The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Curious cover-up

    Curious cover-up

    Where is NLNG’s $14.9bn profit with the NNPC?

    It looks as if the corruption in the nation’s oil and gas industry is getting bigger and bigger daily. Right now, we are into the story of another $14.9bn allegedly missing profit from NLNG. The House of Representatives is currently seeking to know what happened to the fund, which represented the dividends accruing from the sale of liquefied gas from 2004 to 2014, and which the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) admitted it had paid to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    There is a House Committee on Public Accounts whose responsibility is to perform its oversight functions on the NNPC and NLNG. The chairman of the committee, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, said his committee would move a motion at plenary on March 3, to compel the NNPC to bring relevant documents for the purpose of probing the matter. But in a swift reaction, the NNPC, in its characteristic manner, moved to stop the House from going ahead with the probe through its lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, claiming that “the committee had no right to request for the NLNG accounts”.

    On its part, the NLNG had told members of the panel that the Federal Government has 51 percent holding in NLNG while 41 percent is owned by Shell and other private investors. The NLNG is in possession of the amount of fund from the Federal Government’s 51 percent holding which, on its part, it had returned to the Federal Government as dividends between 2004 and 2014, through the NNPC.

    Adeola said they wrote the NNPC asking for “evidence for the sources of revenues, bank statements, and every expenditure for that account and any other item that would assist in their investigation”. The above evidence is necessary for transparency and accountability in governments, ministries, parastatals and other agencies. But for reasons best known to the NNPC, its lawyer, Mike Ozekhome & Co, wrote quoting section 88 and other sections of the constitution “as to why they cannot and will not come before the committee with these particular documents”.

    We agree with Adeola that Mr. Ozekhome operates a private law firm and his chamber’s opinion could not have necessarily represented that of the law courts and that the attempt by the chambers and NNPC to keep the records requested for from being scrutinised show “that there is more to what we are seeing”. The committee chairman lamented the fact that while the committee only made a simple request on transactions that concern the generality of Nigerians, “the next line of action is to go to your lawyer to start writing and from there move to court to seek injunction preventing us from requesting for that document … This tells you the extent they have used the judiciary to stall a lot of investigations we are carrying out as a House”.

    The NLNG has been a success story; so we wonder why it has to be enmeshed in the familiar mess with which the NNPC is well known. The NNPC under the current Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is notorious for using the court to halt any probe of her activities and sleazes in her ministry, and this one is no exception. We wonder whether, with the usual assistance of the courts that readily grant injunctions to the NNPC on matters of this nature, there would ever be any investigation or probe in the NNPC under the current administration.

    This will remain the case as long as the NNPC gets away with the habit of always seeking cover under legal technicalities which, curiously enough, the courts freely and quickly oblige it whenever it is asked to render account of money in its custody.

  • Democratic royalty

    Democratic royalty

    For a democracy, the cost of lawmaking doesn’t have to be this princely

    Report that the Federal Government would spend N8.35bn on the accommodation, housing and vehicle allowances of members of the in-coming eighth session of the National Assembly simply confirms the widely-held notion that our brand of democracy is indeed a money guzzler. The fact that this excludes the amount that would be spent on the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives (who already enjoy lavishly furnished apartments and ride in some of the exotic cars money can buy); as well as the political aides to the lawmakers, makes it much more so. What the political aides get depends on the recommendations of the National Assembly Commission and it would be worked out as soon as they are named by the legislators.

    A breakdown of the N8.35bn shows that each senator is entitled to N4,052,800m for accommodation, representing 200 per cent of annual basic salary of N2,026,400.00; N6,079,200, representing 300 per cent of his annual basic salary for furniture and N8,105,600, representing 400 per cent of his annual basic salary as car loan. In all, the 107 senators would get N433,649,600 for accommodation, N650,474,400 for furniture allowance and N867,299,200 as vehicle loans. The eighth session of the National Assembly (NASS) resumes in June.

    And to think that these are only some of the allowances the law makers are entitled to, aside their monthly salaries that pale into insignificance considering the other mouth-watering allowances that they smile to the bank with regularly. For instance, the lawmakers are also entitled to duty tour allowances and estacode allowances for their local and international travels. This excludes the quarterly allocation which runs into hundreds of millions!

    The absurdity of the emoluments is further exemplified by the wide gap between capital expenditure and recurrent. Between 1999 when the present democratic dispensation took off and 2010, a total of N712.8 billion went to the National Assembly for recurrent and capital expenditure from the annual budgets, excluding supplementary allocations within the period. In 2007, N48.76 billion was allocated to the assembly from a total federal budget of N2.39 trillion. It rose unreasonably to N106.6 billion, made up of N5.25 billion capital expenditure and N101 billion recurrent expenditure in the N3.1018 trillion 2009 package. In 2010, N154.205 billion out of N4.6 trillion 2010 federal budget was provided for the NASS, made up of N138.015 billion recurrent and N16.9 billion capital expenditure.

    With this ballooning cost of governance we can rightly question the rigour that went into the formulation of the monetisation policy by the Obasanjo administration, especially considering that much of the NASS budget goes to recurrent expenditure. The monetisation policy was one of the measures taken to reduce the cost of governance, facilitate budgeting and budgetary control; minimise waste and abuse of public facilities, obtain savings for capital projects, promote a culture of discipline and maintenance, among others. The fear in some quarters that the objectives of the policy might be good but its implementation was likely to run into stormy waters has now been confirmed. Otherwise, we would not be spending so much on overheads in the NASS.

    Beyond all of these, however, is something we have been running away from; and that is whether we need full-time law makers and if we do, must they be maintained by digging holes in the taxpayers pocket? In the First Republic, we had part time lawmakers and we still enjoyed quality debates and lawmaking. In many parts of the world, there is nothing extraordinary in being a law maker. Many lawmakers in Britain live in modest apartments and travel by some of the common means of transportation. There are no airs surrounding the position. We wonder why the reverse is the case in Nigeria.

    It is annoying that the lawmakers’ proclivity for extravagance has continued unabated since the beginning of this dispensation. We recollect that the matter reared its ugly head in the early days of the dispensation when the NASS members awarded themselves outrageous furniture allowances which Nigerians protested against. With such insensitive allowances that are out of tune with the country’s economic reality it is not difficult to see why there are cut-throat battles for seats in the National Assembly as with other political offices in the land.

    On Thursday, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said the National Assembly had reduced its overhead in the 2015 budget by 25 percent in response to the economic realities in the country. Much as this is commendable, we are yet to know what impact this would have on the overall budget proposal, especially with regard to provision of infrastructure. What is required is not an arbitrary cut in budget but a holistic approach to see which of the loads the taxpayers are now carrying that should be shelved, not just by the NASS members but the entire government machinery.

  • The NFF-Keshi shenanigans

    The NFF-Keshi shenanigans

    •So sad, Nigeria’s football authorities can’t seem to hire a coach!

    Nigeria’s senior football team, the Super Eagles, has been without a coach for nearly six months running. What this means is that Nigeria has no national football coach, that face of every nation’s football prowess and pride. It also means that Nigeria’s foot-balling powerhouse, the senior team, has been circumscribed for so long, leaving it in disarray and in retreat. Friendly matches with Brazil, South Africa and Ghana have been outside our ken since then.

    If football had not become one of the most significant pastimes of not only the world youth but, the entire humanity, this would be no matter of concern. But football has not only become modern man’s most loved game, it is also one of his biggest businesses. Not the least, it is one of the most structured and gainful ways of engaging today’s youth. Football, therefore, is gradually becoming among the most important national strategic assets and serious nations are not leaving anything to chance in maximising its potentials.

    As in all other spheres of endeavour, Nigeria’s leadership does not seem to pay attention to matters, weighty or otherwise. In fact we tend to wonder whether our government knows the difference or cares at that.

    This must explain why over six months after Nigeria’s Super Eagles disgracefully failed to qualify for the last African Cup of Nations (ACN), a tournament in which she was defending champions, she still cannot manage to install a coach. Most other countries of Africa that needed to change their coaches had done so in transparent, structured and competitive processes.

    But if Nigeria was a land of aberrations, our football house under the aegis of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is the operational template of that morass. It is a house of intrigues and endless shenanigans. It has long become the migraine of a multitudinous Nigerian football lovers and the nemesis of even the world football house, FIFA. Its misbehaviour has neither limits nor methods.

    After its failure at the Nations Cup, South Africa promptly recruited another coach, an open process in which even out-of-favour Nigeria’s coach, Stephen Keshi participated. It is the same report with Burkina Faso. She accomplished hers barely two weeks after the close of the Nation’s Cup last February.

    After leading the Super Eagles to a glorious Nations Cup victory in South Africa in 2013, Keshi has accomplished little since then and the team has been in the doldrums. It is obvious that Nigerians do not want him any longer and indeed, would love to pave a new path. But the NFF always embroiled in self-serving intrigues has shied to do the right thing.

    Need we reiterate the importance of the round leather game and the significance of a nation’s senior coach to the NFF? Need we remind them that without a respected and quality senior national coach, it would be difficult to make real progress in a nation’s football? A national coach is the face and icon of a country. Successful, trophy-winning ones are national heroes, more loved than presidents.

    We appeal to the folks at the NFF to stop making a laughing stock of our great foot-balling nation; they should stop fooling around and do the right thing. There are standard templates for employing national coaches across the world. If they need our advice, they should stand Keshi down immediately and call for applications from all over the world, including Nigeria. Including Keshi! A technical panel would assess and pick the best that fits our requirements, terms and conditions.

    This process is so simple; as simple as ABC and it can be done in two weeks flat!

  • Abubakar Gimba (1952 – 2015)

    Abubakar Gimba (1952 – 2015)

    • A literary icon departs

    When a literator leaves the world of letters in the context of death, it is a time to reflect on the potential immortality of the literary creation. It is true to say that more than any other aspect of  his multi-dimensional life, Malam Abubakar Gimba’s writing life was the one most likely to earn him a place to stand long after he is no more.  His passing on February 25 in Minna, Niger State, brought this reality to the fore.

    It is instructive that, as a mark of respect to the departed former President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) between 1997 and 2001, another previous chief of the group, Dr. Wale Okediran, unveiled a writer’s award named after Gimba. Okediran said: “The annual literature prize will be known as the Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Stories Collection, and will be initially worth N200, 000, with another N100, 000 for its administration. It is my hope that since the announcements for this year’s prizes have not been made, the new prize can commence from this year.”

    Gimba, who was aged 63 and born in Nasarawa, not only made history as the first writer of northern origin to head the ANA, his body of work established him as a prominent contemporary English language-novelist from Northern Nigeria. His fictional books include Trial of sacrifice (1985), Witnesses to tears (1986), Sunset for a Mandarin (1991), Sacred apples (1994), A Toast in the Cemetery (2002) and Letter to the Muslim Fundamentalist (2004). Significantly, he was a writer who took his writing seriously, even if his realist mode was not particularly notable.

    It is noteworthy that the Niger State government acknowledged Gimba’s role in the state’s educational development, especially his contribution as the foundation Implementation Committee Chairman of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) University, Lapai, and the first Pro-Chancellor of the university. Also, he played an important part in the process leading to the establishment of the University of Education, Minna. “It will not be out of place if we name the University of Education after him,” the state’s acting governor was quoted as saying.

    His background as an economist, with first and second degrees in Economics, earned from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the USA, made his literary passion a subject of enduring fascination. It is a reflection of his remarkable enthusiasm for creative writing that in the year 2000 he attended the University of Iowa’s prestigious writing programme with support from the US Embassy in Nigeria.

    Interestingly, Gimba’s legacy in the service of Literature outshines his extra-literary involvements, including positions as Executive Director of United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Union Bank of Nigeria and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Niger State, and chairman of the Concern Foundation and Savannah Publications Ltd.

    He will be remembered and appreciated for his enthusiastic effort to give the ANA a truly national outlook and image during his tenure as the body’s president. It is illuminating that Okediran who worked with him as general secretary at the time said: “Gimba was a very methodical ANA President who used his connections in government and business circles to get funding for the association’s programmes. He was also quite committed to the growth of the association. Several times, he used his personal financial resources to run ANA. It is on record that during his tenure, we were able to secure a certificate of occupancy for the ANA land in Abuja. Until he became President, it was difficult to do this.”

    Symbolically, against the backdrop of the country’s ongoing terror war to counter Islamist rebels opposed to Western education, Gimba’s activities as a Muslim writer and his adoption of English as his medium made powerful statements about his enlightenment as well as his social vision. In particular, Gimba’s sponsorship of an annual Schools Carnival of Art and Festival of Songs in Niger State for 10 years demonstrated his cultural essence. It is a tribute to his value that the Federal Government honoured him with a national decoration, the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

  • Adieu Gimba, my mentor

    Adieu Gimba, my mentor

    SIR: Life has taught me that attaining greatness is simply a question of the array of individuals you associate with, the books you read, places you go to and God’s unmerited grace available to all.

    The late Abubakar Gimba, author of the famous, Witnesses To Tears, Sunset For A Mandarin, Sacred Apples, Footprints among other titles was one individual that I cultivated a distant, but very beneficial relationship with. What later blossomed into a father and son kind of affiliation began when I first read his award-winning novel, Witnesses to Tears as one of the recommended texts for the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board exams more than a decade ago.

    I so fell in love with the book that I pleasurably read it over and over again. The almost flawless text has the trappings of a good literary effort. The simple diction, flawless grammar, consistent concord and flowery line of narration made the book second to none. The book fired up my passion for literature, arts and creativity generally. Witnesses to Tears is more than a novel, it is a complete dossier of what art represents – life, fulfilment, pleasure, freedom and exploration.

    Strangely however, we never had physical contact before he passed on last week. All I know and understand about this literary Iroko are largely based on his works and the confessional statements of his countless apostles, like BM Dzukogi. Having consumed several of his brilliant weekly columns in both Weekly Trust and Tribune Newspapers, the only thing left for me to do was meeting him in person. I enjoyed his line of thoughts. His arguments were devoid of pettiness, clannish considerations or religious bigotry. He was not a typical Nigerian columnist whose interventions are basically to either defend or promote narrow and often parochial considerations.

    Malam Abubakar Gimba was a man who used his pen to correct societal ills. His literary interventions were quite legendary, very enlightening and laced with strong lessons. His arguments were people-driven, broad-based and filled with penetrating anecdotes needed for deep reasoning.

    He was much more interested in promoting issues that will better the lots of everyone. He was by any standard, a true nationalist and statesman. He related so well with Nigerians across ethnic, religious or tribal divides. He was not a man known for parochialism. So many tongues wagged when, out of sheer conviction and the need to promote unity in diversity, he chose to begin a weekly column in the Ibadan-based Tribune Newspapers. Many wondered what a core northerner of Gimba’s standing could be doing with a paper outside his territory.

    In his passing, humanity is robbed of one its finest minds. The literary community is in somber mood. The body of patriotic Nigerians has lost a consistent member. An ‘A-Class’ writer has exited the stage.

    • Abdullahi Yunusa

    Kubwa, Abuja.

  • Fear and hate at the time of Lent

    SIR: The media helmsman of the Goodluck Jonathan\Sambo team, Femi Fani- Kayode has clearly defined his job in a way that will haunt our politics as well as the very concept of societal cohesion and indeed of social solidarity upon which as of necessity a republic should be constructed upon, for a very long time to come.

    The unhealthy template he has set bears a disconcerting, striking resemblance to the modus operandi of Hitler‘s propaganda minister the perfidious Franz Josef Goebells.Columnist Femi Aribisala has also joined in on the same band-wagon.

    We all know that electoral contests are by their very nature divisive. Nevertheless, an election should not be positioned in such a way as to destroy the very basis of democracy as well as by cynical manipulation whose end result will be to tear apart the fabric of society.  Elections ought to be conducted within the context of a preexisting national democratic arrangement.

    In the true manner of the template set by Goebells, all the fault lines are being ruthlessly exploited. Ethnicity, religion, regional differences, no holds are barred and there is obviously no intention to take prisoners. For a democracy though there is, has to be, a critical issue: What happens after the elections?

    Much of the big lie on offer is not just offensive to the sensibilities, it is meant to create a permanent rupture undermining the very sustainability of the democratic ethos and of constitutionalism. This way the republic is imperiled.

    The hate speeches coming during lent provides food for thought. The hate maestros do not just resemble Goebells which is bad enough, they also bear a sickening resemblance to the ultimate bogeyman Pontius Pilate. Through the ages, every Sunday school pupil has been taught to regard Pilate as a‘ bad man‘. Pilate was more than just your run of the mill ‘bad man‘, his place in eternal infamy was earned because of the way he abdicated his responsibility.

    Pilate was in actual fact a ‘chancer‘, his eyes firmly fixed on self-preservation. Fixated on his impending comfortable retirement and the prospect of a quick exit from a perennially problematic Roman colony\outpost in Judea he simply cut and run, washing his hands off the matter.

    His successors today demonstrate the same trait. Those who use hate speeches and divisive politics based on exploiting divisions based on religion and tribe follow in the footsteps of Pontius Pilate.

    As Bob Marley said ‘when the rain falls it won’t fall on one man`s house.`Like Pilate Femi Fani-Kayode obviously believes that his house will be exempted. This is not going to happen of course but the deluded always have this erroneous belief.

    Now that we are in lent, might we ask in all of this what is the light that surprises the Christian as he prays?It cannot be about enveloping the polity in the politics of hate.That is not withing the context, meaning as well as the interpretation of this seminal season.

    The light that should guide the Christian at this time is clearly foretold by St Francis of Assisi. The words of St Francis were recollected by Mrs Margret Thatcher on her first day in office as Prime Minister:

    ‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope‘.

    It is obvious that those jumping from pulpit to pulpit while at the same time promoting hate have never really thought about the import of St Francis‘ prayer. Quite honestly they should.

     

    • Ayo Badmus,

     Osogbo

  • Great people, good nation

    •A vulnerable Nigerian receives abundant assistance 

    In spite of the spreading moral decay into which Nigeria appears to have fallen, it is heartwarming to see unambiguous demonstrations of love, empathy and generosity by distinguished corporate bodies and ordinary people to fellow-citizens in desperate need.

    This was the case of Owolabi Oladunjoye, a 17-year-old bus conductor who was one of 14 victims involved in an accident on the Third Mainland Bridge on January 23, 2015. Having fallen unconscious, he and another victim of the crash were taken to St. Nicholas Hospital on Lagos Island by a Good Samaritan, where he was admitted and treated until he regained consciousness several days later.

    After identifying himself and admitting that he did not have a fixed address, Mr. Razak Yusuf, a housekeeper in the hospital, undertook to locate Owolabi’s relations in Lagos. After a great deal of effort, they were traced and his mother in Ede, Osun State, was contacted. The management of St. Nicholas Hospital presented the convalescing Owolabi with a monetary gift to aid him in paying for his West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), which had caused him to abscond from home.

    This tale is significant for the way in which it reveals a happy convergence of corporate social responsibility and a strong sense of moral obligation. St. Nicholas must be commended for the manner in which it chose to live up to its ideals by admitting two accident victims and treating them without demanding any money from the person who brought them in. Both were given comprehensive treatment free of charge, including intensive care for Owolabi, who was also given financial assistance and a commitment to further medical checks. The hospital found a suitable confederate in Mr. Yusuf, who went above and beyond the call of duty in tracing Owolabi’s relations across two states and the nooks and crannies of inner-city Lagos.

    When corporate organisations and individuals act with such selflessness, with no other thought than that of the wellbeing of their compatriots, it becomes evident that there is some hope for the prospect of Nigeria becoming a true home for all its citizens. St. Nicholas did not behave with the notorious indifference of many Nigerian healthcare institutions which usually demand the payment of hefty admission fees before treatment, even in emergency cases. It did not seek to simply stabilise the patients and then get rid of them. Mr. Yusuf was not tasked with the assignment of locating Owolabi’s relations, but he did it as if he had a personal interest in the outcome.

    These are the institutions and people of whom Nigeria can justly be proud. Unlike the greed, corruption and selfishness with which the nation is only too familiar, they reveal an admirable capacity to rise above the predatory instincts that abound in contemporary society.

    Owolabi’s predicament throws up several issues whose resolution could help to mitigate the occurrence of similar situations in future. His inability to pay his WASSCE fees would not have arisen if they had been covered by government. It would not have been so easy for a minor to get employment as a bus-conductor if there had been a proper process of training and registration in place. He might not have remained unidentified for so long if the interminably-delayed national identification system had been set up. The actions of St. Nicholas would not have been so unusual if the federal and state governments had ensured that hospitals obeyed laid-down regulations regarding the mandatory admission of all emergency cases.

    It is clear that Nigeria is full of organisations and individuals who are willing and able to make sacrifices for the progress of their nation. Such sacrifices must become the rule rather than the exception if the country is to attain its true potential for greatness.

  • The fire this time

    •The Ebonyi crisis and impeachment frenzy should not be allowed to burn down the state

    Ebonyi State is on the verge of crisis, unless the political actors apply the brake. To stop the descent into anarchy, we urge the security agencies to rein in those responsible for the recent fire incident in the state House of Assembly, believed to be arson. The selective pattern of the fire incident lends credence to the fear that the political actors may now be resorting to impunity, just to have their way at all costs. The contending forces for political supremacy in the state are led by Governor Martin Elechi and former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, respectively.

    According to reports, the biggest prize at stake is the state governorship, which has pitted Governor Elechi who is allegedly sponsoring a candidate under the Labour Party (LP), against Senator Anyim, who is allegedly sponsoring the deputy governor, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). For the governor’s camp, the Abuja power brokers, led by Senator Anyim, allegedly orchestrated the rigging of the party primaries in favour of the deputy governor. According to them, it was in protest that the governor’s group moved their candidates to the Labour Party.

    For us, while political ambition is legitimate for all the actors, the resort to illegitimate process and wilful destruction of public property is anathema to democratic ethos. Also reprehensible are the intrigues and rigging which allegedly trailed the PDP party primary, through which the deputy governor emerged. With the parties’ primaries settled, albeit unconscionably, as claimed by some, the voters should have been left to determine their preferences at the next general election. But instead, it appears the Abuja group is determined to foist its preferred candidate on the state, by impeaching the incumbent governor.

    It is widely feared that it is the determination of those loyal to Senator Anyim to impeach the governor that is precipitating the crisis in the legislature. The fire incident which affected the offices of those loyal to the governor and the subsequent suspension of some of them, lend support to this view. As many believe, President Goodluck Jonathan has his sympathy for those pushing to oust the governor, considering that Senator Anyim is close to him. While those sympathetic to the governor are calling for restraint, those loyal to the former Senate President are pressing hard on the throttle.

    With resort to brinkmanship and criminality, Ebonyi State may pay heavily, just like Anambra State, when hoodlums, in connivance with the presidency went after Senator Chris Ngige, then the state governor. Even more fearful is the burning down of the financial records of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, probably to cover up some illicit deals or to gain an upper hand in the crisis. To show that the fire incident may not be a mere accident, the two groups are already pushing for different reaction to the incident. While the governor’s group has asked that the assembly be closed down, the opposing camp is pressing ahead with the impeachment plans. Unfortunately, the president and his party, like in Anambra, behaved like the ostrich until Tuesday when he  summoned the parties to a meeting.

    In the interest of democracy, we urge the political actors in the state, to remember that the impeachment of a state governor is a constitutional matter. To avoid making a mockery of democracy, due process, as laid down by law and upheld by the courts, must be followed. We also urge the PDP-led Federal Government not to always resort to arm-twisting tactics, to gain advantage over others, just because the Federal Government which it controls is in charge of the instrument of coercion in the country. Law, we urge, should save Ebonyi from anarchy.

  • CAN of worms

    CAN of worms

    •The allegation that the Jonathan campaign gave CAN at least N6 billion bribe does the image of Nigerian Christendom no good

    Governor Chibuike Amaechi, the director-general of the Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign, first made the allegation: that the Jonathan campaign had bribed the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to prevail on Christians, on religious basis, to vote against Gen. Buhari.

    CAN denied the charge. That mere allegation also made an obviously embarrassed Pastor Enoch Adeboye, general overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, to warn whoever received bribe from Jonathan to return it, or risk being consumed by the fire of God.

    Shortly after, however,  Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, a Maiduguri-based pastor, restated the allegation, further claiming the alleged bribe money was indeed N7 billion, and not N6 billion, as Governor Amaechi alleged. He claimed the Jonathan campaign handed over the money to CAN, which then proceeded to share the money N3million per CAN branch nationwide.

    Pastor Musa-Dikwa, who claimed he was neither for nor against Jonathan and Buhari, claiming both were not good enough for Nigeria, said he fell out with CAN because of its alleged itchy fingers. He recalled a visitation from CAN-Americas, who came on a compassionate visit to Boko Haram victims, and donated US$ 50, 000 to aid the comfort and rehabilitation of the victims. But to his dismay, Pastor Musa-Dikwa claimed, CAN gave the local CAN only N100, 000 and allegedly pocketed the rest! He went further to claim that when the N7 billion bribe scandal broke, “I (sent a) text (message) to the leadership of the CAN to repent or be exposed.”

    But Sunday Oibe, the public relations officer (PRO) for the CAN northern chapter, denied the allegation as ridiculous, claiming it was a fib by alleged mischief makers to rubbish the image of CAN. If-you-Tarka-me-I’ll-Daboh-you fashion, Emmah Isong, Cross River State Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) chairman, also claimed Governor Amaechi allegedly bribed 500 pastors to support Gen. Buhari. Joseph Tarka and Godwin Daboh (both dead) were involved in mutual bribery allegations, in a big scandal, under the Yakubu Gowon regime in the 1970s.

    Still, Bishop Isong’s intervention is not clear. If indeed Amaechi bribed CAN as he alleged — and the Bishop did not say CAN refused the alleged bribe — are we now to believe CAN was also game in the Amaechi allegation that the body received from Jonathan N6 billion, or indeed N7 billion as Pastor Musa-Dikwa also claimed, insisting that the conduit for the money was through the National CAN, headed by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor?

    Whatever the truth in these allegations and counter-allegations, Christendom Nigeria must be sorely worried about its image. A politician, no matter how highly placed (as President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Amaechi are in this particular case) can be charged with a bribe-for-vote allegation. It definitely is not right but he could claim some electioneering cover.  Besides, even the best of politicians are still politicians — and politicians, as a bloc, are nobody’s moral paragon worldwide.

    But to accuse the men of God of racketeering in campaign season slush funds — and also go to the extent of using the alleged money to poison the minds of their members against fellow Nigerians on strictly religious basis? It is a CAN of worms indeed, and the founding fathers of this Christian body will be thoroughly ashamed; while succeeding generations would look back and damn the present CAN, long after this period of madness has passed.

    President Jonathan is at the centre of this grievous allegation. Alleged bribery of voters is bad enough. But the real danger is a president perceived, for electoral purposes, to be driving a religious wedge between Nigerian Christians and Muslim. That will surely blight his memory, whatever happens on March 28. Still, CAN and the whole body of Nigerian Christians should fervently pray that this little rascality of sweet money secretly changing hands does not land Nigeria in big religious trouble. No country ever survives a religious war sane.

    Whoever CAN chooses as its president is its business. But even the body should by now be questioning the wisdom of Ayo Oritsejafor as president. His era of scandals has brought CAN nothing but odium among right-thinking Nigerians, Christian or Muslim.

  • Sack Mbu now

    Sack Mbu now

    •If he were not a cop, he should have been in a dock

    Policemen in civilised climes are taught to be well comported in their interface with the populace. This is essential because they are peace enforcers and cannot afford to be seen as bullies of the citizenry that they are paid to protect. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) ordinarily should be civilised even though the acts of  misconduct of some men and officers like Joseph Mbu, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Lagos, have called to question the faculty of the police to discharge its constitutional duties.

    We owe nobody apologies for concluding that with a top officer like AIG Mbu in the force, that otherwise invaluable institution is fast losing its established essence. The reason is not farfetched. Recently, Mbu was reported in the media to have said that for every one policeman killed, he would kill 20 civilians in return. We had thought that he was quoted out of context but in a crass display of impunity, the top cop, again, repeated last week in the media that it matters not the number of people that policemen under his command could kill in self-defence.

    Mbu was at his rampaging best while speaking with journalists at the inauguration of the Olorunsogo II Power Station by President Goodluck Jonathan in Olorunsogo area of Ogun State when he declared: “I still stand by what I said…The number I kill is immaterial because a policeman is also a human being… And what I said is very clear: that if any violent group attacks my policemen, my policemen should attack them violently.’’

    We recollect that Mbu had said in widely condemned outbursts while addressing his men at the Ogun State Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta: “If one of my men is killed, I shall kill 20 of them, but don’t shoot first. If they shoot you, shoot back in self-defence. Anybody who fires you, fire him back in self-defence.”

    The scary deductions from Mbu’s unprofessional statement have dire consequences on what to expect from policing during the forthcoming elections and even beyond. It also shows how insignificant the police leadership holds human lives that the constitution deems sacrosanct. The police as an institution is saddled with prevention or quelling of riots and not to cause further conflagration through indiscriminate killings. The country is presumed to be running a civil government and what is expected of the police in a democracy, at critical moments, is to get suspected criminals apprehended and later arraigned in a court of law where judgment will be passed. Contrary to Mbu’s irrational position of canvassing for resort to kangaroo justice where he said; ‘Is it not when the person is alive that he is coming to give evidence?’; we state that times over, witnesses to murder cases, and not victims of murder, had secured conviction in the courts in the past.

    Since Mbu resumed in Lagos, he has demonstrated that he has come to intimidate, harass and possibly kill rather than do strict police duties, as his statement had confirmed. As a commissioner of police in Rivers State, he left the ‘Garden City’ as a controversial cop before he was rewarded with a promotion and a new posting to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Obviously, he has not turned a new leaf in Lagos, as he was once reported to have locked-up a ticket officer of the Lekki Toll Concessionaire Company for daring to ask his convoy to pay toll at its gate. What impunity!

    We consider as a sad commentary that the Inspector-General of Police has not deemed it necessary to call Mbu to order. The truth is that the likes of Mbu should not even be in the force because he and his ilk constitute a serious threat to the society.