By Donu Kogbara
YET again, we are about to say “goodbye” to an old year that will soon give way to a new year. And it seems appropriate to inflict a handful of random thoughts about 2010 events on Vanguard readers, the first being recent Wikileaks revelations about Shell’s alleged influence within our corridors of power.

According to a leaked memo written by Robin Renee Sanders, a former American Ambassador to Nigeria, Ann Pickard, a former Shell Vice President, told her that Shell knew everything that was happening in every Nigerian Ministry because it had planted representatives in every Nigerian Ministry.

According to Sanders, Pickard said that she reckoned that the Nigerian Government had “forgotten” that these Shell representatives existed.

The  implication is that Shell is constantly spying on a Nigerian Government that is stupidly unaware of Shell’s ubiquitousness. And, unsurprisingly, many staunch  nationalists have expressed the view that Shell should be expelled forthwith.

My guess is that all this sound and fury is a storm in a teacup that will blow over because Nigerians are, on the whole, materialistic pragmatists who have very short memories and no real desire to antagonise the forces of global capitalism.

Yes, our collective pride has been wounded. Yes, many Nigerians like to think that they are capable of being motivated by Principles. But most inhabitants of this country shamelessly worship money to the exclusion of All Else (religious observance, which is a Big Deal around here, in both Islamic and Christian circles, rarely gets in the way of the widespread love of hard cash).

And Shell – our main petroleum sector Joint Venture partner – represents the kind of commercial success that most Nigerians respect, deep down. Albeit grudgingly.

Nigerians will probably never quit huffing and puffing, in beer parlours and the residences of the chattering classes, about Shell’s  real and alleged shortcomings. But Shell has, since the 1950s, employed thousands of people and  paid salaries that are good by local standards and dished out tons of lucrative contracts and undertaken  numerous corporate  social responsibility projects.

So while Nigeria’s relationship with Shell can  hardly be  described as a Love Match or Great Romance, it  is  certainly a Marriage of Convenience; and I’ll be absolutely amazed if we ever get around to unceremoniously divorcing Shell.

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has also hit the headlines on countless occasions – and for a plethora of different reasons – in 2010.  In addition to being one of the stars of the Wikileaks drama and the focus of a huge geopolitical quarrel within  his ruling Party and the first-ever Niger Deltan President of Nigeria, Jonathan has acquired a kind of iconic status because both indigenes and foreigners are fascinated by the fact that his first name reflects the extraordinary good luck that he has enjoyed as  a quiet man who never planned to be Head Of State but has – almost accidentally – wound up at the pinnacle of public life.

However, 2010 has, for many of Jonathan’s  brethren and  fans, been a major disappointment. Someone once said that heroes often have feet of clay. And I am sorry to have to say this because I wish Jonathan well, but so many South-Southerners from his own backyard have approached me with bitter complaints about the indignities  they have endured from the Jonathan Camp..

…and the ideological problems they have with him; and I have learned one very important lesson from those who are upset with Jonathan: Supporting someone purely because he comes from your part of the country is a massive mistake.

Several other 2010 stories deserve a mention, but space is a problem, so I’ll have to restrict myself to a few…including Ivory Coast…Which, at the time of writing, had two Presidents – Gbagbo (who lost an election but has refused to accept the result) and Ouattara (who won and has had himself sworn in).

One thing that amuses me  about the above situation is that  African leaders – most of whom are just as prone as Gbagbo to clinging to power illegitimately! – are adopting a sanctimonious Westernised stance and joining the United Nations, European Union, Barack Obama, etc, in telling Gbagbo to behave himself and get off a throne he is no longer morally or legally entitled to occupy.

Primaries  Pals

THE PDP Primaries season is upon us.

After months of unseemly wrangles between different factions at both the Federal and State levels, decisions will soon be  made by delegates and the power brokers who control delegates.

I have so many pals who are fighting each other, tooth and nail, for National Assembly, State House of Assembly and gubernatorial seats in various states. And I would like to say “may the best man win”. But I am increasingly aware of the fact that Nigerian aspirants are hardly ever selected on the basis of merit…as in who has solid credentials and is likely to do the best job?

So  let me just say that I hope that whoever wins has a good heart!