WAITING THEIR TURN

 

The name Ruben Abati stirs passion that is completely opposite to what it did in the past.  The ease with which the man Ruben Abati switched positions from a highly revered political opinion columnist to an appointee of the present political leadership is a source of worry to many who looked forward to his articles as a yardstick for taking a position and for sound knowledge. The ease with which he justifies political blunders that he would ordinarily have castigated and condemned to the high heavens in the past leaves much to be desired.  The columnists of today are made to look like wolves waiting their turn to have a bite of the lion’s kill.  It makes one wonder if they will find it easy to switch positions just the way Abati did.

The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi was able to resist offers of government appointment all through his life; many Nigerians who had the privilege of being mentored by Gani are of the same mind and would never compromise their position in defense of Nigeria and her people; what could it be that prevents other Nigerians who lay claim to honour and integrity to do the same? In many cases it is not even the quest for wealth as such that prevents these people from declining the offer because at the end of the tenure they are no better than they went in.  Most of these people are dismissed from office with ignominy because they assume office under obscure circumstances in the first place and the excuse they regularly put forward which is the need for them to contribute their bit to making Nigeria a better place is always forgotten as soon as they start work.

The question of state pardon granted Mr. Alamieyeseigha (Alams) came upon Nigerians with the characteristic shock that this government has over time perfected how to land.  While processing the rude shock of the announcement, Ruben Abati took to the media in fruitless attempts to rationalize and justify the actions of the present government.  Abati very conveniently forgot the article he wrote in October 2005 titled ‘Alamieyeseigha should resign.’  The article was written by a Nigerian who was thought to be very much in touch with happenings in Nigeria and it would have stirred up much passion in any Nigerian who read the article.  A few years down the line, Abati hits the media intent upon making the people believe that the decision to grant Alams state pardon is ok.  Thankfully, he was quickly reminded of his position which he made no secret of in the article he wrote on the same subject a little earlier.

Sometime last year, it was believed that Abati had been relieved of his official duties by the presidency after the appointment of Dr. Doyin Okupe but he survived it.   Well he will surely return to the street at some point in his life and he being a writer and a political commentator will not be able to resist the lure to comment on political affairs of Nigeria.  One wonders what position he will take again once he is out of office.  Does Abati care what the future holds or does he believe that the Nigerian society is still at that level where having money makes everything alright?  If that were the case, Alams would not have any issues being raised over the state pardon granted him; he could be made the next Minister for Petroleum or the head of the Senate and no eyebrows would be raised but Nigerians have gone beyond that point.  Nigeria is the focus of many African and western countries and issues will be raised over any unreasonable suggestion of embarrassing Nigeria by the leadership that appears to have been compromised.

Nigerians have become more discriminatory than that; Nigerians recognize the difference between a coup plotter and a criminal minded office holder who had no respect for his personal dignity or for the office he held. Nigerians die daily in the hands of known terrorists and other negative minded people who have gained prominence during the tenure of this administration but there will be many Nigerians alive and waiting to see the position Mr. Ruben Abati will take when he is out of government.

GOD bless Nigeria.

 

RENAISSANCE OF AMAZONS?

 

Greek mythology records the existence of a tribe of female warriors known as Amazons; Turkey also has stories that show that they recognized this force of women who thrived for a long time in the history of Greece and Turkey.  The Amazons were dreaded and to a large extent avoided by the few men who had knowledge of their existence.  The Amazons were women who trained in hunting, agriculture and the art of war.  Amazon warriors regularly slaughtered men they had no use for; however for the continuity of their tribe, they carefully and strategically selected the males they considered worthy of mating with strictly for the purpose of procreation. They nurtured and groomed their female offspring to be warriors like them but for their male children, they were either sent to their fathers or they were left in the forests to fight for their lives or perish.

African mythology has time and again represented the fact that man is greatly feared and distrusted by all animals; even where women and children would be welcomed, animals would steer clear of men because of the purported wickedness of men.  The Christian scripture makes it abundantly clear that the heart of man is wicked and also desperately wicked.

Nigerian history features the immense contributions of women who were bold, brave, and strong and determined to secure their kingdoms and their people. Among these women were Amina of Zazau, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Queen Iden of Benin, and so many others. Records show that these women were not of the Greek or Turkish Amazon packs but their lifestyles were predominantly Amazonic.

The few modern women who show any interests in tougher exploits are branded ‘feminists.’ Women are made to believe that they are not created complete and until they are acquired by a husband, they have not started to live their lives.  By wit, cunning, manipulation of the word of GOD and the power of the law, man has tamed the Amazonic spirit in women. The woman has become so tame that she is made to believe that she is the weaker vessel and quite embarrassingly, women actively clamour for reduced standards and concessions for women because they are ‘weak.’ Women are made to walk beside men on high heeled shoes which further expose their vulnerability and lack of balance; they are convinced to focus on keeping the home and reproduction. In essence a lot of women have put themselves at the level of well-loved pets to men; the slight difference between women and these well – loved pets is that the women share the beds of their men  and whenever he is inclined to, he takes her out to display to his friends and relatives.

What obtains in this day and age is a generation of men who feel zero tolerance for women.  it is easier for men to show respect to an infant male than to a grown and independent woman.  Some men claim to love their mothers to pieces but they passionately hate other women.  For the slightest offence, men would raise their hands against women and dehumanize them to extents that leave one wondering if the women had been run over by a large truck or they had encountered a grizzly.  In the end women are left with scars that will never heal if they are lucky to escape with their lives.

Every suggestion that women acquire self-defense skills are rebuffed by women who are spurred on by men who are yet to show their true colours.  Taking training in martial arts as a form of defense is something that goes without saying among Asians.  Many women of African origin are fortified by their families with psychic and magical powers like voodoo and witchcraft which are fundamentally intended as means of protection from physical and psychic assault.  Adopting the western religion has made many families put away such practices and many men now see it as the perfect opportunity to treat women the same way they would treat their dogs.

The number of incidence of violence against women (VAW) has increased so much that it now appears like a competition of whose attack would be deemed the most dastardly.  It makes one wonder if the victim was drugged prior to the attack as there is no evidence of self-defense in many reported cases. No race or nation is spared of this scourge; even the USA, Britain, etc are not spared.  Up till recently, one could boast that Nigerian males are not rape inclined but reports keep revealing that cases of VAW are becoming a fast growing delight among them.

Repeated appeals that parents take time to train their boys to be gentlemen seem not to have much impact; the implication is that parents are satisfied with the freedom their sons have and they must be willing endure the consequences of the son’s actions bring upon him and the family.  There are rumours of pockets of vigilante activities master-minded by ex-military men, ex-sportsmen, etc in some western countries and a few of them have been mentioned in Nigeria.  While not supporting irresponsible behavior in taking the law into one’s hands, the idea of a vigilante arrangement does have some appeal in that it begins to look like the only way of guarding against VAW.  Furthermore, there is money to be earned by people who are contracted to give intercessory services to women who may not be in a position to ward off attacks of psychos who look like brutes.

GOD bless Nigeria

NIGERIANS MUST KEEP TALKING

 

 

 

The passage of the FOI bill by the Nigerian legislature is a bonus to democracy as it paves the way for information gathering and dissemination and general access to information.  Without the passage of the bill, the Nigerian society will still adjust to the changes that social media has allowed to the way information is handled in the modern world.  The response of Nigerians to social media has turned out to be in favour of the people as a means of negotiating with the government.  every attempt by the government to discredit social media and discourage members of the public from subscribing to social media for information has met with stiff opposition from members of the public.  Nigerians of all ages and stations in life subscribe to using social media and as insignificant as the result may appear, there are records of positive changes in the society.

People do not have to wait till the next morning for updates on news anymore.  Many platforms update their news items almost per minute and some of the most relevant news can be found on social media networks. The key factor is the fact that people give real time response to issues as they impact their lives.  For as long as people are responding, it shows that they are still alive and able to speak up.  In the course of speaking up, they speak to defend themselves; they speak to negotiate issues to secure advantage.  For people who are able to speak, there is a limit to how much people will take them for granted or take advantage of them.

In moments of discouragement, one wonders what can be achieved from mere talking.  We have come to realize that a lot can be achieved by talking. It does not matter that people are using the 26 letters of the alphabets to form words that turn out as essays on the same points of focus.  The essence is that many people are responding by speaking up or by writing something.

For the government that is known to take unilateral decisions and spring surprises on members of the public, the more the people talking, the better because such behavior is symptomatic of a leader who assumes office with a mind-set. It shows a leader who has a chip on his shoulder.  The cure for such tactless and undiplomatic manner of leadership is continuous protest by writing and speaking.

Many actions that this government would have taken under the misguided notion that the people can be taken for granted have been suspended or frozen altogether because of the public outcry.  There is strength in numbers and many groups that seem to have taken key positions in decision-making in the USA have succeeded because of their number, because of their consistency in stressing their positions and of course their determination to achieve what they have resolve to achieve.

The outrage of citizens contributed largely to the apprehension and conviction of the 2 Ohio rapists; the same goes for the Indian men who raped and mutilated a female medical student which resulted in her death as well as the rape of a Swiss female cyclist was camping in a village in India in the company of her husband.

Nigerians must be spurred on by the records of achievement in common protest cases like the sudden removal of petroleum subsidy and the sudden name change of the University of Lagos.

It is a shame that this government sees nothing wrong in the state pardon said to have been granted by this government to Mr. Diepriye Alamieyeseigha (Alams) but Nigerians must keep talking.

Under the watch of this government, Mr. John Yusufu who admitted to stealing pensioners’ funds to the tune of N23.3bn was sentenced to 2years in jail with an option of payment of N750,000. Despite the public outrage which saw his re-arrest and detention at Kuje prison, he has been granted bail at N10m.  the people must never get tired of talking.

One wonders what would be the lot of Nigerians if a country like Mali chose to wage war against Nigeria; maybe Nigeria will be wiped out.  A relatively small band of terrorists started operating in Nigeria today, almost three years since they started out, the band has gradually grown to be an army that Nigerians in the north must live or die with.  The combined armed forces of the republic of Nigeria have thus far failed to come up with a logical suggestion of how to stamp out the activities of terrorists in Nigeria. 60 plus have so far been confirmed dead by the terrorist attack which rocked Kano yesterday 18^th March, 2013. 

Nigerians may not be achieving much from their protests but the attitude of speaking up must never again be compromised.  It is hoped that this government will listen to the voice of the people in the case of Alams and search for another ‘worthy’ Ijaw individual to elevate instead of a man who is so notorious that members of the international community know of his atrocities better than most Nigerians.

GOD bless Nigeria

 

SOUTH AFRICA ON THE SPOT

The rainbow nation, the ubuntu nation, etc are endearing names by which South Africa is also known today.  Years past when the white supremacist leadership of the settlers vide apartheid and racial segregation throve in South Africa; violence and bloodshed did not attract much alarm in South Africa because they were the norm. Militancy and violent insurgence reared their heads and grew in all corners of South Africa. The original South Africans from as far back as the time of the great Shaka of the Zulu were fierce warrior tribes; peace was a very rare and uncommon commodity among the South African tribes.

The apartheid government relinquished the hold on power due to pressure from the international community and extensive struggles of South African freedom fighters over several years. Nelson Mandela who had been imprisoned for a period of over 27 years was eventually released from incarceration and the democratic election conducted immediately after his release from detention was won by landslide.

FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela were co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for their contributions towards the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa. While Mandela lives and preaches peace, many South Africans see the need for application of violence in driving home their points.

Conditions of the termination of the apartheid regime and human rights activism have effectively made room for the white settlers to retain their lands and other property in South Africa and there have been reports of continued violence involving the white racists and many of such reports have gone without being charged to court. The issue of racism in South Africa is clearly still paramount to the people; this makes Robert Mugabe appear saintly in his drive to re-claim the land of the people of Zimbabwe from the white farmers.

Another sad aspect of the South African society is the battered psyche and warped mentality of the black South Africans.  A people who had been stripped of every dignity and power to the point that they were not allowed the right to vote in their own country; a group of people who were made to feel like outcasts in their land and people who knew no language save for violent struggles and intense hatred.  It is surprising that as soon as Nelson Mandela took office as the democratically elected president of the nation, many people thought, believed and expected that the racist mentality of South Africans would dissolve or come to an end.

Many musicians like Miriam Makeba and Sunny Okosun centered their message on the freedom of South Africa and Nelson Mandela and as soon as Mandela became president, it was like there was no more need for these revolutionary messages.  This is a great oversight in that after such injurious circumstances as what South Africans endured, what should have followed was intense rehabilitation and re-orientation of the minds of the people.  Many domestic and international organizations contributed their own quota towards this course but what is evident in modern day South Africa reveals that apartheid did not go anywhere and the subjective mentality of the black South Africans remains so strong like they are still under the burden of slavery.

Over the years, reports of activities of sick minds continue to increase; infants, the aged as well as the infirm are raped on the run.  Young and upcoming people have had their lives cut short because some crazy kid wants their wallet, miners are shot dead in broad day light, blacks kill whites and vice versa and visitors are also brutalized and murdered in South Africa.  One cannot undermine the achievements of South Africa or else it could easily be said that South Africa is becoming an embarrassment to Africa.

When the Arab Springs started to take the centre point of affairs in the political terrain in Africa, we still boasted that no one could attempt any uprising in Libya because of Ghadaffi’s firm grip on the people.  Today, Ghadaffi is history. South Africa is on the spot and it will do Africa a lot of good to beam more light on the activities going down in South Africa because recent events reveal that too much dirt is being swept under the carpet there.

All of this go to point at the fact that Nigerians must celebrate our past heroes like Oba Ovonranmwen who as much as possible resisted the British, the earliest political leaders of Nigeria and all those who made sacrifices that Nigeria may be a truly liberated and self-governed state free of every suggestion of colonialism and racism. Racism is a scourge which must be resisted at all costs and as many NGOs that have cases of violation of human rights or racial abuse before them should spare no costs in exposing the culprits for proper sanctioning.  And we must not forget what our past heroes have sacrificed to secure our freedom; it is only reasonable that we retain that freedom with the last drop of blood in us.

 GOD bless Nigeria.

NOT WHO BUT WHAT NIGERIA NEEDS TO EMERGE FROM THIS ERA

 

At a time like this, history will be re-written, interpreted and manipulated to the point of distortion to suit the purpose of the party (mis)representing the history.  Prof. Chinua Achebe’s latest literary work has stirred up much controversy in respect of how people perceive the way he chose to present certain activities of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.  To an extent, history may be distorted however, some people will know the truth and it is our hope that they will not allow the truth be washed away in dark waters.

The activities of today will make up the history that Nigerians of generations to come will have to study in a bid to understand the quality of people that manned the affairs of the republic during this era. Some of the key points of this era will include:

ü  Except for the civil war of 1967 – 1970 between the Biafra regime and the federal troops of Nigeria, the present administration has seen a large number of Nigerians brutally executed by violent terrorist groups and other criminal perpetrators of evil. 

 

ü  Many resourceful and able-bodied Nigerians have deliberately taken to the path of criminal activities like kidnapping people for ransom, advanced fee frauds by government officials and agencies, internet fraud with credit cards fraud, etc.

 

ü  The energy sector is plagued by the many travails of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), the nation’s electric power supplier.  For over 20 years, every new leadership of the corporation has ended in scandals and further waste of national resources.  The trade in power generators continues to thrive; the trade has been so lucrative that Nigerian traders attempted to extend their tentacles into Ghana save for the timely opposition and very strong protests of Ghanaians who are well informed of the negative impact the trade is having on Nigeria.  The cost of powering and maintaining generators are ten times more than bills that consumers pay to PHCN.

 

ü  The judiciary has not provided the much desired comfort that people expect as the many cases in Nigerian law courts that require urgent attention are not given the expedience that such cases attract.  Plea bargain is being used as the perfect tool to effectively neutralize the penalty for financial crimes.  Worse still, Nigerian judges have time and again handed down judgments that make people question their integrity.

 

ü  Monumental frauds have been spotted and reported in the management of Nigeria’s premium product which led to protests that shut down Nigeria for about 10 days in January, 2012 and over a year after, the reports submitted by the committee established by the government cannot be addressed.

 

ü  There have been issues between some northern governors who claim to have some documentation that contains an agreement entered into between some northern political elements and the leader of the present administration.  This however is being strongly refuted by the president.

 

ü  The first lady of this administration has also made a demand for over N4billion on the national treasury of Nigeria to expend on the project of her mission house.

These are some key points that modern day historians must not leave out when writing the history of Nigeria. It has been one embarrassment after the other, one shocker after the other and it is not like the end is in sight yet.  The abuse and the plundering of Nigeria without making room for sustainable development shows people who have a vendetta against Nigeria; like they have come to contribute their own quota to ensuring that the nation Nigeria gets wiped off the face of the earth.

In the face of all the challenges that Nigeria is going through, it is quite depressing to see that people still put forward their own myopic reasoning in the search  a good leader for Nigeria.  What Nigeria needs is more of salvation than administration.  The last few years have shown that Nigeria is groaning under the leadership of barbaric, unenlightened and scarcity-mentality infested minds whose main aim is to drag Nigeria back into the dark ages.  If not for the pressure from the international community, there would have long been military intervention in the running of Nigeria. 

Nigerians have been (mis)led by the military and now by politicians of the old brigade and the corrupt new generation ones as well as modern day religious leaders; in the end they have profited greatly at the expense of Nigerians.  It is time for Nigerians to stop being swayed by religious or ethnic bias as a reason for choosing a leader for this great nation.  Nigeria must move forward in civilization, technology and domestic as well as international trade and all of these can only be achieved within certain extents of political stability, national security and electricity power supply.  It is time Nigerians started to actively practice the art of thinking again.  It may not be easy to pre-determine who will support the drive to attain these progress-inclined objectives but it is very clear who has failed to improve on what existed and who saw to the breakdown of what little there was.

GOD bless Nigeria.

BETWEEN FAST FOOD AND HEALTHY EATING

Ordinarily one would want to steer clear of this area by virtue of the fact that food and nutrition as a topic is not particularly exciting enough for some of us. However, it keeps coming back in one form or the other within the consumer parlour. The issue of healthy eating as against feasting on fast (junk) food becomes paradoxical as it concerns consumers in Nigeria.

A large number of consumers in Nigeria appreciate such fast food like burgers, potato chips, shawarma, club sandwiches, pizza, ice-cream, milkshakes, various forms of pastry, meat, etc.  These are items that one could easily buy from the street corner vendor and dash off in developed countries where they are a common sight.  An appreciable number of food vendors have brought their business to Nigeria because of the abundance of opportunities the Nigerian economy avails.  Many outlets have been opened in Nigeria for delivery of the service but the snag is that what is being served is strangely no match with what obtains in other countries and they come at outrageous prices.

In Nigeria, junk food is viewed as ‘oyinbo food’ and our inability to believe in our worth gives reason for the service providers to mark up their prices. It is quite disturbing to see that people come from as far as Lebanon come to Lagos to vend sharwarma. By the time one takes into consideration the total cost of relocation and establishing the business, coupled with the many challenges of doing business in a terrain as peculiar as Nigeria, the consumer would already have been earmarked as the one to make up for what may have turned out to be a loss to the business owner.  Ordinarily, a sharwarma seller in a street corner in Beirut or Tel-Aviv is no different from the man selling barbecued beef which we call ‘suya.’  Anyone who feels like a meal of suya can easily afford it and it is troubling to see that other quick meals that are made from ingredients and material that are easily available in our markets are being sold for such outrageous prices.  It is so bad that the few Nigerians who have the skills to put together such quick meals also mark up their price to match what the non-Nigerians offer.

A news report on the African section of China Central television news (CCTV news) showcased  the new Johnny Rocket outlet in Victoria Island, Lagos where a beef burger is being offered for about US$22.00 and an ice-cream cup for about US$15.00. Quite remarkably the reporter went on to say that ‘the cost has not in any way deterred consumers from patronizing.’  This is far from the truth as many consumers are complaining about the outrageous prices of the good stuff they have on offer.  These are things that a consumer in other countries in Europe, America and even some West African countries can easily afford without digging too deep into his pocket.  At this point we need to raise issues about this trend.  Time and again, many economic reports make reference to the fact that the average Nigerian survives on less than US$2.00 per day so the very suggestion that some Nigerians are happy to spend as much as US$50.00 on junk food is like a blow below the belt.

The consumers will need to contribute something towards negotiating these outrageous prices downwards.  Products that are being vended are locally made and all materials required are locally sourced and the notion that the consumer is being saved the trouble of having to travel abroad in order to have access to such food is complete hogwash.   Local stuff being sold locally should not in any way attract such prices. 

Like every aspect of life, there will be consequences, the implication is that young people would tend to compromise a lot of things to have a taste of what is being offered and the vendor is not assured of his franchise because as soon as Nigerian workers in his kitchen come to understand how to put the stuff together, they are off to open their own business which may not be as expensive as the original franchise.  Worse still, there are many fast food vending companies that have entered the Nigerian market and they have been growing with every new day and their service is getting better; there are others who have been in Nigeria for many years and they continue to thrive decently. 

Nigeria requires foreign investors and investments and Nigeria is safe enough to attract viable and attractive investments including individuals who prior to this opportunity were groaning under the burden of economic melt-down being experienced by most developed economies. 

GOD bless Nigeria.

WHEN TOO MANY HANDS SPELL CORRUPTION

 

A favourite pastime in our formative years is competition in current affairs and social studies; the contest involved questions and answers drawn up from studies of current affairs, history and the structure of government.  We had to learn by heart the number of states of Nigeria, the names of the state administrators or governors and names of state capitals. We knew the number of state and federal ministries as well as the names of the ministers; and for our state, we knew the names of the commissioners and the permanent secretaries. It was rare to know that there are pupils who did not know the correct answers.  These are little tidbits that we could provide at the click of our fingers.

One cannot continue to pass blames for the rut in the education sector between the government, schools management, the teachers and the students; very soon, it may not be very easy for students to catch up with names of ministries, sub-ministries and agencies that are established and also the names of the people hired or appointed to administer such offices. There are about 30 federal ministries in Nigeria with a long list of agencies, sub-ministries, etc.

It could be explained away that states are allowed to run according to the laws of the state as they vary from state to state in the United States of America. The Nigerian style of democratic government has been criticized as one of the most expensive in that it allows for unnecessary duplication of government parastatals, agencies and ministries and all the necessary manpower that goes with maintaining such office. It is also criticized as a means of waste of resources that could be utilized in areas that are much pressed for rehabilitation and reconstruction.  A lot of the loans extended to Nigeria are long overdue for review as many of them should never have been taken in the first place.

It is absolutely essential that a workable mold is fashioned out for the Nigerian democratic government.  The number of federal ministries must tally with the number of state ministries and this idea of creating obnoxious sub-ministries, agencies and NGOs which are daily becoming prominent in the sector of advanced fee frauds should be completely done away with. Such a move will plug every loophole for acts of injustice that are enshrouded in ‘quota system’ as Nigerians are currently faced with in the reports emanating from Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).  NAMA unfortunately has become the scapegoat for injustices that all government organizations in Nigeria are guilty of.

Creating many more government agencies is an off-shoot of the call for many more states and further fragmentation of Nigeria; all areas of administration are adequately covered by the already existing ministries and parastatals without necessarily calling for the creation of more.  The dangers in creating many more of these agencies apart from the wastage involved include the fact that it provides too much freedom for the heads of the agency to act without proper checks and control. The resources being managed will not need to be put under more strain especially in view of the fact of many of the agencies have people in positions and not necessarily that they are doing any research or business to support their existence or justify their creation.

The misappropriation of pensions' funds in Nigeria is a case that could have been avoided if a perfect corridor had not been created for the siphoning of pensioners’ entitlements. Pockets of fraudulent practices such as this amount to a very visible dent on the image of Nigeria especially on the international scene. Having so many departments or units by whatever name they are known already suggests a heavy leaning towards fraud and corruption. For this reason, many developed societies will continue to accuse the Nigerian government of not seriously confronting issues of corruption emanating from Nigeria.

GOD bless Nigeria.