Good money is chasing bad

At a time when international stars like Tiger Woods, Oscar Pistorius and Bill Cosby whom the world has always revered are falling and crashing because of ugly scandals and even heinous crimes, this man’s honourable life has made him stand out even from among the worlds’ best.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento – The Brazilian Football Superstar PELE has built his name over long years both as a brilliant player on the pitch, and more importantly beyond his playing days and outside the pitch. His scandal-free life and magnetic appeal have raised him to iconic status.

And with the death of Mohammed Ali last year, then I daresay that Pele is the current living legend that this world has now, and his busy schedule, at his age is testimony of his greatness and fame. I would not wish for Nigeria to be the one to unjustly tarnish his hard-earned name, a name that commands an appearance fee that is jaw-dropping anyday.

One of the columns last month in Thisday is titled “Goodswill Akpabio’s $300,000 gift to Pele”. The columnist opens with “…imagine a state like Akwa Ibom sending $300,000 to Brazilian football legend (Pele) as appearance fee just to grace the opening of a stadium in Uyo.”

Inasmuch as the money was payment of a fee and not a gift or a ‘dash’ as it is called in Pidgin English, nevertheless it has morphed to same by virtue of a breach of contract on the part of the Akwa Ibom Government in not keeping their own side of the bargain and sticking to the date of engagement. We are now told that the current government is still struggling to retrieve the money from Pele. The agent who sealed the deal insists that Pele is not liable as he is not the party that breached the agreement. Moreso, he says his client was already committed to another engagement as at when the date for the opening of the stadium was rescheduled. The agent is spot on and the request for the refund is UNJUSTIFIABLE.

At any rate, the visiting African Presidents to the stadium opening as well as the spectators on the paid, dedicated cable channel would have been forever thrilled to have had our Nigerian international football stars and Olympic gold medalists like J. J. Okocha and the Prince of Monaco – Victor Ikpeba grace the same occasion at a far more manageable cost.

$300,000. At the official exchange rate 2 years ago that would translate to an appearance fee of over Sixty Million Naira paid up. As at today, the sum is over N146 Million, at the current rate of N487 to the dollar.

But even using this week`s official exchange rate of $305 to the Naira, then going by the current standard of N5,000 monthly payout (!) to the poor, that would mean N91,500,000  that could possibly have been utilized, is just not available.

But like I said, that money should not be pursued at all. There are far weightier matters to pursue. And the people involved are within, highly visible and accessible.

The state newspaper corporation has been wobbling along for 2 years now without a General Manager. Same way, it has been wobbling along trying to keep up with the printing of its papers because of a certain man named Chief Edwin Igbokwe. He is the widower of Nigeria’s Lady of Songs, a name she was known by even in some states across America where she was made an honorary citizen. Late Christy Essien’s husband had a wonderful idea to trade on his wife’s name and fame and “get into” Akwa Ibom Government in order to receive contracts and privileges from there.

And so he was in and out of that state for a number of years doing his business, and even when he went there for this purpose – all the same he made sure the state was responsible for all his upkeep, travel and expenses.

He snagged a contract to import and supply modern equipment for the printing press of the newspaper corporation. The only thing was that Igbokwe had issues with the term ‘Modern.’ However, this smart guy never let on until the millions he charged had been paid him.

The machines he supplied from India were not only disused and unserviceable, but had vital components missing! They were also outdated so there was no more manufacture of spare parts. Those machines were outrightly defective, but as far as Igbokwe was concerned, it was: Junk Delivered. Done Deal!

The previous state government realized it was in a quandary and asked for a refund. That was when a contract document – more like a Magic Scroll to me, was brandished. It had provisos such as: This Contract Must Never Be Re-Examined Forever, etc! And there were other wonders such as this.

Well, it is that type of money I reckon that the government needs to go after. Goodness knows the corporation needs the money and the equipment, right now.

How about the contract, in billions for one to supply generators to keep streetlights in the major cities on throughout the night? In a state where an Independent Power Plant was opened to great applause! These street generators are diesel operated and your guess is right – the same person has the contract for powering up the street generators. The yearly drain on the economy by this state of affairs is horrendous. It is colossal.

What is economical is to cancel that contract and utilize cheaper power alternatives. Bayelsa state uses solar powered streetlights. Methinks this makes real economic sense because all day in the tropics the sun is shining to charge solar batteries – then all night, stored solar cells power city streetlights. Easy!

But the thing that just gets me is this system of Subsidy and Taxation even where this world has long moved away from the former.

Referring again to the Thisday column, the writer asks: “Why should a state where its citizens lack access basic things of life like water (!) …squander money? …Its governments spend like drunken sailors.

Indeed the case of Akwa Ibom is a serious one. It is shocking to believe that the state government subsidizes every viewing of movies at the Silverbird Tropicana Cinema House.

Subsidizing Going to the Movies!!! It’s incredible, it’s hard, but it’s true.        These are the things the current government met on ground, and had no part in initiating.

But since it is going after some past payment today, then these are the things the government should want to go after or even cancel outright, as the case may be.

A petition over the corrupt printing press deal needs to be sent to Court of Arbitration, for justice to be done, like the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, for instance.

And I would humbly suggest that the state government move quickly and send a nicely worded apology to the World Living Legend Pele for the seeming infraction, and thence lay that matter ever to rest.