The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • AFCON 2015 blackout

    AFCON 2015 blackout

    Eagles’ ouster from Equatorial Guinea should serve as a sober rebuilding process

    For the second time in four years, the Super Eagles have failed to qualify for the 30th African Cup of Nations (AFCON), taking place in Equatorial Guinea from 17 January to 8 February 2015.

    Though Stephen Keshi led his bunch of near-rookies to emerge surprise champions in South Africa at the 29th edition in 2013, he has joined Samson Siasia in the ranks of Nigerian coaches that fail to qualify Nigeria for AFCON, which many Nigerians, perhaps erroneously, believe ought to be Nigeria’s birth right.

    On the emotional plain — and football is indeed a highly passionate sport — Keshi, the famed Big Boss, one of only two Africans to have won AFCON as player (1994) and coach (2013), has plumbed from grace to grass. But it is only a game; and one side must lose for the other to win. So, the AFCON blackout is only a reality of life: a cycle of success and failure.

    For defending champions though, the AFCON 2015 failed qualifying campaigns were nothing near sterling, in a group that comprised South Africa, Sudan, Congo Brazzaville and Nigeria. In a group that was supposed to be a shoo-in, Nigeria with two wins, two draws and two losses could only manage a third placing. Not only that: it nearly, for the first time, lost to South Africa in a competitive match, and at home: coming from 0:2 down to salvage a 2:2 draw in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

    But what hard lessons can we take from this set-back? First, sports must be isolated from politics, even if it is politicians that take decisions in a democracy. Perhaps it was a mere coincidence but it would appear the Eagles’ lot started nose-diving after the change of guard at the Sports Ministry, with a change of minister.

    To build institutions, quality personnel should stay on their jobs as long as necessary. Like the situation in the Power Ministry where the performing Berth Nnaji was dropped even where there was ample evidence that he was delivering verifiable results in the stubborn power sector, Bolaji Abdullahi too was a victim of political feuding. As in Power, the Eagles’ ouster is a national grief.

    Then, football administration. Aminu Maigari’s Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) posted one of the most impressive results in recent times: won U-17 World Cup in UAE, won AFCON 2013 in South Africa, came third in CHAN 2014, also in South Africa, and qualified Nigeria for the World Cup, Brazil 2014, where the team was ousted in the second round.

    Still, Alhaji Maigari came back from the World Cup to full demonization! Whatever the issues were, that was clearly de-motivational. Sports politics should not go that far, particularly when administration is about the weakest link in African football. With the Amaju Pinnick NFF now in place, everything should be done to strengthen football administration to make for focus and stability; and therefore guarantee better results.

    With better administration, a conscious effort must be made to restructure Nigerian football. Whatever the NFF wants to do about coaching, vis-a-vis hiring a foreigner instead of local coaches for the Eagles, let it get done with the decision.

    Beyond that, it should restructure the whole system such that the age-grade competitions, for which Nigeria are even the defending U-17 World champions, tolerate no age cheats. Something is certainly awry, with Nigeria’s age-grade champions wilting away, while countries that our boys vanquished at those competitions perform better at full international levels, and boast higher pecking orders at club sides. Nigeria should jettison the win-at-all-cost syndrome (which breeds all the alleged cheating) and concentrate on developmental football.

    The failure to qualify for Equatorial Guinea is disappointing for a football-crazy country. Still, life is not about not falling; but about falling and scrambling up. Nigeria should therefore use this disappointment to plot its way to the top again. With focus, seriousness and determination, it is very possible.

  • Double standard

    Double standard

    We are still at a loss as to why Ali Modu Sheriff has to be guarded by many soldiers

    Ali Modu Sheriff, former Borno State governor is one man that never ceases to be in the news; albeit for the wrong reasons. At various times, he was alleged to be Boko Haram sponsor and sometimes pointedly accused of playing politics without principles. Since he decamped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the patronage he enjoys from the centre government has been unsettling.

    Recently, Sheriff in his usual controversial manner reportedly held Maiduguri spell-bound during a visit to the ancient town. Even before his arrival, the airport was purportedly cordoned off by security operatives in armoured personnel carriers (APCs), a privilege that even the sitting governor of the state does not enjoy. In June, the Federal Government opened the airport after several months of closure for security reasons when Sheriff newly decamped to PDP. This was done specifically to allow him use the facility.

    The drama of his visit is unnecessary. For, hours after he left the airport in a motorcade this time around, he moved about Maiduguri metropolis with several soldiers, policemen and operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) who followed his convoy while other soldiers stood at various locations just to ensure ample safety for him. In his company were Mala Sheriff, his brother and PDP governorship aspirant; Kashim Imam, Gambo Lawan and Umara Kumalia. With these men, Sheriff underscored the contempt that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration has for the suffering inhabitants of that state who have been under Boko Haram siege for years.

    What is special about Sheriff that the government is according him such preferential treatment? May be the government needs to be reminded that the Nigerian Army is not for Ali Modu Sheriff but for all Nigerians and the institution exists to ward off internal and external aggressions against the country.

    Again, why does Sheriff need so much security if he is not scared of his past or afraid of his shadow? Even Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima does not command such large retinue of police and other security personnel, not to talk of soldiers, in conducting his daily routine, yet, someone whose alleged contributions to the fragile security situation in the state is legendary is being unnecessarily given undue state protection.

    It is the ordinary people in all parts  of Borno State that need police and effective military protection against rampaging Boko Haram onslaughts, not an individual. We call on the authorities to henceforth stop the abuse of the military and even the police, through wrongful deployment. Soldiers in sane societies are meant to protect the country’s territorial sovereignty; they are not to be used to guard and massage the ego and pride of the privileged.

    Once again, we deprecate the private use to which even the police personnel are wantonly put and call for equal treatment of all indigenes and inhabitants of Borno State, of which Sheriff is just a number. The double standard of the Federal Government against the people and government of the beleaguered state must stop in the name of equity and fairness. The people, more than anything else, not Sheriff and his surrogates, obviously need security fortification because the present security arrangement in the state put together by the centre government is suspect.

  • Immunisation alarm

    Immunisation alarm

    It is a cause for concern that as many as 2.7m Nigerian kids were not vaccinated against measles

    For an alarmingly great number of newborn babies in the country, the undesirable possibility of measles infection is not only real but also high, considering the latest statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in separate publications. According to the new data, published in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Report and the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2.7 million Nigerian children were not vaccinated against measles at nine months of age last year. Sadly, this is contrary to the WHO recommendation, and the reports said such failure increased the risk of serious health challenges like pneumonia, diarrhoea, encephalitis and blindness, among the unimmunised children.

    More worrying is the truth that measles could lead to death in extreme cases. Indeed, the WHO report said: “The vast majority of deaths from measles occur in developing countries.” Furthermore, “over 70 per cent of estimated global measles death” in 2013 reportedly occurred in six countries, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries, in that order, were identified in connection with more than 60 per cent of the estimated 21.5 million unimmunised children last year.

    It is tragic that the figures showed a rise in the number of deaths from measles, from an estimated 122,000 in 2012 to 145,700 in 2013, meaning that the target of a 95 per cent reduction in measles-related deaths between 2000 and 2015 is unlikely to be achieved. It is instructive that Dr. Peter Strebel of the WHO Department of Immunisation, Vaccines, and Biologicals, was quoted as saying: “Poor progress in increasing measles vaccination coverage has resulted in large outbreaks of this highly contagious disease, throwing the 2015 elimination targets off-track.”

    Lamentably, the disease is said to have received a boost in 2013 largely as a result of outbreaks in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. It may be recalled that historically low vaccination levels in northern Nigeria reportedly sank lower from early 2000 following the controversy about the motive for polio vaccines, which radical Islamic preachers claimed was a Western move to make Muslims infertile and infect them with HIV.  It is not surprising that this situation reportedly led to a significant increase in cases of measles and the related deaths of hundreds of children in the region.

    The wisdom in vaccination may be better appreciated against the background of the description of measles as “an airborne disease that is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person’s nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission via coughing or sneezing), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing living space with an infected person will catch it.”

    So, it is easy to understand that unvaccinated populations, especially vulnerable babies, are at risk from the disease. In this context, the importance of public enlightenment and awareness cannot be overemphasised; and anti-scientific sentiments, particularly of ethnic and religious colouration, should not be accommodated. It goes without saying that effective advancements in medical science can bring about the elimination of the disease, and that is the point of the WHO target.

    Nigeria cannot afford to be seen as a negative factor in the otherwise progressive march towards the elimination of measles. In addition to promptly addressing the education aspect, the country must tackle other problematic issues, particularly its health system; and conflict and population displacement, which are also said to have interfered with vaccination efforts.

    Perhaps the last word should come from Dr. Strebel who said: “Countries urgently need to prioritise maintaining and improving immunisation coverage. Failure to reverse this alarming trend could jeopardise the momentum generated by a decade of achievements in reducing measles mortality.” We couldn’t agree more.

  • Creaming off

    Creaming off

    •Federal Government throwing more money into privatised power firms will not solve the problem

    Finally, a whopping $213 billion has been harnessed by the government and warehoused for the sole use of the newly privatised power firms in the hope that they will begin to behave better and light up the country. But since we believe strongly that funding may not be the problem of the Nigeria power sector, we may well be witnessing an exercise in futility and so much pearl thrown at swine.

    After so many decades of heeing and hawing, Nigeria’s power sector which was solely a public affair was privatised. Government divested her majority interests in generating (Gencos) and distribution (Discos) companies. Since November 1, 2013, government had licensed over a dozen private Gencos and Discos that now generate and distribute electricity across the country. The transmission leg of the electricity chain was handed to another private firm (Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN) in a lease management arrangement.

    But one year after government’s divestment and one year of private firms running electricity generation and distribution in Nigeria, the only things that seem to have changed are rapidly rising tariffs and more frequent outages. Power generation has remained low and sometimes dropping to crisis levels. Distribution continues at its old lackadaisical best, reminiscent of the old days when it was marinated in government’s bureaucratic morass of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN.

    Watchers of the sector have adduced numerous reasons why the power situation has regressed even after privatisation. First, it is believed that the bidding process was compromised and the wrong people were favoured by government. The crisis leading to the forced removal of the then power minister, Professor Barth Nnaji, is a pointer. Second, there is no evidence that the new owners are anxious to make investment commitments as expected. Having raised huge facilities from banks to acquire the assets, most of them are simply creaming off the substantial earnings from their operations to pay back loans; most of the new so-called investors have made little financial commitment to the project.

    Another point to ponder is: was there no due diligence by the new investors? How come they did not find out that there was a huge debt overhang in the power sector? Why were the dilapidated assets they groan about now not revealed before the purchase? Why are so many issues being raised only after the plants had been acquired?

    Tariff has been increased twice in one year since divestment and another one planned for December, yet service remains poor. There seems to be much more than meets the eye in the entire power transactions. For instance, new owners have hedged in meterising the system; conveniently adopting the old, but non-accounting method of power distribution. The modest pre-privatisation efforts at metering were jettisoned. Even consumers who for many years had paid for meters (which were supposed to be issued free of charge in the first place) are yet to get the instrument.

    In a sense, it is salutary that the Federal Government is not giving up as it strains to right its wrongs. Getting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to mobilise long-term funds at low interest to bolster privatised firms would ordinarily be commendable but these are far from ordinary times. Neither are we in ordinary situations. We aver again that the problem with the power sector is not a lack of fund. The sector, like most others, is beset by debilitating corruption.

    There had been over a dozen funds of this nature. Recall the Nigeria Shipping Fund; an earlier power fund in 2010 and an airlines rescue funds, to name a few. None of these was ever accounted for. They were funds that were suspected to have largely ended up in private pockets.

    We warn once again that what is happening is a vicious cycle of government and its cronies in the power sector creaming off the nation’s common wealth. Nigerians need to know: how much have the various investors injected; how much have they realised from operating the firms; how much real stake do they have; is there a chance that firms merely creaming off could lose their licenses?  More questions than answers.

     

  • Search for research

    Search for research

    •· N7.8 billion university research funds underutilised

    The shocking announcement that N7.8 billion in funds meant for research in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are yet to be drawn upon is a sobering reminder of the fact that the lack of money is not always the major problem confronting the enhancement of research in the country. According to the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, N10.052 billion was allocated to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for institution-based research between 2009 and 2014. The funds are domiciled in Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and are accessible to federal and state-owned tertiary institutions. Over 70 per cent of this amount has not been touched, a development the minister sees as demonstrative of a lack of seriousness on the part of the putative recipients.

    Along with teaching and community service, research is a pillar of the tertiary education system. Research is vital to the social, economic and political progress of any society. World Bank figures show that the United States spent 2.79 per cent of its GDP on research and development between 2010 and 2014; China spent 1.98 per cent within the same period. The fact that similar figures are not available for Nigeria is an unflattering testimony of the nation.

    Whenever unions like the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) embark on their often-interminable strike actions, the lack of funding for research activities is usually one of their major grievances. They complain that the low ranking of Nigeria’s higher institutions is due to the dearth of research conducted within them, and cannot be remedied without proper funding. The unions often go on to argue that the alleged refusal of federal and state governments to provide the required funds is part of comprehensive attempts to cripple the country’s education system, and thereby render it less “troublesome.”

    There is obviously a profound disconnect between the demand for research funds and their blatant under-utilisation, and it is a situation for which all the concerned parties are responsible. The administrators of TETFund have not done enough to publicise the availability of research funds; the tertiary institutions could have done more to avail themselves of the funds; the unions ought to have focused their energies on accessing what was available, instead of making unsubstantiated accusations.

    TETFund appears to be more interested in sitting on the money than ensuring that it is properly utilised. In an information technology era, there is no reason why it has not embarked upon a relentless publicity campaign to ensure that there is keen competition for the research funds domiciled with it. If Nigerian researchers assiduously apply for grants from bodies like the Ford and Carnegie Foundations, there can be no reason why they should overlook locally-available funds.

    The nation’s tertiary institutions are perhaps the most culpable culprits of all. They are supposed to be more aware than anyone else of the significance of research and the vital necessity of obtaining the resources with which to propagate it. Securing research grants should be made a mandatory condition for promotion; comprehensive programmes should be set up to enlighten lecturers on the research-grant writing process; closer cooperation should be sought with funding agencies such as TETFund in order to ensure that opportunities are not wasted.

    The unions must seek to protest less and achieve more. They should transcend the superficial satisfactions inherent in blaming federal and state governments for all that is wrong in tertiary education and focus on solutions. It makes no sense to demand increased funding for research if available funds have not been fully utilised. The unions should concentrate on ensuring that whatever bureaucratic or other unnecessary obstacles prevent their members from accessing research funds are overcome.

    Money for research is available. Tertiary institutions are full of viable research projects crying out for funding. It is time to stop making excuses and put those funds to work. In the abundance of water, only the fool is thirsty.

     

  • Security agencies and 2015

    Security agencies and 2015

    •The vandalisation of APC data centre is an indication of crooked plans for forthcoming elections

    Most of the actions taken by the Federal Government and the security agencies in the past six months have shown that the 2015 elections may be marred by violence. The attack last Saturday on the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) Ikeja, Lagos Data Centre is another pointer to the government’s disregard for the rule of law. The mode of operation of the security men who invaded the centre bore marks of hoodlums who lacked training and decorum. The three private security men on duty were arrested along with data analysts, even as the invaders carted away documents and computers.

    In a bid to gain access, the gate was said to have been pulled down, computers vandalised and the server disconnected.

    The Nigerian Navy’s denial of involvement is a redeeming feature in the saga as it would be unfortunate if a force trained and empowered to secure the territorial waters could be involved in a clearly partisan operation on land. It is also reassuring the Navy is not denying the possibility of some of its personnel having been procured for the action. We hope that a thorough investigation would be carried out and whoever might have been directly or indirectly implicated punished as some of those who joined in the raid allegedly wore the Navy camouflage.

    On the other hand, the Department of State Security (DSS) might have confirmed a deep seated orientation of its operatives to work against the interest of the Nigerian state and people. Its spokeswoman, Ms. Marilyn Ogar, who confirmed the raid agreed that it was tipped off to carry out the raid by an anonymous petition. She also claimed that the DSS had watched the office for two weeks before moving against it. However, she showed the department’s lack of competence by admitting that despite having the petition and watching the facility for that long, it was unable to determine the owners and nature of activities going on there.

    How could the DSS funded to gather intelligence and nip crimes against the state in the bud claim it acted because there was no signpost to indicate that the facility belongs to the APC? Is she suggesting that it is illegal to keep an office as private as possible? It is appalling that Ms. Ogar does not know that a data centre is not a public place to which attention need be drawn. It is neither a general office nor a registration centre.

    It would not be the first time Ms. Ogar would betray the political inclination. During the Osun State governorship election when the agency deployed men in unusual uniform and was used to pick up chieftains of one of the participating parties, it was the DSS spokeswoman who spoke in a manner suggesting that the men were obeying lawful orders. She alleged that the APC had tried to bribe DSS officials but failed to supply any proof. No one was arrested for the crime of bribery.

    We are concerned that, by the action of the security operatives, democracy is being imperilled in the country. Democracy is known to stand on the Rule of Law and thrives on defined processes and procedures. But, when the government in power chooses to disregard the law and acts whimsically, the opposition and citizenry are encouraged to respond accordingly, thus provoking the break down of law and order. Last week’s show of shame by the police at the National Assembly, the recent withdrawal of security aides of the Speaker of the House of Representatives by the Inspector-General of Police and now the invasion of an APC office are all indications that, desperate to hold on to power, those in power could resort to acts subversive of the good order.

    This impunity must stop now.

     

  • Mockery of the judiciary

    Mockery of the judiciary

    •The Lawan and Emenalo case indicates how mischievous delays and rigmarole subvert justice

    Practitioners of our criminal justice system make a mockery of the country, when criminal trials last for years; and officials of state must gear up to stop it. We consider it a travesty that politically exposed persons indicted for crimes, see it as a leisure walk, without any consequences. The result is that impunity reigns supreme. Shockingly, most times the pattern is the same, with undue delays in the trial, sabotage by state officials, and blackmail of judicial officials by accused persons, as the prime route to the mockery of our criminal justice system.

    The latest of such inanities called criminal trial is that of Farouk Lawan and Boniface Emenalo who allegedly collected $620,000 as bribe from Femi Otedola, in order to remove the name of his company from those indicted by the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, for allegedly defrauding the country. Interestingly, there was an alleged video evidence of the bribery, in what the federal authorities claimed was a ‘sting operation’, which in any sane society would have made the trial fairly straightforward, so as to establish the culpability or innocence of the accused persons.

    But what is simple and straightforward in other climes assumes conspiratorial complications in Nigeria, particularly under the present administrators of our criminal justice system. We recall the trials of other politically exposed persons, like some of the former state governors, which have been stalled for one reason or another. While criminally orchestrated delays may top the list, among the commonest abuses of our court process, the levelling of unfounded allegations against judges, which turn out to be mere smokescreen to buy time or seek a more pliable judge, is one tactics that is so nauseating.

    The trial of Lawan and Emenalo which started under Justice Mudasiru Oniyangi, was aborted and started afresh, following the elevation of the judge to the Court of Appeal. Now, again after the loss of several months, Justice Adebukola Banjoko of an Abuja High Court has withdrawn from the trial to stem an unfounded allegation that sought to impugn the judge’s integrity. It is strange that the accused persons can write a petition alleging bias against the judge, only to withdraw it after the harm has been done, yet there is no punishment for such recklessness.

    Also worrying is that judges fall for such tricks without exercising their powers to punish for contemptuous conduct committed before a judge. Many accused persons, without any iota of proof, resort to this tactics, of accusing the judges of bias. And when the heat raised by such serious allegation is in the public domain, the accused or their lawyer simply apologises, while the judge most times timidly withdraws from the trial, which is what the accused merely wanted to achieve. We detest this use of blackmail to derail criminal trials, and urge the judges to be bold and strong in the face of such intimidation, and go ahead and punish for contempt in facia curia.

    We also condemn the seeming indifference of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to this criminal abuse of our judicial system. While the Federal Government is clearly complicit in some of the abuses suffered by the criminal justice system, at other times the AGF merely stands aloof, and watches our common humiliation, as a modern state, which is what those conducts amount to. As the legal precept posits, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’; and in this instance, both an accused and the state deserve to have a speedy and transparent trial at all times.

     

  • What austerity?

    What austerity?

    The economy requires bold and ambitious measures 

    AFTER failing to stem the industrial scale theft of oil known to have cut oil revenues by more than 20 percent, the Jonathan administration would appear to have finally met its match in the slump in oil prices. With Nigeria’s premium Bonny Light Crude which only a few months ago sold above the $100 mark currently trading at barely $79 per barrel, there are already signs of difficult times ahead for the economy.

    Last week, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala rolled out some measures ostensibly to mitigate the impact of the falling revenues on the budget and, by extension, the economy. The measures proposed include pegging the oil price benchmark for Budget 2015 at  $73 per barrel against $78 earlier proposed; ban on foreign travels by civil servants (unless for those deemed as absolutely necessary); cessation of foreign training programmes except those with foreign sponsorship – all in addition to significantly increasing non-oil revenue via an aggressive tax administration which would see owners of private jets, yachts and lovers of Champagne and other luxury goods pay more tax.

    We have nothing against the proposed measures which even at the best of times, are needed to curb wastes and generally to improve efficiency in governance. Our problem is when the Federal Government, for reasons best known to it, chooses to package and sell placebos as cure for a more acute problem, or more appropriately, when the administration indulges in deliberate misdiagnosis of the problem for self-serving reasons.

    Of course, we know the problem with the economy. It is neither the curse of oil nor its famed volatility. As the examples of United Arab Emirates and Nordic countries have shown, oil can truly be a blessing if well deployed. As for its in-built volatility, the challenge is for the managers of the economy to take steps to mitigate the impact when it occurs. Nigeria unfortunately suffers the tragedy of being stuck with choices foisted by utterly self-serving, blind and incompetent elite – a cabal stuck on old paradigms and with it their obsessions with stacking money in foreign shores against deploying them to fix our ailing infrastructure to improve the environment for doing business. The result is a nation hung on huge foreign balances denominated by the number of months of import cover!

    As it is, it is difficult to speculate on how worse things would get before they get better. The prognosis however is far from reassuring, particularly with no imminent signs of recovery in oil prices. While the fall of the naira to N176 to the dollar in recent weeks – its lowest ever – is a measure of how much its fate is tied to the fortunes of oil, it is also a measure of the free-for- all economy in which corrupt politicians and all manner of flight by night businesses could access the foreign exchange market to perpetuate capital flight.

    The way to go calls for bold and ambitious measures none of which the Jonathan administration seems willing to take. Renewed attention to the enablers of the economy – the props which not only sustain the economy but make it truly competitive and diversified– would be a good starting point. One other sure strategy to relieve the current pressure on the foreign reserves is to crack the riddle of new refineries. We have said it before: using a chunk of foreign exchange for fuel importation is bad for the economy. And, if we may counsel: a regime of belt-tightening offers no guarantee for enhanced economic activities; the best it can achieve is to address perceived distortions. Ultimately, the only enduring strategy is to get the economy working full throttle.

  • Tell us

    Tell us

    Works ministry has to explain what has happened to N19.2bn roads project money

    IN what seems a manifestation of the pervasive culture of impunity in the country, the Federal Ministry of Works has failed to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, Ethics and Values, to explain what has happened to the N19.2billion it received in respect of some road projects across the country, more than two weeks after the committee invited it. And, as if to rub salt on injury, the ministry did not even deem it fit to dignify the committee with a reply.

    The committee had invited the ministry over the road projects based on petitions sent to the lawmakers by concerned citizens alleging that the money had been misapplied. It is only logical for it to invite the ministry with a view to hearing its own side of the story as well as determine what needed be done to hasten the completion of the roads. Faced with a situation where they are not paid for long, it is only a matter of time for the contractors to abandon sites and this is unhelpful to the economy and unfair to Nigerian tax payers.

    A breakdown of the projects and allocations is as follows: Lagos-Shagamu Road (N4 billion); Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway (N4.5 billion); Ilorin-Mokwa-Tigina-Gwari-Kaduna Expressway (N4 billion); Suleja-Minna Road (N2 billion); Abuja-Lokoja Road (N1.7 billion) and Apapa-Oshodi Expressway Phase 11 (N2 billion). About N18.2 billion was initially released for the projects while another N1,055,447,608.16  was allocated to the ministry to enable it properly renovate and refurbish the roads.

    This indeed raises a cause for concern. Why would another N1billion be released for the projects when what was on ground did not justify that even the initial N18billion had been judiciously spent? We agree that given the way things are done in the country, with contract funds not released as at when due to contractors; leading to contract variation, it is possible that the contract costs may have to be adjusted upwards in some circumstances. But then, that should be a function of the work done. We wonder why any public official would have approved such payment. The matter becomes the more curious when it is realised that the contracts are only about two years old.

    All these explain our support to the house committee for promptly responding to the petitions concerning the road contracts. Equally commendable is the fact that the committee did not just act based on the petitions, its members went round to inspect some of these projects and were able to confirm that despite the huge sums released for them, not much progress had been made two years after.

    It is distressing that people in the Federal Ministry of Works who should know the importance of these roads to economic development and be concerned about the hardships faced by road users plying these roads are the ones throwing a spanner in the works. It is even the more disconcerting that the public officials concerned found it difficult to honour an invitation by the house committee saddled with the oversight function on such projects for whatever reason.

    We find this unacceptable and support the committee’s decision to issue a warrant of arrest on the works minister. Indeed, that is the only way to encourage people with genuine petitions against public officials. When nothing is done to those involved in matters like this, people who should serve as whistle blowers would simply recoil into their shells; this is not good for the country.

    We cannot continue to conduct public business this way. People must be made to obey constituted authorities, especially where public funds are involved. The matter is beyond the new permanent secretary that the committee hinted the Federal Government (which also felt concerned about the matter) has just appointed with a mandate to unravel what has happened to the money. That cannot be a substitute for the committee’s job. It is probably a way of sweeping the matter under the carpet.

  • A fretting president

    A fretting president

    Jonathan’s last minute change of mind on EPZ trip bad for his status as C-in-C

    President Goodluck Jonathan’s failure to commission the groundbreaking of the $16 billion export Free Zone facility in Ogidigben has further raised questions about his administration’s commitment to development, fairness and justice. The project, billed to position gas as an alternative to over-reliance on oil as source of revenue for the country, is expected to generate jobs for the youths and sharpen the skills of indigenous professionals to wean the nation off dependence on expatriates to run the oil and gas industry.

    Unfortunately, the project is now mired in the local Ijaw-Itsekiri conflict. The Ijaw have raised query over the location of the project, claiming that the land acquired includes a large portion of Ijaw territory, especially the Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri South West, while the Itsekiri insist that it is wholly sited on Itsekiri land.

    We find it disheartening that President Jonathan allowed militants long used to threatening the peace of the country to frighten him away from performing a statutory function to which he had committed himself. Government Tompolo, one of the Ijaw militants who received pardon during the presidency of the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua was breathing fire and brimstone if the President dared step down from his jet to perform the task. And, the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and symbol of the state lent credence to the suggestion that the Nigerian state is now too weak to show it as more powerful than any rabble-rouser or ragtag army.

    We find it difficult to appreciate the recent decline in the honour and power of the state. In the battle field of the North East, the Boko Haram scourge keeps raging. Territory after territory keeps falling to the insurgents and strange flags are being hoisted as if to show that our armed forces cannot rein in the terrorists. In the Second Republic when a similar sect, the Maitatsine, attempted to confront the nation, the fire was quickly quenched. The might of state was demonstrated and honour restored. No other sect attempted to test its strength against the Nigerian military. And, when forces from Chad made a move to annex Nigerian territory, the Third Armoured Division rose to the occasion by pushing them back far into Chad. It was reassuring.

    Nigeria has invested so much into resolving the Niger Delta crisis than to have this latest challenge of state power and authority. The project itself would have helped to assure the Niger Delta people that the course of reconciliation had not been abandoned. One of the grounds of the unrest in the region was that money being made there was being invested elsewhere; that the oil companies merely despoil the land of the South South, pollute the rivers and then build up Lagos and Abuja. In coming up with a project the size of the proposed EPZ, the Nigerian state was taking steps to correct the impression. But then, the likes of Tompolo and Ijaw irredentists have chosen to throw spanner in the works.

    We accept the submission of the Niger Delta that the region desires closer attention from the state and thus, investment in oil and gas should impact positively on the land. But, steps by men like Tompolo would not advance this cause.

    Tompolo who had earlier been touted as contractor handling the security of the waterways in Lagos, without the needed competence and experience ought to have been called to order by Dr. Jonathan who should have shown that no Nigerian President could be deterred from pursuing the just cause. It is high time Tompolo, who is fast becoming a Frankenstein monster was cut to size. Unless this is done, other militants would rise against the state in pursuing sectarian interests. Tompolo himself could begin to imagine that he is a Commander-in-Chief of the same stature as the Nigerian Head of State.

    We also call on Ijaw and Itsekiri leaders and governors of the zone to call their men to order. They should conserve the energy being exerted in this war of attrition for the war against poverty. The Nigerian state deserves honour from all for so long as we all belong to it. The symbols of state must be preserved and whoever challenges the country’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or stands in the way of development is a common enemy and should be treated as such.