"The Opportunity Cost Of Tompolo’sPrivate Jet"

"The Opportunity Cost Of Tompolo's Private Jet" 

For those who haven't heard, 43 year

old ex-militant, High Chief Government

Oweizide Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) on

Monday 26th August 2013 received his

Bombardier SE60 LearJet. The Jet

according to aviation sources cost a

whopping sum of $13.3 million (N2.12 billion).

The aim of this article is not to rubbish

the person of Tompolo, [what is there to

rubbish anyway] but to address inter

alia; the scenarios that continue to play

out in favour of his ilk, institutions and

systems that perpetually endeavour to

make his likes overnight celebrities. I

would also analyse the opportunity cost

of his latest toy.

The Man Tompolo

Tompolo was born Government Oweizide

Ekpumopolo in 1970 into the family of

Chief Thomas Osei Ekpempulo and Mrs

Sologha Ekpemupol of Okorenkoko in

Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South-

West Local Government Area of present

Delta State. He attended Edah Primary

School, Madagho and Kunpa Primary

School, Kunukunuma before later

proceeding to National Comprehensive

College, Warri where he completed the

SSCE in 1993.

After a brief stint as Managing Director of

his father's family business, Tompolo

Nigeria Limited, his militancy career

began in 1997, during the struggle to

'liberate' the Ijaws from the dominance

of its neighbours -- the Itsekiris. General

Sani Abacha had then relocated Warri

South Local Government headquarters

from Ogbe-Ijoh to Itsekiri's Ogidiben and

thus, an Ijaw 'Soldier' was born.

After the struggle, he relocated to

Oporoza due to threats to his life and

there, he started the struggle against

the oil majors and the federal

government for what he perceived as

injustice against 'their land'–usually the

rhetoric for Niger Delta militants.

True to his name, Government

Ekpumopolo was an authority of some

sort. Traditional rulers, local council men,

lawmakers, governors differ to him. To

show the power Tompolo wields, during

the visit of then Vice President Dr.

Goodluck Jonathan to his terrorist

headquarters at the notorious Camp 5,

he instructed all the Vice President's

entourage, security details, and other

officials to stay outside the camp,

allowing only Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in

for 'consultation' (I wonder what they

must have agreed in secret).

He led several 'successful' guerrilla

attacks against Shell, almost crippling

their production capacity in the Niger

Delta. The company had no choice but

to start paying some sort of 'security

fees' to the warlord.

Tompolo started consulting in security

matters for the oil companies, the

Federal Government and the Joint Task

Force to maintain some level of peace.

Things got out of hand after his men

beheaded 11 military men comprising of

1 officer and 10 rank and file of the

Nigerian Army. That development forced

the Chairman of the Joint Task Force in

the Niger Delta, Brig. Gen. Sarkin Yaki

Bello to declare him wanted, dead or

alive.

His Entrance Into The Nigerian

Billionaires Club

When the late President Musa Yar'adua

took oath of Office in May 2007, he

promised to bring an end to the Niger

Delta insurgency, offering them a state

pardon for all their criminal atrocities.

In June 2009 when the implementation

of the amnesty programme started,

thousands of youth surrendered their

arms and ammunitions, with a report

stating that Tompolo along with 1,500

militants handed in a cache of weapons

that included general purpose machine

guns, grenades, rocket propelled

grenade launchers, explosives and a

large number of assorted weapons.

Unfortunately, President Yar'adua who

originated the idea died of some ailment

and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Vice

President as it then was, took the reins

of power.

In what seemed like an opportunity-com

es-but-once-so-lets-seize-it-and-settle-

the-boys-bigtime-kind-of-contract, the

Goodluck administration through

NIMASA, headed by Ziadeke

Akpobolokemi (said to be Tompolo's

candidate for the NIMASA job), awarded

a contract worth $103.4million

(N15billion) maritime surveillance

contract to Tompolo's company--Global

West Vessel Specialist Limited (GWVSL).

The contract stated that GWVSL will

provide security for oil pipelines, repel

pirates and oil thieves, guard the nation

waterways and also (wait for this),

COLLECT LEVIES ON BEHALF OF NIMASA.

The agency said about N124billion is

expected to be generated by GWVSL for

the federal government.

In a memo dated 9 November, 2011

with reference number PRES/99/MT/61

and titled Award Of Contract For The

Strategic Concessioning Partnership With

NIMASA To Provide Platforms For

Tracking Ships And Cargoes, Enforce

Regulatory Compliance And Surveillance

Of The Entire Nigerian Maritime Domain,

President Jonathan approved the

contract and it was rubber stamped by

the Federal Executive council in one of

its weekly contract awarding bazaars on

5 January, 2012.

The contract will run for 10 years,

though President Jonathan through

NIMASA has promised not to renew the

contract after the expiration of its

present term. But to show how

desperate Jonathan was in securing the

contract for his friend and personal

confidant – Tompolo – he wrote to the

National Assembly, withdrawing an

earlier similar proposal submitted by his

predecessor which sought to create a

coast guard comprising of all the

security agencies to man the country's

maritime domain. But why should he

not, when NIMASA presently pays

Tompolo's GWVSL N49m weekly for

vessel hired by the agency?

The Nigerian Debacle

We have heard over and over how the

Nigerian system rewards honest labour

with hardship and award criminal

endeavours with the juicy contracts and

patronage which only feather the nest of

cronies.

Fellow militants who didn't labour (killed)

as much as Tompolo weren't rewarded

as much. I pity men of the Nigerian

Military who daily sacrifice their lives for

nothing. I hope Abubakar Shekau will

not be given the same 'heroic' welcome

whenever he leads his comrades-at-arms

to accept the amnesty proposals of the

Jonathan-administration.

Nigerians must realize that voting for

Jonathan come 2015 is a vote for more

money in the hands of those who have

wronged and robbed Nigerians of our

God-given resources.

Despite the huge amount being paid to

Tompolo, Nigeria's Maritime Domain has

been less secure. Crude oil theft has

reached an all-time high, threatening

Nigeria's income. Coordinating minister

of the economy last July, lamented the

alarming rate at which Nigeria's income

from oil was being depleted due to oil

theft and bunkering. Tompolo's militant

colleague, Asari Dokubo has threatened

to destroy Nigeria and march his

opponents' bullet for bullet, bomb for

bomb, and missile for missile if Dr.

Goodluck Jonathan isn't re-elected in

2015, because only his stay in office will

guarantee Tompolo's business which will

in turn guarantee continued oil

bunkering and theft in the Niger-Delta.

This is the right time to revoke the

Tompolo's contract. Only a fool employs

a man with a history of dubious

character (though forgiven) into a

position of trust, he will always stay true

to who he is.

The Opportunity Cost Of Bombardier

60SE Learjet

Economist define opportunity cost as the

alternative forgone. It is the cost of an

alternative that must be forgone in order

to pursue a certain action. Put another

way, it is the benefit you could have

received by taking an alternative action.

In layman's terms, opportunity cost is

the other product that would rather have

satisfied your want.

An Example: If you need a Plasma

Television and an iphone; and you divert

your limited resources to purchase the

iphone, the opportunity cost (i.e. what it

is costing you) is a Plasma Television set.

Investopedia cites this vivid example: if a

gardener decides to grow carrots, his or

her opportunity cost is the alternative

crop that might have been grown

instead (potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins,

etc.).

In both cases, a choice between two

options must be made.

A bombardier SE60 cost $13.3 million

(N2.12 billion), a N2.12 billion we could

have invested into other productive

ventures had the contract not been

awarded to Tompolo in the first instant.

The opportunity cost of Tompolo's

private Jet are enormous, I have defined

what opportunity cost is, please fill up

the comment section with your

suggestions of public goods we could

have purchased with our collective

N2.12 billion in the hands of an ex-

militant.

Kikiowo Ileowo is the editor of The

Paradigm and a public commentator.

Engage him on twitter via @ileowo4ever

Emai: ileowo4ever@yahoo.com

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