₦airaland Forum

[size=18pt]How Nigeria derailed –Senator Owie[/size]
By NDUBUISI ORJI
Thursday, October 1, 2009
• Sen. Owie
Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section

As Nigeria continues to battle with endemic corruption and its attendant problem of under development, 49 years after independence, Senator Roland Owie has blamed former Heads of State, Late General Muritala Mohammed and Olusegun Obasanjo for the malaise.

Owie was a former member of the Federal House of Representative between 1979-1983, and pioneer Senate Chief whip in the current democratic dispensation. He represented Edo South senatorial zone in the Senate from 1999-2003 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The former Senator while speaking on the state of the Nigerian nation after 49 years of nationhood told Daily Sun in an interview in his Benin residence that the duo of Muritala and Obasanjo sowed the seed of corruption in the country through their “dismissed with immediate effect policy” in the civil service after the coup that brought them to power in 1975.
He said civil servants before the coming of the duo were doing their jobs conscientiously, because they knew that they had a secured tenure. But that with the “dismissed with immediate effect” policy of the Murtala\Obasanjo regime, the civil servants starting thinking of how best to guarantee their economic well being.

“The civil service is the engine room of development. Civil service is the womb of government. He (Muritala) came with his greed and that of Obasanjo and they ruined the civil service of Nigeria by what they called dismissed with immediate effect.
“And when they came up with dismissed with immediate effect, the civil servant whose ambition in life in work was to, become a permanent secretary or a deputy permanent secretary, have a house in GRA, get to grade level scale one or scale three or so they used to call it changed. And when he is on leave in a year, he goes abroad, he comes back, one house of four bedrooms in GRA. Retire with his car.

Corruption in the civil service and the political system then was to the barest minimum. Because the engine room was not corrupt. But when Obasanjo and Murtala Mohammed came, with their sycophancy and hypocrisy and dismissed these poor federal civil servants and civil servants everywhere all over the country, the remaining ones said ‘ah! Is it how it goes? All that we had hoped for is gone. So the best beat is to steal. The only way now is to loot the treasury.’ That was the beginning of corruption in Nigeria,” Owie stated.

The former Senator who is now a chieftain of the Action Congress in Edo State said from that period the civil servants who realized they no longer had a secured tenure “launched into corruption.” He said they did not stop there.

According to him, they took corruption a step further by teaching the politicians how to help themselves to public funds.
In his words “they are the people now teaching politicians. When the politicians arrive, they will say you have to take care of yourself. They were the ones teaching politicians how to steal.”
He also bared his mind on the controversial June 12, 1993 presidential election presumed to have being won by late Chief MKO Abiola but annulled by the General Ibrahim Babangida administration. The AC chieftain declared that the late Abiola reaped what he
sowed into the political system.
Excerpts:

49 years after independence
Well we are still crawling. And the founding fathers of this nation-Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo, Omo Osagie, Chief D.N Oronsaye and others. of blessed memory, wherever they are now, will be weeping that their vision for this nation has been dashed. If you look at it, they are talking about deregulation of petroleum products, in a nation that has petrol. A nation that Malaysia came to take their palm nut, and today we are all running to Malaysia to ask them, how they survived. Now, if you look at it Obasanjo increased fuel 11 times, nothing was done with the increase of fuel.

As a matter of fact Obasanjo’s administration was the one since the 1914 amalgamation that has the highest revenue in this nation, and yet it was the worst government that this nation has ever produced in terms of infrastructural development.
Today, there is no road between Lagos and Benin. Today there is no road between Benin, Port- Harcourt and Uyo. Today there is no road between Calabar, Ogoja and Markurdi. Today there is no road between Funtua, Gusua and Sokoto. And yet money was voted for them. Appropriated, but went into private pockets. Obasanjo could not explain about the resources that he had for eight years.
Now you are not talking about ordinarily late Abacha. He increased fuel once and he set up PTF. But for PTF today we will not have been going to Abuja from Benin. Nothing has happened to Abuja Benin Road since Abacha left. Nothing has happened to teaching hospitals since Abacha left in terms of additional drugs from government or additional vehicles from government.
So, it is a wasted generation and especially because of the irresponsibility of the leadership. Particularly the irresponsibility of Olusegun Obasanjo.

Obasanjo’s 8 years
Before 1960 you have the regional government, you found what was happening. The Action Group in the West took Western Region to the highest level. In Africa they started the first television station. Free education started in Western region including the present Edo and Delta. Eastern region was doing its own. The North, everybody was developing on its own rate. Cocoa was booming. Groundnut was booming. Rubber was on. Then we had not found oil. Whatever happened from the amalgamation up to 1963, I will tell you that it met the vision of God and man. We were okay.

When in 1966 the coup came, that coup organized and led by Late Nzeogwu was the beginning of the disorganization of this nation. Because the moment there was no unanimity in action, it creates division. The coup of Nzeogwu moved ahead to eliminate only non-Igbos. It eliminated northerners. It eliminated the westerners. It eliminated the mid-westerners, the Okotie-Eboh and co, the easterners was left and that was what led to the counter coup of June in which General Gowon took over. That was the beginning of the destruction of Nigeria.

Now the war came up. The civil war that came up which was unnecessary, but it was a product of the coups. Because after the Nzeogwu coup the confidence within the Nigerian system broke down. But before then, in the first republic, Ekwe and others from Igbo came here and contested election in Benin City and won. Another Igbo person contested election in Kano and won. Our people were not bothering about where you came from, provided they were Nigerians.

So, the first destruction was placed at the doorsteps of Nzeogwu. Two, the Mohammed\Obasanjo regime came and destroyed the nation a second time. When people were shouting General Muritala Mohammed, great man, great leader. He was not great in any thing. If Murtala Mohammed had stayed two years in government, he would have been pushed out. In fact, Nigerians would have demonstrated against him and walked him out of Dodan Barracks at that time. That was another irresponsible regime. A man that was in military, that came to Benin and looted the central Bank, collected all the money in Benin. When he came here on the side of the federal troops. Turned around and said he was now a saint. And started to destroy the only thing that Nigeria was known for: the civil service.

The civil service is the engine room of development. Civil service is the womb of government. He came with his greed and Obasanjo and they ruined the civil service of Nigeria by what they called “dismissed with immediate effect.” And when they came up with dismissed with immediate effect, the civil servant whose ambition in life was work, become a perm sec or a deputy perm sec, have your house in GRA, get to grade level scale one or scale three or so they used to call it. And when he is on leave in a year, he goes abroad, he comes back, one house in GRA of four bedrooms. Retire with his car. Corruption in the civil service and the political system was there to the barest minimum. Because the engine room was not corrupt. But when Obasanjo and Murtala Mohammed came, with their sycophancy and hypocrisy and dismissed these poor federal civil servants and civil servant everywhere all over the country, the remaining ones said “ah! Is it how it goes? All that we had hoped for is gone. So the best beat is to steal. The only way now is to loot the treasury.” That was the beginning of corruption in Nigeria.
And so the civil servants were in charge of various tenders, they have the brains. They started looting. And taught the politicians how to loot. Today go to the federal capital territory. Take the inventory of the houses in Abuja. Three quarters are owned by the civil servants. Not up to one quarter is owned by the politicians.

So, the civil servants who felt they had a secured tenure before Murtala Mohammed \Obasanjo came, now realized that there was no more secured tenure and launched into corruption. They are the people now teaching politicians. When the politicians arrive, they will say you have to take care of yourself. They were the ones teaching politicians how to steal. I am saying that was where we got it wrong the second time after Nzeogwu.

Then Babangida came on board. You don’t need to talk about Buhari and Idiagbon. Those ones just came and didn’t know what they were doing. They were totally unfocussed. And putting politicians into one hundred and ten years imprisonment. Was that not madness. How do you jail a man for 200 years? Was he going to live up to 200 years? They made mockery of discipline and of handling corruption. There they were, they made a law of who should go to Saudi Arabia. And Idiagbon who was thoroughly strict put his own under aged child to go to Saudi Arabia. They started the condition for going to Umrah but he put his son there. Those ones were just fake.

Then see the arrival of Ibrahim Babangida, he brought compassion into governance. He released all the politicians that were jailed. He healed the wound in the political system. He healed the wounds in the maritime sector. He moved into action. Every edifice you can see at today at the Federal Capital Territory is all the work of Ibrahim Babangida. And the entire revenue that IBB got in the eight years he governed was less then one and half years of Obasanjo’s revenue for eight years. Yet he made his marks.

People now talk about June 12, about the man. If it is not because of the irresponsibility of Nigerians, some of us who don’t want to look deep. Oh June 12!
The word of God said those who destroyed others at the point of their success would be destroyed. Have Nigerians asked who was that or those politicians that organized to embarrass Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the Marako land issue a month to the general election of 1979.

Have the pressmen or Nigerians found out, who is that politician or politicians that encouraged the overthrow of Shagari’s administration. Have we found out that politician or group of politicians that made sure that after NPN Kano convention, the coup of Shagari came up? Have you found out that politicians or group of politicians that influenced the IBB military regime to disqualify Yar’Adua, Adamu Ciroma, Saraki, and all the 22 notable SDP aspirants? Why were they disqualified? We haven’t found out. And then we are talking of June 12. How can a particular person or group that has never meant well for anybody decide to know to now climb on success where they have not planted? Will such people be allowed by God to occupy the position? The fact that God is silent doesn’t mean he is absent.
The only thing everybody said is “oh June 12.” Council election was conducted. Governorship election was conducted. Free and fair. If he wants to rig Tofa in, apart from Gowon, IBB is one of the smoothest operators. He would do it without anybody knowing.

http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/oct/01/national-01-10-2009-16.htm

++++++++++++++

i generally dont agree with roland stephen owie becos he is another fine polital thief but is he right?

aisha2:
This is one of the best responses i have seen on nairaland. Education is the key , the light that drives away darkenss and breaks bariers. Thats why i give my all to see that i can get as many children that need education schoolarships. My Late mom thoghut me the value of education and the reason why people in leadership especially in the north deny education to the poeple to keep them in darkness and slavery. I never fully understood why my mother sacrifced her personal comfort, money and time to ensure that children especially girls got an education till a year ago, four after se had died, we had a program and i had applied the an organization for a reduction in thier charge for a hall, and the Boss of the organization called me herself because my moothers name was on the letter head, she asked me why my moms name was on the letter head and i told her the she was my mom and i want to continue her legacy and she sat quietly for some minutes, this woman was a big director everyone was scared of, she startedhedding tears and told me that my mother paid for her education, my mother was her teacher and she noticed that she was witdrawned from school, she followed her to her house to find out and at that point her father was about to give her out in marriage, my mother took her back to school and paid for her education till graduation. I looked at that woman and wondered where she would have been if she was allowed to be married off at 15. Eduaction breaks the poverty and class barier and we all should stand collectively to fight for the education f all children instead of reduccing it to trival matters of ethnic bigotary.

nice one but how can education help already brain washed people like nigerians? we have too much people in school if that is what you mean. oyinbo dont school the masses like we do so tell me what sending more mutallab, shobowale and ekaite to school will do for the nation

how many obas, obis and ezes are cueing to give him more titles?

Ms Zee:
i wonder what the idiot will say about the trials he is facing in the US?
Maybe President Obama has asked him to help him unseat Yara Slow

Idiot!

Fools bearing Leaders

The jobless Journats grlisanting him interviews should get a life! who cares to hear about a criminal?

ONLY IN NIGERIA AS THEY SAY. the shameless fool sould go hang himself in shame. dont know why nigeria journalist think giving this man and IBB a voice is cool.

funny and fishy

wbb

who made them stars? do you pay for most of their products you use?

how does anyone that sings or appear on TV become stars to you people?

Stella N:
am not a guy,
but to me as a girl it matters alot
it's  infact the biggest deal ever, there is nothing like trust and respect,
if u maintain urself till u marry your husband have every right to respect and trust u
the diginity and respect  of a woman is her virginity am proud to say that, take it or lump it

you are a star in my books
God bless you

Anabel:
terminating it is very risky, but if it goes well no probs, but allow her go for an HIV test, that is if you want her back, but what did you do to her that will make her go for another man, even to the extent of unprotected sex,

what a aquestion. what do you do to millions of fornicators that cheat without conscience?

Druss:
bye bye baby!!

that is another fresh blood crying against the land as if the country is not dark and backward enough.

eat less cow leg and bush meat you wont need fat removing surgery

Anabel:
because some men believe that when they are ready to settle down, they do it with all their mind, nothing new will take them out of their marital homes cos they have seen everything, unlike girls that will get married and still be sleeping around.

mmmmmmmmmmm

wbb

why is this shameless theif still talking?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8_oxAIQtWM


what a mighty God we serve by some young kids. 
we thank you Lord for great kids.

if you cant watch it i am so sorry

too easy to cheat plus they think they wont be cought

[quote author=Lord_Reed link=topic=327712.msg4602830#msg4602830 date=1253797104]Lets stop blaming d economy. Abroad girls are looser than this so wat are we talking about?[/quote]who do you blame?

posakosa:

wbb

KunleOshob:
My belief in the deity of christ goes beyond biblical evidence and church doctrine, as i said i scrutinized the whole concept a lot, even to the point of loosing my faith becos of the complex and difficult to understand truths but i thank God today my faith is now stronger even though slightly different from the pulpit inspired christian folk. I know it would be very difficult if not impossible to explain my understanding on this forum so i won't even bother. Considering the second question you raised, i would make this statment 99% of those of us that profess christianity are not practrising true christianity. How many christians can sell all their possesions and give it to the poor as Jesus recomended If they truely believe why don't they practise it? As i said the issues are to deep to discuss on this forum and it is a private journey which every man must work out for himself.

PS: I am also far from being a perfect christian so don't think i am speaking from a position of self righteousness

saint kunle how can you say that?

is it poverty you are in love with or just arguments?

Beaf:
The police are a disgrace. For what have they arrested the woman and her baby? It can't be for money, her man died while beating her over 50 naira.


Alarm needs to be raised about this. They only want to rape her.

how do you raise alarm about things like this?

IYA NGBALI:
yeaaaaah just like you,abi how you take know the place?

u missed the link and source of the article?

bawomolo:
Aren't most Nigerian men technically in open relationships anyway.

sad to say most marriages in naija are marriage of convinience and open marriage

congrats u are having a baby.  well done

nagging is not good for your health

Abuzola:
You see, i know it doesn't exist in the bible  thats why i brought up the challenge. Davidylnd tried to forged lie in the earlier discourse we had. Let me give you a second chance: clearly show us the verse that says 'fasting is prescribed on christian'

abu prove my david wrong.  at 22 you are like this  i wonder what u will do at 44.  God help u

maedan:


OOOh happy day. . . . .


(I hope someone is getting the baptismal water ready ----)

@Abuzola, from the above New Testament verses we have shown that Jesus Christ not only mentioned fasting, but laid guidelines on how fasting should be udertaken. Need we say more??



When Jesus washed, all my sins away. . . .

oh happy day when abusola will kneel to repent of his sins like we all did and  change his life forever.

this is getting sillier everyday.

AjaraEwuro:
Do you wonder that the majority of the people castigating the move are people who are lost in the diaspora? Why, because they just want a reason to justify why they have been gone, battered , forsaken and lost their voice in the country Nigeria- nothing is good about Nigeria in their own eyes - foolish, rotten, illetrates.

From the little corner of the world where they occupy, they see issues from their myopic eyes, and they pick up pen and paper and write as if they are the wisdom masters in everything? What does your poor brain knows? Nothing but to shout, make noiuse and go to sleep while noone listens to what you say, write or think, what a nation of lost individuals trying to make a name for themselves? Even people who dont know what the agency is now write about the agency as if it is owned by the father? What audacity? Just continue to shout and rant- all that moves noone - shifts noone, and pulls no hair from anyone's head, you are just a bunch of noise makers who have no work to do. The woman will attend, come back and life continues while you continue to look for other matters to pour your venom on- why not pour it on your sorry, miserable life first?

what is your point cos you are not making any reasonable sence here now.