DR OBADIAH AONDO FROM TARABA STATE - THE ONLY MINISTERIAL NOMINEE NOT CONFIRMED BY THE SENATE

[Ikenna Okonkwo]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

I followed the discuss below and it made an interesting reading, i.e the need for GEJ to hit the ground running and start to fulfill the avalenche of promises during the electioneering campaign. Sometimes when these promises are REELED OUT, during the campaign, I, Engr Ikenna Okonkwo will pause and ask, will these promises be ever be fulfilled going by their magnitude and some of them being impracticable, but the political experts will always tap me at my back and say, cool down, that is part of the business, nobody says it all and does it all. Ok, let me believe that is the part of the game.

 

Airing this my view will try to address why WE MAY NOT EXPECT A MAGIC in this administration because if you look very well down, you will find out that nothing has indeed changed from the way it is done before. There was something close to POMPING OF CHAMPAGNE by the Senate when they failed to confirmed the Ministerial Nominee from Taraba State in the person of Dr Obadiah Aondo, the immediate past Minister of Water Resources, but in my opinion, there should be no single jubiliation about that when out of 34 names screened, you only failed one person and the question is how did he even fail. One, he was not even asked the usual conventional question that is the common thing, he just finished reading out his CV and he was asked to take a bow and go and when it was the turn of the Senate to do their voice vote, the Senate President said, those in favour that this man will be a Minister of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria say I!, everyplace was quiet and those against say Nee! and there was a loud voice and the Senate President ofcourse said - The Nees have it, and hit the Gavel. What are the reasons for denying this man the opportunity - (1) They said that the three senators representing Taraba in the National Assembly had earlier on held a press conference and stated that the man in question is INACCESSIBLE during his short stay as Minister and that (2) He did not do anything for his people in Taraba. The Taraba state house of Assembly also compounded the problem by writing to the senate and registering their displeasure in line with the three senators. Now the first Question, I , Engr Ikenna Okonkwo will throw out is - BOTH THE RETURNING MINISTERS AND THE NEW NOMINEE'S WHO AMONG THEMSELVES DID SOMETHING TO THEIR PEOPLE AND WHO AMONG THEMSELVES WERE ALSO ACCESSIBLE. Infact I would have liked the proponent of the opposition against this Taraba Candidate to tell me what they mean by not being ACCESSIBLE, could that be that you cannot reach him on phone or that you cannot visit him in the office or THAT HE WAS NOT PLAYING BY THE RULES IN AWARDING CONTRACT TO THE TARABANS, what is the meaning of not being accessible. This particular accusation affects our polity more often than not in a negative ways. IS THE MINISTER OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC FROM TARABA STATE SUPPOSED TO BE SERVING THE TARABA PEOPLE OR IS HE SUPPOSED TO BE SERVING THE ENTIRE COUNTRY AND BY SO WHERE IS THIS LANGUAGE THAT HE IS INACCESSIBLE. In my opinion, I would not pass those allegations but unfortunately I am not from Taraba and the people has spoken but for the readers here, I think that this is a food for thought. Another issue for further discussion and enquiry in this issue is - WHO THEN NOW NOMINATED HIM. If he is rejected by the House of Assembly in the state and rejected by the three senators in the state, who now sided him, maybe Jonathan and the Governor and the Godfather, well in that case, you can salute the victory because of the Governors antecendents in Nigeria at the state level, THEY CALL THE SHOTS AND THEY ARE SEEN AS DEMI'S, infact in most states, the fear of your Governor by the Senators, house of reps and the Ministers is the beginning of Wisdom for them. Quite a pity, so much powers for the Governors of the Ruling Party anyway!.

 

Now let's go to the screening proper and the method of asking questions by the senators and answering it by the prospective Ministers, I picked a lot of holes in it. It was a mere academic exercise as far as I was concerned. If I, Engr Ikenna Okonkwo was one of the Senators or the panelist that interviewed them, I can bet you that the maximum that will scale through will not be more than 10 out of that 34 but I personally will have the patient to ask for a replacement from the same state so that the issue of eating our quota will not arise, I will do it one or two more times until I get the result that I will need. Infact to even save my time, I will send to the President of Nigeria - GEJ what my Questionnaire template will look like so that they will shop for people in that lineage. When I sit down and listen and hear some questions they ask in the senate to these Ministers prospecting, I can but laugh, some even instead of dropping their questions direct, they will turn the opportunity to lecturing the Ministerial Nominee, ask questions simply and not to give the man a huge lecture and he will finally tell you that I agree with you, what have you achieved. You hear questions like - WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS WITH POWER SECTOR, EDUCATION SECTOR, SECURITY IN NIGERIA. I tell you in a recent educational programme which we organised in my town Igbo-Ukwu in Aguata LGA of Anambra State as part of grass root educational development by our Foundation, these kids can give better answers than these Ministers, so what am I not saying here, questions like this are not needed because even a person that did not see the four walls of the Primary school in Nigeria can enlist these problems to you so also other sectors, now you go to the next question - HOW DO YOU INTEND TO SOLVE IT, there they go again, mere academic exercise, if the Minister is smart enough he or she can quickly google through the internet in his or her MTN air card with his laptop and read it out for you from there, what is the big deal. In a nut shell, questions like these are non-seeded questions and should not be alloted any marks at all, RATHER TELL THE MAN THAT THE PROBLEMS ARE THIS AND THAT AND LET HER DEMONSTRATE TO YOU HOW SHE CAN USE HER INITIATIVES TO DEVELOP POLICIES THAT CAN ADDRESS THAT AND DEPLOY IT, because it is not only to do the beautiful paper work policies, DEPLOYMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT and if you posit questions like this, I tell you some people CAN FAINT IN THE PODIUM AS EXCESSIVE SWEATS will start to gush out from nowhere.

 

So in a nutshell, what I saw during the screening did not tell me WE WILL EXPECT SO MUCH CHANGES OR MIRACLE, they may improve but not too far from the past. A lot of praises went to Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala, Prof Barth Nnaji, Olusegun Aganga but I still see all that as Professor standing before the Students in the University reading out his lecture notes from his head having taught ECO 101 for over 25 years, it did not tell me or assure me how practical could they be.

 

Before we go to the key thing that is lacking in the whole SCREENING QUESTIONS which I termed - HOW PATROTIC ARE THE MEN AND WOMEN MINISTERIAL NOMINEES BECAUSE THAT IS THE ENGINE ROOM, THERE IS THIS SAYING THAT IF YOU WANT TO BE A MILLIONAIRE THINK LIKE A MILLIONAIRE, if you want to be a great nation think and copy the great nations of the world. Obama visited Ghana sometimes ago and in his loaded speech, he said that what Africans need to catch up with development is BUILDING STRONG INSTITUTIONS WHICH COULD LAST AND IS SUSTAINABLE and these institutions are in all sectors. So how can you build institutions without PATROTISM, you need to be patrotic and have also demonstrated it over the years and not just for the purpose of standing at the podium facing the Senate. There was an issue that cropped up during the screening and it has to do with the PDP national Chairman - Dr Bello Haliru from Kebbi State, he was fingered in the Halliburton Saga, that a lone for me disqualifies him because that JEOPARDISES his patriotism, he has been tested in the past and found involved, also Barrister Nyesom Wike from Rivers State, he made proud by saying that the Court Appeal in Abuja has quashed his allegation for Involvement in a 4.5 Billion Naira Scam by the EFCC, to me why would that even come up in the first instance, there is this popular slogan that says - THERE IS NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE. For the fact that his name was once attributed to that, whether justifiably or not, he should not be presented that is, if we want PATROTISM and wants to take this country to the next level because things that has to do with corruption is that it is INTOXICATING, I am not a prophet but go an mark it, check the Ministries where Wike and Haliru will work, after one year go and make an audit of the place, you will tell us better the result. You can't hide away from it, IF YOU HAVE ROMANCED A PUBLIC FUND BEFORE AND GO SCOT FREE, IF YOU ARE GIVEN ANOTHER CHANCE, YOU DOUBLE OR EVEN TRIPLE THE ROMANCE. It is a simple law of nature. Though a colleague of mine in the office told me that what do I expect because we said that Dr Haliru will be stopped by the SSS on security basis and that almost happened as his name was put and removed and put again and removed before it got permanented, he told me why would he not scale through when he was the one that RAISED GEJ AND SAMBO'S BOTH HANDS UP IN 36 STATES OF THE FEDERATION INCLUDING THE FCT, THAT DO I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS and I told him that it then means that the much talked about total freedom from GEJ may not to be afterall. There are other people who have skeleton in their cup boards but these two seems to have greeted the pages of the newspaper over time. There is also this laughable issue that came when a young senator from Zamfara State asked the former PDP Chairman - Dr Bello Haliru that WHY IS IT THAT THERE IS NO FRESH AIR IN KEBBI STATE and you can't believe it how the three senators in Kebbi watered it down, infact one of them even said that not only that the air in Kebbi is FRESH THAT IT IS ALSO SCENTED and every senator and viewers laughed it off. Well the young man must have been coming from the angle that COULD IT BE ONLY THIS MAN IN KEBBI STATE HAVING BEING IN GOVERNMENT SINCE 1980'S. I do not have any problem so much with that provided he is doing well in line with DO NOT CHANGE THE WINNING TEAM.

 

I stand here to say that we need RADICAL GAME CHANGERS in the likes of Prof Dora Akunyili and Dr Oby Ezekwesili who made very visible and far reaching radical changes in the Ministry that they were given. How many of these people are ready to do it in their various portfolio's, remember that you cannot do it WHEN YOU HAVE A SKELETON in your cupboard as you cannot cheat the law of nature, you can only give what you have. Dora Akunyili did a lot in NAFDAC and in her short stay with Ministry of Information with her RE-BRANDING PROJECT, if not for anything that beautiful logo NIGERIA - GOOD PEOPLE, GREAT NATION still trips me personally with its attendant noise. Don't ask me if she achieved what she wanted but that was a bold step. Can these 34 Ministers do the same in their respective Ministers, it will do us very good. Also Oby Ezekwesili went to Ministry of Solid Minerals before going to Education and HEATED UP THE PLACE AND PUT IT IN THE RIGHT FOOTING FOR WORK. She computerised the whole place and put up a programme which mandated all workers on grade level 10 and above in the ministry to be computer literate. Again this is a typical example of giving out what you have, you can't give out what you don't have. She wondered how an Australian Miner can come to invest in Nigeria when a simple e-mail sent by the Australian cannot be attended to. Infact, the Australian don't even have the e-mail where he can send his mail, but today in Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, the miner anywhere in the world can communicate with the Mining Engineers in Nigeria and business is done. These are the typical example of the RADICAL GAME CHANGES. And I can tell you that it is not President Obasanjo or Yaradua that told these two women what to do, THEY HAVE IT IN THEM AND THEY INITIATED IT, THAT IS PATROTISM, THAT IS CREATIVITY,THAT IS PUTTING THE COUNTRY FIRST AND THAT IS WHAT WE NEED. Sometimes the problem is even that the people DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT IN AMERICA, YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR PLANS BURNING INSIDE YOU BEFORE YOU ARE NOMINATED SO THEN ONCE YOU MOVE IN, YOU START TO FIRE, but in this our case, 6 months, some of them have not even finished their consultations. There is something that is happening now after swearing in some Ministers last week most of them have swung into action and inspecting all manner of project status and ABANDONED projects here and there and my colleague told me that this is beautiful and that this people are very ready to work, BUT I TOLD HIM THAT VERY GOOD AS IT MAY SOUND BUT FOR A MINISTER TO SUCCEED IT IS MUCH MORE THAN TRAVELLING TO INSPECT ROAD, GOOD ENOUGH BUT WE NEED MORE OF WHAT THE AKUNYILI'S AND EZEKWESILI'S of this world did to take this country to the next level.

 

Having said all these, in conclusion, it takes me back to the Senate screening and the Question and Answer session, CAN YOU NOW SEE THAT QUESTIONS WHICH WILL DWELL ON HOW PATROTIC AN INDIVIDUAL WAS IN HIS OR HER FORMER JOBS BE IT IN PRIVATE OR PUBLIC SECTORS could have done us better than asking WHAT DO YOU THINK IN YOUR OPINION IS A PROBLEM OF EDUCATION OR POWER OR SECURITY IN NIGERIA and how can you solve it. Drill them more on their PATROTISM POTENTIALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE PAST to get the desired result. That does not mean that those who helped Mr President to get the 22 Million Votes will be relegated to the background, we will give them the chance BUT LET'S LOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE A BETTER PATROTIC TENDENCIES IN THE PAST as they are the only and I say it it again without mincing words, they are the only people who can take us TO THE POSITIVE NEXT LEVEL AND NOT THE PROMISED LAND YET.

 

I will not finish this write up without feeling with my PROFESSIONAL COLLEAGUES here in Nigeria  - THE NIGERIA SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS that in the whole of President Good Luck Jonathan's Administration numbering over 34 that there is no single ENGINEER in the cabinet not even a MINISTER OF STATE but we have close to three ARCHITECTS. DOES IT MEAN THAT THE ENGINEERS ARE THE MOST CORRUPT OR THAT IF THEY ARE BUSY WITH THEIR SPANNERS AND TOOLS, THEY DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR STATE AND PDP POLITICS OR THAT ENGINEERS ARE ONLY IN ACN AND CPC. Which is Which. This is a food for tought.

 

Engr Ikenna Okonkwo is a Chartered Engineer and a member of Nigeria Society of Engineers based here in Nigeria and serves the society in the capacity of Accredited National Engineering Rapporteur in both National and International Engineering Conferences.

 

Thanks and kind regards,

 

Ikenna.

 

On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 1:00 PM, Okenwa R. Nwosu, M.D. <okenw...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Umuibe,

 

The piece below underscores the fact that President GEJ does not have eternity at his disposal before his administration begins to give clear indications regarding what the real deal for the electorate is going to be. It must never be lost on him that the millions who willingly cast their votes to assure his election have, by so doing, invested their hope in his capacity to deliver on their behalf.

 

From my vantage point, now is the time to alert the GEJ administration about what lies in waiting if the president’s pledge to all Nigerians are not kept. I am one of those who fervently supported his presidential bid the best way I knew how. I was particularly pleased with his solemn pledge, during his inaugural address, to “grow the economy, create jobs and generate enduring happiness for our people”. I believe that the suggested timeline for the GEJ administration to show its clear intent to live up to the president’s pledge is germane and fair enough. After this timeline proposed below, the incumbent administration ought to be confronted and challenged to rise up to the people’s expectation.

 

Okenwa.

 

 

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Folks,

 

It does not matter how the message was put across but in as much the message crossed without hurting anyone physically, we are fine. Does GEJ need anybody to remind him of the meaning of integrity? Is it not time enough for him to do what he promised? What is there to learn from a leader whose steps are not encouraging us so far?

 

Many times we read people trying to educate others on ways to put information across, while they sit and watch their houses burn to ashes.

We expect the things promised to the South East Zone to commence in earnest, if the presidency fail, he will get harder attacks shortly and much should come from me.

 

What we all must do: WE MUST GIVE GEJ LED GOVERNMENT JUST THREE MONTHS FROM JULY TO START WITH THOSE MAJOR PROMISES, FAILURE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. When I say three months, it should be three months, July, August, and September, at the end of September, if nothing is done, all hell will break loose and we do what we know best: Constructively criticise and make restless the system intellectually.

 

The president should never think we are stupid. Ndiigbo have been silently watching his moves from the times of campaign till date. There are people who read every single statements and steps and give them reasonable meanings where appropriate. We saw his steps from onset and we knew him before now, we are now asking that he should remember what integrity means. Making sense yet?

 

THERE ARE NO EXCUSES FOR BAD PEFORMANCE PLEASE!

Question: Why must we beg for what is our right when we could be demanding for it?

 

It is not just Ndiigbo alone, it also involves other regions. Even Abuja is about to go in flames....

 

Regards,

 

Uzoma KLN

[Life is simple, do not make it difficult]

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