EzeUche_:

Nigeria is definitely owned by a kleptocratic oligarchy.

The presidential campaign council announced by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is a roll-call of Nigeria’s wealthiest bankers and industrialists, and also includes some northern politicians who had opposed Jonathan, a southerner, at the primaries.

Many of Jonathan’s billionaire backers are long-term PDP supporters, suggesting it will be business as usual should he win, with the same commercial interests as before holding influence in sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest economy.

Gbawe:

Indeed. The statement below , culled from the article above, says all that needs to be said in testimony to how we are a people who keep doing things the same way yet expecting a different outcome each time.

lagerwhenindoubt:

Enough is said about Capitalism and Politics, they do go well in bed. Think of it this way. which would you rather be in control of the president.

1: Greedy Politicians
2: The Military
3: Capitalist Private Sector Profiteers 
I would stick with number three (at least they provide jobs for the unemployed)

Gbawe:


Sadly , you mistake Nigeria for a sane model of nationhood. The capitalist private sector in Nigeria is dangerous because , aside from it being owned heavily by current and past politicians , their interests often runs contrary to that of the rest of Nigeria. The richest and most powerful private sector players always fund PDP Presidents so as to gain leverage with which to then act as powerful lobby groups constantly frustrating the radical policies that can transform Nigeria. Who does not know that Femi Otedola is a diesel baron? What would happen to his empire if Nigerians suddenly stopped buying diesel for their generators? I would think it is obvious that Otedola is very happy with the current status quo. I cannot see him willingly embracing any change to the status quo.

Many of us forget that the wealthiest politicians are also heavily involved int the private sector  directly and indirectly. They are often hidden partners to the likes of Otedola, Dangote et al. These compromised politicians can therefore not be as impartial as they should be and this is why change is frustratingly slow in Nigeria. It is therefore madness for anyone to think Otedola would pump money into Jonathan's campaign unless he is sure his business interests are safe. He will , for example , know that , despite the noise, it is pseudo-privatisation of the power sector (which will not harm Otedola and his ilk) that Nigeria will get. Otedola and co now queue behind Jonathan because they feel assured of a PDP win and the continuation of "business as usual".

Ikengawo:

dude you guys have no education, what democracy in the world doesn't see donations from the rich to politicians. smh.

Fawehinmi noted that to date, Transcorp had acquired three prime business interests from Nigeria. These are: four oil blocks, OPL218, 219, 209 and 220 allocated to it on 21st July, 2005 by General Olusegun Obasanjo when it was launched; Nicon-Hilton, Abuja in October 2005 for $105million. NITEL on 3rd July, 2006 for $750million. He noted that the Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and chairman of Transcorp, Mrs. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, on September 13 this year admitted before the House of Representatives that President Obasanjo is a subscriber to Transcorp through Obasanjo Holdings Limited.

[b]He continued that, the admission by the Trustees (Elder Daniel Atsu and Barrister Lucky Egede) of Obasanjo Holdings Limited, compounds the constitutional illegality of the President’s involvement in Transcorp. Obasanjo Holdings Limited is the nominee of President Olusegun Obasanjo in the Transcorp and acts on behalf of the president as a cover, when in actual fact all the activities of Transcorp involved the direct participation of President Olusegun Obasanjo at least publicly. The legal luminary also noted that at the time Transcorp was formed and four oil blocks were allocated to it, with attendant licenses, the President General Olusegun Obasanjo was the Minister of Petroleum Resources, a position he held from May 29, 1999 to date. He argued, “for the president to allocate oil fields or blocks as the Minister for Petroleum Resources to Transcorp, a company in which he has substantial shares, is clearly an abuse of office contrary to section 15(5) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 which provides that, “the state shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power”.[/b]



The radical Lagos lawyer went on to say, a major aspect of the president’s reforms programme is privatization of major industries. Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), a public concern which belongs to the major sector of the Nigerian economy was privatized. It was sold by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo to Transcorp, a company in which the president owns and controls substantial interest through his nominee (Obasanjo Holding Ltd.), it is both a corrupt act, a violation of the Code of Conduct and constitutes a shameless abuse of power by the president. Also, for the federal government to divest its shares in Nicon-Hilton Hotel, probably the biggest hotel in Nigeria, and for the hotel to be bought by the president’s partly-owned company, Transcorp also amounts to a gross abuse of power, a corrupt act a violation of the code of conduct.



Apart from the list of petitions listed by the Chief Gani Fawehinmi to the code of conduct bureau, the president has been involved in a lot of questionable deals, from NNPC to PTDF, NPA and other numerous institutions since 1999 to date. This was a person that could be not boast of N20, 000 in 1998; in fact, he was indebted to a number of banks to the tune of over N200million, before he was bailed out of a group of people. So, how come that president Obasanjo is today in the country, the richest person and perhaps, the richest president in the whole of Africa? What is the source of his sudden wealth? Is this how to fight corruption? How much must spent on COJA? Who supplied all the poultry products such as eggs and chickens during COJA?



How much was spent on the Abuja stadium construction? Where is the five-star hotel that was supposed to be built with it? Why were houses built to accommodate athletes in the games villages not completed? How much was spent on CHOGM? When will the finance details be made public? How come that the Ota  farms that was in almost total ruin in 1999, suddenly became totally overhauled and radically transformed into an ultra-modern and perhaps the biggest as well as most equipped farm in Nigeria since 1999? What happened to the N320billion that was allocated to the federal ministry of works to construct and maintain roads across between 1999-2003, yet all the roads are still in a deplorable state of disrepair? Where is the N6.4billion that was donated to the presidential library project, since it has been established beyond all reasonable doubts that, it is illegal and completely illegitimate for such an abominable act to take place at all in the first instance? Who has the largest shares in Virgin Nigeria? Who has largest shares in Arik Air? Who really owns the Obajana cement factory? Who owns the Beach land estate in Lagos state, and how and when was it acquired? Why is it that since 1999 the federal government under president has never implemented the national budget as passed by the National Assembly, but rather carried it out the way it wished without recourse to the National Assembly which is a gross violation of the constitution? How must has the president spent on globetrotting around the globe since 1999? Is the millennium tower that is to be built in Abuja for several billions of naira, not only a misplaced priority, but a contravention of the Abuja master plan, since the Abuja master plan states very clearly that no storey building must be more than 12 stories and the millennium tower is a 42 storey edifice? Who brought into the country electronic voting machine even before, the idea of electronic voting was mooted to the National Assembly and subsequently discarded? So, where are the machines now? What is the cost of buying them? Who are the people behind such a massive wastage?

Ikengawo:

oh quit, this happens EVERYWHERE in the world with a democracy.
EVERYWHERE
nobody is talking about electricity. Has a nigerian citizen paid an electric bill since Babangida?
150 million people that want free electricity from people that they will call corrupt if they can contributions to their campaigns.


the blame game must end

Gbawe:


Many of us forget that the wealthiest politicians are also heavily involved int the private sector  directly and indirectly. T[b]hey are often hidden partners to the likes of Otedola, Dangote et [/b]al. These compromised politicians can therefore not be as impartial as they should be and this is why change is frustratingly slow in Nigeria. It is therefore madness for anyone to think Otedola would pump money into Jonathan's campaign unless he is sure his business interests are safe. He will , for example , know that , despite the noise, it is pseudo-privatisation of the power sector (which will not harm Otedola and his ilk) that Nigeria will get. Otedola and co now queue behind Jonathan because they feel assured of a PDP win and the continuation of "business as usual".

Gbawe:

Your question is predicated on the assumption that Nigeria is like other nations . We all know this is not so. How many nations live with prehistoric levels of electricity supply as Nigeria does? When you have narrowed the list down then tell me how many rich donors to the Government profit massively from the misery of the ordinary citizens with how they supply diesel and generators to the populace abetted by a Government deliberately failing to do what it must to secure adequate power thereby perpetuating the vicious cycle of a few making a killing at the expense of the generality. As the list grows shorter you should then give us names of country where the friends and sponsors of Government continue to thrive by a deliberate conspiracy of inaction between the Government and certain specific segments of the private sector .

kalokalo:

Otedola is only a businessman who found a gap in the market place (lack of electricity) and positioned himself to fill that gap by supplying the diesel that will power private generators. If remember correctly, Zenon only started selling diesel in the year 2000. Nigerians have been running generators before Otedola was even born.

So stop giving us some conspiracy that Otedola is so powerful that he is single handedly keeping Nigerians in darkness. Privatize PHCN and nothing on this planet will stop electricity from being availale when its turned into a profitable business venture. Nothing can stop a profitable good from being sold even if it is illegal.

Gbawe:

Why do some of us enjoy senseless belligerence? I mentioned Otedola because he is mentioned in the original article . I never hinted that Otedola alone stands in the way of the electrification of Nigeria. Otedola is part of the diesel Mafia. Collectively , they are powerful and influential . You can choose to believe otherwise if you want . If Otedola began his diesel operation recently so what ? Is is not about self-perpetuation for the "owners of Nigeria" and the "in crowd" ? Can any of them live to be 200 ? Does it not make sense that they will pass the baton on to "like minds" , cronies, family members, siblings and "business as usual" buddies?

Bawss1:

Dude your first reference to Otedola implied that he was the reason behind Nigeria's electricity problems hence Kalokalo's comments.

Where in the world do business men not support politicians?

I all I think you are a first rate conspiracy theorist. I'm not insulting you here, I'm just saying.

The capitalist private sector in Nigeria is dangerous because , aside from it being owned heavily by current and past politicians , their interests often runs contrary to that of the rest of Nigeria. [b]The richest and most powerful private sector players always fund PDP Presidents so as to gain leverage with which to then act as powerful lobby groups constantly frustrating the radical policies that can transform Nigeria. Who does not know that Femi Otedola is a diesel baron? What would happen to his empire if Nigerians suddenly stopped buying diesel for their generators? I would think it is obvious that Otedola is very happy with the current status quo. I cannot see him willingly embracing any change to the status quo.

Bawss1:

@Gbawe
America, the world's champion of democracy also has businessmen supporting politicians. Obviously many of them leverage this support to win contracts and favors when their candidate is elected. This is not necessarily a good thing but it is a fact of democracy. There is no country in the world that runs some form of  democracy where such things aren't found. The way you cite Nigeria's own case makes it appear as though we have the worst form of government from hell.


BTW I apologize if my statement offended you. Was just saying how you came across here.

blink182:

Business as Usual

jason123:

As usual my brother!

Gbawe:

This is the point. These people only rush to donate money so that they remain members of the "in crowd".

jason123:

Exactly. But our Ijaw brothers cannot see this because he is their "son". SMH!!!