Category: Opinion

It has really become pitiable how our dear nation has been turned into a theatre of tragedies. It is more worrisome that the people whose statutory duties should include an aversion for tragedies have become the harbingers of calamities and death. The rate at which the convoys of  public office holders and other such ‘powerful’ men get involved in car accidents, in recent times, has become a cause of worry. Innocent lives have been wasted while other road users have been endangered by the recklessness of many of our governors.  It is very unfortunate and unbelievable that one of the finest and very courageous university dons in Nigeria, Professor Festus Iyayi, a former president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) , could be killed in a car crash involving the convoy of Kogi State’s governor, Captain (retd.) Idris Wada. It is of great concern that in less than a year, this is the second time Governor Wada’s convoy will be involved in ghastly crashes. In December 2012, while he was lucky to escape the crash along the Lokoja – Ajaokuta road with a fracture, his Aide-de-Camp, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was not. He died on the spot.

It is not as if accidents do not happen in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, Nigeria is ranked 191 out of 192 countries in the world with unsafe roads with 162 deaths per 100,000 from road traffic accidents. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, over 1.3 million people are killed annually in road accidents while over 50 million people sustain different degrees of injuries from such crashes. After malaria, car accident is the number two killer in Nigeria. The vexatious issue on the killing of Professor Iyayi by Governor Wada’s convoy is the grotesque display of might by motorcades of top government officials that claim scores of lives.

 A recent research indicates that accidents involving convoys of public office holders and other VIPs had claimed over 26 lives in the past three years. The auto crashes, which occurred in different parts of the country, also maimed and injured many and destroyed property and vehicles. Convoy drivers drive recklessly at neck-breaking speed without caution or, perhaps, with encouragement from their principals. This culture is a direct legacy of the oppressive long-spell military regime that terrorised Nigerians for over two decades. The use of convoys by the political elite, particularly government officials, is not new in Nigeria though it became rampant during the military era. However, it has grown out of proportion under the current democratic dispensation.

It is rather sad that the political elites in Nigeria have imbibed this oppressive tendency that does not have any regards for the citizenry. It is laughable that the only way some of our leaders could show that they have ‘arrived’ is to intimidate fellow citizens, ironically those who voted them into power, with the ridiculous blare of siren. How else would you differentiate the common man from the ‘big man’, and this is the reason they would buy just two cars for almost half a billion naira in a country where just  ten thousand naira could restore the hope of many. That is the reason many of them arrogantly loot the public treasury to continue to intimidate and oppress the citizenry. They are completely detached from the people they govern, the same people they are to be role models to. This is not right.

 Ogunmosunle is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

When God decided to warn King Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon about his impending unedifying fate, He did so through the mysterious finger writing on the wall. The Bible is replete with similar examples where He spoke to humanity through signs.

Anambra in recent years, appeared to be like Babylon in Belshazzar’s time where the people could neither read nor interpret the signs.

Today, the result is quite evident in the complete desolate, hackneyed and total wasteland the state has become in the last eight years Governor Peter Obi has been in charge. In 2009, aides of the governor were caught with a whopping N250million cash of public money. Yet, instead of reacting appropriately by shoving him aside, the same people still allowed the governor assume power for a second term one year after that appalling incident. Many had sought to explain it away that they only respected the wishes of the late APGA leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who pleaded that they should vote for Obi as his last wish.

But today, Ojukwu is no more. Even at that, were he to be alive, he would have no doubt, in his characteristic manner, admitted his fault, apologised to the people about the errors he made in foisting the present people in Government House Awka on them.  Even sadder still is the fact that this same people were the first to desecrate what the Ezeigbo Gburugburu stood for by practically dancing and urinating on his grave.

To show how low they could go in their credibility index scale, they plotted, wrote a letter and circulated to Nigerians purporting same to be from the Ikemba, in which he urged his beloved Ndigbo to vote for a particular presidential candidate in the run up to the 2011 election, despite the fact that he was then virtually a vegetable, incapable of comprehending what the same people fate entrusted his life in their hands in his final days were doing. How low could some human beings go!

Even when the son, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (Jnr), stupefied by such unconscionable callousness against his father came out with the truth, by telling Nigerians that he was in no state to author or direct that such an ignominious epistle be authored on his behalf, not a single word of retraction or any semblance of remorse was heard from any quarters from this camp. Instead, they took on the scion of the late Igbo leader, castigating him to no end. Today, we know who is telling the truth and who ought to bury his face in shame.

Yet, these are the same people prancing about with bold Ojukwu badges printed on their foreheads to deceive the people. Chief Victor Umeh, the national chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), even as the author of the controversial letter, without any iota of guilt, over this shameful act, particularly makes a show of this “love” for the late Ikemba, by running to his grave at the slightest excuse, usually with full compliments of a horde of journalists in tow to ensure that the pictures are splashed on the pages of newspapers and the recorded images played on prime times on television, just to hoodwink the gullible.

These are the people who still want to ride to power in the state, on the back of the same Ikemba, who they have so desecrated his spirit that he would be turning in his grave wishing he could turn the clock back and save his people from the great danger he plunged them by not detecting that they were indeed lions in sheepskin, including recently the mindless acts of bazaar currently declared on the people’s commonwealth.

Now, the red light signals are on once more. Recent events indicate that the handwritings have left new messages on the wall, warning ndi Anambra about more dangers ahead.

What, for instance, would make Willy Obiano, the APGA candidate, appear at last week’s debate for the governorship candidates with a prepared speech, while others were fielding their questions from their heads?

But should Anambrarians go to sleep because he seems to think nothing about this reprehensible act? Certainly not! They can’t afford not to see the finger of God in it. Why was he caught in the act, if not that God wanted to expose him? Now that he was so exposed, what is God using it to tell the people? That is the question that must not be lost on anybody at this time. It should also engage the minds of those who bandy his candidacy about and try to force it down the throats of Anambrarians?

Even if they wave it aside, what about the recent incident at Ukeh, Idemili North Council of the state, when 30 worshippers reportedly died at the adoration ground after the visit of the governor, who led the APGA leadership to “worship” there? Will that sign also be lost on them?

Of course the details of what led to that unfortunate event will always be steeped in deep controversy just like similar incidents in the past. But the issues they raise will not. Rather, they are very clear. Already the APGA leaders are all over town doing what they know best how – propaganda. As usual, they are intent on pinning the unfortunate incident on Senator Chris Ngige, who they perceive as their only stumbling block to retaining power – in fact their nemesis. They want to ensure that through propaganda and heavy oiling of their familiar channels of disinformation, they will bend public minds that Ngige who was nowhere near the venue will be made to carry the can, just as in the alleged deportation saga, where Obi, after agreeing to receive the “deportees” fled the scene on the appointed date only to turn back to make political capital out of it.

In what ought to elicit pity from outsiders for Anambra people for being punished with such a governor, Obi, in his puerile and childish story presented as his account of the incident, while claiming that he went to Ukeh to worship rather than campaign, on the invitation of the priest in charge. Why was he in full APGA regalia with the full compliments of the party’s campaign machinery at such wee-hours of the night? He never talked about the political speeches and promises that incensed the worshippers to denounce such unholy attempts to turn their prayer ground to a campaign ground where they are forced to listen to unsolicited campaign sloganeering, which eventually led to the stampede that resulted in the deaths. He never gave examples of similar adoration prayers or vigils he participated in elsewhere in Anambra or any part of Nigeria or the world in his eight years in power prior to this. Of course, in his simple, pious mind, it never occurred to him that Ukeh is a shouting distance from Ngige’s Alor community and that some circumspection was needed. No! It is okay to wear the APGA uniform to any place including worship centres. The only place it is forbidden of course is Aso Rock Villa, for obvious reasons.

Will Anambrarians refuse to see the handwriting on the wall even with the suffusing propaganda? Are they ready to leave Egypt and move to the Promised Land? It is their choice to make. Of course, it wasn’t impossible for God to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Yet, he preferred to do it through Moses. And it came to pass because Moses played along and because they observed the Passover ritual.

•Ndukwe, an agronomist, lives in Onitsha

Nigeria is famous for her many exports: the ‘sweet’ Bonny Light crude oil, our exciting football teams and Nollywood movies with their wafer-thin plots.

But not all our exports are so welcome. For the hundreds of thousands, may be millions, around the globe who have had to open another scam email, the name ‘Nigeria’ is wreathed in infamy.

A couple of weeks ago, controversial United States Senator Ted Cruz in the heat of the American government shutdown made disparaging remarks about how Nigerian email scammers had taken over the malfunctioning Obamacare website.

Even when copycat scammers send their infernal mail dubious credit always lands in our account. But who can complain? We largely own this invention!

What I find infuriating, however, is the refusal of the scam email clowns to lift their game. If they won’t go away, at least they should learn to write English and come up with new stories – instead of the same tired, old lines from 1992.

The way things stand they deserve to be awarded the “IGNOBLE PRIZE FOR THE DUMB”. Their numbskull victims should cart away the “IGNOBLE PRIZE FOR THE DUMBER.”

From Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello and, recently, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there seems to be as many ways to lead people as there are leaders. Yet the single fatal flaw in choosing candidates to represent a party in an election is the belief that we can permute into the future rather than looking for a leader who can quickly adapt to whatever the unpredictable future holds. Do the people want the ideal leader or rather the right kind of leader that fits their needs?

When we think about how best to choose leaders, we assess the challenges and opportunities confronting our society, and then look for the one person who has the best array of skills to address those challenges and opportunities. But what if we are not that good at figuring out the most critical challenges and opportunities that we may want our future leader to solve? What if the issues of the day are eclipsed by new events? With the pace of change as intense as it is across the world, how can we even believe that we are able to identify the precise bundle of experiences, capabilities and personality needed to take on what tomorrow brings?

If we cannot predict the future, then how can we figure out who has got the right stuff to lead us into that future? First, there is a body of knowledge and experience that is relevant for any top job. It is like an entry ticket to the game; you cannot be considered if you have not at least paid some dues. Second, you need a demonstrated track record of accomplishment. Playing is not enough; you should have some wins under your belt too.

Great leaders must be adaptable. Consider the military’s Special Forces, those highly trained personnel assigned to the most dangerous and unconventional missions. These elite units, which date back to Roman times, select and train warriors for strength, maturity, motivation, and intelligence. Candidates who make it through to the end are incredibly capable, yet there is one characteristic that is make-or-break in the final analysis: the ability to adapt and adjust and think fresh, in real-time.

In all of these considerations therefore, we keep some maxims at the back of our mind. Foremost is that nothing succeeds like success. Another saying which buttresses this is that you cannot change a winning team or winning pattern. We will only measure what will come with what we have seen. As the ruling party in Ekiti State, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has chosen to live by these maxims. The party, which suffered stolen mandate for four harrowing years between 2006 and 2010 before eventually claiming legitimacy to it, is not in a hurry to gamble. We cannot risk any change for the fun of it because we do not want to stray from our path of success and as such cannot start toying with our winning streak. It will therefore be too risky for APC, both in Ekiti and at the national level, to attempt permutations when our winning streak is based on promises kept.

To start listing all the achievements of the John Kayode Fayemi-led administration in Ekiti State in the last three years since he assumed office is to start sounding like a bad vinyl. Yet we must challenge all oppositions to debate that Fayemi, who we proudly named “o wi bee, se bee,” -that is, someone who keeps his words- indeed came up with an eight-point agenda on assumption of office and has fulfilled all that were encapsulated therein in record time.

In the light of these, Ekiti APC remains unequivocal in the choice of who flies its flags in the 2014 gubernatorial election. The ticket is willingly retained with the incumbent, Dr. Fayemi, and he has willingly accepted to continue with his good work. He has not only kept all his promises for the people of the state, but has raised the bar of governance in the state beyond the level of any intending aspirant. Why then must we, the ruling party in the state, now run the risk of presenting an untested candidate?

May we also mention that as of today, Ekiti APC has neither been approached by any other person who may want to slug it out with the incumbent governor at the party level, nor has the party embarked on any search for a replacement? The case would have been different, however, if the incumbent had fallen out of favour either with the state chapter of APC or with those at the national level. It would have been worse if the people of the state had been shortchanged. And the cul-de-sac would have been that the incumbent was statute-barred or his health could no longer carry the load. But none of these scenarios has presented itself. Not only has Fayemi lived up to billing, he has even surpassed it. He has given the ruling party a positive identity and a strong voice in the state. He has shown an uncommon discipline and courage in lifting the standard of the state to a world standard despite the relatively paltry income. He has walked his talk.

Fayemi is a comet that doesn’t appear often. Even among the comets, he is a meteor that is not easy to come by. He was saddled with a daunting task of lifting up the state from a pummeled position made possible by the seven harrowing years under seven PDP regimes, and he carried it out dutifully and successfully. His character is sublime, his personality is arresting. He is well-trained and well respected both locally and internationally. He is more of an administrator than a politician. He shows a rare passion to serve. He is humble, yet cosmopolitan and calculative with eyes on the goal. He does not lose his cool even in the face of extreme provocation. He is well-focused, project-oriented, peace-loving and not easily distracted. We have our winning candidate in Fayemi come 2014 and it is not diffident for us to say speak up on this now.

• Dipe is Director of Publicity and Media APC, Ekiti State