FEATURED
Nation In Chains
By Dakuku Peterside
Something remarkable happened last week at the 2022 Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)conference in Lagos. However, social media was awash with mundane, trivial, irrelevant, and cosmetic portrayals and representations of the Vice-Presidential candidate of APC at that event. They focussed on the appropriateness, type, and size of the shoe the ebullient Senator Kashim Shettima wore and wholly ignored the substance of his presentation. The slant of the social media and a section of media commentators is enough proof that we are a nation that loves chasing shadows instead of substance, a country of comedians that once made us the happiest people on earth. I understand the Nigerian audience’s picking entirely on the humorous dimensions of his presentation and persona, for we must not take life too seriously at times. However, we as a nation must chew and digest the meaty part of the presentation while assessing the qualities, ideas, and competencies of candidates vying for the office of the presidency in Nigeria.
Senator Kashim Shettima, the former governor of Borno state, proposed two theses that deserve interrogation but for which only a few took note. The first thesis is that the changing global dynamics and complexity of the Nigerian situation demand that we enthrone leaders with a different skill sets, mindsets, and deep understanding of the world economy to survive and thrive in a fast-changing world. At the NBA conference, he and Peter Obi were united in a common position that the 2023 election should be about competence, character, and commitment to deliver on a
shared vision. And not about tribe, religion, or connection. He argued that our next leaders must come with the right mix of leadership skillsets, track record of performance in public or private life and a deep understanding of the global economy’s dynamism to make informed decisions.
This leadership skillset entails that the leader must clearly understand our problems in all their ramifications, articulate solutions to these problems, put into action innovative and creative ideas on how to tackle these problems, and advance a shared vision for our country. These leadership skill sets are not just knowledge-based but are experiential. The leaders must have acquired them over time, practically actively leading and offering solutions and advancing humanity by enthroning prosperity and a better standard of living for all. Nigerians are yearning for this type of leadership.
A performance track record over the years gives the leader experience in leadership required in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural heterogeneous society. We need a Nigerian leader, not a tribal one. A leader who has demonstrated capacity in building bridges and creating national cohesion through extraordinary demonstratable and evidence-based engagement across the country. The leader’s record of performance should extend to his ability to accomplish incredible feats of progress, show extraordinary selflessness devoid of corruption, and have clear evidence of accomplishments in any sector of his endeavours.
Sound economic knowledge has increasingly become an attribute a Nigerian President must have given the dire economic conditions of Nigeria and the corresponding bleak economic outlook for the future given our current economic and financial predicaments. On the issue of sound economic knowledge, Afe Babalola, SAN, had in an earlier open letter advocated its importance, especially at a time of national financial distress when economic direction from the top is needed. He must make very tough economic decisions to stop Nigeria from continuing to haemorrhaging economically. The import of this thesis is what I advocated in my column of 13 June 2022, after the presidential primaries of the parties. I argued, “It is time to rethink our politics, party nomination process, the basis of our choices as individuals and the future of our country”.
Shetima’s fundamental argument is that the forthcoming elections offer us an opportunity to rethink our leadership recruitment process. Times have changed, and the country is at a pivotal, historical, and precarious moment. We must consider the democratic basis of our electing national leadership and our overarching democratic values. Whether Shettima, his principal or any of the frontline presidential candidates satisfy his prescription of an ideal future president is a different issue altogether. The critical issue for resolution is how we ensure we elect leaders who fit this bill at the different levels of leadership. Whose responsibility is it to mobilise the populace to demand leaders with the right skill set for this season?
The second thesis is that Nigeria is a giant in chains and only a visionary, competent, honest, determined, focused and innovative leader can set us free from this invisible chain and unleash our full potential. The imperative of his thesis is that our potential as a country has laid untapped and often wasted. We have been a nation of great potential for too long. This is more so because of our leaders’ poor leadership skills, corruption, and ineptitude. Some selfishly and shamelessly put themselves before the people they lead. Nigeria is a giant in chains and has not pulled its weight among the comity of nations. Recently it has been a butt of jokes among even smaller African countries how Nigeria no longer coughs, and cold catches the smaller nations. Nigeria’s per capita income is ranked lower than some smaller African countries. The paradox is that Nigeria has significant natural, human, and technological capital but performs socially, economically, and politically abysmally.
A cursory overview of our underutilised assets will give us a better perspective of the importance of this statement. We are the most populous black nation on earth, with 80% of our population below 50 years. This 80% population is at their most productive age, yet it has been most unproductive. Nigerians are some of the most intelligent and hardworking people at work. The Nigerian diaspora showcases ingenuity and doggedness in achieving great strides in their host countries. Our creative sector dominates Africa’s creative industry and is making waves internationally. However, a more significant proportion of our population is unemployed, underemployed, or unemployable. We have the 9th most arable land on planet earth and can feed most of Africa, but we are still a net importer of food to feed our teeming population, and most of our land is not put to optimal use. Our vast natural endowments remain untapped for national development, and where it is tapped, there is severe inefficiency and sabotage.
Conversely, Nigeria’s leadership has been bogged down by the combined forces of vested interest; business cartels, economic collectives, multinationals, ethno-religious factions, and regional bigots. Paradoxically, it is from these zones that our successive leaderships either emerged or are sponsored. The country has been held down by a lack of visionary leadership, corruption, weak institutions, lack of trust in our judiciary, inept and corrupt civil service, ethnicity and nepotism, dearth or poor infrastructure, and an unproductive population. The manifestation of this chain is a low level of human development, one of the lowest per capita incomes ($2,085), a high level of poverty (87m persons by 2020 world bank data), a high rate of unemployment (33.3%, NBS data), dependence on primary agriculture, insecurity, rapid population growth, high rate of out of school children, heightened insecurity and banditry, and secessionist agitations.
The critical issue is who will break this chain and set us on the path to fulfilling our full potential. This decade’s most crucial action for Nigerians is to elect a capable president in 2023. This president will face the mother of all economic crises, given the dire nature of our economy. We are net consumers of goods and services, our exchange rate regime is almost collapsing, our debt to revenue ratio (120%) is alarming, our educational system is decrepit, and the moral and ethical fibres of the country are in tatters. It is a dog-eat-dog situation; for many, survival is a daily struggle. The new president must be capable of facing these challenges and articulating solutions.
The new president to free the nation from the chains must first break the chains that tie him to the existing power structure and break the symbolic chains of corruption, nepotism, mismanagement, and economic sabotage to make Nigeria great again. The president must make Nigeria productive and prosperous by situating Nigeria in the regional and global economic context that is pro-business, pro-education, pro-health, and pro-humanity. The new president must have a clear agenda and make
a significant improvement in that area. He must harness the vast knowledge and intellectual capital of Nigeria. And create an enabling environment for most Nigerian to actualise their God-given talents and potentials, and contribute to building a virile, broad-based and diversified economy.
To break this chain, the president must rally Nigerians and carry them along. He must get the buy-in of many people and institutions to create a better Nigeria and lead from the front to achieve his goals. In making the needed tough decisions to reshape and structure our economy, the president must be both compassionate and courageous, confident, and resolute in carrying out the actions whilst empathetically taking care of the most vulnerable in society. The first few years of the next presidency will make or mar our chances of getting it right. Therefore, Nigerians need a president with the mandate of the people and the people’s interest at heart.
Shetima’s vision of a new Nigeria is clear. That vision is encapsulated in breaking the symbolic chains limiting Nigeria from achieving greatness. The principal tool for this unchaining act is building an excellent economy based on productivity, socio-political cohesion, and security of the lives and property of every Nigerian. If elected, the president and vice will have their work cut out to transform Nigeria. Nigeria truly needs a change that will impact positively on most Nigerians. It is time we broke the captivity and bondage of our symbolic chains and used the opportunity of
the 2023 elections to get the right leaders who will make things right in Nigeria.
The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has urged for necessary measures to protect journalists and other media workers during this weekend’s off-cycle elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States.
The group sent the request to the federal and state governments, as well as law enforcement and security agencies, stressing that the role of journalists in disseminating information about the electoral process is critical to ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections.
In a statement issued ahead of the elections in Lagos and signed by the Communications Officer, Media Rights Agenda, Idowu Adewale, MRA also urged journalists to be cautious and to use its existing hotline (08138755660) to report any threat or attack they may encounter during the process, as well as any obstacle.
Adewale said in the statement: “Given the pattern of heightened attacks on journalists and the media during previous elections, including the recent 2023 general elections, as well as the tense political climate in the three states in the lead-up to the elections, measures must be taken to ensure general security during the elections and provide adequate protection for journalists covering the elections.”
“Access to information allows citizens and other members of the public to have the information they need about political and electoral processes, facilitating effective public participation in elections,” he says.
“Journalists and the media play an important role in ensuring residents and other members of the public have access to information and may participate in the process.
“As part of efforts to preserve the integrity of the polls, it is also critical that the safety and well-being of these interlocutors be assured and safeguarded.”
Lamenting the increased number of attacks on journalists in the run-up to the off-cycle elections, as well as earlier this year in the run-up to the general elections, he emphasised that “a free and vibrant media is fundamental to a healthy democracy, and journalists must be able to carry out their duties without fear, coercion, or violence.” During this vital phase, MRA stands ready to assist them and assure their safety.”
Men from the Edo State Police Command are said to have detained Mrs. Toluige Olokoobi’s husband after he allegedly murdered her.
Olokoobi was the mother of Oreofeoluwa Lawal-Babalola, the tiny boy whose video went viral in 2020 after he pleaded with his mother, “Mummy be calming down.”
Oreofeoluwa rose to prominence on social media after a video of him crying in an attempt to confidently appeal to his mother, who chastised him, went viral.
The film inspired Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who used it to deliver an Eid-el-Kabir appeal to Muslims and Lagos people in general to remain calm during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Following that, the youngster and his family met with the governor, who praised his bravery and poise.
While little has been heard about the family in three years, heartbreaking news broke on social media on Tuesday that the boy’s mother had committed suicide.
According to an X user, Olokoobi committed suicide in Benin, the capital of Edo State, for unknown reasons.
The X user, who stated that he was present at the site on Monday afternoon, went on to say that she had refused to disclose her difficulties with anyone before committing herself.
“The woman in the viral Mummy Calm Down video has just committed suicide here in Benin,” he stated in an email.
“She refused to discuss her problems with anyone.” She abandoned three children for her husband, including the well-known Mummy Calm Down boy.”
Meanwhile, confirming Olokoobi’s death in a chat with BBC Pidgin, the spokesperson of the Edo State police command, Chidi Nwabuzor, said her husband has been arrested and detained for questioning.
Nwabuzor said the husband reported the matter to the police.
The police spokesperson quoted the husband to have said that “he came home from the market when he saw his wife hanging with rope on her neck”.
Nwabuzor said she was rushed to the hospital and then to the mortuary after she was confirmed dead. (Adapted from a Vanguard report).
The Anambra State Police Command Headquarters Conference Hall was a hive of activity Thursday as CP Aderemi Adeoye took turns decorating around 18 promoted officers of the command with their new titles.
The delight of some of the officers whose wives assisted the CP in decorating their husbands with their new ranks knew no bounds, as their husbands duly saluted their wives and the CP for their new positions and responsibilities.
Obi Innocent, one of the officers elevated to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), whose wife joined CP Aderemi Adeoye in adorning him with his new rank, said it was wonderful that the Inspector General of Police thought him worthy.
CSP Obi Innocent, the officer in charge of the Legal Department at Zone 13, Police Zonal Headquarters Ukpo, stated that his new rank was a call to service and that he would do his best to uphold the charge given to them by CP Aderemi Adeoye to respect and protect the citizenry’s fundamental rights in the discharge of their new assignments.
Charity Akharame, who was honoured with the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and was the only female officer among the 18 promoted officers decorated with new ranks, said it was not an easy feat but she was grateful to be among those who were decorated with their new ranks.
DSP Charity Akharame, the officer in charge of stores in the Anambra State Police Command, recalled how she began as a Police Constable and worked her way up to her current position as Deputy Superintendent of Police.
She stated that as a very disciplined police officer, she would follow the Police Commissioner’s directions regarding respect for all and sundry in the fulfillment of her constitutional obligations.
Jane-Frances Obi, one of the spouses of the officers elevated to the level of CSP, stated that being the wife of a police officer was not an easy assignment. As a result, she recommended any lady who is married to a police officer to be patient and understanding because the job is quite demanding.
Jane-Frances Obi, whose husband is Innocent Obi, the officer in charge of the Legal Department at Zone 13 Ukpo, believes the promotion is a reward for years of being patient, understanding, and standing in for them when they are not present.
Meanwhile, Emenike Chinenyenwa, who was decorated with the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and presented a vote of appreciation, expressed deep gratitude to the IGP and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission for considering them worthy of being adorned in their new ranks.
ACP Emenike, the officer in charge of Medicals, stated that the elevation comes with increased responsibility and that they will work harder in their new tasks.
CP Aderemi Adeoye praised the current promotion winners in his remarks, noting that two aspects make the police career very interesting and eventful. He stated that one is for promotion and the other is for positions.
CP Adeoye, on the other hand, urged the newly honored officers to develop more empathy, compassion, care, and dedication in the performance of their jobs.
The police chief insisted that newly promoted officers must first recognise that they share the same humanity as others, and as a result, they must treat all people with dignity and protect their fundamental human rights at all times.
CP Aderemi Adeoye stressed that without the enormous roles of spouses, they wouldn’t have been successful in their careers. He therefore congratulated all the promoted and prayed that God gives them good health to enjoy the new ranks and the energy to discharge the responsibilities of their new offices.
- Source: Independent
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