A
prominent traditional ruler had been accused of the rape of a 23-year old lady
who was in youth service within the domain of the ruler.
The
lady must have been caught in circumstances beyond her control when the
lecherous ruler first attempted to gain carnal knowledge of her through the belittlement
of throwing money at her which she rejected before he allegedly forced himself
on her raping her.
Seeking justice
When
she made a case of it, he offered her money not to make a scandal of it and
considering the high thresholds of credibility needed to bring rape cases to
court against quite influential members of the public, it must have been an
ordeal to have gotten this far.
The
story does not say when she was raped and the time that had elapsed between the
alleged incident and when the case was heard in court but that is beside the
point.
Beyond belief
What
is quite shocking and brazen in its effrontery and insensitivity as the news
story portends is that it says the monarch himself asked the victim to show her
allegedly bruised private parts to confirm to the court that she had been
raped.
It
goes on to say the counsel for the respondent did on cross-examination of the
witness demand, NOT ask, but demand that she expose her privates for the
scrutiny of the judge, the present counsel and prosecution to ascertain the
veracity of her claim.
Now,
even if the court doubled as a gynaecological unit and the all the learned
purveyors of the ways and means of the law were certified consultant
gynaecologists, this request would have been utterly improper at best.
This
direction of questioning after being overruled should have had the counsel
sanctioned with the risk of contempt by reason of deliberately outraging public
decency.
If
the monarch had also spoken out in initiating this line of questioning, he
should have been sternly cautioned but the news story offers no such detail.
Bad handling of a sensitive situation
In
my opinion, the purpose of that line of questioning was no doubt geared towards
first embarrassing the victim, then humiliating her in her quest for justice
before seriously upsetting her that she might lose all her composure to the
advantage of the defence.
I
am concerned that the judge appeared to be a tad lackadaisical in dealing
firmly with this affront to polite proceedings where the counsel should have
for bringing the legal profession into disrepute risked disbarment.
However,
the sadder picture exemplified in this case is the lack of courtesy and
sensitivity to victims of rape in open court and the effrontery and brazenness
of patriarchy at the plight of victimised women.
What victims face
Men
of power and influence behave as if they have right and authority to demand and
obtain sexual favours whilst being unable handle rejection or negation of their desires.
They
believe if they have the physical means to overpower the woman, then they can
have their way without consequence.
They
expect that the shock and shame of being raped presents a barrier to
prosecution as the victim has to wade through hurdles of location, situation, opportunity,
motive, circumstance, believability and influence to start off the process of
justice.
As
society will probably first find fault with the victim before it considers the
egregious criminality of the perpetrator.
What to do
There
is every need to have stronger support networks for rape victims regardless of
the probable cause and the availability of evidence necessary to prosecute to
the fullest extent of the law, all those accused of rape.
As
another human-being and sadly of the male species, I have the fullest sympathy
for the victim and I hope that those involved in this contemptible show of chauvinism
too vile for expression are visited with opprobrium, shame, disgrace and
obloquy as a deterrent to any other counsel who might think sailing close to
the wind in rude discourse can be done with impunity and without dire
consequences.
I rarely have
long stretches of time between blogs because the fact is there is a lot to
write about in terms of personal issues and other events of concerns.
Yes, there
are times when one suffers the dreaded “Writer’s Block”, a state of having much
to write but being unable to start, a psychological feeling overwhelms you into
thinking the tasks you have performed with ease are almost impossible.
You can agonise
or just leave it be until when you can do what you normally do. However, there
is the other issue of life’s turmoil that works to sap every will and
inclination to be creative that you clam up completely.
Being just
human, that is an experience I am also quite familiar with, I completely clam
up – writing nothing, chatting to no one and avoiding places where I have to
interact with people who might know me.
Find that old spark
It can go for
a long length of time or just for short periods as one tries to find new
equilibrium and hopefully some purpose before one is snuffed away having lost
every inkling of resilience.
The battle
still rages regardless and you can only stay in the tent so long before you
have to return to fight those battles and win the war that wrests against all
that you hold dear.
One cannot
tire, even if it looks like you are about to expire, there is a something
inside – a fire, if you have life, maybe you can still aspire.
Where the
long writes are not forthcoming, the short ones on Twitter may not be as
prolific, God forbid the suffering of “Writer’s Block” on Twitter.
This is the stuff great people are made of,
fearlessness in the face of persecution and boldness to speak truth to power.
I have many a time been perturbed by the cost of our
democracy and the stranglehold corruption seems to have on every facet of life
in Nigeria.
Yesterday brought in a number of interesting
revelations, whilst many sanctimoniously concentrated on the sensational, the
bigger issue was the insight into the workings of our legislature, the
committee system and the bottom-feeding frenzy of rent-seeking legislators steeped
in despicable malfeasance playing to the gallery pretending to unimpeachable
conduct.
Sensational
allegations
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), Ms. Arunma
Oteh was appearing before the House Committee on Capital Markets chaired by
“Honourable” Herman Hembe – the title must be in quotes until it is regained by
a fair assessment of the allegations made and the man is proven completely
innocent of the claims.
During the day we were regaled with tales of the
profligate excesses of the Ms. Oteh, that she had stayed in 5-star hotel accommodation for 8 months
instead of the regulatory one month, that she has spent NGN 850,000 ($5,391) on
dinner and everyone ran to town with it. There some dispute as to whether it
was NGN 850,000 or NGN 85,000 ($539.10), in either case, this was piffle,
almost of no consequence in the scheme of things, the way the country is bilked
and milked by all those in political office.
She stoops
to conquer
Nigerian politicians are given to bluster and
grandiloquence arrogating to themselves privileges, emoluments and untrammelled
fiat to bludgeon people who appear before their committees without due
courtesies and respect to the attendees.
Ms. Oteh ran the gauntlet of being questioned about
her qualifications to fill her position and her ability to perform, it was an
inquisition so disgraceful and unbecoming of anyone who deigns to be recognised
in polite society but that was Day One.
When Ms. Oteh appeared on Day Two, she was battle-axe
ready, fuming, agitated and shooting all guns with deathly accuracy in what
might become the biggest political earthquake of our democratic experiment, I
should expect aftershocks of similar magnitude to follow.
Explosive
political bombshells
She alleged with dates that the Committee Chairman had
received moneys to attend a conference that he eventually did not attend and
did not refund the expense. She also alleged that he had asked the SEC to fund
the activities of the committee to the tune of NGN 39,000,000 ($247,376) and
then another demand was made for NGN 5,000,000 ($31,714.80).
She questioned the integrity of the chairman and his
credibility to sit in judgement with unclean hands and his maturity in
commenting on issues related to the SEC without first verifying the facts
possibly with the view to undermine, discredit and contemn Ms. Oteh.
More importantly, she pointedly accused the chairman
of corruption and in the court of public opinion challenged the chairman to
defend himself against the claims whilst making the case for fairness and
better adherence to democratic principles. The raw emotion was palpable as she
trembled and her voice quavered with each forceful statement, the discomfiture
of the committee was quite evident.
Noisy body
talk
The body language of the chairman was like an open book
screaming out the words as he swivelled in his chair in pendulumic consonance
squirming with embarrassment as he tried to fend off the allegations, twisting
Ms. Oteh’s words and playfully making light of the situation but before the
whole world, this was a most uncomfortable moment.
In a display of braggadocio he mandated the
anti-corruption agencies to investigate the claims, but we Nigerians have very
little confidence in the ability of these institutions to follow through to
conclusion any allegations, charges or indictments made on senior politicians
in Nigeria – it was both a dare and a moot point, if anything comes of it, we
will be in for an unusual surprise.
He was obviously rattled that he forgot his manners
when he told and not asked Ms. Oteh to turn off her microphone. In a society
where character, reputation and integrity matters, where a senior official is besmirched
with allegations of corruption, one would expect him to recuse himself and not
bring the activities of the committee and the House of Representatives into
disrepute, but impunity without consequence is the name of the game in Nigeria,
he reasserted his questionable authority and banged the gavel – the seal of
authoritative corruption and obvious indifference.
Ms. Oteh –
the big spender?
So many things stand out from the events of that day
which I will attempt to address one at a time.
That Ms. Oteh stayed in 5-star accommodation for a
whole 8 months is quite beyond the pale but then one can understand that
enjoying luxury at the expense of others can be a difficult and herculean task
to wean yourself of off, in some ways she was being both a chancer and human –
people have done worse, she has been in her position for over two years now,
which means alternative lodgings have been arranged for at least 16 months.
Report or
proclaim?
Certain people have wondered why Ms. Oteh did not take
her allegations of corruption to the anti-corruption agencies. For reasons I
have stated before, they have not excelled in their briefs, literally everyone
of political clout in Nigerian has gummed up the system and deftly used the
judiciary to extricate themselves from the clutches of due process of
investigation and administration of justice.
In my view, that public forum was the best place to
make those allegations and with it in the open, force many more voices to demand
action be taken. If the chairman feels he has been besmirched and libelled he
can easily seek redress in the courts but I doubt he has the courage to be
exposed to the scrutiny of his cupboard of rampaging skeletons. Compromised
legislators grandstanding in public will from now on have to thread carefully.
Estacode
abuse
One area of patronage and source of corruption that
needs to be reviewed reformed and better regulated is the use and abuse of estacode
- funds intended to cover traveling costs by public servants and politicians.
Politicians, especially in Nigeria are quite handsomely remunerated; they
should not be receiving hand-outs before they have completed whatever missions
they embark on.
In the private sector, a modicum of control is
exercised on spending because the money first comes out of the pocket and the
person is later reimbursed on the presentation of receipts and audited review
of the expenses.
Though that process can also be abused, with the
presentation of false documents or through collusion, it will not result in
profligacy and excessive pre-compensation and the person will be more
accountable for their spend. That the chairman received moneys and did not use
it for the intended purpose is at best dishonest, if not fraudulent.
Conflicts of
interest
The operation of committees needs to be reviewed, the
independence of a committee will always be compromised and the perception of
its ability to function transparently and fairly will be suspect if the committee
and its members receive favours from the institutions they have oversight of. It
is befuddling that the concept of conflict of interest has not become part of the
framework of the fabric of our democracy.
The legislature has its budget and it must operate
within its means without seeking emoluments and sponsorship of external organisations
that can exact influence on the probity, transparency and integrity of the
committees in some quid pro quo arrangement – this must be deemed illegal,
corrupt and outlawed. Perceptions matter, always.
A new breed
of public servant
One other interesting point is that Ms. Oteh appeared
to be quite combative and it is interesting that on Day One the proceedings
were not given a public hearing and then the damaging allegations of living
large seemed to set the stage for the committee to embarrass the lady for not
playing ball with a live and televised hearing which now seems to have
back-fired on the legislators.
If you are called to public service in Nigeria - Do
not be assimilated and do not be intimidated. Arunma Oteh is a class act.
There is no doubt that our legislature would prefer
Nigerians were not privy to the machinations of corruption, pay-for-play,
bribery and other despicable practices that have been rumoured about but never
verified. With Ms. Oteh’s very public assailing of these rent-seekers there is
very little damage limitation that can be done to restore the public’s
confidence in our democracy.
We need to put the feet of these people to the fire
and apply more pressure on the system to change, to reform and to root out the
atrocious wolves in sheep’s clothing who are selfish, self-conceited and
greedily feeding on the system with ravenously gluttonous appetites.
If we are to learn anything from Ms. Oteh, our
democracy is in need of an urgent reset.
I think this is becoming an emergency in Nigeria and
it requires we begin to focus on the menace of unconscionable, unscrupulous and
merciless confidence tricksters preying on the vulnerable sectors of our
society.
Last year, somebody called my mother informing her of
my being in trouble abroad and convincingly persuaded her to part with some
money. Having tricked her the first time, they applied more pressure at which
time she chatted to my siblings who were able to break her out of the spell she
had fallen under and stop the criminal activity.
Using my blog, I tried to create a storm and though we
never apprehended the nasty piece of work, the bank at least got involved
enough for about 3 weeks trying to get hold of the person who for the pressure
and bad publicity that had gone out regarding his identity was forced to go to
ground.
My mother’s situation was not an exception, the fact
is our once strong, able parents are now older and less agile in terms of
things in their daily lives, there are people out there ready to create
situations of distress, panic, anxiety or fear and by doing so getting our now
vulnerable and sometimes lonely parents to part with their life’s savings.
Abductions and
hypnoses
I heard today of another case where a fine and
wonderful lady in her 70s had gone to withdraw some cash from a bank and as she
left the bank, she was accosted by persons who abducted her and took her to
some place she can no more recollect.
It is very possible she was hypnotised because she
gave them the money she had withdrawn and then she was dropped off at home
where the next day under some sort of influence she returned to the bank to
withdraw 5 times what she withdrew before and handed it over to the gang.
At the end of the second day, she apparently came to
and informed her daughter of what had happened but swore her daughter to
secrecy about informing other siblings. Meanwhile the gang was trying again to
get her to withdraw more money for them and thankfully to no avail.
Tackling the
issue
At first one has to be thankful that she came to no
physical harm but the mental anguish and scars of such an encounter will no
doubt be more lasting. She is not as chatty as she used to be and she rarely
leave her home; this is a lady who has travelled the world has been fiercely
independent apart from the fact that she had been widowed for over 3 decades.
I do not think the case of my mother and that of this
amazing lady are unique, I have the feeling it is happening a lot but the
victims are not talking or telling anyone for the embarrassment, the shame or
the realisation that they are a lot more vulnerable than they are ready to let
on.
Banks must
profile
Banks are usually the centres of this corrupt enterprise
because that is where the money is with people being cajoled, blackmail,
shaken-down or rustled. They need to be aware that people are targeting their
customers usually gaining information about accounts or other pertinent details
that will not draw suspicion to criminal activity preying on the vulnerability
of the elderly.
Besides, I think banks have a greater duty of care and
concern towards these vulnerable sections of society and it is important that
they adopt measures that are sympathetic and cognisant of withdrawal patterns
of these people – such as alerts to successive withdrawals of large sums of
money, facilitation of wired transfers rather than the handling of large sums
of cash and advising that senior citizens for their good be better accompanied
to and from the banks.
They need to create better profiles of their customers
of a certain age, install triggers to alert to unusual activity and have better
levels of customer care and challenge/response scenarios to help their
customers safeguard their wealth especially when things are somewhat out of the
person’s control.
Any other ideas you might have towards helping our
parents evade these crooks will be welcome and please post them as comments.
This is an opinion piece unlike my usual blogs, I have simply expressed
a whole range of views and posted no links within the text. Thank you.
The numbers
are big
Nine days on, the legendary #Kony2012 video has had
over 78,000,000 views, 1,329,774 likes, 95,942 dislikes – that statistic alone
shows the interest, the passion and impressions conveyed – I expect the numbers
to retain this basic ratio.
Now, I will not attempt to rehash the issues here, a
simple Google search will reveal opposing arguments for and against the video
apart from the attacks that Invisible Children has suffered in the last week.
A striker
without a team
In my view Invisible Children must feel like a striker
in a home football match that got the ball, dribbled the visiting team until he
was left with just the goalkeeper, kicking the ball right into the net scoring a
goal.
Meanwhile, his team mates stayed on their side of
field, retreating towards their own goal in disgust that the striker had
scored, the prospect of winning the game being so repulsive that neither the
striker nor the team could celebrate, the referee being on the verge of
disallowing the goal for the fact it looked like there were three teams instead
of two on the football pitch.
That is a somewhat extreme analogy but it so clearly
represents the state of affairs today.
It’s not
unusual
Invisible Children is an advocacy group that mainly
informs and engages people in the work towards helping communities that have
been destroyed by the menacing antics of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
Their fund-raising activities are not so entirely
unique; for decades we have had pop concerts staged for the enjoyment and
entertainment of more comfortable parts of the globe to help disadvantaged
groups and countries buckling under the weight of all sorts of disasters. Tickets, T-shirts, bracelets, bangles, packs are all means of exchange with the hope that the
profits will end up helping the unfortunate.
Another interesting narrative was that of the White
Saviour Industrial Complex where the white man comes from afar as Messiah to
helpless and hapless ethnic populations. I cannot subscribe to this notion with
regards to Invisible Children, the principals could easily have been
happy-go-lucky filmmakers travelling around the globe taking snapshots of
poverty and suffering but they got involved, got engaged and developed strong
relationships in the spirit of compassion and humanity.
It may not have been obvious to some, but the 6-year
old son had knowledge though maybe not fully understanding what his father did in
Africa, he recognised the people his father had brought to their home and for his
little mind had a clear sense of the need for justice.
That White
Saviour Crap
A better and extreme example of the White Saviour
Industrial Complex is illustrated in the recent game-hunting trip of Donald
Trump’s sons to Zimbabwe. Having killed a bull, an elephant and a crocodile
they justified their actions by saying they donated the meat of the dead animals
to apparently very grateful villagers who could be fed for up to a month.
There is no need to go into the detail of whether the
locals were allowed to shoot wildlife that is under threat of extinction in their
neighbourhoods but white men could come from afar shoot for thrills and rather
than skin the animals for trophies, the meat is given to the hungry savage
natives – even one can only be in praise of such uncommon kindness.
Making
complex issues simple
Invisible Children gets accused of
over-simplification, there probably is just cause in that view but this is a very
complex problem and complicated problems do not get solved by relating to the
problem as complex or cmplicated but by breaking the problem down into componential parts
then resolving each of the simplified tasks until all the simplified tasks of
that complex problem are solved, thereby, solving the problem.
In the case of the film, the complex situation had to
be simplified for the consumption of a global and varied audience, situations
like this will go for the lowest common denominator – simplicity – this simplicity
allows for the very basic information to be conveyed and easily assimilated.
It is however incumbent on the viewer to conduct
additional research if more detail is required in better understanding the
problem.
As in
football
Returning to football analogy, more often than not, if
one has not had the opportunity to watch a match what the person needs to know
is who won. One can then delve into detail as to who scored, when, how the teams
played, what strategies were used, the controversies of refereeing, who the
substitutes were, the number of fans in the stadium, who the commentators were and where on the league table the teams have ended up.
In other words, football is a complex interaction of
commerce and sport, skill and application, conditions and aspirations, 90
minutes or more, goals, personalities, fans, moods, permutations, statistics
and whatever else to raucous, volatile armchair analysis – depending on the
audience you package the information to suit the ease of consumption.
Just the
facts
I do not think Invisible Children is war-mongering by
associating with the Ugandan army in the pursuit of Joseph Kony and the
splintered remnants of the LRA scattered beyond the borders of Northern Uganda.
The fact is if Joseph Kony is to be apprehended Uganda is the only country in
that region with the means to go after him.
We must not forget even though there may not be
recently recorded LRA atrocities that Joseph Kony is an evil man who needs to
be brought to justice for his crimes against children – recruiting boys in an
army with the options of death of killing one of their own and girls being
co-opted into sexual slavery – there is no authority or length of time that can
exculpate this absolutely rotten and despicable man.
For
reconciliation
That is not to say the Ugandan regime does not have
its faults, it simply calls for a kind of Truth and Reconciliation model that
will allow the children who were once abused and are entering adulthood to find
their places back in society as able and prosperous members of their
communities and worthy ambassadors of their country against these acts. All
parties involved should also be made to confess to their complicity in allowing
for this untenable situation to fester for so long.
It is a hydra-headed conundrum and Invisible Children
has only gone after one of the many heads, I would have hoped the momentum
generated despite the other apparent failings would have had others tackle the
other heads of the hydra but in ferociously attacking Invisible Children we
have ended up within the context of the first football analogy of my blog.
If Invisible Children is guilty of anything, it is at
worst naivety; a case of not fully understanding the problem but nevertheless
doing something in the context of what they do understand and from the clamour
that has ensued it has become evident that they appear to have done a lot more
than those who know and understand the problem too well but have failed to act.
As I contemplated my visit to the hospital this
evening, I was not sure of how to feel, though I was expectant of better
results than the last time.
The appointment was originally scheduled for the
morning but soon after I returned from India I received a mail in the post
asking to change it the appointment to the evening or that I phone to
reschedule the meeting for my convenience.
However, before going, I was meditating about the so
many things I have come through over the years and the continued resolve that
my best days are still ahead of me.
The anthems
of life
Then I considered life anthems and their seasons that
might determine one’s outlook in the midst of a tumultuous world and
circumstances that are in flux.
Many will start off with Gloria Gaynor’s I will survive, it is
sung with defiant against all odds as you realise that she goes on to sing I am what I am, you have to confident in
yourself and be sure of who you are and where you are going.
This morning, it was Labi Siffre’s Something inside so strong
that had the greatest resonance, it told me that I know I can make it and
nothing will crush me amidst the trials and tribulations with God on my side
and friends reaching out as the Wind beneath my wings, I
am ready to soar with all that surround me to sing in continuous refrain We are the
champions.
Beyond the will to survive is the joy of life when you
thrive, thrive in every aspect of life and endeavour, it was that sense of
being that accompanied my cycling to the hospital.
Measurements
and opinions
The registration began with a measurement of the blood
pressure and pulse all of which were in the very good regions, my weight close
to where I would like to be though much less than where my consultant will
prefer it was.
So, when we met, after exchanging pleasantries and
filling him in on all the things I had done since we last met, I noticed he did
not have an understudy for the first time in the 9 times we have met up.
Besides, everything is now computerised, and read off
the screen though the paper laden hospital file still exists, the matter of
weight came up again and off the top of his head he calculated my Body-Mass
Index opining that it was in the somewhat ideal range; not much was written
down, rather it was the screen, a keyboard, a mouse, menus, scrollbars, buttons,
check boxes, dialog boxes and text boxes our takeaways are now having laser
printers of various sizes churning out paper and inkjet printers coughing out
labels.
All looking
good
The tale of the bloods showed consistent improvements
over a range of time, I also take it upon myself to ask for at least the last
three test results to see how things have changed – you begin to realise that
you need to be quite knowledgeable of what is going on in your body and how
things are changing – even I was happy about the noticeable improvements as we
scheduled our next meeting for almost 5 months hence.
I am happy, I am thankful, let’s live this life and
thrive.
As I indicated over a week ago, I am now blogging in
two different places. This blog will cover the general issues I have written
about over the last 8 years and I hope to be as prolific as I have always been.
My new blog is Akin
Consults, this will have a slightly professional bent and the topics will
range from life in the workplace and my general experiences over a working life
that goes back almost 30 years, a fascination with all sorts of tools and toys
to more technical insights about software, hardware and social engineering.
Since I launched the blog I have posted new articles
as well as copied over related articles that suit that forum.
Rather than publish the articles simultaneously in two
blogs, I will regularly aggregate them into a blog posted here. Please feel
free to visit my new blog and post comments.
Nigeria is a complex conundrum and for all the facets
of life that come up for discussion it is easy to end up with a series of
single stories which might skew the issues but they all add up to the narrative
called Nigeria, its history, its problems, the solutions, the criticisms from
nasty to constructive to the outlook to the future.
One typical example of the jumbled narratives is the
North, taken as a homogenous entity in terms of religion, ethnicity and economy
for simplicity sake and packaged as such for media consumption but it has
probably the most diverse and heterogeneous demography of Nigeria.
Child Hunger
of the Almajiri
Recently, I clamoured
about [1] the fate of the Almajiri from the perspective of human and child
rights, suggesting that certain controls and inspection regimes need to be put
in place to arrest the unconscionable and despicable case of children and adolescents
being in boarding schools of a certain persuasion but having to be beg for
food.
The more heart-rending aspect was the case of a boy
ill with malaria and typhoid fever that was not in hospital and had not eaten
since the night before; to suggest the head of that school was criminal and
irresponsible would have been a heartless understatement – it is a pervasive
problem.
The Borno State Government has taken the first step
towards addressing this problem by supporting
10,000 Tsangaya schools [2] to tackle the problems of feeding and to take
the Almajiri off the streets thereby curtailing the begging menace.
If government money is going into such institutions it
should then translate into gaining control to regulate their activities, inspect
their facilities and introduce a curriculum that will allow the Almajiri who in
that setting will now be pupils and students to learn a trade or some
vocational skill along with their religious schooling. If successful, one will
hope that this concept will spread out to other states pulling Tsangaya schools
into a structured educational regime that upholds child rights preparing them
for viable and productive careers.
Talking
Poverty Alleviation
In the Nigeria Poverty Profile released by the
National Bureau of Statistics, we are presented with the stark detail that
relative poverty has increased between 2004 and 2010 with the North-Central,
North-Eastern and North-Western zones revealing increasing levels of poverty
compared to the three zones in the South.
The Northern Governors then thought to redress this imbalance
by demanding a review
of the revenue allocation [4] from the centre; this threatens to draw a dangerous
fault-line giving credence to that age-old North-South divide that has become
the basis for analysing problems in Nigeria.
Looking at the numbers, there probably is a case for a
review but the problems are more fundamental than that. The Niger Delta
oil-producing area probably has the highest per-capita allocation but the
governors have not been judicious in the use of the funds for the development
of their states. Most of the communities are poor, their lands polluted,
infrastructure lacking and the travesty gave rise first to activism and then
militancy without much improvement towards tackling the environmental disasters
or the future prospects of the masses.
Likewise, governorship in the North has not taken up
the responsibility to create enabling environments and offer the essential
impetus for development that can pull their people up from abject poverty and
it is unlikely that throwing more money at the region with yield the results
required but that is a subject for negotiation and debate between all affected
parties.
Stilling a
brewing storm
The demand however called for cool and wise heads to
comment from the Presidency. Until recently on matters of security, power or
policy, the President has been handed speeches that has left a good many
readers and listeners in despair, complete forlorn as to where the country
might be going that clueless had become the description of President Goodluck
Jonathan’s grasp of issues.
One can only suppose the President had sacked his
uninspiring speechwriter and acquired one that could capture the mood and set
out a range of opinions that make sense and give people, especially the governors
a sense of responsibility and purpose, though we still have to wait and see
what comes of it.
However, in response to this demand, the President in
a speech
recently given [5] on a visit to Makurdi had this to say.
"We have
resources in all parts of the country to sell. All states of the federation
have products they can export. The governors should work with private sector
operators to produce and sell what they have not only to Nigerians but also to
export."
"Nigeria
is an agro-based economy even before the civil war and that is why they did not
borrow money to prosecute the war. We should be able to revive this process
like it happened in those periods when oil was not an issue."
"If we
create the enabling environment and liaise with the private sector, people will
not need to steal or go into 419 before they can make it."
Making
governors more accountable
In other words, state governors should work better at
realising potential in their states and seek to exploit such as if there were
no oil revenues to rely on.
The national cake is no more big enough to go round
effectively, the states that to generate more income internally by doing the
best with the resources they have and seek markets for their goods for their
states to prosper.
One interesting element of history that we seem to
forget about Nigeria that the President alluded to in his speech is that
Nigeria might well be that only country in the world to have prosecuted a civil
war without running into debt, it harks back to a can-do spirit of fiscal
prudence that Nigeria apparently once had, which means it can be rediscovered
again.
In all, all governors have serious work to do having
escaped the fury of the people during the #OccupyNigeria protests and deep
scrutiny of their policies until after their tenures the President has laid
down the modalities on which governance accountability will be based, this
should be the first of many to get them to sit up and start delivering
solutions to their people.
Great is the wish and desire for better topics than
what I am about to write about Nigeria. This is a great country with amazingly unrealised
potential that appears to be continually rundown by those who we have elected
to represent us at all levels.
The problem is however not just that of leadership, it
includes the people too and sadly an inability to grasp the fundamental truths
of a situation, an idea or a conversation if there is something emotive to offer upon which they can gorge their sentiments on.
Nigeria cannot be doomed, there is prospect and
promise beyond compare and ability that needs to be nurtured to wrestle power from the malefactors in charge and command the heights whilst mentoring those coming up to occupy and take
Nigeria to where it rightly belongs – a prosperous thriving country with people
willing and able to pursue their goals in happiness with all opportunity and
ability at their disposal to succeed.
Those who
hold us back
Things need to be uprooted, overturned, jettisoned,
condemned and completely excoriated. These things are exemplified and
personified in people – men and women who present no glowing future for the
entity Nigeria or the identity Nigerian. They clog the corridors of power and
need to be bulldozed out of the way, swept into ignominy as light gets shone on
their opinions, activities and alliances.
Today, it was the turn of the Minister of the Federal
Capital Territory to be readied for the scrapheap of odium so vile that it
cannot be countenanced by rats cavorting in a metropolitan sewer.
“May I suggest to the Executive Secretary of FCDA, who
has the Abuja Master Plan and the Coordinator of Abuja Metropolitan Management
Council to rename this place as Goodluck Jonathan District.” He
started [1].
“This is because we have not named any district after
any president in the past. The president I know is President Goodluck Jonathan
and the president I know that is bringing good luck to me and to Nigerians is
President Goodluck Jonathan.” He then said.
“Therefore, by the powers conferred on me, I change
the name of this district to Goodluck Jonathan District.” He concluded.
Is there
just cause?
Now, there is nothing wrong with naming places after
past leaders of Nigeria, we have universities, airports, roads and buildings named after many of our heroes past, many long gone but with places in the
history of Nigeria.
In most cases, these naming acts though unilaterally done
by those in leadership do have popular appeal and support with many Nigerians
knowing why.
It is quite strange to rename a district in the
Federal Capital after a sitting President who has only been in office for two
years and yet to prove himself as an effective master of his brief, talk less
of being an all-embracing and inspiring leader of all Nigerians.
Maybe I am being harsh with my assessment so let us
hear the citation the Minister gives to make the President worthy of such an
honour.
Of the many
deserving
"A district has never been named after a President ..." –
that is a valid point but we have had many, 14 in all
[2], starting with Nnamdi
Azikiwe, the 1st Governor General and the President of Nigeria; Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi,
the 1st Military Head of State or Murtala Mohammed, the
4th leader of Nigeria assassinated in 1976. Sani Abacha for his
despotic reign is not offered a podium of honour but he is one of the 4 who
once ruled Nigeria and have since died.
Other leaders of distinction, I use distinction with a
bit of levity are Yakubu
Gowon who lead the country through a civil war, ruling for 9 years or Olusegun Obasanjo who
ruled the country twice, first as a military ruler and then as a civilian
president altogether for 11½ years.
Only last week with full military honours and all the
state accoutrements, Emeka
Odumegwu Ojukwu was buried, he led the civil war for the secession of
Biafra and had long been revered as the leader of the Igbo tribe, it would
appear he was the next for the synonymous and eponymous but you cannot curry
the favour of the dead. – Surely, there is much to be said for these people.
Really?
The Minister goes on to say, “The president I know is
President Goodluck Jonathan …” This could mean the Minister is completely
oblivious of Nigerian history or cynically one might be persuaded to suggest
this was blatantly currying favour since he is minister at the pleasure of the
President.
He concludes the citation by saying, “… and the
president I know that is bringing good luck to me and to Nigerians is President
Goodluck Jonathan.” Is that all? You ask.
The President is honoured in a shameless display of
sickening sycophancy as a fawning minister is innocuously 'bribing' the President
to maintain his post by flattering the President and appealing to his ego, building graven images of district renaming like we have returned to the Babylonian
times of King Nebuchadnezzar.
The Court of
Goodluck I
We sometimes forget we are in a democracy and we
operate like an absolute monarchy because it can only be the reason why a
Shaykh kanti Aiki Ibrahim Zuru has a calling card with the title Loyalist
to His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR).
This whole charade of leadership in Nigeria is playing
out like the Court of Goodluck I where patronage is rife and obsequiousness
that can provoke extreme emesis is the norm, as for corruption, that is the
currency of the gaining audience with the potentate whose name might soon be
emblazoned on anything that can be named or renamed just before our prayer
beads are replaced with the mini-busts of Goodluck Jonathan.
Impunity
without a care
To crown it all, the Nigerian Senators who receive
350% of their annual basic salaries as car loans payable over 6 years at the
annual interest rate of 4% were
given cars [3] all same at additional cost of N1.3 billion to the public
purse on the premise that they will be used for committee activities. It is
illegal and criminal but impunity is the name of the game and accountability is
as unAfrican as let’s say homosexuality.
We cannot be sentenced to this travesty of a democracy
which is in fact fawning kleptocrats at the head of an unconscionable
kakistocracy – Nigeria deserves a lot better than all this.
