Dear President and General Buhari,

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT, GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI

I am constrained to write to you this open letter. I decided to make it an open letter because the issue is very weighty and must be greatly worrisome to all concerned Nigerians and that  means all right-thinking Nigerians and those resident in Nigeria. Since the issue is of momentous concern to all well-meaning and  all right-thinking  Nigerians, it must be of great concern to you, and collective thinking and dialoguing  is the best way of finding  an appropriate and adequate  solution  to the  problem.  The contents of this letter, therefore, should be available  to all those who can help in proffering effective solutions  for the problem of insecurity  in the land.
One of the spinoffs and accelerants is the misinformation and disinformation through the use of  fake news. A number of articles, in recent days, have been attributed to me by some people who I believe may be seeking added credence and an attentive audience for their opinions and view-points.

As you know very well, I will always boldly own what I say and disown what is put into my mouth. But the issue I am addressing here is very serious; it is the issue of life and death for all of us and for our dear country, Nigeria.  This issue can no longer be ignored, treated with nonchalance,  swept under the carpet  or treated with cuddling  glove.  The issue is hitting at the foundation of our existence as Nigerians and fast eroding the root of our Nigerian community. I am very much worried and afraid that we are on the precipice and dangerously reaching a tipping point where it may no longer be possible to hold danger at bay.  Without being immodest, as a Nigerian who still bears the scar of the Nigerian civil war on my body and with a son who bears the scar of fighting Boko Haram on his body, you can understand, I hope, why I am so concerned.  When people are desperate and feel that they cannot have confidence in the ability of government to provide security for their lives and properties, they will take recourse to anything and everything that can guarantee their security individually and collectively.
For over ten years, for four of which you have been the captain of the ship, Boko Haram has menacingly ravaged the land and in spite of  government’s claim of victory  over Boko Haram, the potency and the activities of Boko Haram, where they are active, remain undiminished, putting lie to government’s claim. The recent explanation of the Chief of Army Staff for non-victory due to lack of commitment and lack of motivation on the part of troops bordering on sabotage speaks for itself. Say what you will, Boko Haram is still a daily issue of insecurity for those  who are victimised,  killed, maimed, kidnapped, raped, sold into slavery and forced into marriage  and for children forcibly recruited into  carrying bombs on them to detonate among crowds of people to cause maximum destructions and damage. And Boko Haram will not go away on the basis of sticks alone, carrots must overweigh sticks.  How else do you deal with issues such as only about 50% literacy in North-East with over 70% unemployment?
Herdsmen/farmers crises and menace started with government treating the issue with cuddling glove instead of hammer.  It has festered and spread. Today, it has developed into banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and killings all over the country. The unfortunate  situation is that the criminality is being perceived as a ‘Fulani’ menace  unleashed  by Fulani  elite in the different parts of the country for a number of reasons  but even more  unfortunately, many Nigerians  and non-Nigerians who are friends of Nigeria attach vicarious  responsibility  to you as a  Fulani elite and the current captain of the Nigeria ship. Perception may be as potent as reality at times.  Whatever may be the grievances of Fulanis, if any, they need to be put out in the open and their  grievances, if legitimate, be addressed; and if other ethnic groups have grievances, let them also be brought out in the open and addressed through debate and dialogue.
The main issue, if I may dare say, is poor management or mismanagement of diversity which, on the other hand, is one of our greatest and  most important assets.  As a result, very onerous cloud is gathering.  And rain of destruction, violence, disaster and disunity can only be the outcome.  Nothing should be taken for granted, the clock is ticking with the cacophony of dissatisfaction and disaffection everywhere in and  outside the country. The Presidency and the Congress in the US have signalled to us to put our house in order. The House of Lords in the UK had debated the Nigerian security situation. We must understand and appreciate the significance, implication and likely consequences of such concerns and deliberations.
No one can stop hate speech, violent agitation and smouldering violent agitation if he fans the embers of hatred, disaffection and violence.  It will continue to snowball until it is out of control.  A stich in time saves nine, goes the old wise saying.
With the death of Funke, Chief Fasoranti’s daughter, some sympathetic Nigerian groups are  saying “enough is enough”. Prof. Anya, a distinguished  Nigerian merit Laureate,  has this to say “We can no longer say with certainty that we have a nation”.  Niger-Delta leaders, South-Eastern leaders, Middle-Belt leaders and Northern Elders Forum have not remained quiet.  Different ordinary Nigerians at home  and abroad are calling  for  different measures to  address or ameliorate  the situation. All the calls and cries can only continue to be ignored at the expense of Nigerian unity, if not its continued existence.
To be explicit and without equivocation, Mr. President and General, I am deeply worried about four avoidable calamities:
1. abandoning  Nigeria  into the hands of criminals who are  all being suspected, rightly or wrongly, as  Fulanis and terrorists of Boko Haram  type;
2. spontaneous  or planned reprisal attacks against Fulanis which  may inadvertently or advertently mushroom into  pogrom or Rwanda-type genocide that we did not believe could happen and yet it happened.
3. similar attacks against any other tribe or ethnic group anywhere in the country initiated  by rumours, fears, intimidation and revenge capable of leading to pogrom;
4. violent uprising  beginning  from one section  of the country  and spreading  quickly  to other areas  and leading to dismemberment  of the  country.
It happened to Yugoslavia not too long ago. If we do not act now, one or all of these scenarios may happen. We must pray and take effective actions at the same time. The initiative is in  the hands of the President  of the nation, but he cannot do it  alone.  In my part of the world, if you  are sharpening your  cutlass and a mad man comes from behind to take the cutlass from you, you need other people’s assistance to have your cutlass back without being harmed. The mad men with serious criminal intent and terrorism as core value have taken cutlass of security.  The need for assistance  to regain control is obviously compelling and must be embraced now.
A couple of weeks ago at a public lecture, I had said, among other things, that:
“In all these issues of mobilisation for national unity, stability, security, cooperation, development, growth and progress, there is no consensus.  Like in the issue of security, government should open up discussion, debate and dialogue as part of consultation at different levels and the outcome of such deliberations should be collated to form inputs into a national conference to come up with the solution that will effectively deal with the issues and lead to rapid development, growth and progress which will give us a wholesome society and enhanced living standard and livelihood in an inclusive and shared society.  It will be a national programme.  We need unity of purpose and nationally accepted strategic roadmap that will not change with whims and caprices of any government.  It must be owned by the citizens, people’s policy and strategy implemented by the government no matter its colour and leaning.
Some of the groups that I will suggest to be contacted are: traditional rulers, past heads of service (no matter how competent or incompetent they have been and how much they have contributed to the mess we are in), past heads of para-military organisations, private sector, civil society, community leaders particularly in the most affected areas, present and past governors, present and past local government leaders, religious leaders, past Heads of State, past intelligence chiefs, past Heads of Civil Service and relevant current and retired diplomats, members of opposition and any groups that may be deemed relevant.”
The President must be seen to be addressing this issue with utmost seriousness and with maximum dispatch and getting all hands on deck to help.  If there is failure, the principal responsibility will be that of the President and no one else.  We need cohesion and concentration of effort and maximum force – political, economic, social, psychological and military – to deal successfully with the menace of criminality and terrorism separately and together.  Blame game among own forces must be avoided.  It is debilitating and only helpful to our adversary. We cannot dither anymore. It is time to confront this threat headlong and in a manner that is holistic, inclusive and purposeful.
For  the sake of Nigeria  and Nigerians,  I pray that God may grant you, as our President, the wisdom, the understanding, the political will and  the courage  to do what is right when it is right and without fear or favour.  May God save, secure, protect and bless Nigeria. May He open to us a window of opportunity that we can still use to prevent the worst happening.  As we say in my village, “May God forbid bad thing”.
OLUSEGUN OBASANJOJuly 15, 2019

Released byKehinde Akinyemi Special Assistant Media.

Not a few Nigerians must have noted with shock and disbelief, the vicious, unrelenting campaign of calumny which has been raging against the Federal Ministry of Transportation for some time now on the social media and in the traditional media alike. It goes without saying that the motive of the sponsors of the wicked narrative is crystal clear: to smear the ministry and its immediate past helmsman on the one hand, and the government of President Muhammed Buhari on the other.

In brief, it was falsely claimed that the ministry allegedly indulged in padding the cost of the Lagos to Ibadan railway project, comparing it with a non-existent contract in the Republic of Ghana. It is important to note that the Ghanaian government has since refuted that publication and has even written to those concerned, expressing its dissatisfaction with the satanic allegation. In fact, the government of that country went on to describe that concoction as “containing a lot of factual inaccuracies.” In other words, the project in Ghana which was used as a so-called yardstick is at best at conceptual stage and has neither a construction design nor final cost estimate.

Against this backdrop, it is essential to clarify the true facts and figures, at least to set the record straight and disabuse the general public’s mind of the misinformation and outright fiction being dished out with reckless abandon. First of all, it is imperative to state for the benefit of the general public that railway project costs do not depend solely on the length/distance between the terminal points but rely on various factors which include principally the terrain, core operation accessories and amenities designated for the train service.

What then is the actual cost of the innovative Lagos to Ibadan project? What is the breakdown of what the whole thing entails the process of the contracts, and associated benefits to the country? To start with, the project is segmented into Addendum 2 and 2A. Addendum 2 starts from Ebute Meta (Lagos) to Ibadan and was approved by the Federal Executive Council on July 18, 2012 after the issuance of Certificate of No Objection by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) ref. no. BPP/S. 1/vol. VII/09/221 of January 14, 2010 at the cost of US$1,487,782,196.00 and addendum 2A that starts from Ebute Meta to Lagos Port complex, Apapa was approved by Federal Executive Council on November 30, 2016 after obtaining BPP No Objection ref. no. BPP/S. 1/vol. XII/16/053 of September 08, 2016 at the cost of US$94, 065, 175.00.

Thus the total contract sum of the whole segments 2 and 2A is US$1,581,847,371.00 contrary to the US$2billion being bandied all over the place. Furthermore, the total track length of the project is 386km (as against the 156km being alleged) which represents the distance between Ebute Meta (Lagos) and Ibadan terminal stations only. It is worth emphasizing that the Lagos to Ibadan project is a double track rail line. The cost index/km is US$4.09million/km as against the outrageous US$13.6million/km alleged.

Another significant fact which our investigation uncovered is that the aforementioned cost index per kilometer is not for the construction of rail track only. On the contrary, it consists of the following:

1. General: (site acquisition and compensation);
2. Earthwork:With total volume of 28.1 million cubic metres to achieve required level of formation;

iii. Bridges (21 nos.) Railway bridges with overall length of 12.43km, 40nos. Vehicular overpasses (flyovers) and 27nos. pedestrian bridges)

1. Culverts Drains and Protection Work:147no. major culverts and vehicular under passes;
2. Permanent Way: 320km main line, 64.4km comprising branch lines, station tracks, sidings and 2.27km of monolithic concrete bed track within the Apapa Port complex;
3. Stations: Eleven (11) stations of which four (4) are mega stations with capacity tohandle 4000 to 6000 passengers at peak hours and seven (7) other standard class stations, 3nos. freight yards at Apapa Harbour station, Kajola and Ibadan;

vii. Power Supply: 33kv dedicated power supply from the national grid with 4 substations and 200km approximate length of distribution line;

viii. Signaling and Communication: Full automatic blocking system of train control and detection signaling with ten (10) units of digital despatch system and a central traffic control. The communication system is GSM-R;

1. Rolling Stock Workshops: Rolling stock workshops and depots in three locations on the corridor: Kajola, Abeokuta, Omi-Adio;
2. 5 Years Maintenance: Post – construction operation including training and supervision. 

From the above, even the blind can note the huge benefits that are in embedded in the project in fact, there are some other benefits which the country is gaining from the Railway contracts towards improving local content and capacity building in the sector. These are:

1. Securing an investment portfolio of building a Rolling Stock Assembly Factor starting with a Wagon Assembly in Kajola, Ogun State;
2. Establishment of University of Transportation with emphasis on Railway Science and Engineering Faculty in Katsina State; and

iii. Training of minimum of two hundred (200) youths in various degree courses in related field in Universities in China of which sixty (60) have commenced training since September 2018. These ancillary benefits are fully funded by the contractor.