North not afraid of Nigeria’s break up – Junaid

Dr Junaid Mohammed

Russian trained medical doctor and political radical, Dr. Junaid Mohammed was a member of the second republic House of Representatives and subsequently, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC where he has claimed to have had one Dr. Goodluck Jonathan under his supervision. Known for his verbal explosions during the second republic, Dr. Junaidu had for long been unusually quiet.

Well that is until his return to the fray where he has plunged head-on into the battle of the Nigeria question. Dr. Junaidu was the convener of the Northern group of professionals, politicians and policy experts that few weeks ago positioned the North for a debate on the Nigeria question. In this interview with Vanguard, he responds in his own distinctive way to the issues of Nigeria’s federalism that have recently dogged the polity. Excerpts:

HOW did the tension in the polity get to this state?

The situation in the country should be seen from the position that a human being is a rational animal because God made it possible for us to learn from our mistakes and other people’s mistakes. It is always better to learn from other people’s mistake because when you learn from your mistake, you learn the hard way.

It was an American Philosopher George Santayana, who said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Nigeria has had a very interesting history. We are an artificial creation of the British. Britain did not create us for us, they created us for their own imperial motive. We have found ourselves as Nigerians since the amalgamation of 1914 and in few years time we would be 100 years as a nation.

Lingua franca

Now, any group of people, who have been together as one for this length of time, having the same lingua franca, the same British common law system, we have internalized certain norms of civilised behaviour, are supposed to have a focus at this time. But that is not the case with Nigeria. When it comes to choosing our own leaders it has always been a problem, because we refused to be truthful to ourselves. And we are still living in illusion in this country by not being truthful as to the direction the country is headed to.

I have no doubt in my mind that the overheating of the polity was predictable. Everything that has happened to this country in 1999, started when they brought General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was not qualified to govern to become the president of this country. Four Generals brought him and paid some other politicians to form a party. 

They sponsored his election from the treasury. By nature, Generals find it difficult to become democrats. History will also tell you that Generals don’t make good democrats. The most outstanding General the world has known was Field Marshal Mohaammed Ayub Khan of Pakistan.

He tried his best to make Pakistan a democracy and one nation out of the former Indian nation, in 1947. But democracy eluded him. President Gamal Abdel Nassir of Egypt tried democracy and it eluded him. Generals and democracy are incompatible, including President Eisenhower of the United States. What made those, who brought Obasanjo to bring him baffles me and what made Nigerians, as educated as we are, to accept the imposition of Obasanjo is still a mystery to me. And 13 years after, we are saying that the polity is overheated. Overheated by who? God Almighty? Or by our own actions and failures?

Many Generals became very rich from 1999 to now. They made an arrangement where you and I would be subservient and slaves to the agreement of some Generals on how to govern the country. We should ask why we are here today and not the overheating of the polity.

The former Chief Justice of the Federation Mohammed Uwais produced a report on electoral reforms and 80 percent of the recommendations were rejected by the government that appointed him, which means that the government was not sincere on it. Now, there is another committee headed by Belgore. He is now even going further by trying to invent a system whereby a vice president, who serves the remaining tenure of a president, who died in office can serve a fresh term.

What about the issue of zoning of political offices?

Never mind the talk about zoning. It is a question of elementary morality. Are we saying that eight years of a successful presidency is now ten. Are you saying that the man was not exercising the powers of President when he was the president? I think the Belgore Committee is determined to do a dirty work. When some northerners do a dirty job for the villa, they are regarded as good northerners. 

But those, who refuse to be used because of their principles are regarded as enemies of the Niger Delta. Can we survive in this country with this kind of primordial animalistic and emotional attitude?

Don’t you think that the country should return to true federalism?

Junaid Mohammed

I am out for something that works. People have been talking about true federalism, true democracy and all that. When you ask most of these people to define what they mean by true federalism, they cannot. Socrates said that he used to tell his students that the first step is to define your term. If people now start shouting about true federalism and true fiscal federalism, then they are bunch of liars because they don’t know what they are talking about. Many of them need some education. They are all into propaganda.

These people are patrons of the Lagos press because they have access to Lagos press. Your democracy is what you make of it. One thing they have to know is that you cannot have a working federal arrangement when what is happening in essence is a confederal arrangement. When you look at federalism, you will find out that most federations willingly came together to have a federation or a confederation.

In the case of Nigeria, it is not so. It was the Federal Government that created most of these states and the almighty South-South, so ours is not a classical federalism. All this noise they are making about true federalism, even if there was a plebiscite in the 60s, majority of the Middle Belt would not have voted to be separate from the North.

I knew how difficult it was for the old Ogun State to cede Ikeja to Lagos State to make Lagos viable territorially and economically. I don’t mind what system we practice, as long as it carries everyone along. Always thinking along primordial lines, is not good for people who have had the kind of civilisation we have had as Nigerians. We ought to know ourselves by now.

Boko Haram, to me is a threat to the security of this country. Boko Haram survives because some people use it to justify using 25 percent of the federal budget for security. There were instances that can be corroborated when the issue of Boko Haram was traced from Chad or Cameroun through Borno and Yobe down to Kaduna. And these people, who

traced them guaranteed that they could have arrested them, but they were told from Abuja not to arrest them and they were allowed to go.

Secondly, I know of a foreign country that has used its own resources to trace the issue of Boko Haram. They told the Nigerian government but no one is doing anything. So, you can see why it is convenient for Boko Haram to thrive.

The incompetent people, who have been saddled with the responsibility of ruling this country, are responsible for what we have now.

Amnesty programme

These people who were imposed on Nigeria by those who created PDP have a lot to gain in this kind of situation. That is why we are neither in peace nor at war because of the money they are making. You can imagine what they are making from the amnesty programme. The Niger Delta people believe that its is convenient

Apart from derivation and more revenue for the North, what does your group stand for?

We stand for equitable Nigeria. We are not in this just for derivation, we are in this group to fight wherever injustice is being done glaringly. Mark it, if the derivation principle was to be rationalized under our constitution, Supreme Court judgement and International law, it is not only the North that will benefit, even the South-West and South-East will also gain.

So what are you talking about? Why should we form a group just because of derivation when the derivation principle has been operating since 2002? So, people should stop this joke because we are not that kind of group and when you look at the personalities involved, all of them have solid track records.

A lot of people are asking why the group is just coming up?

Well, we realize now that if care is not taken, we are going to mess up thoroughly and be in trouble. The derivation that is being applied is illegal; it is illegal to apply it to every revenue accruing to the Federal Government. How can you justify the 13 percent for export duties, import duties and customs duties? How do you justify every kobo from oil revenue that goes to the Federal government, 13 percent goes to the South-South states?

If you calculate the amount of money they get, forget the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), it is much and development is non-existent in those states. As regards the Nigerian revenue system, it was not introduced by me, but by late Professor Pius Okigbo, who headed the Federal Government panel and whose recommendation led to the adoption the formula of 1980 or 1981.

So, are you saying Okigbo did not know what he was doing or he was against people of the South-South?

Delta State Governor is one of the governors complaining. I do not blame him because how people attain political positions in Nigeria is worrisome. Power in the hands of some of the people that have been appointed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some Sharia group called ANPP, are very dangerous groups and it is like a child with a loaded gun – it is dangerous to himself and a danger to everybody.

What has happened with the ex-governor of Delta state is a manifestation of what I am saying. The first time I set my eyes on James Ibori, he was hanging around Al-Mustapha, I am not saying Al-Mustapha is evil, but Ibori was one of those boys around him and everybody knows. When Obasanjo imposed late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on the PDP and now imposed the PDP candidate on the country, he asked Ibori to go and finance Yar’Adua’s campaign.

Then it was convenient because Ibori had enough money to share and that was the greatest disservice Obasanjo and Ibori did to this country. And when Ibori came into the presidency, he was behaving like the Almighty God. Today, Ibori is a prisoner in a London jail. This has been said many times by EFCC that the South-South governors are the most corrupt governors Nigeria have and it is on record.

So, it means money has been given people, they have abused it and they will not render account to anybody and they do not believe they can be held responsible by the people that gave them the money. They believe they should continue to be given the money even though giving them that money is perverse; it contradicts our own institution, International Law and the judgment of the highest court.

Going by your comments, what is your take on clamour for Sovereign National Conference (SNC), will you say these are the reasons you feel the North is ready for break up?

(Cuts in) No, no, no. Look, for a very long time since 1992, when Babangida organized an election and turned round to reject the result of that election, the South-West particularly Lagos State has been the base for people calling for a Sovereign National Conference and any attempt to be more concrete by what they meant by SNC falls on deaf ears. It seems they are trying to play on the intelligence of people.

For me, nobody can play on my intelligence, I might not be a millionaire, but I think I am old enough to know my rights. These arguments have been going on for 20 years, nobody has been able to give these people adequate reply and they have not been able give in concrete terms what they want.

Some of these people are presenting the North as if we are the ones against the SNC because we are liabilities or parasites.

Calling a Northerner a parasite or seeing us as liability or enemy of progress is so bitter and we know we are not parasites. I went to the elementary school in the South and I can’t remember anybody beating me in any examination, so how can you call me a parasite? I have always been at the fore-front of everything I have been in my life.

Even in culture, insulting people is an ultimate sin. You cannot call millions of people parasites. As it stands today, anybody who imagines that he will build Nigeria in spite of the wishes of the North is dreaming. We are not lousy, we are decent and quiet people, we only talk when we have to. We said, look, this is getting embarrassing and does it mean that without the South we cannot survive? That without the so called oil or without Lagos we cannot survive. And does it mean everything produced in Lagos is consumed by Lagosians? Go and check your facts.

On the whole, we will be better off if push comes to shove, we will go our way because if Nigeria breaks up, God forbid, Northern Nigeria is the only zone that can remain one, the South mainly the Yorubas will go their way, the Igbos will go their way. So, these things that have been said from NADECO to PRONACO, to all of these groups, we realized that the Sovereign National Conference they have been talking about is a Sovereign Tribal Conference. If they want that, no problem, at least we have identified different tribes in the North but what will be the sitting arrangement?

Appointment with Enahoro

Are you saying me from Kano, Nasarawa LGA which I now reside, if there is going to be SNC, I will represent the Hausa/Fulani of the whole of Northern Nigeria while an Ijaw man in a settlement called Yenegoa will also represent the Ijaws? Are you truly democrats?

To show how serious I am, I booked an appointment with Chief Anthony Enahoro through a young man called Shettima, I flew down to Lagos for two days and I realized that everything that we have said about them concerning the SNC was true. And Anthony Enahoro himself knew that was the agenda but he did not have the courage to come out and say it.

I also conducted a research and realized that the idea of SNC has not worked in some African countries like Benin Republic, Niger Republic, DR Congo and Republic of Congo. And in our country, SNC is presented corruptly and fraudulently by the people here in Lagos as if once you have the SNC, all our problems will be solved.

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Boko Haram: FG plan to appease North with 13% derivation

As violence continues to rock parts of the North, the Federal Government may have opted to appease some northern states with the payment of 13 per cent derivation on solid minerals with immediate effect.

A competent source told Vanguard that government was worried about rising insecurity in the northern part of the country with vociferous leaders of the north blaming the situation on poverty and inequality arising from alleged lopsided revenue allocation against them.

The source said President Goodluck Jonathan was considering various measures, which include the immediate payment of the 13 per cent derivation to solid mineral-bearing states, a preserve hitherto enjoyed by the nine oil producing states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Rivers, Delta, Imo, Abia and Ondo since the inception of democratic rule in 1999.

It was learnt that government’s decision to pay the money was an indirect way of stemming the growing discontent and violence in that part of the country.

The Federal Government has been paying the derivation fund, which runs into trillions of Naira to only the nine oil-bearing states.

Payment to commence next month

But Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMFAC, Mr. Elias Mbam, claimed in an exclusive interview that the payment, which is to commence next month, has no political motive.

Mbam, an engineer, made it clear that the decision to extend the payment to solid mineral states was in obedience to the relevant section of the Nigerian constitution.

The chairman said: “The payment is a constitutional matter, which states that derivation should not be less than 13 per cent and derivation is not limited to oil and gas. This also includes all other mineral resources.

“If you have minerals in your state and it is developed and it generates revenue into the federation account, you are entitled to 13 per cent of what is paid into the federation account.”

The chairman, who did not, however, list the benefitting states and how much would be shared to them, said the commission would also not be drawn into agitation by some states for a review of the revenue allocation formula to give them more money.

Section 162 (2) of the Constitution of Nigeria states: “The principles of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than 13 per cent of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account directly from any natural resource.”

Non-oil GDP

N90. 4 billion is expected as non-oil Gross Domestic Product by the Federal Government in the next three years as contained in the revised Medium Term Financial Framework between 2012 and 2014. The solid mineral states are expected to earn 13 per cent of the amount.

On the other hand, the nine oil producing states will share at least N1.9 trillion as their share of 13 per cent derivation within the period.

The Minna meeting

But it is not clear whether the leaders of the North would be pacified as they had only a few days ago called for an urgent review of the revenue formula.

In a well publicised communiqué, the North rejected the current revenue allocation law and called for its immediate review, saying it was lopsided, unfair and detrimental to the interest of all Nigerians, including the real people of the oil-producing states it appears to favour superficially.

They argued that oil-producing states were equally victims because the revenue accruing to their states on the basis of derivation over-weighted formula was far beyond their executive capacity to manage, thereby promoting corruption and hyper-inflation in those states, their neighbours and the country at large.

The communiqué said: “This revenue allocation law also stands in violation of the international law with particular reference to the International Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC). The LOSC treaty, which has since come into force (1982), is the principal governing law for all maritime resource issues.”

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The Politics Of Oil Blocks And The Northern Elites

I agree the North is poor. Yes, I agree the poverty has bred millions of destitutes, who have become instant and easy recruits for Boko Haram. But my question is: Who impoverished the North?

A caveat: I am an unabashed capitalist who believes that every citizen has a right to do good business and make profit. I salute hard work and do not disparage honest efforts. However, uncompassionate capitalism driven by pulleys of aristocracy breeds a brutal class order worthy of condemnation.

In my last article titled “Elrufai’s Amnesia: The Day Boko Haram Wore Jeans”, I categorically stated that greed and the senseless chase for power by the Fulani aristocrats and political elites of the North are responsible for the extreme poverty of the North. I still and will always stand by that. My position did not go down well with my targets; they responded vituperatively.

The recent Mallam Sanusi’s statistics was intended to mislead us by ruffling the rudder of our common sense. See, Ekiti state has a 2012 budget 0f N88 billion; Kwara state, N90 billion; Cross River state, N144 billion; Anambra state, N82 billion; Enugu state, N74 billion. Now let’s look at the 2012 budgets recently passed into law by the four major Boko Haram occupied states – Kano state has a budget of N 210 billion; Borno state, 150 billion; Gombe, N94 billion; Yobe state, 80 billion.

A simple comparative analysis shows that Ekiti state has about the same revenue as Yobe and Gombe, but only 17 students passed WAEC and NECO in Gombe state last year, while Ekiti is known for its high literacy level. Gombe state has a bigger budget that Enugu and Anambra, why hasn’t MASSOB bombed anyone. Borno state has a budget twice that of Enugu state but the poverty and unemployment level in Borno state is more than thrice that of Enugu state. Borno has a bigger budget than a Niger Delta state- Cross River, while the leaders of that state over the last decade have transformed it into the Nation’s leading tourist destination; those of Borno have transformed it into a Somalia.

Kano state gets the highest statutory allocation from the FG, because on paper Kano is the most populated state in Nigeria, yet Kano has about 1.6 million destitute Almajiris. Kano has a budget almost thrice the budget of Enugu, twice the budget of Kwara, Anambra and Ekiti, but how come almost 90% of students in Kano fail WAEC? How come the poverty level in Kano is higher than all these states put together?

Why is the North so poor? From the figures above I have shown that Southern states with lesser budgets have shown better development performance than most North Eastern states with bigger statutory allocation and budgets.

Now, I need to tackle the sensitive question of revenue allocation that has infuriated the Mallam Lamido Sanusi and Mallam Elrufai and their likes. Niger Delta states get higher revenue allocation because they contribute virtually all the eggs in the national crate. That is expected. Albeit the 13% remains grossly inadequate, the CBN Governor has suggested that the ‘Boko boys’ are resisting the disparity.

I want to posit that the North through their aristocrats and ex-military rulers (except Gen. Mohammed Buhari) rake in more oil money (from the Niger Delta) individually than any Niger Delta state, and collectively more than twice the entire Niger Delta put together. In this disquisition, I have attempted to show that 80% of crude oil and gas produced by indigenous companies is controlled by the North. It is an area they have well conquered through General IBB, Abacha and Abdulsalami. However, the loots never get back home.

In this first part I will attempt to describe the very uneven nature of the distribution of the nation’s wealth among the Northern aristocratic families and their military generals who for decades looted Nigeria. They did so blatantly, and while Nigeria was weeping about oil windfall loot and others, Nigerians would wail if they know how much of the nation’s resources these folks allocated to themselves and their business fronts before they stepped aside.

Let us therefore begin.

To the state of origin of Boko Haram: Borno State. Enter Cavendish Petroleum, the operators of OML 110 – with good yielding OBE field. This oil block was awarded to Alhaji Mai Deribe – the Borno patriarch, who even in death will remain the richest man dead or alive in the history of Borno state- by General Sani Abacha on the 8th of July, 1996. OML 110 has a proven oil reserve in excess of 500 million barrels (More than the entire 300milliom barrels reserve of Sudan). As yet with the capacity to produce about 120,000 barrels of crude oil daily from its OBE 4 and OBE 5 wells. At optimal production levels, Cavendish nets circa N4billion monthly in crude oil sales (Using current oil price of $100pb). Cavendish Petroleum’s N4bn monthly net dwarfs the monthly statutory allocation of Borno which is about N3bn and its internally generated revenue staggers around N1billion. His mansion in Maiduguri has become a tourist attraction. A simple Google search will throw up different perspectives of Mai Deribe’s palatial home.

Enter Oriental Energy Resources Limited, a company owned by Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, a Fulani and close friend of General Ibrahim Babangida. Also worthy of note is that General IBB’s first son is married to Alhaji Mohammed Indimi’s daughter – Yakolo Indimi-Babangida, who also serves as a director in the company. Alhaji Indimi hails from Borno State.

Oriental Energy Resources Limited runs three oil blocks: OML 115, the Okwok field and the Ebok field. OML 115 and Okwo are OML PSC, while Ebok is an OML JV. All of them good yielding offshore oil blocks. OML 115 on its own is 228 sqKm. On OML115 Oriental Energy Resources Limited has 60 per cent while Equity Energy Resources AS. On Okwok, Addax has 40% and on the Ebok field, Oriental Energy Resources shares with none: its 100%. AMNI produces twice as much as Cavendish Petroleum.

I will then shift to the centre of the aristocratic hegemony and capitalism in the North – Kano. Here. Enter the Fulani Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero, Mallam (Prince) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s cousin. He is a Key shareholder and director in Seplat/Platform petroleum operators of the Asuokpu/Umutu Marginal Field with a capacity of 300,000 barrels monthly and A 30mmfcsd gas plant capable of feeding 100MT of LPG. The Ado Bayeros, Yar’Aduas and Atiku Abubakar are Nigerian holders of Intels. It is a private port that has grounded three Federal ports in the South. Intels is discussed later.

Enter South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO). South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) is a Nigerian Oil Exploration and Production Company that was created in 1995 by General T. Y. Danjuma. General Sani Abacha awarded the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 246 to SAPETRO in February 1998.

The block covers a total area of 2,590km2 (1,000 sq. miles). SAPETRO partnered with Total Upstream Nigeria Ltd (TUPNI) and Brasoil Oil Services Company Nigeria Ltd (Petrobras) to start prospecting on OPL246. Akpo, a condensate field was discovered in April 2000 with the drilling of the first exploration well (Akpo 1) on the block. Other discoveries made on OPL 246 include the Egina Main, Egina South, Preowei and Kuro (Kuro was suspended as a dry gas/minor oil discovery).

In June 2006, General TY Danjuma divested part of its contractor rights and obligations to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) for $1 billion (N160bn). Akpo exports about 230,000 barrels of condensate daily. Condensate export is not regulated by OPEC, so SAPETRO/TOTAL exports as much as possible each day. Egina exports about 75,000 barrels of oil daily.

Therefore, Akpo and Egina fields export just over 300,000 barrels of oil/condensate daily (three times what the country Ghana exports). SAPETRO (TY Danjuma) get 25% of this. Now, note I have not talked about the gas component – it’s about 2.5 trillion cubic feet. The money SAPETRO nets each month is more than the monthly statutory allocation of all the Niger states combined and also more than the oil revenue of Ghana. Do your math.

Enter AMNI (or is it AMIN?) International Petroleum Development Company. AMNI owns two oil blocks – OML 112 and OML 117. In the production sharing contract, AMNI gets 60% for owning the oil block and Total gets 40% for providing technical advice. OML 112 was awarded on the 12/02/1998 while OML 117 was awarded 06/08/1999 all by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Operations started on both blocks 0n 26/02/2006. The licenses are due to expire 11/02/2018 and 05/08/2019 respectively. (Now you see why the next election is important?).

The Okoro and Setu fields in OML 112 are operated by Afren Energy, a company substantially controlled by Rilwanu Lukman. The Okoro and Setu oil fields have about 50 million barrels in reserve and currently produce/exports just a little below 20,000 barrels per day. The chairman of AMNI International Petroleum and Development Company is Alhaji (Colonel) Sani Bello a Fulani from Kontagora, Niger State. Lest I forget, Alhaji Bello’s son- Abu, is married to General Abdusalami Abubakar’s eldest daughter.

Enter Express Petroleum and Gas Limited floated by Alhaji Aminu Dantata, solely for the purpose of fronting for winning oil block(s) even though he and the company are in no way qualified for the award. General Abacha awarded him OML 108 on the 1st of November, 1995. CAMAC Houston, a company owned by Kase Lawal bought 2.5% of Express Petroleum’s 60% holdings. The other 40% on OML 108 is owned Sheba E&P Limited an IBB tributary company. SEPCOL operates the Ukpokiti offshore field in Shallow water Nigeria, which was acquired from ConocoPhillips in May 2004.

Enter Shebah Exploration And Production Limited (SEPCOL) . It is the operator of the Oil Mining License 108 offshore Nigeria. Head office is in Lagos, but ‘head quartered’ in Minna. Enter Consolidated Oil. Conoil Producing Limited is an integrated upstream oil and gas company. They are the operator of six blocks in the Niger Delta as well as 25% Equity holder in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. Corporate Head office is in Lagos, but its ‘Headquarters’ is in Minna, Niger State.

Conoil signed a technical operator agreement with Continental Oil and Gas Limited (CONOG) to provide 100% funding and technical service agreement to operate blocks OML 59 on a 40% (Conoil) / 60% (CONOG) basis. Conoil entered into a Production Sharing Contract with the NNPC by virtue of an agreement executed on 17th October 2008.

Conoil’s has overall potential hydrocarbon resources of over 1.0 Billion Barrels of Oil and 7.0 Trillion Cubic Feet of Gas. General Ibrahim Babangida awarded the first oil block to Conoil in 1991. The company produces about 100,000 barrels per day.

Enter Rilwanu Lukman, another Fulani multimillionaire with fronted controlling holdings in Afren, the operators of AMNI oil blocks and also with very key interest in the NNPC/Vitol trading deal, Vitol is a London based oil trading company. Vitol lifts 350,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Nigeria.

Enter Intels and the Yar’Adua , Ado Bayero family and Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. The Oil and Gas Free Zone and Oil Services Centres, as well as Support Bases, are operated from government-owned facilities, leased to Intels under long-term agreements. Intels runs a ‘private port’, a venture that has systematically killed the Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt ports. There are over one hundred major companies operating at the Intel facility in Port Harcourt. The company makes more money in profit than the government of Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states put together. I shall give details and figures in the part two of this disquisition.

I do not need to write so much about NorthEast Petroleum registered as NorEast. NorthEast Petroleum Nigeria Limited is the holder of OPL215 license, covering an area 0f 2,564 square kilometres in water depths between 200 to 1600 metres. NorEast is the parent company of Rayflosh Petroleum Nigeria which got the 2005 bidding round and was awarded the blocks OPLs 276 & 283 closing thereupon a Joint Venture Agreement with Centrica Resources Nigeria Limited and CCC Oil and Gas.

Not surprising, NorthEast Petroleum is owned by another Fulani businessman from the North East, Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Jambo. The license was awarded to him by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida in 1991 and then renewed in 2004. So far $50Million has been spent on the very promising Okpoi-1 and Egere -1 exploratory well.

We will table other North Eastern billionaires who make more money than their states of origin from Niger Delta oil blocks. With all these oil blocks owned by ‘North- Easterners’ in the Niger Delta, it should be clear to Elrufai and Sanusi who really benefits from the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.

Sadly, the National Bureau of Statistics Poverty Profile Report just released shows the North East as the poorest region in the nation with 69.1 and 76.3 as absolute and relative poverty level respectively, while the South-West had the lowest poverty profile with 49.8 as absolute poverty level and 59.1 relative poverty level.

With these figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, I rest my case. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. Let us reason together

Written By ROSS ALABO-GEORGE

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North, South breaking apart

That former president of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olisa Agbakoba, is a household name in Nigeria is not contestable. He has not only been around but always speaks out on every national issue no matter how the odds are stacked. In the human rights community, his antecedents speak volumes. He bares his mind here on various issues of national importance. Excerpts…

With the level of uncertainty in the air following activities of the Boko Haram sect, how do you feel today as a Nigerian?

How I feel is that I am from a country of opportunity, immense natural resources and monumental human resources. But unfortunately, all of these I have mentioned are lying waste and prostrate.

You cannot deny Boko Haram, you cannot deny the ethnic strife across Nigeria, issues about marginalization, economic decline, unemployment and wastage of the youths. One would be tempted to say that perhaps we are going through one of the most depressing times.

The report of the National Bureau of Statistics just came out indicting the Nigerian state for impoverishing over 60 per cent of her population. In other words, in our country of about 160 million people, about 110 million live in extreme poverty. Nigeria is a case waiting to explode and the contrast is that we are such a rich country-natural resources, oil wells but we just came out of the subsidy problem. Corruption has prevented the leadership of Nigeria from directing the resources to the intended purpose.

Each time you hear funds deployed in billions to do one thing or the other but you will never see the result. It does not matter whether it is the Nigerian Integrated Power Project (NIPP), water projects or whatever. As a Nigerian, definitely I cannot feel good about it. To be honest, I could say I am privileged and I am not immediately, personally and directly easily affected but if I look at the environment I come from, if I eat rice, my driver cannot and it makes one very sad.

When a person is sick, he finds that he needs to go and take medical treatment but what our leaders fail to understand is that our country is sick. A time has come when our leaders-not just those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)- should declare a state of emergency over Nigeria.

When the president of the United States of America was elected and he met the economic crisis in his country, he rolled up his sleeve and got down to work. He started to deal with job creation but here, you do not see our leaders showing such passion to change things. You do not see those who voluntarily come out to seek power to do something. When they just seize power, they just go home. They do not even remember that they owe the people any responsibility based on the campaign promises they made.

But with this picture you have painted, do you think this country has a future?

I think it does because I do not believe that Nigeria can physically collapse. But the challenge the country is facing is in development whether in football, infrastructure etc. I do not see the possibility of a break up of Nigeria but it is an issue that we should keep in mind.

How far we can go, I cannot determine; I will also rule out the possibility of Nigeria declining to the situation in Sudan or Somalia but Boko Haram has shown that it is not impossible. Remember that America predicted that Nigeria would break up in 2015. We should not play with what is happening in the country.

We should make conscious effort to arrest the declining fortunes of Nigeria. Right now, the southern and northern parts of Nigeria are almost separated. This is because few people in the south would go to Kano State for instance. Not many people in their right senses from the south would go to Maiduguri. Few people from the south would go to the north.

This is to be honest with you and that should be a cause for concern for every Nigerian that a southerner no longer feels safe to go to the north. So the leadership should address the situation. Whatever it would take to do so-whether it would take the Sovereign National Conference to do so or for the National Assembly to initiate discussions, it is ok. But I know that it goes beyond the constitution. It is a leadership thing. There are a lot of resources in Nigeria that can be used to address the problems.

Looking at the issue of Boko Haram holistically, what would you say is the problem?

There are many narratives to the Boko Haram sect just as there are many narratives to the issue of Biafra for the Igbo people. Boko Haram is derived from fundamental belief in Islam which the Islamic movement rejects.

You recall that Boko Haram is not the first flashpoint in Islamic fundamentalism. We had El-Zaky Zaky, Maitasine but at that time, the national trend did not support it for the fundamental sect to move forward. So, they were isolated and put down.

Boko Haram has taken a number of dimensions. First of all is the extreme poverty in the North East in particular. The North East and North West are the poorest regions in Nigeria and it is not surprising that Boko Haram could rise in the shape of the Almajiris and the political atmosphere and leadership provide no alternative to the situation.

The same narrative occurs in the South East which is the Biafran spirit. The Biafran spirit speaks of marginalization and discrimination and I have filed the case in court. My question is why should the South East have five states.

The Biafran spirit also finds radical expression in Chief Ralph Uwazurike but that is not seen as the correct trend. But I saw a clear attempt to isolate the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in the context of Ojukwu’s burial. The South West has the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and it has been formalized by the South West political structures who have one goal in mind which is the political and economic integration including the possibility of autonomy.

That is why Ondo State is a flashpoint and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) wants to capture Ondo by all means. The South South has had its expression in series of unfulfilled promises going back to Willinks Commission and the killing of Saro Wiwa and all of that led to the Niger Delta Ministry, Amnesty programme, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) etc. So, what I am saying is that Boko Haram is not an entirely religious thing because it has political, economic and other motives.

It is not by accident that Niger State governor, Babangida Aliu now speaks of marginalization in terms of capital budget resources allocation rather than in the South East. If any zone should talk about marginalization, it is the South East. But that tells you the importance of the loss of power in the north. Therefore, there are a lot of elements linked to create the situation you see in the north like the issue of Boko Haram.

But in the type of context I am describing, we need astute political leadership. We need a leader who would be able to maneuver very many interests; otherwise, what we would have is continuous decline. And if we have a continuous decline, I am afraid that the scenario of a failed state would present itself.

Are you saying that there is a tacit approval for the Boko Haram sect by the northern power elite?

I would not go as far as what you have said but that is a very serious possibility. But there is an acknowledgment of extreme poverty in the north fueling Boko Haram and that is what the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi said. He said that much in the interview he granted Financial Times which I accept.

Let us not kid ourselves, there is extreme poverty in the north. What he said may be politically incorrect but is the absolute truth. I saw it when I was the president of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) when we used to visit northern leaders.

It happened particularly when we visited the Shehu of Borno and there were about 3000 Almajiris around his palace just to welcome us. One of them was so poor that he requested me to give him some money. That is the admission for Boko Haram but if they had an alternative, it would have been different. We need a political plan to deal with the situation. So, let us not say, it is Muslims and all that because it would not solve the problem.

If I were the president of Nigeria, I would address the Boko Haram issue by a development agenda. It has the same feature as the South South problem. It is no longer a religious uprising. It has gone beyond that.

You are talking about a development agenda to address the problems in the north but the South East is also suffering from the same level of neglect by the government. The only difference is that people of the South East are more enterprising.

You have just used the right word. That is the difference. The difference is that in the South East, the system of enterprise has kept the people so that the poverty level you find in the north is not manifesting at the same level.

But it is not an excuse at all. Ojukwu, late Ikemba of Nnewi’s death represents two things: For me as a former Biafran soldier, it closes the reconciliation which Gen Yakubu Gowon declared in 1970 which has finally been enacted. It is left for Igbo people to say the war is finally over.

Secondly, it calls to question the leadership of the Igbo people about harnessing their political image towards a goal and one of the goals is the equalization which is that in order to appease the South East, it must have an additional state. The South East deserves another state. For me, the call for state creation is irrelevant except for the South East. Then the other thing is now that the South West is launching regional integration and cooperation programmes, do not ask me why the north is crying about marginalization.

You in the South East, did they tie your mouth? Nobody has tied the mouths of our leaders rather what you see-I hope that will change-is collective and individual effort at political Igbo leadership whereas what we want to see is an institutional Igbo leadership so that they can present their problems commonly in spite of the republicanism that Igbo people profess. What has happened about our republicanism is enterprise but at the same time, the drawback is that when things happen to you, you have no voice to speak.

But generally, a great leadership would say how do I approach and harness the potentials of the type of ethnic, religious and ethnic divide we have so that the north can talk about agriculture and all the solid minerals that they have. The South East would talk about its coal, oil and gas. The East has the second largest oil and gas deposit in Nigeria.

This is so that the different regions can express themselves from the power that has devolved from the centre to the state. That would be the major challenge. If I were the president of Nigeria, I would immediately tell myself that I have no business doing agriculture, providing basic education, Medicare etc. I will keep the functions of the Federal Government that has an over-aching relevance to all issues-defence, banking, justice, currency etc. I will dispense with the small issues which, because they are in my hands at the centre, they are causing such problems.

If for instance, an issue like marriage is left for the states, basically for religion, if the South East during election is given a referendum like-do you want to be a Catholic State or Anglican State and they say they want to adopt Catholicism, that is their problem. The need to devolve power is the most crucial issue facing Nigeria.

Do you agree with those who insist that Boko Haram is a strategy by the power elite in the north to recapture power in 2015?

No, I do not agree because Boko Haram was there before now. What has happened is that it has been hijacked by other actors who have nothing to do with Boko Haram. Whether it has been hijacked is certainly an issue that every Nigerian is aware of. The group has been manipulated for political reasons which is why I refer to Babangida Aliyu statement on how resources are being distributed in the country. I would not say hijacked but Boko Haram has been manipulated for political ends.

I saw my good friend, Gani Adams in the newspaper with the Alake of Egba land. For me, it was very symbolic. Rather than allow Chief Ralph Uwazurike to stand with the governors, they chased him away, that is also symbolic. But the truth is that the contest for power in Nigeria is intense. Why? Because the gains are immense and that is why Obasanjo described it as do-or-die. The South East must be radicalized and that is a wake up call. Rather than be looking at Chelsea scoring me goals, I would think of how I would also score the goals.

I remember a brilliant statement by Kanu Nwankwo. Journalists asked him what are the chances of Nigeria winning the African cup; he said that the person that will win the African cup must prepare. In the case of politics, virtually all the regions have their strategies.

Like I have said, I believe that the East is the most marginalized part of Nigeria but they must have a strategy for attaining presidential power. But do they have that right now? If I were the coach, I would say we do not have it but other regions have it.

Like you know, the north feels rightly or wrongly that President Jonathan took their share. So, they are now positioning themselves for power and to be appeased. The South West was appeased with the election of Obasanjo following the June 12, 1993 crisis. The South-South has got their appeasement for marginalization through the election of President Jonathan. But what is the appeasement for the South East? That is a question which the people of South East should be asking themselves. This is because the contest of power at the highest level has started. Some already have their game plan but others do not have it.

With the passing on of late Biafran leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, there is an obvious void in the leadership of Ndigbo. Who do you think would step into the shoes of Ojukwu in terms of becoming the rallying point for Ndigbo?

Who would step into the shoes of Ojukwu is for Igbo leaders to decide. I like what Senator Ben Obi said that you do not create an Igbo leader overnight. This is because even Ojukwu himself, it took a long time before he became an Igbo leader.

There has to be an Igbo conscience organization-be it Ohanaeze, MASSOB, I do not know. A leader does not emerge from the blues. However, it is among the Igbo intelligentsia that you can get an Igbo leader. The challenge now is to organize such so that the potential can be adopted.

In the judiciary where you belong, many wonder whether it is because of the failure of that arm of government that the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori was convicted in United Kingdom when it was literally impossible to prosecute him here over allegations bordering on fraud while in office?

There are many reasons to that. All the answers to your questions, I have addressed them before. If the political leadership is basically corrupt (imagine if all of them are), then Ibori was a product of the political leadership and he would be protected. The second is the ineffectiveness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the anti-corruption campaign.

I once invited one of the leading anti-corruption scholars and we produced a book based on the study of the world’s most corrupt countries.

And we identified an independent anti-corruption agency crucial to the fight against endemic corruption. If you have endemic malaria, you might need to take injection. So, the first thing is to recognise that Nigeria has endemic corruption. The EFCC requires to be reorganized.

It will be very difficult for the EFCC to do three jobs at the same time- investigates, prosecutes and recover assets. In the UK, what they have as the EFCC, their work is purely investigation. You can see that if your work is only investigation, you would do it thoroughly. Here, they do everything and their prosecutorial skills are questionable with respect to them.

How can you charge somebody with 70 or 120 counts? The judge who handled the Ibori’s case in Delta, it was unfortunate for him that he got a bad name but he was right. The duty of the prosecutor is to prove the evidence to the judge. The EFCC just simply did not produce the evidence against Ibori.

To convict somebody, it must be evident and not based on speculation. The EFCC needs to improve its skill at investigation and I recommend a new agency to deal with investigation. The first problem is caused by the judges. You saw what the president of NBA said that there is corruption in high places in the judiciary. In fact, there are a lot of issues here like in the case of Odili. For instance, I do not understand why they cannot try him.

When somebody is arrested by the EFCC, there is a lot of rigmarole, he is taken to court, put in the dock, there is media hype about it and the person gets bail and that is all. What Nigerians want is for these people who they know are corrupt to be jailed. We cannot move forward unless we begin to take drastic action.

Recently, you were appointed as a member of the Petroleum Task Force on Oil Revenue. Some believe that based on the calibre of the members, the committee will achieve results while others believe that it is a job for the boys. What is your take on that?

Well, I understand the cynicism of Nigerians about such committees. However, I would assume that having appointed me and other very credible people in the committee that we would be allowed to bring our experience and expertise to bear on the assignment. But what will prove critics wrong is if we take the issue of subsidy and resolve it.

I think that is a good way to tell Nigerians that we are serious. Personally, I do not believe that there is need for subsidy because I do not know what the price is.

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We are not afraid of SNC – Northern Govs

Northern Governors, from all indications, are set for a Sovereign National Conference, SNC, should the clamour become realistic. As far as they are concerned, the present revenue sharing regime leaves their states far worse than it ought to and, as such, feel no qualms about a SNC, even if it were to address that issue. Though they met in Kaduna last Thursday, the SNC, was not tabled on the agenda.

However, the Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), Dr. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, informed correspondents at the end of the 7 hour close-door session in Kaduna last Thursday that the Forum was not afraid of a SNC.

“We are ready anytime they want to convene the Sovereign National Conference. We in the North have suffered our own share of injustice. All we are saying is that, both Northerners and Southerners should let us know what would be deliberated upon, so that we as a Forum will make our position known.

“But we did not deliberate on it in this meeting, because, as far as we are concerned, it is something that is still being thought over. Anytime there would be one, we are not going to get intimidated about it.

“Northern governors have limited things to do compared to their counterpart in the south because of the revenue formula. That is why we are advocating for the review of the revenue formula. We need to attach as much emphasis on sharing formula of the national resources as much as the injustice that has been done on it, and we will not be intimidated.

“I will continue to attack the derivation formula because even during independence there was principle of derivation and we’ve been making that statement and some people tend to miss-read it. And till tomorrow, I will continue to talk about the oil wells that are there in the ocean 200 miles away, those wells do not belong to any state.

“There was a court judgment in that regard and we did not understand why the National Assembly passed a law that seem to undermine it. The president at that time, Obasanjo, refused to sign that into law, but and the Senate overruled him.

“Everyone should know that there was a court judgment on the deep offshore oil wells but later, the National Assembly signed another thing into law. Which one will I believe in? That is all we are asking for because we know that without equity there will be no peace,” Aliyu added.

Below is part of the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting. Sultan, World Bank in attendance. “The meeting was addressed by the Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar CFR, who recounted the unprecedented challenges, especially in the North, in terms of rising trend of insecurity which has deprived democratic liberty, freedom and economic prosperity in the region.

“His Eminence expressed the resolve and readiness of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council to collaborate with the Northern State Governors, who should be the mouth piece of the North to restore enduring peace and harmonious co-existence and development in the region for the benefit of all.

After extensive deliberations, the Forum took fundamental decisions on the following issues: “The Forum was briefed by officials of the World Bank, DFID and other Development Partners on the need to facilitate the development of critical sectors in the North such as Health, Education, Social Protection, Water and Agriculture, Commerce and Public Financial Reform.

“The officials highlighted their new approach in partnering with States through knowledge sharing and direct budget support to those States that are committed to Public Financial Management and service delivery. The Forum, after in-depth deliberation, constituted 2 separate Committees of three Governors each with a view to approaching the National Assembly and the Federal Ministry of Finance for more consultations on the matter in order to benefit from the Programmes of the Development Partners.

The Forum received brief from National Primary Health Development Agency on the prevalence of wild polio virus in the Northern State. The Forum extensively deliberated on the issue and resolved as follows: “The Forum commended the Federal Government for additional funds for eradication of Polio; To strengthen the State Task Force on Polio Eradication in each member State by making it more functional; to sustain the quarterly interaction of Northern States Governors with their Traditional Rulers; to prevail on Local Government Chairmen in the Northern States to continue to support Polio Programmes particularly through sustained enlightenment campaigns.

Security

“The Forum extensively deliberated on the alarming rate of insecurity in the Northern States.

It noted that the region needs an integrated approach towards tackling these unfortunate new realities. The Forum, after extensive deliberations resolved as follows:

“Constituted a Committee to monitor the Implementation of the Federal Government White Paper on Security Challenges in North East Zone. Membership of the Committee includes Their Excellencies, Executive Governors of Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Adamawa and Plateau States; to adopt a pragmatic, holistic and integrated regional approach to combating crime through collective effort of all Security Agencies; to adopt common policies and programmes, build confidence among the people to promote economic prosperity in the North”

Agriculture

“Northern Nigeria being predominantly agrarian in nature, the Forum resolved to develop a lasting and sustainable source of income from Agriculture, and its allied activities. This endeavour is aimed at providing gainful employment to youth and reducing social tension which would lead to more peace, security and harmonious prosperity.

“In order to actualize this objective, a Committee, chaired by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Katsina State and with their Excellencies, the Executive Governors of Sokoto, Borno, Adamawa, Kwara, Plateau, Kaduna and Taraba States, as members was constituted to proffer recommendations on means of improving agricultural production, storage, processing and access to Local and International Markets and other allied activities”

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REVENUE ALLOCATION TEARS NIGERIA APART

Since 1954 when Nigeria became a federation, revenue allocation formula has always been a knotty issue, causing some resentments and frictions in the wheel of the nation.

Recently, the Niger State Governor and Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, stirred the hornet’s nest, when he attributed the underdevelopment of the North to the paltry allocations the states in the region receive from the federation account. He called for the scrapping of the 13 per cent derivation given to oil-producing states in the South, so that the states in the North will get more for development.

Governor Aliyu was echoing what the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, had said in an interview with Financial Times of London. The CBN governor said that the low financial allocation to the northern states was the major reason for the underdevelopment and activities of such groups as Boko Haram. Indeed, since Sanusi flew the kite and followed by Aliyu’s outburst, the arguments have polarised the nation along North and South divides, especially coming at a time when the agitation for restructuring and convocation of a national conference has reached fever pitch.

Genesis

When Sir Arthur Richards (Lord Milverton) divided Nigeria into three regions, in 1954 and Nigeria became a federation, a commission headed by Sir Louis Chick was set up the same year to work out revenue sharing formula. The commission recommended that the total revenue available to Nigeria be allocated in such a way that the principle of derivation be followed to the fullest degree, for the purpose of meeting the reasonable needs of the centre and each of the regions, among others. The 1954 federal constitution embodied most of the recommendations of the commission, especially the derivation formula.

Chick’s formula was in operation from 1954 to 1958, when another commission headed by Jeremy Raisman was set up to replace it. The Raisman Report played down considerably the principle of derivation and instead placed great emphasis on population, which is regarded as an approximate index of fiscal need. It also emphasised the basic responsibilities of the regional governments as well as the need for an even development of the country as a whole. This recommendation was taken and thus the whole revenue allocation formula was reversed. This was the situation until independence.

The next fiscal review commission was appointed in 1964 and was headed by Binn. The report of the commission was not published until 1965. When it came out, it still emphasised on the use of the principle of fiscal need.

In May 1966, the military government under Major General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi abolished the federal system of government and formed a unitary system of government, with the centre taking lion’s share of the resources from the states. After the counter-coup of July 1966, General Yakubu Gowon promulgated a decree abolishing the unification decree of Ironsi and restored Nigeria to federal system of government.

However, the Nigeria did not go back to the old four regions that controlled their resources. The military legislated for the whole country. This was the situation until the May 27, 1967, when the military Decree No. 15, empowered the government to carve out 12 states out of the existing four regions.

Owing to the prevailing situation in 1967 during the creation of 12 states, what obtained was to subdivide federal transfers to each former four regions among the states in a particular region. This arrangement met with stiff opposition and criticisms because of its arbitrariness. This initial creation of states and subsequent ones saw the centre getting stronger while the regions, as replaced by states, are getting weaker.

Against the background of revenue sharing being an agitated issue, the Federal Military Government appointed, in July 1968, an interim allocation committee headed by Chief I. O. Dina, who submitted its report in February, 1969. The committee recommended that in distributing resources the fiscal needs of the states should be the determining factor. This is mainly on the side of distributing oil revenues.

It recommended that only 10 per cent, as against 50 per cent, should go to the mining states, while the remaining 90 per cent should go to the other states through the Federal Government. The government never implemented this recommendation of the commission. Rather, during the period, between 1969 and 1974, the government relied on an interim allocation arrangement.

In 1975, the Federal Military Government promulgated the Revenue Allocation Decree to reverse the situation. This was a departure from the principle of derivation. The non-oil producing states benefited more from this arrangement.

During the Second Republic, President Shehu Shagari, in 1980, set up a commission headed by Dr. Pius Okigbo. It was the first in presidential system of government in Nigeria. The commission significantly raised the revenue of some states at the expense of others and, therefore, it negated the idea of balanced development in the country.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria invalidated the Okigbo commission’s recommendations. However, the revenue Act that was passed by the National Assembly in 1981 was based on the commission’s report. According to the Act, the Federal Government was to receive 55 per cent of the allocation. State governments were to collectively get 30.5 per cent and local governments, 10 per cent. The remaining 4.5 per cent was for special funds. With this, the derivation principle was discarded in revenue allocation scheme.

The military government that took over from Shagari continued in arbitrary sharing of revenue. However, attempt to address the ecological problems caused by oil exploration in the Niger Delta received a boost, when, in 1992, the military government of Ibrahim Babangida established Oil Mineral Producing and Development Commission (OMPADEC).

During the build-up to the return of civilian government, because of the restiveness in the Niger Delta region, there was apparent concern about the declining security situation in the region arising from increased agitation from the oil-producing communities and its consequent threat to the economy.

This made the 1995 Constitutional Conference to recommend that in sharing the revenue, 13 per cent should be set aside as derivation revenue to assist the development of oil-producing communities. The intention was very clear: to financially empower the oil-producing states of the Niger Delta to tackle the monumental neglect and degradation of the area.

The now contentious 13 per cent derivation principle was enshrined in the 1999 Constitution. The affected states started getting the 13 per cent from April 2000, 10 months after the implementation of the 1999 Constitution on May 29.

It was not yet Uhuru for Niger Delta as the region had to contend with another issue: onshore/offshore dichotomy in oil revenue. They considered this a betrayal.

In 1978, the then military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo passed a decree, known as the Exclusive Economic Zone Act. The thrust of this decree or act is in Section 2(1), which states: “Without prejudice to the Territorial Waters Act, the Petroleum Act or the Sea Fisheries Act, sovereign and exclusive rights, with respect to the exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of the sea bed, subsoil and superjacent waters of the Exclusive Zone rest in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and such rights shall be exercisable by the Federal Government or by such minister or agency as the government may, from time to time, designate in that behalf, either generally or in any special case.”

The Federal Government interpreted this provision to mean that revenue derivable from offshore production of oil cannot be credited to the states to which that offshore geographically belongs, using the Offshore Revenue (Registration of Grants) Act, 1971 Cap. 366 LFN. 1990 as guide. On the basis of this interpretation, the Federal Government split oil revenue into 60 per cent: 40 per cent as on-shore/off-shore revenue and proceeded to base payment of the minimum 13 per cent derivation revenue from the 60 per cent. In effect, the Federal Government paid 7.8 per cent of oil revenue as derivation rather than the minimum of 13 per cent enshrined in the Constitution.

This issue of offshore/onshore was finally resolved by the Supreme Court that gave the offshore resources to the contiguous states and this is why some states, particularly, Akwa Ibom, River, Delta and Bayelsa go home with jumbo allocations.

If the report of the 2005 Constituents Assembly set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo saw the light of the day, the cry by the northern interest groups would have been louder because the oil-producing states demanded 50 per cent as against current 13 per cent. The Constituent Assembly resolved to give to them 25 per cent. This was not, however, implemented.

The constitution headache

It is only a review of the constitution that can alter the present revenue formula, as it concerned derivation. It is going to be a Herculean task for the North to have its way.

The Niger Delta is still not satisfied with the present 13 per cent and like Oliver Twist, are asking for more, while other states in the South are calling for a return to the arrangement when the regions, paid in 40 or 50 per cent of their resources to the centre. They want they states to now take over the resources and pay the Federal Government 40 or 50 per cent of it.

When this scrapping or alteration of the 13 per cent derivation principle appears on the amendment list of the National Assembly, tribal and ethnic chauvinism would override national interest among the legislatures, as they would be divided along ethnic lines. Those from the North would push the amendment, in their favour, while those from the South would resist it.

At the state Houses of Assemblies, the 17 southern states would likely vote against any amendment in this direction, thereby stalling such proposal. The states in the South may also demand a review of sharing of revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) as over 60 per cent of the industries that generate VAT are in the South.

Another issue that is associated with revenue sharing is the local governments. At present, the North has more local government areas than the South. This means that the North gets more funds accruing to local governments than the South

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North is ungrateful - South-South

In their reactions to the demand by the North for a reallocation of oil resources, some key South-South figures described the call as insulting and a further proof that the North is ungrateful to the South. Below are their excerpts of the reactions:

Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, founder of the Niger Delta Peoples’ Volunteer Force (NDPVF).

“I have said it before and I will continue to reinforce it; Nigeria is a forced union and such cannot stand the test of time. Very soon, we in the Niger Delta shall commence what we call Operation Occupy Niger Delta Resources; once that starts, we shall lead a protest to the President with a warning that no dime of our oil money should henceforth, be sent to the north which has all these years, criminally manipulated the Nigerian state to the extent of claiming more population than the south, a situation that has resulted in the parasitic accumulation of our resources to their desolate local government areas which are mere structural entities without human beings.

It is now time for both the UN and the AU to come to Nigeria and conduct a scientific population analysis of the country; I make bold to say that Kano state is not more populated than Bayelsa not to talk of Lagos state. This is the fraud they have used to criminally determine the sharing of resources. As it stands today, we are getting very close to the point that we shall inevitably be on a collision course with our brother, Jonathan because we shall not fold our hands and allow this provocation to continue beyond now. Let the north go its own way and the others should also determine their future. To say the least, the outburst of the northern governors is not only a lazy and parasitic one, it is highly provocative and we are close to the situation where each region will control its resources.”

Professor Itse Sagay, Constitutional Law expert:

“I have been following the debate like others; unfortunately, those who speak on behalf of the Niger Delta on the issue have failed to hit the nail on the head. They should be bold enough to ask their northern colleagues, where does the nation’s revenue come from- instead of caressing the issue rather cautiously.

The northern part of this country does not contribute anything to the national purse. If the area that produces the resources has just a token of 13 percent, the remaining 87 percent is free gift to the entire nation, particularly the North that has nothing to show for its existence. At the Political Reform Conference in 2005, we went to the Federal Ministry of Finance to get figures and facts about what each of the zones contributed to the commonwealth. What we saw was amazing; the North-West brings nothing, the same with the North-Central and North-East. The South-East and South-West brings minor but the South-South contributes 91 percent.

The posture of the northern governors is the height of ingratitude and insult on the people of the oil-producing areas because they would have been bankrupt if not for the revenue that has been accruing to them from the proceeds of oil and gas.

This is a wake-up call on the people of the oil-bearing region. For instance this is the time to come together and fight intellectually for the anomaly in the uneven allocation of oil blocs in the country. You will observe that because of the long stay of the north in power at the centre, they manipulated the process and cornered these blocs to the disadvantage of the south; today, you have all juicy oil blocs in the hands of the north. Now that Jonathan is there, I would not want to sound being immodest by calling for a revocation of the blocs allocated to the northern businessmen, but from the look of things, they have decided to take the entire South for a ride, so Jonathan should ensure that he corrects this imbalance by allocating more oil-blocs to people in the South to make up for the inequity in the sector.”

Professor Godini Darah, university don, resource control advocate:

“It is an outrageous provocation, an act of ingratitude; for over years, oil has been sustaining the development of the north, yet they are behaving like imperial masters.

Nigeria should be a federal republic with people controlling their resources. Now that they have [provoked us, we will insist on nothing less than 100 percent. In 2005, we advocated and demanded a compromise of 50 percent which was the position at independence before the so-called northern power mongers manipulated the political process and stole our resources and rights of ownership in an innocuous and disdainful Section 44(3) of the constitution that oil found anywhere in the country belongs to the federal government.

That particular section of the constitution should be abrogated and a new clause inserted so that there will be 100 per cent ownership of resources by the people. This is very equitable and just; the North will also benefit from such arrangement because it is rich in minerals. Nasarawa and Plateau have at least 21 of such minerals. Let oil and gas found in the continental shelf belong to the coastal states. We are only inspired by this arrogance of the north and we will not rest until we achieve the resource control goal”

Comrade Joseph Evah, Chairman, Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG):

“My opinion on this matter is very different; I am very happy at the way the northern governors have come out to call the entire south-south governors and politicians fools, that is what they have done and I am happy about it because the same set of politicians will go to them at night and beg them for one position or the other why won’t they think they own Nigeria? I f you look at the way even the governors of oil-producing states are responding, they are talking with only one lip of their mouth because they are afraid to say something.

Some of them are already thinking about their future election or what they intend to get from one northern leader. I won’t be surprised if the northern governors have their way because they have a way of getting their goals because of the gullibility of our political leaders from the south-south.

Rear Admiral Festus Porbeni, former Transport Minister, former Chief of Naval Staff:

“We are close what some of us have for a very long time, advocated. We need to sit down and discuss our terms of existence and co-operation as Nigerians; I am not talking about a Sovereign National Conference but a National Dialogue whose views form the basis for a better national direction”.

Festus Keyamo, Lagos Lawyer:

“I think their clamour for more funds lacks moral merits because they only need to look more inwards and get more revenue, possibly more than the south itself. To be candid, the over-dependence of the north on oil revenue is not good for them at all”.

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