An Almost Wasted Generation

What a sad thing to be from a wasted generation. I remember when growing up in the 90s we were always told that we are the leaders of tomorrow. Was told while in my teens that someone amongst my generation will lead Nigeria into the promise land. We were disciplined, drilled and not given much breathing space by our teachers because they believed they were contributing what they could to ensuring a better country by the time their children came of age. I went to school with some of the brightest and most talented people in this God given earth. I met people my age who’s intellect could match that of some o the best of our foreign counterparts of that time. People who had perfect or high scores in the GCSEs, A-levels and SATs. People who’s minds were tuned for greatness. I remember telling some to remember me when they are famous or in some sort of high position. I confessed I stayed in touch with some just in case. The future of this country looked brighter than a studio spotlight.
Several years down the line, most of these people are no where to be found. Not kidnapped but just missing. Missing in the action most people expected them to be part of. Some are not employed, some are underemployed, while some have just strayed and gone a totally different and unforeseen path with little or no success. The few who have gone to achieve things are doing so outside the country.
This last scenario sheds some light on what the problem is. You see most people in my generation have sold, what could have been a great future, for 30 pieces of silver. We have traded the future that could have been our present in return for some false promise of material wealth and splendour. What could have been ones name in the papers as a leader who is improving the commonwealth of Nigerians has been traded for the promise of a big house, exotic cars and endless bottles of champagne. We now spend more time chasing our own personal gains not knowing that we are having the wrong understanding of how wealth and life works. We fail to realise that unless we are thinking of and doing something to the benefit of others we cannot prosper.
We have gladly given our futures which could have been our present to the older generation who have passed their prime and out lived their effectiveness to this country. An older generation that is clueless as to how to move this country forward in this New Age. People who are still stuck in the old way of thinking. If you say what I’m saying is false then please explain to me why we are still talking about ethnicity and gender as issues in Nigeria till today? That is not the view of our generation. Most developing and developed countries do not discuss ethnicity anymore. They talk about qualification, integrity, efficiency and ability because they are being led by a new generation. Why else will a man of Indian heritage be the Mayor of London or a female as Mayor and Prime Minister of Rome and The UK respectively. Our present leaders are of an older generation who feel they have unfinished business with our treasury or unsettled scores from the 60s,70s or 80s. And we gladly elect them and do their bidding.
Instead of taking charge of our present we allow ourselves to be used as pawns in their political games. We let ourselves be brain washed and turned into terrorists, militants and social miscreants. While they are in their mansions/palaces and their children abroad, we fight, steal and kill ourselves all to their pleasure. I’m only in my 30s and I wonder if and when others from my generation will rise and see what I am seeing. Will we wait till we are in our 60s to take power and rob another generation of their chance? Or do we start now by taking charge of our present and taking the country to where it is meant to be. 30 pieces of silver is not enough to buy our future nor present. It is priceless and so must be treated as such. We need to leave our comfort zones if we are to achieve true comfort. The intellects of my generation need to come together as a group and work together to enlighten others of what tis truly happening. We need to stand strong and be men and women of integrity, strong Morales and values in order for others to follow. We need to stop wasting time on all these vain things, riches and foreign programming and spend more time developing one another. What is the point of being the wealthy person amongst poor people? You will only be asking for trouble. Most of us schooled and lived abroad and saw how people demanded good governance of their leaders. We need to do the same. We need to start building a society of strong Morales and integrity in order to produce such a leader. I always say and will continue to say, “a leader is a reflection of the society he or she came from”.
I’m asking for neither violence nor bloodshed but for an awakening and enlightenment that leads to a collective action that will be done today and shape a bright tomorrow. It isn’t late at all and there is no time. The journey must begin with a step and the revolution must start within us.

The Case of 1 state and 2 Governors

The sad and rather shameful situation in Abia brings to focus what we already know in Nigeria. That most of our politicians, if not all, lack principle and self respect. That a civilian will evade tax, forge tax documents and then appeal his case in court even when the evidence against him is concrete, is something most shameful and hideous in nature. Honestly I wonder if, in Nigeria, there ever was a time when someone in such office ever stepped down and apologised in order to retain some self respect and honour. Even thieves seem to have more honour than the present Governor of the state Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.
Before anyone thinks or says that my disappointment is only directed towards him, I’d advice they all hold on and read the rest of this before jumping into such premature conclusions. The individual who the high court ruling profited the most Samson Ogah is not to be spared. After the high court ruled in favour of him, it ordered INEC to issue a certificate of return to Samson Ogah, Dr Ikpeazu to vacate the government house and the Attorney General of the state to swear him in. This case was taken to the court of appeal by the lawyer representing the Governor. Now this action, as much as I feel was one that showed the Governor’s lack of dignity, was his right as a citizen. I stand to be corrected, but while a case is being appealed, isn’t the implementation of the High Court’s orders to be put on hold till the Appeal court decides whether to uphold or over rule the judgement? So it is rather shocking that a man of Mr Ogah’s status and knowledge will then travel to receive his certificate of return. A man who is principled would have waited till the Appeal court had ruled in his favour or against him before taking any action. This does call into question and further more puzzles me as to what sort of man might be the next governor of Abia state.
The politicians are not just part of the problem, the INEC officials are for taking part in this shameful act. Does anyone reading this want to tell me that our Electoral Commission do not have a legal office or don’t have legal advisers? Or do any of them want to lie and claim that they aren’t aware of legal procedures. I remember seeing the shame and the guilt in the face of the officer who handed the certificate to Mr Ogah. What will such a person teach his wards, who incidentally are the ‘future’ of this country.
The people I’m more disgusted about is the society. The poverty ridden minds that dominate the society. I have always said and will continue to say that “ a leader is a reflection of the society of where he or she is from”. No matter how upright one might try to be he or she will, in most cases, end up joining the band wagon in with their society rides on. If the people involved in this rather disgraceful saga came from a better and well principled society, we won’t be having this. First of of all Dr Ikpeazu, the Governor, would have never evaded taxes. If he did, he won’t have ran for primaries. If he did apply, the party officials won’t have accepted the false documents. If they did and this case came up, he would have admitted and stepped down honourably. If he didn’t then he won’t have appealed. If he appealed Mr Ogah’s would have waited to hear the judgement, not to mention INEC not giving him the certificate of return. Kudos to the Attorney General of the state for refusing to take part in this act of shame. For whatever was his reason, he did well. The real issue and problem that has to be tackled is the counter productive orientation of our society. Our society is like a runner who wants to win medals but isn’t training or eating well to win a race. We just want the prize handed to us on a platter. We need to sit and ask ourselves, for how long do we want to continue like this? Are we really thinking and acting the right way? If we want great leadership the society needs to get better and improve.
It is what you put into a pot of soup and how you prepare it that determines how it will taste. A word is enough for the wise.

Buhari Regime 2.0 at 1

There is the old adage that says “to whom much is given, much is expected”. On May 29th 2016, the Buhari administration marked its One year anniversary. The usual speech was given, like all presidents since our return to democracy on my 29th 1999. As usual most Nigerians tuned in to watch their President give a review of the year gone so far, his government stance on present issues and an idea of the future and the way forward. Most looked forward to him belting out the names of those who have returned stolen government money and how much was returned. As for myself, i spent the day like any other sunday. I went to church, had breakfast and spent the afternoon with family and friends.

Most will frown at what i’m about to say, but then the truth is rarely sweet, hence why it is usually called the bitter truth. Now go back to the first sentence in my opening paragraph. When Buhari got the nomination under the coalition party of the APC, alot of Nigerians who were fans of his first regime saw that big light of hope. In fact, winning the ticket had guaranteed the end of the money grabbing, pro stomach infracture and tribalistic government being headed by PDP’s own Goodluck Jonathan. After winning the election and coming to power, most nigerians if not all expected some over night miracle. And yes, it seemed so. We saw him as some sort of older ‘Harry Porter’, who would wave his magic wand and there would be 24 hours light. Another wave and all the roads will be good and smooth. A wink of the eye and povery would vanish without a trace. Oh, what a joke and such a dream. With time most nigerians started seeing some realities. And yes, the grumbles started. Some who lack the cranial capacity to think for themselves, turned a complete 180 degrees on their ‘Messiah’, while some with open eyes and ears like myself got to understand or already understood that things do not work like that in this present democracy that we find ourselves in. Like every President before him and most likely after, much if not too much was expected from him.

Now lets ask, we expect so much from Buhari but really should we? Buhari came into power and unlike his predecessor, he met an almost if not empty treasury. He came in at a time when the price of crude oil, nigeria’s number 1 export and revenue generator, have dropped drastically in the global market. He came in when the country was at war with the insurgent group called Boko Haram. Let’s ask ourselves, what did he really have to work with? Remember when former President Obasanjo took over in 1999, he met an empty treasury and a debt ridden country. Did we go about, crucifying him? Even those who criticised him were not so vocal because all were just relieved to have left the clutches of the military tyrants that had ruled the country with Iron whips and scorpions. The process at which Obasanjo went about restoring the country, isn’t so different from what Buhari is doing now. In truth, most of us are still hang over on the Buhari/Idiagbon regime that came to power in the 80s. Most of us still daydream about its effectiveness in stamping out corruption and having policies implemented. Honestly, i say this and will continue to say that if that regime had spent 5 – 10 years in power, Nigeria would have been better and greater than what it is today. Why do we still fantasize of a return of such effficiency with Buhari as a democratically elected president? Have we forgotten how slow and beaureaucratic our democracy is, no thanks to the National Assembly. A National Assembly filled with over swollen bellied, egotistical, egoiste, corrupt and incompetent senators and representatives who’s end game is only to their direct benefit and not that of those they represent.

Yes i am a massive fan of Buhari the general and Buhari the President. That still doesn’t put a wool over my eyes to not see the mistakes his regime has made. Yes they are human but that does not constitute nor is it an excuse to make such errors. One massive error they have made so far is their policy implementation. Yes, the policies are good and are the way forward. When you make such policies and fail to lay the ground work for it to be effective and workable for the people, you are like the horse that moves 1 step forward and 4 steps backward. Take for instance, the removal of fuel subsidy. I applauded it, it was a long time coming. It was inevitable, especially with the rate at which it some Nigerians started de-frauding the government and its people of billions of Naira. Buhari’s government failed to do certain things to alleviate the impact of subsidy removal on the masses. One of such ways to do this, would have been to reduce the demand or need of fuel by the populace. How? By increasing power generation and working with DISCOs to improve power distribution. Another way would have been to work private companies to improve transportation and road networks Nationwide. And most important of all, privatising and licensing of oil refineries in the different geo-political regions. These would have ideally reduced the price and kept it affordable.

Some Nigerians and i do not feel like Buhari started his government on the right foot. Like some who have studied him, i expected he would have first made strong statement upon coming to power as President. I expected after taking the oath of office, he would have immediately named those who he wanted in his cabinet and forwarded thier names for screening by the senate. If i were in his shoes, i would have given targets and milestones to every minister to achieve by the 29th of May. I hoped that when it came to the economy he would have had the CBN and finacnce ministers lay down policies to encourage and support the creation and sustainence of small businesses, instead of continuously loaning huge sums of money to large conglomerates and indirectly encouraging monopolies in sectors.

Hopes and expectations are all we seem to have. And the government seem to be ignoring one vital tool to its success, the people. Speak to the people, educate and convince them about the intentions of the policies and how important they are. Give them targets to expect from his governement.Ask them to demand more from his government and their representatives. If Buhari were to align his executive arm with the people, nothing can stop him. Not even the megalomaniac ridden senate will be able to stop him. I seem to not be a fan of the senate so far. It is something i will talk about in another article. The senate to me have been a hinderance and a drawback to the Buhari administration so far. For those who don’t agree i have two words, National Budget. No thanks to them, the budget took so long to pass. While the economy got worse and businesses were grinding to a halt, they took their sweet time and were being paid in the process. In conclusion, i would say Buhari can do more. He seems eager to do so. I pray he takes a leap from Obama who even dared to go against his own party for the sake of his country. The President needs to focus on three things if he is to really make a mark in his four years as a civilian president. If he focuses and solves the problem of power, infrastructure and corruption, not only will nigeria have taken many steps forward but he will have most certainly written his name and left his prints in the eternal sands of time.