Tag: Ibe Kachikwu

The excruciating economic and physical pains suffered by Nigerians in the past three weeks or more, arising from the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise commonly called fuel, has given out the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, as an incompetent face of President Muhammadu Buhari’s change agenda. Luckily for the substantive minister, President Buhari, many of his ardent supporters are not yet linking him directly with the corporal punishment that the scarcity has forced the average Nigerian to endure. Minister Kachikwu, who came into the cabinet highly recommended for his academic prowess and managerial competence would likely dodge any performance test like the present University of Lagos students if he is invited to one now.

Some of his colleagues like Babatunde Fashola, Minister for Power, Works and Housing would also gladly dodge such a test now and also join him to carry placards demonstrating and shouting: weno gree o o, we no gree, just to force the postponement of any performance test were Nigerians in a position to call for that now. Such is the level of challenge that has befallen some of the best brains in public office that Nigeria has to offer, if we are to consider their stellar performances in their previous appointments. So, it is fair to ask, what has turned Ibe Kachikwu and some of his colleagues to a caricature of their celebrated old selves?

For instance, what could have made Kachikwu not to realise that the regime of fuel importation which he put in place since the beginning of the year, or whenever, would lead to the unprecedented scarcity that we are now trying to come out of? Ordinarily, if the minister has the statistics of the millions of litres of fuel that Nigeria uses every day, which he should, could he or his staff at the PPMC not have realised that the nation was running out of stock few weeks ago and realize that unless something urgent or drastic was done, that we were headed to a national misery?

Such minor mathematical or statistical calculation over the demand and supply of PMS, to meet the nation’s requirement cannot be equated to the work of a genius, not to talk of a magician, as the minister infamously quipped recently, when confronted with his failings. Yet, the minister was at least an academic genius, even if not a magician, during his university days! So, what was responsible for the failure of a genius to ordinarily calculate or get a competent person to calculate or plot a basic graph of the demand and supply of PMS to Nigerians?

As I write this, nobody has intelligently told the nation what went wrong or whose poor judgment or what failure of equipment may have caused the enormous pains that majority of Nigerians were forced into. Even as Kachikwu has profusely apologised for saying that he is not a magician, I am not able to glean what suddenly caused us to spend valuable man-hours and scarce resources in the past three weeks chasing a product that is not scarce in the neighbouring countries around us. I am not talking about the failure of planning over years, to build new refineries; rather, why despite the absence of a natural and unforeseen emergency, such monumental suffering was served on Nigerians.

Not long ago, Nigerians were told that fuel subsidy has been eliminated and we were all excited because of the regime of fraud and racket that the past administration turned fuel importation into, in our dear country. With the recent development, it looks like we are back to that era. Just like other previous regimes, PMB’S government has hinted of plans to increase the pump price of fuel as the answer to the inevitable subsidy racket that is sure to follow. So in essence, we are applying the same old tactics, while hoping to achieve a different result.

Kachikwu has also told us of plans to build new refineries near the existing old ones. The argument is that the new ones would use the existing network infrastructure already in place. Yet, even as non-geniuses, we know that the pipeline which is the major infrastructure referred to, is already badly dilapidated and exposed to vandalism. Again, one does not need magical powers to know that no business man would put down the enormous resources needed to build a new refinery and allow it to be under the whims and caprices of state officials who control the PPMC and the NNPC, which is what that model will entail.

Or could it be Kachikwu’s hope to rely on our national budget, despite the scarcity in that sector, to build the new refineries? Even as a non-expert in public finance, is it not obvious that our country cannot afford such investment now, or if we are to borrow funds, which financial institution would gladly provide funds for an investment that would be undermined by state actors and dilapidated infrastructure? My thinking is that the new deal is another bogus proposal like the so-called green refineries promised by the regime of Diezani Alison-Madueke to distract Nigerians until that miserable regime came to an end.

I recall that when he assumed responsibility, Kachikwu told us that if he has his way, he would gladly sell the refineries as they cannot be turned round anymore to our common advantage. Now, if he is hoping to build new refineries within the precinct of the old ones, would the latter be allowed to waste or get turned to national monuments? Even when I concede to the distinguish minister superiority of intellect and management in the oil business, his proposals so far looks so disoriented, and incapable of solving the national emergency that the supply of PMS has turned into, just like the supply of electricity.

Talking of electricity, poor Fashola, has become the butt of jokes. Yet, he too came highly recommended for his competence. With the so-called discos in the hands of cabals, and with the national grid in poor state and incapable of transmitting what the nation can already generate, Babatunde Fashola SAN, is giving the impression of being in charge by touting PMB’S promise of 10,000 megawatts by end of the four year term. With the vice president, Professor Osinbajo, SAN, informing us that we already have the capacity for 12,000 megawatts, could it be that the only plan of PMB’s government is to complete a new national grid during the four year tenure?

Despite the glaring and daunting challenges now faced by the petroleum and power sectors, under Kachikwu and Fashola, I am inclined to believe that the duo have the capacity to turn the sectors around for good. Unfortunately, but strangely, there are no tell-tale signs of any revolutionary measure being crafted to turn things around. Sometimes, I wonder whether President Buhari is the one holding the leash too tight, to allow Kachikwu unleash his competence and energy on the national embarrassment that ordinary refining and distribution of fuel has become in Nigeria. Should that be the case, may I remind our much recommended President that failure in the two sectors amount to grand failure of his change agenda with all the consequences.