"I do not play guitar for applause; I sing of the difference between what is true and false otherwise I do not sing."
Violeta Parra
The demands on foreign students by their American based Lecturers and Professors to always consider relocating to their native countries following the completion of their graduate programs at most American Universities should not be misunderstood. They are made with the best of intention; not necessarily for the promotion of the career goals of the affected students, but for what the home countries stand to benefit from having such a pool of vibrant, innovative, and newly minted academics within their workforce. Acting on the strength of your academic credentials (curriculum) and the reputation of your Professors - they are apt to conclude that you are likely to be more useful to your home country than remaining part of the American exploding labor pool, stagnant, underexploited, and creating no values in most cases.
For instance, my Professor in "Emerging E-Commerce Law and Policy" at Harvard University Extension School in the Fall of 2002, told the graduating foreign students in his class repeatedly to go back to their native countries after graduation. Arguing that "if it is only this course that you took, it would be enough for you to make a remarkable impact in the development of Electronic Law in your country. As at that time, the E-Commerce Law was in the developmental stage, and himself, a reputable Scholar and Attorney in the field of Trade Marks and Patent, took us through the whole gamut of formation of contract electronically and by the traditional method - one on one, with both parties present and signing the dotted lines. It was riveting and revealing, perusing a plethora of newspapers cuttings, defining and making sense of the emerging trends. As at the time, it was only South Africa in the African continent that could boast of a page-long Electronic Law in the making. Thus, making a compelling case for me, an African descent, to embrace the promptings of my Professor and go back home to Nigeria.
Many years later, I went back once again to Graduate School. And I remember vividly bumping into the Dean of the Graduate Program at the University of Denver Law School immediately after the graduation ceremony. He grabbed my hands firmly and declared with righteous vigor: "Please remember to inform the Faculty when you are made a Minister in Nigeria." I just smiled and said, "thank you, sir, I appreciate your confidence in me" as I bade him goodbye.
A few years ago, an elderly Caucasian American, sent me a note, stating in a provocative tone - I considered it provocative than advisory, when I got the note - that I should go back to my country, adding that "America has its best." His opinion was that my country of birth deserves me more than God's Own Country. Adding that, no matter how intelligent or talented you are or appeared to be, your country needs you more, because America has hundreds, if not thousands, of your likes already - they stayed back in America to build the America Dream.
When I saw his note, I saw racism and rejection. In hindsight, I was wrong. Racism and rejection were not connected. He was trying to make the best out of a disturbing trend in the brain-drain surge that is depleting the African Continent of its dreamers and the talented. You don't build a national ethos offshore.
Not many months later, a recruiter asked me how many Harvard trained candidates are at my place of work - doing exactly what I am doing. I told her "just me." She asked if the nature or my kind of work was what I had in mind when I applied to the graduate program. Hearing that, I was hesitant to vouchsafe a response. But she came to my rescue before I could come up with "I am not so sure" answer, asking if I could recollect the theme of the Statement of Purpose that I wrote when I applied to Harvard and the University of Denver for admission. (By the way, Statement of Purpose or Letter of Intent is the essay you are mandated to write and submit along with your application forms when applying to graduate schools. In it, you are expected to address your motivations for that specific program and in that particular University, and finally, how you would utilize the program and Faculty to assist you in furthering or advancing those goals or motivations).
As the Lady counseled, I grabbed my laptop and did a perusal of the more recent Statement of Purpose that I submitted when I applied to the University of Denver. And it dawns on me that not even in a sentence of the more than One Thousand words essay did I mention about living the America Dream or working in America after my graduation. It was all about Nigeria - about strengthening and negotiating peaceful invest climate between the multinational oil companies and the host communities in the Niger Delta, focusing on sustainable development of our natural resources, and helping to craft a new comprehensive policy on renewable energy, and power generation and distribution. And last but not the least, interceding on behalf of the victims of oil spillage and water pollution in the Niger Delta who cannot afford the service of lawyers.
Though I didn't have a saved copy of the Letter of Intent I submitted along with my application package to Harvard University, I could visualize what I wrote: I would use the opportunities offered me by the Administration and Management graduate program, especially courses like Public Administration, Strategic Management, International Business and Economic Development, and Human Resources and Organizational Behaviours to assist in structuring a fundamental framework for openness and accountability in the public sector, with a goal of reinventing government and leadership selection process. Or in the alternative (that is, if I am unable to secure employment with the Federal Government), I hope to apply courses like The Law of Business Associations, Mergers and Acquisitions, Emerging E-Commerce Law and Policy, and The Principles of Financial Accounting to a competitive advantage over other lawyers at home who wouldn't be so privileged to go through the rigorous one-year academic program, taught by some of the finest and renowned Professors and professionals in their respective fields in New England. Nothing about the America dream or career part in the States was mentioned in my Statement of Purpose.
Going through my Letter of Intent to Denver and revisiting my thought process when I applied to Harvard, that was when I realized that I did not follow through with my dreams or career goals after graduation. I abandoned the push factors, the motivations on why I went for the Masters of Law in Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law and Policy, and the highly demanding Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management (now Masters of Liberal Arts in Management).
So, following the opening of my Blog and the publication of my essay on "Energy Law: Balancing Stabilization Clause with Human Rights and Sustainable Development of Host Communities! at a discussion forum of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) on LinkedIn, the demands on me to take up arms and go back to my home country intensified. Lawyers from South American countries who I have not met or interacted with, but who have seen my essay on the “Bonga Oil Spillage, Niger Delta, and Sustainable Development”, and successfully applied the same essay to take total control of their energy and natural resources sectors, sent me emails demanding that I must go back to my country. Alex, they would insist, go back to your country. These gentlemen later sent me friendship requests on LinkedIn, which I gladly accepted.
Also, I remember receiving a note from a Lecturer at one of the top Universities in Europe catering to the Oil and Gas Industry professionals, asking about the web address of my law firm in Nigeria. Flabbergasted, I sent him a note expeditiously reminding him that I do not have a law firm in Nigeria; therefore, I don't expect to have a web address. The tone of his response was least anticipated. We need you there, the world needs you there. Get one and get it fast. In other words, America has its best already. Go home, young man.
To crown it all, I received a note from the Dean of a prominent Business School who is also a lawyer asking me to buy his book on energy and related investments in Africa and add it to my library. In addition, an agency, involved in publications, was the most magnanimous of all the contacts that I had. They voluntarily and gratuitously started emailing me copies of all energy and related contracts negotiated or signed anywhere in the world. This is priceless and it is not always readily available, but they were willing to make me a partner rich in knowledge. Only Columbia Business School - Columbia University that could boast of such repository of contract materials, but at a huge cost to the institution.
Much as I am willing to be thankful to my American and South American friends for their interest in me, my future, and my professional career, especially their insistence that I must relocate to Nigeria, not everyone was favorably disposed to that call for the Nigerian journey.
When I was rounding up my graduate program at the University of Denver, I got a call from a Nigerian friend living on the East Coast of the United States, sounding a not of warning to me, counseling me seriously against relocating to Nigeria. He said and I quote: "It is going to be easier for you to become a Senator in the United States of America than to become a Local Government Chairman in Nigeria." I quote. You could feel with your bare hands the level of his pessimism about the Nigerian dream. I did understand his fear and concerns; nevertheless, I was not exactly sold on the no-go journey.
The question remains, what is it that the white men and not so white men see in us Nigerians and in our academic credentials that the Nigerian political elites and ruling class back home do not see? What is baffling though, is that much as they are readily disposed to undermining us on arrival back home, they never cease to ship their children overseas to acquire the same academic experience they are resentful of about us.
Why Did I Go to the University of Denver After my Harvard Journey?
I went specifically for a graduate program in Energy Law and Environmental Policy at the University of Denver because I was not satisfied with the quality of papers, speeches, and questions bordering on financial mismanagement and accountability that I witnessed at two conferences that I attended in the middle of 2008 at Abuja, Nigeria. One was organized by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN). And the other was organized by the House of Representative Sub-Committee for Oil Producing Areas.
Watching the performance of the gentlemen from NERC, their nonchalant disposition and the convoluted deliberations on Power and Energy, I knew that something was terribly wrong with the regulatory agency. They did not have a lawyer on board or at the "High Table" to explain or at least give introductory remarks about the new regulatory documents they shared to the attendants. Most disappointing was the mild drama that played out between a gentleman from ECN and the team from NERC over accusations of financial mismanagement and accountability questions at NERC.
The seminar organized by the House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Mineral Producing Areas was rancorous all through the day. I saw women lamenting the fate that befell their fishing industry. And I saw would be militants gyrating and shouting on top of their voices right there inside the hall, at the Hilton Hotel, shouting than on most of the Speakers representing the Oil companies. Surprisingly, only one Ilage Rural Community was represented by a Lawyer.
During the lunch break, I approached some of the women and youth members to gain some insights why they did not come with Lawyers or why some of the Traditional Rulers in the audience spoke favorably about of the IOCs. They told me that it is all about money. One, they could not afford the service of Lawyers. Two, it is financially more rewarding for the lawyers present to represent the Government and IOCs than to represent host community members and other victims of pollution and oil spillage. I was also told that all the Traditional Rulers who spoke were sponsored to the conference by IOCs.
I had enough.
When I got home the day after the conference organized by NERC and ECN, I Google "LLM Energy Law." And two Universities popped up - the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado and the University of Houston in Houston, Texas.
I subsequently cut short my stay in Nigeria and went back home to the States. I applied to both Universities for admission and both institutions accepted my application favorably. Even though the University of Houston offered me a prestigious and unique Masters Program - Foreign Scholar LL.M, I went to the University of Denver Colorado instead for two reasons. In its LL.M curriculum, one of the listed courses made reference to the Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria as a case study. In addition, when I saw courses like Emerging Global Trends in the Development of Mineral Resouces in Mineral Resources-Rich Regions of the World, International Mining and Comparative Law, Negotiating Natural Resources Agreements, Seminar in Energy Law, International Petroleum and Comparative Law, and The Law of Natural Resources (the capstone class), I was sold.
The other reason was, I just wanted to have a feel of a new environment up the mountain region of the United States after living in the East Coast, and traversing both West Coast and Southern axis for leisure for many years. So, a few weeks after paying the mandatory fee and securing my admission spot, I jumped into my E-Class for a three-day driving adventure from New Jersey through the heartland of the United States to Denver, Colorado for the one-year full-time program.
My major goal was to go back home to Nigeria after my graduation, with a view to help in refocusing either of the two agencies (NERC and ECN) towards meeting their targets and simultaneously, assist in developing a sustainable framework for peaceful investment climate in the Niger Delta.
If I may add, few months after my arrival in the United States of America, after my not so satisfactory experience at the NERC/ECN Conference at Abuja, Nigeria, almost all the staffs of NERC who presented papers at that Conference were bundled into prison, without trial by the Yar'Adua's Administration over mismanagement of public funds, running into Billions of Naira. In other words, I saw it coming. And I knew something was inherently wrong with the leadership of the agency just by watching them at the seminar.
Anyway, I got my degree quite alright, incurred massive personal loans (made possible by Uncle Sam) in financing the program, came back home a few years later; traversed all the departments and the Presidency marketing myself, but no one could look at me or my certificate.
On the other hand, my fellow classmates, especially those from South America, Asia, and the Middle East were hired right out of the program on campus. One was hired as the Director of Public Affairs at the Country's Natural Resources Department and he has since resigned last year after serving for about five years. In a similar vein, a few weeks after our graduation, I saw another former classmate in a picture she took in Malaysia posted on her Facebook Timeline. Admiring the pictures, I jokingly asked if she is still on graduation holiday mood traveling to Malaysia. To my utmost surprise, she said, not all. "I was part of my Country's delegations on a natural resources investment agreements trip to Malaysia." And I wiped away tears from my eyes.
Balancing Theory with Reality - Putting to Test My Journey Through the Classes in America.
Every politics, according to wise saying, is local. I have elaborated on top of this essay about the demands on me by those who have seen and benefited from my works to go back home to my country to help in implementing what I am theorizing. It is on that premise that I write this section. It is more like self-appraisal. Have I been able to apply my studies to address the reality on the ground in Nigeria through my essays? Or, am I just another paper certificate holder?
Consider for a second the moribund, but now almost resuscitated and recalibrated PIB - The Petroleum Industry Bill, as it was then. I have written about it more than anyone in the industry. About 99.9% of lawyers, politicians and public affairs commentators who had cause to write or comment on the Bill and its setback, dwell on its beauty and how it would assist in revamping the sector. None of them address the major obstacle - why Northern political leaders and interest groups do not want to see the Bill passed into law. And that is a major problem in Nigeria - political correctness and the culture of neophytes holding themselves out as experts in fields or issues they know nothing about. I have argued consistently that the major problem militating against the passage of the Bill is least connected with economics or conformity with the industry standard. It was a rejection propelled by ethnic partisan politics at its worst, associated with the "Petroleum Host Community Fund" section of the Bill.
In a published essay on this Blog and at the Nigeria Village Square, I rebutted line by line, thought by thought and paragraph by paragraph all the arguments propounded by the former Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliu, who was then the Chairman of the Northern Governor Forum, as well as the arguments advanced by Anthony Sani, one of the elders of the Arewa Consultative Forum, to frustrate the passage of the Bill.
There is no doubt, the term "Petroleum Host Community Fund" is a misnomer as far as industry usage is concerned. And I said so. It would have made more sense and, in fact, be acceptable across the board, if the name was simply "Decommissioning or Land Reclamation Funds" that I suggested in my essay on "Oil and Gas: Bonga Oil Spillage, Niger Delta and Sustainable Development" where they copied the idea. Here are some excerpts from the essay referenced above.
"This fundamental framework involves the integration of human rights and human development initiatives within the body of the various international investment agreements negotiated between Nigeria Government and International Oil Companies (IOCs). It also extends to agreements negotiated between the National Government and Local Oil Companies (LOCs). It requires balancing the investment interests of IOCs and LOCs with those of the host nation, Nigeria, without undermining the human rights and social expectations of the host communities in the Niger Delta. That is the current trends in the development of mineral resources around the World. Nigeria should not be an exception."
"It requires the establishment of a Land Reclamation Funds or Water Restoration Funds as the case may be, created at the inception of the exploration agreement to be funded by the Federal Government, IOCs, and LOCs with a certain percentage of estimated yearly earnings agreed upon by the parties. The contracting parties must deposit the reserve funds in an escrow account during each calendar year, specifically to offset environmental clean-up, oil spillage (as presently the case in Bonga Field). It also involves land reclamation and decommissioning costs whenever the need arises or whenever the investors cease operations (Shell). The land reclamation funds, the escrow account, as well as water restorations obligations are essential and mandatory components of the integrated contract." Culled from "Oil and Gas: Bonga Oil Spillage, Niger Delta, and Sustainable Development." Published January 02, 2012
Here is an excerpt from the problematic section of the old Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
116. Establishment of the Petroleum Host Community Fund
There is established a fund to be known as the Petroleum Host Communities Fund (in this Act referred to as ‘the PHC Fund’).
117. Purpose of the PHC Fund
The PHC Fund shall be utilized for the development of the economic and social infrastructure of the communities within the petroleum producing area.
118. Beneficial entitlements to the communities
(1) Every upstream petroleum producing company shall remit on a monthly basis ten percent of its net profit as follows - Emphasis mine.
The main argument of the adversaries of the Bill was that you cannot have NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta on the one hand and "Petroleum Host Community Fund" on the other all catering to the people of Niger Delta. So, "Land Reclamation Funds" - a fund for the future that I suggested would not have elicited the strident antagonisms from the Northern powerful political elite groups as the Host Community Fund did. It is about common sense. There is no harm in stealing an idea but apply it wisely.
In the words of Mr. Anthony Sani of Arewa Consultative Forum, an opponent of PIB:
“I think those clamoring for such fund must be reminded that we cannot claim one country and live as if we are on different continents. The concept of nationhood presupposes bringing people together to enable them to live up their synergy for common good. And that is why the reduction of gaps in development and income is not only good politics but good economics as well.” - Sunday Punch of July 28, 2013.
Persuasive as Mr. Anthony Sani did in the opinion above, he did not remember to tell Nigerians that oil spillage and pollution of aquatic resources do not happen in his backyard; they are confined to the areas around the Niger Delta where the Federal Government and the IOCs have been prospecting crude oil and flaring gas for years. That's by the way.
Take "Host Community" out of the name of the designated fund and insert "Land Reclamation" as I suggested in my essay, the Bill would have become law many years ago.
A white man would borrow your ideas, recommend you in the process and apply the ideas to the advantage of the institution he represents. A Nigerian man, on the other hand, would tap into your ideas, paraphrase it and present it as his and fail woefully in the application. The land reclamation fund that I propounded in my essay was a fund for future use, it is not money to be spent or expected to be shared by the community as the heading of their Host Fund portrays. And that was why the entire Bill was rejected by Northern political leaders.
Indeed many years of experience on the job in any given industry or trade matters. Nevertheless, in a robust, dynamic, and troubled industry like energy, oil and gas, the importance of modern training cannot be overemphasized. In other words, there is no comparison between those with years of experience on the job and those with industry-relevance, industry-related advanced educational training in the industry. It is all about the emerging trends - social license.
The developers of Google, Yahoo, FaceBook, Microsoft Applications, etc, etc, etc, didn't have work experience on the job or in the industry that they are now the major players.
I am not a writer. And I am not a journalist or one writing for a living. I am a Lawyer by training and I write policy statements.
When President Jonathan incurred the wrath of the opposition and the Northern political elites groups following the proscribing of the Boko Haram sect, I was the one who came to his rescue through my opinion in the Punch Newspaper and put paid to the brouhaha. The opinion generated about four hundred positive comments and more than one hundred thumbs up. For the record, there was no thumb down. And that was the end of the debate.
Also, when the Buhari's administration was under severe attacks for the detention without trial of President Jonathan's Security Advisor, Retired Col Dasuki, my essay, titled "Debating the Rule of Law: Why I stand with President Buhari" that was published by the Nigeria Village Square provided the counterbalance to the distorted narrative of a government, without conscience. The essay was published in 2015, and for the year 2015 and 2016, it was the most read opinion on that platform. I have no doubt in my mind that it will remain so for this year 2017, and beyond.
Most often, I am told to stop writing, if I nurse any ambition of working for the Federal Government of Nigeria. Unfortunately, no one takes note or care to take note, when the opinions of the independent commentators in the social media benefit the government. I am an aggressive non-aligned progressive, and I will remain so.
This Blog is about content. And I brought in a unique perspective to every topic I chose to cover. We don't leave you hanging in the balance - not knowing what to believe or what to do after reading our works. We draw a brutal and unequivocal conclusion. We are consistently making a case - a compelling case for a superior line of thoughts. The main reason all the essays are unusually long. See "Obama: Citizen United, Invisible Resistance and the Hacking of America Democracy", published June 8, 2012, as well as any of the two essays where I made a case for the need of American Combat Boots on the ground in Syria. See "Of ISIS and the Wisdom of American Combat Boots on the Ground in Syria", published September 19, 2014.
I did mention Argentina and Brazil somewhere in this essay, I would also like to add another country, Turkey. The opening section of one of my two essays on Energy and Sustainable Development was a major factor in preempting a governmental proposal to convert a public park in Istanbul into an industrial complex. How did I know this? My Blog received massive hits from that country before and during the week-long protest and unrest. And the essay they were reading has a section therein that addresses the setbacks associated with a similar project in another country.
As a highlight, the essay on Constitutional Law (IMMUNITY: THE SCOPE AND EXTENT OF SECTION 308 OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA)
is a Best Seller. The one on Public Policy - bridging the educational gap between Southern and Northern Nigeria (Bridging The Educational Gap Between Southern and Northern Nigeria) is a Best Seller. Similarly, the one on Energy and Sustainable Development Energy Law: Balancing Stabilization Clause with Human Rights and Sustainable Development of Host Communities! is a Best Seller. Also, t
he one on Bongo Oil Spillage Oil and Gas: Bonga Oil Spillage, Niger Delta, and Sustainable Development is a Best Seller
.
I have no more to prove. Even though I am yet to secure a sound footing within the Nigerian legal profession and leadership structures, I have, through my essays and publications, been able to make tremendous impacts in what becomes of our criminal justice system and governance and public affairs in general. In other words, though I am not on the ground, my education is not in vain. The landmark essay on the "The Search for True Federalism: Balancing Feudal Interests with Southern Greed and Opportunism in Nigeria." published in January 2012, opened the floodgates
for the discussion of "True Federalism", "Devolution of Power" and the new one, "Restructuring."
Yes, I have nothing more to prove. The essay on "Obama: Citizen United, Invisible Resistance and the Hacking of American Democracy" transformed a Presidential campaign and election in the number one democracy in the world. If my essays could make tremendous impacts - positive impacts - in all the instances where they have been applied, I have no doubt in my mind that the impacts would have been significantly different with me on the ground applying and implementing my theories. I have paid my dues and I have no more to prove. I am an asset, a huge asset and a citizen of the World. My education is not in vain. I will do it right next time - for me.
A Recap on the Dream
The half of 2015 and the whole of 2016, I was again in Nigeria. I didn't get what I went for though; nevertheless, the visit was educational and well made. My problem was, I was too trusting, and I suffered massively in the process in the hands of those I confided in and I looked up to for direction and guidance while in Nigeria. I placed all my hope in men, and on perceived connections, rather than on my usual gut instinct and the Almighty God.
Indeed, I have made series of professional mistakes that can be corrected. What I do not regret is tailoring my academic pursuit in the United States of America towards building or participating in building a modern, dynamic and performance driven public service in Nigeria in hope and in pursuit of a better tomorrow for the next generations.
I hold and shared strong political views, at home and abroad according to the dictates of my conscience - influenced by my learning through the years. And that conscience is built on a common belief in what is fair and just. And I will never sell myself short.
I have offended two greedy, callous and vindictive recruiters in military uniforms who boasted to destroy my records and made me an enemy of the State, with a view to inhibiting my job prospects and the practice of law in the United States of America. Reason being for daring to stand up to their threats and bullying after rejecting their offer that was shrouded in deceit, lies, coercion, intimidation, and perversion of privilege. God knows my hands are clean and I leave vergence to my Almighty Father - in whom we all trust. For it is written, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written: "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."
Yes, it shall be fulfilled - the dreams of a New Nigeria of equal rights and justice, and of the celebration of merit; a Nigeria where my last name or my ethnic label is of no significance a factor in the opportunities available to me. A Nigeria where no tribe or region is perceived as a conquered territory, and a Nigeria where a Buhari's definition of women (kitchen and the other room) must be abandoned and discredited. And a Nigeria where piety must be according to the dictates of one's conscience and where religious pilgrimages enjoy no governmental interference. A Nigeria where a Lagos State and a Jigawa State could co-exist, thrive and develop at their own pace, without institutional burdens generated at the instance of the Federal Government to checkmate progress. And a Nigeria where the leadership is not so jaded, detached, and derelict to the extent of conferring influence, power, and legitimacy on the Kanus and the Arewa Youths of our world.
It's been painful, but thank God, I am still standing. I was attacked and robbed at gunpoint by armed robbers at Okene while traveling from Abuja to Benin City. The vehicle that I was traveling on was sprayed with bullets repeatedly. And I am still standing. I was inflicted with a mysterious illness. Thank God I survived it, and I am still standing. You can trade away my expectations, vacate my trust, and truncate my hope because I appeared vulnerable. You can never take away my joy, the faith in the man in me, and the dreams of my birth. If I could dream them, I can live them. I am the Son of my Father and I possess the Book of Life. I serve a Living God, He is watching all over me and I fear no harm. It shall be fulfilled. Yes, the Dreams shall be fulfilled.
