THE 2016 CENSUS: WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE WORRIED NOW

The Nigerian census is carried out every 10 years, perhaps with a few exceptions like when former President Olusegun Obasanjo had it postponed by a year, because the then Federal Government felt it wasn’t ready to carry out the exercise. Regardless, ten years is a long time to get ready for a census and clearly with much doubt the Nigerian government never seems ready. Perhaps waiting 10 years is the problem and the fact that the Nigerian government doesn’t carry out ‘mock’ census makes it harder to work out the kinks in carrying out future exercises, especially in a country with an ever-increasing population and a continuous lack of proper record-keeping.

            

 If mock census were carried out within these 10 year spans, hence making the exercise frequent, fewer mistakes would be made by figuring out technical problems and establishing a better process of carrying out future census. Now by ‘mock’ census I don’t mean actually counting all the citizens in the country, but by counting say houses in Abuja or schools in Kaduna, something that will resemble the process of a census, we can establish a pattern of success and familiarity.

             

With these mock census- some from various government agencies -the NPC (Nigerian Population Commission) can already have established data to look upon when carrying out future census. It would also be better for them to have information from within the 10 year span than from when the last census was carried out.

             

As of now the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan has already approved of N600bn to the NPC for the 2016 census for the period of five years at the rate of N120b per year. It would be sad if he didn’t come back to see it carried out… said no one yet! Jokes (and sentiments) aside, there is no mention as to whether the Federal Government has made special provisions for the census in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria, specifically the states of Adamawa and the heavily ridden Boko Haram terrorized states of Borno and Yobe (considering there is no end to the menace before then).

How does the Federal Government plan to carry out census there and can they assure the safety of their workers and what happens if they can’t, will a whole region then not be accounted for in the census and how does that affect the bigger picture if state allocations are based on the results of said census? Lest we forget, the main issue with the census in Nigeria is not who was (mis)counted or whether mistakes were made, no. It’s the allocation of resources based on population, so you can see how this would be a problem if the North-East is not accounted for in the forever political battle between the North and the South over who has the largest population.

             

Too many questions to ask and yet there is still time to consider these things, but as we know from past regimes, the Nigerian government can have a fire brigade approach to things rather than a calculated one.

             

God help us… or whatever you put your faith in!

EASING THE CRISIS IN BORNO (NOT THAT I'M THE EXPERT)

By virtue of recent history, it’s safe to say Borno is no longer a state of Nigeria; instead it comes off as an attached territory where we now send our troops for peace-keeping. As is common in Nigeria, all it takes to forget one problem is to introduce another and the former becomes ancient history. A couple of weeks ago, the nation was up in arms about the abduction of 20 schoolgirls by villains of the state, Boko Haram. When the following week rolled by and the CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi got fired, practically everyone forgot about Borno and indulged in the daily soap that happens occasionally with those in (and recently out of) power.

We sleep easy “accepting” that what is happening in Borno has become the norm, just like we did with Jos. There’s nothing we can do we say, but convince ourselves that since those in charge lack the ability to, then what can we. That said; there are things that are glaringly obvious to even one who’s never been to Borno. Let me state here that I have absolutely no military background and the closest I’ve come to a warfront of any kind was when a bomb went off nearby when I was living in the Middle East and even at that I was safe. The second closest was hearing the ThisDay bombing in Abuja from my office. So as you can see, I have no wartime experience nor do I wish to have any in the foreseeable future, but like I said there are things that are quite glaring in the issue of Borno. One or two of these suggestions are already in place.

My first suggestion was just implemented yesterday by the Federal Government (I don’t know if this means they’ve started hacking people’s systems). The federal government has closed the border with Cameron, finally (I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner). It was about time, although there are questions about the legality of it all (hey if the U.S can go into Pakistan to illegally obtain Bin Laden in the name of security, well…); whether this closure will include a one day entry/exit as I would’ve suggested remains to be seen, like I said there may be some legal issues involved here.

The reason for closing the North-Eastern border isn’t farfetched, we need to know what comes in and by this I’m mostly referring to weapons. When the Niger-Delta crisis was at its peak, questions of where the militants got their weapons from was pretty much answered by their proximity to the sea. With Borno, it’s quite different. There are no ships coming in from the North African desert, yet we know for a fact from suggested rumours that weapons are being brought in from that region, that the North-Eastern border is certainly an entry point of activities. With proper checks of what goes out and more importantly what goes in, the FG can limit any suspicious movement thereof. It’s also evident that Boko Haram are evading the law by their knowledge of the land, hence a better control of the area will be appreciated.

Second is the curfew, which is in place. Like it or not as crippling as it is to the economy and social life (who cares about these things now anyway when people are dying), the curfew- as the President has pointed out of measures put in place -has saved lives. It may not be evident now, especially with the continuous attacks, but by keeping people home, it has put them at less risk. It unfortunately hasn’t stopped Boko Haram from going into people’s houses, so it’s easy to see why the curfew may not be seen as effective.

Thirdly and perhaps this is presumptuous of me, but when and if the Borno crisis comes to an end (we need hope), the FG needs to set up a reconciliatory committee. I know, I know, Nigerians hate to hear the word, “committee”, but considering that when the war stops there will be a generation of Nigerians who won’t simply forgive and forget (and I’m not talking about their feelings towards just Boko Haram here, but the JTF and the Federal Government at large), there needs to be an easing of tension for we all know what happens by now when people still harbor feelings of anger towards the authority (remember Boko Haram started off attacking the state’s police, that state’s symbol of authority). There needs to be some sort of remark or statement of remorse and apology towards the people affected by all this coming from the Federal Government. Let’s not forget the accusations leveled against JTF in handling some of the state’s unfortunate crisis. A more powerful statement would be made if it came from the military itself and I say this without disrespecting the men and women who wear uniform and live this reality day in and day out and go through trauma we only imagine or see on TV.

Lastly, someone from government needs to acknowledge the capture of these schoolgirls and show some empathy.

JOURNALISM, BLOGGING AND THE MIDDLE GROUND!

Based on Pew Research’s 9 Principles of Journalism, I decided to match up their principles (which you can read here) to what can be described as Blogging’s counter-principle. Listed below you’ll find their principles, followed by that of blogging’s, then followed by what I call the Middle Ground, where both somewhat co-exist. Note that some of what is written here is said in jest, but you know what they say about truth…

1.)  Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.

Blogging is about your opinion and no one in their right mind should give a hoot what you think! Your truth is often… your truth!

The Middle Ground: Sometimes journalists have to get schooled by bloggers about what is fact, although I won’t mention names, it tends to happen when someone (working for a respected professional outlet) comes to town and gets all the facts wrong or muddled up and then a blogger has to step in to counter with the truth!

2.)  Journalism’s first loyalty is to citizens.

Blogging’s first loyalty is to your ego.

The Middle Ground: Some of today’s highly respected news outlets pander to a certain opinion or parties, e.g. FOX News seeming loyalty to Republicans, NTA to the government of the day, e.t.c

3.)  Journalism’s essence is a discipline of verification.

Blogging needs no verification; it’s a jungle out there. Remember the saying, “monkeys with keyboards”.

The Middle Ground: Sometimes, journalists do rush to print stories without proper verification. TV news corporations have fallen victim to this many a times in a bid to be “first” with the news. Perhaps nowhere is this more common than on American news TV.

4.)  Journalism’s practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.

Some bloggers run for cover when they meet some of the people they talk about, like if I saw Drake and his entourage, I might walk the other way! Matter of fact, if I saw him alone, I might walk the other way!

The Middle Ground: This rule does not apply to the advert departments of most Nigerian newspapers, who in more ways than one are dependent on the advert money of a large number of personalities that they do cover, whom happen to be state/government officials and their lackeys wishing governor/president so-and-so happy birthday or something to that tune. Now, this in by no way means they pander to the opinions of these individuals or take bribes from them, but the fact is ad departments in Nigeria know where a large chunk of their money comes from; a large sum of that ad money comes from government sources.

5.)  Journalism must serves as an independent monitor of power, something like INEC, but that actually works.

Blogging is like a classroom without a monitor, where some have power to an extent like Linda Ikeji or Omojuwa, etc. Everybody else needs to find a “normal” job just to keep some form of power running in their house.

The Middle Ground: Does this apply to Rupert Murdoch?!

6.)  Journalism must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.

Blogging is all criticism (like how I hate your album) and NO compromise.

The Middle Ground: Here’s another place where blogging takes a provided advantage from journalism, if one newspaper refuses to publish your opinion, go to another… or start a blog.

7.)  Journalism must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.

Blogging has succeeded doing that… with 140 characters and it’s interesting. People go to war over tweets now.

The Middle Ground: Let’s face it, as far as Nigerian newspapers go, they really only remain “interesting” and relevant because at best only 10% of the population are online and know better than to buy a Nigerian newspaper full of congratulatory messages to Governor What’s His Face and bland stories.

8.)  Journalism must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

Blogging: Ever heard of Twitter… where they keep the news proportional to a 140 characters?

The Middle Ground: I have no clue!

9.)  Journalism: Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

Blogging: Isn’t that what blogging is for? Graffiti for writers, remember?!

The Middle Ground: Hey, we agree here, except while journalism requires a personal sense of ethics and responsibility, blogging doesn’t require much of a moral compass.

And there you have it folks!

THAT "UNFINISHED" REPORT ON ABUJA

A reporter recently wrote a piece on the BBC website, as well as, I believe on the radio show Focus On Africa about the nation’s capital Abuja. The report can be found here. Certain things caught my attention about it that I found quiet disturbing and rather unbecoming of whatever journalistic expertise the reporter, Alex Preston has. The article titled, “Abuja: Nigeria’s Unfinished Capital Built On “Stolen” Land” raises some questions of his intent and more importantly who he may have been talking to in regard to his report.

          

First, let me state I DO NOT work for the government, so this is not a propaganda response where facts may be hidden. I mean I quite agree with some of what he wrote. Abuja can be charmless and yes it has buildings (depending mostly on the area where one lives) that are left uncompleted, but in presenting this image of the city, he seemed to multiply its “charmlessness”.

          

For starters, the picture used on the website is over 3 years old, if not more. Here's the picture used in Preston's report:

The building in the background is the Silverbird Galleria and has been completed for over two years now. The huts you see in the foreground aren’t of a village, they’re actually shops of the Arts & Crafts Center where goods from traditional fabrics to jewelry are sold and are purposely made to look like that to go in line with the theme of the center. The placing of that old picture with the story of Abuja’s lack of charm and uncompleted buildings makes it look like we started building the city a year or two ago. Here's what the Silverbird Galleria looks like now:

           

If that's not enough, just to further drive the point home, here's a picture of the galleria from the Arts & Crafts Center as it is today:

 

And not like this:

Abuja constantly has to build to accommodate an ever-increasing population, despite the fact that rent is undeniably high, still as we say, “Nobody moves out of Abuja, they only move in”, perhaps not like Lagos, but still. There’s no denying that in the process of expanding the city, certain infrastructures would be left behind, but if Preston had an issue with this he could’ve talked to the F.C.T (Federal Capital Territory) board in charge of the city. Besides, some of those uncompleted buildings belong to private individuals and until the city decides to put a law in place that they must be completed, they will stay part of the landscape, whether they’re charmless or not!

           

Another issue is his mix-up of Abuja’s history, where he claims former President Olusegun Obasanjo “seized” the land when he was a military president. The truth, which perhaps no one told Preston, is that the plan to relocate the nation’s capital from Lagos to Abuja was made by Obasanjo’s predecessor, General Murtala Mohammed who was assassinated before the plans came to fruition. General Obasanjo simply carried out what had already been set in motion and agreed upon, there was no "seizing" by the general! The issue of whether the Gwaris were adequately compensated or not goes on till date and I do not have all the information on that issue.

          

Still with his lack of research, Preston writes, “Abuja is itself a Gwari word”. NO IT ISN’T! It is actually an amalgamation of two words from two different languages. Abuja is named after a prince, Abu being short for the Arabic name Abubakar and “ja”, a Hausa word for “red” or in his case “light-skinned”. Hence, the fair-skinned prince Abubakar became Abu Ja. His brother Suleiman, has a city named after him called Suleja, in the neighbouring Niger State.

          
It would be respectful of the BBC to withdraw Preston’s article from their site or have it edited to reflect more of the truth on ground, if indeed the BBC wishes to uphold its stand on fair and balanced reporting and to Preston, maybe you should stay a week and not just 3 days, the city might grow on you… or not! We do have some charm!

OUR COLLECTIVE HISTORY: RAMBLINGS!

This is our collective history as far back as when we think it all went wrong: The soldiers who stole the throne from the first independent civil administrators brought in a new type of respect called fear. Whereas the civilian administrators were admired largely for their great intellect and perceived patriotism, the soldiers brought in their “might is right” mentality to the Nigerian conscience, proving this theory as they took turns to replace each other based on that principle. Most of these soldiers were smart individuals, but due to the physical and sometimes harsh nature of their job, they became seen as brutes before anything else, feared across the land, from North to South and from East to West. And in what must be regarded as one of our nation’s greatest ironies, they who stole the mandate became the glue that held this nation for so long till they handed power to a different uniform. It was during their days that most of the tales of this nation’s woes can be traced. Everyone living in this country can trace one life changing period in their lives to that era directly or indirectly.

We the neo-colonial slaves are stuck between our parents’ insistence to hold on to the past be it through some relative in a remote village they themselves refuse to live in or through their ongoing autonomy in our politics/personal lives and between our generation’s need to move “forward” through some social awakening be it on twitter or facebook or gasp, instagram; the perceived alien orientation our elders claim we stick to.

For this reason, our thinking differs and a battle between tradition and modernity rages. The battle between religion and culture rages, which people often mix and think are the same. The media has become the new battlefield upon which some of these battles take place. No longer do we tune in to the 9 o’clock news on NTA, when we can go on debating the polity on twitter till it is a trending topic and we are still talking about it the next day like we were all in the same room when it happened. The playing field has changed. Not only have we changed families, we have changed the game!