The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Local players and best practices in Nigeria’s oil industry

    The ongoing struggle for Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 acreages between Neconde Energy Limited and the National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) has appeared in the media often, lately. The NPDC has in recent time tried to deny Neconde the operatorship of the OML 42 it acquired in 2012. NPDC’s persistent call for the reversal of the award of the operatorship of OML 42 which was acquired by Neconde Limited is indeed suspect. Still, it brings to focus, a need to explicate NPDC’s excesses, as it appears incapable of coping with best practices among local players in the oil industry.

    Neconde, the company being dragged into dispute by NPDC, is a Nigerian Exploration and Production (E &P) firm which started its operations officially in December 2011. Its current joint venture with NPDC on OML 42 is a large license, containing previously discovered oil fields in the Niger Delta area. This lease was acquired from Shell Petroleum Development Company in November 2011. OML 42 is 814 square kilometre lease originally awarded  in 1962. Initial production commenced in 1969 and aggregate production from the five fields discovered within OML 42 reached a peak of approximately 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (bopd) in the 1970’s. Production, which was primarily oil, continued until the first part of 2005 when the producing fields were shut-in due to security issues in the Niger Delta. Production at the time of the shut-in was more than 50,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and more than 80 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas.

    On OML 42, there are five fields and numerous wells. Some of the fields located in OML42 include; Odidi Field, Jones Creek, Batan Field, Egwa Field and associated facilities. The current production from OML 42 is approximately 10,000 bopd, and still growing. Noteworthy is that, output in OML 42 was 15,000BOPD when the Sales Purchase Agreement was concluded between Shell and Neconde in mid-2011. As of April 30, 2013, roughly two years after, the production was 13,241bopd. It is evident that the relationship between companies it entered into partnership has not been smooth.

    Recently, the NPDC branch of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) embarked on a limited two hour per-day strike between May 4 and May 11. The strike action was supported by arguments through advertorials on the pages of some newspapers on Monday, May 11. It expressed that Neconde was not competent to operate OML 42 which it bought for a purchase price subject to closing adjustments of $585 million from Shell, of which $435 million was paid by consortium partners, with the rest of the $150 million of the total purchase price funded through Neconde debt financing.

    How does anyone compare the commitment of NPDC to that of a private investor, who after scouting around the world to buy acreage with such a huge amount, would not want to perform well?  The truth is, if NPDC potentials were to be optimal, the likes of Neconde, Seplat and others would not opt for operatorship, as it would imply reduced cost on staff overhead. Mindless of the several arguments being propagated by NPDC in the media, even a layman understands the culture of lack of ownership prevalent in the Nigerian public sector. It is only imperative that Neconde and other private investors will invest in the best competent technological advancement, as its business profit has to be won. This contrasts NPDC with nothing at stake, but a management whose major interest is to find contractors that will allot rewards from awarded contracts.

    During the strike action by the NPDC branches of PENGASSAN and NUPENG over the transfer of OML 42 to Neconde Energy, about 100,000 b/d of NPDC’s oil production was shut down. This shows a flippant handling of national assets. The strike even resulted on a near blackout in the nation, because they also shut operations of the very important Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP), where the vital associated gas, needed for processing and distribution to the nation’s many thermal power plants.

    Evidently, NPDC appears not to have lived up to its responsibility of “development” – which the dictionary explains as, “improving by expanding, enlarging or refining.” Rather the recent fight over easing operatorship is unsettling, and ironic, regarding that its ineptitude was the reason the government had earlier withdrawn operatorship from NPDC and offered Joint Operatorship Model (JOM), based on a recommendation by the DPR to the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    For instance, its underproduction is evident in the Shoreline Natural Resources acquired OML 30, which has nine flow stations with a conglomerate production of capacity of 395, 00 barrels of oil per day (bopd). It include the flow stations Afiesere, 60,000bpd; Eriemu, 30,000bpd; Evwreni, 30,000bpd; Kokori, 90,000 bpd; Olomoro- Oleh, 60,000bpd; Oroni, 30,000 bpd; Osioka, 15,000bpd; Oweh, 30,000bpd and Uzere West, 60,000bpd.  Under NPDC, the current operatorship is around 53, 000bpd, with 342, 000bpd largely unexploited. The entry of indigenous private firms was suggested as a way to bolster production and exploration.

    In 2011, NPDC was assigned 55% equity assets divested by Shell, while it retained operatorship of OMLs 4, 26, 30, 34, 38, 40, 41 and 42—which is most of the assets. Yet, the corporation underutilised all oil fields under its control, which in effect caused a downturn in the nation’s oil and gas industry.  The emergence of local players like Seplat, Neconde, Elcrest, Sapetro, is very vital to the process of injecting new competitive edge in the upstream and increase production.

    As it appears, NPDC prefers to act as a clog in the wheel of this partnership. It is indeed interesting that NPDC which operated OML 42 unproductively until the Neconde takeover would be the candidate to point out underproduction, which is rather incongruous.

    Currently, 10 per cent of Nigeria’s gross production is still local, and this number will increase, with the increasing production of indigenous companies. Seplat for instance, which fortunately was not dragged into the partnership with NPDC has reported about 60, 000bpd of production from OML 4, OML 41 and OML 38, formerly owned by Shell, which include the Oben, Ovhor, Sapele, Okporhuru, Amukpe fields. Before the divestment, these assets produced 30,00bpd. The company continues to increase its production in each operation. Earlier in the year, despite industry downturn, it added 40 percent working interest in OML 53 and an effective 22.5 percent working interest in OML 55 in February. These assets will, in the future, add materially to the company’s production base and provide options for further development.

    To make accusations that Neconde seeks to place national assets in a few private hands is ironic, especially as NPDC is well-known in the industry for its management which benefits from contract awards as operators of OML.  On close study, it appears NPDC’s little impact in the increment of production and efficient management of Nigerian oil wells and facilities makes it dread that its incompetence might become even more glaring, should Neconde take full responsibility of OML 42, hence the recent mudslinging.

    It is imperative to note, that NPDC’s clamour for a reversal of the OML 42 award might not be in the best interest of the nation, and it should be not be allowed to undermine the possibilities and success achievable by private investors. NPDC must not be left to use its position as a “national” auxiliary to intimidate a legal company which underwent a transparent screening for a business deal, so that the continuous rise of best practice local player in the Nigerian oil and Gas industry, can bring about the awaited revolution. Also, this might be the time to examine the rot and inadequacies which is prevalent in NPDC, and review the resulting effect on the economy, from the expansion of indigenous technological expertise to the creation of new and local financing opportunities in Nigeria.

    “Ambode’s entry big-bang may well be the delivery of the light rain mass transit, which Tinubu conceived and Fashola had been working on”

     

    • Olaleye, an Oil and Gas expert writes from Abuja.

     

     

  • Imperative of Lawan/Akume ticket

    This topic has generated a lot of commentary of late that one wonders if this might not be the beginning of the end for the All Progressive Congress (APC). As I write, the APC has not made any categorical statement as regards the zone that would produce the leadership of the Eighth National Assembly. But we all know that it’s a battle royale between the North Central as represented by Senator Bukola Saraki and the North East as represented by Senator Ahmed Lawan.

    In my opinion, this issue has been over-flogged and the political horse-trading is totally unnecessary when certain variables come to play. Some of such variables include but not limited to ranking, experience, respect and support from both chambers of the National Assembly. This is where the ticket of Sen. Ahmed Lawan and Sen. George Akume comes in handy. And I know for certain that the returning senators, likewise new senators would settle for their experience portfolio. In my candid opinion, a senate with Lawan as president and Sen. Akume as deputy would experience stability and robust legislative activities.

    I do not know many senators in the National Assembly that enjoys the kind of support these distinguished senators have amassed since they signified interest in the race to head the senate. For clarity purposes, I would like to highlight on some of the factors that makes the Lawan/Akume ticket tick.

    Who is Sen. Ahmed Lawan? He is a fifth timer in the National Assembly; he has been in the National Assembly since 1999 as member of the House of Representatives 1999-2003, 2003-2007; Senator 2007-2011, 2011-2015 and he is returning to the Senate again 2015-2019. He has been in the opposition his entire political career which started in 1998. In 1998, he was elected the pioneer vice chairman of the All Peoples Party (APP), Yobe State chapter, and in 1999, he served as the secretary of the Electoral Committee of APP National Convention in Abuja.

    In the House of Representatives, he served in various capacities, including: Deputy Chairman, Committee on Environment;  Deputy Chairman, Committee on Gas Resources; Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture; Chairman, House Committee on Education; and representative of the House of Representatives in the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, ACP/EU.

    In the Sixth Senate he served as Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts; Member, Constitutional Review Committee; President, West African Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC); and member of five other standing committees of the Senate. In the Seventh Senate, he was re-appointed as Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts and also appointed Chairman, Ad-Hoc Committee to Investigate the Privatisation and Commercialisation Activities of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) from 1999 to 2011. His portfolio is quite intimidating you will agree with me.

    Senator Lawan is a ranking member of the Senate, and he commands respect from other senators, especially the set of 2003. He has been in the opposition since 1999 and won elections, which somewhat translates to grassroots support and political dexterity needed to handle the office of the Senate President. He also understands the inner workings of the National Assembly better than others that have shown interest in the race. Having been there since 1999, his support base would cut across both chambers, which will in turn pave way for a harmonious working relationship between both chambers. He may not be the most popular candidate for the seat, but that is because of his unassuming nature. He is not the loud and overtly flamboyant type. And for that reason, some see him as weak. But that is far from the truth.

    On the other hand, Senator George Akume is a former governor of Benue State and a delight any day and time. He is a third timer to the Senate having won elections since 2007 after his eight years stint as governor of Benue State. He was elected senator under the platform of the PDP in 2003 but soon left the fold to an “unpopular” party in the North Central and still won elections despite the fact that the PDP was at the helm of affairs in his state. He became Senate Minority Leader from 2007 till date.

    Akume’s contributions on the floor of the Senate since 2007 have been phenomenal. As a fact he was a top contender for the position of Senate president in 2007. It was on record the he was a victim of the Senate rule on ranking. It’s also on record that as the Senate Minority Leader, he carried himself with such comportment that gave rise to the opposition having a strong voice in the Senate.

    Be that as it may, there is an important factor that the APC must put into consideration, which is the standing rule of the Senate. The rule gives preference to seniority for positions of Senate President and Deputy Senate President because it’s just common sense that only senators with substantial legislative experience can effectively lead.

    The seniority factor was first put to test in 2007 when the outgoing Senate President, David Mark, made his first bid for the number three post in order of protocol against the present senate minority leader, George Akume. Senator Mark clearly defeated Akume even though ranking was not yet included in the Senate’s standing rules. However, the Senate, under the leadership of David Mark, considered it important to insert the clause in the standing rules of the red chamber in order to properly guide lawmakers and perhaps limit the contest to only experienced senators. It turned out to be an informed move, considering the stability in the leadership of the Senate since then.

    In conclusion, the APC would do itself good to as a matter of sensibility and ask the other contenders to step down their ambition and present a common candidate to the Senate. The essence of this piece is to let the hierarchy of the APC know that the Lawan/Akume ticket has no equal. As a fact, this is one combination that highlights everything from experience, ranking and focus. And there is just one certainty, robust legislative direction in the National Assembly. The party would do itself good to rally support for these distinguished senators. We are watching, and the world is watching.

     

    • Etila wrote from Abuja

  • Office of the First Lady and Nigerian women

    With the successful inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo, Nigerians cannot but look back on the tension that preceded the elections and thank God for dousing the violence that would have engulfed the country had the elections gone wrong. With President Buhari in office as President, the country now has a new First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari. Speculation is rife on what becomes of the Office of the First Lady under the new government.

    The ‘Office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’ has no place in the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) but has however become so ingrained in the country’s political process that it can almost be considered a norm.  The country has since independence on October 1, 1960, had a total of 13 indigenous leaders. Before 1985, Nigeria had presidents and Heads of state whose wives engaged in one form of charity project or the other, though not under the formal office structure as seen today. In 1985, however the glamorous structure now known as Office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was birthed by beautiful dark skinned Maryam Babangida. It was with her as First Lady that Nigerian women learned to identify the term ‘Better Life for Rural Women’ (BLRW) programme with an office created by the wife of Nigeria’s Head of State. Through her project, Late Maryam Babangida gave a face to problems rural women faced while trying to effectively manage their reproductive and productive roles in the family.

    With the exit of Babangida’s administration on August 26, 1993, ‘Better Life for Rural women programme’ faded into oblivion but the Office of the First Lady magically survived and was inherited by pretty but demure Maryam Abacha  who initiated her own pet projects in 1994 called Family Support Program (FSP) and Family Economic Advancement Program (FEAP).

    With Honourable Justice Fati Lami Abubakar in 1998, the story was different. The term ‘First Lady’ was legitimately hers to answer during her husband’s tenure as Head of State but culture of loads of staff and logistics almost collapsed. The office was not visible because General Abdusalami Abubakar had one of the shortest tenures as Head of State. It may not be wrong however to assume that Justice Fati Lami Abubakar, being first, a lawyer and then a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria understood the unconstitutionality of the office and did not want to uphold a legacy of impunity.  The Learned Justice Abubakar also had her pet project called Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), a project that has continued to promote women rights in the country.

    General Olusegun Obasanjo’s second coming as Nigeria’s President on May 29, 1999 brought back the Office of the First Lady with his amiable wife, Stella Obasanjo creating a fresh pet project called Child Care Trust (CCT); a programme that ended with Stella’s death.  Hajia Turai Yar’Adua also had her pet project called Women and Youth Empowerment Programme (WYEP).  With the swearing into office of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in 2010, Patience Jonathan (Dame), was not left out of the pet project cycle as she initiated her own project called Women for Change Initiative (WCI).   It appeared that with each president, came a pet project that had to be executed through the ‘Office of the First Lady’ with the support of political appointees and administrative staff that had to be paid. These projects were allegedly funded by donations and grants made through processes that were neither open nor transparent so much so that the manner in which most first ladies operated left a lot to speculation.

    One thing the Office of the First Lady has however showcased is the personality of each occupant and the effect their attitude and mannerisms have had on Nigerian women in particular and the country in general. With the creation of the office came expectations from the public on what a Nigerian woman should represent – how she should act, speak and what she could or could not do. Through the lives of our various first ladies, women in Nigeria were sometimes grouped, assessed and stereotyped into boxes of all shapes and sizes. If a First Lady always appeared too glamorous on television, women in other African countries sometimes mistook the affluence seen on television as good standard of life for every woman in the country. If the First Lady was never seen at public functions or seldom seen, it was generally assumed that women in Nigeria are not free to express themselves or hold an opinion. Even within the country, it could be said that the glamour associated with various first ladies spread the erroneous impression that women are wasteful with public funds and therefore inept at holding public offices. With the neglect of due process by some first ladies in the manner they purchased government buildings and assets for family members, came another erroneous notion that women when placed in positions of authority never know how to separate public from personal interest. With overzealous protection of what may have been speciously considered personal family information by some first ladies, another flawed impression was created in the mind of the public that an average Nigerian woman who finds herself as wife of a leader may ill-advise or support her partner to hold onto power until forcefully removed. Some have brazenly interfered with governance at federal and state levels and created a wrong impression of female leaders as power hungry tyrants who should not be allowed to hold decision making positions; through some of them, women have been adjudged emotional, incapable of any sense of control and reasonable judgment.

    As erroneous as such assumptions are, women are frequently seen in such light in Nigeria. One wonders whether women in leadership have forgotten the duty on us to ensure that unflattering stereotypes about women are not born out of our individual actions as leaders.

    With the change in government on May 29, expectations are high; Nigerians want an end to Boko Haram insurgency, corruption, unwarranted waste of public funds and a collapse of wasteful political structures that are unconstitutional.  President Buhari’s inaugural speech has raised hope everywhere.  Before his inauguration, President Buhari is muted to have said that his administration may not create or retain the Office of the First Lady; a statement given credence by Hajia Aisha Buhari who expressed the preference to be addressed as ‘Wife of the President.’ Whether this means Hajia Aisha Buhari will not maintain the Office of the First Lady is still too early in time to tell but the question to ask is ……Has the Office of the First Lady unveiled  valuable lessons for women in Nigeria?

    From the person of late Maryam Babangida to Dame Jonathan, women should be able to learn a lot about being in the limelight. From some of our first ladies, women have seen what it means to be graceful. We have equally seen how easy it is to be wasteful with public funds. From some of them, we have learned what it means for a woman to face constructive or disparaging criticism.  From some, we have learned how dreadful excessive quest for power and control of others can be. From others like Justice Fati Lami Abubakar, we have learned how a woman’s reproductive and productive roles could be juggled while at the same time supporting a husband in political office; still from her, we have learned how modesty and respect for rule of law could play a vital role in political decisions our partner takes as a leader.

    The lessons are many but have not been all bad. One fact is clear at this point….Whether the office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria magically survives again or not, Nigerian women look forward to new lessons from Mrs Aisha Buhari. We wish our First Lady well and pray she gives Nigerian women good reasons to remain proud of womanhood in the coming years.

     

    • Nkechi Jane-Frances Odinukwe is a Legal Practitioner and Gender Activist based in Abuja.

  • Task ahead of President Buhari

    The political landscape of the country has since put on a new look since Friday May 29, 2015, when the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government was inaugurated. The inauguration effectively put an end to the 16-year reign of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which once called itself Africa’s largest political party. APC is Nigeria’s new ruling and dominant party. Although, many did not see this coming, but it is now a reality that PDP, which many of its followers have vowed would be in power for 60 years is now an opposition Party.

    Nigerians, home and abroad have high hopes and expectations about President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the APC. It is not going to be an easy task for the President. However, it must be put on record that Nigerians who came out on March 28, to cast their votes for Buhari  were the ones that brought about the real change in government and not only the President or the leadership of his party, APC. They voted for him because they believed that his leadership would bring about positive changes in governance. Therefore, it must be clear that Nigerians would no doubt use the same approach they used in sending President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP out of power if the APC does not meet their expectations.

    However, it is gratifying to note that the APC has promised to be a governing party and not the ruling party as we have had under the PDP-led Federal Government. That in itself is a remarkable signpost of what to come. If indeed it would be a governing party, then it is safe to say that the new government has taken a lesson from the fall of the PDP Federal Government, where the rulers lord themselves over the rest of us.

    To have a successful tenure, President Buhari must come up with his set priorities. He should not set many targets for himself. He should simply choose what Nigerians want him to do, and what we want him to do is to put Nigeria in its rightful place.

    Firstly, Nigerians would like to know how President Jonathan and his team spent government revenue under their watch. It is our right to know how the money was spent, and we would not accept anything less from the Buhari administration. To achieve this task in a country like Nigeria where corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of her government, I would suggest that the President should simply go through the books. For instance, the claim by former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, now Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, that $20bn, that was supposed to be remitted by the NNPC to the federation account should be looked into, and those who are involved should be allowed to face the music. The N255m car scandal of the former aviation minister, now a senator-elect, Stella Oduah should be properly investigated. Although, she has already been indicted by the committee was set up by President Goodluck Jonathan, yet the presidency is yet to take any decisive action on the matter.

    Secondly, on the nation’s economy, Nigerians would like to know its true state. According to the British Member of Parliament (MP) and Shadow Secretary for international Development, Ivan Lewis, Nigeria is too rich for its people to live in ‘’extreme poverty’’ and deprivation. But the truth of the matter is that Nigeria is broke. Unfortunately, in an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest, the Nigeria’s then Minister of Finance, Okonjo-Iweala, denied this by saying that the country is not broke despite the cash crunch being experienced.

    Thus, the President must let Nigerians know their true status. Nigerians voted for him, and a lot of people died in the course of ensuring that they effected the real change in the nation’s economy.

    Thirdly, the President must cut deep all the excesses in government. There is no doubt that the cost of governance in Nigeria is not sustainable. Thus, we do not deserve a President who will continue with the status quo. Nigerians do not need 42 ministers and countless number of Special Advisers. Thus, he should reduce the size of his cabinet. He should also implement the recommendations of the Oronsaye committee on restructuring of Federal Ministries, Agencies, parastatals and commissions.  The committee, while submitting its report on April 16, 2012, said government would save over N862 billion between 2012 and 2015 if the recommendations of the committee were implemented. Unfortunately, President Goodluck Jonathan did not implement any of the recommendations made by the committee.

    The President will need to look into the 25 percent of the recurrent expenditure of the Federal Government’s budget which is being allocated to the National Assembly of just 469 members every year. He should put the sensitivities, wishes and aspirations of Nigerians in the front burner of his government. That is the only way he can earn the respect and confidence of the people.

    He should also address the issue of oil subsidy. Despite the fact that price of oil has gone down at the international market, Nigerians are still buying oil at the same amount that they used to buy it before the price came down. Excesses like these have caused untold hardship to the common man who seems to bear the full wrath of the rotten government alone.

    Finally, President Buhari must ensure that he gets his team right. We do not want ministers or technocrats who will not share the goals and aspirations of the common man. He should look at the pedigree, qualifications and make-up of people he wants to appoint. He must ensure that they are as conservative and radical as he himself is. He must also ensure that only those who appreciate and have genuine love for the country are appointed as ministers in the administration.

    Governance must start to wear a new look. It must be taken as a serious business and not the usual tea party. The welfare of the people should be the driving force of government policies and programmes.

    No doubt, if the President can achieve these within the next four years of his administration, it will surely bring sanity back to the country. It will also restore our pride and dignity in the international community. 

    • Oladeji is of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, Ibadan.

  • Gbajabiamila: Rare breed in parliament

    There are several reasons why Femi Gbajabiamila deserves to be speaker of the Eighth Assembly. It is important to state unequivocally that he has the pedigree, talent and the enviable track record to be the Speaker of House of Representatives.

    It is evident that some are made speaker, while others are born speaker. This is where Femi Gbajabiamila stands apart. Little wonder, the people of Surulere nicknamed him Oluomo 1 – that is to say he is the number one prince among others. Truly, he is a born speaker with phrase making artistry, a peerless orator with uncommon intelligence and sophistication in legislative matters.

    Besides, he is objective, articulate and a self-effacing man with quiet disposition, a good listener with quick intelligence and dashing style. Once he is convinced about anything; he never gets tired to pursue it to a logical conclusion. He is a lawyer with two law degrees from two jurisdictions, Nigeria and the United States, LLB and a juris Doctorate (JD). He sees politics as an extension of his legal practice in which he would touch lives. There is no gainsaying that his academic background in law helped or positioned him to excel in the House of Representatives. He is a floor wonder, a rarity in the art of law making, hence he sponsored the highest number of Bills in the 6th Assembly. Thereafter, he sponsored 17 bills and motions in the 7th Assembly, namely Bill for the establishment of national vocational school, Bill to give interest free loan to Nigerian students, Bill to criminalize late under payment of employees in public and private organizations, economic stimulus bill to ensure the government pegs 40% of annual budget for capital expenditure annually till next 10 years, etc.

    Sometime in October 2014, while setting up a campaign committee for his re-election, and he made a public statement through a medium that: “My longevity in the legislative has allowed me to both wittingly and unwittingly redefine representation and this has become the theme of my 2014 re-election campaign. In redefining representation, I have sought to and intend to continue to represent every resident of Surulere, every resident of Lagos and every citizen of Nigeria irrespective of party affiliation, ethnicity or religion. In other words, I intend not to leave any Nigerian behind in my representation and to work only in the best interest of our country and for the greater good …”

    It is true to say that this quoted public pronouncement shows that Gbajabiamila had a readymade mission and agenda for the Eight Assembly. It was from this public pronouncement that a 20-man campaign committee was born, and was christened Representation Redefined Campaign Committee (RRCC). The committee was the first of its kind in Surulere because Surulere men and women of substance from different tribes were fused together to work assiduously to make Gbajabiamila to be the first person to be re-elected for the fourth term in office in Surulere’s political history.

    The success story of Femi Gbajabiamila’s re-election can be attributed firstly to God, secondly to the ingenuity and hard work of members of RRCC and to the massive support he received from the people of Surulere. So it was a common sight to see them on every occasion eulogize him during the electioneering campaign for his honesty, hard work, and for being a good ambassador to the people of Surulere in the National Assembly. In fact, he was also eulogized for rejecting the N100million bribe offered to him to abandon the anti-third term struggle in the past, and for rejecting the National Honour that was given to him in November 2011.

    These two noble acts endeared Gbajabiamila to the people of Surulere, hence they see him as a man of his words, because he had assured them in the past that he will ensure at all times that the overriding interest of the people will not be sacrificed either on the altar of political expediency or in pursuit of a narrow selfish interests.

    On several occasions during the electioneering campaign, he campaigned vigorously for Buhari and Ambode. He commended Babatunde Fashola(SAN) glowingly for actualizing our dreams, but he described Akinwunmi Ambode as the icing on the cake of our actualized dreams. Nevertheless, he blamed President Jonathan for his ineptitude and misrule. So he assured the people of Surulere that Muhammadu Buhari’s government will put smile on the faces of Nigerians through people–oriented programmes. It is my humble view that these people-oriented programmes will or may need legislative backing. Therefore, we need a consummate and talented lawyer in the person of Femi Gbajabiamila to do justice to these programmes.

    Interestingly, prior to the party primaries, some disgruntled people with the premonition that Gbajabiamila will win the party primary elections began to bad-mouth him, and posed questions such as is he the only person fit for the House of Representatives? Why must he be the only person? Or is there no other person? Consequently, when he toured the six wards during his electioneering campaign, he cited several bills and motions he had sponsored, the unique achievements and the programmes he had executed in Surulere. Thereafter, the people cheered him to contest, and they began to call him the next speaker, and by extension the in-coming speaker of the Eighth Assembly.

    As at today, Femi Gbajabiamila is facing the battle of becoming or emerging the speaker of the Eighth Assembly. Yesterday, the people of Surulere declared him the in-coming speaker. So the people of Surulere cannot be said to be wrong because according to John Scully – “the future belong to those who see possibilities before they become obvious” It is on this note that I make bold to say Femi Gbajabiamila will surely emerge speaker of the Eighth Assembly!

     

    •  Ibidapo, member of Gbajabiamila’s campaign committee (RRCC) writes from Lagos

  • Facing the challenges of future

    May 29 is significant in the history of Nigeria. It is a day set aside to observe the restoration of democracy, in commemorating the long military rule that began in 1966 but for a brief period of democracy from 1979 to 1983. A transition under Babangida also brought two years of pseudo democracy from 1991 to 1993 in the two lower tiers of government, local and state which was truncated by the annulment of M. K. O. Abiola’s June 12 election.

    This year’s handover ceremony, no doubt, is of a different mood from the previous four since the advent of a stable democracy in 1999. It will be a day of distinction. A memorable day when the All Progressives Congress (APC), will form the government and take over the rule of the country.

    It is a day of mixed feelings, sadness and joy. Sadness, when one reflects on the liabilities and the havoc wrecked on the country by the PDP federal government evidenced in collapsed economy, high debt profile, fuel scarcity, insecurity, non payment of salaries, nationwide blackout, high unemployment rate, corruption of different dimensions in all government MDAs and other indices synonymous with a failed state.

    These woes and many more are the legacies the PDP government bequeaths to the new APC government. However, the joy the day brings is the coming on board of President Muhammadu Buhari. The relief brought by his presence radiates from the hope and the implicit confidence Nigerians have in him as a tested and trusted, incorruptible, distinguishable and exceptional leader, capable of turning things around for the better.

    Much high as the respect Nigerians have for the duo of Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbajo his deputy, is also the hope and high expectations that the many challenges facing the country will be overcome with them at the helm of affairs.

    Our economy is in a terrible state with a debt $60 billion and as much as 21% of the 2015 budget is proposed for debt servicing. Although the national debt is an accumulation from 1960, President Jonathan’s just six-year period is responsible for more than $20 billion, about one third without corresponding projects, a clear case of mismanagement of resources.

    Crisis looms in most government establishments, federal and states in the country as a result of non-payment of many month salaries amounting to several billions of naira.

    Fuel scarcity continues to bite hard over disputes between oil marketers and government on a N200 billion claim by the former. This has put to shame the regular boast by the former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke that Jonathan’s administration has succeeded in removing queues in our petrol stations. It is disheartening that not only the scarcity has led to long queues, a litre of petrol now sells as much as N400 – an irony for the sixth largest producer of oil in the world. Unfortunately, the consequences has since spread accross the broad spectrum of the economy; aviation, telecommunications and other private small and medium businesses have been negatively affected. Of serious concern too are homes, private and government hospitals given their inability to power their generators.

    It will be an over-flogged issue to comment on the poor electricity supply, as generation has fallen again to as low as 1,300 MW.

    To compound our national malady, mercenaries are said to have been covertly hired from South Africa to strengthen our military force to combat the Boko Haram menace, a step Nigerians may not frown at , if the desired result is achieved. But in spite of this development, pockets of attacks by these insurgents are still recorded, putting the life of our brothers and sisters in the North-east in perpetual danger. Although some successes have been lately achieved by our military, will it not be correct to say that total elimination of Boko Haram defied solution under the Jonathan administration?

    Unemployment rate according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is about 23.9% making Finance Minister Okonjo Iweala’s claim of creation of 1.4 million jobs yearly unreal. If the number of our jobless youths is left to increase unattended, the future of this nation may be put in jeopardy.

    The mother of all challenges which continuously pulls this nation back is corruption, and this exists and manifests in all government quarters . The alleged $20 billion missing oil money is still unresolved . The forensic audit still requires further and thorough examination. Allegation of N30 trillion stolen under Okonjo-Iweala as finance minister according to Charles Soludo is also one out of many that must not be swept under the carpet.

    The liability of President Jonathan’s administration far outweighs it’s assets. Never in history has Nigeria been put in such a sorry state that everything is grounded. Even radio stations, the cheapest and most powerful medium of mass communication had to shut down due to lack of fuel to power their generators. It is indeed bad and this confirms Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s lamentation that the nation is on auto pilot since the loss of election by President Jonathan.

    High debt profile, decayed infrastructures, systemic breakdown and many rots constitute the heavy burden Jonathan’s government is leaving behind for the new administration.

    I urge Nigerians to join hands, assist with prayers and co operate with Muhammadu Buhari and Professor Osinbajo for a successful tenure as a follow-up to the March 28 expression. May God guide Buhari and bless Nigeria.

    • Hon Bolarinwa is a former member, Federal House of Representatives.

  • Ago-Iwoye and I at 70

    It longer matters whether I go by the date two of my uncles gave as my date of birth or by the date my great mother gave. I can confirm that I am now a septuagenarian. My uncles the late Chief Ade Osunneye and the late Mr Mojeed Mago Ogunjobi were both insistent that I was born May 29, 1943 before they both left Ago-Iwoye for Lagos January 1944. My illiterate but extremely brilliant mother said she was delivered of a baby boy by the Olori of Oba Osiyemi, who was a staff nurse and pregnant, after the Ebumawe had ascended the throne in 1944, and by her authenticated calculation, I was born May 29 1945!

    As Nigerians celebrate Nigeria’s so-called Democracy Day this May 29, and the man of the hour takes over the baton from Jonathan, I will be celebrating Ago-Iwoye the city that nurtured me from cradle to adolescence, hence this piece in commemoration of my official 70th birthday is dedicated to Olodumare, my incomparable parents and the city of my birth.

    The article written in 2009 is hereby reproduced fort your reading pleasure.

    Ago-Iwoye beckoned to me that she must show herself to the world through my pen. It was a result of the ‘swellings’ which my head received last Thursday at the public presentation of ABA SAHEED a Literary Portrait of Tola Adeniyi which Eddie Ayo-Ojo authored. Speaker after speaker spoke of courage, of boldness, of one being outspoken, fearless and daring. As they poured those encomiums on me being the subject of the gathering, Ago-Iwoye whispered to me that I should tell the world that those attributes were not original to Aba Saheed, but that they indeed belonged to her, being the town that raised Saheed. Ago-Iwoye, for those who may not know that it is the first university town in Ogun State, is the town with the largest expanse of land in Ogun State, and perhaps one of the largest territories in Nigeria. For example, Isamuro, one of the eight towns that make up Ago Iwoye metropolis has over 40 villages with 40 Baales.

    Ago-Iwoye shares boundaries with Remo Kingdom to the South  West and North West, while it also shares the border in the North with Oyo State beyond Mamu, which is another Ago-Iwoye settlement. A warrior town with a lot of history behind its exploits, Ago Iwoye boasts the unparalleled role it played in the Ijebu wars against the British invaders up till 1893.

    It is a town reputed for its great courage and fearlessness. It is little wonder that Ago-Iwoye featured prominently in the Action Group days of the immortal Awo. In fact, the chief personal security commander for the late sage, Dauda Odumuyiwa, alias Dauda Tinko was an Ago-Iwoye indigene. So also was his successor Bros Oroyinyin.

    Ogberegede and the man known as Ejonto a corruption of AG-on-top were both stalwarts of Ago Iwoye origin. These were men who could defend whatever cause they strongly believed in even with their lives. The beauty in these persons’ doggedness was that an average Ago-Iwoye indigene would defend whatever need be defended, not on the basis of pecuniary considerations; highly principled people, they would go extra mile in defence of justice, fairness and equity.

    If an Ago-Iwoye indigene ran into a situation where an underdog is being trampled upon, he will instantly make the fight his own fight. So, while encomiums were being heaped on the celebrant last Thursday, Ago-Iwoye was quick to draw attention to Justice Dolapo Akinsanya, who was one of the great children of hers physically present at the occasion. Justice Dolapo Akinsanya was the awesomely fearless woman who, against all odds, and at the credible threat to her life put her entire family in the way of danger by declaring without mincing words that the Ernest Shonekan’s Interim Government was illegal. So final was her judgement that the case was never appealed before General Sard Abacha gave the administration a jackboot! And of course Akinsanya was merely acting true to character; for her father the late Professor Emeritus Sanya Onabamiro had waged a similar one-man-suicide squad war against guineworm.

    Before Onabamiro’s time, guineaworm had ravaged the entire South-west landscape with heaviest casualities drawn from Ijebuland. Onabamiro came, saw, and conquered. Ago-Iwoye also boasts early exposure to western education producing teachers before the close of the 19th century who would travel as far afield as Ekitiland and Ondoland to spread the gospel of ABC. Ago-Iwoye also embraced the Arabic education such that as early as 1880’s, indigenes of Ago-Iwoye had kissed the peak of Mount Arafat and returned to nurse beards that could compete favourably with my friend Yemi Farounbi’s. In character and learning therefore, Ago-Iwoye did not lag behind, such that by 1954, the community had mobilised resources to found a secondary school, and years later several other high schools emerged. It was the monarch of Ago-Iwoye, the Ebumawe, Oba David Maloniti Osiyemi as Secretary of Western Region House of Obas and Chiefs who wrote the letter of recommendation that gave the Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo the town’s right to a beaded crown! Ago-Iwoye has historically been an agrarian community, but going in-hand-in-hand with farming had such preoccupations as blacksmithing, masonry, goldsmithing, and manufacturing of light arms and weaponry.

    They first African Methodist bishop, the Very Reverend M.O. Dada came from the womb of Ago-Iwoye, while the first chair of the first television broadcasting station in Africa, the Reverend T.T. Solar was fed from the milk of Ago-Iwoye woman. There was a generation that requires celebrating if and whenever Ago-Iwoye is being discussed; that is the legendary Oban bade Age Group, what is known in Ijebu as Regberegbe. That was the group Kiniwun Onibudo Agbolaya bi aara ChiefObafemi Awolowo belonged to. The last of them should be knocking at the gate of 100 now. Chief S Akin Osuntoye, Chief JG Kuye, Chief Ashiru Oshinuga, and others whose names I cannot easily recall, gave Ago-Iwoye her study in courage and fearlessness.

    These individuals were very sociable, extremely industrious, very hardworking, very forthright, and hugely successful in their various fields of human endeavour. They were the shinning stars in Ago-Iwoye at the time Aba Saheed was being moulded into a teenager and later into early manhood.

    If therefore any Ago-Iwoye child exhibited heroism, commitment to industry, fearlessness and outspokenness, the credit for these laudable attributes should go to the Ago-Iwoye fertile grounds which incubated and nurtured those traits.; Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye a direct beneficiary of the Obangbade age group because his father, my Dad’s uncle belonged in that age grade, my aburo Otunba, Alex Olugbenga Onabanjo, Dr Bayo Yusuf, the Olori Omooba, the ever white Soyewo, the Banjokos, the Sipes, the Bakares, the Olootos, the Osunneyes, the Obajimis, the Ogungbes, the Odugboses, the Fagbamilas, the Odumosus, the Aroworamimos, the Parakoyis and the entire Onihale clan, the Odufotes, the Taiwos, the Magos, the Adeseguns, the Olowojoyemeji clan and Omooba Adekoya otherwise known as Attacker, the Epoyuns and an inexhaustible list of achievers in that town all owe whatever they are today to the soil of Ago-Iwoye.

    Luckily the tradition is being maintained and upgraded. And with the advent of a tantalisingly handsome monarch, urbane, stylish, well educated, very sociable and immensely popular and extremely courageous and bold, the city of Ago-Iwoye can assure herself of more celebrations of her children.

  • Challenges before the 8th Senate

    All my life, I have always been attracted to public office. When I decided to run for public office, I was concerned about the poverty level in the land, and the inability of the federal, state and local governments to function at the level they ought to. In seeking public office, I looked at the national, state and local governments’ budgets. I tried to understand why Nigeria was not as developed as it ought to be. And what I saw was shocking and very alarming. Those of us in the private sector understand how we should run a company, and things we should do and the ones we shouldn’t do.

    At the federal budget, a couple of things shook me. For instance, one percent of the federal budget is spent on pilgrims for both Muslims and Christians; three percent is spent for the National Assembly for 469 people; 30 percent is spent on 1.2 million civil servants; 88 percent is spent on recurrent expenditure while only 12 percent is spent on capital expenditure.

    State governments have no money. Most states in this country today, if they were to be companies, they would have closed shop. And no company will lend them money. The federal government inclusive. To say that we are broke is an understatement. A few things must happen to enable us grow the economy, and we must shrink the way we spend money in this country.

    The problem facing this country is not about the North versus the South, neither is it about Christianity versus Islam or APC versus PDP. Rather,the problem is ‘Right versus Wrong”. I was interviewed by a magazine recently, and they asked me about the problem of the North-east and South-south. I replied that the issue with the North-east is not about religion and that of the South-south is underdevelopment. It’s very simple, we are a small minority of people, the leadership of Nigeria, consuming all the resources of my people and leaving the rest of us in abject poverty.

    That will not work. We must learn to be humble, learn to preserve what we have and learn also to be kind for the rest of us to have what to eat, and our children to go to school; providing health care facilities for everyone; education for the children, job creation and infrastructure development for our people. You don’t understand why young men of today have access to an AK-47 to kill us because we do not provide for them. We pay no attention to the least of us.

    In our responses, we want to be living large; have more advisers, buy bullet-proof cars and have more bodyguards. That will not work. We must come together and understand that we must all grow and develop together as a people. Anyone you leave behind, you have created a problem for the rest of us. It’s not enough to send your children to study in Switzerland, and buy your houses in Dubai, live a life of extreme wealth and you expect those you left behind to clap for you.

    They don’t do what I call the NTV generation. The past presidents could not shut down Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and you said they can shut down a hundred million people? You think, you are smart and your lifestyle is not being watched by those you govern? When you seek public office, you seek it to lead by example.

    You don’t seek public office to play lord over the people who voted you into office. The world has changed, and we must change too. It is not just talking about change, we must have real change. And for us to change, we must understand what drives our people. There is too much hunger in the land.

    So, let’s make a deal. Let’s say for instance , to reduce expenditure, only the President and the Vice President will fly First Class, while governors and ministers fly Business Class. When you travel abroad you don’t need to lodge in a $4000 hotel paid with the taxpayers money. I have never stayed in a hotel that is more than $300 in my life, not because I cannot afford it but when I think, at the end of the month, I must pay my workers, pay taxes, how do I justify staying in a $4000 hotel room? It doesn’t make any sense to me.

    I have never flown First Class in my life. As a young man I flew Business Class and I do so, on purpose. I have a choice but I choose to fly Business Class which is the right thing to do. You sit here and talk about nationalism and patriotism, and the lights are turned off, you spend over N1.5 million traveling to London. That amount of money will feed a whole family for a whole year. It makes no sense. The problem in Nigeria is the rich versus the poor. The crisis we have in this country is “a class warfare.”

    In the next 35 years, if we do not control our consumption behavour, the emerging generation will rise against us. The world has changed but we have not changed. When we go abroad to look for aids, in Britain, the man we speak to, my counterparts in the British parliament go to work by train and taxi.

    Nigeria is too poor for our leaders to act like multi-billionaires, and Nigeria is too rich for the people to be so poor. I don’t like what is happening in the power sector as well as the energy sector. I do not wish to buy petrol and I do not wish to go to any gas station ever again. I want to drive a car powered by the sun. I asked Kia Motors to bring electrically powered car into this country. The reason I asked them to bring in the electrical car is because we need to be free.

    In the Senate, I’m going to sponsor a bill that will help every poor home in this country so that they can survive. I need your support, if my colleagues say no, you say yes. I want you people to tell my colleagues to create a billion dollar fund to have solar power invented in every home in Nigeria, so that every child can watch television and listen to the radio. Every Nigerian has a choice as a Nigerian and as a politician. You are either a producer or you are a consumer.

     

    l0000•Bruce is Senator-elect representing Bayelsa East Senatorial District and Chairman of the Silverbird Group

  • Fayemi and ghost of Judas

    Honestly, as a proud Ekiti man, I had watched with embarrassment what, for want of better expression, can be summarized as hustling for photo-ops by Dr. Kayode Fayemi whenever and wherever General Muhammadu Buhari appeared since emerging President-elect on March 28. Whether receiving visitors or seeing them off, the immediate past Ekiti governor would always be seen sticking behind the General as if he were the ADC.

    I always thought this was a bit self-demeaning for a man who, until recently, was a governor and, what’s more, a custodian of a doctorate degree. Here was a man who spent the better part of his four-year tenure in Ekiti sloganeering that Ekiti, the acclaimed “fountain of knowledge”, is a land of “Uyi” (honour). But what could be more dishonourable than this open grovelling before the new man of power in full native regalia: over-starched clothes and Awo cap. Certainly, this  conduct does not speak well of our great state, the land of great men like Aare Afe Babalola, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, Prof Niyi Osundare, Prof Akin Oyebode, and Femi Falana, SAN.

    I am sure General Buhari himself would be embarrassed by the fawning, the kind exhibited by Area Boys (Almajiris) at the sight of a VIP at a public gathering in anticipation of some form of “stomach infrastructure” (edible or monetary gift). While it is true that it is season of scrambling for the spoils of the electoral victory of March 28, but Fayemi honestly didn’t have to do this to be noticed by GMB as nothing can change whatever appointment God has destined him to get in the new dispensation.

    I thought I was alone in this observation until I read a brilliant article widely published in the Nigerian media and online written by one Hakeem Adisa where the writer made some startling revelations which appear to confirm that there is more to Dr. Fayemi’s theatrics lately in Abuja. Adisa’s piece was entitled, “What does Kayode Fayemi want?” Predictably, the former governor’s media bodyguard named Olayinka Oyebode rose stoutly to the occasion by defending his principal in a rejoinder published in Daily Sun of May 12 as a man of sterling academic credentials who, according to him, left indelible footprints in Ekiti. More illuminations were brought to the debate by yet another article written by The Nation’s engaging columnist, Segun Ayobolu, in a back-page article on Saturday May 16, with the provocative title, “Ekiti: Who is to blame?”

    In his own submission, Oyebode would have us believe that Adisa’s article is a hatchet job sponsored by those uncomfortable with Fayemi’s rising profile. Hear him: “Needless to say that Fayemi’s achievements in the four years he served as governor of Ekiti State are well documented in the hearts of the people and have become a standard through which the incumbent administration and future administrations would be measured.”

    Really? I thought that was very, very cheap. That is the hallmark of intellectual feather-weights who will not address issues raised but quickly resort to name-calling to divert attention. When Oyebode boasted that Fayemi’s legacy in Ekiti is imperishable, one is left wondering if he was referring to the N60m-worth “water bed” his principal procured for the new N3.5b Government House which he rushed to build towards the end of his first term in the delusion that he would get a second term to luxuriate in. What a classic case of misplaced priority in a largely agrarian state where poverty stares you on the street. Thank God, Ekiti people denied him that carnal desire by voting him out in the governorship polls last year. Let Fayemi be content with sleeping in the “water bed” in his personal house in Isan.

    Again, it is also intellectually fraudulent for Oyebode to suggest that Fayemi’s trouncing by “Oshoko” (Governor Ayo Fayose) was a fluke or something aided by the use of  the military by PDP last year in the June 2014 governorship election. If that was the real reason, how come Fayemi also could not deliver Ekiti for APC in the March 28 and April 11 elections? The truth of the matter is that he is a political disaster with no electoral value whatsoever.

    I had expected Oyebode to knock off the bottom of the charge of treacherous hypocrisy against his boss by categorically denying the talk-of-the-town today that Fayemi actually worked against the emergence of Chief Odigie-Oyegun as APC national chair at the Abuja convention last year. Just as I expected him to also deny the strong rumour that the bulk of  Ekiti delegates loyal to Fayemi voted for another candidate (from the North-east) in the presidential primaries of last November in the laughable expectation that he would be made the running-mate. I, therefore, consider Oyebode’s recourse to sophistry instead of answering these weighty allegations directly as most ungodly and totally bereft of Fayemi’s much-trumpeted “Uyi” (honour). You don’t work clandestinely against a man yesterday and today pretend to be his fiercest advocate. That exactly is what Judas did to Jesus Christ in the biblical times. So, GMB should beware.

    Another point I consider distasteful in Oyebode’s article is his attempt to present his principal in shoes that were clearly bigger than him. While not denying Fayemi was engaged with the African Leadership Forum owned by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, this amateur media spin-doctor spoilt matters by saying the relationship flowed from a partnership between his boss and the then sitting president. With regards to the Oputa Panel, Fayemi was falsely presented as the “technical consultant” to the commission. This is quite belittling of far more accomplished intellectuals and moral titans like now late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah (MHK) who most Nigerians saw as the heart and soul of the commission. I guess Oyebode had to inflate the profile of his boss to make him look like a big player even before becoming governor. Haba! Could this also be part of “Uyi” his boss spent all his tenure romanticizing?

    It is for this reason I totally align myself with the submission of Segun Ayobolu that Fayemi’s political incompetence and lust for luxurious lifestyle in office ought to be isolated from the deeply progressive philosophy APC professes.

    As far as proud Ekiti sons like me are concerned, the Ekiti vote of June 21, March 28 and April 11 was not necessarily an endorsement of the “Jankara” politics of Fayose or thumb-up for the so-called “stomach infrastructure”. Rather, it was an emphatic denunciation of Fayemi’s politics of “N60m water bed”, elitism, treachery, betrayal, empty arrogance and over-ambition. If APC would recover the lost “fountain of knowledge”, it is high time its leadership learnt to relegate characters like Fayemi to the back seat and shop for new faces to play up. That is the bitter truth.

    Talking about betrayal, I think Hakeem Adisa was too charitable by only saying Fayemi betrayed Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who brought him from nowhere, empowered him and smoothed his way to Ekiti Government House in 2014. We were told of how a “powerful commissioner in Lagos” mobilized the seed money with which Fayemi began his journey to power in 2005. We have been told how he double-crossed Fayose who had joined forces with him to rout PDP in the titanic battle of Ido-Osi in 2009 under the gentleman’s agreement that “Oshoko” would be given the senatorial ticket in 2011. But, as the story goes, once a wily Fayemi was ensconced in Ekiti Government House, he stopped picking phone calls from Fayose.

    What had not been fully told is the story of how Honorable Opeyemi Bamidele was similarly stabbed in the back by the relatively younger Fayemi. His sophistry notwithstanding, Oyebode could not deny that it was Hon Bamidele who introduced his principal to Asiwaju in 2005. Then, the incumbent Reps member was a commissioner in Lagos. With his fake smile and contrived diffident airs, Fayemi not only got all he wanted from the Jagaban but also had Bamidele at his corner throughout the dirty battle to oust PDP from Ekiti between 2006 and 2010. But once Fayemi became governor, one of the earliest decisions he took was to remove Bamidele’s father as unit leader of ACN! So much for the treachery and perfidy of a “technocratic politician”.

    I only hope Buhari or anyone who truly loves him and APC would read this article and learn one or two lessons.

     

    • Architect Adedeji wrote from Ikole-Ekiti.

     

  • Bumps GMB must avoid

    With a few days to May 29 handover date,  two major talking points have gained prominence and remained in the front burner of public discourse as Nigeria marches to a new start at the presidency. Surreptitiously though, there is a third.

    One, the possible composition of General Muhammadu Buhari’s new cabinet.  and, who is qualified in character, experience, exposure and acceptability, to lead the Senate, as well as the Lower House, and other leaders of the National Assembly.

    Understandably, these deserve the scrutiny and attention they are getting seeing that any mistake by whatever means and proportion, would spell doom and largely put a clog on the wheel of the incoming administration. Equally, such mistakes will equally hamper the delivery of the much elusive dividends of democracy and put the nation at grave risk having walked this far in search of people-centred leadership.

    This is why it has become expedient that one gives the President-elect, General Buhari, a helping hand, and make him aware of some dangerous political bumps likely to pose a threat to his government; if for nothing, to assist him steady himself in this crucial time when decisions that will make or mar his administration are taken.

    The covert talking point among most discerning Nigerians is the possibility of our man of the moment, GMB to rebound. Those who expressed this concern are probably phobic of the military background of the in-coming president, forgetting that for the General to submit himself to the democratic process of selection of candidates of his party depicted readiness to abide by democratic norms. Though only time and happenstance will vindicate him, it is critical that GMB be cautitious and govern by the law of the land.

    While everyone who contributed to the success of the All Progressives Congress party (APC) at the election deserves a pat on the back, a moment comes and that moment is here, when national interest is allowed to stand taller than parochial or party interest anyone might have as the nation considers who will lead it at all the strategic positions in the new administration.

    There is no doubt that this season calls for a deeper reflection before deciding who becomes which minister or not. While GMB seems transparently concerned about the future and progress of Nigeria, it is not impossible that certain personalities who see the emergence of the APC as an opportunity to either accumulate more wealth or seek to control Nigeria, might work at cross lines. These are speedbrakers Buhari must be weary of.

    In all democracies, beyond the passion to serve fatherland, the equitable distribution of political offices plays critical role in determining the speed, shape and manner of progress by any administration. However, this must not be above competence, dignity and resourcefulness. It is on this backdrop that care must be taken by the new APC government and President-elect to ensure no individual or group lords it on the party and nation as intense lobbying continues over political offices and appointments at the presidency and the National Assembly leadership.

    As a highly principled and incorruptible man, character traits that endeared him to Nigerians, it is important that General Buhari watches out for booby traps that some greedy and selfish politicians might put on his path to undermine him. Not just that, it is also important to avoid walking the same path that burnt President Jonathan’s fingers and gave PDP the bloody nose it deserved. Today, everyone can see that those who misled President Jonathan are, without qualms, already jumping ship and directly and indirectly fraternizing with the incoming government, abandoning the man they once praised to high heavens. This is a big lesson for the President-elect.

    And, one quick lesson to take away here is that if he bends too low to feather the interest of any politician at the expense of national interest, such a politician like those who advised President Jonathan, will not be there when Nigerians begin to throw stones at his government when it falters. Invariably, such a politician will not stop the PVCs when they make a return to the polling booths after four years.

    There is no doubt that critical to establishing himself as a leader who means well, the President-elect must fight some urgent battles, especially the battle against graft. Good as this is, given that corruption has been the bane of Nigeria’s development, care must also be taken to ensure that it is not turned into a political witch-hunt.  Records are well too clear on how the President Jonathan’s anti-graft battles and those of previous governments ended and the costs to Nigerians. It is also well, too clear, the costs, politically, to those who oiled the battle wheels rather deceptively.

    President Jonathan, for instance, where he ever showed the will to fight graft, was deceived into fixing his guess on the wrong people, while those who walked his corridors and dined with him, daily, had their 10 fingers on the national till. It cost him re-election. Therefore, when the President-elect is sworn in on May 29, he must avoid these pitfalls like a plague. There should not be any form of persecution of perceived political opponents or supposedly corrupt, except those already indicted.

    One recalls how strangely, President Jonathan ran unjustifiably after perceived political adversaries with the EFCC, while in a typical case of double standards, his government openly fraternized with those who were arraigned, tried and convicted of financial crimes!

    In Jonathan’s government, we had the allegation of missing $20 billion from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) account by former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi ignored, while the banking czar was forced on compulsory leave for blowing the alarm. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the political strategist was also invited, four years after leaving office, by the EFCC on phantom charges, but only because he remained an unapologetic democrat with an aversion to the impunities perpetrated by the outgoing administration.

    In his case, Jonathan unleashed the EFCC on Senator Bukola Saraki of Kwara State, two years after he left office. Curiously, even when the same Saraki had got a clean bill from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2006, Jonathan’s government made him their prime target after the former governor activated the alarm over the fuel subsidy scam. Today, the same alarm has yet to stop sounding over the fuel subsidy scam!

    While these cases and many more present a picture of a government that was irredeemably on auto self-destruct, perhaps, the case of Chief James Onanefe Ibori, a former governor of Delta State, typifies another wrong move in the name of anti-graft battle by President Jonathan. When Ibori still enjoyed a rosy relationship with President Jonathan, he was treated as a saint to a point that his case files were missing in government records! But when their paths crossed, President Jonathan pretended that he did not know what to do to save him, but backed people like Chief DSP Alamieseghia and Chief Bode George. Ibori, today, is still serving a jail term in the United Kingdom after a ridiculous and curious trial process in Nigeria.

    Having overcome a government defined by years of needless manipulation and witch-hunt, there is no better way to start afresh than building structures that engender respect for due diligence and due process, devoid of any form of the impunity that eventually destroyed the PDP.

    This is why the President-elect and by extension, those who mean well for Nigeria, must do well by ensuring that the selection of ministers, advisers, National Assembly leaders enjoy popular participation rather than manipulation and parochial primordial sentiments.

    • Victor,  a public commentator, writes in from Lagos