I did not expect that kind of outburst from the Minister of State of Ministry of Petroleum. Before accepting his appointment he should have known the challenges ahead. Secondly, he should have considered the temperament of Nigerians. Thirdly, he should have considered that necessity is no longer the mother of invention but CREATIVITY. Creativity is the mother invention. He should have looked for people with high level creativity not those employed with the adage that necessity is the mother of invention.
Dr. Ibe Kachikwu must realize that deception is not the right tool to employ in dealing with the issue at stake. He should get to the root of the problem himself. He should not rely on the handouts given to him by those who work under his administration. Perhaps some of them may not want him to succeed. There is a limit to dependance on statistics. He should engage himself with empirical verification of the figures on paper. He should go and test the feelings of the people because when he accepted the job, he did not come with certificates of magic and wonder worker. To insult the sensibility of Nigerians is to demonstrate arrogance and disrespect to those he is employed to serve. He must apologize to Nigerians and he feels too big to do so. he should resign.
SO
Sent from my iPhone
SO
Sent from my iPhone
Educationally, Nigeria has one of the highest manpower index in the world. And all necessary institutions for economic and industrial upsurge in Nigeria have been established in the last fifty-five years. Nigerians who boast of academic qualifications needed to put Nigeria on the path of economic and industrial development have been availed the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise which unfortunately have left Nigerians worst than before the advent of the educated elites. In spite of good climate, abundant mineral resources (both liquid and solid), educated Nigerian officials - appointed, elected, selected or employed - are fundamentally non productive in all areas of positive human developments. Some decades after educated Nigerians had moved into the offices left by the colonialists, enjoying their rate of pay and allowances, Nigerians asked why there were no correspondent developments in science, engineering and industrialisation. The educated elites in offices told Nigerians that Rome was not built in a day. Realizing later that it should not take them as many years as it took the Romans to build Rome since they could copy from the prototype, they urged Nigerians not to expect them to do in 55 years what took Europe 100 years to accomplish. Now Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has told Nigerians that he is not a magician and as such he can neither conjure forth fuel nor automatic 100% functioning of oil refineries in the country. Enraged Bola Ahmed Tinubu accused Dr. Ibe Kachikwu of insensibility to the pains of Nigerians and insulting them. Well, we are forced to witness a boxing match between a blind and a leper. The blind who has fingers to form fists cannot target his punch and the leper who can target his punch has no fingers to form fists. This tragi-comic situation is nothing to laugh at.--
Dr. Kachikwu knows that Nigerians believe in magic and miracles which is why he told them that he is not a magician. Since Nigerians believe in magic and miracles, they seek power without responsibility and wealth without work. Through ethno-religious deception, government and parastatals are peopled by academic pygmies pretending to be intellectual giants. Whereas, necessity should be giving birth to inventions in Nigeria, on the contrary, it is giving birth to hat in the hand begging internationally because we have false intellectuals and industrialists, occupying position of authorities all over Nigeria. The questions Dr. Ibe Kachikwu should answer are : Why are Nigerian officials at NNPC incapable of matching production with academic titles at Nigeria's oil refineries? Why are salaries and allowances paid to these officials every month when they are incapable of delivering on what they are employed to produce? These questions should not be limited to the portfolio of Dr. Kachikwu but all Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Nigeria. It is time to show Nigerians the face of those officials with their oversize academic qualifications breeding poverty, instead of prosperity, in our land.
S.Kadiri
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2016 18:34:05 -0500
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - On the Matter of the Un-necesssariness of Black Magic in Nigerian Governance {Re: Fuel scarcity: Tinubu blasts Kachikwu - The Nation Nigeria
From: meochonu@gmail.com
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.comKachikwu has no one but himself to blame. The man thrives on deception and propaganda. There is a limit to both, and it's a matter of time before reality intrudes and forces you to do a mea culpa. He said the NNPC was back in black thanks to reforms he was carrying out. Later, the NNPC's own monthly report (I give him credit for releasing the monthly report as he promised) put a lie to that assertion, showing clearly that the oil giant was stilling losing billions each month. The new spin was that at least the loss is no longer as big as it was.Then he said the refineries were back in shape and were producing at 70 percent capacity. Later it emerged, and he himself admitted, that the refineries were either not producing at all or that they were producing near the 20 percent mark.Kachikwu insinuated that once the refineries were refurbished and put to work, they would more than meet Nigeria's fuel consumption and that Nigeria would even begin exporting refined petroleum products. Just a few days ago, he said the refineries were obsolete and would never be able, with any kind of turnaround maintenance, to produce at their optimum levels.Even more shockingly, he now says that even if the refineries started working at full capacity, which he says is impossible, they would only be able to produce 50 percent of Nigeria's fuel demand. He is basically saying that importation is inevitable, meaning we will be at the mercy of the importers for a long time to come, or at least until Dangote's refinery project starts producing and hopefully makes importation unnecessary. And yet, he boasts about no longer paying subsidies to importers. With oil prices creeping up a bit and raising the business overhead of the importers, what's the incentive for them to keep importing when the NNPC insists they must sell at N86 per liter?At least Kachikwu is now coming clean, walking back all the big boasts and empty assertions he made in the first few months of his tenure. This is a classic case of over-promising and under-delivering. IN some respects, I compare him to Soludo, the very corrupt former CBN governor. Both of them like to hide behind polished grammar and industry jargons to confuse and deceive Nigerians.The case of Dr. Kachikwu is particularly pathetic because in nine months of superintending the oil industry, local refining has remained where it was before he took over and fuel shortages have persisted, even worsened.Whatever he is doing is not working. In fact it is clearly making things worse. Insulting Nigerians with glib comments about magic only compounds his predicament. Even more painful is his failure to explain WHY the current fuel shortages will persist for another two months. What is causing the shortage? He will not say. How will that causative factor be overcome in two months? He will not say either. So, the sleek deception continues and is now bookended by arrogance.On Sun, Mar 27, 2016 at 9:03 AM, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:My People:I identify with BAT here, while understanding Kachikwu's plight. I have complained about the necessity of President Buhari to rein in any creeping mandarins in his cabinet - Education Minister Adamu Adamu was one early example with the VCs palaver, which remains un-resolved - and Kachikwu's "I-am-no-magician-and-you-are-lucky-to-have-me" statement is another one that Tinubu has rightfully shot down.There is no doubt that Minister Kachikwu has been hard at work and on his desk, a job that has both serious domestic and international dimensions. He is clearly technically competent, but he merely needs to tweak his socio-political antennas, and think a little more deeply.Certainly, Nigerian needs to(1) increase fuel availability through(a) through importation and(b) domestic production in public and private refineries (short and long term)(2) reduce fuel consumption through:(a) mass transportation (short and long term)(b) forced restriction of vehicular use (eg even and odd numbered-plates on the road, short term)(c) improved availability of municipal (PHCN) electricity by all means necessary, absence of which leads to greatconsumption of both petrol and diesel due to private generator use.Therefore, Kachikwu must fully understand the multi-sectoral nature of his portfolio, think a little outside of the box, and explain in figures and Naira each of the above five issues on a weekly or monthly basis, and report progress, both positive and negative, both to the Nigerian people and to his principal, President Buhari. The position of GMD of NNPC and Minister of Petroleum may soon need to be separated.Yes, the job may be difficult, but Kachikwu should never let them see him sweat. It is temporary frustration that makes "no magic" statement be blurted out.And there you have it. Have a Happy Easter everyone.Bolaji AlukoOn Sun, Mar 27, 2016 at 3:24 AM, <okoiadvocate@gmail.com> wrote:Fuel scarcity: Tinubu blasts Kachikwu
•Tinubu
• Takes exception to minister's 'I'm not a magician' comment
• Says respect, good performance will do what magic can't do
National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday ruled the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, out of order for saying he should not be expected to conjure magic in resolving the current fuel crisis in the country.
He said the minister strayed from the progressive calling required of the Buhari administration by making the statement attributed to him.
Kachikwu who doubles as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had said, in reaction to public criticism of his handling of the fuel scarcity, that Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of fuel it is currently doing.
Tinubu, in a statement, threw in his lot with Nigerians who, according to him, were "as right to feel insulted as the minister was wrong to have said such a thing."
He said those charged with the responsibility of running the affairs of the country should learn to do things creatively and away from past practices.
His words: "The art of governance is difficult and complex, especially during trying times. The steep reduction in global oil prices from over 100 dollars per barrel to roughly 40 presents a hard challenge. "We can no longer afford past practices. Nigeria now requires creative reform, materially changing the substance of national economic policy as well as the objectives of that policy and how the policy is presented to the people. Therein lies the essence of progressive democratic governance.
"The Buhari administration represents the last best hope we have to install such governance in Nigeria and avert the catastrophe that would have befallen us had the prior government remained in place. Had the nation continued with the spendthrift corruption and vagabond economic policies of that administration, we would have soon experienced such a collision with the harsh consequences of that government's malign ways that our very institutions of government may have been distorted beyond fixture and repair."
Asiwaju Tinubu added, "In this effort, there may be no economic matter more difficult to unravel and more sensitive to the purse of the average person than the current fuel scarcity. Even here I am confident of progress because I know the commitment of the president to resolving this matter. I make no attempt to hide it. I am an avid and partisan supporter of this government and of the progressive policies of the party, the APC, upon which this government is based.
"With that I do reserve the right and the duty as a Nigerian to voice my opinion when I believe a member of this government has strayed from the progressive calling required of this administration. I do this because my greater devotion and love are for this nation and its people. Party and politics fall secondary.
"Much public ire has been drawn to the statement made by Minister of State (Ibe Kachikwu) that he was not trained as a magician and that basically Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of petrol fuel it is currently doing.
"Perhaps the statement by Kachikwu was made in a moment of unguarded frustration or was an awkward attempt at a joke. Whatever the motive, it was untimely and off-putting. The remark did not sit well with the Nigerian people; they were as right to feel insulted as the minister was wrong to have said such a thing.
"The fuel shortage is severely biting for the average person. They are forced to remain in lines far too long, for too much time, to pay too much money for too little fuel. This is no joking matter. Livelihoods and people's welfare are at stake. With so much on the line, Kachikwu's flippancy was out-of-line. He was basically telling Nigerians that they should be lucky that they are getting the inadequate supply they now suffer and that they should just be quiet, and endure the shortage for several weeks more.
"Kachikwu's intervention was unhelpful. It panicked and disappointed the public as to the duration of the crisis. It insulted the people by its tonality. He spoke with the imperious nature of a member of the elitist government the people voted out last year and not the progressive one they voted in."
He reminded the minister "that he was not coerced to take this job. He accepted the job and its responsibilities knowingly. He also must remember that he does not own NNPC. This also is not a private company that owes nothing to the public except the duty of fair dealing. He is a public servant. The seat he sits upon is owned by Nigerians not by him. The company he runs is owned by Nigerians not by him. They are his boss. He is not theirs. Power is vested in the people. He is a mere custodian or agent of their will. In talking to us in such a manner, he committed an act of insubordination.
"If he had talked so cavalierly to his boss in the private sector, he would have been reprimanded or worse. If wise, the man should refrain from such interjections in the future."
In defending and asserting the rights of Nigerians to complain, Tinubu averred that "As his ultimate bosses, the people have a right to demand the requisite performance and respect from him. He should apologise for treating them so lightly in this instance. His portfolio being a strategically important one, he needs to reestablish the correct relationship with the public. They no longer feel he is working for their optimal benefit as their servant. Instead, he seems to be standing above them, telling them to take it or leave it.
"For his policies and stint in office to be successful and a help to this government, he must have the support and belief of the people at this tough time. He must talk to them in a way that they believe he seeks their best interest and understands the hardship weighing upon them. He must ask them to work with him and perhaps to endure a bit longer but with the knowledge that he is working to resolve this matter as fast as he can and as permanently as possible. That he is dedicated to the position that once these current lines are gone that never again shall they reappear as long as he has any influence in the matter.
"To do this, requires no magic nor training in that strange craft. It requires empathy, compassion and the willpower to forge a better Nigeria. These must be the common trademarks of those serving in a progressive government for these attributes are integral parts of the spirit and ideals upon which the APC was founded. Upon such notions was this administration voted into office by the Nigerian people in the operation of their sovereign will to seek a national leadership that would pursue their interests to the utmost and give them every fair chance to live in a better Nigeria.
"Even though times are hard we must all realise that they would be even harder and much darker would be the immediate horizon had we allowed the venal, kleptocracy of the PDP to continue to lord over the land solely for their selfish benefit and not for the common good.
"I am confident that President Buhari and this government can resolve the issues that press us. From establishing full security and safety to staking a claim to true economic prosperity and fairness, this government shall salvage our national pride and purpose," Tinubu concluded.
--
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