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!

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

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.

What Does the Obama Victory Translate to for Africans?

Barack Obama is now the President – Elect of the United States. As I said in my earlier postings, it’s a victory for the peoples of the world and not the United States alone. But, there is a pertinent issue that comes to the fore with this victory. And a particular question leapt into my mind while thinking of it. And this is the question; what does the victory translate to for the African Continent?

The President of our nation, Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua congratulated the President Elect and said, “ I look forward to even more bilateral relations between Nigeria and the US and more productive partnership between Africa and the US in the quest for a more stable, secure, just and equitable world”. The President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe said, “African continent would look forward to a fruitful relationship with the US as part of the gains of the Obama Presidency. Africa today stands proud of your achievements, can only but look forward to a fruitful working relationship”

So what point am I trying to make,

• · How do the African people understand this?
• · Does it mean more liberal entrance into the US?
• · Does it mean more consideration of African issues on the International scene?
• · More aid? More funds?
• · Does it mean the Kenyan people become Africa Leaders?
• · Does it mean his family automatically qualifies as regular visitors to the White House?

Starting from his family in Kenya, they organized a press conference in their village on Wednesday, am sure to let the world know he is their blood. But we must not forget that they are his Step Sisters and Brothers and his Grandma. Do they have a robust relationship together? Have they ever attempted to reach out to him or him to them?

Will human trafficking stop with a black man in the white house? Will the US borders be more open to foreigners’ pouring in like water torrents? Especially blacks? Even, if possible, does that not translate to racism of some sort?

Kenya declared a public holiday for Obama; does that mean every year public holiday will be declared? Kenya is just recovering from a terrible nightmare of political upheaval, so does it mean a saner society? Or does it make them, the number one country in Africa?

The questions will keep pouring out and the answers………………

But the truth is, we should expect the best actually from the US for it’s a new era in world history. But we need to address ourselves and define what we want as a continent. Moreorless charting a new course for ourselves forgetting the past experience we have had and looking forward to a glorious future for the African Continent.