I am glad that at last there is some semblance of probe of the atrocities perpetrated by the regime of Olusegun Obasanjo. What started like a joke with the probe of the energy sector by the House of Representatives has now snowballed into a large-scale, mind-boggling revelation of corrupt practices under that evil regime. I feel so irked over the unearthing of the evils of Obasanjo because the man made himself look like a saint when in reality he is a devil’s incarnate. He demonized and castigated anybody who posed the slightest threat to his vaulting ambition to own all the resources in Nigeria. This was why he soiled his hands in every deal that involved one form of self-aggrandisement or another.

As I said in one of the articles in this column Obasanjo is the most corrupt leader Nigeria has ever had. He presided over the most nauseating scam in the history of Nigeria in the name of leadership. I am sure that many Nigerian will be left heart-broken by the time all the cats are let out of the bag.
I told Nigerians early enough that Obasanjo regime was 100 times worse than Abacha’s. Abacha was a saint when compared to Obasanjo. At least Abacha never posed as a die-hard crusader against corruption as much as Obasanjo did. Every speech made by Obasanjo throughout his 8-year reign was punctuated with all kinds of sermonizing against the evil of corruption while beneath the veil was a well-choreographed, systematic agenda to loot our collective heritage.

My only worry with the ongoing probe is that it may not produce the kind of results many Nigerians would have anticipated. This is why there is the need for a judicial inquiry into the 8 years reign of Obasanjo. All the same, the ongoing exercise by the lower chamber of the National Assembly to unravel the contemptuous sleaze that characterized Obasanjo’s regime shows somewhat that there is light at the end of the tunnel to set Nigeria free from the cabal that has held it prostrate since after independence.

Who would have imagined some 12 months ago that Obasanjo would be brought before the klieg-lights some day, considering his arrogant and intolerable demeanour? His reign was akin to Bokassa’s, Idi Amin’s, and even Pinochet’s. He preached self-righteousness, while deep in his heart he harboured malice, avarice and viciousness.

Today his daughter, a senator of the federal republic is also wanted for her sins against our fatherland. You see what greed can do? If we dig deeper we will see more skeletons underground. Remember I had a popular refrain when I was governor of Abia State: I said that the place to find corruption was under Obasanjo’s table. I knew what I was saying when I called for an international probe into the regime of Obasanjo at that time. I was privy to the underhand scheming of Obasanjo and his cohorts, who hid under the war against corruption, to milk Nigeria almost dry.

I must not fail to caution the members of the House of Representatives committee probing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) not to trivialize their assignment, but to see it as a serious national duty. This is why it has become imperative for them to shun undue excitement and dig very deep to be able to see the rot underneath.

There are many vital areas the probe should cover. For instance, the committee must find out those who were awarded lifting contracts for oil, how much was paid for all the oil lifted from Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, into what accounts were the moneys paid and who are the owners of the accounts (onshore and offshore), how much of these moneys was expended and on what, how did Obasanjo run the Petroleum Ministry and why did he refuse to appoint a substantive Oil Minister for the 8 years he held sway in Aso Rock, who and who benefited from the multi-billion dollar contracts awarded by the NNPC in the period under review, why were no serious efforts made to get the comatose refineries back on stream, why did the federal government under Obasanjo devote more time to importing finished petroleum products instead of boosting local production, how were the regular subsidies bandied by that regime managed and who profited from them.

The committee should go a step further to investigate how the award of the various oil blocks was made and who benefited from them, and why was trans-border smuggling of petroleum products a thriving business despite the measures put in place to combat it.
A studious answer to these questions will unveil more scandalous revelations than we have had so far.
The committee should also call for submission of memoranda by the public. This is an important piece of advice, because there are some Nigerians with privileged information and documents they can volunteer to the committee. All they want is confidentiality and an agreeable environment to make such submissions. Don’t be surprised by the quality of people that may come forward to give testimony.

Now that we are talking about the probe of NNPC I think it will be auspicious to look into some other ancillary issues that have far-reaching impact on the overall performance of the corporation. In this mould are such issues as maintenance of the refineries, empowerment of the oil-service companies, and ensuring of cordial relationship between oil companies and their host communities. These three issues are pivotal to restoring sanity in the oil sector.

There is a compelling need to support the oil-service companies who are a huge pillar of support to NNPC and its joint venture partners. One of the veritable ways to achieve this is by allocating to them some oil blocks and oil-lifting contracts to boost their financial capability in order to offer more quality service to their clients. It is preposterous that there is no oil service company in Nigeria today that can boast of a single oil block or licence to lift oil, while some people who have no business in the oil sector own more than one block and lift oil any how.

Again there is no reason for the refineries not to function at optimal level. Nigeria has the capacity to build more refineries in line with global demands. There is no way refineries built some 30 years ago can withstand the rigours posed by toady’s advancement in technology. Kuwait is where it is today because it allowed oil-service companies to play more visible role in its oil sector in addition to regular updating of the facilities in their refineries.
The benefits of building more refineries and maintaining existing ones are multi-dimensional. Apart from ensuring more revenue for the federal government it will also check scarcity of petroleum products and its attendant skyrocketing prices.

It pains me that Nigeria, as the 6th largest producer of oil, cannot meet the increasing demands of its citizens for petroleum products. What reason do we have to sell petrol for as high as N120, and even more in times of chronic scarcity? Even kerosene, consumed mainly by the low-income people, is beyond their reach, yet we have over 60 billion US dollars in our foreign reserve. Why accumulate huge reserves when 70 per cent of our people are poor, weak, hungry and defenceless?

What explanation can we give when the United Nations and other agencies refer to Nigeria as a poor nation? I disagree that Nigeria is a poor country. We are not a poor nation but a poorly-managed country. Malaysia came here about 4 decade ago and collected a sample of our palm tree. It took it home and transformed it into a super hybrid. Today Malaysia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil. Where are the famous Kano Groundnut Pyramids? At present, Nigeria imports all brands of vegetable oil from Asia. What a shame!

There is no way things can be allowed to go on this way. The time has come for us to reposition Nigeria and remove it from the doldrums. Vision 20-2020 can only work if we reorder our priorities and shun corruption and maladministration that have constituted the Achilles Heels of past efforts to make Nigeria great.
President Yar’Adua owes Nigerians an obligation to offer moral support to the probe committee, if we expect it to succeed in its onerous assignment. The work of the committee is a plus for this regime that has shown a serious commitment to change.
The probe of NNPC is a sure way of telling the whole world that we are ready to make amends. We must grab this opportunity with both hands.