The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Mimiko’s victory in perspective

    Mimiko’s victory in perspective

    Given the circumstances, it is very tempting to have a complete misreading of the outcome of the October 20 governorship election in Ondo State in which the incumbent, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, was declared the winner. More foreboding, the significance on Yoruba politics and democracy in general could easily be lost.

    Some people have erroneously proposed the election as a direct contest between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his lieutenants like Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on one hand and Governor Mimiko on the other.

    To begin with, neither Asiwaju Tinubu nor Ogbeni Aregbesola was a candidate in the election. Rotimi Akeredolu was the candidate of their party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). What they did was to deploy their political and campaign skills into Akeredolu’s governorship project. It was the same way Edward Kennedy poured himself into the Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. What they did for Akeredolu was no different from what they did for Adam Oshiomhole in Edo, Abubakar Audu in Kogi, James Akpanudoedehe.

    in Akwa Ibom and Steve Ugbah in Benue State. It’s the same intensity, panache and wits. There is nothing unusual and nothing to be ashamed of.

    If Aregbesola threatened that he was going to drive out Mimiko from office prior to the October 20 election, it was a legitimate political statement consistent with his standing as a leader in ACN. What would have been bizarre would have been for him to promise to support Mimiko for a second term when his party was going to field a candidate for that election.

    The first duty of a political party is to contest electoral offices by fielding candidates and seeking to win. A political party stands for something in terms of ideology, values, tradition, programmes, development agenda etc. When people vote for a candidate of a political party, they are indeed buying into these. The ACN for instance stands for progressivism. This is the tradition directly descended from Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the father of progressive politics in Nigeria. It is a tradition of Fabian socialism with its hallmark of egalitarianism, human development and social welfare. In contrast, a party like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is descended from a tradition of hierarchy, big money, plutocracy and neo-feudalism.

    When these parties campaign, this is what they try to sell and those who vote for them have wittingly or unwittingly bought these products, assuming that the election is free and fair. The tendency though is that a party like PDP will see democracy as a system of power, rather than a platform for providing choice for the people and would therefore not have the slightest compunction in rigging and manipulating election as long as it serves the purpose of either getting its members into power or keeping them in it.

    Nevertheless, it is the raison d’etre of a political party to contest elections, seek to win where it was excluded from power and consolidate on where it holds sway.

    This point is very important in light of the negative campaign of the Mimiko campaign team and sections of the media who either don’t know what democracy is about or have conveniently forgotten that parties seek to win election and were accusing ACN of seeking to extend its influence to Ondo State. To put the records straight, ACN had sought to expand its reaches to other places and narrowly lost in places like Anambra and other aforementioned states where its governorship candidate is now a senator of the Federal Republic. It simply beggars belief how supposedly ‘enlightened’ people will urge a political party not to contest election in a particular place because that party is strong in the region.

    This point is overstretched and expanded into the ‘alien’ and ‘Lagos invaders’ hysteria that ran through the campaign. If this logic is to hold water, only one election is to ever be held in a country and the parties should just be allowed to rule indefinitely in any territory where they win the first election. The Labour Party for instance that had no political base prior to 2008 in Ondo State cannot and should be disqualified from contesting any election anywhere in the country. Of course, this will be absurd, but those who take a position forget to reconcile their position with a bigger principle.

    It is interesting to note that the Mimiko campaign was never about any issue, development agenda or a solid base of first term achievement. Rather, it ran seamlessly on the divisive tide of rejecting the Lagos invaders and a godfather. If we are to accept for a second that Ondo people indeed rejected the Lagos invaders and a godfather, it means Ondo people have alienated themselves from the greater Yoruba agenda and the march of history.

    On the face value, the consequence of this would have been political isolation of Ondo State by other Yoruba states. But this is not an option. This is the Ondo of Papa Adekunle Ajasin, Papa Adebayo Adefarati and other titans of Awolowo school of political leadership. It fills me with trepidation to think that the Ondo that drove out Akin Omoboriowo in 1983 in order to enforce the enthronement of Adekunle Ajasin who was the candidate of Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Awolowo (Baba Ijebu)’s party, has now degenerated into an insular and other-Yoruba-hating enclave.

    Of course, there are Ondo indigenes in Lagos and other Yoruba states, doing business and occupying positions of political leadership. If an Ondo indigene for instance is keen, he or she can be a governor in Lagos State that has become the avatar of Yoruba accommodation and openness. In Osun, there are frontline members in the Aregbesola government who are from Ondo State and are in every sense at home. That is the way it has always been and should be in Yorubaland. Some people, however, for their own selfish reason, have for the first time brought this divisiveness into Yorubaland and are being cheered on in evil mischief by a section of the media.

    It will however be unfair to ascribe this unwholesome development to Ondo people who indeed are as progressive and well-meaning as they come. This is no exaggeration – Ondo people are the nicest people you can ever have as your neighbour. I speak from a rich experience.

    Those who engineered this campaign represented nobody but themselves and spoke for no one other than themselves. More importantly, Governor Mimiko was declared winner for fulfilling the requirements of the Electoral Act which states that a winner must have at least one third of the total votes cast in two thirds of the local governments. This interestingly translates into a paltry 260,199, representing only 40 per cent of the total votes and certainly less than two per cent of the population of the whole state. I have no problem with this. Democracy is about the rule of law.

    It will be unfair however to hold Ondo people responsible for this mea culpa. It is one of the imperfections of democracy that a supposedly democratic election would produce a most unusual outcome. This confirms again the notion that democracy only offers a platform for choice but does not guarantee a rational one. The people however will have to live with the consequences of their choice, good or bad.

    Our consolation however is in the words of the Nobel Laureate that nowhere in the natural order of things does a mere bird of passage determine the fundamentals of the terrain over which it has flown. This present darkness will surely pass.

    • Fasure writes from Osogbo

  • Rioting ‘Okada’ riders

    Rioting ‘Okada’ riders

    Commercial motorcycle operators popularly called “Okada” last week took laws into their hands in protest against aspects of the Lagos traffic laws as they affected their activities. The riders, who have been at daggers drawn with the government for restricting them from plying 475 roads in the state, took to lawlessness as government moved to enforce the law.

    According to reports, the motorcycle operators were incensed by the arrest of more than five thousand commercial motorcycles. They went on rampage in some parts of the state and by the time the dust had settled 10 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses had been damaged even as some passengers were inflicted with injuries.

    The Okada operators had since the law was enacted vowed to resist it hinging their grouse on the ground that it will send them out of business. But the government has pressed on with the law allowing some time for the operators to come to terms with it. But as the riot has shown, Okada operators are not ready to budge unless they are defeated by the superior power of the government.

    As it is, the law has to be implemented as any piece of legislation that cannot be enforced is no law.

    The government has over time expressed serious worry over the excesses of the commercial motorcycle operators. Apart from their flagrant disregard of traffic laws, they drive very dangerously, ride against traffic and constitute a serious health hazard to other road users. They have also been fingered in many armed robbery attacks using the high speed of their bike to beat traffic and evade arrest.

    Even safety laws as the use of helmets and restriction on the maximum number of passengers are observed in the breach. They could also be easily seen and noticed for their unruliness, molesting and attacking motorists at the slightest incident of infraction. Records also have it that most of the accident patients in our orthopaedic hospitals are victims of Okada accidents.

    It was for some of these reasons that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in January 1, 2009 began the enforcement of the use of crash helmets by the operators. Like the current law, the Okada operators vehemently resisted it, staging at will, all manner of arguments and protests so as to stall that high-minded exercise.

    But the commission went ahead to enforce the law, arresting thousands of defaulters which like in the present circumstance, elicited protests. That law has come to stay even though it is still being flouted by many motorcyclists. Thus, Okada riders do not seem to have a choice than to start coming to terms with the fact that the state government will finally have its way in this piece of legislation. The Lagos State House of Assembly has even threatened outright ban on commercial motorcycles if their acts of lawlessness are not reined in. That would be a foreboding measure. But the operators have a strong point in arguing that the ban will lead to loss of jobs for its army of members and families.

    With the high rate of unemployment in the country in the face of rising cost of living, it will be highly uncharitable not to admit the deleterious effects of restricting Okada operators from plying as much as 475 roads. It is also proper to admit that Okada came into the nation’s transport calculation as a child of necessity.

    For a very long time in this city as well as many others across the country, an efficient transport system was completely non-existent. And in the particular case of Lagos, grinding traffic jams made movement a daunting task. Okada then came to the rescue as it made for easy movement though not without serious repercussions. However, residents of the city had to contend with the attendant risks as they were considered a lesser evil; an indication of how bad the situation was.

    With time, the limitations of Okada began to dawn on the people. Apart from being an inelegant means of transportation, it began to lend itself to sundry abuses as the criminally-minded ones in their midst took advantage of its getaway services to commit sundry crimes. No government worth its salt can afford to standby while this continues. Thus, in spite of the reality that the restriction will throw many of its operators out of job, it does appear that the Lagos state government has no choice than to implement the law to the letter. No doubt, the temporary losses by the operators by way of loss of jobs will be adequately compensated by the larger benefits to society that will ultimately come with that piece of legislation. It is therefore in the overall interest of the society that the activities of the Okada operators are properly regulated. That is why government is there in the first place.

    So it not a matter of confrontation and lawlessness as the Okada riders took resort to last week Monday. They must increasingly have to come to terms with the reality that they cannot win this war. Before now, some state governments have taken similar decisions restricting Okada operators to certain inner roads. Ekiti state government is very close to enforcing similar decision even as the traffic situation there can be described as a child’s play when compared with Lagos.

    In effect, the restriction is a thing whose time has come. Those nursing the feeling that Okada would continue to operate as a viable means of transportation in our urban centres are living on borrowed time. There is a time for everything and one thinks Okada has served its purpose. Tricycles are quickly assuming the character of a bridge between Okada and commercial buses. They have the advantage of quicker movement in traffic hold-ups though this has also come with its own problems. The government must also move quickly to regulate their activities on the roads. As things stand, tricycle operators must be made to conform to traffic laws. The disorderliness that characterizes their activities may soon be their greatest undoing. Through such a regulation, there will be more decency on our roads as Okada departs for good.

    Though the transport situation is yet to substantially improve, there is nothing to indicate that Okada operators are even prepared to change from their unruly activities. Rather, they have become more daring and menacing in their operations, running against traffic at their whims and caprices such that gives the impression that we have a lawless state. In this lawlessness, those who benefit are some unscrupulous law enforcement agencies, especially those charged with the control of traffic. In the face of the ban placed on police men against the mounting of roadblocks, the traffic points have now become the most veritable avenue to extort money from Okada operators who would rather offer money to law agents than obey the law.

    It would appear to me that apart from the lure of money, that law enforcement officers are equally overwhelmed by the sheer number of Okada defaulters that they consider it time wasting and cumbersome to apprehend them. They seem to be saying, take money from them and let them go. So the acts of lawlessness go on unrestrained.

    The restriction therefore comes with the added advantage of saving the law enforcement agents the problem of managing the menace of the high number of Okada defaulters. Our roads will be better for it.

  • Orji and the whistle

    Orji and the whistle

    It is a well known saying that leadership is an opportunity to serve and not a trumpet call to self-importance. This is obviously against the position of Governor Theodore A. Orji of Abia State who has bamboozled the people of Abia State with praise singers.

    He made this disclosure through Ben Onyechere, Special Assistant on Public Communication. The words of the governor read: “The determination of the Governor of Abia to expose the state to development as it is common knowledge by what he has achieved in a short space of time what previous administrations put together could not attempt. And this is nothing to make noise about as is the belief of the governor…”

    The irony of the government in Abia State since Orji came to power over five years ago is that it is always looking for whom to blame for its afflictions from all angles with mendacity and proposition that his immediate predecessor was a thorn in his neck, hence he told the state of its ‘liberation’. Yet, it is sorrowful to see the high degree of negligence to duty during this Orji-led administration. This government is also always making boast of itself that the opposition are at its jugular to pull it down. But if the question must be asked, is there actually a government in Abia State? What can be seen now is a governor who is just titular, always exasperating the good people of Abia State to react, as was his postulations in the aforementioned quote.

    Has Orji any trumpet to blow? It could be recalled that in his Nigeria@52 address to the people, there was no tangible thing to hold upon from the governor’s speech.

    Because he had nothing tangible to say about Abia State, so he continued to talk about nationhood, Political hood, and all those hoods.

    Governor Orji knew that his government had no stock to take, and good he admitted that. Was he pleading for mercy from the people to understand his non-performance in governance and that they should assist him so that the development he had refused to render the people could reach all the crannies of the state?

    The governor continued to bring the ‘Nation’ into his speech. He did not know his bounds. And the good people of Abia State wish that he could bring boundless development across the towns and villages of the state. He said that he sees an enormous latent energy of the people in building, and admitted that the people had been enduring a sustainable economy, which he felt was “what is required to strengthen the security of our state”. So, should the people be punished?

    He had boasted and pleaded to the people of the state to partner with the government, talking about “kidnappers and general insecurity in the state.” he said that the government had “worn” (that was how he put it, instead of ‘won’, which shows the poor media advisers he has). But how has Orji won the clearly poor governance in Abia State? We can go on and on to expose the tribulations of the Orji-led government of Abia State, right from the head to the toe of the aides that surround him.

    What are those rigmaroles of the governor? Sometimes one wonders why Governor Orji is good at propaganda over his own people and with a spirit of maliciousness. This has made Ndi-Abia to say in many quarters that they were concerned about the position of ‘governor’ that Orji is occupying against the people’s clamour, which they see as being still vacant. This is a man who sacked non-indigenous civil servants in Abia State, thereby showcasing his egocentricity, prejudiced and visionless leadership.

    Orji is a governor but in earnest he does not understand the meaning of ‘leadership’, not as a word, but as a practice. This is why an observer cried thus: “T .A. Orji is there because the people of Abia as a whole never associated themselves with governance. They see government as an abstraction hanging somewhere out there. They never associated government with visible, touchable human beings. They do not associate their local government chairman as part of government nor counsellors who happen to be their brother or sister. The least T.A Orji can do is to list what he has done in each of the local government areas that make up Abia since he became governor.”

    Can we see in the just mentioned quote why Orji was using “nationhood” in his speech as coverage? Can we say that Abia State got the leadership it deserved in Orji? No! What Orji calls ‘development’ is the building of a new government house, which for years, has not been completed. He was not talking about the pitiable roads in Abia. “My prayer is that God will deliver Abia and Abians from the hands of evil and selfish rulers. Come 2015, Abia will witness a divine change in real terms,” an observer prayed.

    Without doubt, like many people have said, Orji has automatically written his name in the Black Book of mis-governance. People are still very sad about these events. Another observer has this to say: “What trumpet can he blow? After 2015, it will never be remembered that anybody like T.A Orji passed through the surface of the earth not to talk of being a governor. Somebody should tell me one single achievement of this administration. No road, no school, no hospital, workers are not paid, touts everywhere…”

    It has become obvious that Governor T.A Orji hadn’t anything in place to blow any trumpet for. The people are regretting that Orji is now a governor. He is only good at mouthing off. He had even boasted of doing the work that ensured that the ravaging floods from the bank of River Niger, which visited most states across the country, did not affect Abia State. But the people are telling him to name any specific things he did that made the flooding not to affect Abia State. Propaganda is the worst form of methods in government.

    Onwumere contributed this piece from Aba

  • ‘Uniport’ 4 and state police imperative

    ‘Uniport’ 4 and state police imperative

    As a child, I read about gladiatorial shows and public executions of slaves, criminals and Christians in ancient Rome with great fear and trepidation. Rome was a prosperous and great warrior state that controlled the whole of the Mediterranean basin and almost the entire North-western Europe. But anytime I remember ancient Rome, I remember their murderous games and this always overshadows the prosperity and excellent system of government of the Roman Empire.

    Recently, ancient Rome literally resurrected in Aluu, a community that borders the University of Port Harcourt. There, four University of Port Harcourt students were gruesomely murdered under very baffling circumstances. Indeed, it was a murderous game because spectators cheered as the mob descended on the students. Anybody watching the footage of the Uniport 4, paraded naked with their bodies soaked in blood before they were eventually clubbed and burnt to death will feel very sorry for our dear country. And like Rome, this incident may haunt Nigeria forever.

    I have listened to various versions of the story. First, the boys were accused of stealing phones and laptops. Some say they were serial rapists who terrorised the community in the preceding four months. Another version says the students were indeed cultists who had intimidated Aluu and adjoining communities for a long time. And that at the time they were apprehended by the vigilance group, they had dangerous weapons in their possession. There is even yet another ridiculous account which says that the boys actually went to recover debt from their debtor who smartly turned the table against them.

    Whatever the reason, the plain truth is that the Uniport 4 represented hope and the future, not just for their respective families and their communities but for the entire country. So for whatever reason, this is a needless death that should have been avoided. And this sordid act should be condemned by all men of goodwill.

    I understand Aluu and some neighbouring communities had been under siege for some time now. In fact, the state of insecurity within the area had deteriorated so badly that the people had resorted to self-help. Consequently, they formed vigilance groups’ with absolute powers and the death of these boys is a direct consequence to that ill-advised move. Therefore, to all intents and purposes, Aluu was actually a disaster waiting to happen. But should this brand of jungle justice be visited on the Uniport 4 in the first instance? Again, are we such a depraved people? Where are the good men of Aluu? This is definitely not what I know of Aluu, a once peaceful neighbourhood. Did they just watch while evil was perpetrated or were they simply intimidated?

    Security is at the centre of this latest national calamity and we must not pretend about it. The Aluu incident is clearly a failure of state security apparatus to arrest a deteriorating security situation that prevailed in the town for several months leading to frustration by the people who resorted to self-help. It was indeed the failure of the police to rise up to the occasion as the crime under consideration took at least two hours to accomplish. This failure drew substantially from Nigeria Police obsolete equipment, lack of modern communications gadgets and a slow response time that compounded the already bad situation, issues we have canvassed severally with no one willing to listen.

    Quite expectedly, most of the eyewitness accounts alleged that while the murderous game was going on in Aluu, two patrol vehicles of the Nigeria Police were sighted around the scene, yet their presence did not make any difference. A source I do not doubt even claim that police patrol vehicles pulled over at the scene and left without offering any assistance to save an embarrassing situation.

    But I have a personal fear for our country and I wish to express it. If what happened in Aluu could happen in Rivers, a model state in terms of security, then we must seriously guard against the fire next time. For those knowledgeable in security circles, Rivers State represents excellence in security management and hope for the common man.

    For too long, we have been dancing on the edge, and it appears we are all waiting helplessly for an avoidable accident to happen. A few weeks ago, we were all confronted with the horror from Mubi, a polytechnic town in Adamawa State. Over 40 young and promising students were murdered in one fell swoop and everybody seems to be looking for answers in the same direction. No clues yet and it does not seem to bother us.

    If the provision of security and welfare of the people as enshrined in the constitution are essentially the primary duty of any government, which of course includes state governments, then the issue of central policing must be revisited.

    For me, these are warning signs and we cannot afford not to heed. Today, we are witnessing very strange occurrences in our country and we must rise to the occasion. Those who opposed state police yesterday for some reasons are beginning to see the need for further dialogue.

    The arguments against state police usually dissolve in the face of logic. Police cannot be a platform for national integration and this must be emphasised. And around the world, there are not too many examples of successful policing federal states. Antagonists of state police are also quick to cite concentration of power on one single man (the governor), discriminatory tendencies, interstate rivalry and even jungle justice like the macabre dance in Aluu. Ironically, what happened in Aluu would not have happened if there was state police.

    Strangely, the advantages of state police far outweigh its disadvantages. The truth is that the federal police as constituted today lack capacity and resources and it is too bureaucratic. These also explain why they are easily overwhelmed.

    I think some Nigerians are beginning to appreciate the fact that a state police will be well funded. There is also the advantage of capacity building. There will be enough manpower and this will engender healthy rivalry. Adequate knowledge of the territory and quick response to distress calls are also possible because policemen are indigenes of the state and the environment is well known to them.

    I know that despite these advantages, abuse could still occur. That is why a mechanism of control should be instituted at the centre to subordinate to some extent, the activities of the state police.

    If we achieve the clamour for state police, a measure of frustration will leave our state governors who will then truly act as chief security officers. After all, governors will not be governors forever; they will leave someday and like every other member of society, will be subject to same laws. If while serving as governor they abuse the powers of the office, natural laws will catch up with them. More so, over time, the regulation of state police will be refined and perfected.

     

    • Peterside, a member of the House of Representatives is Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources, Downstream.

  • Wamakko and oil subsidy money

    Wamakko and oil subsidy money

    The partial removal of the oil subsidy sparked off nationwide protests. The act was seen as sledge-hammer against the common man. Federal Government explained away that the proceeds, as savings, should be used to build critical infrastructure by all tiers of government. The envisaged infrastructure would benefit immensely the common man in totality of their daily lives. Skeptics were wary that such had remained government rhetoric. Since the arguments and riotous actions abated, not much has been heard, or perhaps the same common folk accepted and resigned to fate! It is not docility for silence means careful expectations from governments on their words.

    Governor Wamakko of Sokoto State has broken the silence to stir people up to the issue. Recently he announced to the public, and especially Sokoto State citizens that his government received N1.152billion as its share of the oil subsidy money. He stated that his government has lodged the amount into Skype Bank.

    He further announced constitution of a committee to manage this money. A former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Yahaya Abdulkarim is heading the committee. Members are drawn from organized labour, civil society organizations and other major stakeholders. Governor Wamakko mandated the committee to judiciously apply the money with principle of equity, probity and accountability to the people. The committee is expected to take into cognizance yearnings, needs and aspirations of the people.

    Every environment has its peculiar needs to accelerate development. The spread and application of resources determine good governance. The committee, therefore, has the uphill task to identify critical areas of need of the people and fashion out projects that would justify the sacrifice of the oil subsidy removal. It is the only way to attenuate the fears and pains generated by that policy. Members of the committee represent a broad spectrum of the society that needs meaningful projects to be executed with the money. They should take along the aspirations of their constituent interests that shall eventually call them to account.

    Governor Wamakko has once again demonstrated his avowed commitment to the principle of accountability. He has told the people where their money is, and appointed personalities of impeccable character to manage it. He still remains a governor that strongly believes in transparency and accountability as a personal philosophy to delivery of democracy dividend. The people’s governor that believes government is about positive impact to the masses. The governor to date remains the only one among his peers that has publicly declared the receipt of the oil subsidy money, and explains modality of its management.

    Our message is showcasing a man of immense probity; a man that is committed to good governance with adequate focus to execution of projects that have direct bearing to the entire citizens. Since becoming the Chief Executive of the state, the governor has not discriminated against any section or interest group, based on political difference or otherwise, in locating of projects. He has taken Sokoto State as a constituency in development strides.

    Prior to his election as the governor, he promised free hand to local government administration. On election to the office he fulfilled that promise. He ensured prompt release of statutory local government funds and made certain the councils are accountable to the electorate. He pays unscheduled visits to the projects executed by them to assess how they conform to the people’s desires, especially with due regard to the constitutional responsibilities of local administration. On every inspection Governor Wamakko corrected observed anomalies that woke up local government administrators to their duties of providing good governance.

    Governor Wamakko right from inception of his administration declared a partnership with the citizens of Sokoto State. The partnership is to listen carefully to the people’s aspirations and within the available resources try as much as possible to meet such demands.

    The poverty reduction policy of the administration demands provision of critical infrastructure such as roads, electricity, potable water, improvement of health care delivery services, provision of quality education to boys and girls, empowerment of the youth through the skills acquisition and generation of employment etc. The governor has performed tremendously well to the consternation of critics. His open door policy has endeared him to the citizens as the people’s governor.

    We salute the courage of the governor in frequent dissemination of information about the monthly allocation to the state, and their utilization. That is the surest means of accountability to the people. We still ally with his resolve as he stated: “The global economic down-turn has definitely caused hiccups in all nations of the world. As no nation is an island unto itself, we cannot be immune from the unfolding processes in the global village. However, by Allah’s infinite mercies, we have been able to manage the situation. Through judicious utilization of and adherence to principles of accountability and transparency, we have ensured continued execution of our programmes and projects, despite the economic melt-down.”

    The impact of the administration in all sectors of the economy justifies the preceding declaration to which legacy posterity shall continue to relish.

    • Umar is President Sokoto Liberal Democrats Media Foundation

  • Tried, yet unbruised and unbowed

     If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power. – Dwight D. Eisenhower 

    From a non-existent, comatose status, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) hitherto non-existent in the political firmament of Ondo politics suddenly sprouted some five months back. For a state that had been ruled by the PDP for six years straight under Agagu and later under the jackboots of Mimiko of the Labour Party for four years, it would be almost unthinkable for any party to want to contest for power. But not the ACN and its leadership. Convinced that parties are set up contest for power no matter, a right no one can question, satisfied that the party had a sellable ideology and formidable platform and determined to change the face and direction of Ondo politics, ACN threw its hat in the ring.

    Thus, in less than six months, the party energised its base and changed the political temperature of Ondo politics. With both hands on the lever, the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Tinubu led the charge to rebuild the party. Deploying many of his traditional political associates to pound the ground in Ondo, he employed his strategic prowess to put the party back in gear and into reckoning. What followed was a flurry of activities that soon turned the political battle in Ondo into a battle royale. What seemed like a walk over for Mimiko became a battle for his political survival.

    Having parted ways with those who paved his way to power, and pelted stones at those who stood up for him when it mattered most, Mimiko with power, money and the coercive instruments of the state in his hands become a demi-god-a governor turned Sheriff. For Mimiko, Ondo State was his farm and no one else dare attempt to take it over. But every student of politics knows that one of the very elementary lessons of politics is that the competition for power is constant, fierce and atimes can be brutal. Parties and politicians are in business to contest for power, to seek to unseat their opponents or even members within their party, to take advantage of their opponents and seize on opportunities.

    Hans J. Morgenthau captures the essence of power when he said “The struggle for power is universal in time and space and is an undeniable fact of experience. It cannot be denied that throughout historic time, regardless of social, economic and political conditions, states have met each other in contests for power. .. all politics, is a struggle for power.”

    The game of politics is not a game for the lily-livered. It is not one for the sentimental or the non-risk taker. So when people complain about ACN or any other party challenging Mimiko for the governship seat of Ondo, I wonder what planet they are from. It is well within their right.

    That the Action Congress of Nigeria, entered the race, stomped the grounds in Ondo, articulated a party manifesto and competed according to the rules of the game should be enough to earn it kudos. Any other argument about ACN and Ondo falls by the way side and on stony ground. Why do some people feel Mimiko or any other governor for that matter cannot be challenged at the polls when election time comes? The mere fact that a time limit is set for the tenure of elected officials at the expiration of which they must return to the electorate to earn a new mandate suggests that others that desire to hold such positions must be given the chance to compete. Therein lies the most fundamental ingredient of democracy which is the right of the people to either vote in or vote out representatives they do not like. There is no morality about what party, which individual or group can enter the race to contest for power. There is also no questioning of the rationale or the right or motives of such persons or parties to enter the race. What suffices is that the party or individual fulfils the requirements to compete.

    In Ondo, we have seen our democracy benefit from very spirited political campaigns, debates and multi-party exposure. The ACN brought a new spark, glamour and excitement to the governorship race. But more than that, it brought out the issues and forced all those in the race to compete for the votes and support of the electorate.

    The Ondo election has come, but it has not gone. In the next few weeks and months there will emerge evidence of vote manipulation, rigging, and other infractions that occurred that may form the basis for legal action. The gloss over the election will wear off. The maximum use of thuggery, the criminal acts of ballot snatching, the perpetration of violence and scare mongering that characterized the Ondo elections no matter how much they try to hide them will soon be revealed.

    It is sufficient for now to accept the fact that a winner has been announced in Mimiko, but to claim he won a landslide, that he was the preferred choice of the people and that he was politically invincible by breaking the second term jinx is to stretch the Mimiko narrative too far into the realm of the ridiculous. For instance, Mimiko’s victory is neither resounding nor a landslide as we are being made to believe. With only about 1 in 6 voting for him in the election and with a 41.6 per cent of total votes cast in his favor fell short of getting a majority vote. However, in the combined 51 per cent scored by the PDP and the ACN, it is evident that the Ondo people voted more for a change than for Mimiko.

    I must return momentarily to the antagonists of the idea of South-west integration for development. When the media spinners, pundits and a tribe of political charlatans seek to pooh-pooh the idea of the South-west integration by referring to it as a thirst for territorial expansion and political hegemony, one is left to wonder where they were when Awolowo united the South-west and marched the region forward in bold steps towards development. Of course all was well until the most classic political betrayal yet in the annals of political history occurred and Akintola broke ranks with Awolowo. There is nothing wrong with the push for regional integration or South-west integration. It is not a crime in our books for parties or individuals seek to unite their people or region towards rapid development. It is purely legitimate. That is why we have the South-south states beginning to integrate. The north under the Arewa Consultative Forum and Middle Belt Forum are all attempts at regional integration which no one dares question. To now seek to question the move towards the South- west integration as championed by Tinubu and the ACN governors reeks of political bad blood and opportunism. That they seek to win more governors or persons to their cause is also very legitimate. The Yoruba have in Asiwaju Tinubu a dogged fighter for the race. It is on record that perhaps after Awolowo and Abiola, no other single individual has invested in the Yoruba cause. We ask pointed of those of the Afenifere and their cohorts who claim to be more Awolowo than the rest of us what is it that they have done to advance the cause of the Yoruba nation. The people do not know or reckon with them. They are the ones who eat the three course meal meant for the people and give nothing back. They are the ones in whose influence does not extend beyond the street where their house is situated. We saw their likes at work during the times of Awolowo and Abiola. It can be no different for Asiwaju Tinubu. In the unfolding developments around the Ondo elections, the Yoruba nation is yet exposed as intolerant of successful political leaders and too much in a hurry to demonize them.

    Now that the Ondo election as thrown up these issues once again, we must proceed with care and reasoning devoid of parochialism. The ACN from being a mere onlooker in Ondo politics now has a foothold, a stake and political actors now and future elections at all levels must reckon with the party. The party has lived true to the assertion made by H.L Henry that “Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule – and both commonly succeed, and are right.”

    Definitely, the last has not been heard of the Ondo elections. The last election is just one battle and there will be several more. The war is still afar off. The ACN for one will continue in its dogged pursuit of ensuring that the process of election is transparent and the playing ground is levelled. It will seek to send the message that the party is willing to concede defeat only when it is sure that no advantage was accorded its opponents either by the powers that be in Abuja or by the umpire, in this case INEC in the October contest. Those that seek power by all means must also be ready to answer when the roll is called up yonder.

    • Dare is media adviser to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

  • Nigeria’s rating descent

    Nigeria’s rating descent

    The 2012 Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Index rating of Governance in Africa that was published recently underscores the shambolic state of governance in virtually all African countries. Expectedly, Nigeria got poor ratings in human rights’ issues and political participation, transparency and accountability.

    Quite shameful too, the Foundation’s Prize Committee found none of the continent’s former leaders worthy of winning the £3.2m reward for excellence in African leadership. The committee identified topmost countries from the four geographical regions of the continent. They include South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria. However, all of them were considered by the foundation established in 2007 to have performed badly in the set criteria for the ratings. The records of these countries in the realm of rule of law and public safety, political participation and human rights were said to be on the decline. The reality in the spheres of sustainable economic opportunity and human capital development for the regional powers is also nothing to write home about.

    Comparatively, on the index ratings, South Africa ranked fifth, Egypt 14th and Kenya 25th. Political participation in these countries was said to be poor except for Egypt that reportedly witnessed significant improvement in economic opportunities; the others scored low points. Somalia in its usual tradition expectedly occupied the last position. Tanzania, for the first time since inception of the award was among the top 10. Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola also got significant lifts. Mauritius was adjudged the leading nation in the overall index; Cape Verde, Botswana and the Seychelles, respectively, followed Mauritius in the tradition of last year.

    Nigeria ranked 14th position out of the considered 16 countries in West Africa and 43rd out of the overall 52 listed countries: the country came out worst of the top four adjudged countries in the continent. The nation’s ranking descent is saddening, judging from its sliding from 37th position in 2006 to 41st in 2011. Of all the top ranked countries, Nigeria, without equivocation, has the most abundance of resources. Yet, the rating confirms that the country is the most mismanaged. Its Index rating shows that Nigeria for the first time dropped to the last 10 countries in the overall rankings.

    The opportunities offered by the foundation are enough incentives to goad leaders of countries across Africa to govern well. But, as if the continent is cursed, leaders of the various countries have been ensconced in promoting perverse values. What better governance incentives could be expected from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that provides winners of its award the opportunity to pursue their commitment to Africa once they have stepped down from office? The foundation’s award, reserved for democratically elected former African heads of state or government, is acknowledged to be the world’s biggest individual prize. It offers a $5m reward for 10 years and after a decade $200,000 annually for life, to the winner. Equally, it offers another $200,000 per year for 10 years for good causes backed by the winner.

    We acknowledge the fact that all the four regional powers have enormous natural and human resources but the fact that Nigeria came last on governance score sheet among the quartet makes it sad. What this translates to is that since the country scored low in economic and political areas, it could not be relied upon to provide good examples worthy of emulation by other less endowed countries in the continent. Furthermore, it could not be a model for providing direction when occasion demands.

    Nigerian leaders need to provide the desired direction in governance not only for the interest of the citizenry but for their own interest. The dearth of good leadership not only in Nigeria but Africa generally needs rigorous examination. By the verdict of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, it could be assumed that a leader that is not doing well in his home front is not in any way doing himself any good. It is the sterling internal performance that would rub off on the leaders outside office and make eminent foundations like that of Mo Ibrahim to consider them for worthwhile ventures after leaving office. This is the message inherent in the foundation’s refusal to give any of the leaders this year’s award; none of them met the set criteria.

    It is a shame to the big four that Mozambique’s Joaquim Chissano won the inaugural prize in 2007; Botswana’s ex-leader, Festus Mogae, won it in 2008 while Cape Verde’s former president, Pedro Verona Pires won it in 2011. The big four countries’ former leaders are just curious onlookers to the lofty attainments of former leaders from these smaller well managed countries. Too bad!

    We consider above all, the poor ranking of especially Nigeria in the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s index rating to be a sad reminder of the lull in governance and a wake-up call that Nigerians are not feeling the impact of governance.

  • Tribute to my father

    My father, Alhaji Olukayode Yishau, better known to some people as Kayusco, died October 1. Besides the day being the nation’s 52nd independence anniversary, it was also exactly 42 years since my father and mother lived together as husband and wife.

    When my wife, Bimbo, broke the news to our daughter, Opemipo, she chose euphemism to do it. She said: “Grand Pa Agege has gone to heaven.” Opemipo then simply said: “He is with Jesus.” She later added: “that means he is dead.”

    He was 68. Before his death, he was up and down for about three weeks. The last thing that ever came to our mind was that he was going to die with what we thought was one of his small illnesses.

    According to our mother, the last time he was terrible sick was 41 years ago. Then, they had only my elder sister, Funke, an Education Officer with Onigbongbo Local Council Development Authority. Then, he took a photograph, which still occupies a prime position in his sitting room in his Orile-Agege home, and gave to my mother to use for his obituary. He did not die and lived to sire seven more children. One, Olusola, died painfully in 2001 after years of sickness that medical science could really not explain to us.

    Since his death, I have been wondering what could have gone wrong. Could he have lived longer if he had checked his health status very well and take necessary precautions? What made me feel this way was the doctor’s discovery that his heart was not functioning well. Could that have happened suddenly? Or had it been there all along undiscovered?

    May be the story of how we discovered what was wrong can help understand my inquisitiveness.

    Early morning on October 1, I had called him to explain something. When he picked the call, his voice scared me. He at a point urged me to come and see him if I had time. Even without him asking, I would have gone hearing him speak that way. My wife wanted to come with me. I told her to stay with the kids. She still feels sad she did not go with me.

    On getting to the house, he told me a doctor asked him to do ECG. He also showed me the left side of his neck, which appeared abnormal. Two of my uncles were with him. We arranged and got him to go for the ECG. I left for work after making this arrangement.

    In the afternoon, my elder brother, Muyiwa, called me and said the doctor said he had heart-related problem and that it was critical. The doctor, a cardiologist, suggested we either allow him to care for our father or take him to LUTH. We ruled out LUTH, which always had issues with bed space and all that. I understand our father even told the doctor that if it was about money, his children would pay. Of course, we paid some money, including for a test he never did. The only thing he waited for was the reading of his heart with a machine my brother, Jide, told me was always writing: “time out”.

    The doctor could just not get his pulse. Exactly, 7.43pm, he mistakenly called me asking me to buy him ointment. He was feeling pains on his neck. He got the ointment through my younger brother, but some minutes to 9pm, his time was up. It was God that saw me drive safely to Agege that night.

    We have since buried him in Epe according to Islamic rites. I have been told we should thank God that he died a grandfather and all that. But, all that has not answered my question: could he have lived longer if there was proper system through which citizens from time to time check on their health at no killing cost. I have been told that in advanced economies such as the UK and the United States, there are medical insurance in place that ensures citizens check their health status regularly. Even when you don’t know it is time, you are duly informed.

    Here we have the National Health Insurance, which has been crawling for decades and working as though bugs are in its system.

    Hospitals, especially government-owned ones, are glorified dispensaries. There are no staff to go round the patients. A friend told me recently that his one-year-old daughter needed a simple corrective heart surgery and one of the General Hospitals in Lagos gave him appointment for March next year. Yet, the poor girl sleeps with difficulty everyday, with the parents unable to sleep soundly too. Another friend lost his first child to such lackadaisical approach to healthcare. When are we going to ever get it right?

    One major lesson my father’s death has taught me is that we should do regular checkups and not wait for sickness.

    I am already making arrangement to examine every major organ in my body, heart, kidney and all to ensure they are in good condition. My only hope is that there will be no wrong diagnosis, which is also an issue around here. The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi had a bitter experience before he died. A popular radio presenter, ChazB, narrated how a supposed expert in a Magodo hospital told him a man was a match for his kidney transplant, only for doctors in India to discover he was wrong. He almost lost his life in the process before his wife readilly gave her kidney to keep him alive.

    But despite this occasional misses, it is good to even have an idea if all is well with our organs. Please don’t wait for death.

    For now, I rest my case. Adieu father till we meet to path no more. Your wife, Titilayo and children, Olufunke, Olumuyiwa, Olukorede, Olujiide, Oluwabukola, Olumide and Oluwaseun miss you. The grandchildren and well-wishers do too. Rest well, my dear father who came, saw and conquered. The Nigerian Association of Auctioneers (NAA), in which you played a leadership role, also misses you. Bye for now, dear father. Bye for now.

  • Uduaghan’s human capital development agenda

    Uduaghan’s human capital development agenda

    It is bad enough that a man be ignorant, for he is cut off from the commerce of men’s minds. It is perhaps worse that he be poor, for he is condemned to a life of stint and scheming in which there is no respite for his weariness and not time for dreams.
    But what surely is worst is that he be ill, for he can do nothing much about his poverty or his ignorance… G. H. T. Kimble, 1957.

    According to economists, Human Capital is a means of production into which additional investment yields additional output. It was Gary Becker of the Chicago School of Economics in 1964 who first gave prominence to the phrase. Human Capital was described, in a scholarly work published in 2003, Economics Principles in Action by Arthur Sullivan et al, as the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labour and produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience.”

    Human Capital is generally seen as the most important of all factors of economic production. Development of or investment in Human capital is, therefore, the most important step usually taken by any government towards achievement of the state development objectives and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A government invests in human capital through education, training and medical treatment. A state’s output depends largely on the rate of the state of return on the human capital owned by the state.

    The Delta State government under the leadership of Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan has been taking remarkable steps towards the attainment of these objectives. The government is giving priority attention to matters of health care in its human capital Development agenda. The government through its health programmes is substantially reducing mortality and morbidity in the state through the provision of quality, accessible and affordable health care services to the generality of Deltans.

    A survey of the terrain of the state indicates that every local government headquarters is being made to have a functional general hospital in its domain. And at every kilometers radius of the state, a primary health care centre is being set up. The government is making efforts to provide adequate infrastructure, modern equipment as well as recruitment and motivation of health personnel at all levels of health care.

    The government has also introduced a number of programmes which include: (1) Free Rural Health Scheme (2) Free Maternal Health Care (3) Free Under -5 Health Care.

    The Free Rural Health Scheme was introduced in 2005 as an interventionist programme designed to meet the health care needs of all Deltans, especially the rural poor. This programme has been bringing to the doorsteps of ordinary Deltans rural communities and difficult terrains curative, primary and secondary preventive health care free of charge.

    The programme achieves this by getting beneficiaries screened for the purpose of early detection and preventive treatment of common diseases. It also offers curative care to those diagnosed with surgical or non-surgical diseases.

    The free maternal health programme was instituted on November 27, 2007. The programme has now run for about five years. From the time a woman is pregnant to six weeks after delivery, all medical attentions, treatments and laboratory investigations, if she patronises government hospital, are free of charge. Government is responsible for the payment of all these fees. When a patient registers, she is given a card free of charge; she goes to see the nurses that take all the vital signs, which is also free of charge; she also sees a doctor who attends to her free of charge; if the doctor recommends a laboratory investigation such as blood test, ultra-sound scan; she also does it for free. And at delivery, whether caesarian section or normal delivery, it is also free.

    Also about two years ago, the government also launched the free under-five health programme. The programmes are focused on reducing maternal and under- five mortalities. According to experts both mortalities are economic indicators of how well a nation or state is doing. And as part of the global community, Delta State is assiduously working towards achieving the global world’s focus reducing maternal mortality by 3/4 and under-five mortality by 2/3 by the year 2015. The government is also making efforts to reduce the incidences of malaria and prevalence of HIV through these programmes.

    The government is squarely tackling the twin problem of sicknesses and death by focusing on both financial and geographical access of health care for the people. In most disadvantaged countries of the world, it is either a government is unable to build sufficient hospitals for the patients to go to when they are ill or the hospitals are available but the people cannot afford to pay for the services. However, in Delta State, the situation is different with what the government has been doing with the strategic proliferation of health institutions in the state such as the numerous health centres. And in every local government headquarter there is at least a general or a government hospital.

    Today, the state has 460 primary health care centres, over 60 government hospitals – general or central hospitals and the tertiary hospital which is the renowned teaching hospital in Oghara. So, within a radius of five kilometres, as directed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is a health centre or government general hospital, all geared toward satisfying the condition of geographical access to hospital.

    With the introduction of both the free maternal and under-five health programmes, the government is making sure that the hindrance to financial access is removed. So far, over 230,000 patients have benefited from these programmes. Currently, in the state the maternal mortality rate, that is, the number of women that die during pregnancy or delivery has drastically reduced. Shortly before the programme was started, the maternal mortality rate, recorded per every 100,000 delivery was 456. As at last year November, the figure had come down to 221, going past half the previous year’s number. It is expected that this year November or December, when the anniversary of the programme will be marked,the figure will go down considerably further to about a hundred or less.

    Over all, the impressive results being recorded by the Delta State government under Governor Uduaghan are not comparable or at par with any state in the federation. Delta State has the best maternal mortality figure in Nigeria compared, for example, to the much ballyhooed Abiye programme of the Ondo State government with just one central point for its similar programme.

    • Tobi writes from Asaba

  • Taming the ravage of oil spill

    Unless you have lived it you don’t know it. Unless you have visited you can’t begin to understand the human suffering coming from an oil spill impacted site especially the ones in the Niger Delta. The impact is total it is colossal. It is almost unbelievable that people are subjected to live with it. That the problem is growing alarmingly is firmly established. The problem is that there is nothing there to show we are ready to deal with it. Much of the interrogation on this issue has been deliberate skewed to make the human suffering secondary and the environmental impact of little consequence. We are fed to believe that oil spill is inevitable. Therefore, nobody takes responsibility and nobody is punished. Businesses and individuals who perpetrate this evil have nothing to lose, nothing to fear we have as law or regulation on the issue can barely impact. This impunity is worsened by the fact that the Joint Venture arrangement we have in the oil industry which has made the ministry (the regulator) a necessary operator (through NNPC) which is the government vehicle for its JV an impediment to a lasting solution.

    This is why commendation must go to the Senate for passing through second reading the initiative of Senator Bukola Saraki to amend the NOSDRA Act 2006. This legislation holds the key to dealing with oil spill management in Nigeria today. It will be recalled that on September 19, Senator Saraki the Senate Committee Chair on Environment and Ecology led debate on the General Principle of this all-important Bill. According to the distinguished senator, oil spillage has devastated the entire environment of the oil producing areas. And of the over 13 million barrels of oil spilled into the Niger Delta ecosystem over the past 50 years, which compares to about 50 times the estimated volume spilled in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska in 1989, no responsible party or business has been penalized, and no compensation whatsoever has been paid to those whose lives and livelihood has been destroyed by this devastation. This state of affair is irresponsible and it is not in the economic interest of the country. But this is where we are and we are here because we do not have the requisite legal and regulatory framework to effectively deal with this menace. Changing this scenario is the core objective of this amendment.

    As chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, the senator recognized early that oil spillage is not an oil business but a massive environmental problem with high ranging impact capacity. It is simply irresponsible environmental behaviour, the connection to oil business notwithstanding. Nigeria may have lost over 13million barrels of oil to preventable spills. As bad as that sounds, it is not the entire story. The real story is that of the over 30 million Nigerians in this region struggling to make ends meet; whose livelihood continue to be significantly altered by oil spills. The impact of oil spill can be directly connected to the rate of criminalization of lives in this area, as people have nowhere to turn to. The story is the destruction of the right of communities to decent lives, to safe environment, and the lost opportunity to feed their families from their toil and be in good health. The full story is that we have all now become victims of our own blessing because the cost on our people is no longer about economics, now it’s about living or dying in instalments.

    For those impacted their lives are upside down. No money can successfully deal with the idea of living in an environment where you cannot eat what it produces as everything has become deeply saturated with carcinogenic elements and metals from hydrocarbons. So the distinguished senator reckons that there is something fundamentally wrong with a law, which for e.g. stipulates a fine of not more than one million naira for oil spill, irrespective of the dimension and scope and no remedy for people whose lives are literally turned upside down by oil spills. The bill attempts to change this under the proposed amendment and makes it more economical to respect the environment than degrade it.

    It has been acknowledged by several reports including the UNEP Report that fifty 50% of oil spills in Nigeria has been due to corrosion of oil infrastructure (negligence), 28% to sabotage and 21 percent to oil production operations (negligence). One percent of oil spills are due to engineering drills, inability to effectively control oil wells, failure of machines, and inadequate care in loading and unloading oil vessels. It is the responsibility of the spiller to rehabilitate spill sites. It is as simple as that. But in Nigeria it is the government, using our people’s money. According to NOSDRA the number of identified sites is over 2,000. The majority of these sites are sites with identified spillers. This gives an indication of the problem we already have in our hands.

    The analogy of the Wall Street Journal Blog about an oil company operating in Nigeria tells the grim story, the real dimension of this problem. The blog had this to say: “Thursday after the Anglo-Dutch oil giant said it was taking a closer look at an oil sheen near two of its offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. (Immediately the company lost significantly its shares value). Later (on the same day) its shares rose and reversed most of the day’s losses after the company said the sheen (earlier notice) didn’t stem from its two nearby platforms, and that the amount of oil was small. Meanwhile, the company’s admission that its facilities in Nigeria spilled some 5,300 tons of crude last year up from 700 tons the year before didn’t seem to merit a drag on its stock.

    While it would be easy to explain the apparent contradiction by pointing to investors unconcerned at the suffering of people thousands of miles away, their rationale in this case that even one spill in the U.S. could cost billions while many spills in Nigeria probably won’t is hard to fault.”

    Among the several reasons adduced by this Wall Street blogger for this state of affairs is the fact that the U.S. boasts one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the world when it comes to offshore drilling, while Nigeria does not. Shell executives and investors needn’t look far to see the consequences of an error in U.S. waters. In the United States for instance, it is criminal to be responsible for oil spill and more criminal to have even tried to falsify the records. The Deepwater Horizon is a case in point where although it may have cost BP a total of over $40bn still has its employees charged for criminal liability over the spill. BP shareholders are still counting the costs of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The cost of spilling oil in Nigeria may be a stain on the company’s reputation but not on its profit margins.

    This brings us to the issue of compensation for spills. As noted earlier the issue of compensating for damage the attitude of the average spiller to compensation is that of unwanted irritation because there is no specific framework for compensation for oil spillage. Instead of receiving adequate compensation, in most cases (if the people even get what is derogatorily termed palliative- that’s rice and blankets. For the spill along the Gulf of Mexico, before claims for compensation even started BP contributed $15bn to a joint fund with the US government of about $20bn and it has so far paid out over $13bn to individuals for loss of profits etc. $1.3bn to government and government agencies for lost of revenue. In total it cost BP over $40bn. BP continue to face ongoing cleanup charges under the Oil Pollution Act, compensation claims, and probably a multi-billion dollar fine from the US government. Some might say this is America.

    But in Nigeria for a spill of same magnitude or worse, the affected individuals and families will get bags of rice, beans, and blankets and bread. The other issue is the interest conflicts arising from the fragmented regulatory structure of the industry and government position as a quasi operator and regulator of the industry. One of the biggest hurdles to environmental protection in areas affected by oil spill in the country is the fact that the same people whose interest is simply expansion and profit also regulate the environment in this industry. Your guess is as good as mine as to why we are where we are. In this context it is noteworthy to mention that after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident, it came to light that the US Offshore Energy & Minerals Management Office (under the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) responsible for the development of the offshore oilfield was also the body that issued environmental approvals. President Obama called this a “cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill”.

    Consequently, a new Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, under the US Department of the Interior, was created, which is independent from the department of Energy Resources and answerable to the state department of environment. There is today no genuine reason to continue this ineffective approach as it has only exacerbated the problem than solve it.

    •Amaku is a legislative aide to Senator Saraki