Origin Of Nigeria’s Millennium Poverty, By @JeSuisNaija

If truly the federal government had spent N49 billion in two years feeding 8.5 million school children across the entire nation, the N900 billion bad debts Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), said just 105 rich Nigerians have refused to pay will feed these kids from birth until they are all above 36 years old.

None of us here owes AMCON. These debtors are billionaires. It is time to subsidize the poor at whatever cost in Nigeria. We have started this with N-power, Conditional Cash Transfer and TraderMoni. If it’s not perfect, our collective priorities should be how to improve on it.

There should be no peace in Nigeria until we all owe AMCON. It is time to start demanding from President Muhammadu Buhari, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), #StudentsMoni and #GraduatesMoni.

Federal government must give N1 million each to all unemployed graduates. If they can’t pay back, the debt should be passed to AMCON.

There wasn’t a single federal direct intervention to lift the downtrodden throughout the period Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reigned. The year 1999 – 2007 was an era of economic plague for the poor and Olusegun Obasanjo and Alhaji Atiku were the Pharaohs. This was hidden until late President Musa Yar’Adua made Lamido Sanusi as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June 2009.

The former Governor of CBN, Mr. Charles Soludo, had repeatedly assured that Nigeria’s banking sector is healthy until Sanusi popped the bubble in August 2009. By the time CBN removed the MD’s of Oceanic, Union, Finbank, Intercontinental, Afribank, it was apparent Soludo was hidding a $2.6Billion sink hole.

At the 2010 Convocation Lecture of Bayero University, Sanusi gave graphic details of how managers of the economy between 2004 – 2007 dug the economic pit that’s swallowing 88 million Nigerians @jimidisu posted are living in extreme poverty. Below are excerpts from his speech:

As a result of farcical financialization of the economy by rent takers in oil deals, “market capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange increased by 5.3 times between 2004 and its peak in 2007, and the market capitalisation of bank stocks increased 9 times during the period.”

“CEO’s set up special purpose vehicles (SPV) to lend money to themselves for stock price manipulation or purchase of estates all over the world. One bank borrowed money and purchased private jets which we later discovered were registered in the name of the CEO’s son.”

“In another bank the management set up 100 fake companies for the purpose of perpetrating fraud. A lot of the capital supposedly raised by banks was fake capital financed from depositor’s fund. 30% of the share capital of intercontinental bank was purchased with customers deposits.”

“Afribank used depositors’ funds to purchase 80% of its IPO. It paid N25 per share when the shares were trading at N11 and these shares later collapsed to under N3. The CEO of Oceanic bank controlled over 35% of the bank through SPVs borrowing customer deposits.”

After Competent Atiku and his headmaster left us a stock market that collapsed by 70%, Sanusi said, “CBN injected N620bn of liquidity into d banking sector and replaced the leadership at 8 banks.” This tap on the wrist isn’t what Nigerians get when they owe microfinance banks 50K.

It was Femi Falana that blew whistle, petitioned Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), that Soludo diverted $7Bn from the nation’s foreign reserves into 14 banks in 2006. Soludo initially denied, but later claimed it was a loan. When Falana demanded if the principal and interest was repaid, Atiku entered voice mail;

Yar’Adua died in May 2010, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan signed AMCON’S Act into law in July 2010. Today, top on AMCON’s debtor’s list is Ifeanyi Uba, whose company is owing N115 billion.

Instead of paying this money during PDP years in power, he spent more money campaigning for PDP’s return to power in 2015.

Here are some other names on AMCON’s list:
? Jimoh Ibrahim’s NICON- N59billion
? Babalakin’s Bi-Courtney- N40billion
? Donald Duke’s Tinapa- N30billion
? Chimaroke Nnamani – N42billion
? Buruji Kashamu – N13billion
? Joshua Dariye – N6.8billion.
? Olofa of Offa – N12billion

Does Tinapa on AMCON’S debtor’s list strike a chord in you? Under PDP, AMCON absorbed the debt of Ifeanyi Uba and he continues to run his business. Under President Buhari, no story; your business is going under receivership. I am sure most us don’t know it is government that’s running Arik Air now.

Officially, only 350 Nigerians owe a whopping N4.3 trillion of the N5.4 trillion debt of AMCON. This is an amount more than 50 percent of the 2018 Budget for 197 million population. Apart from Arik owing N135Billion, seeing Bellview on AMCON’s list brought back sad memories.

Under a corrupt competent government, airlines were borrowing billions and were still dropping from skies the way oranges fall from a tree. May Atiku’s competence not kill all of you. In October 2005, Bellview Flight 210 killed all 117 people onboard, less than five minutes after takeoff.

May the spirit of ~491 Nigerians that died in crashes under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has teamed up again with Atiku not rest until judgement comes upon the wicked. I imagine what will be going through the mind of parents who lost their kids in Sosoliso as they watch us glamourize Atiku and Obasanjo.

For all these negligent calamities, the public persona of Nigeria’s leadership then didn’t offer the faintest of apology till today. It will be unpardonable for any Nigerian to have a hand in whatever arrangements that brings these two evil duo back into power. Never again!!

It began with:

May, 2002: EAS crash killed 148 in Kano.

October 22, 2005: Lagos Bellview crash killing 117.

December 10, 2005: Sosoliso crash killing 108, mostly children.

Except in wars, no nation should lose its citizens back to back in sequence, in two months. We thought it was over then ADC happened around Abuja in October 29, 2006 killing 97 passengers.

In the thick of this disaster, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his Vice, Alhaji Atiku were at each other’s throat, fighting over political power. They cared less as Nigerians were hungry and dying.

President Buhari seem to be the most hated man in Nigeria today. Did you notice the money bags – Aliko, Femi etc do not mill around him like we saw with others?

He has said “no oil license is renewable.” It’ll be sad if he is retrieving your country for you and you are handing it over back.