Month: January 2011

Nigeria: Registration of Voters, Elections and A Season of Assassinations

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

By Adeola Aderounmu

This year 2011 Nigerians will go to the polls. At they have always done since 1959 Nigerians will be unprepared for these elections. There are a lot of optimists urging people to go out and register. In a sane country there is no harm for such a call. It is genuine and noble. In Nigeria, in my own opinion, and as I have argued times without number, the call is dubious, unnecessary and stupid. Votes will be counted in manners that will not portray respect for human dignity. Since 1959 Nigerians have wasted their time and energy on votes and elections that have been rigged and doctored. This year will not be different.

As recent as 2007 Mr. Obasanjo urged Nigerians to participate in a do-or-die election. That election ushered in the illegal regime of late Mr. Yar Adua and the beneficiary today is one Goodluck Jonathan whose political career has been steered more by his name than his vision because he doesn’t seem to have any vision in any case. He is now the candidate to be presented by the PDP- the party- that has given corruption his deepest foundation in the history of Nigeria. PDP was founded by crooks and nurtured by well-known corrupt ex-military and ex-civilian gangsters.

In the recent primaries PDP voters sold their souls for porridge and gave the votes to Jonathan. He paid the most with monies stolen from the Nigerian treasury. Nigerian politicians have not seen anything wrong with stealing and looting. And they always get away because it is accepted in Nigeria to be a thief slash politician. The primaries done by most of other political parties are laughable. One useless party has even co-adopted Goodluck as its flag bearer. Nonsense and ingredients!

I continue to advocate for a corrupt-free Nigeria. I will shout to the top of the roof for a government of merit. National character has destroyed the essence of Nigeria. People are called into government for the purpose of looting and cutting of the national cake as they used to joke. But it is not a joke; these fundamental issues must be addressed. Our politics is rubbish.

The charade been prosecuted by INEC is not turning out to be funny at all. In previous essays I have mentioned that the job and machines are not for INEC but for the National Population Commission. We don’t need these useless registration processes. What we need is a genuine population monitoring process. The implication is that we should be receiving voter’s cards by post or at collection centres at home and abroad. This process of registration is more than 2 000 years old, is archaic, irresponsible and absolutely dehumanizing. It reduces humans to animals.

Among millions of dehumanizing examples, one man left his job and for more than 2 days he was unable to register! Some people get lucky after 12 hours on a queue. There are complains across the nation. In some states DDC machines are in homes of politicians and crooks. In Anambra State, some machines were found in the forest or some sort of shrine. When you apply a system that is more than 2 00 years ago and you think it is modern because you use computers to re-enact the same process, you really need to do a reality check on your mentality. I argued that Nigerians are modern in several aspects of their lives but when you tell them to address these issues of elections once and for all, they tell you that they will get there some day. When?

Electoral processes in Nigeria are tragic occurrences. They present us as a people with extremely low intellectual capacity and defective IQs. With the rulers we have, these are no near surprises. I condemn the registration process just the same way I condemn in advance all the malpractices that will come with it.

There is turmoil in Tunisia and it has spread to Egypt. A serious wind of change is blowing across Africa. Ivory Coast is on the brink whether foreign influence or not.. Africans are wondering what is wrong and the world is amazed. The truth is Africa lacks the sort of leadership that is trustworthy and sincere. Those who considered themselves superpowers gave support to oppressive regimes in some parts of Africa. Those regimes will continue to fall as pan-Africanism continues to find its strength. One day Africa will be where it really belongs to as I argue in a previous post.

The real struggle for the emancipation of Africa is gaining momentum. Nigeria will not be left out. Never!

The wind of change will blow and this can be interpreted in different ways depending on who is making the point and from what perspective. People are talking about Register, Select, Vote and Preserve. This could make a lot of sense if it will happen in Nigeria. But serious minded people will tell you that you can’t sow maize and reap cassava. Wishful thinking has taken away the minds of people from the reality of the lives that they lead. If you live in Nigeria, you know how things are done. The parameters for successful elections and sound democracy are missing.

But those who make peaceful change impossible in Tunisia and Egypt are getting a feel of another type of change. I’m so certain that change will come to Nigeria. What I am not certain of is the preservation of the entity called Nigeria.

Indeed there are serious flashpoints as we approach the 2011 elections in Nigeria. Jos and Maiduguri have now overtaken the Niger Delta as potentially fatal and fragile hotspots. From time to time pockets of riots and violence leave hundreds and sometimes scores of people dead. It will be foolishness to ignore the growth and spread of terrorism in Nigeria. Even Abuja can feel the heat.

As this threat grows our politicians continue to improve their personal securities while targeting self-preservation and perpetuation in offices. No one has been formally charged for all the terrorist acts in Nigeria. Boko Haram looks set to take over Northern Nigeria.

No one has yet claimed to be responsible for the killing of a leading governorship candidate in Borno State. Modu Fannami Gubio was gunned downed along with 6 other persons by gunmen on motorbikes. The unfortunate incident took place outside of his home.

As usual when the evils deeds are done security patrols stormed the streets. The Nigerian government has not made adequate provisions for the prevention of these types of assassinations. Over the decades many Nigerians and politicians have been killed because they are in the opposition party, or they are opposed to tyranny or just aspiring for political offices. Usually no arrests are made. On rare occasions the police make false arrests and then we don’t hear anything again.

This political assassination is unfortunate. It is not the first. It adds up to the pile of unsolved murder cases. It’s a sad situation to belong to a helpless system where the focus is on politics and stealing from government.

The rest of us, in all that we do, we must ensure that our actions, comments and body languages are unified in condemning the type of government in present day Nigeria. A government borne of illegality has no moral standard to steer the course of West Africa or Africa. On what moral pedestal is Jonathan championing the military action in Ivory Coast? Who voted for Mr. Jonathan? Do Nigerians have short memories? Or they just chose to ignore the fact that in 2007 Iwu and Obasanjo messed Nigeria and Africa up? Time does not heal illegality. Being sworn in by a corrupt system or a Chief Justice does not translate that votes have been counted. Let us not mix these issues up.

Let us be clear. Those who live in glass houses cannot afford the cost of stone throwing. If you want to make me a dress, I have the right to view the one you are putting on. Nigeria is not fit to lead Africa based on the glories that predate 1960.

We must put our house in order. We still have the time and the opportunity for adjustments. The early signs for the 2011 elections are catastrophic. The price-winner takes it all- remains a recipe for dissent and violent outcomes.
In a country where the rule of men is far above the rule of law, where social justice remains a mirage and where corruption runs side-a-side a generally disorganized electoral process, it will be sheer recklessness to underestimate the consequences of the forthcoming [likely-to-be-fraudulent] elections in Nigeria in April 2011.

The outcome of this year’s elections may bring changes.

One of the greatest fears is, not knowing how the wind of change will blow. From Liberia, to Tunisia, to Egypt-the wind of change has blown and is still blowing across Africa. The forthcoming elections in Nigeria may serve as a whirlwind or catalyst for the needed or even unnecessary changes in Nigeria. Imagine a change influenced or prescribed by Boko Haram and the terrorists from Northern Nigeria. They are on the loose and the helpless government is applying medicine after each death, if you know what I mean.

It will appear that the resiliency of Nigerians is a momentum gathering phase that has lasted for ever. But like a snow ball rolling down a steep slope it must have gathered loads of additional masses on its way. The impacts will definitely be shattering.

We should never wish for a war. But we must support the types of demonstrations that will lead to the fall of fake and illegal governments that have dominated Nigeria since 1999. We must support all voices of reasoning that will ensure that the stolen loots are returned, to the last kobo. We must support all forms of actions that we ensure that all the houses that Nigerian politicians and public servants have abroad are sold and the proceeds returned to people of Nigeria.

We must attempt to reclaim and rebuild Nigeria. Nigeria is the greatest potential of a superpower from Africa but the foreign influences have ensured that we remain subdued and that our heroes never emerged. It is possible to emerge and it is not impossible to reestablish the greatness of the African mind even if we returned to our tents. [Fear of change is the greatest obstacle to our real freedom-Adeola Aderounmu]

aderounmu@gmail.com

Why I oppose INEC and Nigeria’s Primitive Electoral Style

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

By Adeola Aderounmu

I remain firm in my opposition to the way Nigeria and Nigerians continue to accept and live with the manner of our electoral processes.

Nigerians have the latest cars in the world. They have the latest music and art collections. Nigerians are probably the best dressed people in Africa. Nigerians build state of the art types of houses. When these things are done by Nigerian politicians it is most certainly with monies that are stolen from the treasuries across the nation. No doubt.

Mention any new invention in mobile and telecommunication industry or any other field of human endeavors, you will find it among Nigerians. Just name it!

The only things that are not modern in Nigeria are the Bankole-Daniel types of Bridges, our federal, state and local government roads, government schools and other public infrastructure. An addition to the list is Nigeria’s fraudulent electoral machinery.

When you propose an argument that our elections must be done using modern approaches and acceptable conditions, a typical Nigerian will argue that Rome was not built in a day.

I remain puzzled by the average Nigerian mentality.

In other things mentioned above, Rome was built in a day.

For things related to stupidity of public services, unacceptable electoral mechanisms, corruption as a way of life and impunity as a vice that must be crushed, Nigerians will come forward saying Rome was not built in a day. O Americans got her independence so so so years ago….we can’t be like them.

These are the types of arguments that those who destroyed Nigeria or who are in the process of plundering the treasuries put ahead of their misdemeanors. Their aims are clear; to confuse the people and to ensure that corruption that enriches a few and enslave the rest of us remains the norm.

In extremely worrying situations religious organizations and bodies encourage Nigerians to pray about problems that require actions and doings. I’m worried.

What INEC is doing with regards to the registration of voters is actually wrong. In previous essays I have argued that it is the responsibility of the National Population Commission to undertake an appropriate census of Nigerians and the people living in Nigeria.

The NPC can easily pass the available figures and statistics to INEC and INEC can send out registration cards by post to our homes.

We have serious problems in Nigeria because as a people we are used to fraud and lies. The foundation of Nigeria as a country is built on deceit. Therefore there is no easy way forward for Nigeria. Still we must be very firm and committed when we undertake certain ventures like counting Nigerians.

One day, as we continue to hope against hope, this country called Nigerian may end up in the hands of the right people-committed people who have brains, who can use their intelligence to deliver the rest of us. It’s a hard call because all those who have been there since 1960 collectively, have failed. Loads of intelligence has gone down the drains. It’s an extremely sad situation.

In Nigerian census, goats and cows are counted so that people from a certain region-mostly the North-can have more people registered than other areas. If we follow the proportionality of the false census from the past, one may conclude that if 13 million people live in Kano then there are probably 30 million people in Lagos. But the corrupt Nigerian government agreed that there are more people in Kano than Lagos. In the world, you will find no greater fallacy!

The reasons for these manipulations of census figures are because Nigerian politicians are crooks. They allocate money to states based on these fake figures and they loot the money. During elections they use these fake figures to rig election results.

These are the vices that are blocking progress in Nigeria. Nigerian politicians lie, steal, murder, loot, cart away and even get away with everything. There are inadequacies in the Nigerian judicial systems that allow crooks and criminals to rule over the rest of us.

Sadly too, we have this resiliency that has been used to our detriment. We allow all kinds of rubbish and say “God dey”. Then we move on to the next stupid phase of our national life. For more than 50 years this country continues to rot away. The third of generation of Nigerians are wasting away and all we can say is “Rome was not built in a day”. Absolute nonsense, baba n’la rubbish!

As I was trying to say, the task of voters’ registration under a given period of time is over 2 000 years old. If Nigerians can apply technology in other aspects of their lives, why not in census figures? Why not to carry out successful elections?

We didn’t have to buy all the so called DDC machines we bought just for the purpose of elections in 2011. The machines have even disappeared into private hands. So somewhere there are falsifications of voters’ list in Nigeria.
Mark my words, 4 years from now, if Nigeria is still in existence, another government will order new machines for new voters registration.

For how long shall we continue to live like this as a country?

NPC must at all times have records of the people living in Nigeria. This is as simple as having a database for the registration of all Nigerians. Here are excerpts from what I wrote in 2007:

[This is the 21st century and it is now possible to count how many people live within a defined geographical region anywhere in the world without much hullabaloo.

To count Nigerians is not a 5-day project. It is not even a 50-day project. Counting in every country should be a routine work revealing how many people live in that country at a particular point in time. It should also involve close monitoring of the number of births or deaths that are recorded daily or periodically.

Taken simply in the Nigerian context, what we need in terms of knowing the population of Nigerians is a long term plan. It is a process that will start gradually, remain focused and eventually reach a stabile. Nigeria needs a system where her citizens are recognized by social security numbers (SSN) or what in other places is known as personal numbers (PN). This number which should be imprinted on our national IDs and passports is a tag that should not be changeable whatever happens! Everything that affects you (good or bad) should always be recorded against this SSN or PN on a computer database.

These SSNs should be with all public institutions under strict conditions of confidentiality and trust regarding the personnel that work in such offices. Some private institutions may have special access too depending on the nature of their assignments. It should not be possible for a person to have double SSNs because fingerprints will go along with them. However, that does not rule out that identities cannot be stolen but if the law catches up with such people, they should face the music directly. An individual’s SSN should be connected to records at the Hospitals, Tax offices, unemployment offices, Insurance companies, Motor Vehicle Licensing offices, Bank records, Statistics bureau, and so on and so forth.

Where do we start from in Nigeria? The problem in Nigeria is that counting is not done with sincerity of purpose. Politicians meddle with everything that is of National interest for selfish gains and personal reasons. This is the debacle that must be removed. A public institution like the NPC has to be re-engineered to catch up with modern realities. The way we count ourselves must change.

Nigeria needs to focus on the task of her census with long term considerations. A 5-10 year plan to count all Nigerians coupled with daily observations of changes from the start will be a good approach. This will make good planning possible. We should monitor daily population growth and periodic influx or out-flux. Where you reside in the country should not be a factor, the point is that we should know that you exist and live within a certain region in the country. If you leave the country, it should be possible to detect that. We should also be aware when you return as long as you have taken the legal approaches to do these things. In crime situations, people can beat some of the checks or controls mechanisms but the essence of knowing the estimated number of people will remain.

It is not ideal to count people in Nigeria using a deadline. This will leave room for panic and people will be rushing or running around aimlessly because they want to be counted in their homelands. There is no need to create chaos just because you want to meet a deadline. It is not necessary to count Nigerians in a hurry. It is also not a matter of life and death that a particular administration should be saddled with the task. Knowing the population is not a job for a particular regime, it is the reason that the NPC is in existence. This Commission, in the future and after good planning, should be able to send out population figures at a click! Nigeria must look into the future; make concrete plans for things that work forever, not temporarily.

What about the NPC registering every Nigerian at its local offices, giving out SSN and taking fingerprints? All the local offices should be connected to a central computer network at the headquarters. State of the art technology must be in place to detect multiple fingerprints.

This is the stage that the world has reached. A person need to be identified with his name, SSN, address, fingerprints, photograph, occupation, marital status, children (or not) and so on. A change of address should be immediately reported so that the state or local government knows who has moved in or out. People moved for many reasons; to be with family, change of job and so on.

Having a lengthy time to take care of population figures will be more than enough to let people know how population flow is observed and what is expected of everyone concerning their registration on the database. When a child is born for example, the hospital should have the means (either by the computer network) or otherwise to inform the local NPC of a delivery. Obviously, the families of newborns know that they are obliged to get SSNs for their children. Representatives of the local authorities would only need to see the baby and the information that they have received from the hospital about the sex, weight at birth, date of delivery and so on. The connection between the local authorities or local governments and the NPC should be paramount as the number of people in the locality should correlates with financial/economic implications.

In essence, taking care of population figures or census is not supposed to be a big deal. It should become a way of life. With time, all Nigerians will be registered. The operations of the NPC must be completely computerized with appropriate backups. The number of foreigners living among us should also be noted. They should also have SSNs that can be coded so that once they appear on the system, it becomes obvious that they are foreigners and the exact country they come from appears. The nature of their businesses in Nigeria should also be revealed by the same SSN.

It is unnecessary and a waste of time and resources to count people before, during and after elections. We should be able to click on the NPC database in the next 10 years and say there are maybe 150 million people in Nigeria. We should be able to say things like, 2 000 foreigners live in Ikeja and that 30 000 Nigerians have migrated to Europe in the last 2 years for example. The Nigerian embassies all over the world should have the responsibilities of the NPC in their various locations.

One hopes that in 2017, NPC will find it easy to look into its database system and tell us how many we are as Nigerians. One of their statisticians should be able to have a cup of coffee or tea by his side and still make a first click to find out the latest entry on the database network and a second click to give the total number of people that are Nigerians. By then it should be possible to stop counting cows, goats, chickens and sheep as humans. If Nigeria is also truly the heartbeat of Africa, then we need to set the pace not only in population or census aspects but in other areas that affect the quality of our lives.

The 2006 census should be the last time we count ourselves using paper and biro. It should also be the last time the government sent people to our homes for the purpose of census. We deserve our privacy! ]

(Original post: How to count Nigerians )

Since I wrote this piece on the Nigeria Village Square in 2007 nothing has changed. If the Nigerian government had been sincere, by now all we need to be doing is sending voters’ cards to our homes, not sending Nigerians out into the sun and rain thereby stressing life out of a people that are already hopeless. But no, we have a system of government that thrives on primitive ideas and massive corruption.

By now INEC should be concentrating on election matters and not registration of voters. Nigeria has been registering voters since 1959, when is that rubbish going to end? It’s funny when we call ourselves the giant of Africa. Nigeria by not being able to send out voters cards to our homes is simple a dwarf of Africa.

If our system of governance and the corruption in our system do not allow us to fashion our electoral processes according to the state of art technology, I repeat that Nigeria is the dwarf of Africa. Or how else shall we be an example to the rest of Africa? And please don’t start that argument about Rome?

If you still want to deepen the primitiveness of Nigerian electoral processes you should listen to Goodluck Jonathan on NTA News. He reiterated that Nigerians should register near their homes because movement will be restricted on the day of election.

When I hear such comments I think about the biblical Herod and the events of more than 2000 years ago.
Why should we restrict movement on the day of election? Why can’t I vote and go where I want to go? Why should our fundamental rights be taken away from us because of elections? There is even no guarantee that the votes will be counted.

The votes can be counted and manipulated because we don’t have a unified and acceptable census figures. Is it not amazing that in the recent Delta elections, ballot boxes were snatched and riggings were reported? The people who voted in the water areas were more than the people who voted on mainland delta.

All of these anomalies are what will be impossible once we get the population figures right. Ballot box snatching will be meaningless if the results of forgery do not tally with the people residing in the voting area. It will make the jobs of the electoral tribunal easy to carry out.

INEC’s DDC machines are not working in some places. The machines needed to be updated. Apart from that the problem of electricity means that the machines have limited time to operate.

Nigerian schools are closed because of voters registration, you will never find a more primitive society that the one that the Nigerian government has created.

If the National Population Commission is given the mandate as I suggested in previous essays there will be no interruption of the education of our children. Updating of the Nigerian population can be done weekly, monthly or annually. These are not impossible tasks. Sincerity of purpose will avail much.

The quality of education is already at an all-time low, yet we manage to close the schools either due to voters’ registration or more correctly due to threats of bombs here and there.

I must conclude. I have several reservations for the forthcoming elections in Nigeria. In 2003 and 2007, across Nigeria, the PDP master minded massive rigging of elections to keep up with a known tradition. In secret locations guarded by men with guns and machetes, men and women sweated as they thumb-printed their way to fake electoral results.

From a very reliable source I learnt that PDP chairmen across the nation supervised these rigging processes. Men and women who became ministers and ambassadors for Nigeria supervised and participated in the useless elections of 2003 and 2007. Goodluck Jonathan is a biggest beneficiary of that shameful process.

If anyone thinks that GEJ is ready to give up that process that brought him this far, that person needs to rethink about what we have on ground and that to this day-that there are no mechanisms to sustain the R.S.V.P campaign.

How do you protect a vote when the numbers of voters are not known? How do you protect a vote when some people will vote several times and results will be forged? This is not about INEC or Jega. This is about a system that is not ready for the mischievousness of the Nigerian mind. To me, what INEC is doing now doesn’t make sense?

Finally, what I see is a bunch of 140m people beating about the bush. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. The charade of the 2011 will be revealed before our very eyes, soon!

I’ll continue to hope against hope that by 2015 we would have built our Rome.

Stupid, It’s ECOWAS..!

/ Adeola / 3 Comments

By Adeola Aderounmu

My pain in writing this essay is the little knowledge I have on the exact nature of the political crises in Ivory Coast. By that I mean why Gbagbo is really sitting tight and why the country’s Electoral bodies would falsify election results in favour of either Gbagbo or Quattara who are both claming to be presidents of the same country. I’m also not sure why Quattara enjoys foreign support and Gbagbo national support.

I should ask my friends including Kola Afolabi to tell me more about Ivory Coast. It seems that those who understood French language have a better understanding of the situation in Ivory Coast than the rest of us. One day I hope to become a student of political science.

Any day now ECOWAS may use force and military actions to unseat Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast. Brothers will kill brothers and sisters will murder sisters. Africans don’t realize that they are one big family. The disorientations created by goods and slave trade, imported religions, colonialism, and decades of unsuccessful self-governance are some of the reasons that Africans continue to misunderstand their common ancestry.

But where was this useless organization called ECOWAS in 1993?
In 1993 Africa was presented with a golden opportunity that could probably have led to the liberation of the continent for all time.

At that time ECOWAS was probably sleeping and OAU was in coma.

In 1993 one tropical gangster called Ibrahim Babangida committed treason in Nigeria. That was not his first time but it was more serious in 1993.

On June 12 1993, millions of Nigerians voted in the best election ever conducted in the history of Nigeria, or perhaps Africa. The Nigerian people voted and the results were rolling in more to the favour of MKO Abiola. When it became evident that Abiola would win, Bashir Tofa (the opponent) was said to have sent him congratulatory messages.

Records have it that as the results were been announced, the prices of goods and services were dropping. There was a tailor who refused to be paid for the services he had rendered. He was so overjoyed that “at last” hope has come to the people. Some private bus operators were offering free services. Happiness and gladness was spreading on June 12 1993.

People were elated. Everyone was smiling and things were looking up and good despite the fact that Abiola has not been declared the winner.

That was the spirit and mood until Nigerians received a rude shock from the nonentity called Babangida. This useless man cancelled or annulled the best election in our history. There were many theories to this annulment including that Abiola was a creditor of the government, or that a few idiots would not like to see him become president of Nigeria. Some people said it was because of what he did when he was in NPN that he betrayed Awolowo.

As far as democratic principles are concerned those arguments are classified as animal talk.

The fundamental thing about June 12 was that an election held and Abiola won. The crime about it was that some cabal headed by Babangida secretly plotted against Abiola and eternally denied him of the mandate that the Nigerian masses gave to him. He was asked by the people to give them hope, but a few hopeless and selfish persons, some of whom unfortunately are still around the corridors of power decided otherwise.

We were denied the wonderful opportunity of knowing what the next 4 years with Abiola would have meant. Shivers are running down my spine as I write this. Tears are close because we were denied the chance to see “what would have happened with 4 years of Abiola”? One day with potentially Abiola-led government, June 12 1993-was one of the best days of my life! On June 12 1993 my prospective future was finally stolen away from me. No one will understand this but I never regained it!

Many people died in the struggle to actualize that mandate popularly called JUNE 12. Where was ECOWAS when Babangida rolled out the tanks and murdered Nigerians who were protesting the annulment of the June 12 1993 elections?
Where was ECOWAS in 2003 and 2007 especially, when Iwu and Obasanjo arranged a charade for 140m people?

To me ECOWAS is a useless body and this new songs of war must definitely have some undertones. That brings us to the circumstances surrounding the murder of MKO Abiola.

I don’t like to be misquoted. I am not a fan of Abiola. I will never be a fan of any politician whether they perform or not. I curse the day I behold people because of their positions or statuses the same way I have cursed the day I decide to steal public funds. My comments are essentially on public services and how such services must be executed-primarily for the good of all. To understand my opinions, you must read between the lines.

I’m wondering what Wikileaks will come up with concerning the murder of MKO Abiola. I am still wondering why he was murdered while a delegate from the United States was visiting him. How did a cup of tea become a poison? Does Bill Clinton have anything to do with the murder of Abiola? What was in for the US that Abiola was murdered?

We have been warned as Africans to be wary of the roles of the so called “faceless” International community in Africa. It is not a new call. For example you can wonder why there is a lot of international pressure on Gbagbo whereas Babangida suffered no personal loss or any form of pressure when he committed treason in Nigeria, more than once. Where were the French, the UK and the US in 1993 when the will of the people was thrown to the wind in Nigeria?

Stupid ECOWAS, Stupid International community! The world will never know peace because of social injustice and inequality of this nature.

Africans have a long way to travel. They are light years behind the developed nations. Africans must unite and speak in one voice. Africa must find a way to reclaim her position as the citadel of technology. Many elements of human development emanated from Africa. It therefore remains a mystery how Africans allowed the rest of the world to overtake her as she stood still.

Africa must rise again. She must overcome.

The leadership question in Africa leaves a lot to be desired. It is a leadership without the required orientations. It lacks focus, it has no plans and it is built on extreme egocentrism. It leaves no room for tribal integration and collective goals aimed at development and progress. African leadership problem is a major issue affecting the development of the continent.

Africa must retrace her steps to where she started getting it all wrong.

In Yoruba folk tradition we say that if the wall is not opened the lizard has no place therein. This was the case with colonial rule, imported religions and neo-colonization. It may also be the case with imperialism and the underdevelopment in Africa.

The people and rulers of Africa must realize that they are the walls and the International community is the lizard. The meaning of that expression is beyond the scope of this essay. It is an extensive area of discuss. If Africans unite, our true heroes will emerge-without the fear of being killed by national or international killer squads-and we will be free.

It’s a long thing brethren. We must encourage and protect our heroes. Some of us must give up our “freedom” for the rest of us to have it, for now and ever more.

The manipulations of the African continent from within and without must end, if Africa ever dream of catching up with the rest of the world or even to claim her rightful place.

Millions of us are living in poverty as a result of the bad governments across the continent. The situation will not change soon. We have not paid the price for the mistakes of the past and present stupid rulers.

If ECOWAS is a defender of justice and freedom I challenge the Jonathan-led ECOWAS to arrest Babangida for crimes against humanity and for his roles in the murder of Nigerians protesting the annulment of the June 12 1993 elections.
After all charity should always begin at home.

I know Jonathan cannot dare because he doesn’t seem to be the one propagating the war songs. It is obvious he is a tool in the hands of bigger factors. In addition, people who have skeletons in their cupboards will never be part of the true African revolution. Instead they will be brushed aside as we see now in Tunisia.

…Tomorrow will always belong to the people who prepared for it today (Malcolm X).

But we must learn about the truth. It is our passport to freedom. It is the best gift we can give our children, born and unborn. For their sake we must give our today. At any cost, we must!

This post is adapted from my views about June 12

War Brewing in West Africa

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

By Adeola Aderounmu

Abidjan
In Ivory Coast war is brewing. The two presidents are not yielding grounds. There have been reports of violence, attacks and deaths in Ivory Coast.

I am not an expert on Ivory Coast but I’m not impressed with the experiment that the International community will be carrying out in Ivory Coast if a war breaks out. They will be selling weapons to both sides of the conflicts and my brothers and sisters will be killing one another.

Africa, I beg you. Learn from your past mistakes, lay down your arms and talk some sense.

It doesn’t make sense for two brothers to go to war while a foreigner doubles as both the umpire and the coach.

Wake up Ivory Coast. Where is Drogba and the boys. Go to Ivory Coast now and stop the war. You can do this by negotiation and intervention. Do it anyway you like.

Jos: War can become full blown..!

The recent images of Jos that I saw show that the state may be on the brink of a full scale religious war.

The people of Jos do not trust one another anymore and the situation has seriously deteriorated. Nigerian media houses are not doing enough to report the current situation and the nature of the problems-the complex religious-political volatile mix.

The war is almost certainly going to continue because of the elections coming up this year.

I don’t see how the governor of Plateau state-one clown called Jang-can prevent the forthcoming devastations.

It is a known fact that the military men that are supposed to see to the peace of Jos have been involved in the killing of the citizens of Jos.

Instead of dealing with the war that can eventually destroy the entity called Nigeria, the useless PDP in Nigeria is busy holding primary convention in Abuja.

On several occasions I have mentioned that Jonathan needs to go to Jos and spend 2 weeks or more to dwell among the people of Jos. The solution must be found and for all time.

The war in Jos is still on a small scale. The governor has failed and the Nigerian authorities are treating the war like violence or uprisings. This is a very serious mistake.

A wise man holds the fish by the head.

Lagos Traffic, Lagos Roads and other matters

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

Adeola Aderounmu

Many Lagosians and residents of Lagos have one thing in common-that is they know that Mr. Fashola has been doing a lot to improve the traffic situation in Lagos. There is no doubt about that. I saw that myself.

There is a network of road that is now being constructed from orile that will lead to badagry. It’s going to be about 10 lanes including rail network. I say bravo to the plan.

Lagos Road

Lagos Road

One sad thing about the situation in Lagos is the bureaucratic problems imposed by the Federal Government. The useless Federal Government has been hindering progress in Lagos. Sometimes the argument is about whether the Lagos State government has the jurisdiction to execute certain projects or not.

You will never understand the madness of Nigerian politics. The useless Federal Ministry of Road and Transport or is it Ministry of Works and Housing has refused to develop or expand Lagos roads. Altogether they have refused to maintain the roads. And then a certain Fashola decided not to follow the way of the ineptitudes before him only for these Federal gangsters to come and stand in the way.

I am hoping that these bottlenecks have been addressed and removed otherwise the Jonathan government should continue to see itself as a disgrace.

The other problem that people are downplaying but which I think has affected the development of Lagos is the Tinubu factor. I have no praises for Tinubu for supporting the candidature of Fashola then and now. I don’t care about his opinions on Fashola. I don’t want people getting my opinions wrong. I have no single word of praise for any Nigerian politician.

Politicians are public servants and they must serve. It is just the Nigerian factor that has distorted people’s minds and opinions about the meaning of public services. Politicians must serve the people and ensure that the society is running smoothly. They are not there to be praised or worship. But the way things have happened in Nigeria has affected the way we look at politicians. Hence it is very easy for people to praise Fashola. They compare him to the idle minds before him.

I have no word for Tinubu except to tell him to go and sit down. Let him stop disturbing the peace and progress of Lagos. Indeed Nigerian politics is such that gives room, space and power to godfatherism, hence the grip of Tinubu on Lagos to this day. Few years from now, he will be history. All the people who think they are important yesterday, where are they today? Nigerian politicians do not learn from history.

But the greatest source of problem regarding Lagos (traffic, roads and other issues) is the people of Lagos. Majority of Lagos drivers have no clues about driving rules and regulations. They drive like idiots. It’s a racing game for them. First to reach, first to go. They don’t know the rules at junctions; they don’t know the rules on the expressway. You will hardly find a Lagos driver giving you way when you have indicated with you blinking light that you want to turn right or left or that you want to change lanes. They call it blocking.

Lagos drivers don’t know the meaning of lane driving. In some places, the government has repaired the roads, drawn lanes and all that. Where there are 3 lanes, Lagos drivers will ignore the lanes and change it to 5 or 6 lanes. Somewhere ahead they will all meet and the traffic will become jammed!

Many of the traffic situations in Lagos are not only as a result of over population but also because of extremely bad driving. If Lagos drivers use their lanes appropriately and follow driving rules, they will prevent up to 70% of the unnecessary traffic jams in Lagos. It is sad because they are ignorant and they don’t know the rules. Therefore they don’t understand why they have such traffic situations.

A journey of 20 minuets in Lagos can take 4 hours. Once I drove from Festac to Iyana Ipaja and it took 3hours and 45 minutes. In other countries that journey will take me just 20 or 25 minutes.

But it is worth mentioning that some roads are still very bad and they have also contributed to the menace of driving in Lagos. Iyana Ipaja by Abesan Housing Estate is the worst place in Lagos. One day we drove about 50metres in a time of 45 minutes!!! This is not an exaggeration. Residents say it could take one hour to just get through Abesan Gate!!!

It’s a region of about 10-15metres only. But the motorists approaching could be thousands and that causes serious problems sometimes. You only need to be trapped at that gate to understand the nature of the problem. Cars are still for minutes and hours. The road is bad and the people drive like mad people. But if they maintain like 2 lanes only for every road approaching that junction, the problem will be less even with the bad road network. But when more than 10 lanes meet at the same point, tell me, who goes first?

Abesan Gate, Iyana Ipaja

Abesan Gate, Iyana Ipaja

Abesan Gate, Iyana Ipaja

Abesan Gate, Iyana Ipaja

At berger area on Apapa Oshodi Express Way, it is simply a death trap. I won’t say more.

Berger Area Apapa Oshodi ExpressWay

Berger Area Apapa Oshodi ExpressWay

Berger Area Apapa Oshodi ExpressWay

Berger Area Apapa Oshodi ExpressWay

There are many bad roads in Lagos but the people are optimistic that given another 4 years and at his rate of achievements, the government of Fashola can achieve more and alleviate the sufferings of Lagosians.

But Nigerians must know that there is a need to provide jobs and incentives in other parts of Nigeria. The gradual decongesting of Lagos will be a needed avenue to ensure that the infrastructures are not over stretched.

21 Road Festac Town

21 Road Festac Town

With or Beyond Fashola future governments in Lagos must have long term goals to take care of the problems in Lagos in terms of roads, housing, schools and water. Obviously there are other things that must be done to ensure that Nigerians in general can live a good and happy life.

Bad Road By Daniel and Bankole's Bridge

Bad Road By Daniel and Bankole's Bridge

One day Nigerian roads will be like this one below

Malmo-Copenhagen Bridge

Malmo-Copenhagen Bridge