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Lessons of Fifty-One Years After the Nigerian Civil War by Amb. Godknows Igali

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(Protocol)

INTRODUCTION
Let me start by appreciating the organizers of this conference for creating this forum to enable us parley and exchange ideas on the journey which we have embarked upon during the last half century and also chat a way forward for our children. I specially would like to appreciate the Nzuko Umunna (the Igbo Think Tank), Ovation International, Njeje Media, and our own indefatigable Professor Pat Utomi, the Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee for putting this together; especially in creating an auspiciously  convivial atmosphere and bringing in such a distinguished array of speakers and participants.

I would want, to specially appreciated the fact that His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, our former President of Nigeria, whom I was privileged to serve in different capacities while he was in office and consider a lifelong mentor is here. The presence of Chief Obasanjo today as Special Guest of Honor, is most appropriate because no Nigerian, either living or dead could be substituted for him in terms of the wealth of personal and institutional memory of Nigeria’s post-independence political and socio-economic experience.

I have been privileged to read President Obasanjo’s rich and rather unique assortment of writings which encapsulate in an encyclopedic manner, the Nigerian story from our dawn of nationhood. For the purpose of our discussion today, some of his books such as “Chukwuma Nzegwu” with whom he shared closest affinity as well as “Not My Command” and “My Watch” (three volumes) all dwelling on the Nigerian Civil War, underscore his knowledge on the subject of our discussion.

Similarly your successful conscription of our ever ready father, Pa (Chief) Ayodele Adebanjo who is not just leader of Afenifere but has been a foremost political activist and firm nation builder from the days of nationalist struggle is most useful. This has aptly been shown from his rich intervention as Chairman of the Occasion. Similarly our other patriarchs, Dr Uma Eleazu and Alhaji Tanko Yakassi, both of whom have already made rich interventions showing their forte in this complex process of nation building which we are seized with. These are amongst our most outstanding patriots. I also salute our many contemporary voices assembled to share thoughts here.

It will be totally incomplete if I do not pay deserved tribute and appreciation to Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah our Key Note Speaker. I have been tempted, a few times to refer to Bishop Kukah as a veritable typology of the 16th century theologian, Dr. Martin Luther who ignited the process of Christian Reformation and political change in the then “known”. But more precisely, Dr. Luther took on the gargantuan Roman Catholic Church which ruled the world during that epoch and boldly appeared before the conspiratorial Council of Worms in 1521 to defend his views.

THE GLOBAL SCOURGE OF CIVIL WARS RECOUNTED
Intra-state conflicts and wars have always been part of human society from the cradle of human social organization. This is to the extent that the object of the causative disagreements is to possess control of political power, economic power or influence public policies and maintain control of some over others.
Without going too far or detailed  into history,  the truth is that, a trail of civil wars have occurred around the world. For example, from the time of the Trojan Wars (1300-1200BC, 1200-1100BC) to the Greco-Persian wars (492-449BC), the Peloponnesian wars (431-404), and even up to the Punic wars during the 2nd century BC, internal conflicts and civil wars have never seized. That was why the Norman Conquest of Europe in 1066 AD, the 100 Years’ Wars in Europe (1337-1453) during which over 3,300,000 people died as well as the 30 Years’ Wars which left a terrible toll of over 8,000,000 lives, all remain recounted painfully in world history. Indeed, of more particular note, to us are the English Civil Wars (1642-1651) between Parliament and Monarchy over the style of governance, limits of power and religious freedom. Of similar interest  is the American Revolution (1775-1783), the French Revolution (1787-1799) and the American civil war (1861-1865), in which about 620,000 soldiers died.

In more contemporary times, werebthe atrociously bloody experiences in the Balkans and all around u. Closer home, we have all been witnesses to the civil wars in Congo, the Great Lakes region, Sudan, Ethiopia, Niger, Chad,  Central African  Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau,  Mali, etc.
I have gone into such details to underscore the fact that civil wars of different dimensions and scopes have sadly been part of human history. Furthermore, such wars have not been limited to any particular part of the world. But unfortunately, have been part and parcel of human history and touched most realms. It is of particular note, that despite all these internal upheavals, most of the countries that experienced them are today, quite peaceful  and counted today as some of the most stable democracies. The question therefore, is how did they do it?

THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR
As I stated earlier, none is in a position to give better account of the Nigerian Biafra War than President Olusegun Obasanjo. Also, other speakers have  in a rather rich manner, collectively added to give the background to the series of events that led to the war. It may therefore, be needless for me to dwell on the details of what happened but rather focus on the lessons we have learnt. It would however, suffice to lament, that the staggering  2,000,000 lives or more of civilians particularly from Biafra and about 100,000 soldiers who died in that war from 1967-1966, could have been averted if our political leaders at the time had decided to learn from history of similar occurrences from around the world. Besides, if our leaders had bothered to show more restrain and enquired on why some countries have never experienced civil  wars but  maintained relative peace around them, conflicts could be staved off.

Unfortunately as once said by the English philosopher and writer Aldoux Huxley “men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important from all the lessons of history”. So I am afraid that we seem not to have learnt much, but let’s keep talking and talking. More than that, let’s keep thinking about the way forward, ponder on new solutions and regurgitate on new ideas.

This approach is also in tune with my area of academic interest which has focused more on State Formation and National Integration. In other words, what keeps nations together, what could make them to disintegrate, and what could make them survive the complex vagaries that comes with the process of staying together. My thoughts I must mention, humbly, are contained in two of my award winning books: Perspectives on Nation-State Formation in Contemporary Africa and Global Trends in State Formation.
So, 51 years since the Nigerian Civil Car ended, what lessons have we learnt. Also, what anecdotes can we put in place to avoid any such reoccurrences in the future. With respect to such reoccurrences, I also mean the series of political interruptions by way of endless military coups which we experienced in Nigeria for 38 years  and the rather slow process of national integration after over 100 years of amalgamation and 60 years of statehood. This also includes the continued reign of political intolerance as well as the parlous state of social and economic development in the midst of relative wealth and not excluding the rising tide of internal divisions, suspicions and disharmony.

Having said that, and with the limitation of time, let us ponder on a few areas that I believe will help us as a country in the years ahead. I must confess however, that these prescriptions are rather annotated.

ON THE WAY FORWARD
a)    ELITE CONSENSUS
The underling factor of keeping nations at peace and avoiding bloodshed is for the elite to have very positive disposition towards staying together as one. This is a sine-qua-non for peaceful co-existence and harmony in all political communities, irrespective of size and extent of complexity. As we know, almost all nations of the world are multi ethnic, diverse and heterogeneous. Even in places such as Somalia, North Korea and South Korea which are often cited as relatively homogeneous societies, there are internal expressions of sub-identity of various forms. As a matter of fact, nations are like the human alimentary canal which keeps changing in demographic form and character, and defined by what goes in and comes out overtime.

It is therefore incumbent on those on whom leadership has been entrusted to continuously work on how to make the union to work. As a matter of fact, the history of political philosophy in all traditional societies was more focused on consensus. This is what still obtains in our traditional societies here in Africa and Nigeria in particular. It was why some of the founding fathers of African nationalism such as Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania, opposed the imposition of Westminster type sharp divisions in governance. That is, the idea of having a Seating Government and a Shadow Government, both on each other’s throat. Nyerere argued and rightly so, that in his own traditional world view, like most of Africa, the concept of an opposition leader was an anathema and was almost equivalent to enmity. Nyerere insisted therefore on continuous dialogue and consultation within any political space until consensus is arrived.

If we cast our minds back to the origins of the Nigerian state itself, Lord Fredrick Luggard, our first Governor General appreciated the fact of our diversity and so did all his colonial successors who were ceased with administration of Nigeria. On the Nigerian side, our founding fathers all recognized that varying differences existed amongst our people. Yet they all agreed to live together, work together towards independence and the building of a nation. Such elite consensus is therefore paramount and absolute, if we do not want to go back to the ugly civil war years.

b)    THE RULE OF LAW
Great nations are also founded on the existence of laws which exist and create an atmosphere of fairness, equity and justice. Wars, dissensions and disaffections have always occurred when a state of inequity and multiple standards exists. That is, where some groups feel aggrieved and get treated with disregard, there is bound to be conflict. The law must make all to feel same sense of belonging and inclusion. The law must protect all and not promote superiority and inferiority classes, either expressly or in opaque terms. The law must continuously integrate all and not have lacunas which could be the basis for disharmony.

The guiding mantra to avoid conflict should be, “what is good for the goose must be good for the gander”. That is why we cannot brush aside the clamor by the  Ibos to be allowed or rather encouraged to aspire for the office of the President of Nigeria. Why not? Or the quest by the people of the Niger Delta for greater control of their resources in line with  the spirit,  letter and original tenets entrenched in the 1960/63 Constitutions and or demand for better protection of their environment much damaged by oil production. The law must protect their environment from pollution and similar situations around the country,  without discrimination. The law must rule and protect all.

c)     BUILDING HOMEBRED DEMOCRACY
While democracy has been identified as the best form of government, it is important to mention that there’s no fit for all form of the concept. Yes, it has irreducible standards for all nations to adopt. However, democracy must be endogenous and homebred. Democracy only thrives and becomes an enabler of peace and balanced growth, if it is tailored to the realities of the specific political ecology.

That is why the 26 cantons of Switzerland, the peculiarities of American Republicanism and Exceptionalism, French Hybrid Republicanism, the German, Israeli and Italian models are all unique. So is the post Soviet,  Russian model of political order, the Indian federation of 28 states and 8 Union Territories, the Constitutional Monarchies of Europe, Middle East, Japan, Thailand, and elsewhere. All these have their peculiarities.

Nigerian does not need to shop around the world for an idyllic form of democracy. The tendency of continuously borrowing from norms of other nations breeds the enabling environment for conflicts. The political elite must look at our peculiar situation, antecedents and geo-strategic circumstances and craft our paradigms for state buildings. Such indigenous prototype will be fit for staving off possible potent internal conflicts and even civil  war as occurred for the bloody 30 months.

d)     THE IMPERATIVE OF RIGHT COMMUNICATION TEMPLATE
One of the most destabilizing factors in any human community, state or nation is the inability of leaders to communicate appropriately in a direction that will build common good. This has been worsened by the wrong use and application of diverse modern communication channels, especially social media. Hence what has become popularized as “hate speech” is now most potent weapon for conflict and wars, especially internal. On the contrary, effective national building can best strive when leaders and critical political actors communicate in a manner that conjures feelings of common and shared destiny amongst the various peoples. The civil wars in Rwanda, former Yugoslavia and several still festering conflicts around the world, have their origin and sustenance from what one may call evil communications from leaders. Such negative forms of communication, deliberately on unwittingly spurn hate, mutual suspicion and incitement to violence and anarchy.
These must be avoided and discouraged as of common cause by all.  On the contrary, the leaders of various groups in the country must come up with a template of what is acceptable forms of communication and have very strict sanctions for infringement. This is the best panacea to avoiding what happened in 1966 and through to 1970 and has remained as an albatross in Nigerian’s unique situation in the past 51 years.

e)    ON FOOD SECURITY AND SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
For us to avoid the tendency of recline to anarchy, conflict and even war, there is a need for us to ensure that the country is able to feed itself. Food is one of man’s basic needs and therefore closely tied to the question of security and peace. As a matter of fact, food availability, access to food and the prevention of hunger and malnutrition could in a major way douse political tensions where they exist.
We must, as a country, therefore, focus on agriculture, production of food for our people, and have functional food support and school feeding programmess. All those in need of food must be catered for and have access to proper nutrition without difficulty.

Food availability will engender economic growth, social wellbeing and in a general sense reduce poverty. If we must live in peace and avoid the kinds of situation that created the war in 1967, we must apply copious financial resources, technology and deploy our active population to produce food. The 80,000,000 acres of arable land which the country has must be utilized fully. We have to apply irrigation and drainage, fertilizers, genetic engineering, land preparation and reclamation, tractorisation, green house technologies and the like to feed our people and thereby seriously eliminate the propensity to conflict and anarchy. Besides this will mop-up the army of unemployed youth and improve house hold savings and wealth creation.

As long as majority of Nigerians go to bed hungry every day, the propensity for a return to what caused the civil war and has easily tended to create an atmosphere of social tension will be there. The saying that “a hungry man is an angry man” holds quite true and must been avoided.

f)      IMBIBING PEER REVIEW AND CROSS MENTORSHIP AMONGST LEADERS
The whole concept of Peer Review is the openness of allowing persons with similar background and competencies to provide some level of censorship to what is being done by one another. This, to some extent, is a form of self-regulation, so a person with such abilities in a particular field, is able at all given times to cross regulate one another. This is to ensure that certain globally accepted standards in civility, political decency and governance are maintained.

In other words we must develop a national frame-work where our political elite are able to have a mechanism of checking and extracting the best of standards of good conduct and public decorum from one another. This must be at all levels, both at the federal and subnational levels (that is the 36 states and 774 Local Government) areas.
This is unlike the present situation where there are no ingrained norms for evaluating equal standards among political actors around the country. So the present situation of governance and leadership in the country appears as a situation of anomie and a free for all.
When the leaders of the African continent formed the African Union in 1999,  they shortly came up with a template called the African Peer Review Mechanism. One author defined this as “a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by member’s state of the African union (AU) as a self-monitoring mechanism”. Since this process was started in 2003, it has become a major instrument “to encourage conformity with regards to political, economic and corporate governance value, costs and standards among African countries”.

At national level, our process of integration into one, in the midst of much diversity and creating of a feeling of common belonging by our people and at the same time putting us the sad years of civil will be greatly enhanced if we can have such a regime in place.  This is due to the fact, that good governance cultivates an atmosphere forl peace.

g)    THE COLLECTIVE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
The Global Corruption Perception Index shows that the most peaceful countries are those where their citizens enjoy the best standard of living, which is a function of where corruption is least endemic. As a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Scandinavia that is Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, I can attest that political peace is intrinsically connected with the question of good government and transparency.
One of the bane of underdevelopment in Africa is the unmitigated reign of corruption. It continues to ravage the continent leaving behind a trail of despair, frustration and underdevelopment. According to globally leading sector ombudsman, Transparency International, Africa is the world’s second fastest growing region, yet a majority of its population live in extreme poverty, due mainly to corruption and bad management.

Studies have shown, that annually, African countries loose about 50 billion dollars to illicit financial flows of which Nigeria is at the vortex. As a matter of fact, a study by Price, Water, and Cooper (Pwc) shows that corruption could become as much as 37% of African GDP in 2030.

It is woeful that at present, Nigeria is 146 out of 180 most corrupt countries in the world. Indeed Nigeria is considered by sector experts as the most corrupt country in Africa with a major impact on its youthful population which is the 3rd largest in the worth after India and China. More than half of the population is still below the age of 18 years of age.
The high incidence of corruption, despite current policy pronouncements to tackle it affect the country in several ways including increasing the cost of doing business, and also depreciate sustainable growth, social well-being. Corruption has continued to create a cycle of frustration, anger and tension in the country as ordinary citizens are directly impacted.

Arising from the above, is the need for a genuine national consensus in Nigeria devoid of politics, devoid of partisanship and devoid of ethinicism or religion to fight corruption. We must, from our hearts and actions say “never again” to corruption as a key panacea to avoid what has happened 51years since after the civil war.

h)    THE QUESTION OF BUILDING INSTITUTIONS
We were all witnesses to the recent events in the United States where it was once thought was the bastion of unshakeable democracy .  The recent assault on the American Capitol on 6th January 2021 was therefore, a major dent on 245 years of relative political stability, founded on the existence of institutions of the states. These include Political Parties, the Legislature, the Presidency, the Judiciary, the Bureaucracy, the Military, Academia, media civil society and so on.

These institutions are the building blocks for the purpose of political and social order. They also create the standards, values and norms for government departments, other actors and individuals. In other words there institutions are the bedrock for proper administration and are the enabler’s of social harmony and protection of the rule of law and the common good of the society.

As we have seen since after those events, the secret of peace and order in the more developed democracies is the fact that such institutions have been allowed to evolve and develop over time. They have become the foundation to regulate various systems and form the basis for normative, cultural, psychological and other critical behavioral attitudes of the individuals and in by aggregation, the society.

So, despite the terrorist like assault on the American political set up, we noticed that various institutions were able to rise up to bring order within the shortest time.
If we are to build a Nigerian nation that will not take us back to the period of the civil war, institutions of governance in the country must be allowed to grow and stand. They may make mistakes and flounder at these initial stages of state building, but we must allow them to grow.  The Nigerian elite must be willing and see the good to allow  the various institutions to develop on their own and become the foundational structures towards a stable society. So even where situations occur like the civil war and its after-math, these institutions will, timeously, combine to ensure that peace and harmony are restored.

CONCLUSION

Fifty-one years is well into adulthood in the life of any individual, political or social institution. However for a nation, this may appear, rather, at a stage in infancy. This not-with-standing, it is enough time for Nigerian leaders to learn from the mistakes of other countries and from our experiences so far. Nations great and small are not normally built by angels or supernatural beings. Nations are built by individuals with the commitments to live together. Nigeria’s founding fathers, despite what many call Lord Luggard’s “forced union”, showed that instinct, appetite and determination to live together and build a new nation. As they negotiated for independence through the various constitutional processes, they could have insisted on going their separate ways. Rather, they did not do so, but decided to stay as one. As may recall, at the eve of independence in 1948, that is 22 years before 1960, India and Pakistan decided to part ways and the British facilitated that process for them. This has happened in several other cases.

However, Nigeria’s founding fathers father saw good reason to remain as one. Accordingly, from the 1914 Luggard Constitution to the 1922 Hugh Clifford Constitution, onto the 1946 Arthur Richards’s Constitution, to Ibadan Conference of 1951, which led to the John Macpherson Constitution 1951 and eventually the Lyttleton Constitution 1954, those  who birthed  the nation, remained resolute on staying together. They tolerated each other and they made spirited effort to understand each other and the differences between them. They decided to adopt the spirit of give and take and it was that character that finally led to the adoption of the 1960 Constitution and also the 1963 Constitution.

Sadly, the present constitutional order, a product of several years of military rule, with participa bytion of picked civilians, has deviated fundamentally from what the founding fathers negotiated studiously and agreed. Even more grievous and particularly perturbing is the fact that dispassionate efforts to bring back that warmness and mutual tolerance which prevailed at the time of our fathers are not only been resisted but censured by some with vehemence.
If we must avoid what happened in 1966 and between 1967 and 1970, the spirit of give and take must return to our body politics. The feelings of other parts of the country must be understood  respected and taken into consideration and not regarded as irrelevant.

Agreed, that a strict return to 1960/63 Constitutions would be rather difficult. However, the calls for rigorous constitutional amendment or restructuring must be given needed attention and not dismissed as undeserving of consideration. After all, even the more advanced countries have gone through major constitutional reviews which include the United States – 27 amendments since 1787, France -24 amendments since 1958, India -104 amendments since 1950 and so on. This could happen in those countries due to the fact that their political elite have realized over the years, that State Building is not an end by itself but is a continuously refining process to accommodate all interest. The truth is that understanding the fears, pains and peculiarities of one another is a fundamental panacea for living together.
Once more, I thank you for inviting me to be part of this process and I hope, that we will learn from history and the pessimism, negativism and naysaying around us would be put behind us.

Thank you.

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Opinion

Tinubu, Beware Of Nyesom Wike

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By Richard Akinnola

Impetuous, garrulous, flippant, compulsively and deliriously narcissistic, that succinctly encapsulates the Nyesom Wike persona. A study of the political trajectory of the FCT Minister shows that he is only loyal to himself and nobody else, irrespective of his feigned allegiance. He may kowtow and genuflect before a political leader, as he is currently doing in Abuja but once he can no longer use you, he goes into a fit of incoherent vituperative verbal assault, denigrating his benefactors.

I watched his recent drama on Channels where he was reeling out his achievements as Governor, he said he built a Cancer Centre and named it after “one man”. He also built a Judicial institute and named it after “one woman”. (Pejoratively referring to Dr Peter Odili and his wife, Justice Mary Odili). His former political leader who he had praised to high heavens is now “one man”. How come his long time political associates suddenly turn enemies? -Rotimi Amaechi, Abiye Sekibo, Celestine Omehia, Austin Opara, Lee Meeba, and now, Dr Peter Odili, among others.

Almost everything that Wike had said in public have been repudiated by him. From the PDP primaries where he vowed to support whosoever emerged as candidate, to his vow not to be minister, to his scathing excoriation of the APC which he likened to a cancerous party, everything Wike supposedly stood for have been repudiated by his fickle mindedness.

Now, he is dancing around PBAT, like an urchin singing nursery rhyme, in his guttural and hoarse voice: “President Tinubu, on your mandate l shall stand”. President Tinubu, Wike is not standing on any mandate. He is standing on his opportunistic position as a minister. Remove him as minister and see if he would still be standing on your mandate. Tomorrow, before the cock crows at night, he would deny you if he is removed as minister and would start lamenting how he supposedly helped you but was used and discarded.

Here was a man who publicly said that Odili saved his political career as Chairman of Obio Akpor local government, leading to his rise in political ascendancy and he used every opportunity to praise and honour Odili and his wife. He followed this up with a public declaration where he was almost swearing thus: “I don’t know the day l would die but l know l would die one day but the truth must be told, any day that l would make Dr Odili and his family cry, may God allow me to go…I would never be alive to make you cry. I will never abandon you and your wife. Where would l have been but for you and your wife? Who am l? From where? My wife would not have been a Magistrate, talk less a Judge but for Mrs Odili. Nobody in this country can make me abandon you and your family. Never. …My wife and l are forever grateful to you for the roles you played in my life”.

This was shown live on CHANNELS. Today, what is Wike doing to the same Odili? Publicly dissing and ridiculing him on same CHANNELS just because Dr Odili refused to queue behind him to decapitate Governor Sim Fubara. As an elder statesman, Odili rather preferred to settle the differences between the duo, which Wike refused. That is Odili’s sin to attract Wike’s “Fatwa”.

He would do same thing to President Tinubu tomorrow if the president does not align with his interest. He doesn’t even understand the dynamics of larger politics to the fact that Odili and PBAT have a long-standing relationship being in the same class of 1999 Governors and that Odili doesn’t even have issues with PBAT. You cannot praise a man to high heavens for eight years in your fit of sycophancy, only to start publicly disrobing him just because he refused to be led by the nose in your ill-conceived political fight with your successor. What that means is that tomorrow, he’ll do same thing to president Tinubu if he doesn’t do his political bidding in Rivers state. That would amount to political self-immolation.

So, if everyone who has assisted you in your political ascendancy are bad, then, something definitely must be wrong with you.

Despite his accomplishments as Governor in terms of project execution which l acknowledge, there is no doubt, Wike has a serious character flaw that only him can cure. But trust me, despite his wealth and “power”, it’s a matter of time, this young man is on his way to political perdition. I pray he doesn’t end that way. Minister Wike, you are an achiever in terms of performance but l pray God grants you wisdom on how to navigate and relate with people who differ from you politically.

Richard Akinnola, a lawyer, activist and public affairs analyst writes from Lagos

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Opinion

Catalyst of Exploits (Pt. 1)

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By Tolulope A. Adegoke

“Look past the exterior, and see that there is so much more within. Then decide to unleash that potential to the fullest” – Lincoln Patz

I have no doubt that you have stepped into a greater realm of inspiration with the discovery of the potentials of the so-called zero. The next question therefore is, how can the possibilities embedded in a perceived nonentity become a reality? The answer, as you may have observed from the various examples that we considered in the previous chapter, is consciousness development. Or simply put, TRAINING.

Training has been rightly described as the process of acquiring the skills needed to succeed in a profession, vocation or venture. It is training or conscious development that turns trash into treasures, just as processing turns raw materials into finished products. Training is an indispensable requirement for bringing out the best in people. Even the most gifted people must go through some form of training to sharpen their innate abilities – how much more those who appear to be deficient!

The interesting truth here is that regardless of a person’s level of natural abilities – whether you consider it zero or zillion – training will always bring about a noticeable transformation in their lives. Take the case of Abraham as an example. Being an exceedingly great man, he had hundreds of servants who had been born in his house by his labourers and domestics. These might have been considered nobodies, having been born by lowly people. Yet, Abraham so trained them that they became valiant soldiers. And they were the ones who accompanied him to wage war against the captors of Lot and his household, and the expedition proved mightily successful (Genesis 14:14).

Two vital truths can be gleaned from the above. One is that you never can tell the true measure of a person’s potential until they have been thoroughly trained. This clearly tallies with our earlier assertion that everyone needs some form of training, whether formally or informally. The second vital truth is that everybody can indeed be trained to thrive.

From Vagabonds to Champions

Here is another proof that there is innate greatness in everyone that can be unlocked through training. 1 Samuel 22:1-3 says, “David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.”

The first thing to notice here is the deliberate reference to the profile and pedigree of these men who joined themselves to David. I believe that the purpose is to make us see that no one can be rightly written off as a failure or a never-do-well. As subsequent exploits of David would reveal, these average men who enrolled in the military academy of David were soon transformed into mighty men of valour.  2 Samuel 23:8-17 narrates the accomplishments of three of these men:

“These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.”

Isn’t this amazing! See what a bunch of men that people would have described as “frustrated failures” had become! What was the secret? Someone believed in them enough to train them, and they themselves were humble and disciplined enough to submit themselves to the training process. And the result was that they were transformed from being men of no repute, men of no value (more or less human trash, or simply zero) to history-makers!

Self-Application

So, what’s in all of this for you? What has all that we have discussed so far have to do with you? I’ll unravel it for you shortly. But, first, here is an insightful quote from Bishop David Oyedepo, “We go to school to acquire the literacy skills required to train ourselves most effectively in our fields of choice. Schooling is not the same thing as the real training! That is why there are many certificated, uneducated people! They have degrees but cannot deliver, because they are not trained to deliver!”

This is exactly what I wish to point out here. Everyone must take personal responsibility for being the best that they can be. Success is not an accidental occurrence. You cannot be wasting your precious time on irrelevances and expect to amount to much in life. You must wake up to the task of being positively responsible, deliberately reaching out and taking advantage of opportunities to enhance and deploy your skills.

As the example of the men who placed themselves under David’s tutelage shows, you are the one who must make up your mind not to settle for a worthless, defeated or frustrated life. Regardless of what people say or think of you, it is up to you to decide the direction you want your life to go!

As I earlier observed, training is not only meant for the ignorant or the inexperienced. It is an on-going activity that everyone must actively and constantly engage in, as long as we wish to stay afloat and be ahead. In other words, while schooling is periodic, training is for a lifetime!

The Place of Discipline and Diligence

Let’s face it: Training – whether formal or informal – is never an easy process. Even the Bible admits, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful…” (Hebrews 12:11). It is in the fallen nature of man to prefer the comfort of self-indulgence to the stress of self-enhancement. This is why many visions are aborted and many destinies are ruined. It is for this reason that discipline plays a crucial role in being a beneficiary of the power of training. It takes plenty of discipline to maintain a training lifestyle so as to emerge a relevant and dominant force in your generation!

It is possible to waste a whole lifetime if you do not understand the place of discipline and responsibility in achieving greatness in life. So, you must settle it in your mind from the outset that you are undoubtedly a Kingdom treasure that cannot afford to be comfortable with a substandard, mediocre or “trashy” life. The possibilities that God has wired into you must be empowered to find expression. You must therefore be ready to pay whatever price it requires. Let me quote Bishop Oyedepo again, “You belong to dignity, royalty, excellence and you have your excellence in Jesus Christ. Therefore, you have the mind of Christ. You have the creative, intellectual capability of the mind of Christ. You are not an ordinary person; you are a peculiar person in the order of existence!”

Closely attached to discipline is diligence. The two must function together to produce the expected result of excellence. Diligence simply means hard work. Interestingly, “hard work” is a term that many in this generation hate to hear. I often hear youths talk about “soft-work” almost everywhere now. They want the easy route to success. Of course, they may get what seems like success but because such is not built on the solid foundation of diligence, it often crumbles within a short time.

Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Proverbs 12:24 (NKJV) adds that: “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labour.” The revelation here is that it is diligence that establishes enthronement. There is no future for an idle man in the Kingdom. Christ Himself demonstrated this when He said: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).

Make no mistake about it – it is work that defines your worth! In other words, it is how much you work on yourself that will determine your ultimate worth. Work is a must for anybody who desires to take the lead. Even with the abundant favour and grace of God upon your life, you still must work because that is the God-ordained pathway to the top. In fact, the grace of God being upon you to guarantee success in all your ventures should spur you to attempt greater ventures than the average person. Paul the Apostle shares his own experience thus: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all…” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Every successful person (empowered zero) is a product of favour from the factory of labour. You can never take out of life more than what you have invested into it. Galatians 6:7 says it accurately, “Be not deceived…whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 explains it further, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

It is only hard workers who become great leaders (heroes)! There is nothing called “luck” in determining leadership or empowering a zero! The harder and smarter you work, the greater the level of your success. This is why someone ironically says, “I’m a great believer in luck and I found that the harder I work, the luckier I become.” So, dear friend, if you can concentrate more on empowering your zero, rather than wasting time lamenting, complaining, regretting, envying others, chatting on social media, listening to irrelevant talks or spending so much time watching the television, you will soon find your circumstances changing on their own. You will not even need to shake the Heavens before your blessings unfold!

Personal Experience

Permit me to use myself as a case study here. There was a time I sowed out my television in order to be on television. There was also a time that, for over a year, I did not subscribe to any cable channel, just to be able to meet up with the demand of delivering possibilities beyond the ordinary frequency. Here is Bishop Oyedepo again: “I have invested an average time of 16 hours a day from the time I stepped into ministry to date, no matter how odd the night may be, I still have my night to work. Seest thou a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings and not mere men…Our business that did not look like anything – it was trash when we came into ministry; it had no form of comeliness that anyone should look for it. It is what you invest or put into a trash that will bring forth its treasure! You need to show the world out there that you are on a mission (that is to take the lead in your field). But you cannot take the lead without doing the work to make it happen. So, go on and do the work!”

You can always change your level. It all depends on your level of investment. Just by re-aligning your mentality to believe that you do not belong to mediocrity brings you closer to excellence! Just by evaluating your activities and relationships and severing all unprofitable ties will give your life a sharper focus and clearer direction.

Note it again – hard workers fly higher! Nothing is a substitute for hard work. Be ready to go through the incubation process of becoming a hero. Subject yourself to the diligence and discipline that will transform you to a solution-provider to the people of your generation.

Sacrifice: The “Extra” in Extraordinary

Added to your discipline and diligence is the need for sacrifice, or going the extra mile. Essentially, it is not enough for you to be disciplined and diligent – you must also go the extra mile in doing these. Sacrifice is the scar (or scars) that we bear in the process of carrying our crosses towards getting our crowns.

There is no star without a scar! The scar of every star is sacrifice. It is nothing else! It is simply the ticket towards delivering possibilities. Sacrifice is going the extra mile, paying the extra price and taking the extra steps towards delivering your mandates! Your extraordinary inputs will precede your extraordinary impacts. You must go the extra mile in discipline and diligence – and then the star in you will emerge.

So powerful is sacrifice that it can turn a “dummy” into a genius. It can make a so-called misfit become a maestro. There have been cases of people who had great gifts and potentials but found themselves in fields that were different from what they were meant to do in life. Many of these have had to put themselves through the rigours of returning to their natural passions and getting trained to live out their dreams.

See, you cannot have your cake and eat it! You cannot make omelette without breaking eggs! Not even faith is a substitute for sacrifice. Vision is not a substitute for sacrifice! Sacrifice is a covenant requirement of every Kingdom star! Apostle Paul again says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians1:21). The apostle is simply saying, “I’d rather die than allow anyone despise my glory in Christ”. This is a classic portrayal of what sacrifice entailsBeing crucified with Jesus Christ is sacrifice!

Every star has a story of sacrifice to tell. It is a must for you to rouse yourself from slumber and invest your time in creating the future that you desire! Until you do what others do not do, you will still remain on the same spot as others! You must therefore wake up and tell yourself the bitter truth and design for yourself an enviable destiny. Never let a year end without preparing a schedule of accomplishments for the following year. This will show that you are really on a mission to deliver your world from its aches!

Jesus Christ, the most anointed Achiever, says in Luke12:49-50: “I am come to send fire on the earth…But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” That was someone who had a clear picture of His mission and what it would take to accomplish it.  Anyone who desires to have a “global impact” must pay a “global price”. Yes, you cannot accomplish that glorious dream of yours without understanding its true worth and paying the necessary price!

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Enhancing Food Security: Governor Umo Eno’s Worthy Interventions

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By Michael Effiong

 

Today, the biggest threat to the survival of mankind is food security. Indeed, the phenomenon has taken a global dimension and is not confined to the borders of any nation.

 

Growing hunger has been fueled by a toxic mix of climate change, insecurity and a global economic crisis that has exacerbated poverty and inequality, affecting the ability of many families and communities to cope.

 

In Nigeria, at least in the last few months, there is no topic that has been more discussed than that of the rising cost of food stuff and the hunger in the land.

 

As US President John F. Kennedy once said, “The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.” This is a war that must be fought with vigor and won.

 

On his visit to Niger State on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called on states to support the federal government’s effort in the area of agriculture and food security.

Interestingly, long before this call by Mr. President, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has already taken action.

 

How? Well, you can call him the modern day Nostradamus and will not be wrong. It was not that he was clairvoyant but we can adduce it to his power of vision because agriculture was one of his focus areas even before his overwhelming victory at the polls on March 18, 2023.

 

The then candidate Umo Eno had developed an economic blueprint for his campaign dubbed the ARISE Agenda. A of the A-R-I-S-E stands for Agricultural Revolution.

 

Having had this as part of his economic blueprint, it is no wonder that the Umo Eno administration had already hit the ground running and has been laying out plans, programmes and projects that are worthy of emulation in a bid to stem the tide of the current national crisis.

Perhaps what can be described as the most impactful and innovative intervention in the area of food sufficiency and sustainability in the country at the moment was signed into law on Thursday, March 14, 2023 as the Akwa Ibom State Bulk Purchase Agency which aims at ensuring that staple foods are available, accessible and affordable to the most vulnerable in the state.

 

Everyone knows that implementing this kind of programme can be herculean, but the government set up a committee with a well-laid out plan to ensure this works efficiently.

 

This programme, like others the Governor has initiated, would be devoid of any political coloration. Already, government has met with traders and market associations. Foodstuff agents will be selected and trained.  They would all sign an agreement with government and would be the ones to operate branded shops and redemption centres that will be located in selected markets and points across the 31 LGAs.

 

The Agency would use a voucher system akin to the Food Stamps now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the United States.

 

The Akwa Ibom equivalent when deployed, will operate in a similar fashion because it would be strictly for vulnerable indigenes who will exchange the monthly vouchers for staple food items.

 

The beneficiaries would get direct subsidies as they would pay well-discounted prices to the agents for the value of the food item on each voucher. The accredited agents would later present these vouchers to government for reconciliation and reimbursement.

 

Furthermore, the Governor’s 368 Personal Assistants in the wards are to help implement the programme at the grassroots while names of all agents and beneficiaries ( drawn from the state social register which had recently been updated) would be published.

 

It is expected that from this arrangement and involvement of many stakeholders, the Agency’s mandate would be delivered within a short period of time.

 

Knowing full well that the Agency’s work is a short term measure, Governor Eno is also thinking long term and has started preaching the “Back-To-Farm” message. His goal is to inspire Akwa Ibomites from all walks of life to see the benefits of farming.

 

In his words: “Please everybody, no matter how small your land is even if it is just behind or beside your house, sow something. We must return to the farm”

 

Let us cast our minds back to what used to be the norm back in the day. Our parents and grandparents used to have little farms around the house where green vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, okra, maize, yams, cassava e.t.c. were grown. Some even reared chickens and goats too.

Governor Umo Eno signing an MOU with Prof. Godfrey Nzamujo of Songhai Farms Initiatives Nigeria

 

Many may see this as a call to subsistence farming in today’s technologically-advanced world, but in truth, if we are able to grow a few of what we eat, it will not only reduce the hunger in the land in a matter of months, but it will free up funds for people to use for other things.

 

This initiative by the Governor for rural and urban dwellers to go back to the farm is already being practiced by other countries to boost their food supply. It is called urban farming.

 

Countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada and China are way ahead and have incorporated this into their urban planning and city regeneration projects.

 

A good example of the success of this initiative is the city of Rosario in Argentina. Rosario’s Urban Agriculture Programme (Programa de Agricultura Urbana, or PAU) started small, but now grows nearly 2,500 tons of food each year. What started as a means of feeding the population in the wake of an economy in tatters is now a cornerstone of the city’s food sustainability initiative. This shows that the Governor’s call is a much needed step in the right direction.

Also, the government has commenced Phase II of the AK Cares Programme. Beneficiaries across the 31 LGAs would get farm implements, seedlings, poultry birds or fish juveniles and adequate training.

The Ministry of Agriculture is also being galvanized to distribute improved seedlings and support agriculture cooperatives to help increase their productivity. And the Ibom FADAMA Microfinance Bank has been restructured in line with the present realities.

That is not all, the Governor who takes the welfare of the citizens seriously also signed the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Loans Law (Amendment) Bill, a private member bill sponsored by Hon. Mfon Idung. The law has increased the amount to be granted as loans to individual farmers, corporate entities and cooperative societies  and would enable them expand their operations, embrace modern farming techniques, boost productivity and ultimately, drive economic transformation.

 

It is worth mentioning also that Governor Eno’s people-centred intervention strategy also includes a rejuvenation of the rural communities through construction of rural roads and provision of key amenities. This idea is well captured in R (Rural Development) of the ARISE Agenda. The nexus between rural development and agriculture are as inseparable as a set of conjoined twins!

This school of thought concerning the importance of rural development as a way of boosting agriculture is also held by former Agriculture & Rural Development Minister and current President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina.

He expressed these sentiments most succinctly while delivering his acceptance speech on his conferment with the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership in Lagos recently.

According to him “Nigeria must completely transform its rural economies to ensure food security for all. A better Africa must start with the transformation of rural economies. That is because some 70% of the population live there. Rural poverty is extremely high. At the heart of transforming rural economies is agriculture, the main source of livelihoods.

“As a young student who attended high school in the village, I witnessed the high correlation of agricultural performance with education. “It was common then to hear the phrase “Agbe lo ba” . (farmers are kings), uttered with great pride

“The transformation of rural economies must therefore be structural, systemic, strategic and comprehensive. Doing so, means agriculture must be turned into a wealth creating sector. Sound public policies transform the lives of people”.

No one can dispute the need for sound policies as enunciated by Dr. Adeshina and this is reason as an ardent advocate of agribusiness and with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 in mind, the Governor’s earliest move in the agricultural sector on assumption of office was to sign an MOU with Songhai Farms for the development of Ibom Model Farms.

 

This long-term partnership is aimed at driving a technologically-driven agricultural revolution that will boost food production, tourism, youth development, knowledge transfer and job creation.

 

While construction has already begun at the first farm located in Nsit Ubium LGA (others will spring up when LGAs make land available), the Governor has shown his seriousness for this project by sponsoring some youths on training programmes in preparation for the Farm’s take off.

With all hands already on deck and machinery put in motion to operationalize the multi-layered approach initiated by the Gov. Umo Eno-led administration, the indigenes of Akwa Ibom State are soon going to heave a sigh of relief. Not only would the issue of high cost of foodstuff be history but food sufficiency would become the new normal in the state.

 

 

.Effiong, a journalist, is Senior Special Assistant (Lagos Liaison) to Governor Umo Eno

 

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