Commentary: Response To Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor

A Response To Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor’s: “Have Nigeria, South Africa, And Gabon Betrayed The African Union?”



Posted: March 23, 2011 - 15:03

By Oguchi Nkwocha, MD.

In his article (http://www.modernghana.com/newsp/321330/1/pagenum2/have-nigeria-south-af...) Dr. Michael Bokor makes a complex case that Nigeria, South Africa, and Gabon betrayed the African Union by agreeing with the recent UN resolution on Libya which is antithetical to, effectively displaced and put on hold, AU’s own non-violent proposed solution and plans.

He recommends that those three countries should therefore be expelled from the AU, not only for the above, but for the implication that AU was thus sidelined, and then, snubbed by the UN—the same UN which showed deference to Arabs (Arab league) in a problem located geographically on the continent of Africa. He believes that those countries were used as pawns in the International War games. The article goes ahead to point out foreign / International duplicity by its nefarious acts (and or lack of morally correct acts) and unholy alliances with these same countries at various times. “By endorsing this international military action against one of their own, Nigeria, South Africa, and Gabon have given the AU a bad name in international circles,” he says.

Dr. Bokor’s case is weakened by uncharacteristic naiveté. “Peaceful solution” or non-violent solution as proposed and planned by the AU is not anything that AU has ever accomplished. “Peaceful solution” for AU and in Africa usually means: “do not really interfere with whatever is going on there; but give the impression that you are doing something serious and tangible…” which works out that the problem will continue and worsen until the better-armed party crushes the hapless, or until there is a chaotic stalemate if the parties are near-evenly armed. I would challenge anyone to point out where “peaceful solution” has worked out in Africa, except for Sudan / South Sudan, which I will get to. Applied to Libya, AU’s peaceful resolution by now, even, would have paid off mightily for Gadhafi: he would have murdered all Libyan people’s opposition, end of story. And, that would suit AU just fine: problem resolved! because while the AU would be shuttling around and talking about “non-violent solutions,” Gadhafi would have attacked, bombed, burned and mass-buried tens and thousands of the peoples of Libya, and soon, AU would forget about this.

For a closer look at AU itself, didn’t Gadhafi try to usurp it at one time, acting like an arrogant Maximum Leader in his delusions that he was King of Africa, and Africa should be all Muslim and all Africa should speak Arabic? That was after Nigeria’s own Maximum Leader (masquerading as a democratically elected president), Olusegun Obasanjo tried the same with AU, until he found out that even “personal ownership” of AU (just like he owned Nigeria then) was like owning nothing: the AU did not provide the kind of platform necessary as a stepping stone for his own delusional selfish global pursuits such as the UN Secretary-Generalship. So, in fact, AU mirrors its constituent member-countries where despots and hegemonists rule and winner-takes-all in a do-or-die practice, with exactly the same results of dysfunction and prostration. Therefore, let’s not place high hopes on the AU or give it high marks for continental achievement: various typically selfish African leaders use the AU as a larger football (more full of hot hair) and football field than their own respective luckless countries.

I must thank Dr. Bokor for citing the case of Biafra and stating it correctly when and where Nigeria and her leaders have done everything to misinform the world and rewrite history by stating that the Igbo / Biafrans caused the Biafra-Nigeria war. Today, the same Nigeria and her leaders refuse to acknowledge that they committed genocide against the Igbo of Biafra of such a magnitude as to render Rwanda a child’s play and dress rehearsal; they have not apologized, but have actually continued to punish the Igbo in all ways, including rejecting superior Igbo technology, industry and know-how even while forcing the Igbo to stay in Nigeria. While Nigeria thus does everything to prove that it in fact is not one nation, on the one hand, but continues to insist with coercion and in psychological denial that Nigeria is one or is united, on the other hand, she is not suited to play any meaningful or moral role on the African stage nor on the Global platform either. Nigeria is HYPOCRISY writ large, so all her actions will be seen that way; in which case, there is always an outside party waiting to exploit any such action. While these “outside parties” / foreign countries have a share of the blame as Dr. Bokor has stated, the bulk of culpability goes to Nigeria itself and to her peoples for this crime. For that matter, the forerunner of the AU, the then OAU, bears more blame in this matter than the foreign stakeholders; after all, it was the OAU which allowed the putschist Northern Nigeria-led Nigerian Military government to prevail on it and it thus failed to take meaningful action, hence allowing Nigeria a freehand in murdering not one million but more than 2 million non-combatants of Igbo Biafra origin—children, pregnant women, elderly men and women, by starvation. Who can forget the Kwashiorkor pictures of Igbo and Biafran children?—and if you do, even today, there is an auction-item at eBay UK selling a picture of “an Albino Biafran Kwashiorkor Child”—imagine that! The way I see it, AU / OAU and Nigeria deserve each other.

There is a way that “peaceful solution” can work in Africa. That happens only with the adherence to “Self Determination,” which means that every ethnic nation of Africa has its own original sovereignty which must be recognized and respected, allowing it to exercise her native right to control and manage the entire gamut of her Destiny and her own resources, including inter-national relationships, in spite of the subtending State. The exercise of such a right can and should lead to any endpoint chosen by the ethnic group, whether it be political reconfiguration, autonomy or outright separation from the subtending State. That’s what happened in Sudan / South Sudan to finally effect a “peaceful solution.” If that region can now find the will to continue to apply Self Determination to the remaining sub-areas of contest, without slipping to the wonted ways of conflict and gunpowder, we should all see the beauty of this paradigm.

In a broader interpretation, peoples of the world have taken Self Determination to mean that the people have a native right to determine their own governance, in spite of the current government. So, the right of Self Determination does not only apply to ethnic groups alone, but to any group of peoples, including the general citizenry of a nation: they can demand to wrest control of their collective destiny from the existing government. This is how the current Arab peoples’ uprising against their feudalistic governments is seen, and this is why it will continue to spread. Self Determination is to the people what Human Rights is to the person. Whenever people become aware of their individual personal human rights, “re-awakening” and empowerment occur at the personal level. When people collectively understand their Self Determination rights, nothing will stop them from ultimately collectively exercising such group rights, especially when faced with, or in the presence of hardship caused by a pernicious government.


The UN has a resolution in full support of Self Determination, passed in September of 2007. Ironically, AU / OAU actually has an older and more committed resolution and equivalent of Self Determination in the form of the African [Banjul] Charter, adopted in 1981 and “entered into force” October 21 1986. (See especially articles 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23). It carries a commitment to enforcement where the UN’s version does not. Unfortunately, none of the African country-signatories to the Banjul Declaration has ever remembered this document of ethnic people’s rights at any time, talk-less of at the times when it would really count (ask Obasanjo!). Nor has AU as an apex African organization.

Supposing the AU had come out and stated clearly that the peaceful resolution for Libya it has in mind is based on the application of the Self Determination principles of the AU / OAU / African Banjul Charter. That would have put Gadhafi on notice that the peoples of Libya have an inalienable right to choose and determine their own governance, and he is obligated to accept such popular decision, choice and judgment, more so since he, supposedly, is a “leader” in AU; and that the AU always stands by the people of Libya in their legitimate exercise of their Self Determination rights, in keeping with the Banjul Charter. And then, the AU insists on it. That’s how peaceful resolution would work. But the AU never articulated nor remembered its most powerful document and Charter. The blame should not be placed on the world for not taking AU seriously.

For all the criticism of the current US role in this crisis, speaking about the Obama administration and not the preceding ones, it is in fact only the US that has articulated a clear-cut support for Self Determination as a foreign policy, pushing it through in Sudan / South Sudan case when there was otherwise an obvious lack of will to bring it to fruition. While many are having problems deciphering Obama’s stand, when one listens to him and analyzes what he is saying and doing, one will find out that he is abiding by the principles of Self Determination. Not surprising: after all he is the only US President who understands not only the power and importance, but also, the necessity of applying Self Determination to Africa’s problems. To make sure he puts the stamp and power of US administration behind Self Determination, he first (and even) reversed the US vote on the cited UN Self Determination Resolution from a No (one of only 4 Nays then) to a Yes. In a recent New York Times Op Ed piece, he praises Self Determination as an effective principle and tool bringing a peaceful separation of South Sudan and an end to that erstwhile intractable war. Perhaps, the AU can take a cue: then, “peaceful solution” based on a solid principle of Self Determination can have meaning and produce the desired results for AU actions.

There is a new thinking and new movement among Africans today. African problems have not and cannot be solved by organizations like AU without a sound basis. African problems will not be solved by the UN or the rest of the world by any of the methods they have tried and are still trying today if the basis is not sound. African peoples themselves have been unable, and will not solve these problems—blame foreigners all they like—unless they understand that a sound basis is necessary. Such basis is not “free and fair elections,” term limits, corruption-free polity, availability of leadership, poverty eradication and all the “usual suspects” typically harped on by pundits far and wide. That one sound, solid and natural basis that everyone can easily understand and agree on today is Self Determination: the right of a people to determine their own destiny and control their own resources, to build and build on equitable relationships which they enter into only consentingly and with mutuality. Barack Obama, the US President who happens to have African roots, clearly understands and is applying this. It is time for all Africans to understand and apply Self Determination, thereby to inform and educate African Organizations like AU that that is the principle and crux of the effective solution to African problems.

Dr. Bokor’s article has made it possible for me to articulate this view: for that, I am grateful to him.



Oguchi Nkwocha, MD
Nwa Biafra
A Biafran Citizen.
oguchi@comcast.net

Shell Nigeria Research Internship for University Graduate Students 2011

Shell postgraduate students research internship programme is open primarily to talented Nigerian postgraduate students in Nigerian Universities but in exceptional cases to Nigerian applicants in overseas Universities. Selection will be based on post graduate programmes that are relevant to Shell disciplines' business objectives.


Area of Discipline
Geosciences, Geomatics, Petroleum Engineering, Well Engineering, Surface/Facilities Engineering, Production, Environment and Sustainable Development
Duration of Programme
12 months (non-renewable)

How to Apply
Applications must include:
An Application letter,
CV containing personal details, contact phone number and e-mail address
A 3-page 'Briefing Note' detailing candidate’s post graduate research programme:
- Study background
- Technical objectives
- Expected outcomes
- Methodology and data required
Only students with high potential will pass screening.

Submission Deadline
All documents should be submitted online directly to shellnigeria[at]shell.com not later than 31st March 2011.

Also available for application is the Sabbatical Attachment for University Lecturers
The position is for Senior Lecturer in Nigerian Universities for a non-renewable period of 12 months.
Discipline Areas
Surface/Facilities Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Well Engineering, Production, Geosciences, Geomatics, Environment and Sustainable Development

How to Apply
Applications must include:
An Application letter
CV containing personal details, contact phone number and e-mail address
1-page summary of how prospective candidate intends to add value to SPDC business during the one-year programme.
Sabbatical positions are competitive. Selection will be based on proposals that are relevant to disciplines' business objectives.
All documents should be submitted on-line directly to shellnigeria[at]shell.com not later than 31st March 2011.

Leventis Foundation MBA Scholarship for Nigerian Students in Greece

Leventis Foundation Scholarships for Nigerian Students to study MBA at ALBA Graduate Business School in Greece for 2011/ 2012 academic session
ALBA Graduate Business School and the A.G. Leventis Foundation, collaborates to offer two scholarships covering full tuition fee, accommodation and living expenses for two qualified students from Nigeria to attend the Full-Time ALBA MBA program in Athens, Greece for the 2011 – 2012 academic year.
ALBA Graduate Business School is an accredited, research-driven academic institution with international distinctions.



Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for the MBA scholarship, Applicants;
• must be Nigerian Citizenship
• must hold a 1st class or upper 2nd class bachelors degree
• must possess excellent command of english language
• must hold a minimum of three years work experience
• must be an ambitious individual
Eligible applicants should apply online to the Full Tie MBA or download the application form by registering HERE.

Application Deadline
Completed application package (include all official supplementary documents)should be send on or before March 22nd, 2011 to the following address.
The Executive Director
Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Ltd/ Gte
Iddo House, Ebute-Metta,
P.O.Box 26, General Post Office
Marina, Lagos, Nigeria.
("LFN/ ALBA Scholarship" should be written at the top left hands corner of the envelope)

For more information about ALBA Graduate Business School, Greece, contact:
• Ms. Zoe Kourounakou, Director of International Development
Email: zkouroun@alba.edu.gr
• ms Nnena Chukwu, Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Ltd/ Gte
Iddo House, Lagos, Nigeria. Email: leventisfoundation@gmail.com: Tel: 01-4730968

Quote of the Day--- Elizabeth Taylor-at Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1993

"I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame."

                                                  Elizabeth Taylor-receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1993

         

Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79

Elizabeth Taylor, the Hollywood icon who was as famous for her eight marriages as she was for her 54 movies and two Oscars, died this morning of congestive heart failure at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital, where she was being treated during the last two months for her condition. Taylor, 79, is survived by her four children, 10 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Michael Wilding, Taylor’s son, said in a statement: “My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.”
Taylor had long since transitioned out of acting but had remained famous for being herself, a screen legend since her child star days in the 1940s. Taylor’s violet-eyed beauty had enthralled audiences ever since she was 12, when she starred in 1944′s National Velvet, still the definitive girl-and-her-horse movie. She transitioned into adult roles in 1950′s hit comedy Father of the Bride and the 1951 tragedy A Place in the Sun. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, she was one of Hollywood’s premier screen goddesses, equally at home in glossy epics like Giant (1956) and serious Tennessee Williams adaptations like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). She won her first Oscar for Best Actress for her role as a promiscuous model in 1960′s Butterfield 8. Her goddess period peaked with 1963′s sprawling Cleopatra, afour-hour-plus saga that remains one of the costliest flops of alltime. (Taylor ultimately earned $7 million for the title role, including $1 million up front, making her the highest paid actress to date.) She came back with her Oscar-winning performance as a professor’s bitter wife in 1966′s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a film whose blunt language and sexual subject matter effectively killed off the old Production Code, leading to the movie ratings system Hollywood has used since 1968. Taylor’s acting career petered outduring the late 1960s and ’70s (her final big-screen appearance would be a cameo as Fred Flintstone’s mother-in-law in 1994′s The Flintstones), but by then, her reputation as a screen immortal was secured.
Fascination with Taylor persisted in part because of her many marriages, most notably, her tumultuous liaison with Richard Burton, many times her costar and twice her husband. Taylor’s first marriage, to hotel heir Nicky Hilton, lasted from 1950 to 1951. She was married to Michael Wilding from 1952 to 1957. She married movie producer Mike Todd in 1957, but he died in a plane crash a year later. Her next husband was singer Eddie Fisher, causing a scandal when he left wife Debbie Reynolds for her in 1959. Taylor, in turn, left Fisher for Burton, to whom she was married from 1964 to 1974, and again from 1975 to 1976. She was married to Virginia Senator John Warner from 1976 to 1982. She met her final husband, a construction worker named Larry Fortensky who was 20 years her junior, when both were patients at the Betty Ford Clinic; they were married from 1991 to 1996.
Long after she had stopped acting, Taylor remained in the public eye, thanks in no small part to her philanthropy; her Giant costar Rock Hudson’s death from AIDS in 1985 transformed her into one of Hollywood’s earliest and most vocal advocates and fundraisers for AIDS patients. Of course, her marriages and frequent health scares kept her in the news as well. It seemed that no matter what she did, Taylor cultivated around her an atmosphere of glamour, mystery, and drama.

news-briefs.ew.com/2011/03/23/elizabeth-taylor-dies/

Lessons from Tony Elumelu Talk at Wharton Africa Business Forum

by goafrit on November 22, 2010

By Ndubuisi Ekekwe

Boston, USA – Nov 21, 2010:  I just made it back from Philadelphia after participating in the Wharton Africa Business Forum (WABF) as a panelist on the topic “Beyond Natural Resources: The future of knowledge-based industries in Africa”.  The theme of the forum, which was organized by African MBA students in the iconic business school, was “A Blueprint for Africa: Navigating the World’s Fastest Growing Continent”. By and large, they delivered. The energy was intense, the intellectual vigor was deep, the pragmatism was real, and on parade were the core of Africa’s brightest future minds on business.
Usually, I write my weekly contribution to Harvard Business Review every Sunday. But this week, I will move it to tomorrow morning, in order to share some of my WABF insights. There are many exciting aspects of the forum, but I will be focusing on a man who has inspired me, all these years.
Mr. Tony Elumelu delivered the keynote, titled: “Perception and Reality – One African Entrepreneur’s Journey” The Nigerian-born African business legend who through hard work, discipline, and vision helped reshaped Africa’s banking industry shared invaluable business experiences.  He was the immediate past CEO of United Bank for Africa Group (UBA) and presently is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, a principal investment company, within Africa. He also founded The Tony Elumelu Foundation with the goal, largely, to facilitate the promotion and celebration of excellence in business management, entrepreneurship and leadership in Africa.
As CEO of UBA, he transformed the bank from a Nigerian financial institution into a key African financial services institution. UBA is today a multinational corporation, out of Africa, with offices in France, USA and UK.  And Tony Elumelu is an African business icon with lots of influence.  Despite everything, I saw yesterday, a man with in-depth entrepreneurial and philanthropic passion. A truly bold thinker, Mr. Elumelu holds the Nigeria’s Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) – a national honor.

He spoke in the simplest and most candid ways I have ever seen from a successful CEO. A young man from a middle class family, in Nigeria, was a bank CEO before his 34^th birthday. It does not always happen, but listening to him I saw a man who could see beyond his years and his peers and pursued those visions with unmatched passion.
As he was talking, he kept reminding the full-packed auditorium that if he could do it, that any of us could certainly do what he had done. When Standard Trust Bank was formed, he had three key strategic objectives on what he wanted the bank to become after certain number of years. When the bank morphed into UBA, he also developed a new set of objectives. And in all cases, he realized them.
This man has confidence. He saw opportunities in the midst of enormous challenges.  Otherwise how can a mortal think of having a bank in the old Nigerian banking industry with the behemoths of First Bank of Nigeria, Union Bank, Africa and old UBA? Indeed, Tony’s resolute and absolute commitments to his ultra-vision are worthy of emulations by the young Africans.
Mr. Elumelu’s success illustrates many good things. Firstly, Africa’s universities can and do produce success. Mr. Elumelu spent his entire Undergraduate and Graduate career in Africa, only considerably later attending IMD & The Harvard Business School, AMP. All his life, Mr. Elumelu has worked in Africa. This shows that we can do anything we decide to do if we have the right vision and passion. He has broken the ceiling and put confidence in the minds of many young African business leaders. He illustrates that even at a young age, we can find success if we work hard.
The only dull moment for me during the talk was when he explained that the Central Bank of Nigeria had to ask bank chiefs that have served more than 10 years in the industry to retire. It was very unfortunate because all of a sudden, the continent loses a top-notch banker because of the mistakes of his arch-competitors. But good enough, UBA is under the leadership of my former boss (to 3^rd order), Mr. Phillips Oduoza. I recalled the day he shook hands with me when he heard that I had passed my IT certification exams when we were both in Diamond Bank. He said, “use that training to add value to DBL”. A very bright man, Mr. Oduoza, like Tony, symbolizes the best from Nigerian educational system.
These are my takes from Tony’s speech at WABF:
You need a vision: Tony had a vision that though the Nigeria’s banking industry was competitive, yet, service and superior products will help him get the market share he wanted. He consistently adapted his vision and the goals all through his storied career.
Match that vision with strategy: At the stage of Standard Trust, Tony had three key strategic goals.  Also, when it was time for UBA, he also developed three core objectives. Without these objectives, it would have been difficult for him to access himself. Those objectives were largely building a brand, increasing market share, having regional influence in key financial sectors.
Hire the right people: He consistently mentioned that he got the “right people”. That was very important and that enabled him to execute.
Test, validate and scale: Tony bought one of his early institutions with about N30m. He was able to prove his worth as a turnaround expert. With those initial successes, he built a personal brand and people believed, much more easily- he has records. Then they looked at his results and it was easy for him to tap more resources from investors. As he focused on testing the ideas on smaller business units, he validated most, and then at the time of UBA, he scaled.
Confidence: It takes confidence and an unusual one for a 33 year old to run a bank in Nigeria. He has basically helped to usher a new dawn that younger managers could be accepted by the public.
Be open-minded: When UBA New York had some challenges, Tony called a Nigerian based staff to go and fix it. That was unusual because in Africa the reverse is always the case. But he did it and that demonstrated his core business values of having confidence in people and openness to try unusual things.
Build a brand: In his talk, Tony kept emphasizing his obsession with image. I could hear the pain when he spoke about rating downgrade of one of his branches. That brand consciousness pushed him to do the right things, quickly, to solve the problem.
Have balance: You must not start an organization and immediately devote a big portion of your working capital to charity. He answered a question and it was very clear that having a balance on meeting social responsibility is important. Now the dusts have settled, he has his Foundation- there is time for business and there is time for charity.
Think broad: Tony in his speech repeatedly said stakeholders. In short, he evaluated the value UBA has created for shareholders. He examined the jobs UBA has created. He looked at the respect the firm has brought to Nigeria. And finally, he understood he was now rich. Simply, he has a broad way to see how his business is affecting all the necessary partners.
Take risks: I saw in Tony a man that when he believes in something, he goes for it. He does not always allow the challenges to outweigh him; rather, he takes them heads-on by developing mitigating strategies. I saw a risk taker when he decided to invest in a collapsed Crystal Bank.
Society matters: After he made the big bucks, he wants to help build a new core of experts to continue that progression. The Tony Elumelu Foundation is poised to help engineer a rebirth and renewal in leadership, entrepreneurship, and management in Africa.
I do hope the students will post the video as I cannot wait to study it. Tony spoke literally without using slide. There was a slide but he was simply talking and lecturing throughout the time. The talk was effectively educative and inspiring.

As Tony was talking, I immediately reevaluated a strategy of a project in Nigeria which I am leading. I will do five things, differently, based on the lessons from his talk.  Right here in Boston, he is framed on a photo I took with him this July when he visited Boston. And I could hear again, from him, saying “If I can do it, you can


 goafrit.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/lessons-from-tony-elumelu-talk-at-wharton-africa-business-forum/

Governor Amaechi Challenged To Television Debate …The Guilty Are Afraid – Abiye Sekibo

By: Ken Asinobi

The governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has been challenged to a public debate, a forum where he will tell the Rivers people in clear terms what he had done with their money for the past three years of his reign as chief executive.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) flag bearer for Rivers State, Dr. Abiye Precious Sekibo who threw the challenge before the governor said such debate before a political opponent would present a more realistic and doctor- free accountability to the people.

Addressing the people of Emohua Local Government Area last weekend in continuation of his state wide campaign, the governorship hopeful said he was shocked at the degree of neglect as evident in the local government considering that the state had a governor who was constitutionally bound to spread development to all areas of the state.

“Our state has received from the federal government, one trillion Naira for the last three years, more than any other state had received for the same period” he began, arousing spontaneous roaring from the shocked audience.

“This staggering amount is sufficient to build roads, schools, hospitals and houses for the benefit of the average Rivers man and woman and not just for a select few.

“But what do they tell us? They say the state is broke.  Why won't the state be broke when they are busy stealing, cruising and buying houses in Ghana and Europe?  Place the money they received alongside the work they have done and you see that they have milked the state dry!” he told the stunned crowd.

“I challenge Amaechi to a television debate.  Let him come and tell the Rivers people what he has done with their money.  He should not cow out but come boldly and courageously for the debate because only the guilty are afraid” he stated.

Dr. Sekibo enjoined the people to cease the opportunity provided by the April elections to vote massively for the ACN so that the “evil grip of the PDP will be quashed”

“ACN is a party blessed by God, with men and women of proven integrity and excellent records. We would not have a trillion Naira and allow Emohua to remain in the shackles of poverty and deprivation. We would not allow Ogbakiri, Rumuekpe or Obele to be deserted with a few living in fear.

“We shall not remain insensitive to the plight of our university lecturers, doctors and all civil servants.  We shall use our common wealth for the well being of every Rivers man and woman” he declared, amidst ovation.###

nationalnetworkonline.com/VOL7/Vol8n11/newsitem11.html

Quote of the Day---Some talk change, others cause it. by:Hubert Humphry US Vice President

"The uprising in the Niger Delta which it was my destiny to lead-was just one of the bubbles in the rough sea of early post-independence Nigerian Politics"

Quote from: Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, Nigerian Hero and Revolutionary Leader                         

NIGERIA FINALLY BECOMES EITI COMPLIANT

The International Board of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has

declared Nigeria as an EITI Compliant Country. The decision was announced in Paris,

France at the 5

decision is an endorsement by EITI of Nigeria’s management of Extractive Industries

Revenue.

In arriving at this decision, the EITI congratulated the Government of Nigeria for its

commitment to the EITI process and the Board and management of NEITI for meeting

all the conditions identified by the Board last October at its meeting in Tanzania.

The EITI International Board expressed satisfaction with the commitment of Nigerian

Government to embrace openness and transparency in the management of oil, gas

and solid mineral revenues through its support to the work of NEITI and its audit

processes. The World body particularly noted Nigerian’s commitment to extend its

EITI implementation to include revenue flows from Nigeria’s interest in the Joint

Development Zone (JDZ) of Sao Tome and Principe and the Solid Minerals Sector. The

EITI advised Nigeria to ensure that implementation of ongoing actions in the JDZ and

the Solid Mineral Sectors are effected by next year.

The EITI International Board also welcomed the revitalization of Inter-Ministerial Task

Team to address remediation issues identified by NEITI audit reports and other far

reaching measures taken by Nigeria through NEITI to enthrone transparency and

accountability in the Extractive Sector. The EITI International Board expressed

satisfaction with the content of the recent audit report by NEITI which covers the

period 2006-2008 and called for the implementation of the recommendations

contained in that report.

Reacting to the development, NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed

described Nigeria’s endorsement as EITI Compliant Country as a landmark

achievement. She said the challenge now is to ensure that these high standards are

maintained and sustained in NEITI’s interface with the oil, gas and solid mineral

sectors, in the discharge of its mandate under the NEITI Act of 2007.

th global conference of the EITI holding at the French Capital. This

1, Zambezi Crescent

Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street

Maitama, Abuja

T

: +234 9 2910362

F

: +234 9 3146193

E

: info@neiti.org.ng

The NEITI Chairman, Prof. Asobie and other delegates to the conference noted that

the development is an invitation to investors to explore the opportunities in Nigeria’s

extractive sector.

It could be recalled that Nigeria was adjudged close to compliant at the October, 2010

meeting of the EITI Board held in Tanzania. At that meeting, Nigeria was given six (6)

conditions to meet before it could become an EITI Compliant Nation. The conditions

include publication of 2006-2008 NEITI audit report, publication of a Board Charter to

streamline the Board of NEITI and the Secretariat, among others. The Board of NEITI

and the NEITI Secretariat had set up a special task force for this purpose and ensured

that Nigeria met all the conditions identified by the global body by February 1, 2011.

Nigeria’s delegation to the 5

the Chairman of NEITI/NSWG, Prof. Assissi Asobie, and the Executive Secretary, Mrs.

Zainab Ahmed. Other members of the delegation are the Chairman Nigerian Economic

Summit Group, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, the President of Trade Union Congress,

Comrade Peter Esele, former Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Matters, Alh. Ja’afaru

Paki, representatives of the NNPC, NEITI’s Director of Communications, Orji

Ogbonnaya Orji ,as well as representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CISLAC,

PWYP and CATEIFFIN).

At the Conference, five other countries were also adjudged as compliant. They are

Norway, Niger, Kyrgyzstan, Yemen and Central African Republic. This brings to eleven

(11) the number of complaint countries. To date, thirty three (33) countries have

embraced the EITI globally as implementing countries. The 5

with the theme ‘‘

 neiti.org.ng/files-pdf/News-NEITIFinallyBecomesEITICompliant-010311.pdf

th EITI global Conference now in progress in Paris is led byth EITI global conferenceTransparency Counts’’ ends on Thursday 4th March 2011.

.Nigeria's election line-up

As elections loom, a line-up of leading candidates takes shape

 A three-way contest

As elections loom, a line-up of leading candidates takes shape

Mar 10th 2011 | ABUJA |

A convert to the delights of democracy

IN LESS than a month Nigeria will hold elections that may be the most unpredictable since military rule ended in 1999. Voting for president, parliament and state governors will take place on three successive Saturdays, starting on April 2nd. Personality and the power of patronage, rather than policies, will decide the winners.
In normal circumstances Goodluck Jonathan, the candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), would be expected to win easily. The PDP has won every presidential poll since the army bowed out. Nigerian elections favour the incumbent, who has access to the state’s vast oil revenues and can dish out cash, contracts and appointments. Mr Jonathan, a former vice-president who took over last May when Umaru Yar’Adua died, also won the financial backing last month of some big bankers and telecoms tycoons.
But Mr Jonathan, an unassuming zoologist who hails from the oil-rich southern delta, owes his rise more to luck than design. Moreover, he has flouted the PDP’s so-called zoning pact, whereby the candidacy for president rotates every two terms between the largely Christian south and the mostly Muslim north. The PDP now faces a struggle to woo the northern electorate, which makes up over half of the country’s 73.5m registered voters. Opposition candidates are thus gearing up for what they see as their first chance in a proper race. Two frugal northerners present a contrast—and hope to pose a threat—to the president.

Mr Jonathan’s main challenger is Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, who is running with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). General Buhari is best known for launching a “war on indiscipline” after taking power in a coup in 1983 and ruling for just over 18 months. Looting politicians were jailed, drug-traffickers executed and public spending sharply cut. General Buhari even tried to have an allegedly corrupt official who had fled abroad drugged and flown back to Nigeria in a crate.
The former dictator says he is a convert to democracy. “I don’t believe [anything else] is acceptable any more to ordinary people,” he says. “Nigerians have got the message after seeing what is happening in north Africa and the Middle East.” He has chosen Tunde Bakare, a southern Pentecostal pastor and

Mr Jonathan’s other rival is Nuhu Ribadu, a northerner who used to run the country’s anti-graft agency. He is running with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which controls Lagos, the vibrant commercial capital. Mr Ribadu, the youngest of the three main candidates, and his running mate, Fola Adeola, a southern banker and philanthropist, are the progressive choice. “We have youth on our side and we are not ex-military people,” says Mr Adeola. “We are closer to the Nigerians who own the future.” Their main support is among Nigeria’s small middle class.

Since the PDP is so dominant, Mr Jonathan is still the favourite to win. Some predict a run-off against General Buhari. But the ruling party faces a tougher battle to keep control of the 27 states it runs out of Nigeria’s total of 36. Some northern ones could fall to General Buhari’s CPC, while Mr Ribadu’s ACN is gaining ground in the south-west around Lagos. Mr Jonathan will need the backing of these powerful governors if he is to push through reforms during his tenure. Indeed, he may find it easier to win than to rule.
 pro-democracy activist, as his running mate. General Buhari’s tough stance on graft is winning him support, especially among poor northerners. When he launched his campaign in the northern city of Kaduna this month, close to his birthplace of Daura, youths climbed on to car roofs to watch him speak.

economist.com/node/18340499?story_id=18340499&CFID=159631228&CFTOKEN=36111571

Naira Continues Depreciation at BDC, Parallel Markets

 By Obinna Chima

21 Mar 2011

CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

The naira, Nigeria’s local currency which has been under pressure over rising demand for the US dollar in recent times slumped further at both the Bureau De Change (BDC) and parallel segments of the forex market on Friday as demand for the greenback continue to mount.

This was more evident at the parallel market where the local currency attained its lowest value in the past one year.

For instance, at some parallel market points at Ikeja, Lagos State, THISDAY findings showed that the naira which traded at N156.50 to a dollar at the beginning of the last week, hovered around the N157.50/$1 and N158/$1 band on Friday..

Similarly, at Marina, Lagos, most black market operators offered the local currency for N158 to a dollar on Friday as against the N156.50 /$1 it stood the preceding week. 

Data made available by the Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA) on Friday further confirmed the development as showed that the local currency was badly injured.

Specifically, the FMDA report showed that at parallel market, the naira was bruised significantly as it dropped by N1 to N158 to a dollar on Friday, compared with the N157 to a dollar it went for the preceding week.

 In the same manner, the FMDA report showed that the local currency also dipped by 50 kobo to trade at N157 to a dollar at the BDC on Friday, as against the N156.50 to a dollar it attained the preceding week.

The CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido   said  recently that the rising demand for forex was temporary, even as he attributed the trend to investors’ fears that violence between religious and ethnic groups may disrupt elections.

The Governor had stressed that with a country like Nigeria going into elections and with talks about ethnicity and religion, a lot of people have been trying to buy dollars and hedge their risks, saying that puts pressure on the exchange rate and foreign currency reserves.

He had emphasised that while the apex bank is concerned about the impact of rising government spending, oil and food costs on inflation, the short- term impact of raising interest rates is “questionable.”

 “So long as we are comfortable with the coverage given by the reserve position of the country we will pursue a stable exchange rate policy. If we see an elevation in demand, that in our judgment is temporary, we will meet that demand,” Sanusi had said.

 thisdaylive.com/articles/naira-continues-depreciation-at-bdc-parallel-markets/88200

Mobile PaymentsScheme: CBN Shops for Consultant

 21 Mar 2011

Views: 1,138

CBN   Headquarters, Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed plans to engage a small or medium size firm as  consultant on its mobile payment scheme expected to commence by middle of the year.

The apex bank, which made this call in a circular titled: “Expression of Interest to be Engaged as Consultants on Mobile Payments,” made available on its website Sunday, emphasised that an interested consultant must have an in-depth understanding of mobile payment scheme in Nigeria.

The CBN had earlier disclosed that the mobile payment system will take off in the country by middle of the year.

In preparation for the commencement of mobile payment scheme, CBN had earlier set up a mobile payment policy and oversight unit with the mandate to ensure compliance and recommend approval for license.

Part of the requirements from the regulator include: “Sufficient skill in the application of information and communication technology as a tool for deployment of mobile payment.”

Experts stated that with the bank customers groaning under the burden of heavy commission  on turnover (COT) and other bank charges as well as a high percentage of Nigerians that lack access to bank accounts, the only available option, which would provide financial inclusion for millions of Nigerians in rural and city centres, is the mobile payment.

Editor-in-Chief of Financial Technology magazine, Mr. Sola Fanawopo said that nearly 99 per cent of households in Nigeria own one or more mobile phones, saying that there are twice as many mobile phones as television sets in the country.

He said that mobile phone as a banking tool was the most cost-effective and accessible platform to reach the unbanked population in Nigeria.

“Banks and telecommunication companies have realised the need to embrace the mobile platform,” he added.

According to Fanawopo, the major challenge being faced by the financial institutions was the issue of identification, which had led to the registration of SIM by the telecommunication companies so as to identity all users of their networks.

He said that as part of efforts to promote mobile payment, a breakfast series has been organised by ‘eNNovators’ next Tuesday in Lagos, where notable institutions such as the CBN, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other mobile payment experts would be present.

 thisdaylive.com/articles/mobile-paymentsscheme-cbn-shops-for-consultant/88201/

Nigeria Is On The Road To Somalia – Utomi

Saturday, 19 March 2011 

Professor Pat Utomi cuts the picture of an entrepreneur, intellectual and politician of repute. Severally, he has kicked against the system as operational in Nigeria and advocated change. The former director of Lagos Business School and presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP), alludes that a new concept of leadership needs to be introduced in the country as the democracy in existence is just a ‘gangster arrangement for extracting economic rent from the system. He further attributes the heroic welcome accorded former Nigeria Ports Authority chairman, Chief Bode George as a reflection of this.Excerpts

Not much has been heard of your campaigns. How has it been?

The campaign comes as expected with many challenges, but it also comes with a very firm promise in that it elevates your consciousness on why this is such an important exercise. Every day I discover why our country unfortunately has not made much progress in spite of God’s grace.

I have particularly been struck by a number of things in recent times that go to the heart of the matter, and sometimes, people talking on the streets don’t connect to those kinds of things. Sometimes our elders, politicians and so-called business leaders either don’t get it or pretend not to, but it is going to catch up with all of us very soon.

Let me give you a couple of things that entered my universe of thinking in the last four days. I was reading a report from Brazil in one of our newspapers, about people trying to get the former president of Brazil, LuizInácio Lula da Silva prosecuted. As you know, Da Silva was an extremely popular president who worked very hard for the Brazilian people. Everything was booming. This is a hero, but Brazilians have gone to court, saying that while he was president he went somewhere and after he came back, the presidency sent out thank you notes to those he saw, and they said that he did at government’s expense what should have been a private matter. They have gone to court for him to be prosecuted for using public funds to send out thank you notes.

While he was still president, da Silva flew from Brasilia, the capital, to Rio on official assignment. It happened that his party was having a party caucus or something in Rio. He stopped over and attended while he was still incumbent.

Some people went to court that he used public money for party matters, the court ruled against him and refunded the cost of fueling the plane. The Jonathan government has crippled the Nigerian government. All the public resources of our country are being used to persue personal political campaign’s of the PDP. The state governors have pillaged the treasuries to advance their political interest.

So you see, the collapse of the civil society is part of Nigeria’s trouble. The civil society has collapsed just like almost everything else in our country. So I look at Brazil, I look at Nigeria and I can understand why today we talk about BRIC economies; Brazil, Russia, India, China. Nobody is putting “N” in it or calling it BRINC because nobody thinks Nigeria is going anywhere.

Secondly, one Saturday I was flying to Abuja and there was a small guy in Agbada, surrounded by two other guys on the plane. I was wondering who he was. There was an evident movement which tried to suggest that he was of some kind of importance, but I didn’t pay any attention. He didn’t look like somebody I had ever met.

I was sitting in seat 1A and he sat maybe two rows behind. When we landed, there was this rush to come to the door for them to be the first people to exit. So I stepped back so that we, the lesser citizens would wait for them to exit. As we disembarked, we saw a big crowd with cameras and they started yelling “oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ah, ah. “So I asked the managing partner of KPMG, who was also on the flight who the short guy was and he told me it was the former MD of NPA who was released from prison that day with Bode George. He started telling me the Bode George story because I didn’t follow the thing, and I didn’t watch it. He said it was live on TV.

Whichever way you look at it, it was for stealing, simplicita. And all I could think of was my friend from Shagamu who was telling a story of growing up in Shagamu in the late 1950’s and somebody in the neighborhood sighted a policeman going into a house. It wasn’t that they knew he did anything, the policeman was seen going to their house and they became lepers in the community. Nobody would associate with them because a policeman was seen going to their house.

Now I see people who are coming out of prison for a criminal offence being celebrated on Live Television as if they were war heroes and I definitely knew something was wrong with the heart and soul of my country. Values shape human progress. If we have gotten that wrong, progress can’t take place.

You mean crash the democratic system?

Crash the whole thing. It is not working for Nigeria, it will not work for Nigeria.

So how do we crash it?

By proving to the world that it’s a joke. That is what this is about.

But we have spent close to 12 years…

Of a joke. Show me one road that has been completed in Nigeria in 12 years.One road. The dualisation of theLagos-Ibadan expressway? One Canadian diplomat was coming to a meeting with the Concerned Professionals and other Civil Society Groups three years ago and he had gone to speak to some group in Ibadan. When he arrived the meeting, he said that driving on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway was a violation of the fundamental human rights of all those who travelled on it.

The Lokoja/Abuja dualisation has been going on for more than eight years, it has killed half of Nigerians, literally speaking, and it is still not completed. It is not working, the system is not working, and the country is not working. Why are we fooling ourselves? This democratic system is just a gangster arrangement for extracting economic rent from the system. It is not working.

You just prescribed that we should crash this democratic experiment, what is the alternative?

First of all, we need a new constitution. All this patching is not working. We need to start from ground level. You need to have a system that is owned by the people. Have you ever seen a country where the people are so completely alienated from governance? The people don’t feel that the government is for them or about them. Anybody you talk to just shrugs: “God will catch them one day.”

So my role is essentially to highlight the fact that this is not a working system. You talked about the Senate and all that. When I started out, my goal was to see if we could build an alternative institution, a political party that brings together progressive forces. When you have that kind of viable political force with a complete agenda of literally starting afresh, then you can make progress.

When I woke up on January 1, 2010, my New Year resolution, which I told my wife, was that I won’t run for anything. I was out of it. I had worked with young people for so long. I would continue to work with young people in one way or the other to shape their minds so they can realise they can rebuild their country. But I kept getting pulled in. You know this Chief Enahoro’s idea-build a mega summit movement, and I was just a follower.

One day I travelled, came back and was told I was chairman. I said, “oh is that the story?” On another day, I was told that I had to be candidate because they needed somebody to rally around to make the point I have been making about constructing a new Nigeria. So I said okay. But you see, what is required is so fundamental and requires commitment. We have a dying country. People don’t realise it, but we have a dying country.

Do you think it would do us well if we postpone the elections and go into a conference to re-arrange things before we can say we are ready?

It is hypothetical, as you say. But they won’t do it. We are going to have an election and it is going to be a complete mess.

Jega or no Jega?

Jega or no Jega. You see, that is another part of Nigeria’s problem; this turning to Jega. What we need are strong institutions, not strong men. We are obsessed with strong men. Where will Jega be? How many places can he be? They will run rings round him such that he will just be wondering what is happening.

Is Jega’s constant demand for more money part of the confusion?

That is one of the reasons I say we should crash this system. What I mean is that we have to change it completely. We cannot run such an expensive democracy. We are now living for the democracy instead of the democracy living for us. Let us go back to the parliamentary system where a group of us in our village nominate one guy who we think is good for our village to go and represent us for a total cost of next to nothing. If he doesn’t do well, he comes back. This system is not working.

You sound thoroughly sad..

When I was growing up, I was raised in a country of promise. I grew up expecting the world. As I am entering the sunset of my life, I looked back and all the promises have failed. Look, Ben Nwabueze, a professor of constitutional Law, an extra-conservative man in his 70s, says Nigeria must have a revolution; that there is no way out but a revolution! This is not a flippant statement. He is conservatism personified and he is 70, saying revolution is inevitable. He is not mad. He is talking about a country that has failed and the only thing that can save it is upturning the system.

Politicians have been campaigning, but a lot of Nigerians say they are just making noise…

We have not had campaigns in this country. At the risk of sounding funny, I was the only one who campaigned in 2007. I was considered a joke but I was the only one who campaigned in the sense that Americans campaign. Maybe because I didn’t have money. I had three or four vehicles and we went round this country. I was in every state in this country in 2007. I was in Kano at least five times. At least on three occasions I travelled between Kano and Abuja at about 11pm by road. I see people jump into an airplane to Adamasingba Stadium with a huge crowd of people that they had paid and given uniforms. They clown around for 45 minutes and go. That is not campaigning. They are just making a joke.

What do you think the media is not doing right?

The media should point out that what the PDP is doing is not called campaigning; that it is a charade, a circus. A ruling party runs on its record, an opposition party runs on its vision, the strength of his vision. Compare the vision of the opposition with the record of the incumbent. Of course, as you know the PDP cannot run on its record. There is no record to run on. It has destroyed the country.

Call one PDP trustee and ask him to show how the quality of life of the average Nigerian is better today than it was in 1999; even he cannot justify it. Everybody knows that the life expectancy in Nigeria is worse today than it was in 1999. Everybody knows that infant mortality in Nigeria is one of the worst in the world. Everybody knows that Nigeria is almost at the bottom of the African competitiveness index, that Nigeria’s economy is one of the least competitive economies in Africa. Ironically, Tunisia, where this crisis started from, is Africa’s most competitive economy. So you can imagine in Africa’s least competitive economy, Nigeria, what should be happening.

I think our problem is oil. Because it can be used to service the greed of a few and make them bent on worsening our lives, it continues. The Economist interviewed me in 1996 when Abacha was in power and I said I wished Nigeria could find a way of giving the oil to its soldiers and politicians and say, tackle this, leave Nigeria, leave us alone and go away, that Nigeria will be more prosperous. Because oil services this corrupt bureaucracy and political machine, there is a semblance like we are functioning. If it was not there Nigerians would know that they either have to build their future or they would become Somalia, and I am sure that they will vote for building their future and Nigeria will be a truly prosperous country. The endowments of this country are enormous. The endowments that can make this country truly great even without oil are phenomenal.

What are you bringing to the table in your campaign?

Ideas are the most important thing to bring to an election campaign. Barack Obama is president of United States, not because of anything else he brought to the table, but because he can think. You know that in Nigeria, they think the intellect is a disadvantage. They call it theory, but there is no practice without theory. You have to think out, see the possibility before you can put it to practice.

Nigerian politicians who are very anti-intellectual have managed to convince Nigerians, including journalists, that thinking is theory. So we have a serious problem. The problem we have is the collapse of culture. The value system has crashed completely and Nigerians cannot even tell right from wrong, what makes for progress or what distracts from it. It is not that there are no roads.

How about security?

Security is very critical, very important. I mean if people are not secured they cannot do anything. Again, I will decentralise policing in Nigeria. I will go for a fiscal arrangement where the federal government will provide grants to the states and the funding of the police force will be a state matter. We need a state police force, not a federal one. Policing is about being in the community, knowing the thieves. If you are in Abuja and you are sending people to Akwa Ibom to protect them, they will collude with the kidnappers. When a man from Ikot Abasi is policing Ikot Abasi, he knows that it is his personal business and at first point he knows the families that steal.

So the police need to be adequately funded and decentralised. They will say politicians used the local police to harass their enemies in the 60’s. That is a naïve argument. Don’t we use federal police to harass our enemies if we are the government in the centre? The way to deal with that is that whenever any issue involves fundamental human rights it immediately becomes a federal issue as it is in America.

So decentralise policing, invest heavily in creating a new police force, re-educate the policemen and make policing a prestige institution. Right now policing is seen as something for any drop-out to go into. I have no problem making a university degree the minimum requirement to be a policeman because you need them to be enlightened to understand what they are doing. If all that you do with your budget as government is education, health care and security, the country will make progress.

How would you tackle the waste in the system for instance, by trimming the size of government in Nigeria? Well I used to say that one of the first things I would do in the first six months is to slash government massively.

People who said revolution was impossible in Nigeria site the example that in Nigeria we are so polarised along ethnic lines, religious divides and there is the influence of money that the people at the top use in dividing us …

How many of the millions of unemployed Nigerians get some of the money they share? How many can you share to? How much does Nigeria earn from crude oil? Countries don’t get rich from selling one commodity like oil, countries get rich from producing things. So how much is that crude if you begin to share it? And if there are 3-4million unemployed graduates, how much will you share to them to prevent 1 million of them coming together to bring the whole system down? It’s just short-sightedness.

Okay let’s spell it out, how do you want us to crash this democracy and start to rebuild?

We have to sit before the Nigerian people and discuss where we are, which is that we are nowhere. If so many millions of Nigerians are unemployed there is no constructive plan; don’t tell me I will vote N50billion for employment to get Nigeria working. The engine has knocked but we are pretending. You know, when a person is in the hospital on life support system they think he is alive because there is life support.

In Nigeria there is a life support system called crude oil earning. The country has crashed. It’s all about how to share that life support, and what eventually happens is that one day the doctor will pull the life support and death will officially be recognised, but you were a living dead anyway. That is what Nigeria is right now, a living dead on life support system of crude oil revenue.

Now, if people are not able to sit down and say politicians are not serving Nigeria, all of us politicians are not serving the Nigerian people, then what should they say? What is a democracy? And you don’t say it by taking up NTA airtime in song and dance. You say it by standing before the Nigerian people in townhall meetings one-on-one; but they definitely won’t want it to happen. You think Nigerians will wait forever? If we don’t organise to have a true democracy, one day the youth will take it over.

Do you see that happening very soon?

I don’t know when it will happen, but I am just talking as a scholar who has studied societies. I wrote a piece that was in the papers this weekend, the poverty conspiracy. All I am just trying to do is show you historically what has happened in other parts of the world. Argentina was at par with the United States in the 1930s by the 1990s Argentina was down to West African level GDP. It had moved from first world to the third. The US had gone on to become the world’s preeminent economy.

You don’t have to read Gerald Diamond to know that collapse has come to Nigeria. Unless there is a massive rethink, Nigeria’s life support system is designed to last only for a short period, and what you will get is Somalia.

Somalia?

Nigeria is on the road to Somalia. Look at what is happening with Boko Haram, Jos, the Niger Delta? We are using some money to sustain the so-called amnesty, how long can we continue that? Those same boys will resume. The governor of Niger was shouting the other day that Boko Haram people were coming to his state. All over the place warlords will be in charge just because the elite have not shown responsibility in the way they have governed the country.

A US report predicted a few years back that by 2015 Nigeria would be a failed state. Do you now see that happening?

It is not in my interest for that to happen. What I thought that prediction should have done is cause us as the elite to rally around and say our country must not go that way; instead we just continued doing the same very things that will bring us to that point. Look, there is an index, a failed state index. The difference between Nigeria and Ghana is more than a hundred countries; Ghana is as far away from being a failed state as Nigeria is as close to being a failed state.

For many, Nigeria is already a failed state. Most South Easterners are so passionate about the homestead that they go home every month. They have their mass return in Easter, and everybody goes home for Christmas. I was at a meeting in Abuja of leading politicians from the South-East; some of them had not been to their hometowns in three years because of insecurity primarily. What do you call a state that people are so insecure? A failed state

Distributors, fuel cost, supply driving higher cement price .

Tuesday, 22 March 2011 00:00 

By: Siaka Momoh; Remi Feyisipo; Ben Eguzozie); Kehinde Akintola and Hope Ikwe

Distributors’ greed, logistics, energy, high tax, multiple levies, supply gap and panic buying have been identified as key factors responsible for the persistent high price of cement across the country and the outlook is predicted to remain severe in the long term, BusinessDay can reveal. The price of this vital commodity now ranges from N1,600 to N2,100, depending on which part of the country you are buying from or how close you are to production points. Dealers and consumers agree that the effect of higher cement price is impacting severely on the quality of blocks and prices as well.

Shortage of the product became noticeable about two weeks ago when most sales outlets ran out of stock. “The problem has to do with irregular supply of the product from major distributors,” says Udeme Okon, a local cement dealer. “We have not had supplies for quite some time now and we don’t know what is happening.”

“The last supply I received from the distributors was at the rate of  N1,800 per bag, up from the former price of  N1,350. When I went back for more, I was told  that the product was no longer available. The scarcity is artificial,” says Michael Ezeanyanwu, another dealer who spoke to BusinessDay.

He added that some marketers hoard the commodity whenever there is a delay in supply from the factory and by so doing, create scarcity, leading to price increase of the product.

In Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Uyo, Benin and Asaba, cement price remains largely the same, hovering between N1, 500 and N1, 600. However, the price has risen in Calabar, the Cross River State capital following an acute shortage of the product.
At the building materials section of Watt Market in the Calabar metropolis, a bag of UNICEM cement now sells for N1, 900 as against its former price of N1, 400.

According to our investigation, in Umuele, a village in Imo State, cement ex-factory, ex-dealer/depot retail price is N1, 600. In Ibadan in the South West, its price ranges between N1,700 and N2,000.

High cost of fuel, particularly diesel, was also identified as a big factor in the commodity’s price. The further away one is from the point of production, the more one has to pay for a bag of cement because the cost of transportation increases with distance.

In the North Central city of Jos, for instance, a distributor says he gets a 600-bag truckload of cement from the company in Benue for N755,000 which works out at N1,258.33 per bag. A bag is sold to retailers at the rate of N1,750 while the retail price is N1,800 per bag.
Joseph Makoju, chairman, Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN), says middlemen along the supply chain are too many contributing to the high cost of the product.

One chief executive of a cement manufacturing firm suggested taxes and levies are another big issue. He told BusinessDay that the Federal Government has to urgently address the problems of cement importers, especially the 35 per cent tax and levy. He wants the tax to revert to the old rate of 5 per cent until the nation attains self sufficiency.

According to him, it is mind-boggling that eight years after government introduced the backward integration policy in the cement industry, during which period over $10 billion has been invested on capacity development which has brought about 500 pecent increase in output, cement still remains expensive.

Existing manufacturers have been authorised by government to import some three million tons of cement to fill the supply gap in the market, says  Knut Ulvmoen, Dangote’s group managing director (cement). According to him, logistics, energy, supply gap and panic buying are responsible for the soaring price of cement across the country.

“We have not increased our price. We have no plan to increase price.  But distribution cost is partly responsible for the problem; high price of diesel has hiked distribution cost. We are not in control of distribution and all that goes with it. The distributors handle this”, Ulvmoen said.

businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/19348-distributors-fuel-cost-supply-driving-higher-cement-price

PDP Deputy Chairman, 18 Others Escape Death

 By OKON BASSEY

21 Mar 2011

Dr. Haliru Muhammed, PDP Acting National Chairman

A week after supporters of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reportedly clashed in Ibiono local government area of Akwa Ibom State leaving many people wounded, the State Deputy-Chairman of PDP, Bishop Samuel Akpan,  was allegedly shot during the weekend.

Similarly, more than 18 persons, mostly women escaped death  when a bus collided with a Jetta vehicle along the Uyo – Itam express way, the gate way to Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital from Calabar axis.

Akpan, who is said to be in charge of total ‘demolition’ of the structure of the opposition parties in the state which has resulted in many members of opposition parties now defecting to PDP, was reportedly ambushed in Etim Ekpo local government area and Uyo, in the course of his programme by people suspected to be agents of ACN.

The State Chairman of the Party, Prince Uwen Ita Etuk, who disclosed this during PDP gubernatorial campaign at Itu local government area of the state Sunday regretted series of attack being launched on his party by supporters of ACN. However, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sani Magaji, Sunday said he was yet to be briefed on the matter.

 thisdaylive.com/articles/pdp-deputy-chairman-18-others-escape-death/88191/

MEND Threatens April Polls in Ondo

By James Sowole

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State

Repentant members of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), in Furupagha, an Ijaw clan in Ondo State, Sunday threatened to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting the forthcoming elections in the state should the Federal Government fail to recognise their former leader, known as Creek Lion in the proposed dialogue with MEND.
The position of the ex-freedom fighters was revealed in a statement made available to newsmen in Akure, the Ondo State capital, by it spokesman, Ebakormor Ayebi.
Ayebi said if the leader of the ex-militants in the state known as “creek lion” is not carried along in the proposed dialogue with other leaders of MEND, the group would not to allow elections to take place in the entire state come April,2 to 16.
He threatened that the group, under the leadership of “creek lion” was prepared to call on all ex-freedom fighters in the creeks of Gbelebu, Taribor, Ebijaw, Zion, Makporo, Kolonbou, Ubagbororo, Siluko, Kekere, Ofinege, Okwa, Madagbayo and Ezide against the election should the government take the warning lightly.
The central body of MEND had, last week, issued a threat that it would unleash terror in some parts of the country, including Abuja and Lagos, and political gatherings over what the group described as President Goodluck Jonathan defiant approach to the demands of the freedom fighters on post-amnesty programme of the Federal Government.

 thisdaylive.com/articles/mend-threatens-april-polls-in-ondo/88192/

Jonathan Unveils Gas Agenda for Power, Industrialisation Thursday

By Ejiofor Alike

21 Mar 2011

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke

Five months after the Federal Government launched the power sector roadmap, President Goodluck Jonathan will on Thursday unveil his gas revolution agenda to ensure greater availability of gas for power generation and also reposition the country as the undisputed regional hub for gas-based industries.

Briefing journalists Sunday in Abuja, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said the president had a strong vision and passion to re-industrialise Nigeria, using the country’s vast natural gas resources.

She said the combination of industrial investment agenda to be launched by Jonathan on Thursday would also include a world scale petrochemical plant, two fertiliser plants, five fertiliser blending plants, a methanol plant and a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution plant.

The minister was optimistic that the industrialisation agenda would not only form the catalysts for a major re-industrialisation of Nigeria, but would also, in one swoop, result in the most significant inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of over $10 billion between 2012 and 2014 when all the plants would be operational.

She said the petrochemical value chain was known as a major creator of employment, stressing that on the Federal Government’s planned investment in the 1.3 million tonne per annum capacity petrochemical plant, over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs would be created.

“The delivery of the fertiliser plants agenda is strategically coordinated to enable strong linkage with the agricultural sector, creating an agricultural revolution enabling millions of Nigerians access to affordable food. More importantly however is the explosion in employment creation that will arise from the boost in agricultural productivity and related agro and food processing industries that will emerge,” she said.

The minister also said Jonathan believed that Nigeria’s 187 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas resource qualifies her to be a world class player in the global gas business.

“The agenda will necessitate an unprecedented growth in our gas supply, from the current one billion cubic feet per day to over 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2020. Realising this growth calls for a radical review of how the nationwide gas potential is harnessed,” she said.

She noted that in order to grow the gas sector at the required pace, the government had embarked on the strategic development of various inland basins, in addition to the Niger Delta and offshore basins.

According to her, between April 2010, when Jonathan launched an aggressive refocus on the various basins and now, about 531 square kilometres of seismic data had been acquired in the Chad basin, while $1 billion would be used on further data acquisition, aeromagnetic surveys, exploration and appraisal drilling in Chad, Gongola/Yola, Sokoto and Anambra Basins, as well as Benue Trough in the next five years.

“By enhancing the propensity of these basins, we hope to build a significant supply bases across the various geographical zones that complement the existing gas supply centres in the Niger Delta. Based on this, our current pipeline infrastructure, which is anchored around the Calabar-Ajaokuta-Kano line, will be further complemented by a network of additional spur lines originating from these new supply centres in the inland basin enhancing the growth of local supply and consumption. This will greatly accelerate industrialisation across the country,” she added.

The minister disclosed that the gas pipeline was estimated to cost $2 billion, adding that focus on its rapid delivery was ongoing.

She also said for the first time in several years, the country was in a position of net surplus in gas availability relative to the requirements of the power sector in the short term.

The minister said the country had about 150 million cubic feet per day surplus supply potential, adding that this could add 500 megawatts of electricity to the current generating capacity on the national grid.

“Based on our ongoing supply development effort, we expect to have over 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas supply destined specifically to the power sector, supporting significant additional capacity by 2014. By 2020, we would be looking at a supply capacity of about 10 billion cubic feet per day for the power sector, in line with Mr. President’s target for 20:2020 of 40,000 megawatts,” she added.

thisdaylive.com/articles/jonathan-unveils-gas-agenda-for-power-industrialisation gas-agenda-for-power-industrialisation-thursday/88206/

Don’t Sign Deal with Ciroma, BoT Tells Jonathan

By Chuks Okocha

21 Mar 2011

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Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP has advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to sign any agreement with the Mallam Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF), as according to it, the NPLF leaders are also members of the party.

The group, which was formed as a vehicle to deliver a consensus PDP candidate from among members of the party from the North to challenge Jonathan at the party’s national convention in Abuja, has former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, among others, as members.

The BoT’s advice to Jonathan was one of the highlights of its meeting at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja at the weekend. It was presided over by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to a source that attended the meeting, the decision was taken after the matter which came up when Jonathan briefed members of the BoT about his campaigns across the country and efforts at reconciling aggrieved members of the party was discussed exhaustively.

According to the source, “It was a consensus of members of the BoT that there should be no formal agreement in black and white with the group led by Mallam Adamu Ciroma.”

The BoT, the source further said, also argued that the NPLF “…are members of the party (PDP) and therefore nothing special should be agreed with them in writing. The members of the BoT told the president that any formal agreement with any group would complicate matters in the long run.

“We also told him that he should keep faith with the PDP campaign manifesto and nothing more, as he should see the entire country as his constituency”.

He continues: “The president cannot afford to be entering into agreements with every member of the PDP. As PDP members, they (NPLF) should stand by the presidential candidate of the PDP to prosecute the campaigns and ensure victory and all issues would be resolved.”

Jonathan had earlier told the BoT members that his meeting with the Ciroma group at the Defence House in Maitama last Friday was deadlocked. The meeting had Babangida, Atiku and Ciroma in attendance.

It was deadlocked because Jonathan and the NPLF team could not agree on the report of the seven-man committee set up on February 18 to harmonise grey areas in discussions between the president and the Ciroma group.

It is expected that another meeting between the president and the Ciroma group will come up before the presidential election on April 9.

 thisdaylive.com/articles/don-t-sign-deal-with-ciroma-bot-tells-jonathan/88208/