YodeThomas

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy

The stage has now been fully set for full blown Batrachomyomachia (fracas) by Jonathan and his unthinking bunch of advisers and ministers. The removal of fuel subsidy on the first day of the New Year clearly shows the insensitive and cavalier nature of our shoguns whose rapacious desire for primitive acquisition has dulled their senses to the reality of life in present day Nigeria. Jonathan’s chutzpah to go ahead and remove subsidy without providing alternative sources of succour to the millions of helpless and hapless Nigerians is a clear indication this government wants to travel on a long winding road leading to the truncation of any form of rationality into the jungle of unrestrained, uncontrolled and uncontained outburst of unquenchable and combustible anger of frustrated, impoverished, deprived, molested, and harassed masses.

The goodwill towards this government evaporated the moment it obstreperously decided to go ahead with the removal of subsidy. The mindless decision to plunge millions of people into unimaginable misery just at the start of a new year prepares the ground for grand scale resistance from the battered and purloined majority. This government lacks the moral compass and wisdom to sail this ship safely to harbour. The gales, thunderstorms and frightening streaks of lightening strewn across the dark sky gives one the jitters about the direction of this one time pearl of Africa.

This government proposes strangulating and awry economic policies without the slightest regard for the decimating effects such draconian policies will have on the majority of common folks who all their lives have had to contend with one insane government after the other. They make laws that they themselves do not intend to keep. How can you pontificate while your hands are deep in sleaze and filth? This government tells us to tighten our belts while they feed fat, they tell us to sacrifice while they multiply their inanity and vanity. Jonathan tells us to bear the pain now so that our children can enjoy tomorrow; while he preaches these homilies, he lives in maddening opulence and unimaginable ostentation. A peek into the 2012 budget clearly shows that Jonathan has lost the verve to lead any person or people into the Promised Land. The ridiculous amounts allotted to feeding one man and attending to his personal needs staggers belief.

True leaders lead by example, at the outset of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, there were wide spread reforms and belt tightening policies carried out by his government in order to revamp the economy. One fundamental cost cutting measure he undertook was to cut the flamboyant lifestyle of his cabinet colleagues. He purged his own immediate government of excesses and waste. Some ministers had to take the responsibility of driving themselves to work instead of being chauffeur driven. Genuine leaders walk the talk and lead the way. It is not enough for you to tell Nigerians to tighten their already strangulating belt while your waistline is busting with billion Naira menus and the splurge of assorted, imported wines.

These leaders suffocate the masses and demand to be applauded. You budget SUVs of different dimensions and shapes while the masses are in dire strait in search of a decent means of transportation. From the first day of this year the millions of Nigerians without any source of succour have been further plunged into indescribable agony and extreme poverty. The multiplier effect of fuel increase means every other item in the market will take an upward surge and that will create a further worsening of situation for the millions of Nigerians whose livelihood and sustenance is determined by these inevitable exigencies. Jonathan is playing an unfamiliar sound and I hope he will be ready to withstand the maelstrom of movement stirred by the dancing steps of his guest.

The poignant reality of this removal will be the incalculable hardship many Nigerians will be subjugated to; from increased house rent to ridiculous and astronomical transport cost, from prohibitively high cost of food items to the complete deprivation of basic necessities that are commonly taken for granted in saner climes. Many artisans whose livelihoods depend solely on daily income through plying their trade will have to look elsewhere in order to eke-out a living. The interconnectedness of the market creates a cyclical reaction such that a slight change from one end creates a seismic effect throughout the market. Increased fuel price will affect all aspect of economic activity and the people to bear the brunt of this madness are the masses.

The question one is forced to ask is how this subsidy removal will affect our megalomaniacs called leaders, whose children and dogs are far away in saner societies feeding and living in sprawling mansions with well manicured lawns tucked away in some high class neighbourhood where noise and pollution are non-existent? Whereas we scratch for livelihood in a country flowing with the abundance that God had generously endued her with. These mindless merchants steal from us then they oppress us. They make decisions purportedly on our behalf but in actual sense it is to satisfy their never ending desire for primitive acquisition. They make laws only because it furthers their grandiose design for unbridled access to more stealing and plundering. Can someone ask Jonathan how removing subsidy from petroleum products will ever affect him negatively? This one time deprived child now sits on a pot of gold and all of a sudden forgets his days of no shoes and no shirts and inflicts unfathomable hardship on an already emasculated populace.

Nigerians are thrown into shark infested waters and told to survive without any possibility of wading off the predators. How would people survive before the gain of subsidy removal starts to bear fruit? Who pays their house rents and healthcare before government builds houses and hospitals? How would they commute to work pending when government decides to buy buses to move them about? A callous and bereft government never weighs possibilities and assume less stringent options for the people their supercilious egotistic mien convinces them that they are too superior to their subjects to take them seriously. They show by their demeanour that they were never voted in by the people, they therefore are not accountable to them. Only their godfathers who selected them command their allegiance and deference. Leaders who attain leadership by popular majority consider the people beyond their own personal aspirations. Elected leaders make extensive consultations to figure out ways to ameliorate the lives of the people before effecting draconian policies.

Many Nigerians by this monstrous act have not only being plunged below the poverty line but are been systematically annihilated. Brazil recently moved up the scale to become the sixth largest economy in the world relegating Great Britain to seventh position. Brazil lifted forty million Brazilians from poverty into the middle class. To achieve this great feat Brazil undertook sound and deliberate economic steps that will ensure that their citizens enjoy the benefit of dynamic leadership. Forward looking countries create conducive conditions to alleviate the plight of their citizens not policies that will further consign them eternally to abject squalor. Why would a thinking government impose fuel hike on the first day of a new year when most families have been financially spent and would require some time to get themselves financially stable again. This atrocious act portends ominous signs for the future of this country; governments exist to serve the people not to emasculate and purloin them. Jonathan disparages Nigerians by this thoughtless act. We are tormented, dehumanised and molested. We beg for what’s our right from the people that we supposedly elected. Nigeria is truly a paradoxical entity. It’s hard to believe this is the same government Nigerians fought so hard to preserve when the goons of the previous president were determined to make his access to the presidency a mirage.

Many households have been reduced to mendicants whose survival hinges on the goodwill of others. Before subsidy was removed many lived by the precipice, now without subsidy it is definite they will be thrown over the cliff. Government cannot continue to ask the people to sacrifice while they live in sinful pleasure. How long should the people endure? Would it be for forever? When will the gain of citizenship trickle down to the man on the street? One leader comes and another goes the slogan remains the same, the need for the masses to tighten their belt while they help themselves to our commonwealth. It is despicable and uncharitable for any thinking government to even contemplate subjecting millions of Nigerians to further deprivation and agony.

At the expiration of Obasanjo’s government in 2007, Nigeria had $32 billion in foreign reserve coupled with the fact that significant amount of our foreign debts had been paid off also during his time in office and all these were done while subsidy was still applied to petroleum products. The question we must ask is how was Obasanjo able to save such an enormous amount of foreign reserve, pay off foreign debt and still not tinker with fuel subsidy? Has this government become so profligate and prodigal so early in the day that our foreign reserve is near depletion and both internal and external debts are mounting and the only alternative left for this government is to unleash economic terror on the already battered and impoverish majority? The Jonathan administration has saved nothing but spent everything. The daily burgeoning size of the government and the unabated and unbridled rapacity is what must be checked in lieu of subsidy removal on fuel.

The removal of subsidy in an already volatile country where unemployment ranks as one of the highest in the world and with the shambolic state of our security systems the government just might have created a veritable platform for notorious and nefarious activities to take on a more cataclysmic dimension. In the era of subsidy government did not have the wherewithal to tackle societal menace that have become part of everyday life; now with subsidy gone the impending anarchy is better imagined. The anachronistic system of governance must be replaced with a more dynamic and vibrant leadership style. Across the globe young and enthused leaders are emerging and allowing the old brigandage brigade to take their rest and do other meaningful things with their lives. The bulk of our active politicians have been on the stage forever, the time has come for them to start a gradual disengagement from the centre stage so that their invaluable experiences can be tapped and maximised by the new entrants privileged into leadership capacity.

May I admonish Mr President that the removal of subsidy at this topsy-turvy state in the internal affairs of Nigeria is most unwise; other avenues must be explored and prodigality must be stopped if his desire for subsidy removal is to be heeded? Alternative arrangements must be made to cushion the effect of such removal; the penurious state of the majority requires adequate provision for certain necessities to be in place in order to mollify the already precarious state of things. The idea of public office holders living in splurge and opulence whereas the majority are compelled to live in abject squalor does not cut the picture of a serious government. Let leadership be by example. It is unconscionable to have class differentials of citizens in the same country, on the one hand the lords and masters and on the other peasants and mendicants. Let’s hope Mr President will heed the voice of reason and rescind his earlier hasty decision or risk schadenfreude from the people when the chickens come home to roost.

One more thing, the next time your Finance Minister makes the rest of you look like a bunch of shilly-shally scallywags in public, do not hesitate to call her bluff and send her packing.

Shalom.

Paul Thomas.

But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 2 Samuel 12:3-4 (KJV)

The Jonathan administration reminds one of a bunch of inexperienced, highfalutin megalomaniacs who have not the slightest idea about what governance is about and what it means to lead a nation as complex as Nigeria. The Jonathan administration parades highly theoretically educated naiveties who possess high sounding qualifications but with not the foggiest realisation of the inherent cataclysm gradually evolving underneath the crust of human endurance who are at the end of their tether. Jonathan and his team of inexperienced advisers are laying siege at the den of lions daring the lions to do their worst; unfortunately no one lingers around to tell the story.

The ill conceived, ill advised and ill informed move by Jonathan to remove subsidy from petroleum products will be the breaking point of the Nigerian populace, it probably will mark the end of all the madness and injustice that Nigerians have endured from successive governments especially since the start of the second phase of our so called demonstration of craze (democracy). It is unfathomable that a country that produces oil will have to suffer the same economic privation as countries without a single natural resource. It is criminal for any government or leader to disparage its people the way these mindless cabals have dealt with us all these years.

It staggers belief that these so called leaders that are planning to remove subsidy from vital economic products that determines the bulk of economic activities in this country will most likely never have to buy any of these products as long as they are in government and when they leave they would have stolen enough to make the cost of such items infinitesimal to them and their families. How can a government exist solely to create hardship and sufferings for the populace? What has Jonathan and his team done to cushion the crushing poverty in the land before removing subsidy from products that determine many livelihoods? What other mechanisms does he propose to tackle the devastating effect that subsidy removal will create for Nigerians?

Jonathan promises ‘to divest the proceeds of the subsidy into infrastructural developments that will cushion the effect of the removal’. This is complete balderdash; has he estimated the time it will take these infrastructures to be built and made ready in order for the masses to enjoy the proceeds from these facilities? What estimate of that diversification will go into these projects and what are the earning potentials expected? What infrastructures are they going to build that will remedy the effect of the hardship that many Nigerians will face as a result of the subsidy removal? It is ludicrous that Jonathan talks about diversification of funds into infrastructure when we are aware of the thousands of white elephant projects strewn across the nooks and crannies of Nigerian topography. There exist no new infrastructures that these insensitive megalomaniacs will embark upon, that will be different from the ones that are already sitting somewhere rotting away.

A country like Nigeria where corruption lives and thrives and where our insensate leaders are always evolving new strategy to sharpen their thieving skills in order to defraud our collective wealth; will an administration make available so much wealth for these kleptomaniacs to oversee development of new projects. It is harvest time for the Nigerian politician. Jonathan will redefine governance in the most preposterous way by the time subsidy on petroleum products is pulled. Politicians will become mega-wealthy while the masses will become extremely impoverished. With the present state of things many are emasculated and crushed by grinding poverty. Many live in despicable circumstances even with the so called subsidy in place, millions are barely getting by. Many households are living on the fringes without any succour or support from government, still government talks about taking away whatever little lifeline that might exist in the hands of the abject proletariats hanging on by the skin of their teeth.

What will the removal of subsidy portend for businesses surviving solely on generators? How will the masses get by with another astronomical increase in all facet of economic and social life? Most people will have to resort to trekking long distances to their places of livelihood once subsidy is removed; because the cost of transportation will be double or triple the current amount. What will this mean for children going to school? With high cost of transportation and other items students will further face; not only high fees but also high cost of books and other paraphernalia necessary for them to function in school. Nigerians are about to witness distress in a greater dimension and our puppet government cannot be bothered.

In other sympathetic climes subsidies are removed on vital items only as a means of last resort; when government has strenuously exhausted all avenues then and only then will subsidies be taken away from a product as strategic as petrol. May I ask Mr President what other avenues he has exhausted before coming to the conclusion of strangulating the masses? Has he collected all of our stolen funds from his party men and women? Has he sold some of the expensive planes lying idle among his presidential fleet? Has he thought of cutting down on his bogus and burgeoning cabinet? Has he thought of retrenching all the rent seekers strewn across the corridors of powers with no specific portfolio other than knowing one misfit or another in government? Has he bothered to find out why the English are bent on having his town’s man, Ibori and why the Arabs first milked their own entitlement from the fraudster, by keeping him long enough? Bode George defrauded the Nigerian state, he came out of jail after resting for two years into the loving embrace of a group of charlatans and sycophants. The money he stole was never recovered. Does Mr Jonathan know how many deprived Nigerians would have a complete change of story with the amount of money the PDP chieftain embezzled?

In other countries where subsidies of this nature are taken away there are other welfare packages in place in order to help ease whatever hardship the initial removal will cause for the masses. The finance minister lived, schooled and worked in the United States can she without prevarication say that subsidies of vital elements are suddenly removed without an existing alternative to cushion the effect of such removal. The idea of just ploughing the proceeds into some imaginary and amorphous infrastructural development program is to say the least ridiculous. This whole thing is a big subterfuge. Nigeria is perhaps the only country in the world where such nonsensical conjectures would be suggested without having an uprising. The removal of oil subsidy will no doubt further plunge the suffering masses of this country into the abyss of unimaginable squalor. The already battered economy will now take another round of battering simply because we have no strategic capacity or leadership to steer us out of the murky waters of economic despondency.

May I ask Jonathan what being a citizen of Nigeria confers on the millions of hopeless and despondent Nigerians scattered all over the world. Some Nigerians are rotting away in prisons and other despicable places across the world while Jonathan and his advisory team live in extreme opulence. Many Nigerians have suffered untold hardship in the hands of Libyan opposition forces; some have paid the ultimate price simply because they are Nigerians. Why must the masses be the ones to always bear the brunt of our political bandits and religious hoodlums? When will this nation provide some sort of succour for the people? Constantly we are admonished to be patient from one government to another the story remains the same. Poverty, wretchedness, deprivation, hunger, nakedness, homelessness, unemployment, insecurity, intolerance, treachery, disparage, corruption, fear, reproach, assault, breakdown of values and morals, cultism, prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery, pen robbery, failed judicial system, compromised judges and clueless leadership.

The existing economic crunch has increased nefarious activities in all the states of the nation; one can only imagine what Nigeria would be like once the subsidy is pulled. Bombings have become our pastime. The youths have found veritable platform to unleash their anger on a deaf and dumb government. The borders are so porous all sorts of human elements find their way into the country to wreak havoc on harmless Nigerians, simply because those charged with the responsibility of manning the borders look the other way once they have been incentivised. The level of decadence in the country is appalling; from the politicians to their lackeys there is a reverberation of the same show of madness. Some university youths recently posted a gory and demented piece on the internet for the whole world to consume; where our supposed leaders of tomorrow displayed their utter imbecility and bestiality when five vacuous boys fiendishly had carnal knowledge of a young lady. And to add salt to injury the police force has not been able to fish out the perpetrators of this turpitude. The arrogance of past and present leaders is gradually trickling down to inchoate generation. The country is gradually becoming a lawless state; where impunity and anarchy thrives. The masses are groaning under excruciating pain and yet our government wants to further inflict more pains on our already battered body.

Shoring up the value of the Naira, through capacity utilisation, extirpation of profligacy, complete annihilation of corruption and the establishment of viable and functional contractual and property laws will attract investments and drive economic stimulation. These activities will boost the value of the naira and thereby make subsidy on petroleum products unnecessary. Most importantly the country must reduce her dependency on importation; the bulk of the country’s earning rather than remain in the country to boost and grow our industries are used to keep other economies alive. No economy ever grows by feeding on imported goods. Infant industries are dead on delivery because imported goods stifle local capacity and further dampen local economy. The more we import the more the value of our currency depreciates and become worthless especially when there is no commensurate export. Government must ensure that these parameters are in place before attempting subsidy removal otherwise millions of Nigerians will become economic and social pariahs; a condition which will further deepen the animosity between the haves and have-not.

This time provides auspicious moment and creates a veritable platform for the President to create a persona of someone with real understanding of the realities confronting Nigerians and give no room to political jobbers and bootlickers that have come to see the presidency as a means of unbridled rapacity of our collective wealth. It is high time for Mr President to quit all these political theatrics and show real leadership by taking this ship safely to shore. We the people await your verdict, sire.
Shalom

It is not these well-fed long-haired men that I fear, but the pale and the hungry-looking. Julius Caesar

The Nigerian state is under siege, not under siege by external aggressors but from Nigerians themselves. The societal disequilibrium in the distribution of the national wealth has seen the emergence of an army of disgruntled and exasperated Nigerians prowling the nooks and crannies of society. The extent of the siege cannot be fully grasped until a panoramic view of the nation is presented before one thoroughly comes to the painful yet undeniable conclusion that Nigeria is at the throes of a national befuddlement.

The current spate of armed robberies across the states of the nation is truly a worrisome trend. The recklessness and brazenness of these robberies really calls for immediate and unbridled measures to stem the tide of this menace before the entire nation becomes a discombobulated arena where perplexity and melancholia pervades. Armed robbery cases are once again making the headlines in pullulating trend which portends grave concern for the wellbeing of Nigerians and their right to normalcy and sanity. The recent massacre of some innocent Nigerians by some lunatic Nigerians all in the name of robbery is particularly disturbing and sadistic. The fiendish acts of some psychotic robbers who laid ambush on the Abuja-Okene road, early last week is the height of madness and callosity. According to the report; a luxury bus was waylaid and the occupants numbering about fifty were ordered to disembark and prostrate on the highway while the robbers helped themselves to their victims’ possessions; while this went on an unsuspecting truck emerged and crushed the victims to death. This act of monstrosity brings to memory the poignant reminder of a replica incidence which occurred about two years ago. Innocent citizens are massacred in the most gruesome and horrific way. The goriness of this act is unfathomable. The cause of such hard heartedness and disregard to the sanctity of human lives staggers belief. The fact that citizens of the same denizen could unleash such monstrosity and callosity is frightening and sickening. Such diabolic acts portend the extreme desire for self preservation even at the destruction of society. Nowhere else will such act of barbarity occur without a national outcry in the magnitude of the aftermath of the Norwegian massacre for the perpetrator(s) to be found and dealt with; rather we strut along as though it is normal for people to die such needless deaths.

A bank was recently visited by some hoodlums who came prepared and among their arsenal were hand grenades, which were used to blow up the vaults of the bank to smithereens. Armed robbery cases are now part of the national life of the people. The current state of perplexity and cataclysm is perturbing to say the least. Citizens live in utter helplessness and hopelessness. The average Nigerian is emasculated and traumatised from the myriad of challenges that consistently besets. Every day living is a struggle. Life’s necessities are non –existent; every day we live in anticipation of a better tomorrow only for tomorrow to come and yet again we defer it till tomorrow. This circuitous expectation continues until the expiration of one generation and the emergence of another. The slogan of a better tomorrow becomes our perpetual song; from one government to another, one leader to another. The Nigerian Eldorado has always been a mirage; from vision 2000 to 2020; the closer we get to our mellifluous promises the further it is kicked down the road by political merchants.

The complexity of modern Nigerian befuddles logic. The nation has been plummeted for so long that the natural reactionary instinct for survival has kicked in; when there is nowhere else to go the next thing is to fight back. The recent obstreperous and cacophonous reactions around the nation are the natural responses to prolonged deprivation of dignity and respect. They are the responses to starvation and humiliation. Nigerians are stripped of their dignity and pride; their leaders buffet them, foreigners oppress them, the police harass them, soldiers intimidate them, PHCN deprives them, local and state government purloin them and on and on and on. People live with constant apprehension and general sense of fear. You are constantly looking over your shoulders to be sure something clandestine is not happening behind you or some mischievous looking characters are not trailing you. When your loved ones go to work you remain on your knees until they return. You go to bed praying to have a pleasant night rest and praying extra hard not to be harassed by men of the underworld. How long can a nation function like this? Major roads have become death traps; hospitals have become slaughter houses. The menace of pollution is exasperating; the disastrous effect of noise from generating sets and the accompanying carbon monoxide mingle to form a lethal cocktail of health deterioration and prolonged incapacitation.

Government must adopt policies and actions that will cushion the plight and discomfort suffered by millions of Nigerians. The role of government is to intervene before situations become dire as it is in present day Nigeria. The first step to alleviating the sufferings of the majority is the equitable distribution of our commonwealth. The Nigerian government must set up holistic welfare systems that will help to redistribute resources among the citizenry in order to create a semblance of social justice and equity. Taxation and expenditure by government must reflect efficient and effective redistribution of wealth to the most vulnerable and needy among the citizens. States exist to cater for the welfare of her people; the people must not be exploited by the very system that should ameliorate their situation. National resources must be geared towards creating social equity and justice in order to bolster economic efficiency in the long run. The impecunious state of the majority of Nigerians as a result of reckless and unbridled spending on luxurious goods for a selected group is antithetical to growth and progress. It staggers belief that a chunk of Nigeria’s wealth is shared by less than ten percent of the population. Wealth creation is a result of strategic planning and effective allocation of valuable resources to further generate more resources. Probity and accountability are important instruments of achieving fiscal responsibility. The profligate and unbridled spending of our commonwealth is a crime against the millions of Nigerians living in extreme poverty and deprivation. It is malevolent for any government to wake up one day and without proper consultation buy two or three airplanes to add to the already bursting fleet of aircrafts; while not a single aircraft is in operation as a national carrier.

Government must embark on massive job creation strategies and make concrete efforts to make Nigeria’s economic environment conducive for investments to thrive. Current production capacity is abysmally below what can adequately sustain the population. Laws that will attract investors and foreign direct investment must be formulated and implemented if Nigeria’s capacity utilisation is to be maximised. Companies that have relocated from Nigeria must be cajoled to return; incentives that cannot be refused must be developed so as to ensure their return into the Nigerian market. Government must be proactive and ingenious in creating employment for the millions of jobless citizens roaming the streets. The lost production potential due to unemployment will remain lost forever and will continue until unemployment is checked. A country that cannot feed itself or secure itself is gradually heading for the precipice. Wealth generation is about harnessing the various resources inherent in the nation and creating a future with it.

The Internecine in the country is a product of prolonged leadership failure. The many years of degradation and dissipation has brought a once vibrant and prosperous country into uncertainty. Nigeria cannot afford to “siddon look” anymore while brothers turn against brothers all in a bid to survive. We the people demand transformation; not transformation based on highfalutin circumlocution but one that makes available the basic necessities of life that ensures the dignity and humanity of all the peoples of Nigeria.

The state is made for man, not man for the state. Albert Einstein

Shalom

In hushed tones and silent whispers to high pitched decibels, information filtering in from every angle surmises the concluding stages of the appointment of the erstwhile columnist and chairman of the editorial board of the Guardian newspaper Mr Reuben Abati. Reliable sources indicate that the former columnist is gearing up to assume his new position as the mouthpiece of Mr Jonathan’s new administration. I am however at a loss whether to wish Abati well or to use this piece as a subtle warning to him for choosing to pitch his political tent with this administration.

Reuben for many years had stayed the course as a prolific and dexterous writer, highlighting the ills of society caused by successive governments and oftentimes appearing to take sides with the proletariats and the forgotten segment of society. He no doubt mesmerised us with his weekly columns on Fridays and Sundays; a space he so judiciously utilised to bring the attention of the nation to pivotal issues. His captivating and often well researched articles made reading his pieces a delight. He made the pen mightier than the sword and brought enlightenment into our homes. Abati in his own way fought successive governments not by political protests or strikes neither by instigating violence nor through arm struggle. He fought with his words, his analysis and his convictions. Abati brought realism through his thoughts that are meticulously laid out paragraph by paragraph. He awakened our consciousness to the splurge and extravagance of high office holders. Through his pen he highlighted the plights of ordinary Nigerians and the anomaly called Nigeria. Reuben indeed brought some sort of panache to Nigerian journalism.

Reuben could not be more critical than during the emperor’s reign Mr Obasanjo, he lambasted and chided the Obasanjo administration at every opportunity. He wrote metaphorically, paradoxically and satirically throughout the long reign of the emperor. Abati through his columns represented an idealism that had died out or dying out in Nigeria; the idealism of enthroning dignity and honour above gain and aggrandisement. His critical evaluation of issues militating against the progress of a people that have been deprived and robbed by their own leaders; was a breath of fresh air to the many millions of Nigerians hoping someday for a permanent end to the gnawing poverty and utmost deprivation inflicted by a fragment of society occupying the upper echelons of power. Abati opposed through his articles corrupt officials and bad leadership models. He accentuated his belief in quality and participatory democracy. He campaigned for an egalitarian society that every Nigerian could and should be proud of. Abati endeared many readers to the Guardian newspaper because of his no- holds- barred comments and fearless analysis of nagging issues. His vituperation and opprobrium on leadership profligacy and ostentation elevated his status among the suffering masses strewn across the length and breadth of Nigeria as a crusader and upholder of justice and equity.

Abati’s new position however portends grave concern for many observers that have followed him through his writings and columns over the years. I thought this man upheld certain philosophies in life that made him different from the regular Joe seeking to eke-out a living. Through his analyses these many years I thought he was a different breed with verve and vim for rationality and ethicality. Abati has closed ranks with the very people he criticised. He is now a political player in the murky waters of Nigerian politics. He is become a mouth piece to excuse inanity and perfunctory styles and systems of governance. Reuben no longer will seek the interest of the downtrodden and the oppressed of society. Abati’s decision to be the mouthpiece for Jonathan’s administration in my opinion is belittling and uncomplimentary to his past performances as an ace writer and intelligent columnist. Abati’s new position I believe, will render him a pariah at the expiration of four years. His career as a journalist after this administration will never command the kind of followership and adoration he presently enjoys. Abati has chosen the wrong crowd to mingle with. He has chosen to swim in a politically shark infested waters; one only hopes he does not get badly bitten.

Perhaps Reuben needs be reminded of some of his predecessors that have made the same leap as he is determined to make. Each of those government mouthpieces always leave with their image either in tatters or just hanging by the teeth of their skin. Segun Adeniyi‘s experience in the just concluded administration will be a perfect apposite for Reuben’s new penchant. Segun was caught in a moral dilemma when high level perfidy, intrigue and treachery began to play out at the height of Yar’A dua’s government. Segun became a stooge for government; he had to save face by leaving the country for further studies. Segun’s high sounding moral after his stint with the last government is simply medicine after death.

Perhaps Mr Reuben’s inclusion in this administration could signal a new dawn for this political dispensation. Abati’s perspicuity and erudition as a political commentator could come to the fore in engineering this administration towards creating political and social Eldorado for the countless Nigerians living in absolute abjection and petrifying squalor. One is also not ignorant of the fact that political commentaries are not tantamount to political achievements. Will Reuben create the needed rapprochement between the people and the state? Will he explain away frivolities and incompetence? Only time will tell.

Every man’s price is simply determined by what is at stake I suppose for Reuben it is becoming a mouthpiece for the Jonathan administration. I cannot wait to see Ruben’s justification and explanation of government failures and philistinism when it starts to play out. As it is often said “He who pays the piper must determine the tune”.

I realise that every single individual in life desires to make progress and leave their mark in the annals of history but also important is how we choose to meet that end. How Reuben chooses to make progress and put himself in the chronicling of history is entirely Reuben’s choice. One thing is certain, a large segment of society will miss his columns that he had for many years captivated us with.
With Reuben moving on with his new assignment one can only hope that at the end of four years our man would have so changed this administration that he himself will not become the victim of his own vituperations and captiousness. Praemonitus Praemunitus: forewarned is forearmed.

Shalom

Paul Thomas.

Historical documentations whether it be the bible or secular writings sometimes leave certain smaller characters in the shadows of bigger ones or give prominence to certain major occurrences and somehow give insufficient recognition to certain events; thereby making such smaller characters or occurrences inconsequential. Or sometimes historical writers allow posterity the opportunity and liberty to expand their intuitive capability by allowing them to carry out a kind of intellectual lobotomy to historical facts. In such cases it behoves the reader to stretch his/her mind in the quest for deeper insight into the significance of these minor roles and their relationship to the major events.

Uriah is one such minor character in the bible that seem very inconsequential especially when his personality is juxtaposed to that of the main character king David; and rightly so until the character, ethics and commitment to duty of both men are exposed to the magnifying glass of human conscience. The story of Uriah appears in 2 Samuel 11: 1-27. Uriah the Hittite was a soldier in one of the platoons of King David’s army; whose commanding officer was Joab, captain of the army of Israel a feisty and valiant general but nonetheless a sly character.

Uriah, although possessed no obvious distinguishable traits to make him a phenomenal personality he however had inner qualities of strength and fortitude to qualify him as an impeccable gentleman and a fine officer. Uriah was at war at a time of year when kings go to war but when King David chose to stay at home. David’s indiscretion to stay behind at this crucial time of the year led him to the precipice for which he almost lost everything he worked so hard for. The decisions and the choices we make are the determinants of our lives. Uriah was at the battle ground defending the integrity and dignity of Israel; ready to loose arm and limb for his king; a king that betrayed him; a king who couldn’t care less whether Uriah lived or died. We can learn from Uriah’s philosophy about taking responsibility- whatever your assignment discharge it to the best of your ability.

The book of 2 Samuel: 11, unfolds further the insidious manipulations that occurred. King David looking out through his balcony saw Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife having a bath; losing all sense of dignity and morality he thought of nothing else but a lecherous desire to unravel the mystery of Uriah’s joy. King David inquired from the guards who the lady was and was told she was Uriah’s wife; one of his trusted soldiers presently at war for his nation. Perplexed and helpless with lascivious desires too compelling to resist; he entices her with the paraphernalia of royalty, she succumbs and their lives were never to be the same again. Bathsheba is caught in the labyrinth of power and in the intoxication of its absoluteness. She becomes nonplussed standing before the most powerful man in the world. The ability to resist fizzles and Bathsheba crumbles into the hands of another man forgetting Uriah the man to whom she swore her allegiance and gave her vow of sanctity to. When we give room to wrong desires and allow them to linger we make room for catastrophic consequences. When the emasculating effect of sin grabs a man by the jugular he loses every sense of morality and decency. The book of James talks about the capacity of the mind to conceive lust which ultimately breeds death (James: 1: 13-15) KJV. King David nurtured lust until it engendered death.

Sometimes life thrusts at us certain realities to determine our reactions and beliefs. The last person you would expect to betray another would be King David, considering all he endured in the hands of King Saul. One would anticipate King David to be a practitioner and upholder of justice, fairness and equity. The bible talks about the hardness and wickedness of our hearts. The desperation of the human mind to orchestrate evil and to unleash unimaginable madness is unfathomable. Uriah suffered betrayal and perfidy from everyone he showed loyalty to. His wife betrayed him, his king betrayed him, and his country betrayed him. Like Uriah history is replete with people that have suffered betrayal from the same people they loved and trusted.

Bathsheba discovers she’s pregnant and a lethal cocktail of fear and guilt descends on her. She goes to King David uninvited and unannounced to declare the manifestation of their clandestine act of lechery. King David becomes flustered; pandemonium surges through his entire being. Unfortunately King David’s one night pleasure turns awry. The secret amorous connivance was about to play out in the full glare of the public. The unrepentant King David concocts an ominous plan to have Uriah recalled from battle with immediate effect. With Uriah at the palace at the behest of the king the stage was set for the concealment of the duo’s debauchery. Little did King David know that a single act of indiscretion was about to carry a consequence of a far reaching proportion that will linger for thousands of years.

Uriah is standing before his king and commander, about to be told to betray his principles, ethics and forthrightness. Will Uriah obey his king and accepts his commands or will he maintain his principles and convictions and loose falling out with the king with very dire consequences? In Part two of this article we will explore some of these questions and proffer answers to them. We will also look at what lessons can be learnt from this whole saga.

Shalom

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it. Revolutions are not about trifles, but spring from trifles.
Abraham Lincoln.

One cogent reality that the current Arab revolution portends is the certainty that
Change is inevitable and when it comes there is no going back. We live in an ever dynamic and changing world; a world where transmutation and advancement are Siamese. Africa is at the verge of a new dawn, a new day; the night season that had long blanketed the African skyline is gradually fading for the breaking of the morning light whose rays emit strength into our docile minds to begin a process that will bring about lasting liberation from the tyranny of yesterday’s madness and the incorporation of invigorating present day reality of development, advancement, civilisation and modernisation.

For so long Africa stood on the sideline completely hapless and helpless from the emasculation of asinine and vacuous men who paraded themselves as leaders. Africa bled profusely and still bleeds from unabated rapacity of kleptomaniacs and malevolent burlesques strewn across the African continent. There is a new awakening in the consciousness of Africans to begin to take their destiny in their own hands as seen in Tunisia and Egypt. These two nations are symbolisms of the pent-up agitation inherent in the minds of millions of Africans. Those demonstrators on the streets of Cairo and Tunis represent the bulk of the African continent. They speak out for the rest of the oppressed and depressed. They represent our distaste for autocracy and leadership machismo. We stand with them in their affliction and pain, in their sorrow and anguish. We condemn the deprivation of Africans to decency and dignity, respect and peace. We stand with our brothers against totalitarianism and draconian laws instigated to perpetuate illegality.

Need blood be shed before African fiends recognise that the game is up? The game was up long time ago but their petulance to logical confrontation was always met with vehement resistance. History is replete with mindless leaders that refuse to recognise when the game was up; perhaps a reminder is needed to jerk to reality the price of insensitivity to the call of change. Samuel Doe thought he was invincible; his witch doctors told him he was insurmountable and indestructible, now he knows better. Hitler, a senile manic who wanted to rule the world on unfounded concepts of a superior race a doctrine that resonates only with asinine and fatuous imbeciles like him; Hitler exited through the easy route by committing suicide rather than brave the consequences of his folly; Mussolini, conspirator to a schizophrenia called Hitler, tried escaping by disguising himself; he was hung upside down like a pig prepared for shearing in the glare of the public; Poll Pot a demented leader whose leadership should have been to pigs and chickens; ran away to escape capture after so much devastation and starvation; this man was responsible for the unbridled massacre of millions of Cambodians through systematic torture and man-made famine.




Mobutu Sese-seko, a typical African leader who betrayed his compatriot and sold Congo to foreign collaborators. Congo is yet to recover from the treachery of Mobutu. It was once estimated that Mobutu was once richer than his country; he died in exile of prostrate cancer some years after he was ousted from power by a bloody coup. Idi-Amin Dada of Uganda, Banda of Malawi, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe; Jomo Kenyetta of Kenya the list goes on and on.

African renaissance is growing in the continent; a fresh awaking is emerging in the hearts and minds of Africans. They vehemently oppose the old order of subservience and servitude, of purloining and plundering, of fawning and kowtowing for piece- meal and stipends, from what is rightly theirs. Africans demand justice and equity, egalitarianism and inclusion in the way their continent functions. The debauchery and betrayal of African leaders can no longer be tolerated. A new and fresh voice re-echoes upon the hills and valleys of the African continent demanding a change of guard from the old and lugubrious lot to new and dynamic leadership; leaders that will make Africans proud and dignified; Leaders that will change the African nomenclature of a dark continent to a progressive and illuminated continent; leaders of courage and character; purpose and vision, direction and dream; leaders that can instil passion and drive; vigour and fervour; hope and faith.

Africa yearns for change, change that will crystallize and conceptualise new action possibilities. We yearn for technocrats not bureaucrat, we yearn for dynamism not archaic philosophies. Africans want to arise from the putrid stench of corruption and cronyism to meritocracy and efficiency. The world cast aspersions on Africans and treats them with condescension because of the sorry state of Africa. Africans stand in solidarity with Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and every African nation shouting for and demanding for change. Let the nations of Africa stand against oppressive and draconian rulers who assume the nation belongs to them and the citizens are their personal subjects. We are appalled by the backwardness of Africa, not because we have not the resources to change Africa into a continent of wonderment and beauty but the perpetual plundering and pilfering has left the continent in ruination.

Africa stands at the threshold of history, time and events presents auspicious moments for us to begin the process of change, lasting change, change that will leave posterity with the vigour to revolutionise the process and make it more sturdy and lasting. Africa must stamp out life time dictators whose sole purpose of governance is to subjugate the people and terrorise them into submitting to tyranny and dictatorship. The African conundrum tethers towards a new horizon. May this flame of hope and renaissance continue to burn? May the victory of Tunisia be replicated in Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt, Niger, Togo, Libya, Congo, etc?

It is the dawn of a new day for Africans; let us consolidate on the wind of hope blowing across region and latch on to the successes already playing out in Northern Africa. The determination and passion with which our brothers and sisters have embraced and demanded for change must be emulated by the rest of us if we are to experience tangible and lasting change. The will of the people must prevail. Africans must take their destiny in their own hands and deliver themselves from mindless rent seekers.


Africa has hinged on the fringes all these many years; it is time to begin to make meaningful impact on the global stage. We must not loose our relevance on the global plane. If Africa must be taken seriously this is the time to proclaim freedom from dictators and tyrants and begin entrenching democracy and good governance.

The past may be past, the present we grapple with but the future we can attempt to change. The future awaits us to bring hope to the many millions of Africans deprived of the necessities of life. The future of our children depends on what we do now in order to create a continent that our children will be proud of. Africa must arise from the doldrums and forge new aspirations that every African can be proud of. Our children will ask us where we were and what we did when a few stood for change.
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men to win them. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Shalom.

Paul Thomas.

Make the fiftieth year a special year, and announce freedom for all the people living in your country. This time will be called Jubilee. You will each go back to your own property, each to your own family and family group. The fiftieth year will be a special time for you to celebrate. Don't plant seeds, or harvest the crops that grow by themselves, or gather grapes from the vines that are not trimmed. That year is Jubilee; it will be a holy time for you. You may eat only the crops that come from the field. In the year of Jubilee you each must go back to your own property. Leviticus: 25:10-13. (New Century Version)

Some days from now the Nigerian state will roll out the drums in celebration of her golden jubilee. She will felicitate fifty years of nationhood and freedom from the shackles of colonialism and the fetters of British imperial rule. She will make high sounding pitches about the journey to nationhood and the many contraptions and travails that she had endured to arrive at this auspicious moment in her history. Speech writers will eulogise the state of the nation and how by the next five or eight years the Nigerian nation will be the perfect description of utopia. The speech reader will talk about how dogged the present administration is in combating the many headed monsters that pervade our precinct. Stratospheric budget will be made for a day’s celebration and justification will be given for the ostentatious and sybaritic inanities to commemorate fifty years of the Nigerian nation. The national vault will be violently ransacked and maliciously looted under the guise of fifty years of independence. The Nigerian audience will applaud; some will jeer, some will sneer and others will shrug and at the end of it all; we all sigh as folly gives way to reality, just as the night vacates the stage for the morning.

The Nigerian state is prepared for a parade of charade. For fifty years we have lived a lie. The various players that have graced the political space since independence have been more interested in their own economic and political survival than the existence of the state. For how else can one explain the cataclysmic state of the nation half a century after liberation?

Fifty years on and Nigerians are still groping in the dark. The citizenry are confused and lugubrious. We have no clear cut vision that we strive towards nor are we purposefully following in any particular direction that will bring us into some sort of relevance as a people and as a nation. Everyday we wake up hoping that it will be different from yesterday; but alas we descend further into the pit of shame and reproach.

Half a century after independence our youths are feeding from garbage heaps strewn across the country, the economy is in a fiasco and our schools are worse than bakeries.
The hospitals are no better than mortuaries and our roads are nothing but death traps.
While other nations talk about renewable and sustainable energy; we are yet to grapple with the fundamentals of electricity supply using the old technology of turbine engines and transformers. How can a nation ever survive without effective power supply to drive the necessary equipment that facilitates growth and sustenance? It is ludicrous to think that we will, rather than sit and bemoan our situation roll out the drums to celebrate the enormous failure of a nation that has refused to evolve into a formidable and respectable entity. All international indices and indexes portray Nigeria as a nation in absolute disarray. All of the factors that make for development are lacking and yet we celebrate.

It is a truism that the normal process of life is to progress as you advance. With age comes maturity, development, circumspection and focus, alas the reverse is the case with the Nigerian state. The nation began a journey into obfuscation and confusion right after independence. Most of the structures still in existence today were the ones built either by the British or immediately after independence. Our landscapes are replete with derelict and dilapidated infrastructure. Little wonder most of the buildings collapse at the slightest disturbance killing innocent souls. While visionary nations are improving their infrastructure to cope with modernisation and development, we patch old disintegrating structures until they destroy innocent lives.

Fifty years on and we have no potable water, sewage system is non-existing, no proper garbage disposing systems to cater for the tons of waste generated by such enormous population. People die everyday from diseases and sicknesses emanating from improper disposal of waste. No methodology put in place to harness the enormous gain that can be realised from reusable and recyclable materials. Valuable resources are wasted at the detriment of the population. The presidential fleet has more airplanes than most airlines and yet most Nigerians cannot afford bus fares from one point to another. What is there to celebrate? Fifty years of wasted opportunities and privileges. The clowns we call leaders are not fit to lead; they should be sent to the circus as caricatures. The folly of the Nigerian leader is unbelievable. They assume the status of a god that must be worshipped. They steal from the people and still oppress them. Governance in Nigeria is nothing more than the extension of the incumbent’s family where his wife and children are equally served by the state. The concept of leadership by Nigerian leaders is warped and skewed. No Nigerian leader has shown any real ingenuity to move this nation forward; all have sought to better their lot at the peril of everyone else.

Fifty years on and we have no credible population census of how many people reside within the Nigerian state. Everyday people walk into the country without anyone knowing who they are or where they are from. How can a nation prosper when it cannot categorically determine how many they are? How do you provide infrastructure to places where they are needed when we have no data of many we are? Nigeria has failed woefully to harness the tremendous advancement of 21st century technology. The old method and cumbersome process still applies to most of our procedures.

Nigeria at fifty and most of her sons and daughters are seeking asylum in every nation of the world. They are trashed and abused, molested and harassed. While we celebrate fifty years of existence many Nigerians are languishing in prisons across the world for the smallest offence. Nigerians are seeking succour from less endowed states than theirs. What an irony. Do we need to celebrate or deliberate? Do we need to felicitate or mourn the enthronement of mediocrity? Do we rejoice or ask God to forgive us for our ostentatious and unbridled greed? Do we applaud or cover ourselves in ashes for failing posterity? What is there to celebrate? No matter how well we pontificate the realities are overwhelming. God is not pleased with Nigeria and the earlier we know that the sooner we stop playing religion and address the situation.

At fifty we must enter into our closet and ask God to forgive our inanities and frivolities. Let us use the age of fifty to ponder our faults and make amends. A man at the age of fifty is more reflective about his past and introspective about his future. What will posterity bequeath from this generation? The Nigerian youth is more concerned with making quick wealth regardless of how it is accomplished. Many children that should be in school are on the road planning their next havoc that will bring in quick returns. Ninety percent of Nigerian millionaires are direct beneficiary of Government largess. A state that does not encourage productivity and creativity will breed rent seekers. The amount of money generated by the Nigerian system and the conditions of the Nigerian state staggers belief. It is unpardonable to see a few live so large while the majority are in squalor, hunger, deprivation and stagnation.

John Campbell’s (former ambassador to Nigeria) recent article about the Nigerian state and the coming election was a well articulated and eloquent write-up that clearly shows the sorry state of our political process. Not even Mr. Adefuye’s half hearted response (the current ambassador to the U.S.A) could counter the appositeness of Mr. Campbell’s concern. The tragedy of the Nigerian state is the enthronement of deceit and delusions that we regale in every time the truth is told about the catastrophic realities that exist in the Nigerian state.

Fifty years and we are still emasculated, not by colonial trenchant but by mindless and depraved leaders. 2011 approaches and the invidious plans of some, is to maintain status-quo and if status-quo cannot be maintained then an outright destruction of existing structures must be undertaken. Let us who are sane shed a tear and perhaps a prayer for this nation as we remember her many heartaches from ungrateful children fraught with nothing but avarice, subterfuge, delusions and rapacity.

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Isaiah:1:11-15 (KJV)

Shalom.

Paul.

The recent hasty decision by Mr. Jonathan to ban Nigeria from all international football competition due largely to the lugubrious performance of the Super Canneries in the ongoing world cup competition in South Africa; has once again brought Nigeria into the front burner of International scrutiny. Nigeria’s already battered image took another bashing this previous week cum early part of this week from FIFA, the football governing body when it issued out a warning cum ultimatum to Nigeria to lift the ban placed on football teams from competing in all international football competition or face the risk of being expelled as a member country of the football governing body.

FIFA’s threat to expel Nigeria was not only a direct impudence to Nigeria but also a pointer to leadership failure. If there is any lesson to be learnt from this entire episode it is that Nigeria is still in dire need of qualitative leadership. Mr. Jonathan’s faltering and hasty decision and ludicrous rescinding of his earlier decision shows clearly that Nigeria is a country in jeopardy.

Leadership carries certain characteristics and qualities and the ability of a leader to adhere to these qualities and characteristics will be the ultimate decider in determining the effectiveness of a leader. Mr Jonathan’s hurried decision to ban Nigeria from international competitions without adequate and well thought out implication of such decision sends very wrong signal to the international community that Nigeria cannot be taken too seriously.

Leadership is about making decisive choices based on carefully thought out and thoroughly pondered processes; so that once a decision is made there is little or no room for that decision to be subjected to mockery. Mr Jonathan’s decision was clearly based on his emotional instability at the time of making his decision. Although the presidential task force presented him with a report, which perhaps was the basis of his earlier decision; but that should not have been enough to hastily decide to ban Nigeria from international outings especially when he now had to swallow his pride and rescind his earlier decision when faced with the possibility of expulsion from FIFA. The presidential task force presented a report upon which Mr. Jonathan hinged his decision; the same task force should have been mandated to include in its report the implications of taking such decisions both locally and internationally. Nigeria would have avoided this whole embarrassment if proper leadership procedures have been thoroughly adhered to.

Leadership effectiveness in Nigeria plunges by the day. The somnolence state of Nigeria makes you wonder if there is anyone at the helms of affairs. Leadership in Nigeria is nothing but a charade. How can we claim to have leaders when Nigeria has become anarchical and jejune? So called leaders in the harrowing chambers of dishonourable men and women; maim, disgrace and shamefacedly engage themselves in the full glare of the public, all because of stolen booties. These men and women ought to hide their faces in shame for descending so low to worship the god of mammon. These people should never be referred to as leaders but as ‘area boys and area fathers’.

Mr. Jonathan’s leadership has not made any concrete move towards ameliorating the deplorable state of the citizenry since he became president. No decisive actions have been taken to move Nigeria towards true and genuine prosperity. The Nigerian state has not made any appreciable progress towards changing the despicable and derelict state of the nation. The nation is gradually grinding to a halt and the so called leaders are not perturbed. Unemployment is on the rise, despair and despondency is perhaps the best way to describe the state of the people. Everyone is learning to survive by any means possible. Kidnappers are on the prowl stalking their undiscerning victims; robbers have become more brazen than ever before in unleashing terror in the land.

Effective leadership is about taking charge and correcting the anomaly that exist. How long a leader is in charge is of no relevance, effective leaders take action as soon as they mount the stage. They immediately send out strong signals that they are in charge. Effective leaders are enthusiastic about establishing a connection with the people that they lead so as to garner their support for effective change process.

Napoleon Bonaparte said “leaders are dealers in hope” Mr. Jonathan is yet to dispense hope to his people. The people are frayed and strained from perpetual leadership neglect and apathy. Nigeria has no specific direction in which she is travelling. The people are petrified because the future looks bleak and uncertain. The hopelessness that pervades the land is palpable and scary. There is massive leadership failure all across the nation. Mr. Jonathan is yet to grapple with the enormous cataclysm that has ravaged this nation.

Intellectual and leadership atrophy are some of the many plagues that have blighted the prospect of this nation from moving or making any relevant impact in the world. Fifty years on and Nigeria is yet to make any tangible contribution or significance in the global arena. Perpetual plundering and mismanagement of resources has trailed every single person that has ruled Nigeria since she emerged as a nation. Nigeria has suffered immeasurably from leadership incompetence these many years and that is why Nigeria has become the butt of international pastime.

Mr. Jonathan must realise that leadership plays a very formidable role in the success or failure of any enterprise. The spontaneous approach to matters of grave concern as was witnessed recently calls to question his preparedness and sagacity to take Nigeria to the next level of meaningful development. All his predecessors treaded in the same path of ignoble disparage in the eyes of the world. Fifty years on and the nation is in complete disarray as to how government should run its affairs. Nigerian leaders past and present should cover their faces in shame for sucking this nation dry. The prime of this nation should have been used to garner her resources efficiently and these resources should have been effectively expended . Nigeria at fifty and no meaningful infrastructure can be pointed to as proof of being a wealthy nation. The fiftieth independence ceremony is around the corner and the nation is still in the woods; how pathetic.

Effective leadership requires skill, professionalism and versatility; the very same ingredients missing in the administration of modern Nigeria. The nebulous and incongruous method of leadership style accounts for the massive underdevelopment that has plagued the Nigerian nation right from independence. Leaders worth their salt map out strategies and plans they intend to implement in order to arrive at a desired end; they set goals and follow them, they make promises and keep them, they empower followers and not impoverish them; they dream of a better tomorrow and instil hope in their people. Effective leaders are good communicators; they coherently and clearly convey what they mean without ambiguity. Effective leaders are selfless and tireless; they are visionaries and initiators of change. They anticipate the future and orchestrate actions that will make them and their enterprise meaningful and ready to face whatever challenges the future brings.

The Nigerian concept of leadership is anaemic and fetid. A typical Nigerian leader knows nothing about providing qualitative leadership. All that fascinates him/her is the ability to accumulate and filch with reckless abandon. Profligacy has become the order of the day; from the local council to the presidency everyone is playing politics with peoples’ lives. A country is only as successful as those at the helm of affairs make it to be.

Mr. Jonathan must realise that he represents a 150 million people and every decision he makes directly or indirectly affects all of us. Spontaneity has its place in leadership but with matters of international relevance deeper analysis and thoughts must be given prominence. Let us hope that future decisions will no longer expose our inadequacies and disconnection with reality.

Shalom.

Like the Phoenix out of the ash
Arises a colossal
Fearless, undaunted, intrepid.
The heart of the gallant,
Rejoices at the drums of war,
For by war comes the largess

The bold, journey through, anticipating
The realities of battles.
Whilst the weak trudges along,
Hoping for a lucky break.
In a fierce and competitive world,
The weak slides into oblivion.

Leaving no landmark behind.
His path never to be remembered.
His dreams a vapour that vanishes.
Existence stifles as men watch.
Life is a battlefield
The theatre of survival.

To which only warriors must sojourn.
Guard you arsenal like a soldier,
Prepare thy strength for war.
For the heights,
That thou must accomplish,
Never come to those who wish.

Culled from the fountain of inspiration.

At certain stages of life, contrary winds blow our way;
Winds of irresistible force propelling unto unfamiliar territories.
We fear for our lives.
We panic for tomorrow.
We crave for the morning and wish the night away.
The more we hope that succour will come the more intense the wind blows.
Hope then begins to fail, strength evaporates,
Confidence ebbs and faith gradually fizzles.
The thought of tomorrow stirs fear in our hearts.
Triumphant it seems yesterday; today melancholy it has become.

They call it the kaleidoscope of life.
Chanted songs of victory replaced by the vagaries of hopelessness.
The sceptre of victory conspicuously displayed when we triumphed in battle.
Life seems so alone.
Darkness seems perennial.
Laughter withers for joy has taken flight.
Gladness punctured by bitterness.
The heart is heavy from the darkness of uncertainty.
Bring me a maestro of songs that my spirit may cling once again,
To the dazzling stars of starry nights.

The heart sinks from the weight of helpless pursuit.
Cacophony of voices pointing the way,
Desperately longing for patronage in the vast ocean of endless beckoning
The orchestra ceases then silence descends.
The rendezvous once a delight now a worrisome burden.
The dew will soon be due and it will be morning.
The refreshing of day staggers darkness into the background.
The fierceness of the night suddenly tamed by the steady gaze of the rising Sun. Across the horizon, behind the hills lies the dawning of hope as day breaks.
The gentle breeze of a virgin morning smothers the hurt.

Life sluggishly obeys the course of creation.
All creatures bow to the dominion of creative ingenuity.
By the strength of day all begin the process of survival.
The jaded night hid in the lurking corridors of broken spirits;
Waiting to be rejuvenated at the dusk of day.
As we travel slowly through the shadowy path of endless dreams,
Today the hay; tomorrow the dust.
Strength belongs not to man.
He is but a passing phase in the whole calculus of divine computation.
Yet boastfully he prepares for tomorrow unperturbed by the complexities of realism.

Perplexed by the supremacy of infinite wisdom in whose grasp life subsist.
All but shadows we desiderate.
We persist to touch the endless stream of the mundane.
At the sight of ambience and serenity life rekindles,
Hope surges and life takes a flight.
Life flutters like the wings of a great eagle,
Hasting away from the border of time.
Dare to live, if you can
Live it, love it, use it and leave it.
For however long, it is nothing but a passing shadow.

The theatrics unfolding in Imo state is to say the least a contraption for political hara-kiri. The leadership of that state has embarked on the path of political isolation that will either end up sinking the administration or worse still turning the Imo leadership into political lepers. the appalling decision by the governor of Imo state and his cohorts to provide a whopping ten thousand jobs for the unemployed millions of the state through a razzmatazz is deplorable and outright melancholic not just for the people of the state but for every rational thinking human being. The thought of merchandising the peoples’ entitlement and making gain out of their pain is fiendish and devilish.

The proposal by the Imo state administration to provide employment for the indigenes through a prepaid method of 2000 naira bank deposit says a lot about how derelict and decrepit the leadership quality in Nigeria has plummeted. I shudder at the thoughtlessness of the entire charade concocted by this bungled administration. One of the fundamental and primordial right of any indigene or citizen of a state or country is the right to employment amongst many other things. To therefore infer in any way that indigenes should pay for what is rightful theirs, before they can have access to jobs; especially public sector jobs, is taking folly too far.

The idea of generating revenue from the helplessness and misery of others staggers belief. Asking hapless youths, who are already traumatised from the many years of deprivation to pay money before they can be involved in a recruitment process without any assurance of either getting to the interview stage or qualifying for selection is indeed a worrisome trend for the future of Nigerian youths. Everyday Nigerian leaders further widen the lacuna between the people and leadership through monstrous policies and ill planned projects.

The depraved idea of having people pay for application submission in a state that should naturally be concerned with the welfare of her indigenes leaves a sour taste in our mouths. Employing consultants to handle the recruitment of indigenes into the public sector; in a state where you have countless of qualified public servants who can with proper guidance run a recruitment and selection process intelligibly; makes one wonder; if there is not more to this whole process than meets the eye. It baffles me that any reputable consulting firm will tag along with such preposterous proposition without thinking of the down side.

I suppose the absurdity of this whole drama would not have been this laughable if the 2000 naira application fee would act as a guarantee for job placement or better still exempt successful applicants from paying taxes when they eventually secure the job. Asking unemployed and buffeted youths to pay money for application submission is regrettable, condemnable and licentious. This whole saga cannot but raise some pertinent questions in the mind of keen observers. Where is the 10,000 jobs been promised going to come from? What new industries or factories are being built in Imo state that will require such large number of people at one time to fill up vacancies? Where will the state be getting salary from to pay the workers to be employed into the public sectors? What will the monies generated from the application submission be used for? What will be the consolation of those who end up not getting the job after paying the 2000 naira?

This whole episode seems to be shrouded in some sort of inexplicable fraud. The coinage of high sounding phrases like job centres as a façade for something more sinister is lugubrious. The governor and his consultants are aware that in Nigeria anything goes. It is a country where you can bait desperate people to part with their resources under the guise of wanting to help them without being held accountable or questioned for fraud; especially when you are highly placed. The misnomer in this whole process and indeed the Nigerian phenomenon is the utter helplessness of the ordinary people against the fat cats. They force themselves on us through rigged elections, compel us to pay obeisance to them when we encounter them on the road and also steal from us and expect us to say thank you, ‘your Excellency’.

Mr. Ohakim owes the youths of Imo state an apology for attempting to make gain from their misery and desperation. He must be told that his primary assignment in that state is to ensure that he delivers the benefits of democracy to the indigenes; especially the provision of jobs without ulterior motives. The pride of his administration should be the proper equipping of the teeming youths with proper skills and know-how so as to economically position his state in the light of global realities.

Mr. Ohakim must realise that it is the duty of the state to provide finance for the army of unemployed youths of his state so as to create entrepreneurs out of them rather than further impoverish them by taking from them. The enormous potentials locked up inside this youths will be lost forever if he persist in following this ignoble path of job creation for the state; because most youths will relocate to other job friendly state of the federation; where it is not mandatory for them to pay before they get employment. The perpetual buffeting of the Nigerian youth is lamentable. After many years of educational harassment and bullying; he eventually leaves school only to enter into another round of hopelessness through endless job search and unfavourable environmental conditions. The outcome of all of these shenanigans is frustration and desperation. Nigerian youths see the state as the enemy that must be conquered and they go about conquering it with very grave consequences. The incessant kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution, advance fee fraud, etc. are some of the contraptions that the Nigerian youths have adopted in fighting against injustice and emasculation.

The strength of the Nigerian nation lies in her youths. It is therefore the responsibility of leadership to transform the innate and intangible capacities of the youths into meaningful and palpable realities. World over the dynamism of youths are employed to help bolster the various aspects of national life. When our youths are empowered through availability of jobs, skills acquisition, educational development, research and developments, etc. the nation becomes better equipped and empowered to face the challenges of nation building.

The Ohakim administration must as a matter of urgency if truly there are 10,000 jobs available in his state allow those jobs to be made available to his indigenes with alacrity without any chicanery or subterfuge. He will only be furthering his political relevance if he retraces his steps now and make amends; otherwise the same youths that he wants to make gain from now will be waiting to recover every kobo back come 2011.

Shalom.

The perpetual decline in the quality of life and the incorrigible sufferings are some of the tell-tale signs of a society in decline. The estate called Nigeria engaged her reverse gear soon after independence and as a result we have witnessed colossal under-development and gradual decimation of the human capital. The prayer of any parent is to witness the progressive and successive movement of their ward, but Nigeria rather than advance has chosen to regress.

The progress made in the early years of independence due to the forthrightness and foresights of the founding fathers have all now been trashed by a nation of reckless and visionless leaders. Right after the 1966, mishap Nigeria began the most atrocious and ludicrous downward spiral ever witnessed in the emergence of any state. The dichotomy, ethnicity and bigotry that surfaced in those years are perhaps why the nation is where it is today. Nigeria became a nation of no man’s land; with a desire by the various factions to the reins of power at the detriment and utter disregard for the other components of the entity.

Nigeria has become a pariah state, the mockery among the Comity of Nations. The nation is haemorrhaging profusely because of substandard and cantankerous leadership the followers are timid and docile. Nigeria a once highly esteemed nation now wallows in abject image problem. Small nations like Ghana are fast becoming civilised and organised while our own so called giant of Africa is systematically becoming a failed, disorganised and helpless state. Other nations stigmatise Nigerians wherever they appear; as though their presence leads to an outbreak of a plague. A battered nation with battered psyche needs more than someone’s pet project of re-branding to rectify the serious anomaly that plagues the space called Nigeria.

The last eleven years of democratic misadventure has seen Nigeria plummet faster than in any other era. The global view of Nigeria today is at all time low. In saner climes democracy portends advancement, progress, innovation and creativity, in our own beloved Nigeria advancement is non-existent, our creativity is in thievery and political manipulations. Killings are on the rise and no one is ever brought to justice. Life in Nigeria is cheap and meaningless. A nation where professors hold vital positions and their relevance are infinitesimal tells a lot about our level of decadence. Elections are nothing but shams, banks have become places of fraud, where the smart are feeding fat on the misery and ignorance of the majority. This country is degenerating faster than the salve can cure. Every facet of the nation is in chaos. This truly is a nation whose bottom is out and spinning recklessly out of control.

In a democracy our so called higher institutions have become nothing but breeding ground for hoodlums, kidnappers and harlots. What future is there for any nation whose educational sector is in coma. A nation whose youths are on rampage is a nation courting disaster. No nation develops without her young empowered to take the rein of leadership. Our youths are being empowered quite alright but in the wrong things; robbery, kidnapping, political thuggery, harlotry, etc. young entrepreneurs are emerging on a daily basis in other countries where meticulous attention is given to the younger segment of society.

While nations seek ways of improving the lot of their citizens through infrastructural development, qualitative health care, improved educational advancement our leaders are busy plundering our resources. Every Nigerian with enough stolen funds wants to establish a university. No wonder our public schools are in disarray, when serving officials use stolen funds for private institutions the logical thing is for these leaders to run down the public schools so that their private institutions can thrive. This is a nation under siege, under siege by the very people that should protect her. The nation has not had any period of respite since independence; the so called leaders have perpetually battered the nation. The resources that should ameliorate the lot of every citizen have been cornered by a few greedy dogs whose god is their belly, whose shame is in their glory.

A nation in reversal will always think backward, in this era of belt tightening and judicious resource control; the so called leaders are approving gargantuan sums to build new houses for themselves. These guys are completely unperturbed and absolutely disinterested in the sufferings and poverty of the populace. Most of our roads have become death traps. Some motor able roads a few years back have now been destroyed by stagnant rain water and continuous wear and tear. Some of these roads have not been resurfaced since they were laid. Every year large sums are budgeted for road construction and repairs but nothing ever gets done. The contractor and the official both conspire to purloin from the state and nobody dare question them or demand for an explanation why the allocated funds were not expended on the budgeted projects. The following year fresh allocations are made for the same roads and the contracts are given to the same contractors; who in turn will siphon the money as always for private use. This cycle of madness continues without an end in sight. At the end of the day scores of people are needlessly killed because of leadership failure.

When a nation is in reversal her industries and factories becomes the abode of reptiles and spiders. A once vibrant textiles industry in the 70s and up until the late 90s has become a shadow of its old self. The textile industry provided jobs for a bulk of the population while they existed. With the demise of the textile industry thousands were thrown into the unemployment market without any succour from the government. In other societies government provides welfare packages for the unemployed. This process allows the unemployed maintain his/her dignity until he/she is able to get alternative means of income via gainful employment. It is the same story in other industries that have suffered the same fate as the textile industry. Most of these establishments were once foreign exchange earners for the country before our mindless leaders buried them into the abyss.

Nigeria has become a rent seeking state where everybody wants to make a quick buck without any real resourcefulness or ingenuity. The average Nigerian is discouraged from tasking his/her innate potentials to develop and innovate. We have learnt the culture of rent seeking; where we wait for others to work and we seek our share of their sweat. The rent seeking phenomenon discourages productivity and creativity. The Nigerian leaders have helped to promote this madness because access to government means access to easy money and you do not require resourcefulness to plunder. The emergent of “Area Boys” is a direct product of rent seeking mentality copiously displayed by our bigwig politicians. They sit in their cosy offices and sign away the lives of generations yet unborn; every money stolen is a life truncated and a future distorted.

A nation in reversal stunts economic and political dynamism. The typical Nigerian leader detests change in any form. They maintain status-quo as long as it keeps them in control of resources. Since the discovery of oil Nigeria has refused to develop economically. The wealth of a nation is built on creating multi streams of income. Oil can never rank Nigeria as a rich nation especially when that same resource is processed elsewhere and sold back to us. Wealth is created when available resources can be maximised into creating other areas of wealth. Nigeria should have used the revenue from oil to boost other sectors of the economic; that way revenue will come in from different angles and the country can then build up wealth faster and continuously without over dependence on one sector; in this case oil.

With Nigeria building other sectors of the economy corruption is reduced because the assurance that wealth generation can take place from other areas of the economy without the fear of wealth exhaustion; which will in turn provide job security thereby dissuading thievery to a large extent.

The world anxiously waits to see the most populous black nation emerge from the throes of ignominy and despondency into a formidable and responsible state. Nigerian leaders must be responsive to the agitations and needs of the citizenry if the nation is to make any appreciable mark among the League of Nations; without which Armageddon will be inevitable.

Shalom.

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent; but it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Albert Einstein.

God interjected the course of human affairs when on two occasions He allowed Good- luck Jonathan a taste of sweetness without labour, prominence without premonition and victory without battles. In Christian parlance Jonathan’s meteoric rise to apogee would have been appropriately called a miracle. For miracles are defined as God’s divine intervention in the normal course of human pursuit. His ascent as governor from deputy and his current acting position as the president of the country with the largest black population in the world, from an unrecognised vice president could not have been anything but providence choosing to be magnanimous and gracious to a man of tacit mien.

Jonathan must therefore realise that his occupation of the highest office in the land was neither the concoction of human orchestration nor the expertise of political pundits but the machination and involvement from a higher dimensional realm. Jonathan therefore not only owes the Nigerian populace good governance built on the fundaments of democratic concepts; but he also must not fail God for entrusting him with such gargantuan privilege.

Having established the reality of Jonathan’s ascension to prominence via the foregoing; I think it is only reasonable for us to make attempt to also establish certain facts that the majority of Nigerians anticipate to evolve before Jonathan’s term expires and the notion of a re-election begins to echo. Jonathan, will have no moral or political justification whatsoever to venture beyond 2011, if the current state of national anomaly persist. Jonathan’s political relevance will only become meaningful if he truly understands what his part is in the shaping and moulding process of Nigeria before the next elections.

Some Nigerians have seen the emergence of the president from obscurity as a means of God giving Nigeria one more chance at making tangible contributions towards nation building. It therefore behoves Mr President to arise and take charge of the near comatose state of the country by providing formidable and visionary leadership through a process of galvanisation and convergence of the divergent components within the polity. The present administration has more than a year to put together reasonable and progressive policies and plans that will kick-start the somnolent state of the entire Nigerian state. It is a well known fact that the country currently wallows in unbearable misery and agony. Her human and social capital development is non-existent. If our development in human and social capital continues to dwindle at the current rate; within the next five years the Nigerian state will be completely dependent on the outsourcing of personnel from neighbouring Ghana. No nation develops beyond the capacity of her people.

Skills acquisition and educational development must be the prerogative of this administration if Nigeria is to see a shift in her developmental process. Mr Jonathan must endeavour to focus his attention on providing qualitative and affordable educational facilities for the numerous Nigerians who are eager and desperate to learn. The current state of our schools is an indictment on past and current leaders. Most of the public and private schools are not fit for poultry or pig sty; yet millions of Nigerians are forced to learn in such bestial conditions. No wonder the failure rate in exams are abysmal. The students can only function within the resources provided for them; the mass failure of the students is therefore a direct reflection of failed leadership. Education must remain paramount if Nigeria is to make any meaningful advancement in all ramifications.

Nigerians also expect to see drastic improvement in the power sector; one of the gravest signs of under development and devastation is the non-availability of electricity to power industries, factories, offices and homes. This is the surest process to anarchy and destruction. We live in a modern world where 98% of human activity is centred on the use of electricity. There is virtually no economy in the whole world that can survive without the steady and continuous supply of electricity. All of human activities are directly or indirectly linked to electrical supply. Mr Jonathan must ensure that the power sector is closely monitored and functional. The current dysfunctional state of the economy is a direct result of the current appalling state of the power sector.

The incessant embezzlement of funds intended for the power sector by both current and past leaders is the reason electricity supply in Nigeria is dead. No meaningful progress can be made until the hegemony responsible for the collapse of the power sector is taken out of the way. The abysmal excuses by thieving contractors in collusion with criminals in government should no longer be tenable. Obasanjo’s purported claim of spending more than eight billion dollars on the power sector during the emperor’s rule and no negligible difference was made to the power sector is the more reason the entire Obasanjo government should be at Hague facing criminal charges for crimes against humanity.

The consequence of failed power projects has seen many companies relocating to other less wealthy clime but with serious minded leadership. The effects of this movement by companies are too numerous to over look the relevance of electricity supply to the continued existence of a state. The sardonic state of the power sector will gradually grind Nigeria to a halt if this insanity of leadership continues. If Mr. President is to be relevant beyond 2011, he must as a matter of urgency revamp the power sector. If after one year electricity supply still remains in the realm of uncertainty; then justification beyond 2011 will not be a reasonable request.

All the promises made to the international audience during the president’s visit to America must be backed up with action. The international audience will continue to hound Nigeria with the promises made about power supply, electoral reforms, corruption, etc.

The last point regarding this piece but by no means the last of the many woes befallen Nigeria; is that of corruption. No nation can ever attain relevance if corruption is as endemic as it is in Nigeria. The Nigerian leader is a thief through and through. The knack for corruption among Nigerian leaders has attained the realm of madness. Every single facet of the Nigerian sector is corrupt. The entire nation reeks of corruption. I do not know if Mr. Jonathan can effectively fight corruption without being a hypocrite, because he is part and parcel of the Nigerian leadership. I am certain his wealth cannot be accounted for without hiccups. It therefore might be a bit too ambitious for Nigerians to take Jonathan very seriously in curbing corruption. It is on record that his wife was caught twice by Ribadu’s EFCC, siphoning money out of the country. Or how else can the presidency explain Ibori’s Houdini disappearing act after all the hullaballoo of emptying the barracks of soldiers in order to apprehend him.

Jonathan’s cabinet is full of people of questionable character, men and women whose consciences have been sold to the god of mammon. In Nigeria your call to high office is not a call to serve in honour but to steal with dignity, legally and constitutionally. The victimisation and selective antagonising of perceived enemies by EFCC and ICPC is ludicrous to say the least. The Fight against corruption must be holistic and objective. Mr Jonathan must endeavour to create a system where the culture of impunity and recklessness of power is checked. The Nigerian treasury is bleeding profusely because the people that gained access to leadership entered by chicanery and for cupidity.

Leadership requires courage, for Nigeria therefore to move from the state of noctambulism to a progressive and productive state Mr. Jonathan will require double courage. Leadership pusillanimity has no place in Nigeria’s treacherous political terrain; because of the ubiquity of political scavengers that parade our entity. His relevance beyond 2011 will require him to make delivery of some of the promises he boldly declared to the world. In the absence of Mr. Jonathan coming through with his promises Nigerians will have no choice but to leave Mr. Jonathan alone to paddle his canoe in the shark infested waters of political camarillas; to this even God will not be angry.

Shalom.

The penchant to deal with the symptoms of a problem rather than with the root cause is why no lasting solution has been found to any major concern in our crisis battered entity called Nigeria. The recent call by most Nigerians for the immediate removal of the INEC chairman Mr Maurice Iwu before the next general election is our archetypical approach to issues of grave national concern. Iwu is not the problem of Nigerians he is rather the willing pawn of mindless power merchants who will use anything and anybody to accomplish political relevance in a polity of deceit and endless charade.

While there is so much hullaballoo about electoral reforms and credible umpires to oversee these elections; everyone seem to be missing the most important aspect of this discourse and that is, credible elections are conducted by credible people. Reformations are carried out by reformed people and political umpires are only as sagacious as the politicians want them to be. Maurice Iwu can only be as honest as his political boss is. Iwu can only be as transparent as those who appointed him to office want him to be. Iwu is not the problem; he is simply the shadow of the Bourgeoisies in power. Lambasting and chiding Iwu is like stepping on the shadow of a man and going away satisfied that you have dealt with the man by dealing with his shadow. As long as INEC remains at the whims of our mindless politicians; political forthrightness will remain a mirage.

If truth be told, Maurice Iwu or not, ballot boxes will be stuffed, political thuggery will be displayed, and voters’ votes will not count. Obasanjo clearly admits to the massive rigging and open obtrusiveness of INEC in the 2007 elections. Long before the 2007 elections ballot boxes were found in the house of the strong man of Ibadan politics, Adedibu. That whole episode went without one person being held accountable for electoral fraud. The Nigerian public must be more audacious in their demand than just desiring to get rid of Iwu. The whole electoral process that brought the incumbent government into being is fraudulent ( a fact to which Yar Adua attested) and if this government is a government of political chicanery; we can then safely argue that the whole 2007 election was a fraud and as such the products of that fraud are the enemies of the state. If the Nigerian government have openly and confidently admitted that they mounted leadership by fraud what other evidence do we need to persecute these sophists for electoral mismanagement?

We must channel our energies not just to getting rid of Maurice Iwu but to re-enact what is happening right now in Thailand. The madness in our political arena can no longer be solved by merely tackling an aspect of the rot but by a holistic and vehement demand for reformation, justice and equality. Nigerian politicians are of the basest sort and therefore deserve no modicum of regard when it comes to demanding for sanity in our political process. All through history no tyrannical government or ruler leaves office without the opposition and determination of the majority for justice and fairness.

Whether Iwu remains at the helm of INEC or not, 2011 will be no different from 2007, because the same political bandits are still calling the shots. Ballot boxes will still be stuffed, political thuggery will still hold sway, the power of incumbency will still be used to oppress opponents, the resources of the state will still be used for party and political ambition, political violence will still be carried out by political and party hoodlums, etc. Iwu is not the problem the problem is the kind of leaders that occupy our political stage. The problem is the docility of the Nigerian public; the problem is the unbridled desire for rapacity by most Nigerians; the problem is the corrupt nature of both the public and private sectors. The problem is the get rich quick syndrome that has permeated our consciousness and made us sell our souls to the god of mammon; the problem is our tackling of symptomatic signs rather than the primordial problems; the problem is the perpetuity of insanity for too long which has now transformed into political normalcy.

Maurice Iwu remains politically relevant until after 2011; after which he becomes expendable. He already knows the ropes and will be called upon once again to mastermind fraud when the need arises. The incumbent government will keep Iwu beyond his first tenure as a means of ensuring that this government stays on by every means. An extension of Iwu’s position will guarantee that he will remain loyal to the very instrument that has elongated his relevance in the political scene. Credibility of 2011 elections will be another slogan in charade. The clandestine and subterranean political manoeuvrings are already taking place. The rule or break professional politicians who are good for nothing else but political brigandage, are emitting fire and brimstone if they do not reclaim political relevance come 2011.

Iwu, like the problem of electricity, is not the problem. Electricity generation is not our problem, our problems are the lackeys and courtiers who are determined to make gain at the expense of everyone else. Nigeria will never enjoy electricity supply until the hegemony emasculating the power sector is dealt with. The only way to providing electricity for Nigerians is by taking away the clog and sludge hindering the power sector. These clogs are gangsters who are determined to cripple Nigeria by any means possible. They own the generator companies or have tangible stake in them. They profit while Nigerians suffer. They amass wealth while the rest of us grope in darkness. Electricity will be successfully generated and distributed once these mindless merchants exit the stage. If Jonathan is serious with himself about providing and delivering any tangible and credible amenity before 2011 he first has to deal with the gangsters that have held Nigerians to ransom.

2011 elections races with utmost desperation; all the various parties are gearing up for space in Nigeria’s political entity. The onus is on the civil society to ensure that these kleptomaniacs are not given access to our common-wealth. As majority well know, the elections will not be about the votes of the people making a difference; it is going to be about the perfidy of the ruling party against our collective choice. Those intending to appropriate our collective wealth to themselves and their cronies should better have a rethink. 2011 will clearly set the stage between the bourgeoisies and the populists.

Governance in Nigeria will remain tyrannical and despotic until the people demand for a change. We must demand for equity and justice, accountability and probity, honesty and professionalism. Nigeria can no longer be run as someone’s farm or bedroom. The political machinery can no longer be wielded by a minority while the majority are in abominable squalor. Nigerian politicians do not believe in decorum of politics nor do they regard public consensus on issue of national significance. It would be foolhardy therefore to expect these miscreants to vacate their lofty heights simply because the public demands it without a tergiversated vehemence in ensuring our rights and desires prevail. Caveat Actor is our simple admonition to any proposition of insanity against 2011.

Shalom.

What?
My father land
The land of my birth
The place of my origin
What is my pride?
what is my joy?

What?
My father land
Her sons and daughters have become outcasts;
Driven by the cold hands of rapacious monsters
The land of my fathers
The iniquity of my fatherland.

What?
My father land
Darkness pervades the land,
Lives Polluted,
Hope brinks
Freedom shackled.

What?
My father land.
That drains blood and scorches dreams
The land of my birth,
Dangling precariously,
Mindless ruins.

What?
My fatherland.
Yesterday’s heroes; wailing.
Their valour and bravery wasted.
Fraudsters and gangsters hold sway.
Treachery and perfidy the preponderance of society.

Culled from fountain of inspiration.