FAAN/Maevis: Impunity, (Il)legality and PPPs!

I have restrained myself from commenting on the FAAN-Maevis controversy until I considered myself fully seised of the facts. You recall that on Saturday March 24, 2012, officials of FAAN forcefully and physically took over the part of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport occupied by MAEVIS and violently ejected its workers from the premises. FAAN proceeded to take over MAEVIS equipment and transferred operations of some or all of the facilities and services provided by MAEVIS to Societe International De Telecommunication Aeronautiques (SITA). It is incontrovertible that FAAN and Maevis entered into an agreement dated October 31, 2007 covering “acquisition, installation, operation and management of Airport Operations Management System (AOMS), Airport Operation Database (AODB), Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE), Computer-Based Departure Control System Platform, Common User Self Service (CUSS) Kiosk, a fully automated Airport Pricing and Billing System (PBS), a proactive Revenue Management System and an electronic payment Gateway System incorporating a Transparent Electronic Funds Transfer and Settlement System at the Airports…”. That agreement provides that “FAAN shall provide adequate space and power supply to MAEVIS free of all encumbrances and cost for the Data Centre at the airport”. The agreement also provides in Articles 5 and 7 that FAAN will pay MAEVIS 2% of current revenue and 35% of “additional revenue generated and collected above FAAN’s current revenue generation”. I have also seen correspondences emanating from FAAN in which it acknowledged existence of MAEVIS’ court action and recognised the need to “maintain the res in view of the present court action instituted by MAEVIS against the Authority” (letter dated October 22, 2010 from FAAN to MAEVIS); another addressed to MAEVIS’ bankers in which FAAN affirmed that “all issues relating to the Commission and Enhancement fees payable to MAEVIS Limited under the FAAN-MAEVIS AOMS agreement has been fully resolved”. In this letter, FAAN went ahead to confirm that “The Honourable Minister of Aviation has directed that in line with Federal Government’s commitment to the rule of law and smooth operation of this project, the deduction and payment of the 2% commission and 35% Enhancement fees due to MAEVIS Limited shall be implemented” (letter dated July 31, 2009 from FAAN CEO and Director of Finance and Accounts to Zenith Bank and MAEVIS Ltd). There are also two letters from the Honourable Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, dated April 21 and May 24, 2011 in which the AGF advised FAAN to stay action on the termination of MAEVIS agreement in view of the directive of the Federal High Court on both parties to submit their dispute to arbitration in line with their agreement, as well as the intervention of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC). On its part, the ICRC an agency of government has confirmed the existence and validity of the Concession Agreement between FAAN and MAEVIS, expressed concern over FAAN’s actions and promised to take up the matter with FAAN. As the Courts, the AGF and ICRC have all acknowledged, the proper course of action for a law-abiding legal entity (especially one that is a government agency) was to refer any dispute between the parties to arbitration as provided in Article 15 of the agreement signed by the parties which provided first for mutual consultation and then arbitration. I have seen evidence that MAEVIS duly filed a notice of arbitration to FAAN and appointed its party-nominated arbitrator (a notable SAN) as far back as January 20, 2011 to which FAAN inexplicably refused to respond! Finally there is documentary evidence of several rulings of various Federal High Courts that “the Res is to be preserved” (Justice B. F. M Nyako-24/9/10); directing that “parties herein should go to Arbitration as provided for by Article 15 of their Agreement” (Nyako-17/12/10); re-emphasizing the order on parties to proceed to arbitration (Nyako-19/5/11); and an order restraining SITA and Government from entering or implementing any agreement that interferes with the rights of MAEVIS under its agreement with FAAN (Justice A. M Liman-21/3/12). It is amazing, indeed shocking that in the face of all the above, SITA, FAAN and the Minister of Aviation have acted with the level of arrogance, impunity and total disregard for the law in the manner they did on March 24 and subsequently. Given this behaviour of FAAN, will any sensible investor of any credibility or worth enter into a public-private partnership with any agency of the Government of Nigeria? A country in which an agency of government, prodded by its supervising Minister can ignore the country’s Attorney-General, its Courts and the institution responsible for regulating PPPs is not one in which sane people will be prepared to enter into agreements with governments, least of all agreements requiring such a person to invest funds ahead of reaping expected returns. If it is true as I have seen in some newspaper reports that the Minister may have in fact disobeyed the President of the Federal Republic in proceeding to throw MAEVIS out of the airport, then our descent into a banana republic is complete!

Johnnie Carson, the US and Boko Haram

Johnnie Carson is the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. His recent speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC on April 9, 2012 was titled “Nigeria, One Year After Elections” but may have been more appropriately titled “Appeasing Boko Haram (and its Sponsors!): A Marshall Plan for Northern Nigeria”! After initial platitudes, Carson explained his theory-“Nigerians are hungry for progress and improvement in their lives, but Northern Nigerians feel this need most acutely. Life in Nigeria for many is tough, but across the North, life is grim” the State Department official declared citing vague statistics purporting that while life for Southern Nigerians is merely tough, life is brutish and grim in Northern Nigeria! Actually Mr Carson, life is grim all over Nigeria! According to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, relative poverty was 69% in 2010 (112.5million people); absolute poverty was 60.9% (99.2million people) and $ per day poverty was 61.2%. The Bureau projected 2011 poverty prevalence as 71.5%, 61.9% and 62.8% for relative, absolute and $/day poverty respectively. A few facts expose the distorted propaganda Ambassador Carson has swallowed-Niger State, up North has lowest poverty prevalence nationally with 43.6% relative and 33.9% $/day poverty; Borno (Boko Haram’s home) has 61.1% relative poverty, significantly lower than Ogun (69%) and Anambra (68%). Benue has higher poverty (74.1%) than Kano (72.3%). Poverty is more prevalent in South-East’s Ebonyi (80.4%) than Northern Gombe (79.8%), Jigawa (79%); Kaduna (73%); Kano (72.3%); Nasarawa (71.7%); Taraba (76.3%); Yobe(79.6%) and Zamfara (80.2%)! Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial, industrial and financial capital has relative poverty of 59.2%!!! Edo in the South has higher poverty (72.5%) than Kano, Nasarawa, Borno and Niger in the North; and poverty in “oil rich” Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta states are 57.9%, 58.6% and 70.1% respectively! When Carson declares “poverty in Northern Nigeria is increasing” he makes no point! Actually poverty is increasing EVERYWHERE in Nigeria!!! Again NBS says relative poverty rose from 27.2% nationwide in 1980 to 69% by 2010! While higher poverty levels prevail in parts of the North, Nigerian poverty is incapable of North-South compartmentalisation! The 67% of South Easterners who are poor are not different from the 76.3% North Easterners or 77.7% North Westerners in the same condition! Almost 60% of South Westerners (59.1%), 67.5% in the North Central; and 63.8% in South-South are poor! Poverty is acute, dear Assistant Secretary everywhere in Nigeria! Relying on this distorted overview of Nigerian poverty (sold by a well-motivated cast including John Campbell, Jean Herscovits, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and his Financial Times friends, especially William Wallis), Carson could only go wrong! Before his predictably defective conclusion however, he asserts that the 2011 elections were fair and transparent, but then subtly implies that since most Northerners voted for the opposition, some thing must be done to appease them (John Campbell recommends, and Wallis/Xan Rice of Financial Times hint government should appoint “strong Northerners” whatever that means, into government!)-shouldn’t Mr Cameron also co-opt strong Labourites into his coalition (and invite London looters and rioters for dialogue)? Actually Obama tried and it incensed rather than appease angry Republicans! The fact however is that Northerners are ruling Party Chairman, Vice-President, Senate President, House Speaker, Head of Civil Service, Ministers of Defence, Federal Capital Territory, Interior, Water Resources, Education, Transport, Chiefs of Navy and Air Force, Central Bank Governor, Chief Justice, Court of Appeal President, Inspector-General of Police etc!!! No other region of Nigeria can boast a richer haul!!! Mr Carson asserts that “religion is not driving extremist violence in Jos or Northern Nigeria”. It is not necessary to explain how he arrived at this conclusion! Boko Haram victims and Northern Christians bombed to death in their Churches (and several pastors decapitated by Boko Haram!) may find it difficult agreeing with him, but then dead people are of no strategic significance to the US! There is a confounding portion of Mr Carson’s speech-he acknowledges the hypothesis that Boko Haram is “being funded by a handful of resentful politicians nursing their wounds from the last election” but turns to preaching and exhortation-“This would be deeply unfortunate if true”, he says, “but I have not seen any evidence” to support the theory. Ignoring the fact that he offered no evidence in support of his other suppositions, one would then expect him to proffer alternative theories regarding Boko Haram funding since evidently it cannot be the Northern poor providing sophisticated arms and ammunition, IEDs, AK47s, training, logistics, and operational intelligence for Boko Haram! Who does Carson suggest is funding Boko Haram or isn’t that question worth pursuing? Based on faulty diagnosis, Carson’s prescriptions are inevitably incomplete-the Nigerian government should establish a new social contract with Northern citizens (there’s an excellent social contract with the South?); government should de-emphasize the use of the military (to give Boko Haram room to re-group as its sponsors and apologists want?); government should create a Ministry of Northern Affairs (not original-Sanusi Lamido already told the Financial Times about a Marshall plan!; and complaints about special funding status for Lagos, and massive erosion and infrastructural collapse in the South-East and South-West, minus Lagos are irrelevant?); and a comprehensive economic strategy, (presumably for the North too!) to address social and economic context of Boko Haram!!! The fact that Southern poverty manifests in economic dimensions-armed robbery, kidnapping, “area boys”, gang violence, drug and human trafficking, fraud, white collar crimes and 419, prostitution, and desperate emigration amongst others, rather than religious extremism and fundamentalist terror was rather remote for Mr Carson and his advisers to grasp! The millions of Southern poor can go to hell, resort to revolution or form their own terror groups to get attention!

False Definitions

Easter is the season to celebrate the travail, crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the core and essence of the Christian faith-it is Jesus Christ’s resurrection that validates our faith in his second coming and the hereafter. It is not a time for anger, lamentation and vexation, so I decided it was better to laugh over our many problems as a nation! Stakeholders: The dictionary has two meanings for this word-“a person or company that is involved in a particular organisation, project, system etc especially because they have invested money in it” and “a person who holds all the bets placed on a game or race and who pays the money to the winner”. In Nigeria, the word has a slightly twisted meaning! Yes our “stakeholders” have “invested” money in the “game”, “race” or “project” and yes again, there is some sort of high stakes gambling going on, but here the word means something closer to “recognised co-conspirators” Consensus: Is supposed to mean “an opinion that all members of a group agree with”, but in Nigeria it usually means the exact opposite-an opinion that is imposed on members of a group by one or more powerful members! Principal: A word which usually implies a principal (a person you are representing, especially in business or law) and agent relationship exists. In our usage, it implies some form of sycophantic or crony relationship, usually rewarded with a share of “distributive” resources. “Carrying us along”: When civil or public servants, private sector employees or members of a group request their leaders, clients or “consultants” to “carry them along”, don’t imagine that they are interested principally in the finer points of policy formulation or progression of project execution. The phrase is a reminder that you should ensure the funds get to everyone in the manner agreed or expected to be shared! “To Move the Country Forward”: The implicit meaning here is-lets forget about the principles and ideals; and discard concerns about truth, justice and equity…and just move on since the current situation favours us (“us” doesn’t necessarily mean all Nigerians, but the speaker and the group he or she represents) Lobbying: Synonymous with “bribing” Reform: The meaning of this word is variable, depending on who is speaking! It may mean “reform” as defined in the dictionary (to improve a system or organisation) if used by a genuine reformer; It could also mean pretending to be improving a system or organisation when your real objective is to displace current beneficiaries of official rent, in favour of yourself or your cronies and associates. Foreign Investors: Also depends on who is speaking! When the speaker is the false reformer (see above), it means someone fronting for the speaker. Family Affair: Similar to “moving the country forward”, but usually refers not to country, but party! “One Man-One Vote”: To the best of my knowledge, this has never happened before in Nigeria! The closest we may have come to this strange phenomenon may have been on June 12, 1993, but otherwise we have also had one or more votes for children, cows, thumbs and fingers, fish, deceased persons, expatriates, chieftains, etc! In any event, at the collation centre (or somewhere between the “one-or-so-man vote” and collation centre), voting begins to be in hundreds, thousands or when necessary, hundreds of thousands! “Free and Fair”: The definition of “free and fair”, like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder!!! See “One Man-One Vote” above! Screening: This may refer to screening by the Senate, party or security agencies, but the requirements, implications and consequences are similar-if you are naïve about the process, your plans to partake in eating the good of the land may be cut short! It does not matter if you’re probably the best nominee on offer (ask Bode Agusto) or an incumbent governor (ala Timipre Silva). This process may in fact be the de facto election! National Unity: No one knows what this phrase actually means! It may be a complete fiction or wishful thinking, but it is a cliché you’re well-advised to learn if you must work in Abuja! Peaceful Co-Existence: This one is most definitely a fiction-“wetie” in the West; riots in Tivland; a bloody military coup; a bloodier revenge coup; pogroms and crimes against humanity; then a very bloody civil war; regular ethnic, religious and communal violence; post-election killings; fundamentalist terrorism and sectarian violence…certainly neither peaceful, nor co-existential! But don’t ever say so! If you think “peaceful bla blab la” is too much of a lie, then say “mutual co-existence”!!! Merit: This word is not in our dictionary! What does it mean? Capacity Building: An easy way to get money out of the national treasury, without having to account for it-since “capacity” is neither visible nor tangible, no auditor can establish whether you executed the contract or not! Welfare: Similar to “carrying everyone along”!!! Perhaps the Nigeria of these definitions died on Good Friday and a new and better one was born last Sunday? I hope you had a good Easter. I also hope you spent some time reflecting on how you could contribute towards making Nigeria a better nation.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the World Bank

The Policy Council I move one small step ahead in my self-imposed duty of policy advocacy and public commentary with the premiering this week of “The Policy Council” on three national television stations. I have for virtually all my adult life since National Youth Service engaged in a determined effort to influence public opinion, hopefully positively. I started as a “letter writer” around 1986 writing the editors of various national news magazines until I settled on Nduka Obaigbena’s “THISWEEK”. Actually as a primary school student, I had written one letter to an NTA Ibadan children’s programme. I won the prize, but I never got to collect it-after one journey to Ibadan (from Lagos), my mother and I concluded the prize, whatever it was, was not likely to be worth a second, or perhaps third try! Employment in the banking sector eventually forced me to suspend my public interventions until frustration with national drift under Abacha induced me to send another letter to the editor in 1998-by then I had formed acquaintances in The Guardian, and that one got published on the op-ed pages. There were numerous other op-ed articles, at first still in The Guardian…later Businessday before I eventually accepted the challenge of writing a column in 2006, and that column “Economy, Polity, Society” continues till date. Then TV…. I had done a few official appearances on TV usually representing institutions and not myself. Professor Pat Utomi and “Patitos Gang” was my first regular television forum from sometime around 2004, after I had left the banking sector. And then I became a regular “policy analyst” on Silverbird TV, Channels and CNBC Africa with occasional discussions with BBC, Associated Press, Radio France International and Financial Times. I do not know exactly when the desire to take policy to television stirred up in me-watching Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN must have played some part. I of course noticed that Fareed had successfully made the transition from print media (Newsweek) columnist to TV talk show host, and our interests in policy, economy, development, governance and global affairs were not dis-similar. I also recall one older “friend” wonder (and them swallow the thought) if I wouldn’t have done fine asking the questions, rather than answering them! I spent many months thinking through the possibility of doing a policy-focused TV show in Nigeria, but the final push undoubtedly came towards the end of 2011 from a friend and brother (God bless him) who, completely independently of my ponderings, concluded that I should be doing exactly that which I was meditating over, somewhat of a miraculous intervention! And thus came…“The Policy Council…with Opeyemi Agbaje”!!! The objective is to provide a platform for informed debate and analysis around policy, economy, development and governance in Nigeria, Africa, the African Diaspora and the world, in order that policy can work for our people. The platform will be objective and non-partisan; and guests and discussants will be invited for the insight they can offer on policy. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the World Bank The matter of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (NOI) going to the World Bank is for me a complicated matter! I am often in sync with those who query whether she doesn’t have more to do at home, than at the bank. Isn’t transforming Nigeria a bigger imperative, even for the world, than reforming the World Bank? I am not surprised for instance at the unanimity of support for her nomination at home-there are many opponents of reform, who simply see the prospect of her going to the World Bank as good riddance-a major tactical victory in their efforts to prevent a change in Nigeria’s dysfunctional political-economy! But then I also see benefits to developing and emerging nations, including ours, from having her at the bank-an African, a woman, a two-time finance minister of Africa’s most troublesome economy-all exposures and experiences that place NOI in a unique position to make the World Bank more relevant to the needs of the developing world. The fact that she is also a World Bank insider makes her appointment a compelling choice! There is no doubt that she is the best candidate on offer, as attested to by The Economist and Financial Times, and her candidacy is buoyed by an uncommon unanimity of ECOWAS, AU and major emerging nations across the world. However if her appointment will mean quelling plans for a BRICS global development bank sponsored by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South-Africa, I am not sure that I would be pleased by such outcome. I would think a BRICS alternative to the World Bank would be a great thing, irrespective of what America, Europe and Japan do with their votes at the Bank. One of the lessons of economics and free enterprise is that competition is good for the customer and market place! All told, the decision will not be made based on our sentiments! The US/Europe/Japan bloc will decide based on their reading of their own geo-political and strategic interests and in the shorter-term, how any decision affects Obama’s domestic political equation in the run-up to the US elections. All things considered, I’ll be happy whatever the outcome is-we either have NOI helping to reform Nigeria, or we release her to help change the World Bank ultimately for our benefit as well. In the latter eventuality, the choice of her successor will be a critical decision for President Jonathan!