“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” While government ponders its proposed declaration of an emergency on power, the real emergency is here-in our homes, offices, businesses and communities! Nigeria is under a pall of darkness. My secretary tells me she gets power for no more than one hour a day in her area. In one street in Lekki Phase 1, I’m told they get electricity from PHCN for exactly twenty minutes every day, presumably to allow them iron their clothes! The problem is, before the residents gather their clothes, plug the iron and wait for the iron to get hot enough, the light is gone again-for the next twenty four hours!
A neighbour who is reasonably wealthy told me he had just bought an inverter, after discovering that he was spending N200, 000 monthly purchasing diesel to fuel his high capacity generator. My immediate neighbour, a fairly elderly stockbroker who is having enough problems dealing with business challenges after the capital market collapse, recently had to buy a new soundproof generator plus an inverter in order to live comfortably during the dusk to dawn hours and weekends he spends at home. Well both the generator and inverter are now damaged, probably from overuse, less than six months later! Now he has petitioned the Consumer Protection Agency against the generator seller and has in the meantime had to lease a new noisy generator! We his neighbours can’t complain about the noise of the machine, because we know the fellow simply had no choice and we are all co-victims of a self-destructive system.
In my office, the service charge is now three times our rent-ninety percent of the expense is related to diesel purchase. One day last week, the generator broke down so the lift could not be switched on. A fairly elderly tenant, an executive director in a property investment firm collapsed and died climbing the stairs to the fourth floor-another soul consumed by Nigeria’s wickedness! Some businesses in the building clearly can no longer afford the service charge, so lawyers’ letters are flying! Soon more businesses will close down, and more jobs will be lost. The average Nigerian including low income earners now own a generator-the only differentiator is the size and capacity. The poor buy small petrol generators (“I better pass my neighbour”) and the better-off buy larger soundproof diesel generators, with everyone else somewhere in between. Invariably all Nigerians are devoting significant resources out of their limited income to fuelling and servicing their power generators, money that would otherwise have gone to food, education, or other necessities of life.
The fate of small businesses can only be imagined-hair-dressers, soft drink shops, canteens, small supermarkets and pharmacies, vulcanisers, barbers, drycleaners and the like. Or nursery schools, business centres, internet cafes and professional practices. While the state and local governments are increasing their revenue drive in response to lower oil revenue, firms, businesses and self-employed persons are struggling with debilitating alternative energy costs, in addition of course to alternative postal and courier delivery costs, alternative security costs, alternative water costs, increased cost of office consumables in addition to employee wage demands-which are increasing in response to inflation and Naira devaluation. Even big businesses are under pressure, assailed on all sides-higher import costs, higher interest rates, state and local government revenue officials, unions who want higher wages, and soaring costs of power. So invariably poverty and unemployment is increasing, and so will crime and insecurity!
Now PHCN provides a maximum of four hours a day of electricity in most communities. Many people now have different levels of supplementation to PHCN power-candles, lanterns, torch lights, rechargeable lamps, inverters, and generators. Inverters in particular are the new game in town. Everyone either has bought one or is about to buy one. I don’t know what the bureaucrats in the power sector tell the President-that they have stabilised power at 3,000 MW or whatever? That they have increased the amount of power generated and transmitted? That rats ate the power cables? That the water level will soon rise? That things are getting better? Whatever it is they are telling the President, Nigerians know the truth, and that is that we now have a real power emergency on our hands!
What is wrong with our country? Why have we decided to hold ourselves down in poverty and under-development when we really do not have to be in this situation? Why do we refuse to do the right things? The situation has become so serious that the leading legal firm, AELEX is flying in the Ghanaian Energy Minister tomorrow to tell us how Ghana kept the lights on. Perhaps our case requires a supernatural solution. May be we should pray that “…the Spirit of God” should move “upon the face of the waters” in Nigeria and God should say, “Let there be light…” Amen.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Rebranding Ghana!
Many commentators have already commented on the implications for Nigeria of President Barack Obama’s choice of Ghana for his initial visit to sub-Saharan Africa. Much as palace intellectuals, court jesters and the wards of the establishment will like to downplay the significance of the choice, Obama himself has now made it clear that he did not go to Ghana because of Kofi Annan or the Elmina Castle! Just before departing for Ghana, Obama said that “part of the reason we’re travelling to Ghana is because you’ve got, there, a functioning democracy, a president who’s serious about reducing corruption, and you’ve seen significant economic growth”. He also indicated that “by travelling to Ghana, we hope to highlight the effective governance that they have in place”. A US government statement added that the purpose of the visit was "strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlight the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development” essentially offering Ghana as a model for the rest of us in black Africa.
If all this was yet unclear, his speech in Ghana only barely failed to mention Nigeria by name! When Obama uttered the stinging words, “No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves ... or if police — if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top ... or the head of the port authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy-that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end” everyone across world capitals may have inserted our country as an appropriate illustration. When he spoke about tribalism, patronage and nepotism in Kenya, we were equally guilty. When he commended the people of Ghana for putting “democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections”, the contrast was with many African nations with our country been one “un-shining” example! When he stressed that development depends on good governance, we stood indicted.
Ghana has been getting free re-branding in recent times, and not just from Barack Obama! The World Bank Doing Business Report 2009, which I featured on these pages a few weeks ago, declared Ghana the country in West Africa with the best ease of doing business, better than Nigeria. Ghana was ranked sixth in sub-Saharan Africa behind Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Kenya; and eighty-seventh in the world. Comparatively, Nigeria was ranked twelfth in sub-Saharan Africa and 118th in the world. The recently released Failed States Index published by the US Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy Magazine ranks Ghana the best state in Africa, ranked 124 in the world and classified as a moderate state. The failed states index measures indicators of state vulnerability to collapse or conflict and defines a failed state as a condition of state collapse, i.e. a state that can no longer perform its basic security and development functions and that has no effective control over its territory.
Now can anyone ask Nigerians whether the Nigerian state performs its basic security and development functions? Does the Nigerian state have effective control over oil infrastructure in the Niger-Delta or even at Atlas Cove in Lagos? Well the index ranks Nigeria as the 15th most vulnerable to state collapse in the world, out of 177 nations covered by the report! Not surprisingly, we were in the company of other African nations-Somalia (1st), Zimbabwe (2nd), Sudan (3rd), Chad (4th), DR Congo (5th), CAR (8th), Guinea (9th), Ivory Coast (11th), Kenya (14th) and Nigeria (15th). Both the Doing Business Report and the Failed States Index deliver the same message about Ghana, it is becoming less and less like its African neighbours and developing institutions which enhance its chances of moving out of under-development and instability. The implications for businesses are clear-Ghana is the place to do business-in West and sub-Saharan Africa.
Now Ghana is getting this free re-branding without launching a “Good People; Great Nation” campaign. It has not appointed expensive brand consultants or started a Vision 2015 program. It did not commission a panel of its former Chief Justices to write a report on electoral reform. It does not talk about corruption on the roof tops. Ghana under good leadership beginning with Jerry Rawlings, and then John Kuffuor, simply discovered and did the right things! No one thinks Ghana’s leaders are saints. No one thinks there is absolutely no corruption in Ghana. I do not think that Ghana’s institutions are so developed as to be completely impossible to compromise. But their leaders have rejected impunity, irresponsibility, mindless corruption, blatant subversion of the will of the people and have chosen to act with decency and restraint.
Anyone who thinks these endorsements of Ghana are of no effect should talk to businesses, including some in Nigeria who in spite of recording larger sales in Nigeria prefer to situate their West African headquarters in Accra. The personal experiences of many Nigerians, including mine, also tally with the developing view that Ghana is a better investment destination than our dear country. Will we do anything about this?
If all this was yet unclear, his speech in Ghana only barely failed to mention Nigeria by name! When Obama uttered the stinging words, “No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves ... or if police — if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top ... or the head of the port authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy-that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end” everyone across world capitals may have inserted our country as an appropriate illustration. When he spoke about tribalism, patronage and nepotism in Kenya, we were equally guilty. When he commended the people of Ghana for putting “democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections”, the contrast was with many African nations with our country been one “un-shining” example! When he stressed that development depends on good governance, we stood indicted.
Ghana has been getting free re-branding in recent times, and not just from Barack Obama! The World Bank Doing Business Report 2009, which I featured on these pages a few weeks ago, declared Ghana the country in West Africa with the best ease of doing business, better than Nigeria. Ghana was ranked sixth in sub-Saharan Africa behind Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Kenya; and eighty-seventh in the world. Comparatively, Nigeria was ranked twelfth in sub-Saharan Africa and 118th in the world. The recently released Failed States Index published by the US Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy Magazine ranks Ghana the best state in Africa, ranked 124 in the world and classified as a moderate state. The failed states index measures indicators of state vulnerability to collapse or conflict and defines a failed state as a condition of state collapse, i.e. a state that can no longer perform its basic security and development functions and that has no effective control over its territory.
Now can anyone ask Nigerians whether the Nigerian state performs its basic security and development functions? Does the Nigerian state have effective control over oil infrastructure in the Niger-Delta or even at Atlas Cove in Lagos? Well the index ranks Nigeria as the 15th most vulnerable to state collapse in the world, out of 177 nations covered by the report! Not surprisingly, we were in the company of other African nations-Somalia (1st), Zimbabwe (2nd), Sudan (3rd), Chad (4th), DR Congo (5th), CAR (8th), Guinea (9th), Ivory Coast (11th), Kenya (14th) and Nigeria (15th). Both the Doing Business Report and the Failed States Index deliver the same message about Ghana, it is becoming less and less like its African neighbours and developing institutions which enhance its chances of moving out of under-development and instability. The implications for businesses are clear-Ghana is the place to do business-in West and sub-Saharan Africa.
Now Ghana is getting this free re-branding without launching a “Good People; Great Nation” campaign. It has not appointed expensive brand consultants or started a Vision 2015 program. It did not commission a panel of its former Chief Justices to write a report on electoral reform. It does not talk about corruption on the roof tops. Ghana under good leadership beginning with Jerry Rawlings, and then John Kuffuor, simply discovered and did the right things! No one thinks Ghana’s leaders are saints. No one thinks there is absolutely no corruption in Ghana. I do not think that Ghana’s institutions are so developed as to be completely impossible to compromise. But their leaders have rejected impunity, irresponsibility, mindless corruption, blatant subversion of the will of the people and have chosen to act with decency and restraint.
Anyone who thinks these endorsements of Ghana are of no effect should talk to businesses, including some in Nigeria who in spite of recording larger sales in Nigeria prefer to situate their West African headquarters in Accra. The personal experiences of many Nigerians, including mine, also tally with the developing view that Ghana is a better investment destination than our dear country. Will we do anything about this?
Friday, July 17, 2009
Media Ownership in Nigeria
I was going to write an article titled “Nduka Obaigbena at 50” this week, but then while still implicitly (and explicitly) rendering that tribute, I have chosen to explore the more fundamental issue of media ownership in Nigeria, which in any event is what Nduka represents with his several pioneering actions in that regard. I have always been interested in the media. As a secondary school student, I knew I could only study law (which I ended up studying at Ife) or the social sciences-political science and economics. If I didn’t study law I suspect I would have practiced journalism. But I have been a student of the media since childhood. I do not exaggerate when I say I started reading my father’s copies of Daily Times since I was five years old!
Then most of the papers were government-owned (Sketch, New Nigerian, Herald, Observer etc) with the main exception being Chief Awolowo’s Tribune and Daily Times which subsequently went under government control too. Thus ownership of the media like almost everything else (banks, utilities) was taken over by government and media men and bankers were in effect public servants. It was the Times that was most pervasive around 1970 and it was the paper that first caught my attention. At first I focused on the sports pages, but gradually I began to notice stories about Yasser Arafat, Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, Richard Nixon and other global actors. Of course Generals Gowon, Mobolaji Johnson, Hassan Usman Katsina and the others were also in the papers, but we were taught a lot about them in our current affairs classes, so theirs were not the reports that interested me.
The return to civilian rule and the run-up to the 1979 elections however changed my newspaper habits as Chief Awolowo and his determined run for power made his Tribune the compelling read, at least in Yorubaland. Soon other politicians would try to balance out the newspaper market, most notably MKO Abiola’s Concord newspapers in his ill-fated NPN journey. Other independent newspapers were also present-Chief Aboderin’s Punch and later Sam Amuka-Pemu’s Vanguard. But it was the Guardian that next became my standard fare. The Guardian in the 1980s was an intellectual delight with deep and inspiring op-ed articles by a large pool of brilliant writers. I think my future as a columnist was sealed by the example of many of the writers in that Guardian era. The Ibrus (and Chief Ajibola Ogunsola who has since managed the Punch after Aboderin’s demise, as well as Sam Amuka-Pemu) have maintained a commendable tradition of independent, high-quality journalism driven by the public interest.
And then came Nduka Obaigbena’s THISWEEK around 1986. Dele Giwa had been killed in that parcel bomb. I felt let-down by what I considered as the lame efforts of his Newswatch colleagues to pursue the matter. When THISWEEK came along in glossy, world-class print, and a team arguably of the best journalists in Nigeria, I was sold. I bought (and still have) copies of every edition of that magazine ever published! Okay, may be I missed one or two editions! But then I didn’t just read the magazine, I responded to virtually all their stories posting my “letters to the editor” first from my NYSC base in Benin and then from whichever post office was nearest to me after I returned to Lagos. I was captivated by the magazine’s freshness and youth, its breezy yet classy style and its generational appeal. Nduka himself had declared THISWEEK a “generational statement” and I still think THISWEEK remains the best news magazine ever published in Nigeria.
However while THISWEEK was an editorial success, it did not appear to have been an economic success. When the editors of the paper invited me to their offices around 1989 or 1990 and featured me on their personality pages, the signs of distress were already visible and soon the paper would stop operations. It is an enormous tribute to Mr Obaigbena that he bounced back a second time with the contemporary THISDAY and this time he has evidently been a winner, both commercially and editorially. I am not quite sure I share Nduka’s politics. He was a leading member of the NRC during the Babangida transition and he may indeed be somehow influential even in these days of the PDP. There are many who have concerns about his values too, and that of his paper, but whatever you think, you must acknowledge his vision, courage, boldness, tenacity, energy, and risk-taking entrepreneurship. He has exerted an undeniable influence on the evolution of the newspaper industry in Nigeria, and now appears to be seeking a similar impact in the broader terrain of media and entertainment.
In these times, other newspapers have also made a bold impact. This newspaper’s publisher, Frank Aigbogun continues to impress with his calm professionalism and his ethics, and he has successfully built a high quality and credible business-oriented newspaper in Nigeria, a significant achievement in these days of poor newspaper readership, even of mainstream titles. And then there is the new NEXT. The professional credentials of Dele Olojede and his wife Amma Ogan are impeccable. Indeed Amma was part of the inspiring Guardian team I referred to earlier, and Dele is a Pulitzer Prize winner! But now they have co-investors-Fola Adeola, Hakeem Bello-Osagie, Nasir El-Rufai and others-powerful businessmen and politically-ambitious individuals who will exert their own influence on the paper’s editorial direction. It remains to be seen what impact the ownership of the paper will have on the paper’s editorial judgment.
Then most of the papers were government-owned (Sketch, New Nigerian, Herald, Observer etc) with the main exception being Chief Awolowo’s Tribune and Daily Times which subsequently went under government control too. Thus ownership of the media like almost everything else (banks, utilities) was taken over by government and media men and bankers were in effect public servants. It was the Times that was most pervasive around 1970 and it was the paper that first caught my attention. At first I focused on the sports pages, but gradually I began to notice stories about Yasser Arafat, Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, Richard Nixon and other global actors. Of course Generals Gowon, Mobolaji Johnson, Hassan Usman Katsina and the others were also in the papers, but we were taught a lot about them in our current affairs classes, so theirs were not the reports that interested me.
The return to civilian rule and the run-up to the 1979 elections however changed my newspaper habits as Chief Awolowo and his determined run for power made his Tribune the compelling read, at least in Yorubaland. Soon other politicians would try to balance out the newspaper market, most notably MKO Abiola’s Concord newspapers in his ill-fated NPN journey. Other independent newspapers were also present-Chief Aboderin’s Punch and later Sam Amuka-Pemu’s Vanguard. But it was the Guardian that next became my standard fare. The Guardian in the 1980s was an intellectual delight with deep and inspiring op-ed articles by a large pool of brilliant writers. I think my future as a columnist was sealed by the example of many of the writers in that Guardian era. The Ibrus (and Chief Ajibola Ogunsola who has since managed the Punch after Aboderin’s demise, as well as Sam Amuka-Pemu) have maintained a commendable tradition of independent, high-quality journalism driven by the public interest.
And then came Nduka Obaigbena’s THISWEEK around 1986. Dele Giwa had been killed in that parcel bomb. I felt let-down by what I considered as the lame efforts of his Newswatch colleagues to pursue the matter. When THISWEEK came along in glossy, world-class print, and a team arguably of the best journalists in Nigeria, I was sold. I bought (and still have) copies of every edition of that magazine ever published! Okay, may be I missed one or two editions! But then I didn’t just read the magazine, I responded to virtually all their stories posting my “letters to the editor” first from my NYSC base in Benin and then from whichever post office was nearest to me after I returned to Lagos. I was captivated by the magazine’s freshness and youth, its breezy yet classy style and its generational appeal. Nduka himself had declared THISWEEK a “generational statement” and I still think THISWEEK remains the best news magazine ever published in Nigeria.
However while THISWEEK was an editorial success, it did not appear to have been an economic success. When the editors of the paper invited me to their offices around 1989 or 1990 and featured me on their personality pages, the signs of distress were already visible and soon the paper would stop operations. It is an enormous tribute to Mr Obaigbena that he bounced back a second time with the contemporary THISDAY and this time he has evidently been a winner, both commercially and editorially. I am not quite sure I share Nduka’s politics. He was a leading member of the NRC during the Babangida transition and he may indeed be somehow influential even in these days of the PDP. There are many who have concerns about his values too, and that of his paper, but whatever you think, you must acknowledge his vision, courage, boldness, tenacity, energy, and risk-taking entrepreneurship. He has exerted an undeniable influence on the evolution of the newspaper industry in Nigeria, and now appears to be seeking a similar impact in the broader terrain of media and entertainment.
In these times, other newspapers have also made a bold impact. This newspaper’s publisher, Frank Aigbogun continues to impress with his calm professionalism and his ethics, and he has successfully built a high quality and credible business-oriented newspaper in Nigeria, a significant achievement in these days of poor newspaper readership, even of mainstream titles. And then there is the new NEXT. The professional credentials of Dele Olojede and his wife Amma Ogan are impeccable. Indeed Amma was part of the inspiring Guardian team I referred to earlier, and Dele is a Pulitzer Prize winner! But now they have co-investors-Fola Adeola, Hakeem Bello-Osagie, Nasir El-Rufai and others-powerful businessmen and politically-ambitious individuals who will exert their own influence on the paper’s editorial direction. It remains to be seen what impact the ownership of the paper will have on the paper’s editorial judgment.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Vacation Reading List
When on vacation, I do essentially three things-sleep, watch television and read. Of course if the vacation is outside the country there may also be the obligatory shopping, but that for me is really a bother. In my book, vacation is essentially about rest and reading, with TV supplying complementary news, sports and the occasional movies. My recent vacation (I already feel in need of another one!) was mostly about reading however, apart from wishing along with the Brits that Andy Murray would reach the Wimbledon final, to my eventual disappointment. My reading list was eclectic but carefully assembled-“Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo” by Oluremi Obasanjo; “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” both by Dan Brown and “The Tipping Point” and “Outliers” both also by Malcolm Gladwell.
Of course I had read extensive excerpts of Mrs Obasanjo book, but I needed to read the whole and I was not disappointed. The author is the wife of Nigeria’s former military and civilian leader, General Olusegun Obasanjo and mother of his older children. It is a surprisingly balanced narrative by a woman who evidently loved and still loves her husband, but one who nevertheless feels compelled to share her story. She offers a unique and valuable historical insight into the person of Obasanjo, his friend and 1966 coup leader, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and military life and politics from the early 1960s till date. The story as the book’s title indicates started from a loving relationship with the then poor but studious and ambitious Olusegun Obasanjo of Owu, Abeokuta, but then highlights the matrimonial challenges the author increasingly faces as her darling becomes a senior military officer, war hero, federal commissioner and eventually Head of State, culminating in several acrimonious duels with Obasanjo and his mistresses and eventually an apparently illegally procured divorce.
Beyond the book, I am interested in the sociological undertones of marriage (monogamy or polygamy) and religion (Christianity, Islam or traditional religion) that the Obasanjo story brings up. The pattern of an initially-loving marriage between a young Yoruba girl seeking a monogamous marriage and a serious and ambitious young man, an ideal which collapses as the man overcomes poverty and rises in the social ladder and then returns to polygamy and fetish practices as he seeks power and protection is probably not unique to the Obasanjos. It is the story of virtually the entire generation of our fathers. I believe Yoruba (indeed African) converts to Islam and Christianity are yet to finally agree on a sociological context appropriate to their new faith and marriage that is consistent with the fundamental tenets of those religions.
The Da Vinci Code is a fascinating work of “faction”-fiction resting on some foundational facts or perhaps projecting known facts into a story that could be a combination of both fact and fiction. The facts as the author make clear include the existence of the Priory of Sion, a European secret society founded in 1099 with members including Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci and Opus Dei, a deeply devout and ultra conservative “Catholic Sect” whose practices include “corporal mortification” (through wearing of “cilice belts”-a leather strap studded with sharp metal barbs for two hours a day; using the “discipline”-a heavy knotted rope that is slung over one’s shoulder; sleeping on a wooden board or on the floor) and which seeks to recruit intellectuals and professionals in society essentially through the educational system. Originating in Spain, Opus Dei’s activities extend to more than sixty countries including the US, Europe, Japan, North Africa and Nigeria.
The rest of the book is fictional and may indeed be offensive to Christian readers including conspiracy theories about Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene, a secret child in France, a search for a Holy Grail, murders, plots and feminine supremacy. Angels and Demons may be considered a prequel to the Da Vinci Code. Again it rests on some established facts-the discovery of “antimatter” (the most powerful but highly unstable energy source known to man (a single gram of antimatter contains the energy of a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb-the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima) by the world’s largest scientific research facility-“Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire” (CERN) in Switzerland and the existence of the “Illuminati” a shadowy secret brotherhood presumed extinct for over four hundred years after its members were purged by the Church. Beyond these facts, Angels and Demons is also fictional with the plot centred on revenge, murders of scientists and cardinals and a search for clues to defeat the Illuminati.
Tipping Point is not a new book and I have applied the ideas therein for some time, but I felt the need to re-read and re-understand Malcolm Gladwell’s interesting hypothesis. He analyses how ideas, trends and products (brands) get contagious, are propelled by little causes and catch on in one dramatic moment (just like viruses and epidemics)-the tipping point. I find some complementarities between Gladwell’s hypothesis and the idea of the “Flywheel” in “Good to Great”. In “Outliers”, Gladwell examines “The Story of Success” and argues persuasively that there is nothing like the self-made man but that in addition to talent, successful people usually benefit from a context-parents, cultures, environments, preparation and training etc. that facilitate success, essentially the message in Ecclesiastes 9:11 about “…time and chance…”. Next time you are free, I recommend you read these books!
Of course I had read extensive excerpts of Mrs Obasanjo book, but I needed to read the whole and I was not disappointed. The author is the wife of Nigeria’s former military and civilian leader, General Olusegun Obasanjo and mother of his older children. It is a surprisingly balanced narrative by a woman who evidently loved and still loves her husband, but one who nevertheless feels compelled to share her story. She offers a unique and valuable historical insight into the person of Obasanjo, his friend and 1966 coup leader, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and military life and politics from the early 1960s till date. The story as the book’s title indicates started from a loving relationship with the then poor but studious and ambitious Olusegun Obasanjo of Owu, Abeokuta, but then highlights the matrimonial challenges the author increasingly faces as her darling becomes a senior military officer, war hero, federal commissioner and eventually Head of State, culminating in several acrimonious duels with Obasanjo and his mistresses and eventually an apparently illegally procured divorce.
Beyond the book, I am interested in the sociological undertones of marriage (monogamy or polygamy) and religion (Christianity, Islam or traditional religion) that the Obasanjo story brings up. The pattern of an initially-loving marriage between a young Yoruba girl seeking a monogamous marriage and a serious and ambitious young man, an ideal which collapses as the man overcomes poverty and rises in the social ladder and then returns to polygamy and fetish practices as he seeks power and protection is probably not unique to the Obasanjos. It is the story of virtually the entire generation of our fathers. I believe Yoruba (indeed African) converts to Islam and Christianity are yet to finally agree on a sociological context appropriate to their new faith and marriage that is consistent with the fundamental tenets of those religions.
The Da Vinci Code is a fascinating work of “faction”-fiction resting on some foundational facts or perhaps projecting known facts into a story that could be a combination of both fact and fiction. The facts as the author make clear include the existence of the Priory of Sion, a European secret society founded in 1099 with members including Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci and Opus Dei, a deeply devout and ultra conservative “Catholic Sect” whose practices include “corporal mortification” (through wearing of “cilice belts”-a leather strap studded with sharp metal barbs for two hours a day; using the “discipline”-a heavy knotted rope that is slung over one’s shoulder; sleeping on a wooden board or on the floor) and which seeks to recruit intellectuals and professionals in society essentially through the educational system. Originating in Spain, Opus Dei’s activities extend to more than sixty countries including the US, Europe, Japan, North Africa and Nigeria.
The rest of the book is fictional and may indeed be offensive to Christian readers including conspiracy theories about Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene, a secret child in France, a search for a Holy Grail, murders, plots and feminine supremacy. Angels and Demons may be considered a prequel to the Da Vinci Code. Again it rests on some established facts-the discovery of “antimatter” (the most powerful but highly unstable energy source known to man (a single gram of antimatter contains the energy of a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb-the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima) by the world’s largest scientific research facility-“Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire” (CERN) in Switzerland and the existence of the “Illuminati” a shadowy secret brotherhood presumed extinct for over four hundred years after its members were purged by the Church. Beyond these facts, Angels and Demons is also fictional with the plot centred on revenge, murders of scientists and cardinals and a search for clues to defeat the Illuminati.
Tipping Point is not a new book and I have applied the ideas therein for some time, but I felt the need to re-read and re-understand Malcolm Gladwell’s interesting hypothesis. He analyses how ideas, trends and products (brands) get contagious, are propelled by little causes and catch on in one dramatic moment (just like viruses and epidemics)-the tipping point. I find some complementarities between Gladwell’s hypothesis and the idea of the “Flywheel” in “Good to Great”. In “Outliers”, Gladwell examines “The Story of Success” and argues persuasively that there is nothing like the self-made man but that in addition to talent, successful people usually benefit from a context-parents, cultures, environments, preparation and training etc. that facilitate success, essentially the message in Ecclesiastes 9:11 about “…time and chance…”. Next time you are free, I recommend you read these books!
Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
I was in the United Kingdom on an unduly short (!) vacation with my two older kids when on Thursday “breaking news” on BBC started reporting that Michael Jackson (MJ) had been rushed to hospital; that he was unconscious at the time; that CPR had been administered on him. We immediately became glued to the TV until the website TMZ reported he was dead. I was at first inclined to wish this away as a false alarm-another MJ stunt, but deep down I feared that no credible media would take such chances with so big a story. The BBC was of course more conservative-reporting the TMZ report, then mentioning that MJ’s sister Latoya had been seen running into the UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles (where he was rushed to) in tears. It was when the BBC reported that the Los Angeles Times, a mainstream news media based right on the scene had also reported on its website that MJ was dead that I knew MJ was probably gone!
Most people in my generation and those above and below ours cannot be indifferent to Michael’s demise. MJ was not my first musical icon. For some reason, my first remembrance of a music star was Sir Victor Uwaifo and his “guitar boy” song. The second was James Brown. My family had our own in-house James Brown, my elder brother Bolaji who many later knew as “Simple”-today a New York resident. His affinity for James Brown endured through university and beyond! When we were young, he won many dancing competitions mimicking James Brown and he wore a JB hairstyle through his youth. After Uwaifo and James Brown, I went through many other “heros”-Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey, Bob Marley, Diana Ross, Barry White, George Benson and a stream of rhythm and blues singers. But through it all MJ was there, first as the handsome, sweet-looking, lead singer of the Jackson Five and The Jacksons and then simply Michael Jackson!
He was a musical genius, an extra-ordinary dancer and probably the greatest performer in this age. He was James Brown, The Beatles and Elvis Presley rolled into one, truly as he became known, The King of Pop. The lyrical quality of his songs was exceptional and his musical videos were truly imaginative, even if as we later saw he began to drift into horror and the unusual. And even when he sang blues, the melody and soul was mind-lifting. The number of his hits is just unbelievable whether as part of the Jacksons (I want you back; blame it on the boogie, etc) or particularly after he went solo (Don’t stop till you get enough; The girl is mine; Rock with you; Billie Jean; Beat it; Thriller; Wanna be starting something; Bad; The way you make me feel; etc). According to a review I read in the UK Independent, MJ had 13 number 1 singles, 750 million worldwide record sales (leading the Guinness Book of Records to declare him “the most successful entertainer of all time”) and three hundred million pounds estimated total career earnings. His thriller album sold 65 million copies worldwide and is clearly the most successful music album ever. MJ had already sold 750,000 tickets for his 50 comeback concerts in London which he declared the “final curtain call” a concert the world alas would never witness!
Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” album in 1979 coincided with (or perhaps played a part in provoking) the period my generation began to “rock”. Off the Wall and Lord Kitchener’s (was that the right spelling?) “Sugar Bum Bum” were songs I remember as sign points of our generation’s “disco” era as it used to be called, except that Lord Kitchener and the others disappeared and MJ stayed behind to entertain our children as well three decades later! The Independent described “Off the Wall” as “a masterwork of funk, pop, disco and even jazz, drawing on all areas of Quincy Jones’ vast experience as a jazz and R & B producer/arranger”.
But then like all stars, Michael had his problems. He had never been allowed a normal childhood forced to grow up on stage and in TV cameras. He was a little child who perhaps would have given up all the fame and wealth in return for the pleasures of childhood and youth which we all take for granted. In a way, he was the victim of an unfeeling world, which took away his childhood and then called him “Wacko Jacko” as the limits of his socialisation became obvious. Like many who achieve wealth, fame or power, he stood no chance against sycophants and manipulators who changed and then destroyed him. And then MJ was a Black American superstar at a time when beauty was defined in white American terms-a fair skin, a thin nose and a slim and slender body. MJ had achieved the remarkable distinction of fusing white pop music and black soul and his music appealed across races. Soon MJ would want to look like his white audiences and then followed the plastic surgery, skin grafts and nose adjustments turning the beautiful Michael Jackson into something that resembled a scarecrow! Fortunately future black stars will not have such complexes-Barack and Michelle Obama, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton, Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith among others haven proven that black is truly beautiful. And then the allegations of child molestation, the quickly arranged marriage to Lisa Marie Presley, the court cases and the financial problems reminding us all that when success does not have a spiritual compass, it becomes destruction.
But these are not what the world will remember Michael Jackson for. He will be remembered as the musical genius, a legendary performer and entertainer, a super star who delivered excellent music to the world from the 1960s to the 2000s and the source of some of the best dances and videos ever seen. Our great grand children and many future generations will listen to Michael’s music.
Most people in my generation and those above and below ours cannot be indifferent to Michael’s demise. MJ was not my first musical icon. For some reason, my first remembrance of a music star was Sir Victor Uwaifo and his “guitar boy” song. The second was James Brown. My family had our own in-house James Brown, my elder brother Bolaji who many later knew as “Simple”-today a New York resident. His affinity for James Brown endured through university and beyond! When we were young, he won many dancing competitions mimicking James Brown and he wore a JB hairstyle through his youth. After Uwaifo and James Brown, I went through many other “heros”-Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey, Bob Marley, Diana Ross, Barry White, George Benson and a stream of rhythm and blues singers. But through it all MJ was there, first as the handsome, sweet-looking, lead singer of the Jackson Five and The Jacksons and then simply Michael Jackson!
He was a musical genius, an extra-ordinary dancer and probably the greatest performer in this age. He was James Brown, The Beatles and Elvis Presley rolled into one, truly as he became known, The King of Pop. The lyrical quality of his songs was exceptional and his musical videos were truly imaginative, even if as we later saw he began to drift into horror and the unusual. And even when he sang blues, the melody and soul was mind-lifting. The number of his hits is just unbelievable whether as part of the Jacksons (I want you back; blame it on the boogie, etc) or particularly after he went solo (Don’t stop till you get enough; The girl is mine; Rock with you; Billie Jean; Beat it; Thriller; Wanna be starting something; Bad; The way you make me feel; etc). According to a review I read in the UK Independent, MJ had 13 number 1 singles, 750 million worldwide record sales (leading the Guinness Book of Records to declare him “the most successful entertainer of all time”) and three hundred million pounds estimated total career earnings. His thriller album sold 65 million copies worldwide and is clearly the most successful music album ever. MJ had already sold 750,000 tickets for his 50 comeback concerts in London which he declared the “final curtain call” a concert the world alas would never witness!
Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” album in 1979 coincided with (or perhaps played a part in provoking) the period my generation began to “rock”. Off the Wall and Lord Kitchener’s (was that the right spelling?) “Sugar Bum Bum” were songs I remember as sign points of our generation’s “disco” era as it used to be called, except that Lord Kitchener and the others disappeared and MJ stayed behind to entertain our children as well three decades later! The Independent described “Off the Wall” as “a masterwork of funk, pop, disco and even jazz, drawing on all areas of Quincy Jones’ vast experience as a jazz and R & B producer/arranger”.
But then like all stars, Michael had his problems. He had never been allowed a normal childhood forced to grow up on stage and in TV cameras. He was a little child who perhaps would have given up all the fame and wealth in return for the pleasures of childhood and youth which we all take for granted. In a way, he was the victim of an unfeeling world, which took away his childhood and then called him “Wacko Jacko” as the limits of his socialisation became obvious. Like many who achieve wealth, fame or power, he stood no chance against sycophants and manipulators who changed and then destroyed him. And then MJ was a Black American superstar at a time when beauty was defined in white American terms-a fair skin, a thin nose and a slim and slender body. MJ had achieved the remarkable distinction of fusing white pop music and black soul and his music appealed across races. Soon MJ would want to look like his white audiences and then followed the plastic surgery, skin grafts and nose adjustments turning the beautiful Michael Jackson into something that resembled a scarecrow! Fortunately future black stars will not have such complexes-Barack and Michelle Obama, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton, Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith among others haven proven that black is truly beautiful. And then the allegations of child molestation, the quickly arranged marriage to Lisa Marie Presley, the court cases and the financial problems reminding us all that when success does not have a spiritual compass, it becomes destruction.
But these are not what the world will remember Michael Jackson for. He will be remembered as the musical genius, a legendary performer and entertainer, a super star who delivered excellent music to the world from the 1960s to the 2000s and the source of some of the best dances and videos ever seen. Our great grand children and many future generations will listen to Michael’s music.
Doing Business in Nigeria
The “Doing Business” Survey provides objective measures of business regulations and enforcement in 181 countries/economies across the world. The 2009 report released by the World Bank Group in May shows that the global top ten in terms of overall ease of doing business were Singapore; New Zealand; USA; Hong Kong; Denmark; UK; Ireland; Canada; Australia; and Norway-no surprises there, even though it brings home the complete domination of modern civilisation by Western and East Asian nations. Other regions-Eastern Europe, South America, South Asia, Middle East and of courses Africa continue to lag behind the rest of the world. But then there are those whose response will be that American democracy is over two hundred years old as if we must repeat and re-learn the two centuries of American trial and error over again before we develop. The fact that the leading nation in this survey, Singapore was behind Nigeria in 1965 should shame those who continue to argue in favour of national mediocrity!
Given that we have decided to stop comparing ourselves with the developing world in terms of infrastructure, standard of living, quality of elections, levels of corruption and other developmental indices, I thought perhaps it was pointless comparing Nigeria with developed nations (we’ve even given up on comparing ourselves with North African nations-Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Libya etc!). Better to focus on the sub-Saharan region to see how we rate in comparison with the rest of our peers in the lowliest region in the world. Well the result in order of performance-Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Uganda, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Nigeria was twelfth in sub-Saharan Africa and 118th globally. By comparison, Mauritius was first in the region and 24th globally; South Africa-second and thirty-second; Botswana third and thirty-eighth; Namibia fourth and fifty-first; Kenya eighth and eighty-second; Ghana sixth and eighty-seventh; Zambia seventh and hundredth; Seychelles eighth and 104th; Swaziland ninth and 108th; Uganda tenth and 111th; and Ethiopia eleventh in sub-Saharan Africa and 116th in the world.
Nigeria is behind Ghana in West Africa and if the report is believed it is easier to do business in Ethiopia, Uganda and Swaziland than in Nigeria! Nigeria’s global rating declined four places from 114 in 2008 to 118 in 2009, while many African nations reported improvements. How did we earn this rating? A review of the breakdown of our scores and ratings reveals some not-too-surprising explanations. We recorded reasonably acceptable ratings on six criteria-employing workers, investor protection, getting credit, enforcing contracts, starting a business and closing a business coming 27th, 53rd, 84th, 90th, 91st and 91st globally in these areas. These ratings are consistent with the experience of businesses. You can easily get labour and since labour protection is weak, you can easily dispense with them. Unemployment is very high and even though there are issues with employee skill levels and productivity, the labour pool is very large.
Nigeria does not have a history of expropriating private investors’ assets, but it is possible that our ratings in this respect may deteriorate as we begin to seek to change oil sector contracts, cancel concluded privatisation transactions, cancel 2.3GHz spectrum auctions validly carried out by the NCC etc. The financial sectors’ increased capacity meant that it was reasonably easy for large businesses to access credit. Even then small and medium enterprises still have difficulty securing credit and the banks have recently become tighter with loans in the wake of the margin loan crisis. The rating of 90th in enforcing contracts is perhaps generous considering the length of time commercial litigation consumes but the ratings with starting and closing a business reflect the improved services at the Corporate Affairs Commission and Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.
The areas in which we did very poorly will not surprise anyone-paying taxes (120), cross-border trade (144), construction permits (151) and registering property (176). The problem of multiplicity of taxes, rates and charges by federal, state and municipal authorities and arbitrary imposition of new charges at every whim is a major problem for businesses. The rating for cross-border trade reflects the continuing problems with the ports, customs, foreign currency procurement and borders and the severe logistics constraints that Nigerian businesses have to contend with. The last two poor ratings are also consistent with expectations. It is easier (and cheaper) for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a business to register interest in land and obtain construction approvals from town planning authorities. In terms of registering landed property, there are only five countries in the world worse than Nigeria!
No Nigerian business person will argue with any of these ratings which are obtained on the basis of surveys of businesses operating in each rated economy or country. If we want to attain the objectives of Vision 2020 clearly we have to do better. If we must be one of the top twenty economies in the world, is it not reasonable that we seek to be in the top twenty in terms of the ease of doing business amongst global economies? We need private capital in power, transport systems and infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, health and educational facilities, tourism and services (financial, ICT, logistics etc) and other sectors if we are to grow this economy at the desired speed. We can’t get that private capital if businesses believe our business environment is mostly hostile to business.
Given that we have decided to stop comparing ourselves with the developing world in terms of infrastructure, standard of living, quality of elections, levels of corruption and other developmental indices, I thought perhaps it was pointless comparing Nigeria with developed nations (we’ve even given up on comparing ourselves with North African nations-Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Libya etc!). Better to focus on the sub-Saharan region to see how we rate in comparison with the rest of our peers in the lowliest region in the world. Well the result in order of performance-Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Uganda, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Nigeria was twelfth in sub-Saharan Africa and 118th globally. By comparison, Mauritius was first in the region and 24th globally; South Africa-second and thirty-second; Botswana third and thirty-eighth; Namibia fourth and fifty-first; Kenya eighth and eighty-second; Ghana sixth and eighty-seventh; Zambia seventh and hundredth; Seychelles eighth and 104th; Swaziland ninth and 108th; Uganda tenth and 111th; and Ethiopia eleventh in sub-Saharan Africa and 116th in the world.
Nigeria is behind Ghana in West Africa and if the report is believed it is easier to do business in Ethiopia, Uganda and Swaziland than in Nigeria! Nigeria’s global rating declined four places from 114 in 2008 to 118 in 2009, while many African nations reported improvements. How did we earn this rating? A review of the breakdown of our scores and ratings reveals some not-too-surprising explanations. We recorded reasonably acceptable ratings on six criteria-employing workers, investor protection, getting credit, enforcing contracts, starting a business and closing a business coming 27th, 53rd, 84th, 90th, 91st and 91st globally in these areas. These ratings are consistent with the experience of businesses. You can easily get labour and since labour protection is weak, you can easily dispense with them. Unemployment is very high and even though there are issues with employee skill levels and productivity, the labour pool is very large.
Nigeria does not have a history of expropriating private investors’ assets, but it is possible that our ratings in this respect may deteriorate as we begin to seek to change oil sector contracts, cancel concluded privatisation transactions, cancel 2.3GHz spectrum auctions validly carried out by the NCC etc. The financial sectors’ increased capacity meant that it was reasonably easy for large businesses to access credit. Even then small and medium enterprises still have difficulty securing credit and the banks have recently become tighter with loans in the wake of the margin loan crisis. The rating of 90th in enforcing contracts is perhaps generous considering the length of time commercial litigation consumes but the ratings with starting and closing a business reflect the improved services at the Corporate Affairs Commission and Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.
The areas in which we did very poorly will not surprise anyone-paying taxes (120), cross-border trade (144), construction permits (151) and registering property (176). The problem of multiplicity of taxes, rates and charges by federal, state and municipal authorities and arbitrary imposition of new charges at every whim is a major problem for businesses. The rating for cross-border trade reflects the continuing problems with the ports, customs, foreign currency procurement and borders and the severe logistics constraints that Nigerian businesses have to contend with. The last two poor ratings are also consistent with expectations. It is easier (and cheaper) for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a business to register interest in land and obtain construction approvals from town planning authorities. In terms of registering landed property, there are only five countries in the world worse than Nigeria!
No Nigerian business person will argue with any of these ratings which are obtained on the basis of surveys of businesses operating in each rated economy or country. If we want to attain the objectives of Vision 2020 clearly we have to do better. If we must be one of the top twenty economies in the world, is it not reasonable that we seek to be in the top twenty in terms of the ease of doing business amongst global economies? We need private capital in power, transport systems and infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, health and educational facilities, tourism and services (financial, ICT, logistics etc) and other sectors if we are to grow this economy at the desired speed. We can’t get that private capital if businesses believe our business environment is mostly hostile to business.
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