The Presidency has clarified the issue surrounding the proposed monthly N5,000 Conditional Cash Transfer of the Buhari Social Investment programmes for the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians, saying that there are no online applications required. In a statement today, Thursday, Senior Special Assistant on Media in the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, described the social media report on the issue as misleading. The said that media reports are based on a recent debate and resolution on a motion in the Senate, titled: “The Need to Avoid the Mismanagement of the N500B Social Intervention Funds.” Akande said: “while we understand the need for an ongoing public discussion of this unprecedented budgetary allocation in favor of the Nigerian people especially the poorest and the most vulnerable, it is not correct to claim any form of mismanagement or marginalization whatsoever.” “There has not been any disbursement from the allocated fund not to talk of any kind of mismanagement at all. While it is true that funds are being released for the social investment programmes, it is rather preposterous for now to say there is no evidence where the funds have gone to. As an administration noted for its transparency, we intend to fully keep Nigerians posted of all financial expenditure in line with extant laws of the country.” The Presidential Spokesperson explained that of the series of social investment programmes we have outlined, only the job creation scheme-N-Power requires an online registration from unemployed graduates and non-graduate youths. He said that the Conditional Cash Transfer, which would pay N5000 monthly to the most vulnerable and the poorest Nigerians-a total of one million in the first year-“no online registration of any kind is required. Akande justified the requirement for online registration for the hiring of 500,000 unemployed graduates, adding: “it is important to explain, again, for the benefit of clarity, that the requirement for online application for the N-Power job scheme makes absolute sense considering that all together the Federal Government is planning to hire half a million unemployed Nigerian graduates. “We are all witnesses to the calamity that occurred in the past when a manual effort was made to hire large number of Nigerian youths. It led to needless deaths and outright chaos. “Asking university graduates, for instance, to apply online is not such a cumbersome or unattainable requirement considering that JAMB, NECO, WAEC applications have all been done online for a while now in this country. “What online applications do is to afford us as a government an efficient and effective means to process the applications and select the graduates and non-graduate youths for the N-Power job and training programmes.” On the claim that Borno State has no online facility and that therefore, the N-Power process discriminates against people in the state for whom the programmes are designed, Akande said: “almost 15,000 Nigerians from Borno State applied in the first application series of N-Power schemes online. “It is also not tenable to argue that people in Maiduguri for instance which today plays hosts to tonnes of international NGOs cannot apply online or are denied internet access.” He said that in states like Enugu, there were over 20,000 applications online for N-Power, disclosing that states with the lowest numbers like Zamfara and Bayelsa had over 6,000 and 7,000 applications respectively. “In any case we are aware that in several parts of the country, there are reported instances where local leaders of goodwill ensured that the people-unemployed graduates and youths – who did not readily have access to the internet were adequately taken care of in different ways including creating online registration points and outlets.” He said that the selection process for the first batch of 200,000 Nigerians to be engaged in the N-Power process has now been completed and that their official engagement is now awaiting the completion of BVN verification so that they would be paid directly. On how the selection was done, Akande said; “Presidency officials collaborated actively with the Ministries of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Health and other government agencies all through the process. There were no foreign consultants involved, nor is one needed.” He further explained that to make up the selection of the first 200,000, there were three criteria thus: 40% selected based on the number of applications per state, a special mark-up for the 6 states of the Northeast and a discretionary addition for states with low numbers of applicants.” [myad]
A 175-member continental organization, the African Civil Society on the Information Society (ACSIS) has elected the Lead Strategist, DigitalSENSE Africa Media group, Mr. Remmy Nweke, as its Vice President for the next four years. This is coming as another Nigerian, Mr. Akinremi Peter Taiwo emerged the West Africa sub-regional coordinator for ACSIS, alongside eight others to be led by Senegalese, Dr. Cisse Kane as President till 2020. Others are Adjidjatou Barry Baud (Guinea) who was elected Treasurer; Tijani Mahamat Adoum (Chad) – Coordinator Central Africa; Evelyn Namara (Uganda) – Coordinator Eastern Africa; Christminfa Gbenou Sagbohan (Benin) – Coordinator African Diaspora; Aicha Jeridi (Tunisia) – Coordinator Northern Africa; and Chenai Chair (Zimbabwe) – Coordinator Southern Africa. The chairperson of the ACSIS Electoral Committee, and former President of ACSIS, Nana Delphine Mekounte, commended the sincerity of purpose, patience and cooperation throughout the electoral process which lasted for three days online to enable members across the African continent to exercise their civic rights. “Thank you for your choice of leaders for the next 4 years, this is a citizen’s duty,” she declared, even as he asked any member who is in doubt to revisit the online ballot link earlier shared with members to see for themselves records of the exercise. She said that 175 voters were registered for the 2016 election, while the actual number of vote cast was 78, which amounts to 45 per cent participation. Nana Delphine noted that earlier, majority of voters had agreed that the single candidate positions should not be placed in competition, which the Electoral Committee endorsed. This, she said, left the Committee to place in contest the post of the Vice President and Treasurers, which had two and three candidates respectively. She said that for the post of Vice President, were Mr. Remmy Nweke and Mr. Michel Tchonang Linze, whereas the Treasurer position had Ms. Addjidja Tou Barry Baud, Mr. Ade Bada and Ms Sende Dora. Eventually, she said, Nweke, was elected with the total of 49 votes against 25 votes garnered by Michel, just as Addjidja got 45 votes to emerge Treasurer. At present, Remmy Nweke as the Lead Strategist cum Group Executive Editor, coordinates the information analytics at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, the organisers of the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum Series on Internet Governance for Development (NDSF-IG4D) and Nigeria Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6) Roundtable since 2011 and publishers of international multiple award-winning ITRealms, NaijaAgroNet and DigitalSENSE Business News. The pioneer secretary, Lagos branch of the Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), Nweke, lately, served as Executive Board member of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) where he presided over the Communications and Publicity Committee as well as a member of the Local Multi-stakeholders Advisory Group (LMAG) of the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF); Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) – the social arm of the Catholic Church; and associate member, Nigeria Red Cross. Nweke, a former Publicity Secretary, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) and outreach sub-committee member of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), holds MA degree in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta and is a graduate of Advanced Journalism with over 19-year experience in media practice and online information management certifications from across the world. Remmy Nweke is the author of ‘A Decade of ICT Reportage in Nigeria … The Award-winning Series” and public speaker on new media, web 2.0+ and cyber information advisory to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) interest groups and companies, is also a member of Non Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) of ICANN and as a member, Civil Society Selection Committee for the High-level meeting on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10) he affiliates with the African Civil Society on the Information Society (ACSIS) serving in various committees. He was recently named the chairman, Communication and Advocacy Committee (CAC) of IPv6 Council, Nigeria, among others. Africa Civil Society for the Information Society (ACSIS) was formed in June 2003, on the heels of the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva to promote inclusive information society in Africa. [myad]
The Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) of the African Union Commission and the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) based in Vienna, Austria, have planned the second Interfaith Dialogue to promote peace inter-religious peace in Africa. The Dialogue, scheduled to hold in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from November 10 to 11, is also aimed at enhancing social cohesion on the African continent.
According to a statement by KAICIID, the Forum will, among other things, enhance partnerships between the African Union and religious leaders in AU Member States, enable the creation of a safe space for dialogue, add an interfaith dimension to the joint efforts towards achieving the Africa Agenda 2063 which is an AUC’s flagship initiative and serve as both a working meeting and an opportunity to set up a united front in peace building. The event, the statement said, will provide an opportunity for participants, drawn from national interreligious councils of AU Member States, including African traditional religions and other affiliations, representatives of interfaith organizations, scholars and women, to repudiate violence committed in the name of religion in all regions of Africa, with a declaration of an unequivocal statement in support of diversity, featuring new and diverse voices in a follow-up declaration to the Abuja Declaration of 2010; and oversee the establishment of a permanent Steering Committee, which will link policy makers with religious leaders and institutions. It said that in a bid to evolve a structured partnership between the African Union and religious leaders for advancing justice, peace, security and development in Africa, “the African Union in partnership with African religious leaders had launched the 1st AU-Interfaith Dialogue Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, in June 2010 to develop an inclusive, practical and sustainable working relationship between the African Union and faith-based organizations capitalizing on their shared values and mutual interests.” [myad]
The governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, has insisted on the termination of the appointment of 5,000 secondary school teachers who he said were hurriedly recruited by his predecessor, Godswill Akpabio.
Governor Udom said that the teachers’ recruitment, hurriedly done in the last days of the previous administration of Godswill Akpabio, was faulty.
“Even the bible says if the foundation is not right, what can the righteous man do?” a Government House statement quoted Governor Udom as telling journalists when he arrived at the Akwa Ibom International Airport.
“We have tried to see how we could get something out of that recruitment process, but believe me, the foundation was very faulty.”
Udom stressed that there was a syndicate which had given out fake appointment letters to thousands of unqualified applicants, adding that the exercise led to the cancelation of the recruitment.
The statement said the governor warned that the administration wasn’t ready to bow to sentiments, and that he would ensure that the right decisions were made in the interest of the Akwa Ibom people.
“If we are putting people to teach our children, please let us leave sentiments apart and go for the right people,” the governor said. “We need to make sure they went through the right process and have the right qualifications.
“We are assuring the 5000 people that they need not worry, when we are calling for aptitude test, you need not re-apply, just walk into the venue of the exercise with that appointment letter and justify that you are qualified to teach our children.”
“The cancellation was first announced few days ago by the Head of Civil Service in the state, Ekereobong Akpan, before the latest remark by the governor.
“It is obviously an unexpected blow to the “unemployed” teachers who for about two years now have been putting pressure on the governmentto assign them to public secondary schools across the state.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer and human rights activist from the state, Inibehe Effiong has criticized the action of the state government, describing it as illegal and insensitive.
“The current government should note that the moment the teachers accepted the offer(s) of employment, a contract of employment (with statutory flavour) was created with terms and conditions, including the manner of disengagement, clearly regulated by statute,” Mr. Effiong said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The law is firmly established that contracts of employment with statutory flavour cannot be terminated arbitrarily without strict compliance with the relevant statute, rules and regulations governing the contract.
“Supposing without conceding that the government has the right in law to terminate the contract because of alleged irregularities in the recruitment exercise, the manner in which it was done renders the purported cancellation unconstitutional owing to the failure of the government to accord the affected persons fair hearing as mandatorily required by Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).” [myad]
There are only a handful of days until Election Day and an end to this phase of a nation’s — and the world’s — ebb and flow of anxiety. The day after the votes are cast and counted that anxiety will either dissipate or become a fixed feature. Which of these it will be is very much in flux.
While Hillary Clinton still maintains a lead in the polls and a built-in advantage on the electoral map, recent polls suggest that Donald Trump is closing the gap. There are now plausible — however improbable — electoral map routes to victory for him.
I leave it to others to make predictions about how all this will play out, but I feel that I must say again, and until the last minute and with my last breath: America, are you (expletive) kidding?!
I simply cannot wrap my head around how others with level heads and sound minds can even consider Trump for president of this country and leader of the free world. The logic simply escapes me.
I try to view it through the lens of economic anxiety, diminished economic mobility and global pressure. It all seems understandable, but then I’m reminded of Donald Trump, a billionaire whose businesses have on more than one occasion gone bankrupt, who staffed contractors, who outsources the making of many of his products and who brags about not paying federal income taxes. All of which brings me back to: Are you kidding me?
I try to view it through a purely ideological lens in which people simply tend to vote for the party nominee. It makes sense, but then I’m reminded of Donald Trump, a man who isn’t really an ideologue but a demagogue interested only in self-aggrandizement. And again I return to: You’re kidding, right?
I think of the family values voters on the right with whom I’ve become acquainted over the years. Although I might have vigorously disagreed with their positions and their inherent myopic anachronism, at least I could say that they were as principled in their adherence to their positions as I was in opposition to them. But then, again, I hit Donald Trump, who is dragging traditional conservative paternalism into the muck of perversion, who brags about sexually assaulting women, who makes fun of the disabled, who savors a lust for vengeance, who says he has never needed to seek forgiveness, even from God. Again, are you kidding?
I try to think of it from a strict constitutionalist’s perspective, to understand how strongly they want the vacancy on the Supreme Court to be filled by a constitutional purist. But then I think of Trump, whose Muslim ban would fly in the face of the Constitution, whose threats to the press strike me as constitutionally hostile, whose advancement of torture would seem to me constitutionally questionable (to say nothing of its legality in the face of international norms and treaties). Are you kidding, America?
I try to think of it in terms of weariness with Washington and with D.C. insiders, the Clintons in particular, and dynastic democracy in general. I try to think of the intense Clinton distrust and even hatred that exists in some quarters, sentiments only exacerbated by things like this never-ending email saga. But then I hit Donald Trump, a real estate scion who has been sued nearly 1,500 times and is currently being sued for Trump University deceptions and the rape of a 13-year-old girl. You have got to be kidding.
There is no way to make this make sense. Believe me, I’ve tried.
Donald Trump is a bigot.
Donald Trump is a demagogue.
Donald Trump is a sexist, misogynist, chauvinist pig.
Donald Trump is a bully.
Donald Trump is a cheat.
Donald Trump is a pathological liar.
Donald Trump is a nativist.
Donald Trump’s campaign has proved too attractive to anti-Semites, Nazis and white nationalists, and on some level the campaign seems to be tacitly courting that constituency.
Donald Trump — judging by his own words on that disgusting tape and if you believe the dozen-plus women who have come forward to accuse him of some form of sexual assault or unwanted sexual advance — is an unrepentant predator.
To put it more succinctly, Donald Trump is a lowlife degenerate with the temperament of a 10-year-old and the moral compass of a severely wayward teen.
There is no way to make a vote for him feel like an act of principle or responsibility. You can’t make it right. You can’t say yes to Trump and yes to common decency. Those two things do not together abide.
If you are voting for Trump, you are voting for coarseness, corruption and moral corrosion. Period. And if you are not actively voting against him, you are abetting his attempt to hijack American greatness and sink it with his egotism.
On Election Day, America faces a choice, and it’s not a tough one, but a stark one. It is the difference between tolerance and intolerance. It is the difference between respect and disrespect. It is the difference between a politician with some flaws and a flaw threatening our politics.
Donald Trump is America’s existential threat. On Tuesday, America has an opportunity to defend itself. [myad]
Sometime ago — I don’t know the exact date and time — the Nigerian political elite (some call it “elites”, but I’m more comfortable using the good old “elite”) held a two-day convention at an undisclosed location. After intense discussion, negotiation and feasting, they adopted a two-word vision statement: “Destroy Nigeria”. To actualise the vision, they also wrote a short mission statement: “To use our positions as elected or appointed political leaders to mismanage Nigeria, take excessive care of our personal needs, appropriate all possible resources to ourselves, cronies and associates, and ultimately under-develop Nigeria”.
The blueprint was developed. Committees were set up to implement the plan, in conjunction with the elite in public and private sectors. People were given specific tasks and assignments: you, go and destroy Kogi state; you, go and ruin the ministry of petroleum resources; you, go and make sure there is no electricity; you, go and derail the railway; you, go and make Customs a cesspool of decay; you, go and ensure that students are taught Chemistry without chemicals; you, let the roads be eternally unmotorable; you, go and work with the private sector elite to take out as much money as possible to buy property in Dubai, London, Monaco and New York.
The political elite also agreed to work as one, no matter party affiliation, ethnic origin, and religious beliefs. It was agreed that irrespective of the posting and position — federal, state, council, zone, ministry, agency, department, commission — the most important task is personal accumulation of wealth. Award contracts that are not meant to be executed. Start projects that are intended to be abandoned somewhere along the line. Inflate contracts, pay “mobilisation”, take the money and run. Finally, it was agreed that the political elite are one family, one fraternity: any insider who tries to spill the beans should be crushed. Injury to one family member is injury to all.
After the backslapping and glass-clinking, they brought the convention to a close and set out to work. From time to time, they do peer review. One will say ‘I now fly chattered jets across the country’. The other will say ‘I’m buying a private jet next week’. This one will say ‘my daughter’s wedding is holding in Paris’. That one will say ‘my birthday is in Venice’. Have you paid workers’ salaries? No, I owe five months, but my people understand that federal allocation has fallen. I’m travelling to China for one month with a 100-man delegation to go and woo foreign investors. I’m building an airport — to finance my re-election or retirement.
The sophisticated members of the political elite class are more creative, with the help of their friends in the private sector. They take 20-year bonds for ‘infrastructure’ and put their people in bondage, while the real infrastructure is the stomach or campaign finance. They concession public assets — and the concessionaire is their front. So they sit down to work out the inflated cost of the project, rig the cost recovery period (10 years can become 40 years after a bottle of cognac), and if anything goes wrong, they waste state resources to “buy out” the concessionaire — meaning a project that cost N5 billion can be bought back by the government for N80 billion. Conspiracy.
Meanwhile, the political elite also implement a well-perfected plan to keep the people busy: they play up ethnic differences, stoke regional and religious emotions, and create platforms and groups to promote or counter agitations. The people on the streets, largely unaware of the elite conspiracy, eagerly jump on the train, insulting and yelling at one another in the belief that one religion or one ethnic group or one geo-political zone is their enemy. The elite create narratives that becloud the fact that mismanagement is in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, the fact that incompetence is in every council and state. They just tell the naive people what they love to hear.
The hapless people are hungry and angry and will fall for anything. They are unaware that right on their streets, the elite conspiracy is being implemented through muddy roads, gaping potholes, clogged drains and marauding muggers. Politics is coloured as black and white to the gullible masses. They think that one party is good and another is bad, that one ethnic group is full of morons while their own is filled with geniuses. The plot of the political elite is to make sure the people never get to speak with one voice to confront them — and this is working just fine. If only the people knew of the conspiracy, they would stone these overfed politicians first, and ask questions later.
You are asking me: was there really a meeting where the political elite agreed to destroy Nigeria? Well, well, well… let us put it this way: it doesn’t matter if there was actually a ‘conspiracy convention’. The politicians do not have to meet physically to draw up a plan to underdevelop Nigeria. It is a mental meeting. Anybody who gets political power knows he is expected to act in a certain way, and he understands quite well that the purpose of the power is not to make life better for the people but to enjoy comfort and accumulate as much wealth as possible. If some development happens along the line, all good. But that was never the intention.
When politicians get power, they understand very well what it means. They don’t need any convention to understand the unwritten rules: somebody nominated or helped you into office, so paying the political IOU must be top priority; you don’t come out of government not owning new mansions or buying an Island, so amassing wealth is another priority; there is another election coming up, so you need to build up funds for that; when you award contracts, the fundamental motive is to stockpile personal wealth, not to improve anything — but if they end up improving healthcare, education, housing and anything at all, smile and claim credit.
I do not have any problem with the political elite — which I would define simply as “those who are privileged to wield any form of political power and influence by appointment, election or association”. Every country has its elite classes — political, economic, traditional, professional, etc. It is part of the societal structure from the foundation of the world. To be a member of the political elite is therefore not a stigma or a sin. If I my fictional Nigerian political elite “convention” created the wrong impression, I do apologise. I repeat: there is nothing wrong with being a member of the political elite. It is a thing to be desired.
However, as with all human formations and classifications, they have different motives and different motivations. There are two basic classifications of the political elite: the Developmental Political Elite (DPE) and the Predatory Political Elite (PPE). There is a fundamental difference. DPEs are developmental in their orientation: they have a ‘vision of society’, a mental picture of how the society should be in terms of political, human and economic development. Development is their core vision. They are no saints and are not beyond seeking personal comfort, but that is a “fringe benefit” rather than the primary objective. They have a passion for development.
PPEs, on the other hand, are innately predatory: they have only a ‘vision of self’. What excites them the most is personal benefit. Development sometimes creeps into the agenda but that is purely an aside. This is the category of political elite that have hijacked Nigeria at national and sub-national levels, perhaps since the Independence era. There have been episodes of hijack by the developmental elite and they made some impact. In the military governments of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, there was a noticeable presence of DPEs. In Obasanjo’s second coming, there were also quite a few of them.
I conclude. By and large, I believe that for Nigeria to progress, the developmental elite must be in control of political power, either as the president or as the president’s core group (“kitchen cabinet”). The Asian Tigers were developed by DPEs. The Chinese DPEs pulled 500 million citizens out of poverty in three decades. DPEs are driven by love for country. They are competent and patriotic — willing and able to nullify the elite conspiracy. They can change the vision from “Destroy Nigeria” to “Develop Nigeria”. If Buhari is ever going to succeed, the right kind of elite must “hijack” his government. His kitchen cabinet must be filled with DPEs. Key.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
INCONCLUSIVE INEC The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made its name as the “inconclusive national electoral commission” — and it added another feather to its cap on Thursday when it recognised Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP governorship candidate for Ondo state. Why did I say so? In Edo state, INEC recognised Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu, the candidate of the Ahmed Makarfi ‘PDP faction’, as the governorship flag bearer. In Ondo, it is recognising the candidate of the Modu Sheriff ‘PDP faction’. That means INEC is inconclusive on what PDP faction to recognise. Not completely out of character, you would say, but intriguing all the same. Fishy.
MAGU MATTER Mr. Ibrahim Magu has been acting as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forever and ever. Why has the senate not confirmed him? How long are we going to wait to have a substantive chairman? There is no doubt that Magu has been working round the clock in the anti-graft war, and if there is any agency President Buhari can be very proud of today, EFCC is it. There are a few things many of us do not agree with concerning EFCC operations — particularly the media trials while someone is still being investigated — but that should not detract from the fact that Magu has been doing a commendable job leading the agency. Puzzling.
CODE OF MISCONDUCT Who still remembers what the senate tried to do to the ICPC Act in 2002? Following a belief that President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to use ICPC against Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, the lawmakers sought to render the agency impotent. The amendment died on arrival. Now, federal lawmakers are trying to bring the code of conduct bureau (CCB) and code of conduct tribunal (CCT) under the control of the national assembly by amending the laws — apparently because they believe the president is using the CCT against Senate President Bukola Saraki. Since the legislature wants executive powers, shouldn’t we just return to the parliamentary system? Absurd.
NO, THANKS That two ambassadorial nominees turned down Buhari is not what surprises me — it is the fact that they were not pre-informed about their nominations in the first place. It was during the military era that this culture of “appointment by NTA network news” started, and I remember two people with similar names once showing up for inauguration under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida government. Although Mrs Pauline Tallen and Dr. Usman Bugaje gave “good” reasons for turning down the nominations, we did not even have to get to that. APC promised us change, but it seems it is more of the same. Maybe it is a Nigerian problem — not that of political parties. Embarrassing.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has made it clear that high electricity bills by distribution companies contravene the laws regulating the sector, even as he advised consumers to reject such high bills.
Acting Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Anthony Akah, who spoke in Abuja when the House of Representatives Committee on Power made its oversight visit to the commission, said that the regulation clearly states that electricity consumers have right to reject high bills if the distribution companies refused to install pre-paid metres for them.
“We also have a regulation that makes it disincentive for the DISCOS not to metre customers. It says clearly that any customer that has no metre has the right to reject the estimated bills if he feels that the bill does not reflect the quantity of power that was sent to him.
“However, he has to pay for the last month he agreed and immediately write to the DISCO and copy our office for them to come and prove why they gave him estimated bill that does not reflect what he consumed.
“The DISCO under that circumstance cannot disconnect them and cannot give them further bills until the issue is resolved.”
Akah also listed some efforts made by the commission to regulate the sector.
The lawmakers drew the attention of the commission to the need to regulate electricity billing system within the confines of existing laws.
“We will always, as representatives of the people, be on the side of the people whether it does not favour the regulator or favour the distribution companies, we will be on the side of the people in such a way that we will be able to explain to our people that power is not a social service, but that it comes with cost, but this cost must be accommodated in the laws of our land,” the Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Daniel Asuquo.”
The lawmakers also visited the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (N-BET), to assess how it is contributing to government’s efforts to stabilise electricity supply in Nigeria.
After listing several interventions of the company to help stabilize electricity supply, the Managing Director of N-Bet, Marilyn Amobi, stated that the Federal Government’s target for 20,000 megawatts of electricity by the year 2020 was not feasible.
“We do not have the capacity, and you have heard that before, there is a lot of what I call talk shows that happen in Nigeria every day. Every day there is one seminar, people brand around all kinds of numbers, the truth is that we don’t have a grid that can take the capacity.
“But more importantly, we need to be able to plan for that level of investment for it to come in, but at this point the answer is there will be no 20,000 megawatts by 2020. There is nothing we can do today to make it happen,” she said.
Nigeria’s dependence on gas and hydro to power the electricity sector has been grossly inadequate, as power continues to fluctuate between 2,000 and 5,000 megawatts in the last one year.
Hence, some experts argue that other sources of energy must be developed to meet the estimated 25,000 megawatts of electricity demand by the over 160 million population.
The Nigerian Union Diaspora (NUD), the umbrella organization for the social, political, and economic empowerment of Nigerians in the United States of America, have endorsed the Presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her Republican opponent Donald J. Trump.
According to the Secretary-General of the union, Dr. SKC Ogbonnia shortly after an emergency meeting held at the union’s headquarters in Houston , TX , on Saturday October 29, Nigerian Union Diaspora broke its long tradition of neutrality for an obvious reason: extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.
“Trump’s litany of heedless specters is profoundly hostile to world peace. Moreover, his cavalier attitude pales in comparison to someone aspiring to lead the free world. With increasing stridency, Donald Trump has repeatedly denigrated and demonized not only immigrants and the womenfolk but also other nations and minorities.
“Unlike Mr. Trump, Secretary Clinton has the ideal temperament, sound judgment, requisite experiences, and exemplary track record with the Nigerian nation. She has also proposed sensible positions on issues pertinent to Nigerians in America , particularly race relations, education, trade, immigration, and religion.
“Accordingly, all Nigerian-Americans are strongly encouraged to cast their vote en masse for Hillary Clinton for president on November 8, 2016. Both voters and nonvoters can also donate to her campaign by visiting https://www.hillaryclinton.com/.
“Members are however free to vote for candidates of their choice in other races based on the prevailing local interests.”
The Nigerian Union Diaspora represents over 2.4 million people of Nigerian descent who contribute more than $132 billion to the US national economy.
The union said that there is much is at stake, adding that the forthcoming election is the most critical in the history of Nigerians in America. [myad]
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved eight new private universities in Nigeria. The new universities are Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos, (owned by Deeper Life Christian Ministry); Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River (owned by Clitter House Nigeria Limited) and Clifford University, Owerrinta, Abia, (owned by Seventh Day Adventist Church).
Others are Coal City University, Enugu, (African Thinkers Community of Inquiry College of Education, Enugu); Crown-Hill University, Eiyenkorin, Kwara (owned by Modern Morgy and Sons Limited) and the Dominican University, Ibadan, (owned by Order of Preachers, Nigerian Dominican Community).
Addressing State House correspondents today, Wednesday on the outcome of the FEC meeting, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Anwuka, said the approval followed a memo submitted by the Federal Ministry of Education.
He said that the council also approved Kola Daisi University, Ibadan, (owned by Kola Daisi Foundation) and Legacy University, Okija in Anambra state, (owned by Good Idea Education Foundation).
He said that the new universities were being licensed for a three years provisional approval and would be mentored by some existing universities across the country.
Anwuka said that the University of Lagos would serve as mentor to Anchor University, Ayobo; Arthur Jarvis, Clifford and Coal City Universities would be mentored by University of Calabar, University of Agriculture, Umudike, Umuahia and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, respectively. The Minister revealed that the University of Ilorin would also serve as mentor to Crown-Hill University in Kwara while Dominican and Kola Daisi Universities in Ibadan would be mentored by the University of Ibadan.
This was even as the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said that the council also ratified the Climate Change Paris Agreement and Agreement against Double Taxation between Nigeria and Kenya.
He said the council approved the revised estimate cost for the completion of the local and International wing of the Port Harcourt International Airport. [myad]
Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed has said that President Muhammadu Buhari would soon return the request by his government to borrow $29.9 billion to the Senate for approval.
The minister, who answered questions from the State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) today, Wednesday, said that the approval was not given by the Senate due to lack of detailed information. He added that the government would provide the necessary information which the senate needed for the approval.
Lai Mohammed said that the disagreement between the legislative and executive arms of government is not unusual, adding that it is in the interest of Nigerians.
“It is not unusual for the government and the Senate to have some disagreements, they want more information. “We will give them all the information they need and we are sure that by the time we finish they (lawmakers) will approve the request.” It will be recalled that the first request of the president to the National Assembly for external borrowing to fund critical infrastructural projects in the country between 2016 to 2018 was turned down by the senate yesterday, Tuesday. [myad]
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The Presidency has clarified the issue surrounding the proposed monthly N5,000 Conditional Cash Transfer of the Buhari Social Investment programmes for the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians, saying that there are no online applications required.
A 175-member continental organization, the African Civil Society on the Information Society (ACSIS) has elected the Lead Strategist, DigitalSENSE Africa Media group, Mr. Remmy Nweke, as its Vice President for the next four years.
The Conspiracy To Destroy Nigeria, By Simon Kolawole
Sometime ago — I don’t know the exact date and time — the Nigerian political elite (some call it “elites”, but I’m more comfortable using the good old “elite”) held a two-day convention at an undisclosed location. After intense discussion, negotiation and feasting, they adopted a two-word vision statement: “Destroy Nigeria”. To actualise the vision, they also wrote a short mission statement: “To use our positions as elected or appointed political leaders to mismanage Nigeria, take excessive care of our personal needs, appropriate all possible resources to ourselves, cronies and associates, and ultimately under-develop Nigeria”.
The blueprint was developed. Committees were set up to implement the plan, in conjunction with the elite in public and private sectors. People were given specific tasks and assignments: you, go and destroy Kogi state; you, go and ruin the ministry of petroleum resources; you, go and make sure there is no electricity; you, go and derail the railway; you, go and make Customs a cesspool of decay; you, go and ensure that students are taught Chemistry without chemicals; you, let the roads be eternally unmotorable; you, go and work with the private sector elite to take out as much money as possible to buy property in Dubai, London, Monaco and New York.
The political elite also agreed to work as one, no matter party affiliation, ethnic origin, and religious beliefs. It was agreed that irrespective of the posting and position — federal, state, council, zone, ministry, agency, department, commission — the most important task is personal accumulation of wealth. Award contracts that are not meant to be executed. Start projects that are intended to be abandoned somewhere along the line. Inflate contracts, pay “mobilisation”, take the money and run. Finally, it was agreed that the political elite are one family, one fraternity: any insider who tries to spill the beans should be crushed. Injury to one family member is injury to all.
After the backslapping and glass-clinking, they brought the convention to a close and set out to work. From time to time, they do peer review. One will say ‘I now fly chattered jets across the country’. The other will say ‘I’m buying a private jet next week’. This one will say ‘my daughter’s wedding is holding in Paris’. That one will say ‘my birthday is in Venice’. Have you paid workers’ salaries? No, I owe five months, but my people understand that federal allocation has fallen. I’m travelling to China for one month with a 100-man delegation to go and woo foreign investors. I’m building an airport — to finance my re-election or retirement.
The sophisticated members of the political elite class are more creative, with the help of their friends in the private sector. They take 20-year bonds for ‘infrastructure’ and put their people in bondage, while the real infrastructure is the stomach or campaign finance. They concession public assets — and the concessionaire is their front. So they sit down to work out the inflated cost of the project, rig the cost recovery period (10 years can become 40 years after a bottle of cognac), and if anything goes wrong, they waste state resources to “buy out” the concessionaire — meaning a project that cost N5 billion can be bought back by the government for N80 billion. Conspiracy.
Meanwhile, the political elite also implement a well-perfected plan to keep the people busy: they play up ethnic differences, stoke regional and religious emotions, and create platforms and groups to promote or counter agitations. The people on the streets, largely unaware of the elite conspiracy, eagerly jump on the train, insulting and yelling at one another in the belief that one religion or one ethnic group or one geo-political zone is their enemy. The elite create narratives that becloud the fact that mismanagement is in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, the fact that incompetence is in every council and state. They just tell the naive people what they love to hear.
The hapless people are hungry and angry and will fall for anything. They are unaware that right on their streets, the elite conspiracy is being implemented through muddy roads, gaping potholes, clogged drains and marauding muggers. Politics is coloured as black and white to the gullible masses. They think that one party is good and another is bad, that one ethnic group is full of morons while their own is filled with geniuses. The plot of the political elite is to make sure the people never get to speak with one voice to confront them — and this is working just fine. If only the people knew of the conspiracy, they would stone these overfed politicians first, and ask questions later.
You are asking me: was there really a meeting where the political elite agreed to destroy Nigeria? Well, well, well… let us put it this way: it doesn’t matter if there was actually a ‘conspiracy convention’. The politicians do not have to meet physically to draw up a plan to underdevelop Nigeria. It is a mental meeting. Anybody who gets political power knows he is expected to act in a certain way, and he understands quite well that the purpose of the power is not to make life better for the people but to enjoy comfort and accumulate as much wealth as possible. If some development happens along the line, all good. But that was never the intention.
When politicians get power, they understand very well what it means. They don’t need any convention to understand the unwritten rules: somebody nominated or helped you into office, so paying the political IOU must be top priority; you don’t come out of government not owning new mansions or buying an Island, so amassing wealth is another priority; there is another election coming up, so you need to build up funds for that; when you award contracts, the fundamental motive is to stockpile personal wealth, not to improve anything — but if they end up improving healthcare, education, housing and anything at all, smile and claim credit.
I do not have any problem with the political elite — which I would define simply as “those who are privileged to wield any form of political power and influence by appointment, election or association”. Every country has its elite classes — political, economic, traditional, professional, etc. It is part of the societal structure from the foundation of the world. To be a member of the political elite is therefore not a stigma or a sin. If I my fictional Nigerian political elite “convention” created the wrong impression, I do apologise. I repeat: there is nothing wrong with being a member of the political elite. It is a thing to be desired.
However, as with all human formations and classifications, they have different motives and different motivations. There are two basic classifications of the political elite: the Developmental Political Elite (DPE) and the Predatory Political Elite (PPE). There is a fundamental difference. DPEs are developmental in their orientation: they have a ‘vision of society’, a mental picture of how the society should be in terms of political, human and economic development. Development is their core vision. They are no saints and are not beyond seeking personal comfort, but that is a “fringe benefit” rather than the primary objective. They have a passion for development.
PPEs, on the other hand, are innately predatory: they have only a ‘vision of self’. What excites them the most is personal benefit. Development sometimes creeps into the agenda but that is purely an aside. This is the category of political elite that have hijacked Nigeria at national and sub-national levels, perhaps since the Independence era. There have been episodes of hijack by the developmental elite and they made some impact. In the military governments of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, there was a noticeable presence of DPEs. In Obasanjo’s second coming, there were also quite a few of them.
I conclude. By and large, I believe that for Nigeria to progress, the developmental elite must be in control of political power, either as the president or as the president’s core group (“kitchen cabinet”). The Asian Tigers were developed by DPEs. The Chinese DPEs pulled 500 million citizens out of poverty in three decades. DPEs are driven by love for country. They are competent and patriotic — willing and able to nullify the elite conspiracy. They can change the vision from “Destroy Nigeria” to “Develop Nigeria”. If Buhari is ever going to succeed, the right kind of elite must “hijack” his government. His kitchen cabinet must be filled with DPEs. Key.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
INCONCLUSIVE INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made its name as the “inconclusive national electoral commission” — and it added another feather to its cap on Thursday when it recognised Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP governorship candidate for Ondo state. Why did I say so? In Edo state, INEC recognised Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu, the candidate of the Ahmed Makarfi ‘PDP faction’, as the governorship flag bearer. In Ondo, it is recognising the candidate of the Modu Sheriff ‘PDP faction’. That means INEC is inconclusive on what PDP faction to recognise. Not completely out of character, you would say, but intriguing all the same. Fishy.
MAGU MATTER
Mr. Ibrahim Magu has been acting as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forever and ever. Why has the senate not confirmed him? How long are we going to wait to have a substantive chairman? There is no doubt that Magu has been working round the clock in the anti-graft war, and if there is any agency President Buhari can be very proud of today, EFCC is it. There are a few things many of us do not agree with concerning EFCC operations — particularly the media trials while someone is still being investigated — but that should not detract from the fact that Magu has been doing a commendable job leading the agency. Puzzling.
CODE OF MISCONDUCT
Who still remembers what the senate tried to do to the ICPC Act in 2002? Following a belief that President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to use ICPC against Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, the lawmakers sought to render the agency impotent. The amendment died on arrival. Now, federal lawmakers are trying to bring the code of conduct bureau (CCB) and code of conduct tribunal (CCT) under the control of the national assembly by amending the laws — apparently because they believe the president is using the CCT against Senate President Bukola Saraki. Since the legislature wants executive powers, shouldn’t we just return to the parliamentary system? Absurd.
NO, THANKS
That two ambassadorial nominees turned down Buhari is not what surprises me — it is the fact that they were not pre-informed about their nominations in the first place. It was during the military era that this culture of “appointment by NTA network news” started, and I remember two people with similar names once showing up for inauguration under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida government. Although Mrs Pauline Tallen and Dr. Usman Bugaje gave “good” reasons for turning down the nominations, we did not even have to get to that. APC promised us change, but it seems it is more of the same. Maybe it is a Nigerian problem — not that of political parties. Embarrassing.
Credit: Simon Kolawole. [myad]