It ended exactly the way it was titled, Presidential media chat. President Goodluck Jonathan chatted with journalists, not with Nigerians as it was promised, because his men couldn't get his phone to work.So, he sent messages instead: 'We will not invoke pains on Nigerians.' Those were his last words. He began from another end. Clever journalists around him made him start with an important issue ' corruption. The Moderator this time had earlier informed all that His Excellency had agreed to answer all questions. The emphasis was on that as if it was not what citizens expected their president to do in the first place. 'Sir, considering the fact that there is so much corruption in the oil industry, how would deregulation of the sector benefit Nigerians', the president was asked.Season's greetings came first from the leader. 'Deregulation is a way to tackle corruption,' he followed up. And he listed the kind of set-up involved in the corruption that the oil industry is known for. But what would you do, specifically, to the cabal that has taken the industry by the jugular' 'There is no cabal, and it's not as if some gang up and loot the revenue generated, it's just that there are leakages', the president said. That's a fact every Nigerian knows already ' that from the extraction point to the figures that arrived the table of the Petroleum Minister as what is extracted, the revenue collected, as well as the rent or subsidy paid, some pocket funds they don't earn legitimately. The president explained how he and his officials had been busy trying to figure out how the leakages occurred, and how to fix it. In the process, the question of what would be done to whoever is found taking what belongs to every Nigerian got lost.Nigeria keeps borrowing, sir, are we broke' No, Nigeria is not broke, it is just that we need to borrow for some reasons, the president explained in response to another question. Then he referred to an analysis his Central Bank Governor gave at another forum ' the Town Hall meeting between government officials and the civil society that was organised by the Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN) ' lately. That meant the president deployed his foot soldiers to explain issues about deregulation, and he watched them carry out the assignment - talking about what the government wants to do rather than being seen to have done it is popular these days. The president would go on to say borrowing has benefits, that some projects are too expensive for Nigeria to solely source funds for them, and in any case, when Nigeria borrows, its reserve rises.But Nigeria has not been able to effectively manage its refineries, yet officials talk of building new ones, how would that work' And those who collected funds but failed to turn around the refineries in the past, what would the president do to them' Well, contracts to carry out turn-around maintenance on refineries had been given to those who did not construct them in the past. So, in the end, they worked but they couldn't get the refineries back to what the original builders put in place. This time around, he stated, those who constructed the refineries have been brought back to site. Should Nigerians expect the refineries to produce at 100 percent once maintenance work was completed then' 'No, ninety percent is the maximum, the president said. Again, question as to what would be done to anyone who contributed to what the refineries have become was glossed over.When will Nigerians start to reap benefits of deregulation, Your Excellency' Ten to 18 months. That is when investors in the oil industry would have been sufficiently on ground to offer employment opportunities to Nigerians. But even that was a conjecture, and the president gave that time frame because some of the journalists around him would not let go on specifics. And what would the president do to ensure that the next generation does not suffer' The president's response included an analysis of how the April 2011 elections were free and fair, how no one rigged for him, and how it was part of his contribution to ensuring that things are done right in the nation in order to lay a good foundation for posterity. The question was repeated as to what specific things his administration would do to give a future to the next generation. Deregulation is an essential part of that, His Excellency said, and it is because it opens up opportunities for job creation not only in the oil industry but in other sectors such as agriculture, too. 'We have oil, and we have land,' he explained. Making use of oil revenue now to intervene in other aspects of the national economy is crucial to providing for the coming generation. Mr President, can you be more specific on what you will focus on in terms of the projects that will attract your intervention' His administration will target projects it can complete by May 2015 when his tenure will end, he said by way of specifics. Then he broadly mentioned the power sector, uncompleted projects not new ones, and followed it up with dam and irrigation projects that would benefit agriculture in the North, while he mentioned road construction in the South. One of the journalists wondered about the workability of the things the president listed. 'It sounded to me like we will do this, we will do that,' was all that the president had been saying, he complained. Are the things the president mentioned workable considering the lack of enabling environment such as laws like the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is necessary for the implementation of deregulation' And in spite of the debate and the on-going consultations, as well as lawmakers and the organised labour that say they will not agree to the removal of subsidy, has the president taken the decision to deregulate the oil industry already' 'It is agreed by all, including the National Assembly leadership that the nation cannot continue in the path it finds itself at the moment', the president said. 'Ajibade, a Communications Consultant, wrote in via tunjioa@yahoo.com
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