First of all let me make it clear: this isn’t some sort of anti-American rant. At least I hope it doesn’t come off as one. These days I don’t write as much as I used to on account of me working on other stuff, mostly music, but every now and then something gets my attention to put finger to keyboard. This past week or so depending on when you read this, President Hope a.k.a Barack Obama announced his bid to seek re-election. You might not have noticed what with the war in Libya (it’s amazing how it quickly became a war) to Lauren Gbago facing his 11th hour to Japan to all the other stuff more important than Obama’s bid.
It’s hard not to be critical of President Obama. It’s even hard to be critical of him without coming off somewhat anti-American against U.S foreign policy. Let’s face it, Obama’s audacity has failed us. Back when Obama first decided to seek for the highest office in the land of the United States, not many outside of America gave him a chance. I did! I remember having a conversation with my older brother, either while watching a democratic presidential debate, back when there were like 12 of them or when it was just McCain and Obama during the final debates. My brother said there was no way America would vote for a black man. I told him he was wrong, not because I thought America had finally decided to see beyond colour, but because the hype around Barack was unavoidable, it was like no other. Corporate America was all over him like big corporations over an athlete to endorse their product. He couldn’t lose! He had practically won. All that was left was for him to take the oath.
I however did not fall for the hype that he was the savior that America and the world had been waiting for. My first refusal to fall into the hype was when I noticed how the American media was quick to vilify McCain whilst putting Obama on a pedestal. Rolling Stone magazine even did a cover where they exposed McCain as a sellout during the Vietnam war, when he was captured by the VietCong. That was before or after a Rolling Stone cover of Obama as America’s big hope. It was like the media had decided who they not only preferred, but who they wanted in office, rather than being fair and balanced. And no, FOX News does not count as balance.
My second refusal was when I read the separate agendas that Obama and his main democratic rival, Clinton had. Anyone who knows the history of America’s health issues in the ‘90s, will know that Hillary Clinton was the Pharmaceutical companies’ biggest nightmare when her husband was president. As First Lady, she had tried to push for free health care in America. The big companies eventually bought her over. Watch Michael Moore’s “Sicko” for more on that. Also Hillary had the better economic and health plans than Obama did. A fact that was more or less revealed after Obama clinched the democratic ticket.
I admit I was ecstatic when Obama won, but that was because on the surface America had gotten rid of one of its most negative images; that of years of internal racism. My excitement died the next day when I sat to watch Obama pick his cabinet. He was basically recycling Bill Clinton’s cabinet. Surely this wasn’t change we could rely on, was it? To add injury to his polished international image as a peace maker, especially in the Arab world, his very first meeting as president elect was with the Israeli lobby group AIPAC. This was not good. What was worse, this was shown on live TV to the world as if to say, “Make no mistake… this is where his allegiance lies”.
My final acceptance that Obama was not the chocolate Superman the media made him out to be was from my favourite blogger Byron Crawford a.k.a Bol, who interviewed Chicago based lawyer TPAR (These Posts Are Racists as he’s simply known). The interview touched on a few things, but more importantly on what TPAR who was an election lawyer (if you felt your vote wasn’t counted, they’d represent you) thought of Obama when the then candidate had dinner with their organization before the election and why he (TPAR) refused to vote for him (Obama). The full interview is here: http://www.xxlmag.com/bloggers/2008/11/interview-with-a-tpar/. It’s amazing how it seems to speak to the present situation of who Obama is and has been from the beginning.
Not that America and the world would’ve been in better hands if McCain and his sexy nanny, Sarah Palin had won, but it seems the former Alaskan governor was having the last laugh when she was quoted as saying, “So how’s that hopey-dopey changey stuff working out for ya?” Not so well! As one American clearly said, “I no longer hope for audacity”, a clear pun on Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope. Dr. Cornell West said it best on the Russian news channel RT, Obama has aligned himself with the elite rather than the people who voted him in. It’s no excuse for conspiracy theorists to say it was truly Corporate America that voted him in, because regular people too stuck their neck out (and voted) for chocolate superman… and were eventually hoodwinked. Too bad he really couldn’t save anyone.
Will Obama win 2012? At this point he has become like his predecessor, George Bush Jr., where Americans have gotten used to him that he just might win again. With four wars in hand (cause let’s face it, Wisconsin is now a Middle-Eastern state), the American public might still rely on him more than anyone else.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, December 9, 2010
TIME'S PERSONS OF THE YEAR 2010
The good folks at TIME magazine are at it again with their list of nominees for person of the year (and once again showing us how myopic the American press can be... No African contender). There are only two forerunners in my book for the award: Musician Lady Gaga and recently arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a.k.a whistleblower of the year and my personal hero for 2010. Among the other 25 nominees is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, head of the proposed Cordoba House a.k.a the Islamic center a.k.a the mosque that Muslims build at the site of their conquest (or a few blocks away from it)… the last part was sarcasm. There’s former Alaskan governor- you bet’cha -Sarah Palin. Just for fun, I’d like to say as a “peaceful Muslim” I “refudiate” her nomination. Hehehehe! Of course there’s America’s chocolate savior superman, Barack Obama. Will there ever be a year during his presidency, when he doesn’t make the list?
There are some questionable nominees like ‘the unemployed American’. Well excuse me TIME, as an African who’s lived here in Nigeria long enough I can tell you ‘the unemployed African’ has been our person of the year for quite some time now, so we’re not crying over yours. Also included are villains (by American standards of course), Chinese President Hu Juntao and Tony Haywood (a villain by any standard) of BP oil spill… and they still couldn’t put Robert Mugabe… not one African. Iranian president Ahmedinajed and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez were pardoned from this year’s list… as was any African.
Other nominees include Mark Zuckerberg, founder of facebook, who has a movie- albeit one he doesn’t like, but a good one –based on his creation titled, The Social Network. There are names I never heard of or did and forgot who they were like Liu Xiaobo (he’s the guy causing trouble for the Chinese Government, kind of like how Assange is pissing the world off), J. Craig Venter (some crack scientist), Jonathan Franzen (the great American novelist, who’s great American novels I’ve never read) and a bunch of others. Still in the weird nominee category are the 33 Chilean miners who got nominated for… well being stuck in a mine, but perhaps the most undeserving is LeBron James. SERIOUSLY? For making a decision on TV? We’re not talking Michael Jordan here. LeBron made the list and no African did (LeBron being Black doesn’t count)? Still in the weird category, speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made the list. For what? I don’t live in the States, but did she really pass a bill that made America or the world better? This is the Congresswoman quoted for saying, “We have to pass the bill so that you can, uh, find out what it is?” WOW! She sounds like she belongs in the Nigerian House of Assembly. Glenn Beck’s only real achievement might be making Bill O’Reilly look meek.
So who should’ve made the list, but didn’t? Judeo Mayor Michael Bloomberg who stood up for the Cordoba House, while the Christeo-Muslim president flip-flopped on the issue. (See what I just did there? I’M A GENUIUS. In order not to irk any fanatical Jew or Muslim, I’ll save the term Judeo-Muslim for another day.) For all her good work (depending which Korea you ask) Hillary Clinton didn’t make the list.
And now to the main issue at hand: who should win? I’ll tell you who I think should win, screw the TIME panel. Lady Gaga. Why? Line up a picture of all the nominated contestants and ask a 9 year old with Cable TV who they know/who’s more popular? Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra!
There are some questionable nominees like ‘the unemployed American’. Well excuse me TIME, as an African who’s lived here in Nigeria long enough I can tell you ‘the unemployed African’ has been our person of the year for quite some time now, so we’re not crying over yours. Also included are villains (by American standards of course), Chinese President Hu Juntao and Tony Haywood (a villain by any standard) of BP oil spill… and they still couldn’t put Robert Mugabe… not one African. Iranian president Ahmedinajed and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez were pardoned from this year’s list… as was any African.
Other nominees include Mark Zuckerberg, founder of facebook, who has a movie- albeit one he doesn’t like, but a good one –based on his creation titled, The Social Network. There are names I never heard of or did and forgot who they were like Liu Xiaobo (he’s the guy causing trouble for the Chinese Government, kind of like how Assange is pissing the world off), J. Craig Venter (some crack scientist), Jonathan Franzen (the great American novelist, who’s great American novels I’ve never read) and a bunch of others. Still in the weird nominee category are the 33 Chilean miners who got nominated for… well being stuck in a mine, but perhaps the most undeserving is LeBron James. SERIOUSLY? For making a decision on TV? We’re not talking Michael Jordan here. LeBron made the list and no African did (LeBron being Black doesn’t count)? Still in the weird category, speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made the list. For what? I don’t live in the States, but did she really pass a bill that made America or the world better? This is the Congresswoman quoted for saying, “We have to pass the bill so that you can, uh, find out what it is?” WOW! She sounds like she belongs in the Nigerian House of Assembly. Glenn Beck’s only real achievement might be making Bill O’Reilly look meek.
So who should’ve made the list, but didn’t? Judeo Mayor Michael Bloomberg who stood up for the Cordoba House, while the Christeo-Muslim president flip-flopped on the issue. (See what I just did there? I’M A GENUIUS. In order not to irk any fanatical Jew or Muslim, I’ll save the term Judeo-Muslim for another day.) For all her good work (depending which Korea you ask) Hillary Clinton didn’t make the list.
And now to the main issue at hand: who should win? I’ll tell you who I think should win, screw the TIME panel. Lady Gaga. Why? Line up a picture of all the nominated contestants and ask a 9 year old with Cable TV who they know/who’s more popular? Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
AFTER THE OIL IS GONE… LOOKING FOR A REPLACEMENT!
Oil has been the backbone of our nation’s economy since its discovery and exportation in the late 50s (discovered in ’56 and first exported in ’58, check your history). Recently other industries have sprung up putting our nation on the map beyond just oil and kidnapping… and militancy… and a failed underpants bomber. The Nigerian movie industry known as Nollywood (a name I dread) has for the past decade or so presented a somewhat decent image of our nation… as decent as Nigerian standards go. There’s the ever growing music industry, which if I had my way I’d be a part of, if I can just be serious enough and pay for studio time, but that’s beside the point. The aforementioned “industries” are fine and great, but nothing sustains Nigeria quite like the Petroleum sector, which begs the question what happens if it becomes less viable. Like if the U.S government being the super-power that they are decided they want to manufacture electric cars (highly unlikely, but still), thus rendering us and Saudi Arabia- two of their biggest oil partners -useless. At least the Arab nations will corner Asia faster than we can learn Chinese, so where does that leave us?
The point of any industry in Nigeria right now in my opinion is to get ready to take over and be the next leading sector of our economy. Unfortunately not everybody thinks like me. No sector seems close to take over from our dear Petroleum. What about the people (deceiving people) industry a.k.a politics? No, that’s how we got into most of this mess in the first place. That and the fact that, its funding (salaries, largess, prostitute mistress money and such) relies heavily on what we make from oil. Again, petroleum saves the day (no wonder the militants love it). Perhaps the textile industry? Dead! Tourism? To be kidnapped by militants? No! Nollywood and the music industry? Mostly self-serving, not to mention lack of quality on Nollywood’s part. Sports? Well not after Amos Adamu and his FIFA fiasco!
Forgot finding the next big industry, what about reducing our incessant need for imported goods? Did the Buy Nigeria campaign just die, like we’re waiting for Rebrand Nigeria to? Or were our ladies to busy buying Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins to notice (before you question my sexuality, I had to consult google on the spelling of those). But to be fair to Rebrand Nigeria, it was dead from the inception, it won’t even get to rise like the phoenix. What Nigeria needs is restructuring, less rebranding. We’re already damaged. And now word is Aunty Dora wants us to stopping calling Nigeria, Naija, as if that’s not a derivative of Lady Shaw’s christening.
So just for fun I decided to list some key industries and see how viable they are in being our economy’s next source of income, not that they’re even close, but still. These are my assessments of course; feel free to let me know yours. So here we go:
FOOD STUFFS/DRINKS: Well with the likes of Dangote, Chivita and Indomie (though foreign, but made in Naija), I’ll give this sector 8/10. The only problem here is we still import things we can grow like rice.
Possible measure: Ban the importation of rice.
Disadvantage: Putting importers and certain people out of business, which I’d hate to see happen. Things are bad enough as it is.
READY-MADE CLOTHES & TEXTILES: Once upon a time there was once a great textile industry in this nation. There still is… in Aba, but mostly ready-made, not textile. Nigerians do make their own clothes, we just often don’t brand as much. The truth is not everybody can brand agbada and kaftan and charge a stupendous amount because there’s a tag on it. Are you mad? I’ll just go find another tailor, preferably one who lives under a Dollar a day.
Assessment : 5/10.
Possible measure: All these new kids who love to rebrand their t-shirts with Naija slogans or rather the people who do it for them, should think of approaching local football teams to have their jerseys branded (just remember na me come up with the idea first, I deserve one free jersey o!). You will make money… providing the football teams have money to spend.
LEATHER GOODS:
Assessment: 1/10. The 1 is for Pomo, which Baba Shege likes.
WOOD PRODUCTS: Yes we have carpenters, but there isn’t much of a wood industry per se. We’d rather buy imported wardrobes, than have them built if we can afford it.
Possible measure: Destroy all gas cookers. Are they made here?
Disadvantage: The hunger rate will rise.
Assessment: 3/10
PAPER & PAPER PRODUCTS, PRINTING AND PUBLISHING: Here is a sector I think we do quite well in. I remember reading that back in the days some Nigerian newspapers were printed abroad in England and brought back into the country the following day. Gone are those days. Plus you’d be crazy to try that these days unless half your publication is based abroad.
Assessment: 7/10
Possible measure: All this sector needs when it comes to newspapers is more factual stories than speculation. Today Jonathan dumps Sambo, tomorrow he’s fighting King Kong in the jungles of South America. And publishing houses need to start publishing our authors, that’s one industry that needs growth.
Disadvantage: No one is publishing books on a grand scale.
CHEMICAL INDISTRIES (PETRO-CHEMICALS, RUBBER & PLASTICS): I believe we do well here too considering we produce a lot of plastic goods from buckets to plastic water bottles (we need to find an efficient way of recycling the latter) to the fact that in the past people were able to get their hands on acid… that last one should not be funny!
Assessment: 6/10
CHINA, EARTHENWARE, POTTERY, PORCELAIN AND GLASS: Er… while I believe all these things can and are being made in Nigeria, especially Pottery (shouts out to my people in Niger State. Our basketball team is called the Niger Potters… screw the boy wizard). The question is: is there much of an industry to any of them?
Assessment: 4/10
BUILDING MATERIALS: We produce Julius Berger, Dantata & Sawoe… Okay, I kid. Julius Berger is German and Dantata & Sawoe are our own (let me find out they’re from Cameroun). But seriously as far as actual building material, we produce cement bags (with the cement inside of course… not at the same time) bricks and other such primary building materials. What I’m not sure we produce and I doubt we do are the machines used in the day to day operations of building. I mean Ajekouta isn’t running, so that should tell you something about us (n)ever building machines.
Assessment: 8/10
METAL INDUSTRIES: Again, Ajekouta isn’t running.
Assessment: 1/10
Possible measure: Stop the politicking and bring back Ajekouta.
Disadvantage: How can there be a disadvantage to this?
What industry do you think I forgot (don’t mention Nollywood) and do you agree with my assessment? Not that I will lose any sleep if you disagree, but let me know. Peace!
The point of any industry in Nigeria right now in my opinion is to get ready to take over and be the next leading sector of our economy. Unfortunately not everybody thinks like me. No sector seems close to take over from our dear Petroleum. What about the people (deceiving people) industry a.k.a politics? No, that’s how we got into most of this mess in the first place. That and the fact that, its funding (salaries, largess, prostitute mistress money and such) relies heavily on what we make from oil. Again, petroleum saves the day (no wonder the militants love it). Perhaps the textile industry? Dead! Tourism? To be kidnapped by militants? No! Nollywood and the music industry? Mostly self-serving, not to mention lack of quality on Nollywood’s part. Sports? Well not after Amos Adamu and his FIFA fiasco!
Forgot finding the next big industry, what about reducing our incessant need for imported goods? Did the Buy Nigeria campaign just die, like we’re waiting for Rebrand Nigeria to? Or were our ladies to busy buying Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins to notice (before you question my sexuality, I had to consult google on the spelling of those). But to be fair to Rebrand Nigeria, it was dead from the inception, it won’t even get to rise like the phoenix. What Nigeria needs is restructuring, less rebranding. We’re already damaged. And now word is Aunty Dora wants us to stopping calling Nigeria, Naija, as if that’s not a derivative of Lady Shaw’s christening.
So just for fun I decided to list some key industries and see how viable they are in being our economy’s next source of income, not that they’re even close, but still. These are my assessments of course; feel free to let me know yours. So here we go:
FOOD STUFFS/DRINKS: Well with the likes of Dangote, Chivita and Indomie (though foreign, but made in Naija), I’ll give this sector 8/10. The only problem here is we still import things we can grow like rice.
Possible measure: Ban the importation of rice.
Disadvantage: Putting importers and certain people out of business, which I’d hate to see happen. Things are bad enough as it is.
READY-MADE CLOTHES & TEXTILES: Once upon a time there was once a great textile industry in this nation. There still is… in Aba, but mostly ready-made, not textile. Nigerians do make their own clothes, we just often don’t brand as much. The truth is not everybody can brand agbada and kaftan and charge a stupendous amount because there’s a tag on it. Are you mad? I’ll just go find another tailor, preferably one who lives under a Dollar a day.
Assessment : 5/10.
Possible measure: All these new kids who love to rebrand their t-shirts with Naija slogans or rather the people who do it for them, should think of approaching local football teams to have their jerseys branded (just remember na me come up with the idea first, I deserve one free jersey o!). You will make money… providing the football teams have money to spend.
LEATHER GOODS:
Assessment: 1/10. The 1 is for Pomo, which Baba Shege likes.
WOOD PRODUCTS: Yes we have carpenters, but there isn’t much of a wood industry per se. We’d rather buy imported wardrobes, than have them built if we can afford it.
Possible measure: Destroy all gas cookers. Are they made here?
Disadvantage: The hunger rate will rise.
Assessment: 3/10
PAPER & PAPER PRODUCTS, PRINTING AND PUBLISHING: Here is a sector I think we do quite well in. I remember reading that back in the days some Nigerian newspapers were printed abroad in England and brought back into the country the following day. Gone are those days. Plus you’d be crazy to try that these days unless half your publication is based abroad.
Assessment: 7/10
Possible measure: All this sector needs when it comes to newspapers is more factual stories than speculation. Today Jonathan dumps Sambo, tomorrow he’s fighting King Kong in the jungles of South America. And publishing houses need to start publishing our authors, that’s one industry that needs growth.
Disadvantage: No one is publishing books on a grand scale.
CHEMICAL INDISTRIES (PETRO-CHEMICALS, RUBBER & PLASTICS): I believe we do well here too considering we produce a lot of plastic goods from buckets to plastic water bottles (we need to find an efficient way of recycling the latter) to the fact that in the past people were able to get their hands on acid… that last one should not be funny!
Assessment: 6/10
CHINA, EARTHENWARE, POTTERY, PORCELAIN AND GLASS: Er… while I believe all these things can and are being made in Nigeria, especially Pottery (shouts out to my people in Niger State. Our basketball team is called the Niger Potters… screw the boy wizard). The question is: is there much of an industry to any of them?
Assessment: 4/10
BUILDING MATERIALS: We produce Julius Berger, Dantata & Sawoe… Okay, I kid. Julius Berger is German and Dantata & Sawoe are our own (let me find out they’re from Cameroun). But seriously as far as actual building material, we produce cement bags (with the cement inside of course… not at the same time) bricks and other such primary building materials. What I’m not sure we produce and I doubt we do are the machines used in the day to day operations of building. I mean Ajekouta isn’t running, so that should tell you something about us (n)ever building machines.
Assessment: 8/10
METAL INDUSTRIES: Again, Ajekouta isn’t running.
Assessment: 1/10
Possible measure: Stop the politicking and bring back Ajekouta.
Disadvantage: How can there be a disadvantage to this?
What industry do you think I forgot (don’t mention Nollywood) and do you agree with my assessment? Not that I will lose any sleep if you disagree, but let me know. Peace!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
MY INAUGURATION
My inauguration shall take place at 11:00a.m. No more 7 or 8 o’clock swearing in. I want the whole country to be awake when I’m sworn in, this isn’t a Yar’adua presidency. I shall arrive in an el-Rufai bus adorning the Nigerian flag and presidential seal with all my staff. As always the inauguration shall take place at Eagles Square. The purpose of the bus is to signify a new change in government, a symbol of the time of the common man.
At 12:00p.m, I shall address both chambers of the house at the National Assembly and ask them to cut their July/August holiday short. Seeing as I shall be sworn on May 31st, I need them working for more than a month. Governance is not a holiday, IT IS A JOB and I need my soldiers with me. It will be my first proposal to the house. All that money they’re being paid, they can afford to forfeit half their holiday. And thus starts my first conflict with the house.
At 3p.m, I shall meet with the men of the Nigerian Army and talk of/about our various peace keeping missions abroad, as well as the ones in our dear nation like the Niger Delta and Jos and the need to secure our borders from unwanted individuals. At 5p.m, I shall meet the youth organizations and various other groups who helped campaign for me and show some gratitude. This is of course if I was truly voted in and not unconstitutionally rigged in like *ahem*, you know who, what with this charade we have called democracy.
At 8p.m, we shall have the state dinner. All government officials as well as foreign diplomats will be invited, not to mention members of the press. The dinner shall be at the State House. If not, there’s always the I.C.C (International Conference Center).
At 10p.m, it’s off to bed as I pray God grants me the wisdom to lead my people and accomplish what has never been done. I then kiss my wife (that woman whose being by my side when I was a nobody that used to walk and enter bus before being able to buy Tokunbo car) and then face the next four years of my life under the most scrutiny any individual in this country can go through. A prison full of luxuries.
BELOW IS A DETAILED OUTLINE FOR THE DAY:
INAUGURATION DAY ACTIVITIES
10:30 President shall depart the villa by bus.
11:00 Inauguration shall start
12:00 NASS Address
15:00 Meeting with military personnel (Army Ball)
17:00 Meeting with youth organizations (Youth Ball)
20:00 Evening Ball at Villa
Side Note: The Youth Ball shall start at 16:30; the President shall be expected by 17:00. The Evening Ball shall last from 20:00-22:00.
Concerning the public bus, in which the president shall be transported in, a bus shall be chosen, cleaned and have no advert placements. It shall be decorated with the Nigerian flag colours and Presidential Seal, which shall be taken off by the day’s end. The chosen driver of the bus shall be paid a sum of N500, 000.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
THE DAY AFTER THE ELECTIONS
It’s the day after the elections and I have been confirmed the winner of the 2011 election. The results had been mentioned in the early hours of the morning. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing, with friends and well-wishers calling me, “Mr. President”. I say my morning prayers and pray God guides me through the next four years. I’ve already decided who will make my cabinet, Federal Character is about to be thrown out the door.
As the sun rises and brings in a new day, I call those who have made my campaign team, some of who will still serve under my administration. The first order of the day is to thank the Nigerian public and to also visit the INEC office and congratulate them on holding a free and fair election this time. Although I don’t see how this was possible with Maurice Iwu in charge, although I heard the youth of Nigeria under such groups as Enough is Enough Nigeria made sure their every votes were counted.
I also meet with military officials, specifically the JTF (Joint Task Force) to discuss the situation in the Niger Delta and tell them we will double troops for what is about to come. I will also have a secret meeting with senior military brass to talk “emergency exits” in the case of another Jos crisis. In reality this will be a meeting on how if need be Plateau State will be divided between neighbouring states. It shall be called, “The Plateau Solution” and shall serve as a possible exit strategy to any other state that gets caught up in sectarian violence. Imagine if the public knew of this, but as a soon to be head-of-state I have to take bold decisions.
I shall also discuss with my team about who will head my proposed Audit Bureau, which will check the every financial transactions of the ministries. Although not capable of arrests on its own, the Audit Bureau will partner with EFCC when it comes to catching culprits. There will be a visit to the Department of Statistics at CBN to discuss the important of gathering statistics, specifically that of people who die in hospitals. The sooner we know we know what kills us the most, the better we will have an idea on helping the health sector on needed equipments and medicine. This will obvious involve the Health ministry.
All these meetings don’t have to take place in one day of course. What’s important is that in the days leading to my inauguration, I have a clear vision of what I want to accomplish in my first months. There will be no promise of an “energy emergency” like my predecessor had and no 7-point agendas either. Perhaps my biggest challenge will be convincing the political system to get rid of Federal Character when it comes to choosing my cabinet; you know how Nigerian politicians love politicking. It is then I will be accused of serving a Northern agenda or working for the South (a puppet with a Northern face, they’ll say). Clearly I am not going to please everybody and some states will claim that they are not represented. I believe that’s what your House of Representatives are for; to represent every region of every state. This shouldn’t have to include the ministers of my cabinet. If I can’t have capable hands with me, just because one state doesn’t have a minister, there’s already a problem! My headaches have begun!
Four or eight years down the line, I will face an even similar challenge as I try to convince my party to get rid of zoning. “He wants his fellow Northerner to continue.” “He wants the South to regain power again”. Such and such will be said. Surely it isn’t easy to be president; well at least I pray I have my health through it all!
Note: Watch out for my inauguration plans!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
OF STATES AND KINGDOMS
We all know the facts: there are 36 states, 1 federal capital territory, 6 geo-political states and numerous kingdoms spread from the North to the East and from the South to the West, yet today those facts maybe changed if some people have their ways. Groups of people from different ethnicities and religions have been calling for the creation of more states for reasons best known to them. Let me state clearly I am not against these people or anyone who wishes to see the creation of a new state. I am interested in knowing of what benefit it is to the greater Nigeria. Also in some states we’ve seen the creation of new emirates and kingdoms, Borno being the latest examples.
Despite the fact that we have states run by Governors, we find emirates and kingdoms within which are ruled by emirs and chiefs respectively. How much influence these kingdoms have depends largely on the followers but we know Abacha did once remove a former Sultan of Sokoto, which means the Federal Government seems to have a larger autonomy over them. Apart from the Sultan of Sokoto who serves as a figure head of the nation’s Muslim population, all other traditional rulers rule over a specified area of land, which -without being prejudice here- puts the Sultan a tad above them, for while his Caliphate may be in Sokoto he presides over a populace not specified to any state, like the head of CAN does. Which puts him out of the next equation: understanding that these traditional kingdoms serve as a link to our pre-colonial past, some have argued for and against them.
Most people, who argue for, see the rulers and kingdoms as a connection to our past and for their great influence in society. Those who have argued against, have citied the lack of influence of some, as well as what they see as excess money being spent on the rulers by the federal government. My reason for excluding the Sultan of Sokoto from the rest of the rulers is simply because (among other things) going by our recent history of violence (and politics), it is clear we need representatives for the two major religions of this country. The head of CAN is not a traditional title as no such position existed pre-colonialism, but after. What makes the issue of traditional kingdoms even trickier is the fact that the rulers are divided into first class, second class and third class, which means one group, has a higher autonomy over the other and so on.
Lest we forget, it was through these various traditional kingdoms that the colonials were able to establish what will eventually become Nigeria. Some kingdoms were more receptive to the colonials, others weren’t. Furthermore some states were created based on the existing emirate(s)/kingdom(s) within. An example would be Kano state. It would be impossible to imagine a Kano state without a Kano emirate, yet a Kano emirate without a Kano state is quite plausible. Likewise in the Southern part of the country we have Oyo state, whose creation can be said to have been based on the existing Oyo Kingdom. Again in the North-East, we have Borno state, whose existence too can be said to have been based on its Kanem-Borno empire. Sokoto is there, we can go on and on, yet the argument for more states and the existence of traditional kingdoms is one that has always opened the door for debate.
Perhaps to clear the air on the issue, I should state my stand on both. First of all I believe there are enough states in Nigeria, but if a proposed state is seen to bring some sort of economical welfare to the greater nation and its people (as some have claimed) then I think it should be seriously considered, but not necessarily created. Also if the creation of states leads to peace, say for example, in the case of another Plateau crisis (as has happened quite recently), then as heartbreaking as it may be for some, it should be seriously considered. As for traditional kingdoms, I can respect them, particularly their past. I do however think there are enough and no newer ones should be established.
So do you think Nigeria needs more states and why? And are you for or against the traditional kingdoms? One Nigeria!
Monday, February 22, 2010
HOW NOT TO CELEBRATE NIGERIA AT 50
With 8 months to go till Nigeria’s Independence anniversary, it’s never too early to start to figure out ways to celebrate our journey so far. However one question looms over our heads as a nation; is there a cause to celebrate? Already THISDAY C.E.O Nduka has marred our celebration in my opinion, by inviting former Prime Minister Tony Blair, former U.S President George W. Bush and his one-time crony former U.S Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to the 15th annual THISDAY awards which took place this month. I spoke against this on this very blog under the title “We don’t war criminals celebrating our independence”. I even started a group on facebook of the same name to little fanfare, so you could imagine my surprise on Sunday evening when I found out about 100 protesters led by Shehu Sani were arrested for protesting the invitation of said individuals.
To my surprise, there wasn’t much outrage from the media earlier on or even leading up to the event and/or against the invitations. I doubt the protest was even covered by the local media, let alone for it to be shown on international TV. I think it was from Ishaq Kawu Modibbo of Daily Trust that I first heard of Nduka’s invitation of Blair and Rice (Bush was not yet mentioned, perhaps for obvious reasons) about a month ago, that sprung me into action. The most common response I got from people, whenever I raised the issue of the irony of the invite was that Nduka is a businessman. Clearly, but where’s his patriotism? On Nduka’s behalf (not that I’m standing for him), perhaps we should ask if our patriotism still exist in the first place? But even if it didn’t, one can clearly see the irony of inviting these individuals who participated in orchestrating a war that robbed a people of their freedom celebrating that of another. Our independence celebration is starting off on a bad step, not to mention until recently we didn’t have a captain to stir the nation… and the one we presently have is just acting, lest we forget.
Other basic issues come to the table when discussing Nigeria at 50 like education (how far have we gone or regressed rather), health (people are still being flown out of the country. Exhibit A: Yar’adau), international bodies (should we still be borrowing from the IMF, the World Bank and such), unemployment. The list is endless. I purposely did not mention corruption, because that can easily be credited for the cause of all our problems, but is it? If it is the people who participate in corruption, then aren’t the people or rather aren’t we the problem? Clearly it must be a psyche problem as corruption has become a bona fide part of the Nigerian experience. I refuse to accept it as a Nigerian culture. So without much ado, what are we celebrating?
To my surprise, there wasn’t much outrage from the media earlier on or even leading up to the event and/or against the invitations. I doubt the protest was even covered by the local media, let alone for it to be shown on international TV. I think it was from Ishaq Kawu Modibbo of Daily Trust that I first heard of Nduka’s invitation of Blair and Rice (Bush was not yet mentioned, perhaps for obvious reasons) about a month ago, that sprung me into action. The most common response I got from people, whenever I raised the issue of the irony of the invite was that Nduka is a businessman. Clearly, but where’s his patriotism? On Nduka’s behalf (not that I’m standing for him), perhaps we should ask if our patriotism still exist in the first place? But even if it didn’t, one can clearly see the irony of inviting these individuals who participated in orchestrating a war that robbed a people of their freedom celebrating that of another. Our independence celebration is starting off on a bad step, not to mention until recently we didn’t have a captain to stir the nation… and the one we presently have is just acting, lest we forget.
Other basic issues come to the table when discussing Nigeria at 50 like education (how far have we gone or regressed rather), health (people are still being flown out of the country. Exhibit A: Yar’adau), international bodies (should we still be borrowing from the IMF, the World Bank and such), unemployment. The list is endless. I purposely did not mention corruption, because that can easily be credited for the cause of all our problems, but is it? If it is the people who participate in corruption, then aren’t the people or rather aren’t we the problem? Clearly it must be a psyche problem as corruption has become a bona fide part of the Nigerian experience. I refuse to accept it as a Nigerian culture. So without much ado, what are we celebrating?
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