By Yinka Odumakin

THE ant once spent a night of passion with the elephant. When morn came the ant  saw that the elephant was not breathing again . He looked at itself and cast a furtive glance at the deceased and burst into tears.  “Just a night of passion and I will spend the rest of my life digging a grave “.

The lamentation of the ant may soon become our national anthem in this country except the Federal Government is cured of the flow of dangerous ideas its quacks have been churning out lately .

First was the one about selling off our national assets which became a mantra for its officials after Aliko Dangote mooted the idea.The man was said to be eyeing our NLGN one of the profitable few state enterprises in the land. Public outcry eventually forced the administration to beat a retreat .

The dust had hardly settled on that when they came up with what Tony Nnadi dubbed “advance fee fraud”.

Upfront payment

He was referring to the government’s plan to sign a cash-raising oil deal with India for $15 billion by the end of this year, just as Nigeria’s oil production is also expected to rise by 22 per cent to 2.2 million barrels per day in the same period when oil companies lift the force majeure on fields that were shut down as a result of militancy in the Niger Delta.

A statement from the Director, Press in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Idang Alibi, said that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, negotiated a $15 billion investment with India with terms to be agreed, where the Indian government would make an upfront payment to Nigeria for crude purchases.

This, the statement explained, would be repaid on the basis of firm term crude contracts over some years  and in consideration for Indian public sector (PSU) companies collaborating in the refining sector as well as exploration and production activities on a government-to-government basis by Indian PSU companies, long term contracts for supply of crude to Indian PSU companies from Nigeria, and also possibilities of executing CGD and LPG infrastructure projects by Indian PSU companies in Nigeria.

This administration is elected for four years and if re-elected would spend a maximum of  eight years. The advance fee it wants to collect would however be repaid over unspecified period called “some years” .

We were  still chewing that when President Muhammadu Buhari  forwarded a letter to the National Assembly which contains a heart rending request to borrow $30b which it claims it wants to spend on railway,power and road.

The National Assembly should not approve this request for so many reasons. First is that the power sector that is listed among the projects to be funded is already privatised.Are we going to be indebted for generations on behalf of private firms?

Secondly,the amount being sought to be borrowed is more than our foreign reserves which currently stand at about $27b. How can a government that has only two years plus left commit us to such level of indebtedness? It still baffles how any government that takes a people for anything can announce such. Any sound economist know that it is not wise for your consumption to outweigh your total wealth .

Where is the repayment plan for this monumental debt?

Thirdly, the administration has not shown any demonstrable capacity to manage such money even if it were a  gift not to talk of debt. The only project this government has commissioned is a rail project it inherited from its predecessors. When its Budget Minister was openly asked what our debt portfolio is he had no answer because he could neither ask the audience nor call a friend.There is hardly any official of government  today who can convincingly enunciate what its plan are and the strategy in place to achieve them.

It is pathetic that  a government that has lamented so much that its predecessors in the last 16 years were reckless is about to inflict the worst financial recklessness on the country.

No doubt the country is in some terminal crisis . It needs a radical surgery to survive .That is only in unlocking  the potentials frozen by Unitarism. We just have to allow the federating  units to go under their soil to bring out the wealth.

Our salvation  is not abroad but within Nigeria.We are only running away from our greatness because of the desire for command and control. There is an annual N50trn economy if we free the federating units to tap their resources .

Feedback

Re: Who bewitched you oh Southern governors?

SIR, your question would  have been “who bewitched  you oh Southern  Governors  and Legislators?

The question  I want to ask is:  Are you sure these our so called  representatives read newspapers to know the feelings 0f their people? Take a look at membership  0f  North-East commission  and that of NDDC. You’ll be  amazed at what our Southern  legislators are doing in Abuja! The northern  legislators  get what they  want, while their southern  counterparts are busy thinking of how  to line their pockets. Is Bola Tinubu not ashame of the manner his wife’s bill seeking special status for Lagos was handled.

I sympathise with you Yinka, for your “fruitless ” crusade. Our representatives  are not listening!

 Kingsley  Agbonaye.

Special status for Lagos-Rejected by the Nigerian Senate-What next?

By Babatunde Oshodi

THE Nigerian Senate recently voted against the bill presented by Senator Oluremi Tinubu  seeking a special status for Lagos. The manner with which the rejection was done is to say the least very disappointing as it smirks of unnecessary politicking and outright short sightedness on the part of our distinguished senators. What is even more painful is that Lagos State for the first time since 1999 is not in opposition to the centre.

The ruling party at the centre All Progressive Congress, APC, is the party not only in Lagos State but in all the Local Government Areas and LCDAs  as well as being the majority party in the Senate. An undeniable fact is that Lagos from time immemorial has wholeheartedly welcome  all Nigerians.

Hence, it has  become  home to all Nigerians. This has added to the population of the state with enormous pressure on infrastructure. Akinwumi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, says 86 immigrants enter Lagos every minute of the day –the highest in any city in the world – and they have no plan to leave. Going by the statement, Nigeria’s economic capital receives 123,840 visitors on a daily basis.

Speaking at a parley with media executives on Sunday, Ambode said the ever increasing population of the state meant that it had to be “on its toes” to provide facilities for its more than 23 million population. The 123,840 daily visitors are representative of nearly all the senatorial districts of the senators who rejected Senator Remi Tinubu’s bill.

The idea of seeking for Special Status for Lagos State was borne out of the need to ameliorate the pressure on Lagos infrastructure, housing, waste management, electricity and security of lives and properties. Now that the Senate has rejected the bill of Senator Remi Tinubu the big question is What Next?

Economic activities

“B’ oju o ba ti Ehingbeti, oju o le ti Eko” which means “so long as the maze of waterways are available for the haulage of men, ideas and goods, Lagos will continue to prosper as the emporium of Nigeria’s economic activities.”

EKO O NI BAJE=Lagos will not rot (a popular Lagos slang )

O BAJE TI=It  won’t  rot  forever

Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko, Lo je wa logun-The development of Lagos State is our priority. Lagos over the years has motivated her people with those clichés in the face of daunting challenges. The Federal Government under the leadership of former President  Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 withheld allocations to the 20 local governments following the creation of additional 37 council areas and elections into them on March 29, 2003.In February 2006, the Federal Government released N20 billion to Lagos State, which was paid in two tranches.

The money was shared among the 20 councils listed in the constitution. The N20 billion left the councils with a balance of N14 billion, which the Federal Government did not release. Governor Tinubu advised the council authorities to give preference to public school rehabilitation, health care delivery and roads. He said: The council funds have not been paid. It is over N14 billion.

It is illegally in the possession of the Federal Government. It is savings by force. This is in gross violation of the Supreme Court ruling and the agreement by the elders.  But we are moving on; we will continue to govern our state with serious commitment and the values we believe  in.

We will get back the money. It is due to us. They are just keeping it. Anytime the President likes, he will pay. The resilience of the government of Lagos State is and can never be in doubt hence the rejection of the Special Status Bill will only galvanize the State to greater heights.

Akinwunmi Ambode while campaigning for the post of Governor of Lagos State said: “The importance of Lagos and how its resources are managed have national implications, either positively or otherwise. Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria  and the seventh fastest growing city in the world. We are home to approximately 21 million people, and we are the economic heartbeat of this great nation and indeed West Africa at large.

It is in the interest of this country that we all jointly and collectively play our part in ensuring that Lagos remains prosperous.” As sitting governor, Mr. Ambode on Tuesday 25th October 2016 expressed delight at the emergence of Lagos as the fifth largest economy in Africa, just as he said his administration is in the process of setting up an Economic Management Team comprised of distinguished individuals from the private sector and the public sector to manage and scale up the successes recorded in that direction.

Governor Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House in Ikeja when he received a delegation from the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce on courtesy visit, said the emergence of Lagos was very instructive, adding that government would explore synergy with private sector with the view to catapult Lagos into a true global city-state in the true sense of the word.

The Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, has hit a staggering N24.5 billion in just one month, despite the economic crunch ravaging the country. The latest report on IGR  reveals that  only Lagos State generated more revenue than its allocation from the Federation Account by 150% and no any other state has up to 100% of IGR to the federal largesse………To be concluded.

* Babatunde Oshodi is a  retired Permanent Secretary from Lagos State.