The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Re – Centenary fixations

    SIR: My dear Kunle Abimbola. I have just finished reading your article of the above title and I cannot but get in touch. Talking of job creation, I am tempted to ask rhetorically why our leaders deliberately lie to us. I begin to wonder if the art of lying forms one of the pillars of governance, or whether it is diplomacy by another name. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (I admire and respect that woman, so much), would quote figures of over a million jobs created while Akin Adeshina of the Agriculture ministry and other ministers will reel out figures equally of the millions, of jobs created. Where, if I may ask?

    Of course, from experience I do know that some ‘lucky’ Nigerians have reported for deployment without being interviewed nor were such spaces advertised by way of due process except recommendations from the presidency, the National Assembly and other such institutions. Any wonder why why productivity is low, effective supervision is drastically abridged and accurate statistical data on staff strength is usually a guess work.

    Or still, maybe the advertised ones where you have to pay some non-refundable sum for places that have already been filled. So, the job has been created by the privileged few for some privileged few.

    When Obasanjo characteristically issued his ex-cathedra for the demolition of toll-gates across the nation’s highways, I told my children (my only reliable audience and constituency) that it was a ploy to create contract opportunity for the “boys” who in future will get another contract for the re-construction of same. Party patronage. Period.

    All these geo-political quotas for the so-called Centenary celebration, Kunle, can they be sustained and MAINTAINED? What is happening to the National Arts Theatre at Iganmu, the National Stadium, Surulere and Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) all in Lagos, NIGERIA? My patriotic answer is that we don’t have the required maintenance culture.

    So, the centenary fixations are fixated on the contracts to be awarded or have been awarded from the centre or how else do you think the funds for the 2015 presidential elections would be sourced? Happy New Year!

    • Myk Aiyemo,

    Abuja.

     

  • Amaechi and PDP’s regret

    From the look of things, it does not require the help of a soothsayer to tell the world that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been regretting and also fighting already lost wars of vendetta against the G-5 governors. There is no gainsaying the fact that the PDP has left its obligations for fights of the governors, which were the imminent behaviour it exhibited that compelled the governors to pitch their tents with the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is today receiving ovations from many members of the public for dazing the PDP diplomatic uppercuts.

    If you have seen a wounded snake in the bush before or have wounded one yourself and took a very keen observation of her, you would notice that she bites every object on her way; or if you have seen an entrapped dog before, you would notice that she cries more than any wailing group of persons. These are better ways to describe the drive of the once self-acclaimed largest party in Africa, known as and called the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Since Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State and four of his fellow governors moved from the perceived problematic PDP, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the PDP has not concealed its open regrets. Even when many legal luminaries had said before and after Amaechi and co moved out of the PDP that they have a right for free association, the PDP is going to court of law to seeing that their seats are declared vacant.

    The discreditable side of the PDP is that it refused to address almost all the issues raised by the former G-7 group as the reasons they were not happy with the party before five of them genuflected. Gov. Amaechi, for one, told the world that the reason the G-5 governors moved to the APC was because Mr. President failed to resolve the issues the G-7 governors had raised, hence they took a position. The PDP did not go to court to ask Mr. President why he was unable to meet the requirements of the governors, but here is the party exposing itself to the gallery for public ridicule.

    Unlike the PDP and Mr. President, Gov. Amaechi has no personal antagonism with the two. Political calculators knew that those calling for Amaechi’s head for telling the leadership of the country where it should get things right, were only doing so out of sheer sentiment that Mr. President perhaps said that he went to school without shoes or because he said that he is a PhD holder or because he is from the South-South region. The PDP did not go to court to ask Mr. President the reason Rivers State continued to lose her oil wells in some parts of the state like Etche and Kalabari. The PDP did not see these inimical acts as affecting the Rivers masses. It, perhaps, thought that the former oil wells in Rivers State that were given out to other states, would affect Amaechi alone.

    Gov. Amaechi should be praised for the position he took in joining the APC in order to give room for peace. Notwithstanding, if there is any person or party today that is still making problems in and out of Rivers State, that party is the PDP and some of its members.

    Gov. Amaechi has a way of surviving in troubles, which no person should think that his joining the APC would bring to an end his political career. His developmental activities might be diminishing in Rivers State, but from accounts it was noted that the federal allocations to the state has also diminished. No one should think that Amaechi has taken Rivers State back to slavery by joining the APC. Afterall, no member of APC has been recorded as the leader or part of the troubles orchestrated against Amaechi in the state, but some Rivers persons who want to slave the state by magic or design, hence they pose in making sure that the governor is removed for them to have their ignoble and inglorious way to manipulate the state. It is unconstitutional for anyone to say that Mr. President must test power for 8 years for fairness, equity and justice to play in the six regions of Nigeria.

    But to Amaechi, he sees as ignorant and self-seeking those who line their political perception on the margin of religion and ethnicity. This is just the bane of the PDP and the reason it has lost out even though it still brags as the leading party. The PDP has become a victim of its manipulation, but is only shy to make the world know that it is regretting, except through its vendetta language we can read.

    Odimegwu Onwumere,

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • Abdul-Mumini Jibrin should apologise to Ngozi Iweala

    If you truly want to test a man’s character and maturity, give him power. Sometime I wonder at the level of immaturity exhibited by our law makers. The recent brawl between the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the House of Rep. Committee Chairman on Finance, Abdul-Mumini Jibrin, during a recent parley on the state of the economy is simply another childish display by our honourables. For God’s sake, the woman has every right to make her point clear, why not allow her to talk and establish her case. I don’t want to believe that the Chairman’s action was premeditated but for him to act in that manner simply shows his lack of emotional intelligence and maturity. Committee chairmen must treat their assignments with utmost sense of dignity and objectivity. If he has any issue with the person of the honourable minister, he should at least respect her office and not close up on her rudely. Besides, it is expected that public office holders should model the right behaviour and conduct in the discharge of their assignment. His action fell short of that. If the Chairman is placing his argument on the fact that the honourable minister complained of not too fine, his approach would have been more humane. I think the committee should apologise to her because the Chairman’s attitude is condemnable and unsatisfactory for a public office holder of that status.

    Alexander Ighoro

    Warri, Delta State

  • Olabayo’s prediction on Aregbesola

    SIR: When a new year approaches, soothsayers suddenly come alive. Given that our society is largely driven by superstition, rather than knowledge and reason, all kinds of predictions are made, usually by charlatans who know that fearful and gullible people will take them seriously. Over the years, half of these predictions have turned out to be guesswork that a dim-witted person with half sense can anticipate, while of course, the other half will turn out to be false.

    ‘Prominent politician, musician and actor or actress should pray very well to avoid sudden death’, has become a notorious line in the fraud that has become predictions over the years. Of course, given the dangerous lifestyles and occupational hazards of these professional groups, death is always at the corner and it does not require a soothsayer to tell us that. At any rate, the life expectancy in Nigeria is 47 and it takes the grace of God to surpass it and so nobody should scare us. Sooner or later, we will all die, soothsayers et al.

    One of the aims of these false predictions is to sow the seed of fear and make the victims to rush to the soothsayers for prayers and to stop the predictions from coming to pass. This is where the soothsayers make the kill. Big men have big money and can afford to spend big to avert a catastrophe.

    This brings to mind the recent prediction of Primate Olabayo on Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State. Primate Olabayo was reported to have predicted that Governor Aregbesola should pray against being kidnapped in 2014. Ordinarily, this should be tossed into the dustbin. Governors are the most protected persons in the country. The best hands in the service are posted to guard them and there has been only one recorded breach in Anambra State when the then governor, Dr Chris Ngige, was abducted and a charade of his resignation played out. It turns out there was really no kidnapping, but that the script was written and directed by the highest office in the land with the security agencies being made unwilling players in what later became ‘transparent subterfuge’, to quote Wole Soyinka.

    The idea that a governor could be kidnapped could have been laughable, only that it is tragic. Could Olabayo therefore be playing another script? Is there a plan to kidnap Governor Aregbesola in his re-election year and the dastardly act made to look like the work of some local hungry bandits?

    How do we relate this with the allegation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that President Jonathan has a 1,000 hit list and confirmed by Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who claimed that the list is real and his name is on it?

    I am asking Governor Aregbesola not to be deterred and cowed by false prophets and their prophecies. He should continue the good works he is doing in Osun.

    We have taken note of this false prediction and we know those to be held responsible, in case of any shenanigan, just in case.

    • Dr Olu Joseph,

    Surulere, Lagos

  • What to expect in 2014 tax year

    SIR: Every year, all tiers of government – local, state and the federal – aim to improve on their internally generated revenues (IGR) in order to meet their ever huge budgetary needs. This year will not be an exception. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is ready to commence the implementation of the Automated Payment System (APS) and hopes to premise on this and other planned strategies to double its 2013 performance in 2014. Most of the states have restructured their Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to improve tax collection.

    With this in mind, people should expect increased pressure from the taxmen to pay their taxes as at when due. Individuals and businesses are advised, not just to prepare for full tax compliance in the year, but to be conversant with the tax laws and how their tax liabilities are computed. It is important for taxpayers to make it a point of duty to remit their taxes regularly to the appropriate governments and at the appropriate times.

    Eligible taxpayers who do not pay their taxes are bound to pay hefty fines to the IRS when discovered. In addition to paying penalties, the IRS may also file tax liens against the defaulting taxpayer’s personal and real property possessions in any part of the country.

    The IRS may use this discovery of the past due obligations to select the taxpayer for an audit of the taxpayer’s records for previous tax years. This can span up to six years with the attendant penalties and accumulated interest payment. No taxpayer should allow himself or herself to be caught in the tax recalcitrance net and be slammed with high tax debt.

    The taxpayer may also lose all rights to peaceful negotiations with the IRS. The IRS can refuse to compromise on any tax payment proposal from the taxpayer. The consequences of tax evasion are so high that no eligible taxpayer should contemplate not to pay tax.

    Taxes help the government deal with the yearly deficits and also better fund for those things that we always yearn for as citizens, such as security and infrastructure. Having increased revenues can potentially help the various governments improve standard of living and be able to meet the needs of many people as well.

    It is advisable to voluntarily pay taxes to help the government and avoid the impending embarrassment that may come if caught in the web of defaulters.

    • Okey Igwe

    Lagos

  • Obi: Last cut is the deepest

    SIR: The message that seems to have come out from Government House, Awka in this terminal hour of the Peter Obi regime is that the last cut is the deepest. A bang has resounded in the administration’s funding and execution of projects and policies. In the last season of the regime, it has committed over 30 billion naira in accelerated pursuit of the MDGs and other socio – economic services. A sample take of these ambitious investments shows a N11.7 billion injection into road construction; N3 billion to select public and private health institutions; N2.7 billion for Onitsha hotel and convention centre; and N1.8 for resuscitation of Onitsha water scheme. Others are a N2.5 billion facility for 500 buses to both public and private secondary schools; N1 billion for library and laboratory facilities to 420 public and private secondary schools; N2.5 billion Ikenga Shopping Mall, Awka and another N2.5 billion for Agulu Lake Resort, among other schemes.

    Consistent with the Nigerian factor, partisan critics have been blushing at these breath – taking undertakings, putting them down as politically motivated window dressing. Perhaps, given the huge capital outlay of the intervention projects, some ground existed for doubting the credibility of the package. Common wisdom as we glean from the Biblical marriage feast at Cana is to serve one’s best wine first. In tandem with the underdevelopment page of Nigerian government and politics, not a few would presume a – soon – to – quit governor to be busy garnering resources for his retirement days.

    But this mindset ignores the personality factor which forms a critical plank in leadership. Personality motivations invariably determine the stuff of leadership individuals can give. Nelson Mandela was able to achieve a breakthrough in the tortuous anti apartheid struggle through sacrificial leadership. Yet, the greatness of his leadership which endured into post apartheid era was rooted in strong convictions of social justice and reconciliation.

    What emerges strongly from an analysis of Peter Obi’s story is that of a pace setter with the stamina of a long distance runner. Obi has shown that he is a man of steadfast spirit; a man of vision but more importantly who has the courage to seek its actualization. Little wonder that at the other end of the divide, critics rate him as opinionated and rigid. When it is remembered that Obi rallied the consciousness of Anambra citizens in 2001 with the poser; is Anambra State cursed or are we the cause? His sense of challenge in creating standards in the state is more easily understood.

    Against this backdrop, the frenetic pace of the Obi administration at the evening of its tenure should not be a surprise. Equally interesting is the revelation that the funds for these projects, including the two years salary for 7000 workers to be recruited into the state’s public service have all been set aside in special accounts. It marks a clear departure from the Nigerian pattern of encumbering a successor administration with all sorts of commitments and liabilities, and echoes our earlier thesis that Obi is keen on setting the pace in aspects of public service.

    It seems the case that governance has progressively improved in Anambra State since March 17, 2006. Through planning and learning from some mistakes of the past, the Obi administration has in the course of time, achieved full acceleration. We see a regime determined to sign off with a flourish and thus, for Peter Obi, the last cut is the deepest.

    • Ifeanyi Afuba

    Nimo, Anambra State

  • Re: How two Nigerian students died in Ukraine

    SIR: I refer to the piece published in The Nation, Friday, December 27, page 20 on the two Nigerians that died in Ukraine. Anyone who read the story should have a touch in the heart as it’s an emotional piece and a great call for one to be careful in his/her dealings in life.

    I will use part of what the writer wrote to butress my point: “The question many of us have continued to ask since then is whether the UkrainiÌan doctors would have left their own citizens in critical condition to smoke for five minutes. Would they have treateìd fellow European or Russian citizens the same way?”

    I believe that this can only happen in an environment where racial discrimination abounds. Now who should be blame be put on? Is it the deceased, their families or the Nigerian government?

    Indeed, our government should share part of the blame, because neither the embassy in Kiev nor the federal government appears to have done anything on the matter.

    No doubt, if the government had funded the public universities appropriately from the onset, I don’t think the foreign universities will be a “must to go” for our youths.

    I share part of the grief of the entire Nigerian student community in Donestk, Ukraine.

    May God put an end to such calamity.

     

    • Uwala Samson. A,

    Abeokuta, Ogun State.

  • Thoughts on the New Year

    SIR: This is a season of joyous celebrations, goodwill and renewal of hope. About a week ago, Christians all over the world celebrated Christmas, in remembrance of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, more than 2000 years ago. Now another festivity: the New Year. In the twinkling of an eye, 2013 has gone with all its up and downs and 2014 has arrived with expectations and individual resolutions.

    Having gone forever, we should now forget about the pains and disillusionment of 2013, if there was any, and move on in the New Year with unflinching spirit of hope, optimism, perseverance, equanimity, resolve and determination in order to change things for the better. We should not continue to lament over our predicament(s) or pander to fatalistic resignation or self-pity, which rarely solve any problem but create more confusion and uncertainty. Rather, we should count on divine help through earnest prayers, with clear conscience, while being upbeat and maintaining a momentum of grit and courage to survive and overcome, even in the face of great adversity.

    We should see 2014 as a year for a new thinking. Therefore, we should rethink individualism, selfishness, personal aggrandisement, greed, covetousness and avarice. Apart from undermining or destroying inter-personal relationship and imperilling both our moral and ethical values, these retrogressive factors are also responsible for the upsurge in crimes like corruption, fraud, armed robbery, kidnapping, murder, human trafficking, prostitution and crude oil theft.

    To make 2014 eventful, we should compassionately consider the plight of the less privileged in our society – especially the unfortunate victims of deprivation, privation, poverty, alienation and economic austerity. That the level of squalor among a vast majority of our people is spiralling out of control today is not an overstatement. Those in the corridors of power at all levels in Nigeria are besought to respond swiftly and vigorously to this worrisome development through good governance and delivery of dividends of democracy by way of provision of infrastructure and social services, as well as articulation of safety nets of poverty alleviation, skill training and social opportunities.

    It is impossible to conclude without mentioning the great significance of 2014 for our fatherland. It is exactly 100 years this year that the Northern and Southern protectorates were amalgamated by the erstwhile British colonial administrator, Sir Frederick John Jeatry Lugard. Regardless of the painful twists and turns the country has undergone since its formation as a political entity on January 1, 1914, as exemplified in bloody civil war, minority uprisings, political upheavals, military interventions of the mid-1960s through the 80s and intermittent communal pogroms, there is still hope for the future. If anything, such traumatic events and those subsisting should be seen as part of the birth pangs of our nationhood, which other countries had passed through and came out more stable, united and peaceful.

    This is not the time to equivocate on the future of Nigeria; it is time for outlining grand vision for progress in all aspects of our national life. Basically, our centenary calls for good governance, leadership accountability, democratic consolidation, relentless campaign against corruption, dutiful citizens, dynamic political class that upholds national unity and is attuned to the needs of playing according to the rules of the game, coexistence among our complex and diverse groups on equal terms, social justice, growth-oriented and inclusive economy and sustainable development.

    • Okechukwu Emeh, Jr

    Wuse 2, Abuja

  • Blaming all on corruption

    SIR: An average Nigerian today strongly believes and holds the opinion that corruption is the root cause of Nigeria’s problems. Nigerians have developed a self-loathing that manifest in a habitual cynicism. Nigeria has become a synonym for disease, dislocation and destruction, a byword for pity where pious westerners earn their saintly credibility. It is the playground for experimentation in western social ideas based on half-baked data estimates. More troubling is the standards designed by multinational organisations based on these dubious estimates that drive governments policies, which commit themselves to climbing the mountains of goals and benchmarks that are rarely in sync with the aspirations or even the needs of their people.

    Nigerians’ mentality is the major factor why the system is not working; policies are designed by those at the top who are far from the true point of interaction with the environment and who have little openness to the wisdom that emerges from the front line.

    Nearly half of the world now lives in urban areas. The use of digital communications has increased exponentially across the world seeing the decline of agriculture as an economic activity. Yet the discussion on our continent is about mechanising agriculture and industrialisation. We are given the correct answer to a question that is relevant to the preceding century, when in fact quite different questions need to be asked and answered.

    Nigeria has the potential to be well structured, with equipped vibrant mind to create ideas that would manifest in rapid structured development. Very good example is the metropolis of Lagos Island. E very day, people head to Lagos Island en masse, home to about a quarter of million people and the working destination of over five million people. They all aim to get to work by 9am for the start of official working day, and are home bound about 5pm, creating one of the largest and most crushing traffic jams daily. If complex thinking was applied to manage this uniform approach, then organisations would use the entire spectrum of the day to organise work, with some starting at, say, noon and finishing much later. Government would have to make Lagos a 24 hour city. Working stakeholders would have to designate optimal closing times and encourage flexible working approaches.

    The average Nigerian sees himself as indigenes, not citizens. Most Nigerians are indigenes because their sense of belonging comes from being born in the country with the expectation that they are entitled to a certain standard of living. On the other hand, being a citizen is a conscious engagement with the sense of nationality that recognises the complement of rights and responsibilities.

    To address the Nigerian system by focusing exclusively on dysfunctional parts such as leadership or even a perceived pathogen such as corruption will lead to a partial analysis and often-incorrect conclusions. Most Nigerians hold this opinion that corruption is the cause, but in reality most Nigerians don’t even know our role as citizens thereby blaming any challenges or difficulties on the government.

    The Nigerian man should stand up to seek knowledge and shouldn’t be caught in the rat race of blaming every eventuality on the government of the day. Government do have faults and a role to play; but our mentality that anything goes should be curtailed because corruption don’t just start when a man attains power but the way he runs his home.

     

    • Folawiyo Kareem Olajoku

    Osogbo

  • Haba! If you Sanjo me, I will Ebele you!

    Haba! If you Sanjo me, I will Ebele you!

    SIR: When Gerald Ford was President of the United States, an incident occurred that is of particular relevance in this instance of the present imbroglio between Presidents Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. President Ford’s 18-year-old daughter was quoted‘ as having said, with reference to an issue that was the talk of the nation then, that “the president was stupid.”

    Excitedly, journalists rushed to the White House where a cornered President Ford was asked bluntly by a reporter; “Mr. President, your daughter said you are stupid. Any comments?” President Ford’s response, paraphrased, went something like this. “You know what you just said is not true. I have seen the clip of my daughter’s comments. What she said was “the president was stupid,” and I am very proud of the fact that by saying that she has exercised her rights as an American citizen to criticize the American president not minding the fact that the president is her father. How many 18 year-old American citizens say worse things about the president daily around the country without remorse? If she had said “my father was stupid,” then, I will do what I need to do as her father.”

    Americans responded to his answer with acclamations and kudos. He was hailed for upholding the tenets of the oath he took at his inauguration; to defend and uphold the American Constitution and the rights of American citizens!

    I am sure that President Jonathan took an oath that is similar, in intent if not practice, to the oath taken by any American president, even any president, at inauguration. So, why the pugilistic exchange of” blows” and “counter-blows” between an incumbent president and a former one, who, for all intents and purposes, was, in my estimation, simply exercising his rights as an ordinary Nigerian? Does Mr. President read the newspapers daily where allegations worse than President Obasanjo’s comments and allegations feature regularly?

    Fellow Nigerians, writing scathing criticisms of a president, calling presidents names unfit for dogs and pets, and peddling innuendoes about a president’s penchant for doing the incredible, and so on, are issues of fundamental rights of citizens around the world; the much ballyhooed and acclaimed “dividends of democracy.” Both Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan know this for a fact. No one would deny or prevent President Obasanjo from his opportunity to enjoy his rights as a Nigerian citizen.

    Donald Trump writes full page letters to the American president regularly. Former American presidents also communicate with the incumbent president on regular basis through the pages of newspapers. Incumbent presidents never respond. So, why is the presidency in Abuja so bent out of shape?

    In the wisdom of African folklore, when two elephants make love, the ground suffers. When they fight, the ground suffers too! So, it does not matter what two elephants do to one another; it is the ground that will suffer. Unfortunately, the ground that is suffering is Nigeria!

    When, in 2011, at the Eagle Square PDP Convention, President Obasanjo stood at the head of the chorus of PDP’s members, urging them to follow him as Jonathan was anointed PDP presidential flag bearer in the 2011 elections, Nigerians suffered. Today, in 2013, as arrangements are being put in place for the selection of PDP’s flag bearer for the 2015 elections, Nigeria is still suffering!

    The country’s issues and sufferings would never be addressed by the kinds of political ping-pong being played by its present and/or former leaders.” If you Sanjo me, I will Ebele you,” is definitely not the way to go.

    • Angelicus-M. Onasanya

    Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.