In Nigeria; A Failed Leadership and A Grieving Populace

By; Abdul-Rahman Baban Saibo

Prologue (Misfortune);

In a country with vile history especially that ensuing power transitions wherein nothing plays’ more important role than tribalism, we would find that Nigeria, (with all due regards to Chinua Achebe’s authority “There was a country”) has never been a country. Given the residues left upon this nation by the past, and considering the shadows thrown upon it by the future, Nigerians can as much submit to God with faith, as for whether our country ‘might’ come to being a country someday.

To argue a little further, Nigeria would only come to being a country if its existence was fundamentally on certain principles which could be looked upon far beyond the priorities of both religious and socio-ethnic values. Taking project America as a case scenario, we’d see its foundation from 1775-1789 was on the roots of ‘rights’, whilst the re-foundation that started around 1861-1865 which referred to the first foundation with not only reasons but also traditions evoking to the first foundation. Now that’s how a country is made.

Nigeria on the ‘left hand’ would be evidenced that its neo-democratic status came to being a subliminal failure for the reasons that measures like that of project America were not taken, as such no principles were based upon.

A failed leadership:

John Campbell in his book, ‘Nigeria, Dances on the brinks’, argued that, “Nigeria’s experience of regime change has not been happy. From 1966-1999, Nigerian presidential regimes are usually from coups.” He said “The threats of coups or the extralegal arrangements, orchestrated by the military and not from elections.” Now, what history teaches us is, wounds heal, but scars remain, but these scars often triggers somewhat ailing memories when looked upon with unacceptable percept by their bearer.

The Nigerian ideology of power swap is globally recognized as the most catastrophic, this is due to the extreme sentiments that has indelibly settled as a value and objective in (s)electing a leader by the diverse socio-ethnic and religious subjects which converged to making up what is known to be ‘a fallen nation’ (or a fallen house, as Karl Maier suggested).

Looking back through to the pre-tribalism times, we’d see a time whence a northern fulani man, one Mallam Umar Altine, was elected the 1^st mayor of Enugu in the south eastern region of the country. He was again re-elected for a 2^nd term. Quiet regrettable, today no tribe sees any individual from another tribe as ‘its own’.

Captured severally on the media, warlord Dokubo Asari, the Ijaw Militant (or Ex-militant as they may say), declaring war on the nation, if his brethren (president Goodluck) is not re-elected in the year 2015. It’s Pretty unfortunate for a country with so great potentials but weakly imposed laws (if at all they are laws) to continue the rest on threats of war by its citizens.

Assumed office on the 6^th of May 2010, thus preceded to being Nigeria’s 14^th head of state, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan swore to serve Nigeria with his popularly known ‘Transformation Agenda’ (or deformation agenda, pending on the readers grasp). President Jonathan’s assumption of office was indeed in a time Nigeria was in dire need of salvation, not one capable by man, but that which could be offered by God Himself.

The long trending ordeal of the dilating Boko Haram sect which transcended from an issue of clerics to one of terrorism was said to be (still remains) the presidents’ number one challenge. To follow the regrettable and rather unbreakable cause of the seemingly endless deaths of plenty Nigerians is ‘corruption,’ but in the presidents’ opinion of course is third or fourth.

The Transparency International (T.I) rated Nigeria the 33^rd most corrupt nation in the world in the year 2013. The menace which could be traced right from a time whence the country attained independence, is known to have aided in enthroning most head of states as well as governors to power (President Goodluck’s 2011 victory as well). Now the Goodluck’s administration which automatically attained failure due to the excess corruptions taking place such as Stella Odua former minister of Aviation’s scam for the bullet proof cars that cost N 2,550,000 million of the public funds, and Diezani Alison the Petroleum minister whom was allegedly found to spend N10billion also of the public funds on her private jets. Looking also into the case of Sanusi Lamido the former Governor of the central Bank, now the Emir of Kano state (Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II) whom charged in his line of duty the absence of a staggering $20billion U.S. dollars which was supposedly to register with the Central Bank from the NNPC, a rather sad news, the man got an indefinite suspension from office instead of the case to be looked in to. One couldn’t do but stop to wonder as to why none of those whom were caught in corruption scams during the Jonathan’s administration never faced trial or even a parliamentary panel? Or a rather more puzzling question would be, why were those corrupt imprisoned criminals pardoned by the president whom swore to fight corruption? 

The 2015 general election has already flashed twilights of its aura. The President and his cabinets already exercising what they might consider a political schema wherein threats of impeachments are faced by Governors of the opposition parties, and the oppositions are restricted to not exercising their constitutional rights (see Ekiti and Osun states elections).

The Presidents’ raging power tussles against the newly merged opposition party, the All Progressives Congress APC, (which succeeded in claiming 5 governors of the ruling party, a handful of congress men and about twice that of the legislators) defines, in its outstanding glamour, the true meaning of ‘do or die’ struggle. These habitual actions by the President, leaves but the nations’ economy in utter dilapidation and further jeopardizes the state of the nation’s security to unimaginable detriments.

The question now left to be asked upon the masses, is one which surpasses that which the leaders may dwell upon, “whither 2015 elections?”  But rather, “whither lies our country’s future?”

A grieving populace:

It’s been a hundred and fifty days (still counting) since 276 school girls were abducted from Chibok, a locality in Borno state which is known to be under state of emergency. After a global despise of the incidence which took place the night of 14^th April 2014, featuring the famous hash tag campaigns on the social media “#BringBackOurGirls”. The aftermath which led to the President constituting a “Facts finding committee” to investigate the missing girls’ abduction which of course was denied by the first family, unfortunate to the victims (and Nigerians) these fact finders were not able to report their found facts until after the terrorists had released a video footage showing the girls, wherein their leader Shekau, threatened to trade the girls into slavery. I couldn’t do but wonder, how much more time the fact finders needed to assure the presidency about the abduction? Or were they waiting for the terrorists to make the claims of the captivity?

Little to be told, that it was aired when the American, Israeli and united nations sent individual groups of experts to locate the missing girls, albeit no reports were made by these teams of experts about the situation of the missing girls, neither was their departure with the country made public. Perhaps the girls couldn’t be located by these experts, perhaps they were not missing as the Nigerian President and his wife claim, or perhaps the situation was utterly dumbfounding for the experts to make known their discovery? Quiet ironic!

Devastating, as 276 daughters, future wives and mothers, future doctors, nurses, accountants, teachers... remain in the custody of one of the worlds’ deadliest terror groups, and yet nothing but their families grievances prosecuting their heart felt agonies, and not a single of this evil doers is anywhere near justice.

As the Madiba said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Unfortunately, Nigeria on this page has been blind for quite a long distance now. Just yesteryear, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) together with the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) embarked on a six straight months and ten straight months strike, respectively, leaving the country’s educational sector under a total lock down. A country with so great potentials and capacity of becoming a world power but ruled by greed and rudeness, can only be rated out of 177 countries the 158^th least educated nation by the UNICEF. Yours sincerely one couldn’t get rid of their bewilderment, but how can a country dream of achieving a project “vision 2020” when it is but amongst the worlds’ most educationally crippled nations?

The Ebola epidemic has unfortunately arrived at Nigeria. One must wonder as to how a deadly disease with no cure would be contained in a country whose health sector is yet unable to eradicate the common ‘malaria’ disease? Or a rather denser question, when will the resident doctors call off their strike? With remorse one dwells on the wonders of where should the poor take their ill ones when the reach are busy flying theirs’ abroad?

Epilogue (Hopelessness);

For a country with a “green white green” flag, with green representing Agriculture and white representing peace, and a motto entailing “unity, peace and progress”, in my opinion, the Nigeria of today should bear a flag “black red black” as “Black” should represent hunger and treachery whilst “Red” representing death and conflict. For since the beginning of President Goodluck Jonathan’s rule, this nation has seen neither unity nor peace and progress is nowhere near visible.

“There is no one who governed Nigeria, who actually believed in project Nigeria, who actually believed that there is a future for a country called Nigeria”.- Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi. For countrymen to proclaim such and for Gods’ forbiddance it be true, then that country is lost in utter doom and only HE (God) can rescue it.

Victory for Osun people as Aregbesola returns.

By: Abdul-Rahman Baban-Saibo

It had indeed been a marathon and exhaustive struggle and would therefore be unjust for the just mind to keep mute over the challenges encountered all through the quest. Albeit the struggle ended up a success, it was more of a war between Osun-people/APC on one side and the Nigerian-military-and-paramilitary/PDP on the other side. Thanks to the Osun people who stood firm for their right and thus made it a historic and glorious day for democracy.

It was indeed a rather glorious day for the people of Osun state for having their votes counted. Much the same, it was a joyous moment for the campaign team of the Victor and a rather incredible exulting moment for Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. 

I recall watching on NTA nine O`clock news Aregbesola giving his tribute to the people yet complaining over the overly imposed security sent to his state. Yours sincerely could only fathom why a mountain breaking number of men would be sent to a state where not more than 3million people harmoniously reside in the name of security beef up just for a day gubernatorial election. I forgive those who ask the question “why the security men were not in Sambisa to #BringBackOurGirls.

I was not surprised reading about the detainment of the APC Spokesman Alhaji Lai Mohammed for no known reason of course. It puzzles that the only thing the over seventy-thousand security men could do was to kidnap members of the opposition APC. Pardon me; they also connived with some INEC officials to rig the election through ballot box snatching and making trouble at polling stations.

However, the election could be adjudged fair since free is a far lost word to be used in the Nigerian political atmosphere, particularly in contemporary times.

Alas! My kudos and congratulatory message goes to the people of Osun state who, unlike the people of Ekiti state, earned not just my most valued honor and highest respect but also that of other Nigerian democrats. #OsunHaveDecidedAgain

NANS, National Association of Nigerian Students???

By; Abdul-Rahman Baban Saibo

September 11^th 2014, being the date that marked the 27^th annual convention of the National Association of Nigerian Students NANS. The election that brought the 2014/2015 executives into power was said by witnesses of the convention and some of the NANS stakeholders to be not much of an election if at all any election did take place.

NANS is culturally known to have its stakeholders decide as to “what happens when and whom stays where,” in the union. The result which yielded a 40 year old to being the next president of the union is said to under-went the traditional pattern as the following evidences unveils.

Corruption;

December 2013 was the due date which the NANS annual convention was supposed to take place. Of course the stake holders did not decide to that, it was supposed to (as I said), but the approval of it was not made by them. The incumbents nevertheless needed an excuse for not calling for an election as their tenure rang the bell, so they hid beneath the shade of the strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) which were as at that moment ongoing.

After the resolutions to the strikes, the convention was set to take place in the month of March 2014, but yet again the stakeholders were yet to approve of this month, so then NANS President Yinka Gbadebo Ayefele (also a 40 year old man) decided to make the reason for postponement of the election as in regards to the foregoing National conference which lasted for a period of 4 months.

August 14^th was another date for the supposedly convention to take place, but as I heard the Ebola epidemic was the result to which the then postponement of the election was made.

Finally, September 11^th, the arrival date (to the convention ground in Asaba, Delta state). Accreditation of delegates which was supposed to be through the next day, took 4 days to be through with. The convention was brought to an end on the 16^th of the same month, which brings one to dwell on the question of, ‘why would it take about a week for the students’ election to take place when it takes just a day for the nation’s president to get elected?’ The answer to this question of course is one quiet thrilling.

NANS is a union of students which was dissected into 4 distinctive zones, zone ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ with each zone representing the schools from its region. Zone ‘A’ which comprises of the high institutions of the entire North-West, North-central and a portion of the North-East (Bauchi/Gombe only) is said to have owned the flag of contest for the office of president in this last election. The flag of presidency which shifted from the custody of zone ‘D’ (South-West/ a portion of South-South) is expected to move again next year to zone ‘B’ (South-East/ the remaining portion of South-South), and later to zone ‘C’ (the middle belt and the major portion of North-East). Each time a zone owns the flag of the presidency, it’s expected that, that years’ annual convention be hosted by it. The previous convention which brought the outgoing administration to office took place in Akwa Ibom state (South-East, zone ‘B’) instead in any of the states in zone ‘D’. I couldn’t find a worse process that best defies democracy.

The Convention Planning Committee CTC was said to be a team of non-students entirely. The witness which happens to be a serving director of contact and mobilization NANS zone ‘A’ in person of Sulaiman Yashi, told me that the chairman whom headed the CTC, comrade Igwe was a non-student. More of what the director told me is that out of the almost 239 delegates that voted, over 150 were illegitimate (Kangaroos/Torontos) most of whom were not students. “That was not an election” the director said, “they just selected whom they wanted and announced it after the hoax,” I wouldn’t agree less.

The 27^th NANS president elect, Tijjani Usman, is an indigene of Kogi state, having finished his degree studies years back, his eligibility of contest was on a platform of diploma from the University of Ahmadu Bello Zaria. The comrade is known to have served as a deputy coordinator in 2007 and was made acting coordinator later that year after his coordinator Daniel Onje had emerged as the then president. He was a onetime faction senate president under the comrade Yinka Dada (Saddam)’s faction, quiet bewildering as his present predecessor was the Sectary General under the same faction. A perfect scenario to demonstrate nepotism I must say.

Comrade Yinka Gbadebo Ayefele (outgoing president) on the other hand was an expelled student of Ekiti state University, yours sincerely, one couldn’t do but try to fathom, where on earth would a student be expelled for miss conduct and later be made students’ leader of the country if not in Nigeria? The comrade is currently known to be a diploma student of Obafemi Awolawo University. To the best of my knowledge the comrade is running that program just to qualify being in his seat.

Now, I am also itched with the question ‘why the zone ‘A’ convention took place in Delta state (South-South, an axis of zone ‘B’)? And as I strove to find out, I got to learn that the Special Adviser to the President on youth and students’ matters comrade Jude Imagwe is indeed a former NANS faction president in 2010. Comrade Jude Imagwe is also known to be a ‘cabal’ stakeholder in NANS which enabled him to be amongst the monitors of the electioneering processes where he ensured that the next man who’d emerge as president must be someone whom would support and secure the interest of his “Oga at the top”. Jude ensured the incumbency of Tijjani Usman when he chose that the election must be held in Delta state for were held in Zone ‘A’, more legitimate delegates would have surfaced at the convention, and his candidate wouldn’t have made the victory.

Plunder;

However, gravely unfortunate it is for the country whose educational sector was shut down for period of almost ten months just last year. Students of this country perhaps, may have no hope whatsoever attaining a globally accepted educational standard. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) last year, embarked on an indefinite strike for the claims that universities are under funded by the government and as a result, Nigerian graduates are “Half Baked” the union says (I wonder whose fault that is). The demands of the union reflected the agreement which was put to accord by the Federal Government and the ASUU in 2009. Six long months the university students waited, till the ASUU’s demands were reached and yet the students still undergoes the subliminal inadequacies of learning processes they have always been through. One must ask, why the long strikes by the ASUU when they can’t put the money they collected to good use?

The NANS however did their best in despising the situation. The then president Yinka Gbadegbo Ayefele held a series of demonstrations in Abuja. That’s as much as is expected of an organization that has neither a secretariat nor an office from where a petition may be issued against either of the bodies responsible for the students’ time wastage.

Nevertheless, it’s a good thing that the NANS were also qualified to represent the students’ interest in the last National Conference. I recall the disappointment I encountered when I read the names of the NANS delegation representatives, ‘Yinka Gbadegbo, Yinka Dada, Abdullahi Aliyu, Chinonso Obasi, Sylvester Okoh and Clifford Abur.’ All of which only the president was a student (at least for the time being). Followed the conference’s proceedings and to my expectations, the only contributions the students’ representation could make during the conference was collect the handsome allowances given to them. I mean what significance could a bunch of counterfeits bearing a well-respected pseudonym offer more?

It’s the Fifth month since the abduction of over 200 girl students from Borno, Chibok. I remember watching on the news the European Students’ Union (ESU) joining the protests/campaigns to #BringBackOurGirls, (as I noticed, none amongst those in the picture appeared to be above the age of 25). How sad for the Chibok girls to come back home one of these days to learn that their country’s students organization which confines of people some as old as their fathers and school teachers, yet not “giving a damn” about them.

“Nigerian students have lost their integrity.” Ismail Taiwo (a NANS comrade from Oyo state) wrote on his facebook status at the scene of the 2014 national convention. I couldn’t do but agree more with him. Little I can add is but a personal experience. Early March this year, I was in Niger state to witness the zonal convention of zone ‘A’, a rather repulsive scenario I perceived as innocent youth were maltreated and exploited of their wills. I saw students sleeping on plane tar, others drinking water with dry loaves of bread and others waiting (in the cold) for orders from their “leaders” as to whom to support or not to support all in the name of “STRUGGLE”. The convention which took place in Federal University of Technology Minna, was supposed to start in the early hours of the day, quite frankly we were there since morning and to our greatest disappointment the convention did not start until around 2am the next morning, all as a result of long negotiations between the “stake holders” as for “whom fits where” and “which state gets what office”. As one may wonder, where in the world is an election conducted at the hours of 2am? I’ll take the pleasure of telling you, “in NANS.”

NANS is popularly recognized to be an active award giver. They proudly refer to that as “Scope”. Regrettably, a once known respected students’ platform that does but fights for students’ rights and interests is today recognized only as an enterprise that goes round the Nation’s big offices to scuttle for money. “Scope”!

Rot;

During the Zone ‘A’ convention, I and other comrades were standing outside in the cold weather discussing NANS and Nigeria in whole. A fellow comrade from Sokoto state, comrade Brema who was utterly furious with the happenings, said, “NANS is the most corrupt organization in this country”, he added “it is only in NANS that you’d see a 40 year old posing as student to contest for an office.” He concluded that “the day that will change is the day real students will come out to decide for themselves, and if any of those old comrades dared to open their mouths the students should get their canes and give them a hell of a whooping.” I agree with the man.

The Al-Jazeera stream, last week was held in regards to Nigeria’s thirty percent youth political participation campaign “#30%OrNothing”. I watched with remorse for my country as both the correspondents and guests talked enthusiastically about the campaign, for unbeknownst to them 40 year olds are still playing students politics, so which youth are they looking for? Only God can tell.

My question remains, would a 40 year old consider himself a student in a healthy country? As you ruminate to answer that, I must conclude that Nigeria’s sickness does not end at people like Goodluck Jonathan becoming leaders in this country, this clearly says that Nigeria’s hopelessness lies far beyond the realms of the future politics, as the illness curls tenaciously in the hearts of the so-called “leaders of tomorrow”, and the government continues to recognize these National Association of NON Students.