Wednesday, August 31, 2011

SPECIAL ADVISER, INTERNET AFFAIRS?

If you live long enough, you will see many things you, hitherto, thought were impossible! In the constantly changing dynamics of the Nigerian political landscape, the incredulous and nonsensical, seems to be assuming the the status of normality!


Cybersphere has been been awash with the news that Reno Omokri, the fellow behind the pro-Jonathan group on Facebook, Build Nigeria, has been appointed a Special Assistant, or is it Adviser, to the president on New Media! This is another name for everything you read, or put out on the internet!


Many have hailed the appointment as one of a round peg, in a round hole! The hole part I totally agree with: it is a lot of money going down a deep egotistic hole!


Mr Omokri has been, before now, offering a robust defense of the president against the negative press he has been given by the likes of Mallam Nasir El Rufai!


This is Jonathan now acquiring his own internet czar! The prospect leaves me rubbing my hands in expectation! It means that the president would finally begin to "answer" all the queries directed at him online! For one who campaigned assiduously online during his bid for the presidency, he seems to have cooled off somewhat!


Reno was one of the architects of his effervescent internet presence during the run up to the elections! Many of us knew Jonathan was getting his message across, more than all the other contenders! We did not need to see any writing on the wall to know this!


But one wonders, if Mr Omokri is the Special Adviser on New Media, does that make Reuben Abati, the one for Old Media?


Or could it be, that because Mr Abati has not stamped his authority on the ebb, and flow, of the discourse online, a whizkid has been brought in to ensure that the jousting ends in Jonathan's favour!


This is what a consultant would normally do for a politician, but elevating the position to a cabinet level smacks of cronyism, insincerity, and profligacy! 


When the country is labouring under a huge wage bill, and after a litany of complaints have been tabled on the over-bloated, and still ballooning, Jonathan cabinet,  do we really need another Special Adviser?


Some would see it as oil money, free, and meant to be spent: I, sadly, must agree with them!Not because it is the correct thing to do, but because Nigerians deserve what they are getting right now! 


We never bother to ask our politicians how, and why, they are spending our money: and they in turn, never bother to render account! 


So it is a perfect marriage between a careless electorate, and a reckless leadership! Like Ola Rotimi would say, "of he goats, and coco yam! 


We allow politicians to rack up all manner of frivolous expenses, and debts, and we even pray for them!


The president would be well advised to make more appointments soon: we would soon require a Special Adviser on Flooding in Lagos, one on Boko Haram Affairs, another for the mosquitoes that plague Aso Rock, and one to help his excellency flush his toilet properly!


As Mr Omokri proudly prowls the corridors of Aso Rock with his gold-plated Ipad in hand, let him remember, that in the real world, we are waiting for the jobs, roads, electricity,  and security his new portfolio would generate for the ordinary suffering masses who are unfortunate to find themselves under such a leadership!


MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, MY NIGERIA FOREVER! 

THE KABIYESI COMPLEX:THE FALLACY OF LEADERS AS AGENTS OF DIVINITY!

In Yoruba land, the paramount ruler, known as Kabiyesi, which also means Ka bi o o si (To query you, is a non starter), is usually referred to as "Igba "kegi awon orisa (The deputy of the gods, or ancestors)! He used to be a monarch who wielded absolute power! What he wanted then, he got! His word was law!


In fact, a woman could accompany her husband to the palace, and if the Kabiyesi liked her enough, he "placed his foot on her" Meaning one could not take the woman away from him!


Such was the power these imperial monarchs wielded, that they had the power of life, and death over their subjects! 


To survive then, people learned not to question authority, and accepted whatever came from power! This docility was further deepened under the jackboots of military rule in Nigeria, and the politicians have inherited the kabiyesi complex!


It is an erroneous notion that all elected officials are representatives of God, and must not be questioned!


Many rely on the Bible as the confirmation of this unquestionable divine right to rule! Sadly, many of those who rely on the Bible, only seem to read one part of the message on how to engage leadership! The same Bible tells us that the Apostle Paul rebuked Peter, his leader, when Peter withdrew from the Gentiles he had hitherto fellowshipped with out of eye service, and fear of some Jews that had just arrived!


Why should we question, criticize, and if need be, condemn our leaders?


Because they are human!


If they were omnipotent like God, I would not assay to ask them what they are doing! 


But they are human!


So I question them!


Another reason why I question them, is because when a man runs for political office, he ceases to become a private citizen, one entitled to his privacy: and becomes public property!


I liken it to what happens when people are dancing in the shadows of the flickering light at a party, no one sees them, so they are free to do their own thing! 


The moment one of them jumps into the light, and people form a circle around him, he is no longer on his own: he has called attention to himself! Whatever he does will elicit different types of comments


If a man decides to run for political office, it is not my duty to ensure that he puts his best foot forward all the time, and that he removes, or hides the skeleton in his cupboard: that is his duty!


If his wife is ugly, people would definitely notice! If her English is worse than my great great great grand mother's, no one should blame me for ridiculing her! He caused it! If he had kept himself a private citizen, any attempt of mine to cast aspersions on his family would be met with a robust legal rebuff!


The moment he becomes my representative, he is mine to question at will!


The president of this country cannot ask me to understand, or bear with him! I refuse to understand, or bear with him! If he knew he was coming to make excuses, he should never have put himself forward for high office! We condone, and promote inept leadership, when we do not call them to order!We err when we do not remind them that they are not fulfilling their end of the mandate!


Political office cannot be equated with imperial monarchy! In a monarchy, the monarch rules by divine right: in politics, the leader governs by permission: my permission given by my vote!


To all those who believe I am too harsh on Goodluck Jonathan, goodluck to you if you are enjoying what you are experiencing right now: I am not, so I will keep talking!


So far, the fellow has not impressed me at all!


MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, MY NIGERIA FOREVER!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME:NIGERIAN EXPRESSION!

In August 1973, a botched armed robbery, turned into an hostage situation! For six days, there was a standoff, and it was observed that during the ordeal, hostages developed empathy for the kidnappers, and even went as far as defending them after the ordeal!


The hostages took the lack of abuse  from their captors, for an act of kindness! It was another incident that unveiled the depth of illogical emotions, and actions, people undergoing a stressful situation are capable of!


One day, I asked my friends on Facebook, if Nigerians love the taste of "shit"? "Shit", in this regard, represents every inhuman treatment we are subjected to by our elected officials, despite which we still remain docile, and even pray for them! 


This illogical, Stockholm Syndrome-like situation, has led to the widely held belief that God, has a purpose for Nigeria, hence, our continued survival in the face of countless man-made situations that have caused other nations to go to war, or witness other cataclysmic upheavals!


I have declared several times, that God is our problem in Nigeria! Not in the sense that he is the cause of our woes, but that He has been used by many Nigerians, who show so much piety, as the crutch we lean on to excuse our laziness in confronting our government, and demanding that Nigerians too, should be privy to good governance!


Is it possible that we are actually witnessing a Stockholm Syndrome on a nationwide scale? A situation never before seen anywhere else! 


Could a whole nation be so twisted as to now mistake bad politics, and policies, as a learning curve? 


When will we then graduate, if we are "ever learning, and never coming to the knowledge of the truth"? 


Why do we mistake bad roads for formula one race tracks, and take them for granted? 




Why do we now accept, that generators are the de facto, and accepted, means of generating electricity?


Have we suffered so much, that we have become familiar with suffering, and it has become pleasure to us?


Are we now like the man who lives beside the railway track, who no longer hears the passing train at midnight, because he has become accustomed to the noise?


As I listen to people discuss national issues, and hear them articulate their inarticulate defense: I shudder because it seems our people do not get it: that the rest of the world do not live like us, that we are abnormal in our choosing to "suffer, and smile"!


The belt of suffering has been tightening, and new deprivations are emerging everyday: when are we going to finally realize it, that everything that has a beginning, has an end?


Or is our own situation different?


Until we demand an end to our present condition, a new dawn of progress will continue to elude us!


MAY DOD BLESS NIGERIA FOREVER!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

NIGERIA'S REVOLUTION!

I am looking at India, and I am jealous! 




I envy what I am seeing! 




The middle class is taking the government on, and they do not look like they will take no for an answer, or be swayed by any strong-arm tactics! 


Some years ago, when General Pavez Musharraf was president of Pakistan, he removed the country's Chief Judge Iftikhar Chayudhry! He accused him of corruption, and misconduct: labels that are very easy to verify, because there must be a giver, a taker, and the knower of the transaction!


It was a grave miscalculation on his part: the lawyers of Pakistan rose up in robust defense of the Chief Judge, and started a series of protests, and civil disobedience in major cities of Pakistan!


They saw through the ruse, they were in the best position to know of any corrupt practices!


Eventually, the Chief Judge was reinstated! But not before a few bones were broken,and one, or two persons killed!


But justice was done, and Pakistan's march to a society ruled by law, and not impunity, continued!


The struggle in India, is over corruption! A civil society advocate,Mr Anna Hazare, has proposed what he sees as the panacea for the run-away corruption threatening to derail the Indian Republican Express! 




The part many of us would find difficult to understand, is that government had initially proposed a law, and the fellow found their law inadequate, and proffered an alternative!


An alternative?  


Yes! An alternative law, with more watertight conditions that do not give room for corrupt people to make an ass out of  law!


The government had presented for debate a law that would preclude the president, and senior judges, from investigation for corruption! 


Mr Hazare had threatened to fast unto death, unless his version of the law was passed into law! He declared that the war against corruption, was India's second war of independence!


His message has resonated with such clarity,that millions have rallied to his call! 


And the government, in consternation, has locked him up!


This has had the effect of inflaming the passions of millions all over the country! 


And they have been protesting! 


Even the lawyers of the supreme court have threatened to join in: and the humble tricycle drivers are already on strike!


This is how a revolution works! The middle class fearlessly leading the rest of the populace to ensure equity, and just change!


There is a lesson for Nigeria here, it is that the revolution we seek, must be midwifed by our middle class, and sold to the masses!


The poor, and downtrodden, do not have access to the information, and social media we all take for granted! 




If we decide, we can use our Ipads, and Iphones, laptops, and notebooks, to change our country!


The second lesson is that we must be willing to roll up our sleeves, and jump into the trenches! To do otherwise would be shadow boxing, and an exercise in travesty!


If we all spew our various theories on how a Nigerian revolution should happen, and fail to match our words with action, we would just be like firecrackers, all noise, no effect!


We need to forget the isms, and ideologies that currently divide us, and focus on the prize, a better Nigeria in our lifetime! 


It is not a matter of waging war on our dear land, it is resolute individuals coming out to say to the powers that currently enslave our progress, that change must come with, or without them! 


If they want, they can deliver it, if they find it offensive, they can step aside!


Can you imagine two hundred thousand people staging a march in front of the national assembly, and demanding an end to ridiculous legislative remuneration?


They will listen, if we show up! 




And that is how change will come to Nigeria!


We may be beaten, and our bones may be broken, some of us might even loose our lives for the cause!


However, no matter the suffering, if we hold the course, and remain unwavering, Nigeria will be free!


MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA,OUR NIGERIA,FOREVER!


     

Friday, August 12, 2011

NIGERIA IMPORTS FUEL FROM NIGER REPUBLIC:CAN WE FALL ANY LOWER?

Just when one thinks that Nigeria can not sink any lower, our leaders come up with a new benchmark for stupidity, and ineptitude! 


It is all over the media, that Nigeria would be importing fuel from Niger republic, her impoverished, and economically backward Northern neighbour!


For many years, Nigeria has been supplying electricity to Niger: so how is it possible, that a country that has been ravaged by desertification, and internal conflict, is able to export refined petroleum products to the world's seventh largest producer of the commodity?


Particularly when they do not have any crude oil reserves worth mentioning!


I have been reliably told, that the refinery is owned by Chinese, but that does not in anyway ameliorate the hot sensation of shame, and revulsion one feels about the whole arrangement! 


There is nothing but desert in Niger republic, so how is it, that they can afford to be so much more "investor- friendlier" than Nigeria?


I smell a fish here, and it is a rotten one! 


Is it possible, that some well-connected individuals, are now smuggling crude petroleum products by land from Nigeria, and are taking same to.... I am afraid to conclude my contemplation!


As a nationalist, there is a weight at the bottom of my stomach, and it is not the bowl of pounded yam I ate a while ago! It is deep anger at the way we seem to be missing opportunities at every encounter! Why did the Chinese find it more convenient to invest in Niger?


Could it be that they are aware that our government does not know how to honour valid agreements freely entered into by it? 


Could it be, that they are aware that licences had been issued for private refineries in Nigeria, but the business climate does not favour their survival, let alone profitability?


Between establishing your own power station, private police to provide security, private road network, waterworks, and all the accoutrements necessary for establishing a local government: these are some of the few things one needs to establish a large manufacturing, or refining venture in Nigeria!


The Chinese are aware that Dunlop Nigeria, is now Dunlop Ghana, and a few other business entities have also relocated to Ghana too!


While all this is happening, the simpletons who rule from Abuja continue to knit away like two befuddled old women, unmindful that the world is passing us, and that there is no room for retaking the examination!


Nigeria seems to be dying from the death by a thousand self-inflicted cuts! With each cut from the blade our leaders seem to enjoy it, and grin with crazed pleasure!


It is time to take our nation back!


MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, MY NIGERIA FOREVER!    

BRITISH RIOTS: AND NIGERIAN PRISON CONGESTION!


That some youths in England who have no moral compass, have decided to show what a poor job was done in their upbringing; is no longer news! 


The coverage, like all things British, has occupied the front row in the BBC, and Sky Television coverage!

The British seem not to be making a connection, between this failed experiment at parenting: which treats children as equals with adults, with the scant regard the juvenile terrorists hold them in!


There is a lesson for Nigeria to learn from the shameful incidents we have watched in consternation!

It is not a lesson that is quickly apparent, but one that can be gleaned by those who choose to see! It is not that some Nigerian youths probably participated in the riots: it is not that some Nigerian businesses were affected, or that some Nigerians would become unemployed due to the businesses they work for being destroyed!


In the words of Kahlil Gibran, "the reality of the other person; lies not in what he reveals to you;but what he cannot reveal to you: therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says, but rather to what he does not say"

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London spoke to the press, and a gathering of concerned citizens on the third day of the riots: and I listened, and understood him! 

He revealed that one of the arrested brigands, had already been sentenced to six months in prison!


I was shocked! 

I was overwhelmed by the efficiency of a system that would deliver justice in less than seventy two hours!


I looked at him through the eyes of someone agonizing over the slow pace of justice in Nigeria! 

A lot of us are wondering why Hamza Al Mustapha has spent twelve years on trial!

Whether through an inefficient judicial system, or from attrition litigation, as a very good friend of mine chose to describe it: it should be unacceptable that a legal matter cannot be disposed of satisfactorily within twelve years! 

We are appalled, because we are aware of his case! 

But, for every Al Mustapha, there are thousands of others currently “awaiting trial”, our euphemism for efficient injustice!

These are the voiceless, and faceless victims of our refusal to bring our legal statutes in line with current best practice in jurisprudence!

Some have been in prison for upwards of fifteen years, and they are still waiting to be tried for offences whose sentences could not be more than two years!


They constitute the emotionally wounded we have unjustly locked away, and it is to our shame!

Their journey usually begins with an arrest for something as innuocous as wandering, or even for a discretionary crime manufactured by a policeman looking for a bribe! 

In extreme cases, it could be a well connected member of the society who wants to show a weaker person, that he can be punished with impunity! 

In the case of the latter, if the big man does not order the release of his victim; that may be the beginning of a fifteen year journey of injustice!

The fellow is thrown into one police cell, and if no one comes to bail him, he falls through the cracks! This is culpably abetted by the inimically insidious bureaucracy of the police force!

When a person is arrested, the case usually has an Investigating Police Officer, IPO. The IPO is the one who handles all matters relating to the case, he has the power of life, and death over the prosecution!

If the accused is taken to court, and the IPO is not available, he is remanded in prison, his case adjourned, and a new date is set for trial! Meanwhile, he goes back to prison! 

Because we do not have a viable legal aid system, justice, and tidy litigation, is still the exclusive preserve of the rich, and highly educated!

Through no fault of the accused, an abominable miscarriage of justice begins! If the IPO is transferred from that division, it becomes more difficult for the case to be prosecuted! Worse still, if the IPO is transferred out of state, the prisoner would now become a judicial orphan!

The IPO, who has now been transferred, would not be given money officially to come and testify during court dates, he also cannot use his negligible salary to pay for his inter-state transportation!
The poor prisoner, through the insidious system, finds himself in hell! 

Subsequently, new arrivals at the station who do not know his story, believe that he must be guilty, if he is in prison! A person is not presumed innocent, until proved guilty!

This is how prisons become congested in Nigeria! 

People who should not be in prison, rotting away because the system that is meant to give them justice has become unjust!

Many of these fellows are actually innocent, and are there because they have no one to speak for them! Eventually, many of them become criminalized because they are thrown in with hardened criminals, and have to become hardened, to survive! 

Our prisons do not reform, they destroy!

Another way the police contributes to prison congestion; is their willingness to become prosecutor, and judge in civil disputes!


When civil matters are brought, instead of the police sending the cases to court, they determine in their own wretched warped wisdom, that a party is guilty; and lock them up! 

They then impose conditions they feel are appropriate to remediate the loss suffered by the “complainant”.


In Nigeria, once you are the first to report a case to the police, they seem to believe that you must be innocent, and that they are working for you!


So they lock up the “accused” until their version of justice is served!


There is a lesson for us to learn from the British model of justice! It is that justice must be swift to deter others from offending! 


I am sure one or two individuals who probably wanted to help themselves to the properties of others through looting, would have had a rethink, when they saw the sentencing!

On the other side of the coin, is our penchant for not bringing genuine offenders to book! 


In doing this, we are inadvertently telling them, that they can go on offending, as long as they are rich, and powerful, because our own version of justice is paralyzed, blind, deaf, and dumb!


We need to evolve a system that does not punish the innocent, and reward the guilty! 

It is when we do this, that we can claim, that we are a truly just, and civilized society!

Until then, the anomie that our prison system has become, accuses us all!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

MAJOR HAMZA AL MUSTAPHA

Three Nigerian presidents, five Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and God knows how many attorney generals, I suspect about six, have all presided over Major Hamza Al Mustapha's trial!


It has taken three administrations, and twelve years, and his trial is no where near conclusion! 




It is indefensible, that a trial would last this long! "Justice delayed, is justice denied" and like Justice Chukwudifu Oputa declared famously"in a criminal trial, justice is tripartite: justice to the accused; justice to the society, and justice to the victim"


In Al Mustapha's case, the fact that his trial has taken this long, is an injustice to all involved! It is an injustice to those who were allegedly killed, that their killer has not been brought to justice! It is also an injustice to the society, that wants to see the offender punished swiftly! Lastly, it is an injustice to Al Mustapha! 


If he is guilty, his punishment should come swiftly! If he is to be sentenced to jail, would the time served already in the course of the trial be taken into account!


Justice must be just! To be otherwise is tyranny!


I know that Al Mustapha elicits extreme contrasting opinions! Some see him as a victim, others see him as a violent criminal!


If we all keep quiet, and say he deserves this treatment, we need to ask ourselves this question, what if we were the ones in his place, and we were actually innocent? 


When an individual's liberties are denied, it is a tacit opening of the door, to the denial of all our liberties! 


We cannot, in trying to punish evil, use evil as a tool of punishment! We run the risk of becoming evil ourselves!


The new, and modern Nigeria we seek to build, has no room for trials that are in danger of becoming a circus, and a travesty of commonsense!


The trial should be concluded quickly, because justice needs to be done, and be seen to be done, quickly! 


MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA FOREVER!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

MY LEG TOUCHED IT, IT WAS NOT ME!

The buck stops here!
Harry S. Truman
33rd President of the United States




When my daughter was two years old, she had this habit of playing around the television set! In the process, she would often, unwittingly, touch the power extension with her leg! 




I tried to remonstrate with her on why she should not play with the power chord!


One day, I came into the living room, and I found her playing with her foot on the extension! When I reminded her that she was not supposed to touch the extension chord, she spared me a glance, with one of those impish smiles only a two year old could conjure, and answered " I did not touch it daddy, my leg touched it"! I was convinced I already had a potential Senior Advocate of Nigeria,or a politician, for a daughter!


Politicians, sometimes, seem to reason like children; particularly when they seek to exculpate themselves from tight spots! 


However,Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of America, believed that there was no one the president could pass on responsibility for an action taken by those under him!




When president Jonathan was confronted by a phalanx of furious opposition to his bid to amend Nigeria's constitution, limiting future holders of the office of president, and state governors to a single term; some say of six, others five years: he came up with the excuse that the proposal was not originally his  idea!


He vigorously affirmed that the decision was taken by a joint committee of all the major political parties, at a meeting he chaired when he was vice president! 


One cannot, but commend his innovative evasive action! His countermeasures under fire were as sophisticated, and impressive,  as those of the F22 Raptor, the World's most advanced fighter jet! 


It is a plane that was described by one observer, as "defying the principles of flight"! 




That phrase is quite succinct in describing Jonathan's defense, it defies the principles of logic, and commonsense! 


I must confess that I found a parallel between his excuse, and my two year old's attempt at exculpation!


Does the Nigerian president want us to believe that every decision taken by the major political parties, is holy writ? 


This is because there is an association called the Congress of Nigerian Political Parties, which is even bigger in membership, and scope, than just the major political parties: I am aware that that association has called for the adoption into law, through an act the national assembly, the Justice Muhammed Uwais' panel report on electoral reforms!


This committee was established by Jonathan's predecessor, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, after his election, which he publicly acknowledged was flawed! 




It was his desire to prevent this injustice from happening again, that led to the high-powered committee! This committee went round Nigeria, at great cost, listening to various shades of opinion: it came up with a report which was widely acknowledged as a watershed for transparency in our elections!


More importantly, it was the closest thing to a referendum on the wishes of our people where electoral reforms are concerned!




The government did not accept all the recommendations, they were not in favour of the ruling People's Democratic party, as they would have jeopardized all the shenanigans the party had employed to rig elections for the past twelve years!


If the government is sincere, if the president means well, it is that report he should be sending again, in it's entirety, to the national assembly!


The presidency of Nigeria, is the highest office in the land! So it is ludicrous, when the president says he wants to do something, and when confronted by opposition, he disclaims his project, passing the buck to some nebulous phantom committee that is only known to him alone, and no one else!


When we were in school, there was a song we used to sing, one of the lines of that song was 


"do not say yes, 
when you mean to say no!


It seems in our president's case, after saying, he has suddenly realized that he was not the one that said it, it was just his mouth, not him!


MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!

Monday, August 1, 2011

THE LIMIT OF MONEY, AND THE "INFINITENESS" OF STUPIDITY!

There is a small mammal called the meerkat! It lives in the Kalahari desert of Namibia: it is also found in Angola, and South Africa! 


It is a close relation of the mongoose! 


The meerkat gets it's food primarily by digging for it! It loves earthworms, snakes, scorpions, and any other small thing it can catch!


When a meerkat is confronted with an egg, which as we all know, is not easy for a small animal to grasp because of it's oval shape, and smoothness: it's first attempt to get at the food it knows is in it, is to dig around the egg!


Because it is so programmed to dig for food, it's brain tells it dig, and dig it would, frantically, and in frustration!


So it keeps digging, if it is lucky, the egg might hit a stone, and it gets a meal, or the egg might just titillate it, and refuse to yield to all the digging!


It is a funny story, but sadly true!


Sadder still, is the human parallel!


Sometimes, the actions of people with infinite stupidity, is to attack every every problem, with the same set of tools! 




If they were able to solve the problem of walking in the rain, by wearing a raincoat, the next time they walk in the sun, they would wear their raincoats again!


The federal government has declared that a high-powered select committee, is going to be meeting with the insurgents that go by the name "Boko Haram", to negotiate peace terms with them! 




They have been killing people, and bombing government targets,  generally making a big nuisance of themselves in the Northern part of Nigeria! 


The government has a lot of experience in dealing with situations like this! 


It successfully negotiated with, and gave amnesty to, the militants who were generally imperiling our economic interests in the Niger Delta! 


Overnight, the young men who were waging war on our oil facilities, and engaging in all manner of reckless brigandage, became millionaires! 


Many were sent on government scholarships to study in America, and other exotic parts of the world!

Those who did not travel, but opted to have their training in Lagos, have been spending money like Bill and Melinda Gates do on good causes! Only these ex-militants spend theirs on wine, women, and what-have-you! 


Many law-abiding young men, who refused to join their friends in the insurgency, were left to rue their decision to be law-abiding! 


They are still unemployed, poor, and despondent! 


That was in the Southern part of Nigeria,


The Boko Haram insurgents, are operating in the Northern part of the country! 


As you are aware, there are two more cardinal points to be visited! (Or in our own case four more! The mystery of our six cardinal points is another story for another time)


Nigeria is a very interesting country: people do not want to be cheated, and always demand their share of any largess given to another part of the country!


Government too, is always eager to acquiesce to every demand of people who do anything to threaten our economic interests! 




It is just like how overindulgent parents pacify, and satisfy, every whim of a petulant pampered and properly spoiled child!  


Commonsense dictates that a strong hand is the best way to handle wayward children, but government believes otherwise!




For people who have seen this scenario before, there is a feeling of de ja vu! 


We have seen this before! 


 It usually begins with an offer being made by the government for unconditional amnesty for people who are not even willing to surrender! The government nags them until they accept it! In return, they have to promise to end hostilities! 


This would be followed by a high powered committee formed to implement the conditions of the amnesty! 




To show government's readiness to always go this route, there is a special adviser to the president on amnesty!




Does it not sound eerily similar to how a meerkat is ready to dig all the time to solve a problem?




The other shoe is waiting to drop: the Eastern, and the Western part of Nigeria, are yet to get their share of the amnesty largess! (And the other four) 


So, in no distant time from now, expect to hear of insurgents like the Defenders of Oduduwa, from the South: and Nwoke Na Action for the East! 


I suspect that there will be many takers!




The militancy/amnesty business, is the most lucrative business in town now!
It is lucrative to both sides! 




Those in government charged with administering it, are usually given the keys to the national treasury, and all expense is put under the amorphous subhead called "security vote"!


The "security vote" is like the the American military's policy concerning gays "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"!


The money will not be accounted for, or audited! 


It is a legitimate black ops  transaction, in plain view!




As the people in government decide to walk in the sun with their raincoats, let us hope that they would see reason: be wise, and stop addressing every problem, with the same solution: money!


The limit of money is obvious, it solved the Niger Delta insurgency, but did not prevent the Boko Haram brouhaha! 


On the other hand, a person of limitless stupidity, will always make the same mistake all through life, and leave a trail of problems behind!


MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, OUR NIGERIA FOREVER, AND DELIVER US FROM STUPIDITY!