The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Open letter

  • An open letter to Ikpeazu

    Your Excellency, I feel honoured to write what you are reading. I guess you are having a nice time in the Government House or somewhere out there in one of those luxury suits. I won’t be surprised though if you are still basking in the euphoria of your new life; a governor’s life, in the Government House. It is normal.

    But you should not let the exhilaration of your new status take you so far away from the desk. There is no honey moon in the Government house. Election into public office is for service to the society and not a tea party. Your office calls for dedication and commitment to the well-being of Abia citizens who, on April 11, stood in the roofless cubicles of INEC, took the indelible ink with their thumbs, and made you their governor.

    I didn’t wish to delay so much writing this letter so that you will fix the matter somewhere in your agenda. Students’ affairs are very germane to every society. That is why I decided to write you quickly. I also find it needful to present this matter early enough before ambitious aides will surround you, to sniff some eulogies into your ears, saying you have done wonders when you really haven’t done much.

    You know, it is common for those Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) boys to surround their ogas, guarding him against making contacts with the citizens who elected him. Those your boys may feel threatened when they see common students visit the Government house to see you. They have the feeling that the presence of common men around you may shrink their chances of getting some favour from you. Whoever they see approaching their oga  will be elbowed off because they think that whoever comes to the Government House has come for some spoils from the governor. But mine is not the case. I am not writing to get some bite of the cake but for the  interest of Abia state students.

    I wrote to your predecessor Theodore Orji two years ago on the Abia State students’ bursary and the need to quickly move into action. Not so long after the letter was published on the pages of this newpaper, Gov Orji started bursary payment to Abia students to the tune of N50,000 per student. That was commendable. I equally wrote to him to congratulate him for heeding to the wise advice and acting immediately. But before then, Abia State students paid him a courtesy visit where they made the request. Jude Ezeibe was the National President of Abia State students then. After the visit, he promised to pay the bursary allowance.

    But, the exercise did not last long. Some students received, while many others didn’t. The people in charge of the bursary said it would be paid in batches. I don’t know how many batches Abia students were eventually pro-rated, but I know that many students did not get Orji’s bursary.

    I would not have bothered so much if Dr Orji took responsibility and admitted that many students did not receive his bursary. But, I fevered when he went to the media saying that he had paid all Abia students. He named the bursary payment among his Legacy Projects. I wondered who gave him the information. Did he actually do a personal investigation before making that comment? Didn’t he know that almost all the students schooling in northern universities didn’t receive the bursary? Didn’t he know that students in Ghana, South Africa and Senegal who I communicated with didn’t receive the money? Didn’t he know that students down here in University of Calabarwho sent their names, did not receive the bursary? Who told him that the bursary went round?

    I think our leaders should learn to work with facts rather than relying on fictitious reports from ambitious aides and political sycophants in the political party. It will be self-deceptive of us to override the truth in the name of politics. The consequence of such deception is incalculable.

    His Excellency, you should know that this is the time and season of change in Nigeria. You should know how fast the whirl wind of change is driving through the pines and leaves of Nigeria and you know that President Muhammedu Buhari is not ready to fiddle with any laggard when it comes to the gospel of change. I would not want my state, Abia to be left behind in this change regime.

    You are an academic and you know what it means to go to school. You know how difficult it was for those your students in University of Maiduguri where you lectured. You know how tough it was for them to pay their school fees and buy text books. I know you could have wished to assist them but you could not do that because of your meagre pay as a university lecturer.

    But, this is the time for you to express some concerns over students’ welfare. This is the time you have to show that you really were a part of the school system and you once cracked the nut which Abia state students are cracking today. You have the power to make policies that can collapse the wall of mediocrity in Abia State and guarantee academic independence, at least to some extent in Abia state. Let the Abia state bursary come back and even better now that an academic is in the saddle.

    Finally, I figured out a limitation in bursary exercise conducted by your predecessor. The bursary exercise of Gov Orji was not provisioned for post-graduate students. I would have been a beneficiary if it was. It was exclusively for undergraduates. That was not wrong in as much as it was not good enough. Please sir, I request that your government consider the plight of post-graduate students and those in professional institutions for the bursary. It will add credit to your government and also give you some points to boast of when counting your achievements after your times at the helm.

    In every part of the world, students occupy a prime place in assessing the prosperity and future of a nation. They deserve the best. They are the foundation whereupon our Nigeria is built. They are the ones to sustain the memories and histories which you will make today. I urge you to furnish an arena effective enough to host academic progress in Abia State students.

    It is my interest that you continue to succeed in this administration. It is my wish that your name be chronicled in the list of those who have built a solid framework for the youths and students in Abia state.

    His Excellency, I wish you all the best in your political career.

    Long live His Excellency. Long live Abia State. Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    • Emmanuel, Political Science, UNICAL

  • Open letter to PMB

    Sir: I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the sorry and sad drama which is currently the lot of university pensioners. These pensioners have always received their monthly pensions through organs like: the Budget Office, the Accountant General’s Office,  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and finally their respective universities. But a fledgling body like the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate,(PTAD) has since assumed responsibility for paying university pensioners.

    The up-shot of the immediate foregoing is that, as we write and till date, PTAD is yet to pay the pensioners. This cannot but be so in view of the fact that a new body like PTAD has about 378 Federal Government  agencies under its purview. But PTAD according to credible sources, is under-resourced and moreover it does not even have in its possession, the records of these pensioners.

    It is against this background that I am urging and urgently too that for now, at least, pensioners should receive their pensions through the former route until PTAD is fully ready. As it is, PTAD cannot cope. This appeal has been specifically directed to President Muhammadu Buhari,  if only because, in the course of his campaigns, he was about the only presidential candidate who promised to look into the plight of pensioners.

    Please PMB, do the needful and bail out the university pensioners from their current plight.

    Here is thanking the President for his prompt attention to this critical issue.

     

    • Kayode Soremekun

    University of Lagos,

    Akoka, Lagos

  • Open letter to Dr. Bukola Saraki

    Open letter to Dr. Bukola Saraki

    • “Dear Dr. Bukola Saraki,

    I have restrained myself from commenting on the confusion that the NASS has suddenly become under your watch for many reasons, top of which was because I felt some conflict was normal in a political party that was a marriage of necessity amongst warlords with differing political orientation and philosophy. I however assumed that since we fought so hard together to effect Change for the sake of country, you all will be guided by the patriotic zeal to put Nigeria first…I guessed WRONG!

    Frankly, I had no angst that you emerged Senate President because, as the Senate Rule says, it is an election of one by his peers. You actually had a right to aspire and most Nigerians were willing to cut you some slack on the issue… however, you were too impatient and hasty by the ambush strategy you employed…tantamount to a hostile

    takeover of the Upper Chambers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

    If you had been less arrogant and desperate, you could have still won that election with all the APC Senators in the Chambers…but you needed to prove a point ( one wonders to whom) and in that power drunk stupor, you mortgaged the Change millions of Nigerians labored for; some lost lives and limbs for what you treated with disdain by ceding your Deputy position to the PDP in exchange for their support! That was the height of insensitivity sir!

    As if that was not enough disrespect of our collective mandate, today,you openly defied your party again by disregarding the party’s choice of principal officers in spite of a formal letter to that effect! In other words, Senator Saraki, you became a law unto yourself and a sole political platform which incidentally is not known or recognized in our constitution.

    In view of these your recent actions, one cannot but ask “who exactly do you think you are sir?” Are you greater than the collective will of a people? Why must you throw the nation into turmoil simply because you want your way? Did Nigerians vote for you to dominate the political space or dictate our priorities for us? Was your name on ANY ballot paper in the last elections? Save for your senatorial constituency, did you traverse the 36 states and Abuja canvassing for our votes?

    Just in case you have conveniently forgotten, Nigerians voted in their majority for the APC, a political party that sold its CHANGE vision to us. We rejected the PDP with its TRANSFORMATION agenda that was leading us nowhere fast. For you to reintegrate the PDP into our CHANGE government just because of your singular ambition is to exalt yourself above and beyond all of our collective wills…that is unacceptable sir!

    It has been rumored that all this disrespect is about posturing for 2019. I sure hope not! How do you expect us to entrust our collective destinies to a man who cannot be accountable to Authourity? If you are too haughty to submit to your party, the platform upon which you were elected into the Senate, who will you be accountable to if you

    ever become President? The adage says “morning shows the day”.

    Mr Senate President (by hostile takeover) it is no longer amusing neither is it entertaining anymore. It is now getting really annoying and downright irritating. All the carrying ons need to stop forthwith as you are fast losing the goodwill bump you had when Nigerians thought you were a victim of an imposition cabal. It is now clear to all that you are most probably the aggressor and not the victim. Sole dictatorship is no longer in vogue as a political ideology. Even the bible says “two heads are better than one”. No matter how erroneous your party position might appear to you, as commonly said in boarding schools back in the 1980s, you “Obey first, and then

    complain!”

    Please sir, as much as I really don’t want to burst your bubble, this is really NOT about you! It is about millions whose daily livelihood is threatened by an economy on the brink of collapse; It’s about millions of children whose education is inadequate and irregular; it’s about millions of unemployed youths whose future is bleak unless the change that they braved intimidation and oppression for starts to happen fast! Those are the headlines we want to wake up to; those issues are what we expected to dominate our airwaves not your personal tussle for power in your own self delusory “Game of Thrones” soap opera. Enough already please!

    This is definitely NOT the CHANGE we voted for!”

     

    From Babatunde Ebenezer Temitayo Adedamola

    Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

  • Open letter to President Buhari

    Open letter to President Buhari

    SIR: Dear President, permit me to remind you that your victory at the polls following PDP defeat brought joy and great expectations to the common man. I hope you will live up to these expectations.

    May I also remind you that the respect Nigerians have for you as a person before now did not just start. It all started right from your days as the Military Head of State who gave Nigeria a direction. It has always been my expectations that you will invoke your discipline mantra of old to deal with the insubordination in the APC now. Some of us have always hoped that you will bring hope to the hopeless and helps to the helpless. Nigerians voted for the APC thinking that our public officers will for once imbibe the culture of change.

    I am compelled to write this open letter to you following recent happenings in the APC (a party of hope for the common man), the APC majority National Assembly and the leadership of the APC. You are the official leader of the APC in government and the fountain of hope for the APC. You know the hard work and energy you and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu put together to manifest the APC which eventually is the ruling party at the national level with majority states in Nigeria.

    As a party man and our President, the events happening in the National Assembly should interest you to the extent that you should not leave anything to chance howsoever. The emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Senator Ekweremadu of the PDP as the Deputy is not a good omen for both the APC and the presidency. The success of your administration is invariably that of the APC. That Saraki emerged Senate President with the open display of PDP support is enough sign to any reasonable man that he who pays the piper dictates the tunes. That again, Saraki should have the boldness to throw to the winds again the APC agreed positions of the leaders in the Senate is enough to accept the fact that the spirit of APC is in abeyance as far as Saraki is concerned.

    Sir, would you be surprised to hear that the PDP is ready to use some of these same faithless APC members to challenge the list of ministers you will soon present?

    I urge you in the name of God to name your ministers, advisers and assistants quickly. They will assist you handle this challenging situation. David Mark as Senate President was the pillar of the PDP in and outside the Senate while it lasted, the APC cannot secure for now such commitment from Saraki and some of its Senators. They cannot hold forth for the party now, yet no member of the Senate got to the senate as an independent candidate. Every elected member came to the National Assembly on the platform of a political party which by convention and law is supreme. It is wrong an for Saraki to continue to have alternative list for positions meant to be occupied by the APC leadership. This is a challenge to the authority of the party that brought him to the Senate, it must be resisted at this early time. The APC must be bold to discipline it members now with the help of the President.

    I wish to reiterate that whether anybody likes it or not, Tinubu remains the pillar of the APC in its formation and President Buhari would remain the pivot the APC should revolve around to consolidate.

    • Chief Barr Utum Eteng,

     

  • Open letter to the president

    SIR: I will be surprised if the avalanche of economic advice you have received since you were declared winner of the March 28 presidential election did not centre on job creation. This is one area I believe you must avoid the pitfalls of your predecessors. States and federal government in the past simply created avenues for people to earn salaries and wages instead of actually creating jobs. If not why would state governments not be able to pay their workers for more than three months now?

    For your government to achieve success, it should concentrate on agriculture.  Before the oil boom of 1970, Nigeria was an exporter of agricultural produce. In fact, in 1960, agriculture constituted about 80 percent of Nigeria’s GDP. This is an area where we have a comparative cost advantage. It is needful, therefore, for your government to build on the gains of the past administration to ensure that agriculture becomes once again, viable in this nation. With an expansive landmass covering over 923km square, an estimated arable land of about 68million hectares; abundance of natural forest and rangeland; varieties of livestock and wildlife; an agricultural friendly climate, coastal, marine resources; expansive rivers and lake; large regional and international market; Nigeria can provide adequate and viable jobs for its teeming youth. Government should give incentive to graduates who have interest in farming. Your government could also establish federal government farms in all local government of the federation where graduates could easily be employed

    Agro-allied industries should be created to absorb our teeming high school leavers. Besides these, your administration should discourage the practice of sharing available job spaces to legislators, ministers and governors. Equal opportunities should be given to all job seekers to vie for available job spaces. This would encourage competition and merit, and discourage abuse of public offices.

     

    • Ohimai Daniel,

    Lagos

     

  • Open letter to President Buhari

    SIR: We bring our plight to your attention as we anticipate your promise to end corruption, impunity and insecurity in Nigeria.  This open letter is meant to shed more light on the challenges faced by Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora especially as it pertains to Nigerian embassies abroad. Though your office is open to the people unlike your predecessor who alienated himself from the masses, I choose this medium to actually send a point to those who might not be privileged to see a private letter.

    We have absolutely no reason to doubt your commitment to cleanse the government of corruption and to create a government that works for the people of Nigeria. This time is particularly important because Nigeria stands at the threshold of greatness or implosion, and the decisions you make in the next few years will significantly determine our future as a country.

    We recall your promise during the campaign to end the impunity of extrajudicial killings and to deliver justice to the families of the victims. This gave new hope to many people who defied fear and terror to vote for you.

    We know that our quest for truth, justice and healing faces historical and structural challenges that are not easy to transcend. Victims, witnesses, advocates, and family members continue to face threats to life and health. But we cannot stop the work to end the culture of impunity and join efforts to bring forth a culture of accountability.

    Tackling this problem demands wisdom and firmness that the previous government was unable to show. You have to make difficult decisions, and there is no way out of the mess our dear nation has been thrown into that will be easy. Like many Nigerians, I hope you do whatever it takes to restore normalcy to the country.

    Secondly, I would also want to bring to your attention the criminal practice of Nigerian embassies across the globe. One wonders whose interests they protect or if Nigerian embassies that are supposed to protect the rights of every Nigerian living in diaspora have now become businesses. The daily exploitation of Nigerians by these embassies must come to an end; we must define the path of our country on accountability and transparency at home and abroad.

    These embassies continue to charge Nigerians $20 to stamp any document most especially in Eastern European countries; this act is illegal, criminal and alien to the constitution of Nigeria. The problem extends beyond monetary exploitation to their lack of concern for Nigerians living in the countries they serve. In different countries around the world, embassy staff do not answer phone numbers on their websites, hardly respond when Nigerians are in trouble, and generally behave as if they don’t care at all. We cannot expect people to respect us if those people know that we don’t matter to our own embassies in their countries. Here in Ukraine, the story is not different; we must stop this if we are interested in reclaiming our place as the giant of Africa.

    Sir, you have to strive for the change that we desire. You know Nigerians trust you to deliver on your promises, and I strongly believe that addressing these two issues would be a great way to start your mission to move Nigeria to the heights of greatness that it so surely deserve.

     

    • Comrade Ahmed Omeiza Lukman,

    Kiev Ukraine.

  • Open letter to Buhari

    Dear President,

    My name is Habeeb Whyte and I have a responsibility, as a youth, to suggest a path deserved to be toed in taking decision that will affect the youth and the fate of our father land, especially at this moment when we have just ushered in a new era. You would agree with me that the success of the All Progressives Congress (APC), your party, in the last general elections can be said, without mincing words, to be the handiwork of the youth.

    As key players in the youth movement, some of us had been locked in battles with your predecessor before the formation of APC as a party to rescue us from the brink. I said this to buttress my claim that we knew what we bargained for and have our expectations from your administration.

    It should be said, the primary motivation for the involvement of the youth in the electioneering was not for pecuniary gains. Those who wanted money did not stay long before abandoning the struggle and joined parties where dollars rained. Therefore, it becomes necessary for me to lend my voice to the high expectations from the youth.

    It is true that expectations are very high, but I do not share in ‘miraculous change’ expectation. I believe in gradual change by I want you to know that there are some pressing issues affecting young people that must be addressed with sense of urgency.

    One of them is abuse of the youth energy. The reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last 16 years saw the promotion of youth inducement and engagement for criminal venture. For jobless young people, the best way to make cool cash is to destroy lives of others. Politicians exploit waywardness of some misguided youths to commit ungodly acts.

    The nation is seen as a home to all forms of crimes and terror. Because nobody would like to bequeath a nation of monsters to the next generation, efforts should be made to pursue value orientation and psychological rehabilitation to enable these abused youths re-integrated back to the society.

    Another challenge is that, years of maladministration have made some youths to be hopeless in securing good jobs that would make them responsible citizens. Most have been compelled to seek way out through organised crimes. Youths have decided to depart from this because we cannot grow under these circumstances in a globalised world and be expected to compete with our peers from other nations. We do not want to inherit a nation that cannot stimulate pride in her citizens.

    There was already confusion about what needed to be done to right the wrongs in the system. Most people are already trapped in the ‘employment creation’ syndrome so much so that they are hopelessly expecting nothing other than job from the government. Ours is not a nation without jobs; but one with as many people without jobs and jobs without people. The youth have decided to work with the government to correct this narrative, because we did not want to inherit a nation consuming itself from within.

    Before the general elections, the nation was said to be sitting on flame as a result of possible religious or ethnic war. There was distrust and disunity among ethnic groups and between Muslims and Christians and this was fanned to the point of conflagration, with youths at the centre. Youths were used as evangelists or pseudo-ideologues of ethno-religious militias, preaching hatred and spewing venoms.

    This is the extent to which our society has sunk. We need to change the orientation of our youths and make them to cherish the values of hard work.

    You would bear witness sir, that the results of the presidential elections showed that the youth were all out to bring about the change. The social media campaigns were made possible by the youth. This shows that the youth wanted an end to challenges facing our nation.

    We expect you to cut down the cost of governance greatly. So, reforms in government structure and political appointments are expected.

    We expect that there would be recovery of loot from past leaders and investing the funds in education as proposed by you sir. We expect a gradual rebuilding of infrastructures and amenities in all sectors, including health, education, transportation, energy, sports, etc.

    Youth empowerment is key to development. We expect you to formulate and implement policies that will bring out positive potentials in the youth. While the long term objective should be paramount, there is the need for immediate sop to bring smiles on the faces of youths within the first year in office.

    I would suggest you introduce a student-friendly programme to reduce hardship on campuses by providing affordable services for students only.

    Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an area where the youth have found interests and committed great passion. Wise countries like Singapore have digital entrepreneurship strategies to keep youths busy, thereby turning their passion to a significant source of revenue. Nigeria accounts for over 10 million global internet presence. This implies we can make over N100 billion revenue yearly if half of the youth make just N50,000 each monthly. We only need creative approaches to explore our passion.

    I will say emphatically that the huge fund claimed to be committed to technological advancement and similar empowerment schemes are more than what is required to turn things around and make this to happen within months.

    Sir, if your government invests in digital entrepreneurship, it would empower millions of youths within the first six month. And it would turn in huge revenue. ICT industry alone, given the population of youth, will create millions of jobs within and drive in huge foreign exchange. I leave you with a mind full of hope and I believe you will not disappoint us.

     

    •Habeeb, is a Corps member, NYSC ABUJA

  • An open letter to Benue Governor-elect

    SIR: I congratulate Benue State governor-elect, Dr. Samuel Ortom on his victory at the April 11, governorship election. His election to mount the leadership saddle of the state for the next four years is a clear manifestation of his acceptability to the Benue electorate as well as God’s divine intervention in the Benue project.

    I wish to use this medium to make a few suggestions that will help the governor-elect in defining the direction of his administration in the first 100 days. This is because the first 100 days of his administration are very crucial days- in fact, the defining period of his administration.

    The security of lives and property of Benue citizens should be taken very seriously. It is worth noting the fact that there can be no development in an atmosphere devoid of peace. As a result of that, holistic approach should be taken and no stone left unturned in ensuring that adequate security is provided in the state, as this is the primary responsibility of any responsive government. Concerted efforts should be made to tackle once-and-for-all the crisis between Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers in some rural communities of the state for our people to have a secure environment under which to carry out their farming and other lawful activities without any form of harassment or intimidation.

    Another area deserving urgent attention is water supply. Water is regarded globally as life, and it an essential commodity in the life of human beings and other living things. Despite this fact, the supply of potable water in the state still remains a mirage. Even though, the out-going administration has constructed water works in some parts of the state, access to potable water is elusive even in the state capital city. The Ortom/Abounu administration should therefore; as a matter of urgency ensure that Benue citizens have water within their reach. This can be achieved by completing the Greater Makurdi Water Works and those in Katsina-Ala and Otukpo towns as well as reticulating of the essential commodity so that the good people of the state can easily access to it.

    Also, the Ortom-led government should reactivate the Benue Printing and Publishing Corporation, publishers of The Voice newspaper; Benue Television Corporation; Benue State Library Board and Radio Benue. The resuscitation of these organisations would position them better to perform their statutory functions including acquisition, organisation and preservation as well as dissemination of information resources and services to members of the Benue community and beyond, among others. More professional staff should be recruited for these organisations where necessary and adequate funds made available for them to operate optimally for the benefit of all and sundry.

    More so, the incoming administration should accord civil service the necessary attention it deserves. This is because a robust civil service is the engine that drives the programmes and policies of government. Therefore, particular attention should be given to the welfare of civil servants with payment of salaries and other entitlements occupying topmost position. In addition, retirees should also not be left out. Their gratuity and pensions should be paid to them as at when due. The administration should be mindful of the fact that a well motivated civil service in the state would improve even the socio-economic well being of people. To this end, the incoming administration should make sure that it clears several months of salary arrears owed civil servants by the out-going regime.

     

    • Akawe, Moses

    Makurdi, Benue State.

  • Open letter to NYSC Director-General

    Open letter to NYSC Director-General

    Sir, I wish to draw your attention to the outcome of the joint NYSC presidential award ceremony for 2012, 2013 and 2014 sets held on March 2. I have decided on this approach because the issues involved are of urgent public interest.

    Records show that 164 (27%) of the 613 nominations were selected.  What happens to the 446 who were not selected of which many were best in their respective batches at the state level?

    I won the state honours award as the best corps member for batch ‘B’ 2012 in Anambra with 47 community developments projects.  NYSC Anambra State paid N50,000 into my account about three months after my service. What about the automatic employment in the state civil service that is clearly written in the orientation guide? A staff in NYSC Anambra State headquarters said it was discretional for states to do so. I think there is need for a little clarification from the NYSC authorities such as yours in this matter.

    I renovated the school gate in honour of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe the first president of Nigeria, whom the school is named after. I cultivated a cassava farm for indigent widows in Abagana community, organized the Students Productive Life Initiative (SPLIN) that bothered on cultural reorientation in line with the Subakwa Igbo agenda of the Anambra State Government for 11 secondary schools in Njikoka L.G.A.  I produced the Nigeria Peace Jingle in the face of insurgency and violence, I initiated the revitalization of the school borehole sponsored by the state government through the rural water supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) while also embarking on skills acquisition on liquid soap production across three L.G.A in the state.

    I think this kind of effort deserves a presidential award on merit. What about Lawal Olabode Emmanuel Prince who served at comprehensive secondary Nawfia in the same L.G.A.? He constructed and equipped a five-bed clinic which was his flagship project; organized the maiden Local Government science quiz competition for 15 schools in the L.G.A and presented 12 medals for winners, including academic scholarship worth N50,000. The sick bay he built is currently serving a population of over 1500 within the school and beyond. The school in conjunction with Nawfia community gave Prince the title, Oka A-Obuluzor 1 Na Nawfia, meaning a man that will say a thing and will be the first to do it.

    The case of Udoh Anthony Ekot who embarked on massive renovation of a totally dilapidated administrative block at Community High School Nawgwu in Dunukofia L.G.A is another case in point.  A project the entire community agreed was first of its kind to be carried out by a corps member since over 22 years of the school.

    What about Soro Anthony Olubumi who also clinched the title of the corper the year for the 2012 Batch ‘A’. He was instrumental to laudable projects at Girls Secondary School Abagana.  These cases mentioned are laced with verifiable evidences at the community, L.G.A and state levels.  What then happened to these persons in a whole service year that could not make the presidential list despite their outstanding performances?

    I think the Dr Kelvin Ihenetu-led award committee needs to answer some questions. Was the criteria used for the selection same as the ones contained in the NYSC statute book? How did they arrive at selecting only 164 winners representing 27% out of 613 nominations of most outstanding corps members? How come no one was selected in the entire 2012 set in Anambra State? Were there any special considerations that are not documented?

    If the award really aims to encourage corps members towards higher societal ideals through selfless service to their host communities and if NYSC must live up to its core values of integrity, efficiency, patriotism and commitment, the just concluded 2014 edition must be revisited with the aim of correcting the obvious lacunas in the selection process.

    • Augustine Okorodudu

    austin4crist@gmail.com

  • Open Letter to Patience Jonathan

    SIR: Dear Dame Jonathan, I hope all is well with you and your family? Let me begin by apologising for conveying this message to you through this medium. If it were possible, I would have preferred to converse with you directly to obviate the public backlash that may likely be occasioned by this open letter.

    Madam, be rest assured that before writing this long innocuous letter, I had dispassionately ruminated over the possible consequences of an ‘ordinary’ citizen like me engaging the most ‘vociferous’, powerful and dreaded woman of the most populous black nation on earth. I equally adverted my mind to the fact that you are not only a married woman but the wife of the President and Commander – In – Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I did that because in my culture, it is not permissible to express perceivable insolence towards a married woman.

    Let me quickly state that this cultural immunity is not rigid. The immunity is liable to be disregarded, taken away or waived. When a married woman exudes total contempt for acceptable cultural, moral, ethical and legal prescriptions and standards without reference and regard to her marital status she is deemed to have waived this immunity and will be treated like any other person. Just in case you are oblivious of the non – recognition of the office of the First Lady by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and by any other law in Nigeria, may I humbly put you on notice that a ‘First Lady’ whether of Nigeria or of a state of the federation is and remains and unconstitutional being. It is a creation of the society and the political class not law.

    Being the wife of the president or governor does not make one a public officer; it does not confer any legally cognizable privilege or right.

    Whatever respect and recognition is accorded you and wives of governors by other citizens of this country is purely out of courtesy. It is not because they stand to lose anything if they don’t respect you. It does not also imply that they regard you as anything more than what you are; a woman that happens to be the wife of the president. Recall that Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka had admonished you in the past to first be a lady before being a “first lady”. He also described you as a “mere domestic appendage “. Mr. Soyinka actually spoke the minds of millions of Nigerians especially we the “collective children of anger”.

    During one of your recent needless campaign tour(s), you reportedly described the presidential candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress ( APC ), General Muhammadu Buhari as “brain dead”. An unfortunate outburst that has been upheld and reiterated by the spokesperson of your husband’s second term campaign organization, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode who is presently standing trial on corruption charges. Haba Madam! Is it not you that is called ‘Mama Peace’? Cases of political rivalry abound in other parts of the country because of your meddlesome and autocratic actions in the politics and affairs of this country.

    Please do not get me wrong, it is not my wish that you or the future wives of presidents and governors of this country be confined to the kitchen. Indeed, I am an advocate of women emancipation.

    Dear first lady, you are not the first woman on planet earth whose husband is privileged to be the president of a country. Others were before you, and many will be after you. So there is nothing peculiar or spiritual in being the wife of the president of a country. It’s time you retrace your steps and retreat from your inglorious war of attrition and campaign of calumny against weak and innocent people. Why should Lagos, Rivers and other states be shut down because of your visits? Why should innocent citizens be subjected to untold hardship because of your movement(s )?.

    No self – respecting woman will act and talk in a manner capable of portraying her husband as weak and irresponsible.

    Always be mindful of the fact that Nigeria is greater than the first family. It is greater than Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Without Nigeria, there will be no country for your husband to lead. And without your husband you will not be the wife of the president. Nigerians are not prepared to tolerate another four years of the locust. In 2011, your husband told us the story of his humble and undignified childhood; that he had no shoes.

    We were seduced, we voted for him in the hope that he will appreciate the historical significance of his election. Instead of paying us back with responsible and God fearing leadership, he took away our tattered slippers and gave it to the dogs. Now again, he thinks his ethnic, religious and hypocritical messages will secure him a second term.

    Chai, there is God ooo!

     

    • Inibehe Effiong,

    (From African Examiner)