My Random Reflections @ 42

(Published originally in Nigeria Village Square on July 12, 2014)

This is the 7th edition of my random reflections on my birthday. It started in 2008 when I turned 36. One of my favourite Swedish expressions is livet går aldrig i repris. It means you cannot go back to live through life again. You may disagree if you believe in reincarnation.

Another one is tiden går fort. Time goes fast. That might be relative though depending on how you measure or spend your time and how fun or interesting your days and months are. Time goes fast especially when you are having fun or if you’re always on a busy schedule and still have to figure out the entry for a weekly column. Time can’t go fast for you if you are in jail or under oppression by government or other forces.

I thought about many things but these are some of my reflections @ 42.

In the last 12 months I have maintained my dedications to family, work, environment, exercise, friends, Yoruba Union in Stockholm, keeping a tab on Nigeria and daily acquisition of knowledge about things and global events in general.

During this period in review, I have also found out more about Oduduwa, Orunmila and Ifa than my previous 41 years on earth. It’s not the best of situation that we were shielded from the knowledge of our customs, traditions and indigenous religions as we grew up in Nigeria.

Children born in the cities almost exclusively are deprived of this fundamental right and knowledge by their parents and the society. They paint Ifa (the Yoruba religion) as evil and embraced Islam and Christianity on our behalves. Then they forced one or both of the foreign faiths down our throats!

All over the world Christianity and Islam have failed to erase or erode indigenous religions and beliefs. Many of those who brought Christianity to Nigeria have abandoned the faith. They are now free thinkers. Even those who brought Islam are trying to find true freedom. It’s cheerful news to see that some believers have made efforts to sustain and propagate the Yoruba traditional religions even in places like Lagos state.

I am happy about my present personal research on Yoruba traditional belief and understanding of it. It is better late than never I would add. It has been quite an experience to know more about Olodumare, Oduduwa and Orunmila. Orunmila gave to mankind the Ifa institution which deals with everything about life.

During the past few months I have delivered 2 lectures relating to Ancient Yoruba Arts and Ile-Ife as the ancestral home of the Yorubas. I did them on behalf of the Yoruba Union in Stockholm and in my capacity as the president of the union.

In the autumn of 2014 I will be speaking about Ifa and to ensure that my audience is carried along I have agreed to do the lecture in Swedish language, here in Stockholm city. I found great happiness rediscovering the traditions and belief of our forefathers in Yorubaland and I want to tell others about it.

In western Nigeria we must find ways to integrate the knowledge about Olodumare and the Ifa institution back into the curriculum. That much we owe our children and posterity.

My random reflections will be incomplete if some of the pressing issues in Nigeria are not included.

I am worried about the declining status of public education in Nigeria. I am sad that doctors went on strike when the public health system was already collapsed anyway. There is political instability in Nigeria and that is no news too. Terrorism is full blown and anyone can be bombed away at anytime, anywhere in Nigeria.

Education in Nigeria is now in the hands of very wrong people. The Nigerian government is ready to sell its birthright and those of the populace for a pot of porridge. How the education department went from a late Aliu Babs-Fafunwa leadership to one Ibrahim Shekarau-the book burner-leadership remain shocking.

According to the gangsters now ruling Nigeria, intellectualism can rest in pieces! This appointment in the education department is a wild slap on the faces of intellectuals who would be answerable to the man who hates western novels at the time that Boko Haram’s ideology was on the rise in Northern Nigeria showing conformity on the part of Ibrahim Shekarau at that time. There is no shame in Nigeria, only political strategies built on greediness and psycho-egocentrism.  

The plights of Nigerian students attending public schools are sorrowful and regrettable. Who can forget what the UPN did in Western Nigeria in terms of providing free and qualitative education? Only those for forget the lessons of history and social development will forget.

The declining or worsening conditions of education in Nigeria is a major topic that many scholars need to address. I know that my friend here in Stockholm Charles Adagbon is really upset about the LASU imbroglio and he’s working on an essay.

By my count, 1695 students were admitted as new intakes for 2013 /2014 academic year at the Lagos State University. On another list there are 41336 students on full time and sandwich programs.

The average school fees expected from a fresher is N250 000. Arts and Education students are at the lower end of the ladder with N193 750 and the College Of Medicine students on the other end with N308 750. In my world this is simply insane!

In a country where the minimum wage is N18 000, where does Mr. Fashola expect poor parents to extract N250 000 from? Many people are even out of jobs having no means of livelihood.

Meanwhile Akpabio’s fraudulent pension in Akwa Ibom was an eye opener into the already existing pension laws of Lagos state and other states where tax payers money are now looted in the name of fraud called  pensions.

The fraudulent pension that the Lagos state government is paying to Bola Tinubu is enough to cover the school fees of all LASU’s 100 level students probably 3 times over. By implication, one man’s unnecessary pension in Lagos state can send 1695 students to LASU for 3 years, or more. What manner of greedy people are running Western Nigeria these days? Is the situation the same at the remaining state universities across Nigeria?

In my recent essay (Rewards for political prostitution) I mentioned the failure of the judiciary in Nigeria as one of the principal factors in the endless story of corruption among nearly all Nigerian politicians. By implication the judiciary in Nigeria has ridiculed itself and rendered itself almost useless in the presence of the law system it was meant to tend and defend.

How the judiciary allowed the military and the executive arm of government under “democratic” dispensation to destroy the law system is unforgivable. The useless protective immunity clause does not cover crooks when they are out of office. How come the law failed to catch up with political criminals in Nigeria? Are they accomplices?

The urge to steal and loot would have been minimised or even zeroed if the culprits have been sent to the appropriate rooms in Kirikiri maximum prisons and other self-contained rooms meant for prisoners across Nigeria since 1960.

The smallest act of corruption adds to the misery of the common man. The tiniest of looting makes education expensive and unaffordable. 20 billion dollars is not missing but 927 million dollars is unaccounted for. That was the Nigerian sena-thieves and their outcome on one of the several complains of corruption rocking the scandal-full government of Nigeria. Birds of same feather, what do they do?

In 2013 more than 10 million children in Nigeria have no access to education. It will not be an exaggeration to state that the probable number today may be well over 15 million. The factors that may have led to the increase are: the continuous looting of the Nigerian treasury by Nigerian politicians clearly spearheaded by the corrupt presidency, the complete neglect of duty to humanity and country, the closure of hundreds of schools across Northern Nigeria due to terrorism, the burning down and destruction of hundreds of schools by Boko Haram, the continued rise in the cost of education in public schools and the non-affordability of private schools by children from poor and middle class homes.

My point on the LASU issue is that if Lagos state is prudent enough, the indigenes of Lagos State can receive free education at all levels. I think this is what Charles is trying to address in his unpublished essay. If Lagos State claims it has no money then they should stop the fraudulent pension of ex-governors and deputies gulping over a billion naira annually.

The amount lost to the pension loot is enough to cater for the education of the 1695 newly admitted students at LASU for 3 years. Invariably if other loopholes are blocked, more poor people can also get some education to prepare them for the challenges of the future.

The pension that former governors are allocating to themselves in Nigeria is executive recklessness and a breach of public confidence. It is open robbery of tax payers’ money. It does not matter that it was signed into law. It is still looting which is the specialisation of Nigerian politicians.

Across Nigeria, if corruption is terminated and punished, everybody should have access to free education, free health care, clean water and other basic infrastructure that make life worth living. Everybody can have a good life in Nigeria or in the different regions of Nigeria!   

Unfortunately, Nigerians remain oppressed from all angles. Everyday the court of laws and the prosecution arm of the federal government like the EFCC continue to tell us that known criminals in politics are free of corruption charges? What are the consequences of social injustices? The implications are obvious for more than 90m Nigerians living from hand to mouth and in serious doubt about the next meal.

In the face of all the difficulties that Nigerians encounter daily, it is sad that the priorities of the rulers and politicians are different from the needs of the people. For example, Goodluck Jonathan would rather lay red rugs on muddy road to get to the forest where he can lay the foundations for a private university for his fair-weather friend Mr Oritsejafor rather can confront the complicated problems facing public education.

Mr. Jonathan is also now issuing out ministerial positions like a lottery pamphlet to various persons based essentially on patronage and ass kissing of the PDP.  There are several Nigerian professors at home and abroad versed in educational policy and up to date research knowledge on how to move education forward. Look what the Nigerian ruler settled for! It shows his mindset and cognitive impairment.

But nature will always find a way to balance its own equations. If the roof of a house collapses, the greater casualties may likely happen to the people at the top floor. It’s all relative anyway. In Nigeria the poor and downtrodden have always outlived tyranny. The future looks set for the same pattern based on the sequences of parallel events that typically show the neglect of governance and the elevation of ego and tyranny.

There is a lot to be fixed in Nigeria, not least a functional system of governance that will remove the patronage at Abuja, the citadel of corruption. 2015 will redefine Nigeria in many ways. For the umpteenth time in 53 years of post independent Nigeria I see a people presented with similar options at each crossroad of their history.

Oh well, I have just opened my birthday present and it seems I’m going to get a new bicycle and be ready for work after the summer holidays. This evening, I’ll grill some lamb meat for my immediate family and we’ll share together like we always do. Birthday lunch, mainly grilled chicken is almost ready.

My hope and dreams for Nigerians remain alive. I wish that one day they’ll start on that road that leads to true emancipation and everlasting freedom. I hope that all Nigerians will come to realise the true meaning of life, while appreciating the transiency of it.

I hope that people will come to realise that the system can work again if everybody is doing the right thing in their own little ways. These are what great societies and the developed countries are built upon among other virtues: contentment, trust and civil dedication. They are not built on massive corruption, political instability, selfishness, greediness, religion and prayers of the wicked.

aderounmu@gmail.com

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 42,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 16 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

My Random Reflections @ 41

I write this personal series since I turned 36 in 2008 not to impress but to constantly remind myself and those that care that a country that has the potential to be probably the greatest in the world turned out to be among the worst places to live on earth. The Niger Delta of Nigeria is enriched with deposits that can cater for the entire sub-Saharan African but some of the world’s poorest people live there.

If critics stop writing almost every country in the world will go down and posterity will not forgive both the people who are responsible for the calamities and those who stood still and did nothing at all. What we write today in books and on the web will continue to shape the world now and the things to come albeit imperfectly.

On a very personal note, in the last 365 days many things have happened to deepen the gap between me and Nigeria. Deepen in the sense that I’d lost touch with my blog updates and essays here in the Village square. Even in the last one month, terrible things have happened. For example some criminals have been executed in the south of Nigeria.

Governor Adams Oshiomole justified that use of the gallows as stipulated in the Nigerian Book of the Laws. It is Oshiomole’s mates in the past military and all civilian administrations that should be executed because they are the real thieves. But he who pays the pipers dictates the tune therefore the real criminals in political offices especially get away with all types of crimes that have sent millions of Nigerians to their early graves.

The cowards in the ranks of Boko Haram have stormed a secondary school and murdered more than 40 children. Nigeria was recently rated as the worst place to have a child. It may also be the worst place to raise a child considering that more than 10,5 million children have no access to education  or school facility and those who manage to get one are massacred in the far north. Before the latest massacre hundreds of schools have been razed to ashes in Northern Nigeria.

In River State, Mr. and Mrs. “Smith” Jonathan have unleashed anarchy. They may deny this allegation but the precedents will get them entangled. Nigeria’s ruler Mr. Goodluck Jonathan has replaced democracy with both autocracy and tyranny. Mr. Jonathan has hired many liars as his communication cronies. He may soon buy real bull-dogs to tell his stories. Who does not know that the stories belong to the marines?

 With the present order of things, Nigeria is a failed country. In several essays I have argued about people who become successful in Nigeria (either through genuine means or criminally) and their lack of understanding of the functions and obligations of the state to all and sundry. I will not over-flog here.

What I know is that the failure of Nigeria as a country has been attributed to several factors. We have constantly reminded ourselves of the unholy matrimony in 1914 between a resource-filled southern Nigerian and a resource-deficient Northern Nigerian for the pleasure of the queen of England.

Many writers have cited corruption, nepotism, greed, primitive accumulation and all sorts of crimes that have been committed by both the civilian and illegal military governments in Nigeria. The blame game and the faults are inexhaustible. Summarily though both civilian and military governments have aided in demolishing Nigeria.

Both systems have been mainly supervised by crooks and criminals since 1959. The military juntas and their civilian accomplices hastily destroyed all the institutions and arms of governance and paved way for the failed unitary system that persists till date. The longer Nigeria is hinged on the (now volatile) unitary system that concentrates power at the middle, the nearer she moves towards a violent disintegration.

What we must not forget is that those who fought for the independence of Nigeria are mostly intelligent people. Indeed during the 1959 elections and after the celebration of independence in 1960, something fundamental went wrong. It may be the promotion of tribalism or nepotism. It may be the nature of power or just that urge to promote self or one’s nationality above the rest.

In any case the disunity of Nigeria became obvious and the survival of the fittest became the norm. It is what reigns in Nigeria today. People live in a rat race in that country near the equator. Several years after the civil war, Nigeria remains in a state of both intra-tribal and inter-tribal warfare.

All the problems with Nigeria will not be solved by one magic approach.  Before it gets too late, some amelioration can be sought. There are modern ways to pursue political reforms. Conducting referenda and engaging nationalities in National Conferences are very popular globally.

It does not matter how long the Nigerian elites and gangsters in the PDP, APC or other political groups hold on to the status quo. The mad politics in Nigeria today that puts the wealth of the country in the pockets of a few male and female tropical gangsters will fall someday. All the people will not be fooled all the time.

One addition though as to how we may have lost the plot. We must also not forget that Nigeria now suffers from a deep-rooted intellectual deficiency at all strata of governance and in several facets of our lives. Across board, it is people with low level of cognitive capabilities that reign. The few intelligent people in government have been drawn down (by greed or primitive-accumulation tendency) and they became even bigger and uglier monsters.

To be sure, the speeches (that is the promises) of Nigerian politicians, gangster dictators and public office holders have never really converged with their actions (abilities to deliver). If this convergence-according to Vygotskij-is the most significant moment in the course of intellectual development, then Nigeria has always invariably been in the hands of mostly mad people, since the British left.

Nigerian rulers past and present have inflicted on the system wounds that may never heal. That is why in the midst of heavy military presence, Boko Haram could still infiltrate, cause severe havoc and unleash terror. There are allegations that the former Northern military elites are members of Boko Haram-that the sect came into existence when they lost their grip on the military and their civilian arm lost the rulership of Nigeria. How many allegations and counter allegations can trail one notorious terrorist group? In a predominantly uneducated north, anything is possible I dare say.

In the North there is fire in the desert. In the south there is fire in the forest. In the middle, there is fire on the mountain. We can all attest now that those who make positive, progressive changes impossible in the North, South, East and West are also being consumed by the different monsters that they created. It is only a question of time before the flame spread all-round.

Unemployment in Nigeria is in a world of its own. Public education is at a halt and many social infrastructures are over stretched or absent. The list of all that is wrong with Nigeria surpasses a 4-unit course at the University of Lagos. Sadly, things are getting worse as these useless politicians continue to amass wealth to buy property in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Dubai and all over the world. When they are not abroad to buy property they are throwing parties or receiving treatments for all kinds of ailment ranging from headache to fracture and severe ones. It’s all madness!

Churches in Lagos now have military guards. Pastors fly in Jets and Helicopters. They ride, like the politicians, in armored vehicles. Since the spate of kidnapping has now spread even to Lagos, not many politicians sleep with both eyes closed at night.  Armored vehicles during the day and sleepless dark nights-where is the peace for the wicked rulers?

Where is our bragging about Lagos? We boasted that kidnapping will remain the pastime of the Niger Delta militants created by Odili and Obasanjo. Ha ha! Our braggings fell flat now because the system continues to downspin and is now totally rotten. Everybody wants to get rich quickly, just like the poli-thieves too who encouraged mediocrity over diligence. People are lost!

The problems with Nigeria are many. There will not be a magic pill to solve them. Jet-flying pastors or Imams sitting on leather mats in mosques will never be successful as prayer warriors to intercede and solve the problems.

Nigerians will have to sit down, reason together and talk like human beings in the 21st century and not like the lunatics in River State. They will need to go beyond the Egyptian approach. We don’t need a yearly revolution or intermittent epileptic interventions.

No magic pill, but for a start Nigeria needs reforms that will bring about long term, sustainable political structures that will eliminate the unitary system and empower the regions. Such reforms will give regional autonomy or re-instate regional governments like the Western Region, Eastern Region and so on.

Nigeria needs a system that we revitalize the arms and institutions of government through power separations. Some of these changes must take place now. Nigerian politicians are not seeking these changes or any change at all because politics for them is a form of livelihood rather than service. If you don’t know, read it here now that 99 % of Nigerian politicians are crooks. They are so few yet they ride on the majority who keep running to churches and mosques.

If we don’t change the present order of things or if we don’t successfully make a demand for the changes, Boko Haram and recently River State are giving us dress rehearsals of the things to come as we approach 2015 the predicted exit year of Nigeria. It is Rotimi Amaechi who is feeling the heat now. He is not a saint. Many people have been eliminated by the actions or ineptitude of the different governments.

Terror across the country should make Nigerians wiser. The worst may come when the political class eventually self-destructs completely. People will attribute it to divine intervention yet at that time there will be nowhere to run, just like Asa sang in fire on the Mountain.

There is no better time for the people of Nigeria (irrespective of tribe/nationality within Nigeria) than now to demand for the changes that will usher in 2015 in a fashion that removes power from the center and place them in the hands of the people in the different regions. This is not the magic pill but it is a better way to go than allow Mr. and Mrs. “Smith” Jonathan to direct the 2015 tropical gangster wars aka jagajaga (s)elections.  

These are my very random thoughts today July 12 2013.

aderounmu@gmail.com

By Adeola Aderounmu

I have read several reports that indicate that the militarily weak Nigerian government has planned to grant amnesty to terrorists in Northern Nigeria.

These reports are ridiculous and all but indicate a government that is clueless and useless.

There is a war going on in Northern Nigeria. This is no longer news. What is news it that both local and international media have lost tracks of the different battles and incidents.

Terrorism held fast in Northern Nigeria. It is also glaring that the war between the Nigerian military and the Boko Haram sect is now full force. About 200 people were reported killed in gunfire and arms battle this last weekend (week 16 of 2013).

According to reports in the PUNCH newspaper, 2,000 houses, 62 vehicles and 486 motorcycles were either burnt or vandalised during the clash in the early hours of Saturday.

Who declares amnesty in the middle of a war?

The terrorists have no plans to lay down their arms. They are on the rampage, killing, maiming and destroying both living and non-living things.
School days are over in Northern Nigeria because Boko Haram has ensured that several hundreds of schools have been razed.
Church days are over because Christians have been murdered in cold blood.

Life is gradually coming to an end in many parts of Borno under the control of Boko Haram. Government houses are been shut or sacked and police stations and prisons have been set open in many states to free criminals.

In the last year alone, more than 3 000 have died. For unreported incidents, we are talking about a toll that may hit 10 ooo in a country where records and statistics are scanty.

Boko Haram remains a mystery to the Nigerian presidency that described the sect as being constituted of ghosts.

So who needs amnesty?

Boko Haram is determined to end the regime of Goodluck Jonathan and I thought the message and actions are clear.

What is the amnesty about?

The weak central government of Nigeria is definitely misusing the word amnesty.

The government is planning a re-election in 2015 in a country that lies in ruins. You won’t find a crazier selection of politicians anywhere in the world. Nigerian politicians are crooks and blood suckers.

I think it is better to say that the government of Jonathan is channeling some free funds into private pockets by using the word amnesty.

Boko Haram is on the rampage. The sect has not denounced its objectives which include a violent overthrow of the corrupt and stupid Nigerian government. The sect also wants to institute Islamic codes and forms of government across Nigeria. The ambition is huge but has been largely successful in Northern Nigeria where Mr. Obasanjo provided the catalysm of aiding the establishment the Sharia governments across the North.
Amnesty is given to a people who have denounced their cause, become repentant and involved in negotiations to restore peace, order and the rule of law.

Book Haram fighters never told anyone that they wanted amnesty or that they have abandoned their causes.

As far as I am concern, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan becomes a sponsor of Terrorism when he starts to send funds and money to those pursuing terror acts whether in Nigeria or anywhere else. When the amnesty package starts to roll out, I will call for the arrest and prosecution of Jonathan for sponsoring terrorism.

My hope is that Mr Jonathan should be placed on a “most wanted list” for sponsoring terrorism when he starts to openly channel funds to the terrorists of Northern Nigeria.

Unconfirmed reports have insinuated that Boko Haram receive huge funds from the governors of Northern Region of Nigeria. Even Goodluck Jonathan has often carelessly stated that Boko Haram is within his weak government. So invariably before now government funds have reached Boko Haram in the past through the back doors.

Is Mr. Jonathan trying to openly support terrorism through his stupid amnesty plan?
Nigerians should wake up and smell the coffee. The ultimate goal is not to end the siege of Boko Haram. It will be to start a revolution that will change the course of history. The goals should include

• abrupt end to poverty in a country full of all known sorts of human, physical and natural resources,
• establishment of self-determinations in the various regions with control over own resources thereby abolishing the useless central system of government
• the struggle towards achieving a lasting peace and prosperity to all people and not the few selected idiots currently draining the country.

aderounmu@gmail.com