Dear Goodluck: I was on train to catch an appointment this morning, when as usual I decided to look at my Twitter timeline. It was littered with words like maul, mkouni and Moshood Abiola in no particular order.
Dear Goodluck: I was on train to catch an appointment this morning, when as usual I decided to look at my Twitter timeline. It was littered with words like maul, mkouni and Moshood Abiola in no particular order.
See being a Nigerian, I have lost the capacity to be shocked or disappointed. I thought maybe it was another bogus, money siphoning enterprise you like to call committees. I mean in a country where billions were spent on refineries with a resulting net zero refinery, only for us to be told that we needed to remove subsidies because we do not refine our own oil. A nation were billions were spent on NEPA and we have only a name change to show for it. Where a governor of a state sacked 788 doctors from the state service and employed 373 inexperienced doctors that were apparently not good enough for his father. Where our celebrity magazines are not filled with actual celebrities but politicians.
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So you can imagine my consternation when I heard that of all the problems we face as a country you thought it smart to wound my pride by changing the name of a global brand, my Alma Mata. I was mad as hell, livid and disoriented so was my day.
I honestly did think that with the increase in fuel price, the free reign of boko, your inability to get anything done, the continuation of the unprecedented looting of the national treasure, that you had done your worst. That you were not capable of throwing further punches because we were already on the ground. So I reached an agreement with myself to pray, ignore you and wait for 2015 to vote you out of office. What I didn't anticipate was that you were still capable of causing more pain and anguish. I knew you could hurt my pocket with your policies, but didn't know my pride was on the table. Your reach is indeed encompassing.
I must add here that you have a great and unique talent. Nobody else honours somebody, while leaving a bad taste in the mouth of many others. What are your multitude of advisers doing if none of them can stand up to you and tell you that you are no King Midas, you do not have the midas touch, in fact it seems that anything you touch turns to dirt. At this stage I should advise you since your advisers are not up to the task, please do not give an independence day speech because I am shivering at the new policy you would introduce.
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You told us that you were not a general and did not need to act like one, of course that doesn't include people you think you can ride over. I keep wondering what the country would look like if you picked on issues your own size (Boko Haram and corruption) showing the same resolve and fortitude you have shown in this renaming. Maybe if you changed the name of corruption to stealing or Boko Haram to problem then you would appreciate their magnitude..
At age 3 I learnt that A came before B, 1 before 2 in other words I was taught my priorities maybe I internalised it more because I was a better student or maybe it was because I had shoes.
My colleague Omileye wonders aloud if "it is physically possible for anything to get as shallow as a flat surface? If the president and his aides are on some misplaced revenge mission against its own citizens. Or if there is just nothing for them to do but farm out ridiculous policies (like practical jokes to garner millions of hits, views and comments on you-tube, twitter or facebook), while they take a front row seat and laugh in amusement".
MKO Abiola is a genuine Nigerian hero don't drag him down the mud with you. And if you are so infatuated with name change. I suggest you start by changing the name of Aso rock and everything associated with you, your village and your street but for God sake leave our school alone.
Mr president as a former admirer of your humble self, let me convey this advice to you as a way out of this logjam. Since this a youth matter, create a committee headed by your party's 60 year old "youth" leader, Malam Umar Garba Chiza. Appropriate 5 billion naira to the committee so that they can go round the country taking the pulse on public opinion. Your mouth organ , Reuben Abati would brief the press regularly on the progress being made by this group of eminent Nigerians and hopefully they would arrive at the very "difficult" conclusion that the name should remain the University of Lagos.
Mr president, you have a mountain rock of a house. Please leave our shoe sized pride alone.
Better still you could change the name of the president from Goodluck Jonathan to Muhammadu Buhari.
Sincerely,
Concerned Citizen
http://iphyoo.blogspot.co.uk/
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