Speaking at the summit with the theme “harnessing the potential of Nigeria’s maritime
sector for sustainable Economic development”, President Jonathan in his
rare moment of elevated profound philosophical mood, stated; “It is
embarrassing that it is only in Nigeria that crude oil is stolen. It is a
very bad news and I believe that Nigerians and foreigners who are
involved in that act need to throw their heads under the pillow because
all over the World, it is only Nigeria that crude oil is stolen. This
must stop. We will be decisive in putting an end to this malaise. Our
charge to all relevant agencies and departments of government is to work
cooperatively with the desired urgency”.
In
that speech, President Jonathan had set out to address the most
disturbing phenomenon of crude oil theft which has become a hydra-headed
monster which was recently described by the Coordinatng minister of the
economy and Finance minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the nation’s
drain pipe and the greatest threat to Nigeria’s economic growth.
President
Jonathan exhibited the profound intellectual depth of a sound
university lecturer when he euphemistically described Nigeria as the
only place in the whole wide world where crude oil theft occurs. He said
that though Nigeria is not the only crude oil producing nation but
unfortunately the country has easily won its way into the infamous
global record as the nation that harbor the greatest percentage of crude
oil thieves. The President promised to take further decisive steps to
bring the ugly situation of crude oil theft in the oil rich Niger Delta
to a quick end.
It
is on record that the current Nigeria’s federal administration set up
powerful joint military task force to combat the ugly phenomenon of
crude oil theft but not much has been achieved by this formidably funded
joint military task force. There are widespread allegations that crude
oil theft in the Niger Delta are largely carried out by some powerful
forces who have the backing and protection of some powerful forces in
the military and the political hierarchy. Not too long ago, media
reports quoted one of the crude oil thieves caught in the very criminal
act that their major backer was a high profile leader of the ruling
People Democratic Party [PDP]. High profile traditional leaders of the
Niger Delta communities have also been fingered as being behind some of
the most prosperous crude oil
thieves.
The
Presidential pledge by the current president to combat crude oil theft
should not end up like the many promises to tackle the unprecedented
terror-related violence in the North that the federal Government has so
far failed to keep. President Jonathan is known to have addressed the
armed Islamic insurgents as terrorist group waging war against the state
and has also been severally quoted in the media as saying that the
government would put measures in place to check the mass killings.
But
rather than abating, the killings by these armed rebels in the North
has become even more troubling leading to the recent declaration by the
President Barrack Obama-led administration in the United States to
declare three suspected kingpins of the armed Islamic rebels in Northern
Nigeria as terrorists who are big threats to the American interest and
are therefore legitimate targets for elimination through drone attacks
which some human rights analysts have criticized.
But
the Irony in the Nigerian scenario is that while President Jonathan has
in more than one thousand reported stories in the local and
international press called the Northern-based armed Islamic rebels as
carrying out dastardly criminal acts of terrorism, the same federal
administration vehemently opposes the decision by the United States
government to brand Boko Haram as a global terrorist organization which
would enable the United States to tackle the terror-related violence in
Nigeria.
It
is for this presidential inconsistencies that the recent presidential
statement pledging to take decisive steps to tackle the economic threats
posed to Nigeria by crude oil thieves may not be received favourably by
analytic-minded thinkers.
President
Jonathan clearly understood the magnitude of threats to Nigeria’s
economy constituted by these bad elements in Nigeria and their foreign
collaborators engaged in the dastardly criminal acts of crude oil theft,
but the federal administration is yet to show clear evidence that the
other gangs of cabals that stole several billions of United States
Dollars from the nation’s petroleum subsidy scheme would be brought to
effective, transparent and decisive prosecution in the competent court
of law. To most Nigerians, the subsidy thieves are on the same page with
the crude oil thieves and should therefore be prosecuted without
further foot dragging by the relevant law enforcement agencies.
Although
the officials of the current federal administration are yet to come to
terms regarding the exact loses in monetary terms incurred by the nation
to the dare-devil activities of the crude oil thieves, but there are
scientific sound, water-tight and unimpeachable body of evidence to show
that Nigeria has lost close to N1.4 Trillion to the activities of
petroleum products subsidy thieves.
Two
committees set up by the delectable and energetic minister of Finance
Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have come to a conclusion that over N400
Billion of tax payers' money were stolen by members of the dreaded
petroleum subsidy cabal from the petroleum subsidy scheme. Thus the
distance between the findings of the discredited Farouk Lawan-led House
of Representatives' ad-hoc committee on petrol subsidy and those of the
Federal Government accredited committees of experts is not much of a
problem since both investigators arrived at the same conclusion that
massive funds belonging to the Nigerian public were stolen by the
petrol subsidy cabal members. The former Executive Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Mr. Nuhu Ribadu who was
recently made the chairman of
a task force on Petroleum Revenue has also blamed the Government funded
Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) for the
massive and historic theft of public funds from the petroleum subsidy
scheme.
President
Jonathan rightly stated that Nigeria is the only country that crude oil
are stolen by the citizens but Mr. President should take special note
that Nigeria is the only oil producing nation that harbours the greatest
percentage of the gravely impoverished populace even as a tiny minority
have cornered the entire common wealth to their pockets.
Has
President Jonathan read the well constructed editorial of the Nigerian
Guardian Newspaper of Thursday July 12th 2012 in which the paper rightly
accused the Executive and legislative arms of government of mismanaging
the scandals trailing the probe of the petroleum subsidy scam in which
the erstwhile chairman of the Federal House of Representatives
committee that probed the mismanagement of the oil subsidy scheme, Mr.
Farouk Lawan, publicly admitted collecting $620 USD from a businessman
Mr. Femi Otedola to exonerate the businessman from eventual indictment?
In that editorial aptly titled “Stop the oil subsidy charade”, the
Nigerian Guardian wrote thus; “Both the Executive and legislative Arms
of Government have mishandled the oil scandals, thereby setting new lows
for already discredited national institution. The impression created is
that the Nigerian police will not take an interest in cases of clear
criminality if it senses that its political bosses want to resolve them
otherwise…” I ask President Jonathan to tell Nigerians whether stealing
of huge public funds in the name of petrol subsidy scheme by well known
crooks in high places has become a 'family affair'?
Does
Mr. President also know that it is only in Nigeria that a government
institution like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is
accused of several criminal and fraudulent acts of diversion of public
fund only for the same federal government to fail to punish the persons
so indicted and even proceeded to re-appoint the minister of petroleum
as chairman of a reconstituted governing board?
Specifically,
KPMG, a global auditing firm hired by the Federal government to audit
the accounts of the corruption-ridden NNPC, came out with extensively
damaging report of monumental heist and looting of public fund and yet
no single official of that damaged public institution is confined to the
fore walls of the Nigerian Prisons. The audit set up in July 2010 came
up with the report in November 2010 tagged; “current state assessment
Report on the process and forensic review of NNPC”.
Commenting on one of the many ways that officials of NNPC siphoned several billions of US Dollars from public
treasury, the auditors found out that though it is the duty of the NNPC
to remit its earnings promptly to the federal Account, but that is not
exactly what obtains, from the report of the auditors.
The
auditors noted that; “from our review of the cycle time for the
remittance of domestic crude cost into the federation Account, sweeping
of fund took an average of 110-120 days as against the 90 days credit
line offered by the NNPC”.
A
possible reason for these criminal lapses could be the rolling over of
the money in private accounts where they are lodged before remittance
and therefore “Nigeria is being deprived of timely use of fund, and
non-compliance with contractual agreements on the side of the Federal
Government”.
President
Jonathan must name and expose members of the cartel within the NNPPC
establishment responsible for these corrupt activities so that public
fund in their private accounts are retrieved and they are sternly
punished by the competent court of law.
Nigeria
is the only country whereby the National legislators earn more money
than the president of the United States of America who is the most
powerful political office holder in the World- President Barrack Obama.
In
the Nigerian Guardian of Monday July 9th 2012, we were rightly told
thus; “One major point of concern in the nation’s National Assembly is
the high cost of maintaining the federal lawmakers. It is so high that
the total emolument of a Nigerian senator is more than the US$400,000
(63,822,400 million) US President, Barrack Obama, earns annually”.
“According
to reports, in 2006, a member of Congress received an annual salary of
$165,200. Congressional leaders got $183,500 per year. The Speaker of
the House of Representatives earns $212,100 annually. The salary of the
President pro tempore (Senate President) for 2006 was $183,500 equal to
that of the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate.
Privileges for lawmakers include an office and paid staff”.
“In
2008, non-officer member of Congress earned $169,300 annually. While
there are complain that congressional pay is high compared with a median
American income of $45,113 for men and $35,102 for women, there are
other arguments that the pay is consistent with other branches of
government.”
But
in Nigeria, legislators have become overnight billionaires who are busy
chasing and securing huge contracts than concentrate on the arduous job
of thorough and patriotic law making for the betterment of Nigerians
who are increasingly becoming impoverished and insecured.
Although
I don’t share the opinion that the current presidency has diminished
due to impunity that takes place in higher places, but I am worried that
economic criminals and bribe givers are openly seen celebrating,
dinning and winning with the presidency in Abuja. This is sad and must
be reversed if Nigerians and the rest of the civilized World would take
us for our word to battle the scourge of corruption. I believe that
Nigeria is not finished yet because we are eternally doomed if we
allowed Nigeria to disintegrate since no country is generous enough to
host us as refugees considering our number and higher intelligence.
* Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, writes from www.huriwa.blogspot.com.
24/7/2012
