Bashorun J.K. Randle’s Full Speech At Rotary Foundation Dinner

………….Giving and Misgivings

Satisfying Your Social Conscience Through Impactful Giving

Address delivered by –  By Bashorun J.K. Randle at the just concluded Rotary Foundation Dinner/Dance at the MUSON Centre, Marina, Lagos.

Let me start by commending Rotarians for their unique and monumental contribution to the moulding of character and institutionalisation of ethics together with integrity as the bedrock of civilized conduct of inter-personal relationships as well as virtually all aspects of human endeavour – through the Four Way Test:

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all?

As if this was not a sufficiently formidable achievement, you have added as your flagship project the worldwide eradication of polio in addition to the Cervical Cancer Prevention Project. May the Almighty reward you abundantly.

I consider it a special and inspirational honour to be invited to speak on the topic:

“Satisfying Your Social Conscience Through Impactful Giving.”

The reference to “Giving and Misgivings” is my own addition on account of my having been a Rotarian (but fell by the wayside !!) in the past. Besides, after fifty years of practising as a Chartered Accountant in Nigeria and beyond, I cannot vouch that everyone whose path crossed with mine had a conscience at all, not to talk of “social conscience” which suggests an enduring commitment to abide by the cannons of the “Four Way Test” in addition to giving back to society through impactful giving.

Permit me to share with you the experience and exploits of one of my ancestors – “Papai Gangan” who was the father of my paternal grandmother Maria. According to family folklore, during the endless tribal wars in Yorubaland in the 18^th and 19^th centuries Papai acquired vast fame and fortune on account of his dexterity as a soothsayer/fortune teller. Apparently, he correctly predicted the outcome of virtually every war. His speciality was water divining which he skilfully and tactically threaded into war strategy. Simply put, whichever army gained access to water supply would eventually prevail.

Anyway, what is relevant is that having established his credentials in the hinterland of Yorubaland, Papai relocated to Lagos which was then known as EKO. In next to no time he amassed a huge fortune and ended up with eleven houses – one for each of his children. Then tragedy struck. His children started dying one after another until only my grandmother was left. In desperation, he abandoned his property acquisition and retreated to the forest where he was in direct communication with the spirits. After seven days of fasting, the message delivered to him was blunt and cryptic:

“You must give all your houses (except one) to the poor. Otherwise, even Maria will soon die.” He duly complied and my grandmother not only survived, she lived until 1954 when she was approaching the age of 90. That was almost nine decades after that “impactful giving” by her father. If you have any misgivings about that episode, that is your prerogative.”

On a more personal level, I must confess that I was for several years an enthusiastic Rotarian in Lagos and Kano and did my best to be good Ambassador for Rotary. Whatever excuse I dare to tender for falling aside is at best lame or even tendentious. What I suspect is that as I climbed up the ladder of my profession and the responsibility of being the Chairman and Chief Executive of KPMG Nigeria; Chairman of KPMG Africa; President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria [ICAN]; Chairman of Eko Hotels Plc; Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Lagos State University; time became a very scarce commodity.

With the benefit of hindsight, I now realize that rather than subsidiaries my commitment to Rotary to other responsibilities what would have been more appropriate would have been to further re-inforce my commitment to the ideals of Rotary and supported Rotary Club activities locally and internationally with greater vigour.

However, I was not the only culprit. Although some of my contemporaries advanced to being President of the Rotary Club in various locations while two became District Governors, those of us who fell by the wayside nevertheless strove not to lie, cheat or steal – ever mindful that would remain Rotarians in spirit. I must add that the Rotary Club to which I belonged in Kano eventually produced the first President, Mr. John B. Majiyagbe.

Permit me to add that one of my Rotarian colleagues rose to the dizzy height of becoming an Executive Director in a leading bank (name withheld). This was a time of frenetic and aggressive banking – for big bucks. Acquisitions and Mergers amongst banks were the order of the day. His protestations against what he considered to be unwholesome and unethical practices fell on deaf ears. He was isolated and eventually sacked unceremoniously – not for fraud or incompetence. The powers-that-be had concluded that he was an obstacle to their mendacity and greed. The bank was savagely looted. Insider trading became the order of the day. Properties in prime locations were sold off cheaply to Directors and even the pension funds of staff were looted with reckless abandon. To cut a long story short, when I met him at a party last week he assured me that even though he went through hell – from the comfort of being a highly paid banker to being jobless (and almost destitute), he was a peace with himself and would remain eternally grateful for the difference the Rotary Club had made in his life and fortified his pursuit of what is just and what is fair – and transparently so.

However, what Rotary did not prepare him for was the volatile volcano which erupted and almost engulfed the entire banking sector when Nigerian banks were collapsing all over the place. The Governor of the Central Bank had ordered a “Stress Test” and a bank for which my Rotarian colleague was a consultant was a borderline case. A little bit of patient re-engineering and re-capitalisation by the shareholders would have stabilised the bank. Instead the bank was classified as “Distressed” and the name was changed overnight. The Central Bank became the new owner and proceeded to install a new management team which struggled to keep the bank going for a couple of years. Then out of the blues, a bank that had four hundred and fifty branches nationwide was to be taken over by a much smaller bank with less than fifty branches – allegedly on the orders of the Presidency. In those heady days in the vortex of high powered intrigues, my Rotarian colleague was utterly lost and he remains bewildered.

On last New Year’s Day, our former Rotarian announced to his family and friends that his New Year resolution is to return to active participation as a fully-fledged Rotarian – regardless of age and a certain amount of rustiness. His wife who is a medical doctor is not so sure that it is a great idea. She has her misgivings!! Her diagnosis is that her husband is suffering from PTRSD (Post Traumatic Rotarian Stress Disorder) which she describes as the consequences of the chaos and anarchy into which our nation has been plunged – in spite of the spirited interventions of the Rotary Club of Nigeria and Rotary International.

Our nation’s medical record have been exposed by the American author  Karl  Maier  in  his  book:          “THIS  HOUSE  HAS  FALLEN”

(published in 2000).

According to Nicolas Okpe: “The book is typical post-colonial prejudice by western journalists”. The book x-rays Nigeria’s past and present problems. The major issues missing in the book are kidnapping and Boko Haram, if not one would think the book was written just last week.

No doubt, one may not agree with what the western world is saying about Nigeria judging by their failing leadership and noting that most problems that have affected Nigeria today were created by the colonialists themselves. It helps if we are to listen to what others are saying about us either right or wrong.

Maier was the Africa correspondent for the independent from 1986 to 1996, and has contributed as well to the Washington Post and The Economist. In the Preface, Maier declared, “Designed by alien occupiers and abused by army rule for three-quarters of its lifespan, the Nigeria state is like a battered and bruised elephant staggering toward an abyss with the ground crumbling under its feet. Should it fall, the impact will shake the rest of West Africa”

He then added, “Very little trickles down. In the official arenas of international discourse —–the United Nations, the World Bank, the media —-Nigeria is known as a “developing nation”, phrase that conjures up images of economic progress of the sort experienced by the West or among the Asian “Tigers”, Nigeria, like so many countries in Africa, is patently not a developing nation. It is under developing. Its people are far worse off now than they were 30 years ago. The government spends up to half of its annual budget on salaries of an estimated two million federal, state and local government workers, yet the civil Nigeria was designed in 1914 to serve the British Empire, and the independent state serves as a tool of plunder by the country’s modern rulers. Nigerians spend a good part of their lives trying to get the better of the government for their own benefit or that of their family, their village, or their region. Rare is the head of state who acts on behalf of the nation. The people are not so much governed as ruled. It is as if they are armed and barricaded themselves inside the company safe. Nigeria’s leaders, like the colonialists before them, have sucked out billions of dollars and starched them (away) in western banks.

So far, the West has done little to help and has often made matters worse. It is hypocritical of the West to blame Nigeria for corruption, fraud, and drug running and to demand that Nigerians own up to their foreign debt while at the same time allowing the funds garnered from such nefarious dealings to be deposited in Western banks. “A man who receives stolen goods is called a fence, but what do you call a country that is in the business of collecting stolen goods?” asked Dr. Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, a U.S. educated dentist and businessmen, while in his Lagos office one day. “They lend Nigeria money, somebody here steals the same amount and gave it back to them, and then they leave these poor Nigerians repaying what they never owed. The role of the Western powers has been totally disgraceful.”

Maier went further to state that “Nigeria could, however, follow another. Its potential is huge. Its tremendous wealth, if properly channelled, holds out the hope that a stable government could unleash the unquestioned energy and talent that pulsates through the rich ethnic mosaic. The human capital is there. Thousands of Nigerian professionals are well-educated and skilled to drive the country forward. Anyone who has visited Nigeria’s markets and witnessed its people endure the constraints of bad government and the sinking economy can testify to the country’s resilience.”

As confirmation that Rotary is not alone in agonising over Nigeria and the formidable challenges of:

“Satisfying Your Social Conscience Through Impactful Giving”

“Daily Trust” newspaper of January 19, 2020 devoted its front-page headline to:

“NIGERIA WASTED N60 TRILLION IN SEVENTEEN YEARS – MacArthur Foundation”

“The John D and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has said Nigerian politicians wasted over N60 trillion budgeted for the country’s development from 1999 till 2018, making corruption to remain the single biggest deficit in the country.

The Foundation’s Country Director, Dr. Kole Shettima said this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering his goodwill message at the public presentation of the 258-page book, “Nigeria, Corruption and Opacity in Governance” written by Mr. Jide Ojo, a public affairs analyst.

Shettima, represented by the Deputy Country Director, Dr. Olaide Oladayo, said, “Between 1999 and 2018, Nigeria budgeted more than N60trn, the managers are politicians and not development partners. And we have asked what has happened to the N60trn budgeted for the Nigerian public and this is just the federal level.”

Shettima lamented that it is risky fighting corruption in Nigeria because those targeted will mobilise resources to obstruct it.

According to him, as things stand right now many people find it difficult to condemn them or even come out in the fight against corruption.

“A significant percentage of Nigerians has shown interest in the fight against corruption, and what that seems to suggest is that a lot of Nigerians when i is their turn to benefit, they don’t talk,” he said.

The author of the book, Mr. Jide Ojo, said the rationale behind the country’s inability to match the rest of the world can be found in lack of accountability.

According to him, the panacea to the country’s underdevelopment can be found in its ability to tackle corruption. “No matter the blame game we do it’s not going to solve the problem. Even if our budget increased ten folds and we don’t solve the problem of corruption. It will be like pouring water in a basket.”

The Director General Technical Aid Corps, Dr. Pius Osunyikanmi blamed the country’s corruption challenges on neo-colonialism.

“President Buhari has taken anti-corruption to a level that he is trying to make it one of the economic policies to be able to see that indeed we are able to recover as much as we could recover to be able to emancipate the people,” he said On its back page, the newspaper carried the following chilling headline:

“I WAS SOLD INTO PROSTITUTION FOR 500,000 CEFA”

“An 18-year-old victim of a human trafficking syndicate, Victoria Oshioke, has narrated how her boyfriend sold her into prostitution for 500,000 cefa (about N350,000).

Operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) disclosed yesterday that they rescued Oshioke, along with three other girls, from the leader of a human trafficking syndicate.

The girl told our reporter at the headquarters of the Lagos State Command of the NSCDC that she was first sold to the syndicate three years ago when she was 16-years-old and taken, first, to Cotonou, Republic of Benin and later to Mali to engage in prostitutio

But, as she said, she found her way back to Nigeria because she could not cope with the stress of having sex with different men. She said, “The syndicate took me to Mali where I was made to sleep with different men. I came back two years ago and later got a call from my boyfriend, Maxwell, that I should come to Benin. I was living in Auchi then. When I got to Benin along with my elder sister, my boyfriend asked me to go back to Mali.

“I refused. In the midnight, he threw us out of his apartment. For fear of being attacked, we agreed to go. The next day, which was Tuesday, he put us in a bus coming to Lagos after calling his contact, who resides at Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, residence and rescued Ishioke, together with three other girls, who were identified as Joy Aloaye, 22; Amaka Eze, 23; and Anuoluwapo Mustapha.

Our reporter learnt that Omowunmi Michael’s arrest was sequel to a disagreement between her and the girls over how much each of the girls would pay her.

The suspect had allegedly demanded an upfront payment of

N1 million from each of the girls before she would hand them over to the syndicate’s leader in Cotonou.

The girls were, however, understood to have refused to give Michael any commitment to that effect and she allegedly threatened to return them to Edo State.

 

It was further gathered that two of the girls, Aloaye and Oshioke, stormed out of the house in anger and proceeded to the main road where they asked a truck driver to give them a lift to Benin. It was at that point that the NSCDC officials sighted them and took them in for questioning

Parading Michael at Alausa, Ikeja, the Commandant of the NSCDC, Lagos State Command, Cyprian Ehi Otiobhi, alleged the suspect was apprehended on Wednesday January 15, 2020 at No. 13, Abuke Oku Street, Iyana Ipaja, at about 9.20am for attempting to traffic four ladies to Mali for prostitution.

“Two of the victims, Victoria Oshioke and Joy Aloaye, were transported form Benin, Edo State by one Favour, who is currently on the run, while Amaka Eze, who hails from Onitsha, Anambra State, was linked to the suspect by one Lekan,” he added.

Regardless, the Bill and Belinda Gates Foundation has remained steadfast in its diligent pursuit of impactful philanthropy in Nigeria

“Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation extending fundraising partnership to eradicate polio.

EVASTON, II. (January 22, 2020) – Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are renewing their longstanding partnership to end polio, announcing a joint commitment of up to $450 million to support the global polio eradication effort.

“Because of the efforts of Rotary and its partners, almost 19 million people are walking today who would have otherwise been paralyzed,” said John Germ, Past President of Rotary International who leads Rotary’s polio fundraising efforts. “By partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we’re ensuring that children in polio-affected countries get the lifesaving vaccines they need to be protected from polio for life. As the first organisation to envision a polio-free world, Rotary is more committed than ever to delivering on our promise that one day, no child will ever again be paralyzed by polio.”

 

To an audience of Rotary volunteer leaders around the world, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

 

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delivered a video message announcing the extension of a funding partnership forged more than a decade ago. Rotary is committed to raising $50 million per year over the next three years, with every dollar to be matched with two additional dollars from the Gates Foundation. This expanded agreement will translate into up to $450 million for polio eradication activities.

“The Gates Foundation’s longstanding partnership with Rotary has been vital to fighting polio,” said Mr. Gates in today’s message to Rotary volunteers. “That’s why we’re extending our funding match, so every dollar that Rotary raises is met with two more. I believe that together, we can make eradication a reality.”

In addition to the extended funding partnership with the Gates Foundation, Rotary is also announcing US$45 million in funding for polio eradication efforts in countries thoughout Africa (Angola, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan), and Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and the Philippines). The funding will help support crucial polio eradication activities such as immunization and disease detection, research, and community mobilization.

Polio – a paralyzing and sometimes deadly disease – is on the verge of becoming the second human disease in history to be eradicated. This critical funding helps ensure that children in at-risk countries are protected from polio, and that the wild poliovirus is eliminated in the last two countries that continue to report cases.

While only Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to report cases of wild poliovirus, the remaining challenges to global eradication – like difficulty reaching chjldren amid insecurity and conflict and weak health systems – have proven to be the most difficult. In order to meet these roadblocks head on and ensure the continuation of program efforts, funding and support from donors and world governments is imperative.

Rotary has contributed more than $2 billion to fight polio, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio eradication program, PolioPlus, in 1985. In 1988, Rotary formed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health OrganisationUNICEF, and the U.S. Centres for isease Control and Prevention. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance later joined . When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent.

Anyone can be a part of the fight to end polio and have their donation to Rotary matched 20-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Visit endpolio.org to learn more and donate.

(EFCC) for an alleged N6,549,942, 637.14 fraud in an arms deal. Also under scrutiny are the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada, a former Chairman About Rotary: Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. We connect 1.2 million members from more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. Visit Rotary.org and endpolio.org for more about Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.”

However, that is not all that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been doing in Nigeria.

According to the front page report by Gambo Dori in “Daily Trust” newspaper of January 28, 2020:

“The ALDAN (Advanced Local Dairy Development in Nigeria) programme is largely funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The representatives of the Foundation emphasised that the project constitutes one of their largest investments in the country at a time when the dairy sector is in dire need of such boosts. The programme will run in five States of the Federation– Kano; Kaduna; Jigawa; Bauchi and Adamawa. It is expected to reach 60,000 dairy farmers in 15,000 dairy households. It is to be implemented in partnership with private sector companies with the support of the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development; Health; Women Affairs and Social Development and the governments of the implementing States. Also, it is expected to galvanize the consolidation of the Federal Government’s  intention  to  settle  the  nomadic  cattle  herders

(potential Rotarians!!), so as to improve their access to water, fodder, drugs and vaccines. This will help to boost milk and meat yield for the overall good of the nation.

This should improve the economic wellbeing of the herders and firmly integrate them into the firmament of the national economy. In the long run, this is the vital antidote needed to curtail the nomads versus farmers’ endless feud.”

Furthermore, as if to underscore his eligibility for consideration as a potential worthy Rotarian, The Minister of Agriculture, Sabo anono made a brisk appearance and when introduced made an impassioned speech calling for due recognition to be accorded to the hitherto neglected dairy industry.

He told us that he regarded his appointment into the Ministry of Agriculture as a personal crusade to uplift the dairy industry to its proper level. Though he had been known more as a notable in the corporate world, he had actually been a farmer all his adult life and had raised cows for over 40 years. This long association with cows is an advantage that has given him deep insight into the dairy industry. He is therefore personally committed, and is fortunate to find himself in a Government that is focussed in pursuing those tested policies that would bring succour to the dairy industry. He assured that the Federal Government would work to consolidate all existing policies into one policy to transform the sector.

He asserted that the nomads might be said to own the cows but truly cows are national assets because they make available contribution to the GDP of up to 17% of the total. It is therefore in our overall interest to guard and nurture the dairy industry and raise it to world class.”

The problem that confronts us as a nation overflowing with Rotarians is that while we clearly owe Bill and Melinda Gates a debt of eternal gratitude, how are we expected to cope with the front page report of “The Nation” newspaper of January 26,

2020 with bold headlines: “GOVERNOR, SEVEN OTHERS IN TROUBLE OVER ALLEGED N6.5 BILLION FRAUD”

“A serving governor is topping the list of suspects being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissionof Skye Bank, Mr. Tunde Ayeni, retired Air Vice Marshal Salihu Atawodi and four others.

The alleged fraud was perpetrated by the defunct Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security (PICOMSS), which was headed by Atawodi. About N4.9billion cash was said to have from PICOMMS accounts without any specific project in mind.

The serving governor was alleged to have received N1, 475, 144,199.15 of the withdrawn cash for the purpose of lobbying members of the House of Representatives to convert PICOMS into an agency. The name proposed was Maritime Security Agency. The governor was chairman of the House Committee on National Security, Intelligence and Public Safety at the time and he was said to have convinced Atawodi’s PICOMS to part with the cash. The sum received was such a top secret that a former Speaker was given a “ridiculous N1million” as his share.

Some former members of the House of Representatives who benefitted from the bribe-for-bill cash from the governor might be invited for questioning,the Nation gathered last night. Sources said the governor was initially cooperating with the EFCC on the investigation, only to stop honouring the invitation of the anti-graft agency two days before he was declared elected by the Supreme Court. He currently enjoys immunity from prosecution by virtue of his office, but he may still face trial after his tenure. The remaining seven key suspects are expected to be arraigned in court soon.

They include Mrs. Winifred Atawodi; Aeroconsult Limited, Xanatos Limited and a daughter of the ex-PICOMMS chairman, Eleojo who is under investigation. The EFCC has already blocked the following amounts in Mrs. Winifred Atawodi’s accounts: N141, 611, 736.8 and $228, 428.16. Another N200million has been placed on Post No Debit (PND) in First Mutual Micro-Finance Bank traced to Purple Pepper Farms Limited allegedly owned by Atawodi’s daughter (Eleojo). About five hectares of land worth N245million have been seized from the Atawodis. The EFCC has also uncovered how $6.12million was invested by the Atawodis in Midland Corporate Investment Limited account with Sun Trust Savings and Loans Real Estate Limited.

From the cash, AVM Atawodi allegedly transferred $408,000 transferred to an auto firm in the United States called Hennessy Cadillac for exotic vehicles including a Rolls Royce. About $808, 851 was located in Wells Fargo Bank 2 in the name of United International Enterprises. Detectives have identified a house allegedly owned by Atawodi in Lot of the 17th District of Fulton County in Georgia at 3266 Ferncliff Lane, Atlanta Georgia 30324. Despite the seizure of the passports of the Atawodis, one of the daughters has applied to travel abroad for medical treatment in order to sell the house in Atlanta.

The EFCC has also been alerted by some foreign collaborating anti-fraud agencies of plot by the daughter to sell the house. Investigation revealed that PICOMMS was set up between 2008 and 2012. It was disbanded in 2013. The committee was expected to guarantee safety on the sea and waterways. Findings by detectives revealed that AVM Atawodi, his friends and immediate family feasted on the resources allocated to PICOMMS including donor agencies funds. Others funding PICOMMS were the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA), NIMASA, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Ministry of Defence (MOD).

A document obtained by The Nation indicated that on 12th November, 2010, AVM Atawodi made PICOMMS to issue out contracts for Maritime Domain Monitoring System for Maritime Surveillance at a cost of $32,337,163.00 to Xanatos Company Limited linked with a former Chairman of Skye Bank, Mr. Tunde Ayeni. “The fraud was detected in the course of reviewing how funds were disbursed from PICOMS to Xanatos Company Limited and other beneficiary companies. Xanatos Company Limited made a lot of questionable payments obviously from the contract sum.

“One of the companies was AUSWEE Investment Limited where Atawodi, his wife and children are directors. Checks on AUSWEE acronym revealed as follows A(Amana); U(Uneku-the daughter); S(Salihu); W(Winifred Abiodun Atawodi-wife); E(Eleojo-another daughter); E(Ebi-another daughter). But one Roland Uhuago, who is an associate of AVM Atawodi, was used as a front for AUSWEE. From the statements of accounts of PICOMS in Polaris Bank, Union Bank and ECOBANK, there were many cash withdrawals and cash movement lodged in Sun Trust Savings and Loans through a former director of the finance firm, Mr. Mohammed Jibril. About $5million was invested on behalf of the Atawodis by Jibril.

“During that period, about N4.9billion was withdrawn in cash in 2011 which they claimed they used for an unclear purpose. We have seized the passports of AVM Atawodi and some members of his family to restrict their movement to the country pending the commencement of their trial. Based on the depth of investigation, EFCC has blocked the accounts of Mrs. Winifred Atawodi’s with N141, 611, 736.8 and $228, 428.16. Another N200million has been placed on Post No Debit (PND) in First Mutual Micro-Finance Bank traced to Purple Pepper Farms Limited allegedly owned by Atawodi’s daughter (Eleojo).

About five hectares of land worth N245million have been seized from the Atawodis. The land was bought from Hilton Hotel and the relevant agency in the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) has confirmed it.” On the involvement of ex-Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State, the brief on the case indicated that his company Aeroconsult Limited was awarded a contract for the construction of a hanger in Benin Airport for the sum of N2, 780, 649, 450.00 described as an inflated rate.

“Aeroconsult also sublet their contract to Olutoyi Estate Development and Services Limited in which N700million was given to the company. From the inflated total cost of the hangar, about N550million was given to AUSWEE. And from the N500million, about N484, 000,000 was transferred to Vector Integrated Services Limited owned by Atawodi. This company has an account with Union Bank where Mrs. Winifred Atawodi was a manager before she retired. The withdrawal from AUSWEE to Vector Integrated Services was from Atawodi. And from Union Bank, some of the cash were moved into the account of Vector Integrated Services Limited in Fidelity Bank.”

A top source in EFCC said: “When we invited the former Governor of Kogi State, Capt. Idris Wada for interrogation, he insisted that the contract was well-executed. But we detected evidence of transfers to AUSWEE which suggested that the hangar contract was inflated. The ex-governor and Aeroconsult have more questions to answer, especially when fresh transfers were made in 2018 and 2019 to AVM Atawodi.”

Regarding the serving governor, the source added: “The N1, 475, 144,199.15 was converted to dollars and handed over to the governor when he was a member of the House of Representatives. The owner of the Bureau De Change used by PICOMMs, Sharif Shanono has been quizzed and he has provided evidence of transactions. We also observed that on 21/12/2011, about N250million was transferred from PICOMMS account to Saab Global Links Limited account 1012330930 belonging to Shanono.

“We were on the case before the governor’s election was validated by the Supreme Court. In fact, he was to appear before our detectives two days to the Supreme Court judgment but he stayed away to await the verdict and avoid being detained.

“While going through records, detectives were able to confirm how a paltry N1million was given to a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. Now that the governor has immunity, we have to wait till 2023 when he completes his tenure before resuming his investigation and trial. We are likely to invite some former members of the house who benefitted from the bribe-for-bill cash. The bill was titled, “Maritime Security Agency Establishment Bill (MASECA) 2010 to change PICOMMS into an agency. So far, seven out of the eight suspects implicated in this fraud may face trial.”

On CNN (“Breaking New”) :

“Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] will extradict eighteen high profile looters”

• Ibrahim Magu Chairman, EFCC

Perhaps if he was still alive, American President Abraham Lincoln would have earned his stripes to climb to the top of the Rotary ladder for reminding us:

“No man (or woman) has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.”

Another worthy candidate is Professor Olatunji Dare who delivered a speech at a Rotary dinner and reminded the audience:

“You will have heard the perhaps apocryphal story of a young man who killed his parents and at trial asked the judge to show mercy because he was an orphan. That trope is the classic example of what is called Chutzpah (hootspah) in Yiddish. It means overweening impudence, unexampled (sic) temerity, in-your-face brazenness, outrageous effrontery, presumption of the most brazen kind and like conduct.”

Perhaps it was the final straw that provoked “The Guardian” newspaper and Professor Wale Omole, Chairman of the Editorial Board to deliver the following front page editorial on January 28, 2020.

Headline: “WHY THAT JUMBO LOAN IS EVIL”

“This segment of our comment, which began yesterday scrutinises the quest for a jumbo loan by the Buhari administration and to raise questions that demand answers. After the Buhari administration failed to secure approval from the 8th National Assembly for super loan to finance government projects, it waited for a second term in office and strangely a parliament that is beholden to the executive to represent another borrowing request. It is important to note that the 8th Assembly objected as a result of the opaque nature of the request without appropriate paper trail.

However, the request for approval resurfaced at the 9th National Assembly late last year, precisely November 28, 2019. The government wants to borrow $29.96 billion to ensure implementation, across the country, of key projects under the government’s External Borrowing Plan, 2016-2018, in the areas of infrastructure (including power, mining and roads), agriculture, health, education, water supply, governance and financial management reforms and poverty reduction through social safety-net programmes, among others. The 9th Assembly seems to be saying that the government has now done the needful in terms of appropriate documentation and would consider the request.

The quest for a jumbo loan by government strikes a discordant note with public sensibility. The chase for a loan by a government that has been unable to deliver on its campaign promises for five years on and has barely three years in office raises questions that will require convincing answers. The quest is coming at a time that the government is spending a huge percentage of national income on debt servicing. The country used $252,299.93 and N188, 831,956,580.68, to service the external and domestic debts, respectively as at June 30, 2019. Meanwhile, national revenues in the same period totalled N944.58 billion only. Its extant external debt obligation is $27.16 billion as at June 30, 2019. Both domestic and external debts combined, the country’s indebtedness stands at a whopping sum of $83.9 billion. This is not a joke, after all.

Intriguingly, despite warnings from International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that has prescribed for the government most of its internal measures for upping its revenue, the government appears recalcitrant and exhibiting weird hysteria to go for the loan. Basic arguments of government and those of organic intellectual in its service are: One, that the government is under-borrowed when judged on the basis of debt to GDP ratio which is put at about 19.03 per cent and falls within 30 per cent sustainability threshold.

Therefore, it is a reason to travel down the debt alley. For effect, they argued that even the United States is the world’s most indebted nation and has continued to borrow. But often in this woolly argument, they forget the timely warning of Noreena Hertz, the author of the Debt Bomb. Speaking about the United States she noted: “The United States maybe the world’s most highly indebted nation, but it can afford to service its loans, for now at least. The world’s poorest countries, in Africa, Asia and Latin America, cannot—because to do so they have to pay an unacceptably high price, mainly at the expense of their poor or sick.”

The second, argument, preposterous in its logic, is that it is better to borrow now and avoid the predictable future spiral in terms of cost of loans and deal with the huge infrastructural deficits in the country once and for all and consequently unleash growth and development. This argument is dubious for an elite noted for thievery, misapplication and misappropriation of public funds. The ruling elite in Nigeria simply do not have the discipline and integrity to manage such a huge loan even where willing creditors are available to take the Nigerian risk.

Indeed, the appetite of the Buhari Administration for external loans is suspect and we are compelled to ask a number of questions. To begin, how much more external borrowing is needful and necessary for the country? How much is currently being expended on debt service and what will it translate to if the proposed loan is approved?

How much revenue is accruing to the country and what per cent age of it is being used to repay and service existing debt obligations? Of what importance is the borrowing for which approval is being sought? If approval is given, what will the overall national debt profile look like and how sustainable will it be? What positive impact will the loan have on the socio-economic growth and development of the country? Is borrowing this money the only possible and viable option to getting the intended projects and programmes executed? Given past experiences of the country in mismanaging borrowed funds, what guarantee do we have that the story will be different from past experiences? Does the volatility of the oil industry justify borrowing with an uncertain future and impossibility of repayment? Why is the government ignoring the warning from IMF about the country’s rising debt portfolio? Should we not as people sit back and reflect on the unsolicited pointer?

The answers to these questions are obvious to a majority of Nigerians, except of course, those with preference for perpetual self-denial. We have lost the historicity of the financial mismanagement that sent Nigeria into a debt-trap not too long ago. Today, the amount that is being sought, in one fell swoop, is the equivalence of what kept us in debt bondage from which the Obasanjo administration freed the country in 2005.

We are convinced that such jumbo loan over which approval is being sought will land the country on another round of debt slavery. As a consequence, the country will face the problem of repaying huge debts that will have no impact on the wellbeing of the citizenry in a context of a vitiated sovereignty. Need we remind ourselves that when a country defaults, the predictable response of the international financial market is to hedge out the defaulter like a leper. You may still wait for the conclusion of the whole jumbo loan matter tomorrow.

Recently, on the front page of “ThisDay” newspaper, Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua who is alleged to be a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Kitchen cabinet was quoted as having declared on ARISE Television his own quixotic slant to the frequent references to the existence of a shadowy cabal in the corridors of influence (especially Aso Roc, the seat of power and the engine room of the Presidency):“Of course there is a cabal. I am the cabal.”

Isa Funtua, an associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, says he is not a member of any cabal but a “cabal myself.”

Funtua, who hails from Katsina like the president, is among those whom critics of the Buhari administration refer to as the cabal.

At various times, Aisha, wife of the president, has said her husband’s government had been hijacked by some of his associates.

In an outburst in December, the wife of the president accused Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, of not being loyal to her husband but “to others who have no stake in the compact that the president signed with Nigerians on May 29, 2015 and 2019.”

When he appeared on The Morning Show, a programme on Arise Television, on Saturday, Funtua said it is an insult to say Buhari is running his government through a group of people.

Funtua accused people of using the term cabal in a derogatory manner, saying the president is free to have people he trusts around him.

“I’m not a member of any cabal, I’m cabal myself,” he said.

“What is cabal? In short I think it means kitchen cabinet, people that you trust. People you believe will not deceive you, that they can do things in the interest of the country.

“Nigerians are using it in a derogatory term not in the real meaning of it. Take dictionary, what is the real meaning of cabal?

When asked that first lady had alleged that cabal exists in the presidency, he said:

“Please, let me hear word, I beg you.”

It was left to President Muhammadu Buhari himself to intervene by calming jittery nerves and assuaging cynics as well as sceptics.

Before the evening is over, we shall resolve the matter of which of them (or possibly both of them) is a Rotarian.

We owe “Daily Trust” newspaper a huge debt of gratitude for providing us with the identity of parents who are clearly not Rotarians.

Back page headline on January 28, 2020.

“WHY WE TIED MY DAUGHTER TO CEILING, SET FIRE UNDER HER.”

“The father of a 10-year-old girl, Taofeek Olawale, yesterday explained why he tied his daughter, Abibat, to the ceiling and set fire under her for stealing the sum of N3,000. Olawale, 41, and an indigene of Ede, Osun State, said he was only throwing a scare into her with the fire as deterrence when the fire burnt her private part.

The suspect and his wife, Romoke, were paraded yesterday in Ibadan by the commandant of the Oyo State Command of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Isikilu Akinsanya. Akinsanya told journalists that the arrest was part of the responsibility of the Anti-human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit of the NSCDC to save and protect the lives and property of Nigerians, as enshrined in the 2003 Act, amended2007.

The Commandant, who was represented at the press conference by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Oluwole Olusegun, alleged that Olawale, a carpenter residing in the Amuloko area of Ibadan and his wife tortured their daughter, Abibat, by tying the girl’s hand to the ceiling and putting fire under her until she confessed to the accusation of stealing N3,000 belonging to a neighbour, Rukayat Trimisiyu.

He further said that in the search for the money, the sum of N600 was found in Abibat’s bag, and the girl later brought the remaining N2,400 from where it was hidden in the house.

The NSCDC boss said Abibat was still recovering in the hospital from damage she suffered from the burns her father inflicted on her. Olawale told journalists he was only attempting to scare his daughter and teach her some morals. “It is the devil that is at work,” he said. Romoke dissociated herself from the assault, saying she divorced from Olawale seven years ago and was somewhere else when she heard about the incident.”

Again, we have Gambo Pori to thank you for showcasing a first-class candidate for membership of the Rotary Club of Maidugri.

“On Friday 24^th January Governor Babagana Umaru Zulum of Borno State was to meet with members of the Mega Schools Committee for an update. The Mega Schools, a conception of Governor Kashim Shettima, are purpose-built public schools, with all the modern appurtenances for conducive learning, targeted to admit mostly orphans and other deprived children particularly from IDP camps. Though the schools were inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in May last year, they were billed to start operating at the beginning of the school year in September.

At the Government House, the same scenario of hope and cheerfulness pervaded the atmosphere. The Governor was not only meeting with the Mega schools’ committee but was also inaugurating the State Education Trust Fund – ceremonies that were clearly a thumbs down to the Boko Haram ideologies that propagates that education is evil. The meeting with the Mega schools’ committee was routine and therefore brief. Many of the schools have gone into operation with the exception of some teething problems that were raised and thrashed. It is clear that the Governor is bent on keeping the legacies of his predecessor alive and well.

Many bad misgivings on how the state with the problems confronting it would run such large number of schools for the exclusive use of orphans and street children with consistency. These are schools that were well built with boarding facilities, air-conditioned classrooms, dedicated electricity lines with solar inverters on the side with the best available teachers. However, from the briefings and the interchanges that followed, I realized that many of this misgivings were misplaced because there is a robust financial plan in place. Once these schools succeed they are bound to become beacons to the rest of country and I foresee a rush to emulate them in many states of the federation.”

In a rare display of humility the Nigerian Government invited Bill Gates to address the Federal Executive Council, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. Anyone who has ever heard Bill Gates speak will attest to the fact he makes no claim to being the greates orator on earth. However, on this unique and epochal occasion, he surpassed himself.

This is the blunt message he delivered in his quirky intonation: Bill Gates did not become the world’s richest man by looking the other way when his money or investments are at stake. It doesn’t appear he will start doing so in Nigeria.

Last week, while giving a speech during a visit to the country, Gates delivered some harsh truths to Nigeria’s leaders, including president Muhammadu Buhari. Gates called out the government’s failings and was broadly critical of Nigeria’s health system (he called it “broken” and “not adequately funded”), the struggling education sector and chronic malnutrition among children. The government’s priorities, Gates said, “don’t fully reflect people’s needs.”

Gate’s bluntness in front of Nigeria’s ruling class (the president, vice president, senate president and house speaker were all present) was jarring as most tend to address these issues more subtly, at least in public. But, during his presentation which came complete with charts, Gates came off as an investor reviewing a startup’s progress rather than a philanthropist with bottomless pockets of aid money. And he had a solid basis for that approach: so far, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed over $1.6 billion to Nigeria, he said in his speech.

His criticisms and proffered solutions were backed up by data unlike usual government rhetoric that are often lacking in specifics. Gates pointedly broke down each issue with numbers and arrived at the same conclusion: Nigeria’s government must do better.

The good news though is Gates’ data-based approach of demanding more accountability and pushing the government to plan and deliver better on its targets has a better chance of yielding more dividends than delivering platitude-laden speeches. In his own words, “it may be easier to be polite, it’s more important to face facts so that you can make progress.”

The approach also ensures that the Gates Foundation gets more bang for their buck as they commit more money to Nigeria. Much of the foundation’s work has been around public health and most notably, the foundation has recorded major success in the fight against polio. Last year, Nigeria recorded no new polio cases in stark contrast to 2012 when Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases globally.

In January, the Gates Foundation also took the unprecedented step to say it will pay off a $76 million loan Nigeria took from Japan for the fight against polio. Unlike, typical national debt forgiveness programs, this repayment was based on conditions which the government met including “achieving more than 80% vaccination coverage in at least one round each year in very high risk areas across 80% of the country’s local government areas.” It wasn’t simply about a financial arrangement but ensuring that Gates’ ambitions to completely eradicate the disease have better chance.”

He did not need to add the following vignette by Albert Einstein:

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”

Rather than dwell on those who criticised Bill Gates for adopting kid gloves instead of the sledge hammer, we should now take stock on how Nigeria has fared as regards the “SDG’s” [Social Development Goals]:

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that tech mogul and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates views the world mathematically. When it comes to making change, for instance, he watches metrics like child mortality to spot improving health and school attendance to track access to education.

As a philanthropist, he’s obsessed with seeing those averages improve because they boost what he calls “human capital”— people’s ability to lift themselves up despite adversity. But he’s also focused on how they can be deceiving.

Take the following statistic: 99% of people in low and middle-income countries are seeing year-over-year improvements in child mortality and schooling. That sounds great, but the world is a big place and improvements happen unevenly. Roughly one in 15 people don’t have access to basic healthcare or educational services. They’re usually clustered in areas already experiencing poverty with women especially marginalized.

Gates wants to see more investment in the places that are falling furthest behind, and more efforts to empower women, especially in those spots. To do that, he’s open-sourced his math: The Gates Foundation has publicly released these findings in its 2019 Goalkeepers Data Report to coincide with UN General Assembly Week in New York. It’s the third year for the report, which tracks global progress toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a series of statistical benchmarks that the world’s countries planned to hit by 2030 (and toward which progress has somewhat stalled).

This year’s report from Gates focuses on these spots of inequality. On the most basic level, there are still large gaps between countries in the developed and developing world. In Chad, for instance, there are more children dying per day than die in Finland over an entire year. The average kid in Chad won’t ever finish primary school, while the average kid in Finland will go to college. In the coming years, countries along the equator are likely to be hit hardest by climate change, even though many rely on subsistence farming and didn’t contribute “in any meaningful way” to that problem in the first place.

“Where you live shouldn’t determine the life you lead,” adds Sue Desmond-Hellmann, the CEO of the Gates Foundation. “We say that nobody’s life should be a roll of the dice.”

“In some ways it’s very impressive to see that in almost every location, not just to the country level, but even down within the country—at the sub-national level or what we call ‘districts’—we are seeing progress on two of the most important metrics, which is reducing childhood mortality and increasing the number of years of schooling,” says Gates.

But zoom in closer and there are more complications. In the report, districts serve as a proxy for what the U.S. calls counties. Even in some countries that should be lauded for improvement, there are massive disparities between districts that can be ignored when you look at country-level stats. Gates says to look at Nigeria and India, where, he says “the districts that are the worst off are some of the toughest in the world, and the districts that are well off are actually almost exceeding developed country success.”

In India’s Kollam district, in the state of Kerala, the average person received 14 years of education and had a mortality rate for young children of just 1%. In India’s Budaun district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, most kids get just six years of schooling, and their mortality rate shoots up to 8%.

Things are equally bright and bleak in Nigeria, where the residents of the thriving Ado-Ekiti district receive more than 12 years of school. In Garki, which is located in a different state, they get five. “Even within countries, spreading best practices is going to make a big difference,” Gates says.

As part of the report’s push toward getting closer to hitting the SDGs, the Gates Foundation suggests countries refocus on society-improving concepts like primary healthcare, digital inclusion, and climate adaptation. In Ethiopia and Rwanda, for instance, the government has been prioritizing the creation of a universal healthcare system that offers some basic services to all communities. While these countries have very little to spend, they thought about how to maximize their efforts by training thousands of women to be community healthcare workers, who help people when they’re sick, but who also push for better hygiene practice and encourage immunization.

On the digital inclusion front, it cites a program in India that changed how the government helps people get natural gas to heat their homes. Previously, the government subsidized the cost of natural gas, but this led to inequity: Wealthy people could simply buy more cheap gas.

Instead of offsetting the market price, the country began a new program, which created bank accounts for the poor that they could access via mobile phones and were protected by biometric identification (to avoid fraud). Now, when people buy natural gas, a credit is applied to their account after purchase. With the savings from not subsidizing an entire industry, the government funded a program that lowers the costs of buying and hooking up a gas stove in the first place. Natural gas stoves aren’t great for climate change, but for women who previously had to spend hours gathering firewood and suffered health issues from the smoke in their homes, a gas stove can be a life-changing intervention.

For climate adaptation, the report cites Ethiopia, which has been financing agriculture-related public works projects that both offer employment and help subsistence farmers store and conserve, practices that have become even more vital as climate change has made rainfall more unpredictable. It’s also put more resources into agriculture extension programs that can predict weather patterns and help farmers prepare for the unexpected.

“These aren’t rich countries,” adds Desmond-Hellmann. “And they’ve achieved progress with a model that can be adopted for limited budgets. So those kinds of things are meant to make this come to life for policy makers who do have limited resources. . . .

Even countries who feel like they’re getting it right need to look at an inequity within their country.”

Most people in the world live in poverty. Two-thirds of the world population live on less than $-int. 10 per day. And every tenth person lives on less than $-int. 1.90 per day. Both can be seen in this visualization.

The research here is is concerned with the living conditions of the worst off: those who live in extreme poverty. The World Bank is the main source for global information on extreme poverty today and it sets the ‘International Poverty Line’. The poverty line was revised in 2015—since then, a person is considered to be in extreme poverty if they live on less than 1.90 international dollars (int.-$) per day. This poverty measurement is based on the monetary value of a person’s consumption. Income measures, on the other hand, are only used for countries in which reliable consumption measures are not available.

A key difficulty in measuring global poverty is that price levels are very different in different countries. For this reason, it is not sufficient to simply convert the consumption levels of people in different countries by the market exchange rate; it is additionally necessary to adjust for cross-country differences in purchasing power. This is done through Purchasing Power Parity adjustments.

It is important to emphasize that the International Poverty Line is extremely low. Indeed, ‘extreme poverty’ is an adequate term for those living under this low threshold. Focusing on extreme poverty is important precisely because it captures those most in need. However, it is also important to point out that living conditions well above the International Poverty Line can still be characterized by poverty and hardship. Accordingly, in this entry we will also discuss the global distribution of people below poverty lines that are higher than the International Poverty Line of 1.90 int.-$. But relying only on higher poverty lines would mean that we are not keeping track of the very poorest people in the world and this is the focus of this entry.

Poverty is a concept intrinsically linked to welfare – and there are many ways in which one can try to measure welfare. In this entry we will focus mainly (though not exclusively) on poverty as measured by ‘monetized’ consumption and income, following the approach used by the World Bank. But before we present the evidence, the introductory sub-section here provides a brief overview of the relevance of this approach.

Global poverty is one of the very worst problems that the world faces today. The poorest in the world are often hungry, have much less access to education, regularly have no light at night, and suffer from much poorer health. To make progress against poverty is therefore one of the most urgent global goals.

The available long-run evidence shows that in the past, only a small elite enjoyed living conditions that would not be described as ‘extreme poverty’ today. But with the onset of industrialization and rising productivity, the share of people living in extreme poverty started to decrease. Accordingly, the share of people in extreme poverty has decreased continuously over the course of the last two centuries. This is surely one of the most remarkable achievements of humankind.

Closely linked to this improvement in material living conditions is the improvement of global health and the expansion of global education that we have seen over these last two centuries. We also discuss the link between education, health, and poverty in this entry.

During the first half of the last century, the growth of the world population caused the absolute number of extremely poor people in the world to increase, even though the share of people in extreme poverty was going down. After around 1970, the decrease in poverty rates became so steep that the absolute number of people living in extreme poverty started falling as well. This trend of decreasing poverty—both in absolute numbers and as a share of the world population—has been a constant during the last three decades. But as we highlight in the first section of this entry it is unfortunately not what we can expect for the coming decade. It is the fact that still almost every tenth person lives in extreme poverty and the slowing progress against extreme poverty that motivate this entry.

Over the course of the last generation more than a billion people left the most destitute living conditions behind. Can we expect this progress to continue over the coming decade?

The world economy is growing. In less than a generation the value of the yearly global economic production has doubled.

For those who harbour misgivings about impactful philanthropy while our treasury has been leaking, the lightening rod is the sheer scale of the amount of funds looted not only by late President General Sani Abacha and others (before and after). From Abacha alone, the recovered funds are as follows:

“Nigeria’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General Abubakar Malami said that Abuja has reached an agreement with a number of countries, including the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, for the repatriation of $500 million in looted public funds. This follows an earlier agreement with Switzerland for the return of$321 million allegedly stolen by the former military head of state, Sani Abachi.

Though the attorney general provided no details, he said that “specific projects” have been identified to which the returned funds will be committed. After the Paris Club write-off in 2005 of an estimated $18 billion in debt, the Nigerian government identified projects to fund with the money freed up by the reduction in debt service, including the expansion of female education in the north. However, it is unclear how long the funding continued.

During his April 30 visit to Washington, DC, President Muhammadu Buhari publicly thanked President Donald Trump at their joint press conference for the administration’s assistance in the recovery of looted assets.

He referred to the “machinery” the respective attorney generals had put in place for the return of some $500 million of looted assets “siphoned away in banks around the world.” Buhari also praised the U.S. Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Established in 2010, this initiative uses civil forfeiture proceedings to recover looted assets parked in, or laundered through, the United States. Notably, in 2017, the U.S. DOJ filed a civil complaint seeking the recovery of approximately $144 million allegedly laundered in the United States by two Nigerians associated with the former Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke.

President Buhari’s electoral victory owed much to his promises to fight against corruption. The next Nigerian general election is in February 2019 and he is planning to run for reelection. However, corruption in Nigeria is structural and addressing it will require decades, if not generations. In the run-up to the elections, Buhari will look to highlight examples where his policy has been successful in his first term.”

Also as confirmation that we are dealing not just with embezzlement of public funds, our remit extends to decadence on a grand scale combined with total collapse of moral value in direct contradiction of Rotary’s Four Wheel Test. Here is the charge Sheet of Nigeria which has gone viral:

WE BUILT THIS PLACE

A lecturer wanting 5 rounds to pass a female student. A policeman demanding 500k for bail. A judge demanding 5m for judgement. A public servant demanding 50m for a contract. A voter demanding 5k for his/her vote. A clergy demanding 5-500k for “blessing”

A leader(s) close their eyes to corruption and nepotism. A parent offering 50k for ward’s admission into school or paying for exam questions. A society rewarding incompetence. A society closing its mind to murder. A society shutting down common sense.

A society designed to allow the worst to emerge to the top, in many respects. A society that justifies all things in the name of politics, tribe, ethnicity and individual benefit. A society that blackmail others for difference in thinking.

A Nation that we have all collectively built. One working towards oppressing the other. Where impunity is rife. Where our default thinking is on wailing or hailing, but never a consideration of the issue. A society with low or no expectations from their leaders.

A society in conflict with itself. A society where thought is absent*. That all issues are swept under the carpet depending on who holds the broom and where all things can be covered depending on where the umbrella tilts. A society where seemingly educated men run away from speaking out in the face of evil so that they will be seen as saints. A society where evil doers are glorified by men who pretend to be gentlemen. A society where men have no regards to the legacy they will leave behind. A society where money is preferred to wisdom.

The sheer scale of the sleeze and corruption is more than enough to neutralise the impact of the generosity and philanthropy of Bill and Melinda Gates.

Front page of “The Nation” newspaper of February 2, 2020 we have the following “nauseating (the stories not the newspapers !!) reports:

Headline (i) JONATHAN’S EX-CHIEF OF STAFF IN TROUBLE OVER ALLEDGED N35 BILLION FRAUD

• Son Implicated in defence contracts
• Former Defence Minister got U.S.$240,000 cash from N533 million job
• Ex-Permanent Secretary received N170 million, Honda Car as bribes

A former Chief of Staff to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadome, stands the risk of forfeiting two mansions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after N35billion arms slush cash was traced to a member of his family.

The mansions are located on Udo Udoma Street, in the posh Asokoro District of Abuja.

The Legal Unit of the EFCC is already processing the forfeiture of the two assets.

The EFCC has quizzed Oshioke, Ogiadhome’s son over alleged involvement in arms deals.

Ogiadhome himself has been invited for questioning but he was yet to honour EFCC’s invitation at press time.

He may be arrested if he fails to show up for questioning.

A ranking member of the House of Representatives who was similarly invited, has been lobbying in the power corridor to prevail on EFCC to drop the summons.

Detectives have however quizzed a defence contractor, Donald Peterson.

Others implicated in the defence contracts are a former Permanent Secretary, a former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and two former Service Chiefs.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the EFCC made startling discoveries while probing contracts worth N35billion for the equipping of the Nigerian contingents on UN peacekeeping missions all over the world.

Findings pointed at diversion, looting and outright sharing of the cash leaving those on peacekeeping missions without necessary tools and equipment.

Part of the cash was found to have gone into private accounts.

It was gathered that the N35billion was paid into a bank account with number 0001713716, from where it was depleted.

About 1301 companies including two former Service Chiefs are alleged to have benefited from the scandal.

A document obtained by our correspondent said in part: “In 2007, the UN told the Federal Government to equip the Nigerian contingents on peacekeeping missions all over the world. The UN asked the Federal Government to raise the money while it will reimburse later.

“There were three options opened to the Federal Government namely, (a) borrowing from banks (b) use of normal budget and (c ) sourcing funds from the Capital Market.

“The Federal Government chose the Capital Market and directed the Debt Management Office (DMO) to raise the cash.

“In June 2008, DMO raised the N35billion and transferred it into the account of the Ministry of Defence domiciled in a commercial bank.

“Investigation confirmed that some of the cash were disbursed to different military officers and formations including a former Chief of Army Staff and a former Chief of Naval Staff and a former Permanent Secretary in the State House.

“Contracts were awarded to about 131 companies from the cash.

“Also, about $4,347,529.67 from the votes was allegedly used to establish an embassy in Brazil by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The disbursement of the N35billion spread from 2008 to 2013 with different purposes being used to divert the money.”

According to the EFCC, the Oghiadomes came into the picture when investigation showed that a contractor, Donald Peterson was allegedly used between 2010 and 2013 to launder some of the cash through award of contracts.

The ex-Chief of Staff was alleged to have wielded political influence to secure juicy contracts for Donald Peterson’s companies including Richfield Technologies Limited and VTB Export/ Import Limited.

Some of the contracts awarded Richfield Technologies Limited were supply of telecommunications equipment( N1,020,000,000); supply of touch recovery vehicles(N80m); supply of Tevex crane( N269m);

purchase of two trainer simulators (N433m); supply of 65 units of air conditioners( N349m); supply of 5 units of fuel trailer(N85m); aircraft refillers (N320m) and supply of arms and ammunition(N894m).

As for the VTB Export/ Import Limited, the contracts secured were supply of arms and ammunition (N778m) and supply of arms to the Nigeria Police (N500m).

Detectives allegedly uncovered how Donald Peterson paid part of the contract sums into companies owned by Oshioke Ogiadhome, who is a son to the former Chief of Staff.

The document said: “Out of the N1.020billion telecommunications contract sum Donald Peterson got, he paid over N100million into the account of West African Business Platform Limited owned by Oshioke Ogiadhome . He also paid another N50million to West African Business Platform Limited on the instruction of Oshioke’s father.

“Donald Peterson paid for two houses in Asokoro for the former Chief of Staff, through his son, Oshioke.

“Investigation confirmed that Richfield Technologies Limited paid N320million to a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Wole Oke for a house in Asokoro District on 2B Udo Udoma Crescent and another on Queen Idia Street. When we profiled the account of Richfield Technologies Limited, there was evidence of the transactions in another bank account. We are working on clues that it was 10% cut.

“The former Chief of Staff’s son equally secured some contracts for arms and ammunition from the Nigeria Police. The contracts were about nine (9) in number with each close to N50million per slot. We are probing him for about N500million curious contracts.

“Our team has quizzed Oshioke and Donald Peterson. We have also invited the former Chief of Staff but he has refused to honour our invitation. We may have no choice than to execute a warrant of arrest on him.

“We have referred a request for the forfeiture of the two houses to our Legal Unit. This is being processed.

But when Donald Peterson was interrogated, he said he had been a contractor with the Ministry of Defence since 2002 but in the course of looking for more contracts, he met Oshioke Ogiadhome who told him his father was looking for a trusted person for contracts.

“As for the member of the House, he is yet to honour our summons. He is only lobbying people to prevail on EFCC to drop its invitation.”

On the fate of the contracts, the document indicated that “most of them were rejected by the UN. Other nations, like Ghana, got their refunds in full.”

Other observations made about the contracts were:

Contractors could not deliver within the stipulated time assigned which ranged from three to six months

• Sub-standard materials were used but accepted by the Ministry of Defence
• Some contracts were terminated after full contract sums were paid to the contractors without any refund

It was also learnt that a former Minister of Defence is under investigation by the EFCC for allegedly collecting a kickback of $240,000 cash from a N533m contract for the supply of arms.

“One of the suspects admitted that the $240,000 was handed over to the ex-minister in a hotel. The kickback was within the same period the transactions for the two houses were done.

“The suspect said the ex-minister got the cash for facilitating the N533million contract.”

• As confirmation that some areas of human endeavour are beyond the Rotaria Four Wheel Test, gambling had drawn the boundary – to wit the bold headline story:

“HOW CUSTOMERS, GOVERNMENT LOSE BILLIONS TO LOTTERY OPERATORS”

“Many lottery operators across the country are having a field day no thanks to the rather slack regulatory regime, The Nation has learnt.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that while majority of the operators are declaring hefty profits, this is rather at the detriment of the government as well as the majority stakers who gain little or nothing from their investments.

Records from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics in 2019, records show that over 21 million Nigerians played sports betting daily, whilst over six million play number lottery daily. On average, over 27 million people, over 10% of the Nigeria’s population, play a game or the other every day. This is however exclusive of those millions of people who play promotional games reeled out by telecommunication companies, banks and the big FMCG brands which are also meant to be regulated by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

The global online gaming market is forecast to reach $128 billion by 2026 and the House of Representatives in the 8th National Assembly recently revealed that some lottery operators were owing the government as much as $16 billion dollars in unpaid remittances.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that roughly 60 million Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 40 are involved in active sports betting. Over 2 billion Naira ($5.9 million) is spent on sports betting daily in Nigeria, which translates to nearly $2.2 billion per annum.

Little wonder the Honourable Minister of Special Duties described the lottery industry as a goldmine for Nigeria during a recent visit to the office of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, which is one of the agencies under his supervision. Senator Akume had said: “The President, Muhammadu Buhari, has made his commitment to lifting over 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years and your commission is in a position to play a major role. If this commission is properly organised, I believe, and strongly too, that there’s no way you can’t rake in billions of naira to the coffers of this government. You have told me and others who are experts have also told me that the possibilities here are huge and enormous.”

Tales of woes

Speaking with a cross section of respondents, most of who are lottery patrons, they lamented that the gains they have made over the years is not commensurate with the monies they have staked thus far.

Checks by The Nation revealed that by the letters of the Lottery Act operators are to keep 30% of their total sales revenue for their operations, while they are to payout as much as 50% of the sales revenue to stakers as winnings, but most operators conduct their activities and resulting draws in secretive manner thus resulting in high incidences of result manipulation.

Confirming this development, Chukwudi Francis in a chat with our correspondent confirmed that several patrons like him have not got value for their money over the years.

Specifically, he said, some lottery companies announce spurious claims on prospective winnings all in a bid to hoodwink unsuspecting members of the staking public.

“In a situation where the staking publics stake money with no corresponding gain from their investments is worrisome,”he said, adding that this is quite at variance with what obtains elsewhere, even within the West African sub region.

While alluding to the experience of staking public in Ghana, Francis said their Nigerian counterparts are not enjoying the best of luck.

“I recall that when I traveled to Ghana few months ago, I had a feel of how the lottery industry operates quite unlike what obtains here. Most of us here have been at the receiving end of poor regulation as far as lottery and gaming in the country is concerned.”

According to him, “Several complaints and petitions by some members of the staking public about the activities of some gaming companies against their winnings are left unattended by the regulators, as can be seen from petitions on their poorly run social media platforms.”

Interestingly, the National Union of Lottery Agents and Employees (NULAE), which has been trying to lead the vanguard against abuse have not had a smooth sail.

The Nation learnt that the union has been muscled into near silence by some major operators seeking to remain dominant players in the field, with the tactical connivance of the regulators. However, The Nation learnt that things may be looking up for the union. Rising from its last Central Working Committee meeting in January, the Secretary of NULAE, Comrade Gregory Olatunji said they have resolved to change the narrative.

Speaking further, Olatunji said: “Our initial hopes of being commended for the initiative by industry stakeholders was dashed when we were dragged to court in 2016 by Premier Lotto, in its bid to de-register the union, bar it from living to its civic responsibility and continue its grip on the affairs of the industry. Interestingly, in the course of the court proceedings, the said operator employed all tactics known to the books to deceive the court, including harassing some of its employees to write to the court and deny the union, victimising identified members of the union by removing their parameters and even registering a contraption with the corporate affairs commission called Premier Lottery Agents association. The court in its wisdom threw out their entire case and urged the union to continue its civic responsibility to its members and the government.”

Re-stating its resolve to rid its industry of anti-labour operators, Olatunji said, “With members, agents and lottery operators in both the private and public sectors of the industry, NULAE is now on a mission to take its rightful place.

We will deal decisively with operators who undermine the union or engage in anti-labour practices. The union is resolute and committed to ensuring that the lottery industry has a fair playing field and we are glad that the operator who has been trying to muscle the union has lost on all grounds, from the industrial court, to the police and even in underhanded petitions to regulators and they eventually signed an agreement with the union in September 2019 as brokered by the Ministry of Labour and Employment agreeing to comply with the extant labour laws by allowing the union to address its employees, whilst requesting us to reach out to its agents; which it described as independent contractors.”

Putting regulator on their toes

There have been claims of non remittance of taxes by lottery operators in the past few years just as there are insinuations that some officials of the NLRC are in league with the operators thus resulting in non compliance.

Responding to these allegations, Ekechukwu, Assistant Director, Public Affairs, NLRC, said, “If you seek to confirm the said insinuations you talked about, no one will hesitate to tell you out rightly that the alleged insinuation is a complete falsehood.”

The task before us is to evaluate the impact of philanthropy and the ideals of Rotary on a society that is crumbling from serious bombardment by sheer brutality and primitive wickedness.

Front page of “The Vanguard” newspaper of January 31, 2020;

Headline: MAN CONSPIRES WITH FRIENDS TO KILL, BURN, BURY GIRLFRIEND IN TARABA.

“Taraba state police command has arrested the principal suspect of a conspiracy that led to the killing and burning of a lady, Imbajuri Ambisi, in Taraba State.

The principal suspect, Munda Bala, was yesterday paraded with other suspects for various criminal offences at the Police headquarters in Jalingo.

Spokesman of the police command, DSP David Misal said the principal suspect conspired with two of his friends to kill, burn and bury Ambisi, who he was cohabiting with.

He further explained that effors are on to arrest Bala’s accomplices, who are currently at large.

According to him, “investigations revealed that Munda Ahmed Bala is a boyfriend to the deceased.

“He with is two friends now at large conspired and kill the girl, burnt her to ashes and buried her remains in the bush. “Efforts are on to arrest the fleeing culprits, while the principal suspect will be charged to court.”

He further urged members of the public to supply the police with reliable information that would enhance internal security in the state.”

I would urge all Rotarian to read Karl Maier’s book: “THIS HOUSE HAS FALLEN – NIGERIA IN CRISIS”

Although it was published by Penguin Books in 2000, you would think the book was written last week (to quote the inimitable Eric Teniola). The only items missing are Boko Haram and kidnapping as a low-risk commercial enterprise.

From “Vanguard” Newspaper of January 14, 2020 we are provided with evidence that even the Church is not immune to pervasive evil.

• Headline: “CHURCH ACCOUNTANT GET 18 YEARS IN JAIL FOR STEALING N15.5 MILLIOIN TITHES, OFFERINGS.

A Federal High Court in Yola, Adamawa State, has sentenced Ibrahim Aku, accountant of the Church of Brethren in Nigeria, to 18 years in prison for fraud. Nathan Musa, the judge, gave the order while ruling on a six-count charge riled against the accused yesterday. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had accused Aku of defrauding the church of N15.5 million between 2016 and 2018.

According to the anti-graft agency, the money was generated by the church members through offerings, donations and tithes.

Delivering the judgement, Musa convicted Aku on charges of forgery and obtaining money by false pretence. The church accountant, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was sentenced to 18 years in prison without an option of fine. The judge also ordered Aku to pay back the money as restitution to the church, adding that the proceeds of the crime recovered in the course of the investigation should be sold and the funds should be remitted to the church.

Reacting to the judgement, Bello Bajoga, an EFCC official, said: “The convict was entrusted with church money and ended up diverting same and forged tellers, which he presented as genuine, to serve as evidence of remmitance.”

• Neither are the oceans/high seas safe from the wickedness that has engulfed the land.

Headline: “FOUR NAVAL RATINGS KILLED BY PIRATES IN ONDO.”

“Four naval ratings have been killed in Gbagira village,

Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, while rescuing three foreigners from pirates.

The suspected killers also went away with four military rifles and seven magazines.

Vanguard gathered that the victims were deployed to rescue three foreigners that were kidnapped by the pirates in the community.

The community and its neighbours have been under tension following the invasion by security operatives. Confirming the incident; Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda, Commodore Danjuma Ndanusa, said he had directed community leaders (baales) to produce the weapons or face dire consequences.

One of the pirates was reportedly apprehended in a suburb of Awoye community after the naval ratings were shot dead.

The suspected kidnappers reportedly came from Bayelsa State via the high seas, through which some escaped with gunshot injuries , following a gun battle with the naval ratings. Commodore Ndanusa said one of the pirates that was apprehended confessed that the missing rifles are in the community, adding that the rescued foreigners corroborated his claim.

His words: “We intimated them on what is at stake. It is like sleeping on a time bomb. I told all the baales to get all their youths and speak with them.

“That was why we did a total search and we found four telephones and one walkie-talkie belonging to the foreigners. I made this known to the four baales from the community.

“We also made a search on the boat they came with from Bayelsa and recovered empty magazines from guns on the floor of their boat.

“We placed a curfew in the four communities and on the activities on the waterway by putting pressure on them to produce the arms, because it is a threat to the innocents in the community.”

Meanwhile, the communities have cried out that they were under siege and that both economic and social activities have been paralysed.

Even the police appear to have joined the orgy going by the front page of “The Punch” newspaper of January 14, 2020: Headline: “DELTA DPO ACCUSED OF STRIPPING 28-YEAR-OLD WOMAN”

A 28-year old woman, Mercy Okoro, on Monday accused the Divisional Police Officer of Ekpan in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, SP Asanayin Ibok, of stripping her naked and arresting her widowed mother, Mrs Lucy Okoro, and her sister over a disagreement with their tenant.

Narrating her ordeal to journalists in Warri, Mercy alleged that the incident occurred around 3pm on Friday, January 10, 2020, when the tenant, Andrew Obas, who had refused to pay his three months’ rent, invited the police to their home.

According to Mercy, the tenant had been given four months’ notice to either pay the arrears of the rent or quit his apartment, a notice that elapsed this month.

She stated, “We asked him to pack out. Instead, he brought armed policemen. They shot indiscriminately, dragged my sister on the floor and kicked her. I told the policemen to leave my sister alone. The DPO stripped me naked. He took my wrapper and kicked me on my buttocks.

“The police bundled my sister and I into their patrol van and took us to the station. It was when we got there that I knew that it was the DPO, who attacked me.”

Mercy also alleged that the DPO slapped her at the station till she fell to the ground and fainted, adding that a policewoman behind the counter also sprayed teargas into her eyes.

The victim, who lamented that she was dehumanised by the police, urged the government and human rights organisations in the country to take the matter up with the DPO in the interest of justice, fairness and equity.

Mercy’s mother, who was arrested alongside her daughters, urged the government to help them get justice.

Lucy, who corroborated the claims of her daughter, urged the government to put an end to her harassment by the tenant.

After owing me three months’ rent, Obas said he would not pay and boasted that he would make trouble with me. That’s why I said he should leave my house with the accumulated rent. I went to court and obtained a month’s notice to quit and served him. After that, I went back to the court, obtained a seven-day notice, which I also served him and which elapsed on Friday, January 10, 2020,” she stated.

Reacting, the DPO, Asanenyi, denied the allegations levelled against him, saying, “What they said is not true.”

He stated that he was not around when the incident happened let alone stripping the young woman naked.

Asanenyi said the decision of the widow and her daughters to lock the gate against their tenant could cause problems.

When contacted on the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Hafiz Inuwa, said a journalist had earlier called him on the matter and he made enquiries and discovered that the allegations were blatant lies.

“It was not even the DPO, because when it happened, the DPO was not even there. We did not record anything like this,” he added.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Human Rights Defenders Organisation, Casely Omon-Irabor, said the body got a distressed call that a widow was being manhandled over a disagreement with her tenant.

Omon-Irabor stated, “We sent two of our lawyers to go and find out and we discovered that the police stripped the first daughter of the widow. Our lawyers intervened, but the police didn’t listen to them,” she stated.

Omon-Irabor stated that Mercy was beaten and marched on until she fainted.

“Other policemen were begging the DPO to leave the woman alone, but he refused until I told him that I took photographs of the incident and had him on video assaulting the young woman. It was then he said we should settle.

“I called the DPO, who said because I was involved, he was going to set the widow free. He still detained the two girls.”

Another dimension was provided by the front page of “The Nation” newspaper of January 14, 2020,

Headline

(i) “HEAD TEACHER ADMITS SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH TWIN PUPILS”

“The head teacher of a secondary school in Lagos, Mr. Samson Adeyemo, has admitted before an Ikeja Special Offences Court that he had sexual relationships with two 17-year-old twin pupils of his school.

Adeyemo, 41, who lives at 8, Odesanya Street, Abule Egba, near Lagos, is the head teacher of Legati College, Abule Egba.

He is facing a two-count charge of defilement of a child.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while being cross-examined yesterday by State Prosecutor, Ms M. I. Oshodi, the defendant, who has a National Certificate in Education (NCE), admitted to defiling the underage pupils (Twin A and Twin B).

“I had a relationship with Twin A and Twin B. I’m married to Twin A. The marriage was not conducted in the church or registry. I had her consent and her parents were aware.

“Marriage is done between a male and a female and it is for life. What is between me and Twin A is marriage and the one people do in the church or registry is wedding.

“The relationship with Twin A started in 2016 and I had sexual intercourse with her in 2017. I did not start the relationship with Twin B until I met their mother and also had sexual intercourse with Twin B after I met her mother.”

Adeyemo admitted that the school he operated had not been fully registered with the Lagos State Ministry of Education.

He, however, denied having sexual relationships with other pupils in the school.

While giving his evidence-in-chief, the defendant had admitted impregnating Twin A while she was under his care.

Led in evidence by the defence counsel, Mr. R. O. Akande, Adeyemo said that Twin B had become jealous when she discovered that her twin was in a relationship with him.

“Twin B came to me that why was it her sister that I was dating. I told her that it was Twin A that I wished to date. She said she was having other relationships, but she wanted me because I am her twin’s boyfriend.

“In 2017, Twin A got pregnant and I decided to cater for her, but Twin A’s parents refused (insisting) that the pregnancy would be aborted. I refused because I wanted the baby and I wanted to marry her as well.

“I gave her some upkeep money and her parents collected the money from her and terminated the pregnancy,” he said.

The head teacher said the father of the twins asked him to pay N200, 000 or be punished.

Justice Sherifat Solebo adjourned the case till February 24 for adoption of final written addresses, “NIGERIAN WOMAN RESCUED FROM LEBANON SLAVERY”

“A Nigerian, Miss Omolola Ajayi, who was suspected to have been trafficked to Lebanon, has been released.

According to information from the Office of the Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Omolola is now in the hands of the Nigerian ambassador in Beirut and she is expected back home soon.

Miss Ajayi had cried out for help in a video which had gone viral, claiming that she was sold into slavery in Lebanon.

The matter has since been transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the agency responsible for handling human trafficked cases.

In an update on Monday, NiDCOM stated on its WhatsApp platform: “Update on the viral video of trafficked Nigerian girl in Lebanon. She is now happily in the hands of the Nigerian Ambassador in Beirut , received warmly and happy to be in safe hands. She will be home soon by God’s grace.”

While crying out for help, Omolola claimed that a family friend introduced her to the Lebanese, who took her to Beirut to teach her children English language.

She said in the video: “A family friend introduced me to the Lebanese that brought me here to teach their children English language. It turned out to be a lie. When I got here, they collected my passport and kept it. I asked why they did that, I was told that I had been sold as a slave. What I’m facing here is not a small thing. I hope I don’t die. If we’re ill, they wouldn’t take us to hospital and they only give us analgesic. Half of the people we came to Lebanon together with have died.

“The person I’m with now wanted to rape me, but I didn’t agree. I’m struggling with him. He has collected my phone. He said he wouldn’t return it until I accepted his sexual advances. If he is sleeping or has gone out, I take the phone.

“I told my boss that I wanted to be returned to Nigeria, he replied that he had paid for me; that dead or alive, he owns me. I have a three-year-old baby in Nigeria. Feminique Life Support, please help me, have mercy on me! I want to take care of my daughter. Please don’t let my death make my parents cry.

“The other girl I worked with has travelled, so he could come at me again. Please help me, don’t allow them to kill me in this country. I don’t even have a room to sleep. I sleep on the floor, in the parlour, in this cold weather. I’m not even given a cloth to cover; I wear rags. Please help me because as this man tries to rape me, if I push him away, I am scared of him dying in my hands because they’ll kill me too.

“My child doesn’t know me and I am suffering too much. The work I came here to do is different from what they are using me for here, and as I speak, I’m even ill and the only drug I had been given was an analgesic.”

The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Matters, Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, has revealed how following a video by Omolola her committee and other well-meaning organisations moved to rescue the Osun State indigene in far-away Lebanon.

Her parents, Felicia and Kehinde Ajayi and siblings have been found.

They live in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The lawmaker said efforts to rescue the mother of two materialised through her efforts, those of the Diaspora Commission headed by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, NAPTIP, in conjunction with Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

The Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in a phone chat said although it is not the preserve of the commission to go after trafficked girls and bring them back, but of NAPTIP, the commission cannot fold its arms when informed of such a situation, which is especially rife in Lebanon and Oman.

She said the commission would work with Nigerian foreign missions and embassies to deal with such issues in any country it was found.

She said it is unfortunate that traffickers are walking free, adding that Omolola’s case is one of the many.

On inquiry from the lawmaker (Akande-Sadipe) by The Nation, she said Omolola “has been sorted,” and the agent through which she got to Lebanon “has been arrested.”

She said: “Upon seeing the video, I sent it to the Diaspora Commission and NAPTIP. The response I received was that immediately they saw the video, they moved into action.”

She quoted Diaspora Commission and NAPTIP to have said: “We were able to trace the parents through the efforts of the former supervisor of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Neighbourhood, Rev Alade.

“The parents and siblings have been located in Ilorin. The Chairman of CAN, Kwara State chapter, Dr. Ibitoye, is handling the case.

“We took the parents to the office of NAPTIP and Immigration Service. “The man who took her to Lebanon has been arrested.”

Akande-Sadipe wondered how the desire for money by Nigerians “could make these agents sell out their own people”, adding that “it is very disheartening.”

I am not sure how many Rotarians are in the Supreme Court but it seems strange that there has been no contempt of court charge against “The Nation” newspaper for reporting on its front page of

February 3, 2020:

Headline: “SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS 21 YEARS JAIL FOR MAN WHO STOLE N2,000 WITH TOY GUN”

“The Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction and 21 years imprisonment handed to a man, Femi Ayoade, who with two others, robbed a motorcycle rider and a passenger of N2,000 in Lagos State, with a toy gun.

The apex court, headed by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, was unanimous in holding that the appeal by Ayoade, marked: SC/456/2018, was without merit and dismissed it. Justice Amina Augie said: “Speculation aside, I hold the strong view that the Court of Appeal was absolutely right to affirm the decision of the trial court since the appellant was given opportunity to cross-examine PWI (the 1^st prosecution witness), but failed to.

“The trial court created the atmosphere for the fair hearing of the case, but he (Ayoade) failed to take advantage of the opportunities provided to do so.

“So, he cannot accuse the trial court of denying him a fair hearing or find fault with the Court of Appeal for affirming the trial court’s decision.

“Before I round up, I must comment on the issue of his sentence, which Osayaba Giwa-Osagie, Esq., learned counsel for the appellant considered excessive.

“He (counsel) raised the issue at the hearing of the appeal, but there is no ground of appeal, challenging his (appellant’s) sentence, therefore, there is nothing this court can do or say on the issue of his sentence.

“In the final analysis, this appeal lacks merit. It, therefore fails and it is dismissed. The judgment of the court of appeal is affirmed,” Justice Augie said.

Other members of the panel were Justices Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Paul Galumje and Uwani Abba Aji.

Ayoade and two others were tried before a Lagos State High Court on a two-count charge of conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery.

They were said to have used a toy gun to attack and rob a motorcycle rider and his passenger of a total of N2,000 (N500 from the motorcycle rider and N1,5000 from the passenger).

In a judgment on April 1, 2014, Justice I. O. Kasali found Ayoade guilty as charged, convicted him and sentenced him to 21 years imprisonment.

Ayoade appealed to the Court of Appeal. And, in its judgment on March 2, 2018, the appellate court affirmed the earlier decision of the trial court, which was further affirmed in the Supreme Court judgment delivered on January 24, 2020.”

Ironically, even hospitals cannot provide protection for the sick going by the headline.

“DENTAL THERAPIST KILLS UNDERGRADUATE IN GOMBE.” An undergraduate at the Federal University of Gombe, Alex Ogbonna, has died in apparently avoidable circumstances at the Kashere General Hospital.

Ogbonna died on January 30, as a result of anesthesia complications administered on him by a dental therapist passing himself off as a dental surgeon.

Ogbonna was said to have gobe to the hospital with an aching tooth.

His death is the latest in the spate of avoidable deaths in the nation’s health sector.

An 18-month-old twin girl, Taye Adetunji, who was taken to the General Hospital Igando, Lagos, by her parents last April, died in similar circumstances at an unregistered medical facility where she was unprofessionally referred to.

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is yet to investigate Adetunji’s case despite petitions from the bereaved parents and recommendations from the Lagos State Hospital Management Board.

Narrating the incident on social media, a woman Margaret Ebulue said Ogbonna visited the dental clinic at the General Hospital on Wednesday only to be given a wrong injection.

“Alex is dead,” she wrote. “The doctor is on the run; we want #justiceforAlex. I just spoke to his younger brother Joseph Ogbonna, He said the dentist in question is not a dentist but a lab technician who posed as a dentist.

“The brother of the deceased said he was administered an injection which caused him a headache, and another which destabilised him.” Ogbonna’s aching tooth was not refilled.

Condemning the incident, the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) said the culprit was not a dentist and overstepped his bounds as a dental therapist.

A statement by NDA President Dr. Eshikena noted that the dental surgeon at the hospital was on leave and the therapist was not qualified to administer the anaesthesia.

“On Thursday January 30, 2020 a viral video was brought to our attention about a young man who lost his life following complications of a dental anesthesia at General Hospital, Kashere, Gombe State. We will like to express our deepest regrets and condolences to the affected family and friends of the deceased.

“However, contrary to circulating news that he was attended to by a dental surgeon, we can confirm that the anaesthesia was administered by a dental therapist who ordinarily was not qualified to administer such treatments.

“The dental team comprises dental surgeons (doctors) and other support staff like the therapists, technologists and nurses. All have their specific job descriptions and are not expected to overstep their line of duties.

“Anaesthesia is a procedure that should only be administered by qualified dental surgeons.

“Alex lost his life due to a failure in our health system. Reports reaching us suggest that the dental surgeon attached to that hospital was on leave. The therapist saw the gap and decided to overstep, an action we strongly frown against.

“The issue has been taken up by the appropriate authorities and measures are being put in place to ensure such never repeats itself. Once again, we commiserate with the family and friends of Alex and will ensure that we go to all length to ensure justice is served.

“We use this medium to encourage members of the public to seek care from qualified dentists only as many quacks parade themselves to gullible clients.”

Nigerians on social media demanded the arrest, prosecution of the culprit.

Here is a snapshot of front page headlines of newspapers on February 3, 2020:

• “The Nation”

General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye leads march as Christians protest killings.

• “The Guardian”

N3 TRILLION AFTER, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LIBRARY

SUFFERS NEGLECT.”

• How sordid state of facility contributes to poor lawmaking.
• Lawmakers shun library, opt for private research avenues.
• No online portals for bills, other legislative documents.
• “The Punch”

South-West Plans Anti-Graft Teams for Amotekun.

“Nigerian Tribune”

• Police Arrest Suicide Bomber In Kaduna Winners Church
• Abducted Seminarian Found Dead In Kaduna
• Christian Flood Streets, Walk Against Insecurity, Killings.

“Vanguard”

Insecurity

Anarchy Looms, Clerics Warn As Protests Hold Nationwide.

“Daily Sun”

• CAN, Pastor Adeboye March Against Killings, Kidnapping.