Congratulations – accept my belated congratulations, Doctor. That’s what we used to call you back in my Hints magazine days.
First, let me seize this moment to thank you for the opportunity given to me to serve as a writer and editor of Hints magazine under your watchful eyes (1990 – 1997). Being a writer yourself you easily recognized my talent and allowed me to flourish and express myself.
Anyone who has had anything to do with you can attest to it that your charm and charisma loom large like the tropical sun; you carry yourself so well that you exude a princely aura. Some could mistake that for arrogance. But I know it is simply a measure of the self-assuredness that comes with success.
Some keen observers of your odyssey will say you have had a chequered rise from glory to glory, riding on the wings of mother-luck. But I will like to say that the ‘Kachikwu phenomenon’ goes beyond ‘good luck’. It is one firmly rooted in hard work and unwavering pursuit of excellence.
You always had clear goals and you worked hard to achieve them. Yes, without a doubt, you have also been lucky. But to depend and ride only on ‘good luck’ is a recipe for disaster; if you get my drift.
The truth be told: it has not always been a smooth sail, Doctor. You have had your own spell of turbulence in life. I guess the period in question resulted from your ability to attempt the ‘impossible’ sometimes. You know what I am talking about. I mean your failed bid to acquire Texaco (having pulled together a consortium of friends.) Your sudden move from being an employee to an employer was a well-orchestrated masterstroke albeit temporarily. Your former colleagues (in Texaco), of course, would have nothing of your emergence as their employer and they never rested until they shot down the deal.
Those really were trying times, Doctor. That was the only time I saw you really flustered. But you survived it. The big break eventually came and you grabbed it with both hands – the rest, they say, is history. You’ve been unstoppable ever since. In fact, you have now surpassed your dreams and expectations. Well done.
The point must be made that you are no one to suffer fools lightly. In those days you had no patience for indolence and mediocrity. You pushed us hard. Although we worked under pressure, we enjoyed what we were doing week after week. Do you still have that fire? I suppose you still do, having begun the streamlining of NNPC. I am certain you will take your assignment very seriously if you are still the Ibe Kachikwu that I know.
Doctor, no doubt, you are already a blessed man – successful in every material particular (permit my use of a cliché.) Therefore I expect you to look away from the benefits of the office for now and dutifully clean up the mess that NNPC has been for decades.
I pray you do not yield to the temptation of glossing over the opaqueness of NNPC as those without noble intentions would readily do. History beckons you. This is a golden opportunity for you to step out and make the difference in a society where it is so easy for many to mortgage their conscience for the lure of lucre. Are you ready to make history as the man who turned around NNPC? I hope you are.
I remember you, sir, as a stickler for excellence. (Permit my use of another cliché.) Oh yes, you were. You never believed in the limiting power of the word ‘CAN’T’ – to you it can always be done; and more often than not, your resilience paid off. I hope you still have the magic wand – the touchstone for success.
Now, Doctor, you do have power in your hands – use it wisely with unwavering determination, not minding whose horse is gored. Be fair, firm and focused. They say wine gets better with age. I hope that’s the case with you. Indeed a lot of water has passed under the bridge.
Parents United Network, an organization I co-founded have been in the vanguard of igniting a national moral rebirth. We believe that unless and until we create a new moral order and leverage on it for the change that we desire, greatness will continue to elude Nigeria.
We rolled out a 14-part agenda for President Buhari three months ago. In that write up, we made some suggestions on NNPC. I will like to volunteer a few of them to you:
First, you need to shut out all patronage seekers and praise singers and get down to brass tacks.
Whatever it takes, dismantle the huge wall of secrecy and lack of transparency in NNPC. It has been the veil behind the perpetuation of pernicious corruption over the years.
Carry out a comprehensive staff audit with a view to pruning down the workforce to a reasonable size. It is bloated and not sustainable for a viable NNPC. All those retrenched should be promptly paid their entitlements. This will enable them to set up small businesses and possibly become employers of labour themselves.
Be determined to turn NNPC into a viable enterprise in the class of Petrobras. You can honestly endear yourself to Nigerians by making NNPC a veritable money spinner for the country.
It is a big shame that NNPC still presides over the importation of fuel. You should work toward putting a stop to this evil which has become a cesspit for corruption. Apart from getting the existing refineries to work optimally, you should encourage massive modular refining. We suggest you enter into partnership with all the 36 states with a view to establishing one modular refinery in each state, to begin with.
Many before you were just content with maintaining the status quo and feathering their nests. They would rather pander to the secret demands of the powers that be. So they failed before they even started. They had no will to tackle corruption. In time soon they got swept away.
But things are different now. You are lucky to serve under a no-nonsense, highly principled President who will not bother you with extraneous demands. Besides, you are taking over on the strength of not being a product of the corrupted NNPC system. You cannot afford to fail, Doctor. I want you to know that your success at NNPC will be a thing of joy to us who worked closely with you in the beginning.
I wish you the very best of times in NNPC.
- Newton, former editor of Hints magazine is a writer and morality advocate based in Lagos
