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  • Sukuk bonds …Grassroots investors’ golden chance

    Sukuk bonds …Grassroots investors’ golden chance

    In Nigeria, 40.1 million adults, representing 41.6 per cent of the adult population do not have access to financial services. COLLINS NWEZE. examines the N100 billion seven-year debut Sovereign Sukuk offer by the Federal Government through the Debt Management Office (DMO) aimed at getting a large number of the financially-excluded individuals into the financial services net. 

    The need to get more people into the financial system- financial inclusion- is becoming a priority for policymakers, regulators and development agencies globally.

    In Nigeria, getting people and businesses to access affordable financial products and services that meet their needs- including investment in bonds– remains a priority for the government and the private sector.

    Financial access facilitates day-to-day living, and helps families and businesses plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies. It also contributes both to economic growth and wealth creation, and remains a key factor in tackling poverty.

    Creating new investment opportunities is seen as the easiest route to get more people connected to the financial sector, boost capital market liquidity by offering new investors an opportunity to participate in Nigeria’s growing capital market. It is also an opportunity to raise huge capital for government and private sectors to meet their financial needs.

    A good example was the N100 billion seven-year debut Sovereign Sukuk offer by the Federal Government through the Debt Management Office (DMO). It was an opportunity to get more Nigerians into the investment net and boost capital market liquidity. The offer, concluded September 22, was over oversubscribed, with over N105, 878,320,000 realised.

    The Sukuk Bond issuance, remains part of government’s plan to fast track the development of infrastructure and engage in project-tied capital raising given that Nigeria has challenges with road, railway and power infrastructures. It was a project-tied investment facility and attracted investors from across a broad spectrum of the public comprising pension funds, banks, fund managers, institutional and retail investors.

    In the run up to the offer, Nigerians developed tremendous enthusiasm as they embraced the investment instrument advertised nationwide through roadshows by officials from the DMO, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja and Kaduna.

    The awareness campaign which drew attention to the projects Sukuk aim at, the construction and rehabilitation of 25 roads across the six geopolitical zones, aroused in the investors the patriotic fervour that led to the oversubscription.

    Investment experts pointed out that Sukuk, as a novel investment platform, achieved one of its aims which is to offer new investors an opportunity to participate in Nigeria’s growing capital market.  A look at the investors that subscribed for the Sovereign Sukuk revealed that another significant objective was achieved through the participation of over a thousand retail investors from across the nation who accounted for over four per cent of the total subscription.

    Vice President and Treasurer, International Finance Corporation, Jingdong Hua, said deepening the capital market through bond issuance will help smaller companies raise funds that are key to economic growth. He said Nigeria’s capital market has huge potentials and should be tapped into.

    The Director-General of DMO, Patience Oniha said that the acceptance of the offer was an indication of the viability of the instrument as an investment option as well as a demonstration of utmost faith in the economy.

    She praised the Federal Government and, in particular, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, for the policy support that led to the success of this initial offer which industry watchers accept as another window that has opened for the government to raise funds to fill the nation’s yawning infrastructure gap.

    She explained that debut Sovereign Sukuk is an ethical-inclined investment in which rent is based on the investment bi-annually and the principal sum paid at the end of the seven-year tenor. She said the product was designed as a revenue source to fund the construction and rehabilitation of key economic infrastructure projects across Nigeria, such as roads.

    “It is intended to diversify the sources of government funding, offer ethical investors an opportunity to invest in government-issued securities, achieve higher level of financial inclusion and serve as a reference for pricing Sukuk issued by other bodies, especially private sector issuers,” she said.

    Oniha, at the various stops on the roadshow, assured potential investors that the Sukuk is backed by the full faith of the federal government and was one of the avenues it intends to raise funds for capital projects.

    “This is one of several efforts to raise funds for specific projects and this is backed by the full faith of the Federal Government. It is a rental product to cater for segment of our society that requires such services,” she said.

     

    Stakeholders speak

    Managing Director of Credit Bureau, Ahmed Popoola said in a lecture  delivered at the 10th annual lecture of Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) in Lagos with  theme: “Pulling Nigeria Out of the Economic Recession” that bond issuance is key to economic growth.

    He contended that Sukuk, also called non-interest bond, is an alternative option worth exploring to raise funds for  public works and to support the private sector access to finance. He stressed  that the options that altanative finance offers in  funding public infrastructure and empowering small business will help bail the country out of recession.

    He explained that worldwide, Sukuk bond is no more peripheral to conventional finance as  it is being operated in 75 countries, including western nations. “People think that the non-interest financial system is based on faith, but it is based on justice for the two parties. Besides, the system does not allow investments that harm people  or the environment,  thereby promoting sustainable finance,” he said.

    He emphasised the  need to a diversify the economy and invest massively in  infrastructure, stressing “ there needs to be a re-orientation of Nigeria towards  appreciating our products is imperative. Peace and stability has to be restored to all parts of the country as it is crucial and a pre-requisite for any economic development.  “Foreign direct investment needs to be nuances and the promotion of Small  and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) needs special attention  as there is a need to  separate SMEs development  from poverty alleviation programmes.

    A financial analyst, Abiodun Rasaq, said prospects for the Sukuk are very bright. He said the finance system has become necessary given a very significant proportion of Nigeria population strongly believe that based on the nature of the capital market and the dictates of their religion, they cannot invest in the market.

    He called for the development of products that is attractive to these set of investors to allow easy flow of their funds into the market.

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Nigeria (IBFIN), Sani Aminu Dutsinma, stressed that non-interest banking and finance instruments have the potential to check greed, high handedness, selfishness and corruption, not only in the banking and finance industry, but also in the public sector.

    Dutsinma, explained that such financing option, being asset-based, should, in principle be less prone to financial crime.

    According to him, the industry had expanded rapidly over the past few decades, growing between 10 to 20 per cent annually, as shariah-compliant financial assets are estimated at about $2 trillion, covering bank and non-bank financial institutions.

    The banking assets have been grown faster than conventional banking assets, he said, adding that there has been an increased interest in alternative finance from countries such as the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, South Africa and Hong Kong.

    Within sub-Saharan Africa, he revealed that South Africa leads in terms of alternative finance, with one of the largest international non-interest banking conglomerates namely Al-Baraka Banking Group.

     

    Opportunities in Sukuk

     With dearth in regular deposits, finding alternative funding sources by government and private sectors remains critical to growth and development.

    The Sukuk finance development has in recent years, become very attractive to investors in many African economies. Specifically, Nigeria, Sudan, South Africa and Senegal, Kenya, Morocco and Niger among other countries have put in place necessary legal and regulatory frameworks to enable alternative banking offerings in their respective jurisdictions thrive.

    The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, listed 25 road projects spread across the six geo-political zones of the country which the fund will be used for. Some of the projects include the Loko Oweto Bridge, dualisation of a section of the Abuja-Lokoja road, dualisation of the Suleja-Minna road, the dualisation of the Kano-Katsina road (phase 1), rehabilitation of the Onitsha – Enugu Expressway, and the Enugu-Port Harcourt road (section one to three). Others are the Ibadan-Ilorin Road (Oyo-Ogbomoso), Kolo-Otuoke-Bayelsa-Palm Road (Yenegwa Road Junction), Kaduna Eastern By-Pass and Kano-Maiduguri Road (Potiskum-Damaturu).

    Experts said the offer will boost investments flows based on trends already witnessed in the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bond, savings bond among others issued by the debt office.

    Benefits of investing in the Sukuk, according the DMO, include safety of investment, regular income which are tax free and liquidity as they will be listed and traded on The Nigerian Stock Exchange and the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange Plc.

    The debut Sovereign Sukuk is for N100 billion with a tenor of seven years at N1,000 per unit. The offers were certified as ethically compliant by the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts of the CBN. The product is also useful as collateral to access loans from banks.

    Also, the minimum subscription is N10,000, that is, 10 units at N1,000 per unit and in multiples of N1,000 ( per unit) thereafter. The rental payment is semi-annually while the redemption involves a bullet payment of invested funds at maturity.

    “Sukuk is different from Convention Bonds in the sense that it represents ownership interest in assets while bonds represent a pure debt obligation due from the issuer. The funds raised from Sukuk issuance must be used only for ethical purposes. Bonds can be issued to finance any legal purpose. The sale of Sukuk represents the sale of the holder’s interest in an asset. The sale of a Bond is the sale of a debt,” the DMO said.

    It said all categories of investors, including retail investors, high net worth individuals, institutional investors such as commercial banks, insurance/takaful companies, pension funds, asset managers, private banks and others. Also, ethically inclined investors, cooperative Societies, religious bodies, state investment companies and foreign investors will find it really attractive.

    Assessing the benefits of the financial instrument, the president of Federation of Muslim Women in Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, Hajia Maimuna Bello, described it as a bold initiative to cater for a critical segment of the country and urged the DMO to deepen its awareness drive.

    In Abuja, a former executive director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ibrahim Waziri, expressed the hope that the raised funds would be deployed to the listed projects. He stressed that as an ethical financial instrument, investors are assured of timely rental returns.

    The offer will be listed and traded on The Nigerian Stock Exchange and the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange Plc.

     

    CBN speaks on the offer

     The CBN said the offer was geared towards infrastructural development and a worthwhile investment. Speaking at a one-day investors’ forum in Kaduna, CBN’s Deputy Director, Financial Markets Department, Demenongu Yanfa, said the the Sukuk will not only allow Nigerians take ownership of the roads with half yearly rental incomes, but will fast track the building of road infrastructure in the country.

    “The world is looking for new areas of investment. As of today, South Africa, Malaysia and some other countries of the world have embraced Sukuk to fund some of the construction and rehabilitation of key sectors of their economies,” Yanfa said.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) links the rapid growth of alternative banking in developing countries to its relative resilience to financial crises as compared to conventional banking. The sukuk is based on an ijara structure, a common leasing arrangement in the type of finance, which bans payment of interest.

     

    How it started

     Osun State issued a N10 billion sukuk yielding 14.75 per cent, bankers said. The bond, issued in October 2013, was the first Sukuk issuance from a major economy in sub-Saharan Africa.

    The cocoa-producing, southwestern state of Osun received N11.4 billion in total subscriptions for its seven-year paper, from asset managers, bankers said.

    The sukuk bond was issued in accordance with enactment of the Osun State Bonds, Notes and Other Securities Law 2012 and setting up the Osun Sukuk Company Plc. Though non-interest in nomenclature, the sukuk bond was a conventional bond and coordinated by the regular investors in the nation’s capital and money market. The bond was issued in accordance with the Security and Exchange Commission’s rules and regulations.

    The bond, being used to finance roads and school constructions across the state, is due in 2020. While authorising and approving the offer at the board meeting for the Sukuk Company, the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said his government took the Sukuk bond as an opportunity for the development of the state. He appealed to the people to see the bond as an avenue to attract development to the state for the benefit of all and sundry.

    Other African countries including South Africa, Kenya and Senegal have been laying plans to issue a sukuk and Gambia has been selling small amounts of non-interest debt for several years.

    Managing Director of Cowry Assets Management limited, Johnson Chukwu, said the basic thing is that it provided opportunity for people that do not want to invest in interest-bearing instruments to participate.

    “The Sukuk bond will meet the investment need of large population of Nigerian that do not want to invest in interest-bearing instruments. It will attract funds from people that have refused to invest in other debt instruments because of their values. It will bring more people into the financial system,” he said.

    He said sukuk can play an important part in the development of an non-interest market and banking system.

     

    CBN’s regulation

     

    The CBN had in 2015, issued guidelines for an advisory body that will oversee non-interest banking in the country.

    An essential governance structure and element of regulatory oversight for institutions offering non-interest financial services is the establishment of an advisory body at the level of the Central Bank. The bank is to provide assurance that the strategic direction and conduct of financial transactions of Non-Interest Financial Institutions (NIFIs) are in compliance with the rules and principles underpinning their operations.

    Also, section 9.1 of the CBN Guidelines for the Regulation and Supervision of Institutions Offering Non-Interest Financial Services in Nigeria provides for the establishment of an advisory body at the CBN on non-interest banking and finance.

    CBN Director, Development Finance, Mudashiru Olaitan, said financial inclusion can help people step out of poverty and address long term growth  challenges.

    The CBN has overtime, emphasised the need for Nigerians to embrace savings culture to bridge the huge gap between the banked and unbanked.

    The demand is in line with the its National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) meant to reduce the percentage of adults excluded from financial services from 40.1 per cent to 20 per cent by 2020 with specific targets for payments and promotion of savings culture.

    The CBN believes that  having at least 80 per cent of all adult Nigerians have access to affordable financial services as well as the right environment within which to invest and  flourish economically will boost the country’s  development profile.

     

  • A chance chat with Buhari

    A chance chat with Buhari

    I won’T join those insisting that President Muhammadu Buhari must talk on national television. Such tendentious requests belong to mischief makers, among whom I would not want to be counted.

    A vacation is no AWOL. Neither is a doctor’s recommendation of tests and rest the medical equivalent of the National Day. No. It is not yet October 1. Why must he speak?

    Besides, with some privileged people confessing publicly that the President called them – many have indeed visited him in London – I have imagined that I might just be lucky some day. The mobile network could be in a crazy mode as is often the case nowadays and His Excellency’s call could just stray onto my line.

    What will I tell the President?

    A little bird tells me he still gets those messages coded in some esoteric security jargon. I bet there are many issues with grave security implications that may have been kept away from Buhari. So, how will a chance presidential conversation with this reporter go?

    Buhari: Hallo. Let me speak with… hallo…

    This sounds like my President. Am I right, sir?

    Yes; this is President Buhari. And who are you?

    What a privilege, sir. You got the wrong number, sir.  This is a reporter from your favourite newspaper. Please, spare a few minutes, Your Excellency.

    Yes. Thank you. Go on. I’m listening. How is Nigeria?

    Nigeria is fine, sir. The anti-corruption war is on track. The EFCC has been making staggering recoveries. They are mind-boggling – $9.7m, 74,000 Euro, $151m, N8b, N111.3m, and more.

    You see, I said it a long time ago. If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. They say Naira is falling and they don’t know why. Is that fair?

    No sir. But trust some Nigerians; they are fighting back. Just a few days after some hefty boxes of raw cash –  in dollars, Euros and naira – were hauled out of his house, the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr Andrew Yakubu, a honest man, has come forward to claim the cash. He says that the little fortune was a gift from his friends. The EFCC won’t let go of the cash and those Nigerians who have long been condemned to the indignity of being in the company of poor friends are crying like some hungry babies. Now, Yakubu has gone to court to defend his integrity and enforce his fundamental right to receive, obtain, own, keep, hold, spend, disburse and store the cash.

    Really? That’s interesting and nobody told me. Anybody has the right to go to court for whatever reason, you know. That is the beauty of democracy. Nobody goes to jail without trial.You see, this is what I have been saying; well, we are in a democracy.

    Not only that, sir. Musiliu Obanikoro, the former minister and PDP big man, the one who was said to have collected N2.1 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser, has also gone to court. He says he shouldn’t have been asked to refund money. He wants the N785 million he refunded back – with interest and apology.

    You see, this is amusing. And amazing. Since you say he has gone to court, I won’t want to talk about the matter. Why did he refund money? Was he forced to do that? I’ve told Nigerians to get ready. It is a long fight. ‘Walahi, corruption’ will surely fight back; I swear.

    Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose has been threatening to run for president. Should that fail, he wouldn’t mind being vice- president. Besides, he’s been railing and wailing about your health. But some people are saying: ‘Fayose for president? That will be the day – a presidency of okada riders, agbo jedi  hawkers and amala joint clients as well as executive stuntmen.’ Good times are on the way– indeed.

    I wish the young man good luck. Don’t forget, every Nigerian has a right to his legitimate aspiration.

    Despite all the efforts your administration is making to diversify the economy and build up our foreign reserve, some Nigerians do not seem to know that they have a role to play; they are turning back the hand of the clock. The other day in Lagos, a popular retailer was found to be stocking gari imported from India. The authorities are also investigating the claim by some customers of the said retailer that the toothpick found in the store may have been imported– from China.

    That is the lack of patriotism we have been talking about. ‘Why should a Nigerian connive with foreigners to import, of all things, gari? Yet, you cry that Naira is falling, that Buhari has no economic policy, and that nothing has changed. Haba!

    Anyway, the Customs Service has been fighting hard to stop the nonsense. Its officials have devised a way to stem the smuggling of rice. They no longer bother to stay at the border all day, chasing rice smugglers. Now, they go out in the dead of the night, smash open stores in markets and haul out the stuff and cart it away to their offices. Traders are crying and protesting.

    Hmm…hmmm (He clears his throat). If the government says there should be no smuggling of rice, why should people not just listen and stop it? We are trying to protect the local, poor rice farmer who needs to feed his family and pay his kids’ school fees. I hope the smugglers will repent; otherwise, they will always have themselves to blame.

    The PDP and its leaders have been blaming its misfortune on your party, alleging that your APC has been fuelling its internecine war. Besides, they have been boasting that they will return to power in 2019. Many people have been asking them: “Return to power? For what? To continue the looting and bring back Boko Haram? “

    PDP or what do you call them. Are they still around? I don’t have anything to say about them; and I won’t say a word. If you run the show for 16 years, looting the treasury and stealing all the money and you are not ashamed; you want to come back, that is your problem. I leave Nigerians who are feeling the pains to handle that. Don’t people have shame?

    On the foreign scene sir, Nigerians are being attacked in South Africa, their property looted. In Abuja, there have been protests against what many consider as South Africa’s ingratitude to Nigeria for its major role in ending apartheid. There are fears that the protests could escalate if the South Africans don’t stop the attacks. We are told that you spoke with United States President Donald Trump. With what is happening in South Africa, Nigerians are wondering if you had a word with Zuma, the South African President.

    Thank you. The South African situation is a bit complex. I think the relevant organs of the government are handling it. I don’t want to comment on what they are doing now. I assure you that something is being done. Is it true Nigerians are not happy that I’m here in London?

    Nigerians not happy? That’s not quite correct sir. Many have been praying for your good health and safe return . But, that is not to say that there are no mischief makers who have turned it all into an opportunity to scorn you. The majority miss you genuinely – your humour and compassion for the poor. Then, the crazy game between looters and hooters. Whistleblowers now get five per cent of a looter’s fortune. That is the new business in town. Everybody is happy – the government is excited, the hooter gets his cut and the public is well entertained.

    In fact, some have found in all this a way of easing the financial tension that has gripped the land. They joke about the Nigerian condition, including your stay in London. Consider this sir: “These oyinbo people are bad o. They gave us Ibori and kept Buhari. That was how the crowd in the Bible screamed that Pontius Pilate should release Barabbas the thief and hand Jesus Christ over to his killers.”

    The other day in Lagos when all of a sudden the skyline turned dark and cloudy; the wind got cold and harsh, some began to sing: “So, because Buhari is not in the country people think they can do anyhow. Imagine, even harmattan thinks it can come out anytime it likes. Now that Nigeria’s headquarters has been shifted to London, our weather  has changed to London weather. Harmattan in FeBuhari.”

    That’s funny indeed. I thank all Nigerians who have been praying for me. May Allah reward them all. I hope to be back soon. Just some tests and the doctors are insisting that I should rest; otherwise I would have returned. Thank you.

    And thank you sir for your time.

  • Ondo, this is our chance

    At a recent conference called by some Yoruba elders to discuss an agenda for regional development, I advocated a return to Awoism or Democratic Socialism as had been christened by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. It was on the platform of this philosophy that the Great Awo excelled as Premier of the Western Region in the 50s and was acknowledged to have run the most efficient government not only in the country but also in Africa. If 30 years after his death and 57 years after he left Western Region administration, Awo’s administration is yet to be equalled in good governance, then there is a need to look back and see where we have got it wrong and repackage the act of governance as some European leaders did at the end of the Second World War in 1945, using the Marshal Plan as a road map. The Europeans socio- economic prosperity today is a testimony that those leaders had taken a wise decision.

    To Awo, the computer may be invaluable but has to be manufactured by man. Therefore Awo advocated for free education at all levels and free medical services for all explaining that “the more educated and healthier a man is, the more productive he becomes as an economic agent and the more useful and effective he is as a member of society”. If all these propositions are true, he said, “It follows that the education of and health of every citizen are indispensable to our rapid economic progress, political stability and social harmony”. Unfortunately, leaders after Awo have altered the constitution “to pamper luxury and thin mankind”. The revenue allocation formula has been reversed in favour of the centre that must now take over 50%, stomach infrastructure and constituency projects; outright stealing has replaced free education at all levels and free medical services for all; Primary School Leaving Certificate is all that is now required to become a President, Governor or Senator with a title of Alhaji, JP or Chief as an added advantage.

    Awo was   concerned with full employment. “To plan for less than full employment he said “is an admission on the part of Nigerian leaders that they are unequal to their admittedly difficult but at the same time inspiring and manageable assignment”.  “Who would be the unfortunate one to be kept out of employment?” he asked. Unlike our modern economic planners, Awo believed that government had business in business. He practiced mixed economy and economic self-reliance. He created industrial estates at Ikeja, Ilupeju, Apapa in Lagos and Bodija in Ibadan. The visionary Awo occupied the estates with government and quasi-government industries. He had established Government Trade Centres, products of which manned the industries. But today’s leaders are happy going to China, pockets loaded with ‘estacodes’,  to  inspect  technical schools; the type Awo had established  free in the 50s. He established Cocoa Marketing Boards in Ikeja where cocoa was processed for export, and farm settlements for those who could not go further academically to provide employment and promote agriculture .Farmers were so prosperous that they established a cooperative society, Cooperative Bank and built the first skyscraper in Africa-the 26 storey Cocoa House, Ibadan.  The Western House in Lagos remains a masterpiece. Criminals have occupied the vacuum poverty, ignorance and idleness have created. The money that would have been better spent on education and employment now goes for crime fighting, the rest, wasted and stolen. Why not? While Awo allocated land for industrial estates, today’s leaders allocate land for churches. While Awo created industrial estates for wealth, today’s leaders exchange the estates for miracles. Obasanjo “who never lifted a single stone” of development as Head of State and two times president is always excited to announce that he created 25 billionaires even though by  so doing  the middle class has been wiped out. While past leaders of Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Brazil are celebrating a legacy of economic prosperity, their counter parts in Nigeria are forming a band.

    As the focus of this essay is largely Ondo State, the government of the late Chief Adekunle Ajasin remains a reference point in good governance in the state apparently being a direct disciple of Awo. He established Oluwa Glass Industry in Igbokoda, Ceramic and Paint Industry in Ifon, Iree Bricks Industry in Ire, among other industries .He established Ondo State University, now Ekiti State University etc. If as proclaimed by the incoming governor Oluwarotimi  Akeredolu Esq., Governor Olusegun Mimiko has achieved much, there is still much more for the Akeredolu’s government to do. Like that of the late Ajasin, Akeredolu’s government must have business in business; he must embark on good governance and economic growth.

    While not underplaying the achievements of Mimiko, failure to pay workers’ salaries for about six months is a minus for the economic prosperity of the state especially for a state which collects 13% oil derivation. To regenerate and boost the economy as well as motivate workers, payment of salary arrears should be the topmost priority of the new government. This will stimulate demand and supply. Pursuing economic self-reliance, Oluwa Glass Industry, Ifon ceramic and paint Industry, and other moribund legacies of Awo and Ajasin must be revived to generate income and employment.

    The people’s welfare is the hallmark of good governance. In line with Awolowo’s philosophy of free education at all levels and free medical services to all, Akeredolu’s government must give priority to both. Education and health must be placed on first line-charge and 50% of fund received on oil derivation, devoted to their funding. Student loans of about N100,000 should be automatic for every student in tertiary institution to allow the children of “the poor and the poorest”, acquire education instead of giving their parents a paltry sum of N5000.00 monthly. Feeding of school children may be good, but it will be better to covert free food to free education at all levels. Today Awo lives forever, not because he gave the poor money but for giving their children free education and the parents, pipe-borne water, free medical services, electricity, good roads and “life more abundant”. The quality of education is not determined by big buildings in the name of mega schools. Mega schools should be discouraged for the simple types in Lagos State or the Agagu prototypes. Disadvantages of mega schools no doubt outweigh their advantages. In the next five to 10 years, the cost of maintenance may be more than cost of building them. If not maintained, they become dilapidated and may eventually be abandoned to prevent disaster. Every child is expected to attend school nearest his or her home for obvious reasons. Moreover, it is unwise to overcrowd students in a complex for security and safety reasons. The incoming government may consider turning these mega schools in the state capital to commercial buildings and schools, relocated to communities nearest to the students as it used to be.

    The incoming government must take full advantage of belonging to the political party in power at the federal level. To minimize accidents, federal roads across the state should become dual carriage ways as lasting legacy of Akeredolu’s government. If President Muhammadu Buhari would seek re-election in 2019, he must demonstrate that he deserves our votes; He must ‘dualise’ the Okene-Idoani-Owo road and Owo-Akure-Ore road, Akure-Ilesa road, give us a seaport at Igbokoda and complete the Olokola power project. Aketi, this is our chance, let’s make Ondo State great again.

     

    • Amoboye, is a journalist and political analyst.

     

  • Second chance

    • PwC’s fresh opportunity to lay bare the NNPC morass

    The nation would appear set on another phase of the journey to resolve the riddle behind the $20 billion alleged to be missing from the coffers of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Last week, Uyi Akpata, Country Senior Partner, Nigeria and Regional West Market Area for PricewaterCoopers (PwC), told journalists at a workshop that his firm had been re-engaged by the Federal Government for another round of audit; but this time, with a much wider scope.

    He gave a picture of what to expect: “What I think that may be different from this audit, compared to the first one, is that there may be strong learning points in terms of plugging revenue leakages or erosions that may be minimised going forward, especially in the face of dwindling revenue that is available to government… People have seen that report and for the benefit of hindsight…have suggested to government that there is a need to widen the scope because NNPC may not be the only organisation involved in this governance issue. There may be a need to extend it to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)”.

    The above justification – or rationalisation – obviously makes eminent sense only in the context of the disappointing outcome of the previous exercise.  Although that took 18 months to conclude, it yielded practically very little in terms of establishing if indeed anything was missing; and if so, how much; and by extension, the individuals and entities responsible for them. It goes without saying, therefore, that the latest exercise only became necessary because the past effort failed.

    The reasons behind that failure are certainly not far-fetched. Whereas Nigerians were, quite rightly, outraged by the allegation that a whopping $20 billion was missing from the NNPC accounts, the Jonathan administration left no one in doubt that the last thing it wanted was an investigation to establish the veracity or otherwise of the weighty allegation. Indeed, it took relentless pressure mounted by civil society and a broad section of Nigerians to get the administration to agree on the need for a forensic audit.

    Even at that, the procedure it prescribed for the auditors turned out to be rather restrictive – deliberately so – for a supposedly forensic undertaking.  Worse, however, was the bad faith by officials – with tacit support at the highest levels of government, of course – which guaranteed that the key agencies central to the investigations refused to cooperate.  So, in the end, an exercise touted as a forensic one was reduced to a mockery of its essence.

    And so PwC, in what amounted to repudiation of the entire work, could only aver in its covering note to the Auditor-General of the Federation that:  “The procedures we performed did not constitute an examination or a review in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards or attestation standards”!

    The good thing is that PwC now has an opportunity to make good on its earlier effort. This time around, we expect that PwC will follow every trail, as indeed every transaction within its expanded scope. Time was when auditors took shelter behind technicalese to produce reports that are neither relevant nor actionable.

    But Nigerians will recognise the difference when they see the masquerades behind the plunder of the commonwealth unmasked and punished – the so-called Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAA), reported to have bled the treasury to the tune of billions of dollars.  Or when the opaque practices, which allowed highly connected individuals to defraud the nation, are finally dismantled.

    That would be a good test of PwC’s commitments, not just to highest professional standards but to Nigeria.  That should be the most compelling argument for justifying its re-engagement after its last outing.

  • Give this NNPC team a chance

    SIR: I wish to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari for his choice of Ibe Kachikwu, and his crack team of Executive Directors in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). I refer to Messrs Maikanti Baru, Group Executive Director, Exploration & Production; Isiaka Abdulrazaq, Group Executive Director, Finance & Services; Dennis Nnamdi Ajulu, Group Executive Director, Refining & Technology; and Babatunde Victor Adeniran, Group Executive Director, Commercial & Investment.

    I am convinced, as with other well-meaning Nigerians, that on the basis of the antecedents of the entire NNPC team and the undisputable overarching sterling leadership of the present administration, there is no doubt that there are brighter days ahead for the oil sector which, incidentally, is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. It is important to state that how well the corporation is managed will, to a large extent, contribute significantly to nation’s economy and the well-being of the people generally.

    It is often said in Africa that the morning determines the day and this adage has found resonance in the NNPC appointments. From what is published in the media, no sooner had the team come on board that they hit the ground running. The new management has drawn up a robust framework to promote the principles of accountability, transparency and good governance in the organization with clear cut achievable milestones. It is heart-warming that the core business of NNPC has been restructured to engender growth, sustainability and profitability and unlike the times past, this is not sacrificed on the altar of waste, nepotism and other such base considerations.

    More importantly, one is hardly surprised at the zero tolerance of the new NNPC management for corruption as this is in line with the vision espoused by the management team and this is also in tandem with the marching orders of President Muhammadu Buhari. Moving forward, the management should be emboldened to rid the organization of the remaining rotten eggs in its different strata in view of the fact that one bad apple may indeed spoil the entire basket. All those with soiled reputation should be shown the way out of the organization as this may perhaps be the last opportunity for the country to get things right in the sector.

    The net effect of the on-going re-organization championed by the new NNPC team has been salutary. We have seen steady supply of petroleum products in dispensing stations all over the country since they came on board. It is indeed a new dawn for Nigerians as everyone can, without fear of equivocation, attest to the availability of PMS, diesel and Kerosene and other products in virtually all stations in the entire geo political zones of the country and most significantly, these products are sold at the approved rates.

    The government should use the gains from this sector to develop the non-oil sectors like agriculture, smart technologies and areas where the country enjoys comparative advantage over others. The way to go from now is for our country to move from its near total dependence on oil and thereby increase the resource base of the country which will naturally make life better for all.

    The new NNPC management team should stay the course and not be distracted by the antics of mushroom and amorphous groups and their disgraced paymasters under the guise of shameless activism and opportunistic watchdog politics. Nigerians are solidly behind the quiet revolution going on in the new NNPC as they are in full support of their beloved President.

     

    • Musdapher Bello,

    Kaduna.

  • Oliseh to give Haruna another chance

    Oliseh to give Haruna another chance

    Head coach of the Nigeria national team, Sunday Oliseh, has said Lukman Haruna still has a future with the Super Eagles.

    Haruna was substituted after 36 minutes in Nigeria’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on September 5.

    The midfielder was subsequently left out of the side that beat Niger Republic 2-0 in an international friendly in Port Harcourt on September 8.

    He has also been omitted from the 25-man squad of players called up for October’s international matches against Congo DR and Cameroon.

    Oliseh has revealed that his latest decision should not be interpreted as tantamount to sounding the death knell on the 24-year-old’s international career.

    “If I had not made that change (in the fixture against Tanzania), we would have lost that game because the midfield did not have the triangle in front of it. I would have made the change earlier but I did not want to destroy my compatriot.

    “However, when things did not get any better, I had to put the interest of the country first.

    “(Afterwards) I told (Haruna) what he did not do right. It’s now up to him to work on it. If he works on it, he will be selected for subsequent matches,” Oliseh told supersport.com.

  • Give me a chance, Obafemi Martins begs Oliseh

    Give me a chance, Obafemi Martins begs Oliseh

    •Says he wants to score goals for new boss
    •Denies international retirement

    Nigeria international, Obafemi Martins has asked new Super Eagles Coach, Sunday Oliseh to give him a chance to prove himself just as he has backed the coach to succeed with the national team.

    The Seattle Sounders striker, only returned to action for the Major League Soccer (MLS) side last weekend after two months out, netting brace as they crushed Orlando 4-0.

    One of the goals was voted AT&T Goal of the Week – the third time that the former Newcastle and Inter Milan man has taken home the gong.

    The former VfL Wolfsburg star player believes his present form will be vital for the senior national team as he is already dreaming of scoring goals for the Oliseh’s new-look team.

    “I hope I will soon get another chance to score goals for Nigeria again and I also believe that with time and a little more patience the Eagles will come back to winning ways under new coach Sunday Oliseh.  He has gotten all the experience we need in a coach, he has played the game before and I am really happy to see him in eagles again.”

    On the 4th of December 2014, local media in Africa and Italian sports paper misquoted Martins saying he had retired from international football.

    However Obagoal as fondly called has denied ever making such announcement.

    The former Levante striker last played for the Super Eagles in 2013 and since then he has not been considered by the former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi.

    Martins who has 39 caps with 18 goals since he debuted for Nigeria stated that he is still open for call up from the new national team handler.

    “I never announced my retirement, in any form or anyway, it was not official at all, I was unhappy to be treated as if am not a Nigerian footballer, I have represented Nigeria, at the Nations Cup, World Cup, and I still want to play more, it’s a new eagles now, led by Oliseh, so why will I retire now, I am still young.”

    Obagoal made a scoring debut for Nigeria on May 29, 2004 against the Republic of Ireland.

    On November 17, 2007, the attacker captained his country for the first time in a friendly against Australia that marked his 19th appearance.

    His 83rd minute strike on November 12, 2009 against Kenya in Nairobi ensured the Super Eagles qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

     

  • ‘Okowa has bright chance in Delta’

    ‘Okowa has bright chance in Delta’

    Despite the power shift at the centre, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State is optimistic that it will win the governorship and House of Assembly polls. The reason for the optimism is simply because of the party’s dominant posture in the state. Since 1999, the party has dominated politics in the state like a collosus.

    Through thick and thin, the party has developed a bond with the people and has built up leaders that continues at different levels to work for the party in spite of occasional desertion. It is the core of these leaders, past, present and serving that the party will rely upon to do the job of mobilising the people as it has done for so many years, in delivering the party at this week’s elections.

    It is also true to a large extent that the party has kept to its core principle of inclusiveness, which includes spread of appointments and projects, spread of benefits and opportunities and ultimately its adherence to the principle of equity and justice.

    In the beginning, it was James Ibori, an Urhobo from Delta Central that governed the state for eight years. He was succeeded by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, an Itsekiri from Delta South. So, in line with this zoning principle, the party in December settled for Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, from Delta North, as Uduaghan’s successor. Thus, closing the loop of justice.

    In truth, for politics to remain an arena of shared goals and beliefs there must be equity and fairness, otherwise it would become a tool of oppression and exclusion. Delta State PDP abhors injustice, but adheres to the core values of equity and justice, knowing quite well that society must have this critical balance for progress to be made.

    In Okowa, the PDP has a candidate that has shown his readiness for the job. He has campaigned in different parts of the state, with vigour and style. According to observers, he has displayed an understanding and knowledge of the state during such campaigns. Amongst other qualities, Okowa’s antecedents suggest that he comes to the turf ready to deliver.

    Okowa’s stature has left the opposition bewildered, because it it is difficult to judge what they stand for.

    Okowa’s bid is hardly threatened by the candidacy of Mr. O’tega Emerhor of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and that of Great Ogboru of the Labour Party (LP).  The politics of the two candidates are perceived as divisive. They are seen as spoilers who have no plan for the state.

    The two candidates are have been appealing to the ethnic sentiments of the Urhobos, the largest ethnic group in the state, for support. But, so far the Urhobos have been divided among the three major candidates.

    Thus, observers believe that The kind of politics that the opposition plays may have worked in the past but not anymore. They pander and promote ethnic agenda and seek to situate this as the only route to political Eldorado. But they are mistaken. Having being together in the last 16 years with PDP in the vanguard and with the evolution of politics in the state, our people are wiser and more comfortable on a platform that gives equal opportunity and access to everyone.

    Today, in Delta every component part of Delta feels a sense of ownership of the Delta project. We all feel that given the dimension and direction of things, it is better to be equal part of the whole than to be half of the whole. Okowa and the PDP preach equal part of the whole, while the opposition preaches half of the whole. The danger is that the politics of the opposition frightens people, it disturbs the Urhobos. Because the Urhobos know what is being said and presented is not who they really are.

    People rightly fear politics of domination and control. Everybody wants affirmative right: a right to be seen and respected as a stakeholder.  Half of the whole by the opposition is politics of exclusion and marginalisation.  And this is politics of the past. The 16 years of PDP has stabilized Delta State and created integration in ways many did not know was possible. A vote for the opposition will completely reverse this.

    In this sense Okowa and the PDP in Delta state represents the future of the state. A future in which according to Okowa plan prosperity will flow in Delta state. There will be more investment in infrastructure such as roads, bridges, power and industrial parks. Okowa has promised to further develop the rural economy, there will be great emphasis on agriculture and ago-processing— the value-addition, the economy needs to be able to grow and reduce poverty. Okowa has rightly identified environmental and urban renewal as a focal point which means he will further extend efforts in combating climate change and environmental degradation.

    The Okowa plan is also mindful of the place of education and health care system that will ensure further growth in human capacity. His emphasis on universal health insurance policy for all Deltans is admirable and is the logical next step to ensure that Deltans are healthy. In truth, what Okowa offers is by far qualitatively superior to what the opposition is putting on the table, which is actually nothing.

  • Buhari, you do not come to us by chance

    Muhammadu Buhari, you do not come to us by chance. You who have drunk fresh water from an unnamed stream should make history.  I bet you curse providence now or thank it. I bet you wonder why it is that it must carve you so wickedly inwards the way the eclipse comes before that twist in the scenery we all love to talk about and dream about.

    Now you must find a path we both must travel; you must find that proverbial destination we all must arrive, henceforth. You must start a new vision to guarantee the attainment of the old ones laying spent in the doldrums of ineptness and all that conceit, and deceitfulness ever gave.

    Now that you know better, let every smile become the sneer you have learnt to loathe, let every sneer become such incense that would teach your heart to obsess at the crossroads where courage banters with success and progress.

    Today, our dreams are of discord and our talk is of chaos. The cowards that we are have chosen to prevaricate where remedy jostles with perversion for head-space, in the interest of our dying State. But we choose perversion. Would you too?

    Perhaps you have no inkling what turbulence you have been chosen to curtail; do you have any idea what tempests you must ride and conquer?  Perhaps you know not what madness your lot is to contend…the storm is astir Buhari, what can you do?

    Will you become the leader and messiah of our dreams? Will you become the spitting image of predators we have learnt to endure in power? Will you become the proverbial neophyte forever walking in the shadows of enfant terrible tin gods?

    Perhaps you understand not the heart of the matter Mr. Buhari; you do not come to us by chance. You come in the year when old promises stay broken and new promises founder with the breath that utters them.

    You come when the young expect nothing and the old endure forced recall and invocation of pleasures past. You come when we can charm neither logic nor wit to justify what had been taken, stolen and forsaken.

    You come when daylight jostles with our heart’s pulsed reassurance of twilight. You have become Number One citizen at scarcely our finest hour. You come when we perfect the art of decapitation of defenceless mothers, sons and daughters. You come when we master the ‘fine art’ of execution and ethnic genocide.

    You come when fear’s moon flower spreads within the clan. You come when debauchery and bloodlust colours our dawns into devious dusks of gruesomeness and slaughter. It’s a grievous weight you bear, General Buhari, I do not envy you. Given time perhaps I would wish I were you.

    But I do not now, for this brief that you accept confounds me and yet it behoves me to suggest that you remember our official histories of rancour, administrative plunder and death. Remember the histories that afflict our peace and burden our hearts; let them be your guide in your onerous task to hack memorable paths to your own narrative in the pursuit of fresh traceries and histories in the interest of our common good.

    If you can manage to achieve that, your records speak from the shelf a thousand and one years after destiny foisted your leadership upon us. And if you are a disaster like every other before you, your record shall speak from the shelf.

    Tell me, are you the disaster they say you would become. Show us; are you the effeminate struggling to pass as ‘man,’ as circumstances command? It was a brave thing that you did keeping faith in your dream even in the face of random acts of ridicule and violence hauled at you by subhuman elements like Fayose, Fani-Kayode, Faka and company.

    It was about time Buhari that you became our dream. It was about time you actualised our heartfelt wishes; Nigeria deserves more than the impotent wimps and court jesters at the helms of affairs. Now that you have become Mr. President-elect…now, what?

    I wonder if you will get carried away in the euphoria of the moment and so doing, substantiate the fears of wanton alarmists peddling calumny against your Excellency; please do not go the way of outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan and company.

    Please do not turn governance into a bazaar; Nigeria does not need more than 18 ministries to be precise. You know such grey slots I abhor, and our people detest, don’t you?

    Having committed yourself to such gallantry that excited our hearts to sing your praise, do not renounce plaudits we summon from the depths of our hearts.

    Mr. President-elect, you will have to desert the old ways…our corrupt ways. You must deviate from the path of those who played “puppet.”

    You are adjudged to be a man of better breed and character, please do not cross over to the dark side like Jonathan. You must learn from the sad fate of Jonathan; now that you have beaten him silly to the position of Head of State, his cunningness and desperate exploits amounts to nothing; the fortune-hunters that misled him have begun to desert him even after they gobbled the feed with the cart and the left-over. Its four years since 2011 when he took over and our people are passionately retracting heart-felt paternosters they made for his sake; it is only Jonathan out there, I assure you. Please do not go the way of outgoing President Jonathan.

    You have no one Buhari; it’s just you, your actions, inactions, and posterity.

    Mr President-elect Buhari, in a nation of 170 million or more, will you do better? Your first test will be in the appointments that you make; so doing, you will announce to the world what manner of leadership you have to offer. Do not go the way of the outgoing bunch of clueless toddlers who desperately sought to play ‘adult’ to our detriment.

    I hope you are man enough to take charge. I wish you would undo the unforgivable gaffe Jonathan committed foisting damaged policies and men unto our battered state. Shall expired drugs divest the heart of terminal cancer?

    Shall you now rise in high character to act unfettered? Shall you now act enabled by superior manhood to bridge the void that swallows and dampens our lives? Shall you now with calm heart and level head summon and excite the dawning perspective of human good in the interest of Nigeria’s poor, helpless citizenry?

    You see, there is some poetry to your emergence. It is your lot to re-enact the compulsive story of patriotism undiminished, bliss-stung. Shall you now summon and regurgitate that old anguishing virtuosity in the interest of State and those whose destinies listless men you defeated frustrate even as they leave?

    I wish you strength and formidable grace as you divest our fatherland of random vile and madness that became our lot in the wake of President Jonathan’s leadership. It’s never too late to divest our destiny of men and women forever maddened by lust for power and the spoils of phantom projects. I hope you find persons of private virtue, the old-fashioned…post-modern folk who would bow their heads to no blast, and stand unbending to every brute force in the world. And we know that such men and women are yet with us.

    Find them Buhari, if truly you intend to make history.

  • Obasanjo: A chance encounter

    Obasanjo: A chance encounter

    FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo loves drama. Consider the histrionics of his parting of ways with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He called a meeting of his ward members, who were singing his praise- T’Obasanjo lawa o se (To Obasanjo is our loyalty) – and dancing excitedly. As soon as he succeeded   in working the crowd into a frenzy, he announced that it was all over. For full effect, Obasanjo asked his ward leader to shred his membership card.

    He launched into a blistering criticism of the Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration, accusing it of running down the economy. In the PDP camp, it was as if an earthquake of the most calamitous proportion had struck. Party chiefs were struggling to regain their breath. Some of them said Obasanjo would not be missed. Others simply went into the kind of sober reflection many thought the party was incapable of indulging in. Baba should have taken it easy, the charitable ones said. The hawks derided him for alleged disloyalty. In fact, the Ogun State chapter, at an emergency press briefing, announced Obasanjo’s expulsion. But it was too late. The arrow had left the bow. The old fox had beaten them in their own game.

    Besides the little he told his former ward members, Obasanjo has not spoken on his sensational exit from the party on which ticket he was president for two terms. How does he see the reactions to his exit? What is the “untold” story of the former President’s action? How will a reporter’s chance encounter with Obasanjo go? Let’s attempt a conjectural rendezvous with the Balogun of Owu. Here we go:

    The reporter greets the former president and introduces himself, calmly. Obasanjo, frowning, looks away. Suddenly, he turns in the reporter’s direction, grabs him by his shirt’s sleeve.

    Mr reporter, oya, two questions only. I won’t take more than that. I have a flight to catch.

    Sir, why are you angry with your party, PDP and…( Obasanjo cuts in sharply).  Hmmm…hmmmm(He clears his throat, raising his right hand).

    Please, stop! Point of correction. I’m not a PDP man. Neither am I a politician. All that stopped on Monday. I’m now a statesman. So, if you’re looking for PDP people you know where to find them. Obasanjo is not one of them; they know themselves.

    Baba,what exactly is the problem? Why did you slam the reconciliation door in such a dramatic manner?

    You see, young man, there was nothing to reconcile. Some people have started destroying Nigeria and I will never be in a party that will destroy Nigeria. Never. Me? I belong to no party; my party is Nigeria. Any person or group of persons, by whatever name they are called, should not be allowed to destroy this country for our children. If you advise them and they see you as an enemy who must be crushed, won’t you leave them? That is what I, Obasanjo, have done and I have no apologies for that.

    President Goodluck Jonathan visited you recently. We all thought you had settled whatever issue you might have had.

    It is true he came. He wanted me to endorse him, to support him. And I said it was too late. All the promises he made, how many of them did he fulfill? No jobs, no light and no security. What message will I be sending out to the world – that we should condone mediocrity? Nobody can use me. That is my message.

    Sir, don’t you think people will see your action as personal and …(he cuts in, frowns and then smiles).

    Tell me, what is personal in asking that the right thing be done? What is personal in asking a man to leave a legacy? What is personal in advising the President and Commander-in-Chief to wake up and retrieve the huge chunk of Nigeria that has been taken over by lunatics? You see, if you have taken up a job, an appointment or whatever…whatever. And you discover that you can no longer cope, that things are crumbling, that people are saying they no longer want you, you know the honourable thing to do; don’t you? Now you say you must carry on in office, haba!

    But, Baba, people have not forgotten your role in the emergence of this administration.

    Yes. I won’t deny that, but let me tell you, young man, you can enthrone a king, you can’t reign for the king. No. When I saw the way they were going, I quickly withdrew. I have a name to protect – internally and externally.

    Sir, Chief Anenih said PDP will not miss you.

    Chief what? (Smiles). Tony Anenih? When you see him, tell him that I won’t miss them all, that I still dey kampe.  We know ourselves. I know him; he knows me. As they say in Benin, ‘me I no dey follow follow anybody in power.’ Whether as a leader or a chairman, I will never try to fix the ‘unfixable’. You’re trying to run away from a man but he pleads that we wait for him at the other side of the river.

    And the party chairman in Ogun said you had been excommunicated from the party.

    Hehhh! Heeey! I dey laugh o!(His face lights up with a boisterous laughter). Excommuniwhat? And who is so called? Chairman my foot. You see, this is part of what we’re saying. I don’t want to talk o. I have said it, if politics will disturb me from contributing my own quota to the future of this country, I quit. No more.

    The other day, I complained about the kind of leadership they had, nobody listened. How can a drug baron and wanted man be my leader? I would rather stay in my house, leaderless.

    Some people believe that since you have access to the President, some of those things you tell him in public could have been said privately. They say you play to the gallery.

    Gallery, which gallery? The other time I wrote a letter; instead of replying, they started looking for motor park touts, saying all manner of jagbajantics as if that is what will solve the problem. Nobody can embarrass me and you can’t intimidate Obasanjo. I said the rate of corruption was too much; have they addressed that? If I counsel you and you fail to listen, what will I do? I will just leave you. Whatever you see, dat na your toro. Look at the foreign reserve. By the time I was leaving office, we had $59.37b. Now, everything don pafuka.  What happened to the power projects? Today, people are spending billions to charter jets and nobody can confront them. Is that how to fight corruption? Boko Haram has become a monster that drinks blood everyday. In a country that has a leader? No. That is unacceptable. But, as I have said, I don’t want to talk. There will still be time to talk.

        But, sir…(Obasanjo’s phone rings and he stands up, goes to a corner to receive the call. Coming back, he begins to dance in light, calculated steps, his face wreathed in smiles).

          Bi ere bi awada, PDP n wo’le lo

         Bi ere bi awada, PDP n wo’le lo

         (Like joke, like joke, PDP is sinking)

    (like joke, like joke, PDP is sinking)

    Sir, what can you say about Nigeria’s future?

    I, look, let me be frank with you. Huuu…hmmm( Obasanjo clears his throat. His face wears a strikingly sensitive countenance). I just hope the man will not go for broke and just say, dammit, that is, a kind of t’oba le ya, ko ya( I don’t give a damn even if it all gets torn), putting this country in a constitutional crisis, the kind of crisis they call ‘one chance’ on Lagos streets. I just hope it won’t get to that stage. I hear they are shopping for somebody to head an interim government. And I said, interim ke; na wa o!

    What’s your comment on the postponement of the elections?

    Distasteful. A student who has studied hard won’t tell the teacher to postpone his exam; no be so? But, you see, like one fellow said on TV the other day, ‘you can postpone the funeral, but you can’t wake up the dead body’.

    The Defence Headquarters issued a statement, condemning your actions and…

    Which defence? I remember the statement you’re talking about. It was an unsigned statement and you journalists fell for it. If the writer was sure of himself, why didn’t he sign it? Are you sure DHQ wrote it? I doubt it. You see, it is part of what we are saying. The other day, they brought the army to declare Buhari’s certificate missing. And I said, ‘how’? This is not the military that I used to know, the military in which I, with several other eminent Nigerians, served. They want to add the military to all those institutions that they have touched and ruined. I trust the boys there, they are wise enough to know that these are not people to trust.

    But, Mr Reporter or whatever you call your name. We agreed on two questions; now you have taken all my time. You can go in peace before I change my mind.

    Thank you sir.