May 30, 2010
Sometime ago, I read an article where a certain fellow tried lucidly to convince his readers that Nigeria as a country was built on hope. The article traced the origin of the contraption known as Nigeria and how the British had the best of intentions when fusing different cultures and tribes together-without their consent. Accordingly, it was hoped that that country christened Nigeria would later emerge the beacon of hope for the black race, a country that would be economically fabulous and all that. I disagree. Nigeria was created on deceit and that has been the source of our hydra-headed problems as a nation.
The British colonial empire that handed political power to the Northern part of Nigeria at independence had the most dishonourable intention in doing so. From that point, our nation was designed to fail. Without boring you with all the horse trading that took place then, the machinations of the Her Majesty’s Empire ushered in what has become our major style of governance till date; a government of convenience, one where power is handed to the most trusted fellow by the outgoing fellow without any thought of the welfare of Nigeria. We must redefine Nigeria.
Let us recreate Nigeria. I am in support of establishing a Nigeria where the citizenry will be proud of their nation. Nigerian citizens are among the most disillusioned people with little or no knowledge of their social responsibilities. What started as a gradual decline in citizen-aloofness has turned into a dreaded monster; Nigerians do not care about their nation anymore. Our people act out the frightening saying of “no brother in jungle”. Anybody who thinks I am being naïve or silly should take a trip to Lagos. For me, Lagos is a representation of the larger Nigeria society. A society that that has become so traumatized that nothing shocks it anymore, a human society where it is very common to see two well dressed men slugging it out at a bus stop with a frenzied crowd cheering! We really need to rediscover that human society where human beings co-habit with their mates as human beings and not as potential “mugus” to exploit. The government is not responsible for most of the evils that stalk our country [this is debateable]. Majority of service providers in Nigeria are heartless. Nigerians treat Nigerians as something the dog dragged in. Patent medicine dealers repackage all sorts of poisons and sell to fellow countrymen as genuine drugs just to make profits, garri sellers in the market use all sorts of tricks to short change customers, the coach operators that rips passengers off by knowingly providing a rickety coach that will break down two hours into the journey without making any provision for an alternative means for stranded passengers to continue their journey, [ Ekene dili chukwu Nig, Ltd carries the gold cup in this!], the landlords that collect rent from more than one intending tenants and those that are specialists in increasing rents wickedly, the motor spare parts dealers that sell fakes as genuine ones, the list goes on. That mentality must change; we need to start from the grassroots to enlighten our people. It is so disheartening when you see the way Nigerians treat each other, especially the service providers. MTN stole so much from Nigerians when they argued that per-minute billing system was not possible until Globacom demystified that claim. Nobody in government rose up to challenge the South African company that it was wrong to exploit Nigerians in their country; MTN had given all the members of our National Assembly mobile phones and unlimited call credits-for free. Nigerians do not matter.
This makes the case for recreating Nigeria stronger. I am willing to shout myself hoarse for a Nigeria with a National Assembly that will truly represent us the people. A Nigeria where elected representatives will be totally accountable to the people, against what we have today-a band of looters. Nigerians are daily dying from preventable diseases because all we have are pockets of ill equipped clinics with doctors and nurses always on strike and no drugs [the available drugs are counterfeits produced in Onitsha], road accidents claim precious lives in Nigeria on daily basis because the roads we are forced to ply are all death-traps, our tertiary institutions churn out uneducated graduates because the government does not seem to care about education, Nigerians queue at foreign embassies under treacherous weather conditions and degrading circumstances because they are fed up with living in Nigeria, all these in our precious Nigeria with federal lawmakers holding sway in Abuja. We are saddled with men and women with little or no conscience, parasites and leeches waving dodgy flags of different political parties sit in the “hallowed chambers” of our National Assembly and throw chairs and tables at each other over accusations of who grabbed more loot [your-Ghana-must-go-is bigger-than-mine], while those they claim to represent perish. No, we can not continue this way. We need a National Assembly that would be people-oriented, an assembly of lawmakers that would be seen to be working for the betterment of Nigeria and the overall wellbeing of Nigerians. We need to institutionalize a National Assembly whose members would not fix obscene sums of money as salaries and perks for themselves while voting against wage increase for teachers, we must insist in a legislative arm of government whose members will not shamelessly arrange bogus “leadership training programmes” with some foreign universities just to fleece Nigeria, we must recreate a legislature whose members will not vote millions of naira as “estacodes” for themselves for a stupid trip to Ghana. With utmost urgency, we need to recreate a Nigeria that will not have bigots like Senator Kanti Bello as lawmakers, a man whose arguments and sense of patriotism makes one so nauseous, a National Assembly that will frown at unrepentant impostors like Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello who will rather go into hiding than resign when exposed as a dodgy lawmaker. By all means, we must find that National Assembly that will not vote N7.2billion to build a “befitting residence” for the Vice President of Nigeria when students across the country sit under trees for classes. Sometimes I wonder if Nigeria really belongs to all of us, or to a select few-the Abuja lawmakers!
Let us recreate Nigeria. My dream Nigeria which is attainable is one that will have a government with a solid moral backbone. A government erected on the eternal plinth of truth and service rather than a government built on deceit, avarice, wickedness, and a gluttonous lust for lucre. We must resist a repeat of the wicked comedy that has been our government since the second coming of Olusegun Obasanjo; a government that held so much promises and hope at inception but frittered it away, a government that was symbolized by Mr. Obasanjo’s wickedness and an over-bloated sense of self worth. We must as a matter of principle stand up against people coming out from jail and becoming presidents without there being a proper and comprehensive psychoanalysis! Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is a striking example of what prisons do to people; leaves them vicious and over occupied with vengeance and a gigantic appetite for guzzling government funds! Nigerian prisons turn perhaps decent men into fuming despots! Nigerians must mobilize to make sure that never again in our nation’s history will past heads of states be accused of bribe-taking. I did an article where I narrated how Olusegun Obasanjo furiously denied while on Steve Sakur’s Hardtalk [BBC] that his name was never mentioned in the Halliburton bribery scandal; we now know for sure that surprisingly, a panel headed by the immediate past IG of police Mr. Mike Okiro submitted that the Aremu of Otta, Chief Mathew Olusegun Akikiola Obasanjo received bribe money from Halliburton! Millions of dollars, people! Nigerians must do all that is possible to frustrate introverts and stolen mandate czars like the late Umoru Yar’adua from sneaking into our Aso Rock- a man who demonstrated beyond reasonable doubts that he was overwhelmed by the rigours of presiding over Nigeria. We can start this process by insisting like the British did recently that those who aspire to lead us come out for an open Tv debate. We will no longer fold our hands while a reluctant out-going president foists a bewildered bloke on us as president while employing all our security apparatus [Nuhu Ribadu inclusive] to frustrate the legitimate aspirations of other Nigerians to aspire to be president. We must really recreate Nigeria. We have suffered long enough as a country; I make bold to say that we must establish a Nigeria where no kitchen cabinet supervised by a First Lady will play “Arabian Nights” with our sick president! Tufia!
Our country is sick and needs our help-we the proud citizens. Her body is ravaged by so many ills, she is smelly and avoided by well meaning individuals, her children scattered all over the globe are subjects of so much suspicion. Nigeria needs our help. Of course, the only people who will make haste to cry that all is well with Nigeria are the ones that benefit immensely from her misfortune-we know where to find them. There are quite a few honourable politicians in Nigeria, they are so few that the system either swallows them or make them carpet-crossers! We must start now to form ourselves into groups with the sole aim of rediscovering and recreating our darling Nigeria. Our people must be told the truth-corruption does not help anybody; a society of poor fellows is hell for the few rich. Our people must stop eulogising criminals. We must start asking questions about the source of people’s wealth, especially those that went into government with no visible financial “swagger” only to come out billionaires. Nigeria belongs to all of us and not to a select few; our country must not be run like an oligarchy with the same group at the helm of affairs since 1960! This is the time to upturn this filthy apple cart, this is our moment to stop the recycling of ancient politicians and their children, this is the time to insist that every Nigerian citizen must have the same opportunity with his/her mates irrespective of tribe, religion, social background or pedigree. The task of recreating Nigeria means that we collectively rise up to bin the morally reprehensible ambitions and gambits of men like Ibrahim Babangida and Atiku Abubarkar, Tony Anenih, Andy Uba, and Olusegun Obasanjo. IBB should top the list of those we chuck into the bin of history if we desire a nation to be proud of. Let us imbibe a new spirit, a spirit of naming and shaming those that violate our country by stealing our money and rushing off to foreign lands. Nigerians in Diaspora should start exposing those treasury looters that come to their part of town to stash their loots! Send your pictures and reports to SR and other credible sources. Finally, our way of thinking must change, our world view must change, let the strong carry the weak. Those enlightened Nigerians amongst us should strive to educate those that are afflicted by the blight of ignorance, make them realize that “bad is bad and good is good”, re-awake a new spirit in your fellow citizens, a spirit of solidarity and comradeship, a spirit armed with a burning desire to do away with evil in our land, a spirit capable of dismantling the leeches-coven that is the National Assembly, a spirit of striving to render an honest and efficient service [Ekene dili chukwu and co!]. Recreating Nigeria involves learning how to make people accountable, insisting on getting only quality service rather than resigning to mediocre ones. Let us start from somewhere. Nigeria will be great again.
[email protected]
The British colonial empire that handed political power to the Northern part of Nigeria at independence had the most dishonourable intention in doing so. From that point, our nation was designed to fail. Without boring you with all the horse trading that took place then, the machinations of the Her Majesty’s Empire ushered in what has become our major style of governance till date; a government of convenience, one where power is handed to the most trusted fellow by the outgoing fellow without any thought of the welfare of Nigeria. We must redefine Nigeria.
Let us recreate Nigeria. I am in support of establishing a Nigeria where the citizenry will be proud of their nation. Nigerian citizens are among the most disillusioned people with little or no knowledge of their social responsibilities. What started as a gradual decline in citizen-aloofness has turned into a dreaded monster; Nigerians do not care about their nation anymore. Our people act out the frightening saying of “no brother in jungle”. Anybody who thinks I am being naïve or silly should take a trip to Lagos. For me, Lagos is a representation of the larger Nigeria society. A society that that has become so traumatized that nothing shocks it anymore, a human society where it is very common to see two well dressed men slugging it out at a bus stop with a frenzied crowd cheering! We really need to rediscover that human society where human beings co-habit with their mates as human beings and not as potential “mugus” to exploit. The government is not responsible for most of the evils that stalk our country [this is debateable]. Majority of service providers in Nigeria are heartless. Nigerians treat Nigerians as something the dog dragged in. Patent medicine dealers repackage all sorts of poisons and sell to fellow countrymen as genuine drugs just to make profits, garri sellers in the market use all sorts of tricks to short change customers, the coach operators that rips passengers off by knowingly providing a rickety coach that will break down two hours into the journey without making any provision for an alternative means for stranded passengers to continue their journey, [ Ekene dili chukwu Nig, Ltd carries the gold cup in this!], the landlords that collect rent from more than one intending tenants and those that are specialists in increasing rents wickedly, the motor spare parts dealers that sell fakes as genuine ones, the list goes on. That mentality must change; we need to start from the grassroots to enlighten our people. It is so disheartening when you see the way Nigerians treat each other, especially the service providers. MTN stole so much from Nigerians when they argued that per-minute billing system was not possible until Globacom demystified that claim. Nobody in government rose up to challenge the South African company that it was wrong to exploit Nigerians in their country; MTN had given all the members of our National Assembly mobile phones and unlimited call credits-for free. Nigerians do not matter.
This makes the case for recreating Nigeria stronger. I am willing to shout myself hoarse for a Nigeria with a National Assembly that will truly represent us the people. A Nigeria where elected representatives will be totally accountable to the people, against what we have today-a band of looters. Nigerians are daily dying from preventable diseases because all we have are pockets of ill equipped clinics with doctors and nurses always on strike and no drugs [the available drugs are counterfeits produced in Onitsha], road accidents claim precious lives in Nigeria on daily basis because the roads we are forced to ply are all death-traps, our tertiary institutions churn out uneducated graduates because the government does not seem to care about education, Nigerians queue at foreign embassies under treacherous weather conditions and degrading circumstances because they are fed up with living in Nigeria, all these in our precious Nigeria with federal lawmakers holding sway in Abuja. We are saddled with men and women with little or no conscience, parasites and leeches waving dodgy flags of different political parties sit in the “hallowed chambers” of our National Assembly and throw chairs and tables at each other over accusations of who grabbed more loot [your-Ghana-must-go-is bigger-than-mine], while those they claim to represent perish. No, we can not continue this way. We need a National Assembly that would be people-oriented, an assembly of lawmakers that would be seen to be working for the betterment of Nigeria and the overall wellbeing of Nigerians. We need to institutionalize a National Assembly whose members would not fix obscene sums of money as salaries and perks for themselves while voting against wage increase for teachers, we must insist in a legislative arm of government whose members will not shamelessly arrange bogus “leadership training programmes” with some foreign universities just to fleece Nigeria, we must recreate a legislature whose members will not vote millions of naira as “estacodes” for themselves for a stupid trip to Ghana. With utmost urgency, we need to recreate a Nigeria that will not have bigots like Senator Kanti Bello as lawmakers, a man whose arguments and sense of patriotism makes one so nauseous, a National Assembly that will frown at unrepentant impostors like Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello who will rather go into hiding than resign when exposed as a dodgy lawmaker. By all means, we must find that National Assembly that will not vote N7.2billion to build a “befitting residence” for the Vice President of Nigeria when students across the country sit under trees for classes. Sometimes I wonder if Nigeria really belongs to all of us, or to a select few-the Abuja lawmakers!
Let us recreate Nigeria. My dream Nigeria which is attainable is one that will have a government with a solid moral backbone. A government erected on the eternal plinth of truth and service rather than a government built on deceit, avarice, wickedness, and a gluttonous lust for lucre. We must resist a repeat of the wicked comedy that has been our government since the second coming of Olusegun Obasanjo; a government that held so much promises and hope at inception but frittered it away, a government that was symbolized by Mr. Obasanjo’s wickedness and an over-bloated sense of self worth. We must as a matter of principle stand up against people coming out from jail and becoming presidents without there being a proper and comprehensive psychoanalysis! Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is a striking example of what prisons do to people; leaves them vicious and over occupied with vengeance and a gigantic appetite for guzzling government funds! Nigerian prisons turn perhaps decent men into fuming despots! Nigerians must mobilize to make sure that never again in our nation’s history will past heads of states be accused of bribe-taking. I did an article where I narrated how Olusegun Obasanjo furiously denied while on Steve Sakur’s Hardtalk [BBC] that his name was never mentioned in the Halliburton bribery scandal; we now know for sure that surprisingly, a panel headed by the immediate past IG of police Mr. Mike Okiro submitted that the Aremu of Otta, Chief Mathew Olusegun Akikiola Obasanjo received bribe money from Halliburton! Millions of dollars, people! Nigerians must do all that is possible to frustrate introverts and stolen mandate czars like the late Umoru Yar’adua from sneaking into our Aso Rock- a man who demonstrated beyond reasonable doubts that he was overwhelmed by the rigours of presiding over Nigeria. We can start this process by insisting like the British did recently that those who aspire to lead us come out for an open Tv debate. We will no longer fold our hands while a reluctant out-going president foists a bewildered bloke on us as president while employing all our security apparatus [Nuhu Ribadu inclusive] to frustrate the legitimate aspirations of other Nigerians to aspire to be president. We must really recreate Nigeria. We have suffered long enough as a country; I make bold to say that we must establish a Nigeria where no kitchen cabinet supervised by a First Lady will play “Arabian Nights” with our sick president! Tufia!
Our country is sick and needs our help-we the proud citizens. Her body is ravaged by so many ills, she is smelly and avoided by well meaning individuals, her children scattered all over the globe are subjects of so much suspicion. Nigeria needs our help. Of course, the only people who will make haste to cry that all is well with Nigeria are the ones that benefit immensely from her misfortune-we know where to find them. There are quite a few honourable politicians in Nigeria, they are so few that the system either swallows them or make them carpet-crossers! We must start now to form ourselves into groups with the sole aim of rediscovering and recreating our darling Nigeria. Our people must be told the truth-corruption does not help anybody; a society of poor fellows is hell for the few rich. Our people must stop eulogising criminals. We must start asking questions about the source of people’s wealth, especially those that went into government with no visible financial “swagger” only to come out billionaires. Nigeria belongs to all of us and not to a select few; our country must not be run like an oligarchy with the same group at the helm of affairs since 1960! This is the time to upturn this filthy apple cart, this is our moment to stop the recycling of ancient politicians and their children, this is the time to insist that every Nigerian citizen must have the same opportunity with his/her mates irrespective of tribe, religion, social background or pedigree. The task of recreating Nigeria means that we collectively rise up to bin the morally reprehensible ambitions and gambits of men like Ibrahim Babangida and Atiku Abubarkar, Tony Anenih, Andy Uba, and Olusegun Obasanjo. IBB should top the list of those we chuck into the bin of history if we desire a nation to be proud of. Let us imbibe a new spirit, a spirit of naming and shaming those that violate our country by stealing our money and rushing off to foreign lands. Nigerians in Diaspora should start exposing those treasury looters that come to their part of town to stash their loots! Send your pictures and reports to SR and other credible sources. Finally, our way of thinking must change, our world view must change, let the strong carry the weak. Those enlightened Nigerians amongst us should strive to educate those that are afflicted by the blight of ignorance, make them realize that “bad is bad and good is good”, re-awake a new spirit in your fellow citizens, a spirit of solidarity and comradeship, a spirit armed with a burning desire to do away with evil in our land, a spirit capable of dismantling the leeches-coven that is the National Assembly, a spirit of striving to render an honest and efficient service [Ekene dili chukwu and co!]. Recreating Nigeria involves learning how to make people accountable, insisting on getting only quality service rather than resigning to mediocre ones. Let us start from somewhere. Nigeria will be great again.
[email protected]
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