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Opinion
Sunday December 30, 2012
Uncensored U nc
Sheriff S Folarin
E-mail: sheffie2004@yahoo.co.uk 08094217972 (SMS only)
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his outgoing year should have offered a plate of lessons for people in government as well as those in positions of influence to learn that in leadership, there will always be consequences for responsible or irresponsible act. Those to learn are the decision-makers who also control our national wealth: the President, members of his cabinet, lawmakers, judicial officers, security chiefs, governors, commissioners, local government chairmen, paramount rulers, kingmakers, political godfathers (and mothers), patrons of government, et cetera, et cetera. Unfolding realities following certain occurrences these past 364 days have shown that a stitch in time would have saved all, including the rich, the high and the mighty. Let us start with the Dana plane crash of June 3. The aircraft that crashed into a neighbourhood in Iju Lagos, about three minutes or less to landing, claimed almost 200 lives, including high profile persons such as husband of a serving Federal Minister, two newly promoted DIGs of the Nigerian Police, among whom was the father of a very close former student of mine. There were Nigerians visiting home from the United States after a very long sojourn abroad. There were also newlyweds and those preparing for their weddings. There was the very sad story of the pilot who was embarking on his last assignment with Dana to return home to the US that same day. All of them-and many more- never made it. They perished in the ill-fated flight from Abuja. Months after the Dana crash, a serving Governor, Dambaba Suntai of Taraba State crashed in his own plane that he was piloting. The fatality of that mishap has left the state, the people of Taraba, especially his immediate family, in agony.
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In search of responsible leadership Among those in that flight were his aides, who are like their Governor, in very critical condition. To date, there has not been any positive signal from his place of treatment in Germany. Weeks later while the nation was yet to recover from that shock, a helicopter carrying yet another serving Governor, Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State, the immediate past National Security Adviser, General Owoye Azazi, among others, also crashed, killing all on board dead. If the relevant authorities in the aviation sector had fixed the crisis in that sector in good time, these mishaps would have been avoided and there would have been no cause for this national embarrassment. Consider for instance, these startling revelations from the National Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA): the use of poor radio communications in the nation’s airports had been on for decades; poor VHF radios are in use by the two Area Control Centres (ACC) in Kano and Lagos, a claim corroborated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA); the 124.1MHZ radio frequencies of Kano-East were in erratic working condition; and that between October 17 and November 24, there were 58 different reports on the frustrations of duty air traffic controllers and pilots on 128.5 MHz (Kano- West radio) with six reports of its total failure. Yet the reason people prefer to fly in Nigeria is that the roads are considered unsafe for a number of factors: long stretch of bad spots that could lead to delay or fatalities, use of poorly maintained vehicles that are prone to accidents, menace of armed robbers on the highways, and so forth. Someone has said that there are no roads in Nigeria, but that what obtain are deathtraps. The dangers on the highways are also a culmination of government irresponsibility. The roads are watched as they degenerate, and when it is time to award contracts for rehabilitation, it is not done with diligence and genuineness of purpose, but made a tea-time for ‘the boys’ who patronize or front for those in power. That is why people, including those in gov-
ernment, prefer to fly to avoid becoming victims of government irresponsibility. Yet, there is a load of such irresponsibility in the airspace they opt for. Incidentally, government people have become the worst victims of their own lack of performance in the aviation sector. Just three days ago, the convoy of Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State had a fatal crash along the Ajaokuta-Lokoja road, in which the governor was a major casualty and his ADC died on the spot. Ajaokuta and Lokoja are two major towns in the governor’s domain. Human error in driving may not be ruled out; but we must also understand that a bump on the road (which is a common feature of Nigerian roads) or a poorly maintained vehicle in the convoy could also have been responsible. Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, who is reportedly ill and is on medication abroad, has been out of the state and country for several months, thus leaving a huge gulf in the state leadership. Enugu is a rich state known for its coal mines as well as commercial viability and being the eastern headquarters of the Nollywood industry. Enugu was the last major capital of the defunct Biafra Republic. With all that Enugu is known for, it becomes a big surprise as well as a huge national embarrassment that it does not have a medical centre that could cater for its governor’s health and the health of such Nollywood stars as Sam Loco Efe, Ashley Nwosu, Pete Eneh and Enebeli Elebuwa before departing in their prime. Today, we have Prince James Uche and Ngozi Nwosu on queue to go abroad for treatment. May God preserve these ones for us. Enough of wasting of our best talents due irresponsibility of leadership. It is the same story everywhere in the country. A very big nation with vast natural and mineral resources, very wealthy, but that cannot boast of at least one medical centre that can cater for its people no matter the ailment. With the level of Nigeria’s riches, one would expect that it should have had a UCH or a LUTH that will make the country the centre of medical excellence for Africa and other
developing nations seeking medicare. But what we have are Nigerians of all backgrounds, including serving President, First Lady, Ministers and Governors running to India, Spain and Germany for medical attention. It is shameful! The education sector is not left out in this charade of irresponsibility. As more and more public institutions are floated, yet more and more Nigerian youths are trooping to Ghana, Benin Republic, Canada, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Cyprus for their first and second degrees. This is capital flight of sorts, as tens of millions of dollars are being taken out of the country to be invested in foreign economies. The institutions are established for political reasons (federal character, geopolitical and ethnic balancing purposes) which inevitably go with a lot of mediocrity and lack of structure. Such institutions, which are without the essential ingredients of a moderate university go on to breed ‘unleavened’ graduates (pseudo-intellectuals, pseudo-professionals, cultists, brigands and prostitutes) and thus become unattractive to the teeming youths seeking quality university education. We have had too many instances of the irresponsibility of leadership this year, and government people have topped the list of victims of its own ineptitude. If the aviation sector is fixed, there would not be frequent air crashes. If the roads are fixed, we will not be recording avoidable road accidents. If the health sector is catered for, the mortality rate would be reduced. If the security system had been fixed and not been politicized long before now, terrorist strikes would not have been a daily occurrence, just as robbers and kidnappers would not have made multiplied and made huge fortunes from their high profile victims such as a Minister’s mother, Senator’s wife, Nollywood superstar, and the likes. I therefore have this message for our people in government: Make RESPONSIBILITY your New Year Resolution. •Dr. Folarin teaches Politics at Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
Nigeria oil judgment: A small step in the journey... KOLAWOLE OLANIYAN
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wo weeks ago, something momentous happened – and those of us who campaign for justice for the victims of oil spills in the Niger Delta had good cause to feel Christmas had come early. The event was a judgment (obtained by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project) in which Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court ordered the Nigerian government to punish oil companies over pollution, and it sent out a message of hope to the tens of thousands of people whose livelihoods have been destroyed. But while there was a pause for celebration the fight goes on because pressure is needed to make sure that the government adheres to this judgment. Oil companies, particularly Shell, have managed to evade responsibility for far too long. And the Nigerian government has allowed them to do so, putting profits before people.
As a result, communities in Bodo, an area badly affected by oil spills, are sinking further into poverty, unable to eat the contaminated fish or drink the water, stained black from the pollution. Oil spills have occurred since production began over 50 years ago and that’s what makes the ECOWAS judgment so significant. The Court ruled that the Nigerian Federal Government and six oil companies – Shell, Chevron, Elf Petroleum, Exxon Mobil, Agip Nigeria and Total Nigeria – have violated various human rights. These include the right to a general satisfactory environment and the right to natural wealth and resources, as guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ratified by Nigeria in 1983. The Court ruled that the government must now quickly implement the judgment and hold the oil companies to account. As a concrete example, this means the government has to compel Shell to com-
ply with national regulations, carry out a comprehensive clean up of the Bodo oil spills and properly compensate the people whose lives have been devastated. Shell also has to prove that it has done everything possible to ensure that oil spills do not reoccur. But this important decision comes against a backdrop in which the government has constantly given the green light to Shell to devastate people’s lives as the company wields enormous power. According to information in the Wikileaks disclosure of US diplomatic cables in 2010, Shell has employees seconded to all relevant ministries and has access to everything that they do. It’s also clear that oil companies wield tremendous influence over the regulatory regime that governs their operations. In fact, the investigation process into oil spills in the Niger Delta is a travesty. There is very limited information publicly available regarding the state of Shell’s infrastructure in the Delta. But it is widely known that the company has failed to adequately maintain it over the
years, with tragic consequences. The government has to exert its authority over Shell as, with the ECOWAS judgment and court cases pending in the UK and the Netherlands next year, the clock is ticking against such negligence. It is due to the total failure of the Nigerian system for regulating oil companies and ensuring that spills are properly addressed that the Bodo community decided to take Shell to court in the UK. And with countries across Africa, such as Ghana, Sierra Leone and Cameroon, starting to exploit oil, these judgments have implications beyond Nigeria. The Nigerian government and the oil companies operating in Nigeria have to set a good example and make sure that the industry brings development to the people, rather than allow a string of needless tragedies to continue. •Dr Olaniyan is legal adviser, Amnesty International, International Secretariat, London.