Author: Adeola

The French Embassy in Nigeria must be useless!

/ Adeola / 42 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu.

It is annoying that one stupid and ignorant person at the Embassy with probably a Secondary School Certificate was the one that attended to me and turned me down- Wale A.

I am very angry right now.

What are the roles of the foreign embassies in Nigeria? Why do the semi-literates in these embassies deny Nigerian professionals and others the basic right to acquire entry visas that will allow them visit many countries in Europe and other places?

A recent case at the French embassy in Nigeria is still causing a source of agitation in my mind and here I will narrate the story. Wale has worked as a professional banker for more than 15 years. In these 15 years or more, he has travelled to all the continents on planet earth. First he worked in Lagos on Marina Street with Nigerian’s foremost merchant bank.

About 5 years ago like many of his contemporaries Wale relocated to Abuja and took up another job but still in the banking industry. This year alone, Wale has travelled to the United States on a number of occasions. He has also been to the United Kingdom, Dubai and Malaysia. Wale has travelled the entire length and breadth of Nigeria and Africa. As I write this article, he is on his way to Asaba, then to Onitsha and then Aba.

This has been the nature of Wale’s job for over a decade-travelling and meeting with clients and seeking the prosperity of Nigeria. When he leaves Aba at the end of this week, he would be on his way to Switzerland but this time for the purpose of education to advance his professional life and this is where the crux of my anger with the French Embassy in Nigeria sets in.

Wale will attend a professional course in Switzerland for 3 weeks starting June 16. At the end of the course, the school is offering a school trip to Paris by bus. Wale would definitely like to be part of the trip after which he would also like to take a flight to Sweden where his younger brother lives.

Switzerland is not a member of the EU and she is also not a Schengen state. Hence, Wale turned to the French Embassy for a schengen visa since all schengen countries offer that. Unfortunately, Wale was denied a schengen visa by the French. It was only at the interview that they told him to present a hotel booking in Paris.

Wale explained to them at the embassy that he was not going to stay in Paris, that his destination is Sweden. But anyway if they wanted a booking for a hotel in Paris, this would have been easily done by Wale or his brother in Sweden. Wale spent a great deal of time explaining the entire situation to the nonentities at the French embassy, but they were hell-bent on denying him the visa. If he was to present the hotel booking in Paris, he cannot do that until another 15 days at which time the course would have started in Geneva. The embassies have a silly rule that keeps a failed applicant away for minimum 15 days.

How can a man who is going to Geneva be denied a schengen visa to Paris? It is totally despicable and nonsensical. It is absolute rubbish! Wale has been to Sweden before in 2005. Then he was on a business trip to Brussels and he had a Schengen visa so it was easy to take a flight to Sweden. He stayed for only 5 days and went back to Nigeria.

I don’t know how many Nigerian passports wale has used in the last 15 years but it must be quite a number. Why didn’t the half-educated people at the French embassy have a thorough look at the visas and stamps on these passports? I am very mad right now as I imagine the trauma that they put Wale through.

He was really upset at this development and he regretted that he didn’t turn to the Swedish Embassy in the first place. I mean what difference does it make? A man is going to Paris and would like to touch Sweden before he returns to work in Abuja. He presented his ticket to those fools but that didn’t matter. How could he have known that the people working at the French embassy in Nigeria have no initiatives of their own? That they are completely stereotyped dummies.

Wale is just one of the several legitimate cases of Nigerians who have been denied the right to travel out of Nigeria to pursue one thing or the other. A number of students have been traumatized because they cannot obtain visa to further their education abroad. Many legitimate Nigerian tourists are locked down there without right to get back their application fees or to even re-apply. In a way, the foreign embassies in Nigeria have continued to rip millions of naira from Nigeria every year.

If the embassy is in doubt of an application, what does it take them to crosscheck with the destination of the applicant? In Wale’s case, what is the doubt about? He has a visa to Switzerland and I am pretty sure he still has valid entry visas to the US and UK? What is their problem? They should give me one reason why Wale will stay in Paris if he was given a Schengen visa.

I am actually using this medium to call the French Embassy to order. If this is what they do to legitimate travelers, then they should pack out of Nigeria forthwith. If there are more embassies like the French Embassy, then the Federal Government should wake up and have a chat with them. They cannot continue to threat Nigerians with contempt in Nigeria? We don’t do similar things to them when they apply to visit our country. That is unacceptable and this is the message Wale wanted me to get across to the Nigerian Government.

The mad militants; Nigerians killing Nigerians

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Adeola Aderounmu

It is up to the federal government of Nigeria to acknowledge or deny the existence of the several wars going on in Nigeria. This is so because even the government itself is at war with the people. Imagine a country where the people, the ordinary masses cannot determine the state of affairs through the power of their votes. Imagine the country where the men and women who should be doing time in prisons continue to hold sway at the helm of governance albeit illegitimately.

Recently, women and children in some parts of the Niger Delta came out to vehemently protest the spate of kidnapping that had continued unabated. In our dear country, the security of individuals is not one of the responsibilities of the state. Instead, your safety and security are a function of how much care you can grant yourself both physically and spiritually.

The killings of Nigerians by Nigerians are usually never met by stiff condemnations. If an unpopular government sees itself to be at war with the ordinary citizenry, it will definitely care less if the citizenry turns fire on itself. Thousands of lives have been wasted in Nigeria under military and civilian dictatorships but life goes on, just like that! One can easily loose count of innocent citizens whose lives were prematurely terminated under the different regimes in Nigeria. The leadership under Obasanjo wiped away an entire community with its own hand. No one has been charged with genocide.

In Nigeria if you are very influential politically or economically, you can kill as many as you like and walk away free. No major breakthroughs have been achieved in the murder cases of senior citizens and big politicians in Nigeria. The list continues to grow as the chickens continue to eat the intestines of their kinds. It is sad then that the government (itself a killing machine in many ways) is not showing any concern or sign of awareness regarding the conversion of the Delta region into a major killing field in Nigeria.

The militants in the Niger Delta are not only kidnapping expatriates or indigenes in order to obtain ransom but are also on a daily basis sending tens of Nigerians to their early graves. The activities of the militants have been diversified and proliferated probably due to the emergence of hundreds (thousands maybe)of factions and counter factions in the Niger Delta.

On the 30th of May 2008, a cook on one of the shipping trawlers met his untimely death when he got hit by a stray bullet. What the militants do is that they approach trawlers in their own speed boats while shooting randomly at the same time. They stop the boats or trawlers; rip the occupants of major items, money and valuables. Sometimes at very close range, they gun down one or two occupants of the trawlers and disappear into thin air. If you are lucky, they give you only verbal warnings while they cart away valuables.

On a daily basis, lives are lost in this region. This type of news or information is not what you get on the pages of newspapers. You have to be affected one way or the other by this menace to know about it. I have a family member who is a marine engineer and this is his 20th year on African waters. Just to ensure that they conduct their business and fishing in normal way, the fishing companies have bribed and settled the major militant groups or warlords but out of insatiable greed some fresh factions would emerge from nowhere to make new demands and unwarranted incursions. The fishing entrepreneurs, marine engineers, sailors, fishermen, hustlers, casual workers and just ordinary Nigerians carrying on decent living are left perplexed and worried by this development. It has been going on for a long time.

The persistence of this menace is very worrying and like every other ill in Nigeria, it looks like another Nigerian problem that will last forever. The Nigerian Navy or coast guards are either helpless or irresponsible in this scenario. As an arm of the Nigerian defense, they are irresponsible. They cannot offer security to people doing legitimate businesses in their motherland. As fallout of the malady of the Nigerian state or federation, it is helplessness. Nigeria is definitely not a normal country.

The problems in the Niger Delta have been allowed to drag on for too long. It is now clear that the solutions to these problems are beyond the workings of any insensitive or illegitimate leadership steering the nation from in Abuja. For several years, the leadership in Nigeria has ignored the genuine plights of the Niger Delta masses. These genuine plights have now become fireballs which invariably have led to the unannounced but silent declarations of war on the larger Nigerian state.

The regional leaders, past and present governors in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria share larger portions of the blame concerning the troubled delta. They have contributed to making the region volatile, unstable and ungovernable. The winner takes all attitudes of our politics and politicians have deprived millions of Nigeria of decent existence. These deprived millions; about 90m to be sure, are voiceless and powerless. They are disenfranchised, suffering and smiling.

A fragment of these aggrieved souls found some voice and aggression; they possess firearms and ammunition (no thanks to politics, corruption and smuggling), they fight for what they thought they deserved. They are the supposedly true militants of the Niger Delta. Unfortunately, their struggles have been converted to armed robberies, arsons, senseless murders and an aggression turned towards the wrong set of people in the country. This message is clear; the disoriented and fragmented Niger Delta militants have now intensified their unannounced war on the rest of us instead of the people in power who continue to deprive them of their demands.

Related article: The Troubled Delta

MAY 29 2007-MAY 29 2008:Another Year Wasted!

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Adeola Aderounmu.

It’s been one full year since an illegitimate government was installed or enthroned in Nigeria. One can easily be deceived that Nigeria is ungovernable because of the divergence of people, opinions, cultures, attitudes and size of the country. But Nigeria is not the only country that is diverse in such many ways.

What is missing and what has eluded Nigeria is sincerity of purpose on the parts of the political class and the useless military that have plunged the country since 1960. To this day, a typical Nigerian politician is a looter and an opportunist. All he or she is aspiring towards is self-betterment and personal enrichment. The other aspects of him/ her are deceit and pure hypocrisy.

Corruption remains the main thing in Nigeria-our biggest ailment. Politicians continue to loot and milk-away the country to dryness. They are never prosecuted and when they are prosecuted, they walk away with total freedom after a deceitful trial and bail session. Who is fooling who? All the ex and serving politicians who have stolen monies from the national treasury are still enjoying their loots while the rest of us suffer, just like that!

Millions of dollars continue to disappear from the treasury daily under shady and covered deals. Nothing is done to improve the standard of living in the country. What is the essence of the few flashes of magnificent buildings in Abuja when it is made only for a negligible part of the population? Those things in Abuja mean nothing and they serve no purpose to more than 90m people living below poverty line and surviving on less than 2 dollars a day.

Nigeria needs 100 000 MW of power but she is generating less than 1 000 MW. How can a sane mind explain this? One year after the illegitimate coming of Umaru Yar Adua, power supply has gone worse. Those who stole and mismanaged billions of dollars that were earmarked for electricity development in the past 8 years are living as freemen. What a country? Those kinds of people belong in life-time jail because their negligence has sent thousands to the grave beyond. Their ineptitudes have destroyed lives and homes. They have spread sadness in the land, and the sadness and darkness persist to this day-May 29 2008 and beyond.

In other aspects of our lives as Nigerians, we are on our own while the government continues to operate at a frequency that does not tally with the expectations of the masses. The governments in Nigeria do not care about the Nigerian people. The politicians are thieves in disguise. They lie to the people and they rigged their way into power. Imagine this very wicked gang led by Yar Adua asking the people to pay more for electricity which is not even available in the first place. Absolute nonsense and senselessness!

In Nigeria, nobody cares if you have water to drink or if you “hunger to death”. Nothing is plan and nothing is in focus. The hospitals are not functioning to optimum level. Even the illegitimate president goes to Germany for treatment of his own ailment. What a shameless man? Why didn’t he build any hospital in Katsina State when he was a governor FOR 8 WHOLE YEARS? Has anyone thought about that?

Housing is an issue that is not tabled in the Nigerian government agenda. I don’t remember the last time estates or residential areas were designed and executed in that country. It is up to you as an individual to loot somewhere and build your own house. Only very few people can work legitimately to achieve such noble dreams. Majority do it at the expense of other people who must suffer. Rare and Scanty Mortgage houses are up for the rich and mighty. Where is the hope of the common man?

This country Nigeria is known worldwide as a producer of oil. Yet in a very shameful way, Nigerians continues to import petroleum products for use in Nigeria. The refineries are not working at all or they are working inefficiently. All these years of talking and talking, these civilian and military idiots in power cannot do something to build new refineries or make the available ones work maximally/ optimally. How many shameful things and mad acts can one see in governance by these gangsters?

Really, hopelessness persists. Look at the network of roads. Highways are in terrible conditions and all tiers of governance are looking the other way. Nigerian roads are terribly, terribly bad and annoying. Expressways have become snail-ways. Rather than settle down to work, these senseless politicians go about jumping from one country to another. They move from one hotel to another and from one useless function to another. They don’t even know what they are doing. Absolute scalar quantities!

The Nigerian people too do not even know their rights at all. They are just doing follow-follow. Many political thieves are still waiting for their own opportunities to steal and loot directly and indirectly. In general, the lack of purposeful leadership and the presence of a powerless followership are rubbing this country of her greatness. What is left of Nigeria is individual’s will to succeed at any cost. If you take away self-will, there is no country left to call Nigeria.

How long shall we complain about all these ills before we begin to see remarkable changes that will touch the lives of more than the 140m people? How long before corrupt politicians are sentenced to prisons? When will thieves in political offices be shown the way out? When will violence stop and when will the votes be counted? How many more fuel pipeline explosions are we going to have this year?

Who will save our souls?

Festac Town Residents, NEPA and a Very Wicked Government

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By Adeola Aderounmu

The Festac Town Resident Association (FTRA) has sent out a circular in which the body instructed residents of Festac Town not to pay the NEPA/PHCN* bills starting from May 2008. The reasons stated for this line of action are as follows:

* Lack of electric meter reading by NEPA

* Extortion through estimated coded and crazy bills

* Epileptic power supply

* Refusal of NEPA to install pre-paid meter to Festac Town Residents

* Failure of Festac Town NEPA District Business Manager to improve on the power supply and to facilitate the installation of pre-paid meter to Festac Town Residents as promised by him

* Failure of NEPA to respond to the letter written by the Resident Association to Eko Zone Chief Operation Officer for dialogue

The Resident Association thereby advised Festac Town Resident not to pay NEPA bills with effect from May 2008 until further notice.

 

The problem of power supply in Nigeria is now a national embarrassment. Nigeria generates exceedingly less power that she needs. Almost every home and business in Nigeria now thrives on the use of own power generators and various types of loud machines contributing endlessly to both noise and air pollution. In a nut shell, the power situation in Nigeria is a monumental disaster.

Rather than finding ways to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses in this area of gross social neglect, successive (and disruptive) regimes in Nigeria have done almost nothing in the positive direction to take the bull by the horns. Instead, the power sector in Nigeria has prevailed as one of the most corruption-ridden segments of the society.

One year after Umaru was illegitimately bundled to the realm of political power, the electric power situation has gone from worse to worst. The scenario clearly indicates that Umaru and his gangs have no idea of what the electric power sector in Nigerian entails. Indeed, almost 365 days since this wrong government emerged, there are no clear indications of its vision or mission.

Festac Town residents are not alone in this suffering; all the masses in Nigeria are experiencing similar fate. Endless blackouts and extreme frustration is the order of the day. The neglect in the power sector affects us at home and it also plays a significant role in the unemployment situation.

In present day Festac Town, it seems that the availability of electric power is almost entirely reduced to personal generators. This means that the power supply from NEPA is virtually non-existent. It is true that cockroaches now thrive in units that are supposed to serve as refrigerators and freezers. It also cost more than N6 000 per month to procure fuel to run your power generating unit if you live in a 2-bedroom flat.

It is not clear if this struggle by the FTRA will succeed or not. In Nigeria the masses have been rendered powerless and voiceless. Indeed, they always end up suffering more in the end than at the beginning of the struggle. In a persistent fashion, one can pessimistically predict that in the end, NEPA will make Festac residents to crawl on their knees. It always happens like that at the individual level.

It is not a secret that salaries of NEPA workers are paid from the estimated and crooked bills that they extort from their fellow Nigerians. But if all the residents of Festac (the common people that is) find a common rhythm this time and if everyone plays to the tune/ dictate of the Residents’ Association, there might just be a chance to change the pattern. A change must always begin from somewhere or someone.

But how long can the people go without paying bills? Would they not end up accumulating unpaid bills in the end? If the power situation improves, how will reconciliation of the billing system and the severed relationship with the district NEPA be mended?

I still have hope in Nigeria but I have a problem on whom to address my suggestions. Almost all the politicians in Nigerian got to power through crooked means and they remain unaccountable to the people. Many of them are very busy every weekend jumping from one wedding to another. Several of them simply do not comprehend what serving the people entails. They preferred to be served. In general, governance in Nigeria remains at a level simply devoid of purpose.

A few days ago, some Nigerians were almost in tears as they expressed fears and anxiety over the announcement by the Umaru led government that the tariff on electricity will be increased. As one citizen puts it, “we are paying for electricity that we don’t use and still they want to increase the tariff, it is wickedness”. Indeed, it is only a wicked and a heartless government that will increase the cost of what is not available!

*The use of NEPA instead of PHCN is deliberate.

 

Acknowledgement: Useful information from Abayomi Efosa Omoruyi.

Thy Glory O’ Nigeria…!

aderounmu@gmail.com

 

Related post: Uganda-setting the Pace By Iriemenam N. C

Kanu Nwankwo, A living legend

/ Adeola / 6 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu.

Kanu’s 37th minute goal was all Portmouth needed to clinch the 2008 FA CUP. Kanu is truly the golden boy. He is the most decorated African footballer ever.

U-17 gold in Japan 1993.
Olympic gold in Atlanta 1996.

He has won Champions league with Ajax….and many other cup glories in Italy and England.

Another FA cup glory at the tail end of a wonderful career coupled with “man of the match performance” and scorer of the only goal in 90 minutes of regular play time is a very wonderful way to silent his critics.

Kanu, what next?

Congrats to you, John Utaka, the rest of the team and your coach Harry.