Wednesday, 1 July 2015
What is the status of Shiroro LGA's Internally Generated Revenue?
By Usman Baba
It is an eyesore that success leaders of our LGA have always shared selfishly between themselves, the revenue generated weekly in our LGA to the detriment of the masses.
It is estimated that more than 500, 000 naira is generated weekly as revenue from our markets. When you calculate other sources like tournament rate by Shiroro Hydro-electric Power Station, revenues from other sources like shop owners, collection of indigine letters, etc you will end up having not less than 1000,000 naira weekly. That's about 4 million naira per month. This amount should have been more than this, but endemic corruption has affected over the years.
The revenue collectors, the administrators, and even the council heads have connived to robe the LGA of this revenue. They collected the monies from our poor market women, our poor farmers and shop owners only to pocket same for their personal use.
The revenue system must be rejig, retooled and rid of corruption to save the LGA from relying on Federal Allocations that are usually hijacked by the State Governor. With this revenue, we can provide portable drinking water, quality education, employment etc that will bring a new lease of life for our people.
Yes, we can!
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Breaking away from business as usual in electing our Public Officers
By Engr. Usman Baba
Most Nigerians look at Public Service as an opportunity to get rich. People placed their interest above national interest and that is un-patriotism. You hardly see a person who is vying for a public office having an agenda, vision or mission.
They are agenda-less, the only item on their order paper is how to amass wealth by looting public money; they intend, without the fear of God and lack of conscience to steal money meant for provision of portable drinking water, primary health care, building of schools, development of agriculture and provision of employment.
An aspirant to a particular public office MUST have a plan on how he or she intends to add value to the society he intends to represent. Competence must always be the watch word.
If you have never for one day stopped to wonder and get worried about toddlers hawking pure water, ground nut and kola in the market or street at a time that child should either be in the school or attending additional lesson, then you are not fit to aspire to Public Office.
If you have never get worried as our people mostly in the vilkages still uses stream/river water to wash, cook and drink, then you are not qualified to aspire.
If you have never thought on how to get our teeming youths employed both in formal and informal sector, then your certainly do not have it.
We need to join hands and resist such sets of people from occupying our public offices. Evil can only prevail when the people of goodwill fold their arms o watch!
Yes, we can!
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Governor Shema in the Eyes of History
Governor Shema in the Eyes of History
By Usman Baba Ahmed
Twenty-Seven years after it was created by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. Katsina State has become one of Nigeria’s accountable and developing states, arising from the heritage of resourceful leadership that has seen Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema as one of Nigeria’s most prudent managers of resources. Katsina state, although a non-oil producing state, has not taken any loan since 2007 in spite of the massive development that abounds across the state; yet no contractor is owed; and its workforce gets paid on time (i.e. on 22nd of every month).
Undeniably, governor Shema has proven to be an achiever of unprecedented feats. This of course, is achievable from various enviable foundations that have been laid by different distinguished military and civilian administrators that have had privilege to lead the state before him.
Colonel Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar (rtd) was the first Governor of the State (September, 1987 to July 1988) and was succeeded in the following order by Colonel Lawrence Onoja (July 1988 December, 1989); Colonel John Yahaya Madaki (December 1989 to January 1992); Alhaji Saidu Barda, the first civilian governor (January 1992 to November 1993); Navy Capt. Emmanuel Acholonu (9th December 1993 – 22nd August 1996); Colonel Samaila Bature Chamah (22nd August, 1996 to August 1998); Lt. Colonel Joseph Akaagerger (August 1998 to May 1999); and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (29th May 1999 to 29th May 2007); and then Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema (May 2007 to date). The first civilian governor was Alhaji Saidu Barda, while Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema took over the mantle of leadership in May, 2007 from Late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Katsina is home to two past Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, namely: Major-General Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Other Katsina dignitaries include late General Hassan Usman Katsina, Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, former Chief Justice of the Federation Alhaji Muhammad Bello, two past Inspectors General of Police Alhaji Muhammed Dikko Yusuf and Alhaji Ibrahim Commassie, and pioneer Chairman of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alhaji Hamza Rafindadi Zayyad amongst others. Katsina is indeed home to some of the best and brightest Nigerian public servants, politicians and military top brass.
Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema thus became the third democratically elected Governor of Katsina State whose 7-year-tenure can aptly be summarized as the leadership of performance. He came in with unequalled drive to swiftly position the state along the veritable path of immediate and excellent infrastructural renewal. Overwhelmed by deep understanding of where the state was coming from, he wasted no time in offering the state an impressive infrastructural transformation through massive and all-encompassing developmental projects, either completed by his administration or started by him.
As a governor who shares nelson Mandela’s thought that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, Governor Shema in 2007 initiated a complete overhaul of the educational sector in the state. He declared a free and compulsory education from primary to senior secondary school level for all Nigerian children resident in the State, irrespective of tribe, ethnic affiliation or religion. The free education policy was well thought out and adequately funded. With attendant availability of instructional materials as well as teaching aids; many schools were renovated, in addition to 200 newly constructed secondary schools. 34 new girl-child schools were built while 38 blocks of one-storey building new primary schools were constructed, among others.
The governor, who adores education, settles WAEC, NECO and NABTEB Examination fees for all SS3 students irrespective of tribe, religion or ethnicity. About 17, 157 teachers were offered in-service training and a backlog of 2, 560 Secondary School Teachers were promoted. Over 2000 Katsina State students were sponsored to Sudan, Jordan, USA etc to study various degree programmes including Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Arabic Calligraphy, Engineering, etc.
Dr. Shema’s administration committed over 2 billion Naira to the newly established Federal University in Dutsin-ma which saw the early take-off of the institution. As if not done, he expended over 11 billion Naira for the completion of the state owned University – Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University. The structural evidence on the ground in the state owned university is a clear proof that the Katsina State government is committed to building a citadel of learning. He introduced a Teachers Award Scheme in which selected hardworking and outstanding teachers are given Hajj seat yearly (amongst so many other incentives introduced by the Governor) to ginger their performance in the state.
In demonstration of Dr. Shema administration’s determination to ensure that every child in Katsina state has access to education, 70 Allo Model Schools were built across the 34 LGAs of the state to support Almajiri education. Presently, the Allo schools have a total student population of about 17, 091. Feeding, learning materials and clothing are provided for all these pupils and their teachers by the government. It could be observed therefore, that the education sector has witnessed a total overhaul within the last 7 years, with target specific projects aimed at advancing the quality of pupils education in the State.
The health sector in Katsina has experienced an unprecedented revolution since the advent of the administration of Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema. The government has invested enormous financial resources through the Ministry of Health to revamp and restructure the sector in order to make health care delivery not only accessible for the citizenry, but also to ensure that nobody dies from preventable disease.
Like the free and compulsory education which has impacted positively on the people, the administration’s free medical care for children, pregnant women and the elderly has resulted in the elimination and reduction of notorious killer diseases like polio, measles, tuberculosis, malaria etc among vulnerable groups in the society.
The governor who believed in the maxim that health is wealth, completed work on the 169-bed Turai Yar’Adua Maternal and Children Hospital, Katsina. He improved the condition of all the existing general hospitals through renovation, upgrading and procurement of modern hospital equipment across the state. The Shema administration provides free treatment for all antenatal care including delivery and caesarean section; all cases of malaria, psychiatry, accidents within the 48 hours and renal dialysis. The Babbar Ruga General Hospital has been providing prompt care to patients of VVF, Tuberculosis and leprosy diseases. It is the largest centre providing highest number of VVF surgery in the whole world; and he constructed a 250-bed space othorpaedic Hospital in the state. The government has provided the Katsina Eye Hospital in Gambarawa with modern equipment and staff, and is jointly run together with the Tulsi-chainrai Foundation with very good results. As at now, the hospital has achieved 100% post surgery restoration of sight. To remove obstacles hindering access to health care for people living in the rural areas, Governor Shema introduced the Mobile Ambulance Scheme. 34 equipped Mobile Ambulances were procured and deployed to provide health services to rural communities lacking health facilities.
Agriculture, till date, remains the major occupation of more than 75 % of the population of Katsina state. The tilling of the soil for the cultivation of the vast agricultural land in the state was still on subsistence basis when Shema came to power, and this results in the production of food virtually for consumption. The governor has explored every avenue to boost the agricultural yield of the state.
Analysts believe that Shema administration and boosting of agriculture are like Siamese twins, and this undoubtedly is changing the state into another food basket of the nation. The Shema government envisioned and boosted Garhi, Sabke, Jibia, Zobe, Mairuwa, Kusa and Kusada irrigation projects to sustain cultivation of crops throughout the year.
In furtherance to its commitment in boosting the agricultural sector, Governor Shema’s government signed an agreement, known as Katsina – Songhai Initiative, in which the government plans to spend the sum of 3.4 billion naira to actualize the agreement. So far over 3 billion naira has been spent on this project, operated in 3 sites across the 3 Senatorial Zones of the State.
The government also purchased 340 tractors to boost mechanized farming with each Local Government getting not less than 10 tractors at 40% subsidized rate, whereas the farmers were asked to deposit 10% of the total cost and pay the balance in 15 years.
In the area of livestock development, the administration attached importance to the sub-sector because the country depends largely on it for the supply of meat and for export. The government also in collaboration with the Federal Government set up a Neem Tree Processing Company in Katsina. Since 2007, the administration has continued to procure and distribute fertilizers on regular basis to farmers at subsidized rates. The fertilizers get to the farmers directly by delivering it to the polling units, thereby eliminating middlemen.
In furtherance of its agricultural objectives, the government also engaged agricultural specialists from Porto Novo, Benin republic and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and invested heavily on the training of youths in modern agriculture.
On roads, the Sarkin Yakin Hausa’s administration has constructed 32 different road projects covering about 500 kilometers. Twenty four of these roads were initiated by the new administration, while eight others were inherited and completed. The total cost of the projects stands at more than N36.76 billion, out of which that of the inherited projects amounted to over N11.28 billion, while those initiated by Shema administration gulped about N26 billion. The administration constructed a 40 kilometers 6-lane ring road round the state capital which has opened up the City’s rapid development and expansion. This singular ring road project, as hugely futuristic as it is, has thus set the corner-stone foundation for the State’s future socio-economic transformation.
It will amaze you to know that the entire lengths where these roads traversed were completely asphalted, hence the people will eternally be grateful to the Shema administration.
In a complementary manner, the governor established the Katsina State Roads Maintenance Agency which has the responsibility of maintaining state owned roads, repairs and maintenance of street lights, construction of solar traffic lights as well as intervention in the repairs and maintenance of other roads, such as rural roads that are under the jurisdiction of local government areas. The Agency has so far recorded positive achievements with more than 50 projects to its credit since inception.
It is actually true, that the seat of government that houses the leadership of any administration the world over is a reflection of the signature of the administration, since this is very often the first port of call for visitors to such a place. Governor Shema has constructed a befitting state of the art government house for the state as the old Government House was the residence of the District officer during the colonial period. Although some renovations were carried out by successive administrations to improve the status of the old Government House, there is a limit to which you can however renovate a building even on account of safety.
Constructed at a cost of over 8 billion naira, the list of the projects in the brand new Government House include: The Governor’s office; Banquet Hall; Clinic, Deputy Governor’s office; Security control gate; Press centre; Canteen; Energy/Central workshop; Presidential aides quarters; three mosques; Stewards quarters; Sports court; Governor’s lodge; Juma’at mosque; Landscaped environment; Internal roads network; First Lady’s office; three Governor’s guest chalets; and Presidential lodge, etc.
As you read this article, you are likely going to be carried away by the sheer magnitude of the Shema revolution that you may fail to notice the economics of it which is the very essence of “Shemanomics”. It is a principle that enables Katsina accomplish both modest and big projects without recourse to borrowings. It explains why with a combined monthly federal allocation and internally generated revenue earnings of less than 3 billion naira, Katsina state has accomplished landmark achievements without recourse to borrowing. In Katsina, Governor Shema never started any project without the 100% money needed for it at hand. After the contractor is paid his mobilization, the balance of the money to be paid on completion is put in a fixed deposit. That way, no contractor is owed after completing his work. But that’s not all. In three years, interest accruing to such deposits came to an unbelievable 8 billion Naira. It is with this seeming bonus that the Governor has put up a befitting Governor’s Lodge in Abuja and a brand New Government House in Katsina which was commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan in March 2014.
Who could have believed that this Lawyer from Dutsin-ma – who hails from a humble background, has not only held his own, but has held everybody spell bound, and in the process, inextricably wrote his name on virtually every good thing that has to be said of modern Katsina state and surpassing all successive administrations in the State’s transformation.
For Governor Shema, provision of Shelter to Katsina people is not a matter of privilege but a right. With that in mind, the Governor constructed: 500 houses at Barhim village; 1, 020 houses across the 34 Local Governments; 250 houses-Kabakawa housing estate in Katsina; and is presently constructing another 510 housing estate in the state. In the last seven years, the Governor has constructed over 5, 000 housing units across the state to improve shelter to the ordinary man in the state. The Governor upgraded Katsina Motel to a three star hotel (3 Suites, 47 Chalets, 30 single rooms, and a swimming pool etc). It is worthy of note that the Motel was established in 1975 and was last renovated in 2000.
To the Governor, electricity is an essential requirement for all facets of our life and it has been recognized as a basic human need. It is the key to accelerating economic growth, generation of employment, elimination of poverty and a catalyst for human development in both urban and rural areas. The administration procured more than 100 transformers to upgrade power supply across the state; constructed 30MW solar power plant in Kankia; established bio-gas electrification projects; and paid 81.5 million naira as compensation to farm owners for Windmill power project at Lambar Rimi. As if not done, 91 other communities have been provided with electricity and connected to the national grid.
Water they say, is life. Safe drinking water and sanitation are indispensable to sustain life and health, and thus fundamental to human dignity. The Administration has completed 22 semi-urban water supply projects and billions of naira spent on different projects executed by the administration to boost and provide water supply for the populace. Over 1000 communities now have access to portable water through the massive drilling of boreholes in all the nooks and crannies of the state; over 300 solar-powered water pumps installed; and over 1,000 rural water supply programmes were executed through Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA).
Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema has improved the welfare and physical health of young people through empowerment for self actualization as well as in promoting and popularizing sports in all its ramifications while providing instructors, coaches, and role models to develop sportsmanship for character building, competitions, and tournaments.
Since assumption of office the Governor has continued to vigorously tackle the issues of youths and sports development in the state. To buttress this, the Governor upgraded Dutsin-ma, Kankia, Funtua and Mani stadia; the Governor for the first time since the creation of the state in 1987 established a state football club, the Katsina Spotlights FC, which made its debut in the 2009/2010 National Professional League. The Administration has constructed a millennium size modern stadium in Katsina. The stadium – known as Karkanda Stadium –is among the best in the country and Katsina people can watch national and international matches organized by either FIFA or NFF.
On youth empowerment, His Excellency, Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema has established the Youth Crafts Village in 2009. The Crafts Village is located within the vicinity of the State National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Camp located in Barhim village. The centre is a one Stop-Shop for youth skills acquisition in a broad variety of areas including computer and GSM phone repairs; pottery; woodwork; tie and dye; wrought iron welding; auto repairs; electric vulcanizing; blacksmithing; photography; and film production. The facility is equipped to train 2000 youths in different trades per annum.
The Youth Crafts Village enrolls 48 youths from each of the 34 local governments in Katsina State to train in their respective fields of interest. The youths are resident, fed and given allowance for the duration of their respective programs which is either 6 months or 1 year depending on the type of the training programme. As at last count, the Centre has turned out over 7000 youths. The beauty of this Centre is that it is producing job Creators instead of job seekers and due to the successes recorded, the Governor plans to replicate the Centres at Funtua and Daura Senatorial zones with the cost of the projects captured in the state’s current budget.
The Governor is presently constructing an ICT and Business Institute in Katsina. The work has reached an advanced stage, and the project is expected to be completed by mid-2015. The Governor has equally set up 28 Paint and 20 Chalk Cottage Industries where youth are trained. Fertilizer Blending Plants have also been constructed at Batsari, Maiadua, Safana and Bakori; and government has distributed over 100 Million Naira as soft loans to about 6000 traders and artisans under the Small Trades Special Credit Scheme; over 106 Million Naira was distributed under the Youth Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises Loan Schemes; whereas over 200 people, including women, benefited from the Quarry Operations Support Program; and 50 youths were trained on high-tech welding at Nigeria Naval Engineering Training College, Sapele, Delta state at a cost of over 301 million.
Public transport in Katsina state is another area in which Governor Shema’s administration has written its name in gold. The Katsina State Transport Authority can now boast of a modern functional transport system, with enhanced welfare for the common man. The Authority has over 120 vehicles that are of different brands, sizes and specifications. The fact that KTSTA is being utilized on daily basis (regardless of high cost of spare-parts, petroleum hike, etc.), transport fares have nevertheless remained the same. Governor Shema also completed the construction of an airport to an international standard in the State, where aircrafts conveniently land and take off on domestic and international flights
On the socio-cultural front, Governor Shema constructed new mosques in all the local governments of the state while the Central (Juma’at) Mosques in all the old seven local governments were rehabilitated and upgraded.
The Administration is presently constructing an ultra-modern shopping mall and an ultra-modern international market. The contracts for these projects were awarded to Messrs Mother Cat and Cops Engineering Services respectively, and the progress of work at both sites is well over 75%.
An attempt to summarize the achievements of the Katsina State Government under the leadership of this enterprising, energetic and exemplary visioner poses serious challenges considering the scope of overwhelming evidences that buttress the truth that politics could be played differently and purposefully. Governor Shema has therefore undeniably proven that the whole essence of good governance is the turn-over of worthwhile projects that have positive bearing on the needs and well-being of the citizens through the instrumentality of government.
A man of immense intelligence and an astute manager of men and resources; thinker and champion of idea-based politics, Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema has exemplified politics of performance by setting Katsina state on the hills, as a measurement for development in politics.
As those who left their footprints on the sand of time are not easily forgotten, history will judge and acknowledge Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Shema as the father of modern Katsina State even long after his tenure would have been over. In recognition of his enviable achievements, his humility, accessibility and prudence in the management of state resources, he has been turbaned Sarkin Yakin Hausa, Attah Ojah of Igala Land, Sarkin Fulanin Katsina and Lamido Fulben Gusau by the Emir of Daura, Attah of Igala, Emir of Katsina and Emir of Gusau respectively. He has received so many garlands and awards in and outside the country, amongst which is the Best Primary School Performance Governor in Nigeria at Ukraine, and the Niger Republic’s second highest national honour to mention but few.
Usman Baba Ahmed, a Public Commentator Wrote in from Minna, Niger State.
Follow me on twitter @Usman4reall
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Email: usmanbaba.ahmed@gmail.com
Monday, 7 July 2014
Sunday, 1 June 2014
Kalabalge II: My People Perish For Lack Of Security And The Right To Bear Arms
By Drm Peregrino Brimah
Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. (Luke 22: 36, KJV)
In today’s world, a sword is a gun. And our people perish in Borno, for the lack of it; not because Nigerians and Nigeria’s friends all over the world are not waiting anxiously to contribute to supplying them adequate guns; not because they are not willing to buy it from their purse, or money belt or sell their clothes to buy it, but because the Borno state government and federal government will not allow them. And so, it is; Boko Haram, the bad people who freely acquire not just guns, but top quality Nigerian military armored tanks and APC’s, flow in every day, every blessed day and slaughter the farmers of Nigeria, abducting their children, both male and female and burning down their markets and homes.
It is a sad weekend. The brave people of Kala-Balge who heroically fought off over 400 Boko Haram terrorists earlier this month, killing hundreds in a communal effort and capturing over 50; were this weekend decimated in the much expected Boko Haram retaliation. Though this revenge was legibly anticipated, there was no military to defend them. The people of Kala-Balge were expecting the Boko revenge and they waged a brave battle, but according to the report, over 500 Boko Haram terrorists came this time, well armed and prepared to avenge their earlier defeat in the hands of the brave local warriors.
The question to ask the governor of Borno and the president of Nigeria along with his security chiefs is: how can terrorists in Nigerian territory drive in convoys of over 20 hilux trucks, with APC’s and light weight tanks, and fight against resistance for hours then continue to pilfer and engage in their campaigns of incendiarism, all taking several hours and then drive comfortably back to their ‘hide-outs,’ without Nigeria’s air force and army being scrambled to defend the people and at least counter them on their retreat? Do we have an army? When will Jonathan’s ‘total war’ begin? We have waited for four years. First he admitted in Namibia that he was using kid gloves to deal with Boko Haram all along and that he would up it a little notch. We begged for the Tyson gloves. Civilians asked for the right and support to bear arms so we can engage and rat out the terrorists with the Tyson gloves needed; but the government ignored our pleas, not giving us the right to defend ourselves and not stepping up the war on their part. This democracy day, Nigeria’s president said he will advance to total war. Thank God. The abduction of 200+ girls and the international attention has yielded some useful results in a crisis that has consumed up to 80,000 lives and displaced over 3 million. But when will we see this total war?
It is with heavy hearts that we empathize with and condone the people of Kala-Balge who did their best but lost to a superiorly armed – thanks to government facilitation and enhancement – group of blood thirsty hoodlums.
Though we pushed for the State of Emergency at a time when we believed in the patriotism of the army and the intention of the service chiefs and government at its helm; today the people of Borno and Nigeria as a whole say – you can call off your state of emergency and take your army out. It can well be debated that the army has now begun to do more harm than good. Where do Boko Haram get their guns? From the Nigerian army when they easily overrun their barracks’. Where do Boko Haram get their APC’s and light Cobra tanks from? Again it is from the Nigerian army. So the army presence is actually invariably sustaining a steady supply of dangerous weaponry to Boko Haram; and the army never bombs these terrorists and their tanks form the air or land, so what is overall advantage of the army presence in the north east? Farmer genocide facilitatory and supervisory? But let us people bear arms and Boko Haram ‘were not born well enough,’ to dispossess us of our arms. Nigerian vigilante’s and patriotic Nigerian youth from across the nation have pleaded for the government to allow us defend ourselves and engage these useless, fraidy cat’s, fire for fire, once and for all. The Nigerian government can return that quarter of the budget designated for the so-called war against Boko Haram. Simply give us the right o bear arms – sophisticated arms as Boko Haram and Tompolo have.
The government continuously denying to authorize our right to bear arms to defend ourselves is a serious crime against humanity; and God be true, God is always true, one day we will require it of those who left us the people in direct harm’s way of terror they sponsor and allow, protecting ‘each-other’s heads from rolling,’ that they refuse to defend us from and refuse to permit us to bear the appropriate arms to defend ourselves of. By God, one day we will get our justice for this government supervised genocide of the poor farmers of Nigeria. The government fails to defend us and ties our hands behind our backs to be slaughtered by terror they sponsor. By God, we will get our day of justice, for God is a just God.
Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. (Luke 22: 36, KJV)
In today’s world, a sword is a gun. And our people perish in Borno, for the lack of it; not because Nigerians and Nigeria’s friends all over the world are not waiting anxiously to contribute to supplying them adequate guns; not because they are not willing to buy it from their purse, or money belt or sell their clothes to buy it, but because the Borno state government and federal government will not allow them. And so, it is; Boko Haram, the bad people who freely acquire not just guns, but top quality Nigerian military armored tanks and APC’s, flow in every day, every blessed day and slaughter the farmers of Nigeria, abducting their children, both male and female and burning down their markets and homes.
It is a sad weekend. The brave people of Kala-Balge who heroically fought off over 400 Boko Haram terrorists earlier this month, killing hundreds in a communal effort and capturing over 50; were this weekend decimated in the much expected Boko Haram retaliation. Though this revenge was legibly anticipated, there was no military to defend them. The people of Kala-Balge were expecting the Boko revenge and they waged a brave battle, but according to the report, over 500 Boko Haram terrorists came this time, well armed and prepared to avenge their earlier defeat in the hands of the brave local warriors.
The question to ask the governor of Borno and the president of Nigeria along with his security chiefs is: how can terrorists in Nigerian territory drive in convoys of over 20 hilux trucks, with APC’s and light weight tanks, and fight against resistance for hours then continue to pilfer and engage in their campaigns of incendiarism, all taking several hours and then drive comfortably back to their ‘hide-outs,’ without Nigeria’s air force and army being scrambled to defend the people and at least counter them on their retreat? Do we have an army? When will Jonathan’s ‘total war’ begin? We have waited for four years. First he admitted in Namibia that he was using kid gloves to deal with Boko Haram all along and that he would up it a little notch. We begged for the Tyson gloves. Civilians asked for the right and support to bear arms so we can engage and rat out the terrorists with the Tyson gloves needed; but the government ignored our pleas, not giving us the right to defend ourselves and not stepping up the war on their part. This democracy day, Nigeria’s president said he will advance to total war. Thank God. The abduction of 200+ girls and the international attention has yielded some useful results in a crisis that has consumed up to 80,000 lives and displaced over 3 million. But when will we see this total war?
It is with heavy hearts that we empathize with and condone the people of Kala-Balge who did their best but lost to a superiorly armed – thanks to government facilitation and enhancement – group of blood thirsty hoodlums.
Though we pushed for the State of Emergency at a time when we believed in the patriotism of the army and the intention of the service chiefs and government at its helm; today the people of Borno and Nigeria as a whole say – you can call off your state of emergency and take your army out. It can well be debated that the army has now begun to do more harm than good. Where do Boko Haram get their guns? From the Nigerian army when they easily overrun their barracks’. Where do Boko Haram get their APC’s and light Cobra tanks from? Again it is from the Nigerian army. So the army presence is actually invariably sustaining a steady supply of dangerous weaponry to Boko Haram; and the army never bombs these terrorists and their tanks form the air or land, so what is overall advantage of the army presence in the north east? Farmer genocide facilitatory and supervisory? But let us people bear arms and Boko Haram ‘were not born well enough,’ to dispossess us of our arms. Nigerian vigilante’s and patriotic Nigerian youth from across the nation have pleaded for the government to allow us defend ourselves and engage these useless, fraidy cat’s, fire for fire, once and for all. The Nigerian government can return that quarter of the budget designated for the so-called war against Boko Haram. Simply give us the right o bear arms – sophisticated arms as Boko Haram and Tompolo have.
The government continuously denying to authorize our right to bear arms to defend ourselves is a serious crime against humanity; and God be true, God is always true, one day we will require it of those who left us the people in direct harm’s way of terror they sponsor and allow, protecting ‘each-other’s heads from rolling,’ that they refuse to defend us from and refuse to permit us to bear the appropriate arms to defend ourselves of. By God, one day we will get our justice for this government supervised genocide of the poor farmers of Nigeria. The government fails to defend us and ties our hands behind our backs to be slaughtered by terror they sponsor. By God, we will get our day of justice, for God is a just God.
One Year to 2015: Jonathan’s 15 Major Headaches
his tenure, but there are many issues that gnaw at him, many of which would make or mar his re-election chances in 2015.
1. Chibok schoogirls abduction
Perhaps, the most daunting challenge before President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 election is the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls at Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State by the Boko Haram insurgents 48 days ago. Certainly Jonathan is racing against time on the rescuing students. The incident, which occurred on April 14, has attracted national and international condemnation thereby drawing global focus on the country, especially with respect to rescue efforts. The United States of America led in the promise to help the girls, followed by Britain, China and Israel. They have sent teams of counter-terrorism officials and other specialists to Nigeria. In spite of all these, the schoolgirls remain in the grips of the insurgents who have threatened to sell them off if their demand for swapping them with their detained members was not met. This has certainly posed a serious challenge to the presidents especially with the groundswell of protests and campaigns from rights groups and others for the safe rescue of the girls.
For observers, therefore, it is incumbent on President Jonathan to deploy all efforts at rescuing the abducted girls as anything short of this would adversely affect the performance rating of his government, especially in securing the lives and property of Nigerians. By extension, this would be an issue over his re-election fortune, should he decide to seek another term in 2015. This is because analysts believe it is not enough that the insecurity challenge generally would be a campaign issue in the 2015 presidential election. The freedom of the abducted girls is sure to assume a major campaign point for or against the president.
2. Boko Haram insurgency
Linked with the need to secure the release of the young girls from the clutches of the Boko Haram sect is the seemingly intractable insurgency. What started like a political campaign to destabilize the Jonathan administration has festered for four years on, with no solution in sight. As the president said in Paris three weeks ago, over 12,000 Nigerians have been killed in this insurgency. Unfortunately, the declarations of a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, and the massive deployment of some 20,000 soldiers have not brought an end to the insurgency. In the last three years of this administration, some N4.1 trillion has been voted for the military, ostensibly in an attempt to tackle the insecurity. But not much progress has been made.
As the president begins his last year of his tenure, the insurgency issue would be a nagging headache. Apart from tainting his achievements in the last three years, if he seeks re-election for the 2015, the insurgency would be a veritable campaign instrument in the hands of the opposition. It is believed that the president miscalculated when he accepted the conspiracy theory that the sect was sponsored to destabilize his government. Now, he may have to change his approach by taking the path of dialogue and related schemes, else the insurgency could make or mar his records and 2015 ambition.
3. Herders/farmers conflict
Another serious challenge before President Jonathan as he ends his tenure year is the incessant clashes between Fulani cattle grazers and farmers in many parts of the country. Despite peace-mending efforts and professed security measures, killings have continued in the affected states unabated, leading to loss of lives and property.
Resolving the Fulani herders/farmers question is, therefore, an issue that President Jonathan cannot ignore if his perceived ambition to seek another mandate from the people in 2015 is anything to go by. Although Jonathan inherited the problem, he would certainly derive electoral benefit from it if he succeeds in nipping it in the bud. The North-Central zone, for instance, constitutes a strong factor in his electoral fortunes and leaving it in the mire of communal conflagration would certainly not do him well if he decides to seek re-election.
4. Choice of Jonathan’s running mate
There has been the controversy over whether or not President Jonathan would retain his vice, Namadi Sambo as his running mate, should he decide to seek re-election in 2015 or opt for a new one. Consequently there has been a reported plot by Jonathan to dump Sambo.
The plot is said to be the brainchild of some political heavyweights who believe that for the PDP to make the desired impact in the forthcoming election, it must have a presidential running mate that is widely acceptable across the regions. In their view, therefore, Sambo, is too far removed from the realities of the politics of the North and is incapable of either addressing the issues or galvanising support for Jonathan ahead of the 2015 election.
Those who are reportedly behind the plot to drop Sambo are said to be political heavyweights that include some retired but influential Army generals from the region, emirs and an ex-president who is pushing for Lamido.
Those being touted as possible replacement for Sambo are Aliyu Babangida of Niger State, Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi and Ibrahim Shema of Katsina. Although Jonathan is yet to make a pronouncement over this, analysts believe that how he resolves the issue of his running mate would either make or mar his chances of re-election in 2015, as it could determine the level of support he would get from loyal northern states in the forthcoming election.
5. Diezani’s N10 billion chartered Jet scandal
This is one scandalous affair involving the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke that is inevitably rubbing off on President Jonathan because of what has been widely accepted as the president’s protective umbrella over the embattled minister.
Since the oil subsidy protests in early 2012, there has been intense focus on alleged corrupt practices in the petroleum sector and calls for the president to sack Mrs Madueke. The calls remain unabated, and have now been heightened, as the president goes into the 2015 election year, by allegations that she had spent not less than N10 billion on chartered jets on international trips.
The House of Representatives has stated its intention to probe the alleged N10 billion maintenance crew allowances and hanger costs of the minister’s private jet issue within the last two years. The House alleged the minister had incurred not less than N3 billion cost on maintenance of the jet, “which is used solely for her personal needs and those of her immediate family.”
Mrs. Madueke’s efforts to use the court to stop the probe efforts have been in futility so far as the court has directed the legislators to go on with the probe. The embattled minister was reported to have said only an approval by President Jonathan can make her appear before the legislators. Would that approval come as the president battles his image and credibility problem ahead of 2015?
6. The power sector problem
From today, electricity consumers are expected to start paying higher tariffs, plus the compulsory monthly fixed charge of between N700 and N800 that they must pay the new private power suppliers that just bought the new power generating companies (GENCOs), whether those companies supply electricity or not.
Bodies like the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have kicked against the new tariffs, saying it was exploitative and oppressive since power supply has become more erratic rather than improve in the hands of the GENCOs. As has always been the case, the Jonathan administration, critics say, is compelling consumers to pay for a service not being rendered.
Power supply has always been a campaign issue during elections, but the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has always got away with subduing the opposition despite its inability to fix the problem since 1999 that it has been in control at the centre. With the opposition more threatening than ever going into the 2015 elections and power supply below the rhetoric, President Jonathan will have the power supply problem to contend with in the next one year. Can he effect any remarkable improvement in power supply before the election?
7. Missing $20 billion oil money
There was a somewhat positive development last week in the president, Alison-Madueke and the NNPC’s favour on the lingering allegation of a missing sum of $20 billion oil money from the coffers of the Federation Account. Suspended Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had raised dust last September alleging the NNPC didn’t remit $49.8 billion oil proceeds between January 2012 and July 2013. The amount was further reconciled down to $20 billion.
The Senate committee chairman on Finance, Ahmed Makarfi was reported as saying last Wednesday that the committee’s investigations confirmed no money was missing and cleared the NNPC of any guilt. But a member of the committee, Senator Bukola Saraki was quick to say the committee had done no such clearance.
The alleged huge missing money remains an albatross for President Jonathan, whose administration is battling condemnation from local critics, and international leaders and media as ‘corrupt’. This is one ‘headache’ the president would have to resolve fast before campaigns for the 2015 elections start and it becomes a possible effective weapon in the hands of his political opponents. The Federal Government has promised a forensic audit into NNPC accounts. Perhaps, a clean bill from the foreign forensic experts would give the president a breather.
8. Dwindling foreign reserves
President Jonathan may also have to worry about the falling fortunes of Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves. The reserves further declined from $38.14bn in April to $37.14bn to last month. A year ago, the reserves were $48.41 billion, an $11.27 billion (23.28%) fall.
There is widespread fear that as the reserves and the equally receding Excess Crude Account dwindle, the Central Bank of Nigeria may be forced to devalue the Naira. For an economy that is majorly import-independent, the effects on inflation are not unexpected. This will be a challenge for the president to confront in an election period. How he handles it so the opposition doesn’t manipulate it to its disadvantage remains to be seen.
9. Lagos/Ibadan expressway
Like other major projects embarked upon by the Federal Government in the geopolitical zones of the country, the Lagos/Ibadan expressway project promises to be a major campaign issue either in favour or against the ruling PDP in 2015 elections in the South-West. Earlier this year, the Federal Government summoned the necessary political will to award the N167 billion Lagos-Ibadan Expressway contracts to Messrs Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. and Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Limited. It had earlier entered into concession agreement with Messrs Bi-Courtney in 2009. The 127.6-kilometre expressway traverses three South-Western states of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo.
President Jonathan, during the contract award ceremony, said the reconstruction of the road was to accelerate economic development of the South-West and Nigeria.
“Let me appreciate Nigerians, especially more than the 50 per cent users of the key economic players in the South-West from Lagos to Oyo State that use this road for the pains witnessed over this period,” he said.
The pains would only be assuaged if the President keeps to his promise and by extension this would certainly have an impact on his re-election bid.
10. Ekiti/Osun elections
As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to conduct the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, the cases of violence and killings which have shrouded political rallies for the election slated for June 21 and August 9 respectively in the two states have become a major cause of worry for many Nigerians and the international communities. The United States two weeks ago said the conduct of the governorship elections in the two states would set the standard for the 2015 general elections in the country.
The US Consular General, Jeffrey Hawkins, who was in Ado-Ekiti to attend a sensitization workshop for political parties, candidates and stakeholders ahead of the governorship election in Ekiti State, said “the world is watching this election just like the world will be watching in 2015.”
Hawkins said that Nigerian electoral process is as good as Nigeria makes it, adding that Nigerians want and desire peaceful and credible election in Ekiti and Osun. “Please, do everything in your powers to meet these expectations,” he said. He said his country was troubled by reports of violence, threats and intimidation at political rallies in the states.
The recent statement attributed to Vice-President Namadi Sambo makes it therefore very urgent to warn President Goodluck Jonathan against making a grave mistake that will undoubtedly prove fatal to his prospects for re-election next year.
11. APC’s growing influence
The growing influence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) might be causing a source of discomfort for the ruling PDP. Since its formation from the merging parties, the party has benefited from a wave of mass defections of PDP lawmakers in both House of Representatives and the Senate shortly after five of its governors left to join APC. The defection at a point made the PDP to lose its majority in the House of Representatives to the APC but it was not long before it regained control of the House when some of its defected lawmakers returned to its fold.
With recent happenings in the country, particularly the growing issue of insurgency which seems to have overwhelmed the ruling party, the APC might have an edge over the PDP in the political equation of the country. A chieftain of PDP and its former National Treasurer, Engineer Bala Muhammed Kaoje in an exclusive interview attested to this. He told Sunday Trust that except the president addressed some of the hanging issues on security, insurgency, the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, corruption and others his political fortunes and that of the party might suffer. “Definitely, this will affect our party. I think the president and the party have to respond to these things quickly if we want to win election next year”, he said.
12. Foreign Intervention
The abduction of over 200 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State has led to international concerns over the safety and the possible freedom of the missing girls. This led to the international superpowers like USA, Britain, France, China, Israel, and of recent African countries like Cameroon, Niger and Ghana saying they were on red alert in the case of the spread of the Boko Haram to their countries.
USA sent seven personnel and said they will only assist with intelligence gathering and not in combat operations. Britain experts are being expected, while France, China and Israel are not to be involved in field operations.
However, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said it is sad for Nigeria and Africans to run to France for their internal conflicts saying: “We must take responsibility and accept our failures in dealing with the matters. Why should anybody wait for that, what image does it give to Africa? It does not make sense that our leaders cannot get themselves together to address the problem affecting our people. It is the responsibilities of leaders to resolve their problems but if they cannot resolve it they can call on their neighbors to assist in resolving the issue. We do not need to be invited anywhere to go and address our problems”, he said.
Beyond this, how the foreign powers would operate in the country matters a lot. The fear has been expressed that it will be too risky to allow foreign troops in the country, as previous examples have proved that these troops, for economic reason, may not leave our shores quickly. Whatever happens, therefore, in the next few weeks or months in this regard could affect the president’s rating.
13. Image Question:
It was reported recently that President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration signed a contract of $800 million dollars with a foreign Public Relations firm to shore up its perception. Though this has been denied by Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati, the fact that the issue came up at all indicated that this government has an image problem. The United States officials have variously slammed the Jonathan administration for being very corrupt. But beyond corruption, the mishandling of the insurgency gave the impression that the leadership is inept. The fight against corruption has been lost, no thanks to low budgetary allocation to the EFCC and ICPC. Ministers in this administration have been openly accused of corruption, but the president seems to treat the issue with kid gloves. For this perception to change, the president needs to take drastic steps, like jailing ministers in government and tackling the insurgency with tact to achieve results. But this may not be achieved, believe the Ethiopian cannot change his skin.
14. Kidnapping:
The number of Nigerians being kidnapped from North to South has been on the increase, to the point that only recently three Dutch nationals on a humanitarian visit to Nigeria were kidnapped in Bayelsa State. The situation is very severe, especially in the Niger Delta and South-East region, but the Boko Haram insurgency seems to have overshadowed its gravity. In these regions, kidnapping has become a trade. The trend has crept into the North Central States. At the weekend, the Registrar of the Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi State was kidnapped. The rate of unemployment may have contributed to this trend, and as long as government has continued to pay lip service to the issue of employment for youths, it could thrive. The president would need to come up with an appropriate scheme to deal with the situation, else it would dovetail into the next dispensation.
15.What Jonathan does with confab report
The ongoing National Conference convened with the aim of addressing Nigeria’s socio-economic and political challenges, especially as they pose a threat to the corporate existence of the country, presents another litmus test for President Jonathan ahead of the 2015 general elections.
While inaugurating the confab which had been long anticipated, Jonathan urged the 492 delegates to focus on innovative ideas that will make the nation move forward by concentrating on issues that will make the nation stronger, emphasising that the focus of discussion should be on sustaining the progress already made and what will make the nation stronger.
Not a few skeptics have expressed their reservations on the implementation of the conference recommendations especially against the backdrop of the fact that similar outcomes arising from previous conferences were not allowed to see the light of day. There have also been arguments as to whether or not the outcome of the conference should be subjected to a national referendum or be subject to endorsement of the National Assembly.
Whichever the case may be, Nigerians would be waiting with bated breath for President Jonathan’s political will to implement the recommendations arising from the confab. This will certainly impact on his chances at re-election in 2015 as it will definitely form an issue for campaign even from the opposition who are also skeptical of the conference.
1. Chibok schoogirls abduction
Perhaps, the most daunting challenge before President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 election is the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls at Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State by the Boko Haram insurgents 48 days ago. Certainly Jonathan is racing against time on the rescuing students. The incident, which occurred on April 14, has attracted national and international condemnation thereby drawing global focus on the country, especially with respect to rescue efforts. The United States of America led in the promise to help the girls, followed by Britain, China and Israel. They have sent teams of counter-terrorism officials and other specialists to Nigeria. In spite of all these, the schoolgirls remain in the grips of the insurgents who have threatened to sell them off if their demand for swapping them with their detained members was not met. This has certainly posed a serious challenge to the presidents especially with the groundswell of protests and campaigns from rights groups and others for the safe rescue of the girls.
For observers, therefore, it is incumbent on President Jonathan to deploy all efforts at rescuing the abducted girls as anything short of this would adversely affect the performance rating of his government, especially in securing the lives and property of Nigerians. By extension, this would be an issue over his re-election fortune, should he decide to seek another term in 2015. This is because analysts believe it is not enough that the insecurity challenge generally would be a campaign issue in the 2015 presidential election. The freedom of the abducted girls is sure to assume a major campaign point for or against the president.
2. Boko Haram insurgency
Linked with the need to secure the release of the young girls from the clutches of the Boko Haram sect is the seemingly intractable insurgency. What started like a political campaign to destabilize the Jonathan administration has festered for four years on, with no solution in sight. As the president said in Paris three weeks ago, over 12,000 Nigerians have been killed in this insurgency. Unfortunately, the declarations of a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, and the massive deployment of some 20,000 soldiers have not brought an end to the insurgency. In the last three years of this administration, some N4.1 trillion has been voted for the military, ostensibly in an attempt to tackle the insecurity. But not much progress has been made.
As the president begins his last year of his tenure, the insurgency issue would be a nagging headache. Apart from tainting his achievements in the last three years, if he seeks re-election for the 2015, the insurgency would be a veritable campaign instrument in the hands of the opposition. It is believed that the president miscalculated when he accepted the conspiracy theory that the sect was sponsored to destabilize his government. Now, he may have to change his approach by taking the path of dialogue and related schemes, else the insurgency could make or mar his records and 2015 ambition.
3. Herders/farmers conflict
Another serious challenge before President Jonathan as he ends his tenure year is the incessant clashes between Fulani cattle grazers and farmers in many parts of the country. Despite peace-mending efforts and professed security measures, killings have continued in the affected states unabated, leading to loss of lives and property.
Resolving the Fulani herders/farmers question is, therefore, an issue that President Jonathan cannot ignore if his perceived ambition to seek another mandate from the people in 2015 is anything to go by. Although Jonathan inherited the problem, he would certainly derive electoral benefit from it if he succeeds in nipping it in the bud. The North-Central zone, for instance, constitutes a strong factor in his electoral fortunes and leaving it in the mire of communal conflagration would certainly not do him well if he decides to seek re-election.
4. Choice of Jonathan’s running mate
There has been the controversy over whether or not President Jonathan would retain his vice, Namadi Sambo as his running mate, should he decide to seek re-election in 2015 or opt for a new one. Consequently there has been a reported plot by Jonathan to dump Sambo.
The plot is said to be the brainchild of some political heavyweights who believe that for the PDP to make the desired impact in the forthcoming election, it must have a presidential running mate that is widely acceptable across the regions. In their view, therefore, Sambo, is too far removed from the realities of the politics of the North and is incapable of either addressing the issues or galvanising support for Jonathan ahead of the 2015 election.
Those who are reportedly behind the plot to drop Sambo are said to be political heavyweights that include some retired but influential Army generals from the region, emirs and an ex-president who is pushing for Lamido.
Those being touted as possible replacement for Sambo are Aliyu Babangida of Niger State, Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi and Ibrahim Shema of Katsina. Although Jonathan is yet to make a pronouncement over this, analysts believe that how he resolves the issue of his running mate would either make or mar his chances of re-election in 2015, as it could determine the level of support he would get from loyal northern states in the forthcoming election.
5. Diezani’s N10 billion chartered Jet scandal
This is one scandalous affair involving the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke that is inevitably rubbing off on President Jonathan because of what has been widely accepted as the president’s protective umbrella over the embattled minister.
Since the oil subsidy protests in early 2012, there has been intense focus on alleged corrupt practices in the petroleum sector and calls for the president to sack Mrs Madueke. The calls remain unabated, and have now been heightened, as the president goes into the 2015 election year, by allegations that she had spent not less than N10 billion on chartered jets on international trips.
The House of Representatives has stated its intention to probe the alleged N10 billion maintenance crew allowances and hanger costs of the minister’s private jet issue within the last two years. The House alleged the minister had incurred not less than N3 billion cost on maintenance of the jet, “which is used solely for her personal needs and those of her immediate family.”
Mrs. Madueke’s efforts to use the court to stop the probe efforts have been in futility so far as the court has directed the legislators to go on with the probe. The embattled minister was reported to have said only an approval by President Jonathan can make her appear before the legislators. Would that approval come as the president battles his image and credibility problem ahead of 2015?
6. The power sector problem
From today, electricity consumers are expected to start paying higher tariffs, plus the compulsory monthly fixed charge of between N700 and N800 that they must pay the new private power suppliers that just bought the new power generating companies (GENCOs), whether those companies supply electricity or not.
Bodies like the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have kicked against the new tariffs, saying it was exploitative and oppressive since power supply has become more erratic rather than improve in the hands of the GENCOs. As has always been the case, the Jonathan administration, critics say, is compelling consumers to pay for a service not being rendered.
Power supply has always been a campaign issue during elections, but the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has always got away with subduing the opposition despite its inability to fix the problem since 1999 that it has been in control at the centre. With the opposition more threatening than ever going into the 2015 elections and power supply below the rhetoric, President Jonathan will have the power supply problem to contend with in the next one year. Can he effect any remarkable improvement in power supply before the election?
7. Missing $20 billion oil money
There was a somewhat positive development last week in the president, Alison-Madueke and the NNPC’s favour on the lingering allegation of a missing sum of $20 billion oil money from the coffers of the Federation Account. Suspended Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had raised dust last September alleging the NNPC didn’t remit $49.8 billion oil proceeds between January 2012 and July 2013. The amount was further reconciled down to $20 billion.
The Senate committee chairman on Finance, Ahmed Makarfi was reported as saying last Wednesday that the committee’s investigations confirmed no money was missing and cleared the NNPC of any guilt. But a member of the committee, Senator Bukola Saraki was quick to say the committee had done no such clearance.
The alleged huge missing money remains an albatross for President Jonathan, whose administration is battling condemnation from local critics, and international leaders and media as ‘corrupt’. This is one ‘headache’ the president would have to resolve fast before campaigns for the 2015 elections start and it becomes a possible effective weapon in the hands of his political opponents. The Federal Government has promised a forensic audit into NNPC accounts. Perhaps, a clean bill from the foreign forensic experts would give the president a breather.
8. Dwindling foreign reserves
President Jonathan may also have to worry about the falling fortunes of Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves. The reserves further declined from $38.14bn in April to $37.14bn to last month. A year ago, the reserves were $48.41 billion, an $11.27 billion (23.28%) fall.
There is widespread fear that as the reserves and the equally receding Excess Crude Account dwindle, the Central Bank of Nigeria may be forced to devalue the Naira. For an economy that is majorly import-independent, the effects on inflation are not unexpected. This will be a challenge for the president to confront in an election period. How he handles it so the opposition doesn’t manipulate it to its disadvantage remains to be seen.
9. Lagos/Ibadan expressway
Like other major projects embarked upon by the Federal Government in the geopolitical zones of the country, the Lagos/Ibadan expressway project promises to be a major campaign issue either in favour or against the ruling PDP in 2015 elections in the South-West. Earlier this year, the Federal Government summoned the necessary political will to award the N167 billion Lagos-Ibadan Expressway contracts to Messrs Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. and Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Limited. It had earlier entered into concession agreement with Messrs Bi-Courtney in 2009. The 127.6-kilometre expressway traverses three South-Western states of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo.
President Jonathan, during the contract award ceremony, said the reconstruction of the road was to accelerate economic development of the South-West and Nigeria.
“Let me appreciate Nigerians, especially more than the 50 per cent users of the key economic players in the South-West from Lagos to Oyo State that use this road for the pains witnessed over this period,” he said.
The pains would only be assuaged if the President keeps to his promise and by extension this would certainly have an impact on his re-election bid.
10. Ekiti/Osun elections
As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to conduct the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, the cases of violence and killings which have shrouded political rallies for the election slated for June 21 and August 9 respectively in the two states have become a major cause of worry for many Nigerians and the international communities. The United States two weeks ago said the conduct of the governorship elections in the two states would set the standard for the 2015 general elections in the country.
The US Consular General, Jeffrey Hawkins, who was in Ado-Ekiti to attend a sensitization workshop for political parties, candidates and stakeholders ahead of the governorship election in Ekiti State, said “the world is watching this election just like the world will be watching in 2015.”
Hawkins said that Nigerian electoral process is as good as Nigeria makes it, adding that Nigerians want and desire peaceful and credible election in Ekiti and Osun. “Please, do everything in your powers to meet these expectations,” he said. He said his country was troubled by reports of violence, threats and intimidation at political rallies in the states.
The recent statement attributed to Vice-President Namadi Sambo makes it therefore very urgent to warn President Goodluck Jonathan against making a grave mistake that will undoubtedly prove fatal to his prospects for re-election next year.
11. APC’s growing influence
The growing influence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) might be causing a source of discomfort for the ruling PDP. Since its formation from the merging parties, the party has benefited from a wave of mass defections of PDP lawmakers in both House of Representatives and the Senate shortly after five of its governors left to join APC. The defection at a point made the PDP to lose its majority in the House of Representatives to the APC but it was not long before it regained control of the House when some of its defected lawmakers returned to its fold.
With recent happenings in the country, particularly the growing issue of insurgency which seems to have overwhelmed the ruling party, the APC might have an edge over the PDP in the political equation of the country. A chieftain of PDP and its former National Treasurer, Engineer Bala Muhammed Kaoje in an exclusive interview attested to this. He told Sunday Trust that except the president addressed some of the hanging issues on security, insurgency, the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, corruption and others his political fortunes and that of the party might suffer. “Definitely, this will affect our party. I think the president and the party have to respond to these things quickly if we want to win election next year”, he said.
12. Foreign Intervention
The abduction of over 200 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State has led to international concerns over the safety and the possible freedom of the missing girls. This led to the international superpowers like USA, Britain, France, China, Israel, and of recent African countries like Cameroon, Niger and Ghana saying they were on red alert in the case of the spread of the Boko Haram to their countries.
USA sent seven personnel and said they will only assist with intelligence gathering and not in combat operations. Britain experts are being expected, while France, China and Israel are not to be involved in field operations.
However, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said it is sad for Nigeria and Africans to run to France for their internal conflicts saying: “We must take responsibility and accept our failures in dealing with the matters. Why should anybody wait for that, what image does it give to Africa? It does not make sense that our leaders cannot get themselves together to address the problem affecting our people. It is the responsibilities of leaders to resolve their problems but if they cannot resolve it they can call on their neighbors to assist in resolving the issue. We do not need to be invited anywhere to go and address our problems”, he said.
Beyond this, how the foreign powers would operate in the country matters a lot. The fear has been expressed that it will be too risky to allow foreign troops in the country, as previous examples have proved that these troops, for economic reason, may not leave our shores quickly. Whatever happens, therefore, in the next few weeks or months in this regard could affect the president’s rating.
13. Image Question:
It was reported recently that President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration signed a contract of $800 million dollars with a foreign Public Relations firm to shore up its perception. Though this has been denied by Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati, the fact that the issue came up at all indicated that this government has an image problem. The United States officials have variously slammed the Jonathan administration for being very corrupt. But beyond corruption, the mishandling of the insurgency gave the impression that the leadership is inept. The fight against corruption has been lost, no thanks to low budgetary allocation to the EFCC and ICPC. Ministers in this administration have been openly accused of corruption, but the president seems to treat the issue with kid gloves. For this perception to change, the president needs to take drastic steps, like jailing ministers in government and tackling the insurgency with tact to achieve results. But this may not be achieved, believe the Ethiopian cannot change his skin.
14. Kidnapping:
The number of Nigerians being kidnapped from North to South has been on the increase, to the point that only recently three Dutch nationals on a humanitarian visit to Nigeria were kidnapped in Bayelsa State. The situation is very severe, especially in the Niger Delta and South-East region, but the Boko Haram insurgency seems to have overshadowed its gravity. In these regions, kidnapping has become a trade. The trend has crept into the North Central States. At the weekend, the Registrar of the Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi State was kidnapped. The rate of unemployment may have contributed to this trend, and as long as government has continued to pay lip service to the issue of employment for youths, it could thrive. The president would need to come up with an appropriate scheme to deal with the situation, else it would dovetail into the next dispensation.
15.What Jonathan does with confab report
The ongoing National Conference convened with the aim of addressing Nigeria’s socio-economic and political challenges, especially as they pose a threat to the corporate existence of the country, presents another litmus test for President Jonathan ahead of the 2015 general elections.
While inaugurating the confab which had been long anticipated, Jonathan urged the 492 delegates to focus on innovative ideas that will make the nation move forward by concentrating on issues that will make the nation stronger, emphasising that the focus of discussion should be on sustaining the progress already made and what will make the nation stronger.
Not a few skeptics have expressed their reservations on the implementation of the conference recommendations especially against the backdrop of the fact that similar outcomes arising from previous conferences were not allowed to see the light of day. There have also been arguments as to whether or not the outcome of the conference should be subjected to a national referendum or be subject to endorsement of the National Assembly.
Whichever the case may be, Nigerians would be waiting with bated breath for President Jonathan’s political will to implement the recommendations arising from the confab. This will certainly impact on his chances at re-election in 2015 as it will definitely form an issue for campaign even from the opposition who are also skeptical of the conference.
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Jonathan lived in denial, acted slowly to #BringBackOurGirls – Obasanjo
“The president did not believe that those girls were abducted for almost 18 days,” — Mr. Obasanjo.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan lived in denial about the abducted Chibok schoolgirls for more than two weeks, withholding valuable decisions that would have led to the rescue of the girls, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said.
The former president said this in an interview with Bloomberg TV Africa, aired on Saturday.
“The president did not believe that those girls were abducted for almost 18 days,” Mr. Obasanjo said in the interview. “If the president got the information within 12 hours of the act and he reacted immediately, I believe those girls would have been rescued within 24 hours, maximum 48 hours.”
Mr. Obasanjo said that rather than spring into action after receiving briefings about the abduction, “the president had doubts.”
He said the president’s initial action was to ask: “‘Is this true, or is it a ploy by people who don’t want me to be president again?’”
President Jonathan’s lethargic approach to the kidnapping was the “most unfortunate aspect of the whole issue,” the former president said.
The insurgent group, Boko Haram, kidnapped over 250 schoolgirls from their hostels in Government Secondary School Chibok, in the early hours of April 14, but President Jonathan only acknowledged it 20 days later, after international pressures mounted, ahead of the World Economic Forum for Africa.
The president first spoke about the abduction in a media chat where he blamed the parents of the schoolgirls for not volunteering information about the victims and the incident.
Mr. Obasanjo, who is currently in talks with mediators to help free the victims, said an equal lethargy by President Jonathan greeted his earlier efforts to end the insurgency three years ago.
Boko Haram, whose name means “western education is sin,” is thought to be waging a violent campaign to impose Islamic law in most of Northern Nigeria.
More than 4,000 people have been killed in the campaign since it started in 2009, with the highest number of killings occurring this year alone.
The Boko Haram insurgency has also been explained as political, especially by members of the President Jonathan administration, who often argue the group was set up to “destabilize” the regime, even though the group’s history pre-dates the current government.
In his Democracy Day speech, the president said he has ordered security forces to “launch a full-scale operation” and use any lawful means to defeat the group.
Mr. Obasanjo’s criticism of President Jonathan’s style is the second in less than one year.
In December, he wrote the president an 18-page letter where he accused Mr. Jonathan of serving the ethnic interests of his native Ijaw people and fostering divisions between the largely Muslim north and the Christian south in a bid to win re-election in 2015.
“I don’t believe he has performed to the expectations of many Nigerians, not just me,” Mr. Obasanjo said in the Bloomberg interview.
Watch the interview here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9fkAKQf1O5k
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan lived in denial about the abducted Chibok schoolgirls for more than two weeks, withholding valuable decisions that would have led to the rescue of the girls, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said.
The former president said this in an interview with Bloomberg TV Africa, aired on Saturday.
“The president did not believe that those girls were abducted for almost 18 days,” Mr. Obasanjo said in the interview. “If the president got the information within 12 hours of the act and he reacted immediately, I believe those girls would have been rescued within 24 hours, maximum 48 hours.”
Mr. Obasanjo said that rather than spring into action after receiving briefings about the abduction, “the president had doubts.”
He said the president’s initial action was to ask: “‘Is this true, or is it a ploy by people who don’t want me to be president again?’”
President Jonathan’s lethargic approach to the kidnapping was the “most unfortunate aspect of the whole issue,” the former president said.
The insurgent group, Boko Haram, kidnapped over 250 schoolgirls from their hostels in Government Secondary School Chibok, in the early hours of April 14, but President Jonathan only acknowledged it 20 days later, after international pressures mounted, ahead of the World Economic Forum for Africa.
The president first spoke about the abduction in a media chat where he blamed the parents of the schoolgirls for not volunteering information about the victims and the incident.
Mr. Obasanjo, who is currently in talks with mediators to help free the victims, said an equal lethargy by President Jonathan greeted his earlier efforts to end the insurgency three years ago.
Boko Haram, whose name means “western education is sin,” is thought to be waging a violent campaign to impose Islamic law in most of Northern Nigeria.
More than 4,000 people have been killed in the campaign since it started in 2009, with the highest number of killings occurring this year alone.
The Boko Haram insurgency has also been explained as political, especially by members of the President Jonathan administration, who often argue the group was set up to “destabilize” the regime, even though the group’s history pre-dates the current government.
In his Democracy Day speech, the president said he has ordered security forces to “launch a full-scale operation” and use any lawful means to defeat the group.
Mr. Obasanjo’s criticism of President Jonathan’s style is the second in less than one year.
In December, he wrote the president an 18-page letter where he accused Mr. Jonathan of serving the ethnic interests of his native Ijaw people and fostering divisions between the largely Muslim north and the Christian south in a bid to win re-election in 2015.
“I don’t believe he has performed to the expectations of many Nigerians, not just me,” Mr. Obasanjo said in the Bloomberg interview.
Watch the interview here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9fkAKQf1O5k
Boko Haram Has Exposed Nigeria by Charles Ifoji
number of its victims, then such a country is obviously a cassava republic that cannot guarantee security of lives and property.
While Aso Rock makes noise about the determination of the government to bring back the abducted Chibok girls and also to finally thumb Boko Haram, the group continues to strike audaciously as it pleases – in Borno (four times, with the recent killing of forty soldiers and policemen), Kano and Plateau (twice).
It seems they want prove that this government has no clue of what it is talking about. Boko Haram wants to tell Nigerians that we live at their mercy. And that our so-called leaders are only making speeches – as usual.
Nigeria is now a laughing stock, especially among Africans, who had seen our country as a giant in the continent and had looked up to us for leadership. A Ghanaian, living in Berlin, had recently joked that they (Ghanians) never knew they were fearing Nigeria for nothing. „So we could have defeated Nigeria in war?“he had jested, due to the inability of the Nigeria State to deal with a little insurgency.
Though a war against terror is a different ballgame, the view of the Ghanian might not necessarily be correct, nevertheless it is representative of how others see us at the moment.
The helplessness of our poorly trained and poorly equipped military (no thanks to corruption) to deal with a hitherto unknown terror group is a national embarrassment with international acclaim. I felt sorry for President Goodluck Jonathan when he was corrected by the United States of America that Boko Haram has nothing to do with Al-qaeda. In their bid to mystify Boko Haram and excuse their inability to crush the group, Jonathan was misled by his intelligence chiefs into believing that Boko Haram is an offshoot of Al-qaeda. And he believed!
Nkem Chidebelu is a student of University of Jos. Her late mother, Monica Chidebelu, an orange seller at the Jos Terminal Market, threw all she got from peeling oranges into making sure her daughter does not end up like her. She sent her to the university to acquire education. While she studied, amid her numerous challenges as the daughter of an orange seller, her mother was her life-wire. Unfortunately, that wire was cut when Nkem's mother was sent to her early grave as terrorists bombed the Jos Terminal market last week.
Speaking to one of the national dailies, Nkem regretted that she was born a Nigerian. She could not understand why the Nigerian government, with the amount of resources at its disposal, can not protect the citizens.
I understand Nkem's disenchantment and frustration. Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala recently revealed that defence takes almost a trillion of the budget. During a press conference in Abuja last Friday, Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that the Federal Government has released a total amount of N130.7bn to the Ministry of Defence for military operations between January and April this year. She also told journalists that in 2013, N281.51bn was allocated to the three security agencies (Army, Air Force and Navy) in Nigeria. This is almost $2billion US dollars.
Juxtaposed against the impunity with which Boko Haram is killing the citizens, one can only ask: where did this money go? If $2billion dollars were diligently spent in the fight against terror, surely Boko Haram would have been history. As I said on this platform recently, the country is in the mess it is because of depraved corruption. The defence budget has been seen over the years as a big cake to be shared by the top military brass and their collaborators in government.
The result is that we now live in a country that cannot actually be called a country since it is incapable of protecting its citizens. This is also why over 200 Chibok school girls, who thought they could pursue quietly their dreams by seeking education, were taken into bondage by Boko Haram (we should not forget the 59 school boys who were also butchered by the same group in February).
The lives of the Chibok girls got shattered, because like Nkem, they had the misfortune of being born citizens of one country called Nigeria. Whether Jonathan finds them as he promised, with international help, certainly their lives will never be the same again. If they ever return alive, they will forever live with the trauma of their ordeal in the captivity of Boko Haram.
Normally, people aspire to govern because they have a vision or a direction of where they want to take the country or people. But in Nigeria, people aspire to govern because they want to line up their pockets with public funds. This is a national tragedy. Our leaders, apart from being vision-less and clueless, are simply wicked people. They neither love the people nor their country. They never spare time to sit down and figure out what is good for the people and the country.
For them, leadership is a frolic and meeting at midnights to decide how to share the budget. A typical Nigerian leader would do everything to get money to maintain a permanent suite at Hilton Abuja for his girlfriend than to do the least that would benefit the shoeless boy in Otuoke. So is anyone still trying to figure out why we got where we are today?
Nigeria was not run how a normal country should be. The leaders were fooling the people (they foolishly failed to realize that they were in the same boat with the people). That foolishness left Nigeria a skeleton of a nation. Mindless corruption and bad governance reduced the nation to a bubble. Now, Boko Haram has burst that bubble.
Parents Weep, Pray As Escaped Girls Commence NECO Exams Kareem Haruna
It was another moment of deep grief for the parents of over 200 Chibok school girls still in the captivity of Boko Haram, when their fellow abducted girls who escaped back home returned to school to write their second phase final examination organised by the National Examination Council, LEADERSHIP Weekend reports.
The escaped girls, according to LEADERSHIP Weekend’s findings are to write their NECO exams in different schools across the state following the complete destruction of their school by the Boko Haram terrorist when it was attacked on the 14th of April, 2014.
One of the parents of the yet to be rescued abducted girls, Mr Lucky Chibok said he wished his girl was among those writing the second phase of the final exams, earlier planned before the Boko Haram insurgents came and abducted her and her over 200 other classmates.
“It is another sad day for me and her mother and other siblings of her; when we heard that some of the girls would be traveling out of Chibok to write the NECO exams, I became sad because the dream my little girl has for the future is gradually slipping off our hands and we cannot do anything to help her as parents”. said Lucky.
“We have nothing more we can do other than continue to pray for all of them; these innocent girls meant no harm to any one; they are just school girls; we will continue to pray for God’s mercy and protection over them; we also count on the good meaning Nigerians who have shown us love and support over this unfortunate incident, to continue their solidarity so that our girls would not be forgotten. We hope one day to set our eyes on them once again”, he said.
One of the missing girls who escaped, Sarah Lawan had told LEADERSHIP Sunday that about 15 girls from the attacked Government Seconday School, Chibok were to one of the examination centres in Maiduguri to take the papers.
“We are 15 girls that came from Chibok to write the exams here in Maiduguri, but I don’t know what number of boys that were brought here as well”, said Sarah.
Sarah said she still misses her abducted friends “especially now that we are to write our NECO exams”.
Though the Borno state government had brought the number of those that had so far escaped to 75, it is was not all that number that came out to sit for the NECO exams.
Friday, 30 May 2014
Perry Brimah: Is changing #BringBackOurGirls to #ReleaseOurGirls part of the transformation agenda? by Perry Brimah
Why is the President of Nigeria being advised and investing so much in fighting to transform #BringBackOurGirls to #ReleaseOurGirls. Is there so much in a ‘mere’ name and a hashtag?
It means a lot to Nigeria’s president that the world stops protesting and requiring it of him and the nation’s security service to rescue over 200 girls abducted since mid April this year. President Goodluck Jonathan appears more and more everyday to simply wish this could just go away and everyone forget these poor girls in Sambisa forest; after all, ‘they are not the first to have been kidnapped and forgotten with Boko Haram and they are not likely to be the last during his administration, so why all the hullabaloo?’ Towards this end, the government of Nigeria has invested billions; it can be imagined, in an eleventh hour campaign to transform the face of the Nigerian protest. Nigeria’s president has been advised to invest in attempting to use #ReleaseOurGirls to replace #BringBackOurGirls, which has been perhaps the most viral and globally participated hashtag protest of all times, with public figures including Michelle Obama, the United States president’s wife prominently and passionately getting publicly involved.
Why is the President of Nigeria being advised and investing so much in fighting to transform #BringBackOurGirls to #ReleaseOurGirls. Is there so much in a ‘mere’ name and a hashtag?
A week after the abduction, Nigeria’s president constituted a Chibok committee to look into the case of the abducted girls. What the role of this committee is in this security matter is left to speculation. Almost two months after the abduction, the committee is yet to visit Chibok. Is it this committee that advised the rebranding of the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign to #Release Our Girls Boko Haram? If so, then what is the thinking of this committee and how does this rebranding assist the plight of the missing girls?
#BringBackOurGirls puts pressure on the Nigerian and international security departments to ramp up efforts and harness all equipment and skills at their disposal, to rescue the abductees. #Release Our Girls however reads as a position of surrender and resignation. #Release Our Girls is a message for one ear and one ear alone, that of the terrorists. When a nation hires miscreants to protest and cry for terrorists to have mercy; what image does this portray? A nation on its knees? If the entire nation joined the #ReleaseOurGirls campaign, in what way will this plea affect Boko Haram or the desperate predicament of our abducted girls? Has a begging nation ever touched a terrorist’s heart? If not so then why would the Chibok committee and all other advisers of the Nigerian president further humiliate him and his plight and the plight of the nation as a whole with this meaningless counter-campaign?
Are Nigeria’s president’s advisers not aware that the world is watching and noticed how his government initially challenged and denied the abduction, then lied, as the Economist candidly put it, that Nigeria’s security agents had rescued all but eight girls; and when this was humiliatingly exposed, now employ all tactics of intimidation, harassment, diversion and terrorist begging as avoidance strategies in the face of embarrassing terror and terror response?
#ReleaseOurGirls is really a reason for concern. Is there any sensible reason why money that could be used to aid the hunt for the missing girls and to console and rehabilitate the people of Chibok is being wasted in sponsoring a humiliating, violent counter campaign?
The entire world is watching. Seriously, the obvious #ReleaseOurGirls distraction is not a good look, Goodluck.
—————————–
Shocker! Kala-Balge Villagers Allegedly Holding 40 Soldiers Caught In Boko Haram Raid Prisoner Action / 1 day ago
ENDS has received exclusive, distressing information that the villagers of Kala-Balge in Borno state, caught over 40 suspected soldiers of the Nigerian army and have held them prisoner since the defensive two weeks ago where they successfully thwarted a Boko Haram invasion and killed over 200 terrorists.
Since we were alerted to this highly incriminating story, four days ago, ENDS has conducted several investigations and sourced more evidence supporting this allegation. We have sourced information from several townsmen who allege that they have in their custody, over 40 soldiers of the Nigerian army and the Nigerian government is aware of this and pleading for their release.
The villagers of Kala-Balge are sworn to secrecy and this has limited the out-flow of this information. The unity of purpose and strength of resistance of the Kala-Balge people against Boko Haram can be recollected from their several successful united actions against Boko Haram in which they have repossessed two light weight tanks, one APC, several hilux trucks and dozens of motorcycles from the terrorists and killed and arrested numerous. A vigilante in an interview with ENDS last week told our officer in Abuja that due to distrust of the State security services, they refused to hand over the APC and rather burned it, because they were convinced if returned it will find its way back into Boko Haram hands.
The villagers believe these are not terrorists dressed as soldiers, but actual employed men of the Nigerian army. They also stated that this is not the first such event where soldiers have been implicated in Boko Haram raids.
A BBC Hausa report last week as carried by DailyTrust, stated that a soldier of the Nigerian army had complained on air about his unit of over 200 able men, being told to stand down and watch as only 50 Boko Haram terrorists destroyed Gamboru-Ngala town this Month, killing over 300 and burning down the entire town. The solder who spoke to BBC said a government military helicopter hovered above, providing cover to the terrorists and did not fire to immobilize their tank and repel their onslaught.
The United States has commented on the level of sabotage in the Nigerian army under the Goodluck Jonathan administration; their distrust of the Nigerian operations was so immense, it limited their information sharing with Nigeria.
The possibility of 40 Nigerian soldiers being caught while involved in an alleged Boko Haram raid is obviously very serious and has great implications in the current state of success of Boko Haram and the continuous genocide in the north with destruction of local farming. We have been unable to get an official response from the Nigerian military who did not answer our calls.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah for http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter: @EveryNigerian
Since we were alerted to this highly incriminating story, four days ago, ENDS has conducted several investigations and sourced more evidence supporting this allegation. We have sourced information from several townsmen who allege that they have in their custody, over 40 soldiers of the Nigerian army and the Nigerian government is aware of this and pleading for their release.
The villagers of Kala-Balge are sworn to secrecy and this has limited the out-flow of this information. The unity of purpose and strength of resistance of the Kala-Balge people against Boko Haram can be recollected from their several successful united actions against Boko Haram in which they have repossessed two light weight tanks, one APC, several hilux trucks and dozens of motorcycles from the terrorists and killed and arrested numerous. A vigilante in an interview with ENDS last week told our officer in Abuja that due to distrust of the State security services, they refused to hand over the APC and rather burned it, because they were convinced if returned it will find its way back into Boko Haram hands.
The villagers believe these are not terrorists dressed as soldiers, but actual employed men of the Nigerian army. They also stated that this is not the first such event where soldiers have been implicated in Boko Haram raids.
A BBC Hausa report last week as carried by DailyTrust, stated that a soldier of the Nigerian army had complained on air about his unit of over 200 able men, being told to stand down and watch as only 50 Boko Haram terrorists destroyed Gamboru-Ngala town this Month, killing over 300 and burning down the entire town. The solder who spoke to BBC said a government military helicopter hovered above, providing cover to the terrorists and did not fire to immobilize their tank and repel their onslaught.
The United States has commented on the level of sabotage in the Nigerian army under the Goodluck Jonathan administration; their distrust of the Nigerian operations was so immense, it limited their information sharing with Nigeria.
The possibility of 40 Nigerian soldiers being caught while involved in an alleged Boko Haram raid is obviously very serious and has great implications in the current state of success of Boko Haram and the continuous genocide in the north with destruction of local farming. We have been unable to get an official response from the Nigerian military who did not answer our calls.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah for http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter: @EveryNigerian
Akpabio says criticisms against scandalous N200 million pension law “laughable”
uThe governor fails to defend the provision of a new house and other perks in the law.
The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio has described as “laughable”, the barrage of criticisms against the new pension law which will allow him pocket over N200 million annually as retirement perks.
Speaking on a morning show on Channels Television Friday, Mr. Akpabio said the law was meant to check excesses in the implementation of the old pension law.
“It’s a laughable situation that people generate controversy over the pension law. The law has been in existence in Akwa Ibom State. I am the one implementing it.
“I know what I am talking about and because I wear the shoe, I know where it pinches. All the former elected governors and their deputies have been enjoying the pension. The pension was first established in 2000 and was further amended with certain provisions added in 2006.”
While explaining the general principles of the new law, he said, “It’s really not a retroactive law, neither is it a new law. It is an existing law that went through amendment.
“In legislative drafting, one can put a provision there, where substantial amendment has been made, to repeal the former law for the current one to take effect.
“My tenure is not ending 2014. So the law is not meant for Godswill Akpabio. It is meant to check the excesses in the system.
“I swore to an oath to ensure that everything I can do positively to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of people and I should do so. And when I saw a lacuna in the law, I had to take up the issues with the leadership of the State House of Assembly and they went to work.”
Mr. Akpabio claimed the new law, exposed exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES, has been politicised. He said people have also “sponsored” all sorts of write-ups against him.
He said the old law was open-ended in terms of benefits payable to past governors, deputies and their spouses.
He said, “We had a situation where bills from former deputies and their spouses worth N29 million were brought from several hospitals they claimed they went for treatment abroad.
“Because the bill did not specify whether the hospital should be in Nigeria or not, most of what I have seen in the past seven years has been bills from hospitals abroad.”
In the course of implementing the existing law, Mr . Akpabio said some former governors and their deputies have brought bills ranging from $50,000, $70,000, and sometimes $112,000.
He argued that it was against decorum to question the medical bills of past leaders on grounds that there are high, and mentioned an instance where a former leader requested for funds to hire an airline to take his spouse for treatment abroad.
“For instance, there was one instance, where in one go I had to pay as much as N41 million. If someone brings a bill of about N39 million for the treatment of maybe cataract or glaucoma in Dubai or London in one quarter or two months, if that happens three to four times in a year, the state would have spent far more than N200 million.
“Then, the law does not tell the state to question these bills. The highest that could be done is to set up a probe panel to go to the hospital to try to find out what was the real situation.
“The next time they will tell you the bill was supposed to have included estacodes, or they were supposed to have stayed for three weeks and the trip extended beyond that. If you do not have men of integrity, they can hide under the open-ended bill to go for their yearly holidays abroad in the name of medical bill.”
Ex-Govs’s endless requests
When asked why the law did not include a caveat to limit treatment to Nigerians hospitals, Mr. Akpabio said that was not practicable.
“How many hospitals in Nigeria have equipment to perform open heart surgery or liver transplant,” he asked?
“What the law is seeking to do is try to create a ceiling so that before a person brings a bill to the government in a year, the person must actually be ill. What this means is that there are years when not one naira of this money would be spent, because the government is expected to pay this money to the hospital and not the individual.
“When government says that the spouse of a former deputy governor cannot spend above N50 million, the interpretation is that one cannot go above $250, 000 or $280,000 in a year. It means the person has to be careful before submitting a bill to government to ensure that one does not end up exhausting what should be available for him in times of emergency.
“Like a healthy governor like Godswill Akpabio, I will not expect that I retire next year from government and start sending bills to government on medical. It means that for at least three to five years, I may not benefit from N1 of the so called N100 million.
“That does not mean that in the event of certain uncertainties or circumstances that I need to go for major medical operation, the ceiling that the government can contribute will be N100 million. Before the governor or deputy can access the money, he must show evidence that he is actually ill.
“Before now, up to May 2014, the money was paid directly into the account of the beneficiaries. It covers people who were elected under Cross River State, including Donald Etiebet, are still receiving pension under that law.”
Mr. Akpabio said the medical bills of the late Akpan Isemin as well as monthly stipends as enshrined in the law were paid in full, adding that the wife, Imo, enjoyed free medical treatment from the government too.
He, however, noted that the free medical services to Mrs. Isemin stopped when the husband died because the law did not provide for it.
“The current amendment makes a provision for N12 million a month to be paid for the medical attention of the governor or deputy governor’s spouses after the death of their husbands.
“The misunderstanding people have is that they thought it is a new law to only to take care of the interest of Mr. Akpabio. The law also has provisions for certain complementary services, like a chauffeur, cleaner, cook, etc.
“Imagine if there was no ceiling, it means that whenever the governor sends the list of his staff enshrined in the law, whatever amount he gives, the government would have no option than to comply.
“So, if the governor goes to employ cooks that all have master degrees in akara making, pounded yam and pay them $10,000, it means if the governor has two cooks and brings them to government, the government would be spending a minimum of N6million on them, without money to pay the cleaners, security men, stewards, chauffeur.”
Mr. Akpabio said the new law has indicated how much would be paid to private staff of former governors and their deputies, adding that based on the new law, the monies would be paid directly to the staff.
He said a cleaner would be entitled to the national minimum wage of N18, 000 monthly salary while other emoluments would be in line with existing labour laws.
He said, “These monies are not paid to the governors, but directly to the staff listed. If someone has a degree and is on Level 10, he would be paid his entitlement. That means that the N5million would not be spent in totality, but it must not exceed that ceiling set in the law.
“If these people are highly qualified and are ICT compliant, and the former governor chooses to have Bill Gates or somebody that worked with Bill Gates as his secretary, and comes up with a bill of N7.5 million a month.”
The governor did not explain- and was not pressed by his interviewers about- the provision of a new house for former governors, given that past leaders of the state would have been given accommodations, and he stands to be the chief beneficiary.
The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio has described as “laughable”, the barrage of criticisms against the new pension law which will allow him pocket over N200 million annually as retirement perks.
Speaking on a morning show on Channels Television Friday, Mr. Akpabio said the law was meant to check excesses in the implementation of the old pension law.
“It’s a laughable situation that people generate controversy over the pension law. The law has been in existence in Akwa Ibom State. I am the one implementing it.
“I know what I am talking about and because I wear the shoe, I know where it pinches. All the former elected governors and their deputies have been enjoying the pension. The pension was first established in 2000 and was further amended with certain provisions added in 2006.”
While explaining the general principles of the new law, he said, “It’s really not a retroactive law, neither is it a new law. It is an existing law that went through amendment.
“In legislative drafting, one can put a provision there, where substantial amendment has been made, to repeal the former law for the current one to take effect.
“My tenure is not ending 2014. So the law is not meant for Godswill Akpabio. It is meant to check the excesses in the system.
“I swore to an oath to ensure that everything I can do positively to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of people and I should do so. And when I saw a lacuna in the law, I had to take up the issues with the leadership of the State House of Assembly and they went to work.”
Mr. Akpabio claimed the new law, exposed exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES, has been politicised. He said people have also “sponsored” all sorts of write-ups against him.
He said the old law was open-ended in terms of benefits payable to past governors, deputies and their spouses.
He said, “We had a situation where bills from former deputies and their spouses worth N29 million were brought from several hospitals they claimed they went for treatment abroad.
“Because the bill did not specify whether the hospital should be in Nigeria or not, most of what I have seen in the past seven years has been bills from hospitals abroad.”
In the course of implementing the existing law, Mr . Akpabio said some former governors and their deputies have brought bills ranging from $50,000, $70,000, and sometimes $112,000.
He argued that it was against decorum to question the medical bills of past leaders on grounds that there are high, and mentioned an instance where a former leader requested for funds to hire an airline to take his spouse for treatment abroad.
“For instance, there was one instance, where in one go I had to pay as much as N41 million. If someone brings a bill of about N39 million for the treatment of maybe cataract or glaucoma in Dubai or London in one quarter or two months, if that happens three to four times in a year, the state would have spent far more than N200 million.
“Then, the law does not tell the state to question these bills. The highest that could be done is to set up a probe panel to go to the hospital to try to find out what was the real situation.
“The next time they will tell you the bill was supposed to have included estacodes, or they were supposed to have stayed for three weeks and the trip extended beyond that. If you do not have men of integrity, they can hide under the open-ended bill to go for their yearly holidays abroad in the name of medical bill.”
Ex-Govs’s endless requests
When asked why the law did not include a caveat to limit treatment to Nigerians hospitals, Mr. Akpabio said that was not practicable.
“How many hospitals in Nigeria have equipment to perform open heart surgery or liver transplant,” he asked?
“What the law is seeking to do is try to create a ceiling so that before a person brings a bill to the government in a year, the person must actually be ill. What this means is that there are years when not one naira of this money would be spent, because the government is expected to pay this money to the hospital and not the individual.
“When government says that the spouse of a former deputy governor cannot spend above N50 million, the interpretation is that one cannot go above $250, 000 or $280,000 in a year. It means the person has to be careful before submitting a bill to government to ensure that one does not end up exhausting what should be available for him in times of emergency.
“Like a healthy governor like Godswill Akpabio, I will not expect that I retire next year from government and start sending bills to government on medical. It means that for at least three to five years, I may not benefit from N1 of the so called N100 million.
“That does not mean that in the event of certain uncertainties or circumstances that I need to go for major medical operation, the ceiling that the government can contribute will be N100 million. Before the governor or deputy can access the money, he must show evidence that he is actually ill.
“Before now, up to May 2014, the money was paid directly into the account of the beneficiaries. It covers people who were elected under Cross River State, including Donald Etiebet, are still receiving pension under that law.”
Mr. Akpabio said the medical bills of the late Akpan Isemin as well as monthly stipends as enshrined in the law were paid in full, adding that the wife, Imo, enjoyed free medical treatment from the government too.
He, however, noted that the free medical services to Mrs. Isemin stopped when the husband died because the law did not provide for it.
“The current amendment makes a provision for N12 million a month to be paid for the medical attention of the governor or deputy governor’s spouses after the death of their husbands.
“The misunderstanding people have is that they thought it is a new law to only to take care of the interest of Mr. Akpabio. The law also has provisions for certain complementary services, like a chauffeur, cleaner, cook, etc.
“Imagine if there was no ceiling, it means that whenever the governor sends the list of his staff enshrined in the law, whatever amount he gives, the government would have no option than to comply.
“So, if the governor goes to employ cooks that all have master degrees in akara making, pounded yam and pay them $10,000, it means if the governor has two cooks and brings them to government, the government would be spending a minimum of N6million on them, without money to pay the cleaners, security men, stewards, chauffeur.”
Mr. Akpabio said the new law has indicated how much would be paid to private staff of former governors and their deputies, adding that based on the new law, the monies would be paid directly to the staff.
He said a cleaner would be entitled to the national minimum wage of N18, 000 monthly salary while other emoluments would be in line with existing labour laws.
He said, “These monies are not paid to the governors, but directly to the staff listed. If someone has a degree and is on Level 10, he would be paid his entitlement. That means that the N5million would not be spent in totality, but it must not exceed that ceiling set in the law.
“If these people are highly qualified and are ICT compliant, and the former governor chooses to have Bill Gates or somebody that worked with Bill Gates as his secretary, and comes up with a bill of N7.5 million a month.”
The governor did not explain- and was not pressed by his interviewers about- the provision of a new house for former governors, given that past leaders of the state would have been given accommodations, and he stands to be the chief beneficiary.
Nigerian military arrests Boko Haram’s bomb expert behind Nyanya, Jos bombings says he is working for the powers that be!
A young man in his mid 20s, who confessed being a bomb expert for the extremist Boko Haram sect has been arrested by military operatives in Borno state while on his way to Sambisa forest, the dreaded hideout of the Boko Haram terrorists, reliable high-ranking military sources have told PREMIUM TIMES.
The man, whose identity is being concealed by the authorities, appears a big catch for the military as he has confessed being involved in the recent Nyanya and Jos bombings that killed more than 300 people.
The man, who was traveling from Abuja to Sambisa was arrested on Sunday near Bama town of Borno state by soldiers of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army.
Our sources said soldiers on patrol nabbed the man during a stop-and-search operation at a checkpoint after finding suspicious items like “sophisticated communication gadgets, a map, a very expensive laptop and 30 pieces of Flash-Drives in his bag”.
The soldiers, our sources said, immediately whisked him to the Maimalari barracks in Maiduguri, a distance of about 100km away and handed him over to relevant military personnel for further interrogation.
During interrogation, the man reportedly confessed being a bomb expert working for Boko Haram and claimed to be carrying out assignments for “the power that be”
The suspect also confessed being responsible for both Nyanya and Jos bomb blasts that claimed about 300 lives.
“He said he was to meet with some operatives of Boko Haram for yet another work (bomb attack)”, said one of our sources who cannot be named because he was not authorised to make these disclosures to anyone.
The source added that the suspect boasted during interrogation that those who arrested him merely wasted their time as he was confident of being released by the powers behind his deadly activities.
“He boasted that he will soon be released as was the case at DSS headquarters when he was arrested late last year but only to be released three months after to start work again,” one of our sources, said.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the Defence Headquarters, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, declined to confirm or deny the arrest.
“Many terrorists are being interrogated as we speak and I do not want to comment on any specific case at this time,” Mr. Olukolade said.
A deadly car bomb at Nyanya bus station near Abuja, had on April 14 killed at least 75 people and injured 124 more.
Two weeks later, on May 1, another round of explosion went off around the same area, killing 19 and injuring 66 others.
On May 20, multiple explosions occurred around the ever-busy Jos Main Market, between Railway Terminus and the temporary site of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, killing over 200 people.
At least three people were killed and three others injured when another explosion near a football viewing centre rocked the city four days later on May 24.
The arrested suspect reportedly confessed his involvement in the four bombings.
The man, whose identity is being concealed by the authorities, appears a big catch for the military as he has confessed being involved in the recent Nyanya and Jos bombings that killed more than 300 people.
The man, who was traveling from Abuja to Sambisa was arrested on Sunday near Bama town of Borno state by soldiers of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army.
Our sources said soldiers on patrol nabbed the man during a stop-and-search operation at a checkpoint after finding suspicious items like “sophisticated communication gadgets, a map, a very expensive laptop and 30 pieces of Flash-Drives in his bag”.
The soldiers, our sources said, immediately whisked him to the Maimalari barracks in Maiduguri, a distance of about 100km away and handed him over to relevant military personnel for further interrogation.
During interrogation, the man reportedly confessed being a bomb expert working for Boko Haram and claimed to be carrying out assignments for “the power that be”
The suspect also confessed being responsible for both Nyanya and Jos bomb blasts that claimed about 300 lives.
“He said he was to meet with some operatives of Boko Haram for yet another work (bomb attack)”, said one of our sources who cannot be named because he was not authorised to make these disclosures to anyone.
The source added that the suspect boasted during interrogation that those who arrested him merely wasted their time as he was confident of being released by the powers behind his deadly activities.
“He boasted that he will soon be released as was the case at DSS headquarters when he was arrested late last year but only to be released three months after to start work again,” one of our sources, said.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the Defence Headquarters, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, declined to confirm or deny the arrest.
“Many terrorists are being interrogated as we speak and I do not want to comment on any specific case at this time,” Mr. Olukolade said.
A deadly car bomb at Nyanya bus station near Abuja, had on April 14 killed at least 75 people and injured 124 more.
Two weeks later, on May 1, another round of explosion went off around the same area, killing 19 and injuring 66 others.
On May 20, multiple explosions occurred around the ever-busy Jos Main Market, between Railway Terminus and the temporary site of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, killing over 200 people.
At least three people were killed and three others injured when another explosion near a football viewing centre rocked the city four days later on May 24.
The arrested suspect reportedly confessed his involvement in the four bombings.
Thursday, 27 March 2014
NIS tragedy: We obeyed ministers’ order, says Comptroller General
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), David Parrandang, Thursday told the Senate that he simply obeyed the last order in the ill fated NIS recruitment exercise.
Parradang consistently said that the NIS was never the “driver” of the recruitment process but simply complied with directives as given by the Ministry of Interior.
The Immigration boss noted that throughout his years in the Service nobody had ever taken away the power of the NIS to recruit operatives of the Service from levels 1-7.
He also told the committee that he was opposed to the collection of money from applicants.
The Comptroller said that he also advised that the exercise be staggered and to adopt state of origin.
He said that on the 9th of September, 2013 the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prison Services Board placed advertisements in some national dailies for appointments into the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Immigration Assistant cadres.
He noted that the advert was signed by the then Board Secretary, Dr. Attahiru.
“I immediately placed a call to the Secretary that I am not aware that the Board met on this issue. I also placed a call to the Permanent Secretary too whether there was any decision of the Board to place an advert in the papers.
“I also placed a call to the two Commissioners that are seated before you here whether they were aware that the Board met and agreed for a publication to be made to recruit in the Service, but they all answered in the negative,” Parradang told the lawmakers.
The Immigration boss said that he wrote the then Secretary to express “my dismay that as a stakeholder, as the head of a Service that is supposed to recruit, I was not aware of this exercise.”
Parradang said that the Secretary pleaded with him that “I should understand with him that he was under immense pressure to put up the advert.”
Parradang quoted Dr. Attahiru to have said “I should not write the letter but I said no, this is an official matter it is not an issue to do with Mr. David Parradang but with the Nigeria Immigration Service.”
He added, “So I wrote him a letter that I was not given any benefit of a reply till way back in October when he had been removed from the Ministry. Along the line we were asked to look for funding and I had to look for funding for this exercise from the office of the Director General of Budget.
“I wrote him a letter that we have waiver from the Federal Civil Service Commission to recruit 4,556 operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service.
“He told me categorically that Government was very conscious of overheads and there would be no money made available for it. I thought he was just being reluctant.
“So I kept pressurizing him. I went to that office practically every day for the whole of that week and subsequent weeks.
“The last concession I got from him is that I should wait that maybe it would be captured in the 2014 budget.
“So along the line, the Committee of the Board met, we discussed this issue of Drexel (consultant) being the service provider and I said look, I am not in support of anybody collecting money for recruitment.
“I remember very clearly during that meeting where the two Commissioners were, I told them that I read in the papers that in Niger State there was recruitment and people were meant to pay and there was a lot of outcry in that state and the Governor had to step in and cancelled it.
“I said look we may go this line gentlemen if we don’t take time. But we kept going and we had no other board meeting to my knowledge till when the Secretary called us to the Steering Committee Meeting in January.
“I told them that it is advisable for us to stagger the exercise and to go by states of origin. But when we appeared before this Committee of the Senate to in one of the committee rooms here, we were all seated here and we got to know that we will be conducting recruitment examinations on the 15th of March, 2014.
“That was the first day I heard that. I did not hear from any board; there was no board meeting to that effect.
‘As a man in uniform you obey the last order.
“Subsequently, everybody that asked me when is Immigration recruitment, before then I used to tell them that I don’t know but subsequently anybody that asks me I will reply that the Honourable Minister has declared categorically that we will recruit on the 15th of March and that is what we are going to stick to.
“Then I sent the DCG Human Resources to attend all subsequent meetings and when it came to the issue of funding he told me that they have made a budget of N212million to be used for that exercise.
“I asked him where the money will come from, knowing that Immigration does not have such money. He said it is expected that the company should pay for it. I said okay, go and take representatives of the Service Provider to the Honourable Minister of Interior maybe he would have funding for the exercise.
“He told me there was none till about on 13th of March 2014 when N45million was made available for him to carry out that exercise.
“We were left with the option of having to mobilize all our officers in the State Commands to attend to the recruitment exercise. We sent bulk SMS to all of them saying look gentlemen this is the day we have to work with.
“All of them kept calling me to ask how they were going to get money to do this exercise? I told them if any money is given to me I will make it available to you.
“No money was made available to the Nigerian Immigration Service and the exercise was supposed to be conducted.
“If you notice too there was no advertisement giving clear guidelines on how to go about it until the 14th of March that people were asked to go to the various centres for the tests.
”I will like to state that on a state by state basis, the Nigeria Immigration Service is deeply pained about the events that led to loss of lives of 16 people.
“I want the figures to be corrected. We had seven people that died in the Federal Capital Territory. We had five that died in Rivers State. We had two that died in Niger State. We had one in Bauchi. We had one in Edo. Those are the exact figures.
”On the fateful day when we started hearing reports that this was what was happening in the field I came back from Jos and I met the Secretary in his office we sat all through till midnight getting direct reports from each of the State Commands.
“We had given them clear guidelines on what to do. We asked them to contact the regular stakeholders that we normally meet together like the FRSC, the NSCDC, hospital authorities that they should get people to assist us because this is a short notice thing but on day the crowd was really overwhelming.”
Asked why he did not stop the exercise, he said, “We were not the drivers of this process at all.
“So the decision to stop it would never have come from me. I was not the driver of this process and my position had been very clear on this.”
On why he did not see the tragedy coming, he said, “Of all the capacities that God has given human beings nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow.
“All of us are optimistic basically. We were of the hope and of the belief that this is a genuine intended activity that nobody would want anybody to lose his life or even get injured. We did not and could not have seen that it was going to fail.”
He added, “For all my years in the Service, nobody has ever taken away the power to recruit from level one to level seven from the NIS.”
He said that he protested in writing but was assured that his fears had been taken care off.
Most of the State Commands of the NIS told the committee that they received only N300, 000 out of N45 million released by the consultant to the Board
One Central Bank, Four Governors"
THE VERDICT By OLUSEGUN ADENIYI
Question: Who is the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria? Options: (A) Sarah Alade; (B) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; (C) Godwin Emefiele (D) Jim Osayande Obazee; (E) None of the above. Please shade the correct answer.
The above is an examination question recently encountered by a friend but please don’t ask me for his name. He said he could not pick “A” because Mrs Alade, the acting CBN Governor in a period of transition, wields little or no authority. He said he could not pick “B” either because, even though President Goodluck Jonathan recently affirmed that Sanusi remains the CBN Governor, he is still on suspension. My friend said he also could not pick “C” because even though Emefiele’s appointment was confirmed by the Senate yesterday, he would still have to wait for Sanusi’s tenure to expire before assuming office. For some minutes, according to my friend, he toyed with the idea of picking “D” because, as he explained, the Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) is the man who has been calling all the shots at the CBN in recent weeks. But then he demurred because he could not lay his hands on where Obazee derives his powers from. So at the end, he settled for “E” which means that today, for all practical purposes, Nigeria’s apex bank is without a substantive Governor!
Given the foregoing, it came as no surprise that Standard and Poor's (S&P), one of those international financial agencies whose ratings the managers of our economy like to flaunt, has put a question mark on Nigeria’s “stable outlook” rating, citing dearth of new information on the country and the uncertainty surrounding monetary policies. While stating that the suspension of the CBN Governor amounted to government interference with monetary policies, S&P said it was placing the country on a credit watch for a period of one week as a result of the appeal by the federal government. “As a result, we are placing our long-term sovereign credit ratings on Nigeria on Credit Watch with negative implications,” S&P stated rather ominously.
Before I proceed, it bears repeating that I have made my position very clear about Sanusi’s gross act of insubordination to President Jonathan, especially considering the reckless manner in which he went about touting some CBN laws which he believes make him untouchable (Sarki Goma, Zamani Goma…). As a student of power politics, I am aware, as British philosopher, John Locke, argued in “The Second Treatise of Government: And, A Letter Concerning Toleration”, that the people sometimes allow “their rulers to do several things of their own free choice, where the law is silent...and their acquiescing in it when so done." Whatever the law cannot provide for, according to Locke, “must necessarily be left to the discretion of him that has the executive power in his hands, to be ordered by him as the public good and advantage shall require...”
Even though I am not a lawyer, to the extent that the CBN Act is silent on suspension, I believe that Sanusi was not well advised to have taken on the presidency in the manner he did. But that is just the opinion of the layman that I am. Notwithstanding my position, I am also worried that some people may unwittingly be destroying a critical institution like the CBN in the attempt to get back at one man who, whatever may be the misgivings about his style, did very well in office.
Against the background that Sanusi became CBN Governor in the middle of a global financial crisis in 2009, his intervention (by removing some bank chief executives who were dancing “Skelewu” with depositors’ funds) helped to restore sanity in the system. It is also on record that under Sanusi’s watch, inflation has been kept below 10 per cent while until recently, there was a measure of stability in the foreign exchange market. The CBN also implemented policies aimed at reducing the excessive use of cash in the system to ensure safety, improve efficiency and curb money laundering.
So, all factors considered, Sanusi has been a good CBN Governor and I refuse to be taken in by the noise emanating from those who fiddled with depositors’ money for which they were entrusted and paid dearly for it. In any case, it is not lost on fair-minded Nigerians that in this obsession to nail Sanusi, the “witnesses” being lined up are some former bank chiefs who abused their trust and were punished by the CBN. Yet it is a serious indictment on our country that the same fat cats who are being tried by the state for economic and financial crimes are also being aided by the same state, in the bid to settle score with the suspended CBN Governor. It is not right.
While I am aware that politics trumps everything in Nigeria today, those who are circumspect should be worried that the head of a small government parastatal under the Ministry of Trade and Investment should have the powers to be conducting a public investigation into the operations of the CBN with all the attendant publicity. Aside the professional breach (audit investigation is never conducted on the pages of newspapers), there is also the issue of a not-so-subtle executive interference into what are clearly operational issues at the apex bank. For those of us who can see beyond the person of Sanusi, that is very troubling and such details are also not lost on S&P and other international credit rating agencies.
Because most Nigerians still wonder how this little-known FRCN crept into our consciousness, a brief story may be necessary here. It started with the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB), a private sector initiative established in 1982 in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Ten years later in 1992, the General Ibrahim Babangida administration by military fiat converted the NASB into a government parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Commerce. In 2003, the NASB Act was passed with the primary functions to “develop, publish and update Statements of Accounting Standards to be followed by companies when they prepare their financial statement, and to promote and enforce compliance with the standards”.
Following a critical appraisal of the NASB by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2010, the then Executive Secretary, Mr Godson Nnadi began a process for the establishment of a new body that would set accounting and auditing standards in the country and would be independent of both ICAN and ANAN. At about that same time, Nnadi was appointed Finance and Economic Development commissioner in Enugu State where he hails from. But his protégé and successor, Obazee (who joined the organisation after graduation in the early nineties) saw to the drafting and eventual passage of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) Bill on May 18, 2011.
The law was gazetted on June 7, 2011 as “an Act to repeal the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board Act, No. 22 of 2003 and enact the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria charged with the responsibility for, among other things, developing and publishing accounting and financial reporting standards to be observed in the preparation of the financial statement of public entities in Nigeria; and for related matters.” Both the chairman and the executive secretary are to be appointed by the president.
Ironically, while Obazee was trying to get the bill passed in the National Assembly, he got support and encouragement from Sanusi who argued that such a law would help to attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria and perhaps for that reason mobilised through the CBN and the Bankers' Committee a whopping sum of N500 million for the construction of its International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Academy. I still wonder how Sanusi came about his theory considering that many countries, including the United States have refused to subscribe to the IFRS, preferring instead the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
When the bill was finally signed into law by President Jonathan, Trade and Investment Minister, Mr Olusegun Aganga, under whose purview the new parastatal was domiciled said: "More meaningful and decision-enhancing information can now be arrived at from financial statements issued in Nigeria because accounting, actuarial, valuation and auditing standards, used in the preparation of these statements, shall be issued and regulated by this Financial Reporting Council. The FRC is a unified independent regulatory body for accounting, auditing, actuarial, valuation and corporate governance. As such, compliance monitoring in these areas will hence be addressed from the platform of professionalism and legislation.”
What the foregoing suggests is that the FRCN is not another Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), its main function is to standardize accounting practice in Nigeria. To therefore read reports of Obazee “grilling” Sanusi, Alade as well as the immediate past Deputy Governor, Operations of the CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo; Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BoI), Ms Evelyn Oputu; Deputy Governor, Operations, CBN, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu and Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, CBN, Alhaji Suleiman Barau is beyond ridiculous. Because the FRCN Executive Secretary is arrogating to himself some powers that he does not have and even if he has the authority of the president for his assignment, I don’t think he is approaching it the right way.
Now, I have read all the provisions of the FRCN Act 2011 and its power of investigation is derived from Section 62 which stipulates that “(1) The Council may investigate or cause to be investigated
(a) Any complaint or dishonest practice, negligence, professional misconduct, malpractice made against any professional; (b) any breach of the Code of Conduct and Ethics by any registered professional; or (c) any material irregularity notified to it”.
However, it is noteworthy that the section itself falls under Part V11 of the Act which is on “Review and Monitoring of Standards”, which then implies that it is targeted at compliance with standards for accounting practitioners. Even if we concede that the FRCN can investigate statutory institutions, such powers reside in the Council and not the Executive Secretary. And the Council, currently headed by Hajiya Ladi Ibrahim, (now at the National Conference representing Kogi State) has a long list of membership: Two representatives each of both ICAN and ANAN as well as one representative of each of the following: Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Office of the Auditor General of the Federation; CBN; Chartered Institute of Brokers; Chartered Institute of Taxation; Corporate Affairs Commission; Federal Inland Revenue Service; Federal Ministry of Commerce; Federal Ministry of Finance; NACCIMA; NDIC; SEC; NAICOM; NSE; PENCOM and the National Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers. The Executive Secretary who has become the judge and the jury in the so-called CBN investigation is just one member in this big Council!
Now, I must make my position very clear. I am for transparency and accountability so to that extent, I do not subscribe to the position that Sanusi or the CBN which he heads should be above the law. No, both should be held to account. But such should be done within the ambit of the law and with due regard to process. What worries me is that right before our very eyes, we are watching a systematic destruction of perhaps our strongest institution, the Central Bank of Nigeria, that has been built over time, by a Johnny-just-come Federal Reporting Council of Nigeria that has no track record. Audit investigation is not the same thing as criminal investigation, and even at that, only a court of law can pronounce anybody a criminal as Obazee’s FRCN seems to have done with its report.
I have my issues with Sanusi who was disrespectful of the president and attracted to himself too much needless media attention. Indeed, in a moment of introspection in his recent interview with METROPOLE magazine (http://bit.ly/1cPddTz), Sanusi admitted this much: “There was only one thing that I had hoped at the beginning I would achieve which I believed I have not achieved. And this saddens me a bit even though it is also the circumstances. A central bank should, as much as possible, be out of the front pages of newspapers. Apart from on monetary policy days when you announce your rates, you should just work behind the scene.”
That should be a big lesson from which his successor must learn. In the United States, a Fed Chairman (CBN Governor in Nigeria) once spent hours in Congress fielding questions at the end of which one frustrated lawmaker offered a sarcastic compliment: "You would make a very excellent prisoner of war... you wouldn't tell the enemy a thing." Sanusi as a prisoner of war would bring down the whole roof with his mouth! However, that should not diminish his achievements in office.
I am not one of those people who subscribe to the conspiracy theory that Sanusi was suspended because of his allegation that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit some billions of Dollars into the Federation Account. However, it is also an open secret that because of the mutual distrust between him and the president, the FRCN report became rather handy. But the report itself reads more like the judgment of a court against a criminal than an audit review of CBN accounting process. That is why it lacks any modicum of credibility.
The elevation of the hitherto unknown FRCN into an inquisition whose first outing is to hang Sanusi clearly reduces what ought to be a serious concern for probity in high public places into a petty political witch-hunt. Nigerians know about the EFCC and its awesome powers in such matters. They also know the ICPC for what it was established to do. But for the Federal Government to stage a kangaroo accounting inquisition into Sanusi's alleged malfeasance, as it is doing, is to further expose the nation's financial system to international ridicule.
The nature of witnesses being called and the status of CBN officials being summoned in this laughable inquisition by perhaps the smallest of the agencies under the Ministry of Trade and Investment make the matter more injurious to the financial system. I believe that the Jonathan administration needs to handle the Sanusi matter with a measure of dexterity. Here is an administration that has repeatedly cited among its 'transformation' miracles some of the fiscal and monetary reforms that Sanusi instituted in the nation's banking and financial system. It is also on record that Sanusi put himself on the firing line of public disaffection when the administration tried, without success, to remove subsidy on PMS early in 2012. Now, because the CBN Governor mismanaged the politics of his high office, the same administration is staging a public hanging of its once favourite man.
In all these, what is forgotten is that Sanusi is no ordinary public officer. He 'is' Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the custodian of some of our most hallowed financial secrets and the government's accountant of last resort. What that means in effect is that unless the Jonathan administration handles the Sanusi saga with extreme care, it may find out that suspending the CBN Governor is the easier part of this charade as the ever widening international financial and domestic economic disquiet on the matter could hurt the nation very badly.
The above is an examination question recently encountered by a friend but please don’t ask me for his name. He said he could not pick “A” because Mrs Alade, the acting CBN Governor in a period of transition, wields little or no authority. He said he could not pick “B” either because, even though President Goodluck Jonathan recently affirmed that Sanusi remains the CBN Governor, he is still on suspension. My friend said he also could not pick “C” because even though Emefiele’s appointment was confirmed by the Senate yesterday, he would still have to wait for Sanusi’s tenure to expire before assuming office. For some minutes, according to my friend, he toyed with the idea of picking “D” because, as he explained, the Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) is the man who has been calling all the shots at the CBN in recent weeks. But then he demurred because he could not lay his hands on where Obazee derives his powers from. So at the end, he settled for “E” which means that today, for all practical purposes, Nigeria’s apex bank is without a substantive Governor!
Given the foregoing, it came as no surprise that Standard and Poor's (S&P), one of those international financial agencies whose ratings the managers of our economy like to flaunt, has put a question mark on Nigeria’s “stable outlook” rating, citing dearth of new information on the country and the uncertainty surrounding monetary policies. While stating that the suspension of the CBN Governor amounted to government interference with monetary policies, S&P said it was placing the country on a credit watch for a period of one week as a result of the appeal by the federal government. “As a result, we are placing our long-term sovereign credit ratings on Nigeria on Credit Watch with negative implications,” S&P stated rather ominously.
Before I proceed, it bears repeating that I have made my position very clear about Sanusi’s gross act of insubordination to President Jonathan, especially considering the reckless manner in which he went about touting some CBN laws which he believes make him untouchable (Sarki Goma, Zamani Goma…). As a student of power politics, I am aware, as British philosopher, John Locke, argued in “The Second Treatise of Government: And, A Letter Concerning Toleration”, that the people sometimes allow “their rulers to do several things of their own free choice, where the law is silent...and their acquiescing in it when so done." Whatever the law cannot provide for, according to Locke, “must necessarily be left to the discretion of him that has the executive power in his hands, to be ordered by him as the public good and advantage shall require...”
Even though I am not a lawyer, to the extent that the CBN Act is silent on suspension, I believe that Sanusi was not well advised to have taken on the presidency in the manner he did. But that is just the opinion of the layman that I am. Notwithstanding my position, I am also worried that some people may unwittingly be destroying a critical institution like the CBN in the attempt to get back at one man who, whatever may be the misgivings about his style, did very well in office.
Against the background that Sanusi became CBN Governor in the middle of a global financial crisis in 2009, his intervention (by removing some bank chief executives who were dancing “Skelewu” with depositors’ funds) helped to restore sanity in the system. It is also on record that under Sanusi’s watch, inflation has been kept below 10 per cent while until recently, there was a measure of stability in the foreign exchange market. The CBN also implemented policies aimed at reducing the excessive use of cash in the system to ensure safety, improve efficiency and curb money laundering.
So, all factors considered, Sanusi has been a good CBN Governor and I refuse to be taken in by the noise emanating from those who fiddled with depositors’ money for which they were entrusted and paid dearly for it. In any case, it is not lost on fair-minded Nigerians that in this obsession to nail Sanusi, the “witnesses” being lined up are some former bank chiefs who abused their trust and were punished by the CBN. Yet it is a serious indictment on our country that the same fat cats who are being tried by the state for economic and financial crimes are also being aided by the same state, in the bid to settle score with the suspended CBN Governor. It is not right.
While I am aware that politics trumps everything in Nigeria today, those who are circumspect should be worried that the head of a small government parastatal under the Ministry of Trade and Investment should have the powers to be conducting a public investigation into the operations of the CBN with all the attendant publicity. Aside the professional breach (audit investigation is never conducted on the pages of newspapers), there is also the issue of a not-so-subtle executive interference into what are clearly operational issues at the apex bank. For those of us who can see beyond the person of Sanusi, that is very troubling and such details are also not lost on S&P and other international credit rating agencies.
Because most Nigerians still wonder how this little-known FRCN crept into our consciousness, a brief story may be necessary here. It started with the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB), a private sector initiative established in 1982 in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Ten years later in 1992, the General Ibrahim Babangida administration by military fiat converted the NASB into a government parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Commerce. In 2003, the NASB Act was passed with the primary functions to “develop, publish and update Statements of Accounting Standards to be followed by companies when they prepare their financial statement, and to promote and enforce compliance with the standards”.
Following a critical appraisal of the NASB by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2010, the then Executive Secretary, Mr Godson Nnadi began a process for the establishment of a new body that would set accounting and auditing standards in the country and would be independent of both ICAN and ANAN. At about that same time, Nnadi was appointed Finance and Economic Development commissioner in Enugu State where he hails from. But his protégé and successor, Obazee (who joined the organisation after graduation in the early nineties) saw to the drafting and eventual passage of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) Bill on May 18, 2011.
The law was gazetted on June 7, 2011 as “an Act to repeal the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board Act, No. 22 of 2003 and enact the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria charged with the responsibility for, among other things, developing and publishing accounting and financial reporting standards to be observed in the preparation of the financial statement of public entities in Nigeria; and for related matters.” Both the chairman and the executive secretary are to be appointed by the president.
Ironically, while Obazee was trying to get the bill passed in the National Assembly, he got support and encouragement from Sanusi who argued that such a law would help to attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria and perhaps for that reason mobilised through the CBN and the Bankers' Committee a whopping sum of N500 million for the construction of its International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Academy. I still wonder how Sanusi came about his theory considering that many countries, including the United States have refused to subscribe to the IFRS, preferring instead the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
When the bill was finally signed into law by President Jonathan, Trade and Investment Minister, Mr Olusegun Aganga, under whose purview the new parastatal was domiciled said: "More meaningful and decision-enhancing information can now be arrived at from financial statements issued in Nigeria because accounting, actuarial, valuation and auditing standards, used in the preparation of these statements, shall be issued and regulated by this Financial Reporting Council. The FRC is a unified independent regulatory body for accounting, auditing, actuarial, valuation and corporate governance. As such, compliance monitoring in these areas will hence be addressed from the platform of professionalism and legislation.”
What the foregoing suggests is that the FRCN is not another Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), its main function is to standardize accounting practice in Nigeria. To therefore read reports of Obazee “grilling” Sanusi, Alade as well as the immediate past Deputy Governor, Operations of the CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo; Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BoI), Ms Evelyn Oputu; Deputy Governor, Operations, CBN, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu and Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, CBN, Alhaji Suleiman Barau is beyond ridiculous. Because the FRCN Executive Secretary is arrogating to himself some powers that he does not have and even if he has the authority of the president for his assignment, I don’t think he is approaching it the right way.
Now, I have read all the provisions of the FRCN Act 2011 and its power of investigation is derived from Section 62 which stipulates that “(1) The Council may investigate or cause to be investigated
(a) Any complaint or dishonest practice, negligence, professional misconduct, malpractice made against any professional; (b) any breach of the Code of Conduct and Ethics by any registered professional; or (c) any material irregularity notified to it”.
However, it is noteworthy that the section itself falls under Part V11 of the Act which is on “Review and Monitoring of Standards”, which then implies that it is targeted at compliance with standards for accounting practitioners. Even if we concede that the FRCN can investigate statutory institutions, such powers reside in the Council and not the Executive Secretary. And the Council, currently headed by Hajiya Ladi Ibrahim, (now at the National Conference representing Kogi State) has a long list of membership: Two representatives each of both ICAN and ANAN as well as one representative of each of the following: Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Office of the Auditor General of the Federation; CBN; Chartered Institute of Brokers; Chartered Institute of Taxation; Corporate Affairs Commission; Federal Inland Revenue Service; Federal Ministry of Commerce; Federal Ministry of Finance; NACCIMA; NDIC; SEC; NAICOM; NSE; PENCOM and the National Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers. The Executive Secretary who has become the judge and the jury in the so-called CBN investigation is just one member in this big Council!
Now, I must make my position very clear. I am for transparency and accountability so to that extent, I do not subscribe to the position that Sanusi or the CBN which he heads should be above the law. No, both should be held to account. But such should be done within the ambit of the law and with due regard to process. What worries me is that right before our very eyes, we are watching a systematic destruction of perhaps our strongest institution, the Central Bank of Nigeria, that has been built over time, by a Johnny-just-come Federal Reporting Council of Nigeria that has no track record. Audit investigation is not the same thing as criminal investigation, and even at that, only a court of law can pronounce anybody a criminal as Obazee’s FRCN seems to have done with its report.
I have my issues with Sanusi who was disrespectful of the president and attracted to himself too much needless media attention. Indeed, in a moment of introspection in his recent interview with METROPOLE magazine (http://bit.ly/1cPddTz), Sanusi admitted this much: “There was only one thing that I had hoped at the beginning I would achieve which I believed I have not achieved. And this saddens me a bit even though it is also the circumstances. A central bank should, as much as possible, be out of the front pages of newspapers. Apart from on monetary policy days when you announce your rates, you should just work behind the scene.”
That should be a big lesson from which his successor must learn. In the United States, a Fed Chairman (CBN Governor in Nigeria) once spent hours in Congress fielding questions at the end of which one frustrated lawmaker offered a sarcastic compliment: "You would make a very excellent prisoner of war... you wouldn't tell the enemy a thing." Sanusi as a prisoner of war would bring down the whole roof with his mouth! However, that should not diminish his achievements in office.
I am not one of those people who subscribe to the conspiracy theory that Sanusi was suspended because of his allegation that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit some billions of Dollars into the Federation Account. However, it is also an open secret that because of the mutual distrust between him and the president, the FRCN report became rather handy. But the report itself reads more like the judgment of a court against a criminal than an audit review of CBN accounting process. That is why it lacks any modicum of credibility.
The elevation of the hitherto unknown FRCN into an inquisition whose first outing is to hang Sanusi clearly reduces what ought to be a serious concern for probity in high public places into a petty political witch-hunt. Nigerians know about the EFCC and its awesome powers in such matters. They also know the ICPC for what it was established to do. But for the Federal Government to stage a kangaroo accounting inquisition into Sanusi's alleged malfeasance, as it is doing, is to further expose the nation's financial system to international ridicule.
The nature of witnesses being called and the status of CBN officials being summoned in this laughable inquisition by perhaps the smallest of the agencies under the Ministry of Trade and Investment make the matter more injurious to the financial system. I believe that the Jonathan administration needs to handle the Sanusi matter with a measure of dexterity. Here is an administration that has repeatedly cited among its 'transformation' miracles some of the fiscal and monetary reforms that Sanusi instituted in the nation's banking and financial system. It is also on record that Sanusi put himself on the firing line of public disaffection when the administration tried, without success, to remove subsidy on PMS early in 2012. Now, because the CBN Governor mismanaged the politics of his high office, the same administration is staging a public hanging of its once favourite man.
In all these, what is forgotten is that Sanusi is no ordinary public officer. He 'is' Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the custodian of some of our most hallowed financial secrets and the government's accountant of last resort. What that means in effect is that unless the Jonathan administration handles the Sanusi saga with extreme care, it may find out that suspending the CBN Governor is the easier part of this charade as the ever widening international financial and domestic economic disquiet on the matter could hurt the nation very badly.
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