Constitutional Amendment Proceedings – The Senators’ Biggest Job Interview Yet.

The constitutional amendment finally tabled before the senate last week is sure to spark an interesting debate. Among the issues for deliberation are a proposal to create more states, derivation formula, rotational presidency and term limit change amongst others. Of the one hundred and sixteen proposals for deliberation, the matter of term limit amendment is anticipated to generate the most controversy and tension in the proceedings. Thus far, about twenty nine senators have lent their voices to deliberations on the matter and while some have made clear statements on their stand on the matter, others are tongue-in-check and equivocal.

It is no surprise that this is so since senators are politicians, whose stock in trade is double speak, and prevarication. Added to this is the allegation that some persons representing incumbent chiefs executive of the states and the powers that be in Aso Rock are lobbying these senators and making offers of gifts of millions of Naira, some of which have been purportedly paid into the bank accounts of these senators in Abuja. If this is true, then what we have is a situation where these tongue-in-cheek senators are either dancing to the tune of the piper, or signaling to the agents of the chiefs executive their availability for sale by dithering on the issue.

The proceeding is being televised live by the African Independent Television Network, giving the Nigerian populace instantaneous updates. Some people have requested that this be disallowed as it might hamper some senators from taking their true positions. How can this be? The amendment of the constitution is an epoch making event in the life of democracy in Nigeria, and as such, it is only proper to capture it live and on audio-visual record for posterity. It is suspected that those who advocate for a media-blackout want this for ulterior motives. Without live update and public scrutiny enabled by the live television coverage, proponents of the third term think they might be able to engineer the outcome of the proceedings in their favour.

As Abraham Lincoln remarked in his November 19, 1863 Gettysburg address, democracy is the “government of the people, by the people for the people.” The Nigerian people, for whom the Nigerian government is constituted, and whose representatives make up the Nigerian senate, have every right to be updated in real time what their representatives are deliberating on, and how properly they are being represented. In fact, there should be more television stations covering the proceedings to increase the reach and improve the openness and “transparency” of the process. It is the biggest job interview yet for the senators, so it would serve them well to be on their best behaviour.

How they comport themselves and vote will determine what path their political careers will take. The sellouts will most likely lose their seats in the next elections, if the electorate is discerning enough, having failed to do the bid of their constituencies and therefore botching the job interview that the constitutional amendment is. Let us hope that the senators keep this in perspective as they deliberate on the term limit and the one hundred and fifteen other proposals before them.

"Who the Cap Fits" all Over Again.

In the last days of the draconian Abacha regime, there was a sham of an advertorial ran by all the major television stations (NTA and private) and Newspapers captioned: “Who the Cap Fits.” In the montage, there was a military cap morphing into an embroidered traditional northern Nigerian cap (fula) or a southern Nigerian cap (fila abeti aja) to the tagline - "Who the Cap Fits." It was all a tasteless attempt by the Abacha regime to sell the Abacha candidacy to the Nigerian populace, never minding that 99.99% of Nigerians were disgusted by the ploy and the rogue general.

The Abacha regime was so out of touch with the populace that the general requested that all religious leaders and followers across the land gathered in Abuja to pray for the Nigerian nation and the general himself. Well, God it seemed answered the prayers of this multitude of Nigerians. On June 8, 1998, the best thing that could have happened to Nigeria under the circumstances did. The 54 year-old tyrant suffered a heart attack and died. His machinations to transform from a military dictator to a civilian dictator never came to fruition.

The third term being canvassed for the Obasanjo regime is reminiscent of the sham that characterized Abacha's last year in office. Just as there was no sincerity and justice then, it is clear that proponents of the third term bid share the same warped vision as did the lackeys of Abacha. What is even more arcane is the fact that President Obasanjo, who was imprisoned by Abacha along with Shehu Musa Yar' Adua and others who were against the self perpetuation bid of Abacha, is keeping mum as all the crass politicking and moral dishonesty is going on. This lends great credence to the perception of most that Obasanjo is indeed behind all these and is interested in perpetuating himself in power.

The Abdulsalami Abubakar government that released Obasanjo from prison could easily have decided to leave him in prison and not care about the delivery of justice. Abdulsalami Abubakar could easily have decided to hold on to power and not institute the political process that ensued and eventually led to Obasanjo being elected as the president of Nigeria despite the fact that he was highly unpopular in certain sectors of Nigeria.

President Obasanjo is surely taking the wrong turn in history by allowing his lackeys to scheme for a third term for him. The signs are there that this is not only an immoral and unjust scheme, but a very unpopular and dangerous one. It is highly likely to lead to violent and prolonged civil strife between those for and against the bid, in which several tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of Nigerians would lose their lives and many more their livelihood and homes. Is a term of 4 more years really worth the risk of this happening? Even if the argument for a third term can be justified, should not the present executive office holders be exempted from benefiting from the proposed constitutional amendment so as to remove any bias from the process? This is especially so since when they were elected into office, there was a term limit of two prescribed by the constitution, which they all swore to uphold.

If Obasanjo truly loves Nigeria as he claims he does should he not come out and make a definitive statement saying that he is not interested in a third term to put paid to all the dissonance in the Nigerian polity? At 70 years of age, Obasanjo is an old man who should be retired and taking things easy. Ruling Nigeria must be tasking for one so advanced in age. Should not a younger person be there at the helm to breathe freshness and vitality into the office? Obasanjo has done a great job in getting Nigeria into the world stage as evident in the $18 billion debt forgiveness he negotiated for the country last year. The EFCC is doing a phenomenal job. This is the time to leave the stage, when the ovation is loudest. By staying an extra 4 years with so many people opposed to the bid, all the good that have been associated with Obasanjo will be eroded and the question then will be: “Who Does the Cap of the Greatest Nigerian Despot Fit?”

Ali - Democrat or Zombie?

Senator Ahmadu Ali, the PDP National chairman is reputed to have mandated party leaders and members of the National Assembly and Senate elected under the PDP umbrella to back the third term agenda or leave the party. If this is true, and PDP is an acronym for Peoples Democratic Party, then one is right to ask the question: who indeed should leave the party?

PDP is a democratic entity and not the property of one individual. What makes a democracy is the right of choice and freedom of association. Democracy has been touted as the raison d'etre of the PDP. One can not proclaim to be a democrat while at the same time lead by decrees and orders. If indeed the PDP National chairman, who is supposed to be the embodiment of the party made such a statement should that not be enough grounds for impeaching him?

Ali should appreciate that in a democracy no one has the right to coerce people into making a choice they are not in agreement with. These are not military times. Ali spent the greater part of his adult life as a soldier, and having served under the Murtala/Obasanjo led regime of the 1970s perhaps still has that soldier boy mentality of blind loyalty. The kind immortalized in Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's song - "Zombie." Thanks to the death of Abacha and the dictates of the times the zombies have been sent back to the barracks where they belong in times of peace.

Undoubtedly, there are many ex-military men playing the Nigerian political field right now and it is only fair to let them do so in the burgeoning Nigerian democracy since they represent a stakeholder group in the Nigerian polity. That however does not bestow on them the audacity or right to dictate and impose their will on the rest of Nigerians. When power has been given to the people, it is "one man one vote." Ali's vote does not carry anymore weight than any other Nigerian's just like Obasanjo's does not weigh more than a talakawa's.

The common Nigerian to whom power belongs should not be bullied into doing Ali’s will. The office of the chairman of the PDP should represent the entire cross section of opinions of all Nigerians and not just those of the professional sycophants, who inspite of the fact that President Obasanjo has not explicitly said that he wants a third term are unjustly and insidiously slowly ingraining the idea into the Nigerian polity, distracting from other more beneficial salient issues.

Ali should be a true democrat and allow people to air their opinions. As difficult as this may be for a man who wore a Khaki uniform for most of his career, having traded his Khaki for a Babanriga, Ali should stop acting like a zombie and learn some political etiquette.

Nigerian Nazi Groups

The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) is unequivocally a secessionist group, just as well are OPC and MOSOP. Supporting such groups or sympathizing with their cause is tantamount to treasonable felony as described by the law of the land. The Nigerian civil war, fought almost 40 years ago was a senseless frenzy of blood letting resulting in the death of over one million Nigerians on both sides of the war. And it was all as a result of tribalist sentiments allowed to run wild.

All over Nigeria sectional groups are once again cropping up, all purporting to represent and further the causes of groups that are often described along ethnic, regional or religious grounds. We have the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Afenifere, Egbe Omo Oduduwa, Odua Peoples’ Congress (OPC), Ohaneze Ndiigbo to name the most vociferous ones. All these groups are shamelessly xenophobic and bleat patent bigotry bordering on hatred for ethnic or sectional groups other than theirs. In their rhetoric one discerns the myopia, tribalism and blatant perversion of the commonalities that describe their respective interest groups. Just like Hitler’s Nazi rhetoric, they twist logic and distort the truth in a bid to warp the minds of the common Nigerian for their support. The poor unsuspecting common folk, like the German citizen of the 1930s feeds off these distorted logic and innuendos and the result is catastrophic. Many Nigerian youths have become misguided, paranoid and patently xenophobic; as a result, we have perennial senseless civil strife just like the recent ones in Maiduguri and Onitsha that spread to other parts of Northern and Eastern Nigeria respectively.

If only these tribalists could see beyond their avarice and quest for personal aggrandizement, wealth and power, they would see that there is so much to be gained from peaceful co-existence and diversity. The most advanced and richest nation the world has ever known, the USA, is what it is today because of the degree of diversity of its citizenry and the fact that people are given opportunities to express themselves so long as they exhibit some value-adding talent regardless of race, creed or social class. Most importantly, the rule of law prevails in the USA, and it is applied equitably regardless of status and social position.

The problem with Nigeria today has nothing to do with the various causes for which these rabidly tribalist groups purport to be fighting. It is multi-factored and includes lack of truth and justice, wholesale corruption, gross unenlightenment of the leadership and followership alike, and the abject poverty that has been inflicted on the populace by the devious leadership. By keeping the populace impoverished and uneducated, the ruling class has been able to easily manipulate them for their selfish ends. In the early days of the 3rd republic for example, when it was found that Governor Bola Tinubu had lied about his educational qualifications, Pa Abraham Adesanya, an Afenifere chieftain is credited to have asked members of his tribalist group and affiliates not to launder their dirty linen in public, while the same groups had been so vitriolic in an earlier similar episode involving impeached House Speaker, Salisu Buhari, who had likewise lied about his educational qualification. Such is the double standard applied by these tribalist organizations.

Hitler applied double standard and distorted logic in Nazi Germany and it resulted in the death of about 50 million people worldwide in World War II. These tribalist groups are doing the same thing in Nigeria with the perennial ethnic cleansings that take place every now and then. If the Hausas are not killing the Igbos in Kano or Maiduguri, it is the Yorubas killing the Igbo traders in Lagos, or Fulani cattle herdsmen in Ibadan, or the Igbos killing the Hausa ram sellers in Onitsha, or perhaps the Jukuns killing the Tivs in Taraba state. Is there no respect for the sacredness of human life? Just because a person does not share the same mother-tongue or religious faith as the next does not render the person less human.

Rather than sow seeds of division, hatred, bigotry and xenophobia would not a better Nigeria be engendered if these tribalist leaders came together to confer truthfully and sincerely, without any divisive motives on how best to get Nigeria along the path of economic and social development? Should they not be beating the drums of National patrotism rather than whipping up descriminatory and myopic tribal sentiments which are only destructive to the wellbeing of the people whose cause they purport to be protecting?

These tribalist and sectional groups are regressive and should be eschewed by all progressive Nigerians who would like to see a truly democratic Nigeria where truth and justice are equitably applied.

Niger Delta Hostage Saga

The hostage taking in the Niger Delta has dragged on too long. MEND, or whatever appellation they go by should know that their continual holding of the hostages only serves to highlight their level of depravity and utter lack of political savvy. The government of Obasanjo has been very lenient with these folks and likewise the British and American.

All it will take is a sneak attack by the special forces of Her Majesty's Royal Marines or the US Navy to nix their position and free the hostages. But perhaps for some political reasons, and maybe out of respect for the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the British and Americans have opted to stand down for now. If MEND does not release the hostages and soon too, they may very well be taken out like the common criminals and seadogs that they are.

It is a shame that a band of bandits who are self-confessed criminals can hold Nigeria and indeed the entire global oil industry to ransom the way these individuals have. It boggles the mind even more that President Obasanjo seems preoccupied with all the scheming for a third term to notice that by allowing the situation to prevail and with the continual disruption of oil production in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian government revenue is being decimated, a situation bound to make governance difficult if he gets the third term he is purported to be pursuing.

The expedient thing to do is to organize a covert special commando operation to neutralize MEND and extract the hostages from the throes of this diabolical group. If the Nigerian military forces are not skilled enough to carry this out, the Obasanjo government should enlist the help of the Royal Marines or the US Marines special ops teams.

Allowing MEND to roam the Niger Delta with free rein may sooner attain the criminal group a local folk legendary status and inspire other misguided youth of the Niger Delta and perhaps elsewhere in Nigeria to take up arms at the slightest of grievances. There should be no negotiating with these criminals and terrorists. They should be stamped out with the full might of the Nigerian, British and American military to serve as a deterrent to other misguided youth organizations in the Niger Delta and indeed the entire Nigerian polity that may be harboring similar diabolical ideas.

No Privileges without Responsibility

I was fortunate to have met Eliot Spitzer, the New York Attorney General who is vying for the governorship of the state of New York in the next elections in late 2006. What struck me was the man’s intellect and profound understanding of salient issues, and what need to be done to move the state of New York forward economically and socially. It is no surprise that having been the Attorney General of the state that houses the world’s financial capital since January 1999, and having engaged in and won many battles with some of the biggest names on Wall Street, Mr. Spitzer clearly is a determined and focused social advocate.

He belongs to that rare breed of politicians who understand that profound social changes are best achieved through advocacy by holders of government offices and innovative application of the legal system. He has taken on the world’s largest businesses to reduce environmental pollution, tackled the largest investment banks on Wall Street about their complicity in misleading investors through doctored analyst reports and engendered prescription drug reforms among other things.

Mr. Spitzer attended some of the world’s finest educational institutions, having attended Princeton and the Harvard Law School. Some of the big businesses he has gone after are led by alumni of his alma matter, but this notwithstanding has not deterred him from his pursuit of reform.

The Nigerian polity could do with a few Eliot Spitzers. There is a need for people of high intellect, pristine moral standards and ethical courage to aspire to and ascend political offices. We need to have politicians who are not afraid to tackle corruption and through creative use of the legal system stimulate profound social changes. In order for this to prevail, there is a need to institutionalize ways of imparting ethics in the youth as early on in their lives as possible. There is a need for a situation where people have a clear perception of what is wrong and right, and what is legal and illegal and take responsibility for righting wrongs and setting in motion legal processes to redress illegalities.

It does not make sense for a group of people as vocal as Nigerians to demand truth, justice and fair play but not practice these themselves in every aspect of their lives and in their own little corner of Nigeria. If you demand constant supply of electricity, telecommunication services and clean water, then you must responsibly pay utility bills and not collude with corrupt officers of utility corporations to evade dues. If you demand good roads, public schools and quality health care, you must pay taxes and intelligently question how your taxes are disbursed and spent by public officers. If however you evade taxes and don’t pay utility bills, you truly have no ethical or legitimate grounds on which to demand these services.

There can be no privileges without responsibility. They go hand in hand. If Nigerians irresponsibly allow people of questionable character and competence to ascend to government offices through political apathy, or condone, encourage, perhaps even participate in fraudulent acts such as vote rigging or exchanging votes for money, where lies the legitimate grounds from which to complain.

Many politicians take advantage of the low level of enlightenment and abject poverty that still prevails in Nigeria to manipulate people to achieve their dubious ends. The low level of enlightenment makes it easy for these devious politicians to sow seeds of xenophobia with ethnic, religious and regional flavors. A case in mind is the recent senseless religious unrests in Northern and Eastern Nigeria, particularly in Maiduguri and Onitsha. It cannot be more asinine and patently illogical that innocent lives were lost because some misinformed and misguided individuals were incited by equally unenlightened leaders to riot over cartoons that were published last year in far away Denmark. Undoubtedly most of these rioters have absolutely no idea where Denmark is on the world map.

Why did not the Nigerian security agents act swiftly to quell the attacks? Why did the politicians, especially those with family ties across these religious and ethnic divides not make any public appeals for peace? The Vice President, Atiku, is from Northeastern Nigeria and is married to Titi, from the Southwest. Similarly, ex-head of state, Ibrahim Babangida is a moslem Northerner whose wife, Mariam is from Southeastern Nigeria, and who were both married in a church. Should these ties not be have been highlighted to help douse the riots? Rather, these politicians chose to keep mum. One can almost predict that in the next few weeks there is going to be a deluged of accusations and recriminations about what and who sparked off the riots.

The Obasanjo government should investigate the riots and make arrests of culprits both in Northern and Eastern Nigeria and bring to book guilty parties in these acts of ethnic cleansing as a signal to rioters that such criminal acts will not be tolerated. The truth is there can be no privileges without responsibility. And it's about time Nigerians understand this. People should be held accountable for their actions.

MEND - Non Compos Mentis Gang of Pirates

It is unconscionable and grossly maladroit that the situation in the Niger Delta has been allowed to deteriorate the way it has. We all acknowledge that there are very serious environmental degradation issues facing the people of the region, whose leadership has for so long paid lip-service to the matter and lived fat off the largesse and patronage of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and erring oil companies in return for their reticence and ineptitude. This of cause has resulted in the explosion of activist groups of all ilks, some with legitimate causes and others with illegitimate self-serving agenda.

From MOSOP to MEND, the clarion call has been for supporters to fight against the iniquities perpetrated by the FGN and oil companies in the communities. Countless souls have been lost to the cause, many of whom have been caught in the cross-fire between the FGN and activist groups.

The past few weeks have seen the escalation of frank terrorist acts by MEND in the wake of its spate of attacks on oil installations and kidnappings. The brazenness of these attacks and sophistication of the weaponry employed leaves one to wonder if indeed the Nigerian security agencies are up to the task of keeping peace and law and order in these regions.

The FGN should not stand akimbo and allow the breakdown of law and order to the extent that several of its security agents have been murdered as a result of MEND's seemingly unchallenged ambushes and acts of lawlessness. Even if they indeed have a legitimate cause, by setting fire to oil installations, murdering several Nigerian security agents and innocent civilians alike and kidnapping employees of oil operators, MEND has crossed the line, and no self-respecting government would condone such criminal acts.

MEND has several times admitted that it is a gang of pirates and oil bunkerers. Should the FGN be doing business with criminals? There are intelligence reports that MEND enjoyed the patronage of the impeached Bayelsa state governor, Alamieyeseigha, who bought their peace and quiet by paying protection money to the pirate organization in the name of security vote. In fact, one of MEND's primary demands in its January hostage taking was the release and reinstatement of the impeached and indicted governor.

It is disgraceful to say the least that this gang of a few hundred criminals can hold the FGN and indeed the world oil market to ransom. Their acts have led to the suspension of oil production activities in large sections of the Niger Delta, resulting in substantial reduction in daily national oil output (in excess of 10%) and indeed loss of revenue to the FGN. Allowing MEND free rein to terrorize folks with impunity in the Niger Delta puts the FGN in a bad light. It means that the FGN cannot protect the live and property of its citizens and expatriate workers. With no guarantees of security, economic activities are seriously hampered. The region will continue to suffer its state of abject underdevelopment as no business would invest in the unstable region.

The Niger Delta issue is a delicate one, but this is largely because many of these so called freedom fighters are dishonest, self-serving organizations whose agenda is to extort money from the FGN and oil operators. All one needs to do is ask what MEND and its ilk and affiliates do with all the monies they have over the decades gotten from the oil operators, the FGN and its agencies. The monies are shared amongst the leadership of these spurious groups and their patrons while the innocent indigenes of the Niger Delta are left to suffer the consequences of the environmental degradation that these organizations themselves perpetrate in their acts of sabotage and bunkering, during which they blow up oil pipelines in order to steal oil.

There should be no pretences. The FGN should stop seeking to be politically correct by its inaction while its security agents and innocent citizens are being maimed and murdered in addition to the attendant loss of revenue resulting from the shut down of oil production activities in these troubled regions. The solution, politically unpopular as it may be, is to come down hard on these murderers with maximum force. Route out every single member of these terrorist organizations and bring them to book. At the same time, the FGN should seek to do business with law abiding bonafide environmentalist groups who are genuinely pursuing the Niger Delta cause and not those wreaking havoc and asking for ransoms and billions of dollars in reparation to be paid to their leadership. No one has bothered to ask these pirates how the reparation money they demand would be disbursed to the common Niger Delta folk if the FGN is naive enough to grant their wish.

The FGN set up agencies such as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission (OMPADEC) into which it has poured several billions of dollars to cater to the developmental issues of Niger Delta. These agencies have been headed variously by indigenes of the Niger Delta since their inception in the 1960s, but alas have made little impact because they are replete with corruption. Should not these environmentalist groups in a concerted manner be directing their effort at ensuring that these agencies are properly run rather than perpetrating random acts of terror? Is it not better to garner the support of the international community through advocacy at international fora such as the United Nations assembly, Common wealth of Nations, European Union sessions etc? By their dastardly acts of terror, these belligerent groups deplore the Niger Delta cause, rendering it an unpopular cause to back by influential international environmentalist groups such as Greenpeace International and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), who have the clout to engender lasting change in the region.

Where are the Honorable Men & Women in Plateau State?

The chronicle of events in Plateau state over the past few weeks has reduced the state to a theater of farce. On the one hand, we have a governor who has admitted to impropriety with the state’s ecological fund to the tune of 1.6 billion Naira, (Approximately $12 million); on the other we have people who are lending their support to him because he has fingered others with whom he allegedly committed the impropriety.

What boggles the mind is that rather than condemn this abominable conduct, the members of the state’s assembly who are supposed to check the state chief executive officer’s conduct are suing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for effecting an order freezing the state’s accounts and federal allocation in the wake of the morass the governor has worked himself into.

It is true that stanching funding to the state will create hardships and make governance difficult. But that is precisely what the EFCC seeks to achieve. By so doing it first of all renders unavailable funds prone to potential misappropriation, and second hopes to galvanize the honorable members of the state house of assembly to investigate allegations of graft and gross misconduct committed by the governor and subsequently impeach him if he is found wanton, to strip him of the immunity from prosecution he enjoys as governor, and allow for his indictment. If indeed honorable members of the state assembly are worthy their epithet, then it behooves them to judiciously and without bias, to investigate the allegation and cooperate with the EFCC to resolve the issue rather that assume an antagonistic posture that suggests their wholesale complicity in the matter.

They argue that the EFCC has no right to freeze the state accounts, but fail to acknowledge that the money comes from the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and as such the FGN has every right to question how the money is disbursed. Let me remind my honorable plateau state members and governor Dariye that in as much as plateau state is entitled to the FGN subvention, they are answerable not only to plateau state indigenes but every Nigerian citizen, all of whom to which monies allocated to states and FGN agencies belong. If you think because you are in plateau state, you can misappropriate FGN derived state funds, you must be grossly disillusioned. The money belongs to every Nigerian and must be properly accounted for.

Dariye was arrested and charged for money laundering in the United Kingdom in late 2004. He jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria back to the Plateau state government house, yet not one public figure in plateau state questioned this. Rather, we have so called prominent plateau politicians under the umbrella of Plateau Consultative Assembly paying the indicted and fugitive governor homage at the government house, in Rayfield, Jos to register their support. What exactly are they supporting? What message are they sending? Is it that they condone acts of graft, or that they are shameless and of dubious and crass political substance, or perhaps that they are in cahoots with the governor in the alleged acts of fiduciary impropriety?

Are there no honorable men and women in Plateau state? Are they all cronies of Dariye? If a state government and its house assembly have decided to institutionalize corruption, then the FGN has every right to withhold its subvention. The FGN has the primary responsibility to look out for the over 3 million citizens of plateau state, if the few hundred people elected and appointed to represent them are so blinded by greed and frank insincerity to do so.

The honorable thing for any public official to do under these circumstances in the civilized world is to resign, but of course water will sooner be squeezed out of a diamond than for Dariye to do this. Since Dariye would not resign and his cronies in the state assembly are reluctant to investigate him, then withholding the state’s subvention is the right thing for the FGN to do. After all, no right thinking person will keep his money carelessly where it will easily be stolen. Until the issue is resolved, it will be unwise for the FGN to continue to fund the state at the risk of the monies being frittered away into some state government official’s private bank account.

JCRC Throws out Three Terms of 4 Years Proposal - A Good Start

Members of the Nigerian national assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (JCRC) finally got it right yesterday when they resolved to exclude the three terms of four years for executive offices of the president and state governors proposal from the list of proposals for review. By so doing they have shown moral courage and integrity, and proved that they are not mere instruments of injustice and insincerity in the hands of the various governors and other political pundits and stakeholders that have given support to the proposal.

Of the 36 state governors in Nigeria, all but 9 have lent their support to the three term proposal. It begs the question if and how those governors in support are different from the sit-tight military regimes most of them were vociferously against in the days of Abacha and IBB. Asking for three terms of four years each means that a certain governor or president could be in power for a total of twelve years, far more than any government, military or civilian has stayed continuously in power. Regardless of performance, we may be stuck with the same executive officer for 12 years. This is how despots are made. By 2007, many of those clamoring for a third term to be added to their tenure would have been in power for eight years and yet have no real achievement to show for their leadership. Many have turned the state coffers into their personal piggy banks and I suspect that the reason why they seek a third term is so that they will continue to enjoy the protection of the immunity clause in the constitution, that way shielding themselves from indictment for graft and other acts of gross misconduct.

The JCRC should seriously take a look at this clause in the 1999 constitution of blanket immunity for executive officers, particularly the governors, because as has been proven by Mbadinuju, Alamieyeseigha and Dariye it is prone to abuse and ridicule. If there is anything positive that should result from the work of the committee, it should be reviewing this seriously flawed aspect of the constitution and making it applicable only to legitimate acts of governance. Nobody should be immune from prosecution for heinous crimes such as murder and graft for which some ex-governors have been indicted. Democracy is based on the principles of equality and justice and our elected officers are expected not only to dispense these but also to abide by them. If defined properly and applied correctly, immunity clauses are embedded in the constitution to enable the dispensation of justice and equity and not protect unjust and iniquitous governors from prosecution.

Another proposal that the JCRC should consider throwing out of their scope of deliberation is the issue of rotational presidency. There is no sincere logic other than selfish tribalism and rabid jingoism driving proponents of rotational presidency. Crafting a constitutional instrument to legitimize this will be the greatest disservice to democracy and justice. Not only will it breed mediocrity and an unwarranted sense of entitlement, it will deprive the Nigerian populace of the most able leadership at each point in time since the available choices will be limited only to candidates from the region to which the presidency has been zoned. If there are six zones as being proposed, then we are talking of excluding 83.33% of the potential pool of candidates, a gross miscarriage of justice and frank perversion of democracy.

Malu's Murkiness

Erstwhile Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Victor Malu's statement yesterday at the Arewa Consultative Forum (AFC) meeting is unfortunate, and to say the least shameful. It only goes to show the level of depravity, decadence and arcane sense of entitlement that permeates the Nigerian military, borne of years of their illegitimate usurpation of power. Victor Malu should know that had he forcibly taken over from a democratically elected government, not only would he have committed a treasonable felony, but he would have constituted an illegitimate government. Nigeria clearly deserves a more discerning mind at the helm. If Malu wants power, he should vie for it at the polls and not seize it like the other rogue military misadventurists before him.

Just because a soldier is given the opportunity to serve his country does not mean that he has the right to bully everybody with the military resources at his disposal and seize power to lord it over the same people he has sworn to protect. Military governments are not only a gross betrayal of trust and duty; they are anachronistic and have no place in the present global political landscape.

The many years of military incursion into governance in Nigeria undoubtedly is the bane of the country's present socio-economic, cultural and political predicament. The military is trained in the art of violence and war, not governance. They have done a woeful job at governance each time they have expropriated power from the people. All the despotism and the greater portion of the corrupt acts of graft, human rights abuses and embezzlement of public funds have been perpetrated by and during military regimes. The intermittent interferrence of the Nigerian military in governance has been the reason why Nigeria is politically immature and economically inept. But this notion is probably too abstract and complex to grasp, and lost on a bitter mind such as Malu's.

It is no wonder that President Obasanjo relieved him of his post. He was obviously drunk on the power that he had been bestowed as the Chief of Army Staff, and now that he is bereft of it, he is a bitter sulking sod. The Nigerian Army and indeed the entire Nigerian polity would be better off if people like Malu were not given audience. Gunk bleeds from a broken mind. And we should be spared the grief of listenning to it. We can only hope he has not succeeded in tainting the minds of the younger men and women of the Nigerian military. He should be thankful that he made this base statement in democratic times. I doubt that he would have dared to make such an unguarded statement under a military regime (Abacha would have skinned him alive). It is ironic that he regrets not snuffing out the very same freedom he currently enjoys just because he disapproves of the president's style.

Malu, what would you have done, had you succeeded in taking over from OBJ and some bitter ex-COAS uttered the very same statement you made at the ACF meeting? I bet you would have charged the sorry sod for treason. Should the same fate apply to you under the present dispensation?

The Oily Cesspool that is the Niger-Delta

The Niger-Delta has over the last two decades increasingly become the bane of the Nigerian oil sector and the successive governments with which oil industry operators are in alliance. It all started in the days of the the military administrations of the 1980s and 1990s which were characterized by the gross neglect and deprivation of basic infrastructure and amenities.

This era saw the oil operators become more arrogant and rapacious, often degrading the environment without any recourse or even sanctions from the government. In an era that institutionalized corruption, the regulatory authorities looked the other way if they were gratified by the faltering oil companies. It was so bad that some not only avoided tax, but evaded it in totality. The Nigerian security force became their personal army. Some acted like governments in themselves.

NNPC, manager of the Nigerian government's stake in its joint ventures with the oil companies is replete with many officials so corrupt, they would make Tafa Balogun and Alamieyesiegha seem like amateurs. There are records of NNPC officials paying themselves $500 and more per day in allowances for several months on ends to engage in official trips (which essentially were all-expenses paid vacations) abroad just so they would rake up foreign exchange, nevermind that some spent of the time they were supposed to be abroad back in Nigeria. There were, and still are the fictitious or over-invoiced contracts awarded to associates of these officials as a ploy to cart away millions upon millions of the petro-dollars they are supposed to oversee on behalf of Nigerians. If the EFCC were to cast its dragnet on past and present NNPC officials, I shudder to think of the depth and extent of the festering putrid pit of corruption they would uncover.

Local chiefs and politicians of the locales from which this vast resource in the name of crude oil is mined wised up to the situation. Not only were their environments being degraded by the mining activities, they were also being neglected. Some genuinely took up the cause and made to seek justice and redress. Various means were employed, including physically trying to stop mining operations on their lands. Of course the repressive military dictatorships of the day came down hard on such protests. This led to a degeneration of relationships between the government and activists. The government and oil operators alike used all sorts of tactics, including intimidation and bribery of identified influential activists who they tried to buy by offering huge monetary sums.

This of course stoked the fire the more as many of the activists strived to be influential so that they too would enjoy the patronage of the oil companies and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). Many known political and traditional leaders, past and present, in the Niger-Delta share in this complicity. With the growing gang of unemployed youths in Niger-Delta and the readiness of the oil companies and FGN to bestow their largesse on any activist who would “play ball,” environmental activism soon became very lucrative for the youths of the Niger-Delta and has since grown very large, with various gangs popping up hither thither, all jostling for influence, attention and the largesse of the FGN and oil operators.

It is so bad now that it seems many Niger-Delta youth now think that it is their birthright to demand (even extort) money from the FGN and oil companies. There are reports of young people resigning their good-paying regular jobs in the banking and the oil sectors only to found spurious environmentalist NGOs in order to enjoy the readily available extremely lucrative patronage of the oil companies and the FGN.

There are certainly various legitimate claims of injustice and environmental degradation perpetrated by the oil operators, the FGN and its agencies, and these need to be given the utmost priority. But in the wake of the various self-serving questionable activist groups, this is going to be virtually impossible and daunting, particularly since these rogue groups constitute a nuisance and distract from the genuine activists and salient issues.

Where lies the truth when so called activists are kidnapping and asking for billions of dollars in ransom, and the release of indicted felons of the likes of Dokubo and Alamieyesiegha? Regardless of what cause one is fighting for, once a crime is committed, it should be treated as such. It is a crime to blow up installations (treason), it is a crime to commit arson, it is a crime to kidnap, it is a crime to procure arms illegally, and it is a crime to kill a human being. These folks, MEND, or whatever name they go by have committed so many crimes. The FGN should come down hard on them and stamp out this kind of misguided and outright display of piracy and nihilism. Stamp out this malignant trend before it metastasizes into something more virulent. They are terrorists, if there ever was an organization deserving of the label.

The FGN on the other hand should make sure it rights all the wrongs that have been visited upon the law abiding citizenry of the Niger-Delta. Make all those erring tribal and political leaders pay for their complicity and acts of graft as well as sanction implicated oil operators. Provide good roads and schools, access to clean water, electricity and medical care so these charlatan activists will have no basis on which to weave their self-serving causes. Then, and only then will genuine environmental groups truly make an impact. Until, then, both the genuine and the rogue will unfortunately continue to be categorized as the same.

Dariye Probe - About Time

The committee recently set up by the Plateau state house of representatives to investigate the state governor, Joshua Chibi Dariye is a welcome albeit belated development. This is a chance for the house to prove that it not a pawn in the hands of the governor, who's widely acclaimed profligacy, culminated in his arrest in London in 2004 for money laundering related offences. Like his Bayelsa state counterpart, he jumped bail and returned to Nigeria. Even though his passport had not been not seized, and so he did not return to Nigeria with illegal documentation as his colleague, Alamieyeseigha had, he nevertheless broke the law by jumping bail. He is a fugitive of the British legal system, a position unbecoming of the chief executive officer of a state.

As regards the allegations of corruption and misappropriation of state resources, what the committee needs to do is clear. By matching the governor's gross remuneration over the period of time he has been governor and the alleged monies, other than his accrued remuneration, lodged into his local and foreign bank accounts, the panel will be able to prove if or not the governor has perpetrated acts of fraud.

Of course if he is found culpable, he should be impeached and made to face the law just as his fellow fugitive ex-governor, Alamieyeseigha is currently doing.

It is shameful and utterly callous of public officials in whom the general populace has bestowed its trust to let their constituencies down through acts of corruption and flagrant disregard for the wellbeing of the common Nigerian. It is even more embarrassing that they steal the money and stash it abroad going on spending sprees, cavorting about and shamelessly displaying the ill-gotten wealth. They don't just get it. They are our representatives and by displaying such crass profligacy and stolen wealth they devalue whatever respect we may have deserved from the international community, which surely sees no difference between these folks and common criminals. We need to route out these reprobates from our system. That is the only way we will ever earn the respect of the international community.

The Wrath of the Godfather - Lamidi and Ladoja Rumble

This is a classic “Prodigal Son” case. Except in this instance the prodigal son does not get a feast and forgiveness. Instead, he is shunned and sternly disciplined. Today’s impeachment and alleged subsequent arrest of the Oyo state governor, Rashidi Ladoja, is another episode in the unfolding political soap opera that is currently playing across the Nigerian polity. Even though arguably malafide in intent, it is a welcome development as it goes to show that governors can no longer sit tight and prim as they go about perpetrating acts of gross misconduct and blatant corruption.

Lamidi Adedibu, the defacto leader and political demigod of Oyo, and the field marshal of the Oyomesi has once again flexed his political muscles. Reminiscent of the Adelakun – Ige saga of the early 1980s, once again the political godson has incurred the wrath of the political godfather. In a Mafioso-styled political system such as the one in Oyo, it is asinine for a political godson, who has, so to speak, made a pact with the devil, to think that he can outmaneuver the devil himself.

This is what you get when you dine with the devil and don’t do his bid. I bet right thinking Oyo citizens would prefer that both the political godson and political godfather be indicted, but for now are content with the godson. Godfathers are often more difficult to indict, but with any luck, perhaps someday soon, right thinking Oyo citizens will have their wish.

Buhari & Babangida - Strange Bed Fellows

Buhari, have you no shame or common sense? You and Idiagbon were kicked out of office by Mr Gap-tooth General, Babangida and gang because they thought you were too high-handed and were not allowing the "tap to flow," to use the words of Adisa of sainted memory. When the "Prince of the Niger" landed in Dodan Barracks he opened the tap very wide so that he and his thieving cohort could drink unfettered of the Nigerian river of resources.

The consensus of the Nigerian polity is that the Gap-toothed one destroyed the social and cultural fabric of Nigeria. Within a few months, his administration reversed the gains that you and the great late Tunde Idiagbon had achieved in the 20 months you were in power. Corruption became entrenched and the norm. Babangida surrounded himself with so many sycophants. He rewarded their loyalty by running a laissez faire ship, thereby allowing them to dip their grubby fingers into the National till. In fact, in the Babangida days, it was widely believed that you were expected to enrich yourself and immediate family through self-awarded contracts or frank graft and proclaim your undying loyalty if you were appointed to a position that gave you access to National resources. You were sure to fall out of favour and lose your position if you did not do these. Only very few appointees like the late Tai Solarin, Prof. Ransome-Kuti and Wole Soyinka were exempt from this unwritten rule.

Buhari, by forming an alliance with this self-proclaimed evil genius are you not profaning the memory of your friend and able confidant, Idiagbon? Be careful. You were once betrayed by this fox, as you know, old habits and human character die hard. A word is enough for the wise.

Rotational Presidency

I have watched with dismay and distraught the polemics and arcane logic the various political leaders and interest groups have put forth to support their clamor for power (specifically the presidency) to be rotated, and for the presidency to remain in the south after 2007.

Let us take a critical look at this. This notion is obviously based on the premise that there are gains that will accrue to the region from which the president originates. Also, it reduces the status and import of the presidency and likens it to a regional or fractional office. It presumes, and perhaps even prescribes that the president holds the interests of his or her region above national interests. The presidency in its true essence prescribes that the president holds national interests above all else. That means the president is supposed to be impartial to the various interest groups and stakeholders who collectively make up the Nigerian body politic over which he or she presides.

If we agree that this is how a true president is supposed to conduct his presidential affairs and we are also all agreed that we want an able president, should it matter where the president comes from?

In a true democracy, people should not be restricted in their choice of candidates by stifling rotational and zoning matrices that are subject to the machinations and pander to the whims of selfish tribal politicians, who can only wrest power by shamelessly whipping up tribal and sectional sentiments. It smacks of insincerity and patent fraud to be seeking a constitutional instrument to entrench fractional regional based rotational presidency.

This formula is sure to breed a sense of entitlement, engender mediocrity and further divide Nigerians along ethnic and regional lines. At this stage in our life as a nation, we should be working towards unity and not disunity. Highlighting our regional and ethnic differences and using these as bases for deciding our leadership only serves to further divide us. There are words in the English language to describe this type of discrimination – Jingoism, Tribalism and Ethnicism are a few.

Nigerian politicians, it is time to shed the shameless garb of tribalism and don the cloak of nationalism. Rather than use the cheap and mean tactics of divide and conquer, be conscientious and embrace nationalism. You are first Nigerians before all else.

In the US, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the governor of California, even though he is not a native American, having immigrated to the US as an adult in the 1970s. Hillary Clinton represents New York State in the US senate only after being a New York state resident for two years. She is not a native New Yorker.

Where you come from should not matter in determining who should be a leader, what should matter is the candidate’s integrity and leadership ability. The more important issue to address in the Nigerian polity is how to get rid of corruption and engender able leadership and strive to improve the lot of the populace and not jostling for power through divisive derision and insincerity as the tribalist politicians are currently doing. There should be nothing stopping a Yoruba born Nigerian from being a governor in a Northern Nigeria state, or a native Igbo being a governor in a Western Nigeria state.

Open Letter to President Obasanjo

Dear President Obasanjo,

Well done this past year. You did well with our $18billion debt relief, and all the activities of EFCC. Keep up the good work.

My only advise to you is that you make a definitive statement that you will not be staying in office past 2007 as prescribed by the constitution you swore to uphold. Everybody in the world holds you in high regard because you handed over to a democratically elected government in 1979. This singular act earned you a place forever in history as the first Nigerian leader, and indeed one of the first in all of Africa to voluntarily cede power. For this alone you are put on the same pedestal as great leaders like Mandela and Julius Nyerere.

Please, I beg you, do not taint this laudable status that you enjoy by harkening to the call of good-for-nothing sycophants who's intent for wanting you to sit tight is driven by selfish ends. Especially the call by some thieving low-lifes in the state government houses who debase the honourable office of "governor" by their shameful and debauched acts. They want to perpetuate themselves in office so they can continue to enjoy the protection of that warped kink in our constitution - "immunity for governors."

OBJ, I trust you to do what is right. Great leaders, and your good friends like Jimmy Carter and Andrew Young will be disappointed in you if you sit tight. Besides, you will be put in the same category as rogue leaders like Mobutu and Abacha if you chose to sit tight. This will be a betrayal to many of your ardent supporters.

Do the right thing. Make a definitive statement to put those seeking your downfall to shame.

Regards,

Concerned Nigerian