Clay Richie

Your Excellency, After the signing of the Appropriation Act on 12th June 2017, the Nigerian Health Sector Reform Coalition conducted an analysis of the Federal Government’s resource allocation to the entire health sector – including the Federal Ministry of Health. As such, it is our urgent appeal that Your Excellency increases the upcoming 2018 health budget to at least 7.5% of the national budget. This is in line with the Abuja Declaration by African Heads of States that committed 15% of the annual country budget for health. Also, we respectfully request that Your Excellency implements the 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) towards the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) as provided for in the National Health Act 2014. As a coalition of Civil Society Organisations, we are committed to supporting the Federal Government by tracking the funds to the health sector to ensure that the budgeted funds provide appropriate health services to Nigerians.

Back in the Athenian garden where the tradition of public debate was first documented in antiquity, the danger had long been recognized. Logicians call it red herring.

The major outcome of the last meeting of the monetary policy committee of the Central Bank was a warning. The bank’s governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, warned that the economy was headed for a protracted recession unless what he described as “bold monetary and fiscal policies” are taken as a matter of urgency to sustain the economic recovery momentum. This means in clear words that even a fragile economic recovery expected this year now stands a big risk of being scuttled.

That most Nigerians are ever so judgmental when it comes to discussing the ‘other’ person is reflected in the fact that there is hardly any compassion or restraint in the interventions they provide, particularly in the public space. You need only to see the way Nigerians tear one another to shreds on the internet to understand the level of intolerance in the country though it may be necessary to rehash the creative threads in an imaginary Facebook conversation between an American and a Nigerian whcih I once used on this page to drive home my point:

To say this country has remained a theater of absurdities is an understatement of the fact. How else can you explain that the two topmost government officials managing our oil sector could not get themselves to agree exactly on what it costs the country to produce one barrel of crude oil?

In March 2000, when Paul Kagame became president after the resignation of Pasteur Bizimunga and subsequently contested and won election in August 2003, the feeling around was cynicism. There were more predictions of his failure than success but with his third term victory as president in this year’s August election, Rwanda under his leadership is regarded as a model for economic growth with him as the unreserved frontier of African leadership. According to The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economy has grown at 8 percent over the last five years. An achievement attributed to Kagame’s sterling competence driven by hope and vision for country. Many economists have termed the economic growth model of Rwanda as the “Rwanda Miracle.”

If you did not watch the farce between Senator Isa Misau (APC Bauchi Central) and Moshood Jimoh, the Nigerian Police spokesman, yesterday on Channels TV, you missed a lot. Farcical, not because the anchor did a shoddy job, but because one could see most of the things wrong with our police in Nigeria. It also affirmed what some of us have always thought, the police as presently constituted cannot work for Nigeria.

I have followed with keen interest the controversy over the announcement of cut-off marks for Nigeria’s admission processes for the 2017/2018 session, with many commentators and the general public insisting that it is unwise, insensitive and retrogressive, to reduce the cut off mark for admissions into our tertiary institutions: 120 for universities, 100 for polytechnics and monotechnics, and a tentative 110 for Innovative Enterprise Institutions (IEIs). Whereas the complaint has been that there is a dumbing down and lowering of standards, which is of course an obvious reaction, I argue that there is need for a better understanding of the context in which the decision was taken in the hope that this would shed some light on this controversial matter.

The controversies, excitement, concerns, hopefulness and crises which have followed the activities of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, Nnamdi Kanu, continue to grow.

After 38 years of an authoritative presidency, the Angolan strong man, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos (74), has just abdicated power having appointed a successor, former Defense Minister, Joao Lourenco, one whose loyalty to both the ruling MPLA Party and the retiring old leader is never in any doubt.

The Nigerian ruling class has forgotten its memory. The suggestion in some quarters that those seeking elective and appointed office should be subjected to psychiatric evaluation may be right after all. I firmly subscribe to that school of thought. As a result of the ruling class' pathetic memory lapse deficiency and status arrogance, they've ascribed a similar fate to the long suffering Nigerians, the endless victims of their brain calcifications.

People who know that presidential spokesman Malam Garba Shehu was my undergraduate journalism teacher never fail to email, call, or text me each time his media interventions on behalf of the president ignite a PR storm—such as now. I guess it’s because I’ve stated many times here that he was my most influential journalism teacher.

Really, I’m not sure why most Nigerians decide to concentrate energy on a man who is in a pickle. I can only think of one thing: human psyche.

The most evil document in circulation in the world today, I am told, is the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (amended or not). It is such a bad document that it is only fit for the refuse dump. I am further told that all the problems and troubles with Nigeria can be traced to this vile document which has destroyed the hopes and aspirations of millions of Nigerians. It is such a useless and worthless document that until it is shredded, burnt and its ashes thrown into the sea, Nigeria will never make progress. I am made to understand that the 1999 constitution was written by the military and is, thus, to be disdained and avoided like a plague.

The ill-thought-out remarks by Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, to the effect that rodents had damaged the President’s office, forcing him to work from home should not come as a surprise to discerning Nigerians and neither should we blame Mr Shehu for the infantile lie.

The role of the military in a democracy has always been an issue right from the days of Plato, 2500 years ago. The recent pronouncement by Nigeria’s military that it would monitor anti-government comments on social media gives cause for concern and reminds one of Plato’s argument in theRepublic.

Mockery, criticism and ridicule have assailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s “comeback” speech. While very few of the criticisms I have read have a verisimilitude of objectivity most of them are oblique in intent and purpose.

Fellow Nigerians, congratulations on the arrival of our dear President Muhammadu Buhari from a prolonged medical vacation. Let’s all raise our voices and thank God for performing what the President himself described as a miracle. “I’ve never been this sick,” the President had repeatedly told well-wishers. Before his sudden departure from Abuja House, the official residence of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, events were getting rough and embarrassing as some aggrieved Nigerians had started making a willow cabin at his gate, raking and ranting about the President’s decision to seek medical succour abroad while the state of healthcare back home remains pitiably scandalous.

The Trump presidency is a case study in bad and grossly incompetent leadership. The man is simply temperamentally and mentally incompetent to lead a great and powerful nation like America. All he is telling America is to trust him, but how do you trust a weather cock and a pathological liar who can change his mind at any time and reverse himself without any acknowledgment or apology?

If the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, is offering advice on what President Muhammadu Buhari must do to rescue his government, then the President should know he has work to do. The governor, who came to office over six years ago on the ticket of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, has since switched parties. He is currently the official clown of the All Progressives Congress. And with months of unpaid salaries and pensions, and state monuments bearing his family name, there’s enough wreckage to show for his status.

On the 19th of August 2017, the Nigerian Police Force Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Moshood Jimoh was on Channels television (Sunrise programme) dispelling the notion that corruption within the Police Force is not institutional while reacting to the National Corruption Report (by the National Bureau of Statistics). Mr Jimoh said “there are one or two instances where probably Police officers may have been found wanting in this regard”, that is, in corruption related incidence. Mr Jimoh’s view has no empirical foundation in comparison to a validated report which labelled the Nigerian Police Force as a corrupt institution. In fact, I need no empirical study to label the Nigerian Police Force as a corrupt institution. From a sample of every ten (10) Policemen, six (6) are corrupt and I do not need any empirical study to validate that. As a result of these indicators – empirical, public perception and personal experience, I disagree with Mr Jimoh that corruption within the Police F

The announcement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, that rodents invaded President Buhari’s office while he was away in the UK for treatment thus necessitating a renovation even as Buhari works from home gives one serious cause for concern if there is not a devious agenda to keep shaming, ridiculing, and embarrassing Nigeria by Shehu and certain individuals in the presidency all in the seeming bid to protect Buhari’s interest at all costs even if by hook or crook.

Two days before the return of his boss, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made an important statement to which the government should do a quick follow-up. He told a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) that the government would treat hate speech as terrorism. The line has been drawn on hate speech, he said.

It is gladsome that President Muhammadu Buhari is back, looking recovered and strong. Every Nigerian, I mean every well-meaning Nigerian, is happy to see him return alive. His long absence from the scene, expectedly, had created shades of opinions, legal, moral and subjective pontifications in public discourse. The fact remains, however, that nobody ever wished the President dead. Contrary to diverse fabrications and lies being spread on the social media and which are being ascribed to persons in the opposition camp, there’s no iota of truth in the unfounded stories that anyone wished the President dead. Those asking to know the true state of the President’s health made a legitimate demand which didn’t translate to wishing him dead.

“What’s that sound I am hearing?” “What sound?” “I thought I heard something like miaow, miaow…” “Oh my cats…oh yes…”

After more than 100 days away from the country, President Muhammadu Buhari returned last Saturday to a tumultuous welcome. It was an indication that he still commands the popular appeal that brought him to power despite the glaring failings of his administration. But his address to the nation on Monday fell far short of expectations. First, he started with a wrong salutation. ‘My dear citizens’ does not convey the fact that we (the president and the rest of us) are equal stakeholders in Nigeria. In case he has forgotten, Nigerians are not to him what Britons are to the Queen of England where he has put up residency in recent weeks.

Ever since I concluded that Brian Acton and Jan Koum who started WhatsApp in 2009 could not have imagined how some Nigerians would use it, I paid little attention to most messages on the platform. If you are not being added to groups without your consent, folks will be asking you to send particular messages to others for their own kind of blessings.

I grew up in the home of a nomadic civil servant. Today, my father will be on his way to Delta state for supervision. Tomorrow, he is on his way to Jos for coordination. One thing was clear in all those journeys: he was always travelling so he could meet our needs, and seek a better life for the family he led.

A recent article by Fredrick Nwabufo on President Muhammadu Buhari which appeared on theCable.ng online news portal was an interesting read. Nwabufo’s central thesis in the piece was that Buhari has been demystified.

Over the weekend, the Senate and Mr. Osinbajo, in his Acting President capacity, had a running battle over the National Pension Commission (PenCom). A bystander would reasonably wonder what the issue was. The truth is that in the last six months or so, PenCom has become a fierce battleground for the Vice President, Mr. Osinbajo.

Reading through the presidential broadcast, however, one cannot but express a sense of utter disappointment. This is a president who virtually sneaked out of Nigeria, who breached his own self-declaration of transparency, by keeping Nigerians in the dark for over 100 days, and in that process grinding the wheel of progress of the nation.

"Responsible, grown-up men waiting at the airport since morning just to wave. What did they tell their wives and children were their itinerary for today?"—Elvis Boniface.

“Baba don come oh. Baba o yo yo, Baba Bubu o yo yo” “What is that?” “Eh, o yo yo” “If you are this excited about President Buhari’s return, then why didn’t you go to Abuja to welcome him when he arrived from England on Saturday.”

At a meeting with media houses on August 10, 2017 in Lagos, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) communicated new rules for radio and TV broadcasters. The NBC says the new rules are meant to curb “hate speech”. The rules include the following provisions:

In spite of the failing campaign promises, after over 50% into the administration and 104 days in London on a medication vacation for an undisclosed illness, Muhammadu Buhari, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, returned to the country where he has been since 7th May 2017, to a rosy reception.

Established democracies around the world are such because their laws develop with societal change. Every time a significant change occurs, it places a burden of responsibility on the legislature where it has not been proactive…Alas! Laws emerge as societies evolve. History has never failed in passing knowledge when it is sought; however failure to seek leaves a society impoverished….our fate as Nigerians seems to reflect our lack of pro-activeness in matters befitting patriotic and progressive mind-set.

1) A public health disaster in Kogi state this past week claimed scores of lives. My own Yagba land was seriously affected. The illness even seemed to zoom in on Hausa-Fulani settlers and I thanked God quietly that such a strange outbreak happened in Yagba land where, as I have written before, we are largely unaffected by the usual suspects that Nigerians mobilize to hate and kill each other. In more volatile parts of the country, a scenario in which a disease “mysteriously” targets almost only one ethnic group in a multi-ethnic setting would have eventuated in dangerous and invidious mythmaking, leading to hate and killing. There would have been a consensus that it is not ordinary eyes. Some other ethnic or religious group would have been responsible.

Here’s a very important issue President Mohammadu Buhari should address as he settles into his job: hate speeches. The president shouldn’t dismiss them as mere bigoted ranting. Hate speech, as we have seen in history, is often a precursor to mass violence.

I distilled the title of this article from, ‘Return of the Mack’, a song done and released in 1996 by Mark Morrison, a British singer. The song was a meteoric hit. It was Morrison’s comeback song, and his biggest hit to date.

What is this thing about Silicon Valley big boys and surprises? So much that the recent visits of 2 of its most respected CEOs to Nigeria, were reported as surprise visits.

It is all too easy to look at the United States and be led to suppose that it is impervious to internal divisions because it prefixes the adjective “united” to its name.

If you believe in the evolution theory, you are most likely to believe that the loud calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to “return or resign” happened just like that. You would believe the campaign was a naturally occurring phenomenon generated from a single “cell” of discontent before acquiring a life of its own. But if you believe in creationism and intelligent design, you would believe the campaign was carefully put together, well funded and well executed to achieve other purposes than publicly stated. You would argue that the campaign is by no means an accident. As the Igbo would say, when you see an antelope dancing by the roadside, the drummer is somewhere in the bush.

The forces behind currency markets and what makes them tick is always an interesting topic, especially when you talk about the Nigerian naira. The strength of a country’s currency is often in direct proportion to their fiscal health and political stability, and this can clearly be seen when you look at the Nigerian economy.

Yes, I’ve been to London to see the King. The Lion King. But unlike the pussycat in the nursery rhyme, I didn’t frighten any mouse under the chair.

Fellow Nigerians, let me do a recap of my last column for the benefit of those who might have missed that important forecast of who and what may determine our next President. I will try to predict the principles that would guide how people are likely to vote in that election. Some names have surfaced as potential aspirants and candidates for this all important election that will likely determine what lessons we have learnt and what the medium term future portends for our great country.

Sadly, it isn’t the so called “marginalisation” that may lead to another civil war in Nigeria. It is IGNORANCE. The weapon of FEAR is being deployed across the Nigerian space.

If I refuse to listen to the voice of fear, Would the voice of courage whisper in my ear? – Jana Stanfield, Brave Faith.

I see that the PDP has a new spring in its steps nowadays. After the victory of the viable faction of the party at the Supreme Court and their just concluded non-elective party convention, they are not sparing any expense to let everybody see that they’re flying high. But it would be the height of self-deceit if they think they can make any meaningful headway with the huge cracks within the party still showing. It’s not about making up with some phantom partymen and women whose agenda is pointblank destruction of the party, it’s simply showing purpose and going on to achieve it, irrespective of the few trying to pull the party down. So, to me, internal party unity is not their biggest challenge; their biggest challenge is the attitude of the new and successive leadership and the general membership of the party.

It is longer news that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, has been suspended from the activities of the EGMONT Group of Financial Intelligence Units, and has been disconnected from the Egmont Secure Website, a platform used for the exchange of information by members.

At last, former President Goodluck Jonathan appears to have found his mojo. In recent speech after speech, he’s been taking the fight to the doorstep of the ruling All Progressives Congress and causing quite a stir.