In Nigeria, they buried the Almighty Dollars underground, unutilized. In the UAE, they had a dream, and with it, they built a formidable history and a Global Empire. As I was taught in my A Level class in Economics, money is not needed for its material composition, but for what it can purchase. In Nigeria, sad to say, that's a real contraction. And more than twenty years after the restoration of Democracy, they still don't know how to overcome the gridlock at Mile Two/Orile/Apapa/Iganmu Express Way in Lagos, Nigeria. For my international audience, the referenced Expressway is the major gateway to the number one seaport in Nigeria. And a picture of it is also available on my Wall. Please, see the story above.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
On True Federalism and Restructuring: What They Were Writing and Saying When A Minority (President Jonathan) Was the President. Below, you will find the views of Mr. Fashola, Mallam El'Rufai, and Professor Wole Soyinka
1. “Liberating and Coordinating Diversity,, By Governor Fashola at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, DC. United States - April 2013
"As a result of the current lopsided federal system of government in the country, which has concentrated all powers in the Centre, the federating states and local governments are unable to fully utilise the potentials inherent in them for development."
“The 36 state governors are demanding a truer federal system in terms of fiscal and political federalism. I associate myself with this demand in its entirety”.
“The realisation of these demands on their own may not necessarily leapfrog us into El Dorado, but without them the journey will be torturous. If they materialise, they liberate the possibilities that lie inherent in the diverse capacities that the Nigerian states and local governments are blessed with” In that event, the Federal Government will not be without authority or responsibility, but, in my view, it will be better able to coordinate the diversities for mutual prosperity”.
2. Between Terrorism and Corruption.” By Mallam El’Rufai, Sahara Reporters, May 10, 2012.
Fourthly, as a medium-term, structural measure, we must work to restore our federalism to the broad outlines embedded in the 1963 republican constitution, devolving more powers and responsibilities to the states and making the federal government less of a busybody. This would require that states like Bauchi, whose annual internally-generated revenue is N7 billion, should not run a government costing N58 billion because of monthly hand-outs from Abuja. Each state should learn to live within its means and seek to actively develop its comparative endowments. State governors will then be compelled to use their resources better and not point fingers at the federal government.” “
3. A Federation without Federalism By Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, April 6, 2012.
"A sound federal structure with balanced devolution of powers among the federating units would provide a respite for the security challenges currently facing the country. In our pieces on the armed forces, the Police and the paramilitary agencies, this column advocated reforms which would encompass decentralisation of the police structure close to what was obtainable under the 1963 Constitution as a panacea to the current heightened level of insecurity in the nation. Without question, I believe the situation would have been different if true federalism, in which every state generates the bulk of its recurrent needs, lives within its means and gets help from the centre on a need basis, operated as in the 1963 Constitution. Rather than blame the government at the centre for the woes of the states, citizens would have learnt to hold state governors and local government chairmen responsible for their neglect, and the incessant scramble for political positions at the federal level would have been less desperate and divisive. As it is, the attitude is one of “it is our turn to rule and chop” - with dire consequences for national cohesion, transparency and accountability in governance." -
4. "Mission The Future" - A Speech Delivered at the 2nd South-South Economic Summit in Asaba by.Professor Wole Soyinka:
“Each regional grouping should, by its policies, declare an uncompromising developmental autonomy – I repeat, Autonomy - leaving the centre only with its competence provenance – foreign policy, national security and inter-state affairs ....”
”Nigeria has proved too large and inefficient for the centralised identification and management of such human skills and material resources, the centre having become self-aggrandising, bloated, parasitic and alienated. Now is the time to put into practice that ancient saying: Small is beautiful. We must return to the earlier days of creative rivalry that pronounces that vanishing past an interrupted project of promise, creativity and productivity. Then, it may be possible for your generation to say contentedly, even while the harvest is still distant but the soil is cleanly prepared, the seeds implanted and germinating: Mission? Accomplished!” 2013 or thereabout.
My Comment
Have you heard from these gentlemen on the issue of True Federalism and Restructuring in the last four years? I don't think so.
There is no debating the fact that our Federal system is over-bloated for effective leadership to be sustainable. They know that. That they cannot govern Nigeria as a Unitary model nation-state is not debatable. The trouble is that when they are in government at the federal level, the talk of True Federalism and Restructuring becomes an aberration. When they are out, it is a different matter entirely. And that is the only time when the intellectual in them suffices. Please see the papers above.
In other words, they know what is wrong, but articulating what is right as well as the solutions is only applicable when a different political party is in the saddle of power.
President Buhari, acting on the pessimism expressed by the Northern Traditional Rulers, singlehandedly frustrated the True Federalism campaign promise made by the APC in the 2015 Presidential election. See his 2017 New Year's Message to the nation, not part of this essay. (By the way, the communique issued and the group picture taken by the Northern Elders after their meeting and deliberations on True Federalism and Restructuring are available on my Facebook Timeline. Reading the communique, and conversant with the antecedent of my President on North-South debates or dialogues, as well as the indomitable influence of Northern Traditional Rulers on our political affairs, I knew his next action on True Federalism would rhyme with the content and goal of the communique of the Traditional Rulers and Elders. Lo and behold, it did within a short time. And it was buried inside his New Year's message to the nation. And that was how the True Federalism promise made by the APC to Nigerians in 2015 became a non-issue in the Buhari Administration.
Today, Zamfara State is a no-man's land. His Katsina State is in a state of anomie. Southern Kaduna, like the rest of the Middle-Belt, is now a killing field. And Borno State indigenes continue to pay allegiance to two sovereign powers - the Boko Haram sect and the laughing stock called Abuja. Please, see Mallam El'Rufai's second paper, above. These are emblematic of the deformities consistent with Centralisation of Power, as was the case in the old Soviet Union.
President Buhari and Buratai have corrupted and crippled our Armed Forces in their quest to preempt and eliminate potential Nzeogwus and Orkas from every unit. The Police Force has become a Nazi Gestapo, killing innocent Nigerians in broad daylight with impunity. While bandits and insurgents roam and govern our countryside unchallenged.
It is no longer newsworthy; Nigerian citizens are slaughtered like animals in their hundreds every day in most African countries, and no Ambassador is facing a summons or an Embassy contending with closure or facing a threat of closure. Now, we have become the butt of crude and ridiculous jokes, courtesy of most African Heads of State and Government, and Abuja is not worried or paying any attention.
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Dubai, and the Making of a Dream
Introduction.
As originally written, this essay was more than ten pages long. I abridged it a few days ago for my Facebook audience, following some disturbing videos that were trending on social media at the time. One of them was a video showing the son of a former Governor frolicking in absurd opulence in Dubai, UAE. And a few days earlier, there was another video showing the invasion by the Police Force of an apartment that belongs to a Nigerian student in Europe. In the video, every locked cabin that was opened by the Police was filled with Dollars and Pounds. These two developments gave life to the essay that you are about to read. Please, if in the beginning, the story appears to you as if it is my story or a reenactment of my background, rest assured that it is not. My background is merely a catalyst - it creates the urge and excitement in him to share with me the reasons for his mission to the United States of America and the future he was asked to bring to fruition with three blank checks (cheques) he got from the head of his Kingdom. But for his intense and enthusiastic interest in who I am, where I am coming from, and where I am going, his story would not have been told, his disclosure would not have been made, and this essay would not have been written. (I apologise for the passive tenses.)
My Accidental Encounter with the Man Who Was About to Change the World of Hospitality and Property Development in the Middle East.
Like most Nigerians who came to the U.S. in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, I drove a Taxi. Yes, I did. And in the process of doing that, I came across so many different characters. Some with great appeals, like the gentleman I am writing about, and some, just like regular folks.
I picked him up at Logan Airport in Boston on a Sunday evening, and his destination was Hotel XYZ in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Why Cambridge, and not Boston? I asked myself. Unless, of course, he has some business around the Harvard Yard, or visiting a family member on campus. Anyway, I didn't ask him any questions.
The moment he sat down, he asked me the usual question. "Where are you from originally?" I told him, Africa. That answer was deliberate. The enlightened ones would say, please, Africa is a continent. Where in Africa exactly? Most of them would simply ask, "How is it over there?" Or, "How long have you been in the States?" Or, "Do you like it here?" That's how you distinguish the knowledgeable folks from the morbidly domesticated ones.
My passenger was different. It started as a discussion, then it metamorphosed into an interview, an inquisition kind of. And it ended as a friendly dialogue.
"You must be a Nigerian," he declared. And I replied, yes, I am a Nigerian. "I have met a lot of Nigerians. You guys are very smart." He added.
Then, he asked me, "How long have you been in the States or driving a Taxi?" I told him not quite long. Then he asked 'What have you been doing before then?" I told him that I was working in the IT sector as a Desktop Support and Network Analyst during the Dot Com boom. He asked, "Where did you learn that?" I replied, "Here in the US." The Windows NT stuff, he asked. And I replied, yes. I took the class for about eleven months and later got the certification - MCSE.
His next question was, "Why are you driving a Taxi and not working in the IT sector?" I told him I was, but now I am back in School full-time. Driving Taxi offers me flexibility because of my classes.
"You are in School as a full-time student, and driving a Taxi at the same time?" He asked, and I replied yes - Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "Most immigrants in the U.S. do that," I added. "Besides, I need extra income to support some of my family members at home, and my student loan is strictly for my education."
Which school, he asked? Harvard University. "And what are you studying? I am doing a graduate program in Administration and Management. I responded. "So, you're very familiar with where we are going," he said. "Yes, I do. Cambridge is my territory," I replied.
He paused for some time and didn't say a word.
Then, he asked, "But you said earlier that you came to the US about four years ago, meaning you have gotten your bachelor's degree in Nigeria, given that this is a master's level program you're doing." I replied yes. "What did you study in Nigeria?" He asked. I told him the Law. "You are a Lawyer?" I said yes. "You mean you are a lawyer in Nigeria? "Yes," I replied again. And you are a Certified System Engineer in America, and presently undertaking a graduate program at Harvard?" I told him, correct.
He followed up by asking, Why Admin and Management and not Law, your original field. I told him that Lawyers all over the world, most often, have difficulties working with numbers. Besides, the majority of them cannot distinguish a Balance Sheet from an Income Statement. If my goal is to head an organisation or institution, I should at least be conversant with basic Accounting and Financial terms or principles. He didn't ask a follow-up question.
After a long pause, his next question took me by surprise: "Alex, would you like to work in the Middle East?" I said nope. The answer came unforced. Why? He asked me. 'It has never crossed my mind to work outside of Nigeria or the U.S. My focus has always been to go back home and help to manage the affairs of my country, and that is the reason I went for Administration and Management." I declared emphatically as if the answer was rehearsed.
He said, You know, "I think it is providence that brought the two of us together this evening. Your story is very compelling, your dream or ambition is closely related to the journey that brought me here to the United States."
He continued, Here I am in America, to meet with some Consultants and Professors within the Harvard community, and the driver who picks me up at the airport is a part of the Harvard institutions, preparing for the journey I have begun. And I jokingly said, That means it is a good start for you. He said that's precisely what's on my mind. And then, he opened up.
He said, Alex, I am from the United Arab Emirates, as I told you earlier. And my King gave me three Blank Checks. He paused and asked, "You know the meaning of a blank check, right, and its implications?" I told him, of course, I do.
Then, he went on. "One of the Checks is to bring Harvard to my country. What do you mean by bringing Harvard to your country? I asked. In every respect imaginable - reputation, prestige, academics/programs, lecturers, just name it - everything about Harvard, I want to replicate it in my country." You want to build a University in the magnitude and reputation of Harvard, you mean? I asked. And he replied, Correct.
And I said, "In that case, your children will no longer be coming to Harvard." He said no, that's not the competition we intended. We are not building it for our children or to compete with Harvard. Our goal is to extend the Harvard culture to the rest of the world, especially those applicants who cannot secure a visa to the US or afford the exorbitant fees associated with Harvard.
The Second Check, he said. It is to build hospitals, ten times the size of your Hospital District, on Longwood and Brookline Avenues in Boston. Hearing that, I matched my brakes and looked back at him. In my mind, I said, in your dream.
Then, I repeat, "ten times the size of ..." And he replied Yes. At that point, I began to count the hospitals, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Dental School, Brigham and Women, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, he interjected, and named the rest hospitals for me. And I said, you mean, you want to build ten times the size of all of them combined? He said, exactly.
What about the third Check? I asked. A BRAND NEW CITY. He responded enthusiastically.
You want to build a brand new city? I asked him. He said yes. "Something the World has never seen before. It will come in stages, but it will change the World in terms of architectural marvel, Hospitality, Medical facilities, Shopping Malls, Property Development, name it."
We arrived at his hotel, and I parked my vehicle. He was still taking. And I realised that he was not in a hurry to say goodbye. So we continued chatting.
You are not an Engineer, I asked. He said, Correct, I am not an Engineer. You want to build a University, the size and reputation of Harvard. You want to develop a Hospital District ten times the size of the Hospital district in Boston. And you want to build a brand new city from scratch. How? I asked.
And he said. I don't have to be an Engineer to execute the projects. And that is the reason I am here - to meet with your Professors and Consultants.
"I am creating a diverse pool of talents and experts from various fields, that would ensure the sustainability of the project during completion and after completion, he told me. (At that point in my academic career, I was not conversant with the concept of sustainable development, until I got to the University of Denver, Colorado, for my LL.M. in Energy and Environmental Law and Policy about seven years later). So, I didn't ask a follow-up question.
And he continued, "We are ready to acquire the best brains anywhere in the world, convinced that the investments will pay off handsomely in no time."
Not done yet, I asked, "You have three blank checks, without a budget, in other words, the issue of accountability is ..." He interrupted me before I could complete my question or say the word "mute." Typical Nigerian; my mind was on corruption and squandering of riches.
He said, My friend, "accountability is not the issue, focus on the task ahead ... the project to execute. That is my concern ... and that's my budget. The absence of a demarcated fund is irrelevant. My focus is on accomplishing the imagination of the one who gave me the checks.
Hearing that, I said, you have the wealth, why not create in your country something better and richer in content than what you gravitate to overseas? He said, exactly. 'You wouldn't want to fail if you are trusted with such an assignment." That is what the dream of Dubai is about. And that's my principal reason for writing this essay.
The more he talks and dissects numbers and statistics, the more he appears stupefying. To me, it was more of a utopia - an Eldorado - a picture that he was painting.
What about Medical Doctors and Technical Expertise? I asked. Least of my concerns, Alex. Millions of qualified Medical Doctors and Scientists all over the world are not fully engaged, he added.
This dude has ready answers to all my questions, I said to myself.
Looking at the wristwatch on his hand, I asked, "Why didn't you take a Limo from the Airport?" He smiled and said, It didn't cross my mind. At that point, both of us started laughing. I used the term earlier in the discussion when he asked me if I would like to work in the Middle East.
Then, he added, "I would not have met you if I had taken a Limo. It is like you and I have known each other for years. You're one of the most exciting guys I have met in recent times."
He grabbed my hand firmly and said, My friend, if you change your mind, let's meet here tomorrow at about 1 p.m. for lunch. I like your confidence, and I would like to work with you, he added. And I said thank you, adding, The feeling is mutual. I released my hand, knowing in my mind that I won't honour his invitation. We shook hands again, and I drove off. Working in the Middle East at the time was the last thing on my mind. There is no way I could have fathomed the magnitude of his mission and the possibility of their realisation.
Looking at him, tall, handsome, he was like about four years older than me, meaning he was in his early 40s at the time. There were no traces of wealth or aristocracy about him. Yes, he took a Taxi and not a Limo. He was sitting on top of Billions of Dollars, ready to change the World, yet he was very comfortable in the company of a graduate student, who was driving a Taxi on the side, and only dreaming and hoping of an opportunity to join hands in the development of his country. Yet, and yet he was excited, friendly, happy sharing with me, his visions and the future his Kingdom beckons him to make real.
In less than a year after our meeting, stories and pictures and videos of a new wonder on earth happening somewhere in the Middle East started flooding the local and international news media. The most stupefying one was of a community like the shape of a palm tree created out of the water. Each time I read or see pictures of the developing wonders in the UAE, I would just smile and say to myself, wao, he told me all these, and he has accomplished them. "I want to bring Harvard to my country," was his opening line. And I will never forget that declaration. He was a man on a mission - "The project is my budget, the absence of a demarcated fund is irrelevant." He told me. And he did. And the whole World is made richer.
I am not going to write any conclusion. I want you to do that for yourself in light of the numerous Dollars and Pounds Nigerian politicians are stockpiling at uncompleted buildings, sewage, and cabinets all over Lagos, Abuja, and Kaduna. And I would also like to draw your attention to what Yakubu Gowon said a few years after the civil war, to wit, our primary problem is not how to generate revenues, but how to spend them. Friends, that problem still persists today. The profligacy of the children of our Governors, President, and influential political leaders attests to that. The UAE is now bringing the whole World into its homeland, instead of chasing and squandering their wealth on expensive items and exotic properties overseas as was the culture about twenty years ago. Thank you.
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