The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Obasanjo: Kettle calling the pot black

    SIR: Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo told a wild lie when he stated that his generation bequeathed a purposeful progressive visionary leadership to the nation. To explode this self -conceited myth which is the trademark of Obasanjo, me quickly say that it was the greed and personal ambition of one of his senior colleagues in the Army, Lt. Col. Ojukwu that unleashed a bitter fratricidal internecine but unavoidable civil war on the nation.Whilst the war lasted, thousands of lives were roasted and the country’s infrastructure willfully destroyed.

    Obasanjo served in the unfortunate war as a colourless war commander. He later wrote a book pompously entitled “My Command” to ingratiate his ego. The mantle to win the Nigerian/Biafran civil war fell squarely on Chief Obafemi Awolowo whom Obasanjo reviled sorely. Awo as vice chairman to Gen. Yakubu Gowon in the Federal Executive Council organized his colleagues within the cabinet and in the process won the war on the field of internecine diplomacy.

    Or is Obasanjo saying he belongs to Awo’s generation? He dares not say so!

    Rather than retiring to barracks after the civil war, Obasanjo and his so called generation stayed put in government having been enthralled by the sheer cupidity of power and perks of office.

    Obasanjo ran a very profligate corrupt administration; while he sold the nation the dummy dubbed Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), his personal farm, Temperance in Otta, Ogun State flourished immensely. At an African Leadership Forum event in Otta, Ogun State, visiting former president of Tanzania, Nwalimu Julius Nyerere reportedly exclaimed in soliloquy that how on earth could this guy ( referring to Obasanjo ) acquire so much to build palatial mansion amidst hunger and poverty of the people?

    Obasanjo had an axe to grind with the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1979 hence he said that the best candidate would not win. He handed over to Alhaji Shehu Shagari amidst controversies to the nation’s regret.

    Obasanjo and his acclaimed generation of leaders are the nurseries of corruption, bad governance alongside public immorality that germinate and flourish with impunity in geometric proportion across Nigeria. It is an open secret that most of the present crop of politicians are graduates from the corrupt, banal and sanguinary military dictatorship that nurtures our democracy. Little wonder the apparatus of government has gone hay wire!

    Referring glibly to the chieftain and leading light of the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a corrupt leader, it is a defence mechanism by Obasanjo to rationalize his party People’s Democratic Party (PDP) outright rejection and crushing defeat at the polls in the South -west.

    A Yoruba maxim runs thus: show me your friend I will tell you the type of company you keep. Asiwaju Tinubu has distinguished himself as a formidable magnetic personality that could attract such men of integrity and valour. Obasanjo and his political outfit is in short supply of men imbued with strong character to change the ill-fortunes of the economy.

    • Ayodele Fagbohun

    Akure, Ondo State.

     

  • Memo to the President on healthcare

    SIR: One of the responsibilities of government is to improve the health status of all citizens but past governments do not seem to view healthcare as a fundamental human right. This among other factors explains why there is yet no universal health coverage for citizens although health insurance insurance is available for a few.

    The NHIS which is a social health insurance programme established by Decree 35 of 1999 and was kick-started in September 2005 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to provide health services to the formal sector as well as complement sources of financing health and improving access has only provided coverage for less than 10 per cent of the population. Achieving universal health coverage and maintaining it once it has been achieved is no doubt a daunting task but the following are steps President Jonathan can take to provide access to healthcare for the over 90 per cent of Nigerians who are either uninsured or underinsured.

    First, increase spending on disease prevention services and public health and ensure that curative services do not suffer as a result of this. The health of the Nigerian people must be a national priority. Though, there are other issues that are begging for government’s attention but increasing budgetary allocation for the health sector to at least 12 per cent and at most 13 per cent of the GDP will go a long way in providing preventive services to the citizens.

    Secondly, scale-up community-based health insurance schemes across the federation. The federal government need to ensure that those in the informal sector are covered and provide safety nets for poor Nigerians who constitute about 65 per cent of our population in order to increase access to health care for the people. Most Nigerians are confronted with catastrophic expenses due to lack of social protection which makes them pay out-of-pocket. Besides, out-of-pocket payment for health care increases poverty.

    Thirdly, after several years of having the department of public health under the Federal Ministry of Health, there is a need to upgrade this department into an agency. The establishment of a National Public Health Agency will increase the capacity of Federal Ministry of Health to provide prompt and effective health interventions to Nigerians. This is necessary if government must reduce the incidence of diseases and disabilities.

    Finally, all Nigerian companies/employers should by law be mandated to pay for their employee’s healthcare insurance while the employees pay part of the cost of this insurance. There should also be a mandatory healthcare insurance for all Nigerian children. This will help reduce the rate of mortality among this vulnerable group in the society.

    • Bolaji Samson Aregbeshola,

    Lagos State.

     

  • Let NYSC drive agricultural sector

    SIR: I suggest that the federal government equip the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to feed the Nigerian masses. I know that some of my colleagues may not like the idea, but it is very necessary to stop hunger in Nigeria and feed the continent.

    The Federal Government should build farm settlements in each of the 774 Local Government Areas. Here, youths will be posted to take charge. I also suggest that the three weeks orientation period be extended to one month. Within this period, the youths will be taught about the unity of Nigeria and how to operate agricultural machines like tractors, harrowers and other important equipments. At the expiration of this, youths will be posted to the L.G.As for their primary assignments.

    May I suggest further that the 36 states chose friendly crops, fishery, poultry or any other agricultural activity depending on their climate and other vital factors. During harvest, the products will be transported to the three senatorial zones where the Federal Government must have built processing and storage facilities.

    After processing, the Youth Corps members will be responsible for the marketing of the products. For example, if Enugu State, where am serving produce garri as the final product from cassava, the Corps members can make arrangements with ministries and local government chairmen to sell the products to their staff, even on credit basis. The chairmen will help in the recovery of the money through deductions from the staff salaries at the end of the month.

    The product (garri) can be packaged in bags of 25kg or 50kg also, if the cassava production is combined with maize, the NYSC in Enugu for example, can sell the maize to any other state that chose, for example, poultry and feed production.

    With this idea, I believe Nigeria will rule the world with agricultural products. Whenever we have the production in excess, they could become exported goods which we can then export to other countries that may need them.

    I see the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) as the catalyst to agricultural revolution in Nigeria. The prices of food stuff in our markets are still very high, but if this idea is implemented, food stuff prices will crash down by 50%.

    The reason for this suggestion is that in most places Corps where members are sent for their Primary Assignments, they already have enough workforce for the jobs. For example, the secondary school where I teach as a corps member has 100 teachers according to the principal of the school and up to 40 Corps members serving in that same school. I suggest that the SURE-P fund be used to kick off this project.

    • Obioha Kelechi

    Enugu State

     

  • Yuguda: Emperor without clothes

    SIR: Has governor Malam (Dr) Isa Yuguda heard about the tale of “The Emperor’s new clothes”. If he has not, I will tell him. The story is about a self-centred emperor who was deceived by two weavers (like some of the people around Bauchi State governor today) into believing that they have made a new set of clothes for him that is invisible only to those who are unfit, stupid or are incompetent to occupy the office they hold.

    While the clothes were being worked on, the emperor who can not see the clothes pretends he can for fear of being branded incompetent to occupy his office. His cabinet also buys into the game of pretence acting as though they can indeed see the clothes and that it is the most beautiful thing they have ever seen.

    After the two weavers reported to the emperor that they have finished working on the clothes, the vain emperor decided to hold a public procession to show his new clothes. The emperor parades in his new “clothes” while his cabinet and courtiers were careful not to point out to the emperor that he was actually walking naked lest they be called stupid and unfit for their positions! The townsfolk also pretend that they can see the “clothes” and praise the quality of work done until a little child put paid to the charade by shouting that the emperor was actually naked!

    Though this story was written over a hundred years ago, it is so true of the kind of government we have in Bauchi State today.

    Since his assumption of office as Governor of Bauchi State in 2007, Governor Yuguda has carried on like the emepror in the story, paraded around naked with everyone applauding him. His cabinet would tell anyone that cares that the emperor-governor has the midas touch, that he was the best thing that ever happened to Bauchi State.

    All the positive titles in the book were exhausted on him: ‘Gwamna Talakawas, Gwamna Gwamnoni, the action governor, the peoples governor to mention but few.

    Despite the generosity of the monthly federal allocation to the state, the state is still marching backward in terms of social infrastructure and human development.

    None of his political appointees has the courage to tell him that he has tragically lost touch with reality. Yuguda does not have the advantage of that little child who screamed that the ‘emperor has no clothes on at all’!

    I have been a critic of Yuguda’s government mainly for what I see as lack of focus, incompetence and insincerity with fervent hope that the naked governor will sit up.

    I believe that constructive criticism is one of the pillars of any promising democracy. All over the world, critics are regarded as the third eye of the community, state or nation.

    They are the watchdog and guardian angels that constructively put the government on the hot seat.

    What we have in Bauchi is an emperor with no clothes but which no one dares to point out that he is stark naked.

     

    • John Akevi,

    Bauchi.

  • New face of teaching hospital Awka

    SIR: Founded many years ago, Amaku General Hospital, (now Anambra State University Teaching Hospital, Awka), gained prominence due to the expertise of most of the doctors and nurses. Their selfless services contributed immensely to the successes achieved in the hospital. But that was in the past. At a point things began to turn upside town, perhaps, due to unfavourable government’s policies, or rather, politicization of human lives. The basic demands of the hospital were not met; dilapidated and decayed hospital equipment was never replaced; the quality and quantity of the drugs brought to the hospital became somehow questionable.

    Some nurses and doctors, as their own reaction to government’s apparently callous actions, began showing lackadaisical attitude towards the affairs of the patients. Even when a medical doctor was the governor of Anambra State, the doctors went on strike after so many years of tears to draw the government’s attention which fell on deaf ears. Of course, death rate increased and some patients who cannot afford private hospital services were left to their fate. Those who knew the hospital before now can attest to this.

    The hospital from 2007 or so downwards could not boast of at least one healthy structure or facility. Patients and indeed good Anambrarians let ‘wild’ their voices in plea to the government to no avail.

    To be honest, the current government of Mr. Peter Obi deserves commendation, at least, counting on what he has achieved at the Anambra State University Teaching Hospital, Awka. Igbo adage avers that when you commend someone for a job well done, he would be fortified with enough courage to do more! When I visited the hospital recently, I could not help but shrug in awe over what I saw. Yes! If one calls it one of the wonders of Anambra, it would certainly not be in error. Multibillion naira, gigantic buildings are on ground. There are over 15 of them that are completed and others springing up. The quality of drugs sent to the hospital is sound as captured in the words of some patients I interacted with.

    It is not that there are no few things which need to be attended to; but whoever sees the truth should ‘vomit’ it. As at the time I visited the area, there were series of work going on. The massive compound was being beautified and trees were being planted to check erosions and as windbreaks to preserve the new structures. More importantly, the teaching hospital secured accreditation through the relentless efforts of the same man who made it a teaching hospital, or rather, paved way for that. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Ezeobi Ifeanyi has equally been praised. They said the man works hard as if it is his personal hospital. However, the patients and indeed, concerned Anambrarians are in tears, not of pain or anguish, but of joy. Honesty demands that he who did well should be commended.

     

    • Odogwu Obinna

    Awka

     

  • This government doesn’t just care!

    SIR: This is simply incredible! That the federal government bluntly told striking university lecturers that it cannot afford to meet their financial demands? The same government that doled out millions of naira from public till to organise a stage-managed Women Peace Rally in Abuja, and brought top class artists like Iyanya, Onyeka Onwenu, Danja, Kcee and some notable Nollywood stars as part of the ‘rented’, but heavily paid crowd at the event?

    Are we really a serious nation at all? Our leaders are not bothered that the nation’s youths who should be in school are wasting away at home. Instead, they are busy making plans and seriously strategising ahead of an election that is two solid years ahead of us. Do they really care about the future of this country at all?

    I sincerely doubt it!

    Any sane mind, better still, anyone who truly wants the best for Nigeria cannot afford to pretend over these strange occurrences. I’m very sure that even among those conspiring to send this nation to early grave exist a few who are worried about the state of things. Like humans that they are, I don’t expect them to openly bite’ the finger that provides them their share of the cake; no, not in this part of the world where people kill in their quest for power and relevance.

    Check this out; a few years back, trillions of naira, from our collective patrimony was used as bailout funds for commercial banks ran aground by friends and associates of those in power. The entertainment industry, popularly called Nollywood equally enjoyed similar largesse when this same government released the sum of N3 billion as bailout funds for its smooth operations. Even after discovering that some government-backed oil contractors collected trillions of naira for not supplying a drop of fuel, this same government still kept its cool and shielded the big boys from paying for their crimes. Instead, it resorted to removing fuel subsidy as if to choke the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

    The same government that has earned for itself the sobriquet of being the most generous administration has suddenly realised the need to be prudent now that it’s the turn of university lecturers? What is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. So, let the spending spree continue. After all, it is oil money. Oil can never dry up in Nigeria. Our gods will never allow that to happen, not now that a son of the soil is in the saddle.

    • Abdullahi Yunusa,

    Minna, Niger State,

     

  • The Nation is right on Akpabio

    SIR: The truth is very bitter. That is why Governor Godswill Akpabio is furious about the editorial carried by The Nation newspaper. The majority of Akwa Ibom people would agree that the editorial aptly captured the disposition of Mr. Akpabio. Ever since he became the state chief executive, he has displayed a complete lack of tact in his speeches and actions. It is public knowledge that he is ruthless in dealing with his opponents, real and imagined. This is a man who does not tolerate critics and opposition in what is supposed to be a democracy. He runs a miniature tyranny where opponents and critics have been hounded into exile out of fear for their lives. His victims are endless.

    They include Amb. Edem, Prof. Wilson, Nsima Ekere, Chief Ononokpono and lately, Senator Etok. His serial denial only smacks of hysteria and hypersensitivity typical of tyrants. No sympathy for Mr. Umana though. For six years he rode on the tiger’s back, now he has ended up in the tiger’s belly. He is complicit in the atrocities of the Akpabio administration.

     

    • Ubong Essien,

    Uyo

  • ASUU: Was Okonjo-Iweala quoted correctly?

    SIR: I was deeply disappointed with the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala after her comment regarding the on-going ASUU strike in the country. The media on August 14 quoted the minister saying that the Federal Government has no money to meet ASUU demands.

    So, the Federal Government has money to squander for elected leaders but has no money to meet the ASUU demands?

    For goodness sake, no amount of demands should be considered too-much in-respect to education. I listened to US President Barack Obama, in one of his inaugural speeches promise education for Americans and that is exactly what he is doing. Obama makes it a point to emphasize the importance of having a strong educational system, for you to know how important education is. I wonder why the Nigerian government has refused to adopt the same mindset and policy to that of the US in making the education sector vibrant.

    I watched and listened to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl was shot in the head by the Taliban speak on her 16th birthday anniversary on You-tube. She said: ‘Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one school, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the best.” Education first’.

    It is very surprising that the 16 year old Malala knows the power and the importance of education, advising the world to use pens and books as powerful weapons to fight evil. But our leaders who are all beyond 30 years don’t understand the power and the importance of education. If they knew, they would not allow our teachers and lecturers to go on strike. However, if the government is spending money on things that are not relevant, such as funding of Hajj and Pilgrimage, paying too-much salary to elected leaders and so on, then, there should be no complaint about ASUU’s demands.

    Our leaders do not appear to be fazed by what is going on with our education system; perhaps it is due to the fact that the majority of their children go to school abroad. I wonder what the education system is going to be like in the near future. It is a pity that we have illiterates who have benefited from adequate education running our country. The earlier we fish them out, the better for Nigeria. I apologize if my comment comes off as offensive or rude, but the fact is, if you beat a child, you won’t stop him or her from crying. The problems of this country are beating us, the citizens, most especially the one that necessitated this writing (ASUU strike).

    • Nane-Awunah Pius Terwase,

    Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna

     

  • Obasanjo deserves pity

    SIR: It is not uncommon to see ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo mount the soapbox and make a gaffe. Many Nigerians are also very aware that the former president is narcissistic and has a method to demonizing his opponents, or better put, the opposition.

    Following his recent inglorious outing in Ibadan where he referred to some political personalities as being leadership failures on account of lack of probity and integrity, it is bewildering if the former president would rather see himself as a model for leadership. Nothing more defines Obasanjo as a leadership disaster other than the fact that in both 1979 and 2007 when he exited power, he delibrately left Nigeria with less suitable replacements to the presidency.

    The principal character deficit of Obasanjo is that in his own mind, no other Nigerian has the capacity to direct the affairs of the country better than him; and so, he wastes no time to demonize anyone who attempts to beat him to that claim.

    Be it Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu or Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the dexterity and the audacity with which these two politicians challenged the Obasanjo’s sense of invincibility is the reason why they are not fit for leadership.

    In the case of Tinubu, it can be well understood that the mere title of Asiwaju that goes before Tinubu’s name is a myth that cannot escape Obasanjo’s envy, and of course, his venom too.

    But the truth of the matter is that Tinubu is more a leadership success than Obasanjo as governor of Lagos State, the same time Obasanjo was the president of Nigeria.

    Tinubu not only created the template for the development and rebranding of Lagos as a model state in Nigeria, he also powered his dream for Lagos State by encouraging a suitable successor to take over from him as governor of the state.

    Tinubu’s integrity dwells in his spirit of forgiveness and his probity lies in the fact that no probe after he left office as governor of Lagos ever indicted him of improbity. The same can’t be said of Obasanjo, who is legendary for his vindictiveness and whose record of probity is tainted by his indictments in both probes of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the power project by the National Assembly.

    In the case of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, there is a sort of sarcasm in why Obasanjo had to speak negative of him in Ibadan. It will be recalled that Obasanjo was an observer to the presidential election in Zimbabwe and seeing Robert Mugabe sworn in for his 5th term as president of that country, Obasanjo cannot but ask himself questions on how Mugabe has been succeeding where he failed. And, there is only one answer. Atiku.

    How has Atiku fared in probity and integrity? Well, no single probe has indicted Atiku of any wrongdoing while in government. In fact, it is on record the Senate probe on the BPE apologized to the former vice-president for wrongful investigations. It is also on record that unlike Obasanjo whose daughter was fingered in a corruption case, no one knows who Atiku’s children are, and none of his associates has ever been fingered in any probe, including the fuel subsidy scandals. Unlike Obasanjo also, Atiku has been responsive to every investigations where he was accused of any wrongdoing and that is why he is legendary as the most prosecuted public servant in Nigeria, and he has come out unscathed, even when he has not been a friend of any government in power.

    It is therefore high time Obasanjo knew his limits while he makes his usual gaffes and never to cast aspersions on people whose records of public service is without blemish.

     

    • Babajide Balogun

    Ibafo, Ogun State

  • Kudos to CBN Governor on dud cheques

    Whenever the history of the banking industry in Nigeria is written in future, the tenure of the present Central Bank Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido, would go down as one with a remarkable difference when compared with the previous holders of the office. He has taken steps in the past to check the rot in the banking system and his latest directive, as broadcast during the 9.30pm news hour on the Murhi International Television on Monday, 5th August, 2013, to the effect that all banks in the country should compile the list of issuers of dud cheques and forward same to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for necessary action. It is indeed another milestone in the string of laudable achievements recorded by him since his taking over the control of the Apex bank in 2008.

    It would be recalled that a day after this directive, the case, among several ones previous reported in the newspapers, was that of a 29-year-old hairdresser, Mrs. Joy Jegede, who was sent to prison in Ilorin over issuance of a dud cheque to the tune of N620,000, as reported on page 3 in the P.M. News edition of Tuesday,06 August, 2013.

    There is no doubt that this is the first time that this nefarious action that has continued to add to the already dented image of our country is being brought to the limelight and addressed. The Central Bank Governor is, however, enjoined to nip in the bud any possibility of circumventing or frustrating this laudable directive by providing a means through which victims of issuance of dud cheques can reach him directly. By doing so, the room for any cover up or collaboration with any bank customer by any of the banks in the country would have been closed. In addition, the directive should cover the period the last five years since he began the cleansing of banks nationwide. He should borrow a leaf from the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, who out of an act of exemplary leadership, volunteered the direct email address through which he can be reached by the public all in a bid to sanitise the Nigeria Police Force, an effort that is no doubt yielding good results.

    The CBN Governor is also advised to go a step further by publishing the names of issuers of dud cheques in the newspapers as was done in the past when the identities of chronic bank debtors, bank directors and defaulting companies that wrecked some Nigerian banks were unmasked to the public at the beginning of his tenure in office. In addition, any branch of any bank that is found to have compromised the directive in any way should equally be exposed to the public and sanctioned accordingly.

     

    Odunayo Joseph

    Tel: 08053488121

    Email: odunayo_ joseph2006@yahoo.com