BusinessDay 28 Mar 2018

BUSINESS DAY
Opinion
NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018
C002D5556
The Dapchi drama
OPEYEMI AGBAJE
opeyemiagbaje@rtcadvisory.com
Dapchi is a
town in Yobe
State, North-
East Nigeria,
about 75
kilometres south of the
Niger Republic border. On
19th February 2018, about
110 girls were reported to
have been kidnapped from
Government Science and
Technical College in the
remote town, by alleged or
more accurately, assumed
Boko Haram terrorists.
The story was curious
from the very beginning,
with credible report that
the Nigerian military had
withdrawn troops from the
region, just in time for the
terrorist to come in with
several trucks; load and
evacuate over 100 girls;
and make an unhindered
exit from the town. Several
reports indicated that the
“terrorists” were clothed
in military camouflage
and many of the students
thought they were soldiers.
The military did not
deny the reported withdrawal
of troops from Dapchi
before the “terrorists”
incursion, claiming instead
that the withdrawn
troops were to have been
replaced by police officers,
an arrangement the
police authorities immediately
claimed they were
unaware of. The Dapchi
incident occurred against
a backdrop of a resurgence
of violent attacks
by the terrorists which
had stripped the government’s
claim of “technically
defeating” or otherwise
ending the Boko Haram
scourge, of any credibility.
Only recently in February,
Boko Haram had
released three University
of Maiduguri lecturers and
ten policewomen who
it had kidnapped, from
all accounts against payment
of a large ransom
in foreign currency! With
the Buhari administration
providing such bounties
in direct funding to Boko
Haram, it was not unexpected
that the group
would be in a position to
organise further, more
ambitious (and potentially
more lucrative) attacks!)
It was also to be expected
that once abductions
by terrorists were
proven to be likely to be
rewarded with very profitable
ransoms, other actors
outside and within
government and security
agencies, would get involved
in the venture. In
this context, the Dapchi
abductions were probably
predictable. It was also
possible to craft scenarios
in which government itself
could contrive a staged
abduction and shortly
thereafter, rescue in order
to boost its declining
fortunes and popularity
as the 2019 elections draw
nearer. On the other hand,
it is possible to speculate
that the kidnapping could
be a ploy by “enemies”
of the government trying
to replay the Chibok girls
kidnapping which was
leveraged by the then opposition
and its domestic
allies (in civil society) and
foreign friends to destroy
the Jonathan Presidency.
Several pieces of information
appeared to
support the former hypothesis
rather than the
latter–the withdrawal of
soldiers before the attack;
the president’s willingness
to draw a seemingly
premature comparison between
the government and
its predecessor’s handling
of the Chibok and Dapchi
kidnappings, as if he was
certain his own would end
better; the fact that unlike
the Chibok victims, virtually
all the kidnapped girls
were Muslims; and the
controversial manner of
return of the Dapchi girls
to their school from where
they were kidnapped.
Undenied reports confirm
that just as it appears
troops were withdrawn to
facilitate the entry of the
terrorists on February 19,
on March 21 when they
were returned, soldiers
and journalists were explicitly
withdrawn to enable
the terrorists bring
back the Dapchi girls!
News reports suggested
that the only Christian
among the Dapchi captives,
Leah Shahibu was
kept by the terrorists due
to her refusal to renounce
her faith in favour of Islam.
The Boko Haram terrorists
reportedly (and supported
by images on social media)
indeed had time to
preach and parade round
Dapchi before their exit
to loud cheers from the
local community. One
report claimed the terrorists
apologised for taking
the girls saying they would
not have taken the girls if
they realised they were
Muslim girls!
Many Nigerians have
come to the conclusion,
rightly or wrongly, but
certainly understandably,
that the Dapchi kidnapping
was staged by persons
in or around government
and the security agencies
to boost the government’s
image and perhaps extract
resources from the public
purse. Public scepticism
has been re-enforced by
the blockbuster accusation
by General T.Y Danjuma,
former Chief of Army
Staff and Defence Minister
that the Nigerian Military
under Buhari are “colluding”
with “armed bandits”
(read Boko Haram
and Fulani herdsmen) to
carry out ethnic cleansing
across communities in
central Nigeria!
General Danjuma’s accusations
are serious and
amount to a call on the
international community
to intervene in Nigeria
to prevent full blown Somalilisation!
His call on
the threatened communities
to rise up and defend
themselves and their territories
is unprecedented
though understandable
in the context unchecked
ethnic cleansing by socalled
“Fulani herdsmen”
and unwillingness by the
Buhari administration to
take action.
Those who love this
country will urge President
Buhari and his advisers
to pull back from the
precipice before Nigerian
unity is irretrievably destroyed.
The bewilderment of Bill Gates
CHIDO NWAKANMA
Nwakanma is a Visiting Member
of the BusinessDay Editorial
Board and serves on the Adjunct
Faculty at the School of Media
and Communication, Pan Atlantic
University, Lagos. Email chidonwakanma@gmail.com.
Pictures from the
wedding of Dangote’s
daughter
on March 24 show
the global wunderkind
of technology staring in
wonder and amazement.
Check the photos available
online and in the papers.
He is bemused and transfixed.
It was evident that Mr
Gates had not attended a
high profile Lagos party
before then. Nigerian parties,
in particular, the Lagos
ones, are notorious for
the scale of lavish expenditure
as the elite compete
to outdo themselves in
splendour and ostentation.
From all indications,
the wedding dinner of Jamiu
Abubakar and Fatima
Dangote stood out for its
flamboyance.
It was difficult to move
around the Adetokunbo
Ademola Street, Victoria
Island axis of the wedding
venue, Eko Hotel
& Suites. It was the ultimate
roll call of the high
and mighty. As happens
with these elite events,
it was easy to forget that
the ceremony signposted
the commencement of
the marital journey of Mr
& Mrs Abubakar. Photos
of the wedding Fatiha in
Kano and the dinner in
Lagos focus on the prominent
personalities present
rather than on the couple.
The wedding followed
the Nigerian script. There
weremany events, but the
ones in Kano for the traditional
observances, being
the actual wedding, and in
Lagos for a commemorative
dinner, stood out. Nigerians
often have a three
or four-stage event to mark
weddings.
The Dangote/Abubakar
wedding, therefore, was
exceptional only in respect
of the personalities
behind the scene and the
trappings that attended it.
Twenty-two private jets
reportedly landed in Kano
for that leg of the event.
Even as it was remarkable
for its splendour, Nigerians
will excuse theDangote/Abubakar
families.
As far as anyone can tell,
there was no trace of public
funds in the celebration.
The only thing you
can hold against it would
be the excessive displays.
Not like the one involving
two governors that have
played in two locations in
Nigeria.
Part of Mr Gates’ bewilderment
must, therefore,
be on the scale of
the party and the profile
of the father of the bride.
Bill Gates seemed entirely
taken aback. The excesses
of that wedding were not
in tandem with the Dangote
persona.
All accounts and narratives
of Mr Dangote show
a frugal, and even parsimonious
entrepreneur not
given to the proclivity of
the Nigerian elite for offensive
display of wealth.
Mr Dangote is the poster
boy of Nigerian entrepreneurship.
He represents
all the right values.
He is visionary, has the
capacity for execution and
does not dwell on the little
matters that so engage
the Nigerian elite. Not for
Dangote any notion of
excess aboutissues such
as celebrations. Even as
he has private jets and can
call them up at the whiff
of desire, Aliko Dangote
is famous for taking commercial
flights.
That event had in attendance
no fewer than
20 billionaires. There were
the captains of industry
and the chieftains of politics.
The quantum of funds
at the behest of guests at
that wedding could take
care of malaria in West
Africa, not just Nigeria,
and add polio to it.
Just the previous day,
Mr Gates told the truth to
power in our seat of power.
He wanted a greater focus
on human capital development
issues of health and
education rather than the
physical capital ones. He
believes that the right policy
choices by the political
class would lift Nigeria.
Gates is like his friend
Aliko. One profile describes
him thus: “Bill
Gates is an economical
man. He does not waste
money, although he is as
rich as Croesus, and nor
does he waste words.” Bill
Gates and Aliko Dangote
are collaborating in the
fight against malnutrition
in Nigeria with a commitment
of $100m and a target
date of 2020.
Bill Gates is now even
more famous for spending
his money on good causes
than he is for founding
Microsoft. At least to the
poor of the world. He just
recently wrote off Nigeria’s
indebtedness of $76m to
Japan. He has committed
considerable sums to the
fight against malaria in
Nigeria and other countries.
The father of Jennifer
and Rory John agrees to
descriptions of him as a
geek, “when geek means
that you’re willing to study
things, and if you think
science and engineering
matter, then I plead guilty,
gladly. Also, I kinda hang
around with people who
are like that.In our work,
numbers give you the
sense of scale, and then
you meet the individual
mothers and children and
farmers. So yes, it’s good.
If your culture doesn’t
like geeks, you are in real
trouble.”
Clearly, in the worldview
of Bill Gates, we
need more geeks. Sitting
there at the high profile
dinner were many
of Nigeria’s wealthy who
could easily pay off the
$76m debt to Japan that
Bill Gates picked for our
country. Or the millions
on malaria eradication.
May his example force
the Nigerian rich to think
philanthropy.
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