‘Only North Can Solve Boko Haram Problem’ – Yahaya.

Former Minister of Industries and elder statesman, Air Vice Marshall Muhammadu Yahaya (rtd) who recently clocked 70 tells MIDAT JOSEPH that only northern leaders can solve the Boko Haram insurgency and that waiting for the federal government is an excercise in futility. Candidly sharing the story of his life Yahaya also speaks on several topical national issues.

Congratulations on turning 70. Can you share your background with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY?
My name is Muhammadu Yahaya. I grew up in a polygamous family. My mother’s name is Maimuna. From the Mother’s side, I was the fourth child. The first three died. In our family we had these three marks on the face. I am from Adoka local government of Benue State.
Because they thought I was going to die, they didn’t give me the tribal mark. How my mother explained to me was that they said her breast was contaminated either by juju or whatever. So I was privilege to be given to my grandmother who brought me up. It was my grandmother’s breast that I sucked and grew up. It was later that I got to know who my actual mother was and that was the beginning of my life.
At that time we used to go to Qur’anic school. During the first attempt to put me in school, the teacher flogged me one day and my grandmother who liked me so much, took a knife and pursued the teacher. So the only way they could trick her was that my late uncle, was working as a clerk in Kaduna. So I had to follow him to Kaduna in 1952; I was already ten years. I started my Primary school in Kaduna but after a spell of two years, we went back to Oturkpo.
There I attended Methodist school and spent two years there before the Native Authority established as special school where you have to take entrance from one primary class to another. When I was in Primary two, I took the entrance and passed and went straight to class four.
I took entrance and came to Kaduna and we were the pioneers of the Technical Institute, now Kaduna Polytechnic. On the 22 October 1962, it was a Friday, we came to the mosque. At that time every Muslim will gather at the Kano Central Mosque including the Late Premier of the North, Sir Ahmadu Bello.
I had three pence with me and I bought the Daily Times newspapers for two pence. When I opened it, I saw advertisement for Defence Officers Cadets. I applied and luckily I was shortlisted. We took entrance examination to the American University. We were many and I was lucky to be one of the ten successful Nigerians.
Every American University had officer cadet corps training which they called ROTC. I finished my degree in 1967, Bachelors of Science in Electrical Electronics. After that I went for the proper training at Mississippi. I trained in electronics, mostly specializing in Radar Control.
My background in military training is strictly American. I spent my four years of cadetship with American Air force. When I came back to Nigeria in 1968, I wanted to teach Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Additional Maths at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), but for some reasons, the commandant said no. So I went to Kano. My training and experience were not the same concept with what was obtainable in Nigeria.
What I learned as an officer in America was not the same thing that was being thought at home. When we enlisted, there was no NDA. Actually when we enlisted, there was nothing like Nigerian Airforce. The Act establishing the Nigerian Air force was in1964.
So we were enlisted as Defence corps. But they made sure that out of the ten of us, three was to come to the Air force, three to the Army and four to the Navy.
In the American system, you believe more on the brain rather than rank. But, I found myself in a situation where the rank, rather than the brain was dominant basis for authority and I had a lot of trouble adjusting to that. I found myself not doing anything much, so I went to the Ministry of Works and asked them if they can build a 6 classrooms for me at where the present Bayero University is located.
So they built it. So I started teaching Airforce Officers Basic Maths and Electronics.
Before, we were doing it in Bukagu Barracks. That was the foundation of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). When I was in the United States (US) I started my Post Graduate in Circuit Theory, but because of the war, I had to return home. I had less than six weeks to finish my masters.
Funny enough, when I came back home, the opportunity to start my Post Graduate was based on my rank, so when I had the opportunity, I declined, I said such opportunity be given to other people who are educated.
When I was posted to the Headquarters in 1970 was to liaise with the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) to open Electronic Department and we sent many officers there. If you are going to Zaria, on the left hand there is an Air Force house on the left hand side. When they were building that place, I made sure that I built 13 classrooms with physics, chemistry and laboratories well equipped.
That was how we started what is called AFIT now. When I was posted to the Headquarters, the school I established in Kano was closed down because people did not believe in what to do with it.
I was passionate about imparting the knowledge I had acquired to the younger ones. They know the theory, but they don’t know the practical aspect of it.
I have tried my best to impact AFIT. I am proud to say that it is through my own efforts that school stood until I left. I was able to draw the syllabus, I went to the Egyptian Air Force. I had a background of the British and Pakistani. It was on that basis that I formed the syllabus to start the school.
The first set of NDA used the lab because they didn’t have laboratory for engineering. By the time I left the service for ministerial appointment, my intention was to affiliate the institute with Ife and the Ahmadu BelloUniversity (ABU), Zaria.
I am happy that all the boys I recruited now have PhD in Engineering. So, I have contributed my own quota.
Looking at your own family, you are a Muslim and your wife is a Christian; how have you been able to cope with this over the years?
Well, I started my primary school in a Christian system and in those days, we were forced to read the Bible. There is no part of the Bible that I don’t know. Up till today, I read the book of Psalm. Part of the Qur’an said there is no compulsion in religion. There is no need forcing somebody to embrace the religion which he doesn’t believe in.
I have a member of my family who was the first to marry a Christian; from there I know there has to be compromise. I am not a religious fanatic, but I believe solely in Islam, no compromise about it.
But I cannot force somebody to be a Muslim if that person wants it. My wife is a very staunch Catholic. The way God has worked it out for us for the 47 years we have live together, we have never had any issue on religion because we respect each other’s religions. During fasting, she gets up early to cook for me, so we have no conflict.
As for my children, some are Christians, some are Muslims. I have three boys and four girls. All the boys are Muslims and the girl are Christians because they happened to attend Catholic Schools. When they girls were marrying, I went to the church and handed them over to the altar. That does not change my faith.
What message do you have for Nigerians, especially for people in the north where there are frequent ethnic and religious clashes between Muslims and Christians?
Some of the religious crises, to me are more political. A lot of people are misguided. But if we all follow the teachings of the Bible and the Qur’an, we should not have conflict. The two religions preach peace and harmony. But we have a situation where some people exploit religion for their selfish ends. We have a lot of youths who are unemployed and are always used to cause such confusions.
So, to me I don’t have problems with religion. In case you don’t know, the wife of the former President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak is a Christian, her name is Suzan. The wife of the King of Jordan is Bristish; same with Syria. I take my wife to church, every day I wake up I will pray to God and say let me not be an instrument of torture to any human being.
When I was in government, a lot of people thought whether I became a Muslim because of political appointment. I told them this was the name my father gave me when I was seven days old. My father was a good Islamic scholar. He never went to any Mallam because he taught us that if you read the Qur’an and communicate with God; it is the same thing with whoever you employ to do it on your behalf. We thank God these days; the Qur’an has been printed in many languages.
All I tried to impart to my children is to be honest, trustworthy, never hate anybody, never envy any body and never hurt anybody.
How did you meet your wife?
It was on a Christmas Day - 25th December, 1958. We were just bunch of boys in the town. I was riding a bicycle and I saw her. When I saw her, I said so this is the intelligent, brilliant Mary George!  Her senior sister whom I knew very well was my brother’s girl-friend.
In those days we used to have the National Idoma Students Union and every summer we meet to discuss issues affecting Idoma land.
I used to argue that I will not marry a wife who uses shampoo and the rest of them and we will just laugh. Actually she wanted to be a nun because she is a very religious person and that has kept her faith because for the past seven years, she has been very sick, but the faith she has kept her alive.
Why were you called Hitler during your days in the military?
I used to give a lecture in the Junior Command and Staff on the topic leadership as I see it. You lead by example. When you say, don’t steal, you yourself should not steal. In the Air Force, I don’t punish, but when I ask them to do something, they will do it because they know I can do it when they don’t do it. It was not as if I was punishing anybody, but I tell them that they have to serve the country well because the government has invested so much to train them.
Because of my moustache, probably that was why they called me Hitler.
But the point is that I was fair and firm in all my dealings. All the disgruntled officers were posted to me. I was very happy that I was able to rehabilitate them to become good officers.... When you are in charge of people, you must be concerned about their welfare. I was humane, but if you don’t do what is supposed to be done, I will give you what the books says!
Anywhere you are, you have to take care of the welfare of people who are working for you because without them you cannot move. Every individual in the system is useful.
How were you appointed a minister?
I went to Hajj and by the time I came back, there was a coup. I have gone through all the coups from Gowon, Buhari, Shagari. During the coup that brought Babangida to power, I was in Mecca with the late Vatsa.
Idiagbon was also in Mecca. I decided to sponsor myself to Hajj instead of being sponsored by government. I paid on my own. When the coup took place, they said they were looking for me. The High commissioner called and told me to tell me there. I reported to the High Commission. I was appointed member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council.
In December 1983, I was posted to Kaduna as the General Officer Commanding Training Command after spending all my life in the headquarters. Being a pioneer engineer, I was there to formulate all the engineering policies and training programmes for the Air Force. Since training was part of me we had to put certain things together.
As a member of the Armed Forces ruling Council, I was given the post of the chairman of the Mass Transit Programme in this country and we toured everywhere to formulate the programme. Unfortunately, government never reads whatever you write. I forced ANAMCO, Leyland and Volkswagen to start producing locally in Nigeria.
When I was appointed minister in March 1989, I was combining the two positions and I went and told Gen. Babangida that I cannot do that.
That was how I became the minister of industry. Then I later became the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
Babangida was my mate in NIPSS. We were the first course at NIPSS in Jos and we were in the same syndicate, so I have known him. When we went to NIPPSS, I was the only officer who was a full colonel. The rest of them were brigadiers. I was junior to them, so I minded my business.
Looking at those times and now, a lot of things have changed, especially in the way things were done in those days and now. This issue of corruption has become so endemic. What are your comments on this?
Normally I don’t comment on national issues. But a country that worships material wealth must think twice. In Nigeria people talk of their town and states first. That does not encourage nation building.
We emphasis paper qualification so much and this is killing the country. Nigerians are crazy about titles. The earlier we look at what people can contribute for us the better.
Time has come that the government cannot do everything; we must make our contributions, we should go back to the basics. What has gone wrong? We cannot worship and survive in this country.
What’s your response to the Boko Haram insurgency?
I read these things in the papers. What are the northern leaders doing? Boko Haram did not start in one day. It started from something and we ignored it. The nucleus of Boko Haram is supposed to be from Borno. What role did the governors there play?
We have a situation where people are developing thugs. When there is a change of baton and the same carrot is not there, there would be a reaction.
Northern leaders should sit down and find out what is going on before it destroys the north.
Before if you talk of centre of commerce; if you mention Lagos, you will talk about Port Harcourt and Kano. Kano is gone. I am sorry to say that. Kaduna is very overtaking Kano. So we have to sit down, they didn’t come from somewhere. They are children of people. If you have a son and he doesn’t come home in the night, won’t you ask him where he is staying? They are being harboured by other people; why are they being harboured?
So we in the north, if we are waiting for the federal government to solve this problem, it is not going to be solved. Northerners must solve the problem themselves.
What has gone wrong with the legacies of the late premier of Northern? Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello Sarduna
There is some kinds of dissatisfaction somewhere, try to find out what has gone wrong. If this thing goes on, it is going to destroy the north. It has already done a lot of damage. You don’t see people from the South coming here freely anymore. You don’t see anywhere men trying to get a job in the north any more.
They will not attempt any major contract in the north. We should blame ourselves. We have created situation that has gone out of control and we should go back to the basics. There are grievances here and there, we should try and find out why the grievances.
This is my own personal view, I am not a politician. All I do is to pray every day for peace to reign this country. We cannot do without each other. The north is tied up with the South and the South is tied up with the north in everything.
Who are your contemporaries in the military?
My own course mates are all dead; I am the only one surviving. In the Air force, we are only three. They are dead. My mates cut across Army and Navy. In the Army, we know our mates. NDA is not my mate. I have only 10 mates in the whole armed forces.
They include late Rear Admiral Ibrahim Katagum, Admiral Sam Atkum, then Sati Gomut who contested before to be governor of Plateau State was my classmate. Bukar Magaji, Ike Onunaku who joined the Biafran Air Force and didn’t make it. In the army there was Ayodele all of us were trained as engineers.
Our syndicate wrote a report on the Niger Delta in 1979. At NIPSS, you are divided into syndicate groups and assigned to undertake a tour of the different parts of the country. We went to the Niger Delta and saw the situation of things there and we said (in the report) that something has to be done. In the whole world, human beings want a decent environment. Most of the solutions to the problems of Nigeria are all in Kuru. Government should try to access some of this information.

Lawangate: NASS uses oversight function to amass wealth says Fred Agbaje .

by AKINJIDE AKINTOLA & DAN AJANAKU

• Agbaje

Barrister Fred Agbaje is a Constitutional Lawyer, Human Rights Activist and a Social Crusader based in Lagos. In this interview with AKINJIDE AKINTOLA & DAN AJANAKU, he bares his mind on various national issues which include the bribery scandal involving Hon. Farouk Lawan and Femi Otedola on the Oil subsidy Probe regime, over-sight functions by the National Assembly as well as state of the nation.

As a Constitutional Lawyer, Human Rights Activist and a Social crusader, How do you see the ongoing Bribery scandal leveled against the chairman of Ad-hoc committee, Oil subsidy regime, Hon. Farouk Lawan by Femi Otedola?

Let us give both parties the benefits of doubt; I won't say yes, somebody took bribe as alleged. I will frame it this way: How did I see the allegation of bribe-taking that is currently ravaging the entire NASS particularly the House of Representatives. Constitutionally speaking, the constitution says especially, section 36, that every accused person is presumed to be innocent of whatever allegation that is leveled against him until the contrary is proved before a competent Law court. For now, it is a mere allegation but if it turns out that the contrary is proved to be true, all theses allegations flying about on the front pages of the newspapers.

I know in this country, as a constitutional Lawyer, both the giver and taker of bribe are punishable under the relevant penal laws of Nigeria; Particularly under the Anti-corrupt Act and the criminal code because it is an offence for somebody to give and it is equally an offence for somebody to take bribe. To worsen the matter, it is even against the official code of conduct because one is not allowed to accept any form of gratifications in the performance of his/her lawful duty. But any form of gratifications that come from the state, somebody is permitted to accept.
The position of Femi Otedola from what I have read so far in the various newspapers is that, we were being inundated with the demand of bribe by the members of the probe panel and Farouk Lawan. It was deduced that and his team demanded for bribe ($620,000) cash- for-clearance to enable them delist the name of Zenon petroleum & Gas from the list of indicted Oil marketers in the report of the committee on the day it was adopted by the House.
If Femi Otedola has no skeleton in his cupboard, why must he offer a dime for those who claim are constantly demanding? Why must he be Otedola alone that was asked to come forward to bribe them? Is it because the amount of the shared amount involving Zenon Oil is the highest or one of the highest that was why they asked for such a fantastic amount of the shared money? These are questions that Femi Otedola must provide the answers to the security agents particularly the EFCC, we should get to the root of the matter immediately.
On the side of Farouk Lawan, he did say yes, initially he said that there was nothing like that. "We should not believe, Nigerians are used to the era of fake video being paraded all over the place; since the era of Diya/Abacha saga, all sorts of video are being paraded.
I must confess, I was one of those people who believed that statement issued by Farouk Lawan. I also joined some Nigerians that the insinuations being made could juxtapose two individuals together in these days of high-wired technology anything can happy. I was tempted to believe Farouk Lawan. But when the presidency mounted much pressure, he said yes, I took the money, he has now shifted grounds, as a result of the two mere inconsistent statements made by him. He has all of a sudden made a 360 degree u- turn the second day; what a twist of irony? He said yes, when he was confronted with the reality of the video recorded clips that exposed him.
Meanwhile, Femi Otedola consistently told the whole world that 'I gave Lawan the sum of $620,000 (marked money) as bribe in a sting operation with the knowledge of the security agencies, and with the hope of protecting him when the final balance is paid later, so he can walk a free man on the street and the public will have been short- changed of their hard tax-payers' money.
On the side of Farouk Lawan, what I still found distasteful in the whole alibi, he said the police authority was informed as far back as April 24, 2012. If he had informed the police authority, where was the money taken to since then? When did bribe-taking /giving become what one can quickly publish in the newspaper and why did he not tell the police authority and the general public? According to a local adage in where I come  from in "Akoko -Edo LGA in Edo State which says when a dog eats shit (faeces) and one does not chase the dog, if the dog is allowed to enter the house, it will rub everybody with the shit (faeces). Farouk Lawan said, he chose to tell the police authority, but Otedola said, he chose to tell the security agents. It was a coup and a counter coup displayed by the two personalities. If it is true that Farouk Lawan had told the police authority as far back as April 24, 2012, why has the police authority not stepped into action?
Which means the police authority acted as an accomplice in all these inordinate shenanigans of taking the entire Nigerians for a ride.
The hierarchy of police that have been mentioned should be aware that they must be named; when did the police hierarchy became aware of this scenario? When did EFCC became aware of this ugly scenario? When did the SSS which Otedola mentioned became aware of this scenario? When did Aso rock that were also mentioned became aware of this scenario? In other words, there's a high-level of conspiracy in this corruption saga. Even if it is a set-up, I want to ask: why will the government agent set-up a legislator/lawmaker in the 1st place? Is the government afraid of the law-maker that he will not come to tell truth or he will be at the side of the public interest or the larger Nigerians interest that the microscopic interest of the ruling oligarchy and there are more stories behind this ugly scenario. How can a government that claims to fight corruption be the one encouraging, aiding and abetting the giving /taking of bribe?

There are insinuations that the government wants to use this as an opportunity to rubbish the report of the subsidy probe panel. What is your take on this allegation?

The government wants to punctuate the report of the panel, but Nigerians are not fools. I, for one, no body can fool me; the authenticity of the report is never in doubt, you can  query the messenger, the message of that report is  very clear not only for Nigeria as  a whole but for the International community that are ready to assist the government to fight corruption.

The question is this, if the Federal Government of Nigeria wants the Oil subsidy probe panel report to be thrown out as being alleged because the members were alleged to have taken bribe; and therefore, the authenticity of that report has become questionable; it is not true. In the first instant, if the hand of the cleaner is clean, why will he surrender to any intimidation for the  demand  of bribe? Is it not because the hands of the giver are not clean, he is the one of the cabals that sponsored the election of the present occupant of Aso Rock. They claim somebody has been set-up, but others were also indicted. No amount of dilly-dallying game can take away the veracity and authenticity of the reports. If you deal with the messenger, especially the messenger which has a case to answer; so many of them were indicted. Why did they submit to the giving of bribe? Why did he submit to the giving of bribe? Why can't he say, I can't give bribe by saying l'm a Deacon in my church, or an Alfa in my mosque, I can't do it because I can't be a party to this shady and fraudulent practices. I have no money to give anybody, if you are not satisfied, go ahead and I will go to court to challenge the verdict. He has something to hide, the report is there, then he compromised and the country is greater than any individual, whether Otedola or Lawan.

The House of Representative is meeting tomorrow to deliberate on the next line of action against the leadership. Is it the right step to take?

The integrity of the House is already in doubt; can you be a judge/lawyer in your own case. Who appointed the members of the Oil subsidy probe panel? Is it not the leadership of the House? The same leadership that the report will be submitted to because they want to douse the embarrassing tension caused by the bribe-taking allegation. The house should stop further deliberation in this ugly scenario, I will advise the law enforcement agents to take its full course in accordance. The two personalities should summit themselves to the law enforcement agents for proper interrogation and investigation.

But if the credibility of the investigative panel is questioned, will it not affect the outcome of such committee?

It was true that Lawan had contacts with Otedola along the line, but the case and report should not be compromised because there is a clear evidence adduced at the enquiry which was very revealing and should not be swept under the carpet.
Hope this is not a conspiracy to destroy that panel report because at the moment, the evidence appears scanty?
What the law look at is whether you secure a favour to exonerate yourself. There is an element of conspiracy; ingredients of corruption; bribery is complete because of the giving and taking of bribe has been established. The argument that marked money was offered does not arise. Did the company not enjoy the favour. Throw that argument to the Marines for God's sake.

Can you expatiate more on this?

There is an example of a rich man versus an harlot. The rich man approached a harlot for sex, she agreed and the rich man gave the harlot fake money. Some days later, the rich man contracted gonorrhea and came back to the harlot: 'you gave me gonorrhea', the Harlot exclaimed: 'did you know that you gave me fake money on that day'?
A crime has been committed, both of them enjoyed the relationship, at the end of the day, both of them were worst off, both the prostitute and the rich man are guilty of the offence. It is a wise joke.

In law, the level of criminality depends on jurisprudence and what determines your culpability are inter-twine around two factors; the act itself that you did it and the state of your mind as at that time. The two must work together, the act itself and state of your mind as that constitutes the realm of criminal jurisprudence. It could not be an act, if you don't know what you are doing; but if you have the intention and carry out that intention, the law can't get you free. He claimed, he gave him marked money, is he not enjoying the benefit of illegal and conjugal relationship with Lawan. The Principle in criminal law is this, active non-ta legal forms. In other words, there can't be a guilty act unless there's a guilty mind. Conversely, there can't be a guilty mind unless there is a guilty act. Both cannot get out of it.

What is your view on NASS as a whole on this over -sight function in view of recent developments as regards probe of SEC, Pension Fund scam and the power probe some years back?

Let me state that by the over-sight function, the NASS lately had become too much saturated about their over-sight functions. The truth of the matter is that, it is because of the direct and indirect benefit that come with such over-sight functions and that is why the jostle for chairmanship of committees amongst members is always a do-or-die affair. It has become a do-or-die for its inherent pecuniary advantages that go with such offices. For instance, Iyabo Obasanjo's committee fought over education/health palaver and eventually got out of it. A former Minister was asked to bring N50m to be cleared, these are part of the fallout from over-sight functions.
Over-sight function constitutionally, is supposed to be used in furtherance of the investigative power of the law-maker in the course of their legislation; they can indict anybody when they are legislating. The second ground when they can get themselves involved in this over-sight function is when they want to fight corruption, but invariably instead, they now use over-sight function to amass wealth.

All over the world, the over-sight function is the last weapon used against the recalcitrant governmental and private organizations. They used it to streamline the lawlessness that pervades the executive, government department, private sector but unfortunately that instrument of over-sight function is a ready-made expense of their constitutional responsibility of the legislative for the good governance of the country.

While the Supreme Court allowed the EFCC/ICPC Act is that their was a period challenge for the NASS and government of OBJ to pass the EFCC/ICPC act to the principle of federalism because it intended the power of the state to deal with criminals but now shifted to the Federal Government of Nigeria, but the supreme court largely rejected the argument saying: both the state and federal governments have that responsibility.

In other words, the law-makers are not using the over-sight function to better the lots of Nigerians, but as an instrument for personal aggrandizement. Like the missing NEPA N600 Billion was mismanaged in the power sector probe scam. On the local scene, Pedro Road here in Shomolu is the worst road in Lagos State and the local government is not doing anything about it. It is a government of personal aggrandizement. They weren't voted for, they came through questionable electoral process; Armed robbers, thief's to quote what OBJ said. The questionable electoral process can only be addressed in Nigeria unless we ensure that the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) boss is appointed from outside Aso Rock. If the President continues to appoint the umpire for the electoral process, then the problem will just continue.

President Jonathan’s Performance Evaluation Initiative.

Minister performance

The performance appraisal contract signed by ministers with President Jonathan is a welcome idea as it would propel the cabinet members to action but the president would need a huge dose of political courage to deal with the ministers in accordance with their performance, writes Vincent Obia

His vast experience and appetite for hard work once gave him a reputation as the administration’s best hope. But Professor Barth Nnaji resigned as Minister of Power last week in the wake of a performance bond President Goodluck Jonathan had signed with members of his cabinet the week before. The question agitating every mind is, was Nnaji’s resignation supposed to be part of measures put in place as supporting acts for the Performance Contracting Agreement the president signed with his cabinet members on August 22?

Although many Nigerians testify that power supply had improved under his watch, Nnaji’s tenure had been mired in controversy over reports that companies linked to him were engaged in a bid to buy over power plants slated for privatisation by his ministry. Recently, labour unions under the power ministry have also questioned his management of their pension fund.

The federal government has said Nnaji’s resignation was meant to give credibility to the privatisation process. But reports have it that it was actually the president that demanded the minister’s resignation. For a president who only recently acknowledged that he was the most criticised Nigerian leader, such demand, certainly, may not be out of place. At a time the Jonathan administration is coming under severe criticism for alleged non-performance and corruption, many think Nnaji’s exit could be one in a series of schemes laid out as supporting acts for the president’s performance evaluation agenda.

Developed by the National Planning Commission, the initiative, as a global practice adopted by several countries, including the United Kingdom, Malaysia and South Africa, is premised on the saying, “what gets measured gets done.” It is meant to gauge the performance of the ministries, departments, and agencies of government according to established Key Performance Indicators. The MDAs are required to develop detailed documents to guide implementation of the KPIs up to 2015, and on each of the KPIs there would be six monthly reports to the president and the public as well as a scorecard.

Jonathan said the initiative was to demonstrate his government’s commitment to service delivery and accountability. He assured ministers that it was not a witch hunt. According to the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamshudeen Usman, the performance system initiative is based on three basic principles: “what gets measured gets done, if you cannot measure success you cannot reward it, if you cannot measure failure you cannot correct it.” Perhaps, to demonstrate the importance the government attaches to the evaluation process that took about one and half years to develop, a whole new department has been set up for the project, with most of the personnel coming from the private sector and the development partners.

Many point with satisfaction to the potential of the initiative to aid delivery of promises to the citizenry. Some states like Anambra, Cross River, Lagos, Ekiti, Jigawa, Niger, and Rivers have already adopted similar performance measurement mechanisms or are working towards it.

Experts attribute the idea of performance evaluation in governance to former United States President Franklin Roosevelt. After his inauguration on March 4, 1933, at a time of great depression in the country, he was said to have appointed a cabinet based on merit and tasked his cabinet members with specific targets they must meet within six months or get the boot.

However, under Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances, where ministers and other cabinet members are mainly nominees of political godfathers and patrons, and where political interests more often than not overshadow merit, many doubt if the performance evaluation system can be effectively practised to bridge the appalling achievement gap in most state institutions. If, for instance, a minister or cabinet member scores below average and the public call for the sack of such officer, would the president have the courage to heed the citizen’s voice?

Jonathan would have to demonstrate that the new evaluation scheme can eliminate the unfortunate situation where ministers and other government officials simply become demigods upon their nomination and approval by the Senate, without minding the deliverables they were appointed to make available to the people.

The country’s public institutions have been hampered by a terrible performance deficit. Many believe the evaluation system, if properly implemented, would help get Nigeria out of this situation. Besides, the new system of tracking achievement goes beyond budget performance, which has in recent time been a source of conflict between the presidency and the National Assembly. Whereas budget performance tends to focus on deployment of budgeted funds, without necessarily tracking achieved outcomes, the latter is the core of the new performance initiative. Many, thus, hope the scheme would not just be a modest response to the budget performance questions raised by the National Assembly – though budget performance remains a critical aspect of achievement tracking.

The new evaluation system also serves other purposes. Public institutions and governments in the country have been inundated with haphazard measurement systems often introduced by organisations and individuals. The evaluations are often based on arbitrary and, sometimes, abusive criteria. But this time, the KPIs would provide clear and objective criteria to measure performance by governments and agencies. Civil society organisations can pick the KPIs and try to match claimed governmental achievements against the established principles. The performance evaluation initiative provides citizens a window to come up with parallel reports that can be used to test claims by governments and public institutions. To facilitate this, however, the government has to make the KPIs available to the public.

Ultimately, what the Nigerian situation at the moment requires is change that would provide the right policies and create the right environment in which governance could become a net producer of resources and happiness for the great majority, instead of its present state of being just a net consumer of resources.

This Day.

Economic Saboteurs in Our Midst.

Behind the Figures by Ijeoma Nwogwugwu

Nigeria is a bundle of contradictions. For years we’ve lost sleep over the amount of money wasted on private electricity generation, how the lack of regular power supply has shut down businesses, led to job losses, and turned thousands of artisans into commercial motorcyclists that constitute a menace on our roads. For years we have pressurised the government to clean up the fuel subsidy scheme, clampdown on the cabal that has been feeding fat off the regime, and prosecute the fraudsters who have taken advantage of a policy meant to subsidise our consumption of petroleum products and keep the refineries from functioning.

And yet, just when the government seems to be getting round to reforming the electricity sector and is half-heartedly prosecuting a couple of oil marketers, the labour unions rise up in arms against the government, threatening to shut the economy and foster hardship on the same masses that they claim to protect.

Starting from the power sector, it is apparent that the junior workers are being led by the nose by Joe Ajaero, the general secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees to scuttle the reform and privatisation programme for self-serving reasons.  Ajaero, as this column has pointed out in the past, has grandiose dreams of some day emerging president of the Nigeria Labour Congress. He is also currently one of three deputy presidents of the NLC.

But his ambition is under threat, as the transfer of electricity assets to private sector operators, will whittle down his stranglehold over junior electricity workers, one of the biggest affiliates of the NLC. So, for selfish reasons, Ajaero has been running amok in the electricity sector, threatening to shut down the power grid and costing the economy several billions of naira.

His latest grouse with the Minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji stems from a disagreement over the severance benefits to be paid to electricity workers, post-privatisation. Despite the mismanagement and decimation of the in-house Defined Pension Scheme, which NEPA (the predecessor of PHCN) operated before the commencement of the Pension Contributory Scheme in 2004, the government has accepted to plug the gap by committing to set aside N85 billion as severance pay to PHCN workers.

In addition, the government has committed to paying the backlog of contributions of 7.5 per cent apiece by the employer and employees as provided under the Pension Reform Act, which, again, PHCN failed to comply with. In total, severance benefits to be paid PHCN workers, who have been largely incompetent and contributed very little to the economic development of the country in almost two decades, will cost tax payers some N140 billion, much of which will come out from the privatisation proceeds.

Still, Ajaero would have none of it, insisting that the severance package be left at 25 per cent from the day the in-house pension scheme was set up to date, unmindful of the fact that the in-house scheme, which was barely funded by PHCN workers in the first instance and was mismanaged by its trustees, ceased to be operational on the day the Pension Reform Bill was signed into law. Should the government succumb to such a spurious demand, it will increase its liability to PHCN workers to N433 billion.

As if Ajaero’s demands are not unreasonable enough, he has also threatened to shut down the power facilities on the grounds that military personnel have been deployed to safeguard them from terrorist strikes and misguided PHCN workers who might want to vandalise electricity installations. But what does he care about the implications of shutting down the grid for a few days? What does he care that Nigerians for the last few weeks, even if it is short-lived, have enjoyed some measure of stable electricity supply? Insofar as Ajaero gets his way, and attains his inordinate ambition to someday lead the NLC, he will do whatever it takes, including committing a crime against the state.

It is not just Ajaero that has been leading the workers under the union he leads astray. Another union, in the very vital oil and gas sector – the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers – has been equally irresponsible. Its president, Igwe Achese without any consideration for the hardship he would cause Abuja residents, stopped fuel supply to the federal capital for over a week and threatened to extend the strike to the rest of the country if the federal government failed to pay all outstanding subsidy claims to oil marketing companies and importers.

Although the nationwide strike was averted in the nick of time and fuel supply to Abuja has been restored, it took this newspaper and some other concerned voices to point out that Achese was not fighting for the workers in the downstream oil and gas sector but for indicted oil marketers wanting to escape prosecution for defrauding the fuel subsidy scheme.

For the record, Achese caught this column’s attention over a year ago when NUPENG threatened to go on strike over some oil marketing companies whose bad loans had been called in by the banks. At the time, he offered himself as a willing tool for bad debtors who were trying to fight the system. The goal of the marketers was to force the government or Central Bank of Nigeria to grant them some form of forbearance on depositors’ funds that they had borrowed and obviously frittered away on private jets, expensive mansions and other luxury items. Fortunately, his attempt to call a strike was stymied by CBN, which made it clear that the bad debtors must repay their loans or lose their businesses.

As if that did not serve as lesson, Achese, again, offered himself to the same set of marketers led by the so-called Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners Association and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association – both unions, mind you, boast some of the biggest fraudsters of the subsidy scheme. The bigger irony is that NUPENG is supposed to represent the interest of junior workers in the industry. But somehow, Achese always seems to serve the interest of the ownership or employers in the sector, not the other way round.

What is worse is that in the midst of these mindless threats to sabotage the economy and open attempts to commit crimes against the Nigerian state by the leadership of its affiliates, the NLC never deemed it necessary to call them to order. Owing to the check off dues they all contribute to sustaining the umbrella body, the NLC foolishly backed their misdeeds with myopic zeal.

But if the leadership of the NLC, NUEE and NUPENG must know, they derive their support base from two major sources – the workers and the streets (the masses). So as they continue to disenfranchise and erode their support base for selfish and personal gains, they should be mindful of the fact that Nigerians are wisening up to their antics.

Besides, the reform in the electricity sector that Ajaero so desperately wants to stall cannot be stopped, even by a speeding train. Nigerians are desperate for improved electricity supply, so if the likes of Ajaero are incapable of staying on the bandwagon, he should be pushed off. He needs to kiss his ambition to lead NLC goodbye and thank his stars that he was even given the chance to lead a union in a sector in which he’s never worked for one day in his entire life.

Just the same, what is expected of NUPENG and NLC is to push for improved management of the fuel subsidy scheme and the prosecution of fraudulent oil marketers and their accomplices in the public sector that the government continues to shield. When they threaten to stop fuel supply and hold the government and nation to ransom, what they don’t realise is that they become allies of the fraudsters in the system and will be painted with the same brush. That the unsustainable fuel subsidy regime has been sustained and abused for so long is as a result of NLC’s insistence that it is the only benefit enjoyed by the masses. That being the case, when any of its affiliates sides with the fat cats that have taken advantage of the system, the NLC should see through the scam, and with all sincerity, act in the interest of the Nigerian people.

Finally, some serious thought ought to be given by the National Assembly to passing some form of legislation to protect critical infrastructure in the country. The law should include penalties, ranging from harsh penalties to long prison terms for individuals and the unions who form the habit of vandalising and sabotaging government and private sector infrastructure set up for the benefit of the people. Since electricity workers have shunned the Industrial Court where employer-employee disputes can be settled and have continued to disobey a Supreme Court judgement, which, owing to the essential service that they render, bars them from strike actions, perhaps a law will serve as a deterrent against their penchant for flippant strikes and threats of vandalisation.

Rescuing the North.

ENGAGEMENTS By Chidi Amuta.

The critical national security challenge of the moment coincides with an incremental meltdown of the geographic North of the country.  As we speak, nearly the entire region has been seized by a new normal: suicide bombings, assassinations, routine acts of arson, carnage and the elevation of violence into the dominant language of social interaction. Tragedy no longer makes news. More debilitating is the gradual de-coupling of half of the nation from the national economy through a psychological hindrance of the free movement of persons and economic factors.

For now, something rough and frightening is restlessly haunting the North and we should all be concerned.  Any crisis that affects one section of the country makes us all incomplete whether we live in Badagry or Birnin Kebbi.

While we are at it, an untidy sectarian wall is gradually being erected among Nigerians. From being simply citizens of one country, Nigerians are being forced to see themselves as either Christian or Muslim.  Meanwhile, the politics of insensitivity to the plight of the masses persists just as Northern political leaders jostle for vantage positions in relation to 2015.

Federal response has followed familiar roads: troops deployment, expressions of intention to dialogue with a faceless adversary etc. Even more tragic, repeated meetings of Northern governors and political leaders have turned out clueless on how to stem the violence and re-integrate the region into the nation. Instead, the loudest noises from the region have been about sharing of oil money, derivation quotas and loud opposition to proposed constitutional changes that should make Nigeria work better.

One or two members of the so-called Northern elite have gone as far as alleging that Boko Haram is the result of a lopsided revenue and derivation formula. Implication? Throw more billions of naira into the gaping pockets of the same opportunistic and unimaginative people who vicariously created Boko Haram in the first place. A handful of more enterprising ‘Northerners’ have set up shop as negotiators or mediators between government and the violent jihadists. I see a business plan, not a patriotic interest in national security in this whole enterprise of dialoguing with Boko Haram.

Only last week, however, an impressive array of mostly Northern notables was convoked for the purpose of finding solutions to the unrelenting violence. These efforts are impressive displays of concern. But among this gamut of views and propositions, there is nothing on the table that suggests that we are prepared to admit the origins of the crisis or intelligently engage on permanent solutions.

While we grope for solutions, to my mind, the region faces three distinct possibilities:  First, increased federal security effort could produce a temporary restoration of the pre-existing order of inequality secured by force.  Second, the regime of insecurity could become institutionalised to the extent of the region becoming more like Somalia and thus become effectively de-coupled from the rest of the federation. The latter would be characterised by periodic fire fights between armed factions and the rise of warlords. With the characterisation of elements of Boko Haram as part of an international terrorist organisation by the US, we may soon play host to drone attacks on suspected terrorists targets in Nigerian territory.  The third more positive possibility is an internal political revolution in which a new leadership emerges to seriously address the challenges of development and modernisation of the region, literally continuing from where the late Sar’dauna of Sokoto left off in 1966.

Most interpretations of the turn of events in the North are mostly as foolish as the blind quest for solutions in wrong directions. The anomy in the region is not exclusively a failure of security. The North is as insecure as the rest of Nigeria and people are not strapping explosive belts around their waists in other parts of the country. It is also not necessarily a political pressure to get a Northern president in 2015. How come Boko Haram has targeted key Northern leaders including, most recently, some traditional rulers and key politicians? It is true Al Queda and other fundamentalist anarchists seek fertile ground in places where poverty and desperation drive people of friendly faith to buy into their theology of mindless bestiality. But the Nigerian show of repeated violence is not strictly theirs; our strategic position vis-a-vis Western interests is mostly marginal but our weak security infrastructure makes this place attractive to casual anarchists, be they Boko Haram, kidnappers or glorified  oil thieves erroneously dubbed Niger Delta militants.

To my mind, Boko Haram is a direct repercussion of years of misguided policy, irresponsible politics and atrocious governance by both the federal authorities and the various governments of Northern states. All our efforts in the search for solutions to this tragedy must therefore be anchored on how to redress the repercussions of bad leadership first by the Northern elite and vicariously the federals.

There is a historical puzzle about the turn of events in Nigeria’s Northern half.  The two factors that have contributed to prosperity, modernisation and progress in other parts of the world have been abundantly present in the North of Nigeria, namely, Islam and military rule. For over four decades, Nigeria was under military rule and 95 per cent of the leaders were Northern officers. Roughly 50 per cent of Nigeria is unarguably Islamic.  In Asia and parts of Latin America, military rule modernised economies and provoked modernism and democratic reform. In Malaysia, Indonesia and the Gulf states of the Middle East, Islam and oil wealth have fuelled modernisation and major economic development. How come that in Nigeria, these factors have ended up breeding swarms of destitute and jobless youths driven to the limits of desperation mostly in the Northern half of our country?

Let us reduce the argument to the real world. Let us take an inventory of technicians, tractor operators, plumbers, mechanics, tailors, bricklayers, IT operators, serious traders from the North. In short, let someone carry out an audit of the percentage of the national stock of skilled manpower that is from the North. It is not enough for some Northern governors to insist that they have been budgeting for education and infrastructure over the years just like their Southern counterparts.

What type of education have they been providing? What accounts for the low level of entrepreneurial education in the region? How come the region remains unattractive to foreign investors even from point of view of available indigenous manpower? The Nigerian Diaspora is burgeoning. Let us find out what percentage of that potent force is from the 19 Northern states.

The inconvenient truth is that the North is not quite like the South in many senses. The cultural and religious divide of the country between the two dominant faiths of the world poses a different set of development challenges for the two halves of the country.  Incidentally, it was only in the First Republic under the late Sar’dauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello (Allah bless his heritage!), that this realisation was brought to bear on the philosophy of governance and development strategy in the old Northern Nigeria. That is why the glorious era that we keep referring to – the age of the groundnut pyramids, the cotton piles, the super competent public servants and the openness and tolerance of the people to all faiths coincides with this era.

With military invasion of governance and regimental political unitarism, the recognition of the peculiarity of the region was smashed. In its place was introduced an array of faulty assumptions: equality of states, even development, unmediated western education, oil as king, the politics of laziness and constitutional entitlement to oil money and a very unscientific affirmative action. These are the sins that we are now paying for.

The imperative of the moment is to take a look at the development strategies that have been adopted over the years in the North and see the extent to which we have adapted this to the cultural needs of the region. We are not the only country in the world with a huge Muslim population. Why are the others making progress and we are making orphans and widows? Why are the Gulf states taking giant leaps in development to the acclaim of the rest of the world? Why is Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country with a secular constitution, now one of the world’s favourite destinations for investment and a source of expertise? Why have Malaysia and Indonesia made the giant economic leaps we know in spite of their impossible geographical constraints?

The classic irony of the plight of the North is that a region that has produced ‘the richest man in Africa’- Alhaji Aliko Dangote - also boosts of the smallest concentration of entrepreneurs per square kilometre than the rest of the country! How come?

Even Saudi Arabia that hosts Islam’s holiest sites is embracing modernity while we remain cocooned in ancient customs and hold our people down with oppressive theologies? Put simply, why has the Northern political elite found it impossible to come up with development strategies that are based on the cultural identity of the region? All meetings of the so-called Northern governors over the years have never been development oriented. And yet, it is to the prosperous cities of the Gulf states (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Mecca and Medina) and Europe that these same leaders escape either on lavish vacations or to invest whatever wealth they accumulate in public office.

The solution to the crisis of violence and insecurity in the North may not be as farfetched as the authorities are making it appear. The prerequisite is the humility, on the part of the Northern political elite, to admit past missteps and the intellectual curiosity to ask the correct questions from the right quarters.

Terrorism, Society and the Rest of Us.

 Victor Ndoma-Egba

As a politician and a three-term member of the National Assembly, I cannot but be disturbed by the floundering state of security in Nigeria in recent times. I know a lot of our compatriots also feel the same angst, consternation and ‘confoundment’. It is indeed disheartening that innocent Nigerians are being murdered in a manner that is too serial and sectarian for comfort. It is even more discomfiting that a large number of those killed in many of these attacks are youths. Youths are the real resource of a nation.  By these killings, we are squandering not only our wealth but our future.

Up till now, no one is yet to fathom the goals being pursued by these attackers. What is known is that the attackers have been meticulous in their strategy by choosing to hide under the cover of our diversity to cast their terror thus creating a hiatus in our national unity.

So, to the extent that each time these terrorists attack, we are quick to stand apart on the threshold of Christian-Muslim or Southern-Northern divide, we continue to lose the war against terrorism in our country. I doubt if this country had ever been as divided as it is today. Yet, ironically, this is the time we need to stand together as a people - more than ever before - to fight the boggy of insecurity plaguing our land. Then we can fully address the poverty and inequities in our polity; issues that know neither tribe nor religion. I believe that a more pragmatic approach to solving the menace of terrorism in our country is to reinvent those social and communal values that bound us in the past.

As far as history can guide my thoughts, most of the communities where we have problems of terrorism today have had centuries old history of social and communal relationships and co-existence. The Berom have for centuries accommodated and lived with the Fulani in Plateau State, the Hausa in Kano State have over the years, accommodated and lived peacefully with the Igbo, the Kataf in Kaduna State and the Kanuri in Maiduguri have also had age-long histories of accommodating non-natives in their communities. These were communities that thrived on the strength of association, friendships, and interdependence. Jos once used to be the hub of hospitality in the whole of West Africa. Kano became a great city of commerce because of its association and friendship with people from other places. Kaduna was once a flourishing city known for its intellectual enterprise. All these are no more, and that begs the question: where and when did we get it wrong? Where did we miss the turn?

I recall with nostalgia my days as a member of the 1978-1979 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) set. I served in the old Bauchi State, which is now Bauchi and Gombe States. At the same time, my elder brother, Rowland now Professor of Surgery, was serving in Song in the old Gongola State now Adamawa and Taraba States and his fiancée (now his wife of several years) was also serving in Numan now in Taraba State. 

I also had friends in Bauchi, Gombe, Kano and of course Jos. That meant I was perpetually on the move between these cities. The hospitality I experienced was unparalleled. The elder brother of Yayale Ahmed, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Head of Service (HOS), Alhaji Yelwaji Azare of blessed memory, adopted me as his son; and I was treated as such. A political icon from Cross River State, late Chief I.I Murphy, gave me a note to his political associate, Alhaji Ibrahim Dimis, then a serving senator who also threw his home open to me. I could go there anytime. Not to talk of the person I served directly under in the Nigerian Police, Senator Nuhu Aliyu, who was then an Assistant Commissioner of Police.

  He retired as Deputy Inspector-General of Police and I had the good fortune of becoming his colleague in the 5th and 6th Senates. He made me a member of his household.
I lived in a flat on Yakubu Wanka Street, Bauchi with Justice Shehinde Kumuyi, current Chief Judge of Ondo State; Oyewale Akinrinade, who was Majority Leader in the Oyo State House of Assembly during the aborted Fourth Republic and a senior lawyer based in Ibadan and Ibrahim Muktari, the current Secretary to the State Government in Katsina State.  Life-long friendships were struck. Our flat had no locks. We travelled everywhere and when we come back everything would be intact. These same Almajiris, who today are being linked to the security problems in the country, were the ones protecting the flat. They ate your cooked food when you travelled but touched no other thing. In fact, they would be the ones to report themselves to you, good naturedly, that they ate the food because it was getting bad. So where did things go wrong?

I do not want to imagine that for whatsoever reasons that Nigeria cannot stand as a country. If we look at it critically, almost every other country in the world is plural just like us. Apart from perhaps the Koreas I know no other country that is completely homogeneous. It is commendable that the Federal Government has taken some measures - most of which military - to arrest the menace of terrorism in the country, but I believe that social therapy will also go a long way in combating the cancer of terrorism which has eaten so deep into our social fabric. For one thing, the situation that we have on our hands now did not come about because of a general collapse of law and order, thus necessitating just the deployment of military strategies to restore normalcy.

The situation came about due to a collapse of communal values - those values of friendship, inter-personal trust, sanctity of human life and accommodation - that once made us a people. This was the same position held by the late Senator Gyang Dantong who was consumed by the crises in his senatorial district in Plateau State. Senator Dantong was a fine gentleman, and a pillar in the National Assembly. I remember he often harangued about the declaration of states of emergency in some parts of Plateau State, insisting rather that the situation required more of a social solution than military intervention.

A social solution to the problem of terrorism in Nigeria will mean that the younger generation especially unlearns certain negative perceptions and prejudices against others and relearn values that unite us. Since we know that a lot of these criminal acts of terrorism are actually being committed by the youths, substantial efforts should be made to re-engineer their mindset to rekindle to those values that enabled communities thrive on plurality. Our diversity can be, and indeed should, be our strength if the political class is creative and honest about the good of all and not just power for the sake of it. What is the benefit of power if it does not create a secure and equitable society where all can equally and fairly compete for resources and opportunities?

Of course, bad governance and corruption are catalytic to the problem. To this end, it is important to stress the point that only a government that is respected by the people and seen to be transparent, can take up this task of social healing. Concomitant to this is addressing the issues of poverty and injustice in the midst of plenty.  We must make our enormous human and natural endowments work for our people and give them a sense of ownership of government.  Until government touches the most vulnerable amongst us, security will remain the challenge of our time.

Megawatts of Controversy.

The Verdict according to Olusegun Adeniyi.

“I understand that Prof. Barth Nnaji is going to man the power sector. He is a man for whom I have tremendous respect (and he comes with impeccable credentials for the job). But he is also an operator in the sector which immediately raises a serious issue of conflict of interests…”

When I wrote the foregoing upon resuming this page after my return to the country in June last year, at a time names of ministerial nominees had just been sent to the Senate for confirmation, there were some angry reactions from supporters and friends of Prof Barth Nnaji. Yet it was obvious from the outset that his appointment as Minister of Power was fraught with risks. In terms of pedigree, he is one of the few round pegs in round holes in the Federal Executive Council. And he did the correct thing by resigning from Geometric Power and putting his interest in a blind trust, which is perfectly legal and transparent. The challenge, however, remained that in a society with a thriving rumour industry, Nnaji had unwittingly provided a weapon of blackmail for his enemies, especially in a high-stake sector like power where there are too many powerful interests to contend with.

Even when his efforts led to significant improvement in the power sector, and he was making the right calls, I have always believed that at some point Nnaji’s appointment would unravel. What I did not envisage is that it would unravel in such a dramatic fashion. By his own account, Nnaji was confronted on Tuesday afternoon by President Goodluck Jonathan with the allegation that he was using his company as a proxy to buy shares in one of the companies being privatized under his watch. Given my little experience in the corridor of power in Nigeria, when things get to that point for a minister, you either jump or be pushed. Nnaji, at least going by Aso Rock statement, was clever enough to opt for the former.

What happened, however, came as no surprise. Prior to Tuesday’s resignation, there had been reports that participation by two companies in which Nnaji has considerable interest had compelled the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to cancel the technical bid evaluation process conducted for Afam power plant and Enugu Disco. To be fair to him, it was Nnaji who actually brought it to the attention of the council (of which he was a member) that O & M Solutions of Pakistan, one of the consortia bidding for Afam, had worked as a contractor for Geometric Power.

But aside the Afam Power station issue, Geometric Power equally has minority stake in Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited, which submitted technical and financial bids for Enugu Distribution Company Limited. So, effectively, Nnaji had interest, albeit indirectly, in two transactions in a sector which he superintended. There was no way that was not going to be a problem for the government.

What I find difficult to understand, however, is how Nnaji could imagine that all the intricacies surrounding these transactions would not have been exploited by government’s opponents (and his) if any of the companies to which he was associated had won the bid. When asked if Geometric Power would withdraw from the consortium bidding for Enugu Disco, Nnaji said: “As far as I am concerned, the bid is still alive. I know that they set up a new committee to re-evaluate the bids, but I don’t know if the process will still be fair after what has happened.”

What nobody should, however, take from Nnaji is his commitment to power sector reforms in Nigeria. It was this that, in the first place, led to his investment in Geometric. He was a hands-on Minister of Power who did the best he possibly could under a very hostile operating environment. Now that he has resigned, there is need for the president to move quickly to appoint a substantive, not acting, successor. Efforts should be made to get someone who not only understands the sector but who also has the capacity to drive the on-going reform in such a manner that will ensure transparency and quick consummation of the privatization exercise.

Whoever emerges as successor to Nnaji, there are still issues to contend with. The first one has to do with the ineffective coordination between stakeholders in the power and gas sectors, leading to delays in the implementation of the Independent Power Projects (IPP). The fact that the Minister of Power has no control over gas which is under the purview of the Minister of Petroleum has been a contending issue and the government must find a way to resolve that lacuna. To put it mildly, both Nnaji and Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke had been working at cross-purposes in a sector as critical as power supply.

When THISDAY Editorial Board recently had an interview session with Nnaji, he alluded to this while speaking about his frustration concerning gas availability for which he has no control yet the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was quick to respond by disputing his claims. This lack of synergy between the two ministries would have to be addressed for the power reform exercise to work. If the government is serious, we may need to bundle electricity and gas administration as it is done in some other countries. For instance, the United Kingdom bundled the Office of Gas regulator and office of the electricity regulator in 2001 into OFGEN when it realized the inefficiency and lack of coordination of keeping the two intersecting points separate. This is more imperative in Nigeria given that most of the power projects depend almost entirely on gas for electricity. There is also need for the ministry to synergize better with the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

What is perhaps the most serious issue and will require tact from whoever replaces Nnaji is that of labour. Union leaders in the sector, apparently with the support of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers, are currently at loggerheads with the government and had fought Nnaji to a standstill. The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) had claimed that government had been deducting 25 percent of the workers’ salaries as pension over the years. They are therefore demanding the payment of an outstanding N443 billion which the Ministry of Power strongly disputes. Clearly,the issues go beyond pension, as there are interests within the union working against the privatization exercise but it is also clear that there is a breach in the implementation of the National Pensions Act by the Ministry of Power on the entitlement due the workers. All these are urgent issues which make the appointment of a Minister for Power very compelling.

As we move on to privatized electricity market, it is also important that whoever succeeds Nnaji should focus on rural electrification and renewable sources of energy as well as other major policy issues about energy efficiency and security. Aside the issue of privatization, the current reform in the sector, especially by the NERC, is based on cross subsidies. This means that the industry maintains a discriminatory tariff structure for different categories of stakeholders. The essence is to redistribute income, create access for the poor and fix market imperfections.

Unfortunately, the timing of Nnaji’s resignation is most inauspicious as it may not give confidence to investors in what is clearly a very capital intensive sector. So whichever way we look at it, Nnaji’s exit and the other issues around the sector may yet be one of the most debilitating controversies faced by this government; except the president acts very quickly to appoint a worthy successor to the former minister.

Who Shall We Believe?

There is this joke that Nigerian security operatives can make a person to admit to a crime he/she did not commit and we have seen evidence to that over the years. But the current situation where two different groups would “confess” to killing one man on the same date, at the same time but for different reasons is a new feat. Last week, the State Security Service (SSS) paraded for the second time a group of six men who have allegedly confessed to killing Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, the Principal Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole in an armed robbery operation gone awry. And on the same day, as a sign of petty rivalry, the Police also reiterated its claim that the men in its custody indeed “confessed” to killing the same man in an assassination operation sponsored by Rev David Ugolor.

For me, there can be no greater evidence of the state of our national insecurity today than this shameful situation. What is so galling is that the two agencies are playing this sordid game in the public, disgracing themselves and our country with nobody calling the institutions to order. Even if one refuses to join issues with the security agencies over this bungled homicide investigation, what is very clear to sane people is that in this matter, both the SSS and the Police cannot be right. Yet both can even be wrong.

I sincerely believe that President Goodluck Jonathan should wade in by calling both the DG of SSS and the Inspector General of Police for a meeting over this matter. That should help in determining who is lying and Nigerians should enjoy the benefit of being told the truth. If the two agencies cannot collaborate on a murder investigation, how do we then expect them to work together on bigger issues like terrorism?

Congrats General Dambazau

Lt General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (trd), the immediate past Chief of Army Staff and a doctorate degree holder in Criminology, has joined the Harvard University Weatherhead Center for International Affairs on a one-year Fellows Programme. As one of the 20 distinguished personalities drawn from 15 countries, and the only African, Dambazau becomes the 7th Nigerian (and the second retired military officer after the late Joe Garba) to be selected for the programme this reporter attended in the 2010/2011 academic session. Aside other activities, he will be conducting his research on “Current conflicts over land in Nigeria and the impact on ethno-religious crisis”.

While I look forward to joining Dambazau and his new colleagues next April when Harvard will hold the first reunion of former Fellows of the 54-year old centre (“to audit classes, hear from accomplished Ph.D. candidates about their thesis research, attend a dinner and participate in a conference entitled Searching for Balance in an Unstable World”), I wish the General and his family a most rewarding experience in Cambridge, Massachusetts.