Investigating Marc Rich and his deals with Nigeria's Oil

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Through an elaborate network of carrots and sticks and a willing army of Nigeria's soldiers and some civilians, controversial global dealer and billionaire Marc Rich, literally and practically, made deals and steals; yes, laughed his way to the banks from crude oil contracts, unpaid millions in oil royalties and false declarations of quantities of crude lifted and exported from Nigeria for almost 25 years. Worse, he lifted Nigeria's oil and shipped same to then embargoed apartheid regime in South Africa. The following is Chido Nwangwu's NEWS INVESTIGATION REPORT for USAfricaonline.com and The Black Business Journal

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Without a doubt, Marc Rich remains one of the most controversial businessmen in the U.S. He made waves here in the U.S. following insinuations by conservative activists and other Clinton critics that Rich, through some sleek ways, "bought" his January 2001 presidential pardon via his former wife, Denise Rich. Denise has made donations to the President Bill Clinton Library in Arkansas and more than $600,000 to Democratic Party causes in recent years. Clinton also attended numerous fundraisers hosted by Denise. Another issue which reflects the audacious resolve and strategic ways of the 66-years old Mr. Rich is that he hired, shall I simply say, "the best attorney for the job" of getting the Clinton pardon, Washington D.C.-based attorney Jack Quinn (who recently served as President Clinton's lawyer). Quinn delivered. As they say, the rest is history. As an unfolding drama, those form the core of the American citizens' concerns about Rich (in this 1998 photo) and his methods.

Having stated those basic facts, let's proceed to tackle the Marc Rich issue as it pertains our community. Why is Marc Rich, former President Bill Clinton's January 2001 pardonee and fugitive from the laws of the United States of any significant interest to Nigerians, continental Africans and African-Americans and other Americans who do business with Africans?

First, it is important to examine his consistent and self-serving efforts to undermine pan-African interests in the decolonization of the continent.

Second, Mr. Rich's ignoble support for the apartheid regime in South Africa places his aggressive business legacy on the wrong side of history. Speaking of leagcy, I really doubt that Rich really cares about more than making big bucks, here and there.

Third, our community and readers should know about the millions of unpaid royalties and misleading declarations he made in the Nigerian oil and gas business through his numerous deals with soldier-businessmen-politicans who ran Nigeria into an economic stupor.

Fourth, he has been a key player for well over 25 years in Nigeria's export of its crude oil. He is not your garden-variety businessman. In fact, at certain points in Nigeria's recent economic history, Marc Rich has been the kingpin.

For example, ...surprise, surprise(?) in August of 1999, three months after taking office, former retired General and two-time Nigerian President Obasanjo (picture, right) and his government announced 16 crude oil contracts to replace the 41 approved under previous military governments. Remarkably, the controversial international businessman Marc Rich "survived" the overhaul of the established international crude oil trading houses who dominated Nigeria's exports. They were called the "magnificent seven."

The seemingly ubiquitous Mr. Rich reemerged as a contractor. Unknown to some less savvy officials in Nigeria, he is the operator of Glencore International AG. The man, in that fateful month had netted a new deal, the third best, a direct contract for 90,000 bpd (barrels per day). Also, Gencore was licensed to operate Ghana National Petroleum Corporation's 30,000 bpd and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) partner Napoil's 20,000 bpd for a total 150,000 bpd. Such is the power and reach of Marc Rich, inside Nigeria, even in these days of "democracy accountability, probity and integrity...."

In an insightful report titled "Corruption Flourished In Abacha's Regime", James Rupert of the Washington Post Foreign Service wrote on Tuesday, June 9, 1998: Much of the oil that Nigeria pumps each day goes to the major international oil companies -- Shell, Mobil, Chevron and others -- that operate the oil fields. But the largest single share goes to Nigeria's state oil company, which, under the direction of Abacha's camp, sells its oil to independent traders. According to official announcements of oil sales and reporting by the London-based oil newsletter Energy Compass, Nigeria's main trading partners in the Abacha era have been the London-based firms Arcadia and Addax, and the Swiss-based company Glencore, which was under the control of Marc Rich, an American commodities dealer. (He later renounced his American citizenship; he holds Spanish, Israeli and, I believe, Belgian citizenships currently). Rupert added that Abacha's predecessor, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, "doled out the contracts" to a wide circle of supporters, allowing them to take commissions from oil traders, said Patrick Smith, editor of the London-based newsletter Africa Confidential."

Rupert's report underscored the fact that when the 1991 Persian Gulf War drove oil prices upward, Nigeria earned a windfall that never made it to government coffers. Soon after taking power as he wooed political support, Abacha named a commission headed by Nigerian economist Pius Okigbo to investigate. Okigbo reported that $12.2 billion in oil earnings had disappeared between 1990 and 1994, but no one was ever prosecuted. The former trader, a European, said he participated in three oil purchases in recent years -- technically from Nigeria's state oil company but negotiated with Abacha aides at the presidential villa. Each contract specified a "commission" to be paid to a specific beneficiary, he said. He declined to name the beneficiaries on the contracts he helped negotiate. He said other traders had noted that sometimes the beneficiary is a well-known Nigerian, and at other times "it's a completely unknown person" who traders believe is a front for someone else. He said the contracts he dealt with ordered the commissions paid to bank accounts in Singapore, Bermuda and Switzerland."

Also, the Sunday Nigerian Tribune ran a mid-March report which linked Marc Rich and some soldiers (including former head of state retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari) to the December 31, 1983 coup which removed Alhaji Shehu Shagari as an elected president of Nigeria. The report noted that Rich's oil deals had been on even before Shagari's election, implying but without specifying the obvious that he was equally active during the first tenure of then Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (with the latter) as a military dictator in Nigeria (February 1976-October 1979).

USAfricaonline.com can report that a number of Nigeria's retired soldiers and a number of civilian executives in the oil industry were willing allies of Rich as he milked the sweet Bonny Light crude and laughed to the banks while children and women in Nigeria's riverine areas and in the Sahelian, drought-stricken parts, and indeed, most of the country, went to bed hungry and with no books to study in school. He utilized his deft and far-reaching "logistical leverage" in Switzerland to "assist" his Nigeria cohorts in making huge deposits in private, secure accounts. Bribery and massive inducement through hard currency transfers were staples of the Marc Rich financial machine inside Nigeria, and beyond.

He operated a number of corporations, and the most significant being Marc Rich & Co. The same company was involved in the Kaduna Refinery Supplemental Steam Production Project.

Michael Dobbs' brief bio of him, includes the following: Mr. Rich was born Marc Reich on Dec. 18, 1934, in the Belgian city of Antwerp, the only child of a prosperous Jewish family. When the Nazis took over Belgium in 1942, the family fled to the United States, settling first in Kansas City, Missouri, and then in New York, where Mr. Rich's father, David, went into the burlap bag business. The Korean War created huge demand for burlap bags used for sandbags, pushing prices sky-high and turning David Rich into a millionaire. For Marc, it was an early lesson in the economics of scarcity. Dropping out of New York University at age 19, he set his sights on becoming a commodities trader." The rest is about the history of controversial deals with Libya's Muammar Ghaddafi, Iranian mullahs, Soviet Communists and a whole lot more.

Another look at Rich by the U.K-based OneWorld organization chronicles Rich's schemes which weakened Nigeria's oil and embargo of all business with then apartheid South Africa. He is identified as one of the "notorious sanctions busters." Among other deeds, OneWorld recalled: For example, in the mid-1980's they copied lists of tankers which called at loading points and determined whether any of the vessels had called at South African ports in the previous year. Tankers so implicated in sanctions busting were not loaded with crude in Nigeria. The oil workers rejected out of hand the apartheid propaganda that an oil embargo against the racist regime would hurt ordinary South African citizens. They also cast unwanted light on corrupt petroleum sales by Nigerian middlemen, where 'private' sales of state-owned crude put Nigerian oil in the hands of notorious sanctions busters such as Marc Rich."

In researching Mr. Rich's deals in Africa, I had access to the valuable report made by Economists Allied for Arms Reduction (EAAR), complied during the Cameron Commission of Inquiry of 1994/95, titled "The Betrayal of the Struggle Against Apartheid." Again, Rich factors into the deals of the ruinous bank, the BCCI.

Before anyone underestimates the credibility and insight of the EAAR, let me cite the leadership of the group: the chairman is globally-acclaimed economist James K. Galbraith  while the vice-Chairs are Jurgen Brauer, Michael Intriligator  and Ann Markusen. Some of the trustees include Robert S. McNamara, formerly of the World Bank and the U.S. State Department, Clinton's Labor Secretary Prof. Robert Reich and Harvard's international economics scholar Prof. Jeffrey Sachs.

Although dated September 28, 2000, the EAAR report looks back and quoted from the executive summary of the United States Senate investigation into notorious BCCI Bank (it had branches in Nigeria, too), as follows:

"BCCI's unique criminal structure -- an elaborate corporate spider-web with BCCI's founder, Agha Hasan Abedi and his assistant, Swaleh Naqvi, in the middle -- was an essential component of its spectacular growth and a guarantee of its eventual collapse. The structure was conceived by Abedi and managed by Naqvi for the specific purpose of evading regulation or control by governments.  It functioned to frustrate the full understanding of BCCI's operations by anyone. BCCI's criminality included fraud by BCCI and BCCI customers involving billions of dollars; money laundering in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas; BCCI bribery of officials in most of those locations; support of terrorism, arms trafficking, and the sale of nuclear technologies; management of prostitution; the commission and facilitation of income tax evasion, smuggling and illegal immigration, illicit purchases of banks and real estate.  Unanswered questions include BCCI's financing of commodities and other business dealings of international criminal financier Marc Rich."

Recall that one of Obasanjo's efforts which gained him some regional stature during his first rulership of Nigeria was his actions (initiated by his predecessor the late Gen. Murtala Muhammad) against aparthied South Africa and British Petroleum (which later became AP). Such commendable efforts included the Muhammad-Obasanjo support for southern Africa nationalists. Remarkably, Rich was working against their efforts.

I've also read the informative Platt's Oilgram (Volume 79 Number 15, January 23, 2001) where it is reported: In 1973, with oil trading profits soaring after the first Arab embargo, Rich left Phibro to form his own firm, Marc Rich & Co, which soon became a major player in world oil markets. He was particularly adept at securing supplies of Nigerian and Iraqi crudes, and gained a reputation as a reliable supplier in tough times to crude-short oil majors."

In the light of these developments (and one hopes that Nigeria's economic intelligence groups are aware of these facts prior to the latest Rich scandal), the question which millions of concerned and informed Nigerians will be asking, today and later, is not only whether the government of retired Gen. Obasanjo should immediately seek financial remedy for unpaid millions in royalties and false declarations of quantities of crude lifted by Marc Rich & Co., but can the Obasanjo's presidency assert Nigeria's fundamental economic interests on this issue without wavering. The answer, in my view, is blowing in the wind.

Why? The Obasanjo government is still predominated in major areas by most of Abacha's and Babangida's cronies and henchmen who benefited, in part, from Rich's massive lucre and loot from Nigeria.

It will be a telling pointer to the collective failure of Nigeria's ruling groups, especially its soldier-politicians (led currently by Chief Obasanjo, seen in picture to the right) if they do not ensure some forms of remedy through responsible agencies of international law and economic recompense.

Some individuals might question why Nigeria should bother "after all these years." Here's a simple answer, made more persuasive by the mid-March 2001 announcement by the New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance that the state has begun legal action seeking $137 million from financier Marc Rich for personal income taxes on his earnings from fraudulent business activities during the early 1980s. Yes, the early 1980s. Commissioner Arthur J. Roth is an interesting and colorful writer, too. Here are his lucid words: Mr. Rich has avoided his tax payments in New York for nearly two decades while he was under federal indictment. It is now time for him to pay the piper."

Again, can Obasanjo's government stand up to be counted? And, demand the Roth standard on Rich, specifically "It is now time for him to pay the Nigerian piper!"

Although certain facts and realities regarding the funding of the 1999 presidential elections makes one wonder if the Obasanjo government can, seriously, probe the other retired but active political generals who bankrolled his election in 1999 with multimillion dollars and the sacks of the Naira (Nigeria's local currency).

It is equally important to ask: should the Obasanjo "fight" against corrupt enrichment remain, largely, an inquiry into the stolen funds amassed by the infamous, late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha. Only a few days ago, this March 2001, the U.S. State Department and the Catholic Bishops in Nigeria criticized President Obasanjo on the issue of corruption.

Let me add that President Obasanjo should be commended for reclaiming some of the funds Abacha and his gang pillaged from our national treasury. Yet fact is that song is getting very worn and hoarse for Nigerians.

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Regarding the Rich issue and his swift deals with and on Nigeria, the key question remains: Who will stand up for Nigeria's economic rights and the financial rights of Nigerians? When; and for how long? I recall vividly the day I moderated and co-hosted Chief Obasanjo's visit to Houston shortly after his release in 1998, by former head of state retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (he handed over to Obasanjo in May 1999), he told us "I've seen many things in my life; both the high and low... and I intend to stand up for what I believe is right."

Without a doubt, Rich's various and convoluted dealings in the oil and gas and security sectors of Nigeria had too many shady contours and less than honest elements. Hopefully, Nigeria's President Obasanjo believes it will be "right" for Nigeria to retrieve and demand its funds, any funds that might have been acquired through corrupt enrichment by either Nigeria's domestic charlatans or international flimflam dealers who ruin and despoliate the destiny of our country, such as Mr. Rich.

To be sure, how those Marc Rich shenanigans in Nigeria are handled will count either as one of the major marks of economic nationalism or monumental failures of the Obasanjo presidency. It is a defining moment, personally and professionally, for President Obasanjo since he is also in charge of the Petroleum/Oil/Gas portfolios/ministries of his boisterous country of 110 million people.

Now, Mr. President, who will protect Nigeria's interests and oil resources from this (Rich) cat with nine lives; excuse me....

Why Bush should focus on

By Michael Dobbs

Zug (Switzerland): For decades, traders from all over Europe have flocked to this lakeside Alpine town, attracted by stringent privacy laws, low tax rates and guarantees of corporate anonymity. But no one has achieved the dominance of Marc Rich, the billionaire metals dealer and indicted tax fugitive pardoned by Bill Clinton in one of the last acts of his presidency.

At the age of 66, after a lifetime of deal-making and sanctions-breaking, Mr. Rich is the uncrowned king of Zug, a place that boasts 10,000 international companies, or roughly one corporation for every two residents. He is rarely seen but constantly talked about, his exploits buying and selling the world's natural resources becoming the stuff of legend - and scandal.

During the quarter-century that he has been operating from Zug, including 17 years hiding from U.S. marshals, Mr. Rich has mastered the art of clinching a deal with everyone from Communist bureaucrats to Third World dictators to Iranian ayatollahs. Many of the business practices cited in his 1983 indictment for racketeering by the Southern District of New York - trading with pariah states, manipulating the market for huge personal gain, hiding profits in a thicket of offshore companies - are techniques that he perfected here both before and after he got into trouble in the United States.

The list of countries that Mr. Rich has traded with reads like a compendium of rogue states: Iran during the hostage crisis, apartheid-era South Africa, Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia, North Korea, Moammar Gadhafi's Libya, the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev.

"He sees himself as a citizen of the world, unencumbered by the laws of sovereign nations," said Howard Safir, a former U.S. marshal, who lay in wait outside Mr. Rich's Swiss residence in 1985 in one of several futile attempts to enforce an arrest warrant against Mr. Rich on charges of swindling U.S. taxpayers of nearly $50 million. "His view is that everything and everyone can be bought and sold, and government is irrelevant."

In keeping with his usual practice, Mr. Rich declined to be interviewed for this article. For the last few weeks, he has kept out of sight, holed up at his luxurious estate in the village of Meggen, with his collection of Van Goghs, Picassos and Miros, and a breathtaking view of the mountains rising above the shimmering waters of Lake Lucerne.

According to his supporters, Mr. Rich is waiting for the controversy generated by Mr. Clinton's pardon to blow over before speaking out.

"There is nothing mysterious about him," said Georg Stucky, a former finance minister from the canton of Zug who now runs Mr. Rich's charitable foundation in Switzerland. "He is just a normal businessman who does not like publicity. He is a very shy person." In Switzerland's wealthiest canton, in one of the world's wealthiest countries, there is a saying that "money doesn't smell," according to Josef Lang, a local Green party leader who has waged a 20-year campaign to expose alleged wrongdoing by Mr. Rich and other international traders, and their cozy links with local politicians. In Zug, Mr. Lang said in a tone of disgust, "You don't ask where the money comes from, you just ask how much."

Mr. Rich was born Marc Reich on Dec. 18, 1934, in the Belgian city of Antwerp, the only child of a prosperous Jewish family. When the Nazis took over Belgium in 1942, the family fled to the United States, settling first in Kansas City, Missouri, and then in New York, where Mr. Rich's father, David, went into the burlap bag business.

The Korean War created huge demand for burlap bags used for sandbags, pushing prices sky-high and turning David Rich into a millionaire. For Marc, it was an early lesson in the economics of scarcity. Dropping out of New York University at age 19, he set his sights on becoming a commodities trader.

The company that Mr. Rich joined, Philipp Brothers, was the largest raw materials trading company in the world. He started in the mailroom but soon came to the attention of Ludwig Jesselson, a legendary trader skilled in the art of concluding long-term contracts with Third World countries. Cool, calculating and exceptionally aggressive in his deal-making, Mr. Rich quickly became a Jesselson favorite. By the late 1960s, he was his heir apparent.

Then, in 1975, in an act of betrayal that is still the talk of commodities traders, Mr. Rich broke with his mentor in a dispute over bonuses. He and his partner, Pincus (Pinky) Green, quit Philipp Brothers, taking the company's most closely held secrets and a half-dozen of its leading traders with them. Marc Rich Co. set up shop in a glass tower in Zug, down the street from Philipp Brothers' European headquarters.

Mr. Rich and Mr. Green had established an "odd couple" relationship that has proved highly beneficial to both men. Elegant and debonair, Mr. Rich made his reputation as a deal-maker. Mr. Green, by contrast, is the shabbily dressed logistics wizard whose skill at making the ships run on time earned him the nickname "the admiral." The split with Philipp Brothers coincided with a seismic shift in the world's oil markets that Mr. Rich, perhaps more than any other trader, was quick to exploit. In the early 1970s, oil-producing nations rebelled against the dominance of international oil companies. Instead of selling their oil to the majors, they began marketing it through independent traders like Mr. Rich, who is credited with virtually inventing the spot market, where oil was freely traded to the highest bidder.

The oil crisis was a fabulous boon for Mr. Rich: As prices spiraled, he was able to pocket the difference between the purchase price and the sale price. But it also proved his undoing. When successive U.S. administrations introduced a series of energy price controls in the 1970s, he devised a scheme for making money out of the bureaucratic confusion. Prosecutors say the scheme was illegal.

Under the Carter-era regulations, oil pumped under pre-1972 production agreements, called "old oil," was sold for around $6 a barrel. "New oil," by contrast, went for up to $40 a barrel. If a trader could somehow relabel old oil as new oil, he could make a fortune. Evidence collected by U.S. prosecutors shows that Mr. Rich or his representatives did just that by funneling the oil through a "daisy chain," allegedly using sham invoices and Panamanian front companies, with profits deposited in offshore accounts.

Morris Weinberg, the prosecutor in the case, estimates that Mr. Rich and Mr. Green concealed more than $100 million in ill-gotten profits in 1980 and 1981. While the pair denied wrongdoing and refused to produce documents relating to the case, they ended up paying about $200 million in back taxes and penalties in a partial settlement that allowed their companies to continue operating in the United States.

According to the September 1983 indictment, Mr. Rich and Mr. Green were also buying large amounts of Iranian oil at a time when American diplomats were being held hostage in Tehran and U.S. citizens were prohibited from dealing with Iran. The indictment lists five such trades between July and September 1980 for more than 5 million barrels of oil valued at $186 million. In a rare 1992 interview with NBC, Mr. Rich acknowledged trading with Iran, "but as a Swiss company," not an American one.

The government's charges were never tested in court. In the summer of 1983, at the height of the U.S. attorney's investigation, Mr. Rich left his $10 million apartment in New York and fled to Zug, renouncing his U.S. citizenship in favor of Spanish and Israeli passports. (The State Department still considers him a U.S. citizen, subject to U.S. tax law.)

Mr. Rich and Mr. Green remained on the Justice Department's "most wanted" fugitive list until their pardon in January. Mr. Clinton said he granted the pardon because he agreed with the arguments of Mr. Rich's lawyers that the case should have been handled in civil court rather than as a criminal case. Mr. Weinberg, now a defense attorney in Florida, says the alleged daisy-chain caper was very typical of the way Mr. Rich did business. "There is a lawless quality about the way he operates," Mr. Weinberg said. "He will do whatever he needs to do to close a deal."

The daisy-chain oil deals set a precedent for dozens of similar plays, from South America to the Middle East to Asia: the greater the bureaucratic controls over the price of oil or raw materials, the greater the potential profit.

"Whenever cracks appear in the market, there are people like Marc Rich who are willing to go where nobody else will, either because of embargoes, legal restrictions or political problems," said an executive for a leading oil company.

One specialty of Mr. Rich was breaking embargoes - trading with international pariahs was a sure way of generating extra profits. The best documented example is apartheid-era South Africa, which relied on traders like Mr. Rich to get around a United Nations oil embargo designed to deprive the country of the one raw material it did not possess.

A leading anti-apartheid watchdog organization, the Amsterdam-based Shipping Research Bureau, recorded 149 deliveries of oil to South Africa by companies linked to Mr. Rich between 1979 and 1993. The group reported that Mr. Rich was the leading supplier of oil to South Africa before the collapse of apartheid, responsible for at least 15 percent of identifiable deliveries. Some of the oil came from countries like the Soviet Union, which were leading opponents of apartheid. Typically, Rich companies would file false shipping reports for the destination of the oil, and redirect tankers to South African ports once they were safely at sea.

Spokesmen for Mr. Rich declined to comment on the sanctions-busting allegations. His supporters note that the UN embargo against South Africa was non-binding, as it was never endorsed by the Security Council.

Another Rich technique was to control the supply of strategic metals so the price would go up. At one point, in the early 1990s, he was believed to control about 40 percent of the international aluminum market, an accomplishment that earned him the nickname "aluminum finger."

Not all of Mr. Rich's ventures have turned to gold. In the early 1980s, according to press accounts, he made a disastrous foray into the international tin market, buying up most of Malaysia's tin production. Prices skyrocketed, but landed with a thud after the U.S. government began selling tin from a federal stockpile. Mr. Rich was reported to have lost more than $60 million.

The collapse of communism offered Mr. Rich new opportunities, opening up vast new markets and a host of business partners with few scruples when it came to turning a profit. After the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, these relationships helped Mr. Rich become for a time the single most important Western trader in Russia.

Some analysts say they believe that, after a lifetime of chasing deals, Mr. Rich may be slowing down. "Margins are much tighter now than they used to be," said Jonathan Bearman, editor of Energy Compass, a leading oil industry newsletter.

Others see his successful campaign for a pardon as the crowning play in a career packed with similar maneuvers. "This guy is the greatest trader in the 20th century," said Mr. Weinberg, the former prosecutor. "He orchestrated and manipulated the pardon, just like he did all his other deals."

Copyright © 2001 Washington Post Service/International Herald Tribune/Wednesday, March 14, 2001

By Josh Gerstein

The pardon of Marc Rich, a billionaire oil trader who fled the United States in 1983 just before he was indicted for tax evasion and racketeering, has angered some in New York. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who in his role as U.S. attorney helped bring the criminal charges against Rich in the 1980s said today he was shocked that Clinton pardoned Rich. "He got on an airplane, took all his records and ran off to Switzerland, where he remained a fugitive since then, spending money buying the town," Giuliani said during a press conference. "He has made untold efforts to try to get the charges reduced including many overtures and entreaties based on the use of influence."

Quinn told the White House that changes in the law since 1983 have undercut the case against Rich. He also argued that it would be tough for the billionaire to get a fair trial because of his long stay overseas. Clinton has portrayed his pardons as acts of mercy for people unfairly entangled in the justice system. He briefly referred to Rich's case today by saying he has a "very compelling case for a pardon."

Rich has citizenship in the United States, Spain and Israel. He was indicted in 1983 by a U.S. federal grand jury on more than 50 counts of wire fraud, racketeering, trading with the enemy and evading more than $48 million in income taxes -crimes that could have earned him more than 300 years in prison.

He allegedly made vast profits through a huge, illegal oil pricing scheme in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis and evaded taxes by shifting profits from his U.S. subsidiary to the parent company in low-tax Switzerland. He also was accused of making deals with Iran during the U.S. embassy hostage crisis in Tehran.  

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Pope John Paul, Abacha and Nigeria's Christians DIPLOMACY Walter Carrington: An African-American diplomat puts principles above self for Nigeria. USAfricaonline.com Founder Chido Nwangwu with the U.S. former Ambassador Carrington (right) at the U.S. embassy in Lagos during a courtesy visit. HISTORICAL INSIGHT Biafra-Nigeria war and history get fresh, critical look from a survivor. By Alverna Johnson and Vivian Okeke.   'Biafra: History Without Mercy' - a preliminary note. By Chido Nwangwu ODUMEGWU EMEKA OJUKWU:"It was simply a choice between Biafra and enslavement! And, here's why we chose Biafra" Biafra: From Boys to Men. By Dr. M.O. Ene African Union: Old wine in new skin? Sharia, Sex and hypocrisy of Gendered Justice. By Chika Unigwe, columnist for USAfricaonline.com And the Rocks Cried Out (For Safiyatu). By Effenus Henderson NEWS INVESTIGATION: The Marc Rich Oil Deals in Nigeria Should Africa debates begin and end at The New York Times and The Washington Post? No AFRICA AND THE U.S. ELECTIONS Beyond U.S. electoral shenanigans, rewards and dynamics of a democratic republic hold lessons for African politics. Osama bin-Laden's goons threaten Nigeria and Africa's stability What has Africa to do with September 11 terror? Africans reported dead in terrorist attack at WTC September 11 terror and the ghost of things to come.... Arafat's duplicity, terrorism at the heart of Israeli-Palestinian crises. By Barry Rubin Will religious conflicts be the time-bomb for Nigeria's latest transition to civilian rule? Johnnie Cochran will soon learn that defending Abacha's loot is not as simple as his O.J Simpson's case. By Chido Nwangwu Should Africa debates begin and end at The New York Times and The Washington Post? No Nelson Mandela, Tribute to the world's political superstar and Lion of Africa  Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's burden mounts with murder charges, trials Conflicting emotions, feeling of disappointment, timing of revelation that Rev. Jackson fathered a child with former aide lead to charges of "right-wing orchestration." Nigeria's Presidential Election: Is it just for the Highest Bidder? Nigeria at 40: punish financial thuggery, build domestic infrastructure Is Obasanjo really up to Nigeria's challenge and crises? By USAfricaonline.com contributing editor Ken Okorie. Commentary appears from NigeriaCentral.com Africa suffers the scourge of the virus. This life and pain of Kgomotso Mahlangu, a five-month-old AIDS patient (left) in a hospital in the Kalafong township near Pretoria, South Africa, on October 26, 1999, brings a certain, frightening reality to the sweeping and devastating destruction of human beings who form the core of any definition of a country's future, its national security, actual and potential economic development and internal markets. 22 million Africans HIV-infected, ill with AIDS while African leaders ignore disaster-in-waiting Wong is wrong on Blacks in Houston city jobs Why is 4-year old Onyedika carrying a placard against killings in Nigeria? How Nigeria's Islamic Sharia crises will affect the U.S. USAfrica INTERVIEW "Why African Catholics are concerned about crises, sex abuse issues in our church" - a frank chat with ICCO's Mike Umeorah Johnnie Cochran will soon learn that defending Abacha's loot is not as simple as his O.J Simpson's case. By Chido Nwangwu The Economics of Elections in Nigeria HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY How far, how deep will Nigeria's human rights commission go? Rtd. Gen. Babangida trip as emissary for Nigeria's Obasanjo to Sudan raises curiosity, questions about what next in power play? COUNTERPOINT 'Why is Bill Maher spreading racist nonsense about HIV/AIDS and Africa on ABC? Hate groups' spin by Lamar Alexander benefits anti-Blacks, anti-Semites, and racists Annan, power and burden of the U.N The Civilianizing of African soldiers into Presidents At 39, Nigerians still face dishonest stereotypes such as Buckley's, and other self-inflicted wounds. JFK Jr.: Death of a Good Son 'Why is Bill Maher spreading racist nonsense about HIV/AIDS and Africa on ABC? National Summit on Africa, Congresswoman Jackson-Lee hold policy forum in Houston '100 Black Men are solutions-oriented' says Thomas Dortch, Jr., Richard Johnson and Nick Clayton II as they share perspectives with USAfrica's founder on the national organization. Community Service Awards bring African-American, American policy and business leaders together with African community at Texas Southern University 110 minutes with Hakeem Olajuwon Cheryl Mills' first class defense of Clinton and her detractors' game  Nigeria, Cry My Beloved Country BULLET Versus BALLOT The bloody stain of military coup, on Friday December 24, 1999, sullied the once unique history of democratic rule in the beautiful and historically democratic, French-speaking west African country of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) by General Robert Guei (inset). USAfricaonline report and commentary. COMMUNITY INTEREST Why the revisionist forces of racist oppression in South Africa should not be allowed to intimidate Ron and Charlayne Gault. Index of Founder's Notes (1) Index of Founder's Notes (2) Index of other Viewpoints USAfricaonline contributors and columnists on the issues Will the rash of Ethnic Violence disrupt Nigeria's effort at Democracy? USAfrica FORUM IN THE HOUSE OF MANDELA: A SILLY CRY FOR REPARATIONS By Prof. Chimalum Nwankwo Nigerian stabbed to death in his bathroom in Houston. EndGame in Kinshasa: U.S must boot Mobutu for own interest, future of Zaire and Africa Seriously, is your web site a Turkey, too? Get Solutions PetroGasWorks Shell picks Leslie Mays as VP Global Diversity Why Powell's mission to the Middle East failed. By Jonathan Elendu TRANSITION General Tunde Idiagbon:  A nationalist, an iron-surgeon departs Abiola's sudden death and the ghost of things to come   Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'Adua's prison death, Nigeria and The Ghost of Things to come .....

USAfricaonline.com INSIGHT: How Obasanjo's self-succession charade at his Ota Farm has turned Nigeria to an 'Animal Farm.' By Prof. Mobolaji Aluko Is Obasanjo ordained by God to rule Nigeria? And, other fallacies. By Prof. Sola Adeyeye Obasanjo was not sworn in merely to "mean well" for Nigeria. By Obi Nwakanma Obasanjo's 'prayers' and the Abacha path of staying in power. By Nkem Ekeopara Creative writing, publishing and the future of Nigerian Literature. By Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike APPRECIATION A young father writes his One year old son: "If only my heart had a voice...." Nigeria, a terrible beauty. By Chido Nwangwu Why Nigeria and Africa's leaders are leading us to nowhere. By Professor Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe, contributing editor of USAfricaonline.com, author of the highly-acclaimed African Literature in Defence of History: An Essay on Chinua Achebe and a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics. Abati's Revisionisms and Distortions of history. By Obi Nwakanma, USAfrica The Newspaper contributing editor and award-winning poet Reuben Abati's fallacies on Nigeria's history and secession. By Bayo Arowolaju How Abati, Adelaja and others fuel the campaign of hatred against Ndigbo. By Jonas Okwara "Obasanjo, secession and the secessionists": A response to Reuben Abati's Igbophobia. By Josh Arinze, USAfricaonline.com contributing editor. Abati and other anti-Igbo bigots in Nigeria. By Chuks Iloegbunam, USAfricaonline.com contributing editor and author of Ironsi DEMOCRACY DEBATE CNN International debate on Nigeria's democracy was livecast on February 19, 2002. It involved Nigeria's Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, Prof. Salih Booker and USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu. Transcripts are available on the CNN International site. Anambra's rigged 2003 elections: Chris Uba's confession at WIC 2004 in Newark, USA. In a matter-of-fact manner, PDP's chieftain in Anambra Chris Uba stood up and astonished all that were present in Newark when he said, "We, the PDP, did not win the election (of 2003). I have gone to church to confess. The election had no document. I called the result before 12 midnight. I gave INEC the money and asked them to call the result." The revelation caused an uproar as well as some applause in the hall. "The person we took his thing is here," Uba said, pointing at Peter Obi (the APGA candidate) who was sitting among the audience, in the back row. USAfrica The Newspaper voted the "Best Community Newspaper" in the 4th largest city in the U.S., Houston. It is in the Best of Houston special as chosen by the editors and readers of the Houston Press, reflecting their poll and annual rankings. DEMOCRACY WATCH: Obasanjo raped Nigeria's constitution by suspending Plateau Assembly and Governor. Prof. By Prof. Ben Nwabueze, leading constitutional scholar in the Commonwealth for almost 45 years, former Nigerian federal minister and SAN. OIL in NIGERIA: Liquid Gold or Petro-Dollars Curse? Investigating Marc Rich and his deals with Nigeria's Oil Through an elaborate network of carrots and sticks and a willing army of Nigeria's soldiers and some civilians, controversial global dealer and billionaire Marc Rich, literally and practically, made deals and steals; yes, laughed his way to the banks from crude oil contracts, unpaid millions in oil royalties and false declarations of quantities of crude lifted and exported from Nigeria for almost 25 years. Worse, he lifted Nigeria's oil and shipped same to then embargoed apartheid regime in South Africa. Read Chido Nwangwu's NEWS INVESTIGATION REPORT for PetroGasWorks.com MEDIAWATCH Should Africa debates begin and end at The New York Times and The Washington Post? Nelson Mandela, Tribute to the world's political superstar and Lion of Africa   TRIBUTE Nnamdi Azikiwe: Statesman, Intellectual and Titan of African politics CONTINENTAL AGENDA Bush's position on Africa is "ill-advised." The position stated by Republican presidential aspirant and Governor of Texas, George Bush where he said that "Africa will not be an area of priority" in his presidency has been questioned by USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu. He added that Bush's "pre-election position was neither validated by the economic exchanges nor geo-strategic interests of our two continents." These views were stated during an interview CNN's anchor Bernard Shaw and senior analyst Jeff Greenfield had with Mr. Nwangwu on Saturday November 18, 2000 during a special edition of 'Inside Politics 2000.' Nwangwu, adviser to the Mayor of Houston (the 4th largest city in the U.S., and immigrant home to thousands of Africans) argued further that "the issues of the heritage interests of 35 million African-Americans in Africa, the volume and value of oil business between between the U.S and Nigeria and the horrendous AIDS crisis in Africa do not lend any basis for Governor Bush's ill-advised position which removes Africa from fair consideration" were he to be elected president. By Al Johnson ARTS The Life and Irreverent times of Afrobeat superstar, FELA     PANAFRICANIST Tanzania's founding president Julius Nyerere       Impeachment process shows Nigerian democracy "is alive... being tested." Nigeria's president retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the impeachment process shows that "democracy is alive, is being tested, and being tried.... What they (the legislators) have tried to do in the democratic way, which is not easy, would probably have been done by taking arms or by -- with bullets. So, but with democracy, of course, some people feel that this is the way this should be, and then I have an opportunity to defend myself. There is discussion. There is dialogue. There is a decision. There is fairness." He made these comments when he appeared on Tuesday September 17, 2002 on CNN International to discuss the issues of impeachment facing him, the allegations of corruption, abuse of the constitution and deployment of soldiers ina civilian environment which led to the "massacre of civilians" in Odi (Bayelsa) and Zaki Biam (Benue). On the charges by international human rights organizations and Nigerian media that his government has been involved in actions which have led to the deaths of thousands of Nigerians, the retired General gave a surprising answer. He was asked that "as many as 10,000 people, it's being reported, have been killed in Nigeria (in) communal rivalries, and the number is believed to be increasing. And people are saying that although President Obasanjo has done a lot of good for Nigeria, you're accused of not -- accused of failing to halt that spiraling violence." Obasanjo: "Let me say this to you, when you put the question of 10,000 -- 10,000 people dying in Nigeria, of course, for a population of over 120 million people...." But USAfricaonline.com Founder and recipient of the Journalism Excellence award (1997), Chido Nwangwu, who appeared on the same program as as a CNN International analyst (Africa) pointed out that "when (President Obasanjo) answered that in a country of 100 million that 10,000 people are said to have died, as if that was a small number, that in itself reflects a disconnect with the concerns of Nigerians. The second one is that when the risk is civil disagreement, the police are required to intervene in the country. And the deployment of the armed forces of Nigeria requires at least some consultation, however modest, with the parliament." Nwangwu, former member of the editorial board of Nigeria's Daily Times continued that "the third factor that is equally important to underscore is that the armed forces of Nigeria moved in for a punitive action rather than just containing a civil disagreement." He noted in USAfricaonline.com backgrounder "it was revealing and interesting interesting discussing Nigeria's issues with its leader - under the current circumstances of an increasingly out-of-schedule elections and the gathering storm of an impeachment process by a majority of the members of the National Assembly, predominantly by Obasanjo's party members." See rush transcript of the CNN International news program. Obasanjo facing corruption and ineptitude impeachment charges, again since the parliament, a few weeks ago, passed a motion carrying a majority of the members of Obasanjo's party, the PDP. RELIGION AND ETHNIC CONFLICT: Sharia-related killings and carnage in Kaduna reenact deadly prologue to Nigeria-Biafra war of 1967. By Chido Nwangwu ELECTIONS Gigolos on the Campaign Trail. By Prof. Walt Brasch Can Africa live a future without war? An Open Letter to Mandela. By Fubara David-West Sex, Women and (Hu)Woman Rights. By Chika Unigwe WILL ARINZE BE THE FIRST POPE of RECENT AFRICAN ORIGIN? To our Brother Cardinal Arinze: May your pastoral lineage endure! The Democratic Party stood for nothing in 2002 election cycle. By Jonathan Elendu HEALTHWATCH EVA champions efforts to combat AIDS among Nigerian youth. By Jessica Rubin Pros and cons of the circumcision debate. By Ngozi Ezeji, RN TRIBUTE Prof. Chimere Ikoku: Remembering the legacy of a pan-Africanist, scientist and gentleman. By Prof. Chudi Uwazurike   Can Africa live a future without war? An Open Letter to Mandela. By Fubara David-West, USAfricaonline.com contributing editor COUNTERPOINT Tiger Woods is no Nelson Mandela! By Chido Nwangwu SPORTS: Tiger Woods makes more history with another golf Masters win. He shot 12-under-par 276 and a final round 71 at Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club event and collected $1,008,000, on Sunday April 14, 2002. With it, the world's golf phenom added another green jacket to his array of championships and titles, placing him, in this instance, in the same respected Masters' league as Nicklaus (winner 1965 and 1966) and Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990). The three are the only men to win back-to-back Masters. At 26, Woods has since become the youngest golfer to win his seventh professional major championship. He was joined by his parents and his 22 year-old Swedish model girlfriend, Elin Nordegren. It's wrong to stereotype Nigerians as Drug Dealers. By Chido Nwangwu Nigeria as a Nation of Vulcanizers Why Colin Powell brings gravitas, credibility and star power to Bush presidency. PUBLIC POLICY Private initiative, free market forces, and more democratization are keys to prosperity in Africa. The Civilianizing of African soldiers into Presidents Maduekwe, Nwachukwu clash over Obasanjo at World Igbo 2002 convention in Houston. USAfrica Special report DEMOCRACY DEBATE CNN International debate on Nigeria's democracy livecast on February 19, 2002. It involved Nigeria's Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, Prof. Salih Booker and USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu. Transcripts are available on the CNN International site. Steve Jobs and Apple represent the future of digital living. By Chido Nwangwu The coup in Cote d'Ivoire and its implications for democracy in Africa. By Chido Nwangwu (Related commentary) Coup in Cote d'Ivoire has been in the waiting. By Tom Kamara