DOES THE 'NORTH' REALLY CONTROL THE OIL BLOCKS?

"83% of oil blocks controlled by the North". The screaming Newspaper headline caught my attention in traffic. Virtually all the days papers carried the news as headlines on that day. This news came about following a debate on the floor of the senate about the Petroleum Industry bill the day before, where Senator Ita Enang took time to read out names of Northerners who have oil prospecting licences or oil blocks.

This revelation however is not new, as there has been an article by one Mr. Ross Alabo-George in the vanguard newspaper titled 'Derivation and Deprivation: why the north is poor', in which the writer mentioned all the Northerners that own oil blocks and how much they make from it.

I could understand the mischief of politicians in trying to drag us into another ethnic debate about who owns what or who benefits more from where, I can also understand the papers cashing in on it so as to sell more and make profit, but what made me smile in spite of all these is the naivety of a commentator who wondered why in spite of all these oil wells, poverty is still endemic in the North.

The fact that of the matter is that these so called oil wells were only given to a few connected  individuals who happen to come from the North, not to take care of anybody but themselves and their families. It was simply a personal thing where the Presidents or Heads of States gave out the Country's wealth to friends and relations that they wished. This is a sad reality of how the country has been run, and is still being run up till today. How many of these people own  industries where Northerners are employed? How many of them have built schools, roads or even sponsored children of the poor to school? What advantage has the North gained by having people with such oil blocks? What piqued me most about the headlines is the attempt to make it look as if the generality of Northerners or the North as a geographical region has benefitted from the ownership of any of these oil wells. The issue here is the same that applies to every sector of Nigerian economy today, be it banking, telecoms, army or even the civil service where nepotism and favoritism are being practiced freely.

Instead of stirring up another North versus South debate, I think what the house members ought to be doing at this point is to focus on the real issues, demand fairness and accountability in all sectors of the economy, not only the oil sector. Even if these oil licences are to be revoked and redistributed to the South South people as Senator Enang has suggested, the only losers will be the owners and their families and not the 'North' or 'Northerners'. In the same vein I also doubt that the ordinary man from the South will benefit anything from such redistribution.  

I therefore urge the people to read between the lines anytime politicians are talking so as not to be drawn into their politics of division, in matters that are purely based on self interest.

    

POLICE COLLEGE IKEJA: A REFLECTION OF A WIDER NIGERIA

I was amused to see President Jonathan standing with hands on hips looking somewhat surprised, shocked and annoyed at the decadence he was seeing while at the Ikeja Police College. The President's unscheduled visit was prompted by a documentary aired on Channels television showing how police cadets are trained in appalling sub human conditions.  While I watched the drama, I couldn't help asking  myself,  "what country did this guy think he is leading? America?".  Well Mr. President, welcome to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This level of decay of infrastructure is what the people have been hammering about all the time Mr. president while you are holed up in Aso rock surrounded by aides bandying meaningless economic figures and patting you at the back, telling you all is okay and you are doing a good job. I kept thinking to myself about how disconnected our leaders are with the present reality on ground in Nigeria. Was he not aware that he was coming to preside over  a battered country with almost nonexistent Infrastructure at all levels? Did he just decide he wanted to be president of Nigeria without looking at the enormous task that awaited him? While he was going from state to state campaigning for election in different types of asheobi, did he take time to visit some of these places or listen to people who are affected by such infrastructural decay?

Well I have good news for you Mr. President, there is nothing special about the state of things at Police college Ikeja. All you are seeing is the reflection of a wider Nigeria which you are presiding over. This is Us, and this is our reality. The earlier you realise this and start moving fast to get us out before we sink, the better. If places like Ikeja Police training school are where we train the people who are supposed to keep us safe, I wonder about the condition of our prisons, where condemned prisoners are 'rehabilitated'. Sir, start paying surprise visits to any of the government primary and secondary schools and you will see where and how the future Nigerian leaders are trained. Or visit any of the government hospitals to see how women deliver babies in candle lit labour rooms, and where patients cannot afford to buy 1000 naira malaria drug. You can even rest your jet or chopper  for a day and ply any of the major roads that link most parts of the country so as to know what I am talking about. Not to talk of some of our airports where aeroplanes land in the dark.

Nigeria is a country that is blessed with abundant human and natural resources but sadly we have still not found the right persons who can harness these resources for the general good of the people. What we have as leaders are people who are very unprepared for the challenges in our country and people who lack any vision in moving us ahead.  That is why it will be easier for  Mr. President to be annoyed about the documentary showing this rot, even attributing it to a smear campaign against his government rather than address the issue on ground. The President and his aides in a true Nigerian political fashion might also argue that the decay started long before he assumed leadership, but what they will fail to tell the people is that he was not elected to waste our time complaining but to clear the mess as soon as possible.