Nigeria, March/April 1978. The Minister for Education, Col Ahmadu Ali under the Obasanjo Military administration, had just announced that the Federal government of Nigeria intended to increase the cost of feeding for University and other tertiary institutions’ students. At the time also, students pay about 98 Naira per year to secure accommodation on campus. The room is shared with one or two or three other students, depending on the size of the room. Postgraduate students often have a room to themselves.
Previously, the cost of eating at the institutions’ cafeterias was as follows: Breakfast, 10 Kobo; Lunch, 20 Kobo and Dinner, 20 Kobo, making 50 Kobo in total to get a full three-square meal a day at our institutions of higher learning in those days.
Now Minister Ali wanted to increase it as thus: 20 Kobo for breakfast and 25 Kobo each for lunch and dinner, making a total of 70 Kobo per day. The National Unions of Students tried to negotiate with the government but Obasanjo’s government was adamant, and later talks broke down.
The students took to the streets in protest shouting “Ali Must Go”. The protests, I believed started at the Universities of Ibadan, Lagos and Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and spread to others, including Ibadan Polytechnic, and most other tertiary institutions in the South West and Bendel State.
I was at the forefront of the demonstrations at the University of Ibadan, although I was not a member of the Students Union Executive Committee. Those were the days. We fought running battles with the Mobile Police stationed outside the gates of the University. Throughout the over a week that we boycotted classes, throwing stones and taunting the “godo-godos”, as we called the ferocious mobile, anti-riot policemen, not once did they enter the University. I guess that was their orders. And not once did the students destroy any building inside the campus.
After about a week of this standoff, the universities were closed by the Federal Government and every student advised to leave the campus. It was painful and inconvenient for students who came from afar to study at the various universities and polytechnics across Nigeria. At Ibadan, students from the South Eastern part of the country had to hurriedly charter luxury buses to take them back home to Aba, Enugu, Port Harcourt and the rest, leaving behind most of their belongings, because eventually the universities will be re-opened.
I would like to add that in those days, no matter what valuables you leave behind in your room, and no matter for how long, you are sure to come back and meet those valuables intact. Nobody, not even the room-cleaners taking care of our rooms, will loot your room – those were the good, honest old days. Even me who happened to come from and live in Ibadan itself left my stereo set behind in the room I shared with two other roommates. An Igbo friend of mine, not absolutely sure, asked me to take his expensive stereo equipment home with me for safekeeping.
My mother, on hearing the news of the closure, came to the campus gates with her car, but the mobile police would not let her thrive her car in, so she and my Aunt who accompanied her had to walk the almost one mile from the University gates to my hall of Residence, Independence Hall. Luckily for them, they met me in my room, but I told them I was not leaving with them, but will join them later. I never told them of my involvement with the activities, or else the poor women would have had heart attacks.
Eventually we all evacuated the campus, and I headed for Lagos, driven by an uncle of mine. I did not know Lagos was on the boil. The moment we reached Ikorodu Road, specifically between Palmgrove and Yaba, all hell was let loose, with a full scale riot going on and police engaged in running battles with ordinary citizens who decided to sympathise with the students, especially when the news was broken to the nation that several students had been killed by overzealous policemen who fired into their demonstrations at Ife and Lagos Universities (I forget the specifics, so please pardon me)
The people of Lagos had risen. And there were people on the Ikorodu Road engaging the Nigeria Police Force in battle. What was amazing was that some policemen actually joined the people; all shouting “Ali must go”. It seemed at the time to be the beginning of a popular revolt. As we later learnt, the Obasanjo regime was much shaken, very shaken indeed. I think that was the first time a military government in Nigeria was ever so shaken. Col. Ali was later removed as Minister for Education and certain reforms were announced.
Our vehicle was stopped by some demonstrators and on a hunch I just decided to show the angry people my student identity card, and before I knew it, these people started clearing the road for our vehicle, letting us pass. Two of them sat on the roof of our car and started shouting £Hey, make way, he is a student leader” and I had not even said anything to them about being a student leader, just merely a student of the University of Ibadan.
It was at Onipanu, where all hell broke loose again, because right in front of my eyes, I the four-storey building that belonged to the Nigeria Customs Service erupted, go up in smoke and collapsed. Everybody scattered. The building was levelled. Till today, I never knew what was kept in that building that made it collapse, but luckily, nobody was said to be hurt, at least that was what was said afterwards.
At Yaba, when we managed to get there eventually, aided by my self-appointed guardians, there was roadblock mounted by several men of the Nigeria Police Force, all red-eyed and looking wild and ready to shoot their guns. I asked my guardians to stop taunting the police, and I got out of the car and timidly approached the policemen. I calmly explained that I am a student from Ibadan, our university has been closed and I am in Lagos to be with my family.
What happened next remains in my memory till my death. The Officer in Charge, a young man too, told me that he supported the students, after all we were all fighting for the people of Nigeria, and fighting a military regime (and believe me, Obasanjo’s military regime, I consider to be one of the better military regimes to ever rule Nigeria), and that maybe the government would listen. He asked me where I was going, and I told him Surulere, whereupon, this young and noble officer asked two of his men to escort our vehicle with a police car in front blasting its siren. I was aged just 21 then.
This was how I got to Surulere, unmolested by the many violent demonstrators and gun0totting policemen on the way. My other guardians had disappeared at Yaba, presumably to join further still in the anarchy.
That was sometime in April 1978.
A sad note: my best friend, classmate and roommate, Matthew Imoisili, studying Soil Science and with only a year to go (and a cousin of the renown and intrepid journalist, Sonola Olumhense) having to pack his bags and headed for Lagos as a result of the closure, died in a motor accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. We buried him later at his hometown of Igueben, Esan, now in Edo State. I regard him as a victim of the “Ali must go” students demonstration of 1978. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
After about a month of closure (again my memory lets me down here), the institutions of higher learning were reopened and we went back to the campus to immediately begin our examinations according to the schedule. No time was extended for us and we still had to graduate by July. All our properties were found intact in our rooms. The Ekene Dili Chukwus and Chi Di Eberes returned to Ibadan, with their loads of my brothers and sisters from the East, who had suffered the most inconvenience, and life appeared to return to normal on the campuses.
However, underneath, the arrests, interrogation and victimisation of the leaders of the demonstrations began. Several student leaders were arrested, kept in cells and some were eventually charged with all kinds of offences. I was lucky; nobody even had a whiff of me, so escaped arrest and interrogation. My friends in the Students Union Executive Committee were victimised by the university authorities and some of them never got their degree certificates up till today. I remember a friend of mine, who was the Sports Secretary in that year, never got his degree in Chemistry until about 5 years later, but he did his Youth Service.
Looking back, and comparing to the present day, I think of how much students of this era now use to eat everyday. The cafeterias no longer exist on the campuses. In our days, breakfast of 20 kobo consist of your choice of bread, toasted or not, all kind of eggs, pancakes, all kinds of cereals, oats, your choice of coffee or tea, and fruits. Lunch and dinner has a choice of every Nigerian food you can think of (Eba, Amala, Pounded Yam, semo, rice and beans, rice and dodo), with your choice of stew, peppered or pepper-less (vegetable, okro, ogbono rich with crayfish, stockfish and cooked the real Igbo way, edikaikan, ewedu, gbegiri, etc) and then you have a choice of desserts in ice cream, jelly and cakes) On Sunday lunch time, there is additional choice of Jollof or fried rice with half a chicken as well as curry or green beans soup. All for 20 kobo, and we were complaining when it was unsubsidised to 25 Kobo. People from outside the university community even used to come and have their meals in our cafeterias then. All Halls of Residence had their own cafeterias.
Thank you Lord, but I cry for the current generation of Nigerian students. They are studying under very hard conditions. So it is disheartening to hear that Nigerians are now sending their children to Universities in Ghana to get a better education. I remember that our universities in Nigeria used to attract hundreds of foreign students. A credit to Obasanjo was his large scale allowance and sponsorship of thousands of Zimbabweans and South Africans to study in Nigeria in the 70s, as part of Nigeria’s fore-front fight against apartheid.
There were university students exchange programs with other West African universities, especially with Ghanaian universities. I used to take in Ghanaian students from the University of Legon into my room every year when they visit the University of Ibadan on educational and sports exchanges and trips lasting up to two weeks at times. In those days, Ghanaians, Sierra Leoneans and Liberians thought Nigeria was a replica of the United States of America.
Even in those days, it was like we were having fun studying, as a matter of fact, I have to admit it was fun studying in Nigeria in those days. There was the Federal Government Loan of 1500 Naira per year (nobody ever pays it back because the Government never chase us for it); then the states’ bursaries (I remember the Bendel State Government used to pay each of its students in higher institutions 200Naira per year, the highest rate in the country at the time); and the states’ scholarships.
Some states in the East used to charter buses to drop and pick their students to and from their states in those days. The various clubs used to charter the University buses to go on trips to visit or party with other clubs in other universities around the country.
As a member (Comrad) of the Kegites Club of the University of Ibadan, I went on trips with hired University of Ibadan luxury buses supplied with drivers to “gyrate” with other Palm Wine Drinkards clubs (“Iliyas”) at the Universities of Ife, Lagos, Ilorin, Benin, Port Harcourt, Nsukka, Jos, and even Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as well as the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos; Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo and School of Agriculture, Akure, etc.
As I am writing, I am shaking my head in wonder and smiling at the reminiscence. I made life-long friends just interacting with other Nigerians through the many other components of formal education, while at the same time enjoying a qualitative education, mostly driven by excellent Nigerian teachers.
Unfortunately, my smiles and happiness are short-lived when I wake up to the reality that some idiots have ruined Nigeria for us such that current and future generations may never realise that Nigeria had been “good” before. It was not always like this. Unfortunately, we all have to bear the blame.
Some last words: Some of our corrupt ex-Governors during Obasanjo’s eight-year misrule are now virtual prisoners in their own country. Dariye and Alamieyeseigha dare not venture out of Nigeria or they will be grabbed by Interpol or the British Police. They jumped bail in the UK which is an offence by itself. So, they are now classified as fugitives and criminals. Ibori too can hardly venture out. Some of his accomplices are already in the net in the UK. Odili is staying clear of Rivers State, a state he ruled for eight years, for many different reasons. What a shame. With Oni in power in Ekiti State, I doubt if ex-Governor Fayose can go home to visit without causing a stir. Orji Kalu is hardly welcome in Abia State. When their eight years are up, I doubt if Gbenga Daniel and Olagunsoye Oyinlola will be welcome in Ogun and Osun States respectively.
In the meantime, after only two years in power, the machinery of governance and administration will ground to a halt in Abuja and all the states capitals, because Ministers, Senators, Representatives, Special Assistants and Advisers, Board members, State Commissioners, Local Government chief, etc who have higher ambitions to become Governors and other political posts, and one-term governors seeking a second term will now concentrate on subtle and not so subtle campaigns, and abandon their responsibilities. It has started already. For the next two years until 2011, nothing will get done, and most importantly, more stealing and looting will be taking place. That is Nigerian democracy for you.
This article is dedicated to my friends: late Matthew Imoisili; Professor Ayodeji Oluleye, now Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ibadan; Alhaji Tunji Ekemode, pioneer and former Provost, Lagos State College of Primary Education, Epe; late Emmanuel Emeni; Professor Bassey Effiong Bassey, now living somewhere in the United States; Rev. Olusesan Olumewo, now in the UK; Eng. Femi Dada; Sonola Olumhense, now living in the US; Professor Harry Garuba; Dr Gabriel Osaze Egharevba, ex-Unilag and now Reader, Chemistry Department, Obafemi Awolowo University; Shola Akintimehin , where are you now?; Alex Amata, Collins Abulu and Frank Kayoma (the Bendel boys); the National Association of Seadogs; the Kegites Club, University of Ibadan; University of Ibadan Students Union Executives of 1977/78 and the University of Ibadan itself.
I remember you all. Nigeria will be good one day, don’t you worry.
Akintokunbo Adejumo lives and works in London, UK. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1979) and University of Manitoba, Canada (1985), he also writes on topical issues and has been published in newspapers and internet media including Nigeriaworld.com, Nigeria Today Online, Nigerians In America, Nigeria Village Square, Champions Newspaper, ChatAfrik.com, African News Switzerland, New Nigerian Politics, Gamji.com, Codewit.com, Nigerian Horizon.com, Nigerian Muse.com, etc.
He is also the Coordinator of CHAMPIONS FOR NIGERIA, (www.championsfornigeria.org) an organisation devoted to celebrating genuine progress, excellence, commitment, selfless and unalloyed service to Nigeria and Nigerians
Friday, 12 June 2009
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Corruption Has Won The Battle Against Corruption.
“The United Nations (UN) says Nigerian kleptocrats have milked the nation to the tune of about $100 billion dollars thorough various acts of grand corruption, the cost of which it lamented by far exceeded the damage caused by any other single crime”(Daily Sun, Wednesday, December 3, 2008 page 9).
“The greatest incitement to crime is the hope of escaping punishment”(Marcus Cicero).
As far as Nigeria is concerned, we should think not what we can do to corruption but think of what corruption can do to Nigeria and Nigerians. I have made the above statement because of the level of corruption and the sequential reports of corrupt practises in Nigeria. On the average there are new cases of corruption reported weekly on the Nigerian dailies. The rates are very alarming. I am also 99% sure that many cases of corruption do not make headlines mainly because the go unnoticed by the press or the law enforcement agents. For the purposes of space and time, I will examine few cases of corruption in last 12 months to buttress my point. I will start with the power probe.
The National Assembly revelled that $16 billion dollars was invested in power sector without anything to show for it. This investment was made without any single megawatt being added to the national grid. To make matters worse was that some contractors didn’t even know the sites. Talk less of doing any job. Where is this money? Am sure $1 billion out of this amount can build about 3 new refineries. $1 billion should be enough to do a second Niger bridge across River Niger. $1 billion can build a low cost housing estate in Lagos or else where in the country. $1 billion can build a well equipped hospital in Nigeria thereby stopping our government officials from flying abroad all the time for medical attention. $1 billion can be used to create jobs for at lease 10,000 Nigerians. $1 billion can provide maximum security prisons where corrupt people can be sent to. The list of what the money can do is endless.
Towards the end of March 2009, the Nigerian dailies reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 2 comptrollers of Customs over an alleged complicity in a 3 billion naira customs duty scam, involving the controversial Vaswani brothers. The Vaswani brothers are the owners of Stallion Group. Their head office is in Victoria Island Lagos.
Then came the Halliburton $150 million dollars bribe money traced to Zurich. The total amount was $180 million dollars, which means that $30 million dollars is yet to be traced or found. This bribe was paid to facilitate the award of $6 billion dollars LNG contracts. My argument is that the $6 billion which was the quoted contract sum would be about 20 times the initial costs of the project. The federal government should conduct more enquiries and ascertain how much the original cost of the contracts should have been. This is with the view to knowing how much was actually stolen.
At the heat of the Halliburton bribe money discovery, President Yar’Adua promised the nation that once he has a response, he will make public the names of the culprits and take appropriate action. As part of taking his action, he inaugurated the Okiro Panel. The committee has eight weeks to submit its report. We are waiting and watching how it will go. To be fair and to achieve a balance, the president should name every person involved in corruption henceforth. A good starting point will be to name those behind $16 billion dollar unaccounted resources invested in the power sector. Until he does this, many Nigerians will tend to believe the accusations made by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the federal government is insincere in the fight against corruption.
Guardian newspapers of Wednesday, 22nd April 2009 online version reported about the African Petroleum (AP) Plc’s share price manipulation scam that made AP to suffer over N240 billion losses. The culprit in this case was named as Mr Eugene Anenih, the managing director of Nova Finance and Securities Limited.
As if there was a competition, the following day being Thursday, 23rd April 2009, Thisday newspapers online version reported that the suspended chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) with six other commissioners were being charged for fraud of N1.5 billion naira.
Thisday newspapers of 7th May 2009 online version reported that 3 house members including a serving senator of the country are on the run over a N6 billion naira rural electrification contract scam. The same paper reported about officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) arrested over N1.7 billion naira contract scam. Thisday newspaper of 8th May 2009 online version reported the story of N250 million bribe scandal given over the Ekiti re-run elections.
Guardian newspapers of Wednesday 13th May 2009 online version reported an allegation made by the special adviser on petroleum to President, (Dr Emmanuel Egbogah). He alleged that some members of the national assembly have taken bribes from some oil firms to truncate the federal government’s reforms in the petroleum sector. The amount was not mentioned.
Just recently, Nigerian dailies reported about the arrest of one Mr. Ejike Onwosugbolu who was carrying N250 million naira cash on three suit cases. On interrogation, he confessed that the money belonged to the present Anambra State governor (Peter Obi). Nigerians are waiting for what the EFCC will do about this case.
“The greatest incitement to crime is the hope of escaping punishment”(Marcus Cicero). Corruption has prospered in Nigeria mainly because corrupt government/private officials have a way of escaping punishment. It also shows the mindset of these evil people. Quoting former Justice Oputa, “Nothing will happen in our nation, in our society which did not first happen in our minds. If wrong is rampant, if indiscipline is rife, if corruption is the order of the day, we have to search our individual minds for that is where it all starts”.
Prevention is better than cure. My simple advice to the authorities in Nigeria should be to fashion out a preventive strategy against corruption. Secondly the authorities should consider making corruption a capital offence. We can borrow a leaf from China on the best way to fight corruption. The political parties were the indicted national assembly members are from, should take disciplinary actions against them. But before then let them refund their loot to the people of Nigeria.
Corruption is every where in the world, but the difference is how various countries approach it. When the expenses scandal involving British MP’s became open in the United Kingdom, the Tory leader (David Cameron) ordered senior conservatives to pay back thousands of pounds to the tax payers. The Tory leader humiliated several members of the shadow cabinet by naming them one by one on the national television. He ordered all the people involved to return the total amount claimed. He apologised to the nation for the actions of his party members. In same way, the Nigerian parties were the corrupt national assembly members are from should apologize to Nigerians.
America is also another to place to look out for how to deal with corrupt people. A good example should be Madoff who master minded one of the biggest fraud in history. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Nigerian authorities can do same at home if the federal government is true to its fight against corruption. If no tough measures are taken, corruption will continue to win the battle against corruption. May God bless Nigeria.
Chinedu Vincent Akuta
An activist and leader of “Support Option A4 Group” Leicester-UK
akutachinedu@yahoo.com
http://briefsfromakuta.blogspot.com/
“The greatest incitement to crime is the hope of escaping punishment”(Marcus Cicero).
As far as Nigeria is concerned, we should think not what we can do to corruption but think of what corruption can do to Nigeria and Nigerians. I have made the above statement because of the level of corruption and the sequential reports of corrupt practises in Nigeria. On the average there are new cases of corruption reported weekly on the Nigerian dailies. The rates are very alarming. I am also 99% sure that many cases of corruption do not make headlines mainly because the go unnoticed by the press or the law enforcement agents. For the purposes of space and time, I will examine few cases of corruption in last 12 months to buttress my point. I will start with the power probe.
The National Assembly revelled that $16 billion dollars was invested in power sector without anything to show for it. This investment was made without any single megawatt being added to the national grid. To make matters worse was that some contractors didn’t even know the sites. Talk less of doing any job. Where is this money? Am sure $1 billion out of this amount can build about 3 new refineries. $1 billion should be enough to do a second Niger bridge across River Niger. $1 billion can build a low cost housing estate in Lagos or else where in the country. $1 billion can build a well equipped hospital in Nigeria thereby stopping our government officials from flying abroad all the time for medical attention. $1 billion can be used to create jobs for at lease 10,000 Nigerians. $1 billion can provide maximum security prisons where corrupt people can be sent to. The list of what the money can do is endless.
Towards the end of March 2009, the Nigerian dailies reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 2 comptrollers of Customs over an alleged complicity in a 3 billion naira customs duty scam, involving the controversial Vaswani brothers. The Vaswani brothers are the owners of Stallion Group. Their head office is in Victoria Island Lagos.
Then came the Halliburton $150 million dollars bribe money traced to Zurich. The total amount was $180 million dollars, which means that $30 million dollars is yet to be traced or found. This bribe was paid to facilitate the award of $6 billion dollars LNG contracts. My argument is that the $6 billion which was the quoted contract sum would be about 20 times the initial costs of the project. The federal government should conduct more enquiries and ascertain how much the original cost of the contracts should have been. This is with the view to knowing how much was actually stolen.
At the heat of the Halliburton bribe money discovery, President Yar’Adua promised the nation that once he has a response, he will make public the names of the culprits and take appropriate action. As part of taking his action, he inaugurated the Okiro Panel. The committee has eight weeks to submit its report. We are waiting and watching how it will go. To be fair and to achieve a balance, the president should name every person involved in corruption henceforth. A good starting point will be to name those behind $16 billion dollar unaccounted resources invested in the power sector. Until he does this, many Nigerians will tend to believe the accusations made by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the federal government is insincere in the fight against corruption.
Guardian newspapers of Wednesday, 22nd April 2009 online version reported about the African Petroleum (AP) Plc’s share price manipulation scam that made AP to suffer over N240 billion losses. The culprit in this case was named as Mr Eugene Anenih, the managing director of Nova Finance and Securities Limited.
As if there was a competition, the following day being Thursday, 23rd April 2009, Thisday newspapers online version reported that the suspended chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) with six other commissioners were being charged for fraud of N1.5 billion naira.
Thisday newspapers of 7th May 2009 online version reported that 3 house members including a serving senator of the country are on the run over a N6 billion naira rural electrification contract scam. The same paper reported about officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) arrested over N1.7 billion naira contract scam. Thisday newspaper of 8th May 2009 online version reported the story of N250 million bribe scandal given over the Ekiti re-run elections.
Guardian newspapers of Wednesday 13th May 2009 online version reported an allegation made by the special adviser on petroleum to President, (Dr Emmanuel Egbogah). He alleged that some members of the national assembly have taken bribes from some oil firms to truncate the federal government’s reforms in the petroleum sector. The amount was not mentioned.
Just recently, Nigerian dailies reported about the arrest of one Mr. Ejike Onwosugbolu who was carrying N250 million naira cash on three suit cases. On interrogation, he confessed that the money belonged to the present Anambra State governor (Peter Obi). Nigerians are waiting for what the EFCC will do about this case.
“The greatest incitement to crime is the hope of escaping punishment”(Marcus Cicero). Corruption has prospered in Nigeria mainly because corrupt government/private officials have a way of escaping punishment. It also shows the mindset of these evil people. Quoting former Justice Oputa, “Nothing will happen in our nation, in our society which did not first happen in our minds. If wrong is rampant, if indiscipline is rife, if corruption is the order of the day, we have to search our individual minds for that is where it all starts”.
Prevention is better than cure. My simple advice to the authorities in Nigeria should be to fashion out a preventive strategy against corruption. Secondly the authorities should consider making corruption a capital offence. We can borrow a leaf from China on the best way to fight corruption. The political parties were the indicted national assembly members are from, should take disciplinary actions against them. But before then let them refund their loot to the people of Nigeria.
Corruption is every where in the world, but the difference is how various countries approach it. When the expenses scandal involving British MP’s became open in the United Kingdom, the Tory leader (David Cameron) ordered senior conservatives to pay back thousands of pounds to the tax payers. The Tory leader humiliated several members of the shadow cabinet by naming them one by one on the national television. He ordered all the people involved to return the total amount claimed. He apologised to the nation for the actions of his party members. In same way, the Nigerian parties were the corrupt national assembly members are from should apologize to Nigerians.
America is also another to place to look out for how to deal with corrupt people. A good example should be Madoff who master minded one of the biggest fraud in history. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Nigerian authorities can do same at home if the federal government is true to its fight against corruption. If no tough measures are taken, corruption will continue to win the battle against corruption. May God bless Nigeria.
Chinedu Vincent Akuta
An activist and leader of “Support Option A4 Group” Leicester-UK
akutachinedu@yahoo.com
http://briefsfromakuta.blogspot.com/
Saturday, 6 June 2009
We Really Must Be Really Scared Now!
I am really scared now. My state of mind has gone from “concerned” to “really scared and despondent” now, when it comes to Nigeria. Over the past two weeks, indeed over the past one month, things have really gone from bad to worse for me.
I am scared for myself, my family, my people (all Nigerians), Nigeria itself. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not going to let Nigeria kill me. I am just sad and scared because idiots are getting away with murder, literarily. I am scared because I might die outside Nigeria, with my family scattered all over the world, not wanting to have anything to do with their fatherland. Lord, am I scared?
There is the issue of the Niger Delta to contend with and I bear the pain of my brothers and sisters in that region. Then there is the ever constant issue of corruption, which does not seem to be abating, but is now at an alarming level, despite all the noises made by this administration, and everybody else. Then the issue of federal character in public appointments comes. And we also comment on our pseudo-democracy, electoral reforms and the Ekiti State election debacle.
I will have to take this one by one, in my own simple way. Unfortunately, I have a lot to pour from heart, but that will have to be in a book, not an article.
Niger Delta Crisis.
Everybody has written about this in one form or the other. I have too in one or two articles recently, highlighting the need to spread the blame, and hey presto!, comes the news or discovery that several politicians, both in and out of the government have been identified as being the cause of the militancy in that area. Highly placed figures including ministers (if indeed they minister unto us and not their families), ex-governors, serving governors (if indeed they serve us and not their damn pockets), lawmakers (if indeed they make laws) commissioners and even local government chairs and councillors, traditional chiefs, business people and oil concerns are variously and severally involved up to their dirty, cowardly and murderous necks.
Really, this is not a new discovery. Nigerians love re-inventing the wheel. We have known this to be a fact a long time ago. What is amazing is that it took this long to be made known to us, and even then, up till now, those involved, whose names are in security reports lying on the President’s desk, have not, and may never be released to the general public. Nor do I expect those implicated to be brought to justice now or ever. Am I being pessimistic here? The Abuja politicians will not allow the grass to grow under their heavy feet.
With the reports of thousands dead, mostly innocent Nigerian, and thousands more displaced, this is really genocide. And what about the militants? Every side is claiming victory. Who is the victor, who is the vanquished? Are the militants totally decimated now? Will peace and oil business as usual, return to the Niger Delta? All Nigerians are the losers, but we don’t know it yet. We have always been the losers.
Corruption (political, governmental, financial, etc).
Can we ever say enough about this? It is becoming kind of repetitive and boring, you might say. But we still have to hammer it into their thick skulls, until the skulls break; otherwise it is our skulls that they will break. No, dear compatriots, we can never say enough about Nigerian corruption. To abate the fight or rather the discussions against corruption on all fronts is to concede defeat to an enemy that is just waiting for you to do so. We will play into their hands.
I attended Kayode Ogundamisi’s Nigerian Liberty Forum held in London on Friday, 29th May 2009, where the issues of the State of Nigeria was raised by several high-calibre and respected speakers. Professor Wole Soyinka, our very own Nobel Laureate and promoter of African culture, human rights, freedom of expression and political activist of over 50 years, many times a prisoner of conscience of many Nigerian military administrations; Professor Sola Adeyeye, an ex-legislator and academic; Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,ex-EFCC Chairman, now hounded out of the country; Omoyele Sowore, that intrepid fighter from Sahara Reporters and a thorn in the flesh of corrupt Nigerian officials, no matter how highly placed; Professor Okey Ndibe, award-winning poet, novelist and political activist; Sister Affiong Affiong, a committed Pan Africanist who does not believe that Nigeria should break up; Mr Femi Falana, lawyer, human rights and political activist, and Jean Lambert, Member of the European Parliament who shared with us how Europe views and value Nigeria as partners.
Some of the speakers moved me close to tears about the situation in our country. They made me see clearly how desperate our situation, and existence, have become. And all because we have “Vagabonds In Power, VIPs”, paraphrasing the late great Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
The corruption in Nigeria is very alarming. A friend in Abuja told me recently that this is the time that ministers, senators, Reps, etc steal most because, as he put it, 80% of them, not satisfied with their positions, now want to go for governorships in their respective states, and they need massive amount of money to realise their inordinate and misplaced ambitions.
You see the problem with us? A man or woman brought from relative and deserved obscurity and thrust into power because of political connections to become a Minister, now having tasted power for only two short years, now wants to move to the next level of corruption, to become a governor and hence, loot the treasury at his disposal. Really, if you look at it this way, a man who stole whilst a minister or legislator, will never be a good governor, because he will still steal more. It is a matter of insatiability and kleptomania.
A good example is our Attorney General and Minister for Justice who is now tussling with his state governor to become Governor of Benue State in 2011. And the AGF is embroiled in many bribery and other corruption scandals right now, but everybody is turning a blind eye to his misdemeanours.
Federalism and living together.
I am not even sure anymore what to write. However, two things Nuhu Ribadu and Sister Affiong said gave me some hope. Nuhu Ribadu said we should look at Somalia, and that is when we will know that a state has failed, and that Nigeria is not a failed state, something I have always contended in my articles and discussions. I was assured by this. Sister Affiong, said that she is an Efik, and told us to forget about breaking up Nigeria; we are all in it together now, and we all, irrespective of ethnic origins or religiousl affiliations, have to find solutions to our problems and make Nigeria work. This is very poignant, indeed.
However, the replacement of Professor Charles Soludo, who we mush recognise and acknowledge as having done a lot to shore up not only the banking and financial sector, but the whole economy of Nigeria, as the Central bank Governor with Lamido Sanusi is hardly an example of Federal character, judging from all other political appointments that Yar ‘Adua had been carrying out since he came to power. This is not to say that Sanusi is not qualified or capable, but clearly, his appointment hardly reflects the so-called federal character in public appointments. The Northern hawks surrounding the president are bent on having their way, which, as they often like to say, is to protect Northern interests. But are they really protecting Northern interests, or their own personal selfish interests? If Northern interests had been really and sincerely protected all these almost 50 years since independence, would we still need to be protecting their interests? Sincerity is apparently a word alien to these hawks.
At that Nigerian Liberty Forum, when you hear Nuhu Ribadu, a scion of the North speaks so passionately about Nigeria being one, about all of us having our destiny tied together that is when you will know the hypocrisy of these Northern elites.
I however would like to commend Mr Sanusi who said the depreciation of the Naira in November was “absolutely necessary”, supporting and praising the performance of his predecessor Chukwuma Soludo, as opposed to the typical Nigerian trait of successors rubbishing the performance of their predecessors. “With oil prices falling, no responsible central banker will continue to subsidize imports,” he said. I wish him every success and he should try and prove his critics wrong that he got there purely because Northern interests want him there.
Our Pseudo-democracy.
It was interesting and alarming to learn that our Representatives earn N20m every four months ($413,000/year, even more than what the President of the United States or the British Prime Minister earns) for doing almost nothing, so said a former member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Farouk Adamu Aliyu, who queried the rationale for expending over 80 per cent of Nigeria's income on the public service. Aliyu said if the expenditure is not curtailed, it would be difficult to address the problem of poor infrastructure in the country.
He disclosed that each serving member of the Lower House now collects over N20 million every quarterly as against the N9 million he earned within the same period during his tenure from 2003 to 2007. This, he said, is a tip of the iceberg of what both elected and top officials of the government receive at the three tiers of the government in the country.
With the above, it is no wonder that politicians consider it a matter of life and death to get into power. And what value for money are they giving Nigerians? There does not appear to be any at all. Most of our representatives do not even have constituency offices where they can meet, hear and address the problems of their constituents, their people. Once they are (s)elected, they disappear into the luxuries of Abuja, and hardly ever identify with their people. All expenses and constituency allowances allocated to them for doing their jobs merely disappear into their pockets. And they are still chasing contract all over Abuja.
During my last visit to Abuja in November 2008, I met a Representative, from the South-East who told me that he takes or sends 500,000 Naira to his village every week, and this is considered cheap. He said he distributes this money to his people for such things as paying somebody’s child school fees, hospital bills, etc. So I asked him, how does he come by all this money, and why doesn’t he put all this money together to build a hospital, or a community centre, or a school or set up scholarships or do some boreholes, instead of distributing raw cash each week? He looked at me and said things cannot be done that way. I asked “Why not?” He said the system does not allow it. I was flummoxed. What does he do with the money for his constituency projects? He said this is the money he distributes. I was again flabbergasted. But he has four properties in his hometown and one in Lagos.
Paraphrasing the late Malcolm X, Nigerians have been had. We did not land on Abuja, Abuja landed on us.
Is this waste sustainable? Should we continue to sustain wastefulness and mismanagement? Democracy, Nigerian-style is a most expensive one that is not yielding any dividend for the people, but into a few irresponsible and greedy pockets. It is not a true democracy in every sense. Yet I must admit democracy is the only way forward for us, however, we must take control of it. We must refine it.
The Ekiti State election debacle again highlights what is bad about our democracy, the way we practice it. Despite the watered-down Electoral Reforms exercise carried out prior to the election, there is no real hope for Nigerians to have duly and properly elected officials come 2011. With certain Ekiti Senators and other politicians running around the state with thugs carrying and shooting guns and a Governor promising to supply guns and fake army and police uniforms, we are at a dead end.
I am so scared. You might ask me what my concern is. Nigeria is my concern – its people, its resources, its leaders, its management, its air, its lands, its children, its economy, its politics, its culture, its religions, its everything, good and bad, positive and negative.
Incidentally, I am also scared for our leaders, past and present who have done this to us. I am scared for them because as our elders used to say “There are many days for the thief, but there is only one day for the owner”; the “thief” being our thieving leaders (very apt) and the “owner” being the real suffering, oppressed, deceived, railroaded Nigerians. When the goat is backed against the wall, it will fight back with ferocity. Trust me. When that day comes, and I have no doubt it will happen very soon, what happened when Jerry Rawlings cleaned out Ghana will be child’s play compared with what will happen to Nigerian leaders.
This is why I am even scared for those who have made the lives of Nigerians hell on earth.
The day will come when true Nigerians will no longer be scared. Amen.
I am scared for myself, my family, my people (all Nigerians), Nigeria itself. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not going to let Nigeria kill me. I am just sad and scared because idiots are getting away with murder, literarily. I am scared because I might die outside Nigeria, with my family scattered all over the world, not wanting to have anything to do with their fatherland. Lord, am I scared?
There is the issue of the Niger Delta to contend with and I bear the pain of my brothers and sisters in that region. Then there is the ever constant issue of corruption, which does not seem to be abating, but is now at an alarming level, despite all the noises made by this administration, and everybody else. Then the issue of federal character in public appointments comes. And we also comment on our pseudo-democracy, electoral reforms and the Ekiti State election debacle.
I will have to take this one by one, in my own simple way. Unfortunately, I have a lot to pour from heart, but that will have to be in a book, not an article.
Niger Delta Crisis.
Everybody has written about this in one form or the other. I have too in one or two articles recently, highlighting the need to spread the blame, and hey presto!, comes the news or discovery that several politicians, both in and out of the government have been identified as being the cause of the militancy in that area. Highly placed figures including ministers (if indeed they minister unto us and not their families), ex-governors, serving governors (if indeed they serve us and not their damn pockets), lawmakers (if indeed they make laws) commissioners and even local government chairs and councillors, traditional chiefs, business people and oil concerns are variously and severally involved up to their dirty, cowardly and murderous necks.
Really, this is not a new discovery. Nigerians love re-inventing the wheel. We have known this to be a fact a long time ago. What is amazing is that it took this long to be made known to us, and even then, up till now, those involved, whose names are in security reports lying on the President’s desk, have not, and may never be released to the general public. Nor do I expect those implicated to be brought to justice now or ever. Am I being pessimistic here? The Abuja politicians will not allow the grass to grow under their heavy feet.
With the reports of thousands dead, mostly innocent Nigerian, and thousands more displaced, this is really genocide. And what about the militants? Every side is claiming victory. Who is the victor, who is the vanquished? Are the militants totally decimated now? Will peace and oil business as usual, return to the Niger Delta? All Nigerians are the losers, but we don’t know it yet. We have always been the losers.
Corruption (political, governmental, financial, etc).
Can we ever say enough about this? It is becoming kind of repetitive and boring, you might say. But we still have to hammer it into their thick skulls, until the skulls break; otherwise it is our skulls that they will break. No, dear compatriots, we can never say enough about Nigerian corruption. To abate the fight or rather the discussions against corruption on all fronts is to concede defeat to an enemy that is just waiting for you to do so. We will play into their hands.
I attended Kayode Ogundamisi’s Nigerian Liberty Forum held in London on Friday, 29th May 2009, where the issues of the State of Nigeria was raised by several high-calibre and respected speakers. Professor Wole Soyinka, our very own Nobel Laureate and promoter of African culture, human rights, freedom of expression and political activist of over 50 years, many times a prisoner of conscience of many Nigerian military administrations; Professor Sola Adeyeye, an ex-legislator and academic; Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,ex-EFCC Chairman, now hounded out of the country; Omoyele Sowore, that intrepid fighter from Sahara Reporters and a thorn in the flesh of corrupt Nigerian officials, no matter how highly placed; Professor Okey Ndibe, award-winning poet, novelist and political activist; Sister Affiong Affiong, a committed Pan Africanist who does not believe that Nigeria should break up; Mr Femi Falana, lawyer, human rights and political activist, and Jean Lambert, Member of the European Parliament who shared with us how Europe views and value Nigeria as partners.
Some of the speakers moved me close to tears about the situation in our country. They made me see clearly how desperate our situation, and existence, have become. And all because we have “Vagabonds In Power, VIPs”, paraphrasing the late great Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
The corruption in Nigeria is very alarming. A friend in Abuja told me recently that this is the time that ministers, senators, Reps, etc steal most because, as he put it, 80% of them, not satisfied with their positions, now want to go for governorships in their respective states, and they need massive amount of money to realise their inordinate and misplaced ambitions.
You see the problem with us? A man or woman brought from relative and deserved obscurity and thrust into power because of political connections to become a Minister, now having tasted power for only two short years, now wants to move to the next level of corruption, to become a governor and hence, loot the treasury at his disposal. Really, if you look at it this way, a man who stole whilst a minister or legislator, will never be a good governor, because he will still steal more. It is a matter of insatiability and kleptomania.
A good example is our Attorney General and Minister for Justice who is now tussling with his state governor to become Governor of Benue State in 2011. And the AGF is embroiled in many bribery and other corruption scandals right now, but everybody is turning a blind eye to his misdemeanours.
Federalism and living together.
I am not even sure anymore what to write. However, two things Nuhu Ribadu and Sister Affiong said gave me some hope. Nuhu Ribadu said we should look at Somalia, and that is when we will know that a state has failed, and that Nigeria is not a failed state, something I have always contended in my articles and discussions. I was assured by this. Sister Affiong, said that she is an Efik, and told us to forget about breaking up Nigeria; we are all in it together now, and we all, irrespective of ethnic origins or religiousl affiliations, have to find solutions to our problems and make Nigeria work. This is very poignant, indeed.
However, the replacement of Professor Charles Soludo, who we mush recognise and acknowledge as having done a lot to shore up not only the banking and financial sector, but the whole economy of Nigeria, as the Central bank Governor with Lamido Sanusi is hardly an example of Federal character, judging from all other political appointments that Yar ‘Adua had been carrying out since he came to power. This is not to say that Sanusi is not qualified or capable, but clearly, his appointment hardly reflects the so-called federal character in public appointments. The Northern hawks surrounding the president are bent on having their way, which, as they often like to say, is to protect Northern interests. But are they really protecting Northern interests, or their own personal selfish interests? If Northern interests had been really and sincerely protected all these almost 50 years since independence, would we still need to be protecting their interests? Sincerity is apparently a word alien to these hawks.
At that Nigerian Liberty Forum, when you hear Nuhu Ribadu, a scion of the North speaks so passionately about Nigeria being one, about all of us having our destiny tied together that is when you will know the hypocrisy of these Northern elites.
I however would like to commend Mr Sanusi who said the depreciation of the Naira in November was “absolutely necessary”, supporting and praising the performance of his predecessor Chukwuma Soludo, as opposed to the typical Nigerian trait of successors rubbishing the performance of their predecessors. “With oil prices falling, no responsible central banker will continue to subsidize imports,” he said. I wish him every success and he should try and prove his critics wrong that he got there purely because Northern interests want him there.
Our Pseudo-democracy.
It was interesting and alarming to learn that our Representatives earn N20m every four months ($413,000/year, even more than what the President of the United States or the British Prime Minister earns) for doing almost nothing, so said a former member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Farouk Adamu Aliyu, who queried the rationale for expending over 80 per cent of Nigeria's income on the public service. Aliyu said if the expenditure is not curtailed, it would be difficult to address the problem of poor infrastructure in the country.
He disclosed that each serving member of the Lower House now collects over N20 million every quarterly as against the N9 million he earned within the same period during his tenure from 2003 to 2007. This, he said, is a tip of the iceberg of what both elected and top officials of the government receive at the three tiers of the government in the country.
With the above, it is no wonder that politicians consider it a matter of life and death to get into power. And what value for money are they giving Nigerians? There does not appear to be any at all. Most of our representatives do not even have constituency offices where they can meet, hear and address the problems of their constituents, their people. Once they are (s)elected, they disappear into the luxuries of Abuja, and hardly ever identify with their people. All expenses and constituency allowances allocated to them for doing their jobs merely disappear into their pockets. And they are still chasing contract all over Abuja.
During my last visit to Abuja in November 2008, I met a Representative, from the South-East who told me that he takes or sends 500,000 Naira to his village every week, and this is considered cheap. He said he distributes this money to his people for such things as paying somebody’s child school fees, hospital bills, etc. So I asked him, how does he come by all this money, and why doesn’t he put all this money together to build a hospital, or a community centre, or a school or set up scholarships or do some boreholes, instead of distributing raw cash each week? He looked at me and said things cannot be done that way. I asked “Why not?” He said the system does not allow it. I was flummoxed. What does he do with the money for his constituency projects? He said this is the money he distributes. I was again flabbergasted. But he has four properties in his hometown and one in Lagos.
Paraphrasing the late Malcolm X, Nigerians have been had. We did not land on Abuja, Abuja landed on us.
Is this waste sustainable? Should we continue to sustain wastefulness and mismanagement? Democracy, Nigerian-style is a most expensive one that is not yielding any dividend for the people, but into a few irresponsible and greedy pockets. It is not a true democracy in every sense. Yet I must admit democracy is the only way forward for us, however, we must take control of it. We must refine it.
The Ekiti State election debacle again highlights what is bad about our democracy, the way we practice it. Despite the watered-down Electoral Reforms exercise carried out prior to the election, there is no real hope for Nigerians to have duly and properly elected officials come 2011. With certain Ekiti Senators and other politicians running around the state with thugs carrying and shooting guns and a Governor promising to supply guns and fake army and police uniforms, we are at a dead end.
I am so scared. You might ask me what my concern is. Nigeria is my concern – its people, its resources, its leaders, its management, its air, its lands, its children, its economy, its politics, its culture, its religions, its everything, good and bad, positive and negative.
Incidentally, I am also scared for our leaders, past and present who have done this to us. I am scared for them because as our elders used to say “There are many days for the thief, but there is only one day for the owner”; the “thief” being our thieving leaders (very apt) and the “owner” being the real suffering, oppressed, deceived, railroaded Nigerians. When the goat is backed against the wall, it will fight back with ferocity. Trust me. When that day comes, and I have no doubt it will happen very soon, what happened when Jerry Rawlings cleaned out Ghana will be child’s play compared with what will happen to Nigerian leaders.
This is why I am even scared for those who have made the lives of Nigerians hell on earth.
The day will come when true Nigerians will no longer be scared. Amen.
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