Article published in The Nation Newspaper
07/04/2010
Did you listen to all the ‘excellences’ and ‘distinguised’ and ‘honourables’ in our unexecellent and undistinguished and dishonourable political situation? Nauseating was it not? Reality TV gone mad especially during the Akunyili hearing.
What is there to say, today in this darkness powered by great multibillion monthy personal expense beyond any reasonable person’s financial capability eroding family incomes, business profits and ruining budgets and creating family upheavals, broken homes, family feuds and fights and student failures on a massive scale. Nigerian students are the only students not in a wartorn country expected to ‘read in the dark’. The rash of entrepreneurial skills being touted as the panacea for Nigeria’s failing industrial and employment base will also crumble under power bills to electrify the home, business and city. From barber to pepper grinder, professor to PG student, artist to artisan all are mired in the quagmire of government corruption, incompetence that resulted in the inability of government to power Nigeria. We must set energy targets high. Nigeria already fuels generators generating 100,000Mw of power so how dare the government offer us just 6,000Mw?
Will we never escape the nightmare of generator noise, pollution and daily multibillion fuel bills, nationwide transportation costs for fuel and failure to be modern? The government must not underestimate the Nigerian people’s resolve to manage their affairs in the face of government incompetence and abandonment. Because the people always ‘manage’ to manage without riots and destruction does not mean that riots will not happen. The people will not ‘manage’ for ever especially in the face of excesses of govenrment officials. The people want to ‘manage to switch on the light’ and ‘switch off the generator –permanently’ and before 1-10-2010. No to 50th anniversary fireworks, just give us 24 hour electric power by whatever means necessary. GL-Jonathan –silence government generators!
The new minister of communication should investigate who made the rule that Private Mail Bags, PMBs renters must pay N7,000 rent and an additional compulsory N20,000 for ‘home delivery service’ even if you do not want ‘home delivery’. Another scam by government? This should be suspended immediately and neevr reintroduced or introduced only on request!
The ayes have it or do they? It is the season of marches. For Yar’Adua, against Yar’Adua who has finally been seen by Moslem Clerics –what aboutf federal character in presidential sightings?; Marches for the Electoral Reforms; Against the Electoral Reforms as packaged painstakingly by the Former CJ Uwais; For Jonathan, Against Jonathan; For Iwu, Against Iwu and the expected For Al Mustapha as we await Against Al Mustapha. No publicity is bad publicity if it keeps their cause in the public or political eye. They all have seen the travesty of justise in the NASS when the ‘ayes have it’ when ‘the nays’ were denied a hearing by the speaker who often demonstrates a need to see an Ear Nose and Throat specialist, as a matter of Urgent National Importance. Al Mustapha and Co are worried that 10 years in court is a travesty of justice. He seems a late convert to the love of justice. During the reign of terror under Abacha, Major Al Mustapha is alleged to have made full generals shiver. True or not, he was a high ranking officer during that terrible time. Even if the case is stalled, which side is stalling –Al Mustapfa’s or government? Even if we abandon the trial and go for truth and reconcilliation as in South Africa and elsewhere it must be orderly- truth, repentance, reconcilliation and restitution. What is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about those Abacha-time murders and assassination attempts which killed mothers, fathers, children and spattered their blood around Nigeria and especially on Lagos roads where government suggested the the victims were trying to assassinate themselves -remember? It was not fiction or a film or a nightmare from which we all woke up alive the next day and shivered. No. It was the Nigerian state at the time, of which Al Mustapha was CSO of something like that, that is accused of an abdication of its responsibility and sponsored terrorism. So those involved including Al Mustapha must tell the truth, repent and apologise and only then can there be any attempt reconcilliation. This should be followed by ‘restitution to status quo ante’. Unfortunately the maimed cannot recover the full use of their limbs, the mentally traumatised cannot recover from their nightmares and day-fears, the dead cannot rise from their graves. This is where the state should offer substantial reparition damages for victims and their surviving families for limb, life or trauma. If Al Mustapha can claim ignorance of these dastardly happenings than he must have been lacking as an officer whose ignorance and incompetence brought the Abacha regime into undeserved disrepute?
Who is afraid of electronic voting? At last the NASS electronic voting system has finally been used but for how long? The elctronic voting system needs to show the exact voting pattern of each senator and representative for immediate assessment of loyalty and also for the voting public to monitor the senators and representatives stand on the Freedom of Information Bill etc as a public record and responsible democracy. Governance will move forward much faster when voting politicians know we are scrutinising their ‘voting patterns’ and it may lead to accetance of electoral electronic voting. CountdowNigeria@50-162 demands a removal of generators in government offices and homes.