The much-awaited public presentation of the book, “Leading From The Streets: Media Interventions By A Public Intellectual, 1999-2019,” authored by myself, took place at the prestigious Alliance Française/Mike Adenuga, Ikoyi, Lagos, with aplomb on Wednesday, 8th May 2024. It was a three-in-one event that featured the unveiling of the book, a panel discussion on the theme “Tinubunomics: What’s Working, What’s Not Working, Why, And Way Forward,” and honors bestowed on six exemplary leaders from outside the corridors of power for their contributions to society by Leading From The Streets and not corridors of political power.

The public presentation and unveiling of the book were attended by Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who served as the chairman of the occasion, the former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Segun Osoba, a media royalty, former Cross Rivers State governor, the effervescent Mr. Donald Duke, and the man who charted a path for me in politics, former Delta State governor and irrepressible national political leader, Chief James Ibori. Intellectual governors, Prof. Charles Soludo of Anambra State, and his Edo State counterpart, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, were unavoidably absent as they are outside the shores of our country, but they sent words and representatives.

The private sector was also well represented, with the Chairman of HEIRS Holdings/UBA, Mr. Tony Elumelu, represented by the company secretary of UBA, Mr. Billy Odum, as well as Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, GMD/CEO of First Bank Holding, in attendance, personally amongst many others such as Mr. Henry Imasekha, an investment banker/Chairman of Berkely Group, and Mr. J.K Randle, one of the foremost accountants in our country. Other private sector players, too numerous to list in this short piece, were well represented, and we are most grateful to all of them.

As one of the readers of the book pointed out, because it captures the socioeconomic and political developments in Nigeria between 1999 and 2019 in one volume, any researcher who wants to learn about the dynamics of change in the evolution of politics, societal issues, and the economy of Nigeria should plan to have the book as a companion because it would be a useful compass.

Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who is the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, was unable to personally attend the event due to prior engagements but offered to send a representative to attend on his behalf. In a letter affirming his support for the book, he made the following observation: “By documenting history in books, we make ourselves part of the timeless fabric of humanity. That is as close to immortality as we can hope for.” He then concluded by stating: “For many years, you have been one of the preeminent public intellectuals in our country. I’m glad that your contributions through the years are now available in one easily accessible volume, and I congratulate you on this publication.”

The Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila’s complimentary statement provides the answer to the question that has been agitating the minds of some Nigerians who have been wondering why I published “Leading From The Streets,” which was presented to the public on 8th May. As the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu rightly noted, the book chronicles my personal contributions to nation-building through media articles spanning two decades of Nigeria’s return to multi-party democracy now encapsulated in one tome.

The hope is that the nuggets of wisdom contained in the book would give confidence to the masses and nudge long-suffering Nigerians towards pulling their skills and resources together for the prosperity of the nation and her people. It is also expected to guide those leading from the corridors of political power presently and in the future to learn from the documented past records of their predecessors so that they can avoid the mistakes of the past occupants of the seats that they presently occupy.

There is a popular aphorism: “If you want to hide something from the black man, hide it in a book.” To the best of my knowledge, no convincing evidence has been produced to back up that adumbration.

So, I do not subscribe to that notion; hence, I embarked on the mission of democratizing access to the book, “Leading From The Streets,” by distributing over two hundred copies nationwide free-of-charge to governors, National Assembly members, the Presidency – Vice President’s office, and the office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

 The Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of major private sector firms in telecommunications, oil/gas, including major players in the financial services sector, as well as heads of development and money deposit banks, are also among those to whom invitations were extended and copies of the book were sent.

A significant number of ministers, heads of departments, and agencies of the government were also sent copies of the book via GiG Logistics, which is an indigenous courier firm competing with multinational logistics firms like UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc. For patriotic reasons, GiG is my preferred choice for distributing the books.

In fact, the preference for GiG is my way of promoting the “Made in Nigeria” or “Nigeria First” mantra, which, in my view, should define the government at this point in time when Nigerians are groaning under the yoke of hardship arising from ongoing reforms in the economy, especially as the masses are complaining about the high cost of governance and the increasing burden of more taxation being imposed on them.

After the unveiling of the book by Gen. Gowon, GCFR, alongside other dignitaries, the panel discussion on the theme “Tinubunomics: What’s Working, What’s Not Working, Why, and the Way Forward” commenced. It generated tension as one of the panelists, Mr. Bala Zarka, a chartered accountant and leader of the Ikeja Lagos district of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), declared that “Tinubunomics” (an encapsulation of the reform politics of President Tinubu) was not working.

He became emotional in denouncing the reforms and almost drowned out the voices of the other panelists, including the moderator, Prof. Anthony Kila, Ms. Ayo Obe, a renowned civil rights lawyer, Mr. Sam Omatseye, Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation newspaper, and Dr. Dakuku Peterside, former NIMASA Director-General, who was co-opted into the panel.

As the other panelists pointed out, some of the policies are working, such as the removal of a substantial part of the subsidy on petrol pump prices and the devaluation of the naira, which are responsible for more money currently flowing into governments at subnational levels. Hopefully, the funds would be optimally utilized by governors through channeling it into developing the rural areas where the masses reside.

Petrol subsidy removal is also programmed to be the source of funding for the recently introduced Student Loans Fund, with Mr. Akintunde Sawyer as the Executive Secretary and Mr. Jim Ovia, the founder/Chairman of Zenith Bank, serving as the Chairman of the board. Without being said, it is expected that Mr. Ovia, who birthed Zenith Bank as the founder, a financial institution that has been a phenomenal success, will bring his magic touch to bear on the student loan initiative.

In my estimation, the positive effect of that policy can only be equated to the late sage Obafemi Awolowo’s introduction of free education in the Western Region when he was the premier, which leapfrogged the region into the stratosphere of prosperity in terms of education and socioeconomic development compared to her peers in the Eastern and Northern regions.

Overall, while Bala Zarka’s outburst reflects the anger of a sizable proportion of Nigerians on the streets who deem “Tinubunomics” (the incumbent government’s reforms) as not working, a significant number of Nigerians, represented by other members of the panel, see “Tinubunomics” as working, though not perfect. They emphasize that one year is too soon to objectively assess government policy. In light of the hightened level of hardship the policies are wreaking on the masses, in their view, some of the policies aimed at correcting past mistakes can be better implemented.

Remarkably, President Tinubu has proven to be a listening leader, as he has made efforts to give a human face to some of his policies by adjusting the amount of subsidy removed in petrol prices and naira devaluation. He has also done so by slightly adjusting the electricity tariff recently increased for those in the higher rung of society—band A consumers. He has just suspended the obnoxious cyber security levy which the CBN had imposed on the banking public while he (the president) was abroad wooing potential investors into our country.

The administration is also easing the palpable pains being experienced by the vulnerable members of society by way of palliatives handed to the masses directly and granting bridging loans to state governments as a buffer against the rising cost of living. With the incumbent government promoting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) use for mass transit buses to ease the cost of transportation, the masses may soon heave a sigh of relief.

Although some of the highlighted initiatives are still in the conceptualization stage, they hold promises to alleviate and ameliorate the pains currently being endured by a critical mass of Nigerians.

Understandably, the most critical element currently missing is patience, which is required from Nigerians to enable the policies driven by Tinubunomics to attain maturity. And l join the incumbent administration in pleading with our compatriots for time to enable Tinubunomics  attain maturity.

 On the flip side, the masses who are fast running out of patience are also demanding good governance and accountability via reduced cost of governance from the incumbent administration.

And president Tinubu has committed to that, but typical of government policies, they take time to manifest.

As the 35th president of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, stated during his inauguration in 1961: “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, But Ask What You Can Do For Your Country.” Our country appears to be in a similar socioeconomic and political situation that the US was in when President Kennedy made the speech that inspired Americans to resolve to pull the country back from the brinks economically. Similarly, for the good of all Nigerians, both those leading from the corridors of power and the ones leading from the streets, we all have to find a common ground/equilibrium so that our economy and country can take the much-awaited leap forward.

•Magnus Onyibe,an entrepreneur,public policy analyst ,author,democracy advocate,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

In the last couple of weeks, two issues have dominated discussion about Tinubu’s economy: the imposition of a cyber security charge on Nigerian bank customers by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the demand by organized labour through the Nigeran Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) for a minimum wage increase from N30,000 to N615,000. These issues are woven around the idea of taxation. A cardinal pillar of Tinubu’s economics, whatever that means, is the need to increase tax revenue. The current fiscal crisis arising from dwindling revenue, rising costs of debts and drastic devaluation of the naira mean that the government will be looking out for where to collect more money from the people. When you are a government that sees taxation as a prime fiscal policy, this disposition may become an obsession.

Of course, improving taxation is important for Nigeria’s economy and politics. It is argued that if our public expenditure is funded by taxes more than natural resources revenue, we could develop a real culture of democratic accountability as who pays the piper calls the tune. Taxation has the consequence of raising civil activism in defence of good governance. We see evidence of this in the recent outcry over the cyber security charge. So here we are debating whether bank customers should be charged 0.5% of almost every transaction they make based on a directive from the CBN to all commercial banks. According to the CBN directives, the charge is authorised by the Cyber Security (Prohibition and Prevention (amendment)) Act 2024 which instructs the banks to collect the charge from customers and pay into a National Cyber Security Fund under the management of the National Security Adviser to the President. 

The directive has triggered outcry by many Nigerians and threat of industrial action by the leadership of organized labour. Amid the furore, the House of Representatives advised the Central Bank to rescind the order. Interestingly, the House through a motion by its minority leaders, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, noted that the directive that the banks charge 0.5% of customers’ transfers contravenes Section 44(2) of the law that prescribes that only specified businesses should pay the charge, namely financial institutions, telecommunication companies, and internet service providers. By expanding the ‘tax’ to transactions by ordinary customers, the Central Bank has exceeded the powers denoted to it by the National Assembly in the Act. In lawyers’ language, the directive is ultra vires the powers of the Central Bank. After this legislative order, President Tinubu responds by directing the CBN to suspend execution of its directive.

In spite of the presidential directive to suspend the charge, we need to contextualize the directives from the Central Bank to understand what is wrong with public policy administration in Nigeria. Why did the CBN include ordinary financial transactions in the charge? Why did the federal legislature consider the imposition of a tax in the guise of a bank charge a proper response to the challenge of building a strong institutional protection against cyber attacks? Furthermore, what makes the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) the best manager of a fund to develop infrastructure against cyber attacks?

The inclusion of ordinary customer transactions in the charge must be an intentional act to expand the fund. Based on annual financial transactions, inclusion of ordinary customer transactions will boost the fund with trillions of naira. This will be a classic case of easy tax collection with little administrative costs. Tax avoidance will be minimal as almost every transaction will be captured. So, in the context of obsession with fiscal buoyancy by present officials, deliberate avoidance of law in the quest for more tax revenue will not be a conspiracy theory. There must be something intentional about it. The other possible explanation could be that those who promoted the amendment thought they had reflected their intention to include every financial transaction but did not realize that the actual texts of the law remained. So, the intent was to include all financial transactions. But bad legal drafting defeated that intention. A charitable explanation is that the actual intent was to exclude ordinary financial transactions. But the CBN blundered in crafting its implementation order.

Notwithstanding whether there is a drafting error or not, the first point to note is that what government imposes by the charge is a tax, and not a bank charge. The nature of a bank charge is that it is tied to a service provided by the bank. There are numerous such charges. We may argue that they are excessive. But each of them is well-defined as a fee paid for a stated service provided by the bank. It is the bank that provides the service that takes the benefits. But the cyber security charge is not a charge in respect of services rendered by the bank. It is a tax to raise revenue for the government to build technological resilience against cyber attacks. The Act states that the fund will be managed by the ONSA subject to audit. It is hard to understand the policy thinking that gives the ONSA, an advisory office, the statutory responsibility for project management for an expansive subject matter like cyber security. From the Act, part of the fund will be used to train cyber security professionals. How is the NSA the best person to manage such human capital development?

It is evident that the federal legislators did not benefit from a rigorous social science analysis of the proposed legislation or a good cost-benefit analysis before passing the law. This raises doubt about the quality of research and analytical thinking in the Nigerian federal legislature. It is true as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNCA) in its 1985 report states that African legislatures are notoriously incapacitated in terms of knowledge and skills for effective legislation. Such incapacity is evident in the work of the Nigerian legislature. Designating the NSA as the manager of a cyber security fund show lack of analytical thinking. It does not make much sense to tax bank customers to raise money for cyber security and authorize a personal staff like the NSA to spend tax funds running into trillions without appropriation or oversight. This is an institutional failing that speaks to lack of state capacity in terms of policy management.

It is obvious that we need to institutionalize higher capacity for policy analysis in the public sector in Nigeria to enhance state capacity. One area quality policy analysis is needed is on the issue of minimum wage. The politics of minimum wage needs clarity and effective management. Since the decision by President Tinubu to remove fuel subsidy on the first day of his administration, organized Labour under the auspices of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked for significant increase in the minimum wage. The two centres of organized Labour initially put the appropriate minimum wage at something more than N100,000. This was a far cry from the miserly N30,000. Recently, in response to the devaluation of the naira, organized Labour has increased the acceptable amount of minimum wage to above N600,000.

This demand sounds dubious to many who mock that if state governors cannot pay N30,000, how on earth can they pay N600,000. It is reasonable to doubt that any of the state governors would readily pay such amount. Not much for lack of financial resource as much as lack of goodwill and clear commitment to social and economic wellbeing of the people. We have significant democracy deficits in Nigeria both in terms of accountability and the sentiments of public good. But these deficits are rifer in the states. While the federal government could be said to have an improper understanding of development that underemphasizes human development, the states largely have no concept of development. If development occurs in the states, it is a mistake not a plan. State governments are more into acquisition and transactions based on political benefits and self promotion than development.

But let us interrogate the argument of organized Labour on why minimum wage should go up significantly. First, even before the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, Nigeria’s minimum wage was a starvation wage. It had no bearing to reality. It was lower than those of the poorest West African countries. There was no justification to pay workers the equivalent of $50 a month then. In today’s dollar terms, it is less than $20. This minimum wage would not take workers to work and back. It means that the minimum wage worker is trapped in acute poverty, with no visible escape route.

The tragedy of starvation wage in the guise of minimum wage in Nigeria is that it is supported by a plethora of deprivations that further compounds the multidimensional poverty of the Nigerian working class. As much as income poverty does not exhaust the nature of poverty people are exposed to, it is an important element of poverty and reinforces other dimensions of poverty. As Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum have pointed out throughout their sterling career, development should be considered from the perspective of how people’s capabilities are expanded using market and non-market frameworks.

Development as freedom, as Sen calls it, suggests that we place the enhancement of these capabilities central to economic and social development. But for development as freedom to be a moral concept of development, it should be rooted in a sense of equality. Equality of what, as the legal scholar, Ronald Dworkin (and Amartya Sen), would ask. To an extent, it is both equality of opportunity and equality of resources. There should be a basic minimum people should not drop to except by manifest choice. Those who work have made the required choice to escape less than that minimum. That is the moral justification of a minimum wage. There is an expectation that the minimum wage can provide the worker means to procure those basic social and material goods that are needed to guarantee the worker’s basic capabilities in today’s Nigeria.

From this moral perspective, the calculation of the minimum wage should proceed in the same manner that the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics determines poverty rate through required consumption of goods and services. The NBS first determines the basket of foods and other goods required for existence outside poverty and uses the costs of such to benchmark threshold for poverty. In the same vein, we start the determination of a fair minimum wage by asking what bundle of goods and services a person needs to consume in Nigeria today to be able to exercise his or her capabilities beyond the level of extreme poverty. We then put a cost to the bundle of goods and services. We can multiple the costs with a designated number of children and dependants that is reasonable to expect from a person in that rudimentary stage of economic life. That gives us a fair sense of what the minimum wage should be.

From this thought experiment, the appropriate minimum wage will be closer to what the NLC and the TUC are asking than what the federal government is willing to offer. This is what the process for determining a minimum wage should be if we take seriously two aspects of a moral theory of development, which are, enhancing capabilities and ensuring equality. The economics and the morality align in the matter of minimum. Bad economics argues that to boost productivity we need to scale down labour protection and deprioritize workers wages and wellbeing. One of the proponents of anti-labour economics, the Nobel Laureate, Angus Deaton, has recanted. In the March 2024 special edition of the IMF’s Finance & Development on a piece titled ‘Rethinking Economics’, he admitted that eroding labour protection, especially the right to unionism, is bad economics. Of course, the recovered truth is that improving equity and enhancing earning through fair wages help boost economic growth in real terms than wage suppression and high inequality. In the light of this recovered truth, Nigeria’s path to high and sustained economic growth lies through improved productivity of its workforce, which requires good wage and protection of workers rights, rather than excessive taxation and austerity measures. 

Lastly, there is the little secret of Nigeria’s fiscal crisis. Nigeria is poor and almost broke. Oil is not flowing as it ought. Export earning is not buoyant. Debt servicing almost takes everything we earn. Yet, politicians insist they must consume as if the country is China, whereas it is more like Niger. So, what do we do? Stagnate wages in the face of rampant inflation and devaluation? No. I insist that we significantly increase minimum wage. The issue is not as much about financial poverty as much as moral poverty: the inability to have the right priority. If we can pay one trillion naira for a costal road that is not a priority and give billions to subsidize pilgrimage, which even religious texts make a private obligation, then we can pay Nigerian workers minimum wage and not starvation wage.

A religious dimension was yesterday added to the efforts by the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye to stop the Niger State House of Assembly Speaker, Mr Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, from marrying off 100 orphaned girls as part of his ‘constituency project’. Although Sarkindaji initially backed out of the idea following social media backlash, the Niger State Imam Forum has vowed to go ahead with the marriage plan on grounds that it did not contravene any sections of the Nigerian constitution and teachings of Islam. The Director General, Niger State Religious Affairs, Dr Umar Farouk, who read their resolutions in Minna, the state capital, gave the Minister a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw her court case against the Speaker or face legal action. They also called on President Bola Tinubu to sack the Minister for an alleged attempt to cause religious disharmony in Nigeria.

This whole controversy started when Sarkindaji announced that he would marry off the orphaned girls in Mariga local government area of the state, in what he said was “aimed at alleviating the suffering of the impoverished.” He had pledged to pay the dowries for their bridegrooms and procure materials for the mass marriage. But on Tuesday, Kennedy-Ohanenye described the plan as “unacceptable” because it flouts the Child’s Rights Act. “These children must be considered, their future must be considered, the future of the children to come out of their marriage must be considered,” the Minister said. “I have filed for an injunction to stop him from whatever he is planning to do on the 24th until a thorough investigation is carried out on those girls, find out whether they gave their consent, their ages, find out the people marrying them.”

It is instructive that while announcing the programme, Sarkindaji had stated that Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, and the Emir of Kontagora, Alhaji Mohammed Barau, would serve as guardians to the female orphans during the mass marriage ceremony. He also added that the Kano State Commander General of the Hisbah Board, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, would be a special guest of honour. The invitation extended to the Governor, the Emir and the Kano Sheikh was deliberate: To introduce official, traditional, and religious endorsement for this strange ‘constituency project.’ And with the position of the Imam Forum yesterday, it stands to reason that the Minister has lost the battle.

For almost two decades, a marriage scheme has been part of the social programmes in Kano State, upon which billions of Naira have been expended. When in 2019 the current All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje conducted a similar wedding for 1,500 couples, he explained that the state government had provided complete sets of beds, side mirrors, wardrobes, and mattresses to the couples as gifts. Last October, the state government conducted another mass wedding of 1,800 couples comprising widows, divorcees, and spinsters selected from across all the 44 local government areas. Aside Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, the ANPP presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was among the prominent people who attended the wedding at the Emir’s palace. “The event reflects the deep-rooted values and unity of the people in Kano State and highlights the state government’s dedication to preserving traditions while ensuring a bright future for its residents,” Yusuf said before the festivities were concluded with a ‘Walima’ (traditional feast) at the Government House. The Kano brides were, however, adults, so the issue of consent was not a concern for that event.

Interestingly, this programme has also been gamed by some smart people. In 2012, for instance, Lawan Sadi and his wife Amina, who had been married for years, registered by deceiving officials into ‘joining’ them, just to benefit from the largesse. According to Abba Sa’idu Sufi, then Director-General of the board who attributed the trend to poverty and dishonesty, “the fraud couldn’t have been possible without the help of an insider and that was why we suspended the Hisbah commander in the area so that we can investigate the matter properly.” The said Hisbah commander, Sufi explained, “colluded with the unscrupulous married couples and fraudulently sneaked them into the exercise with the intention of making them to benefit from the N10,000 dowry given to brides, the N20,000 given to women for empowerment and the free furniture and kitchen wares distributed to the bonafide beneficiaries of the scheme.” 

Indeed, there have been many reports of ‘couples’ who simply buy into the programme to collect the freebies, with the contrived marriages terminated soon after. “Some of the Islamic scholars we consulted told us that any person who allowed himself to be re-married to the same wife when his first marriage was intact would only succeed in violating the union. Therefore, we urge people to allow the fear of God to guide their way of life,” Sufi said while appealing to the conscience of prospective husbands and wives.

Now that we have been told the Mariga marriages will hold next week Fridayas scheduled because Sarkindaji has already paid for it, there are pertinent issues. The Speaker and his enablers seem to believe that marriage is a solution to the challenge faced by orphaned girls. Even if they are of the age where their consent is considered acceptable, who will protect them if their marriages are terminated at the whim of the men who marry them? Whatever happened to a formal education, the acquisition of skills, and livelihood support that can ensure these orphans are supported to earn a decent income? Not to mention the confidence, self-esteem, and agency to contribute to their communities and their families, when they eventually do marry men of their own choice.

The marriage scheme continues to raise fundamental questions. If the government supports a man or woman to marry as the answer to poverty, what happens after the knot is tied? Who is going to take care of the family? And when children come from such marriages, how do they go to school? What about their health and other social needs? What safeguards are entrenched in these government arranged unions to ensure that the marriage institution remains sacred, and the bedrock of the family and community?

The greater concern is that we seem to be perpetuating intergenerational poverty in Nigeria. While announcing the suspension of his Mariga marriages on Tuesday although with a caveat that the decision was left for traditional and religious leaders in the area, Sarkindaji chided Kennedy-Ohanenye for obstructing his ‘constituency project’. But he overstated his case by asking her to visit the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Niger State to understand the challenges faced by young girls and their families. It may have been unintended but Sarkindaji has raised another problem that is also tied to the crisis of our irresponsible procreation. 

Last Sunday, Vanguard newspaper did a detailed report on the situation in Benue State described as “the hub of the IDPs in the country” with as many as 17 camps housing over 1.5 million people. “Given the dire conditions in the camps, the IDPs are faced with the challenges of inadequate food and drug supply, including insufficient sleeping spaces and other challenges that make life unbearable for them,” the report stated. “But amid these challenges, one notable issue in the camps is the high rate of new childbirths being recorded…Strange as it may sound the reality is that newborn babies are recorded in the camps in high numbers despite the living conditions of the IDPs.”

The development has necessitated an outcry from the Executive Secretary of the Benue State Primary Health Care Board, Mrs. Grace Wende, who is concerned about the “very high level of fertility and childbirth within these camps” despite their advocacy on the issue. “Today alone we noticed that there are 200 new births per month. It is quite high, and the government needs to do something about it,” said Wende who broke down the situation: “The 200 births I am talking about are just in Ortese IDP Camp. I am not talking about any other. 200 babies delivered in one camp in one month is huge. And we have not gotten the situation in other camps. Our findings indicate that the women there are helpless. Some women are remarrying within the camp, their husbands are not there; the husbands are also remarrying elsewhere. They are also sort of negotiating sex with women within the camp. Those are things that require that we intensify our advocacy and decision-making within the camps.”

This and many similar social problems across the country should be of concern to the authorities. For instance, Monday’s revelation by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Bello Hassan, that only 25 per cent of the value of customers’ deposits in banks across the country are insured by the corporation is disturbing. “Even though the number of depositors we are covering is about 98 per cent, in terms of value we are only covering 25 per cent, which means about 75 per cent of deposit value is not covered” Hassan said. But more depressing is this: “The value of depositors within the system is highly skewed. Only very few, about 1.02 per cent control about 74 per cent of the value of deposits.”

That about one percent accounts for 74 percent of bank deposits says a lot about the inequality in Nigeria which is evident in the growing millions of people who are now living far below the poverty line. Such a dire situation requires leaders, at all levels, who would come up with policies for income generation and equitable distribution. Not those who would be donating clay pots and burial clothes in their senatorial districts or marrying off some young girls (when their own are in schools) as ‘constituency projects’. 

The very notion of government officially arranging ‘marriages’ for their citizens speaks to the presumption that marriage resolves all challenges, whereas realities on ground are at variance with this position. As has often manifested, many offer to participate in these unions for short term gains, while the institution of marriage itself is gradually being perceived as a transactional enterprise. Besides, a system that encourages hurriedly arranged unions, without instituting the safeguards of respect, love, and care between the couple, merely institutionalizes the recklessness and trivialisation of a sacred institution.

On my way to the office yesterday, I listened to a popular radio call-in programme on WAZOBIA (99.5) FM. One of the callers, a woman, said the whole idea was about merchandising the girls, wondering what happened to the male orphans in Mariga. “Why is it that marriage is the only thing the speaker can offer the girls? And if it such a good idea, why is he not arranging marriages for the boys as well or are there no male orphans there?” she asked. These are valid questions. When senior state officials hide under the cloak of religion or culture to embark on policies and programmes that exploit the economically handicapped, increase poverty and deepen ignorance, they are only fueling the prevailing inequality in our country.

UBA, Elumelu and The Power of Foresight

When on Monday I received an invitation by WhatsApp to the 75th anniversary of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) slated for Monday, it brought back memories of an encounter I had with five men two decades ago. It was captured in my 4 August 2005 column. From my recollection, that UBA is still a brand today, and a powerful one at that, is testimony to the foresight of Mr Tony Elumelu. Below is what I wrote 19 years ago…

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I was privileged to attend a rather crucial business meeting in the morning of Saturday 22 January this year (2005). I had gone to interview Mr Tony Elumelu, then Group Managing Director of Standard Trust Bank (STB) at his Ikoyi, Lagos residence. By the time I arrived, he was already on the dining table, holding what appeared an informal meeting with four men. Those young men with him that day, as I would later identify, were Bunmi Akinremi, an Assistant General Manager with STB, Philip Oduoza, an STB Executive Director, Obinna Ofudo, Elumelu’s special assistant and Kennedy Uzoka, STB Managing Executive for the Lagos Region. The discussion, from an eavesdropping position, centred on the merger between the STB and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) that was then just evolving.

Apparently having realised that I was hearing what they were saying, Elumelu beckoned that I should come to the dining table. “Segun, come and join our discussion. Perhaps, we can benefit from your insights,” he said. The discussion was about what name to give the new bank. It was apparent that Elumelu preferred a retention of the UBA name while the four men were opposed to the idea. I was persuaded by their argument. But from his interjections, often laced with humour and banters, Elumelu told his men he could see beyond the surface. “Let us look at what we are gaining from this merger. UBA is already a global brand. That is an advantage for us and that is the way I want us to look at it.” His men were not persuaded.

When he realised that he was losing the argument Elumelu turned to me: “Now, let’s hear from Segun. Don’t you agree with me that UBA would be the ideal name for the bank?” Put like that, I knew I was being set up to play a supporting cast to a predetermined position. But it was a role difficult for me to play because I shared the sentiment of the four other men in the room. I made my point: “From what I have heard here, it would appear you are going for a merger between STB and UBA as equal partners. If I were told that STB and UBA merged and the new name is UBA, I would simply conclude that it is not a merger but an acquisition by the latter.”

At this point, Elumelu became rather uneasy. Then he turned to one of his men who had a laptop. They had apparently been toying with some ideas. He asked that the STB logo be put before the name UBA. “Gentlemen, you know that on our logo is letter ‘S’. What if we put the logo before UBA? That would still, in a way, give us Standard United Bank for Africa.” That concession appealed to his men but when it was done on the computer, what came out was somehow incongruent. Putting a logo before a brand name did not quite make sense. Besides, the colour of STB logo (red) and UBA name (written in amber) looked riotous. While that was the compromise achieved that day before their session ended so I could have my interview, it was also evident that Elumelu was merely buying time. He wanted the UBA name. It was part of his strategic calculation, a new phase in his banking journey.

In retrospect now, especially as we move towards the December (2005) deadline for the N25 billion bank recapitalisation as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), I concede that Elumelu could see what his subordinates and this reporter could not see and that precisely is what sets him apart from the rest. Within the banking industry, Nigeria is steadily moving to fewer but more financially robust banks that are better able to compete in the local and international markets. Elumelu could see that in the emerging scenario, the banks that will survive and prosper are those that can meet the expectations of depositors and investors for better returns and security. And sentimental attachment to a brand name would not matter.

What I took away from the session that day was Elumelu’s man-management style. One, all the young men who happened to be his subordinates were treated as equals with him as team captain and motivator. He was also addressed as Tony (his first name) by all of them and this created a relaxed atmosphere that allowed each person to air his view without any inhibition or fear. Elumelu equally did not force the issue as most bosses would do even when he felt a strong conviction about the benefit derivable from retaining the UBA name. 

However, while the tenor of the conversation may have been friendly, there was no doubt about who was in charge and that explains why Elumelu ultimately had his way. The result of what transpired that day and the compromises that may have been reached by both sides along the way became evident when the new bank was unveiled on Monday. The name UBA was retained but it also comes in STB colour (red) rather than the UBA amber. The bank also retained the STB logo, a testimony to the negotiating skills of Elumelu and his men.

That Elumelu has become one of the biggest bank chiefs in Nigeria today is no longer in contention. But industry watchers would argue he is only reaping from his long-term vision that the future of banking would be in the retail market. That explains why STB was opening real time online branches, penetrating the whole country at a time when most banks preferred to stay just in one little corner of Lagos, content with accepting cheap government deposits…

ENDNOTE: As UBA marks its 75^th anniversary with Elumelu as chairman, I can now see what he saw 19 years ago. He was not just interested in building a bigger bank, Elumelu was also buying into a legacy by retaining the brand name. Foresight!

In the illustrious annals of Nigerian heritage, His Royal Majesty, Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi), the Obi of Onitsha, stands as a paragon of wisdom, culture and progress, marking his 83rd year on mother Earth which is simultaneous with his 22nd year since ascending the throne. As the 21^st Obi of Onitsha, his reign has been characterized not merely by the regal adornment of a crown, but by the profound stewardship of his ancestral legacy, imbued with grace and vigor. As we commemorate this dual celebration, we reflect on his profound influence both nationally and globally, showcasing a life dedicated to the welfare of his people and the enrichment of their futures.

Born into the revered Achebe family of Onitsha, Anambra State, on the 14^th of May, 1941, His Majesty's early years were distinguished by sheer brilliance and insatiable thirst for knowledge that propelled him from the banks of the River Niger to the prestigious halls of ivy league Stanford University and later, Columbia University, all in the United States of America. It was in these institutions that he developed a profound understanding of Chemistry and Business Administration skills that he would adeptly deploy in both his subsequent corporate roles and his royal duties.

After a remarkable stint in the United States of America, Obi Achebe returned to Nigeria amid the tumult of the then raging Nigeria-Biafra civil war, opting to serve his homeland rather than pursue personal goals abroad. His return marked the commencement of a distinguished tenure at Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, where he excelled in various capacities, shaping industry standards and fostering community relations until his ascension to the throne on the 14^th of May, 2002.

Upon assuming the mantle of revered Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty immediately embarked on a transformative journey that interwove the threads of traditional values with the exigencies of contemporary governance. His leadership transcends the confines of administrative duties, evidencing a heartfelt commitment to the socio-economic development and upliftment of his community and his people at large. His roles as Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU), and as chairman of both Unilever Nigeria and International Breweries emphasizes his relentless pursuit of educational and economic empowerment for Nigerians.

His Royal Majesty’s commitment to peace and community engagements has had a spectacular positive impact on the society. Under his stewardship, Onitsha has witnessed a great renaissance of cultural pride, dignity and unity. His initiatives have skillfully bridged the gap between the old and the young, the rich and the poor; and the royals and the masses and proletarians. This has ensured that the ancient customs and traditions of Onitsha not only survive, but thrive amidst unpredictable global changes. His efforts in establishing peace and promoting dialogue have since earned him respect far beyond the borders of his kingdom to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

As we honour this remarkably handsome and highly travelled monarch of many parts, we do so with deep respect and sense of admiration for a first class traditional ruler whose life’s works epitomize the essence of wise leadership. The words of the legendary philosopher Plato resonate deeply when considering His Majesty’s reign: “The measure of a man is what he does with power.” Indeed, His Royal Majesty, Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi, the Obi of Onitsha has wielded his power with a blend of majesty; profound benevolence and service, championing the cause of his people and leading with a vision steeped in tradition, yet forward-looking in scope.

In his 22 illustrious years on the throne, His Royal Majesty, Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi, the Obi of Onitsha, has been a bastion of progress and stability for Onitsha. He has fostered a community in which traditional values are cherished, while innovation and progress are vigorously pursued. His Obiship has stood as a pillar of strength in times of turmoil; and a source of pride during periods of celebration and festivities.

The cultural festivals of Onitsha, especially the now globally recognized Ofala Festival, have flourished under his Majesty’s reign. These festivals, which he often personally oversees and leads, swaying majestically and magisterially with royal dance steps to the rhythm of traditional music are not only a showcase for the rich heritage of the Onitsha people, but also serve as a magnet for tourists from across the globe, enhancing the local economy and promoting cultural preservation. His dedication to these celebrations of Onitsha culture reflects his deep commitment to his roots and his earnest desire to share this rich cultural tapestry with the world.

As we celebrate the remarkable journey of His Royal Majesty, Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi), we acknowledge his profound contributions not just to Onitsha or Nigeria, but to the broader world at large. His life and legacy offer a blueprint for leadership that is rooted in wisdom, marked by a commitment to service, and aimed at the holistic development of his people. As King Solomon once put it most luminously, "Wisdom is better than weapons of war,". Indeed, His Majesty’s reign has been a testament to the power of wisdom and wise leadership over conflict.

Happy Birthday, sartorial and luminous Agbogidi! May your reign be long. May your legacy continue to inspire and usher in greater prosperity and peace for the Onitsha people, Anambrarians and Nigerians at large. Long Live the King! Long live Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, the Agbogidi who twinkles like a million stars.