By Rev Fr Gerald Nwafor
I know that many people would condemn the Russian flag by the poor Almajiranci (aka Almajiri (male) Almajira (female)). Even the tailor has been arrested and put to jail. I do not know how many people were injured or impoverished by the simple acts of the Almajiris. I have a litany of names to be arrested including the tailor if need be. The leadership of NNPCL since 1999 should be arraigned and prosecuted. And the present one (Mele Kiary) should be arrested immediately. On the other hand, this protest on the streets of Nigeria should be on the doorsteps of NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation). The real problem of Nigeria today is the NNPC. Nigeria has four refineries and since 1999 the government has been pumping money into NNPC for TAM (Turn Around Maintenance) and nothing has happened. At least the ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo has said half-truth about the knowledge that they knew all this while that the refineries were moribund and could not be repaired. In his words, he said that he invited Shell Oil Company to take over the refineries in 2005, but Shell declined because of corruption and mismanagement of the equipment. So why did Yara’adua, Jonathan, and Buhari continue to pump money into a dead refinery? The present administration started when Buhari stopped. They promised December 2023, to June, and now it is August 2024. And the protesters are on the streets of Lagos and Abuja, not in the NNPC offices all over Nigeria. How can you be suffering from a headache, and you are shouting stomachache? The doctor will continue to give you the wrong medication. The main problem of our mono-economy is the oil from the south-south being mismanaged by the ruling class called politicians. The people carrying the Russian flag in northern Nigeria were impoverished by the ruling class who continued to think that it was business as usual. For the rich and the ruling class, impoverishing the poor is business as usual and corruption is business as usual also but when the poor say no by carrying placards, flags, and banners, the rich would say it is not business but protest, riot, and insubordination.I am not in support of the government nor am I in support of Dangote. But the only solution to the debacle between the Dangote refinery and the government of Alhaji Ahmed Tinubu would be openness and sincerity, which is a high moral ground for the two gladiators. Dangote has been shortchanging Nigeria in many ways and in the last 8 years with the government of Buhari and Godwin Emefeli, Dangote got away with many things. We do not know how much Dangote pays in taxes; we do not know his tax cut. And how much does the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) sell dollars to Dangote? You cannot be the richest man in Africa and everything about you is shrouded in secrecy. If there is a blending oil factory in Malta belonging to the people in power today, and you built the same thing in Nigeria, I do not think that the owners of the Malta factory would like to have their factory closed because you built a new one in Nigeria. There are many Nigerians who have refineries overseas. But that should not be a problem if they engage in a good and truthful business. They are former governors, former presidents, former senators, and former ministers so, to build one in Nigeria that would stop them from accessing the Nigerian market would be a battle royale, a battle-to-finish, and a clash of titans. Tony Elumelu complained that the Government of Buhari and NNPC leadership denied him an oilfield in 2018. Why did he wait till now to speak up? That is part of the problem we are facing today. Condoning evil and claiming to be a voice of the poor when that government has left office. I always say to such voices that they are sycophants and hypocrites. What are we supposed to do with such stale news? Anyways, Obasanjo said that some of the people in government today should be in prison or gallows. That was a strong statement to make, and I did not disagree with the elder statesman, but he should end the statement by saying “ME NOT EXCLUDED.” Because he was there for 8 years plus the three years he had in 1976-1979.The Russian flag and the Chinese flags were flying, and the tailor was arrested but I ask the question again, who gave the money for the flag? I have not got an answer and until we get an answer to the bedeviling questions nothing will be solved. Who are the oil thieves in NNPC? Who are the people involved in sponsoring Boko Haram? Who are the people padding the budget? Who are the people adding so much money to the oil subsidy that the government cannot pay it anymore? Who are the people manipulating the elections? Until the government makes a conscious decision to tell the public who these persons are, there is no way forward. How can you treat a sickness that has no name? How can you stop oil theft without knowing the thieves? The public has been deceived always that the thieves would be named and shamed, since the beginning in 1958 when oil was discovered in Nigeria. The next flag that would fly on Nigerian soil would be a real flag if the government is not ready to stop the mess. Ariwa-flag, Oduduwa-flag, and many such flags are being prepared and if care is not taken, they would fly again, and no arrest would be made because by that time it would be legit. One prominent Nigerian musician said that the reason why people continue in corruption is because the kids of the corrupt officials come to school, and people do not say you are the son/daughter of a thief. If your parents engage in siphoning and stealing our wealth, they should be called thieves, and their children should be called children of thieves. That would help the societal consciousness of the public servants but when you begin to blow the big grammar of maladministration, fraudulence, corruption, and misappropriation of funds people would forget that this is pure robbery and larceny. The musician concluded by saying that pen robbery is worse than armed robbery. The amount of money the politicians are stealing with their pen, no armed robber would get it in his lifetime. Therefore, let the government arrest the NNPC syndicates not the Almajiri with a Russian flag.
