₦airaland Forum

DMerciful:
Thanks for you kind words!
You know when you point our failures of this election and administration, what you get is comparative tragedies! Someone will tell you how PDP did same thing in 1999 as though we are not meant to improve over time.
I honestly thing probably it's a black think because if not the 20% whites of South Africa maybe they will be like other black African countries! Public good is strange to us and it's a shame!

The last paragraph I also think about it too. I many times think there must be something inherently wrong with large percentage of our race.

Nigeria is a fraud. The 1999 constitution is a fraud. The amalgamation of the North and South is the greatest evil against both sides. Sometimes I imagine how far the south would have gone in development if for this parasitic union.

Those clamouring for separation, it will never happen, no western power will support it. Nigeria can very well be 4 countries and each will take their destiny in their hands but no. A resource rich under developed Nigeria is in the best interest of western powers.

ogbonti:
You never see anything, BUHARI must go! We voted for him Iin 2015 because we thought he repented and believed he has changed, but leopards like our fathers rightly say rarely change their spots, Buhari will not rule Nigeria for 4 years more. This impunity of Buhari, will not stand, Buhari is waging war against the Nigerian people and he must be stopped. HE IS A FRAUD AND HE MUST BE TOPPLED!!!!!

thinking he changed? Please accept the reality on ground. You guys brought him in 2015 so please enjoy the next 4 years.

ogbonti:
Military coup loading....

If Buhari could overthrow Shagari of the defunct NPN because it was believed he rigged out Awolowo of UPN and Azikiwe of NPP, for crying out loud, is that not exactly what the same Buhari of APC has done 35 years later?

Tell me, Is Rotimi Amaechi not the transformation and transmutation of Umaru Dikko? Both of them incidentally served, and serving as Ministers for Transport.

Is Oshiomole, the National chairman of APC more ethical, or less bombastic than Adisa Akinloye, the National Chairman of NPN? Of course no.

The kind of corruption that NPN carried out with the likes of Tayo Akpata, Senator Uba Ahmed, Umaru Dikko, Joseph Wayas, etc between 1979 to 1983 is kindergarten corruption compared to the impunity that the APC cabal has unleashed on Nigeria from 2015 to 2019

Did Shagari practice nepotism like Buhari? No, not at all.

Buhari must go, and karma is real !!!!

Buhari, will be toppled, he should be served exaxctly cold what he served Shehu Shagari on December 31st 1983, I so much believe.

Buhari is here till 2023. And yes most Nigerian youths have no idea about history.

Look at young Nigerians . sad.

hucienda:
"We will vote out Jonathan and if Buhari doesn't perform, we will vote him out!" yen yen yen.

Was laughing then when heard these puerile talk from the politically naïve back in 2015.

You tink say Buhari wey be soldier and Dr Jonathan wey be democrat na d same tin?

lol ... You know nothing, Jon Snow.

2019 don clear una eye.

Congratulations in advance to the dictator -
and as for Akpabio, all join, na your dictator dey in power. Show the 2015 naïve ones how it's done.

I'm telling you. Eyes don clear now.

mcdokwe:
Na wa o, what a sensational headline...
O!

Meanwhile I must not fail to express my great disappointment with the youths of this supposedly great country, the level of hatred being shown towards each other for Politicians who don't care to know you exist is heartbreaking.
Don't you see the level of political development in other nations and wish to be like them? How do you hold your leaders accountable if you're going to kill yourselves due to the peanuts they throw at you only during elections?
When are we going to be wise?
I fear for una

Really a hopeless country.

The 2 main contenders are from the North but it beats me how the violence is happening in the south. I don't get it.

princeade86:
i swear, am tired of dis country. sane people are few, while 80% are insane. this country cant be great. it is finished. am weeping now for masses.

Well said. May lugard never know peace whereever he is.

NaijaRoyalty:
Buhari was clueless on where to put the presidential, House of reps and assembly papers


But as usual , His aides cme to the rescue .

The man brain dey malfunction so badly .

I thought I was the only one who noticed it too. Smh for this country.

In as much as I don't PMB to win, with those statistics he has won already. Those numbers from the north dwarfs those in the south. Nigeria Nigeria. Whereever Lugard is may he never find peace.

Smh. This country Nigeria was a big big mistake. The division is so much along ethnic and religious lines. As long as we keep voting along those lines we will never progress. May lugard be forever troubled where ever he is. Terrible mistake of a country.

Indeed just as suggested [url]https://www.nairaland.com/4999587/disagree-chinua-achebe-trouble-nigeria [/url] Nigeria's problem is the people.

shidof:
You no dey tire of being a serial loser, by next week when nothing happened as you presumed. You will still come back with another lie and rubbish defense. I believe u're more than a serial loser, U're more of a congenital loser

what kind of thinking this? If its true that Umar has a bribery case on him shouldn't that concern you about his ability to deliver fair judgement?

PaChukwudi44:
The case is now beyond that riff-raff.It is now in the hands of the supreme court and the NJC

Nigerian youths I pity their children's future. Instead of him to discuss the subject he is making this like it's you vs Umar. Even saying Umar will find a way around this one. Who did this to us?

John343:
the problem of Africa, Nigeria in particular is mainly the problem of leadership...nigeria have bad and wicked leaders who only major concerned is about themselve,they are political thieve who steal our future,make bad policies,sell our common wealth to enrich themselve..do u think any sane person will sell his or her vote for 500 or more..no,is just because of poverty and suffering cause by selfish politicians

They can put an end to it by saying no to the selfish politician when he comes with 500 so he can retain power.

I also know many people will not read this. They will say it is too long a write up or because he is not rooting for PDP or APC.

Please how do we get this message on air in the 3 major languages. Let's try and educate our people.

OpinionCentreNG:
Chinua Achebe remains one of the best writers the world can boast of. All his life, he showed undying passion for the development of Nigeria and Africa. In his novels, he wrote against the ills that have befallen Nigeria. He saw well. He saw the decay well. He saw the nonsense well. Achebe saw the gross selfishness well. And from a patriotic standpoint, on 5th September, 2000, he published The Trouble with Nigeria. In the book, in the first page, first paragraph, first line, Achebe said: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character.” This is not correct. I disagree with Achebe in this one.

The trouble with Nigeria is not politicians or bad leadership; it is the people of Nigeria, the masses. There are lots of things wrong with the present Nigerian character. Achebe is right that we have been having politicians who are after themselves and political party, not the nation. But this is same with the masses, the Nigerian people. Since democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people, if anything goes wrong in a democratic setting as a result of unpatriotic acts, the people are responsible for it.

Nigeria is in bad shape today because she lacks patriotic citizens. It is unfortunate that when the word patriotism is mentioned, people point to politicians who are boldly doing business with Nigeria’s resources because the masses are oblivious of the politicians’ tendencies (so I believe). When patriotism is mentioned, we should point to ourselves and reminisce how we have shown our love for Nigeria and willingness to defend her. Who loves Nigeria and has proven it? Who?

We blame politicians for votes buying. Who are selling votes to them? The masses! The politicians are the people in need of the commodity (votes) in bulk; the people are the producers of the votes and the so called influential persons are the suppliers of both the money and votes. The influential persons are the godfathers. They tell the masses whom to vote and then dole them some change or buy them some bags of rice and salt. This is how politicians buy their way into the national treasury. The politicians with the biggest amount of money to throw around, become more popular and even the elites join their train once settled or consulted. This has become a sort of the only acceptable beat in the Nigerian political arena. Only minority are interested in the candidature of the aspirants and their likelihood to effectively and efficiently drive Nigeria off the storms threatening her. Well-meaning people who have no money to throw around hardly get up to two per cent of the electorates’ supports and votes.

Who do we blame in this kind of situation? The politicians? That would be so very unfair! Injustice! How can we blame a man for paying for and obtaining a product the producer has placed for sale? How can we have our cake and eat it? The votes suppliers protect their heavy-paying customers. Which supplier of a commodity would joke with customers who buy goods in bulk and pay in advance?

After the 2011 elections in Imo State, I eavesdropped on two young men discussing how an angry politician who had lost in polling units in Ngor Okpala, Imo State, sent some thugs and they went for the head of a chief in Ngor Okpala. The chief was given huge money to buy good votes but he failed supplying the badly needed commodity. I overheard one of the men in the discussion say to the other that the chief really shared the money, but the people took the money and voted against the candidate who had given the money. The thugs who visited the village in a very flashy car were suspected and queried by some unarmed youths, they brought out their AK47s and began shooting sporadically. They sacked the villagers, hacked down three people including a twelve-year-old boy.

The one of 2007 is still fresh in my memory. It was the day I went to cast my first vote. I went to the polling unit and saw some men with huge cash at the polling unit sharing N500 to anyone who agreed to vote for their party men. Another group came with N700 and the electorates changed direction. I saw young and old people willing to cast their votes for who was going to pay more money. Any political office aspirant who did not consult the votes suppliers risks losing woefully because the masses vote based on what they have been told by the votes suppliers, not what they can see about the aspirants. No, not based on facts and records. No! Not based on credibility and competence!

Many electorates cast their votes for the candidates they have emotions for or whom they believe hail from their tribe. Many others vote the politicians who make more promises to them. So the troubles continue. Politicians see it as a game. And they play along. A political group goes to the West and promises them presidency next four years (because the votes are readily available for purchase, they can buy it from the electorates with eyes closed) and the West welcome the idea. Another group goes to the South and promises them presidency the next election year and the South rally round the group. This happens in the North and East. Each zone is asking, “What is in it for me?” Go to the state level, and the promises keep raining from the politicians. Break it down to the electorates and they ask you same question, “What is in it for me?” The votes suppliers give them some change and they sell their votes.

This is how the masses have kept Nigeria down for decades. The masses introduced the game the politicians are playing. This is how politics in Nigeria has become a game. This is how the masses play games with their lives, economy and well-being. This is how the masses are the trouble with Nigeria! And when a team is desperate to win a game, foul plays become the order of the day, deadly tackles, false alarms and diving into the goal area at the slightest tackle—just to get some pity and win the game. Everything is game. Game? Game!

Shaping Nigeria is in the hands of the people, not politicians. Getting great leaders run the affairs of the nation is in the hands of the people and it can only be possible when everyone puts Nigeria first, when everyone sees Nigeria as their own country, when everyone understands that when troubles come, the money in their hands cannot save them, when everyone understands that when war happens, nobody goes to the market to trade, when people understand that when a neighbour is killed, they could be next to be killed.

I remember a story my grandmother told me many years ago. She said it happened in Amala, Ngor Okpala LGA, Imo State. She said a woman and her son were frying garri under a tree by the entrance of their compound. It was on an Ekeukwu Amala Market Day and many people had gone to the market. The woman and her son heard a woman crying for help. It was a neighbour of theirs. This neighbour of theirs had a son in his twenties who had some mental disturbance. His case got worse that day and he picked a machete and began to cut his mother. The woman’s son raised his voice to shout, but the mother told him to keep quiet and continue frying the garri. It was learnt later that she was not in good terms with the woman crying for help. After a minute, the woman’s voice was no longer heard. Her son had butchered her to death and went back into the house. About three minutes later, the son of the woman screamed and ran outside crying for help. The mad man had caught up with the mother and began to butcher her with the same cutlass he had used on his mother. The youths rapidly responded to the cry and overpowered the mad man. But before they arrived, the woman was already in parts. She died.

Those within the territories of Nigeria, who keep mute at ills, injustice and unfair treats meted out to anyone in Nigeria, is wittingly or unwittingly establishing grounds for such to happen to them. The power of the people lies in their one voice and one purpose. Patriotism is when the interest of the nation, the state, comes before personal interests.

Nigeria is like a company owned by all Nigerians and the political office holders are the managers. If the owners of the company employ managers who cannot run the company well and things go wrong, the employers should be blamed, not the managers. The time of sentiments and risky loyalties should be over. If anyone has the interest of Nigeria at heart, that person should sit down, examine all the candidates for the political offices, check their pedigree and history and then cast their votes based on their convictions. Even if someone’s vote was the only vote that a candidate got, there is no issue with that—so long as it was cast based on personal convictions, not sentiments or some personal aggrandizements. That is patriotism.

Only patriotic Nigerians should be voted into office. Vying for a political office just for the pleasure that comes with the office is not patriotism, it is madness birthed by wickedness against the nation and it is only the electorates that can stop this madness and kill the wickedness. Patriotism is when your father comes out for a political office and another candidate whom you believe is more knowledgeable in that area, than your father is, comes for that office, you go to the poll, cast your vote for the other candidate—in the interest of Nigeria, your dear country. Patriotism is speaking up when a political office holder underperforms or does things unlawfully. Unpatriotism is defending a political office holder who has obviously underperformed because you are a beneficiary of the politician’s government. If any individual ever campaigns and/or votes for a politician he/she cannot allow to manage his/her personal business for him/her, that individual is a hypocrite, an unpatriotic Nigerian.

This is no longer the time to leave Nigeria for the alleged owners. This is no longer the time to take up arms, kill and get killed. This is no longer the time to pretend you have no role to play. This is no longer the time to watch like some audience in a live concert, all the drama that have been rolling out from the politicians. Democracy is not a show of the politicians, by the politicians and for the politicians. All the countries we desire to go and live in were made better than ours by the citizens of that country. They made use of their heads and put national interest first—because that determines what happens to everyone within the geographical space. This is no longer the time to sell your conscience to your party, get some appointment or cash and hide everyday due to insecurity or have friends of yours and loved ones killed. This is no longer the time to listen to big big talks. This is the time to list all the candidates and begin to evaluate them yourself. Score them and vote the one that has the highest score. When the electorates refuse to be bought over, politicians would focus on developing themselves and the nation, not consulting godfathers.

God bless Nigeria!


Written by
*Timothy Onyebuchi* (onyebuchitim@gmail.com)

First published on: https://criticalarena.com/2019/01/30/the-trouble-with-nigeria/

Please can someone translate this to Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo? and like how much will it cost to have this message on air.

anonymous96:
Sometimes I think something is wrong with Africans.. Imagine South Africa with over 80% of its population black, apartheid policy existed for 46years!!.It took d 80% 46years to fight the 20%. When it is the Minority that are meant to be oppressed .

I have also been thinking about the black man. Something must be genetically wrong with majority of us.

aishapmbtoto:
You are not serious. Our problem is lack of good leadership.

Please read his writeup very well. Who elects the leaders? Who sells their votes? Even when thugs are used are the thugs ghost? No! They are able bodied young men who cannot see beyond their nose. I wish the colonial masters could return.

I'm tired of being angry about our politicians. Our problem is our fellow youths who defend them foolishly for what ever reason I can't understand. In a sane country I don't see how people will vote for an undemocratic illiterate as Buhari or a thief like Atiku.

adrian3000:


I actually don't blame him but the populace that always vote for the party instead of the person bearing the party's flag

With that said, i'll say Nigerian youths are completely dead, will be buried February 16

I wish I could like this 100 times. Sadly most youths don't think about the Nigeria they and their children will have.

Jesusloveyou:
how can Tanko compile the list in less than 2hrs,
sense will not kill the jobless AGGRESSIVE lazy idiotic pigs of biafra TERRORIST.

Please make your argument without bringing tribal bigotry into this. Pains of bad leadership are felt by all Nigeians irrespective of tribe.

95k 6 months after NYSC. That was in March of 2015 got a better deal in September of same year and left.

obailala:
A lot of people are just jobless agents of darkness and discord. They would soon force out beef between 2 succesful women when there's really none. Whenhas it become law that Omotola must congratulate Genevieve?

Awesome, I thought I was the only one who observed this too. Most people can't comprehend and just start spreading trash. Same problem our politics has too. Sad.

gare:
I am a believer, and what you see in Nigeria now is a serious relationship affliction that I have petitioned God, which will not rise again.

And there's nothing wrong about that

Its not by petitioning God. What action(s) are you taking/Will take to confront this issue. Our suffering is man made and will be fixed by us. WE DO NOT NEED ANY GOD THINGY HERE.

gare:
Be it Sister, Niece, aunt or whatever, I know there is Link between the PMB and Amina Zakari, so if she is not stepping down and everyday people are giving press statement to justify her appointment, God is Greater than them all, they will all be disgraced.

One of the reasons we will remain in this mess as a country. Always resorting to God will this and that.

oluwaahmed:
Why is it that southerners like to be used in a game of pawn by northern/fulani oligarchs? When muric talks their spokesman is Yoruba, buhari misbehaves Yoruba are used again APC fumbles Joe igbokwe is used to wipe the shiit of their anus. Why, with all our education do we chose to remain slaves

Let me analyze some of femi adeshitna points.
Between February and May 2000, about 5,000 people were killed during riots over Sharia law in different parts of the North. No national mourning. This deaths was caused by buhari, remember his sharia statement in year 2000?

Femi also cleverly omitted 2011 deaths which was also instigated by him for failing the Presidential election under CPC.
This April in sagbama bayelsa state, odi repeated itself when soldiers entered a village and utterly destroyed it bcoz the soldiers killed by "bad boys" were from that community.
Apc is a barbaric murderous party. Just wait till 2019 then you all will finally understand Apc

Exactly I was looking for reference to 2011.

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Desyner:
?

They don't know. IT guys mostly good devs are balling.