Mo Ibrahim Governance Report On Jonathan’s Nigeria

| SAM NDA-ISAIAH

A fortnight ago, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation released its governance report for 2012. The foundation was established by Dr Mohamed “MO” Ibrahim in 2006. Mo Ibrahim, who was born in Sudan but now settled in Britain, is the billionaire entrepreneur who founded the telecommunications giant Celtel. By the time he sold it in 2005 for $3.4 billion, Celtel had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers in 14 African countries. In 2006, he established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to encourage good governance in Africa. He also created the Mo Ibrahim Governance Index to evaluate African nations’ performance.
In 2007, he established the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership which awards a $5 million initial payment and a $200,000 annual payment for life to African presidents who deliver security, health, education and economic development to their nations. In 2007, the prize was awarded to President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique; in 2008 to President Festus Mogae of Botswana. No African president qualified for the award in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, it was won by President Pedro Pires of Cape Verde. No African president performed well enough to earn it this year. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation also publishes the Ibrahim Index of African Governance ranking the performance of all 53 African countries. This year, both Sudan and Southern Sudan were not evaluated for lack of sufficient data.
This year, the best performing country by the index is Mauritius. And the top best 10, apart from Mauritius, are Cape Verde, Botswana, Seychelles, South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Tunisia, Lesotho and Tanzania in that order. For the first time since this governance assessment started, Nigeria is graded among the worst 10 governed nations of Africa. This should hardly surprise us, except that we have not heard any abusive condemnations of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation from Jonathan’s verbose aides.
Nigeria shares this infamy of being among the worst 10 with Equitorial Guinea, one of the most corrupt countries in the world; Guinea Bissau, which is technically a failed state; Cote d’ Ivoire; Zimbabwe where Robert Mugabe still looms large; Central African Republic; Eritrea; Chad; Democratic Republic of Congo, another failed state perpetually at war; and, of course, Somalia, which has been taken over by thugs, terrorists and pirates. Jonathan’s Nigeria is clearly in good company.
Many of us have had cause to declare that, even by Nigeria’s very poor governance standards, the Jonathan government stands alone and apart. Our current problem is monumental corruption which robs vital sectors of funding, and also incompetence in governance. “Incompetence” and “clueless” are words that have been freely associated with the Nigerian president all over the world. Borno and Yobe states are the headquarters of Boko Haram operatives and Yobe, especially, is a completely failed state. The Yobe governor doesn’t even live in the state anymore.
The situation in Yobe is worse than the situation in Somalia. Yet, the president has not visited there – not even once. When asked recently, the president said the Maiduguri Airport was not functioning, but every Nigerian knew that was a presidential lie. I have never seen a commander-in-chief so afraid of felons like our president. Because Jonathan has refused to go there, it should not be any surprise that many people including Boko Haram chieftains now believe that the president has ceded those two states to Boko Haram, just like we have al-Shabaab-controlled areas of Somalia.
It is the type of corruption that allows as much as N2.6 trillion to be stolen from a single subhead in a single year that has deprived the nation of funds to tackle the insecurity in the country. As I have always averred on this page, security is the first and basic responsibility of every government. And if any government fails in this index, it will fail in all the other indices. It is also corruption that has prevented the country from making any meaningful progress in education, provision of healthcare services, development of infrastructure as well as all aspects of human and material development.
I hope that this year’s very damning Mo Ibrahim report on Nigeria would be very useful in serving as a wake-up call to President Jonathan to know that it’s not only Nigerians that are watching him. The world is also watching and the verdict on him so far is very, very bad.

EARSHOT
Between Oshiomhole And Amnesty International
Governor Adams Oshiomhole has come under criticism from Amnesty International because he granted a go-ahead for the execution of two persons sentenced to death for murder by the courts. Those who criticise the governor have not said that the convicts are not murderers. No, they are only against the death sentence as a policy.
I believe one of the problems of this country is that we have not been convicting and executing murderers enough in this country. Death sentences and executions are not punishment for the convicted. They are deterrents to those with murderous instincts who are still alive. And that is a very good and valid reason to continue with the death sentence as a policy. A major reason why there is so much anarchy and disorder in this country is that crimes are not punished. That is statecraft 101. And anyone who is ready to kill should also be ready to die. We only need to look around the world and compare those countries with strong rule of law which execute murderers with those who think they are “too civilised” to execute murderers and see which ones are more liveable. I advocate the death sentence not only for murderers but also for kidnappers and arms traffickers who are the facilitators of these crimes.
Until we start executing all those who kill either in the name of armed robbery,  religion, kidnapping or terrorism, bad people would continue to kill innocent people just for the fun of it. Until there are grave consequences for murder, Nigeria will continue to be one of the most dangerous countries to live in. If the rule of law has been followed and the convicts have exhausted their appeals, Governor Oshiomhole should ensure that the death sentences are carried out as soon as possible.
 Leadership

Nigerians top list of private jet owners in Africa, Spend N1.3 trillion on Wonders on Wings

Bombardier Global Jet

WITH Nigeria holding the record of a country with the highest private jet ownership in Africa, the aviation sector has brought into sharp relief the paradox of a nation that is endowed with huge oil resources but where only a few are wealthy.
In a country where the average Nigerian lives on less than $1 a day, there is a super rich class of business moguls, bankers, preachers, politicians and oil magnates whose private ownership of jets is more than that of any other country.
While the rich can afford such luxuries, the economic crisis in the nation is seen in a situation where the aviation sector needs financial succour from the Federal Government.
Indeed, worried about the critical state of the nation’s aviation industry, the Federal Government is proposing a fresh round of intervention for airlines.
The new intervention fund would be different from the N100 billion given to airlines three years ago to help them boost their operations.
While some judiciously used the funds, others reportedly diverted them.
Also, government has ensured that access to the funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would be on the basis of a single digit interest and it is for a long term.
A top official of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) told The Guardian that the ownership of the state-of-the-art jets in Nigeria had grown to over 200 in 2012 from 50 in 2008.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State had on October 7, 2012 acquired a brand new Bombardier Global 5000 (N565RS) for his exclusive use. He is said to glide all over Rivers State while holding the throttle levers himself.
The jet was primarily bought from Bombardier in Canada for $45.7 million through the Bank of Utah Trustee account.
Sources said Amaechi traded off the state’s current Embraer Legacy 600, saying it was too expensive to maintain. The sources said $5 million was added to the proceed of the traded plane that enabled the government to buy the latest airplane.
The oil-rich Rivers State already owns an AW139 helicopter, which it leased to a commercial airliner. The state then turned around to patronize the airline’s VIP Sikorsky S76C helicopter.
Last year, the state government sold its Dash 8-Q200 aircraft to Cross River State for $6 million. Cross River State then leased the plane to Aero Contractors to undertake commercial flights to and from Obudu airstrip in the state.
Amaechi is just one of many state chief executives that own airplanes.
Aircraft manufacturers like Bombardier, Gulf Stream, Embraer, Hawker Siddley and Challenger have made Nigeria their huge market because of the demand for these aircraft types by wealthy Nigerians.
The common brands of private jets in Nigeria are Hawker Siddley 125-800 and 900XP, Gulfstream 450, 550 and 650; Bombardier Challenger 604, 605; Global Express; Embraer Legacy and Falcons.
According to an official of Bombardier, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer, Nigeria ranks behind the United States, United Kingdom, and China among countries that top their orders for the supply of the aircraft type; just as there are indications that N1.30 trillion may have been expended in the last seven years. Nigeria is said to top the market for private jet ownership.
The Managing Director of Aero Airlines, Captain Akin George, had recently spoken on the increasing number of private jets being parked at most of the aprons of Nigerian airports.
He was particularly piqued that most of the private jets carry foreign registration credentials rather than Nigerian registration.
The decision to register the jets in foreign countries, particularly in South Africa, is said to be informed by the notion that in case the owners want to resell the jets, they would warrant a bigger value from buyers.
He had subsequently called on the authorities concerned in the country to make registration processes in Nigeria friendly and attractive.
The economic downturn in Europe and the United States had made Nigeria and China to become two of the fastest growing private jet markets in the world.
There are many factors that have encouraged the rise of acquisition of customized jets, which cost between N2.4 billion and N9 billion.
Chief among these is the fact that flight schedules in the aviation industry are no longer flexible.
Again, the dearth of aircraft and the huge passenger traffic that is not commensurate with the capacity of the airlines has made air travel difficult for those who wish to travel by air.
In a situation like this, wealthy Nigerians would opt to acquire their own private jets to save time that would have been wasted waiting for flights whose times of departure are not known.
According to Aviation and travel expert, Olumide Ohunayo, the flight schedules of most commercial airliners that are not flexible have made it attractive for those who can afford private jets to acquire them.
Recurring delays and an inherent socio-political and economic system that thrive more in spontaneity rather than rigorous planning, according to Ohunayo, are other contributory factors.
His words: “Worldwide, they are taxed and made to pay higher charges to fund the civil aviation system and to reduce congestion, but that is not the case here.”
The new intervention fund of the Federal Government for the aviation sector is about a 16-year facility, which is expected to boost domestic aircraft operations.
This time around, the fund whose exact amount is yet to be disclosed would be paid to aircraft manufacturers or lessors for airlines to acquire newer fleet.
Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah-Ogiewonyi made the disclosure in Abuja at the weekend in an exclusive interview with The Guardian.
She said the intervention fund given to the carriers did not grow aviation, adding that, “we wanted a direct growth for a better impact than what we currently have in place and our strategy to utilising it is to have a tripartite, triangular if you like, system where the CBN with the approval of the Ministry of Finance pays directly to aircraft manufacturers of the leasing company.
“The leasing company would in turn bring the aircraft to our airline operators. The airline operators would now have access to brand new aircraft. If not brand new, but relatively brand new aircraft. You and the passengers will have access to functional airline that can take you to where you want to go safely and aviation remains the preferred mode of transportation,” she added.
She explained that a thorough audit of the airlines was carried out when she assumed office, stressing that there were airlines which were half-dead, financially weak, ineffective, inefficient and predicted that they (airlines) would collapse in six months because of their poor standards.
Airlines in Nigeria have shown signs of ailment, as all of them are heavily indebted to banks, aviation agencies, fuel marketers to the tune of over N250 billion.
Piqued by the development, the apex bank in September sent a circular banning financial institutions from extending further credit to Nigerian airlines.
According to the CBN, this will prevent the airlines from further escalating their huge debt profiles by borrowing more money.
Unlike in Nigeria, the United States gives bankruptcy protection like the chapter 11 protection, just as stakeholders call for more support for the carriers.
They noted that the domino effect of a crisis-ridden sector would lead to pain for operators and passengers
Oduah-Ogiemonyi regretted that Nigeria- airlines were yet to benefit from the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with other nations.
The minister stated that for the country to tap into the air pact, the government would go into Joint Venture (JV) with airlines it has BASA pact with.
Nigeria has 85 BASA agreements that are completely unutilised and could not be utilised because none of the nation’s carriers has the capacity to reciprocate or operate into destinations as provided for in the air agreement, as they are very small and fragmented.
Her words: “We are not getting the commercial benefits. We have not been benefiting commercially from the relationships and we say we can do that. Now is the time to look at them so that we can empower them. We have viable routes that we cannot utilise because we lack the capacity.
“We proposed to have a marriage, a joint venture between the bigger airlines and us. In doing so, airline operators were given the opportunity to work with the big ones and the big ones will domesticate their activities as it applies to Nigeria; meaning they will do the Nigerian route and still have access to our international route.
“You can see the opportunity we are giving them access to, which ordinarily on their own, they would not have direct access to. For instance, they can do Nigeria-London; they can do Nigeria-New York and Nigeria-Dubai.”
 BusinessNews

Igbos and the marginalisation of Nigerians

by Jibrin Ibrahim

in

Marginalisation, defined as the outcome of domination, is the most favoured word used by the Nigerian elite to describe their perceived political reality and above all to seek for more access to the national cake.

In all of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, the story is very similar. Two broad issues are posed when ethno-regional domination emerges as a political issue in Nigeria. The first issue is the control of political power and its instruments such as the armed forces, the public service and the judiciary. The second is the control of economic power and resources. Both are powerful instruments that are used to influence the authoritative allocation of resources to groups and individuals. I am one of those who believe that reference to ethnic and cultural groups as political actors is fraught with analytical risks and any statement made about a group can be easily faulted. For the coming weeks however, a take leave of rational political science and narrate what we say about our ethno-regional groups for the purpose of building a narrative on the marginalisation of Nigerians. Today, we start with the Igbos.

Three issues are on the table today on the Igbo question, the question of state creation, the Igbo presidency and the impact of the civil war. Chinua Achebe’s recent book – “There Was a Country”, in which he makes unambiguous comments of the complicity of the Nigerian state and its leaders at the time, Yakubu Gowon and Obafemi Awolowo in starving over two million Igbos to death has generated a huge debate over the past two weeks. General Gowon has responded denying the charges and claiming that it was Ojukwu who refused the offer of a humanitarian corridor and many furious Yoruba intellectuals have lambasted Achebe for what they consider to be unfair attack directed at Awolowo. What we can say is that Gowon’s “no victor, no vanquished” attitude blocked debate on what really happened and I think we should all thank Professor Achebe for placing the question on the table in such a dramatic manner.

There is no doubt that the civil war of 1967 to 1970 was the most serious threat to the existence of Nigeria as a country and it led to the loss of one to two million lives, depending on whose figure you accept. It should be recalled that just before the war, Western leaders had warned that if the East goes, the West will follow. That threat was not put into action and Awolowo, the Western leader was released from jail to serve as Finance Minister and Deputy Leader of the Federal Executive Council. His former political secretary, my good friend Odia Ofeinun has written this week explaining that a key document for the debate which has been suppressed all this time is the book by the 1966 coup leader, Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, in which he states that the objective of the coup was to make Awolowo Nigeria’s prime minister. He has also started a debate on the complicity of the political and traditional leaders of the then Mid-West.

The fact of the matter is that the Igbo elite have a strong empirical basis to read Nigerian political history as one of failure and frustration for them. It’s a narrative that sees a proud and hard-working people, “the Jews of Africa”, that have been forced to play second fiddle to the other for too long, especially the Hausa-Fulani ruling circles. Following the coup and the subsequent massacre of Igbos in 1966 in the Northern region, and the subsequent declaration of secession by the Eastern region in May 1967, the Igbo elite had assumed that other Nigerians would not fight to keep them in the Federation. They were wrong. Other Nigerians fought to preserve the Federation and the result was the thirty-month civil war and the heavy death toll.

In his book, “Igbo Leadership and the Future of Nigeria” Arthur Nwankwo argues that “Nigerians of all other ethnic groups will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo”, a phenomenon, he tells us, that Chinua Achebe had earlier dubbed “the Igbo problem”. Nwankwo tells us that the Igbos are more cosmopolitan, more adopted to other cultures, more individualistic and competitive, more receptive to change and more prone to settle and work in other parts of the country than other Nigerians. This reality, he says, is overshadowed by the myth other Nigerians persist in spreading that the Igbo are aggressive, arrogant and clannish. This purported attitude of other Nigerians towards the Igbos he points out has led to the development of a “final solution” aimed at neutralising and marginalising the Igbos after the civil war. This is seen to have occurred in two ways.

After the civil war, there was a coordinated policy of pauperising the Igbo middle class by the offer of a twenty pound ex gratis award to all bank account holders irrespective of the amounts they had lodged with the banks before the civil war. This was followed by routing the Igbos from the commanding heights of the economy by introducing the indigenisation decree at a time when the Igbos had no money, no patronage and no access to loans to compete for the companies. In addition, landed property owned by the Igbo was declared to be “abandoned property” particularly in Port Harcourt. In the public service, the Igbo elite were marginalised by the refusal to re-absorb most of their cadres who had attained high positions in the armed forces and the federal public service.

It is in this context that many within the Igbo elite have come to understand the policies of “no victor, no vanquished” and “reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation” announced after the war, were not actually applied. There is room to debate these issues today as they feed into current demands for the creation of an additional state in the South East and the clamour for an Igbo Presidency. Of course since the end of the civil war, there has been a remarkable Igbo economic and commercial élan. The marginalisation did not work at the economic and commercial level and the success of the Igbo come back is one of the remarkable stories of our time. It might be precisely because of this success that bitterness persists among the Igbo elite on why other Nigerians appear to believe that they should continue with the politics of second fiddle.

To be major players in politics requires team and coalition building. The Northern political class used to be very good at that but they have lost it in recent years. For the Igbo elite to play it successfully, they do need to convince and reassure the others. Chinua Achebe might have done this cause harm by his recent assertions which really angered the Yoruba elite and now jeopardises the possibility of a common southern political front which appeared possible for the first time in our political history. He has however done Nigeria a lot of good by demanding that we look more closely at the history of the civil war and learn more of what we did to ourselves. As I eagerly wait to get my copy of the book by Achebe and the publication of Ifeajuna’s book, I am enthralled at all the revelations that have been coming out over the past few weeks and I believe understanding our recent history better is the best path to nation building. Next week, I take a look at the Hausa-Fulani and the Marginalisation of Nigerians.

DailyTrust

Uduaghan and his Pet White Elephants

Uduaghan is building a portfolio of Africa’s most notorious white elephant projects

Last week the World Bank warned several resource rich African countries about allowing their governments embark on White Elephant projects.
Obviously Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State was not listening. He’s the sort of man that seems to enjoy throwing the people of Delta’s money away on overbloated projects that offer nothing in terms of practicality but everything in terms of treasury looting.
His administration only recently announced the upgrading of the Osubi airport in Warri to international airport standards. This project is slated to cost an outrageous N37.5 billion.
Meanwhile Warri is one of the most dangerous cities in Africa with kidnappings, armed robberies and other forms of thuggery and violent crimes being the norm. The roads are virtually umotorable with crater-sized potholes littering the landscape. Even Governor Uduaghan has once had to personally leave the comfort of his bullet proof jeep to direct and ease the traffic snarl on the road.
A responsible government would focus on giving the people motorable roads, jobs and adequate security. But in this era of Animal Farm democracy, Uduaghan has seen it fit to domesticate white elephants andchannel the resources of the people into his favorite past-times.
Considering the actual upgrades, that are envisioned by the administration, a sum of N5 billion would probably be enough to tackle the project, but in this period of peppersoup politics, so many cronies, thugs, godfathers and party insiders must chop. The victims are undoubtedly the people of Warri and to a larger extent, the Niger Delta region.
This same governor expended N7.4 billion to demolish a hill so larger planes could land in Asaba airport. Undoubtedly we see the handiwork of the pet white elephant at work in that project as well.
The governor, not a man given to statesman-like confidence, said himself that he was certain none of these “projects” would be completed by the time he leaves office.
BusinessNews

“My boyfriend wasn’t too happy” – Beverly Naya denies dating Uti Nwachukwu

Fast rising Nollywood actress, Beverly Naya, has denied reports that she is currently dating Uti Nwachukwu. The stories even went further to say they were planning to walk down the aisle in no time. However, she has emphatically stated she is in another relationship and the rumours were misleading.
She tweeted: “This Insinuation is laughable..Pls lets not start a rumor…..My boyfriend wasn’t too happy seeing this.”
She went on insist that their relationship was not beyond platonic and it was purely professional.
“Uti makes me laugh a lot…its always fun and games hanging out with him and nothing more. We are not dating,” she said.
The 2010 Big Brother Africa winner, is yet to react to the rumours, even as ‘Weekend Getaway’, a movie they featured together, will be released soon.
DailyPost

Mikel Obi allegedly suffered racial abuse from Mark Clattenburg

More controversies are still arising from the feisty clash between Chelsea and Manchester United, that was played at Stamford Bridge. Referee for the game, Mark Clattenburg, sent off Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres and also allowed Chicharito’s winner, which was scored from an offside position to stand.
By 8pm last night, the West London club, lodged an official complaint against Clattenburg, for using inappropriate language to two of their players.
“We have a lodged a complaint to the Premier League match delegate with regards to inappropriate language used by the referee and directed at two of our players in two separate incidents during today’s match,” a Chelsea spokesman said. “The match delegate will pass the complaint to the Football Association. We will make no further comment at this time.”
Although the club did not reveal the identities of the players, a report in the UK Guardian claims the players were John Mikel Obi and Juan Mata. It is understood the Nigerian international, stormed into Clattenburg’s room after the game, to demand for an apology.
“They did not reveal the identity of the players, although one of them is understood to have been the Nigeria international Mikel John Obi, a player that Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, felt had been lucky to avoid a red card from Clattenburg, in a game in which two Chelsea players, Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres, did receive them,” David Hytner wrote.
The Professional Game Match Officials, in a statement, confirmed that “is aware of the allegations and they are being treated with the utmost seriousness. Mark will co-operate fully and welcomes the opportunity for the facts to be established. No further comment will be made until matter has been properly investigated.”
DailyPost

“It’s unfortunate that Gulak said National Assembly members can’t spell their names” – Ozoani

The Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Deputy Senate President, Okey Ozoani, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to lay off any aide who does not understand his official responsibilities.
The special adviser said this in Abuja, on Sunday, in response to a recent statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak that some members of the National Assembly are illiterates.
Gulak was quoted to have said that the National Assembly should be held responsible for poor budget implementation as well as the late passage of Appropriation Act, among other allegations.
Ozoani described his statement as uncalled for, asserting that Gulak’s claims that the Deputy Senate President said most National Assembly members were illiterates was unfortunate.
He said, “This, coming from Mr. Gulak, who has found pleasure in courting trouble for the Presidency by his reckless statements on not just the National Assembly and its officers, but also respected elder statesmen of the Federal Republic, is not surprising.
“While the Deputy President of the Senate would not want to join issues with Gulak, it is imperative for the Presidential Adviser to know the limits of his importance-seeking, fawning, and trouble-courting fits.
“It is unfortunate that Gulak, who is supposed to be neck and neck in gainful political strategies and bridge-building for Mr. President has practically reassigned himself the disreputable role of troublemaking, meddlesome interloping and indeed bridge breaking.
“First, it is unfortunate that Gulak is quick to point out when the 2012 national budget was passed without also stating when it was submitted to the National “Assembly.
“The 2012 Appropriation Act was submitted in December 2011 and passed by the National Assembly in March 2012. Gulak’s claim that enough work goes into the Appropriation Bills before submission to the National Assembly does not in any way preclude the parliament as co-managers of the economy from subjecting such budget estimates to legislative scrutiny and due process.”
“It is also gratifying that the President had taken into account the observations of the National Assembly on the need for early submission of budget estimates by submitting the 2013 Appropriation Bill earlier this time, in this month of October.”
On claims that most National Assembly members were illiterates Ozoani explained that Gulak’s claims were spurious and abusive.
“To put matters straight, the Deputy President of the Senate, while speaking on the topic ‘The Political Ideology of the Great Zik of Africa and Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’ at the 2nd Zik Annual Lecture Series organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Awka stressed that the 21st century Nigeria needed knowledgeable leadership at all levels that could effectively drive development and realise the lofty dreams of the nation’s founding fathers.” He added.
DailyPost