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
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
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/
Sunday, 25 April 2010
BBC 2 Documentary: Welcome To Lagos.
Please do not get me wrong, this documentary is a public relation(s) disaster for Nigeria, Nigerians and every thing Nigeria stands for. But I tend to have a different view about this documentary. My opinion is that, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC 2) deserves special award and commendations for finding time, resources and manpower that went to Nigeria to do such an eye opening documentary. Please permit me to thank BBC 2 for this wonderful efforts and exposure. I suggest British Broadcasting Corporation should do more documentaries on Nigeria.
This documentary should become a major challenge for our own media outfits like, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Channels Television, Silver Bird Group, Daar Communications Plc, owners of (African Independent Television [A.I.T.], and Ray Power Radio Stations) to expose many dark sides of our society, with a view to prompting positive actions from the government. On this note, I recommend Covert Journalism/Reporting for all Nigerians. These days every one can become a reporter (iReport) and publisher due to information technology. Therefore, we should expose the good, the bad and the ugly in our society. Covert, surveillance and spy cameras are also recommended.
For the benefit of those who have not watched it (welcome to Lagos), I enclosed here a weblink for episode 1 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s3bmx/Welcome_to_Lagos_Episode_1) and episode 2 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s5x5w/Welcome_to_Lagos_Episode_2).
The above documentary is similar to an earlier drama/film (Blood and Oil) shown by the same channel BBC 2. The above film(s) and documentaries are highly recommended. First, it shows the level of decay. Secondly it shows absence of government. Thirdly it shows the determination and how people work very hard to survive in the face of government imposed hardship. It also revealed that there are a lot of human resources to be harnessed for national development. The people in the documentaries (Welcome to Lagos) exhibited several entrepreneurial and survival skills.
I understand that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (Dr. Dalhatu Tafida) protested to the controller BBC 2 against the documentary (Welcome to Lagos). Ironically, the government he is representing and past governments did more to push people to the slums. An example was the Moroko evictees who were forceful evicted by the ex military ruler (Babangida) in 1990. Till date (20 years after), many of them are still going to court for compensation. Many have died in the course of pursuing their resettlement claims.
Though Moroko then was not properly developed, all the ex ruler (Babangida) did was to forcefully evict people from their homes. By so doing he pushed people to the streets which would have led to more slums. Thank goodness he (Dr. Dalhatu Tafida) did not deny the existence of the slums in Lagos in his protest message. On behalf of poor Nigerians whose pain, anguish and neglect by the government necessitated the making of these documentaries, I declare his (Dr Dalhatu Tafida) protest letter null and void.
The authorities that asked Dr Dalhatu Tafida to protest or the Nigerian High Commissioner himself should bury his head in shame for the failure of Nigerian government to provide basic amenities like houses, electricity etc. How much will it cost the nation to provide houses, steady power, water etc for its population compared to how much that has been looted by government officials. Olabode George for instance misappropriated about 85 billion naira. Imagine what this amount could do for those people shown on the documentaries.
In the same manner that the British Broadcasting Corporation used documentaries (Welcome to Lagos) and drama (Blood and Oil) to expose the neglected part of the Nigerian society, and even cause the federal government to react (protest letter from The High Commissioner to the BBC 2), let use films, documentaries, drama on DVDs to propagate political evangelism and change. Picture effects are a powerful means of communicating to people. Perhaps this method (political evangelism) could cause the government to react positively for our people.
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/
This documentary should become a major challenge for our own media outfits like, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Channels Television, Silver Bird Group, Daar Communications Plc, owners of (African Independent Television [A.I.T.], and Ray Power Radio Stations) to expose many dark sides of our society, with a view to prompting positive actions from the government. On this note, I recommend Covert Journalism/Reporting for all Nigerians. These days every one can become a reporter (iReport) and publisher due to information technology. Therefore, we should expose the good, the bad and the ugly in our society. Covert, surveillance and spy cameras are also recommended.
For the benefit of those who have not watched it (welcome to Lagos), I enclosed here a weblink for episode 1 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s3bmx/Welcome_to_Lagos_Episode_1) and episode 2 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s5x5w/Welcome_to_Lagos_Episode_2).
The above documentary is similar to an earlier drama/film (Blood and Oil) shown by the same channel BBC 2. The above film(s) and documentaries are highly recommended. First, it shows the level of decay. Secondly it shows absence of government. Thirdly it shows the determination and how people work very hard to survive in the face of government imposed hardship. It also revealed that there are a lot of human resources to be harnessed for national development. The people in the documentaries (Welcome to Lagos) exhibited several entrepreneurial and survival skills.
I understand that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (Dr. Dalhatu Tafida) protested to the controller BBC 2 against the documentary (Welcome to Lagos). Ironically, the government he is representing and past governments did more to push people to the slums. An example was the Moroko evictees who were forceful evicted by the ex military ruler (Babangida) in 1990. Till date (20 years after), many of them are still going to court for compensation. Many have died in the course of pursuing their resettlement claims.
Though Moroko then was not properly developed, all the ex ruler (Babangida) did was to forcefully evict people from their homes. By so doing he pushed people to the streets which would have led to more slums. Thank goodness he (Dr. Dalhatu Tafida) did not deny the existence of the slums in Lagos in his protest message. On behalf of poor Nigerians whose pain, anguish and neglect by the government necessitated the making of these documentaries, I declare his (Dr Dalhatu Tafida) protest letter null and void.
The authorities that asked Dr Dalhatu Tafida to protest or the Nigerian High Commissioner himself should bury his head in shame for the failure of Nigerian government to provide basic amenities like houses, electricity etc. How much will it cost the nation to provide houses, steady power, water etc for its population compared to how much that has been looted by government officials. Olabode George for instance misappropriated about 85 billion naira. Imagine what this amount could do for those people shown on the documentaries.
In the same manner that the British Broadcasting Corporation used documentaries (Welcome to Lagos) and drama (Blood and Oil) to expose the neglected part of the Nigerian society, and even cause the federal government to react (protest letter from The High Commissioner to the BBC 2), let use films, documentaries, drama on DVDs to propagate political evangelism and change. Picture effects are a powerful means of communicating to people. Perhaps this method (political evangelism) could cause the government to react positively for our people.
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/
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Undue Attention.
I have been following with keen interest the decision by the former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida to contest the 2011 Presidential election. Personally, I don’t think he (Babangida) will go far. A good example was when ex head of state (Gen Gowon) tried to contest the presidential election in 1992/93. He (Gowon) failed in his primary constituency. In the case of Gowon’s attempt, Option A4 Electoral System was in place. Though that we have a different electoral law in place now, he (Babangida) will be shocked the way he will loose election. I also think, he might be seeking undue attention because events have relegated him to an obscure background.
History has indeed consigned him to garbage heap of forgotten tyrants. People should not loose sleep about his plans. Its just that one still wonders how people like him think, otherwise there are other things he should have engaged himself with, other than seeking to come back to power. I had in some of my articles advised him (Babangida) to use his influences to work for the re-introduction of Option A4 Electoral System back to our legal books. He should also use his contacts to lobby the present government to posthumously announce the official winner of June 12th 1993 presidential elections and for government to pay compensation to the families of Abiola.
Quoting Thewill (an online news publication; http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/4209-Nigerian-Youths-Are-Not-Capable-Leading-Nigeria-IBB.html), Babangida said that Nigerian youths are not capable of ruling Nigeria. I strongly disagree with him. Rather his statement is an acceptance by him, that he lacked leadership skills when he ruled Nigeria as a youth.
I am also sure that some of his (Babangida) colleagues, associates and friends (birds of the same feather) might want to contest other elections (Senatorial, gubernatorial, etc). Now that he has declared his intensions to run for the highest office of the land, patriotic Nigerians should also declared their own intentions to mass mobilize Nigerians to vote the rightful candidates. Action should be equal to reaction. I had in my previous articles suggested to Nigerians on the need to start political evangelism using various kinds of media outlets. For the sake of good governance in Nigeria, let all patriots become political evangelists. In addition, this will be an ideal time for Nigerians to constitute a shadow judicial process and retry all cases like Dele Giwa’s death etc.
Amongst the most potent means of political evangelism will be to prepare messages on DVDs, CDs, Videos, etc on local languages. Nothing can compare with picture effects. Using home videos and televised religious evangelism as case studies, one will agree that many people have been changed through those means. In the same manner people can be mobilized after viewing political messages. Another reason for this method (political messages on DVDs, CDs Videos, etc) is because government and some private television stations might not like to air such programs. Therefore DVDs/Video recordings will suffice.
Times International Magazine of April 19th 2010, pages 18-19 showed where people of Southern Sudan gathered to watch an educational film on fair elections. A well prepared political/electoral documentary on DVDs can have serious impacts on voting patterns. In case of any documentary in line with the above suggestions, I will recommend the following to be included (a) clips/films of how people of Eastern Europe resisted and dismantled communism (b) clips/films of how Thai people (Red Shirts) exercises peoples power (c) clips/films of how South African resisted Apartheid (d) clips/films of motivational speeches by Martin Luther King Jnr, (e) clips of speeches by our own Tunde (Pastor) Bakare etc.
Political evangelism methods have the potentials of increasing political awareness amongst our folks. We can also choose the direct marketing strategy, whereby we meet people one on one and advise who not to vote. Firstly we can start with our immediate and extended families then proceed to the community levels. I know that many people might be vulnerable to following the money bags, that’s why patriotic Nigerians will have to increase their political evangelism so as to win more souls to see reasons to vote rightfully.
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/
History has indeed consigned him to garbage heap of forgotten tyrants. People should not loose sleep about his plans. Its just that one still wonders how people like him think, otherwise there are other things he should have engaged himself with, other than seeking to come back to power. I had in some of my articles advised him (Babangida) to use his influences to work for the re-introduction of Option A4 Electoral System back to our legal books. He should also use his contacts to lobby the present government to posthumously announce the official winner of June 12th 1993 presidential elections and for government to pay compensation to the families of Abiola.
Quoting Thewill (an online news publication; http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/4209-Nigerian-Youths-Are-Not-Capable-Leading-Nigeria-IBB.html), Babangida said that Nigerian youths are not capable of ruling Nigeria. I strongly disagree with him. Rather his statement is an acceptance by him, that he lacked leadership skills when he ruled Nigeria as a youth.
I am also sure that some of his (Babangida) colleagues, associates and friends (birds of the same feather) might want to contest other elections (Senatorial, gubernatorial, etc). Now that he has declared his intensions to run for the highest office of the land, patriotic Nigerians should also declared their own intentions to mass mobilize Nigerians to vote the rightful candidates. Action should be equal to reaction. I had in my previous articles suggested to Nigerians on the need to start political evangelism using various kinds of media outlets. For the sake of good governance in Nigeria, let all patriots become political evangelists. In addition, this will be an ideal time for Nigerians to constitute a shadow judicial process and retry all cases like Dele Giwa’s death etc.
Amongst the most potent means of political evangelism will be to prepare messages on DVDs, CDs, Videos, etc on local languages. Nothing can compare with picture effects. Using home videos and televised religious evangelism as case studies, one will agree that many people have been changed through those means. In the same manner people can be mobilized after viewing political messages. Another reason for this method (political messages on DVDs, CDs Videos, etc) is because government and some private television stations might not like to air such programs. Therefore DVDs/Video recordings will suffice.
Times International Magazine of April 19th 2010, pages 18-19 showed where people of Southern Sudan gathered to watch an educational film on fair elections. A well prepared political/electoral documentary on DVDs can have serious impacts on voting patterns. In case of any documentary in line with the above suggestions, I will recommend the following to be included (a) clips/films of how people of Eastern Europe resisted and dismantled communism (b) clips/films of how Thai people (Red Shirts) exercises peoples power (c) clips/films of how South African resisted Apartheid (d) clips/films of motivational speeches by Martin Luther King Jnr, (e) clips of speeches by our own Tunde (Pastor) Bakare etc.
Political evangelism methods have the potentials of increasing political awareness amongst our folks. We can also choose the direct marketing strategy, whereby we meet people one on one and advise who not to vote. Firstly we can start with our immediate and extended families then proceed to the community levels. I know that many people might be vulnerable to following the money bags, that’s why patriotic Nigerians will have to increase their political evangelism so as to win more souls to see reasons to vote rightfully.
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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