Sometime in 2014, the governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, secured a loan from the World Bank.\u00a0 Also, he secured three further loan facilities from two local commercial banks.\u00a0 One of the loans, N13.2 billion, through Ecobank, was to allow the governor pay contractors owed.\u00a0 The other two loans of N1.03 billion and N1.14 billion, through Fidelity Bank and Ecobank respectively, were intended to enable the governor meet its Edo State Basic Universal Education 50% counterpart-funding obligation.\u00a0 Governor Oshiomhole was very happy.\u00a0 His Commissioners were equally happy.<\/p>\n
To cross the very last hurdle, Oshiomhole had to obtain the formal consent of the federal government.\u00a0 He needed the Ministry of Finance to issue him a \u2018Letter Of No Objection\u2019 to enable the various monies to be released to him.\u00a0 And so, happily, on December 9 2014, Oshiomhole dispatched a letter to the Finance Ministry asking it to do the needful.\u00a0 He assured the ministry that the loans will be paid back through the World Bank disbursement.<\/p>\n
The Finance Ministry declined Oshiomhole\u2019s request.\u00a0 The rejection letter was signed by one Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.<\/p>\n
In that rejection letter, the ex-Finance Minister stated that Edo State was already dancing too close to the edge financially.\u00a0 Okonjo-Iweala, a former Vice President of the World Bank then compounded matters by giving the governor a short lecture in finance.\u00a0 First, she informed Oshiomhole that World Bank\u2019s rules forbid the use of its disbursements and other facilities to be used to offset commercial loans.\u00a0 Then she pointed out to the governor that using a concessionary facility (as that from the World Bank was) of 25 years with a 5 year grace period at 1.25% interest to pay for commercial loans of 23 months at 18% interest rate is dumb.<\/p>\n
Well, brother Oshiomhole\u2019s ego was well and truly bruised; his pride wounded and prostrate like the Greek economy.\u00a0 This is perhaps why the governor has been hugging the news, singing the blues.\u00a0 To him, the name Njozi Okonjo-Iweala has become mud.<\/p>\n
When the opportunity presented itself, Oshiomhole ensured he got himself unto President Buhari\u2019s little committee to look into the Excess Crude Account matter.\u00a0 But it is only Oshiomhole\u2019s voice that you hear and that voice has been strident and venomous.<\/p>\n
Okonjo-Iweala as the immediate past Finance Minister in truth is one of the logical persons to address some of the issues about funds and misappropriations.\u00a0 But, to my mind, this has got to be done within the confines of a formal, official investigative process.\u00a0 Oshiomhole has however opted for the popular media to do his thing.\u00a0 He has become completely obsessed.\u00a0 He harangues with the fervour of a newly ordained, half-tutored evangelist. \u00a0His charges against, and attacks on Okonjo-Iweala steadily became invidious and personal.<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t been keeping a diligent scorecard, but by my last count, Oshiomhole has accused Okonjo-Iweala of skiving off with $20 billion, then $30 billion, then $10 billion, then $2.1 billion.\u00a0 At one time, he threw in N720 billion.\u00a0 For good measure, he later claimed that Okonjo-Iweala took $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to fund ex-President Jonathan\u2019s failed campaign.<\/p>\n
On his return from the USA as part of Buhari\u2019s entourage, Oshiomhole was back to his old bone.\u00a0 Without any prompting, he declared that American officials told him that a former Minister stole $6 billion.\u00a0 Six billion dollars!\u00a0 It even hurts my fingers just typing that sum of money.<\/p>\n
Before the spit could dry off Oshiomhole\u2019s lips however, the Americans denied his claim.\u00a0 On 29 July 2015, through its State Department spokesperson, the Americans said nobody held a discussion with brother Oshiomhole not to talk of telling him that a Minister stole $6 billion.\u00a0 He was asked to name his source.\u00a0 The Americans further advised that Oshiomhole should not drag the USA into Nigerian petty politics.<\/p>\n
Since then, Oshiomhole has recoiled somewhat.\u00a0 What has happened instead was that on 13 August 2015, Oshiomhole was rewarded for his hatchet job.\u00a0 Because we still don\u2019t have a Finance Minister, Buhari asked the National Assembly to approve a World Bank loan of a whopping $75 million for Edo State.\u00a0 The National Assembly duly complied.\u00a0 Mission accomplished.\u00a0 The governor is smiling again.<\/p>\n
But nobody seems to care what this kind of huge debt does to the future of a largely non-productive State like Edo.\u00a0 Even Oshiomhole admitted that he couldn\u2019t raise any worthwhile revenue internally because there are not enough taxable entities in his domain.\u00a0 He blamed it on Okonjo-Iweala of course.\u00a0 And when asked why he borrowed so much money, he said it\u2019s because Okonjo-Iweala and the PDP looted the federal treasury.\u00a0 Breaks your heart, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
It would appear Oshiomhole has been rewarded for his role in a grand strategy to whip up ugly sentiments in the land.\u00a0 I say this because there seems to be an orchestrated effort to demonise some folks and turn the population and public opinion against them.\u00a0 It is akin to giving a dog a bad name before its extirpation.<\/p>\n
Some people seem to be working overtime preparing the ground for the unfurling of a yet unclear agenda.\u00a0 Just a few days ago in River State, the boss of the State Security Service, Musa Daura, effected the arrest of the State\u2019s Resident Electoral Commissioner.\u00a0 As this was being done, Mr Daura vowed to \u201cclamp down on saboteurs.\u201d\u00a0 Eh?\u00a0 Saboteurs?\u00a0 Meanwhile, the River State election matter is still in court!<\/p>\n
Well, dark clouds are gathering overhead again.\u00a0 The brightness, the gaiety, the positive energy and the promise that hitherto prevailed are been gradually sucked out of Nigeria.\u00a0 These days, it\u2019s all negative news, negative insinuations, menacing pontifications, hysterics, uncertainty and dire foreboding.\u00a0 If you close your eyes, you would think that we are back to the military era.<\/p>\n
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