BLAME OBASANJO FOR THE ABULE EGBA DISASTER... 
By Dr BISIKAY AYEDUN

May the souls of the dead rest in peace, and may the injured be restored to health. May we the living be rescued from the wicked hands of our so called president. OLUYE, a villager on the NIGERIANVILLAGESQUARE.COM, thinks the recent fuel disaster has nothing to do with the President. When any tragedy occurs in NIGERIA , would you want us to BLAME god, or YOURSELF, if not OBASANJO who is not leading Nigeria well? A good leader would work hard to prevent such tragedy recurring in their space and time, again, and again and again. But clearly Obasanjo is a KHAKISTOCRAT. Don’t mind his insincere agony for the ABULE EGBA victims. We have had such deceit from him before. Yet, he will do nothing productive about a re-occurrence, as the figures below would attest.

How many countries in the world are petroleum producers? And how many of these are poor nations like us? And in how many other such nations, apart from Obasanjo's Nigeria do we read about fuel disasters, as a regular occurrence? Think about it, the leadership of Nigeria appears not to value human life. Obasanjo' s leadership is one based on enforced loyality, not on a respect given freely by the people our of reverence for the valued leader. Hence, he surrounds himself with enforcers, like ADEDIBU, ALI and UBA, among others. These political TERRORISTS have helped to debase human lives in the West, the East and the North. Obasanjo does not really care about people's welfare. He spends his time scheming EVIL for the nation, for YOU and for US all. You too know all the ATROCITIES that BABA BALUBALU has caused upon the people of Nigeria .

Now, if the president is NOT to blame, how has he helped to improve the lot of the common person? Has he helped with electricity in nearly 8 YEARS? Has he helped with fuel availability in his wasted 8 years? Has he helped improve road or air or rail transport in his 8 years? Has he helped to improve security and safety of lives in his 8 years?

Rather, Obasanjo has merely ruled with little or no regard for the masses. POVERTY and INSECURITY have turnes poor people into emergency FUEL scavengers, at Abule Egba as it was in JESSE. I am sure they will still scavenge, today and tommorrow if and when another LEAK occurs along the weak chain of petrol distribution. When people have a fate worse than death, the threat of dying makes no sense to such people.

Please consider the statistics from a BBC report: NIGERIA PIPELINE DISASTERS
May 2006: At least 150 killed in Lagos
Dec 2004: At least 20 killed in Lagos
Sept 2004: At least 60 killed in Lagos
June 2003: At least 105 killed in Abia State
Jul 2000: At least 300 killed in Warri
Mar 2000: At least 50 killed in Abia State
Oct 1998: At least 1,000 killed in Jesse
NOW - Dec 2006 : At least 700 killed in Lagos

Seven reported fuel disasters have happened under Obasanjo’s watch. And THOUSANDS are dead.

I repeat my question, why does FUEL disaster happen ONLY in Nigeria ? Has Obasanjo really wondered about this? Is he actually bothered about the odious statistic? Would he be so bold to put his hand on his heart and swear to God, Almighty, his Creator, that the ABULE EGBA tragedy has nothing to do with his BAD GOVERNANCE? And that he should be judged by God for his innocence in these and other such predictable and preventable waste of human lives that have been a regular decimal in his 8 sad, mad, and gad years of presidency…

BISIKAY, PhD, LONDON . 

bisikay@horsemail.com

Robot  # 1 | 27.12.2006 08:30

BLAME OBASANJO FOR THE AB...Read the full article.

Willy  # 2 | 27.12.2006 09:37

Jail Obasanjo for life you mean? How many times have we seen scenes of firefighters battling flames minutes after a bomb explosion in the streets of Baghdad, yet Saddam is set to hang? Newspaper reports say that residents of the area alerted the police, and NNPC a whole day before the disaster, yet nothing was done to avert this avoidable blood-letting and carnage. Same Guardian account http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article01 has it that the firefighters did not have enough water.....of course how could they have enough water, firefighters rely on water hydrants and not tankers. What does it take to impeach a president and send him to jail for crimes against humanity? What would it had taken to send police officers to keep watch in the event NNPC could not shut off PMS supply? The streets of Baghdad apparently have functioning water hydrants, I am not sure we have any in Nigeria, and what do we get? Impound cars from the VP's residence, and the criminal of a VP spending his vacation in another country, as if he has seen any other VP vacation in his. May the souls of the departed find solace from the sufferings in Nigeria, and may the bereaved find the heart to bear this loss. Mr. Robot/webmaster, Kindly let the house know of any funds set up to help survivors, especially the dependants (minors) of the departed.

ajis15  # 3 | 27.12.2006 10:32

BisiKay: Why do we have to blame Obasanjo for everything? Did you read SaharaReporters' report on this unfortunate disaster? This tragedy was the creation of corrupt and venal NNPC officials and the police. I expect you to suggest an investigation into this tragedy; those involved to be charged for murder in the first degree. If found guilty to be hanged.

akuluouno  # 4 | 27.12.2006 12:08

Dear Villagers, The blame game has started. Lasg, NNPC, Police, Abule Egba LGA etc etc. In normal nations like the US, where a statesman and president put up a notice in his office, declaring that the buck stops here, there would not have been reason to worry. Let us say that oil was discovered at Abule Egba, MSMD, NNPC, LASG and others would have been fighting to claim responsibility for that. Even PDP and Baba would join in the fray to baptise the discovery as one of the dividends of democracy. Nweke Middle would have integrated that into his buttocks of Africa Project. Let all Nigerians for once admit that we have been fooled for a long time and join me to take back our nation from the hands of buccaneers and souless men who have bestrided that space like an incubus for a long time. If we continue to hold onto our primordial ethnic and religious and other clannish cleavages, then one day this fire would consume us. If anyone had told Agbroko that he would not spend xmas 06 with his family, he would have cursed the person. Like Agbroko, same with all of us who think that we are in our comfort zones. Like the eminient poet Gabriel Okara posited in his poem "The Casualties", Nigeria has made all of us casualties. This cancer would surely hit each an everyone of us unless we cut it off headfirst. May the souls of all the departed rest in peace. These deaths were indeed evitable. :sad: :sad:

Odinaka  # 5 | 27.12.2006 17:23

Another terrible news emanating from home. Once again, we have shown that we are incapable of governing ourselves. I am sick of hearing about death that could have been easily avoided @ akulonu, I think that the author of that beautiful poem, the casualties, is J. P. Clerk

akuluouno  # 6 | 28.12.2006 06:09

Thank you Odinaka for the correction. I read the poem last in 1978 for my wasc examinations. We are indeed casualties. I was in class 3 in 76 when OBJ succeeded Murtala. I am now over forty and have put in over 20 years of service in government and OBJ is still the head of state. I started life very early. That means my generation ie all those born in the 60,s are wasted and have not made any meaningful impact in that space. It is indeed a shame. Now by the process of selection and guided democracy Obj has anointed Yar Adua to continue where he stopped inthe spirit of I rub my back , you rub mine. Well God deyooo!

docokwy  # 7 | 28.12.2006 07:33

=akuluouno;145963>Thank you Odinaka for the correction. I read the poem last in 1978 for my wasc examinations. We are indeed casualties. I was in class 3 in 76 when OBJ succeeded Murtala. I am now over forty and have put in over 20 years of service in government and OBJ is still the head of state. I started life very early. That means my generation ie all those born in the 60,s are wasted and have not made any meaningful impact in that space. It is indeed a shame. Now by the process of selection and guided democracy Obj has anointed Yar Adua to continue where he stopped inthe spirit of I rub my back , you rub mine. Well God deyooo! OBJ is a thief, but so are the NNPC officials, the original pipeline bursters, and the dead scoopers, all of 'em, with no exception. In the latest case, no amount of poverty can justify the suicide mission.

docokwy  # 8 | 28.12.2006 07:49

Ibadan community raises alarm over looming pipeline fire By Ola Ajayi Posted to the Web: Thursday, December 28, 2006 IBADAN— TWO days after pipeline explosion killed hundreds of people at Awori Village in Lagos, another explosion is looming at Adebisi Layout in Ibadan as some residents in the area yesterday raised alarm to the authorities concerned to help them check the nefarious activities of vandals who scoop petroleum products in a stream at the back of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC). The alarm was raised when the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja paid a courtesy visit to the Ibadan depot of the corporation to see how the nagging problem of fuel scarcity could be checked. The Leader of the residents, Mr. Saka Balogun who led the governor to the stream, explained that there had been many fire outbreaks as a result of the activities of the vandals stressing that the police had arrested the vandals many times, but they still continued in their dangerous ventures. He added that knowing the extent of damage to lives and property that their actions could cause, the residents in the area had been living in perpetual fear because there may be an explosion. Balogun accused some law enforcement agents and some NNPC staff of conniving with the vandals, adding that despite repeated reports to the corporation, it had refused to do anything concrete to put an end to the dangerous trend. “At a time when I complained to them, all they said was that the contents in the stream was a waste product,” he said. Dismissing the claims of the corporation, he noted that the vandals “always come with many trucks and load petroleum products for sale to the consumers. I wonder why trucks are always brought to the scene to load contents they claimed it was waste products”. He therefore appealed to the government and other stakeholders to nip the activities of the vandals in the bud so as to prevent possible explosion that could happen in the area. Meanwhile, Senator Ladoja who promised the residents that something concrete would be done to stop the vandals, appealed to all the people in the state to be patient and that the products would soon be made available. He said: “The problem is beyond Apata depot, I want to let you know that the fire disaster has prevented the loading of fuel from atlas cove to Mosimi but let me assure you that from today, the pipeline will be fully repaired and fuel loading will resume,” Earlier, the Depot Accountant, Alhaja Simiat ****tu attributed the scarcity to the vandalisation of the corporation’s equipment.

oluye  # 9 | 28.12.2006 09:32

@Dr. Bisikay Ayedun, Season's greetings to you. The incident at Abule Egba is regrettable, but if we are not to see a re-occurrence we can not all continue to wait upon one man. He has 24 hours in a day like all of us-he is limited by space and time! I see government as an organic being- with several parts and while the head is critical, it can only do so much if the neck supports it effectively and the rest of the body responds. We all like to cry that the President acts like a god, that he arrogates power to himself- but where does that power come from? It is delegated authority. There is a link between responsibility, authority and facilities. When you hold someone accountable for an action you are invariably transferring the accompanying authority to him. By referring to me thus(in your article) you empowered me to react. When we blame the presidency for everything, we further empower the presidency. There would be nothing wrong with that if it does not amount to gathering the responsibilities of other arms of government and laying it at the feet of one man. Thereby failing to challenge those other arms. The centre gets stronger and the rest of the body, for lack of challenge, continues to misuse the facilities of state at their disposal. Why do the civil societies in Nigeria and NVS treat the Nigeria government as consisting of just the presidency? When will the voice of accountability and opposition grow and mature to call the government, in its entirety to responsibility? Is it that only the presidency "settles" its antagonists? Or why the obvious oversight of the shortcomings of many to endlessly blame one? Is it only the president that has the power to institute a probe? When houses under construction in Lagos State fell and the Lagos State government saw it could confiscate such parcels of land did the LSG not react? Is it the duty of the presidency to call for a review of the laws that would prevent such atrocities or the duties of the legislature? What really are the duties of the hundreds of "wise" men in our houses of legislature if it is always up to you and I to seek out the laws and crack our brains as to what ought to be done? While these wise men are planning to break their holidays to decide Atiku's fate( only God knows at what price?) Don't you think their break should have been broken automatically to discuss the Abule Egba issue? Is Atiku's ambition more relevant than the lives of 300 Nigerians? Has the senate or House of Rep come up with a committee to probe these disasters? Are they waiting for Obasanjo to order them to look into it? Is Obasanjo the one who will sponsor relevant bills? Has any community in Nigeria made any recomendation to the house of Rep through their representative? Has the lower house ever discussed such and reacted to give such communities succour? Those of us in the diaspora who know how things work here, do we champion such moves or sponsor litigation against erring parastatals on behalf of the suffering masses? No, we are busy throwing "owambe" parties in the diaspora. I rest my case. My post did not absolve the Presidency, I am saying the president is over flogged, over challenged and therefore becoming a diety who must run the government alone!

akuluouno  # 10 | 28.12.2006 10:05

Somebody talked baout blaming OBJ for everything and another spoke about an alarm raised over an impending inferno following an oil spill in Ibadan. Like Fela, one of the 60 eminient persons of this century, all na shakara. The oil did not spill. If it did, many people would be busy tranforming themselves into emergency oil marketers to take advantage of the seasons 250 Naira a litre jamboree and tackle the basic needs of their families. The poverty in the land is palapable and is worth committing suicide for if It must be said. Regarding the issue of Baba bashing on all issues happening in Nigeria, I think it has to be the case. Like I said in my earlier thread, if it were oil that was discovered in Abule Egba, I could have visualized Baba straddling Abule Egba like a collosus in his agbada looking like an oversized penguin, coughing a little to clear his throat, swaggering as if he were addressing the 3rd Marine Commandoes about to go on a genocidal mission in defunct Biafra, and then declaring that the discovery was a dividend of his Babacaracy to the adulation of party men, hangers on and all the oti mkpu emeritus. Just like the ceding of Bakassi, it also arguable that he was not responsible for that. Listen, as the Emperor of Nigeria, who can seize air crafts and government property with immediate effect, the same power could be deployed to arrest incidents of oil spillage anywhere inthe country, except we want to play the Ostrich. Now UN is coming to help us solve oil spills and tommorrow we will start boasting that we are the giant of Africa and that we want a permanent seat at the UN ! For where! Who sai!. Have a wonderful 07 and may all the good things you wish yourself come to your family. Amen.

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