Opinion
Nigeria’s Failures, Spare The Divine
During a workshop recently, there were the usual heaps of complaints about the ineptitude of those in authority and government’s insensitivity to the wellbeing of Nigerian citizens; how the government is making life hellish for the people and all that. The topic of discussion had to do with patriotism. Many of the participants vehemently disagreed that they should be patriotic claiming that the country has failed them. Just then, a question came from one female participant. She asked, “are we justified in this country to complain about the government?” the answer she got was negative. You know why? She said there is a very high level of corruption among the led as much as it is among the leaders of the country. Many Nigerians cheat the government. They do not pay tax. A lot of business men, traders, and private organisations hardly pay tax and a whole lot of those that try to fulfill this civic responsibility cut corners, thereby paying far less than the amount they ought to pay. She queried how the government would get enough money to provide the badly needed infrastructure and cater for other developmental needs of the country if a large percentage of the citizens evade taxes, contractors inflate contracts sums, and many other Nigerians both the high and the low in negative acts that are detrimental to the development of a country.
“The bulk of the problem in Nigeria is caused by the citizens. We don’t play our roles both in electing our leaders and in carrying out our civic duties. Everything in the country is free. We don’t pay tax. We as citizens lack discipline. We cannot expect our leaders to do wonders when we as the followers are not ready to do our own little bits,” she summed up. I couldn’t agree less with her that a lot is expected of us as citizens. A good number of times we complain about the rot in our society and most often heap the blame on the doorstep of the leaders without pausing for a second to ask ourselves if advertently or inadvertently we contribute to the poor situation in the country and the pain of our fellow Nigerians. You can imagine some Nigerians making a fortune out of the relief materials donated by the government, individuals and organisations to the flood victims. Some of these victims have lost their homes, property and have gone for days without food but those in charge of the relief materials capitalize on their misfortune to enrich themselves. A few days ago, the Presidency, while condoling with victims of the flooding, blamed persons who failed to comply with town planning regulations by building on drainage channels; citizens’ disregard of early warnings by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the global effects of climate change. Indeed, many Nigerians care less about environmental rules as regards to! waste disposal and building regulations. Even when it is obvious and there are warnings that a particular place is a water channel, they must know somebody that knows somebody in government and before you know it, a magnificent structure will be erected on there, leading to environmental havoc both in the vicinity and beyond. But do these exonerate the government from the current bad state of the country? Of course, no. The essence of electing or appointing people into positions of authority is to ensure proper direction of an organization or country as the case may be and proper utilization of the country’s resources to create an ideal future for the country. Leadership comes with a lot of responsibilities which you as a leader must live up to.
Leaders must be ready to come up with policies that will benefit the citizens and help in checking the ills in the society. If some citizens evade taxes, involve in corruption and other criminal activities and civil disobedience, whose duty is it to make sure that they are called to order and that defaulters face the consequences of their action? There is crime everywhere. In other countries there are people who wouldn’t want to pay their taxes even when they see that the money is properly used in provision and maintenance of amenities in their society unlike in Nigeria where there is still question on what the taxes are used for. But they have ways of preventing crime and when it happens, they will get the culprit and bring him to justice. These sane climes have been able to do away with religion, ethnicity, race and partisanship in electing and appointing people into leadership positions. Their prime consideration is who has the capacity to deliver? Where is the round shape that will perfectly fit into a round hole and if the person fails to live up to their expectation, he is shown the way out. We saw what happened in the United Kingdom last week. For just one policy mistake, the former British Prime Minister, Liz Truss lost an exalted position. She publicly declared that, “I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected” and resigned after barely six weeks in power. That is the kind of attitude expected from a leader not the blame game we usually see in Nigeria. A government in power blames the preceding administration for all the problems in the country and never takes responsibility for its ineptitudes; a minister for water resources blames the ravaging flood that has claimed many lives, submerged many communities and caused unparallel devastation across the country on “act of God’’, disputing the reports that the flood is largely as a result of the release of water from the Lagdo dam in Cameroon. According to the report, successive Nigerian governments over the years have failed to fulfil this country’s part in an agreement with Cameroon to build a counterpart dam that would take in water from Lagdo whenever Cameroonian authorities open that dam. The Dasin Hausa dam in Adamawa State which is two times the size of Lagdo dam is meant to serve as a form of shock absorber to flood in Nigeria is yet to be completed since 1982.
The same minister, Suleiman Hussein Adamu, went further to publicly declare that Nigeria and Cameroon signed an MoU concerning the release of water from the dam “but since then, every year, once the flood season comes, it is the Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency that calls them ‘what is your level of water?’ Even this one they said they will inform and didn’t. They are the ones that should be keeping us informed on the basis of MoU but they didn’t.” What an excuse! And what has the Nigerian government done since Cameroonian authorities did not keep to their own side of the agreement which has resulted in the great calamity in Nigeria? Meanwhile, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Farouq, told newsmen in Abuja a few days ago that the excess water released by Cameroonian authorities from the country’s Lagdo dam compounded the flooding in Nigeria and that her ministry would initiate bilateral talks with the Cameroonians in November on the periodic opening of Lagdo dam. President Mohammadu Buhari on the other hand, just three days ago ordered the Minister of Water Resources to give him a prevention plan on flood in 90 days, less than six months in office. If we want this country to move forward, both the leaders and the led must sit up and take their various duties and responsibilities seriously. The elections are here again, we must put religious, tribal and political sentiments behind and vote for people that are capable and have all it takes to make the right policies and implement them. We, the citizens must learn from the UK and begin to hold our leaders at various levels of government accountable. It is so scary what this country will be like in the coming years if we make the mistake of electing the wrong people in the next general election. The ball is in our court.
By: Calista Ezeaku
Opinion
Good Friday: Timeless Message Of Sacrifice, Redemption
As the sombre clouds gather and the world pauses to observe Good Friday, it presents an opportune moment for deep reflection on the profound significance of this day in the Christian calendar. At Good Friday, the most solemn day in the Christian calendar, we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, a pivotal event that carries profound implications for believers and non-believers alike. Beyond its religious connotations, Good Friday serves as a timeless reminder of the enduring themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the human capacity for transformation.
At its core, Good Friday embodies the ultimate act of selflessness and love. The narrative of Jesus willingly accepting crucifixion as a means to atone for humanity’s sins speaks to the depths of compassion and empathy. In a world often charactersed by selfish pursuits and division, the message of Good Friday transcends religious boundaries, resonating with all who aspire to emulate the virtues of sacrifice and compassion in their lives.
The concept of redemption lies at the heart of the Good Friday narrative. Through his suffering and death, Jesus offers a path to redemption and forgiveness for all. This notion of divine grace transcends mere theological doctrine, extending an invitation to individuals of every background to confront their shortcomings, seek forgiveness and strive for spiritual renewal. In a world, a country, Nigeria, marked by brokenness and despair, the promise of redemption offers a beacon of hope and restoration.
Good Friday therefore brings a message of hope to suffering Nigerians with the assurance that the whole problem will one day come to an end; that as Jesus, crucified on Good Friday conquered death and resurrected on Easter morning, there will certainly be light at the end of the tunnel.
Good Friday is also a day that reminds Christians that they must die, and offers them the opportunity to reflect on where they will be after death and how they have contributed both individually and collectively to the current poor state of Nigeria across all sectors.
Today, Christians of various denominations troop to churches, some who for several reasons cannot make it to their places of worship will get glued to their television sets to participate in Good Friday activities, including the last station of the Cross for the Lenten season (for Catholics), the veneration of the Cross among others. Often, one wonders what better society it will be, particularly in Nigeria, if Christians who make up a large proportion of the nation’s population will put the lessons of Good Friday into practice instead of seeing it as a mere annual ritual.
To what extent has this impacted on the lives of Christians in the country? Do they recognise and accept suffering and pain, as a will of God for their salvation or reject them as “not their portion?” Often, we have heard some Christians including some renowned leaders, claim that suffering is not from God but from the devil. Today’s remembrance, therefore, presents these and other Christians a good opportunity to reflect on the significance and centrality of the Cross in their lives.
Jesus was a selfless leader who bore all these travails for the unwavering love he had for mankind, capping it with a shameful death on the Cross, even though He committed no crime. Can we find such altruistic leaders among Christians in Nigeria? As leaders in our homes, offices, societies, churches and other spheres of influence, can the believers of Christ in the country say they sacrifice all for the people they lead or is it the other way round?
In Ephesians 5 : 1-2, St Paul said, “be imitators…and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” Jesus submitted his own life to sacrificial service under the will of God (Luke 22 : 42), and he sacrificed his life freely out of service for others (John 10:30). He came to serve (Matthew 20:28) although he was God’s son and was thus more powerful than any other leader in the world. He healed the sick (Mark 7:31-37), drove out demons (Mark 5:1-20), was recognised as Teacher and Lord (John 13:13), and had power over the wind and the sea and even over death (Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 9:18-26).
Yet, in John 13:1-17 we see him giving a very practical example of what it means to serve others. He washed the feet of his followers, which was properly the responsibility of the house-servant. He did that out of love, a show of a leader who was ready to render service for his followers when the need arises, a leader who wanted to set an example for his followers to follow.
Can it be said that Nigerian Christians and non-Christians who occupy leadership positions both in religious and secular organisations display this servant-leader style that Jesus teaches? A situation where they lord it over their followers or subordinates, abuse their offices, take undue advantage of the poor to enrich themselves and oppress the people does not show that they are true imitators of Christ. Sometimes when you see the arrogance and mannerism of some Christian leaders, you wonder where they learnt their own version of Christianity from.
Our country today is in dire need of direction. Darkness seems to have covered the land. There is an unprecedented level of insecurity in the land. No one is happy, no one is safe. Kidnapping for money is now a thriving business. Corruption and rabid treasury looting, injustice and ethnicity are the order of the day. Poverty, lack of employment and hunger are now the lot of majority of the populace.
But the question is, are Christians playing any role to remedy the ugly situation in the country? Do we not think that if the Christians live according to the teachings of the gospel and fail to join the bandwagon in a life of debauchery the story would have been different? We were told that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch because their deeds were similar to that of Christ. Can the same be said of Christians in Nigeria, some of whom cheat in the markets, sell fake and adulterated goods and commit other atrocities to make money? How has their adherence to the life and teaching of Jesus impacted on the national ethos and values?
The marking of passion and death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion should, therefore, be used by Christians to reflect deeply on how they have followed the example of Jesus in both their private and public lives. Christians in Nigeria should seize this opportunity to identify those attitudes that are not in conformity with Jesus’ teaching, which put Christianity in a bad light and root them out.
It is expected that the gains of the 40-day spiritual exercise and the triduum which culminates in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, on Easter morning, will be deployed by Christians towards making Nigeria a better country.
Jesus expressed His love for mankind by His selflessness, compassion and kindness. By His love, He diminished the distinction of tribes and tongues and brought all people together. Nigeria needs these virtues more than anything now in order to move this nation forward. The message of Good Friday will help the nation a great deal when every Nigerian, Christians and non-Christians, realises that He does not need to be selfish. Jesus could not have successfully accomplished his salvific mission if he was selfish.
The crucifixion of Jesus stands as a testament to the unjust suffering endured by countless individuals throughout history. It calls attention to the plight of the marginalised, the oppressed, and the downtrodden, urging us to confront injustice and stand in solidarity with those who suffer. In a world rife with violence, the message of Good Friday compels us to work tirelessly towards building a more just and compassionate society.
By: Calista Ezeaku
Opinion
Easter: Hope For Humanity
Easter means so much to humanity, especially Christians. It is one of the happiest moments or events those who have realised the value of the death and resurrection of Jesus love to associate with. Did you know why?
It is the event that reminds regenerated humans through faith in atoning sacrifice of Jesus, that the “old account has been settled long ago” by Jesus who is the propitiation of our sin. Through His vicarious suffering and atoning sacrifice, Jesus paid the supreme price for sin, no human could have paid in a life time. And thus becomes our Saviour, our Redeemer and indeed our kinsman-Redeemer.
Easter is a testimonial and testimony that Jesus is alive, because He has the power to lay down His life and to take it. Hallelujah. It is attestation to the fact that Jesus conquered death, the grave could not stop Him from resurrecting.
This inspires confidence in Christians that death has lost its power. That death is a gate-way to eternal life. It lends credibility to the saying: “If our hope is only in this life we are of all people most to be pitied”.
For everyone that has truly encountered the Lord Jesus, with an inside-out transformation, the thought of Easter deepens commitment to Jesus Christ and the Statement of Faith on Him which states: We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in His virgin birth. We believe in His sinless life. We believe in His atoning sacrifice and His vicarious suffering and death. We believe in His bodily resurrection. We believe in His ascension to the right hand of God the Father. We believe in His return to reign one thousand years.
When each of the strands of the Statement of Faith is considered in its merits, the Central message is “Jesus is God”. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He is the only Way, Truth and Life
Easter gives hope for depraved humanity that by faith in the finished work of Jesus on Calvary’s cross, there is salvation and redemption. Paul, the intrepid apostle and foremost missionary said: It is a faithful saying and worthy to be accepted that Jesus died to save sinners… Therefore, if we confess our sins, Jesus is Faithful and Just to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness
Easter gives validity and significance to Good Friday. If Jesus has not resurrected men will describe Him as a mere impostor. Jesus’ death would not have been different from my father’s which occurred in 1978. And he is still in the grave. There would not be a distinction between Jesus and the several founders of religions who are dead and are still lying in their graves. And on their grave it is emblazoned, “Here lies the remains of…,”. But concerning Jesus the angel said, “He is Risen. He is not Here (not in the grave). Praise God.
Easter makes false theories on the resurrection of Jesus by enemies of the Christian faith, arrant fabrications. Some of those theories are: the Disciples of Jesus stole His body; that Jesus swooned (fainted and got revived in the grave); that those who claim that Jesus has resurrected are suffering from a disease of the mind known as hallucination; that where Jesus was buried was not known to Mary Magdalene and the visitors to the grave.
Giving the benefit of the doubt to those who propound those theories, one would ask if Jesus did not resurrect as they claim, where did fearful disciples derive their boldness from? Where comes the power of salvation or regeneration – the power that changes a sinner to a saint? Why are people giving their life to a “dead” Jesus? Why are people being baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of speaking in a language a person has not learnt in keeping with His word “tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with power (And the baptism in the Holy Spirit was received by the 120 in the Upper Room, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus). No doubt, a lifeless being could not fulfilled his promise.
I can go on and on to ask. And every conscientious and sagacious person will pick holes in the spurious assertions of those who contest the validity of Jesus’ Resurrection. Bible’s Paul, the apostle by divine inspiration in his apologetics on the resurrection evolved the following propositions: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain: you are yet in your sins. Then they who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15 verses 17-20).
Easter, therefore speaks volumes of the death of Jesus Christ, His sinless life (a lamb of God without spot and blemish. He was tempted at all points, yet did not sin), His bodily resurrection, His return to reign a thousand years.
The resurrection of Jesus is an attested fact of history which gives Jesus power over Satan and the kingdom of hell, hence He declared without equivocation, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me,”, And consequently, Jesus delegated power of sonship (heritage) and authority to all believers in him, over the hordes of hell when He said: I give to you power to tread on serpents, on scorpions and on every works of the enemy. And nothing shall hurt you”. A dead fellow lacks the capacity to command: lift up your heads oh you gates and be lifted you everlasting doors and let the King of glory come. He could not have ascribed to Himself,” The Lord mighty in battle, Strong and Mighty, the Lord of hosts, the King of Glory. Such audacious declaration could not have come from an impostor, a dead person.
Let us celebrate Easter in the consciousness of its significance. Jesus is risen and this existential reality gives us a foretaste of the resurrection of all people, some to eternal life and others to eternal condemnation, depending on who and what they believed.
By: Igbiki Benibo
Opinion
Restoring Service Commission As Professional Gatekeeper
On the 13th of December 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the newly reconstituted Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), and gave a marching order to the Commission to “competently facilitate the transformation, reorientation, and digitisation of the federal bureaucracy to enable, and not stifle, growth and enhanced private sector participation in the development of the Nigerian economy, in full adherence to the renewed hope agenda of his administration.” The FCSC has since interpreted this mandate as a charge to interrogate a fundamental question: What has the FCSC failed to do to institutionally gatekeep the federal civil service and safeguard its professional integrity, dynamics of efficiency and structural parameters despite many years of consistent and sustained administrative reforms in Nigeria?
To answer this question in a resolute way demands first the admission that given the institutional degeneration of the FCSC itself in the wake of the system-wide decline of the public administration system in Nigeria, it does not have the requisite structural and institutional parameters, to complement any forthright system-wide reform to reform the civil service reform and thereby participate in bringing to fruition the Renewed Hope Agenda of His E xcellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This therefore, requires a concerted reflection outside the box in measure that will instigate the critical injection of fresh and innovative ideas, insights and models of performance that are potent sufficiently, to compel the repositioning of the federal civil service in terms of its operational capability readiness, redoubled managerial acumen and policy professional policy professionalism that could add up to become a game-changing event for the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government. This is the mandate of the renewed FCSC.
And in pursuing this fundamental mandate, we must never forget to situate the FCSC within the context of the ongoing service-wide reforms, especially the performance bond-enabled central policy and service delivery coordination framework of the Presidency and the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The FCSC reforming the reform mandate is essentially a complementary task whose significance adds to the overall health of the federal public service system in Nigeria.
And in complementing this ongoing reform, the FCSC is compelled to focus on the broader picture of reforming the reforms to encompass the rehabilitation of the public service in Nigeria.To clarify: this larger challenge faced by the FCSC involves answering the loaded question: Who is a Nigerian public servant? This of course looks like a very simple question. However, we begin to see how complex it is when we place it in the context of how majority of Nigerians see the public service and public servants—politicians, the police, immigration and customs, the fire system, national electricity, education boards, and many more.
How have a large majority of Nigerians encountered public servants in these ministries, departments and agencies? The answer is simple: Nigerians encounter bureaucratic inefficiency aggravated by bureaucratic corruption. And the Ease of Doing Business Index demonstrates this from year to year. It is difficult to clear your goods at any of Nigeria’s ports. It is a traumatic experience to get the police to be your friend. Nigerians pay for electricity they do not enjoy, and they are even bullied by overzealous officers in the process. Let us not even talk about the police and the politicians. Long story short: the perception of public servants by Nigerians is bad.
The public service has become bureaucratic because there are so many impediments and obstacles that have prevented the system from becoming creative and innovative in rethinking its own internal operations, processes and procedures that would have made for optimal functioning.
When any ordinary Nigerian visits the federal secretariat in any state of the federation, the lack of inter-sectoral collaboration, for example, or the near-absence of technology-enabled system’s capability ensures that such a Nigerian is frustrated in making simple administrative transactions. And that terrible perception reflects badly not only on the capability readiness of the FCSC to efficiently gatekeep the professionalism of the system, but also the systemic efficiency of the public service to backstop the government’s policies that lead to good governance. And so, attending to these institutional debilitations demands a focus onthree general and systemic components around which reform reflection and action must converge.
First, there is the urgent need to challenge and reengineer the traditional Weberian— “I-am-directed”—bureaucratic tradition which essentially rides on outdated administrative practices, analogue operating system, red-tape bureaucratic culture and poor stewardship with regards to the consideration given to, and the rights of the citizens as the customers who consume public services. In other words, the old Weberian system around which the Nigerian public service system still revolves crucially undermines bureaucratic efficiency. It will therefore be a wrong choice of operational mechanism to hinge the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration. Reforming the reform of the Nigerian public system therefore implies rethinking the basis of its institutional efficiency to get service delivery done effectively.
Second, reform must confront the low organisational intelligence quotient (IQ) of the public service workforce and especially its top echelons. This has not only impacted on the essence of public spiritedness and professionalism of the public servant, it has also triggered the breakdown of public service values that makes the public service all over the world a noble calling. The root cause of this decline in the vocational spirit of a public servant can only be redressed by a consistent, coherent and strict metrics of re-professionalisation.
Third, bureaucratic efficiency must be connected with the ultimate objective of achieving an effective and efficient democratic service delivery that defines what good governance is for Nigerians. And this demands that the public service must be compelled to become a performing and productive institution that holds its workforce to metrics of performance accountability. And a culture of structural performance can only take off when reforms reduce the series of systemic constraints that limit the effectiveness of the system to deliver public goods to Nigerians. We have a good example in how the President himself has got all the key governance players in the government to sign on to a performance bond with a dedicated policy coordination backend.
Fourth, a key component of performance management for productivity is a functional competency-based human resource management practices which, in the case of the Nigerian public service system, are already compromised. Two structural issues are responsible for this compromise. The first is the collapse of internal control mechanism, and the second is the rampant bureaucratic corruption aggravated by the lack of the culture of deferred gratification.
The consequence of all these institutional weaknesses is the bloated and inefficient status of the administrative system that allows it to keep generating redundancies and ad hoc structures and units of government agencies that compete with the existing bureaucratic structures in order to achieve what is often taken to be a flexible administrative arrangement unencumbered by administrative codes, rules and regulations. There is also the unfortunate replication of these parallel structures across each state of the federation. The result is the explosion of the cost of governance in ways that burden the capacity to allocate needed funds to critical governance projects speaks more to the infrastructural needs of the citizens than mere overheads.
Olaopa, an online contributor wrote in from Abuja.
By: Tunji Olaopa
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