This is so me. I still don't understand why till date.

Sucre6:


I love people especially family and friends but I don't know why, but each time a have a visitor, be it my girlfriend, family or friends, when they leave I feel so much relieved and unexplained inner joy, I don't know why

Johnzena42@gmail.com

The old saying that what a man can do, a woman can do it better has never been the case in the discourse of Nigerian politics as over the years, women have constantly been consigned to the back, especially on key leadership issues, such as policy formulation, decision-making, and implementation.

The discreditable quote credited to President Buhari who stated clearly that women belong in the kitchen, a statement that has continued to be a reference point in the discourse of women participation in politics. The reason for his remarks is not far-fetched as most political appointment is done as reward for loyalty, sustenance of existing patron clientelism rather than capacity of the individuals to perform effectively and efficiently.

Any nation that fails to extricate itself from such low level practices would remain in the doldrums.

Educating the girl child is not enough, failure to employ women and allow them to maximise their potential is a necessary recipe for a nation to fall behind in the global world order. The world cannot be governed by men only as women make up half of the population so its only logical to have them in leadership positions where decisions are made.

When there are more women in decision making positions, it means we are likely to have laws and policies that benefit women, children and families because women understand the issues families and children face. Women's political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy. As it facilitates womens direct engagement in public decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to women. When more women hold top positions in politics, everyone benefits.

Recently, members of the national assembly voted to deny women 35 percent affirmative action in that would have assured them of key participation in party administration and leadership as well as specific seats for women in the National Assembly.

68 bille were brought to the national assembly and 5 of such bills were gender related and they were all rejected. This singular action does not tell of a nation seeking to deepen her democracy.

Scholars have opined that one of the reasons for less inclusion of women in governance could be as a result of the exclusion of women from political governance and leadership during the colonial rule which introduced the British single sex model of administration as practiced in other British colonies.

The crux of the colonial gender ideology was based on the principle that women were not to function in public domains as men but to be domesticated. The trickle-down effect has been the entrenchment of sexism which has become a major bane in Nigerian politics. Women have been politically considered endangered species in matters that pertains to governance.

Political participation and representation should be viewed as a right and not a favour. Women are exceeding expectations in various spheres of human endeavours in Nigeria and in the world at large. Overwhelming evidence has proven that politics remains primarily a male dominated affair. A closer look at political matrix of many countries will show that political participation is dominated by men with only a few women trudging along.

Men must realise that women are no lower than them. This trend is strictly upheld in Rwanda as it is the country with the highest representation of women in politics, education and the workplace in Africa. Rwanda has, for over a decade, been topping the global list of countries with the most female political parliamentarians. 64% of the Rwandan Parliament are females and it has been ranked the highest country in the world - with the most women in parliament as of January 2017. Thats mainly due to the countrys legally set quotas, with the Constitution stipulating that at least 30% of Deputies in the Lower House of Parliament must be women.

This is in sharp contrast with what is obtainable in Nigeria and across most of African countries and the world, men tend to outnumber women in politics and this trend portrays the masculine and patrilineal nature of politics. The low level of political involvement of women is becoming alarming and disturbing.

In Nigeria, women have been practically absent in politics. This is not because of their lack of interest or will but because of their marginalization which is more pronounced in the democratization process. Besides competitive elective positions, women have also been reduced to sideline actors in appointive posts at all levels of governance.

The ministerial nominees released by president Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 revealed that only 7 women made the list of would be ministers as against 36 men. This was no different from the 6 women out of 42 nominees appointed by President Buhari in 2015.

The decline in the number of women appointed in the post-election period is in contrast with what is obtainable during the pre-election period. As women often seem to dominate campaign rallies adorned in their beautiful regalia and they are active in terms of dancing, shouting party slogans and cheering the electoral candidates, party leaders who are invariably men to victory.

Nonetheless, despite the active participation of women in the electoral processes, they are never beneficiaries as they are laid off till the next election cycle by their male counterparts.
Nigeria is a Federal Republic composed of 36 states, with a population figure put at 193,392,517 (98,630,184, 51% males and; 94,762,333, 49% females) as at April 2018 by the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The attainment of gender equality and the full participation of women in decision making, remain the key indicators of democracy. The involvement of women in all aspects of political life produces a more equitable society and delivers a stronger and more representative democracy.

The affirmative action of 35% representation of women in political and non-elective positions in Nigeria has not been observed to the latter, statistics shows that the number of women in the legislative houses and other leadership positions remains at a meager percentage. Since 1999, it is evident that women have not attained 10% representation in public offices as the figures always hovers around 6-7% and the positions most times are not top notch as expected.

From 1999 till date, no woman has been vice president of Nigeria, Governor, Senate president or deputy, need i mention the highly revered position of the president as that remains a mirage. In 2011, only one woman contested for the post of the president in Nigeria under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party and she did not survive the primary election. As she got only one vote despite the large number of women that attended the primary election but refused to vote for her even on sympathy bases.

Women are continually considered as minors and second fiddle beings to men. While some scholars may argue that no one is barred from political participation and that politics in Nigeria is an even field for all who care to join regardless of gender and social status, I beg to disagree citing the structural basis for participation and involvement in place in Nigeria which makes it too difficult for women to show up and be part of the governance process. This is especially so when it comes to holding elected public offices as the exorbitant price for picking up nomination forms from their party is enough to send the women to the sidelines, not to forget the huge costs of putting up campaign rallies. It has to be however noted that holding public offices should not be considered to be the zenith of political participation as other forms of political activity exist which also shape domestic political climate and the women should take center stage.

The government of the day must take a cue from Rwanda by replicating her success strides and do more to include more women in the governance process. The women also, should not be content with playing second fiddle to their male counterparts; the status quo will stay the same if the women continue to take a relaxed stance.

Happy International Women's Day!

Uniben

dedons:
Hall-4 law basement

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thatyorubaboy:
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My intelligence.

What's your niche??

In the words of John Stuart Mills “genuine representative democracy involves the whole people all equally represented”. This is against the general misconception that democracy is the government of the whole people by a mere majority of the people exclusively represented. In a true democracy both the majority and minority groups in the society should have a voice in government.
This qualifies a government as a true upholder of equality. The central theme of governance is to serve the people, regardless of party, ethnic and religious inclinations. At the end of the day, the citizens are all taxpayers, so they must have equal opportunities. This forms part of the Nigerian dream that we hope becomes a reality.

For the average American, the American dream is not about having stuffs, it's about having opportunities. James Truslow in 1931 puts it that “The American dream is the dream of a land in which life should be better, richer and fuller for every man with opportunities for each according to his ability or achievement”. Citizens should be able to graduate from college with minimal debts, secure a job that has career benefits, be able to afford health care costs while saving for retirement, paying down loans and still live a comfortable life. The American dream is a set of ideals (democracy, right, liberty, opportunity and equality). Opportunity for prosperity and success, upward social mobility for family and children. “All men are created with right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”.

On the flip side, one is forced to ask; that as citizens of this great country Nigeria, what are our ideals? What do we take to heart or imbibe as the Nigerian dream? Do we have any? I’m not talking about mere electioneering promises on campaign grounds, most of whom never materialize or castles that have been built in the air for years, developmental plans that do not see the light of the day or conduit pipes for siphoning funds in form of empowerment programs or poverty alleviation schemes from TAN, Sure-P, You-Win, School feeding program, Trader-Moni, Conditional Cash Transfers and other handful of schemes. What can we tell a newborn child as the Nigerian dream when the leaders get worse by the day, corruption soars unabated, just when you feel you have seen it all; another case takes it top-notch.
Students cannot have the best of education, our educational budget has hit an all-time low, even when students scale through the dreaded monster, jobs are not readily available. Young graduates have been urged to think outside the box, even when they do, the policies of government are contrary to the demands of the unemployed population. They do not stand a chance of getting into power either, as the gerontocrats who are supposedly full of wisdom are still holding on to power. Yet the youths are leaders of tomorrow that never comes.

The sole priority of government is to create a better life for the citizens but 60 years after uhuru (freedom) are we better off as a country or worse off? Your response is as good as mine. When we think of a nation as blessed as Nigeria, upward mobility of citizens and intergenerational transfer of wealth should be the end result but the reverse has been the case; downward mobility, inflation rate, intergenerational transfer of poverty, unemployment, insecurity (terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cult clashes), religious and inter-tribal clashes continues with no end in sight.

This is what we get for being Nigerians. Honesty has long been relegated to the background, lies upon lies, scams upon scams are tarnishing the image of the nation globally. The NDDC probe and all other probes that have found their way to the senate or House of Representatives.
Not to forget the high salary earnings of lawmakers but the people get starvation wages that cannot assuage the rising food prices. This makes us live each day as it comes, one can't be futuristic as it is shrouded in uncertainties. Living in Nigeria guarantees one thousand and one ways to die; death trap as roads, poor health care facilities, insecurity, police harassment, etc. The burning question remains, how did we get here? I’ll give you a clue: it was through conscious and willful inimical policies over the years. Even when policies are right, the implementation and subsequent evaluation are poorly carried out or never done but as Nigerians, we tend to write off the past often too quickly as evident in the crop of leaders who are currently in office.

A true Nigerian dream cannot emanate from leaders who think of everything but the people. We are quick to act as big brother, chastising sister nations, but we haven’t put our own house in order. We are quick to see the speck in the system of others, but we have failed to remove the log in our own polity. Sheer hypocrisy at its peak. A nation where majority of citizens live below a dollar a day which has made them passively docile, ready to accept tyranny just to have a shot at the good life. True, we are all created equal with the right to the pursuit of happiness, when all strength is expended to survive on a daily basis, happiness will remain a mirage and will constantly elude the citizens.

A convincing criterion of a good government depends on ‘the quality of life of citizens composing the country/state over which governmental powers are exercised. Virtue and excellence must be upheld by citizens and leaders alike but where this is replaced with prejudice, ignorance, ineptitude, rentier system, corruption such a system will not stand the test of time.

So what should the Nigerian dream be? In my personal opinion, the Nigerian dream should be that of ” a nation that respect and upholds the social, civil, religious, ethnic, associational liberty of the people, a nation with a workable developmental plan, people oriented policies and programs. With leaders who are called to serve and not to be served, a nation that uphold and rewards truth and merit with a diversified and flourishing economy. A secured nation with equal opportunity for citizens to reach their goals. A nation that truly promotes growth, human capacity development, proportional representation of all groups (majority and minority). Standard health care system with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructures, well funded educational institutions. Job opportunities and industrialization drive, freedom, liberty and adherence to constitution and rule of law”.

Conclusively, anything or acts that spells ill for Nigeria should be jettisoned. This is achievable; America did it or are still doing it. Why not Nigeria? This is not utopian or a form of El Dorado. We can get it done. Let us join hands together to create a Nigeria where it gets better from here. God bless our country.

One week after the Edo 2020 governorship election was conducted and results announced, the process has continued to raise dusts and draw diverse comments from different sections of the society. The election was expected to be a fierce battle by political analysts and for the prophets of doom; wanton violence was predicted. But the process turned out not to be case.

Although they were pockets of violent incidences but this cannot be compared to the wide scale level of violence that was earlier envisaged.
The election delivered a blend of bitter sweet experience in its trail as prior to the election, tensions were flaring with threats of violence and chaos flying around doused with accusations and counter accusations of plots to the rig the election sold to the electorates during the run up to the election. But the relative peace and serenity witnessed during and after the election speaks volume about our level of democratic advancement, it is no longer business as usual. The people are getting more conscious politically as the day goes by.

It is a truism that the best duty of a man is to think for himself and Edo people have done that in great measure. The political actors may have sought to use the divide and rule strategy which seems like a sound motto but the unite and lead mantra proved to be an even better one. This shows that as a people we have the capacity to advance and organize ourselves in the best way possible, we do not need to be schooled on the need for peace or on what to think; as it has been the norm over the years. Greed and selfishness have both formed a formidable alliance to give our democratic practice an unenviable image in the global stage.

Leadership should be taken as a matter of sacred trust, but politicians/technocrats often downplay the power of the electorates by focusing only on emotions and applauses of citizens using their fancy speeches and bags of tricks and promises during campaigns. This will no longer be the case as the political class must imbibe maturity, grace, decorum, self restraint in the pursuit of power. It is a common place knowledge that politicians engage in politics of calumny, bickering, name-calling, bitterness, attacks as well as the use of callous vilification and unprintable utterances both in the print and electronic media just so they get a soft landing at the corridor of power.

Consequently, political actors must remember that politics is a game of interest which is subject to the whims and caprices of human lust for power and its attendant material benefits. So one has to be watchful of utterances made as once said; it cannot be retrieved. This is as a result of the constant switching of nests (political parties) by politicians who in the long run are haunted by their previous utterances and condemnations as played out during the run up to the election. Politicians forgive, but never forget.

Also, political parties should desist from beating drums of war as it shows a clear lack of ideology and policy framework. If a party stands for nothing but reelection, it indeed stands for nothing. The way and manner political parties behave as though they are at daggers drawn but yet are quick to graciously exchange candidates as if they are articles or commodities in the market. Political actors could be likened to footballers switching teams, with the only major difference being that the political transfer window is always open and the motive for transfer is often times self seeking. This should not always be the case as it shows utter disrespect for the electorates.

Political parties and her candidates should also desist from singing discordant tunes before and during elections, attacking the electoral umpires, security agencies and anyone who is not on their side. Only to turn around and eat back their words, hailing the process and major actors when the results turns out favourable. Political actors should endeavor to make haste slowly when they make comments trying to justify their claims which often times are fears. The Edo 2020 governorship election has sent a strong signal to erring prophets of doom whose stock in trade is to predict crisis and break up ahead of any electoral process.

Another take home lesson is that citizens are no longer fools, thats if they ever were. One mans enemy should not be every ones enemy. People should be allowed to make their choice as the election results proved beyond doubts that parties do not matter, citizens have shifted focus from blind party loyalty to individual records and past antecedents.

The use of electronic tablet seems to be a silver bullet to nipping electoral manipulation in the bud. As the results were posted for all to see as counting was concluded in the various polling units which also increased the credibility and wide spread acceptance of the results. While it is also expected that the winner of any electoral process should do well to deliver the goods as expected. As in the famous words of E.A Bucchianeri who posited that ‘...they say if you don't vote, you get the government you deserve and if you do, you never get the results you expected’’. The expectations of the citizens should never be sacrificed at the altar of personal/sectional interest.

Conclusively, we must all realise that the onus of doing the right thing falls on all of us as members of this great nation. We have all the potential as highly resourceful citizens to make a great and prosperous nation.

Thankfully, the Edo State experience is a watershed and a beacon of hope that there is light at the end of our political tunnel as a nation and the outcome of Edo 2020 governorship election points a way for us if and only if we painstakingly take the lessons to heart.

Character and integrity are core ingredients of leadership. As no real success can be attained without them; making them an indispensable variable in any leadership discourse.

What is discernable from this is the fact that a leader should be able to go before and get along with the people in a manner that breeds positivism and goodwill, societal equilibrium, and equitable distribution of wealth accrued based on core ethical values.

A leader should be able to plan adequately for the future based on current indices of development for challenges which are bound to occur occasionally. Our leaders have sometimes been unable to come to grasp with the important aspect of their duties many are unable to fashion out any long term plan for development.

Over the years our democratic project has been bereft of mature interaction and replaced with political tirades, rattling, graft, corruption, bigotry, bitterness, embezzlement, malice and social injustice.

In many developed countries, aspiring politicians/leaders take out time to fashion out a discernable philosophy or ideology for themselves and their political career but in Nigeria many lack political philosophy as what obtains is not politics of ideas but politics of self aggrandizement and self enrichment.
Political office is not seen as a means to an end but it is seen as an end itself and the ripple effect has been profound.

A visionary and competent leader have often time evaded Nigerians.

As Cicero puts it ‘those who govern a country should be the best and brightest citizens’. This brings to mind my own personal definition of a leader ‘a leader is a person who knows the path, and shows the path for others to follow.

Edo people and Nigerians alike deserves a leader who is visionary and innovative, one that can recreate, rebuild, redesign the state bringing it to the apex of good governance.

Truth must be reaffirmed that the old machiavellian principle that; politics and morality do not go together must be rebuffed. A leader with foresight, who is a think tank, who acts fast but with a bit of caution as well. He is not the type that acts carelessly not bothered about whose ox is gored.

A people friendly leader who can make a true masterpiece out of mere pieces. A leader who does not only tell but shows.

A receptive leader who embraces all and sundry irrespective of party divide, one that respects the dictates of the constitution to the latter, an upholder of the rule of law and equality. A leader who is fair in all his dealings, not biased in decision making. A leader who is not scared of criticisms but appreciates it when it is constructive.

A leader who will run an inclusive government, not one who sees his kinsmen, party leaders and faithfuls as first among equals. A leader who can stick to his guns just to better the lots of the citizens against the wishes of the few elites who tender frivolous criticisms.

A leader with a developmental plan and blue print doused with investors, people friendly and centered policies to aid infrastructural and economic drive. A prudent and selfless leader who is not a psychopath or a fanatic. A leader who will cry the cry of the people not a leader who will treat pressing issues with kid gloves.

In our present democratic dispensation, it is difficult to find a true visionary because on their way to power, they have been aided and this makes it difficult to act against the status-quo when one is tied to the whims and caprices of a political party and her leaders. This makes true development a mirage.

The citizens are given a prime of place during election cycle afterwards they return to the back seat and they live at the mercy of their leaders, they are often seen as distractions or a cog in the wheel of progress which often time is never the case. The citizens may not be right all the time but they seldom get their guesses wrong which makes a case as to the need to listen to their demands.

A report on state fragility put forward by Professors Paul Colher and Tim Besley identified three tools good leaders use to transform their countries, these are: narratives, actions and institutions.
Leaders should be first and foremost communicators, a good leader should be a good communicator; having the ability to inspire the people with well chosen narratives of a shared positive vision which should be matched with credible actions. Body language and actions must be in sync, always backed up with right institutions. Nigerian leaders often talk the talk but rarely walk the walk.

During campaigns, promises and reassurances are dolled out, but the people must hold the leaders accountable. Enough of storytelling and gimmicks.

Any leader who does not have the capacity to guarantee a better future and also an enabling environment is a bad omen and should not find his/her way into power. We can’t fold our arms, dish out blames and hurl insults at our leaders when we are also accomplices.

Leadership is a matter of sacred trust of stewardship and a need for radical positive change and progress. Morality must be rigidly enforced by politicians or technocrats alike so as to give a new breathe of life in our polity with practical commitment.

Conclusively, the lessons for Governor Obaseki should be that “politics of the end justify the means” is no longer feasible because morality and politics are indispensable. Same way character and integrity are critical for leadership survival.

One of the most generous phenomenon known through out human evolution is Mother Nature which includes sunlight, air, grass, tree, soil, rainfall all of which has been given to us freely as a nation.

The agricultural sector in Nigeria is indeed a great prospect for development amidst inflation and decline in GDP. There is a sharp decline in the economic fortune of our nation which is shown in the fall in living standards when compared to the good old days.

Minimum earning capacity and prices of staple food in Nigeria are at odds. As the prices of staple food in Nigeria constantly defies the laws of gravity as when prices go up, it never comes down but rather takes an upward surge. Feeding is an autonomous consumption and must be carried out irrespective of wage disparities. For a nuclear family in Nigeria; food expenses takes away the bulk of the family income. The recent Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown order to contain the spread of the virus has had it toll on family life, with minimal or non existent power supply.

The food stuffs pay the supreme prices as there is always frequent visits to the kitchen. Most worrisome is the fact that staple food in Nigeria are locally sourced and not imported but when a seller is asked for the cause of increase in food prices, there is always an excuse to give. It’s either the government, hike in transportation, poor weather conditions (climate change), insecurity and most recent Covid-19 outbreak.
Most of their claims are true, rainfall has not been constant, insecurity with cases of farmers – herders clashes, boko haram insurgents laced with banditry, frequent looting and destruction of crops which has remained unresolved has kept farmers off their farms for fear of being maimed or killed.

The federal government has never failed to express their resolve and commitment to ending the crises but it has not been effective. The diversification drive of the government seems to be gaining momentum but more needs to be done for this to be achieved; fixing of roads and rail way lines to connect cities and villages alike so as to nip the already existing economic and inter-sectoral disarticulation noticeable in most/all sectors of the economy.

Our agricultural produce rarely gets local or international attention, we produce in abundance only for it to run to waste in most cases. We are born consumers, we care little about refining our farm produce. Epileptic power supply too has not helped farmers likewise.

The government has constantly mentioned that Nigeria is self sufficient in rice production yet, rice is still the most expensive staple food in Nigeria with a 50kg bag costing as much as ₦24,000 - ₦30,000 in our local markets.

There seems to be minimal partnership between government and local producers of staple food in Nigeria. Bodies or price monitoring groups are not set up to review or fix prices or maybe they haven’t been too effective if there are any. Standardization of prices though might prove difficult going by different production location and circumstances, so price regulation looks more tenable.

On the flip-side, in 1990 when ₦9 was equivalent to $1, things were relatively cheap but the purchasing power of the naira has been on a downward spiral overtime.

Presently a dollar exchanges for ₦386. It gets even worse as the naira is often devalued. Few years ago with a ₦1000 one is sure of having a week’s meal but presently ₦10,000 may not stand the test of two local shops. With a minimum wage of ₦30,000 for workers, coupled with huge housing payments and rising food prices, it is a meager sum which makes it more like a starvation wage just to stay alive. The government should be kind enough to review the remuneration of workers based on present day realities.

The government has rolled out series of agricultural programmes like the anchors borrowers programme but with minimal results as it is often politicized and used as a racket for looting funds.

Instead a large scale food supply chain should be developed to avoid wastages, proper road networks should be made available, security must be guaranteed up to the villages and hinterlands, uncultivated lands should be put to use.

Farmers should not be the poorest in our society, it is unheard of, proper government/private partnership should be made so the movement from a petro-dollar economy which is subject to the whims and caprices of the global oil market becomes possible. We ought to be a super power in agriculture, but we have often played small for years when we ought to dominate.

The government must get their priorities right then everything will fall into place.

The recent 100% increase in electricity tariffs shows the flagrant disregard the government have for the citizens who are still grappling with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in their daily lives.

From frequent foreign loans, increase in fuel pump price to about ₦150- ₦162 , alongside the high cost of internet data, high cost of staple food which continues to elude the average citizen. High cost of living, which is also aided by the depreciating value of the naira which is ₦460 to $1. Our depleting foreign reserve is also a burning issue amidst recent China loans with so many conditionality that could be likened to neo-colonialism.

All the aforementioned problems makes it safe to say Nigeria is a nation in distress. When the huge cost of living in Nigeria is matched with the starvation minimum wage of ₦30,000 for a worker, one is forced to ask ”who cursed us?’ ‘why is our own country different from other saner climes?’we live in a country where citizens are allowed to suffer while the supposed leaders and their cronies live in opulence. The insensitivity of the government is top notch when placed side by side with recent anti people policies made recently.

Citizens are yet to exit the pandemic era and they are greeted with a slew of increment and anti-developmental policies amidst worsening economic conditions. Every policy made turns out to be another form of extortionist measure, with extraneous taxes and yet insecurity still stares the average citizens in the face.

Recently electronic giants Apple hit a $2.3 trillion valuation mark; this shows that Apple is more valuable and productive than a country of over 200 million people, these are trying times for Nigeria as our foreign reserve cannot match Apple’s valuation. The reason for this is tied to the predatory behaviors of government officials who have long forgotten to put on everything but their thinking cap.

A recent 2020 Global Innovation Index placed Nigeria 17th among 29 countries, with the likes of Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, Rwanda, Cape Verde, Kenya ranking above us. Nigeria has indeed become a laughing stock in the international space.

Farooq Kperogi puts it this way: ‘’Nigeria is a source of Mental and emotional anguish, from the decay of infrastructure, to rising insecurity, to expanding ocean of blood across the country, to the conscienceless theft of national resources by everyone in government, to intractable impunity and lawlessness by people who are tasked with making and enforcing the law. Nigeria inflicts pain even on those who are not directly affected by the country’s dysfunction because they live abroad.’’

I couldn’t agree more with his stance. During the heat of the Covid-19 lockdown, stimulus packages were meant to be distributed to the poorest persons in the society, but now that electricity tariffs and fuel pump price have received an upward review, what then is the fate of the poorest citizens living amongst us or are they exempted too?

Leaders take decisions without looking at the trickle down effect, the economy is already in a sorry state. Yet, you will see government officials defending such draconian policies to death, further strengthening their insensitivity to the citizen’s plight.

Presently Nigeria cannot boast of having a single, workable industrial policy or developmental plan. Our biggest challenge has been to find the willingness, strength and discipline to change our sorry state, as everyone seems to have gotten used to settling for less. Citizens of Nigeria are in a long term abusive relationship.

The words of Prof. Toba Alabi sums this piece up beautifully when he posited that ‘’Nigeria is daily harassed and inundated by poor water supply, poor electricity, bad roads, poor health care facilities, decaying educational infrastructures.’’ Mediocrity rules Nigeria, which indeed makes it a paradox.

As the days to Edo 2020 election edges closer and the major political actors and parties fine tune their electioneering strategy, soliciting the support of the people to affirm or reaffirm their quest to gain access to the highly revered office of the governor and for the mushroom political parties as they are often referred to; it is an avenue to garner face saving votes to avoid de-registration by the electoral body INEC.

Democracy as a system of government entrusts power in the hands of the people who are one of the core pillars of the system, alongside strict adherence to the rule of law and the constitution. What is obtainable in Nigeria cannot be said to be true democracy like it is obtainable in the USA though not without its hitches. Ours is still nascent and faces teething problems.
Legitimacy in a democratic setting is guaranteed when the people participate duly in an election and their votes reflected as election results. This is a liberty embedded in the system even though some anti-democratic forces have reared their ugly head overtime to nullify the process but still it is the best form of government. As it makes it impossible for a persons with zero ideas or interest of the people at heart to find their way to power; this however is relative as we have witnessed cases of inept leaders elected and even re-elected by the same people who should have been well informed.

Leaders ordinarily should be people oriented and policies targeted at emancipating a large percentage of citizens from the claws of poverty and oppression. This is what democracy ought to be as it seeks to promote integrity, openness, accountability and all the good tidings one can think of. Where either of this are missing or lacking, conflicts are bound to manifest in more ways than one and becomes contrary to the definition of democracy put forward by the 16th president of America, Abraham Lincoln; who defined democracy as ‘government of the people, for the people and by the people’.

Governance is a call to service and not to be served, leaders who seek political position must bear this in mind when contesting for any elective position. As this is what makes democracy different from any other form of government be it fascism, monarchy, dictatorship. There ought to be zero tolerance for impunity and flagrant abuse of power.

Ronald Reagan defined a leader as not one who does great things but the one who gets the people to do the greatest things. Leaders must be able to learn, unlearn and relearn very often as their tenure runs through. Changes should also be enforced once a desired course of action fails to pull through.

Knowledge is not enough for good leadership, strong will power to enforce decisions is also essential. Frederick Nietzche warns that ‘whoever fights monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster’.
There is a sharp difference between trying to better the lots of the people and mere window dressing pressing issues with a slew of anti people and suppressive policies only to come out to defend such policies. The people must be ready to elect leaders who mean well for them and the best opportunity is on election day.
As in the words of Plato ‘one of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that one ends up being governed by one’s inferiors’ Socrates consolidates on this saying when he opined that ‘the wise who refuse to rule should prepare to suffer the rule of idiots’.
Although wisdom is never popular, but the people should know better by coming out en-masse to vote on September 19th. Only those who are worthy should gain access to power, it is a no-brainer to elect inept leaders and expect them to behave out of character when they get hold of power. It will be unthinkable to call them traitors when we are accomplices.
It is easy to abuse privileges but we tend to accept serial infractions in the corridors of power. Some leaders only get to visit some localities once in every four years during campaigns afterwards they elope to their life of luxury.

Enough of the leaders who come with bags of promises and a notepad of to do lists, our democracy needs to grow past hear-say accounts. The campaigns so far have been riddled with name-calling, tirades, accusations and counter accusations with no real policies or development plans unveiled and it is amazing to find people still giggling and cheering leaders on under the scorching sun just to hear birds of the same feathers run down each other after switching nests.

In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt ‘no one can make you feel inferior without your consent’. The people have been fooled for long by leaders who see them as nothing other than ladders to climb through on their way to power and afterwards they are kicked out.

Our only measure of self defence is our PVC, and we must x-ray the past antecedents of those vying for power; what are their portfolio’s, road maps, developmental plans, ideology. We must rid our polity off vagabonds of power as the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch the evil doers without doing anything.

Voting should not be done based on party affiliations, ethnicity, religion, tribal groupings, personal/ sectional interest but it should be based on track record and pedigree.

If we truly know where we are headed as a people, we will never get lost come September 19th 2020.

The Latin saying “Nemo dat quod non habet” which translates to ‘you cannot give what you don't have’ in English language brings to mind the lingering issue of good governance in Nigeria. Governance is the specific set up or way by which a political system is ruled. Put differently, governance entails rule based on accountability, consistent and cohesive policies, processes and decisions right.

A good government should be consensus oriented, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive, efficient and effective, strictly following the rule of law. With all this in view, the personal worth of any national, state or local government will be weighed based on the attainment of qualitative level of development as it is a crucial aspect of any nations drive to self reliance. Sectoral development remains a vital necessity to the growth and sustenance of any vibrant economy.
For good governance and true development to be ensured, sociopolitical and economic stability must be guaranteed at all levels of government as this will promote citizens natural inclination to development and attachment to the governance process.

In Nigeria, governance has been reduced to doing without thinking, engaging in cyclical motion without progress. Great nations are driven by ideas, intellect, philosophy, policy formulation, execution and evaluation but citizens choose to elect inept leaders and expect them to behave out of character.

Governance and leadership alike is key in times of dwindling fortunes as it provides leaders opportunity to shine, inspire and lift up the citizens to see beyond the tumultuous times into a future of hope. Only a few leaders in Nigeria have tried or are still trying to bridge the ever widening gap between citizens and leaders. Citizens are asked to pay more taxes only for the leaders to use such monies for purchase of cars and other items of luxury.

The Nigerian state becomes a thief expropriating huge sums for personal gain and giving the citizens nothing in return, not infrastructure, not security, not healthcare, not education; absolutely nothing which has left us at the lowest rungs of the development ladder.

As long as an overwhelming majority of national budgets are spent on the rapacious and corrupt politicians. The Nigerian economy is destined to remain faced with galloping inflation, unequal foreign exchange exasperated by devalued currency and persistent dependency on importation, widespread unemployment, under employment, dilapidated infrastructures exemplified in the death traps we call roads, death conservative nature of Nigerian hospitals, epileptic power supply that has doused all hope of societal development possibility.

It becomes puzzling to see a nation with enormous resources having such a huge developmental gap. Our over reliance on a petrodollar economy is also a bane to our development, not to forget our excessive and unnecessary borrowings. Fiscal discipline ought to be imperative but for spendthrift nations like Nigeria who continues to borrow with nothing to show for it could best be described like UNOKA in Achebe’s “Things fall apart” who borrowed simply to throw palm wine parties will sooner or later become beggarly nations.

Properly governed countries are those who have got their fundamentals right ensuring that overall macro economy is moving at even keel, devoid of bottlenecks, structural imbalances and distortion that hampers long term sustainable growth. Improvement is made with the aim of nurturing improvements in the quality of policy making, forward thinking, long term planning, creation of early warning indicators and early warning systems that allows leaders to take preemptive and precautionary actions which could be regarded as a standard capacity for emergency services.

A good leader should be able to spell out his/her policies clearly in the language of the citizens. To know how a country is doing politically, you observe closely the quality of the people aspiring for political leadership. When the political class in a country is the dreg of the society; the future of such a country is bleak. If crooks gets to the top first, it complicates the future prospects of the country not to forget the use of ethnicity, religion and clannishness as tools of oppression of the Nigerian masses.

Nigeria is headed by a president who is 77 years old, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is 66 years old, Ahmed Lawan the Senate President is 61 years old, and the average age of Buhari’s cabinet is 55 years and just recently Buhari appointed a 75 years old Ibrahim Gambari as Chief of Staff. Yet 60% of the Nigerian population are below 30 years old. One is forced to ask if Nigeria operates a democracy or gerontocracy system. Coupled with this is the ethnic line of appointments as the heads of Defence, Army, Police, NSA, DSS. NIA, DMI, DIA, NPS, NCS, NIS, EFCC and INEC are all headed by Northern muslim men. National issues should not be viewed from a standpoint of religion or ethnicity. Same applies for political appointees.

Conclusively, the UN has a template for SDG’S, 17 for government to aim for, which one has Nigeria achieved. It also has 169 targets and dozens of indicators to move with or evaluate, but we don’t seem to have gotten there just yet. Leaders should stop thinking for everything except the people as good governance remains achievable and should not be viewed as rocket science.[b]The Latin saying “Nemo dat quod non habet” which translates to ‘you cannot give what you don't have’ in English language brings to mind the lingering issue of good governance in Nigeria. Governance is the specific set up or way by which a political system is ruled. Put differently, governance entails rule based on accountability, consistent and cohesive policies, processes and decisions right.

A good government should be consensus oriented, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive, efficient and effective, strictly following the rule of law. With all this in view, the personal worth of any national, state or local government will be weighed based on the attainment of qualitative level of development as it is a crucial aspect of any nations drive to self reliance. Sectoral development remains a vital necessity to the growth and sustenance of any vibrant economy.
For good governance and true development to be ensured, sociopolitical and economic stability must be guaranteed at all levels of government as this will promote citizens natural inclination to development and attachment to the governance process.

In Nigeria, governance has been reduced to doing without thinking, engaging in cyclical motion without progress. Great nations are driven by ideas, intellect, philosophy, policy formulation, execution and evaluation but citizens choose to elect inept leaders and expect them to behave out of character.

Governance and leadership alike is key in times of dwindling fortunes as it provides leaders opportunity to shine, inspire and lift up the citizens to see beyond the tumultuous times into a future of hope. Only a few leaders in Nigeria have tried or are still trying to bridge the ever widening gap between citizens and leaders. Citizens are asked to pay more taxes only for the leaders to use such monies for purchase of cars and other items of luxury.

The Nigerian state becomes a thief expropriating huge sums for personal gain and giving the citizens nothing in return, not infrastructure, not security, not healthcare, not education; absolutely nothing which has left us at the lowest rungs of the development ladder.

As long as an overwhelming majority of national budgets are spent on the rapacious and corrupt politicians. The Nigerian economy is destined to remain faced with galloping inflation, unequal foreign exchange exasperated by devalued currency and persistent dependency on importation, widespread unemployment, under employment, dilapidated infrastructures exemplified in the death traps we call roads, death conservative nature of Nigerian hospitals, epileptic power supply that has doused all hope of societal development possibility.

It becomes puzzling to see a nation with enormous resources having such a huge developmental gap. Our over reliance on a petrodollar economy is also a bane to our development, not to forget our excessive and unnecessary borrowings. Fiscal discipline ought to be imperative but for spendthrift nations like Nigeria who continues to borrow with nothing to show for it could best be described like UNOKA in Achebe’s “Things fall apart” who borrowed simply to throw palm wine parties will sooner or later become beggarly nations.

Properly governed countries are those who have got their fundamentals right ensuring that overall macro economy is moving at even keel, devoid of bottlenecks, structural imbalances and distortion that hampers long term sustainable growth. Improvement is made with the aim of nurturing improvements in the quality of policy making, forward thinking, long term planning, creation of early warning indicators and early warning systems that allows leaders to take preemptive and precautionary actions which could be regarded as a standard capacity for emergency services.

A good leader should be able to spell out his/her policies clearly in the language of the citizens. To know how a country is doing politically, you observe closely the quality of the people aspiring for political leadership. When the political class in a country is the dreg of the society; the future of such a country is bleak. If crooks gets to the top first, it complicates the future prospects of the country not to forget the use of ethnicity, religion and clannishness as tools of oppression of the Nigerian masses.

Nigeria is headed by a president who is 77 years old, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is 66 years old, Ahmed Lawan the Senate President is 61 years old, and the average age of Buhari’s cabinet is 55 years and just recently Buhari appointed a 75 years old Ibrahim Gambari as Chief of Staff. Yet 60% of the Nigerian population are below 30 years old. One is forced to ask if Nigeria operates a democracy or gerontocracy system. Coupled with this is the ethnic line of appointments as the heads of Defence, Army, Police, NSA, DSS. NIA, DMI, DIA, NPS, NCS, NIS, EFCC and INEC are all headed by Northern muslim men. National issues should not be viewed from a standpoint of religion or ethnicity. Same applies for political appointees.

Conclusively, the UN has a template for SDG’S, 17 for government to aim for, which one has Nigeria achieved. It also has 169 targets and dozens of indicators to move with or evaluate, but we don’t seem to have gotten there just yet. Leaders should stop thinking for everything except the people as good governance remains achievable and should not be viewed as rocket science.[/b]The Latin saying “Nemo dat quod non habet” which translates to ‘you cannot give what you don't have’ in English language brings to mind the lingering issue of good governance in Nigeria. Governance is the specific set up or way by which a political system is ruled. Put differently, governance entails rule based on accountability, consistent and cohesive policies, processes and decisions right.

A good government should be consensus oriented, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive, efficient and effective, strictly following the rule of law. With all this in view, the personal worth of any national, state or local government will be weighed based on the attainment of qualitative level of development as it is a crucial aspect of any nations drive to self reliance. Sectoral development remains a vital necessity to the growth and sustenance of any vibrant economy.
For good governance and true development to be ensured, sociopolitical and economic stability must be guaranteed at all levels of government as this will promote citizens natural inclination to development and attachment to the governance process.

In Nigeria, governance has been reduced to doing without thinking, engaging in cyclical motion without progress. Great nations are driven by ideas, intellect, philosophy, policy formulation, execution and evaluation but citizens choose to elect inept leaders and expect them to behave out of character.

Governance and leadership alike is key in times of dwindling fortunes as it provides leaders opportunity to shine, inspire and lift up the citizens to see beyond the tumultuous times into a future of hope. Only a few leaders in Nigeria have tried or are still trying to bridge the ever widening gap between citizens and leaders. Citizens are asked to pay more taxes only for the leaders to use such monies for purchase of cars and other items of luxury.

The Nigerian state becomes a thief expropriating huge sums for personal gain and giving the citizens nothing in return, not infrastructure, not security, not healthcare, not education; absolutely nothing which has left us at the lowest rungs of the development ladder.

As long as an overwhelming majority of national budgets are spent on the rapacious and corrupt politicians. The Nigerian economy is destined to remain faced with galloping inflation, unequal foreign exchange exasperated by devalued currency and persistent dependency on importation, widespread unemployment, under employment, dilapidated infrastructures exemplified in the death traps we call roads, death conservative nature of Nigerian hospitals, epileptic power supply that has doused all hope of societal development possibility.

It becomes puzzling to see a nation with enormous resources having such a huge developmental gap. Our over reliance on a petrodollar economy is also a bane to our development, not to forget our excessive and unnecessary borrowings. Fiscal discipline ought to be imperative but for spendthrift nations like Nigeria who continues to borrow with nothing to show for it could best be described like UNOKA in Achebe’s “Things fall apart” who borrowed simply to throw palm wine parties will sooner or later become beggarly nations.

Properly governed countries are those who have got their fundamentals right ensuring that overall macro economy is moving at even keel, devoid of bottlenecks, structural imbalances and distortion that hampers long term sustainable growth. Improvement is made with the aim of nurturing improvements in the quality of policy making, forward thinking, long term planning, creation of early warning indicators and early warning systems that allows leaders to take preemptive and precautionary actions which could be regarded as a standard capacity for emergency services.

A good leader should be able to spell out his/her policies clearly in the language of the citizens. To know how a country is doing politically, you observe closely the quality of the people aspiring for political leadership. When the political class in a country is the dreg of the society; the future of such a country is bleak. If crooks gets to the top first, it complicates the future prospects of the country not to forget the use of ethnicity, religion and clannishness as tools of oppression of the Nigerian masses.

Nigeria is headed by a president who is 77 years old, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is 66 years old, Ahmed Lawan the Senate President is 61 years old, and the average age of Buhari’s cabinet is 55 years and just recently Buhari appointed a 75 years old Ibrahim Gambari as Chief of Staff. Yet 60% of the Nigerian population are below 30 years old. One is forced to ask if Nigeria operates a democracy or gerontocracy system. Coupled with this is the ethnic line of appointments as the heads of Defence, Army, Police, NSA, DSS. NIA, DMI, DIA, NPS, NCS, NIS, EFCC and INEC are all headed by Northern muslim men. National issues should not be viewed from a standpoint of religion or ethnicity. Same applies for political appointees.

Conclusively, the UN has a template for SDG’S, 17 for government to aim for, which one has Nigeria achieved. It also has 169 targets and dozens of indicators to move with or evaluate, but we don’t seem to have gotten there just yet. Leaders should stop thinking for everything except the people as good governance remains achievable and should not be viewed as rocket science.

Value as defined by Merriam Webster dictionary of English refers to “Something such as a principle or quality that is sought after and desirable”. Put differently; anything worthy of note is said to be of value.

Overtime in Nigeria, the value system has continued to come under severe attack and denigration. The notion “if you can’t beat them, join them” has led to more persons joining the bandwagon of getting things done by cutting corners regardless of the consequences attached.

Nigeria is enmeshed in decadence of healthy norms and values which promotes meritocracy, corruption has become more intense as people openly loot government coffers without remorse: cases of embezzlement of pension funds, academicians squandering tertiary education trust funds meant for academic research on cars and other luxurious items, diversion of public funds for personal reasons and all other pockets of corrupt scenarios have become part of our daily lives as Nigerians.

Gone are the days people get jobs based on merit, now you have to know someone who knows someone at the top to stand a chance. The civil service is not left out, the notion of meritocracy as a core principle of the service has since been kicked out. Files can only be moved when a token is paid to the person in charge as though the workers don’t get salaries.

Although, institutions exist that are saddled with ensuring the entrenchment of proper values and merit in the system, the likes of the Police force, EFCC, ICPC, SON are there to ensure compliance with proper standards. The reverse is now the case as those who ought to instill proper standards are caught in the act which makes it a clear case of pot calling kettle black.

Governance structure in Nigeria since the fourth republic no doubts has also made things worse. The profligacy of public office holders and the juicy nature of political offices has further increased the zest to make money by any means available. Cases of internet scams, rituals, robberies, kidnapping, vandalism will find no place in the system if only the government are determined to use public funds for the greater good of the populace as scholars of the utilitarian school of thought posits.

In times past, citizens had massive trust for their leaders and things weren’t as bad as they seem to be now, development was going at a fast pace until the pre-SAP years which halted all forms of developmental drive due to over politicization of policies and programmes. Regions in Nigeria sought to improve their comparative advantage by focusing solely on products domiciled in abundance within their region. Since the creation of states and the oil boom years everyone now solely depends on crude oil exports. States go cap in hand to the federal government for allocation and a large chunk of this is embezzled. Local government in Nigeria are almost non-existent as the state government have succeeded in sapping all its powers; financially and otherwise. The trickle effect is seen in the level of decadence visible at the grassroots.

Nigeria, the supposed giant of Africa is home to over 90 million persons living in multi-dimensional poverty, the number of out of school children continues to add up daily, poor health care system, increased unemployment while those who have a job are either underutilized or working in the poorest of conditions. Millions of citizens cannot afford a dollar a day threshold. Yet we are blessed with so many resources but those at the helms of affairs seem to be profiting from the decadence in the system.

It is true the people deserve the leaders they get as tribalism, ethnicity and sectionalism is the basis for amassing votes in Nigerian elections. So long as you are part of the majority ethnic group regardless of individual capacity and capability, victory is well assured. Voting patterns is not adduced to the capacity of leaders.

Religion and religious movement which would have been a ray of hope in instilling the right values has not done much. Churches and mosques are saturated all over the country, yet decadence of values still pierces deep into the nooks and crannies of the country.

Education and educational institutions would have been of great help but currently they are also in dire need as the standards continue to plummet daily. Students are taught to read, cram, pass exams and forget; only a few good institutions care to internalize lessons taught in the students. Bribery and sex for grades continues to occur unabated. Students are allowed to learn in poor conditions, yet monies are budgeted for this course. The amount although is a mere drop in the ocean when compared to allocations for remunerations and allowances for public office holders. All these misgivings have led to frequent brain drain as people seek greener pastures in countries where they are appreciated for adding value.

Getting out of this lock-jam will require a comprehensive overhaul of the institutions of government. Popularly held beliefs, norms, values, customs and perspectives of the citizens should also be examined. The leaders must do well to gain the trust of citizens by ensuring monies meant for development is put to the best use. Religious leaders should also focus more on good morals and values with less emphasis on matters of prosperity and affluence.

Similarly, the educational institutions should be well funded and monies should be well accounted for using world best measures. Other subsectors of the economy are tied to a quality educational system. Once this is achieved, development will naturally take its course and a facelift will occur in our value system.

Changing our value system should not be a regular case of election sloganeering as the government has usually done on matters relating to diversifying from a mono economy government must be proactive and not reactive.

For a country like Nigeria that relies heavily on the sale of crude oil and other petro chemical products to the rest of the world. News of the fall in the price of WTI crude, the crude made in the USA would send shivers down the spines of those saddled with economic planning.

As the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, the effects has gone past health and safety needs to a stress on the economy of nations. A barrel of the WTI crude sold for less than a dollar on April 21,2020 which clearly proves to be effectively negative. The reason for this is not far-fetched as every month oil producers sell oil in advance to lock in lower prices and the buyers must take delivery of the oil before the end of the said date of purchase to allow for more space to store new produce.

However, since the global pandemic there is nowhere to put the oil already bought by sellers, all storage facilities are full and hardly anyone is buying or using oil right now, they are now forced to pay the producers they bought the oil from to keep the oil for them. This is what has led to fall in the price of WTI crude.

Fast forward to Nigeria, a barrel of Brent cost $30 to produce and our crude oil (Brent) now sells for around $24 dollars which is also in the negative. That means for every Brent sold, Nigeria losses $6. A lot of plans have been made using the $57 per barrel benchmark as was used in the 2020 budget which was slashed to $30 following current realities. And on 5th May, 2020, the Federal Government further reduced the benchmark to $20 per barrel based on assumption due to plummeting oil price.

If we get to sell a barrel, we make zero profit. The result from the crash in prices is as a result of the development of WTI in USA which left Nigeria with only India and China as alternative buyers. Ever since; the competition has been brutal - Iraq, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the entire Middle East competes with Nigeria on a daily basis. Prices of oil have gone from $110 to a paltry $24 - $30 presently.

Businesses are currently on shutdown, same for the economy as human and vehicular movement are restricted, and no one is buying even though people are willing to sell. The world is filled with uncertainties and people who just want to stay alive. Millions of barrels of oil in oil tankers are floating in the sea and the millions of barrels produced per day can’t be stored either.

This coupled with the increase in unemployment, low standard of living, job loss, insecurity and the likes. Citizens regardless of the dwindling oil prices expect the government to supply them with stimulus packages to help cushion the effect of the pandemic in their households. For the less privileged citizens it is a case of "stay at home and die or step out and face the pandemic". Living in Nigeria already guarantees citizens a thousand ways to die, so citizens are unfazed by the pandemic and their quest for survival is their guiding light in the face of terror. As majority of Nigerians live on a daily income, staying at home means having a dinner date with the angel of death.

Nigeria currently has 23.1% unemployment rate, over 90 million people living in less than two dollar a day threshold, diversification remains utopic due to incredible over reliance on crude oil. For a rential petrodollar economy such as Nigeria whose fortunes are tied to the demand and supply of oil, and the vagaries of the dollar. True development becomes a tall order.

Nigeria's external reserves have fallen deeply while our Sovereign fund is worth a mere $2.9 billion. Our excess crude account, which peaked at an impressive $18 billion, has been reduced to $70 million left in it.

Vulnerable families are scattered everywhere and they have turned to government for help but it doesn’t seem like help will come any sooner given the perilous times we are in. Private business enterprises continue to retrench workers on a daily basis, the lucky ones who get retained must bear the brunt of having a pay cut due to fall in sales and service rendering.

As Covid-19 grows exponentially supply chains are cut short, goods and service rendering are on hold, external debts is on the increase , and government continues to borrow to cushion the debt burden. The number of confirmed cases continues to peak unabated. Beyond a tragic health situation lays economic downturns. Paying of salaries by private institutions amidst the lockdown will prove to be the toughest test yet for employers of labour.

Nigeria's economy gasps for breath as she tackles the pandemic, it is worthy to state that the government must begin to look elsewhere and seek ways to rebound and reflate the already strained economy. Government should also seek sincere public-private partnerships to kick start her diversification drive.

Citizens however should follow laid down procedures of engagement during this pandemic to forestall a surge in the number of confirmed cases. Monies spent by government should also be well accounted for and monies gotten should be channeled to the appropriate quarters. As soon as the pandemic wanes down, it will become imperative for the government to revamp the health sector and engage in world best practices as the pandemic has proved beyond methodic doubt that health is the new economy and must not be treated with kid gloves.

The wise and old saying “ you never know what you have until it is gone” has never been more seemly to describe the perilous times that we are faced with since the novel Corona virus struck the world and caused a paradigm shift early into the new year.

At the beginning of every year, we tend to make plans, resolutions and even set targets for ourselves; it is more obvious now that Mother Nature had better ideas. It is common place to find people getting carried away with the hassles, worries and cares of life leaving absolutely nothing to chance.

What began as an epidemic mainly limited to china has now become a global pandemic sweeping across countries and territories of the world unabated. Many persons thought of the virus as a hoax and a ploy to distract the world, because as humans we are disposed to holding on to ideas and evidence even without our own subconscious and we constantly reinforce such beliefs countering anything that seems contrary.

Here we are; a pandemic is upon us and our minds have been reawakened to new realities, as humans we have been forced to reinvent, scale up and upgrade our lifestyles and habits to suit present realities. A lot of lessons have been learnt so far and more will be dished out as the dreaded virus edges on. Already, a reset has been done in our lives, beliefs, perception, values and of course our highly revered customs and traditions.

All of a sudden we can afford to do without what we hither to tagged as 'indispensable'. Man by nature is a social animal, with a social ego to massage and protect. We have grown used to being around people, engaging in various activities with minimal restrictions. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a “new normal” has emerged to tackle the existing status-quo. We all have since embraced the term ‘social distancing and self-isolation’. We now go out with our face masked, with most persons looking like 'Bane' in the movie "The Dark Knight Rises". The super social creature called Man has been tamed successfully.

Whoever said habits takes time to change has never been faced with a fight to stay alive.
Habits have since changed; lifestyles have been tweaked to suit present safety measures. Traveling, social outings and gatherings were so important until now.

As Humans we tend to overlook the significant things life throws at us, tagging them as "infinitesimal". Focusing all our energy on the trivial which we extol. Prior to the pandemic majority of persons paid lip service to their hygiene; living just the way they like and getting away with it unscathed. All that is in the past now. Little habits such as: washing our hands frequently, sneezing and coughing the appropriate way have been entrenched in our daily hygiene habits.

We thought our careers would subside like the biblical ‘wall of Jericho’ if we fail to show up at work, but now our offices and businesses are on a stand still while the supposed workers are counted daily as confirmed cases and fatality cases. Pay checks and job titles seem not to matter anymore; both employers and employees are equal and vulnerable now; at least not for long. The bottom line remains that we are certainly not our jobs as self-fulfillment ought to be the ultimate goal, not working till we are drained of energy in the name of meeting deadlines at the supreme expense of our health.

We have battled over the years to stay relevant in life that we tear down anybody at the slightest chance without due recourse to feelings, we have become dictators in our own rights, only to be toppled by a novel virus. The naivety of one person can lead to the downfall of others as we have observed closely.

We failed to yield warnings at first now confirmed cases and fatality figures are on the spike, no one seems to be safe anymore even as government faces a huge task in devising appropriate measures and policies aimed at flattening the pandemic curve.

A crisis comes to change, alter, discomfort and reward. I urge us to reexamine our lives and trace our footsteps back to what truly matters. We all should endeavor to stay safe, exercise personal hygiene. WE SHALL OVERCOME!

07037635608

Drcraze:
Nice writeup and well done.

Can I get your contact info, I've got to pick your brain on some project of mine.

Nigeria should do wellto work on the key sectors of the economy, we have waited for too long to take bold steps..

The word pandemic is derived from the Greek word ‘Pan’ which means ‘all’ and ‘Demos’ which means ‘People’. Simply put, a pandemic is an epidemic of a disease that has spread across a large region affecting a substantial number of people cutting across international boundaries.

Throughout history, there have been a number of pandemic and diseases such as small pox and tuberculosis. One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death (also known as the Plague) which killed an estimated 75-200 million people in the 14th century. Since then, the world has been faced with various forms of pandemics which have also had its toll on citizens and the economy alike. This shows clearly that pandemics have been known to Man from time immemorial.

Over 1300 years ago Prophet Muhammad said and I quote” If there is a plague in a land do not enter it and if the plague breaks out while you are in it, do not leave that place” likewise the bible also said in Isaiah 26 vs. 20 counseling people to go into their houses, shut the doors and hide for a while until God’s anger is over.

The above authority postulates clearly that plagues are inevitable in life and to man. If only the Chinese authority had heeded the above admonition perhaps the corona virus currently sweeping across the globe will not have spread past Wuhan where it originated. Countries so far affected by the virus only deemed it fit to quarantine and isolate people after the virus had evolved into a pandemic.

Countries that are yet to record a case or that have recorded fewer cases and mortality figures are those who were proactive in restricting entry and exit movement. We can as well say they followed the biblical and Islamic prophetic basic admonition to the latter.

This approach was used by a village called Eyam (in Derbyshire, 35 miles South East of Manchester) in the summer of 1665, when a London merchant sent flea infested fabrics to the village tailors. A small town of a few hundred inhabitants made perhaps the most historic undertaking in human history: instead of fleeing from the Great Plague, they all decided to stay in the town and prevent the infection from spreading further.

With the villagers convinced of the need to stay put, they cut off all communication with its neighbors. Food, water and other basic necessities were sent from the country side.

They voluntarily placed themselves under quarantine. The inhabitants paid for food left on the edge of the village by placing the money in bowls disinfected with vinegar. The pandemic ceased in November 1666 and of Eyam’s 350 inhabitants between 250-260 persons died.

Although, the casualty figures were indeed high, but the heroic nature of residents is worthy of note. It is instructive to note that man is vulnerable to invincible, infinitesimal but scary viral creatures which could sometimes be used to remind us of God’s existence.

However, advocates of prayers as the chief form of medicine must ensure strict hygiene while placing their hope on God. Thus, balancing faith with reason, as the words of faith and reason are sometimes erroneously conflated.

Viral pandemics rest on a single proposition that there is a universal human nature which struggles with the visitation of God notwithstanding the elitist preference to the contrary.
The trajectory of every pandemic is that; it always takes it course. Covid-19 will surely pass.

Nigeria, a sub-Saharan african country with an estimated population of 200 million people. The reason for the astronomical rise in population figures is not farfetched as Nigeria’s revenue sharing formula is based on population, land mass and other criterion. There is every motivation to inflate population figures so as to get more money from the federation account.

This goes to show the level of decadence in the leadership of the country as people who are poor in duty, value, character, empathy amazingly find themselves in the corridors of power.

In 2018 Nigeria had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $2,028, and currently plagued with the ravaging Corona virus pandemic, political instability, strained economy, and with a large section of her citizens living in extreme poverty based on a World Bank report. So far Nigeria is struggling to keep up with the infectious disease pandemic outbreak as most hospitals are over stressed, poorly equipped, under staffed as a result of brain drain and also the health sector has been poorly funded over the years by past and present administrations due to frequent medical tourisms . The pandemic has so far exposed the ineptitude of our health care system in Nigeria as the Nation is yet to increase her Covid-19 testing capacity like some of her African counterparts who have improved theirs.
Past and present leaders have been tasked with the need to improve the ailing health sector and to diversify our economy from over reliance on crude oil. A mono cultural economy depending on crude oil is regarded as most unstable, assailable and susceptible in the world due to its volatility and persistent dwindling fortunes. Added to this problem is the demand for palliatives on the part of the citizens from the government to cushion the hardship faced.

The pandemic seems to have erased all ideas from the leadership class which makes it safe to posit that Nigeria is fleeced and bereft of a determined leadership class that is capable of coming out with a national blue print for development. At best Nigeria continues to live to fight another day. But for how long can the citizens put up with a defeatist mentality on the part of the leaders who continue to play it safe every time.

Nations of the world thrive because they are successful at doing one or two things well for a long time; Russia and North Korea for instance have been successful in wading off external aggression , USA have been successful at delivering prosperity. But when it gets to Nigeria, citizens cannot pin point a single thing that has been done very well, except when it is in the negative. This has led to the questioning of Nigerian unity which has been left hanging by a thread as the incompetence of the leadership class and the Nigerian state undermines the case for Nigerian unity

The Chinese regardless of the communist and authoritarian conditions they have been faced with seems to have endured it peacefully because they have watched their country move from a 3rd world nation to an industrialized society with state of the art technology and infrastructure. This underpins the tenets of social contract theory; which emphasizes the leaders existence as a result of the people but the reverse seems to be the case in Nigeria as the followers serve the interest of the leaders. In the face of Covid-19 pandemic citizens have been left to fend for themselves as they have always done since the inception of the entity called Nigeria.

Poverty ravages the land leaving people vulnerable. Policies made by the government are often done without the citizens input which makes it anti-people before being enacted. The minimum wage in Nigeria is a clear example; thirty thousand naira is adjudged to be a reasonable amount for the workers, yet the monthly allowance of a senator is 13.5 million naira. This is mind boggling and makes a strong case for the violation of citizen’s mental rights.

In saner climes of the world, policies and programmes that are people friendly are formulated and implemented to assuage the effect of the pandemic on her citizens but in Nigeria the government continues to solicit private partnership and support without adding value to them in return. Nigerian leadership class could be likened to as a “fair weather friend” who shows up when she is in dire need and disappears once things get rosy. Palliatives are being shared but majority of the citizens are yet to receive anything still they are advised to pay their taxes. Why pay a tax to a government who cannot come to the aid of her citizen in in the face of a pandemic?.

The Nigerian political elite must retrace their steps back to the old idea of social contract and be accountable to the people’s needs and demands whilst also creating an enabling environment for all to thrive. Incompetent leaders and lopsided policies cannot lead to a blessed nation even if it is a fairy tale nation. Policies must be tailored and structured based on citizen’s demands.

Citizens must also stop acting all resilient and unfazed but rather push to obtain better by demanding for improved leadership, better service delivery, good governance and a crop of leaders who will not only tell but show.

Everyday in Nigeria we are faced with 1001 ways to die unnecessary and avoidable deaths. May her soul R. I. P.
Our supposed Leaders should fix the faulty system.

No weapon formed against Us shall prosper.. Amen!

please send to my email: johnzena42@gmail.com Thanks!