The madness in CBN N65 ATM charges

By Adekoya Boladale

Few months ago, myself and numerous other writers who were not privileged to grace the sacred meeting where the ‘suspension’ of the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam (as at then was) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was discussed postulated some factors as being the motive behind his unceremonious disengagement. Today I write to say most of what we factored in then may not be absolutely correct.

Beyond our hypothesis lies a stagnant mammoth we have unknowingly shied away from; the bank Mafias. Ever since Mr. Godwin Emefiele assumed leadership of the apex bank his disposition and actions seems to be pointing towards a character squarely playing out a script.

While it seems too early to begin thorough evaluation of the two months old CBN Governor, his declaration in the past few weeks seems to differ from his declared vision of creating a people-centered central bank, as policies formulated under his watch has proven to benefit the commercial banks more than the customers he pledged to protect. In all, Mr. Godwin seems more like a puppet enthroned to ice the Baileys of the bankers’ league at the detriment of the customers.

A pointer to this was the declaration of the reintroduction of charges on withdrawal made from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of banks other than the customer’s bank after the third transaction in a month. Feeling magnanimous as if he is doing us a favour, the CBN Governor said the charges has been reduced from the usual 100 naira to 65naira and that Nigerians (indirectly) should be grateful to the banks who have decided to shelve the remaining 35naira difference.

The iceberg however came when Mr. Emefiele tried defending this unfriendly action. At first he talked about how customers have been abusing the free ‘opportunity’ by making numerous withdrawals beyond what they ordinarily make. Secondly, Mr. Godwin said the banks have over the past months bear the cost of 65 naira on every withdrawal made on other ATMs as payment to the issuer (the paying bank). Thirdly, the CBN Governor feels if ATM transactions continue to be free, it will contravene the cashless policy.

Let me state clearly for the record that I have nothing against the apex bank Governor, his wealth of experience in the banking industry if used rightly will help strengthen our economy. However, it seems Mr. Godwin is yet to come to terms with the responsibilities of the office he holds. Unlike his previous engagement which solely is to guide the interest of shareholders, the position of the Central Bank Governor beyond others is a public office and as such every action taken under such authority must be one based first on patriotism and love for Nigerians and not in esprit de corps.

The excuses given by the CBN Governor is nothing but feeble and unconvincing. Firstly, since banks have to pay each other for ATM transactions made across pole, it clearly shows that banks with the highest patronage will get more refund as issuer. This exercise if encouraged will create a healthy competition among banks as the banks will move to ensure their ATMs are always loaded with cash and internet connectivity constant as against the usual ‘unable to dispense cash’ and ‘Out of service’ error customers receive every time.

Customers should not be made to bear the pains of the nonchalant attitude of the banks towards their ATMs as this new policy will only see banks being carefree about the ATMs, after all customers who can’t afford to exercise patience can go to other bank ATM and pay 65naira.

Secondly, the ATM is not a gaming machine and as such no one derives joy in operating it continuously. There is no way any customer will approach an ATM with the sole aim of playing ping pong, most of the so called heavy transactions are not the fault of customers. Let’s take a case study of a customer who goes to a shopping mall hoping to make use of the Point Of Sale (POS) machine for payment of goods or/and services only to discover that the POS is not working and the customer’s bank doesn’t have an ATM around, then who pays for the charges that will be made on such customer’s account?

Let’s say another customer wishes to withdraw say hundred thousand naira which mostly requires nothing less than five successful transactions and her bank’s ATM is not in the locality, this means that after the third transaction the bank will begin a deduction of 65naira on the account of the customer for a situation that is of no fault of the customer.

The last time I checked there is still a withdrawal limit on ATM transactions, so this excuse of abuse is ill-thought, once a customer reaches the limit then it is good day. Rather than introducing charges what the banks should do is begin an enlightenment program for customers on how to make use of the ATM.

Thirdly, I disagree with apex bank chief that the reintroduction of the 65 naira charge will strengthen the cashless policy. The witnessed interest of customers in ATM transactions is as a result of the charge-free policy. Even when you have to queue and wait for your turn, you have it at the back of your mind that such transaction(s) will be free. The no charge regime among others has encouraged the use of ATM for transactions hence reducing direct bank visitation and cash movement. I dare say that to the contrary, this new policy will discourage low end depositors. Micro earners are more likely to keep their little cash rather than banking them for fear of their already insufficient cash being frittered away via spurious ATM charges.

I stand to be corrected but it seems there is an unholy coalition between the government and the private sector to further shortchange the masses. The Nigeria customer/consumers have been on their own for a very long time. Our elected and appointed public officers appear to have struck a deal with the capitalists to make our life miserable in a development that may not be unconnected with the 2015 question.

Our data plan advertised as 2G are delivered at 1.5G, our paid cable goes off for days only to restore network later with no apology or compensation, monthly bank statements continues to show deduction for SMS alert not subscribed for. What does one really benefit from the government?

<Stop Press

My condolences with the family, friends and colleagues of the kind, patriotic, courageous and dutiful Dr. Stella Adedavoh who laid down her life to protect millions of Nigerians from the Ebola virus disease. You will forever remain in the deepest and sacred part of our heart. Adieu!

Adekoya Boladale is a political scientist and scholar on good governance, a social commentator and consultant on political and intra governmental affairs. He is the Convener, Advocacy for Better Leadership (ABEL), Nigeria.

Goodluck, Ribadu

By Babayola Toungo

I write this morning with a very heavy heart. This is because one of my political heroes decided to commit what I consider political hara kiri. My sadness also stems from the realisation that Nigeria may be in trouble because those you feel have the moral suasion to drag the country by the force of their characters cesspit we have been taken to, to the Eldorado our politicians always promise to take us to, are turning out to be not better than the worst of the lot. My sadness stems from the fact of knowing that most of us who grandstand on most national issues actually use our grandstanding as a vehicle for personal gain and nothing altruistic.

The defection of Nuhu Ribadu from the All Peoples’ Congress (APC) to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) came as a very rude awakening to those of us who still believe that it is possible to change the country through the force of our collective characters. What Ribadu did to us is akin to thumping his nose on all those who still believe in him and those like him, but to be fair to him he has only toed a line earlier toed by some of his former colleagues in the Obasanjo administration like Femi Fani-Kayode. Much as one may not like to lump Ribadu in the same political and ideological category with Fani-Kayode, one is forced by Ribadu’s action to do so. This singular act by the former EFCC Chairman gives credence to the conspiracy theorists who went to town in 2011 with the rumour that Ribadu and Shekarau were bribed with huge amounts of money to ensure that Buhari wasn’t the only candidate from the north, thereby ‘dividing’ the northern vote between the three of them. I refused to believe the nonsense then. I am now compelled to reassess my perception of the story now that both Ribadu and Shekarau belong to the PDP.

My personal bellyaching aside, is there anything that Ribadu wants to prove by jumping into the PDP train? Is he in the PDP to spoil the chances of those who have been in the party fighting the course of the party and for the entrenchment of democratic norms in the general polity? Has Ribadu done a’Shekarau’ or is he continuing a project he began in 2011 and might have enjoyed the fruits of that particular misadventure? Much as one may respect the ex-policeman, his latest move has effectively put paid to any claims of perpendicular leadership. We just hope that Ribadu is not going to the PDP as Mu’azu’s battering ram in Adamawa. There is already a long list of eminently qualified aspirants in all the political parties vying to contest the by-election without Ribadu joining the fray and muddying the waters. There is also already so much rancour in our politics and personal relationship without some people trying to pour fuel into the cauldron.

The talk on the streets is that Ribadu has never been averse to lending himself to be used and most often negatively. This, I refused to believe. Proponents of this line will quickly point his role in the production of the “advisory list” during Obasanjo’s disastrous third term campaign. It was a list wich contained all those who stood against the actualisation of the demonic agenda. Next they rehash his presidential aspiration of 2011, which termed as infantile. It was prove-positive to many in the north that Goodluck Jonathan was bent on creating a third front in the north to scuttle any dream of a northern president. And he has now being drafted to come and play the same role in Adamawa. I refuse to believe this.

Though the PDP has its own way of doing things, I just hope for the first time they will get it right for the sake of the long suffering people of Adamawa State. The herd of aspirants from the stable of the party are all imminently qualified to fly the party’s flag in the forthcoming October 11th by-election. If I were to have had a voice in how the affairs of the party are to be conducted, I would have suggested other considerations for the nomination of a candidate besides eligibility and suitability of the candidates. It is conventional wisdom that whenever you have primaries in any of the parties, you are left with the burden of managing rancour, animosity and bitterness. Most times, these acrimonies lasts the live time of an administration or even that of the contestants. Also the malice, mutual suspicion and the distrust generated by Nyako’s impeachment are yet to go with the winds in some quarters. Nyako’s tenure itself midwifed these problems we are trying to overcome. My suggestion to the PDP is simple – without appearing to be autocratic, the party can present the acting governor of the state in the October 11th, 2014 by-elections to contest for the residual tenure of Nyako. This way, the party won’t have to go through two primaries in the spate of two months. Another primaries for the February 2015 general elections will hold in November 2014.

The other gladiators may then go for the mother lode – the February 2015 general elections when you will have the chance of being a governor for four years and not anybody’s residual tenure. The current acting governor will then be advised to excuse himself from the contest, be a statesman and superintend the elections.

All I could wish Ribadu is – GOODLUCK.

Boko Haram: A Different Perspective

By Jim Sanders

In his July 24 blog post, John Campbell referred to the “civil war within Islam in northern Nigeria.” There may be a slightly different way to view the events of which he writes. It’s credible to say that there is a civil war within Islam in northern Nigeria, but such claims also play into the hands of those who have long denied the seriousness of Boko Haram and its dire implications for Nigeria as a whole.

From Boko Haram’s beginning as a movement until the Chibok kidnapping, the Nigerian government and many others viewed the phenomenon as: a problem in the remote northeast; a violent group that is marginal to the country’s main players and constituencies; or a blip on the radar screen of more well-known and threatening terrorist groups globally. In other words, nothing that really affected Nigeria’s national integrity.

Those Nigerians and outside observers who have thought of Boko Haram as marginal can draw on comments like “civil war within Islam in northern Nigeria” as a justification for their own avoidance of the problem. The unspoken assumption is, therefore, that Boko Haram is isolated, contained, and thus minor. All manner of mental gymnastics will be performed to sustain this kind of denial.

But the reality is a lot different. First, Abuja’s role in Boko Haram’s origins is enormous, so it has been a national (if unrecognized) issue from the outset. It is also important to note that despite Muhammadu Buhari’s criticism of the group, the attempt on his life could easily have been carried out by his traditional political opponents, who, given Boko Haram’s high profile, anticipated that the blame would fall on the group. What better time to try to eliminate an opponent than when a group with a track record of murder is at large in the area and will likely be blamed? Nigeria’s “democratic” national election seasons typically begin with an unofficial “primary” in which political rivals narrow the playing field by trying to kill each other. We are now well into that political murder season. Boko Haram, in contrast, does not care about elections. Polls are irrelevant in their world view. If they did attack Buhari, it is more likely to have been on the basis of his reputation as a traditional Muslim leader than a political candidate.

But there are more layers to the Nigerian crises that can’t be understood very well by conventional ways of seeing. The academic concept of “post-modernism,” not normally discussed by those interested in security, does seem to accurately describe aspects of some present-day phenomena, Boko Haram included. The term is used to describe a situation in which organizations construct their own reality and act accordingly, often to the utter disbelief of those watching them.

Oddly enough, the Boko Haram discussion reminds me of Amazon.com’s conference call on July 24, in which CEO Jeff Bezos announced second-quarter losses of $126 million, or seventeen cents a share. Many on Wall Street expressed horror at the announcement, asking why the company showed no interest whatsoever in reducing spending in order to achieve profitability.

As a result of the call, Amazon’s share price dipped 10 percent. But Amazon simply does not care that much about its share price; it does care deeply about its long-term objective of dominating global retail, and is determined to do what it takes to get there. One need only look at the company’s 1997 Letter to Shareholders to understand its guiding philosophy. It will take losses, operate in the red, and “press on regardless.”

Similarly, Boko Haram does not operate according to anyone else’s playbook. This is one reason why some observers think they are stupid. There is no one to negotiate with, they complain. That’s because Boko Haram doesn’t want to negotiate. They intend to move forward, regardless. They are not deterred by losing men in battle; they just keep pressing on. Nor, like ISIS, do they care about national borders. They have created their own reality, an amalgam, as John Campbell says, of twenty-first century technology and esoteric (medieval) Islamic texts, which they hold up as guiding documents. Journalist Alex Perry’s account of Lamido Sanusi’s explanation of reality in Nigeria—“to understand Nigeria…you must throw away notions like certainty and consensus”—dovetails with the view of Boko Haram as a group that creates its own reality.

All of this means our current policy approach is stuck in the old, modern world where democracy was viewed as an absolute and elections were seen as the pathway to the end of human history. (Apologies, Mr. Fukuyama.)

This is a guest post by Jim Sanders, a career, now retired, West Africa watcher for various federal agencies. The views expressed below are his personal views and do not reflect those of his former employers.

Courtesy: Africa in Transition

President Jonathan leaves for US-Africa Leaders Summit

State House Press Release

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will at the invitation of President Barack Obama leave for Washington DC early Sunday to participate in a three-day US-Africa Leaders Summit.

President Jonathan will join President Obama and about 50 other participating African leaders for discussions that are expected to lead to greater progress in key areas such as expanding trade and investment ties,  promoting inclusive sustainable development and expanding cooperation on peace and security.

The Summit, which is the first of its kind between an American President and African heads of state and government, is expected to greatly strengthen ties between the United States, Nigeria and other African countries.

In addition to three special sessions on "Investing in Africa's Future", "Peace and Regional Stability" and "Governing the Next Generation", the summit will also feature side-events such as the US-Africa Business Forum which has the objectives of boosting efforts to strengthen trade and financial ties between the United States and Africa, creating partnerships that will accelerate job creation, and encouraging even more American investments in Nigeria and other African countries.

President Jonathan is also scheduled to hold meetings in Washington with key US political, security and business leaders on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in other areas including the war against terrorism. 

 The President will be accompanied to the summit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, the Coordinating Minster of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo and the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.)

He will return home at the conclusion of the summit on Wednesday.

Reuben Abati

Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)

BUHARI 101

By Ekiyor Konrad Welson

“Our dear country Nigeria is in dire need of qualitative and substantive change from retrogression of the past fifteen years under PDP to a future of progress, beginning from May 29 2015. This is what GMB represents and offers.2. We are tired of broken promises and broken down infrastructure. The railways are gone, the shipping lines have disappeared, roads are dilapidated and the power situation is still epileptic after fifteen years of wasted Billions of Dollars. GMB promises a turn around in record time3.We want somebody that will come and fix our roads and basic infrastructure. GMB plans to construct 3,000km of Super highways including service trunks and build up to 4,800km of modern railway lines – one third to be completed by 2019.4.We are tired of being ruled by the Party of Do or Die politics and politicians. GMB plays politics of persuasion and policy articulation.5. We want to be free from the ‘nest of killers’ who can do anything for power. We need a peaceful polity as envisaged by GMB6. We are tired of non-functional refineries. GMB is set to optimize their productions once again and initiate new ones with the private sector. He has done it before.7. GMB will put a stop to the importation of 70% of our petroleum products when we can produce same. When he was head of state between 1984 and 1985, Nigeria did not import a liter of petroleum product. No oil sheiks, no sleaze, no corruption in NNPC, no missing money, no subsidy scam. In fact under Buhari, Nigeria was exporting petroleum products and earning foreign exchange. Under him, refineries never had problems with Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM)8. We are tired of shameful and disgraceful importation of petroleum products. Prices will come down when GMB takes over on 29th May 2015.1119. We need solution to our secondary school education decay where 70% failures are recorded and the PDP is audacious enough to seek our votes.10. We are tired of the celebration of corruption by the PDP. They organised a party to welcome Bode George back from prison where he had been for the past two years for stealing.11. We are tired of the PDP president spending 100 million Naira public funds daily for only presidential jets’ fuelling during campaigns while many Nigerians are hungry, jobless, homeless and hopeless.12. We are tired of the negative image of a corrupt nation stamped on us by the PDP government’s twelve years of waste.13. We are tired of a baby president who is completely clueless about the solutions to our problems. It is time to separate the boys from the men. It is time for GMB14. We are tired of being ruled by stooges with godfathers pushing them like a barrow and telling them what to do at all times. We want a real self confident President.15. We are tired of attempts at introducing third term through the back door.16. We do not want a man who supported, funded and campaigned for third term.17. We are tired of the chop I chop government of PDP. The public till is for all members of the Nigerian society and this is what GMB will ensure.18. We are tired a president that is playing politics with University education. He announced new Universities to win votes, while the existing ones are barely effective.19. We are tired of a government that cannot secure our lives and property. So many lives have been lost in the country.20. We are tired of an illiterate government without an ideology, without social and political principles and without an understanding of society and governance.21. We are tired of election riggers and government of thugs and ritualists.22. We are tired of a government of cult men and Ogboni members.23. We are tired of a president that says one thing and does exactly the opposite.24. We are tired of a president that will brazenly rig his own party primaries with impunity and still go and beg for help from the same people.25. We are tired of a president that blackmailed and arm-twisted fellow convoluted governors to win his party’s nomination.26. We are tired of a president who inaugurated a presidential advisory committee (PAC) to advice him but later turns round to snub their patriotic advice.27. We are tired of a president whose only qualification for the presidency is “no shoe”.28. We are tired of an economy in comatose while the PDP government is in denial.29. We are tired of a government that has borrowed more than $32bn in four years for no tangible course and is set to borrow more.30. We are tired of a government that spends more than 30% of its 2011 budget to pay foreign debt: A government that makes foreigners rich and Nigerians poor.31. We are tired of a PDP government that does not care about the welfare and wellbeing of the Nigerian people but is only pre-occupied with being in power for 100 years. WE NEED CHANGE.32. GENERAL MOHAMADU BUHARI (GMB) is the answer and the change agent because he supervised and delivered our existing refineries as petroleum minister and Head of state. Buhari is the only head of state that did not promote himself to a full star General in office. Muhammadu Buhari is the only former head of state that did not allocate any oil block to himself during and after his tenure, even as a minister of petroleum. Muhammadu Buhari did not build or buy any house as a head of state, Petroleum minister or PTF chairman. He was collecting loans from Banks as a petroleum minister to build his house which took many years. The records are there in the banks for all to see. Muhammadu Buhari did not increase the pump price of fuel as a head of state one day. His anti materialism is unparalleled. He is not self serving. Little wonder he is called the peoples General. MAI GASKIYA, posterity will reward you now and in time to come. Many like him, only few do not like him, but like him or hate him, he is a living example of zero corruption, anti materialism, discipline and prudence.33. He is set to entrench true federalism and fiscal federalism in the body politics of the Nigerian state.34. He is predisposed to the restructuring of the Nigerian federation to achieve the above.35. He is determined to achieve a proper devolution of power between the three tiers of government.36. He strongly supports the removal of the immunity clause on criminal matters under which governors steal and kill.37. He will make local councils more accountable to the people, by making them publish minutes of their meetings, service performance data and items of spending that exceed 10 million Naira.38. He plans to reform and strengthen the judicial system for efficient administration of justice in the country. He remembers that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.39. He plans to create special courts for accelerated hearing of corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism etc., cases.40. He will fight corruption in public office through strict enforcement of anti corruption laws. He did before, he will do it again.41. He plans to create serious crime squads to combat kidnapping, armed robbery, militancy, and ethno-religious/communal clashes nationwide.42. GMB supports the vociferous calls for state and community police and would work to establish the principle.43. He plans to make Nigeria a liberal society by removing issues such as state of origin, tribe, ethnic and religious affiliations and replace them with only the principle of state of residence.44. He plans to immediately embark on vocational training, entrepreneurial and skill acquisition scheme for graduates to tackle youth and graduate unemployment.45. GMB will create two million new jobs by 2019 when he ends his tenure.46. He will create two million new home owners by 2019 through a nationwide mortgage system.47. He plans to put in place a N300bn regional growth fund for the development of the regions of the federation.48. GMB has pledged to do only the bidding of the masses and honest Nigerians and not serve a small click of business men as they are doing in PDP.49. He is set to restore faith in the Nigerian project so that no ‘Andrew’ will check out again.50. He will strengthen INEC and reduce/eliminate electoral malpractices.51. He will institute a process of full disclosure of government business to the public.52. He will build the capacity of law enforcement officers to do their work effectively.53. He will work to end acute poverty, inequality and insecurity in the country.54. He is completely detribalized and has the reputation of being a bridge builder.55. He is willing and able from day one and does not have to learn on the job like Lucky.56. He is well loved by the people of Nigeria across the North, South, East and West.57. He will fight for the welfare and well being of the people.58. He has a wife that is quite and knows her place in the society unlike others who cannot draw a line.59. GMB commands the respect of all political and traditional leaders in the country.60. He will lead in accordance to the constitution and would not twist the constitution to favour his party or a narrow interest like they do in PDP.61. He is set to restore hope and respect in politics so that more honest and decent people like you can go into it.62. His driving philosophy in politics and governance is ‘knowledge is Power’.63. Only GMB has the structure, personality, temperament and character to stop the drift in government and bring direction back to public administration.64. What he did in road construction while in the PTF has not been matched by 12 wasted years of PDP who have squandered billions of naira building nothing.65. As Head of state, taking over from the Pre-PDP government of Shagari, GMB reduced inflation from 23% to 4% in twenty months only.66. In his regime, there was no single religious crisis unlike what we have today with PDP.67. He put a final stop to the Maitasine sect in Kano. Today we have Mend, OPC, Boko Haram etc and the PDP is watching in amazement.68. As Head of state, he stamped out corruption in public office by making politicians to be held accountable for their actions while in office.69. Hospitals and Universities in the country have not received more benefits from PDP than they did from PTF under GMB.70. As former petroleum minister and former Head of state, GMB owns no oil block, no petrol station unlike the PDP presidents.71. GMB is the answer because he has followership across the country which money cannot buy. Do you know that PDP pays people to attend their rallies?72. He is the Leader of the Masses and the Talakawas. Mr. Integrity and Mai Gaskiya. The Patriot73. The oppressors and political gladiators fear him and love to stop him but the Masses love him and would do all in their might to steer him to victory.74. He is very liberal in his religious beliefs and that was why he appointed a Pentecostal and Charismatic Pastor as his vice in 2011.75. GMB is the only former Nigerian leader who does not own a house or Land in Abuja. Amazing!76. He is the first Head of state to promote affirmative action for women in Nigeria by directing that all state cabinets must have female commissioners.77. His achievements in twenty months as Head of state dwarf those of all who came after him especially the now ending inept and corrupt 15 years of PDP.78. He is the most capable, experienced, competent and creative candidate in next years’ presidential election. He has been military governor, petroleum minister, Head of state and chairman Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).79. Many people do not know that it was while working with PTF that Dora Akunyili was discovered and it was because of her antecedents working with GMB that Obasanjo appointed her into NAFDAC. See what PDP has done to her reputation.80. GMB from the outset has identified with the poor masses in all his endeavors. That’s why he is called the People’s General. Now he will be called the ‘People President’.81. His main opponent identifies with the rich.82. While GMB is being backed by the masses, others are being sponsored by the enemies of the masses.83. No single money bag is bank rolling his campaign unlike the PDP.84. GMB is the answer because as Head of state, he introduced the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) which gave birth to discipline, patriotism, the queue culture and the monthly sanitation exercise in Nigeria among other things.85. GMB has never had a case with EFCC while some at the helms now will continue their case in EFCC when they leave office on May 29th 2015.86. GMB will permanently solve the problem of violence in the Niger Delta originated by Lucky and his friends. Many people do not know the level of involvement of the PDP government in the Niger Delta crisis.87. GMB represents change, hope, progress and honesty in Nigeria.88. He is incorruptible.89. He is honest, credible, hardworking and patriotic.90. He loves Nigeria more than himself. This is evidenced in his dogged determination to fight for the masses the fourth time at the presidency.91. He is a master strategist and organizer cum mobilize. He built with the masses a political movement into the fastest growing national political party in the world in less than two years.92. He is from a humble background and worked his way to national recognition. He is set to do the same to millions of Nigerian youths who need Mentoring.93. GMB represents the last set of the Murtala legacy and is set to ignite the sparks of that regime with actions and actions on all aspects of the polity with his team.94. GMB was the only Head of state that devoted and committed more that 26% of the nation’s budget to education.95. He is not anybody’s stooge. The other campaigners cannot claim same. Can they?96. GMB is well respected and recognized by the international community as a committed anti-corruption crusader.97. GMB discouraged drug trafficking when he was Head of state. The menace increased when he left office but will be banished again.98. He is ready and willing to bring back confidence to Nigeria’s economy by tackling headlong the problems of insecurity and lack of infrastructure.99. GMB is the answer to our problems now because he understands them and knows how to tackle them. The PDP is completely bereft of any idea on how to move our nation forward.100. GMB He is the epitome of sincerity, honor, and integrity and will keep his promise to Nigerians, unlike those who cannot even keep a gentleman’s agreement in their party.101. GMB IS THE ANSWER BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN NIGERIANS NEED HELP.

Failures of the 2014 national conference

By James Pam

President Jonathan’s National Conference has finally ended plenary sitting. What remains is the technicality of appending signatures to the consolidated Conference Report, which event is scheduled for 11th August, 2014. Thereafter, the Report will be presented to the conference convener.

 When I told a friend that I was writing an article on the failures of the Jonathan National Conference, he asked if my post mortem examination was not too early. I replied him that I wasn’t doing a post mortem job but a listing of what the Conference did not do. Readers should please appreciate the difference as they read. Those who will thoroughly analyze the Conference may find this article a good starting point as they review the Conference agenda to assess if what was supposed to be done was done. It is also my hope that Mr. President would be better informed by this early commentary as he considers the final Report.

This article will attempt to read in-between the events that transpired while the Conference lasted. Identified gaps and newly created issues will be highlighted. The actual decisions reached by conferees are not the main subject of discourse here but what was omitted or created. Inductive reasoning shall be employed.

1. Convener’s Obscure Intentions: The true intentions of the convener of the Conference, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, have remained obscure right from the conception of the Conference up to the current stage of development. He who was initially totally opposed to the idea of holding any such conference surprised Nigerians when he announced that he would convene one within weeks. The agitators of a Sovereign National Conference were overjoyed while the skeptics and antagonists concluded that Mr. President had a hidden agenda up his sleeves. How honest was the convener when he refused to propose the conference agenda but asked the Okorounmu Committee to draw up one? Instead of an agenda containing about a dozen key contentious issues, we ended up with a 38-point unwieldy agenda with two-thirds of the items better left for MDAs to fashion out. The released conference modalities and the modalities for the emergence of delegates were so skewed to enable Mr. President to remote-control the Conference that it further heightened the speculation that the President had a sinister motive embedded in his Conference plans. But what could these sinister motives be? Till date nothing is clear or certain. The nearest we have come to understanding his game plan is an inkling that he might be interested in ushering in a new constitution for the country based on the conference decisions. This assertion has been informed by two events. The first is his pronouncement that Conference decisions would be presented to him in the form of a new draft constitution (which now looks unlikely). The second is the Deputy Senate President’s attempt to surreptitiously smuggle a clause hitherto not discussed into the final report of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review which he chaired.  The aim of the un-debated clause was to grant the President of Nigeria the constitutional right to introduce a new Constitution for the country by way of an Executive Bill to the Legislature. Was Senator Ekweremadu acting the script of Mr. President?

 2. Marginalisation of Many Nigerians in Conference Composition: The modalities for the emergence of delegates excluded 80% of stakeholders in the Nigerian project. Those who had been clamoring for a National Conference for about twenty years were not recognized. Mr. President personally nominated the following delegates, 37 Elder Statesmen, 6 Youths, 6 Judicial Officers/Federal Government and another 20 delegates; thus giving Mr. President the opportunity to nominate a total of 69 out of 492 delegates. State Governors and the FCT Minister nominated another 109 delegates according to Nigeria’s Senatorial Districts. This means that a total of 178 delegates, about 40% of all the National Conference delegates, were nominated directly by Mr. President, the 36 State Governors and the FCT Minister. Mr. President and State Governors heavily influenced the nomination of delegates from among Traditional Rulers, Retired Military & Security Personnel, Retired Civil Servants and Political Parties. The combined effect of the foregoing is that Governments directly or indirectly nominated about 80% of delegates who attended the Conference. Ethnic nationalities who were in the forefront of the agitations for a conference were allocated 90 slots, or 15 delegates for each of our 6 geo-political zones. These 90 delegates were to be selected/nominated/elected somehow by the ‘stakeholders’. We all know now that State Governors hijacked the selection/nomination/election process and simply hand-picked their cronies and forwarded 90 names to the SGF’s office.

  3. Dominance of the President’s Men: Though the Senator Pius Anyim-released conference guidelines specified that conference decisions shall be reached by consensus (100% agreement), delegates amended this to 70%, which was not adhered to even once as all final conference decisions were arrived by voice vote, which was not provided for at all in the conference modalities. Is a majority voice vote tantamount to a 70%  or more consensus? Why did delegates only object to the voice vote procedure when it came to the Derivation Principle decision? It is no wonder that newspapers are now saying some delegates are planning to sabotage or scuttle the final Conference Report signing ceremony on 11 August, 2014. Was there consensus on all the issues decided upon? It doesn’t appear there was.

4. Truancy by Delegates: Many delegates played the truant school child during the Conference. Absenteeism among them was rampant. We daily observed the empty seats with bold name tags without their supposed occupants. Many final decisions were taken on Committee Reports when less than 70% of delegates were at plenary sessions. Should such decisions bind the millions of Nigerian who were under-represented by their un-elected so-called delegates?

 5. Comprehension of Issues by Delegates: Many delegates did not comprehend the issues at stake. This could be deciphered from many of them who were interviewed by media house after debates. Many displayed their ignorance and incompetence. The last decision to be taken at the Conference to the effect that the Federal Government should set up a Technical Committee to handle the highly emotive 13% Derivation Principle proves this assertion. Among the 492 delegates were men and women from all professional callings. Why did the conference not deem it fit to constitute such a Technical Committee and make the needed recommendation for amendment?

6. Inability to Solve Pressing National Issues: One monumental failure of the Conference was the abdication of its responsibility to decide on the Derivation Principle. The conference secretariat short-changed delegates by deciding not to allow a debate on the issue. In short, what is going to be adopted as a final conference decision is not a decision at all but an abdication. Nigerians were shocked to see watch the Conference leadership impose a no-go area for conferees. The Derivation Principle effectively became a no-go area.

7. Delegates’ Contributions: In terms of individual contribution to the conference by delegates, we estimate that less than 50% of delegates contributed meaningfully towards the final conference resolutions. The inference from this is that it is likely that 492 was an unwieldy number of delegates for such a conference. It is also likely that up to 50% of the government-selected delegates were undeserving of the privilege to be there. This is another dimension of corruption.  Delegates for national assignments should never emerge again in the manner the National Conference delegates emerged.

 8. Nationalism and National Cohesion: Many delegates claim that the national interest was the overriding logic in their deliberation, but we find it difficult to agree. Every issue was viewed by delegates either through religious prisms or through regional trick books or through well-polished and sophisticated ethnic binoculars. May be the only exception to this was the recommendation for the creation additional 19 States in the country, which was a really nationalist decision, although the North-West and North-East delegates opposed it. Recollect that the Conference proper was preceded by a religious protest to the Convener led by the Sultan regarding the ‘lopsidedness’ in the faiths of delegates. The last impossible decision on Derivation was aborted because the so-called ‘North’ insisted that the newly recommended 5% Fund be restricted the NE, NW and NC zones. Nigeria’s greatest stumbling blocks remain ethnicity, geography and religion. Shall we ever change and become the nationalists that we always claim to be? The Conference failed to change us.

9. Re-Structuring: The failure of the Conference to achieve this most articulated progressive issue is another big failure of the just-concluded conference.  The South East, South South, South West and North Central geo-political zones arrived the Abuja venue of the Conference minds made up to demand the regionalization of the country into 6 Regions. Chief Femi Fani-Kayode recently published an article titled, “Give me Oduduwa Region or Nothing”. A South Eastern socio-political group has asked delegates from their zone not to return home if they do not secure a recommendation for the creation of a South Eastern Regional government. Everyone thought Professor Jerry Gana would finally deliver a Middle Belt Regional Government to the eternally oppressed Christians and minority tribes of the North Central zone. Alas, the much-touted return to Regionalism and the Parliamentary system were not to be. What happened? Only the North West and North East objected. Suddenly we heard that the Lagos people said they couldn’t imagine themselves travelling to Ibadan for decisions once again. They have made too much economic progress and Lagos State autonomy is sweet. ‘Northerners’ said the days of the Kaduna mafia are long over. Kaduna is no longer a power base or power symbol. Easterners claim that they have invested too much in real estate, especially hotels, in Abuja to be separated and legally confused by 6 new regional constitutions in the country. It appears that the Middle Belt people are the true losers in the failure to achieve a return to regionalism. Why did two-thirds of conference delegates capitulate on such an important issue? How will the still unresolved “Middle belt Question” be resolved? The actualization of the creation of the Conference-recommended 18 (or is it 19 States, one in the SE plus 18 others) is now the only hope for the liberation of the oppressed Middle Belt minority groups.

10. Legal Status of the National Conference and Its Decisions: The lack of an enabling legislation for the convocation of the National Conference itself is one of its greatest undoing. The entire National Conference might turn out to be one monumental waste of time and resources if our National Assembly legislators have their way. They say that there is no provision in our Constitution and Statutes books to accommodate the decisions of the just-concluded Conference, and this is true. Similarly, there is no provision for the much-touted referendum either. The un-cooperative legislators said they will throw out the Conference Report whenever it is presented to them for ratification. Why didn’t Mr. President first propose a Bill establishing a National Conference Commission before convening his conference? We recollect that many Nigerians advised him to do just that. Failure to have such legislation in place could have spelt doom for the National Conference even before take-off.

 11. Devolution of Powers: The Conference failed to devolve some of the vast legislative powers vested in the Federal Government of Nigeria by the 1999 Constitution to its federating units, the States. Many had hoped that the Conference would recommend the transfer of many of the 68 items on the Exclusive Legislative List in the Second Schedule of the Constitution to the Concurrent List which has just 30 items. Prominent constitutional lawyers, including one of the authors of the 1999 Constitution, Prof. Nwabueze, submitted suggestions for achieving this. In my opinion, items such as Census, Commercial and Industrial Policies, Construction, alteration and maintenance of roads, Creation of States, Fishing and Fisheries, Labour, Maritime Shipping and Navigation, Pensions and gratuities, Police and other government securities, Prisons, Public holidays, Quarantine, Railways, Service and execution in a State, The formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages and Trade and Commerce should better be on the Concurrent List. Mind you, the Federal Government will still be able to legislate on them as the name ‘concurrent’ suggests.

12. Size of Government: Today we have a federal government with 3 tiers of government, about 450 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), 36 State governments with their own 3 tiers of government, State MDAs and 774 Local Governments. Recurrent expenditure is 70% on the average across the country. Therefore, only 30% of government expenditure is of capital benefit. The Conference failed to recommend a significant reduction in the colossal size of our administrative apparatchik.

13. Excesses of State Governors: The overbearing interference of State Governors in Local Government administration should have been checked. Instead, conferees decided to ‘throw out the baby and the bath water’. They recommended the scrapping of the LGs and States’ independent electoral bodies. What is the problem? The problem is that the freedom of the Local Governments has not been guaranteed by our Constitution. The Joint State/Local Government Account should have been recommended for abolishment. Also, the constitutional provision that the development of Local governments shall be determined by States should have been equally recommended for abrogation.

14. Social Ills: The many social ills bedeviling our society were not addressed. Nothing substantial was recommended towards ending our galloping governmental corruption, the huge and growing economic dichotomy between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, run-away unemployment, diversification of our mono-product economy, deteriorating education standards and growing security challenges. Majority of Nigerians are groaning under the yoke of these ills and yet the Conference failed to address them. The Ill-Gotten Gains Act recommended by the Conference will rely on the same corrupt Nigerians to implement it ‘honestly’. If the Federal Character Principle has been violated by officials with impunity in the past, then we should not expect a different attitude toward the recommended Act. In the same vein, the Conference recommendation for the establishment of a Religious Equity Commission will not solve the problem of religious favoritisms and discrimination. However, Conference recommendation that all Governments should stop sponsoring religious pilgrimages, which amounts to about N350 Billion waste annually, is highly welcome.

15. Nomadic Fulani/Farmer Clashes: This issue was on the Okorounmu Presidential Advisory Committee’s suggested conference agenda, yet it was not treated. Nomadic Fulani herdsmen are daily clashing with their host communities all over the country. Fatalities from these clashes are running into tens of thousands. A solution to this problem is urgently needed. We cannot see any other solutions to the problem apart from ending nomadism, embarking on moves to settle the nomads on ranches where they will practice integrated sedentary agricultural/animal husbandry. Land resource has become scarce and too valuable for farmers to guarantee our ever increasing numbers of nomads and their cattle eternal and unfettered access to it. Nomadic Fulani people should not remain simply as floating Nigerian ‘citizens’ but must be identified with by their States and Local Governments of origin and ‘indigeneship’ as is the case for all other Nigerians.

16. Fiscal Federalism: Called by different names – resource control, revenue sharing Derivation Principle and fiscal federalism – it was hoped that this vexing issue would be settled once and for all by the Conference. However, delegates almost went physical on it as they defended their regions or tribes or States at the expense of national interest. In the end, Justice Kutigi, and his team of officials usurped the responsibilities of the delegates by recommending that the issue be left to the Federal Government to address via a Technical Committee. The question one can ask is whether the Technical Committee will not be made up of Nigerians with the same emotions as the delegates. Will Nigeria ever achieve true fiscal federalism?

17. Freeing the Land Use Act: Failure to recommend the freeing of this piece of legislation from the Constitution is a great shame. Why is the Land Use Act part and parcel of our Constitution anyway? Amending the Act now requires a constitutional amendment. Parliament should be able to amend it just as other statutes. Obtaining title to land and the obnoxious Governor’s Consent to Mortgage as contained in the Land Use Act have stood in the way of providing low-interest long-term funding for land development and the use of land resource as loan collateral. Housing development has been greatly hampered by the inability to quickly secure land title. Our housing deficit today stands at an unbelievable 17 million with no solution in sight. What a shame!

Pam can be reached via Jamespam2004@yahoo.com

QUDS, ISRAEL AND IMPUNITY

By Adamu Adamu

When soldiers opened fire on Muslims demonstrating on International Quds Day in Zaria on Friday, July 25, 2014, Julius Anyawu, a 68-year-old Igbo man, and his companion, Chibozor Levechi, were standing nearby.

Instead of running away, they protested, asking why. They never found out—and Anyawu never will. He was shot dead—and Levechi is right now lying critically ill at Wusasa Hospital in Zaria.

International Quds Day, which is fixed for the last Friday of Ramadan, was proclaimed by Imam Khomeini [qss] in 1979 as a day for demonstrating solidarity with the dispossessed, especially the Palestinians whose land has been usurped by Zionists with the help of Western powers. According to the Imam [qss]: “Quds Day is a universal day, not a day exclusively for Quds alone: it is a day for oppressed peoples to rise and stand up against [global] arrogance.”

Since 1979, year in, year out, the event has been celebrated in several cities across the world. This year, International Quds Day celebrations took place in 81 countries. In Iran, where the most massive rallies took place, millions demonstrated in more than 770 cities and towns. Across the United States, demonstrations took place in more than 20 cities, including New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Phoenix. In New York’s Times Square, Sunni and Shia Muslims joined militant leftists and anti-Zionist Jews to condemn Israel and call for the liberation of Gaza.

As the sun rises in the Far East, Japanese demonstrators were marching on the Israeli embassy in Tokyo. Along with the sun, demons-trations spread eastwards through Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, in all of which demonstrators burned the Israeli flag and condemned the United States for the bloodshed in Gaza. And across several Middle Eastern countries, including parts of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Algeria and Sudan, demonstrators were able to voice their anger against Israel.

In Europe, demonstrations took place in Germany, France, Belgium and Macedonia. And in Canada, Muslims, Christians, Jews and Hindus held pro-Palestinian rallies in Edmonton, Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, St. John and Calgary. In central London, tens of thousands of British demonstrators, including several political figures such as Diane Abbot, Baroness Jenny Tonge, Andrew Murray and the irrepressible George Galloway, joined the rally on International Quds Day demanding justice against the “killers of Gaza children”. The rally was joined by the Orthodox Jews of the Neturei Karta.

And throughout the world, nowhere did the demonstration end in violence except in Nigeria; and, even here, only in Zaria. Demonstration in other cities in Nigeria began and ended peacefully, as they have been doing for the past 22 years in which the Zaria-based Islamic movement, under the leadership of Mallam Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, had organised them.

Indeed, there has been no year in which the celebration of International Quds Day would become of such mournful, sorrowful poignancy as the current one. In a most heart-rending show of unprecedented barbarity, Israel unleashed a bombing spree that resulted in an unsightly carnage that was enough to have disgraced the United States and exposed the so-called Israeli Defence Force as perhaps the world’s most immoral army.

 So unacceptably unpleasant was the assault that even Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser and the inventor of the ‘Arc of Crisis’, himself Jewish and friend of Israel, and former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright, with her 300,000 dead Iraqi children, herself a Jewess and friend of Israel, found it distasteful enough to condemn Israel publicly.

 Why should the demonstration this year be different? If benefit is a good guide to motive, the Federal Government stands to gain nothing from these murders and from the suppression of International Quds Day celebrations; the Nigerian Army stands to gain nothing from them; and even the commander who ordered this assault is not likely to gain anything from it. The only entity that is alarmed by Quds Day and stands to benefit from its cessation is Israel; and Israelis are advisers to the Nigerian Army. In the circumstance, it will not be unreasonable to assume that they probably gave the order. Only a full, open and independent inquiry will be able to determine whether we have sold our dignity and independence this low—that officers of our army can be subcontractors used to kill their fellow citizens in cold blood on behalf of a foreign power that shouldn’t have been here in the first place.

What we are up against is a culture of impunity and a cynical attempt to exploit it, a culture in which soldiers oppress, torture and kill people without consequences. If soldiers cannot do their job without violating the human rights of the people, they do not deserve the uniform on their backs. The nation must be man enough to hold them criminally responsible for the use of excessive, lethal violence and for the abuse of detainees in their custody; and force them to appreciate their responsibilities and obligations toward fellow human beings.

 Those who are able must rise up in defence of those whose rights are eroded in the name of national security, those imprisoned, tortured or killed for exercising their right to freedom of association and expression. In the end, the government must take appropriate measures to see that soldiers suspected of criminal responsibility are prosecuted, tried and duly punished; provide their victims with effective remedies, including reparation for losses and injuries suffered; and then take all necessary steps to prevent a recurrence.

But it is not as if soldiers don’t know how to do it. On May 14, 2014, the newly established 7 Division of the Nigerian Army announced it would institute a military board of inquiry to determine the remote and immediate causes of the mutiny by soldiers in Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, who fired shots as the General Officer Commanding the division addressed them. On July 30, 2014, Maj.-Gen Emmanuel Abejirin, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2nd Division Nigerian Army, Ibadan, inaugurated a general court martial to try erring personnel within the division who had been accused of stealing, forgery, defilement, rape and murder, disciplinary cases which, by the provisions of military law, could not be tried summarily. Now, the nation—and the Shiites—wait to see what would be done to the soldiers who fired the shots that killed more than 30 peaceful demonstrators, and the commander who reportedly personally killed Mallam Zakzaky’s children.

In all this, whose biddings were the soldiers doing? We all know that in all operations, soldiers must understand and adhere to their rules of engagement. First, they have to be called in to quell civil unrest, only when the police confirm in writing that they have indeed failed. And only the president can authorise the use of the military, whenever and wherever it is deployed, and no matter how small the unit.

And only after the approval of the president can troops move in—and they must do so with a representative of civil authority the police, a photographer and a diarist to record every aspect of the proceedings. In addition, the military is under obligation to provide medical facilities to attend to the injured. And even at this stage, they must issue warnings and explore all avenues of solving the crisis without resort to arms. But if, finally, they are forced to have to use arms, then they must not shoot to kill; that is, there will be no targeting of the head or any of the body’s vital organs.

And after all this, there must be a board of inquiry that will seek to establish what exactly caused the crisis; whether the president has authorised the use of the military force; whether soldiers have obeyed orders given to them, and acted in accordance with their rules of engagement; whether they have accounted for everything given to them; and whether anyone is guilty of criminal negligence?

 The answers will determine whether there will be a summary trial or a court martial.But all this theoretical background would become an issue only if there was a threat to order; but, in the circumstance of this demonstration, there was none, except perhaps in the afore-discredited declaration of the Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, who said the Shiites opened fire on the soldiers, a statement that should be given no more credence than the earlier claim by the military to have rescued the girls of Chibok.

Like these girls have been forgotten, they are hoping that this also will be. But it is not so much forgetfulness as it is fear. A climate of fear and silence has seized the leadership of the Muslims such that not so much as a whimper could be uttered by, or heard from, the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs or the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, even though it is Muslims who are unjustly gunned down in broad daylight and in cold blood.

And whatever happens—whether these people speak up or keep mute—a full inquiry must be instituted into the circumstances that led to this tragedy. Just because they have frightened everyone into silence by creating Boko Haram doesn’t mean that they can just kill Muslims—or anyone for that matter—and think they can escape the consequences of their actions. No, this must be the last time that anyone can do this in this country. The end of impunity must come—and it has.

Condolences to Mallam Ibrahim al-Zakzaky and members of the Islamic movement; and, especially, to Mallama Zeenat, the brave mother who lost three children all at the same time, all on the same day, in such tragic circumstances—and in cold blood. Where are the words to console this woman, with a heart so full of the pain and anguish only a mother could feel, lightened only by such expectations as only a believer could nurse. Her only consolation lies in the fact that her children fell—ever mightily so wronged—in the great battle between Islam and Zionism—and in full obedience to the directive of their Imam [qss]. May their souls, along with all the others, rest in perfect peace.

Adamu is a columnist with the Dailytrust Newspapers.