The Nation Newspaper

Category: Tony Marinho

  • Our Girls; Saturday Burials; Restructuring

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work.

    Today: Move Friday funerals to Saturdays pls; Restructuring the Lagos-Ibadan road budget; Restructuring for true federalism.

    Burials on Fridays in cities should be changed to Saturdays by Christians. The national financial loss is huge from ‘Loss of Work Hours’. While local mourners can attend a ‘Thursday Wake Keeping’, many others take two days off with all Thursday required to travel to ‘Make the Wake’. Friday is a ‘Full Funeral Day’ in four or five parts- Lying In State, Funeral Service, Interment, ‘After Party’ aka ‘Celebration of Life’ aka ‘What A waste of Money honey’ aka ‘Siddon Look Dazed, Deaf, Hoarse and Speechless by Monster Music X 6 Hours’ and finally the Sunday outing for the clergy-led ‘Family Squeeze’ for the ‘growth’ of church organ or orphanage!  Sunday, you count the profitable losses, planning the next weekend event, not your work week!

    ‘Move burials to Saturday, keeping a 5-day work week and attend the wake on Friday evening, or take a half day on Friday- normal for many workers. Keep funerals for Saturday as in the towns. The Bishops Conferences should direct this change: ‘Saturday for funerals and weddings’.

    Restructuring ONE- Road Restructuring: Once again differing political agendas and questionable ethical morality decisions by the majority of NASS politicians, with apparent Machiavellian maliciousness, conspire to further deny the rights of Nigeria’s millions who daily are deprived of fast modern pothole-free road/rail transport-a right in 130 countries. In this case, on the Lagos-Ibadan axis but also on East-West, Ore-Benin, Ibadan-Ife roads and the shameless political prostitution around the ‘Most Aborted abiku Second Niger Bridge’ to choose from sick roads nationwide shown on Channels daily! Nothing new, no lessons learnt but predictable destruction of simple dreams of a UN-approved Basic Right To ‘Normal’ Life. Are we not human, like those in the Diaspora after all!! The citizens’ lives are inconsequential politically, merely a bargaining chip in ’The great games politicians play without a care while the citizens Pay, Cry and Die In Despair’. To road and bridge users, construction is quality of joy vs sadness, pain vs pleasure, life vs death, economic survival vs ruin if one is stuck for hours on a ‘one hour road’ because NASS chooses to cannibalise road budget funds to, in my opinion, ‘misapply’ them to finance morally indefensible Constituency Projects which NASS members should instead face ‘Home Constituency’ LGA chairmen to carve out of the N1,000,000,000/annum/ LGAs.

    Curiously, no governor has spoken against the ‘Nasty ‘NASS Action’ and yet all ‘states and the FCT’ have human and cargo traffic suffering on that axis! Shame on the Governors’ Forum for not defending citizens’ right to ‘priority execution of that road project which is a joint political PDP/APC flagship project to correct the abandonment of the road by successive governments since 1989. May those NASS members have ‘Priority Exit’ in the next election to join our go-slow without sirens and police escort, Amen. Affected citizens get ready to vote in 2019!!!

    Both the federal government and NASS got that contract wrong. Financial challenges demand a ‘Contact Restructuring’  to ‘Immediately Complete The Asphalt Surface’ stopping the expensive 240km of cement double central median for when there is money, if ever – Phase 2!

    Restructuring TWO- Country: So after a failed ‘Restructuring Vote’, the ‘Restructuring Agenda’ can be revisited only because of ‘People Pressure’, not because of ‘Political Conscience’ or it is ‘Right and Proper’ to correct gigantic government wrongdoing, an ‘amoral legalised illegality’ and perverting the course of a Just Society. Fighting for change, even in your employee NASS members’ attitude, can work even without money under the tall cap, envelopes and Ghana Must Go bags. Who has been surveyed or telephoned for an opinion by any politician? You mean not one of the 400+ NASS members needs your input? Splitting the exclusive list into nine is long overdue and is a success of the citizens’ Tsunami of protest! Those who have constantly benefitted in power and financially ‘at our expense’, since 1966 by refusing to relinquish ‘Unitary’ government must see their failure, the near zero development, even in their own home region. Feudal federalism must die! Lagos State is ‘feeding the nation through VAT’. Logic demands that freedom, an ‘Alternative Political Theory’, ‘Decentralisation of Funding and Political Power’ and ‘True Federalism’ should benefit Nigerians better than the failed sectional ‘Unitary’ and ‘False Federalism’. Apart for politicians’ bloated ‘Salaries and Perks’ ‘SAPiing’ gains of a Unitary Government, the citizens suffer and only Abuja stands, almost a Gomorrah or Pompeii, where money has been  ‘mis-spent’ on decadent infrastructure and perks for politicians.

    How much free fuel and phone cards/ day for politicians while the country goes road-less and bridgeless? Restructuring is a major ‘anticorruption’ part of ‘The Change Agenda’. It is therefore a deconstructive betrayal seeing APC NASS members dumping the party manifesto while the APC leaders charged with interrogating the ‘Restructuring Agenda and Process’ are questioning the morals and motives of those, like myself, seeking ‘Restructuring’ labelling us ‘Opportunists’ and ‘Job Seekers’. Rather ‘My’ opportunities are truncated by false federalism. Which job I apply for?  If restructuring requires a ‘Constituency Conference and a Referendum’, then ‘So Be It’. Will NASS members recant or will they have to be pushed out????

    NB: Nigerians- Expose a new generation of ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.

  • Our Girls: Cheating; anti-women NASS

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work.

    Cheating continued: Nigeria’s education has lacked the minimum, annual UN 26% of budget for 30 years at federal, state and LGA levels and cannot train the 50 million youth in and out of schools in Nigeria just as underfunding health allows governments to turn to health insurance prone to scams for citizens to pay for themselves while corruption escapes with the health money. As a direct result of corruption and underfunding, Nigeria still has facilities, classrooms, hospital corridors and wards which are disgracefully filthy, dirty from stealing ‘paint funds’ meant for the routine ‘Maintenance Four-Seven Yearly Painting Cycle’ so wisely instituted by the ‘oppressive’ colonialists. Who needs colonialists when we oppress ourselves even more? Failure resulted in filthy failing facilities. Yet we demand ‘Best Results’ – brainy brilliance, miracle births and miracle recoveries. But instead they deliver dead babies and mothers on ‘Delivery Day’ – the ‘Most Dangerous Day in the Life of a Woman and Child’, infected wounds, cheating in exams and ‘Not Fit For Purpose’ students.

    The education system is as poorly planned and supported as the health system. But every teacher and doctor knows the solution. Not nuclear physics-just love for children or patient and Fear of God! To cover up, both education and health officials ignore Quality and Monitoring and Evaluation, M&E, including cleanliness, environmental standards, sanitation and potholed surroundings which create ‘failure’ and negative M&E Reports which they discard. This makes Nigerian hospitals health hazards to patients, and schools a threat to students’ education. Question: Is there a public hospital without maximum potholes or a school with water and clean toilets? No!!!

    Do Nigerians think? Successful cheats deprive non-cheaters of further education and their rightful place in society thus lowering their ‘Total Life and Family Income’ which will be stolen by morally bereft vagabonds. Would those cheats agree to be operated on by a doctor who cheated in his medical examinations? How much cheating is a knee-jerk survival response to poor schooling, services and service providers? Well before ‘We Who Did Not Cheat’ condemn the moral failings of our ‘Cheated Deprived Youth’ and join the NASS in ‘casting the first stone’ in the execution of the ‘brilliantly’ NASS recommended 21 years jail term, let us first ask each politician if they claim the ‘I Do Not Cheat’ slogan at their own election examination. Asked another way what percentage of Nigerian politicians cheat at election examinations? 90-100%??? Who are they to judge others? Remember the horrible dishonourable Rep, Hembe or something, who castigated the Securities and Exchange (SEC) lady with vile venom? He was dismissed for election cheating but why no prosecution? No apology from NASS for allowing a ‘Fake Cheating Masquerading’ person personify a NASS member! Why no new NASS law calling for him and any others to be jailed for defrauding Nigeria, disrespecting NASS and  defamation of character of NASS in public as it has accused Tri-minister Fashola of doing? Double standards!! Nigerian politicians serially through poor inadequate budgeting, diversion, and corruption ‘Cheat Fellow Nigerian Students’ throughout their learning lives.

    The barbaric Boko Haram attack killing over 50 including oil explorers, support staff and university lecturers and soldiers and another 15 in a bomb explosion is despicable.

    Tri-minister Fashola has responded to the powers of NASS. Fashola should now please take the advice of Emmanuel Aigbe and contact GE to discuss General Electric mega-trucks to furnish Nigeria with gas-powered truck-based generating plants. Failure in power will seal the election failure for APC in 2019.

    Apapa Port Road should not suffer Lagos-Ibadan ‘miscalled expressway’s’ long agony of four years to fix. It is ‘‘A Matter of Urgent National ‘multibillion dollar’ Importance’’. A normal country would fix its bleeding main aorta, or die, by urgent extraordinary quick major surgery in six months with multiple contractors each doing 2-5 kilometres.

    Hurray, the 2018 budget will be submitted for NASS savaging in October. Lessons are being learnt. Has NASS also learnt? NASS members should be advised to go back to their LGAs and work with the LGA authorities to carry out projects as each LGA earns about 1billion + annually-shamefully unaccountable.

    The NASS rightly lowered the youth age for seeking high political office to international normal. But what heinous crimes need NASS immunity? Which NASS members are too tainted for public service? The NASS hierarchy inclusion in the Council of State will be a 10-30 top executive financial burden on Nigeria. We are broke. Politicians excesses put us here.

    Shamefully, the aspirations of women for high political office and the 35% minimum female representation approved by the Beijing Conference 20+ years ago have been dashed by a slim NASS majority – a sad powerful slap to all women. But women are the majority and therefore also in any election they take interest in. Can we interest 18+ year old women in the 2019 election? Women have the right to know and publicise the names of ‘2017 Anti-Women NASS Members’ so that they can ‘return the complement, favour or insult’ at the 2019 election. Women must consider voting against the offending NASS members in 2019.

    Lai Mohammed’s purported ban on Nigerians’ making their videos and films abroad is counter-productive.  Art is free-spirited needing cross-fertilization and cross-cash. Foreign and local production can grow together.

    NB: Nigerians, publicise ‘Generation Next’ – younger untainted ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES – for 2019.

  • Our Girls:  Exam Vs Election Cheating

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work.

    Also today: Professors Osotimehin and Williams Corrigendum: Article July 19 ‘Much new construction’ mysteriously became ‘Much new constructions’. Apologies.

    Babatunde Osotimehin is dead at 68. He was Professor of Chemical Pathology and Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Director General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Minister of Health and an Under Secretary UN as Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) promoting girl education, youth and gender equality and protection. He was mentored by late Professor Kwaku Adadevoh, chemical pathologist and Vice Chancellor University of Lagos. He was a personal friend for 45 years, member of The Group- an Ibadan-based band of professional families involved socially, and of Educare Trust- an Education and Health NGO in Nigeria.

    We interacted when I was trying ways to get the UN leadership to champion advertising mainstreaming of marginalized ‘Social Life Skill Empowerment Messages’ like ‘Girls Get Educated’ and ‘Real Men Do Not Beat Their Wives‘ in the ‘commercial advertising mechanism’ by printing these UN messages on every advert pack and billboard as an add-on like for ‘cigarette packs warnings’ and especially female product packaging, towards widening the visible space to empower and defend female rights. This remains unfinished business. Bob, Rest In Perfect Peace.

    We lost Professor of Pathology Femi Williams, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. In medical school in 1970s, he was a fantastic teacher earning him the cerebral sobriquet ‘Willy Sarcoma’. Thank you sir! Several years ago he called  on me in regard to his Africa Cancer Centre Project in Lekki. After years of efforts to get budgeted funds, Nigeria once again disappointed another brilliant professional star by corruption and visionlessness just as it disappointed late Professor Enitan Bababunmi. Professor Williams was a Trinity College Dublin, Ireland star, like my father back in 1948 – late Dr Abayomi Marinho who was at Psychiatric Hospital Yaba, Lagos. He also championed solar energy use. Prof Wole Soyinka informed Nigeria that the project was hindered by corruption and politics. Government never delivered.

    A nation is doomed developmentally if it continues a tradition of disregarding the counsel of its non-political senior professionals. In Nigeria, politics is ‘‘The Most Expensive But The Least ‘Valuable Or Viable’ Profession’’ and a society which sacrifices its ‘true professionals’ in favour of a political class of questionable quality and loyalty will fail developmentally. By ignoring its professional giants, Nigerian politicians continue to sign Nigeria’s ‘Development Death Warrant’. How many true professionals die underutilized by Nigeria OR THE MEDIA only for magnificent graveside eulogies? The media broadcast every petty performance of politicians but treats professional achievements as advertising ‘To Be Paid For’. Shame! Professor Femi Williams of the immaculate bowtie and incisive insight, will Rest In Perfect Peace but will those who deliberately hindered the establishment of the Africa Cancer Centre? We are so rich in money and manpower but so poor in political performance, and we are paying the price!

    Emmanuel Akinwotu and Sam Olukoya report in The Guardian [UK] July 18, Oxfam has found that ‘nowhere else is the Wealth Gap bigger’ than in Africa’s wealthiest country, Nigeria. The writers highlight that Development Financing International  and Oxfam rank Nigeria last of 152 countries in their ‘Commitment To Reducing Inequality’ and Nigeria is 118 /144 in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap with girls poorer than boys while Nigeria has 112million below the poverty line, earning 8000 times less than Dangote per day.

    With this bleak background, should we express anger or fake surprise that approximately 250,000 of 1.6million of ‘Nigeria’s Finest & Brightest Youth’ were detected/suspected/confirmed as having cheated in the last examinations? How many are guilty and how many escaped the net? Is that merely the exam body labelling brilliant students as cheats, which has been done before for ‘too good to be true’ results which were then maliciously withheld and candidates suffered humiliating undeserved F9 as a result of unsubstantiated accusations by the exam body – judge and jury? There were no interview and investigation to even casually retest ‘accused’ brilliant candidates.

    What is the ‘self-inflicted cost’ of abandoning millions of Nigeria’s youth in often ‘sub-teachered’ pigsties mis-labelled ‘schools’ in 2017 while the counterpart funding in N50+billions languishes unutilized in the UBE bank? The cost is an assault on education, a ‘Nonviolent Form Of Boko Haram’ with equally vicious results of an ‘Political Earthquake Against Education’. Cheating is the first sin and is a symptom of decay worldwide. Anyone can cheat in any school and from any background. It is a personal, peer, group or societal pressure decision. Biometrics may reduce cheating but integrity among all actors is a key prevention strategy.

    Dangerously, Nigeria’s warped ‘Schools Starve In The Midst Of Plenty’ and encourage cheating involving parents, mercenary candidates, teacher collaboration et cetera, like a malignant ‘sarcoma’ cancer or untreatable infection. We all recall that JAMB required the desperate countermove of post JAMB exams to sanitise admissions when JAMB fell into ‘cheating’ disrepute costing Nigeria 20 years of misfits and a rise in cultism while depriving real candidates of tertiary education. This year’s results called ‘Youth Corruption’ must be ‘stamped out’ and punished but so should cheating be stopped in politics, elections, budgets and governance. No cheating in the 2nd Paris Club refunds!! What is good for the youth goose is good for the adult gander! Political cheating destroys democracy!  ToBeContinued…

    NB: Nigerians put forward untainted ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.

  • Our Girls; Health Insurance Scams

    Our Girls are missing since April 15, 2014. Pray.

    Today – Floods; NASS; Yam; Stop Health Insurance Scheme Scams for Slush Fund 2019 Election Fraud.

    The nationwide floods were pre-announced. Did officials act, control or contribute to the floods? Did sand-dredging and sand-filling the lagoons and lakes and building on waterways contribute? Does our meteorological office give us daily rainfall figures –something we learnt in school geography class? Was flooding inevitable, because of, or in spite of, our poor sanitation costing lives and billions? Many new constructions, some massive and high tech is at a higher level above sea level than historic old properties. This has inevitably locked rainwater in areas just above sea level, stagnating or reversing flows in age-long canals and guaranteeing flooding in old and new lower-lying areas -a vicious circle. As for Lagos and its sand-filling frenzy, may the new Eko Atlantic and other sand-filled outgrowths examine their plans and consciences if they blocked any channels instead of running them under their property to the ocean? Son should not kill father. The new must not drown the old. Patricide is not progress –just murder!

    Drain cleaning is only good if the contents are removed. Nigerian drain contractors rarely remove rubbish which therefore falls back into the drain- ‘negative progress’. Is there a separate contract for removing rubbish? Even street, market and shop sweepers all dump rubbish into gutters. God may allow rain but man must not worsen flood!

    National Assembly (NASS) appears filled with independent candidates whose allegiance is to themselves as individuals first and then to themselves as an unregistered political party NASS, collectively as NASS members and with no allegiance to the party platform they ran on or defected to. Independent Candidates, ICs, come with radical ideas unencumbered by party loyalties, secret oaths and other baggage. However most independent candidates abroad have high moral ground’ or great ‘wealth’ that recommends them for election. For our NASS ICs, ideology, knowledge or affinity for party manifestos seems of little consequence. Nigerians need to look beyond the mainstream parties to interrogate the rest. ‘Seasoned politicians’ become ‘over-seasoned’ and ‘out-of-season’. For 2019, pluck fresh fruit from the forest of politics!

    Exporting raw yam is not a ‘development’. Starch and other products should be extracted, the product concentrated, reducing volume and increasing export profile of Nigeria. No ‘Export of Oil and Import Petroleum Products’ disgrace o!

    Why have we forgotten that Nigeria always had a ‘free’ Health Service Scheme in its regional days?  UCH started in Adeoyo Hospital. Remember that the National Health Service in the UK is budget funded. In Nigeria the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and indeed any state health service scheme are misused to reduce the government responsibility to make health care available through the budget. This has freed up 1] budget billions to steal from and, 2] takes billions from citizens pockets to replace the budget withdrawal or the money is stolen, again from citizens! Imagine the money for administrative staff -money that should be used for paying health workers, equipment and drugs. Government is dodging the bullet by passing the responsibility for health to citizens by contributions.

    Nigerians survived a lifetime of being cheated by governments diverting or not allocating health funds. If all the $350billion+ stolen from our budgets had never been stolen, Nigeria would have a functioning top medical network even employing all Nigerians who were unfortunately driven abroad by the ‘First Professional Exodus’ to avoid financial ruin and ‘Professional Ignominy’ under Babangida when the First Gulf Oil Windfall $12.5billion was reported missing by the Financial Times of London. Know that the ‘Second Professional Exodus’ was ‘Fear Factor’ motivated under Abacha’s murderous rule. Yet, now we pay for health, abi? That ‘Generation of Professionals Abroad’ helped save Nigeria through remittances in billions and guaranteed Nigeria’s ‘Professional Image’ contrasting with the denigration and neglect of professionals and infrastructure at home. Today even our school children buy water or die of typhoid or kidney stones.

    And who will prevent fraud in the health insurance schemes/scams nationwide? Already NHIS boss and HMOs and University of Ibadan are under ‘Query’ fraud. Soon we will allocate some air per day and have to buy excess air by the sachet or bottle, for ‘excesses’ like jogging, dancing and ‘sexercise’, abi? Nigeria done spoil O!

    And get ready for more atrocities of politicians. From past experience, 100 million election posters and 100,000 multimillion naira mega-billboards and overt and covert election bribes with rice, gari and bread ‘stomach infrastructure’ corruption will cost N50-80+billion by 2019. Money stolen or to be stolen from the budget ‘past, present and future’. Budgets also include pension and health funds! The former NHIS boss is accused of diverting or being forced to divert NHIS funds under the last government. How many health schemes will that ‘electioneering money’ fund? All that spent electioneering money must be stolen or has already been stolen from the budget? How many health posters or health billboards will be in schools, communities and markets? Probably none and certainly too few!! The equation does not balance! What stops a government official taking the NHIS funds or the state health scheme funds for fraudulent 2019 political and personal exigencies? A pre-emptive strike and monitoring by EFCC? It happened to pension and NHIS funds before. Health Insurance Scheme money must not become ‘2019 Election Slush Fund Fraud Scam’ OOO!

     

    NB: Nigerians- find new untainted ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.

  • Our Girls; Restructure; Amnesty Bill?

    Our Girls are missing since April 15, 2014. Pray.

    Corrigendum:  July 5th: ‘’ The country will NOT stand still if NEC appoints ministers or a committee to face ‘Restructuring’ and ‘False Federalism’.’’

    There is widespread agitation for Restructuring and ‘True Federalism’ to replace the ‘False Federalism’ or ‘Fake Federalism’ that has been a negative developmental ‘Military Millstone’ around Nigeria’s neck. Why is ‘Restructuring’ a dirty word for a so-called ‘progressives’? I reject being labelled an ‘opportunist’ for wanting ‘Restructuring Now!’ Nigeria should be 100 times more developed if we had thrown Unitary government out in 1979 or latest 1999. But the false federalism beneficiaries, choking on the national ‘cake’, still reject true federalism. We all know the ‘Strong Centre: Weak Periphery’ and the evil anti-development ‘Federal Exclusive List’ approach has failed development but empowered evil. States are reduced to ‘celebrating’ petty fly-overs and exercise books as ‘Dividends of a rubbished democracy’. Is our right to true federalism just a deceitful election wayo? There has never been a greater need, opportunity, desire and responsibility on government to lead away from ‘Fake Federalism’ to ‘True Federalism’.

    Yes, the 2015 conference had its hidden agendas, problems and politics. However agreed points can be presented to Nigeria, but not by a tainted, self-serving National Assembly (NASS), for further discussion and decision. NASS cannot arbitrate in its own matter. The people never voted for the current 1999 constitution. The Presidency should go over NASS’s head to the people in a referendum. NASS has too many beneficiaries of False Federalism –FFF- ‘Fellows of False Federalism’. NASS, the structure, is a ‘product’ of ‘False or Fake Federalism’ and the main reason why Nigerians are screaming for restructuring. NASS can never free the country from the unbearable ‘NASS Yoke’. A referendum to correct the deliberate military distortions in the 1999 constitution is welcome. Anti-true federalism politicians have gravely misread the people’s anger and will pay at the next election when the country may vote for a smaller honest untested political party.

    With our citizens’ ‘vocal but no action’ nature, the politicians will manipulate us as puppets to be brought out and fed on election day with stomach infrastructure and then put away again – Nigeria’s story for 50 years with occasional fits of ‘Liberation Electionography’. One day money will be rejected by the people’s will and die in all parties. Then policies will surpass propaganda and ‘Naira-ganda’. The recent debacle of the APC primaries should caution party hierarchy that citizens want their say on who will represent them in a ‘democracy’ and on true federalism.

    Fellow Nigerians have been uniformly disgraced by almost everyone empowered to work politically and in governance who mostly escape with our budgets. Fellow Nigerians have a right to know when a person ‘chooses to become a common thief’ and is caught by the ICPC or EFCC, led by Magu who is vilified by NASSty NASS. Fellow Nigerians have a right to know when such convicted persons pay back our money, by force, never voluntarily. Secret plea bargains will breed more corrupt practices. Adhere to ‘Plea Bargain Protocol’ 1] in a public space and even use 2] negotiators include forensic witnesses and under oath in open ‘court’ or hall and with professional tax personnel, bankers, accountants and estate agents and Interpol present. It is always public money stolen that is being returned fully and not just half or quarter. ‘Plea Bargain Protocol’ must also 3] aim get full restitution 4] with interest and the thief 5] must be left as destitute as possible with maximum deliverance of all the stolen funds and 6] the return of profits from ill-gotten gains and 7] punishment. After all, the thief was merciless in attempting to ‘Make Fellow Nigerians Destitute’. Plea Bargain Protocol is to the advantage of Fellow Nigerians and not a ‘Thief Bargain Protocol’! Hurray, the courts have ordered the release of the ‘List of Convicted Looters’ and their ‘Loot Returns’. A country which allows such criminals to escape public disgrace is encouraging corruption. Why do public office holders become insanely greedy and thieves in money matters? Now there are huge scandals in NHIS and University of Ibadan. Is nowhere corruption-free?

    Many countries like France are surgically cutting National Assembles to redirect funds to development. Nigeria is paying for NASS’s selfishness with its tiny petty constituency projects spreading the budget too thin, thus decimating impact. In its wasteful and pointless supremacy struggle with the Presidency, NASS fails to see and embrace the needed big national picture condemning Nigeria to more mundane okada deaths from ‘Corrupt Constituency Petty Projectism’ by severely reducing modernising development projects like the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    Nigeria also needs surgery. Horrifyingly NASS has embarked on another ‘self-protection’ legal-illegality as it introduces a bill which I paraphrase as the ‘Corrupt Persons Protection/Amnesty Bill’. Perhaps the NASS will soon give us the ‘Compulsory Congratulations for Corrupt Persons Bill’. NASS is uncharacteristically ‘deafeningly silent’ on disgraced members at the Supreme Court- ‘Silence’ on fraud and a criminal diversion of the democratic will, denying Nigerian the right to elect true NASS representation. The members misdirected NASS during their illegal occupation of NASS. Who made such UnGodly people, god over us? How many other NASS members are equally guilty? Nigerians must shout about failing arms of government. Silence does not mean consent- it allows corruption!

    NB: Nigerians-Vote a new generation of untainted ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.

  • Our Girls: ‘Restructure now?’ Yes Please

    Our Girls are missing since April 15, 2014. Pray.

    Nigeria is at a dangerous multi-directional crossroads. Politicians arrogantly browbeating and insulting ‘Reconstructionistas’ or ‘True Federalistas’ is not the answer. The pressures of dwindling oil revenue and corruption-driven high exchange rates and poverty and unemployment, callous state governments’ misusing ‘Paris Fund Windfall’, pension backlogs, and political infighting are creating the economic and social conditions for a ‘Perfect Storm’. There is a real likelihood of a people’s upheaval from any seemingly trivial incident causing a ‘Massive Tsunami’ sweeping away the current politicians to a political ignominy and a vacuum where their voices will never be sought for advice or direction. Community against community, neighbour against neighbour. Too many are at breaking point from life-long developmental, infrastructural, oil-block misallocation, economic and political injustice inflicted on them. Politicians should not stand against the tide of public opinion that is endeavouring to improve lives by extracting more from the federal purse and using it for faster regional and state development –if it is not stolen ‘as usual’ when it gets to the state and LGA.

    The argument does not hold water that some do not know what they want or do not know what ‘Restructuring’ and ‘True Federalism’ mean as there is no consensus. They know they do not want another day of ‘False or Fake Federalism’ under a false 1999 Constitution. So give the people justice and what they do want. ‘Restructuring’ and ‘Fixing False Federalism’ can progress beside all other government business. The ruling government is supposedly democratic anxious to re-install ‘True Democracy’ though it has been diluted by political party ‘changers’ taking anyone without question. This government can right political and regional wrongs while addressing the yearnings and survival needs of the people for jobs, electric power, roads, security et cetera. Governments must multi-task! The country will stand still if NEC appoints ministers or a committee to face ‘Restructuring’ and ‘False Federalism’. Many Nigerians will add technical value to the ‘Restructuring Effort’.

    Why do we keep repeating the same mistake before the court? Why do police, EFCC, ICPC seek to complete investigation into multiple ‘counts’ against an accused before going to court? Government needs an Executive Order ‘’2019 New Guiding Principle of Prosecution’’ – sing: ‘Count Your Crimes One by One, And It Will Surprise You What The Judge Has Done. One Crime, One case at a time. Guilty, imprisonment, a heavy fine. This will draw the line’. The police must use the simplest case to get a jail-able conviction. Once the person, now clearly a criminal is jailed, the police can add other cases after investigation. Court cases will be shorter with better conviction results. We are tired of ‘100 or 105 count charge’, four year trial with no conviction, just rubbish smiles on TV insulting our intelligence!!

    Even kidnappers complain of ‘illegal detention’. Is ‘illegal detention’ not kidnappers’ modus operandi? A beg jo! Are even lawyers working against the law?

    Is this democracy the democracy we really want? Even if it is carbon copy of the American system, is this American system, with Nigerian modification, the best democratic example out there? Can we learn from examples of true federalism like in Switzerland? Politicians may be happy with themselves having financially exploited the system but they are failing our expectations of them. They demonstrate scant regard for the citizen once they are in government.

    Be cautious when taking advice for past leaders mainly responsible for our current poor ‘State Of The Nigerian Nation’. If you pray as Jonathan has suggested, keep both eyes open, watching the budget and CBN dollar electronic transfers and bullion van movement so ‘our money’ is not ‘disappeared’ to Ikoyi and other ‘safe houses’ during ‘close ya eye’ and ‘Amin- Amen’ prayers. Johnathan is the immediate past architect of Nigeria- some say – Nigeria’s Rape. As for Babangida, haba, you still de talk again? The youth and the new press have no memory of you. They seriously ‘Need To Know The Babangida We Lived Under, His Double Speak And Regime Results’ and, ‘settlement’ corruption, trauma of financial and political and economic nature, the increasing interest rates from 3% mortgages to 15% to 28% with high CBN slush funds from an astronomical Monetary Policy Rate and the associated Dele Giwa parcel bomb –long before Boko Haram, the first bombing in post-Civil War Nigeria. These all took place during the ‘Dark Ages’ of Babangida, Abacha and Abdusalami.

    Babangida is certainly a key architect of ‘The Fake Federalism and Failure of Nigeria’ to modernise. His recent call for restructuring with his ‘Evil Genius’, ‘Machiavellian’ moral credentials should be microscopically examined for time bombs. Remember he left us a deadly present in Abacha and his Al Mustapha- also now seeking ‘Rehabilitation and Reconstruction’ perhaps for further high office like Governor or even President. He was and remains an offence to the sensibilities of most Nigerians surviving the tyrannical Abacha era on whose watch we mourned murdered MKO Abiola, Kudirat Abiola, Pa Alfred Rewane, Mr Onogoruwa-the son, and machine-gunned and maimed Mr Ibru and Pa Adesanya who was accused of shooting at himself, and the harassed NADECO Front. Best we not forget this past before Babangida puts himself or a son up for 2019 President. Who cares? Please care more for your country than our collective past presidents did!

    NB: Nigerians, find a new generation of ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’

    KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.

     

  • Our Girls: Earthquake Supreme Court Judgement

    Our Girls: Earthquake Supreme Court Judgement

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work for their release.

    Hail the Political Earthquake Supreme Court’s Judgement, SCJ to ‘Cancel’ the election of politicians for what amounts to fraudulent electoral practice – an attempt to pervert the people’s will, a civilian coup plot and treason. But the real power of the SCJ is that it has two parts. The Supreme Court also magnificently and wisely ordered at least one of the two sacked lawmakers to refund all money taken during the time of criminally illegal occupation of the post they conspired to occupy when they maliciously and deliberately participated in lying to and cheating fellow Nigerian voters’ representatives, usurped legitimate winners. For 24 months serially stole salaries and perks were stolen under false pretences. Corruption Free Elections are possible. Hurray!!!

    This second part of the SCJ is hugely significant at this pre- Election 2019 time when clandestine and other activities, like scheming to steal, money from government coffers and contracts, are being planned by politicians and parties toward ‘Election Exam Scam Success’ by ‘Any Means Necessary’ in Election2019. This must stop and a new moral compass must guide elections. The UK, USA, France had elections steeped in verbal violence but no fake results, maiming, murder, or property losses. Crime must be punished with penance, return/recovery/restitution of stolen money –‘illegally acquired’ while masquerading as a legitimately elected politician. We have screamed this for years and happily the Supreme Court is biting back when the citizen is bitten…..

    In a Splash FM Corruption Lecture at Trenchard Hall University of Ibadan in 2014, I said, slightly modified ….

    ‘‘We take licence without consequence, power without responsibility and fight elections without morals.’ …

    Politics must learn the lessons of good sportsmanship and have a radical rethink. Demand dismissal for cheating in elections, NEVER A RERUN. A rerun is not for a cheat but for a genuine mistake. Armstrong, the cheating cyclist, and hundreds of athletes have been dismissed, and suspended, not offered a race rerun. Politics can be no different. The people’s mandate is finite, life-changing and more valuable. When a politician is found guilty of cheating, he should be 1] Dismissed, 2] Prosecuted and 3] Jailed for ‘Stealing the people’s mandate through fraud and deception’ and the financial crime of ‘attempting to extort salaries and perks for himself under false pretences and through falsifying the facts by illegitimate and illegal means’. The second in the race should automatically take his place, no rerun, and so on until there is a stainless candidate. Cheating is a common but illegitimate tool, a terror event and must lead to personal and party responsibility, dismissal and banning. 4] Punishment -The political party should be punished for its member’s actions as the party gains power illegally by such cheating and terror, even more violent than a military coup. The name ‘election malpractice’ covers a serious crime worse than ‘examination malpractice’ for which politicians happily prescribed 21 years jail for cheating students. Both party and candidate should be severely punished for terror activities–a fine, ban on the party proportional to the damage,”

    In The Nation Oct 26, 2016, I wrote “Nigeria must initiate a STANDARD ANTI-CORRUPTION PROCESS/RULE- SUSPENSION, RECOVERY, PROSECUTION AND IF GUILTY – REMOVAL FROM OFFICE, RECOVERY OF ASSETS AND RESTITUTION TO VICTIMS”. Sack to enjoy ill-gotten gains is a stamp of approval. It is an additional crime by government too lazy or too intimidated to prosecute. Prosecution is next and restitution must follow. Property must be sold and bank account funds evaluated and recovered.” Today we must demand 5] IMPRISONMENT COMMENSURATE WITH THE CONSEQUENCE AND CRIME.

    Well at last ‘fighting elections without morals’ has consequences. The Supreme Court judgement has caused a seismic shift between politicians and the electoral process – Long overdue.

    However welcome the SCJ is, prevention of election malpractice is better than a 2-year late SCJ. How many others have slipped through the net? We could have completely avoided the recent nightmare.  A country Nigeria was subject to whims and caprices of cheats who manipulated the political system to disenfranchise those elected- a crime, moral theft and anti-democratic action by evil people masquerading as democrats. When is a democrat not a democrat? When he or she and political party deliberately use an evil blueprint and collude to maliciously, fraudulently falsify and derail the electoral process to steal victory for ‘ill-gotten gains’ of position, power, salaries, allowances, perks, trips, recognition and unearned ‘status’.

    The performance of dishonourable and undistinguished individuals while in stolen offices demonstrates low morals and poor ‘leadership qualities’. Nigeria sadly recalls arrogant NASS-antics, unrestrained by NASS leadership made on the Securities Exchange Commission, SEC, harassment of the then Director General, her magnificent battle defending SEC and her person and revealing the corrupt demands of ‘NASS oversight’ to the detriment of development, and malicious NASS abuse of power of summons, inquiry, delaying approvals, ransoming and cancelling budgets, all hamstringing progress of MDAs. The actual cancellation of budgetary allocation to SEC staff was spiteful, despicable and unbelievable arrogance of a person in office now found to be criminally holding office ‘under false criminal pretences’. NASS leadership and the ‘Committee of the Whole’ conspired in this fraud by not Monitoring & Evaluating and then reversing its Committee’s Report. The Committee became accuser, judge and jury. To be continued…..

    NB: Find ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’CANDIDATES for Election2019.

  • Our Girls: Budget & road delays

    Our Girls: Budget & road delays

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work for their release.

    Obviously this presidency with a ‘lean and supposedly anti-‘No bags, No Bills’ and the hyper-salaried legislature giving off the odour of greed and grandeur are on opposing sides in the budget power play. Call in the Supreme Court now. The six-month late budget demonstrates an insultingly monumental failure of legislative duties and is perceived as an insult and blatant backhanded slap in the face of every Nigerian voter or not. Even though half the legislature claims to be in the presidential party, it has no demonstrable allegiance to party or Presidency. Rather the National Assembly (NASS) members appear to alter their allegiance to ‘herd mentality’ and think ‘NASS first, foremost and finally’ and the people do not matter.

    The six-month delayed budget and six+year delayed Petroleum Industry Bill, now three Bills, are tiny examples of the perceived careless serial failure of NASS, a perceived very cost-ineffective institution and are exactly why most Nigerians pray that NASS will somehow commit Harakiri in the national interest and reduce itself to one house, preferably the House of Representatives, with part-time duties and just sitting allowance. That would release over N100billion for education, health and the above-mentioned travesties called roads. Citizens pray and work for the miracle of ‘Political Humility’ or at least ‘Political Remorse’, through referendum or other legal means.

    Students in about 170 teams from 20 countries are in UK competitively demonstrating designs for the next generation of low consumption/light weight cars. Where is Nigeria in this? We are stuck on potholed roads with ‘common rain’ destroying broken bridges, cutting off states. Note that many roads and bridges are destroyed by rain because, as TV reports show, they have no rock underlay, just wash away laterite especially in the North. Why? Design failure or who chopped the road contract money?  The road catastrophe called Apapa Port Lagos dual-carriageway is duplicated nationwide demonstrating that we are incapable of decisive sustainable development government decisions to maintain existing infrastructure. Are we so mumu? Good roads are never destroyed except in war and environmental disaster. An unfilled pothole from an overweight trailer, which grows to be a million potholes costing billions and millions of wasted citizen hours, poor productivity, and accidents and breakdowns.

    It is also an academic failure to express academic outrage and do research and write articles fighting failure! Nigeria’s university social science and political science departments, please do research on these road breakdown aspects of past government’s grinding policy failure. I have recommended a ‘Nationwide Pothole War’ as an easy low cost measure, to every government for 30 years but nothing sustained is done except when a politician visits. ‘High politicians must see no potholes!’ Governments prefer big contracts to old reliable Public Works Department, PWD, daily maintenance work. The past military and civilian federal governments share responsibility for the total collapse of this and other roads. Remember the preventable tragedies of Lagos-Ibadan, Benin-Ore and the Ibadan-Ife roads?  FERMA,-remember Obasanjo’s 400 engineers, failed ‘Pothole Kings’, mutated into a ‘mythical beast of no conconbility’. Yet the governments expressed no past public remorse for this, yet another, preventable tragic disgrace to Nigeria’s ability to maintain the integrity of the import/export chain which in other countries would have 10-lane highways, multiple roads and container rail evacuation. This demonstrates a monumental mismanagement, malicious and corrupt incompetence by government as the 20-year engineer reports, dismissed by politicians, will confirm. These governments failed on so many roads, to anticipate, plan, fund, expand or even eliminate ‘common potholes’. This is exactly why the Abuja runway had to be shut down because successive unchallenged governments demonstrated malicious, corrupt incompetence and criminal indifference to engineering reports, normal practice and aviation safety rules, even when defects appeared on the tarmac. Where were these people called federal government hiding and who were they specifically who at serial recorded meetings repeatedly turned down aviation industry wisdom perhaps to make available more money to steal for elections? Only God saved Nigeria from an Abuja landing pothole crash. Good roads last if maintained.

    For years Nigeria has lost up to N1trillion/annum to imports stopping at friendly neighbouring countries and losses from extra time stuck in traffic from trailer haulage and drainage issues. Dangote has the opportunity to ‘shine’ demonstrating that ‘cement is better than tar’ through a CSR road reconstruction. Congratulations, budget thieves, for precipitating a traffic crisis. But our law enforcement and haulage industry has a great deal of burden in the destruction of the Apapa Port Road and other roads nationwide – trailer-overloading, a vicious tradition in Nigeria. Most loads would be distributed between 2-3 trailers on a weight basis in other countries. Who abused and destroyed the weighbridges which should have saved our roads from excessive axle load?  A re-education programme is urgently needed for CEOs, port agents and trailer managers. Smaller loads mean more speed, faster travel, trailer turnaround time and more work with longer lasting roads. Overloading should be banned. Today’s overloaded trailers will still destroy the less strongly built roads nationwide. Super-minister Fashola has mentioned this before. For both economic and political gain, we require nationwide pothole-filling action to make our dying road network serviceable before funds are available for massive upgrade.

    NB: Nigerians like you must put forward a new generation of untainted ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.

     

  • Our Girls: ‘Bribery, Violence, New Faces’

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work for their release.

    Repeatedly we see democracy in action from the so-called cradles of democracy in the USA, France and now the UK where Theresa May unwittingly threw away her party majority and must link with a smaller party to rule effectively, losing many conservatives their seats. Not one of these democracies bribed, killed or even maimed a single citizen in the electoral process. It was all ‘Policy’ not ‘Physical’ or ‘Fiscal’ corruption.  Three elections, no deaths, no physical violence! Only the word violence was allowed and was quite vicious. Terms like ‘fake news’ were landmarks of the election process.

    Nearly all 37 governments and even the much debated National Assembly (NASS) boast of their sometimes questionable achievements at half-time in their four year ‘game’. Let us all be more analytical and perhaps more critical, constructively of course, of all the governments nationwide. Politicians worldwide are known for turning failures into verbal achievements. As we in Nigeria prepare for our Election 2019, we require to take on board the issues of Election 2019 – BVN =‘Bribery, Violence, New Faces’. Election 2019:  No to Bribery & Violence and Yes to New Faces.

    The application of the term ‘New Faces’ does not mean young faces but also trusted older persons newly introduced to politics on the basis of contribution, integrity, honesty and ability. However in general, Nigeria’s politics must shift towards a younger generation of politicians and a higher female representation. These were achieved at once in France where there is a 39-year old President who immediately appointed a cabinet with 50% women and several minority participants.  Even the old cry about ‘Experience In Government’ being a key qualification for government office has been thrown out in successful democracies and even in Lagos State where at director level, many ‘private sector’ outsiders have been introduced with good results cutting down the paraphernalia of government and action time.

    Finally it is fully established as a myth that women are less corrupt than men. Equal bragging rights to ‘Corruption Maximus’ are shared by both genders. This is exemplified in Nigeria where some females elevated with admiration to the highest offices in banking, professions and political levels have disappointed us, ‘lost it’ and ‘gone as mad for money, power, possessions and buildings,’ as men when it came to corruption and even outstripping them often. However those rotten eggs are not sufficient evidence to deny womankind the right to have a 50% share in offices based on their percentage of the population. The country has millions of good honest hardworking women of maximum integrity, in the mould of the ‘Virtuous Woman’ who could really change the country if ‘opportunity knocked’.

    Nigeria has had men as ‘Oga at the top’ of affairs for ever. Women in power and position have fallen short but many have been a credit. Men in power and position have fallen but many have been a credit. Many blame the women in the men’s lives for receiving stolen goods and money so easily to maintain extravagant lifestyles. Certainly the women in the lives of many corrupt men receive a sizable proportion of the loot but the man always keeps the majority. And women who steal do not give all to lovers. So women cannot be the catalyst for men’s corruption and vice versa. So let us put aside gender bias and ensure adequate representation of women in Election 2019 at all levels. If the women ‘mess it up’ they still would have done no worse than the men before them.

    My Nigeria, Do My Morals Matter? MMM? Do Your Morals Matter, YMM? Certainly they should do. Examine yourself. Do you do the right moral thing? Every Nigerian who went to school here recalls ‘Expo’ -fake or real exam questions leaked and bought at huge cost before the exam. Who does not remember actual cheating students and actual collaborating teachers at exam time in many schools and examination halls nationwide?

    Say this out loud ‘MMM’, ‘My Morals Matter’. A parent corruptly ‘child-age-lying’ on a form or corruptly facilitating an alteration on a child’s birth certificate is as corrupt as the parent offering a bribe to a teacher or willing to buy ‘Expo’ question papers or rent a mercenary to sit his child’s examinations or for the parent to cheat during at any point in an election. All corruption incidents are criminal offences. Remember to say and teach your children ‘MMM’.

    Nigeria awaits immediate action to Halt Corruption in the Uniformed Services through holding the leadership responsible for the criminal corruption of subordinates.

    Most politicians who loudly give anti-corruption advice are not immune to well-founded suspicion of corruption. We must each fight corruption. Each person goes to judgement, heaven or hell, as an individual not collectively!

    The revelations on the distribution list of the $115m slush fund to facilitate or manipulate the 2015 election shows the number of hands of INEC officials, security agencies and all others whose hands are ‘stained and tied’ to the party by money that was not the party’s to give, it was stolen. The money was for development. INEC should punish, de-list, fine or suspend any guilty party of such a terror attack to prevent a further assault by any party on Election 2019.

     

  • Our Girls; #Bringbackouroilblocks; Politics/Education ‘Final Year’ Cheating

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work for their release.

    Following on the terrible trauma and tragedy of the Chibok kidnapping and mass tragedy for millions, there was the positive emotional and factual impact of the #Bringbackourgirls Campaign. Nigeria still faces other human tragedies including ‘eternal lease’ loss of our ‘Oil Block’ assets through a ‘morality lapse’, and perhaps a ‘criminal wrong’ making a few Made from Nigeria ‘Oil Block Billionaires’ at the detriment of Nigeria’s development agenda and perhaps contributing to Boko Haram formation?

    But it is never too late to right a national wrong of misled, innocent or corrupt past presidents whether or not they benefit from ‘kickbacks’ from such ‘Oil Block Billionaires’. Oil blocks are not sweets. Learning from the incredibly powerful #Bringbackourgirls campaign on the humanitarian front, let Nigerian start #Bringbackouroilblocks or #Returnouroilblocks or #Givebackouroilblocks campaigns on the development, financial and anticorruption front for donation, revocation of licence or other means of return.

    #Bringbackouroilblocks or #Returnouroilblocks campaign would aim to encourage, implore, shame or force those ‘Made from Nigeria’ oil block billionaires who acquired Nigeria’s patrimony to be bold enough, shamed enough, altruistic enough to Returnouroilblocks. The Made from Nigeria Oil Block Billionaires should make an ‘Oil Block Declaration’ and say that what they have gained from Nigerians, in billions so far, is enough for several family generations.  They should announce that without paying ‘compensation’, ‘The Nigerian People’ can finally get back their oil wells and ‘Keep The Change’ of the huge wealth of Nigeria’s oil blocks currently held in private hands! Start a #Returnouroilblocks Campaign.

    All Nigeria’s departments of Social and Political Science must study the dangerous, darkly comical parallel between the political class and elections on the one hand and final year students and final examinations on the other. Many think that getting results is not by hard work but by cheating and doing despicable things not presentable in the media. Assume that political parties are individuals in Nigeria’s university system doing a four year course-100,200,300 and 400 levels. Usually university final year is for maximum work, impressing lecturers and culminating in testing and rewards for performance in practical, written and oral final exam/elections. Unfortunately every political party takes sabbatical from good governance, shutting down government during the 4th and Final Year and faces failure in the Finals. Having thus failed and facing dismissal, the failed political party resorts to cheating, stomach infrastructure, vote rigging, violence and intimidation to get a corruptly positive outcome from a deliberate self-failure. Students usually fail themselves, self-failure.

    This government has two years to break this mould by 2019 and announce to Nigeria that it will work to the last day of its four years in service and not steal for election purposes. This government must stop the neglect of governance duty so typical of the 4th, last year in office characterised in Nigeria as the ‘Year of Governance Neglect & Blatant Budget Theft’. During that ‘Do Nothing But Steal During Last Year In Office Syndrome’ all income is criminally diverted from ‘Democratic Sworn Responsibility’ for salaries, pensions, projects and directed towards outright theft for personal use or ‘legalised’ theft for an enormous ‘Political War Chest’ created to pay for the corrupt funding of the campaign and the continued corruption of the political system.

    Nigerians must call for this massive criminal water-tap of filthy corruption money during the 4th and Last Year In Office to be turned off permanently and used correctly as budgeted-for development. This would reduce the funds available for corrupt inflation of the election budgets, bring down election costs, and allow billions to be used for governance to continue right to the last day of handing-over of political power. Nigeria cannot survive the well-planned, well-executed and ‘Secretly Approved by All Government Agencies’ ‘Rape of its Revenue’ during the 4th and Last Year In Office.

    Such a ‘Revenue Rape’, a quarter of the four-year budget, supposed to be used for development and to improve the lives of the suffering masses, is unacceptable. It must stop in 2019 or be stopped by any and every EFCC, ICPC and police strategic means necessary. Nigerians must be alerted that in order for political parties to pass the 4th and Final Year In Office Examination of their ‘Four Year Practical Politics Course’, they must leave the budget for development purposes during all four years and especially 4th and last year in office.

    Nigerians must remind themselves that they, Nigerians, are worth more than all the criminal and crooked politicians and their ill-gotten gains stolen from the people put together. It is long past time to shout ‘No’ to such abuse of the final year political examinations and initiate mechanisms to force all government and MDAs to account fully for every kobo of the third and especially fourth and last Budget of the four-year term. It will be useless sending EFCC/ICPC after them post-election in 2020.

    We require pre-emptive and preventive mechanisms, to overcome budget cheating and election cheating and political malpractice. Unfortunately elections seem to be ‘Guide Books’ for and politicians ‘role models’ for cheating students. Strangely outraged National Assembly approved a sentence of a ridiculous 21 years for ‘Exam Cheating’ yet the same National Assembly is largely very difficult to exonerate from ‘Political Exam Cheating’ – all election related! Na wa OOO!

    NB: Nigerians, put forward a new generation of ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.