State of the Nation

State of the Nation.

A lot has being happening in the country the last few weeks that has been both shocking and interesting.

First of all was the Boko Haram crisis in the North with these fanatics attacking government facilities and security men as well. They ended up been crushed thanks to the intervention of the Nigerian Army but the end has been received with mixed feelings in a lot of quarters thanks to the extra-judicial killing of the Leader, Mohammed Yusuf and a financier of the group, a former commissioner in one of the Northern states.

Well, controversy still trails the accounts of his death by the security men with the Army insisting he was captured alive and with video and picture evidence to back it up (all thanks to youtube, saharareporters) and the Police claiming he was killed during a shootout. Heck! Who does not know the history of the Nigeria Police with such killings!

The Secretary of State for the United States of America, Hillary Clinton came visiting the country as well during the cause of the week. She chastised the government on the state of corruption in the country as well as the deplorable level of good governance. Must we wait for a diviner from the next town to point out to us what the gods are saying about the state of our nation? What went arong with our diviners?

Gov Ohakim of Abia state recently defected to the PDP from his party, PPA. The politics of carpet crossing will never end in our nation, or should i say,if you can’t beat em, you join em!

ASUU strike is going to more than 10 weeks now with negotiation suspended by the Federal Government alleging insincerity and blackmail on the part of the lecturers and vice versa. I think for once, ASUU is fighting on a reasonable ground,  but for how long must the future of this nation be subject to this debacle?! In the midst of this crisis, the Minister of Education, Sam Egwu, a recycled, sorry a former Governor had his 25th wedding anniversary with whooping millions! Allegedly 25 million naira! All in this nation! Well, as long as his children are outside the country studying, he has nothing to worry about!

When will thou save the people?! O God of mercy when?! The People, not thrones not crowns but men!

Our nation is in a nigh state of revolution unprecedented. We can’t sit back and watch things go on this way. We need to take positive steps towards the redemption of our country. But this question pops up, who will be the Messiah? Who will #lightupNigeria for the sake of the future generationState

A lot has being happening in the country the last few weeks that has been both shocking and interesting.

First of all was the Boko Haram crisis in the North with these fanatics attacking government facilities and security men as well. They ended up been crushed thanks to the intervention of the Nigerian Army but the end has been received with mixed feelings in a lot of quarters thanks to the extra-judicial killing of the Leader, Mohammed Yusuf and a financier of the group, a former commissioner in one of the Northern states.

Well, controversy still trails the accounts of his death by the security men with the Army insisting he was captured alive and with video and picture evidence to back it up (all thanks to youtube, saharareporters) and the Police claiming he was killed during a shootout. Heck! Who does not know the history of the Nigeria Police with such killings!

The Secretary of State for the United States of America, Hillary Clinton came visiting the country as well during the cause of the week. She chastised the government on the state of corruption in the country as well as the deplorable level of good governance. Must we wait for a diviner from the next town to point out to us what the gods are saying about the state of our nation? What went arong with our diviners?

Gov Ohakim of Abia state recently defected to the PDP from his party, PPA. The politics of carpet crossing will never end in our nation, or should i say,if you can’t beat em, you join em!

ASUU strike is going to more than 10 weeks now with negotiation suspended by the Federal Government alleging insincerity and blackmail on the part of the lecturers and vice versa. I think for once, ASUU is fighting on a reasonable ground,  but for how long must the future of this nation be subject to this debacle?! In the midst of this crisis, the Minister of Education, Sam Egwu, a recycled, sorry a former Governor had his 25th wedding anniversary with whooping millions! Allegedly 25 million naira! All in this nation! Well, as long as his children are outside the country studying, he has nothing to worry about!

When will thou save the people?! O God of mercy when?! The People, not thrones not crowns but men!

Our nation is in a nigh state of revolution unprecedented. We can’t sit back and watch things go on this way. We need to take positive steps towards the redemption of our country. But this question pops up, who will be the Messiah? Who will #lightupNigeria for the sake of the future generation

Just as wrapping this up, the banking sector is in turmoil with the sacking of 5 bank MDs on Friday due to gross financial misconduct and fiscal indiscipline. The CBN Chief says they risk going to jail if found culpable in the activities that led to their banks been stressed. The Nation is just heating up! God have mercy!

Lessons Learnt

Lessons

Its been awhile that i last posted on my blog. Been busy watching and participating in events.
Well, lets leave that forthat. I had quite an interesting experience on Friday 3rd July. I never knew the Police where not meant to enter your vehicle at any point in time for whatever reason or offence. Well what happenned, i and a collegue went to pick the German expatriate that came to work on our Shape CD machine, so we took Allen round about stopped with the traffic waiting for the go signal. We were not able to see the light, because we were at the back of the queue. So the vehicles in front of us moved and we moved along naturally as expected only to hear stop! stop! You broke the traffic light offence! Where is your driver licence! Open the door! And before we knew it, they had forced there way into the vehicle and told us to drive to park or go to the station. Funny thing, there was no traffic light at that point and we were asked for our tax clearance papers!Luckily, my collegue driving was a Youth Corper but that did not fly with the Policeman! Now the clincher, he said fine for commiting a particular offence was N250. Fine for commiting a traffic light offence was N65070! Haba! Oga Police!

They wanted us to drive down to their station but my collegue slowed down enough to create a traffic situation that obtructed a siren blowing official coming behind us! Suddenly a woman drove alongside us and asked,”Are you going together?!” and we replied “No Madam!”And she ordered them out of the vehicle. Meanwhile, an official looking man was suddenly at the other side of the vehicle and demanded of the policemen if their duty post was inside the vehicle! The men scabbled out of the vehicle dropping the driving licence (which we did not know until much later) and the woman ordered that we follow her. Fortunately we lost the woman and continued to our office withh the German expatriate amused and not the least surprised by it!

The second incident actually happened in the middle of the night between the hours of 1:55am and 3am on saturday. I suddenly awoke to the sound of an alarm outside. I got up to enquire only to discover that a flat in the next block to my block was in flames! people were screaming, shouting  running up and down and i remembered that i had the lagos emergency number. So i dialled, it went through once and the information passed aacross and said the fire team will be there shortly. Ten minutes later, i called  asking were they where, and told they had been dispatched. The next thirty minutes were harrowing as we watch the flat burn. The young men summoned courage, got buckets of water with detergent to combat the fire. And for the next Thirty minutes the young men battled with the fire and succeeded in taming it. Meanwhile a friend also called the fire service and was told they were on their way. And they came in less than ten minutes after the fire had been relatively tamed and contained! They were led in by the RRS who had earlier visited the scene and left. Of course trust the people, they ordered the fire engine back to its origin! They were lucky the policemen where there and they pacified the youths and told them that as soon as the call was put through, they had been on their way all the way from Alausa to FESTAC! Thirty minutes after my call went through!

 

Lessons learnt:

1) A Policeman has no right to withhold your licence for any traffic offence, he should issue a ticket if empowered to do so: Have a photocopy of your licence everytime, and demand he issue you a ticket if you have indeed committed a traffic offence. But be wise!

2) Always be wary of traffic points where policemen mount, they would use any guise to obtain you. Because a foreigner was in the vehicle, we suddenly committed a traffic light offence with a fine of N65070!: Desperation can drive men to unimaginable limits! Nigerian Police especially!

3)A Policeman has no right whatsoever to board your vehicle without your consent: Any Policeman trying to board your vehicle is a thief! Especially when uninvited!

4)Always have the emergency toll free numbers with you always. 767 for lagos state: It could be the difference between life and death. It could be your only saving grace in a dire situation. Have it all the time!

5)In an emergency situation, keep your cool and take a proactive approach to the situation. Don’t join the band wagon of pity party that compounds the situation: Its a very bad habit of Nigerians to gather round the scene of an accident and gape at the helpless victims and lament without doing anything to help but add their wailings to the hapless. Its a very bad cuilture that needs to be dealt with. Think positive, think of the next step to rectify the situation and be a blessing!

6)You alone can help yourself and your situation! Don’t wait for the Federal Government! Most people put the spot on the Federal Government to remedy the situation in the country, but forget the saying that heavens help those who help themselves! Am not trying to absolve the FG from there responsibilities, but we need to know that we must fend for ourselves to solve our problems before we expect the government to act!

7)A help you think is nearby is farther than you think! Don’t count on it! FESTAC fire service did not show up, but Lagos state fire service showed up all the way from Alausa to put out a fire in FESTAC! The person you think is nearby to help you may not be readily available to do so. Don’t count on that brother or friend less than a metre a way to help you, help might actually come from a 100 kilometers!

Cheers!

My condolence and sympathies to the family of the Adeolu Akinyemi and my friend, Abiola his brother over the sudden exit of their mother on thursday 2nd July 2009. God grant the family, fortitude to bear the loss. Amen.

Cheers!

British Hypocrisy

 

I have long pondered on the roles that Britons take at times in  the face of certain world crisis. A times i find myself questioning their rationale for taking decisions which i find quite objectionable. Ok, what’s the matter? The rationale behind their protest or support for events happening around the world often leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Some days ago, i read of a certain man carrying out a hunger strike in order to force the British government to intervene in the Sri Lanka Crisis by forcing the government to stop its assault on the  Tamil tigers who are been holed up in a little corner after about 20 years of bloody civil war. Now, some Britons are joining this man as well to declare that the Tamil Tigers want freedom.  But let us stop and ponder, this Tamil Tiger Rebels have held the nation of Sri Lanka to ransom for about 20 years in its so called quest for freedom of what? Lives have been lost, homes destroyed and the nation nearly brought to a ruin because of rogue group!  

Now, the Sri Lanka government has finally gotten the nerve to cower them into a corner and demanding their surrender which they are not willing to do and using humans in the little territory they have been driven to as shield against government forces. (The news today is that government forces have finally succeeded in breaking a barrier leading to the rescuing of about 5000 civilians who were trapped in the conflict). While that is not my main discourse this morning, its the moral justification of the Britons protesting. Are we saying, we should free terrorists? Enemies of a free world? Desperate men in search of power?

What sort of freedom does people who turn the gun on their brothers in the fight for a false freedom. What these people are doing is what dissident Irish Republican Army IRA is doing; they attack British troops and target assets belonging to the British. They have carried out the deadliest single bombing of Northern Ireland’s “Troubles” in the market town of Omagh in August 1998 in which Twenty-nine people were killed. The most recent was the killing of two young British soldiers in North Ireland. I wonder why the British sympatists did not take up placards justifying the action taken against their own kin.

Another classic example of British hypocrisy is the recent conference on racism been organized the United Nations which is been boycotted by key sincere nations of the world (America and its major allies) save for countries with sinister motives like Iran and France and of course spineless British Government who cannot call a spade a spade.

For how long will she continue to be a boot-licker?

Tenure Extension Again?

Hmm, its been a while that i last posted something on my blog. Doing some reflecting. Well, a lot has been happening the world over. From the global financial meltdown to mundane things happening in different countries.

Well, something caught my eye this morning. It was a newspaper headline on the Punch of today. ‘Panel want tenure extension for Yar’Adua’ From the few details i could get,it it seems the panel set up by the Presidency to look at the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Report that are making the proposal and its been spear headed by the Attorney General of the Federation!

But i just can’t help but wonder what our leaders were thinking bringing such suggestion up. It seems to me to be a deliberate attempt to forget history and truncate the future,with specific reference to the botched 3rd term bid of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president of our country. It seems as well that they are yet to learn from the peaceful transition of government in Ghana that took place earlier this year. Little wonder that PDP is seriously and fast losing ground in some states of the federation. But it also calls to mind what our so called leaders think of in their so called chambers and offices.

Now what is been proposed is to have the 4 year tenure extended to 6 years! “The panel reportedly argued that Yar‘Adua ”would have completed the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission,” by being in office for two more years.” What nonsense! Is he the only one capable to do such a task? Or is he going to be the last man to rule this great country of ours?! To me, it’s turning out that confusion over what to do is the order of the day at Aso Rock.Policies that will benefit the greater majority of the nation is been sacrificed for policies that will benefit the very few in the nation. The elite group that will stop at nothing to bring the nation to her knees to achieve their own selfish end.

Frankly, it shows that we don’t have leaders in this country that can stand up and damn the demogogues, men whom the lust of office does not spoil. We need to define the basis of leadership in this country, to set a new, refined standard, of quality acceptable leadership. We need to stand up as a nation and look our leaders in the face and tell them when they are erring and to tow the line of correction.

We need to, as a nation be able to take charge of our destiny and not wait for a corrupt politician or leader to define our destiny for us. The future of a great Nigeria begins now! Not tomorrow. I love the Bank PHB advert of recent, of living your own script and not living another person’s script. Its time we write our script as a nation and not wait for anybody to write it for us. Lets say no to any form of banditry by our government.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Cheers!

In Defence of God.

I read a article by Jonathan Power on Palestine and the war of civilisations in todays punch newspaper and i would want to disagree with some points made in that article about the tolerance level of the two religions; Islam and Christianity. While it is acknowledge historically and i have read as well that Islam is a religion of the sword,i beg to disagree that its more tolerant than Christainity. Evidence abounds in the northern part of Nigeria of how intolerant the Moslems there are,the Jos crisis is an recent example of this. How many times in the history of religious crisis in the country have you heard of Christians instigating an attack on moslems?

From the global perspective and historical antecedent, i agree that some atrocities have been commited in the name of christianity especially during the holy crusades, especially during the attempts to recapture the holy land,but i will like to bring to your notice that there was a period in christain history that was known as the dark ages in which christians/believers were persecuted for their differing point of view by christians/believers of the same faith. The era of Roman Catholic Popes calling the shots in affairs of sovereign states and any attempt to resist the Pope’s authority was met with the threat of excommunication.

New Face of Anti-Corruption War

The recent trend the anti corruption war is taking in Nigeria is quite alarming! This is evidence with the recent prosecution of the former anti corruption Czar, Nuhu Ribadu, the light punishment given to Chief Lucky Igbinedion, former governor of Edo State and several “hush-hush” subduing of high profile cases such as the recent Siemens scandal that is not confined to this country alone and several others.

Am quite sure that the international community will watch with bemused expressions the recent antics of the government to nip corruption in the bud. I wonder sincerely,what this dispensation of Farida Waziri has for us in this nation, will it be a period of the dog returning to its vomit, or a period of dog eat dog, or a period of renewed commitment to fight off the lethargy that is threatening to stifle the fight against corruption.

Whatever the case may be,we will “siddon look” and keep our fingers crossed as the drama unfolds this year.

Cheers!

You can conquer almost any fear if you will make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.

Dale Carnegie

Value for Health

Atimes i wonder if we value our lives at all. I wonder why we go to extremes to get what we want at the expense of our lives!

What actually led to this? I was on my way to work today and along the Abeokuta-Lagos expressway at Mangoro bus/stop was an ugly spectacle. Right in the middle of the road, in the thick of the traffic were about 4 people with an invalid (in a wheelchair? ) soliciting for alms!

This won’t be the first time i will be seeing such spectacle, along the Falomo Bridge in Ikoyi, they abound there in about three spots. And they display the diseased parts of the invalid to members of the public all for the sake of eliciting sympathy!(or revulsion!) To add a comic twist to it, they play a monophonic tune mostly a Christmas tune to draw attention!

In as much as i want to sympathize with this group of people, i don’t subscribe to exposing members of  the public to unnecessary health risks even though our environment is so porous!And they themselves to high risks of infections.

What i want to submit this morning is that, the necessary authorities need to move to curb this ugly menace, and the civil society should also rise up to stop this unpalatable trend. I want to urge the Lagos State government to implement the Law which forbids such wanton begging/alms solicitation in public and to sensitize diseased,invalid people and the general public about the free health care program been offered by the state.

Its time to create a clean healthy environment for ourselves and for our future.

Rest, do you?

Its quite amazing peoples notion of resting. Different views exist with different people as to when to rest. I don’t  have the luxury at my disposal now to expound on it but i just want to share my experience of last week.

I have been feeling malaria symptoms for a while but kept postponing its treatment simply because i was caught up with my  work. Eventually, i  saw a pharmacist, and complained and requested for a medication that won’t knock me out. Now i happen to get knocked out whenever i take anti malaria drugs so i was quite particular about what i wanted. But talk of postponing the day of reckoning! Took the medication quite alright, no side effects whatsoever (or so i thought). But, instead of getting better, i went worse! Lost weight within two days! And feeling at the worse end i could think of! So i took a break, went home to meet my folks, away from the busy bustle of office and Lagos. Went to put my head somewhere to recuperate. The results? Amazing! Didn’t take any extra medication, no doctor, nothing just a sweet blessed long deserved rest|!

Its amazing how we take our health for granted during our most productive years. When you look into our dailies, topping the list of obituaries are young men and women and you wonder whats happening. According to United Nations Statistics for average years of 2005-2010; Nigeria ranks 130th in position in life expectancy with overall life expectancy at birth at 46.9%. Males were 46.4% while females 47.3% which is 30% below world average!

All we think of is to make money, to make a breakthrough all at the expense of our health. I sometimes wonder, if people hold eternity in perspective at all. I reflect on the fact that, if after making all the money at the expense of your health, family, friends etc what would you be thinking on your deathbed? What would cross your mind, when the cold hands of death gradually inch up snuffing life out of you.

When i see obituaries and i check the age, its always between the age of 40 to 60 at most, and due to one illness or the other. And i wonder (as i always do) so short?!

People, its high time we take  our health seriously, that we rest when we need to and  prioritize  our activities appropriately. Life is short, but we can blaze a trail and make maximum lasting impact  if we live by the right principles and take responsibility for our actions.

Lust or Love?

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Yesterday was a very revealing day to me. It told me something about human emotions especially when it comes to matters of the heart.When the wisest man that ever lived said one of the things that defy explanation to him was the way of a man with a maid, he must have forgotten that its a two way equation; the way of the maid with the man as well!

Actually am baffled with the assumptions People usually have about relationships. Especially when a young man and a woman are seeing each other often. The next thing that will be playing on their minds is, “Maybe he will ask me out” “Am sure that girl is falling for me” etc. Well that is not what i want to dwell on, but on the thin line in between love and lust.

I met this young Lady about 4 years ago in School, a next door neighbor. We see regularly, chat together and keep each other company occasionally. Just a very regular relationship in such a school environment or so i thought. Well, Unfortunately she had to leave school to do her undergraduate outside the country and we lost touch until mid last year when i met her online. We just chatted briefly, said she was married with kids and that was the end or so i thought. Yesterday, i met her online again exchanged pleasantries and then she dropped the bombshell that had me thinking till now.
She said till now, she has not found anybody like me, that didn’t really get me. What got me was that, she claimed to have loved me then, but that i rejected her! And she held that in her mind all these years! And i can remember vividly the last night i was with her;a night where passion almost enveloped us but for God’s mercy. And i left town the next day to avoid getting entangled and she travelled that week as well. And not for once did it ever occur to me that i want to date her or go out with her in anyway whatsoever. And she herself never raised or suggested it in any form either subtle or flagrant.

And last night i was thinking, where is the line of demarcation between lust and love? Or perhaps, is this lust or love in operation? We got chatting for quite a while and she later called me. But one thing i was able to decipher out of our conversation was an underlying lust masked as love. (Maybe my assumptions). But it was so strong. I could feel its pulsating power at work even across the distance between us, across the time that has separated us all these years, its potency,at its peak, like a pot of boiling water. Its heat searing and scotching like a volcanic lava consuming anything that dares stand in its way. And i asked myself again, is this lust or love?

Am not trying to be a Saint and i will never attempt to be one. Its just a pity when People look at me like a saint or assume am as innocent as a baby.But babies are not innocent when you get privy of the atrocities they commit has well when sucking their Mother’s breast. But i like to be real with myself. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart, i like telling myself the home truth to avoid getting unnecessarily mired in a quagmire.

But, i wonder why people will equate lust with love or why people tend to think along that line. Probably, the lines are so blurred into one another that a clear cut distinction can’t be made but i don’t want to believe that is the case. I believe its about our value system. What we hold dear and cherish. Its about us as individuals, what we see in ourselves that no other can see in us. Our fundamental identity and understanding about ourselves, not tied to another person. Even though, emotions can blunt out all logic and reasoning, i believe it can be mastered well enough for us not to be overwhelmed at critical moments in our lives.

Yes it may be a thin line, but thin enough to differentiate between life and death.

PINK ACCOUNT

Recently, Bank Phb launched the Pink Account for women. And I find it quite interesting and curious!

But I have a question, why women and not men? It sounds to me to be a feminine issue here. Why the entire hullabaloo on women saving, having an account, etc?! I personally find it amusing and at the same time disquieting. Access Bank also has an account call GEM for women only, and a finance house also had an account, a mutual funds for women. And am wondering, what’s the problem?! To BankPHB, Pink Account is more than a product. It is a special platform for Women Banking, the platform that shall carry many future initiatives from BankPHB, on special banking services for women to enable them to live and enjoy a good life.

The benefit that was stated by Bank PHB includes;

1. Financing for baby care products. This will afford the expectant mother, the opportunity to acquire all the necessary and top quality baby products from MotherCare.  These items include baby cot, sterilizing equipment, car seat, etc. This package is from N24, 000 monthly (for 12 months) and there are three packages available for her to choose from.
2. Financing to enable the woman acquire kitchen appliances like deep freezer, micro wave oven, gas cooker, washing machine, etc  or have a total kitchen makeover with top class kitchen cabinets designed to her taste. This package is from N14, 000 monthly (for 12 months) and there is an option of choosing a total kitchen makeover or selecting the appliances.
3. Jewelry Financing: Every woman knows good quality jewelry last forever and can be passed on from generation to generation. Our jewelry package will enable the modern woman acquire valuable jewelry that will dazzle like gold, diamonds and gemstones. The woman can pick whatever jewelry she wants from our partner stores with a minimum value of N150,000 and pay back over a period of 12 months.
4. Discount on Fashion and Beauty items: Each Pink account holder will enjoy instant discount (up to 20%) from our Partner stores for fashion and beauty items like clothes, shoes, beauty products and accessories to enhance her appearance.
5. Pink Card and Cheque Book: Each account holder will also get a Pink Discount card and Cheque books.

Now, all these benefits are fantastic and mouth watering I must say! But I am not been chauvinistic here, but I can’t help wondering, has all the accounts in the different banks till date being for men only? Or banks are now targeting gender based accounts? It’s a question that I need some answers to please.

In as much as it’s a good thing, but I think the banks are treading on an unfair ground. Come to think of it, if it had been the other way round, won’t we be hearing the shout of marginalization! Women Empowerment! Victimization! ETC! Looking at the benefits stated here, it’s clear who the target is even amongst the women, the upwardly mobile corporate woman! Where is the Market woman? Where is the young average woman who this does not ideally appeal too? The young woman, trying to earn a living?

I think, there are some gray areas that need to be looked at, and the need to downplay the feminist tone about the accounts. Women empowerment is good, but let’s not take it too far.