Opinion
Pantami: Buhari’s terrorism-canceling in name of region and religion
On Christmas day in 2009, Nigeria’s Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, aged 23, having been born December 22, 1986, attempted to detonate plastic explosives that were hidden in his underwear. He had boarded a Northwest Airlines Flight 253 heading from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, with 289 passengers on board. Providence however rescued those souls as the explosives refused to explode, burning instead Abdulmutallab’s laps and genitalia. About three years after, on February 16, 2012, a United States federal court convicted him on eight counts bordering on his criminality. These included an attempt to unleash a weapon of mass destruction. Abdulmutallab got a term of sentencing for life and another 50 years without parole. Since then, he has been sequestered at the ADX Florence federal prison in Colorado, America.
I will return to this grisly narrative presently.
Whenever the west cites the 64 AD example of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning, Nigeria goes into historical kitty to flaunt hers. The fiddling Nero is a classical example of governmental neglect of duty and focus on frivolities. Or trivialities. Nigeria’s own Nero is the story of the first and only Prime Minister in the history of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. As Muhammadu Buhari sits cross-legged and picking his teeth in search of some interloping strands of meat, 57 years ago, Balewa did same. Separated by several kilometers in their places of ancestry, Balewa’s Bauchi several Sahelian deserts away from Buhari’s Daura, both leaders are however tragically united by their gross insouciance to raging matters of state. Nigeria is today literally being consumed by a ball of fire in form of ricochets of guns booming in virtually every state of the country. Buhari is however not aware. As Baal, god of the Sidonians, lapsed into bothersome silence, even as 450 of its prophets invoked its spirit on Mount Carmel, Buhari has slid into his characteristic sleep, dead to the tinder of fire that is burning Nigeria.
Backtrack to 1963 and 1964 Nigeria. The national census and the 1964 Federal Elections had thrown the country into a bedlam. This was garnished by blood flowing from the orgy of killings in the Western Region. Balewa however chose to little the acrimonious and vengeful spillage of blood. In June, 1964, as he toured Benin, just like Buhari’s hirelings placed the blame of the Nigerian conflagration on the media, Balewa too said he could not judge the intensity of lawlessness in the West on account of newspaper reports of the brigandage. Balewa was unworried and unconcerned about the slide. As he departed Nigeria for Accra to attend an OAU meeting in October, 1965 at the Ikeja airport, the Prime Minister cynically told a reporter who asked if he wasn’t bothered by the fire raging through the western region that, “Ikeja is part of the West and I cannot see any fire burning.” Exactly two and half months after that statement, specifically on January 15, 1966, that fire he couldn’t see consumed him in Nigeria’s first military coup which ended his life.
As it is, Isa Ali Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, is the fire burning Nigeria now that Buhari too cannot see. Or is pretending not to see. Though with his government’s overt pampering of violence, bandits and insurgents, no one in their right senses expected Buhari to do away with or prosecute Pantami over a truckload of allegations of his insurgency-baiting words in recent past, the way the presidency diffidently told Nigerians to go jump inside the river last Thursday was however benumbing. The cusp it hung its arguments was so baffling that you would wonder if we were indeed not in Balewa’s First Republic. In a release defending Pantami, Buhari, through his Senior Special Assistant, Garba Shehu, said that because Pantami “had been leading the charge against illegal data deductions and pricing… revolutionized government’s virtual public engagement to respond to COVID-19 and save(d) taxpayers’ money… established ICT start-up centres to boost youth entrepreneurship and create jobs… changed policy to ensure locally produced ICT content is used by ministries…(and) deregistered some 9.2 million SIMs – ending the ability for criminals and terrorists to flagrantly use mobile networks undetected,” therefore, allegations that he was hands-in-gloves with insurgency and authored views not different from Abubakar Shekau’s are immaterial. How I wish my late teacher, Prof Campell Shittu Momoh, were here to spank Shehu’s irreverent buttocks for that ill logic and assault on the god of symbolic and deductive logic.
Buhari then leapt into indefensible cants. In doing, this, he made claims that were either deliberately misleading or demonstrative of a government that hypocritically has two different value systems. The release canvassed that, since Pantami made the said violence-baiting words “in the early 2000s,” when “the minister was a man in his twenties” and “next year, he will be 50,” Nigerians should know that “time has passed” and he should not be made to answer for those words. That is decidedly an arithmetic of deceit.
If Pantami canvassed those extremist views in “the early 2000s” and “next year, he will be 50,” a la the presidency, then Pantami made the statements in his thirties in selfsame “the early 2000s.” In very unmistakable manner, that release must have convinced doubting Thomases who didn’t believe that in Buhari’s reckoning, no northern Moslem can do any wrong, in the name of region or religion.
In law, 18 years is the age of responsibility. At that age, a person is deemed to be old enough to carry the cross of his actions, inactions and deeds. But because the Buhari government is so grossly consumed by the hail of nepotism and justification of violence “in the name of region or religion,” Pantami had not crossed that consequential age of responsibility.
If you place Abdulmutallab – the lad whose painful story I narrated above – and his extremist views beside acidic views alleged to have been uttered by Pantami, they share same crimson colour, both united by extremism.
For instance, Abdulmutallab had said, “The Koran obliges every able Muslim to participate in jihad and fight in the way of Allah…I carried the device to avenge the killing of my Muslim brothers and sisters… ” He called the failed explosives laden to his underwear on that flight “blessed weapon” and claimed the motive for wanting to bomb 289 people in the flight as due to “the tyranny of the United States.” Flip to Pantami’s and tell me the difference in them.
What the Buhari justification of Pantami’s extremist views means is that if Abdulmutallab were to have been in Buhari’s Nigeria, his “blossoming youth” would not be “cancelled” as the US did of Abdulmutallab. All he needed to do, according to Buhari, through Shehu, was to promise “he will not repeat them” and “publicly and permanently condemn(ed) his earlier (action) as wrong” and he would be in the clear.
Buhari’s sense of justice is one of the weirdest in human history. While this sense of justice advocates rehabilitation for “repentant” insurgents, it leaves his victim to wallow in pains. It is this same skewed sense of justice which got Buhari to seek the 36 state governments’ lands and water belts for Fulani herdsmen involved in commercial pastoral venture while it is less bothered by the travails of Nigerian poultry farmers whose business is today in comatose due to governmental neglect, “in the name of region and religion.”
Today, terrorism is Nigeria’s major national challenge; of course, spurned by absence of leadership. There is no doubt that Nigeria is bleeding from all her major arteries.
The number of people who have been killed in the last six months should rival the casualty figures in any major war. Nowhere is safe. A couple of days ago, three children among kidnapped students of Greenfield University, Kaduna, were killed like chickens. Bandits are killing in scores in Zamfara. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, claimed that about 65,000 Nigerians were propelled to flee the country following an April 14 series of attacks by armed groups on Damasak, a town located in the north-eastern part of Borno State. Eight people were reported killed with many injured. Same UNHCR claimed that an upsurge of violence that has held the jugular of the Lake Chad Basin has so far uprooted 3.3 million Nigerians from their homes, a figure that includes about 300,000 Nigerian refugees and excludes about 2.2 million others who have been displaced in north-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. In the first quarter of last year, Global Rights Nigeria, an organization that keeps tabs on Nigeria’s cadaver harvest, said that at least 1,416 lives were lost to violence within that period. It is apparent that a quadruple more of that figure has since died. But for Buhari’s defence of region and religion, those people may still be alive today.
To say that Nigeria is a killing field is an understatement. The twin evils of audacity of spillage of blood in major parts of the northern part of Nigeria and the absence of government have lionized renegades in other parts of the country to unleash their terror on defenceless people. Violence has been effectively democratized in all the nooks and crannies of the country, with all the regions competing to outdo one another in the violence roulette.
Nigeria’s Southeast is not left in the orgy of violence. While IPOB inflicts its anger and fury on the Nigerian state, a state of fear grips our compatriots in that enclave. Unidentified anarchists set prisoners free, burn police stations and kill policemen, blinded from the fact that the victims are their own kin. On Thursday last week, the city of Enugu was a bedlam. The New Artisan area had been set on fire. Soldiers from the 2 Division of the Nigerian Army literally took over the Coal City. They strewn up the Otigba Junction Roundabout, even amidst an evening downpour. You would think that there was a coup. Again on Saturday, news came in that the country home of Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo State, had been set ablaze by suspected hoodlums. They reportedly threw petrol bombs into the house located in Oru East local government area of the state. Sorrows, tears and blood, apologies to Fela Anikulapo Kuti, are the regular trade mark in the Nigeria under Buhari.
While violence has become a recurring decimal in the globe, world leaders are taking steps to track and tame the incubus. Here in Nigeria, there are manifest feelings that the body language of the northern ruling elite, including that of the president, is in support of violence and agents of violence, in the name of region and religion. Right from the days of Goodluck Jonathan, there have been claims that the outlawry that has claimed thousands of lives of Nigerians is being given vent and funded with millions of dollars by powerful men in government who cover their outlawry in wide babanriga. Pantami is the first major identifiable link that Nigeria has had so far to that high-level allegation.
The whole world must be laughing itself silly on account of Nigeria’s Albert Camus absurdity under Buhari. How can a man with such toxic views, which he claimed to have reneged but with scant public evidence, be in charge of Nigeria’s sensitive data ministry:? Christians whose data are in the hands of such a man who advocated their killings in the name of God are as vulnerable as a man who rubbed gasoline on his body and standing beside the mai suya’s red hot iron gauze.
A man who, “in the early 2000s,” a la Buhari’s Shehu, who was then “in his twenties” but allegedly superintended over the killing of a final year student of a university, on allegation that he distributed Christian tracts; who openly expressed a voyeur attraction for Osama bin Laden’s bloodsucking evangelism; who allegedly had dalliance with terrorists and expressed extremist views, is not one you embrace and give a pat in the back, even when he claims he had repented of them. Or even if his brilliance took your country to the moon.
The biblical Saul example that is being hoisted by some felons here is Satanic and inappropriate. Repentance not only comes with genuine confession, sobriety and contriteness, the repentee (pardon my invention) is still not unaccountable to the repentor (again, pardon, please) which in this case is the Nigerian state, for the crime of his past, once he is within the radius of the age of crime liability. As exhibited in the sentencing of the policeman who killed America’s George Floyd last week, the arc of the universe is tilted towards justice. Nigeria’s shouldn’t tilt towards bloodshed and mindless justification of blood-baiting felons, in the name of region and religion.
Rather than come out with a blanket shawl covering Pantami, the first step of a government that is not allied to blood-letting should be to ask its minister accused of wearing an apparel soaked in blood of innocent people to step aside for thorough investigation. Many have said that, judging by alleged health challenge of the president which necessitates proxy governance of Nigeria, many of the governmental decisions attributed to him, including the Garba Shehu release on Pantami, Buhari is everything but aware of them. They might have been decisions taken by powerful proxies, Buhari having retreated into his inscrutable and inaccessible world.
There is no doubt that, as Garba Shehu argued, powerful conglomerates and persons might have escalated the Pantami riddle because his ministerial decisions took oily morsels from their throats. When such victimizers unleash a mob on their victims, only God can come to their rescue. However, Pantami is not denying many of these blood-dripping claims. The presidency may argue in favour of the timing of the hail of allegations against its anointed ministerial son but not its veracity, nor the age of responsibility for crime. It is not judicially empowered to so do.
By this wooly shawl spread round Pantami to cover the blood oozing out of his hands, Buhari is audaciously saying, 57 years after Balewa: “Ikeja is part of the West and I cannot see any fire burning.” Well, he will have his Pantami retained as minister. The carnage on innocent Nigerians will continue. History reveals however that when leaders like this think it is peace and safety, destruction sidles in at night like a fox. Blood is spiritual and shedding of its corpuscles is like water, it will find its course. Everyone who aids and abets it will be answerable to its burning fury. Blood devours like foxes do to chickens in their pen, leaving in its trail blood, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Two incidents happened during the 1994/95 NYSC service year, which I was part of in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, and they gave me profound culture shocks that I still remember till today. I would equally say that those incidents probably justified the Federal Government’s decision to float the scheme.
We were told that part of the reasons General Yakubu Gowon floated the NYSC was to ensure national integration, cohesion and exposure of young Nigerians to cultures of other parts of the country other than where they were born.
First was the shock of seeing a director that I was attached to in the then Government House, who had just taken a new wife, and sat among drivers, gate men and other junior staff to dine. I saw them seated round a huge iron pot of Koko, a local delicacy, exchanging one big spoon made of calabash, as each took turns to use the spoon to eat the delicacy. It was as if I was witnessing a scene where children of a big family were struggling to catch a portion of food or where people were eating Saara, as they say it in Yorubaland.
As I walked past the noisy crowd, I was transfixed seeing the newly-wedded director among the lot. He saw me standing still, as I couldn’t comprehend what he was doing there, and he got the message. ‘Taiyo, (as he used to call me) you won’t understand,’ he said as he waved to me to keep going. When we later saw, he explained that what he just did was a way of assuring the commoners that ‘we are all one,’ as they felicitated him on the new bride. But I could not fathom how the occupant of a ‘huge office’ as that of a director in a Government House , would sit among “commoners” on a tattered mat to share a single spoon and eat in public.
The other incident was quite pathetic. My friend, Tunde Omobuwa, was posted to a school in Yauri, in the southern part of the state, for his primary assignment. But he found the place boring on weekends. So, he arranged to always be with me on weekends.
One such weekend, we decided to take a stroll round the streets near the Government House. We took off from the place of my primary assignment, the Federal Information Centre; bought corn beside the office, and started ‘blowing’ the ‘mouth organ’ as we strolled. We were too engrossed in our gist and the sweetness of the corn to note that some young boys were trailing us, praying that some leftovers of the corn would drop for them to scavenge. Somehow, the two of us dropped the corn cob almost simultaneously. We were more than taken aback by a commotion that erupted at our back. Four eight or nine year-olds had descended on the supposed leftovers and broken the corn cobs into pieces. I was again transfixed as if one was hit by an electric shock. Remember that feeling when you play with electric fish?
I was moved to tears as I had never ever seen a group of children scavenging on nothing as it were. I beckoned to the kids and offered them N20, which was the highest denomination at the time, and with some smattering Hausa words told them to go buy their own corn from the same place we got ours. As they left, heading to the corn seller, I couldn’t erase that ugly sight from my mind. Was it really possible that some people scavenge on nothing this way? I was later to see incidents of children swarming around restaurants and pouncing on near empty plates.
These incidents told me clearly that the North was a different place and that the life of the boy child is not only risky and endangered but sold to stagnation and deprivation, unless you are one of the lucky few.
Having benefited from the free education policy of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) between 1979 and 1983, when the Second Republic was terminated, I knew that there is a lot the government can do in educating the children. In my secondary school days, I was the Library Prefect at one point, and so I saw an excess of books supplied by the government to our school. So, I was an example of the feasibility of free education. It was the same way the Action Group government had handled education in the years preceding Nigeria’s independence and the First Republic.
So why can’t the state governments in the North declare free and compulsory education for the young ones out there? Why should children be made to scavenge on empty corn cobs just to see if they can find pieces of seeds left over?
And why was my director giving drivers and gate men in the Government House false hope that they were all the same, instead of him to challenge them to seek to lift themselves up the social ladder?
I think there was no excuse for the North not to have adopted a free education policy, just as Chief Obafemi Awolowo did in the South-West. And if we say the North needs to look itself in the mirror, you again remember the efforts by President Goodluck Jonathan to educate the multitude of Northern children through the Almajiri Schools. That government built more than 400 of such schools, which were abandoned because it could upset the oligarchy. The oligarchs forgot the truism that the children of the poor they refuse to train today won’t let their children sleep peacefully.
But the governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum, appears to have got the message. Last week, I was thrilled to see him organise a summit to reform the Almajiri system.
The Almajiri education system is a traditional Islamic method of learning widely obtained across states in northern Nigeria. Through that system, which is tied to Islamic teaching, youths, especially boys are kept out of the formal western education system. I don’t know why the teachings by Islamic scholars cannot go alongside that of Western education as it obtains in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and other Islamic countries that are doing well economically and in the world of science, technology.
While addressing the summit, Zulum had mentioned the need to address the root causes of insecurity through the provision of education for citizens of Borno, adding that improper teaching of Islamic studies has contributed to the emergence of Boko Haram insurgents in the state.
According to him, to curtail whatever is the adverse effect of Almajiri education; the Borno State Government has established the Arabic and Sangaya Education Board to introduce a unified curriculum for Sangaya and Islamic schools. He said that the reform would include establishing Higher Islamic Colleges to cater for Almajiri children and blending the religious teachings with the secular curricula as well as skills.
He said: “The Sangaya Reform is a great development. It will give Almajiri a better chance in life, particularly the introduction of integrating western education, vocational, numeracy, and literacy skills into the centres, which are also described as Almajiri and Islamic schools.
“Distinguished guests and esteemed educationists, government’s intention was to streamline the informal and formal education systems to quality integrated Sangaya School for admission into colleges and universities.”
One would have thought that governors with radical postures like Nasir el-Rufai and others before him would have proposed this type of reform, but it is better late than never. Zulum should be supported to get something out of this.
Nigeria stands as a paradox, endowed with immense natural wealth yet grappling with staggering poverty levels among its populace. The country is blessed with an abundance of resources, including diverse agricultural products, vast oil reserves, and a burgeoning tourism and entertainment industry, all of which hold immense potential for national prosperity. Despite this richness, many Nigerians endure dire economic conditions, raising questions about the effective management and equitable distribution of wealth generated from these resources.
The agricultural sector in Nigeria is a significant contributor to both the economy and food security. With favourable climatic conditions and arable land, Nigeria has the potential to become an important player in global agriculture. However, inefficiencies in farming techniques, lack of access to modern equipment, inadequate infrastructure, and insecurity impede growth, leaving many farmers in subsistence conditions. By addressing these challenges, Nigeria could harness its agricultural wealth to reduce poverty and strengthen its economy.
Similarly, oil and gas remain at the forefront of Nigeria’s natural resources, providing a substantial share of government revenue. Unfortunately, the oil riches have also been a source of conflict and corruption, leading to environmental degradation and social unrest in oil-producing regions. Although the sector can foster economic growth, the mismanagement of resources has prevented the country from fully benefiting from its wealth. Furthermore, the fluctuating oil prices on the global market create vulnerability, emphasizing the need for economic diversification.
The entertainment industry, particularly Nollywood, represents another facet of Nigeria’s wealth. This sector showcases rich cultural heritage, offers employment opportunities, and generates income. Despite its success, it has not yet been leveraged to bring about far-reaching economic change across the country. Without addressing existing systemic challenges, Nigeria’s abundant resources might continue to dance precariously on the edge of opportunity, further complicating the narrative of its natural wealth.
Leadership Challenges and Political Corruption
Significant leadership issues and pervasive political corruption have plagued Nigeria’s history. Since gaining independence in 1960, the nation has witnessed a succession of leaders, many of whom have failed to prioritize the welfare of their citizens. Ineffective governance has not only hampered Nigeria’s growth but has also led to a persistent cycle of political instability. This crisis of leadership has contributed significantly to the erosion of public trust in governmental institutions, weakening the social fabric of the country.
The impact of political corruption is deeply entrenched in Nigeria’s socio-economic landscape. Corruption permeates various layers of governance, leading to the misallocation of resources intended for public welfare. Essential services such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure development suffer as funds are diverted for personal gain. The consequences of such malfeasance are evident in the rise of poverty rates, inadequate healthcare systems, and a significant lack of access to quality education. Consequently, these socio-economic challenges create a vicious cycle that further exacerbates the leadership crisis.
Historically, Nigeria has experienced a range of leadership styles, from military rule to civilian governments, yet the recurring theme remains the same: a failure to eradicate corrupt practices. Each new leadership regime often promises reform and better governance, but these assurances rarely translate into meaningful change. The lessons from past experiences underscore the importance of accountability and transparency in rebuilding trust between the government and the populace. As the nation grapples with its leadership crisis, the intersection of governance and corruption demands critical attention to chart a new course towards sustainable development and empowerment.
The Hardships Under the Current Administration
The current administration of Nigeria, under President Bola Tinubu, has ushered in an array of policies that have sparked significant public discourse due to their profound impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians. Notably, the removal of fuel subsidies has been a pivotal move that has reverberated through the economy, leading to steep increases in fuel prices. This sudden change has not only made transportation costs soar but has also led to a ripple effect, dramatically affecting the prices of basic goods and services. Citizens are now grappling with the daily realities of inflated living costs, often on already strained budgets.
Furthermore, the naira floating, aimed at addressing exchange rate discrepancies, has instead resulted in further devaluation. The naira’s instability has posed challenges for local businesses and individual consumers, making it increasingly difficult to afford essential products. This monetary policy highlights the delicate balancing act required in governance, reflecting the complexity of addressing economic issues while ensuring the welfare of the populace. Many Nigerians report feelings of uncertainty and anxiety regarding their financial futures, emphasizing a general sentiment of disillusionment with the direction of government policy under the Tinubu administration.
A Path Forward: Hope or Despair?
Nigeria’s current circumstances present a dichotomy of hope and despair. Despite the numerous challenges confronting the country, including political instability, economic hardships, and social unrest, there is a glimmer of hope that reform is possible through concerted efforts by the populace and leadership. As the country reaches a crossroads, systemic reforms have the potential to catalyze change. These reforms must prioritize institutional strengthening, increase transparency, and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Public participation is critical in this endeavour. Citizens must reclaim their agency by actively participating in democratic processes, advocating for accountability from their leaders, and demanding that their voices be heard. Civic education should be promoted to ensure that the electorate is informed and empowered to make decisions that affect their future. Furthermore, civil society organizations can play a pivotal role in mobilizing resources and providing platforms for dialogue, where citizens can articulate their needs and aspirations.
Accountability from leadership is another cornerstone for progress in Nigeria. As the people seek a path forward, leaders must prioritize the needs of their constituents over personal interests. Regular assessments of governmental performance, transparency in budgeting and spending, and anti-corruption measures can help to restore public trust. Leaders who demonstrate commitment to these principles may inspire hope and foster collective action aimed at the common good.
Ultimately, the question remains: Who holds the key to Nigeria’s promised future? The answer lies within the collaboration between the government and its citizens, whereby both parties work towards common objectives. The road to prosperity for Nigeria is not easy, but through systemic reforms, public engagement, and accountability, there exists an opportunity to transform hope into reality, steering the nation towards a brighter tomorrow.
Mimiola, an Award-Winning journalist, sent in this piece.
The Presidency addressed several issues last Wednesday as the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga picked the microphone to give perspectives to certain developments. One of the issues he addressed was the lingering feud between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refineries Limited.
Onanuga said that President Tinubu would not intervene in the feud because the two entities “operate independently in a deregulated market.”
According to Onanuga, the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) field has been deregulated, just as Dangote is a private company. The NNPCL is a limited liability company, he said. In the loaded statement, the presidential adviser was hinting Nigerians why the President cannot dabble into the huge but confusing feud between Dangote Refineries and NNPCL, over the pricing of petroleum products in the country.
The presidential adviser and Nigerians are not oblivious to the implications of his statement. First, a lot of hope had been invested in the Dangote Refineries by Nigerians, who had concluded that its coming on stream would yield them cheaper fuel and help end the perennial fuel scarcity that kept the pumps at the filling stations dry for most of the months. But as the refinery was about to fag off its full operations, officials of the refinery, the NNPC and its subsidiaries started singing some music with disparaging tunes. Accusations upon accusations were rampaging in the air, while some name calling and tagging were being spread openly and under the table. It became obvious that elements in the administration of President Tinubu were opposed to the operation of the local refinery. Such insinuations must have prompted the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote to speak out in some tones not easily attributable to him hitherto. He alleged that officials of the NNPC were running a blending plant in Malta, where fuel is imported into Nigeria. He equally offered to hand off the Lagos-based refinery if the government would buy him out.
As tension rose, between Dangote and NNPCL, the corporation was having the last laugh, as it chose the same time to unleash some violent strokes of koboko whips on the back of the Nigerian citizen. It galloped fuel prices at will and at the same time locked the products away from their reach. Queues got unwinding at filling stations and the agony was unending. The hunger and thirst for Dangote fuel grew, but the NNPC chose to remain the stumbling block. I guess that the cries of Nigerian citizens at one point got across the Aso Rock Villa, in Abuja and the presidency had to order a temporary ceasefire. NNPCL was directed to create avenues for the supply of crude oil to Dangote in Naira while the refinery too was to agree to a pricing model to be fashioned by the Federal Executive Council. Even at that, the two combatants have continued to throw jabs at each other, especially over what should constitute the exact price of Dangote petrol. While Dangote had claimed that fuel from its refineries would be far cheaper than imported ones, the NNPC had given a conflicting indication. The NNPC/Dangote tango has been a ding-dong and a topsy-turvy affair.
That was the situation as the October 1 date fixed for the start of crude supply to Dangote draws close. And Mr. Onanuga was speaking against that backdrop. If that stands, it would amount to classifying Tinubu in the mould of the biblical Pontius Pilate, as seen in the book of John 18:37-49 and 19:1-19. In that biblical encounter, leading to the final crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Jews had brought Jesus to Pilate’s court for an indictment that would enable them to crucify him. Pilate asked questions of Jesus and even though Jesus answered in the spirit, the judge was still able to conclude that he found no fault in Jesus. And that was despite the mounting pressure from the multitude of Jews, seeking to crucify Jesus.
As we read in John 19:6; “When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, Crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.”
I believe that President Tinubu should not throw Nigerians at the NNPC, like sheep to wolves. If the declaration of his office is allowed to stand, he would be doing otherwise. To play the Pilate in this needless NNPCL and Dangote feud, he would have endorsed all the punishment his compatriots are suffering at the hands of the NNPCL. He would have said, even though I found no merit in the push to whip the population, I leave you to crucify them’ That would tell us that the President is not only shirking his responsibility as the Minister of Petroleum but also his overriding power as the President and Commander-in-chief.
Much as the officials of the NNPCL and other subsidiaries owned by the Nigerian people want to play the master by believing that they are independent limited liability companies, we will be hiding behind one finger if we believe any inch of that claim. And besides, which limited liability company would not be accountable to its shareholders or the chairman of its board?
If we don’t want to use agidi to light a gas cylinder, we have to agree that the matter of fuel supply in Nigeria is a basic unmistakable assignment President Tinubu must handle for his employers-the Nigerian people. He must be in a position to find answers to the puzzles. Why is fuel supply such a pain in the neck under his administration so far? Why is the locally imported fuel threatening to get more expensive under the watch of the NNPC he supervises? And why is the same NNPC seeking to suffer headaches for another person? When will NNPC’s refineries come alive after the several deadlines?
President Tinubu needs to intervene decisively too, by helping his employers find solutions to the endless hike in fuel prices, and why citizens of other oil-producing countries derive benefits from oil while the Nigerian situation is perpetually in the negative. The Daily Trust on September 23, published a report by Global Petrol Prices, a platform that tracks petrol prices across various countries, which claimed that four countries in Africa sell fuel cheaper than Nigeria. They include Libya which sells at $0.032 (approximately N52/litre), Egypt ($0.279), Algeria($0.342) and Angola, another oil-producing country, at $0.351 per litre.
Besides the above, Tribune columnist and renowned writer, Professor Farook Kperogi quoted data by some oil industry experts who claimed that the landing cost of imported petrol in Nigeria should stand at N1,107 per litre and that several cost components are not inclusive of locally imported fuel.
According to him, when such cost components are removed, Dangote’s fuel should not sell higher than N518.35 per litre. Indeed, investigations have revealed that Dangote fuel costs far cheaper than the amount quoted by him and the NNPC. You could see the fire in the eyes of the spokesperson of Dangote when he refuted the claim that NNPC got fuel at N890 per litre from the refinery.
President Tinubu should not play the ostrich, he cannot afford to play the Pontius Pilate in this case, if he wants a reversal of the oil curse in his tenure.
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