The transparency music. Call it the anthem of the PDP government, sang at every season of gathering, in a way that will make Micheal Jackson and Fela, put together, green with envy. lnfact, It has gone beyond a chorus song to a special prayer verse memorized by every class of operative in the due sycophancy unit, it self attached to the office of due process in the presidency.
Yes, It was through transparently undue process that Solgas, whose business is dealing in gas, was dubiously awarded the juicy contract to run Ajaokuta with the intent, perhaps, to further run it down the drains. This was in the race of bids by the Russian firm which built the place. What happened? The gas company reportedly rushed to them to come in as sub contractors. And wily did they do that? Just to tell our transparency choir masters that had due process taken its course the Russians would have been given the job.
As bad as this was, untransparency, once more, took the center stage, to award some pre-shipment contracts to Cotecna, a company, not registered in Nigeria. The law requires that companies wishing to do business here must be registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission.
This flagrant disregard for the law is not so much the issue as the manner in which the company was smuggled through the back door of transparency to corner the contracts by way of undue process. These contracts were about installing some x-ray machines at our various entry points, which were awarded to a German firm, Heimann, said to be the best producers of the required machines. This was during the days of Abacha, left as such by Salam.
Perhaps, because of Abacha, when the choir singers, of transparency, and clue process, took over, they swiftly ditched the then two year old agreement and called for fresh bids. This, done, two reputable consulting firms were brought into access the bids. Global Scan Ltd was given the four international airports. Contecna got Onne and Port Harcourt posts, while Heimann’s subsidiary, Control System, got the other sea ports and some, "Idi Iroko, Jibia and Banki border posts". [See Sam Nda Isaih, Daily Trust Aug.30, 2004]
Somehow, Cotecna which was not originally among the bidders, was invited, almost one year after matters had been settled. The consultants were invited to assess them and this was turned down. Unable to abide by their own preachments the transparency masters turned untrasparent singers and awarded the contracts to Cotecna regardless of the due process.
Of course they have proved masters in this game. Take the I.D contract, just like victory was given to those who participated in elections. It was snatched from the company, which won and given to the one which came third. Due process and transparency were thrown to the dogs to feast on. For this, government had to cough out N870 million as breach of contract payment by far more than the bribe money, as alleged, put together. It was a worse form of corruption than the bribery scandal.
The same dubious due process is now trailing a steel company where the winners were shoved aside in favour of a second-hand bidder. This matter is now in court and government may end up paying another breach of contract fees, as it did in the case of the I.D. job.
NITEL represents another due process scam. You need to read the letter of the Hon.Minister for Communication, to Mr. President, dated last year, and published in the September 30, 2004 of the Leadership, to appreciate how untransparency has been the under laying policy of the administration. Not only was undue process effectively not applied, in giving the USD 5 Million contract to the current management contractors, who brought in only three staff; but within the short period of their take over, more serious is that the accounts of the company has gone down to about NI billion from over N1l billion courtesy of due or is it undue process.
The nation lost about N570 million through untransparent award of the I.D. contract.
Add this to the NITEL one, and the others that may arise from the steel mill contracts and you will appreciate how undue process, in the conduct of public affairs, has been costing us. If this is what they chorus as transparency and due process then corruption has no any other name and if it has its Nigerian name is transparency.
We ought to have known these things long time ego. First, there was the Julius Begger issue early in the day. The constitution was viciously assaulted, in a manner undignifying of due process, when the company was paid N12 billion, without legislative authorization. Where insults are heaped on the constitution, in the discharge of public duties, what remains of transparency is chaff.
Which was the case when they bought houses for ministers and some senior cronies, for N28 billion. Once more, transparency was called its proper name: corrupt practice.
Came the award of N10 billion to Niger Republic done is gross violation of the Constitution, which is now the "foot" of somebody. As if this was not bad enough, USD 45 million was given to Ghana and Sao Tome. The National Assembly made the usual MGM noise, so to speak, and the matter has since died, and so will untransparency and undue process continue to prevail in the conduct of public affairs with Senatorial appreciation.
As will be demonstrated farther, in the course of observation, the Obasanjo administration, more than any before it, has given untransparency a life of cultural reality such that undue process has become the corner stone of public policy, assuming a frightening cultural latitude, dictating the official conduct of government. Inspite of all the rhetorics and media shows, the truth, is that, this administration is more about untransparent behaviour, in its mannerism, orientation and general attitude to public policy. To put it another way, the only thing transparent about it is that it has no respect for due process. While it is not disrespecting the constitution, it is disregarding transparency and when not doing so it is calling due process "myfoot", at its exclusive pleasure.
But are we surprised? Not when the foundation of the regime is built on the structure of untransparency and corrupt practices. A cow has never given birth to a mule.
