YARADUA'S REVERSAL OF OBASANJO'S POLICIES:- THE DOWNSIDE!

Admitted that Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo deserves the hottest place in hell for all the atrocities his regime visited on Nigeria and Nigerians, which he dutifully masterminded and supervised; but a blanket reversal of his policies does not augur well for the body polity and image of Nigeria. This is especially so amongst the investing world, where some of these policies have significant contractual obligations implicit in them thus causing such acts to be viewed as very antagonistic and anti-capitalism. Contracts ought to be respected and should be so respected, period! Implicit in such impetuous and random highly selective revocations is a government that does not care a hue about the letters of contracts or laws governing them. It does not bode well for a government desirous of attracting job creating ventures in Nigeria and should therefore cease save where a blatant abuse is implicated.

First it was African Petroleum, next was the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries, followed by Nicon Hotels, and now Ajaokuta Steel just to mention a few. This blogger is of the view that where irregularities are discovered, that they need to be addressed as per each occurrence but not a blanket reversal or cancellation of an existing contract or policy with a clearly defined objective. The total cancellation of a past government’s acts is very antagonistic, highly suggestive and tantamount to throwing away the baby with the bath water and should be stopped. Or is the present Yaradua government telling the world that nothing could be saved from the cancelled contract or term thereto? Before cancelling a contract, the government of Yaradua should take into cognizance the ramifications of its actions in order not to alienate the investing communities and financial institutions of the world who will view Nigeria as a fluidly, highly unstable market to guarantee their investments. They will flee and this does not augur well for a thirsty investment environment such as Nigeria whose potentials is yet to be harnessed, strictly speaking? The worst thing that can happen to an economy is for that economy to be perceived as not stable enough by the investing world who then will treat same as a pariah wherein contracts are not worth the parchment they are signed. Yaradua must avoid this connotation at all cost and by whatever means possible. It smacks of instability in an economy and investors frown at such. It also portends lack of respect for existing contractual obligations; leading to the question, which other investor will be willing to sign a contract which tomorrow will be discarded by a new government? If a country’s government cannot respect contract or rule of law, who in their right mind will be willing to deal with such a country since a Yaradua’s obligation today might as well be annulled by the next government whenever that comes into being. This epileptic investment climate showed up sometime ago in Uganda when the terror of Uganda, Baba Idi Amin Dada seized all foreign investment in Uganda and chased away all the investors mostly of Indian extraction out of Uganda. Where is Uganda’s hitherto thriving economy today but in the doldrums of economic malaise? Who wants this situation for Nigeria? Which investor will deal in that situation? Who is the gambler that will play such a high stakes game of Russian roulette with his/her hard earned capital?

The difference between a government and a military interregnum is that in the former there is rule of law and continuity, both in policies and existing contracts whereas in the latter it is simply an aberration – anything goes! This is the real reason why most investors do not like to deal with military regimes because they are wary that their investments will not be safe or guaranteed but will be subject to the whims and caprices of the military junta who also can be overthrown at anytime and there continues the topsy-turvy in such economy. A working government will in most instances adopt existing undertakings of a preceding government and where some discrepancies are observed, the contract could be reformed with a view to fixing the observed shortcomings before it is finally ratified. But the way Yaradua is carrying his blanket annulments or revocations of former obligations of the past government of the medicine man of Otta, Aremu Obasanjo shows that Yaradua is merely pandering to the Arewa Forum; who in their last convention made several demands on Yaradua’s government one of which was the revocation of Ajaokuta Steel contract. In the said convention, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma berated Obasanjo for standing up against the North and for daring to challenge their authority by reapportioning things and putting them in Yoruba hands instead of them - the traditional “custodians” of such plum positions. Yakubu Danjuma also lamented the North’s backwardness in Nigeria and threw other tantrums against any other geographical entity that is seemingly doing well within the Nigeria polity. Danjuma’s rants and angst was rabid to say the least and smacks of a vampire ready to draw blood.

To this devil’s may-care, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, this blogger will like to posit certain questions – first, who was responsible for the abject backwardness of the North as you pointed out? Secondly, who has been in charge in Nigeria for the past 38years plus of the 48 years of Nigerian’s independence, including the self rule of between 1957 and 1960? They are all Northerners including your shameless self. You eminently benefited from the North’s stranglehold on Nigeria or what do you owe your stupendous wealth to? You were not a trust fund child or a renowned academia or an inventor or a “Warren Buffet” prior; but a daring northern army man who used his uniform to great advantage. You, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma amassed enormous wealth of no mean proportion including ownership of Guaranty Trust Bank, Several Oil Blocks valued at over $3Billion dollars USD as well as other onshore and offshore business interests just because you can. How much taxes you paid to the government to date is yet to be determined and all the recent mea culpa will not exculpate you from the anger of Nigerians particularly the Igbos for your heinous treachery on General Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi. His ghost and the ghost of the several million other Easterners who perished in the ensued civil war will forever hunt you until your demise and will be waiting to chaperon you to the gates of hell on your final breath.

The chronology of northern vice-like hold on power in Nigeria dates back to Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who ruled Nigeria between August 30th 1957 to January 15th 1966; to General Yakubu Gowon who ruled Nigeria from August 1st 1966 to July 29th 1975; to General Murtala Ramat Mohammed who ruled Nigeria between July 29th 1975 to February 13th 1976; to Alhaji Shehu Shagari who ruled Nigeria from October 1st 1979 to December 31st 1983; to General Muhammadu Buhari who ruled Nigeria from December 31st 1983 to August 1985; to General Ibrahim Babangida who ruled Nigeria from August 27th 1985 to August 26th 1993; to General Sani Abacha who ruled from November 17th 1993 to June 8th 1998; to General Abdulsalam Abubakar who ruled from June 9th 1998 to May 29th 1999 and to the present Umaru Yaradua whose governance commenced on May 2007 to God knows when. All these marauders are Northerners and yet this vampire, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma had the temerity to question Obasanjo’s government and the backwardness of the North? If this bunch of Mallams could not fix their north, who was the fanatic Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma expecting to so do for his north? Not me! Not Any Mgbatiman! Nor any Okoloman! And not anyone I know of!

This is what happens when a people are a product of a culture which encourages almajiris or believes that people are born with their destinies yoked on them and that they should not aspire to change it because to do so will be to challenge the gods. This is a culture which protested Miss World contest slated for Abuja Nigeria as unislamic? This is a culture that is perpetually at war with itself and the many other population residing within its’ territorial geography? This is a culture that pretends that they abhor alcohol yet partakes in the sharing of VAT (value added tax) realized from alcoholic beverages sales? How much effort does the north really make to gentrify their region or contribute to the polity called Nigeria in terms of GDP? If not for their dependence on government largesse who is sure the north stands a chance at survival within the Nigerian geography? There is always this much the government can do for an individual? This blogger has traveled extensively and hardly ever met a northerner in the Diaspora who is seriously struggling to over write or change his/her destiny as other tribes or regions except a very few. Most of the ones seldom ran into are either on a three or sometimes four tier government scholarships – ranging from their emirate/kingdom, local government area, state and federal government; hence their ability to live like prince or princess while abroad. Immediately soon after their graduation, they scurry back to Nigeria where plum position awaits their heralded return home. But the question remains, how many of them are really benefiting or excelling in this type of pampered programs? Further, one would ask, what is the manpower output of the north viz a viz the rest of the country including the ever restive Niger Delta. It pales in comparism. This blogger remembers very vividly, in 1983 at Birnin Kebbi Polytechnic when a Youth Corper teacher was instructed by a Dean of Faculty to simply grade to pass the students as opposed to real evaluation of their proficiency; and the same goes with other numerous institutions of higher learning in Northern Nigeria. The north cannot compete effectively with any other tribe or race in Nigeria and hence must always be treated like a spoilt child which their longevity in government has falsely bequeathed on them. Imagine Nigeria Law School being forcibly balkanized just because the North could not effectively compete therein and necessary accommodation must be made for them by granting them their own “Northern-Standard” Law School? Theophilus Danjuma possibly asked a rhetoric question indeed! Why is the north backward? It is self inflicted!

Who would invest in a culture where such investment is likely to go up in flames one Friday after mosque prayers because one newspaper printed a cartoon in far away Denmark? Before, this blogger used to think it that the North’s backwardness has something to do with their religion but a trip to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwaiti City, Riyadh, Jakarta, Teheran, Amman, Damascus and Istanbul shows that Islam is not counter development. These are all beautiful Islamic cities that are thriving both commercially and socially. Imagine as recent as the early eighties, the entire Sokoto State has fewer than fifteen indigenous medical doctors and based on such lopsidedness in manpower, it is possible that a town like Nnewi in Anambra State has more medical doctors than all Northern Nigeria put together. Any nation or people that live on handouts can only achieve very little and this is the answer to General Theophlious Yakubu Danjuma’s ten million dollar question. This adds impetus to the age long trite axiom, please teach me how to fish and stop giving me fish. It is about time the North stops stretching their hands for fish from Nigeria but instead ask to be taught how to catch fish just like the rest of the country All the agencies of state that produce jobs and money including Customs have been in perpetual and direct control of northerners and yet they are complaining; simply because the person they foist on Nigeria despite an outright Alexander Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme’s expectant victory at Jos PDP Convention in 1999, proved treacherous and reneged on agreements hitherto reached between them. Who is crying foul but the same group of northern pooh-bahs who have held Nigeria hostage through series of military interventions virtually since her independence from Britain in 1960?

That Yaradua is cancelling all that Obasanjo did while in office is not a mere coincidence as this blogger remembers very vividly the response Islamist Buhari gave to a reporters’ question about continuity of Obasanjo’s policies after the end of his government; to which he retorted that nothing precludes their being overruled and true to type, these mallams are carrying out their treat. It is about time enough really becomes enough as all this one step forward two steps backwards be stopped if Nigeria is to make any meaningful progress. Otherwise what stops the next government from revoking all contracts being entered into by the present Yaradua’s government? What also will discourage an investor or prospector from demanding payments ahead of performance if he cannot guarantee that the incoming government will honor a preexisting periodic performance contract/obligation? Yaradua should review some of these contracts with a view to renegotiating them where unreasonable terms were incorporated therein otherwise should respect them as the current blanket revocation is not healthy especially for an economy eager to attract and retain some serious investors worldwide. These contracts should be reviewed seriatim and where excessive, re-negotiated downwards with first option to exercise given to the primary contracting party who would then elect to proceed with the contract based on the new terms or opt out if impracticable or unprofitable for him/her.

The regrettable thing is that this “Saint Yaradua” seems to be selective with his nullifications which appear to be in accordance to the template handed over to him by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). Otherwise, what about the N16Billion naira contract allegedly awarded to the former Head of State Abdulsalam Abubakar? Why is nobody mentioning it; more so since Abubakar had collected mobilization fees of over 75% thereto without even breaking grounds for the contract! This makes one school of thought to posit that, possibly the money was a payment/earning for his yielding power to Obasanjo in 1999? Hopefully some day, a king who does not know Joseph will rise in that country to call for rendering of accounts otherwise nothing else will explain satisfactorily, the reckless indiscretion of the supposed leaders who had held that country hostage since independence. When one factors in that over $500Billion USD has been realized as revenue in that country since 1970 and juxtaposing it with the level of infrastructural development therein, then the obvious fat-cats stands out, glaring back at one. Look at these past usurpers of power and the amount of money they stashed away and the drunken-sailor reveler like manner in which they flaunt it sometimes with sheikh-like mansions, the likes of which the Bill Gates of this world could only dream of? Their qualifications – they were brazen enough to seize power and therefore eminently entitled to all the loots they can grab from a country where majority of the inhabitants rely on less than $120 per month income for sustenance and are sometimes too timid and too malnourished to really call and demand for honest stewardship; yet people wonder why all the war that elections in Nigeria has come to represent, when the answer is very obvious. Elected office in Nigeria means a License to Loot! Looting Unlimited! It is tantamount to a pack of hyena descending on a carcass of wildebeest somewhere in Serengeti National Park! It compares to a flock of vultures spotting some putrid offal somewhere in the plains of Africa! It makes Jackals feasting on a road-kill less covetous! It is a milk her dead syndrome! Who is going to out-loot the other is their mantra! It is so pathetic it cries to high heavens. It shall never be well with them that had caused Nigeria so much pain and suffering over the years since her independence in 1960; and like the man of God Pat Robertson once prayed concerning United States Supreme Court Justices, may God’s intervention be quick and swift! Until then, cry thy beloved country, so goes Alan Quarterman!

In conclusion therefore, Umaru Yaradua must be wary of these regional champions who use the cloak of Arewa Unlimited to line their purses otherwise the bloodhound Theophlius Yakubu Danjuma will not be questioning North’s backwardness after their 38 years stranglehold on power and counting; with near absolute control of the behemoth resources therein situated in Nigeria. Yaradua must exercise responsible leadership and must not allow himself to be goaded into discriminatory actions that will surely tarnish his legacy should he decide to hike on this regional path to nowhere. Each case must be weighed individually based on what makes sense in a business setting, understanding the nitty-gritty of contracts and the built in expected profit returns on invested capital and fluctuations of the market place. These Arewa Group must also understand that Yaradua is not only their president but the president of Nigeria and therefore they should allow him to do his work governing Nigeria and not just the Northern Nigeria.

So speaketh MENIRU@www.meniru.blogspot.com