Nigeria: And the Oscar goes to Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei

The art of the ill

I have watched the implausible incredulity of Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry version of Hollywood. The trite storylines of repetitive histrionics and melodrama that taxes your willing suspension of belief to the extreme. What people might not believe is how it is art that imitates life, that what you might term impossible or improbable in saner climes is everyday occurrence in Nigeria.

One such episode I could not ignore happened earlier today, when Prof Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei, the acting Director-General of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) appeared before a Nigerian House of Assembly Committee to face questioning on his stewardship of the agency he heads.

Now, we are led to believe he might have been indisposed but against doctor’s orders honoured the invitation to appear. That is beside the point. The live feed to the event simply shows that under the assault of interrogation, the professor suddenly took ill.

NDDC Acting DG Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei appeared to have fainted during probe by House Committee pic.twitter.com/jwgRraiFG8

— BellaNaija (@bellanaija) July 20, 2020

First aid originality

He appeared stunted and slumped over the table before when heroic members of the House came to his aid if that is what you may call it after observation. I can find not medical terms for any of the actions taken. The tugging of his shoulders from behind was not anything like the Heimlich Manoeuvre, not that he was choking on anything that needed dislodging from his throat.

The person who approached him from the front, appeared to be contemplating with great hesitation whether he was going administer the kiss of life through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but he could have had all fingers in the professor’s mouth trying to prise it ajar.

Now, miraculously, the intervention, either of discomfort or palliative urging appears to have revived the professor who from what I observed was starry-eyed and lifting his arms as if to dislodge the hands from his suffering buccal cavity. The spontaneity of the intervention made for an engaging global audience with intrigue. The professor did not die. Hallelujah!

Feeble bandits on account

Which brings me to the thought of how many influential people caught in embezzlement, malfeasance, fraud or misappropriation fearlessly and unassailably aggrandise themselves with moneys in their care with impunity and reckless abandon, when brought to account appear to fail in heart and health with the suddenness of some divine affliction.

One would not suggest it is a ploy, but too many in times past have been given the benefit of the doubt and much latitude to request and obtain leave from the courts to seek medical attention abroad. That avenue is trammelled by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Yet, I would be remiss in the duty of acknowledgement and appreciation if Prof Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei; and don’t twist your tongue on his first name, it flows with effortless ease off the tongue, is not considered for an outstanding prize for a live-action award of extraordinary artistic talent rarely seen in highly accomplished professional actors.

Professor Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei of Nigeria, please, step forward for the honours. A standing ovation is deserved.

Nigeria: Conflicted interests in the Boko Haram probe

President appears to act

After returning from his rescheduled trip to Brazil President Yar’Adua met with senior security personnel to assess the situation with the outbreak of violence first perpetrated by the Boko Haram religious fundamentalists on the police and then the subsequent quelling of the uprising by the Army that captured the main proponents to the seeming extra-judicial killing of the leader and financier of the group.

I read that the President had instituted a probe [1] into the circumstances behind the uprising leading to the death of the principals of Boko Haram.

Unfortunately, I did not read in that first announcement who would be heading the probe or what the clear terms of reference would be.

This became clear in another news item where the President directed the National Security Adviser to carry out a full scale investigation [2] and report within a week whilst parroting the well worn mantra of rule of law to effect.

A missed opportunity

I am quite doubtful that any report produced by security agencies in Nigeria will pass the muster of credible, trustworthy, fair, just or truthful.

This is not to excoriate the attempt but evidently the whole security apparatus knew about Boko Haram, they had some intelligence on the group, they allowed the group to thrive till it became this malignant suicidal force that lead to the loss of 700 or so lives.

Why the President could not find a reputable retired judge who commands respect, known to be both incorruptible and impartial to address this matter in order to give Nigerians the confidence that the truth can be brought to light escapes me.

They allowed Boko Haram to thrive

It is difficult to have an open mind about this probe where everything about Boko Haram points to the tolerance of their activities, the influence they had that prevented governments from acting decisively, the incompetence of the whole security apparatus and the ill discipline of the police in allegedly committing two extra-judicial killings.

It beggars belief that the same security framework that allowed this to happen is to investigate itself and determine what might have happened as part of what they could have done right or wrong.

However, the President has suggested that after this probe, there might be the possibility of further investigations; it would provide him the opportunity to gain some kudos to hand the investigation to parties who really would go after the truth rather than using conflicted interests to investigate themselves.

Sources

[1] BBC NEWS | Africa | Nigeria to probe Islamist attacks

[2] allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Yar'Adua Orders Probe of Boko Haram Leaders' Killing

Additional Information

The interview conducted with the captured leader of Boko Haram before he was killed.

The interrogation of Muhammad Yusuf | Next.com

Unnamed, unknown, unsung and undone in Nigeria

Imprecise numbers

After the oil blast in Nigeria that took probably 150 lives or more just in the suburbs of Lagos, I restricted my commentary to the blogs of other commentators who were in ways witnesses to the event.

However, I have decided to step into the fray by rehashing the comments I left on the Exodus of Ayoke because the issues about to be addressed by the government appear to be the usual seen-to-be-doing-something, but achieving nothing stance – another probe.

In my view, a probe in Nigerian parlance is the unconscionable propensity to allocate funds to an event bordering on an investigation that would produce a whitewash – that is the most appealing of the views I can express.

No lessons learnt from before

There have now been at least 7 reported incidents of pipeline roastings, the last three being in Lagos State, with the numbers set to vary depending on how the scene of the disaster is accessed and forensic abilities of the investigators.

Hardly 2 months ago, we had the census of the nation which involved closing down the country for a whole week and we hopefully would receive a plausible figure of the number of people resident in Nigeria.

Beyond that, even if a count of the victims were possible, identification beyond property on the bodies the victims would have been impossible. The health is not advanced enough for the documentation of health records talk less of dental records.

People generally would not have identity papers, and where they did, one cannot say that such information would be followed through.

Death in a desperate cause

The real number is somewhere in the number of those who have woken up the next morning to find a loved one has not returned home – that statistic would however not be recorded because going forward would stigmatise the family in terms of the theft of petroleum products rather than the quest for survival.

Worse still, the victims are being buried in mass graves; no worse an indignity can be visited on an African death than to end up in less than a pauper’s grave, shared in the company of those unknown but caught in the collective desire to make ends meet.

So, I would wonder what became of the previous investigations of the disasters like this and what is really being done to prevent the recurrence of such tragedy.

My earlier comments (edited)

If the 7th or 8th largest oil-producing country in the world still has people taking drills, buckets and jerry-cans to siphon oil from pipelines - great indeed is the poverty of the nation and greater still is the sin of those who lead us thus far.

When would this embarrassment of oil riches begin to smile on the little man who strives to the ultimate to make ends meet and ends up as unidentifiable charred remains?

The lack of Education, Opportunity and Goodwill

This whole thing feeds the ignorance of many who do not know the dangers of possible oil explosions. (Education)

Even if they did, there was a scarcity of oil for domestic purposes that it had to be imported into the country – almost a case of fish drowning in water.

It feeds the widening gap of prosperity/poverty that makes crime thrive and investment elope from the country. (Opportunity)

Beyond the achievements of debt relieve and the expansion of the telecommunications market, people are still desperately destitute, as the government has pre-occupied itself with the quest for extended incumbency.

It mitigates the stigma of corruption that permeates most strata of society. (Goodwill)

As over $300 billion has been earned from oil and this has been reflected in the emancipation of populace of out of poverty.

When would the money bring the honey?

When would oil money start to toil only for the people to the betterment of a great nation of promise? - Alas! We have only seen promise.

What can we begin to do to see the change we want our great country to become?

And is there a lifetime to expend for posterity or do we just hope someone would sort it out?

For those who have seen sudden hell - I do seriously sympathise - hopefully, they would not have died in vain.

Probe the causes and act to deal with them

Ensuring they would not have died in vain should not be about protecting the oil pipeline infrastructure or preventing crime, which are important things to consider, but the probe should ascertain the deeper breakdown of our moral polity.

Exploring the reasons for desperation that leads to reckless waste of life, as to why there is a shortage of domestic fuel products, how people in an oil-producing country cannot afford to buy fuel for basic consumption.

No easy answers

If a pipeline constitutes an opportunity for petty thievery to grave consequences, then standard of living of those “thieves” or potential thieves needs to be reviewed with major economic ideas to stimulate employment growth and commensurate wage earnings to meet the basic needs of the day.

There are no easy answers, but until the oil wealth of Nigeria gets withdrawn from foreign accounts of looters in governments past and present and the current earnings are applied with greater consideration for the wider Nigerian community – the last disaster would just be the first of many more to come.

The pledge of the probe

This is where the probe should begin – Fellow Nigerians, we are prepared to research the social, economic, political and psychological causes of these disasters, begin to make a greater difference to the lives of those in the Delta region and with that progress begin to make a different in the lives of Nigerians as a whole.

Then hopefully, those unnamed, unknown, unsung and undone in the disaster would not have died in vain, regardless of the crime of damaging the pipeline and stealing from the gushing breach.