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SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 21
When the cash-cow dies!
About a fortnight ago,
I ran into an old friend
on the Island. I was
really glad to see him. He’d
simply disappeared from the
social scene with his family.
After the usual pleasantries,
he told me he had to leave the
country when he did as his life
was virtually falling apart. He
explained: “I was thinking of
what to do with my life after I
was made redundant when I
heard the good news that a
bosom friend Leke, was being
made a top dog in one of the
local governments. What a
stroke of luck!
“After series of meetings
with him, he agreed I wasn’t
really the businessman
material. But if I could
provide fund, the fund would
be invested with contractors
who had little or no cash to
effectively execute their
contracts, and regular returns
would be made to me on my
capital. I was ecstatic. All my
redundancy pay and the little
I’d put by from some of the
petty contracts I’d done in the
past were handed over to him.
Talk about watching your
money grow! Since he was
the over-all boss, my cheques
were paid and my investment
almost tripled. My Camry
car had had its share of
refurbishing. This was the
time to buy another car. And
none of the tokunbo variety
either.
“I went round a few car
dealers and collected prices
Seplat flaunts the potentials of Oben Gas Plant
…as firm pays courtesy calls on Edo governor, community leaders
The Seplat team with Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State
Governor Godwin
Obaseki, on Friday,
November 20,
received a team of SEPLAT executives
who were on a visit to
Edo State government as
well as host communities of
the Oben Gas Plant facility
sited at Oben Field situated
in the state.
SEPLAT has deepened its
business and investment in
energy infrastructure in Oben
Field with its construction,
years ago, of a massive state
of the art ultra-modern gas
plant which today supplies gas
to energy companies and
industries across Nigeria.
The Oben gas plant
provides gas that facilitates
the provision of over thirtyfive
per cent of electricity in
the country. According to
Roger Brown, who recently
assumed office as Seplat new
Chief Executive Officer, "it was
pertinent to pay courtesy visit
to critical stakeholders who
are our hosts in these areas
where our significant gas as
well as oil assets are located".
The SEPLAT team,
comprising the Chairman, Dr
ABC Orjiako; Chief Executive
of cars that would now suit my
new status. My capital was
still in my friend’s outfit – all
that I would be spending
would be the interest and this
was after my friend had taken
his share! I also had money
to buy my round of drinks at
the Club and at parties. Life
was good.
“Out of greed, I told my
friend I wanted a really showy
car. Could I lump my savings
with the capital and re-invest
so that the returns would be
high? He was agreeable to
this but when next I saw him,
he told me some nosey
external auditors were
looking through the books
with a tooth-comb. He,
therefore, suggested that we
cool things for about six
months. Since he complained
that the company we used
featured too frequently in
their books, I suggested we
register a new company. He
reluctantly agreed. His
reluctance led me to pump all
the money I had into this new
company knowing the returns
would be higher. After that, if
my friend wanted to take
things easy, I would be gone
with my nice windfall. I was
stuck in one of the long queues
that were the norm in those
days, and was getting really
impatient by the long wait
when a friend spotted me and
walked over to my car. “Isn’t
it sad about Leke?”, he asked.
I spluttered, “What happened
to him?”`Didn’t you hear/ He
died this morning.
“This conversation took
Officer, Brown, and other
executives, began the visit with
a courtesy call to Obaseki and
later to His Royal Majesty,
Felix Mujakperuo, Orhue 1,
the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom,
and His Royal Highness,
Odoligie Frederick Ogiemwonyi,
the Enogie of Oben
community.
During the courtesy visit to
Obaseki, the SEPLAT CEO
congratulated the governor
on his re-election and
successful inauguration for
another four years in office.
He said SEPLAT would
continue to create value for
the federal and state
governments through the
payment of royalty, taxes and
levies; communities through
robust corporate social
investments especially in
capacity development, sustainable
community infrastructure
projects and
economic empowerment programmes.
Brown reaffirmed that
SEPLAT has continued to
drive up its commitment to
increasing the country's energy
security and boosting
Nigeria's gas to power
initiative through deliberate
place late in the night. As soon
as I filled my tank, I drove
straight to Leke’s house. It was
a bit quiet but the night guard
confirmed what I just learnt.
I didn’t know how I made it
back home. I woke my wife
and was crying like a lunatic.
My tears were for all the
fortune I would be losing by
Leke’s death. What would
happen to my five children for
goodness sake? My landlord
had also reminded me that
my annual rent would be due
soon. Now this, my wife was
really upset that I took things
so much to heart. I hadn’t told
her the shady deals we did and
how much Leke and I were
making on the side.
“He was buried a week
later. His remains were laid
in his house for about two
hours before he was taken
away for burial. I wanted to
be there. To see his body. To
really confirm that he was
now helpless to retrieve my
STEP will
develop the
competencies
of teachers
to improve
the quality of
their
teaching
significant investment in its
gas business.
He added, "To date, Oben
remains a major gas hub and
that the company has recently
drilled additional new gas
wells in Oben to increase
further our production and
our ability to meet growing
demands".
The CEO elaborated the
numerous benefits of the Oben
Gas Plant to the immediate
communities, the state and
the country.
He also harped on the
different activities and
programmes of the company
in Edo. Brown listed a few to
include the provision of
medical equipment/items to
the state government to
support containment of COV-
ID-19 pandemic and also
provision of palliatives to
communities to cushion the
effects of the lockdown arising
from the COVID-19 pandemic
Ṫhe SEPLAT CEO added:
"As a responsible corporate
organization, we are
committed to contributing to
the development of Edo State,
economically and otherwise.
“Since the commencement
money for me.
“His body wasn’t the most
pleasant sight I’d seen. He
looked grotesque and almost
unrecognisable. How could
you? I screamed at him silently
as I paid my bogus last
respect. How could you die
now with all that money at
stake? I staggered out of the
room and went back home.
There was no point going for
any funeral service or the
actual burial. I didn’t feel up
to it at all.
“About a week later, I went
back to his office. Because
Leke and I were very close, I
never dealt with his staff
directly. It was Leke who
always collected the cheques
and he always promised to
take care of the `boys’. It was
one of them who told me,
along with the contractor we
always used, that the auditors
were around if I wanted to talk
to them. The auditors told me
after I’d said my piece that my
of operations in the state, the
company has undertaken important
health, education and
numerous community
development projects to
support sustainable development
in Edo”.
He highlighted that, in
addition to the yearly Seplat
PEARLs Quiz programme for
Secondary Schools, which
has helped students' academic
performance in Edo, Seplat
just introduced a new
programme targeted at
teachers.
The new programme,
called SEPLAT Teachers
Empowerment Programme
(STEP), was scheduled to
debut in Benin on November
24. It will systematically
support and encourage
Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Mathematics
(STEAM) in schools.
STEP will develop the
competencies of teachers to
improve the quality of their
teaching.
The select teachers will in
six months, undergo a
customized programme.
A total of hundred teachers
from Edo and Delta will be
the first beneficiaries in the
first instance.
Obaseki, in his remarks,
welcomed the SEPLAT team
and commended the
company and its partner,
NPDC, for the significant investment
made in Edo.
He pledged the state
government’s continual
support of the company in its
quest to drive development in
Edo.
The governor assured of the
state and communities
collaboration with SEPLAT in
providing the enabling environment
for the company to
operate.
Obaseki expressed his
appreciation for Seplat's
money was a small drop in
the ocean of
misappropriation they were
trying to sort out. They said I
should write a formal
complaint in triplicate and
bring them back to the office.
They would look into my case
after they’d dealt with the big
ones.
“I never went back. What
was the point? I was now in
my late fifties. What sort of job
would I be looking for at my
age? And since all my savings
were now wiped off leaving
me in debts, what capital
could I boast of to start a new
business with? I finally
relocated to Britain. We are
all British citizens and my
pensions were being paid
already. Life was bearable but
I missed home. It was at this
point my wife started talking
back whenever I scolded her.
She said I was a tyrant and a
bully. That she stuck it in
Nigeria because I refused to
encourage her to work. Well,
that was over, she threatened.
“One more violence from
me and she would deal with
me! She’d never in her life
spoken to me like that before.
I was blind with rage and I
struck her. She rushed out of
the house and came back
with the police! They told me
politely that my wife feared
for her life and didn’t want me
around her and her children
as I was a dangerous man.
Could I pack a few of my
things and leave? I felt really
defeated, I’d forgotten that
you don’t get away with
domestic violence in Britain.
If a family were to break up, it
social programmes.
He noted that the goals of
educational initiatives of
SEPLAT align with that of the
state which emphasizes
improving the standard of
education.
The governor continued:
"We are focused on education,
retooling and resetting our educational
system.
“Thank you for your quiz
programme. Our children are
now learning because we
have retooled our educational
system in Edo State.
“We would like to work with
you on the teachers'
employment programme
because as a state, we have
experimented a lot in terms
of teachers' reforms.
“I just reviewed the progress
we have made in the threeyear
teachers' programme
that we have just introduced
in Edo State."
Obaseki requested to
partner with Seplat in the
construction of roads in some
parts of Edo. He also charged
the company to provide
electricity to some immediate
communities within its
operations.
During the courtesy visit to
the Orodje, Mujakperuo,
Seplat Chairman, Orjiako,
thanked the monarch for the
cordial working relationship
between the company and its
communities in Okpe
Kingdom.
He expressed appreciation
for the support given to the
company since inception regarding
its operations,
adding that Seplat is committed
to the development of
Okpe Kingdom.
In his remarks, Brown also
expressed appreciation to the
Orodje for the support given
to the company for its operations.
The CEO assured that
s the husband that is asked to
leave. So I left and that was
the end of my marriage! My
wife has found some caring
jobs to do, my children are in
good schools so they don’t
really need me.
“I found a modest
accommodation and have
since picked up the pieces of
my life. I have a British
passport, so girls are no
problem as they believe I
would re-marry and make my
new wife a citizen. I don’t
intend to do any of such thing.
And I don’t intend to tell them
either. Since women are deft
hands at deceiving and using
men, I intend to play them at
their own games ..”
Too much of a good
thing (Humour)
Mrs. Kelly is at the shops
when she bumps into Father
Flaherty. “Hello, Mrs. Kelly!”
he says. “Didn’t I marry you
and your husband two years
ago? “Yes, Father”, she replies.
“And any wee ones yet?”, “No,
not yet”. Father, “Well, I will
light a candle for you and your
husband”. `Oh, thank you’,
she says.
Some years later, they meet
again. The priest asks: Mrs.
Kelly, how are you these days?
Oh, very well, Father, she
replies. “So, have you any wee
ones yet?” `Yes, Father’, she
tells him. `Three sets of twins
and four singles 10 in all’.
“That’s just great”, the priest
says. “And how’s your
husband? Mrs. Kelly replies
curtly. `He’s gone off to Rome
to blow out your blasted
candle’.
Seplat is committed to the infrastructural
and capacity development
of communities in
the Okpe Kingdom.
Mujakperuo, who gladly
received the Seplat team,
commended the company for
its commitment and support
to host communities, stressing
that the relationship must remain
a win-win situation for
the people and Seplat.
He urged the company to
continue its good works while
enjoining it to provide
additional support in healthcare
infrastructure, employment
of graduates from the
area and award of contracts
to Okpe vendors.
At the palace of the Enogie
of Oben, Brown commended
Oben Field Communities for
providing the enabling
environment for Seplat to
operate.
The CEO emphasized the
importance of Oben to the
company's business and the
nation with the colossal gas
infrastructure in Oben
Community. He stressed that
the firm would sustain the
working relationship with the
Oben Field Communities and
continue to execute sustainable
community development
projects and programmes for
the benefits of the communities.
The Enogie and other Oben
Field Community leaders,
while expressing their appreciation
on the Seplat visit and
activities in their locality,
requested the company to
employ its teeming youth;
provide uninterrupted electricity
and patronage of
indigenous contractors from
the communities.
Brown pledged the
company's willingness to
sustaining the cordial
working relationship between
it and the communities whilst
reiterating the commitment
to contributing to their socioeconomic
development
through Seplat's continued
sustainable community development
activities and
programmes.