WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday warned Iran that time was not “infinite” for diplomacy and that “all options remain on the table” after a dispute over the venue of talks.
Clinton said that the European Union would look into setting a time and place for long-moribund talks on Iran’s nuclear program but vowed that the United States would maintain “strong pressure” to address concerns.
“We want to see a peaceful resolution of the international community’s concerns, but the time for diplomacy is not infinite and all options remain on the table to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” Clinton said.
“Until Iran comes into compliance with its international obligations and demonstrates the peaceful intent of its nuclear program, they will continue to face strong pressure and isolation,” she said.
“So the sooner that we can begin talks, the better it will be,” she said at a joint news conference with Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.
Clinton had earlier said that the talks between Iran and six world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — would begin on April 13 in Istanbul.
But Iran said Tuesday that it objected to holding the talks in Turkey, which cut imports of oil from its neighbor in response to US threats of sanctions.
Instead, according to Iraq’s foreign ministry, Iran has formally requested Baghdad hold the April 13-14 negotiations.
Clinton said that EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was working with Iran to determine the details of the talks.
“We understand that these consultations are at an advanced stage and we expect that Lady Ashton will formally announce the date and place of the talks once it is finally confirmed,” Clinton said.
Israel has voiced growing impatience with Iran, leading to speculation it may launch a military strike. Israel and some Western officials fear that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, but Tehran says its work is for peaceful purposes.
The last round of talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group was held in Istanbul in January 2011 and ended in failure. Geneva hosted the round before that in late 2010.
Wendy Sherman, the under secretary of state for political affairs, is expected to represent the United States in any upcoming round of talks, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Information available to 247ureports.com through sources in the Presidential villa in Abuja indicate that all might not be well with the former sports minister in the person of Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman. This is as the source revealed that Presidential orders may have been given for the arrest of the former Federal Minister of Sports over allegations of financial crimes committed while he served as the Federal Minister of Transportation prior to being reassigned to the sports minister desk.
As gathered, sources in the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, confirm that the President was concerned by the nature of allegations against Yusuf Suleiman and as a result, had ordered for security operatives to begin collation of the financial crimes. The order, according to the source at the NSA, was given before the sack of Yusuf Suleiman on December 2, 2011 by the President. It was revealed that the abrupt sack by the President was result of the compilation of financial crimes committed by the federal minister.
Specifically, 247ureports.com gathered that the troubles of the former Minister began when he clashed with one of the Managing Directors [MD] at the Federal Ministry of Transportation in mid-July of 2011. The MD who was staged at one of the maritime ports [NIMASA] – was said to be a front for one of the ex-militant popularly known as Tompolo. The clash between the Minister and the MD immediately resulted in the removal of the Transport Minister to a lesser influential Ministry [Sports Ministry] – and according to available information, the deposed Minister saw his removal from the Transport Ministry as an embarrassment – and was reportedly unhappy with President Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan.
Yusuf Suleiman’s redeployment to the Sports Minister’s desk was marred with inefficiencies, gross neglect and sharp practices – on the part of the new appointed minister. Sources indicate that the Minister was particularly unhappy to be at the sport ministry – and that he started to plot for his exit from the first day of his arrival to the Ministry. Yusuf Suleiman’s activities and demeanor at the sports ministry did not hide his feelings towards the ministry.
Just a few months following his redeployment, he was asked to submit his resignation to the President. He did and then joined the gubernatorial tussle for Sokoto State under the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP]. Man within the presidency indicated that his folly into the gubernatorial race was to seek possible avenues of avoiding an arrest at the hands of federal security agents in the near future – through the immunity clause. But he was not able to obtain the PDP ticket to contest for the race.
Following the failed bid at the Sokoto race, the security officials has since upped the bid to arrest the former Minister – based on a petition penned by a group, Arewa Transparency & Accountability Forum, submitted to the Charmain of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC]. The petition detailed the financial crimes committed by the former minister as ranging from operation of foreign accounts [$1.9million in overseas UBA Bank Account number 03540131001727; N519million in overseas UBA bank Account number 00120020018111] – the deposits were made between the months of May and November 2010.
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See Petition Below
Arewa Transparency & Accountability Forum
104, Morocco Road,
Wuse 11 Abuja
January 31, 2012
The Chairman
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
Abuja.
PETITION OF SHADY DEALS AT THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND NIMASA AGAINST ITS FORMER MINISTER, ALHAJI YUSUF SULEIMAN
We write to intimate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC of some shady deals perpetrated by the former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman at NIMASA.
These include available embarrassing details of his past as Minister of Transport in respect of his secret foreign accounts, his secret deals with Intels Nigeria Plc.
In the process of committing these shady deals, the former Minister, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman breached the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Code of Conduct Law with impunity
WHEREAS the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, Part 1 Section 3 states that “The President, Vice -President, Governor, Deputy Governor, Ministers of the Government of the Federation and Commissioners of the Governments of the States, members of the National Assembly and of the Houses of Assembly of the States, and such other public officers or persons as the National Assembly may by law prescribe shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria,” Yusuf Suleiman contravened the provisions of the Constitution by lodging the sum of $1.9million in his domiciliary dollar account number 03540131001727 with United Bank of Africa, UBA. Similarly in the same bank, he lodged another sum of N519million in account number 00120020018111 between the months of May to November 2010.
And WHEREAS the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Chapter 56 LNS 1990 gave the Bureau the mandate to establish and maintain a high standard of public morality in the conduct of Government Business to ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform with the highest standard of public morality and accountability. More so that Section 3, part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution has provided that the Bureau to receives declarations by public officers under paragraph 11 of part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution, this has not been complied with by the former Minister.
The NIMASA/INTELS dirty deals
The former Minister single-handedly gave approval to several mid-stream discharge in the sector against the law that established NIMASA, due to his alleged partisan-relationship with Intels Nigeria Plc and its masked owner, for emphasis it is a leading oil and gas company in Nigeria.
It remains an incontravertable fact that at several times Yusuf Suleman flouted the honest directive of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who had declined to grant Intels the right to collect various levies on behalf of the Nigeria Ports Authourity, NPA, Suleiman overturned the presidential directive few months after he became a Minister.
It is a known fact that the maritime industry witnessed retrogression since Suleiman became Minister of Transport because most of his flight tickets for foreign trips were purchased by his personal assistant, one Akeem who liased with Intel’s management for funds.
Top officials of INTELS have confirmed that “We have the receipts and soon we shall tell the whole world how this man has ruined the enviable reputation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
His controversial exit at the defunct Nigeria Maritime Authority, NMA, as Director of Administration & Personnel was put in secrecy to avert barrage of attack from the press. He imposed pressure on the chief executive officer for ‘kick-backs’, which led to why maritime laws like Procurement Act, Fiscal Responsibility Act were suppressed then. It was when the information reached the Board of the Maritime Agency, that a panel was set up, which eventually found him allegedly guilty for incompetence and financial malpractices.
An indictment by Audit Report
Report of a private firm of Auditors, Akin Omoriodion & Co, later termed ‘government audit report’, exposed the excesses of the Agency Board, which was supervised by the former Minister, indicted the former Minister, Yusuf Suleiman for circumventing due process in the operations of the Agency through splitting, over-pricing and awarding contracts worth billions of naira beyond their approving powers.
The report accused the Board of awarding contracts in local currency worth $1.863million between January to June 2010 with traces of fraud in refunds, cash advances and supplies. The former Minister commissioned the project and claimed that “NIMASA awarded 451 contracts during the period at a total cost of N5.4billion.”
£26,666 only against £300,000 Presidential approval for IMO seat
When President Goodluck Jonathan ordered former Transport Minister and Foreign Affairs to support the candidature of Mrs. Monica Mbanefo to be the next scribe of the International Maritime Organisation which campaign cost was to be borne by NIMASA board, a formal request of£300,000 from NIMASA main account in Barclays Bank as directed by the agency’s board based on Mr. President earlier order was approved but only the sum of£26,666 was paid ,on the strength of this we implore the EFCC Chairman to recover the missing sum from Suleman and his cohorts.
NIMASA Board’s Conspiracy and contravening of Section 11(4) of NIMASA Act 2007
Envious that Omatseye was becoming the first Director General in the history of NIMASA to surge the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund from $11 million to over $80 million and had released the Primary Lending Institution for onward disbursement to Nigerians, the former Minister on prompting by some aggrieved board members through a petition, summoned an emergency meeting and had Omatseye ‘suspended’ contrary to Section 11, sub-section 4, NIMASA Act of 2007.
We urge EFCC to investigate these and bring the former Minister of Transport to book for these financial attrocities that he committed when he was Minister.
A senior Iranian military commander says Iran’s stealth surveillance aircraft photograph US aircraft carriers and other warships cruising the waters off Iran.
Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said on Tuesday that the remotely-controlled aerial vehicles operated by the Iranian Army as well as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fly over US aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf and capture images of them.
The Iranian commander dismissed a recent report by the Washington Post which claimed that the CIA had dispatched drones into the skies over Iran and taken photos of Iran’s nuclear sites, saying that such images have indeed been captured by US reconnaissance satellites and not CIA stealth drones.
Brigadier General Esmaili stressed that no unmanned or piloted aircraft has ever been able to violate Iran’s airspace, adding that if any aerial vehicle seeks such an end, its wreckage will be put on public display.
“One such drone sought to infiltrate into Iran, and you witnessed what befell it,” the senior Iranian commander said, in reference to the US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft downed with minimum damage by the Iranian Army’s electronic warfare unit on December 4, 2011.
On December 6, 2011, two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the drone was part of a CIA reconnaissance mission, involving the US intelligence community stationed in Afghanistan.
History tells us that a society sows seeds of dissent when people entrusted with its leadership become economical with the truth or remain silent in the face of injustice. In fact, to keep silent in times of injustice is in itself injustice. Such a situation not only destroys the hopes of the people in a society but multiplies their pains in pursuit for development. Regrettably, the political events in the past two months in Kogi State captures a pathetic example of how democracy works particularly when people put their self interest well and above collective quest for justice. Howbeit, it is common knowledge that in most growing democratic communities, instances of unabated lawlessness are usually adduced to men and women who remain silent in the face of grotesque acts of injustice and abuse of the rule of law.
In any case, an honest reappraisal of the Kogi State situation has become very necessary in the face of the recent comments of the Chief Justice of Nigeria- CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher. Specifically, few weeks ago, Justice Dahiru Musdapher during a public function at Ilorin stated that “In Kogi State, it was widely reported that the President of the Customary Court of Appeal had to swear in a Governor when the Chief Judge who was constitutionally charged with the role, had refused to do so, until he had ascertained the true import of the decision of the Supreme Court. This is clearly wrong”.
The CJN’s statement without a doubt has given most watchers of Kogi politics a double shock. First, is the tragedy of having an illegitimate State Governor, which is terrible for the Kogi people and Nigeria’s democracy. Second, is the strange quietness of those who should have shown genuine and prompt concern on the Kogi issue by virtue of their official capacities and responsibilities in protecting rule of law in Nigeria.
The breaking of silence by the CJN on the controversies surrounding the unlawful swearing in of Captain Wada Idris as Governor of Kogi State has exonerated the Nigerian judiciary of favouritism and alleged conspiracy in the Kogi political dilemma. The CJN’s statement has not only left the enthronement of Wada Idris as Governor of Kogi State unlawful but also made the weakness of our law enforcement agencies more apparent. However, more than anything else, the position of the CJN is very encouraging as it has made many people to see the Supreme Court’s verdict as reflecting the right strength of character needed for fairness and justice in Nigeria’s democracy.
A lot of the people that thrust their support behind Wada Idris’ continued stay in office as Governor of Kogi State based on their reliance on the seeming authority of the INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega now have three major things to contend with. First, is that Prof. Jega of INEC has long reversed himself by publicly declaring that what he actually offered to Kogi State on resolving the political impasse was a mere advice not directive. The difference between advice and directive is not ambiguous and there is no need seeking further interpretation here. According to Prof Jega ‘we gave the advice in order to avoid unnecessary rancor and controversy’. That the advice from Prof Jega was neither based on any known electoral principle nor the constitutional mandate of the INEC, makes it invalid or best regarded as an opinion with no authority to convey implementation. As such, anyone, who acted on such, could have done so out of personal discretion and not as a legitimate act. The second point of note here is that the purported claim by Wada Idris that INEC directed on his installation as Governor of Kogi State has even lost any iota of power and justification as the CJN has spoken essentially as an authority of finality in the interpretation of the Nigerian constitution. A third point that should be very worthy of mention is the non recognition of the election that produced Wada Idris in the eyes of the law but sadly this important aspect will form a sufficient discourse another time because it is presently before a court of law and it will be most appropriate to avoid any issue that would be suggestive of subjudice or regarded as contempt of court.
Nevertheless, from the statements of the CJN, what is obvious is that any pending legal tussle of this nature will not take any court of competent jurisdiction too long to rule on the case. Even at that, it is not impossible that some persons may deliberately wish to prolong litigations on this issue in a bid to get some extended stay in office for Wada Idris but any objective analyst would understand that it is just hokum and the law enforcement agencies must take all the blame for any further mess because from albinitio, the advice of Prof Jega INEC had no legitimate backing to grant Wada Idris access to the Kogi State Government House especially when another person, the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly had already been sworn in by the one and only Chief Judge of Kogi State in accordance with the directive of the Attorney General of the Federation that conveyed the decision of the Supreme Court.
Obviously, before the CJN’s statement, what those perpetuating the injustice in Kogi state politics have shown is that they believed they were free to behave as they chose, whether within the constraints of moral parameters or rule of law. Even most people in authority or appointees of the Government were not wishing to state their reservations explicitly on the illegality of Wada Idris rather they made some limp official statements thereby creating more confusion and misunderstanding on an issue of simple interpretation.
Worse still is that almost a month after the CJN broke the silence, none of these horrors has created an echo in the ears of law enforcement agencies. Indeed, it is a shame that the unnecessary caution and indifference in dealing with the Kogi issue by the law enforcement agents has created a new but lamentable impression on their respect for the rule of law. The failure of those in leadership, law enforcement agencies and the many institutions that should be helping to build democracy in Nigeria to respond in substance on the political crisis in Kogi State constitutes serious bad faith. The complacency of these major players on the illegitimacy of Wada Idris is saddening and their approach to addressing the problem shows a misplaced focus in a growing democracy.
It is therefore important to state that anyone who still supports Wada Idris as Governor of Kogi State in the face of these emerging facts must either be economical with the truth or deliberately missing the point. For emphasis, this is not about whether Wada Idris won an election or not. It is about how the Supreme Court decision of a country has been respected or disrespected. Granted, that some of the people in the camp of Wada Idris may have advanced some arguments before the CJN commented on the issue but there is nothing to gain from rehearsing them here because the simple fact is that everyone should respect a Supreme Court’s decision and the rule of law in every focused democratic society.
While some people are busy seeking ways of advancing democracy in Kogi State, it is sad to observe that some persons who felt unsatisfied with the ruling of the Supreme court are very involved in twisting facts that portray the Supreme Court ruling as unfavourable to the interest of the ruling Party. In reality, the decision of the Supreme Court regardless of whether it is in favour of or against the ruling Party now, does not have any bearing on the Party’s chances of victory in a next legitimate general election as the issue addressed is about Wada Idris illegality and the Kogi people. Strengthening of the ruling party with illegalities for the purpose of remaning in power is absurd and unacceptable. Indeed, the problem the Kogi people have is not necessarily with the ruling party but with a few gullible persons in the former leadership of the party that produced Wada Idris as Kogi state Governor under a platform of illegality.
Realistically, if the Kogi people desire to be absolutely honest about their legitimate options, the first step would be to ensure that Wada leaves the Kogi State government House immediately for the Speaker of the State House of Assembly to be rightly sworn in as Acting Governor of the State until a new election is conducted as directed by the Attorney General of the Federation in line with a Supreme court ruling.
The continued intransigence on this matter by Wada Idris and his supporters is understandable from the point of self aggrandizement but this is a betrayal of their obligations as politicians that want progress for their people. It is therefore difficult to see how a continued stay in office by Wada Idris as governor will serve the cause of justice or preserve the integrity of the Kogi state treasury which is largely funded by tax payer’s hard earned money. This is where the principles of natural justice call for nothing less than the stepping down of Wada Idris as Governor of Kogi State.
The occupation of the Kogi State Government House is an invitation to anarchy and it well known that if country chooses to live by anarchy, it must be ready to face the consequences of disregarding the law. The CJN has spoken and disabled the conspiracy of silence which has attempted to stifle democratic progress. As such a potential solution to this significant issue would be for the enforcement agencies to undertake their responsibility and do the needful. However, this time if Wada Idris does not step down, the law enforcement agencies should not allow him walk away into the sunset.
It’s time to move from the Wada Idris saga to a next stage of swiftly preparing for free and credible elections in Kogi State.
History is waiting for us!
*PHRANK SHAIBU, is a Public Communications Consultant based in Abuja.
Imo state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has attracted a shopping
mall worth 500 million Dollars to the state.
This was disclosed by Sen. Annie Okonkwo a major stakeholder in the
project in Owerri, the capital of Imo state.
According to him, the shopping mall will be built by a consortium led
by Topright and in partnership with Shopright, Wallmart and other
notable world supermarkets chains.
He stated that the project becomes feasible owing to the conducive
environment and infrastructural advancement which Gov. Okorocha’s
administration has provided for investment flow into the state.
“Gov. Okorocha is massively building roads, hospitals and schools
which have obviously made the state attractive for foreign investors.
For what he has done, we are going to build a shopping mall in Imo
state and this will be about 500 Billion Dollars investment. The
investors have been all reached. In fact, many in big shopping mall business have shown interest because Imo state governor is leading the
way in providing the amenities and infrastructure to enable others
contribute in developing the state. The shopping mall will be built
by a group companies led by Topright ventures with other partners like
the Wallmark, Shopright and other world supermarkets big chains,” Sen.
Okonkwo explained.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has received with sadness the death of the Second Republic Deputy Governor of old Ondo State, Chief Akin Omoboriowo.
The President who described Chief Omoboriowo as a politician who was not afraid to stand for his political beliefs, expressed his deepest condolences to his widow, family and the government and people of Ekiti State.
President Jonathan enjoined the Omoboriowo family members to take solace in the fact that the late politician lived a fulfilled and God-fearing life to a good old age, while praying God to grant them the fortitude to bear the unfortunate loss.
REUBEN ABATI
Special Adviser (Media & Publicity) to the President
Members of vigilante groupsin Delta State are to be given stipends to encourage them as part of efforts tostrengthen security against activities of criminals, especially armed robbersand kidnappers, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has said.
Governor Uduaghanwho announced this at the end of the State Security Council meeting yesterdayin Asaba, noted that vigilante groups were very helpful in dealing with thecrime situation in the state and warned that henceforth any community headfound to be providing shelter for criminal elements would be held responsible.
Dr. Uduaghanunveiled plans by his administration to re-organise the local securityapparatus across the state, saying that “we will empower them and evenencourage some of our unemployed youths to be part of the team. We intend totrain them on security tips, on gathering information in collaboration withother security agencies in the state.”
The governorstressed that vigilante groups were key to information gathering about criminalactivities.
Reviewing thesecurity situation in the state in the past one week, Dr. Uduaghan saidstrategies employed by the state were already yielding positive resultsparticularly in the “Asaba axis but we still have issues in the Warri andSapele axis. About 11 of the criminals were arrested last week and moreimportantly was the arrest of four kidnappers in their hide-out in aneighbouring state.
“Also, we havehad the issue of the criminals engaging security agencies in shoot-outs and Ithink we have equally done well in that regard because we have not heard of oursecurity men being killed in such shoot-out of late.”
He appealed tomembers of the public to assist the security agencies with information even ashe advised family members of kidnapped victims not to rush to pay ransom as paymentof ransom would encourage the hoodlums to come back.
Uduaghan urgedmembers of the public to report kidnap cases promptly to the police for actionand avoid being anxious about paying ransom.
Dr. Uduaghan in earlieran interactive session with security operatives explained that vigilante groupsand communities are closer to the people and they can easily gather informationon criminals living among them.
He noted that theinteractive session was to brain storm on how to re-organize the vigilantegroup to make the body more effective and operate in synergy with the PoliceCommunity Relations Committee (PCRC) to achieve result.
He observed that thestate through its agenda of peace and security have tried its best in handlingsecurity challenges adding that the issue of kidnapping and robbery isthe responsibility of all Deltans.
“We have tried as astate to handle the security challenges we had in the past like inter-ethniccrisis but a new dimension has arisen, that is the issue of Kidnapping, we willcontinue to do our best to curb it but need the co-operation of everybody”.
In a briefresponse, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba thankedthe governor for his support and promised to dissolve all vigilante groups thatwere not performing in their communities.
Mr. Aduba saidsecurity was the business of everybody adding that police cannot succeedwithout the support of the people.
He said the successrecorded so far in arresting kidnapper by the police was as a result ofinformation given to the police by the vigilante groups.
His words “Gone arethe days when a person that have given information to security agencies will beimplicated. The successes we have recorded so far in arresting kidnappers andarmed robbers is from the information given us by the vigilante groups”.
He assured Deltansthat security agencies in the state would work together to make the state crimefree saying I am not competing with anybody but will work with other securityoutfits to achieve success”.
New York: On March 23rd, President Obama surprised many when he nominated Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American public health expert, and the President of Dartmouth College, as the US candidate for President of the World Bank. According to Newsweek International Editor, Tunku Varadarajan this was an eccentric choice. “Here you have chosen to head the World Bank a man who is not a banker or an economist. He is a physician, a medical administrator. The skills that you expect to see in the head of the World Bank are not immediately apparent in his CV” explains Varadarajan.
In the normal course of events, Kim would sail through, with the US and Europe both voting for his candidacy. Until a few years ago, it was an unwritten rule that the US Government would pick the head of the World Bank, while the European Union would decide the head of the IMF. The intergovernmental organisations were set up in the aftermath of World War II, in a world dominated by the US and Europe, which also have the majority of voting power in these institutions.
However, not this time. Leaders of some developing and emerging economies have refused to support President Obama’s unexpected choice of Jim Yong Kim to lead the bank.
A number of African countries have nominated Nigerian finance Minister Ngozi Okanjo Iwelea as their candidate for President. Iwelea has better credentials than Kim, according to many, and has the additional advantage of having worked in both the World Bank, in its number 2 job of Managing Director, and in a developing country in a top leadership role.
Some Latin American countries, lead by Brazil have nominated Colombian Finance Minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, as their candidate, arguing that his academic credentials as an economist and his leadership experience in Colombia, made him a very strong candidate.
Interestingly enough, both developing country candidates, in addition to their developing country experience, have training that is probably more relevant to the World Bank’s overall mission, as well as far more senior leadership experience in government as well as international organizations.
In fact, Lant Pritchett , Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard says the US has shot itself in the foot by nominating a weak candidate. In 2010, the United States and other World Bank shareholder-countries pledged support for an “open, merit-based and transparent” selection process for the post of Bank president.
“I think Kim is much weaker than Ngozi and Ocampo so I don’t understand why the Americans want the process to be open. The US had to agree to have an open election process because of the growing power of the BRICS and the other emerging market countries but then once you have done that they should at least go through the trouble of nominating a viable candidate” exclaims Pritchett.
The issue of whether the traditional US-European lock on World Bank – IMF positions makes sense in a world where the balance of economic power is shifting arose last year as well, when the IMF Managing Director’s job fell open after Dominique Strauss Kahn was accused of sexual assault. However, Europe quickly rallied around a candidate whose merits were unquestioned and French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde landed the job.
According to economist, Jagdish Bhagwati Obama’s pick is a strategic move to install a “yes man” in the post. “They wanted somebody basically whom they could rely on. One of the reasons they back Koreans — whom I admire a lot — is that they get along with the United States. If you look at Ban ki Moon, the way he has behaved ever since he got in with US support he has not done a thing which is contrary to what US would want. Ban ki Moon is practically a yes man,” says Bhagwati, University Professor of Law and Economics at Columbia University.
In a changing world, where developing countries have much easier access to capital from financial markets, and to development advice from academics and non-profits like the Gates Foundation, the power and relevance of the World Bank are both in decline. Like many international institutions created in the aftermath of the Second World War, it will need to be reinvented if it is to stay relevant. Already, BRIC countries have been contemplating creating their own financial institutions, as a response to their inadequate influence at the Bretton Woods institutions. The question the World Bank’s board needs to answer is, is a complete outsider, with little in common with the Bank’s staff by way of training and experience, and no experience at all in finance or government, best positioned to accomplish this? Or is a classic economic technocrat, albeit one with top leadership experience in a developing country, likely to be the best person for the job? And, perhaps most importantly, if the answer is the latter, it needs to figure out a way to politely suggest to the US that it let Kim’s candidacy fail, in order to keep the World Bank relevant.
The foremost African American leader of the 20th Century, Martin Luther King Jr., having been arrested for leading a protest against racial segregation, wrote from his prison cell in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a letter he addressed to a group of clergymen that accused him of extremism. In that letter, he tacitly admitted being an extremist. And he argued that on that day at Calvary, three persons were crucified for the same offense; they were all extremists. To the left and to the right were two extremists. They were extremists in crime – theft and murder. In the middle, also, was an extremist. He was an extremist in his love for humanity and in doing the will of God.
Of course, Jesus Christ was an extremist. It must have taken an extremist in mercy and love to pray for the forgiveness of those who were crucifying him. The word Christian translates to Christ-like. Therefore, a true Christian, especially, a man of God, cannot escape being an extremist in the mode of Jesus Christ, that is, in love, selflessness and upholding the will of God.
The pulpit is sanctimonious and sacrosanct. The word of God is the most potent force within man’s grasp. And a true man of God cannot help being a Spirit-filled, fearless and daring warrior. I have always dreamt of when an invigorating mix of these powerful tools of God (fearless pastor, the pulpit and the divine Word) will give rise to the will of God in Nigeria.
In his last speech, Martin Luther King Jr. talked about, “I am not worried about anything. I am not fearing any man. I just want to do the will of God”. Evidently, he was acutely conscious that the will of God in America was not limited to guiding man towards eternal life in the hereafter, but included making America a racially just society where both Whites and Blacks can partake in all America promises all her citizens. He knew that the racial degradation of Blacks in America, and essentially, the degradation of any human being anywhere are against the will of God. So, in his extremism, he labored for an America all God’s children are judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
And today, the fruit of the work he did in concert with other Black American men of God is inconceivably evident. To elect a Black man, Barak Obama, to the presidency of a predominantly White country, he must have been judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.
What is the will of God in Nigeria? The will of God in Nigeria must include that a Nigerian citizen be comfortable, proud and self-confident in his own country, knowing that he is the subject of the concerns and actions of elected and other public officials and all the institutions of government. That he feels protected and at peace in his country because his rights are protected and his immunity from abuse and harassment, from governing officials, government agents, landlords/landladies and all kinds of “big men” and madams, is guaranteed by the laws of the land. And that he feels secured in the knowledge that his right to partake in the wealth of his country is inviolable.
It is not the will of God that the generality of Nigerians live in insufferable social and economic conditions because a disproportionate percentage of the nation’s wealth is stolen by a privileged few. It is a perversion of the will of God that the Nigerian political class remains contemptuously indifferent to the continually increasing economic plight of the Nigerian masses. It is against the will of God that government agents, especially, the police, ride roughshod over Nigerians and extort money from them and arrest the innocent, consign them to dirty, bug-ridden and dingy cells; and demand “bail” money for their release. And so on and so forth.
In the United States of America, African American men of God driven by the Christian attributes of courage and self-sacrifice rose up against societal evils, especially, racial injustice, that militated against the will of God in America. In South Africa, men of God, motivated by Christ-like qualities of courage and commitment to social justice fought against the distortion of the will of God in South Africa as embodied in that iniquitous racial policy, Apartheid.
Armed with the power of the word of God and the sanctity of the pulpit, the Nigerian men of God are not confronting the societal vices militating against the will of God in Nigeria. Why are they not speaking out against the forces of greed and wickedness that are subverting the will of God in Nigeria? Why are they not asking our conscienceless rulers to change their evil ways, and stop looting the national wealth? Why are they not urging them to obey the laws of the country and uphold their political and moral responsibilities to the Nigerian people?
This must be because they lack the Christ-like attributes of courage and selflessness, and are invariably, cowardly, selfish and materialistic, and consequently, desperately seeking the friendship and validation of the same power elite that is subverting the will of God in Nigeria.
Is it possible for men of God to be cowardly, selfish and wealth-conscious, and as a result, shamelessly fawning over morally bankrupt power elite? Yes, it is possible, if they are disobedient to the Gospel of Jesus Christ which teaches the equality of all men, and have therefore, taken to worshiping the rich and despising the poor; if they have forsaken the weightier things of the gospel for the vanities of this world; and if they have convoluted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and instead of preaching righteousness, love, kindness, contentment, they preach prosperity, materialism and greed.
In addition, it is possible, if, instead of demonstrating the Christ like qualities of selflessness, modest lifestyle, kindness and concern for the well-being of others (especially, for the poor, weak and needy), they exemplify greed, self-indulgence, ostentation, selfish ambition, profligacy, and contempt for the poor and needy.
