Election matters

Nigeria May Never Get Better

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

By Adeola Aderounmu

The just concluded fraudulent elections in Delta State confirmed my fears and argument that Nigeria is not ready for new elections. Change is not coming soon. In a previous article posted on my blog and on NVS I have stated that there are several fundamental issues that needed to be addressed before conducting new or rerun elections in Nigeria.

Until those issues are addressed Nigerians will never know what it means to have a free and fair electoral process. It will never happen in our life time unless the fundamental issues are addressed. As far as I am concerned Nigeria and Nigerians will never have free and fair elections in 2011 and not even in 2012. We are not just ready! We can’t keep expecting positive results or outcomes for things we are ill prepared for. It will not happen.

It is so sad because it appears that the third generations of Nigerians are already wasting away. We don’t seem to realise the seriousness of the issues at stake. When it comes to governance and our perception of politics Nigeria is a nation stuck in prehistoric time. We are so backward it is almost impossible to know where we belong to in the time machine.

The rerun election in Delta state, if used as an indicator of human intelligence, showed that majority of Nigerians are disorientated. The thing is people are counting on Jega. Jega is one man and he has no control over the stupidity of the general populace. Jega is a person and not an institution. INEC as an institution lacks the foundation and the majority of the Nigerian people are completely disorientated and malformed in their mentalities. So this gives you a tragedy that is convoluted. Nigeria is a rolling dilemma.

Several institutions are programmed to fail to suit the status quo of the useless and senseless Nigerian political class. The ignorance of the people doesn’t help in any way. Check out the celebration, parties and the drums beating all night in Delta State. Some millions of dollars that should have been used to develop the state and to provide essential services were wasted in one night for parties and stupid celebrations. The next day the people return to their lives of hopelessness and extreme poverty and penury.

A few beneficiaries of the controversial mandate will return to the state treasury and continue the looting process. Every four years different types of fools and sometimes the same incumbent nonentities return to power and keep the status quo. In general the states remain underdeveloped and the country at large gets closer to disintegration.

I am not afraid of disintegration. This country has never been united. A group of tropical gangsters have kept this country together for their own selfish gains. It pains that the rest of us have not been able to fathom how to break the chain of events. A few among us went in and joined the wagon. They promised to change things but they soon get mixed up in the entire dirty game.

Hope may be lost now because it appears that the rest of us are just waiting for our own opportunities to get crunches of the national cake. Nigerian young men who are in their 20s and 30s and even early 40s who have managed to become something in politics have not had any impact on the polity. What I know and heard is that they are also looting the treasuries wherever they find themselves. They do little and steal so much.

So the problems in Nigeria today are not only due to old and bad leadership. It has infected everything and everyone. Make I no chop my own? If na you you no go chop? Abeg I go support the man o, maybe something fit drop for me? We have all kinds of slogans and national disorientation that has left this country as a complete jungle where anything and everything is possible.

Nigeria is a completely lawless society where political thieves and looters get away. They live among us and they are our brothers and sisters. They are our uncles and aunts. It is Nigerians who destroyed Nigeria. We don’t question those who get rich overnight because “he don hit”. If we do, they say “you be bad belle”.

In general people live anyhow and do anything. The government does not function as the regulator of things. The government and the people are entirely disconnected. It is what I saw and something I’ve always known.

Anyone who is expressing disappointment about the rerun election in Delta State is either a fool or an idiot. And if anyone expects that the other elections in 2011 will get better, that person needs to go for a quick medical examination. Delta State is one state, Nigeria is 36 states plus Abuja, the scale of violence and rigging will be unimaginable when the time comes. Sporadic shootings will turn to massive shootings and bombings. The signs are ripe and too obvious to disregard.

The Nigerian government has closed all schools because of voters’ registration. Every time this type of anomaly occurs, my mind races to the intelligent question. Seriously you can’t get to the bottom of the abnormal mentalities of Nigerian rulers. What has the nearly extinct public schools and the [rich-parents, privileged-children private schools] got to do with registration of voters? Have they looked at all the options and that is the best solution? But don’t forget that the children of these useless politicians are not in Nigeria. They are abroad getting the best of education that they denied you and me.

I stand firm on my argument that Nigerians do not need any elections in 2011. We have been a laughing stock among comity of nations. We are the country that doesn’t know how to count and add numbers. It’s so tragic. Nigerians can’t line up to be counted on a simple electoral queue. And we know why. It is partly because the winner takes it all, as in the loot and the money to be stolen from government.

Until the fundamental issue of census is taken care of, we are wasting our time. They say Kano residents are more than Lagos residents and one of my best friends concluded that by implication, Lagos residents are probably about 30m. Seriously you get confused in this fooling game.

Forensic and computing technologies must be up and running before any successful elections can hold in Nigeria. These are among the suggestions I made in previous essays that are available on the Nigeria Village square. (How to count Nigerians and Nigerians don’t need elections in 2011).

There are more voters in riverine delta than urban delta in Nigeria. This simple but crazy deduction by INEC would have been checked by proper census and forensic evidence. Let’s go on with our foolishness as a country and we will always return to square one. Nonsense!

Let us not also forget that proper election is one thing, accountability and seriously sending looters to jail is another thing that can be used to check the nonsense called Nigerian politics. It’s hard to find a starting or turning point since all the key players in Nigerian politics have been and remain thieves and looters. Start from the presidency and take it down, in a normal country these people will be answering for crimes against humanity because of their involvement in politics that has destroyed Nigeria and Nigerian lives.

Again, it’s always hard to discuss Nigeria and I never know where and how to cut the arguments. Nigerian children are at home because of election matters; this is what the incompetent Jonathan administration wants people to believe. But we know that Jos is boiling and in fact boiling over, -a revelation of Nigeria as a failed country and a society on the brink of collapse.

Foreign influences are now in control in Nigeria. Since we couldn’t get our acts together, we have allowed terror groups and counter groups to find niches in our territory. We ordered the mayhem and it has been given to us in dozen-folds. One day they will tell us the truth-that our children are at home, not because of electoral matters but because of the massive bomb threats across the nation.

This is where public looting, useless elections, useless anticorruption agencies, useless government, extremely bad rulership, senseless followership, corruption itself and useless national character has landed us.

What a failed country..!

Who will save our souls?

Why Nigerians Should Not Vote Atiku or Jonathan or Ribadu

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Nigerians are too gullible no doubt. They are in the habit of settling for less. They adopt and accept bad people as their rulers. When you argue with a typical Nigerian he says that one bad person is better than another bad person. It baffles me.

Some argue that Jonathan is better than Atiku and some argue that before Ribadu no one prosecuted any thief or looter among the Nigerian corrupt politicians. These arguments to me are senseless. In the end they say, ok, who do you want as the president? In very thoughtless situations some people say, if na you, you no go chop?

When I think about these things and the Nigerian way of thinking, I’m close to tears. Sometimes I still cry. Millions of Nigerians have no idea about the meaning of public service. Obviously it is not based on self-morality but on basic guiding principles that public service involves the selfless service of a few men and women for the enhancement of the society or state or nation.

Public service in Nigeria is part of the biggest tragedies of the 21st century. It is an indescribable monumental disaster. Public service in Nigeria is an insult to common sense. It is devoid of value and lacks sense of purpose. In Nigeria public service is an insult to the existence of man.

Everytime I watch or monitor political events in Nigeria I always conclude that Nigerians are living in the dark ages. Some acts are so unbelievable you begin to imagine, how do Nigerians think? The way they show support to one political group or the other leaves me devastated. When Nigerians begin to talk about the reasons why one governor or politician should be elected or given a second chance, I’m so touched I weep for the extreme level of ignorance and stupidity.

I don’t know all the political parties in Nigeria and I don’t know all the presidential candidates but I know that people like Atiku, Jonathan and Ribadu are extremely bad elements that the Nigerian people should start to look for ways to immediately get them out of the political terrain. Delay is dangerous.

Nigerians should start to look at politicians from their track records, score sheets and sincerity of purpose. The more we continue to settle for less, the more poverty, misery and hopelessness will spread in Nigeria. One day we must leave this attitude of settling for lesser evil. We must settle for characters we can trust. We must settle for men of honour and integrity. They live among us. What we need to do is to create the enabling political environment that will lead to their emergence.

ON ATIKU

Here is an excerpt of what my views about Atiku (written 6th Jan 2008)
No amount of press secretaries or press officers can cover our eyes with veil such that we do not see how Atiku in his days in public service and in the PDP contributed to the spread of poverty and penury in Nigeria. For 8 years, Atiku paraded himself as the vice-president of Nigerian under the Obasanjo regime. Together, through their corrupt acts and insincerity, they left office with more problems for Nigerian than what was on ground in 1999. The expectation of the poverty-stricken people of Nigeria was far from being met when Atiku was the vice president of Nigeria.

Atiku’s press office may be quite efficient in refuting allegations of corruption against him. I am not perturbed about what they have to say to defend their boss and their own daily bread. They are doing a dirty job for which they get paid even from looted tax payers’ money! Nothing can take away the truth that in Nigeria, Atiku has gone done in history as one of the looters of our common treasury.

In 1999 and 2003, Atiku helped the PDP to power under the leadership of a very cruel master named Olusegun Obasanjo. Atiku fought a bitter public battle with Obasanjo as a result of the latter’s intention to perpetuate himself in office for life.

[New note: In 2007, Atiku warned Nigeria never to vote for the PDP. He said PDP will turn Nigeria to a one party state and that we will be making the biggest mistake of our lives if we vote for the PDP. He ran on the platform of the ACN] and his promises included:
• Employment generation and wealth creation,
• Security and war against corruption,
• Energy and infrastructural development,
• Education and social services
• The Niger Delta Development.

Atiku promised to pursue programs that would ensure that Nigeria’s wealth must be for all Nigerians.

So, what program was he pursuing or supporting before this time? Nigerian politicians and their ridiculous claims!

Nigerians should be grateful for the hand of fate that cause the katakata between Obasanjo and Atiku because that single event that brought governance to a halt for over a year in Nigeria gave us a deep insight into how Atiku participated in the looting to dryness of the Nigerian treasury. Let us imagine for once that everything went smoothly between Obasanjo and Atiku, then, all the allegations and counter allegations of corruption between him and Obasanjo would not have seen the light of the day. At the peak of their roforofo fight (in Fela’s words) Nigerians became tired of both Atiku and Obasanjo and the urge was to see the exit of both of them in 2007.

The implication of not having such a disagreement and subsequent roforofo fight is that power would have been transferred to Atiku and he would have continued to put up the face of an innocent man while stealing behind closed doors.

In Nigerian politics, corruption is the keyword and that was why despite all the allegations of corruption here and there Obasanjo and Atiku still had followers. In civilized societies, both of them would have been under interrogation and possible prosecution and imprisonment. Immunity in Nigerian governance is a license to steal and loot. What a shame?

So, it happened that the PDP automatically became Obasanjo and Obasanjo became PDP; and the two became one. He threw Atiku out of PDP and deprived him of a platform to pursue or realize his ambitions.

Atiku won case after case in the law court and eventually opted for the AC as the platform for his ambition. During his declaration, Atiku who was the architect of PDP’s rigged victories in 1999 and 2003 had this to say “There is no great country without free and fair elections. We must mobilize all Nigerians to ensure that we have free and fair and credible polls. Let them come out to vote and protect their votes. They must not allow those who want who want to subvert democracy to alter the outcome,” he stated. Notable persons at the event included Chiefs Solomon Lar, Audu Ogbeh, Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Alhaji Lam Adesina, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Chief Segun Osoba and Alhaji Lawal Kaita among others.

What a wish and what a bunch of political gladiators! This is what the other parties and the people of Nigeria hoped and cried for in 1999 and 2003, but the likes of Atiku and his PDP cohorts smiled away with stolen mandates with Obasanjo as the lead beneficiary.

The rest of what happened in 2007 (selection) is history. As a serious embarrassment to all Nigerians dead and alive, Obasanjo installed Umaru in the most shameful and worthless selection process since the evolution or creation of man. In Nigeria, rigging and manipulation of election result are acceptable ways of life.

The EFCC accused Atiku of diverting $125m into personal business interests. The report of his involvement in corrupt practices is quite voluminous.

No doubts, Atiku suffered humiliation as he championed the anti-third term struggle against a dictator like Obasanjo. Even a non-performer like Fani-Kayode could afford to spit his saliva on Atiku. He was the person loud enough to tell us such nonsense that the presidential wing of the Airport is only meant for the President, “not to the Vice President or any other member of the public. It was the magnanimity of Mr. President that allows 20 members of family/staff of Atiku. Indeed politics in Nigeria has continued to bring out the animals in men.

But one thing that continues to trail Atiku to this day is the international dimension of the allegations of corruption against him. They
are popular scandals that had taken a substantial part of the World Wide Web. This is as a result of the involvement of the FBI in the case against him. It could have been cheap counter blackmail to say that EFCC was used by Obasanjo to sniff him dry, but I don’t know if Obasanjo induced the FBI to carry out a raid on Atiku’s US home

The real thing is that both Obasanjo and Atiku exposed each other’s corrupt acts and nothing can change that! No amount of haba! or ngbati-ngbati can take those revelations away. Who does not know that reddened eyes cannot light a cigarette?
Atiku, just like his former boss Obasanjo and several other corrupt Nigerian politicians are examples of people who have not given any account of their stewardships in offices to the Nigerian people. Probity and accountability remain alien to the Nigerian society and several attempts to make it a lifestyle have been crushed by the cabal, both seen and unseen.

To this day in Nigeria, there is a class of citizens that are the untouchables because no matter how much we know about their corrupt attitudes and the evils that they perpetrated, they have never been called upon to answer for their deeds or they always find ways to evade being under the searchlights.

For the suffering masses and the downtrodden, hope is not near!

ON RIBADU

Some Nigerians take this man as their hero. In today’s Nigeria I’m still looking for my hero. I know he is there. My hero is that man of purpose who has been choked by the useless Nigerian political climate.

If I have the opportunity to vote, it will definitely not be for Ribadu and anyone like him with double characters. Millions of Nigerians are suffering because of people who speak from both sides of their mouth and Ribadu is one of those double-talkers.

This was my take on Ribadu written on Jan 2 2008.

…Certain things are too obvious to miss. To continue to deny the obvious things or to continue to polish fallacies to make them acceptable or conventional is crime in itself. Any reasonable person in Nigeria who followed Obasanjo’s intentions knew that he wanted to have a third term as the civilian president.

His greatest tool was the use of Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC chairman to torment ALL voices of opposition or perceived antagonism. Ribadu executed the herculean task with precision. He went after Obasanjo’s enemies and spared the friends. The common thing between the friends and enemies of Obasanjo and Obasanjo himself remains the fact that they are all corrupt. They are all looters!

When the rubbishing game started as Obasanjo’s plot thickened, Ribadu had a choice to resign as the EFCC chairman but he didn’t. He openly and happily executed Obasanjo’s grand design but in the end, both Obasanjo and Ribadu failed. The opposition to the third term bid was too strong to smash.

The ordinary masses who are victims of corruption spoke out loud and clear and the National Assembly had no way around it. They could not amend the constitution.

Ribadu had the opportunity to be a good person but he screwed it up. When he was supposed to nail Andy Uba, he didn’t. The extremely corrupt guy had used Obasanjo’s jet to ferry dollars AND possibly prostitutes across the world. We all knew that was a golden moment for him to cast out the doubts that some of us had about his anticorruption crusade and the mechanisms. He flopped big time!

Ribadu boasted about what he would do to all the corrupt governors in Nigeria after May 29 2007. What he did in the end was to commit very serious crimes against the people of Nigerian and the nation. Plea bargaining of the EFCC under the leadership of Ribadu is equally as serious as the charges of corruption against the governors/politicians themselves. Such a process made Ribadu an accessory to crime.

A thief is a thief and should not be encouraged in anyway no matter the circumstances. Plea bargaining was a tool that encouraged looting and the further spread of hopelessness in Nigeria. The people are suffering and dying in the process. Mass poverty continues to spread like a wild fire.

Corruption is organized in Nigeria. Truly, it is not a job for one man to fight. More so, since nobody would resign in Nigeria even if they are asked to bow to Okija a hundred times over to do a dirty job, there is still a little room to hail Ribadu.
I will not engage in the argument of whether Ribadu should have been retained or sacked. In Nigeria, things are not always the way they seem. Under an illegitimate Yar Adua, joining words with people parading stolen mandates is not wise. What is certain though is that the real fight against corruption in Nigeria is yet to begin.

When it starts, possibly when 140m takes to the street on the same day, the likes Of Obasanjo, Babangida, Atiku, Anenih, Igbinedion, Adedibu (RIP), Odili, Etteh and David Mark would know where they belong. The list would grow to encompass those who demeaned Nigeria from 1960 to 2007. They would land in court or end in jail and the real turning point in Nigeria would begin. Even Yar Adua and Iwu would not be spared in a real fight against corruption. The likes of the Ubas and Aondoakaa at that time when we start to fight corruption will understand the real meaning of the rule of law.

ON JONATHAN

I have not really done an independent piece on Jonathan. But I know that the morning shows the day. Jonathan probably has no good records to show for his time in Bayelsa State. He has not boasted of anything he did as the deputy governor or governor. The man before him in Bayelsa is an international crook and the man after him gave a very nasty report in his first week in office.

The manner of his arrival on the national scene was a disaster to Nigerian politics and he joined Yar Adua in claiming a mandate that was never given. Seriously I don’t like thieves or people claiming what is not theirs in the name of their gods.

In Nigeria, they say it’s God’s work. Since when did God become the father of fraudsters? What was God’s role in Iwu and Obasanjo disenfranchising 140m Nigerians? How did God participate in Yar Adua and Jonathan stealing the people’s mandates?

In a recent blog I have warned Nigerians to leave God out of all these evils that men and women do in Nigeria.
Those who steal or claim false mandates are crooks and they will never play any positive role in the development of Nigeria.

Since the demise of Yar Adua, what has Jonathan done for Nigerians?

Mrs Jonathan’s bad image is even enough for Nigerians to ask Jonathan to step down from his position.
Nigeria must (I repeat-MUST) start to ask politicians and public servants to vacate their positions when serious allegations are made against them or members of their immediate family. Mrs. Jonathan has been involved in criminal activities and therefore that is enough single reason for Jonathan to return to Bayelsa. Nigerians don’t need individuals or families that steal!!!

Unfortunately Ribadu in recent weeks have been talking from the other sides of his mouth. Because of his presidential ambitions he has taken on the whole armour of a Nigerian politician, speaking lies in the process. What a shame! This young man is already treading the paths of the people who destroyed our lives and stole our future.

This piece below (Patience Jonathan: Nigeria’s Most Powerful Woman) was written by Sonala Olumhense for the Nigerian Guardian on Sunday 28th October 2007

ON September 11, 2006, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seized $13.5 million dollars (US) from Mrs. Patience Jonathan, the wife of then Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan.

The International Herald Tribune quoted the EFCC spokesman, Mr. Osita Nwajah, as saying that the seizure was made after Mrs. Jonathan had allegedly laundered the money through an associate.

It was the second time in one month Mrs. Jonathan was hitting the scandal headlines. In August, the EFCC had obtained a court order to temporarily freeze N104 million she had allegedly tried to launder through one Mrs. Nancy Ebere Nwosu. The EFCC said it had reason to believe the seized funds belonged to the public. In a sworn statement, Mrs. Nwosu implicated Patience Jonathan, the EFCC said.

But remember, her husband was the Bayelsa State Governor at the time. And Mr. Jonathan’s government dashed to the defence of the First Lady of Bayelsa, alleging that the reports were part of a “plot to destabilize” the state. Government spokesmen were falling over each other to speak for Mrs. Jonathan. The Governor’s spokesman, Dennis Sami, described the allegations as a “charade,” the target of which was the Governor.

“We are aware that the said Nancy Ebere Nwosu is a very remote relation of Her Excellency who has lived abroad for several years,” Mr. Sami said. “She is a successful businesswoman of no little means whose business concerns do not involve Mrs. Jonathan.”
Mrs. Jonathan’s spokesman, Kenneth Ekpelu, fired an e-mail to Vanguard newspaper in which she spoke of “her husband’s opponents who strangely perceive her as the soft spot in his political armour and won’t stop hammering away at her until their decisions to oust him from office are met.”

It is funny how these canned money-laundering defenses sound alike. Didn’t former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s United States lawyer, Mr. Kunle Fagbenle, say last November that Andy Uba – who used part of some funds laundered by means of the executive jet (allegedly without Obasanjo’s permission) to shop for Obasanjo’s farms – could not be accused of money-laundering because Mr. Uba was “already a rich man”? And did not Obasanjo say the Uba scandal was only a “calculated attempt” to ruin his name?

Anyhow, despite the massive protestations of Governor Jonathan, the EFCC pressed ahead. On August 22, 2006, Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court, Abuja authorized the freezing of the N104 million “pending the conclusion of the investigation of the activities of the said persons in connection with their involvement in the acts of money laundering and other economic and financial crimes related offences.”

And then, barely three weeks later, Mrs. Jonathan was in the news again, reportedly being separated from an astounding $13.5 million in US dollars. She must have been one angry woman. But all that was one year ago.

Since then, the Jonathans have moved up in the world. They have left the relative squalor and poverty of a mere state governorship for the Vice-President’s estate. They have left the petty limitations of Bayelsa for the limitless expanse of Abuja. Only one man now speaks before Mr. Jonathan does.

Yes, Mr. Jonathan is the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the second most powerful man in the country. He is also the man President Yar’Adua is trusting with the challenge of the Niger Delta, where billions of dollars are expected to be spent over the next few years.

He has also been talking about democracy, corruption, the rule of law, and development. Just over a week ago, at the All-Delta Peoples Conference in the United States, Mr. Jonathan disclosed that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had authorised the release of all funds due the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In addition, “Special funds will be provided for special projects in line with the master plan,” he said.

And Mrs. Jonathan has been speaking, too, telling Nigerian women how they can become more fulfilled citizens. Up in the rarefied air of federal authority, you can preach any sermon, even while you have around your neck diamonds and jewels of $13.5 million, and gold bracelets of N104 million.

This is all quite ironic. The Jonathans are living in a dream state. They moved into the governorship in Bayelsa when Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was consumed in a corruption blaze, and into the vice-presidency when the PDP sought someone to balance Umaru Yar’Adua on the PDP presidential ticket.

But they take quite a few scandals with them. Mr. Jonathan left Bayelsa State in a thick cloud of suspicion. Many Bayelsans believed his government had fleeced the treasury. While Mr. Jonathan said upon assumption of office he had inherited a state treasury N25 billion thick, he refused to say what was left there as he vacated office. Bayelsans alleged he had swept the commonwealth clean, and that most public projects were left uncompleted.

Two months after he assumed the vice-presidency, Mr. Jonathan came under severe national pressure to follow the lead of his boss and make his assets declaration public. It took several nerve-wracking weeks of trying to dodge the responsibility, but he finally released the document, which showed the former university lecturer was worth an absolutely unbelievable N295 million. He had only been the Governor for 17 months, and this means he had been growing richer at the rate of close to N17 million per month. Naturally, wink-wink, he did not include his wife in his declaration.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Jonathan…

In its report of last April’s election, the New York based Council on Foreign Relations observed that Patience Jonathan was generally regarded as the “greediest person in Bayelsa State” and a woman of great cruelty. Last June, the Niger Development Monitoring and Corporate Watch (NIDDEMCOW), a local non-governmental organization, asked the EFCC to publish its report on Mrs. Jonathan.
The EFCC has not. This is not particularly strange; the Commission is not in the habit of issuing such reports. But nothing has been heard from the Commission since the flurry of activities of August and September last year. That coincides with the period before Mr. Jonathan emerged Yar’Adua’s running mate.

Apparently, even scandals of that magnitude are no obstacle in Nigeria. Mr. Jonathan got the vice-presidency, and the only man he is answerable to is about to put into his hands, theoretically for the Niger Delta, all the diamonds and gold a man could want.
And his wife? Patience Jonathan apparently hates that kind of snail-pace to fortune. Indicted by the EFCC in only eight months as First Lady on a charge of laundering a few Naira bills, she moved to dollar bills in the millions the following month. That same month, the EFCC report to the Senate called her by name.

Again, this does not seem to matter in Nigeria: weeks later, in October, the Owu Kingdom, President Obasanjo’s people, honoured the Jonathans with chieftaincy titles. In that culture, Obasanjo is the Balogun of Owu; Mr. Jonathan became the Obateru.
If Mrs. Jonathan was thrilled on that day, she must be over the moon today. An EFCC indictment, and yet she can get on any of our presidential jets at any time and drink champagne at State functions.

And how much taller she must be, these days as she stands on the authority of the vice-presidency! From such heights, not only do you dwarf an EFCC, but you also are invincible. What a country!

What I really fail to understand is: If Mrs. Jonathan can so effectively laugh at the so-called war on corruption, does that not make
her the First Lady? On what basis does she perform her functions – the recommendations of the EFCC? Why has Mrs. Jonathan assumed the status of untouchable, or is she truly the nation’s most powerful woman?

sonala.olumhense@gmail.com

_________________________________
The essays above and that of Sonala Olumhense are collections of essays available online under the following titles:

The untouchables (3): Atiku Abubakar and a swinging fate By Adeola Aderounmu

What Manner of The Man of the Year? By Adeola Aderounmu

Patience Jonathan: Nigeria’s Most Powerful Woman By Sonala Olumhense

Atiku, Jonathan and a failing country

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

By Adeola Aderounmu

Recent events in Nigeria moved us to the precipice, at least in our minds, again. Treason was in the air. As usual we keep finding ways to reach the pendulic (my word) balance. We keep swinging to neither here nor there.

Nigeria is not moving forward. This failed society has been at the crossroad since 1959. It was known then that the Union Jack will be lowered in 1960.

The Atiku and the Jonathan camps have exchanged words of fire in recent weeks. My take on Nigeria shall remain constant until my last breath or until governance becomes a means to serve the people of Nigeria. This country is ever-ly devoid of men of character and vision.

For the love of money, for the greed and for their insatiable (evil) lusts, Nigerian public servants and their armies of sycophants have kept the status quo. In Nigeria millions of people don’t know the essence of life and the meaning of living.

Atiku Abubakar should have been sent to prison a long time ago. When he and Obasanjo gave us explicit details of how they both looted and destroyed the Nigerian economy, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu did not seize the day to whisk both of them to trial and possible detention. The evidence flew in our faces for nothing. They were published in major newspapers and they were made available from original sources in Aso Rock. In Nigeria corrupt people and thieves parade our landscape as saints and we worship them. It’s an extremely sad situation.

Back in 2006/2007 Atiku was so bitter he single-handedly almost destroyed the PDP. He gave public speeches and interviews about the evil nature of the PDP. He warned Nigerians NEVER in their lives to vote for the PDP. Today on what platform is this political prostitute seeking office in Nigeria? Many Nigerian politicians have no shame and no sense of direction.

With such admission that he belongs to the evil party before flirting with the ACN, one can tell that a party like the PDP and its like (rampant in Nigeria) will NEVER do Nigerians any good. The PDP party is evil just like its flagbearers.

Even Jonathan is not left behind. When he and Alamieyeseigha reigned in Bayelsa, they left the state almost in ruins. They were reported to have stolen the state to dryness and the plight of his master will be indelible in the history of this country. It’s so cheap to say that Obasanjo blackmailed him. The summary is that all these people are wicked and have no considerations for the rule of law. It is true that Alamieyeseigha stole and that he owned all the property that he could not have genuinely acquired as a public servant.

Where is Ibori today? His plights do not mean anything to those who are still in the business of looting and carting away our national treasuries. We must not forget the role of Ibori in the emergence of the present illegal regime in Nigeria. To those who are not familiar with my write-ups, I refused to accept that time can eradicate illegality. Even a useless judiciary or a corrupt Attorney General/ Chief Justice of any Federation can’t erase illegality of stolen mandates. I am not a saint but my moral standards of public service are unshakable. Do it right or leave the stage!

These men are all the same, stealing, looting and destroying the future of the unborn generations of Nigerians. The mentality and mindset of Nigerians have been massively distorted by 50 years of misrule and mis-governance. Very sad situation. The man who succeeded Jonathan in Bayelsa gave a bleak picture of the situation back then. They are all the same anyway!

Hence when I look at the on going scenario whereby Atiku and Jonathan are both calling each other names and really spreading information about the bad sides of each other, I’m not just surprised because these things reveal the truth about the types of people ruling Nigeria. The moral standard for public office in Nigeria is below the value of zero. If these men who have at one time or the other stolen monies in Nigeria are the frontrunners for the office of the presidency there is probably yet no hope for this failed society. I’m almost not able to call Nigeria a country anymore.

To even imagine that the opposition parties cannot seize this golden moment ahead to form a formidable entity to at least rid Nigeria of this evil party is also a sad situation. In all honesty that is not even the solution to Nigeria’s problems. One can argue that the parties don’t matter, that Nigerian politics and politicians are different sides of the same coin. At every opportunity I keep asking, how did we get to this point? I see wickedness in public offices and I see nonentities, idiots and senseless people running the affairs of local, state and federal structures. I kept asking: how can this be?

Where are the people who can solve the problems of this failed society called Nigeria? Why can’t we prevent the violence and intimidations that has sealed out the people with the right spirit and mindset?

Last week I took a long walk down the streets of Lagos and I saw people struggling to achieve one thing or the other under impossible circumstances. I concluded that the Nigerian people are disconnected from governance. They have no idea what their votes can achieve for them and they do not even know the power they possess as masses. They think that once the elections have been done or rigged every other thing is in the hands of God.

Nigerians have replaced their life of happiness which they struggle to get with their belief in God. They suffer and live under inhuman conditions despite the wealth of the country because they allow thieves like Atiku and Jonathan to continue in power or even have access to power. They say-it’s God who put them there. What a useless lie! The evil in Nigeria and the poverty that pervades the land are man-made. They are caused by Nigerians who have ruled and stolen instead of working to build the country.

Check out the National Assembly, the Executive arm and the legislators across the nation. The prime issue is money sharing and getting rich among the members and politicians. Nigerian politics is a disgrace to our collective intellectuality. They say we are all the same but I have rejected that claim since it started.

I will never be the same as those who stole and took my future away. I am not the same as the one who said telephone is not for the poor. I reject the claim that I am the same as the man who built an empire on the rock but cannot take a walk in a market place. I am not a thief and no matter what opportunities I get in my life time, I will not steal. I know the son of whom I am. I will never be the same as Bankole or Daniel fighting over a bridge surrounded by poverty-stricken people and very bad road connections on either side of the stupid bridge.

Nigerians must reconnect with reality and they must know that until they rise up to demand for what is theirs; it will not be given to them on a platter of gold. Nigeria is a rich and blessed country. The wealth of Nigeria is not for the politicians, or their families and praise singers. The wealth of Nigeria is for Nigerians and it must go round. This cannot be compromised.

The PDP has failed Nigeria and Nigerians. There is no one way out. There is an urgent need for the enlightened Nigerians to carry along those who are ignorant and unaware of their rights. The solution will not lie in another political party per se. Instead it will depend on our views about life and its essence, that everyone has the right to pursue happiness, that the state is obliged to provide the means to accomplish that goal.

Those obstacles on the way of the growth and development of Nigeria must be removed by radical means including if necessary a massive revolt that will move the foundations of the nation. Corrupt people must be stopped by any means possible. Corruption must be eradicated by all means. Public accountability must become a MUST. Transparency in governance and the use of merit must be above all things.

I hardly know how to finish my essays or where to draw the lines for my arguments. Whichever way, the status quo in Nigeria is a source of ridicule to the most populated black nation on earth. There are flashes of impact of active governance in Lagos and signs of possibly better projects ahead but taken from a broader perspective, what I saw when I walked and drove through Lagos these past weeks are indications of a collapsed nation. The people are still suffering and smiling. I am one of those people.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Malcolm Fabiyi Wants a Change in Nigeria

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By Adeola Aderounmu

Malcolm Fabiyi was one time president of the University of Lagos Students’ Union (That should be 1994/95). It was the same year/ time that I was the president of National Association of Zoology Students Unilag chapter.

Who knows what has become of Student Unionism in Nigeria?

In this video Malcolm encourages Nigerians to sign up for a change.

He condemns the wasteful celebration of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary.

I hope the Guiness Book of World Record has written that the celebration of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary is the worst and most wasteful celebration in the history of man. They should have it on record that for the first time in history over N17b was expended in the celebration of failures.

Malcolm went ahead to point up that in Nigeria the minimum wage in some states is N7 500.

How do Nigerian workers survive? How have they been paying their rent and bills? I think we need to send a group of researchers to Nigeria to find out how a Nigerian worker lives on N7 500 monthly. If I walk into a shop that amount of money cannot buy me a pair of shoes!!!

Here is Malcom in a video recorder at Wuse Market Abuja.

Every Nigerian must become a Malcolm if we want the change we talked about. We must act.

October the 1st 2010. The Black Friday in Nigeria.

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Adeola Aderounmu

October 1 2010 has now gone done in our annals as the Black Friday.

In the last one month alone there have been several reasons for the selfish Nigerian government to annul the useless and stupid celebration that is going on worldwide today.

The reasons culminated today in the deadly bomb attacks carried out by MEND-Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. MEND is a militant group that emerged from the Niger Delta and Goodluck Jonathan definitely know more about them than the rest of us. Goodluck Jonathan is also from the Niger Delta.

The attacks are condemnable like any other terrorist attack. We must condemn in the strongest way possible all forms of attacks that aim at innocent people or ordinary citizens of Nigeria. Two cars exploded and more than 35 other cars were affected.

21 people are reported injured with 8 confirmed deaths. There are other unconfirmed reports stating that 15 people are dead. It’s a sad day in Nigeria. What a black October! The first day of the month for that matter and a Friday!

In more than 10 articles I have condemned the use of more than N17b for the celebration of failures and the promotion of evil and corruption. Several genuine and patriotic Nigerians have done the same. But in the eyes of the evil ones and the corrupt people those of us who write and speak the truth are the unpatriotic ones.

The 50th anniversary of Nigeria has exposed Nigeria the more as a nation of corrupt, wicked and evil rulers.

This week more than 2 million Nigerians became homeless. Dams ran over and rain fell. People became homeless overnight and it did not even occur to the government of Nigeria as an emergency. It was hardly mentioned in the news in Nigeria. It was a no issue. The attention was on the looting of the treasury through the 17 billion naira party.

17 billion naira can change Nigeria forever if it is genuinely used to bring NEPA back to life. Under Obasanjo 16 billion naira grew wings and we heard nothing from the investigation conducted in the National Assembly. 17 billion naira would have changed the face of Nigeria forever. But No. They prefer to party and jolly with it. This is the most useless form of governance on the face of the earth. Party, party, party while the people suffer.

Also this week innocent children have been kidnapped in Abia State of Nigeria. This is morally wrong. You don’t kidnap children. It is a very wrong step from all possible perspectives.

Children are the future. You don’t use children in sending messages of this nature. Children are never to be used to settle scores if such even exist in this situation.

Kidnapping is a crime. All hopes have been kept alive that the children will be found alive. Their lives are changed forever. They will have nightmares and they will probably be traumatized for the rest of their lives judging by the Nigeria that I know.

If the children are returned or found alive, please let the first destination be to the hospital or to a renowned child psychologist. Let no one hire crowds to sing and let the church services wait. Give psychological help first.

What is the message of the kidnappers? They want money-Yes. What else? They are not pleased or happy with the situation of things in Nigeria. Who is?

The inclusion of children in this evil venture has made headlines all over the world. Was that the objective? That has been achieved. Can the children now be released?

One thing that I know for sure is that this particular criminal act (plus the car bombings) has put Nigeria on the international spotlight at a time that Nigeria is celebrating her 50th anniversary-the biggest wastage in history.

It is like a nightmare. We are spending so much money to showcase the failures of governance and the decay of infrastructure everywhere except in a few places in Abuja and elsewhere where money has been buried by Nigeria’s corrupt and looting politicians.

The kidnappers chose this time to change the targets of the type of victims. It is not a coincidence. They planned it because they know that the government of Nigeria has earmarked billions of naira for every state government in Nigeria and the embassies abroad to spend and lavish away.

Invariably the crazy thing is that families are weeping and are devastated but the criminals are expecting the governor of Abia State to come up with the money for ransom. You don’t have to watch criminal minds to deduce the timing and the execution of the evil acts.

I am really sad. I have been sad many times just because of Nigeria. Have I mentioned that I am the weeping blogger? I still cry for Nigeria and Nigerians. The people deserved a better life. Nigeria is worth crying and dying for. It’s a country that provides unbelievable contrasts. It is possible that more than 70% of us are poor and wretched. Altogether we are 140m people, or more.

We are not able to manage our affairs successfully. We widened the gap between those who have and those who lack. The gap is huge and enormous such that many have lost hope.

Part of the hopeless lots cannot withstand the oppression of the politicians and corrupt people. They joined them in their own ways-kidnapping and state terrorism. All forms of criminal activities to survive the desperation created by the Nigerian government since 1960 has added to the loads of nonsense and rubbish that continue to negate genuine attempts.

There will be no justification for any kind of evil. But since our judicial system is crippled and the enforcement of law and order is a fairytale, all kinds of evil and atrocities go unpunished. Even Jonathan mentioned today on CNN that the judicial system is weak. Some of us know that that is why he and his other corrupt lots have escaped justice. What a country!

In Abuja and across the world where Nigeria is represented drinks are flowing. On NTA last night you could see people playing with bottles of wine just like that. Nigeria’s monies are going up in flames while our sisters and female friends from Delta State and other places are being used as prostitutes and slaves in Mali of all places on earth. In whichever place the news itself is a disgrace to Nigeria.

Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (Naptip) should be commended for its efforts in combating human trafficking. They have now told us that thousands of Nigerian women are sex slaves in other West African countries.

It is as a country that we have failed to stop our girls from carrying out this trade in Europe. We have now also failed to stop them from plying this trade in our neighbouring countries.

What does our government care? They are busy at this time distributing gifts and medals to themselves for lack of electricity and the spread of ignorance and disease. They are drinking and making merry in style and splendour while our scavengers are keeping vigil at the rotten garbage heap looking for the source of their next meal ticket. What a contrast?

The kidnapped children and their families are in trauma. The sex workers face an uncertain future as ever. MEND the militant groups are hitting wrong targets to send strong messages about what lies ahead-terrorism. We fear that we might reach a complete state of lawlessness and absence of central government. We are getting close.

The rest of us continue to worry about our next meal and if it will be safe to go out this night. We are also worried about our salaries being paid. Roads and schools give us sources of concern. From now on we are going to be afraid to get into our cars not knowing if bombs have been planted in them. Is this the life we chose?

We are not sure of anything. We are so unsure of the future. We are worried. We face uncertain elections and we don’t know where the unwinding road will lead us.

After the merry making let these rulers emerge from their madness and drunkenness and provide security for lives and property. Let them tell us the plan for our women, children and mothers. We are looking forward to the plans that will give us hope and dignity. I salute all Nigerian optimists; they give me hope in this season of hopelessness.

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FOOTNOTE:

The kidnapped Children have been freed.