Wikileaks: Okonjo-Iweala ferried $50m jobs to her brother.

Friday, September 9, 2011.

caption: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

By Saharareporters, New York

As Minister of Finance under the government of Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s returnee Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, steered public contracts to her brother worth up to $50 million, with the help of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai, yet another WikiLeaks US cable issued in 2004 says.
The contracts were said to have been awarded to the man, identified only as “JonJon,” for consulting work for the ministry.

The detailed cable, which spells out corruption allegations against a variety of powerful Nigerians, are contained in a cable in which the United States was considering response to the corruption machine in Nigeria.  Entitled “CORRUPTION: NIGERIA "IMPROVES" TO SIXTH-WORST IN THE WORLD...WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?” it followed the release by Transparency International of its 2005 Annual Corruption Perceptions, and it was written by the Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell.

It showed the ambassador considering using the tool of U.S. visa revocations under Presidential Proclamation 7750 to punish corrupt Nigerian public officials, after noting that President Obasanjos anti-corruption campaign was widely perceived to be nothing more than a political witch hunt by President Obasanjo, a view supported by examining cases targeted at high-level officials. 

Mr. El-Rufai was himself one of those profiled in the cable, where he is identified as having been known to the Embassy eight years earlier “when he was homeless and seeking a loan to import a taxi from the UK.” 

Since that time, wrote the ambassador, El-Rufai was said to have recently purchased seven upscale properties in a posh Abuja neighborhood.  “His demolitions of commercial and residential buildings in the capital have reportedly provided an opportunity for himself and several of his friends.  After demolishing residential properties in Kubwa, the land was reallocated to several of his friends and to an investment company he allegedly owns.  The community of Chika, where about two square miles of development was demolished in December, has allegedly been allocated to the same group of
people.

The cable pointed out that despite all of the headlines being grabbed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, that Commission as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), had won only a single conviction of a high-level public official:, former Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun, who received a sentence of just six months, less time served.

Mr. Campbell pointed out that corruption in Nigeria remained pervasive from the top down.  “For example, in a widely-circulated August 22 letter to President Obasanjo, Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu accused Obasanjo of corruption, listing a number of dubious deals, including:
•    Cancellation of the contract for the construction of the national stadium in Abuja, only to re-award the contract to a different vendor at a higher price; and
•    Use of public funds for capital improvements at two private schools secretly owned by Obasanjo.

“Obasanjo's response was to agree to be "investigated” by the EFCC, which reports to the President.  When the EFCC invited Kalu to provide evidence to support his accusations, Kalu refused, pointing out that the EFCC was not an independent investigative body and had no authority to prosecute the President, and the investigation died out.”

The report also profiled Obasanjo Farms in Otta.  “A Presidential spokesman said in November 2004, in order to explain Obasanjo's personal wealth, that the farm generated about $250,000 per month in income, though it was nearly bankrupt in the late 1990s (ref A).  Regardless of whether the current income figure is accurate, at least some Nigerians think it is unlikely that Obasanjo's military pension and benefits were the sole source of investment for establishing this huge enterprise, valued by a construction engineer involved in the construction at more than $250 million.

Still on Obasanjo, Ambassador Campbell wrote: “The recent auction of oil blocks included some firms bidding, sometimes with no prior ties to the oil industry, that were linked to Obasanjo associates, including Edmund Daukoru, Rivers State governor Peter Odili, Ogun State governor Gbenga Daniel, presidential advisor Andy Uba, presidential chief of staff Abdullahi Mohammed, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nasir al-Rufai and PDP Board of Trustees Chairman Tony Anenih.”

The report also said of Obasanjo that he was believed to be one of the owners of Suntrust Petroleum.  “And questions remain about the Obasanjo Library project, which collected enormous sums of money from government contractors, banks, industrialists, and state governors, ostensibly for the construction of a presidential library, the plans for which are vague. 

It is widely believed throughout the country that Obasanjo and his son, Gbenga, are major shareholders in the newly reorganized Zenith Bank and UBA Bank as well as in airlines and the telecommunications sector.”

The ambassador wrote that each of the nation’s 36 state governors donated 10 million naira (about $75,000) to the Obasanjo library project.   “Following a public outcry, the library organizers stated the donations were from the governors' personal funds, but several governors backpedaled from their commitments, claiming they had made no such pledges.  When a Lagos lawyer filed a code of conduct complaint alleging conflict of interest in the President's receiving these donations from recipients of government funds, Obasanjo invoked the immunity clause of the constitution, and the complaint died out.”

Some of the other notable people profiled include:

•    “Mr. Fix-It” Tony Anenih, who “was indicted by the National Assembly for the sum of 300 billion Naira (approximately $2.4 billion) missing from Ministry of Works and Housing while he was the minister.  The missing money is widely believed to have paid off 2003 elections  "expenses," including to Balogun, in addition to lining his own pockets.

•    Chief Olabode George, current PDP National Chairman (Southwest) is a close friend of President Obasanjo and a leading proponent of the Third Term Agenda.  He is one of the people accused of financial recklessness in the affairs of the National Port Authority, where he was chairman when the financial scandals were allegedly committed.  He was retired
from the Navy in the 1990s by the Babangida Administration after serving as military governor of Ondo State from 1987 to 1990 in addition to other military postings.

•    Chris Uba, recently appointed to the PDP Board of Trustees, admitted rigging during the 2003 elections and attempted to kidnap the governor of Anambra state to try to collect payments for his efforts.  Linked closely to several vigilante groups in the state, he is widely believed to be
responsible for the burning of many state government buildings in Awka, crimes that have yet to be solved.

•    Edo State governor Lucky Igbenedion purchased a $6 million mansion in London in 2000 through a series of shell companies, a year after he was elected governor.  He has two Ferraris on the premises.  He also owns reputedly the most expensive residence in Abuja, estimated at $25 million.

•    Delta State governor James Ibori owns two London estates. The properties were purchased for $3 million and $4 million, respectively, after Ibori was elected governor.  Through a shell company registered to his London-based wife, he offered for public auction an ongoing supply of 6 million barrels of oil per month.  When reporters confronted his wife, the shell companies abruptly changed their directors so that Ibori's wife was no longer listed.

•    Rivers State governor Peter Odili has built an impressive portfolio from his corrupt dealings as governor of one of the oil-rich states in Nigeria since his first election in 1999. Beginning his political career as a medical doctor with a small private clinic in Port Harcourt, he now hosts
extravagant events and boasts that it would not have been possible "before he became governor."  Further, he is widely suspected of being directly responsible for facilitating massive irregularities in both the 1999 and 2003 elections. His own state officials have claimed that Odili has employed militia groups, many of which are responsible for the continuing unrest in the delta region.

The ambassador said that that the biggest influence the United States could have on the situation in Nigeria was the “judicious use” of U.S. visa revocation for corrupt practices, under US law.

“Though we are unable to identify every corrupt official, the Mission is compiling a list of some prominent and egregious corrupt officials from throughout the country,” he wrote.  “This list will take into consideration the individuals, levels of corruption and the impact on Nigerian stability of a [US Presidential Proclamation] 7750 decision.

He said that list could “be expanded in many directions,” but the United States Mission in Nigeria felt that feels that such an effort “would demonstrate the sincerity and seriousness of the USG's commitment to good governance and, if these individuals are found ineligible, that finding could contribute greatly to entrenching the precepts of good governance and accountability in Nigeria.”

 

WikiLeaks’ sobering realities

By Idowu Akinlotan 11/09/2011 00:00:00

• Ribadu

We may never fully understand the nihilistic spirit behind WikiLeaks’ unauthorised leakage of confidential United States diplomatic cables, nor even try to justify or defend it, but we have the whistle-blower website to thank for providing Nigerians an unflattering image of their leaders. For the past one week, WikiLeaks has helped us to an ample supply of stories profiling our leaders’ greed, follies, foibles and short-sightedness. If Africans were capable of blushing, everyone would be going around with a red face, given the saddening and humiliating details of what the whistle-blower site has published so far on Nigerian rulers. As it is, both physiologically and psychologically, Nigerians don’t blush, otherwise someone like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo would have been felled by his blushes on account of what WikiLeaks released on him.

It is not certain whether the site is done with Nigerian stories. However, what it has published so far on Nigeria can be easily classified into two categories: the greed and incompetence of Nigerian rulers; and their cheapness and loquacity.  After more than five decades of weak and most ineffective governments anywhere, African leaders have established beyond dispute that the widely held opinion of their ineptitude is neither an exaggeration nor racism. We always suspected that to keep Africa so underdeveloped and so poor, African leaders, of which Nigeria is an archetype, must require a weakness of mind incomparable to any other. WikiLeaks has confirmed our suspicion. It gives a portrait of weak and feckless leaders, some of them so vain as to be completely oblivious of the nuisance they constitute to our national self-esteem, but nearly all seeking to ingratiate themselves with white men or their black representatives.

Many top public and private officials mentioned in the leaked cables are likely to deny all or part of the allegations of their complicity in the humbling of Nigeria. In some instances, the allegations are so gross as to draw natural scepticism, if not of the magnitude of the crime or the indiscretion of their prattle, then at least of doubts as to whether they in fact ever happened. When the leaked cables, for instance, indicated that about $57 million was used to procure Yar’Adua’s victory from a mercantilist Supreme Court, we must wonder whether those allegedly bought by such stupendous sums – and they were said to include military officers – would not be flustered by the troubles of hiding those sums. This is in view of the fact that the same leaked cables affirmed with literary flourish and enthusiasm that the Chief Justice of Nigeria at the time, Idris Kutigi, had scorned three attempts to compromise him with N600 million over the Atiku Abubakar case.

But when WikiLeaks alleged that a former First Lady and other top politicians and military chiefs conspired to steal an estimated 91 million barrels of crude oil annually between 2004 and 2009, the story seems wholly believable, especially when we remember the unsuccessful campaign by civil society groups to force a proper auditing of the NNPC. Given the almost Bacchanalian fervour with which government officials and their criminal agents feather their nests, no Nigerian will give them the benefit of the doubt in the face of exaggerated allegations by US diplomats, authors of the famous cables. There is also the story of top traditional rulers from the North who seemed to have successfully persuaded the secret service and law enforcement authorities to placate northern terror suspects. Even if this was an exaggeration, it explains why many of us were puzzled that it took the UN House bombing to ginger the government into a definitive action, not only in terms of arrests, but also in the use of clearer and more forceful official language in condemning terrorism and promising action.

Probably one of the most delectable stories to come from WikiLeaks is Mallam Nuhu Ribadu’s grandiose description of the Obasanjo government as cleverly corrupt. He seldom offered proof for his assertions, but who cares? In the alleged interaction with the American ambassador at the time, Ribadu, as hyperbolic as ever, was quoted as saying that the Obasanjo government was comparatively more corrupt than the late Gen Sani Abacha’s military government, which many of us thought to be unmatched both in the brazenness and magnitude of its stealing from the public treasury. The cables offered other instances of ingenious filching under Obasanjo, and of his anti-democratic predilections, with some of the diplomatic cables couched in sarcastic tones. Of all Nigeria’s former rulers, the cables gave the impression Obasanjo was the most daring and retrogressive, and Yar’Adua the most languid and pitiless. We don’t know whether the rustic general will deign to answer. In any case, what is there to defend? If neither the cables nor Ribadu offered proof of Obasanjo’s villainy, it is enough that majority of Nigerians, including his very few friends and innumerable enemies, are satisfied that he embodies all that is impure about Nigeria.

As I said, much more than the issue of corruption and ineptitude, the most unflattering portrait the cables give us of Nigerian rulers is their loquacity, their befuddling eagerness to play the house negro, their irritating genuflection before whites, their irrecoverable native intelligence lost when they suffered colonialism, and their inferiority complex. Given the volubility of virtually all those interviewed by the American diplomats, among whom were military chiefs, top security officials, top politicians, traditional leaders and the intelligentsia, neither the US nor Europe needed to spend huge sums on the construction of a spy infrastructure in Nigeria. It is sometimes necessary to loosen a man’s tongue with wine or women; it takes nothing dear or exotic to loosen the tongues of the animated Nigerian elite. If they were not invited by embassy officials, an act they had no courage or desire to decline, they invited themselves into the presence of Western diplomats, for they coveted diplomatic interactions and the inevitable cocktails that follow.

The hollowness manifests clearly in the top echelons of government. It was, for instance, said of the Obasanjo administration that all it took for a Nigerian investor to get an audience with him was to look for a straggling white man, or failing that, a Chinese or Indian, to accompany the local group. The stories are not apocryphal, for apart from the many published photographs to prove the point, he drove Nigerian embassy officials in the US up the wall with his frequent, needless and unwelcomed visits. Other rulers too, like Yar’Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan, never felt fulfilled until they received invitation to the White House. In a classic portrayal of our leader’s low self-esteem, Yar’Adua was reported to have described his visit to the White House as his most memorable day, and a fulfilment of his dream.

It seems that before WikiLeaks is done, no fake or true Nigerian icon would be left unscathed. Without prejudice to what denials or rebuttal they may come up with, see what mess the cables are making of Nasir el’Rufai, who while in office was sometimes deliberately opaque or mendacious, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the woman with the cherubic face and inscrutable expression, and a host of others, including at least one Chief of Army Staff. The country despairs for lack of a courageous, intelligent and confident Nigerian leader, for they are all driven, sometimes by the adversity of their poor backgrounds and sometimes by their natural fecklessness, into offering themselves as willing tools in the hands of foreigners or as collaborators in the humiliation of our people. We are yet to live down the shame of slavery and colonialism; now we must add the burden of garrulous state officials who think it dishonourable to keep state secrets, or who consider it even noble to reveal them unsolicited to the first American or European they come across.

Executive Prolfigacy And The Futilty of Eating Cassava Bread.

Monday, December 5, 2011.

By Ugochukwu Raymond Ogubuariri

Only few days ago, the Nigerian President – Dr. Goodluck Jonathan had remarked as follows: “I promised Nigerians a Transformation Agenda and that means change… Thus, if we must have transformation (and we will have it) there must be changes in how we do things.” Basking in the euphoria of his transformative confessions, the President proceeded to dramatize to all Nigerians the puritanical benefit of cassava bread by stating that: “In the last two weeks, I have been eating only cassava bread and I will continue to do so until I leave the State House.”

Barely 24 hours after the dramatic bread-eating sacrament at Aso Rock, the President sought and obtained the approval of the House of Representatives for a virement of N98.4 billion with just few days to the end of the year. A breakdown of what the money will be used for is quite revealing. These include: N25.6 million for maintenance of horses; N29.1 million for maintenance of dogs; N10.6 million for maintenance of the Police Band; N995.5 million for fuelling of motor vehicles, with additional N1.08 billion for vehicle / transport; N 945.5 million for local travel and transport; N484.5 million for electricity bill; N1.9 billion for uniforms and other clothing as well as N520.3 million for stationery / computer consumables and N137.4 million for foodstuff / catering material supplies in the Police Budget. Note that these staggering sums are meant for only nine ministries!

Going through this  breakdown, is there anything that truly suggests that President Jonathan has been eating cassava bread for the past two weeks? Does it really make any sense or meaning for the President to admonish Nigerians to cultivate a patriotic appetite for cassava bread while he busied himself with the escapade of lavishing almost N50 million naira just to maintain dogs and horses? By the way, who says dogs cannot eat cassava bread?

The word “transformation” is too sacred and quite serious a concept for it to be trivialized and reduced to the pedestrian level of being invoked promiscuously and opportunistically without a corresponding demonstration of strength of character and discipline of mind to match action with words. When seriously posed, “transformation” demands a radical departure from the way and manner the presidency and all other institutions of government conduct the affairs of governance. It requires, among other things, a drastic reduction in the prohibitive cost of governance as well as a shift towards greater accountability, transparency and minimization of wastages in public spending. Above all, transformation entails a conscious and pragmatic effort by the political leadership to empower ordinary Nigerians so that they can be able to realize their full aspirations and potentialities as legitimate citizens even as they also participate meaningfully in the arduous task of nation-building.

Accordingly, any government that understands what transformation entails and is serious about it will go out of its way to invest heavily and massively in the education, health, social welfare and economic empowerment of its general populace, realizing that it is only when its citizens are so empowered that they can become veritable assets in the task of national development.

Regrettably, what obtains today is a situation where governments (both State and Federal) are renouncing their responsibilities in regard to the welfare and security of their citizens even as they continue to flirt with the idea of being committed to transformation. One classic example of this odious phenomenon will suffice: The Lagos State government recently announced a 700% increase in tuition fees for the state-owned university which will compel fresh students to pay as much as N300,000 from the N25,000 being paid. In justifying the arbitrary hike, the governor of the state had argued that universities in Ghana and United Kingdom are populated by Nigerians who are willing to pay through their nose to acquire education. This defence by the governor is not only grossly insensitive and bereft of an appreciation of the historical peculiarities of those societies, but also exposes a mindset which propels government to relinquish its responsibility for the defence and protection of the interest of the poor, the weak and the defenceless citizens of our society.

Let us also bear in mind that the basic conditions for social and economic existence in those other societies are comparatively tolerable and beneficial than what obtains in our own harsh environment. If there is anything such a draconian policy will achieve, it is the fact that it is going to abort the dreams of many families (with meagre income) of having their wards acquire tertiary education in the state. The craze for bigger revenue generation has been given inordinate priority over and above the imperative of guaranteeing the welfare and empowerment of citizens through meaningful access to education.

It has become highly compelling for Nigeria’s governing elite to appreciate that “governance” and the interests of ordinary Nigerians are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, the only reason for the existence of government is that it should be highly functional in the defence and promotion of the well-being of these citizens as well as initiating policies that will uplift and empower them to become useful citizens. Invariably, government becomes utterly meaningless if its citizens are abandoned to the vagaries and vicissitudes of a precarious existence characterized by survival of the fittest.

What is needed by way of transformation is for the President to exhibit exemplary leadership and uncompromising determination in plugging all known avenues for wastages, corruption and mindless looting of the country’s treasury and resources. He should demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption by making sure that corrupt public officials are exposed and punished squarely to serve as a deterrent. For it is only by doing so that the President can reassure himself and the rest of Nigerians that he is not merely eating his cassava bread with a mouth full of corruption!

The Hypocrisy Of Jonathan's Government.

Posted: November 13, 

By Leonard K. Shilgba, PhD

Have you heard that the government of President Jonathan plans to spend one hundred billion naira in 2012 to subsidize electricity tariff for “poor and rural dwellers”? According to the Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, the 3-year subsidy program shall begin in January 2012.

I have some niggling questions:

    •    If, as indicated in the president’s road map for electricity sector reform, private investors are being enticed to invest in Nigeria’s electricity sector, and the planned electricity tariff subsidy shall be used to pay private investors the differential in the price of electricity that they shall sell to certain categories of consumers at government subsidized rates, why is the case different in the energy sector, where the government is bent on removing fuel subsidy?

    •     The argument of government in favour of removing fuel subsidy is that if the subsidy is not removed (their obvious definition of deregulation of the energy sector) private investors cannot be attracted to build refineries. Why is the behaviour of private investors expected to be different when it comes to the deregulation of the electricity power sector? Would the implementation of the planned 3-year electricity tariff subsidy not scare investors from putting their funds into the sector? And if the answer is in the contrary, as I know it is, is government then not being hypocritical, and I dare say deceptive, in using that argument to support removal of fuel subsidy?

    •    Why is government not willing to implement the same program in the energy sector? That is, should government not determine and implement the correct subsidy in the energy sector (In 2011, for instance, the amount voted for subsidy in the budget was less than N 100 billion; but corruption has inflated this to more than N 650 billion by October this year, without any supplementary appropriation) while it lures investors with the right incentives, which should include appropriate legislation that should protect the investors’ funds, to build refineries in the country?

    •    Another argument of government in favour of removal of fuel subsidy is that the subsidy is unsustainable, and that government must save money to invest in “critical sectors of the economy.” Where will government get the N 100 billion from? Furthermore, how has government determined that the differential in pricing of electricity sold to “poor and rural dwellers” at subsidized rates approximates N 100 billion; and would that translate to 24-hour electricity supply daily?

    •    Another argument of government is that fuel subsidy only subsidizes corruption (i.e. the oil “cabal” in Nigeria makes false claims on subsidy funds), and accordingly, the Nigerian people don’t benefit from the subsidy. I am curious how the same government that has confessed its incompetence at checking corruption, in this case, the corrupt implementation of fuel subsidy, can suddenly acquire competence (and we are talking of competence in the next two months) to prevent the same corruption happening in the implementation of the electricity tariff subsidy. And if government can succeed in convincing Nigerians of the acquisition of this new competence, then why can’t it apply the same new-found competence in prudently implementing fuel subsidy and save Nigerians the hundreds of billions of naira that currently end up in the bottomless pockets of the oil “cabal” that President Jonathan lacks the courage to name and shame?

    •    What are the criteria that Jonathan’s government has to determine the “poor Nigerians” that shall benefit from the electricity tariff subsidy? Are all “rural dwellers” poor, according to government’s assumed criteria? Does government have data of Nigerians and their income levels? If government does not have this data would it commission such to be obtained between now and end of December before the commencement of the subsidy in January 2012? If government does not have such data and neither an arrangement to obtain the data before implementation, what can we conclude about the implementation of the planned subsidy?

I should expect readers to ask questions of their own about the issue. But this is my personal observation. In 2012, President Jonathan plans to remove fuel subsidy, devalue the national currency, and introduce toll gates on “federal roads built to international standard”. There is no announcement on the federal roads in Nigeria that shall be built to “international standard” in less than one year; I know of no federal roads in Nigeria that are of international standard, with all the safety infrastructure, rest rooms, tow vans, etc. Few weeks ago, I stopped at a spot on a federal road where Federal Road Safety officials were on duty. I stopped and demanded to know why a huge truck that had fallen down at a nearby intersection more than a month before was yet to be removed (There is a roundabout on this intersection one part of which was completely blocked by the fallen truck; and this location is close to the head of the bridge on River Katsina-Ala; this is the road the major that takes you to Cross-River state from Benue state). They told me that they had no tow van, and that there was none in the whole of that region!

Is Jonathan not going to create a mess trying to clean up a mess? Who are the people he is listening to? His government thinks up a solution without regard to the problems the solution will create. The government seems to lack sense of ordering its “Transformation Agenda”—For instance, what should be done first before removal of fuel subsidy? Is it necessary to announce restoration of toll gates on federal roads before building the roads to “international standard”? In governance, the people must be shown the profit before the pain is gradually introduced; it is wrong to administer an overdose of reforms, especially when they are painful, concurrently.

There is no cheery news for Nigerians in the coming year. And the government should not expect any cheery news either from Nigerians in the coming year.  I suspect that rigorous debates hardly go into decision-making process of his government. There is so much deceit in the presidency. Besides, the central government is weak in planning, communication, and implementation. But I hope that President Jonathan will remove the fuel subsidy next year and do all of the painful things he says he will do. Maybe then, the provocation that will make the country into a nation will be complete.

 

De - Subsidization Of Fuel And Jonathan's Wrong Balls.

Posted: October 12,  By Ola Onikoyi, Jr. Considering that for many years, some of us have canvassed for the removal of fuel subsidies because it mostly benefits a few businessmen, politicians and friends rather than the public for whom it is meant to ease off poverty, President Jonathan’s recent decision to finally remove the subsidy makes it safe to assume that he has grown balls Looking closely at the decision, he has indeed grown big balls, albeit the wrong bad ones. While the subsidy removal may be a good decision for many reasons, the approach by which it is being pursued is erroneous, miscalculated and the decision once again raises many questions about the man called Jonathan and the much vaunted “Madam World Bank”, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who must have no doubt orchestrated the sharp plan. The problem with World Bank and IMF technocrats like Madam Iweala, whose exposure is admirable, is that they are always too obsessed with the pace of their ‘good agenda’ than the sustenance and the overarching negative implications of their agenda on the masses. To be fair, we must acknowledge that the subsidy removal would save the government a fortune every year (1.2 trillion naira), which in effect would help in carrying out important projects to the benefit of the masses. Where the problem lies is the harmful implication of the removal of fuel subsidy to millions of struggling Nigerians, the very bad timing of the removal and the haste with which it is being carried out. The logic behind the removal is also flawed. As a result of the proposed removal, there is every tendency that there would be rise in poverty since per litre price of petrol would rise over 100% (N65 to N142 -N150). This would increase the cost of transportation, the cost of food and other consumer products in every corner of the country. More so, as a result of possible inflation, the government will hardly save half of its targeted 1.2 trillion per year because the cost of everything (raw materials, food and everything) would have risen. Hence, it would require 2 trillion in 2012 to buy what can be bought for 1.2 trillion today, so where is the saving? To counter this problem, the FG proposes that the naira would be devalued to offset possible inflationary effects on the currency; hence it is argued that 1.2 trillion would still be worth its value after subsidy removal in 2012. The FG also proposes that it would deregulate the oil market for more downstream opportunity for businesses while most of Nigeria's oil would be refined locally. Hence, the FG would be in control and more competition would emerge. Except for the inflation argument, in theory, this plan might have been well thought out. The problem in practice is that as a major importing nation, everything except oil will become very expensive because of a weaker currency which would require people to spend more to get the same product as before. In historic cases, high import costs have been found to pull inflation; therefore FG's logic behind the subsidy removal is flawed. When high inflation sits around for too long, as the new government policy would breed, the naira will possibly further depreciate. When a devalued currency further depreciates, the end result would be chaotic and unmanageable and would have many unintended consequences. We can always expect more poverty, insecurity and more social unrests. In addition to FG's flawed logic, the proposed removal is wrongly timed because of the ongoing events in the micro and macro environment. In recent times, the naira has been at the consistent mercy of the US dollar and other major currencies making consumer products more expensive, this can be confirmed by any local Nigeria who buys food and transacts on a daily basis. A subsidy removal at this time will therefore do no good than contribute to the problem by making the cost of everything more outrageous and unacceptable. The looming double deep recession in the global economy also makes the timing of the removal very bad - because no one can yet ascertain whether there will be a recession or not. The fact that there is possibility of one should make President Jonathan and his teams be on their toes to cushion possible effects of the recession on Nigeria. Part of the solution indeed should be the subsidization of whatever can be subsidized to reduce dire effects of the downturn on ordinary people. Furthermore, as signatory to the UN Millennium development goal, which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty by 2015, the subsidy removal is a slap on the MDG’s and a reaffirmation of the total loss of balance, foresight and strategy in Aso Rock’s decision making. In light of the factors above, it is incomprehensible why the decision have been taken at this crucial moment in time. One plausible explanation could be that by saving a lot of money there can be more to spend on building better refineries and on important infrastructural projects, which is what Nigerians have been yearning for. Justifying the subsidy removal with this argument as is advanced by the FG is very troubling because there are many other existing areas where cuts can be made and trillions of naira can be saved without wrecking any havoc on suffering citizens. In the 2011 budget for example, a whopping 29 billion was allocated to the presidency and the house of assembly over 283 billion - more than what was allocated to the ministry of health, which is more important. Presidential intervention projects took over 100 billion, office of the national security adviser got nearly 88 billion naira while untold billions are allocated for entertainment provisions, foreign trips, sundry and security votes. These ridiculous budgetary allocations if trimmed significantly will not trigger poverty and will only affect less than 1% of our ‘fatcows’. Therefore, if the government is looking to earn more money to spend on capital and poverty alleviation projects, ‘charity must begin at home’. The allowances, salaries and other ludicrous benefits given to ministers, advisers and unnecessary personal should be cut. Inspite of the large scale of poverty which the subsidy removal will trigger, President Jonathan can still be forgiven if he shows strong commitment and his teams are serious about their commitment towards reducing poverty and helping citizens by means of alternative policy measures which would counter inflation, poverty, and possible economic adversities which may arise from the subsidy removal. The question is whether the President will ever be able to see through any successful alternative policy measure, which would take the place of subsidy removal in other positive ways. Judging from the President's steps, any alternative policy intervention coming from him aimed at poverty intervention would likely fail on a woeful scale. It is simple logic, if the government cannot plug the holes and ensure smooth administration of the current fuel subsidy while bringing to book the few corrupt cabals, how can the same government administer any bigger project which would be at the benefit of the masses. The safest decision that should be taken right now regarding the subsidy removal is to simply put an immediate stop to it while pushing for better transparency and greater accountability in its administration until any positive measure towards poverty alleviation can be achieved. Another moderately harmless measure could be to carry out the removal in phases, for example by removing the subsidy in percentage terms over a certain period (for example 25% over four years, year on year). This would have a less abrupt effect on the citizenry than the FG's proposed approach. If none of the above subtle measures are taken and the removal goes on as planned for 2012, one thing is very certain and it is that Nigeria's turn of the Arab Spring is nigh. Many people across blogs and forums have been praying for a Nigerian version of the Arab Spring, but we don't need that right now. What we need is the ability to confront our leaders, question their decisions, reject their verdicts - rub it on their faces, offer our advice and give them direction because they often don't know. Whoever thinks the simple strategy won't work should look at President Jonathan's transformation from a mere heartless guy to one who has grown balls. President Jonathan and his teams should stop the subsidy removal with immediate effect and whoever knows him should tell him to grow bigger balls. We need an assertive President who can take better decisions. Ola Onikoyi, Jr. olaonikoyijr@yahoo.com

Nonsense Talk About Subsidy.

Monday, December 5, 

Amene Terh

I listened this evening, 11/11/11 to one of the presidential aides in an interview about the much talked about fuel subsidy removal on political platform and I felt like I should have been close enough to give him a quality knock on the forehead.

As you continue you will see the source of my annoyance.

This guy, for obvious reasons, think subsidy should go. He is part of the government, it will be suicidal for him to say otherwise. Below are his reasons why subsidy should go. You will find also why I believe his, and by inference government's argument doesn't amount to much.

1. There is a cabal in the oil industry that fraudulently claims subsidy for volumes of supply the government cannot proof, so subsidy has to go to sanitize the industry.

So the government knows there is a cabal, and they know them? Then go after them but no, to him, the subsidy law has handicapped the government to prosecute these people. Fine, who is responsible in ascertaining the quantity of oil brought in? If the government cannot proof the quantity brought in, that man is not doing his job he should go. On the other hand how do government know there are sharp practices? It is because the volume quoted on paper by the suppliers is not same with the physical volume seeing. Isn't this enough ground to prosecute these criminals called the oil cabal? This is a classical criminal breach of trust and contract (the learned ones, please tell me I am right). So in the end, the government has no reason whatsoever to remove subsidy and leave these people to roam free. Not dealing with them appropriately is a clear signal that the government only makes noise about fighting corruption, it is not fighting it. Also it shows how weak, ball-less and spineless the government is, shown by her fear to prosecute her own citizens. Most annoying is she has no nerve to even touch the lazy officials she pays to help her ensure the subsidy benefits the entire Nigerian populace when there is enough evidence they are not doing their job, and even conniving with the oil importers to defraud her.

2. When GSM came it was costly but due to competition it is now so cheap cattle rearers in the bush have it.

What nonsense talk! How can you compare fuel to GSM? How many Nigerians depend in one way or the other on telecommunication (GSM) for day to day survival? When GSM was costly, the poor masses could afford to patiently wait because it wasn't a necessity (and still isn't) and couldn't in anyway affect their daily lives no matter how much it was sold. But look at fuel; we must travel. Granted most commercial buses that travel long distances use diesel, but how about those short distance trips made by cars that run on fuel. In my village, we have only motorcycles and small cars that run on fuel. If the price of fuel goes up as a result of subsidy removal, the cost of transportation will definitely go up. There is no hospital in my village, so when one is sick, the cost of transportation alone will be enough to make the relatives shelf the idea of taking the sick person to the hospital. Besides we all know how the market people can use anything that affects the economy to hike prices, not minding whether it has a direct effect on the product they are selling. We are aware of upward reviews in price following every increase in the salary of civil servants. In fact, I have had an encounter with a trader who claimed the price of her garri has to go up because the dollar is now very costly. Can you beat that?

When this special aide was asked if subsidy removal will not lead to an increase in the cost of transportation he answered: how many vehicles used for transportation use fuel? He went ahead to say BRT buses don't use fuel, El Rufai buses don't use fuel, Ekene Dili Chukwu don't. He even asked rhetorically; how many of the so called masses living in Abuja use taxis (sic) and not El Rufai buses? So Nigeria revolves around Abuja and Abuja alone? No wonder when Boko Haram struck in Abuja, the security there was made water-tight, but the other states were left without adequate security resulting in a free reign for the group to give the nation a sallah gift in death of innocent and promising Nigerians in Yobe and Borno states. Mr Adviser, if you are not aware then be informed; if you have decided to forget then be reminded that, Nigeria is beyond Abuja. We have other towns and cities in Nigeria too; and it will interest you to note that some have a transportation system based purely on fuel. In Makurdi for instance, we have only small cars and 16 seater buses (in rare instances 18 seater) as the means of commuting with the town. The same goes for inter-town commuting. These run on fuel and not diesel. Fuel subsidy removal will double their fare, but I know you don't care because anything outside Abuja is not Nigeria.

3. He reacted to the sceptism that the money realised will go down the drain by echoing what all pro-subsidy removal prophets have been saying: credible and independent Nigerians will be appointed to manage the funds! Interesting but not in any way plausible. Let's look at the two words; credible and independent.

By saying credible Nigerians will be brought to manage the funds realised is an indicting statement on all serving and past leaders. The purposes for which the funds realised from the removal will be used for yearly budgetary allocations without anything tangible happening. If there has been no tangible improvement despite huge budgetary allocations it must mean the people saddled with the responsibility of implementing the budget are not credible.The question then is, why not bring in the credible people to manage the budget to give us results in the first instance to proof if you have more you will do more. Why must you remove fuel subsidy to give them to manage? But I suppose these credible Nigerians were taught how to manage proceeds from subsidy removal only so they wouldn't be able to manage money from other sources. If you are not able to bring credible people to manange what you have now for you and the nation, I doubt if when you have the subsidy money you will get them to manage it.

Independent: does that word sound familiar? We have an independent judiciary; is it independent? The legislature is supposed to be independent, is it? Worst of all, we have INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC), how independent is it? Go fool someone else! It is not by saying a body is Independent that makes it independent.These credible men and women will be appointed and paid. Who will do this? If your answer is the executive, then let's forget about independence. It is not just in the character of the Nigerian government to have independent agencies.
The local governments depend on the states which in turn depend on the federal government. Where is the independence? Even though we are continually told these are different levels (tiers) of government.

4. When he was questioned on what the money from the subsidy will do, Mr Adviser said the money is very small, so it won't be changing our lives overnight. Wait a minute! Either this man isn't part of this government or I didn't hear him right. Oga Presido is saying to continue with subsidy will cripple the economy, but here is his aide saying the money is small. Is Nigeria so broke that spending that small amount yearly will cripple the economy? Please tell me something better. This one is too fake. I see this as a pre-emptive move. When the so called subsidy is gone and the development it was to be put to is not seeing, it will be easily explained that the money wasn't that big, so it must accumulate for you to see the changes. I don't buy it. No way!

5. Refineries are not working and the government is not talking of making them work. The government's reason is that the turn around maintenance have become a drain pipe. Incredible! Why can't the government plug that pipe so that the refineries work? Better still, arrest and prosecute those who were awarded the turn around maintenance contracts that got the money but didn't deliver. Is the government afraid of its own citizens? Besides, I don't agree with the argument that government can't run businesses. Shenzhen Zhijun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd in China is owned by the Chinese government. This company has grown to a point it manufactures pharmaceuticals on behalf of several companies across the globe. What's more, it is the only Chinese pharmaceutical company with EU certification for cephalosporin antibiotics manufacture. There are several other government owned companies that are growing giving proof that it is not the involvement of government in business that is the problem, but the way it is run. It is the manner the individuals saddled with the responsibility of managing these government companies that ruin them. Government on her part shows no interest in bringing to book those individuals that run her companies aground.

I am yet to hear one, just one good reason why the subsidy has to go. All I have heard is so disappointing I have lost confidence in this government's ability to change for the better the life of the citizenry.

The government has no reason whatsoever to withdraw subsidy. Remove subsidy for what?

As The Church Slept… (8) Wed, 10/08/2011 - | SHARON FALLYA CHAM So these are the structures the PDP has been using to “win” elections – diluted integrity? I use to think that the structures a political party should use for winning elections are roads, electricity, jobs, water supply, healthcare, medicare, transportation, good salaries, education and security, I didn’t know that the global standards have changed and that the new structures are a gang of party thugs ready for a dime to snatch ballot papers and boxes and to kill if need be, a gang of criminals wearing clean clothes masquerading as party officials and loads of cash originally meant for public works and services. Well, the General can rest assured that even his detractors know that he has unimpeachable character, which the people want. But the corrupt elite and the beneficiaries of corruption have deployed the entire arsenal at their disposal, including co-opting uninformed clergy whom they know the people revere to abuse the minds of the voters against him. The General can rest knowing that no one in Nigeria can point a finger at him and say “you are a thief”, whereas the criminals in power cannot have this singular honour. Even their supporters know they are thieves. Somehow, I think deep down among the PDP elite circle they know, and will not admit publicly, that those youth corps members gruesomely murdered were murdered because of them, hence the guilt-driven gift of five million Naira to each of their surviving families. Otherwise, youth corps members have been killed in national service before, why was such gesture not done to them before? And come to think of it; a life is a life, so what happens to the several other victims of the violence? It is even more irritating and annoying that the thieving PDP seemed to have benefitted even more from the riots, because several of their corrupt governors that were set to lose the gubernatorial elections capitalised on the curfew they imposed with glee to snatch, stuff and rig the ballot because the voters could no longer monitor and protect their votes. A case of eating your cake and having it! Well, a wise man said somewhere that you can only keep a man down only if you are sure he will not rise again. The PDP’s mischief will crystallise into their final consumption by the inferno they have stoked all over the country. That is why I find these so cheap for hire funny characters like Yunana Shibkau and his newly created and equally so cheap for hire organisation who are calling for the arrest of General Buhari and even calling for the deregistration of the General’s party, the CPC on the laughable claim that the party is a terrorist organisation as people lacking in sound values and can be conveniently described as, morally bankrupt and therefore shameless. Pray, if any organisation in Nigeria qualifies to be called a terror organisation in reference to Shibkau’s context is there any one that will snatch that inglorious name or title from the PDP? Who are the politicians that have been importing arms since 2003 to rig elections? Who are the politicians that have been recruiting our able bodied youth to be party thugs since before 2003 elections? Who are the politicians that have been murdering political opponents since before 2003 elections? Who are the politicians that have been stealing the nation’s wealth since 1999? Who are the politicians that created the national monster called, the Niger Delta militants? Who are the politicians that officially migrated a hitherto street and motor park phrase, “do–or–die” into our political lexicon and way of life? In case he and his ilk don’t know let me quote a part of the post 2011 elections report of the Human Rights Watch: “… Human Rights Watch documented how ruling party politicians in the oil-rich Niger Delta mobilised and funded armed groups to help rig elections. That led to a sustained increase in violence and criminality in the region.” So, between the CPC which is just a little over one year old and the PDP, which one of them is the terrorist organisation, considering this available evidence by the Human Rights Watch? By this evidence, all the kidnappings, oil bunkering, armed robberies and all other crimes that got their roots from the Niger Delta and which have spread like wild fire to other parts of the country are the handcraft of the PDP. So, shouldn’t the PDP be reported to the United Nations and World Criminal Court of Justice at The Hague for corrupting and criminalising our country? That’s why I find it strange that the Church should be found supporting any one in the PDP. Is President Goodluck Jonathan not among the PDP elite in the Niger Delta indicted by this Human Rights Watch report? Could he have come this far without being part and parcel of them? Greed, selfishness, lack of compassion and lack of sense of sacrifice and justice have polarised the nation now as evidenced by the aftermath of the presidential elections. Before the death of President Yar’Adua there was some relative peace and national unity, but all that have been frittered away by opportunism. There are screaming voices from southern Nigeria, including some Christian clergy for the review or the scrapping of the NYSC scheme, a subtle way of asking southerners to avoid the north. And what about the Churches in the north, mostly attended by southerners doing business or working for federal agencies? Do we review their existence in the north also? If yes, then what happens to evangelism? So, who bails the nation out of this? Who will unite the nation for national peace and harmony? Evidently, President Jonathan cannot, for the north, excluding his fans in the middle belt, views him with contempt. The traditional rulers in the north have lost credibility; therefore they cannot be a uniting force. You cannot even try it with any PDP big wig in the north for obvious reasons. So, who then? The only group that can successfully unite this nation and make it work now is the Church. Yes, the Church. The Church has taken sides in the cantankerous elections, which makes her an interested party but she has what it takes to restore the peace and unity of the nation. How? By simply making sure there is accountability and integrity in governance in Nigeria, for when the Church is seen, not just heard, taking steps and making sure governance works to the benefit of the majority and not a few the Church will not only recover her public prestige before men but also before God. A simple case of turning the Salt which has lost its savour from good for nothing to good for something, and then the Lord, the Owner of the Salt will cause her not to be trodden under foot of men. Dr. Francis Bola Akin-John, the founder and president of Church Growth Ministries International and the International Centre for Church Health, Lagos in an interview published on page 40 of The Nation newspaper of Saturday, April 30, 2011 said, “The Church should stand for the oppressed and pray for leaders. If there is failure in government and there is also failure of the Church, we are finished as a nation.” This is scary – the possibility of government and the Church failing at the same time. But we have been having failed governments for a long time, and this is why the Church cannot afford to fail. She must step up to the plate to ensure governments do not fail; to make sure governments provide high quality services to the public. God buttressed this mandate thus: “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.” Ezekiel 3:17. This is a prophetic call to accountability given the Church, which the Church must not fail in. Remember, “For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God…..” The only hope or remedy out of the fierce judgement of God is for the Church to restore her mandate, which is ensuring accountability in the society. And what a perfect way to start, she can start with the Goodluck Jonathan government which is her baby. And here is how: 1. On the eve of the presidential election there were media reports that President Goodluck Jonathan spent N250 billion to influence the election his way. This sum excludes the N100 million per day, which Prof. Pat Utomi alleged that the president spent per day during his campaign tour. The President has not denied these allegations up till now. The electoral law requests that presidential aspirants or candidates are not expected to spend more than N1 billion in campaigns. Therefore the Church leadership should demand the President and all other presidential candidates and gubernatorial candidates to disclose to the public how much they spent, and what were the sources of their funding. The Church must not relent on this, even if it means calling on the entire congregation on the streets.   2. Where anyone of the candidates has been found wanting in breach of the electoral finance law the Church should ensure such a one is dealt with as the law requires. 3. The Church should send a bill to the National Assembly requesting for the removal of the immunity clause from our constitution. This clause has not helped Nigeria and Nigerians one bit, rather it has been serially abused and used to steal public funds massively. We have seen recently how a serving governor was arrested in the U.S.A. for committing a crime. President Jonathan will not and cannot canvass for the removal of this clause; it was never in his campaign promises, for it has helped him and his party to plunder this nation. Rather it was General Buhari and the other candidates that have made it one of their priorities. So, the Church must vigorously pursue this as a goal even if it means marching on the streets for days, weeks and months non-stop. 4. The Church should actively canvass for a law that will make it a crime against the three tiers of government for any village, town or city to be found without well asphalted roads, pipe borne water, electricity, well equipped hospitals, schools and sanitary facilities. 5. The Church should also actively canvass for the removal of the privilege of Governors and Presidents enjoying unaccountable funds called “security vote”, with such funds channeled to the budget of security agencies, since they are the bodies saddled with security of lives and property. 6. The Church should march massively and severally non-stop to the National Assembly demanding them to revert to the genuine salaries and allowances lawfully prescribed them by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission, demand the abolition of them doing or collecting funds for “constituency projects” which is clearly the job of the executive arm and to also demand a drastic cut in the budget of the parliament, for even with their hefty allowances they have turned their “oversight functions” into money spinners for themselves, otherwise why are the very places they do “oversight” on full of corruption and other sharp practices? 7. The Church should canvass for the adequate funding of the education sector in both the federal and states level. 8. The Church should canvass for the institutionalization of a social service welfare scheme where the aged and the jobless can be catered for. 9. Finally, the Church must continue to exert her influence in demanding accountability and good governance irrespective of who is in government.   The Church can do all of the above and more by engaging the services of the abundant lawyers in her midst and her members in the parliament. That way the Church will be reckoned with, and any government or a part of it or any agency that wants to misbehave will reckon that the Church will come after her. This is where and how the Church will have dominion and real power over the affairs of the nation, but not in merely endorsing questionable politicians. In engaging government to be accountable the Church must expect reactionary forces and the beneficiaries of corruption to begin to say the usual nonsense like, “the Church should leave politics alone”, “the Clergy have no business with governance”, “there should be a separation of the State and religion”, blah, blah, blah. But we know this is false. Religion is best placed to serve the purpose of regulation and moderation of human conduct. A nation with active religious presence and influence is well placed to avoid being a banana republic, which Nigeria seems headed to, and we cannot afford to be a banana republic. A wise man, Peter Kay said humorously of such a republic that, “You never know where to look when eating a banana.” I know the Church can force a positive turn around for our nation for one reason. In the heat of the rage over the killing of the ten youth service corps members in Bauchi, the Bishop, Diocese of Lagos West Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Dr. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi was reported on page 55 of the Nation newspaper of Friday, May 13, 2011 in a story captioned Bishop threatens showdown on NYSC reform and written by Dada Aladelokun (Assistant Editor) saying, “We will continue to harp on it and I enjoin every member of this Church and all well-meaning Nigerians to support us in this crusade. And I make bold to say that if the government will not heed our call, I will lead this congregation on a march on the National Assembly. We can no longer condone this wanton killing of our future leaders.” The Bishop was making a case for the review of the N.Y.S.C. scheme where possibly graduates could be posted to their states or regions to serve. But what struck me was the realization that the clergy knew they could bring out their congregation to march on the street or march on any arm of government to demand for change and yet, all this while that government upon government were serially raping and plundering our resources they kept mute. Don’t tell me that they have been speaking to rulers privately, for the Bible says in Proverbs 27:5 that “Open rebuke is better than secret love.” I was excited that at least the Church has jerked back to life and to her calling. So, let us move on. In the thick of the dilly dally by the National Assembly and late President Yar’Adua’s cabinet last year over whether to pass a resolution declaring the then sick President incapacitated in order to make way for then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to become Acting President, Pastor Mrs. Sarah Amakwu, Senior Pastor, Family Worship Centre, Abuja pulled her Church congregation to join the march organized by the Save Nigeria Group led by Pastor Tunde Bakare, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Mrs. Naja’atu Mohammed, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Wole Soyinka and other leaders of Civil Society Organizations calling on the National Assembly and the cabinet to declare the sick President incapacitated. The unrelenting pressure they mounted caused the dithering Senate to do the right thing, and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was declared Acting President. I have observed with amusement how shady politicians and some media people are now attributing that feat to Senate President David Mark in order for him to retain the senate presidency, conveniently forgetting that he led the most over paid, underperforming and most corrupt parliament in the world. The same pressure was exerted by the same individuals and organizations to compel an also dithering President Goodluck Jonathan to send Prof. Maurice Iwu to an inglorious retirement, for it seemed he and his party were intent on retaining Prof. Iwu’s injurious services which had served them well at the expense of the nation. The same pressure by the same persons and groups caused government to look outside some suggested questionable characters that were being bandied about as possible replacement for Prof. Iwu. President Jonathan is now being cleverly credited with that feat also; in fact it was part of his campaigns songs. As time flies, if you are not careful, it will carry your memory along its wings into mental recession. That’s my quote.   The point here is the Church can take the lead in organizing marches, walks or sit-ins against cases of injustice, corruption and sit-tight rulers. Great man of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the G.O. of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was widely reported last year to have said he will lead his Church in protest if the 2011 elections were fraudulent. This is commendable. The presidential elections, and even the other elections could not be said to have been fair; the rigging commenced when the ruling party rigged out a zone that was supposed to produce the candidate for the election, and the rigging continued up to the presidential primaries where delegates had their status changed to dollargates, and it went through to the general elections where money and incumbency proved decisive. This much was also testified by Rev. Moses Iloh, the Shepherd-in-charge of Soul-Winning Ministries, Lagos. The man of God was quoted by Gabriel Dike, a Sun newspaper reporter on page 13 of their Tuesday, May 17, 2011 edition in a story titled 2011 polls, most sophisticated electoral fraud – Rev Moses Iloh as saying, “the secret agendum was to ensure victory at all costs for Mr. President at the polls in the full consciousness that Nigeria parades the most disreputable, conscienceless and despicable judiciary when it comes to election tribunals…..there was no control limit placed on funds to be expended on the election campaign. There was no question that it was government’s scarce funds that were irresponsibly wasted on campaign funding by the incumbents.” Earlier in the story the reporter said the man of God referred to the election as the most expensive, sophisticated, highly educated and well-mannered electoral fraud in the history of the country despite the determination of Nigerians to protect their votes. On the consequence of the Church’s bias in the elections the man of God said, “The polity was violently raped and now pregnant with two dangerous bastards: religion and tribalism. When the pregnancy matured and these monsters are delivered, they will at birth, show up with 32 fully matured teeth.” Scary situation Nigeria has been walked into, you might agree. Well, the protest marches as proposed by God’s servant Pastor Adeboye should not be limited to elections issues alone; it should be commenced and sustained for good governance. This is one of the ways in which the Spirit of the Church will be felt in society compelling positive change. It is this attitude that fuelled and is still fuelling the mass uprisings in almost all the Arab States, whose living standards are far beyond those of Nigerians. Yet, they are determined to create a better society for themselves. Some Christians may be scoffing at them, even assuming that it could be a divine confusion set among them, but the Lord has a Word for them thus: “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Luke 16:8. So, the children of light (the Church) watch idly and even endorse corrupt politicians to be plundering the resources of God and as they are plundering they will be praying for them in Church for “wisdom and divine guidance” while others elsewhere are determined that such plunder cannot be. So, who is wiser? That Scripture has given the answer clearly. The Church must rise up to her calling of societal accountability, so that thievery in government will stop, for no society can afford to have people with inherent inclination to stealing public funds as leaders because of the spiritual implication of this negative inclination: “….This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off…. I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.” Zechariah 5:3 & 4. So, the penalty for a thief and those who use God’s name fraudulently is shared with their household without exemption. Little wonder Nigeria has not been doing well in spite of prayers like, “O’ Lord, bless our leaders with wisdom and guide them.” If the Church leads the way in the fight against mis-governance she would of course be joined by the rest of society, bringing healing and unity of purpose in the society and ultimately restoring the honour of the Church. Do I even have to say the Church will be feared by evil forces? The book of Acts of the Apostles does not read Prayers of the Apostles. No, it showed the Apostles engaging in civil disobediences against what was wrong. While they were praying they were also acting. Good example of faith without works being dead. Nigeria must rank as the most praying nation in the world, but it should not stop there. There must be physical involvement. God will not come down in Person to remove evil from society, no. He works with us and through us. There should be no reason why Nigeria with plenty of Churches should not be better off than churchless nations like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, etc. The Lord Jesus Christ said a parable about the sleeping Church and the consequence thus: “…..The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” Matthew 13:24 & 25. So, as the Church slept, the devil came and sowed the tares of corruption, kidnappings, thefts, robberies and all manner of violence and evil, and Nigerians are in tears caused by these tares! As the Church slept, the devil anointed political leaders for the nation and masterfully, characteristically and deceptively presented them to the Church for their signature. This sleep should end! Ironically, a Nigerian pastor, Sunday Adelaja was used mightily by God to bring a revolutionary change in Ukraine in 2005 by pulling out his large congregation unto the streets of the capital, Kiev. He detailed his story in his book CHURCH SHIFT. In Nigeria, we have pastors that pull large crowds in miracle or healing conventions. The congregations revere them to the point of total adoration and submission. Can they now harness this gift to change this nation radically in order to escape God’s imminent judgement? It is called Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR. It is time.