passing by

Hi,
Just though to share this article on the use of violence by governments. The account is chilling and shows the level our nations politics have degenerated....


Deuces

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SURE

You might have read that the federal government has pulled the SURE document that listed the projects that would be undertaken from the gains from the removal of fuel subsidy. The president said the SURE document is an old and un-implementable.

As expected there are people who feel that the president is being sincere and Nigerians should not expect any subsidy gains because we cannot have our cake and eat it. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the administration is just trying to play “smart” and did not intend to implement any of the projects. That the President could state on record that the document was hurriedly conceptualized says something about those who lead us.

That said, I have some questions.

• Why should this government be trusted? I remember Mrs. Iweala defending the SURE document during the strike and stated that the document was not hurriedly put together and that it was put together in November- well the President has made her a liar.
• Why waste money printing and distributing a plan that the government knew would not be implemented?
•  The strike was suspended about 6 weeks ago, how come the “new realizable” document has not been written and produced?
• What is the SURE board to supervise now?
• Is SURE still sure?

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Answers anyone? 1

Photo credit: Pictures retrieved from “the ibompulpit”

The first lady has convened a retreat on Women Development, Peace and National Transformation. The retreat currently ongoing is themed: “Galvanizing, empowering, and energizing women as change agents for national transformation, peace and development: A win- win option”. The proceedings and programme of the retreat are yet to be released but first ladies and female lawmakers are in attendance.  Speakers at the conference include Leymah Gbowee, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Oby Ezekwesili. However, Oby Ezekwesili’s one of the speakers tweeted parts of her speech at the retreat. She said:

“imagine if the first lady, wives of the vice-president, governors, National Assembly, local government and all women in public office form Women Demand for Good Governance Forum? Why would such a forum be a viable proposition? Because those who swore to uphold integrity in public office are your husbands, sons and daughters as the case maybe, but for you to have the moral credence to demand good governance boldly would require that you first stop being a beneficiary of the gains of corruption”.

These tweets taken together with Mrs Fayemi’s article on First Ladies raises the question: does the solution to Nigeria’s governance issues lie with the women in government especially wives of our leaders?

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Taskforces and committees!!

A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours- Milton Berle

  
  At the last count, the Jonathan administration has set up at least 5 committees and task forces to address Nigeria's petroleum issues. The way committees on this oil palava have sprang up brings to mind the joke that if you want to kill an idea, set up a committee. At the last count, there is the Subsidy Reinvestment Board, chaired by Dr Christopher Kolade, Special Taskforce on Governance and Controls in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Parastatals under the ministry of Petroleum, chaired by Mr Dotun Sulaiman. Others are Petroleum Industry Bill task force and technical committee chaired by Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; National Refineries Special Taskforce- chairman- Dr Kalu Idika Kalu and the Petroleum Revenue Taskforce- chairman- Nuhu Ribadu.  Nigeria's petroleum issues have moved beyond setting up task forces and  committees. There are probes concluded and ongoing in the House of Reps and the Senate on this oil production and subsidy issue.
This proliferation of committees with duplicate functions and terms of reference shows the lack of willingness to tackle the rot in the petroleum industry.
Can the government please take concrete steps and address the country's oil production issues?

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Can Africa trade with Africa?- Ermmm not yet

At the recently concluded AU summit, the talking point was boosting intra- African trade as a tool for the economic development of the continent. Advocates of intra-African trade listed reasons why Africa should trade with Africa. One of the strongest voices was Oby Ezekwesili who made a case for this trade. She said,  “increased intra-African trade is an area of potential growth and as the global economy deteriorates, it is important that Africa discovers Africa”. Supporters of intra-African trade also frame it as a tool for regional integration.

First what is trade? Simply defined, trade is buying and selling. International trade is buying and selling across borders. Ok, that’s not all. International trade is the exchange of goods and services and human capital (not human trafficking) across borders. International trade contributes a significant amount to a country’s GDP.

Trade barriers- high import tariffs that exist in most African countries, restrictions of movement across borders, infrastructural deficits especially in transportation and corruption (where would Africa be without corruption!) have been identified as factors that inhibit intra- African trade. An issue that is not usually mentioned is that most African countries have parallel economies, Nigeria has yams, Ghana has yams, what kind of trade can they have? Of course, they would export their yams to Europe, America, and Asia.

That said, I wonder why intra-African trade is the trade policy tool African leaders are focusing on considering that most African countries are mainly primary producers. Africa’s economy is mainly made up of raw agricultural produce and crude minerals such as oil, diamond and gold. We do not manufacture as such – South Africa and countries in Northern Africa manufacture goods (e.g textiles) but not in significant amounts. Africa’s population is about twenty percent of the world’s population (over a billion), thus the logic of intra-African trade is plausible. I submit that for intra- African trade to truly work as a means of economic development, African countries need to shift from just being primary producers but also manufacturers i.e diversify our exports. We can do this by refining what we produce. Imagine, other African countries importing petroleum from Nigeria rather that Venezuela or Nigeria importing clothes from Egypt. How about producing our own  crockery rather than exporting raw steel?

Individual countries have to rework their economic policies and lay the groundwork for the needed infrastructure or as Norman Girvan advised “come together share services and undertake joint activities in order to reduce costs and achieve synergies” (He calls this functional cooperation).

As an aside, African leaders and policy makers seem to forget that most of their economies are comprised by the informal economy. World Bank statistics state that this sector’s contribution to Africa’s GDP ranges from 25-40%. If Africa wants to drive her economic growth, she needs to look inwards and integrate the informal economy with the formal economy.

How can this be done?

·         1) Provide legal, political, social structures that would enable the emergence of decent jobs and business opportunities and ultimately drive innovation and inventions ( History shows that the development of most first world countries was a result of innovation, inventions and patents and China, India and most East Asian nations followed the same track)

·         Implement pro poor policies that would include and incorporate informal workers especially women.

·         Reinvent and simplify economic and business processes such that there are no prohibitive and restrictive barriers to entry mainly for uneducated business owners

If Africa has to trade with Africa, African leaders must walk their talk by creating an enabling environment for the social and economic development of their individual economies. Then, Africa can trade with Africa

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Justice: Crime and Punishment

Many remark justice is blind; pity those in her sway, shocked to discover she is also deaf.  - Unknown

Lady justice is blind but should she be? Justice is synonymous with fairness and the notion of getting what one deserves. That said, these are interesting times for Nigeria’s judiciary. In the last week, Patrick Ekeh was sentenced to death for stealing a car stereo and Al-Mustapha and Lateef Sofolahan were also sentenced to death for their roles in the murder of Kudirat Abiola. Both cases demonstrate the unnecessary delays that occur in our judicial system and just how blind justice is.

It is disheartening that the Nigerian State has laws that make petty armed robbery punishable by death- see section 402 of the criminal code while armed robbers in high places are not penalized.

First, why are offenders punished? Offenders are punished as a form retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, or condemnation. The factors are taken into consideration during sentencing for crimes.

However, laws and sentences such as this reveal not only the economic but the social inequalities that exist between the “haves”- especially the illegitimate ones- and the “have-nots”.  There are many stories in our society of punishment not being commensurate with the crime. I remember the story of a man that was jailed (I don’t know if he is out now) for stealing a shoe! At the time I heard his story, he had spent about five years in jail.

I wonder if our justice system is a reflection of our values as a society. Still in my wondering state: in what country are thieves rewarded with national awards, elected, and hold government positions and someone is to die by hanging for stealing a car stereo? (I am not trying to justify the crime but…)

Objectivity is not neutrality or blindness. It is time for madam justice to open her eyes well and be truly just.

Deuces

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Reading assignments :)

Hi all,

Caveat: I do not come to the "fuel subsidy" debate tabula rasa. 

The protests against fuel price hike has thrown up many issues that I wrongly thought passed with the military era- restrictions on movement and speech by the government, the deployment of troops to Lagos, Kano and Kaduna and harassment of protesters.  The oppression and harassment of innocent citizens by the police, SSS and army is unacceptable especially when the government claims it is helpless against Boko haram.

It is not surprising though that tribalism still remains with us as our president’s Niger-Delta kinsmen are alleging that the rest of Nigeria is against their son. See Annkio Briggs call here and Segun Adeniyi’s take on ethnic dimension on the subsidy issue

I digress. Below are three articles that are close to my views on the fuel subsidy issue.  Prof Sagay's interview, Funke Aboyade and Femi Falana’s op-ed. For the sake of fairness, here is Atedo Peterside’s on why fuel subsidy has to be removed.

Happy reading.

I rest my case

P.S:

Does anyone know those behind the N2N in your face adverts?- they need a new job description.

Government officials need to learn how to talk to people and spend time on learning PR skills. All the ministers that sold fuel subsidy did more damage than good. They were so condescending in their speeches. Nigerians are not dumb- we quite educated. People in government need to LISTEN. They are not our lords and masters, they are there to serve.

Lastly, you can follow the house probe on the fuel subsidy issue on Channels T.V

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The oil spills no one is talking about

Nigeria has been occupied and attention is focused on #occupyNigeria and the removal of fuel subsidy. There is another issue we should be talking about but we are not.

On the 20^th and 24^th of December, oil spills occurred in Shell’s Bonga oil field located in Odioama Community, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and Nembe Creek trunkline in Bayelsa. Press reports state that about 40,000 barrels of oil was spilled in Bonga and that this is the worst spill in Nigeria’s history since 1998. The amount of oil spilled in Nembe Creek is yet to be determined

Considering that oil spills  and environmental degradation were causes of the Niger-Delta agitation, It is surprising that oil spills like these still occur and are treated with levity by responsible agencies and the government.

According to Shell, The Nembe spill was a result of oil theft while the Bonga spill was caused by a leak in one of the export lines during a tanker loading operation.

These spills show that:

1.  Nigeria’s supervising and regulatory agencies (NOSDRA, NIMASA, Ministry of Environment) lack the capacity and ability to regulate and monitor oil companies. These agencies are unable to carry out their stated mandates as regulatory agencies.  Available reports on these spills are from Shell. How are Shell’s reports verified and validated? Considering Nigeria’s past experiences with oil companies and their attitudes to clean up and taking ownership of their failures, it is unfortunate that we are yet to develop the capacity to effectively regulate and monitor the oil companies.  For instance, there are no investigations on the causes of the spills,  the consequences and impacts of the spills. Shell claims that the spills have been cleaned up but how the clean-up was conducted and the substances used in the clean-up are not stated. A reuters report  and reports by environmental advocates state that the Bonga oil spill has not been properly cleaned up. The director of NIMASA has also come out to state that Shell has not properly cleaned up the area.
2. Nigeria has no supervisory power over oil companies: Shell resumed operations in Bonga on the 1^st of January. The directive to resume operations was not given by NOSDRA (National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency) or NIMASA (Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency) or the Senate committee on the Environment. This decision was taken by Shell. This abandonment of responsibilities on the part of government and regulatory agencies is startling. It took BP over a year to resume drilling after the Gulf of Mexico Spill in 2010.
3. The Nembe oil spill has been underreported.

Related to these technical and political weakness, there are no discussions on appropriate compensation for affected people or penalties for Shell. Using the Gulf of Mexico incident as an example, BP was fined $20 billion as compensation for those affected by the oil spill- $5 billion of this has been paid.  

The government’s failure to ensure the security and welfare of her citizens is seen in this case. A situation where the government relies on oil companies for information on their activities and violations is unacceptable. Until the government rises up to it responsibilities and develops technical capacity and enforces environmental laws in Nigeria, the Niger- Delta area would continue to be exploited by oil companies.

A quick research shows that there are no enabling laws that outline the penalties for environmental violations especially oil spills in Nigeria.  As the saying goes where there is no law, there is no crime. The National Assembly has the responsibility to pass laws that would protect our environment.

NOSDRA and NIMASA have to be empowered to carry out their statutory functions. There should be investments in technological tools such as GIS (geographic information systems) mapping and tracking tools to enable these agencies carry out independent evaluation when incidences like this occur.

NOSDRA and the Senate committees on environment and petroleum should also have oversight functions over the oil companies. For instance, how does Nigeria verify that international best practices are followed during drilling operations by oil companies?

My two cents is that until the Nigerian government develops the capacity to monitor oil companies and holds oil companies accountable, the Niger-Delta area would continue to be exploited and the quality of life in that area would not improve.

Please feel free to add comments on how to ensure that NOSDRA is up and running.

Deuces.

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#fuel subsidy: do we have a cabal or a cartel?

My dictionary defines a cabal as “a secret political clique or faction”

A cartel is “an association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition”. OPEC, which Nigeria is a member of, is an example of a cartel.

Since the “consultation” on the removal of fuel subsidy began, a “cabal” was named as beneficiaries of fuel subsidy. (The polity’s love for everything secretive, occultic, and alarmist is another story).

The Nigerian Senate in December released the list of the “oil cabal” that torments Nigeria’s Israel. This list also includes the monies that were paid to these companies.

In his presidential media chat president Jonathan said this about the cabal; "oil cabal members are genuine businessmen. They are just like GSM service providers who are in business to make profit. They are not necessarily corrupt people and Nigerians must not perceive them as such."

This raises two questions- If they are businessmen who are in the market for profit why is the government blaming them? – they are in the business to make profits and they are not charity organizations? Second, if the government believes that these companies are making so much money off them, why not re-negotiate the terms of agreement?

In case, the presidency has forgotten, governments have leverages they can use to get what they want especially over businesses. It is time the government takes ownership of its inefficiencies and failures.  

While we are at it, this issue should be called by its proper name- fuel price hike/increase and not removal of fuel subsidy.

On another note, what is the government afraid of? And what’s with the endorsement hunting?

Deuces.

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Life Chances: of ligatures and options

Growing up, I heard my parents and relatives speak about the time when Nigeria was good. ECN (Electricity company of Nigeria) was functioning, there were good roads, education was superb and it was only “dull children that went abroad for their first degree” etc. Then SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme, aka: sadness and pain) was introduced. Since then, Nigeria has been falling; the ditch she fell into has become expanded and widened. I was born the year SAP was implemented. What are my life chances?

Life chances are defined as the “sum total of opportunities offered to an individual by his society or by a more specific position occupied in society”. Life chances are divided into options and ligatures. Options are “choices or alternatives of action given in a social structure” while ligatures are bonds, linkages, and allegiances that give meaning to the place an individual occupies. This raises the question, what are the life chances of a carpenter, a teacher, a tomato seller, a cab driver, a newspaper vendor, honest businessman/woman, and civil servant in Nigeria compared to someone who comes from a wealthy family?

What are my options as a single civil servant who earns 18,000 per month?  In 2011, I determined that in 2012, I would learn a new skill and develop myself (for example learn how to use the computer so that I can move from a clerk to say an administrative assistant). I am so smart and I have figured out how to spend my money so that I achieve this goal. Then comes Jan 2, 2012 and I have to spend N600 on transport from Akute to Alausa. In a month, that is 12,000. I have N6, 000 to eat, pay my rent, cloth and do what? Am I not stuck in a cycle?

What are my options as a businessman with a family of four whose profit is N100, 000 after taxes, overhead, and recurrent costs? I would buy fuel for my generator, feed my family, pay fees and then what?

What are my life chances if I live in Northern Nigeria and I am not assured of seeing the next minute and my government justifies the removal of a so-called “fuel subsidy” because deregulation would encourage the ownership of new refineries. Who would come and build a refinery with Nigeria’s state of security?

What are the life chances of a Nigerian when the minister of finance states that the proceeds from “fuel subsidy” would be used “for development of vocational training skills. In this country, typically, when we are building a house, we find out most of the carpenters, plumbers and other artisans that we engage are foreigners from Togo, Niger and other neighbouring countries. Why? When we have our youth who are unemployed?  Why can’t we train them to be able to render such services? We are going to train them.” Really! Vocational training!! Our counterparts in China and India are carving niches in IT.

Nigeria’s constitution states the “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. Nigeria’s government has failed to fulfill these purposes and yet asks Nigerian people to make sacrifices. Nigerians have been promised Canaan (at least that me I know of) since 1986 and we have still not left Egypt.

I don’t think that any Nigerian is calling on the government to become a nanny- we are a very enterprising and self-sufficient people-. I believe that all we ask for is enable us create opportunities that would improve our quality of life. All we ask for is not to be constrained through inhumane policies.

P.S: The federal government says mass transit buses have been purchased - campaign after election. TUC (Trade Union Congress) has refuted the claim that the expected buses were procured by the federal government. Peter Esele, the president of TUC stated that the buses were procured by the TUC not FG. Who is to be trusted?

On another hand,  is transportation the only sector affected by fuel subsidy?

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