BURNING POT BY PRINCE CHARLES DICKSON
The Throne Doesn't Make The King...Northern
And Southern Nigerians
pcdbooks@gmail.com
A witch proclaims her presence and an invalid does not make away; he must
have money for sacrifices at home. (One needs not fear a scourge for which
one has the remedy.)
Durung the week, came across this beautiful essay by Thomas L. Friedman,
'Pass The Books. Hold The Oil'. It is a recommended read.
http://www.burningpot.com/component/content/article/315-frontpage/1900-pass-the-books-hold-the-oil
Friedman says...Every so often someone asks me: “What’s your favorite
country, other than your own?” I’ve always had the same answer: Taiwan.
“Taiwan? Why Taiwan?” people ask.
"Very simple: Because Taiwan is a barren rock in a typhoon-laden sea with
no natural resources to live off of — it even has to import sand and
gravel from China for construction— yet it has the fourth-largest
financial reserves in the world. Because rather than digging in the ground
and mining whatever comes up, Taiwan has mined its 23 million people,
their talent, energy and intelligence — men and women. I always tell my
friends in Taiwan: “You’re the luckiest people in the world. How did you
get so lucky? You have no oil, no iron ore, no forests, no diamonds, no
gold, just a few small deposits of coal and natural gas… The real
definition of goodluck I dare add.
In Nigeria, almost 40 years and still counting it has been either cocoa
wealth, iron ore, or groundnut wealth, oil wealth and corrupt wealth
derived through political office or access to leadership and the public
tilt, not the peoples’ wealth. As tore I tore through Friedman's argument,
a cursory look at Nigerian news on derivation/revenue sharing in the last
one week tells the whole story of a sinking nation.
The irrevocable fact remains that we are a land ravaged on the North by
extremism, terrorism, and other ...isms, bordered by her Southern
neighbors with dwindling economic fortunes, plenty oil in one axis, a
thieving leadership massaging their gluttonous lives with its proceeds. On
all divides a populace largely under-changed and poorly educated as to
what the nation really stands for?
While many say the agitation for a review of the revenue formula by
northern elite is an opportunity for a review of the fiscal terms of the
nation’s federalism. The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF says it is as a
result of the increasing financial disparity between the north and the
south.
The north argues that the Niger Delta states have lost their leverage on
oil revenue, given the fact that 78% of the nation’s oil revenues were now
obtained offshore.
The S/South sees it all as an opportunity to redress what they claim as
the inadequacy of funds to the oil rich region. Others say, the increasing
disparity in economic fortunes is not just a matter of economic wisdom but
a matter of political expediency.
However what do the ordinary masses say or even know, than perpetual
poverty irrespective of region, religion and creed.
The Northern governors’ clamor and S/South counterparts’ response is
reflective of a desperate effort of a failed leadership which has so far
steered the affairs of country aimlessly. Visit both regions and you will
have daily conversations with an impoverished populace where the only
thing on the up, is all sorts of economic misfortune, all waiting for 'oyel'
money. The truth is, over a 110 million Nigerians, Christians and Muslims,
Southern and Northern people are suffering as a result of the lack of
focus of a few.
Governors of the states in the S/South geo-political zone describe the
criticisms of the 13 per cent derivation funds due to the Niger Delta
states by their northern colleagues as misplaced. Saying it was wrong for
the northern governors to go the extent of blaming the crisis in the North
on the derivation funds.
But in double speak, they also want more-- The governors, insist that the
S/South region needs an upward review of the derivation principle and the
introduction of fiscal federalism because of the environmental degradation
and pollution in the Niger Delta occasioned by oil exploitation, which has
adversely affected fishing and farming activities.
How many times have the masses been told this same lies by the governors
from both South and North, if only these monies went into education,
health, roads, infrastructure, human development. Sadly these funds find
derivation in pockets of public thieves.
Whether S/South, S/West, East, North, is it far from the truth that many
states in the country are indeed insolvent, showing signs of distress in
their finances over the past few years because of some thirty something
wayward administrators at state levels.
What is derivative when the quarterly allowance of members of the House of
Representatives has hit the N27million mark? It used to be N15million per
Representative. An 80% increase and an additional N38.88billion per year.
And many states cannot pay N18K, and while some less than 200 men and
women live the good life, millions live in unseen palliatives.
Yet, as we engaged in all the noise and re-opening of old unhealed
wounds-- for the real thieves, it was another season of windfall as the
tiers of government shared a total sum of N921 billion at the last meeting
of the Federation Account Allocation committee (FAAC) for February.
We are left as commentators to bite our teeth, the real thieves are out
there, sharing the money, from Swiss to Russian accounts, buying houses
from New York to Dubai, golf course in far stretched out places like New
Zealand. A politician pays for a property in the FCT for several millions
in forex. A ‘representathief’, on the N27million quarterly allowance
insisted--“The quarterly allowance is a statutory benefit of members of
the National Assembly because it is within our budget plans. It is not as
if any lawmaker is stealing money.”
...“knowledge and skills have become the global currency of 21st-century
economies, but there is no central bank that prints this currency.
Everyone has to decide on their own how much they will print. Sure, it’s
great to have oil, gas and diamonds; they can buy jobs…"and in addition
give derivation to a stealing elite". However for Nigeria, our beloved it
is not about derivation but accountability, social justice and
reconciliation...We should face our fears, there is remedy. Time will tell
if we want to...
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