Children and women

Mass Poverty In Nigeria, 2012

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By Adeola Aderounmu

In 2012 several millions of Nigerians will live poorer and suffer more than they have ever done in recent history.
The government of Goodluck Jonathan has ensured that more than ever before more Nigerians will sink further below the poverty line. In 2012 the prices of goods and services have doubled at the same time that wages remain stagnant and unemployment remains a nationwide scourge. The government of Nigeria under Goodluck Jonathan is probably the most irresponsible government on the planet.

Mass poverty is the poverty that affects the majority of a population. More than 70% of Nigerians lack the usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions needed to lead a happy life. This unfortunate category of Nigerians lack material comfort and in plain language they live from hand to mouth.

Poverty in Nigeria is extreme. It covers a wide range: from absence of basic amenities like water, hospitals and electricity, good roads and good schools to absence of security and general hopelessness.

The broad implications of mass poverty in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized. There is frustration on the faces of over 90m people who are living on less than USD1 per day. The current changes introduced in Nigeria as a result of fuel price increase will automatically reduce the purchasing power of Nigerians. It will increase their fears and aggravate their fragile health statuses. The causes of many deaths are unascertained and the life expectancy is almost below 50 years.

Nigerians are living the lives they did not choose and which they have not completely resolved to do away with. Only a small fraction of Nigerians have genuinely crossed the poverty line through hardwork, perseverance and a stroke of luck sometimes. Several other rich Nigerians are simply crooks and thieves who stole from the treasuries. This latter category includes almost without exception the president of Nigeria, the vice president and other members of the executives serving and past.

The category, in short, includes almost all politicians who have stolen or enriched themselves on the commonwealth of Nigeria. The extensions of this group include all those who have directly and indirectly benefitted from the corrupt governments that have destroyed Nigeria since 1960 to date.

In today’s Nigeria the politicians continue to earn big while the ordinary masses continue to live desperately from one day to the other. Ordinary Nigerians are not getting what they deserved and they have not gathered enough courage to change the system radically or violently.

Nigeria is a country with now over 160 million people therefore the dimension of mass poverty in Nigeria is both dreadful and shocking. The political system in Nigeria put the outcome of these people’s lives in the hands of one man through a unilateral system of government where everything is decided by a president.

In almost all instances the presidents in Nigeria have been corrupt, senseless and outrightly foolish like the present one. For example rather than reforms that would eradicate corruption and establish viable political structures like regional governments and devolution of power, the government of Jonathan has done nothing about fighting corruption and is happy to oppress the people by keeping the power at the center and increasing the cost of living. No greater form of madness exists on earth.

Nigeria needs to fight corruption and to develop a new form of government that will ensure that power is closer to the grassroots. In that way it will be easier to monitor regional growth and development without depending on a faraway insensitive, lazy and stupid aggregation of looters aka exco and legislators.

In Nigeria there is almost no plan to provide basic infrastructure to the people. The annual budgets are made and looted. Politicians, their families and friends live extravagant life styles and spend a lot of time in their private jets. They just steal and it’s too easy because there are no prosecutions. The judiciary is utterly insane.

Despite the fact that Nigeria is situated in the tropics with access to all forms of flowing water the government cannot provide drinking water to her people. Many homes with water are the results of self-provision and investment that gulp thousands of naira annually. Bore holes are common.

The cost of transportation has escalated since January 2012 and in many places the costs have increased by over 100% compared to what they were last year. The cost of feeding has increased astronomically. People cannot eat what they want, they eat what they find.

Food, water and housing are 3 important parameters to measure the values of our lives and these things have become elusive to the masses in Nigerians. However, mass poverty in Nigeria has other ugly faces. For example, the purchasing power of the Naira is extremely weak. In some very bad situations, some people do not have money at all and there is no social security system.

There has not been efficient or functional power supply even if you can conveniently pay for it. Nigeria is generating a power outage that is too shameful to repeat online. Many businesses run on own generators and the cost of doing businesses are extremely high adding more salt to injury in the unemployment terrain.

The cost of petrol has increased from N65 per liter to N97 per liter. This makes Nigeria the most expensive place to buy petrol in any oil producing nation. The increase was necessary because of the corrupt manner the petroleum industry has been managed and to ensure that the corrupt Nigerian government officials can satisfy their evil lust for stolen wealth.

Long term measures would have been to tackle the oil mafia and to ensure that we service the existing refineries and build new ones to cater for our needs and export. But Nigerian officials now headed by Jonathan prefer that we import what we have. No greater stupidity..!

Rather than tackle the problems head on and plan a long term solution to the economic problems in Nigeria the myopic government of Jonathan decided to add to the burden of Nigerians. There are now more poor people in Nigerian than ever before.

Nigeria has Uranium in at least 18 states of the federation, I have not heard the governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido and the Minister OF Finance, Okonji-Iweala mentioned what Goodluck Jonathan is doing about it. Nigeria is almost without electricity and the country is sitting on Uranium deposit. Talk of daft people in power all the time.

Apart from Uranium there are uncountable numbers of natural resources/ mineral deposits in Nigeria. All the governments, past and present, have focused on the crude oil thereby limiting the economic growth of Nigeria. Even if the crude oil has been well managed, mass poverty will not exist in Nigeria. Agriculture has been relegated due to the greed and incompetence of all these corrupt people.

The lack of power supply, as mentioned above, has aided the mass poverty as thousands of people have been put out of job since many companies can no longer sustain their operations in the absence of it.

The situation is very demoralizing and still there are other equally important things that define the intensity and seriousness of mass poverty in Nigeria. The Nigerian masses and elites cannot travel on safe roads. The masses are more affected because there is constant chaos in the public transportation methods. The conditions are dehumanizing to say the least.

Mass poverty in Nigeria is further displayed in the health schemes. There are no solid or clear cut health care policies to care for the population especially babies, pregnant women and old people who are more helpless than other groups of people. The cost of getting good treatment at the hospital is prohibitive and the access of modern health facilities is greatly hindered. I am not sure if there are handicap friendly facilities in public places in Nigeria. The poor and helpless masses are always at the receiving end of all the misgivings of the politicians and policy makers.

Nigerian politicians continue to travel abroad, to receive treatment or to die. Nigerian hospitals are inadequate and ill-equipped.

The overall consequences of poverty are diverse. Quickly, some of these things have spiral effects and these have obviously spun down to the upcoming generations. For example as a result of the range of extreme want of necessities and the absence of material comforts, the children of the masses no longer have access to quality education.

They do not have adequate recreational facilities and their social orientations are falsely modified by various things around them and those that they are unduly exposed to. What is going on daily in Nigeria as a way of life shows very sorry states of things. Things are getting worse from day to day.

Mass poverty can also result from high rate of unemployment. There has been an upsurge in armed robbery in recent years. It is not uncommon to find school drop outs and unemployed graduates among the criminals who have become very merciless in their operations. In addition to this, it was a rude shock for me to discover recently that many primary school and secondary students now have some form of allegiance to other persons in their localities or areas. I could not believe that secret cults are no longer secrets.

True stories have been told how some young people have been killed by what seemed like cults activities in broad day lights. I was told that some were shots dead in unsuccessful robbery operations at other places. These stories are told nowadays like “it’s one of those things”. Things have really gone from bad to worse. Many years ago in Nigeria, the emphasis was on academic excellence and sporting activities at leisure. Indeed, things have changed and very worryingly too. Could all these be due to the spiral effect of poverty in action? What role does poverty play in other neglected aspects of our lives?

I am still mad at people who have refused to see the bigger picture. If you have escaped poverty by some hardwork, luck or some form of looting or stealing that does not mean that we should forget the people who are still suffering from the corruption and bad government in Nigeria. Nigeria is too corrupt, probably the most corrupt country in the world.

The politicians are looting and they call it receiving salaries and allowances. What an open scandal!

And for Nigerians living abroad you have not escaped the poverty in Nigeria. Far from it! When you are in Nigeria, you still use generators to produce the power you need. That is a sign of poverty.

You drive your fancy cars on very bad roads and have to change parts or do repairs often. That is a sign of poverty.
You live in houses with heavy security. That is a reflection of poverty and a sign of extreme insecurity.

My personal experiences and observations showed that Mass Poverty accelerated by absolute rot of governance over the years may have taken its toll on virtually all aspects of the Nigerian life.

No government in Nigeria has seriously tackled corruption or fight poverty in real terms. There is no hope in sight as the present government is showing itself as the most useless ever in the history of Nigeria.

Ordinary Nigerians (especially those who cannot treat their leg ache, head ache and stomach ache abroad) have gone through a lot of life excruciating and traumatic experiences especially since 1999. All the hopes raised at the onset of the new found democracy have been crushed and dashed. We don’t have the form of government that we require.

Nigeria must split into different regions/ nations and corruption in all the regions must be fought totally.

The Occupy Nigeria movement should be re-arranged to form a movement for the convocation of a sovereign National Conference or a movement for the initiation of a referendum to define the way forward for Nigeria. Nigerians cannot continue like this, it is too hopeless.

Sometime must be done now to prepare for the future generations that will occupy and live in the present Niger-area.

The Regions that existed in Nigeria before the intervention of the military in 1966 must be restored. It is the only hope for the eradication of both corruption and everlasting poverty. If necessary a revolution must be initiated and sustained to achieve these aims. The power of change lies with the people and not the Labour Unions. The Labour in Nigeria is a collection of miscreants in search of personal recognition and riches.

The people must rise up once again and take what is theirs. Freedom and independence have never been offered on a platter of gold. They are earned with dedication and great sacrifices. 2012 offers a new opportunity for the change Nigerians seek.

The Christmas Day Bomb Blasts: The Killing of Mr. Innocent and his five children

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By Adeola Aderounmu

Some broken hearts will never mend.

On Christmas day of 2011 Islamic militants attacked a sanctuary in Abuja. There were reports that at least 4 other churches were attacked.

When the bombs exploded at St. Theresa Catholic Church at least 40 people died immediately while several others were injured. A safe haven became a crime scene.

Among the dead were Mr. Innocent, his 3 sons and 2 daughters.

Innocent was from Umukabia in Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State. His wife did not die in the blast. She left the church earlier.

According to Okechukwu Okafor, a cousin of Innocent who spoke to me from his base in Germany, Innocent’s wife left the church earlier so she could prepare the food that the entire family will eat later that day.

They never did.

There would be no more family meals for Innocent and his household.

In his village, lips remained sealed as no one has told his mother about the tragic deaths in the family.

Who is going to let the cat out of the bag?

This man will be buried in his village. What are they going to tell his mum? What does she know about Boko Haram?

Who will be there to console Innocent’s mum? She has lost her dependable son.

Who is going to console Innocent’s wife? Her husband and five children are dead.

This is the greatest tragedy that can befall a woman, to lose her husband and her children in one swoop.

She will never understand why her loved ones were taken away from her forever. They paid the ultimate price. It’s a sad situation.

Before the dusts finally settle it will be a great service to country and humanity if the government of the day shows some compassion by visiting the families of the victims killed and the survivors of the senseless bomb blasts.

Maybe the Imo State Governor or the Local Government Chairman in Mbano should step forward to console the bereaved?

Families of victims and survivors have homes and they should be offered the best of psychological and moral supports by the church and the government.

It is hypocritical for Mr. Jonathan to shed tears at the crime scene 7 days after. What was he doing 5 minutes after the blast took place?

It is worrying that no one has been arrested or prosecuted for all the acts of murders that have been perpetrated in the name of terrorism in Nigeria.

It is sad that simple techniques like Google maps and 3G technologies are not available to the Nigerian Security Operatives. That is probably one of the several reasons why terrorists in Nigeria can make phone calls to journalists and the police and still keep hold of their residential areas.

It’s an additional scandal on this lukewarm presidency.

It appears that Mr. Jonathan’s biggest task before the fuel subsidy scandal was how to keep Nigeria one. He lost the plot and presents a classical example of a scalar quantity.

Each day that passes under Mr. Jonathan gives strength to the argument to restructure Nigeria as a true federation. The recent threat from Boko Haram that all southerners should quit the northern region calls for an outright division of the country.

These two options cannot be ignored forever. Nigeria is now too fragile to sustain the present form of governance.

Further negligence of the wave of terrorism and general government lawlessness sustained by systemic corruption and impunity will result to anarchy and the consequences can be Nigeria’s second civil war.

Inscriptions were made on the blood stained walls of St. Theresa Church. One of them was REVOLUTION NOW and the other was NO MORE PEACE IN THE COUNTRY.

These inscriptions are perfect descriptions of the current situation in Nigeria. Who knows where we go from where?

Some tears will never dry.

May the souls of Innocent, his children and all those who paid the supreme price for Nigeria find peace.

May their families find the strength to move on.

My Message to Southern Nigerians in 2012: Separate Now or Continue to Face Genocide

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By Adeola Aderounmu

Is BOKO HARAM on the Way to Re-colonizing Nigeria

I don’t know why people think that Nigeria needs more bloodshed to become several divided countries. More than a million lives have been shed already. In the 1967-1970 civil war, the bloodshed has already taken place.

Since 1999 when the useless and stupid PDP party took over Nigeria several thousands of Nigerians have died. Is that not enough bloodshed?

The terrorist organization known as Boko Haram has taken over the whole of Nigeria. Several churches will not have their usual watchnight services to usher in the New Year. The churches are closed across Nigeria because of the fear of Boko Haram. Some people call them Boko Rams.

Boko Haram has promised to kill more innocent Nigerians. They are not joking. This is possible because in Nigeria the politicians are crooks, fools and total idiots. The security and intelligence mechanism of the Nigerian government is too weak and compromised. It exists only on paper as everybody is waiting for somebody to do the right thing.

If I was the governor of Lagos State for example, I would probably have annexed the whole of Western Nigeria and declare the Republic of Oduduwa. In that way any bomb blast by Boko Haram would be met by full scale war. No organization of group of person has the monopoly of violence (RIP Ojukwu).

In several unreported incidents Hausa-Fulani groups have invaded several churches in Abuja and its environs carting away valuable properties from individuals. They steal mobile phones, computers and so on. When possible they shoot or bomb the worshippers like they did on Christmas day.
Yet Nigerians want to remain one country! Please give me a break.

If the Southerners don’t know it, the Northerners have declared a war and their targets are the Southerners. The earlier they divide from the Northerners the better for the Southerners.
Remaining as one country is the only remaining reason why BOKO HARAM is getting away with the genocide and war crimes that they have committed so far. Once the declarations of independences by the different countries/ nations within Nigeria are made, further attacks on southerners will be tantamount to war.

Which is better? To declare independence away from Nigeria or to suffer extermination in the hands of Boko Haram? The people of Southern Nigeria including the Western and Eastern States should know that so far they have refused to protect their own people the way the Northerners have protected their own. Genocide is in progress and our hands are folded! Why, o why?

As far as Boko Haram is concern, they have the backing and support of the Emirs, the Sultans and all the politicians and military from the North. No well-meaning politician from the North has condemned Boko Haram. They have all being silent. Even Jubril Aminu has openly supported Boko Haram when he said in other words that Christians should get out of the North.

The likes of Atiku and Babangida promised Jonathan hell but the hell has been brought on all Southerners.

Some Northern rulers are neither here nor there. It will be foolishness on the part of the Southerners to think that Boko Haram is acting alone. This is a Northern Nigerian agenda and they are not hiding their missions and targets.

The North of Nigeria wants to enslave and colonise the South, so far they have succeeded because Goodluck Jonathan is like a puppet and has no clue about what he is doing. Jonathan is the worst president that ever walked the face of Africa.

The different regions within Nigeria must organize themselves.

For once Nigerians should forget about Jonathan and his bunch of foolish cabinet, mumu advisers and thoughtless cheerleaders.

If the South does not wake up to realize the real threat from Boko Haram which is to colonise Southern Nigeria it will be too late a few months from now. At that time we will all be forced into Islam and the useless politicians and their families will be 10000 miles away from Nigeria. Many of their children and relations have fled already.

In recent history, in 1993, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 Nigerians wasted all the opportunities to liberate themselves. The liberation must be total and to allow the North of Nigeria to colonize and islamatise the south is not part of the dream of liberation.

Every man or woman should be free to practice whatever religion he or she prefers or to be religion-free.

No matter where the support of Boko Haram comes from it must be crushed at all / any cost and this is the legacy that the people of Southern Nigeria owe their unborn generations. The South-south, South-west and South-east have a moral obligation to ensure that their children are not born as slaves or treated as one. Your children must not live under the whips of terrorists.

If they do, your existence is a disgrace to humanity.

Governor Fashola Finally Makes His Presence Known at Festac Grammar School

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by ADEOLA ADEROUNMU

The Lagos State Government has finally sent one of its building contractors Access-1 Energy and Trading Company to start re-construction work at Festac Grammar School.

LASG awards contract for Reconstruction work at Festac Grammar School

LASG awards contract for Reconstruction work at Festac Grammar School

For those who have not been following the story. Here are links to the story so far:

Governor Fashola, Festac Grammar School Ti Baje o..!

Festac Grammar School Vs Lagos State Government

Photo Essay: Festac Grammar School Alumni Projects’ Management Group Is Working

In April when this struggle started I had written that one of the greatest mysteries of Lagos State Ministry of Education is how a school that got the first prototype one storey-structure in the old Ojo Local Government was left to rot away totally as a predominantly poultry school. It seems that the government of Governor Fashola, in a reaction to the series of stories about the embarrassing situations at FGS, is set to repair, renovate and re-construct FGS.

I also made a promise that was hard to keep. But I did my best. The ultimate goal was to write about Festac Grammar School once a month because as I stated then: the problems with Festac Grammar School became for me a personal struggle. It is still a cause.

Now that hope has come, I feel obliged to write this story about the presence of Governor Fashola in Festac Grammar School through Acces-1 Energy Trading Company.

I have not received the details of the contract; therefore I am not in a position to describe the extent of the work that will be done.

However I do know the old storey building that was built in 1985 has now been given some re-touching in terms of structural maintenance.

One of the dilapidated poultry block of classrooms has been pulled down completely to pave way for a new storey building of 12 classrooms.

Foundation of Storey Building of 12 Classrooms

Foundation of Storey Building of 12 Classrooms

These developments are in the positive directions. They are in line with one of the long-term objectives of the Alumni Association to ensure that the school poultry structures built by Lateef Jakande are overhauled and replaced by modern storey buildings.

This objective should never be different from the functions of the Lagos State Ministry of Education. How schools are allowed to rotten remain inexplicable and if we tie it to the systemic corruption in the Nigeria system then it is an indication of what I feared most: that the future of the unborn generations remain stolen.

Whichever way, it gladdens the heart and it brings a sense of fulfillment to witness the re-construction work at FGS. Without any doubt I am convinced that it was a rapid response to our calls that have been made on the NVS and some of our blogs.

The Lagos State Government has shown that we do not need to know anyone in the corridors at Alausa in Ikeja before our agitations can be attended to. What the LASG must also ensure is that it carries out its functions without allowing us to carry the burdens to the web space all the time.

Our agitations and concerns are genuine and noble. It is clear that we want education to be promoted. A sane environment is necessary to produce sane minds. A sane environment is necessary to nurture the future generations.

On our part as members of the Alumni Group we have made progresses. We have donated some equipment to the school and we have helped them to settle electricity bills. We have more plans.

In terms of our organization we are now duly registered and our activities are governed by a written constitution. We are in the process of electing our executive members to take over from the caretaker committee and more than ever before the future of the Alumni Group look secured.

This year, less than 5 months after we re-converged as Alumni Group from our different niches we have organized career day/ workshop at Festac Grammar School and we have awarded prizes to outstanding students.

We have made ourselves more visible in Festac Town and we have provided ourselves with the platform that will motivate the students attending Festac Grammar School. They are now in contact with us. We have a wonderful opportunity to be their role models and mentors.

For us this year is a success story in the history of our Alumni Group.

It is not yet Eureka! It must be pointed out that governments in Nigeria are fond of abandoning projects and looting the funds earmarked for such projects, even after the shameful 10% kickbacks. We hope that the re-construction work at Festac Grammar School will be neither a half-baked project nor an abandoned one.

Our hope is that this rejuvenation that will inspire and motivate the students and staffs of FGS.

The Alumni Group, as promised in a previous essay, will work closely with the leadership of the school to emphasize the importance of maintenance culture. On the long run too, we will have to find the appropriate communication channel to ease information flow between the Lagos State Ministry of Education and our Alumni Group. That will help us to know first-hand about the plans that are made for schools in Lagos and how often the structures will be checked for comfort and safety.

The academic aspect can also not be over emphasized. Quality control measures should be re-introduced while all hands must be on deck to rescue the “dying culture” of attending public schools.

No matter what happens, FGS will remain in our hearts and we will never relent until the image of the school both in terms of structure and academic excellence are revitalized fully. We are committed.

Acknowledgement : All photos were courtesy of
Oluwafisayo Oyeromade Ogunjimi Orilambo

Email: pheesayor@hotmail.com

aderounmu@gmail.com

Nigerian Girl Victim of Oslo “Coward” Terror Acts

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Adeola Aderounmu

A Nigerian girl 15 year old Modupe Ellen Awoyemi was killed in Oslo when the terrorist Anders Behring Breivik unleashed evil on innocent people in the society.

I urge all Nigerians to condemn this act of evil.

If you want to leave a condolence message, then search for (Norway Victim – Modupe Ellen Awoyemi – Rip – 22.07.11) on facebook to express your sympathy with friends and families of Modupe.

It is sad. This should never happen anywhere in the world.

But terrorism has come to stay as part of the evil that men do to men/humanity.

The perpetrator of the Oslo massacres should not be allowed to get away with the claim of insanity.

As long as his name is not on any medical institution before the crime was committed it means that he is sane and healthy.

And killing people is not the way to seek medical attention.

Let the law takes its full course on the man he was before and during the attacks and not the man he claimed to be after the evil deeds.

Modupe Ellen, peace be with your soul.