By Adeola Aderounmu.

Read this:

“Makoju blamed all governments before 1999 for the poor power situation in the country. He attributed the infrastructural decay to lack of planning, the adoption of a fire brigade approach to the problem, evolving ideas and frequent changes without any rationale”.

    -(Makoju is the Senior Special Assistant to the selected President on Power)

Implication: THE 10,000 megawatts target of the Federal Government in power generation by this December may not be feasible after all. (Guardian, Junu 21 2007)

Meaning: Constant Power supply or electricity in Nigeria remains a mirage.

My observations/Questions: If the blame was on all the useless governments before 1999, what about the idiots who misruled from 1999 to 2007?

What we know now is that the situation is worse than it was in 1999 and that billions of naira were spent on this powerless ministry.

Can someone retrace all these wasted funds and bring them out of the pockets or bank accounts of the thieves called Politicians or Ministers?

THE LOGO OF OLD NEPA, NOW PHCH

There are clear blueprints on how to make lights shine in our homes but we continue to put block heads in public offices. People who lack the will to make Nigeria work. People whose only interest is to get rich and run away.

EFCC, please can you do your job and find out how the billions spent on power since 1999 ended up bringing out the worst situation ever in power generation in Nigeria?

May the glory of Nigeria come, soon!

                                  

By Adeola Aderounmu.

My attention was first drawn to the gruesome murder of our dear brother Aikpitanhi Osamuyia through an article written by Sonala Olumhense in the Nigerian Guardian on Sunday 17th June 2007. Am I supposed to be surprised that I didn’t find this important News on BBC online News about Africa? To be sure, I conducted a local search on BBC website. I will not be able to explain why the BBC is quick to report news about drowning migrants trying to reach Europe and not about a migrant who has been senselessly killed by the Spanish Police on a so called deportation flight to Nigeria. Let us imagine that it is one Briton or an American that was killed….I leave the rest to your imaginations. What is the value of an African life, a Nigerian for that matter?

Though news from BBC and CNN are arguably bias regarding Africa, one cannot still explain how they choose what News is priority or worthwhile. Somehow, News organisation and journalists have prejudice for what is News and what is not. They have some funny standards or criteria to decide what to publish and what to ignore.  I mean if you can get breaking News on sinking migrant ship or boat, how can you not get breaking or late News about a deportee who was murdered on a flight especially after the pilot re-directed the flight back to Spain? It is a strange world.

Foreign News Agencies are trying really hard but Nigerians should thank the Home Press like the Nigerian Guardian for example for been the newspaper company that they are; otherwise living in the Diaspora (someone said there is no Diaspora) would have been living in the dark concerning things of true Nigerian interests. With internet and blogs, Nigerians are now not only creating News, they are writing them as well. Thumbs up!

And so Aik Osamuyia was killed by the Spanish police and the incidents as bad as it was did not get global attention. The Nigeriavillagesquare.com appears to be the arrow head in making this injustice known worldwide. Some other Nigerian online News services also devoted some space and reference to the story. Good job!

One more time, I am hereby expressing my disgust for the Spanish police. They discharged their duties beyond the limit of human undertakings and far above the acceptable limits of human error. In trying to deport Osamuyia by all or any means possible, they killed him.

There is a letter that has been signed by thousands of Nigerian across the world on nigeriavillagesquare.com.  The letter and the demands in it will not bring Osamuyia back but it is well thought and necessary. Beyond the letter, we (Nigerians) must begin to look at our existence from all angles irrespective of where we are and what we are doing.

Truly, home is the best! But Osamuyia was not willing to go back home. It will be difficult to see the views of Osamuyia but I would only imagine that, like me, he has seen the obvious disparity between living in Europe and living in modern day Nigeria. He was not willing to return (that much we have read) and he had his reasons.  Only those who are his close friends or families can give us detailed accounts of his entire travails preceding the unnecessary murder.

The most unfortunate thing however, is that he died and didn’t get the chance to fulfill his dreams of a better tomorrow. To ensure that Osamuyia did not die in vain, the Spanish interior minister should resign with immediate effect and the police officers who killed Osamuyia should start preparing for their trials and be ready for a long time behind bars. Anything short of this will mean that the Spanish government as an institution is a huge joke.

The Norwegian Police killed Obiora Eugene last year and they are still going about their abnormal duties. Every year around the world, people of African origin (maybe we should refrain from calling ourselves blacks) are killed senselessly and for nothing. In Russia, in the US, in the UK and other places, we have seen and read true life stories of unnecessary tortures and killings. Does anyone have the statistics of the number of harassments that people from Africa encounter daily globally? 

Back home, the Nigerian government should create the environment that will discourage her youth from running away without the thoughts of ever returning home. When I came to Europe for the first time in January 2002 and went back in November of the same year, I remembered a few people questioning me on “why I returned after only about 10 months”. A friend actually told me that he would never have thought about returning if he was in my position. There are many Nigerians like this, even those that are well established abroad. Some have sworn never to step on Nigerian soil again.

In 2006, I saw boys and men who told me that if they ever travelled abroad, they will not return to Nigeria until they are about 80 years or not at all. It was very difficult for me to explain to them that living abroad is not what they have in mind. The main reason I couldn’t do that was because I will be returning to my new base in Sweden. How can I convince them not to have such a thought about living abroad when I have shifted my base from Festac Town to Stockholm? They see people returning home in flashy cars without knowing how they got the money to buy the cars! They see their friends building mansions without knowing how the projects were executed. In their minds, living abroad is all you need to make money and shine!  But I must be quick to add that some Nigerians are reaping excellent results for their honesty, hard work and perseverance back home. They are too few sha.

I do not blame Osamuyia at all. The last time I visited Nigeria, I virtually ran away after 2 weeks! I am sorry if this statement hurts anyone. The previous times in 2002 and 2003, I actually stayed up to 2 months each. Nigeria is my home and I will always want to be there but the last time I visited, I was sure I didn’t want to stay 2 months. Things were at an all time low points. When I left on December 28 2006, a lot of people were actually heading back as well to the United States and other places. The stories for the sudden rush back were all the same. No light, no fuel, endless queues at fuel station, fear of daylight and dark nighttime sophisticated armed robbery, high cost of living, …., ….., ……, ……..  Fill the gaps.

One day in December 2006 around the time of the oil pipeline explosion near Abule Egba, I woke up and asked my friends why they were all at home with me on a day that was not weekend. One guy told me that that was the “good thing” with Nigeria. “There is no work, so you can stay at home enjoy and relax”. Is that what they call sarcasm? These friends of mine are all graduates like me and we left the University around 1995! Many people still see getting out of Nigeria as a lucky chance. They do not see our struggles afterwards and so for now, they don’t care. They usually say expressions like, “Let’s trade places and let me try Europe for sometime too”.

I wondered what Osamuyia escaped from in Nigeria, but I am sure he didn’t want to return to it. He preferred another life, another chance. He was not lucky. He didn’t get much of the other chance, not for long in any case.

Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday yet our cyclic politicians have started sharing loots….wherewithal our eternal hope?

  May the Glory of Nigeria come, soon!

Adeola Aderounmu.

Today, I have filed an application for a permit to demonstrate with the Swedish Police. I don’t know when the permit will arrive or when I will be called to pick it up.

We cannot demonstrate or protest here on friday as it is midsummer holiday and everything is closed. 

What I have planned is to tender the famous protest letter at the Spanish embassy in Stockholm.

I am not sure how many Nigerians will leave their jobs on the decided date next week. But I will do all I can to mobilise as many people as possible.

For now, I’ll keep the information flowing by sms and calls as I await the Police Permit to allow us to gather. I should get it anyway, it was paid for! 

It was just today that I learn that another Nigerian named Obiorah was murdered by the Police in Norway recently.

If we don’t stand up to protest now, I think many more of us will die meaninglessly in the Diaspora.

May the Glory of Nigeria come, soon!

  

By Adeola Aderounmu. 

“Until the gruesome murder of Osamuyia, I had never for once thought about Spain as a bad country to live in”.

  

My thoughts of Spain are not for evil but of good. The first time I met a Spanish person was in 2003 in my student corridor. Raul is a young fine man, very friendly and always social. If you are attending University in Sweden and you happen to have a Spanish friend, you have just boosted your social life.

With Raul and his other Spanish friends around, my weekend was always spiced up. They make good parties and they enjoy getting tipsy from drinks.  The merry making of the Spanish is a clear departure from the boring attitudes of Swedish students in my corridor.  Raul returned to Spain and I left the student corridor apartments sometime around April 2004.

 In August 2005, I met another Spanish guy called Pedro. He is the funniest guy among my colleagues. He teaches spanish and I was teaching computer science at that time. In 2006, we found ourselves at a new school together again as colleagues. This time I am teaching science. Pedro and I have been at great parties, we have shared a room on a cruise and Pedro at some time wore my Nigerian clothes (Buba and Sokoto). He is a delightful person. I can speak well of him always.

My other knowledge of Spain comes from what I’d read mostly on BBC and what my friend Paulo told me about Spain. Paulo is my friend, a Nigerian who had lived in Spain, Luxembourg and now in England. Paulo lived for some time in Sweden before moving to England. As a matter of fact, Paulo met Raul and then Pedro because he spent most of his time around me while living in Stockholm.

  

I read that there are probably more immigrants living in Spain than anywhere else in Europe. This is mainly because of the closeness of Spain to Africa and the relative ease to explore the islands associated with Spain. I have read about the difficulties that the Spanish authorities have in controlling the influx of migrants into her territories. I have also read about hundreds of migrants that have died trying to reach Spain and also about those who get to Spain and are sent back one way or the other. Most of what I read are from BBC. This news service seems to dedicate extraordinary attention to migrants trying to reach Europe. It is a soap opera on BBC.

  Paulo told me great things about Spain and Spanish girls. He told me the ease with which he spoke Spanish in comparison to the Swedish that I am still struggling with 6 years on. So, with my personal contacts with 2 friendly Spanish guys and with the stories from BBC and discussions with Paulo, my thoughts of Spain were formed.   

For the most, I love Spain. I like the Spanish men (and women that I later met and interacted with). I received an email from Pedro last week; he is spending his summer holiday in Spain. He left his Spanish phone number and would like to be reached if anyone was planning to come over to Spain over the ongoing summer break. I had thought of visiting Spain many times but I didn’t. Instead, I have been to Germany and England where I have Nigerian friends on ground.

The lure to visit Spain is still there but this time, with the additional responsibility to make it a family trip. But instead of thinking of a flight to Spain now, I am now thinking about how I can lead a protest march to the Spanish embassy in Stockholm.

  

Suddenly, my thoughts of Spain have changed. Osamuyia was to be deported to Nigeria for some reasons. He was killed in a manner that lacks far less dignity than killing any animal! My new thought of Spain is that it is a country that has wild animals as Police officers. All at once, my respect for the Spanish people disappeared with this singular unspeakable attitude of some idiots in Uniform.

  

In the days ahead, we will like to see the public trial of these animals called police officers and we are much interested in their time behind bars. Spain as a country should apologise to Nigerians and the family of Osamuyia.

Above all compensations, the Spanish police as an organisation should teach its officers the principles and fundamentals of human rights. The course should also entail the applications of these principles so that NEVER again should this happen.

May the Glory of Nigeria come, soon!  

By Kunle Sanyaolu. (The Guardian 17th June 2007).

THIS country could be 10 times better in terms of concrete development within a couple of years, if the governments of the day devote just a little bit of their time and energy to the Nigerian people.

What they do now is simply to focus almost entirely on themselves. If only they could spend a tiny fraction of that time to the common man and common good, eldorado will not be far from here. Their selfishness and greed is evidenced by regular news over the past two weeks, about their plans for their housing, transportation, entertainment, inconvenience and severance among others. One of the latest is the federal government’s plan to procure N3.7 billion car loan for federal legislators. Under the scheme, a Senator will get N8.1m, while a member of the House of Representatives goes away with N7.9m loan. Another recent example is the upward review of basic salaries of top public office holders, including the President, governors, ministers, lawmakers, judges, special advisers, commissioners and a host of others. A cursory look at the allowances of federal lawmakers reveals however that the so-called proposed loans by the Federal government are nothing short of free gift, with interest, to the lawmakers. Each of the lawmakers is entitled to monthly car maintenance (N126,650 for senators and N124,075 for representatives); yearly wardrobe allowance (N500,000 a piece), constituency allowance (senators N5m, Reps about N2m). Annual utility allowance (N400,000 a piece), annual entertainment allowance (N600,000) and severance allowance (N6m). It means that in a year, a senator earns at least N8 million from these allowances to pay for the loan. But he still has huge allowances for housing, transportation, furniture etc. And of course, his severance allowance is intact. The picture is almost the same for members of the House of Representatives.

Members of the National Assembly are only 469, compared with a national population of 150 million. It is not even logical to begin to work out the percentage of federal lawmakers to the national population. Yet, the salaries, allowances and other emoluments going to the lawmakers must be a sizeable portion of financial resources available to the rest of the nation. This is neither equitable nor just. And it is far from being fair. The country is never going to make anything near progress because a lot of the money meant to create jobs, build and maintain infrastructure and eradicate poverty is being tailored only at meeting the exclusive taste of a select few. It is not new of course, but it is certainly getting worse. Every beneficiary of this largesse is aware of it. If not for the media, the rest of the nation probably would not know. The people do not need any further proof that their lawmakers are living easy, opulent and ostentatious life. Enough evidence of that abound in the cars they ride, the houses they build, their dressing and so on, all within minutes of their assumption of offices.

With the reported new salary structure for top political public office holders, the first thought that came to one’s mind is that these people have again awarded jumbo salaries to themselves. During the expired tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the government fixed and reviewed salaries for public officials. Another review has just taken place and although it was initiated by the immediate past-government, members of the new government will enjoy it. By the new package, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, now in the person of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, will earn N3,514,705 as his annual basic salary, up from N1,405,882.00 recommended in 2000 by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). The Vice President gets N3, 031,572.50 up from N1, 212,629. The Chief Justice gets N3,363,972.50; Ministers N2,026,400; Senate President N2,484,242.50; Speaker of the House of Representatives N2,477,100; State Governors N2,223,705 and the deputies N2,112,215. The largesse extends to other top public office holders. The last time salaries of public office holders were reviewed was in 2002. The RMAFC believes that package is no longer realistic in view of developments such as rising price of essential commodities. The commission’s chairman, Mr. Nwadala Wogu explained that at the time the 2002 package was being put together, pump price of petrol was N16 per litre. It was N65 per litre when the current package was being prepared, meaning that the new package could have contained higher figures had the current level of inflation, including the N75 per litre of petrol, been taken into consideration. At least, the RMAFC admitted that there is inflation in the country and that frequent increases of fuel prices contribute largely to it. That is much more than the Central Bank will concede when it stated that increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) from five to 10 per cent would not aggravate inflation.

Ordinarily, upward salary review should be seen as normal, not just to correspond with rising inflation and cost of living, but also to reflect an improvement in standard of living. A person living in a one-room apartment but with a family of three or four can move into a three-bedroom apartment, if his salary is increased. This is providing however that inflation is not moving up at a rate to render the salary increase nugatory. The problem with Nigeria is that while public office holders are wont to quickly adjust their emoluments to reflect the prevailing economic circumstances, they are less eager to take similar measures for the larger citizenry. We can always recall the tug of war between government and civil servants whenever the latter demand salary increase. If and when government buckles to the demand, it whittles down the increase considerably under one guise or another, leaving only a paltry for the poor servants. Government officials thereby show insensitivity to the plight of the average Nigerian, while displaying greed and selfish tendencies. In addition, the salaries public office holders award to themselves mark an unfair and uneven distribution of wealth, to the detriment of the gross majority of Nigerians. This is so not just because the amounts are very high compared with the salary of the average Nigerian whether in the public or private sector. It is high also because the public office holders enjoy regular and high allowances that are not ordinarily available to public servants in general. Nigerians are not deceived by the fact that it is the RMAFC that is preparing and packaging the salaries and allowances. The fact is that the commission’s officers are appointed by the public office holders and therefore have to do their masters’ bidding.

If the truth must be told, public office holders are not living in true reflection of the poverty in the land. Recently the legislators of the National Assembly worked out their allowances (furniture, housing and transportation) for four years and awarded several millions to themselves. Each senator is said to be entitled to N57m while member of the House of Representatives is said to be worth about N47m in allowances. This is to cover a term of four years in which the Constitution earmarked 181 days of sitting in a year, with a minimum requirement that each legislator sits for 60 days in a year. For such lawmakers to gross so much in four years (this is probably outside a jumbo severance package they awarded themselves) is grossly out of proportion with the reality of our economy. It is incongruous with the fact that the average civil servants who work for 35 years can hardly boast of a couple millions as his terminal benefits. Legislative work is supposed to be part time, but it is proving to be a lot more lucrative than full time work. The only effect this situation can bring to the country is to encourage corruption at the civil service level and to stamp political contest as a do-or-die affair. Unless the trend of helping oneself officially and plunging the country’s treasury is quickly checked, Nigerians can forget development of infrastructure, roads, schools hospitals etc.

This is yet another opportunity for President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to assure Nigerians that this country will not drift under him. There is no point in his keeping quiet and pretending that things are happening through due process. Nigerians will remember him for his action or inaction in the face of obvious adversity they face in watching a few people corner the country’s resources.