Clay Richie

One of my contentions with the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) administration is the penchant to situate virtually every and all the challenges Nigeria currently faces in the pecuniary. I agree that money is important to driving the policies of governments but Nigeria grapples with a myriad of problems that have nothing to do with the sum of revenue accruing or not accruing  to the government such that even if we had all the money in the world, the country would still be as troubled as today.

In a historic referendum with far-reaching implications beyond her shores, the United Kingdom last Thursday voted to leave the European Union. The decision, in favour of Brexit, came after several weeks of acrimonious campaigns, in the course of which a member of parliament was brutally assassinated. “We should be proud of the fact that in these islands we trust the people for these big decisions”, said the Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, as he fought back tears in the course of his resignation speech last Friday.

Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has a solid claim to the title of politician par excellence of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. In many ways, the man symbolizes the idiosyncrasies, texture and other pathological characteristics of the high-priced, frustrating experiment that goes by the name of democracy in Nigeria.

By now, it should be visible to the blind and audible to the deaf (apologies to Patrick Obahiagbon) within the Buhari administration that corruption does not intend to limit her war against the anti-corruption war to the mere deployment of the enormous resources at its disposal. All the guys in the dock have been stealing massively from Nigeria for a very long time so they have limitless financial resources and they are pumping such massively into a well-honed strategy aimed at delegitimizing the anti-corruption war.

Currently, Nigeria’s economy is faced with venomous challenges- 27 of the 36 states in Nigeria are unable to pay workers’ salaries, the existing infrastructures are swiftly becoming poor while new ones are not in place, power generation has degenerated significantly, the financial system is crumbling, foreign investors are shunning Nigeria’s bonds and stocks, companies are laying off workers in hundreds due to inability to pay salaries, a surge has hit the prices of commodities and the cost of living has doubled, regional security challenges and incessant protests from- Niger Delta Avengers, kidnappers, religious extremists, Biafran Movement, Fulani herdsmen among others threaten Nigeria’s economy.

I am not a conspiracy theory buff, but the more I think about the recent return of militancy in the Delta region with so much vengeance the more I wonder if there isn’t something to the theory of a grand plan somehwere to dismember Nigeria as Africa’s most populous country and its biggest economy.

 A good friend of mine Ugo Chikezie wrote that people who do critical thinking will tell you that the Nigeria we are living in today was actually designed yesterday, therefore if we do not want to live in this kind of Nigeria again tomorrow, we must begin now to plan for tomorrow so that tomorrow will not take us by surprise. What my friend is saying is that the foundation we laid yesterday is what we are reaping today, and we are reaping it bountifully.

Upon his return from a state visit to China a few months ago, song and dance were made of a business scoop, that goes by the name Naira/Yuan swap which the high powered Nigerian entourage, struck with their Chinese counterparts.

 Post-decision dissonance. It is a condition in psychology in which people regret a decision or worry that the decision they took may not be the right one and continue to entertain or express doubt about the decision and to seek validation from people about the rightness of that decision even as the doubt persists.

Thanks to a recent revelation that exposed the two mansions he procured in Dubai while serving as the Director of Procurement at the Defense Headquarters, the character of Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the present Chief of Army Staff of Nigeria, has become fuller and rounder.

Saraki took to Facebook recently to lament that a clique may have hijacked the government of Muhammadu Buhari. Hear him: “What has become clear is that there is now a government within the government of President Buhari that has seized the apparatus of executive powers to pursue a nefarious agenda.” Really? That would be quite interesting if it were true because Saraki does know a thing or two about hijacking. Wasn't it only yesterday that he constituted himself into the arrowhead of the old PDP's G-5 governors that tried to re-hijack Goodluck Jonathan's government from the strangleholds of Super Ministers Alison-Maduekwe and Okonjo-Iweala, failing, which led some of them to form the now-defunct nPDP? Wasn't that action the arterial puncture in the heart of PDP that led directly to the cratering of the party and ultimately the defeat of Jonathan?

Almost all of Nigeria’s many inter-religious crises have erupted in the north of the country, where the majority of the country’s Muslims live, along with a sizeable Christian minority.

Nigerian politics is a study in melodrama.  Our leaders focus on short-term solutions and we, the people, focus on short-term problems. One of such short-term problems is Mr Ayo Fayose. Like Mr Rotimi Amaechi under the Jonathan administration, Fayose has developed a reputation for turning up where there’s trouble brewing and hell waiting to be raised. Still, as a citizen, he has the civic right to insult, criticise or otherwise disapprove of the Federal Government and its policies.

This title is not original to me. It belongs to a former chief of army staff, Salihu Ibrahim, who used the phrase in 1993 at his passing out parade. Over two decades after the general challenged soldiers to remain professional and true to their calling by not operating “mini-armies within the larger Nigerian army” it appears the more things change, the more they remain the same. It is not clear if our officers and men have clearly grasped the fact that a successful army is one that is not only responsible to its commander-in-chief but also the citizens it is supposed to protect.

Everyone knows the document now: the Government’s Sentencing Memorandum in the United States case against former Louisiana congressman William Jefferson of 2007. We know the relevant page, and that one line about a June 2002 “170,000 wire transfer from (an) account in Nigeria in the name of Aisha Buhari to an account in the name of The ANJ Group,” for which Mr. Jefferson was the beneficiary.

Today, the results of the United Kingdom(UK) polls on deciding the fate of its membership in the European Union(EU) which have lasted over four decades, shocked the world. Like every other relationship, there are benefits to gain, pains to suffer and times when the relationship will be reviewed for continuity or divorce depending on which weigh the most; gain or pain.

Emperor Nero’s emergence as Roman Emperor in AD 54 was greeted with wild jubilation and expectation especially among the plebeians, aristocrats and subalterns. Interestingly, he came on the scene at a point the Roman Empire was burdened by gross internal decay and corruption. Regrettably, rather than address the obvious challenges confronting the Roman Empire, Nero pandered to the absurd by trying to hunt down and silence every perceived opposition against his administration.

What has the United Kingdom just done to itself, its people and the future of its youth? It is difficult to fully understand why a country in taking a decision about its future will decide on a false option that seems to negate long-term interests.  And this, just because a total of 17.4 million people out of over 61 million chose to vote against the United Kingdom’s continued membership of the EU. More than 50% of these pro-Brexit voters are actually between the age bracket: 50-70, thus an ageing class of voters has taken a decision to undermine the future of the younger generation. Pro-EU Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “courageous and optimistic” when in January 2014, he tried to justify the need for a referendum.

I will start with a footnote: I believe in one, united Nigeria. Not that I am the best patriot in town, but I just love diversity. I love the Nigerian diversity. I love suya, edikaikong, ofe Owerri and banga. I love it when Onyeka Onwenu sings in Yoruba and Funmi Adams croons in Hausa. I love the Pidgin English woven from virtually every Nigerian tongue. I love it when I’m in church and everybody is singing Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Efik and Urhobo songs with excitement, dancing vigorously, waving handkerchiefs. I feel proud as a Nigerian. I love it when Chiemele marries Ayodeji and Mfon weds Efe. I am delighted when I see Emeka Ike in a Yoruba movie. That’s me.

Fellow Nigerians, the shocking exit of Britain from the European Union has compelled me to choose this important topic today. I had voted on Thursdayin London to keep Britain in the EU but the proponents of Brexit won the day, unfortunately. Prior to that important day in the British calendar, I had listened keenly to both sides of the arguments. There were no doubts that each side had their valid reasons for wanting to stay or jet out of the union. But I was more persuaded that Britain stood to gain more by remaining in a larger clime than being a tiny insignificant island on its own,

Nigerians may never know who this Aisha Buhari, who was mentioned only once in the Virginia Court document that chronicled the trial of William Jefferson, is. This is an indictment on our law enforcement agencies.

The issue, I understand, is the flaunting of religious markers in public educational institutions. Let me begin by confessing that I envy the French to whom those choices have only been recently thrust to the fore – they have always been with us in Nigeria. I also envy those to whom the issues are straightforward, and permit of dogmatic positions. In normal circumstances, perhaps I would agree that it should be a non-issue. It is tempting to simplify the debate by evoking the nature of club membership - a public school has certain rules, and if you wish to be a member, or make use of its facilities, then you must conform to those rules or seek alternatives elsewhere.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is the country we all call our own. Our country comprises of about 250 tribes or ethnic nationalities with the main ones being Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Kanuri, Ijaw, Nupe, Kalabari, Tiv, Ijebu, Igarra, Urhobo, Jukun, Idoma, Ika, Ibibio, Edo etc.

“My brother, I think all the people saying they have not seen any change should by now be convinced that truly, truly, the game has changed.”

This month a year ago, Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu conspired with top clerks of the National Assembly and bastardized the senate rules of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Saraki and Ekweremmadu used the resultant playbook to choreograph their coronation as Deputy Senate President and Senate President respectively. On the first anniversary of that farce, they are parlaying the very powers of the incumbency they procured through forgery to shield themselves from the judicial consequences of their culpability. They are moving to alter the constitution to grant themselves immunity: And they are proposing, for good measure, to gift themselves life pension –a reward for perpetrating the forgery!

I have written before about the profound pain that attaches to the vocation of commenting regularly on Nigeria. I wake up each day hoping, nay praying, that those who occupy the spaces of “leadership” in Nigeria would not sink to new levels of political foolishness. Sadly, all too frequently, one’s prayers are dashed. Nigeria’s leaders possess the genius of inventing new records in irresponsibility, thoughtlessness and craven greed.

When I think about Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, I remember the aphorism that the road to hell is paved with good intensions. In today’s class of 36 governors, it is doubtful that anyone has the progressive and performance pedigree of Aregbesola before attaining their current office. I will explain.

Sometime in 2004, Governor Ayo Fayose was reported by The News magazine to have stolen N1.2 billion from the coffers of Ekiti State government. The brutal killings in the state were also traced to a killer squad funded by the governor. Embarrassed by the publication Mr. Fayose sued the magazine at the high court holden  at Ado Ekiti. Our law firm defended the magazine and pleaded justification. At the trial of the case the allegations in the publication were proved beyond any shadow of doubt. In dismissing the suit the trial judge said that Mr. Fayose had no reputation worthy of protection by any court.

Three honourable members of the House of Representatives are furious at a letter by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, accusing them of sexual misconduct during a trip to the US where they had been invited on an International Visitors Leadership Programme in April.

“Come and join me in singing Halleluyah, Jehovah Jireh has done me well…come and join me in singing Halleluyah, Jehovah Jireh has done me well…”

The EFCC has apparently frozen the Zenith Bank Account of the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose. Since the news broke, debate has raged on whether or not the action is legal, given the provisions of our constitution on immunity for certain persons.

They arrived with a bang and issued threats to just about everyone within their sight – the Federal Government, multinational oil companies, security forces, and even members of civil society who might want to stand in their way toward more violence. Since their arrival, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have radically transformed underground movements and their methods of operation. This is why the area has been typecast as a region of insecurity, instability, and a ready training ground for future militants.

Advocates of restructuring of Nigeria talk of “true federalism” as a panacea for Nigeria’s problems. But that is not true for clear reasons. To start with, every federation develops according to its own historical and political peculiarities. A federation is to be continuously nurtured by way of “ bargaining” and “negotiation” among the constituent parts. So it is utterly unrealistic to prescribe “true federalism” as the solution to Nigeria’s problems. In any case, where on earth is an example of such federalism? In that wise, we should be talking about the evolution of the Nigerian federalism instead of clamouring for a mirage called “true federalism”.

I am a sucker for clarity of thought, and especially conceptual clarity, which has important implications for public policy. Clarity in the way we understand things matters for public policy because the policy space determines our wealth or poverty as a nation. If we understand concepts, issues and challenges clearly and accurately, we are more likely to act in ways that actually address these challenges effectively. Provided, of course, that we have the political will. And provided, in addition, that ideology does not impose blinkers on our ability to think and act on a rational and pragmatic basis. Muddled thinking and hazy understandings, when inflicted on economic policy, can keep a nation poor when it has no business in the poverty leagues.

For those who have followed the controversy concerning the fine slammed on MTN for failing to disconnect unregistered SIM cards by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) very closely, they would most likely have assumed, and rightly so, that the announcement, few weeks back, that the telecoms company and the regulatory agency have reached an agreement after eight months of intense negotiations amidst tensions and suspicions, has finally brought an amicable settlement to the matter.

Upon entering office in May 2015, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari faced the daunting tasks of living up to exceedingly high international expectations and meeting the needs of a nation that was clearly yearning for change. Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to recall an African head of state that came to office with more pressure, but also the amount of goodwill that President Buhari immediately assumed after his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, conceded power. Buhari’s main selling points were his stated commitments to ethical leadership, fairness and a consolidation of democracy. One year into his tenure, however, and it seems as if Buhari has turned his back on these goals.

I am referring to the rising and discriminatory culture of secret recruitment that is going on unabated in federal government agencies.

It is time to call a spade a spade or, in this instance, name the Nigerian media camera a weapon of mass obstruction. What used to be mere occasional infraction, soon corrected, is fast becoming a Bill of Rights – for a minuscule sector of the professional community. We are galloping towards an order of social fascism of which - it must also be stressed - that same society is the prime facilitator of its doom. There are times when tolerance becomes acceptance, then tacit and even overt encouragement. Otherwise, why does it take so long to make the media photographer understand that he or she has no fundamental viewing right that overrides those of the lowest member of any gathering, anywhere and under any circumstance. Let us not beat around the bush – mobsters have taken over community, armed with nothing more lethal than the camera and a monstrous will to capture and monopolize space that belongs to the totality.

If there is any State in Nigeria particularly from 2015-2016 whose stories and episodes have been repeatedly reported for wrong and unpleasant reasons by members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm, it is Kogi State and its political players.

The Nigerians I compare to corporate Directors in our continuing discussion on the Hierarchy of Nigerian Policy are the elected members of government. These are federal legislators, governors and deputies, the vice-president and, of course, the president. These “Directors” can make policy and appoint sub-policymakers without consultation with, or input by the Nigerian masses.

The issue is that while the fact of a president’s travel to a foreign land to seek medical treatment proves nothing but an indictment of the situation back home, a student who seeks knowledge abroad is merely conforming to long-standing, known tradition and culture of knowledge generation and sharing.

Finally, the Nigerian government has practically devalued the naira. Given the nation’s economic and fiscal realities, action in that direction had been expected by many in the past year.  But President Muhammadu Buhari would not hear of it.

In Marianne M Jennings’ book – The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse, she stated stern warnings that CEOs must watch out for to avoid landing in a pit. It applies to leaders in government too. A culture of fear and silence and young guns larger than life around CEOs (read leaders) are critical points that trouble great entities.

The very seminal book ‘The Monetary History of The United States’ by Milton Friedman and Anna Schartz which l read in the course of my academic pursuits, particularly when l was trying to understand the causes and solution to the Great Depression, was too tedious.

There has been no shortage of controversy and hair-raising incidents from the 8thNational Assembly of Nigeria, but nothing breaks the heart more than the name-them-shame-them letter that has been sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives by the US Ambassador in which he accused three Nigerian lawmakers of sexual misconduct during an April 7-13, 2016 participation in the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP).

The naira has just been effectively devalued — so why are some people jubilating? The way economists, financial experts, bankers and analysts were celebrating on Wednesday would make you think crude oil price had just hit $120 per barrel and Nigeria’s production level has risen to 2.5mbpd. But no. The CBN had just told us the exchange rate would no longer be fixed; in fact, there would be no official rate again. It would be determined by market forces. That means the naira could go as high as N350/$1 in the interbank market in the next few days, starting from tomorrow. Can somebody please explain to me why this calls for champagne?

A year after leaving public service as Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala remains the most sought after personality that served under the immediate past administration led by former President Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Fellow Nigerians, please, permit me to invite you on a flight to the United States of America this weekend. You must be wondering what is my own with American elections, I’m sure. Many have asked me to my face if I’m able to vote in America or why am I flexing muscles like a pugilist. Truth is America is the first nation of the world. Love them, loathe them, the Americans know how to mesmerise and hypnotise everyone of us. And they are so good at it.

Africa’s power outage continues to cripple the growth of its economy. Compared to other parts of the world, power generation capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa remains woefully inadequate. While countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and China enjoy 100% access to electricity; we know all too well that in Africa access to electricity varies from non-existent to the often limited. In the so-called global village, too much of Africa remains in the dark. In a world where all aspects of our lives are increasingly driven by the Internet of things, our exclusion from the very power source, is both an embarrassment and a business impediment. The impact on healthcare and education is obvious.

The news in town is that both President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), have in words and in deeds rejected calls for the restructuring of Nigeria. Buhari emphatically declared in interviews to mark his one year in office that he would prefer to see the National Conference report, which comes close to resolving the national question and many of the contentious issues plaguing this land, gather dust in the archives.