Only a lucky bastard can decide to organise a Nigerian seminar in London knowing that there are no consequences for being a lucky bastard
In 2016, I wrote an article about The Lucky Bastards. It means that for a very long time Nigeria is ruled by very bad people who remain lucky to be in power because the people they ruled over do not really know how to use rage and other means at their disposal to change the order of things. I do not in any way imply a senseless military coup because it is the same lucky bastards that are in the military and civilian rulership in Nigeria. It is even 2 senseless military coups in Nigeria in 1966 that disrupted the development of Nigeria as a powerhouse in the world.
In 2024, as you read this piece, Nigeria is still under the rulership of some Lucky Bastards. These bastards are scattered all over the country and they are the menace behind the spread of poverty, underdevelopment, violence, kidnapping, and other vices that characterized the society. The greatest crime of these lucky bastards is however the sustenance of the criminal unitary system of government. It is the system that will continue to favor their misdemeanors and their insatiable urge for stealing/looting.
There is no amount or level of scandal that can shake the existence of the lucky bastards unless the people decide to do something about the useless system of government that sustains the scandals and corruption now under the supervision of Tinubu’s jaguda government. It is not even enough for the criminals ruling Nigeria that they were selected to rule in a stupid system of government, the audacity to commit crime daily and rub it in the faces of the people is beyond human comprehension.
The 2024 budget just like all the budgets that have been made in all the previous governments has allegedly been padded. This means that the already inflated allocations are re-inflated, and you hear of criminal senators (your dear brothers and sisters) walking away with 500 million naira for making the stealing x stealing possible. But nothing will happen because this is the history of Nigeria’s senseless unitary system (used by the military since 1966 and then sustained by the civilians).
Everyday, the senseless unitary system sustains a criminally inclined presidency, a criminally inclined senate, a criminally inclined house of representatives, criminal governors, criminal ministers, criminal commissioners, criminal civil servants, criminal private and public workers, decayed infrastructure, uneven development, permanent rural-urban migration, permanent japa, collapsed health and collapsed education, and so on and so forth. Nigeria remains one of the steadfast poverty capitals of the world because the lucky bastards are living a very good life, an ostentatious one and show no action towards dismantling the system of government that turned one of the most promising countries in the world to a ground for breeding poverty specialists, cultists, terrorists, kidnappers and a people almost totally disconnected from the meaning and essence of life.
As we write and read, a lucky bastard is relocating his children, family and friends to the developed country in the world. He or she has looted 100 to 200 million in the last few days, flaunt his or her stolen wealth knowing you can do nothing about it.
I heard one idiot called the accountant general of the mentally deranged country even organized a training/seminar/workshop using London as the location. Only a lucky bastard can move a Nigerian conference from Nigeria to London knowing there are no consequences for being a lucky bastard. He will not return to a crowd of stone throwing angry taxpayers. Imagine if Nigerians in London stone the MF and on return the Nigerians at home lock him out of his office. Just imagine!
But the lucky bastards have so demobilized and disorientate the people so that that there are no consequences for being stupid. You can even be mad and be dictating to the normal people if you are a mad lucky bastard.
I do not see a (bright) future in a useless unitary system of government under the rulership of lucky bastards. Not in 2016, not today, not in eternity.
There is a need to end the useless system of government that select and promote criminals. It is important that that nations entrapped in Nigeria be set free and allowed to pursue own happiness, way of life and system of government.
In 2024, some states in Nigeria do not produce a pin or a broom.
Understanding The 2024 Situation In Nigeria
In recent days (this February 2024), the criticisms against the Tinubu Jaguda government have toned up. There are reports of people dying of hunger. A woman fainted and her children are starving. A bag of cement is 9000 naira. A lot of things are displayed online with prices hitting the roof and bursting off.
But, how many of these problems in Nigeria are handiwork of Tinubu’s jaguda government and how many of it are due to the (stupid) expectations from about 200 million people? My explanations are long and perhaps repetitive.
Things are expensive globally
The rise in cost of living in recent years, especially since the inception of the Russia-Ukraine war, is on a global scale. In Sweden, I know of an interest rate on housing that flew from USD 700 per month to USD 1300 per month. How does a civil servant anywhere in the world prepare to cough out so much difference every month on mortgage? What about the cost of food, transport, health care and other stuffs? In our stores and supermarkets in Sweden, prices have hit the roof and a lot of families are struggling. But this essay is not about the situation in Sweden.
In a country like Nigeria, where the minimum wage is N 30 000 (< 20 USD), the hopes after the emergence of the Tinubu Emilokan jaguda government was that there would be a positive change. The man, Tinubu, made so many promises some people thought he would be their messiah. It’s turning out to be another episode of a long series of broken promises in Nigeria’s horror-filled politics.
Nigeria is running a useless system of government
Some of us have mentioned this several times but majority still troop to the ballot boxes every 4 years to keep the useless and senseless system of government working. As long as you are voting in Nigeria’s political elections, you are part of the reason Nigeria is what it is today. As long as you belong to a political party in this senseless system, you are part of the problem with yourself. How does this sound to your hearing: Make money in River State, send the money to Tinubu, Tinubu shares the money to Sokoto, Kaduna and the rest of the state including River State? How much of the amount River State sent to Tinubu do you think comes back to River State? Do the same math for Lagos and all the other states in the country where some economic activities are still going on. Do you think money made in Alaska would be send to Biden so Biden can send the money to Texas and other American states?
In Nigeria today, all the monies from the regions are sent to Tinubu in Abuja. Before Tinubu, it was to Buhari, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Shagari, Murtala and Gowon. This senseless thing started after the coups of 1966. How can you send money to one person and expect accountability? How can you send all the monies in an economy to an individual and you expect that individual to be sane? Even you, you will go crazy and surely become very corrupt!
Make money in Rivers State, send the money to Tinubu in Abuja. Tinubu shares the money to Sokot, Kaduna, Imo and the remaining states in Nigeria. How much of the amount comes back to Rivers State? Does that even make any sense to you if you have some brain cells to think? But that is what you vote for every 4 years? You are the problem with yourself!
Nigerian Politicians are corrupt. They are documented criminals.
Some may argue that if Nigerian politicians are not corrupt, the unitary system would work. But that is the exact illusion that is created by the system and the (s)elections that come with it. That is what the criminal politicians what you to believe. That is why more than 3 generations of Nigerians have wasted away. That belief and hope in the system is the reason why this generation would die in extreme penury and poverty.
Globally, politicians are corrupt to varying degrees. But Nigerian politicians are documented criminals. Some were criminals before they entered government houses, others became criminals after emerging in government houses. There is no way a sane person will not become insane after emerging in Nigerian politics. It’s designed for you to steal or loot.
To be clear, the list of criminal-politicians living openly in Nigeria after looting in politics is endless. There is no justice under a unitary system of government and one of the reasons is the concentration of power in one person, at the center. Buhari, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, name them. All the former and serving governors. All the ministers, past and present. Everyone in Emilokan Jaguda government. They are all thieves. Nigeria is running a useless system of government supervised by thieves and you are crying that thing are expensive. You are not ready to save yourselves and your children.
Nigeria is a consumption-based economy
One of the consequences of sharing monies to different states in Nigeria was that several states became unproductive. Before the useless unitary system was introduced to Nigeria, all the different regions were very productive. Agriculture and industrialization were in full speed. The regions competed with one another. Their respective economies were vibrant, and the common currency was very strong. Infrastructures were built and maintained. Everything made in Nigeria and by Nigerians were of the highest standard. Our health care and schools attracted people from all over the world. That was the golden period of the regional system of government in Nigeria.
Fast forward post unitary system of government. In 2024, some states in Nigeria do not produce a pin or a broom. The politicians cross their legs, sit their asses at the government houses and wait for federal allocations that have been mopped up from a few productive states. When the money gets to them, they steal most of it, at the state and local government levels. The same at the ministries; ministers loot monies and they get away with their loots. There are almost no consequences for being a criminal politician in Nigeria.
Even in some states where minerals are mined, a few criminals in the states have cornered all the mineral resources with the help of unregistered foreign companies/persons. So, it would appear that the money shared to the states are looted by politicians. Then the income from the mineral resources that are supposed to be used for the state end up in the pockets of the same politicians and a few of their friends. These are the people you see buying houses and land for trillions of naira all over the country and abroad. Several politicians starting from the presidency down to the local government level just dip their hands into the country’s account and take money to buy houses in UK, Dubai and America. Then you are there crying that things are expensive, you are not serious yet. Our freedom will never come on a platter of gold.
A rotten head
What people are facing in Nigeria today are not only due to the pressure of global crises. Internationally, we are all feeling the impacts of a global economy meltdown. Interests on our mortgages are up in the sky, depression is high and homelessness (even in the absence of war) is noticeable. But what makes Nigeria unique is that the head is super rotten. The head is represented by politics and policies. It is represented by law and order. By accountability and patriotism. But they are all decayed!
It does not matter who is elected or selected as Nigeria’s president. You can be Atikufied or Obidiots or Agbadoists, it does not matter. Where did Anambra money go when Obi was governor? What did Atiku do with all he stole for years 1999 – 2007 as VP? The unitary system of government does not give accounts. It loots and assist to loot because that was the purpose of the system. In recent years, a man called Buhari, a classical dullard and a man of low mentality was pushed down the throats of Nigerians as president. In private conversation, we know that no one of us will employ Buhari as a gatekeeper or servant. He was that incompetent and incoherent. But some cabals made him a president. Unforgivable. Today, a certain Tinubu whose identity cannot be verified is leading. Everything about Tinubu is unclear. What is clear is that he, like Obi and Atiku, is one of the criminal politicians in Nigeria. But he is president.
The heads in Nigeria have always been rotten. The implication is that the rottenness spreads into the entire network and systems in Nigeria. There is nothing in Nigeria today that does not smell. That is the most viable explanation to how some people with no known source of extra income, can survive on USD 20 a month. Even a bag of rice approached USD 70 but we move, abi? Nigerians say they hustle to make ends meet. You don’t want to know what hustle means to some people. Let’s leave it there. Try to get something that is your right in Nigeria, like a passport. Try to open a bank account. Try to park your car in a public place in Lagos Island. Everything is hard and frustrating. We rip one another. The head is bad, rotten and smelly. You can feel it in everything in Nigeria.
Where do we go from here?
In some articles in the past, I have written very provocatively. I still do, sometimes. In one controversial article published in the Nigerian Village Square, I asked if we should lease Nigeria to the former colonial masters, to see if they can turn things around in 10 years. On more than one occasion, I wrote articles titled: No rage, no change. They are here on my blog. Today, I cannot stand by and allow a rogue called a colonial master to rule my life; that article on leasing Nigeria was borne out of frustration in the days of ignorance. Still the idea was to provoke to positive actions. More than a decade later, Nigeria is down the hole.
But I stand by “No rage, No change”. Sometimes, we say revolution. Sadly, Nigeria does not need a revolution that change people or replace people in a unitary system. Nigeria needs a revolution that would reshape the geographical space very dramatically. If Nigeria continue to exist in its modus operandi, I cannot see the light. Even the tunnel does not exist. As long as a unitary system of government remains, Nigeria and Nigerians are hopeless. 10 years from now, some will debate this provocation!
The big question is: what can you give to make your geographical space a better place for your children? If my generation or the one after ends thinking we can save Nigeria, then we would end up chasing shadows. Our lives may add no real values to humanity. Our parents died believing in a certain imaginary one Nigeria. See where it left us.
Our concern should be on our common heritage, our common culture, our common values, our common language. We must return to where the bubble bursts in 1966. Everybody need to know where we were before the 2 useless 1966 coups in order to understand what we are up against. It would not come easy because the politicians, the elites and the rogue colonial masters are also ready to keep Nigeria as a giant slave camp. But with a massive population of over 60 million representing, the Yoruba for example must be able to govern their Western Region where Agriculture was king. Nobody was eager to leave Yoruba Western Region for a low standard London or Paris, at that time. My mother stayed back in Abeokuta of the 1950s. She told me the story. What a glorious choice she made. In 2002, I could not make the same decision as my mother when the call came. What applied to a 1960 glorious Western Yoruba Land applied also to the other regions at that time. It is the regions that we must take back in order to pursue own peace, happiness and economic prosperity.
One of the greatest fallacies and chant of slaveries in Nigeria today is “We will take Nigeria back”. From who? Was Nigeria ever made for you? What is Nigeria? We have lived our lives on false identity. Sadly, we will die this way, with the identity that our ancestors did not bequeath to us. But we can save our children and the unborn generations by giving them their rightful identities. You can never claim back what was never yours. Nigeria was created as a slave camp. What belongs to you is Western Region-Yoruba, Eastern Region-Igbo (Biafra), Northern Region-Arewa, Middle-Belt and the South-South (The Delta). In this new age, perhaps more regions should emerge. Why not? Some of the most prosperous countries in the world do not even have a million inhabitants.
Finally, there will be no quick fix to all the problems that have accumulated in Nigeria since the erroneous coups of 1966 and the prevalence of mad, corrupt people in government houses since 1966 to date. If we correct the most fundamental error today (that is operating at the regional levels), our children and children’s children would have something to smile about in the next 20, 30, 40 or 50 years and forever.
We have to stop crying or lamenting on the social media and in real life. We need to stop praying from Maiduguri to Jerusalem and Mecca. Let us stop wasting time. Stop sharing nonsense. Share the history and stories that will change for our lives for better, forever. Spread the news that awaken our critical thinking. Let us disagree to agree that we need a proper plan for the rest of our lives. Our progress starts the day we start building our respective nations again. Everything starts on the day of our real freedom from a slave camp called Nigeria.
Genocide remains an unpunishable crime in Nigeria. Sometimes, acts of genocides are perpetrated by the government.
When more than 200 people are massacred in one night, at a swoop, in 2023, such act is out of civilization’s framework. But it happened during the 2023 Christmas celebration in Plateau State, Nigeria. Several communities were sacked as terrorists (most likely from Northern Nigeria) went on the rampage.
If you ask the crazy Nigerian government, they will tell you it is herdsmen and farmers’ conflict. But there are records of villages that have been completely taken over by these terrorists across the length and breadth of Northern Nigeria and some parts of the Nigerian Middle Belts. Taking over indigenous people’s farmland or their resources through genocide and even taking over their communities entirely is no longer something that any Nigerian government cares about. Genocide remains an unpunishable crime in Nigeria. Sometimes, it is done by the government.
In Nigeria, deaths and blood spills do not lead to outrage. They are commonstances. Sometimes, as superstitiously as it may sounds, it seems that government thrives on bloodshed and woes of the citizens of Nigeria.
At the time the genocide was in progress, more than 7 hours, no Nigerian security forces intervened. It sometimes sound like the government sponsored the killings, so they do not interfere. Is there any other way to analye terrorism that is perpetrated for more than 7 hours without interventions of security agencies? I am willing to learn how. It was also at that period that Bola Tinubu arrived in Lagos. He went on Christmas holiday to a place where everybody knew his name. Sadly too, nobody was calling his name. Rather, the people that lined the streets when he arrived were all crying and wailing: We Are Hungry..!
The genocide in Plateau and the general hunger in the land cannot change a thing without accompanying rage or rages. If there is no rage, there cannot be a change. Nigerians completely lost it when they think swapping APC for PDP or PDP for APC is change. It is very ridiculous because when you are looking from a distance, you will see that APC is PDP and PDP is APC. You will also see that there is no end, yet, to the thousands of anomalies about Nigeria.
My constant prediction is that a few people in Nigeria will prosper annually because the system will smile on them directly or through some strokes of luck and happenstance. These few people will create fuzzes that will forever kindle the hopes of the poorest people making them lame and vulnerable to a lifetime of penury and extreme poverty. These majority will continue to live and die without ever experiencing the meaning and value of life. Nigeria was built that way.
In a country that was built on false foundation, one group of senseless terrorists from a shithole somewhere – even at this time of global human civilization – will still think that they have to commit genocide on another group because they think they are a superior race than the others and should rule the province. In a country that was built on false foundation, people will line the country and shout “we are hungry” without doing anything about it.
Majority will continue to live and die without ever experiencing the meaning of life, and the value of it. Nigeria was built that way.
Nigeria has been like this since time immemorial, and since time immemorial people have been hoping that change would come, that common sense would prevail and that the good of the land(s) will be for the good of all. But alas! The good of the land is never meant for circulation. It can be distributed to the elites, their families, their accomplices and a few lucky souls.
What has happened since hope (especially in religious rites) took over common sense and human dignity, is that Nigeria’s population has exploded. More and more people have been born into a lifetime of poverty and estranged attitude to the true meaning of life. The pockets of achievements by Nigerians especially in medicine, entertainment and sports are not inspired by government or institutions. They are mostly fueled by the resilience of people who wanted to survive by all means. There was never a level playing ground for talent discovery and institutions-backed national development.
All the things that could make a nation great if the inhabitants share the same culture, spoke the same language and have the same insights into the meaning of life, are completely absent in Nigeria. That is why terrorists would attack Plateau. They do not see the inhabitants of Plateau as humans. They see them as lower animals that must be wiped away from the surface of the earth. Invariably, the message is clear, the terrorists of Northern Nigeria have no single reason to belong to the same country as the people of plateau. If you don’t get that, there is no way I can make it clearer to you. You can therefore expect more massacres. Nigeria is built that way.
In a nation, a land or a country where everybody speaks the same language, it would never happen that some people would cry out of hunger and not do anything about it. If the hunger that Lagosians faced is in the hands of Tinubu are in a situation where Tinubu is president of Yorubaland only, I cannot see how Tinubu can survive the rage that would follow. But the hunger is spread across a group of unconnected nationalities that thrive on confusion, a group of unrelated nationalities that blossom in tribalism and extreme nepotism. So, it is not hard to predict that Nigerians, as it is, we continue to be among the poorest people in the world because they have not taken steps to end Nigeria and build strong independent nations like the Oduduwa/Yoruba Nation, Biafra, Arewa, Middle-Belt kingdom and Southern Niger Delta.
In the absence of the emergence of these nations-that would not only compete regionally for progress and development, but also internationally for fame, prosperity and superpower, the people of Lagos can continue to carry placards for the remaining over 150 million or more living from hand to mouth, unsure of the next meal. For the people of Plateau, the best solution is self-defense. Call on your politicians, let them buy arms and ammunitions, so you can protect your land and resources that keep enticing the enemy. Protect your women, children and the elderly. No matter how much you cry, the terrorists are coming back, and they will not stop until you are completely decimated. This is the history of Nigeria, a bloody British mistake and colonial invention, made solely for the suppression of the progress of the African race.
If we don’t stop Nigeria, we cannot stop the chant “We Are Hungry”. If we don’t stop Nigeria, the only way to survive terrorism and forceful take-over of our local resources is to “fight back”.
In a country that was built on false foundations, people will line the country and shout ” We are Hungry” without doing anything about it.
In some way, we are all like Tinubu, we cannot give what we don’t have.
I had described Tinubu’s government as a Jaguda government. A Jaguda government is a criminal government, simple. I have seen outcry over the 2024 Tinubu’s budget. I have not expressed any outrage because there is none. Though a lot of government in the world are criminal organizations, the pattern of it in Nigeria is disturbing.
If someone had told you that Tinubu is a hungry man or a hustle before he became the president of Nigeria, you would have dismissed the allegation just the same way his wife Remi did. She said Tinubu does not need Nigeria’s money. She is a blood liar. Everyone lies at some point, but some lies are entrenched in some people’s DNA.
Have you seen how much Tinubu is taking from the National treasury to feed his hungry family? I don’t care about the amount because he did not start the madness. Buhari and Baba kekere-Osinbajo did not start it either. Hungry families have been moving in and out of government houses since it’s creation. Nigeria fed the hungry brits. Now she will feed the hungry Tinubus. It is called heritage. If you wanted a one Nigeria, your ancestors may punish you if you complain about the 2024 budget because the 2025 will not be different.
A few people have cornered the goodness of the land. They have stopped the flow of milk and honey to more than 180 million people living in poverty,
Tinubu cannot give to Nigeria that which he does not have. Let us be clear for the umpteenth time. The problem is not Tinubu. The problem is Nigeria. The country was manufactured by the rogues of England. The profits of the “lands” or “nations” entrapped within Nigeria are shared mostly among foreign criminal governments, foreign criminal organisations and the “Nigerian” elites that have perpetuated and perfected the process of neo-colonisation.
The only thing that still speaks against the highly placed criminality of the Nigerian elites is the confession of a Nigerian politician in the late 1970s that there is enough to go round even if Nigerian politicians and the people are greedy. There is enough for everyone’s greed. That is how “rich” Nigeria is even under the biggest management. But the goodness does not go round because for example we are being told that a man like Emefiele has 4 banks. We also know that Tinubu stole money and gave his son to buy an expensive house in UK. I mean there are uncountable reasons why there is not enough today for everyone’s greed. A few people have cornered the goodness of the land and have stopped the flow of milk and honey to more than 180 million people living in poverty.
In the 1990s, I read a story that I believed so much. That if the resources of the Niger Delta were properly managed, they are enough to sustain the entire Africa continent. I believed the narrative because in Europe, there are countries that have inadequate resources, but the people are living good, most of them.
Therefore, the problem is not Tinubu. The problem is the existence of Nigeria. The problem is the extinction of the nations that competed during the early years of Nigeria. The problem is the extinction of the Western Region, the Eastern Region and the Northern Region. The problem is the lack of determination of the people entrapped in Nigeria to seek freedom and pursuit of happiness in independent nations. The people chose slavery – they chose Nigeria – the modern slave ship.
Tinubu cannot give you what he does not have. The 2024 budget is what he has. A criminal will always make criminal documents to keep himself in business. A criminal will surround himself with loyal criminals. That is what government in Nigeria has always been, that is what it will always be. Again, I must remind you that most governments in the world are criminal organisations. The most distinguishing element of the criminality of the Nigeria government is not giving a damn about consequences.
What Tinubu can give you is a cosmetic fight against corruption. He will choose his fight carefully because if a criminal steps on the wrong toes, he would be burnt, brutally. Tinubu can drag Emefiele. The former central bank rogue is an easy target. The man who employed him or the government he served can breathe. They have a scape goat. Everything about Tinubu is fake. You know the stories. You want a good life from a man who made fortunes through a fake life? You are the biggest joker.
The redemption of the people trapped in Nigeria can never come from a man whose hands are soiled in blood. The redemption will not come from a bloody liar who made a living and a curious life out of lies and deceits. Tinubu will almost pursue a unilateral line of anticorruption: Emeliefiasis. Emeliefe served in a corrupt regime. Corruption has been the national anthem since 1960 and the amplification of corruption between 1999 (when Tinubu himself became a rogue governor) and today is unprecedented in the history of mankind.
Every now and then, one way or the other, there will be cheering news. Something like the railway line evolving. Remember that these rail lines are very old inventions and that the side cuts in terms of corruption are massive and unspoken. Every now and then, there will always be a silver lining somewhere. That is how Nigeria was built to function.
The playground for success will never be level. The opportunity to succeed will never reach every corner of Maiduguri or Badagry. A unilateral system of government is not for the benefit of everyone. It is for the selected few, their families-when they find harmony within, and their business friends-locally and internationally. What about the lobbyists and the PR machines always making sure that the public spaces and the media you consumed fill you with hope that Nigeria will be better in your lifetime? My grandparents were fed with the same message of hope. My parents died hoping for a return to the lives they had in Western Nigeria.
At some points, I thought it would come. But now, having been fortunate to cross middle age, I am sure the hope of unborn generations of Yoruba cannot be in the hands of criminals like Tinubu (or Obasanjo before him). No man can ever give you what he does not have. But gangsters and impostors will pretend to do so. I love the word “inexplicable”. It has helped me to describe the average mentality of the Nigerian hoping that things will get better and life will be good for more than 200 million people entrapped in colonial-made NIGGER AREA.
In all honesty, all a typical Nigeria seek is better life for himself/herself. That hope is a selfish hope and has nothing to do with the rest of us. If we care for one another, our thoughts of freedom should be unanimous, our quests to live happy and to find peace with man and nature will be unquestionable. We would be in our nations building, inventing, investing, and making a better world ready for our children and the generations unborn.
Sweden is always trying to save the rest of the world from all unpleasant situations. There are so many adventures that Sweden have undertaken since time immemorial. I remember a damaged pipeline off the American coast or where was again, Gulf of Mexico? Sweden was the country that succeeded in stopping the leakage and ending a potential environmental disaster.
Sweden is everywhere. She goes to Africa doing all kinds of missions. She invades the Middle East and scoop souls to save or revive. Sweden builds abroad, with very fine architectures. She exports music, Spotify, Abba, Aviciii (RIP) and so many good things of life. No doubt she brings home the rewards of plundering.
But if you live in Stockholm especially along what we call the surface train lines (pendeltåget), Sweden would have at some point made your life hell on earth. There is a dilemma on this surface train line that I have witnessed for almost 2 decades. If a problem can persist for that long, and of there is no solution in sight, the most appropriate explanation is corruption. There must be some form of massive corruption that has made it impossible for Sweden and Stockholm to end “a simple” problem she would have solved if the problem was in another country.
In the winter every year and sometimes with temperatures as low as minus 21, the Stockholm surface train could suddenly be out of service throwing many passengers into confusion. The pain is indescribable. The frustration, the anxiety and the uncertainties that occur every winter in Stockholm with respect to the failed surface train schedules should be studied. It may be a life shortener.
Let us be clear about a great nation that Sweden is. She has the longest underground tunnel network in the world. It has been described as the longest work of art made by man. That is very commendable. The fact is the network continues to grow because more interconnections have been proposed and some are near completions. The underground blue line has been extended and will reach a new length in the nearest future. The problems with the Swedish underground trains are not severe. They are no unusual and do not take time to clear.
It is even slightly mysterious that the underground network (that is under the earth) works better and more effective the surface network that is over the earth. Could it be that more focus is placed on something that is under the earth than something that is above it? Are they trying to tell us that the surface train is more exposed to drastic changes in weather? You must wonder why Sweden can take care of the underground train network better than the surface train network.
Nevertheless, with all the knowledge, experience and technical abilities in Sweden, the surface train network remains a disturbing shame to the country. This winter 2023 December, a lot of train travel times have been cancelled. Some trains have run on shorter wagons. There have been complains about the maintenance of the tracks. That really is shocking: that the tracks are not well maintained. What is serious accidents occur? The blaming game would start. Who does not know that prevention is better than cure?
The consequences of these annual anomalies may in fact constitute serious aspects of mental health imbalance for affected people. We must see beyond the frustrations on their faces. Failed train networks do more than causing lateness to work. People also often get late to getting their wards from schools. They miss other friends and family engagements or activities. What about the financial or economic loss to the county? Individuals lose time and money. The country loses time and money. When shorter wagons run, the crowd at the stations build up. In this cold weather, that is a means to increase the spread of communicable diseases. A substantial part of the residents fear for terror attacks too. The crowd that builds up when trains stop working or are delayed are potential spots for attacks.
My suggestion to the Swedish Transport Corporation (Stockholm Local Traffic) is that they need to sit down and look at themselves in the faces and in the mirror. They need to get this system working by taking a holistic approach to problem solving in this sector.
The tracks must be fixed and maintained as scheduled. Ten years over the schedule time is a clear indication of being irresponsible and taking our lives for granted. There will be winter every year. So why is every winter characterized by the same problems with the trains? I do not think there are newer problems with the trains than they were 10 years ago. Winter will come, there will be snow, it will be cold. Is there anything that the Stockholm Local Traffic does not know about winter? Winter should no longer be an excuse for poor train services. This is Sweden!
What is this thing about shortage of employees? Take measures to make the job of a train driver attractive and get more people employed. There are so many unemployed people in Stockholm, so we should not be having shortage of employees at all. No, we should not.
There is the story of failure of signal. I don’t think anybody knows what that means. It has become an acronym for “out of service” if you ask me. Can you please explain “signal fel” to us so we can proffer a solution?
The bottom line is that the Stockholm Local traffic lacks pre-emptiveness and the corporation is behaving like it is doing us a favour. We are paying for this extremely poor delivery of services which is why I maintain that the underlying cause of these problems is massive corruption within the Stockholm Local Traffic.
The corruption must be addressed in order to improve services. In my end of the train line, we have a 30-minute interval to deal with. If a train is cancelled, that is minimum of one hour waiting time. The interval must be improved going forward.
I understand that politics too have a role to play in all these poor service deliveries. Talk to the concerned politicians about your needs and bring the citizens on your side to improve train services. Stop further increase in the prices of train tickets because the quality of service delivery have declined in the last 2 decades.
Don’t forget: update your tracks to prevent accidents or derailing.
One can be proud of Sweden in many ways, but in the Stockholm transport system, shame is what I feel. Fear is what I breathe when expecting visitors and never knowing if they will arrive or travel back in peace.
Sweden is everywhere. But I don’t see Sweden in the Stockholm Local Traffic.
A View From The Scandinavian 