DEAR PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI

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Dear Mr New President, let me first of all congratulate you on your victory in the Nigeria-Decides 2015 General Elections; it was a very tight race but you finished first, felicitation! I am sure the 28th of March 2015 is a day you shall never forget. Now, to the reason I write; all protocols observed, sir, I have a long list for you.

First and foremost on the list is my plea to you to finish the good works that the current and previous administrations have started. Few they may be, I implore you not to take over the presidential seat with the huff and puff that we have seen many times in the past with elected public servants, abandoning the good projects of previous administrations. It is known that four years is often not enough time to complete a significant number of long term projects and so on behalf of those who may see as I see, I ask that you lend a finishing (or sustaining) hand to the good works that Nigeria presently has in its pipeline. Give us continuity irrespective of whose brain child the projects are.

Secondly, Nigeria our beloved country has accepted your mantra of zero corruption and has decided to give your ideals a chance. As I wrote in my previous article, ‘Nigeria Decides: And The Winner Is...’ dated 27th of March 2015, I stated that your zero tolerance slogan would be the reason for your victory. Sir, we have given you a chance and we expect a show of good faith from you, show us that your mantra is more than just a jingle; do something positively drastic! For me, the best way you can prove to Nigerians that you are truly here for change is to cut down the salaries of political office holders throughout the country. I believe the office of the president has the authority to affect such a change even if not directly. Our legislators are indisputably amongst the highest paid public servants in the world with approximate annual incomes of well over N360 million each while their counterparts in the US receive N27.6 million and the UK receive N15.6 million (Phillip Eta, 2012). The same Federal Legislators gulp about 25% of Federal Government overheads, as reported by CBN Governor emeritus, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (N136.2 billion out of N536.2 billion). These figures are debilitating to the more than 60% of Nigerians living below the poverty line, less than one dollar a day, barely a loaf of bread. Sir, let’s see your change.

All partisanship aside, it has been noted even by some of the Channels television election consultants that part of the reason for your victory in the recent campaign was the massive support you received from the ‘Poor Nigerian’, it appears you are their hero. I remember while growing up sir, travelling along the Benin-Ore expressway to my home town for festive seasons, I remember seeing some people who I was taught were lepers, positioned in makeshift palm-frond shelters by the roadside asking for alms, I remember my mother often giving something, as we say, to these lepers as we passed by. Yes leprosy, the illustrious disease of old, those are Poor Nigerians.

Lepers like most other unfortunate and vulnerable Nigerians live in appalling conditions. In the particular case of these diseased, they live in colonies such as the Uzuakoli colony, Minna leprosy village, Nnewi leper home, Omu-Aran leprosarium and others built by missionaries like Dr A. B. McDonald during the colonial era. Since the departures of the missionaries however, most of them have been neglected, our people have been abandoned! There is a lack of basic healthcare, shelter, food, clothing and general social security. We want to see all these change in the next four years, at least set us on the right path.

Nigeria has within the last year survived a triple threat of Ebola, oil price crash and election violence scare; we are a resilient and blessed people. If you try to take our lights we will put on generators, if you try to take our water we will dig bore holes, if you don’t give us medicine, we will take agbo (local herbs), essentially, we will survive, but we are tired of surviving, we want to live!

Finally sir, I wish to say to you; let your dreams for Nigeria be larger than your fears, let your actions speak louder than your words and last but by far not the least, let your faith in your country be stronger than your feelings.

God bless you Mr New President and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

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NIGERIA IN DIM TIMES, WHERE IS OUR DARK KNIGHT?

Image by Jegzyd

http://jouleconcepts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/nigeria-in-dim-times-where-is-our-dark.html?m=1
(I am starting my own blog, so I'm bringing along all my articles that I published on a friend's blog)

Nigeria has long since descended to a tale of power struggles, organised crimes and absurdities; hooligans walk majestically along our famed corridors of power, cabals with several points in their agenda wait for a chance at a piece of the national cake and a single stretch of road probably less than a hundred metres can be ‘ear’ or ‘eye’ marked for construction, the Lord only knows how many times. From whichever angle you choose to look at things, the situation is worse than grim, it is very dark!

The thought on any critical mind should certainly be the question of how we got to this sinister chapter called 'Fifteen Years of Democracy' or if you prefer 'A Century since Lord Luggard'. I personally prefer the latter because it allows me berate the gentleman who, for the convenience of the Crown, merged people of different ideologies. Notwithstanding, they say marriage is in sickness and in health and for better or for worse, so to us, a long and happy life; long live Nigeria!

Now back to our grim tales, where were we? Ah yes, we were starting from the angle of absurdities. Strange things never seem to lack within our porous boarders, especially the ever exciting political arena. These are the only episodes we catch on the news so what choice do we have but to soak garri and enjoy the drama. The gate scaling gymnastics by our Honourable speaker and his team of athletes is but one of the recent shows, set up for us this time by a grand puppet master in the shadows - we still don’t know who. It was a merry show I dare say, eliciting cheers and applause from the gentlemen with stage side seats, remember? Do you recall the less pleasant purchase and importation of a thirteen year old girl from Egypt by our very own Senator Yerima for marriage, how could such a matter of child abuse have been easily swept under the carpet, how can we as a people condone such?

The recent Presidential power struggle, excuse me, elections have General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) pitted against Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ). The battle between the Incumbent-Doctor (PhD) and the Retired-General for the top public seat in the nation is intense; episodes of this scuffle with The Professor, Attahiru Jega, as referee are selling like hot cake or if you prefer hot akara with bread. The show has been rife with mudslinging and defections, captivating and swaying the minds of the insatiable viewers. The situation down in the south, Rivers State, has unfortunately degraded to a rally of bullets at party campaigns, bomb blasts and knife assaults on journalists. Up north, we are not spared the inanity of people, citizens I believe, attacking the presidential convoy; a treasonable offense!

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In the south-west, the nation's commercial capital’s gubernatorial situation is, in my opinion, a mirror of the national battle with the power play interchanged; Lagos sees the defending champion, APC represented by Mr Akinwunmi Ambode being challenged by the PDP multi-time contester Mr Jimi Agbaje; Eko oni baje o! In the  north-east, the nation's thorn-in-the-side, Boko Haram, has been terrorising citizens for more than four years now generating more than a million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and even marking out their own caliphate. But fear not! The Nigerian Army has also been in pursuit for these many years and now Chad, Niger, Cameroon and the rest of the African Union have decided that it is time to join the fray. Despite the postponement of the elections and the fear of many both home and abroad that it is a ploy by the ruling party to manipulate outcomes, the game of thrones is still on.

I am sure most of you are familiar with The God Father, the famous novel and film that illuminates the inner workings of organised crime. Without another word, those twelve letters - T h e  G o d  F a t h e r -  are enough to call to mind the nature of atrocities committable by Dons and their henchmen. If only Mario Puzo’s book could tell us the workings in the shadows of our own country, then perhaps, a solution to our plague of crookedness would have been found. Be it Honourable Dimeji Bankole, Governor James Ibori or Honourable Farouk Lawan and their ‘alleged’ crimes or the ordinary Nigerian in an office extorting his fellow Nigerians, corruption or simply put, stealing, has eaten so deep into the moral fibre of our nation that an effective solution is yet to be found. God help us as we help ourselves.

There should come a time, I say ‘should’ because it seems we have not decided that our time has come, when a people stand up and say enough is enough. The recent riots in Mexico for instance, precipitated by the killing of 43 college students, have shown that Mexicans are tired of being bullied by cartels. The protests in Ferguson in the US have shown that the Black community of America will no longer stand for its children being police targets. The recent French rally around the Charlie Hebdo magazine under the standard of "Je Suis Charlie" when ISIS operatives attacked and killed 12 of its cartoonists is another instance of a people standing up together. Are you still sitting down, waiting for a saviour?

I’m sure most of us are looking forward to a six foot tall, broad chested, charming fellow to swoop into the scene with a deep, husky voice, guns blazing to save the day; we are all dreaming of a ‘Dark Knight’ of some sorts who will come to save Nigeria. Wake up, stop deceiving yourself, he is not coming! I often ask myself:

“Why have Nigerians not reacted to their present situation of repression? Is it sheer cowardice or have they simply grown to love the sound of their oppressors’ cracking whip?"

Nigeria is our Gotham, villains and crime abound. It is either we stand up and do something about it, become the Batmen to our city or we let the Jokers and Banes of our own story rule Gotham City.

The Choice is yours!

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