptional' kids without that display. So also, those who needed to be cut to size could have been so treated out of the full glare of the public. If the Abiola's dirty linen was bad, the Obasanjo's is just outright filthy. Could Gbenga Obasanjo really not have divorced his wife without this smear campaign on many including two innocent children? If indeed his father-in-law had an incestuous relationship with his wife, and she was a victim not a willing participant, does this disclosure not wound her all over again? If his father slept with his wife, what purpose does this disclosure serve? As a deterrent for fathers-in-law harbouring such thoughts or engaged in such practices? If the DNA test does prove the children to be his, does Gbenga Obasanjo ever expect those children to have a relationship with him?

If eventually, somehow, he can make peace with his father, does he foresee a repair of this character damage done not just to his father's image but to that of a former President of a leading African nation? And all of this in the hope to achieve what? If we individually sit down for an honest, everything-on-the-table talk within our families, we will be surprised what we can find out. Twice, I tried to get to the bottom of certain issues with my mum and my dad respectively. Neither would oblige me. Mother said something to the effect of, 'I am able to teach you the important moral and scriptural lessons of life without that disclosure and that should suffice.'

All this washing of dirty linen in public is not a healthy traditional practice, and Nigerians should not embrace it. If not for any other reason, then maybe for the fact that any lessons intended to be learnt are most likely to be lost in the shock of the display.

Keeping healthy traditional practices

I FIRST came across the term "Harmful Traditional Practices" in 1995 while working on a Female Genital Mutilation enlightenment campaign with Chuck Mike. Contrary to the belief held in certain quarters, that female circumcision had the backing of the Koran and the Bible, our Area Task Force was able to enlighten our community about it being a harmful traditional practice. This evil act, perpetrated on the female gender by other females often occur under questionable hygienic conditions, and is known to have left victims psychologically and emotionally traumatised. The qualifier 'Harmful' intrigued me, and it helped to answer those who thought we were trying to be more white than the White man. We were not calling for an eradication of all traditional practices, only for those deemed harmful. And it turns out, there are quite a few of them.

Widowhood rites in certain communities. What purpose does it serve to have a widow drink the water used to wash her husband's corpse given what we know today about bacteria? Should such a woman die from this unhealthy practice, especially if she has a suppressed immune system not known to all including herself? And for this, the enforcers get away with saying her guilt killed her. In some cultures, the women are 'divided' to other men in the family like mere property! I remember my father was to have inherited my uncle's wife, Mama Kofo. So, was Kofo now to go from being my cousin to being my sister? And how was my mother and Mama Kofo expected to maintain the cordial relationship they enjoyed hitherto? Needless to say, the arrangement did not stick.

In Itsekiri and Urhobo land, you are expected to shave your hair bald when a family member dies. Why? I was told, so that the family member has money to live with in the after-life. Really. And you don't get the choice of going to a barber's salon where you can have some peace of mind regarding the process. In fact, you might be held down forcefully, during which you can get a cut that could develop to an infection. Yet, tradition demands it.

The traditional inheritance laws amuse me on many fronts. First, women cannot inherit properties - they being lesser mortals I presume. Meanwhile, I am yet to find the man who refuses to inherit from his mother! Men would let their mother - females and therefore lesser mortals - be their benefactors, and would choose to send their sisters away empty handed in the name of tradition. Traditionalists can also choose to be melodramatic and ignore a women's status as a legally married wife. She is asked to turn over everything she worked with her husband to accomplish. If the man has other children outside, they can say the property should be divided by 'gate.' So for example, this legally married wife who had four children for her husband will get one thousand naira for her and her kids, as would each of three other women who had one child each for her husband!

And of course, my favourite is the extended family traditional rights. My mother has been dead for over 24 years. Since she does not come from a magical village, you can imagine that several of her relatives have passed away since then. Not once, have we her children received a broom, as share from some dead relatives. Yet, our relatives are entitled to a share of proceedings from renting or selling her property. Not too long ago, my brother told me that we had actually been asked to come and table everything so that the 'family' can share the property. I tell you, it's possible to label a cow a desk table under certain traditions! Given the lack of 'real' purpose for certain traditional practices, I am an advocate for the eradication of harmful traditional practices. I concede however, that certain traditional practices should be kept and continually passed along from generation to generation.

I love the practice of respect for elders and for seniors. I am amazed when sometimes, I get the feeling that my actions are being considered subservient. It's just that tradition respects thing that won't allow for veiled rudeness under the guise of being blunt and outspoken, because truth be told, you can be blunt and outspoken without being rude. I like the traditional

practice of being decently clad. It's not about being civilised or exposed. How many people want to be more civilised than Queen Elizabeth?

But till date, being decently attired remains a norm. I love the tradition of being answerable, character wise, to not only your parents, but other elders in your family, in your neighbourhood and even in the community. It means you behave yourself whether you are at home or on campus, or whether your parents are in town or have travelled. I love the traditional practice of helping the less fortunate in the family. Many of them, given the chance at a better life have since transformed to pillars in their family. These practices and many more, we should keep. We know for a fact that our society has suffered where we have discarded them.

Today, I really want to advocate for the practice of 'keeping family secrets, secret' - you know, that word of caution about 'not washing dirty linens in public.' It bothered me greatly to hear that Chief FRA Williams' sons are in court over property issues. While I welcome the idea of people waking up to the realities of the power of law over tradition or sentiments in inheritance issues, I truly wished some other family (call me weird) was making the revelation. Theirs was a simple and straight-forward case. The

disclosure of the results of DNA testing for MKO Abiola's children would have been laughable if it were not so pathetic. The act may have spoken ill of some women, but it definitely also spoke ill of Abiola. What kind of a man leaves others to fight his battles for him? If Abiola had any credibility, and doubted the paternity of some children, why couldn't he be man enough to address it while he was living? I do not condone fraudulent behaviour, but I tell you, many people know of families where the husband isn't the biological father of 'his' children. But who really is a child's parent? The ones who enable their birth, or the ones who assume responsibility for their living with love?

Simbiat's children could have stood out as Abiola's 'exceptional' kids without that display. So also, those who needed to be cut to size could have been so treated out of the full glare of the public. If the Abiola's dirty linen was bad, the Obasanjo's is just outright filthy. Could Gbenga Obasanjo really not have divorced his wife without this smear campaign on many including two innocent children? If indeed his father-in-law had an incestuous relationship with his wife, and she was a victim not a willing participant, does this disclosure not wound her all over again? If his father slept with his wife, what purpose does this disclosure serve? As a deterrent for fathers-in-law harbouring such thoughts or engaged in such practices? If the DNA test does prove the children to be his, does Gbenga Obasanjo ever expect those children to have a relationship with him?

If eventually, somehow, he can make peace with his father, does he foresee a repair of this character damage done not just to his father's image but to that of a former President of a leading African nation? And all of this in the hope to achieve what? If we individually sit down for an honest, everything-on-the-table talk within our families, we will be surprised what we can find out. Twice, I tried to get to the bottom of certain issues with my mum and my dad respectively. Neither would oblige me. Mother said something to the effect of, 'I am able to teach you the important moral and scriptural lessons of life without that disclosure and that should suffice.'

All this washing of dirty linen in public is not a healthy traditional practice, and Nigerians should not embrace it. If not for any other reason, then maybe for the fact that any lessons intended to be learnt are most likely to be lost in the shock of the display.

Reviewing the Constitution

Nigeria is, once again, set to tinker with its constitution. This time, those at the helm of affairs are not toying with the idea of a new constitution. Rather, they want a review of the existing one. The aim according to the leadership of the Senate, is to address the defects that have been identified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

The senate said it will also consider all the imbalances, be they geographical or physical, that are inherent in the present constitution.
To achieve this objective, the senate plans to set up a review committee which will partner with State Houses of Assembly for the purpose of producing an acceptable and workable document that Nigerians can relate with.

Fashioning a constitution for the country have always been an arduous task. Beginning from the Clifford Constitution of 1922, and subsequent ones that predate Nigeria’s independence, the problem has largely been one of each constitution trying to fill the obvious or apparent gaps left by the one before it.

In the immediate post-Civil War years, Nigeria had the 1979 Constitution which experts still believe was the best the country ever had. Sadly, it was supplanted by the Armed Forces’ decrees when civil governance was truncated on December 31, 1983.
Ever since, our quest for a workable constitution has remained an unending one. Between 1994 and 1995, the military regime of General Sani Abacha put in place a Constitutional Conference. The conference was largely daring as it touched on very vital issues that could have redressed most of the imbalances and incongruities that the senate is alluding to.

However, not much was made of the document that was produced. Whereas Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte presided over the conference, the same government later set up a review committee headed by Justice Niki Tobi. A process of politicization had begun and the very fabric of that document was weakened by this untoward development.

Even though that was the case, the framers of the 1999 constitution which we have in place now borrowed some useful ideas from the recommendations of the constitutional conference.
The latest attempt at reviewing the constitution came in 2006. Then the Olusegun Obasanjo government had set up a Political Reforms Conference. It was charged with the responsibility of reviewing the 1999 constitution with a view to producing a more acceptable document.

The conference made significant progress in this regard. But the entire scheme collapsed like a pack of cards when the tenure elongation agenda of the government crept into it.
The present attempt by the senate to review the constitution is therefore yet another attempt to fashion out a workable document that can lubricate the wheel of governance in Nigeria. The senate’s quest in this regard is therefore in line with earlier efforts.

Given this history of unsuccessful attempts, it may be tempting to run away with the impression that the present exercise would go the way of others. But we are instead, more inclined to believe that the review as planned by the senate, may succeed if the upper chamber of the National Assembly applies itself diligently to the issue at stake.

The failure of the Abacha Conference derived largely from the man’s self –succession agenda. The conference was a mere gimmick to divert attention and buy time. In the same vain, the Obasanjo political reforms conference failed because there was an ulterior motive. But this time, we are not aware that the review is being tailored to serve any individual’s interest.

It is supposed to be a holistic agenda whose main objective should be to serve the interest of the people of Nigeria. We believe that the project is possible and achievable. All that can guide our legislative houses in this regard is sincerity of purpose. If a patriotic and selfless approach is adopted, the lawmakers will readily see those anomalies that have acted as the cog in the nation’s wheel of progress. The senate has assigned a historic duty to itself. It should be diligent and patriotic enough to see it through.

Anticipating the Ghana elections

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Anticipating the Ghana elections
By Kayode Samuel

AS the world reels in shock from the unfortunate aftermath of the December 27 elections in Kenya, it is wise that we seek to anticipate the upcoming elections in Ghana, another African country that is noted for its peace and order. Elections come up in December 2008 to replace President John Agyekum Kufuor whose second term is now in its final year.

As in Kenya, the Ghana elections have implications for the continuity of the economic progress and investor confidence that the country had built over the last two decades or so. The issues in the Ghana elections may not at first glance seem to provide much cause for worry. But looking critically beneath the surface, there seems to be a 'witches' brew of some of the typical African spoilers now coming into the pot and which should give some cause for concern. I will elaborate on this shortly, but let us quickly enter a word of caution on the situation in Kenya.

Some Nigerians appear to have adopted a beggar-thy-neighbour attitude at the sad turn of events in Kenya. It is as if the Kenyan problem shows that elections can go wrong anywhere and so the world should not treat the Nigerian case as though it were such an outlandish exception. This is a wrong attitude. Kenya had for long been an island of peace and good sense in an otherwise turbulent region. This had impacted positively on its economy although many would argue that this is still largely driven and dominated by whites and Asians and that much of the prosperity is witnessed only in the expatriate community. Regardless of this, Kenya appeared to have organised its politics in a fairly decent manner that insulated it from the earlier epidemic of military take-over on the Continent or the latter phenomenon of election-related violence, civil war and the failed state.

This is why the current situation in Kenya is really such a great shock to everyone. That what is happening there is considered by some to be normal fare in Nigeria is no reason to celebrate it. We should encourage the spread of good examples on our blighted continent rather than find smug satisfaction in the fact that things may not be so smooth-sailing in some other places also. Ghana is one of the few good examples that should be nurtured and sustained, and the time to start really is now.

Now, the run-up to the December elections in Ghana has offered its own fair share of drama across party lines as well as some interesting intervening variables. While some of the drama and the variables provides cause for hilarity, others give some cause for worry - the most notable being that Ghana is about to become an oil exporting country. There are so far three main parties in the elections - the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Convention Peoples Party (CPP). The choice of flag-bearer for the parties has already thrown up issues that the international community should pay attention to so as to start early to devise appropriate containment measures for any eventuality that could emerge from the December polls.

The NDC is the transmutation of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). It is the party of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings whose bloody purge of the governing elite nearly three decades ago laid much of the ground for today's reforms and development, but whose legacy remains contentious. The Rawlings factor still looms large in the politics of Ghana, try as the present Government has done to diminish it. The choice of the party's candidate has fallen - yet again - on Professor John Atta Mills, who was Rawling's last Vice President and who by the 2008 elections would be a three-time candidate. He is backed by the pro-Rawlings old guard and the powerful Fante Confederacy, the umbrella group of the Fante elite. The Fante are one of the major ethnic groups in Ghana. Atta-Mills' emergence as candidate has already brought with it some murmurings about internal democracy within the NDC, especially amongst the young party elite who wonder if he is not a jinxed candidate, having lost two earlier elections in a row.

The need to find a strong running mate for Atta-Mills is currently consuming the energies of the party leadership. This has led some in the party to wonder why after each loss at the polls the NDC old guard had elected to maintain Professor Mills as the constant factor on the ticket while expending so much energy on the search for a running mate. Some have joked that the NDC must be the only party in the world that loses elections because of its running mate rather than its flag-bearer. Anyway, the choice of Professor Mills appears to be cast in stone and there is now tremendous pressure on the youthful John Mahama, Rawlings former Communications Minister to accept the Vice Presidential slot.

Mahama is from the north and it is felt that he being on the ticket could help rally votes in that region towards the NDC. Mahama's candid views on the current to-ing and fro-ing are as yet unclear. There are however suggestions that all of the current rigmarole within the NDC could be a set-piece design towards the eventual emergence of Nana Konadu Rawlings as the running-mate. Nana Konadu is the wife of ex-President Rawlings. A fiery mobiliser who has kept her Women's Movement firmly in the public eye, she is also Asante like the outgoing President. The significance of this factor would be evident presently.

The NPP is the ruling party. It is a party of the centre-right and the inheritor of a legacy that reaches as far back as J. B. Danquah's United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the first nationalist party in Ghana. The NPP's convention for the choice of its candidate last month attracted a lot of interest - not so much because of the large number of aspirants (18 at the last count) but because there was indeed a real contest afoot. The two leading candidates were Nana Akufo Addo, a former Foreign Minister under Kufuor and Alan Kyeremanten more popularly known by the heavily pregnant alias of Alan Cash. The incumbent President's support for Allan Cash was said to have been palpable and the aspirant (backed by State funds some, some) was rumoured to have tried to live up to his alias in the course of the campaign. In the end Akufo-Addo won. Even though he did not meet the mandatory requirements, the other aspirants, including Alan Cash conceded victory to him.

One issue here is that President Kufuor is Asante just like Allan Cash while Akufo-Addo is an Akyem, a small but influential group. Although there have been no serious mobilization around issues of ethnicity in Ghanaian politics so far, there are fears that the Asante resurgence that was witnessed under Kufuor could be at an end and the manner that the Asante elite would choose to pre-empt this is not quite clear. Others have argued that what really was at stake is the continuity of the Kufuor reforms and the issue of protection for the exiting President after he leaves office.

Yet, some others have said that the battle really was over who would preside over the Ghana economy in the coming years given the recent discovery of oil in large quantities in the country. As the Nigerian experience shows, oil does have a peculiar way of attracting strange characters into the power game. How far Ghana can go in overcoming this factor would be evident from the way the coming elections are handled. Needless to add, this is a potential crisis precipitant that the world needs to watch closely.

The CPP is the old party of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first post-Independence leader. Essentially, the party is in a distant third position but its influence as a balancer could heighten in the case of a close election. In all, the issues in the Ghana elections are quite significant for the future of the country and the image of the African Continent. The discovery of oil is critical and with it, the possible emergence of the inimical brand of politics played around access to oil wealth; how to deal with the lingering Rawlings legacy and the political fortunes of Nana Konadu; the country's position as an emerging market run by a sensible government; the credibility of Africa's transition processes and elections; and the possibilities of another thwarted President trying to play games with the elections - all come up for scrutiny.

I think that it is not too early for civil society in Ghana and the international community to start to proactively put in place an appropriate mechanism for observing and monitoring the Ghana elections so as to forestall any (not-hoped-for) unpleasant aftermath.

Recording December 2007 for history

AT the conclusion of the draft of this article I asked myself if my criteria for selecting December as "Month of the Year" for 2007 were entirely "objective" in the sense of being "non-ideological". My answer was in the negative. The result of the exercise would definitely have been different were I of a different ideological persuasion. So, is this an ideological presentation? Again, I say no, it is not. I shall return to this old question of "objectivity and partisanship".

The events of December, 2007 are award - winning; but not in the usual, celebratory, sense. The events were award-winning in their significance - positive or negative. It is in this sense that Time magazine, for instance, selects its "Person of the Year". Some of the events I have selected will be classified as sad events. Some others are mixed; while others are hard to classify along these lines.

Four countries are featured: South Africa, Pakistan, Russia, and our country Nigeria. In each of the first three countries one event is selected. In Nigeria, several events stand out; but we pick only a few. All the events have been widely and copiously reported and almost exhaustively debated. The objective of the present exercise is to draw attention to, and underline, some links whose significance in my view, has not been sufficiently appreciated in the reports and analyses I have read. A greater appreciation of these links will, I believe, lead to modified analyses and conclusions.

South Africa: In mid-December 2007, the ruling party in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), held a national conference to elect a new leadership. The entire national executive committee was to be elected, but the dominant international media focused on just one position: the party's presidency. The reason is that whoever won the presidency of the party was seen as ANC's most likely candidate in the 2009 presidential election. Such a candidate will, therefore, most likely be South Africa's next president - given the political hegemony which ANC presently enjoys in the country. The party election started from the grassroots, the local branches and affiliates. The grassroots elections were called party primaries and, according to the media, they were quite vigorous.

Local branches and affiliates performed two functions: selection of delegates to the national conference, and nomination or endorsement of candidates for party positions, in particular the party presidency. Although branch delegates were given directives by their constituents, I doubt if delegates were forced or could be forced, to vote for particular candidates. Contesting the presidency of the ANC were two veterans: Thabo Mbeki, the incumbent President of the party as well as President of the country; and Jacob Zuma, the embattled Deputy President of the party.

It is important to bear the following points in mind as we appreciate what happened before, during, and after the national convention in the town of Polokwane. Wielding considerable influence in the ANC are certain groups and tendencies which attained this position through the roles they played in the long struggle against apartheid and the roles they have been playing since the historic victory. Their current agenda is to expand the "dividends" of that victory to the millions of poor South Africans, especially the black.

The groups we are talking about include the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the South African Communist Party (SACP), the ANC Youth Wing, the ANC Women's League, and the (now disbanded?) Armed Wing of the ANC, the "Sword of the Nation" (Umkhonto). Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and others, created and led the last group until they were arrested in 1962. The "Sword of the Nation" grew to become the vanguard organisation of ANC as a fighting force. I hope it is not in doubt that it was this "Sword of the Nation", now fondly remembered in the ANC song "Give me my machine gun" - and not a change of heart in Washington and London - that won freedom for the black masses of South Africa and those who stood with them.

The conference opened with the groups listed above standing behind Jacob Zuma. It was on the basis of this that the result was predictable. In the event, Jacob got 2,329 votes while Thabo Mbeki got 1,505. In other words Jacob Zuma defeated President Thabo Mbeki to become the ANC President by 61 per cent to 39 per cent. Mbeki's allies, who included government functionaries, were defeated in the contest for other party positions. It was a historic battle not simply between two coalitions of forces in ANC, but also between two larger coalitions encompassing the whole country. The International Community was vehemently opposed to Zuma, even if this hostility did not translate directly and openly into a support for Mbeki. The anti-Zuma forces in the ANC and the International Community are opposed to Zuma not for the advertised moral reasons (alleged corruption and rape) but for the radical, militant, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist social forces that are gathered under the umbrella he is holding.

To put this point differently and more directly: The struggle in the ANC is not between Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. No. The battle is between two gigantic social forces: One for a radical re-direction of the nation for the benefit of the millions of South Africans who continue to live in abject poverty almost 15-years after the defeat of apartheid, and the other for the perpetuation of the status-quo which benefits only a tiny fraction of the population. The party election of December 2007 was only the first round of the present phase of the struggle for post-apartheid South Africa. There will be several more rounds between now and the 2009 presidential election.

The "Zuma camp" has won the first round. But for different reasons everyone agrees that the future is not guaranteed: The "camps" may be transformed in content and form; their leaderships may also change. But the differentiation within the African National Congress, reflecting disagreements over the future of the nation, will grow. A split or splits may even occur. Let me reframe my conclusion into a question: Why, despite the well-publicised rape and corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, despite the opposition of the International Community, and despite Thabo Mbeki "power of incumbency," did Jacob Zuma still emerge victorious in a democratic and transparent leadership contest?

Pakistan: On the day Benazir Bhutto was assassinated (Thursday, December 27, 2007), a political analyst was asked by a television correspondent to speculate on the people who carries out the act. The respondent went to town, as the saying goes. He listed those that should be considered as suspects: Al-Qaeda, Taliban, pro-Taliban elements and Islamic extremists in the army, security agencies, and President Pervez Musharraf's regime. I agree completely. These were her frontline enemies. I would even include the President himself as a suspect. I agree that Bhutto was a courageous and passionate democrat who genuinely wished to see constitutional and secular democracy instituted in Pakistan. I also do not see anything wrong in her party's declaration that she is a martyr.

I endorse all these, but would insist that Benazir Bhutto constructed a wrong alliance to realise her party's immediate and medium term objectives, namely, returning to power in Pakistan through elections, and joining America's "war on terror". Bhutto chose the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom as allies. These governments set up Benazir Bhutto and either killed her or failed to protect her from being killed by her powerful enemies. While Bhutto was genuinely interested in, and working for the institution of democratic rule, her allies - President George Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown - were interested only getting her to join President Musharraf as a junior partner in a coalition government in Pakistan - for war against terror. Perhaps mine is an extreme position. I would be prepared to revise it as follows: Even if Bush and Brown were interested in the institution of democratic rule in Pakistan that is simply not their primary objective in making Bhutto return to Pakistan to join Musharraf.

Russia: In December 2007, the Time magazine named Vladimir Putin its "Person of the Year". The magazine carried the report in its last issue for the year, and provided the following citation: "At significant cost to the principles and ideas that free nations prize, he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power. For that reason, Vladimir Putin is TIME'S 2007 Person of the Year". The magazine conferred on Putin both a disapproval and a recognition. I share the disapproval - but for different reasons. The recognition of Russia (as a rising power), and the reality being recognised, are good for the world. I have no love for Putin; but the Russian resurgence is a welcome counter to the dangerous global dictatorship of the "Triad": America, the European Union, and Japan.

Nigeria: At home, in Nigeria, four events, among others made me sad, very sad: President Yar'Adua's visit to America; the petrol pipeline fire in Lagos; what is happening in the Nigerian state's anti-corruption campaign; and the crisis in The Guardian. I was particularly pained by the last two events because I know they could have ended differently, and more positively.

Curbing violence in the Niger Delta

EFFORTS by the Nigerian government to restore peace in the Niger Delta region by disarming the militant groups have failed to yield good results. Recently, a peace talk initiated by the Bayelsa State government suffered a setback when militants attacked one of Exxon-Mobil's vessels. The failure of these efforts is attributable to several factors, including the lack of a comprehensive disarmament and demobilization programme that can effectively rehabilitate the militants after they have been disarmed.

To address these shortcomings, the Federal Government of Nigeria, backed by all the state governments in the Niger Delta, should implement a comprehensive disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation programme.

In October 2004, a Peace Agreement was signed by the two major militant groups in the region at the time: Dokubo Asari's Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and Tom Ateke's Niger Delta Vigilantes (NDV). This Agreement failed for want of a strategic framework to ensure its implementation. No comprehensive plans were made to rehabilitate the ex-militants and as a result, most of them returned very quickly to militant activities.

In interviews granted after the Peace Agreement failed, some of the participants disclosed that some government officials who were responsible for receiving the surrendered arms connived with the major arms suppliers to the militant groups to re-sell the weapons to them. There were also reports that the militants surrendered only the lowest grade of weapons, and withheld their more sophisticated weapons. These accounts, if true, suggest that the disarmament process was doomed from the onset.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which was established to coordinate development programs in the region, has been criticized for not fulfilling its mandate effectively. With the Yar'Adua government exhibiting a new attitude to the crises in the region, and expressing a strong desire to implement the Niger Delta Development Master Plan, perhaps the NDDC will become more effective. There are several NGOs providing various forms of support to Niger Delta indigenes, including vocational training. However, these efforts have failed to reduce conflict in the region because they lack the force of authority to attract the participation of the major players in the conflict.


Disarmament, the first phase of the DDR programme recommended here, will involve the surrender of arms by the militants, and the public destruction of these arms to ensure that they are not re-possessed by militants through connivance with corrupt officials. The second phase is demobilization, under which the structures set up by the militant groups are disbanded, and the members provided with assistance to meet their basic sustenance needs.

To maintain stability in the region, the ex-militants must be economically integrated into the society. Therefore, the third phase, reintegration, involves helping the ex-militants and their families to become active participants in the economic and socio-political structures of their communities. Under this phase, the ex-militants are given financial assistance to start new businesses, vocational training, return to formal education, etc. This phase goes beyond the ex-militants, to the larger community. The government must ensure economic and infrastructural development, institutional reform, greater participation for the Niger Delta indigenes in their governance, and government accountability.

As a necessary complement to government efforts, the relationship between the local communities and oil companies must be redefined. Issues such as environmental pollution and threat to fishing and farmlands require new approaches to ensure that oil companies in the region apply global best practices in their operations. The changes made at these broader levels will determine, to a large extent, the success or failure of any rehabilitation programmes implemented in the region.

Additionally, for the DDR programme to succeed, the indigenes and the militants must "own" it. This means that the indigenes and the militant groups must be involved in its planning and implementation. Only then will the programme be sufficiently "legitimized" in the eyes of the people to gain their acceptance and support.

Perhaps there will always be some measure of conflict in the Niger Delta. However, as Laurie Nathan writes, "States that are stable are not free of conflict. Rather, they are able to deal with its various manifestations in a stable and consensual manner." ("The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Structural Violence in Africa.") A well-planned and implemented DDR programme will go a long way in curbing the violence in the Niger Delta region.

Unsafe — Anytime, Anywhere

THERE are no reliable statistics on the number of armed attacks and thefts that take place in Lagos daily, but it is obvious that there is a rise in the crime wave, just as there is no evident effective measures to combat the attacks which occur at home, in the office, at banks and increasingly in traffic.

Most of the major highways in Lagos appear to have been conceded to criminals who are making the best of their good luck.

The Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, the stretch that leads to West Africa’s busiest ports in Apapa and leads traffic out of Lagos through the Ibadan Expressway, possibly holds the record for these attacks.

Hardly a day passes without regular users of the road knowing someone who thieves broke into his vehicle in traffic, or of a snatched vehicle. The incidence of commuters falling victims of criminals who operate their own commercial buses, has never abated.

Complaints to the police, who complain of inadequate manpower and patrol vehicles, produce no relief. The attacks go on at any time - day or night.

The attackers pick their target certain of unhindered operations. In a day, they operate successfully on as many points as they want. Ironically, the police could be less than 100 metres from the scenes of these attacks. Their presence provides no comfort.

Badagry Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, under reconstruction, are other roads that share common notoriety for high crime records.

Several factors create fertile grounds for these attacks –– the bad roads and flooding cause traffic jams, attracting a mass of hawkers of all sorts of wares, and mobile mechanics, who attend to broken down vehicles.

Professional robbers mingle with them, breaking into vehicles after threatening their occupants with guns and knives. Of course, most parts of these roads do not have street lights, where they do, the lights do not work.

A lot can be done to redeem the situation on the short term. The police have to patrol these areas in creative ways that will beat the thieves to their game.

Proper maintenance of the roads to ensure free flow of traffic can render the rogues’ current tactics ineffective. Resources from the Lagos State Security Fund have to be deployed to effective use.

The police have constraints, but even where equipment is available, there is an apparent unwillingness to combat crime. The attitude of the police in attending to the complaints of victims sustains this impression. The highways that are in siege have police stations located on them. Combined use of the resources of these stations can keep the criminals away.

On the long run, governments must take a more profound interest in creating meaningful employment for the populace. Crime has become an easy alternative for the unemployed. Ineffective policing has made crime a low risk, and seemingly profitable venture.

The police should use the situations on these roads to make the point that crime is still illegal.