The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Makoko: the last seed of hope

    Makoko: the last seed of hope

    SIR: Dwelling right next to civilisation, and concealed by the flight for survival is a segment of society that seems pushed aside. With a border of coloured water which no one – not even the government – is willing to cross. They are disguised as the dregs of a world that used to exist; an abandoned spot on the map of development. A crooked picture of irregular pieces of wood hurriedly patched together forms the basic architecture of Makoko, Yaba. Houses with a foundation rooted in stagnant water; a water system that caters for human and industrial waste; host of flies surround what appear to be excreta soaked up by sawdust. Tears threatened to trickle from my eyes – not because of overflowing emotion, but because the haze of sawdust and smoke made my sensitive eyes teary.

    Obligated to honour the word I gave my friends; I followed the bus that headed to Makoko. As we packed the gifts for a people who were till now a distant memory. Uncertainty held my mind captive, and going back suddenly seemed like a good idea. The government seemed to be the least bothered: why should a group of undergraduates – with only two graduates amongst us – be responsible for feeding a whole community? But we were already on this journey, this is as bad as it could get. Whatever happens would have to be good enough to stop a train in motion.

    It was finished before we even begun. As I sat by the corner of the returning bus, with the window for a natural screen, I witnessed a mild mob – as the children enclosed my friend in an impenetrable fence of demands. In a short flash, he was robbed of the bags he held tightly due to what was surely a miscalculation of the strength that was resident in the children. In that short event, I saw resilience and relentlessness. The will to live and the joy in waiting for the next stroke of excitement.

    Then I realised I was tired, exhausted, and full – fulfilled. Not because, we did much work, but because I was grateful to be part of this. In what seems to be the remains of society dwelt the very last string of a hope that seemed lost. In a free flowing reminisce, faces and voices coloured my thoughts. The preconception of half-naked, pot-bellied, and malnourished children slowly dissolved as I allowed the new pictures to flood my mind: the little girl who tirelessly posed for all of the pictures we took of her, flashing her open-tooth for the camera with a ready smile. The old woman who seemed peaceful even with the thick smell that tickled her aged nose; the young wife that ran desperately so that her family’s share – of the food – was not missed; the single ladies who were ready to take pictures as long as we were ready to give them their package. The young men and husbands with their bodies covered with a powder of sawdust and sweat for the day’s bread.

    They do not struggle with today, but they are confident that tomorrow cannot escape their keen watch. They represent a hope that is not shaped by the government’s activities, but by a spirit that cannot be broken.

    • Adegboye Oyindamola

    Mass Communication Dept

    University of Lagos

  • Stop this profligacy, Mr. President!

    Stop this profligacy, Mr. President!

    The brouhaha that the contract cost for building the residence of the vice-president has thrown up is a clear indication of the insensitivity and the cluelessness that characterise the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In a nation where the majority of the citizens are living below poverty line, homeless and with no indication that the situation will improve any time soon, the people at the helm of affairs are starkly projecting that they are there to feather their nest rather than serve those who put them in the saddle.

    Spending a whopping N14 billion to build such an edifice is unarguably a case of misplaced prority. It is even most befuddling that the contract had to be revised to suit some peculiar tastes and outlook of the incumbent vice-president.

    At a time when the government should be worried about putting food on the table of the average Nigerian, providing opportunities for the generality of Nigerians to be properly accommodated and facilitating the movements of the people, a forward-looking and sensitive administration would as of priority budgeted adequately for welfare schemes that will improve the lot of the people.

    The step being taken by the government has left many wondering why it would have taken the measure of removing the oil subsidy with a claim to putting the savings on efforts to improve the welfare of the people, only to end up spending it on frivolous projects such as the vice-president’s residence and the president’s banquet hall.

    The president, to me, has totally derailed. His selling point when he was campaigning for office was that he grew up as a young person without shoes and could, therefore, empathise with the common folks. His current gestures totally belie this!

    I am calling on him, if he desires to be on the good side of history, to retrace his steps immediately and stop frittering away the commonwealth of the people.

    He has to pay more serious attention to improving the electricity generation and supply in the country. The seeming gains that were made during the tenure of the former Minister in the sector, Barth Nnaji, have declined. The government seems to have now totally lost his bearing in the energy sector.

    Nigerians are daily going through hell trying to get fuel for their vehicles. The queues are endless and fuel is constantly in short supply.

    The Boko Haram terrorists are ever wreaking their deadly havocks, decimating human lives and destroying properties.

    With these myriad of problems, it is unimaginable for any government to ever think of misapplying the resources of the country for frivolous projects such as the proposed opulent vice-president’s residence and the president’s banquet hall.

    •Effiong Udoh wrote from Calabar.

  • Fayemi, reclaiming the trust

    Fayemi, reclaiming the trust

    The Ekiti State government under the leadership of Governor Kayode Fayemi recently marked its second year in office.

    When he came into the saddle, his proclaimed overriding vision was to reclaim the trust of the Ekiti people, which he felt had been eroded by the misrule of the previous administration in the state.

    Towards this end, he came up with an 8-point agenda, which he tagged Roadmap to Ekiti Recovery.

    The points in the Agenda include:

    1. Governance

    2. Infrastructural Development

    3. Modernising Agriculture

    4. Education and Human Develoment

    5. Health Care Services

    6. Industrial Development

    7. Tourism

    8. Gender Equality and Empowerment.

    Promptly after this being sworn in, he made efforts to change peoples’ perceptions of governance in the state. He came up with a slogan: Ekiti State, Land of Honour. He introduced participatory governance and accountability.

    He then embarked on misassive infrastructural development that has seemed to turn Ekiti into a huge construction site. He is also significantly changing the face of education in the state by renovating a good number of educational institutions .

    His investment in tourism has been second to none in the country, transforming the famous but moribund Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort to a tourist destination of note.

    He is also making waves with the remaining items on the Agenda.

    There is indeed a c ause for celebration in Ekiti State with the two-year adminsitration of Fayemi

    performing well.

    •Olu Adeoti, wrote from Ado-Ekiti

  • Two week holiday in Imo

    Two week holiday in Imo

    The recent declaration of two week public holiday in Imo State by the Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha is a great dis-service to the enterprising Imo state people in particular, and Ndigbo in general. This stunt, in our view, carries theatrics in governance to an absurd level. The havoc its spiral effect would have on the economic life of Imo people is better imagined than described.

    We OdinmmaIgbo condemn this unsolicited holiday and call on the governor to rescind it IMMIDIATELY.

    Ndigbo are known for their enterprise and not indulgence or indolence. The times call for hard work after a brief holiday and not endless ‘egwu onwa’

    •Maxi Okwu

    Ikenecheoha II

    Secretary General

    OdinmaIgbo.

  • Regional integration is the answer

    SIR: In 1914, the British colonialists amalgamated different nations around the River Niger area to form what is today known as Nigeria. The ‘British masters’ caused the fusion the Hausas, the Fulanis, the Kanuris, the Nupes, the Yorubas, the Ijaws, the Ibos, the Ibibos, the Kalabaris and so on. Nigeria is a combination of nations because a nation is a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture including language, inhabiting a particular natural country or territory. It is different from a federation. A federation is a group of states with central government and with each state having independence in internal affairs like governance, education, policing, transportation etc.

    Over 98 years after the forced union, not all Nigerians can speak “our common language” and some of us are very pleased with our local language irrespective of the constituents of the gathering. In the beginning of the union, things looked promising. The education system introduced by the colonialists was embraced by the few that could afford schools. A primary school leaver in the sixties will read newspaper correctly and can write acceptable application for jobs. University graduates are now riding Okada and only take time off during off-peak hours to read free newspapers.

    We have the resources both at state and national levels to actualise better standard of living for our people but the structure to make sure this is possible is not in place. We seem to perform better when we are organised along the regional divide. When we operated as a region, we did more collectively than when we were ‘butchered’ into states. The states were not correctly demarcated because the stakeholders were not involved and could not say which state they prefer to belong. Prominent examples are the Okuns, the Aworis and the Ekitis. In some cases, because of natural features like the rivers, a community was divided into to. An example is Asejire in Oyo and Osun states.

    Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, of blessed memory, gave the Western region of Nigeria the infrastructure that made it the envy of other regions and nations. Nnamdi Azikiwe followed suit in the Eastern region and Tafawa Balewa in the Northern region. Our people were motivated because they had sense of belonging to their respective regions and saw regional projects as national projects that belonged to all. Corruption level was low because everybody’s aim was to deliver qualitative public goods and not personal aggrandisement. The other regions in Nigeria were greatly impacted by the Yoruba’s doctrine of being virtuous and the laudable achievements of the sage. A lot of job-seekers came from the other regions to seek solace in the South-West. Ibadan greatly developed into the biggest city in West Africa. So also was Lagos.

    Regional integration will ginger rapid development of the federation. Nigeria is like a construction project with language barrier as a major problem. We fail to understand and listen to each other. The people that can steer the ship of Nigeria to safe harbour can hardly get to the steering. Mainstreaming is a callous means of benefiting at others’ expense. Regional integration is for those that have ideas to let ‘charity begin at home’. By demonstrating that our regions can be great, Nigeria will be greater than we can expect and this will save Nigeria a lot of resources and make it a developed nation.

    • Olufemi Oyedele.

    Osogbo, Osun State

  • Nigeria and China: A tale of two countries

    SIR: Nigeria is seen by many people as a wretched country. The country has been mocked; her people taunted, disgraced in some parts of the world and undermined. “Sleeping Giant of Africa” has been the mocking phrase used to replace the great mantra “Giant of Africa”.

    But Nigeria is not the first great nation to attract scorn as a result of her problems. China was maligned even more but today, they are the darling of all countries.

    Before 1978, China was an autarky -an economy that loathes international trade. They did not trade with other countries. Communism brought untold hardship, poverty, and put the country into economic quagmire. China wandered in this wilderness of acute impoverishment, uncontrollable poverty, hunger, bad leadership and social restiveness.

    The death of Mao marked the beginning of the country’s turnaround as Deng Xiaoping, the then President, made the famous ‘open window policy’ and China has not looked back since then.

    Deng Xiaoping and his assistants were pragmatists; they purged the Chinese society of a notion that was championed by Mao Zedong that “there is pride in being poor”. They let the people know that there was no pride in being poor. We remember that in Nigeria, a leader once coined such phrase as “do or die” during an election and ever since, the country has witnessed intolerable rigging.

    Deng had other phrases like “peaceful rise”, “adopt what works and reject what doesn’t work”, and “incremental development”. They rejected the ‘big bang’ or ‘shock therapy’ approach to development.

    Conversely, Nigeria is still enmeshed in her problems. The good news though is that Nigeria and Nigerians share similar traits to China and Chinese. The dissimilarity between the two countries though, is that Nigeria is endowed with so many natural resources while China is sparsely endowed. However, China has been able to recover her lost glory and positioned herself not only as the dragon of Asia but the dragon of the world. The question remains: can Nigeria regain her giant-ship and become truly the giant of Africa?

    The answer is yes. But it will not come on the platter of gold. There is need for serious thinking and change of heart.

    • Uwalaka Temple

    Daejeon, South Korea.

  • Ibori’s N50 million pension

    SIR: “He was never the legitimate governor and there was effectively a thief in government house. As the pretender of that public office, he was able to plunder Delta state’s wealth and hand out patronage”. Prosecution QC Sasha Wass (speaking about James Onanefe Ibori).

    Despite efforts by Delta Government to defend payment of 50 million naira pension into ex-Governor Ibori’s account,the rationale in favour of this infamous decision lacks any moral justification.

    With gusto, the Delta State commissioner of information tried to insulate Ibori’s treasury looting and other misdemeanor from his pension entitlement. The trend is very common in our clime, where, despite glaring and overwhelming evidence, white suddenly becomes black.

    It is even insulting, repulsive and demeaning that the same Delta State is still spending a fortune in legal fees trying to retrieve Ibori’s $15million dollars bribe to EFCC in court. A flood-ravaged state in need of funds to revamp its economy should not be thinking of compensating a felon who milked them dry.The policy thrust of the government should be the people first and foremost.

    The rate of violent crimes are increasing in Nigeria today primarily due to massive corruption in high places, because funds that should have been freed to socially secure unemployed citizens are diverted or trapped in private pockets. Dwindling industrial base leading to job loses, reckless elite, a vicious ideologically driven violent terrorists in the north and quasi zero spending on social security to tame increasing redundant population are recipe for disaster. How do we intend to tame this monster? We are not getting it!

    As a criminal that captured the governor’s office by altering and concealing his criminal records, identity and looted state’s treasury, Ibori and his cronies across the federation should be barred from accessing state fund or benefit (pension). If felons enjoy state funds via pension, then what is wrong dedicating funds to appease Boko-Haram, kidnappers, armed-robbers and other miscreants? After all, the root of these violent crimes are attributable to greed, recklessness and shortsightedness of our elite.

    Or is someone saying some criminals are more handsome than others?

    Paying Ibori pension from the resources of the state he looted has serious consequence, precedence and signal. We must pay serious attention to our sense of reward!

    • Akinola M.A.

    Verona-Italy

  • Reflections on the leadership question

    SIR: During the fuel subsidy crisis in January, the statements from President Goodluck Jonathan made me to conclude that the nation, which many had tipped for greatness, in 1960, may continue to wander in the wilderness if the issue of leadership is not frontally addressed. If the captain of the Nigerian ship could tell the world that he was going to visit hardship on people that gave him overwhelming mandate, because few untouchable agents of imperialism were defrauding the nation, it is a revelation of the crisis of leadership in this country.

    Plato, the great Greek philosopher might have had Nigeria in mind when in his classic, Republic, ascribed leadership to the sages in the society. Specifically, he warned that the society might descend into the abyss if an individual without the virtue of sagacity becomes a statesman. Nigeria of today and even of yesterday depicts the ugly side of Plato’s thought.

    To start with, in the present dispensation, the President has demonstrated through his actions and gestures that he lacks the courage and the sagacity to move the nation to Eldorado. This deficit may have probably made him to depend solely on coterie of advisers. In fact, one minister even has the designation of a “coordinating minister”.

    In the first republic, the departing colonialists, in their grand design to perpetuate conservatism in Nigeria, brought Alhaji Tafawa Balewa. During the second republic, the inheritor of the presidency, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, was only interested in becoming a senator of the federal republic, but the northern oligarchy thought otherwise. As against his wish and will, he became President.

    Similar patterns were recorded in 1999, 2007, and 2011 when the “Generals” brought in unprepared presidents. It is well known that General Obasanjo was interested in going back to his farm, but to the “annuller”, he must be rehabilitated in the presidential villa. Eight years later, Obasanjo himself, propped up another “unwilling president” the late Umaru Yar’adua, and finally the incumbent, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

    The above illustrations bring me to the issue of leadership and social structure. There is no doubt that the character of the society determines the quality of leadership. However, the state has a role to play in creating a stable social structure. Where the state as in Nigeria has being hijacked by a clique or what Jide Oluwajuyitan, a leading columnist, tagged “fortune tellers”, the nation, if at all exists, flounders.

    Tragically what emerges from such order is a leadership lacking in platonic sagacity. Obviously such a leadership cannot reform and not to talk about transforming the socio-political order. Thus, as we ponder on how to move the nation forward, the issue of state ownership must be addressed. The people must strive to possess their superstructure. It is only through such mechanism that the best could be selected to lead. A leader that is propped-up through such process would promote the real national interest.

    Nigeria needs sages cum statesmen and not politicians.

    • Adeniyi Basiru

    Ikorodu, Lagos.

  • One year of Osun’s Walk to Live

    SIR: Now in its one year, ‘Walk To Live’ the monthly physical exercise introduced by the State Government of Osun is by all means a well-conceived idea that richly adds value to the health of the high and low citizens of the state, enlightening them on the importance of body exercise.

    As any medical expert can attest to, people tend to live better and healthier when they are well informed about the little things they can do to improve their health. The late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, understood this essential fact. In one of his many insightful utterances, he posited that ‘medical men know too well that if many people (through education) were less free in their choice of the types of food they eat, of the beverage they drink, of the clothing they wear, and of the houses they live in, the health of the community would be more than 100 times improved’.

    Today in the State of Osun, the monthly exercise – in which the governor, his deputy, the members of the State Executive Council, newspaper editors, football stars, popular Nollywood stars, and many more important personages join the governor to walk many kilometres on foot, across streets – is now freely accepted by the people of the state. They now see it not as a government thing but as an initiative that is meant to truly improve the quality of their lives. This answers for the enthusiasm, passion and commitment the people display in any area of the state in which the exercise takes place. Not only are they full of joy for being part of a walk aimed at improving their health, they are also overwhelmed with the bliss of seeing a governor and his team partake in a physical exercise with them. This alone speaks eloquently of how close the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is to the people at very local level. It is often a moving sight beholding the whole apparatus of the executive arm just out there in the midst of supposed ordinary people who before now were only used to being harassed with ear-grating sirens of government vehicles moving dangerous at neck-breaking speed, with their occupants shielded off by heavily tinted glasses.

    The ‘Walk to Live’ programme further makes evident the security status of the state. Since its debut in the last one year, no single threat to security, or a case of breakdown of law and order has been recorded. It is so well organised and fully enjoined by the people that it begins and ends without hitches in all the places it has taken place. Again, the Omoluabi virtues that the people of Osun are known for are displayed at each edition of the programme. They conduct themselves orderly and show respect one for the other. The programme equally offers an opportunity for those who trade in edibles to rake in some money. In other words, beyond the health benefit of the programme, there are also economic gains for traders.

    I have participated twice in the programme and it was sheer fun besides the health benefits I derived from it. This to me is one of the best programmes of the governor and I hope the State House of Assembly will make a law that will guarantee its continuity even if another administration comes to power after Ogbeni.

    Kudos to Governor Aregbesola for such great thinking.

    • Olumide Adewale,

    Iwo, Osun State

  • SOS to Kogi state govt

    SIR: I wish to call on Kogi State government to rehabilitate the abandoned Akpanya district roads in Igalamela/Odolu local government area of Kogi State.

    The deplorable state of these important roads linking all Akpanya villages with other parts of Nigeria not only exposes motorists to great risks of accidents, but has, by extension, led to the closure of the only existing commercial bank in the district thereby creating more hardship for the entire communities in the areas who patronize the bank.

    Akpanya District is a border area with four main access roads to other parts of Nigeria. Regrettably, all the under-mentioned linking roads are extremely bad.

    The Odolu/Akpanya road with a narrow rickety wooden bridge constructed at Alakwa over Oweh River many decades ago by our colonial masters is now a death trap to both motorists and motorcyclist who ply the road.

    The Akpanya-Alloma road was last rehabilitated in the early seventies by the Ayangba Agricultural Development Project and has not been touched again since then.

    The two access roads linking Agbedo-Akpanya with our neighbouring Enugu state at UNADU and ITCHI respectively are always un-motorable during rainy seasons to the extent that the entire district becomes landlocked throughout the period.

    I, therefore, request Governor of Kogi State Alhaji Idris Wada to come to the rescue of these communities by rehabilitating Odolu/Akpanya and Alloma-Akpanya roads respectively to enable the communities enjoy the benefits of rural banking scheme for enhanced socio-economic development of the area.

    • Jacob Osayi,

    Maitana, Abuja