Redenomination or Redomination: Give Soludo a Chance

by Hakeem Babalola
The Central Bank Governor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, recently unveiled a plan to revert the naira to its pre-1986 value. Prof. Soludo said among other thing that #20 will become the country’s highest denomination against #1000 which is currently the highest. Doing this will put the naira at about #1.25 to American (U.S) dollar and invariably transform the naira into a world class currency, and become West African’s common currency by 2009. This isn’t a bad idea. Is it? But is it practical and, or achievable? Are the owners of Nigeria going to tolerate it?

In essence, what the professor is trying to implement is called revaluation or currency re-denomination in economics parlance. He wants Nigerians to be proud of their currency as much as they are proud of their country being the Giant of Africa. Soludo violently believes in economic revolution hence something drastic must be applied urgently. "This would entail a total currency exchange and phasing-out of all the existing denominations from August 1, 2008".

The plan is to "restructure the entire currency by dropping two zeros or moving two decimal points to the left from the currency, and issuing more coin denominations. Effectively our plan will restore the value of the Naira (in short-term) close to what it was in 1985 before the commencement of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986". The proposed currency structure is as follows: COINS (1 kobo, 2 kobo, 10 kobo, and 20 kobo) NOTES: (50 kobo, 1 Naira, 5 Naira, 10 Naira, 20 Naira).

Even though I am in the Diaspora which means it would affect the quantity of money to be sent to my relatives, I’m not at all afraid of this restructure or whatever. That Soludo is not a politician has allayed my fear. I want to trust this guy because it seems he’s damn apt at his chosen career. And there’s nothing to fear other than fear itself. It’s not that restructure will eventually curb or eradicate poverty, at least it will make the naira look good either on paper or at hand. What is the advantage of 000? Hum, the billionaire now become millionaire and the millionaire now out of the race.

My fear of course is the implementation and logistics. Our policy-makers are known for their half or incomplete achievement. They are in the habit of starting an agenda without completing it. This has manifested in virtually every project embarked on. Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) in 1976 and Structural Adjustment Programme in (SAP) 1986 to cite two examples. Both agendas were meant to alleviate our sufferings but where did it lead us to? Nna, we just dey waste money anyhow. Hopefully Soludo’s project is quite different.

I really do not care much whether several countries in the world have undertaken currency re-denomination at various times or not. What concerns me is the seriousness and determination of Soludo, and the long-term effect of this whole process. For example, what are the necessary complements to the currency re-denomination? Is Soludo ready to die defending this agenda? Is he ready to resign if the agenda is politicized? My question is, why did he introduce #1000 note recently if he was planning re-denomination? This aspect confuses me.

For such re-denomination to be successful, part of the plan must include traders and not only elites. It must be beyond theory. Soludo must provide adequate and useful information to the market wo/man whose awareness is fundamental to the success of the agenda. She must know how it will affect her and her poor family. She must be properly educated on how practical it is for #1000 to suddenly become #10. She needs to know how on earth is it possible to spend #10 and get #1000 in value product. She just must know.

Perhaps we don’t even need to exercise fear over her. For if she could survive the tantrum of the military, especially Buhari’s inconsiderate currency colour change in April 1984, IBB’s SAP, and Obasanjo’s sadistic re-denomination, then she won’t find it that difficult to adjust to this simple and wonderful restructure of her currency. But she must be assured that, this one would be totally different from those agendas that had been used to oppress her. Believe me she needs assurance like never before, otherwise she will be forced to make it impractical.

Meanwhile I believe it is absurd to politicize the content and subject matter of Soludo’s idea of re-denomination. So far those who have expressed concern on the policy include the elders’ council of the Northern Union (NU), former CBN governor, Ola Vincent, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Adebajo Babington-Ashaye, the president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Ademola Ajayi, former secretary to the FG and Finance Minister, Olu Falae, and twice Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Minister of National Planning as well as Transport, Kalu Idika Kalu.

The above mentioned names have urged the Federal Government to call Soludo to order which simply means they do not like this idea of re-denomination. And like a listening head of this administration, Umaru Yar’Adua has asked economic team to review Soludo’s policy. I am not sure if Yar’adua, a man who is fighting tooth and nail to solidify and stabilize his rule, is ready to take the bold move with Soludo. This is definitely not the right time for Obasanjo’s anointed son to gamble on agenda of this magnitude.

In contrast, the President of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mrs. Juliet Madubueze has thrown the institute’s weight behind Soludo’s strategic plan for the naira, saying it would strengthen Nigeria’s currency in line with one of the pre-conditions of the West African single common currency. Even foremost economist, Prof. Sam Aluko, applauded Soludo’s decision to shore up the value of the naira through redenomination. "Fixing of an exchange rate for the naira has more advantages than disadvantages to the Country’s economy," Aluko was quoted by the national newspapers.

All in all, "apart from destabilising the prices of goods and services, the policy meant no change of status to the naira and the economy," says Duro Kuteyi, President, Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists. Until real development takes place in the economy through hard work on micro and macro economics, Naira woes may remain. Though I am not an economist, I consider Soludo's move as apt and brave. He should be given a chance.

Remaking Lamidi Adedibu

by Hakeem Babalola
Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu almost broke my spine with his purported obedience to the new Olubadan of Ibadan’s order that none of his chiefs should participate in active politics. The Garrison Commander of Ibadan politics sounded unlike himself when he retorted, "I will not say a word that will contradict or run contrary to the Olubadan’s order..."

For those who do not know who Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu is? He is 80 years old or so. He is the son of the soil whose Molete palace in Ibadan has become Mecca of polieatics. He is the god who often anoint governors, even presidents. Public officers including law enforcement agents and high ranking traditional rulers prostrate and, or cringe before him. He is the Ekerin or Ekarun Olubadan and may soon be the Olubadan of Ibadan. He has been in active but poisonous hate politics since the age of 25.

Lamidi Adedibu knows how politics works in his country and he doesn’t hide his enthusiasm in this regard. He is a man who passionately believes in polieatics. He has seen it all – right from the days of Balewa and Adelabu and Awolowo and Akintola and Zik. He radiates in winning elections without people’s votes. He knows what wins elections: dishonesty, swearing in vain, stolen and stuffing ballot boxes, instigating violence etc. It’s the purpose by which he stole to stardom, hence loved by Princes, Maharajahs and other potentates.

However, I do not know for certain if he has ever killed in his life. After all, he seems to be a devoted Muslim. The recent arrest of Lateef Akinsola a.k.a Tokyo and thirteen others for alleged murder and attempted murder not withstanding. It is obvious these notorious fourteen men enjoyed the backing of this political warlord who also enjoyed the backing of the immediate past Aso rock emperor. There’s no Adedibu without Obasanjo.

Adedibu violently believes in the axiom: end justifies the means. Like a river, he can roll turbulently boiling against his enemies. He stormily wants the cake they had promised him when he helped them cajole and conjure the ghosts who would terrorise the minds of voters on the D-Day. He does not want them to renege on the promise voluntarily made as candidates when they secretly crawled to his Molete palace.

He needs them to need him to need them for a bombing mission. It is them who have angered the god; mould him to be aggressive and defiant. They must have bitten the finger that feeds them. Adedibu forbids any governor whom he had single-handedly anointed to exhibit independence in running the affairs of the State, especially when it comes to appointing commissioners, special advisers, minister etc. And that’s where the trouble would always lie, for the candidate is now the governor and wants to be seen as one in total control.

For Lamidi Adedibu, it’s betrayal and the punishment is either impeachment and, or devastation or death. The man abhors cheating even though his healthy economy life has centred on that region. He wants his share of the treasury otherwise the effects of the struggle will be violent and disruptive. He is well known for the wilderness of his generosity under the disguise of catering for the poor. And his healthy scepticism has won him many supporters, although most of them are hooligans or area boys in local parlance.

Therefore it’s shocking to hear that a man of quiet dignity like Pa Adedibu would soon quit the job he has worked resolutely to master. It becomes ironic when soldiers love peace and Bishops or Imams love war. It is suspicious when a Garrison Commander takes order from a recruit. It doesn’t augur well, even unwise for Mighty Adedibu to listen to Olubadan of Ibadan, a position that has been indiscriminately used to dish out chieftain titles to every thug and thief. Adedibu’s reputation as Ekerin or Ekarun Olubadan added to the irony of the situation.

I don’t buy Adedibu’s implausible excuse for complying with Olubadan designate’s order. "I am an Ibadan man and as the Olubadan of Ibadan land, he is my father and I cannot disobey him," says this septuagenarian who once boasted that Ibadan could be peaceful only if he Adedibu wanted. Did Adedibu respect Pa Alayande when the latter was alive? So why is Adedibu reasoning like this now? Or haven’t we had Olubadan before now?

Adedibu must not let the Olubadan intimidate or harass him. How dare he give order to the master of the game! What is life without politics? Does the Olubadan know what it takes to single-handedly destroy Ibadan? Because Adedibu is on the verge of accomplishing a mission, a virtuous mission of the end – certain conspiracy theory now stands his way. The new Olubadan should know that it was less hard for his predecessors to accommodate Adedibu’s choleric outburst otherwise this Ibadan god would have been curtailed ages ago.

Curtailed? No, definitely not in his lifetime. I just don’t know how possible or easy it would be for the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, to place a big man like Adedibu under restrictions. Hum, Kabiyesi might be using cobra’s head to clean his nose. Adedibu is so authoritative that Umaru Yar’Adua had to compel the Acting I-G to restore the police guards attached to this Ibadan god, which was earlier withdrawn by the Oyo State CP.

Further conspiracy theory is Dr. Lekan Balogun’s call on the Acting Inspector-General of Police to investigate Adedibu’s alleged involvement in a number of violent attacks on individuals in Oyo State. What violence is he Balogun talking about? What has Adedibu done that is new? What did Adedibu do that Adelakun alias Eruobodo did not do when he was alive? Behind every great fortune, there is a crime, says one philosopher.

Nigerians and especially Ibadan indigenous population, and most especially Oyo State elite, tacitly allow Adedibu’s tantrum and incorrigible crimes. Both elders and the youths gradually pave way for Pa Adedibu to roughshod over all opposition due to their own greed. Where is Chief Akinjide, former A-G and Justice Minister? Where is Dr. Olunloyo, ex Oyo State governor and the rest? Apparently, he probe into their minds and waylay it with impunity. By the time they realised their folly, the man had become a thorn in their flesh. His words written into law.

Thanks to OBJ. "We must tolerate and manage Adedibu". Pa Adedibu was so sure of his authority when he boasted he would impeach a governor because the latter had refused to share public fund with him. His standby loyalists are ever ready to carry out the Garrison Commander’s order as when they stormed the Oyo State House of Assembly with different kinds of weapons including guns. When a country uses thugs as part of political dispensation, what you have at the long last is chaos and Adedibuism.

But meanwhile Dr. Balogun, senator from 1999 to 2003 and Oyo State governorship aspirant in 2003, should seek his cheap popularity somewhere else. What atrocity has Adedibu committed that seemingly surpass that of Olusegun Okikiolakan Aremu Obasanjo, now a theology student and delusive father of modern Nigeria. Politics as they play it in Nigeria is not for feeble minded souls. En, what punishment melted to Operation Wetie perpetrators? What has been done to bring to book those who killed Bola Ige, former Attorney General, and many other unsolved assassinations?

Ultimately Adedibu must not give in. He should endeavour to finish his lifetime ambition before quitting politics. If he quits before completing his mission, then he is not the son of the soil. Adedibu should not turn Oyo State into mourning by quitting active politics – abruptly. He should know that Ki a soro ki a baa bee ni iyi omoluwabi (Doing what you say is peculiar character of a fine fellow). So Adedibu must not quit until Ibadan is wholly destroyed.



Ultimately this Ibadan god must not give in. He shouldn’t let the Olubadan intimidate or harass him. His life ambition he must finish before quitting the game of polieatics. Ki a soro ki a baa bee ni iyi omoluwabi (Doing what you say is peculiar character of a fine fellow). So Alhaji Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu must not quit until Ibadan is wholly destroyed.

E-passport to check Nigeria fraud

Nigeria's authorities are worried about increasing forgery
Nigeria is introducing a chip-based e-passport to check growing cases of forgery and identity theft, the immigration chief says.
"People have been tampering with the data page of our current passport," Chukwura Udeh told the BBC.

"We found out that some fraudulent people often peel off the data page of the passports and substitute pictures of the genuine owners with fake ones."

President Umaru Yar'Adua and some MPs have been issued new e-passports.

The new e-passport has an embedded microchip that stores personal information of the holder, Mr Udeh said.

Other Nigerians wishing to exchange their current passports for the new electronic one will have to pay an administrative fee of 8,500 naira ($67).

"The e-passport has the advantage of having the biometric data of the holder encrypted in the microchip embedded somewhere in the passport, making it impossible to tamper with," Mr Udeh told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

The Nigeria Immigration Service says it plans to phase out the machine-readable passport currently in use and replace it with the new electronic one.

But Mr Udeh says even the new one is not entirely foolproof.

"We are not saying that it is 100% foolproof, but it is a veritable tool for fighting the problems associated with the older machine-readable passport," he says.

A Visit to the Nigerian Embassy in Hungary

by Hakeem Babalola
The only time I love going to the Embassy of Nigeria in Hungary is whenever it has to do with my writings. And I have done that a couple of times. My first encounter with our friends at the Embassy was in 1994 when I was doing a news story about 419 scam, which was just gaining momentum in Hungary then. It would later soil Nigeria’s image here in the Danube area. I remember I was initially verbally accused of collaborating with the foreign media to discredit Nigeria, although the then first secretary, Ayo Otepola, eventually granted me an interview.

Meanwhile, I simply detest asking our Embassy for any services even though as a Nigerian, it’s my prerogative to get such services. The services I have in mind include authentication of photocopy of my original birth certificate obtained 13 days after I was born in 19XX, and the fee paid was One Shilling. I need it to process my child’s further staying permit. I had misplaced the original. But there’s no way any reasonable and apt Nigerian official would doubt the genuineness of my precious document.

Yet my mind refused to have a blissful peace just because I must authenticate this document at my Embassy before it could be accepted for translation into Hungarian. I had experienced similar growing scepticism in December 2006 when I must go to my Embassy to collect a certified document stating that our child is Nigerian. Until then "the" child status shall remain stateless – at least as Hungarian government is concerned.

In both cases it turned out that such scepticism was purely based on my imagination. This is because I was attended to and got both documents without much hassle under the supervision of two Madams – Ester Ogundipe and G.C Sani respectively. My experience is however, maybe contrary to what many of our compatriots encounter at the Embassy here in Hungary.

Nigerians who bear the Embassy a grudge and would hold it for years are those with the so-called proxy passports. These Nigerians cannot fit themselves into the web of social life unless they first cross the hurdle of proxy passport. As each day wax, they dream of that delusive moment when the Nigerian Ministry of Internal affairs would find it significant to ship the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) to Hungary.

Although the MRP will cease to be an authorised travel document in July 2008 when it will be replaced by the recently introduced Harmonised ECOWAS e-passport, Nigerians wishing to get married to Hungarians must first present it before their Embassy could issue a clearance certificate for nuptial bliss. Such certificates had been issued to many Nigerians until recently when holders of proxy passport are exempted.

It should be noted that Hungarian Immigration has zero tolerance for proxy passport, a clampdown which often delays Nigerians at the port of entry. Yours truly constantly experience such delays. It may take twenty to thirty minutes before establishing the genuineness of a Nigerian passport at the Hungarian airport. Many Nigerian proxy passports have also being seized.

So on that bright Tuesday morning off I went to the Embassy having booked an appointment with the consular. After the friendly looking security had satisfied that I was not concealing any weapon of mass destruction, he ushered me in – to the waiting room. I met another Nigerian and we greeted each other.

Fifteen minutes later, the consular came to the room, pointing to me that I must be the person who talked to her on the phone about authentication of... "birth certificate," I helped her finish the sentence. I was greatly impressed by her memory, after all, there are tens of Nigerians calling this Embassy everyday. Besides, I have always heard bad comments about our officials. Isn’t it food for reflection if I had to be impressed simply because madam was doing her job?

She then moved towards where I was sitting, sat beside me and inspected my document. I was right when I said earlier that no competent Nigerian official would doubt my birth certificate, for it was written on her face. There was no need to challenge its authenticity, so Madam just offered me various ways to do it. She talked about Hungarians with so much exactitude that surprised John Chukwu and I. Here is our Madam who barely spent four months and has already known what took most of us years to understand.

Another Nigerian who was accompanied by a white lady whom I later discovered to be his fiancee had joined us immediately Madam left. He greeted us with compatriot handshake. Then we engaged in discussion based on the image of Nigeria. We chatted about the ministry of internal affairs inability to provide MRP to the Embassy in Hungary. We talked about Hungary’s joining Schengen Staten soon which means free border; and those with proxy passports would be able to go to Austria to authenticate them.

John Chukwu whose passport had been seized by the Hungarian Immigration seemed satisfied with the newly promoted first secretary, Miss Aiyenuro, who attended to him. I was happy to part with 30 dollars for the service rendered to me. Only Obinna Maduewesi who holds proxy passport and until now may not be able to wed his fiancee, was dissatisfied and furious.

As I left the Embassy, I prayed for Obinna – such a young guy. And I lost in deep thought: is Madam being nice or simply doing her job? Does she know that I’m a newspaper boy who must write? Or is it simply the beginning of a new era at our Embassy in Hungary? It’s too early for me to jump into conclusion but I shall have my ear to the ground.

Police Indiscriminate Arrest of Women in Lagos

by Hakeem Babalola
In their search for a scapegoat, the police found an easy target in our women. Whereas women and children, apart from protecting the citizens in general, must be given exceptional treatment, according to the Police Act. Rather than undertake the danger imposed by armed robbers however, the Lagos State Police seem satisfied with capturing and arresting "whores" and, or ladies dressed in "skimpy" clothes along the streets of Lagos.

Before our stern moralists, especially Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who has just banned female members from wearing trousers, start preaching the gospels, I’d like to say the issue is beyond being morally pure on the part of the arrested citizens. It’s like obtaining public money under false pretences for a lost cause. It’s about the police mocking the law they suppose to enforce. It’s about police immorality and irresponsibility. It’s about abusing the uniform meant for protection.

There’s nothing wrong for the police to conduct a routine check, which of course must be an exercise to protect the society from the menace of muggers. Anything different from this would have defeated the purpose. Equally significant is the manner in which such routine check must be carried out, an area in which the Lagos Police goofed. The officers appear to be more concerned about harassing, embarrassing, and intimidating ladies during such exercise.

"Their vehicle stopped beside me and they pushed me into it," recalls Mrs. Chiegozie Albert, a mother of two who was arrested along Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja. "They call me Asewo (prostitute) because I was wearing jeans trousers and open top. I told them that I am a housewife but they didn’t listen to me. They took me to their Ikeja station and detained me along with other ladies; it was my husband who learnt of my arrest who came to bail me. He paid #5,000 before I was released".

Of course those who could not grease the officers’ pilfering palm ended up being prosecuted for disturbing the "public peace". Although the importance of law enforcement agents cannot be overlooked in our society, such nobility could only fascinate us if only we are protected as the profession dictates. Parading these women like criminals terribly violates their rights as a human. This is simply not the way to purify Lagos or Nigeria at large.

At the risk of of being accused of hearsay, I certainly believe Mrs Albert even though I was not there. Her experience much the same of what I had witnessed as an insider. The Nigeria Police are simply brutal when it comes to discharging what suppose to be their duties. Perhaps it’s the uniform, perhaps it’s frustration, perhaps it’s low self-esteem. I can’t just pinpoint what could be responsible for incessant disgrace by our law enforcement officers.

The Lagos Police Command went on rampage chasing sex workers, housewives, students, blue collar workers, and in doing so sexually violated these women: a textile worker at Oshodi, two sisters returning from their village, female youths accused of dressing indecently and so on. And in fact PMNEWS investigations revealed that many innocent Lagosians were detained by the police due to indiscriminate arrest on the road.

How would right thinking Nigerians describe a scenario of this nature? "At night, some of them (Police) will come and start touching our breasts," says Chinwe Okorie. "And I was not a prostitute but they wouldn’t listen".

I mean even if these women are hookers, does it give the police the right to touch their breasts? What minds these mortals possess? What is happening to our police? Bail me out please. Whilst I commend the arrest of some 95 women for alleged human trafficking during the raid, the innocents must be released immediately with compensation.

Gosh, when an organisation that suppose to protect us officially becomes the one that eventually thwarts or frustrates or impedes our exactitude, then we’re dead – and this is not figurative language. I believe there’s no other act that can paralyse citizens than when a government violates our dignity as in the case of these women. And I am subjectively insinuating here of the possibility that the women were prone to rape in police dark dungeon.

It is even easier for the victims of armed robbers or rapists to get over the trauma than when the police use their uniform to either physically and, or sexually violates them under the inauspicious camouflage of arresting prostitutes. Is there not a law that guides such exercise? Should the police continuously use their uniform to perpetrate sexual harassment?

On behalf of these helpless ladies, I entreat the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, M.D Abubakar, to tread the path of honour. While his assurance to fight crime with might is commendable, his method of indiscriminately arresting women is not. Let him know that his gra...gra method by embarrassing and intimidating women won’t work; it can only backfire.

Finally, it is also good that Abubakar had instructed his officers to wake up from their slumber. However, they should go about their business without making our women a whipping boy. This is one message the new Commissioner of Police must put at the back of his determined mind with unflagging courtesy and pursuit of excellence.



"At night, some of them (Police) will come and start touching our breasts," says Chinwe Okorie. Another witness: "I told them that I am a housewife but they didn’t listen to me. They took me to their Ikeja station and detained me along with other ladies; it was my husband who learnt of my arrest who came to bail me. He paid #5,000 before I was released".