WORK GROUNDED IN CHEVRON AS IJAW WOMEN LOCK OUT WORKERS

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Work grounded in Chevron as Ijaw women lock out workers
From EMMANUEL OGOIGBE, Warri
Thursday, January 26, 2012

Activities were grounded at Chevron yesterday in Warri, Delta State as scores of Ijaw women locked out workers of the multibillion naira company in protest against alleged marginalization and inhuman treatment. The protesters from Kolu Ama clan, in Bayelsa State said the American oil giant since 1953 had made life miserable for the oil bearing community and vowed not to leave the office premises until the misdeed against them was addressed.

The protesters, who were half-naked carried placards with the inscriptions, ‘Chevron must go, we don’t need your food’, ‘since 1953 Chevron has been operating in the area there is no visible progress, no meaningful development’, we want World Heath Organization to come to our aid.’ Others inscription were “we are suffering, we have no potable water, no light, many lives have been lost as a result of Chevron’s insensitivity to our plight”, we are fed up with the divide and rule tactics of Chevron.”

Speaking, the leader of the group, Mrs. Epowotei Edi, told newsmen that they decided to take the action because Chevron had refused to listen to their complaints.“We are not leaving this premises until our issue is solved. Chevron has been operating in our area since 1953 and there is nothing to show that Kolu-Ama is an oil producing area,” said the leader, who is also the wife of Kolu-Ama King community.

“Most pathetic is that Chevron used dynamite while prospecting for oil but after five days, angry wave took over the whole area and devastated the community and it’s source of livelihood,” she said bitterly. According to her, each time there was oil spill, Chevron in its deceitful manner would bring food only without adequate compensation, lamenting that recently there was gas explosion in the area, which destroyed the community source of livelihood, yet Chevron was trying to cover-up the massive spillage.

CORRUPTION IS TEARING NIGERIA DOWN –OPADOKUN

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Corruption is tearing Nigeria down –Opadokun
By CHINELO OBOGO
Thursday, January 26, 2012

• Opadokun

Former secretary of Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Ayo Opadokun has described government’s fight against corruption as insincere. In an interview with CHINELO OBOGO, he speaks on the fight against the menace and other national issues.
Government’s fight against corruption

Honestly, the Federal Government is only pretending to be fighting corruption but in their hearts, there is nothing to show that they are serious about it. To the extent that the major personalities that are supposed to be fighting corruption are neck deep in it. When you have an attorney-general that has a unique profile of dubious style, they will not be able to do anything about corruption.

On the executive side of the government, you will know that they are not interested. There is a litany of cases of corruption that the Nigerian media has published and laid out, yet the government has done nothing about it. For instance, the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria set up by government to make power generation, transmission and supply easier, especially in the big states…the chairman of the Power Committee in the House of Representatives went and collaborated with the officials of that organisation and awarded contracts worth over N5 billion in a disorganised manner, not following any procedure. That matter was charged to court to fulfil all righteousness. So, who are they fooling? The level of corruption in Nigeria is tearing us down and the perpetrators are not willing to give up.

For instance, the success of the Aladja Steel Company for some time now has been frustrated by our executive from becoming useful and productive. Right from the time of Obasanjo, the executive gives out that organisation to private ventures in a very tattered Memorandum of Understanding and agreement, not knowing that when the people get there, they continue to steal the assets of the organisation and this has gone on more than five times. That place is now a shadow of itself. I continually ask myself why this country remains comatose when we have a legislature that is supposed to be doing the checks and balancing, ensuring that the executive performs to the dictates of the law.

They will budget for some activities within a year and you will find out that five years later, that thing for which they budgeted money has not been done, yet nobody is doing anything about it. Under our constitution, the legislature has what is called ‘oversight function’ of their various committees. But why is it that nothing has happened, and no one has been brought to book? It is because, the parliamentarians themselves as a corporate body and many of its members are neck deep in corruption. That is why those over inflated contracts cannot even be located.

Maybe the small group of the present lawmakers that are articulate will be able to raise their voices against the evil regime that is prevailing in our land, but these people are only in the minority. So the executive is totally bereft of sanity and the parliamentarians are worse off because they compromise themselves a lot. From the media reports that we have been getting, what they do is that they go to a ministry or parastatal and they force them to come and defend their budgets before their committees. This action is very wrong, and it ought not to be so, because they are not supposed to rewrite the budget that was sent by the executive. But that is what they normally do now. After they inflate it, they ask for their own share.

Democracy vs. the military regime
It is painful to compare the military to democracy because they are poles apart. The best of the military should not even be compared to our democracy. When people compare former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure as a military president and his tenure as a civilian president, I will say that there were some factors that were at play that made it look like he performed better as a military president. As a military president, he was actually not in charge, because there were people in there like the former Chief of Staff, Theophilus Danjuma who could call him to order if he tries to roughshod anyone.

He was not the most loved as the military head of state; it was because of the discretion of Gen. Danjuma who insisted that since Murtala has died, the next most senior was Obasanjo and he should take over. There was a lot of pressure on Danjuma to take over but being a decent man, he rejected the offer and instead supported Obasanjo to emerge as the Head of State.
However, what we are supposed to have now is a democracy, but what we have is a decadent situation. Honestly, any decent person can achieve and perform excellently well in this system if he has the political will to do so. There is substantial evidence to show that after Obasanjo retired as a military Head of State, he felt very bad that there was not enough money to do what he wanted to do.

But the thing with Obasanjo is that if you help him, he will pay you back in betrayal. He will do everything to make you feel sorry for yourself. During his time, he knew that a lot of corrupt activities were going on at the state and the national level but he did not do anything about it unless the fellow involved raised a political opposition against him. Some of the things that are traceable to him now ought not to have happened. For instance, before the end of 2004, Obasanjo knew how wicked James Ibori was in the manner by which he was handling everything about the affairs of Delta State. They had it on good authority, lots of evidence on how he was changing naira into hard currencies.

He decided to be so friendly with Obasanjo so much so that if Obasanjo wanted anything, Ibori will use the state’s money and get it for him. That is why he provided so much money to run Yar’adua’s presidential elections and that was why he and his friends were able to execute a lot of things during Yar’adua’s tenure. Another instance is that of his private Doctor friend, Dr. Makonjuola whom he made permanent secretary of Ministry of Defence. There was a time when over N400 million was traced to Makonjuola’s account. They allowed him to be taken before the court and that ended the matter.

Anyone that is willing to reduce corruption to the barest minimum, can handle corruption..there was this research by the Economic intelligence Bureau that said that from the time of Obasanjo till now, Nigeria has earned over N233 billion dollars..where is the evidence? Where was the money spent? What we have is the total collapse of our economy and infrastructure? Many people have died because they could not afford drugs worth N1000 but when our supposed leaders are sick, some of them are even flown with air ambulances abroad to receive treatment. When we talk of education, in the last four to five years, less than 20 per cent of our students are able to pass Mathematics and English successfully. What kind of society is that? Their own children are abroad so they do not care about you or I. The succeeding governments in Nigeria are not ready to fight corruptiuon, they just mouth it and this amounts to mere rhetoric.

The Judiciary
I base my premise on one perspective and that is, when you have leaders who have the political will to do what is right, they can do anything because they control the political equation. They decide who emerges as the Judge. Higher benches in Nigeria are now on the basis of loyalty to government for all time. So the judiciary has corrupted and perverted itself. The perverted minds that have occupied the highest offices of our land have deliberately conspired to pervert justice. Those in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and other privileged positions now depend on whom you know.

That is why most of those who could not succeed in private practice are the ones in the High Courts. Like the former Chief Justice of Lagos who during the time of Babangida as President said that he was the almighty, so he issued a decree that no one should challenge him. That is why we had a situation some months back where the National Judicial Council that is supposed to be the greatest promoter and defender of the rule of Law decided to ignore it and become a judge in its own court. It was the same Ibrahim Auta that gave the infamous judgement that led to the killing of Ken Sarowiwa and the Ogoni nine

This system is so perverted. So for one to perform successfully, the person has to be a self-contented person who is not ready to acquire wealth indiscrimately.

Does Charles Takyi-Boadu Think He Has The Capacity To Destroy The NDC?

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Commentary

Charles Takyi-Boadu, the newest lapdog for Gina and Freddie Blay, must be living in a world of dreams and deluding himself into believing that he has what it takes to destroy the NDC.
A rather fine gentleman when he was working with The Chronicle, Charles Takyi-Boadu has become a personification of everything bad and stinking about journalism.
Charles Takyi-Boadu is the one that Gina Blay and Freddie Blay have put on the NDC to manufacture and churn out outright lies.
Charles Takyi-Boadu is the new kid on the block, who must write and say nasty things about no less a person than the President of the Republic.
As if his by-line means nothing to him, he writes all his fairytales with glee and gusto.
Most recently, Charles Takyi-Boadu lied to the whole world that he had interviewed Mr. Martin Amidu in the wake of the latter being asked to drop his tools.
In the said fairytale, Charles Takyi-Boadu created the false impression that Martin Amidu threatened to “spill the beans” if he is pushed to the wall.
How funny!!!
Which beans?
The truth of the matter is that there are no beans to be spilt.
If there is anything to be spilt; it is the dead brain cells of Charles Takyi-Boadu, which can be reassembled to make his head work better.
The truth of the matter is that, Martin Amidu told Charles Takyi-Boadu not to push him to the wall, lest he pours his heat on the Daily Guide.
Charles Takyi-Boadu, in his infantile mind, thought that he could push Martin Amidu to the wall for the latter to speak and create confusion within the NDC.
When Martin Amidu refused to fall for the bait, Charles Takyi-Boadu kept asking foolish questions; and that is what compelled Martin Amidu to tell Gina Blay’s poodle not to push him to the wall lest he pours his anger on The Daily Guide.
What Charles Takyi-Boadu does not know is that; many have done the stinking hatchet job that he is doing now; and they did not ‘survive’.
Yes, many people did what Charles Takyi-Boadu is doing but they did not survive.
Is it not a shame that Charles Takyi-Boadu turns himself into an object of scorn, when he had the rare opportunity to question the President during the recent media encounter at the Castle?
Out of the over hundred journalists present, Charles got a rare opportunity, but asked the President if he was suffering from cancer.
How foolish!
If Charles wants to know if somebody is suffering from cancer, why does he not ask his boss Gina Blay?
If Charles Takyi-Boadu is looking for cancer patients, why does he not take a close look at Gina Blay and Freddie Blay?
Does Charles Takyi-Boadu think we do not know what is happening at The Daily Guide?
Can Charles Takyi-Boadu tell us where Gabby Asare-Otchere Darko is?
Does Charles Takyi-Boadu think we don’t know that Akufo-Addo sneaks out of town every now and then to go for medical treatment in London?
We are not fools, and so we will not say all the things that we know.
Is Charles Takyi-Boadu more interested in cancer patients than in media houses that become safe heavens for homosexual and paedophiles?
It was interesting hearing Charles Takyi-Boadu say after the media encounter that he was not allowed to ask other questions.
How foolish!!
When you have the opportunity to ask a single question, and you ask a foolish question, why should you be given the opportunity to ask another foolish question?
The President is not in the business of answering foolish questions; he is in the business of answering intelligent questions.
Watching Charles Takyi-Boadu on TV, his body language exposes him as a senseless agent who was just doing the bidding of his paymasters.
Does Charles Takyi-Boadu not know a certain Baby Ansabah also known as Ato Sam, who was thrown out of The Daily Guide after spending years doing the dirty work for Gina Blay and Freddie Blay?
Is it not under the watch of the NDC that Baby Ansabah is living a decent life today?
Under the watch of NPP, Gina Blay and Freddie Blay, was Baby Ansabah not one of the least respected journalists in Ghana?
Have the likes of Fortune Alimi and A.R Gomda not slowed down?
Charles Takyi-Boadu should ask Fortune Alimi and A.R. Gomda why they have decided to no longer do the dirty work for Gina Blay and Freddie Blay.
Has Halifax Ansah Addo not also slowed down after his initial attempt to be the hit-man for Gina Blay and Freddie Blay?
So if those who were there before he arrived, have taken a wise decision not to continue to do any dirty job for Gina Blay and Freddie Blay, why is Charles Takyi-Boadu so much in hurry to become the most insulted, disrespected, disliked, and disgraceful journalist in Ghana?
Is it not the case that Charles Takyi-Boadu got married recently?
Does he want his wife to be walking around with people pointing fingers at her?
Nobody is forcing Charles Takyi-Boadu to love President Atta Mills and the NDC; all we are saying is that, he is gradually becoming a disgrace to the journalism profession and gradually becoming the Baby Ansabah of Daily Guide.
As for those of us on The Informer, we think that Charles Takyi-Boadu has what it takes to become a fine and level-headed journalist.
But if the young-man chooses to mortgage his conscience and family name to Gina and Freddie Blay, and succeeds in receiving the Order of the Vulture award (an award that was incidentally instituted by Gina Blay’s Daily Guide), for being the most disgraceful and stinking journalist in Ghana, that is his own cup of tea.
The Informer has spoken; if Charles Takyi-Boadu has ears, let him hear ooooo!!!
And if Charles Takyi-Boadu thinks he has the capacity to bring down the Atta Mills Administration, he may end up walking half-naked around Asylum Down and talking to himself because not even Hercules can take up such a task.
Charles Takyi-Boadu, The Informer has given you free advice; take it or leave it!!!

The Informer

ELDERLY PEOPLE NEED HELP, WELFARE – AMOSUN’S WIFE

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Elderly people need help, welfare – Amosun’s wife
From Our reporter
Thursday, January 26, 2012

• Amosun
Wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun has advised the younger people to pay attention to the welfare of the older ones, saying ageing was a gift from God and elderly persons deserve to be taken care of.

According to her, “our desire is to fill in the gap of fulfilling the social needs of vulnerable elderly people who are lonely, who lose touch with their environment, who struggle hard in their daily activities, who are down-hearted and who need daily basic health care. We hope to regularly bring them a wonderful forum to make them happier and uplift them.”

Entitled, “uplifting the aged,” Mrs. Amosun said, “ageing is not a big issue, but there may be vulnerable older persons who have no relatives to look after them. This is one area we should be able to offer a helping hand to our elderly people to lift them up and make them happy.”

Speaking at a ceremony organised for the elderly people across the 236 wards of Ogun State at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, Mrs. Amosun said it’s the desire of many people to live long enough to have their hair turn grey and as “our elderly ones grow older they need our support and care.”
The programme coincided with Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s birthday anniversary but since the governor said there would be no formal gathering to mark the day, the First Lady chose to spend the day with the needy aged.

The programme, which had in attendance more than 1,000 participants, afforded the aged the opportunity to undertake free health screening and referral services, talks on availability of safe blood for communities during emergencies and light exercise practice. They were also given items like blankets, rice, gari, groundnut oil and token cash gifts.

PPPRA SEALS OFF FILLING STATIONS IN OSUN

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PPPRA seals off filling stations in Osun
From BAMIGBOLA GBOLAGUNTE, Osogbo
Thursday, January 26, 2012

• Amosun

The Petroleum Products Prices Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) yesterday sealed off no fewer than six filling stations in Osogbo, the Osun state capital for allegedly selling premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol above the N97 per litre announced by the agency.
The filling stations, located around Oke Baale and Ilobu Road areas were selling a litre of petrol for between N100 and N105, a development which was described as illegal by the PPPRA.

The PPPRA task force led by Mr John Ikwejuibe stormed Osogbo in the early hours of the day and moved round the town to find out filling stations selling above the normal pump price announced by the Federal Government. Mr Ikwejuibe who announced that the affected filling stations would remain closed until further directive of the agency, warned petroleum dealers in the state against noncompliance with the pump price of petroleum products.

He said the action was taken by the agency to avoid further fraudulent practices by petroleum dealers in the country and the state in particular. Also, Mr Ikwejuibe cautioned petrol dealers in the state against adjusting their machines, saying, “whoso ever is discovered to have adjusted the pump machine of their filling stations will also have their stations closed down by the agency.”

He said the agency would continue to beam its search light on the state to ensure total compliance with the new pump price of N97 per litre as directed by the Federal Government, adding that any petrol dealer who sells above the price would be punished appropriately.

FROM ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, KADUNA

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A’Court confirms Senator Datti’s sack
From ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, Kaduna
Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna on Tuesday dismissed Senator Ahmed Datti’s appeal against the National Assembly Election Tribunal that nullified his election and ordered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue his opponent, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, with Certificate of Return as the senator representing Kaduna Northern Senatorial Zone.

With this development, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former governor of the state, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi is to replace Congress for Progressive Change (CPC’s) Senator Datti in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna had on November 14, 2011 nullified the election of Datti and declared Makarfi the winner of the election.

Ruling on the matter on Tuesday evening, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Augie said, considering the provision of Section 285, Sub-section 7 of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulated the time frame of 60 days for the hearing of appeal from election tribunal to be filed before the Appeal Court, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal.
Justice Augie in the 22-minute ruling, which ended 7:33pm, said though counsel to the appelant, Mr. Abbas Ibrahim argued that the delay in the hearing of the appeal was not caused by either of the parties involved in the case, the Constitution was very strict about the 60 days.

She further stressed that even if the court was to hear the appeal today (on Tuesday), the appeal was not yet before the court.
“What is before the court as we speak are applications for extension of time to file the appeal proper and application to regularise the appellant’s appeal before the court. “We can only say the court has an appeal before it when there is an application for appeal and record of proceedings of the previous judgement,” she stressed.

Earlier in his argument, counsel to the appellant (Senator Datti), Mr. Abbas Ibrahim said the 60 days ought to have lapsed on January 12, 2012 but due to the nationwide strike and the 24 hours curfew imposed on Kaduna State during the fuel subsidy protest, the court had the jurisdiction to hear the appeal. “If the court looked critically at the provision of Section 285 (7) with the aim of ensuring justice, not merely looking at it technically, the court has jurisdiction to hear the appeal,” he said.

On the contrary, counsel to the first respondent (Senator Makarfi), Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) argued that in the first place, the appellant was responsible for the delay, considering his failure to file the appeal before the court within the stipulated period of 60 days.

ANSWERS TO OUR POSERS TO PPPRA, UNSATISFACTORY

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Answers to our posers to PPPRA, unsatisfactory
–Senator Abe, Chairman Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Committee
By ADETUTU FOLASADE-KOYI
Thursday, January 26, 2012

• Sen. Abe

Senator Magnus Ngei Abe has the unenviable task of seeking answers to how the fuel subsidy scheme is being run by the Federal Government and how the N240 billion appropriated by the National Assembly snowballed into N1.3 trillion in the 2011 fiscal year.

In this interview with ADETUTU FOLASADE-KOYI, Senator Abe, Chairman of the Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Committee, reviews the role of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the oil sector and explains why a forensic investigation of government’s subsidy regime is necessary at this point in time. Excerpts:

Last year, your committee convened a public hearing on the management of the fuel subsidy scheme. What’s happening?
It’s not correct to say that you’ve heard nothing from the committee. We conducted public hearings and we’ve been holding series of meetings to try and clarify some of the issues that cropped up in the course of the public hearing. We intend to visit some of the facilities that we think the joint committee would need to see before we submit our report to the Senate.
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So, next week or the upper week, depending on the logistic arrangements that we are able to put in place, the committee would probably be visiting Lagos to look at some of the facilities that you heard them talk about in the course of the investigation. We’ve also decided that we would need to talk to some of the importers to hear their side of the story and put forward some of the concerns that have been expressed by not just members of the committee but also by the Nigerian public; to try and give them some opportunity to make their own case and then, we also have a few lingering issues that we want to clarify with the PPPRA before we can conclude.

So, we invited them to come on January 17 but because of the concurrent investigation in the House of Representatives, they couldn’t make that meeting with our joint committee but we are looking to fix another date where they can come and clarify those issues with the Senate. So, the Senate investigation is very much on course and as soon as we finish with these few remaining issues and any other that may come up from some of our other members, we would be submitting our report to the Senate.

What are the likely issues that you would discuss with the PPPRA?
There are some loose ends, arising from the public hearing that members want to tidy up before we can draw conclusions on those issues and as we were working on our documents, we saw some loose ends and we also saw outstanding questions they had promised to provide answers to and we are not satisfied with the answers they brought. So, those are the things we are planning to tidy up.

Would it be open?
Initially, we didn’t think it would be open but the meeting with the importers would be open; those that would be invited because we think that it is important that whatever we discuss with them should be visible to the Nigerian people and the Nigerian public. The meeting would be open. We have some companies that we have concerns about which we have listed and we also have some we are picking at random, not because we have any issues with them but because we want to give as many companies as possible an opportunity to have their say and to also, have an opportunity to speak on the issue. So, we would be inviting them and it would be in the open.

The security agencies are already moving in. Do you think the Senate probe is still necessary?
I don’t think that the involvement of the security agencies or the EFCC in anyway takes away from the fact that as a country, if there are lessons to be learnt from this, we need to learn those lessons, we need to chart a way forward. We are not just going to sit down and…if security agencies are investigating a matter that (should) end a Senate investigation that has been on-going since last year. If you would recall, we had invited EFCC to come for the public hearings. We actually sent letters, inviting them to be part of the public hearing. So, we expected that based on what they hear from the public hearing, if they wanted to invite people to ask questions, they are free to do so.

We didn’t expect that at any time that would mean that our investigation must stop. No. What they are pursuing are criminal aspects of this thing and if it’s uncovered…and if we see things that the country ought to learn lessons from, we would also point them out so that we can make corrections to move the country forward. If there were places where we would have invited the EFCC to come in, they are already there. That’s superfluous. We may no longer need to do that but we had invited them from the very beginning to be part of the process because we knew that Nigerians would need to be satisfied that a proper forensic examination of these issues are carried out by those who have the capacity and the required training and facilities and the legal backing to ask those questions properly in that manner. So, we envisaged that; we don’t think that interferes with the Senate investigation.

How would you describe the concurrent probe of the subsidy scheme in the National Assembly? Is it not duplication because there is one National Assembly?
Are you telling me or you are asking me?

Both; because it appears to be a duplication of efforts in the two chambers.
Well, you know, we are always very, very careful how we discuss issues within the National Assembly outside. But this investigation you know was ongoing and then, the House felt a need to look at the same issue. I can’t really comment on an issue that is within the National Assembly. Maybe, if I see the Speaker (of the House of Representatives) and if I have something to say, I would say it to him.

So, you agree there’s duplication of efforts?
No, I won’t agree. I won’t use the word: duplication, because you are dealing with convention. The House has its own legal rights and responsibilities and obligations. The Senate has its own. Usually, the convention is, we try not to do the same thing at the same time. So, it’s a convention. There is no legal authority. Mind you, the Senate investigation has been on since last year. It’s not appropriate for me as a Senator to make a public comment on a matter that is within the National Assembly. We have one National Assembly.

We have a Chairman of the National Assembly who is the President of the Senate; we have a deputy chairman who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. So, if we have any issues within the National Assembly, it would be handled by the National Assembly Service Commission. It cannot be handled by an individual senator addressing the press. I don’t think that is how issues of that nature can and should be handled. But what I would want you to appreciate is that the House of Representatives is a legal entity with its own constitutional rights and powers and the Senate is a legal entity with its own constitutional rights and powers also. So, there is a whole lot happening.

Will there be a convergence later?
Well, we will talk but we won’t talk in the media.

In the course of the subsidy scheme, you promised Nigerians that you would get answers. Has the committee been able to do that?
When we started this investigation, we promised the country that the investigation would be open, all questions would be asked in the open and it would be a transparent process that would be visible to the Nigerian people. I think the question you are asking me can be better asked from the Nigerian people. Did they get the answers that they expected to get? I think that if you review the (public) hearing, you would know that a lot of light was shed on the whole issue of subsidy and how it is managed and what it is. I think substantially, we got a lot of answers. But, are we satisfied with all the answers we got? Definitely not. But, did we get answers? I think Nigeria and not just the committee got a lot of answers from that process.

When are you inviting the marketers?
Right now, we have challenges with time in the Senate but we are looking at next week, January 23-28, because we first wanted to do some site inspection of some of the facilities for receiving these products and storing them so that we can make some on-the-spot assessment of some of what we heard at the public hearing. So, after that, we would talk with the marketers before we decide on what exactly the report would say.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has told the House of Representatives committee on the probe of the subsidy scheme that NNPC imports crude oil. Was your committee told about that in your investigative hearing?
I don’t want to comment on the importation of crude oil for Kaduna refinery because I really don’t see it as a dramatic revelation because when Kaduna was built, there was some subtle knowledge that it may refine products other than Bonny Light. So, I don’t think that’s a very dramatic issue because if you have a refinery that has capacity to refine other products than crude, you have to get it to refine it. That’s an issue that NNPC would have to clear. Our own investigation substantially is the management of the fuel subsidy scheme…As far as the issue of subsidy management is concerned, the committee was able to, as a committee, get a clear understanding of the management of subsidy, its challenges, problems and I think the Nigerian people also saw that. That was the purpose of the hearing and I’m very satisfied with the progress we’ve made so far.

In the course of the public hearing, some names were released. Are you going to forward these names to the EFCC to aid it in its investigation?
First of all, there is a law and there are rules for the importation of petroleum products into this country and for payment for those who do so. It is not everybody who imported petroleum products that is a criminal. There are challenges with the way the scheme was managed; there are those who are alleged to have, of course, used unethical practices in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the Nigerian people but this is something that has to be determined by a clear forensic investigation of the situation. On the face of it, between you and I, or as a layman, clearly, I believe that things went wrong with the management of the fuel subsidy regime. But who exactly committed what crime and what laws were broken would be determined by a criminal investigation process which, as you pointed out, is on-going.

On the names we read, Nigerians wanted to know those who were participating in the scheme, those who were benefiting and being paid and I didn’t think that in a country of 160 million people, we should be asking such questions in a democracy! I felt that that information should be open to everybody. I didn’t see why we were behaving as if it was something that you needed to belong to a member of a cult to have access to that information. I didn’t see it that way. As part of the investigation, we gave that information to the public. That is not, therefore, to say that everyone who was named is necessarily a criminal. I don’t think so. So, the issue of forwarding this information to EFCC is quite unnecessary because they were part of the investigation from the beginning. They were assumed to have been there when the names were read. They don’t have to wait for us to forward the information to them.

Whatever information we had, they also have. That was why they were invited to the investigative hearing in the first place. So, whatever information is available to us is also available to them at the same time it was also available to you and the Nigerian public. What I’m trying to say is that first, there is no basis to conclude that because you took part in the importation of petroleum products under the subsidy scheme you are a criminal. That would not be fair neither would it be correct. But there is a basis for seeing clearly that there were certain irregularities in the way these things were managed.

There were loopholes through which these people took advantage of; which you may not be able to find actually but there were also some…These things would be determined by forensic investigation which the Senate really doesn’t have the capacity to carry out and we are glad that those who are empowered by law and have the tools and the resources to carry out that kind of examination are already on which is what we would have asked for anyway. So, they are already on and I think that at the end of the day, all of us who are Nigerians would like to know what the outcome of that investigation would be.

On the price regime o f PMS which the filling stations are finding difficult to adjust to
They will adjust. What the new price regime means is that subsidy is still with us in reduced volume or reduced price. We have not yet achieved full deregulation which is what will end subsidy. So, as long as subsidy is here and the PPPRA has fixed the price regime, any marketer who sells outside of that price is breaking the law and the full force of the law would be brought to bear on such marketers.

That is the law. I have been in touch with PPPRA and I think they have a hotline; so, anybody you see selling above the stipulated price of N97, you call PPPRA and disciplinary measures would be taken against such a marketer because right now, we have not achieved deregulation. So, there is no basis for anyone to sell at N141. There is still price regulation in place which is fixed right now at N97.

On the PIB as it affects deregulation. What are your expectations as far as that bill is concerned?
Quite frankly, there is no way you would make such a revolutionary re-organisation of the oil industry in this country without going through challenges. I think it would be naïve of any Nigerian to think so. I know for a fact that there a lot of interests, economic interests, political interests, social interests that are tied into the oil sector. In dealing with a subject like the PIB which seeks to reshape the industry, re-create it and quite frankly, remake it on a commercial basis and take out a lot of the wastes and a lot of the unnecessary patronage that is presently associated with the industry, I don’t think you can achieve that without some level of turbulence.

I think you would have some of those challenges but the important thing is that if those key actors in this, namely the federal government, the National Assembly, our own people, if we all put the interest of Nigeria first, finding a common ground and passing a law that would actually enable the petroleum industry to develop to the benefit of the Nigerian people would not be too difficult an assignment. I know that oil industry players would have their own interests which they would like to see written into the law but we are Nigerians; the resource belongs to us and it is the interest of our people that we should promote over and beyond anything else. And you also have to remember that in promoting the interest of our people, you must make sure that those who participate in the industry can get fair returns for their investment because if they don’t get it, then even trying to get something for your own people would be useless. It’s not rocket science.

There are existing models in other societies they have used that has worked and is working very well. You can take the case of Malaysia, which has Petronas, that of Brazil which has Petrobas; even the Libyan Oil Company; all these are reforms in their oil sectors which have resulted in national oil companies themselves becoming major economic and big time players in the industry. They are even investing in other societies outside their countries and bringing home profit from their investments. Instead, our own NNPC is a source of debt, it’s a source of patronage, it’s a source of waste, it’s a source of mismanagement of the oil industry. So, the PIB is supposed to take care of all that and anytime you want to change something that people are benefiting from, there’s bound to be challenges and many of you know that that is always the case. People don’t give up their benefits easily.

What’s your opinion about the task force set up by the Petroleum Minister?
I don’t work in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources; I’m a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. When the bill is brought to the Senate, I would have my opportunity as a senator and as chairman of the Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to make my input. Whatever processes the executive wants to use to clarify their own thoughts and sieve through whatever proposals they have in order to arrive at a document that they are comfortable with, that they understand properly, that they believe would work in the best interest of the Nigerian people is exactly and totally within the purview of the executive.

If the minister decides to do that by a task force, by a committee, by a technical team or whatever, that is her prerogative as a minister. I can’t sit here and comment on it but what I know is that before any PIB would become a law in this country, it would come to the Senate and every senator would have an opportunity to make contributions and so would the House of Representatives. It’s the National Assembly that ultimately would pass the law and as I said earlier, as we speak today, it has not been re-introduced but I’m glad and happy that the executive is working hard to the knowledge of Nigerians to speed up efforts to see that the PIB is re-introduced into the National Assembly.

How soon should Nigerians expect your report?
We are very, very mindful of the fact that the country would benefit from speedy conclusion of this assignment because the subsidy regime is still in place and whatever we can do to make it work better and more efficiently, I think would be to the benefit of the Nigerian people. We are all very conscious of that and that is why we are ready to do whatever it would take and as quickly as it would take to get it done so that whatever recommendations the Senate would have to make to government and the operators of the subsidy regime to make it more efficient and useful to the people and more transparent, we would make those recommendations.

I believe that given the amount of interest that this has generated, I think that even without waiting for the recommendations; I believe that the NNPC, Petroleum Ministry, PPPRA and the Presidency are already working on ways of trying to make the process more transparent. I know for one that they’ve dispensed with the pool arrangement and working directly with tank farm owners. They’ve brought in some form of innovations to try to improve on what they are doing. I met with the Executive Secretary of the PPPRA and he told me about some of the actions they have taken on their own at this time, including bringing in international inspectors at the point of discharge.

They have done some things to try and improve on public confidence in the process. So, everybody is working and we believe that whatever recommendations we can make that would help that process would benefit this country. But, definitely, the way it was run before, I don’t think it’s going on like that after the public hearing and I don’t believe it can go on like that given the interest of the people in a more transparent and accountable subsidy regime.

WHY I WENT INTO TOILET BUSINESS– DUROJAIYE

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Why I went into toilet business– Durojaiye
By ’NIYI OKIRI
Thursday, January 26, 2012

•Durojaiye

Out of the very close personal aides responsible for the orderly day-to-day activities of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, very few learnt a handful of secrets from the mogul’s business savvy and were able to run away with equally a few wands from the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election’s bag of tricks. One such lucky ‘relative’ is the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of DMT Mobile Toilets, Chief Isaac Durojaiye (aka Otunba Gadaffi).

At a time when those who took the late chief’s presence for granted, including his blood relatives, were ‘dying’, Otunba Gadaffi was planning to immortalize the name of his great benefactor. Where most were eyeing and claiming rights to the late maestro’s estates (home and abroad), Durojaiye saw a need to show what he had gained serving MKO, in the establishment of an outfit, the least the modern day businessman would dream of…shit carrying, a vocation formerly identified with particular clans in Nigeria.

And, yes, he’s had a resounding success where ‘no Eagle dares’, picking up international and local honours and awards through 20 years of commendable service. And he’s delving again into the ‘magic box’ for another ‘trick’ that would extend his credibility and expand his horizon…the conversion of shit into bio-fuel, and other related by-products. The Otunba lays it all open in this one-on-one with The Sun, including a few national issues begging for attention.
Excerpts:

Why ‘shit’ business?
Everybody shits. Yes, it started like an idea, a child’s play. In 1992 I was in charge of a big society wedding, where we had about 10,000 guests and only two toilets were available. That was when the idea of mobile toilets came to me, and in 1996, it became a business. I expanded the idea; we constructed the toilets locally and today it’s working! But if you look at it before now, Nigerians celebrate anything, especially in the south. And when they are celebrating, there are no conveniences. But, today, if not for the fact that we have entered into that area, Lagos, with a population of about 18 million, couldn’t boast of 500 functional clean public toilets.

I beg to be challenged by anybody. They equip the toilets but they are not properly maintained; they were dilapidated, dirty and stinking. Not until we went into that sector. So, you can imagine if Lagos is populated by about 15 to 18 million people and you have about 2,500 functional toilets, indirectly 2,500 people are employed and are there to maintain. Therefore, shit carrying has now become a business. So we tell people not to see construction and provision of toilets as a social service anymore, but as a business!

Gone are the days when the public toilet is seen as a municipal council business. Today it has become a business and attracts creativity and passion. Now, we have just introduced a set of toilets that are fully air-conditioned with MP-3 player, red-carpet reception and satellite TV…giving you the glamour you may not be able to provide for yourself. Apart from when you make love to your wife – or your lover – when you’re naked, the only other time you’re naked is when you’re in the toilet. And if you don’t empty your bowels, it becomes health hazard to you; and that means you could do it in a nice, convenient environment. We should glamorize the way people answer the call of nature. There is no big man in the bathroom, it’s only the soap the individual uses that might be different.

You see, pride is a disease, a barrier. It is what does not allow people to see business opportunities open in an environment where there is so much suffering and so much problems. It is only pride that would make a graduate to say; ‘I am a graduate; I have a degree in so and so, therefore, I cannot go and learn tailoring; I cannot go and learn carpentary; I cannot go and learn welding; I cannot go and acquire a skill’. It all boils down to pride. You see, the moment we can learn to take pride out of our lives, we’ll see so many business opportunities open to us. Listen, when we were young, we had people coming to do washings in our homes; we called them Alagbafo (contract dry-cleaners) or Washerman. They will wash and dry, and mostly return the second day to iron the dried clothes…and they get paid. Apart from the well-established dry-cleaning companies, how many people still do that today? Forgetting that they can start from that small Alagbafo and become the biggest dry-cleaning company in town.

Yes, we say ‘Shit business is serious business’. If you’re not serious, how can people defecate on the ground and we’ll say we want to go and pack it? Shit is not what anybody wants to tamper with anyhow. And we don’t discriminate against any shit, regardless of race, sex, religion, language, creed or distance. But against all odds, we have been able to prove to doubting ‘Thomases’ that it is possible. Even some members of my family think that after my long sojourn abroad, this might not the right thing for me to do. But today, I’m Senior ‘Agbepo’ of Nigeria (SAN).

Creativity / Integrity
But, you see, people have attached some notion or sentiment to certain jobs. Nobody wants to sweep the streets of Lagos anymore; they want to leave such jobs to those old men and women, forgetting that you can sweep the streets of Lagos and be creative about it, and be passionate about it, and you can make a statement. They are talking about keeping Lagos clean; let some people organize themselves and begin to clean the streets and gutters. Before you know it, they would have attracted attention.

And they would appeal to passersby and get N100 here and N200 there, and that is how it all starts. You see, one way or the other, indirectly, whether you like it or not, you are contributing your own quota to the development of the country because when the country is neat, it will attract foreign investments and the economy will boom. It’s not all about oil, and it’s not all about banking. It is about creativity and entrepreneurship. You see, all these micro and small businesses are the things that build an economy.

We ventured into ‘shit’ (excrement) business having realized that people will hire canopies, tables and chairs; they will provide good food, good music, and every other thing that goes with a party. And when they are pressed for nature, where would they go to ease themselves? That was what brought about the idea of Mobile Toilets and, today, it has become an industry. We now have public toilets and private conveniences everywhere, so that when people are organizing functions, they have toilets to use. And, you see, waste must be created – solid, liquid or shit – and they must be managed, and if the onions fall on us to manage human waste, we want to do it with all sense of pride and dignity. I don’t want to cover my face because I pack ‘shit’, as was obtainable in the past. It’s my job and I dignify it. And when Nigerians begin to dignify and introduce integrity in what they do, all these Boko Haram, whatsoever, would not be there.

Yes. Integrity has been bastardized. People want to get rich quick. Members of the National Assembly and all those in government are stealing and embezzling the people’s money. So, the young graduate who is supposed to imbibe the culture of integrity, patience and build some business wants to get rich overnight…and when that happens, what happens? The machine that drives the society is broken down. So, nobody wants to do certain jobs. I was talking to a young lady very recently; she just graduated last year.

She was telling me categorically that she couldn’t take a job that pays less than N100,000 a month. It means that she might end up a prostitute, because she has registered it in her psyche that she would not accept any job that pays less than N100,000 a month. And when her type gets to the position of authority tomorrow with her thinking, she’ll start embezzling. You must start from somewhere, building experience and establishing yourself. And when you start your own business, you need a minimum of about five years for it to stabilize.

What we are saying is we found ourselves in doing this business and we are proud about it; we’ve built integrity around it and I’m passionate about it. I’ll talk about shit anywhere. People are complaining about problems in Nigeria. If there are no problems, where would the opportunities come from? So, I see no problem; I see only opportunities. Tell me, where has it being said that a vulcaniser should be sweating it out in the sun while mending tyres? Can’t we be innovative, create a decent environment and when motorists develop flat tyres, they’ll sit in a cossy atmosphere, while they are being attended to.

You could even offer them a bottle of Coke or a cup of tea and you can indirectly build the cost into their charges. That’s creativity. Even to be a prostitute, you need creativity to succeed. That’s why you’ll see some call girls in skimpy, tight skirts and body hugs; they’ll now apply so much ‘oil’ on there legs, so that when motorists are driving past at nights, the headlamps pick up their images and they become attractive. If they don’t expose their breasts and parts of their ‘yansh’, how would people notice the compliments of their bodies? But they are being creative in a negative way. So, you see, in anything legitimate that you do, you need creativity, you need passion, and you need commitment.

We all love ‘Booli’. Don’t you eat ‘Booli’ (roasted plantain). Most of the time you patronize those women on the roadside when you want to buy ‘Booli’. Where is it written that it is only those women that must roast ‘Booli’…in a dirty environment? People should be creative. Get a shop, a nice oven, and introduce packaging. If you’ve traveled towards Ife a few times, there is a place called Kosu, where they sell ‘Akara’ (beans cake). They wrap them in papers and sell to buyers. What stops them from being a little creative? They could make a nice box and put the ‘akara’ in it. The quantity you want can determine the size of the box…so when a buyer comes, you fold it up like the take-away box and hand it over neatly. Creativity!

It is not compulsory that you must invent a new process; you can develop on a process and improve on it without compromising quality. In those days, when you want to go to interview someone, you take a writing pad and a midget recorder, but with the improvement in technology, virtually everything is inside your phone. Formerly, when I’m driving and I remember something, I pick up my tape and talk into it…but today I record such information inside my phone, and play back whenever I need to make references or notes. Somebody has introduced a process; now you can record whatever you want and you can take photographs with your phone. That’s creativity.

The Bio-fuel idea
I always ask this question of people that ‘where did God deposit crude oil?’ Inside the earth – gold, diamond and other mineral resources that mankind will need to survive are deposited therein. And when God wanted to create you and I, He took us from the ground, so inside me and inside of you sitting here, there’s an element of gold, there’s an element of diamond, there’s an element of precious stones and so many other wonderful things. So, all we need to do is to discover that thing that God has deposited inside of us. We can turn our passion to business, we can turn our talents to business; things that we do naturally could be turned into businesses.

Ever since people have been evacuating ‘soak-away’, they have all ended up inside the lagoon, whereas this thing can be a source of material. We’ve been talking about lack of electricity, lack of energy. This thing can be converted into electricity, and you can imagine if, today, we decide to convert all the shit that end up in the lagoon into electricity, we would not be talking about lack of electricity in Nigeria by now. Again, this is creativity.

Thinking big, thinking out of the ‘box’. So, no waste is wasted. Government has been talking about ‘Waste-to-Wealth’. This is nonsence because, to me, there is nothing like waste-to-wealth. I see it as ‘waste to job opportunities’. That is why all these so called waste-to-wealth programmes have not succeeded. It is not compulsory that when you go to waste, you get wealth; but when you create a job opportunity for yourself and it is properly handled, then you get wealth.

Inspiration from MKO
In terms of financial gains, I would say I did not make much. But I learnt some virtues in him. When you are so close to a man like that, you shouldn’t look at what you gain from him financially. You should avail yourself of the ability to learn what makes him tick. Chief was humble; he commands humility and respect. He never forgot that he came from a very poor background and, in so doing, he always remembered the poor. That was why he was making all those philanthropic gesture, and there is no way you do that and not succeed. God Almighty Himself set the law: ‘The more you give, the more you get! Another thing I learnt from that man was that he doesn’t give up; he never believes in impossibility. He was hardworking and passionate about it.

Future goals
I want to be the Bill Gates of shit in Nigeria; the Dangote of shit. There is success and failure in everything, as much as there is time for everything. Sometimes we try to outrun God, but He’ll withhold His Glory when it is not time. For every success made, there is the hand of God in it.

RINGIM’S LAST MOMENTS

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•Ringim’s last moments
From MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja
Thursday, January 26, 2012

• Ringim

After several weeks of intense lobby and battle to secure his office, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Hafiz Ringim was shown the exit door yesterday, as President Goodluck Jonathan bowed to pressure and announced an Assistant Inspector General of police (AIG), Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, as his replacement. President Jonathan also announced the retirement of all the six Deputy Inspectors Generals of police (DIGs).

They are Mrs. Ivy Okoronkwo who was second-in-command to Ringim, and Mr. Azubuko Udah, who was the DIG ‘A’ Department. Others are Messrs Sarduana Abubakar, Audu Abubakar, Saleh Abubakar, and Mohammed Yesufu.

Out of the six DIGs, two of them, namely, Audu Abubakar and Saleh Abubakar, were due for retirement on March 1, 2012. Others had a period of about one or three years to remain in the service. For instance, while Ringim’s second-in-command, Mrs. Okoronkwo was to retire on August 1, 2013, the DIG ‘A’ Department, Azubuko Udah, was expected to bow out of the force on August 1, 2014, and the DIG ‘E’ Department, June 5, 2013.

The statutory date due for retirement for the DIG ‘F’, Mohammed Yesufu, is April 30, 2014. Ringim’s sack came amid efforts by an influential clique of high ranking officers in the security community to shield him from the sledgehammer, which had dangled over his head for about six months, following the spate of bombings and rising insecurity across the country.

Daily Sun learnt that the ex-IGP, who was expected to retire from service on March 1, was asked by President Jonathan to prepare his handing over notes yesterday at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. He had been summoned to the Villa earlier in the morning. Indications that the Jigawa State-born number one cop might have lost the battle to retain his job emerged shortly after he departed the Aso Rock Villa at the end of a closed-door meeting with the President on Tuesday.

Sources hinted that Ringim’s mood was in sharp contrast with his usually boisterous self as he drove out of the presidential villa, where he had earlier shunned the State House correspondents, as he pleaded to be left alone. Checks indicated that after the meeting with President Jonathan on Tuesday, the ex- IGP drove to his official residence located at the Maitama District of Abuja, where he pulled off his uniform and spent some hours before he left for his office under the cover of darkness at about 8:00pm. He rode to his office in an SUV and back-up car, without the usual blare of siren.

His mission to the office at that period could not be ascertained, but it was believed that he might have been there to remove his personal belongings, since he got wind of his replacement on Tuesday. He reportedly told some of his close aides before leaving to see President Jonathan yesterday morning that his time was up.

Speculations on Ringim’s removal were rife as early as 10:00am yesterday, amid conflicting signals in respect of the official quarters from where the pronouncement would be made. Suspense and anxiety mounted as reporters awaited an official statement on his sack from the Presidency, the Ministry of Police Affairs, or Police Service Commission [PSC].

But by 2.30pm, reports indicated that AIG Mohammed Abubakar, who was in charge of the Zone 12 police command with headquarters in Bauchi, had been flown from his base aboard a presidential jet to Abuja. And by 4:00pm, it was confirmed that the new IGP was at the villa where he met with President Jonathan and departed at about 5:10pm. As at press time, the new IGP was being awaited at the police force headquarters.

TERRORIST OUTRAGES: IT’S UNFAIR TO BLAME JONATHAN!

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Terrorist outrages: It’s unfair to blame Jonathan!
From the Other Side By Lindsay Barret
Thursday, January 26, 2012

It has become commonplace for some commentators to accuse Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of everything from negligence to incompetence as a consequence of the outrages perpetrated against innocent Nigerians by the dreaded “Jamatul Ahlil Sunnah lit daawati wal jihad” generally called “Boko Haram”. Since the Kano debacle we have been fed with various forms of “expert advice” from many who claim to have the answer to what is fast becoming Nigeria’s greatest aberration.

Many have of course called for the sacking of the security chiefs, and one can hardly blame them. The disgraceful revelations of what is beginning to look like collusion rather than confusion in the behavior of some security agencies, especially the Nigerian Police, justifies almost any allegation of professional delinquency on the part of these bodies. For example, the presence of Commissioner Zakari Biu in the police force without any apparent qualified scrutiny, given his well-documented record of abuse of office in the past, beats the imagination. But the President could not be expected to personally monitor the deployment of rogue appointees. It was a serious breach of both professional intelligence and ordinary common sense for someone with Biu’s antecedents to have been put in charge of such a sensitive assignment.

The interrogation and investigation of a miscreant with the profile of the individual who is now being described as the mastermind behind the Madalla Christmas Day bombing should have been handled by the State Security Service (SSS) right from the outset. From the moment that he was captured the suspect should have been in the custody of what is assumed to be the most effective arm of state security without any chance of escape. The coincidental timing of his escape and the terrifying outrage in Kano has raised the criminal profile of the terrorist organization, which has warned all commentators to desist of from calling it “Boko Haram”.

This organisation now poses a serious threat to the common good in Nigeria as a whole even though so far its most determined attacks and operations have been concentrated in some Northern states. The provocation of sentiments of resistance and chauvinistic protectionism in some Southern states will certainly follow the outrage in Kano although the victims of this outrage have overwhelmingly been people of Northern origin who in many cases were adherents of the Islamic faith. Those who claim to be the perpetrators have made it clear that they wish to provoke a division of national interests. Their pre-attack warning, which was widely circulated in Kano for days before the actual operation commenced indicated that their targets would be the agents of government enforcement and security that they regarded as having targeted their members.

This same document characterised “Christians” as collaborators with the official agencies. This showed that while the perception of their rationale is widely allied to religious bigotry their true purpose is even more sinister. The perpetrators of this outrage are determined to impose anarchy on the society in pursuit of an improbable objective. Dr. Jonathan cannot by any stretch of the imagination be accused of having created the climate for such an intrinsically destructive agenda. Even though the security apparatus of the government, which he largely inherited rather than created, has been impotent in confronting the rise of terror represented by these outrages it is wrong to attribute the tragic development to the failure of the government that he is presiding over. To do so would be to legitimise terror as an instrument of change. The slaughter of innocents cannot and should not be condoned on any count and those political opportunists who have been quick to point fingers at the President are not helping matters at all.

It is very easy for us to point fingers but we should not forget the old adage that says “When one finger points at others four point back at the pointer (accuser).” The underlying focus of the problem represented by the rise of home-made terrorism keeps changing as the nature of the outrages change. Let us not forget that last year’s UN bombing forced us to consider the extent of international collaboration and what the ultimate objective of the core perpetrators might be. Since then we have heard of territorial and religious motives for continuing outrages but one thing that has been clear is that the main purpose of the perpetrators has been to intimidate ordinary citizens and create chaos. Unfortunately they have achieved what can be described as a qualified success in promoting their agenda.

It is quite clear that the security apparatus of the state has failed either to adjudge the extent and strategic weight of the terrorist organisation or to comprehend the true nature of its organisational form. The success of its tactical initiative of surprise uprisings in increasingly populous and strategically important metropolises has signaled the existence of a formal plan and motives that are quite predictable. In spite of this the security forces have constantly been wrong-footed by the perpetrators of these outrages. They have continually claimed to be making headway against these forces while consistently being taken by surprise. In fact it is becoming quite clear that Dr. Jonathan has been misled by his security advisers to the same extent that he appears to have been misled by some of his economic advisers over the likely consequences of the abrupt removal of the fuel subsidy. It is unfair to accuse a leader of causing problems caused by circumstances that precede his tenure but he must be answerable for the consequences of condoning inefficiency and accepting bad advice.

These are the only grounds on which the outrages in the North could possibly be blamed on Dr. Jonathan but in the present circumstances he is clearly not entirely at fault. Just as his advisers on the economic and social fronts have come equipped with impressive recommendations his security advisers lay claim to impressive professional credentials. What is becoming increasingly obvious is that the level of threat to the overall stability of the nation that is being faced by the Jonathan Administration is unprecedented. Those of us who can remember the period preceding the start of the Nigerian Civil War find the present circumstances frighteningly similar if not even more distressing. The fundamental differences between the form of the nation then and now could easily conspire to aggravate negative sentiments of territorial distrust. In the sixties Nigeria was a flawed federation replete with inequalities among the four regions.

Today Nigeria is an even more flawed federation beset by diverse interests and objectives being manipulated by the political leaders of thirty six unequal states. Dr. Jonathan bears no responsibility either for the foundation on which the nation that he leads is built or for the fundamental processes that have undermined its stability. Nevertheless he cannot totally extricate himself from blame over the failings of the security and other forces under him. He must restore confidence in the ability of government to anticipate and react with courage to a strategy of unprecedented brutality, but he cannot accept blame for the emergence of this strategy. Those who want him to admit culpability are overlooking the true dangers that the new terrorist element poses in Nigeria’s historic evolution. They are suggesting that regional equity is a secondary element in defining leadership in Nigeria. That suggestion spells doom for the nation. Under the present circumstances Dr. Jonathan cannot be accused of setting the stage for this.

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