Headlines

Death rumours don’t bother me — Ex-gov Olunloyo

Published

2 weeks ago

24 April 2024

Death rumours don’t bother me — Ex-gov Olunloyo

An elder statesman and former governor of old Oyo State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo, speaks with LAOLU AFOLABI AND KUNLE SULAIMON on the present administration led by President Bola Tinubu, the challenges of governing the country, issues with Alaafin and Olubadan chieftaincies and his death rumor

You were head of various agencies of government in the past. What is your comment on the plan by the Federal Government to adopt the Steve Oronsaye Report?

I would not like to answer that question. You’re talking about the federal civil service. Who is Oronsaye to be talking about the problems of Nigeria? You’re not talking about Betta Edu. Oronsaye doesn’t know as much about Nigeria’s problems. Well, he could know about civil service, but not much about Nigeria. Civil servants are not the only problem in Nigeria.

The Federal Government presently led by President Bola Tinubu will be one year in office by May. What’s your assessment of the administration so far?

I know Asiwaju as a friend. I’ve always followed his progress. I have a photo of him here with me. I solved a very big problem for him once, but as Wole Soyinka told him, he’s taking over a very big problem that he may not be able to solve absolutely. The problems are not of his making. Every problem that Nigeria faces, we faced it before. You look at the skyrocketing cost of food, petrol, diesel, kerosene, and transportation, among others.

I remember my political adviser in the press, this young man here, told me that Tinubu would win. I hold in my hand now a magazine, ‘The Source’, published in 1999, with a lead story of ‘Tinubu, the Beginning of his End’ and a book compiled by 33 Tinubu’s admirers. The number 33 on the list of those who compiled the book is Yemi Cardoso, his then commissioner for economic planning and now Central Bank of Nigeria Governor.

Tinubu probably knows what he’s doing. From Woke Soyinka’s analysis, Asiwaju won a basket full of troubles when he emerged as president, for which partly can anyone blame him. Soyinka said he advised him not to run. Ibrahim Babangida also asked him not to run. Many of the problems he inherited, as a man who has only one brand of cap, it is easy to identify him by the logo. Like every human being, he can make mistakes. He removed the subsidy before he formed the cabinet, thus making petrol costlier and the follow-on effect is what we have now. If you increase the price of fuel, you increase the price of transportation of food produced from the village. Anyway, there are a lot of conveyors of corruption in the country. You cannot entirely blame Dangote for the price of cement or petroleum.

We have experienced this shortage and high cost of food before during the Murtala Muhammed regime. There was something called ‘essential commodity’ then, but we have never had this so bad and it’s not something that can be solved overnight. We have to make some redress. It even goes as far as our census, security, and so on. Now, farmers are being killed, schoolgirls and boys are being kidnapped, we have a lot to look at in our security, fiscal, and monetary policies, and, regrettably, corruption is still lurking around.

Talking of corruption, sir, what is the way out?

I remember Tafawa Balewa. I was sent on an errand to the Prime Minister as Commissioner for Economic Planning in the Western Region. He welcomed me heartily into his office and said, ‘Dr. Olunloyo, you may be, at one stage of your life, the occupant of this room, but I must tell you some things. Let’s go to the other side. This is the map of Nigeria. I can tell you one thing. Nigeria is difficult to govern’ I asked him why because he has all the powers. He said, ‘I have no power. For example, last week, a man was caught. I’m not part of the police, but a man was said to have been caught for fraud. He happened to be an Ibo man. Following that, I’ve had a powerful delegation of Odumegwu Ojukwu, Sir Francis Ibiam, Ogochukwu, and others to plead for the man. They warned me also that I must not do anything to their kinsman unless they catch three thieves, one Yoruba thief, one Igbo thief, and one Hausa thief. Now, Dr Olunloyo, I can only catch one thief at a time. When I’m sleeping on my sofa, they are busy stealing. When I’m awake, they are stealing. What can I do?’ There has not been any occupant of that seat without a problem.

One thing I think the president must do, or he has to do is to have quality advice from people who have been in government. In some of these cases, the government is acting as if the advice is never necessary. They should avoid what MKO Abiola termed Eaglet Governors. There are many problems of fiscal and monetary policies, problems of security, problems of local government, and chieftaincies. The Federal Government should seek the advice of those who have been trained to have a quick solution to the problems.

There had been controversies over traditional institutions in Oyo State in the time past, especially on the Alaafin and Olubadan chieftaincies. What are your thoughts on these?

How many years ago did I install an Alaafin in Oyo? That was December 28, 1970. They have a problem in Oyo now. They also have a problem with the Ibadan Declaration. I am an authority trained in my time. I hate to see silly mistakes being made on these things, but if I’m not called into it, I won’t involve myself in it.

As a Commissioner for Local Government from 1970 to 1971, I can tell you that in respect of the Alaafin of Oyo, we had four commissioners appointed into that ministry in quick succession. Three before me, I was the fourth. B. A. Ajayi of Ikere, Kola Balogun of Otan Ayegbaju, Lamure of Iwo, and myself. General Yakubu Gowon instructed General Adebayo to put me in that ministry. The first problem was about the commission of inquiry. On the 28th of December 1970, I signed the papers appointing Alaafin. There is a template to solve this problem. There is the nomination, the selection, and approval. The government has no business with the nomination. The nomination is not done by the kingmakers as well. It is done by the ruling house or a group that is supposed to nominate. After the nomination, the kingmakers will make the selection. The final stage is the approval by the government. The government is guided by Section 21, ‘Notwithstanding that an appointment has been made according to the approved Declaration, anyone who has any complaint is free to send in the complaint in 21 days and the government may, nevertheless, approve or set aside the said appointment in the interest of peace, order and good governance.’

The government is to approve, not select or nominate. In Ibadan, which is a non-ruling house chieftaincy, there is a body saddled with the nomination. Now, they are confusing it. The body to nominate in Ibadan is the line whose turn it is to produce a candidate. In this case, it is the turn of the Balogun line to produce an Olubadan, and Olakulehin is the Balogun of Ibadanland and the most senior on that line to become an Olubadan. The meeting for selection will be headed by the most senior on the other line, which instance is the Otun Olubadan, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja. The Otun line is not to nominate, it is the Balogun line that will do that, as now done accordingly.

The Ibadan Kingmakers are not the set to nominate. The line, whose turn it is to produce the candidate, will do the nomination. The kingmakers in the June 20, 1957 Declaration being followed, drafted by Obafemi Awolowo and Rotimi Williams, are in odd numbers. Ladoja knows better and has the advantage, being a former governor himself and now the Otun Olubadan and head of the kingmakers. Of course, there are two Declarations, the one drafted by the Awolowo government and the other drafted by the Ajimobi government, which has been thrashed out. Now, Awolowo and Rotimi Williams are clever enough to make the kingmakers 11. Four groups make the kingmakers – the Otun line, the Balogun line, the Iyalode line as well as the Seriki line. The Seriki line sued the Olubadan and went as far as the Supreme Court and won. In the face of the law, the Seriki line exists. But even if the line is successfully edged out now, there is also the Iyalode line. No government has the power to abolish the Iyalode line. We must not allow them to be disenfranchised. We have had powerful women in Ibadanland like Wuraola Esan, Efunsetan Aniwura, the late Iyalode, Amina Abiodun, who was put on the line by my mother, Priscilla Kuye, Ayorinde’s daughter, among others

In Oyo, we have the Oyo Mesi. They used to be eight in number, but now, seven. The key man is the Basorun of Oyo and then the Baba Iyaji. The ruling houses must submit the names to Baba Iyaji who will, without reservation (emphasis by Awolowo and Williams) submit the names to the Oyo Mesi.

Go to Oyo and find out who the Lannike are. They faded in the 1968 to 1970 struggle. Atiba had about 11 children and Lannike was one of them. Some people want all the Atiba children to be eligible but that is if the Declaration is made about it. Neither the governor nor the commissioner can make a declaration. It’s only a sitting Oba who can do that. They put off some drafts in regards to that development to the late Alaafin of Oyo, but he did not sign it. The Declaration by Awolowo recognised only Alowolodu and Agunloye out of the 11 children of Atiba. Take a cursory look at the last page of Johnson’s ‘ History of Yoruba’. Alimi, the Emir of Ilorin, had four children and he made it by fiat that out of the four, only two can become the Emir of Ilorin. So, it’s the same situation for the Atiba children.

How has been life with you, sir?

I’ve lived long enough in the first instance. I’ve long passed the lifespan of an average living person. I’ve lived 89 years plus, like the Olubadan candidate. I’ve had a full life and, like Nnamdi Azikiwe said, my life has been a joy to me. I think I got my longevity gene from my mother. She lived for 102 years. My father who built this house lived only for 42 years. He was the head of the Ibadan Native Administration at Mapo. So, I have 42 years on one side and 102 years on the other. My mother called herself during the last one or two years of her life, ‘Kokumo.’ I have the genes of both sides. I went to primary school, and moved to GCI, Ibadan, from Primary 5. I was admitted into the university at 18, graduated at 22, PhD at 25, and commissioner at 27. So I have a lot to thank God for. I have been in charge of 27 federal parastatals. I was head of the Nigeria National Science and Technology Council. I was, at another time, in charge of 23 parastatals in the West, now called Oodua Company. My office was in Cocoa House, on the 17th floor, that’s the most beautiful office in Ibadan then, constructed by Alfred Rewane. I have enjoyed life and I have everything to thank God for. Nothing but praises to God.

Recently, there was a death rumor. Has it affected you in any way?

No, not at all. This is not the first time. I’m still here, not yet gone. But the truth is: who will live forever? Those breaking death news and the person presumed dead will all die one day. As I said earlier, I have crossed the expected life age

Headlines

NNPC, marketers in war of words over fuel scarcity

Published

3 days ago

4 May 2024

Agency News

NNPC, marketers in war of words over fuel scarcity

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation has blamed the lingering fuel scarcity in the country on panic buying and sharp practices by some petroleum marketers who are exploiting the present situation to make more money.

The company also vowed that the fuel queues across the country would end next week, noting that it had enough litres of fuel to end the scarcity.

Petroleum marketers, however, disagreed with the position of the NNPC, insisting that inadequate supply was a major reason for the persisting fuel scarcity.

Recall that on Tuesday, the NNPC spokesperson, Femi Soneye, assured that the ongoing shortage in supply of petroleum products and queues for the products would be cleared by May 1.

According to him, the company had more than 1.5 billion litres of petroleum products available, enough to last for at least 30 days. He added that some individuals might be exploiting the situation to maximise profit.

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria had in a statement said its members in Apapa and other locations in Lagos had received 300 million litres of fuel from eight vessels this week.

This was after the South-West Regional Coordinator of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Ayo Cardoso, also confirmed to The PUNCH that aside from the 240 million litres offloaded at various depots on Monday, close to 85 million litres of petrol was offloaded as of Tuesday evening.

Cardoso stated that the government was doing its best to ensure massive distribution of PMS, adding that the product would soon be available across the country.

According to him, each state of the federation had its allocations, saying the same will be delivered to reduce the queues at filling stations.

“As I said earlier, there will be enough fuel across Nigeria soon. We have received over 300 million litres as of Tuesday. More have arrived as we speak, but I can’t give you the figure. Vessels will keep arriving in Nigeria for 15 days, which started counting on Monday, and we will keep distributing the product across the nation.

“The masses should not panic; all these will soon vanish. We are not prioritising anywhere, each state has its allocation to be delivered accordingly,” Cardoso stated.

In the last few days, the queues and shortage of petroleum products worsened the living conditions of most Nigerians as they struggled to get the product.

Roads were deserted while some individuals parked their vehicles at various filling stations pending the availability of petrol.

Hoarding of the product had also been on the increase, as some took advantage of the situation.

Concerned, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) called on security agencies to pick up hoarders of PMS.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the spokesperson of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, explained that the oil firm currently had about three billion litres of petrol, as he blamed oil marketers and panic buying for the lingering queues.

“The queues are clearing. They won’t just clear like that, because people are trying to hoard, while others are buying what they don’t need. That is why we keep saying there is enough product; there is no need to buy what you don’t need.

“Also, you can’t exclude the marketers in this, as they want to use this opportunity to make more money. These are the issues, which is why we have involved the NMDPRA, because it is their duty to ensure that the right thing is done by these filling stations.

“Our job is to provide the product and we’ve told you that we have over 1.5 billion litres available. So, the NMDPRA should please do something about the distribution. It is not our job. We are not the regulator, and we don’t have power to sanction the filling stations that are not doing what they are supposed to do.”

Soneye said the NNPC had increased the volume of petrol in Nigeria and insisted that distribution by marketers was now the concern.

Stop blaming us for scarcity – Marketers to NNPC

Marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have, however, told the NNPC not to blame them for the queues in filling stations, saying they were not involved in sharp practices.

The National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, wondered how the NNPC could shift the blame to marketers, who were not the importers of petrol.

Fashola said marketers could only hoard an available product, recalling how IPMAN had assisted in clearing off the queues in filling stations.

“That is far from the truth. You can only divert the product that you have. You don’t divert what you don’t have.

“On the issue of pricing, we are in a regime of partial deregulation. If you noticed, even before this crisis, we had different prices everywhere. That is another issue that cannot stand.

“On the issue of hoarding, you cannot hoard what you don’t have. It is not even making sense when you have fuel at this critical period, then you say you want to hoard it. So, that is not true too,” he said.

Asked if the marketers were now getting the product from the NNPC, the IPMAN leader said, “Let me use this opportunity to commend the NNPC, despite the fact that they want to put the blame on us. I think they’re trying their best to put the situation under control”.

Fashola added that independent marketers did not engage in sharp practices.

“We have already set up a task force within the IPMAN to make sure our people play according to the rules and regulations. We are a very disciplined organisation. We don’t do any sharp practices; we don’t condone that.

“If you remember, last week they told us it was a logistic problem, and we know what that means. So, why are they blaming marketers for the scarcity? We are not the importer, we are not in charge of shipment; we are not their clearing agent. We don’t even own our own depot. So, how can they blame us for that?” he asked.

Also responding to the NNPC’s allegations, the National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, debunked claims that the oil marketers were responsible for the persistent fuel scarcity.

Ukadike, speaking in a telephone interview on Friday night, stated that marketers established their businesses solely for profit and returns on investment, and would not create artificial scarcity, adding that the heavy capital and incurred bank charges did not allow for hoarding of the petroleum product.

He said, “We are the last in the distribution chain of supply. We break the box of NNPC, and as I am talking to you, IPMAN has over 20,000 filling stations scattered in the nooks and crannies of this country. We established our businesses to be able to maximise profit and have a return on investment.

“There is no sharp practice at all. Anytime there is inadequate supply of petroleum products, you would find out that independent marketers advertise and even go as far as washing vehicles’ tyres and windscreens and instructing our pump attendants to sell petroleum products, because we believe in turnover. The kind of money we are using to buy products, around N40m, is too huge for someone to hoard. We even incur bank charges.

“There is no way we can hoard products. Once they are given to us, we sell them as quickly as possible.

He added, “We are ready to sell for 24 hours if security is provided for us and financial support is also given to us. As an official, I can tell you that we are not involved in any sharp practice. Once petroleum gets to us, we will sell to consumers, because we interface with them and we know how it feels when product is scarce.”

The official further called on security agencies to wade off street urchins profiteering from the scarcity.

“I won’t also say that there are no people, such as street urchins, who take advantage of the situation to engage in sharp practices, using their vehicles to buy petroleum product and then distribute to jerry cans for profiteering. We are aware of those issues, and the national president of IPMAN has advised that marketers should involve security agencies to wade off all those persons standing in front of their filling stations.”

Also speaking to Saturday PUNCH, the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, said even though sharp practices existed within the oil sector, it should not be blamed majorly for the fuel scarcity in the country.

He said, “There are many reasons. I don’t doubt that some sharp practices are going on, but it is too simplistic to say that is the cause of the scarcity. So, I don’t believe that they (NNPCL) will say that.”

“I do not believe they said so. I do not doubt that there may be some sharp practices here and there, but I do not believe the NNPCL would say so.”

Explaining the cause of the scarcity, he said, “I have said it is logistic challenges. There are many other problems, but the immediate cause can be classified under logistic challenges.”

To solve the prevailing fuel scarcity, he said the government should “flood the markets with the products.”

“If you wake up and they say there is no product in Nigeria, then you can call or hold NNPC responsible. But now, the custodian of the stock is the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and they have not said that we don’t have products. When Nigerians should hold us responsible is when there is no product. But, there is product in excess.

“The 1.5 billion litres we said about four days ago has increased, because we’ve added more vessels and we are going to make almost three billion litres available. So, distribution should be looked into by the NMDPRA.

“When the regulator sanctions some stations, it will make others sit up and do the right thing. But, as NNPC, we don’t have the power to sanction any station,” Soneye stated.