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Riddles Over Obasanjo's N7bn Library Project
From Martins Oloja, Abuja Bureau Chief

QUESTIONS being asked in political and business circles over the propriety of requesting financial assistance from oil companies, banks and some agencies of government for the multi-billion naira Obasanjo Library were thrown to sponsors yesterday. The fund-raising for the library will hold in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, today.

One of the arrow-heads of the fund mobilisation for the project however dismissed some of the questions saying, "the project has nothing to do with the government. The President did not know anything about the fund-raising strategies. It is a purely private affair."

The project is estimated to cost N7 billion ($50 million) and will be completed by March 2006, which will also mark the President's 70th birthday.

Suspicions began to grow in Abuja when some of the brains behind the remarkable project, notably the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Funsho Kupolokun and Mr Karl Masters of Goodworks International, co chairman of the Board of Trustees were said to have written letters to various organisations requesting fund for the project.

According to a source close to the board, Masters had been singled out as the moving spirit behind most of the letters to some strong menâ" whose good offices can facilitate the raising of funds for the project.

One of the letters dated April 11, was accordingly written to Kupolokun on the formal launching of the

Library today. Part of the letter signed by Masters reads: "It is my pleasure to invite you to the launch of the

Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, which will take place at Abeokuta, Ogun State on Saturday, May 14, 2005 at the site opposite (PDP) state head office, State Secretariat Road, Abeokuta. The library project is designed to establish a world-class, fully integrated, technology-driven and service-oriented Library and Archive in Abeokuta, President Obasanjo's place of Birth."

The letter states further: "The Library will be the first of its kind on the continent of Africa and will be structured along the likes of those established in

the United States (U.S.) You may be aware that in the United States of America, Presidential Libraries are established by an Act of Congress and funded substantially by the Federal Government."

Besides, the letter says, "in Nigeria, no such legislation exists. Therefore, the construction, equipping and operation of the library will depend solely on private funding, which will be administered by Obasanjo Presidential Library Foundation, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation."

Masters who signed the letter says: "We have estimated that the Library will cost approximately $50m, and will be completed by March 2007, which will mark President Obasanjo's 70th birthday".

The last paragraph is the most important as it reads: "Accordingly, we are requesting your financial assistance in this very important and worthy project".

Masters, a West Indian and international businessman, who responded to our inquiries from Washington in the U.S. in a telephone discussion, wondered why people should be agitated over the funding of the project.

He insisted that the project had no link with government and the question of "undue influence peddling" could not arise. His reason in his words: "There is no government funding in the library project. It is totally a private affair, a private effort. It is first in Africa. There is no sort of undue pressure on any donor. We believe that it is a tremendous effort. But it is totally privately funded unlike the United States where it is state-funded."

The library promoter who is generally believed to be working with the former Mayor of Atlanta, Ambassador Andrew Young in Nigeria told The Guardian that the

collaborators on the project are varied. He said "We are working with many institutions. But we have to look at individual efforts involved. The President is very particular about the fact that there is and should be no government funding. It is a private initiative. The library is to be built on integrity platform. Nigerians in the Diaspora, for instance, want it to be successful".

Asked to explain why he wrote to Kupolokun, knowing full well that he is a public servant, Masters replied:

"The letter we wrote to Kupolokun is not a secret or private affair. We wrote to him in his private capacity not as GMD NNPC. We leave the decision to participate to him. He is an adult. The President himself has nothing to do with the letter. I don't work for the President. The President is not on the Board of Trustees.

"We believe in the personae of the President. We are doing it for him. We have written to others in the private sector. When the President retires, the Library will give the young people the opportunity to examine the Presidency. The private sector has been very supportive. It has nothing to do with corruption. The oil companies you allege we have written to are not robots. They will check details and cross-check with their corporate headquarters. We are going to be transparent by publishing everything we do on this project.

"We are working on the basis that the specific objective of the project is retention of records to dialogue, similar to the Carter Centre," he said.

On the role of the virtual library, Masters said "the library will be dealing with African issues and the world, issue of conflict resolution and dialogue. It is very important that we do not get distracted from our objectives to do things

that will make Nigeria great".

He insisted that "nothing is wrong in asking for support from oil companies. They have individual decisions to make whether to support or not."

It was learnt that the NNPC boss had written to some oil companies, banks, to ask for support for the gigantic project.

When contacted at the weekend as he was preparing to go to Abeokuta for the fund-raising, Kupolokun did not hold back anything about his involvement in the library project.

He said his passionate support for and involvement in

the project had been predicated upon the tremendous achievements of the President in the past six years, especially in the areas of reform including the one in the oil sector.

Kupolokun said: "We the promoters of the Library are convinced that what President Olusegun Obasanjo has done in the past six years should not be left unrecorded. Setting up a Presidential Library will really help us to document all these as we move forward in our quest for a durable system. This Library will serve that purpose. It is a place for research and learning. We believe this will help solidify democracy and good governance. That is why we have concluded that this is the right thing to do."

Kupolokun who admitted that he had written letters to some oil companies said there was no compulsion in the deal. "Some of the companies we have written to are so sophisticated that they can always check the plausibility of what we have invited them to participate in. They can check, they will surely check with their Headquarters. This project and indeed my role have nothing to do with government. Some of us are just doing this out of conviction," he said. He said the President did not know

anything about the project until somebody leaked it to him. According to the Kupolokun, "the President did not know anything about it when we began. When it was leaked to him, he called me and asked what was going on. I said Mr. President this is what we are doing. I told him and assured him that we did our homework and we found out that it is within the confine of corporate social responsibility. We told him, this is how we feel. We told him that our partners are quite comfortable with the concept since it is universal."

The NNPC chief said since their partners in the project all over the world have been convinced that it is a normal project and are willing to participate, "we cannot be more Catholic than the Pope. Our partners say it is done in their own environment and they do appreciate that this is good."

He said the core principle of the campaign for the virtual library, it should be noted, is that participation is voluntary.

"Everybody that has received a letter has been told that it is voluntary. There is no influence peddling in this. The cheques are going to the Committee. Yes; the target is $50 million. But people are going to contribute from all over the world. People are coming from all over the world to the launching on Saturday (today)", he said.

Sources revealed at the weekend that some of the local partners in the project are Chief Mike Adenuga, and Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

In November 1996, Abacha Foundation was lavishly launched, but today, it has become a Research Centre and parastatal of the Integration and Cooperation Ministry. Similarly, the Better Life Programme Centre is now the National Centre for Women Development in the Presidency.

In the same vein, what was to be Family Empowerment (FEAP) Hospital for Women and Children now houses the National Hospital in Abuja.

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Obasanjo Presidential Library launch garners N4 bn

By KOLA ADEPOJU, Abeokuta

WITH the highest single donation of N250 million by Chief launcher Mike Adenuga, Chairman of Glo Mobil Network, and a total taking of N4 billion, the Olusegun Obasanjo presidential library yesterday in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, firmly got underway.

Indeed, it was a gathering of who-is-who in the political and economic landscape as prominent Nigerians and institutions struggled to register their names among sponsors of the library project.

Obasanjo, who was impressed by the huge donations by captains of industry, top government functionaries at federal and state levels as well as heeled private sector operatives, whose gestures were mostly in millions of naira and hard currencies declared that "with the level of donation here, we have enough to commence this project."

Earlier in his speech, Obasanjo described the project "as the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria and probably in Africa."

He informed that the library would serve as a centre "for knowledge building and preservation."

He thanked Governor Gbenga Daniel for "pushing" him into the project and his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Osoba for donating land for the citing of the library.

Speaking earlier, Vice-President Atiku Abubakar eulogized Obasanjo saying "Nigeria’s history is intertwined with that of President Obasanjo" adding that "he has been at the forefront of every struggle for the transformation of Nigeria."

Also speaking, Governor Daniel described the library project as "another demonstration of Mr. President’s knack for unprecedented innovations in the Nigeria polity and indeed in Africa."

Besides, he stressed that the project showed that "Mr. President is making preparations for his retirement from office in May 2007."

Obasanjo, equally used the occasion to commission the new secretariat of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Dialysis Centre at Federal Medical Centre while he equally inspected the dualisation of Kobape-South road.

Dignatories at the occasion include, former Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan, 25 state governors, some members of the federal executive council, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Otunba Mike Adenuga, and Alhaji Arisekola Alao.

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ABOUT N3 billion was yesterday realized at the fund raising and turning of the sod of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, an initiative of the president in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

But the president said that the committee on the fund-raising had absolute discretion to receive donations without recourse to him and ordered that it should not take any that could compromise his position.
The ceremony which had in attendance Vice President Atiku Abubakar, no fewer than 12 state governors, several ministers and captains of industries brought activities in the state capital to a halt for the period it lasted.

Topping the list of individual donors was the chief launcher, Otunba Mike Adenuga who dropped N250 million and Alhaji Aliko Dangote and friends N211million while Mr. Femi Otedola donated N200 million.
All the 36 state governors jointly donated N360 million. The donation was announced by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, who is the chairman of the Governors’ Forum while Ogun State government donated another N100 million.

N622 million was donated by a consortium of banks while the announcement of $1 million by the Nigeria Ports Authority [NPA] community jolted the huge crowd which had thronged the Oke-Imosan site of the library project.
Other donors include, Obasanjo Holdings N100 million; Ocean and Oil, N50 million; Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] N25 million; Chief Sunny Odogwu, N200 million; Alhaji Arisekola Alao, N100 million; Chief Michael Ibru, N50 million; Ascon Oil, N40 million and the Ooni of Ife, N10 million.
In his address at the ceremony, an obviously elated Obasanjo expressed gratitude to the donors, noting that work on the library project had already started as materials were already being collected both locally and internationally.

He was particularly grateful to former Governor Olusegun Osoba for allocating the land for the project to him at concessionary fees and to Governor Olugbenga Daniel for being a great influence to the immediate take off.

Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Prof. Olajide Akinkugbe, in his key note address entitled “Of Leadership and Followership”, warned that unless the economic circumstances of the entire populace improve, the problem of corruption would remain an albatross to the nation.
Commending the recent vigorous efforts of the Federal Government to address the issue of corruption, Akinkugbe said “the scar of poverty must also be aggressively tackled.”

“Reckless craving must be curbed in a disciplined society. Strict sanctions must be put in place and visibly applied to serve as a warning to those inclined to transgress in this way and society itself must cultivate a healthy disdain for wealth by not giving so much attention and respect to those who plunder its assets”, he said
Speaking on the library project, the professor said that it was a matter of great pride that what it took USA well over two centuries to establish would now become available in Nigeria within less than two decades of democracy.


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The donors:

1, Mike Adenuga N 250 m
2. Aliko Dangote & friends N211 m
3. Femi Otedola N200 m
4. 36 State Governors N360 m
5. Ogun State Governor N 100 m
6. Consortium of Banks N 622 m
7. Nigeria Ports Authority
(NPA) Community US $ 1 m
8. Obasanjo Holdings N 100 m
9. Ocean and Oil N50 m
10. Peoples Democratic Party N 25 m
11. Sunny Odogwu N100 m
12. Arisekola Alao N 100 m
13. Michael Ibru N 50 m
14. Ooni of Ife N10 m

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Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has described the launch of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library project in Abeokuta as an executive extortion even though he said the President is sincere about his anti-graft crusade.

Soyinka, who spoke with journalists in Ibadan at a lecture to mark the 80th birthday of Tejumade Alakija, said the launch contradicts Obasanjo’s new image as an anti-corruption champion.

“What happened in Abeokuta was an executive extortion and it is a contradiction to the campaign against corruption. And in my view, Obasanjo is a very transparent man”, he said.

He admitted, however, that the exercise was transparent. “It was transparent and open”.

Apparently he was referring to the fact that the President used his position to influence donations for the project as opposed to what is obtained in the United States where the model is copied from.

Speaking on other national issues, Soyinka faulted the Federal Government’s refusal to release funds to councils in Lagos State, saying it is a sign that Abuja has no respect for the rule of law.

Said he: “We know that the present government of this nation has no respect for the law of the land. If it did, for instance, it will not disobey the ruling of a judicial court that has unambiguously ordered the release of the money that is sticking unconstitutionally to its dictatorial fingers.

“Once an example of lawlessness has been established right from the very top, why shouldn’t the religious bodies take on other nationally empowered institutions ….?

“If the President of this nation can unilaterally determine what people can be served, preserved or short-changed of social amenities, including primary allocations, why shouldn’t a bastion of religious fanatics also decide the potential of enquiry and knowledge to wipe out the resources from the earth. What else?”

Soyinka criticised the Kano State Government for barring men and women from riding in the same bus and, by so doing, inadvertently outlawing the use of the same means of public transportation by a man and his wife.

The law, “which is a breach of the dignity of men and women”, is not even in operation in Indonesia, the world’s largest Islamic country, Soyinka noted.

Lamenting that the state government now has to waste public money on purchasing 100 new buses to implement the policy, Soyinka challenged Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, to show proof that there were motorised vehicles when the Koran was recorded.

He likened the new law in Kano to the operation of the apartheid regime in South Africa and the segregation in public transportation in the United States where a black man was supposed to duck into a gutter if he saw a white man approaching.

Soyinka praised Alakija for her contribution to national development, despite operating in a country that is biased against women.

Former External Affairs Minister, Bolaji Akinyemi, who chaired the occasion, lauded the contribution of Alakija to the emancipation of women in the country.

Oyo State Governor, Rashidi Ladoja, who said he wished that Obasanjo himself was present to personally reply to Soyinka’s charges, promised to get a copy of the lecture to the President.

Members of the House of Representatives have also accused Obasanjo of abusing his office by using it to raise funds for his personal library.

A group of them, under the aegis of Forum for Democracy and Good Governance, made the point in Abuja at a roundtable on “Nigeria’s War Against Corruption – Myth or Reality”.

In his welcome address, Forum Co-ordinator, Usman Bugaje, also listed some instances to illustrate the “selective war” against corruption by the executive.

Said he: “It is also intriguing that in the middle of the war against corruption, Mr. President is raising from the private sector, or so we are told, an astonishing sum of N7 billion for a library project in his home town.

“In a depressed economy like ours, where citizens have been pauperised in the name of reform, can any sitting President raise this sum without any fear of abuse of office?

“Wouldn’t people who wish to escape EFCC find an opportunity to do so? Whatever amount raised, shouldn’t this be subjected to due diligence especially when the papers are reporting that the group managing director of NNPC is neck deep in this business?”

Bugaje spared no word in attacking the President, whom he accused of hanging on to the petroleum ministry for the last six years.

He questioned the government’s transparency and accountability, especially as lawmakers are not allowed to perform their oversight functions.

“The near absolute control the executive arm of government exercises on the anti-corruption agencies and the media has given it undue advantage which has allowed it to pick and choose, select those to expose and those to protect and avoid answering questions Nigerians are asking”.

Afenifere too joined in criticising the President over the launch.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, said the donation of about N4 billion to the library project negates the fight against corruption.

He said in a telephone interview on Monday that the donation of N360 million by the 36 governors is also against the principle of accountability and probity being pursued by the government.

Odumakin queried the donation of N100 million by the Ogun State Government and wondered whether this is not part of taxpayers’ money.

He said a situation in which public funds are being used to pursue private projects does not portray good governance.

In his view, the public deserves to know how much tax the donors pay to the government.

“For the President to be able to gather such people to donate for his private cause shows clearly that he cannot pass the test of corruption as the President of the country”.

He recalled that when a retired general donated N130 million to Obasanjo’s campaign in 1999, “the result was the blatant rigging of the elections” and wondered what could be the motive of the donors to the library project.

Odumakin raised posers on whether they have not in any way benefited or hope to benefit from government patronage, “a negation of the war on corruption”.

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Ochiwar:

So Obasanjo should be blamed for the "state of decay, despair and neglect" of the nation's institutions?
--Tim Oluyele

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Obasanjo have sucked life out of the people of that Republic...Biafra

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I just returned from Nigeria last week, after spending almost a month in that republic.
I have been doing my dandiest part to improve the lives of people in my Village...-Biafra

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• folks running around talking about a country which does not exist (never has BTW)
• nigerian cowards sitting in the safety of their US/European homes typing xxxx in internet forums
• lazy, unpatriotic Nigerians, who refuse to help improve their own country, and
• nigerian deceivers specialized in deceiving themselves, who foolishly believe that they can "improve the lives of people in nigerian villages" IN JUST ONE MONTH.

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I am not interested in Politics....-Biafra

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...my interest is the improving the life of an average Igbo person...-Biafra

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What part of his very first post demeaned you?
I see nothing in Biafra’s post that warranted such...-Mebiafran

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No child! You can't do that!!...Mebiafran

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You, too, are a liar and bloody one for that matter. Biafra's first post was written in defamation of my very person. - alchemist

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