Muhammad Al-Ghazali Tompolos Navy: By now I suppose, Nigerians have become so used to so many scandals that a school of thought has emerged to suggest that we have even lost their capacity to feel or experience shock. Who expected for instance that nothing would come out of the well-reported allegations concerning the disappearance of twenty billion dollars from the coffers of the CBN despite the promises of forensic audits and all that? What about the other equalling nauseating scandals such as the Pension scam, Subsidy-Gate and Oduah- Gate, not to talk of the tragic miss-handling of the kidnap of the Chibok girls and the sordid events that followed? Even so, those scandals, along with several others Nigerians have experienced in the last decade and a half since the return of democracy in 1999, pale rapidly in significance compared to the latest assault on the collective sensibilities of patriotic Nigerians. Last week a Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported that Oslo has sold a fleet of decommissioned but still sophisticated battleships and combat boats to the apparently unrepentant ex Niger Delta militant chief Government Ekpemupolo AKA Tompolo through a third party in the form of a British company CAS Global. A total of six battle ships were reported to have been delivered to Tompolo in 2012 alone. In a move that should have embarrassed any Nigerian leader past or present except for the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, Tompolo’s company Global West Vessel Service, was awarded the multi- billion Naira contract for the patrol of Nigeria’s vast coastline purportedly to combat the rampant cases of theft of crude oil which had reached an industrial scale and still shows no signs of slowing down three years after the company was engaged. If anything, there are suggestions that the theft of the crude oil has even surpassed previous levels since the engagement of the company, and why not? When Nigerians were first alerted to the existence of the dubious contract two years ago, many commentators including my humble self were resolute in the belief that the move was like handing over the security of a bank to John Dillinger – the American depression era serial bank robber. Tompolo, like the other ex-militant leaders that ravaged the Niger-Delta before the Umaru Yar’Adua inspired peace initiative sustained his armed thugs from the proceeds of rabid oil thefts, bunkering and piracy of our coast. In that respect, no matter what the motivation for the award of the contract to Tompolo’s company may have been, the old proverb that leopards hardly changed their spots should have been worthy of invocation in this case were it to be a normal affair. But this scandal is definitely not a normal transaction from all available facts. The first and most glaring truth is the undeniable evidence of nepotism at play in its crudest form. Tompolo is of the Ijaw ethnic stock, just like the president, and chairman of the board of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) – the federal institution where the controversial contract is domiciled! The second and even more damning fact is the paucity of transparency and due process in the entire transaction. Because the contract took millions of Nigerians by surprise it was obviously shrouded in secrecy - a fact that raises other questions on the exact motives behind it. Was the contract ever advertised in line with the Federal Government’s own public procurement laws? Were the funds expended on the operations of the company through NIMASA duly appropriated by the National Assembly? How many companies bided for the same service? Given the astronomical sums involved, was the process even referred to the Federal Executive Council? How was a shadowy company which only came to prominence with the award of the lucrative contract in 2011 able to come by the resources to procure the five fully refurbished and re-armed ships mentioned in the report barely a year later in 2012? Was the company granted any facility by any bank and on which terms? Besides Tompolo, who are the other Directors of the company? These are only few of the questions that should pre-occupy the minds of all patriotic Nigerians in these troubled times. In the meantime, where does the Nigerian Navy stand in all these? Did we even need the sort of services provided by Tompolo? What happened to the Bill for the establishment of the Nigeria Coast Guard which I know was in the works up till 2009? Why have are Nigerians who should know so mute on this fast evolving yet avoidable crises? Certainly one thing beyond dispute is that if Tampolo is allowed to have his way, with its guided missile systems and all that, his infant Navy will soon rival the Nigerian equivalent for firepower. It will then be only a matter of time before the other Niger Delta ex- militants like Asari Dokubu also start dreaming of acquiring their own Air Force under this dispensation. What we know already from Dokubo’s own admission is that they already have a stockpile of arms stocked up ready to ‘come out’ at the right time. That statement should pre-suppose the existence of a concealed army to bear the arms. With decency and transparency in the corridors of power this infamy would never have been contemplated in the first place. What I still cannot understand is why the voices of those who should know are so mute. This scandal to beat all scandals in our recent history is being treated like a non-event. It is either they have been cowed by fear, or perhaps greed. But whatever may be the reason for their inaction is has become painfully obvious that simply see cannot see the clear and present danger the situation portends when stripped of its pretences. The idea for establishment of Coast Guards for the protection by nations to secure their coastal waters from piracy and other offshore crimes is not a new one. To the best of my knowledge this the first time that such a weighty responsibility has been handed to a private concern especially one whose loyalty to the Nigerian nation as a whole is not guaranteed. With Dokubo and other Niger Delta ex-militants threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria whenever it suited them with no obvious repercussion, how can we be certain that Tompolo’s navy – there is no other way to describe the infamy – will not be turned against our dear nation when their principal benefactor loses the next presidential election?
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 08:24:51 +0000
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