El-Rufai and the Easter holiday controversy

While reactions continue to trail the decision of the Kaduna state government to regulate religious preaching in the state, the governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is now involved in another religion controversy. Why? They say he's trying to deny Christians in public schools the privilege of having a long Easter break like they always get. Now they are convinced he has a vendetta against Christians in the state.

As usual, let us ignore the noise and look at the facts of the matter. What is the true story? Let's go.

Students in Nigeria's public schools usually spend 12 weeks in school for the second term of the school year, usually between January and March ending of every year. Now this year, schools were supposed to resume on January 4. However, some states (and some federal schools) did not resume on that date due to logistics (as an example, read this and this). Kaduna public schools resumed on January 18, partly due to the state government introducing free feeding and school uniforms for all students of the state public schools. The government wanted to make sure the program was rolled out in all public schools at the same time.

Normally, the Easter celebrations usually fall during the second term holiday. So while there are national holidays for Good Friday and Easter Monday for everyone, public school students are usually at home during this period for the school break anyway. However, because Kaduna schools only resumed on January 18, and the school has to spend 12 weeks for the school term, the government says the second term will finish in April as the school calendar will not be altered (see the Governor's facebook post here). Therefore, Easter celebrations will not coincide with school holidays. Of course, the students will still get the Good Friday and Easter Monday holidays but they will have to resume school immediately after to continue their education in line with the school calendar. To every rational person, this is totally sensible and appropriate.

But these days, many Christians have lost their rationality on the altar of religion. Some say the state should cut the second term to just 10 weeks and add the remaining two weeks to the third term. Some don't even care - they just want the second term to end before Easter. They say failure to do this means the State Governor hates Christians and wants to use this to punish them or send them away from the state. They say he has ulterior motives. Blah blah blah.

So people, I ask you, is this not madness? What are we turning Christianity into? Are we losing our minds now? Some people actually want to sacrifice their children's education just because they want them to enjoy a long Easter break.

The most annoying thing is that during school holidays, parents still try to organize holiday coaching classes for their children. Some don't even like seeing their children at home during the day, partly because of the stress and also the additional costs. Don't forget that Kaduna public schools students eat free meals in school o. What sort of people are we?

Which brings me to what I have been saying for some time now: we need to drastically reduce the role of religion in formal engagements. I don't need further evidence that religion in official state matters has done more harm than good to us as a people and as a nation. In any case, it is completely ridiculous that we have to suppress education because of religious prejudice. 

But this is Nigeria. When religion talks, common sense takes flight.

Kaduna religion law and the typical Nigerian reaction

So Kaduna state is planning a law that seeks to regulate how religious preaching (both Islamic and Christian) is done on the streets of Kaduna, both in terms of content and noise level. Kaduna is of course a state with a long history of religious clashes. The bill is still with the state House of Assembly for consideration.

As expected, religious bodies are not happy and are planning a showdown with the government.

Look, I know people are naturally not happy, especially since we have elevated religion over common sense. I am aware that some messages are being circulated among Men of God to instigate public retribution on the state government. But instead of threatening violence and death on the state Governor (as at least one Pastor has done, stupidly), there are move civil ways of doing it.

One, religious bodies should use their influence to lobby the Kaduna State house of assembly not to pass the law, or at least have sections they’re not happy with expunged from the bill. The Lawmakers are Muslims and Christians and I am sure will be willing to hear everyone's opinion. They can also be made to hold public hearings on this.

The second option, if the bill is eventually passed in a form the religious organizations are not happy with, is  to approach the court of law to contest the law.

These are some of the options available in a democracy, and the ways things are done in any sane society. Our religious leaders should not descend so low as to instigate violence against a government or pray for calamity on a Governor because of a law that actually has a lot of merits, if you try to see things beyond your ultra-religious prism. But Nigeria, like I always say, is not governed by the Bible or the Quran. Religion should not be used as an excuse to promote unlawful behavior.

Sanusi and his young bride

As usual, people miss the point about the Emir of Kano marrying an 18-year old chick.

 

Under Nigerian laws, an 18-year old is an adult and can definitely make his/her own choices, including getting married.

But that's where the validity ends. I don't support the Emir marrying such a young lady and I have two reasons:

 

1. For a region that is already bedeviled with the problem of girl-brides, seeing another young girl getting married early (even if 18) does nothing to assuage the problem. And this is reported to be the second 18-year old to be married by Emir Sanusi, also his fourth wife.

 

2. The lady just finished secondary school. The North is known for low level of education, both girls and boys. The very few ones that manage to finish primary school hardly go to secondary school. The stats are even more grim for the girls - less than two-thirds of those who enroll complete primary school and even fewer girls finish secondary school (See this). I also understand that less than 10% of those that finish secondary school go to university as most are married off early. There have been campaigns by NGOs to get more northern girls into University. It's been a rather difficult campaign but the groups have been forging ahead, even in the face of little cooperation from Northern leaders. Now the present Emir of Kano, who is arguably the most educated and widely traveled Emir in history, has married another young high school grad. Any decision to further her education now depends entirely on her husband. Even if the Emir allows her to go to the university from his house, it's beside the point - the fact is that it does not encourage other girls to attend University before they get married. This is rather unfortunate and is morally wrong of the Emir Sanusi, as in my view part of his role as Emir is to tackle the problems of the North which are both many and well-documented.

 

Some people have defended the Emir and his babe. Fine. We can't all agree and of course like I said the Emir has not committed any sin, whether to the Quran (I assume) or the Nigerian Constitution. But most of the problems of the North cannot be tackled by either the Quran or the Constitution anyway. It requires people who identify the problems and are committed to solving them. Those using examples of the US and issues of fornication are either being willfully ignorant or being clever by half. I know I will not be encouraging my daughter to get married at 18 and before she goes to the university, even though the final decision rests totally on her.

Akunyili, Buhari, the returned £12,000 - Why the Boss must show the way

This is the story on Late Dora Akunyili, Muhammadu Buhari, integrity and why it’s important to have a head that has a very public stance against corruption. It’s a popular story, but I have refrained from talking about it because there was no evidence. Until now.

 
Dora Akunyili was the Zonal Secretary of Petroleum Special Trust Fund (P.T.F.), co-ordinating all projects in the five South Eastern States of Nigeria (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States) between 1997-2000 under Muhamamdu Buhari who was the Chairman of the PTF. The PTF was created by Sani Abacha to use the income from increase in fuel prices to carry out developmental projects across the country.

That is not the  story.

Sometime around 1998/9, Dora Akunyili was very sick.  She needed to go abroad for treatment for cancer treatment and applied to the PTF for funds, being her employer. The Chairman, Muhammadu Buhari, approved the sum of £17,100 made up of £5,100 for diagnostic tests and £12,000 for surgery and hospitalization. However, after the diagnostic test and therapy, the doctors determined she no longer needed the surgery.

In a rare show of integrity, Dora Akunyili returned the £12,000 meant for surgery to the PTF and wrote a letter to Buhari to thank him for giving approval. Buhari minuted on the letter thus:

“See above report from PTF Zonal Secretary Zone 1. You see there are still Nigerians will personal integrity. Please take action in line with PTF Financial Regulation”. I’ve attached the letter (courtesy of Tolu Ogunlesi, ace journalist).

I don’t know how true, but rumor has it that when Obasanjo wanted a Director General for NAFDAC and someone mentioned Dora Akunyili, Muhammadu heard about it and called Obasanjo to vouch for her, given the above story. Obasanjo is one of the rare believers in the integrity of Buhari (see what he wrote about Buhari in his new book, My Watch) and appointed Dora Akunyili to head NAFDAC.

What lesson is there for us?

There are no guarantees Dora Akunyili would have returned the money if she didn’t have a no-nonsense man like Buhari as Chairman, but my opinion is that she would have done the same. However it helps when everyone knows the boss is someone of high personal integrity and will not take any bullshit. When Dora Akunyili took over at NAFDAC, she worked with some people she met on ground and a few new hands she brought it. But they all worked together to clean up the mess at NAFDAC. We all know the story of NAFDAC under her. It took only one person, the head, for every other person to sit up and act properly.

How is this related to Nigeria? I am a firm believer in the school of thought that reckons that corruption is Nigeria’s biggest problem. Under this government, corruption has assumed an alarming rate and everything is free for all. We need a leader that not only has a track record of zero tolerance for corruption, but whom everyone fears and knows will do all within his power to punish corrupt people. There is probably worse corruption in China or US than Nigeria, yet there is development there. Why? Simple. Everyone knows he will get the maximum punishment if/when caught.

 I believe if this is done, everything else will fall into place. 

I'm voting Akinwunmi Ambode as Lagos Governor

I will be voting Akinwunmi Ambode as Governor of Lagos state.

Why?

He's got an excellent record in the Civil Service, rising from a Junior Officer to become Accountant General of Lagos and the Auditor General of Local Governments. Those heights are not attained by politics.

Why not Jimi Agbaje?

Beyond his very good mannerisms and lucid English, the man has got no substance. He doesn't say how he plans to do anything. His private sector experience is also rather watery. I still don't know what he brings to the table. His supporters I've interacted with have not made a valid case for him either.

Why the choice of Ambode is a no-brainer

With the dwindling income from oil, Nigeria needs to look at other means of income. Lagos has been at the forefront of generating its own income and depending less on oil. We cannot afford to have Jimi Agbaje become Governor at a time like this. Ambode's experience of working in Lagos under Tinubu, when Obasanjo withheld the state's allocation forcing Lagos gov't to look for other revenue streams, is very critical at this point. I'm a pragmatist.

Looking at Okonjo-Iweala's 40 million car owners claim

I wrote this article for The Scoop and it was published on November 5, 2014. See here


So this morning I read a statement credited to the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that 40 million Nigerians are now comfortable enough to have cars due to ‘concrete steps’ taken by the government. She was speaking in Abuja at the Presidential Public Affairs Forum organized by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe.


You see, it’s the norm for government officials to throw around barely plausible figures so long as they are not challenged by citizens. The Nigerian government has perfected this act – the more scary the figure is, the more comfortable the government is to use it. I was a little idle this morning so I thought to test the accuracy of this figure before it becomes another ‘notorious fact’ (word credit: Pastor Wendell Simlin, a.k.a Reno Omokri).


I googled “Nigeria population by age” and got this Nigeria age structure on indexmundi.com (link here http://www.indexmundi.com/nigeria/age_structure.html).
According to the site’s 2014 estimate, Nigeria’s population is divided into the following age brackets: 

Age distribution	Male	Female	Total
0-14	39,151,304	37,353,737	76,505,041
15-24	17,486,117	16,732,533	34,218,650
25-54	27,697,644	26,285,816	53,983,460
55-64	3,393,631	3,571,301	6,964,932
>65	2,621,845	2,861,826	5,483,671
	90,350,541	86,805,213	177,155,754

 

I made a little guess on what percentage of each age category is comfortable enough to own a car (strictly my own rude, unscientific guess) and got these results:

 

Age distribution	Total	% car ownership	Number
0-14	76,505,041	0%	-
15-24	34,218,650	10%	3,421,865
25-54	53,983,460	30%	16,195,038
55-64	6,964,932	30%	2,089,480
>65	5,483,671	20%	1,096,734
	177,155,754		22,803,117

Let’s say 25 million, and I have tried to look at the best case scenario based on what I believe is the condition in Lagos. I expect other states to have worse car ownership figures. 


I have no doubt in my mind that the 40 million figure given by the honourable minister is a very wild guesstimate. As I pointed out before, this is no scientific work, and is therefore open to corrections and better insights. But we need to start asking questions of public officials who are becoming too comfortable making rather wild claims, especially since mainstream journalists do not seem to realize it is their duty to so do. 


Questions will be asked as to whether car ownership should form the basis of gauging improvement in economic situation, but I suppose that is neither here nor there. I remember former President Obasanjo saying  the manner Nigerians lavished money on owambe (parties) and used bottled water was an indication that Nigerians could pay more for fuel. Personally, I think more Nigerians now have cars compared to a few years ago, but I do not think it is due to any ‘concrete steps’ taken by the government. I don’t even know why the minister wants to take credit for more Nigerians buying more of Tokunbo cars anyway.

How we all have contributed to the failure of leadership in Nigeria

I wrote this article for The Scoop and it was published on September 17, 2014. You can find the link here

The first time I heard the word ‘nascent’ was sometime in 2000. The then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, had been accused of forging his age and certificates (due to his zeal to serve his country, he claimed), leading to his unceremonious ouster. As I watched the news, I saw as politicians took turn to provide explanations for the show of shame but one phrase was repeated several times: Nigeria’s nascent democracy. It became the most commonly used phrase whenever there was a mess in the polity as politicians readily pointed to it to explain their irrational behaviour, as if it was some sort of uncontrollable demon. Whether it was lawmakers throwing chairs at one another, the legislature and the executive getting involved in unnecessary public spats, politicians stealing public fund or downright rigging of elections, they had the same excuse.  When Lucky Igbinedion was presented for re-election as Edo State Governor in 2003, his dad was quoted as saying: “the first term was for learning. A child who failed an exam is entitled to a resit”. Yeah, classic case of our nascent democracy in action. It was the most abused word in Nigerian politics. 

Fast forward to 2014, and there are still excuses for the nonsense being dished out to Nigerians as governance. The only difference between what we used to have back then and now is that, while excuses used to be provided by politicians to explain their misgovernance, these days Nigerians do the job for them. My social media interaction has exposed me to the degree young Nigerians are willing to go to provide rationale for politicians’ failings, however ridiculous such rationale is. And that is the crux of this piece.

We have continually set the bar so low that politicians now know they only have to do the barest minimum (which they hardly do anyway, but that’s another matter entirely). It is particularly sad to see young Nigerians, who work in organisations where they are required to produce world class results, make excuses for elected public officials. So when you point out the fact that Stella Oduah bought two cars for N255 million, her supporters are quick to say she did well in her airport remodeling projects hence should be spared any enquiry. When you raise the issue of the plethora of corruption exposé involving this government, some of them traced to Aso Rock, his supporters say he should be praised for allowing the information get to the public in the first place. When you cry out about the annual flooding of Lagos during the rainy season without the government being able to find a lasting solution, government apologists say the issue is not peculiar to Lagos. None of the high profile criminals who got subsidy funds without lifting a litre of oil has been successfully prosecuted and jailed, but government apologists say the law should be allowed to take its (snail-speed) course. Presidential aides tell lies and make obscene terrorist allegations against private citizens but are not relieved of their jobs. The alleged sponsor of Boko Haram is a member of the ruling PDP and was recently seen with the President in full glare of the public. A serial pedophile is a member of the main opposition party. The Federal Minister who arranged a botched recruitment exercise that directly led to the deaths of at least 18 Nigerians was not reprimanded – he is still a serving minister. A former governor convicted and jailed by the UK Courts for stealing public funds in Nigeria got a presidential pardon by the Nigerian government and was part of the recent National Conference to discuss the future of Nigeria. A former public officer who was jailed for embezzling funds belonging to the Nigerian Ports Authority is an ever-present in our President’s political tours. The other day, I saw a Facebook advert suggesting ‘Honorable’ Ikuforiji might be interested in becoming Governor of Lagos. Farouk Lawan, he of the Cap Banking project, is still an honorable member of the House of Representatives, making laws for Nigerians. One cannot complain about all these anomalies without their supporters providing excuses of places where things are supposedly worse. The most depressing part of it is that these excuses are provided by Nigerian youths.

I will never understand why anyone would provide excuses for government failings, except when it is his/her job to do so. Nigerian politicians are some of the best (read: highest) paid in the world and like I have always argued on social media platforms, they must be subject to the highest possible standard of governance. A lot of Nigerians think it is foolhardy to expect Nigerian politicians to perform as well as their counterparts in more developed democracies. I do not understand. If I am subject to the same standard as fellow accountants in the US, I expect my President to be subject to the same standard as the US President. If a governor promised to build 50 schools during his election campaign but managed to build only 49, he has failed. Our grossly overpaid leaders have been getting away with murder, literarily, and we need to collectively put a stop to this.

The President (like his predecessors, it has to be said) has promised multiple dates for Nigerians to enjoy the long overdue stable electricity, none of which has been met. We need to let him know he’s run out of excuses. I hardly read motivational books but one of the best I’ve read is titled The Enemy Called Average, by John Mason. That is the problem confronting Nigerian youths now. We seem to have been programmed to accept mediocrity as a norm. Individually, we believe we can be better people but we don’t think we should expect our leaders to be better than they are. People have hailed the remodeling being done at the various airports but let’s face it – it’s nonsense. The MMA roofs are still leaking. I use the recently renovated Benin Airport a lot and I always have to fetch my checked-in luggage almost on the tarmac as there is no baggage carousel. We need to urgently do away with this mediocre mentality.

Next time you want to provide excuses for any public official (keyword is ‘any’, not just the President or your favorite Governor), pause and consider this scenario: You are the owner of a Company. You recently fired your underperforming Managing Director and appointed another one. You provide him with all the best working tools and a very generous remuneration, above the industry average. If he fails to meet the most basic target you both agreed prior to engaging him, will you provide him with excuses for his failure or give him a tongue-lashing and ask him to ensure he gets the job done, failing which he will get fired?

Whatever your answer is, that is what we need to start doing to our overfed politicians.