11/03/2014 EXECUTIVE HEIST AND THE WAY FORWARD FOR NIGERIA By Segun Badmus Before, during and after the formation of the economic contraption called Nigeria, public funds have always been looted, wasted, embezzled and laundered. Even the post independence violence and civil war was as a result of bad management and corruption. The intervention of the military institution in the art of governance compounded our woes through outright mismanagement of our collective national patrimony without restraint. For over 30 years when the military held sway in this country, public money was arrogated and expended as personal wealth. Various sums had disappeared and unaccounted for till date such as $2Billion, $5.6Billion, $11 Billion, $12Billion, $16Billion, $20 Billion and many other billions misappropriated and wasted. Emergency billionaires were thus created and those years has remained our years of locust. The military disengagement in 1999 offered a fresh start for a nation that has declined in all human development indexes, with most infrastructures decrepit, educational system destroyed, agricultural capability debased, food insecurity secured, stagnated economy entrenched, corruption personified and moral decadence institutionalized. Fast forward to 2014, the government of the day has followed the same trend with utmost disregard for the general well-being of the majority population. Some have been wondering why all the secrets of missing monies are now becoming public knowledge, some have said it is because the President is from a minority Ijaw stock, some have foolishly pontificated that it is our turn to eat oiyel money. Alas, this is a digital age different from primordial years when we didnt have GSM, internet and other new technologies. The exchange of information has never been better than in the last 10 years when Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks were invented. The secrecy of government activities are no longer secret as exemplified in the Wiki-leaks and the Edward Snowden saga where secret information no longer remain classified. The current imbroglio concerning missing money in Nigeria has generated a lot of heat and has threatened to bring down the government of the day. The suspension cum sack of the CBN governor has opened a fresh Pandora box on how government works. The mechanics of governance has revealed that monies are being expended by all actors without appropriation or approvals. Procurement and spending policies are surreptitiously being flouted by all including the Presidency, NNPC, CBN, NCAA, Aviation, Petroleum Ministry and other MDAs. All sides to this matter are insanely guilty of the same offense, spending money without appropriation or approval and spending lavishly without recourse to scale of preference and priorities. Luckily, the 21st century innovations has offered the previously disadvantaged section of the society a voice and space to dissent through the social media and has increased participation in the art of governance with improved access to information. PREMIUM TIMES wrote recently and I quote Few days before he was suspended, the outgoing Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, told top bankers in the country that they would have to open their books to unravel the whereabouts of the missing $20 billion oil money, it said the New York Times is reported. Suspecting that some of the bankers had helped in laundering the missing money, Mr. Sanusi said on February 11 he warned the top bank executives in a bimonthly meeting that their books would have to be scrutinized to discover where the missing money had been lodged. “Some of them were not giving information about their accounts,” Mr. Sanusi said. “I told them I would order a special examination.” Nine days later, President Goodluck Jonathan suspended him from his position. Premium Times The above assertions show conspiracy among the high and mighty in the government of the day to cover their tracks. The missing money cannot leave the public till without the approval of the President. The missing money is too monumental to disappear without a trace. The bulk of the blame of the missing money should be placed at the desk of the president. Premium Times further submitted that the senior media aide to Mr. Jonathan, Reuben Abati, announced Mr. Sanusis suspension, He said the central banker, was sacked for “financial recklessness and misconduct “inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank.” But in a counter statement by the sacked CBN governor, he said he was suspended because of his determination to get to the root of the missing fund. According to him, two of the bankers, he refused to identify, “went and reported to the petroleum minister.” He said he knew his days were numbered after that. Premium Times further checks indicated that both the bank chiefs and the petroleum minister then pressured President Jonathan to quickly remove Mr. Sanusi so he does not expose the monumental corruption in the NNPC and bring down the administration. “Once the president got that information,” a presidential insider said. “He had to act quickly to save himself and Diezani from further humiliation.” The overall implications of all these pilfering of public funds affects the general well being of the majority citizens of Nigeria, a country with dilapidated, inefficient health facilities that cannot handle common fractured bones without going to India, Germany or wherever. A country whose educational system has been bastardized giving room to thriving private universities owned supposedly by the leaders leaving public schools in the doldrums. A country that’s energetic and the most vibrant of its citizens have disappeared into self imposed exile to work foreign economies to greatness. A country with enormous resources both human and natural is being ranked among the poorest nations like Somalia, Zimbabwe, Mali, Niger, Chad, etc. A country with huge gas and crude oil, coal, gold, uranium and aluminum, bitumen, near perfect weather, fertile soil and centrally and strategically located sea front is unable to feed its people. Its an irony to see abject poverty in the midst of plenty. But I propound that time is ticking fast and the patience of our people is running out. The pogrom in Northern Nigeria is a tip of the iceberg and it’s being colorized in different colors, some say its ethnic others says its religious but the truth is that a deprived mind and body is a willing tool for anything depraved. The deprivation over years and outright internal dislocation of people in their own country is a recipe for violence which might be irreversible if urgent actions are not taken. As a leeway out of our present realities just as we approach the convocation of a national dialogue on the 17th March 2014, I hereby recommend the following: * The implementation of a dependable national population registers and national identity document to be conducted by the Nigerian Army and the Police with support from the United Nations. * The balkanization of Nigeria into 8 Provinces which are as follows- South West, South East, , South-South, Mid-West, Middle belt, North West, North East, North Central each having Federal powers to exert authority over Resources, Education, Agriculture, Health, Social Security and Management of Tax Systems while each States becomes Regions to be administered by each Provinces according to norms and cultures of the people. * Disbanding State Electoral Commissions and centralizing the operations of INEC with a first line charge from the Federation account to guarantee its independence. * Introducing a decentralized Police Service and Community Policing Strategy with Community Policing Forums forming the bedrock of our security and intelligence clusters. * Introducing National Social security template to cater for the unemployed, disabled, orphans, foster parents, child support and aged 60 years and above. * Introducing a credit system for the employed to increase spending and a loans and grants system for the entrepreneurs to create jobs. * Deconstructing our educational system by deemphasizing certificates and awards but focusing on relevant skills in building a productive society. * Introducing three (3) Federal capitals; Abuja should remain administrative, Lagos should be made judicial capital with special status as the economic hub while Enugu or Nnewi should assume technological and military headquarters. These would increase national cohesion and unity. * Introducing five (5) official languages of communication; English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Broken English. Since language is the opium of a society, it would assist us in building a confident society who understands itself. Understanding and speaking structured English for the majority of our people hinders true and confident expressions. Broken English is homogenous to all Nigerians and it’s a way out of our nightmare in interpersonal relationship and communication. * Declaring emergencies in the educational and agricultural sectors of our economy and the revitalization of our public infrastructures likes roads, railways, refineries and public schools. * Introducing electronic and Diaspora voting for disenfranchised Nigerians home and abroad. * As a means of curbing oil thefts, the Nigerian Navy and other sea patrol officers must conduct periodic test and display of might on our territorial waters to deter pirates and oil thieves. * Encouraging the military as an institution to apologize to the Nigerian people for their atrocities of the past, this would cause a healing process for true national reconciliation. * Introducing State of the Nation address, State of the State Address by all States, Regional and Provincial governments as the case may be. * Introducing State of the Military Address on an annual basis where the Military would address the Nigerian people by Joint Chiefs. * Facing squarely our security challenges as an unsafe environment does not engender growth and development. Investigating internal and external saboteurs in the Northern region and fighting the menace of Boko-Haram as an aggression against the Nigerian State. * We should redefine citizenship by implementing inalienable rights as enshrined in the United Nations Charter on human rights; it would increase loyalty to the nation. Finally, while submitting that no nation has a perfect political and economic system, a national renewal of pledge by all and sundry is very important in achieving these set goals, we should endeavor to do it right now so that generations yet unborn would benefit from a more stable society which would guarantee their future. Thank you. Segun Badmus is a freelance writer, opinion molder, social crusader, activist and entrepreneur. You can follow me on Twitter @SegunBadmus
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 11:21:54 +0000