Opinion
Is Soyinka, the god, unraveling?
Kongi, Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate, a deity before whom many Nigerians tether goats, sprinkle oil, pour libations and offer ekuru of appeasement, is going through ferment. It is a period comparable to that low moment which, the Yoruba say, when big misfortunes wrestle one down, smaller travails defecate into one’s mouth – Ti iya nla ba gbe’ni san’le, kekeke a ma g’ori eni. In an elegy to Adegoke Adelabu who died in a 1958 road crash, his NCNC political party bard, Ilorin, Kwara State-born Odolaye Aremu, narrated his sudden death and the emergence of voices of diatribes against this Oluyole petrel and the sorry fate that bedeviled him posthumously more brilliantly. Awon osa kekeke wa nsope Sango o ponmo’re – Smaller gods with less vibes and lesser grits, on account of his misfortune, now clamber on Sango, god of thunder, lord of the storms, commander of lightning. As they mocked him, they claimed that this god, feared at home and in villages, lacked the bravura of a god. This was the fate of Sango as he walked to Koso, where he was believed to have committed suicide.
Rather than enter into the anti-climax which Odolaye, the poet, went into by cursing these voices of dissent – Olohun o dajo, ile o yan’ka! – this piece will seek to study the Kongi’s unraveling.
Only puerile revisionists will fail to give Soyinka his rightful worth in the politico-historical development of Nigeria. He earned his badge as a General among crusaders for a just society. Aside being a playwright, novelist, poet and essayist, Soyinka became the first sub-Sahara African to be conferred a Nobel for his “wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence.” Like his cousins, the Ransom-Kutis of Abeokuta, Soyinka is weird, iconoclastic and a certified non-conformist. In the 1960s, Soyinka transited from being a man of the theatre and literature into taking active role in Nigeria’s political history. Indeed, he played a sizeable part in Nigeria’s campaign for independence from colonial rule, most of which was done through the vehicle of literature and the activism of the theatre.
In 1965, however, Soyinka sidestepped theory into praxis by seizing the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service studio, from where he broadcast a call for the cancellation of the Western Nigeria Regional Elections. He wasn’t done. Upon being discharged of this allegation in court, he followed this path. When it was becoming clear that the Nigerian civil war was looming, coming immediately after being conferred with the Chair of Drama at the University of Ibadan where he taught, Soyinka’s political activism became more noticeable. After the January 1966 coup, Soyinka surreptitiously and unofficially held a meeting with Odumegwu Ojukwu, who was the military governor of the Eastern State in Enugu in August, 1967, with a view to averting the war. The military government of Yakubu Gowon interpreted this to be an affront and set out dragnets to arrest the theatre teacher. At long last, the Gowon government got him arrested and locked him in solitary confinement for two years. The charge against him was that he volunteered as a non-government mediating actor between Odumegwu’s nascent Biafra and the Federal Government.
In all these and over the years, Soyinka had been something of a mascot among Nigerians, venerated with the sacredness of a deity. He was almost without blemish, even when those who knew him spoke of his sundry human frailties. For instance, Soyinka is reputed to have had multiple liaisons, marrying three times and getting divorced twice. From the three marriages, he begot eight children and had two other daughters. The first marriage was to late British writer, Barbara Dixon. The two of them had met and fell in love in the 1950s while Soyinka was teaching at the University of Leeds, with Barbara giving him his first son, Olaokun and his daughter, Morenike. In 1963, Soyinka got married again to the librarian, Olaide Idowu and had three daughters – Moremi, Iyetade (deceased), Peyibomi – and a second son, Ilemakin, from her. If you want to know the seismic nature of that marriage, read Soyinka’s memoir, about how Olaide dropped his child by the prison doorpost. In 1989, Soyinka married Folake Doherty, a far younger lady and from that marriage, three sons – Tunlewa, Bojode and Eniara – emerged. Soyinka is also an unapologetic connoisseur of wine.
His heroism notched up when in November, 1994 he fled Nigeria by its border with Benin, to the United States. The dictator, General Sani Abacha, had sought his flesh for barbecue. The playwright fled for his life. Perhaps, if he hadn’t, Abacha would have, like the Fourth Citizen retorted in Shakespearean Julius Caesar about Cinna the poet, had him torn into pieces for his “bad verses.” Soyinka then aligned with Nigerians of similar persuasions to form the anti-military coalition, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) which, unarguably, was one of the major planks that birthed democracy of the fourth republic that Nigeria currently enjoys. It was that association which got Soyinka yoked with some characters that many Nigerians see as having defanged the roar of Soyinka the lion. I will paint this canvas presently.
No one can be allowed to mis-plot the graph of Soyinka’s trajectory as a major voice of the voiceless in Nigeria. On several occasions, whether convenient or otherwise, Soyinka had looked autocracy and barbarism in their faces and spat on them. In 1986, when a small embankment separated him from death, Soyinka, John Pepper Clark and Chinua Achebe had paid a plea visit to General Ibrahim Babangida at the Lagos Dodan Barracks to plead with him to spare the life of General Mamman Vatsa, the highly scarified Bida, Niger State-born soldier who also doubled as a poet. Of that plea visit, Clark had written: “He (IBB) duly received us at Dodan Barracks the next day, and was his charming self and all attention. A difficult case, he told us. Some junior officers were the problem, but not to worry. He would take care of it. So we left, walked straight into the arms of the press, and on to a restaurant to toast and treat ourselves to a lunch we all thought we thoroughly deserved. We were still savouring our wine, when that same afternoon, General Domkat Bali, Chief of Defence Staff, came on air, announcing Vatsa and the other accused had already been executed. As a matter of fact, the execution did not take place until well into the night that day.”
Since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, while Soyinka has retained his respectability as a numero uno essayist and laureate, once issues verge on or his reaction is sought on matters that had to do with some of the people with whom he had dalliances with in exile, the Kongi had always fled into a romance with Janus. Being an old boy of Government College, Ibadan which he attended in 1954, mum was the word from him when a fellow NADECO fugitive, Bola Tinubu’s claimed attendance of his alma-mater became a contentious issue in 2000. The inaccessible bottomlessness of the relationship between Soyinka and Tinubu is a known issue in Nigeria. It is a no-go route for Soyinka. If at all he has to make a comment on it, the professor finds a way of obfuscating the issue with so inaccessible a grammar that it becomes a metaphysical dungeon. This has further led people into making allusions to how the Kongi engages in incestuous and adulterous relationship with the Ananias and Sapphiras of Nigerian politics.
For instance, Rotimi Amaechi, who confessed that Soyinka’s literature texts were almost like revered ancient parchment rolls from the gods to him while he was a student of the Rivers State University, invited the Kongi to a dinner. That wining and dining session later became a huge scandal. Upon Amaechi’s exit from government, the Rivers State Information Commissioner, Dr Austin Tam-George, claimed that the state government spent a whopping sum of N82million on the dinner, insinuating that the Nobel Laureate received part of the funds in cash. The Nyesom Wike government, through the commissioner, also alleged that, using the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Amaechi government amassed N1.1billion debt on frivolous expenditure. Tam-George said: “I will seek the permission of the Governor to formally write Professor Wole Soyinka, a known supporter of Amaechi, if he received part of the N82million spent on a 3-hour dinner hosted for him by the Amaechi administration.”
Unlike his wont, Soyinka has refused to scythe growing dissention to the presidential election that held in Nigeria in February. In a recent interview he granted the Channels Television, although like many Nigerians, the Nobel Laureate shelled the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed. In a later clarification of the interview, he had said, “I denounced the menacing utterances of a Vice-Presidential aspirant as unbecoming. It was a gladiatorial challenge directed at the judiciary and, by implication, the rest of the democratic polity.” To Peter Obi, he said: “It was depressing to watch his lieutenant, a crucially positioned voice of a movement that has ‘broken the mould’, threaten the totality of social existence. Whatever our ideological leaning, is Donald Trump the ideal template for a burgeoning democracy in the nation?” Calling Obi’s supporters fascists, he wrote, in a release he entitled “Media responsibility,’’ last Tuesday, that he had earlier warned the LP flag-bearer on “excesses” of his supporters, otherwise known as ‘Obidients’, stating that, “My rejection of fascism is nothing new. On three occasions, I was able to send a message to Peter Obi that if he lost the election, it would be his followers who lost it for him.”
Trust the group of Rottweilers nurtured to hyena menacing look on the social media, who take it upon themselves to tear every seeming adversarial comments against Peter Obi to shreds, they did not disappoint. They also take on purveyors of such messages. This army fell on the Kongi’s flesh and tore it mercilessly. Those are a bunch of children whose minds are impervious to Nigeria’s history and are dead to the gallantry of our heroes past. The Kongi thereafter became the butt of jokes on the social media, defoliated of the heroics which he carefully cultivated in decades. This army was at its diapers when Soyinka was picking these roses.
The unruly crew on the social media was not alone. It was also an opportunity for those who had put up with the off-putting hypocrisy of Soyinka’s blind eyes to the Bourdillon Overlord’s excesses. It was time to strip the Nobel Laureate of all the noble epithets he had earlier been shawled with. The Kongi then began to receive the back of the tongues of Nigerians. Many believe that, in this latest intervention of his, he was obviously on an amicus-curiae assignment for those who fear that if not tamed, the rumpus of growing global disaffection with what was termed the electoral heist of February 25 may rally global disdain against the election. It is feared that this may remove the rug of legitimacy off the Bourdillon Overlord’s “President-Elect” status. Soyinka, they believe, is on assignment, like the DSS and some other funny characters who are seeking victimhood for the President-Elect. One Ekenedirichukwu said: “Prof Soyinka has refused to answer every question AriseTV asked him. He is such a hypocrite. He is yet to say what Datti Ahmed said that’s wrong or inciting. You are okay with Sowore #Revolutionnow but you have problem with Datti asking for constitution to be followed.” Many of them asked him what the difference was between the gun he pointed at a Newscaster in 1965 and the verbal entreaty of Datti Ahmed.
Nigerian literary giant, Chimamanda Adichie, also wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden, published by the US-based The Atlantic newspaper, entitled Nigeria’s Hollow Democracy. In the piece, Adichie interrogated how Americans congratulate the winner of Nigeria’s February election. She quarreled with American establishment bending over backwards to fawn Tinubu, in the face of the quaint taint of electoral heist that catapulted him into reckoning. “American intelligence surely cannot be so inept. A little homework and they would know what is manifestly obvious to me and so many others: The process was imperiled not by technical shortcomings but by deliberate manipulation,” she said. Son of Late Justice Chukwudi Oputa, Charly Boy, also wondered how Soyinka had become “boy-boy” of tainted politicians.
One of the voices expressing worry at perceived slump of the Soyinka mystique is that of highly respected columnist and social media commentator, Kayode Samuel. He had written: “The Nobel Prize does not confer deity on any of its recipients. If a Nobel Laureate is inconsistent or speaks out of turn, he deserves to be called out. It cannot be an accident that the prime beneficiary of the electoral heist that triggered Datti Ahmed’s outburst happens to be Professor Wole Soyinka’s friend and, some say, benefactor. Let’s leave our worship of any being solely for the Supreme Being, please!”
In another vein, he wrote: “Professor Wole Soyinka, our revered Nobel Laureate attended Government College Ibadan. So did I. A generation separates our days in that great school. But the ideals imparted within its hallowed walls are eternal, crossing all generations. Two lines from our School Song are relevant for the debate now raging over Soyinka’s new politics. The second line of the first stanza says, ‘By order, justice and fair play ruled.’ And the third line of the second stanza goes, ‘By our examples and not by precept.’ Professor Soyinka needs to ask himself some probing questions as to how true he has been to these words. Has he remained on the side of justice and fair play in his recent interventions? And has he shown good example, rather than seeking anchor in empty precepts? My hunch is that his troubles started and that he set himself up for the current uproar the day he chose to align with people who lied about having attended GCI. He needs to retrace his steps back to the more ennobling company of his youth, that exemplif(ies) the ideals imparted to all authentic GCI old boys…”
But not one to shy away from calling a mongrel by its name, the Kongi struck all those who said his Sango lacks the bravura of a god. That reply was however a potpourri of ad-hominem arguments, disparaging the commentators and neglecting to reply to their seemingly water-tight arguments. Among others, he said what was being sired was “a climate of fear” and “the refusal to entertain corrective criticism, even differing perspectives of the same position (which) has become a badge of honour and certificate of commitment. What is at stake, ultimately is – Truth, and at a most elementary level of social regulation: when you are party to a conflict, you do not attempt to intimidate the arbiter, attempt to dictate the outcome, or impugn, without credible cause, his or her neutrality even before hearing has commenced.” He called the Obidents so many unprintable names.
If the truth must be told, though Soyinka, like many other Nigerians, must be shocked at the bewildering irascibility of the Obidient gang on the social media, the Nobel Laureate’s oft decision to lap up every trickle of spittle from Bourdillon is worrisome. Just as Kayode Samuel said, the Kongi is not being called out for taking an unpopular stand. He is being repelled because people know that each time the matter had Bourdillon’s imprimatur as this, his voice is always that of Jacob and the hand, Esau’s. Age and experience should have taught the Kongi, as Yoruba elders counsel, that it is not every forested jungle that the itinerant herbal forager plucks; nor is it every palm tree that the palm-wine tapper taps – gbogbo ewe ko ni ojawe nja; gbogbo ope ko ni onigba ngun. There are some poisonous leaves that are forbidden from being plucked and some palm-trees are havens of lethal vipers. If anyone ignores this time-worn aphorism, they sink into oblivion.
Dr. Adedayo, a journalist, lawyer and columnist writes from Ibadan
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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