Electricity, Myth or Reality - Letter to the President.

Mr. President, I would like to thank you for the updates you provide on you Facebook wall. I have major concerns with the power issue in Nigeria. I am sure every other well meaning Nigerian has this same problem. It is a shame that at 50 years, in the year 2010, as the 6th largest producer of crude, that we still talk about issues of power.

We are aware that this has been a result of decay and lack of concern from all previous administrations of this country. As the Head of Government and the Minister of Power, it will be fair for us to transfer our frustrations to you.

While power is just one of the many issues we have facing us today, (Education, Healthcare and Agriculture are also of serious concern) the importance of this cannot be overemphasized. Power is the backbone of any modern society.

One question we all ask is, can PHCN be any different from Nigeria Airways, NITEL, NNPC and the rest of the other state own institutions? Trying so hard and putting so much into PHCN, might just be as bad as trying to generate electricity from a broken dam. I doubt very much if anything will come out of PHCN. It is time that we stop deceiving ourselves and wasting the time of the people. Every sector of the economy is riddled with such lack of care or concern. There is never any improvement or advancement in most if not all sectors.

Does the government have any genuine plan for the private sector to come into all aspects of power? Generation, Transmission and Distribution. Should government be involved in this business, or should it just regulate the playing field? It tried this with NITEL and MTEL, all of which eventually went under. Too many people make too much money from state owned institutions that the thought of this stream of cash drying up will not be tolerated at all costs. Not to talk of the fact that finical crimes go largely unpunished.

COAL
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world today. Nigeria's coal reserves are large, over 2 billion metric tonnes, of which 650 million tonnes are proven. Our low-sulphur coal has been of interest to the international communities. I strongly believe that we need to explore the option of utilizing this large coal deposit for power generation. If we do not, I wonder what we intend to do with all this coal.

I am aware that carbon dioxide emissions from coal usage are slightly more than those from petroleum and about double the amount from natural gas, but this does not in any way mean we should look away from coal. The USA still produces 50% of its electricity from coal and I am sure advancement in technology will give us a way of making the emissions less toxic.

Nigeria is not ready for gas. There have have too much talk and no positive outcome in the use of gas for power generation. While we continue to sort out the issues surrounding gas, who says we cannot exploit coal.

Our dependence on oil and gas has been a major issue to our nation. It has crippled a lot of other sectors, Agriculture and other natural resources especially. We continuously have refused to learn and we have not moved forward in anyway visible. Too many committees have been set up with no results. The next 5 years may not even see any visible change at the rate we are going.

Everyone comes in advising government to do this and that. What the citizens want to see is light at the flick of a switch and he/she wants this 24 hours of the day and all year round.

Is this something we will ever see? Do we need to employ magicians before we can have electricity, or do we have to just get some other country to come do it for us since it is clear we are not ready to work.

Mr. President, I want to believe that you will keep to you words and promise that you will deal with the issue of electricity, but I can assure you that it is a difficult battle and would require everything you have got. We have sunk so far into this abyss that the talk of steady power is just a mirage. There is no way we can advance as a country without electricity. No one will want to invest in a society as this, small businesses cannot grow, people cannot live comfortably at home, local manufactures cannot compete against foreign cheaper products.

It is either all or nothing.

In death we look for sympathy!

Well, nature has finally decided for us. It seems we are never able to make or take any decisions. Nigeria is a country and must not be held to ransom by a group of people who hide behind the illness of another while trying to blackmail Nigerians by playing on their sentiments.

All these would have ended well if it was handled properly in the beginning. All the lies about the man climbing stairs, playing with children, running the treadmill have all come to the open.

Sentiments, is the game they have been playing. Now in death they look for sympathy.

RIP Umaru, for in time all must come to an end.

It is where we go after here that really matters and not what we enjoy here.

All those who have lied, deceived, threatened us during the period of uncertainty must be brought to book.

As for the clerics that went visiting and praying, what was the outcome of all their prayers? Some of them even threatened us on national TV, saying there would be repercussions if we dared to touch that sit. Have our clerics all forgotten so soon that nothing in this life will go with us when we leave this world?

So help us God.

Why IBB will not run in 2011 and why I will not vote for him.

There is so much drama in the political realm here in our dear Nigeria. IBB has again declared that he wants to run for president come 2011. I strongly believe that what he is doing presently is testing the waters. All IBB seeks is relevance; anytime there is a presidential race (2003, 2007 and now 2011), he always makes sure he is the topic of discussion.

IBB will never run in opposition, and it most unlikely that he will ever get the PDP presidential ticket. Why would anyone endorse IBB? To whose advantage would it be? IBB will not and cannot afford to gamble with this; he will only run if he is the candidate of the ruling party.

IBB has never been able to defend the annulment of the June 12 election; he has always come out to say the election was the fairest in the country, yet he refused to hand over to Abiola. While I am no fan of MKO (rest his soul), this was an abuse of a process that he will forever have to live with. The reason is simple, he was cajoled by a certain cabal not to hand over to a MKO.

This was also the beginning of the ethnic and religious divide in Nigeria. Remember Kingibe ran alongside MKO. Both candidates were muslims and no one in Nigeria cared about this. What we wanted was to have a democratic government in place and send the khaki boys out. Now you can't have a presidential election without having president and vice president coming from different religions.

We must accept the truth that this ethnic and religious divide is getting wider and the Yar'adua situation has only made it worse.

This is the simple truth and the only reason why IBB did not hand over to MKO. We are always afraid to speak about issues especially when they cut across the ethnic and religious divide. If we continue to do this, we will never find a solution.

IBB is making so much noise because so far we do not have a credible opposition. Yes we all don't want IBB, but then who do we want?

It is important that there is someone Nigerians can vote for and who will be accepted by us all. This is important to stop people like IBB from dancing in the sun.

IBB has still not been forgiven by Nigerians, he stole our money, destroyed the civil service, crippled the police, and stripped the military of all professionalism.

He did all these to protect his ass, but he still had to run away (step aside as he called it) in 1993.

No one can fight the power of the people.

We should find a way to send all thieves and looters to jail instead of allowing them to walk freely polluting our society with their evil and corrupt practices.

IBB ruled for such a long time and failed. Failure is inexcusable in leadership. He has no business coming back.

One major drawback we have is that we do not believe in the electoral process and as such we never register or vote at elections. We spend out time making so much noise on blog sites and leave voting to the area boys and bus drivers. Voting is is duty we must all perform.

Come 2011, all Nigerians of voting age must be involved in choosing our next president. Even if we fail, let us fail trying.

Is our President AWOL?

I am no expert at law but I find the current political situation in Nigeria very funny and interesting. It is obvious that a lot of different camps with various interests are at play here. One thing is certain in all this, and that is the interest of the ordinary Nigerian citizen is not of interest.

Between the President's kitchen cabinet and the pro-Yar'adua Ministers there has been a large display of sycophancy and insincerity. Over the period the President has been away, all sorts of lies have been told. So much that they have run of lies just as we have run out of interest in their fairy tales.

It is no surprise that almost every Nigerian now can recite parts of the constitution. We must commend them for helping to improve our understanding of the constitution.

Section 144 of the constitution reads as follows;

144. (1) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if -

(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(2) Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.

(3) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(4) the medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria:-

(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and

(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the President of the Senate, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

(5) In this section, the reference to "executive council of the Federation" is a reference to the body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.

The Federal Executive Council came out to pass a declaration that the President is capable of discharging the functions of his office. This is clearly not what the constitution is asking of the Ministers.

It is a different issue if they had come out to say the did not get a two-thirds majority to pass a declaration declaring him as incapable to to discharge his functions. There is no where in the constitution where it says the Ministers should declare the President fit.

Section 145 and 146 read

145. Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.

146. (1) The Vice-President shall hold the office of President if the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or the removal of the President from office for any other reason in accordance with section 143 of this Constitution.

Now this is the part I find most interesting. Since the President did not inform the Senate of his whereabouts and he has been out of office for quite some time, it will be okay for us assume the President is AWOL.

Yes we all know he is in hospital, but remember that the Senate does not know this officially. I would deem this fit to be labeled as violation or breach of the provisions of the Constitution under which the President can be impeached.

As the Council of Ministers meet tomorrow, we await to hear what the outcome of the meeting will be following the drama that happened in last weeks meeting.

PDP being the ruling party has the majority in the National Assembly and we do not know for certain how they plan to go with the whole saga. This can only go on for so long. Something will eventually have to give way. They are only delaying what cannot be stopped.

Our Nation, Our Constitution, Our President

Let me start by listing a section from our constitution.

Section 1(2) states; The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

It is not news that Nigerians have been asking questions about the true health condition of our president. Since November 23, 2009 when the Federal Government announced that the President will be traveling to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, there have been conflicting stories about the state of his health.

There have been conflicting stories as well as as speculations on the state of the presidents health. The cloak of secrecy thrown around the president's condition has clearly thrown our government into chaos.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) is also paralysed with the Ministers of Information, Foreign Affairs and Justice all singing different songs. Nobody has been able to give Nigerians an authentic and true position on the state of affairs.

With the turn of events it is most unlikely the Mr. president will be returning to the 'throne' in Abuja. Obviously the ruling PDP is scrambling to look for a suitable Vice President, since the current VP, Goodluck Jonathan would definitely become president if Yar'adua fails to return to office. It is also not news that PDP is looking for someone who will also run for Office of President come the next presidential elections in 2011.

One major question still remains unanswered; why didn't the president hand over to the vice president when he was going for treatment? We have heard all sorts of responses to this question, but nothing suffices for me but to think that it is greed and selfishness that made the president and his team do otherwise.

What does the constitution say about transferring Presidential Powers?

Section 145. Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.

This doesn't seem to be a mandatory function but more of an obligatory one. This section can be argued in so many ways. However, if our president was to be concerned with the welfare of the nation and its peoples he would understand that the honorable thing to have done was to write the Senate asking that powers be transferred temporarily to the Vice President pending his return.

Also lets take a look at what the Oath of Office of President says:

Oath of Office of President

I, .............. do solemnly swear/affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will strive to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions; that I will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will abide by the Code of Conduct contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; that I will not directly or indirectly communication or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President; and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria. So help me God.

Has our President in anyway kept to this by his actions? My answer is no. He has clearly allowed his personal interest to influence his official conduct. He as also not devoted himself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria.

Rather they have run this country like it is a monarchy. While we do not wish the president ill, he, his family and cohorts need to understand that the office of President is bigger than any one person. He needs to respect and preserve the integrity of that office and not allow his selfishness cloud his judgement.

It is sad and very unfortunate that we have continuously had leaders who have no passion for the well-being of our people. The sycophants around us have not made this any better. Nigerians clearly live in an illusion and are nowhere close to reality. We never speak the truth and we believe whatever lies (no matter how silly) we are told by those in authority. We do not question authority.

We do not realise that in a democracy the leadership is there to serve the people. Yar'adu is our servant and not a King. He is answerable to us and we demand and have a right to know everything about him, his heath and well-being until the day he ceases to be president.

The position of President is also a voluntary one and comes with a lot of work. It is not a holiday or a jamboree, so no one going into office should complain about how difficult it is to rule. You can very well resign at any point in time.

We have also wondered why the president has not been removed from office. The Section of the Constitution that addresses this states that:

144. (1) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if -

(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(2) Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.

(3) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(4) the medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria:-

(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and

(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the President of the Senate, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

(5) In this section, the reference to "executive council of the Federation" is a reference to the body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.

We have also wondered why the president has not been removed from office. The questions is can the Ministers appointed by the president vote him out of office? We lack the discipline and integrity to carry out such. The Ministers cannot even speak on the issue. They seem to be waiting for a miracle to happen. Well I am sure in a nation as 'prayerful' as Nigeria some miracle will surely happen.

As events unfold, we all await to see where they take us.

Like our pledge says, So help us God.