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IMPORTED NIGERIA

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A BRING BACK THE BOOK INITIATIVE OF BYEACE RESEARCH FBDC TO END THE INCENDIARY OF POVERTY & CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

5/10/2016

A BRING BACK THE BOOK INITIATIVE OF BYEACE RESEARCH FBDC TO END THE INCENDIARY OF POVERTY AND CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA | CREATESPACE

NEW GOLD COIN

NAIRA WON’T RISE AGAIN

Francis Isugu

Don’t Pay With Naira, Neither GBP, EUR, USD, NZD, AUD, CAD, CHF nor JPY; Instead, Only Pay with JLC G4 (THE NEW GOLD COIN)

Copyright © 2014 by Francis Bestman Isugu.

ISBN-13: 978-1497446557 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

 

Rev. date: 11/02/2015

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Prologue

Nigeria’s Last Project of Glory

Give us Gold Coins. We once had coins of kobo and Naira like cents and dollar or shillings and pound; where have they vanished to now?

We knew our coin had value because they were backed with precious stones of gold, silver and bronze, how did we let them go.

Our notes are mere papers now, because they actually mean nothing in foreign exchange. There is no inflation yet interest rates are high, because our currency has been devalued and investors can’t hold them.

Values can’t be stored in Naira as they are for Naira Won’t Rise Again. So, we must find an alternative to store our values and that alternative we know can’t come from the government.

We shall thus give ourselves the alternative we need, and our alternative store of value in Nigeria is the New Gold Coin.

We are the people, Naira was our currency, but that was then when it had value, now that it no longer has any value, we can’t store our value in Naira, hence we shall demand an alternative, Give Us Gold Coins.

We shall take it as our Last Project of Nigeria’s Glory and we are its stakeholders. We demand a new Nigerian project, and project that will restore the glory of Nigeria, for this is the last phase of Nigeria’s glory.

But our government isn’t reliable, so we shall instate a new government and that is the government that shall give us New Gold coins. Our Central Bank is a mess, our economy has fallen, Naira Won’t Rise Again, so we vote for JLC G4, as our New Gold Coin.

If the government, the central bank and our law makers can’t help us revive our economy, we shall revive our economy ourselves, and we shall do it our own way.

Are we not the people who the money is meant for? We are the people who spend the money, we use the money, we run the economy, because we produce what’s in the market, we distribute them in the market and we consume them in our homes.

So, we run the economy yet the government makes life difficult for us. It’s because we have kept quiet all along, so they took us for dummies. Now we don’t just want to talk, we don’t want to demand for our right. We don’t want to protest. We don’t want to be rebels.

However, we shall steer a new revolution with our power as the people who run the economy. We shall do this by giving ourselves our New Gold Coin. We shall no longer spend the money of the government, which has no value for us to store our values with it.

We shall no more pay with the government’s money. We won’t pay with Naira, neither shall we pay with GBP (British Pounds), EUR (EURO), USD (US Dollars), NZD (NewZealand Dollar), CAD (Canadian Dollar), AUD (Australian Dollar), CAD (Canadian Dollar), nor JPY (Japanese Yen), or any other foreign currency that is controlled by the government.

We shall make the government powerless with our New Gold Coin. Money is Power, so we shall make our New Gold Coin our own money, the money of the people, and we shall spend it among ourselves everywhere we go all over the world. And let’s see what will become of the government’s money, even if they rebrand it.

We’ve got back our power, without going to war. We have got our own government, we won’t reboot an old but build a new economy.

We Don't Need another Imported Nigeria

During colonialism, “Nigeria” became the imported name which an imported government from England chose for us; our governors were imported from GBR, as our constitution. We still live in an imported Nigeria, imported from colonialism to neocolonialism.

In neocolonialism, not only are our expatriates and policies imported but even the food and wine that sustain Nigerians are imported. A clear picture is how a pot of rice is imported: the rice in the pot, the spices for making stew as well as the pot itself are all imported.

But that’s not all; the fire burning under the pot is imported, because the kerosene; matches and stove or gas cooker, for heating the pot are imported, sometimes woods are imported – toothpick, though we have timbers virtually everywhere. What an embarrassment!

How is it that this imported Nigeria has survived for a century? Corruption is the only explanation for it all! Until corruption is fought to the finish, importation will remain a parasite hosted by corruption breeding poverty in Nigeria.

Once upon a time, there came to be GEJ's administration before GMB's takeover. The former initiated a transformation agenda and the latter took over the battle to stamp out corruption and we hoped the latter succeeded to eradicate poverty in Nigeria.

Once corruption is stamped out, then we will no longer have an imported Nigeria, it means poverty will be eradicated once importation ends in Nigeria.

For eradication of poverty, Nigerians need an opportunity to develop their capacity to fit into manning various aspects of production and be the primary source of human capital to drive the wheels of the nation’s industries, to end the era of importation of expatriates.

Industries should be developed to boost productivity in all sectors of Nigeria’s economy to see that Nigerians produce what’s consumed and have excess to share with other neighboring nations.

We can change from dependence on importation in Nigeria, if we learn to work hard to produce what we consume. Our local contents should be developed, and local products should replace foreign ones. With zero tolerance for corruption, a new Nigeria is set to prosper.

Contents

i.Prologue

ii.Contents

iii. Dedication

iv.Acknowledgment

v.Preface

vi.Why this work is written

vii.Foreword

viii.Abstract.

ix.General Introduction

Part One

0.1.The Strategic Fight Against Corruption

0.2.Nigeria's Greenland of Golden Eagles

0.3.Nigeria's Sustainable Economic Development beyond 2014

0.4.Today’s Problems Begging for Solutions in Nigeria

1.0The First Essential for Progress in Nigeria

1.1Nigeria on Transition

1.2Nigeria: A Sparrow clutched by cobwebs

1.3Is Nigeria Accelerating Progressively after Independence?

1.4The Impediments to Nigeria's Progress Today

1.5The way out to realizing progress in Nigeria

1.6An Impartial Assessment of President Jonathan's Government

1.7Nigeria's Progress After confab

Part Two

2.0The Second Essential for Peace in Nigeria

2.1Boko Haram A Menace to Peace in Nigeria

2.2How to Deal with Insurgency in Nigeria: Who is the Target?

2.3How to Defeat Boko Haram in Battle

2.4Important Issues about Curbing Terrorism in Nigeria

2.5How to sanction terrorism in Nigeria

2.6How to Bring Boko Haram to Justice

2.7Why the Re-branded Nigerian Project Should Be Highlighted

Part Three

3.0The Third Essential for Unity in Nigeria

Chapter one

1.0 An overview of the project

1.1 The Re-branded Project for Unity

1.2 Familial National Transcultural Confluence

1.3 Nigeria: A Family in need of unity

1.4 National Confluence for unity

Chapter two

2.0 Nigerians: Members of one united Family

Chapter three

3.0Crises and Challenges in Nigeria as a Family

3.1 Stagnancy due to laxity

3.2 Suffocation due to collective passivity

3.3 Provocation due to intolerance and hostility

3.4Disintegration due to commotion over accommodation

Chapter four

4.0Distempers of integration in Nigeria

"Why a deviation from the inclusive nucleus of the familial structure of Nigeria is a curse not a blessing?"

Chapter five

5.0 An attempt at resolving familial abrasion in Nigeria

Chapter six

6.0 Issues of Concern on Nigeria's Nationhood

Chapter seven

7.0 Nigeria's Present Social Status

Chapter eight

8.0 Public Affairs of Nigeria as a family

8.1 Limitations of the Nation: A Blessing or Curse?

8.2 Sufferings in Nigeria: A Blessing or Curse?

Chapter Nine

9.0 Any Hope for the Future and Nigeria's Unity?

9.1 Relevance of Confab: Come and gone

Chapter ten

10.0 Critical Evaluation, Important Recommendations and Valid Conclusion

10.1 Critical Evaluation

10.2 Important Recommendations

10.3 Valid Conclusion

Resources

Dedication

I dedicate this work to my Late Mother -- Mrs. Agnes U.G. Isugu, whose zero-tolerance for misconduct impressed in my mind the passion for defending the right and speaking the truth now interpolated in my zero-tolerance for corruption.

May her amiable soul rest in peace, Amen!

Dedicating this book also to my Late Dad – Esq. Friday B. Isugu, I would state at once that I do not write this book with any glee of enthusiasm but in sadness, not because my education was interrupted by the sudden death of my dad two years after my mum’s death, when I started researching for this work, but because I am really not learned enough to be writing this work at this time.

If only I had been more learned than I am at the time of this writing, at 27, I would have been happy to write it better than I write now. But I accept my misfortune in agreement with Ben Gbulie, whose opening words about fate, in Part I, “Case, Cause and Consequence” of his book “Nigeria’s Five Majors,” sank a personal meaning of fate into my heart, as fate has made me write this way.

So I will love my work to summon up the immortal words of Ben Gbulie on fate saying, “There can be no armour against fate. This I know for sure, especially with the advantage of hindsight. Fate, to my mind, curtails every person’s liberty to act or do as he pleases. It cuts every human being down to size, peasant and patrician alike; and reduces everyone almost to the status of a bar magnet in a field of iron filings. There is therefore no shaking off any situation, or even changing the course of any event, once fate has ordained it.”

I am thus made certain that fate has left me right upon where I can base my present literary strides. And so, anyone may accept this discourse at the level it is because I didn’t learn more than I could express, yet I have truly put my best into it, before seeking rest.

Acknowledgement

I appreciate God for filling me with inspiration and courage to write this work and for sustaining my health at the critical points of researching and retreating from the public to write this book that has become an enormous decidedly analytical political discourse.

My sincere gratitude of a special kind goes to my friend, colleague and brother, Mpigi, Peter-Mary who provided me the all important learning facility of his personal library; where I did my research in Port Harcourt. His company was heart-felt and really kind and I wish there was just another person who acted like him towards me in my most critical moment of need.

Few other persons played noteworthy roles in keeping me fed and happy, especially the family of Mr. & Mrs. Udourioh Godwin who celebrated my 27th Birthday for me, 2 days after I had given up on the thought of keeping it memorable. That singular act of love expressed in a very familial way meant much to me during which time I started updating this dialogue to be what it has become now.

I also acknowledge one of my outstanding friends, Barrister Kariebi George, who helped to shape and give right direction to this work at its threshold. He offered meaningful technical and quality content advice at the onset of this project's initial title selection. Even though the title was later changed, I still remember how much his suggestions meant to me spurring my interest in research and writing the first content of this critical discourse.

My friends are few, so I can call them all by the name, because they provided the company I needed most times; when I would have been lonely without their company during the two years it took me to research and write the content of this book.

They are Mr & Mrs. Innocent Onyeka with whom I had special dinner treats monthly. I also ate and studied with Rev. Fr. Baakel, Anthony, who gave me protection during the first phase of this work as well as during the last phase of it, though he was unaware of the latter.

Rev. Fr. Nwiemadee, Ignatius played a role also; at the time I retreated from the public, for studies, to dispose me for writing the middle part of this work. And, Rev. Fr. Dumale, John was kind to give me comfort; which boosted my morale for further research also.

I reserve other names of my family and friends in my heart. Lastly, my siblings and colleagues are all acknowledged, sincerely.

Preface

“A Great Nation”

Two posts from the Guardian Nigeria on BBM caught my attention when rereading this work and I thought it would be necessary to begin this preface with it.

The first headline read “Nigeria, Afghanistan ‘most corrupt countries,’ says Cameron” and the body read: “In spite of President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption in Nigeria, British Prime Minister David Cameron has tagged the country and Afghanistan “possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world.”(Posted, May 10, 2016: 4:35PM)

The second headline read “Government trains 800 repentant Boko Haram members in vocational skills” and the body read: “Over 800 members of the Boko Haram terrorist group are currently undergoing vocational training under the supervision of the office of the chief of Defense Staff, Lt. General Gabriel Olonishakin.” (Posted, May 10, 2016; 6:45PM)

These two articles of news have direct bearing on the critical nature of this discourse, so I could hardly overlook them, and I am sure you would be trying to imagine what would be on my mind about them, but that would be kept for the later part of this discourse, not in this preface, so that you don’t start being biased about me and my critical views, but keep the above two BBM posts at heart, as we shall discuss them later in this work. For now, I will present my sincere appraisal of Nigeria as a Great Nation.

One of the most fascinating places on planet earth is Nigeria, also one of the most catawamptious socio-political enclaves, a favorable naturally endowed terrain for all types of economic activities taking place on earth. Its habited landmass is populated by the most fascinating multiethnic black people on earth. They are a people that cannot be kibbled if dribbled by harsh conditions of life.

In other words, Nigerians are a resilient people who, despite their socio-political, socio-economic, socio-religious and socio-cultural disabilities, would stay always strong, rather than weak, fighting to survive every day; they do not give up in life. They thrive on the basis of their belief in independent cooperative struggles for survival.

This is ensuing from the challenge of the deleterious social impact of colonialism and neocolonialism; which, as a menace to national growth, created the brunt of weakness akin to generational degeneration of the people, garnered with their potentialities for independence and excellence in autonomy.

Other imminent negative trends and looming social upheavals today will not scare Nigerians again, in fact, because they always meander through slippery poverty, introduced by exploitations and corruption, and will continue to be resilient against social turbulence, seeking alternatives to enhance their lives independently.

It is really amazing how Nigerians define their path for survival. They engage in things which may make others describe them as peripatetic or nomadic primitives. The instantiation is well situated in the ambient of more than a few of those sales hawkers on the streets and main roads.

They are typical of nomads when seen selling what they depend on for survival, yet nomads are not mad or insane and still may be considered to be abnormal in behavior because they are nomads.

Nonetheless, at least they survive, and the name given them does not kill them. The important thing is that they survive without indulging in criminal activities. I mean armless hawking is better than armed robbery and deleterious terrorism.

Their conditions of living are below the poverty margin. This is an indication of dehumanization, such that, empathetically, one would begin to imagine how they are able to survive with less thanN197.00k, the equivalent of $1.00 a day. No need for statistics.

The average Nigerian cannot earn this much a day because poverty could have been eradicated, if only employment and job creation had not continued to remain a mirage.

The picture is clearly callous. People sell water in small sachets, hawking its bags on their head, standing between fast and furious cars, selling to drivers between two traffic light flashes of red and green, when to race on the arterial highway to pick their money.

They live on the boulevard, can’t afford safe haven for themselves but have still not given up their great efforts to live below their means in spite of the great difficulty of hustling like rats.

They may appear peripatetic as such, yet it can’t be denied that it is not by choice of their conditions but by conditioning of their choices that they are compelled to seek these alternatives, for enhancing their lives, not for constituting aesthetic nuisance on the streets. So they must not despair, and, interestingly, they do not give-up.

The popular slogan for an average Nigerian, struggling to survive helplessly, is “Man must wark.” Translate this colloquial word ‘wark’ into English and it becomes immediately explicit how much Nigerians must struggle under rain or shine because there is no food set on the table. They must find their means to survive by themselves through any means, if those means are not criminal.

The average Nigerian workers labor under sad dehumanizing conditions and for insufficient earnings, just in order to eat to survive. It is among this same people that the slogan “A hungry man is an angry man” finds the most colorful expression.

In spite of this, you still find Nigerians remaining cheerful, looking hale and hearty, and moving up and down to ensure they meet up the demands of their survival instincts, hence matching against the tornados and maelstrom of their jaunting condition of abject poverty and sheer misery.

Notwithstanding, Nigerians could be allegorically delineated as typically “a people walking on hungry flames,” with burning feet, wet in molten flames yet never admitting defeat in the heat, because they look out for a feat in actually sustaining their feet on the heat of the flames, until it will burnout, eating their feet as they hurt in the heat, but still surviving the teeth of the hungry tongues of fiery heat.

How did they survive? The answer is this, with resort to patience; which is the first fruit of resilience, Nigerians are surviving all odds against their existence to become the most resilient people. You can’t find a parallel for them anywhere else, this is reveling.

The foregoing anecdote does not deny that ‘Nigerians are the great Giants of Africa. ‘On the contrary, it educes the truth of the uniqueness of Nigerians in being the most outstanding longsuffering West African people.

Having done my appraisal, there are more to this discourse than can be printed in a single article, so continue to the next article.

Why this work is written

A CLarion call to

“nigerians in diaspora”

Dissect Nigeria’s 37 member parts, and all you will find, in all parts of this great nation, are potentials which convert immediately into chewy cake-bits and pieces of hope for the country and for all Nigerians. This hope will be fruitfully rewarding if all these potentials are harnessed.

Why should anyone remain blindfolded by pessimism and so fail to see the patches, pockets and buckets of hope-filled potentials, in all the parts of dissected Nigeria, for the government and all Nigerians to harness? Why can’t Nigerians appreciate the value of their patrimonial natural endowments of resources in this wealthy Nigerian sub-continental territory of West Africa?

Nigeria is open for explorations. And the resources are subject to exploitation. As a confirmation of the rich natural endowment of this country, Nigeria is one of the world’s largest crude oil producers. It occupies the 10th place among the largest producers of crude oil and the 6th place among the largest exporters of crude oil, being a member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).

Sadly Nigerians have not always been doing the exploration with Nigeria’s local content, despite having the population capacity for it, hence, they have failed to prove to the world that they too can be or are also good local explorers and researchers, scientists and technologists, innovators or inventors, analysts and investors.

More sadly, also, Nigerians still allow their credibility to be stolen by the western world, when the parallel minds from this block of enlightenment are depended upon for information and insight about the international market value of her natural mineral wealth and crude / hydrocarbon resource plus human capital endowments.

Consider the anomaly in the situation where Nigeria, as the largest crude oil exporter in Africa, continues to import refined petroleum products; with more than fifty years of experience in crude oil extraction taking place in Nigeria.

Why have Nigerians had to ignominiously stay idle, waiting for foreigners to come and discover their potentials for them?

Should Nigerian’s always let themselves be robbed of their wealth before they become aware of the value of the resources and crude wealth under their feet? Is it difficult to harness the immense value of gas flaring and oil spilling to pollute Nigeria’s ecosystem?

Why aren’t petrochemicals developing Nigeria; considering all the industrial products from the oil & gas resources industrially wasted in Nigeria’s crude export? Leadership irresponsibility and unwillingness to rise to the challenge of personal responsibility have remained at the core of the Nigerian problem of underdevelopment and poverty.

Petrochemicals would have been enough to industrialize every Nigerian state, if Nigerians were willing to shun corrupt practices in public offices, to create job by working to develop all the petrochemical value chains in Nigeria and shun exporting raw potentials for economic development as the 6th largest crude oil exporting country, being an OPEC member, negatively, shamelessly importing all crude’s byproducts from other nations that have developed their value chain with Nigeria’s exported crude resources.

Many things aren’t right about the orientation of Nigerian’s towards wealth creation in the 21st century. To do things that are right for Nigeria’s sustainable development, all Nigerians must play an active stakeholders’ role in developing the value chain of Nigeria’s mineral and agricultural resources, to industrialize Nigeria, create jobs that will supply and distribute the economic benefits of all Nigeria’s natural resources to Nigerians and overflow to other Africans looking towards Nigeria for their economic liberation.

With local development of the value chain of all Nigeria’s natural resources including petrochemicals, Nigeria should be economically independent with local jobs and economic products sufficient for all Nigerians, and make Nigeria as attractive as Germany in terms of infrastructural development, attracting foreign investment to make Nigeria prosperous as a 21st century first class economy, not what she still is today. This is not where she should be.

From the beginning of the first quarter of 2016, Nigeria’s economic weakness is exposed, as crude price drops and with it falls the value of the Naira currency, while fuel scarcity remains the scar on the nation with abundant crude oil and four crippled refineries.

The obvious economic nightmare shocked all Nigerians and the Buhari led administration was challenged to resolve the crises through economic diversification for Nigeria. It’s never too late to rise after a fall, so Nigeria will rise again after its fall! The nation fell so shamefully, but with all hands on deck, the fall wasn’t its last.

Why is it that abundance of resources hide in every nook and cranny of all the states of Nigeria, yet gullible Nigerians are not only not aware of this but also lack insight on how to take full advantage of them, even as geologists & mineralogists expose them? Yet FG says, “No alternative to deregulations.” (Vanguardngr.com News May 16, 2016 1:46 PM).

The highest ignominy is with the Numerous Nigerians blindly disappearing from home; whereas Nigeria remains where their potentials could’ve been easily harnessed, but only if they were earlier recognized, they take flight to the more developed parts of the world, to reside, study and work in other countries of the West, whereas they have the needed enlightenment and exposure to stay or bring back home to develop and lead their Nigerian patrimony. And this is not without consequences on the economy of Nigeria.

Nigerians in Diaspora are like imported slaves working to enrich their foreign taskmasters. They work to fill the pockets of those foreign economies with unstopping cash flow, and, by and large, in doing so, they are helping to build up other economies with Nigeria’s wealth of enslaved/exported human capital, while the Nigerian economy continues to collapse due to lack of expatriates to man Nigeria’s incapacitated and undervalued industries.

It is really sad that; while Nigerians were, have been and are still massively running away from home, foreigners were, have been and are still thronging massively into Nigeria.

Today, IOCs have been established in Nigeria — “home-sweet-home”; while for Nigerians in Diaspora it is a ‘polluted home’ wherefrom they have scurried in a hurry to find greener pastures, going far from Nigeria to find a home away from home, Twinkie!

Foreigners came to discover Nigeria’s green and oil wealth, most now carted away in badges of oil, amassing and appropriating Nigeria’s wealth to their nations. Are they the only ones who have got eyes to see Nigeria as a wealthy nation? Where are your eyes? If Nigeria is such a Greenfield for foreigners, why don’t you see it as such? Nigerians in Diaspora are doing well but what about Nigeria?

Foreword

Unity, Peace and Progress are three essentials for the Nigerian project to stand erect and not suffer a sudden collapse.

In the present day Nigeria, these essentials are nearing a situation of absolute dearth, as a serious matter of fact, there is an alarming rate of unpublicized migration going on every year; since the year of the Nigeria Civil War, and the statistics are disheartening.

Nigerians need to stay together to grow together. But migration has continued to threaten this essential of unity, as indirect migration has become the order of the day. More and more Nigerians now migrate in the name of going for studies abroad; from seeking students’ visa they seek residence permit, then from residence permit to working permit, and from working permit to citizenship transfer.

In every 20 years Nigeria permanently loses 2 percent of its citizens via indirect migration that began from traveling to study abroad and ended at citizenship transfer or immigration in mostly US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands. That represents a great loss to the nation’s human capital.

Looming sociopolitical, socio-cultural and socio-religious crises have done more harm to Nigeria’s economic growth, on the one hand, and to national unity on the other.

Through the violent maelstrom of ethnic clashes, religious war and political protests, security challenges continue to ensnare the nation and robbing its citizens of peaceful coexistence – an excuse for people directly migrating from Nigeria and a reason for foreign investors withdrawing their contracts and projects from Nigeria.

Nigeria is much in need of Peace as the unity of Nigerians is at stake without peace. Insecurity is a major challenge. The current activities of terrorist groups in Nigeria remain the crucial challenge to security that the nation is struggling to deal with. We shall discuss on ways of dealing with this challenge later in this discourse.

Progress is the next in line of the socio-economic triad that if guaranteed will make Nigeria one of the most prosperous economies of the world. But corruption has caused many economic crises in Nigeria and as such has limited the progress of Nigeria.

Budgetary allocations continue being grossly influenced by corruption; as Funding, Monitoring & Evaluation of capital projects have not been transparent, and importation has dealt harshly with us.

Nigeria and its unique people are richly endowed with expansive agriculturally potent fields or arable vegetation, otherwise known as fertile Green surrounding, on a ground of brown soil, with underground red mud and surface reliefs of spherical strata of granites and solid rocks.

Nigerians are blessed with serene nature and environment to live, work and tour — an assurance of productivity on the vast fields.

The magnanimous economic power of the country is derivable from the agricultural sector. This sector promises to feed the entire nation every day, with leftover baskets of export-valuable goods, edible fruits of the field and with medicinal shrubs.

Think of the abundance of healthy cassava and numerous edible tubers dug from the ground as food. The field also supplies vegetables for vitamins. There are rich juicy or succulent fresh fruits, reaped from the fields, and in addition, there are oil producing fruits with edible nuts in them, harvested on the fields too. Soup condiments can be wholly processed on the fields, even by subsistent farmers.

Portentous cell builders, in protein and fat rich meat and milk, do not have to be imported; when, Agriculturally, Animal Husbandry should be encouraged and not just Fulani cattle colonies.

Fish and sea foods of all kinds, to provide all the basic nutrients for nourishing the body, ought not be lacking around the rivers, seas and ocean surrounded regions and parts of Nigeria, if tapped around Rivers, Cross River, Imo, Anambra, Niger, Benue and other water basins of the nation; and if Agricultural fishing known as aquaculture or fish farming is taken seriously and promoted on extra-large scale. Why should fish be imported?

Poultry is a major source of protein and fat, in consequence, investing in large scale poultry farming can end poultry importation. Different types of Agriculture can take Nigeria far beyond the level of food importation and even swirl into a new level of exportation.

Thus, merely depending on Agriculture alone, Nigerians can feed and live well and never starve. Domestic products are abundant with the potentials of Agriculture. Large export commodities with higher revenue to the federation’s account will also not be a mirage with improved Agriculture. So, why can’t Agricultural practice, in all its grades, be encouraged? Are Nigerians blind? Can’t you see?

If Nigerians are not blind, then Nigerians are corrupt, and the latter is the compass to trace how the political leaders were so corrupt and unwilling to lead with personal examples, and their irresponsibility prevented them from seeing the other side of their flawed choices to poise the nation’s economy on crude-oil exploration, exploitation and exportation.

Today petroleum importation has crippled the nation’s economy. Every Nigerian can recall how fuel scarcity swelled up the nation’s belly of fears within President Muhammadu Buhari’s first year in office. Then the appointment of Ministers was delayed. Later on the president announced his appointees and they were screened by the senate, then they each assumed their respective public offices.

Shortly after the 2016 appropriation bill was approved in May, at the beginning of the second quarter of the year, after a prolonged delay, the Petroleum ministry started revealing its inconsistencies, unreliability, inherent corruption and deceitfulness.

Prior to the approval of the 2016 appropriation bill, Nigerians had been made to believe that the petroleum ministry would revive the refineries and there won’t be fuel importation afterwards, the petroleum minister was paraded at the four refineries of the country and was seen giving reports that his ministry is working for the refineries to start functioning at their optimum refining capacities.

But as soon as the 2016 budget was approved, a drama took place on Wednesday 11th May. Fuel pump price was inflated over 83% from a regulated 86 Naira per liter to a deregulated price of approximately 147 Naira per liter.

It was also on same day that the minister of petroleum announced the ministry’s decision to deregulate the downstream sector, by giving a freehand to independent petroleum marketers to import the much in demand product – PMS, into the country.

The reason given to deceive gullible Nigerians was that this would end the queues at the filling stations. It must have been sounding like good news to many, but it was the sound of the whistle blown by the umpire; for the game of corruption to begin anew, thus bad news. The minister announced express importation. How long will importation continue in Nigeria? We expected positive change. What kind of change did we see with APC team of GMB/Prof. Y.O?

ABSTRACT

I am writing as a Nigerian patriot, and am writing to you my compatriot. I am not writing to the government but to my compatriots, to you, my fellow Nigerian, my fellow Nigerian at home or in Diaspora. I am writing to remind you of our roles as patriots.

Or should I say I am the parrot and my role is to shout aloud to you my co-parrot? Let’s shout aloud together and never relent in shouting to give our leaders no rest until they deliver to us their promise of good governance, where corruption will be a thing of the past. We have endured enough corruption, we can’t keep shut now.

Nigeria as a nation has an ever growing dynamic population. Nigerians can easily punch in what they need help on, from the government; where the rebranded new project is fully perfected. So, Nigerians will have to work together for the perfection of Nigeria as a rebranded new project.

The benefits to expect from this will be enormous and outnumber the benefits that make foreigners comfortable in Nigeria. So Nigerians will have to follow up the perfection of Nigeria and be proud to call Nigeria: “My Rebranded New Project.”

There is a process of transitional pilgrimage taking place in Nigeria today. The year 2014 was a transitional year in Nigeria. One phase of the Nigerian project has given way to another. I am talking about a new Nigeria where corruption is a thing of the past.

I am discussing the old project just to remind us that the era of keeping quiet over corruption is past now. It was because we kept quiet in the past that the Boko Haram saga— an opulent sect promoting terrorism in Nigeria, became so strong that, as reports have shown, over 97 percent of the IDPs recorded between 2009 and 2016 were all the result of the terrorist mayhem of the miscreants belonging to the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Amidst the civil unrest caused by terrorism in Nigeria, there has also been the birth of a New Nigeria, beginning with the National Conference. The 2014 confab was a time of reviewing the problems of Nigeria in the light of recent upheavals and a time of renewal to end corruption in Nigeria.

That was meant to effect a smooth transition of Nigeria, from the old project to the new project. And all Nigerians were involved.

The beginning of the new history of Nigeria was the completion of 2014 National Conference, just as the old history of Nigeria began with the 1914 treaty of Amalgamation.

Therefore, there has been a successful transition from old Nigeria to new Nigeria, and in the century of this publication, Nigeria is seen to be transitioning on its neo-centennial pilgrimage to zero-tolerance for corruption. As a matter of fact, we all witnessed how this pilgrimage commenced at the end of 2014, and at the end of Jonathan’s administration we were sure the transition was safe.

Buhari’s administration then began with the very promise which gave hope to Nigerians that corruption will be stamped out of Nigeria. That promise was meant to be fulfilled. It was a promise to bring change under the umbrella of the All Progressive Congress.

All Nigerians thus have since realized their right to demand a positive change of the economic structure of Nigeria, to hoist a new system of zero-tolerance for corruption. Hence, if there is anywhere corruption seems to be tolerated, Nigerians ought to shout aloud to remind the government of its promise to stamp out corruption.

Thus, I am writing a discourse that calls all Nigerians to shout aloud and say no to corruption in a loud tone. And for the most part, we’re to give the government no rest until it fulfills its promise to change Nigeria positively with zero tolerance for corruption.

A lot will happen while transition takes place; because, a lot of loopholes will be revealed, and a lot of persons will be affected directly and indirectly. Nigerians are all involved; because, the perfection of the New Nigerian Project is taking place, in such a way that social upheavals would have to be contained by all Nigerians.

There is nothing really to fear. It has taken a century for this change to take place, yet it is very vital for the future of Nigeria. If this transition from old to new had not taken place peacefully, Nigeria would have been nonentity or in a state worse than the death of a nation. So we are going to keep calling out for positive changes.

The first transition has taken place successfully. Yet now, our next move is to do away with corruption and poverty and it demands our maximum cooperation to commit to peace, unity and progress.

Since basic transition has already taken place, and as the new government was able to promise to lead the fight against corruption, all Nigerians must support the government to stamp out corruption.

Old things should be allowed to pass away. All things should be made new. That was what the transformation agenda represented. But is this what we can all see happening today? Do we see a new Nigeria that is completely hostile to corruption?

Whatever we see happening today is something to note. We keep record of the new history we are making on our neo-centennial pilgrimage to a bi-centennial reality of zero tolerance for corruption.

This very book will become a book in history someday, and so there is need to make it as sharp as it can be in calling Nigerians to support the government in fighting against corruption.

Hence, this would become a working document, for defining the New Nigerian Project, in support of the government’s effort to stamp out corruption from Nigeria. We should accept this book as a sincere effort to show Nigerians the way forward in the fight against corruption – the toughest battle of the century for all Nigerians.

If my voice in this communication is earsplitting enough, then it should be noted that importation in Nigeria is doing more mischief to the nation’s economy than terrorism is doing terribly to 97 percent of the internally displaced people in Nigeria.

This means, as we shore up the government in fighting against corruption and terrorism, we should also fasten together to bring the era of food and petroleum importation to a standstill, among other values that are imported; they plant the nation in debt.

As the nation’s debt is mounting up, we decry its cause. It’s our duty to raise our voices now and cry audibly that importation must be discontinued in Nigeria; for poverty to really be eradicated?

We thought Boko Haram was an indestructible ghost, but we soon discovered, in Buhari’s political will to fight Boko Haram, that no enemy is indestructible, if we will fight it. Same with importation now proving so hard to curb, we need the will to fight it; to curb it.

Boko Haram was taking hostages and killing innocent victims, we knew the consequences of keeping quiet or refusing to fight them, at least we heard the cry of the women supporting the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. They never kept quiet or rested.

The loud cry of campaigners forced the Buhari’s government to deploy forces into Sambisa to fight and defeat Boko Haram. The lesson is that, quietness isn’t going to make wrong things better but worse. This is a thunderous roar of change of “Imported Nigeria.”

General Introduction

The preface to this discourse began with an appraisal of Nigeria as a great nation – a greatness portended in the resilience of Nigerians amidst their politically caused sufferings. We upend outright heroism in the resilience of Nigerians muddling through their dismal poverty. Now this introduction continues to appraise what differentiates Nigerians from other suffering African people.

Other African people also suffer poverty, but Nigerians are just outstanding. Nigerians always challenge themselves in and with their conspicuously death-defying fed-up conditions. The progress of Nigerians rests only on fate without feigning discouragement. When facing offensive disappointments over more than a few attempts to make life comfortable for themselves; they are defensively resolute, and this is an absolute revelation of the strength of this Great people.

Despite the difficulty Nigerians experience, while attempting to scale through the multiple mountainous walls of perilous misadventures, peculiar to their haggard reality, they always clutch on fate in stanchness.

The firmness of Nigerians remains heroic, even as numerous segments of severe hardships plague the poor daily; due to the ransacking and aggravating paucity of estimable conditions for their welfare, as African people.

But this condition of poverty can be changed. There is hope for eradicating poverty and this hope must be emphasized so that those suffering will not despair in fear that they will continue to suffer forever. The hope for eradicating poverty in Nigeria is poised on the willingness of Nigerians and the leaders to end importation.

My analytic discourse — “Imported Nigeria: Neo-Centennial Pilgrimage to Zero-tolerance for corruption” — has been so-titled to expose the root cause of poverty in Nigeria, showing that ending importation in Nigeria is an expressway to economic development.

Zero-tolerance for corruption is the solution to the problem of poverty and poverty will be eradicated if tolerated corruption of importation is fought. With collective effort at productivity in unity, peace and progress, the reward will be an immensity of prosperity.

In this dialogue, I will apply meticulousness in demonstrating how Nigerians will continue to suffer severe poverty until the tolerated corruption of importation is fought and defeated, I will discuss how to fight corruption effectively without shilly-shallying.

There is a sure sign of hope for a prosperous future because of my insight in this discourse which began with a colorful portrait of Nigerians as a resilient people, you’d notice and appreciate the expressiveness of the distinct images illustrating how Nigerians live apparently competently amidst the disabling discomfort of scarcity, scantiness and meagerness in the supply of their daily means of livelihood.

I will apply generosity in my words to demonstrate hope in Nigeria’s sustainable economic development hinged on literal human capital development within local content development. Despite their fraught to survive the harsh conditions of underprivileged living, the suffering poor Nigerians remain beleaguered by an army of misery. Nevertheless, the joyful news is that Nigerians fight bravely to stay alive ably and gallantly in their feud against poverty and corruption.

Having observed this marvelous ability of Nigerians to survive against all odds, how do you appraise such a people? Are they not born-heroes? You would therefore acknowledge the indisputable truth that Nigerians are valiant conquerors on the battlefield of melancholy warring against poverty and corruption.

You can see how ferociously they brawl in hunger, but are still quite able to always let somebody see an outward cheery face on their heads bald by the stress of an endless battle for survival.

I maintain that Nigerians are intrepid victors in the subjective level of their individual persistence amidst the hysterical and chaotic economic harshness of corruption impoverishing copious Nigerians.

Sadly, however, and objectively, the battle against poverty in Nigeria continues to get tough and tougher, because the government continues moving slowly towards doing what is right to liberate the Nigerian people. Enough isn’t done to end poor Nigeria’s corruption.

It is on such a ground that I tend to be critical of government policies. The government should give its people the sufficient arms of economic opportunities to prevail over their prevalent melancholy influenced by poverty. The millennium development goals were meant to show the way to development, but Nigerians ignored them.

I take no pleasure in painting a sardonic arty portrait of Nigerians? But the truth staring me at the face is what compels me to be mordantly sensitive to the plight of Nigerians and the good news about it is that I write this discourse as a sensitively quick response to the ignoble pitiful conditions of Nigerians, so that the fight against corruption will be fought with a greater commitment by all of us.

The analysis of poverty in my dialogue is meant to challenge you; but not as a sarcastic inkling that Nigerians are poor because they are a lazy people or too the most corrupt people, instead it is an appraisal of how Nigeria is deprived of credible leadership. It’s due to leadership failure that Nigerians are famish and despondent. The Change desired requires all Nigerians to be aware of their potentials.

Here is a clarion call to every Nigerian who can hear my deafening cry of change of “Imported Nigeria” to connect with the electrifying stimulus of this discourse to fight corruption in Nigeria.

I am exposing the ignoble conditions of paradoxical poverty affecting Nigerians who have been enduring their sufferings without any catcalling plea to be assisted. I know the quietness of suffering Nigerians is because they feel no one will respond to the complaints they have against the government, for not making policies that will favor them economically.

Policies that encourage the anchoring of the nation’s domestic consumption of petroleum on importation are unfavorable policies because they won’t create job for the people who would have been gainfully employed if the policies had totally stopped importation, for the refineries to function as supposed.

I can’t say the last word on ending importation in Nigeria for sustainable development, here. So I have only introduced what I will discuss clearly in three parts of this discourse – Imported Nigeria.

I expect that you will peruse all parts of this discourse addressing the problem of corruption in Nigeria. Without Nigerians loudly caterwauling for help, I start this discourse with a clarion call to all Nigerians in Diaspora to come back home to help poor Nigeria.

If Nigerians would have remained pitifully blind to their own rich potentials, this serves as an eye-opener. I hope that it will save Nigerians from suffering in a condition akin to perpetual poverty due to corruption; hence I call for change of attitude in this work of hope.

PART ONE

The Strategic Fight against Corruption

The practice of corruption in Nigeria has had quite a long history which this discourse does not attempt to dabble into, and the fight against corruption didn’t start today. But the fight against corruption hasn’t been effective because the right strategy hasn’t been employed.

Any Nigerian government that projects itself as a leader of the fight against corruption must find for itself a strategy that will be effective, and for that to be made easy, this discourse launches a unique strategy any government can employ in the fight against corruption.

The strategic fight against corruption begins with a story that exposes how stupendous the fight against corruption should be perceived, it is not an easy fight, it is a fight against oneself, it is the fight of setting personal example, it is a fight that begins with one’s resoluteness to lead exemplarily whenever one rises to power. This is the strategic fight against corruption.

The fight is strategic because it is based on a principle and tactic that could be easily learned and remembered and the tactic is of first starting from the offensive against the foothold of corruption in oneself, for everyone has a tendency to tolerate corruption for self interest. The principle is to set personal example in leadership.

The Kantian categorical imperative would then be applied here, that is universalizing any act of personal example but not in the subjective as Immanuel Kant meant it, rather in the objective. That means, everyone should get involved in the strategic fight against corruption and in one day corruption would be defeated without violence.

How am I so sure of this? It’s simple. Once the principle and tactic of corruption is taught to everyone in Nigeria, using this discourse as a guide, and everyone applies the easy to learn strategy, it is assumed that everyone will be committed to the fight against corruption on the first day, and so on that day, the war against corruption would be won all over Nigeria. What would follow would be to stay corrupt-free by keeping with the effective strategy applied.

Foreigners discovered the stupendous potentials of the country in mineral resources and agricultural produce. They came to explore these resources, and to cart them away; to develop their own countries, because Nigerians were and still seem to remain a blind black race.

When the federal government introduced economic policies of deregulation and privatization for economic reforms in the country, in order to meet with the needs of globalization, it did not mean to have monopoly for the circulation of wealth in the country.

On the contrary, foreign investors were the ones who chattered the industries setting up their private companies rather than indigenous investors taking the lead. That was because Nigerians were unwilling to rise to the challenge and personal responsibility of building industries at home with their individual capacities.

Nigerians weren’t appreciating the homely aesthetics of Nigeria’s topography that attracted others to this beautiful country. Today personal example would demand that Nigerians who formerly left the country to develop their capacities abroad independently, and who support the fight against corruption, would come back home to build the nation’s industries with their individual capacities.

They have seen the wealth of other nations, now they should make other nations see the wealth of Nigeria, by returning home to build industries in their own nation, nothing to lose by coming home.

As they scuttled far away from Nigeria where others were scrambling and partitioning scraps of land, as real estates and large portions of wealth for investments, as foreign investors in Nigeria, they should now return home to invest the wealth they have amassed from other nations, that is the right thing to do to build up Nigeria.

Foreigners came to Nigeria and carted away the gold and silver they found here. Today, many have returned back to their own countries, but there too they sat and feasted with Nigerians overseas seen as unpatriotic Nigerians; because even they also carted away their gold and silver to foreign nations.

The strategic fight against corruption being ‘objective’ implies that it is not a battle for one but a battle for all Nigerians. The quantifier ‘all’ implies inclusiveness. Therefore, Nigerians at home and Nigerians in Diaspora should fight applying same strategy.

Why do run-away Nigerians not know that they should also return home with more or less of the wealth of other nations when coming back to Nigeria, just as foreigners do when going for short visits back to their countries? This is the clarion call of the strategic fight against corruption. They should begin to see what others see of them and their opportunities in Nigeria.

Foreigners who were resident here were agents of their government, so they invested their timely living in Nigeria to amass the wealth of Nigeria for themselves and for their country. All Nigerians should stop watching and waiting for foreigners to feast on Nigeria’s wealth while Nigerians languish in wretched poverty?

In fact, I wonder what Nigerians were and are still waiting for before claiming and utilizing the wealth of this great nation that attracts the greedy feet of foreign governments to swiftly send their agents to invest in Nigeria, not for the trumpeted good of Nigeria, but, for their own selfish interests?

When foreigners encroach as free investors in the Nigerian economy, it often appears on a plain surface that they are helping to build up the Nigerian economy, but this is only appearance not reality, especially when the government does not understand the business the foreigners are doing and fails to regulate them properly.

The strategic fight against corruption on the part of the government demands that the government should take monitoring and evaluation seriously, and consider deregulation of all sectors of the economy as a sign of administrative irresponsibility. No good can come out of deregulation because it is a license to corruption issued to operators, and then tax becomes bribery and nothing more.

Take the petroleum upstream for example, deregulation will only give license to IOCs and even NOCs for the corruption of “wanton diversion of crude resources to neighboring countries, smuggling, oil theft and bunkering, hoarding and other criminal activities perpetrated in the system.”

A responsible government should regulate every sector of the petroleum industry, upstream, midstream, or downstream. Foreigners shouldn’t run the industries unless to empower Nigerian investors. The Government should regulate all channels of international trade that foreign investors won’t troop in to cart away the nation’s wealth through their net of large multinational companies and agencies.

The Strategic Fight against Corruption within Regulatory Departments of Government

The strategic fight against corruption does not end in a single day, because the fight against corruption is an onward battle. The strategy is the same when the fight against corruption is targeted at a particular system. Every system needs leaders and so if leaders are exemplary, it is expected that they will take responsibility for ensuring transparency within their systems.

Transparency within systems that also function as regulatory departments of government is the watchword of the strategic fight against corruption at this level. Transparency must be seen in every function of the system, to leave absolutely no room for doubts, suspicions, foul plays and compromises.

When foreigners invest in the country with their own resources, it does not mean they can do whatever they like simply because their investment will create job and boost local capacity if monitored. Their conduct and compliance to due diligence should be evaluated to ensure they conform to best & high standard practices.

Every investment in Nigeria should be regulated, whether by local or foreign investors. The duty of the regulatory department of government is strictly the twain commitment to intensive monitoring and evaluation in accordance with government policies on corporate Quality Assurance & Quality Control, performance of corporate responsibility for developing local contents in the nation’s industries, and financial auditing of turnovers and returns.

It will be unfair to the nation if any investor in Nigeria should operate a foreign account that cannot be audited. Any exploit of investors in Nigeria must be subject to the regulatory financial policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Since this section is on regulation, its tone is prescriptive, to stipulate terms of checks and balances mainly on investments in Nigeria. Profitable investments are encouraged but returns should be deposited in Nigerian banks when utilizing free Nigerian capitals.

Nigerians should be encouraged to work in Nigeria and develop capacity to manage all industries in Nigeria. The succession plan of every company investing in Nigeria by whoever should be evaluated in line with ensuring the inclusion of Nigerians trained to replace the entire foreign top management members in the company.

Regulation of downstream oil and gas industry in Nigeria is profitable to the nation’s economy, and should not be seen as discouraging competition among investors in the sector. Even if local competitors are in charge of the industries, the regulatory department of government will ensure that Nigerians don’t cheat Nigeria.

Not only will foreign operators in Nigeria succeed to steal in open and go scot-free if the upstream sector is deregulated, even in the downstream sector for local investors, Nigerians can cheat Nigeria if the volume of products they have the capacity to access, procure and distribute is not regulated strictly, so that they can give accurate report to the government at the end of every business year.

Nigerians thinking it is best to partner with the foreign investors to set up companies in the right of franchise here in Nigeria should change their minds; franchise makes the market vulnerable to influx of foreign products to the detriment of local industries.

Such line of business, if it thrives without regulations will only give wealth to the foreigners and enrich the foreign governments whose representatives’ products gain market traction in Nigeria, while Nigerians products perform poorly in the competition with other products. Collaboration is encouraged mainly with locals.

Foreign franchise is discouraged because it is bad business to Nigerian competitors with lower capacities, who are defeated in the competition. Any policy that supports deregulation of local franchise with foreigners is bad policy. I call for immediate review of such policies. This discourse cannot capture all cases that need strict regulation, but the view point clearly states that local capacity must be developed in every way and importation discouraged always.

The government plays its policy making and implementation role as a regulator. If government was always sitting tight waiting to receive hard currencies as royalty of less economic value, this time of a strategic fight against corruption should see a positive change.

Nigerians cannot continue to sell their birth rights to foreigners. For Nigerians to enjoy the wealth of the nation, the strategic fight against corruption must be personalized as well as universalized. As it affects the government and people of Nigeria the value chain of the natural resources, the wealth of human resources and the conversion of raw materials should all be done in Nigeria.

The entire process of developing the value chain of all Nigeria’s potentials should be monitored by the government in accordance with stringent policies on local content development that must not be compromised.

The importance of regulation chiefly anchored on monitoring and evaluation of every economic activity ongoing in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized, that is why my words are keen on calling the government to be transparent about its efforts at regulating all local and foreign investments in Nigeria without compromise.

Addressing the issue of corruption in a nation is always anchored on economic policies and good governance, but the strategic fight against corruption has added a dimension that is worthy of keen emphasis, and that is the general application of the same strategy by all and in all situations insofar as people are involved.

The fight against corruption isn’t a spiritual fight. The corruption is not affecting spiritual structures. The promoters of corrupt practices are not spiritual beings, in the context of this discourse the human material element is not exaggerated but emphasized.

By implication, the fight against corruption will not be complete without making mention of sanctions as a necessary part of the strategic fight against corruption.

Since the same strategy is given general application, and is personalized as well as universalized, it means the aspect of sanctions is not for the government alone.

All Nigerians have a role to play about sanctioning defaulters of the law against corruption in civil society and civil society organizations. The role is first that of speaking to condemn every act of corruption perpetrated by anyone whose conduct is at odd with the expectation of personal exemplariness in any organization.

The act of condemning corruption in words, however, isn’t enough. Corruption must also be condemned in actions. Thus since the strategic fight is for all Nigerians, taking prompt actions against corruption is the responsibility of all.

I could be garrulous at this point, but I choose to utter few words to end this section, hence I advise you to act in condemnation of corruption anywhere in a way you know is demanded by example.

A critique of deregulation as a promotion of corruption

On the platform of deregulated upstream operations in the oil and gas industry, multinationals have been exporting our crude resources to other nations, trading them for their own enrichment, and building their metropolis of civilization; for the profits of their own foreign governments. Yet there are those who research to support the deregulation policy. So I write to expose the error in it.

The main premises of the argument propping up deregulation begin with a claim that: deregulation and privatization of the oil and gas industry will enable private investors to invest in the sector.

I have critically analyzed this claim and discovered that it does not take cognizance of the background of the said investors. Will they be locals or foreigners? If they be locals, then the object of the policy is partially realizable, if they start investing; whilst if foreigners lead, the nation will do business without any profit.

A second premise in support of the policy considers its economic benefits as the elimination of constant shortages of fuel and gas in the country.

I will quickly emphasize that this is a very weak benefit, and this takes me back to analyzing the words of the minister of petroleum which I initially faulted in the forward to this discourse.

I will now present the exact words of the minister and add the clarification of the article of news on the subject, as presented by a reporter of NTA network News on 11th May 2016. I found these to be supporting the second premise for deregulation, and then I will fault it with critical analysis afterwards.

He said, “… in order to increase and stabilize the supply of the product, any Nigerian entity is now free to import the product, subject to existing quality specifications and other deadlines which are issued by regulatory agencies. Too, all oil marketers will be allowed to import PMS on the basis of forex procured from secondary sources and accordingly DPR templates will reflect this in the pricing of the product.”

Nothing quoted here is inaccurate, so I have underlined the five parts of the first statement above that will be subject to critical analysis, the first part is on the benefit. The second is the deregulation connoted in the terms ‘all, and ’free,’ and three others.

The newscaster emphasized afterwards that “… the reason for the current problem is the inability of importers of petroleum products to source foreign exchange at the official rate, due to the massive decline of foreign exchange earnings of the federal government, and as a result, private marketers have been unable to meet their approximate 50% portion of total national supply of PMS.”

My interest in revisiting this issue is not for fault finding but to highlight the error in thinking that there are cogent reasons for deregulations. I maintain that there is no excuse for irresponsibility that despoils the economy in the process. So I have decided to draw critique on both the reasons and the situation warranting negative changes in economic policies that promote importation in Nigeria.

The reporter’s emphasis on the policy change of May 11, 2016 captured only two reasons which I underlined to consider critically. That seemed to me to be a calculated attempt to emphasize the same problem that importation is the chief cause of, hence not cogent reason but sheer wanton excuses that don’t hold water.

The minister added on the same occasion that, “…PPRA has informed that it will be announcing a new price now effective today and that the new price of PMS will not be above 145 Naira per liter. We expect that this new policy will lead to increased supply and competition and eventually drive down pump prices as we have experienced in diesel.

In addition, this will also lead to product availability and encourage investment in refineries and other parts of the downstream sector. It will also prevent diversion of petroleum products and set a stable environment for the downstream sector in Nigeria.”

Even this addendum does not clarify the policy but repeats the first benefit and adds two more, which shows nowhere for the government to have a role to play in developing downstream sector. I don’t attempt to raise questions about the justification for the inflation itself, but if I should ask, why should the price be first inflated if the supply will increase accordingly?

I will question the sense in the policy itself; it lacks strategy to guarantee that the increase in supply and competition will eventually drive down pump price as expected. It’s a poor excuse.

The second expectation is also unrealistic because there is no strategy to guarantee the product availability, investment in refineries and other parts of the downstream sector, so the minister’s pitch actually didn’t pass for a holistic policy, but remained a poor attempt by his ministry to dodged its responsibility for development, using the so-called new policy to shift government responsibilities to an unidentified party. This is exactly how grimy deregulation is.

So the second premise aforementioned also does not take cognizance of the fault of the government in enacting laws for protection of consumers’ right and implementing sanctions for violation of consumers’ right, as the major factor for the recurrent experience of shortages. The strategic fight against corruption condemns this act of irresponsibility displayed by the government.

The government ought to improvise strategies to ensure that facilities are installed through direct private public partnership to balance demand with supply; through home based crude production and refining, and not use deregulation to be passive & irresponsible.

The third premise of the argument tries to take advantage of the weakness of the government concluding that since the government cannot manage this strategic sector for sustainable development in Nigeria, then efforts being made to deregulate downstream oil and gas sector are welcome relief to the sector and Nigerians generally.

But this argument is objectively presented because it does not deny the fact that government still has what it takes to regulate the downstream oil and gas sector for sustainable development.

Instead of faulting the government and recommending good way forward, the premise faults the government and deviates from the good way forward, to suggest that the government should stop trying taking responsibility of monitoring how the 50% of the independent marketers’ share of sourcing for the product is actually in line with existing regulations. The policies promote corruption.

Corruption is what has been preventing the government from regulating downstream oil and gas sector, choosing to be passive on regulating refineries. The deregulation policies cover up and attempt to give excuses for the corruption of frivolity in promoting importation, no second thought. I condemn the deregulation policies ever made; I have shown that the government is simply inexcusable.

Taking the strategic fight against corruption to the doorstep of the ministry of petroleum responsible for promoting corruption

Another part of the argument in support of the policy highlights extant problems in the sector without providing any solution for it. No doubt there has been crisis in this strategic sector, which has resulted in "production shutdowns, high cost of obtaining fuel from the black market and scarcity or unavailability of petroleum products," but the reason is because the government is not doing what it has the executive power to do through its ministries.

We may count the negative impacts this has had on the economy with industrial capacity utilization nose-diving drastically, yet just to point this out is not enough, unless we correct the fault from the source which is by challenging the ministry of petroleum to take full control of the downstream sector. 50% is not enough, the ministry can control 100% of responsibility for making the product available by ensuring the productivity of the nation’s refineries, rather than giving free hands for marketers to import the product.

The ministry of petroleum in joining the strategic fight against corruption should utilize the resources at its disposal to manage and maintain the downstream sector well, while giving room for local private investors to play a part in keeping the wheels of the industry rolling, and we know how best this can be done, by calling interested investors to invest only in the facilities for refining and supplying products refined in Nigeria.

Importation has no role to play here. So we should not deceive ourselves by laying claim to "the need to move fast enough to meet up the demands of globalization" to our own detriment. Globalization and the free market global trend may not be suitable in our own context, because we have the crude and we should invest in the capacity to refine crude in Nigeria then supply same.

I will make my opinion clearer still. If the ministry of petroleum joins the strategic fight against corruption, then it will not see importation of petroleum product as a beneficial business, since the freedom given to the independent marketers to import 50% of the product with their own sourced forex means they are free to buy the product from anywhere except in Nigeria. Why not think otherwise?

If you think otherwise, this is what you will discover as I have. Don’t import the product. Don’t issue licenses to any marketer to import. Make a policy that says, the ministry is only interested in ensuring the existing refineries increase their capacity of refining Nigerian crude, and so, anyone interested in also investing in the downstream sector’s supply chain, should first source its forex and then invest same in the ministry’s master-plan of increasing the refining capacity of the country, by revamping existing refineries and building new refineries. Green refineries can be invested in too.

What do you think will happen? The money that each marketer would have wasted on importation would be rechanneled into owning slots in the refineries to control a certain volume of the products refined in order to be issued the license to market same after it has been refined. Isn’t this a much positive development that will not only save forex and conserve the crude resources but lead to the nation’s energy sufficiency, increase the nation’s gross domestic product, create employment in new refineries, and spread the economic benefits of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria to all of us?

If you have seen this insight, then it is not necessary to lament how "many companies operating in Nigeria have relocated their businesses to other neighboring countries as a result of the high cost of petroleum products, as many rely on generating sets to power their operations." What is necessary is for the government to make the economy stable in such a way that it can give incentives to its own natives to work as local investors and business owners at home setting a standard that is internationally commendable. That is right.

If our own locals are the ones managing the businesses here and they put their money in our local banks when they own slots in our refineries and products, there will be circulation of wealth in the country, and there will not be any inflation of the cost of petroleum products, because not only would we have local petroleum products but we will have local producers selling first to local consumers, to eliminate the dirty niche of black markets and importation business.

This is a better option and I recommend this to solve the problems in the sector. I condemn the deregulation and privatization policies, the government needs to think twice about foreign investors and the interest of Nigerians has to be the major concern, even in a competitive economy, lest it even becomes much more exploitative.

Therefore, it is untenable and unsustainable to conclude that the deregulation and privatization of downstream sector will reduce constant shortages and reduce time wasting in queues for fuel at filling stations. I believe in an outcome that follows from doing the right thing and taking responsibility, not excusing oneself from it.

This outcome will not be witnessed unless local investors, but not foreign investors, are the ones getting the incentives to privately run and oversee the management and maintain the growth of the downstream sector, without importing but refining the products. This is sure to happen if the policies made are as I redirected above, focusing on rapid investment in local refineries.

Local investors would be accountable to the federal government that incorporates them, where foreign investors would have only paid tithes to the government and keep 90% of the profit for themselves and for their governments. Then who loses out?

Let’s always be objective even when supporting our government on policies meant to make life easier and so focus on lasting benefits. The government supporting foreign investment with deregulation and privatization policies, in the name of globalization, is doing so against the interest of the country, without knowing that it is promoting its own bad fate. What an incredible anomaly!

When foreign products are imported to increase supply where demand is high, the profit goes to the owners of the product. So let’s own the products that are circulating in the market, and let’s increase productivity. We can make policies in this regard not vice versa.

If we do otherwise, the ordinary Nigerian will suffer pinches. Majority of poor Nigerians will remain impoverished and languish in perpetual poverty; when the government sits and passively waits for its coffers to be filled with the tithes of export revenue from its crude trade, only wasting the oil wealth of the nation, while importation continues. Which government began dirty importation business? The strategic fight against corruption focuses on ending all importations.

I have a story to tell about this anomaly. If it is a thing of the past, then you could think that by exposing this, I am only trying to grapple with the painful memory of past and may be considered to be moving toward a more freely enlightened future. But it is actually what the new policies on deregulating downstream oil and gas jolt to us today. I am not a party to promoting dirty importation business?

The Strategic Fight against Corruption by Correcting the Mistakes of The Past

We can consider how much the Nigerian economy has been actually rapidly developing over the past decade. And this means the past we are looking at is not too far from Obasanjor’s regime down. Prior to the 90s, we witnessed Nigeria’s economy actually suffering from what we could call ‘natural resource curse,’ in fact, now I feel it is accurate to blame the government before Obasanjor’s civilian rule.

I blame the government for the many economic challenges we had then. I am emphasizing the serious challenge with ‘economic central planning.’ In that near past, there was evident ‘growth-strangling corruption and bureaucracy’ that crippled the economy. It was a mistake of our past, and the present, which I count after President Obasanjor’s civilian democracy upward, isn’t expected to repeat same old mistakes of the government that started the ignoble business deals of crude exports and petroleum importations.

What I feel most at ease to say of a government that partakes in the ignoble business of importation is that it is a government that shamelessly governs like a beggar without knowing that it has the right to conserve every resource that it isn’t able to harness yet due to its low capacity to harness it and should protect it under its feet, intact, until it can independently utilize it for its maximal profit.

I condemn the past government that gave away the resources we needed for our development for freehand, so sad it preferred to stay idle, that today we now beg for rents from foreigners controlling our own resources. It’s a pity we’re so poor today when we have the wealth of crude. The past government brought the natural resource curse upon us by joining OPEC for the wrong end to cart away the crude. Little did we know that we have been selling out our growth potentials until today that continuous importation keeps us bankrupt!

2016 oil crisis is a case study faulting government’s method of doing business so far. What have the smart foreigners been doing as international oil companies in Nigeria? This is it: they have been enjoying our oil when oil price is high, and were making much profit from the exploration of oil and gas. They employed few starving youths who begged for entry level jobs, but would only value them as artisans and not train them to become expatriates in oil and gas. Yet, as soon as oil price falls, they lay off all local senior executives.

Much harm has been done by the presence of multinationals in the oil industry in Nigeria. International Oil Companies in Nigeria play major stakeholders role among those under-developing Nigeria. Their presence continues to weaken the reserve of crude in Nigeria.

Whatever good we think their stay is bringing is only of their corporate responsibilities. IOCs have continued to benefit more over the years at the expense of Nigeria’s growth and are consequently crippling the nation’ economy. Our government has been ignoring it, due to its part in the business deals disfavoring Nigerian contractors.

The ignoble business deals hurl slaps at faces of Nigerians in the deals? Projects are promoted for NOCs as paid laborers welding and fabricating gas and oil pipes for foreign promoters to tap wealth.

The foreigners are thus the ones who have taken the seat of administrators since colonial times and have continued dominating the industry, today, in neocolonial cartels of multinationals dictating what Nigerian Oil Companies will do on offshore and onshore rigs.

I have a case against Nigerians who don’t support locals to be the employers of labor for locals than the 7% job opportunities given to the locals, while 93% were a forgotten proportion of slots that attracted more foreigners to dominate the industrial labor markets.

Now who is the boss? Who takes the glory? Who gets the major earning? The foreigners of course, they enjoy the lion share of every business done with Nigerians, when oil wealth is the subject, and I lay the blame on the Nigerian Government failing in business.

Foreigners now benefit more from their stay in Nigeria, while Nigerians and the Federal Government remain gullible, and don’t see why the so-called IOCs or multinationals are cheating the nation. My experience in the oil industry exposed what NOCs continue to suffer.

This is a slap on the face of all those Nigerians who remain committed to enriching the so-called foreign promoters of contracts in the oil industry. Their projects mock Nigerians, by posing them to be doing for Nigerians what the government has failed to do, that is to create jobs by industrialization and staying on top of employment.

Whether Nigerians accept it or not, MSMEs won’t end poverty in Nigeria, unless the government understands the business of industrialization to start creating the industries that will house all Nigeria’s fresh talents from college, queuing for immigration abroad.

During Obasanjor’s regime, there seemed to have been change in fortune coming in the form of economic reforms made by the Federal Government. During his second term in office, Obasanjo was able to implement an economic programme which he called the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy.

As it sounds, this economic programme was going to cover up the lapses created by and that were present in government policies through the 16 years of rule by military governments before Obasanjo took over as a civilian government until the end his first tenure. The first civilian government in 1999 after the last civilian rule ended in 1983 was the Obasanjo led government.

The aim of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, of Obasanjo from 2003 until 2007, was to raise national living standards and to foster economic growth. To achieve this aim, Obasanjo had to introduce new policies on deregulation, liberalization, privatization and transparency through which he thought the economy would be made competitive.

Obviously, this was a great feat of his government and it seemed to have made impact on transforming the Nigerian economy. But considering how each of those policies made by Obasanjo have continued to fair today, one would accept that, the overall disadvantage is greater than the percentage of benefits they have given to Nigerians as dividends of democracy.

Let’s consider this as the introduction of deregulation into Nigeria. We have been talking about deregulation without delineating the concept itself.

The term ‘deregulation’ simply means the removal of government regulatory control from industries that play competitively in promoting the nation’s foreign exchange cash value. Now where this directly affects the oil and gas industries, what do you think would be the outcome? The outcome would be fraud.

The government may be intending to have a competitive economy while at the same time it tends to give room for the theft of resources which its agencies in some ways always play a complacent role in encouraging, as any accomplice would do.

This is a first point to note, and then consider the overall way this has affected Nigeria since the introduction of deregulation in Nigeria. I maintain that the mistakes of the past must be corrected.

The Strategic Fight against Corruption with the Truly Enlightened Citizens of the Past

I make a confession here about never knowing of the man called Ben Gbulie until the year of my 27th birthday, when on reading his book titled “Nigeria’s Five Majors,” I couldn’t resist the admiration of his courageous personality, a man with ‘belief of truth’ which, as Bacon said, “is the sovereign good of human nature.”

I praise Gbulie’s perspicacity and his uncommon courage in giving the first inside account of the Coup D’états of 15th January 1966. He did what many find hard to do, and so he is my Hero for telling a difficult story, published before Chinua Achebe published his award winning book titled “The Trouble With Nigeria” (1983).

I will do a quick review of Gbulie’s thought which seemed to have inspired Achebe’s own thought, even though both were telling a similar story and both shared a common background, coming from the East, and perhaps both knew each other at the time of their writing, for they wrote in much identical ways that interests me.

Achebe gave hope to Nigerians only to condemn the ills that Gbulie himself captured in a single page of his work which I will highlight immediately after repeating what Achebe said, here.

Achebe (1983: 1-2) said in “The Trouble with Nigeria” that, “Nigeria can change today if she discovers leaders who have the will, the ability and the vision. Such people are rare in any time or place. But it is the duty of enlightened citizens to lead the way in their discovery and to create an atmosphere conducive to their emergence.”

I will pick up a point in the underlined text above. Achebe passed a clear message that in his time it was rare to discover leaders who had the will, the ability and the vision to change Nigeria. This was obviously the same time Gbulie lived in, so I see why Gbulie had much to say before Achebe wrote his version of The Trouble with Nigeria.

This discourse is my own version of the trouble with Nigeria, but it does not stand in isolation from what Gbulie himself discussed. Permit me to highlight seven striking points paragraphed in pages 8 and 9 of Gbulie’s account of “Nigeria’s Five Majors.” The following seven points are the exact words of Gbulie (1981:8-9).

1. The country’s politicians not only appeared to be above the law, they seemed to be actively engaged in breaking it – in using the military to achieve fulsome political ends.

2. But if the prevailing political situation had constituted an unpleasant jar to Nigeria’s nerves, the stench of corruption in high place had given her a racking stomach-ache. Bribery and graft had long exchanged places with high moral principles which the country’s leaders had callously flung to the winds in the name of the so-called “eating of the national cake.”

3. The politicians and public officers had indeed let the nation down. Globe-trotting (ostensibly to seek financial aid) had become a common practice, while many a public servant had fraudulently enriched himself with the ten per cent takings and kickbacks from contractors. Embezzlement, too, was on the increase.

4. The ship of state appeared rudderless. Public officers whose duty was to set a model for others to follow had themselves cleverly looted the nati