NDDC: Who Is Afraid Of Semenitari?
By Philip Agbese

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Psalms 23:5

For the acting Managing Director and Sole Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs Ibim Semenitari, the words of Psalms 23:5 hold true. President Muhammadu Buhari appointed her to post as detractors from her home state of Rivers mobilised to rubbish her achievements as the Commissioner for Information under the immediate past administration of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as governor.

The desperation of those after Semenitari was such that they got to the rabid extent of turning logic on its head just so they nail their quarry. They were in such hurry that what they could come up with was the allegation that she borrowed over N1 trillion during her tenure as commissioner. A cursory look at the approval limit of each public officer for each level of government instantly trashes the campaign of calumny mounted against this lady as stuff that should be consigned to the realm of beer parlour gossip. One must be heavily drunk on cheap alcohol bought with stolen public funds to by the hogwash being peddled in the public space about Ibim Semenitari.

A key aim of that campaign was to create the impression that President Buhari has appointed a corrupt person into public office. Recall that an even more intense hate campaign was mounted against her former boss, Rotimi Amaechi with the sole goal of blocking his emergence as a minister. This line of thought fails for one simple reason. A president, in Nigeria, usually requests background checks before naming people to positions - this check include security checks and also input from anti-corruption agencies. The attempt to belittle the person of the acting Managing Director has thus unwittingly come out being an indictment of the nation’s security and anti-graft agencies by implying that they did not properly screened her candidacy before giving Mr President the green light for the appointment to be made.
Another faux pax from the anti-Semenitari gang is exposing their hands too early in the game. Like every other agency under the past administration to which they owe loyalty, the NDDC easily qualified to be one of the top ten most corrupt institutions. It was likely one of the subsidiary ATMs that funded the campaign of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). When the turning wheel of the anti-corruption war gets to this agency, the rot uncovered in the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) could prove to be childs-play considering the fanatical sense of ethnic ownership with which its activities were managed. This is a serious cause of sleeplessness for this gang as they await reckoning with trepidation.

Their hues and cry is thus consistent with the natural knee jerk reactions of persons who do not want a reformer in tune with President Buhari’s vision for change to take charge of affairs. Semenitari must have triggered such tsunami of panic among all the goats that ate the yams in the NDDC that they believe intimidating her with phantom allegations would dim her resolve to make the agency work for the people of the Niger Delta the way it was envisioned when it was established. The agency simply has to stop being the meal ticket for a few people and those who will lose their gluttonous meals on account of a new sheriff coming to town at the NDDC cannot sleep easy.

An additional facet to the tantrum being thrown in Port Harcourt over the appointment has to do with the compassion one must have for adults who remain toddlers even in the twilight of their political careers. Attempting to deprive the nation of a capable hand in running of the NDDC on account of local or state politics takes clueless selfishness to a new low. It takes such supreme selfishness to conveniently ignore the fact that there are other states covered by the NDDC and not just Rivers state - of course some proxies were recruited into the assault but it remained largely the affairs of a disgruntled few from Rivers state. Anyone with an open mind will also appreciate that that the agency, by virtue of its mandate, transcends even those south-south and oil producing states. They should have thus find alternate ways of resolving state level squabbles without coming out looking like sore losers.

Furthermore, on the level of conspiracy theory, one can wildly guess that these fellows want to raise false alarms and thereby throw the anti-corruption agencies off the scent of their own wrong doings. There discussion in hushed tones about things that went down at several educational agencies under a particular leadership. The combine fraud that could be potentially uncovered and connected to this certain leadership is touted to be in the realm of a couple trillion naira. What better strategy of evading scrutiny than to send the EFCC and ICPC on a wild goose chase. First, it will dissipate resources and energy. Secondly it allowing the agencies to go on such futile chase will prepare the ground for them to also dismiss their findings as spurious when the time for reckoning comes.

It is on this note that one must appeal to President Buhari not to allow the antics of these trouble makers distract the rescue mission and the recovery of our stolen commonwealth. Their expectations that the anti-corruption agencies would be easily overburdened must be deflated while the acting Managing Director of the NDDC should be encouraged to proceed with the marching order to clean up the place.

Mrs Ibim Semenitari must also know that all eyes are on her. She cannot afford to perform less than she did as a Commissioner for her state as Nigeria deserve such sterling quality of service particularly at a time when the nation has collectively chosen a new direction to go.
The rantings of these rabble-rousers should not in any way deter her from the resolve she expressed on the day she resumed office. She has the leave of Nigerians to continue to make them have sleepless nights.

Agbese, an international public affairs commentator wrote in from the United Kingdom.

Dikko’s Trial by Ordeal And Truth We Must Know

By Abubakar Duniya

Many of those faulting the way and manner the anti-corruption crusade is being prosecuted under President Muhammadu Buhari are guilty of approaching the issue from sentimental perspective. True. The fight has shown a high degree of one sidedness, mostly members of the erstwhile ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP are the ones being clamped into detention with all manners of contrived tricks to remove the prerogative for granting bail from the law courts to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Critics are right to highlight these glaring discrepancies in the treatment of those suspected of wrongdoing but for the sake of the country it is time we start addressing the issue with facts. Only then will it be possible to prove whether or not the anti-corruption war has become vindictive as it is increasingly becoming glaring in the case of Mr Abdullahi Inde Dikko, the former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS.

Mr Dikko’s Jabi residence in Abuja was best likened to the scene of a mini war as operatives of the EFCC laid siege to the premises earlier this month and eventually invaded the place in the absence of the owner without a valid search warrant. Not done with the trauma the invasion inflicted on his children, who are minors, the next wave of the assault was unveiled in media reports that there is a directive for the former Customs boss to be arrested at any airports he arrives at when returning to the country from his trip.

So far, the true nature or content of his alleged crimes remain nebulous since those cooking up the charges have hinted that they are throwing in the accusation of treason for good measures. This will be consistent with the new strategy of accusing people of allegations that turn out to be multiple fold more than what they would be eventually charged with. The other ploy is to bring up as many charges as possible - as many as 122 in some instances just to see which of them will stick since there is always barely any evidence. The spurious and multiple charges equally offers the leeway to withdraw charges and file fresh one under a ploy that makes accused persons stay longer in EFCC’s custody.

So those who are brave enough to criticise the ordeal that Mr Dikko is being put through should do the country the favour of telling Nigerians the truth they must know. An accusation, floated in the media, against him is that he diverted the revenue generated by for his personal use and only remitted N2 billion for the months he was in office last year. As a way of making this falsehood take on the air of a mortal crime this supposed earning is being compared with the incumbent leadership of the Service, which has generated N750 billion in the space of seven months according to the figures released.

This claim of theft of revenue under Mr Dikko’s watch or allegations that only N2 billion was remitted should prick our curiosity for several reasons. One, one of the headlines in early 2015 was " Customs generates N977.09bn revenue in 2014”. Part of the accompanying text further revealed that this represented a shortfall in the expected N1.2 trillion projected for that year.

How logical is it that a man who set the ambitious target of N1.2 trillion will be dumb enough to remit N2 billion even for one quarter? Has anyone bothered to reason that even the N750 billion netted in seven months under the present leadership falls within the band of the projected N1.2 trillion per year since this amounts to N100 billion monthly? Why is the report that that NCS generated N2 billion under Mr Dikko being used to demonize him before Nigerians as a corrupt person?

Nigerians are also being misled to believe that the revenue generation announced by the present leadership has no connection with the reforms that were put in place for efficiency under the former Customs boss. It is thus logical to surmise that rather than praising the blockage of leakages, the truth should have also factored in that innovations and changes made previously have yielded more results.

On another front, some of those who are today the assailant of this fine gentleman were among the hordes that went cap in hand to the former administration to secure imports waivers and other relief that translated into loss of revenue for the service. Would they have taken it lightly if the then Presidency or Federal Executive Council had given waivers and the erstwhile Comptroller General had refused to honour them?

These are other directions that we must look towards in the quest for truth.

ABUBAKAR wrote in from Abuja.

Dikko: Bad Reward for a Good Servant
By Patrick Orkuma

But for the ubiquitous prevalence of mobile devices and growing internet penetration, we may just as well be in 1983 when personal liberties were scant under a complete dictatorship. Recent events clearly show we are inching back to the atmosphere of those dark days. The greatest indication of this yet is the siege laid to the Jabi, Abuja residence of the former Comptroller General of Customs, Abdullahi Inde Dikko by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The invasion that followed the siege was as crude as it was alarming.

Yes. The Abdullahi Inde Dikko in question is the same one that revolutionised the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) within the six years he held sway. The same one that transformed the operations of the service from analogue to digital with consequence that businesses are able to clear their goods in the shortest possible time; he boosted the morale of men and officers; built infrastructures for the service across the country. We are talking about the same Mr Dikko who demonstrated that the chants about diversifying from oil revenue could be a reality when he astronomically increased the revenue generation capacity of the service and was on the way to netting the nation N100 billion monthly.

It was this very same man that the Chairman of the House Committee on Customs, Hon. Sabo Nakudu, recommended to the officers of the Service and just about everyone interested in studying the dynamics of leadership to take a cue from. It was Mr Dikko who voluntarily retired as Comptroller General of NCS to allow a fresh leadership to take the reforms he initiated to a new level.

So at what point was it decided that his abode should be invaded by EFCC operatives like a common criminal?
Several indicators suggest the incumbent regime of President Muhammadu Buhari has not come clean with Nigerians on what is going on. First, why adopt the Gestapo styled raid when it was possible to have invited Mr Dikko to volunteer information that can be legitimately sought and the ones he was in a position to answer before his trip out of the country?

Secondly, the expectation is that law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies would act on the strength of information, credible intelligence and evidence. But the raid on Mr Dikko’s residence apparently failed to yield whatever the invaders were after hence the insinuation that they are seeking other sites to ransack in their quest to have evidence or cook up some. Why invade a person’s residence, particularly in his absence, when there is not adequate intelligence that the objects of interest were on the premises? This spree of evidence shopping is now common place going by the experiences of those presently in incarceration. The EFCC even admitted in some instances that it had no evidence on some of the people incarcerated in the name of conducting investigations after arrests.
Next is the fact that, with Mr Dikko away, his children – reported to be minors, were the ones at home, yet the raid went ahead. The kids were greatly traumatized to the point of being left in tears. One can only wonder about the extent of psychological and emotional damage done to the young ones on account of officers who could have kept the residence under watch until the owner returns but decided to unleash terror on children who had no connection with the politics of the day.

Furthermore, the siege, raid and unleashing of terror were carried out without warrant. What was the hurry that the procedural requirement of showing up with that piece of paper was disregarded? The decision to invade Mr Dikko’s residence without a valid warrant suggests his situation would be another trial in the media and public opinion regardless of what allegations would be brought against him.

He is going to be added to the growing list of the perceived ‘enemies’ of the present government that must be hounded into extinction even if it means pronouncing a guilty verdict at a mob trial since obtaining evidence without warrant is already a sure way to make any case against an accused person collapse.
Nigerians however have cause to worry.

A new dimension is being introduced to the clampdown on personal liberties as the regime seems to be entrenching its autocratic credential faster than anticipated. Those after Mr Dikko, via the kites they usually fly in the media, might have added treason to his supposed crimes in addition to the list of alleged economic crimes they usually charge their perceived enemies with.

Considering that they are having a hard time to perpetually keep their victims in the gulag on account of court interventions, a charge of treason would imply a longer period of incarceration regardless of whether the person would eventually be found not guilty if the case successfully went through trial.

The spectre of dictatorship further looms larger with the reported directive that Mr Dikko should be arrested at any airport he arrives at upon his return from his trip. Does this mean an order to abduct, crate and ship remains a possibility if his errand abroad necessitates not immediately returning home? If the whole idea was to apprehend him, why did the EFCC not closely monitor his movements before and prevent him from travelling?

Nigerians should dispassionately review these happenings and make the necessary interventions. Most citizens desire that corruption and impunity decisively dealt with for us to have a better country. But his should not be misconstrued to the point of gleefully cheering on our rapid descent into dictatorship irrespective of how we personally feel about the persons being hounded.

We should all be rightly alarmed that the FG in an attempt to justify its recent actions would go as far as accusing people who served this nation judiciously with terrorism charges and bogus financial accusations to hang them before any proper trial. Today they go after these people, what happens when they come for us?


Orkuma is a security expert and contributed this piece from Kaduna, Kaduna State.

Group Condemns Rising Dictatorship


…wants Assault on Inde, Former Customs Boss Called Off

A civil society group, the Concerned Citizens for Constitutional Democracy (CCCD) has condemned what it described as the growing wave of persecution of persons perceived to be in the opposition or to have been in support of the former administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

CCCD in an electronic statement issued on Saturday expressed concerns that the KGB styled invasion of the residences of former Comptroller General of Immigration, Abdulahi Diko Inde and the resulting terrorising of his family, to the extent that some were crying, is a new dimension in the unleashing of state apparatus against opponents.


The statement signed by CCCG National President, Anthony Kolawole said it was apparent that the siege laid to Mr Inde’s house was for evident fishing contrary the expectations that the agency responsible would have facts and credible evidence to work with.


“It is on record that the former Comptroller General of Customs was the one who fully opened the nation’s eyes to the potentials for increasing revenue generation from the organisation and should therefore not be treated like an insurgent. Mr Inde served this country dedicatedly while in office and any poor treatment meted to him will serve to discourage others from giving their best to the nation.


“The assault on the former Comptroller General of Customs has all the makings of the treatment meted out to other senior officials in former President Jonathan’s government who are currently in the incumbent government’s gulag. People are arrested and kept in detention and for as long as possible without being charged to court as the emerging dictatorship has fully constituted itself into the executive, legislature and judiciary.


“We are not the only ones expressing these concerns as the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu within the past few hours similarly expressed concerns about the growing authoritarianism in the land.


“Confirmation of this is evident in the wholesale defection from the PDP to the APC by persons who now understand that being part of the government and kowtowing to its wishes immunises them from persecution.


“We urge Nigerians to condemn these activities of state in persecuting those perceived to be political enemies while some sacred cows have assumed executive in government seats already.

"This is no way to fight the anti-corruption war and it is certainly no way to build national cohesion.” It warned.

The group further cautioned that it and people of like awareness will not sit by idle and watch the country slide into a dictatorship that punishes those who held opposing views. It urged the Presidency to call off the assault on Mr Inde and re-focus its energy on addressing the nation’s economic woes that were brought on by a distressed global economy.

Online Petition: Diaspora Group Hail Buhari's Administration

Following recent online petitions against President Muhammadu Buhari's led administration, Nigerians abroad have given a pass mark to the president, encouraging him to carry on with his reforms despite distractions from opposition forces.

The group, Nigerians In Diaspora Monitoring Group, Coordinator by Comr. Philip Agbese said they were moved to pass their vote of confidence on the president following his moves to set Nigeria back on its original course to greatness.

According to them, “the present call for the resignation of the President by any group of persons either on the social media or in any other forum is uncharitable and unwarranted. He is on track and needs the understanding of Nigerians”.

They have however advised that the president refrains from fighting political vendetta with his anti-corruption crusade and not allow overzealous persons around him to use his office to entrench their selfish political interest.

They said they were setting agenda for him in terms of rapid infrastructural and social development, building our economy and creating an enabling environment for foreign investors to boost foreign exchange earnings, prioritizing education and curbing all excesses of administrators of schools at all levels to sanitize the minds of knowledge providers and receivers.

The group however cautioned that the President must demonstrate enormous respect for the rule of law and domesticate same through obedience of court orders as clearly enumerated in the constitution vis-a-vis the concept of separation of power

The group however berated the president over the recent Shiites Killing in Zaria, while noting that they have written a private letter to the President as it bothers on national security and violation of international conventions.

Benue South Re-Run: Leave Morgan Out Of Politics, Idoma Youths Cautions Mark

Idoma youths under the umbrella body of Comrade Dan Onjeh's Volunteer Network has call on the former senate president David Mark not to attributes his failure to any individual or group as his inability to attract development to Idoma land for 16 years of his tyrannical leadership is responsible for his outright rejection by the people.

In a media chat with journalists in Makurdi, Comrade Okpokwu Ogenyi emphasised that for David Mark calling on President Buhari to remove AVM Monday Morgan as Chief of Defence Intelligence is a clear demonstration of his hatred for the Idoma people. He said the former senate president does not believe that any Idoma man or woman can attain any position of high responsibility without his approval which he will never consent except paying allegiance to him [David Mark], adding that he is still in the illusion of AVM Monday Morgan appointment by the peoples President.

“How can Sule Omaji Audu, a lesser member of the Idoma society attribute to himself a status of an elder? It's disheartening to see Omaji sign a document on behalf of David Mark, a visible enemy of the the Idoma nation calling for the removal of our son who is working hard for the betterment of Nigeria as it regards security intelligence. It is very clear that Mark is ready to dance naked in order to win the re-run election which he has lost already. His ambition to further hold my people hostage is dead on arrival as even the gods have rejected him. Dragging the name of AVM Monday Morgan into politics is a demonstration of Mark's acceptance of defeat.”

Comrade Ogenyi further lamented that, “Mark is looking for a way to cover his shame as the people are no longer ready to be further enslaved by the self-acclaimed Emperor, ‘Mr Only me’, aka David Mark. Nigerians are aware that Morgan's appointments is based on competence and capacity to deliver the needed results as evident on the ongoing war against Boko Haram in the North Eastern region of the country. Morgan who came home during the Christmas was receive with loud ovation which showed that the Idoma people are truly happy with Mr President for the appointment of their beloved son AVM Morgan as one of the Service Chiefs, a feat Idoma could not attain under Mark's 16 wasted years.”

“For the records, Idoma elders are visible and the world knows them, Chief Steven Lawani, Chief Mike Okibe Onoja, Chief Obande Obeya,Chief John Ochoga,Chief David Attah, Gen. Ejiga, Gen.Onoja, Gen.Adoba, Prof. Oga Ajene, Engr. Okwuoche, Dr. Sam Ode etc are names to look up to when you hear Idoma elders not a lesser member of the society like Sule Omaji Audu and an unknown Omale Jonah Omale masquerading as Idoma elders in the kitchen of David Mark. We urge Idoma people to vote the candidate of the All Progressive Congress APC, Comrade Daniel Onjeh to demonstrate for our liberation from long years of slavery and servitude,” the statement said.

The fact of the matter is that Nigeria operates two broadly classified foreign exchange markets. There is the official market, where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) funds banks, who in turn fund their customers’ offshore transactions. Banks basically bid for foreign currencies at the CBN on behalf of their clients. Banks also trade their own foreign exchange liquidity amongst themselves, at a small premium over the CBN rate, but still under the ambience of the official market.

The other foreign exchange market is the parallel market. It is big credit to the reform of this market since its dark, chaotic past, decades ago that it is hardly again called “black market” that it once was. Today, the parallel market is officially recognised and funded by the CBN.

Whereas the official market is mainly for wholesale transactions, the parallel market serves retail purposes. Industrial imports are funded through the official market, as well as officially recognised trade and foreign consumption bills. On the other hand, the retail market accommodates all sorts of transactions, many of which are off the official radar and sometimes counter-productive to trade.

However, the official and parallel markets to a lesser extent serve the financial stability policy purpose of the Central Bank. The CBN also uses its exchange rate policy to manage inflation. For a country that meets substantial local demands for intermediate and finished products through importation, the domestic inflation is largely pressurised by the prices of imports.

In the past few months, the CBN has for good reasons prioritised stability of exchange rate in the official market. It has drawn an exclusion list of avoidable imports from being funded in the official market. With the forex demand for the items transferred to the parallel market, rates in that market have soared. But in truth, the effect of this has had almost no negative impact on the standard of living of the average citizen. The prices of locally produced items, especially food, have remained relatively stable and benign for the inflationary outlook, according to recent data by Nigerian Bureau of Statistics.

What is apparent, therefore, is that the parallel market is subordinate to the official market. The official market is also much bigger than the parallel market. With this alone, the anomaly of profiling the foreign exchange market by parallel market rates is obvious. Yet, the abnormality of a smaller part defining the bigger part has held sway in sensational reporting of the foreign exchange rates since the country started dealing with the practical implications of fallen oil prices with low reserve buffers since November 2014.

So, we hear and read the screaming headlines of the naira crashing to “all time low” and the currency exchanging at 280.00 to one U.S. dollar. The sharp rises in the dollar exchange rate have been in the parallel market. But this volatility has not been allowed to extend to the official market where the most economically important transactions are funded. Although the dollar exchanged for N280.00 at the Bureau de change (BDC) in the week before Christmas -- and even retreated immediately, by the way – at the official market, the dollar has continued to exchange at N199.00 since March.

While parallel market rates should not be denied the deck, it is pandering to sensationalism for them to be headline grabber. Unwittingly, the existing reportage is serving the interests of speculators. Sensational reporting of an increase in the exchange rate can drive further increases by building a surge of speculative demand pressure.

What is anticipated has a huge influence on the reality in financial markets. As much as speculation can drive up equity prices, even so can it drive down the value of the currency. While the two asset classes are driven in two opposite direction by the same stimulus, the consequences are the same: financial instability.

It is important to understand the reason for the disparity of up to N80.00 (as at December 18th) between the official and the parallel markets. Contrary to the reportage in the media, the official exchange rate is the reporting exchange rate for the economy. Allowing this rate to adjust rapidly, can cause irreparable damage to the economy years after the country achieves a better foreign reserve position. This risk is especially true because of the speculative demand for dollars in the system.

Given this factor, the CBN has taken a position -- which, reasonably, is backed by the Administration of President Buhari -- to protect the official market from speculation and damaging devaluation. It is of course far less damaging both in the present and the future if the uncontrolled exchange rate adjustment takes place in the parallel market. At the return of more auspicious times, the CBN can easily deploy policy measures that would correlate the parallel market to the official market. This can be as simply as supplying more liquidity to the parallel market or relaxing the extant restrictions in the official market.

Nigerians, widely travelled as we are, are not unfamiliar with the variations between official and parallel market rates abroad. Within the precinct of Heathrow Airport and other international aviation hubs, wide disparities are noticed in the rates offered by the BDCs operating there and rates outside, say, in the banks. The unofficial higher rates don’t for this reason supplant the official rate in reporting the economy.

Media reportage of the domestic market has deviated from this norm. In a sense, this deviation may be a reflection of the struggle of Nigerians in accepting the necessary adjustment we have to make in support of the efforts of the government and the CBN in promoting import substitution and economic diversification. Although we all want to see a much more diversified Nigerian economy, we may have limited the requirements for achieving the diversification to government. But the reality is that, as a people, we have to make adjustment in our tastes. Not only should we be ready to replace foreign products with local substitutes; we must be prepared to let go of some exotic products, even where there is no direct alternative. It is part of the demand of building a virile country and a sustainable economy.

The Nigerian Export-Import Bank has in the last six years renewed focus on the industrial sectors – manufacturing, agro-processing, solid minerals and services. The Bank has been facilitating non-oil exports, to help the country earn more foreign exchange and thereby support the objective of a stable exchange rate. This focus is in line with the institutional mandate of NEXIM Bank as the official Trade Policy Bank of the Federal Government. But as the current oil price slump lays bare, this is a national imperative.

Perhaps the CBN should have more consideration for increasing the public awareness of the objectives of its foreign exchange policy and their practical implications right to the local market. However, the media would have to exercise a lot of discretion in reporting data from the foreign exchange markets. If the unofficial, “black market” prices of petrol around the country do not subsume the official price of N87 per litre, it is completely wrong to designate the foreign exchange markets by parallel market rates. Doing so actually distorts market reality.

Culled From FinancialNigeria.com

Why Omeri Must Not Contaminate the Change Agenda
By Jonah Datti

On March 23, 2011, Mike Omeri was fired as the Director of Research and Strategy of the Goodluck/Sambo 2011 campaign. At that time, the development was hailed as one of the few things the then President Goodluck Jonathan got right given Omeri’s cantankerous bend of mind. Sadly, however, the same man who was not good enough to do the dirty job that working in a campaign organisation entails was appointed to run the most sensitive facet of branding the Nigeria image as the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA). Over four years down the line, one does not need a scientific review to know that this character ranks high among the disasters that has befallen the nation in terms of deficit of leadership.

First is the fact that Omeri lacked the moral high ground to contemplate not to talk of genuinely rebranding Nigeria. A man who in 2011 authored the now infamous "rigging manual" to secure victory for the PDP at any cost has no business laying claim to packaging Nigeria or re-orienting citizens to birth a greater nation. What he did for the duration of his tenure was to render NOA into a mouthpiece of his political party as opposed to serving national interest.

A clear indication of this is the “Do the Right Thing: Transform Nigeria”campaign launched under Omeri’s watch at NOA. The campaign became a joke and a fraud at the same time. Its implementation was mostly farcical to the extent that Omeri, as the chief priest of the voodoo campaign apparently only had the installed capacity for doing the wrong things. The fraud component of the campaign was that it was chiefly used to loot public treasury and in the run up to the 2015 general elections it was used as a cover to finance PDP messages in the guise of public enlightenment messages.

The wrong things done by Omeri as the DG of NOA included brazen facedly becoming the symbol of corruption when his mandate morally included sensitizing citizens to shun the anti-nation building scourge. He was involved in the diversion of over N180 million and other funds meant for sensitization programmes during the 2015 Elections. Omeri actively obstructed the floating of NOA Radio Projects just as he diverts media and other consultancy services to a media firm he owns. For a man who preached transforming Nigeria, the NOA DG covered for two directors of the agency, Mr. Dogo David and Mr Bonat Tagyai to allow them continue in office while drawing salaries even though their tenures have expired. How then can Nigeria be transformed with this level of brigandage in high places. But all these pale in comparison to the other pies he had his hands in.

Omeri’s most satanic outing was to be in his capacity as the coordinator of the National Information Centre, which provided information on how the country was fighting the Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges. For the way he danced on the graves of terrorism victims in the course of peddling his lies, God alone can judge him, but it behoves Nigerians to make him and his gang members visible to the creator.


Indigenous and international media were awash with his claims of how the Jonathan government has secretly procured new weapons to combat insurgency. It was this excuse of secretly procured weapons that he used to explain the presence of South African mercenaries on our soil. “When our weapons were acquired recently, we needed training because training component came with the people who supplied these weapons,” was one the justifications he gave at that time. Omeri was also an arrowhead in the conspiracy that made the general elections to be shifted by six weeks, he actively defended this position even when it almost precipitated countrywide crisis.


But Dasukigate has made us wiser. There were no arms purchased. All the hypes about boosting the morale of our troops were nothing but the chanting of death wish for the gallant ones. The only the thing done with the arms money was creating a ready ATM for a blood drunk circuit that placed the greed for lucre even above human lives and national security. For all we now know and on the strength of revelations that funds collected in the name of arms purchase ended up in bank accounts of girlfriends, this circuit actively made the Boko Haram insurgency to fester in order to justify their continual theft. They made the crisis simmer to create excuses to erode constitutionally guaranteed rights and cover to stifle opposition.


It is therefore cofounding that a man with this sickening trail of seditious betrayal is still able to work up the temerity to continue staying on in office even when the band of cutthroats he flocked with have since been booted out of office through popular revolt at the ballots. He has been hoping from one chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the other in the delusionary expectation of being able to stay on indefinitely or to secure another term as NOA DG.




No one should be deceived. President Muhammadu Buhari, those who have his ears and the APC thus owe it to Nigerians not to allow Mike Omeri to contaminate the Change Agenda. Nigerians shed blood and sweat to sack the corrupt regime to which Omeri belongs and citizens are still defending the change they asked for with their daily sacrifices. They must therefore not be insulted by keeping on one of the men that made their lives a waking hell. The mistake must not be made that it is okay to act with impunity while in office and that all that is needed is to port political parties and qualify to join the new government. This character must be shown the way out since he has demonstrated ample capacity to not only corrupt others but to subvert national interest.


The mere fact that Omeri is still the DG of NOA shows that this administration is not committed to tearing down the “high places” erected by its predecessor. The argument that he is a tenured appointee does not hold here. He waved the credential to be so treated when he had no qualms with being included on the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation. He only started trying to distance himself from what was then described as “gross violation and impunity” sometimes in October, nine months after he should have rejected his inclusion. This is after the fact.


Something that should worry the present government is that by virtue of the position he continues to enjoy, Omeri has daily access to sensitive information on how the fight against Boko Haram is being prosecuted. This is very dangerous considering that this man was part of a group that earlier allowed the crisis to snowball to shore up whatever interest it was they had. The snake has been wounded but not killed and has become more dangerous. The group Omeri operated with is still out there to advance whatever this interest is and having him in place provides them a mole that exposes the underbelly of the government and the military. This is enough reason to fire him right away to prevent him from sabotaging the government.

Beyond stopping Omeri from sabotaging the government or contaminating the Change Agenda, he must, like his co-travellers, answer for his misdeeds in office. In his own case, it goes beyond being investigated for his roles in the arms deal, if any, he must also shed light on the intricate web of deceptions that was spun to mislead Nigerians as to the true state of affairs with the fight against insurgency. He should assist security agencies with information on why and how the insurgency was deliberately allowed to fester while he daily dished out arrant propaganda to the nation.

In recent history, when things go horribly wrong, those who managed propaganda are usually at the core of the evil. Omeri should show us where the corpses are buried. He would not do that while still comfortably nested in NOA. He just has to go.


Datti is a public affairs analyst

Armsgate: Group Wants Hon Jones Onyereri Quizzed

As more revelation continues to trail the arms deal scandal, the group, Change Ambassadors of New Nigeria (CANN) has called for a water-tight investigation into all those fingered in the scam. It also called for a searchlight to be beamed on the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Honorable Jones Onyereri to unravel his role in ignoring the routing of huge amounts through commercial banks from the questionable withdrawals made from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the immediate past administration.

The group, in an electronic statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its coordinator, Salisu Ibrahim, said questions must also be asked about the proprietary of Honorable Onyereri continuing to chair the committee given that the oversight carried out under its watch failed to uncover the massive looting that occurred considering that massive amounts were being transferred to commercial banks on a scale that should have triggered some sort of alert.

The statement said “It is simply immoral that Jones Onyereri showed no remorse for the failing that occurred when he chaired the House Committee on Banking and Currency during the President Goodluck Jonathan years. A man who is truly with honour would have ordinarily stepped aside given the magnitude of revelations that are making the rounds.
“The collapse of the naira against major currencies is partly a consequence of the failing of the House Committee on Banking and Currency to properly carry out its oversight functions as there is no record that the Onyereri led committee made any effort to actively engage the situation before things got this bad.
“We authoritatively gathered that he specializes in using his position to harass DFIs and collecting money from them to look the other way in the course of his committee’s non-existing oversight functions.

“The Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara should on the strength of these new revelation reconsider Onyereri’s suitability to continue in office and act in the interest of the nation by replacing him. The Speaker must dissolved that committee and appoint more responsible persons to man its leadership.” The statement said.

It also said the Committee under Onyereri’s successive leadership has largely failed to address the outrageous interest rates charged by commercial banks in a development that has adversely affected the ability of Nigerians to run businesses.

The group called for a probe of assets held by the House of Representative member as it noted that he has assets in strategic parts of the Federal Capital Territory and other major cities across the country.

“Instead of working in national interest, Onyereri is using the house committee to enrich himself and not in the overall interest of the Nigerian state. This explains the failings of key institutions under his oversight as a federal lawmaker.” CANN argued.

Magu: Killing Corruption And The Law

By Abrahams Akwu

We are a democratic nation, our laws are written, documented and above all Nigeria is signatory to international conventions on human rights. In trying to kill corruption, we must not kill the constitution or destroy enabling laws in a way that they are no longer suitable for fighting graft in the foreseeable future. Nigeria must also not come out of the fight branded as a dictatorial parochial state on account of laws being applied selectively.

Nothing has ever been wrong with our laws in terms of their capacity to curb corruption. What has been wrong and is still wrong is the selective and vindictive approach to how the laws are used in the anti-corruption war. The exercise is carried out in manners suggestive of differentiation of corruption issues along political and class divides.

The new helmsman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, whose appointment was hailed by all Nigerians, must thus do everything possible to break away from the ugly past. Magu is a man seen by many as departure from his immediate predecessor, Ibrahim Lamorde, whose understanding of fighting corruption was to hound perceived government opponents to the gallows while some sacred cows are allowed to prance around on the street with stolen funds.

The implication of running the anti-graft campaign as it was done under Lamorde is self evident. The EFCC ended up not being able to deliver itself from the same issues it was set up to fight. A supposed anti-corruption tsar became the key suspect in a recovery diversion scam that topped N1 trillion thereby earning himself a dishonourable exit from the commission.

It would seem dishonourable exit is the norm with the commission anyway. From its pioneer chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to Lamorde’s predecessor, Mrs Farida Waziri, all former bosses became tales of the hunter becoming the quarry simply on account of the selectiveness of their activities while in office. Curiously, these EFCC helmsmen had a lot of media buzz while in office. Each had series of widely celebrated arrests with detentions over high profile corruption cases. The true test, however, was that while several former public officers were arrested, the cases against them in court were usually protracted and seldom led to convictions hence the conclusion that such hype and activities could have only been politically motivated.

This unpleasant trend is therefore an impetus for Magu to drive the EFCC under his watch to be dispassionate by looking beyond cases with high political capital. Apparently this is not the present state of affairs. Attention is currently focused on the armgate as if it is only suspected case of corruption in the land.

As a pensioner I would like the commission to give some of its attention to other issues like the Pension Fraud. It may sound fatalistic but I would like to see punishment meted out to the real people behind the brazen theft of pension funds before God calls me from this earth to be with Jesus Christ. Considering my age, I hope convictions over the Pension Fraud happens soon. The perpetrators must be brought to book.

My call to the EFCC to bring indicted persons to book is equally matched by an appeal to exonerate anyone that is not indicted or found guilty. For instance, the former Chairman of the Pensions Reform task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina remains a fugitive even when he had volunteered the identities and roles of those who defrauded the nation’s pensioners. Information he has so far supplied suggested that he was driven to becoming a fugitive simply because he refused playing ball, he even named persons that demanded bribes from him.

If Maina is a victim of a higher power play, Magu must then be wary of returning the former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team to the list of cases deemed by Nigerians to be politically motivated. This will not do the reputation of EFCC any good since there is already widespread accusation of witch hunt around its recent activities.An option to explore is for the Magu led EFCC to partner with Maina as a strategy to properly unravel the real culprits in the pension scam saga. The assumption of this suggestion is that keeping Maina on the run is not furthering the work of the commission, he would be far more valuable as a state witness to confront those he has named as the real culprits since they currently deny wrongdoing.

This is a strategy that the EFCC can widely apply as it seeks to bring persons involved in corruption in other sectors to book. Once it does this, it can improve on its conviction record since its achievements has more arrests and detention than actual convictions. It is convictions that are needed as deterrence against corruption and not arrests.

In conclusion, Nigerians are in high spirit that Magu’s ascension would tame corruption and quicken its end and it is already glaring that this is not an impossible task given the energy and sense of purpose so far demonstrated. As we make this appreciation of the efforts being made, we must bear in mind that politically and selfishly instigated fight against corruption is the worst form of corruption, a sin against God and declaration of war against humanity. As Magu settles down to work for the wellbeing of the nation, may God help him to deliver Nigeria from corruption in Jesus’ name.


Abrahams Akwu, a pensioner resides in Asokoro District Abuja

Former President and NOUN PhD Student, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo arrives Makurdi, Benue State for lectures and interaction with his supervisor, Rev. Philip Tachin PhD this morning.

NOUN: Using Distance Learning To Set Agenda For Change
By Israel Hassan

The news that Senate has approved the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) graduates to take part in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme is uplifting as it has opened up new vistas for education in the country. Distance learning that was once discriminated against is now taking primacy in a society that is fast evolving to incorporate multitasking as a way of life.

NOUN had added another feather to its cap prior to been cleared to join the NYSC scheme as it joined the nation’s top 25 universities. It had also recorded its highest enrolment in its history. These feats are just few of the turnaround that the university had achieved under the leadership of Professor Vincent Tenebe as Vice Chancellor. It is even more heartwarming to realise that the management continues to find innovative ways to further improve on the institution’s reach and offerings.

A consequence of the success story of NOUN is the increased demand for distance learning across the country. This phenomenon is one that the federal government can cash in on to realise President Muhammadu Buhari’s Change Agenda in the education sector given the potential to make tertiary education available to those desirous of furthering their education. A youth population that is able to improve on competences through distance learning is on the road to reducing unemployment, which is another cardinal goal of the Change Agenda.

The government can specifically further maximise the benefits from the highly functional distance learning platform presented by NOUN in rebuilding the north east where insurgents’ activities has destroyed some educational infrastructure in addition to disrupting school curricula. This suggested usage of NOUN is strategic in an area like Borno state where education is a key tool in any rebuilding venture since the post amnesty era for repentant Boko Haram extremists cannot use the normal Almajiri or nomadic school.

In the south-south, the biting economic reality means there has to be a rethink of the enormous resources being spent on educating repentant militants abroad. The position that the Professor Tenebe led management has taken NOUN to means it is now possible to educate repentant militants domestically while they remain on ground in their communities to continue making contributions to their communities while getting education.

In other geo-political zones of the country, specific industries can be identified around dominant natural resources and have NOUN tailor curricula to suit students from such places so that they can grow cluster industries. This approach should be able to create entrepreneurs that will create employment for others even before they have graduated from the courses they are studying.

Additionally, the yawning gap in retooling those already in the workforce to meet contemporary challenges is one that can be met through distance learning as those already in employment do not need to quit work to update themselves with emerging trend. The present administration can thus get NOUN to create special short courses that fill identified gaps without splashing out on sending government employees abroad. This of course tallies with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on cutting out all foreign trips that are deemed as non-essential or frivolous.

For individuals who would have sought education abroad, NOUN should be marketed as an alternative that would make it unnecessary to seek admission in foreign schools. This has implications for the annual capital flight associated with Nigerians running to schools abroad and would also halt the brain drain among the younger population who take up abode in the countries where they schooled as some are often encouraged to settle down after their studies. A further plus from this is that reducing the demand for attending universities abroad will take some pressure of the demand for foreign exchange thereby helping the economy.

The new Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu must thus acknowledge distance learning as the way to go in meeting a crucial part of the Change Agenda in the education sector. NOUN as a concept has amply proven that the building is not the school but rather the discipline that the institute has been able to bring to bear is what has counted.

Efforts must then be made to strengthen the position of the school’s management currently led by Professor Tenebe. A good start will be to help the management with expanding and improving its e-platform to world class standards, the goal should actually be to make NOUN a world leader in the delivery of world class distance learning facility. Physical infrastructure should also be expanded as the virtual assets are being grown.

Above all, the management of NOUN should be encouraged to keep improving on the things they have done to bring the university to its present position of envy. The management should also be kept in place for as long as is legally permitted to entrench the good fortunes it has brought on board. When this is done, the administration of President Buhari, is guaranteed an avenue, through the National Open University, of a quick win on delivering on the Change Agenda in the education sector and even in other areas.

– Hassan, a social development crusader and researcher is Executive Secretary, Africa Arise for Change Network, Kaduna.

NOUN in the context of 21st Century Ivory Tower

By Philip Agbese

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. -Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788-1869)

The quote by German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer perfectly captures metamorphosis of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). The very concept of the institution sounded outrageous bordering on impossible several decades ago. Then it was attacked when it was first proposed on account of fears rooted in the belief that education must remain a traditional affair where a university must have classrooms and stack of books to dispense knowledge. Today, however, NOUN has been accepted as self evident and is even a preferred option for many in quest of higher learning.

The upside in NOUN’s growth since inception is the fact that it moved quickly through the stages to become one of the nation’s top leading 25 universities. This could only mean that there are a lot of things that have been done right by the Professor Vincent Tenebe led management of the institution since a lot of milestones were reached since he became the vice chancellor of NOUN. The way Professor Tenebe runs NOUN has brought up some strong points for distance learning as the way to go if Nigeria must address the dearth of adequate admission spaces for higher education.

Pursuit of tertiary education abroad is a direct consequence of this shortage of admission spaces. Of course, the quality of education is another factor. Nigerians rushing abroad to study parted with N1.5 trillion in 2012 according to figures released by Exam Ethics International in 2012. This amount has implications for the economy as capital flight of this magnitude from one sector alone is mind boggling.

The increasing quality and acceptance of NOUN in the recent years is therefore a welcome development as it could potentially reverse capital flight, the loss of manpower and loss of talents to foreign institutions. The amount of money kept onshore by reversing capital flight will certainly have positive impacts on the country as money can then be plough back into the system to further improve the quality of education.
But Nigerians, particularly aspiring students must understand and buy into the concept of learning in the 21st century. A lot of people are still locked in the old school concept and are yet to buy into what I have christened the ‘Professor Tenebe dream’, which has accessibility to quality tertiary education as its driving force. Sharing this dream requires the would-be students and the society to accept that the era when the edifice was the school is over. Now, the ivory tower is as much a concept as much as it is a physical location.

Although NOUN’s headquarters is one of the tallest buildings in Lagos, neither the building nor its imposing height defines the National Open University of Nigeria as an ivory tower. It is the knowledge that the university is imparting on students that counts and not its being located in one physical space. According to Mortimer Adler, “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.” What thus defines NOUN and qualifies it as Nigeria’s leading model in the 21st century educational context is that it is at par with what obtains in many countries, where distance learning has taken the pressure off traditional universities. Through its study centers spread across the country and other teaching platforms, the university has made education available to many people who would not have had access for several reasons.

Top among these reasons is the inadequate number of available spaces in other universities that have persistently grappled with overpopulation, which put strain on staff and infrastructure. Curiously, when we discuss how the universities in Nigeria are burdened with inadequate infrastructure and dismal students to lecturers ratio we often overlook how the kind of open distance learning offered by NOUN has helped improve the schools in the other countries favoured by Nigerian students.

Incidentally, distance learning has benefits for students too. It is accessible to those who work as they are able to combine study with work. Distance learning also enables students to make connections with a more diverse range of people since the composition of any class or study group cuts across age, social status and other markers. There have been instances of students who have been able to change jobs or get new employments on account of the contacts they made during distance learning. Students of distance learning also have time to review their study materials without having to rush off to the next class – the personal study time that is available to the students makes them to cover extensive ground once they are able to marshal the needed discipline.

NOUN has been able to provide these advantages to the education sector and has proven that distance learning is the new usual and no longer a fall back option. In the 21st century where the concept of employment has changed significantly, it only normal that the concept of education should also be updated to reflect prevailing realities – people have to work and earn the money to pay their way through tertiary education; others want to combine other passions of life like career in sports with education; and there are those who study best under the flexible arrangement offered by NOUN.

Fortunately, even the nation’s highest lawmaking body, the Senate recognized the shift in contemporary education structure with its approval for graduates of NOUN to take part in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme like their counterparts from the traditional universities. In addition to proving that distance learning is the way to go, the Senate’s action is an endorsement of the way the affairs of NOUN is being managed by Professor Tenebe and his team. One can only hope that this Senate’s vote of confidence in NOUN would translate into legislations that will further strengthen and position it for the education challenges of the next century.


Agbese is a renowned human rights activist studying in the United Kingdom.

A coalition of 13 Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the activities of some sponsored Nigerians who are bent on discrediting the Vice Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, Professor Vincent Tenebe and his management team.

Speaking under the aegis of Civil Society Organisation for Social Justice, Fairness, and Transparency, CESJET, the Executive Secretary of the Coalition, Torkuma Asongo while speaking with newsmen yesterday in Abuja said efforts are on-going to arrest those behind the ugly incident.

The Coalition led by its Executive Secretary, Torkuma Asongo said more worrisome to the group is the emergence of a group under the auspices of NOUN Congress of Staff and Students making moves to extort, blackmail and intimidate the Vice Chancellor, Professor Vincent Tenebe and his management team into succumbing to funding union activities where these elements would be able to steal under the guise of unionization.

Asongo said, "We have discovered that many Universities Vice Chancellors who are afraid of having their reputation being tarnished have fallen prey to these unscrupulous elements.

"There is need for the President to come to their rescue before over zealous citizens take advantage of the war against corruption to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians under the cover of anti-corruption crusade within his regime"he said

Asongo said the coalition after careful verification discovered that the several petitions against Professor Vincent Tenebe and the management team of NOUN have ulterior motives

"We suspect that the petitions are part of efforts to overwhelm the anti-corruption efforts with frivolities that will increase the workload of the statutory agencies and derail their focus.

"We appeal to President Buhari to not only disregard the distractions of such frivolous petitioners but to also cause the relevant agencies to expose those abusing the nation’s scarce resources by sending anti-corruption bodies on wild goose chase.

"Our belief is that a timely intervention along this line will discourage those who want to distract or mislead the anti-corruption fight in the education sector and other sectors of our national lives.

By Jerry Emmanson[i][/i]

Survey Shows Why Unionism Will Not Work In National Open University

Some students of NOUN have spoken out against plans by some lecturers and students to form unions in the school.

Management of the institution has been at loggerheads with students and staff over the ban placed on union activities but some students have insisted on forming a union.

However, some students in an interview raised their objections to the formation of union in the school, saying agitation by union members often leads to strike which will impede on smooth running of the institution.

A student, Yahaya Suleiman said he supports the management decisions because he would not want the university to be dragged into what his colleagues in conventional higher institutions have to grapple with often in the course of running their programme

He said, "Contrary to the proliferation of students and staff in conventional universities where the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Non-academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), state chapters of students association and local government and villages of students associations are part of university education, NOUN is an open university where mature Nigerians who are engaged in daily jobs are admitted to learn and may not have time for associations.

Another student, Emmanuel Ajayi who studies Security Studies at the Illorin Study Centre, said, "This has made the institution to be unaffected by strikes such as the last ASUU strike which lasted for eight months that crippled academic activities in most public owned universities."

According to Vox Populi Foundation International, an independent rights advocacy and educationally inclined NGO’s survey has revealed that the high quality of education being delivered by the National Open University of Nigeria is not achievable if unions are allowed to be introduced into the system. The report which was drawn from selected students of the University across the 36 states of the federation proved that the idea of unionism in the varsity will be inimical to the growth of the institution.

It would be recalled that at the 14th matriculation of the school, the vice-chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) Prof Vincent Tenebe said "the formation of students and staff unions and associations are not permitted in NOUN. This is due to the diverge nature of our students and staff in terms of age, class, status, professional callings as well as belonging to many existing unions and associations.”

Another reason adduced for the restriction is for speedy growth; more so, the Act which established the university prohibits any form of union either among staff or students.

“NOUN students have always and will continue to be immune to any form of strike,” reiterated the NOUN boss.

Meanwhile, some staff at the Wuse 2 study centre who spoke with journalists also objected to union activities, saying capable of destroying the achievements recorded so far by the present administration in terms of speedy completion of studies as at when due, innovations in ICT, expansion on courses accreditation and some other achievements of the present VC.

They accused their colleagues and some students of trying to use the guise of unionism to bully and blackmail the VC.

Alechenu Awodi, a Psychology Student at the Otukpo Study Centre in Benue State while speaking in support of the ban equally want some genuine improvements like distribution of course materials at the point of registration.

For Maryann Obi, an English Language student student at the Enugu Study Centre, she was excited about the news that she would participate in the forth coming NYSC programme which is the joy of every University graduate in Nigeria.