Grading Our New President

After more than six months in office the time has come for me to assess the performance of the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. This being his second coming as the leaders of the nation; expectation were sky high from the moment he assumed office on 29 May 2015. Many have committed their loyal support, many their loyal opposition. As for me, I pledge my support to Nigeria and all those toiling to uplift her.

The individual areas making up the overall grade are as follows:

National Security               weight 30%         score    28% of 30%

Corruption                               "     20%             "       16% of 20%

The Economy                          "     20%             "        5%  of 20%

Power                                      "     10%              "       8%  of 10%       

Healthcare                               "     10%              "       3%  of 10% 

Education                                "       5%              "       2%  of   5%   

International Relations            "       5%              "       5%  of   5%

The overall score thus far 67%. 

This may seem like a poor grade. Yet compared with the Johnathan administration's 23%, it is a massive improvement. Under Johnathan the National Security score was 0% and the Corruption score was also 0%.

There will be those who disagree with my assessment. Feel free to comment below. Anyone who wishes failure on President Buhari doesn't know what they're hoping for. Such would only spell pain and immeasurable hardship for all Nigerians. As the new administration starts to settle in, and the newly appointed ministers begin to conduct the people's business in earnest, I anticipate that "Baba Go Slow's" grade will improve greatly. Rome wasn't built in a day abi?

Enemies of progress beware

The Key to the Gate

Almighty God I praise you as the only thing worthy to be praised.

Father take control of my heart, soul, and my mind, so that I think of you always. You alone are worthy.

Father direct my steps that I may avoid the evil one and never offend you. Only you are worthy

Almighty God may I stand upright solid as a stone wall in the face of the wicked and honor you with my every breath.

In Jesus name I offer up this praise to you Jehovah.

Amen

The Illusion of Poverty

The fuel scarcity crisis lead me to really investigate the role of fuel distribution and production in the Nigerian economy. As it stands we import $6.8 billion worth of fuel each year. This means that the country is exporting $6.8 billion worth of naira every year. This is the result of not having the capacity to refine enough crude oil into fuel to meet our own domestic needs.

We purchase fuel from various countries. Our biggest suppliers of refined crude are:

Netherlands
Belgium
United Kingdom
Italy
Germany
Sweden

The middle men who have been making a good profit from this lunacy are all traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. They are all members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (send your love letters to them at:Eleganza Plaza, Plot 634, Adeyemo Alakija Street, Victoria Island, e-mail info@moman.org). The members of MOMAN are:

Conoil            Nigerian owned
Forte Oil        Nigerian owned
Mobil             American owned
MRS              American owned
Oando           Nigerian owned
Total              French owned

This is where $6.8 billion dollars of your currency goes each year.  It gets wired to Europe where our oil is refined and sent back to us. Courtesy of the members of MOMAN and a few smaller outfits like Capital Oil & Gas. This is absurd. But actually it's worst than absurd when you consider that we have four refineries in the country which are currently not functional. There are two refineries located in Port Harcourt, one in Warri, and one in Kaduna. If they were operating at peak performance they would produced more than 100,000 barrels of fuel beyond what we presently consume daily. And therein lies the other side of the cost of not producing fuel for ourselves.

Besides the $6.8 billion we are spending, there is the money we could be making by selling our excess production to other countries who desperately need it. How much money could Nigeria make selling refined crude products? Well let's see what other nations have done with refined fuel sales. These are countries which don't even have oil.

Singapore     $62.4 billion
India             $52.9 billion
South Korea $51.5 billion

Given that we produce the petroleum right here in Naija, we have what you call economies of scale in the production process and better logistics. In its nascent stages our fuel exportation could reap upwards of $25 billion for the economy.

When we do the math that's $6.8 billion + $25 billion =   N6,329,790,095,400 every year that we should be generating in our economy. That's about 5% of the current real GDP of Nigeria. Mind you that the 2015 budget which was passed by the senate just the other day was N4,493,363,957,158. 

What does that tell you? It tells me that our resources have been mismanaged with depravity.

Resurrecting the Naira

The strength of any currency is in its usefulness to other countries in purchasing goods and services from the country which the currency belongs to. Thus, in order for a currency to grow in value, the country which the currency belongs to must produce things which the rest of the world desires to have. This could be anything. Seriously, such as: toys, petroleum, medical equipment, shoes, rice, and so on. If you have nothing to sell to the world the world has no need for your currency.

When they buy from us they pay in naira. On the other hand when we buy from the world we pay usually in U.S. dollars, British pounds, euros or Japanese yen. This is a slight oversimplification, but in theory this is what is essentially happening. The exchange rate for any currency is in a continuous flux based on the demands of importers and exporters engaging in international business transactions. When I was a boy the naira was trading at parity with the U.S. dollar (one to one). Hard to imagine from where we stand today (NGN 180/ USD 1). Where did we go wrong? And how do we recover?

There is a three part answer to that question. One, we have a one dimensional economy, which is dominated by the oil sector. Two, we have an economy which hasn't developed down stream inputs for our manufacturing sector. Three, there has been a steady erosion in the agricultural sector, so we are even importing food. This is as baffling to explain (since we are abundantly blessed with fertile land and water) as why we need to bleed out naira to import petrol. Are we not one of the worlds largest producers of crude oil?

The core of the problem with the weakness of the naira can be explained by poor planning and execution in the structuring of the economy.  No part of the nation's development is to be considered separately. We must have a holistic approach. Everything from education, security, reliable electricity, and healthcare is impacting on the naira. And the value of the naira is impacting on everything else at the same time.

The way forward therefore requires a comprehensive steady attack on our shortcomings in each of those areas.  The incoming administration has campaigned that it will create employment by developing our roads and bridges. They also have presented some creative ideas for bringing power and light. This will be a good start. We the people must hold them to their word. There can be no more business as usual; we have no time to waste.

In correcting the flow of money out of our country the first leak to address has got to be the development of our petroleum refining capacity. Petrol has been our number one import for years now. Producing all of the petrol which we now import would save us $6,500,000,000 yearly. That's money which will remain in Nigeria (1,300,000,000,000 naira each year). What can we do with that amount of money?

The sad part is that we already have the refineries built. It is corruption, greed, and lack of security which has cost the nation this bounty. Between Port Harcourt I & II, Warri and Kaduna, Nigeria has the capacity to refine 445,000 barrels of petrol each day yet we only consume 305,000 barrels per day. This is part of the reason why we see such poverty in our nation. This is ridiculous and I trust that the new administration will put an end to it as they have promised.

When a nation manufactures little yet consumes much it will become poor over time. The naira's fortunes say less about our currency and more about the type of people we have allowed to govern us. For Nigeria to become a truly great and prosperous nation, we must focus on diversifying our economy and exporting more of what we produce. Then the naira will be resurrected.

What you don't want to see

In Nigeria the average person stays focused on the basics of survival. Feeding the family and maintaining a roof over our heads.  Most of us have no time to consider even monumental events in world affairs, such as what is taking place this week between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic of Iran in reaching a nuclear weapons deal. The west seeks to stop Iran from acquiring the ultimate weapon, the nuclear bomb. A bomb which could destroy Lagos or Kano in the blink of an eye.

Why should we in Nigeria be concerned? As signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement, we don't have such weapons. We can't imagine a scenario where we would ever be targeted by them, right?  To date only eight countries in the world even poses "nukes". They are: U.S., U.K., France, China, Russia, Israel, Pakistan, and India.

                                          

During peace time it's all good. But in case there is ever a war having such weapons will determine which nations live and which nations perish.  The technological edge always has determined the victor in military conflict. North Africa was conquered by the Arabs because they were using iron swords against black Africans with bronze weapons. So, you don't want to come up short in the technology department when you are attacked by a blood thirsty Arab.

The dynamic to observe carefully is between Iran and their regional nemesis Saudi Arabia.  If Iran gets "the bomb", the Saudis will likely obtain nukes immediately from Pakistan. In fact, it was Saudi Arabia which financed the Pakistanis in their race to develop a nuclear capability. Where will that leave Nigeria and the OAU? It leaves us unarmed and vulnerable to being invaded and conquered by people who will in twenty years be sitting on empty oil wells and living in the desert. The Arabs have no farm land and practically no water resources. They will crave our lands. And we won't be able to defend ourselves unless we too are armed with nuclear weapons as a deterrent.  People who don't plan for the future will have no future to plan for. We have 13 years according to President Obama's deal with the Iranians. The clock is ticking.

What the Arabs Really Want

Islam (submission to the will of Almighty God) a beautiful religion of peace, harmony, freedom, justice, and equality was hijacked long ago. And only the righteous and the wise can discern how to set the African Muslim free. Most Muslims may not realize that their faith is not even in the hands of the upright, but that's only because they aren't paying attention to the political and financial realities of their faith and who controls Islam.

To appreciate what I am sharing with you, we have to go back to the early days before the holy prophet (pbuh) founded Islam in Mecca (modern day Saudi Arabia).  The vicious Arabs tribes that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula were a warlike population of idol worshipers. They housed 360 of their most sacred idols in the Ka'aba (that large black cube in Mecca). Each year pilgrims would visit to worship these idols and pay a tribute to the lords of the desert. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) attempted to correct them. He urged the people to do away with the idols and instead to worship only the one true Almighty God (Allah in Arabic). So the evil Arabs ran him out of Mecca. Being warlike they chased him into Axum (modern day Ethiopia) where he sought refuge among African Christians who protected him from the Meccans.

Fast forwarding, the early Muslim community captures Mecca and cleanses the Ka'aba. The peace terms allowed for the peaceful spread of Islam among the Arabs, and more importantly it made the Ka'aba (now containing a single black stone symbolic of Abraham) a central part of Islam. The fifth pillar of Islam became the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Thus generating steady revenue to the Arabs of the Saudi Arabian Dessert in perpetuity.

From 630 CE to the present day the Arabs have waged war to expand Islam among non-Arab peoples of the Earth.This is contrary to the Qu'ran which forbids conversion by the sword. Furthermore in the name of Almighty God (Allah) the Arabs have carried out genocide against the black Hebrews of North Africa, and the middle east. And to this day hold a strong contempt and hatred in their hearts for black Africans. Racism is also contrary to Islam. We can see how brutally they mistreat our Ethiopian brothers and sister living in their land today. Recall these Ethiopians are the descendants of the people who protected the prophet of Islam (pbuh) when he was running for his life.

Truly to the Arabs Islam is a permit from Almighty God to exploit the non Arab people of the world. Muslim converts are encouraged to drop their native names for Arabic names, and to learn to speak and read Arabic. They see themselves as the owners of Islam. All others are borrowing their religion. And blacks are natural born slaves in the mind of the Arabs.

But getting back to the topic of this article. What do the Arabs want?  Well, to start with they have plenty today due to their vast oil wealth and relatively small population. So you might conclude that they shouldn't want for much.  In 2014 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took in $246 billion dollars from the sale of oil. Compared to $77 billion received by Nigeria from our oil sales. Considering that the Saudis only have to feed 29 million people; while we have to feed 180 million mouths.  Hence their oil wealth goes much further.  What they want is a source of income even after the oil wells are dry in another twenty years.

The Saudis are the heart of the Arab world. Home to the Arab ethos. Spawning ground of their culture, and "civilization". If you wish to understand the essence of the Arab people, look no further than Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of the Devil, masquerading as the Kingdom of God. To the Saudis Islam is a national asset. The Hajj pilgrimage generates $20 billion dollars for the Kingdom each year. As the worldwide population of Muslims grows these revenues will grow.

Thus, it is the Saudis who are behind the continued forced conversion to Islam which is happening throughout Africa. Speaking of groups like Boko Haram and Al-Shabab; it is Saudi money which is behind them. When the oil is gone or obsolete as a result of some future technology. The Arabs intend to survive as a people. As far as they're concerned, we can kill each other off, so long as in the end Islam prevails and more African Al hajjis (Muslims who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca) are created. This has nothing to do with pleasing the lord of the worlds, Almighty God.  This has everything to do with slavery, injustice, and inequality.

Nigeria shine your eyes, see through the fog and don't be a fool to these white Arabs who look down on all of us. Yet we stand well above them in the eyes of Almighty God, as we are true in our duty to the Almighty in ways that they are not. When you make the Hajj you are literally falling for the oldest trick in the book.

The Lost Sheep and the Good Shepherd

The people of Nigeria are in bondage to religion. Half are bound by Christianity and the other half are bound by Islam. But ask yourself where did these doctrines originate. Are they native to our continent?  The answer is no they are not. However they both originate in Africa with Abraham who was himself a black African, as was Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus.

What am I saying then? Well I'm saying that a tomato is a tomato even if you call it by another name.  Both Christianity and Islam are derivatives of the ancient Hebrew religion, and the ancient Hebrews were brown complexioned people like us.

The Hebrews were dispersed in two waves from the the area known today as Israel.  They were taken into bondage when the Babylonians destroyed King Solomon's Temple in 597 BC. After being permitted to return to Judah they reconstituted themselves until the Romans delivered the death blow to the Mediterranean Hebrew Civilization in 70 AD. The Romans destroyed the second temple leaving only the Western Wall (Whaling Wall) of the second temple intact.

So the Hebrews who were originally brown skinned people with afro textured hair fled. Today their descendants can be found in West Africa, where they escaped to fleeing from the Romans. What is not so commonly known is that they managed to thrive in West Africa. In fact, there was a Kingdom of Judah along the Niger River in West Africa until it was destroyed by Arab invaders. This Arab aggression just about erased the memory of the brown skinned Hebrews in Africa, but some how the story of their existence survived.

Actually the Europeans knew very well of this history. Which is the reason why the Star of David was embossed on the colonial era Nigerian flag.  The christian missionaries came to us with the gospel. But down played the fact that Jesus came for the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (the only Hebrews in Israel  by 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed it). The suffering to befall Israel was foretold in the book of Deuteronomy. Yet Almighty God's promise to Israel is also recorded in the bible.

So today in West Africa we have several nation states populated by Muslims and Christians. All of these people are the modern day descendants of the Hebrews who fled out of Israel. Regardless of whether you are a Muslim or a Christian, the truth is that you are related to the very "Jews" who Jesus came to save.

You can reject this truth, but the truth remains the truth. There are many people in the world who known of these facts. And now you do too. Nigeria, who are you actually?