Media veteran Martins Oloja’s piece titled, ”5 Tactical Errors Tinubu Should Clear” is scintillating as common. I don’t know that any journalist in Nigeria has achieved the mastery and understanding of how authorities runs like him (until after all Azikiwe however he was only a titular president.) He’s definitely a high governmental knowledgeable satirically from with out.
I’m highlighting a number of extra errors of my very own within the spirit of serving to a nation in doldrums particularly as they weren’t addressed within the president’s broadcast.
1. THE DAM DAMAGE The Minister of Finances and Financial Planning, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, says the Federal Authorities below Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund has accredited over N350 billion to help dams and growth of amenities throughout Nigeria.
Nonetheless the federal government didn’t present funding to construct a dam in Nigeria to curtail perennial devastating flooding from Cameroun as agreed within the Nineteen Eighties!”The flooding is a dramatic change, it’s a international problem, and we noticed what occurred in Borno, amongst different states.
”When you watch footages coming from all over the world, significantly in Europe, you will notice quite a lot of flooding incidences.
”Local weather change is actual, fortunate sufficient, President Ahmed Bola-Tinubu, recognised it, and took proactive steps the place cash was given to states.”
The minister lied concerning the floods claiming it was a world downside when it was truly authorities corruption, ineptitude and recklessness. The Borno flood was act of man/misgovernment NOT act of God. The annual flooding of about 11 weak states coming from Cameroun is inaction of man/misgovernment NOT act of God.
”The federal authorities allotted N3 billion to every state of the federation to mitigate the results of flooding.
Bagudu additionally revealed that the council had accredited N900 billion on the Kebbi part of the Sokoto- Badagry Excessive Means, saying, “It’s the single largest contract awarded below the present administration.”
Based on him, there may be one other approval for building of Zaria Kala-Kala street.Why share N3bn to every state (over N1Trillion) as a substitute of construct a preventative dam?Why award N1Trillion on a street in Kebbi/Sokoto quite than construct a dam?Nigeria’s topmost infrastructure want is energy not roads so why ought to the biggest such contract be for yet one more street just like the doubtful Lagos-Calabar white elephant freeway?In constructing a dam, Nigeria protects its residents from avoidable flood deaths and destruction whereas harnessing energy technology. It’s a win win!
The N900b street contract will not be the biggest award by this authorities. The minister is both mendacity, ignorant or incompetent. Lagos-Calabar coastal fraud approach is over N1Trillion.I suppose for this reason all of the street contracts aren’t viable as a result of the contractor buddy of the president, as an example, doesn’t know methods to construct energy crops and dams. So we should eat roads by the nostril. They may quickly award a contract to construct a freeway from Lagos to France!!!
RECOMMENDATIONSAccording to the Inner Displacement Monitoring Centre, most inside displacements in 2022 have been related to disasters, because the worst floods in a decade hit the nation. The floods triggered over 2.4 million displacements, the best catastrophe displacement determine in sub-Saharan Africa in 2022. Half of the displacements have been reported within the southern state of Bayelsa within the Niger River Delta, however the states of Anambra and Kogi have been additionally closely affected. Displacement camps within the north-eastern state of Borno have been additionally flooded, forcing 1000’s of individuals already displaced by battle and violence to flee once more. The floods restricted humanitarian entry by damaging roads, bridges and infrastructure.
Solely 148,000 inside displacements have been from battle and violence in 2022.
The figures are:•2.4 million displacements•3.6 million IDPs.over 676,000 hectares of farmland have been destroyed, worsening meals insecurity., the full variety of individuals internally displaced by battle and violence as of finish of 2022 was the best since information started in 2013, pointing to a persistent lack of sturdy options.
Fixing the flooding has nationwide safety, meals safety, social safety in addition to infrastructure safety implications along with hydro-electric financial transformation.Nigeria’s Dasin Hausa Dam have to be constructed to buffer the results of the discharge of water from Cameroun’s Lagdo Dam!
2. JETTING WHILE MASSES ARE TREKKING. Nigeria, previously Africa’s Greatest financial system is now 4th and third largest debtor to the World Financial institution. Eight of the world’s poorest nations are in West Africa and Nigeria is one.Jeff Bezos the Richest man on this planet purchased a brand new airplane for $80 million. President of Venezuela purchased a presidential jet for $13 million. Nigeria poverty capital of the world purchased a 14year outdated new airplane for not less than $150 million to switch a 19 12 months outdated presidential jet. But America’s Presidential jet is 34 years outdated!
Venezuela and Nigeria have the bottom oil output in OPEC however then due to sanctions and we due to sabotage we’re residing giant shopping for huge 300-seater passenger airplanes like USA the world’s high financial system for the president.
Billionaire Bezos (who earns $1 million per hour) now has 4 plane whereas the Nigerian presidential fleet has about 20 plane on the president’s disposal (together with helicopters.)UAE donated meals for Borno victims however the airplane landed in Abuja and dropped it there and never In Maiduguri airport.
Then Tinubu took his new presidential jet from the identical Abuja airport and flew to Maiduguri airport however he didn’t take the donated meals assist there both.Slightly, he flew his presidential Limo to Borno to make use of there!
RECOMMENDATIONSThe reality is that Tinubu had a number of choices that didn’t contain shopping for a brand new presidential jet:A. Two jets have been bought by the Obasanjo regime – one for the president and one for the VP.
The VP’s airplane is newer than the 19 12 months outdated airplane that’s being changed and will have been reassigned to him. Usually VP’s don’t have their very own planes. They use presidential planes when accessible however in Nigeria even senators and presidents’ kids use and abuse presidential jets.
B. Tinubu reportedly has two non-public jets of his personal and on high of that borrows Gilbert Chagoury’s jet as nicely. In different phrases, he has no scarcity of entry to planes that justifies an enormous chunk of scarce foreign exchange to purchase one.
C. Equally Nigeria has reclaimed a personal jet bought by a corrupt oil minister. That plane may have been repurposed as a presidential jet. Dan Etete, the previous Nigerian Petroleum Minister, had his luxurious non-public jet seized attributable to its connection to the notorious $1.3 billion OPL 245 oil block scandal. The jet, a Bombardier 6000 with tail quantity M-MYNA, was bought for $57 million and was confiscated at Montréal-Trudeau Worldwide Airport in Canada.
D. If Nigeria should purchase a brand new jet why not purchase what Bezos purchased? Jeff Bezos’ brand-new Gulfstream G700 can journey at practically the pace of sound, reaching speeds of as much as Mach 0.935. At $80 million, it’s the premier long-range enterprise jet of seven,500 nautical miles, making it good for Bezos’ globe-trotting adventures. It’s final in luxurious, with options like: – *Grasp Suite*: full with a set mattress, non-public en-suite rest room,- high-speed WiFi,- *Versatile Structure*: with as much as 5 residing areas, together with a personal stateroom, eating space, lounge, and crew relaxation space.
3. PRESIDENTIAL YACHT One of the crucial weird purchases is a presidential yacht whereas there may be no person of water within the nation’s capital for which the president would require sea transport. Is the president going to make use of it for relation in Lagos or inspection within the creeks? It’s disheartening that the overstretched navy who complain of insufficient tools to combat terror and piracy would waste hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on a luxurious boat that has no fight worth.
Worse nonetheless, the US Justice Division’s kleptocracy staff seized $145 million price of property bought for a former oil Minister’s profit, together with a $50 million house in New York, properties in California, and an $80 million yacht. Once more if a yacht really was wanted by Nigeria, it had one already it may’ve repurposed as a presidential yacht with out shopping for one other.A visionary Tinubu in Lagos positioned barges on the Lagoon to supply electrical energy to the state. This yacht falls flat compared.
4. ESTABLISHING RUGA ENCLAVES…The Federal Authorities stated it could start the Pulaku Initiative, “a large-scale resettlement programme to deal with the causes of clashes between farmers and herders in numerous flashpoints nationwide” in seven states. They’re Sokoto, Kebbi, Benue, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, and Kaduna states. Based on the programme, Homes, Colleges, Hospitals and different primary facilities will likely be supplied for Fulani herdsmen. Safety and Meals Safety is extra important than housing estates. Slightly than rehabilitate over 1,000,000 displaced farmers in Center Belt to allow them to farm and crash meals costs, Tinubu is taking their land to construct estates for Fulanis who destroyed and displaced them. There are 160,000 rehabilitated terrorists however no single rehabilitated farmers.
Why this logical incongruity? Implanting huge Fulani enclaves distorts election maps within the states – granting Tinubu sympathy and stronghold amongst the Fulani caliphate whom he efficiently excluded from the presidency for the primary time because the 1999 return to democracy. Nonetheless it’s a recipe for catastrophe because the creation of Jos north, an enclave for settlers, which bred perennial battle in Plateau state reveals us.
RECOMMENDATIONUntil each Nigerian displaced by Fulani terrorists is rehabilitated, there ought to be no dialogue of imposing RUGAs or any enclaves on anybody’s lands.
If they need to, why isn’t the federal government constructing these infrastructure for the Fulani in their very own land? Properly as a result of these are foreigners who don’t have any villages right here.
They have been invited right here by Buhari and co to occupy Nigeria and have refused to withdraw with Buhari’s tenure over. The federal government can negotiate with the Fulani to settle in Sambisa forest which was designated by the British colonial authorities as a recreation reserve (in spite of everything VP Shettima ruled Sambisa) however it should not take the lands of any Nigerian.
When Jonathan used our collective wealth unconstitutionally to construct a whole lot of Almajiri faculties within the North, he didn’t do it on lands of the Center Belt. Why is it now that they wish to take different individuals’s land for the Fulani?
If RUGAs have to be constructed for indigenous Fulani (not international fighters) FGN can make the most of the prevailing and deserted almajiri faculties as a substitute of exacerbating Nigeria’s humongous debt profile.Throughout his go to to Nigeria, the UN Secretary Normal thanked Nigeria for serving to rebuild their bombed workplace; Nigeria begged UN to construct amenities for ex-terrorists and UN begged Nigeria to assist IDPs return to their properties safely. It is a no brainer.
5. FOREX FARCE As highlighted in an Amicus temporary within the Bagudu Abacha loot case in USA not too long ago, Nigeria borrowed $10Billion utilizing our future oil ($3B) and future fuel ($7B) earnings. The loans weren’t tied to any challenge besides shoring up the naira however the forex even reached over 60% devaluation. A banker pleasant with Tinubu made $66million from the $3Billion mortgage transaction, which can value an estimated $12Billion to repay. The phrases of the $7Billion can solely be imagined.
To be continued
Emmanuel Ogebe is a US-based lawyer and Nigeria worldwide affairs knowledgeable with the U.S. Nigeria Legislation Group, Washington, D.C
