Nigeria

Echoes Of Idiaraba

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

I was born after the civil war.

When l was growing up and in my formative years there was no one-teachers, counsellors or psychologists-who told us the reasons for the things that happened in northern Nigeria. Many of those things were unheard of or forbidden in western Nigeria.

The massacres, the beheading and the bloodletting just happened and became part of my/our history.

The other stories from the north like getting married to children as young as 8 years old blew my mind away forever!

Echoes Of Idi-Araba

By Adeola Aderounmu

Adeola_March

Intro

When micro-ethnic wars break out in Nigeria, they are sometimes quickly subdued and swept under the carpet.

That (being swept under the carpet) is going to be the fate of the recent micro-ethnic war at Mile 12 in Ikorudu, Lagos.

The Nigerian government is a master of this game-pretending as if everything is alright at the surface until the next riot or violence breaks out. The response will be the same-quench it and sweep it under the carpet.

Nigeria remains a volatile country because successive government continues to push forward the days of reckoning-that-is when to actually sit down and discuss a viable and long-lasting political solution regarding the colonial debacle called Nigeria.

We have come to the realisation that Nigeria, though with the potentials of a giant, ironically remains an under-developed country as a result of several factors, not least the dearth of leadership at the center and across the states.

 

The Northern Syndrome

My phobia of the north (of Nigeria) developed when l was still in my early teenage years. Now, with the established terrorism in the north (that may soon spread to other places) and recent news of filtering in, in different forms and shades, my phobia may be incurable.

It’s sad but it’s true.

This is not the first time l’m expressing my fear and phobia of the north.

Sometimes people take your experiences and life stories with a pinch of salt. They even argue and bet that you’ll change your mind as if they are you.

The trauma of the teenage years lingers. I may go through my life cycle without ever steeping my foot on the northern part of Nigeria.

When l was growing up and in my formative years there was no one-teachers, counsellors or psychologists-who told us the reasons for the things that happened in northern Nigeria.

Many of those things were unheard of or forbidden in western Nigeria.

Did we even have counsellors or psychologists? Where were they?

The massacres, the beheading and the bloodletting just happened and became part of our history.

The other stories from the north like getting married to children as young as 8 years old blew my mind away forever!

 

The Echoes of Idiaraba

l learnt about the aberration in Yorubaland. I mean, I became more confused when several of the riots in western Nigeria were propelled by disagreements between the men from the north and local indigenes. The question of one Nigeria was laid to rest several decades ago.

So when l was studying at the postgraduate level at the College of Medicine in ldiaraba, there were some days I looked over my shoulders because of the tension between the indigenes and the men from the north or beyond the north. We found out later that Chad and Niger also invaded western Nigeria.

Sometimes l felt that the gods were with me because l’d been home when the massacres took place. But what about those whose lives were taken away just as if one was blowing up fumes from cigarettes?

The episodes have just been repeated at Mile 12, with precision!

When l served in lbadan, there were some places l never dared to disembark from the bus to even look around because my traumatic mind told me that l could be stabbed to death by the herdsmen or a collection of rioters with mixed identities.

Such was the height of my phobia.

For me, as a young boy, and then a young student, the echoes of Idiaraba are the echoes of northern Nigeria and they still make me sick.

I am aware of the pockets of violence even amongst indigenes or local gangs. They just added to the heap of confusion in the lives of an innocent teenage mind.

Sometimes l think about the post-civil war Nigeria and all the unhealed wounds. These thoughts diminish my hope for Nigeria. I am convinced that the ever-fresh Biafra struggles are closely tied to unfinished businesses.

Indeed in my adulthood l have learnt about the unusual constellation of Northern Nigeria but too sad that that the constellation won’t drive away the fears and trauma. It may be too late to help me. I don’t know.

In fairness, considering that the only place where l feel safe-western Nigeria-is under siege from time to time from herdsmen and the foreigners who have failed to respect, revere or reciprocate the hospitality of the locals/indigenes, my trauma can still be aggravated.

One can argue from now to eternity about the underlying factors that brought me to this dilemma. We can sweep issues under the carpets. We can take sides and apportion blame.

Aren’t we expert in these areas?

Our common vision reveals to us what is on the surface. They are mis-governance, poverty, ignorance, deprivation, lack of education and sometimes mis-education of the minds. The list can be grown.

Still reappearing below the surface is the complete failure of nearly all the regimes and governments of Nigeria. There also lie the fundamental questions of the political and physiological structures of Nigeria.

The failure of “governance and politics” in Nigeria is monumental!

What next?

The echoes of Idiaraba are not going to leave Nigeria soon. They reverberate with different tones along the landscape.

They resonate from Idiaraba, to Sabongarri, to Mile 12, to Sabo and everywhere across the country.

No. they won’t leave soon.

In some places these echoes are already the drums and sounds of terrorism and war.

With the drastic curtailing of the Mile 12 episode, the day of the next massacre just got pushed forward.

The usual politics may one day send Nigeria to her ultimate demise. It will be a sad day for Africa, for humanity.

The advocates of regional government or self-determination are not totally wrong. Nigeria needs a lasting and permanent political solution.

The other day, Nigeria’s almost foreign-based president, Mr. Buhari was rooting for the Palestinian agenda. I don’t know if that is contradiction or pragmatism.

One who does not propose a referendum for the Biafra state should not support the Palestinian agenda.

Anyway, there was a road Nigeria did not take. Hence we will never be able to evaluate the roles that proper governance and good leadership could have played in Nigeria as it is today.

We will not be able to answer the question: had Nigerian been governed by sensible people and responsible government, where would the country be today?

Could we have moved beyond ethnic massacres? Could we have moved beyond racial profiling within the country? Could we have relegated imported religious beliefs and local cultural differences to the background in favour of humanity and common sense?

We will never know the answers because up to this day in 2016 Nigeria is ruled by greedy, selfish, myopic and extremely wicked souls.

Nigeria is led by politicians who will acquire the latest cars in the middle of the worst economic situation in the country’s history.

Call them fools, call them idiots, call them what you like, they don’t care anymore. The redemption point got exited long, long time ago!

They’ll even loot more when you say stop. They’ll build more houses and tell you to live, fight one another and die on the streets, you wretched citizens!

I don’t know who to turn to.

But l’ll try the Lagos state government and the custodians of western Nigeria: please take major proactive steps to ensure the safety of lives and property of all the citizens of Nigeria living in your domain.

Some short films emanating from the recent micro-ethnic wars revealed a lot about the extremely low standard of living and poverty in that part of Lagos.

Please do what you can to provide more employment opportunities, basic education, basic housing, basic infrastructure, possibilities for sport and other extra-curricular activities. They are urgent steps that could avail much.

Don’t forget that the farm settlement schemes will be a big boost for western Nigeria! Please start and develop it in earnest, or boost the existing ones, both private and public.

Youth empowerment, community-based mentorship and leadership programs should not be overlooked.

In our hope and dream of a better Nigeria based on integrated regionalism and a greater Africa the peaceful coexistence of the people will play a pivotal role.

Maybe if the right leadership comes someday, the future generation will radiate the ancient glory of regionally integrated Africa.

aderounmu@gmail.com

 

We Can’t Go On Like This

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

The silence of the Nigerian government on the current economic woes and the extreme rise in the cost of living is too loud.

Mr. Buhari must address the nation and tell the people how much longer they have to hold on. He and the APC mandate must know that ordinary people live in this country too-more than 100m-and they are suffering.

We Can’t Go On Like This

By Adeola Aderounmu

Yes, change is gradual. I know.

However in Nigeria’s case, we are not experiencing change in the positive directions. We need to talk about this and the time is now. Everything is getting costlier by the day and life is unbearable. The cost of goods and services are shooting up astronomically daily.

Cost of Living_Nigeria

The cost of living in Nigeria is increasing astronomically daily.                             (c) Image by Adeola Aderounmu, 2016

 

Yes, l know the government is fighting a lopsided-war on corruption where only the PDP stalwarts are criminals. I don’t need anyone to remind me of that. I don’t need anyone to remind me that suddenly, everything is right about the APC and wrong about the PDP.

I don’t need a reminder that suddenly all the criminals in the APC fold are now saints until l can prove their indictments. So sorrowful actually, that it depends on me and not the EFCC, or the police or the judiciary-the institutions that have been unleashed on the opposition and PDP contractors.

But my father always said what is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

It is so sad that the APC-Buhari mandate took over power without a clear economic blueprint. Before the emergence of the APC-Buhari mandate, it was clear that the Nigerian economy was already collapsing.

It was clear that the politicians regardless of their party affiliation, have been looting the various states and national treasury on an unprecedented scale. It was clear that the corrupt former Minister of Finance and the incompetent governor of Central Bank have doled out funds and monies like Santa Claus.

Before the emergence of the Buhari-APC mandate, it was clear that Goodluck Jonathan has been committing economic and war crimes against Nigerians through his lack of leadership and pure weakness of mind.

Before the emergence of the APC-Buhari mandate, the rest of the world has made it clear that oil prices will continue to fall for a long time to come as inventions and innovations continue to provide alternative to crude oil.

Cars for example are driven by cleaner forms of energy including electricity in many parts of the world. Solar energy use is on the rise even in countries with long winter seasons and shorter days.

The world is changing and moving ahead. The Buhari-APC mandate must be informed about global perspectives and where the world is heading. Crude oil may not be part of the future.

When the APC was on the campaign trail, it did not roll out economic recovery plans and achievable people-oriented palliatives that will cushion the approaching hardship both on the short- and long-term.

Rather the party was busy dishing out sugar-coated promises as if crude oil was going to sell for 200 dollars per barrel in 2016.

It will soon be one year since the Buhari-APC mandate took over government and the most constant thing they have emphasized is that all the problems in Nigeria today are to be blamed on the PDP and Jonathan.

Indeed, the PDP, Goodluck Jonathan as a bad leader and definitely the APC are all accomplices in the problems facing Nigeria.

I don’t understand how anyone can actually sieve out the roles played by the APC politicians since 1999. Are the APC states or APC politicians not part of Nigeria? Is the Nigerian National Assembly divided into PDP and APC divisions?

The bulk can stop at the desk of the PDP between 1999 to 2015. But it was merry go-round for all Nigerian politicians and for the real and fake government contractors.

I did not envisage that a new regime will emerge in 2015 without the vision of what it would take to fix or address the problems. I expected a mandate with several tools, one that can fight corruption totally and address economic and political issues plaguing Nigeria.

I still cannot believe that it took Buhari-APC mandate about 6 months to establish a government full of old, overused politicians.

I did not know that Buhari-APC mandate will do exactly what the PDP government perfected for 15 years of misrule, which is to use political positions and ministerial appointments to pay back for funds invested in campaigns. I thought there would be a change.

I didn’t know that those who want change in the right direction will be called wailing wailers by the press secretary to Buhari. It’s hard to believe that the APC mandate is shooting down all voices of oppositions, even of those that propelled them to power.

The Buhari-APC mandate and all future governments in Nigeria must know that no matter what happens, some incorruptible social commentators will always be there. They will bear the burdens of the voiceless no matter who captures Abuja or the Nigerian states. So start sucking it up and get to work.

If you don’t know, last week a packet of Indomie now sells for N1500. But those who feed themselves illegally with taxpayers money using the federal budget as a tool of stealing don’t feel the economic pains.

Bread_Naija

The price of this bread went from N200 to N250 within the last few days. It may increase further considering the situation in Nigeria and the poor value of the Naira.

Unleash your internet E-rats on us when we tell you that we know that you are fighting a lopsided war on corruption but you have refused to tell us what you are doing about the price of sardine that has gone up by almost 200% in the last one month.

The Buhari-APC mandate need to send people out to the market where we buy our stuffs.

Go to the market and have a feel of what ordinary Nigerians are facing or going through.

For how long will this hardship continue?

In Nigeria whatever has gone up does not ever come down again. With a salary that has refused to grow, this is a dilemma. With a minimum wage of N18 000, it is a hopeless situation.

What we are telling you is that Nigeria is collapsing, the economy is bad. Stop blaming PDP or Jonathan. Get to work instead.

Mr. Buhari for the upteempth time will rather address Nigerians from abroad than from his office in Abuja.

For me, this is one of the greatest mysteries with the Buhari-APC mandate so far. Buhari did not talk or address Nigerians adequately during his campaign. One year later, he is still not talking to Nigerians.

An arrangee media-chat is not the way to go.

I am now sure that something is wrong somewhere. This time Mr. Buhari had to fly to Kenya to make promises of cleaning up the Niger Delta. Before then, it was from the UAE, US and the UK.

Can l predict that the next time Mr. Buhari talks to Nigerians, he will be outside of Abuja? Very strange.

This is my assignment for Mr. Buhari. In the next few days, he should stand or sit side by side the Minister of Finance and perhaps one or two economic gurus from the Central Bank or from Nigerian foremost economic institutions and make a joint public address.

What is going on? When will this end? Where is the change?

We can’t continue like this and the silence itself is too loud.

The silence can also means clueless.

The issues are clear. The problems are obvious.

So, they need to tell us the plans to bring us out of these woes that we continue to pay for even through higher taxes and increase in the price of electricity that is not yet available.

What measures are in place to ensure that the cost of goods and services do not continue to escalate in the face of the misfortune that continue to befall our dear Naira?

What measures are in place that the minimum wage or the regular salaries received by workers do not become useless in the face of continuous rise in the cost of goods and services?

For the hardworking civil servant who has planned to build his modest home with his N5m savings, what are his chances now that his budget has gone up to N15m because of the dwindling fortune of the Naira?

The cost of a plate of rice has gone up. The cost of transportation is up. The cost of living generally is set for the sky.

What are the hopes for Nigerians today?

I can raise a thousand questions on the present fate of the Nigerian worker, the unemployed, children, the elderly and the hopeless across the country.

These are the people that Buhari-APC mandate should be addressing, the issues and the problems that they face.

If the Buhari-APC government continue to blame the PDP without addressing the problems or issues, how does that help the common, ordinary people?

Again, we agree that Jonathan-PDP mandate destroyed Nigeria. Thanks for the information. What are the plans now?

The Buhari-APC mandate must thank the Nigerian resiliency at a time like this. I don’t know if it can go on forever. For we have seen changes in regimes that occured in the twinkle of an eye through mass revolts even in places where government gave hopes to the people.

In Nigeria, no one has addressed the country about a future that is hopeful. No plans, no visions! We just dey carry go as if nothing happen or nothing dey happen. Na wa o

But enough is enough!

Mr. Buhari must addres the nation and tell the people how much longer they have to hold on. He and the APC mandate must know that ordinary people live in this country-more than 100m and they are suffering.

In the short term, all the recovered and returned loots must be heavily invested on the people in such a way as to provide reprieve for the current suffering staring at them daily. Transport, cost of goods and commondities, health issues just to mention three need to be addressed.

On the long term, Nigeria must reach that point as quickly as possible where all the regions and states are productive and contributing massively to the earnings of the country. Nigeria and Nigerians must act as if the oil is finished.

It’s probably time to start cleaning up the pollution in the delta as rightly mentioned by Mr. Buhari in Kenya. Clean the place and let everybody go home. It will take 50-60 years l learnt.

A corrupt-free government, one that is steered from the regions is imperative for Nigeria.

Patriotic citizens who are dedicated to country and humanity are elements of nation building. The optimal utilization of the available human resources will avail much.

A broader economic agenda should cover agricultural export, investment in science, education and medicine. It should include national exploration and appropriate utilization of Nigeria’s mineral deposits scattered everywhere in the land.

President Buhari and Nigeria’s economic and financial gurus must present in earnest a comprehensive and doable blueprint for Nigeria’s economic recovery.

Enough of the silence.

We are waiting!

aderounmu@gmail.com

 

War On Corruption, Biafra And The Untrue Claim Of Igbo Marginalisation (Part 1 of 3)

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

For historically conscious Nigerians, Biafra connotes war, mass starvation and death. However, many Nigerians are afflicted with Alzheimer, a disease that robs its victims of their memories to learn from the past and present

War On Corruption, Biafra And The Untrue Claim Of Igbo Marginalisation

By Salimonu Kadiri (Guest Writer on Thy Glory O’ Nigeria and The Nigeria Village Square)

Mr Salimonu Kadiri

Mr Salimonu Kadiri

For Nigerians, every day is first of April in which they are either fooling someone or someone is fooling them. For Nigerians, December is a month of hypocrites and as usual Nigerians join the rest of the world in wishing one another happy Christmas and prosperous New Year even when in reality every celebrated Christmas and New Year is less happy and less prosperous in ascending order.

Nigerian hypocrites carry their religions on foreheads but their behaviours are inversely proportional to Godliness. They shout the name of God every now and then but act satanically.

In Nigeria, roads are simply non-existing, hospitals have become morgues, schools have crumbled, electricity is epileptic, pipe borne water is away on permanent leave, the streets are filled with filth, dead animals and sometimes human corpses because politicians and civil servants, apart from collecting their salaries and fringe benefits, have stolen monies appropriated for providing essential commodities for Nigerians.

The sixteen years rule of PDP led to so much head ache for Nigerians that they decided to take APC as a remedy at the March 28, 2015, Federal elections in Nigeria. That was the first time a government was voted out of power in Nigeria and the world exclaimed in surprise.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) and its Presidential candidate, ex-General Muhammadu Buhari, had gone into the elections with the campaign to deal with kleptomania which is on the verge to suffocate Nigeria.

As it turned out, the Presidential election was not only won by the APC, but they had majority in the National Assembly encompassing the Senate and the House of Representatives. This implies that majority of Nigerian electorates have empowered the Executive and the legislators to expunge kleptomaniacs from Nigeria.

After election victory the APC decided that the speaker of the House of Reps and his deputy should be Femi Gbajabiamila and Mohammed Monguno respectively while the President of the Senate and his Deputy should be Ahmed Lawan and George Akume respectively.

The Senate contains 109 members but it was reduced to 108 before June 9, 2015, when the 8th Assembly was to be inaugurated as a result of the death of one APC Senator after the election. Thus, APC have 59 members while PDP and allies have 49 members. Democratically and politically, the APC party had decided who among its elected Senators would be the President and Deputy President of the Senate respectively.

The decision of APC did not please Senator Bukola Saraki, therefore he openly connived with PDP, the political antagonist of APC, to become the Senate President against the wish of his party. On June 9, 2015, a compromised Clerk of the Assembly arranged the election of Senate President in the presence of 57 out of 108 Senators.

The 57 Senators consisted of 49 PDP and 8 APC. By the time the Deputy Senate President was about to be elected, the number of APC present had increased to 25, and the PDP Senator, Ike Ekweremandu, was elected with 54 votes against Ali Ndume, APC, who scored 20 votes.

Thus, a Senate President and his Deputy were elected through a process similar to those described under Article 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code – Obtainment by false pretence! In democracy and party politics, it is an abomination. In explaining their behaviours, Senator Bukola Saraki and his ilk have said that after elections the legislators are free to conduct the affairs of the National Assembly without the interferance of the political parties on whose platform they contested elections and won.

Yet, and in accordance with the constitution, no one can contest election in Nigeria without belonging to and sponsored by a political party. By taking some members of the APC, to which he belongs, and merging them with PDP to form a new majority in the Senate, Saraki subverted the will of the electorates that voted PDP out of power and he has created a real impediment against change and war on kleptomania, the campaign slogan on which the APC went into election. Outwardly Bukola Saraki is an APC but internally he is a PDP.

On September 11, 2015, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) filed a 13 count charge of financial crime, money laundering, false declaration of assets, owning and operating foreign bank accounts while being a public officer, against Senator Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Abuja. Saraki was to be arraigned before Justice Danladi Umar of CCT Abuja on Friday, 18 September 2015.

Instead of defending himself at the CCT Senator Saraki hired dozens of advocates to file ex-parte motion at an Abuja High Court, presided over by Justice Ahmed Mohammed, on Thursday, 17 September 2015 seeking injunctions to prevent the CCT from trying him.

Justice Mohammed then summoned the Ministry of Justice to appear before him on Monday, 21 September to show cause why the trial should be allowed to proceed. The judge also summoned the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar and that of the CCB, Mr. Sam Saba as well as Mr Hassan who signed the charge against Saraki to appear before him on 21 September 2015 to show cause why Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki should be prosecuted.

However, the CCT commenced the trial of Saraki on the 18th of September 2015 and his lawyer asked the Tribunal for a stay of proceeding on the ground of Justice Mohammed’s summon. Justice Umar replied that the High Court had parallel juridiction with the Tribunal and as such, had no powers to halt a trial in the Tribunal.

Therefore, he issued order of warrant of arrest by the police against Saraki, so that he could be present at the next hearing to take a plea of guilty or not guilty in the court. Although Saraki had pleaded not guilty to the charges he has gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the jurisdiction of the CCT to try him and pending the decision of the Supreme Court, the CCT has laid the case to rest.

Bukola Saraki’s attempt to seek judicial embargo against the investigating authority is rather a norm than exception in Nigeria. The former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, was the first to obtain a perpetual injunction against investigation, interrogation and prosecution over treasury looting of the State he governed from 1999 to 2007.

Others who were sluggish in obtaining perpetual injunction got their cases put into permanent coma by the trial judges. In recent time, Stella Adaeze Oduah, on August 26, 2015, obtained an interim injunction, from Justice Mohammed Yunusa presiding over a Federal High Court in Lagos, barring the EFCC and its agents from inviting or arresting her for questioning over the purchase of $1.6 million armoured cars when she was Minister of Aviation under Jonathan.

In the same spirit, on Thursday, 17 September 2015, an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi, in a ruling barred the EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Department of State Security Services (DSS), the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and National Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), from arresting, detaining and investigating Mr. Kingsley Kuku over his activities as former Coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta under President Goodluck Jonathan. Billions of naira were said to have disappeared over Niger Deltan ghost students purported to have been on scholarships under amnesty programme.

In the 16 years of PDP governing Nigeria (May 29, 1999 to 29 May 2015), the three arms of government – the Executive (Presidency), the Legistilative (National Assembly) and the Adjudicative (Judiciary) – were deeply corrupt. Chinua Achebe once said that Nigeria is not a country but he would have been stating the truth if he had said that Nigerians are not human beings because if one-hundredth of government’s kleptomania in Nigeria were to occur in any country of the world there would be public uproar and outrage.

Since Nigerians have been narcotized with fake religion and false ethnic love, national rogues always attribute their rogueries to the will (blessing) of God and whenever their stealings were exposed they claim that their ethnic group were under attack.

As obnoxious and odious leaders cut across all ethnic groups, the APC government under President Mohammed Buhari has decided to kill corruption before it kills Nigeria. The PDP has accused the APC regime of witch-hunting members and supporters of the immediate past government adding that any true war against corruption should start from 1985.

In a storm where multiple of trees fall on one another would it not be wise to start clearing log of woods from the top? If Jonathan’s PDP regime is at the top of the heap of accumulated corruption in Nigeria, common sense demands that enquiries should start on his regime.

Just as the debate on what happened to the wealth of Nigeria entrusted in the care of Jonathan in the past five years was on-going, a diversionary agitation for the secession of Biafra beclouded the political terrain of Nigeria.

For historically conscious Nigerians, Biafra connotes war, mass starvation and death. However, many Nigerians are afflicted with Alzheimer, a disease that robs its victims of their memories to learn from the past and present. Moreover those who are 45 years of age now may not have heard the true history of the civil war that ended on 15th January 1970.

 

Ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com

So, Where Are The Loots? Let’s TAG them.

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

Since lies are too hard to maintain Mrs. Iweala has sang a new song and the whole world is laughing at Nigeria. She delivered the recovered loots to Dasuki.

By Adeola Aderounmu

The hysteria that normally trail announcement of loots stolen and recovered have been with Nigeria since after independence in 1960. They come and go…

Nigerians are still dancing to the music of late Fela Anikulapo Kuti. He sang often of bad governments and how they looted the treasuries.

Nigerians are not asking, what happened to all the loots that have been stolen, recovered and relooted.

I am going to repeat something that has happened twice in the last decade under two different dispensations.

When Mrs. Iweala stopped dragging her foot and decided to give accounts for the Abacha loot under Obasanjo’s reign, she gave an account that was very ridiculous. She pointed out to a few things that were already provided for in the budget as what Abacha’s loot were used for.

Recently l saw that she had done exactly the same thing for the reign of Jonathan. She gave a report that the funds (it appears Abacha looted the whole world or what) were used to construct roads.

Since lies are too hard to maintain Mrs. Iweala has sang a new song and the whole world is laughing at Nigeria. She delivered the money to Dasuki.

A few weeks back l wrote an article: Why Are Our Politicians Criminals? On behalf of over 100 million people suffering and living under the poverty line, I am asking again: Why Are Nigerian Politicians All Criminals?

Since Nigeria always have a budget then it means that loots and recovered loots especially should be bonus or boost for the Nigerian economy. Also since the lies of the Nigerian government has become visible, thanks to Mrs. Iweala’s inability to be consistent with her lies, then it was high time to make new demands especially from a government that promised us change.

Dasuki_Jona_Iweala loot

Nigerian government must start to tag what the recovered funds are used for…to prevent relooting

Let me be clear.

Can we have a proper account of the monies that have now been recovered from the Dasuki-Jonathan-Iweala loot? And please let no moron toll the line of Mrs. Iweala, don’t try to tell Nigerians that the money has been used for this or that. We know already that you are lying. So, don’t go there..!

From now on, Nigerians will like to see a TAG on recovered loots.

The images connected to this article are suggestions on how to be transparent on what happened to recovered loots.

Reroads

Nigerians must see how looted funds can be effective life changers for them. APC must show if the change slogan is real or a fuss. Time will tell

Let’s TAG the projects executed with looted funds that have been recovered and let’s not use what the budget has provided for as covers for relooting recovered funds aka Iweala looting method 101.

ibb

One day the Nigerian government will be bold enough to actually retrieve the funds looted by other big political criminals in Nigeria

We are watching the APC mandate 2015-? to see what they will tell us that they have done with the recovered loots. There is no where in the budget that shows that anything will be done  with recovered loots, so that should be a bonus boost to the economy that is today lying in ruins and desolation.

Watch out and read a follow up to this article. It will be titled, 2015 It  Was Not A Great Year.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Life, Still A Passage

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

Just 2 weeks ago, (actually 3 weeks) l wrote: death either abroad or at home appears to be the only leveler between the corrupt and the saints, the rich and the poor. Life will remain a passage and only fools don’t see the vanity of primitive accumulations.

 

Life, Still A Passage

 

Adeola Aderounmu

By Adeola Aderounmu

I have made references to my essay ”A Passage Called Life” on several occasions. The essay was first published in the Nigerian Village Square on November 7, 2007.

At that time Ms. Bunmi Etteh was already brushed aside as the speaker in the Nigerian House of Representatives.  One Aminu Safana had also suddenly kicked the bucket.

In that 2007 episode l wrote about the recommendations of the Japanese.

I don’t remember where l got it from but the Japanese gave only 3 recommendations for a fulfilling life. These recommendations are 1. Have children 2. Write a book and 3 . Plant a tree.

I wish l knew where l got this from but it does not matter now. I can make my own inferences.

I remember also an ex-colleague of mine who told me that he was no longer afraid to die. When I asked him what he meant, he said now he has a child and all his fears are gone.

The meaning of the expression is deep and l leave it to my readers,the fathers and mothers out there to interprete.

For my ex-colleague, his thoughts may be in line with what the Japanese inferred.

Can everybody write a book? It depends on how you look at it. I think what will be relevant here it to tell our stories. Ideology and traditions have been sustained even in the absence of books. We can tell our stories and the custodians of history can write them for us.

Since we want our stories to be beneficial to mankind or humanity, we want it to contain good deeds.

It will be hard to read the minds of the Japanese but l do hope they realise the imperfection of mankind.

Not all of us will have children especially now that biological rules have been rewritten. We will not all plant trees because we depend on some institutions in the society to do so on our behalf.

Our stories will be our books if we write them. If we don’t, still we should not fail to share them with those we love and trust.

Then, just 2 weeks ago, l wrote an essay (108 Modern Hospitals Now) and in the conclusion l stated that death either abroad or at home appears to be the only leveler between the corrupt and the saints, the rich and the poor.

Life will remain a passage and only fools don’t see the vanity of primitive accumulations.

In the recent essay l threw a challenge to the government of Nigeria and the politicians as the custodians of our commonwealth. It was my response to the death of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and all the Nigerian politicians who want to go abroad to die.

Why not build hospitals for yourselves and the citizens of Nigeria?

Nigerian criminal politicians and in fact all greedy and selfish people need to be told (because they do not appear to know) that life is transient and nothing last forever.

Was it Akon who sang and mentioned that tomorrow is not guaranteed?

Whilst the poor people and the masses are still clamouring for the dividends of democracy 16 years on, some fools are already scheming for the 2019 elections.

This means that they are already looting and stealing monies in small and big amounts from different corners of the country and piling them up to execute the 2019 elections.

At the same time, they-the politicians continue to earn undeserved wages, award themselves contracts and buy houses from Dubai to the US, from Britain to the Carribean.

The tradition of the Nigerian politicians since the exit of the colonial thugs remain to suppress the people and continue to impoverish them. To an extremely large and unbelievable extent they have succeeded.

Hence no matter how we have preached about the need and importance of good governance, the priority remains their selfish gains and how to make their families and friends wealthy.

It was not a good omen when people jubilated in the streets in those days when dictators or crook politicians died.

Nowadays the jubilation is on the social media. Invariably the majority of Nigerians wish that many of the politicians could drop dead one after the other.

So far, many have dropped dead actually. There is no pity here because like l mentioned in 108 Hospitals Now, we have all lost some of our loved ones due to the recklessness of governance and disorderliness in the society.

Nigeria is on rampage daily.

But our political problems are not solved by death at home and abroad because the spread of wickedness and insensitivity are still irredeemable in the souls of the conquerors of Nigeria.

Today the conquerors are the men and women parading themselves in APC and PDP folds.

I have come to the conclusion that the APC and the PDP are birds of the same feather in different nests.

Fot them there are no lessons to be learnt about the transiency of life. No lessons are learnt from history.

Nigerian politicians do not give a damn. As long as there is yam, they are glad to remain the goats until they drop dead, whichever way.

So once again, as Nigerians continue with their daily struggles looking for food and water to put on the table, one hopes that sense will prevail and that gradually Nigeria will move towards finding a lasting solution to the problems plaguing country.

Not least is the political solution that is even now more urgent.

If a man participated in an election in the morning and dropped dead in the afternoon, then it is not just tomorrow that is not guaranteed but also the rest of today

Life will remain a passage. We are all here, only for a while.

Nobody leaves this planet alive. Live and lets live..!

aderounmu@gmail.com