Nigeria has not ceased from becoming a tragic-comedy nation.
At any significant point of her evolving story, it presents a scenario akin to a nation which citizens had the natural penchant to raise dusts about its misgovernance story but in spite of that never made its emergent leadership to clear the mess or move ahead to do new things.
This is because at any point of its misgovernance story,it’s previous leaders are always enmeshed and messed up such that successive administrations always move on without looking back either for fear of opening pandora box left behind by successive leaders.
Or should we say that successive regimes are afraid of being bogged down by scandals which had affected both the self- righteous leaders;saints or crooks.
This is such that none among the successive administrations had any beauty left to show as the mess had affected all.
Today, stories of graft and institutional corruption of two vital institutions which had made the country a laughing stock -the Power Ministry and the goose that lays the golden egg- The oil industry.
The nations Oil fortune has been so mismanaged in the last six decades that the boom which some generations of Nigerians saw in the early 70s – late 90s, had become a doom.
Today,power generation, transmission and distribution has not only become the burial ground of seasoned administrator’s who failed due to systemic rot but has also become the biggest headache of successive governments.
So is the issue of Refining the natural endowment – crude oil,has left the citizenry in abject poverty and penury.
It is strange and puzzling that in the midst of these failures is a head of government who had seen all but had his hands full of blames for the failure.
The more Olusegun Obasanjo-a self appointed Messiah, tried to extricate himself and the three governments he headed from the failure of this institutions, the more the grave allegations of his culpability pop out.
In the last twenty five years of democracy,the only sanely administration is the one headed by Obasanjo. If it is not Obasanjo,then it is not sanely.
Only an obasanjo regime can be blameless.
At the end of the day, his self -appointed messianic and “policeman’ role over both his predecessors and successors had left him with many questions left unanswered about his role while in government too.
His attitude is akin to a Yoruba adage that says,” Eni ti o bere to ng wo,idi elomiran, elomiran ng wo ti ohun naa…meaning,he who bends down too look at another person’s Yancht,another person is watching his own yanth.
Now,indications are clear that the twilight of the reign is near the corner.
Why?
Ordinarily, in a civilized and organized clime,answers to probing inquisitions by a leader of Obasanjo’s caliber and standing should not proceed from the mouth of a junior public appointee like Femi Soleye of NNPCL nor even his boss, the Chief executive,Mele Kyari but rather a senior minister in any givernment under his searchlight.
It all appears thT has become a story told in the past.
On- going exchanges between Soleye and Obasanjo portray an attempt by powers that be to diminish the status of Obasanjo or to reduce his perceived invincibility or to kick him under the bus.
Since, vitriolic criticism of successive administration’s has become the past time of the retired but not tired statesman, asking a junior fellow to reply his tantruns is as belittling just as his response describing Soleye advice to tour NNPCL Port Harcourt refinery as insultive, quite demeaning.
Sometime in 1979 during the early days of the second republic, Obasanjo,then former head of state, had described Rt Hon Nnamdi Azikwe,Nigerias first and only ceremonial President as having fallen from the pinnacle of Zik of Africa to Owelle of Onitsha market.
Today, it all appears the ball is in his court. Those who are supposed to rank with him,has cultivated the strange anit of Ignoring him. You either ignore or you ask a lowly fellow to reply his attacks.
As expository as Obasanjos call-out of NNPCs claim on the functionality of Port Harcourt refinery appears to be,especially on the organisations claims of fixing the refinery, inability to investigate and perhaps present to the public his incontrovertible findings on true state of the Refinery is puzzling.
This apears as a wild allegation to give a Dog a bad name and also portray the ruling government in bad light.
In another breadth,for NNPCL to describe the former leaders claim as uninformed and untrue also throws more light on the level of understanding of Obasanjo of NNPCs true position.
Yes,Obasanjo as a senior stakeholder and citizen has the right to call institutions to order on governance claims, his facts should be as sacred and credible to withstand the test of time and a credible challenge to NNPCs claims.
This attribute was late Chief Obafemi Awolowos strength during his days as opposition figure.
But then,this is not to absolve NNPCL of its shortcomings by failing to arrange the Press-public and private, on facility tour of the remodeled and repackaged refinery complexes- PortHarcourt and Kaduna to dismiss and out lie to Obasanjo’s criticism.
Afterall,the former leaders criticism aside from perceived self- messianic role,has also filled the critical vacuum left by at least two major parties that has failed to provide critical opposition role to the President Bola Tinubus government.
Instead of doing this,both Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party,PDP and Pwtse Obi of Labour Party,LP strangly kept quite by failure to do a critical analysis of ruling government but instead maintain mute passivity.
But then,the response of human rights lawyer,Femi Falana led group-ASCAB, accusing Obasanjo of having vested interest in a special purpose company, ^Blue Seal,which it alleged bought the Portharcourt and Kaduna refineries for $660million in May 27,2007 few days to the end of his regime, speaks volume on the nature of the Privasation of Public companies as implemented by the duo of Obasanjo and his vice Atiku Abubakar.
Is it true as Falanas ASCAB alleged,that the two refineries were sold far less than their $5billion worth?
Is it also true that Obasanjo sold the refineries to Dangotte,Femi Otedola and Transcorp because of his stakes in the later through a ‘blind trust’ and at an affordable price?
The NNPCL must also come out to tell the public the amount so far expended on fixing the refineries from 2007 till date.
Furthermore,the company must provide verifiable answers to Obasanjos claim that over $2billion United States dollars Tax payers money has been expended on putting the refinery back on its feet.
As a public concern owned by the federal government, the NNPCL must clear the haze and not reduce the former President’s justifiable claims and charge to an exercise in venting emotions in order to turn the public against its image.
One must also ask why successive federal governments has failed to come out with white paper on its findings on the alleged $16billion spent on Power project by the Obasanjo government.
Doing so would allow the public to know whether former Power Minister,Iyke Imoke lied last October when he claimed that only between $1-1.6bn was indeed spent by the Obasanjo government on the failed power project.
All this steps could help to put to public scrutiny,basis of Obasanjos messianic outbursts against all governments but one headed by Obasanjo.
The Tinubu administration must demonstrate its readiness to change the narration as regards Good governance critical to the realization of his Renewed Hope Agenda.
For a Hope to be renewed, there must be a bold departure from the apparent lack of accountability and Good governance by successive governments.
