And Four Other Things…
DIRGE FOR DEPUTIES
Is deputy governorship a poisoned chalice? Someone would call that “JAMB question”. Comrade Philip Shaibu has, expectedly, been removed as the deputy governor of Edo state after a protracted fall-out between him and Mr Godwin Obaseki, the governor. According to the boffins at Daily Trust, that is the 17th deputy governor to be removed since the fourth republic birthed in 1999. That is quite some turnover. Given that only three governors have been legally removed during the same period, that is alarming. We need to study the trend and work out a solution. Maybe we don’t need deputy governors? Maybe we should make it more difficult for them to be removed? Questions.
VISA TIPS
Mr Larry Madowo, the CNN correspondent, took to X (how long are we going to keep saying ‘formerly known as Twitter’?) to complain about the cost of getting a Nigerian visa and paying for biometrics each time. He wondered why a Kenyan needs a visa to visit Nigeria when he doesn’t need one for Ghana. First, I would advise Madowo to apply for a multiple entry visa next time. For as long as he opts for single entry, he will pay each time. Biometrics are captured each time you apply for a visa and you will need to pay for it too. He can ask the US embassy in Nairobi. Well, Ghanaians don’t need a Nigerian visa because of a treaty. Nigeria and Kenya do not have that treaty yet. Reciprocity.
RISK AND ‘REWARD’
So, Idris Okuneye, the transgender celebrity better known as Bobrisky, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment without an option of fine for “abusing” the naira. Bobsrisky, who finally identified as “male” before a court of law, had pleaded guilty to the charge and being a first time offender, the social media sensation would ordinarily be expected to get a lenient punishment. That the maximum punishment was applied makes me wonder if Bobrisky was being punished for something else — you know it, you know the elephant in the room. The debate now should be if the law on naira abuse is really necessary or if imprisonment should be a punishment at all. Brutal.
NO COMMENT
When the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved the tripling of tariff for “Band A” consumers under the pretext that they are already enjoying a minimum of 20 hours of power daily, we knew it was just cruise. It would only make sense if the new tariff were applied only on days Band A consumers enjoy 20 hours. Well, this is the truth: the sector badly needs massive infrastructural investment before we can enjoy steady power — but where is the capital? The DisCos are now playing a different tune. The new lyrics: “We are suffering system outage/That is why there’s power shortage/Apologies to our customers/ We’ve got a problem with the feeders.” Wonderful.