THE IMPERATIVE OF A RIGHTEOUS ORDER IN NIGERIA'S POLITY

Fourteen years into this democratic dispensation, not a few Nigerians are disappointed and frustrated that the anticipated "dividend of democracy" appears elusive. Despite our celebrated "potentials" for greatness, we are still yearning to be accorded our rightful place in the comity of nations. While our macroeconomic indices have improved by all the standard empirical measures, we still lag far behind on the world's human development indices. Our people long for a quantum leap in their quality of life. While change in human affairs is often by way of gradual improvement, the patience of Nigerians has been stretched thin. And discontent is evident in the cynicism with which most people greet indicators of progress. And can you blame those who want to see the Nigeria of our dreams yesterday?

So what really is our problem? Why is our hope deferred? We lament that we have poor leadership and bad governance. We point at the greed which has virtually canonised corruption in public service. But why do we really expect bad trees to bring forth good fruits? Why are we surprised when bad trees produce after their kind? Why do we expect sweet waters from fountains desecrated by bile?

It is futile to expect positive change when our politics and government officials at various levels are without morality. When truth is despised; when justice is trodden upon; when lucre is the object of all things; how will peace, progress and prosperity reign?

When I speak of Righteousness as one of the cardinal principles of my political philosophy (CREST: Courage, Righteousness, Equity, Service and Truth), some have presumed I speak of religion. Religion never did any good in the world. Religion is not righteousness. Righteousness is the genuine fear of God which produces right conduct before men and towards men. Righteousness: the Fear of God; the love of Truth, Justice and Equity; Goodness; Humanity; Transparency; Integrity.

Righteousness is what exalts nations. Nigeria will not be lifted by religion or religiosity. Nigeria will be exalted by Righteousness. Those who are in leadership or seek to be leaders must make righteousness their lifestyle if Nigeria is to be exalted. It is time we emplace a Righteous Order!

God bless Nigeria!

Nigeria di fure!!

EGHEOMHANRE EYIEYIEN FOR SENATE 2015: GETTING TO KNOW ME

EGHEOMHANRE EYIEYIEN: AN INTRODUCTION

My name is Egheomhanre Emmanuel Eyieyien. Most people know me as Eghes. I grew up to find that my Mum had shortened my first name, which in the Bini language means “My Time Has Come”, by adding an “s” to the first four letters. And I loved it.

I was born on 29th April, 1967, in St. Camillus Hospital, Uromi, in the then Midwest Region (now Edo State), to late Deacon Fidelis Ewaleifo Eyieyien of Uhondughe Clan of Egbele, Uromi, and Mrs Martha Eroboman Eyieyien (nee Ogbodaga) of Uzenema Clan of Arrue, Uromi. I am the first of two sons.

I am the Group Chief Executive Officer of Pharez Limited. I founded the Company in April, 1998, with the support of six other promoters and we have since grown to have subsidiary companies involved in Ratings, Business Consulting, Human Capital Development and Training, and Investments. 

I had my primary education in Government School, Uromi, from 1972 to 1974 and St. Patrick's Primary School, Yaba, Lagos, from 1974 to 1978. I attended King’s College, Lagos, from 1978 to 1983 and read Accounting at the University of Benin from 1983 to 1987.

I did the statutory National Youth Service in the 1987/1988 service year. My place of Primary Assignment was the Lagos State Ministry of Finance, Alausa, Ikeja, from where I was seconded to the Accounts Department of the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, Lagos. I passed the qualifying examination to become an Associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in May, 1989, and I became a Fellow of the Institute in year 2000. I am also an Associate Member of the Nigeria Institute of Management. 

I joined the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) as a pioneer staff in August, 1989, as an Assistant Bank Examiner (equivalent of an Assistant Manager) and I served for eight years resigning in October, 1997, as a Senior Bank Examiner (equivalent of a Senior Manager) to establish Pharez Limited. The Company was incorporated in January, 1998, but we formally commenced business operations on 16^th April, 1998.

I have extensive experience in bank examination, operations, restructuring and failure resolution having led various assignments covering several financial institutions.  And I acquired international exposure through a work-study attachment with the Division of Resolution of the United States’ Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1993.

I served as the Executive Director, Operations and Corporate Services, on the Management Board of Merchant Bank for Africa (Nig.) Ltd., which is now defunct, as an appointee of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation between September, 1995 and August, 1997.  While at NDIC, I was formally recognised for outstanding performance as a “High Flyer” in 1996 by the Management under the leadership of late Mr. John Ebhodaghe, the pioneer Managing Director and Chief Executive. 

Between October, 2005, and February, 2006, I took a leave of absence from Pharez to serve as the Executive Director, Operations and Retail Banking, on the Interim Board of Allstates Trust Bank Plc as an appointee of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

I am a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative West Africa (ALIWA) of the Aspen Institute, Colorado, United States of America. I was recognised by Financial Standard Newspapers among its Top 50 Nigerian Corporate Achievers in 2003 and by Thisday Newspapers as one of its I-Pod Generation of 40 Under-40 Young Nigerian Achievers in 2005. And, yes, I would love to add that I had the distinction of being the Best Student in Economics in the 1983 Graduating Class of King's College, Lagos. I still have the Economics book I was given by the School; duly signed by the Principal, Mr. A. A. Ibegbulam. It is unarguably my most treasured Award till date. :-D 

I initiated Stand Against Corruption and Kleptocrats! (SACK!), a people-driven anti-corruption campaign and it was launched in Lagos in October, 2011. I presently coordinate SACK! I am a Public Affairs Commentator, Public Policy and Social Analyst, Speaker and Writer. I am frequently a Guest Analyst on several radio and television programmes in Nigeria focused on Banking and Finance, the Economy, Politics and sundry topical issues in our society and polity. My articles are well published in the print media and are available on my blogs: http://eghes.blogspot.com and http://egheomhanre.wordpress.com.

I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria's Sub-Committee on Strategy, Research and Advocacy and a Volunteer Business Mentor of Fate Foundation. An ordained Pastor, I minister in the office of a Teacher/Prophet and I am an Apostle in the Market Place.

I am passionate about national transformation and committed to playing my part in the renaissance of Nigeria and Africa, in righteousness, with integrity and excellence. I am very happily married to Awesiri Nwaji Eyieyien (since 5th September, 1992) and we are blessed with a son, Omoseona Isaiah Chukwuyenumkekanma.


Esan di fure!

MY POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

I am a social democrat with conservative values founded on my strong Christian faith and ethos. My Political Philosophy is based on the CREST Principles:

* COURAGE

I am committed to consistently stand by my values, principles and convictions. I am not afraid of confrontation, if need be, in defence of what I believe in. 

* RIGHTEOUSNESS

My faith in God, my Fear of God and my personal relationship with Jesus Christ are the bedrock of my life. I am committed to seek the Will of God in all situations and live in obedience to Him. Integrity and transparency are my watchwords. I represent a New Godly Order. Righteousness is what exalts nations. And righteousness will exalt Nigeria.

 
* EQUITY
I believe equity and social justice are fundamental to building a good society. All men are equal before the law and should have equal opportunities to pursue their life purpose and dreams with freedom.

* SERVICE

Public office is about service to the people. I am committed to offer selfless service to the people and to promote legislation, policies, programmes and actions which advance their welfare and protect their best interest.

* TRUTH

I believe truth is sacred. Truth is liberating. The truth people know is what sets them free. I detest deception, duplicity and hypocrisy. I will uphold and promote truth in my public service.

 

Esan di fure!

MY MESSAGE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF ESAN NORTH-EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE ON THE FAILED LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 
Bo dia ye?

Sometime last week, I made a post in Uromi Voice (our Facebook group) appealing for calm and restraint as some people expressed their anger and disappointment over the failed Local Government election of 20th April. I cautioned then that there was no need to descend to insults and name-calling and I expressed hope that the rescheduled election, which held on 24th April, would be better organized and all would be well. Unfortunately, things were even worse this last time and the subsequent cancellation of the election understandably enraged some of our people who reacted angrily with street protests and the blockade of some major roads in Uromi. Since then this forum has been inundated with several abusive posts. Gov. Adams Oshiomhole has been called many unprintable names. And, not unexpectedly, the rancour between ACN supporters and PDP supporters has resurfaced in Uromi Voice. The dispute has become a good excuse to start the pro-Anenih/anti-Oshiomhole and pro-Oshiomhole/anti-Anenih debates all over again in the forum.

I am running for Senate in 2015 and I hope to win the ACN ticket by God's Grace. Nevertheless, I publicly endorsed Hon. John Yakubu of the PDP for re-election as the Chairman of Esan North-East Local Government Area. Some of my ACN members were no doubt embarrassed by my stance and some folks even called me a "political novice" and "naïve" for my position. I am very deliberate in ALL my posts and comments in Uromi Voice and other fora on Facebook. So I stand by my choice of Yakubu as our LGA Chairman. My political philosophy is anchored on COURAGE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, EQUITY, SERVICE and TRUTH. I represent a New Godly Order in politics in Uromi, Esanland, Edo State and Nigeria. People will catch on to my style with time.

I am optimistic that the wish of Uromi people regarding who leads the LGA will be upheld by God's Grace. Truth and Justice shall prevail. GOD HIMSELF, IN HIS OWN WAY AND IN HIS OWN TIME, WILL ENSURE THAT HAPPENS EVEN IF THE JUDICIARY IS COMPROMISED!

So, once again, I appeal for peace. No Uromi blood is worth shedding for Gov. Adams Oshiomhole, Chief Anthony Anenih, Arc. Mike Onolemenmen, Hon. John Yakubu, Samuel Oboh, Action Congress of Nigeria, Peoples Democratic Party or any other political party or politician. We must not allow strife in Uromi and yield place to confusion and every evil work.

God bless Uromi.

Uromi di fure.

Esan di fure!

THIS BEAST CALLED "AMCON"

How the CBN and AMCON have managed to dupe the entire nation on this their N5.6Trillion destination-less misadventure is mind-boggling! The conspiracy of silence involving out legislators, the Presidency, the Ministry of Finance and the most of the media is nauseating.

But will the government heed the recent call by the International Monetary Fund in its Article IV Consultation Report for 2012 to wind down AMCON within seven years instead of the perpetual statutory life the AMCON Act gave it surreptitiously? Who is even regulating/supervising this alternative economy of the CBN and AMCON?

And now the Courts have laid out a red carpet for AMCON regarding its cases. See the story below.


N4trn bad loans: Debtors fret as court gives priority status to AMCON cases
Our Reporter March 11, 2013

By CHIMA TITUS NWOKOJI

(http://sunnewsonline.com/new/specials/businessweek/n4trn-bad-loans-debtors-fret-as-court-gives-priority-status-to-amcon-cases/)


Indications have emerged that debtors, who capitalize on loopholes in the Nigerian legal system to frustrate creditors, especially recovery efforts of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), may be facing tough times following the recently granted practice direction to ‘AMCON track courts and judges’ by the Federal High Court.

Effective March 1, this year, the document recently unveiled in Lagos by Hon. Justice Ibrahim Auta is aimed at providing proper guidance to specific judges designated by the chief judge to hear AMCON claims for specific or identified period. The essence of the document was captured by the chief judge when he said: “Some judges put AMCON claims (cases) on the cause list. This is wrong because all AMCON claims should come by way of ex-parte application.

The essence of the practice direction is speedy dispensation of AMCON cases, and this is very significant to the growth of the economy.” A debtor who preferred anonymity told Daily Sun at the corporation’s headquarters that he and indeed some other debtors are seeking negotiation with AMCON for better payment terms. Further investigations reveal that more debtors have approached the corporation for restructuring, and out-of-court settlement of their debt obligations.

The most recent is the on-going talks over N13.5 billion debt allegedly owed by Roygate properties, which AMCON’s Head of Corporate Communication, Mr. Kayode Lambo, earlier confirmed that “Roygate has approached the corporation, indicating its willingness for out-of-court settlement.” On whether the practice direction is legal, a legal practitioner, Barrister Chukwuemeka Ozoani of Jerome Chukwuemeka & Co., explained that the practice direction is in order and that since AMCON is an agency of the Federal Government, the Federal High Court has power to adjudicate on cases concerning the corporation. “Jurisdiction of courts depends on, among others, subject matter and the parties in litigation.

AMCON is an agency of the government, so the Federal High Court is ideal for this purpose,” Chukwuemeka said. However, critics like the Managing Director of Pharez Consulting, Eghes Eyieyien, accuse the corporation and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of chasing bad money with good money. Also, Chief Anthony Ani, a chartered accountant and former minister of finance under the late General Sani Abacha, still believes like the biblical doubting Thomas, that those debts will never be recovered and, more recently, other critics say the corporation has lost focus by getting more interested in taking over choice properties.

With a total assets amounting to N3.34 trillion as at December 2011, the ‘bad bank’ is chasing about N4 trillion worth of bad loans; an amount that is close to Nigeria’s annual budget soaked off from banks’ balance sheet. Experts believe that recovery of these debts is important and that activities of AMCON touch the heart of Nigerian economy. For example, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicates that monetary growth rose sharply at the end of 2011 despite the tight policy stance of the Bank; a development which the apex bank noted, reflected largely the substantial growth in domestic credit arising from fiscal operations and ‘increased claims on AMCON.’ “The size of CBN’s balance sheet increased in 2011 as total assets/liabilities grew appreciably by 66.6 per cent to N11.3 trillion.

The assets position reflected a phenomenal growth of over 3,000 per cent in investments, driven largely by the Bank’s investment in AMCON bonds and Bank of Industry Debenture, as loans and advances fell by 52.9 per cent,” CBN stated in its recently released annual report for the year ended 2011. Mr. Lambo, in a chat with Daily Sun explained that the document is a court process whereby all cases concerning AMCON will be treated with urgency in court; adding that it does not necessarily mean more powers, but a way of giving priority to AMCON’s cases in view of usual delays that characterize justice dispensation in Nigeria.

The chief judge said soon there will be more AMCON track courts in other states and not just in Lagos and Abuja, which they are currently located; stressing that the document is made available not only to judges but to all branches of the Nigerian Bar Association. These debt recovery measures the corporation said, have only succeeded to some extent as AMCON says it has recovered N85 billion worth of bad loans as at January 2013 and expects to make more recoveries because its Acts has given it enough impetus to ‘pursue and recover.’

A source close to the corporation said the laws governing debt recovery in Nigeria make a lot of things difficult for creditors, which is why AMCON has been grappling with the onerous task of debt recovery with little success. In the process, the corporation has being incurring losses which was evidenced by a N2.37 trillion ($15 billion) loss it recorded in its first year of operation, exposing the scale of financial devastation wrought by a 2009 banking crisis to be deeper than first thought.

He hopes that when the foreclosure law currently with the National Assembly is passed into law, the job of debt recovery would be a lot easier for AMCON. This is because financial institutions that accepted properties as collateral can easily lay hold and sell such to the next available person ready to pay and settle the debts without going through time-consuming, rigorous court processes. However, AMCON believes that the banks are aware of three facts: (1) the debts declared in their books are far below the actual amount as revealed by the AMCON Executive Director of Finance Mofoluke Dosumu that “The non-performing loans that we bought were four times larger … which shows you that what was disclosed as NPLs (non-performing loans) on the books of the banks were (below) what we found when they started selling to us;” (2) the lingering headache in debt recovery and (3) that 90 per cent of the debts are bad and given up as lost. It is in the light of these facts that they agreed to increase their collective contributions to a post-crisis “sinking fund” used to refinance the bank’s bad debts to N100 billion, up from the N60 billion they had already put in. In response to critics, the corporation’s Managing Director, Mustafa Chike-Obi has severally dismissed their allegations as baseless. In a conversation with Daily Sun, he emphasized that since most of the debtors are reluctant to pay, AMCON had to take possession of their properties.

According to him, foreclosure, a specific legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by taking over, or forcing the sale of asset used as collateral for the loan; is part of loan restructuring that forces debtors to the payment re-negotiation table.

"AMNESTY" FOR BOKO HARAM: A FAIT ACCOMPLI?

It is clear to me that "Amnesty" for Boko Haram is now imminent.

The clamour for it in recent times by prominent Nigerians across the political, religious, sectional and ethnic divides was well orchestrated to set the stage for it. The roll call of advocates for "amnesty" for Boko Haram is interesting: Sultan of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Nasir El Rufai, Senator Ita Enang, Senator Abdul Ningi, Bola Tinubu, Shehu Sani and Nuhu Ribadu. Many newspaper columnists have indicated that they "do not mind amnesty for Boko Haram if it would end its terrorist attacks". They forget that you cannot dissuade people who think they do God service by killing others from obeying Him! The doctrine of Taqiyya allows the Islamist terrorists to feign acceptance of "amnesty" only to re-group and come out later even much deadlier.

But "amnesty" for Boko Haram is more or less a fait accompli......except God intervenes.

Even the statements from the Presidency show the government is not averse to it if the "ghosts" take on bodies.

It is tragic. "Amnesty" will provide more funding for Islamist terrorism to escalate in West Africa. We have now entered the den of lions. But, like He did for Daniel, God will deliver His People.

Now, I really I fear for Nigeria.  I am wary about the implications of granting "amnesty" to Boko Haram if the Federal Government concedes to those pressuring it to do so.

DISCERNING DECEIVERS

The Bible says in 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world".

Here are practical ways to judge if a "man/woman of God" is genuine or fake:

1. Is he/she born again as defined by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in John 3:3-6?
2. What is the person's testimony regarding his/her salvation?
3. What is the person's spiritual antecedent after salvation?
E.g., Did the person serve under another ministry? Which Bible School or Seminary did he/she attend? Who is the person's mentor?
4. How and when was the person called by God into ministry?
5. Are ALL the person's teachings Bible-based?
6. Does the person teach extra-Biblical "revelations"?
7. If miracles manifest in the person's ministry, are they independently verifiable medically?
8. Are the "miracles" bizarre, repulsive, weird, spooky, odd, fear-inducing and/or leave a strange, uneasy and inexplicable feeling?
9. Is God glorified? Or does credit go to the "man of God"?
10. Does the person practise syncretism (the combination of Christianity with other religions)?

This check-list is not exhaustive. The Ultimate Test is the Witness of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer who is truly walking intimately with God in holiness and obedience.

"But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." ..... 1 Corinthians 2:15

Deception is a choice when knowledge is available.