How Long Will President Buhari’s Intoxicant Work?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye 
Strange and worrisome as the decision by the Buhari administration to limit its ongoing probe of public officers and institutions to the era of the regime it took over from is, not a few Nigerians are encouraged by the fact that a bold attempt to expose shameless looting of public treasury and allow the law to punish those implicated in the mindless plunder of the country’s resources is indeed happening. At least, it is being drummed into everyone’s consciousness once more that stealing of any kind is a most revolting and self-debasing crime which only the scum and scoundrels of the society are attracted to. It should by no means be witnessed, accommodated or, worse, celebrated and glamorized within the bounds of civilized and decent society as several members of Nigeria’s ruling elite have brazenly done for many years now.

*Buhari

We have heard allegations of witch-hunting and all that, but the pertinent question to ask is: are you guilty of what you are being accused of? Did you loot the amount of money you are being accused of carting away?  In fact, it is most insulting that any person would want to solicit our sympathy after callously stealing what belongs to all of us and impoverishing the majority.

The submission that many of you looted the treasury but only a couple of you are being singled out for investigation is lame, even nauseating and grossly offensive. The point is that you looted public funds and today is your day, so face it! Tomorrow may be the turn of your partners in crime. Let the process just begin. We should, however, not rule out the possibility that along the line, the anti-corruption “war” may eventually get out of hand and grow to overwhelm even its initiators and supervisors and kick-start a far-reaching housecleaning and reclamation process where discrimination may no longer be possible. Already, the signs are embarrassingly showing up everywhere and it remains to be seen how long Buhari would remain comfortable with his current preference of harassing some alleged thieves and hobnobbing with others, even the real godfathers in the business. 

 

But this is not even the main worry. There is a growing concern at several informed quarters now about whether President Muhammadu Buhari is truly sincere about fighting corruption to the ground or is the whole thing not merely another means to some end!

Author Profile

Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye, a regular contributor to this blog; Contact: scruples2@hotmail.com; twitter: @ugowrite 

The One Trilion Naira Mischief

Press Release 

The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to a report captioned, "Alleged N1tn diversion: Senate to probe Lamorde’s alleged diversion of N1tn," which appeared in The Punch Newspaper of Monday August 24, 2015 containing salacious claims of corruption against the person of the chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde.

*Lamorde 

(pix: dailytimes)

The EFCC should ordinarily not dignify the publication with a response as the motives of the promoters and their media allies are to impugn the integrity of the EFCC boss with fabricated stories of corruption.
However the Commission is constrained to respond, to expose the motive behind the sinister plot. In the first instance, claims of a N1trillion corruption in the EFCC is infantile and assaults the sensibilities of all reasonable stakeholders in the anti- corruption fight.

Even if the EFCC had not returned a kobo of recovered assets in its 12 years existence in addition to the yearly appropriated funds from the federation account, it will be nowhere near a trillion naira. This clearly exposes the mission of the so called petitioner as nothing more than mischief, designed to smear Lamorde.  

2015 WAEC Results - A Reflection Of The Nigerian Educational System!

By Idowu Oyebanjo 

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has just released the results of the 2015  May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the results as expected, "experiencing a free fall under gravity", pointed in the "right" direction - Downward! Why? Quality Education has become history in Nigeria, especially in the Public Institutions of Learning. Despite the myriads of "Private Schools" springing up, the situation is going from bad to worse.

*Buhari 

Yeye, my great Grand-mother, always said to me while growing up as a boy in Ikogosi-Ekiti, "Ti Iwaju O ba se lo, eyin a se pada si", meaning, if it becomes impracticable for you to move in the forward direction, it must be possible to take a reverse". I think this is dependent on the route. There is clearly no alternative route to getting a sum right than doing it right; starting from, and according to, basic principles. Therefore, a mirror reflection on how the system of education was before our "uncommon" era is in order.

Teaching was, and still is, a profession for the erudite in any given society. As such, Teachers must be respected, well remunerated and encouraged. That was the case in the golden era of The Nigerian Educational System. Teachers were paid comparatively higher than most workers and were among the few individuals who had bicycles or cars. To qualify to teach, you must know your subject well enough and must pass requisite examinations unaided by examination mal-practices. Yes, Teachers were the "Alphas" and the" Omegas". They were feared and respected because they represented the needed back-up for Parents when their children proved stubborn at home. Teaching was a profession of well-disciplined individuals. Undertaking Teacher training made you aware of this. Teacher Training was an on-going exercise. From graduation to becoming a Teacher, throughout the School Term, and some good part of the School Holiday, a Teacher was required to undertake a form of training or the other. Every weekend within a School term, a Teacher had to prepare notes of planned lessons for the week ahead. This afforded the opportunity to prepare for the needs of each member of a sizeable class. The notes of lessons would be critically assessed by the Head Teacher or anyone designated. 

Useful comments were made by the reviewing Teacher and where appropriate, re-submission of planned work may be demanded if there was evidence of gross unpreparedness for the Lessons of the Week. This way, it would be easy to spot, not for victimisation, the training needs of individual Teachers to be saddled with the responsibility of shaping the future of the lives of the children, the nation! The Head Teacher would often be a Teacher too and certainly not a money collector nor a Finance Director!

Why Next Senate President Should Be Christian

 By Dan Amor
At a time when the alleged acrimonious campaign to Islamize Nigeria by an emerging power bloc is almost gaining currency, few members of the public, the Press, or the political class have never actually presumed — in context or in full— the hidden agenda of the new clique of powerful anti-Christian elements whose ultimate design is to implement the secret accord they had with their sponsors using Professor Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor, as dress rehearsal. The clamour by a section of the political class to push for the emergence of a Muslim as the new Senate President in spite of the its inelegant religious statement since the President-elect General Muhamadu Buhari is a Muslim and the sure bait of another Muslim emerging from the Northeast as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, flies in the face of rationality.

*Saraki: Senate President 

This dangerous maneuver puts at risks, to say the least, nothing less than the survival of the structure of our government as set in place by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which in its wisdom recognizes the Federal Character and ethno-religious paradigms of our Union. If this terrible gamble scales through, what now passes for constitutional theory in our most prestigious law schools, in many of our courts, and in much of liberal society is not legal theory at all, but an egalitarian political agenda which no elected legislature will enact, thereby prompting an elite intellectual and political minority to use the courts as a means of fighting the imposition of religious agendas. 

Imoke Denies Lobbying Emir Of Kano To Stop EFCC Investigation

Press Release 

Senator Liyel Imoke, the immediate past governor of Cross River State has dismissed an online news report alleging that he is running from pillar to post trying to lobby the Emir of Kano, His Royal Majesty Sanusi Lamido Sanusa to stop EFCC from probing him as the height of falsehood and a ploy ostensibly to smear his image and instigate a war of attrition against him by the Federal Government. Sponsored by his detractors and political opponents, the story seeks to malign the former governor and to portray him in bad light to the reading public.

Titled: "Imoke Lobbies Obol Lopon, Emir of Kano To Escape EFCC Noose", the story is a mendacious miscarriage of the politics of hate by sociopaths who promote politics of vendetta and acrimony in an era of growing political maturity in the country. The only substance in the story is that  Senator Imoke's chief antagonist, Chief Okoi Obono Obla has written series of petitions to anti-graft agencies urging them to probe the immediate past administration of Senator Imoke. But this after-dinner grandstanding is not capable of causing the former governor his sleep since every activity of the state government under his watch is in black and white for all to see.

Interestingly, the claim by CrossRiverWatch that the former governor was 'clandestinely' reaching out to Obla with an appeal to soft-pedal using Abi Chiefs and the Obol Lopon of Ugep, is spurious and fallacious, to say the least. It is pathetic that people could go to any length to pull others down just to score political goals. In fact, since his coronation in June, 2015, Senator Imoke who was out of the country at the time, has not met the Obol Lopon in person and has never had any communication with the monarch. It is simply the figment of the imagination of pimps in the state who have no other means of livelihood than petition writing.

Not only has the publication lied through its news source, that the former governor insulted President Muhammadu Buhari during his campaign tour of Calabar, it also averred that Senator Imoke reached out to HRM Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano to get the ear of the President for him. Imoke has never met with the Emir of Kano since he ascended the throne of his ancestors. Undoubtedly, Senator Imoke has never been known to be arrogant or boisterous in the course of his political career not to talk of insulting anybody. 

You may not like his style, and call him whatever you will, but no one can deny the fact that Imoke has handled all his assignments, from national to state levels with uncommon composure, tolerance, candour and patriotic fervour. He believes that criticisms, even ruthless ones are part of the democratic culture provided they are not meant to tarnish one's reputation.


Dan Amor
Media Adviser to Senator Imoke
Abuja,
August 15, 2015.

World Bank Group Recruitment Drive For African Nationals

The World Bank Group is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. The World Bank Group leadership is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workforce, in which nationals of Sub-Saharan African countries have an even greater part to play in achieving the Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. We are currently recruiting talented professionals for employment opportunities across multiple technical areas and professional streams. Positions may be based in Washington D.C. or in a country office.

We are accepting applications for Specialists in the following areas: Agriculture; Climate Change; Development Economics; Education; Energy and Extractives; Environment and Natural Resources; Finance and Markets; Governance; Health, Nutrition, and Population; Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management; Poverty; Social Protection and Labor; Trade and Competitiveness; Transport and Information Technology; Urban, Rural, and Social Development; and Water. There are also opportunities for Investment Officers, Risk Managers, Financial Officers, Legal Counsel and Information & Technology Solutions (ITS) experts.

Interview with Wold Bank Group, Sean McGrath, Human Resources Vice-President, In Focus Article on African Business Magazine's website.

Application Deadline:  August 31, 2015 Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.  A select number of candidates will be interviewed in September and October 2015 in Washington, D.C. and locations in Africa and Europe. Applications that are not selected for interviews during this campaign will be kept on file for up to one year and may be considered for future opportunities. -African Business Magazine

Meeting The Challenge Of Human Capital Development In The New Nigerian Power Industry (2)

Click Here To Read Part One 

By Idowu Oyebanjo

The most worrisome thing is that those who are taking the lead in this matter do not understand how Electric Current flows. If you make use of Knowledgeable Power System Engineers of Nigerian descent, who work in the Electricity Industries in the developed economies, most likely you will achieve better results in less than four years. Ofcourse, these will work with qualified Consultants who know their onions but because they already have a foothold, they are more likely to get better value for money for Nigeria. The truth is that not all foreign Consultants will want electricity in Nigeria because this means Nigerians will leave their shores and return home, Nigerians will go to Universities in Nigeria, world economics will change and the propensity for Investment will shift to Nigeria to mention a few benefits that will result in electrifying the nation in darkness.

(pix:Guardian)

The way to go about this is to set up a summit to attract these Power Systems Engineers of Nigerian descent and bring them together to brainstorm on these ideas and more in support of this reform. They are everywhere and Government machineries could be used to track them down. For example, the Association of Nigerians in Diaspora was formed in the year 2000 by former president Obasanjo towards this end and have no doubt being functioning well since then. This could be one means of achieving this noble objective. The latest approach by SHELL Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), SHELL Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO), Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), the UK chapter of Nigerian in Diaspora Organization (NIDO) and the department for Trade and Investment in the UK in establishing a knowledge sharing framework and portal to boost Nigerian Content development and employment in the Oil and Gas Industry is required in the Power Sector. It need not have waited this long!

Meeting The Challenge Of Human Capital Development In The New Nigerian Power Industry (1)

By Idowu Oyebanjo

One of the myriads of problems bedevilling the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry is the dearth of knowledge of Power Systems in Nigeria and unfortunately worldwide. Having an efficient and reliable Power System requires dedication and hard work. To this end, there must be a clear focus on recruiting, training, and keeping the workforce for today and tomorrow. There is also the risk that developed countries will poach our Engineers once they have been trained, attracting them to say the least, with offers of citizenship in "greener pastures". Hence, a well articulated and constructive approach is required to ensure we meet this challenge and keep a sufficient level of expertise adequate for the survival of the Power Industry in Nigeria! How can this be done?

*Buhari

The foremost requirement is a regulation backed by law to ensure that various enablers are in place to support the deliberate development and optimal utilization of Nigerian human resources for the provision of  electricity services in the Power Industry. The emphasis should be on ensuring the active participation and growth of the Nigerian Industry and citizenry in the various services and activities that will be witnessed as Nigeria rebuilds her Power Network and Infrastructure. I say active here because lazy, selfish and myopic investors will partner technical companies from the developed economies who, for many good reasons, will prefer to carry out the actual design, fabrication, manufacturing and testing of equipment from their overseas offices and locations. This will create jobs and opportunities overseas and add little to our subject matter. With foot on the ground, business economics will prevail and within a reasonable period of time, so many companies will shift base to Nigeria to carry out these activities and more. Of course some balance is required here as the intention is not to stifle the development of the Power Industry and this is why those who understand the business of Electricity Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Supply are required to manage the process. In addition, there is need to track, monitor, review and measure the development of this objective at every stage. Statistical methods showing status quo ante and progress in the many areas is a must.

In view of the dearth of Knowledge of Power Systems in-country, the new owners of the Nigerian Power Assets, their technical consultants and Nigerian Professionals home and abroad should be asked to submit a list of the activities that they believe would be carried out in the short and long-term in the Power Industry. They should equally state those activities they would be more likely to provide services for pre-qualification and assessment of their capabilities or otherwise, to acceptable international standards. This should form a database akin to the Joint Qualification System (JQS) in use in the Oil and Gas Industry. The Nigerian Content Division of NNPC could be approached for help in this area.

Buhari, Nigeria Is Your Constituency

By Ikechukwu Amaechi

I am an advocate of merit. I believe that part of the problem of the country is that we have perfected putting square pegs in round holes. We sacrifice excellence on the altar of primordial mawkishness and nepotism with disastrous consequences.

I refrained from commenting before now on President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointments which favour the North more than the South because I thought it was too early to start reading meanings into his actions.

His critics allege that there is a tinge of clannishness in all his appointments. These allegations are not new. He failed in his earlier attempts to become the chief tenant of Aso Rock because of the perception that he has a mindset that is not nationally inclined.

Many Nigerians, particularly those from the South, distrusted Buhari. He is perceived to be too cliquish, narrow and insular in his worldview despite his military background.

10 Most Corrupt Countries in the World

Again, The United States Gets 'Honourable Mention' 

*Obama (pix:Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Corruption and economic turmoil often go hand-in-hand. In western nations like the United States and many European countries, we often see corruption come to light as the result of whistleblowers or journalistic efforts. But in many other areas of the world, however, corruption plays a major role in fostering staggering poverty and broken economic systems in a much more blatant way.

Oftentimes, specific power structures and government architectures provide an easier means for corrupt politicians, businessmen, or military officials to exploit the system. Many governments have their roots in constitutions from generations ago, and have outgrown their current systems. Many other countries are ruled by a variety of independent tribal leaders and often lack a centralized power structure with any meaningful sway.

Transparency International developed a comprehensive list of the world’s most corrupt nations last year, and the countries that top the list probably won’t come as much of a surprise to many. The study ranks countries on a scale from 0 to 100, with zero being the most corrupt, and 100 being the least.

Of course, corruption comes in a variety of forms, so getting a precise gauge is difficult. But perception itself is a very strong tool, and can have a big effect on its own. If the study reveals anything, it’s that the world overall has a huge issue in terms of corrupt officials. By looking at the Corruptions Perception Index, along with the existing power structures and economic systems within each country, the picture does become a bit clearer. That’s why we dug a little deeper, examining the rankings for ourselves.

Although not among the top ten, we’ve included the United States on the list to give perspective as to where America ranks internationally in terms of corruption and economic strife. By Transparency International’s calculations and scale, the U.S. is sitting fairly pretty, although it’s common knowledge that there are definitely issues with how things are run in Washington. Other countries you might expect to see like Russia, Mexico, or Venezuela all have their places as well, and the full list of 177 nations can be viewed straight at the source from Transparency International.

Here are the most corruptnations in the world, as ranked by Transparency International, with additionalinsight into the issues and factors plaguing each one.

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE MOST CORRUPT COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD 

Corruption War In Nigeria: A Vote For President Buhari

By Dan Amor 

For most dispassionate observers of the Nigerian political scene, the only thing which has destroyed the fabric of this country even more than any conventional war, is corruption. This hydra-headed monster has become Nigeria's middle name. Aside from the untoward image this menace has wrought on the country and the insult and embarrassment it has caused innocent Nigerians abroad, it has inflicted irreparable damage to the basic foundations that held the country together.

*Buhari 

Corruption has stunted our economic growth, our social and physical infrastructure, our technological and industrial advancement and has decapitated our institutions, which is why our over 40 research institutes are no longer functional because they are headless. Even our academic and military establishments and other security agencies cannot in all sincerity be exonerated from the deadly effects of unbridled corruption. The determination of President Muhammadu Buhari to combat corruption and to go after suspects irrespective of their ethnic or political leanings should enlist the sympathy of all well-meaning Nigerians. It is the more reason why even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which controlled the central government and a greater number of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, recently endorsed the corruption war.

As Nigerians we certainly do not need any soothsayer to tell us that ours is a corrupt country. We see corruption live everyday. We see Mr. Corruption stalk the streets, the roads and the highways across the country. We see Mr. Corruption bid us goodbye at the airports and welcome us back into the country. We Nigerians greet Mr. Corruption at the seaports and border posts as we clear our cargoes into the country. We shake the juicy hands of Mr. Corruption as we savour the winning of a lucrative contract. Truly, Nigeria, which in 1996 was ranked by Transparency International as the second most corrupt country in the world, achieved the utmost when in 1997 it was voted the most corrupt country on the face of the earth. Ever since, the country has had the misfortune of being grouped among the five most corrupt countries in the world. There can never be any stigma as heinous as this in the comity of nations across the world.

Since the current democratic political experiment started in May 1999, all successive governments have had to place anti-corruption war as part of their programmes of action, popularly known as manifestos or agendas. Yet, all had paid lip service to the fight against corruption except the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which is showing signs of its determination to tackle the monster head on. As can be deduced from the body language and actions of the president himself, Nigerians are now confident that this battle will commence with the resoluteness it deserves. Successive administrations, in spite of their much vaunted hoopla over corruption war, were ironically refuting the claims of the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) that Nigeria was stinking with the evil stench of corruption.

New African Magazine August 2015 Out Now

AUGUST ISSUE OF NEW AFRICAN – OUT NOW! 
Monday, 10^th August/ London:

Ethiopia is increasingly in the spotlight for a number of reasons. As Africa's oldest independent country and the second largest in terms of population it has served as a symbol of African independence throughout the colonial period, was a founder member of the United Nations and remains the African base for many international organisations, most notably the African Union Commission. Most recently Ethiopia hosted thousands of delegates at third international conference on Financing for Development and played host to the US President Barack Obama during the first visit by a serving American president to that country. Addis Ababa will also be the venue for the forthcoming Africa Japan Business Investment Forum (http://ic-events.net/event/africa-japan/) at the end of August 2015.

The latest issue of New African magazine carries an exclusive, in depth and broad ranging interview with Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn. Topics covered include the PM’s views on democracy and the greater inclusion of opposition and other voices, good governance, employment creation and an overview of the country’s inclusive Growth and Transformation Plan with its focus on indigenisation, manufacturing and industrialisation, as well as broader issues impacting the Horn of Africa. We also get an insight into the life and times of Zimbabwe’s Vice President, Emerson Mnangagwa and the former Prime Minister of Namibia Nahas Angula.

Also in this issue – the cover story takes a futuristic look at Africa’s role in shaping its own developmental agenda, as Africa’s leaders and leading policymakers prepare to join other world governments at the United Nations in September in order to adopt the much-talked about new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the landmark Millennium Development Goals draw to a close.

Other features include ‘Kenya/Tech’, the Kenyan government's new startup craze; a look at development aid to Africa from a Nordic perspective; the rise of Venture Capital firms in Africa and a narrative on a new movement in East Africa to make motorcycle taxis, one of the most popular forms of transport, safer. Alongside these stories are the regular Opinion pieces, cultural reviews and sector reports,  

The August issue is out now and digitally available via http://www.exacteditions.com/newafrican. It is also available on Apple and Android app stores

Electricity Crisis In Nigeria: Can Buhari Break The Jinx?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

If former President Goodluck Jonathan had succeeded in solving the ever-worsening electricity crisis in Nigeria, he would have left office last May as one of Nigeria’s   greatest leaders. And that is, assuming that singular feat would not have been able to reelect him by deflating the strong, vicious and clearly unedifying campaign bolstered by unrealistic promises massively deployed against him by the opposition.

*Jonathan and Buhari

Granted, the Olusegun Obasanjo regime, allegedly, squandered some $16 billion to plunge the country deeper into darkness, but Jonathan is no Obasanjo, and I doubt if his ambition was to come into office to reenact the Obasanjo disaster. Jonathan’s failure, therefore, to realize the strategic role of electricity in the life of modern man and demonstrate that five years was enough for him to write his name in gold by lighting up the country is the key reason, I think, he left office with his head bowed, despite his very noble act of conceding defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari, thus aborting the desperation of those waiting in the wings to exploit the situation to unleash terrible mayhem in the country and waste drums of innocent blood. 

The problem, I think is that, President Jonathan really stretched political naivety far beyond its malleable limit when he failed to realise that the regime of darkness and unspeakable extortion unleashed on Nigerians by the private operators currently generating and distributing electricity in Nigeria was gradually exerting some influence on the way Nigerians perceived his government. Those companies appeared to have conspired to work extremely hard to further compound his already growing image problems and deepen grave disaffection against him among the populace. And no one should have realized it better than the former president that such a situation was too harmful to be allowed to endure, especially, on the eve of a very bitterly contested election. But Jonathan and his party were insufferably complacent and took several things for granted until a devastating defeat was served him like an unexpected, unappetizing breakfast. 

 

It would seem that he realized only too late in the day (assuming he ever did) that he was facing a peculiar kind of opposition: one which, though, pitiably lacking in brighter ideas or better preparation for governance (as Nigerians are already witnessing), appeared more adept in chronicling and magnifying the failings of his government. And so, it was easy for them to promise largely unrealistic alternatives and got sizable number of people to buy into their grand illusion that the only solution to Nigeria’s many problems was just the exit of Jonathan.   

Buhari, Obasanjo And Emeka Offor

By Mohammed Al-Bishak

No sooner had Premium Times published on Monday, August 3, 2015, the first part of its interview with erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo than it went viral. Though the immediate context of the interview was the publication of Obasanjo’s controversial trilogy entitled My Watch, the questions from the interviewers were forthright and wide ranging, and the responses quite interesting. Early in the interview, Obasanjo devoted considerable time and sentiments to an evaluation of a controversial government contractor, Emeka Offor, and his activities.

*Emeka Offor

“Take for example the decision on privatizing all refineries”, remarked the former president in respect of certain decisions he took in the days of his administration which were reversed by the succeeding Umaru Yar’Adua governemnt which he had handpicked. “I explained (in my memoirs) that what I met were refineries that were not working, refineries that were given to an amateur for repairs, for maintenance, what they call turn-around maintenance, to the company of the Emeka Offor group. Where has Emeka Offor maintained refineries before? Where has he? That’s what we met. So, refineries were not working.”

The diligent team of reporters tried to find out from him why he did not bother to recover the huge amounts paid to Offor’s companies, and the retired army general, noted for ebullience, surprisingly sounded helpless before a mere civilian, a mere government contractor, almost half his age. Here are his words: “ (Recover money from)a man who was paid upfront? He had people. He got some police….People were there. And Emeka Offor, after I left (office), became friends with every government that has come”. Offor was, no doubt, friends with the Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan governments. With this interview, Obasanjo is strongly warning the new Muhammadu Buhari administration to avoid controversial contractors like a plague. Otherwise, they would ruin the new government they way they destroyed governments before it. I should think there is merit in the wise counsel because Buhari is globally recognized for high personal integrity, and his government is the last hope of the Nigerian people to get out of the corruption cancer which has metastised all over the country.

 

*Buhari and Obasanjo

It is necessary to explain the relationship between Offor and the refineries. Offor founded a firm known as Anchoff Strongholds which was a clearing agent for the Warri Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Company (WPRC) and later became its supplier. Between 1993 and 1994 it stunned the petroleum industry worldwide by becoming the first African company to carry out a turn-round maintenance (TAM) on the 125,000 barrels per day WRPC. It was assisted by Gidado Idris, then permanent secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who was to become chairman of all of Offor’s companies. But practically no work was done. A probe led by Aret Adams, the best group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) ever, was instituted. The report recommended the dismissal of the WRPC managing director, Dr Owokalu, for his role in the scandal. The government acted promptly. The report also recommended the blacklisting of Anchoff Strongholds and its promoters and their ban from ever doing business with the NNPC. It was accepted.

But in the typical Nigerian fashion, the latter recommendations were circumvented. Anchoff promoters formed a new company and named it Chrome. Meanwhile, Gidado Idris had taken over from Aminu Saleh as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation under General Sani Abacha’s military dictatorship. Chrome was awarded the contract to do the TAM on the 210,000barrel per day Port Harcourt Refinery and Petrochemical Company, which is much bigger than the Warri refinery whose TAM had become an international scandal. Ever since then, all the country’s refineries have become comatose. This is the background to Obasanjo’s anger over the sweetheart deals between various Nigerian governments and Offor.

Yet, I have tremendous difficulties with the impression which ex President Obasanjo has sought to give about his relationship with Offor. There is overwhelming evidence that Obasanjo not only empowered Offor but went out of his way to do so; in the process he violated all known rules and ethical standards. I would like to cite just an example which I know pretty well: the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) between Nigeria and the twin island of Sao Tome and Principe.