The Nation Newspaper

Category: Tony Marinho

  • Our Girls;  Beyond politics- EducareTrust @ 21 begs YOU to start a ‘Youth Inspiration Centre’ in your ward

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15th 2014 and Boko Haram is more vicious.

    EducareTrust@21, is a miracle, often broke, interspersed with life-saving donations. When a child visits EducareTrust (ET), she puts down her head-tray of groundnuts, enters ET, uses a computer, book and keyboard, meets others and after we have bought her groundnuts and leaves with a smile. Donor agencies ask ‘How do you measure ET success?’ and hate my answer ‘The Smile’.

    Be warned. The NGO road is ‘t-rough’, tough and rough, especially for a youth NGO which cannot charge fees. Not all NGOs have access to CSR corporate Nigeria which centralises CSR activities in HQ, neglecting young customers at local level. Nigeria is full of unsung heroes. Educare Trust survives because of the good in people like you. We have had support from the Zard Group and thousands including donor agencies. Their positive effect is immortalised in the smiles of the youth and on our Honour Boards and photographs in ‘Educare Trust Heroes Gallery’. Appreciation to Alhaji Wahab Musa, Mr. Simeon Ekanem for the early days and staff members: Manager Solomon Iguanre, Taiwo Ogundimu, Faith Christopher, Martha Olumekor and many others up to Chinedu Osadebe, Comfort Olorunmota, Mrs. Akpeji and Raphael Afeyodion today.

    Some provide professional services free like Mr Tony Aneni and Baker Tilly Nigeria, Funso Ogunleye Esq, Funsho Adegbola, Arc Okorafor, Arc Onadeko. Many professionals and pensioners give guidance like Dr. Tunde Oni and late Aunty Beatrice Ajayi. Some give expertise or a skeleton, Insectaria, computers, Newsletter publishing and Aquarium building like Prof Oyediran, Prof Fawole, Mr Adepeju, Prof Aken’Ova, Mr Dax Kumapaye, Dr Kayode Sogo. Some give funds, newspapers or antivirus CDs like Dr Pat Alabi and Dr Toks Abiose. Some a book from bookshops at home or abroad or wall posters like Dr Kehinde Ayeni, Mr. Mosuro, Prof & Mrs Ekpere and  Chief Berkhout. Some represented us like Mrs Funsho Adegbola, Mr Moshood-current administrator, Mr Kunle Marinho, Ms Sade Young, Mrs Yemisi Marinho, Ms Bisi and Nike Osuntokun. Some give regular funds like Chief Lekan Are, Chief Oshobi, Dr Agbaje, Folake Ojo, Mrs Tolani Akinkoye. Some sent funds or material in memory of loved ones, like for late Engr. Sina Ojo and Prof M O Odejide. Some give life-changing contributions like Dr Raymond Zard, Mr Wazdi Zard, Mr Ogie Alakija, Dr John Abebe, Mr Okunola, Alhaji L Fagbemi SAN, Prof Mrs Olurin, Chief Kola Daisi and Chief Adebayo Akande. Some have given us space to guarantee our existence like Engr. Niran Fafowora, Toyin Marinho, Fr. Richard Omolade and Yanju Adegbite and so many others. Thank you.

    At a dinner meeting with the PZ Board under PZ Chairman Professor Edozien, I spoke of Nigerians requiring and providing a Youth Centre in every ward, as permanent community ‘value added’ and better than multi-billion HQ ‘T-shirt’ transient CSR. One year later Educare Trust received a ‘change’ miracle- a Youth Centre by PZ-Cussons Foundation with Mrs Yomi Ifaturoti as Secretary. A delegation kindly led by Chief SPA Ajibade and ET Past Chairman Mr Ogie Alakija in 2010, led to a visit by Chairman Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo and myself to Governor Adebayo Alao Akala who ‘donated’ land by Oyo State Government as PPP.

    After visits to four sites, a plot on Concorde Lane, Old Ibadan Airport, Samonda GRA Ibadan was allocated ‘free’ with Educare Trust paying N3.5m in normal levies. PZ-Cussons Foundation built the Youth Centre ground floor as CSR. It is a template for copying. It took a difficult nine months, and 400+ visits to the secretariat by Daniel Henshaw and visits by Educare Trust members Arc. Okorafor and Arc Onadeko, who supervised the project, Dr Akin Sodipo, Funso Adegbola, Yanju Adegbite. Thanks to all and Ministry officials.

    In contrast many fellow landlords were hostile to having a Youth Centre. ET suffered a smear campaign.

    It has been a bitter-sweet five years – the backbiting and the building. Anyway the Educare Trust/PZ Youth Inspiration Centre was commissioned on May 10, 2012 by the Chairman of PZ-Cussons Foundation, Professor Edozien with Mrs Ifaturoti and others including BOT Chairman, Justice Babalakin, Prof Akinkugbe, Prof Oyediran, Prof Mrs Olurin, Chief Kola Daisi.

    ET members then built the first floor. We are grateful to former Chairman Mr. Ogie Alakija, Dr Zard-Life Patron, both major donors and Yomi Salami. Arc. Okorafor, Financial secretary, and Arc Onadeko, our member and Dr Okediran, our Treasurer must be recognised because of their 21 year commitment of professional skills pro bono towards the project and completion of “UPSTAIRS”, The ‘A-Z Hall’, named for Mr Alakija and Dr Zard and because the Hall will take care of ‘everything’ and opened on 20th June 2015 by Alhaji Olalekan Alli, former SSG, representing Governor Ajimobi.

    This ET story must stimulate you to struggle financially, physically to create ‘youth space’ in every community/ward, VIP or poor. Please visit Educare Trust, behind Ventura, Inside Samonda GRA, Sango-UI, Ibadan. Nigeria’s youth will only become crime and violence free if we all support ‘change’- Beyond politics start ‘A National/State/LGA PPP Policy Of One Youth Centre/Ward’-each named after the area.

    Nigeria needs 10,000,000 individuals each donating N500-1000 -5,000 each/month to Red Cross/Boy Scouts/Educare Trust/Youth Centre – A little from a lot.

    ET and Youth centres are multi-person adventures. Since 1994, ET has reached millions. If you benefited from ET, please give back ‘cash or kind’. At 21, Generation Next must take over ET. Your Educare Trust needs YOU!

    ‘This ET story must stimulate you to struggle financially, physically to create ‘youth space’ in every community/ward, VIP or poor. Please visit Educare Trust, behind Ventura, Inside Samonda GRA, Sango-UI, Ibadan. Nigeria’s youth will only become crime and violence free if we all support ‘change’- Beyond politics start ‘A National/State/LGA PPP Policy Of One Youth Centre/Ward’-each named after the area’

     

  • Our Girls;  Educare Trust@21; President Buhari: We need a ‘Youth Centre’ in every ward, Pls

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15 2014. We pray for their safe return.

    A lesson from recent history about Educare Trust@21. From the late 70s my family was a member of The Group, a social association of 30 families bringing up a generation of children in Ibadan spearheaded by the vision and uniting strands of Dr Funso Onafowokan and Dr Dele Fawole. Back in 1994, we smarted under the terrorism and coming darkness of the then one week old Abacha Regime- ‘a change’. The exodus abroad which had started under Babangida as an economic refugee tide had become a flood with the addition of security refugees. The Abacha change motivated some additional members of the Group to get together in my sitting room every evening for six weeks. There we X-rayed the economic, agricultural, health and other problems associated with a maximum military regime. Having brainstormed on the low quality of everything including education in Nigeria under the military, we offered a raft of solutions. We wrote down nothing and remembered everything as we went ‘underground’ to implement various strategies for the survival of the citizens. In education it was decided to ‘do something’ to ‘change’ education. An NGO was needed as ‘Change Agent’ and Dr Toyosi, a distinguished private medical practitioner, agreed to be chairman only if I agreed to become the secretary. So 21 years ago, in 1994, a number of people held the inaugural meeting of the founding members and Educare Trust was born at the Department of Agricultural Biology, University of Ibadan on Thursday October 20, 1994. At that meeting, Professor Ayo Banjo generously pointed us in the right direction by saying that we should deal more with the foundation level of education than the tertiary education. Others at the first meeting included Dr Bayo Banjo, Engineer Palmer, Dr Mike Aken’Ova, Dr Dele Fawole and myself and Dr Raymond Zard who has remained the major pillar of support.

    Educare Trust’s first project was fixing the leaking roof of a primary school, Salvation Army Primary School, Yemetu, Ibadan at N360. Since then, the Trust has spent over N60m of its members’ funds and countless hours playing both grassroots on-hands and leadership roles in uplifting members of society showing that much can be achieved with little provided the will is strong.  

    After a couple of years of visiting schools for programmes and projects, the absence of a youth-friendly, edutainment (ET) centre in Nigeria was obvious as was the need to help fill the ‘ignorance gap’ about non-school subject material.  At the time the National Museum at Alalubosa, Ibadan dealt only with the ancient and the ET centre was to complement it by being both Ancient and Modern -a change agent.

    In 1997, the members set up The Educare Trust Youth Exhibition Centre (EYTC). It was in a space in Brick House, Bodija and the year’s rent was paid by Engineer Niran Fafowora.  Diana Johnson recruited our first employee, a bright young man Daniel Henshaw. On the principle that ‘a picture is worth 1,000 words’, the centre was equipped using material sourced from The Smithsonian and Welcome museums and exhibitions in the USA and UK; Thus a poster and wall chart exhibition was setup with education wall charts, display picture cards, Native American craft pieces, display boards, two aquaria and the first computer available to the youth in Ibadan and donated by Tunji Adepeju, brother of the late Kunle Adepeju killed by a stray bullet in front of Queens Hall UI back in 1971 when I was in UI.  The ETYC targeted children, young adults, teachers and parents. It was to challenge their minds to learn and exchange ideas and ‘eliminate ignorance’. The exhibition centre is multi-focal, multi-disciplinary and multi-ethnic to expose children and adults to their surroundings as well as the universe.

    Since it was opened, the Educare Trust Exhibition Centre has been an ignored and neglected TEMPLATE begging for individual, groups, communities, government, YOU and corporate bodies to use the huge available resources and, especially in CSR, to replicate in every ward, in Nigeria in different sizes. This will keep youth occupied and educated in non-text book subjects and life-skills. So far, most of the millions of Nigerians visiting or aware of Educare Trust and YOU have not taken up the ‘Challenge To Change The Educational Opportunities’ and spread the word and so millions are suffering ignorance and become prone to youth restiveness.

    On January 2nd, 1999 the centre was relocated to space in Goshen Building run by Mrs Toyin Marinho, Coca-Cola, Ibadan. After 10 years it moved to Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School Odo-Ona in 2010 for two years. Then Educare Trust was offered a Youth Centre built by PZ Cussons Foundation at N10.5m and we had to find the land which we eventually got from the Akala Government and the C of O followed under the Ajimobi Government.

    As Buhari, governors and other stakeholders ponder on solutions to youth restiveness and crime and plan for the changes in education, we offer a suggestion that ‘The Time of the Youth Centre’ as a powerful tool to change and empower the youth nationwide is NOW. All Nigeria’s 16,400 wards must have a Youth Centre, small or big, built by collective effort. You want a Youth Centre in your neighbourhood, don’t you? Replicate the success of Educare Trust@21.

    ‘As Buhari, governors and other stakeholders ponder on solutions to youth restiveness and crime and plan for the changes in education, we offer a suggestion that ‘The Time of the Youth Centre’ as a powerful tool to change and empower the youth nationwide is NOW. All Nigeria’s 16,400 wards must have a Youth Centre, small or big, built by collective effort’

    •  To be continued

  • Our Girls; Media vs military; FRSC checkpoints; Legislate against ‘Insult the Citizen Month’

    Our Girls are missing since April 15th 2014. Intelligence is vital for their recovery. This is usually from a debriefing interrogation of freed captives and captured Boko Haram fighters. Are they and kidnap victims debriefed to identify their captors, locate hideouts, analyse modus operandi, trace cellphone numbers and locations and track the money trail?  Some intelligence requires to be paid for leading to opportunities for fraud among security personnel. We pray that the new offensive works. However, it is unethical of the press to prematurely reveal military strategies which must be kept under wraps until after the incident. Boko Haram follows the news giving them an opportunity for ambush, evasion and diversion. Nigeria is at war. Such details cost our soldiers their lives and can cost us the war.

    The Amnesty International Report about military atrocities is another media frenzy matter which the President will study. Human rights are the right of all Nigerians. It is difficult to justify or enforce the human rights of a suicide bomber apprehended only because the bomb failed and who promises to do it ‘properly next time’. However we Nigerians also know that our Human Rights are threatened by everyone in ‘authority’ or uniform, including the police who have again stopped checkpoints, saving the population N12-24billion/year.  The police still swoop on traffic outside their police stations and along major roads in spite of the order.

    Into the gap created by the IGP to stop checkpoints, the FRSC deserves high praise[??] as it has repeatedly proven its uninvited ability to replace the police having abandoned its primary role of ‘keeping traffic moving safely’  at traffic jam areas like on the expressway due to construction and inadequate supervision. Instead the FRSC prefers to jump into the middle of the road, at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Ijebu/ Benin turn and a point at Ogere where the FRSC can truncate your human rights to reach your destination merely by stopping you for no offence other than ‘being on the road’. Thereafter they seek an arrest-able or fine-able offence- trumped up or otherwise. There are bad eggs in the FRSC and their actions kill local and international tourism. Why should I be afraid of the FRSC every time I travel? Indeed I cut down travel not because my papers are not intact but because the FRSC has lost its way and will attempt to embarrass anyone. Travellers beware. FRSC ‘checkpoints’ are alive and well and hungry. It seems it is now a detainable offence ‘to be on the road’. The FRSC needs a new direction and requires to be reined in by President Buhari. I am tired of being stopped at Ogere. I always see three or four cars stopped by FRSC at Ogere and Ijebu turn-off.  I cannot understand why I have been stopped more than seven times by FRSC. What is this your experience?

    The Chinese are building a 57-storey building in 19 days. Our 120km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is under construction in a four years contract. President Buhari must resist the temptation to ignore this vital road, made problematic by the withdrawal of the road from World Bank contractors with an undisclosed probable ‘breach of contract’ payment by Obasanjo who passed it to Babalakin where it stagnated till Jonathan awarded it to two contractors –Julius Burger and RCC. This four-year contract, too slow, too long and too expensive, has crippled life and ‘enjoyment of the journey’ for millions frequently ‘on the road’. Uncaring contractors create malicious bottlenecks and diversions- a nightmare on Saturdays and Sundays.

    After the ‘please vote for me, I beg, I beg’, it will soon be ‘Insult The Citizen Month’ led by Internally Generated Revenue ‘Consultants’ –the time when the drive for IGR will turn politicians into rude arrogant and often stupid animals as they alienate their voters with stupid ‘No U turn’ and parking laws and excessive fines and taxes. Have you had a really outrageous bill or an insulting ‘Demand Notice’ from an agent, private or government insisting that you pay a maliciously and fictionally high figure, with too short payment times seven days to 28 days –as if you are a thief or robber; backdating for several years –before the politian even came to power; and threats of ridiculous sanctions- cumulative interest rates or sealing of premises or eviction? All these are typical in normal Nigerian customer client/ official relationships. This government must change this and REDUCE TAXES IN LAGOS. Such letters and bills deliberately destabilise you and cause you anger and anxiety from the arrogant unsupervised officials. The Nigerian citizen is not a prisoner and deserves to be treated with better respect and compassion by estate agents, tax officials, and organs of government.

    The legislature must introduce ‘Citizen/Client Protection Laws’ making it a punishable offence for government and private agencies to send stupid, insulting and enraging ‘Demand Notices’ for unimaginable ridiculously high fees, rents, etcetera. Instead they should opt for more civilised and respectful ‘Request Letters’ or ‘Expectation Letters’. ‘Anti-Outrageous Bill’  Legislation is required to enforce accountability, supervision and self-discipline in tax bodies and utility companies and thus stopping outrageous, inflated, unrealistic bills, sent to force the receiver to be corrupt, steal or  die from annoyance or blood pressure. Legislation must prevent litigants from naming ludicrous sums as damages and perhaps demand that if the litigant loses a libel case, the litigant must pay the person-sued a sum equal to 1-10% of the sum sued for defamation of character.

    ‘The Chinese are building a 57-storey building in 19 days. Our 120km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is under construction in a four years contract. President Buhari must resist the temptation to ignore this vital road, made problematic by the withdrawal of the road from World Bank contractors with an undisclosed probable ‘breach of contract’ payment by Obasanjo who passed it to Babalakin where it stagnated till Jonathan awarded it to two contractors –Julius Burger and RCC’

  • Our Girls; ‘whistleblowers are everywhere- or they should be’

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. And the Boko Haram bombs did not fall silent with the change of baton at Aso Rock. This is contrary to the belief of those who vehemently and venomously claimed that President Buhari was a kingpin behind Boko Haram’s violent agitation and that all hostility would cease once he took over control. In fact there has been an escalation with the deaths and injury of hundreds from suicide bombers and actual assaults in Borno and neighbouring states. This increases the urgency of the proposed, and purportedly resisted, move of the Military High Command to Maiduguri which must not fall.  We pray Our Girls will return safely even as we bury the dead, blown up and shot, by an unrepentant Boko Haram. The Amnesty International Report about the armed forces is a serious accusation about human rights abuses in the war zone and it requires investigation. ‘Our Boys’ are on trial for their lives accused of a number of ‘death sentence’ crimes and some have been sentenced. These issues will create a huge crisis of confidence in the military and need to be handled seriously to prevent a breakdown of the system.

    The omens for corruption continuation worldwide are bad, bad, bad. Everywhere we turn, a new scandal breaks out and is ripe for dogged press revelation, restitution of ill-gotten gains, criminal prosecution and incarceration of the perpetrators in a ‘correction facility’. We pray also for protection of all whistleblowers who should by now have an international organisation- WBA –Whistle Blowers Association.

    The new Presidency is opening up the nearly decade long Haliburton scandal and more revelations on other scandals should be in the murky pipeline. Almighty FIFA faces extinction if not a cataclysmic evolutionary upheaval. Sepp Blatter has stepped down just two days after such a scandalous endorsement and boastful ‘election victory’ with the support of CAF and other developing countries. Were those votes ‘in return’ for financial largess from FIFA as those countries were beneficiaries of concealed, unannounced millions of FIFA dollars for ‘development of the sport’? Unfortunately this money was hardly ever seen in those countries on the sports fields of the youth, in football clinics, in equipment, coaching tours, talent hunts. Where there was a sign, the quantum has been tiny in proportion to the volume of funds being revealed as having been transferred. When FIFA pays or gives grants to Nigeria’s NFA, who knows and who gains –administrator or footballer or coach? It is always the administrators, first, second and third with footballers and coaches and facilities getting next to nothing. NFA has had a smell for as long as I can remember, reinforced by the infighting in the board. Nigeria did not even know that such huge dollar funds were available and flowing through some of the arteries of NFA. Even as we follow the money trail of Jack Warner through the bank trail led by the investigative reporters in the BBC, we must ask exactly how much has Nigeria received over the years from Sepp Blatter’s FIFA? Nigeria, being infamous for corruption, is unlikely to escape unscathed from any bribery accusations or scandals involving payments by South Africa, Qatar or even Russia.      Who is monitoring Nigeria’s ‘Other Money’, among non-oil incomes? The secret sources of the country’s revenue include the CBN’s malicious 13% interest rate on all loans, NPA’s private foreign currency fortune from shipping fees, FAAN and its near secret landing charges. The CBN is a real moneybag, NPA and FAAN take payment in dollars for sea and airport use.

    Why did the electricity suddenly start working better on the June 29? Who is afraid of Buhari? The fear of Buhari is the beginning of wisdom. Already we can estimate the amount of money saved per day by not having a profligate President. Nigeria estimates that about 50% of the budget has been lost year on year by greedy presidents allowing their equally greedy staff follow them down the greedy trail to also be greedy to cover up their own greed. In the last week, now 1460 -12days, we, Nigerians, have been saved by the Buhari style of governance on airfares, entourage, feeding the minions. But much more has been saved by all government departments sitting up, crossing their ‘T’s and dotting their ‘I’s and stealing less and less because ‘whistleblowers are everywhere- or they should be’.

    It is a pity that the yellow fever traffic wardens and police in many parts of the country including Ibadan are still taking bribes from taxis and danfos in broad daylight and at night. Can they not see the importance of this moment in history? Are they still clutching at the old ways even as the Anti-Corruption Tsunami is gathering steam among the people? One would have expected that the ‘Anti-Corruption Riot Act’ would have been read to everyone in uniform, or are they not a central and very public part of the new government efforts to clean up the country from the epidemic of corruption smiled on by successive evil kleptomaniacal governments?

    It will be would be very stupid of APC to lose the Senate and House of Representatives leadership positions to PDP merely because the APC members could not agree among themselves, by consensus or by majority vote, after such a long a difficult and struggle since 1999.  We expect much better of 2015 politics.

    ‘When FIFA pays or gives grants to Nigeria’s NFA, who knows and who gains –administrator or footballer or coach? It is always the administrators, first, second and third with footballers and coaches and facilities getting next to nothing. NFA has had a smell for as long as I can remember, reinforced by the infighting in the board’

  • Our Girls; Remember  Fulani Herdsmen-Farmers War; Assets; Info Ministries/Media  save lives

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. President Buhari has promised to focus on their safe return and to relocate the Forward Command HQ of the Boko Haram War to Maiduguri, the embattled state capital and long sought prize of the insurgents which has again come under murderous attack along with Fika, Gamboru and Ngala since the President assumed office. Maiduguri must not fall.

    Let us congratulate the majority of the seriously over-estimated 160+ Nigerians, most likely nearer 120m, on surviving the ‘Political War of 2015’. There were deaths, murders, casualties and a massive nationwide trauma from the massive non-democratic assault on the democratic wishes of the citizens.  Add to that a huge war budget nationwide which has been a major contributor to the crippling of the finances of the country, including the fall of the naira, and we see the true cost of this ‘Political War of 2015’.

    We must congratulate President Buhari for being tenacious enough and politically savvy enough to cooperate with strange bedfellows to achieve the APC, a ‘fruit salad’ of good and evil to defeat the pot of stew, amalgamated evil, that PDP turned out to be with too few good pieces. In a fruit salad, the pieces still remain individual and separate and identifiable. The person we have put in charge, President Buhari, can use his opportunity and powers of investigation to choose between the sweet and sour pieces to present to the people the next group of leaders. He and the VP have set a good example by declaring their assets, hopefully publicly. Of course they can and will insist on obedience to the law and make ‘Assets Declaration’ accompany ‘Acceptance of Appointment Forms’ for Ministers and all advisers and appointees. The difficulty would be to get governors to follow suit with themselves and their commissioners and advisers. It is not a moral difficulty but a corruption perpetuation difficulty.

    However President Buhari must try to make Assets Declaration the first step to all such government appointments. Whether he can get assent from a current NASSty NASS remains to be seen. The NASS track record, for party members of all parties, in financial transparency is legend and abysmal. It is in serious doubt if the membership of NASS and even the state assemblies are willing to clean up their act or allow themselves to be cleaned up. Indeed the President referred to difficulty with getting the states and LGAs to cooperate. Only time will tell. The President was particularly silent on the second Nigerian War –The Fulani herdsmen- Farmers across 10 states War’ which claims between 30 and 100 citizens a day and over 5,000 to date. He will be expected to tell us his plan for the end of this war in the near future.

    While we give President Buhari the next few days to tell us his plans and reminds him that there are 1460-5= 1455 days  left, let us take a break from politics and remember to implement policies at home and at work that will save ourselves to enjoy the fruits of our 2015 democratic struggles.

    I have recently advised several groups on how to stay healthy and attended the funerals of too many acquaintances and friends. No one will live forever and no one knows the day of death, but there are a few things we can all pay attention to in order to even the odds. There are lessons to be learned from the maybe N1.5-2tillion naira political campaign even as we remove the posters and burn the newspaper adverts. If we paid as much attention to our health as we do to politics and gossip we will be a healthier happier people.  If we funded health posters and health adverts as much as we fund political posters and political messages we would all be healthier or and happier. If our 200 radio and TV stations carried as many life-saving and health information messages as political messages we would all be healthier and happier. If the ministries of information at federal and state and LGA level did their real job of informing the public every day about the 200 life-saving messages instead of what politicians’ daily antics we would all be healthier and happier. Nigeria’s media must educate. It must take responsibility for the medical and social ignorance of the citizens as it has 24/7 access to citizens who are often ignorant of life-saving skills and messages. This is the task before all government and private media organisations and executives – to educate the citizenry during the next 1455 days on staying alive before 2019 round of democracy and election education. There is more to media responsibility for citizens’ education than Ebola and Elections. There is life itself and people need life skill education daily as new ignorant citizens hear and see radio and TV for the first time every day.

    So the inadequate amount of airtime allocated to such life skill messages is a scandalous indictment on the media which happily awards itself accolades for branded commercial advertising while to population falls ill and dies from lack of life skills. Life skill messages needing dissemination include taking folic acid throughout reproductive life, checking Blood Pressure, examining your breast and abdomen for masses, knowing your genotype, low sugar-salt-fats-alcohol intake and regular exercise. ‘Life Skill Message Education’ is in and out of school time and worktime.

    ‘If our 200 radio and TV stations carried as many life-saving and health information messages as political messages we would all be healthier and happier. If the ministries of information at federal and state and LGA level did their real job of informing the public every day about the 200 life-saving messages instead of what politicians’ daily antics we would all be healthier and happier’

     

  • Our Girls; PDP’s poisoned parting gift – fuel/powerlessness: Nigeria dies;  ‘DAY 1 OF CHANGE’; ‘Liberate States’; ‘Cut NASS to N10b’

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Where is their ‘CHANGE’ and protection under the law in this democracy?

    Be careful what you wish for. The internet brought communication with business and brought loved ones closer. Yes, but it also brought the rapid spread of indoctrination, religious radicalisation, instant reality events like extremist executions and suicidal blogging, yahoo-yahoo and internet scams, identity theft and bank fraud.

    From May 29, ‘Day 1 of CHANGE’, President Buhari, as President of all, should be a truly national leader during this stage of Nigeria’s dark history. SWORN ASSET DECLARATION FOR INCOMING OFFICIALS SHOULD ACCOMPANY THEIR ACCEPTANCE LETTERS FOR APPOINTMENT. Also nationwide growth and progress cannot occur in a military-style unitary system or a FEUDAL FALSE FEDERALISM favouring divine right to rule. ALL NIGERIANS have rights to A SENSE OF BELONGING. Let freedom for development reign. Buhari must ‘LIBERATE THE STATES’ from a historically oppressive federal government –made up of a few ‘FEUDAL FALSE FEDERALISM FOREVER’ myopic men, sitting in conclave in Abuja on every ‘federal decision’, and vetting or vetoing it and enforcing directives and archaic militarist and colonial laws condemning Fellow Nigerians to 19th Century underdeveloped perpetual poverty. This backward cabal of oppression has had a role to control, command and destruction of ideas like state railways, water controls, roads, building projects et cetera. We have suffered this in Lagos State. Can Buhari be more progressive than his predecessors?

    About 95% of the true population of 120m lives in the 36 states but get 35% of the budget. However states, when paid colossal sums between 1999 and 2014, did little for the citizens – corruption. The federal government and National Assembly (NASS) must reduce size, budget and federal powers for states to get more independence though states misused their allocation over the years.  Every Nigerian state has a population bigger than 50 countries. They are the direct responsibility of governors, local ‘heads of state’.

    The 2015 Federal budget is unacceptable. NASS is not a ministry! The N150b NASS budget is more than the allocation to 23 ministries and must be cut to N10b size. Policies cutting stupid salaries and perks, part-time legislation, sitting allowances must be introduced by NASS or by referendum.

    Three items in the press demonstrate oppression of Nigeria’s masses. One is the CBN’s ‘concessional’ 9% loans for agriculture while we borrow from bloodthirsty banks at 21-25% with 13% going to CBN as the MPR, non-existent in most countries. The second is an advert boasting ‘we allow/demand 30% down payment on the N85m homes for sale while the rest is spread over ONE year’. The third is the naira exchange rate N200-215:$1, making the naira ‘toilet paper’. This is down from N1 for $1.5 when I started work in 1974 and we had such misplaced pride in a Nigeria whose leaders had a secret malicious monetary policy. These are cases of systemic corruption and failed leadership. Nigeria fails in financial services to its millions seeking small survival or business loans or housing mortgages– essential for a just society. Can Buhari change our economic woes and listen to Henry Boyo the economist to achieve poverty reduction policies.

    Is PDP trying to postpone or sabotage the May 29 inauguration?  The massive corruption and round-tripping surrounding the fuel scarcity has changed my mind as Nigeria dies from being strangled. Buhari should initiate IMMEDIATE FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL and urgent ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTIPLE SMALL NEW REFINERIES for home-grown fuel and the 100 useful by-products we never hear about but need for industrial growth. We are already paying N130-400. Is the punishing fuellessness plaguing Nigeria a Machiavellian ‘PDP Venomous Poisoned Parting Present’-fuellessness and powerlessness? Buhari can BLAME PDP INCOMPETENCE AND CORRUPTION for a need for the ‘Immediate Effect’ removal of subsidy.

    Beyond the Boko Haram War, when a country losses its farmers, families, children and armed forces members within the country, it must face the ‘internal terror situation’.  If it is true that the Fulani herdsmen are a few ‘common criminals’ then they should be emasculated with military precision.

    An angry Buhari, a prominent Fulani General, and a former head of state once led a protest delegation to Governor Lam Adesina about a deadly clash between Fulani herdsmen and Oke Ogun, Oyo State farmers. He was educated on who was to blame. With the death of soldiers it seems little has changed except that the herdsmen are better armed, so imagine how they TREAT OUR FARMERS WHO ARE ONLY LICENCED TO CARRY DANE GUNS AND MACHETES. The cattle routes can be guarded easily. The herdsmen have robbed and killed many, including a General in Lagos. Disarming farmers but not herdsmen is ethnic, political and genocidal. What is Buhari’s blueprint on this ‘The Other War’? Let us threaten to stop the North-South cow herd trade until the herdsmen respect other Nigerians –farmers and soldiers. No country whose soldiers are killed can sleep at night. No soldier joins up to be killed in ‘petty cow squabbles’. What ‘medal’ do they get?

    Who is funding Fulani herdsmen weapons? Is their wider mission to destabilise regions of Nigeria or expansionist?  Is it about ‘INSISTING ON RIGHTS OF PASSAGE THROUGH FARMLANDS AND FREE FEEDING/WATERING FOR COWS?  The Fulani herdsmen-Farmer War is internal, not ISIS. A solution must be quickly found. What a waste. Death, so we can eat meat, makes no sense. We demand ‘change’.

  • Our Girls; Better IDP care; ‘Fulani Herdsmen-Farmers War’- ‘Cow Meat Boycott’ and Mass Transit the answer?

    SIR: Our Girls are still missing since April15, 2014, what a tragedy for the families and our country. We often claim there are no jobs for our professionals and tell them to become entrepreneurs. With high unemployment of professionals will 100 psychologists now be recruited, employed and deployed by government, NEMA, the Red Cross and other agencies. They are needed for the mental and emotional care of those traumatised by the bullets, bombs, bestiality or bereavement of war. Available assistance appears stretched to the limit in caring for Internally Displaced Persons. Yet over N57billion was raised by the Victims Fund and more donated internationally. This is the time for IT-monitored, accountable, open-handed, quick action and red tape-cutting assistance with no corruption or bureaucratic bottlenecks leading to another monumental government failure to help Nigerians. If Nigerians fail to quickly rehabilitate our over two million victims, we do not deserve to be a country. We see no money collections and posters and media urging volunteers and donations towards the relief effort.  Who are the faces of Nigerian women leadership leading the support efforts for victims? This HUMANITARIAN WAR EFFORT is what Governors’ wives and the wife of the new President should be proud to do FROM DAY ONE in the new dispensation in association with the women of Nollywood, women professional bodies, wives of the armed forces, wives of bankers etc. I say ‘wives’ but men also need to support this war effort.

    The destruction in the Middle East should worry all of us. Here, the Boko Haram War will not go away. It keeps rearing its ugly explosive murderous ‘here today-gone tomorrow- back the next day’, guerrilla-style tactics so successfully used in the past by the Boko Haram war machine. The recurrent war events in Maiduguri and the recapture of Borno towns already retaken by Nigeria suggest the need for larger forces. Driving Boko Haram away is not the complete answer. The exits must be sealed and the enemy captured. Therefore we need the establishment of efficient commando counter-terrorism guerrilla-style Nigerian Special Forces units in the bush to encircle and cut off escape routes into the bush, forest and across borders. In the national interest and that of millions displaced and at daily risk of being blown up by an increasing number of forced and volunteer suicide female bombers, misplaced military pride must be replaced by cooperation and pragmatism.

    There is need for better Nigerian/ Nigerien/ Chadian military cooperation. The publicised, un-denied use of mercenaries is not without its huge financial cost. It seems the Nigerian Army has fallen foul of the ‘Consultants Disease’ infecting the federal and state civil service, parastatals like NNPC and even the private sector where at every point ‘Consultants’ are invited to do the ‘dirty’ work like raise taxes from the population, sack staff, conduct forensic audit of accounts and now even fight wars. Often if that cost was properly injected given to the organisation as motivation and material, the same result would have been achieved in the often badly demoralised primary organisation.

    Amidst the euphoria of ‘change’ come May 29 and with just 1460 days in control of Nigeria, there are some hard decisions needed. The political battle and war may have been won but there is also real ‘blood and dead bodies’ wars. Boko Haram has local and international, political and religious, poverty and financial, radical and rapist components. But there is another war, a local war which killed three Tiv farmers this last weekend. This ‘our war’ is rooted in Nigerian feudalism and the terrors of an expansionist history, religious and political, territorial and right of way/passage through farms and drive for conquest and humiliation of others. The recent deadly attacks in Taraba, Plateau and Benue resulting in 100 to 400 deaths and involving men in Nigerian army uniform, Fulani herdsmen and perhaps fatal differences between local tribal populations especially farmers. The cost is high and rising with reported tit-for-tat deadly attacks by Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the over 20+ year old Fulani herdsmen-farmers war. It has defied all the conflict resolution attempts of local and international expert mediators to date who must redouble their efforts in the coming months for success.

    Can Buhari stop this ‘The Other War’? Has he got the moral authority? Can the military be applied neutrally? As an interested party, after all he is Fulani, will he be able to be fair to all concerned, as Rotarians will say? Are the causes of this Fulani Herdsmen-Farmers War just difficulties over ‘grazing rights’ or ‘watering holes’ or deep ‘ethnic agendas’ like seizing farmlands and produce without due process or payment for village and farm produce consumed by herdsmen, their families and cattle? There has been historical animosity. Too often the incumbent federal government disarms one side, exposing it to attack or prosecutes one side for possession of weapons for defence as the government does nothing to protect them.  Nigerians must look for other meat that does not cost the lives of its wonderful farming families and gallant soldiers. Why eat meat costing lives or livelihoods of families- Blood Meat. Will a cow Meat Boycott bring sanity through trailer and train transport? Perhaps! In the 21st Century cattle can easily be fed, watered and fattened at source on large northern farms and moved by train or trailer nationwide eliminating the North-South cowherd routes.

     

  • Our Girls; UK Polls; Solar Energy Revolution; Bank Of Industry; Tesla Powerwall solar batteries

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. We pray the Chibok Girls will soon be free. Their painful stories must be documented as documentaries and stories, by Nollywood and in text books of contemporary Nigerian history ‘Lest we Forget’ for we are a very forgetful country. We even have a government which forgets, without apology, to pay its fuel bills promptly precipitating totally preventable misery for all, even government officials themselves. Even haughty National Assembly (NASS) was jolted by a power cut during session. Welcome to the real world. Why did government not pay two weeks ago to entirely prevent this fuel horror?  UK polls: No violence, murders, cheating at polls. Nigeria must learn the correct civilised political dance.  But let’s talk solar and progress in 3-6 MONTHS! AFRICA –GO SOLAR! NIGERIA –GO SOLAR, PLEASE! IF WE GET SOLAR RIGHT WE WILL POWER NIGERIA OUT OF PENURY AND REPLACE THE UNSUSTAINABLE ‘GENERATOR GENERATION’ WITH A SOLAR SEASON OF SILENT POWER WITHIN ONE YEAR. Nigeria needs modern solar factories to mass produce solar equipment, AN OPPORTUNITY LOST by Obasanjo in 1999 with cell phone factories. He preferred tobacco to telecom factories.

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) is supporting solar ventures but at what price or result? Did the BoI strangely post a profit of N5.2billion? Is it supposed to make huge profits or minimal profits on low interest loans? So how did BoI get N5.2b profit? The Buhari government should note that its ‘latest best friend’, China, has interest rates of just 5.1% vs 21-25% for the common man and common business in Nigeria-a CBN/Bank sector corruption. Bring down Nigeria’s interest rates.

    The Nigerian electricity single federal national grid groans in the federal darkness of just 2,800Mw in 2015 instead of the needed 150,000Mw for the population. Hurray, Independent Power Plants were finally approved, along with some scanty railway services, in a 40 years late decentralisation scheme. That federal might was wielded by selfish Fellow Nigerians, whose ideas still cripple plague us. Those ‘False Federalism’ ideas strangled development.

    Now, together with individual solar power, the sun is at last seriously creeping into Nigeria. A batch of 170 schools and some health facilities will be serviced by the 5MW Lagos Solar Project in Lagos and a 1,000MW Damaturu Solar Power Plant, Yobe State. Every single Nigerian state should take note of these and other solar events nationwide and try to save themselves by getting their citizens and businesses off the national grid. This will help the troubled grid to cope as it is assailed by unrestrainable ‘vandalism’ and ‘vicious pricing systems’ and ‘poor delivery systems’ decimating the gas supplies. And IF NIGERIA GOES SERIOUS SOLAR, DO NOT GO ‘OLD SOLAR’ with old lower efficiency technology. Nigeria must not become the ‘SOLAR DUMPING GROUND of even one or two year old equipment’. Solar research moves monthly. On April 20, the Tesla electric car guru Elon Musk announced the ‘NEW ENERGY REVOLUTION’ with TESLA SOLAR GREEN HOME BATTERIES with a 7kWh unit costing $3,000 and 10kWh Unit $3,000-ideal for homes and offices to get off the grid or when you are thrown off the grid. The Buhari government should lead the way to state, LGA, Private sector and CBN to Google this and other new solar technology to rescue from the grid and bypass the backward government officials still with 19th century ideas on power. ‘Tesla Solar’ should be receiving visits now.

    Nigeria does not need to reinvent the wheel. It should use that huge red powerhouse in the sky freely sent by a gracious God. NIGERIA JUMPED FROM LAND LINES TO CELL PHONES UNDER OBASANJO. IT MUST JUMP FROM GENERATORS TO SOLAR ENERGY UNDER BUHARI. It needs brilliant intelligent go-getting professionals in the corridors of federal, State and LGA to get their political bosses to take on board with solar and other cutting edge technology. ‘POWER NIGERIA AND YOU EMPOWER NIGERIANS’, ‘SOLARISE NIGERIA AND WE WILL ALL SMILE’. Remember the New Environmentally Friendly building just opened in the Pan African University, Lekki, Lagos? Have your government officials visited it for ideas to use during the next four years or are they just ‘armchair solar supporters’? ‘SOLAR MAKES SENSE’ –EXCEPT to entrenched FUEL CARTELS AND GENERATOR SELLERS. The CBN should set Nigeria free from the huge cost of excessive fuel and oil consumption to power and maintain Nigeria’s one million generators by setting up a $5billion solar Loan Scheme, low interest, 3.5 year repayment scheme to solarise Nigeria so the money will be back in the bank before 2019. The money can be used to purchase equipment and support factories to produce solar technology with today’s cutting edge solar science. The GENCOs and DISCOs will not like it but Nigeria requires 150,000MW.  Every Nigerian state is larger than 20-50 countries and must face the responsibility to the citizens who deserve more than exercise books, a few potholes filled and unfulfilled promises. States must provide Independent Power Plants to power their citizens into the 21st century. To date we have too little and it is nearly too late. At federal, state and LGA, we expect rapid fire progress.

    FOUR YEARS IS A SHORT 1460 DAYS. What are your LGA, state blueprint in power, education, health, transport, youth development, library services, youth centres? Without the detailed budgetary lines international examples and close monitoring, the money will be stolen again by politicians, party and civil servants using imaginary contracts.

  • Our Girls; Fuel: Govt. Inaction; Fulani Herdsmen/Farmers War kills soldiers, civilians; 1460days for dev –run!  

    Our Girls; Fuel: Govt. Inaction; Fulani Herdsmen/Farmers War kills soldiers, civilians; 1460days for dev –run!  

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014 with 300+ others freed by the military. Six soldiers and then 20-?200+ Plateau civilians murdered in retaliation in the ‘Other War’-the Fulani herdsmen/Farmers War. Will President Buhari end this justly?

    Nigeria was paralysed by an avoidable traumatic fuel scarcity- Irresponsible parting ‘Government Inaction’ gift, as billions go on 2015 politicians severance pay-a politicians’ ‘dividend of democracy’. If only government had competence to pay two weeks ago!

    Four years is a very short time, 1460 days. Government must fast-track recovery and distinguish the citizens’ ‘right to decent life’ from non-existent citizens’ ‘dividends of democracy’. If Buhari wants to build 100 bridges nationwide he must start now. In addition:

    Use ‘Mr President’, ‘Senator’, ‘Representative’  and  ‘Assembly Member’ .

    READ THE NEWSPAPERS. Press Aides can file: Good, Bad, Ugly Press. In politics Euphoria becomes Paranoia. Comments become Criticism within three months.

    Use the Presidential Address to recruit Nigerians – Day 1 or Day Zero of the ‘No Corruption  Campaign’ .

    ‘Wife of the President’ is Grand Patroness/fundraiser for volunteer female causes nationwide. She must be exemplary. The Boko Haram Internally Displaced Persons, Victims of the Fulani Herdsmen/Farmers War, the female victims of oil spills and erosion need her presence, prayers and OUR donations made ‘on behalf of Nigerians’ and not herself.  We pray for ‘50% Women In Politics And Board Rooms’.

    Ministerial & Agency List: Buhari must trawl the NIGERIAN DIASPORA for YOUNG DYNAMIC WOMEN and MEN. States lists must contain 50% women.

    In the Civil Service: International MEASURABLE standards, Goals, Targets, efficiency, competence, Monitoring & Evaluation,  CLOSE SUPERVISION, ‘Monthly Progress Reporting On All File Movements’- MPR – AF, Verdicts and Consequences for failure.

    Action on the Constitutional Review Report

    The Nigerian Diaspora: Ideas, exchanges, homecoming and rewards for remitting foreign exchange. Initiate NIGERIAN DIASPORA ELECTRONIC VOTING by 2019.  Let the BUHARI GRILLING INTERVIEW be a hallmark AND A REPEAT INTERVIEW 6 MONTHLY. No rubber stamp appointments.

    No Second Term For Ministries Agencies And Departments: There are many wonderful Nigerians. Use them.

    Corruption Prevention Systems introduced FROM TOP DOWN to get ‘FOUR YEARS OF MODEST HONESTY’.   EFCC, ICPC MUST PREMPT in every Ministry and Department with SUPERVISION. Forensic audit of Police, CID, EFCC and ICPC. THE UNIFORM IN NIGERIA is a weapon of corruption.

    Curbing Waste: STOP inflated contracts.

    Recouping The Cost Of The 2015 Campaign: Tell Nigeria how it will recoup election expenses.

    SPREAD THE ‘IDEAS ARE GOOD’ NET WORLDWIDE: Dawn is the time of good ideas using the internet to detect TED, New MIT, UN, WHO, FAO, Energy and other technologies. A BRAINIAC ROOM with 100 high tech people should explore the internet. Nigerians with ideas must tell government. Projects need starting early. The Second Niger Bridge should include a Third Niger Bridge Plan. Europeans are executing a SAHARA SOLAR FARM REVOLUTION. SOLARISE NIGERIA with a CBN single digit $2-5billion Solar Loan Scheme to capture the sun.

    EMERGENCY POWER’ : When the Fujiyama Nuclear Reactor in Japan was destroyed the Government in three months delivered replacement ‘EMERGENCY POWER’. Nigeria’s Government can introduce an ‘EMERGENCY COMPONENT’ to supply 20-40,000MW in three months. The internet has 25 Emergency Power companies.

    Stop the ANIMOSITY BETWEEN STATES AND FEDERAL.  WORK TOGETHER, GROW TOGETHER.

    TRUE FEDERLISM is a long overdue dream. Federal needs to shrink so states can grow.

    Education: The 20% public school pass can be tripled by coaching current SS2 students in July to Sept and December 2015 holiday coaching with Extra Classes. Come September, give 15 TEXT BOOKS/STUDENT. School Posters are as good for students as political posters were for politicians who printed 50-100m. 10 POSTERS PER CLASS x 1.5million classrooms needed. A BOX LIBRARY of 100-200 books/school.  The Education Funds must buy Books. ’BOOKS BUILD BRAINS ’.    Medicine: Use the media for a Massive Health Education plan. Put cancer therapy in every state capital.         

    SECURITY MUST BE PROVIDED FOR ALL: Redeploy police around politicians to community security.

    NASS RETURNEES: New NASS must be wary of Old NASS ‘returnees’ used to ‘NASTY NASS’ envelopes to facilitate oversight approvals.

    NASS Changes: Nigeria expects cuts in Salaries And Perks, SAPing Nigeria dry, remove Constitutional Projects, move towards a ‘SITTING ALLOWANCE’ NASS and a ‘PART TIME’ NASS AND STATE ASSEMBLY.

    Fulani Herdmen -Farmers war: Lasting solution before the citizens boycott meat in a ‘Blood Meat Boycott’

    Economics: Nigeria expects an appreciation of the naira at maybe N1/month.

    FINANCIAL STIMULUS: Recognise citizen’s entrepreneurship and work with CBN/ private sector to cancel the MPR of 13% and get single digit interest rate for all.

    Sports-MASSIVE MULTISPORTS DEVELOPMENT: Football-just one of 100 neglected sports. Budgetary line items for each sport. Reintroduce ‘PE’ PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

    YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: THE WARD IS THE SMALLEST POLITICAL UNIT. Each of the 16,400 wards needs a YOUTH INSPIRATION CENTRE.

    BUDGETARY COMPARISONS: Compare Budget Line Items with UK, USA, SA to expand job, opportunity and accountability.

    The Housing Deficit of 14-17million AFFORDABLE Housing is a growth opportunity. This is 14 million/48 months or 290,000 homes nationwide/month or 8,000 homes/state/month or 96,000/year/state.

    Politicians vs Professionals:   Many political programmes are gimmicks where professionals are ‘Yes Sir’ people. This must stop.

    The new government must Run, Run, Run or Nigeria will become one huge third-world refugee camp heading abroad!

     

  • Our Girls; FMB; Politics-Nigeria’s disaster; Xenophobia; INEC vs anarchy; Nigeria-teach history

    Our Girls still missing since April 15, 2014. What hope for them to escape their evil captors?

    Ten to 32 farmers were killed by herdsmen in the ongoing FULANI HERDSMEN/FARMERS WAR which has claimed over 5000 lives, second to Boko Haram. What can and will Buhari do when he takes over?

    The Kotangora House, Marina, Lagos fire reveals the building is owned by Federal Mortgage Bank which has seriously failed the housing loan industry. FMB should sell Kotangora House and use the billions for its unfulfilled role.

    The earthquake and Mount Everest avalanche in Nepal killing 3,000+ are warnings to Nigeria’s leadership to take governance seriously. Bad governance also kills thousands, for example THE OKADA MOTORCYCLE EPIDEMIC. Daily I see deadly disease and death in potholed Nigeria. The ONLY NATURAL DISASTER IN NIGERIA IS POLITICS losing trillions to theft and incompetence. Even in ‘working’ states, the costs in corruption and taxes are too high on the few paying. Tax Consultants take too much. Taxation must follow the democracy axiom – BETTER TO TAX MANY A LITTLE, THAN A FEW A LOT.  Taxes in overtaxed states must be reviewed downward.

    The Gallipoli Campaign 100 years ago, claiming 130,000+ lives, was marked on 25-4-2015. The Armenian Deportation or Genocide claiming 600,000-1.5million lives was marked on 24-4-2015. These are history, win or lose. Countries which ignore history, cannot survive. Nigeria abandoned teaching history.

    The Xenophobic attacks in South Africa are partly because the complete history of the anti-apartheid struggle is not taught but summarised as ‘Let us forget the past except for a few heroes’. Most young South Africans are angry at their poverty and joblessness caused by failures of their own government which spends millions on the President’s home. The migrant African worker is easier prey who would not be in South Africa if not for the failures of African governments back home!

    Films, plays, books, songs, stories must tell of those who stood against apartheid and for freedom in Angola, Mozambique, and Congo. How many African salaries, jobs, scholarships, medical services and lives helped South Africans? Africans collected pocket money for South Africans. South African and Africans schools should teach history from the old anti-apartheid diplomats to correct the ‘shortage of history’ or ‘history deficit’. Nigeria sent Nigerian volunteer doctors including Dr Wole Ogunseyinde to Angola and Mozambique in 1970s. Ignorance is an African denied his history, fed 100% rubbish politics!  And Burundi President wants a third term!

    America is taught history in Hollywood blockbusters, even failures like the Bay of Pigs. Our Nollywood should too. Where in Nigeria is the Commemorative Plaque/Memorial for Nigerians who helped kill apartheid? We remember historians Professors Tekena Tamuno-TNT, and JFA Ajayi. Let the new government TEACH HISTORY ‘Lest We Also Forget’ our past. Xenophobia spreads faster than Ebola. HISTORY IS A VACCINE AGAINST XENOPHOBIA. Any reprisal attacks on South African business in the countries of victims of xenophobia in South Africa, is also xenophobia and must not happen. Two ‘human rights’ wrongs do not make it alright.

    We expect a lot of INEC – A good honest election to triumph over entrenched political anarchy. We expect INEC to deliver a MORAL AND MATERIAL MIRACLE in a country where political corruption and vicious violence are stepping stones to ‘respectable’ political glory. The Nigerian political system has ‘legalised the illegality’ of exorbitant Salaries and Perks, SAP, salaries for life, and pauperised Nigeria by budget self-allocations and 30-70% contract kickbacks.

    The average Nigerian says there are no ‘clean politicians’. If a past ‘clean’ governor has a huge election war-chest of billions, would those stolen billions have not paid for enough roads, text books and medicines, water, filled potholes to guarantee re-election? Our politicians must TURN FROM STEALING TO SERVICE or Nigeria is doomed! Are our politicians morally capable of STOPPING STEALING FOR FOUR YEARS, voluntarily or from fear?

    Why do we expect INEC officials to overcome a dangerous tested political evil monster? They mostly would do a good job if other Nigerians did not participate in dirty politics. Is it INEC officials who bribe, intimidate, ransom, threaten GBH-Grievous Bodily Harm, shoot, bomb, bury in coffins, stab and spread murder and mayhem? No, it is politicians who ‘use any means necessary’ to outwit INEC officials. The politicians are never caught, fined, barred from re-run elections, prosecuted or jailed. So ‘brawn’ claims a violent victory over ‘brain’. We are mostly ‘volunteer voters’ offering time and presence at polling booths to help democracy. A volunteer voter votes for democratic principles and the manifesto inducement of future ‘good governance’.

    This is different from voters voting only under direction for short term profit like stomach infrastructure, bribery, the coerced voter who is ‘selling’ the vote for inducement, bribes or beatings. Who is wiser – the voter who takes immediate returns or the one who votes for political reasons? INEC, how did under-aged and Chadian foreigners register? Who used those PVCs? How many PVCs did not match the voters but the INEC officials said ‘Yes’ from fear?

    It is not INEC which needs education or must educate Nigerians. Nigeria must teach ‘POLITICAL NATIONAL MORAL DEMOCRACY EDUCATION’ to 14+ year olds who will be 18+ in 2019 in schools and the family through teaching Civics and History. The problems include that the Northern feudal system fears that real democracy with free education will take away an obedient multitude and cheap labour –like cattle herdsmen and almajari youth. The price of democratic progress.

    ‘It is not INEC which needs education or must educate Nigerians. Nigeria must teach ‘POLITICAL NATIONAL MORAL DEMOCRACY EDUCATION’ to 14+ year olds who will be 18+ in 2019 in schools and the family through teaching Civics and History’