The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Open letter

  • Open letter to all living Nigerians

    Open letter to all living Nigerians

    By Gbenga Omole 

    Dear fellow Nigerians,

    I write to you with a heart full of hope and a vision for a brighter future for our beloved nation. Nigeria, a land rich in potential, stands at a pivotal juncture where the actions of each citizen can steer us toward lasting progress. We must shift our focus from what our country can do for us to what we can contribute to its growth and development.

    For those in positions of authority—President Bola Tinubu, ministers, governors, commissioners, and local government chairmen—the call to ethical leadership and public service has never been more urgent. Our history has been marred by corruption and inefficiency, yet figures like the late Dora Akunyili have shown that prioritising service over self-interest can restore faith in our institutions. The true measure of leadership lies not in personal accolades but in the establishment of robust systems that serve future generations.

    Economic empowerment is another cornerstone of a meaningful legacy. With a significant portion of our population living below the poverty line, it is crucial to create opportunities that uplift the underprivileged. Investments in education, support for small and medium enterprises, and the establishment of social safety nets can transform lives. Industrialists like Aliko Dangote have demonstrated the impact of creating jobs and fostering economic growth. Beyond business, philanthropic efforts targeting healthcare, education, and infrastructure are vital.

    Education remains a powerful tool for societal transformation. Improving access to quality education, especially for marginalized groups, is essential. Individuals can contribute by establishing scholarships, libraries, or training centers. The late Tai Solarin’s dedication to accessible education continues to inspire. Mentoring the next generation fosters a culture of excellence and resilience, recognising that intellectual capital is our most valuable resource.

    Grassroots efforts play a transformative role in our society. Community leaders addressing local challenges with local solutions lay the groundwork for progress. Environmental advocates combating deforestation and pollution and leaders promoting health campaigns or women’s rights are securing better futures for their communities. Supporting these initiatives through funding, volunteering, or advocacy ensures that progress is inclusive and sustainable.

    Our cultural heritage is a significant asset. Preserving and promoting this heritage is crucial, especially as cultural homogenisation threatens indigenous identities. Artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers can leave enduring legacies by creating works that celebrate Nigerian realities. Government policies that protect cultural sites and support creative industries, alongside private initiatives funding arts programs and mentoring emerging talent, can keep our cultural tapestry vibrant.

    Nigeria’s diversity is both a strength and a challenge. Fostering unity through dialogue and collaboration among different communities is essential for national stability. Policies addressing regional inequalities and promoting inclusivity can mitigate feelings of marginalisation. Citizens can champion interfaith and intercultural initiatives that bridge divides, building a nation that thrives on its diversity.

    Ultimately, the legacies we leave are shaped by individual actions. Whether in government or as private citizens, each of us has the potential to make a difference. Identifying our unique strengths and leveraging them for the greater good is key. Every act of service, no matter how small, contributes to the collective legacy of our nation.

    As the saying goes, “You cannot change the world, but you can change someone’s world.” The legacies we leave are defined by the lives we touch and the positive changes we inspire.

    We are Kings and Queens. Let us stop dancing naked. We can make our great nation work again. God bless Nigeria should be our slogan.  

    Yours sincerely,

    Snr Apostle Gbenga Omole Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA

  • Open letter to PMB

    I acknowledge that  winning an election in the Nigerian context is congratulatory, indeed celebratory, deserving popping of champagne, rolling out of drums and clanging of cymbals. After all, it is not easy to go into a civil venture considered war and do or die, especially against a loaded opposition whose chest of political war arsenal is heavily intimidating and come out victorious. I recognise the seriousness with which the war was fought before your triumph over your brother and former vice president, Wazirin  Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar who led an almost unassailable siege of the People’s Democratic Party against a seemingly unimpregnable APC fortress.

    I consider Nigeria lucky to still have you at this auspicious moment of our history that the world is waiting on the country to unleash her potentials or prospects of greatness. This is not your first time in power and we know the impact you wrought  on the country in your time as a military head of state. We know the circumstances of your ouster less than two years into your transformational, redemptive mission and we know how the affairs of the nation have been run since then.

    We also know of how the People’s Democratic Party which inherited the country from the military to usher in the fourth republic managed state matters for 16 years from 1999 until 2015 before the All Progressives Congress APC swept off the rapacious party from its reign of waste and rudderlessness.

    There are so many genuine concerns of Nigerians; concerns that predate the fourth republic, indeed enduring concerns of national cohesion, security and development. At almost 60, Nigeria is yet to arrive among the countries she started with in the development process. The country is challenged by mass poverty. Our social infrastructure are generally delapidated and public service seriously compromised not satisfactory serving citizen needs.

    I will say no rejoicing yet because the journey to build Nigeria is just beginning with your re-election. You have just a grace of four years to prove to cynics and rivals, and indeed millions of Nigerians who invested their hopes of brighter, rewarding future of Nigeria in you because of your capacity, capability, reliability and integrity. I know that the dynamics and complexities of our polity are capable of thwarting any genuine intention, vision or action. Yet Nigerians are generally an impatient lot to tolerate excuse.

    Dear Mr. President, you will need to ride over the overwhelming storms of Nigerian politics and overcome mundane yet crippling distractions in making choices and decisions because our nation no longer has time for promises and experiments. What the masses are clamouring for is delivering on your  compact, charter or the contract that you entered with them upon which they returned you to power.

    Serious financial crimes and corruption are still endemic, even afflicting the sactum of justice and the hallowed chambers of the legislature. Discontent is palpable over representation and access to power. In the midst of this, the engine of government, the civil service is gisgruntled over paltry pay in an environment where the political industry festers with high turnover without tangible dividends of democracy to the electorate  these political office holders and lawmakers represent or who were voted to serve their interest.

    For any meaningful development to be witnessed in Nigeria, our country must first be at peace with herself and with her neighbours. In the the past, our country wasted resources, even lives in the nature of our economic management that is heavily dependent on and foreign dominated as well as in the crises and irritants that have locked down our potentials because of their security and productivity implications.

    The concern of most Nigerians now is –  what would be the fibre of the new government under you in your re-election? What kind of government will you lead? They  are not unmindful of the challenge of composing a nationally representative cabinet in Nigeria without offending the primordial sensibilities that have stultified development in the country since independence. In Nigeria, every leader or government is expected to satisfy the conditions of equality and equitability even when they do not coduce to merit based choice, appointment or representation.

    That need is in running an all inclusive, bi-partisan or even non-partisan administration that draws from the best talents of Nigeria at home and in Diaspora

    The urgent task before you is to come up with a team that will assist you in running a transformational and transparent government. While I believe you must satisfy party and political interests, because, you were produced by a political party to contest the elections in the first instance, you must however balance the party interest with that of the more strategic and core public or national interest in your cabinet composition.

    To beat or meet every expectation on all counts of human development, you must lead a government that is responsive, pragmatic, strong and uncompromising on policies and standards that will fast-track national transformation, yet realistic in not being blind or unmindful of policy landmines that could lead to frustration, disappointments or dissension in the land.

    As Nigerians gave you a renewed mandate to lead the country for another four years, I think it not congratulations yet because of the heaviness and uncertainties of your tasks but I would rather pray for your success in the years ahead that you are able to discharge this challenging trust that Allah and the nation has burdened you with, that He strengthens you to meet the needs and expectations of all so that in 2023, you will deserve not just our congratulations but our association and pride as a president who served the nation with integrity and led her into  the light of enlightenment and development

     

    • Abdulwarees, is assistant director, Strategic Planning & Corporate Development Department, Voice of Nigeria, Lagos.

  • Presidential poll: Open letter to Nigerians

    You will no doubt agree with me that Nigerians and the world had great expectations that we would rediscover ourselves as a nation when the country returned to democratic rule in 1999. They were right in view of the false steps, we initially made as a nation at infancy and the human and material resources God has bequeathed to this nation.

    It was these that the world saw back then, that they christened our nation, the giant of Africa.

    This hope was buoyed by our riches in cocoa, oil palm, groundnut, rubber, gold and many others, from which Nigeria made a fortune as a young nation.

    Though the gains made from the “golden era” were lost to maladministration and corruption by successive administrations, expectations were particularly high globally as we returned to civil rule in 1999.

    This may not be unconnected with the feelings that Nigeria had a golden chance for self-discovery; the country also had former President Olusegun Obasanjo, of the Peoples Democratic Party, from whom much was expected, going by his governance experience.

    But 20 years down the line, the question remains how well have we fared after 20 years, 16 of which was under the PDP?

    Indeed, the answer to that was delivered by the outcome of the 2015 general elections, during which PDP’s 16 inglorious years came to an end through the ballot.

    Curiously, this was a period during which Nigeria made billions of dollars from crude oil, with the product rising astronomically to over $100 and remaining at same, especially during Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    Despite the boom, it is on record that things became worse for Nigeria as the ordinary Nigerian was reported to be living on less than a dollar per day in the dying days of Jonathan.

    Many would also not forget that even salaries of federal government workers and their counterparts in the states were no longer being paid.

    Therefore, that was the first thing the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari confronted on assumption of office by giving bail out to states.

    This was particularly in view of the fact that over 24 of the 36 states of the federation could not pay workers even before the administration came in.

    So far, the PMB administration has given N1.9 trillion to state for salaries and pensions alone, despite dwindling oil revenue.

    This was at a time facts emerged that billions of dollars set aside to fight insurgency by the Jonathan administration had found their ways into private pockets.

    The Buhari administration also recovered millions of dollars from the private residence of a former Group Managing Director of NNPC who served in the immediate past administration.

    Through prudent management of resources’, the current administration’s impact has been felt by Nigerians in critical sectors of the economy in the last four years.

    Realizing that we have over–depended on oil, whose price has been unstable in the international market in the last few years, the PMB administration came up with workable economic strategies including agric through diversification of the economy, which has brought about massive employment in the agric sector.

    The PMB administration invested over N500 billion in the rice value chain, even as over eight new rice mills have come on stream in Ebonyi, Kebbi, and many other states, while Nigeria’s rice production has doubled compared to 2014 levels.

    As a result, Nigeria had since taken a front seat among rice growers in the world with increased funding and capacity development initiatives, just as the new Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has taken off with an initial fund of $1.2b provided by the World Bank and others.

    For the first time, Nigeria is also reaping massively from yam and cassava such that foreign exchange is now being made from yam exportation to Europe, a clear departure from the PDP era when we spent hundreds of millions of dollars importing rice alone.

    This is even as the price of garri, rice and yams have fallen significantly in the market due to mass production.

    In the power sector, this government generated almost three times of the 2,800 Megawatts it inherited from the Jonathan administration with additional power generation by the end of 2018.

    This was partly due to N701 billion payment assurance programme of the current administration which has resulted in a 50 percent expansion in grid capacity which rose to 7,125 as at December, 2017.

    Even markets like Ariaria market in Aba and Sura market in Lagos now enjoy 24 hours power supply through Integrated Power Project (IPP).

    In the area of transportation, this government has completed the Abuja – Kaduna light rail. It has also successfully completed the Abuja airport run way, face lift and that of Port Harcourt airport.

    This is also the same story in the road transportation sector as PMB has done a lot in that sector by completing abandoned roads and initiating new ones, which has turned the country into a huge construction site. This include the Lagos – Ibadan Express way, Second Niger Bridge, Numa – Gombe Road, Enugu – Onitsha, Onitsha – Port Harcourt, Numa – Jalingo, Ilorin – Jeba etc.

    A lot of work is also being done on the economy which is now back on path of growth after the 2016/17 recession.

    This is in view of the fact that the Buhari administration has remained constant in growing agriculture and solid minerals, which is now raking in foreign exchange into the nation’s coffers.

    This is also helped by the fact that inflation continues to fall, while the nation’s external reserves are at their highest level in recent times.

    Recently, Nigeria’s stock market ended as one of the best performing in the world, thanks to the PMB administration.

    This administration has also not lost sight of the fact that it needs to focus on the people who are the reason for their being in office.

    For effect, it launched all the four components of the Social Investment Program (SIP) it promised the poor and the vulnerable to ease their economic pains.

    The SIP is the largest and most ambitious social safety net programme in the nation’s history with N140 billion released and more than nine million beneficiaries.

    These include the Trader Moni, Market Moni, Farmers Moni, N-power and Conditional Cash Transfer which have become house hold names due to their acceptance and popularity.

    On security, the herdsmen challenge issue has since been addressed by this administration.

    The PMB administration also needs to be commended for recovering the 17 Local governments taken over by the Boko Haram under the past administration, though more needs to be done.

    The current administration must also be given credit for fighting corruption with an uncommon zeal. Currently, no fewer than two former governors who are APC members and many others are cooling their heels in jail for corruption, even as EFCC has recovered several billions in cash and assets. For the first time, looters are coming forward to surrender stolen assets to government. Even the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) is facing corruption charges in court for non-declaration of assets, same as president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

    Similarly, other feats have been recorded in other critical areas within the same period; just as the footprints of the PMB administration is visible in infrastructural development in several tertiary institutions across the country, including IPP projects to power the schools.

    These and many more are reasons why all Nigerians, especially voters must seize the moment by using their PVCs to ensure that Nigeria remains on track.

    We must ‘shine’ our eye’s on February 16 in particular by shoving aside those the local and international media agree have a “corruption baggage tied around their waist, and are ready to sell our national assets to their friends as admitted by them.

    We should remember that corruption put us where we were before now; hence we must in unison queue up behind PMB on Saturday to kill a cankerworm that threatens our future by not allowing the years of the locust to return, the time to re – elect PMB is now.

     

    • Umohinyang, a social commentator wrote in from Lagos.

  • Open letter to Hon. Justice Onnoghen

    SIR: My initial reluctance to write this treatise to you washowever changedby your alleged admission that”it was an oversight not to have declared the $3Million”. My decision was reinforced by the positions taken by Prof. ItseSagy, SAN, chairman, the Presidential Advocacy Committee on Corruption (PACAC), erudite Prof. Ben Nwabueze, SAN, and the latest disclosure that other huge sums of money have again been paid in your bank accounts.

    My Lord, I was persuaded firmly by the arguments advanced by Professor Sagay, SAN.As an experienced teacher of law for many years, he pungently and truthfullyaddressed the kernel of the matter in controversy and graciously went ahead to raise the following germane questions in his submissions,thus:

    • Did the CJN omit to declare a domiciliary (US dollars) account No. 870001062650 maintained by him with Standard Chartered Bank (Nig) Ltd.?
    • Did the CJN omit to declare a domiciliary (Pound sterling) account No. 285001062679 with the same bank?
    • Did the CJN falsely omit to declare an e-saver savings (Naira) account for account No. 500162963 maintained by the same bank?

    The above questions without equivocations formthe gravamen of the case against you. Let me remind the CJN that apart from the grandstanding and apparent solidarity of some of us, let me remind youof what you alleged to be your defence, that “you did not declare the accounts because you forgot”. I may not know if this is meant to be your real defence or is a mere statement made in passing following the heat of the moment you found yourself then. However, this may not after all be the real issue in this letter. The issue is about your ability to positively listen to yourself not minding us grandstanders milling around you. The issue is about the use of wisdom.

    Nwabueze, SAN, in his submissions got me more determined to write this open letter to you. He based his arguments on section 89 of the 1999 constitution as amended and finally rationalized that if you committed any offence at all, it is a “technical offence”.

    My Lord, the conclusionsof Prof. Nwabueze is perhaps meant in my opinion to lead you to the expected answers to the posers raised by Prof. Saggy.Assuming this is true, I cannot say more than to boldly inform youthat my elaborate search inthe law books on crime left me with no answer asto what a “technical offence” is inour criminal jurisprudence. The conclusion of the matter objectively stating the law, is that an offence remains an offence for all purposes and as defined by law.

    Permit me to state that the most strenuousarguments is that which purports give the impression that a case of the breach of the clear provisions of the Code of Conduct Act has first to be taken to the NJC before charging the judicial officerinvolved to the tribunal. TheSANs, argue as if the case of Justice Nganjiwa VS FRN (2018) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1609) 301 has overruled the mandatory constitutional provisions in the 5thschedule to the constitution, and also the case of Ahmed Vs Ahmed & Ors, where you personally stated the direct opposite of their argument.

    My Lord, I urge you not to allow yourself to be misled by the arguments of some of uson the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal. You must listen to yourself properly before listening to our various postulations.

    Let it be known to you that the man who forgot as allegedly admitted not to declare his alleged $3 million stuffed in his personal bank accounts is Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, GCONas an individual, not the inanimate institution of the judiciary.I urge you to be guided by the fact of the response you already made and said to be in the hands of the tribunal. It is important that you take urgent steps to allow the dust raised to settle.

     

    • Chief (Barr) UtumEteng,

    Calabar, Cross River State.

  • Open letter to ASUU president

    I want to use this medium to communicate with you, as a colleague, my dissent opinion on the ASUU’s incessant strike as a means of compelling the government to do what is expected. While I align with the purpose of the strike, I do not agree with the method. Incessant strike was the order of the day during the military era for obvious reasons, and I must concede that it was difficult to see anything ASUU got from the federal government without strike. However, it will be wrong to say that the method that worked during the military era is the only option for the democratic era. ASUU, of which I am a member, has not explored all democratic and intelligent options in effectively driving home her demands in view of the incalculable losses that go with strikes in our institutions.

    If pen is truly stronger than swords, then pen must be stronger than strikes. ASUU comprises of the bests of brains in the nation and yet has not been able to use her pen to speak convincingly to the conscience of the stakeholders to the point that special attention will be given to educational sector without embarking on a strike. The sentiment of ASUU that most private universities are owned by politicians who want to destroy public universities cannot be supported by statistics. It is difficult to accept that all our distinguished National Assembly members, all our professors in government and all those who understand the import of higher education in the nation are so selfish insensitive and intransigent that ASUU would not be able to speak to their conscience through the pen. The belligerent attitude of ASUU towards the government is counter-productive. ASUU lacks diplomacy, negotiations and lobbying skills which are characteristic of democracy.

    For example, it is difficult to justify the wisdom of ASUU abusing the ruling party as a party of vagabonds and still expect fruitful peaceful negotiation. I am sure you know that if a referendum is taken today among university teachers, most lecturers will object to this strike. That explains why ASUU executives are fond of using force and uncivilized means to stop lecturers from teaching and attending academic committee meetings and conferences when a strike is declared. While ASUU executives may have internal democracy, this is not the same outside ASUU caucus. Only about five percent attends ASUU campus congresses partly for obvious reasons that ASUU is not willing to think of alternative approach once she is thinking of strike. When it comes to a serious case of having indefinite strike, it should be by online referendum and not that the executives will lord it on all lecturers.

    It appears ASUU has not sat down to analyze the losses strike brings vis-à-vis the gains of strike. Incessant strikes have a damaging psychological effect on the students. How do you want a student who was greeted with a strike when he/she was about to resume be serious with his/her studies when s/he sees his/her supposed mentors or idols carrying sticks and improvised drums about to forcefully stop classes, conferences and committee meetings?

    Can whatever we get as gains of strike effectively compensate for this? Most of our universities are among the lowest ranked in the world, and in particular Africa and we all know that one of the reasons is because of lack of confidence the international community has on our system which makes it hard to win foreign students and visiting experts from abroad due to our unstable calendar. How do you expect us not to lose brilliant students and innovative researchers to places like South Africa when they know that a three year PhD programme will turn to 10 years because of our unpredictable calendar?

    I hope ASUU has done her research to discover that the chief reason why many Nigerian students prefer going to sub-standard and less developed universities in West Africa, like Ghana and Republic of Benin, and willingly pay a big sum for their tuition rather than spending that money for their education in better developed Universities in Nigeria. The exodus of our students to Ghana started in the 90’s when there were protracted and incessant strikes and that trend has not been reversed since then. Those who may argue that it is because of JAMB are missing the point. Statistics show that over 75,000 students studying in Ghana spend about N300 billion on tuition alone annually. This is equivalent to N300,000 per student for all the students in our universities which is about one million students. I am not sure ASUU has thought through on what total, indefinite and comprehensive strike means because our work is just about 30% teaching. It means members must stop research, stop attending to postgraduate students, stop attending conferences etc. In fact, ASUU is asking for knowledge blackout or knowledge blank out in our institutions and it must be indefinite. How will ASUU react if all power officials also put us in darkness indefinitely through national blackout?

    How will ASUU react if all public medical personnel in the nation also go on “total, comprehensive and indefinitely” boycott of all hospitals? I heard you say those are essential services. Is ASUU conceding that gathering and dissemination of knowledge in our universities is not essential? Maybe in Nigeria- but not in the civilized world. Other workers in civilized world do go on strike but it is always the last option and when it is done, it is always for a short specified time so as to avoid system collapse. Or how do you see the wisdom in loosening one million naira so as to gain N3,000?

    What justification does ASUU have to go on total, indefinite and comprehensive strike and insists on total, indefinite and comprehensive monthly salary for the work that is not done? Is it part of our national cake? Is it not corruption that we are condemning the politicians for?

    What is corruption by the way? Asking for a reward for which you did not labour? I am aware that one of the areas that ASUU and government negotiators could not have a meeting point is the issue of schools fees. There is need to have a referendum on it after looking at it holistically.  There are issues that need reconciliation in this matter. Is it appropriate for ASUU to enforce her old Marxist ideology in a capitalistic economy even though in Russia itself, some students are expected to pay fees in the public schools?

    Can our economy really carry free tuition in our higher institutions of learning and still be able to improve on national infrastructural, energy and medical needs that equally require urgent attention? Will our students really wake up to the demands of university education if they are not paying anything no matter how small? We all know that most federal universities are surviving on tuition fees paid by postgraduate students and part-time students. In Unilag alone, where we have about 30,000 undergraduates, N50,000 tuition per semester for a student will amount to N3billion on yearly basis. Compare that to the monthly subvention of N9 million of the federal government to Unilag, for example.

    What can ASUU say on the allocation of TetFund money to universities and other higher institutions and the basis of the allocation remains a mystery? What can ASUU say about those who are not qualified to be Senior Lecturers, judging by their publications, in a federal university who were appointed as professors in other federal universities with the same salary scale? What is ASUU suggesting to improve the system where a professor will make several grammatical errors during his inaugural lecture?

    I am aware that ASUU officials don’t like alternatives to strikes once they have made up their minds. But how long do we continue doing that and still make progress in a competitive global academic community?  While I am not in support of the government for its lip service to university education, I think ASUU need to look inward to and start thinking outside the box.

     

    • Olaleru is Professor and Head, Department of Mathematics, University of Lagos.

  • Open letter to (Ann) my late wife

    This week marks the fourth year since your sudden departure from our matrimonial home. I had hoped to speak directly with you ever since but four years down the line, it has just dawned on me that no network would connect with you – hence my resorting to this medium.

    Indeed, a lot has happened since your demise but I will only relate with you on those that have been the most surprising to me, since you are in the spirit world and knows all that we mortal do here on earth!

    Could you believe that your family – specifically, Senior and Lydia – are trying hard to make me look like a villain – just because you have left this realm? Do you believe that Lydia has been on a virulent campaign of calumny, character assassination and outright falsehood against me with the intent of achieving some ill-conceived and premeditated missions?

    She had even sought the assistance of the state in this pyrrhic mission, but to no avail. What can you say of her assertion that you were a victim of ritual killing? You know – as we all know – that could only be the most ludicrous allegation from a warped and seared soul!

    Lydia even told the Commissioner of Police that you ought not to have married – that they did not want you to marry – and that you knew! Could that be true?  That you ought not to have been married – and you yet took me to your family for our marriage? Who do I now believe? But all those are already past, as those issues cannot be revisited now! I am just wondering out loud!

    Where exactly are you now? I am asking you because when I went to pick you from the morgue for internment on that fateful day, you were nowhere to be found – and, till date, nobody has told me what happened or who had taken you away.  And to where, when, legitimately, I was the one entitled to bury you! Could you please tell me what happened?

    You have transcended this realm, so I am sure you know!

    Innem, I am only asking you all these now because your death has not only been tragic to me but has also been the most devastating, traumatic and even embarrassing to me, hence I am only recovering from the shock and has only now become stable to attempt discussing with you!

    Could you believe, Innem, that Lydia, in concert with Senior, is determined to strip me of all material acquisition – even those I had before I met you?

    They have falsely presented me as being dependent on you – even a gold digger of sort – as if I had been a jobless fellow in their bid to cast aspersions, belittle me and put me on the defence!

    I was made to pay a humungous amount so that you could be buried in a grave outside.  I was told you had to be buried inside my room – what you know was culturally not possible – so I was made to pay heavily to mitigate your ‘social degradation’ as I was told you were a queen! Were you truly a queen? And where was your ‘kingdom’?

    Are you aware of all that I have gone through since you departed this sinful world? However, despite all my tribulations from your siblings, I am not inclined to deny you for you were a loving, virtuous, considerate and faithful wife.  May the Good Lord be the Judge!

    Lydia has departed from the Godly path you so much tried to make her follow.  She is on the path of perdition! Pray earnestly for her. She has gone back to her vomit! May the Good Lord forgive her.

    I will discuss more with you as soon as I receive your reply.  The court case over your missing corpse is coming to a close – yet none of them ever came to the court but were more interested on the material benefits your death has brought to them!

    With these, were all your personal deprivations, struggles and determinations for them worth the while? You made so much effort to make them see the light and not end in perpetual damnation. Will that not be their ultimate end? I only hope they have not sealed their fate. I only hope!

    Enough – for now!

     

    Your husband, Tijjani Mohammed.

     

  • Open letter to Super Eagles

    Sir: Before you get carried away you have to decide the real reasons why you are in Russia. You each need to ask yourselves the following questions – Why am I here in Russia? What am I here to achieve? What are my goals for this World Cup? Who can help me achieve these goals? And how can I achieve these goals? Where can I go from here after I have achieved these goals?

    Let me make it easy for you by answering some of the questions. You see you may not realize it but you were all born for a time such as this in the history of our nation Nigeria. We are living in a critical stage of our nation’s existence. And it is crucial you understand your role in the scheme of things.

    Let me make it clear to you what you are not there to do. You are not there to be distracted by the fine “Russian babes”- so don’t get detracted. You are not there to see the beautiful tourist attractions in Russia – so don’t become a tourist. You are not there on vacation. You are not there to just play football, no no no! Let’s get that straight! This is not a training session, this the real deal! You are not there to just participate and make up the numbers of teams to play at the World Cup. You are not just numbers. You are not just there to win extra money for yourselves. You are not in a casino.  You are not there to just make a name for yourselves and get a better deal from your clubs at the end of the World Cup – this is not the time to be transacting any business!  You are not there for that kind of business. Nonetheless, you are there for business but a different kind of business.

    You are there to play to win every match you play in. You are there to WIN the WORLD CUP, period!

    You are there for one purpose to play for Nigeria and to win the World Cup. You must understand that the nation that the colours of your jersey represents is more important than the name and number on the back of your jersey. You are there to represent Nigeria, play for Nigeria and win for Nigeria!

    Each one of you must go into the inner recesses of your mind, soul and being and determine in your heart that you are the man that your team can count on. That you are the man that will do whatever-it-takes to ensure that victory is yours. That you are the warrior that must have the victory and nothing and absolutely nothing will get in your way of winning and carrying that cup! You must encourage your team-mates to also become a whatever-it-takes player. You must play as a team and you must have a great team spirit.

    How can you achieve this gigantic goal of winning the World Cup? This question is just like the question “How do you eat an elephant?” The only way to eat an elephant is a little bit at a time. Likewise, the way for you to win this year’s 2018 FIFA World Cup is to focus on each match before you and focus on winning it. Go into the game to win the match. Go into each game with a winning mind-set. Go into each game with a winning attitude.

    First of all focus all you energy on winning the first half of the match. Then after half time focus all your energy on winning the second half of the match. You must always play to win. You must win every first half of each match you play in, EVERY FIRST HALF of each MATCH! You must also win every second half of every match you play in, EVERY FIRST HALF of each MATCH! You must win every match you play in, EVERY MATCH! When you enter the pitch to play any match you must know that you are there to win at all cost. Failure to do so is not an option. Once you step into the pitch it immediately becomes your battle ground to fight and win the victory. You must see yourselves as the winners of the match even before you the starting whistle sounds. Always remember to play to win. And when you win every match you automatically become the CHAMPIONS.

    Being the World Cup Champions will open up REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITIES for you and our nation. Being the World Cup Champions will create INCREDIBLE POSSIBILITIES for our nation Nigeria and you.

    Make it happen!

     

    • Olaboludele Simoyan,

    Lagos.

  • Open letter to Okorocha

    Open letter to Okorocha

    SIR: You came into office popular and loved by an overwhelming majority of the Imo people which is obviously the reason you defeated a sitting governor, a no mean feat in our country. You made so many promises all of which you have kept but none of which have been fulfilled. Disregard all the sycophancy; the people are no longer happy with you. It is not a good thing that the people should be unhappy with you because in a democracy such as ours, it is the public’s opinion which should drive the nature and direction of your policies.

    Here are the reasons the people are not happy.

    You gave free education from the very basic to tertiary level to every child in Imo State. Yet, they end up paying so many surcharge fees that would be easier for parents if they were honestly told they were actually paying for their children’s education. Teachers whom you bought elegant suits with red ties to match and whom you graciously doled out Christmas allowances to have since started complaining that you no longer pay even their statutory salaries on time. Pensioners are groaning in pain and are forced to accept part-payment as their full pension after going hungry for so long. The one-storey primary school blocks in every ward in the state are all there quite alright but some have had their roofs blown out and their windows slip off even before they have been used.

    You have scraped virtually all the roads in the state on your bid to do massive road construction or to convert them to dual-carriageways, one of which has left my community without electricity since you assumed office. The people call the few completed or half-completed ones China roads because they are so substandard that the layer of asphalt can barely cover the gravel and now your men have started patching up the roads even when the original contract is yet to be completed.

    You are building a General Hospital in each of the 27 local government areas of the state on lands you literally snatched away from the owners without going through the statutory acquisition process or paying any dime in compensation to the owners.

    Your own kinsmen are complaining that all that vast area of land where you are building a new university campus in Ogboko, the five-star hotel and the Police College in Obiohia, the Command Secondary School in Mgbee, you didn’t pay the owners any compensation.

    Lately, you have started the demolition of marketplaces in stiff defiance of the people’s wish. The Nkwo Umuchima and some others are in rumbles and traders now have to make do with makeshift tents and umbrellas. Traders in Orie Akokwa are hastily evacuating before your bulldozers arrive. I

    I therefore strongly recommend that you use the remaining part of your tenure to put things in order and most importantly, listen to your people and follow due process, if for nothing, for posterity’s sake which you always speak of.

     

    • Uzoaganobi Ebuka,

    Imo State.

  • Meat handling: Open letter to Ambode

    Public health remains a major tool in promoting healthful living conditions among the human population and also ensuring human productivity and longevity. Veterinarians by virtue of their training play a key role in ensuring a comprehensive public health package for any community, state or nation.

    Meat is animal flesh eaten as food; domestic animals such as chickens, pigs, cattle sheep, goat etc. serve this purpose. Meat protein remains a major source of protein supplement for the majority of the human population and as such the safety and wholesomeness of these meats must be ensured in order to maintain the quality of health of the people. However consumption of this meat and meat products often come with some health dangers as a number of diseases can be contacted if not properly and hygienically handled of which some of them could be fatal. Examples of these zoonotic diseases include, tuberculosis, brucellosis, leptospirosis salmonellosis (typhoid fever) etc. For clearer understanding, zoonotic diseases are diseases that can be transmitted from animals to human and vice versa.

    Over the years, we have witnessed an abysmal and unhygienic processing of meat and meat products within the state and this has in no small way compromised to a great extent public health safety. Cattle are still being slaughtered and processed in unhygienic ways like we see it on bare floors, close to canals or sewages all around the state. Also canteens and restaurants have engaged in slaughtering of meat animals without any form of professional supervision or inspections. The basic HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points) principles are completely ignored. This trend if allowed to continue unchecked will in no small way increase the health risk of Lagosians and could pose serious dangers to general public health. Of the 1415 disease causing pathogens known to man, 61% of them are known to affect both man and animals i.e. they are zoonotic in nature.

    Currently Nigeria is ranked fourth in the world (behind India, Indonesia and China) with the highest cases of tuberculosis based on a 2016 report of the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), over 600,000 new cases of tuberculosis occurred in Nigeria from a global report for 2014. The organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis is known to be responsible for this highly fatal disease in man. Cattle and pig are major sources of the disease in man.

    Brucellosis, caused by Brucella abortus, an organism that is common in cattle, is a common occurrence in herdsmen and abattoir workers who has shown higher antibody titres for this organism. This occurs via the illicit handling of aborted foetuses by herdsmen or evacuated foetuses from slaughtered cows at abattoirs and slaughter slabs. The disease in man often comes with undulating fever and sweating which is often mistaken for malaria. It is also a cause of infertility.

    Typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella typhi is a common isolate from meat, meat products and eggs. This organism causes severe sickness and unnecessary death in a vast majority of human population. According to the WHO, 21 million human cases are reported and 220,000 deaths occurs annually especially in poor countries.

    The Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) Lagos State believes that, no community, state or country can talk about a comprehensive public health status without doing due diligence in the area of veterinary service care delivery. The N57.2 billion already budgeted to cater for the health of Lagosians in the year 2018 can be reduced significantly, if due diligence is paid to meat animal hygiene and processing in Lagos State.

    More so, a true mega city status can only be achieved when public health is optimized. To this end we are requesting that urgent and comprehensive attention be paid to the meat and meat processing across the state. Only recently in the month of June 2017, our association embarked on a meat hygiene campaign with the aim of;

    • Sensitizing butchers and meat sellers alike on the dangers of unwholesome practices in their slaughtering processes and sales of meat and meat products;
    • To encourage members of the public to insist on buying only hygienically processed and packaged meat and meat products.

    Furthermore, we would also like to seize this opportunity to demand the following;

    • that butchers desist from unwholesome means of handling, slaughtering and processing of meat animals at our various slaughter slabs, houses and abattoirs, especially slaughtering of meat animals on bare floor. They should rather embrace semi-modern to modern processes of slaughtering meat animals.
    • Meat vendors are to stop the sales of meat in open unhygienic trays and tables, where they are exposed to flies and contamination via bare hand handling of meat to be sold. Rather, they should be encouraged to sell in hygienic selling wares, neatly wrapped in cellophanes and stored in refrigerating systems.

    The Lagos State government should speed up the upgrade of existing slaughter facilities to accommodate modern trends and the rapid completion of private abattoirs around the state.

    • Utilization of rapid penside test kits at our abattoirs to screen cattle for the presence of tuberculosis/brucellosis etc. during ante-mortem inspections.
    • To immediately stop the unsupervised slaughtering of meat animals in canteens, restaurants and hotels across the state.
    • To engage the service of more veterinarians to conduct the business of meat inspection at our various abattoirs and slaughter houses across the state. Available statistics reveals that Lagos State slaughters about 6000 cattle daily (aside sheep, goats and pigs). But we have just 24 veterinarians in Lagos State employment to supervise the slaughtering of these animals and still conduct other duties as applies to animal health care service delivery. This is grossly inadequate. For us to effectively cover meat inspection demands of the state, more veterinarians needs to be engaged by the Lagos state government.

    While appreciating you for your many efforts at moving our beloved state forward we would anticipated a prompt and favourable response towards improving public health safety for the good people of Lagos State.

     

    • Dr Mobolaji is state chairman, Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) Lagos.

     

  • Open letter to President Buhari

    Open letter to President Buhari

    It would have given me utmost pleasure to begin this letter with the pleasantries requisite of a letter to such an authority as you, but I’m afraid this is coming from quarters of turmoil – from a place where there has been so much disregard. I cannot but exude the disregard currently going on in this part of the country.

    Dear President, there has been so much disregard for lives in Benue State that one would wonder whether there are still political figures who superintend over our security and well-being. Armed Fulani herdsmen ambushed us while we were in jubilant yuletide spirits and butchered us like chickens: children, women, even pregnant women. Others were left with terrible injuries.

    Perhaps, I should have directed this letter to my governor, Samuel Ortom to combat this crime from his internal security resources. I also could have written this letter to the youths; that like aggrieved youths elsewhere; they could take up arms, block all access roads to the main towns of Benue, and destroy all government property in site until something is done. But I choose to write to you not just because of my respect for authority but also because I trust your efficiency. I know that your route would do in one way what others would do in seven.

    You obtained my trust in your efficiency with security issues with your clampdown on IPOB. This group’s activities climaxed at a time when you were being tended to on your sick bed. Upon your return, you needed just split seconds to commence a military operation that saw the calm of the situation in weeks. Soon, you proclaimed this group a terrorist organization even before the court did!

    Our dear President, your increased concern on the issue of cattle rustling also marks you off as a no-nonsense man. You have always shown great concern and put in high security measures to combat cattle rustling. In the fight against cattle rustling, you have even launched technological solutions! Your efficiency is in no doubt.

    What baffles me then, (and there are many others like me), is your go-slow attitude towards the perennial herdsmen attacks at the backdrop of your security efficiency. The issue of herdsmen attacks precedes your administration. But unlike other security challenges you inherited, you have put in a Spartan spirit and fought them to naught. Why then, are we yet to enjoy the dividends of a president who is hard on security challenges?

    I am not oblivious to the condemnations you have made concerning the recent massacre. Well done! But I daresay the response I have seen so far is not in tandem with the massive murder of over 50 unsuspecting, innocent people! Your body language on this issue does not synchronise with that of IPOB, cattle rustling and other security challenges under you.

    Trust is what, if lost, can never be completely regained. Your initial silence on this sensitive issue of national security has caused irreparable damage. You have lost many die-hard supporters including the author of this letter. The handwriting on the wall, as it appears, is clear enough for everyone to read: you belong to everybody but you belong more to others.

    Yes, you have condemned the killings now, but what you have done is sever the country only to mend it afterwards. What we are yet to ascertain is whether you are mending it genuinely. If you prove this fear right, you would become the real threat to the strength and unity of this country and not IPOB, Niger-Delta Avengers or Boko Haram.

    This seemingly licensed herdsmen attacks has implications other than national strength and unity. The growth of agricultural productivity in Benue State and the country at large has been impeded as a result of these lingering attacks and yet, you are the chief advocate of economic diversity. Politically, the votes of Benue State were instrumental to your victory in 2015 and our dissatisfaction with you has negative implications on your 2019 bid. But of course you can choose to ignore that, and we would be glad to excuse you.

    But what we cannot excuse, Dear President is the security of our lives. If we lose everything in this world, we have our lives to hold unto. You have a responsibility, as the chief security officer of this country to protect all her citizens and not a select few. Thus, I make a fundamental appeal that you back up your verbal condemnation of Benue killings with actions as swift and passionate as you did other security challenges. Commence a military operation in Benue and other affected states the same way you did against IPOB. Arrest and prosecute those behind these killings. This is a pressing issue of national security and we cannot stand the reality of your words being mere lip service. Please do something!

    In spite of my dissatisfaction, the debris of my predilection for you is yet to completely fizzle out. Thus, I would top up my demand with an advice. Please sir, renounce your position of grand patron of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. You are the president of Nigeria and the grand patron of us all. No position supersedes this in Nigeria. This will enable you not just to be objective in issues like this but to reclaim some of your public trust.

    Also, in the interest of fairness, justice and security, declare Fulani herdsmen a terrorist group and ban open grazing across the country. These people have been security threats not just in Benue State and in the Middle Belt region but all over Nigeria. They have since attained equal status with Boko Haram and should be treated as such.

    Dear President, these conditions may be tough, but I know you to be tougher. Even if you have suddenly become soft, you should be toughened by the realization of what you are: the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria with the primary duty of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians.

    I wish you a positive contemplation of this letter.

    • Ortese wrote from Makurdi, Benue State.