₦airaland Forum

There is no point in going to Nigeria when you do not have the personal convictions to go back to Nigeria.
The question to ask ourselves is that: will the decision be based on sentiments or a pragmatic appraisal of the directions we want to face in life?

If we are to base it all on just pure sentiments, then I can assure anyone that there would be a mass movement of a lot of diasporan Nigerians back home. But the issues at stake are essentially more than that.
There is an issue with capacity utilisation in Nigeria, and funny enough we are not the only nation with that problem.

I personally believe, that we should not purge ourselves at any time of our Nigerianess and that indeed we should endeavour to achieve something of ourselves as individuals in whichever calling or vocation. I also believe that the potentials of Nigerians in the diaspora should not be overlooked even by themselves. There have been cases of other nationalities around the world who have been the catalysts of their country's national rejuvenation by virtue of their sojourn in foreign lands ( and a particular case here is India).

I would not sentimentally just head back to Nigeria, if as it were I have something going on for me elsewhere,but I will endeavour to always to look for ways to contribute to activities back home be it economically or otherwise (e.g. I could decide to create my pension fund in Nigeria) in which case I would be a contributor to the economy (even though in absentia) and at the same time having the best of both worlds. I have been an advocate of investing in Nigeria for a while now, and not just because I am Nigerian, but practically we have one of the highest ROIs (return on investment) at the moment, and that should always be emphasised.

I also believe the Nigerian government should create  the right incentives especially for a lot of people (and here I mean Nigerians all around the world, and indeed for those at home) who want to invest or contribute economically to the nation. Incentives like tax- free accounts, better and more streamlined ways of conducting transactions, aggressive war on corruption, transparency in governance, seriousness in governmental policy formulation and in effect implementation, greater security for lives and property ( I was in Nigeria in 2003, and was robbed at gun point, so the problem remains real) etc.

But having said all these grammar, Home will continue to be home. But we should be very practical and maximise our opportunities in the global economy that we are in now, rather than just playing up sentiments.

People…,
I am picking up vibes from the Nigerian dailies that this “third term thingy" is having a still-birth after all.

Feelers from OBJ’s interview in Washington seem to suggest he has been made to realise the futility of such an adventure. If at all I think, OBJ’s “pride” is going to be in the way here.
OBJ is fortunately going to sacrifice his “third term” chums on the altar of what the international community feels about him and specifically the whole saga.
He has always nursed the ambition of being an international statesman, and I am sure the lucre of Aso rock will never come in the way of that.
Another statement credited to Ojo Maduekwe (perpetual apologists for all the rulers that have taken us all for a ride) was noted to have requested for PDP faithfuls to start showing their interests in contesting for the presidency.

Quoting the Vanguard of 31/03/06:

“Chief Maduekwe said the on-going campaign to amend the constitution for tenure extension had not in anyway foreclosed the presidential primaries of the party. He said although the National Chairman, Dr.  Ahmadu Ali, had been quoted on the desirability of tenure extension, the position of the National Chairman should be seen as personal rather than that of the party. “The Chairman’s statement is personal opinion. The National Working Committee of the party has not yet met to take decision on certain issues,” he said.”

Haha,  that is a turncoat attitude though as Maduekwe is actually one of the arch-proponents of the third term agenda. Nigerian politicians eh!!

Good news though.

I think, we are going to see the back of OBJ from Aso Rock after all.

Another thing to sincerely worry about though is the dearth of credible candidates for election to all the tiers of government in 2007.

And did I hear IBB drumming up his candidacy again? Worrying days ahead people….

The Lord shall deliver us…,

Seun,

Don't even try to believe OBJ is not right behind all of these. He can't be seperated from the decisions made at the National Assembly at the moment as that body is only there to ratify from comes from the "Villa".

OBJ will not stand up for Nigerians, because sincerely he has absolutely nothing to gain from that, or does he?

Depends on what you intend using both software for. For web presentations, Fireworks might be the way to go, but if if you are into photography or serious design stuff, then the way is Photoshop (it's got no serious rivals, only pretenders to the throne, though at a price).

As far as I am concerned, they are selfish bigots. Their only interests in the third ("thud"as someone suggested) term agenda was to ensure their continued grip on the treasuries of their respective enclaves and remain unprosecutable. Now that they know, that in fact OBJ has a superior game plan (albeit to also further increase his autocratic grip on the nation and silence finally any dissenting tendencies) and could in fact put them away for their deeds, they are shouting hoarse.
Now, who are these "gits" in support of, the people of Nigeria or their parochial interests?
We know who the real champions of the Nigerian people are, definitely not this lot. BARAOs.

Dear Hero,

It is good to read your arguments here even though i take exceptions to your use of the F word.
Now, my Yoruba people have a famous saying: "Ti ina ba ku, a fi eeru b'oju, ti ogede ba ku , a fi omo re ropo" which literally means when fire quenches, it leaves behind ashes to signify it once occupied the space; when the banana tree dies, it leaves a younger one sprouting from exactly the spot it once occupied.
I have no arguments about the above stated exploits of OBJ, but sincerely this is not about how good or bad the man is/ was. This is about constitutionality, precedents and the entrenchment of democracy vis-à-vis the obeisance of the rule of law in our society.

Now my argument here is that, as we know we are all immortal, how come OBJ does not have an array of followers who have been groomed by him and believe in his ideals and can readily be trusted to take over from him anytime?
I also think, as an arrow-head of our political rehabilitation pursuits as a nation, he has failed and in fact his political base is at best shaky. I can not imagine George Bush (Snr) not still having inputs into policies in the US even though; it is his heady son who is in charge now or any other former Republican president for that matter.
This is what we are saying, we are not building political establishments that will formulate ideologies and policies for sustainable democracy in Nigeria and what this anomalous amendment is creating is a further derailment of that otherwise noble objective.

And please make no mistakes; we all know the power of incumbency within Africa. If OBJ stands another election today, he (in perfect tandem with his PDP cohorts) will win it by crook or by any other means, and that is how serious and precarious the Nigerian scenario is. That is why everyone is having serious headaches concerning this superfluous amendment. The only succour the people have is that even, if we can not chase them away now, we at least can rely on the constitutional provisions of two-terms and hope that we will have our day at the next elections. But in our case, this is not even going to happen now (or is it?).

OBJ, in 1999, was brought in as a stop-gap in entrenching the democracy well fought for with the blood of Nigerians; as we can see, years after that, we are all were we started from…. Word to the mutha!!!!!

Oga Johnny,

There is some truth in your argument. But you know what? You have just demonstrated your grasp of the Nigerian capacity to do the right things with the wrong approach/ methods (cases in mind, the illegality of the impeachment of executive governors in Oyo and Bayelsa).
Yes, it is profoundly necessary that there should be continuity in governance. And that is exactly the point where our mutual agreement will end.
OBJ became the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not as Olusegun Obasanjo , the conqueror but as a candidate of a political party (the PDP) and that is the democratic norm. His duty also is to protect, defend and obey the constitution of the Republic which he swore to.

A political party is an organisation formed on the basis of their vision and articulated agenda for the political, social and economic development of a nation. These organisations are not essentially bounded together by the charismas or infallibilities of their leaders but the ideas and vision they share. If  therefore there must be continuity, that essentially should not be a problem, as a shift in leadership will not necessarily derail their political goals and vision. This is the reason in democracies, the people (and to a greater extent) vote for these organisations because of the causes they pursue and not the personalities of their leaders.

Now, 1) if there will be continuity, the PDP should aspire to guide such within the ambit of the prevailing constitutional provisions.
2) it is not the sitting government that will initiate such an amendment to the constitution as being proposed as the precedent here is that it becomes the direct beneficiary of such wide reaching reform. What essentially stops a future President from amending the constitution to suit his fantasies (which even might be more sinister) without any regard to the generality of Nigerians.
3) if as it has been observable within the Nigerian political space, if there is no opposing political organisation to challenge the "might" of the PDP as it were, then the PDP has lost a battle in organically breeding leadership which is one of the cardinal goals of political organisations.
It is a shame, that within such an organisation that parades itself as the “largest in sub-saharan Africa” there is no one apart from OBJ to propagate their “beliefs” and vie to rule Nigeria. This just is regrettably laughable and just shows the lopsidedness of the political equations in that organisation.
4) that something seems right, does not necessarily make it right. The arguments of the proponents of the third agenda are just too superfluous for any rational mind. It smirks of intellectual laziness, abject display of sycophancy and corruption in places high and low.
5) in any democracy, the amendment of a constitution and especially in cases as wide reaching as this, is usually subjected to a referendum. OBJ and his cronies have only done some jamborees in some obscure locations over the spate of about a month to reach their decisions. This is absurd to say the least.
6) OBJ is essentially robbing generations of the will and potentials to dream and even aspire to contribute to the growth and development of the fatherland, as it seems there is a ceiling for a lot of them in the political space. The youthfulness of people like Peter Odili, Donald Duke and many others is being wasted as a result of this. These people normally should not be expendable because some people believe in the eternal wisdom of Olusegun Obasanjo. This is a crime against Nigeria!

I do not know the political pedigrees of the leading lights of the PDP, but from the scenarios being currently played out, the future is very dim with their lot.

This current debacle also brings to the fore the lopsidedness in the current federal arrangement. The Presidency in my view is too powerful, and such a superfluously centripetal power does not augur well for a heterogeneous society such as ours. Everyone and every tribal nationality is fighting tooth and nail to keep a hold on that central power at all cost and unfortunately without any regard to the what it will cost the nation.

State Corruption!!

"PORT HARCOURT—SECURITY men, yesterday, physically prevented a lawyer from serving Deputy President of the Senate, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu, with a court order suspending the on-going retreat of the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on the review of the 1999 Constitution."

-- http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/headline/f109032006.html

Nigeria oh Nigeria!
This is now a state – sponsored charade of lawlessness. So brazenly hatched and executed not unexpectedly though.
The point is these people are hell bent on imposing OBJ back in 2007 without any recourse to what anyone cares about it all.
We are daily sowing the seeds of mega-confusion in Nigeria. A society where anything goes!!

9ijaman,

I remember you from lagosforum now, and i dare say this is the first time i am agreeing with you. I hope there will be more to agree on in the future.
On OBJ' s third term agenda, a) it is a travesty of constitutional democracy and it is right condemning it.
b) it smirks of intellectual laziness, moral laxity and a sheer display of sycophancy to ascribe the survival of a nation of about 120 million to the prowess of another mortal. It is a shame on the proponents of this.
c) this is another test for the "rule of law". A court has passed an order requiring the committee set up to put the "third term" process in shape to halt proceeding. From the feelers we have yet, they are bent on disobeying that court order. We shall see the kind of nation OBJ intends perpetuating himself on.
d) I can read between the lines when OBJ declared his readiness to die for the nation. He is the arch-proponent of this third term agenda and he must be told of the "fraud" that he is. Nigeria that he couldn't die for in his youth, how come he wants to die for it on his "last lap",   that is laughable.

Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987).

I will start with a big "thank you" to all those who have contributed to this thread.
It is heartening to note that after all is said and done, there is a political hero whose name has been etched in gold in the annals of Nigerian political history and moreso because their is hardly anyone in contemporary Nigerian politics that can easily be ascribed such political sagacity.

This is however not a time for praise- singing.

I have tried to understudy this icon, and I believe we all agree he could be called that.

Politics is about beliefs. The problem we have in Nigeria is more of the absence or the stunted growth of such core beliefs. Awo’s was of a vision of a Fabian social democracy and he never hid those.
Obafemi Awolowo believed that to achieve greatness as a people, there has to be first, economic emancipation, in education, in health, in the creation of endurable social infrastructure and in empowering the people.
To those who have thought that his claims to these were not true, and this question is frequently asked, we should also ask: what is the goal behind empowerment?
An empowered individual is one who has been equipped to utilise the resources in his environment to aspire for all the chances that life could afford. He was empowered to acquire wealth by virtue of his education, enlightenment and view of the world. He can not be held responsible for utilising those opportunities. And seriously this is the main thing lacking in the politics of reforms being propagated by the OBJ government. Its major thrust is privatisation and we should ask who is going to gain: the big investors (the global multis, their World Band associates and cronies) or the everyday ordinary Nigerians? That is for another day though.

Please let us go back to his recorded feats in Western Nigeria pre-1960 and we would be right to say he made bold attempts to prepare his people for the future. It is only sad that these legacies are eroding now.

That Awo and Zik were political opponents were easily more of a case of disagreements in the politics of the day. These disagreements happen everyday in democracies.

He obviously had his shortcomings and anyone is entitled to either hold him or not on those accounts.
I can not apologise for him, neither does anyone, but to our Igbo brothers, there was a war, and for those who know…. All is never fair in war. Whatever decisions were made during the war could not be eternally ascribed to him alone. There were numerous parties and interests during that war and history will judge all of them when the time of reckoning surely comes.
That war was a big mistake on the parts of its proponents, propagators and its executors. It has not even brought peace almost forty years after the end of it (another is subtly brewing in the Niger Delta).