Ojo Maduekwe: Minister of Foreign Trips?

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe

2.7 billion Naira trips
The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, reportedly spent N2.7 billion on foreign trips in 2009. Is he not the most or one of the most expensive foreign ministers in the world to maintain? In fact, he wanted a budget increment for 2010 when he was queried by the senate. How callous can a minister be? Why can’t Maduekwe buy second class tickets in order to save money and lodge in moderate hotels? After all, a third class ticket would not befit a federal minister who wants to show off than get the job done.
Nigerians on death row
Maduekwe has not shown much interest in Nigerian citizens illegally detained or imprisoned in foreign countries, so he should be able to account for his 2009 trips with a log book or travelogue. Neither did he ‘negotiate’ the release of Nigerian detainees on death row in Libya last year. If not for the quick intervention of the Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP) and its solicitor, Mr Femi Falana in a petition to the African Commission, they would have faced execution. The African Commission ordered Libya not to execute the Nigerian detainees. How many trips did Maduekwe make to Libya in 2009?
Terrorist: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Since a Nigerian terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab narrowly failed to detonate a bomb on a Northwest Airlines Flight 253, from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, the International community and even Nigerians have not heard anything from Maduekwe as the Foreign Minister. The Minister of Information and Communications, Dora Akunyili dissociated Nigeria with the 'terrorist' and bomb plot but Al Qaeda has credited itself for the attempted bombing of the plane.
Where is Maduekwe? Should he be paid his full salary for December 2009? In Nigeria, it seems as if some officials are paid for non performance. Nobody cares! Even the recycled Petroleum Minister, Rilwanu Lukman defied the orders of the Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan and went on holidays. He went to Vienna while the masses suffered from fuel shortage with long queues at petrol filling stations and only cares for himself and his family.
Lukman was the Secretary General of the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), 1995 – 2000. One would have expected the State Security Service (SSS) to stop Lukman at the airport and seize his passport, since he was one of the ministers that were not allowed to go on Christmas holidays, in order to sort out the oil and gas problems. The SSS is better at arresting and interrogating innocent journalists like the Peoples Daily editor, Ahmed Shekarau for stories connected to the president and vice-president.
Review of lies
Ojo Maduekwe told fibs at the 4th Session of United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of Nigeria, pertaining to the amount of sexual groups by claiming that homosexuals and lesbians were not in Nigeria. It may have been better for him to explain that the constitution is not gay friendly and culturally, it is a taboo.
He is also very good at 'cornering' the lawmakers whenever he is summoned to the National Assembly. He was once asked to account for the sale of Nigerian embassy buildings in the US for alleged $23.5m during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. It must be emphasized that he was not the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time. The recycled minister was previously a Minister of Transport and Minister of Culture and Tourism. Was that where he got used to foreign trips?

Aviation Minister and Airport Security

Nigerian Aviation Minister, Babatunde Omotoba ‘must’ have read various comments on the bad state of Nigerian Airports but does not care. He got a lot of 'poor' people angry last year when he condemned local promotional tickets. He said he would rather support N20,000 for a Lagos – Abuja flight instead of N5,000. How 'posh' and ‘dumb’ can you get just because you are rich? The average passenger would prefer to save N15,000 per flight. Maybe he was unaware that it was non of his business as a Minister.
Like Ojo Maduekwe, he recently piped down on the Nigerian terrorist issue and left the image laundering job for the Information Ministry. Omotoba should assure the world that Nigerian Airports are safe or find another job to do. He lacks experience and ‘hammers’ on frivolous issues… Right now, a full investigation on how terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab travelled from Lagos airport should be concluded like the Dutch investigations. The Aviation Ministry should be planning how to get constant or alternative power supply for Nigerian Airports (since Nigeria suffers from electricity failure) before the incoming 3 – D Full Body Scanners, for effective security.