Nigeria: The Epicenters of Coro-Politics… I remember General Abacha - Ik Muo, PhD

Lagos is known for its traffic madness, caused by the quantum of human and vehicular traffic, disequilibria in some of the roads and the key one, driver-indiscipline. One day, about 20 years ago, the traffic was so bad that people trying to leave Lagos drove against traffic on the Carter bridge. The traffic officials came around but when they noticed that it was impossible to turn back or arrest the offenders,  they concluded that the best thing was to make way for them. In effect, they legalized the illegal driving activities of the renegade drivers.  The WHO has just indicated that we may toe a similar path; that since we cannot contain and defeat Coro, we may have to prepare to live with it! The worrisome declaration was made by  Dr Ryan, its Emergencies Director, who told us without any element of diplomacy that   ‘this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and may never go away…HIV has not gone away’.  This is not a good one, but , life MUST go on and as such I continue with my discuss on the  coro-induced political ‘roforofo’ around the country.

Nigerian politicians are as diverse as Nigeria but they have certain common traits. They are incredibly optimistic; they are most likely to steal (stealing, not pick-pocketing) from the public purse than not; they are imperial in speech and actions;  they will always travel overseas, at least in search of foreign investors (in this teleconferencing and zoom era), they rarely think about tomorrow, they are always on the attack mood  against the opposition(even when they don’t know what to attack for) and at times their interpretation of events and situations is against commonsense.  These traits have been obvious in the current war against Coro and the  consequential political roforo. In the coro dictionary, there is only one epicenter at a given point in time. But in Nigeria coro-politics, there are several epicenters and that is why Nigeria is Nigeria. Unfortunately, I will start from River State, where I stopped last week.

 On 26/3/20,  Federal Government   granted N10bn to Lagos for the war on coro and immediately,  Governor Wike, the ‘akshion’ Governor of Rivers fired his first or major political cannon, accusing the FG of politicizing the coro-war because, ‘While Lagos State received a grant of N10billion as a commercial hub, Rivers State as the nation’s oil and gas hub that produces a greater percentage of the nation’s wealth has not received any support from the FG, wondering why the FG should single out Lagos. As at that date, Lagos had 115 cases while Rivers had one. Even as at 19/5/20,, Lagos has 2624 while Rivers had 53. (This is not a medals table but that is where we are).   When I looked at the statistical differential, I just shrugged. That is why I don’t understand politicians. He then reminded Abuja that ‘Every day, we are inundated with letters from the FG to allow oil companies to fly in expatriates to drill Oil’ .Not long after that, Wike personally arrested   Caverton Helicopter pilots and 10 passengers for coro lockdown contraventions in PH. That was despite  the fact that the company obtained all  necessary approvals including one from the relevant authorities to provide flight for oil & gas industry.

Arrest of Caverton pilots and passengers, sealing of their office in PH

He dumped them in  a police cell, got a judge to try them despite the fact that the courts were in suspended animation,  arraigned them later  and mercifully they were granted bail.  They were   charged of disobedience to lawful order, intentionally disobeying the lawful order issued by the Governor of Rivers State, conducting themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace and intentionally disobeying the lawful order issued by the governor on restriction of movements and flights within the state. You know how the legal people complicate simple matters. The Rivers State  Commissioner of Police,  Mustapha Dandaura who  was transferred in the process, joined the fray, saying that the mission of the passengers were suspicious, and that they might have come to ‘sabotage the activities of the state and the security agencies.” The Governor also declared  the company a corporate enemy and persona non grata in of Rivers State, declaring with imperial finality that  it ‘can only chose to operate in any part of Rivers State at its own risk as Local Government Chairmen have been directed to close their offices and prevent their operations.”  Immediately thereafter, the Chairman of Obio-Akpor local government Council, Solomon Eke, sealed the office of Caverton Helicopters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and made a public show of it. Anyway,  the state later withdrew the charges against the pilots and their passengers and the case was struck out

Not long after that, the River state  government arrested 22 offshore staff of Exxon Mobil who were moving with a police convoy. 21 of the workers were members of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, while the other was the firm’s  Chief Security Officer. The governor himself said the arrest was against security advice but that “as a responsive government’, he authorized that they be quarantined in line with the relevant health protocols. When  PENGASSAN threatened to show its strike power, Wike backed down. And just the other day Wike  whom some  people have ‘appointed’ the  Commanding Officer, 101 Waterside Brigade, Special Lockdown Forces, also accused the FG of double standards on the Almajiri relocation issue. because ‘When they started relocating the almajiri in the north, the FG said nothing. Immediately they heard that we have relocated some almajiri, they came up with the declaration that it is against the inter-state movement’  The RVSG task force  has also technically shut down the   Rivers & Onne Ports because it does not  agree with guidelines of  PTF on COVID-19, which classified port operations as essential services. Thus staff of NPA, terminal operators, shipping agents and dockworkers have been arrested and their vehicles impounded.   Inbound ships are thus stranded with some consignments losing quality and customers attracting avoidable demurrages

.But the political ballistic missiles flying in and around PH are not just unidirectional. Earlier this week, an APCian, Chief  Chukwuemeka Eze  accused Wike of not cooperating with UniPort Teaching Hospital   and its CMD,  thereby working against   COVID 19 testing and containment. He also accused the governor of undertaking  a sudden lockdown-easing in PH  to enable the PDP to inaugurate its state executive followed by a thanksgiving.  The PDP stalwarts allegedly violated NCDC & RVSG physical distancing and crowd limit (<20) protocols and Eze wondered who would quarantine the disobedient party members and auction their vehicles, and  when the Obi Wali Cultural Centre venue of the event would be demolished (an allusion to the two hotels demolished earlier). He also stylishly reminded him that he venue was built by Amaechi,  now of the APC, who was driven into politics by unemployment.

When you examine these developments with the proverbial eye of an elder, it becomes obvious that it is all about politics. I doubt if they are in the interest of Rivers State, the Riverians, or the war against coro. It is all about politics!

Other Matters: I remember  General Abacha

We all know him.Even those who were not here then know about Abacha, our most reviled Head of State. Nigerians, or rather most Nigerians, spoke and still speak ill of him. I say most Nigerians because at least our president believed and believes that he was a good man. But today, I remember Abacha in a special way… and for two reasons. Just the other day,$311m was receoverd from the inexhaustible Abacha-loot, making it about $5bn recovered by 5 different Nigerian Governments in the past 22 years. Luckily, part of the funds will  be deployed to the 2^nd  Niger Bridge( I am a regular customer of the current bridge), which some fellows informed us had been completed in the run-up to the last election.  Corolary to the above is the brazen attempt by Buba Galadima to rewite  recent history and  dramatically alter the established  and disenobling narratives in our very before. 

Buba Galadima, the Abacha Boy

The self-acclaimed Abacha Boy (an elder) disclosed his ‘completely different idea’ about the Abacha loot.  He has  CONVINCINGLY explained that Abacha, with the advice of his reliable and noble friends like Saddam Hussein and
Muammar Gaddafi and  knowledge of his inner circle, decided to save the money, away from the prying eyes of the US and for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians. Galadima has thus been able to convince us and not to confuse us  that the late dictator had benevolently  kept something aside for the rainy day. He created the Abacha Private Wealth Fund, with irrevocable power of attorney in favour of Nigeria!.

 The secoond reason why I remember him has to do with a book I am currently savouring.( Siollun,M(2019) Nigerias Soldiers of Fortune: The Abacha and Obasanjo Years. London, Hurst & Co). The book was bought by my daughter, who felt it would interest me and asked me to take the first turn at reading it. I have just finished reading Chapter 4 ( The  Khalefa).  The author said that Abacha had ‘Pinochets ruthlessness, Mobutus kleptocratic streak and the mystique of Putin’(p35). But what drew my attention was the make up of his key appointments: Gen Abacha( HOS, Kano State, Kanuri, Muslim);  Lt Gen Diya(CGS, Yoruba, Ogun State Xtian); Maj-Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar( CDS, Gwari, Niger, Muslim) Maj-Gen Cris Alli(COAS, Kogi Ebira Christian); Rear Adm Maduake( CNS,Anambra, Igbo, Christian); AVM Femi( CAS: Kogi, Yoruba, Christian) Ibrahim Komasie,( IGP Kastina, Fulani, Muslim) Ismail Gwarzo( NSO; Kano, Hausa  Muslim); Olu Onagoruwa (AG Ogun, Yoruba, Xtian) Babagana Kingibe (External Affairs, Borno, Kanuri Muslim) & Alexander Ibru( Internal affairs, Delta Urhobo Christian). Now, the author described Abacha as somebody who was so powerful and even above the law when he was  an ‘ordinary’ minister. For instance, he refused to move to Abuja when government moved and also refused to vacate Flagstaff House when he was  redeployed as Chiaf of Army Staff. This gives a glimpse of  how powerful he was as the C-in-C. And yet, his key appointments epitomised inclusiveness! Today,  we have  a democratically elected government, headed by a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms and an independent Legislature with confirming and oversight responsibilities. Check out for yourself  the current structure of  these and similar appointments. Who did this to us? Are we cursed or are we the cause? Meanwhile, lets remember that  nobody is so bad that there is nothing good about him and none is so good that there is nothing bad about him. Yes; I remember Abacha; in fact, I almost missed him!

- Ik Muo, PhD. Department of Business Administration, OOU, Ago-Iwoye. 08033026625