By Tony Iji

Dr. Sampson Uche Ogah, president/founder of Masters Energy Group, is one of Nigeria’s leading, patriotic, visionary, and risk-tolerant entrepreneurs today. Since leaving office as Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development in 2022, the former senior banker-turned businessman and politician has been channelling all his time, energy and financial resources to repositioning his company for the future.

His objective is to grow his conglomerate, made up of over 15 subsidiaries with interests in multiple sectors, including oil & gas, aviation, real estate, transport, logistics, consumer goods, etc, to the point where it could add significant value to the national economy. Dr. Ogah was neck-deep into the pursuit of this dream when the removal of subsidy on petrol and floating of the Naira mid-last year threw virtually all economic variables and businesses off balance. While many other existing businesses scaled down their operations, shelved expansion plans, or closed shop altogether, the Masters Energy Group founder forged on. Where others bemoaned the problems, he saw prospects and profits. Instead of being deterred by the immediate negative fallouts of the fuel and foreign exchange policies, Dr. Ogah was propelled into action by them.Thus, early this year, Dr. Ogah convened a Masters Energy Group Senior Leadership Strategy Retreat under the theme: “Innovation, Exponential Revenue Growth by Cost Management and New Product Introduction.” The essence of the retreat was for senior and top-level workers at the leadership cadre to deliberate and strategically decide on innovations and initiatives the organisation was implementing to enhance its business operations.“Masters Energy Group is positioning to expand its business, increase presence in the Nigerian market and ultimately achieve an exponential revenue growth through massive investment, partnerships, and new products,” Dr. Ogah told reporters at the end of the retreat. “We want to go into a lot of business that we haven’t been before; that is why we are having this retreat for us to come together to discuss, to strategize on how this year will be better than last year,” Mrs Patience Dappa, the Group Managing Director of Masters Energy, explained. “We all know that subsidy is out of the way, so we need to look at how we can survive and sustain our business without the presence of subsidy.”Pushing against the odds facing the economy has been the focus and preoccupation of Dr. Ogah ever since. Unfortunately, it is obvious that some people are not comfortable with his bold and strategic repositioning of Masters Energy Group to expand its frontiers and support the growth of the economy. They appear resolved to do whatever is possible to distract his attention, sabotage, and, possibly, bring down the Group’s businesses. One of such heinous acts was the recent re-circulation of a nearly 10-year-old video in which the company was wrongly accused of importing expired rice into the country. A source attributed unearthing of the old 2016 video to one Lauretta Onochie, who started circulating it as a new video, presenting it like the company intentionally smuggled in an expired rice into the country to sell.” Ms Onoche, for those who may have forgotten, was the same woman whose nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as INEC Commissioner was rejected by the Senate following public protests by Nigerians. Later, she was removed from office as Chairperson of NDDC after serving for only few months. Both incidents arose from questions over her integrity.The management of Masters Energy Group has set the records straight. In a public statement, the company categorically denied this claim, describing it as baseless and a falsehood calculated to damage its reputation. The statement said: “Our company ordered some quantity of rice in 2016 with the value of the consignment duly paid. The consignment was inspected and passed by a reputable international inspection agent prior to shipment to Nigeria. However, by the time the consignment arrived Tin Can Island Port Lagos, the restriction by the federal government of Nigeria on the importation of certain goods (among which is rice), famously referred to as Ban on 41 items, had taken effect; so we were unable to clear the containers from the Customs.”We made various appeals and representations to the Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian Customs to grant us a window to clear the consignment; but our efforts were of no avail. The consignment was eventually seized by the Customs in August 2016.In 2019 – more than three years after the consignment has been seized – during a working visit to the Tincan port, the then Customs C.G. (Comptroller-General) discovered the abandoned shipment within the premises, which had since deteriorated due to long exposure to heat in the container and other environmental elements. This was first thought to be a fresh import, but further investigation revealed that the containers have long been at the port and the goods degraded due to over-stay at the port. Our company was absolved of culpability.”The company reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the highest quality and ethical standards and full adherence to all import regulations. “At no point did we import, intend to import, or distribute expired rice to the Nigerian market,” it said. The company has assured that it will not be distracted by the schemes of saboteurs from pursuing its expansion programme, which has been progressing smoothly.Indeed, the Nigerian economy is beginning to benefit from Masters Energy Group’s expansion programme as it has given birth to new and enhanced operations as well as new products and services. One of them is the Joint User Hydrant Installation 2 (JUHI-2), Nigeria’s largest aviation fuel depot with a storage capacity of 15 million litres of Jet A1 fuel, which was commissioned this October. The state-of-the-art depot is a partnership between Masters Energy Oil & Gas Ltd, Eterna Plc, Techno Oil, Quest Oil, Rahamaniyya, Ibafon Oil, and First Deep Water Limited. The facility, which spans 46,000 square meters, is set to revolutionize aviation fuel logistics, offering unparalleled efficiency, safety, and cutting-edge technology. The company’s new services in the aviation sector are not limited to airline operators. The company has also extended personalized airport protocol services and exceptional hotel reservations and tour packages to passengers and tourists through its Cardinal Points business arm. It is also offering energy independence to consumers via Masters Energy solar panels. The solar energy services it provides include expert solar installations, supply of premium solar panels and inverters.Masters Energy Group has also expanded its business into logistics and interstate travel services with the launch of Alsa Logistics Limited, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to delivering comprehensive and reliable services across the country. In the area of manufacturing, the conglomerate is also looking to introduce new product lines like household products, with a projection that, by the end of this year, Masters Energy products would be in every household in Nigeria. The company is also considering exploring opportunities in the export business to enable them to overcome challenges associated with high exchange rate. Similarly, the Group is expanding its footprint in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) business. In 2023, it performed the flag-off of the Masters Energy 40,000 metric tonnes LPG storage facility in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. It hopes to complete it before the end of next year. The company is planning to take the oil and gas downstream market by storm with its massive investment, new products, and innovation. Masters Energy presently has about 300 retail outlets across major cities in Nigeria with not less than 50 more outlets scheduled to come on stream before end of this year. Dr. Ogah is not only focused on growing the company but is also developing its management capacity and capabilities. Only recently , he completed a prestigious leadership programme at the University of Oxford with Honours. The remarkable achievement demonstrates his dedication to personal and professional growth and earned him invaluable insights and advanced skills that will, by extension, greatly benefit the company as it strives for innovation, growth, and success. In the face of all these efforts by Masters Energy Group to support the growth of the Nigerian economy and impact the lives of Nigerians, it’s disheartening seeing some dubious individuals trying to roll back the gains made by patriotic entrepreneurs like Dr. Ogah.

By Femi Fani-Kayode

In an article titled “Is Nigeria fuelling Israel’s genocide against Palestinians?”, which was published in Businessday on 30th October, one Suraya Dadoo, who wrote in from South Africa, opened his contribution by quoting our Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, my friend and brother, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who he attributed the following words to.

“There is no justification for the carnage that is going on in Gaza… the complete disregard for the proportionality of force that is being meted out on innocent civilians.

This carnage is completely out of hand and totally unacceptable. There is no way to explain the double standards; it has to stop.”

He went further by quoting our nation’s number two citizen, Vice President Kashim Shettima’s words at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September, where he said the following:

Both the Minister and the Vice President have done us proud with their courageous words and bold stand and it is a reflection of the fact that the Tinubu administration represents the thinking and has expressed the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians and have opted to tread the right path when it comes to the tragic events in Gaza and the pitiful plight of the Palestinian people.

Dadoo went further by writing the following, “The Nigerian government has consistently condemned Israel’s military occupation of Palestine and has been particularly outspoken against Israel since October 7. Historically, Nigeria has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian struggle for liberation, and Nigeria was central in efforts to ensure that Israel was not granted observer status at the African Union (AU). According to sources who were at the October 2021 meeting of the AU executive council attended by Africa’s foreign ministers in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Nigeria’s then Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama took the lead in objecting to Israel’s accreditation and urged other member states to do the same.”

Again, this is comforting but he follows it by getting to the crux of his essay and the heart of the matter by dropping the following clanger: “While the Nigerian government has strongly condemned Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza it also stands accused of fuelling the Israeli war machine that had already killed, at the time of writing, more than 40,000 Palestinians through direct violence and bombing.”

To substantiate his point he wrote, “According to a recently released report titled “Behind the Barrel: New Insights into the Countries and Companies Behind Israel’s Fuel Supply,” Nigeria accounts for 9 percent of the total crude oil supplied to Israel between October 21, 2023, and July 12, 2024. Researchers analysed satellite imagery, ship positions, shipping logs, commodity trade flows, information from port authorities, and financial and media reports to track 65 oil and fuel shipments to Israel in that period.”

He concludes by alleging that,”Over 133 kilotons of Nigerian crude were delivered to Israel from Chevron, Eni, Exxon, Shell, and TotalEnergies. Gabonese crude accounted for 22 percent, and the Republic of the Congo supplied 6 percent, but it is Nigeria’s contribution that has raised eyebrows given the country’s vocal criticism of Israel.”

Dodoo’s allegation, if proven to be true, is deeply troubling and needs to be taken very seriously indeed lest we leave ourselves open to his grave charge of complicity in the genocide that is being unleashed on Gaza by the Zionists.

The matter can be resolved by simply banning all crude oil shipments from Nigeria to Israel.

I hereby call on our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to do precisely that and take an even stronger stance against the Zionists by banning all arms purchases from them and terminating any military and/or intelligence advice or services that the Israelis are offering or providing us with.

If he could find the courage to implement a number of bold and much needed fiscal, economic and constitutional reforms and policies such as the removal of the oil subsidy, the floating of the naira, the establishment of autonomy for the local government areas, the implementation of the students loan fund, the numerous tax reforms and most important of all the refusal to go to war against Niger Republic despite the enormous pressure that the Western powers, led by France and the United States of America, put on him to do so earlier this year, he can certainly muster the same will to kick the Zionists out of Nigeria, nullify their pervasive influence in our country and sub-region and sever all trade, economic and diplomatic ties and relations with them.

General Yakubu Gowon, our revered former Head of State, did this in 1973 when he was in power and as Chairman of the then OAU (AU) in order to punish the Jewish State for its attack on the Palestinians during the Yom Kippur War.

For a number of years before then and specifically during our three year civil war, Gowon had viewed Israel with much distrust and suspicion given the covert support it gave to the Biafran secessionists and its complicity in the attempt to dismember and break up our beloved country.

However the straw did not break the camel’s back until 1973 after which the final break took place and diplomatic relations between our two countries were not restored until September 1992 by the then Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

I am constrained to say that now is the time to break diplomatic ties with Israel again.

This is the right and proper thing to do in the light of its insatiable compulsion and appetite for mass murder, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide and given its insane and psychotic disposition for murdering helpless and defenceless women and children and for killing babies.

Again, this is the right and proper thing to do given the fact that it has not only illegally occupied the land of the Palestinian people for over 76 years and slaughtered and incarcerated millions of the people but has also unleashed what can best be described as the second holocaust against it over the last one year, killing over 60,000 in Gaza alone and thousands more in the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria!

If the world could go to war with Nazi Germany in 1936 as a consequence of the first holocaust, every civilised nation ought to, at the very least, be able to break diplomatic ties with Zionist Israel as a consequence of the second.

Morality, decency and justice demands no less and those nations that insist on applauding the atrocities of the Jewish State and selling weapons of mass destruction to it are not only complicit in its war crimes but are also from the pit of hell and in the service of shaitan.

The Holy Bible says there can be no fellowship between light and darkness. It says we must either choose God or Belial.

It also compels us to resist evil and to fight for the weak, the poor, the vulnerable and the oppressed.

The Holy Quran does the same and is emphatic on the importance of justice for all and support for the less privileged and the vulnerable.

Nigeria can and must NEVER be seen to be complicit in the bestial barbarity that is going on in Gaza or to have relations with the beasts that have relentlessly unleashed it.

Though we have many challenges, ours is a nation of decent, God-fearing, just and right-thinking people who have a long history of standing for the oppressed all over Africa and contributing to the efforts of numerous liberation struggles.

Let us prove to the world once again that that is who and what we are by openly and loudly challenging the barbarity, lunacy and thuggery of the State of Israel at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, the African Union and all other relevant fora and calling it out for its continuous violations of international law, its disdain for an international rules-based system and its racist, fascist and ethnocentric disposition.

Let us expose its contempt for humanity and human life, its total and complete adoption, espousal and implementation of apartheid as a fundamental principle and cardinal policy in its system of government and its religious fanaticism and proselytising bigotry.

Let us vigorously and aggressively resist its hatred for Arabs and Africans, appalling treatment of Christians and Muslims, rejection of the two-state solution, desire to ethnically cleanse, wipe out and totally eradicate and eliminate the Palestinian race, its intention to establish a ‘Greater Israel’ whose borders would stretch from Egypt to Iran and its heinous crimes and unspeakable atrocities in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

These are concrete and cogent steps that we as a people and nation can take to contribute our quota to the collective fight against the tyranny and oppression of the Zionists and I believe that we are still big and strong enough to take them.

May God guide and protect us in this noble endeavour and may history and posterity be kind to us.

By Ehichioya Ezomon

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s made the world to believe that his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Chief Nyesom Wike, is the architect and purveyor of the political crisis in the state. He’s used every opportune moment to drum this narrative for the consumption of a sympathetic public.

Fubara struck a similar cord lately, at the heat of the contentious and bloody October 5, 2024, local government council election that’s resisted and boycotted by the Wike faction of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Appearing on a Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday, October 7, Fubara advised Wike to let go of his grip on the Rivers polity, “for the sake of the good people of Rivers State, and the love that you (Wike) have always professed for the state.

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On the alleged breach of a “gentleman’s agreement” he’d entered into with Wike to secure his “anointing and endorsement” as the PDP candidate for the March 18, 2023, governorship, Fubara said he’d kept all “understanding” with Wike, and lounged into his talking point of how he’d repeatedly knelt down for Wike for peace to reign in Rivers.

“There is nothing I have not done on this earth for peace to reign. I can tell you the number of times I have knelt to beg (Wike) that, let’s allow this issue to go. I have done everything,” Fubara said, even as continuously states, “I will not worship any human being but God” – indicating alleged Wike’s demand he (Fubara) should worship him, a charge Wike’s denied.

Fubara says he appreciates the fact that Wike played a pivotal role in his governorship, but that it’s God that used Wike as a vessel to fulfil His purpose, and so, only God deserves his (Fubara’s) worship, and not any human. He echoed this sentiment on May 16, 2024, during the inauguration of Egbeda internal roads, in Emohua local government area of Rivers.

Fubara said: “God can do anything He wants to do when He wants to do it. It is only for us to realise that God will not come down from Heaven but will pass through one man or woman to achieve His purpose. So, for that reason, when we act, we act as humans; human vessels that God has used, and not seeing yourself as God.

“I want to say this clearly, that we appreciate the role our leaders, most especially the immediate past governor (Wike) played. But that is not enough for me to worship a human being. I can’t do that.”

However, on May 11, 2024, in Ogu-Bolo, Rivers State, at a grand reception in honour of Chief George Thompson Sekibo for his 20 years of public service, Wike said he isn’t God, and as such, had never demanded that anybody should worship him. “Nobody can worship man. All of us believe that it is only God we will worship. (But) as politicians, we appreciate people who have helped us,” Wike said.

Asked on the Channels TV’s programme what his message to Wike would be if they met, Fubara said: “I’ll tell him that it has gotten to a point where he needs to let go. We need peace in this state. You don’t necessarily need to win all the fights; at times, you just let go for the sake of the good people of Rivers State and the love that you have always professed for the state.”

Noting that “election periods are over and it’s time for governance,” Fubara urged Wike to give peace a chance. “What I am appealing is: Everyone should sheathe their swords. Even to the Minister, my oga (my boss), there is no need to destroy this state. When it comes to the election period, you can fight and do whatever but now is the time for governance. We need all the support,” Fubara said.

“He (Wike) once ruled this state and the state was an envy of every other state. Another person (Fubara) is there now, (and) what we need is the support. After four years or eight years, who knows? I will also leave and someone else will take over. That should be the spirit. Fubara will leave tomorrow. Who knows who is going to come? It might be through him or another person but we need to secure the state.”

But does Fubara really desire peace in Rivers State? It doesn’t seem so! Otherwise, he should quit the baiting, the insulting, the denigrating, the rhetoric, and the labelling of Wike as “the enemy of Rivers State” – all done by Fubara to curry sympathy and secure the approval of the gaming public. You can’t be talking peace and at the same time be fanning the embers of war!

Fubara can stoop to conquer by embracing genuine reconciliation with Wike. For instance, what stops the governor from telling those beating the drums of war for him that, “Enough is enough, I’m going to make peace with Wike for the sake of Rivers State and its people?”

This may not work due to the personal and partisan differences among the former governors and the incumbent. For example, Odili aligns with Fubara and alienates Amaechi and Wike; Amaechi’s sours on Odili, Wike and Fubara; Wike’s beef with Odili, Amaechi and Fubara; and Fubara and Wike are on a war path.

In such a scenario, who’ll call for the “sit-at-table” peace meeting? President Bola Tinubu would’ve fitted the bill, but he literally burnt his fingers the last time he attempted a truce between Fubara and Wike. The agreement, witnessed and signed by Odili, Fubara and Wike, among others, collapsed almost immediately it’s hashed out, with Fubara, who initially said the agreement “wasn’t a death sentence,” turning round to lebel it as political and not constitutional.

So, here’s a simple approach that’ll not only put Wike on his back foot, and induce him to return to the basic, but also push him to his wit’s end! Fubara should select some of the elders and leaders of the divide in Rivers, including the former governors, and inform Wike that he’s coming with a delegation on an agreed date, to fully reconcile with him. The ball will then be centrally placed in Wike’s court to either accept or refuse Fubara’s expressed desire for armistice between them.

Fubara’s offer of peace should be widely publicised in the media – different from his claimed behind-the-scences kneeling down to beg Wike – for maximum pressure and effect on Wike, and it’ll be well and good if the overture comes through! If doesn’t – in the event that Wike declines the invitation to reconcile, his current and intended political antics will be exposed as being the real masquerade behind the political turmoil in Rivers State, and Fubara will be vindicated at last.

All told, the “feat” Fubara achieved with the conduct of the local government council election hasn’t guaranteed a win over the war with Wike. Instead, he’s merely won the battle – a pyrrhic victory of some sorts – while the war remains. It’s still a dicey situation in which “a child doesn’t know when sleep takes food from their mouth” – depicting the futility of the  “clever person” attempting to hold on to something that’s slipping away from them.

Fubara strives strenuously to exonerate himself from the crisis he’s helped engineer and sustain for a year now. That Rivers is going through the grinding mill is because of the governor’s failure to use tact and diplomacy in handling and dealing with Wike’s alleged overbearing influence on his government.

Agreed that Wike – amid strong opposition and resistance from even political leaders from Fubara’s homestead – worked on the recommendation of some Rivers leaders, and took Fubara from the civil service to the Government House, for which Fubara should be grateful, and accord Wike the respect he deserves within the ambit of personal relationship and official conduct.

Reciprocally, Wike should give Fubara the space to freely run his government, and not breath down his neck, as doing so portrays him as a “godfather” that exerts maximum loyalty from and punishment on their surrogates. That’s what Wike’s become, and as especially sold by Fubara to the public, which views the governor as the underdog, and backs his duel with Wike in the supremacy contest to control the political structure, power and resources of Rivers State.

But in his quest to crush and humiliate Wike over his appetite for “godfatherism,” Fubara’s committed numerous unforced errors, as he listens and tries to satisfy his supporters, who pressure him to man up and “show Wike that you’re the Governor of Rivers State.” It’s time Fubara ditched their selfish advice, and chart a different course that’ll genuinely ensure peace and security in Rivers!

Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.