The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fantastically

  • Ibori return to ‘fantastically corrupt country’

    David Cameron, the former British Prime Minister while briefing her majesty the Queen, Elizabeth the second of Great Britain about an official visit of President Muhammadu Buhari described our country as “fantastically corrupt”. He however added that President Buhari was not corrupt but he has inherited a corrupt country and he needs all the help he can get from the international community to make a success of his regime. Many commentators said Buhari should have asked for an apology for the derision with which his country has been treated. Buhari, a simple soldier, asked ruefully what he would do with an apology when what he needs is the return of the billions of pounds stashed by corrupt leaders in British banks.

    If there are people who  still believe Buhari should have asked for an apology, the return of Ibori in a chartered aircraft to Benin, followed by a long convoy of cars to Oghara his home town where he was celebrated by virtually the entire town, has settled the argument. Corruption is as Nigerian as apple pie is American. It seems our people have willed the commonwealth to their leaders to do whatever pleases them with it. In other parts of the world, an ex-convict would go quietly home to his family and lie low for years hoping that people would see his contrition and forgive him of his crime. But not in Nigeria where ex-convicts return to society on horseback or on the backs of their poor people who while sweating carry the unrepentant renegade on their backs while dancing wildly after consumption of poorly produced local liquor. What a life!

    It was not just the ordinary people who may have been rented to demonstrate support for Ibori. Political elite in Delta State and perhaps in other states in the South-south and possibly in other parts of Nigeria went to felicitate with Ibori. Senator Nwobosisi had earlier on, on behalf of Ibori, boasted that while in prison, he was responsible for electing his daughter into the House of Representatives and he also claimed he helped Bukola Saraki to become Senate President. Obviously Nwobosisi himself became a senator because of Ibori’s backing from prison.

    Before he returned home from London, it was reported that the Delta State government had paid him several millions of Naira in back gubernatorial allowances and other financial support befitting a former governor in spite of the British saying he robbed the state blind an offense for which they sentenced him to 13 years. He was released after serving half of his time in jail.

    The result of all this is that the international community is likely to sit on the proceeds of corruption in their countries’ banks. They will argue that if they returned the money, our various governments may return same to the thieving looters. This of course will be a convenient excuse for not releasing the money which can be put to better use in their countries. It is a case of fools would soon part with their riches.

    With the kind of leaders we have in this country, Nigeria is in trouble. One thing that baffles me is the general ignorance of the people, not just the uneducated but the apparently superficially educated persons who always demonstrate more enthusiasm than wisdom in politics. Some of these people do not mind Ibori soiling his hands and spoiling the name of our country. They will go on to say he is not the only one who is guilty as if this is a justification for his bad behaviour. Unless there are laws preventing this type of people from aspiring to the highest post in the land, one would not be surprised if Ibori runs for the presidency. His supporters would argue that the British were unfair to him and would cite the fact that a corrupt Nigerian court had said he had no case to answer when he was faced with 170 violations of the criminal code. Although the EFCC appealed the case and technically the case has not been dispensed with. This is the problem. How many corrupt cases have been decided even during the current dispensation?

    Many of the previously accused individuals are now senators earning humongous salaries and allowances as well as collecting millions of Naira as former governors. Until everybody realizes that there is a possibility of revolt by the suffering masses which in blind fury would terminate our lives, our leaders will continue to behave with the impunity which makes them inured to all criticisms.

    Recently the police displayed millions of Naira seized from INEC officials after the bye-elections in Rivers State. These monies were allegedly given to the officials of the electoral body by the governor of Rivers State. The governor has denied the accusation but we have some kind of evidence of Nigerian currency running into hundreds of millions displayed by the police as if they were chiffon de papier – mere pieces of paper as the French will say. When I saw this, I was depressed seriously because our national currency has been so thoroughly abused that one feels humiliated working to earn the dirty money so carelessly displayed by the police. With the Naira so easily available to be dispensed by governors, is it any wonder why the Naira value has so totally collapsed? In a country where salaries are not being paid when due, the sight of so much money on display can make the poor desperate. This desperation manifests in the current wave of kidnapping and waylaying of people on the highways.

    All people of good conscience must support this current government to rein in this monster of corruption. This brings me to the unkind, uncaring and hateful rumours peddled over the president’s medical condition. This is a man trying to slaughter the demon of corruption for which some are wishing him dead. Can people not make a connection between the vastly reduced price of crude oil on the world market and Nigeria’s total dependence on earnings from much reduced oil production because of sabotage in the Niger Delta and our present economic situation and recession? When apparently sane people tell the government to immediately diversify the economy, I ask myself whether these are serious people. To do that will take time. If we want to grow enough rice to feed ourselves and industrialize the country to stop imports, will these not take some time? All this whingeing will amount to nothing unless we radically boycott all luxuries we current indulge in and make use of local goods. I want to end this piece by parroting Buhari’s words that if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill this country.

  • Cameron: Fantastically un-Nigerian

    Cameron: Fantastically un-Nigerian

    Not too long ago, he ruffled the Nigerian feather following the leaking of his sidetalk in London with the British monarch. Footage captured by an eavesdropping television cameraman had gone viral. Looking a bit tipsy after what many in Abuja would imagine to be one glass too many, Prime Minister David Cameron sensationally declared that citizens of Nigeria, Britain’s biggest former colony on the African continent, “are fantastically corrupt”. But gutted by the outcome of the Brexit referendum last weekend with its apocalyptic consequences for what was once the imperial British empire, this is obviously the darkest hour in Cameron’s political career and perhaps one of those harrowing moments he would wish he never sought tenancy at No 10, Downing Street. Or took the needless gamble to conduct the national poll in which a slim majority voted the United Kingdom out the European Union. Resulting in what is arguably the biggest blow after World War II to the European quest to foster greater unity.

    Poor Cameron, if only fate had made him Prime Minister of the very country he had so fantastically derided, he would not have found himself in this sort of mess. And if he did, sundry escape routes would sure be open for a quick getaway. Were he a Nigerian leader, he, to begin with, would have long ago classified membership of EU as “non-negotiable” and branded those agitating otherwise as “subversive elements” out to undermine the golden legacy of “our heroes past”. In fact, members of Cameron’s party – or ethnic group – would have complemented that with a far more emotive argument that the proponents had indeed been commissioned to either distract or destabilize or derail the sitting government. Why now?, they would cry. To be sure, someone would be thoughtful enough to rush to the court and obtain an injunction – preferably perpetual – against further touting, if not contemplation, of that very idea. So, from the official angle, the odds would have been deliberately stacked so high against the proposal of plebiscite. In the event that did not work, efforts would then be calibrated in such a manner to give the notion of opinion poll a bad name.

    Before anything else, leaders of the ruling party would have helped themselves to the raft of contracts for the supply of both software and hardware for the polls, with those that lost out in the bazaar resorting to self-help by simply blowing the whistle, inviting public scrutiny of the entire process. If there was no such in-fighting, there still could be the chance that the “emergency contractors” would fail to deliver on time or the right quality, thus leaving the window ajar for another sort of litigation after the exercise. If precedents already set by many sub-national governments on creation of more local councils are enough guide, then what would have transpired on the appointed day for the said referendum would simply have been a kangaroo exercise in which fully incentivized state officials would be at liberty to allocate figures to fit a pre-determined outcome. Whichever side the pendulum eventually swung, heavy dust would still have been raised. Just as the final ballot was being counted at the collation centre, someone would have rushed out to read a pre-written letter of protest, calling for outright cancellation.

    Perceived sundry irregularities would have been painstakingly listed. With a straight face, someone was likely to report that lots of underage voters were paid to thumbprint ballots at several locations. Or, someone would not consider it out of place to allege “computerized fraud” and “smuggling of mercenary voters” to a particular polling centre. Against this murky backcloth, the stage would thus have been set for Cameron to exercise his power of discretion in the overall “national interest”. Either way, it would still be a win-win case for the incumbent. In view of the humiliating loss suffered by the incumbent party in the exercise, two clearly marked escape routes would be open to him. He would be at liberty to summarily annul the entire process, citing “overwhelming” evidence of irregularities. But in case he was able to resist the temptation of that option, it still would remain his preserve to snatch victory from the jaw of defeat. Without any scruple or shame, a spin would then be brought to the matter.

    The Prime Minister would simply have declared that he was exceedingly humbled by the clarity of the voice of the majority that the country exit the union, even though that conflicted with the personal view he had humbly expressed during the campaign. “My people have spoken,” he would then declare in summary, setting the tone for the clincher. “And where my people stand is where I will stand as their humble steward. Let us therefore see today as historic and an affirmation of the supremacy of the bottomup approach to democracy. In short, permit me to reaffirm my resolve to continue to lead our people in the direction they want to go.” Such transparent duplicity! On a lighter note still, the following joke allegedly made by the inimitable President Robert Mugabe after the Brexit polls has been making the rounds on the social media in the past few days. It goes thus: “The colonials are reaping what they deserve now; for the Lord is not a God of injustice. For as they have wrongly and unjustly divided Africa and raped our natural resources; so would God divide their households.

    “Today, fantastic stupidity is when an idiot cynically calls for an unnecessary referendum in furtherance of his personal ambition and not only lose the vote, but end up disuniting the country, partially unbundle the European Union, make the world’s financial markets lose $2 trillion in a few hours, as well as lose his job to boot. “What do I know…I was here when he came to office; I am still here as he shamefully leaves office.”

    But make no mistake about it: Cameron had to offer resignation not necessarily out of his free will, but more to the dictation of a political culture that imposes personal responsibility for choices made and in submission to the awesome weight of durable institutions of democracy that cannot be easily manipulated. That is the supreme lesson we should take away from the Brexit mishap. Well, last week’s edition of this column generated lots of reaction. In deference to the readers, I today yield the space to just a few.

    For Tunji Bello, Ihonbvere, Onyinma

    Here is wishing happy birthday to Mr. Tunji Bello (SSG to Lagos State Government) who turns 55 today; Professor Julius Ihonbvere (SSG to Edo State Government) who turned 60 last Saturday, and Chief Tony Onyinma, a media juggernaut, who added another year on Wednesday. As for Ihonbvere, all roads lead to Benin City tomorrow as human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, delivers a commemorative lecture.

     

  • Nigeria will be ‘fantastically great’

    There was a ‘fantastically corrupt’ nation to the extent that we did not spare ourselves the self-criticism of a near indelible image foisted on our sovereign nation by those who lost the track of our founding fathers’ vision for the would-be great country in the history of the world, yes!

    But to agree with the British Prime Minister David Cameron over his recent comments describing Nigeria as a ‘fantastically corrupt’ nation over a cocktail is the highest level of unpatriotic disposition any Nigerian can exercise against his own country.

    “Are we not corrupt?”; “Is David Cameron wrong after all?”; “Yes he was right indeed” are some of the reprehensibly disturbing comments uttered by second class-minded Nigerians who tend to absorb wholly whatever filth is thrown at us by those who will defend their own territorial integrity to the last, even while treading on a faulty policy or moral deficiency at a time.

    “If you are angry against your country, do not tear the national flag” is what I often tell Nigerians who get uncontrollably angry with their nation at the slightest provocations. We have responsibility to uphold our territorial symbol and defend our cause even at a time when things are in bad shape for our nation.

    Whenever I hold our national currency, I cannot but reflect on the labours of our heroes past who saw a nation that would thrive in the robe of greatness. The images of our heroes past are reflections equal to the ‘Statue of Liberty’ for America or the ‘Great Wall’ for China. Before we accidentally got to a stage where we were led by political small-chops and the weak whereby stealing was excused as no art of corruption, we had strong leaders who would die defending the future of our own nation. To the glory of God, President Muhammadu Buhari is restoring the hope we clinched on, believing that Nigeria will rise to its desirable status in the manner that has been foretold.

    As a collaborator is also culpable, Mr. President is right to have told David Cameron that doing the needful against corruption by ensuring no Nigerian is allowed to safe-keep stolen money in Britain is more charitable than his apology. The bottom line is while agreeing that Nigeria had lost so much credibility to financial corruption, yet the word ‘corruption’ is vague and cannot be used to describe Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt nation” in its entirety. It is also outrageous for any world leader to continue to sink Nigeria in the abyss of very derogatory expressions such as the ones uttered by David Cameron in spite of the ongoing efforts by the current government to put the nation back on track.

    Recently in Britain, David Cameron’s family’s tax affairs came under public scrutiny in an allegation against the British Prime Minister’s tax offences relating to tax evasion after details of his father’s Bahamas business interests are leaked in the Panama Papers saga; and not quite long, the controversial British Prime Minister was confronted in parliament over criminal investigation into alleged electoral fraud by Conservative MPs in last year’s general election. As a matter of fact, Mr. Cameron came under severe attack from Angus Robertson who is SNP leader as lacking moral justification to lecture other countries on corruption and probity in the said anti-corruption summit, as published in the Independent of Wednesday, May 10, 2016.

    “Seeing as the Prime Minister is prepared to lecture other countries on corruption and probity, could he explain why seven police forces in the UK have launched criminal investigations into Conservative MPs over potential electoral fraud,” he asked at Prime Minister’s Questions.

    It is in the habit of Britain to demean its former colonies, a habit France does not exhibit against its assimilated former colonies. But who cares? As Cuba defended its territorial integrity against the United States until America came calling lately, Nigerians should stand against perpetual label with bad names and identities; so shall we!

    Globally, we should not forget that Nigerians are doing great. In all walks of life, Nigeria has produced very outstanding and reputable persons who have contributed immensely to world growth and development.

    That the richest man in Africa is from Nigeria with most of his investments localised is a pointer to the fact that our economy remains one of the most prominent on the continent. Professor Wole Soyinka, a respected Nobel Laureate, is a proud Nigerian; five lawmakers with Nigerian backgrounds are currently in the British Parliament; we are proud of Olympic Champions, best medical hands and exceptional talents too numerous to mention.

    Nigerians have run successful businesses in most difficult terrains and every corner around the world with conglomerates of business empires and investments. Among every five black persons in the world is a Nigerian, indicating our spread, dynamism and enterprise.

    The economic potential of Lagos State alone is more than some three African countries put together. The dynamism with which Lagos is being managed is commendable, considering its mega status and complexity; no one is therefore taken by surprise with the appointment of the governor as the Vice President of Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), an interest group established to promote trade and investment by facilitating engagement between Government and the private sector throughout the Commonwealth. This came shortly after he delivered historic keynote at the London School of Economics on Africa’s potentials for sustainable growth.

    While talking about leadership as major challenge confronting Africa as a whole, we must acknowledge that the role of citizenship is pertinent at ensuring all-round development. After all, a good citizen at the lower ebb will definitely make a good leader; all leaders we see today were once followers and who are not left out in the circle.

    Promoting what is ours and defending our territorial integrity at all cost is an integral part of loyalty and patriotism to our fatherland. Nigeria is coming out of this situation and will become a country to beat. If there is any reason why the masses are not protesting against the ongoing deregulation of the oil sector leading to increase in pump price of petroleum products, it is because of the seriousness of the current government. Together, we can make Nigeria great again by first realising that the journey to a new Nigeria has started. Let’s join the train so we can prove to the world that Nigeria can truly become fantastically great!

     

    • Olulade is a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Epe Constituency II

     

  • Much ado about ‘fantastically corrupt’

    SIR: The recent description of Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt” nation by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron on Tuesday, has become subject of contemptuous criticism by Nigerians. I don’t know why Nigerians are taking umbrage over the off the cuff statement of the British Prime Minister about Nigeria being fantastically corrupt. I still can’t get my head around the reason why Nigerians are taking such comment too personal on social, print and electronic media? What is wrong with the Prime Minister’s statement? Is Nigeria not fantastically corrupt?

    In as much as the present APC-led government is doing everything practically possible to eradicate corruption which the past permissive ruling party, PDP institutionalized in our democracy, we shouldn’t be fast in condemning the British PM’s comment. This present progressive government was elected on the premise of change; the major reason Nigerians voted out the past ruinous government, not forgetting the President’s perceived sincerity of purpose in the fight against corruption and so far, he has lived up to expectations in the anti-graft war.

    The series of mind-blowing revelations of how billions of dollars were salted away in the Dasukigate scandal and the daily confessions of some persons of interest of the old corrupt political order held by our anti-graft agencies for their complicity in the mindless looting of our economy is enough for nations like Great Britain to refer to us as “fantastically corrupt”.

    It is our effort in combating this ugly monster called corruption that will change other peoples’ perception about us; so far, I think we have not done badly in that regard.

    Whilst the British Prime Minister, David Cameron may need to be educated in the school of decorum, I couldn’t agree more on President Buhari’s remark on the issue, “I would not demand apology from Cameron for describing Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt country, rather, all I demand from Cameron was the return of Nigeria’s stolen assets”.

    I concur!

     

    • Joe Onwukeme,

    unjoeratedjoe@gmail.com