Dr Joe Abah, OON Profile picture
Aug 24, 2019 8 tweets 2 min read Read on X
I am ambivalent about the issue of focusing on the tribes of fraudsters, Dipo. Let’s chat and bottom it out. My first reaction to your first sentence below was: “So? When we say the 77 Nigerians are Igbo, what value does this knowledge add? How does it help us?” Short thread...
Then you say say, rightly, that people should speak to young people to change. My knowledge of scammers is that they tend to have a strong bond in a tight network. They often become very good friends who trust each other. They therefore tend to congregate by location.
Most of my Yoruba friends, my age, have a stronger affiliation to the UK than the USA. Most UK yahoo boys I know are Yoruba. Most of my Igbo friends, my age, have a stronger affiliation to the USA than the UK. Most USA yahoo boys I know are Igbo. So, again, so what?
The problem with focusing on tribe is that we are, in my opinion, one of the most discriminatory societies on earth. As you know, there are some jokes that our comedians crack about ‘oyinbo people’ that will land land you in jail in other countries.
We are always looking for a reason to discriminate: tribe, sex, religion, age, weight, height, even skin tone. The ordinary Nigerian tends to do it in a lighthearted way, although there are a few lunatic bigots even on Twitter. The politicians exploit the natural differences.
So, my question is: does your tribe predispose you to crime in general or to certain types of crimes in particular? Is fraud a genetic problem prevalent in certain tribes? If not, what do we achieve by focusing on the tribes of fraudsters? Does it help reduce the problem?
Are we just stating facts when we say most yahoo boys are from xyz place? Do we treat the information like trivia: interesting but useless? Are we being sensible not to further perpetuate our discriminatory tendencies, which, globally, tend to worsen when the economy is down?
Should we elevating the discussion to focus on the wider Nigerian societal mentality that you can get rich quick by doing no work, either by yahoo or by miracle? Isn’t that the real issue? I’ll be interested in your thoughts.

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More from @DrJoeAbah

May 29, 2023
Let me tell you some of what normally happens at a Presidential inauguration. The Chief Justice of Nigeria administers Oath of Office on the President-Elect, which he swears to either with the Bible or the Quran, depending on his religion. What if he’s a ‘Traditionalist?’ Thread.
We haven’t had an instance where a President is neither a Christian nor a Muslim. If he’s a Traditionalist or an atheist, they can just affirm. However, the Oath of Office in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution must be followed to the letter. It ends with “So help me God.”😊
Can you say “So help me Sango/Amadioha”? If you are an atheist, can you say “So help me universe/ nature”? I do not believe that you can. Not without amending the Constitution. So, like it or not, the Oath is not complete until you repeat after the CJN “So help me God!”😊
Read 9 tweets
May 28, 2023
For some people in government, today is their last day at work. For many, there’ll be a sense of disbelief that today has really come and “nobody has said anything.”😀 A bit like that very old uncle that you know will die soon but are still shocked when he finally does. Thread…
Let’s sort through the differences though. When you are appointed a Minister, just plan for a maximum of 4 years. The Buhari government was unusual to have let Ministers stay for 8 years. Before the current government, a Minister was advised to plan with just 2 years in mind.
Anyway, majority of the current Ministers will not return. In states where the governor has won a 2nd term, there’ll be minor cabinet reshuffles. In states where elections are due in the next one year or so, there may also be reshuffles as technocrats make way for politicians.
Read 13 tweets
May 25, 2023
Seriously though, let’s look at the issues raised by Festus Keyamo, SAN. He is reported to have said that the Minister of State position is a redundant position and suggests that it may be a “constitutional aberration.” Let’s explore the issues in a short-ish thread. Thread…
You see, the problem starts with Section 147(3) of the Constitution that says the President MUST appoint at least 1 Minister from each of the 36 states. Please note that he could appoint 72, if he wanted. He could appoint 144, or 288 or 360 ministers, if he wants. Any amount.
So, if, as a President you wanted fewer ministries (say 24, like President Buhari), the question is “What do you do with the others?” As DG BPSR, we recognised this problem and prepared a document that gave clear roles and responsibilities for Ministers and Ministers of State.
Read 10 tweets
Mar 18, 2023
These are important amendments to the Constitution. Thanks for sharing @toluogunlesi. The Exclusive Legislative List has grown larger with every Constitution since 1963. Anything that reduces it is good. Let’s see how the financial autonomy to the Judiciary and SHOAs will work.
I’m not sure how the financial autonomy to State Houses of Assembly will work if the State and Local Government Joint Account is to remain. It will be particularly interesting following today’s elections if the Governor is from one party and the SHOA is dominated by another party
Since SHOAs are the ones to appropriate money, can’t they just allocate anything they want to themselves, regardless of other priorities, like NASS does, knowing it be released to them from FAAC? Will the nature of the Joint Account change to give Governors SOME control?
Read 5 tweets
Jan 14, 2023
The next President will have to press Nigeria’s reset button. The pertinent issues are POLICY issues. Will he choose for the country to limp on, or will he make the policy choices that could cost him re-election but that could heal the country? 10 questions in a short thread…
1. When will you remove fuel subsidy enjoyed mainly by urban dwellers and neighbouring countries?
2. Will you stop spending money on unproductive ventures that produce nothing, like Turn Around Maintenance of refineries and Ajaokuta?
3. Do you have the courage to stop oil theft?
4. How will you fund Security, Infrastructure, Education and Health without borrowing more than you can afford to repay?
5. Do you have the courage to eliminate multiple FX rates?
6. Will you lead by example and cut government waste before demanding sacrifices of citizens?
Read 5 tweets
Oct 11, 2022
I have finally reviewed the excellent book by my brother Dr @OmanoE titled ‘Nigeria, Democracy Without Development: How to Fix It.’ I was expecting it to be another ‘whinge-fest’ about the Nigerian condition but was pleasantly surprised. My thoughts are in this thread… Image
The phenomenon of Democracy Without Development is a rather common one. The discussions in the book make that clear. I, therefore, think the ‘Nigeria’ in the title doesn’t do it justice. Perhaps, I would have titled it ‘Democracy Without Development: A Case Study of Nigeria.’
The ‘How to Fix It’ line is actually quite brave and that courage of conviction flows right through the book. For instance, he argues that the purpose of democracy is to deliver development and that any political system that doesn’t deliver development is not a democracy.
Read 22 tweets

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