At exactly 6.00 Am in the morning, two buses leave Maza-maza in
Mile 2, Lagos, for Onitsha in Anambra state. One bus is called
Malaysia and the other bus is called Nigeria. Six hours later,
Malaysia is in Ore while Nigeria is in Sagamu. Bus Malaysia is
moving at an average speed of 60 kilometers an hour, while bus
Nigeria is moving at an average of 10 kilometers an hour. If bus
Nigeria is to meet bus Malaysia, at what speed should bus Nigeria
be moving? Where on the road to Onitsha will the two buses meet?
And when?
This is one of the mathematical problems that end the science
career of most Nigerian students. The other one is this simple one:
a man wakes up in the morning and decides to go to the market
by foot. He takes one step forward and two steps backward. At
the end of the day, where will he be along the road to the
market?
Most Nigerians do not understand these mathematical problems.
Our politicians know that and they are capitalizing on that
ignorance to fool us all.
Since coming into power in1999, the ruling People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) has shown Nigerians who they really are. They do not
pretend anymore about their vision for the country. They say that
they want to transform Nigeria into Brazil. They think as if they
want Nigeria to be Mexico. They act as if they want Nigeria to be,
at best, Pakistan; or at worse, Afghanistan. Most Nigerians have
come to accept the PDP for who they are.
The same cannot be said about the opposition, the All Progressive
Congress (APC). They still behave as if they have something
magical to offer. They are solely counting on Nigerians inability to
figure out the answers to those two mathematical problems above.
Mr. Bola Tinubu is the paramount leader of the opposition, APC.
The primary charge of the APC is to present a different vision for
the country- a vision that will separate it from the ruling PDP.
As everyone who cares about the progress of Nigeria can attest,
one of the areas of change needed in Nigeria is the enthronement
of meritocracy and the disengagement of mediocrity from our
public life. You don’t need to be a progressive to know this. It is
very fundamental. And that is the very first place that Bola
Tinubu’s APC has failed.
Tinubu and his friends in APC would rather force their families
and friends on the electorate. It is no longer democracy when the
consent of the electorates at whatever level is not sought and,
when sought, is not respected. In a democracy, there is no
sacrament as sacred as the consent of the people and there is no
oath as potent as we, the people. Those who defy them bring upon
their heads truckloads of eternal curses.
The second area where the Tinubu gang has failed to make a clean
cut from the PDP is in not raising the standard of what public
service should be. States run by APC governors are not
distinguishable from those run by the PDP governors. Local
governments run by APC chairmen are not different from those
run by PDP chairmen. APC members of the National Assembly(the
Senate and the House of Representative) have not performed any
better than their PDP counterparts. The APC members collect the
same obscene salaries and allowances the PDP members collect
without protest. Just like their PDP counterparts, the APC
lawmakers have failed to rewrite the laws of Nigeria to make the
country a more just society. Yet, they claim progressive
credentials.
The expectations of the people of Nigeria are so low it is obscene.
Knowing that, the Tinubu gang at APC has set the bar of good
governance even lower. They totally ignore the fact that, for
Nigeria to move out of its current pedestrian orbit and jump into
an edifying one, the country needs a drastic jolt. A people beaten
up for decades can be forgiven for wallowing in low expectations
but not a leadership that parades itself as a progressive
alternative.
This hypocrisy manifests in opposition characters like Rochas
Okorocha, the governor of Imo state. This showman came into
office with a promise to rescue Imo state from the scourge of
PDP’s let downs. After twelve years of ineptness and corruption
under Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim, the people of Imo state
thought they were getting a messiah in Okorocha.
Okorocha came in with an eye on a national office and an
exaggerated sense of importance. With a war chest that included
a redeployed N2.5 billion naira a year security vote, he embarked
on an unsophisticated show of abracadabra. He moved from one
half-baked project into another. His policies are not any
different. They lack focus and vigorous examination. He
undermined his constituents and finished off his party (APGA)
where Peter Obi had left it to die.
When Boko Haram threat got to Imo state, the man who had been
an enthusiastic supporter of mosque constructions in the state
decided that the best reaction was to issue all northerners in his
state an ID card. That was the best solution that his brain could
figure out. It was simplistic and without an iota of regard to the
wider implication of such a policy. But it was quintessential
Okorocha.
The pedigree of Tinubu, Okorocha and their likes are troubling
enough that a descent society would not hang its hopes on their
types. From their upbringing, educational accomplishment, to
their source of wealth, these men would be too ashamed to be in
public life if Nigeria were a sane society. Nigeria is a country in
search of heroes. Every Batman, Spiderman, Ratman and
Roachman is pounding his heart and claiming to be a hero- the
Nigerian hero.
Tinubu, Okorocha and others, know that Rome was not build by
men who took one step forward and two steps backward. They
know that a man who takes a step forward and two steps
backwards is retrogressing. But they have specialized in
amplifying that step forward to create an impression of a
forward movement. Tinubu, Okorocha and others, know that for
bus Nigeria to catch up with a stationary bus Malaysia, it needs to
travel at a speed of 60 kilometers an hour for 6 hours. To get to
a static bus Malaysia in 3 hours, bus Nigeria needs to travel at
120 kilometers an hour.
Tinubu, Okorocha and others, know that bus Malaysia is not static
but on the move at an average speed of 60 kilometers an hour.
They are happy to claim that they are heroes because they are
promising to get bus Nigeria moving at 25 kilometers an hour.
The trouble with Tinubu, et al, is not that they are pretending to
be the brightest crayons in the box. We can see from afar that
they are not. The trouble is that they are invariably creating the
impression that all the crayons in the box are as dull as they are.
That’s the trouble and our tragedy
By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

wonderful write up. APC need to raise the heir performance beyond mediocrity level if they seriously intend to displace PDP. Nigerians will
rather stay with their known devil than jump on this unsteady and unsure APC bandwagon.

XALONSO:
At exactly 6.00 Am in the morning, two buses leave Maza-maza in
Mile 2, Lagos, for Onitsha in Anambra state. One bus is called
Malaysia and the other bus is called Nigeria. Six hours later,
Malaysia is in Ore while Nigeria is in Sagamu. Bus Malaysia is
moving at an average speed of 60 kilometers an hour, while bus
Nigeria is moving at an average of 10 kilometers an hour. If bus
Nigeria is to meet bus Malaysia, at what speed should bus Nigeria
be moving? Where on the road to Onitsha will the two buses meet?
And when?
This is one of the mathematical problems that end the science
career of most Nigerian students. The other one is this simple one:
a man wakes up in the morning and decides to go to the market
by foot. He takes one step forward and two steps backward. At
the end of the day, where will he be along the road to the
market?
Most Nigerians do not understand these mathematical problems.
Our politicians know that and they are capitalizing on that
ignorance to fool us all.
Since coming into power in1999, the ruling People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) has shown Nigerians who they really are. They do not
pretend anymore about their vision for the country. They say that
they want to transform Nigeria into Brazil. They think as if they
want Nigeria to be Mexico. They act as if they want Nigeria to be,
at best, Pakistan; or at worse, Afghanistan. Most Nigerians have
come to accept the PDP for who they are.
The same cannot be said about the opposition, the All Progressive
Congress (APC). They still behave as if they have something
magical to offer. They are solely counting on Nigerians inability to
figure out the answers to those two mathematical problems above.
Mr. Bola Tinubu is the paramount leader of the opposition, APC.
The primary charge of the APC is to present a different vision for
the country- a vision that will separate it from the ruling PDP.
As everyone who cares about the progress of Nigeria can attest,
one of the areas of change needed in Nigeria is the enthronement
of meritocracy and the disengagement of mediocrity from our
public life. You don’t need to be a progressive to know this. It is
very fundamental. And that is the very first place that Bola
Tinubu’s APC has failed.
Tinubu and his friends in APC would rather force their families
and friends on the electorate. It is no longer democracy when the
consent of the electorates at whatever level is not sought and,
when sought, is not respected. In a democracy, there is no
sacrament as sacred as the consent of the people and there is no
oath as potent as we, the people. Those who defy them bring upon
their heads truckloads of eternal curses.
The second area where the Tinubu gang has failed to make a clean
cut from the PDP is in not raising the standard of what public
service should be. States run by APC governors are not
distinguishable from those run by the PDP governors. Local
governments run by APC chairmen are not different from those
run by PDP chairmen. APC members of the National Assembly(the
Senate and the House of Representative) have not performed any
better than their PDP counterparts. The APC members collect the
same obscene salaries and allowances the PDP members collect
without protest. Just like their PDP counterparts, the APC
lawmakers have failed to rewrite the laws of Nigeria to make the
country a more just society. Yet, they claim progressive
credentials.
The expectations of the people of Nigeria are so low it is obscene.
Knowing that, the Tinubu gang at APC has set the bar of good
governance even lower. They totally ignore the fact that, for
Nigeria to move out of its current pedestrian orbit and jump into
an edifying one, the country needs a drastic jolt. A people beaten
up for decades can be forgiven for wallowing in low expectations
but not a leadership that parades itself as a progressive
alternative.
This hypocrisy manifests in opposition characters like Rochas
Okorocha, the governor of Imo state. This showman came into
office with a promise to rescue Imo state from the scourge of
PDP’s let downs. After twelve years of ineptness and corruption
under Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim, the people of Imo state
thought they were getting a messiah in Okorocha.
Okorocha came in with an eye on a national office and an
exaggerated sense of importance. With a war chest that included
a redeployed N2.5 billion naira a year security vote, he embarked
on an unsophisticated show of abracadabra. He moved from one
half-baked project into another. His policies are not any
different. They lack focus and vigorous examination. He
undermined his constituents and finished off his party (APGA)
where Peter Obi had left it to die.
When Boko Haram threat got to Imo state, the man who had been
an enthusiastic supporter of mosque constructions in the state
decided that the best reaction was to issue all northerners in his
state an ID card. That was the best solution that his brain could
figure out. It was simplistic and without an iota of regard to the
wider implication of such a policy. But it was quintessential
Okorocha.
The pedigree of Tinubu, Okorocha and their likes are troubling
enough that a descent society would not hang its hopes on their
types. From their upbringing, educational accomplishment, to
their source of wealth, these men would be too ashamed to be in
public life if Nigeria were a sane society. Nigeria is a country in
search of heroes. Every Batman, Spiderman, Ratman and
Roachman is pounding his heart and claiming to be a hero- the
Nigerian hero.
Tinubu, Okorocha and others, know that Rome was not build by
men who took one step forward and two steps backward. They
know that a man who takes a step forward and two steps
backwards is retrogressing. But they have specialized in
amplifying that step forward to create an impression of a
forward movement. Tinubu, Okorocha and others, know that for
bus Nigeria to catch up with a stationary bus Malaysia, it needs to
travel at a speed of 60 kilometers an hour for 6 hours. To get to
a static bus Malaysia in 3 hours, bus Nigeria needs to travel at
120 kilometers an hour.
Tinubu, Okorocha and others, know that bus Malaysia is not static
but on the move at an average speed of 60 kilometers an hour.
They are happy to claim that they are heroes because they are
promising to get bus Nigeria moving at 25 kilometers an hour.
The trouble with Tinubu, et al, is not that they are pretending to
be the brightest crayons in the box. We can see from afar that
they are not. The trouble is that they are invariably creating the
impression that all the crayons in the box are as dull as they are.
That’s the trouble and our tragedy
By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

hmm.I just hope nigerians would evolve to reach this level of intelligence soon

menice69: hmm.I just hope nigerians would evolve to reach this level of intelligence soon

We ve allowed tribal sentiments to over shadow our sense of reason. Yes we need a strong opposition but not an opposition that will be sabotaging the government to score cheap political gain.

XALONSO:

We ve allowed tribal sentiments to over shadow our sense of reason. Yes we need a strong opposition but not an opposition that will be sabotaging the government to score cheap political gain.

Finally Dr. Damages is making sense I thought he was a slave to APC but now I see Mr.Okonkwo does care about 9ja.