Thursday, May 2, 2024

Nigeria’s Low Tax Intake: Blame Weak Economy, Breach Of Social Contract

 By Olu Fasan

Recently, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, lamented Nigeria’ low tax revenues. Two weeks ago, when launching the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Fund’s Director for Africa, Abebe Selassie, said: “For a country like Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, with all those development spending needs, we think it is problematic that the tax revenue to GDP is only 8-9 per cent when it should be a lot higher.”

A few years ago, in its 2019 Article IV Consultation with Nigeria, the IMF made the same point. It said Nigeria suffered from “low tax mobilisation”, adding: “The revenue base is simply too low to address the current challenges”. Compared with the sub-Saharan African average of 18.6 per cent, Nigeria’s 8-9 per cent is minuscule and truly shocking. Like the IMF, successive Nigerian governments have fretted about it.

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Our Intractable Electricity Conundrum

 By Adekunle Adekoya

As a people, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves when it comes to electricity.  Since 1972 when the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, ECN, was merged with the Niger Dams Authority to create the National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, millions of Nigerians have been born and have died with their dreams of living in a country with reliable power supply unrealised.


From one foible to another, the political class, whether military or civilian, have lurched from one excuse to another for this shame that has refused to go away.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Kumuyi And Africa's Quest For Servant-Leaders

 By Banji Ojewale

Most of us agree with Chinua Achebe, Africa’s late literary colossus, that Nigeria’s chief post-Independence headache has been the challenge of leadership.

*Kumuyi 

He said in his 1983 book, The Trouble with Nigeria: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply a failure of leadership… The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are hallmarks of true leadership… Nigerians are what they are only because their leaders are not what they should be…’’

Monday, April 29, 2024

Yahaya Bello And A Complicit Judiciary

 By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Josiah Majebi is the fifth chief judge of Kogi State (in North-Central Nigeria) in four years and the fourth to exist almost entirely in the pocket of the state governor. He has been in office as substantive chief judge since the beginning of February 2023, having acted in that role since 26 June 2022, when his predecessor, Richard Olorunfemi, retired. Henry Olusiyi served in that office for just under seven months from the end of June 2020 until January 2021. Sunday Otuh, who succeeded him, spent eight months in office before retiring in September 2021.

*Bello 

 

The last Chief Judge of Kogi State who attempted to hold that office with dignity and independence, Nasir Ajanah, paid with his life, un-mourned and exiled from the state. He was the second Chief Judge of the State to be politically lynched by the government of Kogi State in one decade.

President Tinubu, Scarcity Is Evident! Chaos Follows!

 By Dele Sobowale

Cash scarcity reduces demand for some basic commodities; transporters bring less; prices escalate on account of reduced supply and demand plummets even further – ad infinitum

*Tinubu

“Love and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are nothing but shadows of words when a man is starving” – O’Henry, 1862-1910.

Sometime ago, your Vice President called Nigerians, who registered their displeasure about the continuing devaluation of the Naira, “clowns” for not supporting the government now when things are tough. Shettima has forgotten that he begged for the job. If he can’t stand the heat, he should resign. But, he cannot be insulting his employers. He was joined by one Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who apparently has no relatives, friend or town’s men feeling the pain of hunger. The two, like all the “Yes-men and women” of your administration, are leading your government down the path which destroyed Buhari and others before you.

Yahaya Bello: EFCC Deserves Public Support

 By Tonnie Iredia

Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ICPC were established some two decades ago by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The motivation was to set up strategic platforms to deal decisively with the evils of corruption which were generally accepted by all to be at the apex of the nation’s collective malaise.

*Bello performing in Lokoja when he was in power 

Nigerians were also aware that their country had been labelled as fantastically corrupt by the international community. This seems to explain the decision of each successive President to make strong statements to end corruption either during his electioneering campaigns or even after having been elected. At a point, the poetic declaration was: ‘if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.’ Put differently, corruption is the most notorious bane of Nigeria’s development.

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Dufil Prima Foods Brings Relief To Indigent Families In Abeokuta

Donates packs of Indomie Noodles to the disabled, orphans, widows, the elderly, orphans, pregnant women                     

                                                                          Abeokuta, Nigeria: April 27, 2024:

 Dufil Prima Foods, makers of Indomie instant noodles, in partnership with the Human Rights and Grassroots Development Society, extended its goodwill to the shores of Abeokuta, Ogun state, at a product distribution event on Tuesday, 24 April, where cartons of Indomie noodles were distributed to the underprivileged, as part of its ongoing efforts to support families worst hit by the ongoing economic hardship.

Friday, April 26, 2024

The Trial Of Emefiele: A Lesson For All Presidential Yes-Men

 By Olu Fasan

The images of Godwin Emefiele, flummoxed as he is chaperoned by state security agents from custody to custody, from courtroom to courtroom, contrast sharply with those of the man who, as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, bestrode, until just a year ago, the Nigerian financial and banking world like a colossus; the man who daringly wanted to run for president while still CBN governor.

*Emefiele and Buhari 

It is a classic case of how life or fortunes can turn in a dime. But one must also wonder what former President Muhammadu Buhari, ensconced in his cosy home in Daura, Katsina State, is thinking as he watches the man whose behaviour he aided and abetted being treated like a common criminal. Why has Buhari abandoned Emefiele? Indeed, why is Buhari free and Emefiele not? 

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Yahaya Bello: The Bully As A Coward

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

It is a settled axiom: All bullies are cowards. Hurting and scaring those who are weaker is not bravery and despite their braggadocio, bullies only prey on the weak using aggression and intimidation to cover up their own feelings of inadequacy and fear. 

*Bello

Former Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has proven that axiom, once again, to be eternally true. Who would have ever thought that the self-acclaimed ‘White Lion’ will ever be afraid of anything or anybody? In the eight years that he superintended over the affairs of Kogi State, he carried on like an Emperor. 

As Gov Uzodinma Runs Imo State From His Back Pocket!

 By Steve Osuji

Conquered Territory, Burial Industry: It’s all quiet over there in Imo. The quiet of a conquered people. People move about sombrely, not unlike sheep. Death stalks the land quite proactively and burial ceremony is the most thriving business. The emerging economics of burials becomes avenues for one big meal and a quaff of beer in many communities. Not much more seems to go on in Imo State these days than misery, ailments, certain demise, then burials... and more burials. 

*Ihedioha and Uzodinma 

Meanwhile, our dear governor, Hope Uzodinma, seems to abide in the clouds these days. He’s grown more chubby and rosy-cheeked; his visage looking supple and lush like the tenderloins of a nubile damsel.

He's on top of his game as governor of a vassal territory. Now and then, Abuja sends him on serf errand around the southeast  an emissary to a state burial or to the more tacky task ‘managing’ difficult election. 

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Chukwuemeka Ezeife: Reminiscing On Death – The Okwadike Factor

By Ihechukwu Madubuike

 There is no gainsaying it. The death of a loved one is a difficult challenge. Truth is that we cannot take the pains totally away, no matter how we grieve in the short term. Yet we must show solidarity, for death is the lot of all of us, for as the Igbo say, ”when we bury one we are also burying ourselves. The Holy book puts it this way: We must not grieve like those without hope.

*Ezeife

Some five years ago, I celebrated the 80th birthday of His Excellency Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife along with other distinguished Nigerians. I gave a speech, which I have already upgraded to a chapter in a forthcoming book, titled Aka Ekpuchi Onwa  with a sobriquet. You cannot hide a  silver fish.

As you are no doubt aware  “Life of great men all remind us /we can make our own lives sublime/ And departing leaves behind us/Foot prints on the sands of time.” That’s according to the American poet, Henry Wardsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). That poem is a metaphor of life’s possibilities.

Okwadike Chukwuemeka P. Ezeifedikwa (the wealthy king)--that’s the full name-- left glowing footprints and inspirations worthy of emulation and worthy of celebration. His was a life of aspiration and inspiration writ large.

Okwadike-the trumpet of heroes, Anu kporo nku na eju onu

Agbawo Dike izu Agba  ya ugboro abuo

Anu an-a gba egbe, ya na-ata ahihia

Oje mba enwe Iro

Ono na-Mba aza oku.

Garkuwan Fika

Akintolugboye of Egbaland.

Your friends and well -wishers Greet you.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) gave us one of the best known statements in the world, as relevant today as it was in the 16th century when the greatest writer in the English language intoned as follows in Twelfth Night :

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them Some achieve greatness” .This is but one of the fifty quotes on life from this immortal writer and incomparable artist. He had other words on marble about life, like this one by King Macbeth:

"Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.

When on Friday, the 15th of December 2023, Rob Ezeife, Okwadike’s immediate younger brother , announced in a Press Release on behalf of the Ezeife dynasty ‘the promotion to glory of our most distinguished son, Okwadike, Dr Chukwuemeka  Ezeife, a former  Federal Permanent Secretary, the first Executive Governor of Anambra State, a former Political Adviser to the President Political Adviser and former Presidential Aspirant..” the full weight of the seeming absurdity of life set up an emotional swirl in my mind. I had tried to speak with him on the preceding Wednesday but the wife who received the phone call had assured me that they would be back from the hospital on Friday or Saturday. They did come back but without the family head. 

Marcus Aurelius, a former Roman Emperor (AD 121-AD 180) had philosophised  that “the very act of dying is one of the acts of life”. "The Methodist prelate, had told me when I was about to bury my mother in 2015: "Remember that others have lost and buried their mothers too”. It was not a consolation. But it was the truth.

However, viewed, the living will never willingly welcome death, no matter how it comes, and this despite our rationalizations and or Christian principles. Consolation, rationalization are the way out of what cannot be remedied. And part of our prayer is that God, who made living and dying a permanent resource, should teach us how to accept what we cannot change.

Why Okwadike Matters.

Okwadike is a mindset, a philosophy arising from a view of life and how to respond to  dysfunctional situations. He saw a window of opportunity where naysayers and pessimists saw obstacles. Early in life he dreamt dreams and saw visions. 

Wrote his biographer, Claver Obi: “From the very beginning of his educational career, Chukwuemeka was destined to wrestle with many conflicts”. P. 21). Am sure you are aware of the odds that prevented him from going through the formal processes of acquiring  secondary school  education and the attendant Cambridge School certificate at his time.

He read for their equivalents –the General Certificates of Education, ordinary and advanced levels at home—which enabled him to proceed to the University at Ibadan to pursue a degree course. From there he moved on and ended with a PhD at one of the foremost universities in the world-The Harvard University ,in Cambridge Massachusetts. By doing this he gave essence to living. That’s why I described him as a symbol of both aspiration and inspiration/ He achieved greatness  not by ascription but by the dint of hard work. In other words, Chukwuemeka Ezeife did not have greatness thrust upon him, nor did he have it by inheritance. Many who have achieved such a glowing status through  other means have not always managed them well. Our man of the moment was an excellent manager of men and materials and an exemplar and a poster boy of industry and success. Wrote Peter Claver Obi:

“Great men and minds are not born, they are self-made. Like his contemporaries and colleagues who had at one time or another, proved to be as sought after, as criticized, as hated, as loved, as condemned, as praised as well as enigmatic, Dr Eeife himself is self made”.

Death is a personal thing. Everybody will die. It may come sooner or later. It may come by disease, by accident, or by old age. But do not remind me that I am old. It is none of your duty or that I will die.

I celebrated death in my book of poetry in 2010, titled , Die Oh Death: The musings of a Split Conscience and Other Poems. 

Part of it reads :"When I kick The bucket”. A section describes Death as a "solo:”: It is a solo/...

The journey to forever land is initiation across the seven seas/Seven deities and seven days/

There is a section on Heavensward:  ‘The paradox is that/ to go heavensward/ you must go downward/ He that must go up/ Must first go down.

There is also the Abdication, The Surrender/. Now that the battle is fought and won/ Now that the sword of war is down/Lord of Mercy /Lead like the twinkling star/The wise men of old followed / through the seamless tracks of life/In the thick and thin of battles ahead/Christward we must go/.

Then the 3 epitaphs. The last reads. "I hope when you pass by my tomb/You will not turn away in fear /Nor cast a scornful look at it/For me the staff of hatred is broken/No malice, no envy can reach me now/Resting in the bosom of my Maker/Heaven’s celestial choir with anthems/Welcome a tested Pilgrim./.

Epitaph 2:”HERE lies a man of his time/He came ,saw and did his best/Blazed a trail for others to follow/Raised the bar to inspire to dare/He was of the purest breed –Rare a few confessed-/A noble man in words and deeds/A heroic and grand benefactor who loved/

This hilly sand and gave his all for it.

Okwadike dreamt of a free Nigeria, a great country that would be the pride of the world, of a Black Pluriverse that will, to use his words, fulfil “its Manifest Destiny” in his generation. It was his sing song, a swan song, a patriotic vision, a credo beyond a transient dream. It never happened. But it can happen if we , his friends, work towards its realization. It reminds me of Olubode George, a former governor ,and the Atona Odua of Yoruba land,who, in his speech  in 2012 paid a glowing tribute to the foremost   Nigerian leader, the great and charismatic Nnamdi Azikiwe of the blessed memory. His words:

“Finally, our journey is still far. The road to national salvation is still rough and tortuous. But there is redemption at the end of the horizon. But only if we endure. Only if we work hard. Only if we show commitment and absolute faith in ourselves and in our nation. The challenge is now before all of us: we must now choose between the ennobling ideal of painful self sacrifice or the quick and petty shortcut of personal gains. We must choose between the crass love for riches or the more redeeming love for our nation. The choice is ours. We dare not choose wrongly…”

This speech and prayer were rendered some twelve years ago. We are still far from the dream land. God, no doubt, has blessed us. But we need to bless ourselves. That is the ultimate challenge.

Okwadike might not have attained the political height of Nnamdi Azikiwe or of Governor Ibiam. But all were intellectual soul mates. They all died with their goals for a great Nigeria unrealized. We know why: elite squabbles and leadership myopia, among other socio-political dysfunctionalities. Before he passed on Ezeife called for their resolution and even offered himself to be at the fountain head of this ideal.

We can understand why in his book, Remaking Nigeria with Progressivism , republished in 2018, Okwadike, dedicated the book to the “twain of Zik and Ogunsanya and those Nigerians who share their vision of Nigeria as one United World Super Power, under God; and to all persons who loathe to see their neighbours hurt, physically or psychologically.”

OKWADIKE, may your soul continue to rest in Peace and may those you inspired never betray your ideals.

*Omenma Prof. IHECHUKWU MADUBUIKE, PhD. OON. (Enyi Abia) is a former Minister of Education, and later Health, Nigeria.

Friday, April 19, 2024

Electricity Tariff Hike: Civilised Nations Don’t Pauperise Their Citizens

 By Olu Fasan

A nation is civilised not because of its aesthetic, its beautiful architecture. Rather, a nation is civilised because of how it treats its citizens, because of the duration and quality of life of its citizens. That’s why social security or safety net for the poor is a badge of the heathy society. However, Nigeria creates billionaires but eviscerates the middle classes and makes everyone else poorer without meaningful state support. 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo once bragged that he created many billionaires while in government. “My aim when I was in government was to create 50 billionaires,” Obasanjo said. “Unfortunately, I failed. I created only 25.” But how? Well, he banned imports of certain products, allowing some manufacturers to enjoy a protected domestic market and rake in billions; he granted waivers of import tariffs to favoured people, who imported large shipments of consumer products, such as rice, tariff-free and sold them expensively, thereby becoming billionaires; and he gave oil blocs to a select few, turning them into billionaires. It’s crony capitalism, a rentier state. Capitalism is rigged to favour a small elite.

How Tinubu’s Fuel Energy Policy Is Deepening Poverty

 By Adekunle Adekoya

It is no longer news that electricity tariff has been hiked, ostensibly for users in what many now know as Band A areas, though in reality the tariff was hiked across all bands. I can support this assertion with readings from the bill sent to me by Ikeja DISCO, or IKEDC. I live in a part of Lagos classified to be under Band E. That is Egan, Igando in the Ikotun-Igando LCDA area.  That is part of the larger old Alimosho Local Government. 

In our area, we have remained on estimated billing to date; very few houses have pre-paid metres installed. We actually are not sure which band we are in, the bill sometimes read Band D or Band E. I will explain shortly. Prior to the tariff hike announcement, my bill for January 2024, sent by SMS, stated that the tariff is E-Non MD, with current charges of N1,679.15. 

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Not So, Mr. President, Nigeria Must First Love Her Citizens!

 By Banji Ojewale

The security and welfare of the people (of Nigeria) shall be the primary purpose of government The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

*Tinubu

In 1976, the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo sought to stir the patriotic instincts of our young citizens by decreeing the National Pledge into our lives. It must be recited in all Nigerian schools, the junta said. The general’s martial mind given to governing by fiat and force led him through only one route to patriotism: a mental enslavement of the boys and girls through feeding on the pledge would lead, willy-nilly, to their loyalty to the state and its agents and agencies. If they voiced it out many times over the years, their impressionable minds would give way to deeds of loyalty and love for the land, even if they were under an oppressive, objectionable and off-putting government.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Lagos-Calabar Highway Robbery

 By Ugo Onuoha

The intention may have been noble when the former President, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo sowed the seed of the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway in 2006. For those who may not know or are unable to connect the dots, the notorious East- West road in the Niger Delta region of our country was actually conceptualized and designed to be constructed as a phase of the project that has metamorphosed as the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway.

 The problem was that the lack of clarity, purpose, buy-in and transparency that dogged the Obasanjo East – West road now appears to be afflicting the current President, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway. But this one is dripping with a carefully crafted fraud.

Friday, April 12, 2024

Electricity Tariff Hike As Maltreatment Of Nigerians

 By Adekunle Adekoya

I have zeroed in on electricity in the last few editions of this column because of the anxiety I harbour that our dear country, Nigeria, needs to get it right as soon as possible; before those that have gotten it right transmogrify into behemoths that can swallow us up. I had finished writing the last edition, with the headline: ‘Frequent national grid collapse: Time we took another hard look’, when the Federal Government empowered the electricity sector to announce new tariffs, ostensibly for affluent users, those said to be in Band A.

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had earlier in the year hinted of this development when he said that subsidy payments in the electricity sector by the Federal Government is not sustainable. I disagreed with him, because that would mean Nigerians will be paying higher prices for a service that at best, for the majority, remains epileptic. In addition, Nigerians are yet to see any initiative on the part of government that indicates we can expect better, improved services in terms of power supply. 

Tinubu’s Spending Spree Fuels CBN’s Aggressive Interventions

 By Olu Fasan

Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, is gloating. The economy “is looking much better”, he says, and wants Nigerians to start rejoicing because their woes will soon be over. In his Easter message, Tinubu told Nigerians that “the seeds of patience, which they have sown, are beginning to sprout and will in no time bring forth an abundance of good fruits.” Abundance of good fruits?

*Tinubu, Shettima and their wives 

Would that mean huge falls in Nigeria’s unemployment and poverty rates, which are among the highest in the world? Harold Macmillan, former British prime minister, famously said: “The central aim of domestic policy must be to tackle unemployment and poverty.” Indeed, one of the core mandates of the US Federal Reserve, America’s central bank, is “to promote maximum employment.” 

Monday, April 8, 2024

When Power DISCOS Dance On Graves Of Poor Nigerians

 By Tajudeen Kareem 

As Nigerians grapple with the latest hike in electricity tariffs, soaring from N66 to N225 per kilowatt, concerns arise regarding its implications on the effective delivery of essential public services.


 How will the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission  (NERC) classify public health and educational institutions providing social services to communities across the country but are unable to charge economic rates?

Creeping Media Clampdown In Nigeria!

 By Ugo Onuoha

Three things happened in the past week that signpost the looming frosty relationship between the press and the regime of Nigeria’s President, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The government is already struggling with the widespread deleterious effects of its own policy missteps of the removal of the so-called petrol subsidy and the ‘floating’ of Nigeria’s national currency, the naira.

In their different ways the ill-conceived and badly implemented policies have ensured the destruction of the Naira, spiralling inflation and pauperization of more Nigerians than at any other given period in our 53-year history as an Independent country.

Friday, April 5, 2024

Pastor W.F. Kumuyi And A 60-Year Old Story

By Banji Ojewale

Except a man be born again…he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.-Jesus Christ.   

*Kumuyi

Dateline: Ijebu–Ode, Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria, Sunday, April, 5, 1964.

A preacher is delivering a message in a church. Among those he’s addressing is William Folorunso Kumuyi, 23. The lad is ‘’almost like a moralist’’, as he listens and watches the cleric. The preacher is unrelenting as he insists that it isn’t just our actions that make us unacceptable to God.