Nigeria

Jonathan’s Destructive Distillation Of Nigeria.

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

The cancelled February elections are not only about Jonathan. They are also about failed dividends of democracy under PDP since 1999. It will be one of the biggest mistakes in history if Nigerians sit back and allow the Jonathan game plan to unfold. It’s a destructive process

Jonathan’s Destructive Distillation Of Nigeria: Why Nigerians Must Rise Up And Reject The Feb.7 Coup

By Adeola Aderounmu

Adeola_2013

When I wrote the article “Threshold” in November 2014, one of the things that l highlighted was the plan by the PDP-led government to postpone or cancel the February 2015 general elections.

In subsequent articles l continued to make reference to the scenario where the security situation in North East Nigeria (NE Nigeria) will be used as a clog in the wheel of the 2015 elections. If I remember well too, the feasibility of the 2015 elections has been a theme in many of my previous articles.

But in 2014 my conviction was based on a material published by the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. At that point it was obvious that the government of Nigeria has directly or indirectly hinted the foreign missions in Nigeria about the plan to postpone or cancel the elections.

It could also be that the Swedish government got hold of a secret document that led to the publication. One reporter on radio was very sure penultimate week when she said that there will be no elections in Nigeria this February.

Since some foreign observers have arrived in Nigeria for the February elections, the suggestion that the lazy and corrupt Jonathan government actually informed the international community can also be debatable.

So we now got to this point when a very corrupt government that failed to end insurgency in NE Nigeria in 6 years will now do the miracle in 5-6 weeks. It is only a matter of time for the lies of lazy Jonathan to be exposed again.

There is no country in the world that has succeeded in ending insurgency or sectarian violence of Boko Haram’s magnitude in 6 weeks. Rather there are so many examples around the world of countries at war that succeeded in conducting successful elections.

It appears now that Jonathan deliberately allowed the insurgency to grow because he saw it as a means to extend his hold to power. If Jonathan wanted the elections to hold on February 14, he would have dedicated a lot of attention and commitment to the war on Boko Haram so that by now, it would be possible to hold elections in NE Nigeria.

Jonathan was the man who went to parties and even organised several family parties when Boko Haram struck at different times. He was dancing on podium celebrating or he was in Aso Rock drinking several times when Boko Haram was decimating Nigeria.

Today, 15% of Nigeria’s landscape is under the control of Boko Haram. Under lazy and corrupt Jonathan, the Nigerian military that ended wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone and other countries could not raise her arms and hands against Boko Haram until it became a full grown monster.

The war against terror in Nigeria has been fought half-heartedly and amidst several controversies concerning the loyalty of several members of the Nigerian army-both at the commanding and the follower-ship levels.

What became certain on the 7th of February 2015 was that the Nigerian Army can be effective when it wants to. Nigerians woke up to the heavy presence of soldiers in strategic places and cities across the country.

The Jega marathon-meetings were all fuse and rubbish. The decision to postpone the election was long made, probably before 2014! APC’s only previous response to this appears to be the threat to form a parallel government. It should have been taken further to the public space and ironed out.

The Nigerian military have become specialists in intimidating civilians. In the face of Boko Haram, Jonathan has refused to equip them to win the war or the equipments were transferred to Boko Haram as in the saga of Baga.

Invariably, an evil government led by Jonathan has turned the Nigerian military into a complete set of fat zombie creatures. The zombies took a strangulating hold of INEC and subverted the ongoing democratic process in Nigeria.

History will now record the 7th of February 2015 as the day that the Nigerian military staged a bloodless coup in honour of a sitting civilian dictator called Jonathan.

It was a coup because majority of Nigerians were ready for the elections. The reasons given for the postponement are unacceptable by majority of Nigerians. The lack of attention given to the security situation in NE Nigeria for the past 4-6 years was a deliberate ploy.

The issue of voters’ cards could have been resolved by 1-2 days of public holiday if necessary. The election was still at least 7 days away and 1-2 days would have suffix to attain the maximum reach. Not everybody will collect their voter’s card and not everyone who collected will vote. In life, perfection is an ideal that is rarely achieved.

Now Nigerians must know that Goodluck Jonathan is not ready to relinquish power. The main reason for the postponement of the election was the certainty that APC was poised for a victory on February 14. All indications from around the world have pointed to an APC victory. It would have been impossible to rig the elections the way those morons-Obanikoro and Fayose did in Ekiti.

What Jonathan is doing now is reassessing his strategies. He is looking for the mechanisms that will tilt the public opinion in his favour. He hopes to achieve that in 6 weeks and so Nigerians should be ready for the mother of all propaganda and political assaults from the PDP and those who have their reasoning clouded by deformed emotions and anticipated glory in the hands of a failed government.

If any gullible mind or fool is expecting the Nigerian army to conquer Boko Haram in 5-6 weeks, that person needs a brain surgery in India.

Jonathan also plans to destabilise INEC. It may mean that Jega’s tenure runs out and a vacuum is created. You cannot conduct elections with an INEC boss whose tenure is expired. If you do, you create a new room for new controversies and confusion.

To replace Jega when his tenure runs out may also take 6 months with the Nigerian factor and lazy government that we know.

Jonathan is trying to hang on to power for as long as possible whether his present mandate is renewed or not. He is not sure of victory at the polls and he is not going to hand over to APC’s Buhari if the opposition wins.

This is a substantive statement because Jonathan’s most voracious bulldog one Doyin Okupe has vowed that the Jonathan government will never hand over to General Buhari. This statement is heavy.

It means that Jonathan already knew that an election conducted in Nigeria on February 14 will most likely produce a new ruler or president.

The statement by Okupe recorded during a failed press conference is a preview of what has been decided back door by Jonathan and his criminal crew members a long time ago.

Jonathan would rather hand over to an interim military government rather than to a former dictator even if he wins through the ballot boxes. Is this the apex of an evil mind?

What the PDP-led government did on February 7 2015 can be a rehearsal for the handover when the situation gets out of hand. With all the warships in the delta, it may.

Sadly too, Jonathan is using the old tricks from the old books. Nigerians are resilient, they will relax, forget and go about their normal activities. The day after the cancellation of the February elections, it appears that Nigeria is calm and Jonathan is right about the tricks.

It will be one of the biggest mistakes in history if Nigerians sit back and allow the Jonathan game plan to unfold. It’s a destructive process.

Here is a man who has stolen more money than any ruler or president in the history of Nigeria. When Babangida stole 12 billion dollars, the world thought it has seen it all. With an expert in looting called Mrs. Ngozi Iweala, Jonathan and his crew (since 2011) have rewritten the book of looting.

Jonathan is leading a criminal government and the most loot-cracious government in the world today. He has an assembly of unrepentant looters and criminals pretending to be serving Nigeria for the past 6 years.

Here they are in February 2015 taking Nigeria and Nigerians further on their useless, clueless rides. They called it postponing the February elections. It is not. It was a cancellation of an anticipated victory by the opposition party.

Nigerians need to stand up, wake up and act for once in their life time. They need to send a clear signal.

I have not seen a right thinking Nigeria who actually thinks the opposition party will bring a miracle through its anticipated victory at the polls. No.

People just what a change from this relentless rogues who are looting trillions of dollars in multiple digits. These amounts of looting and missing monies are unprecedented.

People want to see what life would be like when an opposition party takes on power. Since 1999 Nigerians have been stuck with different types of monsters under a PDP-led presidency.

The cancelled February elections are not only about Jonathan. They are also about failed dividends of democracy under PDP.

What will life be like under the opposition irrespective of who the opposition presents? This is the biggest question that Nigerians are ready to experiment with. They want to take a new risk.

Nigerians know about Buhari, they know about Tinubu, they know about Fashola and so on. They know they are not saints. But it appears the majority want a shift. Nobody knows where it will lead.

The PDP is trying to sell a slogan that the people already knew.  It is called bad market and it has failed. This is one of the primary reasons why the PDP is cancelling the election. The Boko Haram war provided PDP with the excuse to avoid a disgraceful poll.

The PDP and Jonathan must know that when people want change, they should get it and be allowed to live with the consequences.

Jonathan cannot claim to love Nigeria more than Nigerians. Okupe, the silly attack dog cannot love Nigeria more than Nigerians. Who is he to say that Jonathan will not hand over to Buhari? What if Buhari wins? What if the APC wins with or without Buhari?

I hope that Nigerians can make Jonathan a good example of how not to be a dictator. If there is one thing worth fighting for, it is a complete rejection of the postponement or cancellation of the February elections.

February 2015 is Nigeria’s month with destiny, to continue with a failed government or to start with a new government.

If by his pronouncement under the guns of the army Jega has destabilised the February 14 election date, fair enough. With a bit of patience, Jonathan can have his last valentine in the rock.

If INEC does not reinstate the election on February 21, Jonathan will be remembered as the crook who destroyed or almost destroyed Nigeria.

By employing the services of the military in a civilian sponsored bloodless coup, he started a process that could snowball into the predicted destructive distillation of Nigeria.

The reactions of the oppositions and Nigerians in general to this insult and assault will be significantly followed.

Obviously Nigeria is in dire need for a political solution. But a new coup like the one of February 7 2015 is not it!

In the absence of a political solution that should include true federalism orchestrated by a functional National Assembly, this anomaly introduced by a clueless government may mark the eventual necrosis of Nigeria.

Nigerians ought to resist Jonathan and insist on the elections in this month of February 2015.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Disgraceful And Shallow Campaigns (Part 1)

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

I am missing proper discussions and debates on the economy, unemployment, insecurity, migration, social injustice, inequality, education, health, population growth, science, technology and a holistic approach to reducing intellectual and material poverty in Nigeria.

Disgraceful And Shallow Campaigns (Part 1)

By Adeola Aderounmu

Adeola_2013

The two major political parties in Nigeria ought to be ashamed of their presidential election campaigns so far.

I have seen and listened to many political campaigns in Nigeria and this year’s campaign is the worst ever.

The bigger culprit here is the lazy ruling party popularly called PDP. A ruling party is supposed to be flaunting its achievements while making concrete plans for the future. But here we have a party that is like a sinking ship ridiculously campaigning like it is looking for power for the first time.

The PDP started a mudslinging campaign and took it too far as the election date approaches. No doubt the indolent and largely purposeless government led by Mr. Goodluck Jonathan is probably the most corrupt government in the world today. The cluelessness of Jonathan has shown no limit on his campaign trail.

Sadly too the APC could not hold back and some of its agents have produced a lot of campaign videos that still does not prove how the APC intend to be the change that Nigeria and Nigerians deserve. With several dropouts and losers from the other political parties flocking to APC, it is hard to see any change in sight.

It appears the change people are clamoring for is just to get a clueless government out of the way. But the opposition can do better.

It is about 2 weeks to the presidential election and Nigerians are yet to be told how the economy will be boosted in the face of the global decline in the price of crude oil. Jonathan made more than 200 promises during the 2010/2011 campaign year. Almost all of them were thrashed as soon as he began to drink at the presidential villa.

The economy has suffered and massive funds have been looted from the treasuries under the supervision of Goodluck Jonathan, his central bank governors and his minister of finance. This stealing and looting predate Jonathan definitely.

Indeed, I stand on the side of those who reject the World Bank report or the CNN evaluation of Nigerian economy. More Nigerians have slipped into the poverty zone and more Nigerians are unemployed and several thousands of them were even duped by Mr. Jonathan and Mr. Abba Moro. A few were killed during the duping process otherwise known as the Immigration employment scam.

A way to measure a growing economy will be making good use of the employment indices, the quality of life of majority of the citizens and the overall decline in the percentage of people living from hand to mouth among other factors.

Until these begin to happen one cannot appreciate economic growth on paper or assume that the prosperity of those who buy jets from looted crude oil proceeds represents the growth of a country. It is wickedness to summarize the well-being of 1% of Nigerians who own 80% of the country’s wealth as the mark of an economy that is growing.

The PDP we now know thrives on deceit and lies. The APC ought to seize the opportunity and present a formidable option on the economic front. It is not enough to call the PDP corrupt because the APC is also loaded with corrupt politicians as well as political prostitutes.

Political campaign in Nigeria is mostly gibberish, if not outright rubbish.

In actual fact what ought to be sold during this season of campaign is what the political parties stand for and not just what Jonathan or Buhari are as individuals. On personality levels, Nigerians deserve better than a drunkard or a dictator.

Indeed the personality of the persons leading a political group is important but the fundamental issues that govern the operations, prospects and plans of the political parties for the country should be paramount.

For life can come with unexpected situations. If Jonathan or Buhari for one reason or the other become unfit or unwell to stand for elections on February 14, it is the party’s politics that should bear on the electorates and not just the personality of the number one person in line to the presidency. It’s a huge risky to put persons before institutions.

Therefore rather than selling people during elections, it would have been nice to tell how the two political parties intend to further diversify the Nigerian economy. How do they intend to stop the Chinese from looting and carting away Nigeria’s precious mineral resources?

How do they intend to stop bringing criminals as ministers who will sell the treasuries of the land for a token that they even loot? How does APC or PDP intend to break this jinx that has turned the blessings of Nigerians into curses?

Where are the blueprints on how to help the North to recover its groundnut pyramids? How will Western Nigeria become the hub for cocoa and oil palm production again so that exportation can improve and promote the economy?

What about cassava in the East? Where can l go to read about the plans that the political parties have made in this respect? Why should almost everything be based on crude oil?

Which recordings from any of the campaign trail can I watch to see and hear Buhari’s plan according to the APC manifesto? All the posters about free food, free education and sudden miracles manufactured by internet warriors on behalf of the APC don’t do it.

Where can I access the blueprint that lazy and corrupt Jonathan has been trying hard to implement for the past 6 years?

Have I missed the discussion on cutting executive recklessness and financial wastages?

Common and ordinary citizens are to survive on a meagre monthly minimum wage of N18 000 per month. That disgraceful amount is a clear contradiction to what a growing economy would pay her citizens.

Ideally such an amount of money is what a family of four can budget to spend in a day if the costs of feeding, transportation, clothing and leisure activities are taken into consideration.

More than 90% of Nigerians live below the poverty level. The people may be resilient but that does not take away the permanent life of poverty that they are confined to.

In the same country some heartless people called politicians earn the biggest political salaries in the world. A lot of unnecessary funds and bonuses are allocated to Nigerian politicians at the local, state and federal levels that amount to direct stealing and official looting of the treasury.

To make the matter worse Nigerian politicians are mostly crooks still finding other means to award contracts, steal contract funds, set up committees upon committees and all sorts of malicious mechanisms aimed solely for self-enrichment.

Both the PDP and the APC have not mentioned how to cut on the financial wastages and leakages across all tiers of governance.

How do they want to make the take home pay of the politicians comparable to the salaries of ordinary Nigerians? Or how do they want to ensure that Nigerians who are employed or unemployed do not become criminals because they want to make ends meet? In short, how do the political parties intend to bridge this extreme social and economic injustice?

One area of public service in the hands of the mafia in Nigeria is the energy sector. The federal government has failed woefully to provide constant power supply in Nigeria.

Nigeria is reputed to have the worst power supply system in the world. Goodluck Jonathan stated clearly that nobody should take him seriously for re-election in 2015 if he cannot provide electricity after 4 years.

The energy sector is just one out of the several unfulfilled promises. Yet Mr. Jonathan finds the courage to live with this shame and still go around making more promises. What has happened to men who keep their words?

Mr. Jonathan lied to the world through the CNN that electricity has improved in Lagos and other cities across Nigeria. What a guy!

The PDP as a political party in charge of governance since 1999 when pseudo-democracy was returned to Nigeria has failed in this aspect. Under Obasanjo, Yar Adua and Jonathan several billions of naira have been looted with no results to show. Nigeria remains the darkest country in the world.

No arrests have been made for the monies that disappeared under Obasanjo and Jonathan which leaves both rulers as partners in crimes against the people of Nigeria.

The Ministry of Finance cannot account for the funds pumped into this adventure that yield no light. Instead more darkness came to Nigeria and the sales of generators by the energy mafia group of companies continue to skyrocket.

The PDP does not need to present any new plan on energy and power generation because for 16 years all its plans have produced more darkness than light.

The APC has refused to provide a clear blueprint on how it intends to rectify this nonsense. No one knows how APC intend to transform the darkness in Nigeria to light. If it is on paper, l think people will like to hear it at a campaign by the person in charge of energy development in the APC camp.

What about security? The PDP government is not discussing much about security on its campaign trail because Goodluck Jonathan the lazy president has failed woefully. His army is in a tattered form. One wonders who is in control of the army. Is it Boko Haram or Olukayode or Jonathan?

But security is a big deal. Insecurity usually ends with civil war. By now 15% of Nigerian territory is in the hands of terrorists. This is shameful and scandalous!

Terrorists have bloomed under Goodluck Jonathan. In the beginning he was mouthy and promised to root them out because he said they are part of his government. Four years on Goodluck Jonathan continued to dine and wine with Boko Haram members in his government.

The PDP government has stated that the opposition, the APC, is behind the terror group based in Northern Nigeria. This statement is careless and senseless because what good governments do around the world is to arrest terrorists and their sponsors. After all these allegations against the opposition Goodluck Jonathan has not made or ordered any arrest within the opposition camp.

Ali Modu Sheriff is known all over the world to have massively sponsored Boko Haram especially during the 2003 elections. He openly made use of Boko Haram to suppress and oppress his opponents while vying for the governorship office. Ali Modu Sheriff is one of Jonathan’s best friends.

Without dwelling much on the terrorists in the Niger Delta creeks, isn’t it astonishing that they are also mostly friends of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan?

Anyway, the APC is boasting that it will stop Boko Haram. How? What will the APC do differently? By the way that brings a curious issue to the front. When the opposition says that it has the solutions to Boko Haram’s war, why have the solutions not be presented at the national assembly by APC legislators, even if the presentation is not made public for security reasons?

What I meant is that the opposition in a normal society is also part of governance and where the ruling party fails; the oppositions can apply their options through debate and national assembly decisions. The ruling government and the opposition parties are always supposed to work together. But Nigeria is no ordinary country where the winner takes it all.

Today, Nigeria is not a secured country and anybody can be killed or blown to pieces by suicide bombers or shot by Boko Haram group that continue to attack military installations, different residential communities, churches, mosques and schools.

The electorates should have asked the APC how it would tackle the menace of Boko Haram. They should ask whether these strategies have been presented to the ruling party before the situation deteriorated to what it looks like today.

Security of life and property is part of the issues for campaigns or plane level debates. Like power supply, the issue of security is also important when looking at the factors that affect the economic growth of a country.

Nigeria faces more challenges in the days ahead….(To be continued)

aderounmu@gmail.com

Why 113 million Nigerians Are Poor

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

Do you know that about 1% of Nigerians control more than 80% of the country’s wealth?

In 2015, Nigeria is listed among the world’s fastest growing economy whereas more than 90% of the population considered themselves to be poor already in 2010 and the figures are rising!

Why 113 million Nigerians Are Poor

By Adeola Aderounmu

Which Way Nigeria?

Nigeria still remains one of the most endowed countries in the world. In terms of natural resources, minerals and enormous prospects for agricultural development Nigerians stands out as a reservoir of abundant wealth.

Unfortunately and paradoxically Nigeria is presently home to about 113 million people living in absolute poverty. This figure represents more than 90% of the population.

Most of the blame for this anomaly lies at the doorsteps of Nigerian politicians and their partners in crime in the top military wing. A weak citizenry shares out of this whole mess.

At independence in 1960 the unprepared politicians inherited a structure that was built mainly for the purpose of colonization by the British. It was difficult to manage and the federation though functional crumbled in 1966 when the military interrupted the nascent democratic process.

In 1999 the military provided the basis for the democracy that Nigeria precariously thrives upon today. Again, this was not the foundation that Nigeria needed because of the enormous influence of the military and the enthronement of Olusegun Obasanjo ensured that the country even today is still in bondage.

To live in extreme poverty means that one barely has a roof over one’s head. In extreme situations people living in poverty have nowhere to call a home. Having food to eat is a difficult adventure and having money to buy clothes is a sort of luxury for those living in poverty.

Poverty is a broad term no doubts. It is also reflected in the lives of several millions of Nigerians through high infant mortality, high maternal mortality, inadequate vaccination in some parts of the country and an embarrassing life expectancy value.

Poverty extends to lack of access to essential public services. Nigeria is probably suffering from over population as well. The public schools are very few, inadequate and very dysfunctional as private educational institutions have taken over the initiation of providing quality but very expensive educational services  that are out of the reach of the poor masses.

In the same vein, access to quality health service is also very expensive as public health care remains under developed and sometimes costly. The percentage of Nigerians with access to paid employment is appalling, it’s very low. It is not uncommon for people to state that they are hustling. Hustling covers a wide range of illegal and seasonal ways of making money which unfortunately include armed robbery, fraud and vandalism.

All the parameters for defining or expressing poverty are unevenly distributed. The Niger Delta which is home to the oil wealth of Nigeria is also home to some of the world’s poorest people. From low literacy level to access to health care and vaccination, the northern part of Nigeria is even worst hit.

The recent media hype coming from CNN-Money putting Nigeria among the fastest growing economy in the world does not translate to food on the tables, roof over the heads and cloth on the bodies of the people suffering from poverty.

It must be emphasized that the economic wealth or well-being in Nigeria is concentrated in the hands of a very few people. About 1% of Nigerians control more than 80% of the country’s wealth.

This 1% is a category that includes Nigerian politicians and several elites across Nigeria. They have directly and indirectly kept the remaining citizens under check through bad politics, bad policies and non-implementations of the programs that are structured to eliminate poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Among this 1% are those who control not only the political scene, but also manipulate the oil wealth. Until recently the oil sector was the only major foreign exchange earner for Nigeria. It is still the biggest.

To be fair, a few sectors emerged recently and gave the Nigerian economy a boost. The film and music industry, the financial sector and not least the telecommunication sector that were not developed before the 1990s were taken into consideration when Nigeria was declared as the biggest economy in Africa in 2014.

Still, there exist a continuous neglect and misuse of the all the natural resources that are locked up in the different regions across Nigeria and agricultural is yet to take its number one position as it was before 1960.

There are probably 5% Nigerians doing well on their own. By hard work, luck, rare opportunities and the invisible hand of fate, these people are living above the poverty level and they have some measure of comfort. s

Whilst they can count themselves as fortunate, they should never use their own rare successes to classify or generalize the situation in Nigeria. They must never try to eradicate the reality that there are more than 113 million people living in poverty.

The lazy, irritating, selfish central governments over the years under both tropical military gangsters and civilian crooks have shunned the responsibilities of solving Nigeria’s political and economic problems.

There is no political will to return to true federalism which will remove the power at the center and help to systematically abolish the grip of the 1% controlling majority of Nigeria’s wealth.

Therefore Nigerians continue to buy generators to provide electricity for themselves. When the whole world is taken into account Nigeria probably provides the lowest level of electricity per citizen. Less than 4000 MW for a population that nears 200 million people is a disgrace to the intellectual capacity of Nigerians as a people.

In recent history both Goodluck Jonathan, Olusegun Obasanjo and their cronies in the power sector squandered and embezzled the funds earmarked for electricity production.

Obasanjo promised 6 000MW. Yar Adua promised 20 000MW within 2 years. Jonathan wanted to do a magical 5 000MW in 2014. All the monies allocated for all these promises are gone! Nigerian rulers and those working against the progress of the power sectors (still part of the 1%) are pure criminals!

Apart from electricity millions of Nigerians provide their own water system, they find home for themselves or struggle to build one, they tar their own communal roads, they provide their own security systems and they find their own diverse ways of self-preservation.

The manner of unequal distribution of wealth is dehumanizing. The politicians have failed to stimulate the economy based on the distribution and spread of the resources in Nigeria. They relied too long on the oil wealth and they squandered and mismanaged the proceeds from it.

The postulation in 2014 that Nigeria is the 26th biggest economy in the world and the biggest economy in Africa has no tangible effects on the 113 million poor people. For a country suffering from bad planning, bad governance and an apparent overpopulation problem the economic indices are mere abstract figures.

Economic jargons like GDP of 1722 dollars per person in Nigeria do not put food on the table of poor people. How can one convince all the families of the unemployed graduates who died during the immigration examination scam that the economy is truly improved? What fates await the millions of unemployed school leavers and graduates?

In 2015 Nigeria entered an election year. In several articles l have warned about the postponement of the elections under several headlines and contents. This is something that the PDP cooked up a long time ago. It shocked me when the main stream media and the opposition finally understood a script that has existed for more than 6 months. O well, who controls the mainstream media if not the greedy 1%?

Irrespective of the decision that prevails the success of the election will eventually depend on the preparedness of INEC and the security situation across Nigeria. But I will never understand how it is business as usual in a country that entered an election year with so many uncertainties in the air including a war in some parts.

The credibility of the election is highly desirable but it will be like living in a fool’s paradise to expect a miracle afterwards. Nigeria does not have a simple solution anymore, not even as long as the almighty powerful center continues to exist.

The politicians have no political ideology. It has been too easy to move from one political party to another because each politician continues to look to butter his or her own bread every election year.

Remaining in the 1% bracket is crucial to the politicians; it is a matter of life and death. Call it do or die, you are still right.

It is more obvious that the political parties are almost the same as APC now looks like a party of PDP and CPC veterans and dropouts.

Nigerian politicians display clearly the mantra-no permanent enemies in politics, just permanent interests. They are liars and their permanent interest is to sustain the 1% club of national cabal and elites. Since the institutions of governance are weak or destroyed, they always seem to have their ways in the end.

The solutions to Nigeria’s problem may lie with the enlightened populace but they have refused to act appropriately. Many of them look forward to belonging to the club of the 1% that owns the economic wealth of Nigeria in their hands. Alternatively they look forward to belonging to the wider 5% through hope and rare opportunities. They don’t care about the rest!

This sad trend (that people are quiet as evil continues to persist) is one of the reasons for the increase in the number of people living in poverty from 55% in 2004 to 61% in 2010.

Hence regardless of the economic growth widely reported recently, the wealth remains concentrated in the hands of a few.

In 2015, Nigeria is listed among the world’s fastest growing economy whereas more than 90% of the population considered themselves to be poor already in 2010 and the figures are rising!

Nigeria’s wealth is looted daily. More than 140 billion dollars were transferred illegally out of the country between 2002 and 2011 only. Where were they: Obasanjo, Sanusi J, Soludo, Yar Adua, Sanusi L, Jonathan and Mrs. Iweala? They are part of the 1% keeping the money safe for personal use at home and abroad!

Nigeria needs both a political and an economic way forward. It will not come from the 1% that controls 80% of the country’s wealth. It is not forthcoming from the less than 10% that thrives in the midst of this anomaly.

The politicians are part of the 1%, they are unwilling and it appears they will never change the useless political system that keeps them rich and above the law (with the immunity clause of life).

When the poor, more than 90% of the population of Nigeria, have nothing to eat, no clothes to wear and no roof over their heads anymore, they will one day pounce on the rich. For it seems that unless they stage a revolution they will never be free.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Reference: Nigeria’s goes to election in the shadow of Boko Haram, by Henrik Angerbrandt 2014

A Remarkable Pact

/ 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

Ade

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

A Season Of Uncertainties

/ Adeola / 3 Comments

Is this the Nigerian future: to create a country determined by interplay of terrorists, dictators and authoritarians?

A Season of Uncertainties

By Adeola Aderounmu

Adeola_2013

Nigerian politicians and rulers are out doing what they know how to do best. They are now telling lies in accordance to their ritualistic electoral campaigns largely without manifestos, without ideologies.

In a 2-part essay The Kings Are Mad, l highlighted some of the problems facing the Nigerian people whilst the rulers continue to lie, make empty promises and merry.

Mr. Buhari has now promised to send corrupt politicians to jail. Well, we don’t know how the February elections will turn out and many people are still afraid of the destructive roles that Boko Haram can play.

Apart from the obvious threats that Boko Haram poses, the entire polity is over heated.

But Buhari must be promptly reminded that his era as a dictator and tyrant are over. If people are corrupt they must first pass through a process of lawful prosecutions. It would be very, very interesting to see a bold system in Nigeria where all the political criminals in APC, PDP and other small parties can be put to trial.

A legal war on corruption and political criminals that may even consume the originator is long desired in Nigeria’s rotten political sphere. First, let them remove the stupid and useless immunity clause.

On his part Mr. Jonathan has been going about in Nigeria exposing his ineptitude, more or less disgracing himself and his political party, the PDP. Never in the history of Nigeria has anyone seen such an incoherent, unstable man at the helm of affairs.

It probably sounds wiser for Jonathan to call off his campaign until he can gather his thoughts and speak sanely.

Up till now, he has not been thinking before speaking. It appears there is no reservoir of intelligence left to tap from. On several occasions he has given opposite views on the same discussions.

After reviewing his contradictions in the press, how does it feel to look in the mirror and see the face of an unrepentant, lazy liar? How does it feel to be a commander-in-chief of a weak and defeated armed force on home soil?

In 2011 Jonathan made more than 200 promises on his campaign trails. He was going to be a magician l thought. He told Nigerians to discard him into the dustbin if electricity is not stable after 4 years of his reign. That is one major reason he should have passed the mantle to another candidate in his party. Perhaps someone else in PDP got some brains that work!

Jonathan exhibited the cruelest attribute of a dictator in recent memory when he ensured that only one nomination form was printed for the PDP primaries. He killed the idea of intra-party democracy under his watch! Greed is an incurable disease.

On his campaign trail this week, Jonathan has avoided issues and concentrated mainly on responding to whatever Buhari or APC have done or said. He puts himself and his party in a defensive role. As l write l don’t know my home telephone number by heart and l have no plan to memorize such. What is wrong with Mr. Jonathan?

Nigerians must blame themselves for the choice that lies ahead of them. They created or allowed a system that permits evil to prevail over good. Now they will choose between 2 undesirable elements whereas there are political solutions that could bring out the best men and women locked up (in their safe havens) by a cruel political system.

Now, on one hand is this liar, a sinking man in a PDP boat. Jonathan has no vision beyond his Bayelsa enclave where he has now armed the Southern terrorists with state of the art weapons. He handed over the security of Nigerian waterways to Niger Delta terrorists and continues to stock their pile with all kinds of arms and ammunition from around the world.

On the other hand is a former dictator with earlier indications of sympathy to Boko Haram and a man who will probably still not hesitate to create retroactive decrees to satisfy his thirst for brutality and injustice. Buhari is pretending to be a latter day repentant democrat.

A real political solution will bring about the emergence of true federalism or regional autonomy pre-January 1966 Nigeria. This is one way to rid Nigeria of authoritarians like Jonathan and dictators like Buhari who are both sadly products of a failed unitary system of government.

A real political solution will rid Nigeria of these national nonentities. A real political solution will bring out the intelligence that will rescue the nations locked up in non-functional Nigeria.

The persistent political nonsenses are thriving amidst very serious uncertainties. I have previously highlighted some of these uncertainties in recent essays: Daybreak 2015 and A Waiting Mayhem. The mayhems are here already.

The lazy government of Jonathan is on a campaign trail. It appears all the security apparatuses in the country have been totally deplored on this selfish campaign trail.

Since the emergence of Mr. Jonathan, Boko Haram has shown superiority of warfare combat than the Nigerian military. This is both disgraceful and embarrassing to a country that prides herself, falsely that is, as the giant of Africa.

There has been a form of de-classified information in the international community stating that the Nigerian government is contemplating postponing the 2015 elections. Against the backdrop of preparedness of INEC and the threats of insecurity across Nigeria, the truth will soon emerge.

Furthermore the escalation of massacres in North Eastern Nigerian coincided with the assertion by the governors from this region insisting that elections must hold in their states. Therefore it seems that the terrorists are hell bent on thwarting any plan towards conducting elections in Yobe, Adamawa and Maiduguri.

There are several problems in Nigeria. The most pressing since the emergence of the lazy Jonathan government is lack of security. It appears that Jonathan and his cohorts are prepared for the self-destructive process that could accompany forthcoming elections.

For, it must be stated clearly that it is uncommon and actually unthinkable that a country that wants peace for the people would go to an election year or period with as many problems.

What are the plans made to retake the terrorist-occupied states before the February elections? How can a presidential election be valid if elections do not take place across the country?

Nigeria herself is being held hostage presently. There are some hypotheses indicating that this may be true.

Firstly, it will be very sad if the APC adoption and support for Buhari were built on the fear created by Boko Haram. Many people are anticipating that Boko Haram will close shop if Buhari is elected. But that hypothesis was put to test in week 2 of 2015.

Boko Haram was reported to have massacred more than 2000 people in the town of Baga effectively closing down the town. Rather than slowing down, Boko Haram is decimating Nigerians and taking more land space.

There is unrest in Jos this weekend. Jos remains a boiling point of ethnic and religious problems. It is a permanent volatile city that swells for revenge and counter attacks dating back many years, precipitated by the British rule. The torching of the Jonathan PDP buses will definitely be a tip of the iceberg, if history is anything to go by.

Secondly Jimi Agbaje attested to the second hostage situation when he stated that the Nigerian economy will be crippled by the Niger Delta militants if Jonathan is not re-elected. Is that what Jonathan went to tell his “fada”-Babangida in Minna?

Was the meeting a sponsors’ meeting? Was a battle line drawn between what Boko Haram wanted and what the Niger Delta militants wanted? Is this the Nigerian future: to create a state determined by interplay of terrorists, dictators and authoritarians?

Few people were reported killed in Rivers State when Buhari flagged off his campaign. In the South, this is a preamble to the waiting mayhem come February 2015. There are weapons and small arms everywhere in Nigeria.

This will be a remarkable year of uncertainties.

The price of crude oil continues to drop in the international market.  Nigeria is officially broke after all the lies told by Mrs. Iweala under whose watch billions of dollars continue to disappear.

In any case massive retrenchment looms in the air; unemployment is set to reach a new record high in 2015. Austerity measures will be re-introduced; realities of life will bite harder in Nigeria.

Unfortunately the costs of running the government will likely go up and politicians will continue to loot the treasuries across the country.

What will Nigerians do regarding all these uncertainties and realities? Will they reach a new level of threshold of human resilience?

Change is the most common expression in the air.

People need to be informed that change is beyond replacing one man with another man.  A cosmetic change is too superficial. At this point there should be a simultaneous, energized clamor for a long term political solution for Nigeria. The most important change will be to eradicate the power at the center that makes demons out of men and Jezebels out of women.

For growth and development, Nigeria needs to reinvest in public education at all levels making them free and compulsory. Nigeria needs to pay more attention to health, science, medicine, family planning, technology and attainment of the millennium development goals.

For the economy diversification cannot wait because crude oil will either suffer extinction or its use will continue to diminish. Today, crude oil no longer has the relevance it has in the last couple of decennial. Alternatives are emerging every day and the global pursuit is to limit the use of petroleum products to products that are not obtainable from other processes. Running cars is not one of them!

Every part of Nigeria needs repositioning for increased and improved agricultural productivity. Oil Palm, cocoa, groundnut, yam, cashew and all the other agricultural products must receive renew attention and implementation of development policies.

The natural resources need to be retaken from fake expatriates and corrupt, foolish, illiterate ministers who keep selling them abroad cheap! More investments in this area under the control of the regional governments will be desirable in a reformed political system.

In all other areas, there should be strict regulations on areas where Nigerian and Nigerians are being robbed every day. The communication industry, power generation and distribution are examples of where better control will bring genuine revenues that can be used for development and remove the exploitations that Nigerians face ignorantly!

At all cost, power supply must improve and be stable.

Production and manufacturing in Nigeria can be developed without denying Nigerians the right to import desired goods and services. Long term development goals and programs to improve the standard of living without unnecessarily increasing the cost are very much desirable.

Change can come to Nigeria but the people must be wary. They have already tarried.

They need commitment, patriotism, trust and rededication to humanity and country.

By supporting the calls for regional autonomy or true federalism, Nigerians can remove the cankerworm sucking them at the center and reposition the country where it belongs-a global giant-say in 50 years if they start now.