Federal Road Safety Commission, Office of the Chairman
Federal Road Safety Commission, Office of the Chairman
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September 06, 2010
Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR)
President
Commander-in-Chief
Armed Forces of Nigeria
Presidential Villa
Abuja
The State of the Nation: I feel constrained once more as a citizen of this country to bring to the notice of Mr. President certain observations that are critical to the well being of this great country for your immediate attention.
Kindly accept my best wishes and my prayers and may the Almighty God continue to guide you aright.
Lawan Gwadabe
Colonel (Rtd)
Introduction
Nigeria is a key power on the African continent, not only because of its size, but also because of its political and economic role in the region. Nigeria’s economy is Africa’s second largest, and its [sic] one of the world’s major sources of oil and natural gas. Still on the positive side, Nigeria has mediated in conflicts throughout the continent and its troops have played a critical role in peace and stability operations in the region. The country ranks 4th among troop contributors to the United Nations peace keeping missions around the world.
This author who on behalf of Nigeria has been involved in the peace process that brought settlements, peace and accommodation to Mozambique, Angola and Sudan respectively testifies that Nigeria has indeed played a vital role in the stability of the continent at a great sacrifice to both its human and material resources. Nigeria therefore is a key power in the continent whose fate is so decisive for the progress of Africa. In fact there is no country across a range of issues that has the power so thoroughly to shape outcomes elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. We should therefore be proud to be Nigerians despite our numerous shortcomings.
Nigeria continues to face serous social and economic challenges Even [sic] though majority of our population suffer from poverty, which can be avoidable with sustained anti-poverty development programmes. Nigeria remains relatively stable with the prospect of a greater economic development. Part of the challenges Nigeria face is that of corruption. This cancer is almost the primary reason why Nigeria’s oil and gas wealth has no translated into higher standards of living in healthcare, education and includes infrastructure, for the generality of its people.
The current administration’s commitment to continue the fight against corruption is commendable but if the EFCC’s complaint about the court delays in prosecuting cases are anything to go by then the government may need to consider the establishment of special anti-corruption courts to rightly prosecute such cases. The delay cases in court itself is a charade. And Justice delayed justice denied. The President needs to be firm on these matters and no amount of political intimidations should deter him […] Corruption stories should not take the shine out of our 50th anniversary of Independence. Mr. President should use the occasion to bring to the fore Nigeria’s contribution to Africa and the giant strides we have achieved domestically since 1960. There is no country in Africa like Nigeria and our people must be made to appreciate their place in the continent. We should be proud that one in five people in Sub-Saharan Africa calls Nigeria home. Mr. President must emphasize that success is measured by the challenges and obstacles we must overcome to get there.
The incumbent has come across the generality of Nigerians as a sincere and committed person. Therefore no stone should be left unturned in searching for collective solutions to our problems that would assist the President. The challenges Nigeria faces are no doubt enormous. The task is daunting because the scope of reforms that is required for our national transformation is enormous. The President needs a bold move to face these challenges. To rescue Nigeria from the edges of failure and onto the path of socio-economic recovery, extra-ordinary bold steps need to be taken.
General Observations
It is a truism that, the people themselves are the safe depositories of their government through the leader whom they assigned their mandate, in the case of this country, the incumbent President. But when our past rulers who are desperate to come back to office throw caution to the winds and are busy arrogating to themselves the task of taking decisions behind the scenes on what should obtain come 2011, creating factionalization in the polity to satisfy their whims, then, that government begins to get undermined and may not meet the aspirations of its people.
It is therefore my civic duty as a citizen of this country to bring the notice of the President certain observations that could undermine the well being of this administration if it is not nipped in the bud. These observations may sound incredible but they are true. Since the proponents of zoning appear to be loosing both the public perception and the propaganda war, they have resorted to several tactics, which would be highlighted shortly. But it’s pertinent to not that zoning has now become a provincial cry being advanced by IBB to simply cause disaffection and create factionalization. So far their foot soldiers are at work but they face an uphill task. Because everybody realizes that in the past 50 years of Nigeria’s existence as an entity, the North has ruled Nigeria for 37 years. Therefore the perceptions of the public are that given the extent of our present level of under development, then Nigeria has to transcend that element of provincialism. Most opinions centre on the fact that Nigeria politics have frown beyond zoning or rotation. We should advance to fully-fledged democracy to one-man one vote and that our leadership must be predicated on absolute merit.
The foregoing is not something that those who are desperate to return to Presidential villa want to subscribe to, rather, they have continued with nocturnal meetings all over the country in trying to perfect their strategy of stopping President Jonathan from aspiring to continue as President come 2011. Unfortunately, Adamu Ciroma and his team have recently reached out to General Gowon to help them Chair a committee meeting they drafted by some so-called Northern leaders to meet at the Arewa house in Kaduna on September 14 2010. The main thrust of the meeting is to deliberate on the issues of zoning with a view to selecting and presenting a consensus candidate for the North.
This meeting like the previous ones would be an exercise in futility. There is now ay that the desperate camps that represent the aspirants would come to one voice. Both the camps of Atiku, IBB and Aliyu Gusau do not operate on the same parameters. Hardy can anyone of them step down for the other. Therefore this meeting of adopting a consensus candidate is going to be hard and difficult. It will end up as a tower of Babel.
In the IBB camp, should the meeting of the 14th September not favour their principal, then they will still make an attempt at seeking nomination at the PDP’s primaries. If IBB looses the ticket to President Jonathan, then plans are already in advance stage for him to decamp to ANPP where he is assured of a ticket. But the main aim of going into the ANPP is to calculatively sabotage all the efforts of the PDP and particularly to sabotage the aspirations of the C-in-C. This information should not be taken with levity because it has been well planned as a credible contingency.
The President is invited to note that, he should not underrate the capacities of both Babangida and General Aliyu Gusau to cause mischief. For example both of them have collected money from President Gaddafi for their Presidential ambitions. While General Aliyu Gusau us using government avenues to beef up his finances IBB on the other hand is relying on Mike Adenuga to fund part of his campaign from their holdings in GLO and their oil blocks. IBB has also considerable financial interest in Toyota cars that come into this country. IBB has also invested huge funds through proxies in Angola in the oil and Gas sector.
These are potential cash calls that he will use for his diabolical moves. That is what is informing their confidence that, incumbency is not a deterrent to their ambitions because money is not their problem. Mr. President should beam his searchlights on Toyota Nig. Ltd and liaise with the Angolan authorities to unravel the extent of IBB’s involvement in that country’s oil and gas sector and to also find out where were the sources of funds for these investments. His holdings in Equatorial Guinea is already a common knowledge, the NNPC should be able to brief you on that.
The Governors Camp
Mr. President was briefed about the antics of the governors, even though some of them have denied the facts we have advanced, but we stand by what we have submitted. The meetings and maneuvers by the governors have continued. Their main plan however is to present Bukola Saraki as their candidate who will challenge the C-in-C at the PDP’s primaries. In their strategy meetings they resolved to use state funds at their disposal to buy the delegates. They would also use both intimidation and force on the delegates to ensure their compliance. This is what they will do during the primaries. Presently, they have three zones for this purpose. Governor is coordinating that region’s campaign while Governor Yuguda is heading the North Eastern axis.
Mr. President should be careful with the way he handles these governors, because from the way they are going on, they are clearly operating above the laws of the land. They have amasses money though fraudulent means with which they intend to buy delegates that would do their biddings. Their is therefore, the danger of Mr. President loosing all that the stands for if he allowed the governors to get to the PDP primaries without their being called to order. Intimidation is also part of administration, which Mr. President has at his disposal because the governors are not doing the right things in their states.
They are all corrupt yet they are scared stiff of being investigated. Investigated they must be, because that is what the President owes the Nigerian people who are short-changed.
Already the governors have dispatched their foot soldiers particularly in the north to brainwash the common people about power coming back to the North. They will use money to settle delegates. Monies that, they should have been suing to promote the development of their people. Is it not a shame in the 21st century Northern Nigerian people are dying like chickens because of cholera, which is caused by lack of clean drinking water? The souls of those who died due to this negligence will invoke God’s wrath on all these governors and their officials who have over the years embezzled money meant for water supply for the people. Even on the account of this massive carnage, Mr. President must move to investigate finances at the state levels. Corruption at the level of our Governors has become massive, widespread and pervasive and Mr. President should do something about it.
We must not allow the PDP primaries to take place, without panel beating our governors to shape. It will spell disaster to the Presidency. Therefore, Mr. President is advised to cause the security agencies to dispatch operatives to all the states without any exception. They must investigate what the government and chieftaincy affairs and Agriculture. These three ministries are where all the illegal activities of governors are taking place to siphon state funds. There is no exception, but Kwara, Gombe and Delta states are quite notorious.
There is no single state that differs in the administration of their local government ministries. No single governor is clean on this account. The current stealing leading to elections requires the special intervention of the President. Any move now to call them to order would be met with propaganda and blackmail. But the President owes a duty to save this country from these people. Another conduit where the governors in general have invested monies stole from their various states is in the United Arab Emirate of Dubai. One does not even need special investigation skills to know that billions of our money has been invested in Dubai.
Mr. President should cause investigation to be conducted on FIRST GROUP Inc. and DAMAC Properties all in Dubai. The result would not only be mind boggling but it will give the President a special impetus to confront the war on corruption with new vigour and that would endear him to the generality of Nigerians who have been systematically impoverished by their greedy leaders. The Investigation is a Must.
If however all these plans by both IBB group and the Governors group failed to stop the C-in-C from clinching the PDP ticket then as a last resort, they will pick up one candidate who is not so obvious right now and not in the scheme of things at the moment and foist him as their collective Presidential candidate. Though not confirmed, but speculations are rife that as a last Option they will pick Dr. Iyorchia Ayu or Fidelis Tapgun to put him against the C-in-C and back him up with all the funds at their disposal. The trick is that since these two are from the North and they are Christians, people would not say the Northern establishment is desperate upon promoting a battle between Christians and Muslims.
Bukola Saraki: Governor Saraki who is away to the lesser hajj has his cup full in Kwara state. There are also indications that the current Agricultural project the state is pursing along with the farmers from Zimbabwe is not transparent. There is a need for the Federal Government to look into these projects. Similarly Mr. President should ask for all the details regarding the involvement of Saraki in the Intercontinental Bank Saga, he will be caught red handed. Besides the current scheming that Saraki is doing to acquire Intercontinental Bank PLC it is more to cover up their crimes than any altruism. After all, did they not kill Societe Generale Bank through the same means of financial malfeasance? The following companies are the ones handling all the financial transaction of Bukola Saraki:
• LINKERS
• DIRECTRADE
• JOY PETROLEUM
• SKYVIEW PROPERTIES
Some of them have been on the watch list of the EFCC. Mr. President should cause the EFCC to furnish him with the updated information concerning the above-mentioned companies. The state security services can also be tasked on the same subject matter in order to compare the two results. There are also growing indications that the Chairman of EFCC has come to that job with a lot of baggage to the extent that sometimes there is a lot of than [sic] meets the eye.
Sule Lamido
The Governor of Jigawa state has been one of the arrowheads amongst the Governors who is promoting the “Jonathan must go” agenda. He is the one that works the phones on all the governors promoting the opposition of the C-in-C towards running for elections in 2011. In fact the issue of providing Bukola Saraki in the first place emanated as Sule Lamido’s idea.
The reason why Sule’s case is being mentioned here is that as at the time of writing this piece, the EFCC have stormed Jigawa state and arrested the Commissioner for Finance, Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and its permanent Secretary. People in Jigawa state are so happy about these arrests because Sule is running the state like a fiefdom. His son the District Head of Bamaina, their hometown is the sole contractor in the state. Sule have been running a dictatorship in the state and the people are happy his corruption is now coming under scrutiny in Abuja. The import of these arrests in Jigawa state is that it has sent a message to Sule co-Governors that the road they are travelling in their opposition will be rough.
Dangerous Trend
I am equally constrained to bring this to the attention of the President because of its strategic importance not only as it regards the elections of 2011 but because of our political stability. This has to do with Consolidated Oil, which is owned by Mike Adenuga as a proxy to his mentors in Nigeria. Consolidated Oil is a beneficiary of two oil Blocks which are fully operational under OPL113 and OPL458 which were acquired in 1991.
Just recently the Consolidated Oil struck huge finds of Natural gas reserves.
This took all the industry watchers by surprise because the fields never showed any signs of gas reserves before. This Natural gas reserve that is found in the Mike Adenuga’s fields is in the region of 3.5 trillion cubic feet. It is even larger than the natural gas reserves at the Brass LNG. This is a very dangerous trend, because the way thing are, Mike Adenuga will end up being the richest man ever in this continent. Presently, we are made to understand that our Brass LNG Company is begging Adenuga to sign a 30-year Natural Gas lifting contact with him. This is a dangerous trend, which the president must stop immediately. Mr. President should direct the Brass LNG to discontinue its negotiations with Adenuga. This issue has far wider security implications, which the President should examine carefully.
This is a dangerous trend with great security connotations. Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian with great dubious antecedents. Presently, he is wanted to Tax evasion in England and even here is Nigeria with all his money he is still indebted to and fighting a running battle with the Federal Inland Revenue Service on his taxes on the oil export that he makes continuously. His Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB) is run like a personal Bureau de change; at least, the Governor of CBN is on top of that situation. The main issue is that Mike Adenuga and his mentors have to be stopped in the collective interest of this country and the time to do it is right now.
Halliburton Case
It is indeed salutary that, the government is finally doing something about this monumental scandal. Nigeria needs a revolution of the heart to turn back the tide of corruption and this can be encouraged when the laws of the land are enforced regardless of who is involved. The President should be commended for this move and he should also summon up courage and deal with the corruption cases involving the Siemens contract.
The Halliburton scandal must be disposed off [sic] quickly to send a clear message about non-tolerance of corruption in all its ramifications. This country has been a laughing stock for too long. Transparency and accountability makes it difficult to hide corruption but where corruption is detected in this country there appears to be little sustained action to bring the perpetrators to justice. This move to deal with this Halliburton case is very refreshing. Therefore, maintaining a firm stance on recovering the movies and prosecuting the offenders will put the President ahead of the pack both in the eyes of Nigeria and of the International Community and leverage the hands of Nigerian government in its fight against corruption. For too long this country has been demeaned by the very leaders who were supposed to project its manifest destiny.
Conclusion
The foregoing highlights what is considered as a wake up call for the President. Power is given by the Almighty God to whom so ever he wishes.
Therefore, those people who think they can play “God” because certain decisions by government does not favour their selfish machinations, then the President who has the levers of Power, must take fundamental steps to protect his integrity as a person and to save this country from the preposterous activities of these cabals.
It is pertinent to note that, the future for Mr. President is not one of ease or resting, but of incessant striving that you may be able to fulfill the ledges you have made to the Nigerian people. That is the price of leadership; it is certainly the time to face the challenges of change. This country can ill-afford the success of these desperate people.
Salama Alayakum your Excellency, greetings of the glorious month of Ramadan. May we be immersed by the Almighty Allah in the radiance of the light of this glorious month, and may he reward us with bounties beyond out imagination. My best personal regards to you and your family.
With the assurances of my best personal consideration and esteem.
Lawan Gwadabe
Colonel (Rtd)
06 Sept. 2010
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