FEATURE ARTICLE

Clive AkinsolaFriday, December 5, 2014
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FG'S N9.3BN GRANT FOR COOKING STOVES, ETC.:
NGOZI OKONJO IWEALA AND HER BAND OF FRAUDSTERS

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t is common knowledge within and outside Nigeria that the Jonathan administration is corrupt, inept and disillusioned. Recently, his government pushed the boundary up a notch by announcing the purchase of stoves for rural women. Every rational right thinking Nigerian would probably muse, "here we go again". This decision is insulting our sensibility and rubbing salt to our injury and this does not seem to abate under this administration.

The question is twofold, what are the parameters used to define a rural woman and what happens after buying the so called rural women stoves, are they going to buy them food (rice, gari etc) as well? Honestly, where does this instrument of manipulation and psychological debasement stop?

Well, this administration's policy agenda is becoming clearer by the day, which is unrestrained pillorying of our common patrimony whilst with utter cynicism unloading rhetoric of their blank achievements.

The attempt to hoodwink us with pretentious and bogus claims of care for the poor is rather disingenuous and aimed at deflecting our attention from the real issue which is fraud. The reason why this is possible in our society is because (according to Chief Obafemi Awolowo) our country currently exists as a geographical entity rather as a nation. The unintended consequences of this arrangement over time, has been exacerbated by hollow common aspirations and the fact that the concept of nation building is totally absent. In other words, those that care about Nigeria, its future and saddled with the responsibility to create a nation that we all could be proud of are in the minority.

It is evident that the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance - Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would rather rassle into submission and confuse the minds of our people with economic abracadabra than confront these fraudsters. She cannot claim ignorance neither could she claim impaired vision by virtue of her position and disposition to the president.

It is my understanding that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala got this position because of the perceived insights and experience pertaining to financial matters, which is not misplaced considering her education and former position. Nonetheless, some Nigerians believe she is still incapable of the basics of political governance as a technocrat and some are of the opinion that she is a co-conspirator in the looting going on under her watch. Case in question is the alleged missing billions dollars from NNPC, which former Minister Obiageli Ezekwesili gave a sound antidote on how to unearth the missing funds but was largely ignored. Even, as an exasperated concerned citizen, I do not have any enough information to take a position at this time on her culpability.

However, what really sickens me is that there has not been any tangible, commensurate surge of investment in basic infrastructure to justify this wastage. Hence, there is a need for the coordinating minister to present clear and convincing business case which is anchored by well supported cost benefit analysis for this type of spending. Especially as she is the one coordinating the vast resources accrued to the nation. If she cannot build a compelling case to justify the ongoing banditry, and support using verifiable hard figures and analysis to the nation that buying cooking stoves (N9.2billion) for rural women is a critical need at this time, then, she needs to resign.

Moreover, it is important that she bears in mind that the business case should be presented in terms of overall benefit rather than in terms of functionality. After all, if she could not communicate the direct benefit of these procurements to an average Nigerian, and all these were happening during her watch, therefore, she is joined at the hips and responsible for all the "mago-mago" going on. The challenge to her is this; she knows quite frankly that this could not have happened in her former role at the World Bank. At the World Bank and similar organizations, employee show justification and takes responsibilities for their actions and inactions and if ever found wanting they resigned or get fired.

If the Finance Minister refuses to provide us with reasons for this profligacy, she should not in the future come out to seek any elective position, if she does, we shall present her with all the evidence of her stance when it mattered the most.

The violation of our civic rights and financial brutality has inadvertently brought our nation to an unprecedented low and turned many to lemmings. All they do now is just listening to daily barrage of lies and do nothing, wallowing in frustration, helplessness and subdued anger at their sad fate; akin to Fela's suffering and smiling for the fear of being harassed by Jonathan's police. In my opinion, it could have equally aroused a hornet's nest of ancient hatred for Jonathan and his people.

We the people of this nation should cry out louder than before and not cede our future to this lunkhead political pyromaniac that lurk in wait for the right time to strike, or perhaps, deploy their cudgel at our resources. They had plundered us with such brute force and have extended our mean time to recovery and makes it even very uncertain. Hence, it is time to stop our ears to every charming flowery sentiments and rhetoric's and come together as a people to elect an individual armed with the vision and passion for nation building. These should be our sought after prerequisite for whoever we could entrust our future to, who in return should seek to advance the cause of the nation regardless of his or her ethnic composition or religious persuasion so that we could get out of this messy rots.

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