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  • How we got here

    How we got here

    I have been speaking with various artisans about the economic situation in the country. I interacted with mechanics, welders, electricians, carpenters, bricklayers, tilers, okada riders, and professional drivers. Sometimes I just listened to them, freely discussing the economic situation in the country. At other times, I asked them directly for their opinion.

    There was uniformity in their assessment of the economic situation. Things are bad, very bad, they all acknowledged. Everything is expensive, they said. Food costs are high. Housing costs are high, including building materials, from cement to electrical and plumbing materials. Energy (electricity, fuel, gas) costs are high. Transport costs are high. One Okada rider was particularly bitter about the cost of motorcycles, which has since tripled, according to him. Drivers mouthed similar complaints.

    All the artisans complained about reduced patronage, leading to reduced income. This makes them even more vulnerable, given high inflation and rising costs. If artisans feel this way, one can only imagine how the unemployed would feel.

    I also wanted to know if they knew what caused the present economic situation. This is where divisions began to emerge among them. First, while they all cited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policies as responsible, few could name the specific policies. While the majority cited the removal of fuel subsidy, much fewer cited the unification of the exchange rate and the attendant devaluation of the Naira. What is worse, for many of them, the problems started with Tinubu.

    The second noticeable division in the findings was generational difference. Older artisans went beyond Tinubu to cite endemic corruption, which predated the Tinubu administration. An older bricklayer went as far back as the Goodluck Jonathan administration to cite the case of Dasuki, then National Security Adviser, who was doling out the money recovered from General Sanni Abacha, the notorious army dictator, as Jonathan began to prepare for re-election in 2015. Another one, a much older driver, even went further back to talk about the billions of Naira that former President Olusegun Obasanjo said he allocated to the rehabilitation of Sagamu-Benin road, without much to show for it till today.

    On every occasion, I took advantage of the level of ignorance or unawareness to explain what was going on. The problems have a very long history, I told them. Military dictatorships, starting in 1966, institutionalised corruption, by suspending the constitution, dispensing with the legislature and the judiciary, and suppressing the press. They told and showed us only what they wanted us to know and see.

    With the advent of democracy in 1999, there were many more people to share the loot. In no time, it became a case of “My loot is bigger than yours” with many more people sharing the loot. You only need to go to Abuja to see the humongous houses, hotels, and businesses, built by politicians, legislators, and civil servants.

    Matters began to get worse under President Goodluck Jonathan, beginning in 2013 as preparations got underway for the 2015 general elections. Incidentally, that was the year the All Progressives Congress was formed, mounting a very strong opposition to the Jonathan administration. That was the background to what came to be known in the press as Dasukigate, which the bricklayer cited above.

    Apparently, with recent revelations, things got worse under the Buhari administration. Domestic and foreign debts went through the roof. The nation’s foreign reserve was depleted. The Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, appeared to have colluded with the Buhari administration to perpetrate untold atrocities. Naira was printed illegally in order to increase loan to the government.

    By the time Buhari was handing over to Tinubu, the CBN had loaned the government over N20 trillion, with nothing to back up the loan and with no clear terms of repayment. Foreign loan was almost four times that amount. So much was borrowed and so much was looted that Charles Soludo, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and present Governor of Anambra state, declared recently that Tinubu inherited a “dead economy”. It will be recalled that Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, had also said as much.

    On his own, Emefiele set up multiple exchange rates within the banking system and gave different customers different rates. The so-called anchor borrowers programme intended to assist farmers was used to assist those he wanted to assist. He was also giving loans to friendly individuals as if the CBN was a commercial bank. He allegedly opened numerous accounts at home and abroad and funneled money into them. Part of Emefiele’s scam was the botched currency swap ahead of the 2023 general elections, which caused untold hardships for millions of Nigerians.

    Between Buhari and Emefiele, a subsidy regime was maintained to keep the country going, while also getting deeper and deeper into debt. Electricity was subsidised. Even the Naira was prevented from devaluation by keeping the official forex market low and supplying the dollar to the market, when necessary. Then there was fuel subsidy, which had become a scam to put money into a few hands, some of which did not even supply fuel at all.

    Read Also: After meeting with Service chiefs, Senate hopeful of better security

    For years, many previous governments had planned to end fuel subsidy but failed to do so for political reasons. The plan was completed by the Buhari administration. However, for political reasons, he stopped short of ending the subsidy. Instead, he left the job for Tinubu by making sure that there was no subsidy in the budget as from June 2023, when Tinubu took office. In other words, Tinubu had no choice but to end the subsidy. It was equally necessary to provide a level playing field for foreign exchange transactions by unifying the exchange rate.

    What Tinubu did was to end the tradition of money for a few so that it will be money for all in the future. However, such a transformation can never be instant. The intervening period will be difficult. There will be pain. There will be suffering. There even will be hunger. But not for too long. However, how soon remains uncertain. That’s why he released billions of Naira as palliative, which state governments are meant to disburse. Incidentally, none of the artisans I spoke with got anything. 

    Above is a summary of the explanations I offered to various artisans. As I collated my findings, the IMF released its recent assessment of the nation’s economic situation. It concluded that Nigeria is in the throes of stalled per capita growth, high poverty levels, and significant insecurity. The IMF also noted Tinubu’s constraints: “Low reserves and very limited fiscal space constrain the authorities’ option space”.

    Neither the problems nor the constraints began with the Tinubu administration. However, the bulk now stops at his desk.

  • To where from Here?

     ”…And beware of a calamity that may afflict not only the transgressors amongst you to the exclusion of others and know that Allah’s retribution can be severe”.                 Q. 8:25  

    Preamble

    Writing a drama is like conceiving a pregnancy. For the drama to be practically actable, the writer must take into consideration not only the theme, the setting, the characters and the complications that may build up spirally to the climax in such a drama. He must also think of the anti-climax of the drama as well as its possible denouement.

    A playright’s ingenuity

    Nothing shows the ingenuousness of a playwright as vividly as the crew of actors who put into action the script that gives birth to the drama in question. It is like delivering a pregnant woman of her pregnancy. If the delivery process is not carefully handled, the deliverer may end up becoming an undertaker. And that is when a drama is said to be tragic.

    The world as a paradox

    The entire world today is a paradoxical theatre in which over seven billion human beings including Nigerians are watching a drama. Whether for ecstasy or dismay the viewers may randomly roar into controversies as the drama progresses. But the main concern of each viewer is what may become of his favourite character.

    In the current global drama against which we had been admonished in the Qur’an as quoted above, the concern of this columnist is the ‘colony’ called Nigeria. This is not just because the colony is my immediate constituency, it is also because Nigeria is the heart of Africa. And if anything negative happens to her the whole of Africa will cease to be at rest.

    Hidden agenda

    A clandestine script was unveiled in respect of Nigeria in 1995. Its contents revealed that this heart of Africa called Nigeria was heading for a break up by year 2015. The designers of this devilish agenda had set a timeframe of 20 years for its execution without suggesting any solution. And to portray their dream as a realisable one they kept hammering the probability of the success of that obnoxious project using some hazardous occurrences in the land as evidence.

    For students of International Relations, such a prediction could not have been strange. It was part of the strategies often used by the imperialists either to re-colonise some old colonies psychologically or to scoop on and dominate their economies in a typical capitalist manner. They had done it successfully in some other countries none of which is now firmly on her feet. Vietnam, Korea, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine and lately the entire Arab nations all of which have had their bitter tests.  It is a modern day equivalence of the 1884/1885 partition of Africa carried out in Berlin, Germany, by the European imperialists, which led to the colonisation of African continent. If any of the above countries had resisted the evil project and stood their ground, perhaps the world would have been spared of the throat-cutting threat posed today by the United States and her allies against what they perceive as lesser nations.

    The cult of capitalism

    Incidentally, the US which now champions the imperialists’ cult had also been a victim of this same imperialists’ guillotine especially in the hands of Britain. Yet, the cult of capitalism which has become their common bound would not allow the duo of US and Britain which had been mutually antagonistic to dwell differently today because it is only in such connivance that the gains of their common interest can be accomplished. Unfortunately, Nigeria doesn’t seem to have learned any lesson from countries that had toed the imperialists’ path .

    Rather than looking inwards for solution to our domestic problems as the US did before the two World Wars, our governments do not only look up to ‘Uncle Sam’ for solution even to a minor problem but also cry out to the President of America for help in minor hitches. It is just like the situation of a baby who has so much adapted to being spoon-fed that he would hold the ladle in his mouth even while asleep.

    Today’s Nigerians

    Today, Nigerians can hardly think on anything without reference to America. Whereas some progressive countries like Japan, China, India, Brazil and even the United States in their days of search for growth and development shut their doors to the world and made do with whatever they could produce internally which was why their sudden zoom into the limelight came to the world as a surprise. This has never taught Nigeria any lesson. Rather, all that matters here is empty and monotonous noise about becoming one of the biggest economies in year 2020 even when there is no concret plan for such. No truly progressive country has ever indulged in such a senseless propaganda with success. What would have ordinarily justified such propaganda is a surprising zooming into the global economic stage as the listed countries had done. But Nigeria’s endemic corruption that has become a culture would not allow such a progressive leap.

    Propaganda

    It can only take a shameless country like Nigeria  with so much wealth but lacking to embark on such a hopeless propaganda. Now, how our previous  government spent about $16 billion allegedly budgeted for revamping our electricity remains a question which many generations of Nigerians may not be able to answer. Yet, the focus of some evil agitatus is to ensure the continuity of corruption for personal and ephemeral benefits. Even as of today, patriotic Nigerians have not been shown any blueprint that could qualify them for such empty slogan being echoed about year 2020 without our input or mandate.

     In retrospect

    In the 1980s, under the self-styled military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, the slogan was ‘Housing for all or education for all or jobs for all in year 2000’. And the foremost megaphone at that time was  Prof Jerry Gana of MAMSA fame. That propaganda ended up in sheer deception. And in the 1990s, under the maximum despot called General Sani Abacha, the slogan was changed to ‘VISION 2010’. It also ended up in sheer fiasco after spending billions of naira.

    Then came a former military Head of State, Chief Mathew Aremu Okikiola Olusegun Obasanjo who claimed to have become a democrat without any tutelage. He started his democracy with a slot of the presidency and fooled Nigerians for eight years that became a wasted period in the history of Nigeria. It was on this man that Nigeria’s premium was hopefully placed albeit aimlessly because of his military antecedent and prison experience. His own invented slogan was that of hitting the top echelon of global economy in 2020. And the slogan was continually re-echoed until his exit from government in 2007 a few years away from the target mark. As at the time of his exit, Nigeria, like now, was without electricity, drinkable water, pliable roads, national airline, functional refineries and standard education programme that could propel any possible hope in the deceptive slogan. The pilots of that hopeless odyssey included northerners and southerners as well as Muslims and Christians. But the result, as usual, was an absolute failure. Thus, today, as an OPEC member nation, Nigeria remains the only country that exports crude oil and imports refined fuel for domestic consumption. Where are we going from here? In all OPEC countries, Petrochemical industries are a major point of hope for the citizenry. In petrochemical  industries, thousands of trained youths are employed and economic growth is vivid. But this has no place in the economic dream of Nigeria even as the noisy slogan for hopeless dream sounds louder.

    Rather, what our successive governments often  perceived as the problem was the backlash of their ineptitude which paved way for misrule. But none has ever thought of a possible solution.

    Implications           

    By relying on imperialist countries such as the US and Israel to help resolve the problem of insecurity  Nigerian government headed by former Goodluck Jonathan did not only admit its incompetence to protect the citizenry, it  also surrendered its authority to those countries and thereby compound the existing problems. After all, those invited countries were the manufacturers of the instruments of insecurity in our land. Security of a country is like the heart in human body. Handing it over to someone else is like paving way for one’s own death. No serious government will ever trivialise the existence of its nation to that extent. We all know that whoever pays the piper must surely dictate the tune. And in diplomacy, there is neither permanent friend nor permanent enemy.

    A government is said to be of essence and in control of affairs only if it is believed to be capable of protecting its citizenry and defending the territorial integrity of its nation. Any government that is incapable of doing this and would rather decide to throw the gates of its nation open to foreigners for whatever reason is unfit to be called a government. That was the prevailing situation for many years before the current government came on board. But despite all efforts by the current well intentioned regime to rectify the situation, the forces of evil are bent on the continuity of their evil machinations facilitated by indemnified corruption. Where are going from here?

    Partners in crime

    Globally, the tripod of the US, Britain and Israel are known for their unprovoked belligerence and implacable transgression against nations that refuse to comply with their imperialist policies. And it is probably in reference to such imperialist powers that Allah had warned mankind over a millennium and a half ago that: “…When imperialists encroach on a territory they audaciously pillage and brutally destroy it even as they subjugate the juggernauts therein to the level of servitude”. Q. 12: 22.

    Nigeria’s vintage position

    The real problem that Nigeria constitutes in Africa is that of serving as a regional incubator of corruption and yet connives with the engineers of Africa’s problems for unrealizable solution. In a logical poetic stanza many centuries ago, an Arab poet once opined thus:

    “We all blame our time for our misdemeanour; when the misdemeanour blamed on our time is actually in us; We smear time with all types of iniquities and yet expect time to cleans us of any blame; Were time endowed with mouth to comment on us, it would have blamed us for generating all crimes; Certainly no hyena eats a fellow hyena; as some of us humans openly eat our fellow human beings”.

     The truth of the matter

    The truth of the matter is that the roots of the multi-dimensional problems staring Nigeria on the face today are traceable mostly to the corridors of our government. Of all the vices that constitute seemingly insuperable problems for Nigeria today particularly corruption, none originated from a source other than that of the government. Even where such corruption happens in the private sector, it will be discovered to be a derivative of the public sector either through obnoxious policies or deliberate nepotism or religious irredentism. How, on earth, can we classify the case of a notorious so-called frontline cleric who was contracted by the government to smuggle arms and ammunition into the country from South Africa in the name of political patronage in a multi ethnic and multi religious society like Nigeria? Yet, the government wanted Nigerians to accept that fraudulent act as a normal business.

    Immunity clause

    The absurdity of immunity clause in Nigerian constitution is obviously an  authorisation of corruption for  some  rogues who are claiming to be political or religious leaders in the country. What justification will such rogues have in prosecuting or preaching the known thieves thereafter? Those who injected immunity clause in our constitution as well as those who are in position to remove it but rather chose to retain it are together accomplices in the entrenchment and spread of corruption in the land. Such people will have no logical reason to talk of fighting corruption because they are its creator and sustainers.

    Another evidence of audacious governmental corruption in Nigeria is manifest in the position of the so-called FIRST LADY. Here is a position which has no provision in the country’s constitution but which is given such prominence that classifies the occupier over and above the elected Vice-President at the federal level and Deputy Governor at the State level. This illegal position has no official budget but it is flamboyantly provided with such paraphernalia of office that compete almost favourably with that of the President or the Governor at the expense of the public. With this kind of illegal operation how can any Nigerian President or Governor morally question any corruption in which any public officer is involved? This is one of several areas in which President Muhammadu Buari deserves commendation even if evil politicians are blind to it. And now, the judiciary which is generally acknowledged as the last bastion of ordinary people’s hope has joined the bandwagon of monumental corruption in Nigeria. Where are we going from here?

     We are our own problem

    We are our own problem. We know the sources of what we call problems. But we inadvertently incubate such problems. And we know how to proffer solution to them. But, like ‘lotus eaters’ in ‘Odipuxs Rex’, we are so much drunk with illegality that it has become so difficult if not impossible for us to part with it. Thus, like the pot that calls the kettle black we continue to deceive ourselves by mischievously passing the bulk anytime the die is cast.

    Admonition

    Allah’s words will never look for relevance. They are foever the reference points for those who are rightly guided. Through such words, Allah warns in Qur’an 13:11 thus: “Surely, Allah does not change the situation of a nation or community until they themselves have resolved to change it through their attitude”. Acting the imperialists’ evil script as often done will do no one any good in Nigeria.

  • The British were once here

    I was born in Idanre, a hilly ancient town in Ondo State but I have spent more years in Lagos than in any other city in the world.

    Since the early sixties when I used to spend holidays with my cousin, Professor Ayo Akinbobola, Lagos along with another cousin of mine Chief Babu Akinbobola, Lagos has always been my focus.

    No matter my sojourn in the country be it in Eket, Calabar, Ogoja, Katsina, Bendi, Akure, Owerri, Maiduguri, Sokoto and many other cities in the country including of course Abuja—that artificial city—I always love to come back to Lagos—a city that never sleeps.

    In the past, Ikoyi was the best place to be in Lagos, hence my disappointment that the names of places we cherished in the past have been changed. A fact that can’t be erased is that we were once colonized by the British and Lagos was also once the capital of Nigeria. Another fact was that some streets in Lagos especially in Ikoyi were named by the British to remind us that they were once here.

    Cameron road was named after Sir Donald Charles Cameron (1872-1948). He was a British Colonial governor. In April 1925, Cameron became the second governor of the British mandate of Tanganyika, taking over from John Scott, who was acting governor for Sir Horace Byatt. From 1931 to 1935 he was governor and commander-in-chief of Nigeria.

    Glover road was named after Sir James Hawley Glover (1829-1885). He was a Captain in the British Royal Navy and later a colonial governor. On April 21, 1863 he was appointed administrator of the government of Lagos Colony.

    Victoria Island in Lagos was named after Queen Victoria (1819-1901) who was the Queen of the United Kingdom and Ireland from June 20, 1837 until her death. From May 1, 1876, she adopted the adopted the additional title of Empress of India.

    Milverton Road in Ikoyi was named after Baron Milverton. Baron Milverton, of Lagos and of Clifton in the City of Bristol, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1947 for the colonial administrator Sir Arthur Richards. He had previously served as Governor of Nigeria. As of 2010, the title is held by his eldest son, the second Baron, who succeeded in 1978.

    Moloney Street in Lagos was named after Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney KCMG (1848-13 August 1913) who was a British colonial administrator. He served as British administrator of The Gambia from 1884 to 1886, Governor of Lagos Colony from 1886 to 1890, Governor of British Honduras from 1891 to 1897, Governor of the Federal Colony of the Windward Islands from 1897 to 1900, and Governor of Trinidad and Tobago from November 1900 to 1904.

    Clifford Street in Lagos was named after Sir Hugh Charles Clifford (1866-1941) who was a British Colonial administrator. In 1903, he left Malaysia to take the post of Colonial Secretary of Trinidad. Later he was appointed Governor of the Gold Coast, 1912-1919, Nigeria, 1919-1925, and Ceylon, 1925-1927.

    Eric Moore Street in Surulere, Lagos was named after Eric Olawolu Moore, a member of the colonial legislative council and the first Lagos member of the united committee of experts and adviser on Labour conventions and regulations. He was the father of Kofo Moore, the wife of Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, first Chief Justice of the Federation, who also established New Era Secondary School in Surulere, Lagos.

    Denton Street in Ikoyi was named after George Chadin Denton (1851-1928) who was the Colonial Secretary of Lagos in 1900.

    Freeman Street was named after Sir Henry Stanhorp Freeman (1831-1865) who was the first Governor of Lagos (1862-1865). He took over from acting Governor William Mccorskty.

    Alexander Avenue was named in honour of Cyril Wilson Alexander (1879-1947) who was Governor of the Southern provinces of Nigeria between 1929-1930.

    Egerton Street was named in honour of Sir Walter Egerton(1858-1947) who was the first Governor of the colony of Southern Nigeria between 1906-1912.

    Osborne in Ikoyi was named after Jack Osborne who died on August 15, 2012 at the age of 103. He served with Chindits behind enemy lines in Barma, commanding Nigeria troops during World War Two. Lugard Street in Ikoyi was named after Sir Frederick John Dealtry Lugard (1858-1945), former Governor General of Nigeria. Sir Lugard also named Port-Harcourt in honour of Sir Lewis Vernon Harcourt (1863-1922) who was the British Secretary for the Colonies between 1910-1915. Lord Harcourt’s nickname was “Loulou”.

    Macgregor Street in Ikoyi was named after Sir William Macgregor (1846-1919) who served as Governor of Lagos Colony Niger from 1899-1904 where he instituted a campaign against the prevalent malaria. Thompson Street in Ikoyi was named after Sir Graeme Thomson(1875-1933). He was appointed as Secretary for Ceylon in 1919, then Governor of British Guiana in 1922 and of Nigeria in 1925. Adeniyi Jones Street in Ikeja was named after Dr. Curtis Crispin Adeniyi-Jones (1876-1957), a Nigerian doctor and politician. His son Femi is at present a member of guild of Stewards at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos. Macpherson Street in Lagos was named after John Stewart Macpherson (1898-1971). He was a British Colonial administrator who served as Governor General of Nigeria from 1948-1955. He was responsible for the introduction of the 1951 constitution, Macpherson constitution which provided for “semi-responsible government”. His ADC during his tenure was General Johnson Thomas Umanakwe Aguiyi Ironsi(1924-1966) who later became the Head of State of Nigeria from January 1966 to July 1966.

    Carter Bridge in Lagos was named after Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter (1848-1927). Carter was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Lagos on February 3, 1891. Carter ordered an attack on the Ijebus in 1892. Carter travelled to various parts of Yorubaland, accompanied by soldiers, in an attempt to demonstrate the might of the British. Initially, Carter was not well received at Oyo, and the Egba chiefs advised him not to interfere with slavery, while the Ibadan chiefs said they were afraid that their slaves would “assert their freedom by running to the Resident” – and they refused to sign a treaty with Carter. However, in January 1893 the Egba chiefs signed a Treaty of Independence with the British Government. It was agreed that freedom of trade between the Egba Nation and Lagos was to be guaranteed by the British Government, in return for which no road would be closed without the approval of the governor. They further agreed that complete protection and “every assistance and encouragement” would be afforded to all Christian ministers”. The British agreed that “no annexation on any portion of Egba Nation shall be made by her Majesty’s Government without the consent of the lawful authorities of the nation, no aggressive action shall be taken against the said nation and its independence shall be fully recognized.” He was promoted Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) on June 3, 1893, “in recognition of his services in conducting a mission to the Yoruba country which resulted in the negotiation of important treaties and brought to an end a long-standing war”.

    The British did it their way when they were here and what they did is part of our history which we are still coping with today. In his book titled, “CHARACTER AND OPINION”, George Santayana (1862-1952) wrote that “things have their days and beauties in that day. It would be preposterous to expect any civilization to last forever”.

    • Teniola, a director at the presidency, resides in Lagos.

  • How did we get here?

    The debate about the future of our dear country is at its peak right now. An independent survey to get opinions of twenty young people selected randomly between 18 to 30 years of age about what they foresee Nigeria’s future was pitiably astonishing. Fourteen of them don’t believe this country has a future they can premise their own tomorrow upon; four of them were sceptically neutral while only two have strong arguments to project a brighter future for the country.

    I deliberately played down issues around the problems inhibiting Nigeria from achieving its full potentials to focus on solutions to our problems. “We need to change the way we think” is oft repeated more commonly than ever before. Who really needs to change their thinking pattern? A school of thought believes leadership is the problem while the other believes that the negative impacts of poor leadership have eaten deep into the fabrics of an average citizen. They argue further that a good citizen will sure make a good leader when given opportunity to serve.

    When I moved motion for mandating the teaching of indigenous language in all primary and secondary schools in the state, my state of mind was deplorable given the rate at which we voluntarily jettison our languages, obviously one of our greatest values as a people. It is confusing to know who is actually a bush man between one who uses fork to eat ‘amala’ at the local restaurant and the one that ate with his fingers. When we began to label as error, primitive, unhelpful, local and secondary the use of our own indigenous languages (the vernacular), then I knew we had approached moral turbulence and deliberate castration of our value system. Even an adult now ‘sags’ with pride; young girls walk almost naked with growing effrontery. Whither the hope of a people!

    In the good old days, the entire community is responsible for preventing a child from entering moral decadence. My own mother beat me to stupor for picking money on the road as a young pupil in the elementary school, in spite of my unbridled honesty to have told her the source of the money! It could be worse if my perceived indiscipline for reckless ‘road side pick’ was discovered before I could tell.

    We now prefer foreign clothing to local fabrics – the more reason our local currency will continue to humble against other foreign currencies.

    The western way is good, but the local opens door for identity and originality.  Hip-hop music only got better when domesticated by our talented youngsters.

    Everyone needs identity, and a clear identity for that matter. You will never mistake a Chinese for an American. A little borrowed culture for the sake of globalisation and interdependence is not a bad idea, but killing indigenous values is as good as encouraging neo-colonialism. The people walk into slavery voluntarily by packing off their known ways of life for foreign habits they do not really understand.

    We made our own language a prohibited means of communication in the place of learning. Embracing more foreign clothing than the local is perceived to be status definition in our eyes. Even, ‘foreignisation’ now affects our economy as local currency continues to suffer for indiscriminate patronage of foreign currencies.

    All the countries that ever attain greatness in any ramification did so believing in their identity and sticking to it. Good examples of countries hitherto referred to as third world countries but who have moved up the ladder of highly industrialised nations are Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and more. Who is in doubt? We can make Aba our Alabama; our Oyingbo in Lagos can become an Oregon; the Totoro in Abeokuta can be developed to a Toronto. But our identity and intellectual freedom must be upheld first!

    Renewing orientation about who we are can solve our entire problems; stealing was never part of us; and if we don’t steal, we won’t be talking about corruption. It is the character of a man that must first corrupt before his pocket does. We were never in the habit of celebrating criminals and men of the underworld until we have lost our values completely.

    Who says we cannot do it again? We want to see a green-white- green that we will be proud of again. Everything about us used to be our pride; from good food to decent clothing; to our beautiful currency and hospitality; our hair do and lots more. If the labours of our strength will not be in vain, we need to go back to the basics.

    In my opinion, our movie industry, the Nollywood, which is the fourth biggest in the world and has potential of raking-in huge forex to support the nation’s revenue.

    We want to see a country stronger than its challenges. Personal and collective successes are only possible by making right and positive attitudes the bedrock of our vision.  Begging, whether direct or corporate was a shameful act that consumes one’s pride like fire eats up a dry wood; when has begging become a thing of pride? How did we get here?

    Like countries that have redefined their identities and used same as catalyst for moving up the ladder of great nations in the world, we can brace up and catch up with greatness. Our nation has produced heroes around the world; we can be proud of what is ours and challenge the world. Tomorrow, we can bequeath a nation that our children will be proud to call home, not a nation with unbearable deficit of values and loss of vision.

    • Olulade is a Member, Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Epe Constituency II.
  • Here it comes

    Here it comes

    Title: Beyond the Trial
    Author: Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha
    Publisher: Author house UK
    Year of publication: 2015
    Number of pages: 195 pages
    Reviewer:Fagbemi Oluwatoniloba

    The novel beyond the trial is a very inspirational novel containing three different stories of three different women and their trials and how they overcame. Each story has its own title.

    This story is about a young maiden Funke who following in the footsteps of friends made a mistake that she regretted. This young maiden was set to marry but could not because her mistake stood as a stumbling block.

    She was about to write her SSCE exam when she had to leave so she re-enrolled in another school at Akure and wrote her exam and came out in flying colours. She then got admission to the Open University and got a degree in business management. Funke had a provision store and a lot of people liked coming to her store because she was well mannered. Pa Adekunle was one of funke’s regularly customers he came the first week of every  month to buy provision, it was through this means she met Frank who fell in love with her and accepted her even with her past mistake and filled her life with untold joy, love and happiness.

    The family of Emecheta was a very happy one, until the day death decided to take away the breadwinner of their family which led to Mrs Emecheta’s admission at the hospital due to shock.

    She was later discharged and had to tell her children they would no longer see their father again. Her friend Uzoma was there to comfort and encourage them. The burial was done according to her husband’s custom and tradition after which she returned to the city with her children and the event that followed their arrival back to the city changed their lives.

    Mrs Emecheta was alone to take care of her children. With little or nothing she had to work hard to make ends meet and educate her children. Years after she received a call from her sick mother-in-law which made her very happy. Few days after she was told her mother-in-law had died and she requested she attended her funeral which she did with her friend to pay respect to her mother-in-law.

    Ada Adelakun was happily married to Richard Adelakun and they were blessed with three male children. Ada was not a big fan of winter season and she will always wish she was back home in Naija where the weather was better. But her husband would always make jest of her about it.

    It being years since they last visited their hometown each time they saved money for the trip something cames up and they had to divert the money but this time they were able to make the trip. They visited Ada’s family first and spent a week with them during this period the family was able to overcome the shadow in their past that haunted them currently and start afresh.

    They spent the rest of their trip with Richard’s family before going back to the UK. Richard was happy that Ada was able to face the shadow in her past because it means she has been able to let go of something’s from her past and welcome the present and future.

    The novel is one filled with stories of the trials that women face and how they can still overcome and live a life of peace after going through the most difficult and trying times. The author was able to allow us relate with the story by writing it in a first person narrative which gives room for a reader to get emotionally attached to the character.

     

  • Here’s to all fathers

    Many unsuccessful fathers are today ruling the world, and only one deduction can come from that: it’s no wonder the world is in this sorry state

    My salute to all fathers today is a little belated, considering that Fathers’ Day was celebrated the third week of last month, but as I always say, better late than never. Besides, you know the kind of present that I value most? It’s the kind that comes unexpectedly, is late, and is very expensive. Ah! great is the quality of the surprise that one brings. Now, onto our story.

    To many children, fathers are the breadwinners of the family. He just seems to represent that part of the family tree where money seems to spring from. This is why it is difficult for children to believe that money does not grow on trees. It does; it grows on the father’s side of the family tree. Oh, I’ve said that, haven’t I? it is because when children need to buy a loaf of bread, ‘go ask daddy’; when they need to buy school uniforms, ‘go ask daddy’; when the family needs a car, ‘we’ll ask daddy’; when the family needs a jet, who else can we ask? Happily, the story is changing these days. Now, it is possible to ask mummy for money for bread too but we’ll talk about this some other day.

    Fathers also represent safety. Oh, there is no measuring the great amount of comfort a child gets when he/she knows daddy is near, particularly in a thunderstorm, or in the face of external threats, or in the face of internal threats such as mummy. You would not believe just how much children rely on those muscles. A father said he had to take his son to the hospital for one ailment or the other. When the doctors took the son over and started pricking and jabbing him, the son felt very let down that the father did not rescue him from the wicked doctors with those strong muscles of his.

    Sometimes, those muscles are used to instil discipline via the cane, and that is when things take unnatural turns and confusions set in. A father recounted how his child looked at him with horror when he had to apply corporal punishment. He said he might as well have brought out the knife.

    If we were to ask young children what their fathers represent to them, many of them would surprise us. They would talk about the words associated with their fathers, mannerisms they best remember about them, the names they call them, but more importantly, the image they represent in the house. I read in one book that a child said they called their father ‘Moses’ in their house because every morning, he called the family together and gave them the ten commandments for the day. So, when they saw him coming, they would go ‘Here comes Moses with the tablet of stone’, and he would go, ‘If I ever see you playing with my comb again …’ Another child said they called their father ‘General X, Supreme Commander’. He was fond of barking his commands at them: GET OUT OF THAT CHAIR! GET OUT OF MY ROOM! GO AND BUY ME AN ENVELOPE! All too often, the children quaked and shook uncontrollably at the sound of his voice. Another child said their father was God. He was too fond of saying, ‘Listen, I made you and I can unmake you. You came from inside my body and you can pretty well go back in there.’ Such sweet daddies, these, no?

    Truth is, fathers stand for many frightening things to their children, all too often because those fathers inherited the genes of fright from their own fathers who got them from their fathers who got them from their own fathers, ad infinitum. At the sound of a father’s voice, the child goes into throes of terror and the father goes away thinking ‘Yeah, that’s how to stay in control of the ship: tolerate no dissension from the ranks’. Want to know the truth? Most children tend to see their fathers as being capable of eating them up if they do not do as they are told. That voice is just too scaaaaaary!

    I best remember my father for many things: provisions, a bank account that just never seemed to flow too well in my direction, and THE LOOK. My father rarely applied the cane on us children but he generously applied THE LOOK. THE LOOK was the eye of steel which spelt only one thing: disapproval. Most times, that was all it took for us to want to sink beneath ground level and just disappear from the face of the earth. You took what did not belong to you, you got THE LOOK; you said what you were not supposed to say, you got THE LOOK; you did what you were not supposed to do such as failing your exams, you got that soul, spirit and body crushing LOOK that wordlessly said, ‘Consider yourself slapped and maimed for that thoughtless action’. That look, I must confess, has saved me from many a scrape and has kept me well towed and reigned in. True, I have got into other scrapes in spite of it, but who knows, there might have been more without it. Even now that he is dead and gone, THE LOOK lives on in my husband. Viva la LOOK!

    So, where would we be without our big, bad wolves, particularly since they rule the world?! Oh yes, your world, nations and states’ rulers are all fathers, I think. Let’s face it, some among them are not very successful fathers at home, since sometimes, children sort of develop immunity against the voices, muscles and looks, and just go their own merry ways. Sometimes, though, it’s the fathers who fail to apply the voice, muscle and look and choose to go their own merry way, preferring to give their talents to the nation or the world or drink or partying while the mother rules the home. When one woman and her daughter heard that the head of their home had been appointed into a government post, they both laughed. He had no clout to command at home. Many unsuccessful fathers are today ruling the world, and only one deduction can come from that: no wonder the world is in this sorry state.

    There are many homes which have no fathers for one reason or the other: death, divorce or desertion and it is clear in such instances that their places and shoes are empty. This is because nature has designed that they should be there. Where mothers are absent, their places and shoes would also be empty because nature has so designed that they also should be there. Natural creation of complementarities has stipulated roles for each divide. Fathers are the last bastion of discipline: ‘Junior, if you don’t drop that knife, your father will visit you this evening with the belt’ produces instant compliance. In the same way, mothers are the last bastion of love: ‘Junior, try and understand your daddy, he means well; now come and take a slice of bread’.

    No doubt, fathers mean well for us, in spite of their ways. That is the way nature designed them to be: furious, angry, whirlwinds; we would like to take them just as they are if they remember that homes are supposed to be havens not hotspots; wives are to be loved, not flung across the room like balls and children are to be assisted to grow up to be what they want to be, not forced into prepared jackets that fit the father’s ambition. All the world cannot be my red shoes. So, here’s a toast to all fathers: may your days be long, your cups be full, your voices stay strong and your LOOKS remain compelling. VIVA THATA LOOKA!

  • Now that the rains are here

    SIR: For generations, rainfall has been known to serve as showers of divine blessings as it had always provided the needed blessings that mankind needed for survival. Rain water has constantly been nature’s solution to drought and famine. Therefore, while the approaching of the rainy season delights the farmers and also a boost to electricity supply, for residents of Lagos, a coastal state, the wet season is not always the best time of the year. It is a period that comes with the intimidating challenge of flooding. And when it happens, many homes are swamped, property worth fortunes are destroyed and sometimes human lives are involved as the tide sweeps away everything in their path, leaving residents to recount tales of woes. To an average Lagosian, rainfall could be a curse rather than a blessing. Usually, whenever it rains heavily across the state, there is a rise in the Lagoon and ocean, which automatically locks up all the canals already blocked with litters by residents due to indiscriminate dumping of refuse. This naturally  results in flooding noticed in the metropolis. However, flash flood is noticed on the road after continuous rainfall which, soon after, disappears after the canals are able to empty into the water bodies.

    It is a known fact that usually flooding occurs in the metropolitan areas as a result of urbanization which leads to generation of more wastes that are being dumped indiscriminately in the drainage channels. To forestall the occurrences of tragedies that have characterized this season previously, the state government has been cleaning, clearing and de-silting of drainages and canals on the highways and streets in the metropolis prior to the coming of the rains. Therefore, the residents of the state should brace up to the task of ensuring a zero tolerance for flooding by fulfilling their own part through constant cleaning of the drainage channels and by desisting from dumping their wastes arbitrarily. Lagosians should take the issue of obtaining approvals before erecting their buildings in order not to build on drainage channels, thereby blocking free flow of water whenever it rains.

    There some flood plain areas in the state which are susceptible to flood. Areas like Ajegunle, Owode Onirin and Owode Elede in Kosofe Local Government Area, Kuramo Beach, Alpha Beach on the Island as well as Mende- Maryland, Ijora- Badia and Iwaya among others fall in this category. As a result of the incessant rainfall which seems to have begun for the year, the Lagos State government has advised residents living in the low line areas (flood plains) to relocate due to the rising level of water from the rainfall. This is essential for affected residents because of the persistent rains since March which had led to the rise in water level of the lagoons and rivers as a result of back-flow into adjoining low line areas.

    We must take our destiny into our hands and do all the needful to ward off avoidable natural calamities. Hence, the need for everyone to support the state government in protecting the environment.

    • Bilkis Bakare

    Ministry of Information & Strategy,

    Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • The hour is here

    Friends, Nigerians and countrymen, spare me your time. At last, the moment has come for us to determine  whether or not things should continue as they are. Which direction our nation should go lies in our hands as we go to the polls on Saturday. The electorate, as in any election, have a crucial role to play in Saturday’s presidential poll. In our hands is the fate of the contestants and our dear country. If we vote right, we will be paving the way for a better and brighter future. But if we vote for the wrong candidate, our action will haunt us forever.

    Besides, generations unborn will not forgive us for mortgaging their future. How we vote and who we vote for will go a long way in shaping and building the Nigeria of our dream. At this critical stage of the nation’s life, we need a leader that can take us to the promised land – a land flowing with oil that will be beneficial to all and not only a few because they are in power. We are a blessed nation; we are blessed in resources – there is hardly any part of the country where natural mineral cannot be found and in abundance too.

    All we need do is to tap these resources and make life worth living for the people. With the right leader, this can be done. That right leader is the one we should go for on Saturday. There are many contestants in the race, but President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his arch-opponent, Gen Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stand shoulder above the others whose names voters cannot even readily recall. On Saturday, there will be no fewer than 14 names on the ballot, but the votes will be going to only Jonathan and Buhari.

    What we are  experiencing in the countdown to the election has never happened before in the history of elections in the country. It is as if we have never had an election in Nigeria until now. The tension is so high that you can cut it with a knife. What about the hate campaign? Oh! that is another kettle of fish. This is why the world is worried about the election. Global leaders are afraid that there may be trouble because of the way our politicians are going about their campaigns. The ruling PDP,  its candidates and their supporters are the most guilty of this. Taking a cue from the party, its supporters have gone wild across the country, unleashing terror on the people.

    Under the guise of rallies, they shut down towns and cities, hindering movement.  In some instances, they vandalised vehicles, destroyed the campaign posters of opposing candidates, with the police looking the other way.  In some states, the president was stoned, perhaps by those who feel that they have had a raw deal under him. No matter how bad such people may feel, that was a wrong approach. They do not need pebbles to make their grievances known. Their voter’s card is their stone and they should use it wisely on Saturday. They can throw all the stones they want with their vote that day. This symbolic stone throwing will have more meaning than pelting the president’s convoy with pebbles on the road.

    Pelting the president’s convoy with stones will not yield anything, but with our votes we can throw  him out of office and bring him the person that will make our country the pride of Africa. We are called giant of Africa, but deep down us we know that to be a misnomer. How can we be giant of Africa when we cannot cater for the citizenry? How can we be giant of Africa when millions of graduates are roaming the streets for job? How can we be Africa’s giant when we cannot generate enough electricity for industrial and domestic use? How can we be Africa’s giant when the value of our naira keeps depreciating? The naira, at the official market, currently exchanges for N199 to the dollar; at the black market, it is around N230 to the dollar. Giant of Africa indeed! How can we be giant of Africa when the real sector is virtually dead? Because of the epileptic power supply, many firms are either not operating under full capacity or have relocated to countries where the environment is more conducive.

    Nigeria has never had it so bad. Jonathan has a lot of baggage going into this election, but his supporters do not think so. To them, Jonathan has done well and so, he should be given a second term. I do not know their yardstick for measuring Jonathan’s performance, but if it is the same as that of other Nigerians, surely the president cannot be said to have done well at all. Those against his return believe that he has done nothing to better the people’s lot. The only thing he has done, some believe,  is the rebasing of the gross domestic product (GDP) to accommodate sectors hitherto not captured. This is what his loyalists are touting as his achievement. What is an achievement in the rebasing of the GDP? It is nothing to crow about because it does not translate to more jobs or better life for the people.

    That the rebasing made Nigeria’s economy the largest in Africa does not in anyway deviate from the fact that it is all an economic jargon to bamboozle the people that Jonathan is working. If indeed Jonathan is working, it would have shown in the number of the unemployed  taken off the streets. If indeed he is working, it would have shown in regular power supply. If indeed the president is working, it would have shown in the resuscitation of the real sector. The last six years of Jonathan have been nothing but suffering for Nigerians. So, this election is about who can deliver the goods between Jonathan and Buhari.  This is why the election must be peaceful for us to make the right choice.

    If we get the right leader, it will be to our own good, but if we  make the wrong choice, it will be to our eternal regret. Buhari has done it before – as a military leader he restored order and sanity in the land. He was a no-nonsense leader, who acted the way the times then demanded. In the mess we now find ourselves, we need such a person to nudge us on to the path of greatness. Nigeria has a lot of potential. We are a nation of can-do people, but we lack the national leadership that will make us blossom. If honest Nigerians cannot make it under six years of Jonathan,  while marketers are robbing us through fuel subsidy,  what hope is there that if  he gets a second term things would be better? Things can only get worse under him. What we need is a  leader to propel us to greatness, not one that will promote divisiveness as Jonathan has been doing.

    As former President Olusegun Obasanjo said at a lecture to mark his 78th birthday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, last March 5, ‘’there is nothing they have told us that is impossible but all they have said boils down to one thing and one thing only – leadership. And until we get it right, anytime we do not get it right, we cannot get any other thing right; don’t let us deceive ourselves, whether it is security, science and technology or innovation or the development of the economy or education they all boil down to leadership and at all levels. May God give us the leadership that occasions like this deserve in Nigeria…’’ Come Saturday, we will have an opportunity to pick such a leader. So, let us vote right; let us vote wise because no amount of stoning will later correct a wrong choice.

  • Again, here we go!

    All things being equal, the presidential and national assembly elections will hold in five days time. There is no foreseeable reason they should not hold after the initial postponement. This is more so given that the two major planks on which the shift was hinged have been very substantially addressed. The liberation and recapturing of local governments, towns and villages under the stranglehold of the Boko Haram insurgents have reasonably progressed. So also is the distribution of the PVC.

    The other matter of whether or not to deploy the card readers is now at the table of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the sense that it is its prerogative to decide when and how to use them if it is fully satisfied with the outcome of the trials. Though, those experimental outings came out with some hitches, it is to be expected that the electoral body has taken note of them making, amends where necessary.

    Expectations are high that this set of elections should come and go. So much heat has been generated by this particular election that Nigerians are eager to have them pass by. The eagerness is not as much for any personal interest or enthusiasm but because of the general belief that this election could make or mar the country. Many are therefore desirous to have the elections pass by for them to resume their normal lives.

    Before now, many of our citizens living outside their ancestral homes had fled those areas for fear that harm may come their way. Many more are likely to flee days before the elections especially those residing in the northern parts of the country and Abuja. This is not a matter of speculation. Neither can it be dismissed as the doomsday prediction of an arm chair Journalist. It is real. The fear is palpable that unmitigated violence is likely to breakout thereafter irrespective of who wins. And in this regard, we have in mind the presidential election which at any rate comes first. There is general apprehension that its outcome is most likely to be disputed. And when such disputes arise, they manifest in violence often leading to the destruction of lives and property. This is more so as the election is viewed rightly or wrongly as a defining moment for the nation’s corporate survival.  Two factors account for this. The first has to do with the history of elections on these shores and the penchant by politicians not to accept defeat even when there is sufficient evidence they lost. This conclusion is very evident from the plethora of litigations that follow elections on these shores. Even where losers are known to have conceded defeat, congratulated their opponents with a promise not to challenge such verdict, it has been very disappointing seeing the same people reverse themselves only to proceed to the tribunals later. This election is unlikely to depart from this ruinous pattern. There is even more reasons for it to assume more dangerous dimension than previous ones.

    And this brings us to the second point. Despite whatever pretences one may wish to make, the election is largely seen from the prism of ethnic and religious lines. These factors have been palpable in the language of political discourses since campaigns began and even before then. The north wants power return to it as a matter of right. The south-south wants one of its own currently occupying that position to be given another term of four years before power can now move. There is yet to be any national consensus on the matter and we are going to the elections with such destabilizing and potentially explosive tendencies.

    There have also been threats from here and there if certain events go certain ways during this election. Accusing fingers have been pointed at each other by the major political parties. We have been inundated with accusations of plans by the political parties to rig the elections especially the ruling party. INEC has not been spared on this. If anything, the recent demonstrations in Lagos by some ethnic militias asking for the sack of Jega can only add to the general foul air that now surrounds the coming elections.

    The net effect of all these is the likelihood that the outcome of the election is likely to be disputed, especially so if there are observed lapses from the arrangements put in place by the electoral body. It would even seem to me that people are likely to be looking out for faults to discredit the elections.

    When we pair this observation with the high stakes of the election, one can then understand the stark reality that awaits this country in the next few days. But elections are not an end unto themselves but means for the advancement of public good. If that is the proper conception of the matter, why must hell let loose because one political party or individual failed to realize his ambition? Why has ethnicity and religion become prime considerations that determine the direction of the power matrix in this country? And if our leaders emerge on the basis of such mundane platforms, can they really pass as nationally acceptable leaders? Can they in all fairness, still remain loyal to the central authority irrespective of their attachment and loyalty to primordial considerations? These are some of the moot issues.

    Again, why are we simulating obstacles so as to find a convenient ground to wrestle the electoral body to the ground? And what of the likely consequences of such on the general wellbeing of the ordinary people that are being promised heaven and earth if they vote in a particular way? These are some of the contradictions arising from the polluted atmosphere that pervades the political atmosphere as we go into the elections.

    If blames are to be apportioned, the political class is largely culpable for heating up the political environment. And the reasons for this are largely self-serving. The same political elite that have despoiled this country, mortgaging its future are at it again. And in the pursuit of their personal interests, they have now mobilized the common people against each other.

    It is the same common people that will bear the brunt of whatever adverse repercussions that may arise out of a contentious election.

    If the overall interest of the people is the prime factor for seeking political office, nothing should be done to throw this country into crisis whatever the outcome of the polls. Our laws are replete with established processes for redress and those who feel shortchanged should avail themselves of such avenues. There must be conscious efforts to redirect this country from the part of a self-fulfilling prophesy of disintegrating this year. That is the huge challenge before us.

    Above all, much still depends on the INEC on the day of the election. The elections must not only be free and fair but must be seen to be so. Already, the electoral body has been put on edge. It does appear the electorate is not prepared to take excuses from it. It must therefore work hard to deliver to Nigerians an outcome that will give no room for acrimony. That is the surest way of disappointing those who are waiting for the slightest infractions to cause trouble.

  • The President was here

    On December 14, 2006, this paper hosted then Bayelsa State Governor Goodluck Jonathan, who was on his way to Abuja for his party’s national convention, where its presidential candidate would be picked. Jonathan was not among the contenders for the top job.  He was going there as a delegate and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa. Moreover, he had picked the party’s governorship ticket for the state.

    So, Jonathan was going to Abuja for the fun of it  and to vote for the candidate of his choice. Little did we know that he would become a candidate in that election. That is how God works; He does His things in the way He only understands. When Jonathan was here that December 14, it never crossed his mind that he would pair the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to contest the 2007 presidential election.

    On what to expect at the December 16 PDP national convention, all he said was may the best candidate win. He, however, spoke of his preference for one of the contesting outgoing governors to emerge as candidate. Truly, one of the governors, the late Yar’Adua, who was then the chief executive of Katsina State, picked the ticket. His choice of Jonathan as running mate, it appears, was preordained. If not, the late Yar’Adua would not have chosen him. Perhaps, his name Goodluck did the magic.

    Of course, Jonathan has been a lucky person all his life. His good fortune in recent times shows how far people’s names can carry them. Over eight years after his visit here, Jonathan is on another campaign. His whistle-stop campaign took off in Lagos last Thursday. He chose Lagos for political reasons not that he loves the state and its people that much. If he truly loves Lagos as he wants the people to believe, why then has he not paid the  money being owed the state by the Federal Government by now?

    Lagos and the 35 other states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will  not just be there for the picking of the president and his party. For the electorate to vote for him, he has to tell them what he has  done in the past six years. What has he done that should make the people vote for him? At his Lagos rally, he said he would address the crowd on three key issues of corruption, security and infrastructure development. He failed to live up to his word; rather he resorted to reacting to criticisms and attacking the opposition.

    What really are Jonathan’s plan for the country? What does he intend to do after six years in office without anything to show for it? Is he just seeking to return to office for the sake of it? Yes, it is good to bear the title of president, but it comes at a price. Being president is not a tea party. It is a demanding job.  The office demands a lot of sacrifice from its occupant, who  must be ready to work, until he drops dead, if need be. The country he seeks to lead must come first, always, no matter what. In the past six years, Jonathan has shown that he is not that kind of leader. He is a jolly good fellow, no doubt, but that does not do the job.

    We need an all – hands on president and after trying him for over 55 months, he has failed this litmus test. Jonathan does not have anything to offer. It is obvious that he is tired and that he needs a  rest. But those benefiting from the system feel that all is well. What else  do we expect from such bootlickers? As long as they get free money  they will praise the president to high heavens. Not only that, they can even sell their mothers for filthy lucre.

    We can all see what the Transformation Ambassadors of this world are doing. To these people, Jonathan is the best thing to have ever happened to Nigeria. Jonathan, they say, has rehabilitated the Ore-Benin road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Nigeria Railway Corporation; tackled terrorism to a halt and improved security. Those behind the  Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) know all too well that they are lying. There is nothing on ground to support their claim. If there were, Jonathan would have pointed them out at his ongoing campaign.

    Let us start with corruption and security on which he spoke at his Lagos rally. The President did not tell us what he has done to tackle these problems. Rather than say what he has done or intends to do, he got busy throwing barbs at his critics. ‘’They talked about insecurity’’, he began. ‘’They said they will fight insecurity. And I ask, are our armed forces weak? If we have problems, what is the cause? Equipment. Somebody who told young people that he is going to fight insecurity, ask him if he bought one rifle for Nigerian soldiers when he was Head of State. These people did not buy anything for Nigerian soldiers. They refused to equip them. Ask them what they did with their defence budget.

    ‘’They said my government is corrupt and that we are not fighting corruption. Only yesterday, I addressed anti-corruption agencies and told them that people are deceiving young Nigerians. I said that they must tell Nigerians what they are doing. We have arrested more people and done more convictions…If somebody tells you that the best way to fight corruption is to come and arrest your uncle and father and show him on television and jail him, it won’t stop corruption. It even encourages corruption’’.

    Are we not in trouble if the President can,  on a live radio and television programme,  refer to stealing as a minor matter? To him, stealing is not corruption. ‘’What they are calling corruption is petty stealing’’, he said on the Presidential Media Chat not too long ago. Stealing is stealing, sir.  There is nothing  like petty stealing just as there is nothing  like petty robbery. What is petty in taking something that does not belong to you? You do not take something that does not belong to you without the owner’s permission. Going by our president’s definition of stealing, that is permissible.

    So, if members of his cabinet take what does not belong to them, he will look the other way!  This is what I understand the President to be saying with his definition of stealing. If he overlooks ‘’petty stealing’’ because the amount involved is small, will he have the will to act when a huge sum is stolen? Is this the kind of president we deserve? Your answer is as good as mine.