In the opening paragraph of my article, “We Really Must Be Really Scared Now!” written in June 2009(http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com ) I wrote “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?”
It is the morning of 14 September 2010, and I am still as scared as ever about events in our country, Nigeria. I woke up to disturbing (at least for me, because in Nigeria, such sentiments depend on which side of the fence you are or which side your bread is buttered) news, namely:
1. Former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, is in advanced talks with Peter Odili, former Governor of Rivers State, as he closes in on a running mate for the 2011 Presidential Elections, and secondly,
2. Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, on Monday informed President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo of his desire to contest the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party.
These two pieces of news sent me into a depression. Of course it has been in the news a long time that Babangida wants to contest to come an pick up what he forgot in Aso Rock, the depressing news (and incidentally, became good news, after settling down a bit and letting my brains work and get the better of me) is that of Odili being considered for his running mate.
Odilii was said to have been recommended by no less a person than the irrepressible Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of DAAR Communications, and director general of Mr. Babangida's presidential campaign. The two men (Odili and Dokpesi) had reputedly beneficial business dealings which, in our dear country, translate into stealing state funds, bribery, embezzlement and other fraudulent uses of state funds. Also, Dokpesi was the director general of Odili's campaign when he tried to run for president in 2007. At the time, Odili was alleged to have invested N400 million of funds taken from the Rivers State treasury, into Dokpesi's company. The EFCC, under Farida Waziri, quizzed Mr. Dokpesi over the money, but no charges were ever brought against this sacred Nigerian cow.
Odili, a medical doctor by training, was governor of Rivers State from 1999 to 2007, completing two terms. His tenure was marred by human rights violations, insecurity, violence and widespread fraud. He was the alleged “godfather” of some of the now notorious Niger Delta militants, who he used as political thugs to rig and win elections or do his other nefarious bidding and then dumped them, causing them to act on their own because their source of funding had been withdrawn by their Godfather.
During his governorship, Rivers State was, in theory, one of the wealthiest states in the country owing to its enormous oil revenue, but Mr. Odili instituted relatively few improvements. Instead, the former governor is on record for acquiring a South Africa-based hospital, and two Brazilian jets.
In November 2006, Peter Odili announced that he would run for president in the 2007 election under the ruling PDP. However, a day before the PDP's presidential primaries, Odili stepped down from the contest, paving the way for fellow governor, Umaru Yar'Adua, to emerge as the party's flag bearer. Reports say Mr. Odili (who was initially, President Obasanjo’s choice for President) was forced out of that contest when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by Nuhu Ribadu, barged into then President Obasanjo’s office and slapped down thick files containing reports implicating Odili in fraud, mismanagement of state funds, money laundering, and abuse of office. Obasanjo had to call Odili and told him to look at the files and asked him politely to step down. It was also said that Odili was made to return over 30 billion Naira he was alleged to have stolen or he would go to prison. I heard that on the eve of the PDP primaries, Odili had booked every hotel room in Abuja. It was said that he salted away over 250 billion Naira during his tenure as Governor of Rivers State. I will believe that, if you dont.
Odili filed a suit challenging the powers of the EFCC to probe his administration. The court, in his home state of Rivers, granted him an indefinite injunction stopping any investigations into his finances, describing it as a breach of his civil rights. (Only in Nigeria)
Till today, Odili is still walking round in Abuja a free man, looking up his ill-gotten investments in South Africa, probably flying in his jets just around Nigeria on ego-trips but barely going to Port Harcourt because he has been declared persona non grata by his people. He could only sneak in under the cover of darkness without the usual fanfare and then sneak back out the following morning or lay low until darkness comes again.
So my take on this? Please forgive my bias, but as a CORE anti-Babangida’s return to Aso Rock, this is indeed positive news. At the beginning of this article, I said I was depressed by the news; but as I write this article and let my brain wake up from the lethargy generated by this news. I also recollect Abraham Lincoln’s words: “A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks in the upcoming elections” Odili and IBB are both politicians, corrupt ones at that and they cannot think in the future. It is impossible. The bank balance of these two rogues is probably enough to provide uninterrupted power supply in Nigeria; two treasury looters united by ambition. As thick as thieves, they say.
Of course they have every right as Nigerians to contest for any position they so desire, but the good news is that, their coming together is going to do more damage to their ambition. Babangida apologists, who have always challenged Nigerians to bring out any evidence of Babangida’s corruption and other allegations, are even now squirming in their seats at his choice of running mate, who was easily and unquestionably one of the biggest treasury-looter in Nigeria under the tenure of Obasanjo.
Again, Nigerians need not fear an IBB/Odili ticket; they have had it before they even started. Their combination has confirmed the fears of Nigerians that they are going there to loot again. Also, we should rejoice that Babangida has again played into Obasanjo’s hands, who it was who terminated his Presidential ambition in 2007 when he (Obasanjo) sent a plane all the way from Abuja to Minna and presented him some hard evidence which compelled him to withdraw from the Presidential race, saving face by saying the late President Yar ‘Adua was his “brother”.
Problem is they have money and if we let them get there, Nigeria’s treasury will be emptied in no time, there will be genocide. We will be taken back to the 70's when there was no visible infrastructure, and by time they finish with us, or the treasury, we will be grateful for the few ones we have now. I am not crying “wolf” here. Look at my previous articles on several issues.
A digression: On an interview on the highly condescending Alistair Soyode’s show on BEN Tv, there was one of of IBB’s apologists, in his fifties. How did he defend Babangida’s qualification to come back and be President of Nigeria? This man said IBB qualifies to be Nigeria’s next President because he (IBB) married a woman from the East and speaks the 3 major languages in Nigeria...what does one say about such thinking?
Now, Dr Bukola Saraki, incidentally another trained medical doctor (like Peter Odili), who was never known to have practised his medical profession anywhere before. He simply went straight to his father’s (another medical doctor who hardly practiced medicine to fulfil the Hippocratic Oath of doing good for mankind) then- thriving banking business immediately he came out of university entering the bank first as a director and later the vice chairman, second only to his father. That bank, Societe Generale (SGBN), collapsed some years ago, and along with it went the money of innocent depositors. But it was not an ordinary collapse, because the Directors of the bank, that is, the Sarakis’ personal fortune went up shortly after the collapse. Obviously, the depositors’ money went into the Sarakis’ pockets.
According to SaharaReporters “It was that their family owned bank - Societe General Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) - whose fortunes had been on the downturn since 1995 while the personal fortunes of the Saraki's, particularly, Bukola was on the rise, had gone completely under. According to a copy of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Assets Declaration forms obtained by Saharareporters - filed and signed by Bukola Saraki on every page- Bukola's personal fortunes only sky-rocketed while depositors lost huge investments in the SGBN which eventually went out of business in 2003 shortly after the Sarakis won the controversial elections into the senate and governorship seat in April 2003 and were sworn-in as the Governor of Kwara State and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria respectively”.
Yet despite this obvious lack of business acumen and poor financial or fiscal management, the younger Saraki went into politics and was elected, or rather, selected as the Governor of Kwara State.in 1999. Of course it was the visible hands of his powerful father, who had, and still has a very strong grip on Kwara politics. He had been dictating who will be the Governor of Kwara State for the past 20 years or so, if not more.
But the news of his interest in becoming the next president of Nigeria is my concern here. According to Olurotimi Adeola in Transparency For Nigeria (www.transparencyng.com ) “What is he (Bukola Saraki) bringing to the presidency that he couldn’t showcase in Kwara where he has spent the last seven years administering? Or maybe he believes his father who is the great political oracle of Kwara state have extended his sphere of influence to the entire country this time around. It’s an open secret, that Dr. Olusola Saraki, the father of Governor Bukola has manacled the people of Kwara state politically in the last three decades. He alone determines the ‘soul’ of the state; in spite of this, one cannot point at any tangible benefits to the malnourished masses of that state in his over thirty years of control. Governor Bukola Saraki is a beneficiary of his father’s conquered political sphere no doubt; without the elder Saraki, Governor Bukola would never have won a councillorship seat in his state. Little wonder his sister Senator Gbemisola too is gunning to replace him……What would be Bukola Saraki’s leadership credentials if he finally enter the race for presidency? Is he going to show us, how he has created employment opportunities in Kwara and prove that most Kwarans are now gainfully employed as a result of his pragmatic stewardship in the last seven years? Is he going to showcase to Nigerians, how lives and properties are now so secured and safe in Kwara State, and that all residents go to bed with their two eyes closed? Or present to Nigerians, a Kwara State where water supply and electricity run for twenty four hours without interruption; where public hospitals are well equipped and manned by qualified and satisfied staff; where public schools meet required standards; where there are good network of roads, good public transport, standard markets etc; and finally a grateful and appreciative citizenry? If these are not the credentials Bukola Saraki is bringing to the race for president, then he has no business seeking the presidency of Nigeria”.
According to some reports, Bukola Saraki bought 15 luxurious cars including a Ferrari, all of which were worth N240 million between 1997-2003, a period described as most critical in the life of the SGBN while he was the Executive Vice Chairman of the SBGN. (I saw that Ferrari in Ilorin – Imagine driving a Ferrari on Nigerian roads, madness) I also heard that the Sarakis physically went into the vaults of the bank and carted away every penny they could find to finance the 2003 elections that gave them double victory in Kwara State as well as another victory of constitutional immunity from prosecution by the relevant agencies of government
My advice is that now is the time for depositors and investors who were cheated of their life savings by the Saraki dynasty to take necessary and appropriate legal actions to retrieve their investments with accrued interests. The resulting bad publicity and outcry should be enough to put a permanent stop to this inordinate ambition by a so-called aristocratic dynasty to foist themselves on Nigerians and continue the treasury (and indeed, bank vault) looting they started in their state.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Bukola Saraki is above the laws of the land. Obasanjo refused to commit himself to a probe of how SGBN failed, because Saraki Senior himself was bigger than Obasanjo, and Obasanjo dared not probe him and his family. Saraki is now one of the most powerful Governors in Nigeria. Incidentally, he’s hardly in his home state of Kwara. He’s always swaggering around in Abuja and ruling Kwara State as an absentee landlord. He has got a lot of people in government – via political appointments, civil service, Foreign Service, police, immigration, henchmen and hatchet men, etc - who are very loyal to him.
The politics of powerful connections and father/family towering influences should be exorcised forthwith in Nigeria politics.
Please let us not allow Babangida/Odili and Bukola Saraki to even get their names on the ballot paper, and if they do, LET US REJECT THEM OUTRIGHT.
This is the time to sensitise the Nigerian electorate to the risks in electing Babangida-Odili to even act as road-diggers or dog-catchers for Nigeria. Open your eyes; use your ears and use your brains!
This is the more reason why we need to embark on public enlightenment and education campaigns to ensure that the voters know competent candidates with track records this time around, not just opportunists, charlatans, pretenders, the corrupt and the corrupters and people who think ruling Nigeria is their birthright.
The TRUTH has to be said always.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Wole Soyinka’s “The Avoidable Trap Of Cultural Relativism”* – A Comment
I think in order to discuss Wole Soyinka’s speech, as above, it is necessary to understand what Cultural Relativism implies. The first use of the term, “Cultural Relativism” was around 1924 when Alan Locke described Robert Lowe’s “extreme cultural relativism”, and since then there have been numerous debates between cultural relativism and universal human rights.
It is normal to assume that any intelligentsia from the so-called Third World will find the philosophy of cultural relativism abhorrent and definitely unacceptable. This is because it is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture. Some school of thought also believe it to be an undeniable fact; moral rules and social institutions evidence a surprising cultural and historical inconsistency.
However, there is a conflict with those who hold universal human rights very dear, and this is evident from the Wole Soyinka’s treatise. However, the Nobel Laureate made no attempt to reconcile the competing claims of cultural relativism and universal human rights, and indeed is wary of the claims made by the proponents and promoters of the former.
The eminent, Nobel Laureate Professor also outlined the issue of “Cultural Diversity” of the human, which is of course an undeniable and acknowledged fact. Human beings are diverse and hence we have for example, blacks and whites, Africans and Asians, and even amongst Africans, we have Nigerians and South Africans, and furthermore, within Nigeria, we have Yorubas, Igbos and others.
To acknowledge other people’s diversity is a good thing and this, as is increasingly evident to all, should ultimately bring about the peaceful co-existence of diverse cultures and people in the world. However, the danger, as Wole Soyinka pointed out, is in the usurpation of the cultural diversity by the proponents of cultural relativism, despite the fact that they are mutually exclusive philosophies.
This has then led to a distortion of the principles of universal human rights, even as imperfect as it is. And perhaps, it is because of this imperfection that cultural relativists have been able to exploit the weakness
Furthermore, the essay pointed out the how the philosophies of cultural relativism could be distorted to endorse certain human differences which are inherent in this world, and then used to justify certain barbarisms which we have experienced since the beginning of time. But then, we know that all ideas, philosophies and religious creeds could be so distorted even by the most devoted of practitioners of these creeds. We know how the holy books of The Bible and The Koran have been distorted for largely personal reasons, or to justify hatred, killings, etc. It is the same way that cultural relativism has been, and is still being warped today, and will probably continue for a very long time.
The essay again asserted that cultural relativism has created an environment in which diverse views or opinions on various cultural, or rather socio-cultural issues in the society are refused or totally ignored, such that dissent is not permitted. This has therefore led to dictatorship, discrimination and even state-sanctioned genocide. An example of the latter that comes to my mind is the “ethnic cleansing” that happened when the former Yugoslavia broke up.
Diversity of culture and human rights are better presented without the baggage of cultural relativism. All humans, as the essay/speech pointed out, have rights by virtue of their humanity and those rights cannot be conditioned by gender or national or ethnic origin. Also, we know that human rights as it exists universally are the highest moral rights, so no rights can be subordinated to another person (e.g. a husband) or an institution (e.g. the state). This is in diametric opposition to the philosophy of cultural relativism.
One could therefore see the antagonism of human rights proponents and supporters to the theories of cultural relativism.
Personally, I believe, and this is also reflected very visibly in the essay/speech, that cultural relativism, if we are not careful, is leaning more towards accepting the inequality of the races as a natural phenomenon, and therefore promotes racism. The essay also presupposes that it is this doctrine that could have been responsible for ethnic and religious problems and occurrences we are having all over the world today, and whose proponents are vigorously trying to push down our throats, especially in the so-called Third World or developing countries and economies of the world.
My own take on this is this. I am definitely not a fan or follower of the ideals or philosophy of cultural relativism. However, with a little bit of research to get more knowledge about the topic, I have come to realise that it is possible that both sides of the debate on cultural relativism and universal human rights are manipulated to be made reciprocally exclusive and both sides make claims that are not only valid but reconcilable.
From the point of view of someone whose people are always on the receiving end of injustice, discrimination, inequality, etc, (that is, Africans), Wole Soyinka is right to be wary of a doctrine which instead of promoting equality and dignity of the races (that is Human Rights), seems to be doing the opposite while couching the deed in a way that seems acceptable to everybody, and in fact is being promoted in high places around the world.
However, the fact remains that Human Rights, as we have it defined today, are not universal, but predicated on Western moral values which might not necessarily be adaptable to, say, someone in Botswana or Thailand, and therefore should not be imposed as model on non-Western societies in disregard of those non-Western societies’ historical and economic progress and in disregard of their cultural differences and perceptions of what is right and wrong.
Universalism holds that more “primitive” cultures will eventually evolve to have the same system of law and rights as Western cultures. Cultural relativists hold an apposite, but similarly rigid viewpoint, that a traditional culture is not changeable.
This then reflected what I have pointed out above that universalism is modelled after only the Western viewpoint, disregarding other cultures and in fact denigrating other cultures as inferior. This is racism of the highest order.
As again pointed out in the speech by Wole Soyinka, cultural relativism has great problems and potential for abuse, however, I submit that universalism or universal human rights in its current state is not the ideal solution. Why, for example, if we have an African King, who has an advisory council of 12 senior chiefs, this system is any less representative than the supposedly more liberal Western societies?
I think the challenge to moralists and proponents of both concepts is to “marry” the two viewpoints or philosophies or ideologies to find an ideal solution or a common ground for the betterment of the society at large. We still need to take into consideration such issues as efficacy of international laws, international system of human rights, promotion and protection of human rights, and state compliance.
However, if cultural tradition or cultural relativism alone governs State observance of international standards, then widespread disrespect, abuse and violation of human rights would be given legitimacy, and these I think, is the crux of Prof. Wole Soyinka’s essay.
*Wole Soyinka, 2008. “The Avoidable Trap Of Cultural Relativism”. Speech on the occasion of the second edition of the Geneva Lecture Series, Geneva, 10 December 2008.
It is normal to assume that any intelligentsia from the so-called Third World will find the philosophy of cultural relativism abhorrent and definitely unacceptable. This is because it is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture. Some school of thought also believe it to be an undeniable fact; moral rules and social institutions evidence a surprising cultural and historical inconsistency.
However, there is a conflict with those who hold universal human rights very dear, and this is evident from the Wole Soyinka’s treatise. However, the Nobel Laureate made no attempt to reconcile the competing claims of cultural relativism and universal human rights, and indeed is wary of the claims made by the proponents and promoters of the former.
The eminent, Nobel Laureate Professor also outlined the issue of “Cultural Diversity” of the human, which is of course an undeniable and acknowledged fact. Human beings are diverse and hence we have for example, blacks and whites, Africans and Asians, and even amongst Africans, we have Nigerians and South Africans, and furthermore, within Nigeria, we have Yorubas, Igbos and others.
To acknowledge other people’s diversity is a good thing and this, as is increasingly evident to all, should ultimately bring about the peaceful co-existence of diverse cultures and people in the world. However, the danger, as Wole Soyinka pointed out, is in the usurpation of the cultural diversity by the proponents of cultural relativism, despite the fact that they are mutually exclusive philosophies.
This has then led to a distortion of the principles of universal human rights, even as imperfect as it is. And perhaps, it is because of this imperfection that cultural relativists have been able to exploit the weakness
Furthermore, the essay pointed out the how the philosophies of cultural relativism could be distorted to endorse certain human differences which are inherent in this world, and then used to justify certain barbarisms which we have experienced since the beginning of time. But then, we know that all ideas, philosophies and religious creeds could be so distorted even by the most devoted of practitioners of these creeds. We know how the holy books of The Bible and The Koran have been distorted for largely personal reasons, or to justify hatred, killings, etc. It is the same way that cultural relativism has been, and is still being warped today, and will probably continue for a very long time.
The essay again asserted that cultural relativism has created an environment in which diverse views or opinions on various cultural, or rather socio-cultural issues in the society are refused or totally ignored, such that dissent is not permitted. This has therefore led to dictatorship, discrimination and even state-sanctioned genocide. An example of the latter that comes to my mind is the “ethnic cleansing” that happened when the former Yugoslavia broke up.
Diversity of culture and human rights are better presented without the baggage of cultural relativism. All humans, as the essay/speech pointed out, have rights by virtue of their humanity and those rights cannot be conditioned by gender or national or ethnic origin. Also, we know that human rights as it exists universally are the highest moral rights, so no rights can be subordinated to another person (e.g. a husband) or an institution (e.g. the state). This is in diametric opposition to the philosophy of cultural relativism.
One could therefore see the antagonism of human rights proponents and supporters to the theories of cultural relativism.
Personally, I believe, and this is also reflected very visibly in the essay/speech, that cultural relativism, if we are not careful, is leaning more towards accepting the inequality of the races as a natural phenomenon, and therefore promotes racism. The essay also presupposes that it is this doctrine that could have been responsible for ethnic and religious problems and occurrences we are having all over the world today, and whose proponents are vigorously trying to push down our throats, especially in the so-called Third World or developing countries and economies of the world.
My own take on this is this. I am definitely not a fan or follower of the ideals or philosophy of cultural relativism. However, with a little bit of research to get more knowledge about the topic, I have come to realise that it is possible that both sides of the debate on cultural relativism and universal human rights are manipulated to be made reciprocally exclusive and both sides make claims that are not only valid but reconcilable.
From the point of view of someone whose people are always on the receiving end of injustice, discrimination, inequality, etc, (that is, Africans), Wole Soyinka is right to be wary of a doctrine which instead of promoting equality and dignity of the races (that is Human Rights), seems to be doing the opposite while couching the deed in a way that seems acceptable to everybody, and in fact is being promoted in high places around the world.
However, the fact remains that Human Rights, as we have it defined today, are not universal, but predicated on Western moral values which might not necessarily be adaptable to, say, someone in Botswana or Thailand, and therefore should not be imposed as model on non-Western societies in disregard of those non-Western societies’ historical and economic progress and in disregard of their cultural differences and perceptions of what is right and wrong.
Universalism holds that more “primitive” cultures will eventually evolve to have the same system of law and rights as Western cultures. Cultural relativists hold an apposite, but similarly rigid viewpoint, that a traditional culture is not changeable.
This then reflected what I have pointed out above that universalism is modelled after only the Western viewpoint, disregarding other cultures and in fact denigrating other cultures as inferior. This is racism of the highest order.
As again pointed out in the speech by Wole Soyinka, cultural relativism has great problems and potential for abuse, however, I submit that universalism or universal human rights in its current state is not the ideal solution. Why, for example, if we have an African King, who has an advisory council of 12 senior chiefs, this system is any less representative than the supposedly more liberal Western societies?
I think the challenge to moralists and proponents of both concepts is to “marry” the two viewpoints or philosophies or ideologies to find an ideal solution or a common ground for the betterment of the society at large. We still need to take into consideration such issues as efficacy of international laws, international system of human rights, promotion and protection of human rights, and state compliance.
However, if cultural tradition or cultural relativism alone governs State observance of international standards, then widespread disrespect, abuse and violation of human rights would be given legitimacy, and these I think, is the crux of Prof. Wole Soyinka’s essay.
*Wole Soyinka, 2008. “The Avoidable Trap Of Cultural Relativism”. Speech on the occasion of the second edition of the Geneva Lecture Series, Geneva, 10 December 2008.
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
A Democracy Of Profligacy And Outright Treasury-Looting
Quote (Elombah Perspectives): “President Barack Obama's salary is $400,000 per annum. A Nigeria Senator collects ₦48 million per quarter. At the end of the year, each senator's haul will be in the neighbourhood of $1.7 million. Each of the 360 members of the House of Representatives will receive ₦35 million, that's $300,000 per member per quarter. At the end of the year, each member of the House would have collected a cool $1.2 million”.
Past surveys of salaries and benefits of public office holders from the Baltic to the Bahamas, the Americas and the Far East and everywhere else, has showed that Ministers and Federal Legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid in the world, despite the country being among the poorest in terms of per capita income, security, social provision and living standards. On the other hand, Nigerian workers are one of the lowest paid in the world.
The Nigerian Minister earns more than his American, British or German counterpart, and of course enjoys pecks of office those ones cannot even dare dream of - for doing next to NOTHING!!! This is a wasteful, reckless, licentious and decadent system of governance.
Due to space, I will not highlight the data and facts associated with the earnings of both our leaders and lawmakers, but suffice it to say that this democracy that we practice in Nigeria is really a form of fraud and scam committed against the Nigeria people. No wonder then that, as ex-president Obasanjo put it in 2007, politics is a “do-or-die” affair for many potential politicians in Nigeria. It is obvious that the reason why most people decide to go into politics is motivated by greed and personal aggrandisement; not to serve the country and the people, but really to serve their pockets, and to be served by the people of Nigeria.
A large chunk of the annual budget ends up as salaries and allowances in the pocket of this small percentage of Nigerians. For example, out of the 2009 annual budget of N3.1 trillion, N1.3 trillion or 42% ended up as remuneration for 17,500 individuals in a country of 150 million people. If this is the case, what is left for social and economic development? What is left for constructing roads, improving education and healthcare, providing water and electricity, regards to the health of the economy and welfare of the people, etc?
And don’t omit various other incomes accruing to these shameless, jobless individuals, law breakers, the 419s, paedophiles, murderers and election riggers. If we add constituency projects (in the US, it’s called PORK BARRELS), add the inflated contracts plus the wheeling and dealings over appropriations, rubber stamps of the executives and junket jamborees. Compatriots, we're looking at almost 90% of GNP.
According to reports, “each Senator will pocket 720 million Naira in four years, while each House of Representative member will get 540 million Naira. These sums do not include the approved pay by RMAFC which they also collect. Apart from being illegal, it is obscene, in a country where a huge chunk of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar per day. Senate President David Mark gets 250 million Naira per quarter; Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu 150 million Naira; and each of the eight remaining principal officers 78 million Naira. It is no wonder that Nigerians are yet to see the dividends of democracy, over 10 years later! Ours must be the most expensive democracy on earth, and if nothing is done quickly to stem this looting tide, it may come to a time that there will be no money to run the government beyond paying the bloated salaries and allowances of our public office holders,'' rightly said the Action Congress party.
Okey Ndibe called it “A Feeding Frenzy”. NEXT's Musikilu Mojeed and Elor Nkereuwem christened it “An Assembly for Looting” saying “Considering that Nigeria's minimum wage stands at ₦5, 500 a month, each senator's quarterly allowance "will pay for 2,909 workers earning the minimum wage." The reporters offered other tantalizing projections. If Nigerians were to fire the entire membership of the National Assembly, the savings would be more than enough to "fund the N88.5billion" Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua budgeted this year for building power plants. Alternatively, we could "fund hospitals and clinics" all over Nigeria, "fix the Benin-Ore Expressway, which has collapsed, or make a significant down payment on the Lagos-Kano railway line”. The Tribune editorialised this perilous trend as “Poverty Inflicted by Profligacy”. Whatever it is, Nigeria cannot sustain or afford this waste.
According to Wikipedia, in ecology, a feeding frenzy is a situation where oversaturation of a supply of food leads to rapid feeding by predatory animals. For example, a large school of fish can cause nearby sharks to enter a feeding frenzy. This can cause the sharks to go wild, biting anything that moves, including each other or anything else within biting range. This term is most often used when referring to sharks or piranhas, due to these being some of the most feared predators. Feeding frenzy is also a metaphor often used in a non-biological sense to describe excited involvement by a group over some focal point of attention. I will take the example of our politicians, especially the so-called lawmakers or legislators (read – “legislooters”). Their feeding frenzy is a result of their excited involvement over the unregulated wealth and resources of Nigeria. There is nobody to control the wealth; it is there for all (actually a very miniscule percentage of the population – less than 0.5%) to take and put in their pockets.
The fact is Nigerian politicians have turned themselves into instant millionaires just for being members of the National Assembly, paying themselves huge, obscene and unjustified salaries and allowances not commensurate with their very low productivity and without doing anything worthwhile for the country, for you and me, or for humanity. They are “Legis-looters”, “Dis-Honourables” and “Execu-thieves”.
Sooner than later Nigerians should march to the National Assembly Complex for a show down with them. I will gladly lead it.
The members of this NASS are of the same ilk...greedy looters of our treasury who are insensitive to the economic situation of the country, and the plight of the general masses.
What visible difference has their representations made in the lives of the represented Nigerians to give them the false idea that they deserve their present salary talk less of a pay rise? Please, someone tell me: how many bills have these odious, greedy and lazy thieves passed into law since 1999? Do we actually know what they are doing except some of them using big vocabularies? What are we getting in return for their large obnoxious salaries and expenses? Why are Nigerians funding their expensive lifestyles, and getting zero in return?
And to top it all, look at their shameless behaviour in the House while trying to remove their Speaker, who is also accused of gross corruption. These are common thugs, mediocre and thieves, men and women, and even the reason for their behaviour was based on the loot. Are these lawmakers we should be proud of? Do we really need these types to make laws for us? No, and this is why Nigeria is going backwards everyday. We have vagabonds in power. We have mediocre in power. And when that happens, no country like that will ever progress.
Reuben Abati in his write-up “Nigerian Legislators!” wrote “I believe that they over-paid and underworked. It is members of the Lower House that are in the news this week, but the Senators are no different. N27.2 million per quarter, and now they want more! And what do they do? The only time Nigerian MPs suddenly become vocal and creative is when they are hustling for jumbo pay and allowances. This is the case not only in Abuja but also in the states, where the members of the Houses of Assembly are perpetually fighting the Governor to give them more money. They insist that no one should blame them because they can see the Governor and other members of the Executive taking “their own share,” so why should they be excluded? In states where there is peace between the House and the Executive, it is usually the case that the Governor, to put it in their language, “knows how to settle.” This is the sad Nigerian story. And yet, so much money for what? What kind of legitimate work can anybody do in Nigeria that will fetch a salary, the type the MPs are asking for in three months? These are the same lawmakers who are mostly absent. Their standard lie is that they are busy with committee meetings, but in reality most of them are busy chasing contracts in government departments or peddling influence around town, or busy harassing companies and MDAs over which they exercise oversight functions”.
“The statistics can be easily worked out with the result that the amount of public funds that has been guzzled by Abuja MPs alone in the last three years, not to talk of since 1999, is enough to fix Nigeria’s comatose railway lines, the federal universities and a number of hospitals (assuming the money does not also get stolen by inefficient contractors!). Nigeria is in a financial mess. The foreign reserve account, according to one report quoting the Minister of State for Finance, which used to be as high as $62 billion in 2008 is down to $38 billion, while the excess crude account which in 2007 stood at $20 billion is down to zero. But our MPs do not care”
There is an unwritten consensus that politicians are only interested in looting the treasury. But Nigeria cannot make progress that way. There must be sanctions for this kind of conduct, particularly from voters in the next election. Where lies Nigeria’s future? Whence cometh the change that we seek?
Nigeria is paying a price continuously for the hijack of the political space by hungry men and women. I align myself with the old suggestion that parliamentary work in Nigeria should be a part-time engagement. Only persons with a visible means of livelihood should be allowed to become lawmakers, and the various legislatures do not have to sit so often. In the alternative, legislative work should attract very minimal remuneration in form of sitting allowances only, with a proper accent on service. That should shut the “legis-looters” out".
This has got to stop. One way it can stop is to reduce very drastically the remuneration of lawmakers and other political offices such that it will be unattractive to potential thieves and looters and that only people who sincerely want to serve will see such small remuneration as enough motivation to contest elections to these office and be committed to good governance and delivering desired results. Right now, we have only self-serving politicians – executives or lawmakers. The obscene salaries and perks are what is attracting thieves to the serious business of governance and lawmaking, and this is why these thieves will always rig elections, commit murder and assassinations to position themselves where they will steal, shutting out genuine and sincere democrats who want to do well for the welfare of their people.
This phenomenon is replicated in the States’ Houses of assembly down to the Local Government Council Chambers.
Secondly, Nigeria does not need a full time bicameral legislature (In government, the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a parliament or legislature which consists of two Chambers or Houses); in other words, we do not need full time lawmakers or two assemblies – Senate and House of Representatives. What is needed is a unicameral legislature (the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber) that will meet for a maximum of 30 days a year and afterwards, they would go back to whatever their various professions are, if they have any at all. Lawmaking should NOT be a full time career, as we have it in Nigeria. I am proffering a solution which is a part -time National Assembly that sits for no more than 30 days a year. There’s no reason why a country half the size of the State of Texas will have as many legislatures as big as the whole of the United States. Ideally, legislators should be paid sitting allowances and work on a part-time basis. This is what obtains in several states in the U.S, whose system of government we claim to be copying. If the attraction of effortless money is removed, we're certainly to see an enhancement in the quality of lawmakers. The leeches who are in it for the cash will take their game elsewhere.
I will admit that this latter solution is a bit tough because many countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous unitary states and consider an upper house or second chamber unnecessary. Nevertheless, we should not make either bicameral or unicameral legislature a full time activity for our politicians.
Those leaders in transient, political power, who had tried to usurp God’s authority on earth, have often faced occasional deprivation. Their regimes were either overthrown or their term of office would eventually end anyway. They become expired politicians, with wrinkles and gray hairs to show for it. Jetting from one political event to another, they pontificate on what should be done; now that they have become “wiser and humbler” (Babangida is an example)
Nigerian politicians do not seem to know that they owe their people economic well-being and good life on earth. Unfortunately, many of our politicians actively and openly corruptly enrich themselves at the expense of the state and the people they are supposed to lead and rule. Through administrative fiats and legislative props, they racket the economy.
A new, strict regime against political, economic and cultural corruption must be put in place: otherwise the “small people” will rise up and overthrow their fake and small kingdoms of evil.
In my article “In A Lighter Mood: The Way We Seriously Feel About Our Leaders” 29th August 2007 (http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/in-a-lighter-mood-the-way-we-seriously-feel-about-our-leaders.html), I wrote “Therefore, any new political reform should address this. Legislators must be paid expenses only for their service to the country. The current system is very profligate, expensive and attracts thieves and mediocre. Expenses must be for attendances, cost of keeping constituency offices open, and if they have to be give car, housing and transport allowances, these must be properly allocated, scrutinized, monitored and commensurate with the service provided by these people. Judging from recent revelations on the wastefulness and profligacy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senators, etc, the cost of running Nigeria’s democracy is too high, and especially given our penchant for lack of accountability and corruption, this has to be brought under rigid and strict control. Our unscrupulous political class should be discouraged and deterred from going into government to make money. Hence make it unattractive to them".
THIS WASTE AND ILLEGAL DRAINING OF OUR RESOURCES BY A FEW NEED TO STOP NOW.
Let the Truth be told always
Past surveys of salaries and benefits of public office holders from the Baltic to the Bahamas, the Americas and the Far East and everywhere else, has showed that Ministers and Federal Legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid in the world, despite the country being among the poorest in terms of per capita income, security, social provision and living standards. On the other hand, Nigerian workers are one of the lowest paid in the world.
The Nigerian Minister earns more than his American, British or German counterpart, and of course enjoys pecks of office those ones cannot even dare dream of - for doing next to NOTHING!!! This is a wasteful, reckless, licentious and decadent system of governance.
Due to space, I will not highlight the data and facts associated with the earnings of both our leaders and lawmakers, but suffice it to say that this democracy that we practice in Nigeria is really a form of fraud and scam committed against the Nigeria people. No wonder then that, as ex-president Obasanjo put it in 2007, politics is a “do-or-die” affair for many potential politicians in Nigeria. It is obvious that the reason why most people decide to go into politics is motivated by greed and personal aggrandisement; not to serve the country and the people, but really to serve their pockets, and to be served by the people of Nigeria.
A large chunk of the annual budget ends up as salaries and allowances in the pocket of this small percentage of Nigerians. For example, out of the 2009 annual budget of N3.1 trillion, N1.3 trillion or 42% ended up as remuneration for 17,500 individuals in a country of 150 million people. If this is the case, what is left for social and economic development? What is left for constructing roads, improving education and healthcare, providing water and electricity, regards to the health of the economy and welfare of the people, etc?
And don’t omit various other incomes accruing to these shameless, jobless individuals, law breakers, the 419s, paedophiles, murderers and election riggers. If we add constituency projects (in the US, it’s called PORK BARRELS), add the inflated contracts plus the wheeling and dealings over appropriations, rubber stamps of the executives and junket jamborees. Compatriots, we're looking at almost 90% of GNP.
According to reports, “each Senator will pocket 720 million Naira in four years, while each House of Representative member will get 540 million Naira. These sums do not include the approved pay by RMAFC which they also collect. Apart from being illegal, it is obscene, in a country where a huge chunk of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar per day. Senate President David Mark gets 250 million Naira per quarter; Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu 150 million Naira; and each of the eight remaining principal officers 78 million Naira. It is no wonder that Nigerians are yet to see the dividends of democracy, over 10 years later! Ours must be the most expensive democracy on earth, and if nothing is done quickly to stem this looting tide, it may come to a time that there will be no money to run the government beyond paying the bloated salaries and allowances of our public office holders,'' rightly said the Action Congress party.
Okey Ndibe called it “A Feeding Frenzy”. NEXT's Musikilu Mojeed and Elor Nkereuwem christened it “An Assembly for Looting” saying “Considering that Nigeria's minimum wage stands at ₦5, 500 a month, each senator's quarterly allowance "will pay for 2,909 workers earning the minimum wage." The reporters offered other tantalizing projections. If Nigerians were to fire the entire membership of the National Assembly, the savings would be more than enough to "fund the N88.5billion" Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua budgeted this year for building power plants. Alternatively, we could "fund hospitals and clinics" all over Nigeria, "fix the Benin-Ore Expressway, which has collapsed, or make a significant down payment on the Lagos-Kano railway line”. The Tribune editorialised this perilous trend as “Poverty Inflicted by Profligacy”. Whatever it is, Nigeria cannot sustain or afford this waste.
According to Wikipedia, in ecology, a feeding frenzy is a situation where oversaturation of a supply of food leads to rapid feeding by predatory animals. For example, a large school of fish can cause nearby sharks to enter a feeding frenzy. This can cause the sharks to go wild, biting anything that moves, including each other or anything else within biting range. This term is most often used when referring to sharks or piranhas, due to these being some of the most feared predators. Feeding frenzy is also a metaphor often used in a non-biological sense to describe excited involvement by a group over some focal point of attention. I will take the example of our politicians, especially the so-called lawmakers or legislators (read – “legislooters”). Their feeding frenzy is a result of their excited involvement over the unregulated wealth and resources of Nigeria. There is nobody to control the wealth; it is there for all (actually a very miniscule percentage of the population – less than 0.5%) to take and put in their pockets.
The fact is Nigerian politicians have turned themselves into instant millionaires just for being members of the National Assembly, paying themselves huge, obscene and unjustified salaries and allowances not commensurate with their very low productivity and without doing anything worthwhile for the country, for you and me, or for humanity. They are “Legis-looters”, “Dis-Honourables” and “Execu-thieves”.
Sooner than later Nigerians should march to the National Assembly Complex for a show down with them. I will gladly lead it.
The members of this NASS are of the same ilk...greedy looters of our treasury who are insensitive to the economic situation of the country, and the plight of the general masses.
What visible difference has their representations made in the lives of the represented Nigerians to give them the false idea that they deserve their present salary talk less of a pay rise? Please, someone tell me: how many bills have these odious, greedy and lazy thieves passed into law since 1999? Do we actually know what they are doing except some of them using big vocabularies? What are we getting in return for their large obnoxious salaries and expenses? Why are Nigerians funding their expensive lifestyles, and getting zero in return?
And to top it all, look at their shameless behaviour in the House while trying to remove their Speaker, who is also accused of gross corruption. These are common thugs, mediocre and thieves, men and women, and even the reason for their behaviour was based on the loot. Are these lawmakers we should be proud of? Do we really need these types to make laws for us? No, and this is why Nigeria is going backwards everyday. We have vagabonds in power. We have mediocre in power. And when that happens, no country like that will ever progress.
Reuben Abati in his write-up “Nigerian Legislators!” wrote “I believe that they over-paid and underworked. It is members of the Lower House that are in the news this week, but the Senators are no different. N27.2 million per quarter, and now they want more! And what do they do? The only time Nigerian MPs suddenly become vocal and creative is when they are hustling for jumbo pay and allowances. This is the case not only in Abuja but also in the states, where the members of the Houses of Assembly are perpetually fighting the Governor to give them more money. They insist that no one should blame them because they can see the Governor and other members of the Executive taking “their own share,” so why should they be excluded? In states where there is peace between the House and the Executive, it is usually the case that the Governor, to put it in their language, “knows how to settle.” This is the sad Nigerian story. And yet, so much money for what? What kind of legitimate work can anybody do in Nigeria that will fetch a salary, the type the MPs are asking for in three months? These are the same lawmakers who are mostly absent. Their standard lie is that they are busy with committee meetings, but in reality most of them are busy chasing contracts in government departments or peddling influence around town, or busy harassing companies and MDAs over which they exercise oversight functions”.
“The statistics can be easily worked out with the result that the amount of public funds that has been guzzled by Abuja MPs alone in the last three years, not to talk of since 1999, is enough to fix Nigeria’s comatose railway lines, the federal universities and a number of hospitals (assuming the money does not also get stolen by inefficient contractors!). Nigeria is in a financial mess. The foreign reserve account, according to one report quoting the Minister of State for Finance, which used to be as high as $62 billion in 2008 is down to $38 billion, while the excess crude account which in 2007 stood at $20 billion is down to zero. But our MPs do not care”
There is an unwritten consensus that politicians are only interested in looting the treasury. But Nigeria cannot make progress that way. There must be sanctions for this kind of conduct, particularly from voters in the next election. Where lies Nigeria’s future? Whence cometh the change that we seek?
Nigeria is paying a price continuously for the hijack of the political space by hungry men and women. I align myself with the old suggestion that parliamentary work in Nigeria should be a part-time engagement. Only persons with a visible means of livelihood should be allowed to become lawmakers, and the various legislatures do not have to sit so often. In the alternative, legislative work should attract very minimal remuneration in form of sitting allowances only, with a proper accent on service. That should shut the “legis-looters” out".
This has got to stop. One way it can stop is to reduce very drastically the remuneration of lawmakers and other political offices such that it will be unattractive to potential thieves and looters and that only people who sincerely want to serve will see such small remuneration as enough motivation to contest elections to these office and be committed to good governance and delivering desired results. Right now, we have only self-serving politicians – executives or lawmakers. The obscene salaries and perks are what is attracting thieves to the serious business of governance and lawmaking, and this is why these thieves will always rig elections, commit murder and assassinations to position themselves where they will steal, shutting out genuine and sincere democrats who want to do well for the welfare of their people.
This phenomenon is replicated in the States’ Houses of assembly down to the Local Government Council Chambers.
Secondly, Nigeria does not need a full time bicameral legislature (In government, the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a parliament or legislature which consists of two Chambers or Houses); in other words, we do not need full time lawmakers or two assemblies – Senate and House of Representatives. What is needed is a unicameral legislature (the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber) that will meet for a maximum of 30 days a year and afterwards, they would go back to whatever their various professions are, if they have any at all. Lawmaking should NOT be a full time career, as we have it in Nigeria. I am proffering a solution which is a part -time National Assembly that sits for no more than 30 days a year. There’s no reason why a country half the size of the State of Texas will have as many legislatures as big as the whole of the United States. Ideally, legislators should be paid sitting allowances and work on a part-time basis. This is what obtains in several states in the U.S, whose system of government we claim to be copying. If the attraction of effortless money is removed, we're certainly to see an enhancement in the quality of lawmakers. The leeches who are in it for the cash will take their game elsewhere.
I will admit that this latter solution is a bit tough because many countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous unitary states and consider an upper house or second chamber unnecessary. Nevertheless, we should not make either bicameral or unicameral legislature a full time activity for our politicians.
Those leaders in transient, political power, who had tried to usurp God’s authority on earth, have often faced occasional deprivation. Their regimes were either overthrown or their term of office would eventually end anyway. They become expired politicians, with wrinkles and gray hairs to show for it. Jetting from one political event to another, they pontificate on what should be done; now that they have become “wiser and humbler” (Babangida is an example)
Nigerian politicians do not seem to know that they owe their people economic well-being and good life on earth. Unfortunately, many of our politicians actively and openly corruptly enrich themselves at the expense of the state and the people they are supposed to lead and rule. Through administrative fiats and legislative props, they racket the economy.
A new, strict regime against political, economic and cultural corruption must be put in place: otherwise the “small people” will rise up and overthrow their fake and small kingdoms of evil.
In my article “In A Lighter Mood: The Way We Seriously Feel About Our Leaders” 29th August 2007 (http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/in-a-lighter-mood-the-way-we-seriously-feel-about-our-leaders.html), I wrote “Therefore, any new political reform should address this. Legislators must be paid expenses only for their service to the country. The current system is very profligate, expensive and attracts thieves and mediocre. Expenses must be for attendances, cost of keeping constituency offices open, and if they have to be give car, housing and transport allowances, these must be properly allocated, scrutinized, monitored and commensurate with the service provided by these people. Judging from recent revelations on the wastefulness and profligacy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senators, etc, the cost of running Nigeria’s democracy is too high, and especially given our penchant for lack of accountability and corruption, this has to be brought under rigid and strict control. Our unscrupulous political class should be discouraged and deterred from going into government to make money. Hence make it unattractive to them".
THIS WASTE AND ILLEGAL DRAINING OF OUR RESOURCES BY A FEW NEED TO STOP NOW.
Let the Truth be told always
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Political Parties and Check List(s).
I am sure that most political parties/political leaders in Nigeria, watched as Gordon Brown (Ex British Prime Minister) resigned from his position after accepting responsibilities, for his Labour Party defeat in just concluded United Kingdom general election. Every political dynasty has an end, so did Gordon Brown’s premiership that ended on Tuesday May 11th 2010. I am also sure that most Nigerian political parties/political leaders, watched Obama’s electoral victory, and the opposition victory in nearby Ghana. All these elections mentioned above have thrown a lot of challenges to Nigeria, especially as we approach the 2011 general election. To that extent, Nigerians should demand from all political parties the following(s);
Political Parties/Groups Manifesto(es).
As a matter of necessity, all political parties in Nigeria should produce their manifestoes. These manifestoes should be made available both online and hard copies. Nigerians need to know their programme(s) and why they are seeking power. Political parties should be ideologically based. Mega party or coalition of parties should come up with manifestoes as well. Parties also need to make public their internal constitution. This is with a view to knowing if there are internal democracies within the parties themselves. The should also make public their websites. Interestingly, the last time I checked all the parties, many had no operational telephone numbers talk less of a website. Operational websites should be a basic requirement for Nigerian political parties. This will enable Nigerians in Diaspora to participate in politics.
Campaign Funding.
Parties should disclose to Nigerians the sources of their campaign funding. Donations, fund raising, gifts etc to parties should be disclosed. Person(s) or corporate bodies making any donation should also be known by the Nigerian public. Cost(s) of election campaigns should be disclosed. As at October 15th 2008, before the November 4th 2008 American presidential election, the United States Federal Electoral Commission revealed that McCain campaign organization had spent $262 million dollars while Obama had spent $564 million dollars. Methods of campaign (electronic, print, telephone/sms, etc) should be disclosed. Obama campaign organization made use of over 1 billion text messages during his campaign.
Academic Qualifications.
Political parties should make public, academic qualifications of all those seeking to contest under their platform. Party leaders themselves should tender their certificates for the Nigerian public to scrutinize. Academic certificates are now a big factor in politics and elections. People have used fake certificates to gain political positions. In Iran, former interior minister (Ali Kordan) was sacked for faking a law degree from Oxford University United Kingdom. In Nigeria, Salisu Buhari (Former Speaker of the House of Representatives) was forced to resign after discovering that he forged his certificates.
Security Clearance.
Evidence of security clearance from Interpol, Nigerian Police Force, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and State Security Services of each aspirant, should be made public by all parties and the candidates themselves. Nigerians deserve to know if political office seekers have criminal records in any part of the world.
Assets and Liabilities Declaration.
Political parties should make public, evidence of assets and liabilities of every aspirant. Sources of these assets and liabilities should be disclosed as well.
Leadership Debate(s).
This is non negotiable. Nigerians should insist on leadership debates by political aspirants. No elective position (councillorships, local government chairmanship, states House of Assembly, gubernatorial, House of Representatives, Senatorial, and Presidential) should be exempted. Parties should arrange live debates for Nigerians to evaluate candidates
Health Check(s).
Political parties should furnish Nigerians with comprehensive medical examination certificates of all aspirants. There is no guarantee against ill health, but Nigerians deserve to know the medical history of all those seeking political offices. Certain sicknesses should not be a barrier to seeking elective positions. This requirement (health check) should be applicable to all elective positions in the country, starting from the ward councilors to the president.
Age.
Age MUST become an issue in Nigerian politics. But I will not tell the political parties the age requirements for party members seeking to contest elections. All I will suggest to Nigerians is; there is no point voting people who are above retirement age. McCain (the last Republican Presidential candidate of America) was 72 years when he contested election. His (McCain) age was among the reasons why he lost election. David Cameroon the United Kingdom Prime Minister is 44 years old.
The Electorate (Nigerians).
We owe ourselves and the country a duty to make the right choices during the general election next year (2011). We also need to mobilize one another against electoral fraud. I suggest all electorates to become electoral activist(s). Vote during elections, stay around till the votes are counted, follow the returning officer(s) or delegate people to follow the returning officers till the overall results are announced. Monitor elections in your locality. Go to pooling stations with hidden cameras or spy cameras. Better still; take pictures with your mobile phones.
All Nigerians should be on their guards since the National Assembly has not passed Justice Uwais electoral reform recommendations. I advocate Option A4. We are also yet to see a radical transformation at the Independent (Dependent) National Electoral Commission. Therefore, electorates should get ready to defend their votes. There are two choices for the electorates (Nigerians) to make, either take action that will bring about changes or keep quiet and allow the corrupt politicians to completely destroy us. Our little actions can change a lot. For every action to manipulate election there should be a reaction to counter it.
Finally, please remember to participate and join the fight against global warming. Turn off your electrical appliances/lights when not in use. Plant a tree or sponsor one to plant on your behalf. Government and companies should send less paper work and do more email, telephone, and sms. 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/
Political Parties/Groups Manifesto(es).
As a matter of necessity, all political parties in Nigeria should produce their manifestoes. These manifestoes should be made available both online and hard copies. Nigerians need to know their programme(s) and why they are seeking power. Political parties should be ideologically based. Mega party or coalition of parties should come up with manifestoes as well. Parties also need to make public their internal constitution. This is with a view to knowing if there are internal democracies within the parties themselves. The should also make public their websites. Interestingly, the last time I checked all the parties, many had no operational telephone numbers talk less of a website. Operational websites should be a basic requirement for Nigerian political parties. This will enable Nigerians in Diaspora to participate in politics.
Campaign Funding.
Parties should disclose to Nigerians the sources of their campaign funding. Donations, fund raising, gifts etc to parties should be disclosed. Person(s) or corporate bodies making any donation should also be known by the Nigerian public. Cost(s) of election campaigns should be disclosed. As at October 15th 2008, before the November 4th 2008 American presidential election, the United States Federal Electoral Commission revealed that McCain campaign organization had spent $262 million dollars while Obama had spent $564 million dollars. Methods of campaign (electronic, print, telephone/sms, etc) should be disclosed. Obama campaign organization made use of over 1 billion text messages during his campaign.
Academic Qualifications.
Political parties should make public, academic qualifications of all those seeking to contest under their platform. Party leaders themselves should tender their certificates for the Nigerian public to scrutinize. Academic certificates are now a big factor in politics and elections. People have used fake certificates to gain political positions. In Iran, former interior minister (Ali Kordan) was sacked for faking a law degree from Oxford University United Kingdom. In Nigeria, Salisu Buhari (Former Speaker of the House of Representatives) was forced to resign after discovering that he forged his certificates.
Security Clearance.
Evidence of security clearance from Interpol, Nigerian Police Force, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and State Security Services of each aspirant, should be made public by all parties and the candidates themselves. Nigerians deserve to know if political office seekers have criminal records in any part of the world.
Assets and Liabilities Declaration.
Political parties should make public, evidence of assets and liabilities of every aspirant. Sources of these assets and liabilities should be disclosed as well.
Leadership Debate(s).
This is non negotiable. Nigerians should insist on leadership debates by political aspirants. No elective position (councillorships, local government chairmanship, states House of Assembly, gubernatorial, House of Representatives, Senatorial, and Presidential) should be exempted. Parties should arrange live debates for Nigerians to evaluate candidates
Health Check(s).
Political parties should furnish Nigerians with comprehensive medical examination certificates of all aspirants. There is no guarantee against ill health, but Nigerians deserve to know the medical history of all those seeking political offices. Certain sicknesses should not be a barrier to seeking elective positions. This requirement (health check) should be applicable to all elective positions in the country, starting from the ward councilors to the president.
Age.
Age MUST become an issue in Nigerian politics. But I will not tell the political parties the age requirements for party members seeking to contest elections. All I will suggest to Nigerians is; there is no point voting people who are above retirement age. McCain (the last Republican Presidential candidate of America) was 72 years when he contested election. His (McCain) age was among the reasons why he lost election. David Cameroon the United Kingdom Prime Minister is 44 years old.
The Electorate (Nigerians).
We owe ourselves and the country a duty to make the right choices during the general election next year (2011). We also need to mobilize one another against electoral fraud. I suggest all electorates to become electoral activist(s). Vote during elections, stay around till the votes are counted, follow the returning officer(s) or delegate people to follow the returning officers till the overall results are announced. Monitor elections in your locality. Go to pooling stations with hidden cameras or spy cameras. Better still; take pictures with your mobile phones.
All Nigerians should be on their guards since the National Assembly has not passed Justice Uwais electoral reform recommendations. I advocate Option A4. We are also yet to see a radical transformation at the Independent (Dependent) National Electoral Commission. Therefore, electorates should get ready to defend their votes. There are two choices for the electorates (Nigerians) to make, either take action that will bring about changes or keep quiet and allow the corrupt politicians to completely destroy us. Our little actions can change a lot. For every action to manipulate election there should be a reaction to counter it.
Finally, please remember to participate and join the fight against global warming. Turn off your electrical appliances/lights when not in use. Plant a tree or sponsor one to plant on your behalf. Government and companies should send less paper work and do more email, telephone, and sms. 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/
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