WHAT A COUNTRY!

There is always something to say about my country Nigeria. Most of the time something negative. I am not a saddist, but it is just that these clowns called elected officers will not cease to amuse one. They think more of power than doing something. Everybody wants to be the leader.

This is not funny at all, rather it calls for reflection. I always feel sorry for myself and my dear country seeing the caliber of people we entrust our future into. Very very unfortunate.

Is this what they call DEMOCRACY? Is this how they practice democracy? What is the problem with these guys? Why are they so blind to the reality of life? From the first day they started we saw the handwriting on the wall that they would remove Wabara. I am not a pro-Wabara, but I think these Senators from the East should be more serious. There are a lot of problems in their Senatorial Districts more important than pursuing positions.

What is the problem with this party called PDP. This party has failed to give Nigerians the kind of leadership we want. It is either the President insult the Party Chairman today or a Governor accuses his Board of Trustee Chairman of assassination attempt. It is also in this same party we have “murderers”- I am quoting Orji Kalu here. We have known now that Chief Bola Ige was killed by PDP, the National Chairman of PDP, Audu Ogbe said that the killings are not armed robbery, the President of Nigeria called them armed robbery attacks, even before the Police commences its investigation. Jesus Christ said that a house divides against itself can never stand. PDP is a fragmented house, broken. In the words of the late Chief Bola Ige, It is like a car without a driver.

I keep wondering how a party without a goal, vision and focus won the last election “space slide.” Are they so loved by Nigerians? Something is wrong somewhere.

During the last tenure we had three Senate Presidents- Evan(s) Enwerem, Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo and Anyim Pius Anyim all from the East. I was privileged to cover the National Assembly during this period at least from 2000-2002. It was messy. It was not law making but money making. I was at the House of Representatives gallery the day in October 2000 when Adams Jagaba stood to raise a point of order. He alleged that anti-Na’Abba group had offered money N500, 000 each to members to support Na’Abba’s impeachment, according to him, the “good” members of the House reported this case and returned N5m. almost immediately bags of money were brought in and beside the symbol of office, and the Mace they poured this money. It was symbolic. It reminded me of when Yakubu Gowon was the juvenile Head of State of Nigeria, University College Hospital, Ibadan was doing a fund-raising, just as the Vice-Chancellor of my dear University of Ibadan was getting back to his seat after delivering his speech, Gowon moved to him removed his academic cap and was using it to collect donation. That day the ivory tower lost its dignity and prestige to money.

The same thing happened in October 2000. Though Jagaba claimed that the money he bought that day was N5m, we confirmed it was N2.5m. I wonder where Wunmi Bewaji, Chinonyerem Macebuh, Austin Okafor, Olaka Nwogu, and another Pro-probe group will see N5m to institute Na’Abba’s impeachment. The group then was calling for a probe not impeachment, but we know then that the likes of the present Information Minister Chikelu Chukwuemeka, Chidi Duru,Emeka Nwajuiba, Levi Oguike had the best of everything under Na”abba because of their support for him. Chikelu did not do anything as the Chairman of House Committee on African Cooperative and Integration; his committee did not make any significance impact throughout. Na’Abba stand today as the most corrupt National Assembly leader in the history of Nigerian politics, he also assisted some to be rich, and he went away with it. One of his beneficiaries is now a Minister in Obasanjo’s cabinet. He is the Information and National Orientation Minister. What sort of orientation would Chikelu give someone like me? We knew him when he first came to the National Assembly we are witnesses to his transformation. This was Na’Abba who came to the House with one rickety Honda Accord and left with fleet of cars and house across the globe.

Na’Abba never travelled out the country until he became the Speaker. It was Wakil Mohammed (former House Leader) who showed him the way. Now they want Wabara out. What for? These guys will never learn a lesson. They are a bunch of unserious elements that are jobless and have run bankrupt of ideas. Do you blame them? No we voted for them. We sold our future for N500 or even less than that during election. They bought our votes. They brought the money stolen from us to buy us, we jumped at it, and this is the result. It is true that a society deserves the type of leader it gets.

Wabara is getting his own dose of what he did. I remember in 2002 when the issue of Niger Delta Development Commission was heating up. Onyema Ugochukwu was nominated by President Obasanjo as the first Chairman of the commission, Ugochukwu by virtue of where he comes from in Abia State should not have been appointed; his region in Abia does not produce oil. He was picked to the detriment of the candidate nominated from the oil-producing area of Abia. Orji Kalu’s area has had so much of political power than the oil-producing area of Abia. The bende people are dominant. So to balance the political equation, someone from the oil producing area of Abia was nominated by his people. Incidentally, this is Adolphus Wabara’s region, I mean his Senatorial District. President Obasanjo, wanting to compensate Ugochukwu for his role in his campaign in 1998-1999, dropped the Abia people’s candidate and sent Ugochukwu’s name to the Senate.

Senators John Nwannunu and Ike Nwachukwu stood and opposed Ugochukwu, supporting their colleague from Abia. Three times Ugochukwu was rejected by the Senate. On the fourth attempt, while Nwannunu and Nwachukwu were still maintaining their principled stance, Anyim, still an Obasanjo’s man wanted the issue resolved in favour of his to-be enemy (Obasanjo) then mentor; Wabara stood up and suggested that the Senate should vote knowing fully where it would go. Of Course the Pro-Ugochukwu group won. Nwannunu was shocked, but it was too late. Wabara was used to sell his region’s right. He got the Senate seat he had been eyeing since after Enwerem was removed. He almost got it after the removal of Oyi, but for Nasiru Ibrahim Mantu who sold out to become the Deputy Senate President.

 It sounds too funny to see Senators running to Aso Rock to settle cases of the National Assembly. Are these guys truly adults? This is not a military government where they take the case to the Head of State to resolve. David Mark who ruined our telecommunication system is now deciding who becomes what. What have these guys done for their constituencies? Nothing.

What is President Obasanjo’s business in the probe of the Senate? They turned themselves to kids running to their old man for settlement. Who amongst them is clean? These are rogues who stole our money. They are the owners of Nigeria. We have sold the country to them. We are their tenants. They do whatever they like.

It is very insultive for Mr. President to ask us to provide evidence when he has his security agencies, what about the Code of Conduct Bureau? The president knows more than we do. But if he relies on the public to provide evidence of corrupt officers, then the SSS should be scrapped, we don’t need the ICPC, we don’t need the Code of Conduct Bureau; President Obasanjo too should honourably resign. Why was he voted to power? It is his responsibility and that of his government to give us good Nigeria, a Nigeria we can be proud of.

Okay let us help our inept government to fight corruption. The vice-president has a house in the United States. He lives in Potomac Avenue, area exclusively for the stupidly rich in America. The cheapest house you can buy in Potomac is $2m.  In country where poverty, unemployment, underemployment are competing with the national anthem we have our Vice President living an affluent life outside the country.  I have not been to the house those who have said you do not need to flush the toilet after use, it is automatic. Mr. President cannot deny knowledge of this. Does the Code of Conduct Bureau allow that? If yes why is Onoja the former Permanent Secretary of Defence Ministry facing trial?

Recently, President George Bush and his wife declared their tax to the public, his vice did, and John Kerry of the Democratic Party did. How are we sure if our leaders in Nigeria pay taxes at all? We don’t even know how much they are worth. Anenih squandered N17B fund for Poverty Alleviation, he was not probed. Last year SpetemberJennifer Atiku organized a programme here in the name of Gede Foundation her NGO, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo came with 50 members of her entourage, lodged in hotel. She was here, according to the grapevine to support Jennifer to spite Titi Atiku, and Jennifer threw a birthday party for her. Whose money did they spend? Definitely not Stella’s I know that she has a hairdressing salon at Agbe Loba Building in Abeokuta, that could not have generated the foreign exchange to bring jobless housewives to America to attend one conduit pipe for stolen money called Gede Foundation, the programme brought 3 governors from their State- led by the would-be removed Governor of Adamawa, Boni Haruna. In fact the President of Nigeria Labour Congress Adams Oshiomole was present. Has our president bothered to ask for names of brains behind Lordmart, the generator company? I am sure he would surprised to know that there is a Judas there for him that is if does not know yet. Does he know he is the actual owner of Sadiq oil and Chrismatel Holdings?

Rather than address the issues of unemployment, security, the failing economy, our debt and so on, our clowns at the National Assembly are fighting for impeachment.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying all members of the Senate are unserious, of course not, there are serious-minded ones among them but the unfortunate thing is that the greedy, money-makings are more than the business-minded ones. Some of the rich ones there are just there to past time, they don’t really have anything to do. They are there for the appellation Distinguished Senator after their names. Not to make any impact but to just be in office. And also to boost their business. This cannot and should not continue.

How many jobs has this government created? What was the rate of unemployment before Obasanjo came in 1999 and now? How much of our debt has been paid?

Last year August I attended a forum organized by Afrikafe in Washington DC on Africa Debt and the World Bank. There I learnt that part of what we are paying today to IMF was a loan obtained by General Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s Head of State in 1978.  Today Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is asking the IMF why he is still paying the loan. A letter written to IMF was read to us. I was not the only Nigerian at the forum, but it was interesting that the IMF man who spoke said that as at the time the loaned was obtained Nigeria did not need it.

It is my humble suggestion for Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, our Executive President to ask General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd) why he took the loan and for what? General Olusegun Obasanjo launched Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), but some years later it became Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Limited (OFN). The OFN of the Federal Government failed, but OFN of Olusegun Obasanjo survived.

NITEL has not been what we expect it to be; many of those who are owners of Telephone companies in Nigeria today were former directors of NITEL. They could not make NITEL to work, but are making waves with their Intercellular, Celcom, Multi-link etc. What an irony.

…..to be continued