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Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / Literature / Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS (15581 Views)
Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - Season 2 - You Are Cordially Invited! / Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day ! / Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - You Are Cordially Invited! (2) (3) (4)
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Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by Nobody: 9:06pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
coogar: Godfatherism is synonymous with a vehicle. . .because it is not far from the truth that Godfatherism is not an end but a means to an end (corruption) The Noble Laurette Wole Soyinka was exact and seemed to agree with this when he pointed that Obasanjo was a huge mastermind of Godfatherism as a ploy to keep his party in power forever. Now you can agree with me that Obasanjo allowed Godfatherism. . .and also that Godfatherism causes corruption. Not so? In essence this leads us to say Obasanjo exibited some form of corruption during his LEADERSHIP(Chech out on his electricity fund misappropriatio). Now if Obasanjo's and some inappropriate policies sponsored this present trend of Godfatherism, then dont you see that inappropriate political structures, policing and even leadership crisis are even STRONGER causes of corruption in the nation. I put it to you today that WHAT MOST PEOPLE WANT is a change in inappropraite leadership. . . because a corrupt leadership has many vices to achieve its ends and the foundation is STRONGER than the periphery. Godfatherism is not the foundation so you can AGREE with me that people would rather prefer a total overhaul and change inappropraite leadership and political party system and structures, and in useless policies(such as those that hinder the law from questioning the source of huge funds for political party campaigns), to mere removal of bits of vices like Godfatherism, nepotism, favoritism and the like. And so again I say and you can AGREE with me that you need to look beyond Godfatherism as the major cause of corruption in the nation. |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by coogar: 9:08pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
breezy047: Rebuttal to Coogar's agguement Let's cut it close now and compare the standard of living in Nigeria under IBB to the democratic-elected president, OBJ. Nigerians were not buying fuel at N70 under IBB. Democracy actually fosters corruption. This is not to say the Military were not corrupt in those days but they have not taken it to the dizzying heights we have seen since 1999. How do you explain the N1 Billion your president spends on food in a year?
You have not advanced your argument a single jot here....Why should we look beyond Godfatherism. You are making a huge error with this line of thought. Sometimes, the people occupying the political posts are also the Godfathers. The 2 roles are not mutually exclusive.
Thanks for making my point here. Nigeria is such a chaotic country where the gross misconduct of a major player like Tinubu are simply swept under the carpet. In Nigeria, all the Godfathers lack ethical decorum with little or no moral compass.
The system allows Godfatherism because the masses have been rendered poverty-stricken! It's a ploy used by the ruling class to take power and rationality from the hands of the citizens. An hungry man will not think twice to accept bribery in Nigeria.
If we have a good system in place where Nigerian's citizens are empowered with jobs, crafts, etc...then many people wouldn't even venture into criminal activities. It's difficult to look at ourselves when we have almost been made destitutes by these Godfathers. Do you know how much it costs to perpetrate political violence in Nigeria? For as little as £100, thugs are ready to maim and kill for Politicians.
There are no stronger ills...The Godfathers are the bane of our problems in Nigeria.
The above conclusion is a tad myopic. You cannot strip the citizens of a country off their basic needs and expect them not to be corrupt. This is a country of 40 million unemployed youths. A country where 95% of the population feed on 5% of the country's resources. How exactly do we expect Nigerians to behave in the face of hunger and homelessness? There's a reason Politicians mop the currency in the system. It's to make his kinsmen poor and when they are poor, they bow to his beck and call! |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by Cuddlemii: 9:10pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
Judges, I think we should take time off to investigate the debater, Shymmex. If he is found guilty, then he should be disqualified! We are big on originality, transparency & integrity Thank you! 5 Likes |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by Nobody: 9:14pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
newacca: I continue to argue that godfatherism is not the main cause of corruption in Nigeria. My fellow debater is centralizing his argument mainly on Obasanjo and PDP,which I believe it is slightly off the line of argument. While he forgets that individual character is quite different from general phenomenon that affects the society. I want to state categorically that godfatherism is not by anyway a major cause of corruption in Nigeria not when indiscipline is a call of the day. Not when the absence of effective rules, regulations and policies are not featuring in the nation. I disagree with the bolded part. IBB's regime is an example of how an individual character can influence the phenomenon that affects the society. IBB legalized corruption, advanced free fraud, drug trafficking etc. by himself, and his regime was a one-man show. He single-handedly altered our destiny as a country, and got us into this present predicament - yet no one has been able to hold him accountable. And he's still one of the power brokers in the country. What I am driving out of this is that some leaders have ruled this nation and have held political offices without godfathers, yet they mismanaged funds, and promote different kinds of corruption far beyond godfatherism. Corruption started killing the developmental growth in Nigeria from Shagari administration,Buhari administration,Babangida administration(our case study) These rulers do not have godfathers and godfatherism has not been prominent in the other arms of government in their era,yet corruption practices continue to elevate. If godfatherism does not exist in Nigerian politics,the main causes of corruption in Nigeria will still prevail,unless we change our orientation towards a soceity free of indiscipline and bad culture. All the names you cited in the quote above were part of the Northern oligarchy, and they all have godfathers. Every decision they made during their tenures was sanctioned at the palace of the Sultan of Sokoto. They were planted there to serve the interests of the North elites - hence, why all the decisions they made during their tenures favoured the Northern establishment, at the expense of the South. Part 1 |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by newacca: 9:19pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the late Sultan of Sokoto, was the political godfather of a lot of young northerners. Understanding the role of politics as well as the military in an evolving country, he placed his godchildren in both institutions. The rewards to northern Nigeria are today self-evident. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was godfather to a large number of today’s Yoruba intelligentsia that have applied and continue to apply his teachings to the benefit of their region. In both instances, the godfathers put the interests of their people before personal gain. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was godfather to a large number of today's political figures and his view were shared among this inteligentsia,and they have applied and continue to apply is teaching to benefit their society. Alhaji Ahmadu Bello was political godfather to lot of young northerners during his days. He placed his godchildren in both military and politics institutions,and the rewards to northern Nigeria today are from his support. In the examples provided here,godfatherism is seen as a positive practice that benefits the godchildren and the larger society. The culture that encourages people to spend huge amount of money on irrelevant parties from Burial ceremony to Remembrance of the dead,which will eventually dig big hole in their pocket. The culture that gives chance to bribery by paving way for gift giving as normal expressions of loyalty or tributes to traditional rulers may be fabrics of the society. The society where wealthy people are placed high.even where and how the wealth is accumulated is no of consequence. You must be joking to argue that our culture is not rooted in corruption. Do you realize that gen.Obasanjo lost his vote in the SW,because his kinsmen doubted if he would be able to practice favouritsm when he eventually got elected. They drew their conclusion base on the fact that he was against the Yorubas' quest of revalidate the election won by Chief MKO Abiola in 1993. In my view,Obasanjo could have been pulled down by his kinsmen on the fact that he was not transparent during his military regime,not because they doubt is capability to deliver favours towards them. You must the cracking an expensive joke when you tell the masses you claimed to be representing that lack of accountabilty and transparency was caused by godfatherism. Who are the godfather's of James Ibori? Was he able to give account of the funds he mismanaged,siphoned and embezzled? I firmly argue that the problem lies with our moral values,that consequently lead to other following symptom called godfatherism. 3 Likes |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by Odunnu: 9:19pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
Take it easy Babe! Your words are getting too strong and personal. This is just a mere online debate meant for fun |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by Cuddlemii: 9:22pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
This debate would end at 9:40pm. Thank you! |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by BABE3: 9:22pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
Odunnu: Take it easy Babe! Your words are getting too strong and personal. . . .then ignore my posts or report me for a ban. |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by coogar: 9:26pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
breezy047: Kindly tell us who the driver of this vehicle is....
Obasanjo did not allow Godfatherism, Obasanjo is a Godfather himself and he was put in power by Godfathers. This was a man who even lost his street in Ota and most South Western states refused to vote for. Yet, he was put in power by the so-called Godfathers and each and everyone of the Godfathers got rich under OBJ. Many of them were untouchable. Even the comical Oputa Panel was a smokescreen. Nobody was convicted, no one was punished of any wrong doing because majority of the alleged criminals are.....(fill in the gap)
The nation is hungry. People need to be empowered to say no to corruption. Failing that, you are pissing in the wind. Nigerian Police is the most ill-funded organization in the world - what do you expect from a man with 4 wives and a dozen children feeding on N20,000 per month?
"The world better beware, they pose a bigger threat because Nigeria has the world's largest population of English-speaking, literate, intelligent but desperate and twisted people who have had a formal tertiary education".....anonymous 2005! What people want is empowerment like the developed countries where every citizen above 16 has a shelter, a job and can afford the basic needs of life. A country that cannot provide that for majority of her citizens tread dangerously to a bottomless pit. |
Re: Nairaland's Literary & Debating Day - FINALS by Nobody: 9:33pm On Jul 22, 2012 |
Fashola against Tinubu Fashola danced to the tune of Tinunu's music, hence why most of the so-called PPP are owned by Tinubu. The Lekki toll gate fiasco also shows that Lagos is a one-man show, with Tinubu as the decision maker - and Fashola as the face. Bear in mind that the GDP of Lagos is more than the GDP of most sub-saharan African countries, yet there isn't much to show it - except a few face lifts to old and dilapidated structures. These funds got missing during the administration of Gen.Obasanjo Rtd. without giving transparent account of how the funds were mismanaged. was Gen.Obasanjo Rtd. been elected in the 1999 election with the support of godfather? Can you tell me Gen.Obansanjo's administration was transparent? The 1999 election which got OBJ into power was the worst election ever conducted in the history of Nigeria (at the time), according to UN observers. OBJ was NEVER elected, he was selected by his godfathers to serve and protect their interests in the Nigerian establishment. If the collective wish of the masses supersedes the selfish resolve of some powerful individuals(godfathers) who believe they can dictate the affairs of millions of people from the confines of their bedrooms and the masses you speak for, abolish the corrupt practice of worshipping people in high places because of their wealth,do you think godfatherism will be the threat to our democracy? Hell no! We will only get things right in our society when we instigate high standard of moral value in the heart of our people;both young and old. When we frown at public display of wealth in occasion i.e spraying of money in public functions,parties and burial ceremonies;when you stop to collect bags and envelope from politicians before voting them. In the Nigerian context, there's nothing the masses can do to turn the tide. We practice a flawed system of government that celebrates elitism and class. For Nigeria to rid itself off godfatherism/elitism, we need a complete overhaul of our present system of government - where all the decision making are made at the center. Personally, I think you're being myopic in your argument against the public display of wealth, because that has been part of our culture from time immemorial - yet we were able to build egalitarian societies, that flourished and built great empires. 1 Like |
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