WE ALL NIGERIA GET EYES,WE GET TWO EARS TOO.DEM SAY MONEY NO LOSS OOO NA WAYO GOVERNMENT WE DEY OOOOOO History repeats itself. In 1977, the military head of state, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, set up a Crude Oil Sales Tribunal to investigate the operations of the Nigerian National Oil Company (NNOC, which metamorphosed into NNPC same year). The tribunal found out that in three years, NNOC had failed to collect its equity share of oil produced by Shell, Mobil and Gulf. As a joint venture partner, NNOC was entitled to 182.95 million barrels of oil production. But given the laid-back attitude of public companies, NNOC did not find buyers for its own share. At the market price then, it would have grossed $2.8 billion if it had done the right thing. The tribunals report was leaked to the media, but by the time it was reported, it was something else. A Lagos-based newspaper reported that $2.8 billion oil money was missing! Although the newspaper later corrected itself and apologised, up till today it is the original story that has stuck. In fact, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti recorded an album years later, called Army Arrangement, in which he insinuated that the $2.8 billion was actually missing but the panel of inquiry was only working to an answer. He sang sarcastically: Dem say money no loss o! The story in town up till today is that $2.8 billion oil money was stolen by the Obasanjo administration. Fast forward to 2013. The central bank governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was reported to have said $49.8 billion oil money was missing. Even Obasanjo, who has been a victim of this media sensation before, fell for it and wrote his own letter to President Goodluck Jonathan to amplify it. Not long thereafter, Sanusi corrected the figure; he said after initial reconciliation, $12 billion remained unaccounted for. Before he was finally suspended as CBN governor, the final figure he gave was $20 billion. That is the figure Nigerians are working with now. I was not one of those who jumped on the bandwagon when the story broke. I decided to read Sanusis letter to Jonathan so as to understand the critical issues. After digesting Sanusis letter, I was sad and afraid. I had two major fears: one, knowing the way our minds work in Nigeria, I was afraid we would focus so much on the $49.8 billion and miss the critical issues that Sanusi was raising; two, in Nigeria, knowing how government works, I sensed that the $49.8 billion would be well explained and the conclusion would be no money is missing ─ which is not the real issue. Well, the second part of my fear has been virtually confirmed: the senate committee that probed the affair has said that neither $49.8 billion nor $20 billion is missing, although it said more evidence was needed to account for about $15billion. If care is not taken, however, this will be the end of the matter. The real issues raised by Sanusi will never be touched again. To start with, Sanusi never said money was missing. He didnt say Jonathan stole money. He didnt say Diezani Alison-Madueke stole money. He didnt say NNPC stole money. Go and read the letter again. Most of those commenting on the letter and shouting $20 billion missing have probably not even read it! What Sanusi said is that the money was not yet accounted for. There is certainly a difference between you have stolen the money and you are yet to explain how you spent the money. Big difference. If somebody now cooks up an account to show that no money was stolen, does that eliminate the rot in the system? That is why we have to focus on the salient issues in the saga so that the wool is not pulled over our eyes. What, then, are the matters arising from Sanusis letter? I will attempt to highlight them briefly. If we dont address these issues, fraudulent practices will continue at the NNPC. Probes will never uncover them because there will always be ways of justifying questionable expenditures. -Toba Adebayo Extrapolating the figures to 2015 -if this trend continues- there is no way Nigeria will NOT be looking for another missing $100 billion. And I tell you what? The Senate will also defend it that it is not missing. Eku imura o.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 07:17:50 +0000
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