Unilateral Disarmament vs Bilateral Disarmament; The Undeclared Debate.

On February 22, 2021, in a piece titled, "Dr. Sheikh Gumi with Kidnappers and Bandits: The Sins and Repercussions of Illiteracy in Northern Nigeria and the Way Forward," I wrote, "Let the change start from your neck of the woods because your sins are legion. I am not demanding a unilateral disarmament kind of initiative here, but you must first disarm and reject open grazing."

However, on February 24, 2021, in a short piece I titled "Nigerian Security Meltdown and the Exigency of a Unilateral Disarmament," I wrote, "Enough of the persecution complex and covert narcissism of the Miyetti Allah/MACBAN. President Buhari can enforce the articulated measures through Executive Orders in a minute. It is called leadership. And it is called unilateral disarmament."

I had my reasons. If the Herders and Bandits were not armed and killing indiscriminately, there would not have been any need for armed local vigilantes in our communities. Listening to this lecture a few hours ago, the Professor who is accompanying Dr. Gumi on his meetings with the Bandits, demands Bilateral Disarmament and argues against Unilateral Disarmament. He believes that bandits were forced to bear arms to be able to defend themselves and their herds whenever they were attacked by cattle rustlers. 

That may be true in Zamfara and Katsina States. However, in the Middle-Belt, West, South-South, South-East, and Midwest, it is a different story. The fighting warriors or killer herders are armed to kill any landowner who dares to protest against the vandalism of the Herders, and if possible, dispossess the native landowners of their farmlands and take possession.  So, my demands for the Unilateral Disarmament or unconditional disarmament of kidnappers and killer herders in the Middle Belt and the entire South remain unchanged. 

Northern Nigeria: Today's Solutions for Tomorrow's problems.

Boko Haram is chickens coming home to roost. Bandits, kidnappers, and herder-killers are no exceptions. A child growing up should have a home, a government that cares, and the opportunity to make a choice about what to make of every religious doctrine contrary to the arrested development phenomenon within the Muslim faith in the northern part of the country. 

There are Muslims within the Yoruba race; most of them are well-educated, while others are reasonably trained in modern and conventional crafts. The same is true of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Indonesia, and Iran, just to name a few countries. So, why is or must Northern Nigeria be an exemption? It's about the opportunity gap and the leadership philosophy, specifically, on the educational agenda of those trusted with government power and responsibilities in the northern region. 

The educational policy selfishly designed in the 70s to frustrate poor southern families who couldn't afford school fees at the time to bridge the educational gap between the North and the South is at the core of our nationwide insecurity today. Because it boomeranged wholeheartedly. It succeeded in creating generations of uneducated, easily manipulated religious extremists - a cesspool of Boko Haram adherents, and a recruitment reservoir for bandits, kidnappers, and killer-herders. 

The way forward for sustainable peace and security is a coherent national policy on education at the elementary and secondary school levels, with the full support of the federal government. It is similar to what Action Groups and the Unity Party of Nigeria did in the Old Western Region in the First and Second civilian administrations. It was the same populist policy adopted in Kano State by the late Abubakar Rimi in the Second Republic – a grassroots popular educational initiative that won his administration a UNESCO Award. 

No matter the level of our understanding of the political, educational, and religious situation in the north, compulsory and free education for all children of school-going age from Elementary School to Grammar School level is the best way to go - it will go a long way in shaping the future of these abandoned children and how they embrace religious doctrine and distorted teaching. Otherwise, in ten and fifteen years, we will still be talking about the almajiri culture and whether is an abnormality or deserving of continuity.  

 THE INTEGRATIVE MODEL

Education is a right, and it is the best investment in the life of a child. Religion is a choice and should be treated that way. In the northern region, the majority of the children have grown up to believe that religion, and not education, is a fundamental right; the way, the truth, and the only avenue to emancipation or salvation. And that is wrong.

A child capable of imbibing and reciting entire Quranic verses verbatim is capable of solving Quadratic Equations in a Mathematics class if he or she has the opportunity to take the class.  No matter how we construe the illiteracy problems, it’s all about efforts and the leadership that you have and what their views are on education, equal rights, and egalitarianism. And we know that feudalism harbours no traces of egalitarianism or equal rights and justice. 

Also, the Quran does not forbid the integration or teaching of the English Language, Arithmetic, Social Studies, and Sciences simultaneously with Islamic studies. Christian Missionaries in the Eastern Region and the Western Region - before and after our independence - perfected the integration approach successfully. It encompasses the Bible on the right hand, then English, Mathematics, History, Civic, Agriculture, and Social Sciences on the left hand. That's what integration is about. Even though they are missionary schools, the curriculum and tutoring are encompassing and not Biblical per se.  

The same can be replicated in the Northern region concerning religious studies side by side with western or popular education. The truth is you cannot force these children and their parents to send their wards to popular schools, but you can inculcate popular subjects or courses into their curriculum at the Islamic Learning Centers. This model is option B, applicable if the compulsory approach suffers resistance. 

In that case, the government will have to negotiate the modalities with the Imams and Sheiks who are managing those institutions. This paper is not by any means, arguing for the elimination of Islamic Schools. Rather, the government should work hand in hand with the proprietors of the Islamic Schools; upgrade the physical facilities and inculcate regular subjects or courses into their curriculum by bringing in additional teachers.

It is not too late to give it a try in the North and rescue these children from the stranglehold of feudal teaching that turned innocent souls into a carrier of IEDs and enemies of civilization. It's about the opportunity gap and accessibility factors. The children are helpless, but the parents and the government officials are not. 

We must not give up on educating these children because the informed citizenry is the most potent and decisive weapon against false beliefs and extorted indoctrination. No one would buy into the unproven belief in the North that Western education is forbidden if regular education was part of his or her adolescence.

ECONOMIC ARGUMENTS

There must be a distinction to be made between religious purity and survival instinct through purposeful engagement in the national economy. God and Allah help those who help themselves. That is a fact and not just a saying. Our Islamic scholars, teachers, and leaders should be willing to embrace changes and accept the fact that religious freedom is most ennobling when combined with economic and social emancipation.

Therefore,  the first step in bridging the educational gap between the Northern region and Southern region of Nigeria, with a view to eliminating poverty of ideas and indolent is to rein in most of the State Governors and influential political leaders from the Northern region to jettison their age-old feudal philosophy that perpetuates caste system and the underlying philosophy of Boko Haram. 

The current helplessness of the less privileged in the North is disgraceful and cannot be sustained for too long. Therefore, government intervention academically at the very early stage in the lives of the affected children should be encouraged. It will go a long way in shaping their perception and understanding of religion, its social and moral impacts, and the extent of its limitations in the context of economics – the creation, distribution, and consumption of wealth.

Alex Aidaghese is a Lawyer and Managing Partner at 

Alex & Partners and Consultancy, based in Abuja. 

THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY BILL (PIB) AND THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH.

This is not a long essay. I am reproducing the contentious sections from the original version of the PIB that created the gridlock, which marred the passage of the Bill into law at the instance of Northern Political Leaders. I will quote the section and I will reproduce what they said verbatim, the date, and the names of the Newspapers. 

The PIB Section116, 117, and 118.

Section 116, Section 117, and Section 118 of the Petroleum Industry Bill covering the Host Community Fund (the PHC Fund):

116. Establishment of the Petroleum Host Community Fund

There is established a fund to be known as the Petroleum Host Communities Fund (in this Act referred to as ‘the PHC Fund’).

117. Purpose of the PHC Fund

The PHC Fund shall be utilized for the development of the economic and social infrastructure of the communities within the petroleum-producing area.

118. Beneficial entitlements to the communities

(1) Every upstream petroleum producing company shall remit every month ten per cent of its net profit as follows -.

(a) for-profit derived from upstream petroleum operations in onshore areas and in the offshore and shallow water areas, all of such remittance shall be made directly into the PHC Fund; and

(b) For-profit derived from upstream petroleum operations in deep-water areas, all of the remittances directly into the Fund for the benefit of the petroleum-producing littoral States.

(2) For the purpose of this section ‘net profit’ means the adjusted profit less royalty, allowable deductions, and allowances, less Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax less Companies Income Tax.

 (5) Where an act of vandalism, sabotage, or other civil unrest occurs that causes damage to any petroleum facilities within a host community, the cost of repair of such facility shall be paid from PHC Fund entitlement unless it is established that no member of the community is responsible.

Sahara Reporters, August 27, 2012. "Northern Governors Set To Kill PIB 

Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu

“This section will make several billions of Naira available for the development of the Niger Delta, in addition to the funds provided to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of Niger Delta. You can see that the country is finished. That bill is meant to take care of the people of the Niger Delta alone. We won’t support it." 

“We need to understand how to approach our members in the national and state assemblies. When issues like that come up, we need to discuss it so that the interest of our people who elected us will be protected,” he said.

"Our investigations reveal that one of the sore points for Northerners is the granting of more powers to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, which is recommended in the proposed bill. If passed as it is, she will also become the chairman of the boards of plum parastatals in the Ministry, as well as the boards of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, the National Petroleum Assets Management Corporation, and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), over which she will exercise enormous powers to scrap, whenever she likes."

Chief Anthony Sani of the Arewa Consultative Forum. Sunday Punch of July 28, 2013.

“I think those clamouring for such funds must be reminded that we cannot claim one country and live as if we are on different continents. The concept of nationhood presupposes bringing people together to enable them to live up to their synergy for the common good. And that is why the reduction of gaps in development and income is not only good politics but good economics as well.” - Sunday Punch of July 28, 2013.

Chief Anthony Sani of the Arewa Consultative Forum. Sunday Punch of July 28, 2013.

“I think those clamouring for such funds must be reminded that we cannot claim one country and live as if we are on different continents. The concept of nationhood presupposes bringing people together to enable them to live up to their synergy for the common good. And that is why the reduction of gaps in development and income is not only good politics but good economics as well.” - Sunday Punch of July 28, 2013.

Vanguard April 24, 2013. Govs Yero and Kwankwaso reject PIB

Kwankwaso told members of the Adhoc Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill, North-West zonal public hearing held in Kaduna, that the people of Kano State opposed the bill in its totality.

Said Kwankwaso: “The decision that we kick against the bill came after due consultation with stakeholders and the ordinary citizens of Kano State. Northern legislators must not be bought over like during the case of the offshore/onshore debate in 2002. The people of Kano State will not be deceived into endorsing the Petroleum Industry Bill. The South-South region has a Federal Ministry; it has13 per cent derivation; it has an amnesty programme as well as Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, against other parts of the country.”

"On his part, Governor Yero who was represented by Permanent Secretary, Kaduna State  Ministry of Justice Hajia Hauwa Dalhatu said: “There is also in existence Niger Delta Development Commission and Ministry of Niger Delta, in addition to the autonomous amnesty programme. Creating a host communities fund, therefore, will not only be tantamount to creating a fourth tier of government but also making provisions that will further alienate other parts of the country economically. The term host communities as used in the bill is nebulous."

Governor Rotimi Amaechi was the Governor of River State and the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum at the time. And the irrepressible and multivocal Comrade Adam Oshiomhole was the Governor of Edo State. All the Niger Delta or South-South Governors were at the meeting of the Governors when the decision was taken that all of them should exert pressure on the Legislators to expedite the process of the passage of the Bill into Law. 

Governor Babangida Aliyu was the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum at the time. When he got home from the meeting, he did a summersault and declared that the Northern Governors were suspending action on the passage of the Bill and had communicated such to their legislators pending their consultation with experts in the industry. And Governor Yero of Kaduna State was in alignment with him. 

No rebuttal came from Governor Adam Oshiomhole, Mimiko, Imoke, Akpabio, or Rotimi Amaechi. That was the beginning of the end of the passage of the PIB into law. Between 2013 and now, there have been numerous hearings, rehearings, and series of modifications of the Bill, but what has not been modified is the opinion of the powerful stakeholders of the North who do not want another source of Funding for the Niger Delta. 

Today, Godswill Akpabio is the Minister of the Niger Delta, he is a Lawyer, and he was the Governor of Akwa Ibom State when his colleagues from the North frustrated the passage of the Bill into Law. Ask him right now to give you a breakdown of what's wrong with the PIB and why it is yet to be passed into law, and I can assure you that he won't be able to tell you anything. And it is the same story today, with all the Governors of the Niger Delta or South-South. I do not know if it is ignorant, or they don't read newspapers, or they simply do not want to be on the opposite side of the views of their Northern colleagues. Now you know why similar pictures from the Niger Delta may never cease to intimidate your sight and why the Ogoni-Clean-up exercise sponsored by the UN is dead and no one is talking. 

Finally, I would like to conclude this piece by reproducing my views on the matter following the publication of the Sahara Reporters story of August 27, 2012. Another version of this view is available on Sahara Reporters. 

The term "Petroleum Host Community Fund" is a semantic error. I said so long ago. The drafter of the Bill should have categorized that Section as either "Land/Water Reclamation Fund” or “Decommissioning Fund” as the case may be. Such a Fund is a core component of the emerging global trends - an international framework - for the sustainable development of natural resources.  It is about the future and the unknown. Given what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, the USA, and the Bonga Oil Spillage in the Nigerian Niger Delta recently, a "Host Community Fund" or “Land/Water Reclamation Fund” or “Decommissioning Fund” is a welcome development. The accompanied environmental devastation and its impacts on human and natural resources in and around the areas make the inclusion of such Fund in PIB morally and economically imperative."

"Most importantly, as always the case in every jurisdiction, this Fund is not a development fund; the specified amount is normally paid into a designated account or a consolidated fund account as the case may be, specifically for unforeseen catastrophic occurrences connected with exploration activities. Also, the fund is required to transplant the land and the surrounding water or river to the natural state that they were before oil exploration - that is at the end of drilling or mining activities as the case may be. So, opposition to this fund within the PIB is without merit and should be rejected by every Nigerian."

"Finally, as a Nigerian and as a professional in the energy industry, I must caution; we should not gamble with that section of the Bill. Without it, the bill is worthless. If members of the National Assembly are willing to abdicate their constitutionally recognized legislative responsibilities due to pressure from a section of the national governors, then we might as well jettison the concept of the Presidential system of government or eliminate the Legislative branch entirely. In that case, the Governors and the President would be able to enact laws and implement or execute them at the same time - the military style. I sincerely hope that is not where the Northern Governors are taking the country."

"On a lighter note, there was this popular saying when I was growing up: “Soldier go, Soldier, come” - the position of Energy Minister is not permanent and it is not hereditary. So why are we digressing on the power wielded or likely to be wielded by the incumbent as if Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke is going to remain there permanently? It is like Republicans fighting relentlessly to dilute the power and prestige of the Presidency because a black guy is at the Oval Office presently. It could be you the next day. We should focus on the merit of the law, if at all, without regard to the power or influence of Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke."

MY COMMENT TODAY, MARCH 02, 2021.

Who is the Minister of Petroleum Resources today? President Buhari, a Northerner. 

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