Nigeria

Yar Adua is probably not coming back…Can we move on Please?

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Adeola Aderounmu

Gone for more than 3 weeks! I don’t think Yar Adua is coming back to Aso rock, a place he illegally and forcefully inherited. If we had built a reputable hospital in Nigeria in all the 10 years he wasted as a top man perhaps the story would have been different. 8 years as a governor and 2 years as a fake president, all wasted just like that!

Life and Power remain transient..!

If we had a well equipped hospital in Nigeria, he would have been in our domain and we would have known firsthand what is going on with him. But now he is hidden, probably enclosed and we have no clue what is going on.

Based on the secrecy of his condition and with no official information from anywhere, it is better to assume that he is not coming back.

Nigerian Politicians based on their wickedness, selfishness and evil ways have refused to follow the constitution. This is so not happening in the year 2009 going to 2010. Where are these people from? In what Age are they living in? I’m talking about Nigerian Politicians, who have become the most ridiculous people on earth.

Is there a Chief Justice of the Federation somewhere? Is there any functional National Assembly in Nigeria? Is there any constitution at all to behold?

Or are we now being ruled by the ex-convict who became a governor in Delta State? Or his lawyer, the AG who is ridiculously shameless? Who is in charge of this prevalent nonsense?

Can we move on please?

Goodluck Jonathan was the VP imposed on us. Please give him to us with all his imperfections and stains. We will take it, even if to remove this ridicule from our existence for a short period-until 2011.

I have written elsewhere that Jonathan should become the president of Nigeria but that we should NEVER AGAIN in our lives allow the kind of process that gave rise to him and Yar Adua. Our votes were not counted in the most evil selection process in Nigeria’s history.

It’s time to move on. The truth will soon be known to all and by that time the shame of Nigerian politicians would have magnified. They are liars now, what will they be when the whole situation-the bigger picture is revealed?

The lazy lawmakers should stop looting and stealing. For once let them do something right. Move this country forward, at least by one step, even if it’s an ant-step.

Please and please, stop this national shame and nonsense.

Let Yar Adua be! Even if a miracle brings him back, he is definitely not going to be fit for that game of squash let alone head a village meeting. He would need rest.

We are talking about 150m other people being held stagnant. Fuel scarcity, insecurity, unemployment, school problems and so on, these things are getting worse. Workers are being laid off, the economy is not improving and for 3 weeks we have no direction forward. Does this mean that when Yar Adua was there he was just a figure-head or what? Are there no functions for the number 1 top post in Nigeria? Because it is always mischievously acquired or why?

I can’t shout more than this please…
The time to move on is here.

Enough of this rubbish please.

Still on Bleak Christmas in Nigeria

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Adeola Aderounmu

During the week I reported about this year’s bleak Christmas in Nigeria. The Nigerian Guardian Newspaper is reporting this morning that 1 500 people have been sacked by the Intercontinental Banks.

The bank has over 300 branches in Nigeria and approximately 5 person/ bank received letters of disengagement, as reported by the Guardian Newspaper’s correspondent Muyiwa Adeyemi.

The compensation given is 3 months basic salary irrespective of how long they have worked for the bank. Yea, welcome to Nigeria, the land of injustice.

After these 3 months, what are these workers supposed to do? One thousand five hundred..! How many households are we talking about? How many children are going to be affected?

Nigeria has no social security program for the unemployed. Unemployment is already rife and the effects on social vices cannot be over emphasized.

UBA-The United Bank for Africa also laid off 2 000 of its work force. This compounds the already overloaded unemployment market for which no reliable statistics are available. But millions of Nigerians lack gainful employment and many graduates are using their skills mostly in informal jobs.

Things are really getting worse based on realities that we can see and experience. This is one of the reasons why it is so frustrating so see the negative effects of governance in Nigeria. Corruption, greediness, nepotism, tribalism and all sorts of vices have denied us of the type of growth and development that we should actually be experiencing.

In all of these the politicians are getting richer. They make loads of money that they do not deserve, their actions do not improve the standards of our lives and they continue to do things that are not only irritating but also invariably extremely inimical to progress. They loot, steal, plunder and sniff everywhere for ways to get richer and richer while the masses are left with the mess from their misdemeanours.

This is Christmas season and for these people who have been thrown out of jobs without any form of security, you can imagine the impact on their psychological and social wellbeing. It is not going to be easy as they must now desperately seek ways to put food on the table for their families and dependent relations. I wish them well, now and always

Merry Christmas Nigeria..!

UPDATE: Oceanic Bank has also sacked 1 500, as at Dec 21 2009.

Nigerian Judiciary, A citadel of Corrupt Minds

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

Adeola Aderounmu

When I was a little boy I was told that lawyers are liars. It was a joke but it stuck. I was determined never to become a lawyer but I do admire them.

Almost everything institution in Nigeria is corrupt and upside down. All our democratic institutions that should be protecting the rights of citizens and promoting justice and fairness are all corrupt. Nigeria is a peculiar country.

The thing is, when something fundamental goes wrong, you cannot just point at the person concerned. You have to look at the institution that he or she belongs to and give a summative judgement.

That is why I have the title covering the Nigerian Judiciary. I tried to trust this institution but over the years it has contributed to the destruction of the democratic pillars that it ought to be building. The best way to describe the Nigerian Judiciary is lukewarm. It is very inconsistent and highly fallible.

This week one of Nigeria’s most notorious politicians James Ibori was cleared of 170 charges of corruption – involving the laundering of millions of dollars. The trial judge Justice Marcel Awokulehin was reportedly appointed by Ibori himself! You see, this is why I’ve always said that Nigeria is the most corrupt country in the world and I will stand by this any day any time, UNTIL I see changes.

No matter how corrupt other countries are, you will never hear of an accused person appointing his own judge! This can only happen in Nigeria. To me the most corrupt people in this world are living in Nigeria..! I mean the outcome of this case became predictable several weeks ago.

So the Nigerian Judiciary has dragged itself into disrepute-stinking, useless institution that should never be trusted. The EFCC-Nigerian anticorruption agency said it will appeal the judgement. Where were they when that hungry judge Awokulehin was hand-picked by Ibori? How much money did Ibori give to this shameless judge? Why did they ignore all the warning signals issued by bloggers and online reporters until the case went as predicted. Yes bloggers and online reporters because the Nigerian media is totally enveloped in fear of “what to report or not”.

It is an open secret that Ibori sponsored Yar Adua’s illegitimate presidency. So it is easy to see that the Nigerian government is in support of this judgement. The AG of Nigeria Michael Aondoakaa has travelled to London several times to defend Mr. Ibori. I cannot believe just how stupid we appear as a country.

The Attorney General of Nigeria went to London to defend a criminal. That makes both of them criminals and the fake president also an accessory to crime. Is this a country? I cannot shout..!

And you don’t even see the end of corruption in sight. It’s just getting deeper and deeper by the day. Ibori stole Delta State to dryness and he is walking free because he gave substantial part of the money to Yar Adua for his campaign. The Nigerian people are suffering no doubt and it is such a helpless situation when you are trapped between the devil and a deep ocean. The only way out is to fight back. When Nigerians do this by protest or revolution, freedom will be earned.

To expect that freedom will be earned by passivity or endless prayers will only add to our burdens. Our lives are in our hands.

Nigerians brace up for a Bleak Christmas 2009

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

Adeola Aderounmu

I hope there will be no pipeline explosion during this season as I now punch my keyboards to write about this year’s Christmas in Nigeria. Nigerians just got their Christmas presents.

There will be no 6000 MW of electric power supply. This means that darkness will continue to pervade the land. How sad!

Fuel is now scarce again. This is one of the biggest intellectual scandals across ages. In Nigeria crude oil is flowing like milk and honey. But Nigeria exports crude oil and imports finished petroleum products. You can tell that morons are in charge of this blessed but damaged nation. Serious intellectual issue..!

A lot of Nigerians had great expectations in 1999 when Obasanjo became president. In 2007 hopelessness knew no measure among ordinary people. Only the politicians, their families and the lucky people in the private sector have some measure of wealth to live the good life. More than 90m Nigerians are living desperately from hand to mouth. I can’t stop stating that this is one the hidden tragedies of modern era. It’s hard to find more serious problems even in war torn areas.

In 2007 when the presidential mandate was smuggled and given to Yar Adua, some people’s hopes were rekindled because they didn’t know that it was the perpetration of evil. For the past 10 years the politicians have continued to steal, loot and enrich themselves while the quality of our lives have diminished terribly. Nigeria is grounded and what we continue to be fed with are lies and deceit.

The purchasing power of the naira is bad and the exchange rate is alarming. People want to shop and look good for Christmas but many people can’t afford simple meals and decent clothes. So this Christmas a lot of money will be sent home from abroad. Nigerians in Diaspora will once again rise up to the occasion to put smiles on the faces of families and friends.

Unfortunately no one will be able to handle the wickedness of thieves, kidnappers and armed robbers. Many unemployed Nigerians are so frustrated that they have increased the ranks of these unsocial groups. The Nigerian Police will not be able to guarantee the safety of lives and property at this time of the year. They are hardly there at other times. Their best and unethical function is to collect 20 naira at artificial check points and bribes in their offices. You can mistake Nigerian Police station for a failed bank.

I am not proud of our failures because they represent a collective shame. I don’t take pleasures in these writings. I want to write about the good things but the bad and evil have simply over shadowed the good things. There are honest people in Nigeria. There are good organisations in Nigeria. On the whole Nigeria is beautiful, blessed by nature.

But I will not write about so many good things when one man stole 12 billion dollars and walked free. I will not talk about good things now when governors stole their states dry and walked free. I cannot concentrate on the good things in a nation where more than 90m people are poor, helpless, oppressed and speechless.

No I cannot stop talking about these things because Nigerian politicians are bloody liars and too corrupt to behold. One day will be one day; we will have to device a method to drive away these wicked people. I am so sure they will not last forever. There is a need to emancipate the 90 or 100m Nigerians in desperate need of fulfilling lives.

Merry Christmas to the downtrodden. May you and your generations rise again..!

Fuel Scarcity hits Nigeria: Another season of madness

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

By Adeola Aderounmu

Who can understand this situation? One of the world’s largest producers of crude oil is at it again. It’s close to Christmas 2009 and Petrol is scarce again in Nigeria..!

I can’t stop making reference to the level of our mentality-cognitive and otherwise. This is absurd. 10 years into a new found civility (though clouded by tyranny) there is yet no “brain” to develop our oil resources to make them abundantly available for the citizenry.

This is because of the mafia group that runs the Nigerian oil businesses. Now they have created a new scarcity, they will make hell of money and the populace will groan and suffer. People who are already poor will now pay even more money to get fuel or to get transportation to move around. What a hell of a country! I have no doubt; this country is managed by extremely heartless and wicked people.

The government has a plan to deregulate the oil sector. Could this be the new plan to drive home the point? Do the people have to suffer more because of the planned deregulation?

And come to think about it this country has no legal president since 2007 and not even any form of governance since November 2009 because Yar Adua is lying ill in Saudi Arabia. What a country? Nigerian politicians are in need of psychological and mental examinations. Is this all about political survival? Is this all about selfishness? Is this all about some form of peculiar madness in the political arena?

There is fire on the mountain and nobody seems to be running.

Renowned lawyer and human right activist Femi Falana has asked an Abuja court to declare vacancy in the Nigerian presidency. But for the legal procedures I think that position has been vacant since May 2007 when the mandate was stolen in what has been described as the worst election in the history of mankind. But how wonderful that there is still one sane person in Nigerian political / judiciary arena! Thank you Femi Falana for your courage.

Also thank you to CACOL: the coalition led by Debo Adeniran is still trying and working hard to eliminate corruption in Nigeria. All these will not be a day’s job.

I still believe in Nigeria. We are talking about probably the most prosperous nation on earth but having some of the poorest people and the worst of infrastructure. Nigerian roads are among the worst in the world. Schools are frequently closed due to bad management and electric power supply is almost non-existent. Poverty is rife as a few greedy people have stolen our commonwealth. Our politics is complete and total
madness and our votes still useless, they are not counted.

Still, our life is in our hands. Our future is what we make of it today.

One day, things will take a turn for the better. I don’t know the sacrifices we have to make but I am sure we must get rid of the bad people and bad politics. One way or the other we must prove our sanity, cognitive abilities and courage to establish institutions that will lead us to the good life in our promised land.

Nigeria will rise again, soon..!