Between Bola Tinubu And Ibe Kachikwu

By Sunday Attah

The psyche of Nigerians has once again been need­lessly assailed by the altercation between one of the leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu. The crux of the matter is Kachikwu’s reported comments about the lingering fuel scarcity in the country, to the ef­fect that he was not a “magician” to bring the scar­city to a quick end. He has since apologised.

*Bola Tinubu 

But, by Tinubu’s reckoning, Kachikwu insulted Nigerians by purging himself of any official burden, responsibility or sympathy over the persisting fuel scarcity. Tinubu was livid with anger that Kachikwu basically abused the intrinsic values of the “progres­sive agenda” of the incumbent government.

It all started from a statement credited to Ka­chikwu. After a meeting with President Muham­madu Buhari and the leadership of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, the two major labour unions in the oil industry, Kachikwu’s riposte to reporters that Nigerians would still experience two more months of fuel scarcity in spite of the nation’s function­ing refineries. This caused a stir, and was variously interpreted.

Kachikwu, who doubles as the MD/CEO of NNPC, submitted that oil refined by Nigeria’s re­fineries would rather be stockpiled in a strategic re­serve, obviously for some national exigencies. This drew the flaks. It attracted a rebuke from Tinubu. Indeed, Tinubu was more irked by Kachikwu’s comments to the effect that his numerous trainings excluded conjuring magical powers to solve prob­lems.

Obviously, Tinubu perceived the statement to mean an indifference to the plight of Nigerians and a relapse to the PDP old ways of running the coun­try. Tinubu was the first eminent Nigerian to react to these comments in a public statement he personally signed.

The spate of reactions to Tinubu’s outbursts on the matter is interesting. While some applaud Tinu­bu for the umbrage against Kachikwu, many see his comments as political.

*Ibe Kachikwu 

Other prominent Nigerians, APC chieftains and its leadership at different levels joined in the fray. Since the formation of the APC government, anxious Nige­rians have been stampeded with pleas by the Buhari-led government for more time to treat the country’s national festering sores. In the power sector, housing, education, insecurity and other sectors, it has been the same singsong. Nigerians never heard Tinubu’s voice even recently when the APC-led National Assembly foot-dragged over passage of the national budget, which holds the key to wealth creation and prosperity for all Nigerians.

In all these instances, Tinubu has not said much. Therefore, his attack on Kachikwu over comments of delayed solution to the lingering fuel crisis raised eyebrows. Besides, Tinubu made allusion to the pos­sibility of Kachikwu’s remarks in his lengthy public statement, articulating further that it could be a spur of the moment frustration with the fuel crisis. What is more than this?

Tinubu stated: “Perhaps the statement by Kachikwu was made in a moment of unguarded frustration or was an awkward attempt at a joke. Whatever the mo­tive, it was untimely and off-putting. The remark did not sit well with the Nigerian people; they were right to feel insulted, as the minister was wrong to have said such a thing.”

But Tinubu and others should be aware that it is ex­pected in African culture, for an elder, who criticizes an action of younger ones, to also proffer solution, if the criticism is inspired by altruistic reasons or genuine concerns. Where criticisms do not come with remedial solutions, they are incomplete. Tinubu did not offer any solution, even though Kachikwu gave a hint on why Nigerians would endure more weeks of the fuel scarcity- the storage of locally refined fuel in strategic reserve. Expending the national oil reserve to solve the current fuel scarcity problem was an idea mulled by Tinubu based on the narratives in his state­ment. But, he shied away from speaking it out, even as advice.

Tinubu knows with clarity that President Buhari is the overall boss of that crucial petroleum ministry and Kachikwu is merely his deputy. The decision to hold locally refined fuel in the face of national scarcity could have never been Kachikwu’s sole decision. Moreover, he had just emerged from a parley with oil industry labour unions, where Buhari was also in attendance and the decision was taken collectively, in the event of a national emergency, while NNPC is expected to work out other measures to resolve the scarcity. Even in Buhari’s absence, Kachikwu has no such powers under the present set up to have taken the decision independently. These are protocols the former Lagos State governor knows very well.

So, what is the point of his fuss with Kachikwu? To tacitly scold Buhari administration’s management of the oil sector, but directing the punches at Kachikwu, the APC leader betrayed his emotions impenitently by declaring: “We can no longer afford past practic­es. Nigeria now requires creative reform, materially changing the substance of national economic policy as well as the objectives of that policy and how the policy is presented to the people. Therein lies the es­sence of progressive democratic governance.”

His recourse to uttering confidence in Buhari’s administration in solving the fuel problem later in the body of his public statement came after the main bashing of the government he actively engineered its enthronement.

Again, as a national leader of the APC govern­ment, Tinubu would not be denied the opportunity of a direct interaction with Mr. President on the matter. It would afford him a more dignified platform to ex­plain his idea of denying Nigeria fuel reserves now, to solve the current fuel crisis. But, he declined all these options and opted for the public persecution of the President and his team by directing his arrows at Kachikwu.

Although Tinubu is entitled to his opinion on any issue as a free citizen, his interjection on this matter is a source of disquiet. For Tinubu to go personal to the extent of saying that nobody forced Kachikwu to take up an appointment with the government is not good enough. It diminishes whatever arguments he must have disseminated in favour of ordinary Nige­rians.

*Attah writes from Lagos