CATHOLIC SCHISM AND PENTECOSTAL POLITICISATION OF CAN

To act as a watchman of the spiritual and moral welfare of the nation; to serve as a basis for response to the unity of the church, especially as contained in our Lord's pastoral prayer “That all may be one” (John 17:21)" – CAN objective.

Never in its recent history has there been schism that has threatened the ecumenism of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) since it was founded in 1976. Matters came to a head with the withdrawal at the national level of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) from CAN, the umbrella body of Christian churches in Nigeria for promoting unity and peace among the various strata of society. The Catholic church suspended its activities in CAN sighting “recent attitudes, utterances and actions of the national leadership of CAN which in our opinion negate the concept of the foundation of the association and the desire of Our Lord Jesus Christ”.

The reaction from the Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor-led CAN to the withdrawal of the Catholic bloc was rather antagonistic, confrontational, haughty and a face-saving rant that does not address the issues raised by the Catholic bloc. It was expected that as a responsible Christian association, pertinent questions put forward by the CBCN should have been addressed in their response. CAN's spokesman for the 19 Northern states, Sunny Oibe, reacted brashly; “There is no need for anybody to lose sleep over the threat by Catholics to pull out of CAN because without them CAN will still continue. The constitution of CAN makes provision that membership can be terminated by any group that is misbehaving or any group can also terminate their membership”.With remarks like this, it is obvious that all is not well with the Christian association. Such unguarded comments and outburst is capable of exacerbating the present crisis rocking the body.

Close observers of events anticipated this, maybe it was long overdue, because in our very eyes, we saw the CAN leadership, gradually, in their quest for power, political relevance, filthy lucre, material gain and opulence become an appendage of the ruling political party. Pulpits of mega churches are now campaign platforms for politicians seeking election and re-election, the picture of President Jonathan kneeling before a man of God readily comes to mind. When a group of Pastors or General Overseers, begin to manipulate and use CAN like their personal property, then there is bound to be schism. The leadership of the Christian body is now an avenue for some avaricious few, to gallivant and junket around the world in private jets in the guise of spreading the gospel. Their choice of a life of opulence and splendour rather than the 'modest life of a leader of the flock of Christ that common sense dictates is quite appalling. Men of God have turned lovers of money, mundane possessors whose affections are set on things below. The Christian body seem to be at ease with the corruption from all sectors of the country, it is detached from the Christian folk it represents. 

There is an unhealthy rivalry among the mega rich, prosperity preaching and political protestant pastors that constitute CAN to outdo each other; whose private jet or private university is bigger, which denomination has built the newest mega church auditorium in town. CAN now seem to fan the embers of impunity, sleaze and profligacy in the country. The reason is not far-fetched; some of the embezzled public funds in the country has found their way via “brown envelopes” to church offerings and pockets of pastors who in turn guaranty return of votes from willy-nilly church members during elections. The politicisation and monetisation of CAN is a far cry from the association’s articulated objectives that seeks to act as conscience of the nation and voice of the voiceless. With CAN’s conscience seared and its lips sealed, it has become a toothless watchdog of the Christendom and as of today, it has lost its relevance. 

The CAN leadership went a step further to smear its image when its President and Senior Pastor, Word of Life Bible Church, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor at a lavish church party to mark the 40th anniversary of his pastoral calling in Warri; President Goodluck Jonathan – whom he is “ferociously” close to –  was in attendance, joined the elite league of private jet flying men of God when he received a greek gift from unnamed members of his church.

It was high time someone said the truth, CAN has derailed! To aptly put in Bishop Matthew kukah's words, Nigerian Christian leaders "…Have become more visible in relation to national prayer sessions, pilgrimages, alliances with state power and so on. Unless we distance ourselves, we cannot speak the truth to power. We cannot hear the wails of the poor and the weak. We should not be seen as playing the praying wing of the party in power." Apparently, he spoke about CAN.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido must have been thinking about CAN recently when he said people now “Find religion to be a very good instrument in the contestation of space for political power and for distribution of resources, they are not religious organizations; they are not cultural organisations; they are political associations in disguise of religion and region”.

When was the last time CAN consulted with its member churches to make necessary common statements and take common actions after a major crisis like the incessant Boko Haram attack in northern Nigeria? What we have seen in the last few years is the regular visit to the seat of power, Aso Rock Villa, and mere blowing of hot air whenever turmoil arise, exhibiting little or no initiative to take decisive action in matters affecting the Nigerian Christians. There is a general believe that the Christian body is on a freefall. As a matter of urgency, a moderation by the leadership of CAN in its lifestyle and association with politicians will go a long way in restoring some integrity and respect to the national Christian group.

It will be pertinent to add here that there has always been some form of discrimination between Catholics and Pentecostals even till this day. I had a personal experience when I worshipped in a Catholic church, the Rev. Father during his homily, made allusion to the raucous manner the Pentecostals engaged in praise worship and prayers even for the death of their enemies. Each group consider themselves pious Christians, some Protestants in CAN still consider Catholics as drunkards who are not devout Christians. Catholics in turn do not think Protestant pastors in CAN as properly ordained since their ordination lacks historical link with early Christian practice. Until such cerebrations are jettisoned, genuine ecumenism might be wishful thinking.

At such a crucial time that the country is trying to grapple with the onslaught of Boko Haram on Christians, the least desired of a body conceived as a rallying point for Christians is division. If for nothing at all, the lives of Christians lost to the violence of Islamist fundamentalist and splinter sects should be a reason the leadership of CAN and the Catholic bloc resolve their differences..

Now, more than ever, the Christian body needs to put its house in order and reposition itself to speak out against all forms of violence. CAN must henceforth desist from politicking and refocus on its core value of Christian ecumenism.


Written By Theophilus Ilevbare

Pension fraud: The N750,000 fine for stolen N32.8 billion

The obvious miscarriage of justice perpetrated on Monday by a Federal High Court in Abuja, which sentenced a public servant, John Yakubu Yusuf, to two years imprisonment with a fine option of N750,000, for conspiracy and stealing of N32.8 billion from police pension funds; a fine the convict happily paid on the spot and walked away a free man, will go down in history as one of the most ridiculous efforts of the judiciary in stemming the tide of corruption in Nigeria. Yusuf, an Assistant Director with the Police Pension Board, was standing trial with about five others for the mind boggling theft committed between January 2009 and June 2011. In making a mockery of the case, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Talba, according to reports, said the convict “actually assisted the court by confessing to have taken N3 billion as his share from the stolen N32.8 billion”.

The judge ruled that the convict must forfeit a total of 32 properties and the sum of N325 million. In Europe or America, the likes of Yusuf would have been sentenced to pretty long terms in prison to serve as deterrent. In Asia, such felons must have committed suicide even before being sentenced to death. It is on record that former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, pleaded guilty of fraud and money laundering charges at a London court in February 2012.

But Judge Anthony Pitts who handled the case, recognising the gravity of the offence, discountenanced Ibori’s self confession and sentenced him to 13 years in prison the following April.

Before the London judgment, a Federal High Court in Asaba, the Delta State capital, presided over by Justice Marcel Awokulehin, had in 2009, discharged and acquitted Ibori of a 170- count charge of stealing and money laundering. It is unacceptable that selfconfessed convicts in Nigeria are offered ludicrous options of fine with a pat on the back for crimes that should attract maximum punitive measures.

How much do bank robbers steal that often earn them the harshest sentences in court when caught? We shudder at what fate holds in stock for the nation, its resources and suffering pensioners if heartless pension thieves can be treated with kid gloves.

Nigeria has become a nation whose law enforcement institutions, the judiciary, and reformatory establishments retard or scuttle the cause of justice, instead of advancing same. Through dubious plea bargains, high profile crimes, especially public treasuring looting and outright frauds, including the recent subsidy scam, go unpunished.

The judiciary in particular remains an accomplice in plots to sabotage attempts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to bring some past governors, especially those who served between 1999 and 2007, accused of plundering the resources of their states, to book through the granting of perpetual injunctions against their prosecution. Trailing the police and the judiciary since 1999 are many unresolved high wire assassination cases, that of Chief Bola Ige, the nation’s one time power minister, inclusive. Insurgents and militants are treated like kings and rewarded with mouth-watering contracts, instead of being punished.

How else does the nation hope to contain high brow crimes and treasonable felonies if not through the firm application of the law and the right punishment for culprits? Why are foreign nations now more committed to punishing Nigerians who ruined Nigeria and Nigerians, than the Nigerian judiciary?

Corruption is consuming the nation the more and retarding development in all sectors of the economy and facets of life. Nigeria is going and going. It may crumble one day because of self-inflicted fatalities. The Federal Government can no longer feign ignorance of the high premium nations that crave survival place on punishment for crimes.

Except the government wishes to hide under the rot as veil to cover up its own excesses and recklessness, something ought the done fast to redress the situation. The FG should positively redefine its inputs in the nation’s criminal justice institutions and processes; while the National Assembly should come up with the right laws to strengthen criminal justice delivery. If the fault is that of the judiciary, compromised and non-credible judges should be identified and flushed out.

If it is that of the National Judicial Council (NJC), the laws establishing it should be radically reviewed to enable credible and eminent Nigerians from other professions, who understand and appreciate the level of the rot, to be part of the Council, and not just judges and lawyers some of whom benefit from the stinking system. If it is that of errant lawyers, they should be hounded out and severely punished, too. The FG should make hay while the sun shines.

If the government fails to take steps to ensure that the country’s law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and reformatories are no more sellouts, the catastrophe that may follow will not spare anyone. And while the nation grieves, we implore the EFCC to file an appeal against the Justice Talba ruling.

Still on the Stupendous Cost of Governance - Editorial

Any development economist would easily posit that in order to attain optimum productivity in any given human endeavour, the entrepreneur must ensure the convergence of requisite effort and efficient utilisation of resources, in such a manner that would prevent or minimize waste. This pristine empirical fact which dates back to Adam Smith is the fulcrum on which probity and accountability revolves. It further operates as a parallel or an antithesis to corrupt and self-serving practices, particularly in government and leadership settings. Therefore, one inference to be drawn from this premise is that in any plausible march to growth and development and better standard of living for its people, a government must make pro-active and frontally conscious efforts to wipe out or prevent all forms of corrupt practices from its body politic.

An x-ray of the modus operandi of successive Nigerian governments since 1999 would reveal that politicians have always claimed to operate above board in the running of government, but a glean of their factual performance records would disclose only unbridled pillage of the public till, wanton recklessness in misappropriating scarce resources and brazen disregard for the wishes and aspirations of the electorates. Our politicians always claim to possess good and focused leadership qualities, except that they are not in the least endowed with the virtues of transparency, probity and accountability in the running of government. The result of all these deficiencies is the emergence of a system whereby a privileged few have grown so powerful so as to dislodge their massive benefactors. Yes, it appears our governments have grown so large that their immediate concern is no longer to serve the people, but to maintain and protect themselves and their numerous appendages. They now usurp the people’s entire commonwealth under the guise of being a public or civil ‘servant’, while the people who ceded power to them continue to wallow in inexcusable squalor and abject poverty.

This problem becomes even clearer if viewed within the context of the 2013 annual budget of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government. Facts have been laid bare in the media to buttress the claim that Nigeria’s N150bn (or US$995m) 2013 budget is approximately 6.4 times higher than South Africa’s US$155m (or N24bn) budget for 2012/2013. Further examination of the two instruments reveals that while South Africa’s parliament is allotted a mere 0.14% of their national budget, Nigeria’s National Assembly (NASS) alone shall consume 3.02% of our national budget. Also, juxtaposition can be made with the presidencies of the two countries, where it can be seen that Nigeria’s presidency is profligate, because it spends almost two times more than it’s South African counterpart. For while the Nigerian presidency has been earmarked to consume N36bn (or US$228m) in 2013, the South African presidency’s budget expenditure for the same period is US$119m (or N19bn). These figures translate to approximately 0.70% and 0.11% respectively, of each country’s national budget. The choice of South Africa in making this comparison is deliberate, as that country commands the largest political economy in Africa. And the need to maintain and expand its sprawling first rate national infrastructure cannot be underscored.

Conversely, a perusal of Nigeria’s budget only reveals continuity with the devious trend of allocating humungous amounts to recurrent expenditure which politicians and civil servants will eventually use to maintain their unjustifiable opulent and outlandish lifestyles. Nigerian governments continue to churn out budgets with high and heavily padded recurrent expenditure patterns for the benefit of politicians and civil servants who, together, do not even constitute up to 2% of the population of the country. This implies that only less than 2% of Nigeria’s population derive direct succour from our commonwealth, while the greater 98% or more are left to languish in their own devices.

Meanwhile, very little attention is paid to the establishment of capital projects cum public infrastructure, like uninterruptible electricity supply, good roads, efficient transportation systems, workable health and educational facilities, etc., which are the major indices of development which any reasonable foreign direct investor would consider before making Nigeria his point of destination.  More so, there’s no gainsaying the fact that the interests of the larger 98% of Nigerians would only be served by the Federal Government of Nigeria through a well planned and executed capital projects scheme which would provide the needed public infrastructure for the benefit of the people. Or isn’t it worrisome to the Federal Government that, towards the twilight of the first quarter of the 21^st century, a country like Nigeria, with all the human and material resources at her disposal, is still grappling with the problem of epileptic power supply? It is obviously shameful! Yet, in the midst of this horrible deficiency, we maintain and continuºe to enlarge an already behemoth and surplus government bureaucracy that has achieved zero productivity to date, in terms of its impact on the well-being and standard of living of its citizenry.

Let’s not make the usual mistake of looking at the effect rather than the cause. In Nigeria, we live in a system where we are always told we have too much money (which the Federal Government has dubbed “excess liquidity”), upon which premise our unusually huge national budgets are based. But in fact, all this has done for us is to make our governments corrupt and reckless with expenditure – too much money in circulation will only lead to corrupt devices and stratagems aimed at self enrichment and aggrandisement and graft. There’s so much slush funds in the system, but there’s no growth in the real sector of our economy, which situation can only generate negative economic indices – high inflation rates, paucity of development funds, high interest rates, high investment risks, flight of seed capital, low investment morale, etc.

Isn’t it time for us to consider the intrinsic benefits in having just a unicameral legislature, particularly because 469 legislators in our bi-cameral legislature is bloated and over-subscribed for the job of law-making? When will expensive conducts like the culture of travelling around by politicians, locally or abroad, with a mammoth crowd in the name of “convoy” be stopped? When will our President begin to apply patriotic, nationalistic and befitting presidential considerations to his penchant for attending just any advertised international function? When will Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the de facto “Prime Minister” of Nigeria, drastically reduce the recurrent expenditure of government which she promised us in 2011 while seeking confirmation before the Senate? When will the Oronsaye Report that recommended efficient down-sizing and or consolidation of MDA’s in order to avoid wasteful duplicity of government functions be implemented?

Nigeria: Trivializing The War Against Corruption - Editorial

Justice Mohammed Talba of the Abuja High Court was in the eye of the storm recently when he gave a judgment which many described as making nonsense of the fight against corruption in the country.

The judge sentenced a retired assistant director, Police Pensions Board, John Yusuf, found guilty of stealing N3 billion out of the missing N32.8 billion police pension funds, to two years imprisonment!

The Abuja judge also gave the accused an option to pay N750,000 fine to escape spending time in jail.

The accused who was arraigned along with five others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on 2 April, 2012, had confessed to receiving N3 billion out of the stolen money.

In sentencing him to two years imprisonment, Justice Talba said the accused actually assisted the court to try him summarily by confessing to have taken N3 billion as his share of the stolen N32.8 billion police pension funds.

In addition to the two years imprisonment, Justice Talba also ordered that the accused should forfeit N325 million found in his account to the Federal Government while he should also forfeit a total of 32 of his properties to the government.

Many of those present in court, including EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, felt disappointed at the ruling of the judge, describing it as a trivialisation of the justice system.

We are disappointed too that a self confessed thief was allowed to go with such a light sentence. We note that this is not the first time the court will trivialise the justice system when a highly placed government official is involved in corruption charges. The same thing happened when the former governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion, alleged to have stolen N2.9 billion belonging to the people, was asked to pay just N3.5 million by the Enugu High Court after a plea bargain. To add salt to our collective injury, Igbinedion went into his car brought out cash and paid the fine instantly and became a free man.

In fact, the case of Chief James Onanefe Ibori, former governor of Delta State, alleged to have stolen billions of naira belonging to the people, Justice Marcel Awokulehin of the Asaba High Court not only set him free but accused the prosecutor, the EFCC, of failing to substantiate the charges against the former governor who is now languishing in a British jail for the same offence.

The same is true of other corrupt highly influential Nigerians who are given light sentences by the courts. But when a common man is found guilty of corruption, he is given the maximum sentence. This should not be so. There should not be two different laws for the poor and the rich in the country.

It is a sad development that at this period when the international community expects Nigeria to strengthen its war against corruption, the judiciary continues to portray the country as unserious in its battle against the cankerworm through its judgments in high profile corruption-related cases.

This is why we want to call on the government to overhaul the justice system to give bite to the crusade against corruption. The judiciary as the arm of government charged with interpreting the law must be made to join hand with the government to make the fight against corruption a success.

Recurrent Budgets Of State Governments - Editorial

AS poverty bites harder on Nigerians, our insensitive state governments continue to allocate a larger chunk of their annual budgets to recurrent expenditure, to the detriment of capital spending, which is the aspect of fiscal policy that can lead to the provision of sorely lacking infrastructure and the alleviation of crushing poverty. This is why Nigeria remains one of the world’s poor countries. According to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the average poverty rate in the North is 67.0 per cent (Sokoto State has the highest at 81.2 per cent), while the South has an average rate of 54.9 per cent.  This is a very disturbing symptom of systemic leadership and management failures.

The  states with skewed recurrent expenses in the 2013 budgets include Niger State with  N71.7 billion for recurrent expenditure as against N21.06 billion for capital; Kwara State – N58.1 billion/ N36.3 billion; Adamawa State – N54 billion/ N39 billion; Abia State – N67.8 billion/N66.3 billion; Enugu State – N45 billion/ N37 billion; and Taraba State – N38.8 billion/N35.5 billion. Most other states are not significantly better off. But for a few states such as Akwa Ibom (82:18 ratio for capital/recurrent) and Kano (75:25), which have gone beyond the UNDP recommendation of 70:30 ratio in their 2013 budgets, they have to tackle the challenge of improper implementation of the capital vote to achieve massive infrastructure development.

The Statistician-General of the Federation, Yemi Kale, had, while releasing the figures, explained that 112.5 million Nigerians or 69 per cent of the population lived in relative poverty in 2012, even as states thoughtlessly devote huge resources to recurrent expenditure in 2013. But this must not continue as everybody that has a stake in the Nigerian Project should be deeply concerned about the unhealthy trend. Nigerians should therefore make sure their voices are heard in disapproval of the way state governors are misruling their people.

An analysis of the current state budgets shows that 2013 might not be much better for Nigeria in terms of infrastructure development as a majority of state governments still carry high recurrent votes, which is primarily a function of their unnecessarily large and redundant executive and legislative arms. While the military government of the Yakubu Gowon era had no more than 12 federal commissioners (ministers), the depressing fad today is for states to have a large retinue of commissioners, in addition to innumerable special advisers and special assistants, who depend on the recurrent votes of their states to survive.

Compare this to the United States, which had a cabinet of four members at inception (during the first administration of George Washington), and today has only 15 ministers (Secretaries) and eight cabinet-level officers, including the Vice-President. For the citizens to have a feel of democratic governance, state governments owe the people they govern the duty to reorder their recurrent expenditure in the years ahead. To keep on servicing a tiny section of the populace, defined by the Executive and Legislature, will lead Nigeria to nowhere; it is a recipe for an imminent financial disaster.

Many Nigerian villages, communities and towns today cut a miserable picture of neglect and abandonment, having very poor infrastructure or none at all. Most of the roads in the countryside are impassable and that is where most of the populace resides. It is the same with the basic amenities of life: there are very few hospitals, which, in most cases, have no drugs and personnel, electricity is lacking or is epileptic, there is a lack of potable water and access to schooling is limited.

But even with this distressing scenario, the 36 state governors continue to live in their cocoon of self-deceit and personal aggrandisement, paying little attention to the citizenry through the way they allocate resources to the executive and legislature, who constitute only a tiny percentage of the population. The greater number of the populace who have no say in how their resources are utilised continue to wallow in poverty while the governors, who are expected to deliver the goods, fail to build or properly maintain schools, roads, hospitals and waterworks.

Another striking feature of budgeting state governments have to address is the fact that even the little they vote for capital expenditure gets wasted through corruption, over-inflation of contracts and non-completion of projects. Tales of corruption abound of how governors and other officials loot resources while in office, making them unable to carry out their constitutional duties such as the provision of basic social amenities.

It is time the state governments engaged in soul-searching concerning how they expend state resources. To bring development to their domains, state governments must first fashion ways to meet the United Nations Development Programme recommendation of a 70:30 ratio capital–to–recurrent ratio in their budgeting. For a start, citizens, civil society and other pressure groups in every state must flatly reject any budget estimates being presented to their state assemblies by governors unless they meet the UNDP ratio.

To make their mandates count, governors must immediately start to reduce the number of aides they are carrying, as this will free money for capital projects. By continuing to spend highly in the area of recurrent budget at the expense of the capital vote, no state in Nigeria can move forward. The time has come for governors to reorder their budgetary priorities and implement them diligently.

That Disgraceful Conviction Of A Pension Thief

I cannot find it in me to exult in this hour, but my pen is herein appointed attorney to take these notes. There is inevitably something comic about this political enterprise of ours, something decidedly unprosperous in reason. Does it not seem the people are falsely imprisoned, though it appears it can only happen here? N23.3bn stolen admittedly by one Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, a former Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office, in inordinate vanity and a dreadful humiliation of the country’s national character in another classic now known as the Police Pension Scam, and after months of back and forth, he gets two years imprisonment with an option of N750, 000 fine only. What does the country get in return?  Nothing, but a disgraceful applause. What do the people get? Shock, perhaps, mild disbelief, pain and destroyed hope.

Can I ask, did the Federal Government not spend more than N750,000 to prosecute that pension thief? Maybe, I am just wondering. Gleefully, the matter is reported as plea bargain, and even though I am a lawyer, being familiar with that word, yet my mind begins to extrapolate the things of the deep, and somehow this epiphany that can only be occasioned by logic leads me to perhaps ask what plea bargain indeed means here. Is it another word for the arrest of justice and its subsequent trial on the altar of bargain, and by the time bargain is closed, the highest bidder is throwing a party? Sounds to me more like justice auctioned to the highest bidder.

I thought there is something referred to as the mischief rule in the Canons of Interpretation, a rule which I suspect solemnly calls on today’s actors in the theatre of law and justice to reach out to the original intention of the parliament, to help them unearth the mind of the then makers of the law, to order their steps in doing justice. In the same vein, I would suppose that the makers of our criminal cum penal sanctions must have had the likes of Yusuf in mind while drafting our laws, but was it the intention of those same lawmakers that a man guilty of stealing N23.3bn be handed a two-year sentence that can simply be exchanged for a paltry sum of N750, 000? Certainly, I think not. Some have even attempted to advance the argument that after all the man has forfeited 32 properties to the state and returned part of the loot. 

I am confident that the position would be easily rubbished by the submission of any undergraduate law student studying elementary criminal law. Is the administration of our criminal justice system not rooted in punishing both the “mens rea” i.e. intention, and the “actus reus” i.e. act of an offence? Where a man steals N23.3bn as we have in this very ugly story and is later caught, and by reason of his being caught turns around, his return of the loot is not an escape route for him, given that it is incumbent on the law to still go ahead and punish his criminal mind. The law presupposes that his act of stealing is first and foremost anchored on the criminal intent built in his mind, which is buttressed by the fact that if he wasn’t caught, he would automatically have escaped with the loot. More importantly, the punishment of his criminal intent is to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to ride on the crest of his fraudulent success.

What all will admit without the smallest hesitation is that reconciling the Yusuf’s case with the above requirement will amount to nothing but trying to ferry a camel through the eye of a needle. Certainly, it is one case that will stand tall in our hall of fame of national absurdities for a long time to come. It is the saddest judgment I have ever heard of; it is the greatest attack on our collective intelligence.

Beneath this mess simply lies our fatal inability to live up to reasonably expected behaviour as it obtains in other climes, rather those in charge remain stubborn managers of an iniquitous system.  Every arm of government regales in the exercise of its powers ambushing the people and nailing the remnant of their hopes and aspirations of justice to the cross. Definitely, those who come after now will ask painful questions of those who seek to mismanage today. Is it not said that justice must not only be done, but must be manifestly seen to have been done? Is it not said that it is not the letters, but the spirit of the law that eternally waters the tree of justice. 

Do we have a tree around here, let alone watering? So what did we get at the end of the jamboree? The rogue walks out of the courtroom majestically with a triumphant swagger, attended to by his cronies in wild jubilation, making phone calls back home for them to start the party. He has cheated his country again, like other VIPs have done before him and he is not ashamed. He has defeated a country that does not know what it is doing, boasting to himself challenging those who even prosecuted him to cast the first stone. And then a press conference is organised in the courtyard, where in public view, the nation’s dirty linens are displayed for all to see. 

Retrospection is thrown to the garbage bin, sanity becomes a luxury, and in the worst show of disrespect for those great men who molded the concept of justice, a nation without morals and burdened with leaders without conscience is again made a laughing stock before a looking world. This is the best time in our nation, we are indeed grateful to the builders in government who all build their mansions on the nation’s shame and help remove a block each day from the collapsing integrity of their fatherland. No wonder Prof. Chinua Achebe refused to be honoured. It simply means that what an elder will see standing, certainly such is not given to a child, even if he conquers Mount Everest.

Congratulations to those who have brought us here, for they all will be well-remembered. Today, our nation is caught in a vice between justice and organised malignity, between a majority of rogues in civilian uniforms and a minority of the people in their right minds. Permit me to submit on this poignant notes, on which I assert that it is not the virtues of a government official that restrain him from wrongdoing, neither is it the vices of the demagogue that urge him on, rather the plain, natural history of all political institutions coupled with the aggregation of the will and consent of the ordinary people written in just laws, and backed up continuously by a fearlessly independent and courageous judiciary is the safeguard of sanity and survival of every human society. This is a code locked in the immortal Latin maxim, “Fiat Justicia, Ruat Coelum”, meaning, “Do Justice, even if Heaven will fall”. Once we lose this, we lose everything.

•Adegbite, Esq., a lawyer, wrote in from Kubwa, Abuja

OUR DELTA STATE! EMMANUEL UDUAGHAN’S DELTA STATE -

Pieter Schuyler must have had Delta State in mind when he postulated that “Until we totally change the way we elect our leaders, until we remove private money from public campaigns, lying will be the de facto method of governance in this country”. Orchestrated media hype, sycophancy and outright deceit has become a way of life in the current political dispensation in Delta State. Uncommon transformation and unprecedented achievements is now the “SLANG” to blindfold the downtrodden that are still living in abject poverty and penury. Everyday, we are inundated with news of “high” performance of the Uduaghan government, yet the state is bedevilled with insecurity, lack of infastructures and high unemployment rate.

Good governance, transparency, accountability, portable drinking water, stable electric power supply, health amenities is still a mirage that is pursued but never attained. This writer is in consonant with the views of Thomas Jefferson who opined that “I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive” 

Sadly, in the last five years, Delta State has been “bless” with an administration that lacks foresight and clear vision. It is indeed painful especially if one is to take cognizance of the huge revenue which has been generated in the state in the last five years. During the inception of this present administration, the Uduaghan government had assured that it will establish industries in the 25 local government areas of the state; a boast which has turned out to be mere “political showmanship”.

I am still in quandary why the Uduaghan government spent a whopping #7.5 billion to demolish a hill near the Asaba airport, yet large aircraft can still not land safely at Asaba Airport, despite the #7.5billion project to demolish the hills surrounding the runway. 

Another area that I am in a quagmire is that of the street lights, the Delta State Commissioner of Power and Energy, Charles Emetulu, said that the Uduaghan administration spent #75 million on diesel monthly to power street lights in Asaba and Warri which comes up to N3.6 Billion in four years. However, analysts in an uproar over the amount said it is “colossal” and that the government is fraudulent in its claim that it has spent #3.6 billion over the past four years powering street lights, especially considering the epic numbers of armed robberies and kidnappings in the state.

According to them, a 60KVA generator has a tank capacity of 150 liters of diesel and their engines use 9.7 liters of diesel per hour. This means a full tank of 150 litres can last 15 hours. Delta State keeps its street lights on during the 12 hours of darkness in a day, meaning it is impossible for it to use more than 150 liters in a day. 150 liters multiplied by N 170 per litre of diesel is #25, 500, so the government cannot possibly spend more than #30, 000 (inclusive of transport etc) on fueling a single generator in a day.

While political scavengers and hare brain spin doctors are gallivanting about Uduaghans’s achievements, hundreds of billions of Delta State funds are being siphoned via fathom projects. The Asaba-Ughelli road dualization project has gulped over nineteen billion and another five billion earmarked for it in the 2012 budget, still the road is begging for urgent attention. The Koko-Ugbenu road dualization has swallowed an unknown colossal sum with two billion set aside for it in the 2012 budget, albeit the road still remains in a poor state. The Effurun-Osubi-Eku road project has taken huge sums as well with another three point ninety-four billion proposed for it in 2012 budget, yet vehicular movement still witnesses serious traffic. 

Six billion has been expropriated on the Trans Warri-Ode Itsekiri road and bridge yet no hope in sight despite additional five billion for same road in the 2012 budget. The IPP at Ogharefe commenced in 2009 has sucked twenty- four billion with a whopping four billion in the 2012 budget, while other States have began enjoying the benefit of their IPP project, Uduaghan is trading profit and loss account with that of Delta State. Warri Industrial Park is a PPP project, but Uduaghan has spent one billion of State fund on consultancy alone with no specific time frame for private sector participation. The so-called Asaba International Airport has gulped unverified sum with another four billion in the 2012 budget inspite of government's earlier claims that the airport project was a done deal. 

The Osubi Airport doesn't belong to the State; one point three billion was spent on expansion and construction of a second runway with a huge sum of eight billion of Deltans sweat, carved out for it in the 2012 budget. When did Delta State acquire this Airport, at what cost and what's the nature of the transaction?

However, I will be magnanimous to concur with the opinion of Emile Lahoud, who stated that “Democracy, good governance and modernity cannot be imported or imposed from outside a country”. Therefore, there is need for the Uduaghan's government to look inwards, taking cognizance of our peculiar environmental challenges, and concentrate on projects that are capable of creating a beehive of economic activities and ensure an influx of people to the state. 

One cannot claim he is performing while he has not been able to attract a single industry in the last five years; the Uduaghan government has taken the state backward in terms of development. It is only a very committed, patriotic and progressive Deltan that can restore this state to the path of glory.

Aruviere Martin Egharhevwa Writes From London, United Kingdom.

A Centenary That Nigeria Needs - Editorial

The craving for the celebration by the Federal Government of the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates by Lord Fredrick Lugard in 1914 rose a notch higher last week, with the Presidency’s deliberations with the National Assembly on the matter. In its efforts to persuade the national lawmakers to agree to the proposal, the Presidency, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, raked up some juicy reasons to back it.

According to Anyim, apart from his insistence that public money would not be spent, the centenary celebration, which will be a multi-faceted and multi-location event, “provides unique opportunity for corporate organisations to properly present themselves as part of Nigeria’s success story.” Anyim explained further that, with support and active participation of the private sector, the centenary celebration would provide, potentially, 5,000 jobs directly and over 10,000 jobs indirectly.

Obviously, the Presidency is up to some pranks. If the project is private-sector-driven, why is Anyim wasting time and taxpayers’ money in running around promoting it? Earlier opposition to this proposal last year forced the President to proclaim that a private sector funding for the project would be explored. As it is often said, there is no free lunch anywhere. Such funds, when doled out, are repaid through corrupt contracts or patronage network. Ultimately, public funds are siphoned. It is hoped that  the federal lawmakers will appreciate the depth of the country’s disjuncture and refuse to appropriate funds for the jamboree.

The carnival is unnecessary and a waste of resources; it offends reason and existential realities. Interestingly, some members of the House of Representatives led by the Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, have questioned the government’s wisdom for the venture when the economy is being hobbled by unemployment put at 23 per cent, inflation at 12.21 per cent, unprecedented graft and serial failure in budget implementation. The Senate President, David Mark, also saw through the President’s insincerity with the caution that public fund should not go into the project under any guise.

Indeed, the foundation of the Nigerian state, viewed from either the 1914 or the 1960 independence prism, is structurally defective and irredeemable. It is therefore not surprising that it has failed every integrity test. Even before the colonising power departed, Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the defunct Northern Nigeria, had begun what could pass for the most spirited public enlightenment on its defects, when he dubbed the Union “the mistake of 1914.” It was not long after independence before political convolutions overwhelmed the inchoate set-up. Blood cascaded between 1967 and 1970 in a civil war that claimed over one million lives.

However, no lessons were learnt. The country’s long caravan of failure, exemplified in sectarian crises, which have turned some cities in the North into graveyards of innocent and hapless Nigerians, mutual distrust among its over 250 ethnic nationalities and the conspiracy of the conservative political elite to perpetually undermine the well-being of the citizenry, every now and then, constantly remind us that something is amiss. The colonial master, Britain, ipso facto, corralled the Northern and Southern Protectorates into a non-orgasmic union for its economic and political benefits. Though a century is a very long time for the country to have morphed into a nation, this is not the case in Nigeria. Therefore, it is a day to despair at the wrong turns we have taken in 100 years of groping in the dark; not one to celebrate.

Oil is the hinge that holds Nigeria together. A cohesive society is one where people are protected against life’s risks, trust for their neighbours and institutions of the state is high, and work towards a better future for themselves and their families is respected. Rather than celebrate, the President should use the centenary to present the State of the Union address. If the President pretends not to know, he is invited to take note of the following incongruities: why are our industries not producing according to installed capacity? A country of over 160 million people generates 4,503 megawatts of electricity in 2013, the highest so far in its history; yet, Brazil, which was on the same economic pedestal with her in the 1960s, has 100,000MW with a population of 190.7 million. South Africa with about 50 million people generates 40,000 MW. Nigerians and the world at large cannot figure out why an oil producing country imports refined fuel from abroad, even from non-oil producing nations.

In 2012, over one trillion was purportedly spent on oil subsidy. The figure is likely to rise in 2013. Paradoxically, as a former Minister and former World Bank Vice-President for Africa, Oby Ezekwesili, put it in a recent lecture, “The trend of Nigeria’s population in poverty since 1980 to 2010 suggests that the more we earned from oil, the larger the population of poor citizens.” This situation is awful and a big caricature of governance and the much-vaunted fight against corruption. Boko Haram, an Islamic fundamentalist sect in the North, remains a clear and present danger to our communalism, while peaceful co-existence of ethnic nationalities in Jos, Kaduna and in some other Northern cities presents a picture of a polity that is out of joint. Are these challenges worth celebrating?

Jonathan on January 14 forlornly observed that Nigeria was too old to disintegrate. “In 2014, we are going to celebrate our centenary; our 100 years of existence. You cannot stay in a marriage for 100 years and say that is the time you will divorce.” He is wrong. Such claim is a farce and does violence to history. Holding a country together is not anchored on wishful thinking and false pretences. He is well reminded of the dismemberment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; the emergence of Eritrea from Ethiopia; Southern Sudan’s breakaway from the Sudan; and Northern Ireland’s moves for self-rule. These are contemporary and illuminating impulses of globalisation and quest for nationhood.

Nigeria shares the same security mess with countries such as Mali, Somalia and Pakistan. Perhaps, the only difference is that the insurgents here are more furtive than their confederates in Mali. The President painted a frightening picture recently when he revelled that the ultimate goal of Boko Haram is to “take over Abuja so as to make me and those in government to go and hide.” These omens are sobering and this is why the centenary should be a moment for soul-searching and not for revelry. The administration should rather squarely face the serious challenges of rescuing the country from the cliff edge and putting it on a stable and productive path.

Northern Governors’ Misapplication of N8.3 Trillion - Editorial

LONG used to blaming inequitable revenue distribution from the centre for their woes, Northern governors must now think up fresh excuses to justify their gross underperformance following a recent news report, which revealed that lack of resources may not have been the real problem after all. The report, a compilation of records of revenue allocation over a period of 11 years by a Northern-based daily, revealed that, though the revenue sharing formula of the federation may not have been skewed to the advantage of the North, that region got enough to have turned around the fortunes of its citizens.

Citing documents from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, the report showed how about N8.3 trillion flowed into the coffers of the 19 northern state governments and 413 local governments from the collective purse between 1999 and 2010. But looking through the vast territory of the North, there is very little on the ground to justify the collection of such an amount.

The report, at a glance, showed that, within the period under reference, the northern states got N4 trillion out of a total of N10.7 trillion available for sharing among all the states, just as the sum of N4.2 trillion out of the N7.5 trillion due to local governments across the country also went to the North. Evidently, at the state level, the South got N2.7 trillion more than the North, which, in turn, got N900 billion higher at the local government level.

What, on the face value, looks like a lopsided allocation of resources comes from adding the 13 per cent derivation of the oil producing states to the total revenues that went to the Niger Delta area, while, at the local government level, the North got more because it has 413 out of the 774 local government areas in the entire federation. But, it should also be pointed out that, just as their northern counterparts, many of the southern states did not benefit from the extra revenue that went to the oil producing states as only nine states qualify for that.

What is so blatantly clear, however, is the abysmal failure of the northern political leadership to deploy their resources judiciously to raise the quality of life of their people. Despite earning so much over the years, poverty has, inexplicably, remained pervasive and endemic in the region. Recent figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the poorest states in the country are in the North. Sokoto State, with 81 per cent poverty rate, topped the list last year, followed by Katsina, with 74.5 per cent. While Adamawa and Gombe had 74.2 per cent each, Jigawa and Plateau also shared a similar rate of 74.1 per cent each.

Figures for the previous years were even worse, with the poverty rate in Sokoto standing at 86.4 per cent in 2010 and Adamawa posting 95 per cent rate in 2004. The only bright spot in the North was Niger State with 33.8 per cent poverty rate last year, which also was the lowest nationwide.

The northern parts of the country generally occupy the bottom rung in practically all the human development indices. The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Lamido Sanusi, never fails to remind the world about the region’s backwardness. He was once quoted as saying, “The North is very poor and backward.” But, like the governors, he blames it on everyone else except the ruling elite of the North. The culprit is either the lopsided revenue sharing formula, especially the 13 per cent derivation, or the perceived “marginalisation” of the region by the Federal Government.

But the question that should not go unaddressed is, what happened to the North’s N8.3 trillion? Some former governors have tried to justify expenditures during their tenure, while others have denied outright, getting anything close to what they have been credited with. Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the Kaduna State governor from 1999 to 2007, for instance, said he used his allocation judiciously to build the Kawo overhead bridge, open up new layouts and restore peace amidst booming commercial activities. “We can’t put price to that (peace)…,” he was quoted as saying. But opposition politicians believe the allocations to the North were either largely misapplied or stolen. According to human rights activist, Shehu Sani, “Half of the money was stolen by the governors, 30 per cent of it was shared to traditional rulers, clerics and marabouts, political cronies and sycophants. Only 20 per cent of it was used for the common people.”

What the governors, however, failed to own up to was their undue sponsorship of religious activities, especially spending of billions of naira to sponsor people on pilgrimages, and their security vote, which Rabiu Kwankwaso, Governor of Kano State, described as a smokescreen for stealing public funds, building of palaces and buying of expensive cars for traditional rulers. For instance, the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, last year outlined plans to build 186 palaces for district heads in the state, while Katsina State reportedly donated N60 million for the building of a Government House for Niamey Region in Niger Republic. Similarly, the Niger State Government last year unveiled plans to spend N2.4 billion to build worship centres in the state. These are examples of how not to spend public funds.

Niger State has shown clearly that one does not need to be an oil producing state to run government efficiently. The same goes for states in the South that have no oil revenue. This is what the northern states should do. Rather than begrudge oil producing states for the 13 per derivation, northern governors must reorder their priorities and create jobs for the teeming jobless. There must be massive education to reduce the number of child beggars (almajiri) on the streets; it has been confirmed that there is a link between poverty and lack of education. Mass education will also reduce drastically the number of idle hands available for recruitment into terrorism.

Since business can only grow in an atmosphere of peace, Northern governors must curb the festering of religious intolerance, which has sent many businesses packing from the North. If government money is used for the promotion of development and provision of infrastructure, the level of poverty will certainly reduce, not only in the North but in the entire country.

Besides, the people must learn to hold the government to account, since it has shown an abysmal lack of understanding of what governance is all about. The only way to get good governance is to demand it.

Still On CBN’s Handling Of The Nigerian Economy

The Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, declared at a recent meeting of Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone in Abuja recently that our reserves had risen to about $44.6bn.

Any confidence, which this relatively healthy reserve base should inspire, may have inadvertently been dampened a few days earlier, by Central Bank of Nigeria’s claim, at the Save Nigeria Group’s anniversary of the fuel subsidy protests. The CBN’s Director of Research, Charles Mordi, had warned at that forum that although our foreign reserves are about $43bn, only $13bn (i.e., the ECA and Sovereign Wealth Fund) actually belongs to Nigerians, while inexplicably, the balance of $30bn belongs to the CBN!

Mordi explained that since the CBN had paid constitutional beneficiaries naira values in place of the distributable dollar revenue, the apex bank had become the owners of the dollar balance.  In other words, since Nigerians had consumed the naira equivalent of $30bn, it would be akin to having your cake and eating it, if Nigerians insisted on laying claim also to the substituted dollars.  The question that obviously begs for answer in such a bizarre circumstance is whether or not a slave can be richer than its master.

Thus, the bigger the distributable dollar revenue, the bigger will be the burden of cash surplus induced by substitution of huge naira allocations, and the greater therefore will be the challenges of inflation, cost of funds, rising national debt and a weaker naira.  But guess what, the bigger the size of such unsolicited naira substitutions, the bigger also will be the CBN’s dollar profits from its currency transactions.

The CBN cache of dollars may have funded serial looting of the treasury in the last 30 years, as both military and civilian presidents had access to a dollar pool that belonged to no one but the CBN, which has absolute discretion over disbursement.  Indeed, the $450m unilaterally diverted by an ex-CBN Governor to start a bank probably came from this fund.  The billions of dollars committed to the power contracts and the Paris Club debt payments prior to legislative approval may have also found this unencumbered dollar pool quite handy.  The CBN also claims to deploy its “autonomous’’ dollar reserves to support the naira and also serve as collateral to reduce cost of foreign loans to our government.  Paradoxically, the naira remains weak in spite of increasing dollar income, while the cost of our foreign loans still exceeds the cost of such loans to distressed economies elsewhere.

Ironically too, while the Federal Government goes cap-in-hand seeking both domestic and international loans at outrageous costs for such risk-free sovereign debts, our own Central Bank liberally allocates billions of same dollars, which exist outside the federation’s consolidated revenue account to Bureaux de Change at face value.  The apex bank is obviously unconcerned that treasury looters and smugglers of those contraband, which destroy our local industries, are in reality, also the major beneficiaries of the CBN’s unfettered dollar supply to the black market.

The CBN insists that it deploys its formidable chest of ‘captured’ dollars to modulate critical aspects of our economic and social welfare; examples of such interventions include the selective cash donations to victims of violence in some parts of Northern Nigeria and the N1bn donation to a certain ‘beloved’ university.  Similarly, a recent advertisement suggests that the apex bank is embarking on interventions in secondary, tertiary and other public institutions, under its 2013 capital projects.  The establishment of six Enterprise Development Centres in each of the geopolitical regions and the N2tn cash injection to currently debt-crippled Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria are all part of the CBN’s fruitless and inappropriate efforts at ameliorating the adverse impact of its failed monetary strategy.

The question is why is the CBN wilfully distracted from the pursuit of its mandate of price stability with these direct interventions in areas where established ministries and agencies, with statutory allocations, should have the appropriate structure for better service delivery; why the avoidable duplication of structures?  Moreover, the equity and yardstick for selecting beneficiaries for such interventions remain as hazy as its shroud on its expenditure and staff remuneration budget.

For over a decade now, we have decried the totally inappropriate framework within which the CBN captures the federation’s dollar revenue and substitutes monthly naira allocations; this arrangement has created serious dislocations and disruptions in our economy.  In a belated recognition of the weakness of this system, a former Governor of the CBN, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, attempted to favourably reconstruct our monetary model, such that dollar-denominated revenue would be paid with dollar certificates rather than with bloated naira creations.  Surprisingly, for over five years, prior to his recommendation, Soludo was in aggressive denial of our widely publicised advocacy for such an alternative payment system, which had the potential to quickly resolve policy contradictions and stimulate economic growth with improved social welfare and employment opportunities.

The CBN directors at the SNG forum readily admitted that Soludo’s Strategic Agenda for the naira, which was in sync with our recommendations, was the product of sound professional judgment, but unexpectedly, implementation was summarily truncated by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s rejection of the proposed naira redenomination and a restructured payment system.

The excuse that President Yar’Adua stopped Soludo’s pet project because it was unconstitutional is quite untenable, because the CBN’s autonomy in such monetary matters was clearly enshrined in the 2007 CBN Act.  What is possibly nearer the truth will be Yar’Adua’s consternation that naira redenomination, as proposed by Soludo, entailed fresh commitment of billions of naira to production and promotion of a new currency profile (including revised coins structure) to replace all the new denominations, which the CBN introduced only eight months earlier with equally great production and publicity cost!  Ultimately, Yar’Adua threw away the baby with the bathwater without a whimper of protest from Soludo, who succumbed to the trappings of office rather than adherence to professional integrity.  Regrettably, Soludo lacked the courage to stand by his professional judgment, and quickly backpedalled to once again reinstate the existing economically poisonous and ultimately destabilising framework of naira substitution, with its inherent liberal opportunities for corrupt practices!

In truth, until we accept the obvious good sense in stopping impulsive creation and substitution of naira allocations for dollar-derived revenue, poverty will deepen even with rapidly increasing dollar revenue, as is currently the case, but the CBN’s autonomous dollar harvest will continue to bloom. What a paradox!

Written  By HENRY BOYO