2014: A pot-pourri

YEMI OLAKITAN 

2014 remains an eventful year in the history of Nigeria. It is a year that will definitely go down in the annals of Nigerian history as a mixed bag of the gory and the glorious. Senior Correspondent, Yemi Olakitan, chronicles the major issues that made the year one of historical importance in the lives of Nigerians.

 

Obasamjo

It is in 2014 that Nigeria celebrated her centenary anniversary – 100 years – since the amalgamation of the North and South Protectorates in 1914 by the colonial masters who acted through the territories’ Governor-General, Sir Frederick Lugard, whose wife, Flora Shaw Lugard coined the name Nigeria.

One hundred years after, a lot has happened in the life of the country called Nigeria. In 2014, which is 100 years after, landmark developments, positively and negatively, have taken place. In this year, for instance, Nigeria secured a permanent seat at the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

In politics, the All Progressives Congress (APC) joined other political parties, namely, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Until then, there were fears in some circles that Nigeria was fast becoming a a one party state since it was the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that had continued to dominate the political scene at the centre. The country’s democracy took a new shape with two dominant political parties, APC and PDP, operating in the fields of governance. The success of APC led to defections and alliances. It was a year of deals, decisions and political manoeuvrings, ahead of the 2015 general elections. The highlights of the year include parties’ national convention, primaries, defections, endorsements and election protests.

The year is also the most dreadful, with the Islamic Jihadist and terrorist group, Boko Haram, proclaiming that Western education is a sin and must be eradicated. This dreaded sect swore to kill and destroy the country and her people unless an Islamic caliphate was established in the North-eastern part of the country. The Mohammed Yusuf-founded sect has been terrorising the citizens since 2008, but the year will be on record as one in which it became infamous. Since 2010, Boko Haram has targeted schools, killing hundreds of students. The group has insisted that the attacks will continue as long as the government continued to interfere with traditional Islamic education. Insurgent attacks intensified in the year. The sect has been blamed for nearly 4,000 deaths. On the night of 14–15 April this year, the terrorists attacked the Government’s Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Bornu State. They broke into the school, pretending to be guards. The students were taken away in trucks into the Konduga area of the Sambisa Forest where they have fortified camps. Houses in Chibok were burnt down in the incident. The school had been closed for four weeks prior to the attack owing to the deteriorating security situation, but students from many schools had been called in to take final exams in Physics. The children aged between 16 and18 years were in their final year at school. On May 5, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video claiming responsibility for the kidnappings. He claimed that “Allah instructed me to sell them…I will carry out his instructions.” and “Slavery is allowed in my religion, and I shall capture people and make them slaves.” He said the girls should not have been in school and instead should have been married since girls as young as nine are suitable for marriage in Islam.

in 2014, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign brought the country into international spotlight, not for winning the World Cup or the Olympics but for the widespread protests which the campaign inspired all over the world through the social media. Major world leaders and celebrities such as the First Lady of the United States, Mitchell Obama, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and many others lent their voices to the crusade for the release of the Chibok girls. The ‘Bring Back our girls’ campaign took the world by storm. The world was angered by the sheer number of the young girls that was abducted by the terrorists and the inability of the Nigerian government to prevent the incidence or secure the release of the girls. Vigils and protests were held around the world to mark 100 days of the kidnapping. Participating countries included Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Togo, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Portugal and protests continued to this day.

Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili a co-founder of Transparency International was instrumental to the start of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media, which trended internationally. She had, on April 23, at the opening ceremony for a UNESCO event urged Nigerians to not just ‘tweet’ but participate in efforts to “bring back our girls”. Protests were held in major Western cities including Los Angeles and London on May 3 and 4, At the same time, the  tag#BringBackOurGirls trended globally on Twitter without ceasing as the story continued to spread and by May 11 it had attracted 2.3 million tweets. However, the Chibok girls are still not found despite the international hullabaloo.

The suspension of the Central Bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, was a prominent headline of 2014. It was in that year that he became the Emir of Kano, Although Sanusi’s exit as the CBN governor was anticipated, as he was due to leave office in June 2014; the unexpected suspension of Sanusi by President Jonathan took most Nigerians by surprise. The Presidency said Sanusi was suspended over “various acts of financial recklessness and gross misconduct.”

According to reports, Mallam Sanusi, had a run-in with President Jonathan when he alleged that huge funds were missing at the beginning of the year. He said the $67bn worth of crude shipped by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between January 2012 and July 2013, was not recorded by the CBN, which only got $47bn, leaving $20bn unaccounted for.

He also revealed that between the same period, the NNPC failed to remit a $49.8bn of oil proceeds to the federation account. After verbal outbursts which generated controversies among industry operators and financial experts, Sanusi appeared before the legislature and quoted another figure. The Presidency moved in and imposed an indefinite suspension on him, leading to uproar. He was soon named the 14th Emir of Kano in the same year.

Many festivals and national holidays were observed in the year. Some of them include the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The Eyo Festival was also held in February on Lagos Island, at the Palace of the Oba. Dressed in white gowns and specially coloured hats, the Eyo danced all over Lagos praying as they went.

In the year President Jonathan and his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, had disagreements over the state of affairs in the country, with the former President writing an open letter to President Jonathan. The latter replied to the letter via another open letter. Both letters were widely reviewed.

Also in politics, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Bamanga Tukur was forced to resign on  January 15, over face-off between him and the PDP governors which was reported as the reason for his forced resignation. The party, on January 20, settled for Dr Adamu Mu’azu, a former governor of Bauchi State as national chairman.

Former governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, emerged national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on June 14. Having merged last year, the APC in Abuja elected Oyegun by consensus, despite initial opposition in some quarters. With the outcome of the national convention which produced the APC national chairman, former chieftain of the APC and a crucial member of the merger process, Chief Tom Ikimi, crossed over to PDP. Another former chieftain of the APC, a former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff, moved to the PDP, citing irreconcilable differences. He had been in the opposition since 1999.

Former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, also left the APC, moving to the PDP. Former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, an integral member of the APC merger, defected to the PDP. Former governor of Anambra State,Mr  Peter Obi, switched from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the ruling PDP. In Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the PDP. Former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, formally resigned from the PDP and joined the APC.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, also abandoned the PDP for APC, which raised a debate over whether or not he should forfeit his seat. His party loyalists argued that he had not done anything wrong under the Constitution while the opposition insisted that he should resign.

Two governorship elections were held in Ekiti and Osun states. Mr Ayo Fayose of the PDP defeated the serving governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi. The APC cried foul and went to court but Mr Fayose still defeated them in court. Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, of the APC defeated PDP candidate, Mr Iyiola Omisore, in the state election.

In the year, a national dialogue was held between March and August.  President Jonathan constituted a 494-member delegation that participated in the National Conference, under the leadership of former Supreme Court Judge; justice Idris Kutigi. The conference had a mandate to discuss various national issues and come up with resolutions. The APC rejected the conference, describing it as diversionary. President Jonathan’s plan to turn in the decisions of the conference to the National Assembly also generated heat. The confab faced criticisms owing to the suspicion that it could be used to prolong the President’s tenure. It ended with a minor amendment to the third volume of the confab report by replacing the draft constitution to read, ‘Resolutions of the conference as draft amendments to 1999 Constitution’.

This year also saw the removal of some elected government officers, prominent of which was former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako. He was impeached over charges of abuse of office. Some analysts believe that his removal was influenced by Abuja over his allegation that the President was sponsoring the insurgency in the North-East region. Nyako had defected alongside four other governors to the APC.

There were also court cases that helped to define the political landscape. The eligibility of President Jonathan to contest the 2015 election was put to the test at the courts this year. Also, a federal high court in Abuja struck out a case instituted by the PDP seeking to sack five of its governors that defected to the APC. The national chairman of the PDP, Adamu Mu’azu, however, survived a move to sack him from office in court, over the manner of his emergence as chairman.

The electoral commission, ahead of 2015 general elections, began the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards and the Continuous Voter Registration exercises.

Former president and ex-head of state, Chief Obasanjo, released his memoir entitled ‘My Watch’, a narrative of events while he was in office, which detailed some critical and uncomplimentary remarks on some famous Nigerians, including his former deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Nobel laureate, Perof Wole Soyinka; but he had positive comments for the late human rights lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

Keshi

In the sports arena, Nigeria’s Super Falcons made headlines when they reclaimed the continental soccer crown which they lost to Equatorial Guinea two years ago by beating the Indomitable Queens of Cameroun in the final of the African Women Championship in Namibia. They thus qualify

ied for the 2015 FIFA Women World Cup. The victory means a lot, especially because it comes at a time when the national male football team, Super Eagles, gave the country a heartache when it failed to qualify for the 2015 edition of the African Champions Cup which it won last year in South Africa. As a result, Steven Keshi, the coach, was sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Amodu Shaibu appointed in his stead. Amodu had set about organising a team to prosecute the last two games against South Africa and Congo, only for President Jonathan to order the reinstatement of the sacked Keshi.

The year could also be said to be when Nigeria became Ebola-free. The news that the couuntry is Ebola-free was received with much relief by Nigerians abroad. Reports say they were suffering some veiled stigmatisation. On Octo­ber 20, the World Health Organisation (WHO) de­clared “end of Ebola in Nigeria”. This could be described as a day filled with nostalgia among the Nigerian communities in Europe and the United States. The spectacular declaration that the country reached a 42-day mark without a new incident of Ebola virus, when odds were stacked against it because it was seen as one of the nations without adequate health care infrastructure was cheered in many quarters. Unfortunately, prior to WHO’s declaration, the Western media had dubbed Nigeria among the  Ebola-plagued West African countries which included Sierra Leon, Guinea, and Liberia, At that time the country was doing everything pos­sible to curb the disease; it was iden­tifying the chains of infection and breaking them to avoid the widespread of the disease. The negative media reporting made most Nigerians abroad fearful of stigmati­sation.

The fear was elevated when Dallas received its first index case in the person of Thomas Eric Dun­can, who arrived to Dallas from Li­beria via Brussels and Washington on September 20. Duncan first started feeling ill on September 24, and the next day he went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas where he was misdiag­nosed and sent home with some prescriptions. Still feeling ill, Dun­can rode on an ambulance to the same hospital on September 28 and was admitted as it became obvious he was exhibiting symptoms of Ebola virus. Once properly diag­nosed, Duncan began receiving treatment and died on October 8, 11 days after being admitted at the Texas hospital.

Duncan’s condition and his sub­sequent death sent America into panic. Nigerians in the U.S. were afraid of the stigma. It is reported that 19 people died of Ebola in Nigeria and that number could have been worse if not for the timely, deliberate and thoughtful actions taken by the gov­ernment to combat the virus. The leadership of President Jonathan demonstrated that Nigeria is capable of solving com­plex problems if synergy prevails in government’s approach to tackling issues.

The world knows that Ebola poses potential ominous threat if the links of infection are not timely, accurately and correctly identified and broken efficiently. This is the only way to contain and control the virus once an index case became known. Nigeria stood tall and calm in the face of the potential catastrophe.

Patrick Sawyer, 40-year-old American living in Liberia, flew in to Nigeria on July 20, on Arik Airline to attend a conference. He brought the Ebola disease to the country. On arrival from Liberia, the Ebola disease struck and killed him, but not without afflict­ing a few Nigerians with the virus. Many citizens only got to know about the Ebola virus after the death of the brave woman who discovered the strange illness which Liberian Sawyer brought into the country and stopped him before more damage was done.

Dr. Stella Shade Ameyo Adadevoh, a member of staff of the First Consultant Hospital, Lagos, saved millions by detecting the symptoms in the sick man (through an impressive set of laboratory methods, using his blood samples). This led to the call for those he had come in contact with on the plane to be quarantined. Ebola virus (EBOV, formerly designated Zaire ebolavirus) is one of five known viruses within the genus Ebolavirus. Four of the five known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other mammals, known as Ebola virus disease (EVD). Ebola virus has caused the majority of human deaths from EVD and is the cause of the 2013–2014 Ebola virus epidemics in the West African region and has resulted in, at least 19,374 suspected cases and 7,533 confirmed deaths. On August 19, it was reported that the doctor who treated Sawyer,  Adadevoh, had also died of Ebola disease. Adadevoh was posthumously praised for preventing Sawyer from leaving the hospital at the time of diagnosis, thereby playing a key role in curbing the spread of the virus in the country.

On September 22, the country’s health ministry announced,

Said WHO: “As of today, there is no case of Ebola in Nigeria. All listed contacts that were under surveillance have been followed up for 21 days.”

According to the body, 19 cases and seven deaths had been confirmed, along with the imported victims, who died. Four of the dead were health care workers who had cared for Sawyer. In all, 529 contacts had been followed and of that date, they all completed a 21-day mandatory period of surveillance. The WHO’s representative in Nigeria officially declared the country to be Ebola free on October 20 after no new active cases were reported in the follow up contacts, stating it was a “spectacular success story”.

On October 9, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) acknowledged Nigeria’s positive role in controlling the effort to contain the Ebola outbreak. #

“We wish to thank the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria, and the staff of the Ebola Emergency Centre who coordinated the management of cases, containment of outbreaks and treatment protocols in Nigeria.”

Nigeria’s quick responses, including intense and rapid contact tracing, surveillance of potential contacts, and isolation of all contacts were of particular importance in controlling and limiting the outbreak, according to the ECDC. Complimenting Nigeria’s successful efforts to control the outbreak, WHO declared the feat ‘a piece of world-class epidemiological detective work’. World Health Organi­zation (WHO) representa­tive Rui Gama Vaz said in a news conference on October 20, in Abuja.

“This is a spectacular success story,” in­dicating that the spread of the deadly disease could be con­tained as the country is rightfully po­sitioned to be the international laboratory where skills on how to control infectious diseases could be learned.’’

In the Judiciary, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar assumed office as the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria; she was celebrated both at home and abroad. At the time of her appointment, the image and integrity of the Judiciary was at its lowest ebb. Diezani-Allison Madueke, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, was also appointed the president of the Organisation of Oil Producing Countries (OPEC) on November 27, in Vienna, Austria, at the organisation’s 

166th meeting.

In September, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, made headlines for the strangest of reasons – as his private jet was involved in flying the sum of $53. 9 million to South Africa ostensibly to purchase arms. The plane and cash were seized.

Oritsejafor and his wife had tried all they could to clear their names. It was explained that the company managing the lease of his private jet was responsible for the deal and he was never consulted. Despite these explanations, heavy criticism pursued him.

In sports, Nigeria’s World Cup campaign opened with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Iran. Four days later, the team played their second game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. A 29th-minute Peter Odemwingie goal gave Nigeria their first World Cup win since 1998. They faced Argentina in the final game: a third minute Lionel Messi goal for the opposition was followed almost instantly with an equaliser by Ahmed Musa. Messi gave Argentina the lead just before half-time. In the second half, Musa levelled scores again, only for Marcos Rojo to put Argentina 3-2 ahead minutes later. Nigeria lost, but still qualified for the round of 16.

In the second round, Nigeria faced France, and held them off until the 79th minute when a Paul Pogba header gifted France the lead. A goal by Joseph Yobo in injury time put the result beyond any doubt: Nigeria was out. This would be the third time Nigeria will get to round of 16 and they’ve never entered the quarter finals.

In the arts and entertainment world, Nigeria remains relevant, thanks to vibrant Music and Nollywood artistes such as Davido, P-Square, Wizkid and many others who have the most watched music videos on YouTube. Others are rap sensation Phyno and Tiwa Savage. The show business sector lost four of its members in the year. The first was Femi Allen, a popular music promoter. He died on November 24. Another one was Yoruba movie marketer, Zentury Picture boss, Femi Adelakun, who was a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, and the Chairman Committee on Local Governments. He reportedly died in his house at Ipaja, Lagos while taking his breakfast. Another movie marketer, the boss of Decent Picture also died a day after Zentury Picture boss departed on Friday, November 28. Popular lewd singer, Abdul Azeez Halidu aka Zee World died after battling with cancer.

 

adichie

Nigeria’s female novelist Chimanmanda Adichie’s, ‘Americanah’, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction and she made CNN most-inspiring women list. Her book was made into a movie; ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ took the title from the book. The stories in the novel take place partly during Nigeria’s civil war, also known as the Biafran War, from 1967 to 1970, when southern provinces tried to secede.

The movie was directed by a Nigerian, Biyi Bandele. The Nigerian film dealing with one of the most searing episodes in the nation’s history, its civil war, and uniting some of Nigeria’s major cultural figures, has been initially banned, the film’s director said ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ based on an award-winning novel by one of the country’s leading writers, Adichie, was scheduled to open in Nigeria last Friday. But because the country’s film censorship board has refused to issue the movie a certificate, “it means essentially they have banned it”, the director, Biyi Bandele, said in an interview from London. The film, which had its premiere last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, was already showing in Britain and is scheduled to open in the United States at the time. One of its stars is Chiwetel Ejiofor, was the Nigerian actor starred in the Academy award-winning film, ‘12 Years a Slave”’. Other Nigerians in the film included Onyeka Onwenu.

In August,  ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ finally screened for the public in cinemas across Nigeria. However, this screening came almost three months after its premiere in the United States. The Nigerian National Film and Video Censors Board (NFCB) had banned the movie for fear that it would “incite violence”.

Driver’s license: The palaver

YEMI OLAKITAN

An investigative media chat with an average Nigerian driver on his experience with driving in Nigeria, particularly the commercial capital Lagos, will reveal an endless tales of woes such as ‘‘LASMA harassment,’’ police extortions, confrontations with hoodlums, traffic jams, road safety officials, bad roads and many more. Chief of these is the problem of procurement and renewal of driver’s license which was described by a particular driver as ‘‘complete madness.’’ Discussions with various drivers by Sunday Mirror reveal that many are not too happy with the system put in place by the authorities to procure or renew their driver’s license. Ag. Head of investigations, Yemi Olakitan examines the subject.

A driver's license or driving license is an official document that states that a person can drive an automobile without supervision. The laws relating to the licensing of drivers vary between one country and the other. In some countries a license is issued after one has passed a test while in others; a person acquires a license before beginning to drive and may not need to pass through a driving school.  According to Barrister Shittu, a Lagos based lawyer, the authorities have made the new driving license regime cumbersome with too many procedures, they need to simplify the process and make it easier. ‘‘It is the same thing with registering a business, getting an international passport; we like to make things complicated in Nigeria, thereby creating an opportunity for crooks, thieves and counterfeiters to thrive. If things are simple to obtain, then there would be no need for a black market for fakes who peddle their products as genuine,’’ he said.

soyinka

In a chat with Seyi Imohi, a taxi driver based in Lagos Island on his experience, he said, ‘‘the government should return driving license procurement and renewal to the local government as we used to do it before. Look at the hassles we go through just to collect a driver’s license. It does not worth it at all.  You collect form, you go to the bank to pay, and then you go to VIO, someone that has been driving for the past 20 years, They are asking the person to go to a driving school, after going through so many procedures, you are then asked to wait for months. This is madness! They should hand it over; people should go to their respective local governments and collect the drivers’ licenses, you want to collect drivers’ license, for six months, you are still on it. They should change the system. It was not like this before. I got my drivers’ license in 1981. It is here with me and it is still intact. This country belongs to all of us. They should put up a system that makes things convenient and not frustrating. They are treating us like second class citizens in our own country,’’ he said. 

Babangida

In another chat with James Xavier, an IT professional, on his experience on the procurement of a drivers’ license, he said, ‘‘when you get to their office and you queue up and spend the whole day to procure the drivers’ license. They will then announce to you that the original license cannot be ready as at yet. You would have to do with a temporary driving license. In which case, you have no choice but to collect it and leave since they are the one body responsible for it. Then after a few weeks or months depending on how lucky or unlucky you are, the original will still not be out. I have been using a temporary driving license for the past one year and a half and there is no hope of a permanent driver’s license in sight,’’ he said.

Speaking further, James said, ‘after using the temporary driving license for weeks or even months, you then get pulled over by FRSC officials while driving and they will look at your temporary driving license that you suffered so much to collect in their office. They will then tell you that your license is fake. How can it be fake when you were the ones who gave it to me in your office? You took my data capture with all the delaying and suffering. You now tell me it’s fake; it means that FRSC is giving out fake driver’s licenses,’’ he said. 

In another chat with Yusuf Lawal, a commercial driver, he said, ‘‘I got a temporary drivers’ license since April, this year. They said they will call me for capturing. Up until now they have not call me. I have gone to their office here at Sura, many times. They will just sign here and there. They will say, it is not ready and I have been using the temporary license like that. I have been traveling with it and my car is good although, they have not harassed me on the road but I feel it is taking too long. On what the government should do to arrest the situation, he said, ‘‘I heard a rumour that they will soon make it a local government by local government thing. I heard that soon it will only take three or four days to procure your drivers’ license, I pray that will come true and that it happens as they say because we can no longer continue with this new arrangement. It is not working,’’ he said. 

In another chat with a commercial driver, Bioye Oyeniyi, he said, I got my driver’s license in Ibadan, Oyo state. I tried to get it in Lagos state but the hassles were too much so I went back to my state to collect it. They were asking me to pay N25, 000 to get a drivers’ license so I said instead of me to pay that kind of money I will go to my state ad get it and I got it. In fact, drivers are facing a lot of problems in Lagos; driver’s license is just one. What about LASMA? They harass us with the most flimsy excuses and treat us like dung,’’ he said.

Another driver, Mr. Balogun Ayinde, he said, ‘‘I know someone, a friend of mine who has been carrying a temporary driver’s license for the past seven months and when you are driving you ought to carry your driver’s license. What is the use of a professional driver without a license? We are treated anyhow by transport law enforcement agents, all because we do not have somebody at the top. This driver’s license issue has been politicized and monetized. This is why we are facing all these problems in obtaining it. Otherwise, why is there so many problems attached to it? Is this the first time the Federal government has been giving Driver’s license to Nigerians?’’ he said.

Speaking with Mr., Anthony Giobagunwo, he said, ‘‘we want the federal government to help us concerning the problem of Driver’s license. It should not take more than two days to collect your driver’s license. It is not necessary to go to driving school. There are hundreds of Nigerians who have been driving for the past ten years and never went to a driving school. All that should be required is a test result and it should not take more than three days. If you go to these people’s office, they will give you one sheet of paper for one year.  As I am speaking to you, my driver’s license is expired but I have not collected another one because of the hassles. The government should make it easy for us to collect it; you will use one year to fill a form and another year to do capturing and another year to collect it. They need to employ more people to do the job simplify things, so that it will be easier,’’ he said.

Investigations by Sunday Mirror reveals that there are also some private agencies or driving schools who give out driving licenses to drivers in Lagos. In a chat with an official of one of the agencies who spoke on anonymity, she said, ‘All that you need to do is to obtain a form for N5, 000, submit your passport photographs and test results and then after a few days, your driver’s license is ready for collection. She insisted on the genuineness of her company’s driver’s license. ‘Our driver’s license is not fake. It is genuine. We don’t obtain in Lagos. They are from Ogun state. I can assure you it is genuine,’’ she said.

Investigations reveal that some government officials do take advantage of the cumbersome process of obtaining driver’s license to make a business for themselves by giving out driver’s licenses for a fee.

There are many fake driver’s license in the hands of drivers these days that you wonder whether, there is an original one,’’ said Ibrahim, a taxi driver. ‘‘It is all the fault of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other agencies responsible for issuing driver’s license. They should just make the process simple. If you look at the hassles, the waiting, and the queuing up at the FRSC office and then you meet someone who says, I will get you a license within 3 days, you will want to go for it and then when you look at the counterfeit driver’s license. It looks like the original.’’

 According to FRSC the government launched a new driver’s license issuing system that changed the requirements and procedures to obtain a driver’s license in 31 Jan. 2012. This chaotic situation actually started in 2013, when the government gave an October deadline to phase out the old drivers license and plate number for vehicles. All agencies of government particularly in Lagos State found it lucrative to pounce on vehicles on the road and challenge owners or drivers of such cars to produce their driver’s licenses.  The Vehicle Inspection Officers, VIO, and Nigeria Police especially have in such circumstance declared as “fake” even the drivers licenses issued by FRSC causing their victims to part with some money.

It is widely believed that the officers of the authorities involved in the issuing process are taking advantage of the scheme to enrich themselves.  Applicants attributed the compromise to demand for gratification and inhuman treatment, especially during the data-capturing stage. The process has rapidly created a business, informally, for the operatives of the agencies that play one role or the other during the stage of documenting applicants, or in the process of capturing their biometric data.

According reports, it is just like a racket from which some FRSC personnel and VIOs are feeding fat. On-duty officers reportedly demand for a minimum of N2, 000 to enable them collate applicants’ forms and where you fail to meet their demands, you will not be able to go through the process in record time. These are some the reasons why Nigerians experienced delay in obtaining their driver’s license.

The FRSC attributed the reasons for the delay to problems with the FRSC's technical partners during the upgrade to the new system.  In July 2011, a Nigerian national newspaper, not Mirror, reported the Deputy Director of Operations at the Vehicle Inspection Office as conceding that “'driver’s licensing is in a bit of disarray at this point. ‘‘If you go to most states of the federation, you will find that they are not able to produce driver licenses because of the current confusion” and indicated that the different agencies involved in issuing driver's licenses (i.e., the FRSC, the Board of Internal Revenue and the Vehicle Inspection Office) are using different procedures.  Sources report that citizens with the former version of the driver's license will be required to upgrade to the new one regardless of whether their current license has expired or not.

However, the situation in other states of the country is not as pathetic as that of Lagos state. Reports say that Ogun state’s system is faster and more organized.  An applicant completes an application form that he or she also dates and signs. The applicant provides a signature on a signature mandatory card, which is then scanned into a database and displayed on the driver's license. The applicant also provides two passport photographs that will also be scanned into the database and displayed on the driver's license. He pays "the cashing office" a processing fee in cash or by a bank draft.  In addition to the application form and fee, he also provides proof of his identity or name by producing an international passport, or a birth certificate or sworn declaration of age or affidavit. The declaration of age or affidavit must be sworn before a court by a family member. He provides a written driving test and proof that he or she has passed a road test from an "approved instructor or driving school". A licensing officer verifies the results before the applicant submits a copy to the licensing office. Once the application has been processed and the documents verified, the driver's license is mailed to the applicant's "residential or chosen mailing address."

Investigation reveal that even in Ogun state, the applicants "can not obtain an on the spot drivers license because the application must be processed". This includes updating the database and allocating a number to the application. The driver's license number identifies the applicant and cannot be changed. An applicant can obtain a license from a state in which he is not a resident. Sometimes applicants will receive a driver's license from a different state than the one from which they applied because of the high volume of applications in the first state.

The idea of an autonomous body regulating traffic, in addition to the Nigeria Police, who are statutorily charged with that responsibility, started from Oyo State, under the government of Chief Bola Ige, who as governor of Oyo State, was tired of the carnage on the old Ibadan-Ife highway. The road ranked first among slaughter houses, called trunk roads in those days; surpassing the Lagos-Ibadan; Kano-Zaria-Kaduna; Onitsha-Owerri-Aba and the Warri-Patani-Portharcourt roadways which were its closest rivals.  The governor thought if the idea was not to degenerate into another opportunity for bribery, it required somebody with integrity. Professor Wole Soyinka was his choice. The Nobel Prize Winner lived up to his expectations as he was frequently on the roads himself, assisting in making the arrests.

Destruction of lives and properties abated very quickly – not only on Ibadan-Ife, but Ibadan-Iwo and Ibadan-Oyo roads.  The change of governors in Oyo State in 1983 and the military coup of December 31, 1983 brought an end to corps activities in Oyo State. When General Ibrahim Babangida came to power in 1985, he provided the opportunity for the nation to revisit the issue of a road safety unit autonomous of the police, who were considered corrupt.  In 1988, by Decree 59, the Federal Road Safety Corps was promulgated into law and Professor Wole Soyinka became the Corps Marshal.  However, according to James Xavier, it can hardly be said that the FRSC is still the same organization that Professor Wole Soyinka left behind since they seemed to have danced to the tune of corruption since Professor Soyinka left. 

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), was mandated by law to take charge of matters of road safety and regulations. However this role has been challenged in court by Nigerians.  it has been argued that, ‘‘the FRSC has no power to issue drivers' licenses, a function that critics say, constitutionally lies with the states, A coalition of civil society and non-governmental organizations also argued that the FRSC's practice of issuing driver's licenses is "an aberration of the 1999 Constitution."

Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Lagos on March 26 declared that the FRSC had no legal authority to impose new number plates or driving licenses on motorists in the country.  The judge also held that “the ongoing exercise by the FRSC to replace the old number plate with a new one is illegal and unconstitutional because there is no law empowering it to carry out the exercise.’’

Justice Tsoho delivered the judgment in a suit filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Emmanuel Ofoegbu, against the FRSC.  In the suit, Ofoegbu had challenged the power of the commission to impound vehicles of motorists who failed to acquire the new number plates. The plaintiff argued that there was no law validly made in accordance with the constitution prohibiting the use of the old number plates.

However, an Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka ruled that the issuance of new vehicle number plates and drivers licenses by the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, is “legal” and “constitutional,” citing “Section 5 of the Act of 2007.    

In May, Adeniyi Ademola, the judge of a Federal High Court in Abuja, ruled that the FRSC lacked the constitutional power to compel vehicle owners to renew their vehicle particulars which had yet to expire and declared the threat of the commission to arrest and prosecute motorists who did not obtain the new license and number plates illegal and unconstitutional.

 “The court is also mindful of the recent judgment of a Lagos Federal High Court on the same subject matter, which I completely aligned with.”

In a judgement delivered on June 30, in a suit instituted by one Ajefo Ekwo, against the commission on the legality of the issuance of the new number plates and drivers licences, the trial judge, Peter Umeadi, who is also the Chief Judge of Anambra State, ruled that by the provision of the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012 and the Federal Road Safety Commission Act 2007, the FRSC is empowered to issue new vehicle number plates and drivers licenses.

“I hold that the directive of the respondent to all motorists previously registered to re-register their vehicles for the purpose of changing their old number plates with new vehicle number plates is legal and constitutional and stand firmly on both Act 2007 and Regulations of 2012,” the judge declared.

“Section 5 of the Act of 2007 allows the commission, the Respondent, to make regulations for carrying out the objectives of the Act. The Act of 2007 specifically allows the respondent to make regulation with regard to the designing and producing of drivers’ licenses, and vehicle number plates to be used by various categories of vehicles.”

The judge ruled that it is wrong to hold the FRSC responsible for the discontinuance of the old number plates explaining that by the passing of the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012; it is only natural for the old plates to be changed.

“As soon as the Regulations of 2012 were made, they took a life of their own. It does not matter if it was done by the respondent or that the respondent is vested with the powers. But it is not only the respondent that was vested with the powers therein. It just happened that the Regulation of 2012 and the Act of 2007 allow the respondent to place a pivotal role in the sequence event to realize the goal of the legislations. It is on this note that it should be understood that old vehicle registration license were not discontinued by the respondent qua respondent but by the force of the Regulation of 2012.

“I agree with the learned counsel of the respondent that to achieve the use of legal, legitimate and now only authorized new vehicle registration licences and driver licences the old ones have to be discontinued and the law has vested the respondent with the power to do that.”

According to reports, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) as a result of the judgment said it would begin enforcement of the new drivers’ licence and number plate is Aug 1, 2014.  The Lagos State Sector Commander, Mr Chidi Nkwonta, said that the decision followed the new court judgment.  “This new judgment made it very clear that as from Aug. 1, FRSC should impound. “So, Nigerians must discountenance that first misleading judgment and take this one because we are going to continue enforcement as from Aug. 1, 2014.’’

“We never asked anybody to stop (processing licences). Anybody who stopped ab initio stopped at his own peril. “Neither did the court ask anybody to stop, that judgment never said anybody should stop. “So anybody who did so did it at his own risk and the deadline was supposed to be June 30.

“Now we have extended it to Aug. 1, because we needed to go on appeal on the other matter.  “But right now, there is another judgment which says we can go on.

“So, while we are still waiting for the appeal we are going to go on with this other judgment.“

This was FRSC response to Justice Peter Umeadi of a Federal High Court in Anambra on June 30 which had ruled in a suit filed by Chief Ajefo Ekwo challenging FRSC’s powers to enforce new drivers’ licence and number plates.

Umeadi said that the respondent’s directive to change old drivers’ licence and number plates to new was legal, valid, subsisting and in conformity with the FRSC’s 2007 Act and the National Road Traffic Regulations of 2012.

Nkwonta, however, said that the recent judgment had put aside the earlier judgment of the Lagos High Court ruling that the corps had no authority to produce and fix deadline for the documents.  The FRSC commander said that the earlier judgment was given in error and the commission would stand by the new judgment while appealing against the earlier judgment.

He said that the command had not failed to process the vehicle documents for new applicants that patronized the commission after the initial judgment. Nkwonta said that all the registration centres and 18 additional work stations in all parts of Lagos were functional and the network was effective.  He said that the commission had improved in the processes as well as working at weekends to make it easy for applicants.

According to the FRSC in the new arrangement made public, to apply for a driver's license, applicants must be at least 18 years old.  Those who are renewing their drivers’ licenses are to apply online at www.nigeriadriverslicence.org or in person at a Driver's License Centre (DLC). Pay the licence fee online or at the Bank. Present your application form to the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) Officer and Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) at the DLC for endorsement. Proceed to the Federal Road Safety Corps Officer at the DLC for biometric data capture. Obtain a temporary driver’s license valid for 60 days. Pick up original driver’s license at the BIR Office after 60 days.

Applicants who are obtaining licenses for the first time are to attend training at an accredited driving school. The driving school will then present you to the Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) for a driving test. Pass the driving test and obtain a certificate of proficiency from the VIO. Complete the driver's license application form at the Driver's Licence Centre (DLC). Pay the license fee online or at the Bank.

Present your application form to the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) Officer and VIO at the DLC for endorsement. Proceed to the FRSC Officer at the DLC for biometric data capture. Obtain a temporary driver’s licence valid for 60 days. Pick up original driver’s license at the BIR Office after 60 days.

(SURE-P) is a mere political gimmick- Chief Bayo Ogunmupe

(SURE-P) is a mere political gimmick- Chief Bayo Ogunmupe

ogunmupe 

YEMI OLAKITAN

Bayode Ogunmupe is a veteran journalist, economist and literary critic. He was Educated at the University of Ibadan; University of Geneva and the London School of Economics, UK; he holds degrees in History, Economics and Business. Ogunmupe has been Political Editor, Daily Sketch; Production Editor, Nigerian Tribune; Senior Sub Editor, Daily Times; Associate Editor, Newswatch and Economic columnist and literary critic for The Guardian. He was a recipient of the Nigerian Media Merit Awards in 1993 and the Ladi Lawal Journalist of the Year Award in 2010. He is the author of the international bestseller, Nigerian Politics in the age of Yar’Adua. Ogunmupe dismissed SURE-P as mere political campaign tool. Excerpts:

·         What is your opinion about SURE-P? There are reports that people are benefiting from it.

It is a mere political design, a gimmick. It is not true that people are benefiting from it. I have a personal experience with SURE-P. I applied for business loan and I was not given. They didn’t give it to me for any justification. My business was properly registered.  

It was like a small business. They were supposed to fund it.  The conditions were you should have a registered company, a business plan; both of which I had and I was not given the funding. I also tried applied for one of my sister in law who was unemployed at the time. She is a university graduate and it was the same experience.

I thought that may be, it was because of the women, men women gender disparity but the woman was not given also. She has a good education. She studied Accountancy so she could do something.  Why did Christopher Kolade who was former chairman of this committee resigned. It was because nothing tangible was happening there that could reach ordinary Nigerians.  

·         It was just propaganda?

It is just a propaganda stunt. They created it to score political points.  It is purely a Political propaganda and even a way to embezzle money that is why Dr. Kolade resigned as chairman so there is nothing in it. If it is good project why did Kolade resigned.

·         As an economist, do you think it would work if it was properly implemented?

It is a good way to stop unemployment and poverty. It is a good way, if it is properly run. it is the kind plan that was implement in the United States in 1948 after the second world war which bought up the European nations back to normalcy.

 If It will be done but it is going to be done by an agency independent of government such as INEC,  devoid of bureaucracy that goes on in civil service oriented organization or a bank.

Yes actually you can, through the SURE-P, give loans to Nigerians through the banks. They can give loans, without interest, collateral free. You can give any Nigerian that is qualified to do business. This will encourage entrepreneurship truly help to eradicate poverty.

 It could work but the people are not sincere. They could have created a plan that can encourage entrepreneurship, but the Nigeria factor is always there.  People are not ready to work sincerely for the development of the nation. They are ready to work it. The belief is that, what is in it for me, what can I steal?

What about the issue that led to the creation of SURE- P?

What led to it was this man, the former Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi exposed subsidy as farce.  He exposed subsidy as a farce and that People were using subsidy to steal money from the Federal Government.  They discovered he was right so the government wanted to compensate the people for removing the subsidy so they establish SURE-P to compensate the people.

Was the removal of subsidy actually justified?

Yes, it was, Yes for me, economically, subsidy is always corruption. It is a way to steal money. The World Bank is against subsidy of any form because it is always a way for government to steal money so the best thing Jonathan has ever done was to privatize electricity.

If President Goodluck Jonathan wants to do something for Nigerians, It will be to create  bank products backed up by SURE-P which allows people, Nigerians to obtain loans without collateral, loans without interests and without discrimination.

There should only be three factors to qualify a person for the loan; anyone who is 21 years of age, anyone who is a Nigerian citizen, and is properly registered, once those factors are available, the person should be able to access a loan.  

This is what President Goodluck Jonathan needs to do. Get a banking product available to all Nigerians who are passionate about business and entrepreneurship. This would be supervised by the central bank of Nigeria.

Let the Federal Republic of Nigeria ensure that anybody who is a Nigerian citizen has access to it. All these SURE- P is a complete waste of money. Some people just want to embezzle money.

it appears as a good plan but the Nigeria factor is always there. Give loans to Nigerians who wants to do business. You can give between 1million to ten million particularly import substitution enterprise.

Can u buttress that point?

Import substitution enterprises involve all things Nigerian imports. You can now tell those companies Nigeria import from to service two or three Nigerian companies and to help them to be able to produce those things in Nigeria.  In the next 10 years you can now make it a law, if a company is not doing that you blacklist it. Make credit facility available for all Nigerians who want to participate in such a venture within three years poverty will be gone in this country.  This is all they need to do. President Jonathan is thinking about second term no sincerity. He is just doing this project for the sake of second term ambition. He wants to bribe the people deceived them so that they can vote for him