Can we Agree Never to hire Anyone from World Bank and IMF to manage Nigeria's Economy?

“Lagarde had nothing specific to say about which ideas she thinks are most important—much less what compromises might be required, much less which specific countries, companies, or people might have to suffer to reach those compromises. Her speech was worse than tiresome. It was almost Orwellian in its vacuity. By its end, I couldn’t tell if the head of the International Monetary Fund was as stupid as she seemed or merely pretending to be stupid because she believes we have no right to hear what she really thinks. I am not sure which would be worse”- Alex Berenson

Now that the wool has been uncovered from Nigerian’s eyes, can we now agree that the voodoo economics from Ngozi Okonjo Iweala (NOI) and her band of travelers are not suited for our country? Can we all agree never to hire anyone from the Brettonwoods to shepherd our economy? I mean never! In case you didn’t hear me I meant NEVER!

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) made many unforced errors during his inglorious 6 years reign over Nigerians and perhaps the most glaring was the appointment of NOI as defacto prime minister-coordinating minister on economy. A position unknown to Nigerian constitution and any extant laws or statutes. Before her appointment she had worked as managing director of World Bank. During her first stint as minister of finance under President Olusegun Obasanjo she was known as Madam Due Process and rode on the crest of Nigeria’s negotiated debt repayment, an exercise meant to repay Wall Street and Paris club for buying junk dubious debts owed by Nigeria’s corrupt prior administration at the detriment of infrastructure developments and services to the poor Nigerian masses.

Ms. Iweala along with her sidekicks Oby Ezekwesili drew huge salaries unknown under Nigerian civil service rules and regulation. They convinced their bosses that they can fix Nigeria’s economy by subjecting it to IMF failed policies and sophistries. We know better now. In 6 years, Ms. Iweala ran Nigeria’s economy to the ground. She looked the other way while many of GEJ ministers loot the economy. Her bid to convince state governors to hand her their statutory allocations were roundly rejected by the Governor’s forum-including those elected under PDP. That crisis contributed in large measure to the eventual loss of GEJ in last month Presidential election.

Under her tenure, salaries of political appointees exploded beyond the stratosphere. Politicians awarded humoungous benefits and emoluments to themselves while the poor masses suffer in silence. She is walking out the door with a vaunted claim of managing the highest GDP in Africa, even while Nigerians remain at the lowest nadir of poverty index worldwide. She and her boss celebrates the number of private leased leer jets packed at Nigeria’s airports by rich Nigerian while millions of Nigerian civil servants are being owed more than 5 months of salaries.

Why should we continue to listen this Brettonwoods prognosticators? They have failed every where they have been in Africa but unfortunately our leaders continue to turn to them for ideas and policy direction. One can only hope that Buhari will not take the bait and will stay away from World Bank and IMF personnel when he get’s to pick his own economic management team.

Of Old Media, Internet Infestations, Saharareporters and Nigeria’s Democracy

“Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue” -Paul Krugman

The interview by the publisher was meant to distinguish TheCable online news medium from other “internet infestations.” It appeared in the Punch newspapers on April 29, 2015 with a glamorous picture of Simon Kolawole, the publisher. The question was simple and innocuous: “Q: Some of the online publishers run a very thin staff structure. What is your own experience?” But the answer by Kolawole was non sequitor and gratuitous: “You have just touched on a raw point. Typically, online publishing is one-man business. You simply get a guy to manage the technical side of your website. You go from website to website stealing people’s stories and rewriting them for your site. With RSS feeds, life is even easier. …TheCable, however, was not designed along this model. ... I get offended when people classify us with blogs or news aggregators. I have nothing against bloggers or aggregators, but we are not a blog. Maybe we will start a blog someday. I don’t know. But we are certainly not a blog.”

Call it righteous indignation or empty posturing Simon Kolawole, surely knows what his online medium is not, a blog? Tufiakwa! (Nigeria speaks for NEVER!) Unfortunately, fate has a curious way of puncturing a balloon filled with hot air and that it did the same day when the interview was published by Punch newspapers. TheCable proved to all its readers that its quality is way below the blog its publishers criticized adroitly above. TheCable as we learned later from Professor Wole Soyinka, takes its place among other “internet infestations” lol!. On that day, theCable had published a routine reportorial piece apparently from its many paid reporters (you know as Simon quibbled: “We have reporters”) on Professor Wole Soyinka’s lecture at the Hutchins Centre, Harvard University. What was astounding is not the fact that TheCable seems to imply from its report that it has a reporter present at the venue but the outrageous lie about the quote attributed to Soyinka on Ndigbo voting patterns during the just concluded election. Like Soyinka himself said, only morons will believe that a man, who time and again had risked his life to foster ethnic harmony in Nigeria will ever made the kind of statement attributed to him by the Cable. The funny thing is to hear my 16 years old high students who has only been to Nigeria once argued vociferously on Facebooks with his friends how Uncle Wole will never said anything like that.

So much for The Cable hypocrisy, the shining light in the dark embers of Nigeria’s journalism during the just concluded election however belongs to another online medium, albeit one of the places Simon Kolawole derisively called “news aggregators.” A website that successfully upended old media in Nigeria: Saharareporters! It is an online media that celebrates citizen’s journalism. It encourages its readers to be their own reporters and Nigerians high and mighty have responded to its kind offer, turning that news medium to a “must visit” place for anyone interested in authentic Nigeria’s news.

Nigerian politicians are often the last to know and feel the pulse of the nation, more because of their singular insularity from the sufferings of their people and their well ensconced disconnect with Nigerian masses and its many denizens. During the just concluded elections we could see that disconnect in the divergent media deployment of the two main political parties. Given the fact that it controls the government at the center, PDP, believes that they have enough money to buy the old media and they, NTA, AIT, FRCN, NAN appears to easily capitulate to the government. They along with sundry other private newspapers whose editors and publishers owes them favors worked for the government at the center. As the election drew near, President Goodluck Jonathan completely seized the national airwaves, broadcasting scurrilous personal attack on the opposition leadership in the name of paid advertorial camouflaged as serious investigative journalism. What they conveniently forgets is that majority of Nigerians no longer gets their news from Nigeria’s old media. Majority of Nigerian youths, farmers and sundry other citizens now have smart phones and those who don’t have cable TVs. Nigeria’s old media like, the much maligned Nigeria premiership league is often after thought, something you tuned to when you are done with dinner and you are half dozing after a long hard slouch meandering through traffic in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu or Port Harcourt. No one tune to NTA to get’s breaking news unless Nigeria has just won the World Cup and that is not going to happen soon. So where do people go to get their news: Saharareporters!

The saddest part of this saga is that the much maligned Saharareporters broke more news and did more investigatory journalism than the old media in Nigeria. The fact that some of the old media that appears to perform creditably during the election like Punch newspapers often took their lead story from Saharareporters is quite telling.

One could conveniently conclude that virtually every news piece that rocked the just concluded election was broken, not by old media but by Saharareporters and its citizens journalist. They told us of every corrupt move by the presidency and the governors. They report on the ministers and legist-looters who stole money. They were only matched by Punch newspapers, the only old media that periodically took apart every budget presentations of the current government. The opposition party also took advantage of PDP’s disconnect. On a day PDP postures to have GEJ addressed a 4 hour media chat they scampered and successfully arranged to have their candidate-GMB give an impromptu newsmaker interview to AlJazeera, CNN and BBC. They ended up owning that news circle and PDP media personalities were furious. They were calls for the arrest of GMB media handlers by Aso rock.

By far the most salient report that contributes most to our national discourse was Saharareporters expose on the Ekiti’s gubernatorial election. The revelation about the use of military to box in opposition candidates while the military give free rein to PDP candidates and their cronies on election helped Nigerian protect their votes.

One can make the error of reading too much into this type of narratives but the fact speaks for itself. If the last election had been held circa 1983, one could argue that PDP would have won the day no matter how unpopular it’s candidate might have been. Nigeria’s democracy need the new media much as it needs it’s old media to learn from their mistakes to grow our fledgling democracy. It is not that Saharareporters do not make mistakes very often they do but they are quick to admit it when they got it wrong. The problem with Nigeria’s old media is the arrogance and hypocrisy. Majority of breaking news we have had out of Nigeria in the last few years came from old media reporters whose editors and publishers are either too afraid or too compromised to publish hard hitting investigative piece turned in by their reporters. The latter very often release such piece to Saharareporters who published same out of the pernicious reach of Nigerian government officials in the US where the libel laws are a whole lot relaxed. There is no doubt that the publishers of Saharareporters would have been shut down if it has its offices in Nigeria. But that does not excuse the timidity of Nigeria’s old media. Very often the shackles on Nigeria journalist were that of their own mind. Some are too close to the government while others live in mortal fears of what will happen. In that environment you could hardly find courage.

The meticulous way Saharareporters took time to hire private investigators and voice confirmation specialist on the Ekiti election saga could be contrasted with TheCable moronic rush to judgment on the Soyinka’s story. That is a lesson for all internet infestations to learn. They that live in glass house should shudder to hurl rock objects across the confines of their homes. We have a long way to go to protect our hard earned democracy we need both old and new media functioning at their maximum capacity to get us there. Let’s celebrate Saharareporters even while we excoriate “internet infestations” whenever it rears its ugly head. 

Buhari's New Nigeria?

Many who frequents this blog will readily remember my oft refrain that the more things change the more they remain the same. Will this continue with the newly elected government in Nigeria? Time will tell. For now let's read excerpts from the interview the press did with our president elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.

There has been an influx of defectors from the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to your party, APC, since after your victory at the polls. Many think the development may destabilise the APC. How do you intend to manage the situation?

I think this is a question meant for the party. I wish John Oyegun was here to answer you because we have a system. Just because I am the presidential candidate and the president-elect, I don’t think  the system has allowed me to usurp the power of the party executives. But, certainly, in a multi-party democratic system, fundamentally, it is the number that matters for the people. But for the party, what matters is the ability to manage the number so that the majority will have its way and  there will be justice. No matter what happens to the PDP by May 29, I assure you or I assure them through you that there will be justice in the APC.

A new government, which you will head, will soon be inaugurated. Can you tell us what criteria you will be using in selecting those who you will work with?

It is a difficult time for Nigerians as you all know. I have said it in the past that, in the last 16 years, Nigeria has never realised the amount of revenue it received. The price of a barrel of crude oil rose to

 about 140 dollars and then  crashed to about 50 dollars. During the 16 years, we know what 

happened to some big companies that employ a lot of Nigerians and give them training facilities like the Nigeria Airways, Nigeria  National Shipping Line.

Even Nigeria Railway is managing to be on paper with some refurbished engines moving from Lagos to Ibadan and a few other places. If you go to their stations all over the country, you will realise that they are in a terrible shape. The important thing in a country with a huge population  of youths with more than 60 percent of them under the age of 30 who are unemployed is that you  need these institutions to give jobs and training to them. It is very disappointing that the PDP government virtually failed to use those resources to  grow the economy.

I think the worst thing is the lack of accountability and the terrible budgetary system. Imagine that over 90 percent of Nigerian budget is on recurrent. How can you sustain development in a country like Nigeria with only about 10 percent of your income? Things just have to change. There must be more money available for infrastructure, for investment in getting the factories back, employment and getting goods and services for the population. I think the sins of PDP will be coming out for several years to come.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/why-my-cabinet-will-be-small-president-elect-buhari/#sthash.huhASpGq.dpuf

Jonathan’s New Campaign Slogan: Blame the Opposition First

"The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim”.- Gustave Le Bon

There is new campaign slogan from the Jonathan/Sambo reelection headquarters, it is called blame the opposition first. So, if perchance, and totally due to your very own dereliction of duties there is petroleum scarcity all over the country just point to the opposition. Forget the fact that you have in your cabinet, a minister of petroleum that had never been called to account for all the serious misdeeds at her ministry. If the currency gets devalued by voodoo economics orchestrated for election purpose in the name of re-basement, simply point to the opposition and deflect any blame that may have come the way of your unconstitutional coordinating prime minister of Finance. If Boko Haram kidnapped 200 Chibok girls, your first retort is to deny that any girls were kidnapped and if the foreign media disagree, just assume your fall back option: simply blame the opposition!

There is no limit to this pea brained campaign strategy. What is more, you can draw on it time and time again. See it works. It forces the opposition party to stop talking about their own campaign platform. They may not have anything unique on that platform anyway. Who cares? After all, election campaigns in Nigeria are not supposed to be about your ideas and visions for the country but as the gerrymandered Governor of Ekiti state proves, it is about stomach infrastructure, intimidation of opposition through an illegal use of military personnel and of course blaming the opposition!

You can set up a Constitutional Conference where members found that our so called federal constitutions centered too much governmental powers in the presidency to the detriment of local governance, issues and ideas. And if you are President Jonathan all you need do, is give the report to a committee to review and then cry wolves about how the opposition will not allow you to carry out the recommendations.

You may have been in charge for more than six years while your opposition is a newly formed agglomeration of political parties with little or no pedigree, majority of who have never been in power at the center. If you are Jonathan/Sambo campaign strategist all you need do again,  is point to all the problems you are having in your party as directly traceable to the shenanigans of the opposition.

But then if you are President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, what you may not reckon with is a little thing called message discipline. For instance, you may not know that the president was an alumnae of University of Port Harcourt. You may not know that the president was invited to be a guest speaker at an event organized by the Pioneer Class of 81 of the University. If you are Goodluck, you may not know that you had asked your self appointed secretary to the federal government to deliver your speech at the event. You may not know that you vetted the speech and gave it to Anyim Pius Anyiam to deliver. You may not know that hidden in that speech are these words:

“…And that is why today, at times, people wonder or bother about the opposition activities and movements. We created it. We simply thought that except the political space is expanded, we are not heading for democracy. That except you allow people to strongly and firmly assert their democratic rights, participate in democratic process and indeed, enjoy it with confidence, that one day, we will pay for it. I want to assure you tonight that the opposition movement as it were today, owe their existence and indeed, their activities to President Goodluck Jonathan. The enhanced political environment is what the opposition is enjoying. If they abuse it, do not mind. It does not matter. It does not challenge us. When the opposition try to make so much noise, one thing we know is that you cannot win election in Nigeria through propaganda,”

There you go Nigerian! President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan gave you a vibrant opposition. He gave them to you. What do you mean by that constitution thing? There is nothing called constitution. He gave you opposition party free of charge. He didn’t have to, but he did it anyway, so he can make his reelection bid easier. After all, his PDP predecessors wiped out people at Odi and almost proscribed all opposition political parties by their landslide victories at heavily rigged elections in the past. Goodluck gave opposition life so he could have something to blame for all his 6 years of misrule.

All those constitutionally enshrined activities, political environment and movements was created, and enhanced by the regime of Goodluck/Sambo. Forget 1999 constitution, it is just a piece of paper anyway! In Nigeria, where impunity reigns, you owe the very breath you breathe to the goodness and grace of Goodluck regime. Listen, all opposition politicians, particularly those from the so called All Progressive Congress you all owe your very existence and activities to President Goodluck Jonathan who in his infinite wisdom and large heart bequeath democratic opposition and competitive political environment to the people of Nigeria by his grace in fee simple!

Here is something else the regime of Goodluck Jonathan knows so well, you cannot win election in Nigeria through propaganda. They know that too well. Nigerians of all hue should know that by now. APC you are on notice, Jonathan made you and will quite easily snuff you out and there is nothing the international community can do about it. Get it? Now take the blame and let’s proceed to this upcoming selections, oops, election.

Jonathan Nomination of Obanikoro: an affront on Justice and Democratic Ideals

For me, justice is the first condition of humanity” - Wole Soyinka, Africa’s Nobel laureate 

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is often given to shooting himself in the foot.  When you expect him to act as a sage he will often behave like Abacha, whom Professor Wole Soyinka once called a cretin. The 6 years GEJ has been in power in Nigeria is littered with miscues and lost opportunity. His luck often ran out when he is on the verge of making monumental and transformative decisions that could impact Nigeria for good. This is why many doubt his ability to lead Africa’s most populous nation south of the Sahara.

Let’s go through some monumental decisions where he chose to side with the enemies of the country and corrupt politicians instead of making a tough call. Take the sacking of Barth Nnaji, his erstwhile power minister. The world renowned engineer was begged to serve in GEJ cabinet with the promise that he will be given power to turn around the power and electricity sector of our economy. Within his first few months he put a lot of efforts and intellectual acumen into the sector and prepare the sector for a monumental revolution only for him to be sacked unceremoniously at the time the government needed him, on a trumped up charge that he has an interest in one of the power generating company. Even though the government knew all along and he even disclosed it during his screening at the National Assembly. A full and frank disclosure of interest and refrain from making decision on any issue that impact your interest is all that is required. This was conscientiously abide with by the minister and yet he got sacked and Nigeria is today with electricity. We lost his talents due to spurious allegation from the office of the Vice president. It gets better, the same vice president is also rumored to have interest in several power generating companies. All the companies awarded the concessions had little or no experienced personnel in power generation in Africa so Nigeria ended up on the losing end while politicians made out like bandits selling NEPA’s resources.

Similar disastrous decisions were made with the sacking of former National Security Adviser, General Owoye Azazi. He was not perfect but he took Boko Haram seriously and brought the full force of the international community focus on their nefarious act. Jonathan sacked him upon complaint from the office of his vice president. The same way he sacked the CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi, when he dared complain about corruption in the office of the Petroleum minister.

Perhaps the saddest of Jonathan’s inglorious decision is the sacking of Festus Odumegwu on a trumped up allegation from the office of the Vice president that he was anti-North. Odumegwu, a former CEO of Nigeria’s blue chip company is as cosmopolitan and Nigerian as anyone could be. His plans on the conduct of the Nigerian census were on the cusp of breakthrough when the silent campaign started. His headship of the Nigerian Population Commission would have brought a breakthrough to our economy planning.

The saddest part is that it is when you expect him to sack corrupt minister and advisers that Jonathan will dig trenches and protect them. Take the case of the former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, for several weeks after he corrupt car gate scandal, Jonathan kept her on as minister until the outcry became too much, even then the administration gave a soft landing and she is now running as a senator on the platform of PDP. Similar protections were afforded a Southwest chieftain of the party, Buruji Kashamu. For more than 2 years, long before the presidential election campaign party chieftains in the Southwest had been urging the president to sideline Kashamu and put a new face on the party in the Southwest but the president did not listen. As one former PDP Representative, Dave Salako put it, “ the activities of Kashamu were inimical to the interests of the party in the South West geopolitical zone‎ and especially, Ogun State”. The president ignored all entreaties and now it has led to the departure of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and other PDP leaders in the southwest.

And now the president has nominated Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister of defense who has a cloud of impropriety around him based on the inglorious rigging at Ekiti guber election exposed recently by Saharareporters! Even if Obanikoro had not voluntarily resign to contest election how can any sane president re-nominate him given what we know now? How can he listen to the audio of Captain Koli and still proceed to insult Nigerian with the nomination he made this morning to the National Assembly?

When a president surrounds himself with people who care less if he wins or not, he is bound to lose. When he surrounds himself with people who love corruption more than they love Nigeria the stench in Aso rock will surely stink to high heavens. And now the chicken is coming home to roost.

276 after Chibok, 1 day after IDP Act Jonathan visit Borno: connect the dots

Far be it that I will impute any unsavory motive to President Goodluck Jonathan visit to Borno today, I am sure he meant well by this visit. What I found curious is the fact that the president embarked on this trip, 276 days after the abduction of the Chibok girls and 1 day after the National Assembly passed an electoral law empowering the so called internally displaced persons to vote wherever they might be. (Possibly at any of the refugee camps in neighboring state ) without any PVC? I am just saying...

And I know the president meant well during this visit as he did not particularly visit Chibok, just as his godfather, former president Olusegun Obasanjo never visited the village of Odi, throughout his tenure. For those who don't know, Odi is one of the villages in Rivers state where Baba Iyabo commanded his private army called Presidential task force raze to the ground during his own regime. Jonathan however visited the place that matters in Borno, I mean at least it start to matter 24 hours prior to his visit, probably after he signed the amended electoral law. Here is the Punch newspaper quote on that visit

"Before leaving Maiduguri, Jonathan was also said to have visited over 900 displaced persons from Baga at the Maiduguri camp."

And here is the news report on the electoral Act amendment :

"Worried by happenings in the political circle as the nation prepares for the February general elections, the House of Representatives yesterday adopted the amendments of the Electoral Act. The Electoral Act Bill, which scaled through the third reading, would be harmonised with the Senate version before it is sent to the president for assent. While adopting recommendation of the ad-hoc committee, the House agreed on the insertion of a fresh Section 26 (1) that caters for the voting rights of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, during future elections in the country...."

Here you go, if only the House had passed that amendment on time, the president would have visited Borno 276 days ago. Look at it this way, The president had no problem going to Hilltop mansion, Abeokuta, even if he is not invited as long as he can convince the occupant of the mansion, Baba Koko Below to vote for him. Every vote counts? Just saying...

Some folks unfairly criticized Jonathan, they say he is always on the campaign trail whenever there is going to be mass killing of Nigerian by terrorist, I just urge the president to ignore them. They said he was on a campaign spree in Kano when Boko Haram kidnapped and maimed people in the Northeast. Just ignore them! They said he was on campaign trail when they killed 2000 people. And he congratulated French people while ignoring the massacre in his own backyard...who are this people...don't they know "lest cest moi!" Well, to satisfy these so called nameless dem say, the president private army chief came out to say only 150 people were killed. What is 150 people compare to rented and paid crowd at Ibadan numbering thousands who could vote? Let them show the president the dead people PVC and see if the president will not acknowledge their death and he may even attend their funeral as part of the bargain.... Just saying...

I just want the president to continue to look for votes wherever they might be, whether at the cemetery, the morgue or the hospital he will need it, that one I know for sure. Every bloody vote counts! At least that is what chief Fanity Firekayode is telling him

In another news, youths from Bayelsa state warned Madam Patience to stay away from their state and not bring her Rivers state "wayo" ways to the president's home state. (I hope my friend the Imolite no catch them. ) What arrant nonsense? Shuo! Can you imagine anyone saying this about about Baba Iyabo 's wife or many of his concubine. Hear them:

“We are matured enough to know what is good for us. Nobody should come and bribe our poor mothers and women with expired bags of rice and some money in the name of politics to mislead our people.”

Expired Wetin? See me see trobulu o! Are they trying to call the current occupant of Aso rock, expired president? Tufiakwa! Dem go Hear wien! Just wait until the godogodo bring in the landslide vote like 1983!

Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year.