Editorial
E-EDITIONS COLUMNS July 20, 2023. Student Loans Law: Tinubu’s Populist and Half-baked Policy, By Olu Fasan.
E-EDITIONS
COLUMNS July 20, 2023
Student loans law: Tinubu’s populist and half-baked policy, By
Olu Fasan
BOLA Tinubu,Nigeria’s new president, was determined to hit the ground running from his first day in office. He was haunted by the ghost of his somnolent predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who sat desultorily on his hands, doing nothing for the first six months of his administration in 2015. Unlike Buhari, who was called, and relished being called, “Baba Go Slow”, Tinubu has been called, and enjoys being called,“Baba Go Fast”! But, in governance, going fast can be as bad as, even worse than, going slow.
This is because good government depends on good policy making, and good policy making requires thoughtfulness, proper planning and a comprehensive analysis of the problem. However, Tinubu has shown a penchant for populist and half-baked policies. Populist, because they’re eye-catching and intended to show he cares about ordinary people; half-baked, because they’re poorly thought through, and defy basic rules of good policymaking.
Recently, I criticized Tinubu’s arbitrary withdrawal of the fuel subsidy without proper planning and consultation. The subsidy removal has not only affected the “rich”, but, more so, the poor, who bear the brunt of the pass-through costs through sky-rocketing inflation that will further immiserate them. But what did Tinubu do? Last week, he announced a N500 billion “palliatives” to give N8,000 to 12 million people monthly for six months.
First, how did Tinubu arrive at the 12 million figure when 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor? Second, what would N8,000 per month do for a poor Nigerian, with an ever-rising cost of living? And third, why six months? The fuel subsidy removal would save the government $10bn, over N8 trillion, per year. But Tinubu wants to give 12 million Nigerians a measly N8,000 per month for six months. Faced with a backlash, he’s now reportedly reviewing the palliatives. It’s a damning indictment of his rash governing style.
Which brings us to the student loans policy. Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Bill into law on June 12. In a four-part article in this newspaper, entitled “Education loan for students by President Tinubu”, the legal icon and renowned educationist Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, founder of Afe Babalola University, extensively examined the new law and gave it the thumbs down! Chief Babalola’s analysis is unassailable.
For me, the act confirms a pattern of deceptive populism and half-baked policy making. Indeed, Tinubu, who has long been part of Nigeria’s problem, and whose party has misruled Nigeria since 2015, is now insulting Nigerians with deceptive invocations of populism. Recently, he said he would “recover Nigeria from vested interests”, citing the student loans act as evidence of how he’s doing so.
But if the student-loans law is, indeed, intended to support indigent students, then it’s a bad law and an ill-conceived, harebrained policy. Yet, Dele Alake, Tinubu’s special adviser on “special duty, media, communication and strategy”, said: “This is how it is done in other developed climes.” Really? How many student-loans laws in other countries did the Tinubu administration study before introducing its own flawed legislation?
First, there’s no evidence of a comprehensive analysis of the problem. Giving loans to poor students in a tertiary education system that lacks the resources and capacity to produce employable graduates is misguided. With graduate unemployment ranging between 40 and 60 per cent, depending on whether the qualification is a degree or an HND, poor students would be saddled with huge debts with little prospects of getting a proper job after graduation to pay them back.
In the UK, the student loans scheme was linked to raising the tuition fee to £9,250 per year, allowing universities to generate more income. And as they generated more income, they spent it on enhancing teaching, research and the student experience, resulting in better qualified and employable graduates. So, giving loans to poor students without significantly resourcing and improving Nigeria’s tertiary institutions would simply increase student population and graduate unemployment. Furthermore, a student loan that covers only tuition, as the act says, and not maintenance, as in the UK, doesn’t really help the poor!
Then, there’s the utter deception. The act says its aim is to “provide easy access to higher education for indigent students”. Yet, it puts major obstacles in their way. First, an applicant’s family annual income must be less than N500,000. Every good policy is inclusive, excluding no sections of society from its benefit. But Tinubu’s student loans policy excludes millions of poor families: a family is now considered rich in Nigeria if its annual income is N500,000 ($650)!
Ridiculously, every applicant must also produce two guarantors. Tell me, in a country where getting anything virtually depends on connections or palm-greasing, why should an indigent parent or student be burdened with looking for a senior civil servant, a senior lawyer, a judicial officer or a justice of peace as guarantors?
What’s more, if an applicant has a parent who has defaulted in respect of a student loan or any other loan, he or she would be disqualified. Thus, Tinubu visits the sins of parents on their children. Furthermore, an applicant would be disqualified if he or she has been convicted of drug offences. How ironic, given that Tinubu himself was entangled in a drug related matter in the US.
Here’s the point. The eligibility and disqualification conditions in the act negate the so-called aim “to provide easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians.” So is the exclusion of students in private tertiary institutions from benefitting from the loan. In the UK, tuition fee loans are for all students, while maintenance loans and grants are means tested. If the Tinubu government cannot afford a universal student loans scheme, it shouldn’t create such a discriminatory scheme that excludes large sections of society. That’s bad policy and may be even unconstitutional, as some senior lawyers argue!
Outrageously, the act provides that a student-loan defaulter “shall be liable to imprisonment for two years or a fine of N500,000”. How many of the politically-connected farmers who defaulted in their Anchor Borrowers’ Programme loans are in jail? No civilised society treats student-loan default as a jailable offence. Besides, student loans are not conventional loans, hence many governments make provisions for cancellation. Yet, Tinubu trumpets his perverse student loans act as an achievement. It betrays his deceptive populism and penchant for capricious, ill-judged policymaking. Call it bad governance
By Divine Perezide
Pipeline vandalism remains a critical threat to Nigeria’s economy, environment, and public health. Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited has taken commendable steps to sensitize citizens, urging them to reject illegal bunkering and pipeline destruction. Their recent awareness campaign, visible in Warri and other key locations in the Niger Delta, emphasizes the need for collective responsibility in protecting national assets.
The messages on the Billboards read unequivocally:
“Don’t vandalize pipelines -Tantita sensitizes Nigerians
“Don’t vandalize pipelines. Say “No” illegal bunkering and don’t be involved in it. It’s dangerous to your health and our environment.
“Join us to save the environment and shore up the economic base of our Nation, Nigeria.
“TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited with a signpost to the People of Okere road and Ibo market in Warri, Delta State.
Signed:
“Management of TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited.”
The above signage has been seen in various strategic locations across major cities like Warri in the Niger Delta
As a nation, we must recognize that pipeline security is vital for economic stability and environmental sustainability. Authorities must complement such awareness efforts with stronger enforcement measures, ensuring that communities actively participate in safeguarding Nigeria’s energy infrastructure for future generations.
Being a Text of Keynote Address by Prof. Binebai at the March 29, IduwiniVoice Launching
Welcome seekers of truth and champions of justice. Today we gather on this sacred journalism ground where the majestic waters of Iduwini converge with the whispers of our ancestors, in the bold spirit of our gods of truth, justice, thunder and fire in the majestic presence of King Bosu Dio, the Ebenanaowei of Iduwini Delta, to inspire our quest for storytelling. Thus, it is with great pleasure and a deep sense of responsibility I stand here to deliver a lecture on the digital tide and the upsurge of Avant-garde journalism with focus on Iduwini voice, a distinctive news media that expresses itself formidably and elegantly as a newspaper and television in the cyberspace. By nomenclature, it is a communal news tabloid that was established by Perez Klintin Bibaikefie, An Engineer, A mathematician, a public affairs analyst, an entrepreneur, a politician and a rising star journalist from Odimodi in Iduwini Kingdom. The idea of an Iduwini newspaper was mooted as far back as 2006. In 2021 Iduwini voice was adopted as a media organisations and by July, 2023 it was registered. Iduwini Voice came to join a league of avant-garde newspapers such as Gbaramatu Voice, The Liberator Newspaper before the recent emergence of Arogbo -IbeVoice, Congress Newspaper and others as kingdom news voices.
Journalism and the Ijaw nation.
Ijaw nation has experienced journalist in many faces of its manifestation and practice. Thus in this sacred space, let us remember the legacy of Ernest Ikoli, the father of Nigerian journalism who stood distinct as a first generation Ijaw Journalist and politician, who challenged the excesses of colonialism. May his promethean spirit infuse our words with power and our hearts with courage and light. The second wave of Ijaw journalism produced other veterans like Willy Bozimor, Owei Lakemfa, Charles Tambou, Barclays Ayakoroma, Simon Ambakederemo, Steve Waidor- Pregbagba, Patrick Brisibe, and Murphy Ganagana. These journalists were employed by mainstream Nigerian newspaper. They wrote for newspapers owned by none Ijaws. They did not have the privilege and opportunity to write freely on Ijaw issues. The Third wave of journalism in Ijaw land came with the introduction of indigenous newspapers in cold print. Their vision is to tell the Ijaw story from the Ijaw point of view. They are Presidor Ghomorai who founded Ijaw News, the first Ijaw Newspaper to be established in the early 90s. Followed by Alfred Egbegi’s Izon Link. Then came Oyadonghan’s Banner News, The Light jointly founded by Ebi Any Ozegbe and Ben Binebai, Creek News, Crystal Express, Dialogue, the National Reflector, Izon Apia, The Agenda, and a host of others. The proliferation of these newspapers in Ijaw land across the Niger Delta was propelled by the creation of Bayelsa state.
It is significant to note that the emergence of the digital tide gave rise to the fourth wave of journalism in Ijawland, and this has greatly transmuted the landscape of journalism in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger delta. It is an era of journalism creativity meets with activism, where courage challenges tyranny and oppression, where tales of freedom and resistance are woven against injustices, where subalternised voices are made loud. President Olusegun Obasanjo played a key role in introducing the Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM technology to the country. His government laid the groundwork for the launch of GSM services in 2001. This was a bold attempt to revolutionize telecommunication in Nigeria. In 1995 internet services were introduced earlier in Nigeria and early online platforms emerged, particularly email and basic websites. In 1999 This Day, a Nigerian newspaper launched its online edition. This was followed by the guardian. In 2005 blogging gained popularity and in 2007, social media platforms like Facebook and twitter gained traction in Nigeria. In 2012, Nigerian government gave legitimacy to blogs and social media as news sources. Historically, this era produced an avalanche of digital newspapers. Apart from the android Cellphones, powering citizen journalism, Advocacy Journalism, Guerrilla Journalism. Digital technology gave prominence to the emergence of avant-garde journalism in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Avant-garde journalism powered fresh variants of storytelling and challenging media journalistic norms of orthodoxy, characterized by its emphasis on innovation, experimentation, and creative risk-taking. This methodology has led to the development of new narrative forms, such as interactive and immersive storytelling. This brand of journalism amounts to an intersection of technology and journalism which explores the potential of digital tools to enhance storytelling and audience engagement.
The emergence of Avant-garde journalism particularly from the Ijaw area of the Niger Delta is a very formidable solution to the major problems of the Ijaw nation. Such as lack of voice and speakability. Before Avant-garde journalism Ijaw nation suffered voicing and adequate representation. The orthodox media operatives had the blank check to write anything they wished for the Ijaw nation. Avant-garde journalism from the Ijaw soil serve as counter narrative voices that present the authentic story of the Ijaw people. These news agencies from the riverine offer distinct viewpoints and insights shaped by their proximity to the local environment and its cultural significance. They possess intimate knowledge of marginalized environment, its dynamics, and the community, enabling in-depth reporting.
Characteristics Avant-garde of journalism
Avant-garde journalism from the Riverine effortlessly access remote areas and gather stories that might or may have been disregarded by mainstream media. They enjoy the trust of the local community, facilitating interviews and information gathering. They duel in their riverine environment consequently, they strongly capture and underscore environmental issues, such as pollution, conservation, environmental sustainability, eco-friendly practices, renewable energy transition, carbon neutrality, climate resilience, biodiversity preservation, waste reduction management, sustainable development, green infrastructure and environmental stewardship in the Ijaw areas and the Niger Delta. Avant-garde brand of journalism is community-centric because it focuses on the needs, concerns, and stories of the local community. It is hyper local because it covers news and issues specific to the riverine area. Most importantly, the alternate journalism in question amplifies the voices and perspectives of ordinary people, not just elites or officials. Significantly, it seeks to inspire community-led solutions and initiatives. By their nature, they celebrate the resilience and adaptability of riverine communities in the face of challenges. Avant-garde journalism is essential for democratic engagement, community empowerment, and sustainable development in these unique regions.
Why Avant-garde journalism
Many reasons have been observed as responsible for the emergence of Avant-garde journalism. These include dissatisfaction with mainstream media that prioritizes sensationalism and profit over truth and depth, leading to a desire for alternative forms of journalism. There is also the point of technological advancements occasioned by the rise of digital media and social platforms. These developments have greatly powered democratized journalism which gives opportunity for new voices and innovative storytelling methods. Interestingly Readers increasingly seek in-depth and diverse perspectives that challenge traditional narratives. And there is the need for independent and unbiased reporting. Avant-garde journalism often pushes boundaries in form and style, attracting journalists seeking innovative ways to tell stories. Essentially as a media tradition growing from the subaltern soil, it focus on marginalized voices. It gives prominence to enlarging diminished voices and perceptions, thus, promoting diversity and inclusion. They are cost effective to operate.
Avant-garde journalism in Ijaw land: functions
The function of these new forms of journalism growing from the neglected and oppressed soil of the Ijaw nation are numerous: They share stories and traditions, and help preserve the cultural heritage of riverine communities. They are very active news agents and sonorous voices of grassroots reporting by providing ground-level reporting, though capturing of the voices and experiences of ordinary people. Besides they cater for the Ijaw and specific audience interested in river-related issues thus creating a dedicated readership. By leveraging these advantages, the Ijaw avant-garde or alternative journalism and journalists produce distinctive, impactful, and high-quality reporting that rings with their audience.
These media outfits collectively constitute the avant-garde journalistic tradition in the 21st century. They are one of the very vibrant voices and agencies that have come to change the direction of journalism in this age of digitalisation and technology. The avant-garde tradition of journalism embraced roundly and resoundingly by rising Ijaw journalistic voices are the embodiment of the digital tide that changes media landscape and the rise of digital journalism.
Iduwini Voice, a Paradigm of Avant-garde Journalism
In the ever-shifting landscape of contemporary journalism, a new wave of innovation and creativity is redefining the way we tell stories and engage with the world around us. At the forefront of this revolution is IduwiniVoice, a pioneering platform that embodies the spirit of avant-garde journalism. With its fearless approach to storytelling, Iduwinivoice is harnessing the power of digital media to push boundaries, challenge conventions, and redefine the norms of journalism. Together with Gbaramatu voice is the first known online and hardcopy media newspaper to emerge in the littoral regions of Delta state, followed by the Liberator Newspaper, Congress newspaper, Arogbo Ibevoice, Egbema voice, they not only provide digital storytelling by sharing stories, cultures, and histories of their environment through digital platforms. They also preserve the Ijaw heritage and accommodate virtual tourism through the promotion of riverine tourism and supporting local economies. They offer informal education and create awareness and campaigns about riverine environmental issues and promote education.
This lecture “The Digital Tide,” explores the remarkable journey of Iduwinivoice and its impact on the media world. It is a bipartite media organization. Founded and popularized by Perez Klintin Bibaikefie. Iduwini voice delves into the vision, of creativity and innovation that have made it a beacon of avant-garde storytelling. From the intersection of technology and journalism to the evolving role of the media in shaping our understanding of the world. Iduwinivoice’s model of avant-garde journalism has been particularly influential, with its focus on digital innovation and community engagement. Iduwini Voice brings stories from the grassroots, amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. It provides an alternative to mainstream media narratives, which often marginalize or sensationalize minority communities. It helps to preserve the cultural heritage and traditions of the Niger Delta region. And conducts in-depth investigations into issues like corruption, human rights abuses, and environmental degradation. Iduwini voice provides a platform for women, youth, and other marginalized groups to share their stories and perspectives. By leveraging digital platforms, Iduwini Voice democratizes access to information and journalism, reaching a global audience. Iduwini Voice’s significance extends beyond the Niger Delta, offering a model for grassroots, community-driven journalism that can be replicated globally. Because it is a local media outfit executing journalistic activism on the streams of globalization, it is difficult to brand it as a territorial newspaper. By nomenclature it is territorial, by medium it has global capacity it is can be local, national and global depending on its contents.
Iduwini voice is a prototypal model of the avant-garde and digital technology revolution holding sway across the length and breadth of Ijaw land. It has established a bulky voicing tradition in which it dominates the social media space with voices of denunciation, commendation and recommendations of actions and inactions by the powers that be. Iduwini voice flying in the rising digital wind and wings, has dutifully emerged on the horizon of the Niger Delta to participate constructively in shaping opinions and mounting pressure on contrary political centers of gravity. And the man behind this bipartite newspaper, Perez Klintin Bibaikefie, deserves to be commended. It has the noble tradition of balancing lopsided journalism and taming the tiger. Iduwini voice and its counterparts play a crucial role in holding power accountable and promote social justice. Together, they fly the banner of radical journalism by taking critical positions, undergo investigative reporting to expose injustice, corruption and systemic issues, they are champions of alternative viewpoints and the command activists approach and advocacy.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Iduwini voice is one of the most circulated, widely circulated and constantly circulated newspaper with quality contents. It is a leading voice of the voices in online journalism. Today, I have established Iduwini voice as an avant-garde newspaper with transformative energy, a vibrant riverine journalistic voice that is strongly redefining the landscape of news reporting as it affects his homestead by being counter-narrative and embracing innovations. I tell you in strong terms, it is an embodiment of the spirit of avant-garde journalism, a radical reordering of journalism to push boundaries and reshaping the possibilities of storytelling. It is bound to inspire a fresh generation of journalists, activists and community leaders.
Today marks a significant milestone with the official launch of IduwiniVoice. Thus on behalf, the man who bows before the sun that melts his hubris into fashionable humility, a man with an inner voyage of studied character, the Environmental Rights activist, A Philanthropist of great repute, a sport enthusiast, an Ijaw nationalist, the Chairman of this august gathering, High Chief Comrade Sheriff Mudale DG. CEPEJ, I am honoured to present to you a multifaceted and talented young man, a rising wordsmith, a cultural Ambassador, a formidable champion of avant-garde journalism, a digital narrator and investigator, an innovative story teller, a visionary thinker, a man whose pen is more valuable than the warriors sword, a passionate advocate, a determined journalist charged with great purpose, dominated by an impregnable will to climb to the mountain top of journalism; a young man, who commands an imagistic power that defines the power of technology and avant-garde journalism, Perez Klinton Bibaikefie.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Victoria Brickson once said and I quote “place your hands into soil to feel grounded. Wade in water to feel emotionally healed. Fill your lungs with fresh air to feel mentally clear. Raise your face to the heat of the sun and connect with that fire to feel your own immense power” Perez Klinton Bibaikefie is a symbolism of this quote. I congratulate him and his workforce on this remarkable achievement.
By Editorial Team
Success stories resonate more when they are authentic, relatable, and lived in real-time before our very eyes. One such story is that of Inetimi Timaya Odon, popularly known as Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa. His rise from humble beginnings, selling plantain on the streets of Port Harcourt, to becoming one of Nigeria’s biggest music icons, is a testament to the power of hope, resilience, and dedication to one’s craft.
Timaya’s story is not just one of fame and fortune but one that embodies the essence of True Story, his debut album that captivated hearts and set him on a path to stardom. For many of us from the Niger Delta, Timaya’s success hits differently. His music carries our struggles, our hopes, and our dreams. His journey represents the undying spirit of a people who have weathered many storms, determined to chart their course toward a brighter future.
The True Story album, released in 2007, remains a timeless classic. It was more than just music; it was a movement. Songs like “Dem Mama” captured the harsh realities faced by the people of the Niger Delta while offering a beacon of hope to those who felt unseen and unheard. Through his lyrics, Timaya painted vivid pictures of pain, perseverance, and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.
For those of us who come from the same roots, Timaya’s success is personal. In secondary school, it was a badge of pride to claim him as a brother from the same region. His rise gave us something to believe in — proof that dreams can come true, even when you start from the bottom. It gave us bragging rights, yes, but more importantly, it gave us hope.
The Egberi Papa’s journey is one that every hustler can relate to. It speaks to those who have faced rejection, endured hardship, and continued to push through the thick clouds of uncertainty. Timaya’s story shows that with unwavering dedication, the impossible becomes possible.
His influence transcends music; it is a cultural movement that inspires countless young people to keep going, to keep believing, and to never give up. Timaya is not just a musician; he is a symbol of what is achievable through hard work and persistence.
As he continues to evolve and remain relevant in the ever-changing music industry, Timaya stands tall as a living legend. His story will forever serve as an inspiration to those who dare to dream beyond their circumstances.
At IduwiniVoice, we celebrate his and the journeies of many more Nigerian/African Youths who have carved a nitch for themselves and made Africa proud, their triumphs, and their impacts on our society.
Big ups, Timaya. Your True Story will forever be our anthem from the creeks to the world.
— IduwiniVoice Editorial Team