By Emmanuel Gandu
Prophecy?
“If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria” – Buhari.
This is Muhammadu Buhari who had said this repeatedly during the build up to the 2015 general elections. And just like he prophesied, Nigeria failed to kill corruption hence corruption turned around to kill Nigeria under Buhari’s watch.
Introduction
Here was a man who in both his private and public life had shunned corruption to embrace and maintain strict discipline. Here was a man who had been a military governor, a General Officer Commanding, a Petroleum Minister, a Head of State, PTF Chairman, but had not abused his powers and office to acquire wealth and property like many of his contemporaries. Buhari’s life was an open book.
As at 2015 before the elections, Buhari had only one (1) bank account with Union Bank. He had no foreign bank account. This is the Muhammadu Buhari we and the whole world knew, the austere tall lanky man from Daura in Katsina State.
General Muhammadu Buhari’s anti corruption fight as Nigeria’s Head of State from December 1983 to 1985 was unprecedented, next only to that of Gen. Murtala Mohammed. During his Military Head of State leadership, Buhari made corruption fight one of his cardinal programs.
These intimidating credentials endeared Nigerians to elect him during the 2015 general elections, and again during the 2019 general elections for a second tenure as president of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country (over 200 million), largest economy, and the 7th highest world oil producer.
Things Begin To Fall Apart For Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari popularly referred to by Nigerians as ’Mai Gaskiya’ (the truthful one), ‘Super Tanker’, ‘Sai Baba’, ‘Sarkin Talakawa’ (Defender of the poor), etc came into governance in 2015 with the promise to implement at least a 3-point agenda of fighting Corruption, ensure Security, and revamp the Economy. However, these lofty ideas began to fall like a pack of cards right from the hands of Buhari himself.
Shortly after settling down to governance, Buhari’s corruption drive was directed at members of the opposition instead of a holistic fight approach. This was utterly against the views of most Nigerians who had felt that corruption was not only endemic but native to Nigeria, and in the DNA of people across board irrespective of political party, gender, tribal and religious affiliation. Lamentably, the people Buhari had entrusted with governance, supervision, to drive the government machinery and policy, to ensure the sustenance of the fight against corruption/misappropriation of funds as hunters turned out to be the hunted.
8 Years Of Chronic Corporate Looting In Buhari’s Kitchen
The monumental looting of government funds by officials in the Buhari government is the worst ever perpetrated and experienced in the history of Nigeria, making the notorious Abacha loot a child’s play. Government officials were said to be in a corruption competition to emerge as the best corrupt person in Buhari’s government.
Little wonder Nigerians have been wallowing in abject poverty as a result of the insatiable penchant to loot funds from the government treasury. Lamentably, it’s not far from putting the reasons of Nigeria’s economic collapse to the doorstep of Muhammadu Buhari.
Interestingly, Nigeria’s Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission discovered that Ministries, Departments, and Agencies padded the 2021 budget to the tune of #300 billion. This padding, according to ICPC, which they did by duplicating projects shot that 2021 budget to #13.95 trillion. Furthermore, in 2022, the MDAs allegedly padded that year’s budget with duplicated projects amounting to N100 billion. Again in 2022, the ICPC discovered N49.9 billion as salaries for ghost workers between January and June 2022 alone.
Understandably, Transparency International in its 2022 Corruption Perception Index ranked Nigeria among the most corrupt countries of the world. In this ranking, Nigeria occupied the 154th position out of 189 countries assessed in the survey. About 8 years (as at 2024) after a federal high court in Lagos ordered the prosecution of principal officers of the National Assembly indicted in the alleged N481billion padding of the 2016 budget, not one single law maker was arrested. HEDA, a civil society organization in 2021 compiled a list of 25 top corruption cases linked to stolen funds worth N900 billion was not conclusively investigated by the Buhari government.
Between January and July 2022, an average of 437,000 barrels of crude oil a day estimated at $10 billion were stolen by criminal entities and individuals who illicitly tap pipelines onshore and offshore in the Niger Delta without apprehension. In its assessment of the anti – graft war, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) puts the problems of rampant humongous corruption on the doorstep of Muhammadu Buhari.
Characteristically, Buhari had the tendency to condone corruption and misappropriation committed by members of the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC). According to the CDC, Buhari does this by consistently turning a blind eye to his own party members and appointees scandalous corruption.
Some Corrupt Members Of Buhari Regime
(These allegations are in the public domain)
(1) Ahmed Idris, former Accountant General – allegedly misappropriating N170 billion.
(2) Godwin Emefiele sacked Central Bank Governor – allegedly misappropriating Trillions of Naira.
(3) Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senate president – allegedly misappropriating N100 billion.
(4) Rotimi Amaechi, former transportation minister – allegedly misappropriating N97 billion.
(5) Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Former APC chairman – allegedly misappropriating N15 billion.
(6) Senator Aliyu Wamako, former Sokoto state governor – allegedly misappropriating N15 billion.
(7) Senator Orji Uzor Kalu – allegedly misappropriating N3.2 billion (case may have been technically not in progress)
(8) Senator Abdulaziz Yari, former Zamfara State governor – allegedly misappropriating N680 million
(9) Sadiya Umar Farouk, former minister Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management – allegedly misappropriating N37billions.
(10) Halima Shehu, National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) – allegedly misappropriating N44 billion.
(11) Dr Betta Edu, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation – allegedly misappropriating N585 million.
Corruption In The Oil Sector Under Buhari’s Watch
He supposedly remains the most experienced among Nigeria’s leaders in the petroleum industry but instead of being an asset and a stabilizing factor, Buhari ended up a liability in the Nigerian Petroleum sector:
(1) Col. Muhammadu Buhari as the Petroleum minister of Nigeria in the Olusegun Obasanjo’s Military government in a Daily Times Newspaper headline of 7th June 1977 assured Nigerians that “Fuel crisis may be over next year.”
46 years after that assurance, Muhammadu Buhari as president of Nigeria and doubling as Petroleum minister up to May 2023, the story is worst than in 1977.
(2) Muhammadu Buhari was Military Head of State from December 1983 – 1985
(3) Major General Sani Abacha as military Head of State appointed Muhammadu Buhari in charge of the Petroleum Trust Fund as its chairman.
(4) Muhammadu Buhari personally led a nation-wide street protest against fuel price increase to N65 per litre by the government of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
(5) From 2015 – 2023 President Muhammadu Buhari doubled as the Petroleum Minister, and yet the scarcity of the product not only became a nightmare for Nigerians, but also a source of large scale corruption and scam in a magnitude never witnessed in Nigeria.
(6) During Muhammadu Buhari’s watch (2015 – 2023):
(a) He abandoned the Yar’Adua’s Amnesty Program for the Niger Delta youths/militants. This action encouraged the resumption of oil production disruption, pipeline vandalisation, and oil theft.
(b) Nigeria’s petroleum consumption relied on 100% importation, thus making a litre to sell for between N300 to N600, with acute shortages across the country.
(7) As a consequence of 6 above, the financial squeeze forced Muhammadu Buhari government to resort to massive foreign borrowing through out his tenure of 8 years.
(8) Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure ended in May 2023 leaving behind not less than N77 trillion debt for the next government and generations to inherit.
Oil Subsidy: Facts Of The Scam
Nigeria is the 7th highest oil producer in the world, and Africa’s biggest. Despite oil being the country’s economic mainstay since the 1970’s, contemporary successive governments have failed to maintain the refining of crude oil in our refineries. These seeming apathy had resulted in the abandoning of such critical assets leading to endless importation, rising prices of premium spirit, diesel, gas, Jet A (aviation) fuel, bitumen, kerosine, etc.
Nigeria is a country that produces crude oil, but imports refined products for domestic consumption. This no doubt has given rise to monumental corruption.
- How much crude oil is produced?
- How much crude oil is stolen?
- How much crude is exported?
- How much Crude is imported?
- How much litres is consumed?
These are some of the questions NNPC and government is unable to provide answers to.
$26.5 Billion TAM Corruption Scam
Funds are always released for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the countries three (3) refineries at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna but the more money is sunk, the less of oil drop is seen by Nigerians. These refineries have become more of cash cows for government officials than avenues for national development.
For a government of the APC that promises to build of 4 new refineries in 4 years to resort to spending a whopping $26.5 billion on endless maintenance of rusted infrastructure called refineries smacks of corruption. Therefore, Petroleum products have continued to be subsidised. Unfortunately, due to the rising price of crude oil in the international market, and the falling value of the naira, Petroleum subsidy payment grew from N350billion in 2019 to N450billion in 2020, then got to N1.573 tillion in 2022.
What baffles keen observers of the sharp rising trend of this subsidy regime is the figures spent for 2022. Data from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) showed that for January and February 2022 alone, the cost for subsidy was N396.72 billion. Furthermore, the federal legislatures approved another sum of N4trillion to be spent on subsidy in 2022.
This N4trillion approval to be spent for subsidy in 2022 meant that the federal government had abandoned its enacted Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 that prescribed a free market for the downstream sector of the petroleum industry. According to the minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Zainab Ahmed in July 2022, the country was expected to pay as much as #6.72 trillion for subsidy in 2023.
This Is The Danger:
(1) This portends trouble economically as this subsidy regime continued.
(2) How will Nigeria with a total annual budget of N17trillion naira use a whopping N4 trillion for subsidy alone?
(3) How will Nigeria cope with a projected revenue of N10 trillion?
(4) Oil prices were surging upwards globally due to the Russian War in Ukraine. Nigeria was unable to take advantage of this global oil boom in price because we don’t refine. Surely the subsidy had to get higher as Nigeria was at the mercy of rising market forces. Surely, things got much more difficult for Nigeria as we entered 2023.
More Petroleum Corruption Scandals Under Buhari’s Watch
You would recall that Buhari had promised Nigerians before the 2015 elections that his government will build 4 new refineries in 4 years of their reign if elected to power. The APC was elected in 2015 and we are 9 years going without APC government building any new refinery. They cannot even maintain the existing ones, thus subjecting Nigerians to excruciating agony of high prices and shortages.
As we speak, Nigeria cannot even mine its crude for export to meet the approved 1.8 billion barrels per day OPEC quota. Surprisingly, Major General Muhammadu Buhari was the petroleum minister during the military administration of General Olushegun Matthew Aremu Obasanjo. Again from 2015 to 2023 President Muhammadu Buhari doubled as the Minister of Petroleum. Therefore, the alleged monumental corruption in the oil sector from 2015 to 2023 can rightly be placed at Buhari’s door step.
The APC government under Buhari’s watch reportedly spent N10.23 billion in June 2020 on three (3) refineries that ended up processing zero crude. Again in 2021, this APC government approved and spent $1.5 billion (about N600 billion) to repair the Port Harcourt refinery. Despite the huge spending, the refineries had refused to function, while Nigerians kept groaning under the excruciating and persistent scarcity.
Interestingly, SERAP in a suit number FHC/L/CS/806/2022 filed in the Federal High Court, Lagos was seeking an order of Mandamus to compel Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the spending of N1.48trillion reportedly spent on 4 refineries between 2015 and 2020 (NNPC Monthly Financial Statement).
More Scandalous Revelation
In another major revelation twist, petroleum industry watchers lamented the whopping sum of $26.5 billion, which the federal government had so far spent on the maintenance of the country’s loss – making 445,000 barrels per day capacity three (3) refineries of Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna.
Experts on energy and construction of refineries had opined openly to say that this $26.5 billion was capable of building three new refineries of the same sizes as each of the ones in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. This suggestion, according to these experts was arrived at based on the cost analysis of refinery projects currently going on across the world:
(1) The Ecuador refinery being constructed at Manto is a 500,000 barrels per day capacity for $12 billion.
(2) Dangote refinery in Lagos Nigeria, a 650,000 barrels per day capacity being constructed for about $15 billion.
(3) Kuwait is building the Al Zour Oil Refinery for $16 billion with a refining capacity for 615 barrels per day.
Now, with Nigeria’s three (3) refineries having a combined refining capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, the implication is that it would cost less than:
(a) $8 billion to build a new 210,000 barrels per day capacity refinery in Port Harcourt – the same size like the existing one.
(b) It will also cost less than $8 billion to build a new refinery in Warri, just like the existing one with same refining capacity of 125,000 barrels per day.
(c) The Kaduna refinery has a refining capacity of 110,000 barrels per day.
If an exact and similar refinery were to be built today in Kaduna, it will cost less than $8 billion. By the above experts analysis, the three new refineries would therefore cost only about $24 billion.
Any Hope For Nigeria?
The questions to ask the APC and the out gone Muhammadu Buhari government include the following:
(1) Why did the Buhari’s APC government spend a whopping sum $26.5 billion on maintenance of refineries without a single drop of oil?
(2) Did Buhari’s Petroleum Minister experience during the Obasanjo military rule and his doubling as Petroleum Minister status from 2015 to 2023 went without managerial capabilities?
(3) Who will account for these monumental wastages to Nigerians?
(4) What will Buhari, and APC boast to have achieved in the 8 years of governance of a Nigeria with 200 million suffering people?
(5) How are Nigerians going to survive a subsidy removal regime where petrol sells for N800.00 per litre pump price.
(6) How can the Tinubu government justify the hardship in a Nigeria that is the world’s 7th oil producer?
(7) Should Tinubu bear the brunt of a corrupt Buhari, Should Nigerians hold Tinubu to account for the sins of Buhari or crucify him for the subsidy removal?
(8) Is subsidy removal a curse or a blessing?
(9) Muhammadu Buhari is now hiding his face from Nigerians in shame just like the lame dog with its tail tucked in between his two hind legs. Should he be forgiven, handed over to judgement of posterity, or handed over to God for clemency.
(10) Like the poor man’s prayer, “God dey“. Peace!
- Emmanuel Gandu first published this opinion article on January 15, 2024
