Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Five things Mandela taught me
During my first year in school, I wanted to be heard, make impact, and with the speaking gifts I had, I thought it would be an easy task. My first public speaking competition opened my eyes to many weaknesses. I was not only ridiculously shy; I began to stammer once I was asked to speak in front of a large crowd.
My dream of making an impact in my school slowly but persistently began to shatter. But another opportunity came during a speaking competition again and I decided to test myself once more – with the help of my teachers who motivated me and I began to speak. I remember a time when one of my teachers gave a speech, he adopted a quote from Nelson Mandela and Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear” – I loved the quote so much that I went ahead to search it out. I found many other wonderful quotes from Mandela which opened me up to a world of new found bravery and victory over my fear for the competition.
Mandela taught me with the wonderful quotes from his book, “Long Walk to Freedom”. Below are some of these quotes:• He taught me to fight my fears
He said, “I’ve learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not the man who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
I would not say after reading this quote I stopped being afraid, I just learned to fight it. Fear is natural, what makes me brave is that I learned to fight it.
• He taught me never to give up
“There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”
I learned not to give up. There’s always light at the end of every tunnel; yes I may feel different sometime, even many times, I just learnt never to act different or defeated. I am not quitter.
• He taught me that leading often does not involve being seen
“A leader… is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”
I’ve always wanted to lead, to be seen, to be heard; but I chased this wrong away. Seeing this quote made me realize that leading doesn’t often involve being seen. It most times involves action. I learnt to let my actions speak for me.
• He taught me never to expect the same results from my past
“I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind”
Mandela made me realize that to get to the future I dream of, I have to let go of the present I currently live in and walk towards my future making it my present and my past. He also made me understand that the future is the future when I start getting different and better results
• Above all, he taught me to love
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than it’s opposite.”
He thought me to love, and with that love I can fight for what I want and believe. He thought me that if I loved something so much I would fight for it.
He said,“I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me anger, rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.”
Nigerian girl makes FORBES Magazine history
Ten year-old Nigerian girl Zuriel Oduwole has made history as the youngest person ever to be interviewed in Forbes, the global iconic magazine title.
The interview with the award winning documentary film maker, conference speaker and writer is featured in the August 2013 edition of Forbes Africa.
Touted by some as the next Larry King, and ARISE News at the next Oprah Winfrey, Oduwole is reportedly committed to Rebrand Africa by showing the positive things in about the continent, and making the case for education the Girl Child in Africa and Emerging Markets.
As an invited guest to the recent African Union 50th anniversary celebrations in Ethiopia, she has in her quest of pursuing her goal interviewed leading African business, political, and sports personalities, including eight current African Presidents, Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote and Tennis super stars – Venus and Serena Williams.
Zuriel (which is Hebrew for God is my Rock) believes if she can walk a mile, then there are girls who on seeing her work and progress made, would walk a mile and half.
That, she believes is one simple way to inspire the African Girl Child, and show the world the need to educate the continents often forgotten Girl Child, of which Zuriel is one.
Nigerian Presidential Debate - GEJ Making Lame Excuses
Nigeria is a bundle of contradictions - a fertile ground for eternal belief in democracy, where all hopes for democractic progress go to die. It has even been said in "respectable" quarters that the very nature of electioneering and democracy is alien to us. Some "respected" elders have postulated that Nigerians are governable only by someone with a "iron fist". Nevertheless, Nigeria and Nigerians have consistently chosen to partake in the the commity of nations and we have continued to forge along, tottering on unsteady legs, weaving and bobbing. A coup here, a civil there; an inept bunch of kleptomaniac robbing us blind here, an internecine warfare over there; bad, good and ugly, we have tried to carry on. We are nothing if not a resilient and stubborn bunch of people. We adapt. In the pursuit of a participatory system of governance. Hoping that, by trial-and-error, we will someday get it right.
And so it is that, in spite of several years of disappointments, infrastructural decay, run-away inflation and unspeakable level of unemployment, crime, lack of any semblance of social welfare, Nigerians are gearing up to go to the polls again in April and pull a lever for Democracy. An uninitiated observer may be tempted to wonder whether we are just a bunch of self-flagellating psychopath for trusting so much in the system that has continued to fail us on such a regular basis. Such a foreign observer will be missing a critical component of the Nigerian psyche - everlasting hope for a better "tomorrow".
We are hopeful. We are trusting. So, we hope that, this time, the preparation for (and outcome of) the April elections will be different and much better than in the past. We are in a more modern era now, after all. Things are moving around us all over the world. The world is changing. What with the "internet revolutions", what with all the entrenched "regime-for-life" governments falling down faster than you can say "Egypt!"? We are hopeful (and praying) that, this time, the people who would like to rule us will be paying attention. How could they not? They all have iPhones and Blackberries and access to the interwebs and other sources of information and they are witnessing (with their own korokoro eyes) how quickly events seemingly brewing in tiny tea cups turn into uncontrollable tsunami that sweeps away "strong men" like some useless jagbajantis.
We were hoping that, this time, things will be different. Our political aspirants will be better behaved. Since we are in modern times, we were hoping that they will step away from the rot of the past and chart a new, more progressive course in history. We were hoping that the violent rhetorics and histrionics of the past (you know, those deplorable accompaniments of Nigerian politicking of the past) will be dispenced with and they will stand up and strive to play politics as it is meant to be practiced in modern times. Like, for example, by engaging in things like a public debate of important and relevant issues of the day.
Our spirits were lifted a great deal when the Nigerian News Channel, NN24, announced (to a great fanfare) that all the Major Political Parties in Nigeria have agreed to participate in a couple of Vice-Presidential and Presidential debates before the April elections. NN24 even broadcasted a footage of the representatives of the Parties signing the so-called "Memorandum of Understanding". Finally, we thought, Nigeria is coming of age. It had earlier been reported that the current ruling party might not agree to participate in the debate. But, now we have video evidence. And we will get a chance to, at least, witness a critical part of a modern-day democracy in Nigeria. In the year 2011. Better late than never.
We were hoping. And then we had our hope dashed. By no other person than the (dis)honourable Director of Media and Publicity of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Abah Daboh.
You see, Abah Daboh (and, apparently, his boss, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) have a bone of contention with the "modalities" of the proposed debate. And, God help them, that bone must be picked. In Mr. Daboh's (and President Jonathan's) views, a "Debate" that does not include ALL the official 18 "Presidential" contenders has no bona fide, and President GEJ will surely not have anything to do with it. All 18 of them must debate together, otherwise there will be no fairness in the debate, according to the Wizards of PDP and PCC. Haba! We are so, so, so close to tasting the "Forbidden Apple" of Nigerian politics - Politicians actually talking about issues to their constituents, and engaging in a public back-and-forth with their opponents in the public arena, on the same pedestal. And here comes Mr. Daboh to yank it away from hour hands.
Mr. President, let's accept that your objection is sincere and legitimate. HOW, sir, do you propose to stack up 18 contenders on the same stage for an intelligent debate of REAL ISSUES? The whole point of a political debate is to present critical and concise argument of a position or policy, have them questioned by others, and defend them when questioned. In the process, you explain to the electorate HOW and WHY what you are selling them is of better qualities than what your opponents are hawking. In general, you can expect that the whole debate will last between 90 minutes and two hours, tops.
Knowing the above, Mr. President, HOW do you propose to allot the 2 hours among 18 people, giving each of them sufficient amount of time to connect with the electorate? Mr. President, we would like to believe that you and your handlers know the difference between a debate and a speech or press conference. You don't just get to deliver a prepared statement and then walk off the stage in a debate. No. On the average, you can expect to questioned on, at least, four of the major parts of your policies and plans. And, yes, you will be EXPECTED to question your opponents, too. You will be expected to provide a "rebuttal", usually to a controversial statement or asserion about you or your position made by your opponent(s). And, you will be expected to do each of these in more than one sentence, usually between 30 seconds and one minute, depending on the technicality or complexity of the topic at hand
We know that you and your handlers are aware of all this. Because we are sure that they have seen one or more REAL Presidential Debates in modern era politics. What we don't know, and cannot fathom is HOW you and your handlers PROPOSE to do all of the above (and more) within the allotted time (anything longer than 2 hours, and your audience start to tune out, even if your co-debators hadn't started snoring on their feet).
We would like to ask Mr. Dabo and his cowering master:
With 18 ego-driven, self-important, larger-than-life Presidential aspirants, some of whom may be so enamoured of their own voice and importance that they will frequently forget to stop talking when required.
•How many minutes (sorry, seconds) do you propose that each speaker be given to talk?
•Would each be entitled to the same number of questions? Minutes? Responses? If not, why not?
•How many of the other 17 contenders are allowed to respond to the speaker, and how long should their response be?
•How many times is each of the 18 players allowed to speak out of turn (before being taken to Kirikiri)?
•How many times times can a question be asked of each contender?
•How long will the moderator(s) have to read each question? And, if the question is not clear, can it be repeated at the request of the speaker? Does this cut into the responder's allotted time, or is that time deducted from the Petroleum Funds?
We know that you reside in Aso rock, but we didn't know that you were all collectively and figuratively living under the rock. Apparently you are; otherwise, your handlers would have advised you against trying to cover your nakedness with this wet fig leave of an excuse. In all the Democratic countries the world over, there are always many aspirants to any elected office. Some do it for fun, some do it for the fame, some do it to write a book, others do it because they are crazy. Then you have the serious contenders; the VIABLE contenders. The ones whom everyone knows have a legitimate chance of actually making a good run for the office. Everywhere Political Debates happen in the world, prunning the chaff from the wheat has ALWAYS been an acceptable practice. It is even more especially necessary in a situation such as what we have here in Nigeria, with 18 people (a majority of whom 95% of the Nigerian populace have never heard of or seen) vying for the same position. Are you hoping to be conceal your nakedness and emptiness by surrounding yourself with as many warm bodies as possible on stage? That won't work, Mr. President.
You know that there will not be enough room, time, resource, or interest for a 18-person debating exercise. It is indeed sad that, of all the excuses that you could have made, this is the one that you chose to make. Your attempts to run away from selling yourself to the Nigerian people is selling you short, Mr. President. Nigerians deserve to see their country evolve and break with its sordid past. Having a semblance of normalcy and a sense of being a part of the modern democracies will go a long way towards bringing us ever closer to that evolution and goal. Refusing to partake in this debate for any reason will not speak well of you, Mr. President. Rather it will portray you as an insecure weakling whose only claim of success have been more through happenstance and accidents than by any measure of ability or capability.
And so it is that, in spite of several years of disappointments, infrastructural decay, run-away inflation and unspeakable level of unemployment, crime, lack of any semblance of social welfare, Nigerians are gearing up to go to the polls again in April and pull a lever for Democracy. An uninitiated observer may be tempted to wonder whether we are just a bunch of self-flagellating psychopath for trusting so much in the system that has continued to fail us on such a regular basis. Such a foreign observer will be missing a critical component of the Nigerian psyche - everlasting hope for a better "tomorrow".
We are hopeful. We are trusting. So, we hope that, this time, the preparation for (and outcome of) the April elections will be different and much better than in the past. We are in a more modern era now, after all. Things are moving around us all over the world. The world is changing. What with the "internet revolutions", what with all the entrenched "regime-for-life" governments falling down faster than you can say "Egypt!"? We are hopeful (and praying) that, this time, the people who would like to rule us will be paying attention. How could they not? They all have iPhones and Blackberries and access to the interwebs and other sources of information and they are witnessing (with their own korokoro eyes) how quickly events seemingly brewing in tiny tea cups turn into uncontrollable tsunami that sweeps away "strong men" like some useless jagbajantis.
We were hoping that, this time, things will be different. Our political aspirants will be better behaved. Since we are in modern times, we were hoping that they will step away from the rot of the past and chart a new, more progressive course in history. We were hoping that the violent rhetorics and histrionics of the past (you know, those deplorable accompaniments of Nigerian politicking of the past) will be dispenced with and they will stand up and strive to play politics as it is meant to be practiced in modern times. Like, for example, by engaging in things like a public debate of important and relevant issues of the day.
Our spirits were lifted a great deal when the Nigerian News Channel, NN24, announced (to a great fanfare) that all the Major Political Parties in Nigeria have agreed to participate in a couple of Vice-Presidential and Presidential debates before the April elections. NN24 even broadcasted a footage of the representatives of the Parties signing the so-called "Memorandum of Understanding". Finally, we thought, Nigeria is coming of age. It had earlier been reported that the current ruling party might not agree to participate in the debate. But, now we have video evidence. And we will get a chance to, at least, witness a critical part of a modern-day democracy in Nigeria. In the year 2011. Better late than never.
We were hoping. And then we had our hope dashed. By no other person than the (dis)honourable Director of Media and Publicity of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Abah Daboh.
You see, Abah Daboh (and, apparently, his boss, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) have a bone of contention with the "modalities" of the proposed debate. And, God help them, that bone must be picked. In Mr. Daboh's (and President Jonathan's) views, a "Debate" that does not include ALL the official 18 "Presidential" contenders has no bona fide, and President GEJ will surely not have anything to do with it. All 18 of them must debate together, otherwise there will be no fairness in the debate, according to the Wizards of PDP and PCC. Haba! We are so, so, so close to tasting the "Forbidden Apple" of Nigerian politics - Politicians actually talking about issues to their constituents, and engaging in a public back-and-forth with their opponents in the public arena, on the same pedestal. And here comes Mr. Daboh to yank it away from hour hands.
Mr. President, let's accept that your objection is sincere and legitimate. HOW, sir, do you propose to stack up 18 contenders on the same stage for an intelligent debate of REAL ISSUES? The whole point of a political debate is to present critical and concise argument of a position or policy, have them questioned by others, and defend them when questioned. In the process, you explain to the electorate HOW and WHY what you are selling them is of better qualities than what your opponents are hawking. In general, you can expect that the whole debate will last between 90 minutes and two hours, tops.
Knowing the above, Mr. President, HOW do you propose to allot the 2 hours among 18 people, giving each of them sufficient amount of time to connect with the electorate? Mr. President, we would like to believe that you and your handlers know the difference between a debate and a speech or press conference. You don't just get to deliver a prepared statement and then walk off the stage in a debate. No. On the average, you can expect to questioned on, at least, four of the major parts of your policies and plans. And, yes, you will be EXPECTED to question your opponents, too. You will be expected to provide a "rebuttal", usually to a controversial statement or asserion about you or your position made by your opponent(s). And, you will be expected to do each of these in more than one sentence, usually between 30 seconds and one minute, depending on the technicality or complexity of the topic at hand
We know that you and your handlers are aware of all this. Because we are sure that they have seen one or more REAL Presidential Debates in modern era politics. What we don't know, and cannot fathom is HOW you and your handlers PROPOSE to do all of the above (and more) within the allotted time (anything longer than 2 hours, and your audience start to tune out, even if your co-debators hadn't started snoring on their feet).
We would like to ask Mr. Dabo and his cowering master:
With 18 ego-driven, self-important, larger-than-life Presidential aspirants, some of whom may be so enamoured of their own voice and importance that they will frequently forget to stop talking when required.
•How many minutes (sorry, seconds) do you propose that each speaker be given to talk?
•Would each be entitled to the same number of questions? Minutes? Responses? If not, why not?
•How many of the other 17 contenders are allowed to respond to the speaker, and how long should their response be?
•How many times is each of the 18 players allowed to speak out of turn (before being taken to Kirikiri)?
•How many times times can a question be asked of each contender?
•How long will the moderator(s) have to read each question? And, if the question is not clear, can it be repeated at the request of the speaker? Does this cut into the responder's allotted time, or is that time deducted from the Petroleum Funds?
We know that you reside in Aso rock, but we didn't know that you were all collectively and figuratively living under the rock. Apparently you are; otherwise, your handlers would have advised you against trying to cover your nakedness with this wet fig leave of an excuse. In all the Democratic countries the world over, there are always many aspirants to any elected office. Some do it for fun, some do it for the fame, some do it to write a book, others do it because they are crazy. Then you have the serious contenders; the VIABLE contenders. The ones whom everyone knows have a legitimate chance of actually making a good run for the office. Everywhere Political Debates happen in the world, prunning the chaff from the wheat has ALWAYS been an acceptable practice. It is even more especially necessary in a situation such as what we have here in Nigeria, with 18 people (a majority of whom 95% of the Nigerian populace have never heard of or seen) vying for the same position. Are you hoping to be conceal your nakedness and emptiness by surrounding yourself with as many warm bodies as possible on stage? That won't work, Mr. President.
You know that there will not be enough room, time, resource, or interest for a 18-person debating exercise. It is indeed sad that, of all the excuses that you could have made, this is the one that you chose to make. Your attempts to run away from selling yourself to the Nigerian people is selling you short, Mr. President. Nigerians deserve to see their country evolve and break with its sordid past. Having a semblance of normalcy and a sense of being a part of the modern democracies will go a long way towards bringing us ever closer to that evolution and goal. Refusing to partake in this debate for any reason will not speak well of you, Mr. President. Rather it will portray you as an insecure weakling whose only claim of success have been more through happenstance and accidents than by any measure of ability or capability.
Lagbaja Country with “Mumudom”
Thank you for sounding the alarm in a way that should make us reflect deeper. Mumu is not a condition I proudly proclaim. It was with a heavy heart that I came to this shocking realization that we are indeed a country of mumus. Harsh as it might sound, no other explanation would suffice. It is apparent that the "leaders" know that they would always get away with whatever incredible schemes they concoct because, amongst other reasons,
(a) the mumu people they "lead" are no different from their mumu "leaders" in character(b) the mumu people are gullible, superstitious and naive
(c) there are no consequences for criminal acts if you belong to the right group
(d) these mumus never demand accountability from their "leaders"
(e) the mumus expect their rulers to loot or would otherwise consider them foolish
Apologies for the seeming overgeneralization but the vast majority runs with this mumu mindset.
There is a limit to how much one can squeeze into a song before sounding less music than sermon. Please permit me to expatiate using your perimeter of "recent events in the past week or two".
For simplicity I would use a numbered list to analyze and highlight a few seemingly disparate but absurd mumurity examples and indicators.
1. 5 members trying to impeach a governor would make you think there are probably only 6 or 7 members of the House of Assembly. According to the assembly's website there are 31 members. For mumus, 5 out 31 constitutes a majority.
2. In the land of mumus you can make your own mace and confer it with automatic authority, elect a "new Speaker" and swear him in.
3. No single hospital in Nigeria to entrust the unfortunately injured member with. He had to be flown to the UK.
4. Flown abroad ... likely on tax payers' account
5. Treated ... likely on tax payers' account
6. Visited by officials... likely on tax payers' account (business or first class tickets?)
7. Nyesom Wike the Minister of State who led the visit was until recently the Governor's (Amaechi's) Chief of Staff. He was allegedly nominated for the Ministerial position by Governor Amaechi.
8. Shouldn't the mumus wonder how Nyesom Wike as Minister of State for Education found the time for this all important trip while abandoning his post in spite of the raging crisis in his ministry with the Academic staff union of Nigerian universities currently on strike? Well the mumu staff and students can rot in hell I guess.
9. Madam Patience would probably have "visited" too, if not for the noise such would generate. So for now, the victim suffers alone.
10. The erstwhile pontificating police boss of the State could not find the patient's prominent attacker for over a week.
11. Madam Patience having first denied any involvement in the crisis while verbally attacking Soyinka, eventually owns up "pouring out her grievances".
12. She owns up to a group of visiting Bishops who came on a peace making mission to find a lasting solution to the crisis in their region. Religion is always an easy scapegoat and tool of deception in mumudom.
13. Why would you even think that the Bishops would go back empty handed? Any "transport fare/thank-you-for-coming", if received, would have likely been financed on tax payers' account.
14. And why are we ranting about "tax payers"? Why are the tax payers not furious over the incessant misappropriation and misapplication of their hard earned contributions? The answer lies in the question... Aside from PAYE, how many are compliant in mumudom?
15. First a set of 5 Governors and 3 Deputy Governors (representing their respective Governors), left their duty posts for a solidarity visit with the embattled Governor of Rivers State... of course to the detriment of tax payers. (a) They were not on leave, but left urgent work and duties behind for the "emergency" solidarity visit. (b) Flight to and fro Port Harcourt of course likely on tax payers' account.
16. They were closely followed by a second set of 4 commiserating sympathetic Governors. Of course, again likely on tax payers' account.
17. Madam Patience's grievance, as she divulged to the visiting Bishops, started when Governor Amaechi refused to be governed by her, as he would not listen to her veiled orders on how to govern the State... which incidentally is her primary territory being her State of origin. Mumus have no problem with that, fully being in harmony with her as she sings as first lady in Abuja while simultaneously dancing in absentia as Permanent Secretary in Bayelsa and conducting the orchestra in home state, Rivers.
18. Madam ends her confession to the Bishops by saying that Amaechi is her son as she is obviously the mother of everyone in mumudom. The question all mumus should ask is, "Would a good mother promote the demise of her child?"
19. Where was her outraged sense of motherhood when Senators were busy voting to turn mumudom into a Nation of pedophiliacs at the expense of her innocent "daughters"?
20. Where was her outraged sense of "mother of the Nation" when the video of 5 gang rapists went viral. Has she used that "mother of the Nation" power to find the culprits? Not a priority in mumudom.
21. Where was her outraged "motherhood of mumudom" when 46 school children were murdered in Yobe? Indeed the whole Nation of mumus have just gone on with their more important mumu lives like nothing happened.
22. Which brings us to the insane mumurity that gives the "leaders" confidence to try pranks such as the attempt at crafting the under age marriage law, knowing that with the mumus... "nothing go happen"
23. In the land of mumus, the rulers know they can always throw in the religious card, so Senator Yerima leads the child slavery onslaught with the religious chant.
24. While all this was going on, 79 year old OPC founder, Dr. Fasheun was, in his own description, "delivering" Mustapha to Kano.
25. Soon after, Gumsu Sani Abacha had the courage to rant on social media about her proud heritage... because with the mumus who his father savagely ruled over... nothing go happen.
26. Gumsu even called Soyinka who was a victim of her beloved dad's misrule, "Mad empty Professor" ... because in mumudom, "nothing go happen".
27. Final scores... Jang 13, Amaechi 19, but in the land of mumus Mathematics has a different interpretation for 13 is greater than 19. Even the President of the mumus ratifies that.
28. By the way, both Governors Jang and Amaechi are from the same imploding political party.
29. Jang says he is old enough to be Amaechi's father... a common escape route that is often quickly bought by the mumu populace. Old enough to be the President's pawn and to upturn justice might be more like it. Only possible when you know for sure that your people are mumus... Nothing go happen.
30. The Governor is supposed to be the chief security officer of his State, but apparently in mumudom, his Police Commissioner is his boss.
31. The Governor's security staff could be so easily withdrawn because nothing is institutionalized in a Nation of mumus. The loyalty of the security personnel is not based on the constitution but on personal or maternal affiliations. The mumus keep watching because "it does not concern me o"... "Big men and women are fighting". Same way the injustice of the Nation's attorney general's assassination does not concern them.
32. Most reports in the Nigerian media kept referring to the self appointed Speaker as if he were truly the substantive Speaker. A mere use of "self-acclaimed" would have been logical, but they were already calling him the Speaker because... ignorance? inducement? resignation to the belief that the 5 vs 26 Assembly coup was already a done deal?
33. While all this drama unfolded, Nigeria, like the proverbial head-burying ostrich felt it had the moral right to insist on democratic processes in Egypt.
34. Sahara Reporters had screamed about the underhand conspiracy to proclaim Mustapha "not guilty". Mumus simply went about their daily mumurity unperturbed because "it doesn't concern them". And when it happened as predicted... no problem. Mumus continue dem jolly as if nothing happened.
35. Meanwhile, Daniel and his political supporters carried their politics into the house of God at Rueben Abati's mother's funeral service... simply because there is no true reverence for God. Religion is a safe hiding cave. The mumus in the congregation would never protest such sacrilege because... "it is not strange" as the houses of God are now also political grounds. Obasanjo built one in Abeokuta. Jonathan got one built in Otuoke.
36. Meanwhile, some other mumus were again busy putting the Nation to international shame. In unprecedented match fixing fiascos, Police Machine beat Bubayaro 67-0 while Plateau United Feeders beat Akurba FC 79-0. Just in case you are confused, the game was soccer, not basketball.
37. The matches were to determine which one of the two tied teams would be promoted into... wait for this... just the 3rd division of the Nigerian soccer league. How many goals would they have to orchestrate when they want promotion to the 1st division?
38. Interesting to note that one of the teams involved in these shows of shame, the Police Machine, represents the Police Force. Now who would investigate this scandal?
39. Mumus involved in the conspiracy had to include players... team management... referees and other match officials... spectators??? That is quite a large mumu cooperative.
40. Since four teams were involved, multiply the number of conspirators by 4 (except match officials and spectators which should be multiplied by "only" 2). Hence, the scam was done in the open. It was a confident public show of shame. No... two confident simultaneous scams. No problem as corruption is everywhere.
41. Before the matches, Police Machine and Plateau United were level on points, goal difference and goals scored, and each was playing its final match which would determine which team would get elevated into the 3rd division league. Plateau United scored 72 of its 79 goals in the second half, thereby averaging more than one goal per minute. This would necessarily include the time needed to celebrate each goal, retrieve the ball, bring it back to the center, wait for the referee's whistle before kicking off again.... after each goal. 72 times. Or did they just write the preferred figures as we typically do on election day?
42. Is it not curious that neither of the two losing teams could manage a single consolation goal? What else are we if not mumus?
43. Then there was the innocent man who was freed by the high court in Owerri after having been unjustly incarcerated for seven years, "awaiting trial". No compensation... nobody held accountable for his ordeal. He insisted on being taken back to the prison as that was his only guaranty of a roof over his head and a daily meal. It was merely a "small thing" in the daily bizarre news as mumus went about their daily mumurity with their typical mentality of "e no concern me".
44. Remember that this is mostly a snippet of the past two weeks or so. But there is more... 20 year old Chijioke Nwankor allegedly rapes a 9 year old pupil to death in Calabar. Reportedly in his own words, he asked her to bend down in the uncompleted building because it was too dirty to lie down as the place was being used as a public toilet. That is mumudom parlance for faeces shamelessly defecated all over the ground. Could the defecation be by aliens from outer space?
45. Well... thankfully, there is always a little ray of sunlight sneaking through the dark jungle. A Briton who was kidnapped by an armed gang shortly after arrival in Lagos, has been released.
...All in just the past two weeks or so in mumudom.
Excuse me, I have to return to work. I need to earn £3000 for my British visa. Wait a minute, did I tell you I am still a Commonwealth citizen?
Lágbájá
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Monday, 29 July 2013
A man with no Integrity as our President..
When I started this year, one of my new year resolution is not to abuse or give comment about Goodluck Jonathan, I think I managed doing that for January and February probably because I had exams and project to do; but after then, I went back to the news papers and articles to be updated about the governance of Nigeria. It was then I found it difficult to keep to my resolution.
We all should remember President Goodluck Jonathan’s first shocking statement immediately he got into office. He remarked: “I will not talk about the tenure of my government; the constitution has said four years, though, some believe that four years is too short to make any change which I also believe. I believe because if you are a new person and you are elected as a governor or president today; it will take one to one and a half years for you to really stabilize. By the time you want to go for another two and a half years, it is another election and you are all busy about winning the election.”
After that statement, he proposed a single six years for the president/governors in which several comments and articled were rolled out concerning it. Personally, I disagree with the president. The government belongs to the people. The people do not change every four years and neither is the society replaced every four years. So continuity is the key. Before contesting as a candidate for any post, one should be prepared and be ready to take up the good works of the past governments and bring new ones. Candidates should not over commit or promise what they cannot deliver within four years tenure. We do not need change of constitution; we need a change of mindset.
That is by the way, the main reason for this article is my observation of the inconsistent words of the presidency. Recently, a senate committee reviewed the constitution for a six years single term for the president/governors in which they put a condition that the present administration won’t be able to ‘benefit’ from the new law. Which means that with this new proposed amendment, Jonathan, the vice president and the 16 governors and deputy governors will end their tenure by 2015. Now the presidency sees the new recommendation as a huge threat to his ambition.
Just two days ago, the presidency disagreed with the amendment and later came up saying that “if the amendment must take place, it has to start from 2019.” Which I think by reasoning means that his initial statement about a single term was from a selfish point of view.
My question to Goodluck Jonathan is that “when he was elected and spoke about a single term, was he speaking for Nigeria at large or for his own selfish interest?” if it was Nigeria, then why the change of mind at this time?
Nigerians, please be wise, we should not be ignorant of what is going on. Our vote is our right! Think before you vote. Thanks.
Odekunle Ifemidayo
@odex4real
We all should remember President Goodluck Jonathan’s first shocking statement immediately he got into office. He remarked: “I will not talk about the tenure of my government; the constitution has said four years, though, some believe that four years is too short to make any change which I also believe. I believe because if you are a new person and you are elected as a governor or president today; it will take one to one and a half years for you to really stabilize. By the time you want to go for another two and a half years, it is another election and you are all busy about winning the election.”
After that statement, he proposed a single six years for the president/governors in which several comments and articled were rolled out concerning it. Personally, I disagree with the president. The government belongs to the people. The people do not change every four years and neither is the society replaced every four years. So continuity is the key. Before contesting as a candidate for any post, one should be prepared and be ready to take up the good works of the past governments and bring new ones. Candidates should not over commit or promise what they cannot deliver within four years tenure. We do not need change of constitution; we need a change of mindset.
That is by the way, the main reason for this article is my observation of the inconsistent words of the presidency. Recently, a senate committee reviewed the constitution for a six years single term for the president/governors in which they put a condition that the present administration won’t be able to ‘benefit’ from the new law. Which means that with this new proposed amendment, Jonathan, the vice president and the 16 governors and deputy governors will end their tenure by 2015. Now the presidency sees the new recommendation as a huge threat to his ambition.
Just two days ago, the presidency disagreed with the amendment and later came up saying that “if the amendment must take place, it has to start from 2019.” Which I think by reasoning means that his initial statement about a single term was from a selfish point of view.
My question to Goodluck Jonathan is that “when he was elected and spoke about a single term, was he speaking for Nigeria at large or for his own selfish interest?” if it was Nigeria, then why the change of mind at this time?
Nigerians, please be wise, we should not be ignorant of what is going on. Our vote is our right! Think before you vote. Thanks.
Odekunle Ifemidayo
@odex4real
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