June 30, 2010
“I keep doing the same thing over and expect different results, I must be insane – Isaac Einstein”. Apologies to the late Afrobeat Legend, the abami eda himself, it was he who in 1987 sang a song with the tile “Look and Laugh” in response idiocies taking place in the early 80s especially the farce that was the handover of power from Obansanjo to Shagari in 1979 and the elections of 1983 which culminated in the military takeover of December 31 1983.
“I keep doing the same thing over and expect different results, I must be insane – Isaac Einstein”. Apologies to the late Afrobeat Legend, the abami eda himself, it was he who in 1987 sang a song with the tile “Look and Laugh” in response idiocies taking place in the early 80s especially the farce that was the handover of power from Obansanjo to Shagari in 1979 and the elections of 1983 which culminated in the military takeover of December 31 1983.
To put things in perspective in 1987, Nigerian Head of state was General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida had spent two years in office after overthrowing Buhari/Idiagbon in August 1985. Petrol was hiked from 20 kobo per litre to 39.5 kobo per litre, the exchange rate was about N4.50 to the US dollar, people could still drink public tap water (there was no “pure” or bottled water) , there was light almost 24hrs, our roads were to the most part motorable and THERE was nothing like 419!
I am not sure how many of us have watched a movie called “Groundhog Day”. In the movie the main actor is sent on assignment to a town called Punxatawney, where on Groundhog Day each year the locals have a tradition of consulting the groundhog to find out if spring is imminent or if they should prepare for 6 more weeks of winter. He despises the job and the town, and can't wait to get it over with. His dislike of Punxatawney, its people and its traditions is set to get a hell of a lot worse though.... as when he awakens the next morning he finds himself reliving the same day. And so it goes - every time Phil gets up, it's still February 2nd and he seems destined to be stuck in the same day for the rest of eternity.
I apologise for the digression but we will see its relevance shortly.
I have just read in the news that the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has banned the Nigerian Football team from all competitions for the next two years while we put our house in order. I am not here to comment on the rightness or wrongness of the action but I can immediately see the following scenario play out. A high level panel of enquiry is set up with mainly same people who had a hand in the poor performance in the first case, money is appropriated and the panel members meet a few times and make a lot of noise in the press. Perhaps they will need to visit some of the players in their clubs in Europe and after a few weeks to months they will come out with a bulky report with all sorts of nonsensical recommendations which no one in Government will read and after a few months everyone would have forgotten about the initial issue – the poor performance of the super eagles (in small letters), A few hundred million (or billion) of Naira would have been spent, a few loyal party men (and women) will become richer and life will go on for everybody as usual.
I pride myself on being a patriotic Nigerian and wish the present administration well but the scenario above is based on experience from the past. What happened to the Siemens bribery probe, Halliburton bribery probe and numerous others which different Nigerian Governments have carried out in the past and are still carrying out. Perhaps nothing epitomizes the situation better than the Nigerian Attorney General , Bello Adokie asking for civil society groups to submit a copy of the Okigbo report on the $12.5 billion oil windfall of the first Iraq wall to the Government. One would have thought that the Nigerian Government, who set up the enquiry in the first case would at least have a copy of the report in its archive. But alas, maybe someone has used the copies as toilet paper! Welcome to the theatre of the absurd called Nigeria. Look and Laugh folks!
Every day one reads in the media about pledges of President Jonathan to conduct credible elections, fix power issues, make Nigeria a dependable destination for foreign investments etc etc. For my part I sincerely wish him success but again based on past experience I take all of them with a pinch of salt. Is it not in this country that various IGs have vowed (looks like that is a very common word with them) to find the killers of Kudirat Abiola, Alfred Rewane, Bola Ige, Harry Marshal, Funsho Williams, Godwin Agbroko, Bayo Owu , Dipo Dina, Abubakar Rimi and a zillion others. Did they solve a single one, was anyone held accountable for the failure (with CAPITAL S). Life goes on guys, as for me for me I look, I laugh!
I had mixed emotions when I heard about the plan by President Goodluck Jonathan to open a Face Book page. On the one hand I thought it was a good move which will show openness and enable him keep in touch especially with the young people but on the other hand knowing our people I suspected that the page may be hijacked by sychophants and hangers on thereby preventing the president from getting the full benefit of keeping in touch, that is if indeed he actually has time to look at the page. Out of curiousity I decided to become his fan so I can see all updates and comments. Having viewed it for over a month I do not know whether to laugh or cry. The man himself (if indeed he is the one personally overseeing the page) was saying the right things but most of the comments leave a lot to be desired. At the risk of being sued for plagiarism, I reproduce some of the typical comments on the page. You may draw your own conclusions
“Yea dats my president,u are correct,God will continue to guild u as u take nigeria to a greater level.U nor get wahala,u bam.Keep d good work”
“Mr President we appreciate ur reform, we're @ ur back CARRY GO!”
“When they have started keeping the voters cards for RIGGING of the election! I will like to work with you cos i BELIEVE IN YOU!!!lol”
“consistency sir on the steps you have taken so far sir is what will further endear Nigerians to ur government....and give us hope of better days to come..keep up the good work sir”
“God be with you sir, and may he give you the strength and wisdom to lead this great nation”
In the true Nigerian fashion Ibrahim Babangida has also opened his own Face Book page. I also visited it and it was more or less the same the only difference was that there were people on opposite sides that had comments – Lovers and haters!
Nigerians live in a Groundhog, politicians of all shapes and sizes come to power with little or no idea how to impact positively on the lives of the people. Those who have genuine intentions are soon put under pressure by Godfathers, sycophants, charlatans, hangers on and all sorts of followers and sooner than not they jettison whatever ideas they have for parochial and pecuniary interests. They still as much as they can, handover to their goons, secure perpetual injunctions preventing their being investigated. Of course, if (when) they fall out with the establishment they may get prosecuted but will scream political persecution, people from them part of the country will defend them with their blood while others look on passively. Of course, those who do not fall out with the Government of the day get rewarded with political appointments, juicy contracts and oil blocs and continue to lord it over us mortals.
Personally I hope that the present administration will be able to fix infrastructure, conduct credible elections and conduct the affairs of state in a way that will leave lasting legacies and structures in place that will impact positively on the lives of all Nigerians. I hope there will come a day soon when there shall be no debates on whether the president comes from the North, South, East or West but debates will be on issues and manifestos of individuals hoping to win elective positions.
In the meantime, I will register to vote and more or less carry out all that is required from me as a citizen of this our beloved country but for now I can only Look and Laugh at the absurdities that have come to make us the laughing stock of the world!
To put things in perspective in 1987, Nigerian Head of state was General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida had spent two years in office after overthrowing Buhari/Idiagbon in August 1985. Petrol was hiked from 20 kobo per litre to 39.5 kobo per litre, the exchange rate was about N4.50 to the US dollar, people could still drink public tap water (there was no “pure” or bottled water) , there was light almost 24hrs, our roads were to the most part motorable and THERE was nothing like 419!
I am not sure how many of us have watched a movie called “Groundhog Day”. In the movie the main actor is sent on assignment to a town called Punxatawney, where on Groundhog Day each year the locals have a tradition of consulting the groundhog to find out if spring is imminent or if they should prepare for 6 more weeks of winter. He despises the job and the town, and can't wait to get it over with. His dislike of Punxatawney, its people and its traditions is set to get a hell of a lot worse though.... as when he awakens the next morning he finds himself reliving the same day. And so it goes - every time Phil gets up, it's still February 2nd and he seems destined to be stuck in the same day for the rest of eternity.
I apologise for the digression but we will see its relevance shortly.
I have just read in the news that the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has banned the Nigerian Football team from all competitions for the next two years while we put our house in order. I am not here to comment on the rightness or wrongness of the action but I can immediately see the following scenario play out. A high level panel of enquiry is set up with mainly same people who had a hand in the poor performance in the first case, money is appropriated and the panel members meet a few times and make a lot of noise in the press. Perhaps they will need to visit some of the players in their clubs in Europe and after a few weeks to months they will come out with a bulky report with all sorts of nonsensical recommendations which no one in Government will read and after a few months everyone would have forgotten about the initial issue – the poor performance of the super eagles (in small letters), A few hundred million (or billion) of Naira would have been spent, a few loyal party men (and women) will become richer and life will go on for everybody as usual.
I pride myself on being a patriotic Nigerian and wish the present administration well but the scenario above is based on experience from the past. What happened to the Siemens bribery probe, Halliburton bribery probe and numerous others which different Nigerian Governments have carried out in the past and are still carrying out. Perhaps nothing epitomizes the situation better than the Nigerian Attorney General , Bello Adokie asking for civil society groups to submit a copy of the Okigbo report on the $12.5 billion oil windfall of the first Iraq wall to the Government. One would have thought that the Nigerian Government, who set up the enquiry in the first case would at least have a copy of the report in its archive. But alas, maybe someone has used the copies as toilet paper! Welcome to the theatre of the absurd called Nigeria. Look and Laugh folks!
Every day one reads in the media about pledges of President Jonathan to conduct credible elections, fix power issues, make Nigeria a dependable destination for foreign investments etc etc. For my part I sincerely wish him success but again based on past experience I take all of them with a pinch of salt. Is it not in this country that various IGs have vowed (looks like that is a very common word with them) to find the killers of Kudirat Abiola, Alfred Rewane, Bola Ige, Harry Marshal, Funsho Williams, Godwin Agbroko, Bayo Owu , Dipo Dina, Abubakar Rimi and a zillion others. Did they solve a single one, was anyone held accountable for the failure (with CAPITAL S). Life goes on guys, as for me for me I look, I laugh!
I had mixed emotions when I heard about the plan by President Goodluck Jonathan to open a Face Book page. On the one hand I thought it was a good move which will show openness and enable him keep in touch especially with the young people but on the other hand knowing our people I suspected that the page may be hijacked by sychophants and hangers on thereby preventing the president from getting the full benefit of keeping in touch, that is if indeed he actually has time to look at the page. Out of curiousity I decided to become his fan so I can see all updates and comments. Having viewed it for over a month I do not know whether to laugh or cry. The man himself (if indeed he is the one personally overseeing the page) was saying the right things but most of the comments leave a lot to be desired. At the risk of being sued for plagiarism, I reproduce some of the typical comments on the page. You may draw your own conclusions
“Yea dats my president,u are correct,God will continue to guild u as u take nigeria to a greater level.U nor get wahala,u bam.Keep d good work”
“Mr President we appreciate ur reform, we're @ ur back CARRY GO!”
“When they have started keeping the voters cards for RIGGING of the election! I will like to work with you cos i BELIEVE IN YOU!!!lol”
“consistency sir on the steps you have taken so far sir is what will further endear Nigerians to ur government....and give us hope of better days to come..keep up the good work sir”
“God be with you sir, and may he give you the strength and wisdom to lead this great nation”
In the true Nigerian fashion Ibrahim Babangida has also opened his own Face Book page. I also visited it and it was more or less the same the only difference was that there were people on opposite sides that had comments – Lovers and haters!
Nigerians live in a Groundhog, politicians of all shapes and sizes come to power with little or no idea how to impact positively on the lives of the people. Those who have genuine intentions are soon put under pressure by Godfathers, sycophants, charlatans, hangers on and all sorts of followers and sooner than not they jettison whatever ideas they have for parochial and pecuniary interests. They still as much as they can, handover to their goons, secure perpetual injunctions preventing their being investigated. Of course, if (when) they fall out with the establishment they may get prosecuted but will scream political persecution, people from them part of the country will defend them with their blood while others look on passively. Of course, those who do not fall out with the Government of the day get rewarded with political appointments, juicy contracts and oil blocs and continue to lord it over us mortals.
Personally I hope that the present administration will be able to fix infrastructure, conduct credible elections and conduct the affairs of state in a way that will leave lasting legacies and structures in place that will impact positively on the lives of all Nigerians. I hope there will come a day soon when there shall be no debates on whether the president comes from the North, South, East or West but debates will be on issues and manifestos of individuals hoping to win elective positions.
In the meantime, I will register to vote and more or less carry out all that is required from me as a citizen of this our beloved country but for now I can only Look and Laugh at the absurdities that have come to make us the laughing stock of the world!
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