Though currently, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Integrated Ventures Nigeria Limited, owners of the popular IV Dolphin Hotels, Israel Tuotamuno Williams was a Commissioner for Finance in Rivers State and former lecturer at the Rivers State College of Education now Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt. He also holds the title of Amaopusenibo conferred on him by the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom and was also the immediate past President of the Titled Citizens Assembly (TCA) of Bonny Kingdom.

 

With a pedigree in banking, academia, and several others, and a broadened world view, this financial expert remains an opinion leader with a firm grasp on critical issues affecting the polity. In this exclusive interview with KRISTINA REPORTS publisher/editor-in-chief, Godswill Jumbo, Williams gave insights into key issues affecting his community, the state and the economy of the country. It is an interesting read. Enjoy the excerpts:

 

Kristina Reports: Since leaving the corridors of power, how has it been, that shift from the government environment to the community environment and to the business environment?

 

Israel Tuotamuno Williams: As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t say I have experienced any kind of shift because I started my career in the private sector. I only had a sojourn in government for four years and that was by appointment under a military government. So, from being a lecturer to the banking industry, I went into government for just a brief period and came back again to the private sector, went back to the banking industry. And after some time I retired and went into private business. To me, I have always been a private-sector person.

 

Having been in the private sector and running your business, in several ways, you’ve impacted lives; what can you say about the economic environment in Nigeria? Is it encouraging businesses?

 

First of all, I want to make the point that I am not in politics, that is, I am not in partisan politics.  My sojourn in government was by appointment under the military regime. And I have never attended any political party meeting, never held any political party card in my life. When you discuss the economy of Nigeria, you must discuss it very dispassionately, from an objective point of view. But we live in an environment where whatever you say is misconstrued and tainted in a political light.

 

Having made that point, I can tell you that as a businessman and as an impartial observer of the economic scene in Nigeria, the business environment has been very harsh. The country went into recession about three years ago and statistics are showing that there is a bit of recovery but this recovery has not been felt. The impact of the recovery has not been felt by the people, by the business environment. You still have high levels of unemployment, especially youth unemployment, graduate unemployment, and, of course, all these factors contribute to the high crime rate in the country. So, it’s been harsh, maybe, government still needs to do more to revive the economy.

Talking about government, the Niger Delta Development Commission is one of the agencies of government. And from you community, which is a microcosm of the Niger Delta, the statutory law establishing the NDDC requires all multinationals to provide three per cent of all their revenue accruals annually to fund the NDDC. Records at our disposal shows that your community, Bonny Local Government Area, which is host to the NLNG, Shell, Mobil, and several others, has contributed more than any other part of the Niger Delta to the NDDC. Question is, has the NDDC given back to your community as much as it has taken?

 

The answer is capital No. In fact, if anything, Bonny Kingdom has been marginalized under the NDDC. I would like to look at the NDDC even beyond the issue of the international oil and gas companies contributing three per cent of their budget to NDDC. It goes beyond that because NDDC has been existence before that law was passed. That was an Act of the National Assembly passed not too long ago. And I am aware that many of the companies resisted it. They challenged that Act. Be that as it may, before the Act was passed, NDDC was created for the purpose of developing the Niger Delta. It has statutory budgetary allocations for the development of the Niger Delta region. The question is: with the statutory allocation coming to NDDC, have they fared well? The answer is No. They have not done well, at all. Generally, they have not done well. In fact, if anything, NDDC has succeeded in empowering a few individuals, making money get into private pockets. Not actually for the real essence of development. In the process, NDDC went into a lot of projects I would describe as low hanging fruits. NDDC did not do the core developmental projects in the Niger Delta, which was the reason why the commission was set up. I have to tell you that, as Commissioner for Finance, I was part of the 1.5 per cent fund (committee) for the development of the Niger Delta; in fact, at a certain stage in Rivers State, I as the Chairman of that committee. Now, the idea was, the whole idea was that there were certain projects; you know that to develop the Niger Delta is not a mean feat because of the terrain and all that. And now there are certain big projects which no State alone, no local government alone can do. NDDC was supposed to go into it and do it…build bridges, roads, and infrastructure within the Niger Delta to connect them, to develop them. Now, that has not been the case. From one per cent fund for oil minerals producing communities we now migrated to OMPADEC, OMPADEC came in, and now migrated to NDDC. All these players have not done what they were supposed to do.

 

Coming to Bonny Kingdom in particular, there is no impact of NDDC. I can tell you this authoritatively because from OMPADEC days Bonny Kingdom demanded for the construction of a ring road to link up Bonny Island with all the neighbouring villages and all that. Any time any Bonny group is faced with that question, what do you want from NDDC? Our demand has always been a ring road. It was not done under OMPADEC when Horsfall was the Chairman. Now, under NDDC we still made the same demand. About 15 years ago or thereabout, a contract was awarded for the concession of the Bonny Ring Road which up till date it has still not been completed. The contractor has abandoned the project. NDDC has done nothing to do that road. So, providing busses for boys or few individuals who go to NDDC to hang around there; there are a lot of people who hang around NDDC.  They are only fostering their own interests not the interest of the community. So, Bonny Kingdom, as a whole, like you said we are a major stakeholder, has not benefitted from NDDC.

 

Now looking at the analysis you have made, there are complaints that the governors of the Niger Delta have not given enough cooperation to NDDC, you think that is the case with Rivers State, and maybe, by extension, Bonny LGA?

 

See the relationship between the State Government and NDDC. NDDC is a Federal Government agency. A Federal Government development agency. They have their own budget. It has nothing to do with state government budgetary allocations. Take for instance, the Bonny Ring Road. It has nothing to do with Rivers State Government, it was a purely NDDC project, which if I have to give you some of the inside information, at the time that job was awarded, Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN) quoted for it. Gufanti quoted for that job. And then, in its own wisdom, NDDC decided to give the job to one local contractor, JAFAC Nigeria Limited that, as far as we knew at that time, was only a car dealer, and has never done a road job anywhere. They decided to give that contractor to them because they were the lowest bidder. And, of course, they couldn’t deliver. And if they couldn’t deliver, what NDDC was supposed to do was to cancel the contract and re-award it to a company that can do that road because that is at the core of the development of Bonny Kingdom. But that has not been done 15 years after. As I am talking to you now, it has been abandoned. What has State Government got to do with that?

 

So you are saying that for all these 15 to 17 years of NDDC’s existence, all the Bonny people have asked from NDDC is the ring road… 

 

The Bonny Ring Road. Any other thing are individuals going to foster their interests. You can go to NDDC and have a small foot bridge from my village to another. They will just look at your face and maybe give that contract to you and maybe also empower you through it. You have such low hanging fruits which actually does not benefit the generality of the people and has not developed Bonny. Bonny is still cut off from the neighbouring communities and villages. That Bonny Ring Road that any day you complete that ring road this kingdom will get on a different pedestal completely.

 

While we are still exploring the development issue, there have been concerns that Bonny indigenes are not investing at home. What’s your take on this?

 

I don’t know where you got that information. I don’t agree that Bonny people are not investing in Bonny Kingdom. I think they are…because for you to say that you must be able to say that this Bonny man or that Bonny woman has a factory or another industries in Lagos, Abuja, or Port Harcourt, as the case may be. Then you can now say that rather than investing or setting up those places in Bonny they have gone to Lagos, Abuja to set them up. I am not aware of any of our persons. The truth of the matter is that many of our people are impoverished. We have the oil and gas majors here who are on this island. The bulk of their contracts are not given to Bonny people. We are an impoverished people. In terms of development, you can only see a few people who build their personal houses and some little estate developments according to their financial ability. I believe that if they have more money they will still go into industrialization or setting up of manufacturing, companies or other services. We are impoverished. That is why we at the community level have always tried to discuss with the oil and gas majors to try and empower our people. Certain contracts should be given to the indigenes so that they can be empowered. I am not aware that our people are investing outside, I don’t think so.

 

Talking about the oil majors, the train 7 is coming up; with the representations you said you have made to the oil majors about engaging Bonny indigenes, what should we expect? Are the oil and gas majors being responsive? Are they forthcoming?

 

Well, looking at the future I think things are going to get better. Our people are becoming aware of these developments and I am also aware that the kingdom under the leadership of our king has set up a local content committee. This local content committee set up locally for the kingdom is a body that will interface during the construction phase of train 7 to see that following the Nigerian local content law whatever is due our people get to us. That our people are empowered, our people are given contracts that they are supposed to do, that they are qualified to do. So, I believe that the future is going to be better. But there is need for all hands to be on deck and that will monitor what is happening and raise our voices where necessary to call the oil and gas majors to order if they are going astray. Not only the oil majors, their main contractors and sub-contractors are supposed to comply with the local content law.

 

As the immediate past president of the Titled Citizens Assembly of Bonny Kingdom, which is like the second layer of power in this kingdom, you are in a position to have a lot of information about what is going on. What is with the sea piracy issue?

 

Well, the sea piracy issue along the Bonny-Port Harcourt sea route is of serious concern to all well-meaning Bonny indigenes. We are concerned about it and we have representations to the appropriate quarters drawing attention to the suffering and the risk to the lives and properties of our people who traverse the Bonny water way from here to Port Harcourt and back. We, as a community, don’t have the capability or resources to police our waterways. We cannot do that. We can only make representations to the appropriate authorities: the state government, which we have been doing, and to the federal government. Not too long ago, I saw in the Media that the state government donated some gun boats to the navy. That has been the practice from time to time, you hear that gun boats have been donated, even before Wike’s time. So, these gun boats have been donated to the navy and to the police to patrol the seas. So, there is still need for them to be put under serious checks to ensure that these gun boats that are provided by government is used on a regular basis. The issue of consumables is also there. If you give them gun boats and you don’t give them fuel to patrol the seas that is also a challenge. And like I said, the community cannot fund it. The Amanyanabo-in-council cannot fund, not to talk about titled citizens. We still appeal to the local government, state government to make provision in their budgets for consumables for these boats. We area also hoping that by the time our transportation system gets to a higher level where we have standard boats like the NLNG boats that would be more secure for our people. It will be more difficult for them to attack such boats and such boats will operate with escorts like the NLNG boats are operating now. But with the numerous fly boats all over the place it is really difficult to put security or escort boats to follow them. It is a challenge I believe we are going to overcome. And the sea piracy thing should not be looked at in isolation from the rest of Nigeria. If you travel from here to Lagos or Enugu or Abuja, you have car hijacking on the road. You have armed robbery on the road and other. It is the whole Nigeria. It is the insecurity we have in Nigeria. So, we should not look at our own as victimised people. It is something that the whole country is facing. I think that the security situation is something that should be looked at holistically. Insecurity on the road. We have insecurity on the sea, and all that. So, while we are trying to solve our own system, provide gunboats to escort our boats we should not, we should not lose sight of the fact that even road transportation is also risky. But that has not stopped people from moving. If we all still go on the road…all of us are aware of the security problems on the Abuja-Kaduna highway, Port Harcourt and Elele-Alimini here, and other parts of the country. These are conflicts areas, of which one cannot justify it but can be pinned down to unemployment and joblessness in the society. So, by the time the economy picks up and there are jobs, ultimately, these things will come down.

 

In your efforts at mediating in the face-off between the Bonny Graduates Forum and Bonny Youths Federation, what were the issues and what were the counsels you gave them in order to defuse the tension amongst them?

 

Thank you for this important question affecting two vibrant bodies of the kingdom, the Bonny Graduates Forum and the Bonny Youths Federation. Actually, the Titled Citizens Assembly received a petition to the effect that the Bonny Youth Federation was trying to amend its constitution and in the process bringing the Bonny Graduates Forum under its umbrella, which, of course, they argued, rightly too, that it is not supposed to be because the graduate forum is not necessarily a youth body, because you have graduates who are above youth age. Anybody can go to university at any age. University education has no age limit. So, the graduate forum is a forum to cater for the interest of graduates, irrespective of their age. It is not necessarily a youth body. So, for the youth federation to try and conscript them under their umbrella is wrong. We wanted to authenticate the veracity of that allegation. We invited the youth leader, the Honourable former Minister of Lands and Housing, Amaopu-erebo Amal Pepple was here. Amaopusenibo fred Pepple, the assistant secretary of the TCA, was also here; and we sought to know the truth and at the end of the day it was confirmed that actually the youth federation had amended its constitution making the graduate forum one of its affiliates. And according to them, they wanted to register the youth federation under the name Bonny Youth Assembly. They wanted to register it under the CAC, the Corporate Affairs Commission. Meanwhile the graduate forum was already registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission. How can you be registering your own body and you make as an affiliate a body that was already registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission? Anyway we saw the truth and we advised them accordingly. We pointedly advised the youth leader to retract on the step that have taken by expunging that part of their amended constitution that sought to make the Bonny Graduate Forum an affiliate of the youth body. He was a bit evasive and reluctant about it, saying that they don’t meet regularly, they will meet in June. We said whenever you are going to meet, put it as part of your agenda. Take it to the congress, since it’s only the congress that can change it; and see that that aspect of the constitution is amended by expunging the Bonny Graduates Forum from being an affiliate body of the Bonny Youth Federation now to be known as Bonny Youth Assembly. Well, we advised them very strongly and I believe that he will heed our advice.

 

If you were to advise the young people of today as an elder, as a titled citizen, as a community leader, as a former government functionary, what template of mind would you advise the youths to imbibe to achieve their aspirations?

 

I think it is a very simple thing, they have to be focused; our youths have to be focused. They have to try to develop their areas of expertise, develop their talents. Those who can go to school should go to school and acquire knowledge because knowledge is power. Those who are not academically inclined should learn trades. Those who are good in sports should go and excel in sports, they should go to sports institutes. Those who are good in music should go into music industry. Those who are good in drama should go to Nollywood; they have to be focused. I am not one of those who will say everybody should go to university. It doesn’t follow. But if you are good enough to go to university to acquire knowledge should do so and be focused. And, of course, I believe everybody who is focused will make it. If you are not focused then you go down the drain.

 

Recently, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) released new regulations on how local government funds should be withdrawn and these regulations are supposed to come into effect by 1^st of June. Part of the regulations put a ceiling for cash withdrawals at N500,000 while anything above that should be by cheque or electronic transfers. Questions are being asked: one, is it constitutional? Two, how does this curb the issue of corruption at the local government level?  

 

Well, I think it is a welcome development if local government councils all over the country can have their allocation directly to them. It is not been passed through state governments whereby state governments will tamper with local government funds.  The idea that state government will be spending local government funds is a bad one. So, we are quite happy and we hope that it will be properly implemented because this is not the first time the idea has been mooted. Somewhere around the corner, they will just change it and resort to the status quo. Then they go to their so-called joint accounts allocation committee (JAAC) meetings and monies are deducted from local government allocations arbitrarily and then they will give some justifications that there certain projects state governments will do for local governments. I think it is wrong. So, having said that, now the question is: how do we checkmate local governments to ensure that they utilize their funds prudently. One of the steps they have put in motion is that local governments cannot withdraw more than N500,000 but they forgot that where there is fraudulent intent they can do multiple withdrawals of more than N500,000. And it will still be money going down the drain. What is required is internal audit system of local governments where the internal auditors will be independently-minded people appointed independent of the local governments, so that they can checkmate the executive chairmen when they are spending local government funds. And then also see that local governments operate a budgetary system whereas the legislative councils of LGAs appropriate funds those funds are utilized accordingly. And also to advise that people who operate our local government systems should try to show transparency and accountability. They should exhibit high level of integrity to be able to run local government administration and to see to the development of their local government areas. But what is happening now which very obvious to all of us is that local governments can only pay salaries and the rest you don’t know what happens. They don’t embark on any development projects. Probably, that could be the reason why the state governments have been breathing down their necks trying to spend local government money by doing projects that local governments are supposed to do directly. Now that they are going to get their funds straight from the Federation Account we want to urge all local government councils all over the country to try and be more responsible. They are with the people at the grassroots level, so, they should try and develop their local government areas. It is no longer business as usual, no longer just payment of salaries. And they should rationalize. I don’t see why any local government should spend over 70-80 per cent of its monthly allocation on salaries. It is wrong. They have to work out a system whereby they have to embark on capital projects that will help develop their local government areas.

 

But we need to look at a situation where most of the local government chairmen are like aides or errand boys of the governors; someone that is hardly known is picked up by the governor and most of the local government elections, the governor just sits in his bedroom and writes a list and passes it on the state electoral commission and they do one abracadabra and these guys are in office. And then the existing laws in the state which puts the oversight of the local governments in the hands of the state houses of assembly which are rubber stamps of the state governors. How do you see these working out? And this is if we have situations where there serious-minded local government chairmen who really want to develop their areas.  

 

Thank you, Godswill, but I think you have gone into an area I am not too competent to discuss because, like I told you at the beginning of this interview that I am not a partisan politician. I don’t want to go there. But I believe that if a local government chairman and his legislative council do a budget and that budget is focused on the development of their local government area, I don’t see any governor who will query them for doing that even if that local government chairman is a puppet of the governor. The governor will be happy that this ‘my boy’ is doing this. I think the state government interference is focused on the fact that the local government chairmen themselves area not strong character people. They haven’t got any serious plans for themselves. You know if you have a local government chairman who knows his onions and he comes out with a brilliant plan for his local government area and is open and transparent for everybody to see, in fact, he would be commended by his state governor.