Category: Letters

SIR: Since the demise of the strong man of Kwara politics and icon in Nigeria’s political landscape, the late Dr Olusola Saraki to the world beyond, after a glorious and well spent life on this earth, ex-governor Adamu Attah’s name became the reference point.

Writers have been quick to refer to the power struggle between the late Oloye when he was governor between 1979 and 1983, when the late Saraki reportedly denied him second time slot as the governor of the then Kwara State due to a certain disagreement between them.

The attention of this writer has been drawn by some commentators who always refer to ex-governor Attah as late, meaning his no longer alive. No, he is still alive. He is not only healthy, he is living peacefully in Abuja with members of his family and close relations.

Attah played a great role as the governor of the then Kwara State by being the first executive governor of the state to create an enabling environment for the state.

Also, he made great effort to see to the early completion of the Ajaokuta Steel industry and Itakpe Irone Ore, which became his legacy while he was the governor of old Kwara State.

Attah will continue to be remembered for his effort to ensure that he did not betray the confidence of his people and those who made him to become the first executive governor of the state.

While still alive, he is being vindicated that, his loyalty is to the people who elected him into office and he has sole responsibility of transforming their lives, as subsequent face-off between the late Dr Saraki and all those he installed as governors led to disagreement on basis of principle and political consideration.

The late Saraki distinguished himself as champion of the talakawas after the late Aminu Kano. We won’t forget in a hurry how his benevolence saw a lot of people in old Kwara that comprises the present Kogi were given seats to perform holy pilgrimage to the holy land. We all know that before the death of the Great Oloye of Nigerian politics, both Attah and himself reconciled their political differences as good Muslims that they are noted for. All we need now is to wish Adamu long life and move on.

• Bala Nayashi,

Yashi Area, Lokoja

SIR: The recent corruption allegation levelled against our football by the former Super Eagles coach, Clemence Westerhof in the media is laughable.

One cannot but agree in totality with the allegation raised by Mr. Westerhof, in view of the fact that it is not only our football that is affected but the whole body politic of the Nigerian state. The nation is being ravaged by the cankerworm which has held us down. But the truth of the matter is that Mr. Westerhof lacks the moral integrity to accuse anybody of corruption in view of his incontrovertible corrupt nature while he was the technical adviser of theSuper Eagles.

Those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones. I am puzzled by this allegation coming from Mr. Westerhof.

No one should take the forgiving nature of the average Nigerian for granted by insulting our sensibilities when in actual fact, the state that we all are today was laid by the actions or inactions of those who were saddled with the constitutional responsibilities to lead us right.

That Mr. Clemence Westerhof is crying wolf now is akin to the same hypocritical cries of former President Olusegun Obasanjo now on national issues because we will continue to ask what they did to tame this monster when they were in office or is it that it is just rearing its ugly head now which we all know is not the case?

I make bold to state that the high level of corruption that has come to stay till today in our national teams through the coaches started with Mr. Westerhof management of the senior national team during the military era.

Before him, there were foreign technical advisers who were incorruptible and decent like Father Tiko, Manfred Hoener, etc. Mr. Clemence Westerhof presided over the managership of the Nigerian Senior national team in a corrupt manner never witnessed in the annals of our football history and at a period when corruption was institutionalized as a state policy. The manner of the administration of our football just like in other facets of our life was an aberration. When Mr. Westerhof was in the saddle, he had direct access to then military Vice President, late Admiral Augustus Aikhomu instead of his employers, the football federation for management and disbursement of funds of which he was accountable to no one but himself. The height of the abnormality perpetuated by Westerhof was that he became the chief accounting officer of the National team at the expense of his job as chief coach.

Westerhof also allegedly lured Nigerian players into slave contracts with foreign clubs which allegedly earned him a coaching ban from Europe by the European football governing body as a result of the Tijani Babangida saga in Holland then.

Characters like Mr. Clemence Westerhof can only function in a system that lacks discipline, transparency, orderliness, prudence and accountability like Nigeria, which explains his lightening exit from coaching jobs in South Africa, Egypt and Zimbabwe, hence he returned to take up the Soccer Academy job in Kwara state having realized that he’s a pariah in the

coaching job outside our clime.

Since the exit of Mr. Westerhof as the manager of the Super Eagles in 1994, local coaches who have come after him in managing the team, have followed in his corrupt footsteps of conflict of interest by operating business interest as unlicensed football agents and using the National football teams to parade and market their “players” at the expense of the wish and aspirations of Nigerians for quality and fit players to adorn the national jersey which is responsible for the continued woeful display by the senior national till date.

We don’t need a Westerhof to raise the alarm of corruption in our football because we all know how he watered it. If Mr. Westerhof is looking for relevance now, my candid advice is that he seeks it elsewhere because his era is past.

• Nelson Ekujumi

Adesina Street ,

Ikeja, Lagos .

SIR: The alleged slaughtering of twenty (20) young ladies in Maiduguri by some Islamic fundamentalists is reportedly caused by the fact that the ladies were known for wearing mini-skirts and trousers, which, according to the fundamentalists, is against the Shariah Law. Our society must realise that the crime originated from their own obsession with how Nigerian women dress.

How a person dresses depends on a number of factors, which include not only self-expression, but also affordability. Jeans trousers are usually durable, and fairly used ones are sold cheaply. And so, a lady may wear them for economic reasons. Where is the place of thrift and right to self-expression in the hunt by some people for ladies who dress “improperly”?

There were some African traditional funerary rituals in which women danced round nakedly, and there was hardly any occasion in which women covered up all their bodies as some Muslim women do. So, the concerned should stop attributing indecent actions to African culture that suffers no nudity psychosis. Senegal and Ghana are rated among the best run African countries. Go there and see freedom of self-expression in how women dress.

Unfortunately, even some Nigerian universities indulge in the bizarre pastime. They police and arrest female students and “slaughter” them on the altar of”Dress Code”. On account of “Dress Code”, which is defined ambiguously, since a uniform cannot be imposed, some students miss their examinations, because they had to go back home to dress “properly”. In one university, recently, two female students were sent back home to go and dress “properly”. When they came back was when I saw them. I saw they were in very decent trousers and shirts, but the accuser was still unsatisfied and was taking them to a higher authority. Being helpless, I invoked God to come to their rescue.

Nigerian rulers commit economic injustice and compound poor people’s plight with “Dress Code” and banning of commercial motorcycling. They deny their workers full entitlements only to be pursuing ladies over how they dress. They should learn to discipline their eyes if they don’t want to look at women lustfully. Lustful look is a sexual impetus, and it is part of being human, and being fully alive.

We should not breed Boko Haram in Yorubaland, so that women are not slaughtered like in Maiduguri and Kano, on the basis of how they dress! Women and human rights activists should protest en masse the so-called Dress Code. Nigeria is back in the Dark Age of witch-hunt!

• Oyeniran Pius Abioje, Ph.D,

University of Ilorin.

SIR: The issue between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and incumbent President Dr. Ebele Jonathan has generated heated debates from several quarters. The end does not seem to be near.

Did anyone ever know that the former President went to the President to counsel him on the Boko Haram escapades? When it seems there is no change in the ruinous activities of the sect, Obasanjo wanted us to know what he has done.

By his political antecedents and happenings around the corridors of power, Obasanjo has overtime been regarded as President Jonathan’s political mentor. So, many hold the view that they know how to settle their differences and come together again.

Let people stop over- blowing the matter. It is hoped that very soon, God the Almighty will show them what to do for peace to reign in the land.

• Chief E.A Okunrinniyi, President of Egbe Omo Oduduwa, Festac Town, Lagos.

SIR: “Africa: The Glory, The Curse, The Remedy,” a 274-page book by Anthony Agbo, gives deep insight into the biblical perspective of Africa’s troubles. Comprising six chapters, the author explains with clear illustrations from scriptural and historical standpoints, how Africa, the oldest and most stable land-mass on earth, known for its glory of ancient heritage and greatness, fell from grace to grass.

In chapter one, for iinstance, Agbo noted that “Colonialism, which most African commentators, in escapist indulgence pour the guilt of underdevelopment, agreeably had its adverse retardation effects in terms of among other things, unbeneficial exploitation of a nation’s resources…But Africa took only the negative impact of colonialism, and this and other appalling elements of our psyche have combined in effect to make the glorious continent the dreg of the nations.” Chapter two looks at Africa in the primeval family tree, thus: “The Patriarch Noah had three children, namely Shem, Ham and Japheth, who begat the three human races of the world – the Caucasoid, Negroid and the Mongoloid. Ham is generally believed to be the patriarch of African family tree. This consensus belief is among other reasons established by the fact that the children of Ham at the dispersal of the early human family after the flood were the ones that took habitation in the continent of Africa, first in the north and north east Africa, before they multiplied and spread all over the continent. He (Ham) is believed to be the black son of Noah and the father of the black (Negroid) race.” The erstwhile legislator in the third chapter discussed the glory of ancient heritage of Africa under four subheadings: Human organization and city building; Knowledge, Science and Philosophy; Industry, Commerce and Agriculture; and Religion. On human organization and city building, he made reference to Nimrod, the grandson of Ham and the great grandson of Noah. According to Agbo, Nimrod whom he referred to as the great African was the first King of Babylon, the city he established and built. Noting that Nimrod initiated and built nations, kingdoms and empires, the author maintained that the most sensitive and sensational of all his works was the Tower of Babel. The building of the Tower, in the words of the author, was extremely sensitive to God and particularly remarkable to man as it was the first mass mobilization of men for a collective task.

The glory of nature’s endowment to Africa is the focus of chapter four, where the ex-parliamentarian critically examines the African continent and its natural wealth.

In chapter five, the author analyses the curse of Africa, observing that “under deep spiritual and even temporal reflections, one realises that Africa as a continent and Africans as a people are cursed, and are still being weighed down by the lingering consequences of this curse.” He highlighted the symptoms of the curse to include: absence of imagination; ignorance; poverty; base characters; laziness, excuse and dependency prone; poor leadership; enjoyment and entertainment prone; and disposition to lawlessness. Agbo went further to identify four reasons God cursed Africans. They include: (a) the curse of Ham (b) the Sins of Babylon (c) Slavery of the Jews and (d) idolatry.

However, in the last chapter, the politician indicates that all hope is not lost on African’s predicament has remedy. While showing the route to Africa’s new glory, he stated: “Despite the torrents of anger and the attendant plethora of curses which God pronounced on Africa, all of which have indeed come to pass, God by His abundant mercy still gave an indication in the Bible that He will heal Africa and indeed make Africa His beloved.” He quoted Isaiah 19 V 19 – 25 to buttress his position. In conclusion, the author asserted that, “Africa should position itself as the new moral sign post of the world as well as the new world headquarters for propagation of undiluted Christian values and re-Christianization and Evangelization of the entire world.”

For the former lawmaker, the greatest curiosity of his life had always been: why Africans are different from other races of mankind in all facets of human personality and engagement indices.

•Michael Jegede,

Abuja-based journalist

SIR: At political independence in 1960, Nigeriashowed a lot of promise. And, many people expected that Nigeria would become an economically prosperous country with its stupendous human and material resources.

In the 1960s and 1970s, our economy boomed. The northern region had the groundnut pyramid; the west, cocoa, while palm oil business boomed in the east. Then, Nigeria was exporting cash crops to other countries. The mainstay of our economy was agriculture. Unemployment problem was unheard-of in our country. Later, crude oil displaced agriculture as the main-stay of our economy. Successive governments in the country, both military and civilian had millions of petrol dollars to play with. Money is not the issue, but how to spend it. So, it is an indisputable fact that corruption is linked with our oil wealth.

Our political leaders believe that their occupation of high political offices is a licence for them to loot our economy. For decades now, our economy has remained continuously pillaged by its minders and there is high rate of graduate unemployment in the country.

It is estimated that about 30 million Nigerian youths are unemployed. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people pass out of the NYSC programme, and join others in searching for the elusive blue and white collar jobs.

When a company advertises for five vacancy positions, seeking qualified people to apply to fill the vacancies, thousands of people will submit their applications. Daily, Nigerian youths walk the streets searching for employments. The worn–out soles of their shoes are tell-tale signs and testimonies of the journey they embarked on foot to secure employment.

Recently, Dangote Transport Company put up advertisement for driving jobs in the company. Surprisingly, six doctorate degree holders were among the applicants.

Now, people with high university degrees have lost their dignity on the grounds of their state of joblessness. People who can barely write their names compete with lettered men for menial and undignifying jobs. So, after spending much money and years to acquire University degrees, one’s lot in life is to work as a labourer or factory hand. Highly educated Nigerians do menial jobs, owing to scarcity of jobs befitting their persons.

But, securing plum jobs now in Nigeria is akin to finding a virgin among prostitutes in a brothel. People whose relations hold high political offices are clandestinely recruited into FRSC, Immigration, Prisons, Federal and state civil service and other establishment. Cronyism, nepotism, and bribery and corruption are factors that determine people who secure jobs in Nigeria. So, mediocrity has dethroned meritocracy in Nigeria.

Consequently, Nigeria is stuck in the mud of underdevelopment as corrupt and incompetent people occupy positions they‘re undeserving of. These people without active restrictive mechanism loot our economy, and formulate Jejune policies for us.

But, the issue of unemployment, if left unsolved, can spell trouble for Nigeria, and undermine the cohesiveness and political stability of the country. Agents of destabilization, who are ethnic chauvinists and religious bigots, recruit their foot soldiers from the pool of the unemployed people. No gainfully employed person will put his life at risk by executing the plot to kidnap a prominent rich person for ransom. A man who earns big sum of money monthly will not embrace the devil’s alternative of hara-kiri for the chimerical promise of possessing 70 virgins in heaven upon his death.

But, our leaders appear to be unaware that the unemployment problem is a time –bomb waiting to explode. When politicians steal our oil –money and use them to purchase jets, it causes anger to well up in our breasts. Leaving the unemployment issue unsolved is a portent of doom for our country.

It behoves our political leaders to think out ways of combating the menace of unemployment. In other countries, leaders that fail to fix the problem of unemployment will be voted out of power during periodic elections. They should diversify our mono-based economy so as to create employment opportunities for the teeming population of unemployment people.

If the government can resuscitate agricultural practice in Nigeria, as well as our waning interest in it, it will help to reduce the number of unemployed people in Nigeria. Many people will embrace farming, and the rural-urban migration, which stretches our social amenities to the limits in the urban centres, will be checked. Government should give loans and incentives to would-be farmers, subsidize the costs of fertilizers and seedlings, and introduce mechanized agriculture.

More so, Nigerians are with the erroneous mindset or belief that possessing university degrees is the open sesame to landing lucrative jobs in the government or the private sector. But, in addition to their possession of certificate, they should acquire skills and learn trades, which can make them self-reliant. And fixing our security challenges will in turn help to reduce our escalating unemployment problem.

• Chiedu Uche Okoye

Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State