Politics and Governance - More Than A Conversation

DEC
2018
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT MAGAZINE
FREE WITH BUSINESS DAY LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

From Our Guest Editor
More Than a Conversation
2
019 will be an interesting year for Nigeria. For a start, it will be
the twentieth year of democratic rule, and a year when people
who never experienced military dictatorship, will be eligible
to vote for the first time. This is a great watershed, and despite the
teething problems, is an exciting time for Nigeria.
It is also a year when an incipient fiscal crisis will finally begin to
beam the searchlight on a very important part of democracy -
governance. How do government policies, and the manner of
implementation, affect the economy, and hence, your life?
These are questions we attempt to begin to answer in this edition
of The Spark. We have enlightening interviews, with a former
governor, a serving commissioner, and an influencer; as well as
a series of articles from people who can only be described as
experts in linking politics and governance. As we round up the
year 2018, we hope that you enjoy reading, have a wonderful
holiday, and return refreshed and rearing to go for 2019.
C heta Nwanze’
Published By
Editor
Anthony Osae-Brown
Advert Manager
Adeola Ajewole
CSR Administrator
Precious Aligba
Head of Operations
Fabian Akagha
ED, Strategy & Planning
Bankole Jamgbadi
Design | Illustration
Sodeinde Oladapo
Head of Advertising & Sales
Rerhe Idonije
ED, Innovation & Marketing
Damilola Oyewusi
In-house Graphics
Ralph Ifie
Guest Editor
Cheta Nwanze
ED, Growth
Lanre Solarin
In-house Photographer
James Otihi
Publisher
Frank Aigbogun
Head of Business Development & Client
Services
Ikenna Onuorah
Head of Marketing
Akintunde Marinho
Head of Business & Growth
Oghenevwoke Ighure
Managing Editor
Ogechukwu Modebelu
Creative Director
Segun Adekoye
Art director
Kola Oshalusi
Advertising
Linda Ochugbua
Chief People Officer
Lehlé Baldé
Ass. Managing Editor
Ayandola Ayanleke
Specialist Editor
Lucy Onuorah
Digital Communications
Opeolu Adeyemi
IT Team
Andre Udegbe
Michael Aworoghene
Cover Illustration
Ikenna Ajoku
Address:
Enquiries:
The Spark: 21, Military Street, Off King George V Street, Lagos Island.
BusinessDay Media Ltd: 6 Point Rd, Apapa, Lagos.
+2348123183458, +2347030951270, +2348182799268
Email: info@thesparkng.com
Website: www.thesparkng.com Social media: @thesparkng

Contributors
Tunde Leye
is a Partner at SBM Intelligence and Co-Founder of CredEquity
Nigeria Limited. He’s the chairman of publishing company
TLSPLACE Media and author of 4 books including the critically
acclaimed historical novel, Afonja The Rise.
Emmanuel Tarfa
has 10 Years Strategy Consulting Experience with strong inclination to:
Strategic, Critical and Analytical Thinking, Problem Solving and Value
Creation. He is currently a Partner at Enzo Krypton & Company, a
Strategy Consulting Firm based in Lagos Nigeria. He is Passionate about
young people and job creation and has worked on some proprietary
solutions that could be explored to create millions of jobs.
Ahmed Rufai Isah
is a Researcher and Journalist. Rufai has honed his media and digital
communications expertise working in both the private and public
sectors. At the ICT consulting firm InfoStrategy Technology,
Rufai managed online news distribution for Africa Independent
Television (AIT), increasing the organization’s viewership while
negotiating challenges related to trust and political involvement.
He is a graduate of Bayero University, Kano with a degree in Mass
Communication. In his spare time, he volunteers as a monitoring and
evaluation officer for Water for Sustainable Living Initiative, an NGO
started by friends to address water challenges in rural communities
in Nigeria. (Twitter: @Sir_AhmedRufai)
Babawande Thomas
is the Creative Director of Urbangidi, an African Content creation
and Production Company focused on integrated content-based
advertising (ICBA). With a Masters Degree in Enterprise systems
management from Birmingham city university, UK, Wande is
keen on the use of technology and most especially Media and
Integrated content as a tool in driving across brand messages to
its intended target demographic. An avid believer in African selfsufficiency
and cultural updating and preservation for the 2018
Nigerian, Wande believes that Africa is who Africa needs.
Joseph Agunbiade
is the Founder of Univelcity a tech school that teaches young
people software development, Data Science, AI and Product
design then connect them to jobs. The co-founder of BudgIT,
a civic organization that applies technology to intersect citizen
engagement with institutional improvement, to facilitate societal
change, worked at Silicon Harbour Investment Company before
BudgiT. He owns Getmobile Technologies Limited, a software
development agency where they build both enterprise level
software, mobile apps and products for startups. He is the founder
of SmartED a digital platform for teaching children African history
through storytelling. Joseph has a B.Tech in Physics Electronics and
trained Product Development Manager from General Assembly, San
Francisco.
Deji Adeniyi
holds a post-graduate and undergraduate degrees in Corporate
Governance & Estate Management from the Leeds Business
School, UK and the University of Lagos respectively. He has almost
2 decades experience working for the Financial Services Industry
in Nigeria. He is currently the Managing Director at OA Capital
Partners Limited, a Strategy and Governance Consulting Firm in
Lagos, Nigeria.
Tola Sarumi
is a financial regulation consultant. She has an interest in
Nigerian current affairs, youth and female inclusion in Nigerian
politics and pop culture.
Ikemesit Effiong
is a lawyer, communications consultant, and public affairs
commentator. He writes from Lagos.
Oluwaseun Smith
is a public affairs commentator.
Nana Nwachukwu
is a lawyer with over 10 years of experience in various sectors
and currently works in development and hopes for gender
parity someday.
Damimola Olawuyi
is a researcher at SBM Intelligence.
Copyright © 2018 The Spark. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, without prior permission of The Spark.
We do not endorse any product or service mentioned in any of the articles and are not responsible for the outcome of using such products or services.

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
Content
4
6
8
BOTTOM LINE
Fiscal Policy and the Nigerian Entrepreneur
WIRED IN
New Media and Governance
FAST FORWARD
Not too Young to Win
10
13
17
FREESTYLE
1. Freestyle: Mike Asukwo
2. Voice of the People
PRO BONO
The Making of an Electoral Act
SPECIAL FEATURES
1. Doing the Right Thing: The Donald Duke Diary
2. Mark Okoye : An Insider’s View
3. JJ Omojuwa: Of loyalty to Motherland
24 28
FEATURES
1. It’s the Economy, Stupid
2. Legitimacy and The Nigerian Democracy
3. Simple Decisions – Citizens First
4. Two Decades of Democracy - 1999 to 2019
FEATURES
5. Nigerians in Diaspora: Homecoming
6. Checkmating Government Excesses
7. Politicking with Pop Culture
8. Recycled Leadership: A Simple Man’s Alternative Solution
9. The Healthcare Funding Gap in Nigeria
@thesparkng
3

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Bottom Line
Fiscal Policy
and the Nigerian
Entrepreneur
“
In the 2017 financial year,
the Bank of Industry
facilitated the disbursement
of ₦11.1 Billion in loans
to 205,863 beneficiaries
of the scheme which
includes the unbanked
and underbanked groups
of market women, traders,
artisans, youth
and farmers.
“
The impact of the fiscal policy on SMEs and the general
Nigerian Entrepreneur as it relates to raising capital.
BY OLUWASEUN SMITH
As many small business owners in Nigeria will tell you, finding
capital is tough. Equity capital limits one’s savings, or what
one can raise from loved ones. The demand placed on the few
sources of institutional equity funding is well over the capital
they have available to invest. Additionally, only a small fraction
of capital from institutional investors in Nigeria goes towards
helping small businesses. They’d rather fund medium-sized
companies that are already cash flow positive. Regarding debt,
financing from financial institutions has been historically difficult
to access for MSMEs, although that seems to be changing
with the introduction of interventions from newly established
Development Finance Institutions such as the Development
Bank of Nigeria and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.
The Buhari administration has raised the right issues about
access to finance for startups and SMEs, but it’s unclear the
extent to which this has been backed up by its policy positions.
So, to what extent has this administration invested in solving the
access to finance problem for MSMEs through their fiscal policy?
The administration has invested some funding indirectly
increasing access to finance through its Social Investment
Programmes. But there are questions about the efficacy and
sustainability of programmes like MarketMoni, TraderMoni,
and FarmerMoni). In 2017, the Bank of Industry facilitated the
disbursement of ₦11.1 billion in loans to 205,863 beneficiaries
including the underbanked groups of market women, traders,
artisans, youth and farmers. That’s an average of ₦54,000 naira
per beneficiary to less than 0.3% of the 77 million MSMEs in
Nigeria, meaning that the programme has more of a social
impact focus than trying to honestly address the broad-based
funding problem faced by Nigeria’s SMEs. It’s uncertain whether
the beneficiaries will pay back or even if the programmes can
ever become self-funding.
In 2017, the FG invested ₦40.6 billion as equity contribution
towards the take-off of the Development Bank of Nigeria with
4
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
the funding coming directly from the federal budget. Added to the
₦87.9 billion received by the DBN from international development
finance institutions it meant that the DBN had about ₦128
billion available to lend to MSMEs by the time it started lending
operations in November 2017. Sadly, it was only able to provide
₦182.3 million in loans to MSMEs by the end of 2017. Lending in
2018 is expected to improve significantly as the bank claims to
have provided loans to 35,000 beneficiaries since inception as
at the end of November 2018. The intervention via DBN is more
sustainable, should reach a larger group of MSMEs. Also, the DBN
should become self-funding.
Some other interventions have helped address the problem of
accessing debt financing, but which are not directly funded by
the federal budget, and so are not a function of fiscal policy. The
Bank of Industry and Central Bank of Nigeria provided funding
in some form to MSMEs with financing for the programmes
coming from their balance sheets. These quasi-fiscal programmes
provided about ₦46 billion in funding MSMEs in 2017 with the
BOI’s SME Directorate driving the bulk of the performance by
providing ₦40.9 billion in loans, and CBN’s MSME Development
Fund provided ₦4.2 billion in loans. At the sub-national level,
the LSETF provided ₦5.1 billion in loans, bringing total fiscal and
quasi-fiscal intervention in financing to MSMEs to ₦97.7 billion in
2017. Commercial bank loans to SMEs in 2017 was ₦10.7 billion, so
it is quite clear that SMEs rely heavily on these fiscal interventions
to get vital credit.
Despite these efforts, with a financing gap estimated at ₦9.6
trillion, there is still quite a bit of work to be done. First, this
administration’s interventions to date are focused on unlocking
access to debt. For SMEs, the type of financing usually required
is equity, and there has been no effort to increase the amount
of equity funding available. Also, this can be done either by
directly setting up an MSME growth capital fund, or providing
guarantees that would encourage private investors to make
equity funding available which has not happened. There is also a
place for facilitating the provision of debt to MSMEs by existing
commercial banks through the provision of guarantees or other
risk-mitigating products. The DBN is making an effort in this
regard, but its programme will need significant expansion given
the quantity of financing that needs to be mobilised. Finally, the
current intervention programmes need to be rigorously assessed
for performance so that they can be improved (or terminated)
such that the ultimate aim of enhancing economic outcomes is
achieved.
Keep up with Seun on Twitter and Instagram @seunsmith.
@thesparkng
5

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Wired In
New
Media and
Governance
New media has changed the face of
every facet of life, including politics
and governance in the last few years.
BY AHMED RUFAI ISAH
Governance in Nigeria remains a challenge,
58 years after the country gained
independence, despite the return to a
democratic system of governance in 1999, public
service delivery to the citizenry continues to be a
nightmare due to a myriad of factors. Chief among
these factors as the late Chinua Achebe puts it
is the “Failure of leadership.” The lack of will and
vision among the countries leadership as well
as the docile nature of the citizens has ensured
that critical societal needs are not met. Public
infrastructure like healthcare facilities is still lacking
even in urban centers where one would expect
they are rife. Access roads, jobs, justice, and security
are very much dreams for the larger population of
Nigeria. This is even worse in the most remote parts
of subnational states. People in such far-removed
communities are worse off because government
presence in the communities is next to nothing and
they lack the voice to demand better governance.
However, in the last few years, social media
platforms are helping to bridge such existing gap in
governance and are serving as a voice for many to
demand accountability from their representatives
in government positions. There are three major
6
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
ways I think social media has contributed to governance in the
last few years and would focus on positives because our society
duels very much of those.
The democratization of the Citizen’s Voice Leading to increase
in Demand for Accountability in Governance
The last few years have seen a rise in mobile phones usage due
to more mobile and internet penetration, thanks to the effort
of the government and telecommunication communications.
This rise in mobile phone usage has given more people access
to usage and so social media platforms. What this means is
more and more people signing up to the different social media
platforms on a daily basis leading them to join conversations
on issues affecting the societies they belong to as well as the
country in general.
As people join the different social media platforms and realize
their voices can reach more people in the country, they begin to
demand better governance in their states. A good example of
how social media has increased the demand for accountability
in governance can be found in platforms like Tracka.ng who
have taken to tracking projects in communities across the
“
social media platforms are
helping to bridge the
existing gap in governance
and are serving as a voice
for many to demand
accountability from
their representatives in
government positions.
“
country and publishing the details on social media for citizens
in those areas to push for their delivery. Udeme.ng is also a
platform for holding government accountable on how funds
released for developmental projects are spent. These platforms
have recorded success in activating citizens to demand better
governance.
Aided the Escalation of Service Delivery Advocacy
The work of organized civil society needs no introduction to
many; thus, I would not spend time on that. Social media has
only added a new more impetus to the work of advocating for
better governance that they do. More civil society organizations
now use social media platforms to educate citizens on the
different advocacy they have going. A very good example here
is Connected Development (CODE) which uses social media
to drive its #FollowTheMoney campaign to track funds meant
for projects in different local communities. In Jigawa state, a
civil society organization called Strengthening Participatory
Governance is using social media as evidence tools to track
delivery of free healthcare services to rural women.
Heightened the Demand Justice and Increased Knowledge of
Rights
The administration of justice has remained precarious in
Nigeria. Examples abound where individuals, security personnel
and politicians have treated people poorly and even killed
many innocent Nigerians. The Federal Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (FSARS) for example has on many occasion maltreated
individuals and robbed them of their money. Everyday Nigeria is
in fact used to police officers extorting money from them. Taxi
drivers would produce a book full of stories of their experiences
with the Nigeria police officers. Social media has heightened
the demand of justice from agencies empowered to administer
justice and helped in the education of more citizens about their
rights. In a recent example, citizens across the country joined
a campaign to call for a disbandment of the FSARS on social
media using the hashtag #ENDSARS which led the government
to consider reforming the security body. Another example is
The Gavel, a civic tech platform that connects indigents/people
to free legal aid lawyers using social media platforms.
In all, governance in Nigeria is challenging and social media is
empowering citizens to push more for bridging the gaps
in understanding these challenges, thereby paving the way
for better governance and leading to effective public service
delivery.
@thesparkng
7

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Fast Forward
Not too Young to Win
The “Not Too Young to Run” Bill has created the opportunity for more young people in politics,
however, are they ready for the responsibilities of governance or the intrigues of politics?
BY EMMANUEL TARFA
Following the recent signing into law of the “Not too
Young to Run” Bill, the 2019 General Elections
will probably record the largest number of young
candidates vying for office. The law reduces the age
qualification for President from 40 to 30; Governor
from 35 to 30; Senator from 35 to 30; House of
Representatives membership from 30 to 25 and
State House of Assembly membership from 30 to 25.
However, one topic always creeps up in conversations
regarding young people running for office: do they
have the political base to succeed? For me, the
political base is a unique segment of the electorate
that a political candidate can leverage to win votes
in an election.
It is tough to win an election without a political base.
If a candidate is not chosen to ride on an existing
political platform with an existing base, then he
will have to build this base over time, and not a
few months to elections. Young people need to
understand the implications of how long it took, for
example, the current President to win an election – it
takes time and work.
There are several ways to build a political base. I will
recommend what I call: A “target segmentation
approach”, where the intending candidate
categorises potential voters according to special
interests and targets them respectively. Depending
on the office being sought, the intending candidate
should approach each segment and secure their
interest by meeting them at their point of interest.
Below I have illustrated a segmentation and
engagement plan for an aspiring young candidate
seeking legislative office in a state. This engagement
may be required over a four-year horizon.
8
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
TARGET
SEGMENT
BROAD
APPRAOCH
ENGAGEMENT
PLANS/AGENDA
POTENTIAL
OUTCOME
Celebrities – Music, Movie
Stars and Creative Artistes
Strategic for their large
followership and potential
to provide energy, passion
and excitement for the
campaign
The Corporate Young
Executives
Strategic for their potential
swing votes
“Making Lagos the
Entertainment and Creative
Capital of Africa…”
Host a Special Event.
“I Understand Your Hustle”
… Let me share my plans
for alleviating your social
and economic hardships.
… A Breakfast Meeting with
the upwardly mobile Young
Executives
- A Special meeting at a 5-star
hotel in Lagos
- A Presentation of the Lagos
Entertainment and Creative
Blue-print – Positioning Lagos as
the Entertainment capital of
Africa
- What is the plan for and the
roles of the current investors and
players in the sector?
- Personally, inviting some of
the key celebrities and
international figures (if possible)
- Unveiling plans to shoot a
Hollywood movie in Africa
- Announcing the Lagos
Entertainment Fund
For Instance: “Outline plans for
alleviating traffic, accommodation
and general welfare
challenges associated with
living in the state”
The campaign team will
immediately engage
influencers in the segment
and recruit some of them
for campaign rallies,
participation, ambassadors,
e.g. theme songs written by
celebrities
- A committee of
technocrats among
segments will be formed –
to work on the
implementation plans of the
respective blue-prints
- A post-election
engagement committee will
be set-up – to continue to
advise the candidates on
needs of the segment and
measure the quality of
execution of the campaign
promises
- Special advisers to the
candidate from among the
respective communities will
be recruited
The Young Tech.
Entrepreneurs
Strategic for powering the
campaign with their digital
expertise and technology
Tools
“Let us Talk Apps and
Lagos State” … Making
Lagos a Smart City for You.
A Quick Brunch meeting
with the Candidate in Yaba
- A Blue print for the Thriving
Lagos Tech. community
- Smart Legislation – “I want
you to advise me session”
- What legislation do you need
for technology – here is an open
cheque?
- Announcing the stateʼs Tech.
Fund
- Influencer recruitments,
engagement and
networking
Clergy – Christians and
Muslims
Strategic for their following
and influence over millions
Role of Faith in Good
Governance – A Public
Lecture at the University of
Lagos
Will be organised in
Partnership with the
Department for Religious
Studies
Will invite 6 leading clergies
across various faiths
- Event will have break-out
sessions to properly engage the
participants
- Leading clergy men will be
asked to submit
recommendations for legislation
or governance
- Challenges of Faith/Religion
in the state will be discussed
“
Without a political base, a
young aspirant will just be
too young too win.
“
There are several additional segments including The Disabled, The Sports
community, The manufacturers association, and their sub-segments etc.
If the candidate is able to stimulate interest from a combination of these
segments and leverage same as “political collateral”, he or she can then
use that to secure funding through various crowdfunding options from
the same segment or their “down-lines”, as we understand it in multi-level
marketing. If 100,000 people donate ₦1,000 monthly, that will ₦100 million
monthly – to pursue the campaign. Without a political base, a young
aspirant will be just be too young to win.
@thesparkng
9

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Freestyle
Freestyle:
Mike Asukwo
BY AYANDOLA AYANLEKE
Etim Bassey Asukwo, better known as Mike by friends and
family, is the Chief Editorial Artist of BusinessDay Media.
Growing up, he had always wanted to be an artist, except for a
while when he thought he’d like to join the army. “Growing
up, I have always been doodling. If I spent more than 5
minutes around a surface, I was definitely going to draw on it,
consciously or unconsciously.”
“That I was an artist was obvious right from birth. I had actually
wanted to be a movie producer. I used to write scripts and
direct plays (mostly comedies) even before leaving secondary
school. Unfortunately, there was no art teacher at St Vincents
College, Oron, where I schooled and so I couldn’t offer Fine Art
in WASCE. It was a year after leaving school that I sat for Art as
a single subject in GCE and got A1.”
“I was already studying Business Administration by then. At
the end of my second year, I left the Calabar Polytechnic. About
3 years later, I was able to get into Yaba College of Technology
to formally study art for the first time.”
He uses his art to highlight situations of the common people.
“I try to bring some illuminations to the dark corners where
the common people live. I look for the perspective we easily
miss and draw our attention to them, especially where such
situations arise from the failure of those in authority to do what
there are handsomely paid to do. I have used my sculptures to
draw attention to the plight of workers, the unsung heroes.”
“I feel art should do more than celebrate beauty, imitate
nature or present objects for contemplation. Art should do
more than that. Art should demand change, art should seek
justice, art should advocate, art should spark reactions to
situations.”
“My art tries to do that, it gnaws at our conscience and makes
us feel guilty when we err and then hang around our memory
10
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
to deny us peace in our slumber. And my cartoons even provide
the mirth out of the mess.”
On why he does a lot of political satire, “the business of living is
impinged by many factors and politics is one of them. Politics
itself is filled with absurdities, laughable rhetoric, comedic
characters, and frustrating inconsistencies.”
“And satire is the best way of reporting or analyzing it. So I use
humor, exaggeration, and innuendo to make my point, and by
so doing I can communicate a complex political idea in a form
that is accessible and resonates with mass audiences without
being afraid of harassment.”
“And since my cartoons are, by nature, embellished with humor,
it endears them to the mass audience. The bitter pill of living,
so coated in humor becomes easier to swallow.”
Asukwo is inspired by everything he sees, hears, smells, reads
and feels around him. “The vagaries of the human condition
inspire me. As I observe the struggle, the hustle, I keep looking
for that which can make them more bearable. Sometimes we
get too involved in our task that we miss the joy it should give
us. There is always humor in every situation, once we find it, we
can bear it.”
He was gracious enough to give his opinion on the mistake he
thinks political cartoonists make. “I think one mistake some
political cartoonists make is thinking their audience won’t get
the joke. They underrate their audience by trying to explain
too much and end up leaving their audience too eager to turn
the page. Just like stand-up comedy, the punchline should be
something to wait for anxiously.”
Dropping a piece of advice, he said aspiring political cartoonists
need to read, read and do more reading. “Political cartoons are
mostly based on facts. They involve facts and figures, names,
places, and dates, so situation referenced must be as factual
as possible. If you are not sure of the facts, research or else
you pick another subject matter. You are about to ridicule a
big man, even without malice, you need to do your homework
well.”
Connect with him via
Facebook: Mike Asukwo
Instagram: @Asukwo
Twitter: @Asukwoeb
@thesparkng
11

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Voice of the People
BY AYANDOLA AYANLEKE
A
good number of Nigerians have related to the political scene with
apathy because of the belief that there is nothing much that can be
done and their actions would not amount to much. This is beside
the fact that after every election, we don’t lose our voice to complain
about the government and what we think is wrong in the country.
The Spark and Access Bank decided to be one of those to change the
narrative and make sure our contribution in the politics of our nation is
more than a conversation. These artists have contributed their part by
creating awareness through the medium they know best, art. The contest,
from which these art pieces were picked, is simply to draw our heart and
remind us that we have to participate actively in the political scene.
driving away of some party agents, together with oppression,
intimidation, and undue influence on voters while voting is going on.
SAY NO TO CORRUPTION,
SAY NO TO BRIBERY,
SAY NO TO VIOLENCE,
SAY NO TO SELFISH LEADERS,
STAND FOR GOOD LEADERSHIP,
VOTE! NOT FIGHT!
VOTE FOR THE GOOD INTEREST OF NIGERIA..
(IG: @christian_joe)
THE PUPPETEER BY OLALEKAN ODUNBORI (IG: @lekanskillz)
BEHIND THE SCENES BY CHRISTIAN JOE MBA
I believe in politics, behind every corrupt practice, there is an unseen
scene.. behind every bribe, there is an unseen scene. The scenes of a
selfish act. In the above scene, MONEY seems POWER, SELF INTEREST
overrides INTEREST OF THE COMMON GOOD, where integrity is
compromised.
Here is a scenario - VOTE BUYING
The despicable practice of vote buying in which voters cunningly
allows party agents to know which parties they voted for is so rampant
such that the outcome of the entire process does not necessarily
reflect the true genuine democratic choices of the people. Indeed, the
level of electoral manipulation is so brazen, the desperation to win
so palpable, that voters go behind voting venues, in some cases to
buildings outside the voting area, to collect bribe from party agents.
Also, there are usually sporadic shootings, ballot box snatching,
They have failed us, deceived us, letting poverty spread across the
land. They have become puppeteers, controlling the fate of us the
puppets. At the approach of elections, the masses are silenced
with money, making sure the wrong person is put into power.
‘Godfatherism’ is the order of the day. Any endorsement that doesn’t
come from these godfathers is already a failed attempt. The youths are
starved of the power to make a change, only the senile clutch greedily
to the helms of affairs, leaving the country to wallow in mental
depreciation. Will we ever be free from these decays?
DIFFERENCE NOT CHANGE BY ADEBOLA ADEKANYE (IG: o_Kanye)
Having lived too carefully over the years being appalled by the
horrendous activities in our society, seeing people hanging hopelessly
around battered emotions of self-pity, being frazzled due to
unwarranted feelings of guilt from bad decisions and judgments made
in time past , and then are being forced to seek solace in every crooked
shit hole called comfort zone.
12
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
I can not help but overemphasize the need to let go and
speak up, the need to sensitize the society and let them
know it’s okay to speak up, it’s okay to live, it’s their right
to be happy.
No one deserves to live in enormous fear of what the
morrow would bring, or what the past can cause, no
woman deserves to be battered for making a wrong choice
in picking a husband, no child deserves to be abused
for having wrong parents, no voluntary worker deserves
to suffer for being kind, no country deserves to suffer
for voting wrongly, and corrupt practices should not be
condoned due to fear of retribution.
It is time to stop living as shadows and rise up and start
making a difference.
The society needs to know that wanton youths should be
curbed and told to temporarily starve rather than
conscientiously sell their integrity and pride for a morsel of
bread that would still make them thirst badly.
I don’t want change, they have learned the art of bringing
it in different shades.
I want to see a country where there is light and darkness
cannot comprehend it.
I want a country with sight and insight where there is no
blindness or ignorance, I want a country where young men
of integrity rule,
I want a country where people are proud to call home, I
want to see happy children and happy families, happy
Fathers confident of catering for their families ‘cos they
have good jobs, I want to see good roads on all nooks and
cranny, I want a country with medical facilities not some
caricature idea of a standard hospital.
I want a country that fights for her people, I want a country
where I can speak and be heard exuberantly, like the lyrics
of a masterpiece song, I want my write-ups and ideas
to make the world better, rather than have it herald the
libraries of cunning men for crafty purposes.
I want a country that gives hope.
Above all I want a country that Loves God, it’s the only way
to true freedom.
So no, I don’t want CHANGE, I want DIFFERENCE.
A TALE OF TAILS BY CEPHAS AFOLABI (IG: @cephas_
speaks)
This is a tale, that is often refused to be told
This is an ode, that for so long my country has been owed
Of how Integrity was sold, and the conscience of many
waxed cold
And how the leaders of the land still give us steel and steal
our Gold
And after all is said and done, they win and start living
large
While people starve, till their stomachs and their backs
begin to merge
Some spend their Christmas without chicken, some go
through Easter without Rice
Birthdays come close without new clothes because they
can’t afford the price
They leave old people to suffer, they say the Youths have
nothing to offer
While stashing Billions in foreign banks, storex tanks, and
private coffers
So pot bellied leaders are growing fatter and the masses
are getting thinner
…fly Private jets, first class tickets and people are sleeping
without dinner
And as 2019 approaches
I see these pests coming like Roaches
Claiming to be our Messiah only to fulfill their selfish
desires
But No
The time has come for us the youth to rise
The time has come us to stop sitting on our hands
We will speak against this injustice
We won’t mind the comfort it’ll cost us
We will stand to defend the future our unborn
kids entrust us
Because History has forced us
To see that change only comes from amongst us
And though they lie and profess
They’re with us in this mess
But we know of a truth it is just us
But our indifference should be blamed
For how things remain the same
We’ll rather argue from dusk till dawn
Over Liverpool and Manchester city
While we appraoch “Vision 2020” expecting constant
electricity
The youth will rather embrace the Commercial Art of being
Science students
While they embezzle public funds and blame snakes,
dragons and Rodents
You and I can change this country if we want
But we won’t, if we keep thinking we can’t
Cos we’re our own heroes, our own Superman
Cos really in the end, even Clark “Kent” (can’t)
They only seem to feel our Pains, during their selfish
campaigns
So we queue in the rain and in the sun, to vote and put
them in charge
Find more @thesparkng entries from Instagram following the hashtag #thesparkfreestylex #accessfreestylex
13

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Pro Bono
The Making of
an Electoral Act
Nigeria has been tasked to find the perfect electoral act
that would solve all our electoral woes.
BY IKEMESIT EFFIONG @JUDGEIYKE
The ongoing rumbles over President
Muhammadu Buhari’s fourth rejection of a
proposed amendment of the Electoral Act
2010 as amended, and the wider question of the
country’s readiness to enter its most competitive
elections make this an appropriate time to reflect
on the journey so far in ensuring clean, fair,
competitive contests since our return to democratic
rule almost two decades ago.
The colonial, post-colonial, military and the current
democratic iterations of Nigeria has had a battery of
electoral laws, from the introduction of the ‘Elective
Principle’ in 1922 by the colonial administration
superintended by Sir Hugh Clifford, the Post-
Independence Electoral Acts (1961, 1962, and 1964),
through the Military Electoral Decrees (1977, 1987,
1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998), to the postdemocratic
Electoral Acts of 2001 and 2002. The
current law, a slightly amended version of the 2010
Law, streamlined and repealed two earlier laws –
the Independent National Electoral Commission Act
of 2004 and the Electoral Act No. 2, 2006.
The Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2018, an
ambitious 45-clause effort which passed the
National Assembly in late November and was
ultimately destined for the presidential hammer,
did a few important things on streamlining knotty
and vexing electoral procedural requirements. It
penalised persons who knowingly fail to disclose
political party membership in order to secure
an appointment with the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC); enshrined smart
card readers and other technological devices in
elections; legally required the Commission to keep
an electronic copy of the National Voter’s Register
as a duplicate to the paper register and gave voters
the option to get a replacement Permanent Voters
Card for a lost, stolen or damaged one, a convoluted
process under the current legal regime.
These noble ideas were not what ultimately took
the bill down. Partisan politics did. APC lawmakers say
the imperfections in the bill such as a provision that
accreditation of voters must be done electronically
without the option of manual accreditation was the
major reason why Buhari refused his assent. PDP
lawmakers say this is political gimmickry and the
President has prioritised his self-preservation over
national concerns.
Section 25, the most vexatious of the controversial
bills, flipped the sequence of electoral contests
by bringing the national and state legislative
races before the governorship and presidential
14
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
elections. Rooted in the schism between Aso Rock
and the Green Dome, this amendment was seen
as an attempt by lawmakers to achieve separation
of their individual mandates from an increasingly
unpopular President. The Executive naturally felt
betrayed by this Act and Buhari’s dissent, along
with the accompanying political storm in its wake,
is telling about the current state of the governing
All Progressives Congress and opposition Peoples
Democratic Party.
Divorcing electoral reform from its obvious political
undercurrents has proved the hardest part of ‘future
proofing’ our voting rituals. Legislative efforts in
2011 (granting more operational independence to
the elections body) and 2015 (fears of the perils
of electronic voting) were ultimately truncated for
political considerations and barring a legislative
veto, 2018 faces a similar fate.
For example, in the 2018 iteration, an attempt was
made at raising the caps on political campaign
spending, with spending by presidential and
gubernatorial candidates capped at ₦5 billion
and ₦1 billion respectively, while the federal
legislative races were capped at ₦250 million for
Senate candidates and ₦100 million for House of
Representatives candidates.
Long reams of political commentary are not
required to highlight the fact that politicians will not
trim the fat on two decades of established profligacy
in the bid to outdo themselves - INEC estimates
that in 2015 alone, Nigerian political parties spent
nearly N196 billion to contest various offices and
with the increased polarisation of politics in the
Buhari era, they will easily outdo that figure next
year. Some observers make a fine point of noting
that legitimate electoral costs, like advertising and
round-the-country logistics, even when cursorily
calculated, easily outstrip the legal proposals.
Six decades removed from Independence and two
decades on from our last dalliance with military rule,
the catalogue of enacted electoral laws appear to
have been unsuccessful in sufficiently entrenching
and deepening democratic norms in Nigeria. This is
so, largely because such basic tenets of democratic
governance as; popular sovereignty, rule of law,
obedience to the rules, freedom of association,
amongst others; have been crippled. Some say that
credence to some of these norms has precipitously
declined over the past three years.
The perfect law to solve all our electoral woes may
yet be found, but as noted American jurist, Oliver
Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote in The Common Law,
“The first requirement of a sound body of law is,
that it should correspond with the actual feelings
and demands of the community, whether right or
wrong.” It just may be that on elections, we are,
indeed, the laws we currently have.
“
Divorcing electoral reform
from its obvious political
undercurrents has proved
the hardest part of ‘future
proofing’ our voting rituals.
“
@thesparkng
15

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
Special Features
Doing the Right Thing:
The Donald Duke Diary
Brilliant, witty and charming are some of the words that
describe the former Governor of Cross River State and
Presidential hopeful under the Social Democratic Party.
Although in the middle of dousing political fires and running
an insanely busy schedule, he was gracious enough to agree
to a brief interview that soon rolled into hours as he shared
his interesting thoughts on life, family, and of course, politics
in Nigeria. It was an engaging chat with Oge Modebelu,
James Otihi, and myself, and we believe you’ll enjoy this
excerpt of it.
BY DAMILOLA OYEWUSI,
Mr. Donald Duke has a photographic mind and is a great storyteller.
With every story he gave in answer to our questions, you could
imagine yourself watching it like a movie. I could almost feel the
chugging of the train and see the blushing faces of the young girls in the
coach he rode to start his Secondary School life in Sokoto.
“I believe it’s not
ethnicity or religion
that divides us. It’s
inadequacy
“
“I believe my father wanted to make a man out of me.” His lip twitched
lightly.
The older Duke had decided that his son would attend a school in Sokoto,
as against Kings College where he had secured an admission. Traveling by
train for the first time was a new experience for the 9-year-old and he cried
@thesparkng
17

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
for the first few hours of his journey. However, as with any impressionable
child, he soon began chattering with the other kids, making jokes and
enjoying the fascination of speaking with the girls. He squinted at the
recollection of how ‘he was filthy as hell’ when they arrived in Zaria after
two nights in a train and finally, boarded a Mammy Wagon for the fifteen
to eighteen-hour ride to Sokoto.
“It was fun. The roads were good then and commuting within Nigeria was
workable.”
They arrived in the middle of January when the air was still whistling with
harmattan winds. He still remembers his lip burst on his second day there.
“The kids were also mischievous. They would say something to make you
laugh out loud, and have a crack in your lips.”
It was a new and a good experience. With eight boys in a room, it was easy
to meet people from different parts of the country. Places like Katagum
and Potiskum that he’d only read about became real experiences through
the stories of his new friends. He jokingly recollects the tricks they played
on their principal to get higher transport refunds from the School.
Although he left the school in Form 4 because of the weather conditions,
he remembers the school, and the teachers fondly, and even by name.
Crossing the huddle of a school in the north with his father, his choice of a
university became another toggle. The 16-year-old wanted to study Law
in London and his father would not have that. He, however, conceded to
him studying the same course in Ahmadu Bello University at the behest
of a family friend. Here, the young man would begin his political career.
“ABU Zaria was a very political university. All the issues that confront us in
Nigeria like ethnicity and religion also confronted us there.”
He ran for the office of the Social Secretary and won, with his voters
cutting across different ethnic and religious groups. He noted with a
cheeky smile that he won the female vote overwhelmingly. It was also
during this campaign that he met his wife in the parking lot of the
university. He stunned us by describing the exact yellow color and trouser
fringes she had on that day, saying, “She was my next campaign after that”.
While his victory came without resistance, the implementation of his
campaign promises was a different affair. He had planned to open a
Nightclub in Kongo, the most conservative part of Zaria and was met with
resistance from the Muslim Students. Decades after, he still carried an
obdurate tone in his voice when he said, “I refused to back down”
As expected, this led to a riot that saw him leave campus to guarantee his
safety. Coincidentally, his father had gone to Kano for a meeting at the
same time. He bought a copy of The Standard only to see the headline
“Riot on Kongo Campus: Social Secretary’s Whereabout Unknown”.
“He was with my mother. He folded the newspaper, put it away, and said,
‘Let’s go see Donald in Zaria’”
His father found him at a relative’s house in Zaria, intrigued by his son’s
exploits with an understanding of the boys interest in politics.
In all his adventures in the North, he notes his key point as seeing a
country that had just come out of a bitter civil war. The North was full of
people from the Eastern and other parts of the country, and there was a
genuine attempt at integration. The country was also enjoying the fruits
of the oil boom and there was enough to go around.
“When I compare that time to where we are, I believe it’s not ethnicity or
religion that divides us. It’s inadequacy.”
He used the analogy of a family that loves one another, without
discrimination until the food gets served. Then, we get to know who the
first child is or the last born or start saying, ‘Ladies first’.
“It is a right and a
responsibility to prepare
the next generation for
leadership, expose them
to governance. If we don’t,
society will suffer for it
“
“When there isn’t enough, everyone wants to use what they have to get
what they want. So, I’m going to use religion if I know it would suit me to
advance my course or I’m going to use where I come from”
However, the question of religion and ethnicity becomes second place
when everyone has enough to eat and enjoy. He used the example of a
Muslim mayor in London and the thrill of a Dubai trip with no consideration
of the country’s religious leanings.
He restated his belief that a lack of productivity and the absence of
consequence for bad behavior are two key problems we face in the
country. The inadequacy of resources make people afraid of scarcity and
fuels the need for self-preservation.
He believes that President Buhari did not help matters with the public
declaration that “those who did not vote for him should not expect to get
what those who voted for him are going to get”
And this already created a dent in the country, especially with the people
in the South-South and Eastern enclave who already felt shortchanged.
However, all Nigerians want the same thing, which is to be successful
and to live well. If the right opportunities are provided, and we grow the
economy, we will have the resources for everyone to live without caring
who their neighbors are. To make his point on inadequacy poignant, he
gives the historical figures of Nigeria’s budget compared to now.
“While President Shagari was in power, our population was 75 million
people, his annual budget was $25 Billion. Today, our population is 199
million and our budget is about $23.5 billion. The pie is getting smaller.”
Our conversation moved on to the ‘Not too Young to Run’ bill. With a
political career that began at the age of 18, he gave a rounded view of
having young people in governance. He noted the advantage of having
youth in governance as the energy and virality to work, and the ability to
adapt quickly.
“I used to work 18 hours a day. There’s no way Mr. Buhari will work 18
hours.”
However, flipping another side of the coin, he insisted that youth without
experience is also dangerous, noting that the country got into a civil war
because of a lack of experience with Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna.
“You should have an understanding of how society works before you try to
govern society.”
He believes the crux of the bill is the need to expose young people to
18
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
Democratic Party be the cause of the current challenges in the Social
Democratic Party and wanted to know his thoughts. He maintained a
positive outlook and certainty of getting the party ticket back on the
legalities and technicalities of the constitution being used as the key
evidence.
“Jerry Gana is not questioning the results or saying the election was
rigged. He is questioning my participation in the first place. But the
constitution was ratified at the convention and does not guide my
election. And even if we were to use that constitution, I was not elected
the president of Nigeria but a presidential candidate. Should I emerge
president in February, then it is incumbent on the party to hold a
convention to elect a national chairman from the opposite side of the
country. I believe that the judge erred in his judgment. I think that my
opponent is misconstruing all these to suit himself. I’m sure that it will be
reversed”
governance and leadership. He frowned at the attitude of viewing this
exposure as a favor.
“It is a right and a responsibility to prepare the next generation for
leadership, expose them to governance. If we don’t, society will suffer for
it”
He uses the system of administration in American as an example, where
the president may be in his 50s, 60s, or 70s like it obtains in Nigeria, but the
folks who run the government are young people. They are exposed and
sitting in meetings with heads of state and preparing for future leadership.
He recalls having a cabinet consisting of mainly young people during his
administration in Cross River. They made mistakes but they learned and
were able to implement new ideas.
“When I was governor and talked about tourism, the elders didn’t
understand. But tourism provides jobs”
We have a young populace in Africa with about 60% of the population
being between 18 and 40. The African situation of having people that
makeup 5% of the population has become a bane of our economy. The
recycling of leadership limits the ability to adapt as the continent should.
He buttressed this with the corresponding situation in the business world.
He talked about the Lagos Cable Car project and how excited young
people are about it. Unfortunately, they have had to get funding for it from
outside the country due to the high-interest rates in local banks.
“If I, with the contacts to open many doors still have that problem, you
know how hard it is for a young chap with ideas to get help.”
His voice grew passionate as he spoke about how the Nigerian system is
killing dreams. From the lack of opportunities from the government to
the poor credit facilities. Credit needs to be available at an affordable
rate to young businesses and not just established businesses. If you take
down interests rates from the high 25% to 30% to 5% -7%, most promising
businesses will thrive. We have the existence of the phones and aeroplanes
because people were encouraged to dream. In a developing country in
Nigeria, the opportunities are endless and people need to be able to try
new things and have the encouragement to achieve their potential.
The Cable Car project has been on for about 7 - 8 years, and is expected to
transport . To him, the success would open up the minds of young people
to dream and dare new things.
Heading on into his mandate and the situation with his party, we
commented on the irony of having one of the reasons he left the People’s
He went on to speak about his own growing disconnect from society
when his young campaign team comes to him with ideas that sound
outrageous. However, he also understands that young people are
dynamic and make up the core of the population. And so he encourages
them to dare new things. This, he says, is at the heart of his decision to
run for the presidency.
“I want to get people to dare. I am daring to run for president and I might
fail. But I dared. And I am giving people a viable alternative from the norm
of APC and PDP and the same old leaders”
We also asked what would happen if he didn’t become a president and if
he had ever considered running for another office. His quick answer to
the latter was ‘No’.
“I do not seek an office because I want to be in office. I seek an office
because I consider that that’s where I’ll be most productive. When I left
office in 2007, I could have been a senator. But I wouldn’t have been a
good senator. And we had a good senator at the time, Senator Henshaw
and I didn’t think it was fair to deprive my State of that.”
On winning or losing, he says “Only one person will win of the 76 people
running for the office. But I dared. If I don’t run at all, I have already failed.
And that’s what I’m after. I want people to dare. Aliko Dangote tells the
story of how he set up Obajana. He sold everything he had. If he had
failed, he would have been bankrupt. But he dared. We are talking of
Cable cars now. You have got to dare”
On the principles that have kept him grounded, he says that he found a
phenomenal role model in his father. Mr Henry Etim Duke would not
honor a social invitation if the invite did not include ‘Mr & Mrs’. To him,
the values of a healthy and happy family would reflect in how a person
behaves in the society. The ability for siblings to love themselves and live
well together will reflect in the way each person lives in the society.
He mentions the qualities of humility and the ability to forgive easily and
quickly. He retells the story of a staff he berated and his wife insisted they
drove over to the man’s house so he could apologise. Having a mutual
respect for your fellow man, regardless of position and status in life, is an
important quality to him as a family man and a public leader. Being able
to override ego is a key attribute for anyone to have.
Relating this to politics, he mentions his liking for Professor Jerry Gana
despite the issue with his presidential mandate.
“If life is a school that will take you 60, 70 years to graduate, politics is a
crash course. It is hard. But it is interesting. You meet all kinds of people.
Through all of this, I learn to come out of it not bitter, but better.”
This interview held on December 20, 2018.
This is an abridged version of the conversation.
Watch out for the full interview on our channels and partner platforms
@thesparkng
19

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Young People in
Governance: An
Insider’s View
with Mark Okoye
BY OGECHUKWU MODEBELU
Mark Okoye is a Public Service Official and state cabinet member in
Anambra State who, since March 2016, has been Commissioner
for Economic Planning, Budget, and Development Partners under
the administration of Governor Willie Obiano. He is Nigeria’s youngest
commissioner since the onset of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
In this interview with The Spark’s Managing Editor, Oge Modebelu, he
bares his mind on his journey into the public sector, experience serving
as a commissioner in Nigeria, and how young people can prepare and
position themselves for opportunities in governance.
Back Story
In mid-2010, I had been retained at Afrinvest after my NYSC, I got promoted
and had just picked up the employee of the year award. Everything was
going exceptionally well. It was clear I had strong prospects and potential
to make it to the top in this industry, and very quickly. However, this one
day, I got the opportunity to form part of a team to advise a state in the
Niger Delta region on a multi-billion capital raising exercise from the
Nigerian debt capital market. This opportunity meant that I had to spend
months working with civil and public servants in the state.
Fast forward to late my MD/CEO asked me, Mr. Ike Chioke to prepare for a
meeting the next day with Mr. Donald Duke, an ex-governor of Cross River
State. I recall spending the evening before practicing my presentation
because this was the opportunity I had been searching for, and I NEEDED
to make a striking impression.
After the meeting, Mr Duke asked that I stay back for a private chat. That
private chat led to him accepting to mentor me, and an introduction to the
then Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi months later. I submitted
my resume at his request. He read it, and on the spot, he said he would
appoint me the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Investments.
In May 2012 in Amawbia, Anambra State the journey started. Since then,
I have held 6 different offices, worked for two Governors and served in 3
administrations in just a little over 6 years.
Experience Serving as a Commissioner
Serving as the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and
Development Partners. My job requires that I articulate the strategic
direction (working with my team) and objectives of the ministry, prepare
development plans and annual budgets. My day-to-day activities entail
managing a department of over 120 staff. The challenge encountered at
times is how to get them behind you and to believe in your vision for
the institution. I’ve always found the concept of leading by example quite
useful
Today, I can proudly boast that I have the most effective ministry and the
most productive staff in the Anambra civil service. We are not quite where
we should be, but we are moving in the right direction. The 2019 budget
process from conceptualization, to preparation and presentation to the
House of Assembly a few weeks back, was majorly coordinated by the
planning and budget departments in the ministry. Historically, these
activities would have been done in the Office of the Commissioner. This
shows we are building institutional capacity within the civil service.
I also would like to take this opportunity to show appreciation to some of
my staff who have worked extremely hard and proven to me on a daily
basis that the civil service can deliver service effectively; Christy Akabua
(Acting Head of Planning Department), Emmanuella Ikeabbah and John
Okoye, young planning officers but extremely smart, committed and
hardworking. Great guys, I must say!
Preparation for The Post of Commissioner
As a senior member of the investment banking division at Afrinvest, I
worked on various capital raising and financial advisory mandates. I
participated in the origination and execution of equity/debt capital
raising, including managing all stages of transaction executions, from
the pitch phase through to deal closing – some of which are a N9 billion
(US$60 million) debt/equity capital raising for a shopping mall in Kano, a
wholescale restructuring of one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest financial
institution which involved the divestment of its principal subsidiaries. I was
also fortunate to work on the first and largest bond shelf registration in
Nigeria, the N275 Billion (US$2.3 billion) Lagos State Government bond
issuance program.
Over the years I had built a strong set of analytical, interpersonal and
problem-solving skills. Though these skills did prove useful in helping to
create and reorganize the State’s investment office; these skills set also
proves extremely helpful in my current role as Commissioner for Economic
Planning and Budget. However, from my ‘little’ experience in Government,
I’ve found that to succeed in the public sector, politics especially, the softer
skills seem to be of greater importance.
One more skill, more like quality, I think it is a critical success factor is your
heart. Do you mean well? Do you feel the pain of the common man? Do
you find that you unconsciously have empathy for the average citizen? I
say this because when presented with the issues of governance, the late
hours, countless meetings, travel, personal and professional sacrifices,
20
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
what keeps one going is the fulfilment and satisfaction you get from
implementing policies and seeing its positive impact in the lives of those
you serve.
If I were to select critical values which are vital to success in public service,
I would say first, humility, courage, integrity, fearlessness, resilience and
then a strong set of technical skills (depending on the role one may
occupy).
Young Person in Governance
There’s a quote from my boss, the Governor of Anambra; Chief Willie
Obiano uses quite often, he says “Government isn’t for retired managers,
it’s for competent service-oriented young men and women who are still in
the process of writing their personal stories”. In his view, such as a person
is purely focused on what they can gain financially from the service, and
not necessarily, how they can improve or reform government institutions
for more effective service delivery. Anambra state today leads the country
if not the region (West Africa) in youth inclusion in Governance. It may
interest you to note that just about 70% of all government appointees in
the State are under the ages of 35! Young men and women are working in
a variety of sensitive and strategic areas of Government making a socioeconomic
impact. I bet you know that our current executive cabinet in the
State boasts of two commissioners under the age of 33!
Even the current political trends nationwide suggest that there will be
more opportunities given to young people. The two biggest parties
in next years contest are promising to reserve 40 per cent of cabinet
positions for young people! And lastly, technology for me, has redefined
the process of governance and how it interacts with its citizenry, this also
means that for the current crop of political leaders to remain competitive,
they must recruit tech-savvy appointees and staff, this only equates to
more opportunities for youth.
Opportunity will always present itself and will be abundant soon, but
when it does present itself, we as young persons must never forget that we
do not represent only ourselves, families and friends. We serve the dreams
and future of the other 120 million young persons who are counting on
our good performances which will invariably open the door of opportunity
for others.
I think being young comes with extra energy and stamina, also comes with
innovation and bravery to come up with out-of-the-box ideas and forge
ahead confidently to implement same. Our youth also presents us with the
ability to think quickly on one’s feet, so given the multitude of problems
and societal issues in our country today, I believe we need leaders who are
quick thinkers, problem solvers and result-oriented. But most of all, being
young makes being humble much more accessible, this I feel is one of the
most important personal qualities required to succeed in governance in
Nigeria.
Lastly, as a young person holding an office with significant responsibility, I
find that traditional forms of title-based leadership or the threat of
punishment limits my potential to make an impact due to cultural norms.
I see ethical leadership as a persuasive tool where my direction is driven
by the respect that comes as people identify with my value system and
are persuaded to work with me not as a young person with the power to
punish, but as an individual who abides by a credible value system which
people identify with and want to be a part of.
Positioning Yourself as a Young Person
I say to fellow young persons who are looking to hold government
appointments/positions to be prepared and hustle. Before my public-sector
career, as I mentioned earlier, I wrote several letters to top government
functionaries, requesting an opportunity to work with them. The silence
that followed was disheartening, but I persevered being motivated by a
quote I came across at the time by Abraham Lincoln, ‘‘that opportunities
may come to those who wait, but only those opportunities left by those
who hustle.’’ So young people shouldn’t expect that opportunities will be
waiting at their doorsteps, we will still as a generation have to fight for it.
They say. POWER is never given, it’s TAKEN!
However, it’s also vital that the youth must realize that the real work isn’t
about fighting for those opportunities, it’s really about what you do when
given those opportunities. The great job of my friend, Samson Itodo
and the rest of his colleagues at Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth &
Advancement (YIAGA), in my view, means that opportunities for governance
would undoubtedly be available for the youth. The focus should now be
placed on the “what NEXT?” When those opportunities come, how do we
ensure that we are different from the past? How do we ensure that we
don’t end up making the same mistakes of past generations? These are the
sort of previous questions we should be asking ourselves before getting
into office.
@thesparkng
21

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
JJ Omojuwa: Of
Loyalty to Motherland
Japheth ‘JJ’ Omojuwa is one of the most outspoken political
commentators in Nigeria. With a penchant for being opinionated
and passionate about all things Nigerian, we had to get him to share
some thoughts with us in this Politics and Governance edition. Enjoy these
excerpts of his chat with Oge Modebelu and Damilola Oyewusi.
...of the Man and his job
Political commentary is side dish. I am a consultant for media and
governance in Africa. I am also a farmer and an investor and a traveler.
...of the pressures of influence
That was a problem in 2015 when many people felt that I influenced their
choice of candidate. That became emphasized afterwards because I
realized that in the midst of just been myself and sharing my thoughts,
ideas, and opinions on different issues, people are being led in the same
direction.
It puts you in a position where you want to sieve your own thoughts
because it is now about impressing your ideas on other people. I am
more careful now. Sometimes, I wish I didn’t have such powers but if I
had to choose, I think it’s a better position to be in. It has made me more
reflective and respectful of that power to influence people.
Unlike in 2015, I am playing a different role in the election proceedings for
2019. I want to experience it from a different side this time around. I am
not picking a side openly and campaigning for votes. I see myself as an
umpire in this election. I don’t have a dog in the fight but I am learning all
I can for whatever I want to do with politics and governance in the future.
...of words and action
I don’t see myself of as a social media influencer, but a private citizen who
is privileged to have more followers than most in Nigeria. I am conscious of
this influence and what it can do. Initially, before I had this much influence,
I had to say a lot to get the attention of those I needed to get things done.
These days, I don’t even have to say something. I can just call the person
who is responsible and fix the problem outside of social media. Of course,
we are in a world where people enjoy the drama. They want you always to
say something about topical issues. And so, we end up saying a lot and
getting very little done. I see myself as a solution and I like to fix things,
even if it doesn’t get on social media. I’m learning to find that balance
now, between getting things done online and offline, with the primary
22
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
aim of making sure people are getting the best out of their
government and their country.
...of election trends
A lot will depend on how the different parts of the political
divide shape the narrative according to their strengths and
deemphasize the things that will weaken them. This is already
being done but looking from the outside like I am now, I see
a lot of gaps. The political parties and candidates will need to
place the biggest issues at the forefront of their campaign.
While most people have already picked a side and the
candidates to support, there are still a few on the fence who
will be swayed by their positions on the big issues.
One trend that will remain the same from 2015, and would
perhaps, be more intense, is the presence of fake news. We
will have bants and a number of people posting fake results
during the election. There will be a need for facts finding and
putting people on track with the truth.
...of the young people’s readiness for governance
I think young people are as ready as the Nigerian society. I
don’t think the readiness for office has to do with age. It has
to do with competence, character, caring, paying attention
to the things that count and the ideas you have. These are
not questions of age but of competence. This isn’t a young
Vs old thing. There are old people with fresh ideas and there
are young people with old ideas. Moving Nigeria forward
will be about blending all the positives from across the age
groups, nationalities, gender, and sub-national systems and
government that make up the country. The key is inclusion
across the board. We’ve never had a national assembly
made up of 10% women and that’s unfortunate because it
isn’t changing soon. I actually think that our society is more
schemed against women than against young people. These
are things we need to fix as we go forward. To fix them, we
need to accept that it’s a problem. But we are not there yet.
...of women underrepresentation
Women are underrepresented in every space, whether in
public or corporate governance. We still have people that
prioritize their boys over their girls and jobs that prefer men
over women. And many of these are not even conscious
biases. People are not necessarily always bad or doing this on
purpose. It’s usually a thing of ignorance. It’s not something
that can be changed overnight but those who know the right
thing must educate those who don’t. Those that know are
usually impatient and arrogant about teaching others, but to
move forward, we need both men and women, the full team
in Nigeria, performing at an optimum level.
...of loyalty to political interest Vs Loyalty to the State
People need to understand that there is only one loyalty that
should always stand and that’s loyalty to the people, and to
Nigeria. If you are faced with a conflict of interest that has
the common interest of Nigeria on one side, the interest of
Nigeria has to stand. That’s what combines all 198 million of
us and those in the diaspora. Any other interest, be it tribal,
gender, party, and any other, is smaller than that.
...of transparency and communication between the
government and Citizens
One of the biggest issues we’ve had with governance in
Nigeria is the broken communication link between the
government and her people. It’s what gives room for fake
new to thrive. It’s the reason why there can be a rumor about
the president being a clone. If a leader has close engagement
with the people he leads -not just the privileged few, it would
almost be impossible for anyone to project him as a clone
from Saudi Arabia or Sudan.
One of the most important aspects of governance is
transparency. People should not have to probe before they
know what is happening in their country. It is also one of the
ways to curb corruption. If people know what funds are being
released to what organization and for what purpose, it makes
it easier to monitor the actions of public servants.
This is a gap and it’s the responsibility of the government to
close that gap.
...of breaking walls and letting go of relics
We are relatively a new democracy but we need to bring down
the walls that separate the government from the people. For
example, most Nigerians know what the White House and
Number 10 Downing Street look like but they don’t know what
Aso Rock looks like. We may have inherited this opaqueness
from the military era but these things need to change now.
We need to do away with certain relics from that period,
especially when that was a period we are not even proud of.
From something as basic as questioning why a uniformed man
has to stand behind a person making a speech to wondering
why you should have your passport stamped by two sets of
people when leaving or entering the country. Or why we have
electric parking meters and still have someone there to pick
out a paper to give you?
I know that we know what is right or wrong but we are just
intentionally interested in making being a Nigerian difficult.
...of the Frogs in hot water
To get these things to change, we as a people must demand
change. We can’t be like the frog that found itself in lukewarm
water and kept adjusting itself as it got hotter until it got
killed.
It is normal for everyday Nigerians to look at people returning
from the West after a long time and tease them for
complaining about the situation. But these people are like
another frog thrown into hot water. It knows immediately that
it is dangerous and jumps out.
We are so used to the way things are that we just keep
adjusting until death comes. Avoidable accidents happen
every day and we seem okay with it. Those alive would rather
look for ways to sort themselves individually rather than come
together to make things better. We’d rather send our kids
abroad to school or buy an SUV rather than fix the education
system or the roads.
We are solving our problems in silos, buying generators and
polluting the air, when a collective solution would be cheaper
and better in the long run. We’ve got to empower our people
and let them have dignity. We need to redesign our system
of education and make it more pragmatic. These things are
easier said than done, no doubt. But we need to ask ourselves
exactly what we want. I see more people interested in fighting
for individuals than for the collective good.
But poverty is universal in Nigeria and speaks every language.
We need to accept these things and agree that the Nigerian
interest is bigger than all of our personal interests. This is the
way to move forward.
@thesparkng
23

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Features
It’s the
Economy, Stupid
BY CHETA NWANZE
Coined by James Carville in 1992, “It’s the economy, stupid”
was meant for the internal audience of Clinton’s campaign
workers. The Clinton campaign then took advantage of
the then-prevailing recession in the US as one of the campaign’s
means to successfully unseat George H. W. Bush.
As with all election years, Nigeria in 2019 will revolve around the
general elections. The coming of a Nigerian election year typically
causes apprehension in domestic and international circles over the
country’s political stability and the security of life and property.
2019 is no different. Whether these anxieties increase or decrease
depends on how the political actors and the relevant regulatory
institutions conduct themselves before, during and after the
elections. On 14 December, both the US Embassy and SBM
Intelligence said that in the event that the polls are compromised
by significant fraud and irregularities, neither party will accept the
results. The choices have crystallized with the two major candidates
being President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), who is seeking re-election, and Atiku Abubakar,
the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to
inflict an implausible upset.
In 2015, Buhari and the APC rode into power on a cresting wave of
populist promises. His main areas of focus were security,
corruption, and the economy.
The year before Buhari was elected, Boko Haram seized huge
swathes of territory in the North-East, abducted hundreds and
triggered a crisis of confidence within the Nigerian military so
acute that desertions and mutinous altercations became frequent.
As a candidate, President Buhari harshly criticized the Jonathan
government, haranguing it for failure to secure Nigerians, and
promised to rout the insurgents. Within six months of taking
office, military successes enabled Buhari to claim that Boko Haram
had been “technically defeated,” a phrase which persists in official
propaganda.
The opposition will argue, with some merit, that insecurity has
dramatically increased and that while Boko Haram was the
principal threat confronting the country in 2015, Nigeria today
faces a deluge of threats that has rendered us more insecure than
we have ever been. From bandits that have seized communities in
Zamfara, to herdsmen and ethnic militias blazing a trail of death
in the Middle Belt, and even a resurgent Boko Haram that has
inflicted some damage on the military in 2018, the opposition will
insist that Buhari has been incompetent as Commander-in-Chief.
President Buhari made “the anti-corruption war” the centerpiece
of his administration and has portrayed his challenges as the
consequence of corrupt oligarchs fighting his measures. His
campaign will regurgitate attacks on Atiku’s alleged corruption.
On his own part, Atiku’s campaign will point out that Buhari had no
problems of principle in 2015 when he accepted Atiku’s support and
flew in his private plane. They will highlight the many unaddressed
corruption scandals that have plagued this administration and the
President’s seeming unwillingness to sanction the prosecution
of indicted figures. They will argue that despite Buhari’s selfappointment
as minister of petroleum, the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation is as opaque as it has ever been. The PDP
will insist that hypocrisy and double standards are the defining
traits of the APC government.
But it is on the economy that these elections will likely be won and
lost. Nigerians have become noticeably poorer over the last three
years, and the economy has shrunk from more than $500 billion in
2015, to roughly $400 billion today. The Atiku campaign will seek
to make the pre-election debate a conversation about executive
competence in terms of the economy.
The APC will point to policies such the Tradermoni scheme as
evidence of President Buhari’s commitment to changing the
material conditions of ordinary Nigerians. They will argue that
the administration’s schemes represent the largest effort by any
administration to institute some form of a social safety net for the
most vulnerable Nigerians.
On his own part, Atiku will portray Buhari as an old-fashioned
statist whose policies are antagonistic of free enterprise and whose
incompetence is hurting the economy, and paint the Tradermoni
scheme as a means by which the administration is trying to buy
votes ahead of the polls. In contrast, he will present himself as a
pro-business candidate with an impressive record of successful
investments and entrepreneurial accomplishments. He will
reference his time as Vice President when he chaired the National
Economic Council and oversaw the Obasanjo government’s
privatization exercise and claim credit for the growth that was
recorded during that period. The Atiku campaign will also point
to Nigeria’s first recession in a generation, and the weak growth
that has characterized the country’s exit from recession. They will
also point to a 40% unemployment and underemployment rate
as evidence that the government has failed to tackle probably
Nigeria’s biggest challenge.
In the end, there is a sense that both Buhari and Atiku are figures
that divide attention albeit in different ways. This is important as
there is a risk that in both men, Nigeria has two candidates whose
flaws and strengths so familiar that they will be unable to inspire
sufficient turnout at the polls.
24
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
Legitimacy and The
Nigerian Democracy
Nigeria is operating a democratic system of government but is there legitimacy in this democracy?
BY NANA NWACHUKWU @PUREHAIRE
When President Muhammadu Buhari took over the reins of
government in Nigeria, he had the goodwill of the people, for
a while. He realized, perhaps belatedly, that for goodwill to be
sustained, it requires political will to take action on issues that matter to
the people.
This political will extends way beyond ‘good and well-meaning’ intentions.
Nigeria made shifts between democracy and military rule, with the longest
spell of democracy being from 1999 to date.
Democracy is firmly rooted in good governance. Good governance is the
sum total of legitimately acquiring democratic power and utilizing that
power alongside resources for public good.
Is there legitimacy in Nigeria’s democracy? Legitimacy is the overwhelming
belief that a government in power has acquired a right to govern by an
overwhelming public blessing through a legally acceptable framework.
In 2015, over 67 million Nigerians were registered to participate in the
general elections. Take a look at the turnout rate for the presidential
elections from 1999-2015:
1999 – 52.3% | 2003 – 69.1% | 2007 – 58% | 2011 – 53.7% | 2015 - 43.7%
There has been a steady decline from 2003 till date in the turnout rate of
Nigerians for the elections. Voter apathy affects the legitimacy of a
government. It shows that the citizens do not trust the legally acceptable
framework for choosing its leaders. This creates a sharp drop in approval
ratings where a country’s citizens do not believe or trust that the elected
leader is credible as the process of emergence of the leaders is assumed
flawed. As much as this constitutes a problem for public trust, it also
shows an enhanced and healthy democratic system.
Participation in governance anticipates a society where citizens are
actively involved in decision-making processes such as elections, policy
engagement and other feedback mechanisms on the performance of
elected officials and other societal issues. A disaffected citizenry shows a
citizenry that understands the issues, and where good governance should
lead.
A government eager to create transparency would uphold the sanctity of
freedom of speech. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s democratically elected leaders
have not shown so much fervor in doing so, and freedom of the press has
been on a steady decline.
In 2014, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
raised an alarm on the clampdown on press freedom and for four years
later, and it seems to get worse. Media houses are being prevented from
airing stories that appear not to be in favor of the government of the day,
news related to security issues are being blacked out in the media, In
February 2018, Tony Ezimakor, the Abuja bureau chief of the Independent,
was detained by the DSS for about a week without charges.
Jones Abiri, a journalist working in the oil-rich Niger Delta to uncover
corruption going on within the region was arrested and disappeared for
two years before the DSS even admitted that they were holding him. He
was discharged by a court following agitations and campaigns by various
civil society organizations (CSOs). This clampdown on the press comes side
by side with a decline in accountability as the government has diligently
avoided opening up the books to interested organizations working on
fostering accountability of processes.
A last thread of hope usually clung to by leaders and citizens alike is the
promise of eroding corruption from the governance framework. Nigeria’s
President campaigned on the strength of his perceived anti-corruption
stance, but the administration despite making heavy policy strides has
shown a lack of political will in prosecuting its members indicted for abuse
of office, fraud, and conversion of public property. This destroys trust.
It is important that the Nigerian government begins to work its way up
toward rebuilding the people’s trust in it. Trust is needed to carry out
economic reforms. It is essential to mobilize support for policies and
legislation that will form the bedrock of necessary reforms. Where there
is no trust, implementation becomes tedious, systems are broken anarchy
sets in and security agencies becomes overburdened. Nigeria needs to
invest in nurturing trust through transparency and political will to make
the right call. Trust is key to rebuilding cohesion, for carrying out efficient
reforms and leading on to economic growth.
Part of this awareness can be attributed to the quick response interactive
pattern of social media amongst government agencies, policymakers,
legislators and mainstream media. Social media has played a huge
role in enhancing public participation in
governance. The dilemma becomes how to
turn this into trust.
Trust in government represents the
confidence of citizens in the actions of
a “government to do what is right and
perceived fair” (Easton, 1965). In a democracy,
freedom of speech is assured and is also
regarded as the gateway for accountability.
This implies that citizens can question the
existence of transparent processes, question
the contents of a process, policy and its
implementation as well as make inputs on
expenditure.
“
There has been a steady
decline from 2003 till
date in the turnout rate of
Nigerians for the elections.
Voter apathy affects the
legitimacy of a government.
“
@thesparkng
25

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Simple Decisions
Citizens First
We may not be able to go from where we are to where we want
to be as a country in a short period, but simple decisions can be
made to improve the lives of citizens in the interim.
BY TUNDE LEYE @TUNDELEYE
“
A single government action can resolve
problems at a scale that individual or
non-governmental efforts can. At the
heart is this – what is the purpose of
government?
“
My first few attempts at writing this piece ended in frustration. Each
time I attempted to think of simple decisions the Nigerian state
can make to solve complex problems, within two minutes,
each solution that started simply quickly escalated into complexity as I
pondered them further.
But what writing a piece like this forces you to do is to focus and truly
answer the question – are there things a government can quickly do
that within a few months or even weeks of implementation, to begin to
improve the lives of Nigerians? And this is important because a single
government action can resolve problems at a scale that individual or nongovernmental
efforts cannot. At the heart is this – what is the purpose of
government?
I witnessed one such example in Lagos. Mobolaji Bank Anthony (MBA)
Way leads directly to the domestic airport and is notorious for traffic. A
key cause of this was the U-turn right after Sheraton, where cars coming
from Allen merged with those on MBA Way. Try as citizens may, to behave
properly while driving there, the road devolved into chaos in no time and
left many people hopping on bikes so they would not miss their flights.
One day, the government simply blocked this U-turn and compelled
people to only make the turn further down the road. Like magic, most of
the congestion cleared up, until recently when new issues of the condition
of the road have created another traffic nightmare. This is the crux of this
piece, how making simple decisions like closing off a U-turn can solve a
complex problem like perennial traffic on a major road.
One of the most complex problems Nigeria faces is that of poverty. The
World Poverty Clock says that Nigeria surpassed India as the world’s
poverty capital this year, and Per Capita GDP dropped by 40% between
2014 and 2017 as per the National Bureau of Statistics. Poverty forms
the driver and/or exacerbator of many other problems like out of school
children and violence, amongst others.
The government of today has instituted Social Intervention Schemes to
attempt to deal with this issue, but the number of desperately poor keeps
growing. I believe that this is because the government has failed to run
its more far-reaching decisions through the prism of whether they will
make Nigerians poorer either by constricting their income, and in many
cases simultaneously increasing the cost of essentials like food, transport,
clothing, and healthcare.
A recent example is the Vice President’s celebration of a banana producer
selling their products at 300% what they would have sold in Europe to
Nigerians. Would it have been cheaper for the Nigerian people to buy
imported bananas for example?
This is the first simple decision government must make – run new and
existing policies through one criterion above all – does this make Nigerians
poorer? Does this ban, this tariff increase or decrease, this protectionist
license make more Nigerians poorer? It’s amazing the clarity that doing
this seemingly simple exercise will bring to policy making and government
action.
A second simple thing the government can do is how it measures its
interfaces with Nigerians. Key areas Nigerians interact with the state,
including law enforcement, obtaining licenses and other identification
documents, import and export points like air and seaports and emergency
services. Almost across all these interface points, through which Nigerians
form their impression of the state, the performance indicators that the
government measures and celebrates, are at variance with what will make
Nigerian lives better.
Take for example the ports – government routinely announces revenue
numbers as the key metric of Nigerian seaports. All around the world, and
even in our West African neighbors, it is two measures that are tracked
– the time it takes to clear goods and the cost efficiency of the ports.
Revenues growing are incidental to these measures, due to the increase in
trade volumes it will bring, as opposed to being the end goal.
The Nigerian government needs to review how it measures these things
and publish them for citizens, setting goals that can be tracked on these
new measures. Simple, but powerful incentive to fix the issues around
these interface points and make Nigerian lives better.
26
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
Two Decades of Democracy:
1999 to 2019
An overall assessment of politics, administration, and
governance from 1999 to date
BY DEJI ADENIYI
In 1999, Nigeria winded down on fifteen years of military rule (Jan 1984-
May 1999). For many, the outlook was bright as the last military regime
of that era headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (June 1998
- May 1999), had displayed a commitment to return the country to the
rule of law with the release of political prisoners, the drafting of a new
constitution, allowing political associations to flourish freely rather than
the “five leprous fingers of the same hand” political parties that had held
sway under the late dictator, Sani Abacha. Following these actions by Gen.
Abdulsalami, the gloom and the despair that had hung over the entire
country slowly began to dissipate, and then disappeared.
Following an electoral process which, while flawed, was accepted by
almost all involved,, a new breed of politicians emerged. The class of
1999 state governors had the likes of Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom); Donald
Duke (Cross River); Uzor Orji Kalu (Abia); Peter Odili (Rivers); Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua (Katsina); Olusegun Osoba (Ogun); Bola Tinubu (Lagos) and Rabiu
Kwankwanso (Kano). The Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) anchored the electoral process under the leadership of Justice
Ephraim Ibukun Akpata (1927- 2000), who delivered a result that the vast
majority of the country accepted.
The elected Head of the Republic was Olusegun Obasanjo. He had retired
twenty years earlier as a four-star General of the Nigerian Army, after
having ruled the country for forty-three months, and run the land
transport infrastructure as Minister of Works for six months from January
to June 1975, before becoming Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters,
which was the de facto number two man in the country.
In May 1999, there were no private universities in Nigeria. It was only in
October of that same year that the new government approved the licensing
of four private universities by the National Universities Commission. Today
there are 75 licensed private universities and 90 public universities in the
country. In spite of this increase and spread of the locations of these
universities, the absorption rate is about 40% of eligible candidates on
an annual basis. The linkage between industry needs and the higher
educational institutions is weak. Research and development are not
happening at a pace that the nation demands, and the crisis of funding
which has lasted over four decades persists.
Unemployment is a significant challenge of this era as young people find
it hard to secure employment. The gap between the educational
curriculum and the needs of the job market are not aligned.
“
The linkage between Industry needs and the
ivory tower is weak, research and
development is not at the pace in which
the nation demands for it and the crisis of
funding which has lasted over four decades
still persist.
“
●
Photo Credit - Sir Iyene Photography.
Our health infrastructure which had a peak performance fifty years ago
with the University College Hospital, Ibadan ranking in the top three among
Commonwealth countries’ tertiary healthcare facilities has declined with
successive Presidents over the last ten years seeking medical care abroad.
No administration has revamped the architecture of the internal security
system. The years of military dictatorship had deliberately weakened the
Nigerian Police regarding funding and capacity building. The current zonal
command structure of the Police was created in 1986 by the regime of
Ibrahim Babangida. This structure is outdated and ill-equipped to ensure
an optimal response to the security challenges currently confronting
the country. Nigeria’s security system is clearly set up more for regime
security, than the security of the people
Physical Infrastructure spanning roads, bridges, rail lines, airports are for
the majorly, in a parlous state of repair. This has impacted negatively on
the ease of doing business, with the net effect of repelling Foreign Direct
Investment in a competitive global environment and tapping into the vast
tourism potentials of the country.
The challenge of leadership in the next twenty years will be the provision
of world-class infrastructure in the areas of health, education, land, air
& rail transport and security innovatively and creatively. Job creation to
mitigate a looming demographic crisis will also be a significant governance
issue.
Agriculture, tourism, creative arts, entertainment, are sectors that the
leadership must focus on regarding tax incentives, capacity building,
ease of issuance of permits, scaling up support industries and protection
of lives and property. Also, this will reduce our dependence on oil as a
primary foreign exchange earner.
While the euphoria of the Not-too-young-to-run bill is yet to settle, it is
important to note that the class of 1999 had the likes of Donald Duke, (38
in 1999); Bola Tinubu (47 in 1999); Rabiu Kwankwanso (43 in 1999); Boni
Haruna (42 in 1999); Uzor Orji Kalu (39 in 1999) and other significant players.
The real deal is for the beneficiaries of this bill to put their resources into
politics and use technology, strategy and their youthful energy to swing
power in their direction.
@thesparkng
27

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Nigerians in
Diaspora:
Homecoming
BY TOLA SARUMI, @AFROVII
“
Coming home is bittersweet - It’s always
a pleasure to be home but then there’s
the lingering sadness, why can’t our
country function at the most basic level?
“
This December, I’ll be making the customary trip home, which I’ve
gladly observed every year since I became an adult. While it’s
relatively easy to get lost in the December high, this year, coupled
with politics, it’s going to be quite the experience. I am more immediately
concerned about the dangers traffic poses to my sojourn home, I spent
five hours between the airport and Ikoyi last year, but, there’s still this
hope that keeps us rooted.
Shiro, Hard Rock Café, etc, I plan to be a habitue of these spots on a beach
that’s walled off to most of the city’s inhabitants. We ‘IJGBs’ get a couple
of weeks to extend our FX as far as the black market exchange rate allows.
For those weeks, you’re special - service is prompt, people are extra nice.
Then you leave the clubs and reality awaits even in the small hours of the
morning. You can’t but notice that the hordes of people waiting outside
nightclubs hoping for generous patrons has increased exponentially and
the children! So many children scrambling after cars, hands, purses and
even feet. Something is up, I am not certain if this is due to the ongoing
crises up north or the daily migration into Lagos. Lagos is the only coastal
town I’ve visited where the shoreline isn’t visible from the streets and we’re
surrounded by water. The Lagoon is rancid yet we live on and around it. It
can be argued that much more can be done with the internally generated
revenue the government currently pulls in (I say yes) but how will Lagos
cope with level of need elsewhere?
For the first time post military rule, Lagos is dealing with the spectre of a
one term governor, bringing a new level of instability to the state. The old
order of a male governor with a female deputising has been discarded by
the incumbent party. Those of us that live abroad have families at home,
people that keep body and soul together because of the money transfers
back home.
Asides gender, diversity is also a concern. The Lagos State House of
Assembly, with its four female members, is all Yoruba. I grew up in South
London. When the long serving Keith Hill retired, the Labour Party gave
the ticket to a candidate that better represented the area’s demographics,
Chuka Umunna, a mixed race MP of Nigerian and British descent.
Do I think there should be a constitutional amendment to ensure increased
and diverse participation in politics? I’m not sure. Much about the process
is opaque – if a candidate is expected to cough up the equivalent of £20k,
just to buy a form, what hope does your average Nigerian have?
I spoke to some of my extended family on the upcoming elections; apathy
is the order of the day. Most don’t see that it makes a difference, nothing
much has changed for the better. The demands on Lagos are clearly more
than Alausa can manage. Lagos - the smallest state geographically, with
the most cars on its narrow roads and people jostling for the same space.
I was going to Lagos Island (my hometown) but It’s been a while since I
walked its length. The place reminds me of what Lagos could have been
with some foresight. Century old buildings next to edifices that tell the
story of the country, architectural jewels that have fallen by the wayside,
inanimate victims of our politics and dysfunction.
Coming home is bittersweet - It’s always a pleasure to be home, being
surrounded by the familiar, eating foods you dream of with all the flavours
intact. Then there’s the lingering sadness, why can’t our country function at
the most basic level? I was of the opinion that only those with international
exposure could get the country working. I no longer subscribe to this. To
fix Nigeria, we need people for whom the country is the only real “viable”
option, Nigerians who can’t leave when the disorder gets particularly
galling. Besides, a sizeable minority of our current political class lived
abroad before coming to try their luck in the riches of Nigerian politics.
We have ideas galore, so do the people back home.
I am looking forward to coming home, to arguing with my peers at home
over cold beers, to watching people go about their daily business,
impressed by the resilience of my fellow Nigerians. From the women who
wait outside concert halls, making easy money selling food to hungry
attendees to young men pushing fruit laden wheel barrows.
You can’t but want better for these people. The relative ease of your own
abroad life might gnaw at you, if you’re that you’re conscious enough. But
I have since learned, listening to my fellow citizens get me further than
pontificating, I’ll take some ideas back with me whilst refining my plans on
how to get involved and do my part. Then do the little that I can, for now.
This Christmas, a few young people will pool together funds and equipment
to share the Christmas vibes with fellow Lagosians. We’re off to Makoko to
offer fleeting comfort to its residents. It’s not much but it inspires me. We
need more of these, where citizens meet each other at the point of various
needs and try to address them. Christmas on the streets is a worthy
endeavour, if you have the time, please join us on Christmas day.
Merry Christmas!
28
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
Checkmating
Government
Excesses
BY JOSEPH AGUNBIADE
As Nigeria prepares for another general election, it is important to
note that by the end of the tenure of the next president, we would
have spent 24 years under democratic rule. While some may want
to dismiss any argument on the basis that we are a young nation, we must
not forget that unlike in other centuries when we had a limited number
of examples to follow, today, we have a plethora of governance models to
copy. Countries such as Singapore rose from extreme poverty with hardly
any natural resources to rank among the most significant economies in
the world.
One major challenge we had was the British Colonization of Nigeria. And
although some of our heroes past fought for our freedom, we had barely
started to get our footing when the military coup strike which aborted our
numerous opportunities to build a powerful institution and infrastructure
needed to grow both our political and economic institutions.
Then came the second wave of ‘heroes of democracy’ that themselves are
the products of the same extractive political and economic institutions
that although they succeeded in “Saving us” have created an extractive
channel for their prosperity at the expense of the people. And the society
is built by learning from leadership, we have succeeded in producing a
“generation of men with brains, men with stomachs, men without chests
and no heart.” - C.S. Lewis
Today it has become challenging to hold public office holders accountable
because of the nature of our weak institutions shrouded in secrecy and
lack of transparency.
And just like most global examples we know, our natural resources which
were supposed to be the seed funding for our new startup nation, is now
gradually plundered by the same men who once fought to liberate us.
The dream of democracy is to create inclusive economic and political
institutions which include free and fair elections, an independent judiciary,
uncorrupt legislative and executive branches. And just as the evolution of
democratic structures set the stage for the growth of inclusive economic
and political institutions in England. We must decide as active citizens to
use the forthcoming election as bait to demand that whoever is going to
lead us must sign an explicit contract only to do what will bring us the
prosperity we deserve, and, not just what they want to do for us.
Now is the time to get the potential political leaders to agree to beneficial
schemes like OPEN CONTRACTING that makes all procurement and
contracts transparent, make the BUDGET OPEN and every bit of the public
finance transparent and be accountable. And should they fail to keep their
promises, be prepared to resign?
“
We must decide, as active citizens, to use the
forthcoming election as a bait to demand
that whoever is going to lead us must sign
a clear contract to only do what will bring
us the prosperity we deserve, and not what
satisfies their selfish desires.
“
Every Citizen must understand what governance is, and, what it is not. That
a political leader, either elected or appointed, is selected to represent the
people and not become an untouchable King.
We must become Active Citizens that demands what is rightly ours. Ask
questions, write petitions and if possible sue a political leader for lying to
us.
The process of demanding accountability is not a passive one. No politician
does anything for the people. No! They are a part of us and if they fail
should be recalled.
Town hall meetings must be a regular practice and demanded by the
citizens at least every quarter. The citizens must have a benchmark against
both our political and economic expectations. And only then and then
will the fight to get our political leaders to become more accountable get
started.
@thesparkng
29

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Politicking with
Pop Culture
This may be a tall conjecture, but I am one of
those people who believe that the presence of
a strong black president in the Fox Network’s
series ‘24’ played a role in the election of
Barack Obama a few years later. Pop Culture
has a subtle but inimitable way of influencing
beliefs, opinions, and knowledge. How are we
exploring this in Nigeria?t
BY DAMILOLA OYEWUSI
From corporates to the government, the media has been a tool for
driving acquisition, shaping opinions, and influencing public
perceptions. This is the reason why advertising works. In our
October interview with the award winning director, Niyi Akinmolayan
(Lights. Camera. Profit. Available on our website), he mentioned how
the current tools and techniques used in the movie industry were
introduced by filmmakers commissioned to create materials for
Hitler’s Nazi propaganda. The art and entertainment industry has
been used as a tool for driving political interests and leanings even
from the time of the Greek satires. This is the reason why politicians
are quick to engage musicians and movie stars as campaign
ambassadors. Pop culture is what the majority relates to easily and
remains one of the quickest ways to drive an agenda.
This begs the question of what Nigerian content creators in different
spaces are creating to go beyond reflecting to influencing societal
norms. Using America as an example, we’ve seen the intentional
and concerted proliferation of movies, music, and gaming content
with the subtle and sometimes overt representation of social issues
like interracial marriages, homosexuality, and terrorism have gone
beyond reflecting society to shaping our opinions and beliefs about
these matters. America has had almost a century of several movies
depicting conspiracy theories and highlighting the sacrosanctity of
the rule of law and patriotism. All these are the threads in the quilt
of a Nation.
We seem to think that politics and content only have a meeting
point when we need funding or policies to favor the related industries.
But content creators do have the immense responsibility of telling
stories that advocate a better way of living. We need stories, and
music, and content generally, that educate people about their rights
and their responsibilities. We need content that demands more from
citizens and encourages them to demand more from their leaders.
We need to begin giving people necessary information about the
country through the things they are constantly engaged with.
I had a conversation with a young political candidate running for a
seat in the House of Representatives. He gave a rather disturbing
revelation. While the ‘Not Too Young To Run Bill’ is great and
opened the field for young people, we also have a serious problem
of a knowledge gap. He was amazed at the number of people
running who didn’t know how many polling units they would have
their voters at or that they needed agents there for any reason.
While it sounds easy to blame these people for not finding out what
they need to know, there is very little going on in terms of electoral
education. We need more content like Africa Magic’s ‘HUSH’. We
need these infused in our educational curriculums.
As JJ Omojuwa rightly points out in his interview (flip a few pages
back), many Nigerians do not know what Aso Rock looks like. But
they have a picture of the White House, 10 Downing Street, and
Buckingham Palace etched in their minds. We can tell about the
American electoral process, the Tea Party, Brexit, and Bundestag,
but just giggle and call ours a joke, without bothering to understand
what it should be like.
There is a lot more to talk about regarding content and its power to
change social perceptions and drive change. We need to move
people from apathy to action, from a sense of entitlement to
one of utmost responsibility. This piece is an attempt to steer the
conversation. While we have musicians and comedians like Falz,
Frank Donga, and a few others, already speaking up boldly about
governance, it is key that we begin pushing an intentional agenda
to shape the narrative.
P.S: It’s sad that the list of contesting candidates cannot be found
online, not even on INEC’s website. As a contact told us, it was
released at the office. Does this mean almost 15 million people
would need to get to one or three office buildings before finding
out what options they have?
30
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
Recycled Leadership: A Simple
Man’s Alternative Solution
BY WANDE THOMAS
You know that saying “The world isn’t only black and white but
shades of grey”? Well, Nigeria is that grey they talk about. Our
political space cannot be described in simple terms.
Since the military handed power over to a democratically elected
government in 1999, a lot of nuances have been lost in separating
ideologies, parties, and the politicians that have tried, and often failed to
govern. Even more glaring is the realization that these politicians switch
sides so often and the two main parties existing are now perceived to be
almost homogeneous.
A little experiment could put this to the test. If you go on the streets of
Nigeria and ask the average man about the political parties they know
in Nigeria, more often than not two names would be mentioned above
all others. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives
Congress (APC).
However, it was not always so. In fact, in the 1999 elections the PDP was so
dominant that it won 241 0f the 306 House of representative seats, 21 out
of 36 governorship positions and 71 of 109 Senatorial seats. Although
there existed powerful politicians with their varying levels of clout, the
likes of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the southwest (ACN), Muhammadu Buhari
in the north (CPC) and Rochas Okorocha (ANPP) in the east could not
make a dent individually until they came together in 2013 to form the now
incumbent APC.
The APC saw a chink in the armor of the long-dominant PDP and made
their move, a move which was successful in the election of our current
president.
A couple of weeks ago, a popular Nigerian musician, Bankole Wellington,
made his intentions known to the public of his desire to run for office.
This act was commendable from a man who has been outspoken about
Nigeria’s ills. But the level of difficulty that Banky W would face in winning
is very high.
Like Banky W, Kingsley Moghalu, Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore, Oby
Ezekwesili, and others, are all candidates from various parties who have
been defined as alternative candidates to the status quo of Nigeria’s poor
leadership, ideologies (if any), and although they are notable Nigerians,
their chances of winning are slim. The reasons?
● The financial requirements of running a campaign in Nigeria is
one of the most expensive in the world relative to the size of the country’s
economy and takes its toll on even the deepest of pockets. Nigeria has
almost 120,000 polling units, and getting an agent in each of them is no
mean feat. Agents have to be transported, accommodated, and given a
stipend.
● The PDP Umbrella and APC Broom are brand identities of the
country’s biggest parties and ingrained in the mind of millions of Nigerians
● The Nigerian electoral system puts the party’s name and symbol
on a ballot not that of the candidate’s. So, unfortunately, name and face
recognizability plays little to no roles here.
Now I am not naïve; however, I am optimistic. If an “alternative/idealistic”
candidate is to stand a chance of making an impact in 2019 and beyond,
it can only be done by banding together and joining resources, networks
and fan base to build a strong recognizable brand that can be recognized
and influential.
Although every candidate has an individual agenda and ideology,
sometimes agreeing just enough on certain things could go a long way
if winning and ousting the present state of things is a priority. This is a
contentious debate in most camps, however this is part of what worked
for the APC in 2015.
My simplistic idea is “Micro Solutions for Macro Problems”. Idealistically,
these alternative candidates are all after the common good of the nation
and believe in the ideology of a ‘government for the people, of the people
and by the people.’ Hence, a call to concede to another while acting as a
check in the event of a victory should not be a tall ask.
What if we had a mini-election of our own, for the alternative candidates
before the main election? Organize debates, discourses, and more between
the alternative candidates and then, cast votes for the most impressive on
predetermined terms and reach a consensus to unify their resources and
rally around that one Nigerian who does not subscribe to the ideologies
of the nation’s two biggest parties. The other candidates become the
automatic checks and balances; the sample electorate becomes the
kingmakers with the power to unseat the selected candidate should the
performance fall below par. A hybrid of Meritocracy and Democracy but
at primary levels.
Now these are not new concepts and have been tried in varying ways
before, however the desire to win and change status quo would have to
supersede all other individual candidate desires for this to work.
I also do strongly believe that the application of a bottom up system,
where this new coalition fields the best and brightest at lower offices might
just be the way to go, infiltration from the top has always been a dream, but
having smart, honest and effective minds at local government offices and
others could begin to lead a snowball effect that shows changes in these
smaller ecosystems, thus galvanizing a base and building a stronger case
to compete at higher levels. A case for focused energy in voting cannot
be overstated in Nigeria’s case, where the Alt might not be a majority or
even close, but a highly influential strategic block that influences decision
making in Nigeria.
Nigeria cannot be fixed in a day; however, we can take simple steps like
these towards giving the best candidates an opportunity to run for the
highest and most prestigious offices in the land.
Even if the next president may not be one outside the two giant parties
that rule Nigeria, your Senator, representative or local government
chairman could be from an alternative/idealistic party that’s qualified and
willing to do the right thing and give Nigeria a chance.
@thesparkng
31

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
The Healthcare
Funding Gap in Nigeria
How successful is the government in reducing the
healthcare funding gap in Nigeria?
BY DAMIMOLA OLAWUYI
In 1946, the 61 nations of the world signed the constitution of the World
Health Organization. This document defines the right to health as the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. This concept of
health as a basic human right was further enshrined in Article 25 of the
United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. This idea
has been validated by various international conventions and agreements
over the years.
In various countries around the world, healthcare and the means by which
it is provided is a hot-button political issue that can bring about the
downfall of entire governments. In the United Kingdom, the funding
and management of the National Health Service is a problem that has
bedeviled both Conservative and Labour governments in recent years. The
idea that leaving the EU would free up funds that could be used to support
social services, including the NHS, was a major argument advanced by
campaigners for Brexit.
The fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or
Obamacare is the one constant factor of American politics since its passing
in 2010. In the recent midterm elections, the Democratic Party’s focused
campaign of healthcare and the attempts by Republicans to repeal
Obamacare with its protections of people with preexisting conditions as
well as the expansion of Medicaid was instrumental (40% of voters said it
was their most important issue) in their sweeping victories.
In Nigeria, since the first healthcare facility, a dispensary was established
in 1880 by the Church Missionary Society, provision of health care and
its funding has been a mixture of government, private and missionary
enterprises. The activities of Christian missionaries in Nigeria have
centered across the provision of educational and healthcare services as a
means of outreach to their host communities. The colonial administration
provided policy direction through the administration of public health,
training of medical personnel and the operation of General Hospitals. The
availability of private health facilities was limited and available for only the
wealthiest of individuals. This health architecture remained more or less
unchanged even after self-rule was granted in 1960 and into the 1980s.
The failure of public healthcare which started in the 1980s resulted from
the general downward spiral of the economy which led to reduced funding
for the sector as well as the brain drain of health professionals searching
for greener pastures outside the country. With government hospitals
unable to meet the demands of the public and with their infrastructure
decaying, those who had the means were forced to resort to private
health providers springing up across the country.
Those without the means of accessing privatized healthcare were paying
increasingly for even the most basic items such as drips, medicine, and
syringes. Those with even less means resorted to dispensaries, patent
medicine stores and in extreme cases, traditional practitioners. The
implication of this is that the government has been increasingly less
involved in the funding and provision of healthcare to the citizens.
In order to address this funding gap, the administration of President
Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004 passed the National Health Insurance Scheme
Act, with the NHIS itself established in June 2005. The purpose is to manage
the provision of healthcare by bringing together Health Maintenance
Organizations, Healthcare Providers and government support under one
roof.
However, 13 years after its founding, the success of the scheme has been
limited at best. The 2018 HMO industry report by Agusto & Co. revealed
that only 5% of Nigerians have health insurance and 83% of Nigerians still
pay for their health expenses out of pocket. A majority of these members
enjoy the coverage through their employers, leaving the informal economy
largely without coverage.
The outcome is that the majority of Nigerians are one major healthcare
challenge away from poverty. On a regular basis, the media is inundated
with appeals for assistance with people with serious health challenges.
The decaying health structure that has boosted medical tourism among
the rich and well-connected forces the poor to scramble both for funds to
cover healthcare as well as their travel expenses. This is a significant part
of the 11% of the world’s population spending more than 10% of its annual
income on healthcare in 2017.
In the same year, over 100 million people across the world were pushed
into poverty from incurring huge medical expenses. Recently, the Lagos
State Government has launched the biggest mandatory health insurance
scheme in Nigeria with a target of 2.5 million residents in 2019 and a
minimum of 1% of the state’s consolidated revenue fund as the equity
fund targeted at the poor, civil servants and members of the informal
sector. How successful the scheme will be, only time will tell.
Ultimately, there are different models for the provision and funding of
healthcare available all over the world. However, regardless of whatever
scheme is adopted, the government cannot shy away from its responsibility
to provide affordable healthcare at all levels for all its citizens. The
responsibility to provide policy direction, quality management, and
regulatory supervision cannot be handed off to the private sector. Until
governments at all levels live up to their responsibilities as enshrined
in Sections 17(3c) (d), Nigerians will still continue to live at the mercy of
unexpected health challenges and the potential impoverishment of entire
families.
32
@thesparkng

www.thesparkng.com
The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
@thesparkng
33

Also available on our
ATMs, Mobile Banking, Online Banking,
WhatsApp Banking, QuickBucks.