The late erudite scholar, Professor Ayodele Awojobi, a restless academic and social crusader did some rather strange inquisitions few months before the commencement of the transition to civil rule which culminated in the Presidential election in 1979 .
The Unilag Professor of Mechanical Engineering ,asked the military government of then General Olusegun Obasanjo to tell Nigerians where Our Oil money has gone? In other words he asked the then government to give account of how the billions of dollar earned by the country from petro dollar was spent by successive military governments.
Awojobi as a social crusader was worried that the humongous amount of money the country made from oil by successive military governments has not been been unaccounted for by succesive military regimes.
Compared to the developments in our body polity today, there was a sense of public probity and sensitivity to Public opinion.
Though the government of the day never gave an answer to Awojobis request, the issue he raised, to a large extent rekindled public opinion on accountability and set the stage for debate on issues which ultimately had an impact on the transition to civil rule programme then.
Awojobi,not satisfied with the state of things in the country was not as other social critics like late TAI Solarin and Mallam Aminu Kano and a host of others also tried in their own way to raise public consciousness about issues of the day .The Unilag scholar it will be recalled maintained his new crusade in the new civilian government of President Shehu Shagari, as he used the court to test democracy and check the excesses of government of the day. Awojobi was frequent in the courts moving from one Court to the other to Challenge government misdemeanors and anti -people policies.
This he did at his own expetnse using the Law to fight the evil corrupt system. He became the mirror of the society .
Today,such men Who spen their resources to fight social justice are rare.
The era died with the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi who however added a new impetus to Awojobis otherwise described as the Akoka Giant, by floating a political party which fought for Power at the centre by contesting Presidential election in 2003.
Last week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose seventeen months regime has been barraged with criticism over his economic policies and the pains on the citizenry threw a challenge to former leaders who held forth before him.
Tinubu who couched his speech in soft tones bared his mind to former National assembly leaders who paid him a courtesy call.
Though Tinubu fell short of calling names, the import of his declaration that he didn’t come to steal money but to repair the damage done to the economy was clear enough.
It was clear because that was the first time in his Presidency that he will publicly claim that those who
By saying,”What did we do when we made money from huge resources from crude oil sales”,he was referring to the state of the economy and what brought it about. And the event and forum too was deliberate and done for a purpose.
Indeed, the country made a lot of money from the crude oil sales and spent a major part of it in exceuting white elephant projects and turned the economy to import dependent on virtually everything under the sun.
For instance, between 1999 and 2021 when the new civilian govOil Revenue:Tinubus Challenge
The late erudite Professor Ayodele Awojobi,the restless academic and social crusader did some rather strange inquisitions few months before processes that led to the Presidential election in 1979 .
The Unilag Professor of Mechanical Engineering ,asked the departingilitary government of Olusegun Ovlbasanjo to tell Nigerians where Our Oil money has gone?
Awojobi as a social crusader was worried that the era in Nigerias petro dollar has been unaccounted for by succesive military regime.
Compared to day,there still remains some values in Our body polity such that the governments of the day are oblivious of Public opinion..
Awojobi,not satisfied followed his crusading to the new civilian government of President Shehu Shagari,moviing from one Court to the other to Challenge government misdemeanors and anti prmeople policies.
This he did at his iwn expense using the Law to fight the evil corrupt system. He became the mirror of the society .
Today,such men Who used their resources to fight sicial justice are rare.
The era died With the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi Who Also went a head of Awojobi, otherwise described as the Akoka Giant ,by floating a political party which fought for Power.
Last week,President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,whose seventeen months regime has been bareaged With criticism over his economic policies threw a challenge to former leaders.
Tinubu who couched his speech in soft tones and to former National assembly leaders who paid him a courtesy call.
Though Tinubu fell short of calling names,the import of his declaration that he didn’t come to steal money but to repair the damage done to the economy was clear enough.
It was clear because that was the first time in his Presidency that he will publicly claim that those who came before him he lied themselves with huge resources earned by their governments.
By saying,”What did we do when we made money from huge resources crude oil sales” the intent was loud and clear. And the event and forum too was deliberate . It was done for a purpose.
Between 1999 and 2021 when the new civilian government came into power, Nigeria generated a total sum of $764.526 billion United states dollars from the sales of oil according to the Nigerian Extractive Industires Transparency Institute{NEITI]Executive Secretary, Dr Ogbonaiya Orji.
He gave the figure in his address at the Nigeria Energy Forum in December 2023.During that period also he revealed that the countrys existing oil reserve amount to 37.05 billion barrels,while Gas reserve stood at 20.9 trillion cubic feet acccouting for 2.6 percent of global reserves.
It is significant that Tinubus decision to call out previous leaders before him came barely one week after, some retired general and heads of state met in Minna,home of a former military ruler,Ibrahim Babangida.
Led by Olusegun Obasanjo,a former military cum civilian President, they bemoaned the state of the nation. Though the trio of Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar never issued any communique,those who knew Obasanjo,for his calculated messianic moves to discredit governments who succeed him smelled a rat.
That Obasanjo who neither congratulated Tinubu nor attended the only Council of state meeting called by Tinubu speaks volumes of the famed mischief and ‘monafiki’ of the Chicken farmer known for his Open Letters to previous leaders and it’s scathing criticism bore more of self righteousness and mischief.
If Obasanjo refused to attend the Council of state meeting which former President Muhammadu Buharis did, what message or point was he out to make.
Granted that Obasanjo like every other Nigerians are entitled to meet and discuss state issues, the exclusivity of the Minna meeting in Babangida home is akin to promoting interest especially since only past military presidents attended.
It is also necessary to ask why was Buhari not part of the meeting?
Is this to confirm the assertion that it is the three former leaders who have adorned the garb of ’owners of Nigeria’ that should meet and discuss crucial issues more so when they met in private capacity and not member of any political party except Obasanjo who had one leg in Peoples Democratic Party,PDP and one leg outside.
It portrays one thing…former military rulers with exception of Buharis wanted to promote class interest to confirm their ‘ownership of Nigeria’.
Hence, in a manner, Tinubus message to the former NASS leadership is a response to Obasanjos camp subtle moves to relevance and it acknowledgement.
True to Tinubus claim,It is on record that between 1999 and 2021 when the new civilian government came into power, Nigeria generated a total sum of $764.526billion United states dollars5 from the sales of oil according to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Institute{NEITI]Executive Secretary, Dr Ogbonaiya Orji. He gave the address at the Energy summit last year December.
The declaration and joining of the ‘Ebi ng pawa’ chorus by Abubakar was a pointer to what was discussed by the three musketeers who crawled to Babangida.
So where has our oil money made during this period gone in the face of outstanding debts on 69 loans incurred by the government during the period according to the World Bank Group digital platform.
According to the World Bank Governance Finances, the federal government is still repaying $10.6bn in loans obtained under former Presidents Obasanjo,Umaru Yaradua and Goodluck Jonathan.
According to the Debt Management Office,DMO,as at March 31 2024,Nigerias domestic and external debts stood at N121.67 trilion{$91.46bn]. A breakdown shows that domestic debt stood at N65.65trillion{$46.29bn} while external debt stood at N56.02trn($42.12bn] .
On its part, the Central Bank of Nigeria said a total of $15.55bn had been spent on debt servicing between 2019 and 2024 while the WBG digital platform maintained that the FG was still repaying at least 69 different loans.
However, it was gathered that part of the foreign debt of $4.95bn was obtained by the current administration in its first twelve months in office.
This means in effect that the Tinubu government might have fallen into the same debt trap.The only saving grace is if the debt is used for dedicated infrastructural development projects.
All this loans were obtained during the afore- mentioned period when Nigeria made much from crude oil output and met the production capacity and export quota as set by the Organisation of Petroleum and Exporting Countries,OPEC.
In a way, the posers raised by Tinubu to former leaders of the National assembly is also a veiled attempt by him to absorb his government of any wrong doing or rather to reduce the pressures from the public who are feeling the pains of his economic policies.
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As the President of Nigeria, he has a duty to ensure that accountability reigns supreme in his government for with the same measure he has criticised previous leaders over how they spent the nations abundant resources from oil, his government will also one day be called to question as to how he expended the resources made in his regime. He has set a template by which his government would be measured.
Since the money accruing to the federation account has doubled as a result of the removal of petroleum subsidy, Tinubu’s government also has to take steps to ensure accountability in his government such that posers he has raised about previous spending habit would not rear its head .If he has not done that already, President Tinubu on his part as head of federal government should also ensure that his men and cabinet live above board.
In the same vein, all elected state governors, national and state assembly men who collected funds in the name of constituency projects also have to ensure that such funds are spent justifiably in order to ensure accountability and development of the nation.
