Disgraceful and Shallow Campaigns (Part 2)

February 22, 2015 / Adeola / Leave a comment

This season the Nigerian media houses blew away the chances of healthy political debates. For Nigeria, the road to freedom is under construction but the good people and the institutions are asleep.

Disgraceful and Shallow Campaigns

By Adeola Aaderounmu

Prior to the cancellation of the February 14 elections l’d written a long essay, probably more than 10 pages, on what l missed watching and listening to some of the live campaigns of both the APC and the PDP.

Indeed some of these issues that l missed have been incorporated into posters or advertised campaigns. However these types of campaigns are made by professional marketing companies and they do not reflect what one can get directly from the candidates of the political parties during campaigns or debates.

As I was fine tuning the second part of the said article, Mr. Jonathan, the lazy and corrupt ruler of Nigeria fulfilled a year long expectation when he postponed the elections. In actual fact it was a cancellation made possible by a bloodless coup by some lazy, potbellied soldiers.

Here l will try to highlight the rest of the issues that ought to have shapen the 2015 presidential elections campaigns but which did not.

Nigeria has a population that is growing fast and which is estimated to be between 150 to 200 million. There has not been any debate how to confirm or check this population growth.

Nigeria needs good politics and appropriate policies in keeping the population at a level that is manageable. Nigeria has no functional social or welfare system. How will families be educated so that they procreate according to their financial capabilities and prospects of a good, qualitative life?

Another issue that I missed is immigration. Nigeria government does not take immigration issues seriously. So the people don’t get to hear what the government is doing on border control and how to prevent the growth and spread of terrorism through regulated migration.

The PDP led government of Jonathan can claim it inherited a lot of problems but what has been done in the last 4-6 years on the issue of immigration, population growth and social welfare?

What does the political program of the APC tells us on immigration? Have these questions been raised at any political rally or debate? What about the need for appropriate census and state of the art demographic of the population?

Apart from the free food that APC promised school children, there has not been any serious public discussion on how the glory of the education sector will be regained and sustained.

Public education in Nigeria today is a source of embarrassment to the people and the government. What will be done to revive the lost glory of education both in the short and long terms?

In line with improving the public education policy, there should be a perpendicular goal to bring back the glories of Nigeria in medicine and technology. In terms of research and development the political parties need to discuss plans on how they intend to reverse the brain drain syndrome.

This sad phenomenon, now several decades old, has left many Nigerians trapped abroad and many wasting away even in irrelevant branches. Also, the misplacement of priorities and the glorification of criminalities in Nigeria have left many graduates redundant and in the wrong fields.

I have missed the plan for the development of other infrastructure the way they should be. Many federal and state roads in Nigeria remain eye sores. Rail systems remain largely underdeveloped and water transport remains a mirage or a heavy risk to life and property where it is carried out.

I’ll try to summarize the other issues that l thought ought to have made the headlines.

How will corruption be tackled considering that the 2 major political parties continue to parade cross-carpeting members who are looters and lazy politicians?

It remains a useless expectation that a person as corrupt as Jonathan will do something to halt corruption. He was already a looter from Bayelsa State and he will never understand that stealing is corruption because he was not imprisoned for stealing in Bayelsa State. He was elevated by people like Obasanjo and the PDP in general!

If APC wins in the presidential election, it would be interesting to see how it intends to fight corruption considering all the corrupt people in its ranks and files too. They should stop repeating that nonsense that Buhari was never corrupt or infallible. Out of the several examples, the one where he defended and supported Abacha was the most disgusting.

Will the useless immunity clause be removed in the coming dispensation? Is there a debate about this question?

While Nigerians wait for a permanent political solution, the debate on promoting merit above the useless federal character is missing. Federal character will continue to bring nonentities to important political positions. Through federal character system, evil has subdued good and foolishness has overtaken intellectual capacity.

One of the most obvious missing parts of Nigeria’s political campaign remains the team behind the campaigns. Who is the person answering the questions for energy/power for the APC or the PDP? Who is responsible for the education portfolio of the APC campaign group? l do not think there are answers to these simple questions because there are no teams of experts pursuing research, development or political questions in the political parties.

Political appointments are never reserved for the skilled or informed in Nigeria. They remain rewards for thugs, any fool, militants, potential terrorists and persons connected to godfathers and sponsors.

Rarely when good people are appointed in Nigeria, they soon become evil after one night in office. Something fundamental is wrong with Nigeria and Nigerian politicians.

It is pertinent that the absence of follow up and the negligence of track records are some of the reasons why a lazy, incompetent, corrupt and weak ruler like Jonathan emerged as the ruler of the Africa’s most populated country.

The disgraceful outcome of this tragedy is hard to bear. But if they seek change, Nigerians must learn to do things the right way. Sadly, Jonathan is a living tragedy and a sad phenomenon that may repeat itself.

Who will stop the pension fraud madness? What does the political agenda of the APC and PDP say on retirement matters? How will pensioners get their gratuity and pensions without having to provide the proof of life after 35 years in service?

For 16 years now we know that PDP encourages pension scams just the same way they enjoyed the oil subsidy scams. PDP is built on scams. Even Jonathan and Abba Moro scammed unsuspecting unemployed people in the failed immigration employment program. There were no consequences for Jonathan and Moro despite all the dead bodies that littered the country.

What change will the APC be?

On the campaign trail so far we have no heard how APC will deal with judicial processes involving pension frauds, subsidy scams, employment scams and oil theft. It would have been nice to know the change they are talking about and how they will be achieved.

Religion has failed Nigeria. Under Jonathan, religion became a total instrument of governance whereas Nigeria is a secular country. Churches and mosques built as outlets to government houses should be pulled down. Let everyman worship in his house and keep his/her religion a private activity.

Unfortunately, in 2015 religion will play a very dangerous role in who becomes the ruler of Nigeria. This is the same country regarded as one of the most corrupt in the world.

This means with Nigeria as a classical example, the more people go to churches and mosques, the more they are likely to be criminally minded and avoid the simple social responsibilities of nation building.

The way to freedom for the regions trapped in Nigeria is long. The rapid visual assessment and evaluation of the views and opinions of Nigerians both online and in reality leaves a lot to desire.

The winner takes all mentality after the elections rather than a system that heals after bitter electoral processes has left deeper wounds in the soul of the country. They may never heal under the persisting unitary form of government.

Since 1966, Nigeria remains in an endless transition.

The political solution is urgent so that the institutions can be brought back to life.

Separation of powers and respect for the principles of real democracy must be integrated in the expected political solution.

Nigerians remain easy to rule but difficult to lead, which is why they have always ended up with the wrong people leading the affairs of the country.

Nigeria as a country or as an aggregate of regions must work hard to get to that point where criminals and looters like the ones we have seen before and since 1999 are arrested and made to face judicial proceedings according to the law.

Based on the past and even the present, both Jonathan and Buhari are not the best of materials from intellectually saturated Nigeria. But it is sad that the good people are caged as the politics of money and do or die remains prevalent.

Change may come to Nigeria but with a lot of economic uncertainties and unseen social and political consequences.

The debate on the future of Nigeria which is missing in the campaigns ought to have been brought to life and taken at several sub-levels.

What will it take for Nigeria to revert to a system of government where power is not concentrated in the hands of one dictator at the center? Such a system where money is gathered in Abuja and redistributed to beggar states will not take Nigeria to the promise land. In fact it may tear the country apart soon.

What are the plans of all the political parties to restructure Nigeria so that the regions can stand on their feet and develop competitively like it was before the useless coups of 1966?

The real change that Nigerians want is yet to come. Making sure that people answer for crimes against humanity, for negligence of duties and for corruption must be part of the real change that they seek.

Most of the Nigerian public and private media houses should also be ashamed of their leadership styles and profiles. They have taken sides and will never be trusted in promoting fairness. This season they blew the chances of healthy political debates.

The media houses including both the visual and the printing press should bury their ugly heads in shame. They never put their spotlights on real issues and on the people who can emancipate Nigeria and help build her institutions.

For Nigeria, the road to freedom is under construction but the good people and the institutions are asleep.

(Concluded).

aderounmu@gmail.com

A Remarkable Pact

January 18, 2015January 18, 2015 / Adeola / Leave a comment

Buhari and Jonathan signed a peace agreement. Historically this is a very remarkable pact-that a peace agreement was signed before a war or in the absence of war between 2 factions.

A Remarkable Pact

By Adeola Aderounmu

The ugly tradition of politics in Nigeria remains and is madly sustained.

Several politicians flock from the PDP fold into the APC fold as the February 2015 elections draw closer. This massive, aimless exodus of purposeless, selfish and greedy politicians is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria.

Nigeria is peculiar.

I have emphasized before that there are rewards for political prostitutions in Nigeria. As it stands now, it is impossible to find the definitive line that separates the two main political parties in Nigeria.

A good friend based in Southie argued that APC is different from PDP: that when the PDP members cross carpet to the APC they will act differently because people are influenced by the type of company that they keep.

I disagree on this one because APC is increasingly becoming a party of PDP dropouts. So the party continues. Where is the change? Who is fooling who?

Every four years people fall to the same political scam. It’s like a ritual. For those who are entering into political awareness for the first or second time, they will soon learn the name of the game.

For several others suffering from political myopism because they have not been paying attention for a very long time, they have refused to learn that the system of politics in Nigeria is remarkably dysfunctional.

Since the clarion call for the abruption of the faulty political system to allow for the re-actualization of the dreams of the fighters of the Nigerian independence is not yet popular, the follow-follow majority continue to hold on to false hopes every four years.

As the national existence in denial continues, there are probably 3 scenarios that may emerge depending on if peradventure the forthcoming presidential election, against all odds, reached conclusion, or not.

The first scenario is that Goodluck Jonathan may continue in power. This is possible because global democracy has a nasty history of what is called the power of incumbency. Umaru Yar Adua missed out by his untimely death.

Despite the gross incompetence and laziness of corruption-laden Goodluck Jonathan, he may persist to extend beyond 2015 the worst post-military years of the Nigerian life which began with Obasanjo in 1999.

It is not only the power of incumbency that could tilt the votes in his favor. There is always a difference between what people might consider as social media popularity and the reality. Sweden and in fact the rest of Europe provide classical examples.

Racists and extremists’ political parties are winning more votes and finding their ways to European parliament despite the upsurge of campaign against them on the social media.

So the question is why do they keep getting so many votes? In Sweden the racist party is the third biggest political party. The party may not be popular online but it garnered massive votes on election days.

A lot of people think that Buhari will sweep the Nigerian presidential elections. How many of those who support Buhari at rallies have the cards to vote? Many Nigerians like to attend political rallies just the same way they attend religious crusades.

Nigerians are very good lookers too. If taxes are collected for looking, a lot of money will flow in to the government coffers daily in Nigeria. But the money will be looted anyway.

If we assume that Nigeria conducts a free and fair election, the social media denigration of Jonathan does not necessarily imply that the coast is clear for Buhari.

But there are crises and mayhem already in Nigeria that may escalate and hinder a free and fair election. The success of Boko Haram is an additional catalyst to any chaos that may trail the 2015 elections in Nigeria.

The second scenario is that Buhari too can win the election. If the massive support on the virtual social media and at the physical rallies translates into non-pretense active participation, then Buhari may win.

In addition if all the PDP prostitute politicians who cross-carpeted to APC can successfully convince their followers to do the same and if they all have the voters’ cards to exercise their rights, then Buhari may get a land-slide victory, l think.

The third scenario is what many people don’t want to talk about because it is highly undesirable, but not impossible.

If Nigeria reached an unresolved stalemate, say, as an outcome of the interplay of inconclusive presidential elections, violence around the country and escalation of the Boko Haram war on Northern Nigeria, then the future of Nigeria may be decided following long-drawn battles that will take place both on the political and war fields.

I maintain that it is very risky that Nigeria entered into this election season with many prevalent problems unsolved and many questions unanswered. The dirt under the carpet is massive and stinking.

Nigerians must know that there was a reason for the peace accord that was signed in Abuja in week 3 of 2015 by the principal members of both APC and PDP. If anyone thought that it was ordinary eyes, they better go wash off their eyes to see the handwriting on the wall and the reason for the peace agreement.

Again, Buhari and Jonathan signed a peace agreement. Historically this is a very remarkable pact-that a peace agreement was signed before a war or in the absence of war.

Nigerians must hope that this peace accord spreads to everyone including Boko Haram before the election. It is in fact a good deal and it is better to use it proactively than to try to use it by hindsight.

In the meantime isn’t it about time the intra-and interparty uprisings in Rivers State are stemmed before they spread to other parts of the country? We know that Amaechi has been promised a number of ministerial slots and the elimination process by murder had started in earnest! Wike and Amaechi will need their own peace accord before the River burns!

Nigeria faces her biggest challenge ever since the end of the civil war because an election is planned amidst a long list of uncertainties and in the face of Islamic fundamentalists waging a war in the northern region.

When, and if the dusts ever settle, the bigger challenges will remain because the future of any nation is more important than where she is now.

There are outstanding problems that are partially independent of whoever becomes the ruler of Nigeria as I call them.

Summarily, as a matter of urgency, Nigeria needs to:

End the war in the north and disarm the terrorists in the south and elsewhere
Find a permanent political solution
Face the current economic reality from a global perspective

The political solution ace lies with the National Assembly all the time. Instead of doing their jobs, they have over the years allowed themselves to be overshadowed by calls for Sovereign National conferences and all kinds of ruses called CONFABs.

The Nigerian National Assembly has, for so long, neglected its role of debating the political structure of Nigeria and how to systematically remove or reduce the power concentrated at the center. This negligence reflects the evil nature of the extreme selfishness of Nigerian politicians.

The system works for their pockets, makes them billionaires and promotes their ineptitudes. The system that has destroyed virtually all important organs of governance, probity and accountability makes Nigeria probably the most corrupt country in the world.

As the National Assembly continues to ignore this role, corruption persists as the most organized activity in Nigeria.

Hence successive corrupt governments continue to institute or plan own convention and conference. Mr. Jonathan wasted a fortune from tax payers’ money on this recently. The real National Assembly must start to debate even if the debate outlives a certain government.

It will not matter how long Nigerians beat about the bush. One day in the future, they will be forced to discuss reasonably through the national assembly. If it becomes too late the third scenario highlighted above may be triggered.

Then they’ll again have to bring their representatives who will discuss and negotiate the future of Nigeria by force so that they can come forward with a functional system of government.

On the economy, let me remind Nigeria that the future of crude oil does not look bright. The world is looking and it is finding alternatives to fossil fuels including crude oil. The argument is to reduce the extraction and refinery of crude oil to the production of raw materials that are related to medicine and household needs.

So it means that the diversification of the Nigerian economy cannot wait.

Solving the political problems and allowing the different regions in Nigeria to plan their survival and economic future are some of the ingredients that can move the country forward as a true federation the way it was before the ugly coups of 1966.

Nigeria must make use of her honest historians and political scientists to show the proper road maps.

All the fools, nonentities and dunces running to politics solely for money making need to be stopped!

Apart from an effective military that is well trained and combatant ready, the removal of the excess power at the center is probably the other most effective check to the nonsensical ambitions of Boko Haram.

This suggested political option is also probably the most significant check that can remove violence/chaos that characterized the election campaign seasons. For if the power at the center is removed or reduced, the hassles for it will almost vanish.

Definitely functional law and judiciary systems play their unquestionable roles.

All that is needed to put Nigeria among the best countries in the world in the next half a century, which also includes eradication of corruption at all levels, cannot be discussed in one essay.

The people must be educated, live in manageable planned family, learn the civics of trust, co-existence, tolerance, selflessness, dignity of labor, patriotism, nation building and commitment to humanity and nature.

These virtues will avail much and their acquisitions are not dependent on religion or any remarkable political agreement.

aderounmu@gmail.com

It Was Not A Great Year

December 27, 2014 / Adeola / 1 Comment

When a president or a ruler knowingly acts against the constitution that he swore to defend and behold, he invariably burns the flag of the country and ought to be dismissed by law or by popular revolt the next day. The passivity of Nigerians is heavily condemnable. What a country!

It Was Not A Great Year

By Adeola Aderounmu

It’s been a great year is a very selfish 2014 expression made famous by a Facebook app and users. When I think about what Nigerians went through and endured-the spate of bombings, economic hardships and several other ills too numerous to mention-I realized that the slogan A Great Year is egoistic and can be misleading.

My recap of 2014 is here below.

I want to remember 2014 as the year that I put a meaning to the phrase the Nigerian syndrome.

The Nigerian syndrome is the condition in which Nigerians support their rulers and greedy politicians who have contributed tremendously to the demeaning of their living conditions.

It can also be describe as a condition where a crook, a corrupt ruler or a known criminal in government gets massive support from a group of die-hard followers who for personal gains and selfish reasons chose to ignore the negative impacts of the crimes committed.

2014 was the year that l continued to express my dismay at the criminalities displayed daily by government agencies and institutions across Nigeria. There are no consequences and there are no outrages to corruption and crimes even when perpetrated by the current indolent presidency.

Lack of patriotism, lack of dedication, absence of trust and a general bad attitude to work remain systemic in the Nigerian working environments. The one who is not willing to be bad or corrupt has almost no place in several working environments in Nigeria.

In 2014 I wrote about the worrying criminal tendencies of Nigerians in South Africa. It’s very hard to vouch for a Nigerian anywhere especially when they spend money that they cannot account for. In Nigeria it is a cool thing to have such funds. No need to explain your source of wealth to anyone.

In other countries, Nigerians are called criminals when they cannot legitimately account for their expensive lifestyles. In South Africa, the image of Nigeria is dented almost beyond repair. This is hurting to the good people who pursue their businesses and jobs legitimately.

Recently a number of video clips were released by an investigator who succeeded in clamping down Nigerian criminals in South East Asia. Those videos prove beyond doubts that there are Nigerians who are hell bent on destroying the image of Nigeria internationally. The videos provide evidence of Nigerians dealing in hard drugs while pretending to be pastors, tourists or students.

In the piece 50 yards of death I mourned the untimely deaths of 13 people in a boat mishap in Festac Town. It was an avoidable catastrophe. Man-made catastrophes and avoidable deaths are common in Nigeria. For several thousands of Nigerian families whose loved ones departed untimely and unnecessarily it was definitely not a great year. Water transportation across Nigeria needs to be upgraded with safety as the priority.

If you missed Mugabe’s and the Pakistani jokes about Nigeria, then you need to read the article titled The stupid jokes. Mugabe, the life president of Zimbabwe who seemed to have lost his minds took a swipe on Nigeria. Later on he was widely quoted as condemning his own party mixing it up with the opposition. Mugabe also senile-ly claimed that the opposition won the majority votes in the last election.

In 2014 I remembered some aspects of my childhood and all the dreams about professional football. In the heavily criticized The Boys From Festac article, I mentioned a few household names in Nigeria that emanated from Festac stony and sandy football fields and a few names that never went big. I was bombarded by emails and messages afterwards and my plan to write a sequel has not come to pass.

I wrote about a lost paradise for that was what happened to Nigeria. I recalled my mother told many stories of life in pre-and immediate post-independent Nigeria. The journeys by train, the jobs after education, the long walk at night and the peace and serenity that were characteristics of the olden days were never experienced by my jet-age, get rich quick lost generation.

These experiences of how life should mostly be which were taken away before l was born are now what millions of Nigerians have come to participate in in the western world. I will never forget how my mother described the old western Nigerian. Indeed by allowing mad people in power and by allowing evil to rise above good, Nigerians gave away a paradise and killed prematurely an emerging global power and giant.

In the article Terror And A Volatile Mix Of Blind Faiths, I expressed my concern about the way the Jonathan government succeeded in elevating a propagandist form of Christianity by promoting hatred and animosity between Christians and Muslims.

Jonathan’s romance with gangster arm-purchasing pastor Oritsejafor and a painting of the opposition as a jihadist movement were very unfortunate incidences. The APC was forced to produce a pastor as its Vice Presidential flag bearer. Nigerians are pitched against one another in the forthcoming doubtful elections still standing on tribal and religious pedestals.

If Jonathan and Jonathanians have the evidence that Buhari is a jihadist and that he is a co-sponsor of Boko Haram as opposed to what the assassinated General Azizi postulated-that PDP is the backbone of Boko Haram, then what are the barriers or hindrances stopping the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Buhari? What roles do the PDP, the APC and the rotten northern elites have in the emergence and success of Boko Haram? The history books will be loaded when this season of madness is over.

The roles of religious organizations in the demeaning of the quality of Nigerian life are inestimable. They promote false hope as the country runs deeper in trouble waters. The political wills of Nigerians were watered down by reassuring blind faiths. The political and religious rulers are stealing and the citizens are praying. To pray is no harm but to act wisely is more desirable.

In 2014 the exclusive ignorance of Jonathan was elaborated on many fronts. Just like the wicked late Umaru Dikko expected Nigerians to eat from the dustbin to confirm the spread of poverty in the land Mr. Jonathan used the number of Nigerians appearing on Forbes list to indicate that Nigerians are not poverty-ridden.

The WEF conference in Nigeria in the wake of incessant terrorists’ attacks in Northern Nigeria and Abuja was an unwelcome development for many because the security agents are keen on protecting the men in power while the ordinary people are roasted like chickens in regular bombings and suicide attacks. The above were highlighted in one of the several articles l published in 2014.

2014 is not a great year. The politicians are getting away with all their loots and reckless spending. The chief ruler Mr. Jonathan is getting away with several missing funds and most recently with more than 21 billion naira raised on his behalf even against the constitution of the country.

When a president or a ruler knowingly acts against the constitution that he swore to defend and behold, he invariably burns the flag of the country and ought to be dismissed by law or by popular revolt the next day. The passivity of the populace is heavily condemnable. What a country!

In 2014 Nigeria the Federal Ministry of Finance oversaw the emptying of the Nigerian treasury and reserves. The department of Petroleum Resources-NNPC-is managing criminals called oil marketers. They are stealing and looting together in an unending ecstatic orgy of subsidy. This year is not a great year; criminals are getting away as usual and a drug baron just wrote a book of justification.

The latter part of 2014 marked a turn in the expectations of many Nigerian. Even those who funnily supported Jonathan and not the PDP in 2011 are having a rethink. There are 2 main political contenders to the throne of unitary head in Nigeria.

But the issue is beyond that. Irrespective of who wins a presidential election in Nigeria, the position makes a person an automatic dictator. It is a post that makes monsters out of ordinary men and killers out of sheep.

One day it will become popular again in Nigeria that a unitary head is not a recipe for the form of democracy that Nigerians need. It is taking so long to get this message across, but it will come through.

The turn of expectations in 2015 might end up being a false hope. There was hope in 1993: it was quenched by a criminal called Babangida who did the bids of the cabal at the expense of Nigerians.

In 1999, there was hope. It became hopelessness when PDP seized power and continue to reign till date with impunity. In a country where there are no consequences for criminals in politics, there will be no end to impunity. In the country where the people pray and remain passive, there will be no light in the tunnel. It will be darkness at the end of it.

As a result of over 50 years of injustice some are crying while some are celebrating. Some are working, some are just stealing. Some are hoping and some are carting away the treasuries of the land.

For some, the system is perfect because it satisfies their desires to remain rich like their criminal parents and family members, they’ll give anything to keep the remaining 170m in chains. It is good for some because of the hope of being appointed co-looters.

In 2015 Nigerians can choose to allow these mad scenarios to progress or they can put an outright stop to it. They can create light at the end of a dark tunnel.

To think that this will depend on the winners of the doubtful 2015 general elections is a fairytale taken too far. For in the PDP, we have known criminals and treasury looters.

In the APC the story is similar. The party harbors well known criminals and self-enrichment specialists. I always say Nigerians have to choose between greater and lesser evil and that is an unfortunate dilemma.

I maintain that Nigerians need a political solution. They need a willingness to rid once and for all time all the bad eggs and the undesirable elements in the land. The level of corruption and nepotism in the land is beyond the redemption capabilities of a single political party or one man.

Summarily as it has been for as long as these wasted and lost generations can remember, 2014 will also go down as the year when many things were swept under the carpets. Name any political or economic crime against humanity and you will find it under the rug called Nigeria 2014.

Majority of Nigerians will end 2014 at different churches and mosques. They will be urged at the annual rituals called vigils to let go of the past and face the future. But that is an annual mistake, it is politically wrong.

2014 was not a great year.

A great year might come to Nigeria if all the people come together, close down the country and get rid of all political criminals and their associates once and for all. The sacrifices will be huge and the future will be great for it.

In 2015 Nigerians need to remember the errors of the past so they can have a platform to shape a politically correct present. The plan for the future must be holistic so that the unborn generations can thrive and bless their ancestors.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Foolish Expectations

December 7, 2014December 7, 2014 / Adeola / Leave a comment

Mr. Robert Marley must be flabbergasted in his grave. There is a place where you can fool all the people all the time by repeating the same jingles every four years and make them have the same expectations of a better life. It must be foolish expectations waiting for good to emerge from evil.

Foolish Expectations

By Adeola Aderounmu

Adeola Aderounmu

I have a friend who strongly believes that ordinary Nigerians who are waiting for Nigeria to improve politically and economically will grow old (or not) and die while waiting.

This friend of mine is one of the several millions of Nigerians who discuss about Nigeria almost every day. Some of us go the extra mile to put our thoughts and arguments into words. That is why we are able to blog regularly or opine our thoughts weekly.

Nigeria is approaching an election year and that makes the discussion about election the hottest for now.

The reasons why Nigeria will not improve politically have not been tackled because Nigeria remains a “geographical prize” presently chased by several crooks and political scavengers grouped mainly into two factions-APC and PDP.

In the past the prize has been chased and won under different dispensations. In politics it is the politicians and their army of sycophants who win the prize, steal the monies in the treasuries and disappear into thin air.

Under military rule, it is the soldiers who steal the monies in the treasuries and carried out counter coups to take turns in looting the treasuries.

Irrespective of the dispensations, the criminals have mostly gotten away with the proceeds of the treasuries, and to this day they continue to live large. Some died leaving billions of dollars of Nigerian money in foreign accounts/countries. There is no limit to stupidity in that sense.

An interesting dimension is the persistent of some people in the Nigerian political scene. It’s not all the crooks who disappear. It is amazing how long some of them have continued to carry out their nefarious activities while the people and the short arm of the law look away.

One of the most shocking aspects of the Nigerian life is the way the people condemn the rulers and the politicians despite the fact that they know that they were criminals before they were selected or bundled into important national and political positions.

In Nigeria the knowledge that a fellow has criminal cases or is incompetent are not deterrent factors to eventual elevation in public life or politics.

For the ones who became criminals while in office Nigerians have not find the way to boot them away or send them to prisons. Instead Nigerians develop a weird follow-follow Nigerian syndrome that is built on nepotism, blind faith and waiting for my turn to chop.

There are several examples that cut across the two major political parties, and beyond.

There are too many examples from the past and the present. The future seemed already awash with dubious characters waiting in line. The Nigerian society continues to thrive on systemic falsehood, alignment with bogus promises and foolish expectations.

This is a repetition. One criminal called James was sentenced in a Nigerian court. He later became a governor and what happened next is history. He raped the state and looted it blind. It took a London court to confirm to the foolish people of his state that they had a criminal ruling them!

This type of obvious stupidity-allowing criminals and extremely bad people to rule and dictate the policies- is spread across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

Nigerians know that occupiers of government houses across the land are not true to their promises and they rank them in order of their corruption tendencies instead of forcing the law to take its course.

There are millions of Nigeria who knew that a former governor in Bayelsa and his wife have been stealing directly and through couriers while ruling the state. They even know the criminal before that called Alams.

Yet when Obasanjo brought Jonathan to the national front to become one of the rulers of Nigeria, Nigerians accepted him. It is not as if Obasanjo is a saint but majority of Nigerians canonized him. It’s part of the foolishness, to raise one evil above the other instead of total condemnation of such in public offices.

Jonathan who never did anything tangible in Bayelsa continued to fool Nigerians 6 years on. His romance with all kinds of criminals-or their offspring attests to the nature of his true personality.

Mr. Robert Marley must be flabbergasted in his grave. There is a place where you can fool all the people all the time by repeating the same jingles every four years and make them have the same expectations of a better life. It must be foolish expectations expecting good to emerge from evil.

I remember watching the campaign trails of Jonathan versus Atiku during my visit to Lagos, Western Nigeria in 2010. I remember the walk down the streets in Iyana Ipaja, Festac Town and some parts of Amuwo Odofin. I can’t forget the disconnection between the people ruling and the people being ruled. It was two worlds apart.

The people who should be in prisons for crimes against Nigeria and Nigerians are always the ones on the campaign trails every 4 years. They are here again. Amazing!

The system is not right.

In 2014 Nigerians expected Jonathan to have solved their problems despite knowing his background as lazy, corrupt, feeble, and lacking courage. They know there is no way his wife would have been stealing so much money if he was not providing them from the Bayelsa state coffers. How much money has been stolen from the Nigerian treasury under Mr. Jonathan?

Since the return of civil rule and the virtual exit of the gangsters in uniform, several politicians and soldiers have been smiling to the bank and building businesses and empires by stealing public funds. Many of them have been receiving contract sums for work they never did. Nigeria’s most notorious ghost worker lives in Aso Rock.

In Lagos State it appears that everything is in the hands of Mr. Tinubu. Many have argued that this is necessary to provide a formidable opposition for the ruling party. Really?

So, Nigerians will get rid of crooks in Aso Rock by supporting crooks in the opposition parties. The people who treat symptoms rather than cure the disease won’t stop praying for miracles. This cycle is programmed to exist for as long as Nigeria exists.

I ponder. So Nigerians will for as long as they exist continue to choose between different forms of evil. So there will be no fresh start someday in Rivers, in Ekiti, in Adamawa, in Kogi, in Bayelsa, in Anambra and everywhere.

My friend does not claim to be a prophet but on this one, he is on point. If this is the mindset of a typical or an average Nigerian then the ordinary people will grow and die waiting for miracles in Nigeria. Their life time will be defined by complete hopelessness.

It is sad. Despite all the knowledge about what is wrong with Nigerian politics, Nigerians will follow-follow and repeat the same process in 2015.

Afterwards they will start to oppose and counter oppose and ask for a new fake change especially on the social networks.

Why can’t Nigerians soft pedal on elections and clean the system inside-out?

What are Nigerians going to do to stop politicians from stealing? What are they doing to stop the wastages at the federal execu-thieves level? What are they doing to stop the representa-thieves and legis-looters?

What are they doing to put a final stop to crimes in all the governors’ offices across the land? What are they going to do to ensure that elections become meaningful and that their votes really count?

How long do Nigerians intend to go before arriving at a point where Ghana-must go bags will not dictate the outcomes of (s)elections?

How do they intend to arrive at a point where the temporary condition of their stomachs is not a reference for thugs turned politicians?

How do they want to rebuild electoral principles/manifestos around education, health, jobs, social welfare, social justice and the protection of life and property? How?

I remember writing an article arguing that the 2011 elections should now hold until a political solution is adopted. I knew fully well that Nigerians were heading to the polls to select fraudsters. In 2015, the same process of selecting fraudsters will take place. The cycle of idiocy will be nourished.

The urgency of seeking political solutions has never been more critical than now when many things have already fallen apart in different regions. The worst hit is the N-Eastern axis under the control of local and foreign terrorists.

Nigerians should be tired of their rulers.

They need to elect leaders amongst them who will lead them in organizing and creating regional societies that will suit their goals and pursuits. This has been a mission impossible, and it is even sadder.

In 2018 slash 2019, people will be shouting, we told you not to vote for Jonathan-he is a liar. We warned you about Buhari-he is a dictator. We told you Atiku stole from the custom department.

We told you we want to control our resources. We told you the government was Boko Haram. We told you the oppositions were behind Boko Haram. We don’t have electricity. My children can’t go to school. Schools are for the rich. I have no job and no social security. There is serious problem of insecurity. The roads are bad. And so on.

My friend will still be right then because the system is just not working for the ordinary people. It was established out of oppression and oppression of the ordinary people will sustain it.

Nations or countries that prosper were mostly built on honesty, trust, patriotism, solidarity, probity, accountability, sincere promises, wise expectations and the pursuits of the common-good of all.

All the above virtues are missing in Nigeria. There will never be progress where there is no trust.

Majority of the citizens of any nation must cultivate these virtues. It must be forced down their throats through proper education or enlightenment campaigns.

In addition to integrity, functional institutions and a return to a system of government that works, these virtues are the hope of a brighter day for all the nations/regions entangled in non-functional unitary Nigeria.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Daybreak 2015

November 23, 2014November 23, 2014 / Adeola / Leave a comment

Mr. Abati’s call to stone corrupt rulers was re-echoed recently by Mr. Amaechi. When the people start, both callers will receive massive doses of stones and that makes it very interesting

Daybreak 2015

By Adeola Aderounmu

Adeola Aderounmu

As week 47 of 2014 went by, we saw traces of what can escalate across the country in 2015.

The redemption of these aggregates clumped into one country can still be negotiated before it is too late. It is late when negotiations are no longer possible because of the total breakdown of law and order.

Things are happening, and very fast too.

Nigeria still holds together because of that attraction at the center where the milk is thick. It is holding together because across all the state houses in Nigeria there are still billions of nairas that can be be looted or carted away.

In 2011 it was easy to predict that 1999-2015 will be among the worst years of the Nigerian life. In that essay I wrote about the 4 wasteful years ahead of Nigeria. It is not as if all the years since 1960 have not been wasteful enough.

As 2014 draws to a classical closure Nigerians are faced with what appears like the greatest suspense of their lives since 1999 when the country was returned to pseudo-democracy.

It is so bad that one group is already chanting the songs of a parallel national government. But they will first show the people the evidence of a man who eats the coconut that has been broken on his head.

Those who hope to win from the catastrophe in Nigeria and those who hope to fight the power that be don’t even know yet what daybreak 2015 holds.

It appears that the things that Nigeria has been running away from for too long may catch up with her in 2015. May be…

Nigeria and Nigerians need a political solution.

The need to restructure the geography of Nigeria in a way that is devoid of political selfishness and greed has been neglected for too long.

Rather than solve the problems relating to autonomy, resource control or even regional government, the selfish central governments (military and civilians) always ended up dividing or approving the creation of states after states using parameters that are devoid of common sense and logic.

Along with all the problems of corruption, improbity, impunity and general executive recklessness, the creation and existence of non-viable states in Nigeria has also contributed to the problems of Nigeria.

Apart from tribal and even religious conflicts, the creations of non-viable states have contributed to the slow economic growth of Nigeria. The over-reliance on the sustenance of the country on petroleum products has always been a recipe for disaster.

Rather than solve the problems, the foolishness of political rulers in Nigeria also led to the so-called federal character. Merit, common sense and integrity were thrown out of the windows.

All kinds of foolish people, nonentities and incredibly bad characters have contributed to the destruction of public institutions in Nigeria in what they called federal character. These characters came from everywhere in Nigeria and from all kinds of tribes and political parties.

The need for a political solution cannot wait any longer. The government also neglected her duties of protecting human lives. It is better to use the available institutions of governance, while the opportunity lasts to settle political problems.

When the members of the House of Representatives finish jumping all the fences and walls in Abuja, it may be too late to find a political situation.

Another problem that Nigeria has neglected for so long is the issue of conducting credible elections.

Elections in Nigeria have always been a charade that reduces the collective intelligence of Nigerians. The way elections are conducted in Nigeria invariably implies that nobody in Nigeria can add 3+4 and get 7. It’s like Nigerians need a double dose of common sense.

We have seen Nigerian governors proving that 17 people can be majority and 19 people minority. We now see in Ekiti where 7 people can be more than 19 people. Is this political dyslexia or an outright demonstration of political necrosis? Is Fayose trying to make a new statement: that everybody in Ekiti is daft? This is a reflection of a national disgrace since 1959 when Nigerians lost their ability to count and add peacefully.

Nigeria is imitating foreign democracies and that is what makes it very unreal. When the legislators are meeting in the governors’ offices or when the legislators receive cars or expensive mobile gadgets as gifts from the governors, what kind of nonsense democracy is that? It doesn’t make sense at all and it is sustainable because everybody is a thief, or waiting to be one.

This is so regular in Nigeria that political office holders spend the people’s monies like criminals without any repercussions.

These anomalies are possible because over the years almost all political office holders have rigged their ways into power. Criminals have used force and ill-gotten money to facilitate their emergence to political stardom.

When these atrocities are added to impunity, lack of justice and sadly a followership that is willing along the evil trends, it’s not hard to see why elections remain a charade. I must have told the story of how cutlasses and weapons are used to guard “thumbing” centers in the Niger Delta. It is the same in many states in Nigeria. The most violent party usually wins overall. They tell us INEC counted….nonsense!

It is against these backgrounds that Mr. Amaechi and his gang warned that the APC will form a parallel government in 2015. He is aware of the situation and how governments have changed hands over the years in the Niger Delta and elsewhere in Nigeria. He is a beneficiary of this madness, as his former friend too Mr. Jonathan. Do I need to elaborate?

The fear of Daybreak 2015 is turning out to be a nightmare for both APC and PDP. To form a convincing national government by the PDD or a dreamland parallel government by the APC will rest on the people of Nigeria.

It will depend on whether impunity is still allowed at that time. It will depend on whether the politicians can look back at their collective foolishness and selfishness at the same time that the people will look back at their resilience threshold and say, there was a country.

For the things that hold Nigeria together can as well end the fake union. We are talking about one of the most corrupt countries in the world where the present lazy ruler had the audacity to state that stealing is not corruption.

The sustenance of Nigeria despite all her ills is partly due to the corruption that envelope all participants in politics and even public (civil) services. Corruption may tear Nigeria apart as the race to the treasuries continues to heat the polity.

This corruption is used to massage the egos of the elites who think they have Nigerians in the palm of their hands. To a large extent, they do.

For example, the global price of oil dropped in recent weeks. The prices did not fall in Nigeria, one of the several pointers to the crimes committed against the people daily. Nobody is even complaining and the government keeps ranting about subsidy.

By stating that subsidies will be removed, Nigerian economic magicians are saying be ready for harder times ahead. What will happen if the subsidy is removed in 2015? Will the people stay quiet? Can life in Nigeria be bitchier?

Many states in Nigeria are parasitic. They cannot exist without the so-called monthly allocation. The resources locked up in some of them remain largely untapped. When tapped, one criminal minister and some local stakeholders connive with international criminals mainly from China and cart away the resources, almost free of charge!

Now the states that are productive and enterprising will suffer austerity measures like the parasitic states because of the revenue formula system. In general the common people will groan more everywhere.

The political rivalry between APC and PDP is extremely unhealthy. It may add some hot spice to a country already on a free fall. What happened this week alone is a dress rehearsal for what the weeks ahead may look like. Daybreak 2015 will not be an ordinary one.

Insecurity is rife, record high. The BH war is ongoing. Lawmakers are jumping fences and running helter-skelter. The police are coming. The senate is confused. The executive is desperate. The governors are yelling at each other for crimes they have in common. The deputies have been estranged for long. Austerity measures of the Shagari regime have re-entered officially.

Many things are wrong. Nigeria enters an unpleasant national phase of both political and economic necroses.

It is neither safe nor advisable for any nation or country to head to an election year with so many problems unresolved or swept under a rug that is already stinking. The uncertainties with Nigeria are uncountable.

I think Nigerian rulers are taking a huge risk that may finally consume them. It was about time.

If the prices of petroleum products continue to fall in the global market, austerity measures will add to the sufferings of Nigerians. Resilience is overspent. Threshold record is broken.

There is always a constant alternative to political madness.

Examples Abound from Africa and worldwide.

On two separate occasions Nigerians have been urged to stone their rulers. Some called it a revolution.

Mr. Abati’s call was re-echoed recently by Mr. Amaechi. When the people start, both callers will receive massive doses of stones and that makes it very interesting.

If Nigerians can spare a season and pretend to love one another, they will unite; heed these calls and stone all the criminals in Aso-rock and all the government houses in Nigeria.

If the change turns out genuine, if patriotism takes over greed and selfishness, that season of pretense might orchestrate the freedom that has eluded the people in this geographical clump for more than 100 years.

aderounmu@gmail.com