COJA's big money wasting BMW scheme

By

Mike Ikhariale

It is hard to imagine that under the suzerainty of an administration which hoists the huge moral flag loudly proclaiming the slogan of “no business as usual”, that it is still possible for anyone to make the kind of prodigious suggestion as being boldly and shamelessly canvassed by COJA chieftains to the effect that they are opting to use one of the flagships of the German auto industry, BMW, and for effect, the 7 series, as the official vehicles of the forthcoming All African Games.

It is totally incredulous, in view of the current economic hardship in the country, for any Nigerian to suggest that we should buy/lease these German-made vehicles irrespective of the short-sighted claim that they are getting a “better deal” from the Germans when, right here at our backyards, we have vehicles assembly plants pitiably crying for patronage and, indeed, are at the verge of possible liquidation.

It is now getting clearer by the day that some of those who do government business on behalf of the people of Nigeria are the greatest saboteurs of the Nigerian economy. There is no reason under the sun other than the typical Nigerian greed and avarice that is viciously laced with unregulated corruption for a curious choice of BMW cars.

It would be one of the biggest philosophical tests for the Obasanjo administration about how sincere it is when it says that it has assumed the mission to save Nigeria from the mess that we have been dumped in the several years of previous misrule. I still strongly hope that the President, Baba, will not just sit by and allow these economic vandals to mess up the good name that has taken him so long to build. I can therefore expect that those hoping to make cheap and bounteous money out of the BMW deal would be disappointed because the President, the old stingy Uncle Sege that we all know of, will NEVER allow such a huge fraud and fiscal rascality to stand right under his nose.

What is the issue at stake in the BMW affair? It is no longer a secret that the Nigerian economy is in a dire straight and common sense and elementary patriotism should dictate that every fiscal policy and energy ought to be mobilised towards its revival. In one word: Prudence. But the very idea of importing hundreds of expensive luxurious BMW cars to be used for the ephemeral All African Games is plainly criminal profligacy, to say the least, especially when it is also common knowledge that Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN) and other local assembly plants are in serious need of immediate support.

We all know what killed the huge Volkswagen plant at Ojo, Lagos. It could easily happen to PAN if people like those at COJA have their way. When the story first broke that Nigeria, a country presently reeling under a groaning economic down-turn is planning to use BMWs as the official vehicles for an exercise as ordinary as the All African Games, many thought that it could not be true as so many damming scandalous rumours have lately been associated with COJA, proven and unproven.

But this good wish was to be dashed when it was reported in the press over the weekend that COJA has indeed gone into some deal with a local BMW car dealer to use the ”Seven Series” as the official cars of the game. Even the Germans themselves cannot afford such an extreme level of squander mania and, in fact, did not, when they hosted Europe during a similar fiesta recently. Knowing how bad our economy is presently, it is legitimate to expect that the Big Money Wasting scheme, which is what the BMW deal really stands for in our situation, cannot stand the test of time.

But I am reminded also that in the present day Nigeria, nothing is impossible, including the absurd and the laughable. The fact that some people could go to the press with the hope of defending these odious transactions merely confirms the fact that ours is really a basket case.

The bogus arguments so far adduced for the sacrilegious proposal is that Nigeria will “save money” by accepting the BMW deal. The spokesperson even went further to contend that it was a very “good deal”, the type they just “could not resist.”  Fools! Have they ever heard of the famous Trojan horse or about Greek gifts?  These economic nit-wits even wanted to sell the booboo to the nation that BMW is coming to them at a price that is preferable to that offered them by PAN. Arrant nonsense.

Granted that PAN is selling its car at a higher price than the BMW is ready to offer, the bottom line is the fact that PAN is Nigerian and BMW is not. A businessman without the knowledge and, perhaps, the commitment of redressing the macro economic problems of the country might find such a simplistic proposal attractive. But we all know that that is not the whole truth.There is no way that BMW could sell their cars cheaper than PAN, even if they decide to commit the international economic crime of dumping.

The facts at our disposal, however, prove that the Germans are not about to do any of such things. They are getting a deal that would keep their people gainfully employed, generously push up their corporate turn-over and balance sheet and which, of course, would also unduly line the pockets of their Nigerian promoters but, sadly, a big minus for our local effort to also produce. 

Before we go further to appraise the negative patriotism that informs such a decision, let us acknowledge the fact that BMW does not employ Nigerians as PAN does. Let us also suppose, for the purposes of argument, that PAN is offering its vehicle at a rate that is 1 million Naira higher than that being offered by the predatory German multi-national giant.

The critical element to note here is that for every car that PAN sells; at least, a thousand Nigerian families are positively affected. For a nation struggling so desperately to revamp her economy for the welfare of the people, keeping one hundred workers employed at PAN is a better policy option for Nigeria than “saving” I million Naira in a deal with a foreign firm that is actually going straight into the pockets of a few local merchants and their official collaborators.

I have no doubt in my mind that the President would rather keep as many Nigerians as possible employed than “saving” some money for some faceless people. I have also read the rather spurious argument that because the South Africans used Mercedes Benz cars during the last All African games, Nigerians must now also use another German brand just to show how well off we are when indeed we are really down.

The foolishness in that argument is highlighted by the obvious fact that the those who want BMW for COJA did not tell Nigerians that the Mercedes Benz C- class model that were used by their South African counterparts were produced in South Africa.

So, for every Mercedes Benz used by the South Africans games organisers, thousands of their citizens were gainfully employed and many more families had something to eat as a result. It therefore makes good sense for the South African authorities to make use of cars produced by their workers.

On the contrary, BMW or Mercedes Benz is not produced in this country and no value whatsoever is added to our economy as a result of their use. Instead, we are killing our local producers and worsening our unemployment. Again, both Mercedes Benz and BMW have factories in South Africa and none of them has any in Nigeria.

But PAN does. Peugeot cars are exactly to Nigerians and the national economy what the BMW and Mercedes Benz are for the South African economy. More importantly, why on earth would any sane person compare the Nigerian economy with that of South Africa or want to do here what they could do easily over there at the expense of our fledging economy? It does not make any economic and moral sense for COJA to accept to use BMW cars that were essentially manufactured for the good German highways en masse into the country where they would soon become junks in a matter of months, thanks to our un-maintained gullies infested roads.

Nigeria will never make any economic progress if we do not discipline ourselves so as to always cut our coat according to our cloth. It is scandalous, for example, to note that there are more expensive vehicles on Nigerian roads in terms of their ratio to other vehicles than you can ever find in those countries where they manufacture these cars that keep their peoples gainfully employed and their economies strategically stimulated.

It is wrong, laughable and condemnable for COJA to have contemplated such an economically crazy idea. It makes nonsense of the government’s effort to revamp the economy by unwittingly turning the same country into a huge and interminable dumping ground of what others have produced elsewhere just for the immediate gain of some officials. If the organisers of the forthcoming games cannot make use of cars produced in Nigeria, they should be asked to turn in their resignation and allow those who believe in Nigeria and her people to take over.

It is beyond any rational debate that those who proposed BMW cars for the games do not mean well. They are selfish and shortsighted. At the very best, they are fools who ought not to be saddled with such important national assignments. I am seriously expecting Baba to promptly weigh in on this matter before it evolves into yet another controversy like the type that dogged the Abuja stadium. Those who brought about the Big Money Wasting (BMW) idea ought to be promptly dealt with as economic saboteurs if only to deter similarly minded people in the future.

July 2003