Nigerians And Unwarranted Silence — By Moshood Muhammed

By  Moshood Muhammed

I have spent most times in recent time discussing and brainstorming with concerned Nigerians, on and offline, on what is to be done to move out of this sorry situation. It has not been easy, I must confess...

A friend during a chat yesterday, after days of deliberation said; "I'm patiently waiting for that day we will occupy the country."

And I wrote back, "Bro, don't wait. It may never come until you take action and get involved."

As much as I appreciate his readiness and interest on issues that concern us all, unlike most Nigerian youths and the citizenry, by extension. Though, he is far better than many of us, yes. Including You!

The other day a popular Nigerian musician announced 'cancellation' of a nation wide protest, most people called him all sorts of unprintable names, forgetting that he is just a citizen like most of us. If he had not stood up, would we all have kept quite and mute in face of provocative governance, ineptitudeness and political elites high handedness?

Dear Nigerians, it is important for us to believe in our own abilities - as individuals and as a people. Our power is known by politicians, a reason why they will offer to lick, wash our feet and practically prostrate during electioneering, only to turn their backs on us upon emergence.

Borrowing from the words of immediate past United States President, Barack Obama, he said "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

Moving forward as a nation requires our collective efforts. Do not wait for anyone, be a part of that CHANGE you seek. If you don't, there is no way out for you and me. We are in it together.

God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria!

#GetInvolved #TakeBackNigeria #StandWith9ja #Nigeria

The Art of Showing Off: How Celebrities with Low Self-Image Ridicule Themselves Online — By Tony Ogunlowo

It’s the in-thing now: if you have it you must flaunt it – your wealth, status, possessions – in the most public way possible.

In this new age of online social media it’s not uncommon to see celebrities – and wannabes – flaunting their wealth on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other platforms much to the annoyance, and envy, of others.

Showing off has now become an art form with each mindless individual trying to outshine everybody else with their material possessions; whether they be Floyd Mayweather or an overpaid footballer showing off their exotic car collection, Davido bragging about spending a million dollars in three months on luxury goods or Kim Kardashian showing off her diamond rings (sic – and we all know what happened to her in Paris!).

Even bit-part Nollywood actresses, socialites and musicians are busy flaunting their designer handbags (- often fakes!), flashy expensive cars and homes. Some take showing off to a ridiculous new level – posing with huge wads of cash, washing their hands with champagne or wearing multi-million dollar watches!

All this showing off trying to say you’re better off than the next person just says one-thing about the individual – insecurity!

Many will argue that it’s the culture of our people to show off what they have but I disagree; any insecure person feels the need to be seen and known as they have no other way of ascertaining themselves. And the best way for them to announce to the world that they have ‘arrived’ is to show off all their materially possessions.

Not only is this stupid and childish it also attracts a lot of unwanted attention from those who don’t have making them susceptible to being robbed or kidnapped.

Most you show off your wealth?

If you have the good fortune to become successful and wealthy keep it to yourself! Showing off and rubbing peoples’ noses in it is not necessarily a good thing and can send out the wrong message to a lot of impressionable people out there who want to have what you’ve got without putting in the effort. Hence the reason why the crime rate is always high as people steal, kidnap and rob to get instant wealth they can show off. It’s strange that you’ll never see people like Bill Gates  or Aliko Dangote showing off their wealth.

A quick peek at richkidsnaija on instagram will show you how ridiculous it’s become: people in houses with gold-plated furniture – even toilets! (- why do you need a gold-plated toilet?) people posing beside private planes and expensive cars whilst carrying shopping bags bearing well-known labels from Versace, Gucci, Hermes and Louis Vuitton, showing off expensive watches and jewellery (Why spend over a $100,000 on a watch that can only tell the time and do nothing else?). And that’s not forgetting the big high society ‘Owambe’ parties where the crème de la crème go to spray dollars, euros and pounds (- sorry naira holders keep your money in your pocket!).

Nobody needs to know how wealthy you are especially in a country where half of the population can’t afford a single square meal a day.

“..The greatest wealth is to live content with little, for there is never want where the mind is satisfied…” – Lucretius

But the most interesting group of exhibitionists are the wannabes who can’t even afford to show-off. In an attempt to show-off they deck themselves in fake designer clothes and shoes, clutching the latest iPhone and iPad pretending they are rich before slinking off to their nondescript boys’ quarters or rooms in the ghettos. Some even pose for pictures besides other people’s big cars pretending it belongs to them. How many people wear expensive clothes and drive big cars but can’t afford to even feed their own children? All because they want to ‘pose’.

As a Yoruba man will say – “ we meet money in this world and in this world we shall leave it”.

Follow me on Twitter: @Archangel641 or visit http://www.archangel641.blogspot.co.uk

The Seven-Fold Yoke And The Cabal That Own Nigeria — By Femi Fani Kayode

Permit me to share a scholarly, revealing and I daresay disturbing intervention which was sent to me by a friend. The author wishes to remain anonymous.

He wrote as follows:

“The disruptive power of the Hausa-Fulani cabal is a structural reality and will only get worse, no matter where the President of Nigeria comes from. It is a seven-fold yoke which we must break for the sake of our children.

1. THE POLITICAL YOKE:

Globally, out of the 16 Federal Republics in the world, Nigeria is the only federation where land mass is used as a primary criteria for creating federating units.

NO Southern leader (civilian or military) has ever had the guts to create any federating unit; all the federating units have been created by Northern military adventurers. 20 federating units were created from only one region (North), while 17 federating units were created from 3 regions (East, West and Midwest).

Competent leaders are easily filtered off by the rigged political structure. At every election, the evil and corrupt Northern cabal needs only a few Southern collaborators to impose any presidential candidate upon the two foremost political parties, only for the electorate to formalize one of the candidates with votes.

That’s why Nigeria has been having such mediocre leaders as President, in a country awash with extremely capable presidential materials.

This also explains why since 1960 no Southerner has ever led Nigeria except by accident.

The FIRST coming of ALL 3 Southern leaders – Aguiyi-Ironsi in 1966, Obasanjo in 1976 and Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 – followed the death of Northern incumbents!

The fourth and only other Southern leader was Ernest Shonekan and his coming followed the forced “stepping aside” of a northern Head of State in 1993. He lasted for 3 months after which he was toppled and replaced by another northern military Head of State.

For 2019 the presidential contest is being set for Atiku vs Buhari- two Fulani representatives of the Cabal.

2. THE ECONOMIC YOKE:

Nigeria is the only oil-producing country where oil wells are allocated to individuals. The Hausa-Fulani cabal allocated over 80% of the oil blocks either to the Northerners or to their Southern fronts/allies. The names of these oil block allotees are in the public domain.

3. THE RELIGIOUS YOKE:

No other faith is mentioned in the Nigerian Constitution, except Islam. For instance, in the 1999 Constitution, Christ, Christians and Christianity are not mentioned even once; whereas Islamic signposts are strewn all over the Constitution –
Sharia is mentioned 73 times, Grand Khadi 54 times, Islam 28 times , Muslims 10 times, etc..

That Constitution was written SOLELY by one Muslim Fulani Jihadist named Prof. Auwalu Yadudu (Special Adviser to Abacha on Constitutional Matters).

While the 1979 Constitution emphasized Nigeria’s secularity, the 1999 Constitution of Yadudu is a de facto Islamic Constitution, and the Cabal ensured that Yadudu was there to fight that position at 2014 National Political Conference.

Subsequently, during Obasanjo’s govt, the same Northern cabal formally adopted Islam as the State Religion in the core Northern States. Obasanjo refused to even discuss the issue, except to state that it would ‘fizzle out’. He knew fully well that it would not ‘fizzle out’ but was afraid of confronting the cabal.

4. THE CULTURAL YOKE:

The Sultanate forms a major pillar of the Hausa-Fulani cabal. As permanent President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) the Sultan is the permanent leader of all Muslims in Nigeria (whether they are Northerners or Southerners). As the Permanent Chairman of National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN) the Sultan is the permanent leader of all traditional rulers in all 36 States of Nigeria & Abuja. By the way, the current Sultan was the Brigadier-General Commanding 241 Recce Battalion Kaduna.

Many public policies are determined only with the tacit approval of the Sultanate of Sokoto and the Emirates.

For instance, when the Gender Bill was introduced in the National Assembly, the Sultan ‘killed’ the Bill simply by criticizing it publicly.

Even Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (the world’s most revered monarch) would never criticize Parliament publicly, because that would be an abuse of royal privilege.

5. THE ADMINISTRATIVE YOKE:

Nigeria is the only African country that built a new capital from scratch (using resources from the oppressed, deprived and degraded Niger Delta/South East ).

The Cabal claimed that the location of Lagos by the ocean was a security risk, but this was just an excuse to Northernize national public service. A careful look at the map of Africa shows that only 2 nations have central capitals. The most common location for African capitals is at the coast.

London (United Kingdom) is situated at the edge of England on the River Thames. Washington DC (USA) is located along the Potomac River on the East Coast of USA. Paris (France) is located at the edge of France in the north-bending arc of the river Seine.

When Lagos was capital the Governors of Lagos State were from East, West and North. Since the Capital moved to Abuja, NO Nigerian leader has ever had the guts to appoint a Southerner as substantive FCT Minister. The FCT Minister must be a Northerner, preferably a Muslim (the current FCT Minister was appointed while he was Executive Secretary of the Hajj Commission).

6. THE DIPLOMATIC YOKE:

Any Christian leader who questions Nigeria’s membership of the two main international Sharia-driven bodies (OIC & D-8) faces the wrath of the Hausa-Fulani Cabal. So far, only Cdr Ebitu Ukiwe has ever had the guts to seriously question Nigeria’s involvement in these Islamic bodies and as a result Ukiwe was summarily dismissed from office.

7. THE MILITARY/SECURITY YOKE:

Nigeria is the only Federation in the world where all MAJOR security agencies are headed by only one section of the Federation and only members of one faith.

Army – Northern Muslim. National Security Advisor – Northern Muslim. Minister of Defence – Northern Muslim. Minister of Internal Affairs- Northern Muslim. Airforce – Northern Muslim. Police – Northern Muslim. Economic Financial Crimes Commission- Northern Muslim. National Civil Defence Corps – Northern Muslim. Department of State Security – Northern Muslim. Immigration– Northern Muslim. Prisons Service– Northern Muslim. Federal Road Safety Corps – Northern Muslim. Nigerian Customs Service – Northern Muslim. Chief of Defence Intelligence – Northern Muslim. Director of Military Intelligence – Northern Muslim. Fire Service – Northern Muslim. National Emergency Management Agency – Northern Muslim. Nigerian Ports Authority- Northern Muslim.

No southerner has been made substantive Comptroller General of Customs in 30 years.

Even with all his braggadocio, Olusegun Obasanjo dared not break the jinx in all this years as Nigeria’s President.

Again no southerner has ever been appointed as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since the day it was established in 2003.

Finally the only southerner that was EVER appointed National Security Advisor was killed after he was unceremoniously removed from office by Goodluck Jonathan after the cabal blackmailed and arm-twisted him and told him that if he wanted peace he must appoint a northerner back to that post.

The above multi-faceted enslavement to the Hausa-Fulani Cabal is not an accident. Read the book by Harold Wilson which clearly states how and why the British laid the foundation for the Hausa-Fulani hegemony in Nigeria.

The principle guiding the Cabal was clearly set forth by the cabal’s patron saint, Sir Ahmadu Bello who said to the media:

“The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the north as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory and NEVER ALLOW THEM TO RULE OVER US and NEVER ALLOW THEM TO HAVE CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN FUTURE.” – (The Parrot Newspaper, October 12, 1960).

Freedom from the Cabal is NOT about “North versus South”. In fact, the greatest victims of the Northern cabal are the Northern masses themselves. The struggle entails “Northern Cabal versus All of Lovers of Freedom”.

Nigeria is structurally unworkable and MUST EITHER BE RESTRUCTURED OR BROKEN. The Hausa-Fulani cabal will resist this with their blood, but there is no other way out of the enslavement for us and our children. We cannot continue ‘suffering and smiling’ in this un-restructured zoo called Nigeria.

The words of Harriet Tubman are relevant here. She said,

‘I freed a thousand slaves: I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves’ “.

The author of this brilliant intervention has given us plenty of food for thought.

He argued the matter in a detailed, succinct and concise manner and he stated the case very well. Though there were one or two omissions, his research is outstanding and his analysis is factual, insightful and incisive. The truth is that he has said it all.

Sadly many in Nigeria do not know that they are slaves to the cabal because they cannot feel the yoke or see their chains.

Yet slaves they are and it is time that we opened their eyes, broke their yokes, cut their chains and freed each and every one of them.

That is precisely why yours truly, and millions of others, insist on restructuring our country or, failing that, dividing her and going our separate ways.

May God deliver us. Happy Easter. (CONCLUDED).

#BBNaija: Television As Madness — By Reuben Abati

What a relief! So, the Big Brother Naija reality television programme is finally over. It ended Sunday evening with 23-year old Efe Michael Ejemba, University of Jos graduate of Economics and singer winning the N25 million + SUV at stake, with 57.6% of the votes from over 24 million voters across Africa. Warri, where Efe’s family lives, erupted in excitement. At the Multichoice viewing centre in Ikeja, Lagos, where Katung Aduwak took charge so brilliantly, there was a similar eruption of incandescent joy. I was relieved because for about 70 days, the Big Brother Naija show was a big distraction, crass capitalism at its most cynical edge, a source of unmanageable madness in homes and on the streets. Now that it is over, it is time for some honest frank talk for the attention of all stakeholders involved.

Let me start with the lessons, on a positive note, before delivering the blows. Lesson one: In a very instructive manner, the Big Brother Naija reality television show promoted the ideas of choice and people power at the heart of democracy. Televised across Africa, the viewers had the final say in determining who stayed in the house or left during eviction moments on Sundays. The votes were collated, audited and confirmed by Deloitte, a firm of auditors and thus, the viewer as the voter determined the outcomes. In that regard, a reality show of that sort promoted a consciousness of democracy, choice and influence and it further explained why the people from Nigeria to Cape Agulhas all the way up to the Mediterranean sea took fierce ownership of the programme. In a continent where power is the ultimate aphrodisiac and every access to power, fame and influence is seen as an opportunity to oppress and demean, whatever is done to promote a consciousness of choice and the civil society is laudable. Multichoice, thanks.

Lesson Two: in every business concept, perseverance pays. Multichoice has been running its Big Brother Naija and Big Brother Africa concepts for a number of years. Apparently, this year’s Big Brother Naija has been the most impactful, the most profitable and probably also, the most exciting. In one week, over 11 million persons voted to determine the eviction. In the final week of the programme, over 24 million persons voted – that is more than the total number of persons who voted in the Nigerian Presidential election in 2015. This year, Multichoice has made more money from the Big Brother franchise than it has ever done. The programme was sponsored by PayPorte, and with all the voting, and the money spent on recharge cards, Big Brother and Multichoice are the biggest winners. In the end, it is all about business and profit. Everybody has been used. In business, once you have a good, attractive product and you can capture the market, you can fool everybody and make profit. Multichoice, weh done - in Falz, the bad guy’s voice.

Lesson three: humility pays. At the end of the day, in the last week of the programme, the decision by the viewing public was a moral, sentimental one. The biggest star of the programme was, I don’t know what you think, TBOSS (real name: Tokunbo Idowu), half Nigerian, half-Romanian. She dominated the space with her Jezebelic antics, even got some of the male participants ousted by entrapping and outsmarting them with her sexual wiles. She projected herself as a sex object, the ultimate manipulator, the champion Delilah of the Big Brother Africa series. She even made a joke of the entire Big Brother concept by saying she didn’t need the money and if she won, she would spend it in two weeks to pay off debts, and in any case, she had men hitting on her, offering to take her on a ride in their private jets. She played the role of a female barracuda.

Given her looks and talents, she would have been a perfect winner. She would have looked good on the billboards. But she lost because of her arrogance. Attitude is everything: this is the lesson of TBOSS’s disgrace and humiliation. When she was sent out of the House as the second runner up, the viewing centre in Ikeja, Lagos, including Kemen whose nemesis she was, danced in joy. “They are taunting me?” she asked Ebuka, the anchor. No, sweetheart, they were making a far more serious statement about you. The melodramatic ending of Big Brother Naija 2017 is its only redeeming outcome.

Bisola, the first runner up does not even have a degree but she showed talent and resolve, even if her whorish flirtation with Thin Tall Tony is so cheap and self-denigrating. Her One-Nigeria consolation prize is something big she should take seriously. Efe won because of his humility. He is considered the poorest and the most needy of the contestants. Patrons of the programme chose to vote for the contestant who looked and sounded like he would need the money and the opportunity. They gave him a chance in life, although the organizers must ensure that going forward, the show does not become a poverty alleviation scheme.

Bisola came second because she too looked like she needed help. Debbie Rise and Marvis also made the finals, but that was meant to be a great compliment to their good conduct, but they didn’t have enough support to make it to the top. TBOSS is the main star who lost. I hope she was taken out of South Africa with a private jet or maybe a submarine! Beauty is not everything, baby.

Lesson four: Marketing helps. Branding is everything. Propaganda is profitable. Packaging is nice. Big Brother Naija is nothing but marketing, branding, propaganda, and packaging. A reality show is supposed to be nothing but reality, virtual reality as it happens, but let no one deceive you, everything that happened in the 70 days of BBNaija was packaged, marketed, carefully branded and manipulated. Ebuka, the Big Brother, thumbs up, the scenic designers, kudos, the content developers, three hearty cheers, Multichoice, you guys are the smartest capitalists around, well done! The finale was a bit overdone though, dragged out, over-delayed. Tiwa Savage (hey baby, watch that growing fat around your waist and thigh), Tuface (thanks TuBaba but next time tell Annie to twerk for us- what was that!). In all, the power of television was well advertised.

Now the hard knocks: I rate the theatre high but I consider the whole show a sham, a 419 manipulative effort by a corporate agency, long overdue for an ethical review and scrutiny, a bad influence on corporate ethics. The owners of the programme are just a bunch of insultive, manipulative and exploitative capitalists, feeding on public need for distraction and the negligence of the authorities. Big Brother Naija 2017 is something that should never happen again in the shape we have seen. If Multichoice as a corporate investor wants to make a contribution to Nigeria, it must find ways of doing so in more meaningful forms.

Reality shows have become an established form on television, but whereas there are reality shows that promote talent, music, human capability and genius, enhanced relationships, and intellect, Multichoice, through its Big Brother Naija and Big Brother Africa franchises seems committed to the promotion of base values, chiefly adultery, prostitution, love of money, nudity and sex. What just ended as Big Brother Naija 2017 was nothing other than the corralling of some human beings into a zoo, pressured to behave like nothing but animals. The organizers made money devaluing other human beings. Multichoice and Payporte, the sponsors, turned alcohol and pornography into legitimate sport.

TBOSS and the other girls kissed and got groped by the boys on live television putting their upbringing to shame. TBOSS, who claimed she didn’t need the money even exposed her breasts on live television more than once. I have seen better breasts TBOSS. I am not too sure those private jet owners will be excited by your fluffy, South-looking, slightly bigger than mangoes breasts. If the same men see bigger assets, I mean, those interesting Ojiakor-like ones that look like papayas, pineapples and watermelons, they will not send private jets, they will deploy submarines and fighter jets!

And that ‘s why you got N500k in the end, way back behind Bisola with her hard facial features, and Efe whose victory is based on poverty logistics and appeal. But I have no doubt that TBOSS will end up doing better in the larger, outside market than the other finalists, because even those who did not vote for her, know in their hearts that she represents the message of the programme.

It is a wrong message and that is why Big Brother Naija drew more audience in Southern Nigeria than in the North. In the last week of the programme,, every town in Southern Nigeria was seized by the #BBNaija fever. Prayers were offered in churches for Efe. One lady threatened to commit suicide if Efe did not win. Another one said she would not stop crying until Efe won. Nollywood stars declared support for housemates. There was Team Bisola, Team Efe, EfeNation, TBOSSNation, TeamDebbieRise (small), TeamMarvis (even smaller). There were public processions even in universities. We were told how to vote. Twitter was on fire. What I saw was nothing but sheer madness.

T-shirts were printed. One musician turned his personal car into a billboard. Nigeria became a mad house because of one reality television show. It looked like mass hypnotism at work.

But it should not be allowed to happen again. BBNaija should not be hosted and staged in South Africa as has been the case. Multichoice, Payporte and their partners made crazy money and got brand promotion off the back and sweat of Nigerians. Do the maths; we got peanuts in return. We were told BBNaija could not be staged in Nigeria due to electricity problems so the studio had to be in South Africa. And the Nigerian government looked the other way. Wawu! All the billions that the South Africans are running away with, after giving our boy a Kia SUV and some N25m, who is going to collect the Value Added Tax on that? Nigeria or South Africa? See the real Gobbe! All the staff who worked on the programme with extremely marginal exception were South Africans. Where were the Nigerians? Abi, Lobatan oh.

The Nigerian government must assert itself. Nobody henceforth must brand anything involving primary production, Nigerian off Nigerian soil. We can’t get far by wearing made-in-Nigerian clothes on Mondays and Wednesdays, turning the country into an extension of Nollywood, but we can gain a lot by insisting that economic production and profit based on Nigerian talent and resource must have significant Nigerian content.

Congratulations Efe; the grace of God is forever sufficient, but sorry Nigeria.

Aliko Dangote at 60

Alhaji Aliko Dangote is 60 and understandably the entire country is busy paying tributes. He is the richest man in Africa, but more than that he is one of the most successful, forward-looking and resourceful entrepreneurs in the entire continent. He has investments and connections virtually everywhere.

I think a special remark should be made about his less known attribute - his humility and humanity. Aliko Dangote, for all those who have related with him closely, is a very humble man. His life is not driven by money, but belief in hardwork and the impact that he is able to make. He is helpful, supportive and kind, always believing he can make a difference. I offer a special testimony.

Many years ago, before the Abuja job, I used to visit Aliko at home, sometimes on my own and sometimes with my family. On one occasion, he gave my first son money as he saw us off to the door. It was that kind of money that caused a fight between father and son. My son wanted to hold on to it, and there I was insisting the boy must hand over the money because it was enough to pay his and his sibling’s school fees. The innocent boy said the money was for him. How could it have been for him? We resolved the fight, big fight, right there, with Aliko pretending not to notice.

On another occasion, Aliko asked if I had built a house and I told him I was building a house somewhere in Ajah. This was in 2006. He said we should go there. He jumped into my miserable Tokunbo car and followed me to the uncompleted building. He walked round the building and asked me what I wanted. He ended up giving me enough cement to complete the house and the money to paint it. He told me I should contact him if I wanted to build any other house, but after that other house, I stopped bothering him, because it was obvious the bricklayers knew cement was free, and they were busy taking advantage.

I went to Abuja to work. The true story of that job is best told by Aliko Dangote, Mr Alex Ibru, Rotimi Amaechi, Femi Otedola and Ojogbane Adegbe. They supported me as best as they could without interference. It was Oronto Douglas who made the phone call. One day, every story will be told. Thank you Alhaji, for being a friend and a brother. Thank you. May you see many more seasons.

Is Aso Rock Under A Curse? By Tayo Demola

By: TAYO DEMOLA

At this moment of our national life where Nigeria has been plunged into avoidable economic hardship and the living standard of many Nigerians instead of improving, has gradually deteriorated below poverty level, many Nigerians are shocked by what they got from the Buhari government which has failed to make any positive change in the lives of the people. And with the way we are all astonished as to how a government that promised us heaven could turn around to give us hell instead, many Nigerians have wondered if that Presidential Villa, Aso Rock is truly a blessing to Nigeria or a curse.

Is the President even aware that many Nigerians are killing themselves due the hardship and suffering brought about by his incompetent government? Does he even know that an average Nigerian is so disenchanted with his government that Nigerians are now even ashamed to call him their President? Does he even know that due to the high expectations Nigerians had of him when he was sworn in, that Nigerians now regret voting for him in the first place? But the President knows all these, he cannot pretend not to know but the activities of praise singers and the enemies of Nigeria who would tell him that all is well would not make him realize the magnitude of the public disenchantment and disconnection of his government from the masses of Nigeria and from the reality on the ground.

The Nigerian government has undoubtedly been hijacked by a certain selfish cabal who are no doubt enemies of Nigeria and who would do anything possible to entrench their own selfish agenda on Nigeria. People like the President’s Special adviser on Media Mr Femi Adeshina would always tell him that all is well and that Nigerians are wailing wailers. And talking about wailing wailers, Mr Femi Adeshina has introduced another vocabulary into the Nigerian political arena which we shall make reference to from time to time.

But let’s look at this critically. Does Mr Femi Adeshina have any right as a political appointee who is paid with the Nigerian taxpayer’s money to even call Nigerians who are complaining about bad government as wailing wailers? Does he not know that the Nigerian masses have the ultimate power to choose whoever should lead them and after choosing such person the people have every right to complain about the government if their expectations are not met? Does he not know he is a public servant and that his duty is to serve the interest of the people and that it is completely disrespectful to call the people of Nigeria wailing wailers?

If as a government you have failed the people and you failed to meet up with the expectations of Nigerians, then don’t expect Nigerians to be happy with your government. It is completely unacceptable to continue to take Nigerians for a ride after we have voted you into power and instead of you to improve the lives of the people, you ended up increasing their sorrow. What sort of government is that? I noticed that every Presidential candidate or political party in Nigeria would always come with sugarcoated mouth and promise heaven and earth during campaigns and the people will be so deceived into voting for them thinking they would change their lives for the better but as soon as they get power, they would not fulfill such deceitful promises to the people.

It looks as if there is something in that Aso Rock that twists the head of every President that gets there and makes him forget all the promises he made to the people. It looks as if that Aso Rock is jinxed against the Nigerian people. It seems to me Nigeria may never make any meaningful headway until that Aso Rock is completely disbanded to pave way for the building of another Presidential Villa by a Godly and properly elected Nigerian leader who would lay a good foundation for the building of that new Presidential Villa.

It is very clear that there are many forces militating against the performance of any Nigerian leader who enters that Aso Rock. It is very possible that our lovely Aso Rock which we built with a lot of money during the military era may actually be the problem of Nigeria. If not, why do leaders suddenly turn against the masses as soon as they’ve taken over the mantle of leadership? Why do they say one thing and do the complete opposite of what they say? Is there not something mysterious about that Aso Rock?

The one thing that also amazes me is how the President allows certain people, praise singers and cabal to hijack his government without standing up to the occasion for the sake of Nigeria. Is the interest of Nigeria not above any selfish personal interest? The level Nigeria is now economically shows clearly that this government is either unprepared for leadership from the onset or completely incompetent and therefore does not deserve to lead Nigeria any more. Nigerians were even better off during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan and things were not so bad. We are tired of promises that will never materialize, we want action. We want an action government that will ameliorate the suffering of the masses of Nigeria within a reasonable period of time and better the lives of Nigerians and any government that cannot do this should be shown the way out of Aso Rock for another government to take over.

Nigerians have never had it so bad and even during Jonathan’s government, the economy was not so harsh on Nigerians. Despite all the efforts of Jonathan, we called him clueless because he could not meet up with a whole lot of our expectations. He didn’t fight corruption and he exhibited a lackadaisical attitude to the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents who destroyed countless lives and property in the Northern part of Nigeria. But while Jonathan could not do any of these and Nigerians hated him so much and voted him out, we now have a President who we think is fighting Boko haram and corruption but the people are dying of hunger and committing suicide on a daily basis due to the excruciating economic hardship in Nigeria.

But under Jonathan Nigerians could still afford to eat what they wanted and the cost of things in the market was never so outrageous.             We called Jonathan clueless but I bet you many Nigerians are so disappointed now that they don’t even know what name to call the Buhari government. But this government is worse than clueless because if in a clueless government the people are better off and in a supposedly ‘‘non-clueless’’ government the people are suffering, then what is means is that the Buhari government is worse than clueless. And it is very clear that things were quite better for an average Nigerian under the Jonathan government and despite his supposed ‘‘cluelessness’’, Nigerians even wish they never voted him out in the first place.

If at all you are fighting corruption and Boko Haram, this is never enough if the people are suffering. And what manner of corruption is the government fighting in the first place? Is the corruption fight all encompassing or is it only against some perceived opponents and enemies? Is it only against certain people while some sacred cows are left off the hook? What about those in the President’s cabinet and those in the current government who have been indicted and who should have been investigated and prosecuted if found wanting? Now we can see that it’s the usual ‘‘paddy-paddy’’ government which our all-time legend Fela told us from time immemorial. The fight against corruption can never be holistic if certain people who are indicted for corruption and tainted are still in this government without being shown the way out. It would be hypocritical to do so and that would mean taking Nigerians for granted.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently told us that President Buhari is not good with the economy. Now some Nigerians might take that statement with a pinch of salt but that is the plain truth. If Buhari was good with the economy, if he were a good manager of the economy, by now the Nigerian economy would not have gone from good to bad and now to worse. This clearly tells us that we made a great mistake for voting in the Buhari government into office in the first place since he is not a good manager of the economy. It’s just like someone who doesn’t know how to cook and you ask him to go and manage the kitchen and get a good meal out of that kitchen, how possible is that? He will only go there and turn the kitchen upside down and get you a badly prepared meal that will turn your stomach upside down. That is what you get when you make the mistake of voting in someone who doesn’t know how to manage the economy.

But mind you, former President Obasanjo cannot be wrong on this statement because we can all see how the Nigerian economy is being badly managed with all sorts of trials and errors that keep impoverishing the masses the more. And the funny thing is that the President acts as if he has all the time in the world to make the change that we Nigerians desire.

He acts with so much slow pace and reckless abandon as if he has ten or twenty years more to lead Nigeria. He has forgotten that he has only FOUR YEARS to make any impact and nothing more because it is very clear that Nigerians will never vote for this APC government in 2019 except if Buhari is not the Presidential candidate of the APC. The people want change and we want it in record time and not endless promises. You don’t have to make things worse before you make it better. Any government that makes things worse for the people with a promise that things will get better is an incompetent government that should be removed from office. Infact Nigerians were already tired of this government as far back as 2016 when it started to inflict pains and suffering on the hapless masses.

We were promised that the fuel price which was increased last year will gradually come down but nothing of such has happened. We were told that kerosene will soon get cheaper but instead of getting cheaper, it now even costs more. And every commodity in the Nigerian market is beyond the reach of an average Nigerian.

So with all these failed promises and with 2019 around the corner when the government will come up with another set of deceptive and dubious promises, we must all ensure we obtain our voter’s cards and vote out this government since it is clear it cannot take us anywhere. We must change this government before it finally destroys Nigeria. Is it when everybody dies of hunger that the change we all clamoured for will come?

Tayo Demola, human rights advocate & relationship counsellor, lagos, nigeria. Reach him via tayobarrister@gmail.com

'Integrity Test And Notable Survivors' By AbdulRahman Agboola

By: AbdulRahman Agboola

The generality of young people are expected to understand the imports of pedigree, nay, just but few who are struggling to achieve distinctions and unblemished records in their fields of endeavours are on the track to attain pedigree while the political landscape is not even comfortable for the young men with pedigree to emerge either as Governors or President. It is not damaging to state that most of the young people tested with authority since 1999 failed and the urge to turn the tides around is highly imperative with the poor state of affairs of our Country today. The young people are the soul of every Nation, the quality of thinking and depth of knowledge among them are necessities for growth and development.

In advanced democracy globally, scrutiny of public officers or people aspiring to hold public offices goes beyond mere routine, it is an ultimate priority for security agencies assigned with the task of background checks and proper profiling for the purpose of ensuring stability in the polity. The result may not yield perfect result but the essence has proved worthy where integrity really matters, prior to issuance of security clearance to either get appointed or elected.  Where security agencies are not compromised by political stooges that play to the gallery, security clearance is a core prerequisite to earn trust as a public officer and when a public officer is indicted for acts that breach public trust whether current or in retrospect, such officer exit office in the interest of public trust. Every political office holder is usually under watch for any oddity capable of derailing the cause of good governance and when situation abound, any erring public officer must drop the baton.

Ours is not an advanced democracy but we can improve on the gains of the last few years to advance democratic values and norms. Although, there are several impediments such as poor orientation, self-indulgence, quota system and affinity, blocking our path to toll the path of core democratic engagements in line with the constitution, the urgent needs to create Nigerian Principles is very germane to advance democracy in Nigeria. Paper qualifications without commensurable proof of intellectual mobility by office seekers to discharge required tasks effectively and in positive manner negate the task ahead and raise germane concerns for future elections in Nigeria. People seems to have limited opportunities to correct the ills of the society to transition while failing to understand that political parties in Nigeria lacks ideological premises to promote democratic ethos.

Every great Country has guiding principles that serves as motivations for citizens to entrust their welfare in care of their leaders that never betray citizens’ trust. In Nigeria, what are our guiding principles other than the Constitution bestowed on the Nation under a military junta and has not witnessed a complete overhaul. It has somewhat become a tradition in this era to submit to whim and gestures of political office holders without halting that leadership when situation arises. It is nauseating to observe that, except for bickering or crises among political lords, no Governor or President in Nigeria ever stepped down or democratically forced out of office on the altar of peoples opposition, dissatisfaction or loss of confidence. The people are tied to the apron of the intentions of the drafters of our constitution to allow every elected officer to rule with ignominy if he chooses to and only get removed at election period. The ruling class is guilty of misgoverning the people but the people themselves especially the downtrodden, provided the platform for the oppressive tendencies of the ruling class in so many ways. Topical out of this is our failure to thoroughly investigate the private life, pedigree, antecedents, moral background and career records of people we repose our confidence at moments of elections.

Since 1999, every successive government has exhausted their terms and even influences the emergence of their successors with virtually nothing to substantiate growth and development in Nigeria. A re-evaluation of the method of governance in Nigeria will be instrumental to future accomplishments if issues are dissected into proper perspectives, commencing from restructuring of federating units, unicameral legislature, local government autonomy and merger of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria Drugs and Law Enforcement Agency and Department of State Security with the Nigeria Police Force to have an efficient, strong and reliable Police Force like we had before the deliberate decimation of the Police Force by the Federal Government during the Military era.

It is very imperative to state that the Nigeria Police Force was a cynosure for other Africa Countries till government created other agencies with duplicitous roles that weakened the operations of Police Force. It is not a misfire to regard this act as a deliberate act by the Military Juntas that reigned in Nigeria to ensure that the Military interfere in internal security and make the police force irresponsible and the result is what we witness today.  Since the 2015 Presidential Election, the word integrity is fondly used as basis of appointment into public offices; this parameter is a positive measure capable of forestalling emergence of crooks and dubious personalities as public officers. In the last two years, notable among indicted public officers on allegations of corruption are not at rest, the system has put them on trial on varied degrees but much more needed to be actualized to make them accountable for their misdeeds and deny them future opportunities of holding public offices. Recently at the National Assembly, there seems to be a thin disconnect from the tradition of outright submissions to the will of Mr President on confirmations of appointees and approvals.

The Senate in particular has raised their responsibility by relying on security clearance before confirmations as indicated in their reliance on test of integrity. Who is legally empowered to issue security clearance and what is the level of fairness of that agency to the Nigeria System. Since the Senate has priority for integrity test, Senators should be the first point of reference and Sahara Reporters has taken the lead by putting the most vocal Senator in the red chamber to integrity test through his academic records from the University he attended.  Senator Dino Melaye is obviously a product of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria where he studied Geography at the degree level. Although Sahara Reporters alleged Dino Melaye of not graduating from the institution, different revelations showed he graduated but under questionable circumstances at variance with laid down regulations considering the academic transcripts of Senator Dino Melaye, he failed the integrity test woefully because circumstances that surrounds his graduation negates standard the institution is reputed for. He spent 8 years for a 4 years Course and was eventually granted waivers of seven carry over courses before exiting the system with a poor grade and until the management of the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University make categorical statement to clear the air on his academic career, we cannot conclude on this matter.

Aside his academic qualification, Dino Melaye never had a carrier in the civil service nor organized private sector other than running a Non-Governmental Organisation known as National Democratic Youth before his ascendance into the corridor of power in 2007 or thereabout. He is political machinery and how can political machinery with flares for display of wealth pass an integrity test. Come to think of it, he once earned a suspension from the House of Representatives and enjoyed the backing of the leaders of All Progressive Congress that super imposed him on other candidates for the Senatorial Election in his constituency without a proper primary election and as a matter of fact, Samuel Aro was disqualified for Dino Melaye at the primaries by APC Leaders. Where is the place of pedigree in his ascendancy to fame and political power?

There are numerous Senators with records of frauds in previous positions held while several of them are battling with moral crises over public knowledge of their dubious antecedents by the general public yet they secured security clearance to contest elections same for some serving Ministers and Governors. We cannot afford to continue to allow people of flawed antecedents to occupy public offices simply because they have means of escaping the wrath of the law, the law must be functional enough to sanitize the corridors of power and prevent ill motivated personalities from occupying sensitive positions any longer. Aside Sahara Reporters and Premium Times, just a handful of Print and Electronic Medias currently engage in genuine investigative journalism, without which democracy will not thrive beyond civil rule as we have witnessed in the last 18 years. The media has the responsibility of sensitizing Nigerians on issues of national importance, though press freedom places embargo on blackmail and slander, proper reportage should be the watchword.

If we evaluate the credentials of public office holders, we will discover that majority of them lacks integrity but we cannot allow the vicious circle to continue. My fears on the project for a better society where the ills will be replaced with virtuous deeds are the young men and women of Nigeria deeply enmeshed in frivolities and self-indulgence. It has become a habit among young people to blame the elderly population of misruling this Country since 1960 and feels they should vacate the center stage for young people to govern the Country and available statistics shows that a paltry few out of people below 45 years of age that have occupied public offices in the last 17 years have mismanaged the affairs of the people and enriched themselves corruptly, which means it is our system or method of governance that strongly require necessary reviews.

An amusing situation is the fact that the elderly people mostly wielding political influences and power today fought against status quo in their younger days where they struggled and achieved Independence for the Country, change of system of government from parliamentary to presidential, abolition of regional government, state creations and led struggles for the enthronement of democratic rule in 1999 whereas, we the young people of today have failed to coordinate ourselves to achieve interesting systemic change at this era but promote misdemeanours under the guise of freedom of speech, religion, social life and association, a situation that must change if Nigeria must move forward as a Nation.

Let young people of Nigeria close their ranks and unite to achieve a total overhaul of the system by conducting proper analysis of issues from well informed point of views before accepting or condemning policies, actions and principles at variance with their knowledge. The act of submitting to authorities and wishes of people we regard as role models and mentors because of pecuniary gains or lack of knowledge about their dubious tendencies has placed this Country on perpetual ruin and the right time is now for genuine activists and mobilisers to raise the advocacy for a better Nigeria in the best interest of this Country on the verge of economic ruin. Politicians fights dirty for absolute control over structures, while masses gets carried away with the bait of public interest as the basis of feud among the gladiators, their bigger interest still unite them, it's all about relevance and sadankata, nothing like public interest yet, let the holiday katakata continue but young people must be productive in thoughts and actions, fairness should be fair enough for public good and equity must be equitable without limitations.

Comrade AbdulRahman Agboola

Good Citizen of Nigeria

E-mail: goodcitizen4gg@gmail.com 08032813279