22052021

Putting issues at NPA in perspective
By Opeoluwa Lawal
It is no longer news that Minister of
Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi,
suspended the Managing Director of
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-
Usman.
To be sure, Ministry of Transportation
supervises the NPA. Hadiza is passing through
a baptism of fire, for the first time in her public
service career. The only other time she came
close to open public inquisition was when she
was a Special Assistant to Malam Nasir el-
Rufai as Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory between 2003 and 2007 and the
Senate could not come to terms with the fact
that Hadiza and one other were being paid
N1m as monthly salary. el-Rufai who was the
one on the spot had put up a robust defence of
his decision to remunerate them handsomely.
But this time, Hadiza is the one directly in
the eye of the storm and she would have to
throw in everything to defend herself,
decisions, actions and inactions, and
reputation against being deliberately
clobbered and dented for whatever reasonsbe
they personal, political or arising from
proximate association with a foe.
This, without a doubt, is a reputational
battle, given her pedigree- as the daughter of
the radical Nigerian academic, politician and
historian, the late Professor Yusuf Bala Usman.
Hadiza is one of his seven children.
The consensus is that having been well
brought up by the respected Bala Usman,
Hadiza would not want to engage in official
acts that would call to question that pristine
pedigree.
It may appear relieving to her fans that the
Ministry has narrowed the scope of Hadiza’s
supposed original sins, which began with nonremittance
of operational surpluses to the
Consolidate Revenue of the Federation (CRF)
to one infraction, to wit: failure to obey
directive to procure equipment for clearing of
channels instead of giving the job out as
contracts. For this reason, she was suspended.
The ministry was piqued that the NPA had
continued to award the clearing of channels
as contracts to companies instead of procuring
necessary equipment and executing the
contracts in-house. But, then, this a somewhat
recondite issue. The probe will shed light on
it and possibly raise other issues.
Agreed that if that had been strictly done, as
canvassed by the ministry, cost effectiveness
and savings would be achieved and the
nation’s revenue base would have witnessed
some huge accretions. But who says the
method adopted by Hadiza is not utilitarian?
The ministry’s suggested approach and
Hadiza’s approach make a smart economic
•Amaechi
sense.
Procuring necessary equipment and
executing the contracts in-house are not too
dissimilar form the extant approach. But this
is a simple issue that could have been quietly
looked into and resolved without the ballyhoo
in the public space. If there are other
infractions that may be played up, the probe
provides the opportunity to do so and for
Hadiza to put up her defence.
Talking about quiet resolution, it may
have become impossible as it were, having
gone past the intersection of reasoning
together to the expansive market place
where they are now involved in a macabre
dance. It has now become a matter of
necessity for both parties to defend their
integrity. Unlike Michael Jackson in one
of his popular hit tracks, “Beat It” wherein
he admonished foes to: “Just beat it…No
one wants to be defeated. It doesn’t
matter who is right or wrong; just beat
it…”, here it matters to know who is the
victor and the vanquished in this gritty
reputational battle; it matters to know
who is right or wrong.
Whereas one still ponders the
possibilities of amicable resolution of the
impasse, certainly not in the interest of
any of the gladiators or protagonists, but
in the national interest amid fears that
are looming like a veritable bugaboo
about the hurt this face-off could cause to
the economy. A plethora of questions
continue to play themselves out: In what
•Bala-Usman
OPINION
ways will this feud, which is largely about
personal greed and ego, benefit the
national economy? Will it bolster foreign
investors’ confidence in the maritime subsector
of the economy? And, what
implications would it have for domestic
trust capital in the management of the
nation’s ports? What legacies do they want
to leave behind against the backdrop of
the fact that this would be the first time
there would be a face-off of this nature
between a serving minister of
transportation and a sitting (now
suspended) managing director of NPA?
Sans the festering feud, there would be
a soothing calmness in the atmospherics
and the nuances of management of the
nation’s ports through the instrumentality
of the NPA and the robust supervisory role
of the ministry of transportation. This is
the irreducible minimum that is expected
from the operators of this sub-sector to
bolster the national economy. I am not sure if
officials are very conversant with this
philosophy that undergirds the operation of
the revenue-generating agencies of the
government.
This is another theme for another narrative
for another time.
But Hadiza’s thinking is in pari materia with
the NPA’s philosophy of running strictly as a
business/revenue-generating authority.
Hadiza knows very well how the ports over
which the NPA superintends are strategic base
for economic development.
SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 22, 2021—17
At The Nation newspapers’ Economic
Forum on Thursday, May 4, 2017, she said
that the strategic role of ports in economic
development was that they functioned as
gateways to international trade and,
accordingly, were regarded as major
accelerators of local economic development.
Quoting the Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP),
she noted that “the Netherlands has been able
to sustain a relatively high economic growth
rate because of the Port of Rotterdam, in spite
of the intensely competitive environment in
Europe. The success of Singapore is equally
attributed to the Port of Singapore, which has
developed a transport logistic centre and has
successfully been able to attract foreign
investment.” These are quite instructive
referrals. They signposted clarity of thoughts,
vision, possibilities and destination, where she
wanted to take the Nigerian Ports to through
her superintendence at the NPA.
Her essential summation, to the effect that
the maritime sector, as an essential
component of the transportation system, is
crucial for wealth creation, continues to enjoy
eternal approbation. But her warning then in
2017, is what is rearing its head in 2021.
It is to the credit of her knowledge that the
NPA on her watch realized that the function of
a port is not only limited to the traditional
activities but has expanded to a logistical
platform. According to her, “Ports not only
platform the basic operations, they provide
inland access and intermodal connections as
well as complementary services to shipping
carriers.” In her further summation, she had
declared that the need to adequately explore
the port sector as a road to boosting economic
development in Nigeria could not be overemphasized.
One is at great pains, therefore, to fault
Hadiza’s passionate commitment to the
development of the nation’s ports, which she
was working at before the suspension. She
said developing the ports was very crucial for
realizing the lofty but achievable development
objectives of the Federal Government,
stressing; “our port infrastructure like the
quay walls and aprons would need to be
reconstructed and reinforced to make them
fit to handle anticipated heavy solid
minerals cargo. For agricultural produce,
we would need specialized and refrigerated
warehouses, etc. The channels must be
constantly dredged and maintained and
deep seaports must be developed to address
the dynamics in trade and transport
demand.” It is the constant dredging of
channels that has become her undoing.
Consider yet another significant take
from her stable: “Improved port
infrastructure will bring about improved port
activities, which would stimulate economic
growth and in turn would impact positively
on the economy.”
The sole claim of how to dredge channels,
which is standing one leg, may soon collapse
like a pack of cards, but the concern now is
the negative effect this feud is having on Port’s
operations in terms of operators’ comfort,
confidence and trust in the system during the
pendency of the probe. I so submit.
•Lawal is a professional mariner based in
Lagos.
Why I stabbed my motherin-law
to death — suspect
By Evelyn usman
Atan Otta community in Ogun State
was recently thrown into panic,
following the frightening sight of a
woman who lay in the pool of her blood with
a knife thrust in her ribs.
She stretched out her right hand begging to
be rushed to the hospital and at the same time
held on to the position of the stab , with her
left hand.
A young lady was seen crying and pleading
with everyone to assist her get any available
vehicle that would convey the dying woman
to the hospital.
Help came but unfortunately, the wounded
woman later identified as Mrs Abosede
Oyewole , did not live to tell her story, as she
died three days later, at a private hospital
she was rushed to.
Death trap
Surprisingly, her assailant turned out to be
her 28-year-old son-in-law, Opeyemi Adeola,
a popular welder in Atan Otta community.
Crime Guard gathered that her daughter,
Tope and the suspect, Adeola, had been living
together for two years. She reportedly left the
house for her parents place because she was
beaten by her husband.
The deceased, as gathered, had gone to her
son –in-law’s place to reprimand him for the
incessant battery of her daughter, only to meet
a dead end.
Escape
Spokesman for the Ogun State Police
Command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi ,
explained that “ on that fateful day, the
suspect, as usual, beat up his wife and inflicted
injuries on her. The deceased went to meet
him to warn him to desist from beating her
daughter.
“On sighting the deceased in his house, the
suspect descended heavily on her, beat her
mercilessly before stabbing her on her ribs
with a knife. Having heard that the victim
had died, the suspect fled.
“ The Divisional Police Officer, Atan Ota,
CSP Abolade Oladigbolu, detailed his
detectives to go after him. They embarked on
an intelligence based investigation which
led them to his hideout in Ikorodu, Lagos state
where he was eventually apprehended.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the
suspect is a member of a notorious cult group
in the area. He was also one of those who led
hoodlums to burn down Atan Ota Police
division and killed the Divisional Crime
Officer on October 21, October 2020, during
the Endsars protest”.
Why I did it
In this interview with the suspect, he
admitted culpability but blamed his action
on uncontrolled emotion and an attempt to
defend himself from an attack by the deceased
and her two children.
Hear him: “ My wife told me she was going
to see her sick mother on April 20,2021 , that
she would return by 12 noon the next day.
But three days later, I did not see her . I
went to check on her at her parents’ and saw
her with another man.
“ The man asked where I had been , I told
•Opeyemi Adeola
him I went to Ile Olugi to work . I have seen
that man with my wife before, in my house. In
Fact, that first time, he came to give my wife
some money.
“When my mother-in-law saw me, she
accused me of not taking care of my wife
and children. I have one child with my wife,
an eight months old girl. The older child is
five years old. She is mine from another
woman.
“ My mother –in-law told me to my face
that she had given her daughter, my wife , to
another man since I was not giving her money
to eat. My wife refused to follow me home
that day. I went to her parents place again
to pick my five- year -old child from her and
left our eight-month-old baby with her.
Journey to
SCIID
“On April 28, 2021, my wife , her mother
and sister came to my house. They said they
came to pack my wife’s belongings. I told them
to go and collect what were hers. In the process,
they started fighting with me and broke my
skull . I brought out a knife which I brought
from the farm ,just to scare them but the knife
pierced into my in-law’s ribs.
“My wife and I have been together for two
years. I was preparing to pay her dowry
someday. Her parents were aware we were
together. Her father even advised me to get
my wife something to do when our baby
would be a year old .
“I didn’t know she would die. I only did it
to prevent myself and to scare them. She was
rushed to Hyacinth hospital at Otta by her
daughter
I ran away because I was afraid of being
lynched. While I was in my village where I
hid, I heard my wife and members of her
family packed all my property from the house
to sell to treat my mother-in-law. Three days
later, I was told she was dead. Again, I ran
from the village, to my father’s place in
Ikorodu, Lagos.
“I left my father’s place in 2008. When I
told him what happened, he took me to
Ikorodu Police station that same day ,
from where I was taken to Atan division
and thereafter, transferred to the State
Criminal Investigation and Intelligence
Department.
“ It is unfortunate she died. She was the
reason my wife was misbehaving. Before we
met, my mother-in-law used to send her (wife)
out to sleep with men. I met her in the process”.
Asked what age was his supposed wife, he
said , “ She told me she was 19 years old when
we met. But her father claimed she is presently
17 years old. I regret my action and wished
things could return the way they were , in order
to remedy the situation”, he said in an
emotional laden tone.