A tale of many thieves

While still whimpering and crying over the proposed fuel subsidy and how it will affect our country, and the possibility of a rising bank interest rate, as well as increasing dollar to Naira exchange, I heard this out-of-the-world story. It blew me away totally and I was at the verge of giving up on this country.

After the just concluded mirage called elections, over 6000 direct data capturing (DDC) machines were stored in the INEC office. Recently, we were told that about 1388 of the DDC machines were stolen, the internal hard disk of another 2986 units and batteries of 644 units were also stolen. Now to me, this is the greatest irony I have seen in recent times. I was listening to Inspiration FM and someone gave an analogy which I want to re-present on this platform.

In studio, there is always a studio manager who is responsible for everything in the studio. If something gets missing there, the studio manager will be held accountable for these items and if he/she had delegated authority for whatever reasons, the person delegated will he held responsible. Now, if this is the case, then there is someone probably called a store manager who was responsible for the safe keeping of the DDC machines.

In case you think the DDC machine is like the size of mobile phones, you are wrong. The DDC machines are those laptops that were used to capture your data during the elections. Here we are talking about 20 per cent of the DDC machines stolen and no one can lay a finger on who should be held accountable for this.

I am trying as much as possible to remove my mind from the fact that to steal this number of machines, a car or bus was probably brought into the premises and these machines were moved into them under the glaring eyes of as many as might have been interested; and if you argue that they were stolen one after the other, how long will it take to observe that machines are being stolen if there is a daily audit of the store house which is a given for any store where items are kept?

We were told at a time that a ship was missing at sea and now 1388 DDC machines were stolen. I would not be surprised to hear tomorrow that an airplane is missing in the air or Aso Rock itself can no longer be found. The police are still telling us that they are investigating and questioning people on this issue. An issue I would have gotten to the root of if I was given the responsibility to do so, in less than 2 days.

The Making of Nigeria’s Mark Zuckerberg

Every time read about the young billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg, I have a mixed feeling of envy and admiration for him. What scares me most, however, is that more than 80% of Nigerians in his age group do not even know who he is, talk less of share the kind of vision and passion he has. If you have not heard about that name before, you certainly might have heard of Facebook and probably have it opened on your desktop as you are reading this.

Mark, 27 years old, is the founder and CEO of Facebook and currently the 52nd richest person in the world, worth $13.7 Billion, a number behind Nigeria’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote according to Forbes. He found Facebook at the age of 20 from his dorm room and has since grown the social networking forum to a multi-billion dollar business.

Facebook started off only as an opportunity for students to upload and share pictures with each other and it spread beyond Harvard campus, where Mark was a student at the time, to other campuses such as Colombia, Yale, Stanford, and Cornell. Mark and his co-founders were approached by several companies to sell Facebook to them which they declined since they were not after the immediate monetary reward but wanted to build a platform that will forever change the world – a powerful and modest vision, I’d say!

I have once written an article on this and I will yet mention it again. It breaks my heart to consider what an average Nigerian youth spends his/her time doing. Be it a lady or a guy, you will find that a Nigerian youth is fully occupied with UEFA cup, EPL, African Magic, Musicals, Movies and even Facebook itself.

I look at this mix and it further makes me sad as I do not see anything in this list that smells like a Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin or Jerry Yang, all who made the Forbest Richest list under the age of 30. It will not be farfetched if one looks at the environment in which these people grew up and the kind of environment we are being exposed to in Nigeria. How can one explain why the seating president of Nigeria who is seeking a re-election refuse an interview with a renowned and globally recognized literary icon, Chimamanda Adichie and yet honour a staged faux pas called an interview with D-Banj?

Then you wonder why every young mind wants to be like D-Banj and not like Chimamanda.

Once again, we approach the general elections in Nigeria and we have the opportunity to define what kind of environment we want our kids and wards to grow up in when we cast out votes; a country that encourages them, from their infanthood, to see the world as full of opportunities and equip them to enjoy these opportunities. An environment that provides them with the tools, knowledge base, minds and resources to pursue their individual passion and make a living out of it.

To be furnished with leaders that they can dream to become like. It is no longer a secret that President Barack Obama of the United States had always found a mentor in Abraham Lincoln and it was not a surprise that he not only made history as the first black American president but also the only president after Abraham Lincoln to come from Chicago, Illinois.

Presently, there is no leader in Nigeria I would like to model my life after as they have all failed us woefully, amassing immense wealth for themselves at the detriment of the masses.

Nigeria needs leaders, models, mentors and history makers that the younger generation can learn from and as a result, aspire to grow their intellectual base so that tomorrow, a Nigerian can also feature in the list of the youngest richest people in the world, not from ill-gotten wealth, but as products of highly intellectual investment.

PDP Presidential Primary - The twist and turns!

With great excitement and trepidation I await the result of the PDP Primaries which will hold on the 13th of January. Well, I wouldn't think that you feel I am persuaded about the eligibility of the candidacy of any of the PDP Presidential aspirants, that is, Atiku Abubakar and GEJ. However, not to leave anyone in the dark, my great expectations from this primary result is linked to the fact that whatever direction it goes, it brings an entirely new twist to the April general elections. For the record, IT IS TIME TO VOTE PDP OUT!!!

Lets consider the first twist: GEJ wins the party ticket. What this means for the South-South is that they finally get the opportunity to rule the country since its 50 years of independence. Therefore, majority of the people from this region will vote for him. Also, a lot of people from the South-West and South-East have developed a strong bias for him (this I dislike with a big disgust) based on the situation surrounding his ascendancy into power. However, for two reasons, the Northerners will massively vote for any strong northern candidate from an opposition party. First, a large majority of the Northerners think its the turn of a northerner to be president and the second reason being that Atiku will muscle every ounce of strength to ensure GEJ does not win the election by turning the votes of northerners.

Alternatively, if Atiku wins the ticket, the scale will largely tilt against him in the general elections for three reasons. One, GEJ with the power of incumbency will ensure that Atiku does not win the election either by ensuring a free and fair election or contesting on the platform of another party(in which he will never win) and rig some sizeable number of votes for himself. A proof to this was in a statement credited to GEJ saying and I quote, "...if I sink, I will sink this boat(PDP) with me..." . Secondly, OBJ who is an arch enemy of Atiku, will ensure with his last breadth that Atiku does not win the election because if he does, it will spell the doom of OBJ since Atiku will ensure that OBJ is disgraced, ridiculed and jailed. Thirdly, Nigerians really do not want Atiku and will gladly go for any other strong northener contesting in any of the opposition parties.

Now, what does this mean? Whatever direction it tilts, PDP is bound to fail in the coming elections.

Well, I did not forget, but left it for the last to mention that my just concluded remark, "...PDP is bound to fail...", becomes tenable on only one condition....BUHARI & RIBADU DO NOT RUN ON SEPERATE PLATFORMS!!! One has to step down for the other and if not, PDP (Atiku or GEJ), will surely steal the day!!!

NIGERIA WILL FLOURISH AGAIN...

The voice of the people!

Many times, I have sadly traveled in vehicles seeing the nation tearing apart in several areas and feeling so dejected and sad about this. I have complained bitterly and blogged on some of these issues. Then one day, I asked myself this question, "What will I have done differently?"

As simple as this question sounds, I almost could not find a coherent and convincing answer to it and at this point, I came to my consciousness that so much of complaining and cursing will never restore sanity into our nation. I do not concede to the fact that President Barrack Obama of the United States had all the answers to the issues facing their nation, but he certainly knew where the shoe was pinching and the issues were not strange to him nor the path to a solution to them.

At this juncture, I decided to begin to carefully and thoughtfully find answers to our predicament as a nation, not without the help of others whose thought processes, detailed studies and great exposure will afford them the opportunity to present truths with facts.

On this journey, I embark. When I will get there, I do not know but one thing I know is that on this journey, I will see things I have not seen until this moment and therefore stand on a platform I was never on track to find...Nigeria will flourish again!!!

Where do we stand!!!

I stood aside to take a look at the future of our beloved nation while we yet hope and pray for the reengineering of our polity and socio - economic system and what I saw not only scared me but forced me to do the thing I know to do best - put my pen to paper...

Already with only 55% as literates, Nigeria is laden with the task of preserving its future, but taking a peep into the future, what do we see? I see an ugly trend among our youths, the expected leaders of tomorrow, trading their posterity for fame on the platter of entertainment. Every youth wants to become the next TuFace - and I dare argue that our media is not helping the matter. Kids and youths alike are modeling their lives in paths that will deplete our already pressured number of people who will take over the leadership of our nation.

This is the highlight of the issue - scores in schools are dropping, academic performances are deteriorating, visioneer youths are depleting and there is no more motivation towards attaining high professional standards that will lead this nation out of its present predicament. This scares me because I see that at this rate, with the few outstanding, passionate youths already emigrated to nations in need of their expertise, we will leave our nation in the hands of unbaked, untrained, untried, selfish, greedy buffoons who will further rubbish the already largely smeared state of our nation.

Do you see otherwise with this trend? Nigeria will flourish again!!!

So much for electoral reforms - Ekiti's Re Run election!!!

Nigeria: Great Nation, Good People -
What a rot! What a waste! What a ridicule to the very existence of our sober minds!!! We have been taken for fools and some lawless piece of shit have taken us for a ride again.

What happend to the rule of law? What happened to the just concluded electoral reform? Listen to what the REC for Ekiti re-run election had to say:
"the results for which I resigned has been validated in abuja. anyone who is not fine with it should go to court..."
A colleague once told me that the Nigeria of our dreams is past our own generation to see. As much as I argued and still argue it, I am short of words to convince him otherwise. Or how else can you explain how the mandate of the people was stolen; how they were disenfranchised by the same people who promised to protect them and provide a place and environment that fosters peace and prosperity? How can that be? How will they do that when they bear the hate of the people at heart?
O God!!! This is becoming too much for me to bear! Its puts a heavy burden on my heart. Please, what can be done to save Nigeria from itself? Let someone speak. Where can we go from here? Did we not think we were on track to realising the Nigeria of our dreams and all in a swoop, our hopes were chattered. What remains of the 2011 election I have already started looking out for!!!
Yar Adua, Professor Iwu, Prof Akinyuli etc what have we done to deserve this back hand smashing while we look helplessly with our hands tied to the back!!!
With bowed heads, sad heart but convinced stead, I say again...
Nigeria will flourish again!!!

NEW YEAR - ECONOMIC CRISES

I will want to start by wishing you all a merry xmas and a happy new year in perspective!

However, the major reason for this article is to give a little advise as regards the new year and how we should face the pending economic crises.

I will want to say that we should not be deceived by the fact that this crises will not get to Nigeria but what should be different is our approach to it. Or how else can you explain the fact that banks are no longer giving loans to customers or the several bonanzas that banks are organizing like save so much and win so much or keep so much in your account and win so much...

Very quickly, I will want to remind us of the fact that the same flood that destroyed the whole earth was the same that kept the ark of Noah floating. However, we should realize that Noah exercised obedience, patience and GREAT preparation to ensure that was the case.

My plea is for everyone of us to start preparing towards this event. Whatever income flows into your hands should not be spent buying, dining and wining. Begin to strategise how to take hold of opportunities during this period.

SAVE!SAVE!SAVE!

God is not unrighteous to forget our labour of love; be positive, be optimistic and be hopeful. I see us coming out of this stronger than we can ever imagine. Hold on to the Lord 'cos no amount of planning can outweigh the indispensable guidiance from the Him.

Nigeria will flourish again!!!

Angry policemen

Sometimes, I marvel at the things I hear from the lips of certain people in this country. You wonder if whatever mettle they were made of actually was ever designed to feature in the existence of the living. Its around here you find people give and/or ask for bribe and call it PR (Public Relations); its around here you find naval ratings use horsewhips on civilians and call it discipline; its around here you find people, even the poor, take what does not belong to them and call it partaking of the national cake.

Just yesterday, my mum told me that on her way to a state out of Lagos, some policemen demanded that they stopped but the driver refused to. As a result, they started shooting at the bus but fortunately, nobody got hurt. However, what dazzled me most was what the policemen did after that. They collected the money for the bullets they wasted from the driver, after he stopped, and then released the bomb shell...

...it was because the DPO and one policeman in the state was killed yesterday.

Now the question I asked simultaneously was to find out it the reason they gave was directed at why they shot or why they collected the money for the bullet they wasted.

Who told them to shoot at innocent civilians? In a society which is concerned about the welfare of its citizens, what they would have done was to engage the vehicle that refused to heed their call in a hot pursuit. So many innocent lives have been lost as a result of this irrational and highly unprofessional behaviour of the ' men in black'. I also stand to be corrected but I believe that we are not getting the right response from those in authority. So many of the dastardly acts have gone unpunished.

Why should I be on bike and spot poliemen and be afraid? Afraid they might stop you to check your bag and then ask for the receipt of some very useless thing. Afraid their might be an accidental discharge and you become the victim. Afraid that for whatever reason they might have, you are bundled into the waiting van and driven off to some unknown location. If driven off to the prison (where you might not get any trial for the next 5-10 years and your family has no knowledge of your whereabout) you might be lucky as opposed to those I heard might be driven off to unknown destination where they could be sold to ... you can imagine the details.

We want our leaders to help hold those who have mangled and destroyed the lives of innocent people to ransom and ensure they pay for their misdemeanours.
Nigeria will flourish again...

When horses started working on Nigerian Roads - Hence horsewhips

Every resident of Lagos state should by now be aware of the recent brutality which was unleashed on an innocent lady, Miss Uzoma Okere on the 3rd of November by six naval ratings attached to Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade.

The ugly incidence was shown on ireport for the whole world to see how Nigerian citizens are "well taken care" of by the same set of people that they are supposed to run to for solace. This is not the first of such incidents but we hope this will put a stop to it. Some time ago, we heard of the southern Governor who maltreated a young woman and her kids; for what reason one would wonder? Police men shoot, beat, harass and ultimately have succesfully made every civilian see them as the scum of the earth.

In the case of Harry Arogundade, what were his ratings doing with horse whips? People in authority in this nation have taken it upon themselves to lord it on the people; people they are supposed to defend and protect. Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola recently banned the use of sirens by any governor or government officials within the state. This is the least of the several policies that should be made to leash this power intoxicated individuals. How many people are aware that the President - elect of the US, senator Barack Obama, lived in a self - contained when he was the illinois senator? The government officials cannot be differentiated from the people they serve; infact, a US senator will readily pass for a Nigerian senator's PA.

This is a clarion call to our leaders to help NIGERIANS feel safe and comfortable. We elected them to protect, defend and fight for us not with us. It is a call to responsibility and dignity in order to uphold Nigeria's HONOUR AND GLORY!!!

Rebirth of a Nation

Whenever we come to a threshold, an harbinger of making history, we do not assert this truth by the reality of the experience rather by the assurance of its hope...

...the hope we hold on to as a nation that one day we can also live every moment as indicated in the words of the fathers of American independence - "... all men are equal and have a right to the God - given gifts of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.."

We have come this far and yet still so far - far from the dreams of our fathers ; far from the hope our independence promised us; far from the luxury of life our naturally endowned economy afforded us; far, very far!!!

We have come from a time in which our different ethicity, religious and cultural beliefs, political ideologies have painted a picture of a separate people only brought together by the extensive stretch of land. We have become a shadow of ourselves - NIGERIA

It has always and will always be, when history repeats itself, that a people will always arise who will say NO to the oppressions of the slave drivers and hold their destiny in their hands; perhaps if we do not live the life our nation promised, our children will never have to fight the battle.

We will keep writing, till NIGERIA comes back in strength and vigor and reposition itself where and how it ought to be.

NIGERIA WILL FLOURISH AGAIN...