DEFENCE SECTOR SPENDING: HAVE WE COME FULL CIRCLE?
by Ayo Olukotun
Even without reading the travel advisory issued earlier this week by the United Kingdom concerning a deteriorating security environment in Nigeria, those who live in this country know that keen personal and group sensitivity to danger, lurking just beneath the surface of the ordinary, is a fundamental aspect of the curriculum for survival. Not novel really for a country rated, for many years now, as one of the most insecure on earth, it is just that in 2018, matters became nastier, and the statistics of woe and destruction, more gripping. Regarding the protracted war against the Boko Haram terrorists, for example, the facile narrative of having 'technically' degraded the challengers was ripped apart in the wake of sensational advances and victories by the insurgents, symbolized notably by the November 18 attack on the Metele military redoubt, in which over 100 Nigerian soldiers were killed.
Following these setbacks, national conversation has zeroed in spiritedly on the defence budget and the possibility, following repeated testimonies from Nigerian soldiers published in the media, that funds meant to procure arms are either being diverted, stolen, or inefficiently administered. In the last one week for example, both The Punch on Saturday, and The Guardian on Sunday alluded, in separate reports, to the use of obsolete equipment by our soldiers, sabotage, as well as the frightening incidence of our boys lobbying against being posted to the North-East as Boko Haram attacks intensified. The Punch on Saturday (22 December 2018), did a detailed analysis of budgetary allocation to defence, specifically to prosecute the war against Boko Haram, coming up with a figure of N1.8 trillion in the period between 2015 and this year. Presumably, the hefty amount does not include the 1 billion dollars allocated for the same purpose under a special arrangement. Let me provide a backcloth for the ongoing debate over what some have called 'defence corruption' by evoking Dasukigate, which in popular parlance refers to the widespread diversion, in the neighbourhood of 2 billion dollars of monies allocated for fighting the insurgency in the twilight of the Jonathan administration. The story, let us be reminded, is that the administration callously sentenced poorly equipped soldiers fighting with antediluvian equipment, to predictable deaths in the hands of the formidably better equipped insurgents. At that time, there were reports of mutinies by soldiers who refused to walk into early graves. Indeed, the Buhari government built a pillar around this issue by making it major focus of its anti-corruption strategy.
In the last couple of weeks, as this columnist has monitored the conversation, it is tempting to ask whether the nation has come full circle with respect to the misuse and alleged misappropriation of anti-insurgency funds. For example, Musa Rafsanjani, head of Transparency International in Nigeria, lamented that, 'despite the huge budgetary allocations, and other funds to fight insurgency in the North-East, all were not yielding the desired results because of defence corruption.' In an earlier year, when the rhetoric of having vanquished the insurgency held sway, President Muhammadu Buhari claimed that he had achieved success in the war through the supply of better weaponry, logistics, training, as well as minding the welfare of soldiers fighting on the front lines. The jury, in the wake of recent events, is very much out on these claims. For instance, one of those interviewed by The Guardian on Sunday alleges that, 'our soldiers are not well equipped, we use old and obsolete military equipment... while Boko Haram insurgents have new and sophisticated versions of what we have' (The Guardian on Sunday, December 23, 2018). How do we explain the current anomalies in which the pitfalls and debilities, even reprobate conduct which are the supposed justifications for a corrective regime and a much touted anti-corruption policy, would appear to have resurfaced, to haunt the nation with a vengeance? Another way of putting the question is to ask what exactly has changed in the intervening nearly four years between the end of the Jonathan administration and now? This is not to say, as its critics are doing, that the Buhari administration has made no advances whatsoever, but to lament that it has badly eroded its own credibility by not paying sufficient attention to loopholes and leaking pots in defence spending, an issue which it made a signature tune, a definitive logo of its putative reformist intervention. It is hard to say whether this omission and commission are a consequence of the power of the Nigerian system, however we define it, which Buhari held responsible a few days ago, for his tardiness in getting changes made. What is clear however, is that what Rafsanjani called 'defence corruption' has robbed the nation of over 15 billion dollars in the last decade and a half. This phenomenon, it is well known, occurs through the gross mark-up of arms procurement contracts, the award of phantom defence contracts, as well as rackets calculated to divert funds meant to shore up defence capability.
It has been suggested that one of the reasons why the war has recently escalated is because our military is trying to block the main channels of supply of the insurgents, which they ferociously resist to keep those vital arteries open. We may not be able to verify the validity of this claim, but if true, it would suggest that we did not prepare adequately for that level of attack and retaliation. A war must first be won internally before it can be carried off successfully against external forces. Sabotage and the infiltration of our camps by insurgents and their agents are as old as the 15-year old military campaign, and perhaps, as old as the first war that mankind ever fought. So, we will not attach particular importance to this, except to say that it is our responsibility to tighten up the loose ends and the porous borders of our military formations. It may also be necessary to consider whether the alleged welfare downgrade of the rank and file is a possible reason, though not a justification, for the increased infiltration of our ranks. More importantly however, is the need for government to clean up its own acts in this area, so that its claims of having purified a rotten system does not look like a sour jest. This point has general application, in view of an oft talked about tendency for government to turn a blind eye to staggering cases of corruption in its own ranks, while employing magnifying glasses, to deodourize the opposition. This is related to the refusal, for instance, to change the service chiefs, despite persistent demands by civil society for it to so do.
Several spokespersons and groups are calling for a probe of defence expenditure, but that is perhaps too late in the day, nonetheless, it can conduct internal investigations and come up with findings which will constitute valid responses to the enveloping mess. Even Jonathan took advantage of a downturn in the war fortunes to overhaul top military personnel. This administration, for its own credibility, and its place in history, cannot afford to ignore the strident calls for transparency in defence spending and an upgrade of our military capability.
Finally, we wish our readers, in spite of all, a Happy New Year just around the corner!
- Prof. Ayo Olukotun is the Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Adetona Chair of Governance, Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.
On Thu, 27 Dec 2018 at 14:11, Richard A Joseph<r-joseph@northwestern.edu> wrote:I agree with Banji, Ayo, Femi, Toyin, Biodun and many others. "We must learn from our successes and failures'", Kwadwo Afari-Gyan declared on the 40th anniversary of Ghana's independence in March 1997.
There are reams of commentaries and analyses, and experiments from community to country levels, to be distilled. And we have the intellectual and scholarly resources to meet this challenge.
In Africa and the Caribbean, over a similar time-span, similar dreams were expressed, political agency acquired, but the requisite institutions, practices, and cultures were not nurtured. Quite the opposite.
The rule of law is important for achieving sustainable development, but it is not a prerequisite in a matured form. It can be fostered and strengthened alongside the reconstruction in other realms.
We return to praxis. The sentiments expressed in these comments are widely shared across several generations. Building knowledge and designing solutions can and must proceed interactively.
I will share details of one set of efforts to be pursued in 2019 and beyond.
Best wishes for the New Year,
RichardI see a big appetite to action. I agree. The people stealing us blind don't read what we write. They in all probability laugh us to scorn. I agree with the collective wisdom emerging here which I have had the opportunity to discuss with Ayo once in a while. As a colleague suggests here let us "own the struggle" against corruption and bad governance.
Let us in this new year take ACTION in form of mobilization of the citizenry to town hall meetings, data sharing, pamphleteering, demonstrations that involve all strata of society. No matter how imperfect the institutions fighting corruption are, let us support and reinforce them.May we live to see the Nigeria of our dream.
Banji Oyeyinka.
Sent from my iPadtoyin
consider whether the person bringing charges of corruption might be making false charges. it isn't enough to call for a purge of corruption without decent legal protections.
furthermore, even trump calls attacks against him a witch-hunt. well, there are such things of witch hunts. the attacks against so-called witches in zambia, as well as attacks on albinos...or attacks on muslims or christians, here and there, are clothed in the language of purification. consider mao's Cultural Revolution, the attacks on people often motivated by horrible personal reasons. in mao's case the presumed bourgeois tendencies were to be wiped out.
the desire to clean-up society, from the early jihads in west africa, and in nigeria, could be seen as part of that same attack on corruption--in the eyes of the jihadists.
what to do? mobilize, perhaps, but with built-in protections against lynching parades. not so easy to do without a civil society where mechanisms of justice are in place and protected from the abuse of power.
not impossible. i am thinking about the trial of diane rwigara in rwanda, which recently resulted in her being found innocent--the first i can think of where kagame's power did not pervert justice. a start? we'll see after the prosecutor's appeal is finished.
ken
kenneth harrow
professor emeritus
dept of english
michigan state university
517 803-8839
From: 'Oluwatoyin Ade-Odutola' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2018 11:55:36 AM
To: okinbalaunko@yahoo.com; hassansaliu2003@gmail.com; Richard Joseph; dare oyetunde; ayo_olukotun-yahoo. com; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Cc: Prof Eghosa E. OSAGHAE; Willy Fawole; Grace Omoshaba; eyitayolambo@yahoo.com; Orogun Olanike; IbrahimGambari; Innocent Chukwuma; Paul Nwulu; Prof Akin Mabogunje; Prof Bayo Adekanye; Innocent Chukwuma; Tunde_babawale-yahoo. Com; Jide Owoeye; Mr Felix Adenaike; Wale Adebanwi; Ayobami Salami; Adebayo Olukoshi; Niyi Akinnaso; Oluwaniyi Osundare; Kayode Soremekun; Rotimi Suberu; Olatunji Ayanlaja; Ebunoluwa Oduwole; Tunji Olaopa; Ashafa Abdullahi; Mohammed Haruna; Bolaji Akinyemi; Anthony Asiwaju; Odia Ofeimun; Ganiyu Go; Omatsola Edema; Ashobanjo; Yemi Ogunbiyi; Christina Olaoluwa; Banji Oyeyinka; Toks X.; David Atte; Prof. Tonia Simbine; Femi Otubanjo; Taiwo Asaolu; Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina; Attahiru Jega; Oye Ibidapo-Obe; Hafsat Abiola; Taiwo Owoeye; F&C Securities Limited; Prof. W.O. Alli; Yomi LAYIINKA; Idowu Olayinka; Cyril Obi; Abimbola Asojo; Tade Aina; Adetoun Adetona; Ariyo Andrew Tobi; Friday Okonofua; Tunde Rahman; Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju; Dele Ashiru; Akinjide Osuntokun; Bunmi Makinwa; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Bolaji Ogunseye; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Femi Babatunde; Prof Osinbajo; Bankole Omotoso; Prof. Segun Awonusi; Abigail Ogwezzy; Adebayo; asoiaelkenany2007@yahoo.com; May; Olufunke Adeboye; Toks Olaoluwa; Tope Olaiya; Tale Omole; Assisi Asobie; Obadiah Mailafia; Remi Anifowose; Jadesany; OLAYODE OLUSOLA; Toyosi Ogunseye; Stella Olukotun; Solomon Uwaifo; Royal Gardens; Michael Vickers; Ayo Banjo; Yewande Omotoso; Adigun Agbaje; Esther Oluwaseun Idowu; Remi Sonaiya; Noel Ihebuzor; Tunde Oseni; Peter Ozo-Eson; Emmanuel Remi Aiyede
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Prof Olukotun's Column ( Please give Professor Biodun Jeyifo's solution a try
If you are as frustrated at the rate of corruption on the continent as I am can we all take a look at these words and share with our friends.
Do you think what he professor Jeyifo says is possible?
Please do something and let us all wake up to own this fight against corruption
Professor Biodun Jeyifo points out that, 'For at least two decades now, we, the columnists, have been railing ceaselessly against corruption…It is time for us to come to the realization that the war against corruption will not be won in the pages of newspapers and magazines' (date of publication 6/3/16) He advocates instead drawing on the collective memory of elders for previous forms of agitation, and eventually makes his own suggestion of how to mobilize the masses in the places where they are to be found, proposing that those lawyers willing to pursue corruption in the courts mount 'a series of well publicized public forums or "town hall" discussions with diverse segments of the Nigerian society: workers on the shop or factory floor; university students in their dining halls or soccer stadiums; congregations of faith communities of Moslems and Christians in their places of worship; market women and male and female petty traders in the capacious spaces of our volatile open-air markets; even primary school pupils in their playing grounds.' (6/3/16) -Jane Bryce
--On Wednesday, December 26, 2018, 9:02:45 AM EST, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
--Great ones, left, right and center:
This is the third of Prof. Olukotun's column in 2018 that has generated many responses. I have asked him to put many of the essays together in one or two volumes so that an important document on the era can be on the table.
He actually does what Prof. Osofisan has mentioned, so he may be off the hook on this.
When we shift narrative politics to the communities---families, where we all live, religious organizations, clubs—we see all the positive elements on display—celebrations and affections, etc. These communities must be empowered, to reorganize themselves to what produced Christ School, Molusi College, etc. Thus, my first suggestion is always community empowerment. Here, I am not reviving Ekeh's "two public" argument, but the organic.
Second, and I have met with serious disagreement on this—remoralizing those communities with indigenous cultural ethics. There is no space here for me to elaborate upon this, but its advantages are so many in terms of the survival of languages, literature, behavior, civic responsibilities. I hate to interject myself as an example here—by the age of 15, my cultural resources were so many that I could sing, act, write short plays, fight on the streets, make jokes without end, etc. Pentecostalism has taken over this "remoralization" but it brings out more of capitalist ethos than the cultural ones.
The third is how to recapitalize the poor, reconnecting them back to agro-business, rural places. Here is the center of hope, of imaginations, of motherhood and fatherhood, of the connections between small resources and big dreams.
I call all of you the Ayo Olukotun family. Happy holidays to Professor Olukotun, our progenitor, and to all of his fictional family members. I wish you all the gifts of the season:
the peace that makes us all live together;
the joy that the world gives to you and I; and
the hope that forms the core of our destinies.
As we look forward to 2019, may bad health not damage our good fortunes. May God show us mercy, and always overlook both our sins and faults. And as God dismisses our faults and sins, may we, as humans, also dismiss the sins and faults of fellow humans.
Stay well.
TF
Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
104 Inner Campus Drive
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222 (fax)
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
From: Femi_Osofisan Osofisan <okinbalaunko@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: Femi_Osofisan Osofisan <okinbalaunko@yahoo.com>
Date: Wednesday, December 26, 2018 at 2:11 AM
To: "hassansaliu2003@gmail.com" <hassansaliu2003@gmail.com>, Richard Joseph <r-joseph@northwestern.edu>, dare oyetunde <talk2oyetunde@gmail.com>
Cc: "Prof Eghosa E. OSAGHAE" <osaghaeeghosa@yahoo.co.uk>, Willy Fawole <fawolew@yahoo.com>, Grace Omoshaba <gmso2002@yahoo.com>, "eyitayolambo@yahoo.com" <eyitayolambo@yahoo.com>, "ayo_olukotun-yahoo.com" <ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com>, Orogun Olanike <dam_nik@yahoo.com>, IbrahimGambari <ibrahim.gambari@gmail.com>, Innocent Chukwuma <i.chukwuma@fordfoundation.org>, Paul Nwulu <p.nwulu@fordfoundation.org>, Prof Akin Mabogunje <akinmabo@gmail.com>, Prof Bayo Adekanye <profbayo_adekanye@yahoo.com>, Innocent Chukwuma <innocent.chukwuma@fordfoundation.org>, "tunde_babawale-yahoo.com" <tunde_babawale@yahoo.com>, Jide Owoeye <babsowoeye@gmail.com>, Mr Felix Adenaike <felixadenaike@yahoo.com>, Wale Adebanwi <waleadebanwi@gmail.com>, Ayobami Salami <ayobasalami@yahoo.com>, Adebayo Olukoshi <olukoshi@gmail.com>, Niyi Akinnaso <niyi.tlc@gmail.com>, Oluwaniyi Osundare <oosunda1@uno.edu>, Kayode Soremekun <paddykay2002@yahoo.com>, Rotimi Suberu <rotimisuberu@yahoo.com>, Olatunji Ayanlaja <t.ayanlaja@gmail.com>, Ebunoluwa Oduwole <ebunoduwole2k2@yahoo.com>, dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>, Tunji Olaopa <tolaopa2003@gmail.com>, Ashafa Abdullahi <abashafa@gmail.com>, Mohammed Haruna <ndajika01@gmail.com>, Bolaji Akinyemi <rotaben@gmail.com>, Anthony Asiwaju <tonyasiwaju@gmail.com>, Odia Ofeimun <odia55@yahoo.com>, Ganiyu Go <dr_golat@yahoo.com>, Omatsola Edema <charlieedema@yahoo.co.uk>, Ashobanjo <ashobanjo@aol.com>, Yemi Ogunbiyi <yemiogunbiyi@gmail.com>, Christina Olaoluwa <tinabola@yahoo.com>, Banji Oyeyinka <boyeyinka@hotmail.com>, "Toks X." <toksx@yahoo.com>, David Atte <david_atte@yahoo.com>, "Prof. Tonia Simbine" <tsombe98@yahoo.com>, Femi Otubanjo <femiotubanjo@gmail.com>, Taiwo Asaolu <twasaolu@yahoo.co.uk>, "Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina" <adesina1234@gmail.com>, Attahiru Jega <attahirujega@yahoo.com>, Oye Ibidapo-Obe <oibidapoobe@gmail.com>, Hafsat Abiola <hafsatabiola@hotmail.com>, Taiwo Owoeye <sistertees@hotmail.com>, F&C Securities Limited <fc@hyperia.com>, "Prof. W.O. Alli" <alliwo@yahoo.co.uk>, Yomi LAYIINKA <yourme5@yahoo.co.uk>, Idowu Olayinka <aiolayinka@yahoo.com>, Cyril Obi <cyrilobi@hotmail.com>, Abimbola Asojo <aasojo@umn.edu>, Tade Aina <tadeakinaina@yahoo.com>, Adetoun Adetona <adetounadetona@googlemail.com>, Ariyo Andrew Tobi <tobaaan@yahoo.co.uk>, Friday Okonofua <feokonofua@yahoo.co.uk>, Tunde Rahman <tunderahmanu@yahoo.com>, Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju <aswaj2003@yahoo.com>, dele Ashiru <ashirudele@yahoo.co.uk>, Akinjide Osuntokun <josuntokun@yahoo.com>, Bunmi Makinwa <bunmimakinwa@hotmail.com>, Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso <jumoyin@yahoo.co.uk>, Bolaji Ogunseye <erinje@yahoo.com>, Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso <jumoyin@gmail.com>, Femi Babatunde <ofemibabatunde@yahoo.com>, Prof Osinbajo <yemiosinbajo@yahoo.com>, Bankole Omotoso <bankole.omotoso@gmail.com>, "Prof. Segun Awonusi" <segunawo@yahoo.com>, Abigail Ogwezzy <abigaily2k@yahoo.com>, Adebayo <adebayow@hotmail.com>, "asoiaelkenany2007@yahoo.com" <asoiaelkenany2007@yahoo.com>, May <mayortk@yahoo.com>, adeboye Adeboye <funks29adeboye@yahoo.co.uk>, Toks Olaoluwa <olaoluwatokunboh@gmail.com>, Tope Olaiya <estyyolly@yahoo.com>, Tale Omole <taleomole@yahoo.com>, Assisi Asobie <assisiasobie@gmail.com>, Obadiah Mailafia <obmailafia@gmail.com>, Remi Anifowose <francoremy@yahoo.com>, Jadesany <jadesany@yahoo.co.uk>, OLAYODE OLUSOLA <kennyode@yahoo.com>, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>, Toyosi Ogunseye <toyosi_ogunseye@yahoo.com>, Stella Olukotun <stelbeyke@yahoo.com>, Solomon Uwaifo <so_uwaifo@yahoo.co.uk>, Royal Gardens <royalgardensnet@gmail.com>, Vickers Vickers <mvickers@mvickers.plus.com>, Ayo Banjo <profayobanjo@yahoo.com>, Yewande Omotoso <yomotoso@gmail.com>, Adigun Agbaje <adigunagbaje@yahoo.com>, Esther Oluwaseun Idowu <bethelidowu@gmail.com>, Remi Sonaiya <remisonaiya@yahoo.com>, Noel Ihebuzor <noel.ihebuzor@gmail.com>, Tunde Oseni <tundeoseni@gmail.com>, Peter Ozo-Eson <ozoesonpi@yahoo.com>, Emmanuel Remi Aiyede <eaiyede@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Prof Olukotun's Column
Sometimes I wonder: is the solution perhaps to just concentrate on building up some centres of excellence- you know, a few model schools, hospitals that work, etc.- rather than spreading ourselves out fruitlessly to correct everything? Or, secondly, don't we have some of these already - I mean, dedicated leaders, exemplary workers, commited teachers, truly outstanding figures among us - whose contributions we rarely celebrate, but choose instead to whip ourselves endlessly with our failures? How can we inspire our citizenry to needful action, to resistance, to hope in struggle, if all we offer repeatedly are these narratives of failure and corruption and despair? Is something missing tragically in the vision we offer to our people, these baleful lessons we present to our readers and our children? Aren't we, inadvertently and carelessly, promoting an image of bleak fatality, of inevitable dystopia, that ironically vitiates our ambitions for change? Why do we so customarily ignore or obscure the heroic moments? Why is negativity so salaciously pervasive? I wonder, I wonder...
May the season bring joy to all of us.FO.
On Tue, 25 Dec 2018 at 21:17, Hassan Saliu
<hassansaliu2003@gmail.com> wrote:
My stake on the piece and others before it is that our country has been unfortunate with its governance system to the extent that the most basic issues such as rendering of efficient services and catering for the welfare of citizens generally are not being experienced. This may have to do with what an author has called unwisdom in governance. Or what else can be responsible for the high level of insensitivity that our governance environment has repeatedly displayed over time? I consider the electoral process that has produced unmerited electoral victories and docility of the citizens as causative factors. On the pathways, we need to get more involved in the political process by throwing up issues that border on accoutability that our political elite may not be too comfortable with. There is too much irresponsibility around the corridors of power that we need to pay attention to. This has inevitably been breeding the regime of cabals that is causing motion without movement in the land.
On Dec 25, 2018 18:02, "Richard A Joseph" <r-joseph@northwestern.edu> wrote:
Dear Noel:
What you say about the health sector applies to other basic services, as Prof Olukotun has emphasized repeatedly.
How to advance?
I'm in Canada for the holidays. As usual, I marvel and enjoy facilities and services that work. We've talked and theorized about "governance decay" under different rubrics. Collaboratively, we can identify sustainable pathways from the predicament.
Best wishes to All for 2019.
Richard
On Dec 25, 2018, at 10:07 AM, Noel Ihebuzor <noel.ihebuzor@gmail.com> wrote:Ayo,
I kept nursing the hope that I would come to a section of your write up where you would propose solutions and list some possible steps to arrest the decay that gave rise to the sad picture and tragedy you painted with such poignancy. I read to the end and did not see any such section.
What can account for such an omission? I guess that one reason must be because your writeup focused too much on shocking the reader and less on analyzing the factors that produced and produce the decay.
In situations of stark and startling failures in basic services delivery, descriptions of incidents unaccompanied by any causality analysis can produce very limited results. Solutions, no matter, hazy, need to be proffered. and to reach forward even to begin the first sketches of such a solution, we need to do some causality analysis guided at least by the two questions below -
What accounts for the comatose condition of our health delivery system? What are the immediate, structural and underlying causes of this perfection in dysfunction?
Answers to these questions that a sensitive and evidence-based causality analysis of the rot of our health system can throw up will certainly help us go beyond describing and pointing fingers to pointing out possible solutions!
We are all stakeholders and also, and sadly, unwitting victims of this decay. The honorable minister for health may not have all the solutions to the myriad of problems in this field. If he did, do you think he would turn a blind eye to the frequent exercises in health tourism by his principal and his associates? an be provided? Would he not deployed all his professional energy to make such trip unnecessary by working to set up centres in Nigeria where such services The problem must be beyond him....he may thus need help, and your write up stinted him of suggestions on how to deliver health results on the basis of sound problem analysis and strategic health sector reform/health systems strengthening. .
A very happy Xmas to you and all.
Noel
On Thu, 20 Dec 2018 at 4:58 PM, Ayo Olukotun <ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Wed, 19 Dec 2018 at 15:26, Ayo Olukotun
<ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com> wrote:
OLANIYI ASHIMI. THE FATAL COST OF GOVERNANCE DECAY.
"After payment for Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta ambulance, I was told that the ambulance that had fuel had no oxygen, and the one that had oxygen had no fuel. I paid for extra oxygen, yet my brother died of lack of oxygen". Ajoke Ashimi, sister of Olaniyi Ashimi, final year undergraduate who died recently of health service decay. The Punch, Sunday, December 16, 2018.
This columnist's heart goes out this day to the Ashimis, who lost a family member, Niyi, a final year student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in circumstances that reek of astonishing shortage of essential services, gaping incompetence and crass disorder. The decay of governance, let us note, is not an idle academic concept or a writer's indulgent construction; no, it is the reason for the untimely death of an increasing toll of Nigerians, high and low, including, as announced earlier this week, a former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, who was murdered by yet unidentified gunmen. My focus, illustratively, in this piece, is on the hapless Niyi Ashimi, who in all probability would have survived an accident he and other students of his university sustained, had he received timely and reasonably efficient medical attention at two of the nation's apex medical institutions, namely, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta and the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Before giving snap shots of the alarming medical decay, that resulted in the death of Niyi, some of which is anticipated in the opening paragraph, it is interesting to note that almost a week after the Punch published the story, there has been no statement from medical authorities, as far as I am aware, on this tragic and heart rending loss of life.
In another clime, the top officials of the institutions concerned, or the Minister of Health would have been stirred enough to call for an investigation. Here, characteristically, there is no such luck. One of the most outrageous pieces of information supplied by both Niyi's sister and his friends, concerned the initial, so called treatment that he received, when he was rushed to the FMC with a broken leg. Niyi's friends, told Punch reporter, Tope Omogbolagun that "When he and others were rushed to the FMC, there was no test or observation conducted on them, the medical personnel on the ground just treated them without x-tray, medical evaluation and the rest, they only treated their injury". This, hard- to-believe perfunctory service was the beginning of Niyi's travail, who was writhing in pain from internal bleeding. It was not until nearly 48hours later, that it became clear that the late undergraduate had been bleeding internally.
That is not all, when the decision was made to transfer Niyi to the UCH, Ibadan, they could not find an ambulance that both had fuel and oxygen. The oxygen in the vehicle that had fuel was not enough to last the one-hour journey from Abeokuta to Ibadan, so an emergency condition made worse by initial negligence and incompetence, was further complicated by the shortage of essential items.
By the time the ambulance ambled its away to UCH, the oxygen had been exhausted and the patient's condition had sharply deteriorated. Matters became worse when reportedly, the authorities of UCH, failed to attend to the patient in good time, but rather dissipated, by seeking to verify the authenticity of the referral letter. In essence, too much precious time, was lost in the search for basic items and in waiting to get attention at one of the hospitals. It is interesting to mention that the late undergraduate, along with 12 other students, were not on a frolic, but were returning from an academic conference held in Ibadan, when the accident which needlessly claimed Niyi's life occurred.
The point however, is that too many Nigerians, have had their lives rudely terminated because of all too familiar stories of medical negligence and decay. Last year, to give an example, the family of Sandra David, sued the Nigerian government and the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, concerning the death of the 29 year old woman, because of a ghastly mismanagement of the deceased's health condition. Earlier this year, an online journal, reported how several Nigerian have lost lives, body parts and loved ones, because of medical negligence. The problem is that those who are supposed to make comments or take action on these rising cases, usually keep mum whenever this depressing tragic stories hit the headlines.
Our politicians, when they reach the campaign ground, credit themselves and their administration with bogus achievements and fictional progress reports which have no bearing whatsoever on the daily woes of Nigerian citizens. If it does not shock the Federal Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, or President Muhammadu Buhari, that one of our Federal Medical Centres is in dire short supply of fuel and oxygen, leading to the death of Nigerians, whose lives could have been saved, then I don't know what can shock them. If governance is not about the distribution of resources and crafting of policies, to save and improve lives, then what is it? It is possible to see Niyi's death as a personal and family tragedy, but every one ought to know, that what is on our hands is a confounding national tragedy, in which our hospitals, even the best of them, are becoming little more than undertakers in which innocent Nigerians are despatched to their graves before their time.
Equally galling, is that, when the hard facts of this unfolding tragedy are published, our politicians pretend that those sobering facts, amount to nothing. This may be because they have enough resources to escape the medical bedlam at home, by jetting abroad now and then for treatment, or because they don't "give a damn" about the fact that too many Nigerians are dying from governance decay. Who knows which Nigerian will be the next victim of the ubiquitous medical dishevelment that one finds in our medical centres and hospitals. Niyi is gone but it is for a humanity stranded by the indifference, incompetence and gimmickry of its leaders that the bell tolls.
Unfortunately, it is doubtful, whether the forthcoming elections, will be about the issues that really count. Political rhetoric has found a way of evading or avoiding major governance issues that relate to those factors that make life longer, more liveable and more enjoyed. These include health, education, decent employment, housing and social infrastructure. The current disconnect between the political class and the people, will only be closed as they bring these issues into the front burner. If they refuse to do so, the people should organise themselves within and without elections to bring these neglected issues to the attention of those who claim to govern us. To the extent that the forthcoming elections will decide some issues of governance, it is important to take them seriously, so that we do not complain after the harm would have been done.
Even after the elections are over, civil society should ensure that we do not fall to the fate once predicted for docile citizens by an European philosopher that "In between elections, the British people are slaves".
Professor Olukotun is the Oba(Dr) Sikiru Adetona Professorial Chair of Governance, Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye.
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