If Nigeria was a growing child, albeit a 50 year old child, and politics was some sort of food with which she had to survive on amongst others, she'd probably have gotten fed up of being force fed.
Some of you find this introducing allusion pointless or puzzling right? Let me try and explain;
In 50 years of independence, Nigeria has known very little democracy and a lot of dictatorship / military rule... then again, you all know that. But in the little democracy we have managed to taste, there doesn't seem to exist one true form of ideology.
The existing political establishments have no moral or ethical backbone to build their party on, instead what exists is the flexing of political muscle and the counter measure which results in the hurried composition of what is supposed to be the opposition but is actually composed of disgruntled political foes or aspirants who were left out in the cold.
The political taste in the Country's mouth can't even be described as bland owing to the lack of focus or goal. One leader just simply show's up and presents a 7 -point agenda and that is simply what the party is to follow? What about sensitization; the re-orientation of the populace?
I repeat, a political party i believe should have an ideology, a mandate, a manifesto, an a given set of moral guidelines backed by the constitution of the Federation.
Alas these ingredients are amiss in majority of these parties. Most parties are set up for various reasons and the most common one being as i said, a hurried composition of disgruntled aspirants.
Hence the ease with which a politician can easily cross over from the PDP to ACN or APGA. its disgraceful, yet it isn't as bad as when the same politician crosses back to his initial party of choice after contesting against that same party.
It is no longer news that Politics is more than a means for a man to serve his people, but unfortunately it is also a means of livelihood. That being said, it seems to explain a lot about why a politician will have no qualms with crossing over to the opposing party.
I know several laws have been proposed and some even drafted into the electoral bill which is being amended, but the political parties themselves don't seem to be doing anything about the situation.
The Americans have the Republican and Democratic parties, the English have the Labor and Conservative as well as the Liberal Democrats, even the South Africans have the ANC and the Rainbow coalition. within these different countries where these political parties operate, they have their respective ideologies even if some of them can be seen as far left, far right or central.
Here in Nigeria I've come to believe we practice reactionary politics; the process where our politicians make foundational decisions based on actions and occurrences, this could be far fetched thinking but i have to say apart from the frustrated Pat Utomi, who else has presented a clear road map to lead Nigeria out of its currently hapless situation?
A little information for you guys; After BRIC; Brazil, Russia, India & China, Nigeria amongst other countries like Venezuela, Mexico, Iran, Malaysia & Bangladesh are touted as the next economies to explode due to increasing consumer demands. This is a positive forecast but there are fundamental problems that don't make this forecast favorable to our situation.
An untrained work force and populace who lack buying power... so where will the consumer driven economic boom come from?
The sad but managing factor is that Government are the highest employers of labor.
Now i arrive at a polarizing point; are you in favor of a big government labor force or are you against? are you for free health care or are you against?
Not all the political parties have the same idea about how to jump start the economy, instead what pervades is the criticism of the ruling party any time the government presents a new policy.
If the opposition are serious about being what they really are then they should actually form a shadow government and let the people hear what they would do if they were in power. This shows a level of seriousness and in my opinion, is a key & inexpensive form of campaign.
Maybe this will happen one day, maybe it never will, but the sooner these political parties find a solid foundation, the better. Even the PDP is beginning to show signs of weakness at the wrong hour.
Remember folks, register to vote and protect your vote. The only way you can ask your leader to give an account for his stewardship is if you actually voted. don't let your voice be muted.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
The New Baghdad
....... The little girl just stood there, here eyes bore a mixture of confusion and fear, from her breathing you could tell she was out of tears, people who had bee watching here said she had gone round the market several times shouting the names of her mother and sister she had left at the very spot where she now stood. There she was covered in soothe. The very spot she had left her Mother and sister didn't look like it was anymore, she had left a market place full of life, bubbling with merry makers and beer stalls. Now all she could see was burnt debris all over the place, some heaps still burning. The organized chaos of the market place had been replaced by a deathly hum, the smell of burnt flesh and plastic. Blackened and burnt wood were strewn in all directions, by the time relatives had come to take her away, her story had been heard by all the security operatives and emergency worker on site. She had been sent by her older sister to go fetch some more seasoning when it happened. As she walked back to the fish market she heard the explosion, unaware of what it was she kept on walking worried that if she didn't get the seasoning back to her mother on time she'd be in trouble.
Now all that is unnecessary, who ever was going to eat the fish, her mother, her older sister, and many more people were no longer alive.......
The above is a fictional/ hypothetical situation of what could have happened at the Abacha Barracks last night at around 7:00PM.
I had the mind to write a follow up to my last post titled; "A day in Baghdad", having already titled it "The New Baghdad", I later stopped myself thinking it was too far fetched, then the recent explosions in Jos caused me to have a rethink.
In the early 2000s after American & British forces invaded Iraq, they never realized their biggest battle was not going to be the invasion itself. It turned out to be governing a state so divers in sect and tribe. The biggest mistake any one would make would be to judge the people of Iraq as principally Muslims, or divide them into Shiites and Sunnis. As it turned out there are as much divisions in Iraq as there are in Nigeria.
The American forces for several years, faced an uphill task, both in trying to battle insurgents and also trying to stop in fighting amongst the tribes/ factions and sects. Then the worst happened, public places began to be targeted; from ministry buildings to town markets, no where was safe.
Baghdad and Iraq as a whole had now become a war zone, with people afraid to venture out of their homes for fear of being caught in a suicide attack in what ever form. The terrorists had gained an upper hand in a lot of ways as the people of Iraq felt they preferred Saddam's terror to the kind they were faced with since the invasion. It took the United States government Trillions of Dollars in tax payer's money to equip the military and several years to eventually bring everyone to the table to negotiate a truce and come together to form a government.
The Nigerian situation doesn't look similar to the Iraqi early years per say, but one thing that is beginning to look so familiar are the car bombings of October 1st,the New year's eve incident & the Jos Bombings. No one has come out officially to claim the Jos and New year eve attacks, but they've driven home a message amongst the Nigerian people, the message of fear and terror, the message that says the Government and the leaders do not have the power to stop these attacks.
The heads of security boasted of how satisfactory things were, then they impressed us with the capture of arms and ammunition at the Apapa wharf claiming they were bound for the Gambia.
I for one wasn't impressed.
Then The Jos fighting erupted again, now tell me if that wasn't good reason to beef up security round the Country. Instead all we kept seeing on the news were Youth Forums and political dialogue. Maybe the bombings and fighting might be inter-connected no one can put a definite finger on that. But the Iraq play book looks like being reprized in our sub- Saharan surroundings. For all i care the necessary ingredients are available; militants, factions, diverse and distrusting tribes and religions, marginalized communities with access to arms and ammunition and a very unreliable and corrupt security apparatus.
I am unrepentant about painting a very dark and pale picture and trust me this is not the kind of post i had planned on posting on the first day of the year, but if calling a spade a spade is what it takes for word to get out there and for people to start thinking about the gravity of the situation we are in, then fine I'll choose to be the messenger that could get shot (figure of speech please).
Our leaders i fear have forgotten what ruling a nation is all about and have replaced the ideology with self- interest and egotistical hooliganism.
Each bomb blast i hear about brings the thoughts of Baghdad closer to mind.. I earnestly pray the situation does not get worse than it already is.
....If that little girl actually existed, her loss should not be allowed to go in vain... then again, little boys and girls who have experienced such things already exist in Jos, in Abuja and in the Niger Delta.... Stopping this unnecessary bloodshed is what we owe them. Terror is an act we all must fight against, we as a people must ask our leaders to be accountable for such lapses in security.
The year 2011 is an election year, our right to vote is one of our many weapons we can utilize now. Please register to vote... fear, distrust and Terrorism must not enslave us..... Nigeria shall not become a new Baghdad.
Now all that is unnecessary, who ever was going to eat the fish, her mother, her older sister, and many more people were no longer alive.......
The above is a fictional/ hypothetical situation of what could have happened at the Abacha Barracks last night at around 7:00PM.
I had the mind to write a follow up to my last post titled; "A day in Baghdad", having already titled it "The New Baghdad", I later stopped myself thinking it was too far fetched, then the recent explosions in Jos caused me to have a rethink.
In the early 2000s after American & British forces invaded Iraq, they never realized their biggest battle was not going to be the invasion itself. It turned out to be governing a state so divers in sect and tribe. The biggest mistake any one would make would be to judge the people of Iraq as principally Muslims, or divide them into Shiites and Sunnis. As it turned out there are as much divisions in Iraq as there are in Nigeria.
The American forces for several years, faced an uphill task, both in trying to battle insurgents and also trying to stop in fighting amongst the tribes/ factions and sects. Then the worst happened, public places began to be targeted; from ministry buildings to town markets, no where was safe.
Baghdad and Iraq as a whole had now become a war zone, with people afraid to venture out of their homes for fear of being caught in a suicide attack in what ever form. The terrorists had gained an upper hand in a lot of ways as the people of Iraq felt they preferred Saddam's terror to the kind they were faced with since the invasion. It took the United States government Trillions of Dollars in tax payer's money to equip the military and several years to eventually bring everyone to the table to negotiate a truce and come together to form a government.
The Nigerian situation doesn't look similar to the Iraqi early years per say, but one thing that is beginning to look so familiar are the car bombings of October 1st,the New year's eve incident & the Jos Bombings. No one has come out officially to claim the Jos and New year eve attacks, but they've driven home a message amongst the Nigerian people, the message of fear and terror, the message that says the Government and the leaders do not have the power to stop these attacks.
The heads of security boasted of how satisfactory things were, then they impressed us with the capture of arms and ammunition at the Apapa wharf claiming they were bound for the Gambia.
I for one wasn't impressed.
Then The Jos fighting erupted again, now tell me if that wasn't good reason to beef up security round the Country. Instead all we kept seeing on the news were Youth Forums and political dialogue. Maybe the bombings and fighting might be inter-connected no one can put a definite finger on that. But the Iraq play book looks like being reprized in our sub- Saharan surroundings. For all i care the necessary ingredients are available; militants, factions, diverse and distrusting tribes and religions, marginalized communities with access to arms and ammunition and a very unreliable and corrupt security apparatus.
I am unrepentant about painting a very dark and pale picture and trust me this is not the kind of post i had planned on posting on the first day of the year, but if calling a spade a spade is what it takes for word to get out there and for people to start thinking about the gravity of the situation we are in, then fine I'll choose to be the messenger that could get shot (figure of speech please).
Our leaders i fear have forgotten what ruling a nation is all about and have replaced the ideology with self- interest and egotistical hooliganism.
Each bomb blast i hear about brings the thoughts of Baghdad closer to mind.. I earnestly pray the situation does not get worse than it already is.
....If that little girl actually existed, her loss should not be allowed to go in vain... then again, little boys and girls who have experienced such things already exist in Jos, in Abuja and in the Niger Delta.... Stopping this unnecessary bloodshed is what we owe them. Terror is an act we all must fight against, we as a people must ask our leaders to be accountable for such lapses in security.
The year 2011 is an election year, our right to vote is one of our many weapons we can utilize now. Please register to vote... fear, distrust and Terrorism must not enslave us..... Nigeria shall not become a new Baghdad.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A day in Baghdad
This is coming a little late i know but write this i must.
The year 2010 was supposed to be remarkably unforgettable for the People of Nigeria.
50 years of Independence is worth celebrating. Despite the complete near absence of basic infrastructure and the systematic degradation of our educational system.
A sovereign nation at 50 is still worth celebrating. An uproar had already gone out concerning the huge sums of money ear marked for the celebrations, but in our patriotic zeal we felt deep down that a celebration was required, albeit not on the ridiculous scale those at the presidency had planned.
What with the tens of millions of naira spent on the Cake, or was it the hundreds spent trying to organize a military parade and Air show.
As a resident of Abuja over the past 4 years i have been indulged myself with the ease at which traffic moves. Relocating from the near chaos of Lagos made it even more of a shocker.
The build up to the 50th anniversary celebration made things different. Security personnel sealed off several roads for long hours hampering movement within the city's administrative nerve center. To make matters worse, The free ways that were meant to unburden the inter city roads where packed with those trying to avoid these seal offs.
My case was pitiful, i had business at the Supreme court and therefore could not avoid these areas so for 5 days building up to this expensive finale i was always stuck in a form of traffic i believed was a thing of my Lagos past.
Each days as i slowly crawled in my car towards the supreme court, i thought about the security measures being put in place and i wondered if they were good enough for a celebration of the reported magnitude (based on the billions of naira).
Fast forward to the 1st of October, I had been out till the early hours of the morning so i basically did a count down into the 1st of October.
I went to bed at about 4:30AM in the morning and was almost immediately woken up by my Boss (downside of living in the same house with your Oga). The man had no idea i had been out all night and he wanted me to get all the tires of his car changed as soon as possible.
Despite the fact that this wasn't in my Job description it was impossible to tell my own Father that i wanted to get some extra hours of sleep.
Off i went to Apo Mechanic village to purchase the tires, then from there i headed towards Infinity in Wuse 2 to have the tires changed (it was going to be a long day).
Infinity had decided not to open for the day so my only other available option within the vicinity was the AP filling station opposite Nigerian University Commission building. I headed in that direction immediately. No sooner had they jacked all tires up, i heard a big bang. At that moment i twitted; "just heard an explosion, that definitely was a bomb..."
Soon enough, Radio stations, Private TV stations and Cable news networks had sent out the story and were covering it live. this was after i heard the second explosion as well.
My family members started calling me soon enough, trying to confirm where i was. I assured them of my safety and told them i would be home soon.
On my drive back home, i began to wonder what went wrong, as details started to trickle in i became more and more worried. What happened to the money meant for security vote, what happened to intelligence reports, why wasn't the area swept for Bombs and harmful objects before the event?
I posted one more on a social network the following day; "why don't the Security bodies in Nigeria have sniffer Dogs?" one reply came back saying; "we haven't reached that stage yet.."
I was appalled, For months now Bombs have been going off in different parts of the Country while we prepare to host world leaders and dignitaries on such an important event and world trends do not dictate that ensuring the safety of lives and property to both the populace and invited guest at least within the immediate vicinity is a priority?
Then one word came to mind; Baghdad!
After the American invasion and the subsequent ouster of Saddam Hussein, rebels and supporters of his regime resorted to planting Bombs in cars and Market places in order to create a perpetual state of insecurity and unrest.
The days following the twin bomb blast of October 1st are reminiscent of the early days of Baghdad. Continued information leaks and reports about Bombs going off in public buildings.
I still continued wondering where the security vote went to.. then it began to dawn on me gradually.
Its campaign season for pete's sake!
These guys are saving for the season.
Hence the loss of lives and the failure to prevent a national embarrassment.
This day will never leave the consciousness of Nigerians no matter how we try to forget it.
The year 2010 was supposed to be remarkably unforgettable for the People of Nigeria.
50 years of Independence is worth celebrating. Despite the complete near absence of basic infrastructure and the systematic degradation of our educational system.
A sovereign nation at 50 is still worth celebrating. An uproar had already gone out concerning the huge sums of money ear marked for the celebrations, but in our patriotic zeal we felt deep down that a celebration was required, albeit not on the ridiculous scale those at the presidency had planned.
What with the tens of millions of naira spent on the Cake, or was it the hundreds spent trying to organize a military parade and Air show.
As a resident of Abuja over the past 4 years i have been indulged myself with the ease at which traffic moves. Relocating from the near chaos of Lagos made it even more of a shocker.
The build up to the 50th anniversary celebration made things different. Security personnel sealed off several roads for long hours hampering movement within the city's administrative nerve center. To make matters worse, The free ways that were meant to unburden the inter city roads where packed with those trying to avoid these seal offs.
My case was pitiful, i had business at the Supreme court and therefore could not avoid these areas so for 5 days building up to this expensive finale i was always stuck in a form of traffic i believed was a thing of my Lagos past.
Each days as i slowly crawled in my car towards the supreme court, i thought about the security measures being put in place and i wondered if they were good enough for a celebration of the reported magnitude (based on the billions of naira).
Fast forward to the 1st of October, I had been out till the early hours of the morning so i basically did a count down into the 1st of October.
I went to bed at about 4:30AM in the morning and was almost immediately woken up by my Boss (downside of living in the same house with your Oga). The man had no idea i had been out all night and he wanted me to get all the tires of his car changed as soon as possible.
Despite the fact that this wasn't in my Job description it was impossible to tell my own Father that i wanted to get some extra hours of sleep.
Off i went to Apo Mechanic village to purchase the tires, then from there i headed towards Infinity in Wuse 2 to have the tires changed (it was going to be a long day).
Infinity had decided not to open for the day so my only other available option within the vicinity was the AP filling station opposite Nigerian University Commission building. I headed in that direction immediately. No sooner had they jacked all tires up, i heard a big bang. At that moment i twitted; "just heard an explosion, that definitely was a bomb..."
Soon enough, Radio stations, Private TV stations and Cable news networks had sent out the story and were covering it live. this was after i heard the second explosion as well.
My family members started calling me soon enough, trying to confirm where i was. I assured them of my safety and told them i would be home soon.
On my drive back home, i began to wonder what went wrong, as details started to trickle in i became more and more worried. What happened to the money meant for security vote, what happened to intelligence reports, why wasn't the area swept for Bombs and harmful objects before the event?
I posted one more on a social network the following day; "why don't the Security bodies in Nigeria have sniffer Dogs?" one reply came back saying; "we haven't reached that stage yet.."
I was appalled, For months now Bombs have been going off in different parts of the Country while we prepare to host world leaders and dignitaries on such an important event and world trends do not dictate that ensuring the safety of lives and property to both the populace and invited guest at least within the immediate vicinity is a priority?
Then one word came to mind; Baghdad!
After the American invasion and the subsequent ouster of Saddam Hussein, rebels and supporters of his regime resorted to planting Bombs in cars and Market places in order to create a perpetual state of insecurity and unrest.
The days following the twin bomb blast of October 1st are reminiscent of the early days of Baghdad. Continued information leaks and reports about Bombs going off in public buildings.
I still continued wondering where the security vote went to.. then it began to dawn on me gradually.
Its campaign season for pete's sake!
These guys are saving for the season.
Hence the loss of lives and the failure to prevent a national embarrassment.
This day will never leave the consciousness of Nigerians no matter how we try to forget it.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Intro:
This is just an introduction.
This blog might be and might not be consistent... it might not be the most entertaining or insightful,
but it promises to be unbiased and scathing.
In these times of uncertainty and internal upheaval i feel words have to be spoken with the same venom and bite that our fore fathers possessed during the struggle for independence and self governance.
I create this blog not entirely for personal gain, but as a means of expressing the many thoughts i have had on governance and leadership.
One of our aspiring presidential candidates stated that the youth of this nation are not ready to lead.
That statement felt like an insult.
I feel their time has gone and its now ours.
in what ever way we can, we have a responsibility to this nation, no matter how tribalised or religiously polarized they say we are.
For 50 years we have existed as a nation... in fragility and and uneasiness. Now the whole country has seen the truth, leadership is not earned, it is zoned.
These and many more issue are what i hope will stimulate this platform which i hope will grow to a focal point of discourse and intellectual stimulation.
Hopefully one day leading to a new sense of enlightenment amongst the youth of this great nation.
We cannot turn our head and ignore anymore, we cannot tell our selves that those to blame are in power. We must raise our voices and demand change and accountability.
I encourage you all to take a moment to think about these very words.
We shouldn't wait for our own kids to ask us what we have done to make things different.
Lets work, talk and aspire for Change.
This blog might be and might not be consistent... it might not be the most entertaining or insightful,
but it promises to be unbiased and scathing.
In these times of uncertainty and internal upheaval i feel words have to be spoken with the same venom and bite that our fore fathers possessed during the struggle for independence and self governance.
I create this blog not entirely for personal gain, but as a means of expressing the many thoughts i have had on governance and leadership.
One of our aspiring presidential candidates stated that the youth of this nation are not ready to lead.
That statement felt like an insult.
I feel their time has gone and its now ours.
in what ever way we can, we have a responsibility to this nation, no matter how tribalised or religiously polarized they say we are.
For 50 years we have existed as a nation... in fragility and and uneasiness. Now the whole country has seen the truth, leadership is not earned, it is zoned.
These and many more issue are what i hope will stimulate this platform which i hope will grow to a focal point of discourse and intellectual stimulation.
Hopefully one day leading to a new sense of enlightenment amongst the youth of this great nation.
We cannot turn our head and ignore anymore, we cannot tell our selves that those to blame are in power. We must raise our voices and demand change and accountability.
I encourage you all to take a moment to think about these very words.
We shouldn't wait for our own kids to ask us what we have done to make things different.
Lets work, talk and aspire for Change.
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