Nigeria, a nation crippled by public servants

Casmir Igbokwe

The joke in town now is that the letter ‘C’ in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the North-East Development Commission (NEDC), and some other Nigerian government agencies represents one word – Corruption. As simplistic as this appears, it draws our attention to the plight of a nation crippled by the ministries and agencies established to salvage it.

For now, the major attention is on the NDDC. The commission reportedly got N81.5 billion between October 29, 2019, and May 31, 2020. It expended all. Not on major infrastructural projects but on frivolities and inanities. The House of Representatives is probing it. The Senate has turned in its own verdict. And the forensic audit ordered by the Federal Government will likely turn in mind-boggling sleaze in this agency.

The Senate verdict is straightforward – sack the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the commission, led by Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei. The upper legislative chamber also asked the management of the commission to refund extra budgetary expenditure of N4.923 billion made between March and May 2020 to the Federal Government. The beneficiaries of this money are members of the NDDC IMC, other staff members and the Police High Command. The Senate vowed to review the act establishing the NDDC and asked the Federal Government to constitute a new board for the commission, which should be under the Presidency for proper supervision. It indicted the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, headed by Senator Godswill Akpabio, and accused it of negligent supervision.

Simply put, this interventionist agency has raped the resources of Nigeria. Over the years, it has been a cash cow for corrupt contractors and staff. It is common knowledge that once one gets a job in the NDDC, one’s fortune is made for life. Imagine sharing N1.3 billion as COVID-19 palliative to staff!

Meanwhile, while the staff and contractors took good care of themselves, the major reason for setting up the agency in 2000 – development of the Niger Delta – suffered. All over the region, abandoned projects are more than the completed ones.

For instance, the NDDC reportedly paid millions of naira for non-existent and abandoned projects in some communities in Delta State. In one community called Ifiekporo, in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, NDDC awarded contract for water project. But, according to Premium Times investigation, the project was not executed. Out of about 20 water projects the NDDC reportedly commissioned in some parts of the state, only five were said to be functioning. The rest were either not executed at all or abandoned. A certain Bienci Resources Nigeria, which secured the contract to reactivate the water supply scheme at Ifiekporo community, was discovered to be non-existent. There are many other fake companies, which got paid for roads, water, power and some other contracts. Many of these projects were never executed. In Imo, Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Edo states, the story is the same.

While the equally corrupt lawmakers regaled us with the sleaze in the NDDC, the alleged disappearance of N100 billion in the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) surfaced. The North-East region is directly bearing the brunt of the Boko Haram insurgency. Millions of people have been displaced from their homes. Thousands of others have died. And the agency created to intervene and ameliorate the suffering of the people has in itself become the problem. The House of Representatives is set to probe the commission over alleged corrupt practices, ranging from inflation of contracts to award of non-existent contracts to contract splitting, among others.

At the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and many other agencies of the government, it is the same story. Money meant for development and critical intervention in areas of need has been wasted with impunity. And we have moved on, as if nothing is amiss. Last November, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts accused 25 government agencies of funds mismanagement. Problem is, these accusations and probes yield nothing at the end of the day. Remember power probe and fuel subsidy probe? They are all nothing but circus shows.

The fact remains that corruption and the perception of it have worsened in Nigeria. At the inception of this administration in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari made fighting corruption one of the cardinal targets of his administration. But from the look of things, the more they try to fight this monster, the more it festers.

Sincerely speaking, there is no country where you won’t find corrupt people. The difference is in the commitment and seriousness in tackling it. In a place like China, corruption is considered a mortal sin. It carries the death sentence, if convicted. Some senior government officials in that Asian country have actually been executed on account of corruption. This may appear too harsh, but it is working for them.

If we go the China way, perhaps, not up to 10 per cent of Nigerians will survive. Hence, it is not recommended. But there are tough measures the incumbent government can take to redeem itself. President Buhari, in particular, must do something to salvage whatever is remaining of his battered image. Most people believed so much in his ability to cage corruption. Many of them are disappointed today.

If the President were to be alive to his responsibilities, some of his appointees should not remain in office by now. With the allegations and counter-allegations hovering around the NDDC, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Akpabio, has no moral right to remain in office. He should go with the members of the IMC as recommended by the Senate.

If the President were alive to his responsibilities, he would have set examples with public officers indicted for corrupt practices in the recent past.

It all boils down to leadership deficit, which has been the bane of Nigeria. It is not just the problem of the central government. It permeates through the states, local governments, ministries, departments and agencies of government. The tragedy is that there doesn’t seem to be any hope on the horizon. The two major political parties that should provide us with good leaders are surrounded by wolves in human clothing. All you see and hear are infantile bickering that lowers the estimation of our politics before right-thinking members of civilised societies.

Go through the verbal exchanges between the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and you will understand my point. Last week, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, reportedly returned to the APC from the PDP. The ruling party was happy such that when the opposition party asked the President to resign on account of the widespread corruption and insecurity that have hit his administration, the APC’s response was that the PDP was disturbed by the gale of defections threatening it. Jokers!

For us to tackle corruption effectively, we must first of all solve the country’s leadership problem. The best way to do it is to reform our electoral and political systems. We should be able to vote out any corrupt government that fails in its responsibilities. If people in power know that there is an effective way of rejecting them at the polls, it will make them to sit up. If we get this right, other things will follow. But will the powers that be go for such reforms? It is very doubtful. After all, they are direct beneficiaries of the shenanigans.

• Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, July 27, 2020

Akpabio, Nunieh, Magu & Malami

Casmir Igbokwe

The past few weeks have been very interesting for Nigeria. Corruption and the forces fighting it have been entangled in an intricate war. I thought the capture of suspected cybercriminal, Raymond Abbas popularly called Hushpuppi, would put an end to Nigeria’s disgraceful outing on crime this year. I was mistaken.

Last week happened to be more eventful. Different public officers claimed that corruption was fighting them. Ibrahim Magu, the nation’s erstwhile frontline corruption hunter, suddenly became the haunted. He spent some days in custody and is facing a presidential panel probing his activities in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Though he has been suspended as the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, he believes he is innocent and has asked for fair-minded hearing from the panel.

On his part, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said he was traumatised by different allegations which had subjected him to “considerable distress, psychological trauma, anxiety and greatly injured his character and reputation.” He has threatened to go to court.

It is at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), that the national drama is about to reach its climax. My old-time friend and former Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Joy Nunieh, revealed how she slapped the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, for alleged sexual harassment. In denying the allegation, Akpabio regaled us with how he was happily married and contented with his wife and that they were blessed with four daughters. He also enthused that he had appointed several women into various high level positions like commissioners, permanent secretaries, etc and had continued to champion the cause of women. The two combatants have also threatened legal actions against each other.

It is becoming more interesting and I think we are in for a long-drawn war. None of the characters involved in this comedy show plays minor role anywhere. Akpabio does not shy away from political battles. And Nunieh is a veteran of many struggles, including the Ogoni emancipation struggle. Look at the way she outmanoeuvred the security agents who stormed her house in Port Harcourt last week to arrest her. She called Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, who quickly came to her rescue and took her to Government House to cool off.

As the headlines these days go, President Muhammadu Buhari has been ordering and vowing to deal with the variegated mess in the country. But, the more he vows to get to the root of the crisis rocking the NDDC, the more the mess.

The other day at the National Assembly, the Acting MD of the commission, Professor Kemerbrandikumo Pondei, walked out on a House of Representatives panel probing the alleged N40 billion irregular expenditure of the commission in Abuja. According to Pondei, the House Committee Chairman, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is an accused party in the matter and cannot preside over the investigative hearing. On his part, Tunji-Ojo alleged that the commission’s expenditure between January and May 2020 was N81.5 billion which is far above the N40 billion they were asked to investigate. Part of the expenses reportedly include N1.5 billion as COVID-19 palliatives for NDDC officials, and N475 million to the police to procure face masks and hand sanitizers.

Even the Senate and the NDDC are also at loggerheads. NDDC Director of Projects, Dr Cairo Ojuogboh, reportedly said the problem was not with his commission but with the Chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on NDDC. He accused them of hijacking the 2020 budget of the Commission.

I don’t know what gave Pondei the effrontery to walk out on the House. But again, Buhari, in the words of his media aide, Garba Shehu, “has expressed strong determination to get to the root of the problem undermining the development of the Niger Delta and its people in spite of enormous national resources voted year after year for this singular purpose.”

For now, we can only wait for truth to unravel after the series of investigations currently going on. The only snag here is that the back and forth accusations have made us an object of joke in the comity of serious nations. I am concerned that the hitherto tough-looking Magu, whom I visited recently as a member of the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS), would be taking the same corruption drugs he has been administering to people. I am disturbed that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who supervises Magu, would be weighed down by allegations of corruption.

Little wonder, a recruitment agency in Dubai, Shirley Recruitment Consultants, advertised for some positions for Africans recently but excluded Nigerians. Don’t blame them. It is called perception. In corruption perception index, we have been scoring very low.

Not that we don’t have good and transparent Nigerians. We do. Recently, for instance, a Nigerian PhD student in Japan, Ikenna Nweke, received the commendation of the Japanese government and the police for returning a lost big purse containing huge sums of money. He even rejected the 10 per cent of the money which he is entitled to by Japanese law.

Besides, Nigerians have excelled in many fields of human endeavour. Dr Chidubem Obi from Anambra State scored 5.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) to become the first African to achieve that feat in Sechenov Medical University in Russia. In the United States of America, Nigerians are the most educated immigrants. Some of them hold commanding heights in that country’s education, health and business sectors. The first black woman to be president of the Harvard Law Review, Imelme A. Umana, is a Nigerian.

And just last week, a Nigerian from Anambra State, Professor Charles Egbu, was appointed the first black Vice Chancellor of a United Kingdom university, the Leeds Trinity University.  

These are the people who give us hope, who send signals to the world that not all Nigerians are criminals. As Ikenna Nweke put it, “The criminal elements are just a tiny fraction of the country’s 200 million population.”

Re: Galaxy of brains for Anambra governorship race

I just think that the dysfunctional nature of governance in Nigeria including Anambra has less to do with the poor educational or other qualifications of candidates for public office per se. Politicians over the years who have performed badly in office have degrees and solid years of experience as lawyers, doctors etc. Some of them have PhDs and even taught for years in the universities like Governors Ikpeazu of Abia and Ayade of Cross River. Look at the successive Attorneys General of the Federation from Andoakaa under Ya’Ardua to Adoke under GEJ and the incumbent Malami, all seasoned lawyers in practice who rose from the ranks to become SAN before they were appointed AG. Look at their records in public office. In the Nigerian system, you might get the best candidate on paper and someone who parades known credentials elected and he will end up as disaster in office. Let’s hope Anambra gets luckier after Obiano to get some with discipline and focus to govern with a sense of purpose and not carried away by the frivolities of paraphernalia of public office, a deadly virus that attacks most public officials in Nigeria!

• Prof. Obi Aginam, Canada 

Dear Casy, the galaxy of the eggheads that are jostling for Anambra governorship election of 2021 is great and intimidating but my concern has to do with leadership deficit in our body politics since the second republic. I pray that whoever emerges as the governor after the election must continue from where Peter Obi stopped. Obi showed good leadership in Anambra state. May God bless the souls of M.I. Okpara, Akanu Ibiam, Sam Mbakwe, Emeka Ojukwu and also the living ones like Jim Nwobodo, Peter Obi and the rest of them in and outside govt. Let Anambra vote wisely. God bless Anambra and Igbo land.

• Eze Chima C. Lagos, +2347036225495

Prof. Chukwuma Soludo who is incidentally your brother and starting point is a first class brain. The other side of him is that people are complaining that he is not a good mixer with average people. Secondly, shall we continue to produce the adherents of Roman Catholic denomination? The same thing goes to Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, Chief Obiora Okonkwo and Dr. Godwin Maduka who are incidentally the first class brains in Anambra with Roman Catholic background. In the case of Sen. Ifeanyi who is incidentally a Roman Catholic and business mogul with poor academic background, we should recall that Americans told Ross Pero that there is difference between the management of private and public sector. The other sides of Mrs. Uche Ekwunife who defeated Chief Victor Umeh to equalise the defeat meted to her by Umeh are (i) She is now from Anambra Central.(ii) She is a Roman Cath. (iii) She was a 3rd class student who cannot beat the records of Chief Umeh in the red chamber not to talk of beating the records of her predecessors if she eventually emerges as a governor.  The only option is Chief Godwin Ezeemo who is incidentally a good marketer and business mogul with Anglican Communion background.

-Mr. Chinedu Ekwuno (JP) 08063730644

Anambra 2021 gubernatorial election is going to be interesting in the sense that those aspirants are not pretenders but contenders in their ambition to rule. All the bigwig aspirants have what it takes to develop Anambra state. May the will of God be done in Anambra state in 2021!

• Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, +2348062887535

Dear Casmir, I expected you to title it “Galaxy of Stars”. Glory be to God that Anambra is now parading professionals in politics. It’s a state that never had their boys reading beyond primary six in the 80s and JSS3 in the 90s. Salvation has come to the house of Israel.

– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +2349095385215

Ndi-Anambra should vote wisely to ensure that the best candidate succeeds Obiano. Also, Federal Govt. should make sure that there is level playing ground. INEC and security agents should discharge their duties professionally.

• Smart, Abakaliki, 08134774884

Casmir, it’s easier to put together a galaxy of stars or an avalanche of men with fantastic academic records pre-election period. However, what we lack, even as a nation, is an avalanche of ‘men of integrity’ with a genuine heart for ‘selfless service’. Anambra and Nigeria desperately need men who are ‘legacy conscious’ and who desire that their names be written in gold in their states or country’s hall of fame.

  -Mike, Mushin, +2348161114572

• Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, July 20, 2020

Galaxy of brains for Anambra governorship race

Casmir Igbokwe

Anambra State is blessed with abundant human resources. In 2021, the people of the state will go to the polls to elect a successor to Governor Willie Obiano. Even before the campaign officially starts, the challenge the majority of the people of the state will have is choosing among the galaxy of stars who will be vying for the number one position in the state. From the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the quality of the governorship aspirants is super. That is the type of human quality we desperately need to contest elections in other states and at the federal level in Nigeria. Today, we will briefly examine the credentials of some of the key aspirants. Their strengths and weaknesses will be analysed when the political drumbeat reaches a crescendo.

Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is our starting point. Though he has not formally declared, he appears to be the only one to beat in APGA. Born at Isuofia in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, Soludo is a first-class brain. He is a product of Uga Boys Secondary School, Uga in Anambra State. He graduated with a first-class in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Thereafter, he did his postgraduate and doctorate degrees in Economics from the same UNN.  He was the best graduating student at all the three levels.  

Though he has held different positions in government, he stood out as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria between 2004 and 2009. Under his reign at the CBN, Soludo championed banking consolidation that changed the landscape of our banking industry for good. It was popularly christened the Soludo Solution. He had variously worked as a consultant in world renowned institutions like the World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,  European Union, African Development Bank and many others too numerous to mention. In September 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him as a member of the Economic Advisory Council. A multiple-award winner, Soludo is Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), Nigeria’s third highest national honour. He is married with children.

Mr Valentine Chineto Ozigbo, the immediate past President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) is of the PDP. The Transcorp conglomerate comprises Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, and Transcorp OPL281 (an oil and gas company).  He stepped down as President of the group in March 2020 and retains a seat on the boards of Transcorp Plc, Transcorp Hotels plc and Transcorp Power Limited. Currently, he chairs the Finance and General Purpose Committee of Transcorp Power Limited.

Ozigbo hails from Amesi in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. A Chevening Scholar, he holds a B.Sc. in Accounting and an MBA in Banking and Finance both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He also has M.Sc. in Finance at the Lancaster University, United Kingdom. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Institute of Tourism Professionals and the Institute of Credit Administration.  

He is widely travelled and has over 25 years experience in corporate transformation, hospitality, energy and banking. Ozigbo is a multiple award winner. He is married with children.

High Chief Obiora Okonkwo had his early education in Onitsha, Anambra State. He later proceeded to Russia where he had a first class in Economics from the Russian Peoples Friendship University in Moscow. He obtained his master’s in economics with distinction from the same Russian Peoples Friendship University in Moscow. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the Russian Academy of Science, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Moscow; a Professional Fellowship Doctorate from Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria and Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Arbitrators and Mediators of Nigeria.

Dr Okonkwo is the winner of many awards and author many books. He hails from Ogidi in Idemili-North Local Government Area of Anambra State and is the Chairman of the boards of many companies. Some of his companies include The Dome Entertainment and Hospitality Limited, Solicom Engineering Limited, Private Airline Services Limited (PASL), Rokada Security Company Limited, among others. A widely travelled man, Okonkwo is a Knight of the Order of King Leopold, the highest national honour bestowed on foreign nationals by the King of Belgium. He also holds different traditional titles. He is married with children.

Dr Godwin Maduka is an accomplished Harvard trained medical doctor based in Las Vegas, United States. He is the founder of Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Centre and one of the best in pain management in the world. Born in Umuchukwu formerly Nkerehi in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Dr Maduka went to Nawfia Comprehensive Secondary School and All Saints Grammar School, Umunze. After his secondary education, he got an admission to study medicine at the University of Port Harcourt but could not do the programme due to lack of money. With monetary support later from his younger brother, he moved to the United States where he got full scholarship to study Medicine at the University of Tennessee.  He was also at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for his postgraduate training. After his education in 1997, Maduka moved to Las Vegas where he worked as an anaesthesiologist at some hospitals before starting his own practice.  

He is well known in Anambra State for his philanthropic credentials. He has invested millions of dollars in various developmental projects in his hometown, Umuchukwu. Some of them include churches, schools, market, police station, magistrate court, houses for the poor and a 17-storey medical research centre. He holds a chieftaincy title of Okeosisi Orumba (Big tree of Orumba) and has won many awards including Africa’s Most Inspirational Developmental Entrepreneur and Philanthropist in 2017. He is married with children.

Mrs Uche Lilian Ekwunife nee Ogudebe popularly called Iyom by her admirers is an amazing woman. She hails from Igbo-Ukwu in Aguata Local Government Area by birth and from Nri in Anaocha Local Government Area by marriage. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Accounting from the University of Calabar and an MBA from Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Before venturing into politics, Mrs Ekwunife was in the banking sector where she rose to become area manager.

She currently represents Anambra Central Senatorial District in the Senate. Mrs Ekwunife is the only woman in the race for now. But she is a woman who can do even more than what a man can do. Recall that she defeated the former Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, in the last senatorial contest for Anambra Central Senatorial District.  Before going to the Senate, she was at the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2015. She represented Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia constituency of Anambra State. Uche is married to Larry and they have children.

Senator Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah may not be an academic giant but he is a bulldozer in business.  He is the CEO of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, the founder of The Authority Newspaper, and owner of Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club. He is also a politician of no mean repute. Ifeanyi, who hails from Otolo, Nnewi, in Anambra State, learnt trade at a young age. He was once an exporter of tyres and spare parts to some West African countries and DR Congo. He has been able to attend local and international business courses and seminars in leadership and business management. He dumped APGA for the relatively unknown Young Progressive Party (YPP) and contested for Senatorial election last year. Surprisingly, he clinched the ticket, defeating candidates of formidable parties like APGA, the PDP and the APC. He currently represents Anambra South in the Senate. What Ubah has going for him is his philanthropy and human empowerment schemes. He is married and has children.

Chief Godwin Chukwunaenye Ezeemo is another consummate businessman. He is the Chairman of The Orient Group of Companies which comprises over seven subsidiaries including Orient Export Limited, Sokka International, Orient Feed Mill and Farms Ltd., Global Orient Water, Orient Daily Newspapers, among others. Born in Umuchu in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, Ezeemo attended St. Peter’s Secondary School, Achina in Anambra. He later obtained an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) in Marketing from the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro. He controls his chains of businesses from his base in Anambra. Ezeemo is happily married.

By and large, any one of these formidable aspirants has what it takes to transform Anambra State. As the day of reckoning fast approaches, Anambra people have no other option but to warm up for a great political contest. We shall keep you updated.

Re: Gov Bello’s COVID-19 cocktail

Dear Casmir, thank you for your Gov Bello’s cocktail. Kogi state was documented as the most corrupt state whose governor won where an opposition woman was burnt and murdered. In sane society, Bello should have resigned. He is a disgrace to APC and Nigeria.

• Chuma, Mbaise, Imo State, +2348057525085

Viewed from the background of confusion, uncertainties and arguments generated by coronavirus, you need not blame doubting Nigerians. In those countries that are regarded as the epicentre of coronavirus, observance of safety guidelines is compelled by the deadly virus. Whereas in Nigeria, compliance is usually enforced by our security agencies. These days, all deaths in Nigeria including those caused by old age are ’caused’ by coronavirus. The only exceptions are deaths caused by accident. The high and low of our society are caught in the web of the face mask drama. Vice-president Osinbajo wears his face mask. But I have observed that President Buhari doesn’t. I am confused and I need answers. Wearing of a face mask, we are advised by medical experts, is not about protecting yourself alone but also the people around you. Or is it that our president, like the Bellos, doesn’t believe in the existence of the virus?

• Edet Essien Esq., +2348037952470

Casmir, from my vantage position as a microbiologist, I see Gov. Bello as a ‘fatal accident’ that is waiting to happen in Kogi and by extension Nigeria. All travellers from Kogi should be treated with special suspicion as potential high risk covid-19 transferors.   

• Mike, Mushin, +2348161114572

Dear Casmir, I can’t blame Bello. We have to legislate against politicization of public health and undue intimidation of patients by health workers. Never in the history of lab tests have patients been diagnosed of ailments without being shown their results but people complained of that in this Covid-19.
– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu.+2349095385215

• Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, July 13, 2020.

Gov Bello’s COVID-19 cocktail

By Casmir Igbokwe

If he had been a medical doctor or pharmacist, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State would have been a disaster. His COVID-19 cocktail would have been a bizarre mixture. But he is not in the medical profession. Hence, it is still a puzzle where he got his coronavirus mishmash from.

Recently, Bello bellowed that COVID-19 was a hoax. He warned his people not to give in to what he called fear and evil on the issues of COVID-19.

“It is a disease that has been imported, propagated and forced on people for no just cause. Nothing kills faster than fear. I urge you all not to accept cut-and-paste as COVID-19,” the youngest governor in Nigeria cautioned. He added, “Whether medical experts and scientists believe it or not, COVID-19 is out to shorten the lifespan of the people. It is a disease propagated by force for Nigerians to accept.”

He also believes the recent death of the state Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah, was natural and not COVID-19-related as reported.

Last Wednesday, precisely a day after Bello’s outburst, some hoodlums attacked the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. They reportedly carted away computers and other sensitive materials from the administrative department of the institution. Some of the materials were used for data collection and management of COVID-19 in the state. They also took away laptops and phones of some members of staff and patients. The management of the medical centre and the Kogi State government had been at loggerheads over the COVID-19 pandemic. The same strong dispute defines the relationship between Bello and officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). At a point, he barred NCDC officials from conducting any test in Kogi and asked them to leave his state or go on 14-day quarantine.

But, could it be true, as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged, that the “target and mode of the attack (on FMC) strongly expose a desperate mission to destroy gathered information, suppress statistics and completely disrupt COVID-19 management effort in the state”?

Only Bello can answer this. Nevertheless, his efforts to suppress the search for truth about COVID-19 have won many converts. To these converts, the daily update on the number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria is mere manipulation of figures. They think that some officials in charge of the management of this virus are profiteering from it and would not want an end to it. Their recurring questions are: if the disease is in Nigeria as such, why have we not seen many corpses in many places like we saw in Italy, Spain and some others? Since the disease has no cure, what medication is the government administering on the patients who have reportedly recovered from the disease?

I’m not sure if there are clear-cut answers to these questions. Even, the manner some state governors glibly announce their fall and recovery from the knockdown effects of this disease leaves some question marks as well. Ordinarily, our leaders are too secretive to talk about any sickness that knocks them down. But the reverse has been the case since this coronavirus surfaced in our country. The other day, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State announced that he had the disease. Hardly had sympathy messages finished landing on his desk when we heard that he had started playing table tennis and had fully recovered. Now, Ebonyi State governor is the latest patient among the governors. Also, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo and Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta are currently down with the disease. Let’s watch and see how many days their isolation will last. Some other governors who had suffered and recovered from the virus include Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna and Seyi Makinde of Oyo states, respectively.

Well, even if COVID-19 is a scam in Nigeria, is it not better to err on the side of caution? Did the same disease not kill the former Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, and the former Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi? What will it cost us to observe the safety protocols so that we don’t transmit it to the vulnerable members of society?

The doubts people like Bello created in the minds of some Nigerians negated the earlier ban on interstate travels by the Federal Government. In theory, there was a ban but in practice, what the government did was to open channels of multiple incomes for the security agencies. Drivers were made to drop as much as N1,000 per checkpoint. They passed the cost burden to the commuters who had to pay between N12,000 and N15,000 per trip from a place like Lagos to the East.

It was good that the Federal Government lifted the ban on interstate travels because the lockdown had collapsed completely. Some transport companies had to use vehicles without brand names to commute people. I don’t so much blame them because most of them had been knocked down economically. They lost billions of naira to the lockdown. A new luxury bus reportedly costs about N200 million. Many transporters took loans from banks to buy new buses only for the COVID-19 pandemic to surface and cripple their business. The implication of this is that they have to increase transport fares in order to meet up with their obligations to the banks and others. Even now that the ban is lifted, the major transport companies will spend a lot of money to put their long-parked vehicles back to shape.

The airline industry faced a similar challenge. They also lost billions of naira to the pandemic. For those that will still remain in business, regulatory authorities will have to ascertain the safety of their aircraft before they start flying again as many of the planes were grounded during the lockdown.

As it is now, COVID-19 does not appear to be ready to leave us soon. Rather, what we see every day is an increase in the number of cases. Currently, Nigeria has over 28,000 cases and over 630 deaths. Worldwide, over 11 million people have contracted the disease and over 500,000 deaths have been recorded.

What this entails is that we have to adopt different strategies to evade the disease, hoping that there will be a breakthrough in the research for drugs or vaccines to tackle the problem. The Federal Government is moving in the right direction by trying to open up the economy again. The hunger pandemic appears to be even deadlier now than ever before.

However, people should not let down their guard. When in public places, they should wear their masks and maintain social distance. They should also cultivate the habit of washing their hands regularly and using hand sanitizers when necessary, until we see a significant drop in the rate of infections.

May I, at this point, draw the attention of Bello to what happened in Ghana last Friday. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah was forced to resign as Ghana’s Deputy Trade and Industry Minister for disobeying coronavirus self-isolation measures in spite of being COVID-19 positive. Ahenkorah, who is also a Member of Parliament, visited a voter registration centre in his constituency, as Ghana is compiling new electoral roll for December elections. This drew condemnation from his countrymen. Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, did not waste time in accepting his resignation.

There is every need for our own leaders to be more serious with this pandemic. Lagos is showing good example. Last Friday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu reiterated the mandatory use of face masks in public places and warned that enforcement agencies would begin to charge defaulters to court. The Lagos State government has also accredited seven private laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests at reasonable cost. Testing and treatment in all state-owned health facilities remain free.

Community and religious leaders as well as corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations should join hands with the government to enlighten people about this pandemic. If, at the end of the day, it turns out to be a hoax, we will hail Bello and urge the President to give him a national award. But for now, let him join the train to drive coronavirus out of our lives.

Re: Edo and the APC ‘corn men’

Chinua Achebe’s ‘The Trouble With Nigeria’ squarely rests Nigeria’s problem on ‘a failure of leadership’. And by extension, let me add that Nigeria’s problem cannot be divorced from a failure of followership as well. An enlightened and disciplined followership necessarily evokes a strong and vigilant leadership. Nigeria’s failure is two-pronged: failure of leadership and followership. Oshiomhole’s chairmanship of the APC is an unmitigated disaster: a direct departure from the purposeful and progressive era of the Oyegun-led APC. The experimentations of Oshiomhole on Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu have merely depicted a man whose agenda was to extract his personal pound of flesh, even if the APC must die. An embarrassed President Buhari must have been relieved when he finally latched on or relied on an existing court order to cage the marauding Oshiomhole who has all along been acting like a Bull in a China Shop.

–  Edet Essien Esq., Calabar South, +2348037952470

Comrade Oshiomhole going back to his vomit over supporting Pastor Ize-lyamu governorship ambition is very unfortunate. With the ugly names the APC former chairman called Pastor lyamu in 2016 governorship election, Edo electorate should vote wisely to avoid resource looting at the end of the day. The Edo electorate should know that the devil they know is better than the Angel they did not know.

–   Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia,+2348062887535

Dear Casmir, according to Winston Churchill, the war time British Prime Minister, “a soldier dies only once but a politician dies many times before his death”. Politicking is about marketing of policies and principles but in Nigeria it’s about stomach infrastructure leading to social suicide. May God save us.

– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +2349095385215

 Casmir, Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu’s crisscrossing or swapping drama episode would make for an interesting blockbuster, best seller movie. Before you say Jack Robinson, they swapped in grand style and in record time. They are phenomenal. Their politics is worth researching into. Has there ever been such in world politics? Please, I need an answer, as I think it should go into the Guinness Book of Records.

–  Mike, Mushin, +2348161114572

• Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, July 6, 2020.