The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • APC’s directive on executive bills in order

    APC’s directive on executive bills in order

    SIR: I am amused by the rash of reactions that have greeted the decision of the National Executive Committee of the APC directing its members in the National Assembly to block Executive Bills or the confirmation of presidential appointees if the impunity in Rivers State is not addressed by the President.

    I am particularly miffed at the emotional outbursts of some politicians and social activists who are carrying on as if the APC had committed blasphemy against the gods. No doubt, most of these negative comments came from PDP members and other apologists of President Jonathan, who are uncomfortable that for the first time since 1999, we have a political party that can be genuinely referred to as a government-in-waiting and one that is strong enough to challenge the dying behemoth called the PDP.

    How else can one explain the attempt of these critics to equate a simple, routine, and universally-accepted legislative tactic to sedition or a call to arms? It appears the PDP and the President’s men

    have concluded that the only way to keep the APC at bay is by demonizing it either as a religious or a separatist party or portraying it as anti-people, even when these are not the case.

    They probably think that by doing so, they will succeed in swaying some voters from a particular section of the country to their side. Similarly unfortunate is the decision of these critics to take the APC statement out of context.

    The impression being created is that APC has chosen to stall the wheel of governance by abusing its numerical strength in the House of Representatives to fight the PDP-led Executive.

    This cannot be farther from the truth. The party clearly established a basis for its decision, which is that after exhausting all avenues to make the President do the right thing in Rivers State without success, it has no other option than to ask its members in the National Assembly to use legitimate and democratic means to force the Executive to do the right thing.

    To the enlightened and objective mind, what APC has done is perfectly in line with legislative practice. In the United States of America, it is common place for either the Republicans or the Democrats to oppose Executive Bills including budgets and appointments of key officers of

    State, including military chiefs. Recent examples are the Obamacare and the shutdown of government for weeks last October over spending limits by the Federal Government.

    Political parties are expected to take a position on any matter that is before the legislature for consideration. That is why there are party caucuses in the legislature. APC could have given the directive to its caucuses in both Chambers of the National Assembly if it had any ulterior motives. By making the directive public, the surprise element has been removed.

    Therefore, the only reasonable conclusion is to see the directive as a means of getting the President to see the danger in allowing the Rivers debacle to fester. Already, this directive has started to yield results. I watched, with satisfaction, on Channel Television on Saturday night how members of the Save Rivers Movement were able to stage a peaceful rally, after the Inspector General of

    Police apparently directed the police in the state to provide protection for the rally.

    A similar rally by the SRM in the past would have been broken up by hired goons armed with guns and machetes, and protected by Mbu’s police. Who says the APC’s tactic has not worked?

    What I expect now is for the friends of President Jonathan to advise him to call Messrs. Mbu and Wike to order and restore normalcy to Rivers State. I don’t see what is difficult in doing so.

    •Williams Adeleye

    Ikeja, Lagos

  • The anomie in Rivers State

    The anomie in Rivers State

    SIR: The once flourishing Rivers State, known as the ‘Treasure Base of the Nation’ has suddenly become the ‘Violence Base of the Nation’. Regrettably, a state that breathes life into most states and Aso Rock is currently bruised, battered, shattered, and suffocated, waiting for its obituary announcement to be published.

    While trouble drizzles in other states, it pours in Rivers. Rivers State has lost its relative calmness, charm, serenity and allure to bad and uncouth politics. Everything with the semblance of governance has fallen apart in the state. The thread of unity that once bound the people of Rivers has since been severed by petty politics, greed and narrow interest

    Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s beautiful dreams, people-based economic blueprint and hope of a better Rivers have all gone with the winds. His transformation train code named ‘The New Rivers State’ has joined the list of halted or failed projects. Not for Governor Amaechi’s incompetence, but for the evil machinations of a higher authority and personalities.

    Peace departed Rivers ever since the self-acclaimed Mama Peace Patience Jonathan swore never to allow it a place in the state. True to her words, hardly a day passes that both local and international media are not awash with unpalatable occurrences spewing out of the state. Tension has become a permanent feature of the state.

    Having lost Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to Boko Haram insurgency, Rivers is undoubtedly gearing hard to increase the number of states taken over by troublemakers. What we read about in the papers on the happenings in Rivers state is not any different from what is obtained in the north east. The Rivers state legislature is more or less on break. No serious legislative activity has been reported in recent times. The House, mainly of legislators loyal to Amaechi had to convene within the Rivers state Government House to enable the Amaechi led government present the state’s 2014 budget estimate.

    While the anti-Amaechi camp gets its backing, funding and support from Aso Rock, its foot soldiers, led by President Goodluck Jonathan’s political godson, who doubles as the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike have vowed to make Rivers State ungovernable. On the security front, Commissioner of Police Joseph Mbu is doing more harm to the already battered image of the Nigerian Police Force through his brazen unprofessional conducts.

    We have lost Rivers state to troublemakers. It appears those responsible for the raging political crisis in the state are not bothered. President Jonathan, the number one Chief Security Officer of the nation, on whose shoulders the security of lives and property of all Nigerians rest is busy globe-trotting, junketing, oiling his political machinery ahead of 2015 and fiddling while Rivers burns. All that matters to him and his foot soldiers is for Amaechi to be completely out of the way. Thanks to the media, civil rights groups and other respected opinion leaders who have constantly opposed plans to bundle Amaechi out of power, either by hook or by crook.

    It seems the Jonathan government isn’t aware of the negative impression the war in Rivers state could have on the nation and his government. I know he’s a man who hardly gives a ‘damn’ or attach seriousness to germane issues. Why is he so interested in seeing the premature end of Amaechi’s political career? Is Amaechi the political Wall of Jericho he has to pull down to return to Aso Rock in 2015?

    • Abdullahi Yunusa

    Imane, Kogi State

     

  • E don beg me

    E don beg me” or more appropriately, “I don beg am” or better still, “We don beg dem”, appears the grand strategy of Adamu Mu’azu, new national chairman of the embattled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “E don beg me” was inimitable Fela, the late Afro Beat king — one of his many indelible contributions to the running tragi-comedies of Nigerian politics and governance.

    The military had gaoled Fela for alleged currency offences. The fiery singer had maintained his innocence but was serving his term.

    But all that changed when Fela met Justice Okoro Idogu, the trial judge, in a hospital ward. Justice Idogu said the meeting was accidental. Fela countered it was deliberate: by the gaoler to “beg” the gaoled, for a rigged sentence.

    “E don beg me” had entered Nigeria’s popular lexicon!

    To Fela and his dismissive crowd, begging was laconic and sardonic humour. But to Alhaji Mu’azu, the man with the mission to save PDP from self-ruin, begging is serious business.

    That was why, it appears, the former Bauchi governor trumpeted it loud and clear, his first declaration as PDP national chairman: he begged all the defected PDP governors to come back. Tukur was gone. The problem was ended. The house is warm, friendly and inviting. The umbrella remains wide and solid!

    After that declaration, Alhaji Mu’azu has begun a begging sortie, with his first call at Abeokuta, where he privately, had gone to beg former President Olusegun Obasanjo; he, of the famous hyena laugh, the very angry godfather at a very naughty godson.

    Now, what might Mu’azu have told Obasanjo? That his presidential godson had turned a new leaf, renounced his right to run for second term because Baba, who savoured but did not get a third term, said so? Or that the now penitent godson had decided to sacrifice Buruji Kashamu, the way he sacrificed old man, Bamanga Tukur?

    Unfortunately, it was secret “begging”, so Baba’s reaction was not public. But for all you know, Baba, with his hyena laugh, could still dey laugh ooooo!

    But the duo of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso are not at all impressed; so, they are not in laughing mood.

    Alhaji Atiku declared flat: Mu’azu labours in vain. The stallion has escaped, so it is amusing folly securing the stable doors! Atiku should know: Baba could be so sardonically vengeful it would take more than begging — public or private — to placate him.

    Kwankwaso was no less dismissive. To him, PDP is a shell; or more appropriately, a mansion which pillars have crumbled. It is only a matter of time before the edifice comes crashing down. And from him, this golden advice: scram before you are buried under its rubble — and that includes the good, begging Mu’azu!

    But both Atiku and Kwankwaso could well suffer from sour grape complex. For all you know, the aggrieved — including the baleful Baba — could emerge and, like Fela, declare: E don beg me.

    PDP family, all is forgiven and forgotten.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Dear President Jonathan, Corruption is bane of Nigeria

    Dear President Jonathan, Corruption is bane of Nigeria

    “Corruption is not the cause of all the problems confronting Africa. In terms of security, Boko Haram is the biggest challenge we (Nigeria) have at the moment.” – President Goodluck Jonathan
    “For Mr. President to have said that corruption is not our number one problem that must be the misstatement of the century.” – Itse Sagay (SAN)

    The first quote was the remark of President Goodluck Jonathan at the just concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, while making his contribution to a televised debate titled, “Africa’s Next Billion.”
    The president has completely erased any iota of doubt that he has a thorough grasp of critical issues like the prevalent endemic corruption now crippling governance that demands his urgent attention as president of Nigeria and frontline leader on the continent.

    One would expect that thorough research should be done by his fawning aides before he speaks at such a forum. A statement like that is the least expected from the president of one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

    President Jonathan would have been dead right if he had said every problem confronting Nigeria and indeed Africa is the result of corruption. Any argument in the contrary is like saying there are evils not traceable to the devil. Mr. President has displayed too much incompetence in handling corruption in Nigeria and several of his other responsibilities as president and remarks like the one in Davos, buttresses this point.

    It is most unfortunate that our president has a kindergarten understanding of graft and its concomitant effects.He seizes every speaking opportunity to make excuses why he cannot fight corruption. Such prevarication will not help the anti-graft war, they only serve the purpose of encouraging more corruption.

    His comments are coming at a time that allegations of corruption against officials of his administration are mounting. The Stella Oduah BMW scandal is still fresh in our memory. With his latest misstatement making national headlines, he reminds us of the fifth presidential media chat of September 29, 2013, were he said that Nigeria’s corruption was merely a perception which is grossly exaggerated.
    As a member of the intellectual community, he ought to know better and not mistake effects for causes. Corruption diverts capital from legitimate purposes to making wrong-headed policy decisions which deprives the country of a pool of finances.
    He has developed a penchant for singing a different tune from realities on ground, same way he has insisted that electricity has improved in spite of citizen reports to the contrary.Deflecting international attention from sleaze is the least expected at a time the country needed a consistent and dogged fight against this monster. The level of corruption in the country demands serious political will to combat, not occasional rhetorical statements like the promise to fight the scourge in his New Year message.
    The present administration has embarrassingly failed to realise that the root cause of the present wave of terrorism ravaging the north east is the result of decades of corruption and impunity of perpetrators coupled with the failure of successive government to provide quality, affordable education to Nigerian children.
    Graft goes beyond misappropriation of public funds. How Boko Haram insurgency that affects a few local governments can be rated above a hydra-headed monster that has eaten deep into the entire Nigerian fabric cutting across all sectors of the economy and all levels of government, stifling development, can only be understood by the president.
    The Islamic insurgency that the president cited as a major challenge to his government has its foundation in corruption. Government of isolation or exclusion which breeds injustice and disaffection is corruption. The country might be having a tough time combating the insurgency of Boko Haram, it does not in any way imply insecurity has overtaken graft. Government malfeasance is the result of dilapidated infrastructure such as roads, health care, collapsed educational system and poor electricity.
    Worse still, the failure of our security operatives to effectively deal with the Boko Haram insurgency is also attributable to graft. Billions are voted every year for purchase of combat weapons, training and re-training of security personnel but they somehow end up in private pockets. For example, a former Inspector General of Police is still standing trial for diverting police funds.
    Whenever the president makes such statements, it shows he is disconnected from the over one hundred million Nigerians who live in abject poverty, same class of people he belonged before he veered into politics. He lives in self-denial of the realities on ground. Terrorism is no doubt a major problem, even globally, but fighting the root causes and other issues that promote the culture of violence requires a holistic approach.
    Some of the probes that shows an evident lack of political will to decisively deal with the menace of corruption include: The KPMG report that indicted the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for corrupt practices; The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) audit report exposing 10 years of corruption in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry; the probe of the Pension Fund Management by the Senate Joint Committee on Public Service and Establishment, State and Local Government Administration; the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe that exposed alarming revelations of corruption in the capital market; the probe of the oil subsidy regime by the Ad hoc-committee of the House of Reps; the non-prosecution of those indicted in the Halliburton LNG bribery scandal, the recent Stella Oduah BMW scandal and the unsatisfactory explanation the NNPC has given for the $10.8billion of crude oil earning the Cental Bank of Nigeria (CBN) declared missing. The list is almost in exhaustive.
    It is safe to say every problem we have in Nigeria today has its roots in corruption. We would be living in a fool’s paradise if we expected a president that has been encouraging official corruption to see anything bad in it much less a problem for Nigeria. This will amount to shooting himself in the foot.
    Rather than roll up his sleeves and concentrate on fixing Nigeria by fighting corruption frontally, he has instead, resorted to wishing the problem away by selling a warped ideology and diverting attention to insecurity. If this is the thinking of the presidency, and the line of reasoning that this administration wants to toe, then am sorry, we are doomed! I wish them Good luck.
    Jonathan should as a matter of urgency, combat the prevalent endemic corruption now crippling governance (at all levels) and stunting the economy of the country.
    Judicial officers blame the absurd rulings on corruption cases on the outdated provisions of our antediluvian law – like plea bargains, which allow wealthy Nigerians to get laughable sentences for gargantuan corruption – needs amendment; else criminality and corruption will continue to flourish. It is why corruption has become a raging monster in this administration. Regrettably, there are no serious efforts to review these laws. Justice delayed is another variant of graft. Add that to looting, political desperation, nepotism, impunity, electoral fraud, perjury and you get a snippet of what corruption is.
    There is no better time to step up the fight and stem the tide of sleaze than now. Year 2014, to Nigerians, is not just another year, but the end of a century of national existence and the beginning of another. When the centenary celebration proper begins, it should be time for sober reflection on how far we have come. One of the numerous national questions that will continue to reverberate in our minds will be: how did we find ourselves in this abyss of monumental corruption?

    Theophilus is a public affairs commentator. Engage him on twitter, @tilevbare. He blogs at http://ilevbare.com

  • From Nollywood to Nollynude?

    From Nollywood to Nollynude?

    SIR: Mark Twain, in his famous quote, submitted that “twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by those you did.”

    It is sad enough that some members of the international community have been bickering over the recent signing into law of the anti-gay law by the President Goodluck Jonathan. There have even been some obfuscating threats from shrouded quarters that foreign aids to this country will cease.

    I will like to ask the pro-gay-rights in Nigeria and Africa if they have really thought through the repercussions of letting every tide from these Western rascals get the best of us. Soon enough, every conceivable evil might become enshrined within our laws as rights if we keep canvassing against the very basic laws that have held the larger majority of humanity together for thousands of years. In essence, robbery, assault and rape might, before long, become permitted by law.

    Where were these western reprobates when Nigerians were locking heads over child marriage bill a few months ago?

    If this multiplicity of licentiousness is anything to reckon with, then we are, indeed, at the threshold of human destruction.

    From music tracks, to music videos and then to movie production, there has been a steady increase in the faith that Nigerians now have in our local entertainment economy. More so, it is a delight to see our own Nollywood stars rubbing shoulders with their Hollywood counterparts in various movie classics. However, while it is good development that we are making this progress and gaining global recognition, it appears we have rubbed shoulders too far! A comical south-western dictum has it that when courtesy and social interaction is done to an unprincipled extreme, they breed problems. With the recent dive into music videos and movies with highly offensive cum explicit images, we are in for some troublous times. If none or a very few people are talking, then our children and the coming generations will curse us for the calamities that will befall their days.

    While walking through a major street in Gwagwalada, FCT Abuja, I stumbled upon a movie poster outside a sales outlet and was baffled. Staring me in the face was the picture of a scantily clad young lady with virtually every element that makes her a woman starkly exposed to the world. The producers gave the movie a caption that ridiculously depicted females from a particular region of the country as sex objects. That there is a market for soft porn (I can find no better name for such explicit movies) is no reason enough to throw caution into the air and expose our minors to such obscenities. Even many young adults barely have the moral strength to resist the amoral suggestions that trail the thoughts after seeing such pictures, how much more the movies. It is high time our movie producers began putting the entire viewing audience into consideration when they go to set and stopped thinking only about their pockets. There is no worse definition for wickedness.

    I mourn at the gross irresponsibility of whoever or whatever board approves such movies and music videos for public consumption (Do we still have a films and video censor board?). Little wonder our newspapers are regularly flooded with rape stories of worrying dimensions with an all-time high incidence record. Our society is constipating with moral filth and the way out has become, seemingly, the unleashing of moral crimes on fellow humans. Now is the time to call our entertainment industry to order. Even in the United States, Hollywood does not recognize adult movie stars in its awards ceremonies. We must separate adult movies from nominal home videos and not create an evil confusion by intertwining both. Nollywood must cease from releasing Nollynude motion pictures and our music video producers must apply caution to the images they let out to our public space. Let’s preserve the little sanity we still enjoy in our society.

     

    • Joshua Oyeniyi,

    Lagos

     

  • Sapele roads need urgent expansion

    SIR: Sapele is among the early town and cities in Nigeria. It was in fact one of the preferred destinations of the early Europeans who either came to do business or live in Nigeria. The town was famous for its rich timber reserve, a potential which was critical to the establishment of the African Timber and Plywood, ATP in its territory, the second largest timber and plywood industry in Sub Saharan Africa.

    Ironically after many years of unfettered economic growth and prosperity Sapele however became one of the unfortunate victims of long years of military rule, as the economic fortunes of the town took a nose-dive in the 1980s. This was as most of the blue chips company in the area which included AT&P, the major labour employer in the town closed shop. Leading international brands like Kingsway, Kaycee, Singer, Bata, Lenard’s etc, also followed suit. This was accompanied by the closure and conversion of the Sapele Seaport into a naval academy.

    With the departure of these leading business concerns and coupled with the closure and conversion of the Sapele Sea Port to naval academy the town became a shadow of its old self.

    It was only until recently, perhaps since the return of democratic governance (1999) that things started looking up for the town. To cut a long story short, the last few years has seen Sapele gradually returning back to it glory days, as there have been an upswing of business activities in the town, a fact that can be identified in the town’s fast growing hospitality industry, prominent presence of most financial institutions in the country in the town, eye popping shopping malls, the sprouting up of eateries and leisure centres etc. Business and commercial activities in the town has also been significantly boosted by the entrant of Seplat Petroleum Company which bought over Shell’s BP oil wells in the locality.

    Just as there has been an upsurge of business activities in the town in the last few years, so also as there been visible expansion of its population size. One factor that significantly contributed to Sapele’s population explosion in recent years was the prolonged ethnic war in Warri, as a good number of families relocated to the town owing remarkably to its famed peaceful and friendly ambience.

    However, the steady upsurge of the town’s population has also come with its own challenges as its public facilities particularly its roads are presently been overstretched. Suffice it to say that all the major roads in Sapele are today facing the huge challenge of vehicular congestion this is as most of the major roads in the town have become too small and narrow to handle the pressure of vehicles that are constantly plying it, a situation that has made traffic gridlock a common feature in most major roads in the town.

    The road traffic situation in Sapele is made worse by the large number of heavy duty vehicles that are regularly plying major roads in the town, it is either they are conveying petroleum products or bitumen from ASCA at Ogorode, or they are conveying heavy duty materials to and fro from Seplat flow stations at Shell Road or Oton. This is also not talking about the haulage trucks that regularly convey finished products from Flour Mills at Ogorode. The truth is that the traffic situation in Sapele is getting worse by the day, and something urgent needs to be done before the situation gets out of hand.

    It is against this background that I want to appeal to the Delta State Governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to come to the aid of Sapele residents by way of the state government embarking on the expansion of some major roads in the town to ease the suffering motorists and other road users are daily subjected to.

    Sapele is about the only major town in Delta State that is without a dual-carriage way. Other smaller towns even some villages in the state enjoy this gesture of the state government. As they say, ‘’what is good for the goose is also good for the gander’’; Sapele roads needs urgent expansion!

    • Ohwevwo Ufuoma Eugene

    Sapele, Delta State

     

  • Jonathan and the sisters of good luck

    Beyond the flood of interpretations that greeted the eventual fall of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Bamanga Tukur, there is a possibly overlooked dimension to his forced resignation after a long-drawn-out battle with antagonistic forces within the party. It is instructive that President Goodluck Jonathan apparently finally sacrificed Tukur when it came to choosing between protecting him and retaining control of the party to reinforce a possible desire for re-election in 2015.

    Jonathan, ironically, identified the man Tukur as an obstacle, despite his unapologetic support of the presidential agenda; perhaps helping to put in clearer perspective just how dispensable the president regards masculine figures, especially those in the power loop.

    With women, however, the picture of the president is that of an accommodating gentleman; or a man who appears to be gentle. It is generally believed that Jonathan would probably do anything to satisfy his beloved wife, First Lady Dame Patience, particularly considering his demonstration of enmity towards the perceived enemies of his better half, represented in recent times by the embattled Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Speaking of Jonathan’s tender treatment of females, three other prominent feminine figures, in particular, come to mind; specifically, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah. Perhaps never in the country’s political history have women been the custodians of so much power, and controversially too.

    While Okonjo-Iweala continues to attract loud criticism for alleged ineffectiveness, Alison-Madueke for alleged imperiousness and Oduah for alleged impropriety, Jonathan has interestingly carried on as if nothing is amiss. Notably, they have something in common: strident calls for their removal. Oduah’s case is especially reflective of Jonathan’s soft spot for the opposite sex, with the presidency treating her with kid’s gloves, in spite of weighty charges of misconduct relating to the scandalous purchase of two armoured cars for N255 million.

    Indeed, it is food for thought that Jonathan apparently does not consider the public outcry against these women, or outrage in the Oduah matter, sufficiently threatening to his administration, which contrasts with the treatment that Tukur received at his hands. This double standard approach, not to call it mentality, does not speak well of Jonathan’s sense of fairness, does it?

    While it may not be so obvious what charms the women possess that make it tough for Jonathan to treat them as expendable objects, there can be no doubt that there is more to their survival than meets the eye. Unlike the Tukur affair, Jonathan evidently does not feel any embarrassment in the company of the trio. The phrase “sacred cow” seems to find clear expression here.

    Jonathan’s gender politics, for that is what it looks like, has the appeal of ugliness; and it is possible to speculate about feelings in the corridors of power, where the circle must know that the overall boss would rather keep the strong women than the weak men, which may not necessarily be a matter of perception. These three sisters of good luck must be the envy of many.

  • Re: Long road to business fame

    SIR: My attention has been drawn to an error in the story entitled “Long road to business fame” which appeared on page 35 of Wednesday October 2, 2013 edition of this newspaper. The name of the interviewee was erroneously given as Ademola Ajayi instead of Oluwaniyi Akin-Oladapo.

    Also, there ought not to have been a referral to Thrillhouse Nigeria Limited in the story. These errors owes to the fact that the interview was conducted online hence some of the claims were not verified. I wish to state that the story was not written to malign or cause acrimony between the parties. The error is deeply regretted.

    • Hannah Ojo,

    Surulere, Lagos.

     

  • Re: Kwankwaso, the North and President Jonathan

    A rough observation of the current political developments in Nigeria shows a country gripped by a vicious, ruthless and violently repressive form of totalitarian kleptocracy, where the interests of the common man are being trampled upon with chronic impunity.

    It’s mainly for this reason why any right thinking Nigerian, not only a northerner would dismiss all attempts by desperate opportunist sycophants to burnish the current system which has already become so blemished by the poisonous elements of official malfeasance, gateless corruption and legendary incompetence.

    As Nigerians become more sickened by the rapid deterioration of democracy and the entrenchment of dictatorship, symbolized by politics of witch-hunt, intimidation, harassment and muzzling of democratic opponents who are determined to prevent the country from plunging into abyss, President Jonathan’s apologists have unleashed a legion of hungry spin doctors to distort facts in order to deceive ordinary people.

    I read with much disappointment an advertorial by one Gidado Ibrahim, bearing the same title as this write-up in The Nation of Tuesday, January 14, seeking to denigrate Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for voicing his frustration over the abject failure of President Jonathan to the address the predicaments of Northern Nigeria.

    The writer who claims to represent one phantom ‘Coalition of Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations’, attempted desperately but unsuccessfully to exonerate Jonathan from his obvious failure to look into the sufferings of the teeming northern population with a view to improve their quality of lives.

    As Ibrahim laboriously tried to present grotesquely false claims about Jonathan’s ‘achievements’ in northern Nigeria, facts on the ground reveal that the writer was only doing a hatchet job to appease his sponsors in return for some filthy lucre.

    While I find it quite insignificant to join issues with the writer, it is very important nonetheless to refute the glaring falsehood peddled by the writer on the following:

    • The Police Academy in Wudil local government of Kano state, which the writer referred to as ‘Police University’ was not set up by Jonathan but by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The writer had used the term ‘university’ to deceptively give an impression that Jonathan built a new police institution.

    • The Kano-Zaria-Abuja expressway and others across the north were actually rehabilitated by late President Umaru Yar’adua under whom Jonathan served as deputy. Remember, the Abuja Lokoja Road claimed more than 120 lives in 2013 alone! And still claiming more

    • Malam Aminu Kano International Airport is said to be remodeled, but the federal government, despite claiming to spend billions of naira on the project could not equip its terminal with most basic facilities. It was Governor Kwankwaso who made the international terminal of the airport functional by donating most of the facilities including security and luggage scanners. This is aside from the plot by the Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah to divert to Enugu, most of the foreign airlines, including Turkish, Etihad, Ethiopian and Emirate airlines that indicated interest to be plying the Kano route.

    • The ‘Almajiri schools’ purportedly set up by the federal government are empty projects that are yet to demonstrate any usefulness. But Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s down-to-earth policy on education has boosted children’s enrolment rate by millions because he provides each child with free sets of uniform and free meals apart from instructional materials and conducive learning and teaching environment.

    • Jonathan’s contributions in the agricultural development of Northern Nigeria only exist in Ibrahim’s imagination not on our vast and fertile agricultural lands. It is the same with our dams.

    • The five-month old strike by university lecturers across the country has belied any claims by the Jonathan administration, of its commitment to education. Educational development is determined by quality and not just quantity of the institutions set up by government.  • Also, contrary to claims that the Jonathan administration has completed the dredging of River Niger, the President had since 2010 stopped the project and diverted the N19 billion meant for the project to his native Niger Delta for ‘shoreline protection and land reclamation’. The dredging project was initiated by late President Umaru Yar’adua.

    • The Zungeru Power project is a rip-off because though it has a capacity to generate only 700 megawatts, the project is expected to gulp about $1.3 billion dollars or N212 billion, making it more expensive than the world’s biggest hydro-power station – The Three Gorges Dam in China which generates 22,550 megawatts. Even at that, no meaningful steps have been taken to continue the project.

    Considering the foregoing, President Jonathan has undoubtedly failed the North just as Governor Kwankwaso asserts and true patriotic democrats like him have more than a moral obligation to take all necessary steps within the ambits of law to embark on the crusade to reclaim the country from his asphyxiating leadership, which is only interested in protecting parochial, self-seeking, self-serving and dangerously nepotistic interests.

    The only reason the agents of the federal government are determined to crush the timely crusade of patriotic Nigerians like Kwanwakso is to allow President Jonathan to foist himself in 2015, on a country that has become so sick and disgruntled with his failed style of leadership.

    Therefore all right-thinking Nigerians should join visionary leaders such as Kwankwaso to dismantle this fortress of corruption and incompetence that could derail Nigeria’s democratic development and take the country to medieval-era penury and suffering that we would forever live to regret.

     

    • Danladi wrote from Kakuri, Kaduna State.

  • Nigerians are suffering and smiling

    SIR: Living in Nigeria is like a bitter and sweet symphony.  Nature endowed the nation with abundant beauties.  The landscape across the country is like a bed of green grass.  Flourishing vegetation in various regions makes an awesome basket of exquisite delights.  The sun glows soothingly like a lover’s gentle eyes.  Its beaming in dry season can cause a stranger to run under the shade, trees big as giant umbrellas comfortingly cover the open spaces.  Natives sweating under colourful clothing stir wonders to the imagination.  They excitedly go about their business with soaking handkerchief in their hands mopping their brows.  The sound of the exotic languages in the market places is like an orchestra.

    Nigerians must have been made of a special breed.  Farmers, traders, civil servants, students; the society wakes every morning to start the crucial exercise to make a living.  There is no steady power supply, no running water, no good roads; all the modern amenities that make life livable are a luxury to the masses.  Yet like soldiers in a war front, they carry on.  They gather in their houses, churches, bars, and other rendezvous at the end of the day and let off steam like a boiling pot.  They infuse their lives with joy.

    A village clown once observed that you do not need money to live in Nigeria.  He explained that there are many social events going on every day of the week.  He looks for posters for news about where there is a wedding, wine carrying, funerals, chieftaincy celebrations, thanksgiving and numerous other occasions.  He dresses up in his best clothe and goes to these events.  There is no invitation required to get reception.  Some days he is so drunk and ate so much that he is tired to meet up to all his engagements.  He is dumbfounded that people want to leave Nigeria to travel anywhere in the world to live.

    Here profoundly may lie the secret of the smiling faces one sees all over the country.  An average Nigerian toils day and night under excruciating circumstances to become successful.  The first thing he does once he has money is to have a lavish occasion to demonstrate to his community that he has achieved social status.  The size of one’s event is the measure of his acceptance.  The recognition accords him honor and respect.  In some unfortunate situations, folks are confronted with social pressure.  They sell their land, personal properties or borrow money to have a flamboyant funeral for example.

    Nigerians at their best have a culture of celebration.  They dance at festivals, churches, funerals, weddings and every other occasion.  There is no situation that they do not as a custom to turn into a celebration.  This tradition may appear infantile.  However, it seems to help the society overcome like it does with the perpetual onslaught of injustice peppered by a corrupt political system.  They sing always thanking God for everything.

    The melody is sweet.  Under the moonlight, the sky is blue.  The land provides fresh harvest all season.  The people march jubilantly to welcome each dawn.  There will be rainfall.  There will be sunshine.  Nature made the weather kind.  Nigerians close their eyes at night and live the fantasy.  They have the magic to create happiness.

     

    • Pius Okaneme

    Umuoji, Anambra State.