By Ben Ekori

I HAVE observed how over the years the general attitude of Nigerians towards corruption or perceived corruption has transformed from repulsion and revulsion to attraction. Or how else can one explain the rise in the number of corruption cases that are reported daily in the media in spite of the much-talked about war against corruption that the various administrations often declare? Bothersome as this trend has become already, it has begun to progress from mere attraction to outright celebration.

We saw this celebration of corruption element in the case of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Patricia Etteh. The corruption case against her was so celebrated that in the frenzy Nigerians lost touch with the facts of the case, overwhelmed by the cries of “crucify her, crucify her!” Etteh was, in a manner of speaking, crucified. But barely a year later after the dust of the celebration had settled down, the facts began to emerge and it became clear that she had been “crucified” for a corrupt act she intended to commit, but did not actually commit.

A curious form of celebration of corruption came to the fore last year at the height of the Sanusi Lamido Sanusi-led banking sector reform. After the sack of the Managing Directors of the “sick” banks, it came to light that some of the loans that were drowning the banks were insider abuse-related. Then the celebration started. In the heat of the celebration, every debt owed to a bank became a crime and every loan obtained from a bank became corruption.

Both fake and genuine businessmen were hounded for ‘non-performing loans’ which at that time became another name for corruption. But several months later after the tide of celebration had begun to ebb and people had begun to feel the negative impact of the criminalization of loans in businesses and the economy, Nigerians began to raise questions as to when it became a crime for one to take a loan or owe a bank.

Now, what do all of these have to do with N450 billion debt the Nigerian National Corporation (NNPC) is said to be owing the Federal Government or the Federation Account Allocation Committee? Though none has directly accused NNPC of committing a crime by owing the Federal Government, a similar trend of celebrating corruption is discernible in the way newspapers have been celebrating the news in their editorials.

Since the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Remi Babalola, disclosed the decision of FAAC to get NNPC to commit to a payment plan for the N450 billion debt some weeks ago, the media has been agog with reports, editorials and commentaries on the issue, celebrating what they perceive to be another case of corruption. Some even interpreted it as a confirmation of “the rot in NNPC”, since President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier ordered a probe of the Corporation’s books.

For most people, the simple arithmetic is that Mr President’s directive to the Minister of Finance to appoint a world class audit firm to audit NNPC’s accounts plus Babalola’s call on NNPC to present to FAAC a work plan on how it intends to pay the N450 billion debt equals monumental corruption in the Corporation. For them, this calls for celebration.

And as the celebration gathers momentum, reason is thrown to the winds in the frenzy. No one wants to draw from the experience of the recent past that has shown clearly that a debt is neither a crime, nor is it an act of corruption. No one wants to know how the debt came about.

Not even the explanation of the Minister of State for Finance that NNPC has been saddled with so much responsibility with regard to the payment of petroleum subsidy to such a level that it is hemorrhaging to death has made any difference. Babalola’s explanation that the Federal Government is owing NNPC much more that the Corporation is owing FAAC was deliberately ignored. Some even went to the ludicrous level of insinuating that the Minister of State has been ‘settled’ by NNPC to hold brief for it.

But before we get carried away by the celebration, it is fair to get an understanding of the issues involved in the N450 billion debt, lest we be found to have celebrated in vain. The N450b was part of the money realised from the sales of Crude oil that NNPC was supposed to have paid into the Federation Account. But it could not pay the money into the Federation Account because at that time, more money was needed above what was budgeted for to sustain crude oil production activities to ensure that cash flow into the Federation Account does not dry up as a result of the attacks on oil production facilities by militants in the Niger Delta.

It would be recalled that in 2007 through 2008 when the militants’ activities peaked in the Niger Delta, crude oil production was threatened and cut short to an unprecedented level. This naturally led to increase in the cost of production as the risks rose. As the cost of production spiraled above what was budgeted, the extra cost had to be paid one way or the other to ensure that production in the wells that were not shut in continued so that the nation would have crude oil to sell to guarantee in-flow of revenue into the Federation Account.

NNPC made payment for the extra cost from proceeds from crude oil sales and paid the balance into the Federation Account as stipulated by the Constitution. FAAC’s argument over the years is that NNPC over-stepped its bounds by paying for the extra cost of production without recourse to it since the law says that all proceeds from crude oil sales less what was budgeted for cash calls should be paid into the Federation Account. It is that extra cost of production that amounted to the N450b debt the Corporation is said to be owing.

It stands to reason that had NNPC not intervened the way it did, production would have grounded to a halt and nothing would have accrued to the Federation Account for sharing at the end of the month. But FAAC does not see it that way. It insists that NNPC over-stepped its bounds by taking money from the proceeds of crude oil sales to pay the extra cost of production brought about by no fault of the Corporation.

Mr. Ekori , a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.