The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Asiwaju Tinubu

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    For Dare Olatunji

    At least, we have someone who can represent Nigeria, indeed, Africa in grammar competition. He is fun to be with anyday, anytime. Hon Patrick, keep up the good work. From Sada, Port-Harcourt.

    Thanks for waking up the Igodomigodo at last. We miss his explosive comments. From Kehinde Akinlade, Abeokuta

    Prof., tell your adopted brother, Patrick, to beware of platitudinous ponderosity in public discourse because it could be a concocted congency without momentum bombast (due apology to Candido). From Lanre Tunwon

    Your last article was the best that I had read since we started celebrating our 100 years of existence. May your pen never suffer any hiatus. From Anonymous

    Good day, Prof. All they did was debase our international image. They made us a laughing stock. Why? 2015! When we recently took over the routine chair of the United Nations Security Council which even Chad and Cape Verde had once occupied, it was wild celebrations in Abuja. They called it victory for President Jonathan’s foreign policy. I think they may soon rebase our power generating capacity so that run away industries can come back. From Olu.

    Re-Insights from a rebased economy. Perhaps our policy makers are rewriting the economics of the world where the index for underdevelopment will lead to economic leadership by Nigeria, then we would need to consult Adam Smith, Todaro, Keynes and others. I am not buying the rebased figure. From Lanre Oseni.

    Dare, it is an irony that The Nation, in which Asiwaju Tinubu has interest, was the first to fowl his call on journalists to apply “investigative knack” which he assessed “is gone”; courtesy Daily Sun of April 11, 2014, page 3. If you applied the knack in “Insights from a rebased economy” you would have been proactive in your derisive analysis of the “rebased economy”. All your areas of contention have no valid bases to disprove Okonjo-Iweala’s claims on the principle, which in general terms means infusion of new sources of revenue to improve the GDP. On the issue of dud power generation, most of the age-long manufacturing companies have found alternative sources to supplement the unsteady power supply. The railway is not completely down and there are alternative means for its services. The new agricultural programmes contributed N350m to the GDP. So, what was your negative hype all about? From Lai Ashadele.

    That your grammar in The Nation of 15-04-14 was very titanic. You have to simplify it for better understanding. From Mba

    Hon Obahiagbon, why is it that when you speak or write, it is always full of ambiguous words. To understand your view without the use of a dictionary is a problem.From Abiodun Moses, Port Harcourt

    Re-from himself the Igodomigodo; Patrick Obahiagbon is a rare gift to Nigeria; but, unfortunately, very few realised this. I am a northerner but my admiration for the ‘OGA of grammar’ never ceases. He makes my day any time. Please, how can I get his books ? If he has not written any, let him start now for he is a model to Nigerian youths and a challenge to them as well. From Pastor Adams, Lokoja.

    I will not like to call the piece, Insights from a debased economy, uneducated and too theoretical. But the fact remains that the author of this piece failed to take reality into consideration. An economic growth in the face of growing poverty is simply another Nigerian manipulation. We live by what we see which is increasing poverty and worsening infrastructure. Whatever else the economists say is just theory and fallacy. From Chris, Calabar

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    Sir, your paper is awash with goodwill for the APC. I’ve sent mine, and will be grateful if published. But it’s not as simple as people are writing. The only northerner we trust now is Buhari.At the same time, the only southerner who has grabbed the larger picture and has proven himself fully capable is Tinubu. Without any of them, very many will prefer to stick with the status quo and let the heavens fall. From Anonymous.

    My take in all this Boko Haram issue is that the blood of innocent Igbos slaughered by Kanuris in the 60s is now being answered by high heavens.The solution is apologise, seek restitution and collaborate with other parts of the nation to always bring the best hand in leadership, so that the illitrate masses of the North can be liberated.From Patrick

    I read your article on Still a question of structure. Your suggestions (regionalism & resource control) are potent enough to end corruption and insurgency in the country. Well done. Anonymous

    Segun, happy to read your article of April 18, 2014.Your last paragraph captured the Nigerian question in its fullness. Regionalism and six-zonal structures (now more often applied but absent in the Constitution). We have some level of autonomy to start real transformation of Nigeria even the often-misconstrued resource control will take a cue from regional and zonal autonomy. Every part of this lucky-but-mis-governed country has numerous resourses to tap. It’s not only oil. Most states in the North have more mineral and land resourses untapped. Those, like the Southeast, with less minerals, can tap their human resourses, like Israel, Switzerland, Japan, Britain and others. Please, use your medium to preach the good gospel, for peace and development. From Concerned Senior Citizen Harcourt

    Your comment and debate on structure. Your article was okay by all standards. As a Nigerian, my view on the matter is in support of true federalism. With this , everything will fall in place.

     

    For Gbenga Omotoso

    It’s really pitiable that our so-called leaders don’t know what to do at any time. GEJ should concentrate and stop politicking when the nation is in mourning. He is even bold to say he used money to buy the ticket. Well, non of them is worth leading us, because they nothing to offer. From Obiora, Abuja.

    Kwankwaso is no match to Mr President. When they were arming and teaching them wrong perception about life, didnt they know that it would hit back at them soonest. Governance cannot stop because of what some dubious people planted years back. Governance is for the living. From Dave, Abuja

    For God sake, unity not by force divide this country and let everybody be, but I assure you that judgement and vengeance must speak because of the innocent blood.Those sponsoring them the anger of the Almighty will never depart from their generation unborn. From Acceptance Akwa Ibom.

    Kwankwaso should respect the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Chris. O

    It is a political disaster to read the claim by Mr. President that he gave cash to Kano delegates during the primaries

    Re: A commentator’s nightmare is vintage you, sir. But I don’t see any big deal in this rebasing of a thing because I don’t see how it will bring food to the table of impoverished Nigerians. People who cannot afford three meals or the teeming unemployed youths will not make any meaning of the rebasing as it does not impact positively on their lives. The Federal Government should tackle the serious security challenges and other social vices in the land. To me the rebasing is a sham and a mere distraction. Nigerians need the good things of life and a better living condition. Period! From Ojo A Ayodele Emure Ekiti

    Jonathan has nothing to offer again. He has failed Nigerians now that he has many shoes. He should just resigh and go. From Chris Apapa.

    Gbenga, sane governance will take off when we have a sane opposition. Your pay masters in their bid for power are prepared to bring down the roof over our heads not minding the means. From Fabian, Enugu.

    I support Kwankwaso. Most of the political challenges in Nigeria are fueled by the toxic reports & view points of some journalists. From John Mgbe, Owerri.

    Indeed, only a good follower who is humble enough to honour his superiors can make a good leader. How arrogant and presumptive for Kwankwaso to confront his Oga publicly.

    May God expose the secret behind Boko Haram. Amen! From Alex, Igando, Lagos.

    What a shame! A president’s open admission of ‘giving’ cash to delegates at a party primary election. It is a violation of electoral law. It’s a pity, our president admitted that he paid delegates to give him votes. Which word best describes the above. BRIBERy? or CORRUPTION? From Philip Akever-Kano

    It’s become obvious today that Mr Jonathan Goodluck is a politician and not a leader. With all due respect, our president does not seem to know what leadership is all about. I did not believe that he went to Kano for a political rally when the people were still weeping over the attack at Nyanya motor park. Each time l hear people say that the country is boiling because some people threatened to make it ungovernable for Jonathan, l just laugh. Can a father, whose enemies threatened to wipe out his entire household, sit with arms folded, allowing them to have their way so that he could attribute his doom, arising from his docility to those who want him eliminated? Can’t he put up a resistance to save his family if he is truly man? One day, Nigerians will know those who are the brain behind this insecurity that has become our brand of politics. From Ifeanyi O. Ifeanyichukwu, Abuja.

    It seems certain that there is a concerted, deliberate effort to debase Jonathan’s presidency by Fulani/Hausa leadership. Kwankwaso’s effontery in his disrespecful disposition toward the president of Nigeria would not have be tolerated if it has been the other way round. ‘What goes round comes around’ as they say; nemesis is the recoil of nature and some body will ultimately be the loser, definitely not Jonathan

    Gbenga, that is the million dollar question. When will politics give way for some governance? In your commentator’s nightmare. Just keep the fire in ur pen burning. Rev Okonkwo Robinson, Rumuagholu, P.H.

    Do you know that Jonathan is intelligent. He purposely doesn’t want to stop Boko Haram if not he would have called Americans into the matter. But he wants to leave them because 2015 election is close. He doesn’t want anybody in the North to come out and vote because of fear of Boko Haram. He thinks that in the Southeast and West he has people who will vote for him. And as for Kwankwaso, he should not even think of running for presidency because I have not seen what he has done for Kano. From Kassy Olisakwe

    Gbenga, please read the Federal Government’t reply to your last sentence on page 4 of same newspaper (THE NATION) and do a rejoinder. Thanks

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Re: After the marathon fasting. That expectation from the church leaders against our ‘misrulers’ would not be achieved as long as the church/mosque leaders see the political rulers as august and special visitors, special worshippers. Do you know the politicians ‘ financial and material donations to those worshipping coffers? Inability to say it as it is in all ramifications, remains part of the reasons for Nigeria’s underdevelopment. Aluta continua. From Lanre Oseni.

    Tunji, compliments. No, I did not fast for Jonathan, nor his maladministration. In fact, I fasted that God will  (?) him. I don’t  know of my G.O. But we, also fasted 100 days in 1996, when there was no Jonathan or PDP. I hope 2015 will come quickly and Jonathan’s presidency will become history for the sake of our kids. Anonymous.

    Some of the so-called leaders in the churches today are the most fraudulent in terms of leadership. Imagine, some of them are flying jets, manage universities, still they cannot come together and look for a way forward. Instead, they have become the Federal Government spokespersons. Politicians will steal money and they will pray for them and collect their money. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos.

    When you hear church leaders asking their members to participate in politics, you had better scrutinise the motive. They are only saying that because that is how they can get on that gravy train of corruption that is euphemistically called ‘national cake’. How many of them can ask their church to pray that if their member will not rule with the fear of God, he or she should not get there? In fact, this may shock you; having a political office holder as a member is fast becoming a status symbol among some pastors. Corruption has eaten deep into the church; only God can save us. From Simon Oladapo, Ogbomoso.

    In spite of fasting and praying that our men of God keep organizing daily to avert constant killings of innocent citizens, instead of the killings abating, they continue. Has God deserted us because of our sins? Father forgive us and restore normalcy in Nigeria. What is happening now and then over insecurity lapses has become an embarrassment and made us a laughing stock in the comity of nations. From Gordon Chika Nnorom.

    T.J., can only continue to admire and appreciate you for essays every Sunday. ‘After the marathon fasting …’ hit the nail on the head. Anonymous.

    Thanks so much for sharing my view on the unpleasant attitudinal disposition and indictment of some ungrateful Nigerians over female ministers in President Jonathan’s cabinet. The reasons can be traced to envy, jealousy, complex and wickedness. Also because their wives are not as beautiful as the ministers. From Destiny.

  • ‘A dangerous trend in art of governance’

    ‘A dangerous trend in art of governance’

    It is now abundantly clear that President Jonathan has finally bared his fangs confirming what was widely speculated. By declaring a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, he has intimidated and emasculated the governors of these states. We are witnessing a dangerous trend in the art of governance and a deliberate ploy to subvert constitutional democracy.

    The body language of the Jonathan administration leads any keen watcher of events with unmistakable conclusion of the existence of a surreptitious but barely disguised intention to muzzle the elected governments of these states for what is clearly a display of unpardonable mediocrity and diabolic partisanship geared towards 2015. Borno and Yobe states have been literally under armies of occupation with the attendant excruciating hardship experienced daily by the indigenes and residents of these areas. This government now wants to use the excuse of the security challenges faced by the Governors to remove them from the states considered hostile to the 2015 PDP/Jonathan project.

    Let me be quick to say that this administration will be setting in motion a chain of events the end of which nobody can predict. Experience has shown clearly that actions, such as this one under consideration, often give root to radical ideologies and extremist tendencies, a direct opposite of the intended outcome of unwarranted and unintelligent meddlesomeness. The present scenario playing out in the country reminds one of the classical case of a mediocre craftsman who continually blames the tools of his trade for his serial failure but refuses to look at his pitiable state with a view to adjusting.

    It has become crystal clear, even to the most incurable optimist, that the country is adrift. That the ship of the Nigerian state is rudderless is clearly evident in the consistent and continual attacks ferociously executed by elements often referred to as the insurgents in some northern states of the federation, particularly Borno and Yobe states respectively. Indeed, no part of the country is immune from the virulent but easy attacks, veritable indices of a failing state. Unfortunately, the tenuous and uncoordinated approach adopted by this government betrays a grossly incompetent disposition which stands at variance with current realities in the country, nay the international community where acts of terrorism are engaged and contained. No Governor of a state in Nigeria is indeed the Chief Security Officer. Putting the blame on the Governors, who have been effectively emasculated, for the abysmal performance of the government at the centre which controls all these security agencies, smacks of ignorance and mischief.

    Terrorist acts are perpetrated routinely and the government at the centre appears incapable of stemming the tide of the horrendous crimes unleashed on the hapless populace. The considerable ease, with which lives and property are destroyed on a daily basis, should excite deep introspection on the part of a government truly desirous of finding a lasting solution. The Constitution provides that the safety and welfare of citizens shall be the primary purpose of having that structure of any political leadership in the first instance. This Government, through acts of omission and commission, has fallen far short of expectation. It actively encourages schisms and all manner of divisive tendencies for parochial expediency. Ethnicity and religion become handy weapons of domination. Things have never been this bad.

    The response to the pervasive chaos in the Northern region of the country has been militarisation, mass arrests and extra judicial killings by the Joint Task Force, JTF, a convenient euphemism for an army of occupation seemingly set loose on the people of the localities concerned. The tenor of the State of Emergency declared by the Federal Government yesterday portends danger for the polity. The full militarisation of security operations in these states will compound the already tense situation. Both local and international media are awash with news of reckless attitudes of the invading forces. The fact that security operatives are killed cheaply and reprisals from the state find expressions in organised pogroms in the immediate communities is sure evidence of a government which lacks basic understanding to appreciate the enormity of the current security challenges. If development is about the people, all measures put in place for the sustenance and maintenance of the super-structure of the society must take into cognisance local contents.

    It is evident from the grim experiences in recent times that this government has failed, or does not know that it is necessary for it to avail itself of the benefits accruable from exchange of ideas and notes on the latest in terms of technology and human resources among nations of the modern world, especially those which have been fighting terrorist organisations over the years, on the most effective mode of combating this menace. Technologically advanced countries of the world will never discard the idea on the need for the establishment of an effective local intelligence outfit. Our suggestions along this path have always been met with suspicion and acerbic criticisms from both the informed and the ignorant alike. A government which stoutly defends its opposition to the decentralisation of the police force from its present over-centralised command structure is already experimenting with all manner of means patently extra-legal.

    The massacres of local communities attendant upon the attacks on security agents by unknown elements will further alienate the people who should, ordinarily, partner with the government in securing their immediate environments. An army which invades a community maiming, raping and killing defenceless civilians will end up radicalising the youths whose parents and young ones have been wiped out most cowardly and recklessly. This government should concentrate more on encouraging the development of local intelligence which will, inexorably, lead to the practice of true federalism. Adopting the use of excessive force against those perceived as harbouring terrorists does not portray this government as possessing the wherewithal to find abiding solutions to the lingering security challenges.

    The President’s pronouncement, which seeks to abridge or has the potential of totally scuttling the constitutional functions of Governors and other elected representatives of the people, will be counterproductive in the long run. A State of Emergency already exists in the states where JTF operates. Residents of these communities live in constant fear. Their rights are violated with impunity under the guise of searching for terrorists in their respective domains. Hiding under some nebulous claims which border on the intractability of the security challenges posed by Boko Haram or some acclaimed traditionalists who have killed some policemen to render ineffective the constitutional powers vested in elected Governors and other representatives of the people, perceived as not amenable to manipulation for the 2015 project amounts to reducing serious issues bordering on the survival of the country to partisan politics.

    Let all those who love this country genuinely advise the federal government not to tinker with the mandates of these Governors under any guise. It is a potentially destructive path to take. If security of a society is about the protection of lives and property of the citizenry, the involvement of the people is a sine qua non to effective intelligence gathering. Any measures put in place which alienate the people, in particular their elected representatives, should be considered as fundamentally defective by every right thinking person in the country.