₦airaland Forum

stephanie11:
POLITICSNIGERIA.COM


https://politicsnigeria.com/breaking-southern-governors-ban-on-open-grazing-political-unconstitutional-presidency/

Gibberish as usual.... absolute balderdash.

AdaugoChisom:
enwere m obi ụtọ maka nke a

Let's not rejoice over this very sad incident. One of the officers killed is my friend. His name is Chinedu. He was a nice guy and lived his life honestly. What is happening with this UGM is very unfortunate and disturbing.

opsyswagger:
this boy na small boy a scammer

Admin pls move to the front page to enable more reactions pls.

opsyswagger:
this boy na small boy a scammer

It could be a pseudo account opened intentionally to create false misrepresentation.
Profile picture is deceptive.

My wife recently fell victim to one fraudulent group who go by the name 'Wealth Builders profit'. She has lost over =N=100k before i got to know what was going on and put a stop to the serial fraudulent extortion in name of savings. And i felt there is an urgent need to alert the unsuspecting public of the activities of this scammers who operate mostly via various WhatsApp platforms using pseudo admin names like Muhammed Abdullah, Adebayo wale etc. They come unsolicited using some one known to you as referee to appear real and genuine.

I am interested in tracking them via these numbers which they usually use to make contacts with their targets;
07041628020
08138470550
09033266719

The account details used for this fraudulent activities is:
Account Name: Ashiraf Onimisi Jimoh
Account number: 1413767078
Bank: Access bank

The account profile have the following KYC details:
Name: Ashiraf Onimisi Jimoh
Address: Yakubu Jomoh residence, Obeira area UND street, Okene, Kogi state.

I will appreciate any information on how to track them using the above scooped data, the earlier they are arrested and prosecuted, the safer we and our relations who are legally working to earn our living will be. They have defrauded many innocent unsuspecting people and we need to stop them before the cause further havoc.
Attached is their bank profile picture and bio-data details.

Below are some of their scamming posts in one of their WhatsApp platform:

'I change my number due to the present situation of the company that's why
It's me Mr Muhammed Abdullah the creditor from wealth builders profit please I'm sorry for the inconveniences
It's 10k so you just have to be fast about it madam
I just confirm from the secure manager that you have not make a payment of your pending fee
Kindly make the payment now so that you can get credited this evening
I know how you are feeling since all this days so that's why I massage to tell you the condition on ground
10,000 can stop you from receiving your 500,000
At least I have tried for you now it's left for you to make everything clear to husband so that he too can believe me
I'm in the crediting room now once I leave there just know that you can't get credited today'

Nigeria has gone through a lot in its quest to attain nationhood and develop to its full potentials. The history of the country is replete with tension and occasional skirmishes between and among the various ethnic groups/nationalities believed to be over 250. And so it is not uncommon for there to be intense rivalry and competition by these ethnic nationalities for political power given the prebendal nature of our politics.
Following the intense contention for power at the centre by the 2 dominant political parties in Nigeria (PDP & APC), and the intrigues and deployment of centri-fugal forces by these 2 parties, the cleavages in our fault lines became more pronounced and led to scenarios that can at best be described as unfortunate and worrisome.
The said ethnic tensions that characterized the 2015 elections had continued up till this day. It was supposedly made more noticeable by the now infamous PMB’s (President Muhammadu Buhari) 97% vs 5% utterance and the reactions that trailed the interview speech by the various opinion leaders of the ethnic nationalities who felt it was targeted at them, didn’t help matters, if anything, it accentuated the division and tension in the land.
Recently, the feeling of marginalization and alienation as claimed by these ethnic nationalities, following skewed appointments and allocation of national resources, has led to vehement clamor for restructuring, which as the proponents claimed, will enable equity, fairness and justice in the polity.
They agree on what they want restructured but it appears the APC led federal government seems not cleared on its implications and ramifications. The confusion is further heightened by the observed indifference of federal government officials who appear not to give a hoot about such clamor which they termed as distraction and of nuisance value.
Perhaps, the introduction of a seemingly obscure ‘red line’ in the speech made by the President shortly after his return from medical vacation has worsened the confusion in the polity as many Nigerians don’t know what these red lines are. Some have seen it as ploy to gag the citizens especially those vehemently opposed to the current scheme of things and who had voiced out their concerns and that of their people over the apparent lopsidedness of resource allocation and seeking to enthrone fiscal federalism and resource control.
For the Federal government, these red lines are hate speeches which they believe can further divide the country and increase the ethnic tension in the land but some civil society groups and opposition politicians differ on this. They believe it is a ploy to muscle the opposition and clamp down of individuals and groups with contrary views and opinions on the state of affairs in Nigeria. They contend that these ‘red lines’ are opaque and subjective.
As it is now, there is no unanimity on these issues; the federal government plays ostrich with restructuring, feigning lack of knowledge of what the proponents want while majority of citizens especially of southern extraction feels that the federal government’s red line and hate speech definitions needs further review.
They believe that hate speeches are not only verbalized, they can be demonstrated by actions and inactions of the government of the day especially in resource allocation and national appointments. All citizens must be treated equally irrespective of ethnic or political affiliations. It is unstatesmanly for leaders to divide and rule based on the voting patterns in an election, such proclivities engender feelings of rejection, alienation and hatred.
It is therefore pertinent for us to get reasonable consensus on what these red lines really are and the factors that trigger their bursting and crossing. We should do away with primordial sentiments and stereotypes’ against a people. Once election is concluded and a leader emerges, such leader must be centri-petal in his/her action and utterances. He must be open and receptive to fresh ideas aimed at moving the country forward especially when the clamor for change in the scheme of things are profound and cut across most zones/regions in the country. Restructuring has become an idea whose time has come if Nigeria is to remain united, peaceful and progressive. We need not belabor this fact!
The Federal government should have the political will to galvanize the various groups pulling from opposing sides with a view to aggregating and harmonizing their views on restructuring, which currently is the most discussed topic today in Nigeria. Doing this will douse tension, create goodwill needed to midwife that rigorous process and enhance our match towards development & growth.

http://davidokenwa.com.ng

There has been a resurgence of the word ‘restructuring’ in our political lexicon and national discourse recently. Indeed the cacophony of voices and divergence opinions as regards the real meaning and import of the term for Nigeria had made it seemingly difficult to get unanimous view on the topic.

While some have seen it as reversion to regionalism and fiscal federalism, others see it as devolution of more powers to the federating states.
This treatise therefore seeks to highlight salient issues that will enable government make sense of it all and take immediate measures to give effect to the aspirations of majority of her citizens.

The word restructuring, according to Wikipedia, is a drastic or fundamental internal change that alters the relationships between different components or elements of an organization or system for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. The key word here is “making it more profitable or better organized for its present needs”.

To be sure, the idea of restructuring from the proponents view point, became imperative given the gross distortion of the federal arrangement under which the Nigerian independent constitution of 1960 was hinged upon, by some military opportunists’ whose incursion into politics fostered the aberration we practice today as federal system of government. Indeed, historical records had shown that from 1946 – 1955, western region enjoyed 100% derivation from revenue generated from resources in their areas. But the British colonial masters, for reasons best known to them opted for 50% and continued with this sharing formula till 1960 when Nigeria got her political independence. Gowon reduced the rate to 45% and later to 25% while Buhari further slashed it to 1.5%. It was during the time of IBB in 1985 that the rate was increased to 3% and later to the present 13%. And so, it must be noted that there are historical validation for the present clamor for restructuring by zones who believed they have not had a fair deal, given their contributions to the national purse.

It’s not my intention to bore you with the propriety or otherwise of the opposing views on this matter but I want us to look at it from a dispassionate perspective and ask pertinent questions; what do we stand to gain or lose from restructuring the country? In answering this question, we are going to be looking at it from political and economic perspectives.

Politically, the way and manner of state creation in Nigeria does not give consideration for equity and so states and local government areas were created based on the whims and caprices of state actors at the time which incidentally had a preponderance of people from the Northern part of the country. And so the North west had 7, North east had 6, North central had 7(Fct incl), South west had 6, South south had 6 and South east had 5. Same inequality goes for Local government areas in these zones. This is considered unfair and had led to agitations by zones who felt marginalized by this arrangement. In fact this is a major source of frustration for zones in the South who felt they are not getting commensurate return given that the bulk of the shareable federal revenue comes from their region.

Economically, some states are more viable in terms of revenue generation/inputs to Federation account that one would have expected the sharing formula to be structured in such a way as to recognize such contribution to facilitate the development/maintenance of these ‘cash cows’ and to spur other states to be creative in finding and developing multiple revenue streams, instead of the current practice which at best encourages laziness as some state governors wait for monthly federal allocation to run their government.

Again, there should be ‘soft’ restructuring in federal recruitments, political appointments and citing of federal institutions so as to give every zone a sense of belonging and to tackle the present feeling of alienation by some zones.

If these highlighted areas are addressed, it would have taking care of most of the divergent views bordering on devolution of powers and fiscal federalism as States would take up more responsibilities in keeping with the maxim that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’. With this, the central government will concern itself with more strategic issues like foreign policies, defense, immigration etc.

Finally the era of playing the ostrich by the federal government and hiding under the pretext that it has not yet understood what the agitators of restructuring meant, is gone. The clamor perhaps is going to be more intensive given the increasing awareness of the apparent lopsidedness in almost all ramifications of Nigeria’s Socio-economic & political spheres, and this has the potential to heat up the already tensed political environment.

It is therefore my considered view that the government should toe the path of honor and justice by reviewing and implementing relevant portions of the 2014 national confab report especially on this contentious issue as this will engender the much needed justice, fairness, national cohesion and peace.

http://davidokenwa.com.ng

It was on a Monday afternoon, the Sun in Kogi state was blazing hot but I had a mission to accomplish in Ajaokuta steel complex. I quickly performed the usual morning ablutions and boarded a taxi to ajaokuta, a journey of over 2 hours from my location in Kabba bunu local government area of the state.

NYSC scheme is a one year programme during which members explore every available option to get places of primary assignment with prospects of retention after the service year. Having been posted to a not too comfortable area, I decided to try my luck at the above steel production plant where over 100 ‘corpers’ have already been absorbed and opportunities to take in more corpers are very slim.

I got to the steel plant at about 1pm and promptly enquired for the location of human resource department. On getting into the office, I was directed to a staff who I later found out was the officer in charge of corpers engagement and placement. We got talking after I told him my mission to his office. He listened patiently and told me afterwards that they have exhausted the space for corpers and are no longer taking fresh batches. I pleaded for consideration but it appeared the management has already closed further discussion on the subject, so I thanked him for his time and left.

On my way home, I stopped at Lokoja enroute to Kabba and decided to check for books to keep myself busy with during the service year. One particular book struck me with the title ‘Tough time don’t last, tough people do’ by Robert Kiyosaki. I bought it and headed to our lodge in kabba.
Within few weeks, I have finished reading the book and was encouraged by the powerful contents which seek to motivate people to persevere in the face of daunting challenges bearing in mind that those hurdles will not stand the determination of anyone who is bent on surmounting them. With this knowledge and revelation, I resolved to go back to the steel plant next week despite the tone of finality of the liaison officer as regards my request to get placement there.

It was around 9am when I got to the office of the liaison officer at the plant. On seeing me, he was surprised and asked what could have brought me to his office again. I told him that I want to explore more options to get placement at the steel plant. Upon hearing this, he gave me this look of ‘who the hell do you think you are’ but later calmed down, gave me clues on how to actualize my plan and wished me good luck. I left his office and returned home to strategize on how to give effect to the clues he gave me which was to get across to any AGM and request for a letter demanding that I be sent to work at his/her unit. I do not know any AGM in the steel plant but was determined to ask questions to get their details. As fate will have it, I got the details of the AGM of Gas & thermal power plant unit, Engr. Uzochukwu, and promptly paid a visit to his office. The visit yielded no tangible result as I did not meet him on the day I visited as I was told he travelled out of town. I felt helpless and discouraged as time was running out but, I resolved to give this ambition my best shot, more so, I was desirous of putting my faith to task.
I repeated the visit after a week and was lucky to meet with the AGM. He welcomed me but told me there was no vacancy in his unit for corpers but I wouldn’t take a no for an answer, I begged him profusely, promising to put in my best in any assignment I may be given. After a while, he called his secretary and told her to draft a letter of placement for me, which he signed off and handed over to me. At this point, I was highly elated and heaved a huge sigh of relief that at last I have scaled through the hurdle of getting placement in the steel plant.

With this excitement, I rushed back to the liaison office and handed the letter over to the officer in charge. He was shocked to see me after over 2 weeks, according to him; management had finally closed the window for fresh corpers engagement. I pleaded with him to at least open and read the contents of the letter, he did but it appeared from his look that he was not happy; ‘who is ‘to whom it may concern’ he blurted!... how can the AGM address him in that manner.. He protested! I was confused and startled as I couldn’t make sense of what he was talking about. I collected the letter from him, went through the contents which was very professionally crafted. I however saw the bone of contention in the heading which the liaison officer wasn’t too pleased with. I pleaded with him to ignore the heading and concentrate on the contents as the AGM may not have known who to address the letter to specifically and this may have informed the usage of the heading ‘To whom it may concern’.

After much pleading, he dismissed me again and told me to go and see the NYSC zonal inspector in Lokoja for another letter to formalize my redeployment from Kabba-Bunu LGA to Ajaokuta steel plant… another big hurdle.

Getting the ZI to accede to this request was herculean as he first upbraided me for abandoning my original posting to gallivant about in the name of looking for placement in the steel plant. I felt bad but kept my eye on the ball as I have already resolved that nothing will discourage me from getting what I wanted as far as this desire to serve in the steel plant was concerned. He later, reluctantly obliged, I thanked him and left for the steel plant same day.

At this point, the liaison officer, who was seemingly enthused with my passion in pursuit of my desire in the steel plant, soft pedaled and started asking me questions bordering on my staying power, what kept me coming back despite all the hurdles and challenges I encountered. I simply told him how the book I earlier referenced above changed my perspective about challenges and that my faith in God also strengthened my resolve. He was so amazed that he started telling his colleagues about his encounters with me. He informed me that I was the last corper they considered as the others that came even before me was not persuasive and as determined as I was and that my attitude has impacted his life positively.

The bottom line is that I got a letter formally confirming me as ASCL corper. The liaison officer became my personal friend and our relationship continued long after the service year.

And so, who says that you can’t go back to that office where your application has been rejected earlier, that you can’t go into another line of business if the previous experience wasn’t what was expected, that you can’t survive the unprecedented attacks on your career despite glaring outstanding performances, that you can’t give yourself fresh chance with love despite previous sad experience. Indeed you can be whatever you wish to be if only you embrace perseverance, focus and determination. Always have at the back of your mind that tough times don’t last but tough people do. The great achievement ever recorded in human history did not come by sudden flight; it was a result of persistence, unwavering commitment and focus.

Resolve to be successful, make up your mind to hang in there one more time, be determined to wade through whatever obstacles that may come your way and you can be rest assured that the cosmological forces in the universe will orchestrate sequence of events that will work in your favor as a reward for being diligent and determined.

Read more interesting articles here: http://davidokenwa.com.ng

davidokenwa01@gmail.com

Thank you so much

Israeljones:
improve power supply??
when i cant even boast of 1hr light a day...
which kin rubbish be this one....
i spent my xmas and 1st of jan running fuel like who dem dey do and here someone is publicly and confidently spewing this trash...

...... e pain am well well.

agabusta:
Its not as easy as you are saying. Does Nigeria have the cash to just keep adding new sources to the grid. Moreso, we have not fully maximized existing power stations. Why jumping to build new stations when we are yet to fully maximize those on ground. It doesn't make much sense.

Thought Fashola said generating, transmitting and distributing electric power is not rocket science

georgementday:
Congrt bro,praying for mine

God will do it for you. Thanks

missKiffy:
Congrats, God will give you the grace to complete it

Amen, God bless you

hero01:
congrat, can u tell us the cost stage by stage. Becouse i want to start. thanks

Will try and put the schedules together and forward

speedyconnect3:
good house

Thanks

woodboi:
location, how much is a plot there and any issue with land grabbers getting to this stage. Thank you


More grace

Bought and shared 4 acres of land under our coy cooperative arrangement. Interested staff got half plot each. At the point of negotiating and paying for the land, we included all settlements pertaining to acquisition and building, so there were no issues at all with land grabbers.

Qconceptz:
Nice building sir, you can call us for your POP installation and wall screeding 07057580444 (whatsapp)

Have taking your gsm details, we go chat soon

Have spent =N=2,632,200 to bring the building to this level. chilling for now, work will commence in April 2017 by God's grace.

A total of 3,800 blocks and 140 bags of cement have been used so far. 2,450 9" blocks were used for the exteriors while 1,350 6" blocks were used in the interiors.

The ruling party rode to power on the strength of many promises, one of which was the Conditional cash transfer which aimed at giving the sum of =N=5,000 monthly to the country’s poorest and most vulnerable group. No doubt, the thought process that led to this initiative is commendable giving the abject poverty of some citizens which has seen the country being ranked among the poorest country in the world.

Indeed, the idea was in keeping with similar practices in some countries like India, Brazil and Pakistan where some form of social investment schemes have been put together to assist desperately poor citizens and enhance their living conditions.

As will be expected, the envisaged gains from this idea cannot be over emphasized; it will facilitate financial inclusion especially for the unbanked populace given that payments will be effected through the banks, it will bring some form of relief to recipients’, it will enable the compilation of social registers which could be deployed for other social intervention schemes, it is a way of getting out of recession as disbursed funds of =N=5 billion monthly for the envisaged 1 million poor Nigerians will trickle down and impact the local economy positively and in the long run, it has capacity to change the poverty story and dynamics of Nigeria given that about =N=60 billion will be spent on this laudable program annually.

Now, I want to state right away that it is not my intension here to pass judgement on the propriety or otherwise of this initiative at this time but to address some pertinent issues that may crystalize from its implementation and jeopardize its essence.

While announcing the commencement of the CCT scheme via a statement issued by Laolu Akande on the 3rd of January, 2017, the spokesman for the Vice president stated that the scheme started last week in 9 states and some beneficiaries have confirmed receiving these funds. For a start, he stated that there are verified records of the poorest individuals in these states that will benefit in the 1st batch of the exercise, disclosing that the States; Borno, Ogun, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Bauchi, Cross River, Niger & Oyo were picked because they have an existing social register which have been verified by world bank consultants using community-based targeting methods. Other states, he said, will come on board as soon as their registers are ready.

Some have expressed doubts as to the sustenance of this scheme given that President Muhammed Buhari-led Federal government had other SIPs like N-power volunteer corps, Homegrown school feeding program and government enterprise & empowerment program (GEEP) to also cater for having kick started their implementations in various forms and considering the paucity of funds occasioned by the significant fall in the price of our major revenue earner. But my take on this fear is that, there will always be a way where there is requisite political will to pull through a scheme as this. For instance, savings could be made from the recently proposed luxury tax which will go a long way in funding the project, drastic reduction in the cost of governance which will see the elimination of the position of all kinds of ‘special advisers & Personal assistants’ could equally enable some savings to fund the scheme.

My major worry is the criteria for identifying these poorest of the poor in our midst given that the compilation and even the subsequent verification of the social register will be done with politicians at various levels acting as some form of superintendents over these exercises. We all know what our politicians are capable of doing to satisfy primordial interests and their penchant to see schemes like this as opportunities’ for patronage to ‘boys’ for ‘job’ well done. I therefore suggest that non-governmental bodies, social advocacy groups and civil society organizations’ be enlisted to compile these very important registers.

Again we need to consider the time between when this promise was made and the period of implementation to be able to ascertain if the stipend’s value has not been eroded by some variables in the intervening period. Figures from the National bureau of statistics shows that the inflationary rate has increased from 9.6% to 14.54% within these said periods and so the value of the =N=5,000 stipend in real terms putting the resultant obvious gross erosion in value into consideration is definitely less than the initial sum.

I agree that it is better to have something at hand than nothing but I also believe that scenarios like this should be avoided to enable full benefit of social investment schemes like this. There is need for prospective aspirants to positions of authority to fully be aware of situation of things on ground and to calculate the cost implications and relevant structures/resources before making promises to prevent placing carts before the horse as being demonstrated by the undue delay in take-off of this laudable program.

Finally, there is need for second level authentication or independent confirmation mechanism to establish that these funds actually gets to the designated people; we can successfully run this scheme without having the plagues of ghost beneficiaries in attendance as we have seen on our payrolls.

http://davidokenwa.com.ng

Picked up interest and courage after going through threads on the progress made by fellow nairalanders in building their own cribs..... anyways started mine on the 27th July 2016 and here we are... to God be the Glory!

will chat with you soon

Nice post threads. I appreciate all for the wonderful contributions made.

ELECTRICITY METER LIBERALIZATION IN NIGERIA; the time is now…..
In November 2013, the federal government gave vent to the provisions of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) of 2005 by privatizing and handing over the unbundled PHCN successor units to private companies whose bids were seen and adjudged at that time to be competitive.

In doing this, there were conditions precedent to the said handing over of these hitherto government owned establishments which the new investors accepted and agreed to satisfy. One of such conditions was that the identified metering gap has to be bridged within the next 5 years effective from the handover date.

The metering condition became imperative given that it will guarantee a win-win situation for consumers and the private investors as it will ensure that investors’ gets value for services rendered while customers will pay for services enjoyed. It was a situation that was envisaged to revolutionize the emerging private-sector led industry and make it a model for other African country that may want to privatize their power utility companies.

But surprisingly, over 2 years since this landmark exercise was consummated, the expected mileage in metering is yet to crystalize as customers have remained largely unmetered while the various Discos (Distribution companies) have resorted to an incoherent and unsystematic estimated billing practice. The reasons often cited for this misnomer ranged from lack of funds to provide meters, lack of cost-reflective tariffs to refusal of customers to pay their bills.

Discerning minds who have taken time to study the reasons as adduced will discover a rather deliberate plan to continue with the illogical system of estimated billings which from all indications pays the Discos more; at least they are guaranteed of getting money even when situations on ground should have been to the contrary given the near total black-outs that consumers have been subjected to in the past few months. If there were meters, customers will only get bills for the energy consumed and not getting billed using weird bill estimation techniques and methodologies which lacked thoroughness and transparency?

Given the plethora of consumer complaints emanating from these estimated billings amidst worsening power supply situations, NERC (Nigerian electricity regulatory commission) came up with an alternative metering plan in 2014 called CAPMI (Credited advance payment for metering initiative) to enable customers who are willing to make payments to have prepaid meters installed in their premises to do so. So far this initiative have failed woefully owing to the observed unwillingness of the Discos for reasons already stated above, to embrace it wholeheartedly. It appears that deliberate measures were put in place to frustrate the program and make it unattractive as instances abound where customers who have fully complied with set prerequisites to have the much sought after PPM (prepaid meter) installed for them have been kept waiting beyond the statutory 45-day maximum installation period without any credible explanation. Meanwhile, the outrageous estimated bills kept piling up.

Several audits conducted by the regulatory bodies have been able to establish the abuse of this initiative by the Discos and had informed the statement credited to the Minister of Power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola while expressing his frustration with the apparent bungling of this good plan by the Discos. He said “You cannot take peoples’ money without providing the service for which they have paid. I was uncomfortable with that.” It is also curious that all the comprehensive meter roll out plans as compiled and circulated by the Discos have largely been observed in breach.

At this juncture, there is need for the government and the regulatory authority to go beyond mere rhetoric and wield the big stick given the service level agreements (SLAs) signed up by the new players in the industry. Indeed, given the inadequacies we have seen especially with the operations of these Discos, there is a further need to liberalize the metering aspect of the power market. This argument is hinged on the fact that the Discos have sabotaged and are still frustrating reasonable efforts and interventions made to get them to meter their customers owing to the derivable benefits from such abuse.

Again, it has been established that the local manufacturers of these power assets have the capacity to substantially assist in bridging the yawning metering gap but the Discos have inexplicably refused to patronize them. As I write this article, the multi-million naira investments by these local producers who have been attracted with the privatization of the sector and the revelations of huge metering gaps, are tethering on the brinks of collapse due to lack of patronage.

Therefore, the suggested liberalization will among other things enable individuals and corporate customers in need of meters to pay local manufacturers and get them installed in their premises while the discos only takes records and carry out quality assurance procedures as may be needed to vouch for the integrity of the equipment. I understand the fact that the responsibility by Law, to have meters provided and installed lies with the Discos but in the face of established inability and/or unwillingness to do this, interested customers who have been made to bear the brunt of this obvious infractions and who are willing to liaise with these local producers should be allowed to do so and get these meters installed.

This scenario will also serve as catalyst for the local meter industry currently forced into redundancy due to lack of patronage as well as serve as added zest to the government’s current drive to get Nigerians to patronize our indigenous manufacturers and boost employment opportunities in the country.

http://davidokenwa.com.ng

NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AND MISPLACED PRIORITIES.
Let me state right away that I am not a card carrying member of any political party in Nigeria. This is not to say that I am apolitical; my background as a political scientist predisposes me to making analysis and leaving my readers with the choice to make their judgments.

It has been agreed that the greatest challenge facing Nigeria and most African countries borders on leadership. There appears to be a mix-up in the way our political leaders articulate what should be of ‘national importance’ and what shouldn’t.

As a Nation, Nigeria is presently saddled and encumbered with hydra headed problems in every facets of our socio-economic and political lives. The masses have never had it this bad in terms of their welfare as most households barely survives on two square meals daily while hitherto budding entrepreneurs’ have had their businesses either crippled or in the process of packing up. Corporate bodies and organized private sectors; the acclaimed engine of economic growth and development have been rendered prostrate owing to the wrong choices of political leaders at all levels of government.

It seems we have jettisoned common sense in preference to manifestations which betray our inclinations to satisfy primordial sectional interests at the expense of the larger good. It appears the hard lessons from the worsening situation of things, which many agreed came as a result of accumulation of past misdeeds, are not taken seriously and are unfortunately being repeated over and over again.
Having taking time to try and understand how we found ourselves here; where we cannot even take care of our basic needs, I will like you to reason along with me as I bring some recent developments to the fore.

Religion and its practices right from time immemorial had always been a personal spiritual affair and this informs the expectations of the various religious doctrines on personal salvation and reconciliation with ones creator in order to enjoy eternal life hereafter or be reincarnated. It therefore beats ones imagination as to why a government with allegiance to secularity will be seen to be promoting religious activities of some groups at the expense of others. It is hard to believe that given the acute shortage of FX, pilgrimage exercises could still be subsidized at huge cost to the country! This is the height of priority misplacement as economic activities with proven value-addition potentials that should ordinarily get such concessions are denied, in preference to activities of individuals embarking on personal spiritual exercises with no measurable economic benefits to the nation. Even more baffling is the revelation that Non secular states like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kuwait, UAE, Malaysia, Algeria and Jordan does not embark on this obvious wastage of scarce resources in the name of subsidizing ‘holy’ pilgrimages. Has it occurred to the Nigerian government that given the current exchange rate of our currency to the dollar, the country will be losing millions of the scarce greenback in the subsidy of BTA to =N=197/1$ as against the prevailing interbank rate of over =N=398! Just for a non-economic exercise.

Again, it was reported recently that the federal government plans to import grass from Saudi Arabia for the Fulani herdsmen whose activities had left in its trail, in the legendary Fela’s voice, tears, sorrows and blood. The defense for this warped initiative is that it will help in stemming the tide of violent killings being perpetuated by the rampaging herdsmen. And people had questioned the rationality of that decision, in that cattle rearing and husbandry, like every other private enterprise should be catered for by the people involved and that the government involvement in provision of grazing fields and grass is a misnomer, rather herdsmen should be encouraged to provide relevant utilities needed to carry on with their business. The governments’ sole responsibility should be to ensure that in doing this, they do not constitute themselves into societal menace and threat to lives and properties of others.

At the National assembly level, it is regrettable that decorum and decency had since taken flight and collective interests forcibly thrown out of their hallowed chambers in deference to their selfish interests. At a time when serious efforts should be made in coming up with people oriented bills and laws that will better the lots of the masses, our ‘distinguished honorables’ are seen fighting themselves over immunity for principal officers, provision of bullet-proof SUVs, budget padding and other perquisites of office. We are yet to see the relevance of bi-cameral legislature here given their wanton display of high level of insensitivity to the plight of the masses who stood under inclement weather conditions to ‘vote’ for them.

Nigerian masses, especially sports enthusiasts have been left speechless with the apparent government apathy towards training of athletes for major sporting tournaments like the ongoing Rio Olympics in Brazil. It was really strange that the same government who were finding it hard to release funds on time for training and camping activities could be seen releasing funds for Sports officials to travel ‘on time’ for supposed ‘moral’ boosting assignments for the same athletes they refused to train and prepare adequately for the event…… the list goes on and on. It was even reported that the minister of sports, Solomon Dalung, who did not play any major role in the athletes’ preparations, flew into Brazil ahead of the country’s contingent. It’s a shame. Where do we go from here?

We need to have a national scale of preference in critical areas of our life, infantile as this may seem, there is need for us, given what we have seen so far, to begin to codify our national priorities. The best way to do this will be to liaise with credible civil society organizations and other professional bodies to articulate what should be of paramount importance and interests to government. This will help in forestalling derailment and clipping the winds of persons with tendencies which seems to portray us as people without priorities.

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