By Ugoji Egbujo


Okonjo Iweala, the famed technocrat , has returned to the pulpit. The gospel of good governance, like that of Christ, is easily preached. Technocrats come into public service in Nigeria brandishing reputations and clutching unto self righteousness. Okonjo-Iweala But they often prove too sterile to affect the filth, and always leave as ineffectual as ordinary politicians.
....

She, the coordinator of the economy. They didn’t listen to her admonitions. And she stayed on coordinating! There was “zero political will to save”. She says it oozing the righteous indignation of a jilted seer proven right by disaster. It is supposed to be an exculpatory revelation. Obasanjo had managed to conjure some ‘political will’ . But with Jonathan? No, it wasn’t him, it wasn’t Okonjo Iweala either. It must have been the special breed of greedy governors that unlucky Jonathan inherited. They drained all the “political will”.

But you would think Okonjo Iweala’s insights won’t be that simplistic. That she must be too stricken , too sober, to tell trite tales. Because the federal government got almost 50% of oil boom revenues and Okonjo Iweala was coordinating minister. That arm of government later resorted to borrowing to pay salaries. The bane of African politics isn’t academic insufficiency. No, good theories abound everywhere, even in Zimbabwe. Often it’s authoritarianism and gross inefficiency. But more often it is moral bankruptcy. It is immoral to be silent in the face of conspicuous evil.

The political will to enthrone rectitude is where the snare lies. So when technocrats come with abundance of academic talk and sermons about global best practices they are no more than soulless mercenaries. They get the perks of office, the privileges of power and do not bother about practical freedom and concrete empowerment of the poor.

They mouth capitalist ideas but treat democratic ethics with contempt. They will not stand against election rigging, they stay aloof, ready to serve whoever wins, however he wins. They will not fight corruption frontally, they pay lip service. “We are doing their best in the circumstance”. Their characters are tested when their principals begin to subjugate national interests to private considerations.

Corruption and theft of public resources will be clothed with the garments of lofty policies provided by technocrats. Nepotism, they cannot resist. The poor will be harangued about the virtue of sacrifice in nation building while monies meant to fight insurgency walk into private pockets. Flimsy poverty alleviation programmes that fatten only politicians will be trumpeted.

A multitude of workshops and seminars to pretend to intellectualism will be thrown around. Spurious data would be spawn to deny the grim reality of life on the streets. They will close their eyes to absurdities like Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) and join in mouthing gibberish like Transformation Agenda. They will wring their hands like Pilate. Yes, a finance minister will sign a memo that opens up the vault of the Central bank to the carting away of stacks of dollars to private homes, without compunction. Or was there? She sneaked in a dubious “my hand no dey inside” clause by reminding them of the need to render accounts. She retained her sainthood, lapped up international awards. They never get fed up, technocrats, never get angry.

They always play along. Corrupt regimes love them. They lend them legitimacy. When in such governments they lose scrupulousness. Who would have thought that after the financial commonsense exhibited during the Obasanjo regime that prodigality would return with vengeance with Iweala on the saddle? Okonjo Iweala attributes our present woes to recalcitrant governors. Iweala’s second stint was a chronicle of wastefulness.


Impunity institutionalized corruption and theft in public service. 350 million dollars Abacha stole came back to the country and was reported re-stolen under Iweala’s nose. Iweala had been in government long enough to know what happens during elections. Yet she crafted a memo seeking approval to ‘lend’ 350 million dollars to the NSA three weeks to the original date for national elections ostensibly for the procurement of arms. Since politicians disregarded her, why didn’t Okonjo Iweala resign?

When the then CBN governor spoke about widespread looting , she was irritated. As irritated as she was when foreign journalists pestered her about Chibok girls. If Iweala had put the interest of the nation above the benefits of remaining a minister she would have easily resigned. She knew the country was clearly headed in the wrong direction . Her cowardice was even more baffling because she, apparently, did not need the job.

Why are these technocrats never really patriotic beyond mouthing? “I have come to contribute my quota to national development?” And having failed pitiably as finance minister to do that which was most important , why is Okonjo Iweala not mourning? Why is truthful sober reflection , an ingredient of intellectualism , so lacking amongst our political technocrats? Why can’t Okonjo Iweala keep quiet if she isn’t ready to tell the whole truth yet? Okonjo Iweala, international civil servant, substantially immune to the troubles and potential fallouts of outspokenness at the highest levels.


She was in Aba campaigning for the return of Jonathan and the same set of circumstances she now cleverly refers to as ‘zero political will’. She has been one of our best ministers. And that is why our politics has remained a study in sycophancy. Let the technocrats in Buhari’s government know that a president is not a deity. Their ultimate loyalty is to the nation. And sometimes the nation is best served by a principled noisy resignation.

TPAND:
[s]Fortunate media columnist put up article of calumny debacle to rubbish the personalities of persons who have altruistically served their motherland.

The media is so corrupt that the sincerity and ingenuity of this fortunate columnist have been compromised by the quest for making undue monies from the opposing and antagonizing moneybags and the ones connected to them. Slanderous articles fill up the pages of newspaper, while the world celebrates our past heroes with a colossal lionization.

After reading the lines of this article, I couldn't help but wonder why such slandering write-ups is not directed towards my sister Kemi. We cannot change the past but we have to move forward. This should have been carefully constructed to bedevil Kemi's audacious performance as our country is dipping fast into a recession.[/s]

modath:

Both the IB & NOI are incompetent & Unpatriotic...

989900:
Wonderful piece.

Anyway, how can she resign when she was enjoying the kickback for services rendered?

I'm sure Dasuki didn't break the vaults to get the funds, neither did those NNPC missing funds develop wings.

NOI was an accomplice, end of . . ..

TPAND:
Fortunate media columnist put up article of calumny debacle to rubbish the personalities of persons who have altruistically served their motherland.

The media is so corrupt that the sincerity and ingenuity of this fortunate columnist have been compromised by the quest for making undue monies from the opposing and antagonizing moneybags and the ones connected to them. Slanderous articles fill up the pages of newspaper, while the world celebrates our past heroes with a colossal lionization.

After reading the lines of this article, I couldn't help but wonder why such slandering write-ups is not directed towards my sister Kemi. We cannot change the past but we have to move forward. This should have been carefully constructed to bedevil Kemi's audacious performance as our country is dipping fast into a recession.

Oxenomy:
go and arrest her na..

989900:


Me, arrest her, nah . . . her time will come, and that time you will yell 'murder' as customary.

Oxenomy:
tribal bigot.. It's really eating you deep but you don't know it. By the time you find out what happened, it might be too late then..

Oxenomy:
I'm Igbo but this man is clown and that's the same mistake Nigerians always make. You were ordered to capture or shoot Ibb. When you had him in sight, you had no opportunity to capture him alive but you had the opportunity to kill him.. Why didn't you kill him? EGO.. Because of your own selfish reasons.. You want to be seen as a hero. The coup wasn't successful because of your selfish decision, and your fellow comrades had to die cos of your selfish act..

Oxenomy:
And na Yoruba man...it's so unfortunate that when you come down south, they are the most vocal in support of this crazy land grabbing bill.. Anyway, anyday they pass that land grabbing bill, that's the beginning of the end of this zoo.

Oxenomy:
easy bro

The lovers of the bill like passingshot, jorboskill, etc. will be highly disappointed. Only Yoruba muslims down south were in support of the bill..why?

peacengine:


This is becoming ridiculous, no economic plan, lies everyday and Kemi is allowed to relax while the media constantly blames Jonathan and NOI. I am beginning to hate this country I once loved with passion, tribalism is worse than racism. Buhari is a disaster

Oxenomy:
mouth action.. Zombie!

989900:


[s][/s]Let's be rational for a second:

NOI: 14 years out of 16 (with 'oil boom' for the most part), borrowing to pay salaries @$65/barrel . . . see where we are.

Kemi: 4 months, without one budget yet to work with, in an 'oil doom' period, shutting each loophole of theft, one at a time

You wanna call "crucify her, crucify her" . . . wait and do it at the right time, doing so now only makes you the most part, the 'tribalist' and irrational one.[s][/s]

Flexherbal:
After reading things like this, it makes you feel like there is no hope.

989900:


Me, arrest her, nah . . . her time will come, and that time you will yell 'murder' as customary.

989900:


Let's be rational for a second:

NOI: 14 years out of 16 (with 'oil boom' for the most part), borrowing to pay salaries @$65/barrel . . . see where we are.

Kemi: 4 months, without one budget yet to work with, in an 'oil doom' period, shutting each loophole of theft, one at a time

You wanna call "crucify her, crucify her" . . . wait and do it at the right time, doing so now only makes you the most part, the 'tribalist' and irrational one.

peacengine:


NOI did not serve for 14 years, she served for 4. Kemi has served for one year and made no impact whatsoever.

Tell your pay master to borrow and pay salaries if that will solve this problem.

Prior to her ministerial career in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala was vice-president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group. She left it in 2003 after she was appointed to President Obasanjo's cabinet as Finance Minister on 15 July 2003.

Kemi Adeosun has been the Minister of Finance of Nigeria since 11 November 2015

modath:


That is their motto "Condemn All that isn't yours" "Laud even the most incapable"

I'm still wondering how Aunty Kemi matter take enter an article by a SE (most likely) in Vanguard (Ipad/PDP sympathizer) , it boils down to less than optimal level logical reasoning & irrational hate for the race that in their myopia, "assisted" the Kunu sippers in the ouster of their messianic Hero!!

jcross19:
okay what are we going to do? Does that mean the present administration is incompetent ? Can all these blames help the situation? What's happening to their brain? So are you going to blame jonathan and NOI for the bubu failure in china? Please wake up only fool make noise while the wise implement their wisdoms.

DickDastardly:
Noi and Gej cant do anything anymore to turn around our fortunes. Its now buhari and kemi's onus. We are in economic disarray and the best place to start is to pass the budget asap. Buhari should as a matter of urgency and emergency gather all his people and the nass, quickly get that budget right and signed, from their we can continue our debate.
Modath you will agree with me that nothing is more pressing to Nigeria now than the budget getting straightened out and implemented asap. It will amount to naiviety for pmb to make anymore foreign travel without achieving this, as no serious country will take us serious with all this directionlessness, blames and lethargy in our approach to governance. The people's suffering increases daily and we must be seen to be emparthetic enough and not all this unnecessary political grand standing

DickDastardly:
Noi and Gej cant do anything anymore to turn around our fortunes. Its now buhari and kemi's onus. We are in economic disarray and the best place to start is to pass the budget asap. Buhari should as a matter of urgency and emergency gather all his people and the nass, quickly get that budget right and signed, from their we can continue our debate.
Mo you will agree with me that nothing is more pressing to Nigeria now than the budget getting straightened out and implemented asap. It will amount to naiviety for pmb to make anymore foreign travel without achieving this, as no serious country will take us serious with all this directionlessness, blames and lethargy in our approach to governance. The people's suffering increases daily and we must be seen to be emparthetic enough and not all this unnecessary political grand standing

989900:




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngozi_Okonjo-Iweala



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemi_Adeosun


Your ingratitude is not a deterrent. If you have further questions, I will be glad to help.

modath:


Mynd44 lalasticlala

tee10:


I honesty blame NOI for not resigning.
Facts are sacred, if we blame NOI and GEJ only am afraid we haven't learned

By the way u and 989900 haul ur stones at NOI but are dead salient on the blunders of PMB

Can you an objective article on:

Bubu won't devalue, IMF go taya, then G n D.. EoD