#occupyNigeria

Since the protest against the removal of oil subsidy began last week, a few artists have released theme songs for the movenment. My two favorites are eedris' Jaga Jaga 2 and tha Suspect's SUBsidy(freestyle).






God Bless Nigeria and those fighting for better days!

Who Born the Maga? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with Al Jazeera

The finance minister in this interview mentions the areas in which the money to be saved from the subsidy removal will be invested in. Questions I keep asking myself after watching this interview are, isnt any other area of government where the federal governments can make cuts to provide funds for road construction and reduction of maternal mortality> Doesnt our federal government know about collective sacrifice? How can a reasonable government claim to be helping the people be hurting them in the process?

This is the interview.


courtesy: Youtube & Al Jazeera

I think the lady should have asked her tougher questions.

Who Born the Maga? Nigeria Fuel Subsidy Removal

For many years, Nigerians have put up with a government that is so indifferent and unsympathetic to the harsh reality of its people.  In a time when the global economy is just recovery from a recession, the PDP led government just yesterday decided to stop government oil subsidy.  It is wrong and doesn’t make any sense. It is a reflection of the greed and irresponsibility of a few.  It is unfair to hard working Nigerians who are responsible and do their fair share. There has been a debate to restore growth, prosperity and fairness in this country but this isn’t the way to do it. This isn’t the way to repay Nigerians. This isn’t what Nigerians need at this point in time. It is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class.

What's at stake is whether Nigeria will be a country where working people can afford to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. We can no longer live in a country where a very few live in excessive abundance by amassing public fund.  There is class warfare in Nigeria and the rich and prosperous are clearly winning. Nigeria is blessed to have the hardest working people on the surface of the earth.  But every day the spirit and strength of so many is tested by a few.  Hard work seems not to pay off and fewer and fewer families can truly be proud of their country. We have to do something about this.

There is a time for everything, a time to pray and preach and a time for campaign and election but those times have passed away. There is a time to remind our elected officials why they are in office, and that time is now. It is time for them to roll up their sleeves and help the Nigerian people. How we got here is a story we all know too well. We cannot continue to wait and suffer while the National Assembly with the president makes anti-people decisions.  In this time when families across the country have to make tough decisions about their expenditure- making decisions between sending their children to better schools and or buying enough food- the last thing the Nigerian people need is for the folks in Abuja to cancel oil subsidy.  

Nigeria dependence on petroleum products has sky rocketed since independence. It is unprecedented and a national disgrace.  In a time where other countries in the world are looking to the future and investing in alternative energy, the National Assembly and the president are yet wake up to reality. Since the government has failed to develop affordable alternative to automobile transportation, the Nigerian people have an unending demand for petrol and diesel. Since the government has failed to provide uninterrupted power supply, the Nigerian people have to fill up electric generators for business and personal use. Our economy relies on oil products.  And to prove its utter disregard to the yearning of the people who elected them into office, the Aso rock has made it difficult for these products to be purchased. It makes no sense, it doesn’t help the economy and it hurts Nigerians.

The removal of oil subsidy amounts to additional 76 naira for very liter.  It maybe that the folks in Aso rock think 76 bucks isn’t a lot of money but to the hard working Nigerian people, 76 bucks can make all the difference in the world.  This is the kind of situation that makes Nigerians frustrated about the federal government. This is it exactly; an unsympathetic and callous government.

                     
The issue right now is this; time has ran out, they have tested our patience enough, the clock is no longer ticking. And if the executive and legislative branches of government refuse to do their job, we the people will remind them who this country belongs to. I saw today that many Nigerians have taken to the streets to show their dissatisfaction and have their voices heard.  For the sake of clarity: this isn’t a game and this isn’t politics as usual.  Right now, the movement is small, but it is moving in the right direction. The subsidy removal will have effects not just on families but on the economy as a whole.  It is unfair to an average family who doesn’t have an extra 76 bucks to lose.

It is unfair for a small business who can’t afford to spend extra 76 bucks on every liter to power the generator. It is unfair to the millions of Nigerians who will take the hit when the prices of commodities start to triple.  The livelihood of the millions of Nigerians is bigger than the personal interest of those in Abuja. And they need to learn that there are people counting on them to make their lives just a little bit easier, a country where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded.  They owe it to us to do the right thing. That is what the leading nations of the world are doing.  We need our leaders to do the same. We are tired and weary of an unsympathetic and callous government.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Big Blast, Bloody Bath

Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress? If by now you have no idea about the bombings in Nigeria, it means you live under a rock. I thought it was high time I gave my spiel about everything. A lot of the bombings have been claimed by Boko Haram. The group has claimed 14 attacks so far this year. I am not a nah sayer that the group doesnt not exist. My concern is how much is Boko Haram actually responsible for.

Remember December, 2009 and Mutallab? Nigerians were so outspoken, in total disgust and disbelieve a Nigerian would be a role player in such a despicable act. Now fast forward to fall of last year independence celebration and the months preceding the elections, everything in between is a dark history that has become our reality.

It seems killing innocent lives and putting the fragile security of the nation in jeopardy is the new political weapon. Some disgruntled politicians believe to undermine the current administration capabilities ( which is no doubt questionable) is to be a threat to our security. This is unfortunate and pathetic.  Whatever their repulsive plans are, its definitely not for our good. This is not the way democracy ought to be. It was not designed to kill its people.  I hope the madness stops before it gets out of control.

We celebrated another anniversary this Saturday and people's anxiety could be felt. The uncertainty the bombings have caused is unfair and barbaric. Even if it were for a noble cause, killing of innocent lives and depriving families and children their dreams and opportunities should not be the price. It is wrong. May God of creation direct our noble cause and Guide our leaders right.

Who Born the Maga: New Federal Universities

"Some ask why we are building new universities. The reason being that when I consider what we spend on subsidizing fuel (about a trillion Naira annually) my heart bleeds and I would rather spend that money subsidizing education because while petrol is burnt up in a car's engine and is gone, your mind never burns up the education it receives. As a leader, I would rather teach Nigerians how to fish (education) rather than only give my people fish (fuel)."  Goodluck Jonathan.

Goodluck Jonathan

 This is the most shallow and irrational statement to defend such enormous expenditure. Politics is very interesting and quite predictable a times. It is fair to say president Jonathan would expect to be named after one of this new universities in years to come.  Building new universities while the premier universities are crumbling and falling apart is ridiculous.  It is nonsensical.  Even a caveman would know it would cost way less to upgrade the universities we have now to world class standards than building new ones. It is appealing to think how difficult it is to navigate any public university's website in Nigeria.

 Instead of spending so much money at a time the whole world is recovering from a financial crisis, there are other issues in the education sector that seeks readdress. Here are a view suggestion;

1. Send bill to the National Assembly to make it unlawful for ASUU to seek readdress through strike.

2. Send a bill to the National Assembly to disunion academic staff of public universities.

3. If ASUU is to stay, a deal must be reached on the certain number of year staff's

   salary would be up for  raise consideration.

4.  A complete overhaul of WAEC, JAMB, Post- JAMB, and NECO. 

The list goes one.  Until meaningful steps are taken towards making the most of what we have on ground, building 12 new schools is fiscal irresponsibility and a sheer political gain-seeking plot.  Its further irritating that a government so devoted to education budgeted 1.2 billion naira  to furnish the residence of the President an amount only 400,000 naira shy of that allocated for each of the new school.  Lucky Jo is official on my Who Born the Maga list!

 

Who Born the Maga? : Blame the opposition

     Elections are almost over after almost 4 weeks.  The winners are smiling and the losers are mostly accepting results while some are not satisfied with the outcome.  The major players of the election were the ACN, ANPP, APGA and PDP. It makes me wonder why these parties can't just reach agreements with the relative invisible parties to merge. Most of those parties could not even win a councilor position. Talk about benchwarmers and spectators; it all comes down to greed. That brings me to the subject of the post. Prior to the general elections, many behind-the-scenes talks were going on about a coalition to face to the PDP. The PDP’s rating was down nationally and a lot of people thought it was the end of the party as we knew it. However, all the plans broke down and the parties held on to their flag bearers. 

      The PDP presented its charismatic candidate Goodluck Jonathan (who suddenly became the right candidate to so many within few months), the ACN presented its marketable and youthful Nuhu Ribadu, the CPC presented its 3 time runner Gen. Buhari and finally, the ANPP held on the Gov. Shekarau who presented Kano as his lab rat and success story. The election appeared it was going to be the most competitive in a long while. Numerous debates colored the preceding weeks and the stake got high. The results were counted and out the window went the competition. What happened? Isn’t Ribadu the change the youth wanted, a break from the norm? What did Gen. Buhari get wrong this time? Isn’t 3 tries enough to get the rules of the game right?

      Blame it on the opposition! Despite the fact that ethnicity or region should not be the most prominent factor to decide who to vote for, it is sometimes relevant. This played out in the election. The three main oppositions were Northerners.  These from the beginning divided the vote of the region into three. Different analysis compared Gen Buhari and Ribadu as having the same moral standard and approach to public office. Gen Buhari just being the older version of Ribadu or the other way around.  These development further divided swing voters. These comparisons created confusion. The ACN and the CPC could not make up their mind and decided to go separate ways. The presence of Gov. Shekarau further split the votes.  In addition, it is worthy of note to remember that the CPC is a creation of the fallout of Gen. Buhari with the ANPP.  In reality, there is really nothing unique about these parties’ ideologies that could not have welcomed a coalition if truly they love Nigeria more than their personal ambitions.

       I put the figures from the presidential election obtained by the ACN, CPC and ANPP and they were enough to rewrite the whole election results. The PDP is really the only national party despite their failure and setbacks.  Despite the marketable profile of Ribadu he only won Osun State. The rest of the states were divided between the  CPC and PDP.   Click here. 

      This greed among political parties also is reflected in the National Assembly  election results. The seats won by the opposition parties all put together are enough to challenge the PDP supremacy.  Sometimes I wonder if these political parties actually conduct simple research and understand simple basic political rules. The PDP has survived again!

     A look at the INEC list of political parties on their website just makes me think how many possible ways can actually exist to approach government.  63? I do not think so. Nigeria has way too many political parties. The big players should swallow up the benchwarmers. This would create a stronger and more serious political system. It is just ridiculous an aspirant could create a political party over night right after failing to secure a major political party’s ticket.   The show is almost over and little or nothing can be done now. However, this year’s elections have successfully done one thing; make Nigerians more anxious and prepared for 2015. Many must have learnt their lessons. Best wishes to the political class of 2011. We are watching!