NNAJI AS AN CHANGE AGENT--Tribute to Minister on his 56th birthday‏

NNAJI AS A CHANGE AGENT
Tribute to the Minister on his 56th birthday
By General Ishaya Bakut (retd)

Before me on my table as I am writing this short essay is a couple of media reports on the signing on July 4 , 2012, of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Power and Daewoo Construction and Electrical on ways Daewoo could help generate 10,000MW in Nigeria, with the South Korean engineering giant taking up 20% equity in new plants. I am particularly excited at the statement attributed to the Minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji, to the effect that Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like Daewoo would no longer be allowed to just sell finished products like turbines to Nigeria. The minister reasons that if OEMs cannot manufacture in our country yet, they should at least begin to assemble here and consequently add value to our national economy. Nigeria, the minister added, should not remain forever the dumping ground for foreign manufacturers.

As I was reading the reports, my confidence in the Nigerian possibility became rekindled. Prof Nnaji spoke on the occasion with authority; not the authority of his personal accomplishments which, in any case, can humble practically anyone but the authority arising from unprecedented international investor confidence in the Nigerian power sector. In other words, Nnaji is not on his kneels pleading with foreigners to come to Nigeria to invest. The international investors are coming daily in large groups, and for once Nigeria has the confidence to dictate the terms to them—and they are complying enthusiastically!

I am not just a student of strategic studies who follows international affairs with interest, but someone who has been in government at a high level and has seen at close quarters how international investors view Nigeria. I served as Principal Staff Officer in The Presidency during the time of General Ibrahim Babangida and was appointed the Field Commander of the multinational ECOWAS peacekeeping force in Liberia in the 1990s, only to return to State House under General Sani Abacha years later. These two positions, among others, enabled me to have a bird’s eye view of how foreigners really perceive Africans, all the more so in matters of long term investments. CitiBank/NIB was for some years about the most profitable bank in Nigeria, but it did not bother to acquire one single property here! It was in Nigeria for hot money. If anything had gone wrong, CitiBank/NIB would have simply repatriated all its money to New York, together with its expatriate staff.

Now, there are some Nigerians who think all this was happening because our country was then under military rule. Well, they could be right, but only to some extent. President Olusegun Obsanjo, for instance, spent a substantial part of his first tenure of 1999 to 2003 on foreign trips, campaigning for foreign investments in Nigeria. But there was little to show for his dedicated effort. Let us cite the telling example of Obasanjo’s spirited lobbying of the British telecom company, Vodafone (which is the world’s largest mobile telephone operator) to invest in the Nigerian GSM market in the wake of the liberalization of the telecom sector and of the restoration of democratic governance in the country. Vodafone turned down Obasanjo’s offer, which included incredible tax reliefs. The rejection by big telecom firms enabled relatively smaller players like Southern African MTN and Econet to have a field day. It does not matter that the Vodafone chairman, Sir Christopher Gent, was to deeply regret his investment decision.

Against this backdrop, I am, like most Nigerians, over the moon to know that world class electricity companies are taking far-reaching steps to participate, in very concrete terms, in the ongoing power sector in our beloved nation. General Electric of the United States, the world’s biggest manufacturer of electricity equipment, has signed an MoU to assist in the generation of 10,000MW and invest between 10 and 15% equity in new plants using its equipment. Put succinctly, GE is no longer contented with selling turbines to Nigeria. In addition, GE is planning to build an assembly plant in the country, the first time it will do so in sub-Saharan Africa. As if in competition with GE, Siemens of Germany has signed an MoU to help generate 10,000MW, build a service station (the first time in West Africa) and sponsor a study for the integration of traditional and alternative sources of energy. Electrobra of Brazil has signed a similar MoU with the Nigerian Ministry of Power.

Just before the MoUs were signed, the United States EXIM Bank signed an MoU last year with the Nigerian Ministry of Power providing $1.2b credit to investors in Nigeria’s power sector using American products and services. This is a very interesting development. US EXIM’s total credit to sub Sahara Africa the previous year was $1.4b, with only $200m coming to Nigeria. It is worth emphasizing to state here that the credit to Nigeria’s power sector alone is more than the combination of all the sectors in the whole of Black Africa received in 2010. I am even informed by my contacts in the US EXIM Bank that the financial institution is willing to raise the facility to $2.5b. It was the same sources who disclosed to me that the chief executive of the American bank came himself to Nigeria to sign the MoU only two weeks after the Minister of Power visited him in Washington, DC, and persuaded the top banker to get involved in Nigeria’s power sector reform. The CEO has tremendous arespect for Prof Nnaji who lived in America from 1975 to 2005 and shone like a star in the American academia.

The tremendous international investor confidence in the power sector displayed by the GEs, Siemenses, Dawewoos and US Exim Banks of this world need not have come to all of us as a surprise. As early as 2010 when the Bureau of Public Enterprises called for Expressions of Interest (EoIs) in the 18 PHCN successor companies mapped out for privatization, the signs had been there. There were as many as 331EoIs from blue chip companies from various regions of the world. Nnaji was then serving as the Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power. It is gratifying that 135 companies have now been shortlisted to bid for PHCN six generation companies and eleven distribution firms this month. Already, Manitoba of Canada has won the bid to manage the 18th PHCN successor company, Transmission Company of Nigeria, and the contract will be signed this month.

All these fantastic developments in the electricity sector do give our people hope that, much as power takes a long time to become available, the revolution which our dear nation has seen in telecoms since 2001 will be repeated in the power sector someday. The success thus far owes to essentially the character, competence, integrity, foresight, knowledge and doggedness of one Nigerian: Prof Bart Nnaji, a very pleasant and unassuming person whom I met when I was a principal officer in State House and worked closely with as a fellow engineer when he was setting up the Abuja 22Megawatt Emergency Plant in 2000; Nnaji has since gone on to achieve other feats for himself and for the Nigerian people. I am using the occasion of his 56th birthday on July 13, 2012, to pay him this well deserved public tribute. May the Almighty continue to bless, guide and protect him for us.

Gen Bakut (retd), an engineer, was Governor of Benue state and ECOMOG Field Commander.

Happy birthday Sir..may all these contributions and plans b what that will one day yield good friut for us all.. God bless you.