Category: Tony Marinho

By Tony Marinho

COVID-19 second wave brings deaths approaching 1,800,000 deaths,  81,000,000 infections, worldwide, Nigerian cases 84,000, and 1,250 deaths. Will Nigeria get the vaccine against Covid-2019 in 2020? Wear mask, wash hands, keep 6 feet apart!

Look around post-2020 Christmas, during which there was a murderous Boko Haram church attack church and other terrorist attacks. Pre -2021 take stock. Unfortunately, past audits yielded no changes despite Nigeria’s abundant wealth since 1960 independence. This wealth includes gifts of “‘S-OIL’ – Sun, Soil, Oil’’ and generally good citizens just desiring to work in a country where peace, opportunity abounded. Unfortunately, the other two leg of sustainable development – infrastructure and a powerful currency- have been stolen by systemic corruption, bad economic and other policies like not saving foreign exchange ‘for a rainy day’ and having poor institutional antitheft devices and poor lending schemes. So far, our ‘Examination and Report Card or Assessment’ from Independence on Oct 1st, 1960 to Dec 31st, 2020 is that Nigeria has defied all positive predictions. Instead, the result favoured predictions of social unrest, doom and gloom and even a preposterous and insulting N500: $1 and now we face accusations of becoming a failing state.

They, Fellow Nigerians, are denied that human right to Nigeria’s magnificently large mineral, manpower and other patrimony, while the greedy- politicians, contractors, civil servants and the private banking sector in particular – rape and plunder, using biros and contracts. They take all while deceptively insisting on being leaders and servants of the country’s poor children, jobless, hard workers and pensioners denied salaries. What arrogant deception?

Our independence ‘Founding Father Federalism’ negotiated in the 1960s was lost by military intervention’s authoritarian ‘Unitary Governance’ under Ironsi. It mutated malignantly under subsequent coup leaders into an ethnic dominating agenda driving Nigeria into ‘master/servant’ attitudes. Today’s governance is unrecognisable as ‘True National Federalism’ and even ‘Federal Character’ is ignored. Witness the huge clamour for change by all not benefiting. The Military never restored ‘Federalism’ in its pre-military form and post 1999 overbearing militarist political influences made sure Federalism calls were suppressed and ridiculed and it was never restored even under this current ‘Restructuring Government’.

Federal Level is supposed to be for the common good but repeatedly that outcome has been a wasted dream. Why? The political, economic and moral rapists, each come from a state which they have turned their backs on, in order to self-service themselves and their hangers-on at Federal Level. They exploit, instead of fight rights-abusing ‘Militarist Federal’ policies and refuse to evolve or dissolve the ‘Militarist Federalism’ which suited an ethnic agenda. A bloated, inefficient, corrupted, authoritarian, ethnised and politicised Federal system has failed at the level of sustainable infrastructure- power, roads, water, education, health and increasingly importantly security are in ruins. Even with the cumulative funds over years that it has selectively allocated to its zones, it has even woefully failed its own constituents. A few get rich while the citizens live in penury, now migrating cross-state in droves. All the problems need tackling at the local, state, LGA, Community and ward levels with Federal offering pre-emptive, timely and sufficient support and returning originally negotiated 1960 powers and funds to states. Much of Nigeria’s failures are collective failures. Border palaver, bad Port roads, poor movement schedules, poor Naira values, security demands all conspire to paralyses to cross-border business in Nigeria. But check ‘State Budgetary Allocations’. Since 1999 every state and LGA has had more than enough funds but locally greedy governors have denied citizens local solutions to development problems prolonging the ‘Corruption, Inefficiency, Negligence, and Selfishness’ CINS onslaught against Fellow Nigerians. Governments rejected the colonial ‘Seven Year Maintenance Cycle’ to have more to steal!! Hence our crumbling school, hospital and administrative buildings and roads.

Also recall the ‘Okada Epidemic’ is also a local LGA and State crime against Nigeria and must be tacked locally. Common okada is now the favoured lethal weapon killing more than Covid and favourite transport weapon of terrorists, neighbourhood and bank customer thieves and city transport carrying out okada attacks at 80kph on every road against Fellow Nigerians wherever they live – farm, village, town or city. Uniforms with 6-inch size lettering for ‘Area Code Identification Numbers’ and ‘Serial Numbering by Neighbourhood Okada Stand’, FRSC education to keep them in the right lane or shoulder lane, limiting their numbers at each stand, insisting they be licenced with their phone and maybe BVN.

How were Fellow Nigerian babies, youth, mothers, fathers and grandparents, denied rights to 60+ budgets- the ‘Commonwealth’ of the society distributed annually by a sometimes agenda-driven government. The Fellow Nigerian faces systemic rape of the international morals of governance, self-aggrandisement of an overwhelmingly greedy, consumptive and alienated political class, arrogant inadequate percentages of the budget to key areas of growth and survival e.g. health, education infrastructure defying UN guidelines.

Almost 2021, and Leah Sharibu symbolises a nation at a crossroads. She is defiance and suffering – a ‘Fellow Nigerian’ abandoned by her nation.

We need a vaccine against corruption. Religion is not enough!

Politicians, most forebears failed Nigeria:

From 1-1-2021 Be FLH -Faithful, Loyal & Honest and change. Murderers can stop murdering. Politicians can introduce True Federalism, higher Health and Education and Road Transport Budgets, Part-time Sitting Allowance, one House-Representatives, cancel Constituency Projects.   If not, will Nigeria survive?

‘HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021 AND WE PRAY WE ARE INVISIBLE TO THE ENEMY’.

By Tony Marinho

COVID-19 second wave brings deaths approaching 1,700,000 infections, 77,000,000 worldwide, Nigerian cases 79,000, and 1,230 deaths.

It is Christmas, for Christians the celebration of Christ’s Birth, in 2 days. New Year in 9 days. Unfortunately, Christmas is submerged in the exploding ‘tradition’ of merchandising of Christmas- feferriti, food, feasting, fashion and ever more expensive presents often leading to parental financial lack in January. We need more emphasis on the memorial of the symbolism of Christmas- the joy, hope and faith in Christ as the Saviour for those who believe. Even as we rejoice in Christ’s Birth, almost every individual of every religious belief has been through some form of hell this year in the struggle to survive alive and not be dead, injured mentally or physically or dispossessed of farms, home, work or family.

For many Nigerians this is the first Christmas in an IDP camp or without a family member killed as a civilian, soldier or policeman while defending Nigeria or particular Nigerian ‘big men’. This year’s murderous ravages of Covid, herders, other terrorism and the post-ENDSARS mayhem and murders cannot be forgotten or forgiven easily. We ask what danger faces us in our homes, neighbourhoods, roads, offices and even schools? Stories abound of friend, brother, employee, employer, husband, wife turning on each other, or being victims. This has ruined traditional trust in within families and in every domestic staff and driver. Most tragic is the loss of confidence to be nice to theirs. Few dare to stop to help on roads, when approached by strangers or answering door knocks. Will we even get through Christmas alive is a real question? We ask what terror tomorrow? Who will be ransomed, killed outright even after ransom paid, attacked in traffic, stuck for 7 hours on a 1 hour Lagos Ibadan journey – a ‘construction characterised by a lack of construction’ – a political terrorism crime against Nigeria? ‘Merry Christmas and pray we will all be INVISIBLE to the enemy. Amen’.

Wonderfully, the over 333 Kankara Katsina students, youth wickedly abducted at gunpoint have been released. Their release does not erase the horrors of that traumatic incident in their own young impressionable minds and the minds of anguished family, friends and all true Fellow Nigerians. The impact of the attack is unimaginable with individual, community, government social, national and international negative ramifications. Nigeria will sadly climb higher on the list of ‘gangster, terrorist and terrorised’ nations with even more travel alerts than currently exist. Boarding schools will perhaps become extinct at this rate putting one more nail in the coffin of education as traditionally the education you get in a good boarding school is an extension of the education you get in a day school. I was in day school initially and boarding school in St Gregory’s College Lagos. Which parents dare risk a child to such insecure environments like schools? Imagine the terror among students and teachers as the attacking hoard on motorcycles using gunfire overcome the brave police. Nigeria has not yet thanked enough the brave police who returned fire allowing many to escape. Nigeria await the true story of the wicked attack and those behind the nefarious plan and the ‘rescue package negotiations’ agreement. Perhaps our President was not with his cows on his Daura farm, but secretly ‘leading the forest front’ negotiating directly with the criminals? How dare government initially claim the number was ‘only 10’? How dare they always say ‘only’ as if even one kidnapped or dead is acceptable? Do they think this is Lekki Toll Plaza shooting?

Was there any or enough help from the unseen foreign and even Nigerian satellites covering every inch of sky over every country at one point in the day or night? Was there an emergency request for ‘concentrated satellite interrogation’ of the surrounding 200-300km areas from area military commander to GOC, COA, CDS, DHQ, MOD, to the Federal Government through the Nigerian Foreign Ministry to the Doyen of Ambassadors to Nigeria and even UN agencies to quickly produce satellite images of the area in the timeframe and subsequent tracking of the approach and escape with 330 children? A column of 330 children or a column of vehicles carrying 300 children even 30 or 50 to a vehicle would leave a heat trail easily followed and projected forward to destination or backward to origin by satellite observation.  Where is drone information? Community whistle blowers are suggesting involvement of local terrorist bands with or without connivance of the dreaded and seemingly unstoppable Boko Haram and ISISWA.

Even though the Kankara children have been released, Kankara sadly in history joins the Chibok and Dapchi, both female schools, on the growing list of mass school abductions. Another school Mahatu had its abducted children thankfully freed after a military gun battle. Congratulations to our troops. Each of the previous abductions led to deaths and many missing. The imprisoned Leah Sharibu symbolises defiance and suffering – a ‘Fellow Nigeria’ abandoned by her nation failing to rescue by negotiation or force.

Politicians, your forebears put Nigeria in this bloodthirsty mess:  Be FLH -Faithful, Loyal & Honest and change from this Christmas.

Remember pray aloud ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS AND WE PRAY WE ARE INVISIBLE TO THE ENEMY’.  Feed and clothe others, not just your family this Christmas or next year we may all go hungry or be ‘not alive’ – a medically polite way of saying ‘dead’!

By Tony Marinho

COVID-19 deaths approaching 1,460,000, infections 62,700,000 worldwide, Nigerian cases 67,600 and 1,180 deaths. Stay safe!

Why were 43 or more heroic rice Nigerian farmers murdered in Borno and eight in Kaduna? And the Olufon of Ifon, Adegoke Adeusi, last week? If this is not war, what is? Can no farming this year = famine next year? Is this a roadmap, a plot? Nigerian needs 500,000 strong armed forces and 500,000 police force urgently!

Nigeria has often had one strike or protest. Remember struggles of your parents when young like the 1971 student protests in which Kunle Adepeju was shot dead. ASUU strikes are not about ASUU but fighting ‘education decay’ and a protest against the inaction/negative policies of governments to punish educators and students or ‘put them in their place’ – below and beholden to politicians.

ASUU strikes were ‘survival struggles and dirges for the death of Nigeria’s tormented education system. Credit ASUU with the END.EDUCATION.NEGLECT protest since the late 80s with two proscriptions and about 15-16 strikes totalling about 4+ years of lost time. Beyond emoluments, many issues were involved to get government to provide a standard ‘Conducive Academic Learning Environment’ for staff and students and accept the University Transparency and Accountability Solution UTAS versus the government’s Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System- IPPIS. The IPPIS ignored university earning peculiarities. Has ASUU recommenced UTAS be changed to Universal TAS to replace IPPAS nationwide? Why demonise everything Nigerian? Government missed publicly embracing UTAS and offering it to Africa with conferment of CFR on the patriotic ASUU developers. Did the annual accountants meeting comment professionally on the UTAS struggle? The TSA, Treasury Single Account is also a huge obstacle for the progress of the university system.

ASUU has been maligned with ‘All they want is undeserved money’ advertised by governments. Cutting edge university progress is paralysed by a vicious cycle of ‘Delay, Decay, Near Death, ASUU Strike, Marginal Catch-up Agreement, Government Failure As-And-When-Due, Failed Agreement, More Delay … Restrike etc. This has paralysed growth of departments requiring practical material, freezer specimens or expensive equipment, training and research. How many 3D printers, drones, 2020 computers are in Nigerian universities? Arts subjects can also be costly to fund like expensive theatre and film, music and video productions, orchestras but generally are less costly than even running costs for a lab with disposable science chemicals and equipment and $250,000-$2.5m for a telescope, electron microscope, DNA and nanotech Chemistry analyser or a robotic surgery system.

Are art-inclined VCs, Ministers and Directors of Education and a NASS [hungry for vehicles] willing to allocate higher science education budgets suitable for a 2020 university system. Every university department needs a key item, e.g. an electron microscope, to attract research grants. Government, ASUU, NASU and students must unite to propel Nigeria in a ‘Great Education Leap Forward’.  This settlement must not be another empty promise by government with zero result further rubbishing our education failure.

Blame our politicians not our professors!   Successive governments neglected education, police, armed forces, health, road networks, and ignoring education as an investment producing human resource products. This administrative fear of education, even by educated politicians, rubbished its economic value, dragged down higher education quality and Nigeria’s international standing.

Alumni groups and private sector CSR activities ‘saved’ some universities from total decay but cannot fill the stolen/missing/lost multibillion government funding gap. In science more funds equal more equipment. Money differentiates the mundane experiment from a Mars experiment.  The result is a student and lecturer brain drain, costlier than the health brain drain and medical tourism. Medical tourists return but education brain drain is often permanent. The participants, lecturers and students, often never return. Zero foreign student fees inflows! Students travelling abroad export foreign exchange while lecturers as ‘economic refugees abroad’, send a few dollars back into Nigeria. Nigeria’s government failure has truncated the ‘Nigerian Dream’ common when I was in school and at the University of Ibadan, UI, in the 1960s-70s. The Nigerian Dream died for millions in underfunded strike-torn institutions, following the fate of poorly-funded public primary and secondary schools that fail to support their needy students.

Imagine Nigeria’s saving if government supported education as the huge confidence, national pride and revenue generator through the businesses  and taxes paid by graduates later and immediately from foreign students and lecturers, hosting international conferences, international research grants, travel, collateral profits from eating daily, using accommodation and IT facilities.

Strangely, governments, ignoring their responsibility to grow ‘education as a national asset’, recognise private schools and universities for their own children,  but fail to build up Nigeria’s education assets by providing adequate support for Nigeria’s public primary, secondary or tertiary education.

Citizens must thank ASUU for its 30 year END.EDUCATION.NEGLECT struggle! We thank government but blame it for the needless damage to students and staff and Nigeria caused by the eight month delay. This adds to stolen years from our students and ruined lecturer job satisfaction and promotions. Government should apologise to the ‘Educationally Wasted Generation’. It is a waste because many students have lost many years of education with prolonged years in university. Government must get the Nigerian university train back on high speed track. ASUU requires a University Research and Development 2030 Strategy using technology to leapfrog into the IT/nanotech/robotic/drone/biofuel/non-fossil 2030 University world. Fortunately, many conferences will be virtual and cheaper with ZOOM.

Meanwhile NASS, cut Salaries and Perks SAPping Nigeria dry by 75 % or take Sitting Allowances.

‘Aluta continua victoria non-acerta’.

Tony Marinho

COVID-19 second wave brings deaths approaching 1,400,000, infections 59,500,000 worldwide; Nigerian cases 67,000 and 1,200 deaths. Hurry, if government and ASUU have really agreed. But education and health budget must be tripled in 2021 budget.

Government must stop thinking that Nigerians swallow its attempt to blame our raging political and insecurity problems on the ENDSARS campaign. Government must blame its many years of neglect of the poor for the violence in the aftermath of that campaign and also accept blame for not clamping down on SARS through political, ministerial, police service commission and NASS oversight committees and police officials. They did not act on information or supervise correctly available facts. Revelations before the judicial panels show government agents ‘heard and saw something’ horrendous during the last 10 years. It is because they refused to do their ‘Duty To Report A Crime -in or Outside The Force and the Presidency’s refused to act on reports from Human Rights Organisations, that the protest occurred in the first place. Government cannot deny culpability by neglect and is ‘Guilty as charged’.

The assertion by the president of senate that NASS ‘Salaries and Perks’ are ‘inadequate for the job they are doing’ is noted. NASS must resign or go on strike under the ‘No Work-No Pay Rule’. As Nigeria suffers another recession, it must shed the useless burden of political Salaries and Perks SAPping Nigeria dry, including vehicles for ingrates and Constituency Projects (CPs). These contentious CPs valued by ICPC in its 2019 Constituency Projects Tracking Group Report at N1trillion between 2009 and 2018/9 have been reported by ICPC as conduits for embezzlement of funds through duplication, non-completion and questionable when labelled  ‘Capacity Building and Empowerment’ so difficult to track. The whole constituency project scam, I mean scheme, is economic suicide in a depression. The NASS must voluntarily or by executive order, follow popular demand cut out both Constituency Projects and Salaries Allowances and Perks, SAP, by at least 75%.

Nigeria bears the often-fruitless burden of the huge financial cost of an unproductive and parasitic bloated political class, with an added huge multibillion annual electoral budget, for so long. A recession is an economic war. That political class should offer itself, ‘sacrifice themselves’, as willing soldiers in the current battles of the ‘Economic War of Recovery’ and offer up past financial gains to help Nigeria fight the recession. Take a 75% cut for one year to realise you can. It will be a win-win situation.  Nigeria demands sacrificial loyalty from its political class, like Nigeria’s gallant soldiers, police and citizens killed on farms and in markets.

The call by a leading billionaire [in dollars] to lead other billionaires to rescue the health sector is sadly inadequate for a terminally sick Nigeria diagnosed with the ‘Deadly Economic Disease of Recurrent Recession’, the second time in five years. Billionaires and multimillionaires play at the banks and CBN tables.

Hundreds of Nigerian police have been killed serving Nigeria. Tens of thousands of soldiers have given their lives at home, in ECOMOG and worldwide defending Nigeria. It is time politicians gave up their salaries and perks for Nigeria. It is time for banks and big business people to give their dollars and naira to save Nigeria.

The sickest industry in Nigeria is CBN and its Foreign Reserves. Nigeria’s politicians rejected advice to save when we earned billions weekly.  A weak CBN means toilet-paper naira. The dollar billionaires of the world under the banner of the Giving Pledge and led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet has convinced many billionaires to give most of their wealth away at death or while alive. Nigerian billionaires have neglected responsibilities pre- ‘Recurrent Recession’.

So the ‘Nigerian Dollar/Naira Billionaires Club/Committee’ should organise to resuscitate the CBN’s Foreign Reserves. This is the season of loans. So known and the ‘Unknown General and Politician’ billionaires have a redemption opportunity time to lead Nigerian billionaires in organising a ‘Gift to Nigeria’ or ‘Soft Long Term Zero Interest Loan’ to a sick CBN add N10-20billion dollars. If not, their investments may go down the drain of Nigeria’s irreversible violent poverty.  This ‘Billionaire CBN Rescue Team’ could get GCON awards. Nigeria should have $100b as ‘Fixed Foreign Reserve’ now but politicians failed in their national duty. Can Nigeria’s and Africa’s billionaires rise to the task at home by improving Foreign Exchange Reserves? Strengthening the foreign reserves will immediately strengthen the currency and improve the value of naira in every citizen’s pocket. Central banks devalue currency, the unit of poverty worldwide. Politicians failed to save and build Foreign Reserves for Nigeria. Billionaires, known and unknown must step forward and save a sinking sick Nigeria before we drown in a sea of social unrest from poverty and cheap naira not worth toilet paper.

Note that it is a past and present joint governments’ failure to monitor, supervise and check security outfits caused both our recent SARS problem and our lack of foreign reserves. All governments should apologize for unleashing an unregulated SARS on us and for not saving when Nigeria had money. Government must cut the cost of governance with immediate effect.

This is a hungry and angry Nigeria -a ‘hangry’ Nigeria. Urgently implemented ‘EVERY WARD’ Youth activities will make Nigeria safer. Politicians: Be FLH -Faithful, Loyal & Honest.  The ‘WARD’ is a key to peace. ‘SAVE EVERY WARD: SAVE Nigeria!

Tony Marinho

COVID-19 second wave brings deaths approaching 1,300,000, infections 52,000,000, Nigerian confirmed cases 65,000 and 1,200 deaths.

Good governance is easy. Bad governance is difficult. Serve the needy. No country failed from good governance. No county fails. Politicians fail countries. How many citizens are ‘True Nigerians’ when political power has been stolen, squandered and wasted due to ‘No Supervision’ over 50 years?

Nigerians divert their attention from forcing politicians to be Faithful, Loyal and Honest [and Happy?]. Politicians must listen to the media. Are politicians acting quickly to save Nigeria, facing anarchy just two weeks ago? Only political sacrificial action can reverse the suffering. We must invest intellectually and financially. Freezing bank accounts and pursuing social media users is counterproductive. Face the issues raised.

Nigerians precipitated a tsunami of infobites on elections 8,000km away distracting from needs at home. The vociferous interest by Nigeria in US politics, happily won by the Biden/Harris ticket [congrats worldwide creating a female presidential ticket in 2024], has lessons. Over 160m voters, many weapon-bearing, but no shooting, death, or injury. A bloodless voting victory. Words, wicked words, were US weapons of election war.

Nigeria’s over-interest in ‘all things foreign’ is further manifested by Nigerian football fans’ costly interest in foreign football managers, players, policy, and predictions. Just as politicians abandon Nigerian citizens, Nigerian fans abandon Nigeria’s football teams at school neighbourhood, local and state level, fuelling youth anger and breeding anarchy. Nigerian fans of foreign football clubs should please act locally through local branches of foreign fan clubs or directly to spend 1-10% of funds and time on major support for local football activities, competitions, equipment, training and coaching, being physically present at under-bridge matches and buying local memorabilia including local team and footballer T-shirts, cups, stickers and scarves.

Yes, many of Nigeria’s brightest sparkle abroad in the ‘America Dream’ where there are millions of scholarships, easy loans and 24/7 power, and nuclear physics! Nigerians are abandoned by politicians. Policies mostly only enrich politicians, contractors, and civil servant classes, cancelling education gains. Nigerian school practicals [sport, laboratory, library, technical], scholarships, bursaries and education were wickedly cancelled, the money evaporating into exploding political budgets forcing many into educational ‘exile’ or a resentful life of angry poverty and ignorance.

Nigeria, an education profession leader, lost the ‘Politics over Professionalism’ war to politicians and bad policies, abandoned ‘Education: A Business Creator’ losing currency and human capital development. Education is a key world work creator, employer, innovator, revenue earner and creates pride in international competition, catalysing youth economic development. Nigeria’s perpetually myopic underfunded federal and even state education polices rubbish education, thus losing income, millions of jobs, youths future employment, all thrown into history’s dustbin.

Nigeria’s human exports, economic or political refugees and ‘illegal migrants’ risking desert and drowning endure culture change and family-loss. Black-white racism substitutes for Nigeria’s tribalism, foreign development in place of Nigeria’s broken promises. They endure foreign police brutality duplicated by Nigeria’s SARS/‘kill-and-go’.

Diaspora Nigerians unwillingly gave up sunshine, God’s gift to Africa, for winter because Nigeria stunted growth. Abroad, Nigerians promoted Nigeria’s international reputation, building on a foundation of Nigerians acquired knowledge but largely self-success due to effort with no Nigeria input. Even getting a passport remains an expensive hell. However Nigerian politicians claim laurels for successful Nigerian sportspersons or professionals as the same politicians under-educate Nigerians starving them of facilities and budgets. Businesses still demand 1-2 years rent, crazy bills and 25-30% interest loans. Here Fellow Nigerians faced, survive, or succumb struggling against political manipulation.

Our Nigerian Dream died as we pledged FLH – Faith, Loyalty and Honesty, words crumbled to graveyard dust, in spite of efforts by Fellow Nigerians and due to Corruption, Incompetence, Negligence, Selfishness, ‘CINS’ of Nigerian politics manifest by electricity-less-ness, business difficult, naira-collapsing, bloated governance. This creates an underdeveloped lopsided society lacking in all SDGs and people-oriented political effort, even a 75% emolument cut. Powerful Nigerian groups always say ‘No’ to corrections for the lopsidedness -Nigeria’s most dangerous injustice!

But life in Nigeria has layers of complicity – anti-people laws, legalised illegality, police or executive or political lawlessness. We have Federal, State, LGA so why do politicians ignore ‘The WARD’, the fundamental political unit for building a powerful nation, making citizens at home. Politicians set maximum, not minimum, standards for their living while rubbishing citizens. Politics and politicians are reminded of the ‘good things to do’ by all media.

For 26 years at Educare Trust and here, we demanded ‘WARD Development’ to ‘Take the WARD Youth Out of Poverty’ as a good governance and youth anti-violence strategy. Politicians and budgets ignore the fundamental unit of politics ‘The WARD’ until during elections when cows, rice and okadas are distributed as stomach infrastructure. It is ‘THE WARD’ where the citizenry youth are living or ‘dying’. ‘WARDS’ must have Youth Empowerment Inspirational Centres in rented or donated space equipped with less than N1m supported by donations and youth budgets. Every state government must elevate ‘THE WARD’ to a government/community project -a socio-economic hub. Nigeria’s politics is primarily ‘greed’ not ‘need’ driven with false federalism, false accounting, census, legal systems, promises, murdering false hope in the Nigerian Dream’. Diaspora’s generous billions cannot compensate for Nigeria’s corruption.

This is a hungry and angry Nigeria -a ‘hangry’ Nigeria. Urgently implemented ‘EVERY WARD’ Youth activities will make Nigeria safer. Politicians: Be FLH -Faithful, Loyal & Honest.  The ‘WARD’ is key to peace. ‘SAVE EVERY WARD: SAVE Nigeria!

COVID-19 second wave brings deaths approaching 1,210,000, infections 47,500,000, Nigerian confirmed cases 63,500 and 1,200 deaths.

Many feel cheated or traumatised by a largely greedy arrogant political class, a distant TV government and its unsupervised security agents. The aggrieved Nigerians took violent action. Will there be any Covid effect?

Nigeria still underfunds health and education in the 2020 Budget and National Assembly, NASS refuses to cut its budget by 75%.

The responsibility for abandoning responsibility towards the citizens lies exclusively with politicians, police, civil servants and contractors. No supervision! The effects of the good have been negated by the bad. No supervision! The failure of the good is remembered at every checkpoint in your memory. No supervision! Not to give a bribe may cost your life. Good cops are present. When my uncle was going to be shot by a smoke grenade gun, a good cop saved us from the drunken policeman demanding an original receipt for a toy.  The children were in the car. Why was he on duty, drunk, with a gun? He would have killed for a toy 33 years ago on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. No supervision! Can police high command explain to Nigeria’s traumatised public why we must pay a criminal checkpoint toll? Will better supervision and salary solve this?

Most traffic abuse by uniformed officers is witnessed by Nigeria’s school children and youth who will remain traumatised adults with the scars burned into bodies and brains. Uniform corruption must stop, today. The station, headquarters and Abuja ogas must renounce ‘returns from the field, application forms, bail etc.’. Nigerians want to respect the uniform. It disrespected itself first. It must respect itself first again and restore the dignity I saw as a child going to school when Inspector Finecountry commanding the 1960s Apapa Road traffic. There are many ‘Finecountry’ personnel today. Did they speak for victims to their criminal colleagues? Are the good the minority?  At the Custom’s/ Secretariat Road Junction in Ibadan there has been a hardworking ‘traffic officer’ for years. Any commendation? The Awolowo Junction has two policewomen requiring supervision. Do police do surveillance of police?  Any reprimand?

Fear and respect of a uniform are different.  Every Nigerian, including children has been a traumatised witness or victim of a Nigerian uniform and will draw an unflattering picture of a policeman-in-action. And do not forget the civil servant who delays everything. True Nigerians step forward!!

Let the 200,000 good ‘Finecountry’ police proudly take back control of the police training, work ethic and supervision. Then all Nigerians will look up to the police and we will never experience the targeting of police and stations again. We want ‘Finecountry. Uniforms’ supervising uniforms.

The tribunals probing the excesses of SARS must be credited to the victims, the years of struggle by the END.SARS Campaign and Amnesty International and the Nigerian Human Rights Commission and the legal profession. It remains a crime for the police to have shielded an organisation described by the victims. It should result in many prosecutions and resignations for dereliction of duty, a lack of reporting, no supervision and sheltering a criminal. Some retired people must answer why they did nothing. Action not taken in 2010, 2015 has led to blood on their hands indirectly by not controlling and curtailing the criminality of the members. There were many good people in SARS, now soiled by collective irresponsibility. Maybe they spoke, saving a few victims. But blood on one is blood stains on all hands -unless reported. Police say ‘Ignorance is no excuse before the law’. Several police ministers and IGPS must explain why they unleashed an unsupervised SARS on citizens. South Africa institutionalised ‘white on black’ violence. All Nigerians are black, so why are the crimes so similar to apartheid’s racial scourge? No supervision.

Nigeria needs one type of Nigerian- ‘Nigeria loving’ Nigerians- be they politicians, police, professionals and people on the street – committed to repairing ‘Project Nigeria’.

Apart from a lack of responsibility, how else dare we so be underachieving as to ‘loudly boast’ of 5,460Mw of power when South Africa provided 54,000Mw for its smaller population? No political will???

How else can we witness a fantastic American Seal Rescue of a US citizen on our soil while thousands of fellow Nigerians similarly kidnapped face extortion and death. Many Nigerians have been rescued by gallant actions of forces, but many have died. Do we exploit military diplomacy, through the military attaché? Many countries have satellites crisscrossing Nigeria. Is Nigerian using 2020 military methodology. We sadly lost out at Chibok and Dapchi. Leah Shaibu is still kidnapped. Others are dead. All survivors are traumatised. Surely Nigerian super troops are doing similar rescues. Yes, we have helicopters and use triangulated cellphone signals to arrest CA-Covid palliative looters. I knew Lt Col Dr Onifade, kidnapped on the deadly Abuja-Kaduna road. Even after N10m was paid, he was killed. May he Rest in Perfect Peace and may God and the Nigerian Army comfort his family. He is not alone. Why is the heat track of 50 murderous motorcycles not traced after killing 30 people?

Nigeria’s secrets can be spied on in bar and bukka. Ask Sean Connery about the bar in spy work. He is the 90-year old very great and first James Bond who died last week at 90. May he RIPP.

Let every Fellow Nigerian, including uniforms: Be True -FLH -Faithful, Loyal & Honest.

Tony Marinho

Life is something given by God and it should not be taken by anyone except Him. We must not let the gains of the #ENDSARS protest though incomplete, to be wiped away by stubbornness or being submerged in the massive upheaval, now at a dangerous level. Ministers and other government appointees have been sent back to their states to spread the word of peace. At local level we must also ‘spread the peace’ at every level we find ourselves as tempers are inflamed and restraint is seen as weakness.

The two SARS – the police SARS and the political SARS -Senators And Reps Salaries are key components of the problem. Nothing has been heard positively from the senators and representatives on cutting their salaries by 75%, cancelling one House in the NASS, changing to Sitting Allowance only paid by the home state.

The deliberately planned and executed razing of the media businesses The Nation and TVC among other structures in and outside Lagos are despicable targeted attacks, many just destroying services to citizens, like burning buses. Fortunately, both media are ‘back on line’ with no loss of lives but maximum damage to property of management, employees and morale. But the buses belong to the people, so the burning was strange and sinister, not just anger.

After a good beginning, the ENDSARS protests were already nationwide when the now controversial ’20-10-2020 massacre at Lekki’ added a violent explosive and murderous side to the over three-year efforts to ENDSARS. What was an admired effort at protest was added to by those with various axes to grind with the police or the legal courts, or the Oba or the owner of particular outfits including personal, political, social, boredom and so-I -can- do-this-and-get- away-with -it. Now we all run the risk of becoming victims, accidental as collateral damage or targeted victims as shop owners or under other criteria know only to the attackers, sometimes maybe paid.

It is the hope of the citizenry that the armed groups ‘spontaneously’ and ‘teleguided’ currently attacking homes, shops and warehouses in several states in the country heed the call for a return to normalcy before the economic and social cycles are irreversibly broken and the nation descends further and the country tips over the edge of reason.

Urgently, we require greater security presence nationwide. We must each become our brother’s keeper. Appeals have to be made to everyone involved, at all strata in society to desist from contributing further to the situation by angry tweet, photo, word or deed. More than half of the inflammatory social media messages are wrongly dated and mis-interpreted or completely fake.  Daily, we are given new frightening revelations against the SARS. We wonder why it and other uniformed bodies were allowed to sink so far below the delivery of human rights while retaining their authority to act against the innocent, people they disliked and random pickups?

The failure over many years to supervise, restrain, contain, correct, condemn and punish the SARS officers who abused their powers, has resulted in many deaths and much criminality. It is a monumental indictment on every IGP, subordinates in the senior police cadre and the irresponsibility of all ministers for police affairs in the last 20 years.

It is a credit to many organisations which have spent many years trying to bring these terrible activities to the fore. No wonder there is such anguish and hatred in many within the community who unfortunately are targeting individual police, often innocent and also stations. The absence of the fear of ‘Supervision, Supervision, Supervision’ with power and penalties is the key reason why so many organisations sink to the corruption and impunity of human rights abuses, policy and financial corruption.

We live in a daily paid income zone for 80% of the population. The escalating violence and vandalism are hindering the recovery of that economy. It is vicious cycle. Every person doing wrong to others in Nigeria, when caught and found guilty, is punished and expected to immediately stop whatever wrong was being done -with immediate effect. Stealing should not be seen as a drug in a drug addict requiring a period of time to stop. A thief has a personal ‘theft’ habit and when caught stealing a bag of rice or TV is not asked to reduce stealing slowly by stealing a half-bag and a radio next week and a cup or rice and radio battery the final week. A murderer is not asked to reduce the rate of murdering to one or two a year but to stop it immediately.

Corruption is also a personal bad habit and can be stopped immediately. The non-corrupt renew and advertise their vow of ‘no corruption’ in every act they do. It is a second to second choice. At any time, the non-corrupt can join the corrupt ban so why is it so unexpected when the corrupt also join the non-corrupt ranks?

I repeat that every day, every minute each and every one of us is given the exclusive and individual opportunity to repent particularly for stealing and to make restitution and restore normal honest activities.

Every single Nigerian including a police person and politician can today decide going to work today, to no longer participate in any work-related corruption or other corrupt activity.

We must step back from the precipice consuming Nigeria. Peace and safety are daily minute to minute decisions. END.VIOLENCE.