Headline

Pendulum: Not Too Young To Run, Not Too Young To Do Business

Published

7 years ago

March 17, 2018

Editor

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, one of the hottest slogans in our country today is “not too young to rule.” I agree absolutely. When I was approached recently by one of the exponents of this campaign, Mr Dayo Israel to be precise, I wasted no time in lending my voice, and my column to propagate what for me is the only way forward for the development of our dear nation. The reason for my excitement and willingness to contribute in my own little way towards proclaiming the message of the youths was simple. I was born in 1960, the year of our Independence. I grew up in an era when the destiny of Nigeria was controlled largely by people in their twenties and thirties. Those forty years and over, tended to take a back seat, in an avuncular or patriarchal mode and allowed the young Turks to have the field. This was because they believed that their time had passed and, that the younger generation that was to live the future, needed to be in control of that future. It was such a golden era that held out great promises to the future we all dreamt of and have been dreaming about ever since. But partly for the evil invasion of military coups, and the disastrous civil war that left our Eastern parts ravaged and devastated, I’m reasonably certain that Nigeria would have gone very far in the comity of nations by now. The same mindset that had led to those young “elders” to vacate the scene for vigorous, vibrant and vivacious young leaders would have continued to hold sway for the mutual benefit of our citizens and the country at large.

However, what has happened is that some of the young people who held sway at that time, are still very much around, ruling directly or by proxy. Their position is strengthened by the decimation of our erudite and visionary political elite by military miscreants who were only interested in feathering their nests and self-preservation. Therefore, we have a few inept and ineffectual leaders in power, who still want to govern Nigeria, when they are nearer 80 than 70. In a country of extremely gifted and undoubtedly brilliant young men and women, this should give us cause for grave concern. I’ve listened to arguments from rabid gerontocrats who tell us that the young of today have not justified their agitation for power to be handed over to them. They point fingers at some young Governors and Ministers who bungled their privileged assignments and looted the treasury dry. I agree that there are some notorious youthful leaders who have misbehaved badly! But there must be an opportunity for evolution and atonement and it is not all doom and gloom. This is particularly more so, because it is the mediocrity, buffoonery and lack of merit of these geriatric leaders that has brought those they now accuse to the fore.

We should therefore consider the pedigree of those youthful delinquents before we burden our youths with their shame. They emerged in the first instance due to our lackadaisical attitude to politics. I believe that the lackadaisical attitude was fostered by the debilitating years of military misrule and the penchant of the soldiers for undertaken failed democratic exercises just to assuage our hunger for civilian rule. Thereafter, once upon a time, and even at this moment, many of us came to believe that politics is the exclusive preserve of nonentities and never-do-wells. Since we cannot eat our cake and still have it, we should understand that the dregs of society we throw up would ultimately be the leaders we deserve, but the rulers we deride. I believe Nigeria deserves much better and we have many youthful and upwardly mobile people around today. This was the basis of my excitement when I first encountered Mr Akinwunmi Ambode over four years ago at a location on Glover Road Ikoyi.

Mr Ambode had shared his vision with me on that occasion in the presence of Mr Idowu Ajanaku, and the first thing that struck me about him was his humility and simple mien. He demonstrated beyond doubt that he knew his onions. He discussed ideas and a vision for a Lagos State that would be the pride of the nation in the development of infrastructure, social amenities and above all communal responsibility. He was of the view that if Government delivered on its pledges to the people by providing them with social amenities and welfarist programmes, the people would eventually rise up to the challenge, and perform their civic duties by paying taxes and treating amenities and infrastructure of the State as if it was their own to be cared for and nurtured. This was probably the accountant and financial adviser in him talking from an impressive background of practical experience. Ambode’s intimidating resume was, therefore, another attraction for me. I love cosmopolitan leaders who have had the dual opportunity to school at home and abroad; well-travelled and very exposed to new ways and means of doing things. While such people need political platforms to realise their dreams and vision, politics, for them, can never be the only priority. They just want to get the job done and move on to the next project. In about three years of attaining power, even his most vociferous and acerbic critics admit, privately and, oftentimes, publicly, that Mr Ambode has shown enough verve, vigour and promise of a greater tomorrow for our country. He has made his generation proud. Since no human being is perfect, the Governor of Lagos has made his own mistakes and I’m elated that he has found the uncommon courage to retrace his steps. That is the hallmark of a true leader – the one who errs and swiftly admits the error and makes amends. There is no use stubbornly and irascibly clinging to a mistake that can easily be cured simply because you do not want people to believe that you are fallible, when fallibility is merely a human trait.

All manner of ideas and suggestions are available to a leader. More often than not, not all government advisers share the vision of their principal. As a matter of fact, different people go into politics with different motives and mind-sets. A good leader would have to sift the wheat from the chaff, and swim or perish. Governor Ambode like a supersonic jet has entered his fair share of turbulence. The most raging, and mother of all, controversies, in Lagos right now, is the appointment of a company called Visionscape to take over a substantial chunk of waste management in Lagos State. Both Ambode and the waste managers have almost been wasted by those vehemently opposed to Visionscape and, possibly, Ambode himself. If anybody thought it was a joke that would soon blow over, they were wrong in underrating the determination, and total opposition, of those who felt short-changed by the new deal.

On a personal note, I experienced their fury after I posted an innocuous endorsement of Governor Ambode for a second term on my Instagram page. In this season of intolerance and cheap blackmail, the voltrons, as we call them, descended upon my page to throw darts , barbs and even missiles at Ambode and his supposed friend, Mr Adeniyi Makanjuola. I read that the whole of Lagos State has been taken over by garbage and filth. Some of the comments forced me to search other sites and I looked for any available information about this company they called unprintable names. What I unearthed was quite depressing. In fact, it scared me about what the future holds for our dear beloved country. It seems we have lost our ability to dialogue and understand each other forever. The unsubstantiated and unjustified ferocious attack on Adeniyi and his company made me to shudder with trepidation. I will tell you why.

I had read that Visionscape was a cheap company that lacks the capacity to handle the magnitude of the filth that a megacity like Lagos would generally generate. I doubt if anyone cared to probe further because my findings reveal otherwise. Unfortunately, social media thrives largely on self-help publications, imaginary and sometimes illusionary artificial and virtual reality. You need no education, exposure, job experience, known address or any advanced publishing technology to disseminate your drivel, jibes and even falsehoods. Your smartphone and sufficient data would achieve what all newspapers would never be able to distribute these days. And the more salacious the stories, the quicker they go viral.

Our youths who want to lead Nigeria should find pride, without prejudice, in Adeniyi Makanjuola of Visionscape. I have no doubt that whatever the challenges he may be facing today, he has a very bright future ahead. He comes from a background of serial investments, ranging from aviation to oil & gas, energy, finance and environmental utilities. Before returning to Nigeria at the age of 23, Adeniyi had completed his degree in Financial Economics from the University of Essex and obtained an M.Sc. in Urban Planning and Development from the University College London. On his return, he dabbled into aviation after discovering a lacuna in the onshore helicopter services business. What started like a hobby soon blossomed into a major player in the market place. Caverton Helicopters boasts of probably the single largest fleet of ultramodern helicopters in sub-Saharan Africa. Adeniyi has his fingers in many pies. His dream is to surpass the Dangotes, Adenugas and Elumelus of Africa. His foray into business has been passionate, rapid, remarkable and audacious.

Adeniyi and Harry Ackerman have worked closely in mining, oil & gas exploration in West Africa and the Middle East. The duo became partners as far back as 2009 after the latter suffered an excruciating injury in his fledgling rugby career. State-led strategies and privatisation of public utilities inspired Adeniyi to venture into familiar territories in Africa. Lagos being one of the 26 mega cities in the world is a natural place to be. The duo teamed up with local Emirati, Ali Ahli and led Visionscape Group, an environmental utility company, into the market to tackle the herculean task of cleaning up what was previously described as one of the dirtiest cities in the world. These ambitious entrepreneurs are poised to employ over 30,000 employees now, and much more later. It is not a joke. The anticipated turnover runs into billions, and naturally, there must be a lot of keen and vested interest as well as corporate disenchantment and envy. Indeed, it has been a battle of wits since they came into the high-wired deal that they agreed with the Lagos State Government.

Clearly those that have championed the campaign of calumny against Visionscape and Ambode know what they are doing and what they seek to achieve. They have been able to find support in people of like minds who can see no good in whatever others do to develop their environment and space. However, what they fail to realise is that for those for whom progress is the watchword, the sky can only be the limit. The venom of detractors only serves as an impetus to propel them to greater heights. I am not an apologist for Ambode and Visionscape but it seems to me that where great vision and courage has been shown, our duty is to give those involved a chance rather than condemn them form the outset.

Ambode and Visionscape should be content in the knowledge that those that have had eureka moments have never really been recognised and honoured in their own time. As the saying goes, time will tell!

Headline

How FG Spent N19bn on Presidential Planes in 15 Months – Report

Published

5 days ago

November 12, 2024

Eric

At least N19.43 billion has reportedly been spent on the maintenance and operations of the Presidential Air Fleet from July 2023 to September 2024.

According to GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal government’s spending, showed that for 2024, the payouts amounted to N13.55billion, representing 66 per cent of the allocations for the fleet in the 2024 fiscal year.

Most disbursements were labeled ‘Forex Transit Funds,’ typically funds allocated for foreign exchange requirements to facilitate international transactions and engagements.

In the context of the Presidential Air Fleet, such funds are used to cover expenses related to operations outside the country, including fuel purchases, maintenance or services in foreign currencies.

“When aircraft on the fleet are abroad, payments are often made in U.S. dollars or another foreign currency to ensure uninterrupted operations,” a government official explained.

In July 2023, N1.52bn was disbursed in two tranches of N846m and N675m for ‘Presidential air fleet forex transit funds.’

The following month, N3.1bn was disbursed in three tranches of N388m, N2bn, and N713m for the same item.

In November of that year, N1.26bn was released to the Presidential Air Fleet Naira transit account.

The first overhead for 2024 came in March, where N1.27bn were disbursed twice, amounting to N2.54bn. The transit account received N6.35bn in April, N4.97bn in May and N210m in July.

August saw the highest frequency of transactions, with N5.60bn released in six separate disbursements.

Although these transactions were not clearly labeled, the monies were paid into the Presidential Air Fleet naira transit account, including the N35m transfer made in September.

In late April, the transit account received N5.08bn; this came around the same time the President was on a two-nation tour to the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.

Although Tinubu arrived in the Netherlands in a state-owned Gulfstream AeroSpace 550 Jet, the aircraft could not proceed to Saudi Arabia due to unspecified technical problems. He reportedly continued his journey on a chartered private plane.

At the time, the President’s Boeing 737 business jet was undergoing maintenance. It was later replaced with an Airbus A330 purchased for $100m in August through service-wide votes.

The nearly 15-year-old plane, an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053), is “spacious and furnished with state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga said, adding that it “will save Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.”

The new Airbus A330 is just one of several aircraft currently on the Presidential Air Fleet, arguably one of Africa’s largest, with around 11 aircraft of various makes and models. Until August, it comprised the 19-year-old B737-700 and a 13-year-old Gulfstream Aerospace G550.

The BBJ was acquired during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at $43m but became a money guzzler as it aged.

Onanuga, defending the purchase of Airbus A330, argued that the new Airbus 330 aircraft and the costs of maintaining the air fleet were not for the president but in the interest of Nigerians.

“It’s not President Tinubu’s plane; it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property…the President did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet – it has been used by somebody else before he got it, but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used.

“The one President Buhari used was bought by President Obasanjo some 20 years ago. There was a time when the President went to Saudi Arabia, and the plane developed some problems. The President had to leave the Netherlands with a chartered jet.

“Nigerians should try to prioritise the safety of the President. I’m not sure anybody wishes our president to go and crash in the air. We want his safety so that he can hand it over to whoever wants to take over from him,” Onanuga said.

The presidential aide said he discussed with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on the faulty plane [Boeing 737 jet] and he said the maintenance costs were excessive because of the age of the aircraft, hence the need for another plane.

The presidential fixed-wing fleet includes a Gulfstream G500, two Falcon 7Xs, a Hawker 4000, and a Challenger 605.

Three of the seven fixed-wings are reportedly unserviceable. Meanwhile, the rotor-wing fleet includes two Agusta 139s and two Agusta 101s, all operated by the Nigerian Air Force but supervised by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Former President Buhari promised to reduce the number of aircraft in the PAF to the absolute necessary.

In April 2023, three jets were put up for sale, but there were no specifics on which.

However, efforts to sell one of the Dassault Falcon 7x and the Hawker 4000 in October 2016 stalled when a potential buyer reduced their initial offer from $24m to $11m.

Since 2017, budgetary allocations for the fleet have shown a growing trend, with one exception in 2020.

The allocation for the fleet increased from N4.37bn in 2017 to N20.52bn in 2024, showing a 370 per cent rise in running costs.

In 2018, the fleet’s budget rose significantly by 66.13 per cent to N7.26bn, driven by a substantial increase in capital project allocations while maintaining similar levels for recurrent costs. This upward trajectory continued into 2019, slightly increasing the total allocation to N7.30bn.

The exception came in 2020, when the budget dropped by nearly seven per cent to N6.79bn, primarily due to decreased overhead costs, a reflection of the global economic impacts of lockdowns and disruptions in operations.

By 2021, however, the budget surged dramatically to N12.55bn—a record increase of 84.83 per cent from the previous year.

In 2022, maintenance expenses for each aircraft ranged from $1.5m to $4.5m annually.

The 2022, 2023 and 2024 appropriation acts earmarked N12.48bn, N13.07bn and N20.52bn respectively.

On his way to the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa, a foreign object damaged the cockpit windscreen of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s GulfStream aircraft during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.

According to Lee Aerospace, manufacturers of the Gulfstream, jet windshields consist of thick multilayered structures of varying layers of glass and transparent acrylic built to withstand collision with a 2kg object.

However, damage to the windshield must have affected its inner layers. While specific prices for replacement can vary based on supplier, labour rates and regional costs, estimates suggest that a single windshield replacement for a G550 can range from $50,000 to $70,000 for part and labour costs.

In an interview with our correspondent, the General Secretary of the Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo, blamed the meteoric rise in the allocations for the PAF on the age of some of the aircraft in the fleet and declining value of the naira as well as the “commercial use” of aircraft by the Nigerian Air Force.

Ohunayo said, “The cost will definitely increase over the years because for one, this issue of the naira against the dollar. As the naira keeps falling to the dollar, we will see a rise in cost because most of the costs of training crew and engineers and replacing aircraft parts are all in dollars.

“Also, some of these aircraft are not new. The older the aircraft, the higher the cost of maintenance and operation.

“Lastly, during these past years, terrorism and insecurity have increased in Nigeria, which has also affected the cost of insuring the aircraft.”

For his part, the Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, argued that the administration’s spending habits were opposite to Nigerians’ expectations of frugality.

“What we are getting from this administration is opposite to our expectation. We thought we would have an administration that would be frugal in spending and very meticulous at implementing its budget.

“But what we are getting is an administration that has fallen in love with profligacy; that doesn’t see anything wrong in living big amid a poverty-stricken nation.

“It is a reenactment of the Shagari administration, whereby they bought the biggest Mercedes Benz and made themselves as comfortable as possible without considering how much the masses are suffering.

“So when you look at a Vice President saying he’s not travelling [to Samoa] again because there was a splinter on the windscreen of his private aircraft. Why should that be the case?

“First and foremost, we need to be represented at such an international meeting, where we should be well represented by the first two citizens of this country.

“He abandoned that, which means we would have lost certain representation that we deserve at that forum. Two, money will have been spent on advance parties that went ahead of the Vice President. But he abandoned the journey altogether.”

Headline

Pastor Tunde Bakare: Celebrating a Visionary Preacher @70

Published

7 days ago

November 10, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

He is visionary, blunt, articulate, passionate, fiery, evangelical, fearless, controversial and the newest septugenarian. He is the Founder and Presidng Pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), formally known as the Latter Rain Assembly. He is Pastor Tunde Bakare.

A thought provoking preacher, social commentator, legal expert and politician, Tunde Bakare has come of age in the business called Nigeria.

Born on November 11, 1954, Pastor Bakare is regarded as not only a prophetic-apostolic pastor, but a social and economic image maker, whose contributions to the originality, truth and oneness of the nation cannot be overemphasized.

Originally a Muslim, who embraced the Christian faith in 1974 at the age of 20, Bakare has contributed his quota as a nation builder, seeking both the Vice president and president positions of the nation on two different occasions.

Pastor Bakare started his educational life at All Saints Primary School, Kemta, Abeokuta, and subsequently Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta, where he obtained both the School Leaving Certificate and the West Africa Examination Council certificate

After his secondary education, he was admitted into the University of Lagos where he studied Law between 1977 and 1980 before attending Law School in 1981, and was subsequently called to the Bar and following his time in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Bakare kickstarted his career when he started practicing law at the Gani Fawehinmi Chambers. His dexterity on the job propelled him to Rotimi Williams & Co., and later to Burke & Co., Solicitors.

In October 1984, he went solo, and established his own law firm, Tunde Bakare & Co. (El-Shaddai Chambers). Within the preceeding periods, he combined his legal duties with pastoral functions working as a legal adviser at the Deeper Life Bible Church, and later moving to the Redeemed Christian Church of God, where he became pastor and founded the Model Parish.

Following his time at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Bakare left to start the Latter Rain Assembly Church in 1989, known today aa CGCC, where he presently serves as the General Overseer. In addition to his time in the church, he zeroed into part time politics, serving as the running-mate to presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 presidential election. Bakare has been critical of Nigeria’s leadership and has sparked controversy with comments considered inflammatory regarding Muslims and other spiritual leaders.

Also in 2019, Bakare announced his intention to run for president of Nigeria following the end of Buhari’s second term with a total conviction that he has a direct mandate to do and will surely become the next president of Nigeria. He joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) but, lost at the primaries conducted at Eagle Square, Abuja, in May 2022. He launched his then political trajectory under the New Nigeria Progressive Movement.

While expressing his intentions to run for the 2023 presidential election towards becoming the next president of Nigeria to church members in 2019 when he was quoted as saying, “I will succeed Buhari as President of Nigeria; nothing can change it. I am number 16, and Buhari is number 15. I never said it to you before. I am saying it now, and nothing can change it. In the name of Jesus, he (Buhari) is number 15. I am number 16. To this end, I was born, and for this purpose, I came into the world. I have prepared you for this for more than 30 years.”

Bakare also presides over the Global Apostolic Impact Network (GAIN), a network of churches, ministries, and kingdom businesses committed to advancing the Kingdom of God on earth as well as the President of Latter Rain Ministries, Inc. (Church Development Center) in Atlanta, GA, USA, a ministry committed to restoring today’s church to the scriptural pattern. He was given a Doctor of Ministry degree by Indiana Christian University under the leadership of his mentor, Dr. Lester Sumrall, in 1996.

Bakare has been instrumental to some uprisings in the country that challenge unhealthy administrations. It would be recalled that his Occupied Nigeria Movement led the protest against the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in January 2012 after minor increase in fuel price. The protest was a total success, and led to reduction in fuel pump price.

Also a social critic, Bakare is critical of Miyetti Allah, labeling the Fulani herdsmen as a group of terrorists who rape, murder, and kidnap innocent civilians. Several Fulani Islamic scholars criticized Bakare’s comments about Fulani herdsmen as Islamophobic. Bakare had said that Fulani herdsmen were driving Nigeria towards a civil war.

He also holds a yearly state of the nation address to set the stage for the future and review national issues of the year past.

In his 2019 address, he stated, “We can therefore confidently state that, over the past thirty years, we have faithfully executed our God-given mandate to the nation from this platform. Over the past thirty years, we have deployed appropriate tools for appropriate occasions, from prophetic declarations to confrontational advocacy and from political activism to propositional policy advisory. Over the past thirty years, we have done this consistently, sometimes at the risk of being misunderstood by friends and foes alike.

“We have been motivated not by wavering
opinions of men but by our unshakeable faith in our national destiny and an unalloyed commitment to seeing that destiny fulfilled.”

Reports have it that he was arrested in March 2002 after preaching sermons critical of Nigeria’s then-president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

No matter how it is viewed, and the direction of his controversies, one thing is obvious, Bakare has stood on the side of truth, hope, and justice, and has remained consistent over the years.

The Serving Overseer has been very vocal, his trademark, over the recent hardship in the country, condemning the politicians for preaching what they cannot practice.

He said Nigerian politicians were not living lean or sacrificing like the rest of the citizens whom they asked to sacrifice for the country by enduring economic hardship.

Bakare said this while delivering the keynote address with the theme: “Cultivating a Culture of Dialogue: Nurturing Understanding in a Culturally and Socially Diverse Nation” at Wilson and Yinka Badejo Memorial Lecture 2024.

He is a strong believer in the theory that the pen is mightier than the sword. He write in an essay of same title that:

“The likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, armed with no other weapon, mobilised the Queen’s language in the struggle for independence from the Queen. They fought their battles through such media as West African Pilot, Accra Evening News and The Tribune. Decades after independence, when free, fair and credible elections were annulled, and a tyrannical dictatorship held sway, the Nigerian press took up the baton and contended against the sword of oppression by deploying the armoury of vocabulary. I am so glad that the labours of these pen warriors and all others who fought for the democracy we enjoy today have not been in vain after all.”

For seven decades, Pastor Bakare has remained a voice in Nigeria politics, religion and socio-economic circle, relating with with Nigerians according to where the matter lies.

On this occasion of your 70th Birthday, we celebrate your consistency, focus and leadership acumen that has affected the people positively.

Congratulations sir!

Headline

US Polls: Tinubu, UK PM Starmer Congratulate Trump

Published

2 weeks ago

November 6, 2024

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has extended his heartfelt congratulations to President Donald Trump on his re-election as the 47th President of the United States of America.

A statement by Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday, said President Tinubu looks forward to strengthening the relations between Nigeria and the United States amid the complex challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world.

Donald Trump claimed victory on Wednesday and pledged to “heal” the country as results put him on the verge of beating Kamala Harris in a stunning White House comeback.

President Tinubu said: “Together, we can foster economic cooperation, promote peace, and address global challenges that affect our citizens.”

According to President Tinubu, Trump’s victory reflects the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership. He congratulates them on their commitment to democracy.

President Tinubu believes that, given President Trump’s experience as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, his return to the White House as the 47th president will usher in an era of earnest, beneficial, and reciprocal economic and development partnerships between Africa and the United States.

Acknowledging the United States’ influence, power, and position in determining the trend and course of global events, the Nigerian leader trusts that President Trump will bring the world closer to peace and prosperity.

Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has congratulated Donald Trump on his “historic election victory”, adding that the UK-US special relationship would “continue to prosper”.

“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come,” he said.