THE invaders came barely 24 hours after the archway or arch was remounted. They took off from the nearby Abule, which is mostly populated by people indigenous to Arepo in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. The archway, which has a history behind it, is the entry point into Journalists’ Estate Phase 1. It was first erected in 2003 when that place was a thick forest. A few journalists braved the odds and moved into the estate some two, three years later.

But some people, especially the invaders and their ilk, have been trying hard to rewrite history. Their intent is to ensure that the archway never returns in place after the ongoing construction of the Journalists’ Estate Road, which runs into Funke Fadugba Road, and tapers off before Beachland Estate, which stands at the end of the long road. The archway was pulled down by the Ogun State Governmnet when the road work began.

With the job done now beyond the spot where the archway was, the Journalists’ Estate Residents Development Association (JERDA) Phase 1 or JERDA 1 applied for the remounting of the arch. Its request was granted and on February 7, the arch went up again to the delight of residents, who trooped out for the ceremony. The ceremony was witnessed by some top Ogun State government officials. The next day residents were shocked when they heard of the destruction of the archway by the invaders made up of a combined force of residents of Abule and Beachland Estate.

The invaders, who had the backing of the Olu of Arepo in Council, came with all sorts of weapons. But when their digger could not do the job, they went to hire a Hyab, a utility vehicle commonly used for the erection of electric poles and other allied jobs. They got the Hyab, with the aid of one Emmanuel Akudinobi of Beachland Estate Residents Association (BERA). In no time, they brought down the multi-million naira arch,  boasting: they ((JERDA 1 residents) never see nothing. We just start with them.

It was not an empty threat. And it did not just start today; nor even on February 8 when the invaders had the effrontery to enter a private estate to commit an illegal act. If the few JERDA 1 residents  around that fateful morning had not acted maturely, there would have been a breakdown of law and order. That is what the Olu of Arepo in Council and BERA want, but JERDA 1 will not play into their hands because we are enlightened and law abiding citizens.

What do the Olu of Arepo, Oba Solomon Oyebi, and BERA want? They are against JERDA 1 having a archway, claiming that it impedes movement. That is false. An archway does not hinder movement; it is an entrance under an arch, which is a reversed  U-shaped structure, with an opening.  So how can that hinder movement? The arch is meant to secure JERDA 1. As a security post, like similar security posts, under different names, at BERA itself  and other estates in Arepo, people and vehicles are stopped to duly identify themselves before being granted access.

Was former Lagos police chief Hakeem Odumosu not stopped to identify himself at Magodo Phase 2 the other day at the estate’s security post? Is it illegal to ask motorists and others to identify themselves at a gate or an arch or a security bar, like the one BERA hurriedly removed at one of its entrances last week, before being allowed in?

In its place now is the stump of the short upright pole which used to hold the cross bar. A signage bearing Pomat Peters Way has been hung there. At the appropriate time, we will confront them with proof of what used to be there.Only BERA and Oyebi can tell the world why they are against JERDA 1 protecting its estate. If BERA can secure its estate and Oyebi also protect his palace with a gate, what is wrong in JERDA 1 putting up an arch for the same purpose?

JERDA 1 did not break any law by remounting its arch, as approved by the government. So, there is no need for another approval by Oyebi or any other local authority, power or principality for that time. Oyebi is not higher than the state. Did BERA get his approval before erecting the bar, which it hurriedly and mischievously removed at that its entrance close to the military outpost where soldiers are standing sentry?

What is BERA waiting for? It should go a step further and dismantle the other security bar at its second entrance so as to remain, for now, in the good books of the Olu and his subjects. Sooner than later, what brought them together will scatter them. JERDA 1 has been lawful and continues to bend backward to accommodate Oyebi and BERA despite their tantrums. JERDA 1 is for peace, but they are for war, in whatever they say or do. JERDA 1 will remain peaceful because it believes in the rule of law and not in the use of force.

The law, JERDA 1 believes, will eventually take its course. But one thing is certain, JERDA 1 will not fold its arms and allow anybody to ride roughshod over it. It is in Oyebi’s interest to sheathe his sword and allow JERDA 1 be. Come to think of it, what did JERDA 1 buy from him that it did not pay? He should be thankful for the coming of JERDA 1 to his domain. Has he forgotten so soon what the community used to look like just 20 years ago?

Unlike him, JERDA 1 has not forgotten. The estate’s coming to Arepo is of the Lord’s doing. This is why JERDA 1 is treading gingerly over this matter, and it will continue to do so because it does not want to destroy what it has built with its own hands. But Oyebi and BERA should not take this as cowardice.

Kyari’s fall and the Tokunbo fuel

THE arrest of super-cop Abba Kyari on Monday came on the heels of the lingering fuel scarcity. Kyari, a well decorated police officer, who was honoured by the House of Representatives in June, 2020, appears to be the architect of his own fall. He was suspended last year, following allegations of his dealings with Rahmon Abass alias Hushpuppi by America’s Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI). But he seemed to have observed the suspension in the breach. How is that possible in a police with layers of command, especially as someone else had been named to take Kyari’s place?

The fuel crisis is biting harder, instead of abating. Fuel queues are getting longer by the day at filling stations, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd keeps passing the buck instead of taking “full” responsibility for the importation of the off-speculation (off-spec) petrol that led the nation into this bind. The Tokunbo petrol came from, where else? Antwerp, Belgium, the home of used (Tokunbo) vehicles which dot Nigerian roads.  These are vexed national issues, which painfully I have sidestepped today to  comment on a matter that concerns my constituency. I crave your indulgence.

It always creeps in from nowhere. In the twinkling of an eye, fuel queues will be all over the place, impeding traffic and leaving the motorist wondering if this was the same road he took the previous day. As he beholds the snaky queues of vehicles at filling stations, as he drives out on a new day, he mumbles inwardly why it did not cross his mind to buy petrol last night on his way home.

As a motorist, you may have been confronted with this kind of situation at one time or the other. In Nigeria, fuel queues are unheralded. They can happen at anytime – in the morning, afternoon or night. From observation, they usually spring up at night, making the motorist feel guilty, as he drives out the next morning, why he did not buy petrol the previous day when it was still easy to do so.

This is the pattern that fuel queues take whenever the commodity becomes scarce. When the problem arises, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, as it then was, blames it on “panic buying”. The longsuffering average Nigerian tags it “hoarding” or “artificial scarcity”.  In both cases, the parties are saying the same thing that there is fuel, but they differ on why it is scarce. Why would the public resort to “panic buying” and the marketers to “hoarding” if the product is really available?

This has always been the question. But, as usual, there is nobody to answer it as those who should know resort to the blame game whenever fuel becomes scarce. Whether as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd,  as it is now known under the soon to be suspended Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), nothing has changed in NNPC’s handling of the perennial fuel crisis. Nothing buttresses this fact more than the way it reacted to the current scarcity.

The shortage, is by no way, an happenstance. It was a problem waiting to happen because NNPC and its subsidiaries, especially, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroluem Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), were not proactive enough. NNPC has for sometime now been the sole importer of fuel since major marketers shunned the business because of the “stifling cost of operation”. Few weeks ago, it brought some consignments into the country, which turned out to be contaminated.

Did NNPC import a contaminated product? Or did the commodity get contaminated after landing in the country? Was there no quality control? How could the product have gone through the necessary checks without being discovered before its circulation? At what point did NNPC discover the contaminated fuel? Does it speak well of its control systems that such product could leave its or private depots without being discovered? When it knew about the problem, what steps did it take to prevent the present “artificial scarcity”? In fuel matters, the buck stops with NNPC.

This is why whenever there is a shortage, the public blames the organisation for the headache it is going through. Rather than relieve the people of their headache, NNPC resorted to misrepresenting facts about the matter. In its reaction on Monday, it hid the truth about the contaminated product, pretending to be unaware of the problem. Hear the firm: “The NNPC Ltd wishes to assure the public that the company has sufficient PMS stock to meet the needs of Nigerians.

“The public is, therefore, advised not to engage in panic buying of petrol; and to ignore all rumours that may suggest otherwise”. Could the public be said to have engaged in panic buying when only few outlets were selling the product? What should the motorists do in such a situation? Fold their arms and wait for petrol to, like Manna, fall from heaven? What “rumours” was NNPC referring to? Is it not true that there is contaminated fuel in circulation? Unfortunately, NNPC chose to beg rather than address the issue.

It took the statement by NMDPRA on Tuesday to show the lie in NNPC’s position. NMDPRA unequivocally blamed the scarcity on the discovery of “limited quantity of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification in the supply chain. To ensure vehicular and equipment safety, the limited quantity of the impacted product has been isolated and withdrawn from the market, including the loaded trucks in transit…Meanwhile, NNPC has intensified efforts at increasing the supply of petrol into the market to bridge any unforeseen supply gap”.

NNPC should have come clean with the public, just as NMDPRA did. As a limited liability company that it is now is, NNPC must realise that it can no longer be business as usual. It is no longer a government agency. A limited liability company is built on fiduciary trust and answerable to its shareholders and not the government. Why did it find it difficult to admit that contaminated product is in circulation? Such a product is harmful. It can cause a lot of damage to people’s health and vehicles. What happens to those who have suffered one damage or the other from the bad product?

Will they be compensated and by who? In these hard and lean times when people are striving to make ends meet, their problems should not be compounded by public or private organisations charged with  the provision of services essential to their every day living. NNPC has failed its first test as a limited liability company. The morning, they say, shows the day. Is this how it will manage its operations under the new dispensation?

NNPC must buckle up now. The era when it was run like ‘no-man’s’ business is gone. It must realise that it is no longer a state agency, but a company that will soon go on public offer when the PIA is tidied up. Nobody will invest in it, if it still parades itself as an agency of government with little or no regard for business ethic.

In the meantime, NNPC can show that it is ready for life as a business entity by addressing the cry of independent marketers who are badly hit by the bad product. This bad product is not of their making and so, they should not be made to bear the brunt. They have incurred losses over the bad product which they could not sell and have been vicariously responsible for the damage done to their customers’ vehicles.

Compensating these motorists will not be out of place or they may decide to seek legal remedy, which would have been the option in saner climes. As for the Mele Kyari-led NNPC, it is not too late to redefine itself.

WHEN five-year-old Hanifa Abubakar was abducted last December, her teacher was the last person on earth anyone would suspect of being the abductor. Reason: teachers are known to be above board, modest and reasonable. They educate pupils and build their character along the way.  Their pupils’ parents love for them knows no bounds because of this virtue of a strong and reliable person that they have. In our days (hmmm, how time flies), parents could swear by teachers..

Those days, many parents gave their children, especially the stubborn ones, to teachers to train. Those parents never regretted their actions. So also are their children, who today owe whatever they have become to their teachers. They remember those days with nostalgia and refer to their teachers as God sent, praising them to high heavens for guiding them.

Those were the days when teachers were teachers. They did not discriminate between their own biological children and others living with them. They treated everyone equally. How they did this and still retained the love of their immediate families has never ceased to amaze me. I marvel whenever I relive those days with friends. We laugh and laugh as we remember the teachers who instilled discipline in us and made us to appreciate the value of education.

We recall their caning skills, without which we would have gone astray. They would cane us and our parents would side with them and implore them to give us more strokes of the cane. This was the image of teachers that my generation grew up to know. Teachers who were our parents and loved us as their own children. All that is gone now. Teachers are no longer made like that. Teachers have become traders looking for quick money. We used to hear of teachers’ reward being in heaven! Tell a  teacher that today and he would look at you from a corner of his eye, wondering why you are cursing him.

Through the misconduct of some, teachers have lost their respect and standing in society today. They are no longer feared by pupils, who have the audacity to offer them money for mark. If they are not trading, they are busy chasing their female pupils for sex. Teaching, to them, is secondary. What matters most is what they can get from it and they are ready to do anything for money. The pursuit of money and anything in skirt is fast turning teaching into a cursed profession.

A teacher is the guardian of his pupils. If anyone of them goes missing, he must go out of his way to look for that child. Sadly, when this happens these days, the teacher is usually the first suspect. How sad! The horrific killing of Hanifa by her teacher shows how low some teachers have sunk. A teacher, a kidnapper? And a killer to boot? What kind of teacher is Abdulmalik Mohammed Tanko, 30? What kind of money was he looking for that he held Hanifa for weeks and then killed her after collecting ransom from her parents?

Teachers like Tanko are misfits in any society. He is a beast of a teacher. A wolf in human skin, who should be tied to a stake and publicly executed without recourse to the court. But society should not behave like the animal that he is. He will have his day in court so that he can tell the whole world why he fed Hanifa with rat poison after subjecting her to physical torture for weeks. This is one abduction and killing too many. It is more so because a teacher, who should appreciate the sanctity of life, the life of a kid that could be his daughter, is involved.

If Hanifa were to be Tanko’s daughter, how will he feel? He should put himself in the girl’s parents’ shoes and imagine  how he would have reacted to this tragedy. Unfortunately, he has no such compassion. If he did, he won’t have kidnapped and killed the girl in the first place. Tanko must pay the price for his action. Hanifa’s father, Abubakar Abdulsalam’s plaintive cry of “Kill this bastard now. Please, do not spare him; please, I beg you in the name of Allah”, when the suspect was paraded at the Kano State Police Command Headquarters last Saturday, rings in every ear around the world.

Tanko has murdered sleep and he should sleep no more. His trial should be swift. It should not be allowed to drag to avoid subjecting the girl’s parents to the psychological trauma that may kill them. Some are wont to say it is an open-and-close case since the suspect has confessed to the crime. It is not as easy as that. The suspect still has to go through the legal process to determine his guilt. I must confess, though that I am biased too.

Tanko deserves the harshest of punishment so as to deter others like him. You may never know, there could still be other Tankos out there waiting to strike. They must be stopped before they pounce. How did someone like Tanko get his Noble Kids Comprehensive School registered in the first place? What a name! We can all see the nobility of his action!!

The Kano government has its own share of the blame too. Like other states, they register schools without digging into the backgrounds of the owners. Something can still be done to avert a recurrence. The government should, without delay, audit all private schools and sift the wheat from the chaff in public interest.

Hanifa has paid the supreme price. For her death not to be in vain, Kano schools must be cleansed to ensure that they no more harbour killer teachers and proprietors. My heart goes out to Hanifa’s parents. May she find rest in the Lord’s bosom.

He does not do things in half measures. He cannot also be stampeded into action. Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu (BAT) is his own man. He carries himself with confidence and he is never afraid to speak his mind. For long, speculations were rife about his presidential ambition. The speculations started after he left office as the Last Man Standing  governor of Lagos State in 2007.

Last Man Standing! That is another story in itself. It is the story of a man who outplayed a foxy former president in his own game. President Olusegun Obasanjo had set a booby trap for the former Alliance of Democracy (AD) governors of the Southwest states of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Lagos in the 2003 polls by seeking their support for his return to office, while assuring them of his own backing for their election too.

They lowered their guards, not knowing that it was a ploy to get them out of office by stealth. Only Tinubu saw through the plot and he came out of the election unscathed. Thus, he became the Last Man Standing (on AD platform) in the midst of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors in the Southwest.

It has been 15 long years since then and in that length of time, speculations about his presidential ambition spread like wildfire. He watched bemusedly as those who believe they know him well politically and others who did not, went to town about his aspiration. The ‘he will contest’ group and the ‘no he will not’ camp have been shouting themselves hoarse for years on Asiwaju’s political future. Those who want him to contest know that he has something to offer. Those in the other camp do not want him to run because of their own personal agenda.

Yet, others simply hate his gut. They bristle at anything Asiwaju. “Is he the only one?” “Must he control everything?” “Look at how he has turned himself into the Lord of Manor”. They are wont to complain. But they forget one thing: that Asiwaju did not attain his political heights by being sheepish at pushing the causes he believes in. He is a fighter politically and a man you can follow to battle with your eyes closed. Asiwaju trusts his loyalists completely, but what has he got in return?

They speak ill of him behind his back and come before him to genuflect and assure him that ‘we remain loyal sir’. They know that they are lying. In their sub-conscious mind, they know that what they are doing is wrong. No man is a saint and Asiwaju does not see himself as one. Despite his human foibles, he has remained loyal to his belief and members of his political camp. What he demands is loyalty and all who showed that trait are the better for it today.

Read Also: Shonekan: He tried his best to unite Nigeria, says Tinubu

His ambition is no longer a secret. On Monday, he spoke on his political future after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari. “I have informed the President of my intention, but I have not informed Nigerians yet. I am still consulting… I have not set a parameter of limitation to the extent of how many people I will consult”, he said of his interest in the 2023 Presidency.

“You have got the truth from me that I have informed Mr President of my ambition… The President did not ask me to stop; he did not ask me not to attempt and pursue my ambition. It is a life-long ambition. So, why will I expect him to say more than that…”

His informal declaration, as it were, has elicited a chain of reactions. Is it not Asiwaju that we are talking about? You should expect no less. Whatever some people may have against him, they should not go for the man, but look at the issue critically. Is he qualified to be president? Of all the aspirants that have so far come out, who is better than him? It is not about where the aspirant comes from or the faith he professes, it is about his ability. Does he have the capacity to do the job?

That question was answered here in a piece entitled: The lion and the crown last October 14. If he decides to run, many will back him. Many too will not support him. That is politics for you. No matter where you stand, one thing is certain, though, Asiwaju has what it takes to lead Nigeria…

Asiwaju too knows that his detractors will come for him in the “if you miss the ball, don’t miss the leg fashion”. This should be the least of his worries. It is a measurement of his political standing. He should just concentrate on selling himself and his agenda to the electorate who will determine contestants’ fate at the polls.

Tony Idigo (1952-2021)

Chief, that was what those of us younger than him called him at the Daily Times. Some of his age mates too referred to him as such. Chief Anthony Idigo was a man of culture. Though, he was a Catholic, he never joked with the culture of his Aguleri people in Anambra State. Our paths crossed at the Times at the time the Aguleri-Umuleri skirmish was intense. We often wondered how the ‘brothers’ fight’ would end. Idigo, who was Ikolo Aguleri, always assured us that the feud would be resolved. It was eventually settled, but at enormous cost.

Lively, lovely and down-to-earth, Idigo was grounded in the best tradition of journalism. He worked for many years with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) before joining Daily Times. He died last November 16, at the age of 69. He would have been 70 on Saturday, January 15, on which day his remains will be buried. May he find rest in the Lord’s bosom.

‘There are cows and there are cows…it took the ban on certain breed of cows by IPOB for me to know this…What is in the name or breed of a cow?’

N a movie, viewers will take it with a pinch of salt. They will marvel at what the director is trying to portray. But, this is not a film. It is for real. Until now, I never knew the difference among the cows I often see on the road. To me a cow is a cow. To distinguish between one cow and another does not need special skill, so I thought, until the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) removed the scale from my eyes.

The colour of cows varies. It could be black, white, brown or spotted. I now know better that there is more to a cow than its colour. There are cows and there are cows. Due to my benign ignorance, it took the ban on certain breed of cows by IPOB for me to know this. IPOB is the group led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, which is campaigning for the return of Biafra.

In so doing, it is not bothered by the accident of history: the botched attempt by the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu at such a republic between 1967 and 1970. Kanu believes strongly that his people are marginalised and that the only way to go is to pull out of Nigeria. It remains debatable whether our unity is settled. Kanu belongs to the school of thought that it is not.

But, how does the ban on ‘Fulani cow’, as IPOB put it, helps its cause? Will that hasten the birth (or is it rebirth) of Biafra? The ban, contained in its New Year message, is laughable, but in matters concerning IPOB,  one must tread gingerly to avoid trouble. The group has directed custodians of Igbo culture, the clergy and town unions to enforce the ban, which takes effect from April.

Why April? Is it meant to be an April  Fool’s prank? IPOB advocates that “our native cows be used instead for any social or ceremonial events and festivals in Biafraland”. So, the Igbo have “native cows”? Why have they not been rearing them in commercial quantity long before now?

Explaining the rationale for the ban, IPOB claims that “the zone cannot continue to bring curse and damnation upon its land by consuming cows used for bestiality”. Really? What is in the name or breed of a cow? Will it not become beef when cooked and taste as such when eaten?

Parting shot!

MAGODO, the posh community across the road from the Lagos State Secretariat at Alausa, Ikeja, has known no peace of late. First, was the issue of the Shangisha landlords led by Pa Adebayo Adeyiga, who sought to enforce a 2012 Supreme Court verdict vesting them with the right to the disputed 549 plots in Magodo Estate Phase 2.

Then came last Saturday’s incident between the state’s  outgoing Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, and Magodo Brooks Residents Association (MABRA). What really transpired between Odumosu, who has just been promoted to Assistant Inspector-General (AIG), and MABRA’s security operatives remains hazy. Both sides are relating different versions of what occurred. Of course, each party is claiming to be right. Who then is wrong? The public cannot say.

But, the public is disposed to believing the residents, who accused Odumosu of using his high office to subdue the guards and a female resident, who tried to intervene in the matter. That is not true, says Odumosu, who accused the guards and the woman of disrespecting him. It is unfortunate that he finds himself in this bind. This is not the way to end his tenure in Lagos and his career in the police.  No matter what he says people will find it hard to believe him.

That, unfortunately, is the image public officers have cut for themselves. It will cost him nothing to get this matter resolved amicably so that he can quit office in peace. Discretion is the better part of valour.

Greek gift

It was the last thing I expected from DStv after my December 25 experience with the Pay TV station. It is something they do once in a while though. On January 1, they sent me this message: Congrats! Your DStv has been upgraded from Compact Plus to Premium. You can now stream the best shows online with Showmax at no extra cost on DStv Premium. A week or so later, they will, as they usually do, send a follow-up message, asking the subscriber to switch to Premium by paying the price for the boutique.

If they keep records, they should know that I started out on Premium before I changed to Compact Plus. I took that decision since all I wanted on Premium, which is football, I could easily get on Compact Plus. I do not need their patronage. All I demand is value for the bouquet that I regularly pay for. The records are there.

It is the season of stargazing; of looking into the womb of time to know which grains will grow and those that will not, as Banquo requested of the three witches in  Shakespeare’s tragi-comedy, Macbeth. We can play that game (or is it trick?) here too. By delving into what happened in the last 12 months of 2021, which ends in 48 hours, we can foretell what may happen in Nigeria in 2022.

For sure, insecurity will not disappear, just at the snap of the fingers! It may remain a Frankenstein Monster, which the nation will continue to contend with. The government says it is doing all it can to stem the malaise. The people believe their government, but the problem is not going away as the country keeps haemorrhaging.

There is no part of the country that is not affected. From the North to the South, to the East and the West, all the regions are under siege. Hoodlums hold sway everywhere, making life unbearable for the masses. The rich are not left out. They too are crying because these bandits, terrorists and insurgents do not discriminate between the rich and the poor when they strike. They target everybody, everywhere and anywhere.

But the North is worse affected. Its political and traditional leaders are wringing their hands in defeat because they are overwhelmed. The solution is beyond them. They cannot do anything but complain. The complaints are not likely to abate in 2022. Is this how things will continue next year? People are living under two governments in the region. One legal, the other, unknown to law. But the people are forced to obey the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) around the Lake Chad in Borno State because they have no choice.

They are in an Hobbesian state where life is brutish, nasty and short. How can they be citizens of Nigeria and yet be subject to an illegal authority? What then is the essence of government if it cannot protect its citizens? Being far away from the terror spot does not make those in other parts of the country safe. We are all not safe as long as some parts of the country are not secure. That is the bitter truth.

This is why the government must wake up from its slumber in 2022. The protesters going about with the #Northisbleeding! banners may not be wrong after all. Indeed, if the government is not sleeping,  this security challenge should have been dealt with long ago. President Muhammadu Buhari promised the people that he would tackle the problem in his first six months in office. He has crossed the sixth year mark of his eight-year term, yet the problem persists. His spokesman, Femi Adesina, has said the President can redress the situation within the remaining 17 months of his tenure. We want to believe him, but the auguries are not that assuring.

If in 79 months he could not solve the problem, is it in 17 that he will perform the magic, considering the many issues, especially that of his successor, that will crop up in 2022, the eve of his exit from office? The upcoming election is another matter because of his veto of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. Will reason prevail over the bill when the National Assembly resumes in January? Of course, you can bet it that the lawmakers will not take him up, on the issue. It will be politically resolved, despite the hot air being blown by some of them.

The signing of Budget 2022 is a done deal. The President will sign it with flourish tomorrow to appease the National Assembly leadership. This will be used to break the rank of angry senators planning to override the veto! No matter the way things go, the parties will pick their presidential candidates in 2022. Who will they be? Will they emerge from direct or indirect primaries or consensus? It will be through indirect primaries! But do not bet on it, for security, financial and related reasons!!

Let us pray for the improvement of the economic well-being of the people in 2022, whether or not petrol price is raised. Let us also pray that insecurity becomes a thing of the past so that we can stop sleeping with one eye closed.

On that note, dear reader, I wish you a prosperous New Year.

The DStv scam

It came as a rude shock to me as my television set suddenly went blank in the course of watching the special Christmas edition of Sunrise on Channels Television on Saturday. What could have happened? I wondered. I was sure my subscription had not lapsed, having renewed it a few days earlier. Then, a message popped up on the screen, talking about a certain error or that my subscription had lapsed. “These people are not serious”, I said to myself. I quickly sent a message to their WhatsApp line, using my surname, smartcard and phone numbers. They never responded. I tried their number, all to no avail. I then called one of their agents, where I renew my subscription regularly.

The agent, after apologising to me, took it upon herself to sort out the issue from home, despite not being at work that day. DStv is fond of things like this. They treat customers with levity. They are only after subscription. But when customers pay, they do not get value  for their money. They are yanked off even when their subscription is still subsisting. To reach them is usually difficult because customers are only attended to by answering machines, which have been programmed on what to say. What nonsense. If they are reading this, they should please, stop sending their useless survey emails to me. Who is interested in doing business with an organisation, no matter how big, which does not value its customers?