Month: December 2009

Nigerians brace up for a Bleak Christmas 2009

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Adeola Aderounmu

I hope there will be no pipeline explosion during this season as I now punch my keyboards to write about this year’s Christmas in Nigeria. Nigerians just got their Christmas presents.

There will be no 6000 MW of electric power supply. This means that darkness will continue to pervade the land. How sad!

Fuel is now scarce again. This is one of the biggest intellectual scandals across ages. In Nigeria crude oil is flowing like milk and honey. But Nigeria exports crude oil and imports finished petroleum products. You can tell that morons are in charge of this blessed but damaged nation. Serious intellectual issue..!

A lot of Nigerians had great expectations in 1999 when Obasanjo became president. In 2007 hopelessness knew no measure among ordinary people. Only the politicians, their families and the lucky people in the private sector have some measure of wealth to live the good life. More than 90m Nigerians are living desperately from hand to mouth. I can’t stop stating that this is one the hidden tragedies of modern era. It’s hard to find more serious problems even in war torn areas.

In 2007 when the presidential mandate was smuggled and given to Yar Adua, some people’s hopes were rekindled because they didn’t know that it was the perpetration of evil. For the past 10 years the politicians have continued to steal, loot and enrich themselves while the quality of our lives have diminished terribly. Nigeria is grounded and what we continue to be fed with are lies and deceit.

The purchasing power of the naira is bad and the exchange rate is alarming. People want to shop and look good for Christmas but many people can’t afford simple meals and decent clothes. So this Christmas a lot of money will be sent home from abroad. Nigerians in Diaspora will once again rise up to the occasion to put smiles on the faces of families and friends.

Unfortunately no one will be able to handle the wickedness of thieves, kidnappers and armed robbers. Many unemployed Nigerians are so frustrated that they have increased the ranks of these unsocial groups. The Nigerian Police will not be able to guarantee the safety of lives and property at this time of the year. They are hardly there at other times. Their best and unethical function is to collect 20 naira at artificial check points and bribes in their offices. You can mistake Nigerian Police station for a failed bank.

I am not proud of our failures because they represent a collective shame. I don’t take pleasures in these writings. I want to write about the good things but the bad and evil have simply over shadowed the good things. There are honest people in Nigeria. There are good organisations in Nigeria. On the whole Nigeria is beautiful, blessed by nature.

But I will not write about so many good things when one man stole 12 billion dollars and walked free. I will not talk about good things now when governors stole their states dry and walked free. I cannot concentrate on the good things in a nation where more than 90m people are poor, helpless, oppressed and speechless.

No I cannot stop talking about these things because Nigerian politicians are bloody liars and too corrupt to behold. One day will be one day; we will have to device a method to drive away these wicked people. I am so sure they will not last forever. There is a need to emancipate the 90 or 100m Nigerians in desperate need of fulfilling lives.

Merry Christmas to the downtrodden. May you and your generations rise again..!

Wicked Behaviours

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Adeola Aderounmu

The most urgent thing in the minds of Nigerian politicians is how to get rich for life. The priority is how to loot, loot and loot so that during and after public life they are never poor again. Becoming a prominent politician in Nigeria is an investment and the dividends are enormous. You’ll never be poor again..!

Imagine this; there is a proposal in Nigeria to spend N3.5billion on the construction of new houses for the Vice President, the Senate President and his Deputy, as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives along with his Deputy. One useless man called Mallam Adamu Aliero has been defending this in the Nigerian Senate. Absolute madness! Welcome to Nigeria the land of mad politicians!

And another shocker in this time of economic recession: the federal government of Nigeria presented it’s budget to the National Assembly and requested appropriation for four new presidential jets at a cost of $210 million USD.

Yes Nigeria is a rich country probably one of the wealthiest nations on earth. But with the state of our infrastructure and the stupidity of our politicians these requests are just too selfish to ignore.

Electric power supply in Nigeria is near ground zero. Schools are not well funded and health care is a disaster as we can easily confirm that the man whom they call their “president” lay sick for over 3 weeks in another country, Saudi Arabia to be precise.

Our roads are bad and terrible at the same time. Cost of living is sky rocketing daily. Christmas is around the corner and the best gift Nigerian got was fuel scarcity because of some wicked and mad oil marketers and stakeholders. They continue to ruin us and make us sad. Our lives are almost worthless in their eyes. Where is clean water? Where is the dignity for our endless labour?

We are like on-lookers in our country. We do nothing to stop the rise of evil. A politician in Nigeria can appoint a judge in his own case. This is the level of corruption in Nigeria. I swear, in my whole life, I have never seen a country as corrupt as Nigeria even if such exist. My experience is from Nigeria alone and a boy who has never been to another farm always believes that his father’s farm is the biggest. This is my case at this point. Nigeria is rotten to the core.

Change must come to Nigeria. let’s do every little things we can that can add up to the destruction of evil and the prosecution of our wicked, heartless and lying politicians.

Fuel Scarcity hits Nigeria: Another season of madness

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By Adeola Aderounmu

Who can understand this situation? One of the world’s largest producers of crude oil is at it again. It’s close to Christmas 2009 and Petrol is scarce again in Nigeria..!

I can’t stop making reference to the level of our mentality-cognitive and otherwise. This is absurd. 10 years into a new found civility (though clouded by tyranny) there is yet no “brain” to develop our oil resources to make them abundantly available for the citizenry.

This is because of the mafia group that runs the Nigerian oil businesses. Now they have created a new scarcity, they will make hell of money and the populace will groan and suffer. People who are already poor will now pay even more money to get fuel or to get transportation to move around. What a hell of a country! I have no doubt; this country is managed by extremely heartless and wicked people.

The government has a plan to deregulate the oil sector. Could this be the new plan to drive home the point? Do the people have to suffer more because of the planned deregulation?

And come to think about it this country has no legal president since 2007 and not even any form of governance since November 2009 because Yar Adua is lying ill in Saudi Arabia. What a country? Nigerian politicians are in need of psychological and mental examinations. Is this all about political survival? Is this all about selfishness? Is this all about some form of peculiar madness in the political arena?

There is fire on the mountain and nobody seems to be running.

Renowned lawyer and human right activist Femi Falana has asked an Abuja court to declare vacancy in the Nigerian presidency. But for the legal procedures I think that position has been vacant since May 2007 when the mandate was stolen in what has been described as the worst election in the history of mankind. But how wonderful that there is still one sane person in Nigerian political / judiciary arena! Thank you Femi Falana for your courage.

Also thank you to CACOL: the coalition led by Debo Adeniran is still trying and working hard to eliminate corruption in Nigeria. All these will not be a day’s job.

I still believe in Nigeria. We are talking about probably the most prosperous nation on earth but having some of the poorest people and the worst of infrastructure. Nigerian roads are among the worst in the world. Schools are frequently closed due to bad management and electric power supply is almost non-existent. Poverty is rife as a few greedy people have stolen our commonwealth. Our politics is complete and total
madness and our votes still useless, they are not counted.

Still, our life is in our hands. Our future is what we make of it today.

One day, things will take a turn for the better. I don’t know the sacrifices we have to make but I am sure we must get rid of the bad people and bad politics. One way or the other we must prove our sanity, cognitive abilities and courage to establish institutions that will lead us to the good life in our promised land.

Nigeria will rise again, soon..!

Power, Too Transient

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By Adeola Aderounmu.

If you have to choose between having good health and political power, what would be your decision? Think about it this way, health as they say is wealth. And when you are healthy, you are also happy and you are at peace with yourself and with others.

Having a power of any sort does not give peace of mind the same way as good health does. And when you have been in a position that allows you to accumulate wealth either fairly or through stealing, the normal thing to do is to ease yourself and pay attention to your health.

In Nigeria the man who stole the people’s mandate in 2007, in my opinion, must have surrounded himself with bad advisers. On his own, he seems to lack the common sense that dictates that health is wealth.

A normal and healthy person will suffer in health as a leader of a group or organisation. It is part of the sacrifice to be paid. How then can we qualify or quantify a very sick man who thought he could lead a nation of over 150m people? In this singular reasoning I doubt if Yar Adua is a normal human being. If we have good documentation of people’s behaviour, health and attitude as they do in the advanced countries it would be nice to study the history of the man Umaru Yar Adua.

I mean even ordinary jobs take their tolls on us. Teachers, accountants, programmers and other jobs take their effects on our health and see how we long for breaks and holidays. How can a sick man take up the job of being a “president”, especially an illegal one haunted by his own conscience, the various oppositions and the hammer of the judiciary? Depending on how this ends, the roles of his family should be taken into account.

Does he not have a wife that care or children that love him? Does he not have people around him who would rather see him alive and managing his health than dying in a position that is “too transient”. Between power and his presence, what did they choose?

Power is transient and is independent of health. It will be gone too soon and the one who is in power today will be ordinary or gone tomorrow. I’ve read that absolute power corrupt. It is a sad excuse to acting in a mad way. Power should not be like that. But unfortunately it is…

Imagine the sanity that will be in Nigeria’s seat of presidency if every bad leader disappears mysteriously. Abacha comes to mind and now Yar Adua. Unfortunately again people do not easily learn from history or philosophy. Power is transient, why not try to acquire it legally and do the right thing?

By death or other means people who are in power or position today will not be there tomorrow. None of us will leave this planet alive. Integrity and legacies are the things that last longer than positions. What legacies have been left behind by the stupid and looting Nigerian politicians since independence in 1960? They have destroyed the country and they have stolen money for themselves and their families, even those unborn.

Power is transient and I cannot wish well those who stole my future. I do not have good wishes for those who are destroying today the future that belongs to the children. Power is transient and I cannot wish well anyone who have taken 1 naira from the treasury. I definitely do now wish well for those who stole billions of dollars through contracts and direct looting. May judgements come upon them. Power is transient!

Nigeria will rise again. I believe.

Our Lives in Our Hands

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Originally published on April 21 2008 @ Nigeria Village Square

Our Lives in Our Hands

If Umaru Yar’Adua keeps flying to Germany every other day for medical checkups and randomized treatments, there is definitely no hope yet for the Nigerian masses plagued by poverty and very serious health infirmities. If the one in whom we entrust our health care seeks succour beyond the borders of Nigeria (and in fact Africa) then the rest of us must know that our lives are in our hands.
Shame which is a virtue in Nigerian politics is the only word that I found to describe this action of the number one citizen in Nigeria. It is a clear revelation of the gross incompetence of Umaru not just as an individual but as an administrator or ex-governor. For example, if I was the former governor of Katsina State for 8 years, I would have used my influence and position to build a specialized hospital to take care of my peculiar health needs. By so doing, I would have provided a unique opportunity for other people who have the same or similar problems within my state and elsewhere in Nigeria.

Really, how much can it cost to facilitate the building of such a specialized hospital at the federal level supposing the cost of building it surpasses the state health allocations for 8 years? If that was the only achievement in Katsina State’s Department of Health between 1999 and 2003, would it have been a selfish gain? Does it require the building of a new hospital to take care of Umaru’s special needs? Was any attempt made to incorporate what he needs into an existing health institution anywhere in Nigeria?

We must constantly remind ourselves of some unforgivable/ severe shortcomings of the people who lead us in Nigeria. Umaru is definitely bringing shame to Nigeria with this particular attitude of his. For instance, how does this flying out for health reason help Nigeria in terms of enticing foreign investors to Nigeria? In 21st century Global Village scenario, Nigeria cannot provide electricity to run businesses and Umaru is making it clear that the health of Nigerians and foreigners in Nigeria cannot be catered for in Nigeria.

My humble advice is that Umaru should with immediate effect lay a foundation in Abuja for the construction of the carbon copy of that hospital that he is always running or flying to in Germany. He should also make sure that the hospital is completed in a world record timing without neglecting regulations, standards and safety. In addition, he should ensure that replicas are constructed in at least 6 other places spread over Nigeria.

When that is done, Umaru should personally work closely with the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure that the hospitals are equipped not only with the state of art facilities but also with the best hands in Nigeria. If there is a need to recall Nigerian doctors or experts from the Middle East, Australia or the US then let it be done. We cannot possibly succumb to any form of inferiority complex that Nigerian doctors are not better than those in Germany. It is part of government’s responsibilities to provide the infrastructure and the environment that will facilitate optimum output and efficiency.

If the kind of hospital that exist in Germany is found in Nigeria and if our best doctors are there, Umaru would have no need to fly 6 hours in air just to see a doctor or the edifice itself. Afterall, Nigerian doctors are among the best in the world and they are scattered all over planet earth. The other day I was treated by a Nigerian doctor at the Famous Karolinska Hospital here in Stockholm. He told me he is from the old Bendel State and that he had been living and working outside Nigeria since the mid 70s!

These pieces of advice can serve as the stepping stones for the revamping of Nigeria’s ailing health industry. Without setting up any tea drinking or money-dividing committee, there are possibilities to establish, develop and maintain viable health policies that will work for all and sundry in Nigeria.

It is not too much to ask that the health industry must work. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Nigerians must stop the shameful seeking of basic health care from neighbouring countries and the confidence that we have in our health institutions and health providers can only be restored if the leadership truly leads by desirable examples.

RESPONSES:

pH_bomboy

# 2 | 21.04.2008 15:33

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why are we not protesting YarAdua’s foreign hospital trips as much as we are protesting British Airways treatment of Nigerians? I’ll be the first one to sign whatever petition is drafted.

WaleAkin

# 3 | 21.04.2008 19:43

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Adeola,

Just thinking aloud!!!

How much would it cost NIGERIA to build a state of the art all round Hospital somewhere in Abuja?

Do we have a bottleneck somewhere militating against this noble venture?

Now, where is this money pls?

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=Umar Musa Yar’Adua>For the Health Sector, we propose an allocation of N138.17 billion for 2008, a 12.57% increase over the 2007 allocation of N120.8 billion. The capital
component of this amount is N49.37 billion, out of which funds have been
provided for, among others, the following projects:
· Refurbishing and equipping all Federal Tertiary Health Institutions
· National AIDS/STI Control Programme, including the procurement
and distribution of ARVs and test kits
· Rollback Malaria Programme, including the procurement of new
drugs for malaria case management and insecticide treated nets
· National Programme on Immunisation for routine immunisation
· Capacity building and training for 5,000 health workers on
integrated management of childhood illnesses.
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DeepThought

# 4 | 21.04.2008 20:45

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If it were possible to justify the practice of corruption by the rank and file of Nigerians, then I would say this continuosly going abroad for medical treatment by Nigerian public officials/leadership make it virtually mandatory that the ordinay Nigerian be corrupt.

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why are we not protesting YarAdua’s foreign hospital trips as much as we are protesting British Airways treatment of Nigerians? .

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Good idea. We should

K_Station

# 5 | 21.04.2008 21:52

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=Robot;4295008061>Umaru is definitely bringing shame to Nigeria with this particular attitude of his.

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AA Baba,
God bless you for bringing attention to this recurring shameful act of our leaders, past and present, may you walk and never stumble! Every time I hear about any of these ridiculous foreign medical trips (per IBB’s toe, Atiku’s treadmill induced injury, and now UMYA’s eczema), I can only imagine their white doctors laughing at and scorning our country behind the backs of their Naija executive patients!

How can we expect anyone to take us serious or respect us in the world when our number one citizen cannot entrust his diarrhea to a Nigerian doctor? Our leaders are shameless mugus! Charity begin at home; not for nigerian leaders.

anonimi

# 6 | 22.04.2008 02:28

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=K_Station;4295008243>AA Baba,

Our leaders are shameless mugus! Charity begin at home; not for nigerian leaders.

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Na we d followers mungun pass as we dey hero worship dem & honour dem as part of the reward system for their (mis)behaviour:exclaim:
I am sure many are lining up to seek connections to such leaders so they can get juicy appointments, in public & private sector, so they can get their share of the looting.
meanwhile the vicious cycle of misery, poverty, mass unemployment, crime, worsening transportation, health, education and other infrastructures continues as we are too selfish to see beyond our nose.
why can’t we boycott the political, social and economic functions of these Looters-in-Power (LIPs)
the best way to be selfish is by being selfless ask d oyinbo people wey dey do welfare for dem government. if your neighbour is stealing & receiving stolen goods and you just dey say he no concern you, very soon they will rob you or someone very close to you, what will you say then:icon_ques

Olamide

# 7 | 22.04.2008 02:42

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=K_Station;4295008243>AA Baba,
God bless you for bringing attention to this recurring shameful act of our leaders, past and present, may you walk and never stumble! Every time I hear about any of these ridiculous foreign medical trips (per IBB’s toe, Atiku’s treadmill induced injury, and now UMYA’s eczema), I can only imagine their white doctors laughing at and scorning our country behind the backs of their Naija executive patients!

How can we expect anyone to take us serious or respect us in the world when our number one citizen cannot entrust his diarrhea to a Nigerian doctor? Our leaders are shameless mugus! Charity begin at home; not for nigerian leaders.

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I also thank you AA for bringing this issue out but you must be clairvoyant o. I was just thinking of writing something more caustic on the issue when I read your article. I am happy that all right-thinking Nigerians are ashamed that our President is running to Germany to treat eczema or is it ashtma in a foreign hospital. When Nigerian hospitals are referred to as glorified mortuaries, some people get upset but how many of our so-called leaders and their families go to these hospitals? None.

The people surrounding Umaru Yar’adua are his greatest undoing. If they cannot advise him that he is making us a laughing stock by flying to Germany, then we are doomed but the public officials are happy because they get estacode anytime Yar’adua flies out for medical treatment. We should launch another petition here to stop our leaders or is it ‘Dealers’ from travelling abroad for medical treatment as long as they are in public office. Over to you, guys.

K_Station

# 8 | 22.04.2008 11:41

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=Olamide;4295008280>We should launch another petition here to stop our leaders or is it ‘Dealers’ from travelling abroad for medical treatment as long as they are in public office. Over to you, guys.

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Dear Olams,
I also thought about your suggestion for a petition but I’m not sure it can be sustained legally. I’m not a lawyer (and I hope Village lawyers can shed more light on this) but I think every human being has a basic right to recieve medical treatment from wherever and from whoever.

This issue is more of morality and having a sense of decency, which most of our leaders seems to lack! One suggestion is for a broad citizen group to make a well publicized representation to both the legislature and the presidency on this matter; it will also be a good idea to seek the support of the Nigeria Medical Association and to carry them along.

draftman

# 9 | 23.04.2008 14:18

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Make una leave Yardua alone, he should be able to get a medical treatment anywhere he chose. What would you do if you fall sick in Nigeria, and can afford to travel out? The fact is that we do not have a fully competent doctors in Nigeria, even if we do we certainly do not have adequate facilities or tools. Until Nigerian can sort these issues, please don’t knock a man for taking care of himself, unless you’re just jealous. My cousin who is a medical doctor in both Nigerian and now in US, does not trust nigerian medical facilities. I was in Nigeria recently and my family member was sick, I was told by a nigerian doctors to seek treatment abroad asap.

Who among us want to take chance with our health.

karajakataja

# 10 | 25.04.2008 04:20

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the complete truth is yet to be told about the state of his health, what operation/treatment he actuually underwent prior to election in april last year. Yar Adua is our property and we need to know his health status. By the way when ar we gonna have an hospital that can give paracetamol to our public officers running abroad each time they have headache?
I don tire o