The Nigerian Dream.

As part of my job as the public affairs officer of Youths for Human rights international, Nigeria, I had to visit Koloama, a little ijaw village just before the atlantic ocean devastated by the recent explosion of shell's facility in the region

Koloama had no linking roads so the only means of transportation was by boat, unless of course you could afford a chopper. That day at the yenagoa boat station I was surprised to see many of the speedboats filling to capacity in just under thirty minutes. The president was visiting! No wonder! On an eventless day it took about half a day for a single speedboat to get its required take off passengers and sometimes due to a lack of new passengers the old passengers might just buy off the remaining seats to save time. That day was different, boats got filled as soon as drivers whistled for passengers.

The amount of uniformed men was something I couldn't help but notice. Military choppers hovered the sky, marine policemen patrolled the waters with their double engined speedboats, policemen on foot surveyed the perimeter and watched, especially those making it to the boats set for Koloama. That day was heaven for the speedboat drivers. People who pleaded for customers had suddenly turned rude on customers. Can you blame them? Most of the civilians were journalists and over ambiteous politicians who were eager to make their faces known to potential godfathers.

I took one of the healthier looking speedboat with a seemingly young and polite driver. I sat amidst two female journalists who later turned out to be Aisha, a dark girl with conspicuously brown eyes, and Nneka, a girl in her late twenties who could easily pass for Bianca Ojukwu. That day, the extrovert part of me managed to shadow the consistently dominant introvert part. After starting the introductions (which overlapped to the entire boat) I found myself churning out words in intervals of seconds. Everything was going smoothly, everyone was boosting his/her profile, polishing the greater true with a little white lie, everybody was somebody on that boat and in many criterias that was true. Problems surfaced when Aisha asked for a life jacket and the young driver scolded her with seriously tainted pidgin " o gel yhu wan drap? No ashk me for lifez zacket o. If yhu wan zacket comot for my boat go enter for polishe chip". Then I payed him the normal seven hundred naira but he rejected it asking for two thousand naira. When other passengers paid without protest I had no choice.

Anxieties reached their zeniths when the boat slid into the river and picked up speed. Enthusiasm gave way for fear, for most of them it was their first time on a river. The fear could almost strangle them as an endless gush of water appeared by the sides of the speedboat which made it seem the boat was disturbingly beneath the water surface. There was no fear in me, I am an ijaw man and the nun is, has, will always been my home. I was born by her shores in a little fishing village called Ikibiri. It was my duty to slow down accelerating hearts "Don't worry the river is more docile than it seems"

By the next two hours the excitement had retaken its place previously lost to fear. Aisha and Nneka were in high spirit and that set the tone for a very heated debate. Taking Nigeria in retrospect. Boko haram came first, fuel subsidy removal came second then the third was who rules nigeria come 2015?

Inasmuchas I enjoyed the arguement I regretted ever indulging in it soon afterwards (for it degenerated to a bitter confrontation) however, I was glad to have been exposed to a treasure trove of new and shocking discoveries. I found out that the hatred in our dividing lines was actualy stronger than what many people believed. The fulanis and the middle beltan tribes, the Igbos and the Hausas, Muslims and Christians. You might be too over positive to accept it but in a thorough statistics the hatred is there all thesame. I too nearly fell to the tempting and of course easy game of stereotyping and sentimental judgements, but then, things salvaged my sieged ideologies. Gimba kakanda and a host of other northern muslims stood guard in front of a church, christians formed human shields for worshipping moslems. Every religeon had its share of fanatics and extremists. But that was an idea Nneka quickly slammed, she wouldn't countenance the believe that it was best Nigeria remained united, that islam was truly peace. She gave instances of how even the bible and koran supported divorce in a failing union. I dished my points. I believe in a united Nigeria but no nation survives two civil wars. Aisha posited that my mentioning of civil war was an unnecessary inflammation of the perils of the Nigerian state. It was on fuel subsidy removal the talk began developing muscles. I tagged with Nneka in support of the removal while Aisha and a certain journalist whose name I have forgotten but with a western Nigerian accent allied in opposition. Personally, I believed the subsidy removal was a blessing to Nigeria. Am not talking about promised infrastructures or the manifestoes of the fabled Sure-P. Am talking of the protests! I had goose bumps watching hundreds of thousands of Nigerians protecting their rights at the expense of the comfort of their homes. Are these the Nigerians we knew? The unpatriotic Nigerians? The facebook group: Nationwide anti-fuel subsidy removal strategies and protests couldn't stop amazing me, the protests and common anger united this nation in a way not previously known. There is always a limit at which tolerance breaks, there is always a time when that dog you beat will lose control of emotions and othordox manners, a certain boilling point when even the faint hearted becomes a god. The arguemet went on with neither side succombing. I took a somewhat middle role, emphasizing how glad I was that Nigerians were beginning to put national interest ahead of personal interest. I could feel it, I said, change was coming now or soon, whether or not labour peters out. And that change was one which neednt begin from aso rock. That change should begin from the ghettos of Ajegunle, from the Gwadalada and Swali, from the mountain villages and dersert settlements to the ocean towns of the south. A soceital change, one which has to emerge from the crust, from the very soul of the robbed commoner. In achieving that change a certain faith is required, a faith akin to the popular Nigerian optimism ( one day e go beta, God dey). A faith that needs individualism and cynicism discarded. Nneka especially didn't seem to understand my own defination of faith as I succinctly put it. Faith meant seeing ahead of apparent misfortunes, believing that this floundering ship isn't sinking untill we get there, it meant a believe that neither the bombs of boko haram nor the rifles of MEND can tear our map to shreds.

Koloama turned out to be a little clearing on an island, located almost at the point the river nun empties itself into the atlantic. From the distance its magnificience could be likened to a Van Ghors masterpiece. The coconut and banana trees swhirling to the rhthym of the winds, the silver waves crashing against the golden beach, then to add the finishing touch: a bronze sun against a cloudlessly blue sky, romancing the island with mild rays. A classic picture, one that belonged to a museum.

When we touched down on Koloama mainland the beauties seemed to take a slight fade. Our view was now graced with mud huts, partly completed brick houses, yam barns, baskets of fishes, canoes under construction. The villagers weren't used to such huge croweds, I could tell, and now that the president was in town little Koloama could almost overheat and explode. The villages stared at us excitedly with a tinge of resentment( were we not the politicians and oil company workers that have ruined their land?) They stared at us the way I might stare at the queen or the pope.

I became friends with one of the villagers, a dark tall boy named Tari who couldn't have been more than twenty, it was he who showed me round the village and also ran the commentary. He told me how much the village had changed after the explosion. There was no drinking water as the rivers had been contaminated, the only source of good water according to him was a five hour canoe trip to a neighbouring village. Fish which used to be in surplus was now the rarest thing to find. The pollution killed millions of fishes, a fact made concrete as he took me to the beach to witness with my eyes an infite number of silver fishes floating everywhere. The few crops were not spared, especially the ones close to the water, they all whithered and died. "The hunger is coming" Tari frequently told me. And, seeing how much hunger was evident already I couldn't help but imagine if the apparent hunger could get any worse

Tari showed me a little girl of about five, his younger sister Ebi, as he introduced her. The child was bare with only a little treadbare pant. She had a colour most remarkeable, a shiny coffee black and white darting eyes. It wasn't untill I got closer to Ebi that I began to notice the sores and terrible rashes on her skin, and it was just about the same time I noticed that other children, including teenage Tari had the infection too. " Its the contamination from the water we bath" Tari's simple answer " some children have already died of the illness" he added

"What illness?" I asked. He didn't know the name. I stood, feeling the energy drain out of me, watching little Ebi as her envious eyes followed a stray dog as it helped itself with a childs faeces. Tari spent the next half hour or so telling me just how much he would want to be a medical doctor and how seriously Ebi was aiming to be a musician even at her age. Amidst the ghoulish realities of Koloama there was still a source of motivation, a dictatorship of hope and a complete surrender to the Creator. Nothing could break those people down, nothing could stop their music, nothing could alter their dreams. They made sanctuaries out of their minds. They listened keenly as the dignitaries made their speech, they knew politicians words were not to be taken seriously and yet they cheered and clapped. So happy, a happiness not borne of ignorance but born of religeon, a happiness so pure and true(no wonder Nigerians were named the happiest people on earth) what seperates a Nigerian and Utopia is only about a small time.

My return trip with those young journalists was more of reflection than conversation, a sober reflection. Nneka was angrier but spoke minimally. Aisha had a faint cloud of guilt in her, a mood that blended perfectly with her reserved nature, she averted her piercing eyes when ever I steadied on them. The yoruba guy was indifferent. When the inevitable conversation managed to impose itself on us, it was always on trivial issues like koloama's picturesque perfection and Enenche Akogwu or Adichies latest work. Nothing political, nothing religeous, nothing ethnic. Everyone of us was just confined in a state of guilt and sadness and bizzare imaginations.

The hunger is coming. He had said. With those sores, the frequently empty stomach, the surrounding waters that held no fortress of hope little Ebi believed in a dream. A dream that is no more than a mental fiction without faith. A dream more romantic in glaring impossibilities; and that was the beauty, that was the fascination and uniqueness of the Nigerian dream.

Saying it as it is (not)...

The joke is told of a businesswoman who died and was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter. He told her she would choose either heaven or hell after she had been allowed a tour to either place.

First, she went to heaven and found it was a really boring place where people merely lounged around playing harps and singing ‘Halleluyah’ all day long. Afterwards, St. Peter put her in an elevator (it’s a joke, remember?) which took her down to hell.

Contrary to what she had heard about hell, what she saw was a golf course, a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends — all dressed in evening gowns and ‘resource control’ hats (yeah, I added that bit o) welcoming her. They played an excellent round of golf and at the Country club, she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner. She met the devil who was — again, contrary to what had been written about him — a very charming guy. He told her a lot of jokes which had her laughing all the time. Of course, when the time came to make a final decision, she chose hell.

So she entered the elevator again and went down to hell. When the doors opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in grease and filth. She saw her friends dressed in rags, picking up the garbage and were putting it in sacks. The devil came up to her and welcomed her.

“I don’t understand,” stammered the woman, “yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now, all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable.”

The devil looked at her and smiled. “Yesterday, we were recruiting you. Today, you’re a member of staff.”

Now, I had to dig out that joke after reading all the lofty promises and assurances President Goodluck Jonathan made at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea to prospective investors. In the age of the Internet, it is hard to travel to anywhere in the world and deceive the rest of the world about the true situation of things in your country. These days, information is so democratised that it is hard to hide anything from those who know how to use the mouse. It is therefore difficult to paint your country or yourself in a brighter colour than is true. Only the devil in the online jokes can pull it off.

It made me wonder if the President knew the joke was on him all the time he spoke about replicating the Miracle on the Han River on the River Niger.

A quick example of how news and image precede people: This week, Ogun State had an Investment Summit. The keynote speaker was a former Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern, who just days before he made it to Nigeria, had to resign over a corruption scandal. A section of the UK media made a big joke out of Nigeria’s paying this disgraced politician a whopping €30,000 to appear at the summit. They said corrupt Ahern found a home in corrupt Nigeria! The fact that Ogun State, on the summit website, listed Ahern as a “global leader” and described him in glowing terms was also grossly ridiculed.

So, when Jonathan said Nigeria will undergo an economic miracle like South Korea by 2020, I am sure it took all the diplomatic courtesy for Koreans not to fall off their chair laughing. How can a country that promised SURE in January, but later said it was unsure in February be talking about a miracle in March and expected to be taken seriously?

Jonathan also spoke of political stability, the investor-friendliness of Nigeria, a strong judiciary and a vibrant country. He spoke about Boko Haram attacks and said they affect only a part of Nigeria and that such abnormal behaviour will not extend to other parts of the country. He further promised that by the middle of the year, Nigeria would have subdued the terrorists.

He was quoted as saying, “Nigeria is a very, very green area for investors. …I assure you that Nigeria’s enormous natural and human resources, as well as its viable market will guarantee maximum returns on your investments.”

But like the devil in the joke who woos in prospects to hell by any means possible, the President forgot one important fact: Koreans probably know a lot more about Nigeria than the President gave them credit for. They must have read about the failed promises of dealing with Boko Haram and the kidnap of foreigners by supposed Al Qaeda agents. For a country that didn’t take corruption lightly during their years of economic reconstruction, they must be amazed at the endless corruption stories that emanate out of Nigeria daily; they must know about the fuel subsidy story and how a certain figure jumped many paces like Chioma Ajunwa doing her thing. They would have heard that of all the scandals that involved even foreign nationals, Nigeria did not punish their own and it took Britain to deal with a corrupt ex-governor.

Beyond all those tales by the Nigerian moonlight, what is considered as the greatest invention of the 20th century, which parts of the world like South Korea have learnt to take for granted, electricity, is still elusive to Nigerians. I read it someplace that a western journalist interviewed former Korean president and asked him what their secret was. He replied, ‘Make sure power doesn’t go out.’ It’s a simple truth. There cannot be investment paradise destination in a country where many young adults have never witnessed 24 hours of unbroken power supply.

Last year, when power went out in South Korea for six hours because demand rose by 3.2 million megawatts, the country was thrown into crisis. If a country that is less than a third of Nigeria’s population could be talking about that volume of electricity, and the best Nigeria is still projecting is 35,000MW by year 2020, then what really is Nigeria’s selling point? Does the president think Koreans are unaware that even Nigerians are running to Ghana to invest because their own country does not guarantee power supply? I wonder!

Uncertainties Mount over Power Projects.

Apart from gas challenges which are now being resolved, administrative and logistic issues are threatening to hamper the much-trumpted desire of the Federal Government to improve electricity supply in the country.

Contractors under the aegis of Electric Power Foundation of Nigeria, who are handling the various projects contained in the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), yesterday raised the alarm over the auctioning of imported power equipment by the Nigeria Customs and “undue delay” in the clearance of the equipment.

The contractors also alleged that security agents delay the movement of the equipment across Nigerian roads, adding that on one occasion, a truck load of transformers heading to Bayelsa State for NIPP project was offloaded along the road on the orders of the operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF).

These developments, they warned, could further delay the expected improvement in power supply across the country.

Chairman of the Electric Power Foundation, Mr. Otis Anyaeji, made these disclosures in Lagos at the 2nd Worldstage National Power Conference.

The projects under NIPP are expected to contribute nearly 5000 megawatts to the country's power supply - a figure that is higher than the current total output by existing plants.

In a paper titled: “Achieving Presidential Action Committee on Power Mandate: Contractors Input”, Anyaeji noted that the delay in clearing imported equipment was aggravated by multiple government agencies working at cross purposes at the ports.

Anyaeji, who is also the Chairman of the Institute of Appraisers and Cost Engineers, further stated that the delay in clearing imported equipment at the ports had resulted in the delay in delivery of equipment to project sites, higher project costs, time slippages and non-availability of electricity to Nigerians.

He decried instances where imported NIPP equipment were auctioned and appealed to the Presidential Task Force on Power to address these challenges as part of its mandate of “engagement with other government agencies to resolve roadblocks and bottlenecks to facilitate progress of project and also reporting and escalation of all identified risks that can work against schedules of project delivery and take actions to mitigate their impact”.

Anyaeji, whose paper was presented by Mr. Ismaila Saliu of OT Otis Engineering, said the greatest hurdles against the implementation of NIPP were the difficulties encountered in the clearing of imported equipment, adding that many government agencies are working at cross purposes.

“To clear imported NIPP equipment, we find that we have to deal with so many agencies, each making ridiculous demands. There are cases of auctioning of imported NIPP equipment. ‘NIPP’ is very clearly written on all NIPP equipment and these are equipment meant for projects that are funded by the federal, states and local governments, and yet, the Nigeria Customs auctions some NIPP equipment,” he said.

He noted that the Nigeria Police and other security agents also delay the delivery of equipment to the project sites, disclosing that the managing director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company, operators of NIPP, had to seek the intervention of top officials of the security agencies before some operatives of the JTF could release a truck load of transformers that was intercepted on its way to Bayelsa State, recently.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as at the end of February 2012, had disbursed a total of N85.7 billion to private investors handling 18 power projects across the country as part of the apex bank’s N300 billion intervention fund for power and airline sectors, which was established in 2010.

Governor of CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, stated this yesterday in a paper titled: “Progress Report on CBN Intervention in Power Industry Funding”.
He noted that during the period under review, 28 applications were received by the apex bank from investors who expressed interest to access the intervention fund, while 18 of these applications were approved, representing the 18 projects that are being funded.

Sanusi further stated that about N25.7 billion was provided for the 18 projects by the promoters of the projects, who account for 30 per cent of the project funding, in accordance with the intervention fund guidelines.

The CBN governor, whose paper was delivered by a Deputy Director in the apex bank, Dr. Muda Olaitan, said the intervention fund, which could be accessed through the Bank of Industry (BoI), had achieved its objectives.

According to him, the fund had achieved its primary objectives of providing long-term financing for the private investors in the power sector and also reducing interest rates.

He also noted that the interest rate is seven per cent, against the industry standard of between 22 and 19 per cent.

“As at February 2012, beneficial investors have made savings of N6 billion because of the reduced interest rate. Under this scheme, loans are given on long-term basis, thereby creating stabilising effects on the capital structure of power projects. So, investors need not to run around to pay because they have up to 10 to 15 years to pay back the loan,” he said.

“The objective of the intervention fund is to ensure that long-term credit is available to the private sector at affordable interest rate,” he added.

Sanusi stated that the CBN intervention fund had added 349.2 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, through the various projects already completed.
He disclosed that commercial banks could be sanctioned by the CBN for failure to disburse the fund to private investors. (ThisDay)

SSS parades 7 suspects in UAE businessman's kidnap.

Seven suspected members of a kidnap syndicate accused of complicity in the abduction of one Mohammed Khamis, a United Arab Emirates national, who was lured into the country for a phantom business transaction, were yesterday paraded in Abuja by the State Security Service, SSS.

The suspects reportedly held Khamis hostage for about 60 days at Aboriogun village in Ikoyi town, Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State, feeding him with fruits on the orders of other masterminds who are still at large.

The SSS said it was still on the trail of four other persons identified as the masterminds of the abduction of Khamis whom they lured to visit Nigeria on January 20, 2012 for a ghost business transaction using a fake company, Finuche Investments.

The suspects paraded were Ojo Ibrahim Ajibade, a 29 year-old spare parts dealer; Lamidi Akinkunmi, a 29-year-old video cameraman who also practices voodoo; Olasunkanmi Temitope (a.k.a. Rasky), a 22-year-old saw mill worker and Nuremi Lamidi, another saw mill operator aged 25.

Others are Siyanbade Musibau Olalekan, a 29-year-old plank trader; Jelili Ajagungbade Adeleke (a.k.a. Owuye), a 33-year-old driver; and Saka Kashim, a 27-year-old motorcycle mechanic, who admitted to have taken the hostage on a motor cycle to Ibadan.

Parading the suspects before journalists in Abuja, Deputy Director, Public Relations of the State Security Service, Marilyn Ogar, said all suspects confessed to taking the foreigner hostage and would soon be charged to court while further investigations aimed at tracking and apprehending those at large continue.

Ogar said: “On January 20, 2012, one Mohammed Khamis Majed Ishmael Al Ali, a United Arab Emirates national, who was lured to visit Nigeria for a phantom business transaction by a fake company, Finuche Investments, was abducted by a kidnap syndicate and held hostage for about 60 days at Aboriogun village in Ikoyi town, Isokan LGA of Osun State.

“Upon receipt of the report of Khamis’ abduction, this service immediately initiated investigation. However, Khamis was released by his abductors on March 19, 2012 and dropped off in Ibadan.

“Consequently, on March 20, 2012, operatives of the service arrested the following persons aged between 22- 33 years in connection with the abduction.”

Ogar, however, did not disclose where the suspected kidnappers were apprehended nor the current whereabouts of the Arab expatriate.

Worried that Khamis was held in the Osun community for two months without his presence being noticed or reported by residents, Ogar implored members of the public to be wary of suspicious activities in their localities while expressing the determination of security agencies to rid the society of crimes and criminality.

Quizzed by newsmen, two of the suspects who spoke in Yoruba language,  Ojo Ibrahim Ajibade and Lamidi Akinkunmi, denied that they were kidnappers, claiming they were only hired by one Teslim Raji suspected to be one of the masterminds at large who paid them an undisclosed sum of money to “guard” and cater for the hostage whom they fed for about 60 days with oranges, apples, banana and sardine.

The suspects said they got frustrated when they no longer heard from their employers and ran out of money for Khamis’ upkeep, after which they all contributed N2,000 and commissioned a member of the gang to transport the hostage on motorcycle to Ibadan where he was eventually released. (Vanguard)

PDP and Democracy in Nigeria.

Last week, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party in Nigeria, held its national convention for the purpose of electing national officers of the party. Before the convention, there were heated campaigns in some zones of the country for the political offices allotted to their zones.

The case of the North West geo-political zone which was to produce the national chairman of the party was particularly spectacular. Before the delegates election last Saturday, North east leaders within the PDP conducted a mock election among the contenders to the office of national chairman. Significantly, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who until then, was believed to be the undisputed choice of the zone, lost to Alhaji Musa Babayo.

Going by the outcome of the mock election, Babayo was supposed to emerge as the national chairman of PDP during last Saturday’s convention of the party. But before the commencement of voting, Babayo and other contenders to the office of national chairman were prevailed upon by the party’s leadership at the centre to withdraw their candidature, thus paving way for Tukur to emerge as consensus candidate and, consequently, the party’s national chairman.

The north east zone was not alone in this. A good number of other offices allotted to other geo-political zones were subjected to the same treatment. Serious contenders were made to withdraw their candidature against their wish. The result was that most of those who emerged as national officers of the party did not enjoy broad-based support. They were the choice of a few powerful members of the party who have a predetermined idea about what they want the party to be. The result was that the internal democracy that was supposed to produce officers that the party members want was subverted. Many of those who meant to contest for offices left the venue of the convention disappointed. 

We find the experience of PDP delegates to the convention most regrettable. What was supposed to be a serious and credible exercise turned out to be a circus show. It was mere appearance, not reality.

What is particularly worrisome about this development is that our democracy is being made to look unserious. Rather than have credible elections that will produce those that the people want, our democracy is saddled with impositions and compromises. The unfortunate outcome is that the people are not governed by those they want.

What transpired last week, unfortunately, has become the trade mark of the PDP. What is supposed to be a national affair is, more often than not, reduced to what the party’s leadership calls” family affair.” 

By so doing, the party has failed severally to show the light so that other political parties can follow. This state of affairs has always been made to affect the conduct and outcome of our national elections.

As the largest political party in Africa, our expectation is that PDP should show good example. It should be a symbol of democratic norms and ethos. It is by so doing that it can be a reference point and command the respect of other political parties within and outside Nigeria. Regrettably, the party has consistently fallen short of expectations.

We recognize the fact that our democracy is a fledging one. But we cannot nurture it to maturity if we continue to practise it in breach. Our political parties and other democratic institutions must play by the rules so that the learning process will not be an interminable one.

If the PDP does not appreciate the virtues of democracy, we invite it to take a cue from the African National Congress, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, whose quest to introduce democracy in South Africa remains legendary. Today, the party has an organized system which our PDP can emulate.

Since PDP is not the only political party in the country, it is important that other political parties strive to do better than PDP. They should constitute themselves into a viable opposition with the aim of succeeding where PDP is failing. That way, they can keep PDP on its toes. But if every one of them carries on with the culture of impunity, then there is no hope for democracy in Nigeria. Our political associations must save the polity from stagnation and ultimate destruction. (Daily Sun Editorial)

With 1,000 aides, Ajimobi is wasteful, say Oyo workers.

OYO State workers currently on indefinite strike over the non payment of the N18,000 minimum wage have described the Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration as wasteful.

They said yesterday that the governor's aides were about 1,000 who, according to them, “do little or nothing for the progress of the state".

Leaders of the three labour unions in the state disclosed this yesterday while addressing their colleagues at the labour secretariat in Ibadan. 

According to the Chairman of the state Public Service Joint Negotiating Council (PSJNC), Comrade Nurudeen Arowolo, it was laughable for the state government to claim that 92 per cent of the purported N4.1 billion monthly wage bill of the state was being expended on civil servants, when, in actual fact, the commissioners and aides of  Ajimobi were the ones getting the larger chunk of the money.

If the stock of the monthly salaries of the various political office holders were to be taken, Arowolo said, Oyo people would marvel that Ajimobi’s aides quadruple those of Adebayo Alao-Akala's, which Ajimobi had always vilified as prodigal.

“The highest civil servant in any ministry is the Permanent Secretary, with a salary of about N550,000. You can imagine how much a Commissioner in Oyo State receives monthly, it is close to N1 million. Multiply that by the number of commissioners the governor has. And then the Special Advisers and Special Assistants and many others.

“In all the 33 local governments, there are 14 Special Assistants, each of who collects N150,000 monthly without doing anything. Multiply the figure by the number of councils. N150,000 can pay five Grade Level 07 workers. These huge numbers are in addition to the caretaker chairmen, Secretaries and others.

"In all, we can’t have less than 1,000 of such people throughout the state and yet to pay just real minimum wage of N18,000 is difficult for the governor,” he said.

Arowolo noted that it was hypocritical for Ajimobi, who during electioneering campaigns, promised to pay N22,000 minimum wage for workers, while also boasting that he was armed with the financial position of the state, now to renege and be singing a different song.

On the claim by the government that there were more than 38,000 workers in its employment, the Labour body pointed out that the biometric exercise embarked upon by the administration had revealed that the workforce in the state was a little more than 26,000.

They, therefore, unanimously vowed that they would not be intimidated by the directive of government that registers be opened at the various duty posts in the state, a step aimed at compelling them to report for duty.

They insisted that the notice to the government that the workers were officially embarking on an indefinite strike from Monday was irreversible unless the N18,000 is paid across board.

When Militancy pays: Nigeria's N16bn Deal With Tompolo.

Militancy seems to be the only language understood by the Federal Government and sooner than later some Boko Haram members would be flying in high places as some Niger Delta ex-militants are currently doing.

Asari Dokubo

Yes I now Fly a Private Jet 

Boyloaf

Former militant, Boyloaf, becomes presidential envoy; The former militant now travels overseas inspecting training facilities on behalf of the Federal Government. For agreeing to drop his arms and join the amnesty programme of the Federal Government, Ebikabowei Victor Ben, aka Boyloaf -(in dark goggles) has become a Presidential envoy embarking on international inspection visits on behalf of the Federal Government.

As part of his visits, Boyloaf recently led a delegation to Rotterdam to inspect proposed venues for the training of former militants. (Militancy is the only language understood by FG, sooner Boko Haram members would be made Special Advisers!) 

Tompolo

Government Ekpumopolo a.k.a Tompolo, an ex-militant leader is the owner of a private security company that recently signed a N16 billion deal with the government to patrol the Nigeria's waterways to stop piracy.

Tompolo, who was granted amnesty in 2009, endorsed hiring Global West Vessel Specialist Agency Ltd. to protect the waterways, something Nigeria's navy and civil authorities appear unable to do.

Before the amnesty, militants allied with Tompolo carried out attacks and killings in the southern Niger Delta.

The government brokered an amnesty deal with militants, but the N16 billion contract raises worries about the influence of former militants.

The award of waterways monitoring contract by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to dreaded Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemukpolo (a.k.a. Tompolo) is scandalous. The contract, according to Sen. Idris Umar, Minister of Transport, was given to Tompolo’s company, Global West Vessel Specialist Agency (GWVSA) to execute. The company is expected to ‘only provide platforms, security boats, equipment and expertise to help in securing the nation’s waterways and thereby raise revenue.’ 
The minister said that GWVSA staff will not bear arms. But having concessioned the waterways to Tompolo’s company, we wonder what the duty of the Nigerian Navy will henceforth be on the nation’s waterways.

We consider as arrant nonsense the position that the company will provide as investment for the contract the sum of $103million. How can the company invest such a colossal amount only to wait for a specified target to be exceeded before recouping its money”? What is the antecedent of the company to warrant the approval of such a sensitive contract to it? Moreover, Tompolo is never known to have engaged in or embarked on any known adventure other than his leadership of an illegal militant group that inflicted pain and anguish on the people. He has also alongside fellow militants, extorted money from the government through kidnappings and abductions of Nigerians and foreigners.
Are proceeds from this kind of illicit trade what the government expects Tompolo to use in executing a lawful and sensitive contract? Or could it be that the ex-militant is merely fronting for some powerful elements in government?

The contract itself is fraught with inconsistencies. The government, through Umar, has failed to be explicit on what the revenue targets of NIMASA for 2010 and 2011 were. The entire figures were left by the minister in the realm of conjecture - a mere assumption of $100million.This is unacceptable and we demand full disclosure of the exact target that should be surpassed before GWVSA can be entitled to payment from the government. 
Furthermore, why should the government allow NIMASA to award the contract to Tompolo’s company without due process? Up till now, the government has not announced names of other companies that bided for the contract with GWVSA. Could it be taken that contrary to provisions of the procurement laws in the nation, NIMASA’s enabling Act allows it to award contracts with impunity, as was the case in the prevailing circumstance?

The MoU purportedly signed between the Navy and NIMASA is inconsistent to the extent of its undermining of the territorial water security of the nation. We ask; can the Navy not be funded to purchase all the equipment and other instruments needed to effectively protect the nation’s territorial waters? What could be responsible for the Navy’s acquiescence to this affront on its integrity and competence?

The government’s initial denial of existence of this contract and the latest confirmation show that there must be something immoral and fishy in the entire deal. Militants in the Niger Delta region, past or present, should not be entrusted with the nation’s territorial waters because of their proclivity, over time, for committing illegality on the waters.

We consider the contract award to Tompolo’s company as one of the most unpardonable decisions ever taken by the President Jonathan administration. To cede the nation’s marine security to a company owned by a militant is questionable. It constitutes an insult to the sensibility of Nigerians and we doubt whether such decision can pass the security scrutiny of any decent and well governed country.

Book: There Was a Country A Personal History of Biafra.

The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War of 1967-1970.

The war was infamous around the world for its savage impact on the Biafran people, who were blockaded by the Nigerian government and starved to death. As a roving cultural ambassador for his government, Achebe absorbed the war's full horror from this unique vantage. Immediately after the war, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for over forty years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, years in the making, at last comes a towering reckoning from Achebe with one of modern Africa's most fateful experiences.

Achebe masterfully relates his experience, both as he lived it and how he has come to understand it. He begins his story with Nigeria’s birth pangs and the story of his own upbringing as a man and as a writer so that we might come to understand the country’s promise, which turned to horror when the hot winds of hatred began to stir. To read There Was a Country is to be powerfully reminded that artists have a particular obligation, especially during a time of war. All writers, Achebe argues, should be committed writers—they should speak for their history, their beliefs, and their people. Marrying history and memoir, poetry and prose, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid firsthand observation and forty years of research and reflection. Wise, humane, and authoritative, it will stand as definitive and reinforce Achebe’s place as one of the most vital literary and moral voices of our age

Author: Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He was raised in the large village of Ogidi, one of the first centers of Anglican missionary work in Eastern Nigeria, and is a graduate of University College, Ibadan. His early career in radio ended abruptly in 1966, when he left his post as Director of External Broadcasting in Nigeria during the national upheaval that led to the Biafran War. Achebe joined the Biafran Ministry of Information and represented Biafra on various diplomatic and fund-raising missions. He was appointed Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and began lecturing widely abroad. For over fifteen years, he was the Charles P. Stevenson Professor of Languages and Literature at Bard College. He is now the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and professor of Africana studies at Brown University.

Chinua Achebe has written over twenty books – novels, short stories, essays and collections of poetry – and has received numerous honours from around the world, including the Honourary Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as honourary doctorates from more than thirty colleges and universities. He is also the recipient of Nigeria's highest award for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award. In 2007, he won the Man Booker International Prize for Fiction.

Now that Boko Haram is ‘talking’

Finally, Boko Haram has accepted government’s offer for talks. In the past week, government officials have engaged the sect in indirect peace talks through persons chosen by its leader, Abubakar Shekau.

The peace talks is coming nearly two months after President Jonathan had asked the group to identify themselves, accept dialogue and state what their grievances were as a basis for dialogue.

Though they may not have met Jonathan’s conditions, the increased loss of innocent lives and growing criticism over government’s efforts in seeking an end to the sect’s killings may have moved government to negotiate. Although it has made notable impact of recent in curtailing the group’s activities and rounding up alleged culprits, many are not convinced that government has done enough in dealing with the nation’s growing threats. Those who do not appreciate the complexity of the issue, accuse Jonathan of sluggishness in engaging the terrorists. They believe that government has not responded as swiftly as it should in protecting the citizenry from the activities of Boko Haram.

While these points are important factors to consider in assessing public opinion on how well government has engaged the sect, it must be understood, however, that government’s duty to exercise restraint from open retaliation against suicide attacks. Anyone who understands the nature of this type of issue knows that in the event of retaliation, chances are high that other innocent citizens may be caught in the cross-fire. There is no doubt that the complexity of the issue has hindered security agencies from responding effectively, and the government from articulating a credible strategy towards halting the sect.

Others have also tried to draw parallels between the sect’s activities and that of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) before government’s amnesty programme. That will be missing the point, however. While Nigeria has had to grapple with security challenges from MEND that border on terrorism, the group’s stated points of agitation were never in doubt. Unlike the challenge posed by MEND and others that have existed before it, Boko Haram as an extremist group has proved to be totally different. Its acts in the name of religion and ethnic identity are the most threatening, and extremely difficult to counter. The sect has not made any apologies about its probable links with al-Qaida, the global leader in employing religion to recruit membership and drive its ideals. Reports the sect members have had training and received explosives and weapons from al-Qaida’s North African wing, in furtherance of its objectives of visiting bloodshed on hapless people in its delusion of Islamizing Nigeria, are worrying, to say the least.

As far as Nigeria’s security problems are concerned, Boko Haram has proved to be profoundly more challenging, complicated more by its tendency to use religion to evoke extreme passion among faithful. Today, the fact is that the sect enjoys the sympathy of several top members of the Nigerian society and government. Apart from the few key figures celebrated in the media as its leaders, the sect’s real membership today are very many and number among those in various cadres of governmental authority. The contrived escape of Kabiru Sokoto, a suspect in the Christmas day bombings that killed over 39 persons is an indication that Boko Haram’s religious pull has won converts to its ideals even among law enforcement agents. The belief is that the escape of the key suspect in that heinous crime was contrived to cover the trail of those sponsoring Boko Haram.

As the dialogue commences, the public may not be privy to the major issues in contention. However, it is pertinent to ask, what really is the sect’s grudge? Beyond the initial grudge of avenging the death of the group’s founder Mohammed Yusuf, whom his followers allege was extra-judicially murdered by the police; the group has advocated the introduction of Shariah law in the Northern part of the country. While this strong Islamic rhetoric has polarized the secular Nigerian public, it is becoming increasingly obvious that they harbour a more sinister plot to dismember Nigeria as an entity. To this end, a large number of their attacks which have since 2009 claimed about 950 lives, are targeted mainly at Christians in the bid to instigate national crisis.

With the citizenry frightened by its brazen assaults, the fanatical Islamic sect founded in 2002, got bolder and more brazen in its operations. In their blind ambition to cause mayhem, even their Muslim brothers and sisters are not spared, as exemplified from the senseless killing in Kano. While the sect has targeted Christian places of worship, like the Christmas bombing at the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, it has not distinguished its targets strictly along religious lines. For instance, within a week in January, about 200 innocent Nigerians –mostly Muslim -were killed in Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city; a police station was also overrun.

The first fruit of the mediated dialogue is the conditional ceasefire offered by the sect, though on near-impossible terms. The group says it is prepared to temporarily lay down arms on two conditions: that all its members in captivity are released from prison; and secondly, that the Federal Government guarantees the safety and security of all its members whose names would be given to them. The major intermediaries in the discreet arrangement are Dr Datti Ahmed, President of Supreme Council of Sharia of Nigeria, who has since repudiated his own mediation effort; and Shettima Ali Monguno, leader of Borno Elders and Leaders of Thought. No doubt, President Jonathan is reluctant to engage criminals, directly or indirectly, in talks of whatever name. No government worth the name will choose to interface in whatever way, with a group that undermines its very essence of protecting its citizens’ lives. In Nigeria, however, it has become exigent in this case, as it has become a price we must pay for peace.

However, on the twin issues of Nigerian unity and renunciation of violence as a means of reaching any political end, there must never be a shift. It is bad enough that a group that has terminated the lives of over a thousand Nigerians unlawfully -and has not made any apologies -is offered opportunity to dialogue with government. While Nigerians appreciate these efforts, it is important that we all make collective efforts to ensure the talks succeed. It is more important, however, that the blood of the victims would not have been shed in vain.

Lessons From Mali And Senegal.

Two significant events happened in Africa last week that should force Nigerians; both the government and the governed to do a health check on the democracy we have in place presently.

The military coup in Mali and the defeat of incumbent President Abdulaye Wade in Senegal are two important events that bear direct relevance to the Nigerian situation. On the local scene, the PDP, the ruling party in Nigeria had its national convention the same week. We shall re-visit this convention, vis-à-vis its nexus with the state and health of Nigerian democracy in the course of this report but our main concern remains the events in Mali and Senegal.

The military struck and seized power from civilians in Mali. A group of military men led by Ahmadou Sanogo struk and seized power from President Amadou Touare. Citing the menace of Tuareg armed gangs in the North of the country, the coupists blamed the ousted president for tolerating the gangsters who have visited bloodletting and mayhem especially in Northern Mali. In Senegal, the people defied 85 years old Wade’s amendment of the constitution to allow him more terms, to stand solidly against his continued stay in office after twelve years. The battle to unseat Wade had been acrimonious, bloody and fierce. In the first ballot, Wade scrapped through a narrow lead over his main challenger and estranged Prime Minister, Macky Sall but fell short of the mandatory 50 per cent that would have given him victory at the first ballot. He therefore entered into a run off with his main challenger, who was buoyed by massive support by the people. Wade lost and quickly conceded victory in a rare show of sportsmanship, his deft effort to perpetrate himself in office notwithstanding.

Nigeria has condemned and applauded. It condemned the coup plotters in Mali and commended the free democratic choice that prevailed in Senegal. For a serious country, it should not end there as both events should offer Nigeria a tremendous window of opportunity to do a thorough health check on the democracy we had been struggling with for the past thirteen years. What happened in the two  African countries should have offered Nigeria the opportunity to do a thorough audit of the state of the nation and the democracy we have in place to know if the system can withstand the kind of event in Mali and if the system is capable of generating the kind of event witnessed in Senegal where an incumbent was defeated in a contest he supervised. We need to verify if democracy has worked to tame the wishes and desires of Nigerians for a just, fair and egalitarian state where no man is oppressed. We need to know if democracy, as we have it in Nigeria, rhymes with the universal concept of democracy. Is the present Nigerian democracy founded on free, fair and credible electoral process? Is it strengthened by a just and unbiased judiciary that watches over the interests of the masses? Is it guarded by a credible legislature that waits to arrest the excesses of the executive at any given time? Is Nigerian democracy rooted on accountability to the people; the ultimate sovereign in a democracy? Is the system founded on transparency, rule of law, checks and balances, which guarantee every member of the commonwealth equal access to available opportunities?

When we try to inquire further, we would ask the factors that inform, sustain and ensure the presence of the military in African politics. Has Nigeria, as a country, taken care of these factors as to be assured the military will never attempt another adventure in our body politics? Are the citizenry so satisfied with the output from our democracy in the last thirteen years as to form a mass movement against the military should they make another attempt to step in? We would find out whether all we have experienced in the last thirteen years are parts and parcel of democracy. We would try to match our experience against the universal concept of democracy, the practice and all to know if we are being well served by the present democracy and if these tally with the universal idea of democracy.

It is after we had done these audits that we would come to a better appreciation of what we really want as a nation. Do we want this form of democracy or we want something else? How do we come to realize what we want as a nation without inflicting much harm on the interests and well being of the masses that remain the main concern of any system of government? How do we make a desirable omelet for our people while ensuring minimum damage to the egg? How can we achieve the democratic space of our dream that is in sync with the age old democratic concept? How do we ensure our democracy is strengthened and sustained through good governance, in line with the

The event in Mali remains an aberration as military coups are out of sync with desirable means of effecting changes in government but a democracy that operates outside the ground norms of democracy is as undesirable as military governments. But this is not enough to prevent such adventures or even prevent these adventurers from being welcomed by the people when they strike. The essence of doing a health check on Nigerian democracy is to ensure that it does not depart from the well-known canons of universal democracy for once democracy departs from these sacred ethos, it tantamount to salt that has lost its flavor. The people of Senegal must be commended for their resilience and perseverance in the face of the resolve of Wade to hang unto power but then, Wade, despite his nauseous traits deserves praise for knowing when to abandon the affliction that has led astray many an African leaders and pseudo democrats.

The lesson Nigeria must not miss is that the leader and indeed, the entire concept of democracy exists for the people and once the people state their preferences, every other thing gives to let the people have their way. If the people and their interests are removed from democracy, it turns out worse than military rule. It is doubtful if Nigerian leaders will even have the courage to let the people have their way in a similar situation and that constitutes one of the greatest banes of democracy in Nigeria. When will Nigerian leaders allow the kind of free process that will see them losing elections they supervise when the people don’t want them? That is the biggest poser our democracy faces as we stutter through what has been dubbed a wobbly and dysfunctional democracy.

So, the events in   Senegal should rather work to strengthen Nigerian democracy. It should re-orient the leaders on the need to make democracy, founded on the immutable canons of free choice, accountability, checks and balance, work for the Nigerian people. That remains the only way Nigeria could keep soldiers out of our politics and avoid the kind of situation in Mali. And this brings us to the convention of the PDP, which has in its moments of glee, seen itself as the only viable party in Nigeria. PDP has been ruling Nigeria and majority of the states since 1999. It is to its shame that in this period, Nigeria has merely excelled in churning out  awful and horrible tales of corruption, insecurity, political persecution, electoral roguery, impunity, infrastructural decay, increasing poverty in the midst of unflagging oil boom, etc.

Nowhere is PDP’s unraveling complete as in its predilection to hug electoral fraud as the basis of its existence and as the ruling party, they have negotiated Nigeria to a bend where it is sunk in the quagmire of electoral roguery. Thirteen years after a harrowing rule, PDP signifies the failure of Nigeria and its failure to meet even the least standard of free and fair electoral process signifies a readiness to ensure the country remains stranded in the pit of electoral infamy. Last week, it held its so called national convention, which was merely the handpicking of the cronies of the president and their usual coronation through an elaborate and vain process of waste. That the PDP cannot conduct a credible election of its officers after thirteen years in power shows the dim and bleak electoral future Nigeria faces. It shows that the event in Senegal may not be possible in Nigeria in the foreseeable future. It sends a warning signal that the event in Mali may be possible in Nigeria if our so called politicians continue to trample and make nonsense the very first and most important canon of democracy which is the conduct of free and fair elections where every contestant stands equal chances. It is a strong warning Nigeria, especially those that flatter themselves as the personification of the present troubled democracy, have to take serious or perish.