The Nation Newspaper

Category: Gabriel Amalu

  • Christmas comes to bless

    Christmas comes to bless

    This column wonders what type of Christmas Nyesom Wike and his estranged godson Sim Fubara would celebrate this season. As indicated in Luke 2:14, Christmas comes to bless. That was the 2023 theme of the annual Parish Festival of Carols and Lessons, of the Holy Family Catholic Church, Festac Town, where I am a parishioner. For Wike and Fubara, unlike my parishioners, this Christmas has not come to bless. Indeed, instead of blessings, curses would be on the lips of the Rivers State gladiators and their followers.

    They would even conjure Abrahamic blessings. As God promised Abram Gen12:3, I will bless those who bless you, but I will put curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Looking at Governor Fubara the other day Wike came into town, it was as if instead of participating actively in the Rivers State University program, he was busy muttering curses on his enemy. On their own part, the faces of the 27 Rivers State House of Assembly members whose place of business has been destroyed by Governor Fubara, showed there would be no blessings this Christmas.

    Perhaps, the curse is on Rivers State since the birth of this republic. Starting with Peter Odili, who in pursuit of his dream to be president, became the cash cow for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). After wasting the resources of the state in pursuit of his ambition, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom many believed had egged him on, torpedoed the entire plans. Soon after came Rotimi Amaechi, who again was possessed by the spirit of presidential ambition in conceit.

    In search of a stepping stone to the presidency, he deployed the resources of the state to help Gen. Muhammadu Buhari become a president. Unfortunately, as the last All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential primary showed, Amaechi deployed the resources of the state in pursuit of an ambition taller than him. Soon, it was the turn of Nyesom Wike to suffer the curse. With an eye on the same presidency, he deplored the resources of the state to match the serial presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    Read Also: Tinubu to NPC board: start work now, I won’t tolerate non-performance

    After dueling Atiku reputed to have deep pockets to death of his forlorn presidential ambition, Wike made a detour to align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who eventually won the election. Even before his new political journey started, his well packaged home front turned a façade. For reasons likely similar to what propelled his predecessors, Governor Sim Fubara, even before he learnt the tricky steps of power, bared his milk teeth to devour. Those egging him on will continue to milk the state for the rest of his gubernatorial season.

    Perhaps, it is the resource curse that is afflicting the pretentious potentates that happen on Rivers State. How Fubara hopes to spend quality time and resources for the benefit of Rivers State, in the next four years, when attack dogs are snarling behind him for the entire tenure of his governorship beats this columnist. As my people would say, he who fetched ants infested firewood, has invited lizards to feat in his homestead.

    The choice of a Christmas that comes to curse, instead of one that comes to bless, is a choice to make. While no doubt, the economic realities are very harsh, there is still joy and hope as the bells jingle, heralding the birth of the Lord and Saviour of the world. This writer has chosen a Christmas that comes to bless and so wishes his readers blessings from heaven above.

    It is also a time to give the brain a little break. 

  • 70 hearty cheers Ogbakokpo

    70 hearty cheers Ogbakokpo

    Turning 70 years on October 23 is a testament to a life well lived, and I give glory to God for His grace on the life of my dear Chief Christopher M. Okafor (Ogbakokpo). Attaining 70, in good health of mind and body calls for thanksgiving to God Almighty. So, his family and friends will roll out the drums in pomp and pageantry, on December 31, as a fitting testimony to the monumental achievements Ogbakokpo has accomplished, within the three scores and ten already in the kitty.

    Urbane, suave and cosmopolitan, Ogbakokpo has remained an inspiration to his generation and those younger than him. Though my brother in-law since 1972, I became fully conscious of Ogbakokpo, during the activities of Imezi-Owa students’ union. He was amongst the revered leaders, held in high esteem for their educational exploits as undergraduates. A very visible teacher, social communicator and ballroom dancer, Ogbakokpo became a friend and an elder brother.

    He was larger-than-life, after he graduated from the university, got a job and shortly after, bought a car that was used for those socialization programs, without any social barriers. Moving up the ladder, Ogbakokpo became a model for planning and investment. Frugal, when it comes to wasteful spending, he generously invested in the educational and economic empowerment of his people.

    A philanthropist par excellence, Ogbakokpo ranks amongst the top givers for public works and public good in Amofia, Ogwoshua and old Owa Imezi, both aborigine and abroad. Whether in Amoshua, Lagos or Abuja, whether in the past or present century, Ogbakokpo is like a honey that attracts bees. Madu Oha, the young and the old mill around him in adulation, and his house remains an Ogbaja for all and sundry.

    Read Also: Rivers crisis: loyalists blast Rep member for attacking Wike

    In all his sojourns, Ogbakokpo remains a community leader for his people. In the church he is a joyous and cheerful giver. Within his social circles, he leads with aplomb, and his professional peers revere him as a leader. A statistician of world repute, his exploits in the Central Bank of Nigeria, where he rose to the enviable rank of Deputy Director and head of department, brought pride to our community. 

    Like the famous Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s Thing Fall Apart, Okpakokpo is well known throughout the seven villages of Imezi-Owa, and his social circles, as a man of monumental accomplishments. In recognition, he was honored by H.R.H Igwe Tom Inyiama, Ogwugwu Ebenebe 1, of Ogwoshua, with the chieftaincy title of “Ogbakokpo”. On a personal level, Ogbakokpo is my benefactor of many years, and I joyfully wish him a fabulous celebration on the occasion of his platinum jubilee.

    On behalf of my family, I join his wife, Madam Ann, the children, the Okafors and all well-wishers to celebrate Chief Christopher M. Okafor, (Ogbakokpo), a great son of Amoshua, Ogwoshua, Imezi-Owa, Ezeagu, Enugu, Nigeria, Africa and the world, on his 70th birthday.  

    May God bless Ogbakokpo with boundless joy and happiness and many happy returns in good health of mind and body. Amen.

  • Court costs as deterrent

    Court costs as deterrent

    The Court of Appeal in ASIMS (Nig) Ltd vs Lower-Benue River Basin Dev. Authority (2002) F.W.L.R. p.111, para H, per Muhammad JCA, held: “Costs are a pecuniary allowance made to the successful party and recoverable from the losing party for his expenses in prosecuting or defending an action or a distinct proceeding within an action.” Recently, Justice Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court of England and Wales directed Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) which earlier gamed a dubious arbitral award against Nigeria to pay 20 million pounds in damages and compensation in favour of the federal government.  

    At home, the Supreme Court awarded a cost of N40 million against Mike Ozekhome, SAN, in a case filed on behalf of Emeka Ihedioha, against Governor Hope Uzodimma and other respondents. Ihedioha was removed in 2019 by the apex court after returning the cancelled votes of Hope Uzodimma in the election. Learned counsel, Ozekhome had approached the court on the premise that the Supreme Court had earlier found that the governorship candidate of AA party, Uche Nwosu, was also the candidate of APC that sponsored Uzodimma.

    Ozekhome therefore contended that if Uche Nwosu was the valid candidate of APC, then Uzodimma contested without a party, in flagrant disobedience of the Electoral Act. When the apex court sought to redirect the mind of the SAN, that what he is contending was an election petition, he insisted on pushing ahead with his application, resulting in the humongous cost awarded against him.

    Justice Tijanni Abubakar held: “This is a calculated attempt to re-litigate the matter. The application is frivolous and vexatious. It is totally lacking in merit. Counsel for the applicant is hereby ordered to pay N40 million to the listed parties in the matter.”

    Read Also: Tinubu to Army: don’t be partisan, be vigilant to protect democracy

    For the P&ID case, the court found that the firm paid bribes to Nigerian officials to draft the contract agreement. The court also found that the company illegally obtained privileged legal documents belonging to Nigeria during the arbitration hearing. And furthermore, there were banking records showing fund transfers from New York to Nigerian government officials, by entities allegedly affiliated with P&ID, and large unexplained cash withdrawals by P&ID affiliated entities around the period the contract was signed. Nigeria showed by inference that from the conception to the arbitral award, P&ID were engaged in a scam to swindle Nigeria of huge sums, nearing $11.4 billion on account of interest.

    It is interesting that not only did the court award costs against P&ID, it first set aside the award and declared it a nullity. The ability to set aside an award is not a mean achievement. In Commerce Assurance Ltd vs Alhaji Buraimoh Alli (1992) 1 NSCC 556 (SC) the apex court held: “A person who has submitted to an arbitration cannot turn to the court to ask it to review the award when he believes it is too high.” Again in BSG Energy Holdings Ltd & 4 Ors vs Spears & 3 Ors (2013) 4 CLRN 49 (CA) 68-77, the Court held: “A fortiori, the term “arbitration award” denotes a contractual provision mandating arbitration of disputes regarding the contracting parties’ (respectively) rights, duties and liabilities”.

    The court went further to say “Most interestingly, the fundamental object of an arbitration clause is to avoid litigation. Hence, the veritable legal maxims – (i) Arbit Ramentum Aequum Tribuit Cuique Suum – A just arbitration renders to each his own; (ii) Arbitrium Est Judicium – An arbitral award is a judgment.” The present government must watch out for the arbitral clauses in the international agreements that has been entered into on behalf of the country by previous administrations. It should indeed call for a review of the contracts, considering that once parties subscribe to arbitration as the means to settle disputes that may arise, the court are foreclosed from interfering, except in cases like the P&ID case where a party adduced evidence of fraud.

    The fact of finality of arbitral award was also made in Ebokan vs Ekwenibe & Sons Trading Co. (2001) 2NWLR (Pt 696) 32 per Galadima JCA: “Once an award had been made and there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the proceedings or even the time limit for challenging it had expired the award become final and binding.” In the Nigerian case against P&ID, the court when called upon to determine the legitimacy of the arbitral award found that there are many issues intrinsically wrong with the award, which made the court to set it aside and award costs against the company.

    When a party a party asks for costs in a proceeding, the judge is enjoined to act judicially and judiciously, and exercise his discretion in determining whether the party is entitled to cost. The court is also entitled to determine the cost due and payable by the party. Ordinarily by virtue of section 241(2)(c) there is no right of appeal against an award of cost by the courts. In essence, in exercise of its discretionary powers, the courts can use costs to deal with a party who brings frivolous and vexatious applications to annoy the other party or waste the time of the court.

    In Eneh vs N.D.I.C (2019) All FWLR, pt. 982, at p. 1069, the Supreme Court held “A party who seeks to invoke the discretionary powers of court has the duty of providing the necessary material on which basis the discretion is to be exercised in his favour.” With respect to the costs awarded against learned silk, Ozekhome, some may ask whether such humongous cost was demanded by the respondents in whose favour it was made, or did the court act suo motu? Such poser would be pertinent considering that the court is not a father Christmas even when in the season of Christmas.

    But it is significant that before slamming the cost against the learned counsel, the court made spirited effort to enable Ozekhome justify that the petition brought before the court was not frivolous. It was reported that learned Justice Iyang Okoro gave hints to the learned counsel that the petition is frivolous, vexatious and annoying not only to the respondents but to the court, but the learned silk insisted that his petition was meritorious and should be heard. In N.P.A.S.E vs Fasel Services Ltd (2002) F.W.L.R. Pt 97, p. 74, the Court of Appeal elucidated: “The rule of audi alteram partem posits that at least counsel in the matter should have been allowed to address the court on the point raised by the court suo motu before the decision is taken on it.”         

    The days ahead will determine whether the humongous cost awarded against the learned silk, Ozekhome and P&ID will deter litigants and their counsels from bringing petitions which the court may consider frivolous and vexatious or foreign from entities gaming Nigeria?     

  • Tinubu vs Mbah

    Tinubu vs Mbah

    When I saw Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State in a photo-ops at the presidential villa last week, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT), I had the feeling that my state governor is grappling with the political dynamics of the emergent Tinubu era. In my piece on: “Southeast geopolitical interests” after the Supreme Court affirmed the election of PBAT beyond every reasonable doubt, I urged the opposition politicians of the south-east zone to engage in political détente with PBAT for obvious reasons.

    For the first time since the present republic, we have a dyed in the wood politician at the helm of the nation’s affairs. Tinubu is unlike his predecessors, who were drafted by external forces into the presidential palace. Starting from Olusegun Obasanjo, who was moored into the presidency by the military oligarchs, to Umaru Musa Yara’Adua who was drafted military-style by Obasanjo into the office, to Goodluck Jonathan whose good luck impelled into the presidency, and finally Muhammadu Buhari whose fabricated messianic robe propelled to power, none craved and crafted his way to the presidency like Tinubu.

    So, here you have someone who had desired to be a president, who has prepared for it, and whose every political move is likely to be premeditated. When I read about the nomination of veteran Dave Ogbodo, to the Nigerian National Petroleum Limited’s board of directors, I surmised that perhaps Peter Mbah is pulling the right chord in the presidency. I confirmed when I saw the pictures in the newspaper days after, showing Peter Mbah, shaking the president in an appreciative manner.

    Read Also:: President Tinubu approves appointment of Immigration CG

    While physically, Mbah and PBAT belong to similar species, they also share more in common. They were both successful technocrats before venturing into politics. While PBAT rose to the top management cadre in the multinational Mobil Oil company, Mbah nurtured his Pinnacle Oil and Gas company to become one of the biggest in Nigeria. So, both are wealth creators and successful human and material resources managers. Interestingly, their forte is the domain of the nation’s economy – oil and gas.

    As governor, PBAT is reputed to have turned Lagos from a struggling sub-national economy, to an economic behemoth, which presently is ranked as the fifth largest economy in Africa. PBAT met Lagos’ internally generated revenue at paltry N600 million, but within eight years, raised it to N5 billion. On his part, Mbah has promised to turn Enugu State from a $4.4 billion economy to a $30 billion economy in eight years. An obviously ambitious plan for a civil service economy. But coming from the private sector, Mbah claims to know the way to achieve that quantum leap.

    PBAT’s era in Lagos is reputedly transformative. Most of the big ticket projects, including the recent Blue Railway line that has taken Lagos by storm, were conceived during Tinubu’s time as governor. Mbah has promised to be transformative, and has shown signs that he meant business. The most audacious sign is the restoration of water supply to Enugu metropolis. Many considered the plan to get taps that had dried for two decades running again within 180 days from May 29, as over ambitious. Surprisingly, as the clock ticked to the promised time, some of the taps are running.

    My attention to Mbah’s miracle of water started a few weeks before the 180 days. A senior cousin of mine living in Emene, a suburb of the state, called to discuss family issues, and in the cause of our discussion, he talked about how state government agents were laying water pipes in his area. Obviously excited, he looked forward to enjoying pipe borne water in Emene. But he mentioned that some people were making the right of way a tough call for the workers.

    While praising Peter Mbah for the miracle of water in Enugu urban, this column urges him to also restore water supply to the villages too. For example, for many years, from Lagos, and elsewhere where the people of Ogwofia-Owa resided, my kiths and kin have contributed resources to pipe water from Ajali water scheme, to the nooks and cranny of the town. In my village Amofia, we have three community sponsored sources from the scheme, each time seeking to gain a better supply.

    Each of the community effort was done without any support from the state government. But until the forceful appropriation of community lands and its resources under the Land Use Decree, Ogwofia-Owa with other communities around it owned the proprietary rights over the Ajali river which became the major source of water supply to Enugu State for years. Following the failure of other state water schemes, or perhaps the ballooning of the population, Ajali water scheme, was conceived and berthed in the 1990s. Surprisingly, after appropriating their Ajali, the state refused to extend the running water to the communities, forcing them to self-help.

    In the press release by Dan Nwomeh, the Senior Special Assistant on Media to Governor Mbah, the new product was referred to as 9th Mile Water Scheme. One hopes it is not the Ajali water scheme that has been rechristened? If it is not, then one hopes the Ajali water scheme would be resuscitated, so that the communities enjoying supply from the scheme would also benefit from Mbah’s miracle of water. With multi-dimensional poverty plaguing Nigerians, exposing the Christmas returnees to the cost of buying water from the shylock tanker drivers is adding salt to a festering injury.

    President Tinubu is anchoring his economic reform on attracting direct foreign investment. In the past 180 days, the president has been on economic diplomacy, shuttling the major economic centres of the world seeking investors. He has said that the Nigerian economy can be grown to a $3 trillion economy in 10 years. Specially, he has promised to increase the nation’s economy to $1 trillion by 2026. Speaking to the Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) last October, PBAT said: “Distinguished audience, a one trillion dollar Nigerian economy is possible by 2026, and a three trillion-dollar economy is possible within this decade.”

    Perhaps, the Mbah’s $30 billion Enugu state economy would be a further impetus to the Tinubu’s $3 trillion national economy within the next decade. For now, the current poverty rate in Enugu State is 58.13%, while that for Nigeria is 40%. That means that Enugu State is contributing a significant portion of the poor people in Nigeria, more than the majority of other states. According to Wikipedia, Enugu state is ranked 34 on GDP amongst states in Nigeria, while Nigeria is ranked 42 in the world.

    The tasks confronting PBAT and Mbah are enormous, and time is ticking and depleting the time available for the economic miracles they have both promised Nigerians and ndi Enugu respectively. This column urges collaboration between the federal and state governments, as a sine qua non to achieve the lofty promises.

  • Children of hippopotamus

    Children of hippopotamus

    This writer was enthused as he listened to the musings of Timipre Sylva, the former governor of Bayelsa State and Minister of Petroleum Resources, at a book launch, years ago. He was all poetic. Last week, exercising similar poetic license, he called former president, Goodluck Jonathan a hippopotamus. Writing on his X account (former twitter) Sylva exploded his verbal fusillade: “Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s statement is unfortunate. I sincerely hope he was misquoted. Let me just quote our respected Wole Soyinka: “you can take the hippopotamus out of the swamp but you cannot take the swamp out of the hippopotamus.”  

    Jonathan had earned the ire of Sylva when he visited Governor Duoye Diri who defeated Sylva at the recent gubernatorial election. Jonathan said that he would have relocated his mother from Bayelsa State to Abuja had Diri lost the election to Sylva. Before that clincher, he had talked how insecurity reigned in Bayelsa in the past until Diri took over, thereby suggesting that Sylva’s success at the polls would have yielded the state back to violence, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

    At that book launch, years ago, Sylva with a scintillating voice, extempore recited a poem, as part of his opening remarks, after which he spoke in a very stimulating voice that caught my fancy. Sylva who had served his tenure as governor, before that event, came off as a bohemian politician with a mastery of the English language. I recall that someone who listened to my fulsome praises of Sylva after the event dismissed his performance as a façade. He said that Sylva is not as soft as he spoke.

    That incident receded in my memory until Sylva violently, albeit verbally, reacted to the insinuation by former President Goodluck Jonathan, that he has a violent persona.  Instead of using statistics to prove his innocence, and perhaps comparing his tenure with other governors, Sylva marshalled derogatory allegory to deprecate the former president’s allegation. Social media netizens would call that ‘vawulence’. I recall that Bayelsa and parts of the country were up the radar in violent crimes, while Sylva was the governor and Jonathan was the president.

    So, the hippopotamus allegory could be applicable to denizens of a violent environment, and the two protagonists stand as accomplices. Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo expectedly falls into this category, and he showed up at the river bank few days ago. After enjoying eight years of what is akin to imperial presidency, he has drawn his sword to slay western liberal democracy. Speaking at a function he organized with his acolytes, in his Olusegun Obasanjo Library redoubt, he spoke about “rethinking western liberal democracy for Africa”.

    In his usual magisterial manner, he proposed what he called “Afro democracy” without any theoretical foundation. Many commentators have dismissed his efforts as a diatribe against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (PBAT) government in which he seems to be an outsider, having campaigned vigorously against its emergence. His bogus claim is perhaps a continuation of his failed efforts to scuttle the inauguration of the government after the results were declared. After his calls for the cancellation of the result, and installation of interim government gained no traction, Obasanjo may have resorted to pseudo-intellectualism to achieve the same violent purpose.

    Another leader that fits into the hippopotamus allegory is former vice president, Atiku Abubabakar. Since losing to PBAT, in what may be his last presidential contest, Atiku has raised the sceptre of violence against real and imagined enemies. After deprecating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to his heart’s desire, he has re-trained his verbal fusillade at the courts. According to Atiku, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) after massively rigging the election, is using the courts to gain what it lost at the polls.

    Exhibiting what some commentators call post-election loss trauma, Atiku called INEC chairman and members all manner of scurrilous names, laying specious claims that the agency was compromised to hand over the trophy to APC. With election tribunals reaching decisions unfavourable to Atiku’s interest, the former vice president has called out justices involved in the trials. He has warned darkly that APC is using the courts to appropriate Plateau, Zamfara, and Kano states, where the party lost the gubernatorial elections.   

    Read Also: Lagos Assembly confirms three Sanwo-Olu’s nominees

    Atiku however has no qualms with election petitions, where APC lost to the opposition parties. Those calling him out have reminded him of instances in the past when all APC candidates including election winners were disqualified over party infractions of the electoral laws in Zamfara, as well as instances where the party could not participate in elections in Rivers State. These instances have not assuaged Atiku’s call for violence against the election, which he started immediately INEC declared PBAT the winner of the presidential context.    

    The hippopotamus allegory would suit the tempers in Kano over the gubernatorial election petitions. With the tribunal and appeal courts giving judgments in favour of APC, the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has drawn daggers against the judiciary and the winners. Throwing caution to the wind, lawyers and non-lawyers have brazenly called Justices who sat on appeal in the case names, alleging they were compromised. Even the state attorney general, Haruba Dederi, has maligned the Justices, without any fear of repercussion as a legal practitioner.

    Supporters of the NNPP and APC are in the muds mudslinging each other like hippopotamus and drawing their daggers in the streets. If the trends continue, the days ahead when the Supreme Court delivers the final judgment would be fearful for the people of Kano State, particularly should NNPP lose the state, which is their only hope of remaining politically relevant in the scheme of politics. Returning to the natural habitat of hippopotamus, Rivers State is rocking from intra-party crisis in People Democratic Party (PDP) where the ruckus is between the federal capital territory minister, Nyesom Wike and his godson, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

    Strangely, despite what must have been the best effort of Wike in choosing the most malleable of candidates for the gubernatorial election, things fell apart within a space of four-five months. Similar falling apart happened in neighbouring Edo state, where Governor Godwin Obaseki deserted his political godfather Senator Adams Oshiomhole in a most politically violent manner. If the allegory of political heavy weights as hippopotamus is allowed, perhaps the children of hippopotamus are learning the political violence skills of their forbearers.

    Timipre Silva in describing that political habitat of the sea animal, adopted Soyinka’s postulation that “you can take the hippopotamus out of the swamp but you cannot take the swamp out of the hippopotamus.” Truly, a fruit does not fall far from the tree. The children of hippopotamus have grown large jaws for verbal and physical violence, as necessary skill to endure in the redoubt of Nigerian politics.

  • Nigeria and parable of talent

    I Nigeria, abundantly gifted with natural and human resources, has over 40% of her population poor, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). So, as I listened to the Parable of Talent, which was the gospel, last Sunday, across Catholic churches, our dear country was on my mind. According to the NBS, 82.9 million Nigerians, excluding Borno State, are poor.  Conversely, according to Chatham House, about $582 billion have been stolen from Nigeria, by her kleptomaniac leaders since 1960. Again, according to the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, the solid minerals deposit in Nigeria is worth about $700 billion.

    The parable of talent told by Jesus Christ to his disciples is contained in Matthew 25: 14-30. In summary, it says that a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents and to the third, one talent. And he went away for a long time. The person that received five talents immediately traded with it and made five talents more, while the person given two talents traded with it and made two more talents.

    When the master returned, the person given five talents presented ten talents, while the person given two presented four to the master. The third given one talent, brought one talent back and said: “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here have what is yours.”   

    The master answered him: “You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    Nigeria was on my mind because she is abundantly blessed, but she has performed worse than the person given one talent. Using the 2022 budget estimate of $39.8 billion as a parameter, the $582 billion stolen since independence is about 15 years’ budget. Considering that the nation’s population has moved from about 44,928,341 in 1960 to about 218,541,212 in 2022, the money stolen since independence, if pro-rated, should be more than 15 years’ budget requirement.

    It is important to note that it is the officials of the government entrusted with the resources, like the person given the talent by the master that substantially stole the $582 billion. In specific terms, according to the research institute, $400 billion was stolen from 1960-1999. And between 2005-2014, $182 billion was lost through illicit financial flows from the country. There is no data on what has been stolen from 2016-to present, but stealing and misappropriation of public funds have not stopped, and considering the corruption index, may actually have increased.

    Read Also: Shettima approves committee to pilot FG’s human capital development programme

    More fearful, according to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index survey, 63% of persons living within Nigeria (133 million people) are multidimensionally poor. Sokoto, Bayelsa, and Jigawa states led states with the highest multidimensional poverty index. While Ondo has the lowest 27%, Sokoto has the highest 91%. According to Chatham’s report, the stolen common wealth “represents the investment gap in building and equipping modern hospitals to reduce Nigeria’s exceptionally high maternal mortality rates – estimated at two out of every 10 global maternal deaths in 2015; expanding and upgrading an education system that is currently failing millions of children; and procuring vaccinations to prevent regular outbreaks of preventable diseases”.   

    By several reports, poverty is higher in the northern part of the country, which many consider, the privileged region when it comes to access to power and public wealth. Since independence, the region has produced more leaders in government and money spinning sectors than the south, and apparently more kleptomaniacs or more wicked and slothful servants, if I may use the language of the Bible in the parable of talent. An online media, lists poverty index in states in the following order: Sokoto – 87.73% Taraba – 87.72% Jigawa – 87.02% Ebonyi – 79.76% Adamawa – 75.41% Zamfara – 73.98% Yobe – 72.34% Niger – 66.11% Gombe – 62.31% Bauchi – 61.53%.

    However, Nigeria appears to be behaving more like the person given one talent, with regards to the mineral deposit gifted to her by nature. The estimated $700 billion mineral resources gift is substantially hidden in the ground, perhaps awaiting the return of the master. Interestingly, Plateau State is recorded as the state with the highest number of mineral deposits. Among the top mineral deposits in Nigeria are Gold, Oil and Natural Gas, Bitumen, Iron Ore, Coal, Tin, Talc, Gem Stones and Gypsum.

    In the list of states endowed with the resources, are many northern states including Bauchi, Niger, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Benue, Kwara, Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Nasarawa, and Sokoto. In essence, there is hardly any northern state wallowing in abject poverty, not endowed with mineral resources, but they are hidden in the ground, awaiting exploitation. Perhaps, Nigerians have become victims of the discovery of oil and the consequent Petroleum Act 1969 and exclusive legislative list in the 1999 constitution, which entrusted the ownership of all mineral resources in the federal government, against the principles of federalism.

    That discovery and enormous inflow of resources inflicted the country with the what is called the Dutch disease. According to CFI, a Dutch disease “is a concept that describes an economic phenomenon where the rapid development of one sector of the economy (particularly natural resources) precipitates a decline in other sectors. It is also often characterized by a substantial appreciation of the domestic currency. Dutch disease is a paradoxical situation where good news for one sector of the economy, such as the discovery of natural resources, results in a negative impact on the country’s overall economy.”

    Nigeria, like the person with one talent is stagnated in poverty and social dislocations and discontentment. Unless an urgent action is taken, while some will japa, the majority constitute a ticking time bomb awaiting explosion. The World Bank Group in a report titled: “Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2022”, suggests the need for deep structural reforms to lift millions of Nigeria out of poverty. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presently in Berlin, Germany, where Otto von Bismarck and his fellow brigands, started the mess that Africa is, should make hay while the sun shines.

  • Benin bypass to Gaza

    Benin bypass to Gaza

    If Israel continues the ongoing attrition war against Hamas, Gaza may in future, become a byword or synonym for hell on earth. Smarting from the atrocious massacre of 1,200 Israeli civilians, on October 7, by Hamas, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led right-wing government has sworn to exterminate Hamas, and they are raining hell on northern Gaza, the stronghold of Hamas. Snubbing all entreaties to stop the collective punishment of all Gazans, for the terrorist acts of Hamas, the calamity befalling northern Gaza is akin to stories about the Hades.

    In Nigeria, the Benin bypass has become a byword for hell on the road. Originally built by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo to ease pressure on the inner roads of Benin, and aid those travelling to the southeast and parts of south-south, middle belt and northeast; the bypass has turned from a succour to a nightmare. Travellers now spend more than 12 hours on a stretch of road that shouldn’t last more than 30 minutes. When it opened, it offered a pleasurable smooth ride, away from the hustle and bustle associated with the inner Benin roads.

    Soon, a park for trailers and articulated trucks developed along the axis, and before one could say jack, the congestion became a hindrance against the free flow of traffic. As if on cue, the road-work began to give way to the manoeuvrings of trailers and trucks, and aided by erosion, gullies and craters became a permanent feature of the road. Without any maintenance, the road degenerated to a form of purgatory for motorists, as they spent hours long enough to reach their destination, along that bypass.

    Travelling the route last week, this writer witnessed the road as a living hell for motorists, necessitating the Gaza imagery. A fellow, who left Lagos on Wednesday morning to attend a burial in Anambra on Thursday, arrived his destination around 3pm on the burial date. He spent over 32 hours, for a journey that should take about eight hours, running at the average of one-hundred kilometres per-hour, with stoppages on the road. Of course, he arrived after the burial, looking dishevelled like an escapee from the war-torn Gaza.       

    After narrating his ordeal, this writer felt the urgent need to alert the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) that the bypass if not immediately repaired, could become a burial ground for Nigerians, during the imminent Christmas period. For, if travellers could spend a day on that 30-minutes stretch, at this period of the year, it is better imagined how many days it would take to drive through the road during the high season of Christmas.

    Luckily, the minister for works, Engr. Dave Umahi, has shown himself knowledgeable in road works. He must therefore draw the attention of Mr. President to the calamity that has befallen that road, and the Armageddon that would befall users when Christmas arrives in about one month’s time. In his travels by road to assess federal highways, one wonders whether the minister has visited the Benin bypass?

    If he has not, he should make haste to visit, and make greater haste to secure the attention of the National Assembly to approve the necessary funds for immediate repairs. This writer believes that members of the red and green chambers would be interested, especially those of them from the southeast, parts of south-south, middle belt and northeast that pass through that road. While definitely all the honourable and distinguished members would fly over the bad roads, their new SUVs, acquired at a whopping cost of N160 million per one, would ply the roads to their constituencies during the Christmas break.    

    Read Also: Israeli-Gaza war: The road always trodden

    Unless of course, to aid the effective discharge of their legislative responsibilities, the leadership of the National Assembly would sequestrate the Nigerian Air Force Hercules C130 aircraft to airlift each and every one of the luxurious SUVs, to the nearest airport to each of the legislators, to avoid any gap in the exercise of oversight functions during the Christmas season. Worse case, if the lower ranking legislators lack the capacity to commandeer the use of the C130, the principal officers may add that to the perks of office.

    But considering the potential costs for lifting all the vehicles to the national exchequer, and even the possibility of losing vital days of legislative duties, not to talk about damages to the new vehicles should they ply the damaged road, this writer urges members of the National Assembly to show interest in the urgent repairs of the Benin bypass. By so doing, they may gain remedial good-wishes from their disconsolate constituents, who feel disparaged that they spent N57.6 billion to acquire luxury vehicles when most Nigerians are finding it difficult to eat one meal a day.

    If the legislators doubt the veracity of the claims about the roads, the honourable representatives and distinguished senators in whose constituencies the Nigerian Gaza, sorry, Benin bypass passed, should visit their constituencies to verify the claims. Alternatively, in exercise of oversight functions, the committees of both houses on works, and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), should visit the bypass for on-the-spot assessment. If all that is too difficult to arrange from Abuja, the director in-charge of that federal highway should assess and report his findings to the minister of works.

    Tragically, while the rest of the world seems to lack the will-power to stop the carnage going on in Gaza, the Nigerian government has the capacity to end the hell on the Benin bypass. But why can’t the international community muster the resources to defeat Hamas, whose terrorist stunts caused the present crisis, and bring those responsible for the massacre in Israel to account, and thereby eliminate the reason for turning northern Gaza to hell on earth? Why can’t the international community find a lasting solution to threats to the existence of Israel and also ameliorate the miserable life that Palestinian live in the Gaza strip and West Bank?

    With the current war in Gaza, the two-state solution that has been bandied as the answer to the perpetual war between Israel and her neighbours, is pushed farther from reality than it has ever been. While Israel lays claim to Jerusalem as their eternal capital, the Palestinians who occupied the land for centuries after Israel was chased away into exile many centuries ago, are determined to have a share of Jerusalem, as their own capital. Unfortunately, this bloodied tango has become a means of livelihood for Hamas terror activists, and the survival gambit for some doddering Arab regimes.

    Clearly, a divided world is unable to guarantee security for Israel, and freedom for Palestinians. While this column wishes the Abrahamic cousins peace on earth, it urges an end to the hell along the Benin bypass.

  • NLC labouring in politics

    NLC labouring in politics

    ‘The NLC made a big mistake by openly aligning with a political party in the general elections, as that reduced them to partisans, which colours their genuine labour interests’

    The attack of the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajero, in Owerri, Imo State, last week, should be condemned by all and sundry. While the police passed it off, as affray, arising from intra-labour union conflicts, the NLC insists that the attack was orchestrated by the police in cohorts with agents of Imo State government. Ajaero, had travelled to Owerri, to mobilize workers, to engage in a strike over unpaid salaries, against the state government.

    Of note, a gubernatorial election is slated in Imo State, next Saturday, November 10, which is few days before the mobilization effort of the NLC president, and the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, is contesting against Senator Athan Achonu of the Labour Party (LP), and Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the top contenders. The police claim that when Ajaero landed at Sam Mbakwe airport, there was an attempt to start action at the airport, which was resisted by some workers, and in the ensuing ruckus, Ajaero was brutalized.

    The Nigerian police was accused of arresting and detaining the comrade, and further beating him up in custody. On their part, the police claimed that Ajaero was taken into protective custody and later released. While some reports claim that the labour leader was admitted at the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, for treatment, other reports claimed that there were plans to fly him abroad, for better medical attention. On its part, the government of Imo State, like the biblical Pontus Pilate, washed its hands of the entire saga, pointing accusing fingers at intra-labour crisis.

    The NLC and its affiliate, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), have called a strike for Wednesday, to protest the brutalization of Ajaero. They demanded the transfer of the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, which has been effected. The CP was accused of being complicit in the attack on the Comrade. On its part, the Imo State government approached the National Industrial Court, presided over by Hon. Justice Nelson Ogbuanya, which reaffirmed its restraining Order, forbidding the NLC from embarking on strike, while the matter in court is adjourned to November 30, well after the elections.

    Hon. Justice Ogbuanya warned about consequences of any disobedience of the order of the court. But there are reports that some affiliate unions of the NLC have already embarked on strike, and there is apprehension that more affiliate unions may join on Wednesday. Obviously, it appears the initial attempt to corral a nation-wide strike to protest the brutalization of Ajaero, did not gain much traction. There are muted condemnation of the attack on Ajaero, across the country, as many public commentators, while condemning the attack, do not see it as an affront by the national government to warrant a nationwide strike.

    Expectedly, the crisis has been framed by those opposed to the tactics of the new the new NLC president, Joe Ajaero, as political action aimed at promoting the interest of his preferred gubernatorial candidate, Senator Athan Achonu. Some non-partisan commentators, also framed his determination to call out workers of the Imo State government on strike, few days to a gubernatorial election as a partisan action aimed against the incumbent governor, which has backfired. Some others, argued that there are states like Benue, which owe workers several more months of arrears of salary, and yet the labour leader has not mobilized against such government.

    To compound the issues raised against the union leader, because he is from Imo State, there is the presumption that beyond his affiliation to LP, he is an interested party in the outcome of the election. In a statement released by the NLC media, there is a claim that the state government and the police have sent thugs to invade the Azalla Owalla Emekuku community, in Owerri, Imo State, the hometown of Ajaero. The head of Media and Information, Comrade Benson Upah, made disparaging claims against the state governor and the transferred Commissioner of Police over the alleged attack.

    Read Also: Learn to leak your wounds, APC counsels Obi

    He claimed that Ajaero’s community is under siege; an accusation the Imo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chief Declan Emelumba, described in unprintable terms. The state commissioner accused the NLC president of being a card-carrying member of LP, and engaging in conducts that have created divisions within the NLC in the state. With the accusations and counter-accusation being reduced to intra-communal affair, the NLC president is unwittingly reducing the national importance of his office. If he is properly advised, he should have recused himself from the affairs concerning Imo State, as whatever action he takes will be viewed from the prism of emotional interest.

    For this writer, to unwittingly reduce the crisis between the labour unions and the government of Imo State, to a communal interest, is rather sad. Moreover, the claim by the NLC spokesperson, could spike an inter-communal clash in the state, as Ajaero’s kith and kin, may decide to attack the community, where the governor comes from in retaliation. So, from national to state, and now community interests, the NLC president should refrain from diminishing the high office he occupies. If the government of Hope Uzodimma, are pushing him in that direction, he should ignore it.

    As the national leader of NLC, Ajaero should concentrate his energy on national issues. Before he proceeds to any state to engage in mobilization of workers, he ought to ensure that he is on the same page with the state labour leaders. Where he believes that the state unions have been emasculated, he should use the national organs to fight the cause. He cannot descend into a disputed arena, and hope to mobilize affiliate unions in the state successfully. Such a descent would make him a partisan, instead of a mediatory force.

    As I have argued previously, the NLC made a big mistake by openly aligning with a political party in the general elections, as that reduced them to partisans, which colours their genuine labour interests. Again, that is happening in Imo State, as the NLC is being accused of acting the script of the LP, which they had openly supported. While individually, members of the labour unions are entitled to partisan politics, it becomes tricky, when as a body, the leadership seeks to corral every member to a particular political party.

    Evidentially, the crisis in Imo State is being framed according to the interest of the parties. For the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led state government, NLC is acting the script of the LP. On its part, the LP has issued strong statements in support of the NLC. Some other state stalwarts have accused Ajaero of acting the script of the PDP. In the political contestation, the primary interest of the NLC, which is the protection of the interest of workers, recedes from the front burner to the backyard.

  • Southeast geopolitical interests

    Southeast geopolitical interests

    The judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) should concern even the most optimistic opposition political elite in the southeast as regards the region’s geopolitical interests. In the 2023 presidential election, the electorate from the region, feeling disenchanted with the Buhari-led All Progressive Congress (APC) and cheated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which despite years of support, gave the party’s ticket to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, formed the bulwark of the strident Labour Party supporters which took the nation by storm.

    Tapping into that disenchantment, the political elite which felt robbed of the right of first refusal with respect to the presidency urged the region to put nearly all their eggs in the Labour Party basket. Well, while that basket has not fallen on a concrete paved road, the skilled labour put into the nurturing and hatching of the eggs have yielded a few chicks, most of them unhealthy and dying at infancy. Considering that patience is not a virtue of the political elite and their people, how would they deal with their political miscalculations?   

    With PBAT, an ardent political strategist in the saddle, it is fair to assume that the opposition parties would be in the lurch for some years to come, all things being equal. And since the ruling party did not harvest plenty of votes from the zone in the last presidential election, will PBAT apply President Muhammadu Buhari’s incongruous mathematical equation of 97/5 percent of those who voted for and against, in sharing the economic resources of the country? Hopefully, PBAT will prove a more gifted mathematical prognosticator than his predecessor.

    Many are wont to believe that some of the economic policies of the past regime, like the border closure, banning of the importation of certain items, the poorly thought out import substitution policies and the manipulative foreign exchange policies were aimed at punishing the businesses done by people from the southeast region. While some of the claims are debatable, there is no doubt that considering the mutual political animosity between majority of the people and elites of the region and the Buhari government, some of the policies were aimed at curbing the economic flourish, some will call it excesses, of the business men from the region.

    But as that regime may have found out, the economic regulation policies while encouraging minimal import substitution and artificial foreign exchange control, left the economy so hollow that they had to borrow money to pay salaries and engage in infrastructure development. The result is the stagflation which the PBAT regime inherited. The Buhari policy on rice for example, while creating significant local production, could not tame the run-away inflationary pressure which also affected the price of that staple food. And for an average Nigerian, what worries him/her is the price of rice, not whether they are locally produced parboiled rice in the market.

    Again, the border closure which was initially hailed by many, worsened the economic situation, even with the foreign exchange control policies targeted at discouraging certain types of import. Without local substitutes, and with no effective control at the national borders and ports, those determined to import such items soon found a way around the control measures. One glaring outcome was the booming of the parallel foreign exchange market, also referred to as the black market.

    As happens with unbridled regulation in a corrupt environment, unprecedented distortion soon set in, as many of the privileged members of the Buhari regime got ensnared into using influence to appropriate foreign exchange from the Central Bank, which they sell through their agents in the black market, to the same marketers who import what the regime sought to substitute. When those imports land at the national border or the ports, the corrupt custom officials appropriate the remnant of what should come to the national coffers, while the goods are delivered to the buyers at excessively exorbitant prices.

    Read Also: NNPP crisis: Southeast stakeholders disown Kwankwaso

    So, while the privileged members of the regime, the customs and other regulatory agency officials and the unscrupulous importers smile to the bank, the ordinary people and their national treasury haemorrhage uncontrollably. The multiple whammy of economic stagnation, high unemployment rate, run-away inflation, weakened local currency, scarce foreign exchange and a nation threatened by socio-economic disillusionment of the people, is now the lot of PBAT and his team to manage. Even for the most optimistic person, this is definitely not the best of times for the country, as the nation is like a tinderbox.

    Glaringly, for this regime, the first step is to build what the famous Tatalo Alamu, of this newspaper calls, building elite consensus to govern. PBAT must resist the temptation of the Buhari style of surrounding himself with only familiar faces, in the forlorn hope that what is only needed is loyalty and presumed competence. While those two are important, he also needs to hear outsider opinions, not accustomed to his economic worldview, since his emergence in 1999 as a political leader.                

    As is self-evident, the sinned-against, and the sinners are all suffering the consequences of the poor economic policies of the Buhari regime. Godwin Emefiele, the lightening rod of the economic team of the past regime, appears flummoxed, and must be wondering what came over him, to agree to preside over the gross mismanagement of the national economy. While the presidential apple he was offered is tempting enough, from hindsight he would know that it was a fruitless mirage. As we mourn the economic tragedy, those now saddled with responsibilities under PBAT must learn from what Emefiele and his cohorts brought on all Nigerians, including themselves.  

    No doubt, the disillusioned electorate and the disaffected elites from the southeast region can be harvested for good or for bad, depending on the poaching skills. While the cause of the political disease afflicting the southeast may be different, their economic afflictions are not different from that of the rest of Nigerians. As political pundits are wont to say, there is no different rice price tag for those who supported the past government from those who didn’t. The costs for transportation, health, education, security and all other needs have no discriminatory tags.

    As the Tinubu era starts in earnest following the Supreme Court verdict, the southeast political elite should engage in strategic analysis of the short and long term geopolitical interests of the region. They do not need any lecture to understand that what should guide them should be the paramount interest of the region, in a Nigeria built on equity, fairness and justice. And the region is awash with deep political economists and intellectuals, who can provide the roadmap to reincarnate the pre-civil war south-eastern economic miracles of Michael Okpara.

    Perhaps, the time for the much touted handshake across the Niger has come.

  • Legislative road to confusion

    The motion by Hon. Khadija Bukar Ibrahim, passed by members of the House of Representatives last week, halting the move to use only concrete technology to build federal roads can be described as another road to confusion. While the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has secured the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and certificates of no objection by the Bureau of Public Enterprise, to henceforth use only concrete technology to build federal roads, the House of Representatives’ motion has put a spanner in the works.

    Without gain saying, despite the best efforts of the immediate past regime, most federal roads have remained an embarrassment to the nation. While Nigerians are in haste for road-repairs to begin, the House of Representatives doubt Umahi’s proposed concrete technology. In her lead debate, Khadija Ibrahim raised succinct arguments which swayed her colleagues. Amongst others posers, she said: “The House is worried that the Hon. Minister of Works’ new policy on cement concrete pavement adoption, without in-depth studies of the comparative advantages and disadvantages with asphalt, may contradict technical specifications, potentially leading to contract breaches and potential arbitration and litigation during a challenging economic time.”

    She further claimed: “The House is also concerned that several studies have revealed that the use of rigid or cement concrete pavements in road construction has significant technical limitations and constraints.” This column urges the minister to answer the legislators as quickly as possible, as Nigerians can’t wait for the rehabilitation of the death traps that our roads have become. For many Nigerians, the appointment of Dave Umahi as the Minister for Works was considered one of the best ministerial appointments by the Tinubu administration. Apart from being an engineer of repute, as governor, he had transformed Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State, to a glistering capital city, with infrastructure littering the landscapes.

    So, it is strange that what many considered a deft move to solve the decayed road infrastructure across the country is already enmeshed in confusion. If Khadija Bukar Ibrahim is to be trusted, that her motion is in the interest and welfare of Nigerians, then it means that Umahi did not carry out due diligence before approaching the president for approval. Or could Kadija’s intervention be a mere hogwash to give cover to mundane interest whitewashed as national interest?

    The 10th House of Representatives has regrettably started their tenure on a very unfriendly note to the challenged national economy, with the irresponsible and unconscionable acquisition of luxury SUVS for their grossly abused oversight functions. According to reports, each of the 360 members will get a new Prado SUV at a whopping cost of N130 million per unit, which translates to about N57.6 million naira. In presenting the news to the public, the spokesman of the House gave the impression that the purchase is to enable members effectively discharge their responsibilities.

    He also justified the purchase of the luxurious vehicles on the premise that previous members of the House engaged in similar purchase, which they converted to personal use, after paying a token to the federal purse, at the end of their tenure. He made a feint reference to the executive branch as also guilty of engaging in luxurious lifestyle, when the rest of Nigerians are asked to tighten their belts to survive the economic challenges. While the others may be guilty as charged, the House has confirmed her inconsideration for the dire economic quagmire facing our dear country.

    But while confusion may linger over which of the arms of government is more wasteful, the House members must not walk the roads taken by their predecessors, who used oversight functions to undermine the work of the executive, while lining their private pockets, with public resources. The previous assemblies where so ingrained in personal aggrandizement to the extent that the so-called constituency project became a pork for their welfare. There were established instances, where members cornered billions for projects that they never executed. Other instance existed where a solar power was cited in the personal farm of a member as constituency project.

    Read Also: Otukpo bank robbery: Slain female Police Inspector buried in Okene

    The abuse of constituency project became so rampant that the ICPC had to establish a tracking procedure to monitor it. No doubt, if a thorough investigation of the execution of constituency project is carried out, many former and serving legislators would spend time in prison for corrupt practices. So, when Representative Khadija Bukar Ibrahim, stirs the hornet’s nest about the use of concrete technology to build our roads despite the claims of Minister Umahi that it would serve the country better, many are asking whether the intervention is in the spirit of oversight, or to stir a bargain for constituency road projects.

    Engaging in oversight has also turned to a corrupt practice for members of the National Assembly. There are claims that when legislators engage in oversight, it is merely an opportunity to extort the executors of the projects, the parastatals and departments of government concerned. The allegations against the legislators are that they use that constitutional power to overreach the executive branch and when they are ignored, they make life unbearable for that executive branch during the budget defence.

    Open allegations of abuse of oversight were made against the legislators by ministers in the past, so it is hoped that the sweeping claim of the House of Representatives against concrete roads is for national interest. The dilapidated state of roads across the country should have received the motion of the House of Representatives more than the hammer on concrete roads, which has been experimented with successfully in many parts of the country, including the Apapa to Oworoshonki road, one of the busiest and heaviest laden in the country.

    Nigerians earnestly await the outcome of the inquiry by the House of Representatives, as the motion adopted by members gave their committees three weeks to conduct their research and reach a conclusion on which road to follow between asphalt and concrete, for the construction and rehabilitation of all the federal road projects going forward. If the Representatives rode on the federal roads across the country while they were campaigning, they already know that a lot of the roads require immediate attention. One such road that needs urgent attention by the Ministry of Works is the Benin bye-pass.

    There are several others, like the East-West Road, which from the broadcasts on television, can be described as government engineered economic sabotage against those that ply the road. That road like others similar to it, are avenues for forced sacrifices of peoples’ lives and hard earned goods. With food inflation over the roof, one can just imagine the losses usually incurred, when trucks loaded with tomato or rice or corn fall into the craters that have become permanent feature of such road.