By Abiodun Komolafe

The Lagos State Government recently endorsed a food production agreement with the Niger State Government. The partnership, known as the ‘Produce for Lagos Initiative’, is aimed at ensuring a steady flow of agricultural products to the end consumers. Interestingly, this agreement is coming at a time Sheik Ahmad Abubakar Gumi is warning the Federal Government of Nigeria that unless it negotiates with the terrorists and bandits, recent attacks will be “the tipof the iceberg”.

Well, irrespective of what Gumi stands to profit from this threatening statement, it is obvious that insecurity in Nigeria is spreading and no region is immune from its fatal fangs. It is a statement of fact that, in this existential situation, nobody is safe. Sadly, Nigeria is beginning to look like a failing state and it is as if the terrorists are winning. Against the concept of the Peace of Westphalia which midwifed what we now call a modern state, what we are having is a direct challenge to the state. That 17 military personnel were murdered in Delta State by some yet-to-be-identified men could only be likened to a declaration of war on Nigeria’s sovereignty. To get things right therefore, one major step will be the fortification of the ‘Amotekun’ security outfit.
The Southwest has to find a way of containing the spread of this madness before it’s too late.

But, as it is, can an ‘Amotekun’ operative bear a rifle of the AK 47 brand? Therefore, President Bola Tinubu as a federalist must use his authority to evolve an Executive Bill that’ll devolve internal security mechanisms so that ‘Amotekun’ can be strengthened and its operatives properly trained to become Special Forces that can fight in the forests. Just as the late Rotimi Akeredolu spearheaded the establishment ‘Amotekun’ in the security sector, time is also ripe for the establishment of an ‘Amotekun’ in the agricultural sector by setting up a public-private partnership of Commodities Exchange before the end of this year. The governors should sit down with the likes of Akinwumi Adesina, currently of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other agronomists from the Southwest and in the Diaspora with a view to lighting up an immediate, short-, medium- and long-term agricultural rejuvenation for
the region. Fortunately, the states have the capacity to crowd-fund in a way that can link research
with finance and export markets.

During the campaigns, Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised to establish a National Commodity Board if elected into office. So, how far has his government gone with making the promise become a reality? In my considered opinion, the president should encourage the sub-nationals to set up Commodities Exchange with the minimum farm gate guarantees to modulate prices. In this way, the farmer produces more because he has the guarantee of selling all his farm produce. This system no doubt increases production. The Commodities Exchange provides storage facilities and increase markets. With these, everybody gains: the farmers produce at guaranteed prices and, because of the increase in production, the economies of scale makes it cheaper for the end-user. Still on Agriculture, the best analysis is still the speech given by the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo as the Leader of Government Business in the Western House of Assembly, introducing the motion for the establishment of the Cooperative Bank. The Cooperative Bank was set up in 1953, not as a Bank per se but to modernize agriculture in Western Nigeria – to move it from subsistence to commercial farming. But where is the Cooperative Bank as of today? Why wasn’t it recapitalized like Rabobank in the Netherlands and Crédit Agricole CIB in France, interestingly the two banks that have now become major pivotal lending forces to agricultural development in the two countries? Unarguably, Rabobank is one of the key reasons the Netherlands is the world’s 2 nd largest exporter of food and agricultural products, in spite of its having exactly the same land mass as Ekiti State.

Now that we have allowed the Cooperative Bank to go down, what are we going to use to revive it? Are the Southwest governors going to bring back the Cooperative Bank or are they going to start off another Bank to modernize agriculture because farming in the region is still primitive? Awolowo’s goals succeeded to an extent! But what instruments do we have today? Time it was in Nigeria when the Western Region was setting the pace. Now, where is the region in the scheme of things? Once upon a time in Nigeria, Western Region’s warehouses in London were edifices to behold. Where are they now? What has become of the Cocoa Warehouses at Ikeja and
Apapa? From the look of things, Awolowo is just a slogan used to win elections. Once that is achieved, our politicians forget about ‘Awo’, until another election cycle. Is it any wonder why the Awolowo family doesn’t take them seriously again?

Statism in this context does not translate into abolishing the state. Instead, it is about preaching the coming together of the state governments for regional aggregation for modernization. What we are saying here is that the states do not have the capital base or technical capacity to make a forward advance on their own. In other words, there is nothing wrong with statism except that we now know that the states do not have the fiscal mechanism to become real sub-nationals. So, they must come together to start with two or three key issues, starting with the modernization of agriculture and education to make Yorubaland competitive again. Let it be noted that nobody is advocating the abolition of the Yoruba State because it’s not going to happen! However, it is a fact of life that statism as a political system has set the Yoruba nation back. Indeed, this is the weakest ebb the Yoruba has ever had since the treaty that ended the Kiriji War. Basically, the treaty that ended the 16-year civil war triggered a renaissance, especially in terms of education, agriculture and others in Western Nigeria. Had successive Yoruba leaders been diligent in their responsibilities, the Yoruba nation would by now have been ways ahead of other regions. So, why not invoke the spirit that led to the massive development of the Western Region and the building of a modern Yorubaland based on modernized, value-addition agriculture? After all, there is no alternative to working together!

As the pioneer Administrative Secretary of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) and an active participant in the efforts that led to the publication of the ‘Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Strategy Roadmap’, aka DAWN Document, yours sincerely can attest to copies of that Document for regional integration, let alone digest its contests? Again, this is where we have been failing as a nation and people. It is unfortunate that the leaders of the Yoruba nation have become too complacent. It is also sad that Yorubaland has been reduced to a loaf of bread with the privileged clique and entrenched interests taking as many slices as they please, thereby leaving the mass of the people pathetically deprived. Ours has become a land with so much divinely-deposited assets but languishing in inexpressible poverty. It is the reason an Ogbomoso indigene is not interested in what happened between Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola. It is also the reason an Ijebu man sees an Ogbomoso man as his enemy without bothering to dig up the reasons for the bitter politics that ultimately succeeded in putting the two families on the path of permanent acrimony.
May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

*KOMOLAFE writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

By Gidado Ibrahim

In presidential democracy, the place of role allocation to different arms of government is unambiguous. The legislative arm of government is the bastion of democracy. Suffice to explain that the two other arms of government exists in various forms under military or other kinds of autocratic rules, the parliament is a revered institution.

In fact, it is the guage through which the strength and viability of any democracy is measured. Technically, it is right to say, with the National Assembly, the key to national treasury is safe because the president can seldom spend until the parliament appropriated. The legislature of any country has an assigned roles, which is to make budget for the executive to implement.

The ongoing alleged N3.7 trillion budget padding brouhaha at the National Assembly is no longer news. What’s news however, is the extent to which merchants of mischief are ready to spread their dragnet. Since this controversy broke out early last week, a lot of surreptitious attempts have been made to link the scandal to Presidebt Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government.

Frankly speaking, this is the whole intent: to embarrass the government and thereby score cheap political points. This is politics playing out at the National Assembly. It has nothing to do with President Tinubu. It is sad that at a time of national concern such as the country is facing, some highly places persons have chosen to play politics with governance.

This is a time politicians should rally around the president on how to collectively tackle our national challenges. This can only happen where politicians are prepared to leave politics at the level of fair debate. But certainly not in Nigeria where politicians seek to bring down the roof if an election goes against their wish.

In the whole of these, the political stakeholders from the North must realise that every part of Nigeria has the right to rule the country. Needless to remind our Northern stakeholders of the pivotal role Asiwaju Bola Tinubu played that led to the emergence of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. As the time-tested saying goes, “One good turn deserves another.”

The term “executive arm” or “executive branch” refers to a part of government responsible for enforcing laws and managing the day-to-day affairs of the country. It’s typically contrasted with the legislative branch, which makes laws. Against this backdrop, there’s nothing joining the president and the presidency in the whole of these, except that some mischief makers are bent on making capital out of these.

For the records, Tinubu has since assumption of office, established a clear direction for his government in terms of policies and programmes. Asiwaju is not apologetic about it. In his leadership diary, if you do well, you’ll be rewarded with more responsibilities. It stands to his credit that when he discovered the unwavering determination of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, to turn the fortune of the nation’s capital around, he immediately supported him with the removal of FCT from Treasury Single Account (TSA). This action, analysts and Nigerians roundly applauded because it will avail the Minister more money to accomplish more.

On the flip side, those who doubted President Tinubu’s capacity to fight corruption were proved wrong when he suspended his Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Betta Edu. Immediately the allegation of financial infractions bordering on the approval of payment of about N585 million into private accounts became clear, Tinubu didn’t hesitate to unleash the sledge hammer. Needless to remind merchants of mischief of Beta Edu’s predecessor, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, who was made to cough out over N37 billion of stolen money.

For the National Assembly, the scandal holds a number of consequences, including loss of public trust. The scandal is capable of eroding public trust in the National Assembly and government as a whole. Many Nigerians feel that the legislators are more interested in enriching themselves than in serving the public good.

On the other hand, lawmakers must know that a house divided against itself cannot stand. I mean lawmakers who are divided against themselves can cause several negative consequences for a country:

Stalemate and inefficiency: Divided lawmakers can struggle to agree on legislation, leading to delays in passing important bills and hindering progress on national issues.

Gridlock and political instability: Deep divisions can make it difficult for the government to function effectively, potentially leading to political instability and crises.

Weakened ability to address national challenges: A divided legislature may be less effective in addressing pressing national challenges, such as economic problems, security threats, or social issues.

Increased partisanship and extremism: Divisions can exacerbate existing political tensions and lead to more extreme positions being taken by both sides.

Public disillusionment with government: The public may lose faith in government if lawmakers are seen as being more interested in scoring political points than in working together for the common good.

Let me restate that the president cannot be blamed for the offenses of the parliamentarians. The executive and parliament are separate figures in a government, each with their own independent roles and responsibilities.

Let us not get things twisted. In the area the constitution empowers the president to supervise, he has demonstrated capacity, courage and shown that there’s no sacred cow in the executive. The allegation of N3.7 trillion budget padding at the National Assembly, true or not, should be handled by the agencies of government responsible for torchlighting such issues, instead of satanically attempting to link the whole saga to the President.

What well-meaning Nigerians expect from our lawmakers raising unnecessary alarm in the Red Chamber is to apologise when they are wrong and stop looking for sectional sentiments and regional colourations that support their misdeed. I have insisted severally that our anti-corruption agencies should stand firm against the enemies of the country who could be plotting to create another crooked dimension to looting Nigeria dry under this government.

There are so many issues of national interest yawning for attention, including fraudulent transactions within 28 MDAs bordering on illegal withdrawal of N13.95trillon as revealed by audit report, security challenges, as well as the need to recover stolen public funds to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians, and a host of others that are far better important than unfounded arguments over budget padding and allocation of constituency projects.

At the moment, President Tinubu is focused on economic revival and not this cheap ploy to divert attention from the renewed hope agenda and a carryover of campaign of calumny from the 2023 campaigns. Finally, there is no need to pay these mischief makers in their own coin. Vengeance is not necessary because those with corrupt hearts destroy themselves.