By Foster Obi
“History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.” B. C. Forbes
When in July 2016, Hadiza Bala-Usman was appointed by President Buhari as the managing director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), there was outrage in many quarters including those who had got political promises and were waiting in the wings to replace Habib Abdullahi.
When it eventually turned out that it was this “Bring Back Our Girls,” ‘cheeky fellow’ (for want of a better word), that got the job, most Nigerians, especially maritime stakeholders felt scandalised.
A lot of fingers pointed at the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-rufai as the man behind the appointment of such a neophyte, because of his rising profile in the government and vested interest. Hadiza obviously was sent to do some dirty jobs of neutralising weighty political opponents who had investment in maritime to render them otiose. Some of her actions later almost lent credence to this argument. Whether this is a coincidence is a matter for conjecture.
However the ball suddenly dropped from the high flying Hadiza, who was barely 40years in 2016, when she was suspended by President Muhammed Buhari in May 2021 for, wait for it.. financial misappropriation and insubordination to the Presiding Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, among others.
The suspension came as a surprise to many because Hadiza was not only backed by ‘men of timbre and calibre’, she was a blue blood, a scion of the sullubawa clan from Katsina, the same state with the President.
At first there was disquiet in the North because, the Transport Minister who was behind Hadiza’s travail has been pro- North, doing everything to curry their favour in view of 2023.
But certain groups showed their anger, threatening the Minister. The groups under the aegis of Concerned Northern Groups, said at a world press conference at the Arewa House Kaduna, that anyone that targeted one of their own in such a blatant witch hunt with no regard for due process but setting out only tarnish and destroy their reputation will be met with stiff resistance for any ambition such person may have in 2023 elections as far as their massive Northern electorates are concerned.
The groups maintained that that they were rudely shocked at the embarrassing news of singling out of their shining star and inspirational figure for suspension in the “purported investigation of a trumped-up allegation without following due process.”
While they were not opposed to probity in governance, they alleged there appeared to be a sinister and clandestine motive behind the setting up of administrative panel of enquiry when there is a clear procedure to discipline erring Chief Executives of Parastatals.
They argued that evidence from their findings which is now in the public domain revealed that Hadiza Bala Usman was being punished for refusing to carry out actions injurious to Nigeria’s interest and her refusal to hand multi-billion dollar contracts against due process to companies that were pre-selected .
Whether these Northern groups will carry out their threats against the Minister is to be seen in 2023 especially now that he has become even one of them.
However yesterday, Hadiza Bala-Usman was cleared of allegations of failing to remit N165 billion operating surplus to the coffers of the federal government. This obviously is cheery news to her associates as far as her political future is concerned.
While she may have been sacked from the job, at least it is on record that she is not a thief as alleged.
Hadiza, a daughter of late Fulani historian and popular academic Dr Yusufu Bala-Usman had some of the most interesting recipes for upward mobility appropriate for the time, so critics believed she came into the job with an attitude.
These analysts pointed out clear cases where she took arbitrary decisions in defiance of the Minister’s directives but to gratify her political masters.
Some of the cases include those involving Global Marine Systems Limited and INTELS Group whose leases were suddenly cancelled after they were approved by NPA.
The argument is that as a result of these decisions, an atmosphere of instability was created which sent wrong signals to potential investors in Nigeria and beyond as a country that does not respect the sanctity of agreements.
Reports showed that some of those who became casualties had to go to court indicating that there are about fifty-two such litigations pending with different courts which have stalled the activities of the agency and increased operational costs.
Her critics said that she continuously flouted extant civil service regulations and obtained her approval directly from the President.
According to Dr Zubairu, a public analyst, “This was a problem to the Ministry officials as it made coordinated policy-making and oversight of the maritime sector quite difficult.
“However, when she learnt that the approval for her suspension and probe was obtained from the same Presidency, she reportedly turned around and accused the President of breaching government procedures. Her record of going above the head of her Ministers to obtain approvals from the President places her on the shaky moral ground in insisting that due process should be followed in her suspension.”
Also checks showed that apart from cancelling the concessions given to GMSL and INTELS, she also cancelled the concession given to a company called Lilypond Container Terminal without the knowledge of the Ministry and converted it to a truck park.
She once shut down a terminal in Port Harcourt belonging to BUA Group for alleged safety infractions, resulting in an annual revenue loss of about 2.0 billion naira to both the federal government and terminal operators.
Also against subsisting court orders, she directed that all BUA ships should not be allowed to berth.
One serious infraction against her was that she transferred the procurement office away from the Executive Director in charge of Finance to be directly under her office.
It is believed that the withdrawal of the licenses of Integrated Logistics Limited (INTELS) was targeted at the former Vice President and Presidential aspirant of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election. Atiku Abubakar was at that time a major shareholder in the company.
While the controversy with INTELS rankled, the Minister of Transportation was ssaid to have directed her to halt the hostilities against the company and she rejected the idea.
Although INTELS Group removed Atiku as their shareholder to pacify Hadiza, yet she never bulged.
The prevailing climate of uncertainty, she created, analysts argued came with negative economic consequences part which was loss of foreign direct investment because investors felt Nigeria had become lawless and does not respect the sanctity of agreements.
But while Hadiza may have been humiliated by the Minister, she did not lose out totally as she completed her one term on the job and whether she made money and bought expensive mansions as alleged is not within the purview of this write up.
Besides her CV has been boosted not just because she was the MD of a money spinning agency but because she had so much courage and does not suffer fools gladly. The Transport Minister will never forget her in a hurry even as 2023 beckons.
Her biggest trump card is that she was cleared of financial impropriety by panel set up to try her. Analysts rightly believe that she can take this to the bank.
As 2023 beckons, Hadiza who was once an aspirant to the federal House of Reps may have been given a right of way for political climb.
However it is not unlikely that she has been taught a lesson in Humility 101, a class which most public office holders of her ilk find strange to attend except they are forced to.
Let’s anchor it here with a saying by the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, “History will vindicate the just and God shall punish the wicked.”
Picture: Hadiza Bala-Usman
FOSTER OBI is the Editor of DFCnewsng.com
