Dreams can be crazy, especially when malaria has a hand and a foot in it. Fancy the dream I had last night. It was so scary it made a horror film look like a routine Lagos traffic jam. I woke up sweating and decided it was time to see the doctor.
I dreamt that Senator Ahmed Yerima was elected the President of Nigeria. He settled into Aso Rock and ... See moreintroduced a thirteen year old, Fatima, as his wife and First Lady of Nigeria. That instantly posed a problem for the media which did not know whether Nigeria had a First Child or First Lady. Opinion was divided, but Ray Ekpu of Newswatch stepped in and decided that the media should hold a national conference and take a common position on how to address the President’s teen wife so as not to embarrass the President. The Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka maintained that to be grammatically correct, we should not address a child as a lady and asserted with authority that a “lady” is a term used to address “mature women” not “children.” He argued that she should remain a “First Child until further notice.”
But the People’s Democratic Party maintained that the problem was not grammatical but political. To which famous lawyer, Chief Femi Falana pointed out that the “child” in question was not of voting age and as such should not impose a political burden on the country. He maintained that the nation should assume that the President had no legal wife or in the alternative ask him to produce another wife worthy of being addressed as a First Lady and who was of voting age.
We were still trying to solve the matter when we heard that some civil right groups had taken the matter to the court to annul the marriage and let the child go back to school. We told them to hold on that the child was still in school and will actually be a part time First Child or First Lady and part time student. The case was dropped. We would have rested the matter there but guess what? Along came Prof. Dora Akunyili (I mean Prof Dora Akunyili again!) and said she had it on good authority that Her Excellency was still bed-wetting. She said it would do great damage to her rebranding exercise and wondered “how you could rebrand a country when the First Lady was busy wetting beds abroad.”
The Federal Ministry of Health responded promptly that it had developed drugs which could take care of bed-wetting, but if the drugs were not okay, then the First Lady could use catheter in the night and not wet beds in presidential guest houses abroad. Everyone was relieved but guess what? The Central Bank came charging that such money would not be charged to any budgetary item and would amount to an extra-budgetary expenditure and fraud. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission agreed and said the National Assembly should approve a “Bed-wetting allowance” for the president, before any fund was drawn. They noted that if the man were to travel as much as President Olusegun Obasanjo did, then it would add to the national inflation and would be difficult to justify based on existing financial regulations.
Well the debate was still raging when we heard that President Barrack Obama was coming to Nigeria on a state visit and would be accompanied by his wife, Michele. Civil liberties organizations swung into action and tried to persuade the American Embassy to postpone the trip until the “First Lady” issue was resolved. But the Embassy said the visit was part of a tour of strategic African states and Nigeria was amongst the most important in Africa.
Obama actually came and was met on the tarmac by President Yerima with his wife, Fatima, in tow. Obama thought Her Execllency, Mrs Fatima Yeriama, was the garland girl and bent down to have her hang a garland on his neck. Her Excellency on the other hand thought differently in the innocence of her childlike heart, and thought he was bending down to admire her dress. She giggled and said, “Isn’t this a very wonderful dress? It is the same color with my undies.”
Michele laughed heartily and picked up Her Excellency in her hands, stroking her head. I nearly fainted! She turned to President Yerima and said, “This should be your beautiful daughter, where is her mother -your wife?” To which President Yerima looked at her stunned, not knowing what to say. The American ambassador to Nigeria stepped in and saved the situation, “Mrs. Obama, that is the President’s wife that you are carrying in your hands. You may wish to put her down beside her husband so that the reception will continue.”
The Nigerian First Lady who had been struggling to get out of Michele’s hands, looked up indignantly at the American First Lady, said, “I will not be your friend again. Only my husband carries me up and you dared to carry me up.”
President Obama stroked his tie thoughtfully and said, “Let us not have a diplomatic row over this, I forgot to tell Michele that in Africa you catch them young. It is entirely my fault. My apologies to the First Couple. And now Mr President can we proceed to other reception formalities?”
Soon the airport reception was over and the two First Ladies had to while away time while the Presidents discussed matters of state. Mrs Yerima insisted on showing Mrs Obama her toys and her grades in school. The other women stood idly by as one baby doll after the other was shown to Mrs Obama. “My husband bought this toy for me from China, she can even sing, let me play it for you.” Mrs Obama nodded.
Her Excellency Fatima hit the button and the doll began to sing, “God damn America the great Satan, down with the infidels and down with the west…” Mrs. Obama cringed but the child paid her no heed.
She bounded over to the television and turned it on. Then she moved the dial to Cartoon Network and turned to Mrs Obama, “Do you watch Tom and Jerry?” But by this time Mrs Obama had had enough, she fainted and had to be flown back to America.
I was filing the report to my editor when my wife woke me up and said it was time to take my anti-malaria drug. [Ha HA Ha Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]
Hat Tip Tobi Sowole
Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
NIGERIA @ 50: JOIN TO SAY NO TO JAMBOREE AND WASTE
Great /Nigerians and friends of Nigeria
The Federal Government of Nigeria has earmarked N10 billion for the 50th Independence day celebrations. As part of this profligate waste of funds there is currently a 2 day jamboree at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, in Park Lane, London, W1K 7TN. There has been no press release on the purpose of this conference, or why it is being held in one of the most expensive hotels in one of the most expensive cities, 6000km from our nation’s capital
We have already called and confirmed that this conference is taking place but they refuse to divulge further details
To the best of my knowledge there is no reason for 18 state governors, almost 12 ministers, dozens of ‘Special Assistants’ and officials to confer about 50 years of independence in London, whilst Nigerians suffer back home
Great Nigerians and friends of Nigeria please let us scupper this corrupt waste of Nigeria’s funds. Call Grosvenor House Hotel on 0207 499 6363, query whether the conference is ongoing and request the number of their manager/ complaints department. State that you intend to register your protest in writing, try and get as many details as they will give out.
The objective is to overwhelm the hotel’s switch board with calls, although the hotel is a business obviously following the money we need to make the cost of doing business with corrupt, useless officials higher than any benefits. With the resultant loss of business and adverse publicity, hotels will think twice before accepting such conferences
People, this is an easy one to achieve, lets get out and make this happen
The Federal Government of Nigeria has earmarked N10 billion for the 50th Independence day celebrations. As part of this profligate waste of funds there is currently a 2 day jamboree at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, in Park Lane, London, W1K 7TN. There has been no press release on the purpose of this conference, or why it is being held in one of the most expensive hotels in one of the most expensive cities, 6000km from our nation’s capital
We have already called and confirmed that this conference is taking place but they refuse to divulge further details
To the best of my knowledge there is no reason for 18 state governors, almost 12 ministers, dozens of ‘Special Assistants’ and officials to confer about 50 years of independence in London, whilst Nigerians suffer back home
Great Nigerians and friends of Nigeria please let us scupper this corrupt waste of Nigeria’s funds. Call Grosvenor House Hotel on 0207 499 6363, query whether the conference is ongoing and request the number of their manager/ complaints department. State that you intend to register your protest in writing, try and get as many details as they will give out.
The objective is to overwhelm the hotel’s switch board with calls, although the hotel is a business obviously following the money we need to make the cost of doing business with corrupt, useless officials higher than any benefits. With the resultant loss of business and adverse publicity, hotels will think twice before accepting such conferences
People, this is an easy one to achieve, lets get out and make this happen
Monday, May 3, 2010
Little Practical Steps While We Wait
It seems highly unlikely that an epidemic of selflessness and patriotism will suddenly break out in the ranks of our political and social elite class. This is partly because we have a culture of passive indifference on the part of the citizenry and a rapacious appetite for filthy lucre on the part of our politicians. The primary purpose of government in Nigeria would appear to be the personal enrichment of politician-contractors and the personal aggrandizement of our infantile political class. And I am not convinced that either prayers or curses alone can provide the magic formula for solving our problems. Prayers obviously didn’t work in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sudan, North Korea and their utility, as a sole or prominent weapon in the Nigerian context, is highly dubious to put it rather mildly.
Given the foregoing doom-laden scenario and abject prognosis, it is unsurprising that true patriots and even ordinary compatriots have become resigned to their fate, accepted our unattractive ‘destiny’, retreated into mental and physical inertia and adopted a ‘to your tents o Israel’ mentality. If this situation is not reversed, we risk giving up the struggle for our nation’s betterment, emancipation of ourselves and our very survival becomes a chance occurrence subject to the capricious whims of our bandit politicians and crooked rulers.
Methinks we are not totally helpless and I direct my appeal to those Nigerians who have had the good fortune to have an education, are able to earn a living and have the luxury of not worrying about getting the next meal. There are simple things we can do while we wait for good governance in our motherland. Here are some of those things, and this list is by no means exhaustive.
Health education: Inadequate knowledge of health issues is a major factor in generating our dismal health statistics like infant mortality and life expectancy rates. The lack of awareness of elementary health facts and misconceptions even among highly educated Nigerians is truly alarming. For example very few people outside medicine realise that ‘heart failure’ is not a synonym for ‘cardiac arrest’ and ‘food poisoning’ does not mean deliberate contamination of food by chemical poisons or juju powder. Those who know can painlessly share knowledge and can repeatedly ram these nuggets of knowledge down the throats of our family and friends. It is literally a matter of life and death.
Health promotion: Those of us who are healthcare professionals can adopt a more proactive attitude to the health of our families and friends. We can, for example ask hard questions about health and wellbeing and not simply wait until things become desperate. Practically speaking, why not offer a free health check (physical examination, blood pressure, blood sugar, haematological and biochemical profiles etc) annually to most or all members of your extended family. It surely must be cheaper than burying them prematurely later.
We can encourage our people to ask more questions from healthcare professionals when they go to hospital. For example, if your doctor says you suffer from typhoid, ask questions about his diagnosis methods and treatment suggestions. The doctor ought not to mind and I can attest to this longing for even mild curiosity from personal experience as a practising physician in Lagos. We must take control of our health and robustly discourage sloppiness and quackery in medicare.
Education: It is possible to inexpensively augment the efforts of our educational system at all levels and help improve the overall literacy level of our citizenry. One example is to have small mentoring groups consisting of perhaps 3 to 5 individuals each. They can they undertake to ‘adopt’ a few pupils each and closely promote their education by measures such as helping them with sc materials, liaising with their teachers and generally taking an active interest in their academic development. This need not be a high cost option and a few phone calls here and a few purchases here would rapidly amount to a lot of effective attention. This is especially pertinent to those of us who live abroad as, by my reckoning, a paltry monthly outlay of 20 pounds can be put to very effective use. If your ward is able to access the Internet (and there are many cyber cafés around in Nigeria now) you might even be able to keep in touch more frequently and less expensively by email. Just think of how inspiring a pep talk from ‘Uncle Joe’ from Lagos or ‘Aunty Joyce’ from London can be to a young child in the village. We can disseminate information about scholarship schemes, support our alma mata, supply writing and reading materials to schools in our neighbourhoods and set up school competitions (spelling contests, essay competitions, endow end-of-term prizes etc).
Career promotion: We can all actively seek to promote the careers of our younger compatriots and offer useful help based on our life experiences. If you come across one studying Accountancy for example, help them to consider taking ICAN exams or if you meet a youngster studying medicine, try to help consider options for postgraduate training and career development should that be their ambition.
Reduce waste: It is very common for us to fritter our cash on frivolities like big parties and flashy clothes. Some might argue that these parties are deeply entrenched in our culture and arguably play a role in maintaining some social cohesion in a fractious society but this is a largely specious argument. We can have smaller parties less frequently (and have just as much fun), decline to celebrate 80th year remembrance of our late great-grandmother with anything more than token drinks and prayers and ‘spray’ just a little less money (or none at all) at the next Owambe party. Whatever we save this way can be deployed to making the lives of others just that little bit more bearable. It really is that simple.
Little acts of protest: When our absentee governors, legislators and senior special advisers and their retinue of lackeys and political jobbers arrive on their next trip to Europe and USA, those of us who live here can take advantage of the culture of democratic protest in these societies to make their stay most uncomfortable. We can pester them with hostile posters, flood their residences with protest mail, harass them with hostile phone calls on TV phone-ins and generally make their lives miserable. It is a fate richly deserved by our traducers and we are morally justified in doing this. I am open to suggestions in this regard.
It is regrettable that we are unable to mobilise our abundant resources to promote the wellbeing of our people and lift Nigeria into the ranks of advanced societies but that is our lot at present. We can either wring our hands in frustration or do something, no matter how little. The time for action is NOW. Please do something. TORI OLORUN. I BEG UNA.
Femi Adebajo
United Kingdom
Given the foregoing doom-laden scenario and abject prognosis, it is unsurprising that true patriots and even ordinary compatriots have become resigned to their fate, accepted our unattractive ‘destiny’, retreated into mental and physical inertia and adopted a ‘to your tents o Israel’ mentality. If this situation is not reversed, we risk giving up the struggle for our nation’s betterment, emancipation of ourselves and our very survival becomes a chance occurrence subject to the capricious whims of our bandit politicians and crooked rulers.
Methinks we are not totally helpless and I direct my appeal to those Nigerians who have had the good fortune to have an education, are able to earn a living and have the luxury of not worrying about getting the next meal. There are simple things we can do while we wait for good governance in our motherland. Here are some of those things, and this list is by no means exhaustive.
Health education: Inadequate knowledge of health issues is a major factor in generating our dismal health statistics like infant mortality and life expectancy rates. The lack of awareness of elementary health facts and misconceptions even among highly educated Nigerians is truly alarming. For example very few people outside medicine realise that ‘heart failure’ is not a synonym for ‘cardiac arrest’ and ‘food poisoning’ does not mean deliberate contamination of food by chemical poisons or juju powder. Those who know can painlessly share knowledge and can repeatedly ram these nuggets of knowledge down the throats of our family and friends. It is literally a matter of life and death.
Health promotion: Those of us who are healthcare professionals can adopt a more proactive attitude to the health of our families and friends. We can, for example ask hard questions about health and wellbeing and not simply wait until things become desperate. Practically speaking, why not offer a free health check (physical examination, blood pressure, blood sugar, haematological and biochemical profiles etc) annually to most or all members of your extended family. It surely must be cheaper than burying them prematurely later.
We can encourage our people to ask more questions from healthcare professionals when they go to hospital. For example, if your doctor says you suffer from typhoid, ask questions about his diagnosis methods and treatment suggestions. The doctor ought not to mind and I can attest to this longing for even mild curiosity from personal experience as a practising physician in Lagos. We must take control of our health and robustly discourage sloppiness and quackery in medicare.
Education: It is possible to inexpensively augment the efforts of our educational system at all levels and help improve the overall literacy level of our citizenry. One example is to have small mentoring groups consisting of perhaps 3 to 5 individuals each. They can they undertake to ‘adopt’ a few pupils each and closely promote their education by measures such as helping them with sc materials, liaising with their teachers and generally taking an active interest in their academic development. This need not be a high cost option and a few phone calls here and a few purchases here would rapidly amount to a lot of effective attention. This is especially pertinent to those of us who live abroad as, by my reckoning, a paltry monthly outlay of 20 pounds can be put to very effective use. If your ward is able to access the Internet (and there are many cyber cafés around in Nigeria now) you might even be able to keep in touch more frequently and less expensively by email. Just think of how inspiring a pep talk from ‘Uncle Joe’ from Lagos or ‘Aunty Joyce’ from London can be to a young child in the village. We can disseminate information about scholarship schemes, support our alma mata, supply writing and reading materials to schools in our neighbourhoods and set up school competitions (spelling contests, essay competitions, endow end-of-term prizes etc).
Career promotion: We can all actively seek to promote the careers of our younger compatriots and offer useful help based on our life experiences. If you come across one studying Accountancy for example, help them to consider taking ICAN exams or if you meet a youngster studying medicine, try to help consider options for postgraduate training and career development should that be their ambition.
Reduce waste: It is very common for us to fritter our cash on frivolities like big parties and flashy clothes. Some might argue that these parties are deeply entrenched in our culture and arguably play a role in maintaining some social cohesion in a fractious society but this is a largely specious argument. We can have smaller parties less frequently (and have just as much fun), decline to celebrate 80th year remembrance of our late great-grandmother with anything more than token drinks and prayers and ‘spray’ just a little less money (or none at all) at the next Owambe party. Whatever we save this way can be deployed to making the lives of others just that little bit more bearable. It really is that simple.
Little acts of protest: When our absentee governors, legislators and senior special advisers and their retinue of lackeys and political jobbers arrive on their next trip to Europe and USA, those of us who live here can take advantage of the culture of democratic protest in these societies to make their stay most uncomfortable. We can pester them with hostile posters, flood their residences with protest mail, harass them with hostile phone calls on TV phone-ins and generally make their lives miserable. It is a fate richly deserved by our traducers and we are morally justified in doing this. I am open to suggestions in this regard.
It is regrettable that we are unable to mobilise our abundant resources to promote the wellbeing of our people and lift Nigeria into the ranks of advanced societies but that is our lot at present. We can either wring our hands in frustration or do something, no matter how little. The time for action is NOW. Please do something. TORI OLORUN. I BEG UNA.
Femi Adebajo
United Kingdom
Friday, March 19, 2010
On Muammar Ghadaffi and Nigeria Ethno-Religious Violence
The recent comments by the Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi on Nigeria’s ethno-religious crisis seems to have sparked off a bitter diplomatic row between the two countries. Following the recent ethno-religious killings in Jos, Muammar Gadaffi was quoted to have said that Nigeria should be partitioned into two nations (Muslim-North and Christian-South) to prevent further bloodshed. According the Libyan press Gaddaffi said splitting Nigeria “would stop the bloodshed and burning of places of worship”. In Gaddafi’s opinion, the Jos violence is a religious crisis caused the “federal state, which was made and imposed by the British, in spite of people’s resistance to it”.
Considering Col. Gadaffi’s penchant for making outrageous and offensive statements, one will expect that such statement will be taken with a pinch of salt. This was the same person who once said the nation of Switzerland should be divided between Germany, Italy and France (!). There’s no gainsaying that Gaddafi has a reputation for eccentricity, bloody-mindedness..However, it seems our moronic leaders have seen this has a perfect opportunity to flex their muscles.
When attention was drawn to Gadaffi’s comments on the floor of the Senate, the Senate President, David Mark replied "Why do you want to give a mad man that level of publicity”. And yes, I quite agree with Senator Mark. The likes of Gadaffi are fond of spewing controversial and, sometimes inflammatory statements, just for the sake of gaining cheap popularity. And he’s not alone. The Robert Mugabe, Hugo Chavez, and Mohammed Ahmedinejad of this world, all fall in same category. These are leaders, who are stuck in their local political wilderness, and thus have lost international relevance.
What I cannot seem to understand however, is the rationale behind Nigeria’s foreign ministry decision to recall its Ambassador to Libya because of what it described as “irresponsible utterances of Col. Gadaffi”. I also find the decision to summon the Libyan Ambassador by the House of Reps quite laughable. How I wish the National Security Adviser or the Director-General of SSS was summoned with same urgency after the Jos killing. But alas, our (dis)Honourable members were busy debating a bill, seeking to immortalise dead members(!).
There are no doubt that Col Gadaffi’s statement smacks of utter ignorance. It’s quite clear from the statement, that Col. Gadaffi has no understanding of Nigeria’s religious and tribal complexities. When he said Nigeria should be divided into north and south, the question I’ll like to ask him is, where will the line be drawn? Or do we take River Niger/Benue has the north/south divide? As a foreigner, I don’t expect Col. Gadaffi to appreciate the difference between Nigeria’s geographic north/south, ethno-religious north/south.
But in all of these, I think its high-time we need to start telling ourselves some home truths. We need to start engaging in serious discussions that are devoid of religious and ethnic sentiments. Whether we like it or not, the fact remains that the entity called Nigeria, in its current form is not working. What’s the point in deceiving ourselves and pretending to be living in harmony? The nation’s ethnic and religious disunity cannot be over-emphasized! So if that’s the case, what exactly has Gadaffi said that is new? Has he told us anything we haven’t heard before? So what’s all fuss about?
Therefore, what’s the point of the current diplomatic stand-off with Col. Gadaffi, when there are urgent issues we need to deal with? Why do our leaders love chasing shadows? When the CIA issued a report few years ago that Nigeria will disintegrate by 2015, why didn’t we recall the Nigerian Ambassador to the US? Why didn’t the National Assembly summon the US Ambassador? For me, the US prediction if anything is far worse than Gadaffi’s comments. I wouldn’t at be surprised if we are told that a House of Reps delegation will embark on an “all expenses paid” trip to Libya for “high level diplomatic talks” with the Libyan govt.
As the Yorubas say, “a fi ete le a npa lapapa”. Barely over a week ago, more than 500 people were slaughtered in Jos, however the National Assembly did not see it a matter of urgency to summon the head of the nation’s security agencies. The only action taken so far by the govt was the sacking of the National Security Adviser, and only to be replaced by a recycled retired Army General. So what about D-G of SSS? What about Inspector-General of Police? What about the Army GOC, who is responsible for enforcing the imposed curfew? What about the state commissioner of police? What about the state “chief security officer, Gov. Jang?
You need not to study political history to understand the deep-rooted ethnic and religious prejudice in Nigeria. And instead of addressing these fundamental issues, our leaders either engage in diversionary tactics or play the proverbial ostrich. Truth be told, Col. Gadaffi is not our problem; neither will the recall of Nigeria diplomat provide the solution to our ethno-religious crisis. The question now is, how can we forestall another ethno-religious killing?
Our leaders need to start focussing their energy on acts of nation building. The national assembly and executive should stop playing to the gallery. It was the same way they issued the US govt a 2-week ultimatum, when Nigeria was included in the US list of terrorist nations. Enough of all these comedy!
And if they like, let them continue to hue and cry over Gadaffi’s statement, it will be Robert Mugabe next, who will be advising us on how to manage our economy.
Considering Col. Gadaffi’s penchant for making outrageous and offensive statements, one will expect that such statement will be taken with a pinch of salt. This was the same person who once said the nation of Switzerland should be divided between Germany, Italy and France (!). There’s no gainsaying that Gaddafi has a reputation for eccentricity, bloody-mindedness..However, it seems our moronic leaders have seen this has a perfect opportunity to flex their muscles.
When attention was drawn to Gadaffi’s comments on the floor of the Senate, the Senate President, David Mark replied "Why do you want to give a mad man that level of publicity”. And yes, I quite agree with Senator Mark. The likes of Gadaffi are fond of spewing controversial and, sometimes inflammatory statements, just for the sake of gaining cheap popularity. And he’s not alone. The Robert Mugabe, Hugo Chavez, and Mohammed Ahmedinejad of this world, all fall in same category. These are leaders, who are stuck in their local political wilderness, and thus have lost international relevance.
What I cannot seem to understand however, is the rationale behind Nigeria’s foreign ministry decision to recall its Ambassador to Libya because of what it described as “irresponsible utterances of Col. Gadaffi”. I also find the decision to summon the Libyan Ambassador by the House of Reps quite laughable. How I wish the National Security Adviser or the Director-General of SSS was summoned with same urgency after the Jos killing. But alas, our (dis)Honourable members were busy debating a bill, seeking to immortalise dead members(!).
There are no doubt that Col Gadaffi’s statement smacks of utter ignorance. It’s quite clear from the statement, that Col. Gadaffi has no understanding of Nigeria’s religious and tribal complexities. When he said Nigeria should be divided into north and south, the question I’ll like to ask him is, where will the line be drawn? Or do we take River Niger/Benue has the north/south divide? As a foreigner, I don’t expect Col. Gadaffi to appreciate the difference between Nigeria’s geographic north/south, ethno-religious north/south.
But in all of these, I think its high-time we need to start telling ourselves some home truths. We need to start engaging in serious discussions that are devoid of religious and ethnic sentiments. Whether we like it or not, the fact remains that the entity called Nigeria, in its current form is not working. What’s the point in deceiving ourselves and pretending to be living in harmony? The nation’s ethnic and religious disunity cannot be over-emphasized! So if that’s the case, what exactly has Gadaffi said that is new? Has he told us anything we haven’t heard before? So what’s all fuss about?
Therefore, what’s the point of the current diplomatic stand-off with Col. Gadaffi, when there are urgent issues we need to deal with? Why do our leaders love chasing shadows? When the CIA issued a report few years ago that Nigeria will disintegrate by 2015, why didn’t we recall the Nigerian Ambassador to the US? Why didn’t the National Assembly summon the US Ambassador? For me, the US prediction if anything is far worse than Gadaffi’s comments. I wouldn’t at be surprised if we are told that a House of Reps delegation will embark on an “all expenses paid” trip to Libya for “high level diplomatic talks” with the Libyan govt.
As the Yorubas say, “a fi ete le a npa lapapa”. Barely over a week ago, more than 500 people were slaughtered in Jos, however the National Assembly did not see it a matter of urgency to summon the head of the nation’s security agencies. The only action taken so far by the govt was the sacking of the National Security Adviser, and only to be replaced by a recycled retired Army General. So what about D-G of SSS? What about Inspector-General of Police? What about the Army GOC, who is responsible for enforcing the imposed curfew? What about the state commissioner of police? What about the state “chief security officer, Gov. Jang?
You need not to study political history to understand the deep-rooted ethnic and religious prejudice in Nigeria. And instead of addressing these fundamental issues, our leaders either engage in diversionary tactics or play the proverbial ostrich. Truth be told, Col. Gadaffi is not our problem; neither will the recall of Nigeria diplomat provide the solution to our ethno-religious crisis. The question now is, how can we forestall another ethno-religious killing?
Our leaders need to start focussing their energy on acts of nation building. The national assembly and executive should stop playing to the gallery. It was the same way they issued the US govt a 2-week ultimatum, when Nigeria was included in the US list of terrorist nations. Enough of all these comedy!
And if they like, let them continue to hue and cry over Gadaffi’s statement, it will be Robert Mugabe next, who will be advising us on how to manage our economy.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
50 Things About Sub-Sahara Africa
From the recently released World Bank Development Indicator Report, facts about Sub Sahara Africa (excludes North Africa)
1. The largest population in SSA is 151.3 million in Nigeria; the smallest is 0.1 million in Seychelles.
2. The highest connection charge for a business phone is $366.6 in Benin; the lowest is in Ghana at $0.7.
3. South Africa's and Nigeria's GDP in nominal prices comprised over fifty percent (51.4 percent) of total SSA's GDP.
4. South Africa has 924 mobile phones per 1000 people; Eritrea has 22 per 1000 people.
5. SSA GDP growth was 5.1 percent. Angola had the largest growth at 14.8 percent while the lowest was Botswana with a negative growth (-1.0 percent). 28
6. South Africa has the longest rail lines of 24,487 km and Uganda has the shortest of 259 km.
7. South Africa has SSA's largest real GDP ($183 billion); the smallest is Guinea Bissau ($202 million).
8. In 2010, starting a business in Guinea requires 213 days for each procedure; it takes 3 days in Rwanda.
9. Equatorial Guinea has SSA's highest GNI per capita ($14,980); Burundi has the lowest ($140).
10. In 2010, Sudan has the highest number of procedures to enforce contracts of 53; Rwanda has the lowest of 24.
11. The total GDP per capita of the richest 10 African countries was 25.2 times of the poorest 10.
12. It takes 16.6 days average time to clear customs on direct exports in Cote d'Ivoire and 3.8 days in Gabon; conversely for imports it takes 31.4 days in the Republic of Congo and 4.4 days in Lesotho.
13. Between 1990 and 1999 PPP GDP per capita growth was 15 percent ($1,158.9 to $1,327.8) for Sub-Saharan Africa; in between 2000 and 2008 it was 54 percent ($1,372.9 to $2,113.9).
14. Firms indentifying corruption as a major constraint was highest in Côte d'Ivoire at 75.0 percent, whilst the lowest is Ghana 9.9 percent
15. Exports rose from $319.0 billion in 2007 to $413.7 billion in 2008, a 29.7 percent rise; conversely, imports rose less than exports, from $305.3 billion in 2007 to $372.1 billion in 2008, a 21.8 percent rise.
16. The percentage of firms expected to give gifts to secure a government contract is highest in Congo Republic are 75.2 percent and lowest for Mauricia at 8.8 percent.
17. Total trade as percentage of GDP is the highest in Seychelles, 283.4 percent and lowest in Central Africa Republic, 37.5 percent.
18. Djibouti has the most urbanized population (84.6 percent); Burundi the least (10.4 percent).
19. In two thirds of SSA countries, one or two products are responsible for at least 75 percent of the country's total exports.
20. For the period 2000-07, the share of poorest 20 percent in national consumption or income was lowest in Angola at 2 percent; in Ethiopia it was 9.3 percent. (MDG 1)
21. On average, the merchandise export within trade blocs is 8.4 percent of total bloc exports.
22. In Burundi, 38.9 percent of children under the age of five are underweight. In Gabon they are 8.8 percent. (MDG 1)
23. Cape Verde receives the highest net ODA per capita ($438.2); Nigeria receives the lowest ($9.5).
24. On average, between 2004 and 2006, South Africa and Gabon had less than 5 percent of population below the minimum dietary energy consumption; conversely Democratic Republic of Congo had the highest at 75 percent. (MDG1)
25. The highest private sector fixed capital formation as share of GDP is Cape Verde at 33.7 percent; the lowest is Angola at 1.8 percent.
26. Thirty seven percent of children who start first grade reach grade five in Chad, while in Mauritius 99 percent reach fifth grade. (MDG 2).
27. In Guinea-Bissau, the agriculture value-added as percentage of GDP is 51.5 percent; in Botswana it is 1.6 percent.
28. The lowest net primary enrolment ratio is found in Liberia (30.9 percent); the highest is in Sao Tome and Principe (97.1 per cent). (MDG 2).
29. South Africa uses the most electric power per person (4,809.0kW/h); Ethiopia uses the least (38.4 kW/h).
30. Youth literacy (ages 15-24) is highest in Gabon at 97 percent and lowest Burkina Faso at 39.3 percent. (MDG 2)
31. In 2007, Burundi has the highest proportion of women in its labor force (90.2 percent); Sudan has the lowest (32.8 percent).
32. Women in national parliament total seats are the highest with 56.3 percent in Rwanda and the lowest with 1.8 percent in Sao Tome and Principe. (MDG 3)
33. Equatorial Guinea has the highest proportion of men in its labor force (93.8 percent); Namibia has the lowest (60.3 percent).
34. In Sierra Leone 155 out of 1,000 children die before the age of one; in Seychelles the rate is 12 per 1,000. (MDG 4)
35. In 2007, almost one in every three 15-49 year olds in Swaziland has contracted HIV (26.1 percent); the rate is one in every thousand in Mauritania.
36. In Sierra Leone 272 children per 1,000 die before the age of five; in Seychelles, the rate is 13 per 1,000. (MDG 4, IDA 2)
37. For the period 2007-08, Seychelles has the highest life expectancy (73 years); Mozambique has the lowest (42 years).
38. Skilled personnel attend 5.7 percent of births in Ethiopia; they attend 98.4 percent of births in Mauritius. (MDG 5, IDA 4)
39. In the decade (1997-2007) Rwanda and Sierra Leone have made the greatest gains in life expectancy: 11 and 8 years respectively. Conversely, life expectancy has decreased 13 years in Lesotho, and 10 years in South Africa and Swaziland.
40. Contraceptive use (any method) is highest in Mauritius at 75.8 percent; lowest is Chad at 2.8 per cent. (MDG 6)
41. For the period 2007, Zimbabwe has the highest adult literacy rate (91.2 percent); Mali and Burkina Faso have the lowest (28.7 percent).
42. In Chad, 9 percent of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities; in Mauritius 94 percent have such access. (MDG 7)
43. In Seychelles, 92 percent of women are literate; the figure is 13 percent for Chad and 15 percent for Niger. 47
44. In Somalia, 29 percent of the population has access to a safe source of water. In Mauritius, it is 100 percent. (MDG 7)
45. Cape Verde has the highest gross enrolment rate in secondary education (90 percent); Niger has the lowest (11 percent).
46. Gabon has the highest forest area as a percentage of total land area at 84.4 percent, whilst Djibouti has the lowest at 0.2 percent. (MDG7)
47. In Mauritius there are 22 children per primary school teacher; there are 91 in Central African Republic.
48. South Africa has the highest carbon dioxide emissions of 414,649 metric tons, whilst Comoros has the lowest of 88 metric tons. (MDG 7)
49. In Burundi, 63.1 percent of children under the age of 5 are short for their age; in Senegal it is 20.1 percent. Same fact than below – to be removed
50. In Sierra Leone 3 persons per 1,000 are Internet users; there are 371 in every 1,000 people in Seychelles, which also had 212 computers per 1,000 people for the period 2005-07. (MDG 8).
1. The largest population in SSA is 151.3 million in Nigeria; the smallest is 0.1 million in Seychelles.
2. The highest connection charge for a business phone is $366.6 in Benin; the lowest is in Ghana at $0.7.
3. South Africa's and Nigeria's GDP in nominal prices comprised over fifty percent (51.4 percent) of total SSA's GDP.
4. South Africa has 924 mobile phones per 1000 people; Eritrea has 22 per 1000 people.
5. SSA GDP growth was 5.1 percent. Angola had the largest growth at 14.8 percent while the lowest was Botswana with a negative growth (-1.0 percent). 28
6. South Africa has the longest rail lines of 24,487 km and Uganda has the shortest of 259 km.
7. South Africa has SSA's largest real GDP ($183 billion); the smallest is Guinea Bissau ($202 million).
8. In 2010, starting a business in Guinea requires 213 days for each procedure; it takes 3 days in Rwanda.
9. Equatorial Guinea has SSA's highest GNI per capita ($14,980); Burundi has the lowest ($140).
10. In 2010, Sudan has the highest number of procedures to enforce contracts of 53; Rwanda has the lowest of 24.
11. The total GDP per capita of the richest 10 African countries was 25.2 times of the poorest 10.
12. It takes 16.6 days average time to clear customs on direct exports in Cote d'Ivoire and 3.8 days in Gabon; conversely for imports it takes 31.4 days in the Republic of Congo and 4.4 days in Lesotho.
13. Between 1990 and 1999 PPP GDP per capita growth was 15 percent ($1,158.9 to $1,327.8) for Sub-Saharan Africa; in between 2000 and 2008 it was 54 percent ($1,372.9 to $2,113.9).
14. Firms indentifying corruption as a major constraint was highest in Côte d'Ivoire at 75.0 percent, whilst the lowest is Ghana 9.9 percent
15. Exports rose from $319.0 billion in 2007 to $413.7 billion in 2008, a 29.7 percent rise; conversely, imports rose less than exports, from $305.3 billion in 2007 to $372.1 billion in 2008, a 21.8 percent rise.
16. The percentage of firms expected to give gifts to secure a government contract is highest in Congo Republic are 75.2 percent and lowest for Mauricia at 8.8 percent.
17. Total trade as percentage of GDP is the highest in Seychelles, 283.4 percent and lowest in Central Africa Republic, 37.5 percent.
18. Djibouti has the most urbanized population (84.6 percent); Burundi the least (10.4 percent).
19. In two thirds of SSA countries, one or two products are responsible for at least 75 percent of the country's total exports.
20. For the period 2000-07, the share of poorest 20 percent in national consumption or income was lowest in Angola at 2 percent; in Ethiopia it was 9.3 percent. (MDG 1)
21. On average, the merchandise export within trade blocs is 8.4 percent of total bloc exports.
22. In Burundi, 38.9 percent of children under the age of five are underweight. In Gabon they are 8.8 percent. (MDG 1)
23. Cape Verde receives the highest net ODA per capita ($438.2); Nigeria receives the lowest ($9.5).
24. On average, between 2004 and 2006, South Africa and Gabon had less than 5 percent of population below the minimum dietary energy consumption; conversely Democratic Republic of Congo had the highest at 75 percent. (MDG1)
25. The highest private sector fixed capital formation as share of GDP is Cape Verde at 33.7 percent; the lowest is Angola at 1.8 percent.
26. Thirty seven percent of children who start first grade reach grade five in Chad, while in Mauritius 99 percent reach fifth grade. (MDG 2).
27. In Guinea-Bissau, the agriculture value-added as percentage of GDP is 51.5 percent; in Botswana it is 1.6 percent.
28. The lowest net primary enrolment ratio is found in Liberia (30.9 percent); the highest is in Sao Tome and Principe (97.1 per cent). (MDG 2).
29. South Africa uses the most electric power per person (4,809.0kW/h); Ethiopia uses the least (38.4 kW/h).
30. Youth literacy (ages 15-24) is highest in Gabon at 97 percent and lowest Burkina Faso at 39.3 percent. (MDG 2)
31. In 2007, Burundi has the highest proportion of women in its labor force (90.2 percent); Sudan has the lowest (32.8 percent).
32. Women in national parliament total seats are the highest with 56.3 percent in Rwanda and the lowest with 1.8 percent in Sao Tome and Principe. (MDG 3)
33. Equatorial Guinea has the highest proportion of men in its labor force (93.8 percent); Namibia has the lowest (60.3 percent).
34. In Sierra Leone 155 out of 1,000 children die before the age of one; in Seychelles the rate is 12 per 1,000. (MDG 4)
35. In 2007, almost one in every three 15-49 year olds in Swaziland has contracted HIV (26.1 percent); the rate is one in every thousand in Mauritania.
36. In Sierra Leone 272 children per 1,000 die before the age of five; in Seychelles, the rate is 13 per 1,000. (MDG 4, IDA 2)
37. For the period 2007-08, Seychelles has the highest life expectancy (73 years); Mozambique has the lowest (42 years).
38. Skilled personnel attend 5.7 percent of births in Ethiopia; they attend 98.4 percent of births in Mauritius. (MDG 5, IDA 4)
39. In the decade (1997-2007) Rwanda and Sierra Leone have made the greatest gains in life expectancy: 11 and 8 years respectively. Conversely, life expectancy has decreased 13 years in Lesotho, and 10 years in South Africa and Swaziland.
40. Contraceptive use (any method) is highest in Mauritius at 75.8 percent; lowest is Chad at 2.8 per cent. (MDG 6)
41. For the period 2007, Zimbabwe has the highest adult literacy rate (91.2 percent); Mali and Burkina Faso have the lowest (28.7 percent).
42. In Chad, 9 percent of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities; in Mauritius 94 percent have such access. (MDG 7)
43. In Seychelles, 92 percent of women are literate; the figure is 13 percent for Chad and 15 percent for Niger. 47
44. In Somalia, 29 percent of the population has access to a safe source of water. In Mauritius, it is 100 percent. (MDG 7)
45. Cape Verde has the highest gross enrolment rate in secondary education (90 percent); Niger has the lowest (11 percent).
46. Gabon has the highest forest area as a percentage of total land area at 84.4 percent, whilst Djibouti has the lowest at 0.2 percent. (MDG7)
47. In Mauritius there are 22 children per primary school teacher; there are 91 in Central African Republic.
48. South Africa has the highest carbon dioxide emissions of 414,649 metric tons, whilst Comoros has the lowest of 88 metric tons. (MDG 7)
49. In Burundi, 63.1 percent of children under the age of 5 are short for their age; in Senegal it is 20.1 percent. Same fact than below – to be removed
50. In Sierra Leone 3 persons per 1,000 are Internet users; there are 371 in every 1,000 people in Seychelles, which also had 212 computers per 1,000 people for the period 2005-07. (MDG 8).
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Friday, October 2, 2009
Nigeria @ 49: Senate President David Mark, the Delusional Optimist
With prevailing realities, there is no gainsaying that Nigeria has failed as a nation since independence. President Umaru Yar’Adua also confirmed this when he expressed regret that the promise of independence is yet to be fully realised 49 years after. In his words the President said “today (October 1 2009) should be a forceful reminder of the promise yet to be fulfilled, of the dream deferred for too long, and of the work that is still outstanding”. However, one person that seems to see things differently is the Senate President, David Mark.
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The Senate President in his “goodwill” message to mark the 49th Independence Day anniversary was quoted as saying “At 49, no one can argue that Nigeria has realised its full potentials. This notwithstanding, we have made remarkable strides, especially in our steady march towards democracy and the rule of law. There are some successes we have to celebrate and consolidate”. Having read this statement, I was convinced that Senator Mark lives in a world of utopia. For a Senate President, who is the nation Number 3 citizen to say Nigeria has achieved its full potential in the face of abject poverty and indiscriminate looting of the nation’s treasury is not only patronising but preposterous. Such a statement is a slap on the face and an insult on 70 percent of the masses who have been continuously impoverished and thus live in abject poverty. If indeed we have realised our potential, then what Senator Mark is saying that, it is these 70 percent that do have a problem, and not the leadership.
For me, I will describe Senator Mark has someone who is probably suffering from “Delusional Optimism”. By definition, “delusional optimism” is a habitual failure to accept reality, unless it matches the positive outcome you want. And this problem is not peculiar to Senator Mark. Ex-President Obasanjo during a recent interview on the BBC programme Hardtalk, was also quoted as saying “based on the nation’s (abundant) resources, that Nigeria has achieved its potential”. Can you imagine that? Our leaders sometimes try to fool their minds into seeing something “good” instead of facing reality. They impose their own standards of “good” and “bad” on issues that have no such qualities. Their thinking is confused, misinformed or simply wishful.
Now going back to Senator Mark’s comments, on what indices are the potential we have achieved measured? If realisation of our potential is about being a leading corrupt nation, then the Senate President should take delight in the report recently released by Transparency International, which ranks Nigeria as 121st on table of the world’s most corrupt nation. Also, the Senate President will probably be the happiest person to know that we have lost almost $850bn through institutionalised corruption since independence. If the realisation of our “full” potential is about being one of the poorest nations in the world, despite being the world’s sixth largest crude oil producer, then we have indeed realised our full potential. Senator Mark should be informed that more than 70% of Nigerian citizens live on less than $1 per day. In fact the pace at which the potential of being one of world’s poorest nation has been realised is quite phenomenal. According to research, from 1970 to 2000 the Nigerian government received over US$300 billion from oil sales while the percentage of citizens living in extreme poverty (on less than US$1 per day) increased from 36 per cent to around 70 per cent.
Also why wouldn’t Senator Mark think we have realised our full potential, when he enjoys 24-hr uninterrupted power supply, thanks to multiple generators at his official lodge. If the realisation of our “full” potential is measured by the number of days that the masses can survive in perpetual darkness, then we are definitely on the right track. Senator Mark will be happy to know, with a population of 140million, we can only generating 2,900mw.
If anyone takes an in-depth look into Senator David Mark life history, then you probably wouldn’t blame him for making such a condescending statement. This is a man that has occupied one government position or another since Buhari-Idiagbon regime. At the age of 44, he has already been the Military Governor of Niger and the Old Ondo states. Within that period, he also served as the Minister of Communications. And as we know, he is now the Senate President. Those who know him will agree that he has a strong tendency for making silly jibes. This is the same man who said, “Telephones are not for the poor” during his time as Communications Minister. Now tell me, how can a man that has enjoyed perks and luxuries of public office for almost half of his life, not think that Nigeria has achieved its full potential?
The likes of Senator Mark encapsulate the challenge we face as nation. As long as we have leaders who are so detached from the reality of occupy positions of power, then we can never move forward as a nation. These guys are stuck in the cocoon called Abuja. There very insensitive to the plight of the masses. Rather than face challenges, they bury their heads in the sand pretending all is fine. Their definition of nation’s potential is the amount of money they can loot from the state treasury. Their definition of the nation’s potential is the number of oil blocks in the Niger Delta that can be auctioned to their families and cronies. Their definition of the nation’s potential is measured by the number of state-owned assets that can be sold to their cronies through dodgy privatisation deals. And finally, why wouldn’t a Senator that presides over a legislature that is maintained with N1.3 trillion yearly, but has only managed to pass four bills since its inception, not think that Nigeria has achieved its full potential?
The Senate President in his “goodwill” message to mark the 49th Independence Day anniversary was quoted as saying “At 49, no one can argue that Nigeria has realised its full potentials. This notwithstanding, we have made remarkable strides, especially in our steady march towards democracy and the rule of law. There are some successes we have to celebrate and consolidate”. Having read this statement, I was convinced that Senator Mark lives in a world of utopia. For a Senate President, who is the nation Number 3 citizen to say Nigeria has achieved its full potential in the face of abject poverty and indiscriminate looting of the nation’s treasury is not only patronising but preposterous. Such a statement is a slap on the face and an insult on 70 percent of the masses who have been continuously impoverished and thus live in abject poverty. If indeed we have realised our potential, then what Senator Mark is saying that, it is these 70 percent that do have a problem, and not the leadership.
For me, I will describe Senator Mark has someone who is probably suffering from “Delusional Optimism”. By definition, “delusional optimism” is a habitual failure to accept reality, unless it matches the positive outcome you want. And this problem is not peculiar to Senator Mark. Ex-President Obasanjo during a recent interview on the BBC programme Hardtalk, was also quoted as saying “based on the nation’s (abundant) resources, that Nigeria has achieved its potential”. Can you imagine that? Our leaders sometimes try to fool their minds into seeing something “good” instead of facing reality. They impose their own standards of “good” and “bad” on issues that have no such qualities. Their thinking is confused, misinformed or simply wishful.
Now going back to Senator Mark’s comments, on what indices are the potential we have achieved measured? If realisation of our potential is about being a leading corrupt nation, then the Senate President should take delight in the report recently released by Transparency International, which ranks Nigeria as 121st on table of the world’s most corrupt nation. Also, the Senate President will probably be the happiest person to know that we have lost almost $850bn through institutionalised corruption since independence. If the realisation of our “full” potential is about being one of the poorest nations in the world, despite being the world’s sixth largest crude oil producer, then we have indeed realised our full potential. Senator Mark should be informed that more than 70% of Nigerian citizens live on less than $1 per day. In fact the pace at which the potential of being one of world’s poorest nation has been realised is quite phenomenal. According to research, from 1970 to 2000 the Nigerian government received over US$300 billion from oil sales while the percentage of citizens living in extreme poverty (on less than US$1 per day) increased from 36 per cent to around 70 per cent.
Also why wouldn’t Senator Mark think we have realised our full potential, when he enjoys 24-hr uninterrupted power supply, thanks to multiple generators at his official lodge. If the realisation of our “full” potential is measured by the number of days that the masses can survive in perpetual darkness, then we are definitely on the right track. Senator Mark will be happy to know, with a population of 140million, we can only generating 2,900mw.
If anyone takes an in-depth look into Senator David Mark life history, then you probably wouldn’t blame him for making such a condescending statement. This is a man that has occupied one government position or another since Buhari-Idiagbon regime. At the age of 44, he has already been the Military Governor of Niger and the Old Ondo states. Within that period, he also served as the Minister of Communications. And as we know, he is now the Senate President. Those who know him will agree that he has a strong tendency for making silly jibes. This is the same man who said, “Telephones are not for the poor” during his time as Communications Minister. Now tell me, how can a man that has enjoyed perks and luxuries of public office for almost half of his life, not think that Nigeria has achieved its full potential?
The likes of Senator Mark encapsulate the challenge we face as nation. As long as we have leaders who are so detached from the reality of occupy positions of power, then we can never move forward as a nation. These guys are stuck in the cocoon called Abuja. There very insensitive to the plight of the masses. Rather than face challenges, they bury their heads in the sand pretending all is fine. Their definition of nation’s potential is the amount of money they can loot from the state treasury. Their definition of the nation’s potential is the number of oil blocks in the Niger Delta that can be auctioned to their families and cronies. Their definition of the nation’s potential is measured by the number of state-owned assets that can be sold to their cronies through dodgy privatisation deals. And finally, why wouldn’t a Senator that presides over a legislature that is maintained with N1.3 trillion yearly, but has only managed to pass four bills since its inception, not think that Nigeria has achieved its full potential?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Jobs! Jobs!! Jobs!!!
Jobs! Jobs!! Jobs!!!
Salary – N65, 000 ($500) per month
SELECTION CRITERIA
Essential
All applicants
· must be a registered member of Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) or Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF)
· must have lived in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, within the last 10 years
· must have previously engaged in militancy or guerilla warfare
· must have proven track record of human kidnapping, especially expatriates.
· must have proven track record in destruction of oil pipelines and other major oil installations
· must have proven track record in the use of AK-47 and “rocket propelled grenades”
· must have track record of driving speedboats, dingy, and canoes.
Desirable
· must understand the operation of onshore and offshore oil exploration facilities
· must understand oil bunkering techniques
· must be willing to engage in election rigging.
· must be willing to be a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)
All applications must be submitted in person to
Mallam Umar Yar’Adua
The Presidency,
Aso Villa
Abuja
Nigeria
Tel: +234 9 6500000 E-mail mallam.yaradua@presidency.gov.ng
Please note that only the first 10,000 applications will be accepted. Submission of multiple applications will result in automatic disqualification.
Closing date – 60 days from the date of this advertisement
Notes for all applicants
· The government reserves the right to extend the deadline for submission of applications.
· The government reserves the right to refuse application from specified persons.
· There is no right of appeal for applications that are refused.
signed
Head of Human Resouces
Ministry of Niger Delta
Abuja
Nigeria
Salary – N65, 000 ($500) per month
SELECTION CRITERIA
Essential
All applicants
· must be a registered member of Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) or Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF)
· must have lived in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, within the last 10 years
· must have previously engaged in militancy or guerilla warfare
· must have proven track record of human kidnapping, especially expatriates.
· must have proven track record in destruction of oil pipelines and other major oil installations
· must have proven track record in the use of AK-47 and “rocket propelled grenades”
· must have track record of driving speedboats, dingy, and canoes.
Desirable
· must understand the operation of onshore and offshore oil exploration facilities
· must understand oil bunkering techniques
· must be willing to engage in election rigging.
· must be willing to be a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)
All applications must be submitted in person to
Mallam Umar Yar’Adua
The Presidency,
Aso Villa
Abuja
Nigeria
Tel: +234 9 6500000 E-mail mallam.yaradua@presidency.gov.ng
Please note that only the first 10,000 applications will be accepted. Submission of multiple applications will result in automatic disqualification.
Closing date – 60 days from the date of this advertisement
Notes for all applicants
· The government reserves the right to extend the deadline for submission of applications.
· The government reserves the right to refuse application from specified persons.
· There is no right of appeal for applications that are refused.
signed
Head of Human Resouces
Ministry of Niger Delta
Abuja
Nigeria
Friday, July 17, 2009
President Obama Is Coming Soon!
We have heard the good news from the Foreign Affairs Minister. Dr Ojo Maduekwe noted that President Obama will be visiting Nigeria very soon. The Minister was quoted in the media saying President Obama told him at the G8 meeting (shortly before he departed for Ghana) that he wants to visit Nigeria soon. In fact he went on further to say that the US President said to him that “whichever way Nigeria goes, Africa goes”.
Following President Obama visit to Ghana last week, I have been waiting anxiously for one of President Yar’Adua’s political jobber to come of in defence of his administration. The well-deserved media criticisms were so bad that I expected his Media Adviser to come out and save the face of his boss.
I was therefore not surprised to read the comments of Dr Maduekwe that Pres. Obama is coming soon to Nigeria. It is clear that the Yar’Adua administration is very desperate to be acknowledged by the western world. No wonder the Pres. Yar’Adua lobbied the German Chancellor to be invited to the G-8 meeting. We probably need to ask ourselves, how can a country that was not fit to be part of G-20 meeting about six months ago was now been invited to the G-8 meeting?
However, I don’t think Dr Maduekwe understood Pres. Obama statement. If Pres. Obama’s statement is taken within the context of his speech in Ghana, then Dr Maduekwe will understand that there is really nothing to be excited about. For me, I find Pres. Obama’s statement as sarcastic. Meaning he was insulting the Nigerian government indirectly. What Pres. Obama was indirectly saying to Dr Maduekwe was, I will visit Nigeria, soon after you have been able to restore good governance.
Also, the question needs to be ask about the Nigerian government and the PDP obsession with Pres. Obama. Is it not the ruling party that was accusing the US govt for wanting to meet with the opposition during Pres. Obama’s visit to Ghana? I want to believe that it’s Pres. Obama prerogative to visit countries and meet people that he feels are worthwhile of his time? Instead of this government to get on with its job, they are busy lobbying and trying to grab the attention of the US President. We don’t need attention-seekers as leaders. If you do what is right, you will be noticed. As small as Botswana is, it received a well deserved recognition from the US President. I also can’t remember reading anywhere that Ghanaian diplomats were seen at the White House lobbying the US President to visit Ghana. The reason why he chose Ghana is clear, “do the right thing, and the US will do business with you”.
Again come to think of it, was President Yar’Adua not at the G-8 meeting? If Pres. Obama was really serious about visiting Nigeria, he probably would have spoken directly with the Nigerian President and not the Minister! Dr Maduekwe said “I did what a Foreign Minister of my status can do; I walked up to the President of United States and I said Mr. President, nice to meet you; I’m the Foreign Minister of Nigeria. Mr. Obama was very warm when I introduced myself. Mr. Obama held me by the shoulder. He told me, ‘thank you Mr. Minister I want to visit your country very soon”. My take on this is, Pres. Obama probably knew why Ojo Maduekwe came to introduce himself, and thought, “let me just tell this guy what he wants to hear”.
Let Pres. Yar’Adua and his cohorts not be deceived, Pres. Obama has made it clear that the US will not endorse any government that promotes tyranny and oppression. It will not support any nation that does not promote the rule of law. It is not ready to do business with regime that actively or passively encourage corruption. It will do business with a country whose Attorney-General uses international bilateral agreements to frustrate corruption cases. It will support a regime that was sponsored into government by corrupt individuals. It will not support a government, whose President’s closest friends are politicians with corruption cases hanging over their heads. The US will not support a government that cannot hold credible elections in 46 electoral wards. The US will not support a government that embarks on military actions against its citizens.
Following President Obama visit to Ghana last week, I have been waiting anxiously for one of President Yar’Adua’s political jobber to come of in defence of his administration. The well-deserved media criticisms were so bad that I expected his Media Adviser to come out and save the face of his boss.
I was therefore not surprised to read the comments of Dr Maduekwe that Pres. Obama is coming soon to Nigeria. It is clear that the Yar’Adua administration is very desperate to be acknowledged by the western world. No wonder the Pres. Yar’Adua lobbied the German Chancellor to be invited to the G-8 meeting. We probably need to ask ourselves, how can a country that was not fit to be part of G-20 meeting about six months ago was now been invited to the G-8 meeting?
However, I don’t think Dr Maduekwe understood Pres. Obama statement. If Pres. Obama’s statement is taken within the context of his speech in Ghana, then Dr Maduekwe will understand that there is really nothing to be excited about. For me, I find Pres. Obama’s statement as sarcastic. Meaning he was insulting the Nigerian government indirectly. What Pres. Obama was indirectly saying to Dr Maduekwe was, I will visit Nigeria, soon after you have been able to restore good governance.
Also, the question needs to be ask about the Nigerian government and the PDP obsession with Pres. Obama. Is it not the ruling party that was accusing the US govt for wanting to meet with the opposition during Pres. Obama’s visit to Ghana? I want to believe that it’s Pres. Obama prerogative to visit countries and meet people that he feels are worthwhile of his time? Instead of this government to get on with its job, they are busy lobbying and trying to grab the attention of the US President. We don’t need attention-seekers as leaders. If you do what is right, you will be noticed. As small as Botswana is, it received a well deserved recognition from the US President. I also can’t remember reading anywhere that Ghanaian diplomats were seen at the White House lobbying the US President to visit Ghana. The reason why he chose Ghana is clear, “do the right thing, and the US will do business with you”.
Again come to think of it, was President Yar’Adua not at the G-8 meeting? If Pres. Obama was really serious about visiting Nigeria, he probably would have spoken directly with the Nigerian President and not the Minister! Dr Maduekwe said “I did what a Foreign Minister of my status can do; I walked up to the President of United States and I said Mr. President, nice to meet you; I’m the Foreign Minister of Nigeria. Mr. Obama was very warm when I introduced myself. Mr. Obama held me by the shoulder. He told me, ‘thank you Mr. Minister I want to visit your country very soon”. My take on this is, Pres. Obama probably knew why Ojo Maduekwe came to introduce himself, and thought, “let me just tell this guy what he wants to hear”.
Let Pres. Yar’Adua and his cohorts not be deceived, Pres. Obama has made it clear that the US will not endorse any government that promotes tyranny and oppression. It will not support any nation that does not promote the rule of law. It is not ready to do business with regime that actively or passively encourage corruption. It will do business with a country whose Attorney-General uses international bilateral agreements to frustrate corruption cases. It will support a regime that was sponsored into government by corrupt individuals. It will not support a government, whose President’s closest friends are politicians with corruption cases hanging over their heads. The US will not support a government that cannot hold credible elections in 46 electoral wards. The US will not support a government that embarks on military actions against its citizens.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
PDP - What Manner of Political Party?
On the day when everyone was feeling the excruciating pain of the last ten years of democratic rule, the nation’s ruling party Peoples Democratic Party was having a field day. Their party leaders enjoyed lavish celebration of ‘demons of craze’, across the nation. The party also seized the opportunity to display its mediocre, self-serving and propagandist ideologies.
The Deputy National Chairman PDP Dr Bello Haliru Mohammed accused the United States government and its embassy in Nigeria of conspiracy and plotting with opposition groups to destabilise the country. He particularly noted that part of the plot is for the US Embassy to organise a meeting between the pro-democracy groups in Nigeria and President Barack Obama in Ghana, where the groups would seek to persuade the US President that the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua is “illegitimate”. But shortly after, the National Public Secretary of the party Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali released a media statement dissociating the party from the statement, which it said was, at best, the personal opinion of the Deputy National Chairman.
What manner of political party is this PDP? It is clear that the party has lost the plot. Their leaders are now beginning to feel the heat. Despite the rebuttal from the National Publicity Secretary I do not believe that the comments of Dr Mohammed were his ‘personal opinion’. The allegations levelled against the US government are quite serious and I want to believe it is the collective opinion of leaders of the political party. The statement reflects the thinking of a political party that is gradually losing its grip on power and in awe of the opposition. From all indications, it seems the only way they can continue to subvert the opposition is to engage a cheap blackmail and propaganda. But you know what, their time is ticking and it is ticking very fast!
I find it very ridiculous that a political party that describes itself as the biggest political party in Africa can denigrate itself to the point of blackmailing the US President and US government. We need to ask PDP leaders few questions. Firstly, is it not the prerogative of the US President to meet with whoever he chooses? Secondly, is it now a criminal offence to meet with a foreign leader outside Nigeria? Thirdly, do we now need to seek permission to hold political meetings outside Nigeria? Fourthly, is President Obama so jobless that all he thinks about is political situation in Nigeria? Maybe someone needs to remind the PDP that we do not live in Communist China or North Korea.
We also need to ask the PDP leaders what they actually mean by plot to ‘destabilise’ the country. For me, you can only destabilise a country that is ‘stable. The ruling elite must be under illusion to think that Nigeria is stable. They must be suffering from mental delusion to think this way. Is a nation that is plunged into darkness for almost 365 years is stable? Is a nation that is faced with incessant fuel scarcity stable? Is a nation where commuters spend twelve hours in traffic queue stable? Is a nation with 60% unemployment stable? Is a nation where 80% have no access to potable water supply stable? Is a nation where 70% live on less than $1 a day stable? Is a nation where state agencies are used to rig electoral process stable? Is a nation where innocent civilians are intimidated with military soldiers stable? Is a nation where state agencies are used to subvert democratic principles stable? Is a nation where political office holders are allowed to loot the treasury without any fear of prosecution stable? Is a nation where innocent civilians are killed under the guise of fighting militant groups stable? Is a nation where innocent civilians are being kidnapped stable? Is a nation where oil installations are constantly blown up militant groups stable?
And by the way, I heard President Yar’Adua saying that “we must be ready to be democrats in thought, in word and indeed”. What a big joke! He might be democratic in thoughts and words, but he has failed to demonstrate any democratic principles in his actions. The Ekiti saga is a strong indictment of his failure.
Over the last ten years, PDP has continued to systematically propagate a doctrine that only reflects the views of their selfish and corrupt political leaders.
The Deputy National Chairman PDP Dr Bello Haliru Mohammed accused the United States government and its embassy in Nigeria of conspiracy and plotting with opposition groups to destabilise the country. He particularly noted that part of the plot is for the US Embassy to organise a meeting between the pro-democracy groups in Nigeria and President Barack Obama in Ghana, where the groups would seek to persuade the US President that the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua is “illegitimate”. But shortly after, the National Public Secretary of the party Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali released a media statement dissociating the party from the statement, which it said was, at best, the personal opinion of the Deputy National Chairman.
What manner of political party is this PDP? It is clear that the party has lost the plot. Their leaders are now beginning to feel the heat. Despite the rebuttal from the National Publicity Secretary I do not believe that the comments of Dr Mohammed were his ‘personal opinion’. The allegations levelled against the US government are quite serious and I want to believe it is the collective opinion of leaders of the political party. The statement reflects the thinking of a political party that is gradually losing its grip on power and in awe of the opposition. From all indications, it seems the only way they can continue to subvert the opposition is to engage a cheap blackmail and propaganda. But you know what, their time is ticking and it is ticking very fast!
I find it very ridiculous that a political party that describes itself as the biggest political party in Africa can denigrate itself to the point of blackmailing the US President and US government. We need to ask PDP leaders few questions. Firstly, is it not the prerogative of the US President to meet with whoever he chooses? Secondly, is it now a criminal offence to meet with a foreign leader outside Nigeria? Thirdly, do we now need to seek permission to hold political meetings outside Nigeria? Fourthly, is President Obama so jobless that all he thinks about is political situation in Nigeria? Maybe someone needs to remind the PDP that we do not live in Communist China or North Korea.
We also need to ask the PDP leaders what they actually mean by plot to ‘destabilise’ the country. For me, you can only destabilise a country that is ‘stable. The ruling elite must be under illusion to think that Nigeria is stable. They must be suffering from mental delusion to think this way. Is a nation that is plunged into darkness for almost 365 years is stable? Is a nation that is faced with incessant fuel scarcity stable? Is a nation where commuters spend twelve hours in traffic queue stable? Is a nation with 60% unemployment stable? Is a nation where 80% have no access to potable water supply stable? Is a nation where 70% live on less than $1 a day stable? Is a nation where state agencies are used to rig electoral process stable? Is a nation where innocent civilians are intimidated with military soldiers stable? Is a nation where state agencies are used to subvert democratic principles stable? Is a nation where political office holders are allowed to loot the treasury without any fear of prosecution stable? Is a nation where innocent civilians are killed under the guise of fighting militant groups stable? Is a nation where innocent civilians are being kidnapped stable? Is a nation where oil installations are constantly blown up militant groups stable?
And by the way, I heard President Yar’Adua saying that “we must be ready to be democrats in thought, in word and indeed”. What a big joke! He might be democratic in thoughts and words, but he has failed to demonstrate any democratic principles in his actions. The Ekiti saga is a strong indictment of his failure.
Over the last ten years, PDP has continued to systematically propagate a doctrine that only reflects the views of their selfish and corrupt political leaders.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Hon Dimeji Bankole, Public Servants and Ministers
Honourable Dimeji Bankole noted at 6th Annual Trust Dialogue organised by Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust, that civil servants steal the bulk of unspent funds that should have been returned to the government treasury. In fact he was quoted has saying “………we have now discovered that each year, N700 billion is lost in the hands of civil servants. The money was never remitted to government coffers”. He observed that while politicians “come and go”, civil servants are a permanent feature of government bureaucracy. And that no Permanent Secretary had been put on trial for any financial misdeed.
I’m not entirely sure about the motivation behind these statements. Is it to score cheap political goals? or create an impression that politicians are no more corrupt than civil servants? For the Speaker to say civil servants are ‘corrupt’, is like a-pot-calling-a-kettle ‘black’. It is common knowledge that the Nigerian public service is as corrupt is it can get. The Nigerian Civil Service evolved from the colonial service which was established by the British authorities as the administrative machinery for governing Nigeria. However, it is unfortunate that currently 70% of its workforce is made up of unskilled staff (only 1.7% is in the strategic thinking directorate). It is saddled with the problem of “ghost” workers, symptomatic of poor personnel records and payroll control systems. And to make matters worse, we currently have Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with neither Mission nor Vision Statements, or clear corporate and individual schedules of duties. The Nigerian civil service is perhaps one of the most poorly paid in the world. A Permanent Secretary in the Federal Service earns an average of $1000 a month!
The creation of Bureau of Public Service Reform in 2003 by Ex-President Obasanjo was aimed at dealing with the some of the structural decay in the civil service mentioned earlier. It is however sad to say that, six years on these problems still remains. Probably, the ‘reformers’ themselves needed to be reformed. Unfortunately, the public service reform has not lumped into the President Yar’adua ‘7-point agenda’ - which is currently a waste of time.
My question to Hon. Bankole is, what has the National Assembly done to strengthen and re-vitalise the civil service? In a democracy, the Legislature should be responsible for holding the Executive and Public Service accountable. However, instead of that being the case, Nigerian legislators collude with civil servants to loot the treasury. The same National Assembly members have been guilt of sharing ‘unspent funds’ with civil servants – as seen recently in the case of Ministry of Health and Sen. Iyabo Obasanjo.
Also in the same vein, he alleged that three ex-ministers, (whose names he refused to divulge) sacrificed the opportunity of a foreign direct investment because the investors preferred to execute the projects themselves under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model and were not prepared to release the funds to the ministries related to the projects. His word I quote “There was a consortium that came to Nigeria last year. They all own banks and have already facilitated meeting with the three ministers after the meeting with the President. They were to bring $14 billion and to show the faith they were ready to block-off $1 billion for the government even before any transaction takes place between those ministries and the consortium. However, from the date of the meeting with the ministries till last week, it’s about eight months there was no movement, none whatsoever in fact, the three ministries totally discouraged us from having access to this fund, which is being offered without interest to build Nigerian infrastructure. I don’t understand that. I don’t know if you understand it. Well, I made bold to say that those ministers are no longer manning the ministries or are they in government anymore”.
It is also not surprising that our Ministers bungle foreign direct investments that would have benefitted that nation. In a situation when you have a President, who seems to care less and ‘nonentity’ as Ministers (all in the name of federal character) then you can’t expect any magic.
The democratic structure establishes a system of ‘checks and balances’. When the Executive makes mistakes, it is the role of the Legislature to ask the right questions. However, what we see is bickering about personal allowances. When you expect the National Assembly to scrutinise Ministers prior to their appointment, they simply ask them to ‘take a bow and leave’!
Despite been a former Senator and First Lady, Hilary Clinton was subjected to serious questioning at the US Senate prior to confirmation of her confirmation as Secretary of State. She was made to answer questions relating to her husband’s businesses and perceived conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of her appointment. In Nigeria, such a personality wouldn’t even be required to attend the Senate.
The National Assembly has demonstrated lack of competence and vision since its inception. Commentators who thought the election of Bankole as Speaker was breath of fresh air (considering his age and exposure), are now beginning to see that, he his just a new wine in an old bottle.. Honourable members have embarked on series of probes, inquiries etc in the 18 months, none of which has yielded any result till date.
It is time the Legislature starts fulfilling its role in holding the government accountable. It should help empower our democratic structure through an objective, open and transparent constitutional review process.
I’m not entirely sure about the motivation behind these statements. Is it to score cheap political goals? or create an impression that politicians are no more corrupt than civil servants? For the Speaker to say civil servants are ‘corrupt’, is like a-pot-calling-a-kettle ‘black’. It is common knowledge that the Nigerian public service is as corrupt is it can get. The Nigerian Civil Service evolved from the colonial service which was established by the British authorities as the administrative machinery for governing Nigeria. However, it is unfortunate that currently 70% of its workforce is made up of unskilled staff (only 1.7% is in the strategic thinking directorate). It is saddled with the problem of “ghost” workers, symptomatic of poor personnel records and payroll control systems. And to make matters worse, we currently have Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with neither Mission nor Vision Statements, or clear corporate and individual schedules of duties. The Nigerian civil service is perhaps one of the most poorly paid in the world. A Permanent Secretary in the Federal Service earns an average of $1000 a month!
The creation of Bureau of Public Service Reform in 2003 by Ex-President Obasanjo was aimed at dealing with the some of the structural decay in the civil service mentioned earlier. It is however sad to say that, six years on these problems still remains. Probably, the ‘reformers’ themselves needed to be reformed. Unfortunately, the public service reform has not lumped into the President Yar’adua ‘7-point agenda’ - which is currently a waste of time.
My question to Hon. Bankole is, what has the National Assembly done to strengthen and re-vitalise the civil service? In a democracy, the Legislature should be responsible for holding the Executive and Public Service accountable. However, instead of that being the case, Nigerian legislators collude with civil servants to loot the treasury. The same National Assembly members have been guilt of sharing ‘unspent funds’ with civil servants – as seen recently in the case of Ministry of Health and Sen. Iyabo Obasanjo.
Also in the same vein, he alleged that three ex-ministers, (whose names he refused to divulge) sacrificed the opportunity of a foreign direct investment because the investors preferred to execute the projects themselves under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model and were not prepared to release the funds to the ministries related to the projects. His word I quote “There was a consortium that came to Nigeria last year. They all own banks and have already facilitated meeting with the three ministers after the meeting with the President. They were to bring $14 billion and to show the faith they were ready to block-off $1 billion for the government even before any transaction takes place between those ministries and the consortium. However, from the date of the meeting with the ministries till last week, it’s about eight months there was no movement, none whatsoever in fact, the three ministries totally discouraged us from having access to this fund, which is being offered without interest to build Nigerian infrastructure. I don’t understand that. I don’t know if you understand it. Well, I made bold to say that those ministers are no longer manning the ministries or are they in government anymore”.
It is also not surprising that our Ministers bungle foreign direct investments that would have benefitted that nation. In a situation when you have a President, who seems to care less and ‘nonentity’ as Ministers (all in the name of federal character) then you can’t expect any magic.
The democratic structure establishes a system of ‘checks and balances’. When the Executive makes mistakes, it is the role of the Legislature to ask the right questions. However, what we see is bickering about personal allowances. When you expect the National Assembly to scrutinise Ministers prior to their appointment, they simply ask them to ‘take a bow and leave’!
Despite been a former Senator and First Lady, Hilary Clinton was subjected to serious questioning at the US Senate prior to confirmation of her confirmation as Secretary of State. She was made to answer questions relating to her husband’s businesses and perceived conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of her appointment. In Nigeria, such a personality wouldn’t even be required to attend the Senate.
The National Assembly has demonstrated lack of competence and vision since its inception. Commentators who thought the election of Bankole as Speaker was breath of fresh air (considering his age and exposure), are now beginning to see that, he his just a new wine in an old bottle.. Honourable members have embarked on series of probes, inquiries etc in the 18 months, none of which has yielded any result till date.
It is time the Legislature starts fulfilling its role in holding the government accountable. It should help empower our democratic structure through an objective, open and transparent constitutional review process.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Global Recession and The Nigerian Economy
The CBN Governor was quoted in the Nigerian media today saying that the Nigerian economy could slow but cannot enter into ‘recession’. His words, I quote from Guardian newspapers “the global system is in a recession and from all indications, the Nigerian economy will not be in a recession. What could happen is that the rate of growth could be reduced but this will not make us slide into a negative growth rate for three consecutive quarters that would officially lead the economy into a recession".
To say the least, I’m disappointed that a statement of this nature is attributed to a man who is supposedly responsible for setting the monetary policy for a nation of 180 million people. I’m not an ‘Economist or pretending to be one, however it is right to say that the chain of events on the global economic scene has left the so called financial/economic experts ‘clueless’. The fact remains that; no one can categorically predict the future of its local economy not to mention the world economy. The world is now a global village that no country no matter how small is immune from this global crisis. The impact of the crisis will only be limited by the level of exposure.
Let’s remind ourselves, the economic crisis started in the US sometime last year as a result of the ‘sub-prime’ lending boom that later went burst! This quickly translated into decline in house prices in the US housing market. When everyone thought the problem was only in the US, then came the crash of Lehman Brothers (which I will describe as the September 11 attack on Wall Street), and the world economic landscape changed for good (?). Currently, the US, Asian, and European stock markets are struggling, house prices have been on steady decline, credit facilities for personal and business have almost dried up, oil price dipped from $147 to $40 per barrel. As I write the biggest car manufacturers in the US are on the verge on collapse, with about 3 million jobs at risk. So, the impact of the reckless lending to innocent residents in small towns in America is now affetcing every part of the economy, in almost all parts of the world.
So why this commentary? It is worth noting that no one predict these problems 12 months ago (even Prof. Soludo). For example, the Australian economy had a $17.5 billion surplus last year, the UK housing market was at its peak, major oil producers were making phenomenal profit as a result of increased energy demand from places like China and India. On the local front, Nigeria was stashing funds away in its excess crude account (but not invested in any infrastructural development).
I’m interested to know the basis upon which Prof. Soludo made this assertion. How can he say that an economy that is 95% dependent on proceeds from crude oil is not at a risk of recession. The govt is already struggling with 2009 budget as a result of the dip in oil price. What will happen if oil price returns to 1990 price of $22 per barrel? I guess all those ‘Mallams’ doing ‘ran ka de de’ will go and find other jobs to do.Prof. Soludo keeps on saying the recent capitalisation will help the country starve off the risk of economic downturn.
While I agree that the bank capitalisation is arguably the best thing that happened to the Nigerian banking system, I fail to agree that this will be enough for the reasons I noted earlier. For argument sake, are US or European banks not well capitalised?From my point of view, the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy are very ‘weak’. We are all aware of the recent events in the Nigerian stock market. Some will say, the market correction was needed as the value of some of the stocks are overpriced, hence the need to remove the so called ‘circuit breakers’. But it highlights what can happen when there is lack of confidence by investors, as also been noticed in the western world. The lack of key infrastructure to support growth like energy, transport etc will have a major impact on how the economy develops in the medium to longer term if this global crisis persists. Instead of the government to pump money into key infrastructure, there were busy paying off external debts and stashing money in foreign reserve.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying paying off our foreign debts was a bad idea. But, of what purpose is the debt repayment to the lay man on the street, when he cannot feed his family?So Prof. Chukwuma Soludo instead of boasting that the economy cannot go into recession because of your bank capitalisation, it will be better if you tell us how you intend to shore up the economy through sustained investment in infrastructure. Because at the end of the day, nobody really knows……
To say the least, I’m disappointed that a statement of this nature is attributed to a man who is supposedly responsible for setting the monetary policy for a nation of 180 million people. I’m not an ‘Economist or pretending to be one, however it is right to say that the chain of events on the global economic scene has left the so called financial/economic experts ‘clueless’. The fact remains that; no one can categorically predict the future of its local economy not to mention the world economy. The world is now a global village that no country no matter how small is immune from this global crisis. The impact of the crisis will only be limited by the level of exposure.
Let’s remind ourselves, the economic crisis started in the US sometime last year as a result of the ‘sub-prime’ lending boom that later went burst! This quickly translated into decline in house prices in the US housing market. When everyone thought the problem was only in the US, then came the crash of Lehman Brothers (which I will describe as the September 11 attack on Wall Street), and the world economic landscape changed for good (?). Currently, the US, Asian, and European stock markets are struggling, house prices have been on steady decline, credit facilities for personal and business have almost dried up, oil price dipped from $147 to $40 per barrel. As I write the biggest car manufacturers in the US are on the verge on collapse, with about 3 million jobs at risk. So, the impact of the reckless lending to innocent residents in small towns in America is now affetcing every part of the economy, in almost all parts of the world.
So why this commentary? It is worth noting that no one predict these problems 12 months ago (even Prof. Soludo). For example, the Australian economy had a $17.5 billion surplus last year, the UK housing market was at its peak, major oil producers were making phenomenal profit as a result of increased energy demand from places like China and India. On the local front, Nigeria was stashing funds away in its excess crude account (but not invested in any infrastructural development).
I’m interested to know the basis upon which Prof. Soludo made this assertion. How can he say that an economy that is 95% dependent on proceeds from crude oil is not at a risk of recession. The govt is already struggling with 2009 budget as a result of the dip in oil price. What will happen if oil price returns to 1990 price of $22 per barrel? I guess all those ‘Mallams’ doing ‘ran ka de de’ will go and find other jobs to do.Prof. Soludo keeps on saying the recent capitalisation will help the country starve off the risk of economic downturn.
While I agree that the bank capitalisation is arguably the best thing that happened to the Nigerian banking system, I fail to agree that this will be enough for the reasons I noted earlier. For argument sake, are US or European banks not well capitalised?From my point of view, the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy are very ‘weak’. We are all aware of the recent events in the Nigerian stock market. Some will say, the market correction was needed as the value of some of the stocks are overpriced, hence the need to remove the so called ‘circuit breakers’. But it highlights what can happen when there is lack of confidence by investors, as also been noticed in the western world. The lack of key infrastructure to support growth like energy, transport etc will have a major impact on how the economy develops in the medium to longer term if this global crisis persists. Instead of the government to pump money into key infrastructure, there were busy paying off external debts and stashing money in foreign reserve.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying paying off our foreign debts was a bad idea. But, of what purpose is the debt repayment to the lay man on the street, when he cannot feed his family?So Prof. Chukwuma Soludo instead of boasting that the economy cannot go into recession because of your bank capitalisation, it will be better if you tell us how you intend to shore up the economy through sustained investment in infrastructure. Because at the end of the day, nobody really knows……
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