Akande calls Samoa Deal a Distraction, praises Supreme Court ruling on LGA autonomy

Former Presidential Spokesman, Laolu Akande, has criticized the focus on the Samoa Agreement, describing it as a distraction and questioning its relevance to Nigeria’s pressing issues. Speaking on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Akande who taught Communication and African Political History in two New York universities before he took the job of a Spokesman […]

Former Presidential Spokesman, Laolu Akande, has criticized the focus on the Samoa Agreement, describing it as a distraction and questioning its relevance to Nigeria’s pressing issues.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Akande who taught Communication and African Political History in two New York universities before he took the job of a Spokesman in 2015, shared his views on the controversial deal and its implications.

On the Samoa Agreement, Akande said, “The agreement itself is meant to be something that the European Union is trying to get people in Africa, the Caribbeans, together in one place for them to give some kind of aid. Many of these promises are never kept. How many times have we had promises of aid from all these agencies that are basically what young Nigerians will call ‘audio policies’.”

“Indeed many of the foreign aids offered developing countries like Nigeria end up with a lot of spending on foreign consultants many of whom are deemed experts on development issues even though they often lack experience and understanding of local contexts.”

Akande emphasized the need for Nigeria to focus on more substantial and beneficial engagements, such as trade and investment rather than relying on aid promises that often go unfulfilled.

“We need to get ourselves more informed about these things and not get excited. What we should be advocating for more is investment and doing trade together. This Samoa deal is a complete distraction,” he asserted.

He also raised concerns about the potential inclusion of controversial clauses in the agreement, particularly those related to LGBTQ rights.

“We’re so worried about the LGBTQ. That they’re trying to sneak that into our system. The truth of the matter is that it is already in our system,” Akande noted. However, he clarified that even if such clauses were signed by the federal government, they would have no effect until enacted as Nigerian law. “It’s the reason I said this is just a distraction, a storm in a teacup. There are more important things that we need to get excited about. We are losing focus. If we must call the government out, let’s call them out on corruption.”

“We have two Ministers – Minister of Information and Minister of Budget and Planning and then the NBA [Nigerian Bar Association]. And the NBA came out and said when this thing came out, the Minister of Budget and National Planning actually referred the document to us to review it and we reviewed it and didn’t see anything objectionable especially regarding this fear of the LGBTQ. It’s just a complete distraction,” he added.

Switching to the topic of local government financial autonomy, Akande praised the Supreme Court’s recent decision, viewing it as a positive step towards good governance. “I think it is a big fillip for the Supreme Court to have acted on the side of common sense and on the side of reason. We hope that this will be compelling enough for us to begin to see some changes,” he said.

The veteran journalist highlighted the importance of effective local government administration for Nigeria’s development. “Certainly, there are governors who are not affected. But, for the most part, we have suffered as a people, for the fact that the local government administration in our country has virtually disappeared. We hope that this is going to be a turning point.”

Akande’s remarks underscore the need for Nigeria to prioritize substantive policies and reforms over superficial agreements.