The Nation Newspaper

Category: Waheed Odusile

Where are the soldiers?

The Nigerian military since inception has proven not only to be a good, effective and efficient fighting machine but also a strong vehicle for national unity and cohesion. When the country was on the verge of disintegration following the crises that led to the unfortunate 30-month civil war, it was the patriotic soldiers that fought to hold us together. The patriotic slogan then was ‘To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done’ and the Khaki boys were up to that task.

When the likes of the murderous Maitatsine religious sect decided to strike in Kano and later Maiduguri in the 80s, the military moved swiftly to wipe them away from the face of the earth so to speak and Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief.

Even across our borders in the ECOWAS sub region in the 90s, the Nigerian military proved its mettle first in Sierra Leone and most importantly Liberia where a band of rebels had moved in from the bush to destabilize the legitimate governments. Leading soldiers from other West African countries under a sub regional military group called ECOMOG, the members of the Nigerian armed forces drawn from the Army, Navy and Air Force fought heroically to restore peace to the two countries and saved West Africa from a crisis that could destabilize the entire sub region.

Let’s forget about what went into those wars in terms of human and material resources and who got what and not, the fact was that even opponents of the Liberian/Sierra Leonean adventure by the Nigerian Military were proud of our boys even if they failed to openly admit it.

The roles our boys have played in peacekeeping operations around the world have earned praise for Nigeria not only from the United Nations but also other big players in the international arena including the United States.

With all these domestic and international accomplishments not a few Nigerians believed that our military could rank among the medium powers in the world in terms fighting capability and efficiency. I remember Babangida’s Foreign Minister, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi even floating the idea of what he called a ‘Concert of Medium Powers’ to bring together those countries that are slightly below the two super powers of that era and their allies. He believed Nigeria qualified to be in that league; not many argued with him. The belief then was that we could take on and crush any opposition at least in the sub region, and if push comes to shove, our military could raise our flag high even in the continent.

Between that time and now a lot has happened to our military as a fighting machine and in the last four years or so the Boko Haram insurgency has really exposed or rather confirmed the fears of most patriots that the Nigerian Military is no longer what it used to be.

Since the insurgency began somewhere in Bauchi State in the north east some four years ago, the terrorists have been waxing stronger and stronger and the Nigerian military seemingly unable to contain let alone crush them.

Each time I hear stories of how armed insurgents drove into villages in convoys and spending hours unchallenged killing and maiming innocent people my heart cuts and I ask, where are the soldiers? Sometime in 2012 I went round the country campaigning in the run up to the then upcoming national elections of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). Nowhere in that region was as militarized as Borno and Yobe States yet the insurgents were still able to sneak and cause death and destruction.

In Yobe State as you approach Damaturu, Potiskum and such other big settlements there are military check points at almost 200 metres interval and you have the impression that if this is replicated in almost all parts of the state then the people are or should be safe. The same situation is obtainable in Borno and lately Adamawa State. So, when one now hears that Boko Haram insurgents have struck again and our soldiers were nowhere to be found one gets confused. It is more confusing when one throws the Air Force into the equation and one begins to wonder how could a band of at best rag tag insurgents operate in a place for hours and our fighter jets or helicopter gunships could not go there to bomb them. Where is the pride of the Nigerian Air Force if it cannot police our air space and pick out enemies from the air, especially in the desert and destroy them?

When vehicles move in convoys, especially in the desert and in day light, they can easily be spotted even at night and should be easy targets. Markudi where the Air Force Tactical Air Command is located should be within two minutes flying distance to anywhere in the North West for our fighter jet. So, even if NAF cannot put them on ground at Maiduguri Airport or Air Force base for whatever reason, its pilots should be able to reach and bomb any target from Markudi within seconds. Why are we not doing this?

All militaries in the world rely heavily on air power to subdue their opponents in any warfare whether conventional or not. The Air Force is regarded as the teeth of the armed forces; go in there, subdue the opponent, then the foot soldiers (Army) can then move in and finish the task. Where are the teeth of our own armed forces in this battle against terror? Where is the Nigerian Air Force in the war against Boko Haram?

It is easy to blame the Babangida era for the rot in the Nigerian Air Force and to some extent the rest of the armed forces, but then we have had 15 years of civilian rule during which if we are serious, we would have rebuild our armed forces to such an effective fighting machine capable of routing irritants such as Boko Haram in a matter of weeks. But here we are, four years or so on and we can seem to make any head way.

Until we address the problem of the Nigerian military the war on terror especially against Boko Haram would be difficult to win. It is not just about personnel alone, what kind of training are we giving them? The war on terror is not a conventional one and we need to master the tricks of the terrorists and outwit them before we can defeat them. Let’s not play politics with this war, it is not President Goodluck Jonathan’s war or his problem, it is our problem, our war and together we must fight it and win.

March 4, 2014
So, Jonathan is nice?

What was Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank on Nigeria on President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Not a few Nigerians would be surprised that the former boss of Nigeria’s apex bank could have some nice things to say about the president given his strident criticism of the administration, especially its lack luster fight against corruption.

I am a bit surprised myself but then I remember this wasn’t the first time I would be hearing such a comment being made about the president. I’ve heard from quite a number of people who are very close to him or have access to him that Dr Jonathan is a very good person who meant well for this country but is surrounded by bad people. And each time I hear this I get annoyed. Why should a good man surround himself with bad people?

Being soft spoken, courteous and nice to people are part of the qualities of a good person, but being good goes beyond that. The ability to attract good people to oneself is also a sign of goodness. You know a man’s character by the kind of company he keeps. Show me your friend, the cliché goes, and I will tell you who you are.

True, according to Shakespeare there is no art in knowing the mind’s construction from the face, but then if one was deceived by the blandness or innocence of the face it shouldn’t take too long for a good man to discover the bad or rotten person around him.

It has been a while now that President Goodluck Jonathan has mounted the saddle as Nigeria’s president and leader, and from day one, he has surrounded himself with some characters that not a few Nigerians are not comfortable with, yet he found them good company. What does that say of the president himself? Take the example of the former Minister of Aviation Madam Stella Oduah. I am not sure if there is anybody in this country who does not know that Stella was and still is Goodluck’s friend and it was mainly on the strength of that friendship that she was made a minister of the Federal Republic. She was so good to Jonathan particularly through her ‘Neighbour-to-Neighbour’ organization in the run up to the president’s election that he just had to compensate her for being there for him and she was made a Minister.

Nothing wrong in that I guess, after all you work well with people that you know and trust. But not too long after, this woman became a square peg in a round hole and almost everybody except the president saw this and complained; to Jonathan, Stella could do no wrong. Even the President didn’t see anything wrong when the two BMW limousine scandal involving the former Minister and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) broke out. Not even the House of Representatives’ or the Presidency’s administrative panel indictment was enough to convince him to drop his friend.

When he eventually did a couple of weeks ago, many believe it was just a desperate measure to rescue his seemingly doomed second term ambition; not out of conviction to fight corruption. The allegations against Madam Oduah are weighty enough to have warranted her immediate removal or suspension from office but the President chose not to act until he discovered that leaving Stella in office would be an unnecessary baggage that could jeopardize his re-election in 2015. Reluctantly, Stella had to go and for now scot-free.

If Jonathan is such a good man as we are being told, then he shouldn’t have surrounded himself with the likes of Madam Oduah. Yes, nothing has been proven against the former Minister yet but the President would help Nigeria and his cause by releasing the report of the administrative panel that probed the car scandal and allow the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to handle the case and any other alleged cases of corruption involving her without any pressure or interference.

If the President is such a good person then why is he still keeping Deziani Allison-Madueke as Minister of Petroleum with alleged cases of monumental corruption going on in that industry especially within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). We’ve heard about 20 billion USD oil money reportedly missing for which the suspended CBN Governor was apparently being punished. Forget about the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria report on Sanusi’s CBN, it was just a convenient excuse to ease out a pain in the arse. Why wait till now to act on the council’s report that had been ready since March.

This is not excusing Sanusi from accounting for his tenure as CBN Governor. If he had done anything wrong, particularly fraudulent, he should be punished. I am not one of his fans, but why punish him now after blowing the whistle on the missing oil money? And why not all those people involved in the missing money as well?

The fraud in the oil industry dates back to the discovery of oil in Nigeria and has seemingly defied all actions taken by successive administrations to curb it. Most if not all of Jonathan’s predecessors are guilty, but then none of them has been described as nice the way Jonathan is being portrayed. So, if he is a nice and good person, then he should get rid of those bad people in our oil industry; he should start from his cabinet.

If Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the coordinating Minister for the Economy as well as Finance Minister (whatever that meant) is sitting there comfortably with all these fraud allegations flying around, then I am afraid, she too had joined them. May be she is one of those bad people surrounding our ‘nice’ President.

There are still many of them like that parading the corridors of power in Abuja. But like I asked earlier, why should a good person surround himself with bad people? The answer is simple, he too must be bad because like minds work together.

Today we speak well of the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello even after they are no more because of the good things they did when they were in power or had access to power. They didn’t achieve all those good things alone, they were helped by the good people they invited into their government. So, if Jonathan cannot attract or invite good people into his government, then he himself is bad. Shikena.

One last thing to add. We’ve heard so much about how good and nice President Jonathan is, but people are not coming out to talk about his unforgiving spirit. I heard he doesn’t forgive. If you are in doubt ask former Bayelsa Governor Timi Silva or his namesake Timi Alaibe the former NDDC boss. Both are from Bayelsa State like President Jonathan. What a nice man!

February 25, 2014
Stella Oduah; so much for native intelligence

Those who are saying I should be removed are wasting their time, it is just beer parlour talk; this minister is here today, tomorrow and day after—Stella Oduah, Sunday 26 January, 2014.

That was a boastful former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah at a recent “Aviation Masterplan Workers’ Buy in” programme held at the Grand Ballroom of Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lekki.

The 3-day event had in attendance top management staff of the main parastatals in the ministry as well as a few others drawn mainly from her committee of friends carried over from the infamous “Neighbour-to-Neighbour” campaign group. Remember; the faceless group at the fore front of the campaign for Jonathan presidency the first time?

Some of those in attendance even quoted her to have added; “yes, I may not have gone to school, but I have native intelligence.” Hmmmm!

The sack last week of arguably one of the most powerful members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government came as a huge surprise to not just a few Nigerians. The way and manner Madam Stella was conducting herself and the affairs of the Ministry of Aviation with near total impunity without even a mere rebuke from the presidency in spite of public outcry, gave little room to doubt that nothing, absolutely nothing, could touch her as long as Jonathan remains Nigeria’s president.

Unlike that Ghanaian former female cabinet Minister that boasted that her mission in government was to make a few millions of dollars, a comment she was later to regret as she was promptly fired by the Ghanaian president, (for even harbouring the thought) Stella Oduah had reportedly said and done worse than that and nothing happened to her until last week.

If truly she “may not have gone to school but have native intelligence”, little wonder then that she could not comprehend the enormity of the assignment given to her by the president, hence she ran the Ministry of Aviation based on how far her native intelligence could take her. Like a market woman put in charge of a hi-tech industry, Madam Stella did not know her right from left and presided over Nigeria’s aviation industry in the typical Oyingbo market woman style.

Before I am crucified for saying this, let me make it clear that I am not a novice in aviation and count myself as one of those Nigerian journalists well informed about aviation matters worldwide, especially the Nigerian aviation industry, having spend over a decade actively covering aviation as a correspondent and still involved in the industry somehow.

We’ve never had it so bad in the industry in Nigeria. Forget about the so called airport remodeling projects of Stella Oduah, those are just cosmetics, which only a market woman awash with cash and obsessed with ‘show off’, the ‘Sisi Eko’ mentality would readily indulge in. The tendency, when you have so much cash and not accountable to anybody, to build houses all over the place and acquire properties, without any thought of how to adequately equip and maintain them to make them continually functional. That in summary is the mentality behind the airport remodeling projects as far as I am concerned.

Of what use is a ‘beautiful’ terminal building where the conveniences are not working or in constant good order; where uninterrupted power cannot be guaranteed; where pilfering goes on unabated? By the way an airport is not just the terminal building, it is more than that. What is the state of the navigational equipments at these remodeled airports? If the terminal building is the most beautiful and most modern in the world but the airfield is 19th century technology, you have done nothing but build a modern palace equipped with pit latrine.

Well, the jury is still out on Stella’s airports.

What is most disturbing is the financial management style of Madam Stella and the source or sources of the funds used for her airport projects in particular. It is alleged that not less than N150 million is taken by the Ministry of Aviation under Madam Stella’s watch, every month from the account of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), one of the agencies under the ministry. This is a serious allegation that requires urgent investigation by all the anti graft agencies of the Federal Government to confirm or disprove.

Nothing is proven yet and Madam Stella is not guilty, cannot be guilty until proven guilty. It is a good thing that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the matter of the N225 million bullet proof limousine scandal involving NCAA and linking the former Minister is still being investigated.

You remember the BMW cars, two of them, allegedly bought by the NCAA for the exclusive use of Madam Oduah? Why the former Minister made spirited efforts to distance herself from the scandal insisting she directed the parastatal in question to do the needful, the House of Representatives found out that her hands were not clean in the matter while a presidential panel equally indicted her.

That President Goodluck Jonathan found the courage to kick Madam Stella out, or forced her to resign is commendable, even though belated. But having gone this far, the president must take the next step and ensure that she is investigated by the relevant agencies of government and prosecuted for whatever offence she might have committed while in government, especially financial crimes as being alleged.

It might not be a bad idea to conduct a forensic examination of the financial dealings and records of the Ministry of Aviation and its parastatals under Madam Stella Oduah, just to put the records straight. Apart from the NCAA, the accounts of the other parastatals were equally raided by the Ministry under her watch, such that most, if not all were left with nothing other than enough to pay salaries. Even training allowances for staff on mandatory local and/or international training programmes, especially at NCAA could not be met became money had been sent to Abuja.

Trusting the EFCC to do a thorough job here is a bit risky. As the Senate has ordered in the case of the alleged missing money in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), forensic experts should be called in to look into Madam Stella’s book. A lot could be revealed. For instance there is this allegation that the former minister had squandered the funds realized under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) Nigeria has with so many foreign countries. Some have said part of the money for her airport projects came from the BASA fund which under the law she had no power to spend. But some have equally alleged that the former Minister used her closeness to the President to cunningly get Dr Jonathan to sign a blank cheque for to spend BASA money. These are just allegations.

As Madam Stella is kicked out of office, she would be remembered not so much by her accomplishments/achievements, (if any, think there is a few) but by the politics of her action (the Rivers State aircraft issue), the arrogance of power she exhibited and the native intelligence that reflected in all her actions. But above all, she would be remembered as a round peg in a square hole. GOOD RIDDANCE Madam and over to you President Jonathan, let the needful be done in her case.

February 18, 2014
As Ogunsakin takes over Rivers Police Command

Though the clamour for his removal as Commissioner of Police in Rivers State was very high and had even assumed an international dimension, not a few were taken by surprise when the Police Service Commission last Thursday acted out of character by redeploying Mbu Joseph Mbu to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, thus ending one of the darkest moments in the history of the Nigeria Police.

The service record of CP Mbu as head of the police in Rivers State was less than enviable. It is no use recalling some of them again as virtually all adult literate Nigerians that have kept themselves abreast of situations in the country in the last couple of years would have heard and formed their opinion about this police officer.

Specially head hunted from Oyo State Police command by Mrs Patience Jonathan and recruited into her forces in her battle against Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Mbu became so bad and terrible in his performance in Rivers that no state governor was willing to tolerate him or ready to receive him when he was to be removed from his post in Port Harcourt last year following strings of questionable actions, orders and utterances.

It was rumoured that he was to be posted to Imo State Police Command but the governor there would have none of that. He was also rumoured to be heading to the Port Police Command as CP, just to give him a soft landing, but his god mother intervened and he remained in Port Harcourt to cause more atrocities.

But I think his masters started getting fed up with him and his god mother with that shooting at the Port Harcourt rally of the Save Rivers Movement, when rubber bullets were shot into the crowd by his men hitting and injuring a serving senator of the Federal republic in the process. The national and international condemnation of the Federal Government that followed put the presidency in bad light and probably convinced The Villa that CP Mbu was becoming a liability, even if he is their ‘good boy’.

When Mbu followed this up by folding his arms while thugs and criminals disrupted another SRM rally at Bori in Ogoni land, while the rival Grassroots Democratic Initiative, a pro Jonathan group being sponsored by the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike was having a field day and enjoying police protection, not a few were convinced that Mbu was carrying his Masters’ assignment too far and his days were numbered. The Inspector General of Police who was rumoured not to be pleased with Mbu because he did not take orders from him any longer had to act publicly by ordering the CP to provide police cover for another SRM rally planned for Bori which Governor Amaechi had publicly vowed to lead, daring Mbu and his police to come and shoot him.

With the tide suddenly turning against him, Mbu made a last ditch effort to warm his way back into the heart of the IGP when in a most indecorous manner, he took out a full page advert in newspapers praising his bosses at Police Headquarters. Most people believed that was the last throw of the dice by the CP that probably made up the mind of his ‘ogas’ at the top to remove him, but then they still had to contend with his god mother at the top. I am sure the decision by the opposition to block the passage of the 2014 budget, especially the allocation to the Police in the appropriation bill must have been the last straw that broke Mbu’s back in Abuja; he had to leave Port Harcourt and urgently too. The rest as they say is history.

It was not my intention to revisit the Mbu matter again on this page having written several times on it in the past, but I can’t resist letting some people out there who have been abusing and even cursing this columnist and my colleagues who have had cause to disagree with CP Mbu’s style that we have nothing personal against this police officer or the Nigeria Police in general other than our desire to have a strong institution (police) that would enforce the law even handedly without fear or favour. And this is the challenge before the new Rivers State police boss Tunde Ogunsakin.

Mbu may have meant well initially when he started but he missed it the moment he allowed himself to be sucked in to the politics of Rivers State. Now he is a toxic officer that nobody wants to touch. What a pity?

With CP Ogunsakin in the saddle, he would do well to learn from the mistakes of his controversial predecessor and avoid the proverbial banana peel. Rivers State is complex in the sense that forces trying to control its resources and future are very powerful and determined. Nyesom Wike, pretending to be fighting the cause of President Jonathan is merely using the name of the president and exploiting the man’s desperation to return to office for a second term, to further his own interest in the governorship of the state next year.

Madam Patience Jonathan, the First Lady is also interested in producing the next governor of Rivers State, preferably from among her Okrika kinsmen, as security against life after her husband’s presidency.

Expectedly, Governor Rotimi Amaechi should be interested in producing his successor.

These three groups will play a major role in the politics of the state between now and elections next year and they would use all the tricks in their armoury to gain the upper hand. Throw in President Jonathan and his eyeing of the two million plus votes from Rivers in the next presidential election into the equation and you have a tough situation on your hand in Rivers State between now and the general elections in 2015.

This is the situation CP Ogunsakin is inheriting in Rivers State today and his task is not made easier by the fact that he is taking over a command already polarized by a partisan officer who had just been redeployed. All he needs to do is to be professional as possible in the discharge of his duties and he will need all his professional trainings and experience garnered over the years as an officer to achieve this. It is a good thing that he had served as a Divisional Police Officer (I think) in Rivers State before, so it will not be a totally new terrain to him.

February 11, 2014
Dangers of mixing politics with religion

Please stop anti Jonathan and anti PDP. Your Muslim party APC will fail woefully in Osun and Ekiti. Idiot

I got this from a reader with telephone number 08067661180 in response to last week’s edition of this column. The reader did not sign it for reasons best known to him or her.

I was thinking about the upcoming National Conference and the modalities for the proposed confab as spelt out by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Anyim Pius Anyim when this SMS came in. That President Goodluck Jonathan would have so much influence on who gets chosen as a delegate was of so much concern to me that I was alarmed when this supporter of the President and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) quoted above, chipped in the issue of religion as we move towards the next round of general elections beginning with the Osun and Ekiti States gubernatorial polls later this year.

It is no longer hidden that one of the campaign strategies of President Jonathan and his handlers in their bid to retain power post 2015 presidential election is to present him as not just a Christian, but a Christian candidate, who would represent and protect Christian interests better. And in doing so, the opposition is to be presented as representing Muslims and Muslims’ interest and as such most likely to be against Christians and Christians’ interest if voted into power.

Even though nobody in Jonathan’s camp is ready to admit this, the 2015 presidential race is gradually panning out to be like that and the presidency is happy to shape it that way.

Ordinarily this like this don’t bother me but the way and manner and intensity with which the President’s supporters like the reader quoted above are using religion to define their candidate and divide the voters is beginning to cause concern among well meaning Nigerians.

Recently a former member of the PDP who served as a Minister in the Obasanjo presidency and now a member of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) revealed that some church leaders are already subtly campaigning for President Jonathan by branding the APC as party of Muslims. For the record, that former Minister is a Christian.

And in matters that concern this government and this presidency, some Christian leaders have been speaking in such a manner as to suggest that Jonathan is their own and any criticism of him and/or his actions is against Christians and Christianity.

The issue of faith has never really played any significant role in the politics of this country especially when it comes to choosing our leaders until now. When late Abubakar Tafawa Balewa became Prime Minister in the first republic, I don’t think Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was chosen as the ceremonial President because he was a Christian, like wise President Shehu Shagari did not pick Dr Alex Ekwueme as his running mate in 1979 because he is a Christian.

I think the choices then were based purely on geographical consideration. The north had always been going into alliance with the east in national politics/elections and because the two regions are heavily populated by Muslims (north) and Christians (east), whoever would come out from such arrangement naturally would belong to different religion.

And to test that Nigerians place little premium on the religion of their leaders, two Muslims, one from the south west and the other from north east were voted president and vice president on June 12, 1993 before the election was annulled. And when President Olusegun Obasanjo was being brought in 1999 ostensibly to placate the Yoruba for the denial of their son Chief MKO Abiola of Nigeria’s presidency in 1993, nobody said he should not come in because he is not a Muslim like Abiola. And I believe the choice of Obasanjo’s running mate in Abubakar Atiku was due more to political pragmatism than his religious leaning.

When Jonathan was paired with President Yar’adua in 2007 for whatever reasons, those who brought them had other motive and consideration than religion. And as was the case in the past, Jonathan running with Vice President Sambo was more of geographic/ethnic balancing than any other consideration. Even though after the Abiola/Kingibe aborted presidency the presidential pairing had always been Christian/Muslim or Muslim/Christian, no candidate or presidency has been seen, portrayed or act as representing a particular religion the was Jonathan presidency is. And I believe it is share mediocrity and incompetence to hide under religion or ethnicity to ask for support for public office especially the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

By portraying him as a Christian candidate, Jonathan’s handlers and supporters are not just setting a bad precedent but also alienating the Muslims who ordinarily would want to vote for him. Islam and Christianity are well rooted in Yoruba land, south west Nigeria and are about evenly spread among Yoruba. The bulk of Jonathan’s votes in 2011 came from Yoruba land, meaning he got votes from both Christians and Muslims from the south west in large numbers. And in those states in the north where his PDP won, the Muslims there voted for him. So, if anybody now wants to present everybody opposed to Jonathan or the opposition party as Muslim or Muslim leaning just to paint them black before Christians and secure Christians votes for him in 2015, then they are not being fair to those Muslims who voted for him in 2011 and are still likely to vote for him if he became a candidate in next year’s election.

Most important however, they are not being fair to this country. If they love Nigeria they would not pander or be pandering to religious sentiments. In those countries where the people have not risen beyond religious sentiments, anything religion has always brought crisis especially when there are sharp disagreements. Lebanon is a good example of how religion mixed with politics can destroy a nation. There are unarguably more Lebanese outside of Lebanon than within, not just because of the small size of their country but also the seemingly unending sectarian violence that has almost turned the once beautiful country into ruins, the fact that the Lebanese are mainly Arabs notwithstanding.

Those nations that have developed and making waves in the world today have no room for religious considerations or sentiments, whatever they do are always based on what is best for their country, their people and humanity in general. Why should our own be different?

Those who want to turn Christians against Muslims or vice versa in Nigeria because of Jonathan’s presidency or anybody’s ambition will not succeed by the grace of GOD. And President Jonathan also has to be very careful and he should rein in his supporters especially those fanning the embers of religious and ethnic divisions. The President knows them; he should call them to order. While awaiting his choice of delegates to the National Conference, it is hoped that his choice(s) would be guided by the best interest of Nigeria. Even though I have my doubts about his conference and to what use he wants to put its reports, I wish his and the 492 “wise” men and women best of luck.

February 4, 2014
Now that IGP Abubakar has woken up

Getting to know the truth is becoming more difficult nowadays especially if you listen to the spin doctors of the main political parties.

Last weekend rally by the Save Rivers Movement at Bori in the heart of Ogoni land in Rivers State was a huge success if you are getting your information from the spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze.

But if you have been listening to Jerry Needam, spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Ogoni people boycotted the rally and Governor Rotimi Amaechi was only addressing himself at the event. But as they say pictures don’t lie and the truth stands somewhere between their statements.

Attempting to call white black would only damage the reputation of whoever was peddling lies and whatever he stands for or represents as the people of Rivers State certainly know the truth and who is fighting their cause.

The size of the crowd at the rally is not even the issue here; the fact that it went well without any of the mayhems that had attended two previous rallies of the SRM, one in Port Harcourt and the second in the same Bori showed that whoever was behind the violent disruptions of the two previous rallies of the Movement loyal to Governor Amaechi had the support of the Nigeria Police.

At the Port Harcourt rally where a serving Senator, Magnus Abe an Ogoni man and ally of Amaechi was hit by a rubber bullet shot at him by the police, it was glaring that the State’s commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu and his men were at work. Though the CP denied any bullet, rubber or live was used in dispersing the SRM rally, the public condemnation of the brutality of the police in Rivers State under Mbu and the partisanship of his men in the political crisis that has pitched the governor against the coordinating Minister of Education Nyesom Wike,(acting on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife Patience) had forced the police to retreat from their onslaught on Amaechi and his supporters ahead of the second SRM rally at Bori.

When the Movement gathered for what was essentially a pro-Amaechi rally, hoodlums and armed militants, allegedly paid by Wike and his group violently disrupted the gathering, injuring many and destroying cars and other property in the process. While all this lasted the police folded their arms. And while those behind the mayhem had not been arrested by the Rivers State police command, two local government chairmen from Ogoni land loyal to Governor Amaechi were picked up by the police for no other offence than being supporters of the governor.

Of course the public condemnation of the police grew louder and finally the noise got to the ears of the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar and the country’s chief police officer had to order his Commissioner of Police in Rivers to allow another rally of the SRM planned for Bori to go ahead and also provide protection. And the rally went peacefully. Now do we need any soothsayer again to tell us who has been behind the violence that has recently engulfed Rivers State?

When people point accusing fingers at CP Mbu for being partisan they get accused as being Amaechi supporters. But just for once that the IGP and his CP decided to act as impartial officers of the law, there was law and order. So, what this means is that if the police in Rivers State act in accordance with the law and in the overall interest of the state and the country, the crisis in the state would not be and would not have been.

As his tenures draws to a close, IGP Abubakar would do well to leave a legacy of a disciplined, well trained and apolitical police force that would only do the biddings of Nigerians and not the powers that be. Abubakar started well and the only blot on his score sheet so far is the police in Rivers State under Mbu. Wherever the courage to stop Mbu came from, he should continue with it.

Since the Rivers crisis began, so many stories have been flying around that CP Mbu rather than take orders from Force Headquarters in Abuja, go to the presidential villa for his briefs. It was even rumoured that he doesn’t take the calls of his IGP any longer preferring either Wike or even Madam Jonathan to give him directives.

For the purpose of this argument, I want to believe this as one of those beer parlour rumours and the fact that when the IGP gave his orders to Mbu publicly, they were obeyed should be enough to put the matter of where Mbu takes his briefs to rest. But to further reassure us that he is in charge of the entire Nigeria Police, including the Rivers State Command, IGP Abubakar should henceforth be giving his orders to CP Mbu in particular publicly, so that if he refused to obey his IGP, then Nigerians would know who truly he is.

But could the threat by the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress to all its Senators and House of Representatives members to shun discussions and debates on the 2014 federal appropriation bill and all other executive bills including confirmation of Service Chiefs until the Rivers crisis is resolved have anything to do with the thaw in the crisis rocking the state?

Those who are blaming the APC for this directive and labeling the party and its leaders as unpatriotic should rather see the Rivers u-turn by the Federal Government and its agencies (security) as a positive fall out of the APC’s threat.

It shows that a virile opposition is needed to put the ruling party in check and on the path of sound democracy and the rule of law. With the balance of power shifting in favour of the opposition in the National Assembly, the PDP Federal Government and in particular President Goodluck Jonathan no longer has room to maneuver and take Nigerians for a ride again.

Nigerians have tolerated the PDP for so long and the party has proved itself unworthy of our trust and support. If it would require threats from the APC to make the government to do the right thing, so be it. Nothing bad in that! And by the way, what is the business of the opposition if not to bring down the government in power to pave way for it to form the next government. As long as it was done within the ambit of the law and in accordance with democratic tenets let it continue. Nigeria does not belong exclusively to PDP and its leaders alone. All the parties and indeed all Nigerians have equal stake in the destiny of this country. Enough of this PDP noise.

January 28, 2014
Jonathan: How not to play the deaf

Rivers State is boiling and President Goodluck Jonathan is pretending nothing is happening.

At the risk of sounding like an old gramophone, all well-meaning Nigerians and the opposition parties have been crying out, shouting and pleading with the president to call his rampaging Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mbu Joseph Mbu to order before he plunges the state into anarchy and imperils this democracy. But all their pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears.

The story of CP Mbu and his ‘atrocities’ in Rivers State under the guise of maintaining law and order is known to all, but what is baffling is why the President and Commander-In-Chief has chosen to be silent on this matter.

When, the other day, Mbu used his policemen to block the main entrance to the Government house, Port Harcourt, the official residence of the governor of Rivers State thereby preventing Governor Rotimi Amaechi and his guests from going in until they had to use the back entrance, the Federal Government found nothing wrong with that, even when that meant denigrating and/or humiliating the office of the governor. Not a word from Abuja cautioning Mbu.

When he sent his ’mad dogs’ to scatter thousands of newly recruited teachers by the state government who were told to gather at a stadium to sign for and collect their letters of employment, under the excuse that they were to gather there to protest against President Jonathan; not even a finger was raised against Mbu by Abuja. He got a pat on the back instead.

And when he vowed never to obey a court order over police illegal occupation of Obio/Akpor local government council secretariat, our president who promised to uphold the law of the land did not find anything wrong with this.

The list of Mbu’s atrocities in Rivers State is very long and getting longer, but what is baffling is why nobody among his superiors seems ready to call him to order. When he was tear-gassing and violently dispersing any gathering supposedly in support of or at the instance of Governor Amaechi, what many thought was that he would limit it to just that. But the shock was to come penultimate Sunday when his men used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse a gathering of Save Rivers Movement in Port Harcourt under the excuse that the gathering did not have his approval. A serving Senator of the Federal Republic was hit in the chest by the bullet. He is presently recuperating in a London hospital. The presidency not only kept quiet over the matter, people close to the president said he dismissed the incident with a wave of the hand.

Surprisingly, while the police dispersed supporters of the Senator, Magnus Abe, who wanted to protest the shooting, the same police welcomed another group that gathered in solidarity with its commissioner, Mbu, to its office.

Buoyed by the silence of the presidency and a supportive police CP, a group of pro- Jonathan thugs unleashed violence on another gathering of the Save Rivers Movement again last Sunday, this time in Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoni and the seat of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State. Senator Abe is Ogoni, and he is a known supporter of Governor Amaechi. Some people were feared dead while properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed; gun shots boomed sporadically while the mayhem lasted. The police did not lift a finger to stop them, and the presidency is again keeping quiet.

The attitude of the president in feigning deafness to all the noise coming out of Rivers State is unfortunate. He swore to protect lives and properties in all parts of the country but he is failing to do this in Rivers State just because of his political differences with the governor. But the president needs to be reminded that whatever happens in Rivers or any other state in the country for that matter would have effect on the rest of the country.

He should also be reminded that the road to which Mbu is leading Nigeria in Rivers State with his (president’s) support was one of the reasons the second republic collapsed. In fact, the police contributed in no small measure to the demise of that republic and what Mbu is doing now is a near replay of what happened then.

One could recall that a certain Umaru Omolowo, the then Commissioner of Police in old Oyo State was giving protection to thugs of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) to fight a cause mayhem in Oyo State and create problem for the ruling Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) government in the state then. The NPN controlled the Federal Government then and President Shehu Shagari, just like President Jonathan now, was seeking re-election and had penciled Oyo State down as a must-win state. The national Chairman of the NPN then, Adisa Akinloye, now late was from Oyo State, so also was the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Richard Akinjide. They told Shagari not to worry that Oyo was for him, and the president in turn used the police effectively to back them even when they were unpopular on the ground in the state. Election came, they rigged and won, but we all know what happened few months later.

Now Jonathan, like Shagari is desperate to win re-election and he has identified Rivers as a must-win if his hope of returning to the presidential villa next year is to be realized. Why is Rivers so important? Simple. With two million solid votes in his pocket, Jonathan believes or is being deceived to believe that with Rivers solidly behind him he can neutralise whatever votes his opponent, expectedly from the north, could garner from that zone (north) in 2015; then he can struggle to pick few votes here and there, especially from Christians in the North/Middle Belt, and may be the south west apart from the South east and South-south.

But with Governor Amaechi no longer in his corner, the two million votes are under threat, so everything must be done to prevent this, even if it means killing the people of Rivers, so be it.

This is what is playing out in Rivers State today and the president has found a willing tool in Nyesom Wike, his Coordinating Minister of Education who wants to be governor in 2015; his wife, Patience Jonathan, who wants to produce the governor in 2015 and CP Mbu who wants to make as much money as possible from the crisis. Governor Amaechi expectedly, would also want to protect his legacy by wanting to produce his successor. So where does that leave the people of Rivers State and in the long run Nigeria’s democracy?

While the people of the state should be able to and left alone to decide what is good for them, the President and Commander-in-Chief should not allow his selfish interest to override his sense of responsibility to Nigerians as a people and the Nigerian nation. He should listen to the voice of wisdom and stop his supporters in Rivers, including Mbu from plunging this nation into avoidable political crisis which end nobody can foretell. Enough of playing the deaf.

January 21, 2014
A presidency in decline, a president in denial

A Lot a few Nigerians would want to be in President Goodluck Jonathan’s position as leader of Africa’s most populous and may be richest country, but very few would want his kind of presidency.

Two years and eight months into a four-year tenure and with the option of another four years as second term likely, Nigerians it does seem cant wait to dump the man from Otuoke at the next available opportunity for a leader with a firm grasp of our problems and challenges and the best solution to take us to the next level.

Dr Ebele Jonathan, who many thought few years ago could be the messiah the country needed because of his youth, education and a pan-Nigerian mandate at the polls, is such a big let down that even his main supporters are beginning to regret putting him forward to lead this nation of over a hundred and fifty million people with vast human and material resources.

The man is fast becoming a lame duck do nothing president whose words nobody can go to bank with. Such is the weakness of the man and his presidency that many would rather turn to his wife or some of his other women in government to get things done than rely on his orders.

Jokes apart, the women in his government get things done quickly and easily than even the Commander-In-Chief. It sounds unbelievable, but it is true. Madam Patience Jonathan, the First Lady, is more effective than her husband. Sometime ago underground news sources said she told the wife of a state governor; “tell your Oga not to rely on my Oga or be his friend, tell him to be my friend, my Oga is not reliable”.

She surely knows what she’s talking about. Those who are very powerful in Jonathan’s administration today owe their loyalty to her. Nyesom Wike, the Minister of State for Education worships her, Deziani Madueke, the Petroleum Minister had to ‘settle’ her with oil subsidy contract before she could be appointed a Minister and has been ‘oiling’ the First Lady constantly ever since to remain in office, Stella Oduah has had to squeeze water out of the stones in the Aviation parastatals to be able to satisfy Madam’s insatiable appetite for money.

Today, thanks to Madam First Lady’s support and Jonathan’s weakness, these three Ministers of the Federal Republic can not be removed except they leave or Madam Patience wanted them out. And these Ministers and the Chief of Staff are so arrogantly going about with this air of untouchability that even some other people close to the president are getting worried. In the Ministry of Aviation Stella Oduah does her things with impunity. Ask the parastatals, the managements are just waiting for her time to be up, hoping and praying that before then nothing untoward would happen and something would still be left in their coffers.

The case of the armoured limousines are still there and even in the face of overwhelming public condemnation of the role of Oduah Jonathan seems helpless to punish her. What kind of a presidency is that? Even if for the sake of credibility?

The other day we were told that several billions of dollars of our oil revenue have not been remitted to the federation account by the NNPC. The CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi alerted us about this and he was called names for that. He had an argument over this with the Finance Minister and at the end of the day the figure had to be revised down to about 10 billion USD the whereabout of which had not been satisfactorily explained.

While Nigerians as usual were still trying to get over this and continue with their lives, the President threw in bomb shell; he asked the CBN governor to resign over the NNPC issue. Grapevine had it that the Petroleum Minister had who supervises the NNPC had for some time been putting pressure on Dr Jonathan to sack Sanusi over his letter on the ‘missing’ billions, but the president had resisted citing the provisions of the law. On this particular day, Deziani reportedly went to the president demanding that Sanusi be removed immediately because she heard he was planning another letter. It was a noisy atmosphere at the president’s office and the Commander-In-Chief had to give in. Sanusi was summoned and told to go, the Kano prince refused and dared the president to do whatever he wants. You know the rest of the story.

The issue here is not the decision to sack Sanusi or not but that Dr Jonathan had to drag the office of the president of Nigeria into this and at the end of the that office was disgraced. Did Jonathan not know that he does not have that power to fire the CBN governor alone or force him to go? And why should he even ask the man to go without addressing the issue of alleged corruption in the remittance of our oil earnings by the NNPC that he raised in the letter?

Why did Jonathan found it easier to ask Sanusi to go and but difficult to deal with the issue of the limousine purchase by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority for the use of the Aviation Minister? This is double standard.

The power and authority wielded by the president of Nigeria are such that should not be invoked frivolously lest they become less effective and Dr Jonatan has shown that by his handling of the Sanusi incident. If the president had been fair in the exercise of his power and authority I am sure the CBN governor would think twice before daring him, even if he knows he doesn’t possess the power to fire him. The fear and respect he should normally have for that office would have told him that if the president says he doesn’t want you, then you have to go. But this president is belittling that office, hence the little respect he now commands. Such is always the case with lame duck presidencies.

And our man is in denial over this. The other day he was at the Shagamu inter change to launch with fanfare the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which his government had just repossessed from a concessionaire and promised to fund the project. After a few initial grading and excavation here and there the project is as good as abandoned and we are being told now that the government is considering giving it out again to another concessionaire because the money is not just there in the public purse to prosecute it. There is nothing wrong with involving the private sector in the funding of such a big project, but for the government to change course mid way after the whole world had been told that all is well with funding of the project shows that something is wrong somewhere. And the fact that it was the president that came and flagged off the project shows that somebody somewhere had deceived or is deceiving him about the availability of public fund for the project. Forget about government’s denial about another concession for the expressway, the fact is that some people are playing politics with us over this road and the presidency is either part of them or is the driving force behind the deceit. A serious presidency doesn’t behave this way. A serious and strong presidency would fish out those behind this and punish them for ridiculing the president and his office. But can we say this about Jonathan’s presidency?

For six months or thereabout university teachers went on strike over unfulfilled promises by government. The Minister of Education Nyesom Wike was going about for much of this period playing politics trying to destabilize Rivers State while our children were idling away at home. And when Wike finally woke up to his responsibility he bungled the whole effort to resolve the crisis when he announced the sack of the lecturers for not going back to work as ordered. ASUU defied the order and made a laughing stock of government. A serious presidency would have fired the Minister for this embarrassment, but not Jonathan. Another sign of weakness, a waning presidency. The success of ASUU has now emboldened other similar bodies to challenge the government knowing fully that sooner rather than later the presidency would give in. Lame duck presidency!

The security situation in the north east is a cause for concern for all and the government naturally is worried that in spite of all what it has been doing Boko Haram insurgency is not abating. While it would be wrong to entirely lay the blame for the seeming lack of a headway in the fight against terror in the region at the doorsteps of the federal government, could a perceived weakness in the authority of this president be the motivation for the insurgents to soldier on in spite of the superiority of the armed forces in terms of combat weapons and human resources? If this presidency is perceived and even seen to be a no nonsense leadership and is acting as such, would it be a signal to Boko Haram et al that this government means business and nothing is ruled out in the fight against terror? But if government policy is flip flop on this issue even those prosecuting the war would do it halfhearted.

If the truth must be told, this presidency is not getting a lot of things done because Nigerians see it as weak, lame duck, but our president is in denial over this. It is unfortunate. Until President Jonathan sits up and face governance seriously and forget his re-election for now, things will continue to go bad and the country would continue to suffer. Enough of politics, Jonathan please govern. If you are the Comander-In-Chief, please chiefly command well. Apologies to Professor Jerry Gana.

January 14, 2014
Before Nigeria disintegrates

Two and half years into nationhood, Africa’s youngest country South Sudan is in a serious crisis that could put an end to her existence as a united nation. And few hours to the 100th anniversary of her existence, Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, looks set for more troubles that could threaten her unity.

Both countries have so many things in common notably bad leaders and oil which have combined effectively to compound the dire standard of living of their people.

Quite early in the life of an independent Nigeria, the country was plunged into a needless civil war that claimed no fewer than one million lives on both sides when common sense prevailed and the war ended 30 months later. South Sudan that got her independence July 2011 is already threading that dangerous path that Nigeria took in 1967, just seven years after her independence from Britain.

The similarities between the two countries are by no means limited to civil wars alone. Oil which has been the curse of so many countries producing it, especially in Africa, is also found in abundance in the Republic of South Sudan and is indirectly fueling the ongoing war between the majority Dinka tribe of President Salva Kiir and the second largest ethnic group Nuer, led by former Vice President Riek Machar.

It is not my intention to dwell into what the Southern Sudanese are doing to themselves but to draw the attention of those threatening fire and brimstone if President Goodluck Jonathan was not re-elected in 2015 to the carnage going on in that country.

Prior to independence in 2011, both the Dinka and the Nuer together with other ethnic nationalities that make up the world’s newest nation were united in their struggle to break away from the Arab dominated Republic of Sudan. Though there were skirmishes between these ethnic nationalities especially Dinka and Nuer, not many paid attention to them as they were seen as being engineered by the Arabs in Khartoum to keep the oil rich south in the Republic of Sudan. But now that the south is independent, nobody will blame the Arabs again; the problem covered up then in the heat of the struggle for independence is now coming up. God save South Sudan.

To the Asari Dokubos of this world barking Jonathan or no Nigeria after the next presidential election and the other war mongers insisting that it is either a Nigerian president of northern extraction in 2015 or bye bye to Nigeria, what is happening in South Sudan should interest them.

The South south region that is seemingly pro Jonathan is by no means homogenous and the way the main ethnic group, the Ijaws are grabbing everything around almost to the total exclusion of others is a pointer to what could happen in an independent republic of Niger Delta in the unlikely event of a break up of Nigeria. And the other ethnic nationalities are not amused at all.

History tells us that the domineering tendencies of the Igbos over the other ethnic nationalities(today’s South south) in the short lived Republic of Biafra contributed immensely to the demise of that ‘country’. And the way the Middle Belters are trying to distinguish themselves from the rest of the north does suggest that there could be more problems within the old north than we have today if that region were to break away from Nigeria. The usual Yoruba civil war could also erupt among the seemingly homogenous people of the South west if that region were to stand alone as a country.

What I am saying in essence is that it is in our collective interest to ensure the unity and togetherness of Nigeria and Nigerians in spite of our differences. As we enter our centenary year tomorrow, we should reflect on where we were coming from, where we are and what brought us to this level. And before we go forward we should be able ask ourselves and agree on what future do we want for our country; our children.

The National Conference being offered by President Goodlick Jonathan could be a good platform to do this but there are justifiable fears that he does not mean well with this confab. Not a few Nigerians are against it because nobody is sure of how he would arrive at the report and what he would do with it. More important is the fear that with just a little over a year to the 2015 elections, Organising a national conference now could at best be a distraction to at the worst a recipe for disastrous 2015 polls. Why not leave it till after the elections? Some argue. if you win, continue, if not, allow the next president decide the fate of the national conference, more so since there is a school of thought that believes it should have sovereign powers.

President Jonathan has done little to allay the fears of opponents of his confab, and they are many. And of late the man has been unnecessarily touchy on every issue of national importance raised by anybody, especially such issues that border on his competence. The open letter written to him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo is a case in point. I have had cause to discuss that letter on this page and I still maintain that the former president had more than a point in that letter even if many including your sincerely does not like him. And the President’s response has been so poor; beating about the bush. Again he has suddenly taken fancy to bashing the media for some of his short comings. When he literally expressed his helplessness in the face of growing Boko Haram insurgency during an extempore speech at a church service and he was so reported by the Nigerian Press, Jonathan through his media vent his anger on journalists. These are signs of desperation, a failing leadership, a doomed presidency.

Fighting terror all over the world is a war alien to most nations and Nigerians would readily appreciate President Jonathan’s modest efforts in this direction even if they are not satisfied. But to be angry with them when they criticize government action or lack of it in the war against terror is missing the message and chasing the messenger. What the critics of his handling of the Boko Haram issue are saying is that methods are not working well and should therefore change tactics. And if he (Jonathan) is now expressing frustration with the way the war is going and pleading for our understanding and he was so reported in the media that does not mean that all hope of restoring peace is lost. What this says is that we need to not only redouble our efforts but to bring in fresh ideas. The Nigerian media is patriotic enough to appreciate what is in the best interest of the country when and if anything is published. It is not for any politician or errand boy to teach the Nigerian journalist what to say or publish. The Nigerian Press has managed the country’s crises very well, even better than the politicians, to now accuse the media of pursuing an agenda different from the Nigerian agenda is unfair to the thousands of Nigerian journalists out there working to get their compatriots fully informed and abreast of what is happening in the polity. I think the president is just chasing shadows here.

There are so many issues begging for his attention and rather than look for scapegoats or engage in scapegoating he should apply himself to them one after the other without sentiments. I think he should start with the Obasanjo letter. We are no longer asking for any response, he should respond by acting. Let him catch and punish the thieves around him first, then we’ll know he means business. Let him rein in the mongers of war around him then we can be sure that he meant it when he promised to uphold the unity and indivisibility of the country. Let him do the needful and Nigerians would applaud him. But pandering to ethnic or any other parochial sentiments would lead us nowhere but the way of South Sudan. GOD FORBID BAD THING!

NIGERIA IS 100

The Federal Government is expected to roll out the carpet in the new year to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the amalgamation of the British protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria. While the jury is still out there as to whether their is anything to celebrate, the fact of our still being together against all the odds, including that unfortunate 30-month civil war of the late 1960s, the June 12 election annulment and its attendant crises, the corruption in high places, etc should tell us that God has a purpose for this country. Therefore, let us rededicate ourselves, the leaders and the led, to serving our country and making her better. Happy centenary anniversary NIGERIA.

December 31, 2013
Cry my beloved country

Events of the past couple of weeks in the polity tend to suggest that our dear country Nigeria is closer to the brink than initially thought.

You all have read by now the infamous open letter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo to his god son and Nigeria’s incumbent president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on his perception of the state of our nation.

You must have read or heard also of a secret letter (leaked to the public) to the president by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi alleging that a whooping 49 billion USD or thereabout of earnings from oil, our major source of revenue, has not been properly accounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. I don’t want to use the word missing to describe the state of the money as some were inclined to do. You know Sanusi has somehow recanted after a tug of war on figures so to speak with Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala that the figure is somewhere closer to 10 billion USD.

The two letters, both on the state of the nation have eventually drawn President Jonathan to his laptop to finally, or is it belatedly, pen a response and give us his own version of the state of our union. All the letters are in public domain, you are at liberty to chose which one to believe.

In the midst of all these letter writings and dancing naked in the public by our leaders, I had cause to pass through one of our airports and while awaiting my flight to Lagos a certain Asian gentleman, I think he is Indian, was lamenting the state of affairs in this country, saying he has been here since 1983 and has never seen a country go down so quickly the way Nigeria is sliding currently. He wished we could as a nation and people do something urgently to arrest the situation.

He was not even talking of the political situation (may be he was only being careful as a foreigner), he was worried about what he saw around him right there at the airport, the nonchalance of airline/airport workers to the plight of passengers that were left stranded for hours without explanation by the airlines; the deteriorating state of the airport, poor facilities even after billions of public funds have allegedly been spent to improve; the bare faced corruption going on there, and etc.

The way he was saying all those things you’ll know he was saying them to effect, passing a message across, perhaps just using the airport situation as a metaphor for the larger problem out there.

As he spoke my mind went to the Obasanjo letter especially what he said on the state of corruption in Nigeria, the alleged training of snippers by the administration to kill some one thousand or so Nigerians on the Federal Governent watch list, the vindictiveness of the Jonathan presidency against real or perceived enemies, the government’s romance with criminals and a whole lot of allegations contained therein.

If a foreigner could talk like this, I guessed he must have seen something we as Nigerians are not seeing or chose to ignore.

After several hours of delay the aircraft finally arrived and we headed back to Lagos safely. But that Indian never left my mind even when I wanted to push him away. And just as I was succeeding in doing this the president’s letter came; his response to Obasanjo. Personally I wasn’t impressed and no apology for that. His supporters can say whatever they want to. I’ll come back to that later.

I am not a fan of Obasanjo because he is not better than Jonathan. But what I found surprising in his letter was that all those bad things we complained about under Obasanjo are still happening even with Jonathan. Have we not learnt anything? What kind of a nation is this?

Obasanjo complained about corruption all around Jonathan and GEJ apologists say his mouth is smelling. Yes his mouth might be smelling, but then let’s cover our nose and listen with our ears. Is corruption not at it’s peak now? And what is Jonathan doing about it?

In his laughable response he wanted Obasanjo to show him one example of corruption in high places and see what he would do about it. Do you need an Obasanjo to tell you that what is happening in the aviation sector, especially the role of the seemingly untouchable Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah in the BMW bullet-proof car scandal is enough evidence of corruption or attempt to defraud the state? Recall that the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal did say something similar about corruption incorporated in the Villa and the President’s seemingly supportive body language? All Jonathan could say is that he is fighting corruption, but we have not seen the evidence yet, let him start with Stella Oduah, then we’ll know he is in business.

The damage the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is doing to the polity with its on going civil war is incalculable and Jonathan as party leader appears incapable of doing anything to stop it. All he could say was to blame Obasanjo and a few others for orchestrating it. Our democracy is in crisis because PDP is in disarray. If there is no crack in the wall of PDP how can an Obasanjo’s lizard enter it? When people say Jonathan is weak, he lacks initiative, this is one of the things that are talking about. How can you open your eyes and allow a behemoth that the PDP had become to collapse on your head, knowing the implication for the country, and all you could do is to blame another person for it? Us this how to be a leader?

I don’t want to believe Obasanjo’s pepper soup theory of government training a squad of snippers to assassinate government’s opponent, but as a former President and Commander-in-Chief may be he knows what he was talking about. May be we better listen to him. And all Jonathan needs to do to prove Obasanjo wrong is to ensure that no assassination, whether political or otherwise took place under his watch, and if it did take place, the perpetrators are swiftly brought to book. Sadly Obasanjo couldn’t say this for his eight years presidency.

But in an atmosphere of insecurity, anything could happen, thus Obasanjo’s alarm on the deteriorating security situation in the country, especially in the north east zone should not be brushed aside. Yes the Jonathan government is doing its best to contain if not destroy the Boko Haram insurgency, but the rate of setbacks in recent months suggests either a lowering of guards by the security agencies or an insurgency smarter and better organised than our military. This is not the time to pontificate or lay blame, we should all rally round Jonathan to bring down Boko Haram and restore peace to the north east. The government should also not arrogate to itself the power of knowing it all. If a former Commander-in -Chief is talking about security, please listen to him, even if his mouth is smelling.

Jonathan talks about the improving state of the economy and the increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow into the country in contrast to the dire picture painted in Obanjo’s letter. I don’t know what the president was talking about. Economic growth without jobs? The president and his coordinating Minister of the Economy Okonjo-Iweala can be deceiving themselves thinking that all is well; Nigerians are no fools!

There are so many issues raised in Obasanjo’s letter and the President’s tame response that space will not allow a thorough analysis, but one issue stands out; the President’s personal integrity and credibility. Obasanjo alleged that Jonathan is not a man of his words; sadly, he is not the first person to so allege. Most people around the corridor of power in Abuja will tell you the same thing. You can’t go to the bank with Jonathan’s words. There is even this joke that there are five presidencies in Jonathan presidency and of the five his own is the weakest.

This could be uncharitable if you ask me, but at the same time most unfortunate if it is true. This is the public perception and the President must do something about it. After all perception they say is close to reality. If Nigerians believe their president is weak and not a man of his words then he can do no good in their eyes no matter how hard he tried.

People point at his wife as one centre of power; his Chief of Staff, Ministers of Petroleum and Aviation as the other presidencies, and the President has not called them to other even for one day in the face of public complaint against them.

The President may not see it as so, but these people together with his rabid Minister of Education Nyesom Wike and some of his Ijaw kinsmen are the ones giving him a bad name among Nigerians not Obasanjo. He should leave the former President alone; tackle his message and not the man. After all Iyabo Obasanjo is enough to tackle her father. May God not give us a daughter like Iyabo. Did I hear you say and a father like Olusegun Obasanjo? Na you sabi. I don talk my own.

December 24, 2013