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From Nigeria’s pre-independence
electoral commission, headed by Eyo Esua, to the 21st century INEC
under former chairman, Maurice Iwu, the office, under several labels,
has hosted many teachers, professors and trade unionists.

Of the total eight former
chairpersons of the commission, at least three were professors — two,
of Political Science — like Mr. Jega, who is a former chairman of the
Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Mr Esua, who superintended
Nigeria’s first indigenous electoral commission in the early 1960s,
like Mr Jega, was an outstanding labour union member and a teacher.
Many of the office holders too, like Mr Jega, were appointed amid huge
public acclaim and optimism.

But the similarities he shares
have somehow conjured up concerns, more about his destination than a
robust background of academic activism, which he possesses.

In the wake of his naming last
week, the Nigerian Bar Association and the All Nigerian Peoples Party
Chairman, Edwin Umezeoke, and other commentators cautioned Nigerians
against expectations of rapid change merely by virtue of the
appointment, reminding Nigerians of an issue that has somewhat
alienated Mr Jega’s coming from the rest: “His moving into a polluted
ambience,” as the NBA put it.

Perhaps no other of the past
federal electoral commission chairmen assumed office under as much
controversy left behind by a predecessor as Mr Jega would, commentators
have said. And that poses the greatest challenge he will face when he
eventually takes office after the Senate’s two-week break.

“People will expect him to perform
miracles with the next elections coming and based on where we are
coming from, he needs to do that for Nigerians to have faith in him,”
said Joshua Ishiaka, a member of the House of Representatives from
Bornu State.

With a prolonged history of flawed
elections fresh on the nation’s psyche, and the extent of scandalous
elections handling by the immediate chairman of the INEC, Maurice Iwu,
Mr Jega’s takeover bears hope as much as it bears risk.

“Where we are now, if he just
slips, he will lose the goodwill he enjoys and Nigerians will condemn
him. That is something he needs to be careful with,” said Mr Ishiaka.

Lawmakers, like opposition parties
and other political groups, say the key to sustaining goodwill and
being able to succeed will rest on Mr Jega’s management of the new
election time-table raised by the recent constitution amendments and
the contentious question of providing a plausible voters’ register.

“We believe if there is will and
determination, a credible voters’ register can be completed within one
month,” said Musa Adar, who heads the House of Representatives
committee on Electoral Matters. “When he settles down, he should study
the situation, come up with a blueprint and assure Nigerians. Even if
the elections are to be conducted in less than one month, it will not
cause any constraint against free and fair elections. It can be done.
And even if you give two years, if there is no will, nothing can be
done.

“I expect him to do a proper
restructuring, remove those who cannot work with him and bring forward
a sense of honesty and impartiality,” said Aloysius Etok, Chairman
Senate committee on Rules and Business. “He must try and create a new
orientation that will give Nigerians a free and fair election.”

Cautious optimism

The All Nigeria Peoples Party
National Director of Publicity, Sabo Muhammed, said the enabling
environment for the conduct of a free and fair election is not
guaranteed in the present formation of INEC. “Notwithstanding Jega’s
credibility and pedigree, government must create an enabling
environment for him to conduct free, fair and credible elections in
2011,” he said. “Government must assure the new INEC helmsman of all
necessary support. First, by ensuring the neutrality of security
agencies during and after the conduct of the 2011 elections.” The
president of the Trade Union Congress, Peter Esele, also said that
whatever might have been the tradition of the commission that has not
allowed it to reputably discharge its duties must be changed.

“It is left for Jega to do a
surgical operation on INEC and remove what will not make the 2011
elections to work. We urge him to ensure credible elections next year,”
Mr Esele said.

Olisa Agbakoba, former chairman of
the Nigeria Bar Association, who was one of those mentioned in relation
to the job, however, charged the federal government and all those
involved to speed up things, as he said there is a limited time to
achieve the task of a credible election. He also asked Mr Jega to work
through the process with an open mind and reaching out to all necessary
people to ensure success.

“I have known him for a long time
and he is a very credible and principled person,” he said. “I do expect
a lot from him and I do know that he has the antecedent to tackle the
issues. But the challenge is whether we have not overplayed the issue
of who is INEC chairman and overlooked the other institutional
structures that would have to be in place to support the work of an
INEC chairman.

“So I think that more needs to be
done, even for the fact that the new INEC would have to be allowed to
run with new recommendations because we need an INEC that will be
totally independent in terms of service delivery. That is the most
crucial aspect, because INEC needs to be independent of the executive.
Not doing so will make INEC very weak and if that is the point, it will
not lead to the kind of election we so desire. We need to act very
quickly.”

According to him, having success
in an election is not a question about the INEC chairman. “We need the
new INEC chair and his commissioner to, without delay, draw a new
national election plan and also to revalidate the voters register,
whether it is manual or electronic is not the issue.”

Yinka Odumakin of the Save Nigeria
Group said, considering the position of the present acting chairman of
the commission, that the 2011 election might no more be feasible owing
to lack of preparatory time, and Mr Jega and his team need to work
extra hard.

“The Acting INEC Chairman says
election may no longer be feasible in April 2011 due to limited time.
We sincerely hope that Jega will go ahead to issue a fresh timetable
and conduct the election, notwithstanding the comments,” he said. “The
SNG is also hoping to see an INEC that will immediately begin the
process of mobilising Nigerian voters so as to discard the apathy
associated with elections in the past in Nigeria.”

Voting process

Biodun Adegboye, an economist with
the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, however, cautioned against
what he said might be over-expectation.

“Tell me where he is going to
start,” he said. “Even Iwu himself was confused when he brought out two
time tables for Nigerians. Don’t be surprised to know that none of
those timetables will be useful for anything. Why? They were made by
people that were not wanted and to satisfy the wills of some
individuals.

“The issue now is which electoral
system are we following? How are the elections going to be conducted?
Are the rules still the same? So many questions and yet the answers are
still tied to the lackadaisical style of the legislative business in
the country. So, tell me if they expect magic from whomever they are
appointing,” he said.

A former governor of Ogun State,
Olusegun Osoba said in Lagos on Friday that considering the structural
inefficiencies within the INEC, “Nigerians should know that we cannot
celebrate yet. I will only celebrate when 2011 comes and I see the
right people winning the election and not some people arranging victory
for them. No, we will not take that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abdulwahed Omar, the
NLC President said, “It is highly imperative that Mr Jega gets a team
that is competent, upright and non-partisan, so as not to sabotage any
effort at rebuilding an INEC that is genuinely independent.”

Belief in INEC

Meanwhile, with so many hurdles
ahead, Mr Jega has been described as an optimist that maintains his
belief in the possibilities of making it right. Speaking four years ago
in New Jersey on the challenges facing the 2007 elections, he
controversially reassured participants that Mr Iwu would not disappoint
in delivering the best that Nigerians needed. He also described the
situation in Nigeria as a murky political one, which he said was
dominated by “militicians” and not politicians.

“Trying to democratize a highly
militarized society like Nigeria is a tough job,” he said, adding that
leadership is critical for everything.

The Speaker of the
House of Representatives may be advised to step down next week,
following increased calls for his resignation. A highly placed security
source has revealed that Goodluck Jonathan will have crucial talks with
Dimeji Bankole ahead of the House reconvening on June 22.

“Bankole has a lot
of problems on his hands,” the source said. “I can tell you that Mr
President is unhappy with the situation and will demand a meeting with
him to account for the alleged charges brought by his own fellow
representatives.”

On Thursday, a
group of aggrieved House members gave Mr Bankole a seven-day ultimatum
to resign or they will make public some revelations about his
questionable financial practices over the last three years. Dino
Melaye, spokesperson of the group, said Mr Bankole would face
impeachment if he did not voluntarily step down.

“We are calling on Bankole to resign honourably within seven days or we will make the House ungovernable for him,” he said.

The security source
added that many of the allegations of corruption have already been
documented but that he was aware that there were new charges about to
resurface.

“Some of these charges are already in the public domain. Mind you, none has been taken up,” the source said.

“There are others
which have been made quiet but I can tell you that one includes a bogus
land deal right here in Abuja.” The Governor’s Forum may again be used
by Mr Jonathan to put pressure on Mr Bankole if he remains resolute.

“We saw with
Ogbulafor that Mr President does not court scandal in this
administration. A lot depends on whether Bankole is prepared to do the
right thing. If not, the Governors Forum would come into play again and
with Bankole’s gubernatorial ambitions, that is key.”

The rise

The son of an
Abeokuta chief, Dimeji Bankole attended elite schools in England and
the United States before returning to Nigeria to head a number of
businesses. In 2003, he was elected to the House of Representatives on
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to represent the Abeokuta South
constituency of Ogun State.

At 37 years old, he
was the youngest person to assume the role of Speaker of the House,
following the ousting of Patricia Etteh in 2007. He was immediately
besieged by opponents who claimed he did not perform his mandatory
service in the National Youth Service Corps, though that was quickly
quashed when he produced his discharge certificate.

Travel scandal

In 2008, he was
accused of spending over N52 billion on inflated travel and vehicle
expenses. The House’s Ethics and Privileges Committee cleared the
leadership of any wrongdoing. Many of the House members called the act
‘selfish and fraudulent’. Although the case is still under
investigation with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, no
court proceedings have been initiated to date.

Last year, when
late president Umaru Yar’Adua’s illness precipitated a constitutional
crisis, Mr Bankole was perceived to be among the politicians opposed to
the transfer of power to Mr Jonathan.

This only
heightened the rift between him and his opponents, many of whom are
rumoured to be loyal to former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

In April, the
Speaker narrowly escaped impeachment by aggrieved members of the
Nigeria First Forum (NFF), a pressure group in the House, while he was
stranded in London. The NFF had been formed in February to support Mr
Jonathan as acting president, following the resolution of the National
Assembly.

A month later, Mr
Bankole ran afoul of Representatives when he subtly opposed their
demands for a massive raise in their quarterly allowances. Members
wanted the N27.2 million they receive every four months reviewed
upwards to N42 million.

Bitter battle

Now, as supporters
of the president gear up for a possible run in 2011, the Speaker’s
troubles have only increased. Last Thursday, Mr Bankole and a member of
the House, long-time opponent Independence Ogunewe, nearly came to
blows. The brawl stemmed from the issue of the lucrative chairmanships
of various in-house committees.

In October 2008, Mr
Ogunewe was removed from his position as the chairman of the Committee
on Cooperation and assigned a less influential post. Then in 2009, as
punishment for his role in campaigning for a probe of the Speaker over
a N3.2 billion car fraud, he was stripped of all his chairmanship
positions and suspended for two weeks.

Last Wednesday, the
Speaker announced a minor reshuffle to the current House Committee
chairmen and Mr Ogunewe was unhappy that he was once again denied a
seat, despite Mr Bankole’s promises to restore him. The Speaker had
ousted some committee leaders, replacing opponents with his loyalists –
a move the Speaker alleged earned him death threats.

On Thursday, the
deposed members came together and gave the Speaker the ultimatum. The
members, including Mr Ogunewe, claimed they had incriminating evidence
of Mr Bankole’s corruption, which they were prepared to leak to the
public.

Still, the Speaker is standing his ground – at least for now. His
loyalists have promised to deal decisively with the errant members,
promising to expose their own evidence of misconduct against the group.
The showdown is set for June 22, when the House reconvenes.

This story had
receded to the innermost part of my hard drive; but, recently, when I
heard that our newly appointed foreign coach Lars Lagerback, was being
paid a whopping amount for only five months and the same source
revealed that it was exactly what the coach was paid for one year in
Sweden before his move to Nigeria; the seed that has been sown by my
muse, immediately ignited my quill to use.

It would not be the
first time and I doubt if this will be the last time things like this
will be happening in our nation. In fact, it has become the norm; but I
can only speak of what I know, what I have seen and what I have heard.
This space cannot contain the things that I imagine.

I really do not
want you to wonder for too long how stand-up comedy connects football.
If for nothing, they are both the most entertaining events in Nigeria
and even the entire globe right now. They both attract a kind of crowd
that ordinarily you would not find anywhere except where politicians
are gathered to share the meat.

In stand-up comedy,
the comedian performs and the audience responds; in football, the
footballers play and score, then the crowd responds. If they play well,
they get cheered but are booed when the opposite happens. The same
happens with comedy. When the comedian is not funny enough, he is booed
off the stage. All football clubs have managers, most comedians have
managers or they manage themselves. All football clubs have coaches,
the comedians at one time or the other have a role model or a teacher,
or at least somebody they could refer to as a mentor who okays their
performance or their rise to stardom.

An individual who
wakes up a talented footballer or comedian must hone this skill,
otherwise he will become rusty and ineffective. Then every footballer
believes he is a superstar and most comedians believe they have grown
beyond stars; they are super-moons. We could go on and on but let me
quickly narrow the comparison to why they both do what they do: for the
money. Incidentally, from a distance they both look like the easiest of
tasks to perform, until all eyes are on you.

In Abuja, most of
the government bodies have learnt to invite foreign (Lagos) based
stand-up comedians to anchor or perform in their events. It is not
because these Lagos based comedians are better than the Abuja based
comedians. These officials go out of the FCT because it is a known fact
that a prophet does not have honour in his hometown and, secondly, they
make more money from dealing with foreign (Lagos) based comedians and
they can justify the amount paid to these comedians by saying they are
superstars.

Exactly the same
scenario goes with the Lagerback issue. How much will the NFF officials
make from re-hiring Shuabu Amodu? Everybody wants to make it in his own
time.

By now, the
accusation by Glen Hoddles, one of the foreign coaches that failed the
NFF interview, that our officials in the football house asked for a
certain amount to be added as their cut to his fee if he wants the job,
has been buried unceremoniously. It is very common knowledge that
superstar stand-up comedians based in Lagos earn about N2 million per
performance while their Abuja based counterparts, that can deliver the
same goods with the same flavour, have never been paid beyond N80,000.

How did I know?
Well, I spoke to Oma Oma, the Co-ordinator of the Abuja Body of
Comedians (ABC) and he narrated an experience after he was nominated to
handle the MC job for one ministry. The officials in the committee said
they will not make more than two or three hundred thousand from him;
whereas, if they call someone from Lagos, they will definitely realize
at least six to seven hundred thousand naira from the deal. And some
people still think Glen Hoddle was just shouting because he was not
given the job, and that he wanted to rub the good name of the NFF in
the mud.

A plumber who came to repair some damaged items in my toilet said to
me, when I caught him in his lies because he doubled the price of some
of the items he bought, “Oga, e nor get any body wey nor dey talk lie,
I never see….” I do not have anything against Lars Lagerback; but for
the connotation of his names LAST LAGER BACK and I really am no fan of
Shuabu Amodu, because he never really impressed me any day while he was
at the helm of affairs of the Super Eagles. My problem is the way
corruption has eaten deep into every fabric of society and when I say
‘every’, I mean no one or no agency or organization, whether government
or private is left out. “Let him who is without sin cast the first
stone” at this story. We need change.

A recent study by
the World Bank Group, in conjunction with the United Kingdom Department
for International Development (DFID), has unravelled the issues
conspiring to sustain the prevailing difficult operating business
environment in most states of Nigeria. The 176-page report, titled,
‘Doing Business 2010: Reforming through Difficult Times’ launched on
Thursday in Abuja, as part of the Nigeria Sub-national Investment
Climate Programme, focused on key areas of regulations affecting four
stages of business life cycle in the country, covering starting a
business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, and
enforcing contracts.

The initial study
in 2008 dwelled on quantitative indicators on business regulations in
10 states, including Kano, Anambra, Ogun, Enugu, Kaduna, Sokoto, Abia,
Bauchi, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The 2010 edition
not only documented the progress in the previous study, but also
expanded the scope to all the 36 states and Abuja, comparing their
performances with 183 economies worldwide. The thrust of the report was
to investigate the conditions that enhance business activity, as well
as the constraining factors to the growth of small and medium scale
liability companies. The overriding objective was to provide the basis
for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business.

Study findings

Findings from the
study, according to the World Bank Group Vice President, Financial and
Private Sector Development, Janamitra Devan, showed that though there
exist wide variations in business regulations nationwide, eight of the
11 states measured in 2008 recorded improvements in at least one of the
four areas above, as a result of various reforms initiated to change
the business environment.

The variations were
attributed to different performance levels of state branches of federal
agencies involved in the different stages in the business registration
process, such as Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), stamp duty
offices, federal and state inland revenue services, as well as state
licensing authorities for business premises.

While it takes only
five procedures, 22 days and about 58.5 per cent of per capita income
to complete the cycle of starting a business, it takes almost an extra
month to complete a similar incorporation process in Bayelsa State,
owing to the high number of processes required to be met. Across the 36
states, starting a limited liability company, the study shows, requires
an average of nine different procedures, 36 days and about 77.7 per
cent of Nigeria’s per capita income of $1,161 (about N174,150).

On dealing with
construction permits, the report says it is easier to obtain all
construction-related permits and utility connections in Jigawa, Sokoto,
Kano and Adamawa States than in Abuja, Lagos, and Ogun. In 32 of the
states, requirements for construction permits include: environmental
impact assessment (EIA), land use clearance, site analysis report and
fire safety report, while Jigawa, Kwara, Kano, Benue, and Sokoto States
do not require such permits for the construction of structures with low
environmental impact.

Completion of the
all procedures for the permits could be as fast as within 47 days in
Jigawa, 52 in Kwara or as long as 148 days in Rivers State or 350 in
Lagos, as a result of the bottlenecks of obtaining building permit and
getting permanent electricity connection, the report shows.

Registering
property, according to the study, has continued to be a slow, expensive
and burdensome process, with entrepreneurs having to go through an
average of 12 procedures over 82 days and having to pay over 16 per
cent of the value of the property to have it registered in the Land
Registry. The involvement of lawyers to register property is a big
impediment to the property transfer process, though not as much as the
requirement to secure the state governor’s consent.

Rating by states

On enforcing
contracts, the study shows that it takes an average of 511 days and
about 36.3 per cent of the claim value in all the states to enforce a
contract, as a result of clumsy court processes. Overall, Jigawa, Gombe
and Borno were adjudged the easiest states in the country to do
business, while Imo and Ogun states were considered the most difficult.

Jigawa State

Only seven
procedures are expected to be completed in 35 days at a cost of 81.2
per cent of income per capita to start a business; 10 procedures in 47
days at over 396.7 per cent of income per capita cost to deal with
construction permits; 11 procedures in 28 days at 11.1 per cent income
per capita cost to register property, and 40 procedures in 261 days at
28.6 per cent of income per capita cost to enforce contracts.

Gombe State

Eight procedures in
24 days at 66.2 per cent cost (starting business); 11 procedures in 97
days at 522.6 per cent cost (dealing with construction permits); 8
procedures in 16 days at 6.6 percent cost (registering property), and
40 procedures in 470 days at 27.9 per cent cost (enforcing contract).

Borno State

Requires 8
procedures in 34 days at 71.4 per cent cost; 13 procedures in 65 days
at 697.6 per cent cost; 8 procedures in 14 days at 14.1 per cent cost,
and 40 procedures in 371 days at 26.2 per cent cost, respectively.

Imo State

At least 10
procedures in 39 days at 85.9 per cent cost is required for starting a
business, nine procedures in 147 days at 21.3 per cent cost for
registering property, and 40 procedures in 510 days at 52.9 per cent
cost for enforcing contracts.

Ogun State

10 procedures in 40
days at 90.9 per cent cost is required for starting a business; 18
procedures in 102 days at 713.9 per cent cost for dealing in
construction permits; 15 procedures in 101 days at 16.2 per cent cost
for registering property, and 40 procedures in 455 days at 37.1 per
cent cost for enforcing contracts.

According to World bank Country Director, Onno Ruhl, “Reforms can
make it easier to get property titles by streamlining regulatory
compliance, while efficient, accessible and simple regulations could
unleash the natural entrepreneurship of small and mid-size firms in
Nigeria even better.”

It will soon become legal for
mobile telephone service providers in Nigeria to record and keep calls
or messages sent over their network, if deliberations at the Senate are
anything to go by.

Recording customers’ call will
follow after the passage of a law, currently before the National
Assembly, to compulsorily register all mobile phone users in Nigeria.
The bill seeking to enact the law has progressed in the Senate, and it
is sponsored by George Thompson Sekibo (PDP Rivers State).

The bill, which passed second
reading last week, demands that service providers acquire and maintain
technologies that will enable them record, store and retrieve
transactions done over their network.

“Any recording of mobile phone
service carried on by a service provider …shall be stored by the
service provider for a period not less than 90 days,” the bill read.

Although it is envisaged that the
recorded calls and transactions will be used for national security, the
bill, however, did not state how the records will be accessed and who
is empowered to access them.

Beyond call recording, the bill,
when passed, will require the service providers to also acquire
technologies that will enable them inform their customers where a call
or text message originated from, on their mobile phone’s screen, as
they receive the call or message.

“It shall be the responsibility
and duty of every mobile phone service provider in the federation to
procure, maintain, and operate such devices, equipment, technology and
processes that shall ensure the appropriate location of the sources of
every voice call, text message, voice mail, etc, coming into or from
its network is displayable on the screen of the mobile phone appliances
of the subscribers, automatically,” the bill adds.

The main aim of the bill is to
curb the growing usage of mobile phones for scams and crime, by
registering all subscribers to mobile telephone services, both new and
existing.

Registration of customers

The cost of registering the
subscribers and acquiring the recommended technologies should,
according to the proposed law, borne by the service providers.

It “seeks to provide for the
formal registration of mobile phone subscribers by their service
providers for the purpose of ensuring responsible use of mobile phone
numbers by their respective owners and to prevent the increasing
incidences of abuse by some subscribers,” Mr Sekibo, the promoter of
the bill, said.

“Such abuses that are now
prevalent in every part of this country have caused and are still
causing a great deal of apprehension to several users of the mobile
phones, as indicated by the numerous nasty experiences revealed by
traumatised subscribers daily.” Although the bill is yet to become a
binding law, the mobile phones service providers have commenced the
registration of their subscribers. All the network service providers
operational in Nigeria have set up units in designated centres to
collect biometric data from their subscribers.

Ruben Mouka, the spokesperson of
the National Communication Commission (NCC), the body that regulates
the mobile phone service providers, said the companies embarked on the
registration following a “quasi-law” the commission issued them.

Although the proposed bill places
the cost of the process on the service providers while the NCC
supervises, Mr Mouka added that the commission will soon begin their
own comprehensive registration of mobile phone users in Nigeria at the
expense of the commission.

“The commission will do that
through consultants that will reach everybody in Nigeria, whether in
the hinterland or in the cities, something like the national identity
card registrations,” Mr Mouka told NEXT.

A battle broke out
at the National Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC’s
conference room on Friday, between two companies marketing different
technologies for the same purpose of permanently eradicating the
distribution of counterfeit drugs in Nigeria.

Sproxil’s Mobile
Authentication Service (MAS), which utilises the SMS platform and
GlobalPCCA’s Pentesta, which employs Radio-frequency identification
(RFID) are similar in that they empower the consumer to quickly
determine the genuineness or otherwise of the drug they are buying.

Each product’s
presentation won a fair share of supporters among the participants
drawn from pharmaceutical companies and associations; and NAFDAC now
has the task of endorsing one.

However, Paul Orhii, NAFDAC’s Director General, prefers that “each pharmaceutical company makes its choice.”

“We won’t force
anything down your throat. Go and meet with the two companies and come
back to tell us your decision,” Mr Orhii said when participants started
expressing fears that NAFDAC may ‘anoint’ one of the products.

But the national
president of the association of pharmaceutical importers on Nigeria,
Nnamdi Obi, delivered the bottom line. “I am confused by the two
presentations,” he said, “I want NAFDAC to choose the best technology
that is most affordable to Nigerians.” Mr Obi’s confusion takes root
from a potential weakness in the MAS revealed by GlobalPCCA’s Fola
Daniel.

MAS requires that
consumers send a security code attached to each drug through SMS to
Sproxil’s server for authentication, but Mr Daniel said there is a
technology called “Net Hawk mobile phone tool” which can usurp the MAS
technology by cloning GSM cells, and the equipment, according to him,
costs less than N100,000.

Though, Sproxil’s
Chike Asiodu attempted to play down the potential threat, saying the
cost of cloning about 900,000 GSM cells in Nigeria will be practically
impossible, Mr Daniels, citing the example of his friend’s father,
insisted it is already being used by some kidnappers in the country.

X-ray of the MAS

The fact that MAS
technology was introduced to NAFDAC by mPedigree, which has
successfully implemented it in Ghana, but NAFDAC chose Sproxil, a
company that was not part of the national committee that drafted the
implementation guideline for the technology, is breeding distrust among
pharmaceutical stakeholders that spoke to NEXT.

“We have been at
this thing since around 2008. NAFDAC has dragged its foot till now that
Sproxil all of a sudden appeared,” said a representative of a major
pharmaceutical company at the conference. “I just hope they can
implement it properly.” In fact, Charles Akinsete, the public secretary
of Nigerian Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
(NIROPHARM) referred to the technology as mPedigree, in an interview
with NEXT.

But according to industry stakeholders, the concern is more on effective implementation rather than on the implementer.

“I believe in this
technology because it’s effective and does not require manufacturers to
purchase any equipment. Also, it can be used anywhere there is GSM but
I must confess I don’t like the politics surrounding it,” said a
pharmaceutical boss.

What is wrong with the MAS implementation?

There are three key
issues that may undermine the MAS technology as it is being implemented
now. In an email response to NEXT’s enquiry, Tomi Davies, a director in
Sproxil said, “Sproxil Technology uses: Direct access to all MNO SMSC
in Nigeria for SMS through our local partner TextNigeria, Cloud
Computing applications and servers hosted by Amazon in the USA, and
24×7 Local Call Centre for participating consumers by ConSol (same
centre used by LASG for emergency calls).” NEXT’s investigation,
however, showed that such a project requires a dedicated data centre
and not just a hosting agreement that is not legally binding on Amazon.

Sections 3, 4, and
5 of Amazon Web ServicesTM Customer Agreement imply that the company
can terminate or suspend the services rendered to a customer “for any
reason or for no reason, at our discretion at any time.” Should
anything go awry, Amazon cannot be invited for questioning.

Secondly, the
security codes are issued by Sproxil, using asymmetrical technology and
printed in Nigeria. Upon arrival of the drugs in Nigeria, Biofem will
attach the security cards and this model bothers industry stakeholders.

“Nobody else has
the mandate or competence to determine if a particular product is
original except the one who made it,” said the pharmaceutical boss, “so
Sproxil will have to get the drug manufacturers to imprint the security
codes from source, else it is difficult to convince me that some of the
cards will not go on fake drugs by the time all the drug manufacturers
and distributors adopt the technology.” This is where Sproxil may meet
a big challenge, as it will take more that a presentation to get the
drug manufacturers to do this. It will take legislation at the national
and organisation levels for it to work.

“Looking at it from
the perspective of the umbrella organization that my company belongs to
in Nigeria, once it becomes a matter of deliberate policy of the
umbrella organization, my company will most likely participate,” said
Oladiran Rotimi, the group product manager of CiplaEvans
pharmaceuticals limited, a member of NIROPHARM.

Usifo Augustine,
Biofem’s product manager said that the ultimate plan is to get the
drugs coded right from source but Merck Sante, the French company that
manufactures glucophage, in an email response to NEXT’s enquiry, sent
by Gangolf Schrimpf, the Corporate External Communications manager of
Merck, declined to answer whether it will be ready to code the drug
right from source; though it confirmed it’s awareness that glucophage
is being used by Spiroxil as a guinea pig experiment in Nigeria.

The third issue is the one raised by Sproxil’s rival. “The GSM
companies have to come out and assure us that they are legally involved
in this project and that the technology is secure,” said the
pharmaceutical boss. “This should not be taken as a get-rich-quick
means. It should be seen as a social project because human lives are at
stake here.” “I would have expected a more convincing report from the
GSM companies, like an activity chart showing how long the
authentication process takes.” Sproxil’s presentation simply said that
735,153 packs of glucophage were labelled with PIN numbers under the
trial period and 22,638 SMS messages were received from 6,761 unique
consumers.

The fight against kidnapping and other related crimes took a new
dimension in Benin, the Edo State capital on Thursday, as traditional priests,
herbalists and traditional worshippers gathered at the King’s Square to invoke
curses on kidnappers and other perpetrators of evil acts in the state.

This was at the instance of the Benin traditional ruler, Oba
Erediauwa, who directed that curses be placed on all those involved one way or
the other in any form of criminality in Edo State, as a way of cleansing the
society. The Oba had recently offered to tackle the menace of social vices in
the city through traditional means.

About 60 traditional worshippers gathered at the King’s Square
where they made sacrifices of animals and poured libation over the animals
before placing curses on the kidnappers and other criminals in the land.

The Chief Priest of Benin Kingdom, Nosakhare Isekhure, said the
purpose was to ensure that peace reigns in the land.

“The country has been unstable for some time now as a result of
kidnapping and violent robberies,” he said. “The Benin people are traditionally
not Christians. We are traditionalists. In order to put a stop to the state of
insecurity, we just have to place a curse on them to stop all these activities
that threaten lives and property in Edo State so that there will be peace.
Besides, those who want peace must prepare for war. The Oba has said that for
peace to reign, we must mobilize the most effective tool.”

The Iyase of Benin, Sam Igbe was optimistic that the action of
the traditional worshippers would deter criminals from their evil ways and put
an end to kidnapping that has almost become a daily affair in the land. “We
shall wait and see, but we hope it will put an end to it (kidnapping). But if
they don’t fear themselves, they probably would be sorry for themselves,” he
said.

Seeking legal support

He said efforts were been made to give the action of the
traditionalists a legal backing, as “we are trying to liaise with the state
House of Assembly and the Commissioner for Justice”.

Mr Igbe advised the people to give useful information about
kidnappers and other criminals to the law enforcement officers because “police
are not magicians; they cannot perform without adequate information”.

The chairman of Oredo Local Government Area, Omorogieva Gbajumo,
welcomed the development and described it as an added measure to the efforts of
the police in stamping out criminality from the land.

He told the press that the act was to ensure that peace and
tranquillity reign in the land and also called on both the Christian and Muslim
bodies to organize their own prayers against the evil acts.

Traditional denominations like the Asigidi, Ayelala, Osokpekan and others
participated in the exercise which took them round some major streets in Benin.

Importance of open primary elections

The solution to the country’s
sacrifice of merit on the alter of political exigencies is to put in
place a proper democratic system.

The foundation of democracy is absent in our country. Why is it not there?

Because primary elections are not
done. In fact, in the last few elections, if you observe, there were no
sincere elections. People were handpicked from here and there.
Handpicking is not election, it is more like an appointment. They would
say consensus, who is the consensus? The electorate should have the
consensus. Let them be given the chance to give their votes and to say
yes we want Mr. X and not Mr. Y. That has not been done. This problem
is not only the PDP’s. This problem is in every party in this country.

PDP’s zoning and Goodluck’s Eligiblity

There is need to have a sense of belonging. That is why the party instituted a zoning system.

If the zoning system stands, the
right thing is for the next president to come from the North. Because
Obasanjo has given us two tenures, I remember Obasanjo and I spoke
about that face to face in 2003 when he was going to go back for the
second term. I was advised to turn down my ambition and to allow him go
for a second term and he did say we would allow the North to also have
two terms.

And it was because of what he said
that late Abubakar Rimi and (Barnabas) Gemade went to court and made
sure they contested because they wanted to contest and they did.

I did not because we were told to
allow Obasanjo to go for one more term. And he did say, at that time,
‘after this term I will make sure, as the president, power shifts to
the North.’

Finding the best amongst us

The zoning formula could be
discarded if eventually meritocracy was to be the order. My answer is
simple. We can only find the good ones if the platform of democracy is
properly put in place which, at the moment, is not there. So let’s put
in place a proper democratic system. We have credible people all across
the country and it doesn’t matter where he or she comes from. We are a
population of over 140 million. We have people who are sincere, but are
never given the chance.

I remember saying in one of my
books that Nelson Mandela was locked up for 27 years; but in Nigeria.
people are not locked up like Nelson Mandela but I want to tell you
that the apartheid of Nigeria is as bad as what happened in then
Apartheid South Africa. The only differnce is that we are all of the
same colour. There’s a big distinction between those people who believe
that Nigeria belongs to them, and they are in minute numbers, and the
others.

The best of us, including myself, have been locked out.

Mandela was locked up. We are locked out of every system.

We are running a system where the
good ones are locked out. Part of what we are doing today is to see how
we can penetrate to ensure we are now part of the system to bring
change. As you know, there’s also a reform in the PDP and I am a member
of that reform group. The reform is to bring changes to the party.

The PDP reform group

The reform conference is now opening its eyes properly to see what
is going to happen. There should be a platform that gives everybody
that sense of belonging by allowing the electorates to choose who will
represent them. This can only be possible when the framework for
democracy is put in place to ensure that not only general elections,
but also primary elections are credible.

An unabashed U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told President Barack
Obama on Friday he was sorry for leaving him behind to manage the oil
spill but was thrilled to be watching the World Cup.

“I am honoured to be (here)
representing the United States. The president is angry,” Biden told a
group of dignitaries at the U.S. consulate in Sandton, near
Johannesburg.

Biden, who arrived in South
Africa with several family members about a day ahead of the kick-off to
the sports spectacle, told the group not to take the U.S. side lightly.

The United States play England
in their opening Group C match on Saturday and the Irish-American Biden
expects to be in attendance cheering on coach Bob Bradley’s side.

“In the spirit of a genuine Irishman, we are going to beat England,” Biden said.

The British oil company BP’s Gulf of Mexico spill has given President Obama one of the biggest problems of his presidency.

The Vice President also offered
his condolences to former South African President Nelson Mandela whose
great granddaughter was killed in a car crash on the eve of the World
Cup opening.

Olayide Olaosebikan is a United Kingdom-based Nigerian. A
Lecturer and Management Consultant by, he is also a politician of the Action
Congress interested in becoming the next governor of Ogun State – the seat
currently occupied by Gbenga Daniel of the People’s Democratic Party.

But for the nature of our politics and the culture of the
practitioners therein, Olaosebikan’s ambition would not have courted my
curiosity. After all, he is a Nigerian eminently qualified and constitutionally
empowered to so aspire. However, owing to the obtainments in Nigeria’s
political landscape; and the dramatis personae involved in the political
theatrics of, especially, the Gateway State, where so many questions remain
unanswered and so many issues remain unresolved, seeing trouble and
determinedly walking into it on the part of the aspirant could not go
unquestioned.

I wanted to be educated on what he wanted in Oke Mosan, that
committing his hard-earned resources to a project like this should be his next
cherished ambition.

Looking rather un-flustered, Olaosebikan determinedly began to
reel out what he has in store for his people and why he is the “right man for
the job.” Good talk; lofty aspiration; it seemed. But are these ingredients
enough to prepare a broth in a land where stuffers, snatchers and vampires who
have tasted power have become so engrossed in it that exiting will be the last
word in their political bible? Maybe! Maybe not! So, I got rather confused, not
convinced! On a personal note, I have on several occasions wondered why we are
so blest as a country and as a people.

With each passing day, credible people move away from politics
for fear of dear lives, thereby leaving the stage for mediocres and political
never-do-wells to thrive. Fifty years after independent nationhood, Nigeria
remains a country where people with genuine interests are not only shortchanged
but are crudely dealt with for daring to be patriotic. It is only the more
fortunate ones who end up as exiles.

Without doubt, politics is all about issues. It is about
morality and credibility. Above all, it is about loyalty to the country, not to
any particular individual, however strong or powerful. Put succinctly, it is
all about a leader’s ability to match words with action.

However, in our own clime, politics has gone beyond being the
survival of the fittest. It is now the exclusive preserve of the meanest and
the crudest. Mere men with narrow loyalty have taken positions and, as such,
the more one is at home with Nigeria’s political abracadabra, the easier the
success. Here, it is the unrighteous who is able to maintain his rule while the
virtuous can only go a-grieving. That is why it has become practically
difficult for the Olaosebikans of this world to challenge the status quo.

Oscar Wilde might have had Nigeria at the back of his mind when
he described democracy as nothing other than the “bludgeoning of the people, by
the people, for the people.” Here, political vipers and backstabbers who only
politic for self-serving interests thrive, while patriotic citizens are reduced
to mere means to self-satisfying ends.

Will Nigerians ever learn some lessons about history? Michael
Ani left the electoral stage without using his experience to advise Nigerians
on how to get it right. Victor Ovie-Whiskey, Eme Awa and Ephraim Akpata all
died without muttering or uttering a word with regard to what actually went
wrong; or why they went wrong in the first place.

While no one seems to know the whereabouts of Abel Goubadia,
Humphrey Nwosu is still alive, but more as an outsider in power than one man
sure enough of himself to sincerely convince Nigerians that he actually knew what
his job as umpire entailed during Nigeria’s trying times.

As a way of getting out of the woods, we are being advised to
vote and make our votes count. We are being asked to vote and jealously guide
our votes. Wait a minute: with the way politics is being played in Nigeria, is
any politician worth dying for? In any case, how do we protect ourselves from
hoodlums and assassins who daily taunt us with guns and allied weapons? For
instance, if we protect our votes, how do we protect the vote-protectors from the
ravaging guns of those who are ready to do anything to ruin everything?

Not that alone, “can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”
The galling truth is that, in our own country, while the ruling party is
disorganized and willing to self-destruct, the opposition is grossly loose,
particularly scattered and practically unfocused.

But things cannot continue this way. There is an urgent need to
carry on board credible and competent people. They need to be encouraged, not
scared. They need to be empowered, not emptied.

Essentially, there is an urgent need for sincere soul searching.
As such, even while we can do nothing about the past other than classifying it
as a bucket of ashes, we need to carry it along with us even as we strive to
build a future where our votes will not only count but also be seen to have
counted.

May God save us from the hands of our rulers!

Komolafe writes in from
Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State