Nigeria

NIGERIA, Not Missing The Point!

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Adeola Aderounmu.

It will be very instructive not to miss the points about the situation of things in Nigeria. There is no doubt that Nigeria is a very beautiful country (by nature) and a very wonderful geographical entity. There is no doubt that Nigerians are beautiful, hardworking and kind. However it is in this same Nigeria that you have beasts and lunatics who have used the instruments of governance and power to sentence millions of Nigerians to a life of perpetual poverty and agony. It is in this same beautiful Nigeria that you have some of the worst attributes of a democratic nation.

Those who govern in Nigeria are exceedingly rich. They are so rich that they could provide for their 14th unborn generation. They are so rich that they could stash away billions of dollars in foreign accounts and when they die, the money is lost to these useless oversea hypocritic countries. They tell us now that Nigeria is so corrupt that she occupies the 121st position on the ladder of corruption. How corrupt then is the United Kingdom, the United States and all these funny isolated islands who accept money from Nigerian thieves? Nonsense!

Indeed corruption is very rampant around the world but to different degrees and dimensions. It is such in Nigeria that while the public officers are getting richer and more insane, they do so at the expense of two things: the people and the negligence of public service. No administration in Nigeria has admitted to being a corrupt one and that is ridiculous. The point is that each administration is afraid to prosecute the previous one because they all have the same evil intention and that is to steal and loot from what they called the national cake. This is the monumental tragedy that has befallen Nigeria since independence. This is the biggest tragedy that has plagued Nigeria which has made it possible for the common man to live a fulfilling life.

It is made worse because of the influence of mistrust, tribalism, nepotism and extreme but inadmissible hatred for one another. There is a lot of pretense in the air and self preservation is the only law in Nigeria public service. The principle of me, myself and I is the most functional element in Nigeria military or political governments. The result is that an individual who is in public service becomes the only means to alleviate himself, his acquaintances, friends and families from the shackles of poverty and penury.

The consequence is the elaborate mind game that determine who survives and who suffers in Nigeria. Those who survive on their own are in a way the extraordinary people who stumble on the required space and function that allowed their relevance to be explored as it should have been normally. They are few and mostly intellectuals. You will find this category of people across all strata of the Nigerian society. All over the world, people in this category are used to keep the society in good shape and function. In Nigeria, they are usually hidden and silent.
There is a growing branch of the Nigerian society who are the opportunists as mentioned earlier who get rich because of the relationship that they have to power or to someone in power. There is nothing wrong with have this connection or influence but the mechanism that runs it is based on a corrupt system, a winner takes it all attitude and a mentality that focuses on self or just a few in the best situation.

We have failed to realize that the society is supposed to be built on fair play and equal opportunities. We stopped rewarding merits and excellence while promoting one useless concept called federal character. We promote violence and aggression. We, in general, promote evil over good and vices over virtues. So in essence we miss the point about the real situation of things once we get our hands on what we want. The me , myself and I attitude promotes a mentality of the survival of the fittest whereas the resources dictate otherwise. Nigeria is running a system that is defiant to the stipulations of nature and natural laws.

For example, the people of Nigeria have no business being poor. It is very unfortunate that more than 90m Nigerians are poor and cannot by themselves determine what they want to eat or how they want to eat. They cannot even determine how they want to live! It is extremely shameful that Western Union is going from Europe and America to Nigeria. Under natural laws, it should be the other way round. Nigerians are supposed to be the richest in the world not only as country but as individuals. Unfortunately, only a few Nigerians have ganged up to be in this “richest category”. It should have been everyone.

Indeed there will always be poor people everywhere but that the poor outnumbered the rich in Nigeria is catastrophic in economic evaluation. How is that possible? It is possible because as mentioned earlier, there are people who can provide for their nth generation while the living are starving. There are monies scattered all over the world in foreign banks and foreign economies and these have no real value or use to Nigerians who are alive. There are people living in Nigeria with monies that they would never be able to earn if they lived up to a million years. Yet they have this money and the state and people cannot take from them. It’s shocking and amazing!

I cannot understand why the poor cannot rise against the government in Nigeria. I mean it is a game of number, more than 90m against the others. What are we talking about? I am guilty of not fighting against the evil in my society they way I should when I was living in Nigeria. I tried a little though and I thought I did my best.

Ordinary Nigerians are so focused on religion and other things that they forget how life should be. Some people have never experienced how a good life feels like. The society is so fractionated that some people tell you stories that I call “make believe”. Those who think they are fortunate or even smart to be doing well invariably always forget what they see and those they encounter on the streets everyday.

I have written about Nigeria in many ways and from many angles and my message is the same: it is possible for all Nigerians to live a good life. But so far, there is no indication that that hope will be realized soon.

The government is in business as usual, reshuffle the cabinet and let other thieves come and steal their own part of the national cake. The politicians will never be prosecuted or they will never be made to refund the money they stole. No one is talking to Babangida anymore. He is permanently above the law. This man stole money that some African countries don’t even have! Obasanjo just messed up the power sector, he will never have to account for that! From 1960 to 2007, Nigeria continues to promote idiocy and madness in government and public service. I cannot stop saying that mad men are ruling in children! I have no other explanation for the unbelievable status of Nigeria in the comity of nations.

Everyone is public service must be good, accountable, prosecutable and intellectually functional if the society and country must move forward. Unfortunately, Only a few men are good but their efforts cannot cover 150m people. It doesn’t work that way especially when these good people are not even in public service. You must be crazy to survive Nigeria’s kind of democracy.

Nigeria is my country of birth. I’m still proud to be a Nigerian. It’s the pride of the black nation but I would really love to see my continue make real progress, not abstract or imaginary progresses. I look forward to the tangible things that can make life worth living in Nigeria.

Constant power supply, Good roads, modern and affordable health care (so the president does not fool around the world), good educational system (so the useless ministers will not be sending their children abroad), clean water and beautiful (affordable) houses and everything that promote merit over tribalism and mediocre. Nigerians abroad want to come back home. They need a place to call their real homes: This is the dream! I

Tanzania, others ban China’s tainted milk

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    CULLED FROM THE NIGERIAN GUARDIAN, SEPT 22 2008

IN the wake of the scandal in China involving milk contaminated with the toxic industrial chemical melamine, three African countries-Tanzania, Gabon and Burundi have banned imports of Chinese milk products.

In Tanzania, the country’s food and drug authority said government officials at all border points had been ordered to be “extra vigilant with all dairy products from China including yoghurt, ice-cream powder and chocolate.”

It said experts had also been sent “to check retail and wholesale outlets for any possible traces of tainted milk that had made its way” into the east African country.

Authorities in Libreveille at the weekend banned the import of all brands of Chinese milk until further notice.

The government decree also said that Chinese powdered milk already in the shops would be taken off the shelves.

China admitted this week that milk powder contaminated with melamine, which is used in plastics, had made at least 6,200 babies ill nation-wide and killed four over a period of many months.

Yili, Mengniu and Guangming — big brands consumed and trusted by hundreds of millions of Chinese — were affected by the recall after authorities checked their products and found traces of melamine.

As well as Gabon and Tanzania, the brands incriminated in the scandal export to Bangladesh, Burundi, Myanmar and Yemen.

Melamine added to milk and other food products gives the appearance of higher protein levels.

Burundi became the third African nation to ban Chinese milk products, after tainted milk from the country killed four babies in China and made thousands of others ill, the government said.

“The trade, industry and tourism ministry is calling on importers and shopkeepers who stock Chinese milk to stop selling the product until the end of an investigation,” a ministry statement said.

“This measure also concerns the sellers of repackaged milk, whatever its origin,” added the statement, while urging consumers to keep a watchful eye on the packaging of milk products.

A special commission has been set up to investigate the scale of the tainted milk problem in Burundi and “take urgent measures to protect the population,” the statement said.

Burundi imports milk products from two Chinese companies that are currently embroiled in the tainted powdered-milk scandal.

Four children have died and at least 6,200 are ill owing to milk products contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical used in the manufacturing of plastics.

A Burundi consumer association, known as ABUCO, expressed concern that tainted milk products were already being stocked in the country’s shops.

“For the moment, nobody knows if the milk is being sold on the Burundi market,” said Noel Nkurunziza, the president of ABUCO.

On Saturday, Gabon and Tanzania banned Chinese milk products and all Chinese dairy

The World Health Organisation yesterday said it was helping China solve its tainted milk formula problem, while criticising the government for initially failing to alert the international community.

Beijing officially sought the WHO’s help on September 11, telling the UN body it had monitored 6,244 cases of people ingesting formula tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, WHO Western Pacific director Shigeru Omi told a news conference in Manila.

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BLOG COMMENT

Does anyone knows how many African children that have died due to chinese poison. This is the same China that is becoming the main partner to African countries.

I hope these poisons from China are not being sent to Nigeria because that would add to the mortalities from malaria and other preventable childhood (respiratory) diseases.

Well done to Tanzania and the other countries. I hope that ALL countries in Africa will as a matter of fact stop the importation of poisonous food from China. Think about the children and their future, stop feeding them with poisons that would cause death and mental retardation.

Wake up Africa and make the best use of the resources and food in your own domain.

Racism at the Olympics

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My son lost Olympics gold to racism, says Chukwumerije
From Alifa Daniel, Asst. Political Editor, Abuja

 (CULLED FROM THE NIGERIAN GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER 26/08/2008)

THE Beijing Olympics may have ended, but in Nigeria, a senator, who spent his funds to send his son on a six-month training across the world, Uche Chukwumerije, has fired a protest to the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) over the manner the boy was allegedly short-changed out of contention for a gold or silver medal in the sports. Chika, Senator Uche Chukwumerije’s son, won a bronze medal.

The senator in a letter to the President which he read to journalists in his office at the National Assembly, explained that beyond protesting the injustice done to his son, his action would alert the administrators of taekwondo and the Olympics of the imminent danger posed to the sport by poor officiating.

Alluding to a racial tendency on the part of the administrators, the senator said that his protest was intended to ensure that the presence of African athletes in future competitions will be treated with more respect. “Sports should be blind,” he added.

He prayed the WTF president to replay the tape of this fight in any international sports channel and give the large international jury of Masters of Taekwondo an opportunity to appraise the fight and make their judgment, adding that such a jury with its experience and professionalism is more likely to deliver a merit and rule-driven verdict.

“I am compelled by the insensitivity which the dead ends of WTF official channels have offered to plead for justice and my fears about the deleterious effect of such deadness on the future of our Taekwondo sport to make this protest to you.

“The object of this petition is the poor officiating in the (Men’s Over 80kg) quarter-final tournament between Nigeria (Chika Chukwumerije) and Greece (Alexandro Nicholaidias) on August 23 in 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium). The officiating was so flawed that the victor was robbed of victory, and the defeated awarded an unmerited victory.

“My locus standi: What, you may ask, is my rightful interest in this matter? I am a member of the Taekwondo family – a senior black belt, a promoter of taekwondo in Nigeria and the father of the short-changed player in this disputed contest, Chika Chukwumerije.

On the grounds for his protest, Chukwumerije noted the overlook of a punishable violation of contest rules by Alexandro of Greece. His words: “In the second round of the contest, Alexandro held Chika by his chest protector and attempted an ass kick on the head, apparently in a desperate bid to wipe off Chika’s two-point lead. Holding an opponent while kicking is a punishable offence by Taekwondo rules. The referees overlooked the infraction. No point was deducted from Alexandro.”

He urged the WTF president to watch the tape of the fight and judge for himself.

Other grounds he gave were: “The attempted ass kick by Alexandro totally missed Chika who successfully ducked. But the referees inexplicably awarded two marks to Alexandro and he levelled up with Chika’s two-point lead.

  • Denial of Chika’s score – Almost immediately after this 2-2 score, Chika made a clear kick to Alexandro’s chest. Inexplicably, the referees denied him the score.

“

  • Second unmerited award to Alexandro – Three seconds to the end of the round, the referees inexplicably gave one point to Alexandro, bringing the score to 3-2 in his favour. No kick, no punch to justify this score.

“

  • Deaf ears to our Constitutional Right to Hearing of our Appeal for a Review – In accordance with the rules, Chika’s coach and the Nigerian Taekwondo leadership filed a protest to the Taekwondo supervisory board against the poor officiating. To underline the seriousness of Nigeria’s concern for the stultifying effect of this level of refereeing on the future of Taekwondo, the top management of Nigeria’s Olympic Sports Organisation (comprising Habu Gumel, Chairman of Nigeria Olympics Committee; Banji Oladapo, Secretary-General of the Committee, Alhaji Bappa, the Assistant Secretary-General, Patrick Ekeji, the Director-General of Sports Development in Nigeria, Nathaniel Nnaji, Chairman, Nigeria Taekwondo Association and my humble self) met the Chairman of Africa Taekwondo Union, General Fouli of Egypt, and re-emphasised our protest.

“We were told that the protest would be considered and a review was under way. The next shock, which hit us was a display on the television screen announcing a tournament for a third position and listing Chika Chukwumerije as a contestant. This meant that our protest received merely a nominal nod, but was never treated, unlike the protest by Britain in an earlier bout.”

He further urged the WTF president to review the tapes and come to his own conclusion.

Chukwumerije went on: “From this account, the following observations are noteworthy: First, by fair officiating, this tournament should have ended 3-0 in favour of Chika Chukwumerije. The calculation is thus:- the three points given to Alexandro were unmerited gifts and therefore a nullity. On the other hand, Chika’s three (3) points — that is, the two (2) points acknowledged by the referees and the one (1) point denied by referees — were clearly earned.

Secondly, the capricious behaviour of the judges was reflected in an unprecedented number of stoppages of the fight for consultations among the referees in the bout. As can be seen in the tape, “on three occasions, the referees stopped the fight and consulted among themselves, thereby giving a strong impression that they were unsure of their readings of the contest. Please compare the stoppages in this fight with referee interventions in all the other taekwondo fights in this Olympic Games.”

Chukwumerije noted that Nigeria was bound to be demoralised, stressing that her only protection and assurance in the sport was the hope that taekwondo convention offers a level playing ground in competitions.

“This hope has now been severely undermined,” the senator lamented, adding that “the international image of taekwondo may be soiled and its standing in the comity of world sports lowered by a growing impression of subjective and unpredictable commitment of our referees to the rules of the game.

He also averred that “the insensitivity of the Taekwondo Supervisory Board to genuine protests against provable acts of poor officiating in accordance with the rules encourages anti-compliance behaviour among practitioners. Compare the responses of the Supervisory Board to two protests — Britain’s and Nigeria’s.

In an earlier bout (Women’s Under 57kg Quarter Finals), the British coach angrily shot up from his seat like thunder bolt and protested in a loud voice against a case of poor officiating. He aggressively followed up after the contest with a strong protest to the board. The supervisory board reviewed the case, played back the tape in full view of the audience, and reversed the verdict of the judges.

In Nigeria’s case, the Nigerian coach quietly waited like a law-abiding practitioner till the end of the bout to make his protest. Nigeria avoided violence of fist or body language. The supervisory board ignored our appeal and the review of the disputed contest did not take place. We gathered from the grapevine that the supervisory council was afraid that a second reversal of an unjustified verdict would be one too many and could deal embarrassing damage to the image of World Taekwondo Federation.”

 

Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian has been disqualified and stripped of his Olympic bronze medal.

(From the  BBC)

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the Swede was punished for violating the spirit of fair play during the medal ceremony.

Abrahamian, who came third in the 84kg Greco-Roman category, dumped his medal on the floor after receiving it and strode off in protest.

He was furious at a controversial penalty call in his semi-final.

The call decided the match against Italy’s Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win the gold medal.

Following the semi-final loss to Minguzzi, Abrahamian, who won silver in the Athens Olympics four years ago, had to be restrained by his team-mates.

The IOC executive board ruled that the wrestler’s action amounted to a political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow athletes.

They added that no athlete will receive Abrahamian’s medal.

Nigeria’s Fake Anticorruption War

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By Adeola Aderounmu.

Corruption is still the biggest problem with Nigeria. It’s like a curse because despite the pockets of prosecution that we witness every now and then, it seems that things will never change.

I think that the problem will not go away because the fight against corruption is very partial and carries no sincere purpose.

If a man can plead his way out of prosecution then the war itself is absolutely useless. We have seen corrupt politicians arrested today and released tomorrow and case closed!

What kind of anticorruption war is that?

Moreso, some people have never been questioned about their stolen wealth. It gives an impression that some thieves are smarter or more powerful than the others. For example, it is either Babangida is smarter or more powerful than Bode George.

Imagine this, Babangida is alleged to have stolen more than 12 billion dollars. If the allegation is wrong, we’ll never know because he has not given an account (at least not a public one) of how Nigeria’s finances was managed during the gulf war.

The result of this insincerity and fake war on corruption is that we still have more than 90 million Nigerians who don’t know what the next meal would look like. The result also included inability to sustain good and qualitative education. It extends to Nigerian highways listed among the worst in the world. More than 400 people will die on the road today!

The insincerity of governance in Nigeria means that power generation is getting close to zero. Soon, it will be back to the Stone and Dark Ages.

It is not too late to bring corrupt politicians to book. The prosecution should be total, resolute and absolute. Monies should be returned and used to build the country.

But who are am talking to? Who will bell the cat? An illegal president? The entire system is corrupt and it seems that some things will never change.

Are Nigeria and Abuja two great mistakes?

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Are Nigeria and Abuja two great mistakes?

By Adeola Aderounmu.

For a while now, I have been wondering if Nigeria was/is a mistake. Maybe four or more countries would have been viable and prosperous instead of the one nation (Nigeria) populated by more than 90 million extremely poor people.

Indeed in the absence of corruption and very bad governance maybe Nigeria would have become the greatest country on earth. We will never know. What we know is that there are people in Nigeria whose 14th generation from now will not experience poverty because some members of their families have looted and are still looting and preparing for them-the unborn.

In the same set up called Nigeria, for example in the Niger Delta we have people who are living on less than 1 dollar a day. As these people continue to suffer, treasures and wealth are taken away from them daily and part of this wealth was used to build a new city called Abuja.

Instead of building a new capital called Abuja the right thing would have been the building of the Niger Delta. If mumu and idiots like Babangida have built the Niger Delta, we would have no militants today. There will be no MEND. There would not have been any kidnapping in the Delta and Ken Saro Wiwa would not have died.

So the questions remain: Would the people in my area of West Africa have been better off today if the vagabond Briton called Lugard did not establish NIGER AREA (Nigeria)? If the successive evil governments of Nigeria did not introduce poverty as a way of life, would MEND and other criminal militants be waging war against Nigeria today?