Between Northern Nigeria leaders and the legacy of King Faisal and Queen Iffat of Saudi Arabia on education of the girl child

by Eromose Ileso

The education of the girl child in Northern Nigeria has always been a divisive issue. It is an issue that has never been given the attention it deserves by the Northern establishment.

The girl child in Northern Nigeria is largely still regarded as part of the home furniture and most are given away in early marriage. Some in their pre-teen or early teens. This has been the norm and it has continued unabated.

It is an issue that was raised several times by the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in his pubic speeches before he was practically boxed into a corner by elements who are against reform and are comfortable with the present status quo.

At various fora, before he went quiet, he harped on the need for Northern Nigeria leaders to fine tune mechanism in educating the girl child. It didn’t come has a surprise therefore that, because his views were largely anti-establishment, it didn’t garner the support it deserved. Instead, the message was cast aside, and the messenger has been curtailed.

These were the Emir's words at an event in April, 2017.

"The people need to prioritise their commitment toward  the education of female just like their male counterpart.

“We appeal to everybody, especially well-meaning individuals irrespective of party differences, to provide the environment to aid girl-child education,”

Now, this is still the position of most elements of Northern Nigeria leaders seventeen years into the 21st Century, where the education of the girl child is still seen as an afterthought. They are instead given away in early marriage thereby altering their development and future prospects.

Most of these leaders hide under the conservative vestries of Islam. Yet this is further away from the reason as could be seen from the legacies of King Faisal and Queen Iffat of Saudi Arabia.

As a way of background, King Faisal (1906-1975), was the king of Saudi Arabia between 1964-1975, before he was assassinated by a nephew. While Queen Iffat (1916-2000) was the wife of King Faisal. Both are credited with laying the foundation for the education of the girl child in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis practice the most conservative form of Islam, Wahhabism, where certain rights of women are tightly controlled and restricted. However, King Faisal during his time as head of the Saudi monarchy was able to persuade the obdurate conservative Saudi religious establishment on the need to educate the girl child.

In the words of Dr. Mai Yamani, King Faisal’s persuasion motto to the religious establishment was that “you educate women and they become better mothers”

It was through his words of persuasion, that Queen Iffat was able to pioneer the education for girls in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To which Mai Yamani, who was the daughter of Saudi’s Oil minister ( Ahmed Zaki Yamani) at the time ended up being an early beneficiary, as she was one of nine female students of one of such schools.

Mai Yamani was eighteen years old when King Faisal was assassinated on 25 March, 1975. Yet the benefit of that early education she gained through the foresight of the King and Queen, was reflected later on in her life. She went on to become the first Saudi Arabia woman to secure a Ph.D in Anthropology from the Oxford University, in the United Kingdom. This was after she had earlier schooled in the United States.

Now, the question is, imagine if Mai Yamani did not get that early education at the time she did? What trajectory would her life had taken?

You guess is as good as mine. Yet some might say, since her father was Saudi’s Oil minister. She would still have gotten the required education outside the Kingdom as shown by her career trajectory, with her father being a lawyer. But that is entirely missing the point.

At the time, King Faisal and Queen Iffat championed education of the girl child, Saudi Arabia as a kingdom was still largely under developed, and was still steeped in Islamic conversativism which by the way they still are. Yet they were able to lay the foundations for the education of the girl child so early in their development. And this is talking of something that is near and/or over fifty years now.

Whereas, by contrast, after over half a century, the education of the girl child in Northern Nigeria has not been given the seriousness it truly deserves. Whereas the girl-child is still being withdrawn from school by parents to work before they are given away in early marriage.

Saudi Arabia is the birth place of Islam. Yet, they laid the foundation of the education of the girl child at the early stages of their development as a kingdom through its third ruler in King Faisal. Northern Nigeria leaders on the other hand, are still loathe to embrace the importance of educating the girl child.

There is a serious lack of commitment on the part of the larger Northern Nigeria leadership to address issues of girl-child education. Many are still hiding under the cloak of religion to subjugate the future of many girls who would have gone on to better their lives if they are given the opportunity to get the required education.

According to available statistics, there are 10-12 million children out of school in Nigeria. A larger proportion of which are in the North, and the girl child's situation within that statistics is even worse off.

This low level of girl child education in Northern Nigeria has continue to cause an increase in early marriages that has resulted in the prevalence of vesico Vagina Fistula (VVF).

The Child Rights Act 2003 strengthens the right of a child to have the right to education and not be given out in early marriage.

However, eleven (11) of the twelve (12) states in Nigeria that are yet to domesticate the law are in the North. (Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara).

Whereas, sixteen (16) of the seventeen (17) states in Southern Nigeria have domesticated the law with only Enugu state the odd one out. While it just eight states out of the Nineteen (19) Northern states that have domesticated the law.

Even though, record shows that only Lagos and Akwa Ibom states have actually started implementing the law since they domesticated it. Yet, a child cannot walk without first clawing.

The states that are yet to domesticate the law have not even started. Unlike those that have domesticated it since it was passed by the National Assembly fourteen years ago. (Southern Nigeria is dominated by predominantly Christians unlike Northern Nigeria)

There is an adage that, “you cannot be more Catholic than the Pope”. This applies to the situation with what King Faisal and Queen Iffat did to advance the fortunes of the girl-child, and what currently obtains in most of Northern Nigeria.

The birth place of Islam is in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Despite the strictest form of Islam in the form of Wahhabism that is widely practiced in the kingdom, the fortunes of the girl-child relative to education has not been subjugated the way it has been in Northern Nigeria over the years.

Rather, the authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are removing obstacles that have stood on the rights of women for decades.

On 26th September, 2017, King Salman issued a degree that would become effective from June, 2018 that allows women to drive themselves. A decision that many did not see coming despite years of women activism for them to be allowed to drive vehicles.

The question remains that if the most conservative Islamic nation on earth is moving towards advancing the cause of the girl child, what is the excuse of Northern Nigeria leaders?

Ekosodin: A stagnant stream in the midst of a flowing river

by Eromose Ileso
                                                       

A portion of Ekosodin road in it current state

When the names of certain places are mentioned, they invoke a feeling of nostalgia either in the picturesque, personal or prosaic sense.  There are many places in such sphere that bring about a reminisce when their names are mentioned. They immediately bring back memories flooding back that are either savoury or labyrinthine.

Ekosodin is one of such places, where anytime it is mentioned, it connotes a sense of negativity in the sub conscious of those who once lived there. Either through the cult related killings or the unrest between indigenes and students. But, others have a positive view of the place as not all things have negative a trail there.

Ekosodin is a community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State that shares a boundary with the University of Benin. As a result it commands a large student population, apart from the local inhabitants. Practically it is an extension of the university, as it is separated by just a fence, and there is a gate that connects both places.

However, that is not the remit of this piece. Rather it is centred on the fact that in spite of the 'status' of Ekosodin, by being close to one of Nigeria’s foremost ivory towers, the University of Benin, the place has gone backward in recent years. It as if time has stood still as far as the place is concerned, while it moved on in other places.

In June 2017, a friend that graduated from the University of Benin in the early eighties had cause to ask me what Ekosodin was like presently. I was able to give an accurate assessment, prior to being asked that question. I had visited for the first time in over five years a few weeks earlier. Instead of changes for the better, it was a case of a community that has effectively receded to the extent that nature is firmly against the place.

Starting from the road that leads to the town, which has been the subject of terrible underhand dealings between indigenes and government officials’ alike with both taking turns to feast on what they consider as spoils. 

In 2002, the road was first awarded to a contractor by the Ovia North East Local Government with a remit that it should be completed within two months. The contractor set out to work, with earth sand used to fill the road from the beginning at the Benin-Lagos road towards the community itself, after that the contractor asphalted just about 200 metres of the road which ended by the first street on the road. (Ehigiegba Street) That was as good as it got. As there were reports at the time that monies meant for the construction of the road was shared by some indigenes of the community which is why the contractor couldn't complete it.

In 2014, the road was again awarded by the NDDC, the Niger Delta Development Commission. Again, it was a terrible job. A contractor that was clearly confused and one clearly devoid of what he was doing, initially did some work at the heart of Ekosodin at the gate, by constructing a gutter that was more like a funnel for fetching water than a drainage. While some part of the road towards the express were dug, and later covered. When they pretended to be working on the road months later, they asphalted it half way once again, this time by going beyond the first street, by ending at the third. (Igbineweka street)

At present, the road is a complete right off beyond the third street, after the boundary it shares with the Evbomore community, the portion of the road after that is so terrible that, it could easily be mistaken for a gully erosion site.

And talking of gully erosion, Ekosodin has also been hit by gully erosion with several houses swallowed up by the gully; it is so bad that it has affected some portion of the University of Benin premises. And the gully is getting wide at a fast pace and it has put the lives of people who live near it at risk.

When it rains or during rainy season, Ekosodin becomes a deluge. The popular Edo Street is usually overtaken by flood water, and virtually the entire community. You would only know how bad the situation is when you go deep into the community to see how terrible it is during the rains. And the access road to the community is receding so fast with flood water making it worse, with the road to the left of Ekosodin road when coming from inside the University of Benin, now completely bad as the entrance is now several feet above the main road because of flood water.

Many residents of the community now use the University of Benin as car park during the rainy season, as it is suicidal to the state of any vehicle to venture deep there during the rains. You only have to look at the state of the taxis that ply the road on a daily basis to see what the road could do to a vehicle.

Yet when the Ivory Tower that looms large over Ekosodin is considered against the back drop of the degenerating state of the community, you begin to wonder why the presence of the University of Benin has not fostered any development let alone any sustained development. Still the school remains the live-wire of the community’s economy.

Prior to 2002, when the main entrance to the community was through the Ekosodin gate via the school’s ground, when vehicles could access it through the gate, not much thought was given to working on the main access road leading to the community for years. Until the gate was shut permanently by Professor Aburime Anao, the vice chancellor at the time, following a student crisis cum riot, with only the pedestrian gate left open for students to use. The previous gate was a see through one that was always opened, but after the crisis, an elevated gate that fits more in a maximum security prison has been in place to this day.

At different times, the school has taken turns to carry out palliative measures on the road. However, that measure has receded in recent years, which has left the road in a terrible state.

The domino effects of the current state of Ekosodin is that some property owners there, are now putting it up for sale due to the fact that some have not been able to derive maximum returns from those properties as majority of them are hostels.

The environment and terrain at Ekosodin isn’t conducive in many ways especially when it rains. 

When Ekosodin became a name synonymous with the University of Benin more than four decades ago, little was known about Bwari in the Federal Capital, Abuja. Both have similar location in terms of how further away from the main road they are with Bwari some distance from the Abuja-Zuba expressway than Ekosodin is from Benin-Lagos expressway. But in terms of development, Ekosodin cannot boast of the most modicum of development. Ekosodin doesn’t even have a tarred road that runs through it.

For starters, Ekosodin is a paradox when everything about it is put side by side with how it has fared in all indices of capital development when compared to how the University of Benin has grown in leaps and bounds over the years.

The blame for the current state of Ekosodin lies squarely in the hands of the indigenes, their pursuit of self-interest has set the community backward in terms of development. When people who are not progressives approach a situation, the first thing they consider is to line their pockets.

With portions of the community rapidly giving way as environmental degradation hits it, it would take more than the reconstruction of the access road to the community for it to gain a semblance of light. The environmental state of Ekosodin has to be addressed, not just the gully erosion site, but several roads within the community that have become mini gully sites.

For what it is worth, Ekosodin would always retain a special place in the hearts of students who went through it either for good or bad. But whether, it one day becomes a place that would measure up in terms of developmental strides remains to be seen.

From Benin to Sokoto: A tale of three non-functioning radiotherapy machines in key hospitals and a child’s life

by Eromose Ileso

Updated: 20 November, 2018. This piece was written on 16 July, 2017 about a two and half year old child who survived the gruelling effect of brain surgery, his journey from Benin City to Sokoto for radiotherapy and how he made a full recovery. But very sadly, he died in early 2018.

There are very distressing moments that are common place in the Nigeria health sector. As a person who has witnessed first-hand how things are in some tertiary health institutions in Nigeria as a patient, I can tell what it’s like in some of these hospitals. However, nothing I experienced could be compared to what a friend’s two and a half year old son went through about eighteen months ago.

In March, 2017 I was ambulating through Ibiwe Street, at Ring road when suddenly I heard my name being called. At first I ignored it, but as I continued, the call became louder, until I looked back and it turned out to be a friend I haven’t seen in person for a long time. Incidentally I called him a few weeks earlier when I got the news through a church bulletin that his wife was delivered of a baby. We embraced and both said “long time” at the same time. Then as we talked, I started hearing about issues that completely trumped whatever I have been through myself when I asked him why I hadn’t seen him for so long.

In August 2015, his son, who was just two and a half year old at the time, was complaining seriously of a persistent headache. This made him restless and whenever he ate, he always threw up, as his stomach became alien to any food it took. Because of this turn of event, he took him to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. He was admitted to the pediatric ward. 

By this time, the kid was getting completely restless and couldn’t stay still as he was always shouting “my head, my head” the pediatricians contacted the consultant Neurosurgeon at the hospital. He ordered an MRI scan of the brain. At the time, the machine at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital wasn’t working. As is the case in most government hospitals in Nigeria, it had broken down. The MRI scan was done at Union diagnostic centre at Sapele road opposite the police microfinance bank.  

According to him, when he saw the MRI scan, it was clearly obvious even to him that is a layman as far as medical science is concerned, that something was wrong as there was a clear spot (tumour) in his son’s brain,

When he got back to the UBTH, the doctors immediately ordered an exploratory surgery to be carried out on his son. He was rolled to the operating theatre to which he spent hours there. When he was brought back, his words were “my heart broke” “the only place there was no ‘pipe’ in my son’s head were his eyes” “his ears, mouth, nose, upper spine and neck.” “I wished God could transfer the pains to me the father” he told me. After that the sample of the tumour was given to him for histology. According to him, he was informed by the neurosurgeon that his son’s case that is the tumour was a rare one. One the doctor hadn’t seen before.

At this time we were standing at the front of the shopping complex talking for a considerable time. The place I was going, took a back sit in my mind as I tried to process what I was hearing. Then he continued. After three weeks at the UBTH, the doctor ordered another MRI scan, but this time he was told that the machine at the UBTH was now working. They did the scan, and after that he was told that his son would have to undergo radiotherapy. That was when another challenge came up, not of his making, rather of the Nigerian system that is completely dysfunctional.

The radiotherapy machines at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) wasn’t working, the one at the University College Hospital Ibadan (UCH) was also not working. Same with the machine at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH). It meant he had to take his son to the North in spite of the gruelling and traumatic experience he underwent less than one month earlier. 

His options were down to the National Hospital, Abuja and the Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. He then told the doctors to give him two referral letters for both hospitals. When he eventually contacted the National Hospital, he was told that they had hundred patients on their waiting list and they couldn’t accommodate his son, and as such he was advised to seek other options. It turned out they had to head to Sokoto. A Northern state that is closer to another country, Niger Republic than the place (Benin City) where his son had the surgery.

So he headed to Sokoto with his wife as well as the son who wasn’t ready for such a long journey after what he had been through. Initially he had planned to stop over in Abuja at the place of a cousin who was waiting to take them in when they arrive. But according to him, they had a change of mind, because of the urgency of the situation and the urge to use all available time to move closer to Sokoto. 

They were able to get to Zaria that night. By this time it was already 12am. They had to lodge in a hotel to spend the night. His words “by this time, it was as if my son’s head was almost off his body, because the surgical procedure to remove the brain tumour resulted in several part of his body to be opened up especially the back of his head, and a little down to his upper spine as the tumour had spread. So the boy was clearly still feeling the effect as his neck couldn’t have healed in just one month after such a challenging surgery.

The following morning they headed to Sokoto. When they got there, there was another challenge, they didn’t know anybody. People, who have been to Northern Nigeria by road, would attest that it is like crossing the border to another country, only without the border check points.  As God would have it, after series of calls, he got to know that a woman, who worshipped in the same church with him in Benin City, did her national service in Sokoto and stayed back after she was offered a job. And she had even settled down there as she was married to a Yoruba man. It was her family that housed them throughout their stay in Sokoto.

When they got to the Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, there was another challenge. The doctors said his son was too young to go into the radiotherapy machine, as he was just two and half years old. After deliberations, especially when it had to be considered that this family had traveled from Benin City in Southern Nigeria to Sokoto in the North. Eventually they shifted their position, and the boy was allowed to undergo the procedure. They took tricycle daily from where they stayed to the hospital until the procedure was complete.

When they got back to Benin City, they reported at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Where another MRI scan was ordered.

As he narrated the ordeal his son and his family went through, I asked him where he got the funds to do all this. Because, he doesn’t earn a salary and besides nobody saves up money to treat an ailment. He is an entrepreneur than fends directly for himself and family through his boutique where he deals on different clothing attires; same goes too for his wife. He told me how the church and some members were of great financial help, and in his absence, whatever was sold from his boutique; the money was transferred to him in Sokoto.

After all the horrifying tales, it all ended when I was shown the picture of his son, who had completely recovered. I saw him again two months later at the same spot, and his son was the first person I asked after.

This particular experience a friend’s son went through again reflects the difficulty and challenges of undergoing medical treatment in Nigeria hospitals. The simple question is why were the radiotherapy machines in three key tertiary medical institutions in Southern Nigeria not working at the time?

This unfortunate and negligible state of affairs further put the life of a two and half year old boy at risk. After the trauma he went through, as if that was not enough, he still had to be taken to Sokoto a distance of 749 km (465 miles). What if the boy had suffered another trauma? Nobody who had undergone such a procedure should have had to go through the travails of travelling that long distance on a public transport, because some people somewhere failed to do what is expected of them.

It is such a thing that has cost the lives of so many Nigerians. My friend’s son went through it and came out of it successfully to the glory of God. But so many Nigerians are not so lucky or favoured, as several have kicked the bucket due to the poor service delivery that is prevalent in the Nigerian health sector.

If you are a Nigerian that has gone under the knife in any hospital in the country and you came out of it without post-surgical complications, it is worthy of thanksgiving to the almighty God. Things many take for granted in advanced countries, are not so in this clime.

Little wonder the president of Nigeria is abroad seeking medical treatment, which says a lot about what is on offer in Nigeria. If it’s not good enough for the country’s number one citizen, is it really good enough for any Nigerian?   

   

Benin City: A stream flowing with street cultism

by Eromose Ileso

Cultism has become a menace to the Nigeria society, but in some places in the country, it is a bigger problem than it is in others. Benin City, the capital of Edo State is an example of where the menace has become an issue that never seem to end. 

In 2014, I wrote a piece that traced the evolution of cultism from the tertiary institutions to the streets in Benin City, and how the credibility that was common place in the streets have given way to cultism. 

Even at that, one prevalent thing about school cultism is that it is largely 'seasonal' in nature in that, rival cult groups most times engage in battle mostly during the end of a school session. This is why it is common place to see that certain final year students that are highly placed in the leadership of cult groups do not live to leave the University as their life is sniffed out from them shortly after their final examinations for deeds they carried out in their earlier years in school. Cases abound where this has happened.

The seasonal nature of school cultism is not cast on stone; something could trigger a disagreement between rival cult members that would lead to a larger problem at any time during a school session. However, with street cultism, it is never seasonal, it can happen at any time of the year, it does not matter what time of the year it is really.

At different times in 2015, the killings between different cult groups in Benin City was so high that it took the intervention of the then Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase who is from Benin City, Edo State to stem the tide. 

The IGP came down hard on the leaders of the groups as officers from the Force Headquarters in Abuja came to arrest several leaders of the rival cult groups in Benin City. Some of those arrested had association with highly placed individuals in government. Some police officers were not spared in the clamp down as those that have association with the cult groups were arrested. While some were taken to Abuja, others ended up in Lagos. 

The clamp down was so serious that even Divisional Police Officers (DPO) could not release on bail those that were in the Divisional Police Stations. But despite these arrests, there is/was little or no evidence of anybody that was charged to court, most of them eventually got out of detention on police bail.

That singular act by the IGP brought about a thaw between the cult groups as there was a sudden peaceable sphere that pervaded the landscape of Benin City as an unusual serenity descended on the horizon. Even you could hear some of the cult members giving cryptic signs via hush tunes that indeed they have been able to move around freely without fear that they would be attacked. Whether it was a Manfight, Eiye, Bucaneer, Black Axe and/or Jurist cult member, the intervention brought about by the IGP was something they all welcomed.

And it should be noted that one reason why the IGP’s invention was swift was because he understood the terrain as well as the various networks in the City. 

His intervention was reminiscent to that of retired (Deputy Inspector General) DIG Parry Osayande’s posting to Benin City as Police Commissioner of Old Bendel State in 1986 by military president, Ibrahim Babaginda to deal with the robbery menace of Lawrence Anini and his gang. Again, this was possible because Parry Osayande knew the terrain because he is from Benin City.

However, that thaw that was brought about by the intervention of the IGP later disappeared as the killings soon resumed. That undercurrent that is always there triggered another spate of killings. In the Evboneka Community of Benin City, there were killings almost on a daily basis, with a complete disregard for the sanctity of human life.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2016, the Edo State Police Command arrested and paraded over 46 cult members including those that were on their way to sniff out life out of a rival cult member. They had earlier been informed by a friend that their target was at Urokpota Hall, at Ring Road, so the two of them proceeded with a back pack to their destination, but fortunately, they were accosted by the police at Ring Road who searched their bag and discovered two firearms and a axe. It was at the parade, they narrated what they were on their way to do, before they were arrested. However, others that were targeted to be killed have not been as fortunate as they have met their untimely dead by a design they fostered on themselves.

At various times throughout 2016 and as well as 2017, there have been different spate of cult related killings. There was one particular case that was very bad. It happened in the Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City in February, 2017. A rival cult group went to the home of a rival to pull a hit, when they got there; their target was not at home. Instead they ended up beheading a sibling of their supposed target.

Street cultism in Benin City has become so bad that involvement cuts across every facet of the fabrics of the City. Artisans, electronic dealers, Technicians, ordinary persons and other group of persons are deeply involved. Primary and Secondary school students are also involved. 

Most of them join these cult groups willingly, while some end up there through peer pressure and at other times they are initiated into the cult groups by their friends. And the multiplier effect of this involvement in cult groups is that there is the domino effect of armed robbery. Those who are not engage in any productive venture, will end up being involved in kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and extortion. And one of the reasons why they engage in these social vices is that they have to pay dues to the cult groups they belong to. These dues are paid the way members of any association pay their dues. As a result, most of them go to any length to get the necessary money to pay the dues.

The reason why the rate of street cultism is on the high side in the various suburbs and communities in Benin City is something that was extensively dealt with in this piece of 2014.

But it would be unfair to claim that the menace of cultism in particular and street cultism in general is something that is a problem only in Benin City. All over the country, it is a problem that has eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian Society, It is everywhere. But a major difference between cult memberships in the supposedly high class is that there is this esprit de corps between them irrespective of the fraternity they become to, whereas, in street cultism, any fault lines and tensions from existing undercurrents result in killings.

There is a clear respect of hierarchy amongst the high echelons of this cult groups, but in street cultism, there is seldom respect as such, anybody can use a personal disagreement outside to initiate a spate of killings as there is always a loose chain of command, that is why these killings are so prevalent.

With the way the menace of street cultism is shaping up, it would take more than just the usual practice of arrest and parade by the police for it to be curtailed.

Something drastic has to be done to address the issue. For now though, the killings through street cultism continues unabated.

The Hypocrisy Of Nigeria’s Ethnic Fissure

by Eromose Ileso

Its no longer news to hear about the continuous fault lines of Nigeria’s ethnic divisions. That much has been obvious from the very foundation of the country, even before its independence. That bitter ethnic division got to a head when the Nigerian civil war broke out in 1967. The domino effect of that conflict is still being felt by a session of the country.

However, in spite of the ethnic divisions prevalent in everything Nigerian, it is the hypocrisy of some of these divisions which fosters in the background that clearly shows that there is something imminently wrong with the disposition of some Nigerians. When it comes to mundane issues few play up the sentiments of the ethnic divisions, but when it comes to politics, it becomes a tool by which sections of the country have used to beat others from different regions.

Let us take a scenario which is common place in various homes of affluent Nigerians. In most home in Southern Nigeria, especially those of the wealthy, their security details especially those that man the gate to the entrance of some their mansions, are men who are of Northern extraction. Usually, you seldom see local indigenes who would be gate-men, so most of these jobs are left to those who are from the North. 

But when these same wealthy Nigerians play up the ethnic politics for their own selfish interest, they easily forget that they have a domestic staff that is from a part of the country they have completely vilified. It is a scenario that is being played out daily in the Nigeria society.

It doesn’t end there. In most places in Eastern Nigeria, people from Abakiliki, Ebonyi state used to be the domestic workers you find in most homes. But, as a result of the prevalence of some unsavoury experiences, where some of these workers and those that brought them connive to elope after the person has been paid for bringing such a domestic worker in question down from Ebonyi. 

As a result of this, some Easterners have gravitated towards people who come from the North as their domestic workers. As an instance, in Nnewi, Anambra State, there are a lot of domestic staffs who are from the North especially in Uru community. They were brought down by different persons. Most of them are brought in in their early teens. But at this domestic level, people seldom see through the ethnic divisions to bring in domestic staffs who are from the North into their homes, yet at the political stage, the ethnic sentiments is always played out as a theme to score a point which is never for the overall good of their constituents, but for their personal gains.

Besides, there are several wealthy Southern Nigerians who have little ranches where they rear cattles, because the Hausa-Fulani are the predominant people who deal with catering for livestock, they are employed in these ranches to carter for these animals. Again, this is prevalent locally.

In the North, there are some very conservative Muslims, who have core Christians from Southern Nigeria as their domestic staffs, some have cooks who are from Calabar, Cross River state. Others have chauffeurs who are from the South West. Yet, it is the same Nigerians from the North, who would fly the kite of “the born to rule” template of which some Northern elements and politicians have continually used to foster their interest.

The question then is why is it that the elites especially from the North are quick to play up ethnic sentiments when it comes to politics, but they seldom play up such sentiments in their private lives?

In early May, 2017, a friend who is a consultant gynecologist, told me about his experience where he did his national service in Sokoto. He mentioned a very core conservative Muslim whose children were attending a catholic school. One of the top schools in that area. But you ask yourself, such a person is comfortable doing this when it comes to taking strictly private decisions that concerns him and his family, but for some reason or another, when that same person gets to a position to take similar decision in national political circles, the religious and ethnic sentiments would be used to score a cheap point.

It is very clear that ethnic divisions is used by elitist Nigerians especially those from the North and many from the South to continue to subjugate certain sections of their political base so that they would perpetually be subservient to them. Time and again, issues that ought to be for the overall good of every Nigeria, is used to play ethnic politics.

As a result of this, certain laws that should have aided in the advancement of some key sectors of the Nigerian state have not seen the light of day because of this. 

In this instance is the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) this is a bill that would have completely overhauled the Nigerian oil and gas sector, but the bill has been held hostage by Northern elements in the National Assembly, because of the benefits that would have accrued to oil producing communities in the Niger Delta. Several sections of the bill had been watered down which has almost rendered useless the original intentions of the drafters of the bill. 

The fact that the bill has gone through several parliaments and still not seen the light of day, only goes to show that national interest is not of concern to most of those that represent the interest of Nigerians, rather it is pure personal interest. 

Most of the Northern interest that has lobbied for the bill not to pass over the years, have interest in the oil and gas sector, so in order to avoid a scenario where the PIB might alter certain benefits, it has consistently been opposed. Again it comes down to personal interest. 

The common man in the streets of Northern Nigeria, doesn’t know anything about the Petroleum Industry Bill. But their representatives at the National Assembly are the reason why the bill has not become an Act of parliament for fifteen years.

It is clear that when it comes to ethnic matters, the Nigerian political elite operate with double standards. They have one standard for political matters and another for their private lives. And the former is driven by private benefits despite it being premised on public matters.

This same scenario applies to most Nigerians outside the political sphere especially in their approach to ethnic issues.  

Benin City: A Cornerstone of Nissan Vanette

by Eromose Ileso

There are symbols that are synonymous to different cities around the world, that when they are mentioned, you could easily link them to the place such symbols are located. 

Sometimes, its akin to describing a Siamese twin. Along this line, it is easy to link the Statue of Liberty to New York City, the Eiffel Tower to Paris, the Big Ben to London, Great walls to China, The Taj Mahal to India, the Amazon rain forest to Brazil, the Pyramids to Egypt and the Third Mainland Bridge to Lagos.

These are symbols by which these aforementioned cities are known by. 

However, for some cities, there are other symbols that are in the background that have not gained much traction by way of being noticed by many, not because they are not there, but largely because, such have not seen as part of a symbol of the city.

In this instance is a symbol, though many might not see it that way, but it has become prevalent in the ancient city of Benin, the capital of Edo state, South-South Nigeria. One of the oldest cities in the world as recorded by Portuguese explorers’ when they visited in the 15^th century.

When Benin City is mentioned anywhere, it rich cultural history and customs copiously comes to light, with the evolution of the absolute nature of the old Benin Empire now subsumed within the framework of the Nigerian state. Yet, the city is more than that in its present state.

There is a dominant theme currently in every nook and corner of the city that everywhere you go within the local government councils that make up Benin; they are found everywhere, moving passengers and goods from one part and corner of the city to another. 

For decades now, they have taken centre stage as the dominant means of public transport in the city, as it is now the most used intra city means of transport by which people are conveyed. 

It is none other than the Nissan Vanette bus. From Ring Road to Oluku, New Benin to Upper Mission Extension, Ring Road to Siluko, Textile Mill Road to New Benin, New Benin to Isiohor, Murtala Muhammed Way (3^rd) to New Benin, Mission Road to New Benin, Medical Stores/Okhoro to New Benin, Ring Road to Ekenwan Barracks, Ugbiyoko to Ring Road, Ramat Park, Agbor Park to Ring Road and New Benin, Sapele Road to Ring Road and Saponba Road to Ring Road. The Nissan Vanette Bus is the dominant means of public transportation by which people move around within the city.

The bus usually takes a minimum of nine passengers and a maximum of ten passengers, if a driver decides to take two passengers at the front.

The reason why the bus is so common is not far-fetched. It efficiency and the fact that its popularity in the city means its spare parts are easily available and motor mechanics are within reach in the city to fix it when it breaks down.

Some of these buses are pleasing to the eyes, with sits that are comfortable and suiting on the buttocks, while others are rickety in nature with their exhaust akin to a chimney billowing smoke all over with the interiors and sits like a human who has lost its entire tooth due to old age.

These buses come in diesel or fuel engines. The ones with diesel engines have become more common because of the low combustion of a diesel engine when compared to fuel engines. 

However, the continuous rise in the price of diesel has made several drivers groan that they no longer make enough daily profit from driving as most of the monies goes into buying diesel. 

As a result of this, many of these drivers have had to cut short the route they run. Especially a route they see as too long. For instance, there were a bevy of buses that convey passengers to as far as Oluku, but most of them have had to reduce their driving time by using Isiohor as their last bus stop so that they can maximise the time they would have used to proceed to Oluku to move back to either Ring Road or New Benin to get more passengers. However, other drivers go as far as Oluku by increasing the bus fare by 50%.

There are thousands of Nissan Vanette buses in the city of Benin going by its dominant usage as the vehicle of choice for anybody that wants to venture into intra city transport in the city. 

In spite of its popularity, everything about its sales and spare-parts are largely in the hands of private individuals in Lagos which is so for obvious reasons, largely due to the fact that Lagos is a port city as well as the commercial capital of Nigeria. Still, the popularity of the buses in the city is enough selling point for there to be a Nissan service centre or as least one close to it in the city. Beyond what is currently available in the city.

Several brands cannot boast of such usage, but here, you have a motor brand that is second to none in the city, with the patronage for it so high that no week goes by without you not seeing at least one Nissan Vanette bus that has been added to the fleets that are all over the city.

However, one key thing to note is that these buses are not bought as new buses. Rather they come in as fairly used or ‘second hand/ direct Belgium’ as they are popularly called. 

They are mostly shipped down from Asia or Europe to Lagos like most vehicles in Nigeria before they find their way to Benin. Yet, in spite of the fact that these vehicles don’t come in as new fleets, the sheer number of it in the city is enough for the owners of the brand to site a centre within the city that would be a rallying point by way of an incentive to dedicated users.

Ironically, the most popular brands of buses for intercity transport in Nigeria are the Toyota buses. Which virtually all transport companies have in their hundreds, where they possess the usage of Nissan buses, it is not as common as the Toyota buses. But, the Nissan Vanette bus has found a place within the hearts and mind of intra city transporters in the city of Benin.

It is a feature that one can add to the several unique features that are linked to the city of Benin whenever it is mentioned. You could be at Ring Road about to board a bus to the University of Benin Main gate, when you look around, all you see are Nissan Vanette buses, it is the same when you are in New Benin, those that are conversant with the city, might not have been conscious of it, all over, in the yellow and brown colours with which they are painted, they are common place like water is to fishes.

When next you find yourself in Benin City, besides the taxi cabs that are available for hire, you could just find yourself being conveyed from wherever you are to your destination sandwiched within other passengers either at the front, middle or back sit of a Nissan Vanette bus.