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Nigerian Crisis Dims Hopes of Image Revival
* Gulf between business elite and political class
* Minister sees damage to rebranding campaign
Months of turmoil over Nigeria's leadership have exposed the gulf between its reform-minded professional class and a political elite accused of being utterly self-serving and indifferent to its image abroad.
Africa's most populous country has taken huge strides in the decade since it emerged from military rule. Its banks are opening branches in London and New York, its mobile phone market has become the continent's biggest and a crop of new airlines are adding routes around Africa and further a field. But while ambitious entrepreneurs strive to build world-class businesses and persuade foreign investors Nigeria is more than just a risky frontier market, its political class has done little to shake off a reputation for corruption and greed.
"Many Nigerians in the diaspora started moving back home at the turn of the new millennium with high hopes and a sense of momentum," said Seye Akinola, a 24-year old investment analyst who returned to Lagos from the United States a year ago.
"But it's our brothers and sisters in power that have thrown away the rudder of the ship and decided that, instead of steering us to El Dorado, they'd rather bicker and gorge over the spoils from their fishing expeditions," he said. The oil-producing nation of 140 million has been teetering on the brink of constitutional crisis and government paralysis since November, while rival factions battled for influence as President Umaru Yar'Adua lay in a Saudi hospital bed.
It took court challenges, street protests and resolutions by both houses of parliament to persuade those around Yar'Adua to let him hand over to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Two weeks after he did, Yar'Adua was flown back in a mobile intensive care unit at the dead of night in an apparent bid to maintain the influence of the cabal around him.
"In a normal country what would have happened ... is that an incapacitated head of state would have resigned or been constitutionally eased out," said Lagos-based consultant Adeyemi Adeleke. "It makes us all look foolish and impotent." Even Information Minister Dora Akunyili, who has been spearheading a "rebranding Nigeria" campaign meant to help shed an image of corruption and mismanagement, acknowledged the handling of Yar'Adua's absence had been damaging. "I would call it a brand eroder. It has eroded whatever little we had left," she told Reuters in her office.
"Some of us feel that the rebranding Nigeria project may not be resuscitated very easily because of what is happening. The whole world is watching us," she said.
Yar'Adua's return on Wednesday was so shrouded in secrecy that even Jonathan, the Acting President and commander-in-chief, did not know he was coming.
The United States issued a statement of concern his return might create renewed uncertainty even before the Nigerian government was able to publicly confirm he was back home. "A group of incompetents are putting the country's image through the grinder," said 25-year old management consultant Lanre Oyedotun, who recently returned from Boston, Massachusetts to start his own business in the commercial hub of Lagos.
Many wealthier Nigerians of Oyedotun's generation were educated in England or the United States in the late 1980s and 1990s when Nigeria was a military dictatorship with little foreign investment and a disintegrating education system. They watched with cautious optimism as it began to return to democracy in 1999 with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo and as reforms helped win $18 billion of debt relief in 2005.
But three decades of military rule took a heavy toll on Nigerian politics, a world of patronage in which the reward of high office is the opportunity to control lucrative government contracts rather than to serve the public interest.
The result is a nation full of anomalies. Despite being one of the world's biggest crude oil exporters, petrol shortages are a way of life. Much of the country can go without mains electricity for weeks. Two Nigerians are on the latest Forbes billionaires list yet 80 percent of the population survive on $2 a day.
"We are a young democracy, only a decade out of military rule. It will take time," said civil servant Julius Ogunro. "All we pray for is there is no coup d'etat. That would set back what progress we have made."
Source: Business Day, 1st March 2010.
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Govt assures on River Niger Dredging Project
From Madu Onuorah, Abuja
ACTING President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said there was no truth in reports that he ordered the cancellation of the River Niger dredging contract and therefore diverted the N19 billion from the project into shore protection and land reclamation projects in the Niger Delta.
Jonathan said that "both stories are entirely false, and are being sponsored by desperate persons who are determined to tamper with the peace and unity of our dear country."
The dredging of the River Niger was kicked off in September last year by President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua.
In a statement in Abuja by the Acting President's Spokesman, Mr. Ima Niboro, Jonathan said, "there is no relationship whatsoever between the River Niger dredging project and the proposed shore protection and land reclamation projects proposed for the Niger Delta states."
The shoreline protection and land reclamation projects, according to him, are part of the post-amnesty projects planned for the Niger Delta region and are to be funded from a "ring fenced" fund dedicated to the Niger Delta amnesty programme.
Niboro explained that "in the instant case, the sum of N5.5 billion, part of the dedicated amnesty fund under the 2009 Supplementary Appropriation, was set aside by the Ministry of Transportation for improvement of waterways and related issues in the Niger Delta. The ministry therefore proposed to dredge a channel through the River Nun, taking off from Onya in Delta through Odoni, Kalama, Tombia, Yenagoa, Okodogu, Okokiri, Nembe (with a spur to Brass), Apiama, Ndukiri, Sand Village, Ekulama, Idama, Tombiabok (with a spur to Degema), Bobake, Ndorokiri, Obekiri, Yekiri, Okungba up to Port Harcourt.
"The total cost of this project was estimated at N19 billion, and was set out as follows: Onya (Delta) to Nembe (Bayelsa), with a spur to Brass and Nembe to Port Harcourt (120 kilometres), with a spur to Degema (Rivers).
"By this plan proposed by the Ministry of Transportation, the entire funds would have been spent on Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, with the bulk going to Bayelsa, the home state of the Acting President. But in reviewing the decision, Dr Jonathan considered that other Niger Delta States should benefit from the project."
He noted that another factor that guided the decision to take a second look at the plan was the fact that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was yet to be carried out, and for a project of this magnitude that affects navigation and the ecology of aquatic organisms, an EIA is mandatory.
The Acting President's aide added that "from conception through completion and approval, an EIA would take between one and a half to two years to complete. So, should funds earmarked for urgent post-amnesty intervention projects be left unutilised for two years even as the Niger Delta Amnesty was threatening to unravel before our eyes? There was a further consideration. Even with an EIA, the deepening of the channel would result in a faster flow, and worsen river bank erosion for communities on the route. This has always been a significant challenge for riverine development planning in the Niger Delta."
And following consultations with stakeholders including state governors, "the Acting President subsequently directed the Finance Minister to begin a virement process to move the N5.5 billion provided in the supplementary appropriation for this project, under the amnesty initiative, to the Niger Delta ministry. This is a detailed administrative process that would naturally have to pass through the National Assembly before it is concluded."
Niboro added that "there was no time we announced that the dredging of the River Niger has been stopped. Indeed, that project remains on course, and site reports indicate that things are going on just fine. This gigantic N36 billion project takes off from Forcados, through Warri and Onitsha, and terminates in Baro, Niger State. We are totally committed to completing and delivering it as one of the priority projects of this government."
Source: The Guardian, 1st March 2010.
N36b Lower Niger Dredging Project on Course,
Says Minister
From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja
The Federal Government yesterday said it was irrevocably committed to the completion of the N36 billion Lower River Niger dredging project on schedule so as to spread the benefits to Nigerians and boost the economic base of affected states.
Minister of Transport, Alhaji Isa Bio who stated this while addressing journalists on the alleged suspension of the Lower River Niger Dredging in favour of shoreline protection and land reclamation said that the project was almost 60 per cent completed and had not been suspended in any form. He said that the money required for the project was in tact while payment to contractors is promptly done on presentation of approved certificates.
Bio stated that the dredging of the Lower River Niger project which was kicked off by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in September last year was progressing according to schedule, adding that the dredging was one of the bold initiatives of the administration and is part of the Federal Government's integrated policy on the comprehensive development of the nation's transport sector particularly the inland waterways.
The minister explained that about 572 kilometres of the Lower River Niger will be dredged, passing through 152 communities spread across eight states of Kogi, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Delta, Rivers, Edo and Bayelsa, stressing that the project, due to its peculiarities, was divided into five lots using natural boundaries.
He said: "The political will to make a success of the project is not in doubt. Work on Lot 2, from Bifurcation of Nuns River and Forcados to Onitsha and Lot 4 from Idah to Jamata are about 80 to 90 per cent completed. Lot 1, from Warri to Bifurcation of Nuns River and Forcados is currently on-going and has attained about 40 per cent completion. Lots 5 and 3 are on-going and have not attained required level of performance."
According to him, the recent Federal Government's commitment of N19 billion to land reclamation and shore-line protection in the communities within the project area were meant to mitigate environmental impact on the people.
Bio stated that the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of the Post-Amnesty Programme, had proposed to open channels linking Onyia (Bifurcation)-Brass Route, Nembe-Port Harcourt (with spur to Degema) Route Onya-Warri Route.
The minister explained that the purpose of doing the channel linkage was to open the area for movement of bulk cargo and people since road construction might be challenging within the timeframe.
He, however, noted that the proposal was not acceptable due to the lack of technical drawings, pre-dredging survey, lack of time and because the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not yet conducted.
The minister said: "We had about one month for the money that was approved in the supplementary budget to lapse and since we don't have the EIA and the drawings and technical details, there is no way we can embark on the project in the next one month. So he (Acting President) directed that I should conduct the EIA and get consultants to study and then bring out the comprehensive design before we go ahead with the project. But for the avoidance of lapsing of this money, the money should be used for shoreline protection and the money that was due for this project was N5 billion. The Niger Delta Ministry was directed to conduct the shoreline protection and land reclamation.
"The sum of N10 billion was earlier budgeted for this project in the Niger Delta but the N5 billion which was meant for the inland water ways without proper design and EIA should be transferred so that the immediate impact of one of the post-amnesty programmes can be felt. So the governors accepted this proposal and asked us to go ahead and that was the fact that people have misinterpreted to say that the Fed Government has cancelled the original dredging."
On whether few governors can meet and decide to divert money that was appropriated for one project, to a different one, Bio said: "Government is a dynamic process. Government has the right to say this money is not better utilised here, it would be better utilised in another area. However, we need to get the concurrence of the National Assembly after that, there is no big deal about that."
Source: The Guardian, 2nd March 2010.
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AN OPEN CHALLENGE TO ANIOMA STATE
By Gabriel Nwanze
gnwanze@yahoo.com
I mentioned Anioma State, simply because it's Nigeria's most popular and long-overdue State. Is my assertion a little too early? Time will tell.
Ok, back to the present where we still use the term Anioma people rather than Anioma State.
The people of Anioma in Delta State have in recent times, been in the news due to more heightened interest in their affairs along with the rekindled news of state creation in Nigeria and in the South East, as well as due to the assumption of a son of Anioma, Ambassador Ralph Uwaechue as the new President of the apex Igbo organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
As Anioma begins to embark on what perhaps is its final journey from being a State within a State to an independent State of its own, it is very important to identify the potential factors that can possibly prevent the realization of this dream.
A strengthened and clear-cut identification with their kith and kin in the South East is a very vital step toward the entire country officially recognizing Anioma for Statehood. It's no secret that the Igbos of Delta State ( Anioma people ) have been permanently assigned the role of hewers of wood and drawers of water in present day Delta State. Other tribes in the state say Anioma are not core-Deltans. Infact, they say the capital of the state should be in Delta State ! While this may sound humourous, it's a call to identity for the Igbo community of Delta State. Firstly, some have in the past, tried hard albeit successfully, to associate Anioma with origins on Benin, Edo State, much to the embarrassment of the rest of the right-thinking Anioma people. A section of such proponents say, without any tangible evidence, that their founders were Edo people. Not even the Isoko people and other tribes in Delta State who have clearly visible links to the Benin kingdom have so openly thrown themselves on the Edo people like some Igbos in Anioma have done. This must stop.
It's often said around the area that Ezechima was a Bini ruler, prince or whatever, who founded many parts of the Anioma area. This is an effective abortion of the history of a great people, as the more accurate account of Ezechima clearly states that he was a great an anointed ruler in the likeness of the Biblical Joseph. The Hebrew ( Jewish ) boy called Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up in Egypt from modern day Israel. Being one who God was with, Joseph rose to the position of a Prince in Egypt and everyone was answerable to him. He became the second in command and was even sometimes running the entire Egyptian empire when the true ruler, Potiphar was around, as he had total trust from the Egyptians and effectiveness on his own part to support such trust. Joseph was considered an Egyptian, settled down, married and bore kids there, but one thing he never did was to forget his roots and who he really was. Joseph's descendants carried on this mentality and today, have all resettled in Israel, their original home, without saying they were now Egyptians.
Same is the case for Ezechima, who was a full-blooded Igbo man from Anambra State, and true to his famed extraordinary instincts as of the time ( much like the Jewish boy called Joseph ), made many intellectual and visible conquests and as a traveler and adventurer, sojourned well beyond Igboland, reaching as far as Benin and assuming top leadership position in his time. It's to be noted that just like Joseph while he was in Egypt, Ezechima didn't take over the entire power realms in the Benin Kingdom, being a stranger of sorts, but was even sometimes acting in steed of the paramount rulers and council of elders. This however didn't make the mighty Ezechima forget his roots or who he truly was, as in due time, he and his descendants left the Benin mornarchy to settle back in Igboland, which is in present day Anioma. For some to now say Ezechima, who even from his name is a purely Igbo man, is of Benin origin and indigene is to bring unnecessary and misinformed controversy on the Anioma people, and of course an intentional and obvious attempt to erode the thinking and culture of the people through brainwashing them by adulterating their rich history.
What do such people have in store for Nnebisi, the founder of Asaba and other surrounding cities in Delta North, after he migrated from Nteje, a town in modern day Anambra State? Perhaps Nnebisi is from Kenya and has links to Obama's family lineage?
I often wonder why the Yoruba people in Kwara State and other states located outside the South West do not claim they are Hausas just because they are in the North, or why the Hausas don't claim they are from Chad and Niger even though they have a rich culture of inter-mixing and inter-marriage with their neighbours. Why must it be the Igbo people? Perhaps because Igbos have been historically hard to govern. Or maybe civil war disenfranchisement? But all that is gone now and this is a new day. Behold, a new dawn! Welcome to a new Nigeria.
Of course, sadly enough, the Igbos from the South East also have some portion of blame in ensuring the modern day Anioma people remain disillusioned. I've witnessed some tell it to the face of some Anioma friends that they are not real Igbos or core-Igbos. Right. They are not core-Deltans cos the "core-Deltans" say they are full-blooded Igbos and not core-Igbos as said by some unenlightened South Easterners, then what are they?
Perhaps, this is often said in retaliation by the South Easterners, for the Igbos in Delta and Rivers States,etc claiming not to be Igbo. Perhaps, it's also a case of genuine misinformation of the Igbos from the South East and being sold to another history of their brothers in the South South, or maybe just a non-tangible, feeling-based perception ( misconception ) simply because they are located outside the South East? It's good to note that over 95% of Igbos in the South East see Igbos from the South South as full blooded Igbos.
Like I said, this is time for change. It's happening everywhere. It has to happen in Igboland too.
Let the stakeholders and elders of Anioma come together and declare they should not be called Delta Igbos anymore. They are Igbos. Why aren't Anambra Igbos called Anambra Igbos or Imo people called Imo Igbos? Pending the creation of Anioma State, they should simply be addressed as Igbos from Delta State or Anioma People. Even the funny term Anioma Igbo is beginning to surface as a general term used to describe Anioma people. Why not simply Igbo which is what they are? You know, in the years after the civil war, up to some few years back, saying you were Igbo-ish , not full Igbo or claiming not to be able to speak Igbo was seen as a thing of pride and a landmark of high education, sophistication and enlightenment. Not anymore. This falsehood and living in fantasy is a major reason why many Igbo parents in Lagos and beyond refuse to teach or speak Igbo to their young children. Such people are obsolete and still caught in the past. We're in a new era; an era where various tribes and ethnic groups in Nigeria are responding positively to globalization through closer integration.
Let Anioma association nationwide and world wide link up with other Igbo associations in Nigeria and abroad, and start attending monthly or periodical meetings along with their Igbo brethren. They need no bodies permission to flaunt their Igboness. The adage "core Igbos" is a mischievous term that holds no ground. An Igbo man is an Igbo man anywhere in Nigeria.
In the globalized world of today, only the strongest survive, and the way to survive is by integration through unity. Why do we think companies and large organizations are merging daily? To simply survive and gain the rewards of staying atop in a globalized wealth- higher capitalization and revenue as well as resource utilization. In the modern world, everyone is being forced to think together and move forward together. Perhaps, this is one factor that deals a deadly blow to self-determination by various regions in Nigeria seeking independence as separate countries. The globalized world no longer provides a very condusive environment for that ; unlike before. Igwe bu Ike.
Another issue the Anioma people must surmount is that of functionality and visbility. Theoritically, I must say the Anioma people are functioning even more than some existing States in Nigeria, especially with a vibrant community in the United States. However, much still needs to be seen in terms of concrete result and result-oriented activities by a united and well recognized Anioma front in Nigeria. In my opinion, the first step to achieve this is by refusing to continue to alienating themselves. Isaac Newton's laws make us understand that the inertia and its accompanying forces demand that force must be applied on an object ( or a dream as the case may be ) before it moves, gains momentum or begins to accelerate. I think it's time the Anioma people need to add a little more bite to their genuine aspirations and intentions. To me, it starts with first of all, identifying with a clearly defined group in Nigeria, as no tree can state alone in the forest. Rather than waiting for Anioma State to be created before any other thing, the great and innovative people of the area should appoint an official representative who will act as an administrator and attend meetings like those of the Five South East governors so as to start conveying the message that they are the sixth state wether anyone likes it or not. Besides, thank God for the new initiative of Patrick Osakwe and the rest of the Nigerian House, a motion for two additional states in each region is being discussed, and of course, three states for the South East so as to equate the number of states in all regions. Anioma, Njaba and Adada States look like the three most likely states to be created from the South East. While Njaba and Adada States are still undergoing modification and discusiion with participating states as to which towns will be finally included and which will be exempted, Anioma has since carved out its own boundaries in Delta North. I see no reason why Anioma will like to remain in the South South, as their continuous marginalization will be witnessed in an even greater scale. Why not join your kith and kin and chart a common cause forward? My happiness is that over 95% of Anioma people realize this! This isn't surprising as the region has abundant human capital and intellectuals to boast about.
Let Anioma lead the way by not just appointing a functional administrator with an office and a quasi-cabinet, commissioners and all. Call it a shadow government, call it a pre-emptive step, but I term this as the right move akin to Barack Obama, who already had his campaign team and officers/cabinet men and women penciled down well before the campaign for presidency even ended and voting began. Re-writing our history and culture isn't achieved by staying mute and hopeful, but by carrying out massive enlightenment campaigns of its people about their origins, their history, who they are and what they stand for. I'll hate a situation where Anioma State is created only for it to start from the scratch, making the same old mistakes other states have made in the past. This is a new dispensation, and with the potentials already shown by the Anioma people, much is expected – expected to be done in different and better ways. The Federal government cannot do everything for a single state in Nigeria.
We must learn that just like any other State, Anioma will have to see itself as its main revenue generator. The sooner this is started, the better. With many more states coming, the Federal government may become more restricted in the amount it can afford as disbursement to states, as well as limit itself in its roles as more purely, a regulator rather than a financer of large projects in various states. This is a good-spirited warning not just to Anioma State, but to all other states in Nigeria, both existing and about-to-exist. This cloud however, has a great silver lining as innovation and alternative resource development becomes the watch-word for each state.
Internal revenue generation and functionality of the Anioma State should start right now, so that such becomes a normal way of life when the new state is created. Lagos State has suddenly realized this. Imo State seems to be following suit, along with Rivers State. Anambra State is recently towing similar lines. Ogun State is closely linking with Lagos state to attain growth especially in infrastructural development and industraliazation. Anioma must not make the mistake of waiting for Federal allocation to power its own economy, and neither should Njaba or Adada States. Crude oil prices are slipping daily, and the days of Father Christmas Federal Government will soon be drastically limited. Even if oil bounces back, let's remember the dangers of oil dependency. Inspite of that, Anioma can even enter a joint-ventureship with Anambra State for the development of crude oil reserves in the region as well as other projects.
This is yet another challenge for Anioma to perhaps, be the first to power people consciousness, re-orientation and revenue generation through modern technology like the internet. After all, the current U.S President-elect raised $750 Million mainly through the internet. Let Anioma people at home and abroad begin to contribute the great and the little amounts of money they have, in order to see to the development of their regions. Let it be a model state of the people by the people. Why I'm, hinging this on the area is partly because they have a University of Information and Communication Technology already situated in Agbor, with the support of an Anioma son by the name Jim Ovia.. Let that and other instiutions and individuals devise ways to anchor the development of their region through technology. There's nothing wrong with being the first to do so.
The Public-Private Sector partnership must also be actively pursued in the State. It's key to modern-day development, as companies struggle to survive, assistance to the community and making profit in the process is becoming more popular. Call it " Poverty Eradication Through Profits" and you won't be wrong.
This recipe of self-development also is prescribed to the rest of the South east and the entire great nation known as Nigeria, a country that will eventually champion the birth of the new Africa in terms of economic power. First and foremost, we have to put our house in order before we try building the houses of our other African brothers, and house building starts from home.
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