The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

Letter of thanks to God in New Year

SIR: Dear Lord, thank you for seeing another New Year. And a big thank you that we did not wake up to fuel subsidy removal. Thank you for making our New Year joy full.

Thank you for those that matter to us. Thanks for mum and dad, a loving family, old folks, and good friends. Thank you for safe journeys, and home comings.

Thank you for the gift of life, for a sound health, a good appetitive, second helpings, thanksgiving, non-Dutch treats, and a bountiful harvest; for birthday cake, wedding cake, and national cake.

Thanks for weekends and winks, good news and good grades, controllable hypertension and uncontrollable laughter. Wine, without the hangover, fried food without the flab, and candies without dental caries.

Thank you for hiccoughs that stop and hearts that go on; for presidents that smile, and the people that laugh.

Thank you for Nigeria. Thank you that our journey of nationhood has not overwhelmed us. Thank you for failed suicide attacks, for failed kidnapping attack, and for failed rape assault.

Thank you for the ties that bind, for unity in diversity, for being “one” without the”chance”; for unlike charges attract, like charges repel, and wazobia.

Thank you for the blessing in human and natural resources, and for those things that make our country beautiful. Thank you for names like Azikiwe, Balewa, Bello, and Awolowo.

Thank you for Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Kanu Nwankwo, Genevieve Nnaji, D’Banj. Thank you for Olumo Rock, Zuma rock, Gurara Falls, and the Yankari Game Reserve. Thank you for Argungu Festival, Eyo Festival, and the New Yam Festival.

Also for Papi Luwe, Baba Sala, Samanja, Ibu, Osuofia, Basket Mouth, I go die, Teju Baby face, Aki and Pawpaw, And yes, for Oruka, Lori Lori, and Akanchawa, and a Nite of A Thousand Laughs.

Thank you for Ajegunle, Oshodi, Ojuelegba, Upper Iweka, and Okrika (wake up).

Thank you for”enter with your change,” “nothing spoil,” “odiechi” and “abeg”. For “Up-NEPA!”, “It’s a goal for Nigeria!,”and”God is a Nigerian.” Not leaving out, MAMSER, NAPEP, INEC, EFCC, and ICPC.

Thank you for “No overtaking.” “Many have gone.” “I am serving a living God”. “Are you my God?” “Beware”. “God dey”. “It’s not my portion”. “I reject it”, “Back to sender”. “My miracle is on the way”, “Jubilee hour”, and “Power must change hands”.

Thank you for questions like, “What state are you from?” “What tribe are you?” “Who will you vote for?” “You wan try?”, “You wan die?” and “Who wants to be a millionaire?” Also, “water no get enemy” and “water don pass garri”.

Thank you for coups that leak, and oil pipelines that don’t, laughter that explodes, and bombs that won’t; mother Africa without her mosquitoes, and the rains without the flood, and for the Harmattan without the dust;

Thank you for free immunization, free and compulsory education, free and fair election, for freedom, for human rights, and for the rule of law

Thank you for the sun that shines on everything Nigeria, thank you for the bees in the hive that work so hard to make our honey flow;.

Thank you for peaceful coexistence, for religious tolerance, for national integration, for peace and unity; and that north and south can get along.

Thank you for the ongoing Constitution review, and for bright spots. Thank you also for Jeans that fade, and love of Nigeria that doesn’t. For our biggest hurts (Nigeria) and for our highest hopes (Nigeria).

Thank you for a better tomorrow, and for a whole new Nigeria. Amen.

• DrCosmas Odoemena

Lagos

January 1, 2013
Time again for New Year’s resolutions and knight-errantry

A report in The Telegraph (London) newspaper says the average person will break their new year’s resolution in just under five weeks. That is not an inspiring record to recommend to those who routinely make resolutions every January, or those who will be joining the ambitious resolute group for the first time this year. Even more disturbing, Wikipedia has an entry that quotes a 2007 study carried out by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people. According to the entry, “88% of those who set New Year’s resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying “lose weight”), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.” Clearly, the cards are stacked too high against Mr. and Mrs. Resolute.

The risk of failure may, however, not be enough to dissuade many from venturing into the resolutions business, for according to the same Wikipedia entry quoted above, the roots of the popular culture go way back in time. The entry says: “The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.

The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. In the Medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.”

Another Internet entry suggests that the 10 most popular resolutions are as follows:

1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends

2. Fit in Fitness

3. Tame the Bulge

4. Quit Smoking

5. Enjoy Life More

6. Quit Drinking

7. Get Out of Debt

8. Learn Something New

9. Help Others

10. Get Organised

Hardball would like to recommend resolution number seven for Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Ieala, the Finance minister who now seems determined to railroad us into more debts, and who, quite contrary to her first tour of duty under Chief Obasanjo, appears to be enamoured of romancing old and new creditor-suitors. Resolution number eight must naturally go to President Goodluck Jonathan because he has managed to give the impression that since he became president, he has been both generally risk-averse and even more gallingly averse to learning new things. Could we recommend to Governors Rochas Okorocha, Rotimi Amaechi and Liyel Imoke resolution three to assist them in the great Battle of the Bulge, that is, if it is not a bridge too far? When they leave hospital, Governors Danbaba Suntai and Idris Wada should fiercely embrace resolution 10 and put some oomph and order into their governments. Governor Rauf Aregbesola keeps saying he is wrongly described as a misanthrope. So he says. It’s his word against ours. But let him get a life; let him embrace resolution five.

A columnist in this newspaper once described the exciting and often excitable Chief Obasanjo as someone who followed no one and someone whom no one followed. Well, thanks to New Year’s resolution, his day of redemption has come. Let him take resolution number nine, and stop being so preoccupied with himself. The reader guessed right that Hardball would have loved to use a stronger word than preoccupy. And the snotty Hardball himself; wouldn’t Mr Perfect make a wish? As usual, he waits for the list to be expanded before he finds a wish to fit his snottiness.

Meanwhile the anonymous Hardball wishes his loyal and long-suffering readers a perfect and disciplined 2013, assuming the country is competent to provide the enabling environment.

January 1, 2013
Should we allow greed and corruption to kill Nigeria?

SIR: The word ‘greed’ is defined in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as “a strong desire for more food, money, power, possessions etc, than you need”while ‘corruption’ is defined as “dishonest, illegal, or immoral behaviour, especially from someone with power”. It is noteworthy that in our country today, it is becoming increasingly difficult to draw a line of distinction between greed and corruption as greed starts from where corruption ends while corruption starts where greed ends. If the avalanche of mind-boggling reports on greed and corruption that daily dot pages of newspapers is anything to go by, then the services of a soothsayer or a star-gazer will not be required before we all appreciate the fact that our country is indeed at the crossroads.

It would be recalled that at the peak of the sanitization of banks in Nigeria in 2009 when the Central Bank had to inject N420bn to bail out five banks (International Bank, Afribank, Oceanic Bank, Union Bank, FinBank Plc) with non-performing loan portfolio totaling N747bn hanging on their necks, the EFCC came to offer assistance in debts owed the ailing banks by greedy Nigerians who camouflaged as businessmen. At the end of the day, the commission was able to recover N171bn from the debtors. However, the commission, rather than being supported and encouraged to do more, was castigated by some Nigerians for taking the debt recovery as a responsibility.

The Chairman of the Presidential Pension Reform Task Team (PPRTT) disclosed to the public that the team was currently investigating a “N3.3 trillion pension fraud” and revealed further that the achievement of the team included the “cutting of N1bn police pension monthly releases (from N1.59 billion to N500 million) and the ‘stoppage of monthly leakage of N4.2billion from the Head of Service pension office”.

Corruption among public office holders must have informed President Goodluck Jonathan’s warning that Nigeria might disintegrate if serious steps were not taken to check the menace.

President Goodluck has appealed to Nigerians for patience with his administration with a promise to improve on governance by his administration in year 2013. The question remains: which aspect of governance will Nigerians want the President to improve upon as a matter of priority? It is certain to be eradication of pervasive greed and corruption in the polity. There is need for the Jonathan administration to revisit the jettisoned private bill on assets forfeiture of greedy and corrupt Nigerians to the government earlier submitted to the National Assembly by a former EFCC Chairman, Chief (Mrs.) Farida Waziri. There is also the need for an executive bill on ‘whistle-blowing’ as a fundamental right of the citizens in the country to be sent to the National Assembly. The Central Bank has already taken a step towards this direction but the Federal Government and the state governments still need to borrow leaf from the apex bank and introduce the act of ‘whistle-blowing’ in all the Federal and States’MDAs.

Odunayo Joseph

Lagos

odunayo_ joseph2006@yahoo.com

January 1, 2013
Why not Obasanjo for Man of the Year?

This column cannot recall any newspaper or broadcast medium in Nigeria ever making Chief Olusegun Obasanjo its Man of the Year. He was military head of state in the 1970s, was once a distinguished prisoner of conscience, was a two-term president, is an author of no mean repute, and is an intrepid polemicist who takes no prisoner nor regards his opponent’s logic kindly. These qualities and many more stand him out. It is, therefore difficult to understand why he has been omitted in repeated considerations for that great prize? Indeed, Obasanjo should by now have been Man of the Year at least twice – once for concluding the transition programme begun by his predecessor, Gen Murtala Mohammed, and handing over the reins of office to Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979, and a second time for leaving prison to become a two-term president between 1999 and 2007.

Perhaps the media are afraid that it requires nuanced understanding to appreciate that the choice for Man of the Year does not necessarily have to be a person who has affected his country positively. The prize, everyone knows, could also go to a man who has affected his country negatively. In a country where everything is presumed bought or sold, including honours, a brave newspaper making Obasanjo its choice could be accused of merchandising that esteemed honour. There was in fact a time in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it was harmful to its finances for a newspaper or magazine to publish the picture of Military President Ibrahim Babangida on the front page. Anytime an editor succumbed to that indiscretion during the said period, he instantly knew his paper would sell fewer copies. Perhaps, newspapers suspect that to make Obasanjo Man of the Year would send them spiralling into the abyss of total rejection. And discretion, it is said, is the better part of valour.

But here is a good case for Obasanjo to be made Man of the Year, and a brave newspaper to bite the bullet and publish and be damned. In addition to having handed over power to civilians in 1979, albeit extremely reluctantly, as Gen TY Danjuma said a few years ago in the heat of the former president’s scheming for third term, Obasanjo has also sustained his reputation as a one-man NGO dedicated to sanctimoniously pressuring the governments of the day to do right by the people. More, since the Second Republic, he has been the only president re-elected into office, even if the polls were spurious and despicable. Cumulatively, Obasanjo holds the record of the longest serving Nigerian ruler, having ruled for more than eleven years. Importantly too, and doubtless controversially, he has managed to mould Nigeria in his image, a country structured to fail, underperform, remain fractious, and seethe uncontrollably in what Chief Audu Ogbeh once described as moral/political corruption.

It is curious that newspapers find it tough going every year to select one person who has affected Nigeria for good or bad, when there is one ready material, a hardy perennial, who has affected, and continues to affect, his country in a way no one has done since independence. That hardy perennial is the incomparable Obasanjo, from whose spectral shadow the country is yet to emerge. If not Obasanjo, then perhaps the media should consider President Goodluck Jonathan, at least for his beguiling and quizzical extemporaneousness. Jonathan makes the most down-to-earth speeches any president could make, speeches so replete with sweet nothings and boyish optimism that they fail to inspire the deep as much as they have remained outrightly impracticable even for the frivolous. How could newspapers continue to omit these two eminent gentlemen in selecting their Person of the Year?

December 31, 2012
Guns, terrorists and United Nations

Sometime in September, at the UN Headquarters, in New York, Nigeria was again at the centre stage of multilateral diplomacy. The occasion was the Second UN Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs). The Conference ended on a cheerful note when 193 countries agreed to the adoption of a new UN Programme of Action on illicit small arms. Notably, in the process leading up to the Conference and its final days, our Permanent Representative to the UN, Professor Joy Ogwu, a world renowned disarmament expert was at the helms of affairs as the President of the Review Conference; and she made us proud!

In plain language andstripped of those occasionally bewildering diplomatic language, on the evening of Friday September 7, after several failed attempts spanning 10 years, the international community took concrete steps to confront the crisis of over 850 million illegal firearms in circulation around the world. It was a day the world once again said “Yes to”Gun Control”; and “No” to illicit arms in the hand of robbers, warlords, terrorists and deranged people who wreak havoc across the world. Imagine the heart rending tragedy in an elementary school in New Town, Connecticut where most innocent children were massacred at a period the world was singing joy to the world! Imagine the unacceptable terrorist activities of Boko Haram against people who are worshipping their God in their Churches or Mosques.

Somehow, the epoch making event in New York did not attract much media attention.Perhaps because New York is far and out of the radar of ordinary people preoccupied with the stress of daily living. The event also did not attract much attention due perhaps to the fact that beyond disarmament experts few people can connect a UN disarmament Program to a good night sleep and their personal safety on a daily basis. And then that misperception that the UN and its array of agencies are mere talking shops. What with civil war raging in Syria and veto being whipped up now and then in the Security Council! So of what use is another “piece of paper” from the UN – one can hear people asking. Of course the UN works. It works for us all, as a forum to proffer solutions to every conceivable issue from the depth of the ocean to outer-space. Think of child care, women development, climate change, poverty eradication, peaceful use of outer space, etc.

So when the world gathered in New York in September, to try its hand again at ridding our world of illegal firearms and emerged with an outcome document it deserves close attention of all. Really it should also be of interest to every man and woman on the street in all corners of our world which has become unacceptably violent and certainly need re-inventing. Today most people sleep with only one eye closed due to the activities of robbers, kidnappers, marauders and terrorists. Before our very eyes, Mali with an enviable history and a hitherto shining example of democracy in West Africa has been balkanized by a terrorist group armed to the teeth with lethal weapons; a development threatening to roll-back the democratic gains of immediate past decade in our sub region.

Certainly, the successful outcome of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Conference could be adjudged as one of the major events of year 2012 in the field of disarmament for one simple reason. It has implication for the common quest to reduce violence, for a more peaceful world and security at national and personal levels. The document reminds us that illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects continues to sustain conflicts, exacerbate armed violence undermine respect for international humanitarian law, aid terrorism and illegal armed group and facilitate increasing levels of transnational organised crime as well as trafficking in human, drugs. There is therefore need for a bold initiative to confront the problem through gun control.

At national and international level, the programme of action called for adequate laws, regulations and administrative procedures to prevent circulation of illegal arms and tighten access to guns. There are recommendations for improved intelligence work and appropriate national institutions. International arms transfers are expected to come under tighter control. Customs, INTERPOL, security agencies, NGOs and ordinary people are also expected to report suspicious characters and activities. Implicitly we all have roles to play to combat illicit trafficking of arms.

States are of course expected to lead the crusade. They have the primary responsibility for preventing, combating and eradicating small arms trafficking. This is a crucial aspect of the gathering in New York in the concerted effort to wrest guns from the hand of criminals and terrorists.

As delegates rose up on that faithful evening there was a feeling of satisfaction that the world has finally taken a bold step to come to grips with what has come to be accepted as the new weapon of mass destruction. It was a watershed in a long and difficult history of curbing illegal arms and weapons.

This particular conference was certainly another fitting tribute to Nigeria’s diplomacy and foreign policy posture. Coming not too long after a brilliant performance as a member of the UN Security Council, the outcome of the conference was another good outing for the Nigerian Mission to the UN in New York and our team of diplomats who worked tirelessly for and must have put in sleepless nights for the success of the conference. Equally significant was the performance of our Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Joy Ogwu who demonstrated uncommon and admirable diplomatic skill to secure the endorsement of over 193 countries. It was also of course a proud moment for the leadership of our foreign ministry led by Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru and the supporting team of officials from the headquarters in Abuja. We must also not forget that the successful conclusion of the small arms conference tallies with the commendable commitment of President Jonathan’s administration to tackle the security challenges at home and its foreign policy posture for enduring peace and security in the ECOWAS region which recently received the support of the Security Council in form of the approval of ECOWAS initiatives to tackle the challenge in Mali including through an intervention force.

No doubt the Programme of Action on Small Arms is another evidence that the UN as our common home and can serve humanity well if the will is there. And now that we have a Roadmap in our hands, to prevent guns from falling into the hands of robbers and terrorists, we must all rise to the challenge.That is the “heart of the matter” which must also be a “matter of the heart” for us all for that good night sleep we all deserve; and rest of mind to as we faithfully worship our God in our various churches or mosques.

• Amb Olukanni is Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Australia

December 31, 2012
Before JAMB begins Computer-Based Test

SIR: The decision by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to adopt the computer-based test method for the conduct of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, is no doubt, laudable.

While some people have argued that the nation was not ripe for the initiative due chiefly to the dearth of infrastructure, epileptic power supply and low ICT literacy level, others reasoned that the idea should be embraced.

In the United States of America, where the Computer-Based Test (CBT) or testing is widely used, it is also known as the “next frontier in testing”. Educators, testing companies and state departments find it useful in the process of transforming paper/pencil tests into technology-based formats.

It’s merits include increased accessibility to many exam sessions within a year, attractive and user-friendly interface, online timer on the display screens, access to help-functions during the test, among others. CBT also enhances fair and precise evaluation of a candidate’s competency, rapid turnaround of results, and more choices as to when and where to take the exam, easier registration and fortified examination security.

JAMB Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, said the programme would migrate candidates from the use of paper and pencil in examinations to full usage of computers and would guarantee faster release of results; within 30 minutes after taking the examination.

Before JAMB begins implementation, there a few points to ponder over. First, there has not been any evidence that the required infrastructural needs have been put in place. The untold experience suffered by students in the hands of universities that adopted the similar method for admission exercise in 2012 is instructive.

It saddening that most of the candidates registering for the 2013 examination were spillover and casualties of the 2012 exercise who may be the ‘guinea pigs’ of the newly introduced method, as some of the computer assembled by affected institutions were old, erratic and malfunctioned.

There is no known statistics to indicate that many students in public schools are now computer literate to sit for the examination as the cost of computer is still not affordable. The challenge of providing computers for over about two million candidates in a country that is still battling to provide basic food for its people must eb taken into account. Another critical issue is the availability of constant electricity.

JAMB should also ensure that the necessary security checks are put in place. Efforts should be intensified to protect candidates and officials, who could be vulnerable to attacks.

Another factor that should be seriously considered is the peculair needs of the physically-challenged and students with disabilities. These categories of people could be at a great disadvantage if certain things are not provided. Special provisions must be made to accommodate them.

JAMB should take seriously, the recommendation of “The Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences” (Vol. 3, No. 2, February 2012), which recommends that examination questions prepared for CBT should be made ‘error-free’while the allocated time should also be adequate.

JAMB should embark on massive training, enlightenment and awareness strategies to get candidates and relevant stakeholders to be familiar with the complex CBT operations and clear the grey areas. For now, the stakeholders, most especially the students, appear not to be really informed on what they stand to benefit from the innovation.

Therefore, rather than put a time frame of two years for its full implementation, it should be more flexible and give enough room for self-appraisal, assessment, re-strategizing and better planning.

• Adewale Kupoluyi

Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

December 31, 2012
Ajimobi should match words with action on Oyo ACN

SIR: The call by the governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi on members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), Oyo State chapter to unite was timely and divine. While commissioning some constituency projects executed by Senator Femi Lanlehin in Ibadan recently, the governor bemoaned the existence of factions in the party. Without mincing words, factionalisation of Oyo state chapter of ACN is real, and if care is not taken may affect the fortune of the party, particularly in Ogbomoso zone. This is why the governor’s call was timely.

If the truth must be told, the ACN led government in Oyo State made the mistake of using factions to distribute appointments and patronages instead of individual contributions to the success of the party. It appears that there was no means of evaluating the contributions of loyal party members at the local government level for onward transmission to the top echelon of the party and government for appointments and patronages. This in effect had caused disaffection among party members because of winners take all attitudes of some of those who have gotten appointment from the government.

As the governor emphasized, it would be difficult for the party to retain power in Oyo State if the disunity should continue. This is because a house divided against itself can not stand. The governor has proved his mettle as an astute administrator with vision for pacesetter state and evidences abound to prove this. Unlike in the past, people can now sleep with the two eyes closed in the state. Filthy environment in most part of the state, particularly Ibadan has given in to greenly and serene environment, new roads are springing up while old roads are being rehabilitated, workers are getting reward for their labour as and when due. This is to mention but a few. As a matter of fact, it would be suicidal if ACN should filter away the God given chance to reposition Oyo State because of personal aggrandizement.

As the leader of the party, he should be magnanimous enough to see everybody as his, and create sense of belonging in party members. This is the way to promote unity in the party. • Adewuyi Adegbite

Apake, Ogbomoso.

December 31, 2012
Ohakim probe: How far can Okorocha go?

Imo State is in dire straits. The state which used to be one of the most progressive and rapidly developing in the country is today, facing a serious challenge of development occasioned by directionless leadership.

As Imo and Imolites suffer retardation in every sector of the state’s economy, the Rochas Okorocha government, which elicited much enthusiasm and hope at inception, continues to pursue shadows. Like Emperor Nero of the ancient Roman Empire, the government in Owerri fiddles while Imo burns. Today, the only indication that something is happening in Imo, is the upsurge in the number of hotels and brothels which depend on free ladies from the tertiary institutions in the state. In fact, prostitution is the biggest industry in Imo as all other sectors of the economy remain undeveloped.

Instead of delivering on its campaign promises, the government in Imo has continued to blackmail former Governor Chief Ikedi Ohakim with threats of probe.

Only recently, Governor Okorocha disclosed to Imo people that the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Ohakim was so monumental that he would not sweep it under the carpet. According to Okorocha and his aides, the loans obtained by Ohakim in the name of the state, ended up in private pockets as there is nothing on ground to show that the loans were judiciously used.

Okorocha and his men are quick to point at certain projects initiated by Ohakim, which they describe as phoney or non-existent even though funds were said to have been allocated for them in budgets. Some of the projects include the Oguta Wonder Lake, the Oak Refinery, the Imo Boulevard, the new Government House, Mid-West Airlines among others. Ohakim was said to have procured bank bonds for these projects without executing them.

Already, Ohakim has told the world that he left about N13.5 billion in Imo State’s coffers while leaving office May 29, 2011. His media aide, Ethelbert Okere has risen in defence of his boss, maintaining that Okorocha is simply pursuing rats while his house is burning. Similarly, the 27 Local Government Council chairmen in the state who were sacked by the governor have dragged him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions (EFCC) for alleged misappropriation of the N13.5 billion.

The council chairmen have also alleged that Governor Okorocha used the allocations due to local councils in the state as collateral to borrow N45 billion and another N28 billion from two separate new generation banks.

The truth of the matter is that the Okorocha government has betrayed the hope the Imo people had in it when it came on board in 2011.

Most of the projects which Okorocha claims he has executed are bogus and have no direct economic benefits to Imo people. They include the Ojukwu Square, all the street gates in Owerri, abandoned hospital buildings which were started with local government funds, the perimeter fence along Wethedral Road and the grading of roads without actual construction.

Before the Okorocha admnistration came on board, each of the 27 local government areas had a General Hospital built by past administrations in the state. It is worrisome that these hospitals lack equipment and medicaments required for effective health care delivery. Most of these hospitals lack beds, qualified nurses and good sanitation. The few doctors who have agreed to work in them are poorly-motivated. Instead of the state government to equip these hospitals to enable them function well, it chose to construct new ones. Even the new hospital buildings under construction have been abandoned.

Okorocha has destroyed the local government administration system in Imo. Despite several court verdicts directing him to allow elected council chairmen to run the affairs of the councils, Okorocha has crippled the councils in his bid to destroy Ohakim’s legacies.

The councils are now being run by Directors of Administration and General Services (DAGS) in total violation of court orders while the chairmen elected under Ohakim are barred from even entering council headquarters.

Granted that the Ohakim administration had its own shortcomings, these are not enough to prevent Governor Okorocha from performing. Okorocha’s fourth tier government, which includes traditional rulers and Town Union Presidents in local administration, is another primitive and retrogressive policy that has further crippled the local councils and created unnecessary rifts in the villages. Cases of assassination, kidnapping, rape and arson have become daily occurrences in communities that were hitherto peaceful. The introduction of partisan politics in village unions has destroyed the brotherhood, communal harmony and cohesion which were hallmarks of the traditional Igbo society.

After over one year in office, Governor Okorocha has nothing to his name apart from unnecessary village controversies which are counter –productive. His so-called free education policy is a sham. His decision to give primary school pupils One Hundred Naira (N100.00) monthly is a mercantilist approach, which is eroding the Igbo value system anchored on hard work. It is regrettable that Okorocha is forcing Imo children to develop a taste for money not earned through handwork. Igbo children are encouraged to imbibe the virtue of delayed gratification which is predicated on the philosophy that work must come before pleasure.

The Imo University which is a timeless legacy left by the Sam Mbakwe administration is now a shadow of its former self. Within one year, Okorocha has changed three Vice-Chancellors of the university. This is antithetical to academic culture and freedom. His decision to make Imo University a purely commercial venture, while propagating free education, is deceptive and inimical to the dreams of the founding fathers of the university. It is clumsy and primitive to ask university undergraduates to go to their rural communities to collect cheques from their traditional rulers. Most of the traditional rulers have said that the governor should have allowed them enjoy their peace instead of dragging them into his politics of free education. Nobody has seen the cheques which have been advertised in national newspapers.

It is annoying that the government in Owerri excavated most of the roads in the state without asphalting them. The rains have destroyed the roads, rendering them impassable and worse than they were when Okorocha assumed power. The fraudulent recruitment of contractors without mobilization and payment violates the Procurement Act. It is saddening when a government decides to deceive those it is ruling. It is even more saddening when the strategies for deceit are deliberately designed and executed by the government and its functionaries.

Okorocha should tell the world how many roads he has constructed from start to finish since he came to power. It is clear that the infrastructural base of the state has collapsed. Owerri is a failed city already. Education which is the greatest legacy any government can leave for posterity is being ridiculed as the government continues to play politics with everything.

Ohakim has dared Okorocha to probe him. Let the probe begin if this will make Okorocha perform.

• Dr. Okoroma wrote from Owerri.

December 31, 2012
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

December 31, 2012
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.

December 30, 2012