What Nigerian Political Leaders Could Learn from The World’s “Poorest” President

I have been reading the story of President Jose Mujica — the leader of Uruguay (please note the word “LEADER”) and I find it to be a singular example of humility, sacrifice and an uncommon disdain for all worldly material and other acquisition. In my opinion, this is a leader who may be worthy of emulation by our so-called leaders in Nigeria, and indeed, in Africa.

However, please let us recognise that being "poor" has not necessarily made Mr Mujica a successful or good leader (Uruguay is hardly the best country economically or politically in the world); but it is a testimony that a man truly leads his country and his people, not for his personal or family aggrandisement and benefit, but for service to his people, acquiring nothing personally, but giving back to the people, his people, that he sincerely loves and care for.

It is intriguing to consider how this powerful president draws on his humble roots, his experience as a former leftist guerrilla, and his reputation as a man of the people, to govern.

"His charitable donations - which benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs - mean his salary is roughly in line with the average Uruguayan income of  [$770] a month."

In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration - mandatory for officials in Uruguay - was [$2,860], the value of his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.

This year, he added half of his wife's assets - land, tractors and a house - reaching [$215,000]."

This characteristic alone is singularly worthy of emulation by other leaders, especially in Third World countries, including our very own Nigeria. It also follows God's or Nature's aphorism that no matter what wealth or power we acquire in this world (and six feet under the earth is the end of it all, and we don't even know when or how death will come), we are most happy and successful in this world only when it is used for the benefit of others less privileged, and to whom their well-being is entrusted.

It is heart-warming to humanity that President Mujica is not greedy, selfish, corrupt or self-serving. Unlike our leaders in Nigeria and indeed Africa, who believe naïvely that they have not lived in this world until all the wealth, power, possession and properties of this world is appropriated to them and is concentrated in their hands and their families only. They see success in the number of houses, cars and swollen bank accounts acquired as a result of their greed and corruption, never having a thought for the consequences of their actions (and inactions) on the lives of their own people whose welfare and betterment have been entrusted in their care, whether by force, constitutionally or by the simple laws of Man.

Our political leaders are quick and never think twice to betray the trust of the people who either voted or appointed them – this is for civil servants -  into power (and in the case of the Military, people they are sworn to protect)

There is really nothing wrong with democracy, politics, religion, ethnicity, quest for power or wealth; the problem is the way Nigerian leaders manage to turn these values upside down, in cahoots and collaboration with their followers (and you might say, sometimes, foreign collaborators).

Do you have to be poor or be frugal to be a good leader? The answer is obviously No! Being poor is not a prerequisite to being a successful, good, kind, fair, competent, compassionate and incorruptible leader. In the history of the world, poor people hardly have the chance to get to be leaders; however, a rich man who becomes a leader may become poor as a result of giving up all his possession to make the lives of those he leads better. That is the nugget.

It is even likely, as often happens in Nigeria that a poor man, or let’s say a man who arose from a poor background, eventually has the chance to become a leader of his people; but then what happens? Such fortunate people become corrupted by power and wealth and easily forget his roots, or his past, or how it was for him before he had the God-given opportunity of making it to power and all its trappings.

Humanity has always had a problem with governments – no government in history has ever been perfect, and this is unlikely to change till the end of time – the reason being that it is fallible mortals that operate governments.

Power is government and government means power; power often attracts the corruptible, so anyone who seeks power must be suspected of being corrupt until proven otherwise. Again, “It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” -  Aung San Suu Kyi, “Freedom from Fear”.

“Experience has shown that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” ― Thomas Jefferson

Mr Mujica is poor, so what? Are members of his government poor? He must have a cabinet of Ministers and Advisers; are these people, who carry out his wishes and orders poor? Do they share or agree with Mr Mujica’s modest and meagre lifestyle? The answers are not known. Uruguay is not an exceptionally country, neither can we classify it as a poor country; but one thing for sure, it is better than Nigeria and indeed, many African countries.

The beauty of the Uruguayan situation is that with a modest and focused President, the resources of that country are managed well; corruption reduced to the minimum, bureaucrats do what they are supposed to do and the government loves and really try to take care of its people. This is governance. I don’t even care if it is not democratic like America or the United Kingdom.

So do the Uruguayans love their poor President? They apparently do, not because he is poor, but because he looks out for them; he does what they want him to do for them; he or his government are not corrupt and unaccountable to them; he is open and fair to them; he does not tolerate excesses and corruption; and neither does he tolerate mismanagement and inefficiency. His military obey him, his Ministers do what he wants them to do for the people and generally oversees a good government that his people can call their own.

I will admit I do not know much of the history of Uruguay, probably because I have not bothered to do a lot of research, but the little I know suffices to write this article. Uruguay is home to 3.3 million people of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population is of European descent. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq. mi), Uruguay is the second-smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname.

Uruguay won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a four-way struggle amongst Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil. It is a democratic constitutional republic, with a president who is both head of state and head of government.

So here we have it. Nothing really in common with Nigeria except that it was once a colony of a European country and is today operating under a democracy after long periods of military rule. This is enough for me. The size of the country is immaterial as is the constitution, or demography of the country.

Our leaders, and indeed the followers, do not have any need to re-invent the wheel. Neither is governance rocket science. The quest and avarice for illegal wealth, unrequited and misplaced power and priority is our problem. On the humane side, we can also add selfishness and appropriation bordering on the ugly side of our cultural and traditional values. Apt also is the way charlatans and the mediocre force themselves into power for the sole purpose of acquiring wealth.

Georgia, a former state of the defunct Soviet Union, which a few years ago, was one of the most corrupt nation in the world, has now got its act together and now boast of the least corrupt police force in the world. After an intensive drive to purge the country of petty and official corruption, many ordinary Georgians say they actually welcome the sight of police.

"Everything has really improved," says Shalva, an elderly car owner in the capital, Tbilisi. "There is no way the patrol officers are taking bribes. They even changed my flat tire for free so that I could keep on driving. What could be better than this?"

"There is no other country at the moment where more people see a decrease in corruption in their country, and where more people say the government is effective in fighting corruption," says Mathias Huter, a senior analyst with Transparency International’s Georgia office. "I think this is an indication that the Georgian government's efforts to fight corruption have been very successful."

How I wish we could say the same of my country, Nigeria, where it is even now more apparent that the Government itself is the main inhibitor and stumbling block to riding the country of the bane of corruption? In fact, one suspects that the government is actively aiding the stupendous growth and sustenance of corruption. As written earlier in an article, the various government apparatus in Nigeria thrives on corruption – it may even be that it is corruption that is keeping the country’s economy, entity and sovereignty from collapse.

Can we, nay, can our illegally-rich (in other words, thieving) leaders learn anything from Mr Mujica of Uruguay? Yes, but only in terms of morality and humanity. I am not sure of Mr Mujica’s governmental competence and effectiveness, but if the fact that he is poor and humble have anything to go by, yes, surely, our arrogant and corrupt leaders need to learn a lesson in humility, fear of God and Man, civility, love and intense care for one’s fellowman and woman and selflessness in the discharge of one’s duty to his/her people.

I see undeserving idiots, mediocre, charlatans and thieves being lauded and acclaimed everyday by the government, the society, religious segments and even the academics with the conferment of dubious honours, awards and accolades, chieftaincy and religious titles and I say to myself, “Are we a degenerate and depraved people who have unfortunately become used to suffering and battering from the hands of an unworthy few?”.

The Truth always.

Transforming Ibadan – A Case-study in Resistance To Change

Transforming Ibadan – A Case-study in Resistance To Change

Palm Oil is Better than Crude Oil.

Palm Oil is Better than Crude Oil.

A Good Name Is An Invaluable Possession

“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear”. Socrates, Greek philosopher in Athens (469 BC - 399 BC)

In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet speaks to herself and says, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” (act 2, scene 2, lines 43–44).

Awareness of our ancestors, cultures and traditions and appreciation for their names that we bear can give direction to our lives. In our familial lines may be individuals whose actions we would not or should not imitate. We do, however, have the action to conduct our lives at present so that they will reflect civility for our posterity. The questions can be asked: What are we doing to ensure that the virtuous legacies we have received will be passed on to our descendants? What are we doing with our names?

In the Holy Bible, Proverbs 22:1 reads, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” and in Ecclesiastes 7:1, it says, “A good name is better than precious ointment”

Our names represent who we are and we become known by our name to all who associate with us throughout our short lives in the world, with our reputation or the opinion generally held of us always inextricably linked to our name. Yes, our name and reputation are always together.

A few months ago in London, I met a lady who had been invited to join a group of Nigerian professionals that I belong to, aiming to export our skills, experience and expertise back to Nigeria. Before then, I had never met this lady, but apparently she was discussing the idea with her cousin, a professor in a university in far-away Canada. The professor advised her to be wary of dealing with Nigerians and during the course of their phone conversation; she mentioned my name as a member of the group. She told me that as soon as she mentioned my name, the professor told her “Akintokunbo? If it is the same Akintokunbo that I know, please go ahead and join them. There is no problem”.

The professor, though older than me, happened to be a friend and colleague when I was doing my postgraduate degree in Canada in the early 80s. In fact I was the MC at his wedding in 1983 and he knew me very well. He is from AbiaState while I am from Oyo State.

To tell you I was moved by this long-distance recommendation will be putting it mildly. I was proud of myself. I was proud of my name, my reputation for being recognised and recommended as a honest man; a sincere Nigerian that everyone he meets would like to be associated without any doubt about his reputation and integrity; that even after 30 years, people still remember me for my personal qualities and professional abilities. What more could I pray for than to be acknowledged for a positive image like this in a country where we do not trust each other and our morals have descended to the lowest fathom of societal values?

To me, my good name and reputation are priceless and non-negotiable. In Othello, act 3, scene 3, lines 163–65, Shakespeare said: “He that filches [or steals] from me my good name / Robs me of that which not enriches him / And makes me poor indeed”.  We build our reputation each and every day by our thoughts, actions, choices, and associations. We are all representatives of our own families, and the reputation of a family is established through the actions of each member of that family. Also, we are representatives of our community, religion, ethnicity and nation, in this case, Nigeria. As we conduct our lives now, even the smallest actions reflect upon them and their names.

I am always grateful to God and my parents for the good name given to me; to my friends and acquaintances, even those I have never met, spread across the world, who see something in me that that they trust and can confide in.

My good name matters to me very much. Does it to you? Does it to our rulers, our politicians, our civil servants, our bankers, our captains of industry, the people we entrust our lives, security and well-being to?

Poem sent by Zainab Hannafi Anthonio

NAME: You got it from your father; it was all he had to give.
Therefore, it is yours to use and cherish, for as long as you shall live.

If you lose the watch your father gave you, material things are replaceable.

However, a black mark on your name will never be erased.

It was clean the day you took it, and a worthy name to bear.

When he got it from his father, there was no dishonour there.

So make sure you guard it wisely, for the day will come that

You will be glad the name is spotless, when you pass the name to your children.

- Zainab Hannafi Anthonio (London, UK)

A People Beyond Redemption?

I have been moribund, as far as writing articles, for about three months. Honestly these days, I just don’t feel like writing, however, I comment on other peoples’ writings or on national issues on social media like Facebook and Twitter. And since I do not write for a living, in fact, I never get paid; I am never under any pressure or deadline. Maybe that will save my health from deteriorating further in despair, frustration, anger and desperation. Please I am not blaming it on anybody or on the country. It is self-afflicted. Nobody’s asking me to die for Nigeria. And I am not going to die for Nigeria. I will just do my little bit when I am called upon.

In Nigeria, corruption is something we all seem to have learned to live with, accepted as a way of life and look upon with tolerance, celebrate and regard even with some amusement and laxity. But wait! We need not be resigned to it or sceptical about it. Instead of breast-beating over the sorry state of affairs, let us explore the solutions (I have offered many in previous articles). Maybe there are no satisfactory answers to our questions. Let's ask them anyway.

Benjamin Franklin, statesman and a signatory of America’s Declaration of Independence, said: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”John Adams, another signatory, echoed a similar statement: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Are our laws, regulations and Constitution made for a moral and religious people? From the way we flout, ignore, and bastardise our laws and politicians cast aside or deliberately misinterpret and twist the Constitution every day to satisfy their selfish interests, on a daily basis in this country, I daresay, No!  Are today’s Nigerians virtuous and moral, or have we become corrupt and vicious? Let’s think it through with a few examples.

In the Nigerian Tribune of 2 July 2012, was a story “Traders recount gains after post-UTME in Lafia”.  It was the story of how traders, (Nigerians o) ripped off their young people who had come to take the post-UTME screening examinations of the Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, by selling to them examination materials like pencils, pens, biros etc at grossly inflated prices, thus taking advantage of the poor young people. That’s Nigerians’ inhumanity to Nigerian.  And they were bold and happy to say this despicable act of theirs out. They never saw anything wrong in their cheating actions. Fair enough.

Assisting one's fellow man in need by reaching into one's own pockets is praiseworthy and laudable. Doing the same by reaching into another's pockets is despicable, dishonest and worthy of condemnation.

Our society, like any other society consists of psychopaths and criminal, the only difference is that with Nigerians, the criminals and psychopaths seem to have been having the upper hand since the inception of this country. And the inexplicably and ironically, it is the same people who are downtrodden, looted from, raped, abused and ignored by the rulers who invariably encourage, support and indeed, celebrate these criminals. It is hypocrisy of the highest order.

Ours is a corrupt, depraved society.  According to one writer I came across, “a depraved corrupt society is one in which the people en masse have lost their moral sense.  It is not one in which people sin.  It is one in which people have lost their bias against sin.  It is not one in which people commit adultery.  It is one in which people condone and accept adultery.  It is not one in which people commit corrupt acts.  It is one in which people accept and condone corruption.  It is a loss of moral values, moral knowledge, and moral sense.  How do you know such a society when you see it?  You listen to people's opinions on matters of morals.  You note their likes and dislikes, their tastes, their preferences, how they entertain themselves.  You note their humour, what they joke about, what they think is funny.  You note their fads as a people.  You note their references in entertainment”.  

Corruption equals power, greed and money. For some, there simply is not enough to satisfy them. These people are usually found in the political parties, civil service, banking and private sector, so actually, virtually every section of the society. Everything is a fight for power. Having more power means you can then get more powerful, and therefore more corrupt and richer. You need to be rich to be more powerful, therefore you must be corrupt. And in the end? The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. When both die, they get buried six feet under without taking any of the riches and power with them. But we never seem to think of that inescapable fact of life (and death).

A corrupt society is a society ruled by immoral, wicked men (and women); criminals elected by the populace, supported by the populace, and shielded from punishment by their political allies.

Actions deliberately contrary to the laws of nations and to its universal principles and constitutions are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out.

Look at our newspapers and other news media on a daily basis and there is always one or two or even more fraudulent or corruption scandal being exposed every time. This should not be. If we had a morally upright, or at least conscious, truly God-fearing society, (and we seem to think we do because of the fact that we have churches and mosques in every street in this country) those scandals should not have been allowed to happen in the first place. But in our country, they do, and we seem to thrive on it.

Politicians are the same all over the world, that is, someone who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, inheritance, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest, divine right, or other means. Politics is not limited to governance through public office.

The Nigerian politician, or political leader, or political office holder is not an alien. He/she is just a Nigerian that went into politics. The reason why they went into politics should ideally be for service and for truly patriotic reasons of seeking betterment for the people they represent in government.  Alas, that is what differentiates the Nigerian politician from most of the rest of the world’s politicians. However, you don't change the Nigerian by changing the politicians; rather you change the politicians by changing the Nigerian.

‎

When a good leader is surrounded with corrupt people, he becomes corrupt too. When good people live in a corrupt system, they become corrupted too. To change a corrupt system, the people, the society need to be empowered to install public servants who are not tainted with traditional politics. Then there should be a constitutional change; review of the laws governing government employment and salaries, benefits, tenure of office and budgets and make them commensurate with performance. Review the judicial system and come down very heavily on graft, bribery and corruption. Put in place people who are dedicated and are not self-serving. Only the people can do these.

Everywhere I go, or rather every function that involves politicians and government officials are always chokingly full of flattery, insincerity and hypocrisy. The MCs and organisers outdo each other, piling praises upon their torturers and oppressors, never having the heart and the daring to tell them the truth that these officials are thieves; that we, the electorate, the public, the society, elected them to SERVE us, not for us to serve them.

Another philosophical analysis by another writer “Where does the personality trait of "being responsible" come from?  What is it due to?  Isn't it just a "sense of moral duty" (and doing what that sense dictates)?  Doesn't a "sense of responsibility" arise directly out of a good healthy sense of right and wrong, a good healthy conscience?  If so, what causes the personality trait of "irresponsibility"?  Is it due to the lack of a sense of right and wrong, lack of a conscience?  Or is it due to just refusing to live true to that sense (i.e. ignoring what is right, refusing to live up to it)?   Isn't the personality trait of "responsibility" then very closely related to the trait of conscientiousness and the trait of irresponsibility very closely related to lack of  conscientiousness?

Do we as a people, as a society, or as rulers and followers, have any sense of responsibility or morality or conscience to each other, to our country, to our fellow-man, to the poor, to our environment, to our young people, to our women, to our men, to the disabled in the society, to our born and unborn generation?

I look on every day as my people are always trying to cut corners on every thing; always trying to prove and demonstrate that they are smarter than the next man/woman; examples abound to prove my theory on this issue of the average Nigerian thinking he/she is smarter than the rest of the people.
The most common example is on the road, drivers, commercial or private cutting dangerously in front of you because they are the only ones in a hurry to get where they are going, and you are not smart enough to drive dangerously as themselves. Another example is jumping queues in banks, bus-stops, petrol stations, events or any other occasion where there needs to be order so that there will be a smooth attendance.

And what about examinations and admissions into colleges and tertiary institutions?  Parents are colluding with lecturers and teachers to smuggle their children into schools. Teachers and students collude to cheat to pass examinations and thereby have undue advantage over others. That is what corruption is all about.

Take our market-places, and the market women and other traders will never give you the real price of a commodity at first instance. You have to haggle and barter. It is a cultural thing, you will hear my dear people say and if you are not savvy, you will end up paying  five thousand Naira for a commodity that actually cost less than five hundred Naira, and the moment you turn your back on the trader, he/she will be murmuring to him/herself,  “mugu” (fool). Is that a good culture or tradition?

And to cap it all, politicians and civil servants shut themselves in their little cubicles called offices, and all they plot and enter into their brains all day, is how much money they can pilfer,  misappropriate, mismanage, defraud the government and the public, or demand and receive as bribes and kickback in highly inflated contracts.

And the contractors and banking officers are not left out. They too must play the game of being smarter than the civil servants and politicians from whom they are getting juicy contracts and deposits, and to whom they must pay bribes – examples are our fuel subsidy scammers – so that they can also perpetrate their fraud on the Nigerian public.

We even try to get one over our fellow man in sports, thinking we are smarter than our opponents by fielding overage athletes and footballers (and we rarely succeed even at that)

And these are people who eventually get national merit awards, Politician or Governor of the Decade, Best Senator of the Planet, Best Local Government Chairman in the World, Banker of the Universe, Industrialist of the Cosmos; Best Governor since Lord Lugard, etc. We celebrate and reward mediocrity, indiscipline, greed, corruption, hooliganism, thuggery, deception, deceit, adultery, selfishness and lawlessness and criminality. Because a thief and corrupt politician is from my family or ethnic group or same religious faith with me, I see nothing wrong in his crimes, and I fail to condemn him. There is absolutely no altruism in all areas of our existence and governance – executive, legislative, judiciary, police, military, industry, banking, insurance, education, etc.

And we, hypocrites and sycophants that we have become because of lucre, clap and kow-tow to them on the street. The rulers are untouchable, because we make them feel untouchable; we make them feel like they are mini-Gods to be cared for, wined and dined, praised and thanked for doing the work we employ them to do; worshiped and adored for electing them to do things that will make our lives better, and which they are definitely not doing.

That is why I ask, perhaps, that are we, as a people irredeemable, and are we beyond redemption because our culture and hang-ups and complexes cannot let us? We can’t seem to grow out of the confines of those bad portions of our culture that are holding us back from progress, development and betterment. We cannot escape the primeval and primordial in us. No matter how educated or seemingly sophisticated we think we are, we fall back into that mire of cultural and religious conservatism, forgetting that we, even as a people, are not an island in this planet, and we have to adapt and evolve. It is a sad reflection of our cultural consciousness.

The peoples who made up the country called Nigeria have consistently and expectedly shown that learning from other peoples is not something they can apply to solve their own particular difficulties and unique problems. Instead they exacerbate their own problems.

When corrupt people and officials are caught, their excuses are: “I am not the only one doing it, everybody else is doing it” or “If you can’t beat them, join them” or “If I don’t do it, other people will do it” or “If I don’t do it, how will I feed my family?”. Some even say, “There is a lot to steal by everybody, go and steal yours”.

That is our people’s way of thinking. We have become moral perverts. A moral pervert is a person who is a slave to patterns of thought and behaviour that are morally wrong (in violation of God's law) Examples: liar, cheat, fraudster, thief, profligate, etc. Aristotle said that people acquire a particular character, he says, through repeatedly performing an act.  In the case of moral perversion this translates into, "people become perverts through repeatedly performing some wrong act".  Liars become liars, for example, through repeated acts of lying. Embezzlers will continue to repeat embezzling. Thieves become thieves through repeated stealing, and find it difficult, nay, impossible, to stop.

Am I being too hard on my own people? 

Soldiers Brutalised African Examiner's Contributor, Adejumo

Soldiers Brutalised African Examiner's Contributor, Adejumo

The Dana Airline Crash: Another Tragedy of Corruption

”After three days of mourning. What's next?
After three minutes of crying. What's next?
After three hours of begging and pleading. What's next?
After three months of investigation. What's next?
The self generated disaster continues and those that are affected remains hopeless and helpless. The fear of the unknown!”  - Olatokunbo Akinsanya, Atlanta, GA on Facebook

Greek mythology tells the story of Icarus, the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned. The myth shares thematic similarities with that of Phaëton — both are usually taken as tragic examples of hubris or failed ambition and seen as the mythical pioneer in Man's attempt to conquer the skies.

Man is not designed to fly like birds and a few flying mammals. But God has given Man the power, the intellect to conquer or at least adapt his environment to suit himself. So Man invented the wheel, and thus started the age of communication, transportation, etc from Point A to B and since then, Man has never looked back in his desire to make himself comfortable in his environment. The wheel is the basis for almost all other inventions.

To ensure that he gets from one point to the other as quickly as he can, Man continued to experiment and finally aligned the wheel with animal transportation, and every means of transportation we now know. Of course, there are some costs to pay – loss of lives. But trust Man, to always be inventive and adaptive. The losses of lives are inevitable and will not deter Man in his quest to better his life.

I have always been fascinated with the aeroplane. I always go to the airports and go to the viewing areas just to see planes land and take off. It is exhilarating for me and makes me appreciate technology. Unfortunately, it is not an invention of the black man. I have always wondered at the brains that came up with the idea of throwing such a huge metallic weight into the air, with people and goods inside, and staying afloat in the air, travelling at great speed and defying the laws of gravity. It is one of the greatest feats of Man, or perhaps, the white man.

But such complicated, sophisticated and dangerous way of commuting needs to be diligently monitored, regulated, maintained and serviced. In the Western World, we have these checks in place, as a result of the combination of more responsible people in government, little or no corruption, a definite duty of care and responsibility for their people (and in fact any people), concern for the health and safety of humanity and a respect for human life in general. These are generally and undoubtedly alien virtues in our country, and of course, our notorious and abject maintenance culture, or its lack thereof.

Let’s be realistic here; forget about air travel for now. The fact is we in Africa do not have respect for both human lives and the environment. That is why you see dead bodies on our streets and nobody cares to move them or find out how they got there. That is why you see destitute people and mentally-ill people parading the streets and we just pass by them and governments do not care either.

So here we go again, in Nigeria, at least. Another airplane disaster, two, actually, including the Nigerian cargo plane that killed 10 people in Ghana, the same weekend, which many, including this writer, thought are avoidable, or at least, preventable. The unfortunate (but avoidable) Dana Airline plane crash will continue to expose many 'hidden facts' in the Aviation industry in Nigeria, but then haven’t we been here before? Sosoliso, Bellview, ADC air crashes all within the space of 6 months or so in 2005/2006. Then, as now, there were lots of anguish, finger-pointing, investigations, censures, and most importantly, government promises, which were never kept.

In fairness to us – I mean Nigerians as a whole – Nigeria has managed to avoid fatal air crashes since the ADC crash in October 2006, but this is not as a result of diligent and sincere regulations and enforcement by the authorities or the government, just mere luck. (Nigerians will always ascribe that to the love of God for the country, as if they are the only people in the world that God created and loves). Ironically, it is this seeming lull in fatalities that led to complacency, and trust us, complacency is ours anytime, especially when things seem to be going on smoothly, everybody relaxes, and it is business (of corruption) as usual.

Personally, I had given up travelling by air within Nigeria, albeit not because of the dangers or lack of confidence in the air-worthiness of the planes, but due to cost. I simply cannot afford to travel by air in Nigeria due to the high fares, especially following the increase in the petroleum products in January 2012.  Underpinning that reason is the fact that ever since 2006; I had a morbid fear of flying in Nigerian-operated aircrafts.

But you see our individualist and selfish attitude and approach to most of our problem is eventually haunting us and are mainly responsible for our failure to progress as a nation or people.  In other word, Nigerians are prone to solving collective problems individually and selfishly; for example, take the epileptic electricity nationwide; those who can afford it simply buy generators, and even some who are richer and more influential simply bribe PHCN officials and have personal transformers dedicated to them only installed near their grand mansions.

Another example: our various governments have failed to ensure supply of potable water to their citizens. What do Nigerians do? The rich ones simply construct boreholes to supply their personal water needs. The whole country is littered with millions of boreholes. But we will not collectively call on the governments to do something they are supposed to do; things we elect them and pay them to do.

The same streak of selfishness goes for security, transportation, education, etc. What our bad leaders and governments have failed to provide for their people, their people simply ignore them (and we mostly curse them too)  and try and solve their problems individually and not collectively, like calling for the heads of these corrupt government officials, or rejecting them at the ballot. We, the downtrodden masses of Nigeria, even, often, deliberately and despicably, aid and abet these crimes against ourselves.

How many lives have we lost due to plane crashes over the last 20 years? And add those thousands of lives lost on our bad roads, compounded by dangerous, illiterate, untrained and often drug-crazed drivers. The railway system was deliberately made moribund by haulage cabals whose trailers cause havoc and deaths on the roads, not to talk of the economic and social losses suffered as a result.

In the past 10 years of plane crashes in Nigeria, investigations were conducted (or at least the authorities say they will conduct investigations) but how many people know the result of the investigations? What information or learning were gleaned from the investigations into these crashes?

The depressing truth is that nobody does anything; the responsible airspace authority, e.g. Nigerian Airspace Management Authority, NAMA, is a corruption and nepotism-ridden agency, like most government arms anyway. There are also several other agencies responsible for ensuring planes being flown in this country are regularly and consistently serviced and maintained to be safe.

The fact is air travel in Nigeria is unsafe. The roads are even worse and unsafe, and maritime travel is almost non-existent. And rail transport has been deliberately made inadequate and ineffective. Water or marine transportation is largely ignored.  The safest means of transport seems to be by walking from Lagos to Kano.

But what do our leaders do? They spend their time chasing shadows, busy with their perfected art of corruption and mismanagement; politicking instead of governing; instead of taking decisive action about a probe that shows the intensity of oil corruption that places a nation of over 150 million in stagnant poverty; waking up one morning and unnecessarily renaming universities without consulting the legislators or referring to history (University of Lagos was established by an Act of Parliament); the Presidency taking his time to reinstate a judicial officer who has been exonerated and which he only took hours to suspend after recommendation from the same body that has now recommended his recall.

But unfortunately, we all have to share the blame, not only the inaptly named Mr Goodluck and his cohorts of mediocre and political jobbers. We are allowing a lot of things to be brushed under the carpet. Our greatest sins are allowing such brutish, corrupt, selfish, invidious, insidious, sinister charlatan, mediocre and murderous opportunists to rule us and then when they are exposed for what they are, we still celebrate them.

How long can a people continue to allow ineptness, inefficiency, mediocrity and corruption to rule and control their future? It is time for a stronger show from the people of this confounding country to their pseudo-leaders that their misdemeanour and folly will no longer be tolerated. All of us are accountable for the bloodbath Nigeria has become because some of us stay silent, some of us benefit directly and indirectly (I laugh when these people call themselves “stakeholders”) from the corruption, and some of us are just no longer interested.

So the government will conduct a probe or two; suspend a few people on full pay; or maybe even fire a few idiots; suspend an airline licence or two; and perhaps even offer a few meagre sums to the families of the victims?

Already some fallout is happening: The government has already ordered the indefinite withdrawal of Dana Airline’s Operating Licence; also a Mr John I. Nnorom, former Executive Director for Finance at Air Nigeria, has warned Nigerians to stop flying the airline until they are sure that its planes are being properly maintained. In a blistering public petition, Mr. Nnorom, who resigned his appointment with the airline recently, blamed the situation on Jimoh Ibrahim, the chairman of Air Nigeria, whom he accused of being uninterested in the maintenance of company aircraft.

The Senate also has passed a resolution on the issue called for officials of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority led by its Director- General, Harold Demuren to step aside and allow for investigations into the incident.

As such, while I hope to be surprised with a positive outcome from this gloom, I hesitate to hold my breath. Confounding Nigeria, will likely brush this incident under the carpet, say it’s God’s doing and you cant fight God, and continue to live their lives, until the next major disaster - Boko Haram massacre, collapsed building, horrific road accident,  a severe ethnic clash, etc.

And our politicians continue to dine, wine and laugh, oblivious of the effect of their corruption and ineptitude, and in the words of Stevie Wonder (Village Ghetto Land) “Politicians laugh and drink – drunk to all demands ……Now some folks say that we should be, Glad for what we have, Tell me would you be happy in Village Ghetto Land.”

When shall our so-called leaders wake up to the fact that corruption is killing Nigerians by the thousands everyday, in every sphere of our lives; that the comfort of the tree branch translates to comfort for the chicken that perches on it; that if you throw stones in the market, the person it will hit will be a family member?

Corruption does not really pay anybody; the victim or the perpetrator. We are all suffering the effects.

Much Ado About A Village Church

You will probably be wondering why I am writing so late after the news of this issue, but you see, I don’t move with the herd sometimes. It is, in most cases, with my experience, very prudent to back off and watch and be far from the madding crowd, to paraphrase Thomas Hardy. I am not accusing everybody who has written on the issue of the church built at Etuoke (?), the President’s village by an Italian construction firm, with an unpronounceable name, but it’s just that when the news broke – and you can trust our Press and Media to make mountains out of mole hills, and for opposition parties to be hypocritical – I just felt Mr Goodluck Jonathan (certainly not my favourite President of Nigeria) was hardly getting a fair shake here.

It is quite possible that my star, Libra, has something to do with being fair on and with other people, but there we have it.

I am not a member of the ruling PDP (God forbid bad thing) and incidentally, I only recently decided to be sympathetic towards the main opposition political party, ACN, and to be frank, it is really because they seem to offer an alternative, and of course, there are certain of my respected friends and family who are members. Up till now, I am yet to see or fathom out their ideology as a political party (but we will get there sometime, I hope)

So what is this thing about a church in the little hamlet of Etuoke, which just happens to be the President’s hamlet in the creeks of Bayelsa State?

To underline the hypocrisy of the media and the opposition, I have seen several different spellings of the name of the village in the newspapers. Nobody even seems to know how to spell the name of this Nigerian hamlet – Otuoke, Etuoke, Utuoke, Otukpe, etc. I will confess I don’t know how the name of the village is spelt, probably because I have not been able to locate the name or the village itself on any Nigerian map, at least for now, until the hullaballoo has put the name on the lips of many Nigerians, if at all, who were until the furore, quite blissfully oblivious of such a hamlet in the creeks.

Well, that is the least of my problems for now. The hypocrisy and one-sidedness of the whole affair is further highlighted by the detail that we totally ignored the fact that the dubious culture, and corrupt too, of contractors building edifices and giving various gifts (for now, don’t let’s call them bribes) to government officials and politicians took root a very long time ago in this country. In fact, the whole landscape is littered with such dubious gifts to presidents, heads of states, governors and even their lowly deputies and local government chairpersons, as well as military governors in their heydays, not to talk of influential federal and state legislators who head committees. And you want to see such gifts for senior civil servants?

So what are we talking about here? During a recent former president’s eight year tenure, the issue of free gifts from government contractors, individuals and political job seekers was quite rife and common.  And nobody ever exposed it in the press, not to talk of castigating him. It is said that if the former president wants to approve a contract, for example, he will subtly tell the contractors, in front of everybody, that he likes the product or service and he surely won’t mind one on his farm. His farm, not even his town!

Of course the contractors will take the hint and next thing you know, a sample, if I may refer to it that way, will soon be replicated on the man’s various farms. Of course, he has not even demanded a bribe.

I hate pettiness and hypocrisy in the same vein and intensity. How many structures – libraries, mosques, churches, villas and house - have been built for Nigerian leaders by construction firms and contractors over the decades? I have been all over the places in Abuja and Lagos and other cities, where the residents point out to me that Julius Berger (or any other construction company with contracts from the various governments) built this for so so and so. From Minna, to Abuja, to Lagos, to Ibadan, to Benin, to Port Harcourt, to Ilorin, to Yola, to Makurdi, the Nigerian landscape is littered with such dubious donations, mostly testaments to corrupt (sometimes they call it gratifications) or underhand practices by our so-called leaders.

Yet for all these mansions and other structures built and donated to individuals, I have never read in the dailies, for the past 40 years of any exposure of such donations or the individuals donated to. And now, even a supposed national political party, regarded as the main opposition, feels very robustly that a donation of a Church building to a hamlet should constitute enough ground to impeach the President! It just smacks of hypocrisy and I feel very much let down that I support this same party. Such frivolity!

Mind you, I am not saying the practice of donating mansions and what not to serving politicians and other government officials is not corruption (it is corruption as we know it), my beef is that the media was used to hype it up (in their very own short sighted and lopsided manner), maybe innocuously just to sell their papers, or most probably, being spurred and eventually succumbing to mischief brought about by brown envelopes stuffed with high denomination Naira notes, or better still, in Ghana-Must-Go bags.

Whatever it is, it is poor, lazy and partisan journalism on their part. So I went to my parish church, and it was there I learnt that everybody got it wrong.

Even the people defending the President failed to point out – and probably they did not know – the crucial fact of the issue, thereby not justifying whatever they are being paid, to defend the president from slander and ridicule.

If the Nigerian Press had just put in some extra investigative efforts, and the opposition party had also done the same, and apply a little caution in their haste to impeach Mr Goodluck Jonathan, or at best, to embarrass him, they would have found out that under the Anglican Communion of Nigeria (and in fact, most of the other Christian denominations like the Catholics, Baptist Convention, the Methodists, etc) an individual cannot own a church. All churches built, whether by the community or a rich individual in the community or, as in this case, by a construction company, belong to the Anglican Diocese  in that part of the country, and by association, to the Anglican Communion of the country. No person can own a church under the Anglican and Catholic Dioceses in any part of the world. A church may be built and named after the donor, and that is by very rare approval by the Bishop, but that church reverts to the Communion or Diocese.

In the case of the beleaguered Mr Jonathan and the church built in his hamlet in the creeks of the Niger Delta, neither he nor the people of his hamlet own the church. (Sorry Sir, until you become St Goodluck of Etuoke, you probably cannot own a church, and this has saved your bacon). Even the massive church built by an ex-Governor of Ogun State in Sagamu, in memory of his father, belongs to the Communion. If he insists it belongs to him, he will have to start his own Christian ministry, which is of course easy to do these days.

Having said this, I will not say that the intent of the Italian construction company is not suspect even in its attempt to satisfy some vague corporate social responsibility. It could be, as they claim, but if this is so, the building of a church for a poor community is hardly what the people of that community need. If they had built or renovated a maternity centre or a block of classrooms in Etuoke (I still don’t know the correct spelling) I suppose the furore would never have reared its hypocritical head, and of course, they would have gained more positive publicity mileage than what they have got now.

Even the president would have been basking in some sort of glory and can even come out and thump his chest and shout from the rooftops of Aso Rock that he facilitated the building of a hospital or school for his community, and on the way, scoring political, social and civil points and shutting up the mouths of both his detractors in his own party and the opposition.

Oh, for us to have wise leaders, a responsible and non-partisan press and ideologically-focused political parties!

Corruption Incorporated Nigeria Limited (or Unlimited?)

Corruption Incorporated Nigeria Limited (or Unlimited?)

Ibori - Divine Retribution And Punishment For Hubris

Ibori - Divine Retribution And Punishment For Hubris

Opportunity To Serve and Opportunism for Disservice

Opportunity To Serve and Opportunism for Disservice

So What Next …….After The Mother Of All Protests?

I am almost afraid and weary to write this article. This is probably because of my penchant to dwell very long on issues that are very close to my heart, but don’t want to bore the reader with a long treatise.


Unfortunately, however, the problem of Nigeria is my problem, your problem, and you know what, the world’s problem. 

In sitting down to write this article, I have had to rely very heavily on comments made by my friends and other people in the newspapers, internet media, the social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, etc., not because I cannot come up with my own, but because they are very interesting, inspiring, sagacious and like our elders will always say in, two heads are better than one.

Nobody has a monopoly of knowledge or opinions. We all have to learn from each other, and believe me; I have learnt a lot from my countrymen and women in the past two weeks of the oil subsidy removal imbroglio. 

Let me state that I am in full support of removal of oil subsidy and deregulation of our nation’s oil industry as long as it is driven by  very sound economic planning and  decision and, very importantly, as long as it is handled with  a sincere, transparent, efficient, effective and well-meaning government that is not as corrupt.

That is, a government that has a genuine interest and welfare of its people at heart and such that is not bogged down by pettiness, political game-play and lack of direction... but rather guided by sincerity of purpose and handled by  competent hands in all positions of decision making.

Alas, we are yet to witness a government with such demonstration of will power and purpose. In fact our country has not been lucky enough to witness many changes.

For long, what we have seen is mediocrity, with purposeless, clueless,  corrupt and selfish leaders (I prefer to call them “rulers”) handling the affairs of our dear nation, at all levels of governance; governments that have taken the generality of our people for granted especially in the past  three or four decades.

Hence the justification for the current permeating anger and protest as demonstrated by the people.

I hold the same position with the people as a passionate Nigerian and that is the reason for my opposition to the recent deregulation imbroglio.

Many Nigerians currently in opposition to this decision I know are thinking along my line. 

However, the reason for the recent protest, (which I believe have shaken this government, especially the greedy, political ‘thieving class) has gone beyond the popular Oil Subsidy removal. We must let our people know, even after the end of the strike that there are many challenges facing our dear nation that are far beyond removal of oil subsidy.

We are currently faced with bad governance, corruption, insensitivity to the people’s plight, lack of vision and purpose, mismanagement of our natural resources and many more maladministration drives; looting of our common wealth, cheating, fraud, deception and deceit, mostly by people in government and their backers outside the government.

So, the protest goes beyond the subsidy removal. It is about sounding aloud to those usurpers of people’s rights that enough is enough. There is a general drive about   taking our country back from those usurpers of power and unlicensed authority, who had condemned us to poverty, hopelessness and idleness.

There are new dreams about setting a new groundwork and framework for a New Order; a new power arrangement, a new system of government, such that will be answerable to the people always. 

I have always opined in this forum that our true problems are not tribe or religion. It is about corruption in positions of authority, bad leadership, bad governance, lack of foresight and all these go beyond ethnic or religious composition.

I saw NIGERIANS of all professions, ethnic and religious affiliations taking part in the protest everywhere in the country and I loved my people and I was very proud them that at last, they are taking the initiatives. They want their country back from the usurpers. I saw a renewed hope that may turn things around for our deprived nation.

The expression of our disenchantment through this protests must be sustained until we achieve a positive result getting rid of corruption and bad leadership in our political system.

This recent action may be our only resort, our only and the only path to true freedom, snatching back our pride and our rights. 

Even our respected Finance Minister, a staunch proponent of the fuel subsidy removal, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala appeared to mirror my concerns:  ''The issues on ground go beyond fuel subsidy. We need to manage our resources so as to avoid the situation in Greece”, she said

She continued: “The cost of refining fuel is the problem (from N250 billion to N1.3 trillion). A responsible government should find a way of costing waste in the system. The fuel subsidy gains will be directed towards the following under mentioned projects”

• To create jobs from the fallout of Subsidy removal
• To improve our health care System especially for those in the rural areas
• To improve the rail system so as to reduce the menace of accidents on our roads
• To embark on roads rehabilitation
• To cuts inefficiency, leakages in government which have been in existence from time immemorial.
• Provisions of Youth Employment and Access to Credits to Youth to enable them to be Self Employed.

And our Governor of the Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi, another strong supporter of subsidy removal, contended that: “We are an oil producing country; our refineries should be in place, the solution is not to undertake a short term approach but a short term pain for a long term gains or benefits”.

“Let us look at the costs (250 billion in 2011 to 1.3 trillion in 2012), some people are milking the country and a system should be put in place to block all financial leakages. Our borders should be closely monitored to reduce the incidence of border fraud of oil products. It is in the economic interest of the country to remove it”, he added.

“Our constitution is partly to blame for the cost of running the government e.g. 776 local governments, 36 state governors, 26 ministers, special advisers at both state and federal levels, bicameral legislature''. He strongly believes that the type of political structure we operate now is too costly and we need amendments to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, the Central Bank Governor opined.

According to him, the cost of running the government is too high and this is where the problem lies. 

In the words of Olutoyin Eweje, a Constitutional Lawyer based in the UK:  “The government should tackle corruption in the system, operate a welfare system of government, address the gaps between the rich and the poor and then remove fuel subsidy.”

She went further: “If the Federal Government is really sincere in fighting corruption within the Oil and Gas sector they should institute an independent and unbiased regime to investigate the going-on within the petroleum industry so as to bring all the perpetrators to book”.(Easier said than done, in our country, but it could be done with the right people in authority, if we put our mind and backs to it)

“But the probes as presently being done will not see the light of the day. A case in point was the panel on the Power sector (The Hon Elumelu & Co) which was never concluded and all the culprits are back to their respective offices...”The FG should stop making mockery of the system and need to show commitment in their handling of matters of utmost importance to the generality of Nigerians. Until the perpetrators of all these corrupt practices are made to face the music, the people would never believe the ability of the Government to fight corruption. Corruption is a malaise and must be nip in the bud”, Eweje concluded 

So what is next on the agenda? 

I believe Nigeria will not (or maybe I should say – should not) be the same after this protest, which has opened more Nigerian eyes to the reality and frustration of our existence.

Many more Nigerians, including our rural dwellers and market-women, whom our rulers (I won’t call them “leaders” anymore) have generally regarded as illiterate and not knowledgeable and usually disregarded and deprived, are now aware of the poverty and hopelessness which their rulers and their corrupting backers and cohorts have been subjecting them to for many decades, stealing their common wealth and literarily causing them death and other untold inhumane torture and degradations. 

In a highly corrupt country such as ours with abundant natural resources, there is one solution to our profligate and corrupt culture. We need to go back to the Parliamentary system of government where cost of governance and corruption in all facets of our national life will be drastically reduced by checks and balances from a vibrant opposition with its own shadow cabinets and less political hangers-on, thus making politics less attractive to the present crop of political misfits, opportunists and charlatans.

Nigeria, with endemic corruption, is not a good ground for the current Presidential system of government. Let's give it an objective thought! 

This democracy is built on a very shaky foundation. Perhaps it is time to get an interim national government (ING) of civil society leaders for 18 months, convene a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to determine our Union, work out and establish a new Constitution, and then organize fresh elections and thereby build a new democracy on a solid rock foundation. 

I know the above suggestions are fraught with dangers and uncertainties, nor are they infallible, and are not a definite panacea to our problems. But, we could at least consider some, if not all of them. 

There are other suggestions such as a 100% commitment and utmost sincerity in tackling corruption, ensuring total transparency, total accountability, and attaching 100% importance to managing and cutting waste in government. A 75% reduction in the salaries of government official and political office holders will go a long way in accomplishing the last.

Government must be made unattractive to thieves, hangers-on, charlatans and the mediocre. It is only then that we will be able to identify patriotic intellectuals and technocrats who really want to serve and are not going into government just to make money. We have too many thieves and clueless people in government right now. 

We need people in government who are relentless promoters and practitioners for greater transparency and who are against corruption and who will strongly support the need for greater social accountability, responsibility and civil society engagement. 

There are too many conflicts of interests and private and selfish agendas. It seems like it is only in our country that conflict of interest is not an issue.

The current Petroleum minister and her husband are key players in the industry she is meant to supervise. Many former ministers and top government officials own oil companies; and an incredible number of retired military officers and politicians. When they are not stealing the money, they are getting N1billion feeding allowances. 

In conclusion, apart from those mentioned above, why are our four refineries not working and why is the government not taking steps to fix them and build more.

Nigeria produces 2.5 million barrels of oil per day and our domestic consumption is only between 300 and 400,000 barrels per day, what is happening to the huge excess? 

What steps, if any, is the government taking to tackle the oil marketing cabals who have been defrauding the country for several decades? Is there any connection between the cabal and the refineries’ inability to work? 

A final word on the military occupation of Lagos. 

And finally, regarding the sending of armed soldiers to occupy the City of Lagos; when a democratically elected government tries this kind of intimidating technique on its citizens, it does not portray Good Governance.

Good Governance demands that governments (and leaders) are more accountable to their citizens, and more importantly, that citizens have a VOICE in how the state is run.

What the Federal Government has done has a strong undertone of totalitarianism - which alienates citizens, reduces trusts, and engenders social unrest as we have seen in the Arab spring. It also firmly portrays the government as a weak and cowardly institution afraid of its own people. The government was obviously ill-advised to take this step - military on the streets - to intimidate law-abiding citizens carrying out protests, voicing their displeasure at unpopular policies, and demanding for a concerted fight against corruption. 

Please give it a thought.

The Truth must be told always

Pointblank News - FACES OF BOKO HARAM SPONSORS

Pointblank News - FACES OF BOKO HARAM SPONSORS

Fuel Subsidy Removal: Fraud, Deception, Corruption or Good-intentions?

I will be very frank with you; despite the raging debates over the past six months or so, I had not the slightest intention of writing on this contentious and controversial issue of fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria until the Federal Government actually did it on 1^st January 2012. One reason I did not want to is because I feel that deregulation of the petroleum sector is something that should happen, if only we have a responsible, accountable government and an efficient and less corrupt system with devoted, selfless, efficient, effective and honest government officials. But nay! Sadly we don’t have any of those.

I am of the opinion that if petrol sells for 65 Naira/litre in Port Harcourt and Bayelsa State, where our oil comes from, why should the price of the same petroleum be N65 in Maiduguri, Sokoto, Yola, Lagos, Ibadan, Jos, Minna, Abeokuta, Abuja, for instance? Aren’t there transportation and labour costs of moving any product from A to B?

Normally, and this is a BIG NORMALLY, removal of fuel subsidy and deregulation in Nigeria would have been a sound and valid economic development. But Nigeria, with our endemic official and non-official corruption, inefficiency, profligacy, mismanagement and undemocratic system, government can hardly be trusted to implement the gains of such removal and deregulation to the benefit of its 150 million people. We cannot trust the thieves in government, business and industry to transmute the gains into feeding us, providing basic infrastructure such as electricity, roads, healthcare, education, jobs, and general well-being expected of an oil-rich nation for its people. The government, at all levels, just cannot be trusted. Already since oil was discovered in huge quantities in our country, the man on the streets of Nigeria has neither seen nor benefited from this unique commonwealth. So how do we know we will, from the gains of oil subsidy removal?

And the government is not convincing either. They have not convinced us or demonstrated to us so far, how they will tackle or are tackling corruption in the oil sector and indeed in all the sectors of governance in the country. They have yet to tell us their action plans for the gains from removal of the subsidy and the palliative measures they have to ease the pains for us.

So the fraud called Petroleum/Fuel Subsidy Removal has at last been perpetrated on Nigerians?  A fraud because the Government has not been telling us the whole truth. They have not even been economical with the truth; they have told us outright lies that even a baby will not believe. Or do they themselves understand what this is all about?

For instance, we were told our refineries are not working. This is an outright lie. Our refineries are in full working order, or at the minimum, can be made to work with some repairs, sincerity  and commitment; but the insidious and invidious cabal profiting from the fuel subsidy are not making them work. And the Government knows it; they profit from it too.

So who benefits from the subsidy? Nearly everybody does except the masses of Nigeria. The cabal of the profiteers have been exposed. A combination of a few corrupt oil thieves, privileged individuals, political appointees and elected ones who as major sponsors and backers of government, are milking the economy of this country dry. For instance, they give the Government (the officials of whom are in collaboration with the cabal) false invoices, which inflate the amount of crude they actually lifted by up to 1000% or more; e.g. they lift 30,000 barrels but claim 3 million barrels. And the Government pays, knowing this to be false. The cabal shares the illegal profit with the government and NNPC officials.

Then the cabal will also claim inflated logistic costs, e.g. transportation, labour, etc, for distribution across the country. The Government knowingly and complicity pays again. That is why we have such high subsidy on fuel as claimed.

Then, what about the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, assertion that some fraudulent but highly placed Nigerians defraud the Federal Government of several millions of dollars through unauthorised midstream discharge of tanker vessels loaded with refined petroleum products under the fuel subsidy regime?

Midstream discharge, in shipping parlance, is a legitimate practice whereby smaller ships are taken to the high seas to discharge the contents of some big ships which are too large for the water channel and risk running aground. The practice has over the years been subjected to gross abuse as some Nigerian officials, with the active connivance of their foreign counterparts, take delivery from bigger vessels while still on the high seas with the necessary documentation and payments. According to NIMASA, currently the agency has arrested and detained over 20 ships for indulging in such illegal activities, adding that the agency has been under pressure from highly-placed Nigerians to release them, describing the level of economic sabotage as “staggering”.

Since their exposure, our government has not even said anything to deny or admit it, because the government cannot muster enough political and moral will to arrest and prosecute them.

From a research conducted by Strategic Union of Professionals for the Advancement of Nigeria (SUPA) 2010, it was concluded that government makes a profit of 33.50 N/Litre on PMS (Petrol) at the current price of 65 N/Litre. This translates to a very high 106% profit per litre. In addition the government benefits from royalties, taxes and fees which were not factored in this simplified analysis. When factored, the actual crude cost per barrel to government is significantly less and its profit correspondingly higher.

Therefore, posited SUPA, the claim of subsidies on petroleum products is incorrect. So that’s another Government lie.

When a government lacks sincerity, honesty of purpose and trust, then such government is gradually inviting anarchy and chaos. By selling us a dummy, (that the start date for implementation of fuel subsidy removal would not begin until 1^st April 2012, and then going back on their promise and implementing the same on 1^st January 2012), to the electorate, the Presidency has lost integrity and trust of the Nigerian people irrevocably. Government should have kept its word till April by which time better explanation would have been given before implementation takes effect. 

The Presidency and the Federal Government, only last week, stated that they are holding consultations with stakeholders, including organised labour and to get feedback from the people on the proposed fuel subsidy removal. In any democratic setting, the people should have a say in any decision that affects them on any governmental policies. This is the meaning ascribed to section 14 (2c) 1999 constitution which enjoins citizens to participate in the government of their country. Where does our sovereignty as Nigerians lie in all this? Why would any government disregard the aspirations of its people and acts in contravention of the constitution of the land? And also lie to them?

But let’s look at it this way. We know who benefits from the subsidy the Government (and it’s not only Jonathan’s government) pays. Our governments, past and present have been telling us for decades that we the masses benefit from the subsidy; now we know we don’t.  So if the subsidy is removed, that should mean the cabal who had been benefitting from the subsidy for decades, will no longer be able to profit and rip Nigeria off, isn’t it? That means the corrupt government officials who collaborate with the oil subsidy cabal to cheat Nigeria will no longer be able to anymore, isn’t it? That should be the ideal and logical conclusion.

According to an article, “The Truth about Oil Subsidy” by Mrs Ganiyat Gani-Fawehnimi (wife of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi), “the truth is that there was never an oil subsidy; there has never been an oil subsidy and today there is no oil subsidy in the pricing of petrol per liter in Nigeria. The causes of our present oil chaos are not the issue of oil subsidy but:

• High level of corruption in all strata of governance in all parts of Nigeria.
• Massive and unchecked stealing by our leaders, their cohorts and cronies in public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy over the decades.
• Open and deceptive mismanagement of our resources including public funds.
• Mindless and mind-boggling lavish projects specifically designed as conduit pipes to siphon the people’s common wealth into private pockets at the expense of the needs and cares of the suffering Nigerian masses.
• Unceasing and measured astronomical devaluation of the Nigerian currency, a result of gross mis-governance of the country in all facets of human activities”.

The Nigerian people have been ambushed by a government they expressively gave a popular mandate to represent them in April 2011. It is not only a betrayal by the Government against its people, but also unconstitutional  because the Presidency  proceeded to implement the removal of the oil subsidy without resort to the National Assembly who have neither given it any legislative support nor was it stated in the 2012 national budget.

Allow me to quote former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida “The sole purpose of any government is for the good of the people and not to create hardship for its people. The National Assembly should have been made to be part of the decision-making process since the 2012 budget is yet to be discussed and passed by the Legislature. Every government should ordinarily take the interest of the people at heart so that the reason for its existence would be justified”. 

So what do we do under the circumstance? There are now riots and protests all over the country as of the 3^rd of January 2012, but are these enough? Or, more importantly, will these sporadic and largely uncoordinated and ill-organised civil protests force the government of Goodluck Jonathan to rescind its decision?

Hear Rufus K Oteniya of Transparency For Nigeria “If this is only about removing subsidy, it’s not worth it and count me out. If Jonathan reverses the price, it'll not stop looting and corruption; insecurity and over bloated cost of running government. Nigerians must use this opportunity to uproot and crash this faulty democracy and install a system that will cause us to determine the genuine path the nation must tread through Sovereign National Conference (SNC). Jonathan is obviously a confused man who is also looking for a way out of Aso Rock. He knows that we all know that he does not know anything about governing. Nigerians must take this chance! Push for a complete overhaul of the system; push for an Interim government to call for a SNC (Sovereign National Conference). This is the revolution I will support!!!”

And Wale Adedayo “Protesting just about fuel price hike will NEVER solve our problems. We have a set of people who should NEVER have been in office in the first place. Join the strike. Join the protest. But the clarion call should be the removal of a system and a set off rogues who have been keeping us under perpetual slavery since Nigeria's independence in 1960. They MUST go!!!”

I like this concluding part in an article “Nothing Like Oil Subsidy” written by Dr. Izielen Agbon, from Dallas, Texas “The government should explain at what price the swapped crude oil was sold and where the money accruing from these sales have been kept. We have done this simple economic analysis of the Nigerian petroleum products market to show that there is no petrol subsidy what so ever. In the end, this debate on petrol subsidy and the attempt of the government to transfer wealth from the Nigerian masses to a petrol cabal will be decided in the streets. Nigerian workers, farmers, students, market women, youths, unemployed, NGO and civil society as a whole should prepare for a long harmattan season of protracted struggle. They should not just embark on 3 days strike/protests after which the government reduces the hiked petroleum prices by a few Naira. They must embark upon in a sustainable struggle that will lead to fundamental changes. Let us remove our entire political subsidy from the government and end this petroleum products subsidy debate once and for all. It is time to bring the Arab Spring south.”

In conclusion, there are questions to be asked (with reference to my friend and brother, CV Akuta):

• The removal of “Oil Subsidy” is actually a way of punishing Nigerians for the failure of an inept government to effectively fight corruption, not only in the oil industry, but in the country as a whole.
• What guarantees do this government have that the savings to be realized from the oil subsidy removal will be used prudently and for the benefit of all Nigerians and not just a few corrupt and greedy individuals?
• Government has again proven not to be trusted with President Jonathan announcing to the world that subsidy will be not be removed until 1^st April 2012, and only after consultation with organised labour and the people of Nigeria, only for him to remove it on 1^st  January 2012.
• What happened to the Petroleum Trust Fund after ex-President Obasanjo took over?
• What will happen to the Christopher Kolade Committee after his tenure?
• Why set up Belgore Committee to dialogue with organised labour when the subsidy had already been removed?
• How will the President cushion the effects of the hardships which will be caused by the removal of the oil subsidy?
• What will happen to the poor and unemployed Nigerians with this onslaught by an insensitive government?

Nigerians should resist the oil subsidy removal, till this policy is reversed.

God Bless Nigeria.