Nigeria

Adamu de-Brands Nigeria…FIFA has spoken

/ Adeola / 3 Comments

Adeola

FIFA has now found Nigerian Amos Adamu guilty of trying to sell his vote for the world cup bid.

I discussed this briefly in a recent post here on this blog .

The guy has been suspended for 3 years.

I should think that the evidence against him were convincing to Fifa Ethics committee. Adamu was caught on camera and I hope he stops pushing the case himself because the video may end up on YouTube.

My concern here is the way Adamu’s image has been splashed on all the major newspapers around the world and how once again the rebranding of Nigeria has been rubbished.

This is what you get when you cannot clean your house and going ahead to trying to clean the streets.

Adamu’s shameful and disgraceful involvement in this scandal is both a reflection and a boomerang of the Nigerian civil service where everything revolves around corruption, settlements and unimaginable acceptable codes of conducts.

Just last week roads were commissioned in Ikenne Ogun State in Nigeria by Goodluck Jonathan. There are reports that the roads already have pot holes. In less than one week!

It shows that the governor of the state is corrupt and the man who left Abuja to Ikenne to commission a bad road is…?

And for the past 6 days there has not been electricity in Ikenne.

This is Adamu’s background, a society founded on rot and gross ineptitude.

He should use the last pride and dignity in him to vacate FIFA and sport altogether. But No, not in Nigeria.

I will NEVER be surprised if he is rewarded in Nigeria with the position of the Sports Minister. Nigeria has several ways of rewarding stupidity and corruption.

Unless something unthinkable happens, this case is nothing to Nigeria and the further elevation of Adamu nationally is around the corner.

You must love my country of birth.

Our Titles and What We Are

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

Adeola Aderounmu

Titles are not true reflections of human dignity and real honours.

There are several titles in Nigeria that people acquire out of ignorance. Still there are several others borne out of mischief.

There is real value in academic titles when they are acquired through meticulous processes.

However men and women of low mentalities who acquire useless titles, academic or not, expose themselves to ridicule and shame. Sadly they have no idea how laughable they appear in a sane world.

It started many years ago that every dick tom and harry started going by the title of “chief”. It didn’t take long to realise that they became chief because there were first thieves. This is because a large proportion of the title was given out or falsely acquired by men and women with dubious characters. Some of them were international fraudsters. Only a few men remain that can be honoured for their positive contributions to humanity through decency and hard work.

Between 2 nights an unknown person can acquire the title of Igwe. This draws no consequences from the true custodians of our culture and heritage. At some point we lost touch with the order of things. Everything fell apart.

A man can become an Otunba at the same space of time. The name sticks and life goes on. If he is wealthy, no one checks how. If he is on the verge of a breakthrough we don’t care what he’s meddling with. If he never makes it big we take solace in calling him the unfortunate or fake otunba.

When I learnt that Alhaji means stranger, I was shocked. How is it a title to be called an Alhaji? Help me someone..!

Our bad government champions this cause. It’s a sad situation. GCON, MON, BLA BLA BLA and so on and so forth. The people who receive national honours are the ones who have stolen more money and looted the treasury of the federal republic of Nigeria. Goodluck Jonathan presided over the recent scandal called National Awards.

Such propagation of insincerity is a key element that facilitates the stupidity of title acquisition by nonentities and clowns.

Every governor wants to be a wannabe Dr. and one thing or the other. Even local government chairpersons are out looking for ridiculous tags.

Nigeria has now imported the term Dame.

A dame is a female title of rank, equivalent to ‘Sir’ used as the title of a knight. I don’t remember the queen of England visiting Nigeria recently. Dame could also mean a slang term for woman. Isn’t that derogatory?

If the title was given by a church then everyone attending the same type of church worldwide should alter their names, start them with Dames.

This title wahala provides comic relief in a society littered with “rubbish and garbage” form of governance.
If only the number of titles that my people carry can wipe away poverty and sorrow, I would recommend more. In the words of Akin Akintayo, I will suggest the Akowoje of Ibadan, and others like the Looter General of Nigeria, Penkelemesser of the People, Didirin United, Adaluru of the Federation ati bee bee lo.

When you write about Nigeria or about Africa or any failing society for that matter the most difficult thing is your conclusion. If you give a positive note, you’re like a dreamer. If you give a negative note (plus the essay x-raying negative notes), someone will ask you, what then is the solution?

Whichever way you look at it, there is a lot of hopelessness in Nigeria. Then you’ll be shocked where people place their emphasis. At this moment someone is ready to pay anything (money or life) to get one type of stupid title at the other. He has stolen so much money that he cannot believe that he is still outside the league of people wearing useless tags.

Meanwhile another man is trying to find his daily bread, struggling between thin and thick.
Titles don’t matter. What matters are how we live and let others live. The quality and standard of the life we live is the ultimate. We don’t let others live by importing rice from Brazil or by siphoning public funds to private accounts. It is very irrelevant to try to zone knowledge, power or stupidity among many other things that are nonsensical.

In the part of Africa where I come from, millions of people have stopped reasoning. Therefore they attached titles to their names to deceive people with the humility and knowledge that they don’t have.
With each passing day it has become increasingly difficult for me to continue to proffer solutions. I don tire..! As in, where do you start from again?

How we got to this point appears to me like an everlasting dilemma. You must be strong in your mind, head and soul not to go crazy while trying to proffer solutions to Nigeria’s problems.

Why should I even try to tell anyone that titles don’t matter? In Nigeria?

No way!

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

/ Adeola / 5 Comments

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.

___________________ _____________ _____________

FOOTNOTE:

The kidnapped Children have been freed.

Show Me Your Friends (Evil Beget Evil)

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

By Adeola Aderounmu

There are different kinds of connections between people. When you decide to work for someone as his or her campaign manager for an election, it is certain that you share common ideals and have the same views about politics. It is not impossible that this type of association exist between people who even share common views about life, its essence and values.

I felt like I have wasted all the times and moments I spent watching AIT since the 90s. Never again will I watch Babangida’s AIT. I hereby declare a life time boycott of AIT.

AIT is owned by Raymond Dokpesi. In the years past I have wondered a bit how Raymond made his money. He established African Independent Television in Alagbado Village in Ogun State many years ago. Since I didn’t investigate about the sources of his funds I could only (wrongly) imagined that he borrowed money from the bank or owned some genuine businesses. How naïve?

Today Raymond Dokpesi is the Director General of IBB Presidential Campaign Organisation. This means that there is a chance that AIT was founded on dubious funds most likely tax payers’ money. If IBB did not provide the illegal funds, then some other fraudulent means were probably utilised.

Gone are the days when Nigerians are interested in how people made their money. This anomaly has ensured that people make money by all or any means possible without any investigation. A man or even a boy may be poor or living low today and own a jeep tomorrow. Certainly miracles still happen but leaving everything to “miraculous breakthrough” has eroded the spirits of hardwork and perseverance.

All the pretences of AIT to be interested in National Development through Information Dissemination were actually slaps on our faces.

This new obligation is a revelation that Dokpesi all along has been part of the looters of the Nigerian treasury through indirect means. Nigerians have been fooled, for too long!

Or is it a new development that Dokpesi needed funds to save his ailing organisations with reputations for unpaid staff wages? In recent events we have seen how genuine workers at AIT have suffered humiliation and demotion for daring to use their fora to depict maladministration in Abuja and elsewhere in Nigeria.

Whatever the case, show me your friends and I will tell you who you are. Isn’t that what they say? Babangida committed treason in 1993 and his friend is Raymond Dokpesi. It means that Raymond supported the annulment of the 1993 elections and that he was happy when Abiola died. Anyone who is not happy with the death of MKO will not work for the evil that eventually took his life. What a tragedy for Nigeria that Raymond belongs to this school of thoughts-that evil should reign again in Nigeria. Need I say evil beget evil?

Today Nigerian media houses thrive on cash and carry basis. To rely on news or information from Nigeria may be very misleading and unwise. Discerning on the part of the reader/listener is a virtue in elucidating where the truth lies.

In general almost all the media houses in Nigeria are compromised. They are owned by one politician or the other. They are owned by one godfather or the other. Even if they are owned by businessmen, Media houses in Nigeria have political agenda as do many online blogs and information services. Ordinary Nigerians-the most gullible and resilient people on earth-continue to enjoy the “fools ride”. No greater foolery.

There are other sycophants like Raymond who are on the bandwagon. Their job is to sell IBB to Nigerians as a candidate. They are loaded with 12 billion dollars stolen during the gulf war and they are saddled with the task of convincing us that evil is good for Nigerians.

In all my essays I will almost invariably continue to remind Nigerians about the intelligence question. For those who don’t know, the question is about whether we as black people in Nigeria are stupid, crazy, cursed or just less intelligent.

If Babangida have associates, their positions on the intelligence question is clear to me. They are dumb. They love money and they want to be seen as wealthy. They are slaves to money, and of course several millions of Nigerians as I see it do not understand the essence of life.

Because people are so blinded to the transiency of life and the essence of living they miss the line and borders between wealth, satisfaction, happiness and contentment.

For as long as they live, they will find no peace because they don’t know what they are living for.

Vanity of men and human tragedies!

These people will try to enforce evil on Nigeria in 2011.

Kanti Bello is the Deputy Director General.
Sada Ilu is the Director Security and Intelligence
ABC Nwosu is the Director of Research and Planning
Sam Oyovbaire is the Director of Policy and Strategy
Kassim Afegbua is the Director of Media and Communications
Remi Adikwu-Bakare is Director of Women’s Affairs
Farouk Bibi-Farouk is Director of Youth Affairs
Shehu Musa Gamba is the Director of Contact and Mobilisation
Musa Elayo is the Director of Legal Services.

This is a reflection of the failure of governance in Nigeria. They are all directors. This is what everybody wants to be in Nigeria. Everybody wants to be the boss no matter the avenue or road taken.

This “evil list” shows those who looted together with Babangida for 8 years or more. It is always impossible for one person to loot, steal or destroy the economy without accomplices. This list should be taken by the EFCC (if only they know what they are doing) as the crime list. These people should be investigated for the period of time they spent in public services and every source of their income should be turned inside out.

If a genuine anticorruption agency investigates the people on this list, they will likely be sent to jail sooner or later. In short, they are the same as Babangida who should be sent to jail for treason, for annulling the 1993 elections. He should be held responsible for all the lives that were lost in the riots and violence that followed the annulment.

All these “hungry” directors will have boys and girls working for them across Nigeria and they will be feasting with the 12 billion dollars stolen a long time ago. If they must kill people like me to achieve their goals and objectives, they will. Afterall Dele Giwa was killed, allegedly by Babangida’s errand boys. We don’t know if blackmail was in the game that took his life. Now IBB has recruited more errand boys and those who speak the truth may be eliminated. The return of evil…

This is the norm in Nigeria. A catastrophe of unimaginable magnitude! Everybody is waiting for their turn to steal, loot and cart-away. This campaign organisation will be the life transforming experience for some people and consolidatory steps for others already used to stealing and telling lies.

Don’t cry for me fellow citizens. I have mentioned that this is my life now, to live and die for what I believe is the truth. I will always write about “the way I see it”.

Justice is dead in Nigeria. Everyone is fighting for his/ her survival. Goodluck Jonathan is not left out. He is fighting for his own perpetration. Look at his campaign team and see another dimension to evil.

This geographical entity called Nigeria will probably NEVER make it unless something radical is done. Nigeria obviously doesn’t seem like a nation or a country. It’s like a “thing” up for capture by the group that “outsmart” the other groups every now and then.

150m people must find their ways because government in Nigeria is neither by the people nor for the people. It’s pure rubbish.

Government in Nigeria is for those who captured political offices through Do-or-die mechanisms.

Nigerians who love social justice, genuine organisations that can defend the rights of the citizens in Nigeria must rise us against all form of political deceits. We now know where AIT belongs. It belongs to the evil axis. Let us do more sieving and bring together those who can use their senses above emotions, let us bring together those who know the truth that can set us free.

Let us for the sake of the unborn generations make the sacrifices that will bring prosperity to our children’s children.

If we must die for what we believe in, that will bring social justice and prosperity back to Nigeria in the future, so be it. No one leaves the planet alive. If we continue to remain silent in the face of evil, it will rise even further.

For evil to be eradicated, good people must speak, write, act, perform and die BUT NEVER IN VAIN. No society has been successful without these sacrifices. I live for this principle. It is my cause.

But mark my words; the 2011 is a waiting tragedy. We don’t need elections when we have no structures to work with. In 2011, the traditions of 1959, 1979, 1983, 2003 and 2007 will be repeated with fatal consequences.

Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are. Dokpesi is fighting for his pockets, as usual. He is Babangida’s boy, now covered in national disgrace and shame. Together they killed June 12 and murdered democracy. When they killed Democracy, June 12 and Abiola, they invariably signed a pact that democracy is not good for Nigeria. Why on earth is the champion of those evil courses seeking election? Why on earth should he be free? Where is justice?

Babangida annulled Nigeria’s freest and fairest election ever. I call on all Nigerians to resist him and call for his immediate prosecution. This greed for power must be his waterloo, an overdue nemesis.

These men have no reason to seek political offices because of the crimes hanging over their heads. They should be arrested and prosecuted now!

aderounmu@gmail.com

Nigerians And The Burdens of History

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Nigerians are watching and listening as political schemers start or continue to test the political field once again.

I looked at all the candidates and it is hard to see any of them that should not be rotting away in prison.

Nigeria and Nigerians are saddled with the burdens of history-that constantly deny the truth.

We know who these men and women are. We know how they ruined the country.

They killed, maim, got drunk at the altar of power and they left devastating effects on our lives. They stole or they continue to steal. They gamble and struggle for power then and now.

Elections and elections’ results remain the most important single factor affecting progress and development in Nigeria. I have argued about this elsewhere (see my blog for details).

In 2011 history will repeat itself in Nigeria. This is not the first time I’m sending signals about things to come in Nigeria. It takes no prophetic ability to interpret these clear signals. It takes amazing and enormous stupidity to ignore them and pretend that everything is alright.

The Nigerian 2011 elections are disasters waiting to happen. How can we conduct credible elections without proper identification schemes? In my previous blog entry I have explained these things in details.

Fake identity cards are common all over the world. This means that there will be loads of opportunities to cheat in the forth coming elections in Nigeria. I have expressed my fears about this, how it will play out and how rigging, violence and bitterness will dominate the elections.

History will again repeat itself in Nigeria, probably more fatal. I’m not a pessimist. I try to place reasons above emotions at all time. I succeed for the most.

When you expect Nigerians to rise up and defend the good, they are no where to be found.

The ways we do things are just wrong. The reason for the failure of the followership is also attributable to greed, selfishness and the “cut corner / get-rich-quick” syndrome. Our methodology and approaches to issues are sources of concerns to global observers.

Why are thieves, looters, murderers and useless people campaigning on national televisions when they should be serving terms for their atrocities? I don’t get it.

We are standing on the wrong side of history. We are no where near the truth. It is ironical because Nigeria probably has the largest number of churches and mosques in the world. This is classical case of religion gone astray. We are far from the truth, we are all hypocrites. We confirm that there is no relationship whatsoever between how people call the name of their gods and their abilities to apply the right sense of judgement. Vanity upon vanity..!

It beats me that prominent people (if they are out there somewhere) and the rest of us are watching and saying nothing about the impossible task facing INEC. We don’t need elections in 2011. What we need is the re-structuring of the entire process/ machinery that will give way to successful elections in Nigeria. What about the horse before the cart?

Let us stop and think for a while. We may be able to reason together. Our lives remain in our hands.