Ambassador John Campbell’s Doomsday Prophecy

Ambassador John Campbell, former American ambassador to Nigeria and now of the American Council of Foreign Relations needs to introduction to Nigerians. After reading his Nigeria in Never Never Land essay on the website nigeriavillagesquare.com, I couldn’t help but think that the former U.S diplomat is on a mission to help actualise the doomsday prophecy of the American CIA which had predicted in 2005 that Nigeria will disintegrate as a nation within 15 years. They say that to kill a dog, you will have to give it a bad name. Therefore it is not surprising that Mr Campbell is once again travelling a very familiar road with his anarchy coloured essay. This is not out of character though as his utterances and activities since he left Nigeria seems to confirm his true motives.

Compared to his compatriots (Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders and Ambassador Walter Carrington), both former U.S ambassadors to Nigeria, a friend of Nigeria Mr Campbell is surely not. We now at least know who our true friends are. Our friends are those that do not always see what’s not good about us, rather they are the ones that can use their position and influence and help to us to improve our democratic process, attract foreign investors and not scare them away with Hollywood influenced tales. Perhaps one should not be surprised with the position taken by Mr Campbell in his recent essay on Nigeria, it is consistent with the hidden motives of the west and their allies to promote conflicts in foreign lands and then cash in at the same time through arms sales, humanitarian aid etc. The Hollywood movie ‘Wag the Dog’ best depicts this American practice.

Reading Mr Campbell’s essay, you can’t help but sympathise with Mr. Segun Aganga, Nigeria’s new Minister of Trade and Investment as his job has just been made much more challenging as he begins a mighty task of convincing foreign investors to come to Nigeria, not against the backdrop of the scary tales of the Campbells of this world. For Nigeria to develop, we need investments in the critical areas of infrastructural development, roads, power, housing etc. These can only come as FDIs but such inflows will be jeopardised if the Campbells of this world keep painting the picture of Nigeria as a doomed economy to the outside world.

While accepting that Nigeria is facing some challenges, so also are other countries including America. America grapples daily with hurricanes and other natural disasters that lead to loss of human lives and damage to properties. Lagos experiences one bad spell of flooding and Mr Campbell conveniently dumps it on the doorsteps of Mr Jonathan, these Americans are funny. I didn’t hear Mr Campbell in his essay speak about how his organisation or country will support some of the victims as is the practice worldwide during such disasters. I remember that the Nigerian government donated 1 million dollars to the American government in aid of victims of Hurricane Katrina. We did not question or query the state of preparedness of the Americans. This is the most civil thing to do; anything else is pure mischief as Mr Campbell has shown with his writing.

The Jonathan presidency is just 2 months old, too bad the President inherited a lot of these social, political, religious and economic issues but solving these could not have been done in just 2 months. The President has been talking about transformation and it is only natural that he be allowed and given time to show Nigerians if he is just only talk, without any action. It is rather too early and distracting to be throwing the punches.

I was first drawn to Mr Campbell’s essay by a post made by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, my friend on Facebook on his wall. The Mallam now turned emergency social critic and activist seems to be pleased that Mr Campbell had referenced his recent encounter with the SSS over his article on the cost of running government in Nigeria. Perhaps the SSS may have been a little overzealous in their handling of the El-Rufai matter but I must say that I find Mallam El-Rufai’s recent self-righteous posturing nauseating, considering that he was a prince in the Obasanjo and Yar’Adua governments. His activities both at the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) and at the Federal Capital Territory Ministry have remained subjects of negative public criticisms. Having since been sidelined by the Jonathan government, he now uses his membership of the editorial board of This Day newspaper and the platform of his Friday column in the newspaper to attack the government. But true to character, Nigerians should not expect El-Rufai to see anything good in the Jonathan government as his party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) lost heavily in the recently concluded general elections.

Not everyone is buying John Campbell’s thesis. In a rejoinder published on the same website, Reno Omokri, a political campaign strategist writes that Mr Campbell’s recent attacks was borne out of the grudges he still harbours against the Nigerian state "for the loss of the substantial financial honorarium that would have accrued to him had his visa application to visit Nigeria in order to deliver a graduation lecture at the American University Of Nigeria in Yola as a member of its governing council not been denied". He went on to accuse Mr Campbell of double standards since "he only applied for a visa less than a week to his travel date and even at that submitted no documentation to establish his status as a member of that university's governing council", and that he had only himself to blame for the visa denial. Mr Omokri wondered what would have been the fate of a Nigerian who submitted an application for a U.S. visa a week to his travel date and without documentation during the time Mr. Campbell was the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria.

Maybe the time has come for the Nigerian government to wage its own information war against people like John Campbell and expose them for who they are, opportunists looking to exploit the developmental challenges of developing economies for their personal aggrandisement and for the benefit of their home countries.

Uche Nworah is a freelance writer, lecturer and brand scholar. He is the founder and project director of T.O.T.A.L PROJECTS , an NGO that promotes e-learning in Africa. He lives in London and can be contacted on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

South African President Jacob Zuma has accepted a Constitutional Court judgment declaring that it was unconstitutional for him to extend now-outgoing Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo's term of office.

The press release issued from the office of the South African presidency detailed that," The Presidency accepts and respects the judgement of the Constitutional Court in relation to the unconstitutionality and invalidity of Section 8 (a) of the Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act of 2001 and will abide by it. The law was valid until today's judgement, and government will now study the ruling to see what directives the Constitutional Court is giving to Parliament for remedial action. vThe President has begun the process of appointing a new Chief Justice and will do so in accordance with the provisions outlined in the Constitution of the Republic."

A South African newspaper reported that, " The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled that it was unconstitutional for President Jacob Zuma to extend now-outgoing Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo's term of office. The judgment was unanimous.

The court declared Section 8a of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act -- in terms of which Zuma extended Ngcobo's term -- unconstitutional.

The court found that the section allowed the president to "usurp" the power of Parliament and held that Parliament alone had the power to extend a Constitutional Court judge's term of office. Zuma and the Justice Minister were ordered to pay costs.

It was announced on Wednesday that Ngcobo had decided to withdraw his acceptance of Zuma's extension, which leaves the post of chief justice open from August 15 should a replacement not be found by then.

The application against the way Zuma offered Ngcobo an extended term was brought by the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution, Freedom under Law, the Justice Alliance of SA and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies."

Default may have economic domino effect on Africa, emerging economies and US trading partners

Echoing the words of the late President J. .F Kennedy, "We will go to the moon and do other things, NOT because they are easy but because they are HARD." In a nutshell that is what raising United States debt limit is all about, if it was an easy issue there will be no need for the politicians to be scrambling for more favorable positions. It may not be as difficult as going to the moon but it may require same willpower.

The economic impact of not raising debt ceiling and subsequent default by United States may have domino effect on Nigeria and Africa as a result of AGOA and NEPAD. Most African countries have their reserve in US dollar which may depreciate in value if United States's AAA credit rating is downgraded. Many African countries receive foreign assitatnce from United States which may be slashed or be cut off when economic hardship continues in America. The key aspect of this is that America is a major trading partners to Nigeria and South Africa in particular and Africa in general.

The elected politicians of both Republican and Democrat parties can politicized the issue of debt limit from Washington to Timberakutu, but the reality is that there is no easy solution. One thing for sure, debt limit will be raised and failing to so come with untold hardship that will shake American economic foundation. Another thing is not just raising the debt limit but there is also a time factor. It is must be raised at the due time which was said to be August 2.

There is time and place for politics but this one in particular is not for it. Hey, no one can blame the politicians for not trying but it is time for them to quit dancing around and sit down and do the business of the people. Politicians are looking back at their constituencies and home base to determine what and how to negotiate. That is all good and dandy to seek support from your base, but in finality an elected politician be it the president or the speaker must make the tough decision. That is why they were elected in the first place to represent the people and make decision that is good for the country.

Economic consequences

The die is cast and the Federal debt limit must be raised at the allotted time and failing to do so will come with economic ramification that will thicken economic hardship for the American people. Both the Wall Street and Main Street will not escape the economic woes that results due to the failure to raise the debt limit. Even the political elites – the elected politicians in Washington DC will not escape the frustration of the American people when they failed to deliver on debt limit. The voting public will definitely start once again with a clean slate by throwing away most politicians in 2012 election.

American greatest economic asset is the confidence that global economic players have in it. Investors are always trusting in putting their scarce resources in America by buying T bills and bonds knowing quite well that it will be redeem at the due time. Therefore when United States defaults on their financial obligations by not servicing and paying interest on their debt that will be a great disappointment, a big blow and the end of trust.People have come to take this for granted the confidence they and rest of the world have in US economy. But this confidence was not built in day; it takes years of accumulated hard work and sacrifices by great men and women of this country, framers, leaders and hard working tax payers who endeavor assiduously to solidify and consolidate this confidence and trust.

United States economic wellbeing might be at stake when Moody Rating and Standard & Poors’ downgrade the credit rating of the country if United States defaults. The AAA rating US has enjoyed since 1917 that justify American Super power economy may be downgraded. What it actually means that it be more difficult for American government to borrow money. In this case to borrow money the United States has to induce prospective buyers of treasury bills and bonds with higher interest rates. The greatest peril with such a scenario is that US cannot afford to pay higher interest rates on debts because they do not have the money and with $14 trillion debt, the debt servicing will take a big chunk of the budget expenditure. That in turn will threaten the welfare programs provided by the government. The American people will be faced with shift austerity measures as a result of downgrading of the credit rating. Subsequently, most of the programs offered by the government will be terminated or greatly slashed and cut down drastically.The government will resort and compel the Federal Reserve Bank to print more money and that is a fertile ground for higher inflation.

Inflation looms

The greatest disaster that will come with the inability for the government to raise the federal debt limit will be a rising inflation resulting from printing of paper currency (dollars) in order for the government to meet its financial obligations. The making of higher inflation with lower credit rating will make life difficult for American people as it comes with higher unemployment, higher interest rates on credit cards and depreciation of standard of living.

Momentarily, the heat of inflation is beginning to show is ugly face gradually. But when the raising of debt limit falls apart, the surging inflation will make life difficult because dollar will worth less for domestic consumption. In this case employers will let go of more workers as result of economic slowdown and households with fixed incomes will not meet up paying their bills and providing for their loved ones. Economists are predicting a fresh recession not just double dip. All the gains made by this administration will fall apart and economic suffering will mightily increased.

Compromise is the Answer

In actuality lifting the debt ceiling is more of a fiscal problem than political but it needs political management. The executive and legislative arms of the government must do something real fast and come to some sort of agreement. There should be a meeting of the minds and there must be the ‘c’ word which is compromise.

President Obama and Speaker Boehner playing golf

President Obama and Speaker Boehner must find a common ground to strike a deal in order to avert the ramification that will come with the inability to raise the debt limit. This is a serious business and compromise is the answer. Politicians from both parties must be willing to leave their comfort zones and loosen their ideological nets to make the great compromise and save the day.

Emeka Chiakwelu is the Principal Policy Strategist at Afripol. Africa Political and Economic Strategic Center (Afripol) is foremost a public policy center whose fundamental objective is to broaden the parameters of public policy debates in Africa. To advocate, promote and encourage free enterprise, democracy, sustainable green environment, human rights, conflict resolutions, transparency and probity in Africa. www.afripol.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

"What would have been my wish and joy is to witness the commissioning of the Centre named after me as I have just witnessed the fund-raising and foundation laying ceremonies."

THIS was the sentiment expressed by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1991 at the well- attended fund raising ceremony to build the Zik Centre located in Zungeru, Niger State where he was born in 1904.

The edifice was actually conceived in 1999 to serve as a gift to mark the 89th birthday and to immortalise the name of Nigeria’s first indigenous president fondly called Zik of Africa due to his immense contribution to liberation struggles in the continent.

Zik’s love for the Centre was never in doubt as he had in 1983 during his presidential campaign under the platform of the defunct Nigerian Peoples Party, NPP, taken time off his political schedule to offer prayers at the spot very close to his birth place in Zungeru.

He promised to uplift the spot by erecting a library of international standard. Unfortunately he could not redeem this promise before his demise.

About 20 years ago, precisely on Saturday, November 16,1991, the Bako Kontagora Memorial Stadium, Minna played host to a gathering of eminent Nigerians who came to honour this distinguished icon.

The gathering was to raise funds for the building of an edifice in honour of Zik and to have him commission it. The target was N50 million which was the amount required to complete the centre. But as a testimony of the love Nigerians have for him, that amount was exceeded.

Prominent Nigerians, including past Heads of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Usman Shehu Shagari and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida who was the incumbent military president then, graced the occasion.

Abandon Zik Centre

9 Nigerian banks make Top 1000 World Banks ranking

Lagos — Nine Nigerian banks have made the list of the Top 1000 World Banks Ranking by Tier One Capital in the 2011 edition by The Banker magazine as published in its current edition.

According to a statement signed by the Country Representative of The Banker, Mr. Kunle Ogedengbe, Zenith Bank and First Bank are the two top ranked banks in Nigeria. While Zenith is ranked 296, First Bank of Nigeria Plc is ranked 310.

Other Nigerian banks that made the Top 1000 World Banks list are Guaranty Trust Bank ranked 444, Access Bank (495), United Bank for Africa (513), Fidelity Bank (567), First City Monument Bank (586), Diamond Bank (650) and Skye Bank (657).

Apart from featuring in the top 1000 World Banks, the banks also made the Top 25 banks in Africa with Nigeria being the only country in the continent that has nine banks in the African Top 25 ranking schedule.

CBN's Sanusi

CBN raises policy rate

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 8.75 per cent, to further tighten money supply in anticipation of future rise in inflation. The MPR is the benchmark for interest rate in the economy.

The CBN also reported that the nation’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed down in the first quarter to 6.64 per cent from 7.36 per cent in the preceding quarter, warning that security challenges, infrastructural bottleneck and government spending could undermine investors’ confidence and output growth in the near term.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, the CBN explained the rational for raising the MPR for the third time this year.

It said, "The Committee observed that the inflation outlook appears uncertain owing to the expected implementation of the new national minimum wage policy and the imminent deregulation of petroleum prices. Significant injection of liquidity from FAAC in the third quarter coupled with the impact of AMCON recapitalizing intervened banks to the tune of N1.6 trillion will both add to inflationary pressures.

South Africa and Egypt have five banks each, Morocco has three while Togo, Angola and Mauritius have one each.

With the first listing published in 1970, The Banker Top 1000 ranking has for over 41 years served as a credible source for the measurement of the stability of global banks along with in depth analysis of the global financial industry.

In the 2011 ranking, the United States of America maintains number one position through Bank of America, followed by JP Morgan Chase & Co., while HSBC of the United Kingdom moved to third from fifth ranked position last year

New comers to the top 10 compared to last year are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Japan, China Construction Bank Corporation and Bank of China while those who did not make the top 10 this year compared to last year are BNP Paribas, France; Barclays Bank, UK and Banco Santander, Spain.

The rankings are based on the definition of Tier One Capital as set out by Basel’s Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the object of the survey is to show the banks’ soundness in relation to the Basel requirement of a minimum ratio of Tier One Capital to risk-weighted assets of 4 per cent (increasing to 7 per cent by 2019) and a minimum ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets of 8 per cent.

Vanguard

Nigeria Likely to Raise Benchmark Interest Rate to 8.5% to Curb Inflation

Nigeria’s central bank may raise its benchmark interest rate tomorrow for the fourth time this year to bring borrowing costs above inflation and slow price-growth to below 10 percent, according to a survey of analysts.

Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi will raise the monetary policy rate to 8.5 percent from 8 percent, said London-based analysts Razia Khan at Standard Chartered Plc, Samir Gadio of Standard Bank Plc and Alan Cameron at CSL Stockbrokers Ltd. He is due to announce the decision in a televised press conference at 2.30 p.m. local time.

"The debate is not about whether the MPR keeps rising - we are convinced it will - but how quickly it will rise," Cameron said in an e-mailed note on July 22. "We are still a long way from positive real interest rates."

Sanusi

Inflation slowed in June to 10.2 percent from 12.4 percent the month before after the naira strengthened against the dollar, easing import costs. The central bank of Africa’s top oil producer has raised rates as it attempts to slow inflation that peaked at 15.6 percent in February of last year and tries to stem a slide in the local currency. The naira has strengthened 2.7 percent against the dollar since June 1.

"Even though the naira has been firmer in recent weeks, demand for foreign exchange remains elevated and foreign capital is unlikely to really start flowing in until positive real rates are achieved," Cameron said.

Plans by President Goodluck Jonathan to end fuel subsidies this year may also push prices higher.

Most members of the monetary policy committee "seem to be keenly aware of the impact that fuel price deregulation could have and for this reason are likely to continue voting for hikes," Cameron said.

Dulue Mbachu in Abuja at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Bloomberg

UBA Creates New Management Layer

In order to streamline its operations and be better positioned for the emerging financial environment, United Bank for Africa Plc, has restructured its operations through the creation of new directorates and the redeployment of some of its executive directors, THISDAY can authoritatively report.

Under the new arrangement, the portfolio of Deputy Managing Director, South, which was headed by Mr. Victor Osadolor has been divided into two directorates, comprising Lagos/South-west as a stand-alone directorate and South-south/South-east as another directorate, while the former northern directorate, which was headed by Deputy Managing Director, North, Mrs. Faith Tuedor-Mathews, has been split into two directorates with Abuja as a distinct directorate from another one created for the north alone.

According to sources close to the bank, its wholesale banking directorate has also been split into two, such that one caters to non-energy corporates, while the other wholesale banking directorate will focus on oil and gas and possibly the power sector.

Also, the finance and risk directorate has been split into two, with finance as a separate directorate from risk management.

UBA sponsors prostate cancer campaign

Following the restructuring, former Deputy Managing Director South, Mr. Victor Osadolor is now the Deputy Managing Director, South-east/South-south, and will operate from Port Harcourt to oversee the operations of the new directorate, while Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, formerly executive director in charge of banking operations in Africa is now the executive director in charge of Lagos/South-west.

Mrs. Tuedor-Mathews has now assumed the position of Deputy Managing Director, Abuja, while an executive director has been redeployed to Kaduna to be in charge of the northern directorate.

THISDAY further learnt that some of the new directorates that have been created will be headed by group directors who are said not to be on the same pedestal with executive directors. UBA currently has eight directors in the executive cadre, that include its two deputy managing directors.

In addition to the restructuring, UBA penultimate week right-sized its workforce by a small margin when it let go about 400 of its staff across board. The bank at the same time promoted over 800 staff across all cadres - junior, middle and senior management.

Confirming the development, sources at UBA said, "There was nothing untoward about the decision to let go approximately 400 staff, as every year it is our policy to exit the bottom five percent underachievers."

Another source confirmed that five percent of the bank’s workforce translates to about 1,400 people. "But we will only let go 400 people, an indication that there is nothing untoward about the rationalisation exercise."

The bank’s 2010 result which was released on Thursday, however, triggered mixed reactions among industry analysts and the market.

According to the financial year ending 2010, the bank’s gross earnings for 2010 was put at N185.18 billion, compared to N244.11 billion in the previous year.

Profit before tax and extraordinary items for 2010 stood at N16.54 billion as against N13.66 billion recorded in 2009.

The result, which was made public by the Nigerian Stock Exchange also showed that UBA’s exceptional items for the year under review were put at N12.66 billion, compared to N7.02 billion reported by the bank in the corresponding period of the previous year.

According to financial analysts, who had spoken to the management of UBA, some of these exceptional items include write downs for legacy debts of Continental Trust Bank, which gulped N7 billion, among other non-performing loans.

Continental Trust Bank was acquired by Standard Trust Bank pre-consolidation, but its legacy assets and liabilities were transferred to UBA during the merger of STB and UBA in 2005.

In the financials released by UBA, the bank declared a profit before tax of N3.87 billion in 2010 against N6.3 billion in 2009, while its profit after tax for 2010 fell to N598 million compared to N2.37 billion reported in 2009.

Reacting to the bank’s full year result for last year, Head of Research, Afrinvest, Mr. Victor Ndukaba, said in his initial assessment that UBA’s result failed to meet market expectations, but added that it was a bit difficult to state exactly what affected the performance of the bank considering that the stock exchange had not put the full report in the public domain.

He said his organisation was billed to meet with the management of the bank at the weekend to analyse the figures.

Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige chats with SIMON EBEGBULEM of Saturday Vanguard

Former governor of Anambra State and now the Senator representing Anambra Central District, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, was in Benin City last week for the retreat organized for governors in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) controlled states.

In this chat with SIMON EBEGBULEM of Saturday Vanguard Ngige speaks on the ongoing legal battle between him and the former Minister of Information, Prof.Dora Akunyili, the 7th Senate and the issue of Boko Haram. He warns that with the prevailing security situation in the country, the nation is sitting on a keg of gun powder.Excerpts:

We hear you may abandon the governorship election legal battle since you are now in the senate.

Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige:

No no no!. I have not abandoned the gubernatorial legal battle. As you know, I went to court to challenge two things. First, I said that the man declared winner did not meet the constitutional requirements. He has majority of the votes cast quite alright but he did not score 25 per cent of all the votes cast in 2/3rd of all the Local Governments in Anambra state. Anambra state has 21 local governments and 2/3rd of 21 is 14. He has that in 13 but they are claiming that what we are talking about was all the votes cast, not valid votes cast.

In the INEC manual, they defined all these things. That is the first leg. Then the second leg is the voters’ register. 17 per cent of people in Anambra state were alleged to have voted and that 17 per cent translated to about 203,000 voters. Out of it you have 1.8million voters. The issue of whether that register was valid, that is the big question. Can we start to go for an election? INEC has partially answered it. When after their retreat in Uyo, they declared that Nigeria’s voters register was faulty and in particular that of Anambra and Akwa Ibom.

So the question becomes when you deprived people of voting, people who registered and they turned out on election day and their names were not seen, and the people are in the majority, about 83 per cent, can such an election said to be in compliance with the Electoral Act? We are saying no, it should be nullified and a fresh election should take place. So the case is still on. As a matter of fact, the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu, delivered judgment two days ago, saying that we should go back to the Tribunal, that a new tribunal should be set up for us to try the case de novo. So we are waiting now for the Court of Appeal to give us a new tribunal to try the case.

It seems you enjoy having political battles with people. Recently, it was Prof Dora Akunyili. How do you feel always battling?

Prof.Akunyili is my family friend. I don’t want to discuss her but it is good that we are in this political logjam now and it affords one the opportunity to re-appraise relationship you had in the past and know whether the relationship was blossoming because one is gaining from you or the other way.

It is unfortunate that we found ourselves in this situation. Unfortunate, in the sense that at least she came to solicit for my blessing as former governor of the state sometime in October last year and she came again in December. That time, I had not made my interest known because my party had not told former governors that we were the ones that would carry the party’s flag in the senatorial elections so that we could make our party alive. And that was what I did.

What is your focus in the senate?

The 7th Senate will be the best Nigeria will have. As a matter of fact, the 7th National Assembly will be different. We have many former governors there and apart from that, we have people who came from the House of Representatives. We have also some senators coming back for third term and fourth term like the senate president. So the membership is already a qualitative one. Again Mark as senate president is very experienced; he went to school and vast in many ways. So he knows the politics of the place.

So we have good leadership. And when Senator David Mark wanted to come back, some of us voiced our apprehension about the image of the senate. And we know that one of the cardinal things that made the image bad was the so called jumbo pay. And before we came in, we surveyed that issue of jumbo pay and we discovered that actually it was not a question of salaries and allowances of senators that was called the jumbo pay, it was a misconception. Whatever they took in terms of allowances and salaries were as prescribed by the Revenue Mobilization Commission, so it constitutional.

It is this same commission that fixed the salaries of President, Vice President, Judges, senate president and National Assembly members. So National Assembly members did not breach that. What people misconstrued as jumbo pay was the running cost of the National Assembly. And that was what Sanusi was alluding to that it was gulping 25 per cent of the national recurrent expenditure not the entire budget.

Over head cost, which includes refreshment, fuel, stationeries and others, so this is what is called recurrent expenditure. So in order for the National Assembly to feel the pain of the ordinary Nigerians, we advised that they must be slashed. And the Senate President being the chairman of the National Assembly, consulted with former Speaker Bankole before we were sworn in.

And they agreed that the money must be slashed. And after we were sworn in, he informed us that some of those things we were talking about before swearing in have been taken care of. 40 per cent slash of the recurrent expenditure. And it is a very big sacrifice because it means that even the travels and tours funds were slashed.

And from this recurrent expenditure, you take care of your own constituency offices and sometimes it is actually very expensive because you have to open constituency offices in your area, like I am planning to open seven constituency offices which I will furnish and employ people there.

Boko Haram has been holding Nigeria hostage. How do we tackle that?

It is a socio-political religious problem. We need jobs for these people to keep them busy. We need skill acquisition centres. When people apply skills, they will discover that they will make more money than those working in the offices. With that, they will stay out of trouble. This is the social aspect of it. If you go to the political angle, the politicians use them during elections.

We have some big people backing them. Those people also believe that they can destabilize the government. Then the religious aspect of it, this is where the Imams, Mallams who teach the Holy Koran should come in. These people have been brain washed that they are fighting for Allah. That everything Western education is bad. So we must re-orientate them.

The Islamic scholars have big job in their hands now for this country. If they are patriotic to this nation, they should move in now. I know that other Mallams are afraid to go into the matter seriously because of the dangers involved. The security agents must rise to the occasion. It is not enough to start playing politics with security now. I as a matter Chief Executive of a state noticed when I was governor that the SSS and the police hardly collaborate. This is not the time for it.

The office of the National Security Adviser must stand up and be useful. And the job of that office is the coordination of all the arms of security. The enforcement of all security laws is very necessary. The politicians who are doing this should be fished out because they want to destabilize both the state and federal governments. Again, schools, skill acquisition centres should be opened everywhere. If you go to the South East, that is why you see kidnapping everyday. They recruit them because they are idle.

Above all, the government and the elites should know that we are all sitting on a keg of gun powder. If we do not do something to make majority of Nigerian people happy, things will go bad, we might lose Nigeria and we don’t pray for that.

Government must encourage education, it is a weapon against poverty, it is a weapon against ignorance. Once you have gotten education, you have fought poverty, disease, ignorance. So this is the cardinal thing. People should be treated for malaria free of charge. Pregnant women the same. These are social security issues we need to tackle.

Credit: Vanduard

Celebration of Nelson Mandela 93 Years

"South Africa celebrates Mandela Day, marking the 93rd birthday of the country’s first black president, with each citizen urged to donate 67 minutes for volunteer work — a minute for every year he devoted himself to the anti-apartheid struggle. Celebrations kick off at 0605 GMT with some 12.4 million children in schools around the country singing “Happy Birthday” - Nigeria's Vanguard

Graca Machel claps as children sing happy birthday to Nelson Mandela, at a community centre near his house in Qunu. (Schalk van Zuydam, AP)

An underprivileged child (L) receives a free haircut from members of the Dr. Nelson Mandela Fans' Forum as another child poses with a portrait of Mandela in Bangalore on July 18, 2011. The charity event was in honour of the 93rd birthday of former South..

South African schoolchildren get ready before to sing happy birthday to former President Nelson Mandela as he turned 93 on July 18, 2011, at a Primary School in Johannesburg.   pic :Getty image

　School children have made birthday cards for Mandela

Children eat cake made during a birthday party of former South African President Nelson Mandela at a community center near Nelson Mandela house in Qunu, South Africa, Monday, July 18, 2011. Millions of school children around the country sang 'Happy Birthday' to former South African President Nelson Mandela, to celebrate his 93rd birthday. Photo: Schalk Van Zuydam / AP

　South African schoolchildren get ready before to sing happy birthday to former President Nelson Mandela as he turned 93 on July 18, 2011, at a Primary School in Johannesburg. A sculpture depicting former president Nelson Mandela as an amateur boxer in his youth, entitled "Thunder in Africa" by artist Des Khoury on display at an Arts and Antiques Fare in Johannesburg, Sunday, July 17, 2011. The fair includs art works by Mandela, sculptures, photographs and memorabilia in honor of the famous statesman on the eve of his 93rd birthday. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

　The Mandela family released this photo ahead of Nelson Mandela's 93rd birthday

 In this hand out photograph supplied by Peter Morey Photographic for the Mandela family, showing former South Africa president Nelson Mandela, center, with family members left to right Zaziwe Manaway, Ziphokazi Manaway, Zamaswazi Dlamini and Zamak Obiri at Mandela's hometown in Qunu, South Africa, Sunday July 17, 2011. Mandela celebrates his 93rd birthday Monday July 18, 2011. Center back is Mandela';s daughter Princess Zenani Dlamini. (AP Photo/.

Graca Machel, center, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela works in the garden of a community center near Nelson Mandela house in Qunu, South Africa, Monday, July 18, 2011.   AP

Burn victims sing happy birthday for former president Nelson Mandela, affectionately known as Madiba, Monday July 18, 2011, at the Children of Fire charity and blind school in Johannesburg. More than 12 million school children sang a special version of the song, written for the anti-apartheid leader, before lessons began to celebrate his 93rd birthday. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

　Nelson Mandela with his former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, second from right, surrounded by family members, celebrate his birthday. pic:Peter Morey, AP

Nigeria's Oil wealth Dilemma

Energy is the key ingredient that propels industry, economic growth and development. To enhance this, mother-nature has provided mankind with natural resources, some of which are sources of energy, such as coal, petroleum, wind, solar, hydraulic and nuclear.

However, their distribution, availability, affordability and utilization vary from country to country, thus impacting on the overall energy capacity for economic prosperity and development. Since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, Petroleum has remained the predominant energy source, having displaced coal as the primary ingredient for powering machinery for mechanized labour. The demand for petroleum over coal has continued to be on the rise owing to environmental and health concerns associated with coal utilization, since the latter is regarded as being technically dirty.

This rise in demand for petroleum has also brought in its wake extensive search for and exploitation of this commodity, both in inland [onshore] basins and offshore basins in virtually all the continents of the world, particularly in the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. The occurrence of petroleum has therefore transformed some nations into economic prosperity and development havens, and it is rightly believed that this demand for petroleum will continue to rise into the next century as mankind continues to consume energy on a very large scale.

Nigeria is a country richly endowed with petroleum, having a proven crude oil reserve base of about 40 billion barrels and current producibility of about 2.5 million barrels daily. In addition its natural gas reserves are estimated at about 200 trillion standard cubic feet, which should increase when efforts are geared at prospecting specifically for gas rather than encountering it accidentally while searching for and producing crude oil.

This scenario has placed Nigeria in the first league of petroleum endowed nations of the world, ranking 6th in the global oil map and 10th in the global gas map, which also places her on the topmost rungs of the petroleum ladder in Africa. The current aggressive exploration programmes in the frontier basins and deep offshore are expected to boost the present reserves base of both the oil and gas resources in this country. Little wonder then that Nigeria is also a prominent member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC], having also produced both its president and secretary-general on several occasions.

However, there are also inherent challenges associated with petroleum and its related activities such as during exploration, exploitation, transmission and utilization, and in Nigeria these arise mainly from the negative consequences of environmental degradation and host community hostilities. But more importantly, for the citizenry, there are concerns associated with the inexplicable level of poverty prevalent in a nation so richly endowed with natural resources, such as petroleum, which has turned some other less endowed nations around into lands flowing with the biblical "milk and honey". But alas, not so in Nigeria!

The search for petroleum in Nigeria dates back to 1908 when a German concern, the Nigerian Bitumen Company began to investigate the seepages of bitumen occurring along the Nigerian coast, east of Lagos. Various other efforts at further exploration for petroleum occurrence were interrupted by the onset of the 1st and 2nd world wars, until Shell D’Arcy, the precursor of the present Shell Petroleum Development Company [SPDC], returned to Nigeria in 1947 after the hostilities and drilled an exploratory well, north of Owerri, southeast of Nigeria in 1955, which discovered traces of oil, but of non-commercial significance.

This partial success however encouraged the company to strike its significant success at Oloibiri, in present-day Bayelsa state, in 1956, which also culminated in the commencement of crude oil production in 1958 and the subsequent shipment overseas of the first cargo of Nigerian petroleum. With this development, several other multi-national oil companies were attracted to Nigeria, a few years later, to join in this capital intensive and high risk venture.

The Niger Delta basin being a prolific petroleum province, Shell and the other new entrants into the Nigerian setting encountered a very favourable petroleum business environment, which was translated into rapid and expanded exploration and production efforts in Nigeria, both onshore and offshore. Significantly also in keeping with OPEC directives to all host countries to get directly involved in petroleum activities, rather than relying solely on collection of royalties and taxes, the Nigerian government acquired equity interests [35%-50%] in the operating International Oil Companies [IOCs].

By 1971 after joining OPEC, it set up a national oil company, the Nigerian National Oil Corporation [NNOC], the precursor of the conglomerate Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC], as the industry arm of government established to play both regulatory and participatory roles in the oil business. It was not until the late 70s and early 80s that private indigenous participation sprouted, leading to the involvement of local oil companies which took up some relinquished concessions or marginal fields from the IOCs.

With this the petroleum business in Nigeria became diversified and development of downstream activities resulted in the building of refineries, products depots, and petrochemical and fertilizer plants. Subsequently the need to harness and commercialize the abundant reserves of gas hitherto being flared, also led to the establishment of gas plants such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas [LPG or cooking gas], Liquefied Natural Gas [LNG], Gas to Liquid [GTL] and Compressed Natural Gas [CNG] ventures. It is also certain that with the implementation of the Gas Masterplan recently commissioned by the government, further developments in this sector will strengthen the Nigerian petroleum industry and boost the revenue base of this country.

Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke