THE NIGERIAN OMBUDSMAN: The Uproar Over A Name Change - Another Tragic Blu...

THE NIGERIAN OMBUDSMAN: The Uproar Over A Name Change - Another Tragic Blu...: Much Ado About The Name Change For a Nigerian University [Dr. Ope Banwo, The Nigerian Ombudsman] The nigerian President, Mr. Jonat...

The Uproar Over A Name Change - Another Tragic Blunder From A Clueless President

Much Ado About The Name Change For a Nigerian University

[Dr. Ope Banwo, The Nigerian Ombudsman]

The nigerian President, Mr. Jonathan Goodluck never ceases to amaze me with his ineptitude and cluelessness about Politics, the Law and Governance in general. With the current misadventure to cast himself as a generous statesman by changing the name of one of the most prestigious Universities in Nigeria, the Nigerian President continues to reinforce the perception that he has ‘lucked’ himself into a job that could never be executed by luck alone. From all available evidence, it appears that the President, without any opponent having anything to do with it, has developed an annoying and dangerous penchant for creating needless controversy about himself, while also exposing his apparent ineptitude in running the country.

Most recently, the President of the most populous nation in Nigeria opened his mouth, without anyone prompting him, and declared that he has changed the name of University of Lagos, one of the oldest and most credible universities in Nigeria, to Moshood Abiola University in honor of one the heroes of the democratic Republic of Nigeria. Incredibly, the President made this announcement without following the due process of law, without consulting the lawmakers, or the ruling party in power in the state where the university is located, and without even the elementary courtesy of allowing the stakeholders of that University to have a say in the matter.

Needless to say, this blunder has led to another national crisis with students taking to the streets in protest and violence erupting in clashes between the students and the police. Movement and transportation in Lagos was badly disrupted as the students barricaded major routes in and out of Lagos in their anger at the government’s action. Predictably, rather than addressing the issues raised by his disturbing announcement of a name change without following due process, the President of Nigeria decided to close down the University and send all the students home, in a bid to truncate their agitation and quell their protest over the annoying development.

 Without a doubt, in making the decision to change the name of the University by executive fiat the way he did, President Jonathan blundered badly in at least 3 critical areas:

      1. THE PRESIDENT DID NOT HAVE THE LEGAL POWERS TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE UNIVERSITY – The University of Lagos was created by an ACT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY of Nigeria. In the very first section of the Act creating the University of Lagos, the law specifically mentioned that the name of the University shall be University of Lagos. That being the case, it is clear to even an elementary student of law that you cannot change an existing law by Executive fiat in a democratic system of government. Obviously, you need another law to change an existing law, or to amend it. Even the military in their worst day of dictatorship always enacts a decree to change an existing law. They simply do not announce a name change by public announcement when there is no decree to back it up. Yet, we have a President in the most populous black democracy in the world doing just that!

2.    2. THE PRESIDENT DID NOT GET THE BUY-IN OF THE STAKEHOLDERS – Mr. President probably thought he was doing Lagosians, the old Western Region states, the students and everybody in the country a big favor by renaming the preeminent university after one of the heroes of the country. However, his good intentions became a malfeasance to the same people he was trying to impress because he did it without consulting the people he intended to do the favor. How a President of a democratic country like Nigeria can dream of changing the name of the first university in Lagos without consulting Lagosians, the current and old students, the University senate, the ruling party in Lagos, and even the people of the western states, the presumable stakeholders with proprietary interests in this University, is beyond my understanding.

In any sane country with a President who knew what he was doing, the name change for an institution like this is something that would have been floated first for public debate to gauge public and institutional reactions to the proposal, before implementing the name change. Yet, our President with all those over-prized advisers around him went ahead and made this nonsensical announcement right out of the blue without any advance preparation.

3.    3. THE PRESIDENT EXHIBITED TOTAL DISREGARD FOR THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY – The fact that our President felt comfortable making the announcement of a name change of a Federal University without consulting the National assembly reveals how much contempt this President has for the people of the great country of Nigeria. He obviously did not think our lawmakers have any say in his decision to change an Act of the National Assembly by fiat. Or does our President really want us to believe that he was really ignorant of the fact that he needed legislative action and cooperation in making this name change? If so, this would even be a far worse sin of omission, negligence and ignorance for a man in his exalted position. Either way, the decision and announcement by him is a grievous mistake for which he would pay dearly in political capital.

Any way one looks at it, this unfortunate misadventure by the President raises very serious questions about his competence and his ability to continue to rule the country of Nigeria. It shows very clearly that we either have a dictator in the making, or we have a totally clueless man at the helm of affairs, in the most populous black nation in the world. How President Jonathan could have made this major faux pas with so many advisers around him, who are being paid to make sure this does not happen, is totally beyond my comprehension. If indeed this was an error, and an unfortunate ignorance of the law on his part, then several advisers around him should be fired for allowing it to happen. After all, the man read a prepared speech obviously prepared by somebody, and reviewed by some other people. How all those people could have let this pass the due process of scrutiny is unforgivable. Every one of his advisers who saw that speech before it was delivered should be fired immediately.

On the other hand, if the President did this on his own, knowing that he has no powers to do it and still did it anyway, it may be time for the impeachment process to start. Nigerians cannot afford to allow a dictator in the making to continue to occupy that office or we would all be the worse for it down the road. The president of Nigeria swore to uphold the constitution of Nigeria and its laws and any violation of the any part of the laws of Nigeria is an impeachable offense. It is better to get rid of him before he gets too powerful to stop by the checks and balances in place.

In conclusion, I believe that the president probably can save a little face from his already smeared public visage in this matter by reversing course immediately, apologize to all Nigerians for his mistake, and withdraw his ill-fated decision to change the name of the university of Lagos to Moshood Abiola university. Anything less will be an ill wind that will blow no one any good down the road, if allowed to stand. Moshood Kashimowo Abiola is a legitimate national hero who deserves to be honored properly, in a proper manner after following due process. He does not deserve to have his memory, as a man who lost his life in the fight for democracy, desecrated by a contemptible attempt to post-humously honor him. The President should back down from this decision immediately before it develops into something much more than a storm in a teacup that it is right now.

That is my memo for today!

Dr. Ope Banwo is an Attorney, Public Commentator, Business Consultant, Author, and Motivational Speaker. He is the initiator of the Market Ombudsman and the Founder of the syndicated Ombudsman Show on television networks. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Email: opebanwo@aol.com Tel: 07066482753

THE NIGERIAN OMBUDSMAN: STATE OF INSECURITY IN NIGERIA

THE NIGERIAN OMBUDSMAN: STATE OF INSECURITY IN NIGERIA: A Nation Under Seige From Terrorists, Militants,  Treasury Looters & Armed Robbers   [By Barrister Ope Banwo, The Nigerian Ombudsman...

THE NIGERIAN OMBUDSMAN: THE NIGERIAN PENSION BAND OF THIEVES

THE NIGERIAN OMBUDSMAN: THE NIGERIAN PENSION BAND OF THIEVES: THE BARBARIC LOOTING OF THE FUND FOR RETIRED CITIZENS IN NIGERIA By Dr. Ope Banwo, The Ombudsman   Just when Nigerians were stil...

THE NIGERIAN PENSION BAND OF THIEVES

THE BARBARIC LOOTING OF THE FUND FOR RETIRED CITIZENS IN NIGERIA

By Dr. Ope Banwo, The Ombudsman

 Just when Nigerians were still coming to grips with the devastating revelations concerning the audacious activities of a fearsome Cabal in the oil sector, who have systematically looted oil subsidy revenues of this great country, Nigerians were further pushed to the edge of helpless despair when the Pension Funds scam revelations began to unfold.

This sordid chapter in our national evolution unfolded with the incredible revelation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] that various huge sums of money have been stolen by some accused persons in the pensions office with the active connivance of some banks. We were first told that sums ranging from N180m, N500M and $2million were discovered hidden in the accounts of various officers of the fund including that of a 29 year old lady who was merely a clerk in the Pensions Office.

Before many Nigerians could even understand what the Pension Fund Scheme does, and how the activity of pension fund commission affects them, the revelations of massive fraud climbed stratospheric dimensions as more startling revelations continued to emerge in the unfolding drama. Thus far we have been bombarded with allegations of various sums being stolen from N2 billion, TO 4.6 billion by another to N152 billion, and N212 billion. As of the last count and depending on which paper you were reading, over N300 billion have been stolen by the Pension Band of Thieves.

As many Nigerians finally began to catch up with the enormity of the rape of their collective retirement benefits, the denials from the accused persons started coming fast and furious. The man accused of having N2 billion naira cash in his apartment has issued a public notice denying it and challenging EFCC to show the money to the public. Another junior staff caught with hundreds of millions of naira in her account has claimed that the money was not stolen money but the profits from selling pure water on the street. While I surely agree that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, I am nevertheless breathlessly waiting to see how much pure water someone will have to sell in 9 months to make over a N100,000,000 PROFIT without having a major factory.

While we all wait for the courts to determine which of the accused persons are actually guilty as charged, everyone agrees that the scale of fraud in the federal pension scheme is just too massive, shocking and downright scandalous. We all agree that this is just another vicious kick to the psyche of Nigerians, who have had to endure some incredible stories of fraud on a level bigger than any fictional story that can be concocted by even the most adventurous Nollywood writer.

Anyway we look at this shameful development, to quote Gbenga Kayode, one of the writers that broke this story, “This is simply paradoxical and unacceptable in a nation that parades a frustrated army of unemployed but qualified youths, decayed social infrastructure and prostrate small and medium scale enterprise (SME) sector.

While many Nigerians can hardly imagine keeping even N1 million cash in their bedrooms in these uncertain times, we are being told that the Pension funds Band Of Thieves, through some Nigerian commercial banks, were able to effect illegal withdrawals for billions of naira, using multiple cheques in fictitious names for fictitious accounts.

This colossal pension scam has raised some very serious questions that Nigerians need urgent answers to, and which may help us better understand how this dastardly act was committed in so short a time when we have a Pension Commission, Office of the Accountant General, the EFCC and a Government of Transformation who were tasked in ensuring this stuff does not happen.

A PARADE OF THE ACTORS AND THE SUSPECTS

PENSION OFFICIALS - Of course the leading actors in this award winning tragi-comedy are the officers of the Pension Fund departments who have, with impunity so far, used their offices to transfer mammoth amounts to themselves, their friends, companies and even pure water businesses. 

BANKS - As the story continued to unfold, the names of several banks, specifically Uba And First Bank have been occurring with regularity that makes it difficult for us to ignore. We have heard of incredible stories of Pension Funds finding its ways into personal accounts, real estate companies, dormant account of dead petrol stations among others, with apparent connivance of the account officers, and some banking top dogs. We are being told, through some of the confessional statements of some of the accused persons, that many bank accounts were opened with the collusion of bank officials who often collect a percentage of the funds. To be fair, some of the mentioned banks, particularly UBA has since issued a public statement claiming that all accounts opened with it were opened with due process and permission of the Accountant General of the federation as required by law. However, the press release raises more questions than answers, and in time the police and the public will get to the bottom of it. How the Pension Dept can have over 100 accounts in the same bank reveals a lot about what we are not being told!

EFCC - Another question begging for answers is the role of the EFCC, the supposed frauds watchdog, specifically tasked with making sure frauds like this do not happen with impunity in this environment. While the some of the banks have claimed they reported some suspicious cases to EFCC without response, some of the pension fraudsters have also pointed some fingers at the EFCC as being actively involved in the fraud scheme. The EFCC definitely has a lot of questions to answer to the people of Nigeria. Through to its culture of sensationalizing events without providing actual proof, they accused someone of having over N1Billion Naira in his house and yet incredibly they did not show us the picture of this massive amount of money that must have been bigger that the size of 2 rooms! Now the accused has challenged them to show the money or provide proof they found any such money in his house!

All of a sudden, the hunted may end up being the hunted in this case due to the pronouncements of EFCC that they are yet to show any evidence of.

PENSION COMMISSION - As we read the daily revelations, the Office of the Pension Commission also appears to have either been neck deep in this rape of our retired citizens, criminally negligent or totally incompetent to deal with the activities of the pension officers. It is really sad to read what the director General of PenCom has to say by way of explanation before the senate committee. According to him  “… the Commission is unable to exert supervisory control over the pension offices as they have little regard for the Commission’s supervisory role over them in clear violation of sections 30 to 38 of the PRA (Pension Reform Act) 2004.” How come we are hearing this lame excuse after about over N800 BILLION of our money has disappeared into people’s wardrobes, real estate companies, pure water companies and accounts of dormant filling stations?

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - Not to be left out is the federal government that is supposed to oversee the implementation of the Pension Scheme. It boggles my mind that this level of fraud could have happened so quickly in such a short period of time without the knowledge or connivance of the Federal Govt officials overseeing the scheme. The new Pension Act was only enacted in 2004 and we were told at the time that this new law will bring an end to the suffering of our retirees and usher in probity and accountability. 5 years later, we are down Billions of Naira and the Govt expects us not to hold them accountable for this fiasco.

In the face of this national disgrace, it is time the Government, through its pension regulatory authorities in conjunction with anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC) starts doing something practical to ensure that these cowboys of the pension funds are brought to book and quickly too. The President has promised us a season of transformation and it is time he starts delivering in this area.

To really breathe a clean breath of fresh air into the toxic atmosphere of pension scheme, the CBN also needs to sit up and apply weighty sanctions against any bank account managers or branch managers of commercial banks allegedly involved in those illegal transactions. We all know this level of barbaric looting where accounts are opened without due process and where people are withdrawing millions and billions of naira on a daily basis on an account for paying pensioneers could not happen without the banks participating. Afterall, how big can a pension salary check be?

It is time that this Nigerian government stands up and clean out the rot in its system or face the inevitability of the citizens taking the law into their own hands. We need to clean this up and we need to do it fast before this matter is swept under the rug, as fraud in another sector sweeps off our collective feet

That is the Ombudsman Memo for today

Barrister (Dr) Ope Banwo, The Ombudsman, is an Attorney, Public Commentator, Business Consultant, Author, and Motivational Speaker. He is the initiator of the Market Ombudsman and the Founder of the syndicated Ombudsman Show on television networks. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Email: opebanwo@aol.com Tel: 07066482753

STATE OF INSECURITY IN NIGERIA

A Nation Under Seige From Terrorists, Militants, 

Treasury Looters & Armed Robbers 

[By Barrister Ope Banwo, The Nigerian Ombudsman]

The current State of Insecurity in Nigeria crept on us like a thief in the night, while our leaders and watchers of our collective security, were asleep or too blind to see what was going on. In less than 10 years, Nigeria has moved from a country where issues of suicide bombing was totally inconceivable, by the even the most imaginative minds, to where suicide bombing is now a daily occurrence. We have moved from a nation where church buildings and mosques used to held sacred by everyone, including unbelievers, to a tragic situation where churches are now being bombed with regularity.

Our nation has transformed from a country where our National Independence day celebrations was always a time of unbridled public expression of pride and joy, to a situation where our President was not even embarrassed to deliver Independence day speeches from his bedroom, simply because terrorists dared him to come to the stadium. From the days where our Presidents were celebrated on the streets with flags as they visit their home towns, we have reached an inexplicable low point where our President could not visit his own home state, because terrorists warned him not to come or die.

Nigeria is now surrounded, and hemmed in on all sides, in a deadly siege by the Militant Terrorists in the South-South; escalating menace of armed robbery in the west; economic terrorism in the Midwest by the likes of Ibori; kidnapping for ransom and political assassination in the east and suicide bombers of Boko haram in the North. That NIGERIA IS UNDER SIEGE ON ALL SIDES, not by a foreign power but by our own home grown terrorists is no longer a matter for debate, but a deadly and sober reality, that even the most ardent patriots have come to acknowledge

The descent to a state of complete state of insecurity all started out with intra-party skirmishes and use of thugs by some of our politicians. While Nigerians were still occupied with the mundane affairs, the political thugs turned to vicious assassins. Before we could wrap our collective minds around what was happening, the political assassins have taken down some of the most influential people in Nigeria including Kudirat Abiola and our attorney General, Bola Ige.

In the South-South, restive militants in the Niger Delta turned up the heat to alarming levels after their political and social leader; Ken Saro Wiwa, was brutally killed by the fearsome dictator, Mohammed Abacha. The militants declared open war on the government, and the oil companies in the area, by bombing oil pipelines and making the area a deadly zone for oil operators who did not settle them in secret.

Just when Nigerians we breathing a sigh of relief from the respite provided by the Niger Delta militants after the controversial amnesty program, the Boko Haram insurgency erupted in the North. In a rapidly escalating fashion reminiscent of Beirut, bombings became a daily occurrence. People and places were bombed indiscriminately. They started with churches and specific target of Christians and rapidly escalated to bombing anything in sight. All buildings became fair game. The United Nations was not speared. Police stations and police officers were killed with regularity and even the newspapers stations were drawn into this boiling pot of terrorism when the offices of ThisDay and Sun newspapers were bombed.

In the Western states, the armed robbers seemed determined not to be outdone. They have taken their game to another level with daylight robberies followed by midnight visits. Cars are being hijacked with regularity and the police appeared to be at a loss on what to do about it.

While the State of Insecurity in Nigeria continued to worsen on an hourly basis, our government appeared paralyzed and incapable of dealing with the level of savagery and arrogance of the terrorists from everywhere. Our own president first hinted us that he was clueless in dealing with this problem when he solemnly told us that terrorism is a worldwide phenomenon and that maybe it is Nigeria’s turn. That singular pronouncement from our President should have told us very clearly that our President is clueless on how to deal with the rapidly escalating problem. Elsewhere in the world where terrorists have struck, we have seen their presidents coming out with venom in their mouths promising their citizens that all terrorists will be hunted down without mercy, followed by swift reassurances for their citizens’ safety. In Nigeria, our own president told us to get used to it since terrorism is now the hip thing all over the world!

The State of Insecurity in the nation has reached such an alarming level that even some of the most ardent patriotic, well meaning, and optimistic Nigerians are beginning to accept the obvious fact that Nigeria is tottering towards becoming a failed state. One writer actually called it the Somalization of Nigeria. To some, this may be an exaggeration of the reality on ground, but I personally will not disagree with those sentiments. When a Nation can no longer guarantee a basic necessity for survival in the country, then it is tending towards failure though it may not have totally failed. I am sure those who have been living with the Boko Haram nightmare on a daily basis in Jos, Kano, Abuja and other cities will definitely agree that Nigeria has failed them in the area of security.

While our President continues to travel the world in his very comfortable jet, and his wife continues to paralyze economic activities all over relatively safe areas on a belated THANK YOU tour of her husband’s supporters, Nigeria continues to be under siege.

The effect of this problem is so farfetched that I am still surprised that our National Assembly and the Executive have not even appreciated the economic, social and political impact of what we are dealing with here. 80% of our capital market activities involved inflow from overseas. Obviously no reasonable investor will put his money in a failing state. Also, over 70% of food supplies in the country come from food supplies from the north and the state of insecurity in the country has led to drastic cuts in supplies of essentials such as Tomatoes, Pepper and Yam. As it is, many Nigerians have not even connected the rising cost of these staple foods to the terrorism in the North. People just knew prices are rising without even understanding why. As this condition continues to worsen, Nigerians are going to be in for a season of famine and hunger. It may well get to the point where the poor have nothing else to eat but the rich people around them. Then, we will really see anarchy.

As we continue to cower in our bedrooms praying for the scourge of Boko Haram, militants and armed robbery to be taken away by God, many have tried to find the cause of this modern day siege of the most populous black nation. Some have traced the root causes to poverty; some have fingered corruption of our leaders while others have tried to pin it on foreign influence. Lately, the National Security Adviser pointed at his own party, PDP, for causing the escalation in bombings through their internal policies and politics.

Just as the President joined issues with his NSA publicly on his thought provoking utterances, the ultimate bombshell came all the way from South Africa. Now, Okar, a factional MEND LEADER currently on trial for several bombings in Nigeria opened the Pandora box and pointed very direct fingers at our President as one of the faceless terrorists we have been looking for. With time, facts and figures in an affidavit sworn to at a South African Court, Mr. Okar claimed that he knew for a fact that our president master minded at least 2 bombings in the period leading to his election, particularly the bombing of October 1^st, 2010, as a diversionary tactics to turn the hearts of Nigerians against their brothers in the north and enhance his political aspirations of winning the Presidential election.

Of course, Ruben Abati and other officials of the President have come out on behalf of the President to do what they get paid for. They have denied the allegations in their entirety and promised to have representations made at the Court during Okar’s trial. Of course, these incedentiary accusations of the accused terrorist in South Africa has the potential to tear Nigeria apart, if any part of his story is found to be true. I, for one refuse to believe that our president could be involved in something so dastardly. I am not a big fan of President Jonathan, and I think he has not handled our security problems properly but I simply cannot accept that we have a terrorist occupying the highest position in Nigeria. I sincerely pray and hope that Okar was just bluffing to put pressure on our President, as his advisers have assured us.

Meanwhile as allegations and counter allegations continue to assault our already frayed mental condition, we are yet to hear any practical solutions to this scourge on our country. All the government can tell is that Boko Haram will soon be a thing of the past. How this will happen in view of the daily bombings, nobody has told us. Nigeria continues to burn at a rate where even some of the most patriotic and courageous Nigerians alive are now wringing their hands in despair, with a scary acceptance of the fact that Nigeria could be tending towards anarchy and failure as an entity. The last interview of General Danjuma sacred me more than anything I have read on this issue. When a courageous and knowledgeable warrior of his caliber starts raising the alarm of ‘fire on the mountain’, then it may be time to start panicking.

Our Government is obviously confused and powerless to stem the tide of this siege and state of insecurity. Our President AGAIN appears to be way out of his depth in dealing with this disaster. Rather than finding solutions to these issues, he is allowing himself to be drawn into the nonsensical argument about whether he will run in 2015 or not, as if any Nigerian (other than his friends in the Cabal) will even vote for him if elections were held today. He appears totally disassociated from the climate in the country. He has moved from one of the most popular presidents to be voted for, just a year ago, to a President that everyone now looks at with anger and scorn.  The government appears to be way out of its depth and this situation is made even worse because of its ignorance about that fact.

From a University lecturer who lucked his way through a bizarre happenstance of fate, to move with dizzying speed to Deputy Governor, to governor, to vice president and then President in a space of 4 years, the President is obviously realizing that luck can get you to the position but luck cannot run the government. It is a clear case of ‘what got him here cannot take you there’. We need our president to assemble the best rains he can find in the country regardless of party affiliation and lock them up in a room until they give him solutions.

Maybe it is also time for the President to consider some previously inconceivable options in confronting the siege on his country. Maybe it is time to engage the Boko Haram people the way he engaged the militants in Niger delta. Perhaps it is time to call on Jack Bauer from the Counter Terrorism center in the 24 thriller; or maybe it is time we set up our own Counter Terrorism Center and bring out our own vicious killers too to fight fire with fire. Perhaps it is simply time for the president to own up to what we all can observe: he and his people are simply not trained, or equipped, to deal with the level of sophistication from people who are presumably illiterates, and call in the terrorism experts from USA, U.K AND ISREAL. Or perhaps it time to set up a Northern development commission like the Niger Delta commission and offer amnesty. Maybe it is time for the President to simply hold up his hands and tell Nigerians that he is way out of his depth and resign from the position honorably along with his Vice President. I really don’t know

I know I do not have the answers either, and maybe the issues are not as clear as I am thinking but  then, as Jack Bauer told the President of the United States  who had to make a terrible choice when terrorists attacked U.S. in that thriller called ‘24’,  I am not the President of this Country. I did not run to be president and I did not get lucky to be President. Dr. Ebele Jonathan is the man and the buck stops on his desk. It is time to pick up the buck and do something to alleviate the state of insecurity in this country and show us that he has a lot more than luck going on for him.

That is my memo for the Week

Barrister Ope Banwo is an Attorney, Public Commentator, Business Consultant, Author, and Motivational Speaker. He is the initiator of the Market Ombudsman and the Founder of the syndicated Ombudsman Show on television networks. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Email: opebanwo@aol.com Tel: 07066482753