OBJ VERSUS PMB: AS THEY FRAME EACH OTHER

The former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo announced recently that President Muhammadu Buhari is framing up stories to finally detain and prosecute him. This new major outburst of OBJ  this year made me remember Tunde Kelani’s epic film, Ti Oluwa N’ile, where a well-respected town chief, Otun, gravely manipulated a judge to bungle justice. But from the night the judgment was made and his excited side won, death started killing the winners serially by interment. Chief Otun fought at processions to stop interments, ran for his life, cried hard till he got solution and his life was spared. Having left for years after the crises, Otun returned to town suddenly, asking to regain his chieftaincy title. Otun in the greedy battle, over the title at the end, lost his life even when interments and killer-ghosts spared him despite his earlier atrocities.

Truth be told, Obasanjo worked hard as president. Taking over power in a country where soldiers were so used to political power than staying in the barracks, OBJ stabilised the polity by retiring such soldiers, confronted ethno-religious crises aggressively, scouted for rugged and seasoned professionals like the Akunyilis, the Okonjo Iwealas and Oby Ezekwesilis. They came with expertise. They all worked as a team starting free feeding in schools, setting up Global system for mobile communications, sanitizing the food-drug industry and finally getting a major debt cancellation.

But old habits, they say, die hard. OBJ although quite a very detribalised personality has some inhuman personal habits and his militocratic approach to many issues as he many times denounced fundamental human rights, democratic values and the rule of law. In his days, politicians die under mysterious circumstances and electoral rigging was the order of the day.

There are very few respected personalities in Nigeria that Obasanjo has not quarrelled with in his lifetime be it IBB, MKO, Wole Soyinka, GEJ, the Kutis, Tinubu, Buhari, etc to mention but a few. Obasanjo’s complicated lifestyle as reaffirmed by his first wife positions him better to tolerate many bootlickers, fake friends, liars and crooks. But when he was in power, they cuddled him the El-Rufai way.

If anyone should be grateful to God and consider human leadership as ephemeral it should be OBJ. A man that no one invited him to the 3 coups but when they won, they did call him to lead. A man that handed over power in the military and gets it back in a democracy. A man God led from prison to presidency and yet handed over power to democratically elected governments twice. A man whose CV is a book.

But If there is anyone who should never complain that someone is framing up plans and documents against him, it is Obasanjo. Who framed up Fayose and removed him? Who wiped off the whole of Odi and toppled 2 senate presidents? For me, it is legends like Nelson Mandela that qualifies to write such public letters to perhaps Jacob Zuma, not those who cannot identify the killers of a sitting attorney-general, vents at foreign journalists because of Malabu oil scam questioning and goes livid when asked why his soldiers pushed down a 70+ year old female activist from a storey building. OBJ’s letters are mostly political and the most impatient amongst those leaders he wrote jailed him immediately. This just tells us that OBJ can definitely write letters but not a public one.

Obasanjo and Buhari

But come to think of it. Comparing OBJ and PMB, don’t you think OBJ is more alert, detribalised, understands the body language of business, fights conflicts with all aggression, employs experts, understands foreign policy but applies militocracy for personal wishes?  Sai Baba is unaware, strongly tribal even where federal character matters, runs on propaganda, lays back during crises and employs more party loyalists than experts. He lacks the finesse for international business and politics.

The issue is both of them are one-way traffic, selective in their anticorruption fight, ignores the office of the citizen, belongs to the same age-long Nigerian political class, manipulates the rule of law and apply good governance moderately. The only thing I am sure of is that PMB will never write any letter.

How I wish Buhari could help bring this former Nigerian leader to justice if found culpable at last? That will pass a great message to the Nigerian Elite.  But I sincerely doubt if Buhari himself will not be culpable of most of OBJ’s atrocities when he leaves office, Or even more.

Oya fight me.

JUNE 12: THE PEOPLES WISH AND THE PRICE OF NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY_Tunde Adegbite

I just saw the interview of Hafsat Abiola-Costello on President Muhammadu Buhari's declaration of June 12 as democracy day in recognition of her father, Bashorun MKO Abiola as a Grand Commander of the Federal Republic. Her words moved me. Most touching was the fact that Hafsat found the democracy day declaration the most significant. Her calm voice expressed Hope, Excitement, Emotions and Fulfilment. Be that as it may, everything about June 12 should be lessons for us as a people and as a nation.

1. Many countries never went through what Nigeria swam in before they were torn into shreds. Had June 12 split Nigeria, no west African  country would have been able to contain us. If it happened, Europe will tilt. America will groan. If they are feeling tired of Syria already, they will have cried over Nigeria and her alarming population. We need to thank God.

2. Nigeria was once run by a group of people who serially brokered political power amongst themselves in military uniforms. Only death and God took them out of power. Life is ephemeral.

3. How do you explain it that the total number of political and military leaders putting pressure on IBB then to annul the elections were not even up to 100 human beings. But because of just them, the wishes of 150m people was truncated. A country without the office of the citizen is an empire of tyrants.

4. While I agree with Honorable Justice Belgore that Paragraph 2 of the Honours Warrant made pursuant to the National Honours Act provides that ‘a person shall be appointed to a particular rank of an Order when he receives from the President in person, at an investiture held for the purpose...’ I prefer as sighted by Femi Falana(SAN)  to align with Paragraph 3 of the same act that gives  '...the President the unqualified discretion ‘to dispense with the requirement of paragraph 2 in such manner as may be specified in the direction'

5. Where was Bukola Saraki and Dino Melaye when Nigeria was boiling in 1993? Where was Rochas Okorocha during the Epetedo declaration? Where was Buhari during Abiola's incarceration? And what comments did he make between 1993 and 1998? Could you have some democratic values and fail to speak during that crucial period? Merit and sacrifice is always stupid to the Nigerian political class until elections start knocking.

7. In a bid to reclaim his mandate, Abiola confronted 3 military governments simultaneously and refused to succumb till he died. Honour is a major producer of heroes. It is the tradition of the Noble. A country without heroes will be zero.

7. The Quarrels between Abiola and Obasanjo has been on since BBHS days when they were both Editor and Deputy editor of the school Magazine. It has always started, ended and restarted since then. I doubt if they ever at any point trusted each other. Nigerians need take their eyes off any lies that rests on PDP or APC. It is the same political class. The Failure of Good Governance in Nigeria is systemic.

8. Sometimes back, I  saw a documentary on the first Nigerian coup which stated that barely a week after Aguiyi Ironsi was killed in 1966,  Lagos was already running normally as if nothing happened and that there was more weeping over the death of Aguiyi-Ironsi in London than in Lagos. What does this speak of us as a people wwith respect to this June 12 declaration?

9. Nigeria is beginning to deserve a National day of Thanksgiving.

I am asking myself today what is going on in the mind of IBB and the 3 service chiefs he left in the military. What was his motive? Wherever they are, it is sure that this will not be funny to them. I am sure they are all ashamed. The lesson in all of this is that, there is always a point in our lives when we have the powers to do almost anything-right or wrong, good or bad, truth or lies. There is a point when the brilliant people around you can argue you in or out of virtually anything and either way. It is right there that the right human and godly values you have kept for years will rise and tell the truth to you. Right actions make a country great. The victory of evil over good will remain temporary. Always  do the right thing when you have the chance. God bless the Abiola family. God bless martyrs of the June 12 struggle. God bless all Nigerians who believe in good governance and God bless Nigeria.

OFFA ROBBERY: WHAT THE NIGERIAN POLICE CAN DO_ TUNDE ADEGBITE

www.instreaminnigeria.blogspot.com

A heartless robbery of robberies happened in Offa, Kwara state Nigeria. Armed robbers moved to the Nearest police station and killed 9 policemen before attacking banks to kill more than 20 people.

The media condemned the acts. The police was gruesomely bitter. The executive was embarrassed. Investigations commenced immediately. And in less than 10 weeks, many of the robbers have been caught. Lessons learnt:

1. If the police will not wait till her men get killed before doing her job by sorting  her internal issues, this country will be a better place.

2. When you hear of herdsmen killing, robberies and major insecurity, it is because the police is yet not willing to do her job. If the police decides to really work, you will not find any criminals in Nigeria.

3. There may be no sufficient technology to support the police like CCTV and Biometrics etc but even in the world of robbery, there are maps, there are kingdoms and there are kingpins.

4. These maps, kingdoms and kingpins are usually in police custody.

5. When the police is failing, it is not because they are lazy. It is because the executive is not interested.

6. The indiscipline you see in the police today thrives because the executive prefers it.

7. There are criminals in prisons on awaiting trials and jail terms who by merely hearing the robbery modus operandi or seeing the darkest pic will mention all the robbers involved for just a drink. Prison intelligence must be taken seriously for adequate security to thrive.

7. An average teenager in some developed nations at the sight of crime can remember the plate number, car model, skin color and guess the height. In some cases, he knows the shoes he saw, all at first questioning. Is something wrong with our child education or how we teach alertness?

8. Your house is at stake when your neighbours wall is ablaze.

9. Analogue security men will never police a digital and youthful generation. The police must retrain her men for security and safety to thrive in the land.

10. Nigerians must vote only leaders who respect fundamental human rights.Its worrisome that there are businesses that kill more than 50 people annually with little or no consequences. A leader that protects cow lives and businesses more than the lives of her citizens do not deserve the leadership of the country.

FOI AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NNPC

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana made a Freedom of Information act request from Nigeria's petroleum Industry, asking for Nigeria's Fuel Importation data for a period. Upon reciept, the state minister  for petroleum Dr Ibe Kachikwu forwarded the request to the NNPC to provide the information.

But Dr Maikanti Baru's NNPC replied via her lawyers, O.B Omale solicitors declining the request on the grounds that it is not a public corporation. In response to Femi Falana, NNPC stated 'Please be informed that our client doesn’t fall under the purview of the freedom of information (FOI) Act, 2011,”

“The provision of the act particularly section 31 thereof is clear and unambiguous as to the meaning of public institution.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the section provides as follows: public institution means any legislative, executive, judicial, administrative or advisory body of the government including boards, bureau, committees, or commissions of the state and any subsidiary body of those bodies including but not limited to committees, and sub-committees which are supported in whole or in part by public funds or which expends public funds and private bodies providing public services performing public function or utilizing public funds.

“Our client is neither a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative or advisory body of government of Nigeria.

“It is a body established by the law to manage the commercial interests of Nigeria in the oil and gas sector and conduct trade therein. It cannot therefore by any stretch of imagination be brought within the definition of public institution under the act"

Now, O.B. Omale, who replied the letter on behalf of  NNPC stated that there were already judicial endorsements on this position in several cases.

The NNPC went further to state that even if it would ever qualify as a public institution, the information requested for is not within the purview of the act as it involves trade secrets, non-disclosure agreement and third parties.To worsen it, the NNPC stated that the  information does not serve any public interest in its opinion and thus cannot be granted.

We are in for interesting times

Now the president is the Minister for petroleum. The NNPC chairman is Dr Baru and Dr Ibe Kachikwu is the State Minister for petroleum.

In defining what is a public corporation, I am shocked that Omale Solicitors does not agree that the NNPC is commissioned by the Nigerian state to do what it does. Now this is a corporation which as at 5:57pm on the 5th June 2018 stated on its  group website , 'The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is the  'state oil corporation....'. What is a state oil corporation? A personal business? I also noticed that the critical phrase '....Including but not limited to....' Has disappeared from Omale's quoted response as stated in the act.

Thirdly Baru's NNPC is not a Public corporation as he said but it is supported 'in whole and in part with public funds' as stated by the act. What an Irony? Not only that, the NNPC expends and utilises public funds, hence it inevitably and  wholly qualifies to obey the FOI act.

Also, it is interesting that Baru's NNPC did not read Section 2 subsections E (I),(II),(III)  which states that all files containing contracts, permits, grants, licenses, agreements reports and documents all qualify as public information under the FOI act. Going by all these, My concern is how do you represent the government and yet hide trade secrets, non-disclosure agreement and third parties on transactions you did on behalf of the state. Is NNPC now a private enterprise? As the former minister Oby Ezekwesili puts, is the NNPC another Federal republic?

Is Baru even aware that the staff of a company or organisation where government owns controlling shares or interest is clearly a public servant as stated by the 1999 constitution ? Is Baru aware  that in some of Nigeria's ministries, suppression of records is the second most grievous act of misconduct you can commit?

It is a global concern that a ministry where the president is the minister for Petroleum works in so thick opacity that the government cannot be asked about her deals and transactions done on behalf of the public. All the achievements with the Nigeria's extractive industries' accountability has now been trashed by this government.

You know there are evils done in Nigeria because crook is so rest assured that the victim will never get justice until 2064. So why worry? The administration of the federal republic of Nigeria particularly the NNPC is definitely run by a cabal that hijacked power. I think the extractive industry is trapped and there is nothing anybody can do about it until elections next year.