Police Arrest Most Wanted European Terrorist In Belgium

March 18, 2016

Police in Brussels have announced the arrest of the most wanted terrorist, Salah Abdeslam, believed to be the 10th participant in the Paris terrorist attacks of Nov. 13 after the afternoon raid today.

A Belgian minister, Théo Francken wrote on Twitter: “We’ve got him.”

The country’s two public broadcasters, VRT and RTBF, reported that Abdeslam had been captured and had a leg injury, and that the raid was one of four carried out in the Belgian capital.

The raid, carried out by a heavily armed phalanx of police officers, began about an hour after Belgian prosecutors announced that they had found Abdeslam’s fingerprint in an apartment that was raided on Tuesday.

Of the 10 men believed to have participated directly in the attacks, which were orchestrated by the Islamic State and killed 130 people, Abdeslam was the only one who was at large. The rest are dead.

Mr. Michel raced from a summit meeting of European Union and Turkish leaders about the migration crisis in Europe to deal with the situation. On Twitter, he said he was monitoring the police operations with President François Hollande of France.

“There is a link with the Paris attacks,” Mr. Hollande told reporters in Brussels, while declining to provide details of the police operation. “We need to let the Belgian police finish its work and wrap up the operation that is still ongoing.”

Belgian security forces work at the scene of an anti-terrorism operation on Friday in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels. Credit Laurent Dubrule/European Pressphoto Agency

The raid on Tuesday was not an attempt to capture Abdeslam. The authorities had targeted the home, on the Rue du Dries in the Forest section of Brussels, as part of an effort to collect additional intelligence. Over the past four months, the French and Belgian police have raided dozens of buildings, scooped up troves of documents and questioned scores of suspects as part of their investigation.

The French and Belgian officers who conducted the raid were surprised to find the residence occupied. They immediately came under fire, and in the ensuing gunfight, a 35-year-old man named Mohamed Belkaid was killed, while two other people escaped. Four police officers were slightly wounded.

It was the second time the authorities had found Abdeslam’s fingerprints in an apartment in Brussels; in December his fingerprints were found in an apartment in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, along with material that might have been used to make suicide belts.

The tantalizing, and frustrating, clues suggested that Mr. Abdeslam hid in the Belgian capital after the attacks, and might be there still, although some investigators theorized that he escaped to Syria.

Belgian prosecutors said on Friday that the Algerian man killed in the raid, Mr. Belkaid, was “most probably” a man who helped the Paris attackers. Mr. Belkaid had been using fake Belgian identity papers in the name Samir Bouzid.

A man traveling under that name had been previously identified as one of two men in a car with Abdeslam in September as the three drove between Hungary and Austria. After the attacks, someone using the name Samir Bouzid wired 750 euros, about $825, to the cousin of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the on-the-ground organizer of the attacks. (Mr. Abaaoud died in a police raid outside Paris on Nov. 18.)

Abdeslam, 26, a Belgian-born French citizen of Morrocan ancestry, is believed to have driven the car that carried a team of terrorists to the Bataclan theater, where 89 people died.

In the hours after the attacks in Paris, and before his identity was widely known, Abdeslam was overlooked by the French authorities as he returned to Belgium by car.

The Expanding Web of Connections Among the Paris Attackers

It remains unclear if he was one of the assailants expected to carry out a subsequent attack, in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris. He was suspected of dumping his suicide vest in a trash can after the attacks, but authorities have not found his DNA. They are not certain that the vest belonged to him, although that has been the working hypothesis. It is also not certain whether he ever intended to detonate the vest.

Abdeslam and his brother Ibrahim, who blew himself up during the attacks lived in Molenbeek; Mr. Abdeslam was known to the authorities as a possible Islamic militant.

In 2010, Ibrahim Abdeslam served time in a Belgian prison with Mr. Abaaoud, who helped organize the attacks and who also lived in Molenbeek.

Salah Abdeslam had several brushes with the law, mainly for minor offenses. A week before the attacks, Belgian authorities shut down the nightclub Ibrahim Abdeslam operated because the two were suspected of selling drugs.

In September, Salah Abdeslam drove to Budapest, where he picked up two men who returned with him to Belgium with fake identity cards.

The morning after the attacks, Abdeslam was stopped on a highway in the French town of Cambrai, near the Belgian border, but he was waved through.

Despite an enormous manhunt, Abdeslam evaded the dragnet in at least two different countries.

There has been almost weekly report by various French and Belgium media outlets, none confirmed yet by government authorities, of Abdeslam’s whereabouts. Sightings have been reported in at least two places in Belgium as well as in Amsterdam. Other law enforcement experts suggested that he went to Syria.

In December it was revealed that Abdeslam may have evaded the Belgian police two days after the attacks because of an arcane law that prevented law enforcement officers from raiding a private home after 9 p.m.

Last month his fiancée was quoted in the Belgium media saying that he would be killed before he would allow himself to be captured. [myad]

Anti Graft Agencies Narrate How Bukola Saraki Looted Kwara As Governor

Greenbarge Reporters

March 18, 2016

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have given details of how Senate President, Bukola Saraki allegedly looted Kwara State while he served as the state’s governor between 2003 and 2011.

The CCB and EFCC, in a joint response to claim by Saraki that his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was mere persecution and witch-hunt, gave details of how Saraki allegedly acquired property in Lagos, Abuja and London, using kwara State funds.

The agencies also gave details of how Saraki allegedly siphoned Kwara state funds, using his link with a commercial bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc into his foreign account, and with which he procured property in London.

The joint response by the CCT and EFCC is contained in the counter-affidavit filed by the prosecution in the trial of Saraki on charges of false assets declaration.

Saraki had, in a fresh motion filed by his new lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), queried the competence of the charge against him, the jurisdiction of the CCT to try the charge on the ground that he was not accorded fair hearing by the CCB before he was charged before the EFCC over alleged discrepancies in his asset declarations forms.

He queried the timing, arguing that most of the offences were allegedly committed about 15 years ago while he was a governor and that he was not confronted with the discrepancies as required under the Constitution, to enable him explain either agree or deny the discrepancies.

The prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) argued the prosecution’s counter-affidavit and urged the court to dismiss Saraki’s fresh motion on the ground that it constituted an abuse of court process.

An official of the CCB, Peter Danladi stated in the counter affidavit, that the investigation of the various petitions of corruption, theft, money laundering, among others against Saraki in 2010, was conducted jointly by official of the EFCC, CCB and the DSS.

“The EFCC conducted its investigation on the various petitions and made findings which showed that the defendant/applicant abused his office while he was the governor of Kwara State and was involved in various acts of corruption as the governor of the state.

“The defendant/applicant borrowed huge sums of money running into billions from commercial banks, particularly Guarantee Trust Bank and used the proceeds of the loan to acquire several landed property in Lagos, Abuja and London, while he was the governor of Kwara State.

“As against the defendant using his own legitimate income to defray the loan, he took public funds, running into billions from Kwara State Government and lodged same in several tranches and in cash into his GTB account I GRA (Government Reservation Area), Ilorin, Kwara State.

“The defendant/applicant’s account officer in GTB, confirmed that the defendant/applicant gave him several cash in government house to lodge into the account and in some occasions, the defendant sent his aids from government house to give him the cash for lodgement into his account.

“When the EFCC submitted its report to its legal department and the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice formed the opinion that the offences revealed from the investigation, particlularly as they relate to the property acquired by the defendant/applicant while he was governor of Kwara State and various moneys sent into his various accounts outside Nigeria can be better handled through the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

“The office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) then sends the findings and the evidence gathered during investigation by the EFCC as a complaint to the Code of Conduct Bureau for investigation and that the operatives of the EFCC would collaborate with the officers of the CCB for effective investigation.

“Our investigation on the CCB Assets Declaration Forms for public officers filed by the defendant/respondent revealed the following:

“The landed property listed as No: 42 Gerald Road, Ikoyi was visited by Mr. Ikechi Iwuagwu (Deputy Director, CCB), Miss. Geraldine Longsten (DSS) and Adamu Garba (EFCC) sometime in 2006 and discovered that the property was under construction.

“Contrary to the declaration by the defendant that he was earning an annual income of N110, 000,000 from No: 42 Gerald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, there were no tenants in the property as same was an empty land as at the time of the declaration.

“Contrary to the declaration by the defendant that he owned 15A and 15B Mcdonald, Ikoyi, Lagos as at the time of the declaration in 2003 our investigation revealed that the said property were acquaired in 2006 from the implementation committee on Federal Government Landed properties through his companies called Tiny Tee Limited and Vitti Oil Limited wherein he paid the sum of N396, 150,000 to the federal Government of Nigeria.

“The defendant made an anticipatory declaration for the said 15A and 15B, Ikoyi, Lagos. The defendant acquired the property in the name of two companies because he could not buy two Federal government property in his personal name.

“The defendant bided for and acquired 17, 17A and 17B Mcdonald, Ikoyi, Lagos from the Implementation Committee on Federal government Landed Property and paid an aggregate sum of N497, 200,000 to the Federal Government between October 2006 and 2007.

“A scrutiny of the defendant’s salary account with the Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank) of account No: 0100857813 reveals that his monthly take home salary as at the time he acquired the property was not more than N500, 000 and the defendant acquired property far in excess of his income.

“While the Federal Government was selling its property, the Centarl Bank of Nigeria, being an agency of the Federal Government sold plot 2A, Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos for N325,000,000 between 2007 and 2008 to the defendant, which the defendant purchased through his company called Carlisle Properties when he was the governor of Kwara State,” Danladi said.

He added that further investigation by the CCB revealed that Saraki also acquired a property at Plot #&A Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos through Carlisle Properties Limited while he was governor of Kwara state and that he has been receiving rent form the property.

Danladi said that investigation on the asset declaration forms submitted by Saraki between 2003 and 2011 revealed that he failed to declare his interest in Plot 2A Golver Road, Ikoyi, Lagos (in his 2011 asset declaration form); No: 1 Targus Street, Maitama, Abuja otherwise known as 2482 Cadastral Zone A06, which he claimed he acquired in November 1996 from one David Baba Akawu (in his assets declaration form of 2003).

Saraki was also said to have failed to declare his ownership of No: 3 Targus Street, Maitama, Abuja otherwise known as 2481 Cadastral Zone A06, Abuja which he acquired from one Alhaji Attahiru Adamu in his asset declaration form (of June 3, 2011.) and No: 42 Remi Fani-Kayode Street, Ikeja Lagos, which he acquired through his company, Skyview Properties Limited from First Finance Trust Limited on December 12, 1996.

“The defendant has a domiciliary account with GTB Plc in Nigeria with account No: 441441953210 from where he made various cash transfers totalling 3.4million US dollar between 2009 and 2012 to American Express Service Europe Limited with account No: 730580 maintained with the American Express bank, New York and the various sums were transferred into the defendant’s card account No: 374588216836009 maintained by the defendant outside Nigeria.

“Sometime in February 2010 the defendant obtained a loan of N375, 000,000 from GTB Plc in Nigeria, which he converted into 1,516,194.53 pounds sterling and gave instructions to the bank to transfer the entire sum to the united Kingdom in favour of Forts Bank SA/NV the purpose of which the defendant stated to be the full and final payment of mortgage redemption for the property he purchased in London,” Danladi said.

Arguing Saraki’s motion earlier, Agabi was of the view that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the charges, on among other grounds, that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice lacked the powers to file charges before the tribunal.

He also argued that the failure of the Code of Conduct Bureau to invite Saraki to confront him with the breaches in his assets declaration form was fatal to the validity of the charges.

Responding, Jacobs argued that Agabi’s argument was embarrassing and self-serving. Jacobs, who once served as aide to Agabi while he was the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) wondered why his former principal will now argue against the power to initiate proceedings before the CCT.

“On their argument that the AGF cannot initiate proceedings before this tribunal, we are saying that issue, which is their NO: 2 is embarrassing. They had earlier argued, up to the Supreme Court, that it is only the AGF that can initiate cases here. They dragged that case before the Supreme Court and lost. Then they have come back here to now argue the opposite, that the AGF cannot initiate a case before the CCT.

“Fortunately for me, I served with the lead defence lawyer (Agabi) as a Special Assistant (SA) when he was the AGF. He signed several charges, which I prosecuted before this tribunal on his behalf. Some these case included that involving former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Jeremiah Useni, former Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, among others.

“He did not only sign those charges, I represented him. Having benefited and utilised those law, can he now come back to condemn the law? That is embarrassing. And it should not be accepted. The same AGF, who worked with that provision of the Constitution, cannot now argue that the EFCC cannot liaise with the CCB in investigating cases,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs argued that the fresh motion by Saraki was an abuse of court process because he had raised similar issues and sought the same reliefs in about four other motions he filed before different courts in the country.

He cited the cases marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/775/15, FHC/ABJ/CS/905/15 and FHC/ABJ/CS/1507/15 already filed by Saraki in attempt to frustrate his trial before the CCT.

CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar has adjourned to March 24 for ruling and possible commencement of trial. [myad]

Currency Crisis, Gloomy Economy And Hidden Opportunities, By Jideofor Adibe

Greenbarge Reporters

March 18, 2016

The times are hard. There is a consensus that the economy has tanked – at least in the short term. The naira has lost much of its value in the real (or parallel) forex market. As usual we bicker on who is to blame. Overlooked in the finger pointing is the old cliché that necessity is the mother of invention and that every crisis creates its own opportunities. As Thomas Edison, the American inventor and business man would say, opportunity is missed by most people because it is generally dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Peter Drucker, the Austrian-born American management consultant would say that the entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it and exploits it as an opportunity. The Nigerian bus conductor would remind us that Nigeria is tough but that those who live in it are made of iron. The American author Napoleon Hill would say that our opportunity may be right where we are. The crucial question therefore is beyond the economic gloom, how do we partake in the available opportunities created by the current currency crisis and the gloomy economic outlook?

The first consolation is that we are not alone in what APC politicians like to call ‘the mess we are in’. The truth is that it is simplistic to blame the PDP for all that has gone wrong in the country, including the current economic crisis. Ironically by framing the current economic crisis as a PDP legacy, there is an expectation that an APC government headed by a man that is generally believed not to be corrupt will fix things quickly.

And because this has not happened and is not likely to happen overnight, there is an increasing frustration that is already morphing into legitimacy crisis in some quarters. Like those who blame all our problems, including the inability of some women to find husbands and some men to find wives on the past government, expectations that Buhari has a sort of magic wand to fix our problems overnight are also simplistic.

The truth is that several countries are seriously hurting. All exporting economies – whether they are exporting manufactured goods or simply commodities as we do – are not finding things easy. For instance exporters of manufactured goods such as China are suffering because of the weakness in Europe and to a lesser degree the USA. Mineral and oil exporters have been particularly hard hit because of declining commodity prices.

In a very incisive article in the Geopolitical Futures of January 26 2016 entitled, ‘The Export Crisis: The 10 Worst Hit Countries and the 5 Most at Risk’, George Friedman ranked Nigeria the eighth worst affected behind China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Australia, Zambia and Angola in that order. Like Nigeria, Russia is heavily dependent on its oil revenues, with oil and gas accounting for about 70 per cent of total export revenues. It is often said that Russia loses about $2 billion in revenue for every dollar fall in the oil price.

In Venezuela, which relies on crude sales for roughly 96 percent of its exports and more than half of the country’s gross domestic product, it is estimated that for every dollar off the price of oil, the government loses as much as $700 million in estimated revenues a year. Though it is estimated that we need oil prices of about $119 a barrel to balance our budget, oil prices currently straddle between $39 and $40 per barrel. It is therefore obvious that much of the current economic challenge is caused by external shock.

My argument is not that PDP did not get a few things wrong or that Buhari’s and CBN’s economic policies are beyond reproach. My argument rather is that insufficient weight is given to the international context of the current crisis and that not enough attention is paid to the opportunities created by the crisis.

While some companies are already grabbing these opportunities with both hands most of us remain the ‘wailing wailers’. For instance the Deputy Managing Director of Tempo Pulp & Packaging Ltd, Nassos Sidirofagis, a Greek national who runs a manufacturing firm in Nigeria was quoted by the Vanguard of January 26 2016 as saying that due to the CBN’s demand management policies that included the banning of the importation of 41 items, local patronage has increased, leading to a 70 per cent increase in capacity utilization. For Mr Sidirofagis, the CBN’s policy was the “game changer because as a Nigerian company, we are also competing globally and locally”.

It is within the above context that the current ‘Made in Nigeria’ campaign should be located. The Senate President Bukola Saraki recently promised that the National Assembly would support locally produced items including garments, wears and cars. He also promised that the Public Procurement Act would be amended by the 8th National Assembly to make it mandatory for the government to patronize ‘Made in Nigeria’ goods. In the same vein, Aisha Abubakar, the Minister of state for Trade, Industry and Investment has proposed a ‘Patronize Naija Product Campaign’, as a way of encouraging local manufacturers.

Equally, Ben Bruce, ‘the Common Sense’ Senator has created a hashtag: #BuyNaijatoGrowtheNaira to trump support for locally made goods. Senator Bruce and some members of the National Assembly have gone a step further by purchasing Made in Nigeria cars. The wife of the President Muhamadu Buhari, Hajiya Aishat Buhari, equally keyed into the ‘Made in Nigeria’ train. Recently she commissioned the Erisco Foods Lagos Factory. The factory is said to be the largest tomato paste factory in Africa and the fourth largest in the world with installed capacity of 450,000 metric tonnes per annum.

Elite-led campaign for locally made goods is all well and good. But more needs to be done beyond the rhetoric, grandstanding, photo-op and our instinctive search for new mantras and catch-phrases as the magic elixirs to our problems. I will recommend the following:

One, the government should define what it means by ‘Made in Nigeria’. Since many ‘locally manufactured’ products even in the industrialized economies still have substantial foreign inputs, we need to know what percentage of locally sourced materials must be in place for a product to be called ‘Made in Nigeria’ It is important not to mistake local re-packaging or assembling for local manufacture. The government will then design different incentive packages for companies with certain percentages of local content.

Two, for Nigerians to maximally take advantage of the opportunities in the current economic challenges or for the Made-in-Nigeria Campaign to work, credit must be available at affordable rate to local producers. In this connection the CBN needs to take a second look at the current nine per cent cost of borrowing policy from commercial banks to manufacturers. It also needs to fast track the commencement of operations by the recently established Development Bank of Nigeria, which is dedicated to industrial development.

Three, a big challenge for most policies in Nigeria is sustainability. Though some people mentioned as belonging to Buhari’s Economic Management team are honestly uninspiring, once economic policies have been thoroughly debated by those competent to do so and a decision is taken, the government should avoid quick reversals. This is different from being inflexible which happens when one clings to a course of action even against superior argument or evidence that the chosen path is not working. Since every new policy is expected to disadvantage some of the current beneficiaries, a fight-back using different tools, channels and tactics should be expected.

This is where the ability of the President to provide maximum political cover to those who are fronting the policy becomes an imperative. Certainly without Obasanjo’s generous political cover, El-Rufai’s restoration of the Abuja Masterplan or Soludo’s bank consolidation would not have been possible.

Four, though the debate on whether the naira should be devalued or not is both complex and largely ideological (each option has its merits and downsides), what is not in doubt is that there is need for measures to bridge the gap between the official and parallel market rates. The Nation newspaper of 27 February 2016 reported that the CBN is targeting a N200 per dollar rate for the parallel market.

It also claims that the CBN has the capacity to sustain the current downward pressure on the major foreign currencies and that the apex bank’s aim is “to ensure that the divergence between the official and parallel rate does not exceed N3”. Certainly if the CBN is able to do this, the debate on whether the Naira should be devalued or not will become a moot point because the black market is the ‘real’ foreign exchange market. It also means that the temptation for arbitrage and round tripping by those fortunate enough to get foreign currency at the official exchange rate will be reduced.

Jideofor Adibe, pcjadibe@yahoo.com, Te: 0705 807 8841, Twitter: @JideoforAdibe. [myad]

Bad Economy: I’d Have Died Of Hypertension If I’d Won Oyo Guber Poll – Alao Akala

Greenbarge Reporters

March 18, 2016

Former governor of Oyo state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, has said that with bad economy presently staring the nation in the face, he would have died of hypertension if he had won the governorship election of Oyo state last year.

Akala, who expressed joy for losing the election which he contested under the platform of Labour Party (LP), told newsmen shortly after he visited the national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, said instead of regretting the loss of the election, he is happy over it.

“I said that because I pitied the governors because of what they are going through now. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep with these dwindling monthly allocations. That was the reason why I said that. I don’t know how I would have coped. It doesn’t go beyond that.”

On why he visited the Secretariat, Akala said: “I’m at the national headquarters of my party, maybe, you don’t know that I’m in the APC. This is just to tell you that I’m a member of the APC. So, I have come to the national headquarters of my party to have a tete-a-tete with my leaders and the national chairman of the party, including my leaders from the South-West in the party structures. That is what I have come here to do.”

When asked whether he will give another shot to governorship seat 2019, the Ogbomosho born politician said: “When we get to the bridge, we shall cross it. This is just 2016. Time will tell wherever anybody wants to go. Why do you try to ask God about 2019 now? Do you know whether you will sleep tomorrow and wake up tomorrow? Let’s leave 2019 to God.” [myad]

Why Nigerians Are Special, By Reuben Abati

Greenbarge Reporters

March 18, 2016

Whatever problem we may have in Nigeria at this or any other time, this country is sustained by the fact that we are indeed a very special people. We have been described as the happiest people on earth, we have also described ourselves as resilient, gifted and determined, and in one report, Nigerians are said to have the strongest shock absorber against some of the deadliest diseases in the world. If anyone doubted this last point, well, recall that we won the battle over Ebola virus, and polio. The more you look at it, the more it seems as if there is something in the Nigerian DNA that defies defeat, that automatically deletes any virus that can result in system shut down, there is that X-factor in our affairs that rises when hope seems lost, and life seems tragic. Somehow, the Nigerian spirit regenerates, recreates and reinvents itself, turns failure into possibilities, pessimism into new expectations, and tomorrow into an anchor for renewal.

We are at such a crossroad, right now. But in the midst of the despair, the listlessness, the anxiety, the what-happened-to-us and what-the hell-is-going-on, you can’t miss the fact that the average Nigerian has not lost his bounce. The biggest tragedies that can hobble other nations happen here and we just shrug them off. Boko Haram alone has claimed thousands of lives. Hun hun. Herdsmen have killed men and women in their hundreds. Hun hun. More lives have been lost to vehicle accidents on our poorly made, badly maintained roads. Well, hun hun. Many fingers have been caught in the national cookie jar. Ha. What is this? Who dunnit? But, o ma se o. hun hun. The national leaky bucket has a thousand holes. Ha, no country can live with this? Still, hen hun hun. We voted and there were promises of a new spirit of the age. But that spirit is yet to manifest. So? Nothing good comes easy, therefore. No miracles in the new agenda. So, ni igba yen wa n ko? So, life goes on.

Whatever life throws at the average Nigerian, he protests, he complains, but he accommodates it. It is the reason why nobody will throw stones because power supply is at the worst level in years. It is the reason why workers who have not been paid for months after months will still see the same Governor who is responsible for their misery, after collecting Federal money to help them, and has refused to deliver and they will still scream: “My Excellency, sir.” When workers go on strike, someone calls them together, says something nice, provides something nice and everything falls nicely in place. The late Chief MKO Abiola was quoted saying “eto ni gbogbo e,” that is anything in Nigeria can be arranged nicely.

The June 12 debacle sadly could not be arranged nicely. It cost the Chief of native wisdom and martyr of Nigerian democracy his life, but many lessons have been learnt. And one key lesson is that in this country, the people are determined to live no matter what. They can grumble as they wish about the public space but Nigerians are not ready to give up their will to live, their right to live and their understanding of how to live. And if you put your neck on the line on their behalf, you will be shocked that you will the subject of memes and what’s app jokes. The people laugh at martyrs and heroes because they see no reason why anyone should commit suicide, defending Nigeria, when there is so much life to be enjoyed.

Nigeria is probably the global headquarters of enjoyment. The way the ordinary man has complained in recent times, about political change and the socio-cultural changes it has brought, you would think Nigerians are in serious trouble. But that is not the case. The foreign exchange market has gone into a crazy overdrive impoverishing the whole nation. Parents whose children are schooling abroad are afraid that they may no longer be able to pay fees. The manufacturing sector is abusing the Minister of Finance-what’s-that-her-name-again? and where-did-she-learn-finance-public-policy-and-economics, but I beg, look around, more businesses are actually springing up and all those foreign investors who are supposedly monitoring the Nigerian market are actually clinging to this market. Why do you think MTN wants to remain in Nigeria till death do them part? Why do you think all those foreign countries want President Buhari to visit? The banks have retrenched a lot of staff but the same banks have started recruiting again. In this country, what you see is not what you get. There is problem with foreign exchange but activities at the ports have not ceased. Wait till September, you’d be shocked the number of Nigerian children heading towards Europe, North America and other parts of Africa in pursuit of expensive, forex-backed education.

I beg, leave matter. And if you don’t want to leave it go to the nearest fuel station where many Nigerians are queuing up for fuel with power generating sets and jerry cans. The people are going through the hardship but they are laughing at their leaders. You think you can mess us up, na lie. If you people like, sell fuel for N150, we go survive. They stay in front of that fuel station and they review Nigeria’s history and lament the choices they have made, but their spirit remains strong. That is what makes them Nigerian. Go to the vendors’ stand. The crowd of poor people who cannot afford to buy a newspaper copy, have all the same listened to the news and the only place where they can compete as pundits is that roadside corner, where sometimes one drunken idiot loses control behind the wheels and sheds human blood, wasting those who have gathered not to buy any newspaper but to debate Nigeria. This special crowd knows it all. You don’t want to get involved with them. They will remind you that a Ph.D holder is actually a real idiot, and that nobody needs certificates of any type to be a Nigerian, and well they add too, that if you ever worked in government, then you are a confirmed idiot, and a professional trickster.

Nigerians are so inventive, they find every way of beating bad news, bad experience, or anything that tries to defeat them. Everyone says there is no money in town, they claim things have gone from bad to worse but the parties have not stooped. Go to any of the joints around Lagos, nothing has been spoiled. Isi ewu, nkwobi, asun, sawa, orisirisi, point and kill have all defied the Forex market. Yes, the price of staple commodities has risen, but that has not stopped the people from throwing lavish wedding parties. Nor has it stopped anybody from marrying three times when once is enough: our people do traditional wedding – valid, they go to the registry: valid, they rush to church- valid: rather than marry once, they do it thrice all within a week. Nor has the austerity in town stopped anybody from burying the dead as if the more money is thrown at the grave, the likeliest the possibility of the dead suddenly becoming a Lazarus of the 21^st century.

Is there poverty in town? You answer that question based on the evidence of your eyes. What I have seen is that Nigerians are still living as if there is too much money in the country. Take a look at the garments Nigerians wear every week. We certainly don’t look like electricity is a problem or that money is in short supply. Soon it will be another Ojude oba among the Ijebus, for example. You go and check them out. As a teacher at Ogun State University in those days, (I served later as member of the Governing Council), we used to go from one party to the other, guzzling free food and quaffing free drinks. Today, those lavish parties have not ceased. Nobody eats like that in Europe or North America. When you go to all the old joints, in Agarawu in Lagos or Tarmac, nothing has changed either. The music still flows, the swag is on. Elsewhere, new buildings are springing up; new cars are being “washed”, additional wives are being acquired. Leave matter, I beg. Nigeria will survive, and these same people who are complaining about change, you’d be shocked, they’d still vote for their stomachs in 2019.

And that is why Nigeria is one country that beats all the textbook theories. We are just something else. There is more in the social arena that defines who we are, than in the theoretical arena. The same people who are complaining that they have not seen change are actually hoping for more. They are not ready to adjust. They are not ready to make sacrifices. If they have an opportunity to be close to government in any way, they will jump at it. The corruption that we talk about is not just in government corridors, it is in society, but the one inside society is so difficult to trap because it is amorphous and inchoate in so many respects. Invariably, the snake feeds on itself: mobius strip.

What we are left with is the image of the people laughing at government and themselves. Have you taken time out to check what happens on social media? Anybody who ever ventured into governance is easy game. The people design caricatures and mock them. Nigeria produces more memes and graphics than any other country in Africa not necessarily because of the events that happen here but because of the people’s consciousness, and if I may add, private greed. In that other world, political change is ridiculed, poverty is deplored, GEJ is becoming a saint and PMB a villain, but the people are still having fun, and blaming Nigeria and the politicians. I tell you, the problem with Nigeria is not the politicians but the people themselves. We are very special people, but we don’t really know what we want, and because we are like that, we confuse the politicians and the nation. But for as long as we can wear those impressive attires and throw those parties and dance to old music and pay our private bills, we see no reason to care enough. Pity is: no country can ever move ahead if the people do not care enough. For us, life goes on, no matter what. [myad]

James Ocholi Taught Us The Meaning Of Loyalty, By Muhammadu Buhari

Greenbarge Reporters

March 17, 2016

How do I begin to pay this tribute to a man who was the epitome of civility, the archetype of intellectualism, and the paragon of loyalty? How do I begin to mourn James Ocholi, whom you can describe as one of my right hand men in the quest to reposition our country, and fashion a land of peace and prosperity, where no man is oppressed?

A lot has been written about Ocholi since the tragic event of March 6, 2016, which took the life of our Minister of State, Labour and Employment, his wife, Blessing, and his son, Joshua. And a lot more will be written, for Ocholi was no mean man. He was a man among men, an Iroko in a forest of trees. How are the mighty fallen!
Among many other positive and pleasant things, I will always remember Ocholi for his loyalty to our beloved country Nigeria, loyalty to our party, the All Progressives Congress, and loyalty to our administration, in which he had served for just about 4 months, before death took him.

In 2011, Ocholi ran to be governor of Kogi State on the platform of our then party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). I believed so much in him, and in his ability to add value to the governance of his state, that I followed him round the state on campaign. We visited all the local governments, visited the paramount rulers, and urged the people to vote in a worthy man as governor. But politics is a peculiar game in Nigeria. The best often does not win. Ocholi did not win. But he bore it gracefully.

In 2015, he threw his hat into the ring again. He sought to be governor on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), a party he had helped midwife. He still did not win at the party primaries, an eventuality he bore gracefully again.
When the APC was being negotiated into existence among the Legacy Parties, Ocholi did a yeoman’s job, contributing his quota to the legal processes. This he did under a junior lawyer, who was not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) like him then. But what mattered to Ocholi was the birth of a strong, solid party, which could wrest power at the centre, and bring change to our country. Hierarchy is important in the legal profession, just as it is in the military. But Ocholi subordinated pride and ego, served under his subordinate, and APC was born.

Dream became reality.

Steadily but sure-footedly, he was part of the Change Cabinet, resolved to bring our country from out of the woods, and pedestal Nigeria among the greats in the comity of nations. Then the unthinkable happened. The Grim Reaper harvested Ocholi. What a pity! Sad and tragic. But we have this consolation: the departed has taught us fidelity, commitment and loyalty to party, to government, and to God.
He will be sorely missed.

Muhammadu Buhari is the President of Nigeria and wrote in from Abuja. [myad]

No Airline Can Survive In Nigeria. By Capt Evarest Nnaji

Greenbarge Reporters

March 17, 2016

I have debated this matter with economists and business developers over the years, but I believe it’s now time to put it out to the public, if not for anything, at least so that we all know where we stand. Aviation has proven to be a without-which-not in the global and borderless world economy; where companies are headquartered and controlled in one city while its activities can be alive and across the length and breadth of the world. But the decision makers of those organizations are often required to appear physically in those countries where their businesses are scattered, for various negotiations and big decisions. Air travel hence becomes a dependable ally to accomplish such trips saving time and achieving more results within the shortest possible time. In our country, big time business people as well as government officials will continue to rely on air travel to meet up with their travel needs to remain on top of their games.

But nothing in the Nigeria historical development has challenged the nation like the inadequacy of reliable air travel platform. The nation’s government has experimented with National airlines and consequently ran out of gas as things hit the dead ends, leaving commentators with the expression “defunct Nigerian Airways” etc. High net worth individual investors, even those with commendable successes in other business endeavors, have had theirs fingers burnt investing in aviation in Nigeria. We have had nice, but failed, attempts that can frightens even the most redoubtable investor when he or she examines the credential of any good Nigerian pilot or engineer who can boast of over 30 years experience in the Nigeria aviation industry. Such airman credentials would impress you to know that he or she had worked for airlines such as Okada Air; Oriental Air; Kabo Air, ADC Airlines; EAS Airlines as well as Albarka Air. Others are Nicon Airways; Nigeria Airways; Air Nigeria; Sosoliso and the rest of them. Realistically and essentially, such reminding raises a red flag as it leaves you wondering what the jinx that not even one of those nice airlines is still flying.

A critical examination of the goings in the Nigeria financial institutions will also reveal that no commercial bank in Nigeria granted facility to any airline investor in Nigeria over the past five years; and nothing shows they will anytime soon.

Somebody would at this point be asking me “then why are you professional aviators still there and not find somethings else to do with your lives”. The answer is “passion.” The truth is that the mind boggling gloom in our industry rests squarely in just one place “ticket pricing”

To understand this, one has to critically examine the pricing of other products and services adhering strictly to international standards while at the same time doing well in Nigeria. A deep look at those products and services imported from developed countries into our society which sustains international standards, and then compare the pricing attached to them by percentage difference, in comparison to pricing attached to air ticket in Nigeria, you will then begin to appreciate the challenges and predicament of Nigeria scheduled passenger aviation.

For instance, to survive in Nigeria, international hotel brands adhering strictly to standards price between 150% to 200% costs of their home country room rate. If you ever require insurance cover in which an international insurance organization is needed to share risk of cover in Nigeria, the premium is always up above 150% of values paid in the developed countries. Again, cost of financing, when you able to find international lending interest rate as low as 3%, by the time you get through with local guaranteeing applications, goes up above 9%, just to be modest, because the interest rate could nudge up into double digits. That is above 300% increase for Nigeria application on international finance. This is just to mention but a few, I can go on and on.

Let’s not forget that aviation is still more a challenging endeavor than those few sampled above. Aviation is one feild of endeavor where you can never be able to domestic anything beyond hiring crew members that will eventually and inevitably be traveling overseas to carry out their proficiency and recurrent trainings nonetheless. Therefore, any attempt at pricing aviation services like agricultural products will remain counterproductive.

Furthermore, when you compare ticket pricing with the rest of the world, it floods to our minds why things are gloomy in the industry here in our society. In Europe, for instance, it costs €240, on the average, to fly from Munich to Hamburg which is the equivalent flight time from Lagos to Calabar or Kaduna which costs about N28,000, one-way economy-class ticket. In the U.S, it costs average of $300 to fly the same equivalent flight time from Houston to Oklahoma.

Moving forward, in Europe, it costs average of €200 to fly from Stuttgart to Hamburg, the equivalent flight time of Lagos to Abuja which costs average of N25,000, while a corresponding U.S route flight time of New Orleans to Houston will cost you an average of $220. When you compare many other routes around the world and do the maths, it appears that Nigeria airlines ticket fare has stayed around 50% of their contemporaries elsewhere in the world.

Some of my colleagues have argued that some smaller airlines in some smaller countries have done well, but priced slightly lower than the developed world. My take on that is to look carefully at the ease-of-doing-business and aviation policy thrust and stability which may be acting as mitigating factors in such smaller countries.

At this point, I must state clearly that my point here is not to opine that Nigerian traveling public can afford to pay over N60,000 to fly an economy-class from Lagos to Calabar or Kaduna, or N45,000 for Lagos to Abuja or Port Harcourt. Because if that happens, the few Nigerians that can afford to pay for a room at Hilton Transcorp Abuja are just about the multitude that will be able to fly our airlines. Mine is to call it as I see it, to bring home the truth. Remember, the above two routes sample costs are just converting the exact route price at central bank rate and at their 100% value. If we drive them up to 150% “Doing Business in Nigeria” factor, you will have N90,000 and N67,000 respectively for the two group sample routes economy-class costs.

Again, somebody would be saying at this point, “if that is the case, why can’t you guys speak up?” Great! Those with audible voices erroneously continue to think they will gain market advantage if others fall off the cliff, and thereby maintain selfish posture of “those who cannot stand the heat should get out of the kitchen”, but in the end they too get out of the kitchen.

I believe that someday, not long from now, government and stakeholders will seat and look things straight in the face to fashion a way forward which will guarantee that our society remains relevant in the global world economy, of which aviation in one of the main basic fundamentals.

Capt. Evarest Nnaji, Managing Director/CEO of OAS Helicopters wrote in from
Maryland Heliport, Lagos. [myad]

Vice President Osinbajo, 36 Governors, Others Hold 2-Day Economic Retreat

Greenbarge Reporters

March 17, 2016

The National Economic Council (NEC), made of the governors of the 36 states of the federation have scheduled a two-day Retreat next week beginning Monday. President Muhammadu Buhari will deliver the keynote address during the formal opening session.

A statement from the spokesman of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who will chair the retreat, Mr. Laolu Akande, said that the Central Bank Governor and the Budget & Planning Minister were among other top government functionaries that will attend the retreat.

Akande said that the objective of the NEC Retreat is to provide a forum for in-depth discussions by NEC members of the policy actions that the States and the Federal Government can consider in order to stimulate local production, cut costs and enhance public revenues among other measures to stimulate the economy.

“Contrary to suggestions, the Retreat is not an emergency national economic conference. The idea was mooted at the last regular NEC meeting in January, where members requested an intensive session to review economic trends and evolve strategies to cope.” [myad]

President Buhari Vows: We Must Produce The Food We Eat

Greenbarge Reporters

March 17, 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari has made it clear that Nigeria has no excuse not to produce enough food to feed its citizens even as he promised to vigorously implement policies that will revive Nigeria’s agricultural sector and reposition it as the mainstay of the national economy.

Speaking today at an audience with the new Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Vesselin Blagoer Delcher, President Buhari said that his administration will evolve and implement policies that will help Nigeria become self-sufficient in food production because continued importation of food could expose the country to more external shocks.

The President noted that the unbridled importation of food also contributes to the depletion of the country’s foreign reserves and deprives citizens of job opportunities.

‘‘We must produce what we eat. We don’t have unlimited resources to continue the importation of food items that can be produced locally.

“Fortunately, some Nigerians have shown foresight by building factories that process agricultural products within the country.

‘‘They have created a value chain that boosts employment, protects our foreign reserves and safeguards the economy from external shocks.

“We will do all that we can to encourage others to join in the effort to achieve national self-sufficiency in food production,” President Buhari said.

The President said that his administration will also help and encourage Nigerian farmers to adopt modern, technology-driven methods that guarantee higher production and returns on investment.

President Buhari, who also received Mr. Paul Lehmann, the new High Commissioner of Australia, Hajiya Afsatu Olayinka Ebiso-Kabba, the new High Commissioner of Sierra-Leone and Thordur Aegir Oskarsson, the new Ambassador of Iceland, told them that Nigeria will welcome the further strengthening of relations with their countries, especially in the areas of agriculture, solid minerals and trade.

The President wished the four envoys, who were at the Presidential Villa to present their letters of credence to him, very successful tenures in Nigeria. [myad]

Important Takeaways From President Buhari’s Trip To Equatorial Guinea, By Garba Shehu

Greenbarge Reporters

March 17, 2016

In fulfillment of his promise to tackle Boko Haram terrorism, then turn his attention to crude oil thefts and the sabotage of oil installations in the Delta region of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari went on a two-day state visit to the Equatorial Guinea.

When he took power, the President made a classic statement to the effect that “you have to secure the country to efficiently manage it.” To this day, security remains a key priority of his administration.

As disclosed in an earlier statement, the latest visit focused heavily on the planned joint efforts to police the Gulf of Guinea against pirates, saboteurs and crude oil thieves.

The major takeaway of the Presidential visit is the signing of an agreement allowing both countries to put in place a ” robust mechanism for the effective coordination and management of security issues between the two countries to enable them eradicate maritime crimes and encourage peace and security in the region.”

President Buhari was accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Defence, retired Brig.Gen. Mansur Dan Ali, the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs Khadijah Abba Ibrahim, the National Security Adviser, Maj.Gen. Babagana Munguno and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment Aliyu Bisallah.

The national security establishment, especially the Navy was adequately represented.

What is this agreement about?

The agreement is for the establishment of a combined policing and security patrol committee to oversee, manage, coordinate,plan and direct the execution of combined policing and security operations along the defined common maritime border of both countries.

In drawing up this agreement, a contentious issue, especially for the Equatorial Guineans was whether a patrol team of one country can cross the territorial boundary of the other.

Equatorial Guinea is a very small country whose area covers only 28,000 square kilometers. Its total population is about 1,2000,000.

Being the only Spanish-speaking sovereign African country, this tiny country had lived with the fear of its invasion by powerful neighbors especially Gabon, Cameroon and Nigeria.

It was hard convincing them that a foray into their territory by Nigerians, or the other way round, where necessitated by a hot pursuit of criminals is in the best interest of the two countries.

Nigerian officials calmed down their fears with assurances that a peaceful and stable Equatorial Guinea is in the best interest of Nigeria; that you don’t reward good neighborliness with aggression.

Equatorial Guinea has always been our good neighbor.

When we fought our unfortunate civil war, they refused to let any part of their territory be used either by Spain or France which were pro-Biafra.

They also refused to yield to apartheid South-African pressure for an inch of space to use for launching hostile acts against Nigeria.

The signed agreement represents the shared concern about the escalation of maritime crimes such as piracy,illegal fishing,poaching,attacks by armed groups,illegal oil bunkering,smuggling of goods,drugs, human and arms trafficking,sabotage and vandalization of oil rigs and installations,banditry, harassment of crew members and sabotage and the vandalization of ocean-going vessels.

A recent escalation of pipeline vandalism has seen gas supplies to Nigerian power plants plummet by about 50 percent and crude oil exports reduced by between 250,000-400,000 barrels a day.

Generally,then, the idea is to eradicate maritime crimes and encourage the consolidation of peace and security along our common maritime border for the common good of our peoples and the stability of the region.

The composition of the committee is to comprise members in equal representation drawn from the armed forces,intelligence agencies,police, customs, immigration, gendarmerie and their ministries of foreign affairs.

It is to be chaired by Defence ministers who will rotate its leadership every four months. Meetings will hold every four months between Abuja and Malabo.

The agreement provides for combined air and maritime operations along the defined common maritime border of the two states.

Arising from this, there will be set up a Combined Air Patrol Squad (CAPS) and a Combined Maritime Patrol Squad (CMPS).

As to be expected, these combined patrol squads are to be jointly funded and equipped. They will coordinate their activities with existing national security agencies of both states. They will also cash in on available international support.

They are empowered to “track down, intercept, inspect, search and arrest suspected persons, vehicles, vessels and goods, including goods in transit, along the defined maritime border corridor of the parties (to this agreement).”

It is equally in the agreement that the patrols may hand over any persons or vessels suspected of either committing or aiding or abetting the commission of any crime to the appropriate authorities in either country for investigation and possible prosecution.

The agreement is valid for five years, subject to renewal upon agreement by the two states.

When he met a representation of the Nigerian community in Malabo, the President delivered his toughest rhetoric so far against corruption.

He announced that his administration will be “relentless and ruthless against those who abuse public trust.

“In Kaduna state in Nigeria,” he told his audience in an effort to demonstrate the depth corruption, the Governor informed him that a whole primary school existed on paper, nothing on the ground. Every month, salaries are calculated along with overheads and paid into the pockets of officials.

He then warned that “I will not spare anybody found to be corrupt. My warning fell on deaf ears in the National Assembly. Last time I spoke about the issue, I said that I heard about padding the budget for the first time following what happened with our 2016 draft. The bureaucrats removed what we wrote, after reading the budget and bowing before the National Assembly.

“The Minister of health exposed what they did. They showed him his budget and he said I can’t defend what I didn’t write. He walked out. They removed what we wrote. They are going to regret what they did. They steal to build houses in Abuja. We will put them in prison, seize the houses, sell them and put the money in the treasury. Those who think they can challenge us (in this anti-corruption war), we will see who wins in the end.”

The President also sent two important messages to the population at home through the Nigerian community in Malabo.

One, he would rather spend money taking care of fellow citizens displaced by war than embarking on grandiose projects such as a national airline.

“My first priority is the two million Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs. I’am not thinking of a national carrier. I would rather clear poverty (in the country), build infrastructure such as roads, rail, power and agriculture so that able-bodied Nigerians will get jobs.”

The second important message is on ongoing violence in states such as Rivers, where “more people are being killed than anywhere.”

Violence before and during election is, in his view, a bigger threat to the aspiration of Nigeria’s diaspora to vote in future elections.

“I am still not satisfied with our elections, given what I saw happen in Kogi and Bayelsa states. I didn’t run for this office four times for nothing. One thing I have learnt is to be patriotic and to respect Nigerians. I will show respect to them by allowing their right to choose who will lead them.”

But he said at the same time that he will not allow anyone, “because they have money or social status to beat people or steal ballot boxes.”

Against the backdrop of the signed agreement, the President optimistically said that crude oil thieves and saboteurs of oil installations in the Gulf of Guinea, from Senegal to Angola are ” on their last lap.”

By undertaking this two day visit, President Buhari has turned his attention to an important neighbor. The President seemed clearly determined to give Malabo the strategic priority the country deserves.

With a stronger partnership between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, the two countries are equally set to reenact trade. Bilateral trade between them has collapsed. From about USD 300 million in 2009, trade was down to about USD 73 million last year. When they meet in May under the auspices of the Joint Commission, the two states are expected to finalize their positions on a trade agreement and another one on cooperation on oil and gas.

After many wasted years, the altered security and the politico-economic reality of the Gulf of Guinea appear to necessitate a strong partnership between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. Hopefully, this will be to the benefit of both states.

Garba Shehu is Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari. [myad]

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