₦airaland Forum

Its very visible to the blind and audible to the deaf the grave magnitude of the ineptness and cluessness of the GEJ's administration. the following amongst others are the reasons why we must vote out GEJ come march 28, 2015.

1. GEJ waited till 6 weeks to election before he took decisive action against Boko Haram group which have murdered thousands of Innocent Nigerian citizens.

2. GEJ abandoned the Nigerian Armed forces, Police, Civil defence and other paramilitary agencies but awarded pipeline security contract worth billions of naira to Topolo, Dokubo, Gani Adams etc instead of empowering and recruiting more Nigerians jobless youths into the military and paramilitary agencies to do the job.

3. GEJ promised to build more refineries and revamp the existing ones to producing at full capacities before 2015 as a fallout of 2012 subsidy crisis but today nothing was done in that regard.

4. under the watch of GEJ the fortunes of naira have dwindled to a grave magnitude yet GEJ is busy sharing dollars to swindle people to vote for him.

5. GEJ promised constant power before 2015, but today this promise is yet to be fulfilled.

6. Under the watch GEJ several youths (job seekers) were sent to their untimely grave through the scandalous immigration employment exercise. Till date nothing has been done to the minister that spearheaded the exercise. as I speak Aba Moro is still in GEJ's cabinet.

7. Under GEJ's administration unemployment has grown to an alarming proportion.

8. under GEJ's corruption is a household thing.

9. This administration witnessed the most strike period in all sector of the economy in the history of Nigeria. for instance ASUU and ASUP strikes lasted more than a year.

10. This administration spearheaded hike in price of virtually every thing. examples
a. Hike in the price of plate number and vehicle licence
b. Hike in prices of goods and services.
c. Hike in school fees in all higher institutions ( both private and public owned schools)
d. Hike in price of electricity ( though a cosmetic reduction was done recently).
e. Hike in general cost of living. etc

11. GEJ depleted the national treasury.

12. We need to vote out GEJ so that the subsequent regimes will recognise that power resides on the people and that we have the supreme power to vote out non performing government.

The above reasons amongst many others are the reasons why we must not reelect GEJ

GOOD SEEDS - A RECIPE FOR YOUTHS IN A MALADJUSTED NIGERIA

Nigeria is a country blessed with both human and natural resources but the evil seed sown by both her past and present leaders have continued to hamper the pace of her growth and development. The seeds of nepotism, favoritism, tribalism, religious intolerance, corruption and other vices sown and nurtured by her political, economic and religious leaders (past and present) have contributed greatly to the present woes of this great country and deprived her from attaining her full potentials. This seeds have made Nigeria a volatile nation prone to ethnical and religious violence.



The culture of hard work, integrity and dignity of labour has been relegated to the background owing to the corrupt precedence set by her leaders. Those who loot her national treasury are walking free on the streets while majority of the populace live in a state of squalor and penury. There are huge distrust and suspicion amongst the diverse ethnic groups that formed this entity.



Instead of her leaders to consolidate on the potentials of her diversity to foster a formidable nation, they are busy creating unnecessary division such as what is currently happening in the Nigeria as the 2015 general elections approaches. A case in point is the clamor of the Ijaws/South-South people that except President is returned re-elected to complete his second term come 2015 general election, the country will collapse. The collective interest as a nation has been mortgaged and/or overwhelmed by the selfish interest of few individuals.



It’s always disheartening to observe that those who are supposed to be role models in the society are the very ones displaying untold rascality and the youths are watching. I wonder the kind of legacy they are bequeathing to the next generation and generations yet unborn.



These leaders who are suppose to have been remorseful and bury their heads in shame based on how they have deteriorated and/or debased the Nigeria project; have continued to propagate their evils seed thereby contaminating the minds of young Nigerians, instigating unwarranted tribal/ethnic cum religious suspicions amongst the heterogeneous interest groups in Nigeria. This dangerous tactics have continued to shipwreck the faiths of Nigeria youths in this great country. I weep for Nigeria.



I however believe that there is hope for Nigeria youths. We don’t have to me loose faith in this country and we don’t have to build on the evil seeds sown by our leaders. We should realize that the natural law of sowing and reaping is still very much potent which must pay each and every one of us according to what we sow.


By E.E. Agwu

Buhari emergence at this material time is divinely orchestrated.

Buhari might not be the Messiah but he is the forerunner of the real Messiah that is to come to take Nigeria to the promised land.

Buhari like John the Baptist is to prepare the ground and clear the garbages that bad leadership over the years have created in Nigeria. Buhari's duty is to create the right atmosphere for the Nigerian's Messiah who is to come after Buhari to operate.

Like Moses in the bible, Buhari's duty is to set Nigerians free from the captivity of the Egyptians (our present self-serving and corrupt leaders) and lead us towards the promise land. A Joshua will come after Buhari who would take us into the promised land.

in view of the above, I counsel Nigerians to vote wisely come March 28, 2015

THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN POLITICS – NIGERIA’S SCENARIO

As the 2015 general elections rescheduled for March 28, 2015 and April 11, 2015 gradually approach, some political parties have adopted very worrisome political campaign strategies aimed at instigating unwarranted division of Nigerians along ethnic and religion line.

Nigeria as a state is very volatile when it comes to issues relating to religion and it becomes gravely baffling when government that is supposed to be the unifying force begins to instigate religious disaffection amongst its citizens by its (in)actions. This is particularly evident in the desperate attempts to mix politics with religion by some agents of the two (2) leading political parties in order to score some political points.

Religion by definition is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. It’s a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects. While politics on the other hand is science of government; It is that part of ethics which has to do with regulation and government of a nation/state, the preservation of its safety, peace and prosperity, the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of it strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with preservation and improvement of their morals.

Whereas politics is meant to regulate social behavior so that man can co-exist peacefully and gainfully; religion regulates individual behavior and the belief of a higher power. Its therefore suffice to state that politics and religion play important roles in the way people live and societies operate.
Civilization has availed people the liberty to think and believe anything they want. Moreover, they are free to practice a high degree of ethical pluralism in their life i.e. they are free to ‘do their own thing’. But that freedom does not imply total ethical anarchy. Not everyone can ‘do his own thing’ in every area of life, so government exists to set some limits to human behavior.

Government is to bear the sword and thus must stipulate some minimum level of morality when there is a threat to life, liberty or property of citizens. A rapist is not free to ‘do his own thing’ nor a terrorist or an armed robber. At this point the government must step in to protect the rights of citizens.

Religion and politics have been bound in a passionate love-hate affair almost from the beginning of history. One may ask; should religion and politics be mixed most especially in a secular state like Nigeria? And if they are mixed, would the mixture be like manna from heaven or a powerful poison that burns everything it touches. Bearing in mind the volatility of Nigeria and the havocs religious crisis have wrecked in the country.
Religion and politics wield power and an alliance of the power was meant to be the best way to exercise absolute power on people. (Aymen Zaben 2012).

Researched have over the years revealed that during the middles ages, the church was a formidable power, one that was potent enough to even threaten the monarch. To keep itself strong and viable, the church encouraged feudalism and discouraged independent thought. However, massive corruption and abuse of power by the church led to popular dissent and revolution. Records have it that Martin Luther King was one of the most prominent figures of this dissent.
Coming back to Nigeria, the unfolding events as we approach the March 28, 2015 and April 11, 2015 general elections have indicated that the church and government of Nigeria have refused to learn from history. The continues instigation of religious disaffection by politicians in their political campaigns in attempt to make some political gains while invariably dividing the nation along ethnic and religious line poses a dangerous threat of grave magnitude to the peaceful co-existence amongst the diverse interest groups that make up this entity – Nigeria.

More befuddling is that Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and its leadership have allowed themselves to be dragged into the antics of politicians who are ready to explore any means to score political goals. The allegation of N6,000,000,000 and/or N7,000,000,000 bribe monies purportedly to have be given to CAN leadership by the presidency aimed at wooing the Christian body to support and canvass for votes for the re-election bid of President Jonathan is perplexing. Also bewildering is the purported ‘whatsapp message’ being circulated and alleged to have originated from CAN leadership warning Christians not to vote for a Muslim Presidential candidate in the forth coming election, that a vote for a Muslim president is tantamount to automatic islamization of Nigeria. This message was also sent to my mobile number. One begins to wonder, could it be that the Nigerian government and religious leaders (both Muslim & Christian) have forgotten that Nigeria is a secular state as routed for by our founding fathers?

In the western world, the experience of the middle ages and the teachings of ‘free-thinkers’ like Rousseau gave birth to the phenomenon of secularism. A true secularism seeks to keep the state/country independent of religious influence. Individual has the right to practice their own religion while the state will not be swayed and/or swindled by religious motives or ideologies. Having lived through the detrimental effects of mixing religion with politics, the west was now ready to let religion and politics rule separately.
Howbeit, reverse is the case in Nigeria. The politicians haves succeeded in manipulating various religious bodies/leaders into instigating religious sentiments just to grab power on religious ground. Nigeria is a country where religion can make the most education individual portray the behavior and attitude least expected from the worst illiterate. The incumbent Vice President who is also the Vice Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was recently caught on video instigating religious concerns in one of his political campaigns in Kaduna State (another religious volatile state). It is so unfortunate that those who are supposed to engender peaceful co-existence in the country are the very ones causing great disaffection amongst the diverse groups in Nigeria.

Everywhere else in the world political campaigns were supposed to be issue-based. Conversely here in Nigeria, it is all about character assassination of political opponents and inciting of ethno-religious sentiments. Latest events further revealed that our very revered national institutions such as Army, Police Force, CAN e.t.c have been dragged into politics to further the political gains of certain politicians/political parties.

It is wise to opine here that Christians should beware of certain Christian leaders in CAN who have soiled their hands and stained their garments with bribes. Same counsel goes to Muslim adherents. These bribes have beclouded their sense of judgment and sound reasoning. Some of these religious leaders are spiritual charlatans and demagogues looking for religiously gullible and fickle minded individuals to spiritually exploit in order to advance their material benefits.

We have to allow our conscience determine the direction of our votes irrespective of our religious and ethnic affiliations. Let us vote for the best candidates who can upturn the present precarious state of the nation as regards the economy, security, power, unemployment e.t.c.

We must as a matter of urgency vehemently reject every attempt by politicians to divide this nation along ethnic and religious line. Religion and politics must be kept separate. Religion is meant to unite a people with similar beliefs into a ‘moral community’ e.g. Muslims, Christians e.t.c. while politics is meant to unite all people of a country like Nigeria into a single community regardless of ethnicity, personal beliefs and practices.

By: E.E Agwu

Lagos, Nigeria

RACISM AND APARTHEID PLAGUE-RIDDEN WORKPLACE: THE AGONY OF A CASUAL WORKER IN NIGERIA!

While African citizens especially our football stars in Europe complains of been racially abused, a development that is drawing huge criticism from well meaning individuals all over the world. People are coming out to condemn racism as an act against humanity which must be totally abhorred and culprits severely penalized. Ironically back home, our black brothers and sisters who are opportune to be captains of industries are colluding with other foreign nationals to perpetuate and solidify racism and apartheid against their fellow blacks in the workplace. Our Africa brothers/sisters have suddenly turned themselves to our modern colonial masters. They have devised several schemes to hold fellow Africans economically and psychologically bind just to foster their unending thirst for wealth.

Nigeria has introduced a new dimension/concept of racism and apartheid in the world history but this time, ‘workplace apartheid cum racism’ through strategic casualization of employment of polytechnic graduates. Workplace apartheid is a manipulative political strategic scheme to render polytechnic graduate workers perpetual mediocre. It is a destiny killer and talent waster. The Nigeria banks are the major culprit of this devilish and slavish trend. Polytechnic graduates in most banks are treated with untold scorn and demoralized. They are placed under degraded employment condition devoid of improved benefits, promotion and career advancement.

In life, one is supposed to either move horizontally or vertically but most banks have forced their casual staff to remain static and rigmarole in a particular point. There is neither promotion nor increment in their salaries. Casual staff in most cases spends 15 – 20 years in the same employment status/designation. The worst is the disdain treatment they are subjected to by some of their colleagues who are the bank’s so-called full staff. They are treated as inferior beings and dehumanized.

Polytechnic graduates are worst hint sets of casualized labour force in the banking sector. These set of talented workforce, do the dirty and odd jobs while others take the glory. The banks’ management has succeeded in perpetuating this evil by placing this workforce under severe economic hostage. This state of affairs is viewed as a political and artificial dichotomy deliberately created by the capitalist to relegate certain strata of the workforce to unending servitude in order to sustain their modus operandi which is all about maximizing profit at the expense the impoverish workforce. At the end of every financial year, huge profits are declared by these banks, the executives and selected staff share certain aspect of the profit declared in the name of ‘Profit Sharing’ (PS) while the so-called casual staff are sidelined to wallow in abject poverty. Whereas, these casual staff also vehemently contributed to the bottom line of the bank’s performance/profitability.

Casual staff in the banking industry is the grievous of all form of modern slavery. Its an aberration and infradignity for two set of employees one – ‘casual staff’, and the other ‘full staff’ to be performing the same job functions; yet at the end of the day, the so-called ‘full staff’ is paid higher remunerations, promoted, given the opportunities for further trainings and development in order to advance on the job while the other - ‘casual staff’ is totally neglected. Experience abound whereby two individuals who were employed in the same bank, on the same day though in different employment tactics (i.e. full staff and casual staff), within the space of 10 years, the fellow employed as a full staff had risen to become a Branch Manager (i.e. about 8 steps promotions) while the other fellow employed as casual staff still remains at the same entry point/level where he was employed 10 years (a decade) back. Both workers were graduates (i.e. one Degree holder and the other HND holder). The only sin the latter committed was probably because he was a polytechnic graduate and was employed as casual staff.

Casuallization is employers’ psychological and political strategies to short-circuit the economic destiny of the casual staff in their employment. It is political and cost cutting mechanism used by modern employers/Nigerian colonial masters to maximize profit while impoverishing the workers. It’s an instrument of exploitation use by the employers to psychologically and economically colonize the employees under perplexing servitude in order to perpetuate their profit agenda to become richer thereby subjecting the employees to precarious life.

Back in the days, as a young boy in secondary school, I thought education was a means and veritable tool to overcoming poverty. However, recent events in my country Nigeria has vehemently altered my thinking and made me to begin to question my earlier views on education. What would you say of a country where you have several millions army of qualified graduates who are willing to work but are wandering about in the streets because they could not get a place to work; even when they manage to get one, they are subjected to the most degrading employment condition in the world.

In those good old days, parents sold their properties (including houses, land etc) to ensure that their children acquire good and quality education. This is with the hope that after graduation, these children will get befitting jobs and thus be able to acquire more properties as well as take proper care of their aging parents. These lines of thinking is now a mirage in Nigeria as people graduate, spend many years at home without jobs and still remains a huge burden on their aging parents depending on them for their upkeeps thus becoming laughing stock and liability in their communities. Most graduates are now object of mockery in their community because of unemployment. My country today is characterized with high percentage of dependant graduates due to corruption and mismanagement of the nation’s natural resources by our economic and political leaders who have turned themselves to our colonial masters.

Our leaders would always hide under one fallacious premise that ‘Nigeria graduates are not employable’ to justify the ills they have created in our country. This statement is the most grievous false statement from the pit of hell I have ever heard. Nigeria graduates are intelligent, innovative and creative but our government has failed to create the enabling environment for them to express and exhibit their talents. They only need motivation and the right platform to act. Create a palatable atmosphere for an average Nigerian graduate (HND/Degree), he will break world records.

Each day that passes, instead of our government to do the proper thing to create employment opportunities for its avalanche army of unemployed youths, they are busy justifying their failures with their fallacious claims. What have the government done to improve the educational system in this country?

Workplace racism is a new apartheid tactics Nigerian economic colonial masters have adopted to further pauperize the Nigeria workforce specifically using the polytechnic graduates as their pilot test. This tactics has over the years prevailed without been questioned by the Nigerian government and thus they now recently extended the trend to degree holders (I carefully choose to use degree holders because of the abuse and the irrational generalization of university graduates as B Sc holders by Nigeria Organisations without minding that the university awards various categories of first degrees in different fields of human endeavours for instance we have - BA, B Sc, B Ed, B Tech, etc) in the banks. Hence casualization and contract employment is no longer the ills/cross left for polytechnic graduates alone to bear.

At independence on October 1, 1960, we shouted for joy, that the white men who had held us captive for decades have finally set us free. We hoped for a good life, we thought since our black fellow Nigerians have taken over the government, they would provide us with good living standard, better condition of employment etc, but little did we know that we are jumping from frying pan to fire. Little did we know that our black Nigerian brothers would later metamorphous and turn themselves into our new colonial masters. Little did we know that they would later enslave us politically and economically yet again. Little did we know that we were going into another round of severe colonization. Little did we know that they would continue to create atmosphere of disunity, dichotomy, segmentalism, sectionalism, nepotism, tribalism, favourism, superiority and inferiority complex etc in order to further their unending quest for political and economic reign. One of the aftermaths of these ills created by our leaders is the irrational dichotomy between HND certificate & Degree Certificate threatening to render HND holders economically useless.

The Nigeria Government and society have not been fair to the Polytechnics and its products. Polytechnic graduates have been a subject of public ridicule and mockery by big private organizations as regards their employment policies. They have been stagnated, stigmatized and extremely victimized in their own fatherland that it thus looks as if it is now a taboo to have acquired Polytechnic education. HND certificate has been treated with utmost scorn. They are looked upon as ‘academic never do well’ and ‘scholastically inferior cum academic out casts’. Meanwhile, it takes averagely a minimum of 5 years (all things remain constant) with vigorous academic and industrial experience to acquire HND certificate while it takes averagely 4 years (all things remain constant) with academic work and with little or no industrial experience to acquire a degree certificate, yet HND certificate is down played upon and treated as inferior to a degree holder. This to me is an aberration of the highest order.

Stories abounds that majority of our education policy makers who claimed to have schooled abroad only went to some mushroom schools there; School that do not even have standard facilities like a standard Polytechnic in Nigeria. Worst still was that most of them even did part time studies there. They returned home to begin to make discriminatory educational policies which are directly opposite of what is obtainable in the western world. We cowardly accept their proposals because Nigeria is a country suffering from inferiority complex. Hence anything outside Nigeria is superior to what is obtainable within the country. Thus we grade degree certificate acquired from a glorified mushroom secondary school abroad above the degree certificate from the best University in Nigeria. I weep for my country!

My questions are, what taboo/sin has the polytechnic and its products committed against Nigerian government and organizations that can not be forgiven? Where have the polytechnic graduates erred and even if they have erred, can’t they be forgiven, given the fact that Nigeria is renowned by her religious activities? Why is it that employers of labour in this country are so much determined to render polytechnic graduate employees in their system perpetually stagnated? Why are the banks so vigorously at the forefront of rendering polytechnic graduates economically useless? Apartheid they say is a crime against humanity; can’t workplace apartheid be collectively condemned by government/stakeholders and discarded?

I will conclude by leaving Nigerians with this thought of James Allens in his book ‘As a man thinketh so is he’ “here is an employer who adopts crooked measures to avoid paying fair wages, and in the hope of making larger profits, reduces the wages of his workers. Such a man is altogether unfitted for prosperity and when he finds himself bankrupt – both in reputation and riches – he blames circumstance, not knowing that he is the author of his condition”.
By:
E.E. Agwu
Lagos, Nigeria