EDITORIAL COMMENTSThe United Nations, UN is 70 and the United Nations at 70 that have served on the UN platform have glasses are clinking. To a large extent been Africans. For many years the venerable we will not begrudge the celebrations. expressed over the global body’s overall perfor- member is an African. Matthieu M’Bow ran UNESCO. Assistant A lot of work has gone into growing mance, the fact that the scepter of World War 3 To therefore exclude such a phenomenal seg- Secretary Generals like Onu, Joseph Garba,and sustaining the global body these many has not been seen yet is indeed a plus in its fa- Raph Uwechue and Ibrahim Gambari haveyears by all measures, and age 70 is indeed a vour. ment from the Security Council is an anathema also served commendably within the body.time of ripeness. that must be presently corrected. And there have also been the accomplished This point made, there is also the long-stand- Secretaries-General, Boutrous Boutrous To properly appreciate the achievement of ing clamour by large segments of the world for It is imperative then that amends should there- Ghali of Egypt and Koi Annan from Ghana.the global body, we need to put in perspec- greater representativeness in the body’s power- fore be made at this most auspicious time. As Only recently also, Nigeria’s current Head oftive the situation of the world at its inception house, the Security Council. And no where is the the Nigerian leader, Murtala Muhammed once Mission, Dr. Joy Ogwu completed her tour ofin 1945. It was the close of the very traumatic lacunae more glaring than in the mother conti- remarked,Africa has indeed come of age. It must duty as Chair of the same Security Council.Second World War and indeed a time of great nent, Africa. get its deserved seats at the UN Security Council And as has been the vogue, she performedsuffering, pain, angst and despondency the today if the world is to truly beat its chest that it incredibly well. This is one more reason whyworld over. To have been established and sur- Of the 192 member-states of the United Na- has indeed been fair to all of its peoples. the world should seriously consider today thevived for seven full decades therefore is no tions today, as many as 54 areAfrican states. This inauguration of African permanent membersmean achievement. conveniently means that one of every four UN This is even more so when it is remembered at the Security Council. that some of the most accomplished leaders And despite the reservations that have beenGAMBARI, TAMBUWAL, KACHIKWU, BELLO FOR THE NEW DIPLOMAT NEW YORK ROUNDTABLE... | Page 6the new www.thediplomatonline.comdiplomatSeptember 2015 Vol. 2 No 7 ...Nigeria’s Global Voice! ISSN 2560-8254CAN SARAKI SURVIVE THE ANTI-GRAFT WAR...?•UK Group: Resign honourably HIGHLIGHT OF SARAKI’S POSITION•Saraki: I’m not guilty ON THE CCT RULING…By Olaolu Oladipo, Lagos assets declaration to the Code •saraki of Conduct Bureau. •readytofacetrialbutbelievesjudiciaryshouldprotectThese are indeed testy hisfundamentalhumanrights. times for Senate Presi- Being the government •faultsprocedureforhisarraignmentbycodeofconduct dent; Dr. Bukola Sara- agency saddled with the task bureau. ki as he is currently of scrutinising assets declared •sayscctsittinghasbeenovertakenbyeventjustasheembroiled in the battle of his by public ofice holders in the faultedthecctfordisregardingfederalHighcourtorder.life owing to the brickbats cur- country, the CCB has beamed •allegesdesperatebidtosettlepoliticalscoreswiththerently ensuing between him its spotlight on Saraki’s depo- travail.and the law arising from his •saysthefederalHighcourtisasuperiorcourtofrecords. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2INSIDE POST 100 DAYS SCORECARD... Furore in States As Governors•sagay 4 Fail Performance AssessmentSagay Opens Up on on- • Only few show signs of strong rating • Why many failedgoing Anti-graft War inNigeria By Austin Osayande, Bureau Chief, Abuja 6•banki-moon •el-rufai(kaDuna) •ayaDe(crossriver) •amboDe(lagos) •ortom(benue) The last round of elec-Periscoping the UN tions were concludedChief’s Visit to Nigeria across the country with brand new 22 gentlemen emerging as chief executives of states in virtually all the regions of the country. Nine others returned as gov- ernors of their respective states in a ierce contest that saw the then dominant party, the Peo- ple’s Democratic Party (PDP) losing grounds to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC). Many of the governors recently rolled out drums to celebrate their irst 100 days in ofice within the current dis- pensation. But how well have they really performed? THE NEW DIPLOMAT went to town and reports:•pocock 7 SOUTH WEST Lagos‘Nigeria Can Become Ambode: Building on Ti-Africa’s Economic Hub,’ nubu and Fashola’s Strides CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 •bello(NIGER) •tambuwal(sokoto) •okowa(Delta) •ugwuanyi(ENUGU)
2 THE NEW DIPLOMAT vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 GlobalNews CAN SARAKI SURVIVE THE ANTI-GRAFT WAR? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 monday. resort “to the same judiciary for pro- judges as deined by the law and that eral, saying, and “this line of legal but at the resumed sitting of the tri- tection when he felt his fundamental they only take oficial oaths, not judi- reasoning, once regularly cited, hassition to it, and as regards his declared bunal the following monday 21 sep- rights are about to be infringed upon.” cial oaths. since been discredited by the supremepersonal possessions prior to the time tember, saraki again failed to appear Court in a number of cases.”he took ofice as the governor of speciically, saraki in the two-page A london based public affairs ana-Kwara state in 2003. before the tribunal despite an arrest statement faulted the manner in which lyst, Cv Akuta minced no words in Another commentator, Idahosa An- warrant issued thus prompting Justice the case was iled, saying he will not calling on saraki to resign his ofice, thony argued that the High Court erred the period in question also takes Umar to again order the IGp to arrest be given justice. saying the call was premised on the in law, arguing that ”the straightinto cognisance, the contents of the the senate president and produce him Commenting on the ruling of the need to preserve the ofice of the sen- forward question is, does the Federaldeposition the Ilorin born politician the following day, tuesday 22nd sep- High Court, saraki wrote that “the ate president High Court have supervisory or powermade to the bureau when he was tember. implication of this ruling by a Court “the ofice of the senate president of appellate review over the decisionelected into the upper legislative of competent jurisdiction is that the of the Code of Conduct tribunal? thechamber four years ago. saraki’s legal team at the tribunal sitting today has been overtaken by is a respected ofice. the senate is an answer by the provisions of the 1999 argued that the 1999 Constitution pro- events. It is for this reason that Dr. hallowed chamber. therefore, in view Constitution is ‘no.’ not satisied with the informa- vided that three of its members should of the bench warrant issued againsttion provided by the medical doctor- sit during proceedings, namely the saraki chose to go about with his nor- the senate president on (18/09/15) by “In other words; the Code of Con-turned politician, the body slammed mal oficial schedules. the Code of Conduct tribunal, based duct tribunal and the Federal Higha 13-count charge bordering on cor- chairman and two members present as “We are however dismayed that the on some criminal charges, the on- Court are of coordinate jurisdiction.ruption and false assets declaration on against two – chairman and one mem- going investigation about the forgery but then, the politics of litigation overhim, a move that has provoked debate ber – which was the case when the trial tribunal chose to disregard the order of of the senate standing order, which and above the legal philosophy of liti-from commentators. resumed. the Federal High Court and the motion gation is often the overriding consider- During the proceedings, while his to suspend hearing till monday when involved him/his ofice, as well as his ation of our time.” the comments generated stemmed counsel were objecting to the sitting of all parties are expected to argue their wife’s case with the economic and Fi-from the failure of the accused to the tribunal, contending that it was in- positions on the constitutional matter. nancial Crimes Commission (eFCC), A former president of the nigeriamake himself available during the competently constituted while another While accusing the tribunal of the most honourable thing for him is to barAssociation (nbA), mr. olisaAg-maiden sitting of the Code of Con- legal team had iled a suit at the Court abusing the rule of law, saraki wrote step aside. this is to enable him have bakoba maintained a contrary stance,duct tribunal (CCt) in Abuja, a ofAppeal for a stay of execution of the that “we want to emphasise the fact ample time to defend himself. No one saying the CCt was wrong to say thatmove considered by the Chairman, arrest warrant. their prayers were up- that this is not part of any war against knows how long these cases would it was a court of equal jurisdiction withJustice Danladi Umar as an affront. held by the appellate court. corruption but using state institutions take before ending, going by nigerian the Federal High Court. the commencement of the trial to ight political opponents and seek- judicial standards. Justice Umar brushed aside the ar- no doubt elicited reactions and com- ing to achieve through the back door “stepping aside is in the national in- “there are two kinds of courts inguments of the defence counsel that ments from virtually all corners of the what some people cannot get through terest. It would save the nation and the nigeria, superior and inferior. All thea subsisting order of a Federal High country with opinions sharply divided the democratic process.’ ofice of the senate president distrac- superior courts are deined in sec-Court urging the CCt to appear be- Another issue canvased by the tions, as his cases are most likely go- tion 6 of the constitution; it does notfore it to show cause why the trial amongst legal practitioners on whether Kwara-born politician was the un- ing to attract a lot of media attention. include the Code of Conduct bureau,should proceed to issue a bench war- saraki and the High Court acted le- availability of a substantive minister His position as the senate president it does not include the national Indus-rant for the arrest of the accused. gally or not. of Justice andAttorney-General of the might likely compromise his cases etc. trial court”, he said. Defending his position, the em- Federation. senate presidency is not a birth right, the pleadings of the lead counsel battled senate president in a statement According to him, “the Code ofto saraki, mr. Joseph Daudu to bring issued on his behalf by his special He also relied on a letter from the rather it is an ofice to serve the people Conduct bureau is not a superior court;his client to the next proceedings fell Adviser on media and publicity, Alh- Chief Justice of nigeria directed to of nigeria.” it is an inferior court and because it ison deaf ears as Justice Umar direct- aji Yusuph olaniyonu maintained that the Chairman of the tribunal last may Akuta faulted saraki’s position that an inferior court, it is amenable to theed the Inspector General of police, though he was ready to submit himself that the judges are not judicial oficers, the tribunal erred in law by arraigning judicial review jurisdiction of a supe-solomon Arase, to arrest saraki and to the due process of the law, he had to are inferior to the regular High Court him without a sitting Attorney-Gen-produce him before the tribunal on CONTINUED ON PAGE 6FromTheEditorialSuite THENEWDIPLOMAT KNOW YOUR EMBASSIES (7)Anti-graftWar…aNationAtIts Chairman: OmaDjebah PHILIPPINESDeiningMoments Editor: OlaoluOladipo Embassy of Philippines, Director, Global Operations: MikeUwechie Danube Street/IBB Way,The much anticipated onslaught on Business Development Mgr: NwosaIfeanyiHamilton Maitama, corruption seems to be revving up Abuja Bureau Chief: AustinOsayande Abuja. in the nation’s political landscape Layout/Graphics: PeterDanjimoh Tel: 09-5237649 with past activities of the Senate Production Officer: TitilayoOlusoga Fax: 09-5237650President Abubakar Bukola Saraki com- Creative Executive: BimboOdusanyaing under scrutiny by the Code of Conduct PORTUGALBureau, CCB. After series of political ger- EDITORS-AT-LARGE Embassy of Portugal,rymandering, he inally had his day at the EUROPE: MarvinIthoken Plot 63, Europe House,tribunal. Usuma Street, USA: AlexKabba Maitama, Abuja. THE NEW DIPLOMAT in this edition ap- •OlaoluOladipo NORTH AMERICA: JaminOwhovoriole Tel: 09-5233787, 5233800praises the possibility of his survival in the Contributing Photographers: UdokaDavid,HenryUniniseeming attempt to drive home the resolve of government UGANDAto go the whole hog in the anti-graft war. In this edition, the EDITORIALADVISORYBOARD Uganda High Commission,performance of newly elected state governors comes under Mr.OmaDjebah(Nigeria); Plot 347, Bamako Street,review with very few making the pass mark. Zone 1, Wuse, Prof.EhieduIweriebor(New York); PM.B. 233, Abuja. Recently appointed chairman of the Presidential Advisory Amb.ElohoOtobo (New York); Tel: 09-5234824-5, 5234829Committee on Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN) spoke Dr.AyoTeriba(Nigeria);to us on the plans of the panel in a no holds-bare interview. BodeOluwafemi(Nigeria) ARGENTINA Embassy of The Argentina Republic, Also in this edition, the global organisation, the United Na- Prof.OnookomeOkome (Canada); 93, Awolowo Road, S.W. Ikoyi,tions marks 70 years of existence and the editorial looks at Dr.OgagaIfowodo (Texas) P.O.Box 51940, Lagos.the milestones as well as the challenges that have dogged its Tel: (01) 682797, 683508,operations since its coming into being. The Secretary-General Prof.DukeOphori (New Jersey); EddyOdivwri(Nigeria); 2690093, 2690117of the organisation, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon was also a guest of the Dr.NkiruBalonwu (California)Federal Government during the month and highlights of the BURKINA FASOvisit inds a generous space. Online Website Content Managed by Embassy of Burkina Fqeo, Sharetray Data Networks Ltd. 15, Norman Williams Street, S.W. Sir Andrew Pocock, the immediate past British High Com- Ikoyi,missioner to Nigeria in an interview expresses the hope that Parent Company: TheNewDiplomatMulti-mediaLtd. P.O.Box 12605, Lagos.the country has what it takes to be the economic hub of the Publication: TheNewDiplomatispublishedbyTheNew Tel: (01) 681001African continent. Fax: 681001 DiplomatMulti-mediaLtd. In our picture gallery page, we serve you pictures of two Design/Repro: AgborisoMediaGroup. CUBAevents that took place during the month for you to savour. An Embassy of The Republic of Cuba,international diplomat, Ambassador Eloho Otobo launched a Legal Adviser: EffySolicitors Plot 935, Idejo Street, Victoriabook on peacebuilding while one of the nation’s most inluen- MediaHouses: (Online) QUICKNEWS-AFRICA, Island,tial dailies, THIS DAY Newspaper clocked 20. P.O.Box 326, Lagos. SAHARA REPORTERS, PREMIUM TIMES, Tel: (01) 2614836 Happy Reading… POINTBLANKNEWS, FRONTIERS NEWS.com, Fax: 2614127,2617036 THE WILL, THE NEW YORKMEDIA PARLEY CENTRE, Olaolu Oladipo Editor THE GLOBAL MEDIA FORUM, THE INTERNET NEWSPAPER. (Print) THE NATION , THE GUARDIAN, THISDAY, LEADERSHIP, VANGUARD, PUNCH, DAILY INDEPENDENT. (Electronics)AIT, CHANNELS, BEN TV, NTA THENEWDIPLOMAT HeadOfice:Suite 74, Dolphin Plaza, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos. AbujaOfice:No 5, House 2, Vanern Crescent, off Euphrates, off Agunyi Ironsi, Maitama Tel: +234-(0) 09095965814, (0)8068928079, (0)7066221737 Email:[email protected] Website: www.thediplomatonline.com
vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 the new diplomat 3 GlobalNewsFURORE IN STATES AS GOVS FAIL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1in lagos •Okorocha(Imo) •Umahi(Ebonyi) •Ajimobi(Oyo) •Amosun(Ogun) the last few months in government •Lalong(Plateau) •Dankwambo(Gombe) •Geidam(Yobe) •Masara(Katsina)for lagos state governor, AkinwunmiAmbode has seen the epe-born civil ment. idence between the two gladiators, Abdu labaran, he said recently that munities and the pastoralists Fulaniservant-turned politician trying very Despites these, the governor has which was immediately resolved. the people of the state had the right to groups.hard to rejig the government machin- know how their commonwealth wasery for effective take off. moved to begin the process of ad- Milestone appropriated in view of the controver- Lowpoints; ministering the state and he has sent • Continuation of policies and pro- sial and opaque manner government • Inability to stem growing insecu- the period has also seen him re- the names of transition committee grammes. business was conducted. rity.view some of the actions taken by his members for the 20 local governmentimmediate predecessor in ofice; mr. areas in the state to the ogun state KADUNA Lowpoints; NIGERbabatunde Fashola, especially in the House of Assembly for screening. El-rufaiandhisbattletore- • oficial distraction. Bello: Building global andareas of appointments and approvals storeKaduna’spristineglory development partnership forgiven for land ownership in the state. low points; Kaduna state Governor, mallam NOrthCENtrAL rapidgrowth • electoral dispute distraction. nasir el-rufai has made urban re- BENUE the governor of niger state has since his coming into power, Am- •Agitation from organized labour newal efforts his cardinal objectives Ortom:Agovernor’smoveto demonstrated considerable leader-bode has also put in place the machin- over wages. since assuming ofice in may. He has clean Benue’s Augean inan- ship since becoming governor onery for reforming the local govern- embarked on series of schemes to re- cialstables may 29, 2015. He became the irstments across the state. NOrthWEst store the lost pristine glory of the state For Governor samuel ortom of opposition politician to rule niger SOKOTO occasioned by non-adherence to town benue state, the major task before state since 1999. born on 17th De- presently, the affairs of the coun- tambuwalincontentionwith planning laws in the state. kick starting the process of gover- cember, 1967, Abubakar, the newcils are being managed by executive nature,education to this end, he has commenced an nance is the need to reorder the i- Face of niger state is the irst sonsecretaries appointed in the twilight of the focus of sokoto state Gover- elaborate measure to secure some of nances of the state occasioned by of Col. sani bello, former militaryFashola’s administration to replace the nor, Hon. Aminu Waziri tambuwal the landed property that had been hi- huge inancial liabilities inherited governor of Kano state, billionaireformer chairmen after the expiration has since assumption of ofice has jacked by those who have encroached from the immediate past government and consumate businessman, whoseof their tenure, pending the conduct of been in the area of education. to on them. He has resorted to demoli- of Governor Gabriel suswam. interest are in several sectors.fresh elections. underscore his commitment, he has tion in many instances to achieve his the bulk of such liabilities are in A governor with unassuming hu- perfected arrangements to criminalise aims. the area of backlog of salary arrears mility, a visionary and smart char- Ambode, at a recent public func- parents’ refusal to send their children el-rufai has even gone further to owed workers in the state. acter, he has started attracting globaltion, had pledged to embark on local to schools in the state. ban hawkers and street urchins popu- to ensure that the issue is put away, investment interest in niger state. Hegovernment reforms with the aim Abill is being drafted to be present- larly known as ‘almaljiri’from prowl- large chunk of the revenue being re- is also the son-in-law of former Headof making the 57 councils more re- ed before the state House of Assem- ing the streets of big cities located ceived by the state government is be- of state, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar.sponsive to the needs of the people. bly and when it is eventually passed within the borders of the state. this ing devoted to the payment of the ar- He served as Commissioner for In-though, a committee that was put in into law, parents who refuse to give has however drawn the ire of stake- rears being owed workers in the state. vestment, Commerce and Co-opera-place has submitted its report, no one their children or wards formal edu- holders in the state who have decided For instance, ortom recently or- tives in the administration of Gover-knows what form or shape the new cation will be committing a criminal to lock horns with him in a way many dered the state Finance Commis- nor babangida Aliyu but resigned inlocal council administrative structure offence. consider as jostling for the soul of the sioner to pay three months, out of the 2010 for what he described as “differ-would take. the governor has even enlisted state. backlog of 65 month salary arrears ent ideas.” the support of several intervention- Milestones; owed staff of the benue state Univer- With focus on Healthcare, educa- milestone: ist agencies such as United nations • Urban renewal efforts. sity science and technical College, tion and Youth empowerment, many • building on tinubu and Fashola’s Children’s Fund (UnICeF) in that • support for education. bsUstC, makurdi. believe that the change will soonstrides regards. Milestone; manifest in niger state. tambuwal has also been involved KATSINA • According premium to payment Milestones; OYO in series of advocacy to sustain the For masari, a government en- of workers’entitlements. • linking up niger with global in- For Ajimobi A second term environment. He has demonstrated grossed with probe of predecessor vestment partners.buggeddownbypaucityofre- his resolve by leading the way in tree there appears to be no love lost be- PLATEAU • Addressing Youth unemploy-sources planting campaigns. tween Governor Aminu bello masari ForLalong,it’salongdrawn ment and job creation. Governor Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi Milestones: and his predecessor, Ibrahim shema. questforpeaceonthePlateaubroke the second term jinx that • strides in education. the build up to the governorship the decision of the simon lalong- NASARAWAplagued past governors in the state • environmental protection. polls was quite acrimonious as both led plateau Government to set up a A state in limbo after pollswhen he was re-election for another the pDp and the ApC squared up for 14-man committee to reconcile the asfearofoppositiontakeoverterm of ofice. A former member of KANO the political space but in the end, the differences of both berom and Fulani loomsthe senate, the Ibadan born politician Ganduje: though with hiccups, ef- latter prevailed. pastoralists towards ensuring lasting Governor tanko al-makura is ahad embarked on series of projects in forts to develop Kano continues since his coming into power, Gov- peace is long overdue owing to the warhorse of many political battles. tohis irst term, a situation that won him prior to his emergence in the last ernor masari had been bogged down orgy of bloodletting that has dotted his credit, he was the only governorhis return to power. polls, Alhaji Umar Abdullahi Gan- by the need to scrutinise the activities the landscape of the state. elected on the platform of the defunct Just like some other state helms- duje was the deputy to rabi’u musa of shema whom he had spared not the peace panel is made up of Congress for progressives Changemen, the twin problem of dwindling Kwakwanso who is now a senator in efforts at labelling as having not done seven members each from the war- (CpC) in 2011.revenue allocation to the state as well the upper legislative chambers. the enough for the state in his eight years ring berom and Fulani communities Formerly a member of the pDp,as the problem of embarking on land- new governor was part and parcel of in ofice. and was in the words of lalong com- he survived many political darts thatmark projects that overstretched the the developmental strides of the past masari has stated his resolve to posed “from each of the groups to were hurled at him by his formerinances of the state. government. probe the administration of shema enable them resolve their differences. party whose members dominated the Lowpoints; It is to his credit that he has contin- if he is not satisied with the explana- In recent times, villages in the state House of Assembly. He is cred- • electoral dispute distraction. ued with the programmes and poli- tions contained in the hand over notes fringes of the state have recorded orgy ited with performance in his irst term • Agitation from organized labour cies of his successor but the initial pe- made available to him. of violence occasioned by skirmishes in ofice but his second coming hasover wages. riod of the regime had been dotted by speaking through his media aide between the farming berom com- Milestone what insiders dubbed as crisis of con- CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 • sustenance of peace in the state. OGUN Despite darts and pot shots,Amosuntrudgeson though ogun state Governor, sen-ator Ibikunle Amosun made it back topower in the last rounds of election,his second coming have been dot-ted with some hiccups but he seemsto know how to navigate through theseries of landmines that have doggedhis paths. perhaps the most nagging of allthe headaches being carried by theAbeokuta-born former legislator is thepetition iled by his challenger in thepeople’s Democratic party (pDp), mr.Gboyega nasir Isiaka. the governor was also pokedby some civil servants in the stateprompting his decision to sack six er-rant workers in the state ministry ofeducation, science and technology,including a secondary school teacher,over an allegedly offensive examina-tion question. the offence of the workers mightnot be unconnected with a compre-hension passage in the english lan-guage examination conducted by theministry for the Uniied examinationin public secondary schools for thethird term of the 2014/2015 academicsession. It was alleged that it was con-sidered too critical of the state govern-
4 the new diplomat vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 DiplomaticPlatformSAGAY: WHY THE WORLD IS EXCITEDABOUT BUHARI’S PRESIDENCY Professor Itsejuwa Esanjumi Sagay, SAN, is a man of many parts. Among other things, he is an eminent lawscholar, author of many classic works in the profession as well as human rights activist of many years standing.Born in Warri to Itsekiri parents, he attended Government College, Ughelli from September 1954 to December1959. After a brief stint as a Customs Clerk, and later as a Programmes Operator with the then Nigeria Broadcast-ing Corporation (N.B.C) in Ikoyi, he obtained admission as part of the very first batch of students into the Facultyof Law of the University of Ife in September, 1962. He enjoys the distinction of being the only Law student from aNigerian University to have obtained an Upper Second Division in 1965. Encouraged by his achievement, he proceeded to the Nigerian Law School for his professional training and wascalled to the Bar in July 1966. Once again, in the 1966 Nigerian Bar Examinations, he won the Willoughby prizefor the best overall performance and the Sweet & Mazwell prize for the best performance in Revenue Law. The then young and budding scholar went into the ivory tower in September, 1966 when he was employed asan Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Ife. The employment provided him an opportunity to un-dertake post graduate studies when he proceeded to Cambridge University. He obtained the ‘LL.B’ (a post-gradu-ate degree now called LL.M) in 1967 and a Ph.D in 1970. He returned to Ife in 1970, where he rose to the position of Professor in 1979, and became acting Dean andlater the substantive Dean of the Faculty of Law in the following years, 1979-80 and 1981-82. When the then mili-tary government of General Yakubu Gowon established the University of Benin in 1970, he was invited to becomeits first substantive Professor and Dean in October 1982, a position which he held until October 1986. Professor Sagay (SAN) who is presently in private legal practice is a leading crusader for the rule of law, humanrights and social justice. He is also the author of numerous journal articles and well-known legal works. He hasalso been involved in civil advocacy to rid the nation of corruption and corrupt practices. He was recently appoint-ed to head the presidential committee on anti-corruption. OLAOLU OLADIPO caught up with him and they talkedon several issues relating to the fight against corruption, the functions of the new committee and the approach be-ing adopted by the group of experts to meet the mandate set for it by the Presidency. He also appraises the Mu-hammadu Buhari- led government. Excerpts:•Sagay
vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 the new diplomat 5 DiplomaticPlatformSAGAY: WHY THE WORLD IS EXCITED ABOUT BUHARI’S PRESIDENCYYour appointment as the chairman of “ The international community is the presidential Committee on anti- very much excited about Nigeria corruption came to many people as a surprise. how did you receive the now. It’s as if Nigeria did not existnews? before. Suddenly, everybody wants to be I was surprised; in the sense that I did not real-ize that my name was within the political circles, associated with the country, globally. Youespecially the presidency. Again, I am not sur-prised in the sense that I have had the passion for could see how excited the president of theighting corruption. I have written, I have spoken,I have cajoled, I have exulted governments to do United States of America was when hethe right thing over time but I didn’t know thatthese activities had been observed at that level, so received Buhari...that was the surprise. in which there will be frivolous applications for made. the reineries which were closed down ment used in developed countries. Of course what have been the reactions from your stay of proceedings. Whether you appeal or not so that rogue importers in collaboration with we need inancial assistance. the country it-friends and associates since the announce- the case continues. We are going to ensure the members of the last government can import self needs a lot of trading partners; investmentsment? enforcement of the provision that when a judge fake fuel and be collecting subsidy have sudden- which I believe are beginning to come. All to- is promoted to a higher court, /she has to con- ly come to life.All our reineries are working to- gether it’s a new beginning or if you like a new they have almost been unanimous in express- clude existing cases before taking up the new day.You can see changes all over the place.Alot dawn for the country. We are not there at all buting pleasure. they have been sending me best roles. of revelations have been made that billions and I can tell you that we are gradually getting there.wishes by congratulating me. people have con- billions of dollars and naira was stolen and there but the rot on the ground is overwhelming. thetinued to say that, this time, the government has From the way you’ve spoken, it seems are prospects that the funds would be recovered. rot is slowly being cleared away and when it isgotten the right person to ight corruption, that your assignment is daunting… the signs have been very encouraging. In effect, cleared, nigeria will be a very attractive coun-I am the right person for the job. the responses the orientation of nigerians is changing with the try for the people, the investors and tourists inhave been very lattery and humbling. (Cuts in)…We are also looking into all cases perceived orientation of the leader, so to deny future. in which judges have given illegal injunc- that fact that the improvements you are seeing in did you get any kind of feelers from the tions against the investigating agencies from the country are directly attributed to him. the pdp, being the opposition party hasgovernment suggesting that the appoint- prosecuting people. All those cases that are on a different perspective from what you havement was in the ofing; were you in anyway standstill will be looked at. We are going to re- But the opposition peoples democratic said about the country under president Bu-approached before government went public view them and reverse them and make sure that party (pdp) has accused the current govern- hari…with the announcement? everyone that has a case to answer would not ment of being too slow in moving the country evade prosecution under any guise. If you are forward… Well! they will say so because they are the Yes! I was asked from the presidency whether innocent, prepare your defence. ones who are liable. they are the culprits, soI was willing to take part in the struggle against not only the pDp, bishop (Hassan mathew) they will do everything to run down the cam-corruption and I said yes. I said that is what I live Flowing from the passion that you have Kukah even went far to suggest that as long as paign against corruption. but in fact they almostfor. shown in this ight, how bad has corruption he (president buhari) pursues corruption, his destroy this country. If the pDp government damaged the country? government is at standstill. Kukah suggested had remained in power for another two years, and you believe you can wage the war un- that he should move on and forget about the nigeria would have become a failed state. theyder this current administration? there is corruption at every level, in every prospect of ighting corruption. the point really may defend themselves but as the facts begin to fabric of our national life. It has permeated is that in administering governance, buhari is come out, they’ll humble and feel ashamed of they (oficials of the current government) are through, almost without any exception. You can doing his work; he is not a member of all these themselves.my kind of people, there is no question about that. put it this way, if you put two or three nigeri- anti-graft agencies. All he has been doing is toIf you look at the president, he represents what I ans together today and give them a project to give direction, so there is no question about the apart from the issue of corruption, whathave always believed. He represents what I have execute and vote money for them to do the job. fact that what we are seeing now is relective of other issue do your consider as another ma-been campaigning about. He is the opposite of the irst thing for them is to share the money the personalities of buhari and vice president jor problem with the country?what I have been ighting against. He is the op- amongst themselves and leave perhaps ten Yemi osinbajo, the two of them are cast in theposite of the ‘nigerian factor’. In other words, he percent of the contract sum for the project. the same mould. the vast majority of nigerians Quite a number of them, economic recoveryis a man of integrity, he is upright. He believes in situation is that bad. virtually, everywhere from who have always yearned for good governance so that we don’t have states that won’t be able toservice and he consider that the honour of lead- big to small, in fact the question for the agen- and a sane country can see that we are gradually salaries of their workers. We need a major eco-ing the country is a sacriice and not for personal cies now is the question of where to start. the moving towards there. nomic development in the country. We need di-gains. He is that kind of man. the vice president scourge has permeated everywhere. versity of sources of income away from oil. Weis exactly the same kind of person. If you like, You believe we are getting there? need to tackle the issue of youth unemploymentthey are kindred souls to themselves and kindred if you are to list the agenda that you have Yes! We are gradually moving there as long in the country, we have millions and millionssouls to me. so, I have a lot of pleasure to row in set up for the committee in order of priority; as we deal successfully with the numerous cases of youth coming out of the tertiary institutionsthe same boat with them. It is an honour working which one do you think should come irst? of corruption in the country. If we do that, we looking for the few opportunities available. Youwith them, to be considered a partner in what they will be sending the right signals to nigerians remember the incidence of the Immigrationare trying to do for the country. For me, I see two broad agenda that we are that it is not beneicial to be corrupt. that it is service recruitment that almost cost a national working on. the irst on as I said, is to improve not proitable to be corrupt. that it is a costly stampede. tied to that, we need to look at our Sir, there seems to be some form of miscon- the capacity of the investigating agencies to thing to do, that one pays a very high cost to be educational system to bring it up so that peopleception with regards to the role and functions combat the scourge. We are already doing that. corrupt. that we will so inlict the sanction if don’t need to go to other countries for education.of the committee. Some people in some quar- We are interfacing with them to do all the things you are caught and that the sanction will act as Government should try and bring back what weters are of the opinion that the coming into I had listed to be done. the other one is to en- the deterrence against that kind of attitude until were doing in the 1960s when citizens of otherbeing of the committee was unnecessary since sure that the administration of criminal justice inally the culture of service without looking for countries in europe and America can to schoolthe country has so many anti-graft agencies… is effective, so that you have cases charged and illegitimate earnings becomes the culture of this and teach in the country. We also need to look completed within nine months- either the per- country. at our healthcare delivery systems by building (Cuts in)…We are not an agency, we will not son is discharged and acquitted or is sentenced. irst class facilities. professionals should also beinvestigate, we will not arrest and we will not so, we are going to do the two together and not what has been the perception in the inter- given the right tools to work with. Governmentprosecute. We don’t have those powers and with drop one for the other. national community? should also create the enabling environment forthe calibre of people in that committee, I think we creativity to thrive. If you bring all the equip-don’t have that kind of orientation. We are a more You had described the president as an the international community is very much ment here, train the people how to use them,detached deliberative body. our deliberations ideological soul-mate; to what extent has his excited about nigeria now. It’s as if nigeria did then no one will then have excuse to go abroadwill centre on how to promote and support those second coming changed the landscape? not exist before. suddenly, everybody wants to for medical treatment.agencies themselves. We will look at their chal- be associated with the country, globally. Youlenges and see how we can make them overcome I think, without going into too much detail, could see how excited the president of the Unit- what kind of nigeria do you hope to see inthem. the challenges in terms of equipment, you can see dramatic change in the orientation ed states ofAmerica was when he received bu- your lifetime?funding, policy direction, manpower capability, of the people of this country, especially amongst hari. He presented him to the whole world thatin terms of training and exposure to modern tech- the people holding political ofices. suddenly, he has a reputation going for him. since then, In my lifetime, I hope to see a nigeria thatniques of ighting corruption. We will also look at electricity became available. the energy sector people have been pouring into the country from is corruption free, where values would be dif-the judicial process involved in punishing corrupt that had been comatose has suddenly come to the Us. even at the lower level, people have ferent, where people would serve in variouspeople by looking at why series of pending cases life. people are getting 18 hours of electricity come abroad to speak to me. I mean from major ofices and simply accept and derive pleasurehave been stalled or unsuccessful. essentially, we supply. I know that some people have been try- countries like britain and the Us, south Africa. in serving and regard that opportunity to serveare going to look at solutions that would prevent ing to ascribe some other reasons for this but I as a reward, not any other thing. I hope to seefuture failures and to strengthen the agencies. We am amused because the permanent secretary in now that the window of assistance has a nigeria where the standard of living will soare going to put in place mechanism for the agen- the (Federal) ministry of power himself stated been opened to the country, what kind of as- rise that poverty will almost be eradicated andcies to better cooperate with each other. by this, that the buhari factor is responsible (the upsurge sistance do you think the country needs from the middle class would be built up and becomeI mean to ensure that the agencies complement in power supply). He said since buhari took these countries? a strong force by throwing the best in terms ofeach other in their respective areas of strength over, the gas company which used to refuse intellectual developments and therefore prog-and weaknesses and not compete against each to supply gas suddenly began to supply gas to the kind of assistance is how to equip our ress and development from what we are now ifother. the GenCos. Also, the communities are now security agencies, how to give them capacity not the irst world but not too far. I hope to see protecting the pipelines, rather than attacking (to ight corruption), I mean how to prosecute. a country where the people would be anxious what about the criminal justice system? them. they (the communities) are now part- We need assistance in training, how to prosecute to remain at home rather than emigrating need- We are also going to look at the wider picture nering with the government because of buhari. criminals using the various strategies and equip- lessly to other countries.of the country with regards to the administration You can see the major difference that buhari hasof the criminal justice system. We are going toensure that cases are iled before judges with in-tegrity and that such cases are given acceleratedhearing. I mean that the cases are entertainedfrom day to day and not adjourned indeinitelyor unnecessarily. An adjournment under the lawnow is very short, I think 14 days at the most. Weare also going to ensure that there is no situation
6 the new diplomat vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015DiplomaticStagePeriscoping the UN Chief’s visit to NigeriaFrom Augustine Osayande, Abuja • President Muhammadu Buhari (l), welcoming United Nations Secretary abducted from their dormitory in Chibok, General, Ban Ki-Moon during the visit ... borno state over a year ago as well as otherNigeria played host to an August abductees of the dreaded boko Haram sect. guest in the person of the secretary- commemorative event to mark the fourth an- peated before his chief host, president mu- General of the United nations, mr. niversary of a car bombing at Un building hammadu buhari during their meeting at the “I want to reiterate my support for the ban Ki moon recently and the two- located in Abuja. the sad incidence that took presidential villa. Chibok girls and so many other innocent ab-day visit evoked quite strong comments ow- place on August 26, 2011 left no fewer than ducted girls and boys whose names and fateing to the range of diplomatic grounds cov- 21 people dead. though he met with his host inside the in- remain unknown. It is intolerable that theirered in the aftermath. ner recess of the presidential villa, and away lives and schooling has been disrupted in this speaking during the occasion, a visibly from the prying eyes of newshounds, the Un way. the whole world has been moved by the Un scribe landed at the nnamdi sombre Ki-moon reminded the international scribe later emerged with president buhari their fate,” ban Ki-moon said.Azikiwe Airport that cloudy sunday after- community to evolve concerted efforts and to jointly address the media. one major is-noon at about 4.15p.m to the warm embrace strategies to curb the continuing scourge of sue that dominated his focus was the plight of the Korea-born diplomat also used the op-of oficials of the nigerian government led global terrorism. the same message he re- the over 200 abducted school girls who were portunity of the visit to promise the Unitedby the permanent secretary in the ministry of nations support for president buhari’s devel-Foreign Affairs, Dr. bulus Zom-lolo. opmental agenda. the Un chief congratulat- ed the country for staging free and fair elec- top hierarchy of the global organisation in tions earlier in the year, adding that with thenigeria who turned out to welcome their boss achievement, the template has been set for theinclude the resident Coordinator in nigeria, country’s development.mr. Daouda toure, executive Director of theUnited nations population Fund, Dr. baba- “For the irst time in nigeria’s history, atunde oshotimehin. Also on the welcome sitting president peacefully ceded power toparty was the special representative of the an opposition candidate in a democratic elec-Un secretary-General to nigeria and West tion,” he said adding that the outcome of theAfrica, mohammed Ibn Chambas. poll has sent a strong global message of re- spect for democracy and the rule of law,” for After performing all the necessary proto- the country in the global diplomatic arena.cols and formalities at the airport, the Augustvisitor was driven to transcorp Hilton, where sources in the know told tHe neW DIp-he held talks with state governors under the lomAt that the Un scribe also discussedaegis of the nigerian Governors Forum, development, human rights and peace andnGF. the meeting dwelt extensively on how security issues with his host. Indeed banto make the states chief executive deliver on ki-moon himself also dropped the hint dur-dividends of democracy to their people. He ing the joint press conference with presidentmet the governor under the auspices of the muhammadu buhari when he addressed thenigeria Governors Forum (nGF). dire situation in the north eastern part of the country. the event generated a media blitz occa-sioned by the space accorded the event in the Gambari, Tambuwal, Kachikwu, Bellovarious media channels across the country, for The New Diplomat NY Roundtableparticularly in the various newspapers acrossthe country which generously splashed the By Olaolu Oladapo the event which has the theme ‘inancing the United nations will be celebrating her 70thpictures generated during the event in the for Development (FfD) within the framework anniversary while at the same time; nigeria willvarious newspapers. Former Under secretary General of the of the United nations sustainable Development be 55 at the Un. In this regard, the new Dip- United nations|(Un) and erstwhile Goals’ is holding at the United nations (Un) lomat wishes to leverage on the convergence Addressing the governors after the closed Foreign Affairs minister of nigeria, Headquarters within the margins of the 70th Un of these scenarios with the third Internationaldoor meeting, the Un chief also urged states prof Ibrahim Gambari, Group manag- General Assembly in new York on september Conference on Financing for Development toand local governments to ensure that avail- ing Director of the nigeria national petroleum 29, 2015. examine peculiar adaptation measures for i-able resources were targeted at the vulnerable Company, nnpC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Gover- nancing the country’s development at variousand the lowest rung of the society. ban Ki- nor Aminu tambuwal of sokoto state and his According to the organisers, ‘it is hoped that levels of government.’moon said his advice was informed by the niger state Counterpart, Alhaji Abubakar bello this critical international forum will help nigeriarising inequality in the world. i are among guests expected to feature at a high and key captains of the private sector to consol- ‘It is designed to attract the interests of mem- level roundtable put together by the new Dip- idate on the crucial discussion on inancing her ber states of the Un, Heads of delegations of the Un scribe said local governments had lomat multi media limited (publishers of the development at the international level and elicit member states, multilateral organizations,an important role to play in implementing the new Diplomat) in partnership with multilateral global support in implementing internationally global inancial institutions, international Civilsustainable development goals. “In a world organizations, holding on the sidelines of the agreed goals on sustainable development within society organizations together with relevantof rising inequality, sub-national and local 70th United nations General Assembly in national and sub-national contexts.’ Federal Government agencies, state govern-governments can help to ensure that limited new York, United states. ments, inancial institutions and developmentavailable funds are targeted at the most vul- Additionally, the organisers said:, ‘’the inance institutions,’the organizers explained.’’nerable. You have to have a strong and inclu- UnGA 70 presents a unique scenario in whichsive partnership with the Civil society orga-nizations and the business community” banKi-moon said. monday, the following day was event-illedas the Un scribe featured prominently in the CAN SARAKI SURVIVE FURORE IN STATES AS GOVS FAIL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTTHE ANTI-GRAFT WAR? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 SOUTH EAST ous camps would produce the governor for the CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 not been too fascinating owing to the distraction state. the situation got to a head with the exit ofrior court of record like the Federal High Court”. caused by political opponents who are challeng- ABIA the immediate past governor of the state, Chief ing his re-election in court. Okezie and his drive for foreign in- martin elechi from the party. the Federal High Court, the former nbA vestmentspresident noted, is empowered by law to review Low point For Ikpeazu okezie, the only option for de- In trying to achieve peace, Umahi has em-the judicial work of the Code of Conduct tribu- • Distraction from opponents velopingAbia state is through a kind of synergy barked on diplomatic shuttle to elder statesmennal because it is an inferior court. between home bred entrepreneurship and their such as former president olusegun obasanjo in KWARA foreign counterparts. His overseas tours have his Abeokuta Hilltop home. Akuta who lives in the UK seems to be draw- Stimulating development with rev- seen him visiting countries such as turkey,ing inspiration from western standard where enue increase, micro-credit schemes UsA, Canada and UK. Low pointsgovernment oficials resign their appointment Kwara state Governor, mr. Abdulfatai He has complemented his tours with local • Distraction.upon discovery of inancial scandal. Ahmed has in the last few months done a lot activities. For example, he has commenced to reposition the economy of the state using the comprehensive rehabilitation, rebuilding and ENUGU recently, the british minister overseeing twin objectives of shoring up its inances as well reconstruction of the major township roads in Ugwuanyi’s bid for even develop-future regulation of the press, maria miller, as providing the needed assistance to small scale Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state. ment in Enuguresigned her cabinet post following a row over businesses. Milestones; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has never hid-expenses. For instance, the state has reached its projected • Demonstrating zeal for Abia’s industrializa- den his desire to develop all corners of the n2bn internally generated revenue mark with tion efforts. CoAl CItY state as a means of stimulating miller had last week made a terse 31-second the governor saying the feat was achieved with- • repositioning of Aba as south east com- its (enugu’s) economic development. since hisapology to parliament for providing limited in- out additional burden on tax payers. mercial hub. coming into ofice, series of policies and pro-formation to an inquiry into her claims. In the same vein, the micro Credit Interven- grammes have been put in place to achieve the tion scheme (mCIs) of the state launched in EBONYI aim. one of the areas where the objective has In Guatemala, the Finance minister, Dorval 2012 with a sum of n250 million has reached a smarting from his victory at the polls, ebonyi found an added illip is in the healthcare sec-Carias alongside his Communications counter- cumulative of n1.2billion. state Governor, mr. Dave Umahi has been mak- tor where the state government has put in placepart, victor Corado tendered their resignation Upward leap of the igure is premised on the ing frantic efforts to douse tension occasioned mechanism to erect facilities across the nooksover allegations of inancial wrongdoing. fact that no fewer than 50,000 small business by the crisis that trailed his emergence both at and crannies of the state. owners have beneited from the scheme, espe- the peoples Democratic party (pDp) and the He demonstrated this with the foundation saraki made a U-turn as he appeared at the cially in the last few months. acrimony generated by the outcome of the poll. laying ceremony of a 200-bed specialist hospi-Code of Conduct tribunal in a carnival like Milestone In the build up to the last governorship elec- tal in oba, Udenu Council Area recently with aatmosphere alongside his deputy, Ike ekwer- • stimulating internal economy for sustainable tion, the state’s chapter of the pDp had been pledge to replicate such in other areas of the stateemadu several other senators. growth. embroiled in crisis over which of the numer- in no distance future. Milestone; saraki arrived with 28 senators and some • laying foundation fowr even developmentmembers of the House of representativespleaded not guilty to the 13 count charge. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 He case was subsequently adjourned hearingtill the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of october, 2015. the court however granted him bail on self-recognition.
vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 the new diplomat 7DiplomaticTimeOutEx-British Envoy: Nigeria Can Be Africa’s Economic HubThe immediate past British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew John Pocock is an accomplished diplomatwho has worked and carved a niche for himself in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) which he joinedin 1981. Since then, he has built for himself enviable track records of accomplishments in the various duty postswhere he had served. From Between 1983 and 1986 he was Second Secretary (Commercial) in Lagos. From1986 to 1988, he was Head of Section in Southern African Department in the FCO. From 1988 to 1992, hewas First Secretary (Political) in the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. After returning to London for four years(including one on secondment to the Royal College of Defence Studies), he was posted to Canberra as DeputyHigh Commissioner from 1997-2001. He returned to the FCO as a Head of Department, before serving as HighCommissioner in Dar es Salaam from 2003 to 2006; and as Ambassador in Harare from 2006 to 2009. He wasDirector for Africa in the FCO in 2010, before arriving in Ottawa in January 2011 as High Commissioner. His tourof duty took him to Nigeria in 2012 as the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom leaving early this year. Dur-ing the period, he maintained a concurrent accreditation to the Economic Community for West Africa (ECOWAS).Married with children, he recently fielded questions from LOUIS ACHI, on the eve of his departure. In the ensu-ing session, he answered several topical questions bordering on wide ranging issues in the relations betweenhis home country and Nigeria. He shared insights into how Nigeria’s economy can transform into a large hub thatwould serve as the backbone to the rest of Africa. Excerpts;It’s been about three decades between •Pocook 8 billion pounds but I think nigeria will be do- increased. this was a proposal. It never became your irst and current posting to Nigeria. I think these things act as barriers to invest- ing better it may be about £5 billion to £3 billion, a policy. It was a proposal for consideration in What would you consider as the devel- £4.5 billion to £3.5 billion, something like that. london to ask a certain category of visa appli- opmental change that has taken place in ments. What we the british High Commission Yes, trade balance in favour of nigeria. cants to provide a bond that is a surety of 3,000Nigeria? and the trade in lagos are trying to say to british pounds that they will not breach their visa condi- investors is that yes these things exists but look When Nigeria passed the anti-gay mar- tions. Well, there have been huge positive changes closely at your market; this is a big and increas- riage legislation it drew critical lak fromin many respects. nigeria’s economy is much ingly sophisticated place in which to do business. some parts of the world including the UK. now this was proposed to be directed onlylarger than it used to be. In fact, as you know, A few years ago, there were perhaps 40 british Britain even threatened to withhold aid to Ni- at a very tiny proportion of applicants. peoplefrom the rebasing, it is now the largest economy companies involved in supplying goods and ser- geria. Don’t you see this as “clash of civiliza- whom we wouldn’t have otherwise given visasin Africa. Its population has doubled since I was vices to shell. We think there are now about 400 tions” as possibly provoking fall-outs inimical to because there was a sort risk category; irstlast here. It was about 90 million people perhaps british companies doing this. so this is a major to the existing Anglo-Nigeria relations? What time applicants to some extent and some others,in 1986 and there is about 170 million now. improvement. but, secondly, looking at areas is the way forward? but that we will be prepared to offer visas if theynigeria had 19 states when I was here last and like lagos, which is increasingly a modern and signed this bond saying that they wouldn’t overnow it has 36. so, there has been a great deal of value-adding economy with a lot of service sec- that is a very important question, I’m glad stay. but it never became a programme.change in that sense. tors that are actually closely linked to the city of you raised it because it is a chance to clarify one london; banking, inancial services, pensions, or two things. Firstly, we never threatened to cut It was never actually introduced. there was a However, there are couples of changes that insurance -there are quite a lot of good connec- out aid to nigeria. We do not use our develop- great deal of protest here as you know. I wentare not good. obviously one is the insurgency tions already there. ment budget in that sort of way. For us and for and spoke to mr. olugbenga Ashiru, the thenin the north east. there have also been dificul- the DFID, aid is a tool for the future not a weap- minister of foreign affairs. I went on the recordties in the Delta.so, there has been a great deal nigerian banks are based in london and are on for political building. so, any reports to the many times in public, television and press to sayof changes since 1986. some are good and reported on the london stock exchange. then, effect that we were looking to cut aid are com- two things: it wasn’t a policy yet by any means.some are not good. I think every country faces there is whole area of public and private partner- pletely false. there was never an option like that. It was merely considered, it was an option. Itits challenges. Against the background of boko ships which is again an area that the nigerian wasn’t visa fees and nigerians didn’t have toHaram’s bloody campaign against the nigerian economy is looking at and in which we have secondly, I noticed with interest that the eu- pay 3,000 pounds to come to britain. It wouldstate, what speciicAnglo-nigerian security col- great deal of expertise. so there a lot of areas ropean Union ambassador has recently talked apply only to a tiny number of people. We issuelaboration is afoot? where we think that good, truthful mutual ben- about this in public too and I very much support 140,000 visas a year to nigerians. If applied to a eicial business can be done and we are encour- what he said. We are not promoting either gay 1,000 people, it wouldn’t have been a lot. so it this is a sensitive area. We are a strong and aging people to look more closely at all of that. marriage or homosexuality in nigeria. would have been a tiny fraction.long term friend of nigeria. We take very seri-ously threats to security and stability in this The volume of trade between Nigeria and that is not our business. All we said when the the other thing I said more importantly wascountry for two major reasons. nigeria is hugely the UK has risen to £7.2b but the balance of bill was passed and became law was essentially that if there was any change, if it was likely toimportant to the United Kingdom and because trade is in the favour of the UK… two things: one, we were concerned that the na- become law in britain, I will tell the nigerianof the suffering and destruction that terrorism ture of the bill might lead to the further margin- government and I will tell the nigerian presscauses to the people of this country are a cause no, actually I think it is in favour of nigeria. alization of what are already vulnerable people directly. Well in fact it didn’t. We decided weof concern to us. I have not gotten the exact igures in front of me in the society. It seemed to us a bill that was ad- didn’t need to do this and there are better ways but I’m pretty conident that the balance is in ni- dressing an issue that perhaps was not even there. to manage migration relationship, not just with secondly, because of regional stability, nige- geria’s favour because we take a lot of nigeria’s the nigerian constitution talks about marriages nigeria. It was not just aimed at nigeria.ria matters to the whole of West African and sa- oil and oil products and we provide services and between a man and a woman. so, there was nohelian region and any dificulty here is relected some goods. I think the balance is in nigeria’s need really in law to ban same sex marriage be- so, it never happened. so we continue to haveacross the northern part of the continent and we favor between £3 to £4 billion, although we cause it was already illegal in the nigerian con- what I think is an extremely effective visa ser-want to try and address that. so we are working are looking forward very much to increasing stitution. but we thought some of the provisions vice here. Although some readers who read thisvery closely with the nigerian security services the elaborate trade. there is a memorandum of of the bill could lead to action on what is already whom might have one dificulty or another willacross the board to improve capability, to im- Understanding between our two governments an exposed and marginalized community. say I am talking nonsense.prove effectiveness in the ield, to provide ele- signed in 2011 when David Cameron visited la-ment of resilience and to lift technical and skill gos; between prime minister Cameron and pres- the second thing we said which legal ques- What I would argue is that irstly if we makelevels to a point where I think the insurgency can ident Jonathan. such is an ambition in doubling tions were, whether the bill and some of its pro- a mistake, we try very quickly to correct it. sec-be tackled more effectively. but I will not go into trade from 4 billion pounds a year in 2011 to £8 vision which was quite harsh, whether it might ondly, we are actually looking to encourage le-any more detail if I can be excused. billion pounds of trade by the end of 2014. last not be in conlict with human rights provisions gitimate nigerian travellers to come to the UK igure we have for 2013 is £7.2 billion which is in the nigerian constitution, which needs to be for business, pleasure, visit relatives (we have a Nigeria is currently the second largest Brit- very excellent and am conident that it will make tested I think in law here. but secondly, we were large number of nigerians in the UK) they haveish investment destination on the continent. pretty conident it was in contradiction with the right to go back and forth and we are readyWith the recent rebasing exercise, has the sta- international legal instrument that nigeria is a to do that.tus changed to make the country, the number signatory to as part of the broader internationalone? community. the third is that we issue about 70 per cent of all the visas applied for, which is a consider- I would like to hope the rebasing will encour- We think there is a legal dificulty here and able number. It comes to about 140,000 a yearage investors in the UK to look again at nigeria. this law may be in serious contradiction with which is a big igure. so the evidence insists thatthe one element of caution is that the size of an other statutes and instruments that nigeria has we look in to facilitate, not stop. but we do aseconomy is not the only attraction. Questions of agreed to. so we think that a way forward is not all other countries do, have the right to refuse abarriers to entry and the ease of doing business to dramatize this issue. We think generally that visa where we think that there is either fraud in-once you are in the economy. those are very im- people’s private lives are not something the state volved in the documentation, or where people’sportant as well. needs to intrude itself into but that’s another mat- intention are not as stated where they say they ter. We think the way forward is to test this law in are going to come back and we don’t think they What discourages investors and by no means the court and we hope that can be done soberly will for various reasons usually evidence based.only british investors or international investors and sensibly.including nigerian investors is the sense of in- thirdly, where there are criminal or convic-security not just in the north-east. some of dif- Another area that has caused some friction tions or other reasons why we don’t think some-iculties of doing businesses here involve infra- recently is the visa bond controversy which one should necessarily return to the UK. otherstructure and infrastructural deicit, particularly apparently lows from a new policy footing than those categories, we are looking from busi-power (electricity), legal concerns; particularly from your government. Please can you clarify ness to students, to family visits; we are lookingwhere contract and the enforcement of contract this? to improve the relationship. And I have to sayis concerned by irregular ways of doing busi- most nigerians say to me they see london as aness and the whole corruption question which Yes, I can say again I’m glad you raised it. kind of second home. they like lying britishof course nigerians are very vocal about it in this so-called visa bond policy and it was not Airways, all of which is music to my ears. Weyour papers. an increase in visa fees. visa fees have not been are very happy and we want this to increase.
8 the new diplomat vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 DiplomaticTimeOut THISDAY 20TH ANNIVERSARY IN STYLETHISDAY Newspapers recently celebrated its 20 years of existence. The occasion which was marked with a conversation on Security as well as awards for some distinguished Nigerians and staff of the organisation as well as distinguished former staff, brought together many eminent personalities•FormerCrossRiversGovernor,Mr.LiyelImoke,THISDAYPublisher •FormerUNUnder-secretaryGeneral,Prof.IbrahimGambarandformerMr.NdukaObaigbenaandChairmanHeirHoldings,Mr.TonyElumelu MilitaryGovernorofLagosState,CommodoreNdubuisiKanu(Rtd)• R-L: Mr. Jackson Gaius Obaseki, Mr. Robert Gates former Director of •FormerLagosStateGovernor,Mr.BabatundeFasholaandformerCIA,Mrs.RoxannaObasekiandformerUSSecretaryofDefence,Senator GovernorofEkitiState,Dr.KayodeFayemiCharlesHagel • Publiser, Vanguard newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu and • Former EFCC Chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu and the acting formerSecretaryofHealth,PrinceJuliusAdelusi-Adeluyi Consul General of the US Consulate General in Nigeria, Dehab Ghebreab AMBASSADORELOHOOTOBO’SBOOKLAUNCH Elder statesmen, senior diplomats as well as dignitaries all converged on the Nigeria Institute for International Affairs on Victoria Island recentlyfor the launch of a book ‘Consolidating Peace in Africa: Role of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission’ written by Ambassador Ejeviome Eloho Otobo, an international diplomat and former Director, United Nations, PBSO. Here are some of the personalities at the event.•ProfessorIbrahimGambari,KeynoteSpeakerandformerUnder-secretaryGeneral •R-L:AmbassadorOtobo,Mr.DotunAjayiofAfricaBusinessRoundtable(ABR)and(Political) United Nations and Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Prof.FredinaldOfodile,retiredProfessorofPlasticSurgeryatColumbiaUniversity,SecretaryGeneralandChairmanoftheoccasion NewYork•L-R:ChiefLauncher,AdjarhoOyibo;Amb.Otobo;GuestSpeaker,Prof.Ibrahim •Prof.BolaAkinterinwaDirector-General,NigeriaInstituteforInternationalAffairsGambari;ChiefEmekaAnyaoku;ChiefofStafftoDeltaStateGovernor,TomBrisbe; (r)andaguestAmb.AkporodeClarkandMr.OmaDjebah,formerDeltaStateCommissionerforInformation• Mr. Toke Ibru, Executive Director, The Guardian Newspapers (l), Mr. Ronald •L-R:Dr.MartinIhoeghianUhomoibhi,Founder,PanAfricanInstituteforGlobalKayanja,Director,UnitedNationsInformationCentre(UNIC),LagosandMr.Oma Affairs and Strategy (PAIGAS) and Mr. Kayode Komolafe, Deputy ManagingDjebah Director,THISDAYNewspapers
vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 the new diplomat 9 Summer Holiday 2015
10 the new diplomat vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 DiplomaticProfileMD Dangote Cement: Learning Key to Our SuccessByIfeanyiNwosa, Lagos proach came, the emphasis and strategy was on “these potentials in manufacturing were backward integration, adding that “we invested in highlighted during the obasanjo presidency.Devakumar Edwin is a Chartered En- •Edwin manufacturing the products that we were import- the president then advised cement terminal op- gineer. He holds a Post Graduate emerging global business behemoth. Excerpts: ing and trading in.’ erators to invest in local manufacturing instead Diploma in Management from IITM, of importing. We invested in obajana Cement Holland. He started his career in 1978 the story of the Group managing Director According to him, sooner or later, the compa- plant, while other major manufacturers investedin his native India rising to become a Managing / Chief executive oficer of Dangote Cement ny had taken the largest chunk of market shares in other plants.”Director in 1989. Edwin’s primary areas of focus plc, mr. Devakumar v. G. edwin is intertwined from importers of spaghetti and macaroni (fromare Industrial Management, industrial engineer- with that of the phenomenal rise of the Dangote Italy) by manufacturing the consumables locally. Apart from that, he stated that the companying, cost reduction, human capital management, Group in many ways. Apart from the fact he has In no small time, the company soon became the has always tried to develop its business modelgeneral management and project management. spent the larger part of his productive years in the proud owner of lour milling facilities across the by taking into cognisance all the potential risks service of the company, the Indian born techno- country in its bid to meet up with its raw material involved in such efforts, adding that “essentially, Edwin joined the Dangote Group in 1992 as crat can be said to have seen it all. needs for pasta production. we built our business model never to depend ona General Manager and was responsible for two government protection.of the textile mills under the control of the Group. “I joined Dangote group 23 years ago. then the manufacturing of another important con-He was promoted to Group General Manager in the group’s focus was on international trade; pri- sumable, sugar, subsequently became attractive “risk analysis is a major area of focus in our1994 and Executive Director (Projects) in 1998. marily the importation, distribution and sale of hence the decision to set up reining facilities in company prior to any investment. In fact, weHe has executed almost all the projects of the sugar, rice, vegetable oil, steel rods. pasta, ce- the country as well as a cement terminal. never depend on any government patronage orGroup including the spinning mills and the tex- ment, salt etc.” he told his interviewers. any government contracts in any of our businesstile processing factory, the packaging materials on how the company was able to ensure activities. this policy has served us well as areplant, the lour mills, the pasta plant, the cement looking back at the turning point in the his- smooth transition in these regards, edwin said: have been vindicated time and time again byterminals, the cement plants, the noodles plants, tory of the company, he said, “After an eye “As importers we had the logistics capacity, cus- changing government policies.etc. opening trip to brazil, the president/ chief ex- tomers, warehouses, trucks for haulage and the ecutive decided to invest in manufacturing, not experience, so it helped us in no small measure in speciically, he stated that the company has In 2000, he became the Executive Director necessarily in pursuant of proit but because of our manufacturing activity. as a matter of policy ensured that its investment(Industries and Projects) and vested with the the opportunity of providing massive levels of drive is dictated by how the management stud-responsibility of supervising all the plants in the employment for the citizenry.” “Aware that the business of sugar, lour, salt ies the cement business in detail, saying that itGroup including the sugar reinery, cement ter- and cements need special bags for packaging, we has however resolved to make Africa a veritableminal, salt plant, lour mills, pasta plant, pack- He added that when the shift in business ap- also invested in the production of these bags as ground for investment in cement manufacturing.aging materials plant and textile mills. we could not rely on our competitors to meet our needs in this regard. “We ventured into these countries. today, we Two years later, he was moved to the position are the largest cement manufacturer in Africa,”of Group Executive Director (Business Develop- “by the year 2000 we had the lour mills, the he said gleefully.ment) to handle all the new projects. He was the sugar reinery, the salt reinery, the pasta plant andpioneer Managing Director/CEO of Obajana the packaging materials plant. We ended up hav- He went further to state that “realising thatCement Plc from 2004 to 2006. ing the largest lour milling capacity in the world, sub-saharan Africa is as arable as brazil, we the second largest sugar reinery in the world and embarked on farming business, and as a conse- Having joined the Dangote Group when it the second largest pasta plant in Africa.” quence we also went into the fertiliser business,was in the threshold of entering into manufac- setting up a fertiliser plant of 3 million metricturing activities, Edwin deployed his wealth Appraising the journey of the company in the tonnes per annum capacity.of experience to the Group in its growth. He is last few years, he listed some factors that had aid-currently the Group Managing Director / CEO ed its pre-eminence, such as governmental roles, edwin afirmed that the Dangote Group hasof Dangote Cement Plc. In this story adapted opportunities in areas such as diversiication, eco- also veered into the downstream sector of the oilfrom the group’s in-house journal, DANGOTE nomic activities and job creation to illustrate the and gas business in nigeria, saying “since thereNEWS, he talks about the conglomerate from the journey of the country. are lots of synergies, we also decided to investperspective of an insider, shedding light on the in a huge petro-chemical complex with a rein-growth of the company from a local player to an Government Role ing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.As such, edwin singled out the administration of Chief when it comes on-stream, it will be the largest olusegun obasanjo whom he lauded for prompt- petroleum reinery in the world.” ing manufacturers to see the beneits in manufac- turing, rather than in importing.FURORE IN STATES AS GOVS FAIL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 hensive development initiative called the gency attacks that have plagued the state. farm produce worth n600 million were washedof enugu. s.m.A.r.t agenda. It is to the governor’s credit that he won the away in Kirikasamma and Gurin local Govern- ment Areas of Jigawa state. IMO Milestones; re-election on the platform of peoples Demo- Defying all odds to bring develop- • tackling unemployment cratic party (pDp) despite the overwhelming notwithstanding, the state has secured thementtoImo popularity of the ruling All progressives Con- cooperation of the DFID who has pledged to Governor rochas Anayo okorocha is the CROSS RIVERS gress (ApC) in the northern part of the country. undertake 40 projects worth n1 billion dollarssole governor elected on the platform of the Ayade and his drive to rescue Cross in the state.ruling All progressives Congress (ApC) in the Rivers’naturalassets residents hinged the feat on his performancesouth east. His re-election did not in anyway the administration in Cross rivers state but the momentum has been whittled down by Milestonecome easy as he had to battle two dominant led by professor ben Ayade has in the last few the activities of the sect, boko Haram who has • Donor agency interventions.platforms in the region to regain control of the months focused attention on the need to protect targeted soft targets in the state in its bid to con- Lowpointstate that prides itself as the HeArtlAnD and conserve its over one million hectares of tinue with its reign of terror. • lack of disaster managementstAte. forest reserves. Ayade, in partnership with the BAUCHI perhaps the most potent weapon that helped United nations (Un) has set up of Green po- Lowpoints; Stillwaiting,asresidentsawaitgov-in his re-election is the fact that he performed lice. the force which is a special martial would • Distracted by new wave of insurgency. ernment’sdividendsinBauchiexcellently, thus the sentiments spewed by the be charged with policing and management of KEBBI Governor mohammed Abubakar of bauchileadership of the pDp and the All progressives the state’s forest, as well as preserving forest Kebbi exploring the potential for state is still putting in place the needed struc-Grand Alliance (ApGA) that the ApC was a resources, including watershed and biodiversity. growthwithBenin ture and policy for the successful take off of hisYoruba/Hausa/Fulani conspiracy against the Milestones; Governor Atiku bagudu of Kebbi state has government over 100 days since taking over thendigbo failed to work. most residents as well as • economic diversiication. commenced the process of exploring the ties reins of government from Isa Yuguda.non-residents who had visited the state since the • environmental protection. with neigbouring benin republic on the need to He has instituted a probe intoYuguda’s tenurecoming of the Governor have praised his efforts NoRthEASt establish a dry port on the nigeria-benin border. just as he has also recovered some property ofat bringing quality infrastructure to the state. YOBE He recently met with president boni Yayi in government from members of the immediateJust like any other governor, Imo state governor InYobe,Gaidamgrappleswithneeds Cotonou, during which they held talks on mea- past government and items recovered includeis also facing paucity of funds. ofinternallydisplacedpeople sures needed to stem disputes on the two coun- 64 vehicles and 97 parcels of land. He recently secured a n20 billion IsG bond the major headache of Governor Ibrahim tries common border. Atiku had told his host one controversial decision taken by his gov-to complete some projects that he embarked Gaidam is how to tackle the numerous challeng- that his government would establish a dry port ernment was the appointment of the secretaryupon as well as commence new ones. es posed by the presence of Internally Displaced at Illo, a border town with benin republic to to the state Government, Ahmed sulaiman, as Milestone persons (IDps) in Yobe state. engender economic activities in the area. the 11th emir of misau by Governor moham- • sustained infrastructure development. though his government has expended huge According to the governor, who said that med Abubakar. sums of resources to ensure their upkeep many the state would construct roads along the area Lowpoint SouthSouth of the IDps who led their homelands in the earmarked for the project just as he maintained • seeming lack of governmental blueprint DELTA wake of the militancy in the north eastern that the project when on stream would stop the BORNO In Delta, okowa tackles crime with states, the agitations of the affected citizens have recurring conlict among communities in both InBorno,focusispeacebuilding,cri-youthemployment,empowerment further accentuated this headache. countries. sismanagement In Delta state, the main focus of Governor Apart from empowerment, Gaidam is grap- A visibly elated president Yayi had pledged the second term of Governor Kashim shetti-Ifeanyi okowa is youth empowerment and pling with providing for their basic needs and in to ensure the success of the project especially ma ia still plagued by the scourge of insurgencyemployment. He has put in place schemes and this, he has secured the cooperation of interven- as it would cement the relationship between the being carried out by the sect, boko Haram. thepolicies to achieve the aim. His belief in youth tionist agencies such as the national emergency two countries and also foster African integra- attendant humanitarian crisis that comes with itdevelopment might not be farfetched owing to management Agency (nemA). tion. is another problem of its own.the recent history of the south south region, Lowpoints; Milestone; In the last few months since coming into be-which had been dogged by militancy. • prolonged insurgency battle. • proactive, innovative governance in the ing of the government have been dogged by some of such programmes include the face of seeming uncertain future government’s efforts at bringing sanity and nor-Youth Agricultural entrepreneurs programme GOMBE JIGAWA malcy to the troubled spots in the state. shettima(YAGep); skills training and entrepreneur- Dankwambo’s Gombe as hotbed of Abubakardefyingnaturetodevelop has been actively been at the thick of things inship programme (step); production and pro- insurgency Jigawa the arrangement.cessing support programme (ppsp); tractori- perhaps of the most performing governors newly elected Governor muhammed bada- Milestone;sation; extension of loans; and Development in the country, the last few months have tasked ru Abubakar of Jigawa state has been faced • the governor has collaborated effectivelyof Agro-industries. the administrative capacity and capability of with the recurrent problem of looding occa- with relevant organs of state. All these are encapsulated in a compre- Ibrahim Dankwambo owing the series of insur- sioned by torrential rainfall across the state. In one of such instance, one person killed and
vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015 the new diplomat 11
12 the new diplomat vol. 2 no 7 • september 2015paradigm shiftBY Oma djeBahBuhari’s Building Blocks and a Modern PresidencyWhen Victor Hugo, the foremost •Buhari the functions of that ofice. the ofice of Cos of the Director of public engagement. While French poet, novelist, dramatist is further made redundant in some cases, de- acknowledging the vital role of public engage- and one of the most towering tion of the day and follows out that plan, arrives pending on who a serving Governor chooses ment in the Us governance structure and in the literary igures of the French a thread that will guide him through the maze to work with, given the more powerful and lives of the American people, Obama declaredmovement wrote in the last century that there is of the most busy life, but where no plan is laid, compelling ofice of secretary to the state on January 21st, 2009: “our commitment toone phenomenon which is stronger than all the where the disposal of time is surrendered mere- Government(ssG), a clear throw back to the openness means more than simply informing thearmies in the World, and ‘’that is an idea whose ly to the chance of incidence, chaos will soon parliamentary era. Unlike in the Us, where the American people about how decisions are made.time has come’’, he must have been quite pre- reign.’’ Chiefs of staff to Governors are quite power- It means recognising that government does notscient about the current challenges facing our ful and effective, most Coss in nigeria under have all the answers and that public oficialsnation’s presidential system. to say that nige- the fault is certainly not buhari’s but he the Governors are more or less like post-ofice need to draw on what citizens know.”ria’s presidential structure is opaque, indecent owes Nigerians the responsibility of correcting boxes! this is certainly not decent and it is mostand largely characterized by an antiquated and these evident structural and design deicits and unacceptable. In an era where we try to cut let pmb take a cue from this and domesti-archaic structure and super-structure is to state shortcomings which have combined to under- down the growing and astronomic cost of gov- cate these modern features of the Us presidency.the obvious and most glaring contradiction in mine national and sub-national developments at ernance, I am sure that an audit of the schedules the time to act is now. In any case, this wouldour presidency. And the earlier president mu- various levels in the last three decades. A mod- of both the Cos and the ssG, would deinitely greatly help the president to sustain and institu-hammadu buhari dares to confront and address ern or an effectively functional presidency with reveal an alarming overlap of duties. Can’t we tionalise his various policy reforms, includingthis nagging problem and save the nation of the its attendant institutions are still far from being do away with one? his anti-graft war which is central to Nigeria’sage-long political contradictions the better for consolidated under the current democratic gov- economic revival. the level of public impunityus all. For in the last, three decades, the real and ernance structure. In fairness to the present op- though the obasanjo attempt at a modern was far too much to condone by any rational be-biggest question since Nigeria embraced the erators or occupants of the institutions of power presidency for nigeria was not all-encompass- ing.United states presidential model in 1979, has – at the local, state and federal levels - the fault ing, as envisaged, the various states nonethelessbeen: Does nigeria have a modern presidency? lies in the very foundations laid since 1979 when soon copied it and appointed chiefs of staff with For example, in Norway, the NorwegiansWhat manner of presidential system do we Nigeria returned to democratic governance, deputies as I have explained in the preceding have since found a way to institutionalise theirhave? Why can’t we modernise our presidency modelling its system after the American. Nige- notes. surprisingly, when late president Umaru on-going reforms in several sectors with thein line with the Us model which we patterned ria embraced the Us model blindly, proceeding musa Yar’Adua assumed ofice in 2007, he dis- establishment of a ministry dealing in govern-our presidential structure after and stop running to ly like a pilot without a compass. mantled this structure and proceeded to create ment reforms directly supervised by the primea mixture of the parliamentary and presidential the ofice of principal private secretary to re- minister. this is with the clear understanding thatsystems? Unfortunately, what came out of that experi- place the position of chief of staff. this was like reforms cannot proceed in a vacuum if there are mentation was woeful failure on the part of the a throw -back to the shagari era where shagari no clear institutions to drive them. buhari must true, nigeria has been engulfed in a seeming Alhaji shehu shagari administration at that time as president appointed the now deceased Alhaji modernise our presidency. He should as a mat-ocean of puzzling calm and astonishing change to ingrain in our system a modernised presiden- Lamine Okion Ojigbo of blessed memory as his ter of public priority and in the urgent nationalsince buhari came to town on may 29 this year. cy. Former president shagari, who was a minis- principal private secretary. interest, set out to redesign the presidency evenYes, ‘the new code of conduct’for usually reck- ter during the parliamentary era of sirAbubakar as he assigns portfolios to ministers. A houseless public oficers seems to be taking its toll tafawa balewa had no qualms in retaining and though immediate past Goodluck Jonathan without a solid foundation is weak and shaky.on the public service. Again, there is measur- creating ofices that were not in tandem with a restored the ofice of chief of staff with the ap- For example, the ministry of Information couldable calm and quiet from many otherwise lo- modern presidency. pointment of Chief mike ogiadhome as his be redesigned as ministry of Communicationquacious political hustlers and rent-seekers. A Chief of staff, the current arrangement is far and orientation or public engagement in linenew born-again political and business class is As I have argued elsewhere in the past, in fair- from a modern presidency. this is so because with modern realities. this should be followedgradually coming into town with clean hands ness to former president olusegun obasanjo, he what we have today is an admixture of the with a restructuring of the ministry as its originaland ethical conduct. In a nutshell, in the last 100 tried to hive off some of these quasi-parliamen- parliamentary, military and presidential sys- philosophy is colonial, dictatorial, undemocratic.days Nigeria has somewhat become a differ- tary structures and restore some semblance of tems of government. three modules rolled into Information now involves citizens participationent country, thanks to the fear of buhari! but modernisation in the presidency here and there one! the present mess should be corrected and beyond the narrow lines of just informing theit goes beyond that. For me, these are cosmetic in 1999. For instance, like what obtains in the quickly too. citizens without a corresponding feedback. Aschanges that would izzle away with the wind White House, and states across Us, obasanjo Commissioner for Information in Delta state, Iif we do not consciously undertake a compre- created the ofice of Chief of staff and ap- Going forward, we must therefore expand initiated this idea with my creation of the Depart-hensive and radical overhaul of our current so- pointed the pioneer Director General of the the frontiers of knowledge and innovation to ment of Orientation which was non-existencecalled presidential system. We must reconstruct now defunct national security organisation propel this nation on the path of true greatness. prior to my assumption of ofice.our nation and build faith in our country for as (nso),major-General mohammed Abdullahi nigeria lost the 20th century opportunities butDawn ewing noted ‘’faith helps you succeed (rtd) from Kwara state, as nigeria’s irst Chief she must not fail the black race in this 21st cen- public Commentator, Karl rove wrote inwhen everything else fails.’’ of staff. GeneralAbdullahi, a very quiet but bril- tury.Asociety that does not innovate is destined his seminal book, Courage and Consequence, liant and highly organised oficer and a gentle- to fail. take a look at the structure of the White captured the great task at hand when he wrote: On this score, opinions are as diverse as is man was assisted by Ambassador eso, a career House; there is the Chief of staff who is, ably “presidents who leave a large mark on historyour motley collection of assembled species. diplomat. eso’s ofice was largely, amongst assisted by two deputy chiefs of staff. the two share certain traits. One is their ability to rise toWhile some are of the view that the cost of gov- other things, responsible for the implementation deputy chiefs of staff have their speciic job the clear and present challenges that face theernance in Nigeria has risen in astronomic pro- of policy measures such as nepAD. since then, schedules in the White House. While one is in country...Lincoln, for example, tackled a press-portions and needs to be drastically revisited, all the copy-cats including state Governors have charge of operations, the other is responsible for ing moral issue that ifteen presidents beforeothers contend that the present national predica- copied the idea of creating the ofice of Chief policy design. him had avoided-slavery. FDr came into of-ment, including the current security challenges, of staff(Cos) without a clear understanding of ice three years after the stock market crashed.are a product of leadership failure. the answer, there are other very strategic, innovative and And ronald reagan had to deal with a laggingin my view, does not lie in any of these theo- necessary structures within the executive of- economy and an ascendant soviet Union.…”ries. Nigeria’s governance crisis lies in the very ice of the president, eop. the eop which was buhari should rise to this challenge of design-faulty, poor and totally disorganised foundation a holistic creation of president Franklin D. roo- ing a modern presidency for nigeria. the timeof our presidential model. I have argued this sevelt, in 1939 is speciically charged with the to act is now. this may very well be buhari’sposition since four years ago. And my thesis is responsibility of providing “the president with lasting legacy for posterity. Otherwise, whateverstill valid as nothing has changed basically in all that he needs to run America, eficiently and reforms and changes he puts in place without aour presidential system. the scenario is akin effectively. Core to this, is communicating the good and modernized design of the organiza-to a builder or a construction engineer building president’s message, initiatives and vision to the tional structure of the presidency is like buildinga house on a very shallow and poorly designed American people consistently”. In addition to a house on quicksand! It will cave in to thunder-foundation. the ofices of chief of staff and ofice of cabinet ing winds. let him do it today. tomorrow might affairs, there is the critical ofice of communi- well be too late! put differently, what we have today is not a cations which is further departmentalised intomodern presidency. It does not have the ine ive core divisions headed by requisite experts • Mr. Oma Djebah, a Global Journalist,attributes of the United states template, which and sound professionals. these are the ofice of Harvard trained Public Policy Strategist, for-we loudly claim to have modelled our presi- communications itself, media affairs, news me- mer Delta State Honourable Commissionerdency after. If buhari pretends or glosses over dia, research and lastly speech writing. these for Information, and erstwhile member of thethis rather complex issue, the result might well are all separate from the ofice of the press sec- Presidential Team on NEPAD and the UN Pol-be a disordered and poorly organized system. retary, presidential correspondence, schedules icy Dialogue on NEPAD, is the Chairman ofAccording to Hugo, ‘’he who plans the transac- and administration. the Board of The New Diplomat Multi-Media Ltd., publishers of The New Diplomat. but also critical in all of these, is the ofice
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