by
Tony Afejuku
Everybody who has been following the case, or,
better put, the allegation of certificate forgery against the Comrade
Governor of Edo State has been praying fervently for justice, good and
undiluted justice, to be delivered by the new Edo State Election
Tribunal hearing the petition tendered against Oshiomhole by his major
opponent in the last Edo gubernatorial election, Major-General Charles
Airviavbere. Of course, the Major General has since closed his case in
the tribunal in the same way that Comrade Oshiomhole has closed his -
although without being courageous enough to enter the dock. I found the
Comrade Governor’s refusal or unwillingness to enter the dock
unhealthily curious and negatively strange. Whatever the tactic that led
him and his robust team of silk-donning luminaries to do what he and
all of them have done is something we cannot ignore in our inquiry into
an exercise or an attempt to understand the conditions and nature of the
type of temperament, thought and morality of all conceivers, inspirers
and planners of the tactic. But we shall not do so straightaway.
The
Comrade Governor has closed his case without dwelling at all on the
matter of the allegation of certificate forgery levelled against him.
Why? I shall attempt to give a concise answer to educate him on the
needlessness to dodge the issue. But first, I feel the need to address
the issue of his opponent’s appeal regarding further witnesses the
Major-General needed to consolidate his case against him. The day
Governor Oshiomhole closed his case at the tribunal was also the day the
Court of Appeal ruled that Major General Airiavbere’s further witnesses
would not be allowed to tender whatever they meant to tender against
the Governor with respect to the matter of the latter’s alleged
certificate forgery.
From the reports I got from some
correspondents who were at the Court of Appeal, the ruling which was
spiced with lively but specious literary and legal terms and authorities
was at best an exercise done to address the question of form or, better
put, the manner in which the subject of the appeal got to the Appeal
Court. Oshiomhole’s lawyer confirmed this when he said in a television
interview that the appellant merely brought a contraband to the Appeal
Court. In other words, the appeal was a smuggled item improperly
imported (or shall we say, improperly exported?) to court. Thus the
Court of Appeal was right to reject the appeal. But I must ask: in such a
weighty matter of certificate forgery against a model Governor, was the
Appeal Court truly right to let form prevail over substance? Could it
not have been better for the Governor’s image and for justice’s image as
well, to be redressed, so to say, with the substance that would emanate
from the testaments of the now disallowed further witnesses? Of course,
how the Governor would have reacted to the disallowed witnesses’
testimonies would certainly, in my view, serve better the cause of
justice.
The appellant, let me admit, may have erred in the
manner of presentation in court of the issue in question, but the Appeal
Court ought to have remedied the error to serve the cause of undiluted
justice. Recently, Professor Itse Sagay, in a tribute to the late
Justice Kayode Eso, a “colossus” (who) has departed” our earth plane,
said as follows: the “Supreme Court held that ubi jus, ibi remedium”
meaning that “where there’s a right, there must be a remedy.” The
Supreme Court Sagay referred to is not the current Supreme Court, but
the Supreme Court of the golden age of the “judiciary in Nigeria”. Sagay
painstakingly went further to give us a picture of the world view of
the “golden” Supreme Court by way of quoting verbatim Karibi-Whyte, JSC
and Oputa, JSC, respectively, as follows: “I think the court has
attained a stature in the pursuit of justice that a claimant who has
established a recognized injury cannot be turned back on the ground that
he has not stated the head of law under which he was seeking a remedy”
(Karibi-Whyte JSC). Oputa, JSC gave further impetus to this “fundamental
pronouncement” about the guiding philosophy “so fundamental to the
administration of justice”, thus: “Where there is no remedy provided
either by the common law or by statue, the courts have been urged to
create one. The courts cannot, therefore, be deterred by the novelty of
an action.”
I submit that the Court of Appeal in disallowing
Major General Airiavbere from calling further witnesses to further help
his case against his electoral opponent whom he has accused of
pre-election rigging, deterred itself by the novelty of an action. The
Court of Appeal has clearly not used its discretion judiciously to
further the administration of justice in our country.
Whether we
like to hear it or not, this case of certificate forgery against
loquacious and now on un-courageous Governor Oshiomhole is vital to
giving the judiciary in Nigeria a modicum of good reputation that it is
losing and a well-wrought zinc over its dilapidating temple.
Major
General Airiavbere’s lawyer, also in the same television interview
cited above, said the failure of the appeal is not fatal to their case
meaning, in my view, that his team has an hors d’oeuvre to serve in the
tribunal and court of justice. I hope so - in a negative sense. This
year, rolling to the next, may be called Nigeria’s judiciary’s annus
mirabilis. I hope so - in a positive sense – maybe. Then we shall be
heading to a renewed golden age in Nigeria’s judiciary. Maybe not.
NigerianTribune
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Show-case of completed projects by FMW’s under Works Minister Mike Onolememen as at April 2012
Today Nigerians from different parts of the country can attest to the fact that the federal ministry of works is recording phenomenal success in transforming the road sector, signs of a better road development are becoming clearer by the day. Although there more work to be done
Show-case of completed projects and on-going projects (with pictures) by Federal Ministry of works under Arc. Mike Onolememen
BENIN-ORE-SHAGAMU DUAL CARRIAGE WAY
AFTER BEFORE
The minister of works honorable Arc. Mike Oziegbe Onolememen, at a media briefing at the ministerial platform to commemorate democracy day and one year in office of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said:”The future is very bright for Nigerian roads as the foundation for world class roads is being laid, and for us at the Federal Ministry of Works, the task of making Nigerian roads better and safer, is a task that must be done.”
Here is the minister’s press briefing on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at the national press Centre, Radio House, Garki, Abuja
INTRODUCTION
Gentlemen of the Press
It gives me great joy to be here again to present to you the achievements of the Federal Ministry of Works in the past one year under the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR.
You will recall that on September 6, 2011, when I stood here during the celebration of the first hundred days of
the administration of Mr. President, I listed a number of interventions that the Federal Ministry of Works under
my leadership was making on Nigerian roads to make them motorable, safer and pleasurable for road users
Today, about one year after, Nigerians from different parts of the country can attest to the fact that the Federal
Ministry of Works is recording phenomenal success in transforming the road sector within this time-frame,
even as signs of a better road development are becoming clearer by the day.
At the inception of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration and on our assumption of duties as
Honorable Minister of Works and Honorable Minister of State for Works, we at the Federal Ministry of Works
identified a number of challenges facing road development in the country.
These include:
Inadequate Planning;
Poor Design;
Ineffective Supervision;
Bureaucratic Project Management Structure;
Lack of Strong Quality Assurance;
Inadequate Funding.
We moved quickly to address these challenges by restructuring the Ministry to provide the needed capacity through the decentralization of the bureaucratic project management structure which we inherited, for better delivery of road projects.
Six Zonal Directorates of Highways were created to better manage and supervise construction
works on sites within the geopolitical zones.
Independent Zonal Monitoring Teams for the six geopolitical zones were also constituted with membership drawn from the private sector to provide independent report on projects and activities in the zones. This measure coupled with the activities of the newly created Department of Materials, Geotechnics and Quality Control has led to better service delivery in the sector.
Specifically, from the 160 Nos. of ongoing projects we inherited, we have pursued the diligent
execution of the prioritized projects, ensuring that adequate progress is being made towards
completing the projects on schedule, and in line with specifications.
Projects
I will now dwell on some of the major priority projects in the Federal Ministry of Works under my supervision:
APAPA-OSHODI DUAL CARRIAGE WAY
The Apapa-Oshodi Expressway which was becoming an embarrassment and a source of agony to many Nigerians before the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan because of its deplorable condition has been improved upon tremendously in the past one year. . Only last weekend, I led an inspection of the ongoing works on this road and the current expansion of the road, drainage works, construction of Trailer Park and the construction of a dedicated bridge leading into Tin-Can Island Port from Liverpool Round-About, were very re-assuring
The Benin-Ore-Shagamu highway is another project where we have achieved a major milestone in the past one year. The highway is 262.5km long. The contract for the reconstruction of the road project is being executed by Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Limited and Borini Prono & Company Nigeria Limited. Before the intervention on this road by President Jonathan’s administration, Nigerians will recall how motorists spent over 9 hours to travel from Benin to Lagos or vice versa. But, thank God today that the travel time has now been reduced to 4 hours or less even when the project is still ongoing. Works are almost completed at the Benin-Ofosu-Ore parts of the road where motorists hitherto suffered prolonged delays occasioned by perennial failed section.
BENIN-ORE-SHAGAMU DUAL CARRIAGE WAY
A major part of the road has been asphalted and I receive phone calls from numerous Nigerians everyday expressing their appreciation over the works that have been carried out on the road. The marked improvement on this road that connects the South-West to the South-South and the South-East, has led to the reduction of air traffic between Benin City and Lagos, as citizens now prefer to drive on the largely improved highway. One of the key performance indicators in the road sector is improved travel times on the road; and this we have achieved on this and other roads in the past ten months.
 BEFORE |  AFTER |
| ABUJA-ABAJI-LOKOJA DUAL CARRIAGE WAY The Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja dualization road project is an arterial highway linking South-East, South-South and South-West from the nation’s capital city of Abuja. The Abuja-Lokoja section of the road is 196km long and was awarded in 2006 in four sections to; Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company Limited (Section I), Reynolds Construction Company Limited (Section II), Bulletine Construction Company Limited (Section III) and Gitto Construzioni Generalli Limited (Section IV). Due to poor funding in the past, the project recorded low progress. However, in the past ten (10) months, the Federal Ministry of Works has concentrated efforts and resources on this road resulting in marked improvement on the motorable condition of the road. This road which was notorious for its high accident rate has witnessed a reduction, following the opening of the Giri and Gwagwalada Bridges, as well as completed Sections of the road to vehicular traffic. With enhanced funding from the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) the Federal Ministry of Works plans to complete the project by October, 2014. Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja Dual Carriage way
| |||||
| KANO-MAIDUGURI DUAL CARRIAGE WAY The Kano-Maiduguri Dualization road project is the major arterial highway connecting Kano to Borno States, via Jigawa, Bauchi and Yobe states. The road is 553km long and was also awarded in 2006 in five (5) sections to Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company Limited (Section I); Setraco Nigeria Limited (Section II); Mothercat Limited (Section III) CGC Nigeria Limited (Section IV); and CCECC Nigeria Limited (Section V). The project witnessed increased progress of construction works in the past ten months. The Federal Ministry of Works plans to accelerate the pace of works towards completing the project by December 2014, with additional resources from the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, (SURE-P). Kano-Maiduguri Dual Carriage Way
|
| ONITSHA HEAD BRIDGE The Onitsha Head-Bridge end of Onitsha-Enugu highway up to Upper Iweka Junction is an area the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has done a great deal of work in the past one year. The rehabilitation of the road and the complete recovery of the service lanes that have been expanded to 3 lanes on both sides, have improved travel times along the route, and significantly reduced the traffic bottle-neck that was hitherto experienced in the area. Motorists in Onitsha and the Government of Anambra State have commended the efforts of Federal Government on the road in recent times. Today, due to the success recorded on this stretch of road, coupled with the phenomenal improvement on the Benin-Ore-Shagamu road, it is now possible to leave Onitsha and arrive Lagos in six hours. Onitsha Head-Bridge
|
Does Buhari deserve to be celebrated at 70?
ANY Nigerian leader who is fortunate to clock 70 on this earth must express his gratitude to Allah and such a leader is expected to devote his life to touch the lives of his or her own people. It has also been said that one who is celebrating his or her birth day must not forget death. ‘
General Muhammadu Buhari is a former Military ‘head of state in Nigeria. At 70, Buhari is full of life. He is an outspoken politician. General Muhammadu Buhari is a vibrant politician. He has attained the age of 70 years. General Muhammadu Buhari is a visionary leader. He has been trying his best to go back to Aso rock villa in Abuja to govern us again in Mufti as a Civilian President. It was General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida that toppled General Buhari’s government on 21st August, 1985 while late
General Tunde Idiagbon was in Mecca to perform Hajj. General Buhari said that he has a lot to do for this nation and he wanted to go back to Aso rock to complete his
work which IBB did not allow him to finish.
Personally, I really love Buhari because he is a disciplinarian. I am joining the millions of Nigerians, including Alhaji Barrister Adebayo Shitlu, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Prince
Tonny Momoh to felicitate with General Muhammadu Buhari on his 70th birthday.
I am of the firm belief that General Buhari will use the occasion of his 70th birthday to join hands together with all the Northern leaders including General Abdulsalami Abubakar and General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida to end the insurgency of Boko Haram for the sake of
national unity. Mr President is not happy with the security situation in the Northern part of Nigeria. The issue of ending Boko Haram rests in the hands of Northern leaders.
General Muhammadu Buhari has a lot of supporters in the north because of his good nature towards the poor masses.
But the question arises: Does Buhari deserve to be celebrated at 70? Yes, he deserves to be celebrated in a low key manner because of security challenges in the Northern part of Nigeria. Buhari hates corruption. He is a man of many parts. He did very well when he was appointed as a chairman of Petroleum trust fund in Nigeria.I have a genuine respect for Him.
Jimoh Mumin, Ibadan.
NigerianTribune
Does Nigeria Need a New Police Force?
The Right of Reply by Fola Arthur-Worrey
Dear Soludo, I read your treatise on the need for a New Police Force
with great interest. Indeed, one of the most potent dangers to the
future of this country is the profound weakness of our law enforcement
institutional architecture –the police and the judiciary. If Nigeria
will ‘break up’ it will not be because of the establishment of state
police but due to our refusal to take the bull by the horns, deconstruct
the existing system, and rebuild an adaptable and sustainable one able
to address current realities.
Today, violent crime is the norm and any day there is no report on one shocking incident or another is the exception. Kidnapping, robbery, communal clashes, mass-death road accidents, mob justice, terrorism, gang fights, transport union mayhem and the like are just regular occurrences and our level of outrage dips by the day as we become more inured to shock.
And in our usual fashion, our responses are typically unimaginative and elite driven, not by an elite that understands the concept of enlightened self interest, but a predatory elite that sees police resources as just another national asset to be expropriated and used in a personal and adversarial manner, as aggressive VIP security. This sickening trend of outsourcing of police assets as private security started in the late 90’s but since the advent of our current political system has grown into monstrous proportions with police officers being used as domestics, drivers and house guards, with private citizens of dubious antecedents using them for ego tripping, using convoys with blaring sirens, breaking traffic laws, brutalising citizens and generally invading the public space, with the escorts’ loyalty first to their patrons rather than to the state. Indeed, the police have institutionalised this process by the creation of a VIP Protection Unit!
As the Federal Government concedes more space to non-state actors, encouraged in their abuses by the use of state actors, so does the level of insecurity rise.
The last four Inspectors General of Police (IGs) have begun their
tenures with an acknowledgement of the problem inherent in the fact that
one third of our policemen (armed) are on such illegal duty, and have
given orders for a return of these men and the dismantling of the
security paraphernalia of private individuals and corporations. And in
each instance these instructions have been ignored with impunity.
Pressure from the political and business class and the weakness of
incumbents has made their enforcing their directives a non-starter.
There is also the reality that in outsourcing these men they have also
implicitly outsourced the cost of their welfare –allowances, uniforms
and domestic and health care, and the fact is that the police no longer
have the capacity to re-absorb them.
Effective and modern policing is a major challenge all over the world and in the UK for instance there are continuing reforms attempting to address the issues of quality of personnel, racism, abuse of police powers, accountability and the like. Countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Kenya, Mexico and South Africa for instance have police forces that are hopelessly venal and corrupt. But I am not one to point to the problems of other countries as a justification for our own problems. The thing is that we once had one of the most professionally competent police forces in the commonwealth. If you read the extracts from the police reports on the 1966 coup you would be amazed at the quality of English and the standards of reporting that are revealed therein. As a prosecutor in the Lagos State from 1981 to 1990 and subsequently as Director of Public Prosecutions from 1996 to 1998, I was witness to high quality of men and the clarity of their mandate, and then subsequently, the steady erosion in quality of policing in terms of men, material and policy over that period.
In the 1980s, the police concentrated much of their energies on three key areas – prevention by proactive investigation, apprehension by after-the-fact investigation, and public order. As a prosecutor, I relied heavily on the quality ballisticians, finger print experts, hand writing experts and very good detectives to get convictions in most of my cases. But by the 90s, the decline had set in, largely due to the change in mandate imposed by the military, i.e. the key issue became national security (meaning regime security) rather than law enforcement, and the police became essentially an expeditionary force. And the natural progression of police leadership which is usually an internal affair shaped by convention and experience was disrupted by the army wherein they could sweep aside a whole rank of officers to place their preferred candidate in position. Then came quota, federal character and all that clap-trap, destroying morale and espirit de corps.
Added to this was the amputation of police powers by the proliferation of law enforcement agencies like the FRSC, the NDLEA, EFCC, ICPC, NCDSC and the like, all sharing from the same begging bowl and not improving the state of security and law enforcement in any substantial manner. And this is typical of us. First responders to any situation all over the country is the police and even if they were indicating problems, why did we not confront those problems and strengthen them rather than creating new agencies with new problems? The fact that we are debating the issue of state police today indicates that we are still confronted with a major problem.
It was military rule which also gave rise to the undefined issue of governors being referred to nominally as Chief Security Officers, a meaningless appellation with neither constitutional nor statutory backing or definition. Of course it was another inheritance from the military when state administrators appointed by the leadership in Abuja were necessarily charged with the security of their respective states as a first line defence against coups and NADECO type threats to national security (read regime security). The reality is that today, governors are being pressurised by this appellation which many people, high and low, believe to be a constitutional title, to go outside their constitutional mandates and find money from their scarce resources to fund police operations or bear the political and public opinion cost of such failure. Meanwhile, Abuja sits in isolated and unaccountable splendour, determining which of their cronies will be the beneficiary of VIP treatment, while the redundant ministry of police affairs gets in the way of direct disbursements to the police and holds things up with wasteful projects and a stultifyingly sluggish bureaucracy.
It is significant that up to the creation of this monster, the police were able to provide most of their needs themselves, but since the creation of that ministry, the states are the first port of begging-call for all state police commissioners. I should know because today I manage the Lagos State Security Trust Fund and I can say with certainty that 95% of all operating tools –APCs, patrol vans, fuel, ballistic gear, radios (and replacement/upgrade of towers and repeater stations), rain coats/boots, motorcycles, gun boats, are provided or maintained by or through the Fund. It is amazing that no provision AT ALL is made by Abuja for the fuelling of vehicles and boats even though the vehicles themselves are provided by states. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges to the police is the fact that it has almost zero management capacity and so the problem is not, as one of your sources pointed out, that more resources will not help the police. I disagree, and I speak from experience having resourced the police in Lagos for over five years.
The problem is the way these resources are managed. When we talk of allocation, do we factor in corruption, diversion and waste? 347,000 men is an expensive proposition by any standards but the first principle of policing is resources. The three ‘P’s are critical especially in a country this size with numerous law and order problems – preparedness, presence, and patrol capability, and this costs money. There must be a minimum standard of kit and transport. Then there is maintenance, which lies at the heart, re-kitting, medical bills, training, allowances, travel, etc. I do not want to go into housing, police stations, and so on. Yet all you hear from the centre is no money, no money. Yet they could give INEC N87 billion in one gulp. Is that because it is about power?
Is that because having secured their own safety, the others can go
hang? Why did it have to be the Lagos State Government rebuilding the
Area C command building burnt down in 2005 in a fracas involving police
and soldiers? If a state could raise such funds and build a much more
modern structure what is the Federal Government doing with its 52% of
national revenue? Recently the IG launched 40 light tactical APCs to
patrol ALL the federal highways across the country. That is ridiculous!
Lagos alone has 30 APCs provided through the Trust Fund by the state
government and the LGAs. We are told that TWO of these vehicles are to
cover the Shagamu-Benin highway, a distance of 300 kilometres! And I am
sure that the men will be left to their own devices when it comes to
fuelling them. Is the Federal Government saying this is best they can
do?
So state police is a response to this kind of situation where the
Federal Government adopts a consistently anaemic approach to police
funding, not necessarily a desire for a police force a governor can
control. I venture to opine that if the police were more efficient, we
probably wouldn’t be having the debate. After all, how many state
governments look forward to the added burden of a state police force,
whose every action and non-action he will be responsible for? Who needs
the added stress?
State policing is indeed a viable and expedient option to today’s
situation. As Soludo argued, it will make the police competitive, give
them a stakeholder’s interest, make them and their political leaders
more accountable to local pressure, and can be purpose designed for
local needs and realities. This will certainly be a much more efficient
and responsive police than the Abuja based one where resources are so
badly utilised, where there is no knowledge of local problems and needs
and where the one size fits all philosophy is at work. Does every state
need a police command? How many men are enough to police Lagos or Port
Harcourt? Who is a police commissioner accountable to?
But we must, as Soludo said, be measured in our approach to avoid
situations of ‘indigene’ police (Abia State scenario of sending away
non-indigenes from its public service), religious police, or a police
that is even more incompetent than their federal predecessors due to
underfunding, mal-administration, graft, nepotism and political
interference. And we must assure that the revenue allocation formula is
adjusted to reflect the added burden on the states. Indeed, it should be
done now to reflect the fact that in many areas of governance today,
the states are subsidising the Federal Government.Mr. Arthur-Worrey is former Director of Public Prosecutions, Lagos State, and currently, Head of Lagos State Security Trust Fund
ThisDay
Sanusi cautions FG against rising debt profile
by Everest Amaefule and Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi
The
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, on Tuesday
raised the alarm over the nation’s rising debt profile and warned that
the development, if left unchecked, would result into hardship for
Nigerians.
Sanusi, at the the Honorary International
Investment Council conference in London, argued that if the existing
level of borrowing from big nations continued huge debt profile would
place “undue burden on posterity.”
The country’s total external debt stood at $6.2bn as of September 30, while the domestic debt profile was N6.3tn.
A statement from the apex bank on Tuesday
quoted the CBN governor as saying, “We are borrowing more money
today at a higher interest rate while leaving the heavy debt burden for
our children and grandchildren.
“For example, if you receive your salary
and every day the money is not enough, you have two options to adjust
yourself; either check your expenditure or check your wages.”
He advised the Federal Government not to
allow the present and unborn generations inherit the heavy burden of
foreign debts since Nigeria is currently in great danger because of
it.
But the CBN governor’s position on the
country’s rising debt profile sharply contradicts that of the Finance
Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Okonjo-Iweala had defended the borrowing
plan when she appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on
aid, loans and debts management.
She allayed the fears that Nigeria was
returning to the old era of amassing huge external debts, just a few
years after she exited from the grip of the Paris Club.
According to her, the country’s debt to
Gross Domestic Product ratio would remain at a sustainable level of
about 18.87 per cent, even with the new loans.
She explained that the loans were not
only necessary for the Nigerian economy to grow but had been negotiated
with multilateral institutions on highly concessionary terms.
The minister said that having been
involved in Nigeria’s struggle to exit the Paris Club at great pains in
2005, it would be unthinkable for her to lead an Economic Management
Team that would drag Nigeria back to that unfortunate economic era when
Nigeria groaned under the debt burden.
The Senate had two weeks ago warned state governors against creating debt burden for future generations.
It urged them to stop what it described as excessive borrowing.
While presenting the 2012 budget proposal
to the National Assembly, President Goodluck Jonathan had lamented
that the domestic debt had been growing at an alarming rate in recent
years. The clearest evidence of this is that in 2012, the Federal
Government budgeted 560bn for debt servicing.
The President spoke of curtailing
domestic debt, but he also gave room for the government to accumulate
more debts by saying that they should not go beyond 30 per cent of GDP.
At the moment, the debt to GDP ratio is
slightly less than 20 per cent. With a latitude of 30 per cent debt to
GDP ratio, the government could add up to 50 per cent of the current
debt level.
The National Assembly, last week, approved a $7.3bn borrowing plan for federal and state governments.
The HIIC conference looked into the best
ways of attracting investment to Nigeria and agreed that the nation
with many opportunities and natural resources stood to grow faster
economically.
All the speakers agreed that Nigeria,
with many opportunities and natural resources, stood to grow faster
economically, if the current trend of economic progress was sustained.
In one year of the administration of President Jonathan, Nigeria’s debt profile has risen by N1.21tn.
Statistics obtained from the Debt
Management Office show that the country’s debt profile rose from
$36.45bn (about N5.68tn) in March 2011 to $44.28bn (N6.88tn) as of March
2012.
The domestic debt component stood at $38.37bn (or N5.97tn), while the external debt stood at $5.91bn (or N919.44bn).
Details of the external debt balance show
that multilateral financial institutions account for 83.28 per cent of
the country’s foreign debt.
The International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, a member of the World Bank Group, accounts for $6.31m,
while another member of the group, the International Development
Association, accounts for $4.29bn.
The International Fund for Agricultural
Development, also a World Bank group member, contributes $70.25m to the
nation’s external debt balance.
ThePunch
PDP BoT: Do The Odds Favour Ali?
LOUIS ACHI
As Africa’s largest political party, the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) navigates the customary intrigues associated with picking its
Board of Trustees chair. LOUIS ACHI examines the core imperatives and
writes that for an exercise that should brook no sentiments, Senator
Ahmadu Ali is arguably the best bet amongst a field of bright runners to
shore up the ruling party’s flagging fortunes
An enduring attribute of great economies and democracies in the world is the enthronement of a stable and credible political structure and its guidance by credible people. A closer look at such economies and democracies also project men of enduring legacies whose ideas and milestones are regarded as religion. Easily, exemplary political institutions like the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Party of the USA and its Republican counterpart, Labour Party and its Conservative neighbours in the UK point the way. These institutions have been preserved by men as alter ego through which the icons of democracy and political development have hatched enduring intentions that keep nations always moving forward. In different countries, the various segments within the polity are given some special names and these names convey a lot of trust and reputation on which the hopes and values of nations reside. In Nigeria, the most prominent of such political preserve is the one instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), popularly known as the Board of Trustees (BoT). This uppermost stratum of the party has been believed to have conferred integrity on the party. The emerging consensus is that folks who are fit to occupy its topmost position, should have all the attributes of great passion for total nationalism. They are not people whose presence would elicit rancor and acrimony, but those whose features would always urge Nigerians to leverage their presence based on their records both in the past and the foreseeable future.
It is on this premise that many observers of political development in Nigeria have tracked with keen interest, the unfolding scenarios that would embellish the on-coming election of a BoT chairman of PDP. It may not be easy to elect one outstanding person out of over 100 supposedly outstanding party bigwigs. Only the application of a dignified consideration which uses records and acceptable philosophies of life (loyalty, excellence, patriotism etc) would make this election easier than has been imagined, if we will take the understanding that history has always explained how every noble person lived and served.
This seriousness in adopting a respectable consideration is hinged on the fact that Nigerians need strategist whose legacies transcend mere politics to offer the revered advise that would aid the establishment in making a difference, especially in today’s Nigeria where many intervening variables are trying to polarise the people.
A look at the key figures that are visible choices for the post of the PDP BoT chairman tends to offer some considerations to party stalwarts such as Senator Amadu Ali, Chief Tony Anenih and Senator Ken Nnamani. The line-up is obviously very long but a matter of thorough consideration, these three could form the first point of consideration based on certain criteria which the Nigerian polity has been at home with. One of such criteria is popularity and nuisance factors, the other is craftmanship and another is technocracy. Among the three very popular candidates, each of them has one specific quality but it is only one that has two most critical qualities imbedded in him since the past 50 years.
These criteria may have become very necessary in view of the fact that Nigerians rarely think deep when it comes to the stage of strategic choices that will keep memories for history to record. Rather, we have always been swayed by niceties and flashes of exuberance, grandstanding and showmanship
Watching this unfolding development from the sidelines of politics, one would be inclined to look more commitedly to the records of Ahmadu Ali, whose glowing records in his Edinburgh medical school years, the Nigerian Army, executive ministerial days and political landmarks have become some of the obvious milestones that could guarantee him easy passage to the position and the service required. This also becomes very important when it is obvious that nobody gives what he does not have and those that have, spend more time searching for more to offer.
Because the BoT is generally seen as the conscience of the party, the bigwigs must begin to look for their own member who really possesses the conscience and whose conscience has been tested through the crucibles of national challenges. This test is not just a matter of the opportunities one had acquired while mounting the soapbox to ask for votes, but those that formed the basis to consolidated plans in moulding new characters for national development. This is because, the BoT is considered an assemblage of topmost nationalists who feel that all the good things that must make the country great must be products of superior thinking. There is the dearth of such characters in Nigeria today, unless you have the privilege of looking into the depth of the minds of many top Nigerian politicians and the records they leave behind, one would be disappointed with the choice he makes.
By offering such a position to someone like Ahmadu Ali, many must obviously come to the conclusion that Nigerians have found a way of rewarding excellence, a factor that has been trampled upon by the majority who are scared by the superiority of a few like Ali. The fact still remains that Nigerians are getting close to a point where very responsible positions and considerations like the BoT chairman of a ruling party can no longer become a preserve of bystanders but committed Nigerians whose services for a long time have been genuinely consistent and in line with the desires of national aspirations. Looking at Ahmadu Ali years, one gets the disarming loyalty to advise politicians on the way forward so that gallery dwellers will be chased out of the centre circle of top decisions and issues that have to potency of influencing our collective will.
In his declaration of the intent to square up for this service, he has to his advantage the status of founding member of the PDP since 1998 and has remained a loyalist and a record holder on key national party assignments. As a coordinator for the Obasanjo-Atiku presidential candidate in 2003 he delivered the entire North Central states. He became a National Chairman of the party in 2005 and made a resounding political party success by retaining the presidency and winning 28 of the gubernatorial positions.
As a member of the presidential campaign committee, he was active in all the strategic plans to offer the party a strong victory. Because the issue of financial management is key here, Ali’s records as a financial gatekeeper became even more glaring as he met an empty party treasury but left the office very rich with some N1.4 billion. He went forward to build a home for the party in a structure that will soon be seen as one of the landmarks in the nation’s capital. During his time, the National Working Committee of the party was strong and rich, and the party did a lot with ease.
Much as his roles and contributions in politics are laden with a lot of records, his mark in service to his father land as a student, civil servant, soldier, administrator, community leader and national icon is far greater. It is the consolidation of all these factors that keeps him head and shoulders above the rank and file of his PDP counterparts who are bent on taking a shot at that elevated position.
Leadership
An enduring attribute of great economies and democracies in the world is the enthronement of a stable and credible political structure and its guidance by credible people. A closer look at such economies and democracies also project men of enduring legacies whose ideas and milestones are regarded as religion. Easily, exemplary political institutions like the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Party of the USA and its Republican counterpart, Labour Party and its Conservative neighbours in the UK point the way. These institutions have been preserved by men as alter ego through which the icons of democracy and political development have hatched enduring intentions that keep nations always moving forward. In different countries, the various segments within the polity are given some special names and these names convey a lot of trust and reputation on which the hopes and values of nations reside. In Nigeria, the most prominent of such political preserve is the one instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), popularly known as the Board of Trustees (BoT). This uppermost stratum of the party has been believed to have conferred integrity on the party. The emerging consensus is that folks who are fit to occupy its topmost position, should have all the attributes of great passion for total nationalism. They are not people whose presence would elicit rancor and acrimony, but those whose features would always urge Nigerians to leverage their presence based on their records both in the past and the foreseeable future.
It is on this premise that many observers of political development in Nigeria have tracked with keen interest, the unfolding scenarios that would embellish the on-coming election of a BoT chairman of PDP. It may not be easy to elect one outstanding person out of over 100 supposedly outstanding party bigwigs. Only the application of a dignified consideration which uses records and acceptable philosophies of life (loyalty, excellence, patriotism etc) would make this election easier than has been imagined, if we will take the understanding that history has always explained how every noble person lived and served.
This seriousness in adopting a respectable consideration is hinged on the fact that Nigerians need strategist whose legacies transcend mere politics to offer the revered advise that would aid the establishment in making a difference, especially in today’s Nigeria where many intervening variables are trying to polarise the people.
A look at the key figures that are visible choices for the post of the PDP BoT chairman tends to offer some considerations to party stalwarts such as Senator Amadu Ali, Chief Tony Anenih and Senator Ken Nnamani. The line-up is obviously very long but a matter of thorough consideration, these three could form the first point of consideration based on certain criteria which the Nigerian polity has been at home with. One of such criteria is popularity and nuisance factors, the other is craftmanship and another is technocracy. Among the three very popular candidates, each of them has one specific quality but it is only one that has two most critical qualities imbedded in him since the past 50 years.
These criteria may have become very necessary in view of the fact that Nigerians rarely think deep when it comes to the stage of strategic choices that will keep memories for history to record. Rather, we have always been swayed by niceties and flashes of exuberance, grandstanding and showmanship
Watching this unfolding development from the sidelines of politics, one would be inclined to look more commitedly to the records of Ahmadu Ali, whose glowing records in his Edinburgh medical school years, the Nigerian Army, executive ministerial days and political landmarks have become some of the obvious milestones that could guarantee him easy passage to the position and the service required. This also becomes very important when it is obvious that nobody gives what he does not have and those that have, spend more time searching for more to offer.
Because the BoT is generally seen as the conscience of the party, the bigwigs must begin to look for their own member who really possesses the conscience and whose conscience has been tested through the crucibles of national challenges. This test is not just a matter of the opportunities one had acquired while mounting the soapbox to ask for votes, but those that formed the basis to consolidated plans in moulding new characters for national development. This is because, the BoT is considered an assemblage of topmost nationalists who feel that all the good things that must make the country great must be products of superior thinking. There is the dearth of such characters in Nigeria today, unless you have the privilege of looking into the depth of the minds of many top Nigerian politicians and the records they leave behind, one would be disappointed with the choice he makes.
By offering such a position to someone like Ahmadu Ali, many must obviously come to the conclusion that Nigerians have found a way of rewarding excellence, a factor that has been trampled upon by the majority who are scared by the superiority of a few like Ali. The fact still remains that Nigerians are getting close to a point where very responsible positions and considerations like the BoT chairman of a ruling party can no longer become a preserve of bystanders but committed Nigerians whose services for a long time have been genuinely consistent and in line with the desires of national aspirations. Looking at Ahmadu Ali years, one gets the disarming loyalty to advise politicians on the way forward so that gallery dwellers will be chased out of the centre circle of top decisions and issues that have to potency of influencing our collective will.
In his declaration of the intent to square up for this service, he has to his advantage the status of founding member of the PDP since 1998 and has remained a loyalist and a record holder on key national party assignments. As a coordinator for the Obasanjo-Atiku presidential candidate in 2003 he delivered the entire North Central states. He became a National Chairman of the party in 2005 and made a resounding political party success by retaining the presidency and winning 28 of the gubernatorial positions.
As a member of the presidential campaign committee, he was active in all the strategic plans to offer the party a strong victory. Because the issue of financial management is key here, Ali’s records as a financial gatekeeper became even more glaring as he met an empty party treasury but left the office very rich with some N1.4 billion. He went forward to build a home for the party in a structure that will soon be seen as one of the landmarks in the nation’s capital. During his time, the National Working Committee of the party was strong and rich, and the party did a lot with ease.
Much as his roles and contributions in politics are laden with a lot of records, his mark in service to his father land as a student, civil servant, soldier, administrator, community leader and national icon is far greater. It is the consolidation of all these factors that keeps him head and shoulders above the rank and file of his PDP counterparts who are bent on taking a shot at that elevated position.
Leadership
Peter Odili: On the night he was betrayed
“The dirty work of political conventions is almost always done in
the grim hours between midnight and dawn. Hangmen and politicians work
best when the human spirit is at its lowest ebb.” —Russel Wayne Baker I
first learned that the former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili,
the man, who missed the crown of Nigerian presidency on one evil night
of long knives, wants to do a political biography from High Chief, Dr.
Raymond Dokpesi. We met in a flight to Abuja and Dokpesi hinted that we
should do the book.
A meeting that would have brought that to pass ultimately didn’t happen, apparently because Dr. Odili decided to do the book himself. Last month, about five senior journalists, including Dr. Dokpesi, gathered in Odili’s living room in Abuja where he unveiled the book titled, Conscience and History – MY Story, by Dr. Peter Otunaya Odili, (An Autobiography).
Each of us was presented with a personally autographed copy by the author. By that simple act, he announced that the book’s formal presentation is over and those who want copies should look out for it in bookshops. “I didn’t write the book to make money but to set the record straight for posterity to judge,” he declared. In this sense, we became eyewitness to history.
The first set of people to gain insight into a potentially explosive book chronicling the moving story of a young man orphaned by Nigeria’s civil war, who navigated through tangled mesh of a highly motivational grass-to-grace struggle, iced with an enthralling Romeo and Juliet love story (read: Mary and Peter) to come within a hair’s breadth of Nigerian presidency.
But, it was not to be. The book renders a tale of political intrigues, betrayals, fake security reports, hubris, lies and deceit that often characterize Nigeria’s political leadership. Going through the book, it was easy to see why he adopted that approach. Odili, the refined and classical-music-loving medical doctor-turned politician seems either to abhor or ambivalent to the controversy that his book is bound to stir. Secondly, it seems a clearly a difficult book for him to write, seeing he may have to hit so many people he was loathe to tangle with in public fray. There may, of course, possibly be other self-preservation dimension too.
In navigating through the conflicting nuances of his deeply felt pain, betrayals and misrepresentations, Odili pulled so many punches at places he should have delivered a devastating blow, at times hiding his fury behind avalanche of facts and documents which the reader is expected to digest and interpret to come to a judgment. Odili’s 511-page book combines a personal story that reads like a great motivational literature with an account of his political engagements and a documentary of his achievements in office. These are capped with the dramatic story of how Obasanjo and his boys, Nuhu Ribadu, James Ibori, Andy Uba, Bukola Saraki, Lucky Igbinedion, El-Rufai and Aliko Dangote created a desperate web of conspiracy, intimidation, intrigues and lies used to knock him out of the 2007 presidential race and subsequently, his nomination as a running mate to Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Born into a polygamous home, Odili lost his mother early in a road accident, leaving him at the unkind mercy of his father’s other wives.
Then during the civil war, Odili also lost his father in a pathetic circumstance. As the federal forces invaded his hometown, Ndoni, in today’s River State, everybody fled, but Odili’s father tarried behind to tend to a sick son-in-law, Domnic, who was down with malaria and could not move.
That was the last heard of the two. Speculation was that they were either killed by the federal troops or by some village rivals they had disputes with. Odili thus became orphaned shortly after a brilliant exploits at the famous Christ the King College, Onitsha, where he made six straight A’s in school certificate.
When he secured admission to read medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Odili could only afford to pay the tuition fee of 30 pounds, but had no money for boarding fee. He lived on snacks and squatted with benevolent schoolmate and then plotted a foreign trip to work during holidays, in order to raise money. His dream came to pass in a fairy tale circumstances that saw him getting a visa to Switzerland where he worked in a construction firm for two months, returning with enough money not only to pay his fees, but to live big.
After subsequent holiday working trips abroad, Odili shipped in a used Fiat car (Tokunbo) which he deployed for taxi, earning N15 daily. With such daily windfall, Odili writes that “Level had changed, I was now easily one of the rich students on campus out of sheer will and determination stimulated by indigence.” When Odili met the love of his life, Mary, a law student also at UNN, he was too intimidated to speak to her for three and half years, during which he merely trailed her everywhere without an exchange of a word, until one day when “nature, time, and opportunity met at destiny’s door.”
They married on August 26, 1977 and his heartthrob had not only given him four lovely children, but is now a Justice of the Supreme Court. Odili’s political odyssey was smooth-sailing as he waltzed from very successful private medical practice to become a deputy governor and a two-time governor of Rivers State who was adjudged by Professor Jerry Gana-led national media monitoring team to be best performing governor.
While some may quibble over that crown, what was indisputable was that he was the first governor to build two power plants in Nigeria, contributing a total of 381 megawatts to the national grid. Indeed, a substantial part of the book is devoted to counter those who play down on his achievements as a governor. He not only provides documentary evidence, he backs them up with 143 pages of pictures of projects he executed, believing, as they say, that pictures don’t lie. His deep pain at the gang-up against him is evident at the chapters that deal with what he describes as “devilish allegations”.
In these chapters, Odili debunks accusations that he sponsored and armed political thugs and cults that later morphed into the dreaded Niger Delta militants; that he was behind the assassinations of political leaders like Chief Marshal Harry, Chief A. K. Dikkibo; that he was massively corrupt, so much so that it became a patriotic duty of the Nuhu Ribadu-led EFCC and a cabal of Obasanjo boys masquerading as power brokers cum kingmakers to stop him from getting the presidency at all cost.
He also counters allegations that in eight years, he squandered N1.3 trillion by pointing out that in all of that period, he only got a total N708 billion. For those who insinuate that Governor Rotimi Amaechi whom Odili writes, “assumed office as a Governor with the venom of a bitter man on vengeance mission”, has outperformed him, he counters with an interesting comparison: “In less than five months after my tenure the state received a little less than I got in my first four years, and in less than three years received more than my administration got in the entire 8 years.”
According to Odili’s narrative, the plot to stop his presidential ambition and tarnish him with allegations of corruption began in earnest on December 12, 2006, four days to the PDP national convention slated for December 16, 2006. It followed security report that Odili was secretly funding anti-third term forces while at the same time playing for it.
Once the third term gambit collapsed, Odili like other enemies of third term, was in trouble. First, an anonymous petition was posted on the internet cataloguing alleged corrupt practices against Odili’s administration. The internet allegations were converted the same day into a petition by Ribadu to the president. On December 13, Obasanjo directed the EFCC to investigate; the following day, December 14, pronto, EFCC submitted “interim report” to the President who asked Odili for response the same day. Odili got the document on December 15 and responded to the allegations the same day.
Meanwhile, many of Odili’s officials, including Rotimi Amaechi, had been detained by EFCC on the eve of the convention. He read the handwriting on the wall and withdrew from the presidential race in which he was seen as the candidate to beat, on December 15. That same day, EFCC released all the River State officials detained—investigations over! But not quite. Obasanjo was determined to make Odili the running mate to Yar’Adua, a choice which Obasanjo’s boys opposed. To stop that too, the then Thisday editor, Segun Adeniyi, was invited by Dangote to Andy Uba’s house.
There he met Ribadu, Andy Uba, Dangote, Ibori, Bukola Saraki. They desperately wanted him to publish exclusive EFCC allegations of corruption against Odili on the day of the PDP convention to compel Obasanjo to drop Odili. When Adeniyi consulted his publisher who declined the hatchet job, Ribadu was mandated to seek another private audience with Obasanjo on the last night before the convention. After this nocturnal meeting, Odili’s name was erased from Yar’Adua’s acceptance speech as a running mate and subsequently replaced with Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
But having so publicized Odili’s corruption, EFCC was now faced with proving their allegations in a more credible manner. But Odili, perhaps drawing from his wife’s legal wisdom, obtained restraining orders from Rivers State High Court, Federal High High Court and finally a third order from a Federal High Court enforcing the ruling of the two courts.
This then is the story behind the famous “perpetual injunctions” against the arrest and investigation of Odili’s case by the EFCC. EFCC was represented at the two cases at the Federal High Court, but lost and had not vacated the orders through the appeal process, ostensibly because over the years, the evidence at their disposal is still possibly the internet job rather than anything of probative value. Incidentally, when Yar’Adua’s government hounded Ribadu, he too like Odili, sought refuge in a perpetual injunction, a lesson in fate’s musical chairs! On a final note, the title of Odili’s memoir, Conscience and History, probably suggests that Odili wants to stir the conscience of his detractors.
On that score, he may elicit only a limited success, indeed, a yawn. He writes that Ribadu has since severally apologized to him for hounding him out of the race, claiming that he actually didn’t author the document against Odili, but merely signed as per duty. But if the author is hoping to elicit a similar response from Obasanjo, he may be hitting a brick wall. The Obasanjo we have come to know over the years just doesn’t do conscience. Period.
A meeting that would have brought that to pass ultimately didn’t happen, apparently because Dr. Odili decided to do the book himself. Last month, about five senior journalists, including Dr. Dokpesi, gathered in Odili’s living room in Abuja where he unveiled the book titled, Conscience and History – MY Story, by Dr. Peter Otunaya Odili, (An Autobiography).
Each of us was presented with a personally autographed copy by the author. By that simple act, he announced that the book’s formal presentation is over and those who want copies should look out for it in bookshops. “I didn’t write the book to make money but to set the record straight for posterity to judge,” he declared. In this sense, we became eyewitness to history.
The first set of people to gain insight into a potentially explosive book chronicling the moving story of a young man orphaned by Nigeria’s civil war, who navigated through tangled mesh of a highly motivational grass-to-grace struggle, iced with an enthralling Romeo and Juliet love story (read: Mary and Peter) to come within a hair’s breadth of Nigerian presidency.
But, it was not to be. The book renders a tale of political intrigues, betrayals, fake security reports, hubris, lies and deceit that often characterize Nigeria’s political leadership. Going through the book, it was easy to see why he adopted that approach. Odili, the refined and classical-music-loving medical doctor-turned politician seems either to abhor or ambivalent to the controversy that his book is bound to stir. Secondly, it seems a clearly a difficult book for him to write, seeing he may have to hit so many people he was loathe to tangle with in public fray. There may, of course, possibly be other self-preservation dimension too.
In navigating through the conflicting nuances of his deeply felt pain, betrayals and misrepresentations, Odili pulled so many punches at places he should have delivered a devastating blow, at times hiding his fury behind avalanche of facts and documents which the reader is expected to digest and interpret to come to a judgment. Odili’s 511-page book combines a personal story that reads like a great motivational literature with an account of his political engagements and a documentary of his achievements in office. These are capped with the dramatic story of how Obasanjo and his boys, Nuhu Ribadu, James Ibori, Andy Uba, Bukola Saraki, Lucky Igbinedion, El-Rufai and Aliko Dangote created a desperate web of conspiracy, intimidation, intrigues and lies used to knock him out of the 2007 presidential race and subsequently, his nomination as a running mate to Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Born into a polygamous home, Odili lost his mother early in a road accident, leaving him at the unkind mercy of his father’s other wives.
Then during the civil war, Odili also lost his father in a pathetic circumstance. As the federal forces invaded his hometown, Ndoni, in today’s River State, everybody fled, but Odili’s father tarried behind to tend to a sick son-in-law, Domnic, who was down with malaria and could not move.
That was the last heard of the two. Speculation was that they were either killed by the federal troops or by some village rivals they had disputes with. Odili thus became orphaned shortly after a brilliant exploits at the famous Christ the King College, Onitsha, where he made six straight A’s in school certificate.
When he secured admission to read medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Odili could only afford to pay the tuition fee of 30 pounds, but had no money for boarding fee. He lived on snacks and squatted with benevolent schoolmate and then plotted a foreign trip to work during holidays, in order to raise money. His dream came to pass in a fairy tale circumstances that saw him getting a visa to Switzerland where he worked in a construction firm for two months, returning with enough money not only to pay his fees, but to live big.
After subsequent holiday working trips abroad, Odili shipped in a used Fiat car (Tokunbo) which he deployed for taxi, earning N15 daily. With such daily windfall, Odili writes that “Level had changed, I was now easily one of the rich students on campus out of sheer will and determination stimulated by indigence.” When Odili met the love of his life, Mary, a law student also at UNN, he was too intimidated to speak to her for three and half years, during which he merely trailed her everywhere without an exchange of a word, until one day when “nature, time, and opportunity met at destiny’s door.”
They married on August 26, 1977 and his heartthrob had not only given him four lovely children, but is now a Justice of the Supreme Court. Odili’s political odyssey was smooth-sailing as he waltzed from very successful private medical practice to become a deputy governor and a two-time governor of Rivers State who was adjudged by Professor Jerry Gana-led national media monitoring team to be best performing governor.
While some may quibble over that crown, what was indisputable was that he was the first governor to build two power plants in Nigeria, contributing a total of 381 megawatts to the national grid. Indeed, a substantial part of the book is devoted to counter those who play down on his achievements as a governor. He not only provides documentary evidence, he backs them up with 143 pages of pictures of projects he executed, believing, as they say, that pictures don’t lie. His deep pain at the gang-up against him is evident at the chapters that deal with what he describes as “devilish allegations”.
In these chapters, Odili debunks accusations that he sponsored and armed political thugs and cults that later morphed into the dreaded Niger Delta militants; that he was behind the assassinations of political leaders like Chief Marshal Harry, Chief A. K. Dikkibo; that he was massively corrupt, so much so that it became a patriotic duty of the Nuhu Ribadu-led EFCC and a cabal of Obasanjo boys masquerading as power brokers cum kingmakers to stop him from getting the presidency at all cost.
He also counters allegations that in eight years, he squandered N1.3 trillion by pointing out that in all of that period, he only got a total N708 billion. For those who insinuate that Governor Rotimi Amaechi whom Odili writes, “assumed office as a Governor with the venom of a bitter man on vengeance mission”, has outperformed him, he counters with an interesting comparison: “In less than five months after my tenure the state received a little less than I got in my first four years, and in less than three years received more than my administration got in the entire 8 years.”
According to Odili’s narrative, the plot to stop his presidential ambition and tarnish him with allegations of corruption began in earnest on December 12, 2006, four days to the PDP national convention slated for December 16, 2006. It followed security report that Odili was secretly funding anti-third term forces while at the same time playing for it.
Once the third term gambit collapsed, Odili like other enemies of third term, was in trouble. First, an anonymous petition was posted on the internet cataloguing alleged corrupt practices against Odili’s administration. The internet allegations were converted the same day into a petition by Ribadu to the president. On December 13, Obasanjo directed the EFCC to investigate; the following day, December 14, pronto, EFCC submitted “interim report” to the President who asked Odili for response the same day. Odili got the document on December 15 and responded to the allegations the same day.
Meanwhile, many of Odili’s officials, including Rotimi Amaechi, had been detained by EFCC on the eve of the convention. He read the handwriting on the wall and withdrew from the presidential race in which he was seen as the candidate to beat, on December 15. That same day, EFCC released all the River State officials detained—investigations over! But not quite. Obasanjo was determined to make Odili the running mate to Yar’Adua, a choice which Obasanjo’s boys opposed. To stop that too, the then Thisday editor, Segun Adeniyi, was invited by Dangote to Andy Uba’s house.
There he met Ribadu, Andy Uba, Dangote, Ibori, Bukola Saraki. They desperately wanted him to publish exclusive EFCC allegations of corruption against Odili on the day of the PDP convention to compel Obasanjo to drop Odili. When Adeniyi consulted his publisher who declined the hatchet job, Ribadu was mandated to seek another private audience with Obasanjo on the last night before the convention. After this nocturnal meeting, Odili’s name was erased from Yar’Adua’s acceptance speech as a running mate and subsequently replaced with Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
But having so publicized Odili’s corruption, EFCC was now faced with proving their allegations in a more credible manner. But Odili, perhaps drawing from his wife’s legal wisdom, obtained restraining orders from Rivers State High Court, Federal High High Court and finally a third order from a Federal High Court enforcing the ruling of the two courts.
This then is the story behind the famous “perpetual injunctions” against the arrest and investigation of Odili’s case by the EFCC. EFCC was represented at the two cases at the Federal High Court, but lost and had not vacated the orders through the appeal process, ostensibly because over the years, the evidence at their disposal is still possibly the internet job rather than anything of probative value. Incidentally, when Yar’Adua’s government hounded Ribadu, he too like Odili, sought refuge in a perpetual injunction, a lesson in fate’s musical chairs! On a final note, the title of Odili’s memoir, Conscience and History, probably suggests that Odili wants to stir the conscience of his detractors.
On that score, he may elicit only a limited success, indeed, a yawn. He writes that Ribadu has since severally apologized to him for hounding him out of the race, claiming that he actually didn’t author the document against Odili, but merely signed as per duty. But if the author is hoping to elicit a similar response from Obasanjo, he may be hitting a brick wall. The Obasanjo we have come to know over the years just doesn’t do conscience. Period.
TheSun
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