Corruption in the oil industry has made the word subsidy which was silent many decades ago in the dictionary to take the fore front of discussion in Nigeria, as if it has never existed before now. The petroleum industry in Nigeria needs serious cleansing. And those to carry out the cleansing should not be those who have tested the loot from the industry. Because, the loots from the oil sector magnetizes anyone who comes to stop the age-long fraud in the sector. The economists do not have the parameter to measure the loot as the loot is always measured in billions, trillions and the next calculative analysis would be in zillion. Every effort by the government to curtail fraud in the oil sector always meet hydra-headed monster that defies the process.
The Federal Government of Nigeria controls petroleum sector by reason of exclusive list which all other tiers of government are just observers expecting the share from the sale of oil. The segments of petroleum sector known as down-stream and up stream sectors are just semantics when it comes to issues of oil loot.
The Nigeria National petroleum company NNPC) which is the only agency in-charge of petroleum does every thing about oil based on the law establishing it. NNPC does every oil business with all the oil companies in Nigeria. It is worrisome to hear the kind of fraudulent activities that take place in NNPC. The fact remains, if the probe report is not hindered by stage-managed drama, some officials of the agency will be dragged in as chaffs. Two weeks ago, some senior officials of the agency were relieved of their appointments. To some Nigerians the cleansing was not enough as the appointed officials of the Ministry of petroleum were not affected.
This is because the ministry of petroleum has jurisdictions and supervises whatever transactions that go on in the agency. The ministry reports what ever happens in the oil sector to the federal government. And so there is the feeling that the presidency should sanitize the petroleum ministry which in the minds of Nigerians is the room where connivance to loot in the oil sector is done.
It is only the federal legislative arm of government that has the right to probe the sector apart from the federal government. And there are people who are feeding fat to make sure Nigerians do not get benefits of the agency. Fuel subsidy was at the background until its removal on 1st January 2012. The removal was caused by some fraudulent activities of the companies that were contracted to make the fuel work in Nigeria to the betterment of the masses but the reverse was the case. Indeed in life when good or bad things occur people tend to investigate. And that instigated the House of Representatives to set up the probe panel headed by Hon. Farouk Lawan. Immediately the probe report was submitted to the president, then arose the bribery allegation. In Nigeria today, bribery scandal against the committee chairman has over taken the subsidy fraud and corruption and have confused, Nigerians to look at the bribery scandal as more important than the fraud that impoverished Nigerians across all ethnic groups.
Mr. Femi Otedola, the accuser of Hon. Farouk Lawan, the committee chairman, told Nigerians that the plot he initiated is in V.C.D and audio. Two weeks ago the first episode was relayed on channel television. The soap opera acted in Nigeria by Femi Otedola and Hon. Farouk Lawan is yet to get the approval of the Nigerian copyright commissions NCC). The short episode was humorous as the voices of the protagonist and antagonist were heard and observed to be romantic. Mr. T.J. was the only third person in the play whose voice was not heard by the audience rather he was given an assignment to collect the money. The Nigerian Nolly Wood is actually advancing as business mogul and parliamentarian have become dramatists over night. Romeo and Juliet written by the great dramatist, William Shakespeare was so romantic and was not aired on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) before its debut appearance in Buckingham palace in London.
Very soon, Nigerians would watch the visual that will show the drama on how the 620,000.00 dollars were collected. It will be a play that every movie station would want to air. Then, Nigerians will see the setting and characters and the costumes used in the play. It is obvious that the prolog and epilog would show the executive director and script writer. In the play, Nigerians might see the exchange of pleasantry for a job well- done. The drama and exchange of words by our noble dramatists are renting the air as many activists and concerned Nigerians are watching the episode.
But Nigerians should not forget that every play has what is called theme or the subject matter. The round character is Mr. Femi Otedola. Let somebody ask this rhetorical question, what is the drama of bribery allegation all about? I believe that that will give Nigerians the hidden theme. It is obvious that all the anxieties and trauma Nigerians faced in the first and second weeks of year 2012 must have been forgotten because of this sudden drama and allegation. Femi Otedola’s company was not the only company involved in the fraud of subsidy regime. Curiously, there are people who are writing the scripts to truncate the probe. Though, Femi Otedola was the only one who has the gut to act the drama in order to join Nollywood industry. What about the theme of this bribery scandal? The theme is “stop the probe report with drama” and what have you. Nigerians have been accused and embarrassed in the past for having short memory. Therefore, the subsidy removal that caused death and hardship must be investigated and the report must be implemented this time around.
Frank Eneawail Ogwuonuonu
08028901682
