And Four Other Things…
KILLING FIELDS
Plateau state is back as Nigeria’s killing fields, with the renewed ancient ethno-religious war. The killings are not spontaneous; they are orchestrated. Nigerians will keep taking sides on the basis of religion and ethnicity but there will be no winners. Government must revise its security strategy in order to protect lives and property better than it currently does, but I reckon that the fuel of the killings is hate. Armoured tanks cannot extinguish it. Only love and tolerance can. I will continue to say this: until those who matter in these communities decide that they have wasted enough blood, there will never be peace and progress, no matter the number of soldiers on duty. Troubling.
POLITICAL CAPITAL
The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to move one of its units from Abuja, the federal capital, to Lagos is “heating up the polity” (don’t laugh). Those opposed are classifying it as anti-north and are making political capital out of it. But dig deeper and you will realise it may have nothing to do with the north. Most of those to be transferred are said to be children of the powerful, some of whom got the job by connections and hardly come to office in any case. But framing it as an anti-north move is a sure winner in an emotionally charged country like ours. This government has, like the one before it, been very poor and clumsy with communication and engagement. Shame.
PLASTIC POLICY
The Lagos state government woke up one day and banned single-use plastics “with immediate effect”. No previous warning, no transition plan, no stakeholder engagement, no sensitisation. Just “with immediate effect”. Companies had produced goods already packaged in these plastics and on the way to delivery points; some had stockpiled supplies for months ahead with bank loans; factories are fully in production and there will be consequences for jobs. And then you ban “with immediate effect” — reminiscent of the days of military rule. After the ban, sensitisation and stakeholder engagement will begin. Welcome to public policy making in 21st-century Nigeria. Wonderful.
NO COMMENT
Have we heard the last of the curious case of Umar Sadiq, the Nigerian striker who plays for Real Sociedad of Spain? He was in Nigeria’s squad to the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire but was dropped at the last minute because of a report by the Super Eagles’ medical team that he had a knee injury and would be out for a while. It turned out it was just a bruise. He was back playing for his club a few days later. “Upon returning to my club and undergoing thorough examinations, the medical team revealed that I had only suffered a bruise, and as a result, I was cleared to resume training,” he explained, after an uproar. Is this the misdiagnosis that we are so used to in Nigeria? Fantabulous.