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Opinion: COVID-19 Responses And The Intelligence Quotient Of Nigeria’s Political Leadership

Published

6 years ago

April 22, 2020

By Tony Abolo

COVID19 and its handling by those in authority has brought to the fore an element of analysis of the quality of leadership so desired and needed to make Nigeria function and function better. We have through our sixty years angled from those with oratorical prowess, to demagogues, to money bags, to better educated, to highly educated, to former military persons, and now to moral integrity. None has proven satisfactory. We must clearly begin to look for INTELLIGENCE – an ingredient so sorely missing in those who rush out of the pack and claim to want to lead. It is lack of the evidence of intelligence that when the ordinary Nigerian throws up his or her arms and asks rhetorically, “who do us this?”. This is the fuller meaning of the expression. And when some people accuse the Governments ,at all levels of knee-jerk approaches, it captures in essence the kind of and level of intelligence of those who say they are leaders.

When I read in the Newspapers that the Federal Government or State governments in the face of the lockdowns want to expand the palliatives of “2 cups of Rice and Indomie“ and finances to more persons, beyond the 1 million plus at present, anyone with a measured intelligence would merely laugh. In the heat of the moment, it seems that, that is all that occurs in the minds of those who call themselves “elected leaders”. It finally has dawned on them that there is a wide gulf created “deliberately” between themselves and those they govern. The privileges they have been accumulating and enjoying in the last sixty years are unwarranted, and unmerited. How could we in a country of 200 million persons, have a bunch of senators and members of the House of Representatives have to themselves a budget of N120b annually. The Presidency enjoys more humongous inexplicable billions to feed, travel, maintain a public house, called Aso Villa, have 2 to 3 billion naira appropriated to State House clinic, a sum which till today, no body exactly knows if it is ever released or if released, who are the beneficiaries as Buhari, Kyari(when alive) and Aisha Buhari seek alternative venues for medicare. The governors have a monthly “back pocket” allowance styled, “security vote” of N 500 million – another open sesame for a shameful privilege of access to wealth. Till date, no one knows the “security vote” of the President or the Vice President. There must be, but always, shrouded in secrecy. This is aside Ministers estacodes, allowances and other perquisites in unknown millions.

The riots around the lockdowns in Gwagwalada, Oshogbo, Asaba, Lagos Suburbs, Kwali, Warri and Bomadi, have suddenly woken the sleepy privileged class to realize that what has been going on and condoned are not privileges but “robbing the people” in subtle terms. It is because the people have never rioted nor shown any anger on the streets, hence this nonsense of dipping hands inside the Nation’s Treasury in the name of “budget approved” allowances and expenses. In a sudden change of heart, Senator Omo Agege goes dispensing N85m to his constituents at a time, he may never have planned for it.

In the same vein, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq. Hurried through some Northern states with “ghana must go” bags of billions of naira, in tow, to scatter to those, we hear, she claims are the “poorest of the poor” and the vulnerable in Nigeria, the Northerners – an obvious lie, and an unfounded fabrication. It is bad enough that the North out of its negligence and defense of an arcane culture, allows many such untrained and unskilled millions to roam everywhere in the North. And now she could claim that it is the fault of the South hence “they are the poorest of the poor” in Nigeria. Are we now to be rewarding “irresponsible parenting” and encourage promiscuity of ill-equipped persons to procreate. Of course, we will keep selling more oil from the South to support the North’s “poorest of the poor”!!. Little wonder in an exercise that smacks of nepotism, from an infographic published in the national dailies, Katsina State has been observed to have the poorest of the poor such that out of the 1,126,211 mandatory cash transfers, Katsina with their exalted “son of the soil” who has not lifted a finger in a personal way, to help his State indigenes out of poverty, the state got the highest allocation of cash transfers.

And come to think of it, it is unconscionable to be distributing public money as if it were loaves of bread and strangely without documentation, no signatures of receipt, and we are to take the Minister’s word for it that, for example, N1.6billion has been distributed to 84,000 “poor and vulnerable” in one day in Kano. Is this a due process country or a village setting? Is Nigeria a fiefdom to be run from a “village square” and without proper accountability? Little wonder, last week, Kwali vulnerable indigenes, in the Abuja area, rioted having only received N2000 each, instead of the N20,000 palliative amounts they heard announced for each person. They rightly rioted to demand for their balance N18,000:00. So much for rule of the thumb approach to governance issues, and the ethnic supremacy doctrine which makes a Minister to act as to say, “our people are in charge and we set the rules”.

This knee-jerk response approach of both the Federal and State governments to their epiphany of realizing that there is entrenched poverty in Nigeria, due to years of misrule, injustice, over allocation of privileges to only a tiny few, plain “greed” in the name of privileged collection of “budgeted perquisites” has made it abundantly plain that – what all governments are doing, is neither wise, clever or sustainable. Government cannot and does not have the capacity to be feeding its populace in a lock down – and as is now being done, in a not-all inclusive manner. Governance as a responsibility has to be thought through. These palliative releases cannot and will not address the inequity in the system. Increasing the so called Social Register to 3.6million households is nonsensical. In any case, we hope that it is not another, towards the poorest of the poor in the North? In a country of 200 million and where nearly 100 million are poor and vulnerable, according to NBS statistics. it is merely irresponsible of any government to be talking of 3.6 million households to remedy. What we need now is a NATIONAL SOCIAL WELFARE REGISTER. We should cut down all the wastages and undue and unnecessary privileges in the system. We need to have a political class that acts with concern, compassion and humility. Now is the right time during and post COVID-19, to enact – A National SOCIAL WELFARE SCHEME – a programme that would count, capture and take care of the millions of the poorest of the poor and the unemployed Nigerians instead of this skewed Social Investment programme of the APC. This programme should have a legislative backing in line with the thinking of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, unlike the SIP which seem an ethnicised, regional and a supremacist skewed project. We should act, like what the Chinese would say, in a manner that would be like the tide – which lifts ALL THE BOATS. It is this, that would save the over privileged political class. Otherwise, as in the book title of James Baldwin, it will be FIRE THE NEXT TIME!!!!.

A tough call though, at a time the world is predicted to have a worst recession since 1930s and when the world economy is predicted by the IMF to contract by 3% and Nigeria’s economy, predicted to contract by -3.4% with an inflation rise to as high as 13.4%. But then our governments never ever think in a future wise sense in Nigeria, ever. So, we will get our comeuppance as it comes, for we never ever know how to plan for tomorrow as we always like to use the cultural and religious platform of “Oh well, God will provide”. In any case, no one can stop the steaming anger and riots that could erupt post – COVID-19, with the way we are handling the Nigerian aspect of the pandemic.

I end this article with a quote from Onikepo Braithwaite in her article titled Nigeria Post Covid -19 of 19-4-2020 published in This Day- as it shares my thoughts:
The pertinent question to ask at this juncture is, do we love our country and want it to survive or not? It is patently clear that if the answer is in the affirmative, this is as good a time to do away with many of our worthless structures, systems and frivolous expenditure as the cost of governance is way too high and unsustainable……Are we going to continue to have States which are not viable or allow them to harness their own resources to generate IGR? What kind of restructuring are we going to undertake, in order to rebuild our country and make it better? There are so many unanswered questions and matters which require urgent attention.

Tony Abolo is a vetrave journalist, Doyen of broadcast journalism, journalism instructor, public speaker, and writer.

News

Edo Targets 2.2 Million Children For Measles, Rubella Vaccination

Published

7 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

The Edo State Government says it is targeting about 2.2 million children aged between 0 and 14 years for measles and rubella vaccination across the state.

The Director of Disease Control and Immunization at the Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Eseigbe Efeomon, who disclosed this during stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting in Benin City, said this would be done in collaboration with development partners.

Efeomon, while noting that the vaccination exercise scheduled to hold simultaneously from January 20 to January 30, 2026, across the 18 local government areas of Edo State at designated health facilities and temporary vaccination posts, said the campaign aims to contribute significantly to the reduction of measles and rubella in Nigeria.

He explained that achieving this target requires increased population immunity through sustained vaccination.

Dr. Efeomon stressed that only qualified and certified health workers would be recruited as vaccinators because the vaccines are injectable.

According to him, the vaccination strategy would involve fixed posts and temporary fixed posts, and vaccination cards would be issued to all vaccinated children as proof, which parents and caregivers are advised to keep for future reference.

He added that vaccination teams would visit schools, churches, mosques, markets, motor parks, internally displaced persons’ camps and other public places, while children who receive the vaccine would be finger-marked to prevent double vaccination.

He reiterated that the overarching goal of the campaign is to drastically reduce rubella incidence nationwide and protect children from preventable diseases through effective immunisation coverage.

Also speaking, the World Health Organization Local Government Facilitator, Mr. Ajaero Paul, described measles and rubella as major causes of death and congenital abnormalities among children globally.

He said both diseases are preventable through the measles-rubella vaccine, which he described as safe and effective,

He added that sustained advocacy is critical to reducing child mortality and lifelong disabilities.

On his part, UNICEF Social and Behavioural Change Health Officer, Yakubu Suleiman, emphasised that the measles-rubella vaccine is safe and effective for all children aged nine months to 14 years.

He stated that the government has fully paid for the vaccines, making them available at no cost to all eligible children in government health facilities across the state.

Suleiman explained that vaccination not only protects individual children but also safeguards communities from deadly vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and rubella.

He added that even children who had previously received the measles vaccine should still be given the measles-rubella vaccine and appealed to schools and other key stakeholders to support the campaign to ensure that no child is left behind.

News

Togo, Niger, Benin Owe Nigeria Over $17.8m For Supplied Electricity – NERC

Published

11 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

Nigeria’s electricity regulator has disclosed that three neighbouring countries, Togo, Niger and Benin, are indebted to Nigeria to the tune of $17.8 million, equivalent to more than N25 billion at prevailing exchange rates, for power supplied under bilateral electricity agreements.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, made this known in its Third Quarter 2025 report, which reviewed market performance within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI.

According to the report, the international customers were billed a total of $18.69 million by the Market Operator for electricity supplied during the third quarter of 2025. However, only $7.125 million was paid, leaving an unpaid balance of $11.56 million for the period under review.

NERC also revealed that the same international offtakers had outstanding legacy debts amounting to $14.7 million from previous quarters. Of this amount, $7.84 million was settled, leaving a residual balance of $6.23 million.

When combined with the Q3 2025 shortfall, the total outstanding debt stood at $17.8 million, which translates to about N25.36 billion at an exchange rate of N1,425 to one US dollar.

The regulator identified the international electricity customers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin Republic, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger Republic.

NERC stated that the three utilities collectively paid just $7.125 million against the $18.69 million invoice issued for electricity supplied in the third quarter, resulting in a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent.

This meant that more than half of the billed amount remained unpaid at the close of the quarter.

The commission explained that the electricity exported to the three countries was generated by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies and delivered through cross-border bilateral power supply arrangements.

By contrast, NERC reported a stronger payment performance among domestic bilateral customers. According to the report, local customers paid N3.19 billion out of the N3.64 billion invoiced for the same quarter, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.

The regulator further noted that some bilateral customers, both international and domestic, made additional payments to offset outstanding invoices from earlier quarters.

Specifically, the Market Operator received $7.84 million from international customers and N1.3 billion from domestic customers in settlement of previous obligations.

Beyond bilateral transactions, NERC disclosed that Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies remitted a total of N381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator in the third quarter of 2025. This was out of a cumulative invoice of N400.48 billion, translating to an overall remittance performance of 95.21 per cent.

The commission said the figures were derived from reconciled market settlement data submitted as of December 18, 2025, as part of its statutory evaluation of the commercial health and performance of the electricity market.

News

Expert Identify Foods That Increase Hypertension Medication’s Effectiveness

Published

19 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

Hypertension remains one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide, contributing significantly to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Despite the availability of effective antihypertensive drugs, long-term control of high blood pressure is often challenging because of drug resistance, side effects, and poor adherence.

This has fueled growing scientific interest in complementary strategies that can enhance drug efficacy while minimising toxicity. One promising approach is the combination of conventional antihypertensive medications with herbs and spices in many kitchens.

Recent evidence suggests that augmenting modern antihypertensive drugs with foods rich in p-coumaric acid, a naturally occurring phenolic acid, may offer a novel and effective strategy for blood pressure control.

Phenolic compounds, commonly found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and blood vessel–protective properties.

In a study, researchers investigated the combined effects of lisinopril, a widely used antihypertensive drugs and p-coumaric acid on hypertension.

They reported in the Comparative Clinical Pathology that p-coumaric acid enhance the antihypertensive action of lisinopril, potentially allowing for improved blood pressure control without increasing drug dosage.

The study used an established animal model in which hypertension was induced in rats through oral administration of L-NAME, a compound known to suppress nitric oxide production and raise blood pressure.

Following the induction of hypertension, the animals were treated for 14 days with p-coumaric acid (at two different doses), lisinopril alone, or a combination of both.

Untreated hypertensive rats showed significantly elevated activities of key enzymes linked to high blood pressure such as ACE, arginase, acetylcholinesterase, and phosphodiesterase-5 along with increased lipid peroxidation, an indicator of oxidative stress. At the same time, levels of nitric oxide, a critical molecule for blood vessel relaxation, were markedly reduced.

By contrast, rats treated with a combination of lisinopril and p-coumaric acid experienced notable improvements. Blood pressure was better controlled; harmful enzyme activities were reduced, oxidative stress declined, and nitric oxide levels increased. These improvements were mirrored in the tissues the heart compared with untreated hypertensive animals.

They said that the findings suggest that p-coumaric acid may enhance the antihypertensive action of lisinopril, potentially allowing for improved blood pressure control without increasing drug dosage.

This drug–food interaction model is particularly important in the circumstance of long-term hypertension management. Many patients rely on lifelong medication, and strategies that can improve treatment outcomes while reducing side effects are highly desirable.

The study also reinforces the growing recognition that diet is not merely supportive but can be biologically active in disease control.

The use of medicinal plants and plant-based therapies in the management of hypertension is deeply rooted in traditional medicine across many cultures. While such practices have often existed outside conventional healthcare systems, modern scientific research is now providing evidence-based explanations for their effectiveness.

While these findings are based on animal studies and cannot yet be directly translated into clinical recommendations for humans, they open the door to future research on dietary strategies that can safely complement antihypertensive drugs.

Further clinical studies are needed to determine appropriate dosages, safety profiles, and real-world effectiveness.

In the fight against hypertension, the future may lie not only in new drugs, but also in smarter combinations, where medicine and nutrition work together to deliver better, safer outcomes for patients.

Such nutrition to help maintain healthy blood pressure includes garlic, potatoes, walnuts,tomato and tomato products, legumes and citrus fruits (grapefruits and oranges).
(TRIBUNE)