If you have ever watched an American film, and the plot included a kidnap, and hostage scene: one thing you would probably hear from the government side, is that the United States Government, does not negotiate with terrorists!
And it is actually a mirror, of what obtains in real life. The US, does not negotiate with terrorists! Ever!
They must have arrived at this decision, after a careful examination, of the anatomy of criminality! If crime is rewarded, it can only lead to more crime! The moment there is no return on investment for the criminal, it discourages him, and potential copycats!
I am constrained to touch on this, in the light of the manner the militancy problem in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, was "resolved"
What the government did, was to negotiate with the militants, and give them money to stop kidnapping people, and hurting our economic interests!
The government found it easy to do, because it had a long established, and robust history, of negotiating with kidnappers!
In the past, operatives of the state security agencies, were actually involved in the negotiation with, and handing over of ransom payments, to kidnappers! In other parts of the civilized world, this is a crime!
We need to ask ourselves as a nation, was the modus operandi of the "amnesty" the best option for the government?
For short-sighted people, it was the best option! But for those who believe in building an enduring, virile, strong, and equitable nation, other options should have been explored!
Why were the militants in the creeks in the first place! What was the reason for their insurrection? Some claimed resource control, others marginalization, another group the underdevelopment of the region!
None of the militants claimed that they were in the struggle because they wanted to go to school in America, and could not raise the funds needed for their education, or that they wanted to be trained in one vocation or the other!
But that is exactly what some of them are getting today, at tax payers' expense!
And, sadly, the fundamental issue, and grouse, they premised their struggle on, are still there, waiting to inspire the next lot of militants!
Until the underlying,fundamental, problem is addressed, we are like the Yorubas would say, ignoring the leprosy, and treating the scabies!
I am not saying that it is wrong for the government to send Nigerians abroad! What is wrong, is the message we have sent to the millions of youths all over Nigeria, who are law-abiding, and have never carried a gun in their lives, and all they want, is to go to school in Nigeria,or have a decent job: and because of government ineptitude, they cannot!
Are we telling them that, the only way to get government's attention, is to wage war against the State?
In rewarding the militants, and not addressing the legitimate issues they raised, government has set a bad precedent!
The militants, were only the symptoms, not the problem!
I have started hearing talk of amnesty for Boko Haram militants in the Northern part of the country! If you do not know, the Boko Haram are an Islamic religious group with very extreme views! They were hitherto patronised by the government of Borno state, and funded, when it was convenient!
It was when the government found that it's pet python (Boko Haram) was now too big to live in the living room, that it tried to eliminate it, but by then, the group had acquired enough arms, and resources to wage war on the three North Eastern states of Bauchi, Gombe, and Borno!
What would the modalities for such an amnesty be?
I ask because the group has as a cardinal tenet, the repudiation of all things modern, and the holding of such as evil!
In a government organized "amnesty", would the Boko Haram members be sent to America on government scholarship? Or would they be sent on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia?
Since they forbid all things modern, would they be making their Saudi trip by camel, or donkey! We need to know, so that the contract can be awarded for the purchase of hundreds of Boeing 747 Camels to take them across the desert!
Since government has now adopted the amnesty method, as a means of assuaging perceived, real, and imagined, injustices: what are we going to do about the kidnappers in the South East of Nigeria who are currently terrorising the populace?
And while we are on the matter, the people who occupy the states that our hydro electric dams are located in, are becoming more vociferous on the need to create a commission modelled along the lines of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to ameliorate the destruction visited on their land by the numerous dams!
So you see, negotiating with terrorists ( a terrorist is any person who uses force to coerce another to do his bidding. My own definition, if it is wrong pardon me) is a slippery slope, and we are already sliding down the slope of no return!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA,OUR NIGERIA,FOREVER!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Dimeji Bankole Collects One Hundred Million Every Ninety Days
There is a long established tradition among armed robbers in Nigeria, I do not know about other climes: it is that when one of them is captured, he usually starts "singing", exposing the other members of the gang!
The current travails of Sabur Oladimeji Bankole, the immediate past speaker of Nigeria's house of representatives, looks like some high-class, genteel singing!
His first public utterance, albeit by his media aide, in the midst of allegations of malfeasance, and all manner of corruption,
: the charge that he borrowed, and misappropriated ten billion naira, which incidentally, is the least in gravity, in the pantheon of allegations, is quite instructive!
He is alleged to have broken down in tears, and regretted ever accepting to be speaker!
Is that not a case of medicine after death, or closing the barn door, after the horse has bolted?
He, like what we used to see petty robbers exhibiting on Crime Fighters, a popular police programme on local television, started naming all those who shared in the loot!
In a curious similarity to the same, he declined sharing in the loot. The only thing he did not say, was that it was the devil that made him do it!
Bankole, to prove that he did not share in the loot, said that his quarterly allocation, was one hundred million naira! This he affirmed, rather ruefully, did not go up with those of the other presiding officers!
I am still reeling from the shock of the revelation! The fellow has admitted publicly, that he is paid one million,one hundred and eleven thousand, one naira per day!
Why would people not kill to hang on to political office,or to get there! This is better than minting money, or wasting your time at some useless honest business!
And it is not as if they work three hundred and sixty days a year! They give themselves generous amounts of holidays, and they also collect constituency project allowances, and all manner of sundry allowances!
We do not need to look far, to see where the real enemy of Nigeria is! They occupy the blue, and red, chambers of the national assembly!
Never in the history of the world, has so much been paid for so little done, to such an undeserving lot!
The speaker can defend his collecting one hundred million naira every ninety days, when the minimum wage of seventeen thousand naira, is still in contention as to whether states can pay,or not!
Our speaker collects one hundred million in ninety days, when we have universities that are nothing more than glorified secondary schools!
We have potholed roads, and hospitals that are inadequately staffed, and equipped!
Thank you Dimeji Bankole for opening our eyes! The Yoruba people have a proverb, that the insect that is consuming the vegetable, is lives on it!
Our rulers have revealed, that we need to "fight" a second war of independence, independence from wastrels masquerading as servants of the people!
We need to work towards making political office, a true public service venture! We must rise, and demand that they serve voluntarily!
If we do this, all these leeches, would look elsewhere!
Arise Nigeria, it is time to throw off the shackles, our oppressors, are with us, and they have covered our rising with their prodigious greed!
Arise Nigeria! Arise!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!
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The current travails of Sabur Oladimeji Bankole, the immediate past speaker of Nigeria's house of representatives, looks like some high-class, genteel singing!
His first public utterance, albeit by his media aide, in the midst of allegations of malfeasance, and all manner of corruption,
: the charge that he borrowed, and misappropriated ten billion naira, which incidentally, is the least in gravity, in the pantheon of allegations, is quite instructive!
He is alleged to have broken down in tears, and regretted ever accepting to be speaker!
Is that not a case of medicine after death, or closing the barn door, after the horse has bolted?
He, like what we used to see petty robbers exhibiting on Crime Fighters, a popular police programme on local television, started naming all those who shared in the loot!
In a curious similarity to the same, he declined sharing in the loot. The only thing he did not say, was that it was the devil that made him do it!
Bankole, to prove that he did not share in the loot, said that his quarterly allocation, was one hundred million naira! This he affirmed, rather ruefully, did not go up with those of the other presiding officers!
I am still reeling from the shock of the revelation! The fellow has admitted publicly, that he is paid one million,one hundred and eleven thousand, one naira per day!
Why would people not kill to hang on to political office,or to get there! This is better than minting money, or wasting your time at some useless honest business!
And it is not as if they work three hundred and sixty days a year! They give themselves generous amounts of holidays, and they also collect constituency project allowances, and all manner of sundry allowances!
We do not need to look far, to see where the real enemy of Nigeria is! They occupy the blue, and red, chambers of the national assembly!
Never in the history of the world, has so much been paid for so little done, to such an undeserving lot!
The speaker can defend his collecting one hundred million naira every ninety days, when the minimum wage of seventeen thousand naira, is still in contention as to whether states can pay,or not!
Our speaker collects one hundred million in ninety days, when we have universities that are nothing more than glorified secondary schools!
We have potholed roads, and hospitals that are inadequately staffed, and equipped!
Thank you Dimeji Bankole for opening our eyes! The Yoruba people have a proverb, that the insect that is consuming the vegetable, is lives on it!
Our rulers have revealed, that we need to "fight" a second war of independence, independence from wastrels masquerading as servants of the people!
We need to work towards making political office, a true public service venture! We must rise, and demand that they serve voluntarily!
If we do this, all these leeches, would look elsewhere!
Arise Nigeria, it is time to throw off the shackles, our oppressors, are with us, and they have covered our rising with their prodigious greed!
Arise Nigeria! Arise!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!
"He insisted that before the increment in quarterly allocation, which necessitated the taking of the loan, he received N100m per quarter while Nafada collected N80m.
Bankole added that after the increment, the two presiding officers continued to receive the old rate.
However, he revealed that from N46m, Akogun’s allowance was jacked up to N60m, a difference of N14m.
Agaie now took home N57m, up from N43m, a difference of N14m.
Similarly, he said that Ihedioha’s was raised to N55m from N41m, with a difference of N14m, while Waziri-Tambuwal got N54.5m as against the old rate of N40.5m.
Gbajabiamila, who was receiving N36m per quarter, had his own jacked up to N50m.
The former speaker stated that other members, who hitherto received N28m each per quarter, raised theirs to N42m each.
By this new sharing formula, the six former principal officers were said to be sharing N456.5m every three months since March 30, 2010.
The document explains further, “Before the increment, quarterly allowance to the Office of the Speaker was N100m while his deputy received N80m"
-Source The Punch Newspaper Tuesday 7th June 2011
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Monday, June 6, 2011
Sabur Oladimeji Bankole:Politician,Legislooter. Act One Scene 1!
The media circus generated by the impending arrest of Sabur Dimeji Bankole, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, shows that Nigerians are yet to learn from history! Even when that history is repetitive, and in living memory!
Our people are acting as if the fellow has already been convicted, and jailed!
I have graduated from the class of the absurd, and the ludicrous, that believes that corrupt politicians to go to jail! I am now wiser! I do not expect anything to happen to Bankole, neither does he himself, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC!
The man, and the EFCC, are actors, collaborators, and conspirators in a well scripted travesty put on for the benefit of gullible Nigerians!
In the last twelve years, we have had three presidents, and over sixty different governors in our thirty six states, and not one of them has been jailed for corruption!
It is either they are all saints, or there is a deliberate policy to shield the members of this exclusive club!
We have had some who were caught with "red hot" damning evidence, and all they got was a slap on the wrist with a rubber ruler!
When the EFFC says it is pursuing a man, it is all a charade, the closest thing to it in reality is shadow boxing, or modern day wrestling, where everything is scripted!
The wrestlers have a script they are acting out, and they know who is to win, when, and how!
I yawned when I saw the newsflash on television that Bankole had been arrested after a four hour stand-off!
Wow!
Those EFCC operatives are really tenacious! Why should it take law enforcement officers four hours, to arrest an ordinary citizen who does not have any immunity, especially when he has been accused of a crime?
Acting! Wayo! (Deceit) Mago mago! (Sleight of hand)
The four hour drama is just the opening scene to a wonderfully written comedy piece!
Our people are acting as if the fellow has already been convicted, and jailed!
I have graduated from the class of the absurd, and the ludicrous, that believes that corrupt politicians to go to jail! I am now wiser! I do not expect anything to happen to Bankole, neither does he himself, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC!
The man, and the EFCC, are actors, collaborators, and conspirators in a well scripted travesty put on for the benefit of gullible Nigerians!
In the last twelve years, we have had three presidents, and over sixty different governors in our thirty six states, and not one of them has been jailed for corruption!
It is either they are all saints, or there is a deliberate policy to shield the members of this exclusive club!
We have had some who were caught with "red hot" damning evidence, and all they got was a slap on the wrist with a rubber ruler!
When the EFFC says it is pursuing a man, it is all a charade, the closest thing to it in reality is shadow boxing, or modern day wrestling, where everything is scripted!
The wrestlers have a script they are acting out, and they know who is to win, when, and how!
I yawned when I saw the newsflash on television that Bankole had been arrested after a four hour stand-off!
Wow!
Those EFCC operatives are really tenacious! Why should it take law enforcement officers four hours, to arrest an ordinary citizen who does not have any immunity, especially when he has been accused of a crime?
Acting! Wayo! (Deceit) Mago mago! (Sleight of hand)
The four hour drama is just the opening scene to a wonderfully written comedy piece!
Message body
The media circus generated by the impending arrest of Sabur Dimeji Bankole, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, shows that Nigerians are yet to learn from history! Even when that history is repetitive, and in living memory!
Our people are acting as if the fellow has already been convicted, and jailed!
I have graduated from the class of the absurd, and the ludicrous, that corrupt politicians to go to jail! I am now wiser! I do not expect anything to happen to Bankole, neither does he himself, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC!
The man, and the EFCC, are actors, collaborators, and conspirators in a well scripted travesty put on for the benefit of gullible Nigerians!
In the last twelve years, we have had three presidents, and over sixty different governors in our thirty six states, and not one of them has been jailed for corruption!
It is either they are all saints, or there is a deliberate policy to shield the members of this exclusive club!
We have had some who were caught with "red hot" damning evidence, and all they got was a slap on the wrist with a rubber ruler!
When the EFFC says it is pursuing a man, it is all a charade, the closest thing to it in reality is shadow boxing, or modern day wrestling, where everything is scripted!
The wrestlers have a script they are acting out, and they know who is to win, when, and how!
I yawned when I saw the newsflash on television that Bankole had been arrested after a four hour stand-off!
Wow!
Those EFCC operatives are really tenacious! Why should it take law enforcement officers four hours, to arrest an ordinary citizen who does not have any immunity, especially when he has been accused of a crime?
Acting! Wayo! (Deceit) Mago mago! (Sleight of hand)
The four hour drama is just the opening scene to a wonderfully written comedy piece!
Dimeji Bankole will go to court, yes that will happen! And his well-paid Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, will argue the legality,or otherwise, of many interlocutary injunctions, or exparte orders! That is all part of the legitimization of his cleverly contrived exculpation!
While this is going on, the young man,Bankole, will suddenly develop one mysterious ailment, something that cannot be treated in a government hospital!
So the news networks will show him in a wheelchair on his way to a "secure" private hospital!
While he is enjoying his "incarceration" in a five star hotel ( sorry hospital) a place where all his women acquaintances can still visit to massage him, and keep his mojo up. Another event will occupy the media space, and Bankole's trial, becomes abstracted, and slips into oblivion!
The timeline of what I have enumerated above cannot be more than six months!
After this, Bankole would be quietly granted "compassionate bail" while his trial proceeds at the usual glacial pace! Before you know it, the young man would instruct his well-paid SANs to file for the release of his travel papers!
He would tell the honourable judge, who also happens to be a member of his golf club, that he needs to go abroad for treatment!
In due course, the EFCC would realize the error of it's ways, and would file for a settlement out of court!
Bankole enters a plea bargain, and pays ten percent withholding tax on what he has stolen to the government! The EFCC then proceeds to tell him to go and sin some more!
A few days later, at a worldwide press conference, Farida Waziri, the chief executive of the organization, would tell us how the commission has recovered fifty billion naira from Bankole!
We would all clap for the wonderful performance, and forget!
Curtains!
EPILOGUE
Dimeji Bankole Launches his foundation to serve humanity, and proceeds to declare his intention to run for governor in his state in the year 2015!
And he would win, all things being equal, because he has a huge war chest!
Before then however, a grand reception would be held for him in Abeokuta, and Church and Mosque thanksgiving services as well! The president would attend, and all the like-minded people in thePeople's Democratic Party, PDP!
In October,Dimeji Bankole, would be given a higher national award for his service to Nigeria!
Question. When was the last time a politician was jailed for fraud, and official corruption? Answer. Under the government of GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, more than twenty five years ago!
President Goodluck Jonathan, has promised to fight corruption, we are now witnessing his first title fight!
The way this case is determined, will tell a lot, about his sincerity!
Nigeria politicians loot at will, because they know there will be no adverse consequence! Just a pantomime, and shadow boxing, disguised as a trial!
It is this consequence of no consequence, that will embolden others to loot the more! A time will come, when one individual, will steal ten trillion naira, and all he would get, would be a circus, and a media charade, masquerading as a trial!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA,OUR NIGERIA,FOREVER!
Our people are acting as if the fellow has already been convicted, and jailed!
I have graduated from the class of the absurd, and the ludicrous, that corrupt politicians to go to jail! I am now wiser! I do not expect anything to happen to Bankole, neither does he himself, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC!
The man, and the EFCC, are actors, collaborators, and conspirators in a well scripted travesty put on for the benefit of gullible Nigerians!
In the last twelve years, we have had three presidents, and over sixty different governors in our thirty six states, and not one of them has been jailed for corruption!
It is either they are all saints, or there is a deliberate policy to shield the members of this exclusive club!
We have had some who were caught with "red hot" damning evidence, and all they got was a slap on the wrist with a rubber ruler!
When the EFFC says it is pursuing a man, it is all a charade, the closest thing to it in reality is shadow boxing, or modern day wrestling, where everything is scripted!
The wrestlers have a script they are acting out, and they know who is to win, when, and how!
I yawned when I saw the newsflash on television that Bankole had been arrested after a four hour stand-off!
Wow!
Those EFCC operatives are really tenacious! Why should it take law enforcement officers four hours, to arrest an ordinary citizen who does not have any immunity, especially when he has been accused of a crime?
Acting! Wayo! (Deceit) Mago mago! (Sleight of hand)
The four hour drama is just the opening scene to a wonderfully written comedy piece!
Dimeji Bankole will go to court, yes that will happen! And his well-paid Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, will argue the legality,or otherwise, of many interlocutary injunctions, or exparte orders! That is all part of the legitimization of his cleverly contrived exculpation!
While this is going on, the young man,Bankole, will suddenly develop one mysterious ailment, something that cannot be treated in a government hospital!
So the news networks will show him in a wheelchair on his way to a "secure" private hospital!
While he is enjoying his "incarceration" in a five star hotel ( sorry hospital) a place where all his women acquaintances can still visit to massage him, and keep his mojo up. Another event will occupy the media space, and Bankole's trial, becomes abstracted, and slips into oblivion!
The timeline of what I have enumerated above cannot be more than six months!
After this, Bankole would be quietly granted "compassionate bail" while his trial proceeds at the usual glacial pace! Before you know it, the young man would instruct his well-paid SANs to file for the release of his travel papers!
He would tell the honourable judge, who also happens to be a member of his golf club, that he needs to go abroad for treatment!
In due course, the EFCC would realize the error of it's ways, and would file for a settlement out of court!
Bankole enters a plea bargain, and pays ten percent withholding tax on what he has stolen to the government! The EFCC then proceeds to tell him to go and sin some more!
A few days later, at a worldwide press conference, Farida Waziri, the chief executive of the organization, would tell us how the commission has recovered fifty billion naira from Bankole!
We would all clap for the wonderful performance, and forget!
Curtains!
EPILOGUE
Dimeji Bankole Launches his foundation to serve humanity, and proceeds to declare his intention to run for governor in his state in the year 2015!
And he would win, all things being equal, because he has a huge war chest!
Before then however, a grand reception would be held for him in Abeokuta, and Church and Mosque thanksgiving services as well! The president would attend, and all the like-minded people in thePeople's Democratic Party, PDP!
In October,Dimeji Bankole, would be given a higher national award for his service to Nigeria!
Question. When was the last time a politician was jailed for fraud, and official corruption? Answer. Under the government of GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, more than twenty five years ago!
President Goodluck Jonathan, has promised to fight corruption, we are now witnessing his first title fight!
The way this case is determined, will tell a lot, about his sincerity!
Nigeria politicians loot at will, because they know there will be no adverse consequence! Just a pantomime, and shadow boxing, disguised as a trial!
It is this consequence of no consequence, that will embolden others to loot the more! A time will come, when one individual, will steal ten trillion naira, and all he would get, would be a circus, and a media charade, masquerading as a trial!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA,OUR NIGERIA,FOREVER!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Architectural Heritage As Tourism Potential.Zanzibar and Lokoja Compared!
There is a small semi-autonomous city in Tanzania called Zanzibar! It is part of a group of islands, and used to be called the Spice Islands due to it's colonial past. It is this past, that Zanzibar now uses as a joker for drawing tourists!
The whole Island, is an archeological/architectural museum.Many of the buildings on the island, are many centuries old! But strangely enough, they are never renovated, but are the way they were more than two hundred years ago!
Due to the foresight of the leaders of Tanzania, a law was passed to make it illegal to alter,change, or remove any component of a building on the island! The effect of this, is that Zanzibar seems to be locked in a time bubble!
One would think the locals would complain, but the contrary is the reality on ground! They love it! Tourists flock to the island to stay in hotels that are four hundred years old, and eat in a restaurant that was once the villa of a notorious pirate!
That is Zanzibar, in a nutshell.
There is a quaint confluence town in Nigeria called Lokoja. Many do not know that Lokoja was the first administrative capital of Nigeria. Lord Lugard lived there, and the colonialists left a treasure trove of architectural masterpieces behind.
Today, Lokoja is the capital of Kogi state. It is less than three hundred kilometres from Abuja, the current capital.
About fifteen years ago, I went to Lokoja for the first time, to document some of the historical treasures there. That was the era of film, and negatives, and as I write, I must confess that the passage of time has degraded my work.
I am sure someone is wondering why I am not doing the same thing now! It is nearly impossible to do now! A succession of failed leadership at the federal, and state level, have conspired to wreck all the treasures left behind by the colonialists!
There were many beautiful buildings, including the ones that Lord Luggard, and Bishop Ajayi Crowther, the first Anglican Bishop in Africa resided in when they were alive. Most of them, sadly, are lost forever!
Also in Lokoja could be found the first primary school in Northern Nigeria, and the first prison in Nigeria, and a host of monuments. They have all been destroyed. In the case of the primary school, Bishop George Bako, in a rash of misinformed judgment pulled down one of the primary school buildings, because he was building a cathedral. In another instant, the official residence of the Kogi state Commissioner of police, a beautiful example of period colonial architecture was pulled down in hours, to make way for a "modern befitting edifice!
The pillaging of the architectural heritage of Lokoja, has reached a tipping point, and cannot be reversed. It is sad because, these buildings, and other monuments could have been the nucleus around which the tourism industry of Lokoja could have revolved!
The sad thing, is that the useless structures they are putting instead of these treasures, are architectural eyesores that would not even last fifty years!
If you think Kogi state is an exception, then you are mistaken. The same is happening all over Nigeria. We have blind, sleep-walking people dictating the affairs of state, and no one gives a hoot what happens to some old building somewhere! All they are concerned with, is the land upon which these structures stand, that is of more value to them.
In Lagos for example, the period architecture from the Brazilian era on the Islands, and other parts of the state, are all gone! They have all been replaced with sky scrappers, and other offensive structures!
I believe the reason why our governments do not care about tourism, is because tourist dollars do not all end in the national treasury, they actually end up in the pockets of the people, and that changes their lives!
Until governments show enough care for these treasures, we are in danger of loosing them, and also loosing a vital link to our past.
Many of these same leaders go to Europe to look at old cities,and stay in historical buildings. But it looks like they have told themselves, that we have nothing worth preserving! That, is truly tragic!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA,OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!
The whole Island, is an archeological/architectural museum.Many of the buildings on the island, are many centuries old! But strangely enough, they are never renovated, but are the way they were more than two hundred years ago!
Due to the foresight of the leaders of Tanzania, a law was passed to make it illegal to alter,change, or remove any component of a building on the island! The effect of this, is that Zanzibar seems to be locked in a time bubble!
One would think the locals would complain, but the contrary is the reality on ground! They love it! Tourists flock to the island to stay in hotels that are four hundred years old, and eat in a restaurant that was once the villa of a notorious pirate!
That is Zanzibar, in a nutshell.
There is a quaint confluence town in Nigeria called Lokoja. Many do not know that Lokoja was the first administrative capital of Nigeria. Lord Lugard lived there, and the colonialists left a treasure trove of architectural masterpieces behind.
Today, Lokoja is the capital of Kogi state. It is less than three hundred kilometres from Abuja, the current capital.
About fifteen years ago, I went to Lokoja for the first time, to document some of the historical treasures there. That was the era of film, and negatives, and as I write, I must confess that the passage of time has degraded my work.
I am sure someone is wondering why I am not doing the same thing now! It is nearly impossible to do now! A succession of failed leadership at the federal, and state level, have conspired to wreck all the treasures left behind by the colonialists!
There were many beautiful buildings, including the ones that Lord Luggard, and Bishop Ajayi Crowther, the first Anglican Bishop in Africa resided in when they were alive. Most of them, sadly, are lost forever!
Also in Lokoja could be found the first primary school in Northern Nigeria, and the first prison in Nigeria, and a host of monuments. They have all been destroyed. In the case of the primary school, Bishop George Bako, in a rash of misinformed judgment pulled down one of the primary school buildings, because he was building a cathedral. In another instant, the official residence of the Kogi state Commissioner of police, a beautiful example of period colonial architecture was pulled down in hours, to make way for a "modern befitting edifice!
The pillaging of the architectural heritage of Lokoja, has reached a tipping point, and cannot be reversed. It is sad because, these buildings, and other monuments could have been the nucleus around which the tourism industry of Lokoja could have revolved!
The sad thing, is that the useless structures they are putting instead of these treasures, are architectural eyesores that would not even last fifty years!
If you think Kogi state is an exception, then you are mistaken. The same is happening all over Nigeria. We have blind, sleep-walking people dictating the affairs of state, and no one gives a hoot what happens to some old building somewhere! All they are concerned with, is the land upon which these structures stand, that is of more value to them.
In Lagos for example, the period architecture from the Brazilian era on the Islands, and other parts of the state, are all gone! They have all been replaced with sky scrappers, and other offensive structures!
I believe the reason why our governments do not care about tourism, is because tourist dollars do not all end in the national treasury, they actually end up in the pockets of the people, and that changes their lives!
Until governments show enough care for these treasures, we are in danger of loosing them, and also loosing a vital link to our past.
Many of these same leaders go to Europe to look at old cities,and stay in historical buildings. But it looks like they have told themselves, that we have nothing worth preserving! That, is truly tragic!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA,OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Ayim Pius Ayim:How Long Can He Last?
He is a testament to the fact that in politics, a man cannot be discounted, until he is dead!
Some have castigated him for coming down from the exalted number three position he once occupied, to a "mere" Secretary to the Government! Talk about sour grapes!
The gentleman has one rare quality that would make him work well with Goodluck Jonathan, he is loyal! Some might even go as far as saying that, despite his humongous girt, he is just a cuddly, affable, lap-dog! One with an avuncular nature!
There was a joke I heard a while back, that encapsulates this. Someone was trying to contrast the late Chuba Okadigbo, and Ayim. The fellow said with Okadigbo, if you tell him to jump, he would ask you :Why? With Anyim, if you ask him to jump, he would ask you "How high!
Perhaps it is this desire to have someone who is fully loyal, and "pissing out", that has enamored him to President Jonathan!
But Anyim should not celebrate just yet! He is from an ethnic group, whose politicians do not subscribe to "brand loyalty"
I would not be shocked, if tomorrow, some scandal is generated to remove him.
All we need to do, is look at the history of Nigerian politics in the last twelve years!
When the Senate presidency was zoned to the South East, all manner of intrigues were deployed to remove whoever was there!
There was this belief, it seems, that removing the fellow would enhance the chances of other senators from the zone in becoming president of the senate.
Or how do we explain five senate presidents, in eight years!
If I were Anyim Pius Anyim, I would watch my back very well! There is a proverb in Igbo, that the Igbos do not have, or recognize, a king!
Right now, unless things change, Pius Anyim, is the highest ranking Igbo politician from the South East in government! A king!
I perceive the bulls eye on his back growing bigger, all in reflective neon paint!
That "common" position, is now in hot demand!
However, it would be nice, for a change, for the Igbos to prove me wrong!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA,MY NIGERIA,FOREVER!
Some have castigated him for coming down from the exalted number three position he once occupied, to a "mere" Secretary to the Government! Talk about sour grapes!
The gentleman has one rare quality that would make him work well with Goodluck Jonathan, he is loyal! Some might even go as far as saying that, despite his humongous girt, he is just a cuddly, affable, lap-dog! One with an avuncular nature!
There was a joke I heard a while back, that encapsulates this. Someone was trying to contrast the late Chuba Okadigbo, and Ayim. The fellow said with Okadigbo, if you tell him to jump, he would ask you :Why? With Anyim, if you ask him to jump, he would ask you "How high!
Perhaps it is this desire to have someone who is fully loyal, and "pissing out", that has enamored him to President Jonathan!
But Anyim should not celebrate just yet! He is from an ethnic group, whose politicians do not subscribe to "brand loyalty"
I would not be shocked, if tomorrow, some scandal is generated to remove him.
All we need to do, is look at the history of Nigerian politics in the last twelve years!
When the Senate presidency was zoned to the South East, all manner of intrigues were deployed to remove whoever was there!
There was this belief, it seems, that removing the fellow would enhance the chances of other senators from the zone in becoming president of the senate.
Or how do we explain five senate presidents, in eight years!
If I were Anyim Pius Anyim, I would watch my back very well! There is a proverb in Igbo, that the Igbos do not have, or recognize, a king!
Right now, unless things change, Pius Anyim, is the highest ranking Igbo politician from the South East in government! A king!
I perceive the bulls eye on his back growing bigger, all in reflective neon paint!
That "common" position, is now in hot demand!
However, it would be nice, for a change, for the Igbos to prove me wrong!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA,MY NIGERIA,FOREVER!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Civilization!
When we think about Civilization, the first thing that comes to our heads, are the mind-boggling marvels that science constantly astounds us with at a frenetic pace!
We would think of aeroplanes that fly at Mach II, telescopes that can see the universe one million years ago, nano technology, eradication of small pox, and whatever we deem to be a life-changing marvel!
All these, and more, are indicators of civilization. But as far as I am concerned, the single factor that points to Civilization in any society, is it's ability to manage, and resolve conflicts, in a non-destructive manner!
One instrument Civilized society use to achieve this, is the concept, or construct, of the rule of law!
This is the accepted understanding, that the law is supreme, and is capable of resolving all conflicts! It is also an acceptable notion in Civilized societies, that agents of the law, do not represent themselves, but are instruments of the society's collective will to be civilized.
That is why I am truly saddened by the atrocious events involving soldiers, and police personnel in Lagos.
In a reprehensible show of shame, soldiers killed police men, in a tit for tat retaliatory manner!
It is the clearest sign for all to see, that we actually have not descended from the trees yet, and still dwell in caves!
Forget the I-pad you are reading this article on, and the water bed you are luxuriating on, deep down, when you scratch an average Nigerian, you would find the most primeval of brutes, attired in the latest suit Savile Row can offer!
Need I talk about our well-known love for flouting simple traffic rules at the slightest indication that traffic is likely to be stalled.
We see "civilized" Nigerians, leaving the road in their expensive "civilized" cars, and taking to the side walk: they do, because it is there for the taking! Pedestrians who are currently using it safely, do not matter, and can be hounded off with disdain!
And you say we are civilized? We are not! We are just like the Giant Humboldt Current Red Squid, that loves to cannibalize it's mates!
What the soldiers did, is just a symptom of the systemic chaos that rules this nation from the very top!
We see it in reckless expenditure by government, unlawful, and uncivilized, actions that are guaranteed to end the political careers of people in civilized societies; to our leaders, are actually like the badges that boy scouts collect ! The more they have, the higher they are regarded!
People do things, terrible things, because they know they can get away with daylight murder! There is very little respect for the law, and police men too! One can argue that the police have lost the moral high ground they out to occupy through their malfeasance!
But that is not an excuse for one to kick the law, and by extension all of us, in the teeth!
We need to evolve a society where a private in the police force, would be sufficient to arrest a serving General in the Nigerian Army, when the General breaks any of our civil laws!
I can hear you laughing and saying it will never happen, but it ought to, for that is the hallmark of a Civilized society!
The fact that a person belongs to any of the military, or paramilitary, outfits, does not make such a person exempt from obeying the law, or above it! Rather, all uniformed personnel, are supposed to defend the law, to the extent of giving their lives for it!
It is when this becomes a reality in Nigeria, that we can truly say we are civilized!
Right now, we live in an infernal hell, governed by chaos!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!
We would think of aeroplanes that fly at Mach II, telescopes that can see the universe one million years ago, nano technology, eradication of small pox, and whatever we deem to be a life-changing marvel!
All these, and more, are indicators of civilization. But as far as I am concerned, the single factor that points to Civilization in any society, is it's ability to manage, and resolve conflicts, in a non-destructive manner!
One instrument Civilized society use to achieve this, is the concept, or construct, of the rule of law!
This is the accepted understanding, that the law is supreme, and is capable of resolving all conflicts! It is also an acceptable notion in Civilized societies, that agents of the law, do not represent themselves, but are instruments of the society's collective will to be civilized.
That is why I am truly saddened by the atrocious events involving soldiers, and police personnel in Lagos.
In a reprehensible show of shame, soldiers killed police men, in a tit for tat retaliatory manner!
It is the clearest sign for all to see, that we actually have not descended from the trees yet, and still dwell in caves!
Forget the I-pad you are reading this article on, and the water bed you are luxuriating on, deep down, when you scratch an average Nigerian, you would find the most primeval of brutes, attired in the latest suit Savile Row can offer!
Need I talk about our well-known love for flouting simple traffic rules at the slightest indication that traffic is likely to be stalled.
We see "civilized" Nigerians, leaving the road in their expensive "civilized" cars, and taking to the side walk: they do, because it is there for the taking! Pedestrians who are currently using it safely, do not matter, and can be hounded off with disdain!
And you say we are civilized? We are not! We are just like the Giant Humboldt Current Red Squid, that loves to cannibalize it's mates!
What the soldiers did, is just a symptom of the systemic chaos that rules this nation from the very top!
We see it in reckless expenditure by government, unlawful, and uncivilized, actions that are guaranteed to end the political careers of people in civilized societies; to our leaders, are actually like the badges that boy scouts collect ! The more they have, the higher they are regarded!
People do things, terrible things, because they know they can get away with daylight murder! There is very little respect for the law, and police men too! One can argue that the police have lost the moral high ground they out to occupy through their malfeasance!
But that is not an excuse for one to kick the law, and by extension all of us, in the teeth!
We need to evolve a society where a private in the police force, would be sufficient to arrest a serving General in the Nigerian Army, when the General breaks any of our civil laws!
I can hear you laughing and saying it will never happen, but it ought to, for that is the hallmark of a Civilized society!
The fact that a person belongs to any of the military, or paramilitary, outfits, does not make such a person exempt from obeying the law, or above it! Rather, all uniformed personnel, are supposed to defend the law, to the extent of giving their lives for it!
It is when this becomes a reality in Nigeria, that we can truly say we are civilized!
Right now, we live in an infernal hell, governed by chaos!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA, OUR NIGERIA, FOREVER!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
What Future?
It is midnight, I am in Abuja, and it is raining!
I cannot sleep anymore!
The little lady asked for a midnight snack, and I promptly obliged her with the magical, ever faithful, tea and bread!
As I looked at my daughter, I started thinking about the kind of country I would be handing over to her!
My parents gave me a country that had potentials, but, as if to show that records are meant to be broken, we have succeeded in turning a winning position into one of desperation!
Two generations ago, in this same country, graduates were employed from our universities!
They were wooed with offers of car loans, and and other perks that make life sweet!
The next were not so lucky, they were the "strike" generation!
They were the ones who proved to the world that it was indeed possible to complete a four year degree course in eight, despite one not failing a single subject at all!
The, too numerous to mention, industrial actions by the academia, created an aberration; professional students!
These were people whose vocation seemed to be ever-going to school, albeit in fits and stops, while not graduating!
And today, the cycle of decay is complete!
We now have universities that are less than secondary schools in neighbouring West African countries!
Our secondary schools are worse than primary, and primary schools that just kill intellect!
We have managed to achieve this distasteful distinction while increasing our annual budgets in geometric progression!
Where a member of the house of representatives earns Fifteen million naira every month: and political office holders see the nation as a cash cow, we are surely in dire straits!
Our mantra seems to be "If it works elsewhere, not here!
So I am considering my five year old right now, and ruminating on the future she would traverse, in our refusing to be great nation!
We have pantomimed for fifty years, and pretended progress!
We drive cars we do not produce, wear shoes we do not cobble, and and even the crude oil we produce, we need outsiders to refine it for us to use!
If that is not failure, I wonder what is!
We have failed this nation! Yes we have!
Those who looted, and who those awaiting their turn because the opportunity currently eludes them:shame on you!
We too have failed by our conspiracy of silence!
I believe that Nigeria would fix herself, one way, or another!
One day, we would all wake up, and find that the last straw we thought was nothing, has finally broken her back!
Then, perhaps, like Esau in the Bible, we would contritely seek our inheritance, and find it comfortably pledged to another!
Its now One a.m!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA! OUR OWN DEAR NATIVE LAND, FOREVER!
I cannot sleep anymore!
The little lady asked for a midnight snack, and I promptly obliged her with the magical, ever faithful, tea and bread!
As I looked at my daughter, I started thinking about the kind of country I would be handing over to her!
My parents gave me a country that had potentials, but, as if to show that records are meant to be broken, we have succeeded in turning a winning position into one of desperation!
Two generations ago, in this same country, graduates were employed from our universities!
They were wooed with offers of car loans, and and other perks that make life sweet!
The next were not so lucky, they were the "strike" generation!
They were the ones who proved to the world that it was indeed possible to complete a four year degree course in eight, despite one not failing a single subject at all!
The, too numerous to mention, industrial actions by the academia, created an aberration; professional students!
These were people whose vocation seemed to be ever-going to school, albeit in fits and stops, while not graduating!
And today, the cycle of decay is complete!
We now have universities that are less than secondary schools in neighbouring West African countries!
Our secondary schools are worse than primary, and primary schools that just kill intellect!
We have managed to achieve this distasteful distinction while increasing our annual budgets in geometric progression!
Where a member of the house of representatives earns Fifteen million naira every month: and political office holders see the nation as a cash cow, we are surely in dire straits!
Our mantra seems to be "If it works elsewhere, not here!
So I am considering my five year old right now, and ruminating on the future she would traverse, in our refusing to be great nation!
We have pantomimed for fifty years, and pretended progress!
We drive cars we do not produce, wear shoes we do not cobble, and and even the crude oil we produce, we need outsiders to refine it for us to use!
If that is not failure, I wonder what is!
We have failed this nation! Yes we have!
Those who looted, and who those awaiting their turn because the opportunity currently eludes them:shame on you!
We too have failed by our conspiracy of silence!
I believe that Nigeria would fix herself, one way, or another!
One day, we would all wake up, and find that the last straw we thought was nothing, has finally broken her back!
Then, perhaps, like Esau in the Bible, we would contritely seek our inheritance, and find it comfortably pledged to another!
Its now One a.m!
MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA! OUR OWN DEAR NATIVE LAND, FOREVER!
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