Finally, 2016 has commenced officially world over. And we all have our goals set for the year, and our aspirations for the country and our personal lives. Nonetheless, i would like to start by referring to the events in the country in the last couple of weeks that has left much of a bitter taste in the mouth. And whether we like it or not, we need to evaluate the past to learn and make amends for the future.
Politics
THE IMMUNITY CLAUSE UNDER THE NIGERIAN 1999 CONSTITUTION: A CURSE OR BLESSING – Conclusion
Continued from Yesterday.
Again, experience has shown in Nigeria that it is not only protected officers that are corrupt. There have been cases of graft against local government chairmen who are not protected by Section 308, Directors of parastatals, ministers and so on. If these people who are not protected are corrupt as the protected ones, then the problem lies somewhere else and probably not with the immunity clause. Continue reading
THE IMMUNITY CLAUSE UNDER THE NIGERIAN 1999 CONSTITUTION: A CURSE OR BLESSING
Earlier in the week, heard in the news that the Nigerian Senate wants to amend the constitution, in particular the immunity clause due to the recent travails of the embattled Senate President. The rational, according to them, is to protect the number 3 Citizen of the country from “distractions” emanating from Court Proceedings instituted by either the state or individuals.
The Will to Survive 2 – Playing the Ostrich.
In my last post, i opened with what Parents will do to make their children survive and touched on the migrant crisis in Europe. Little did i know that, a far greater evil will take place that will galvanize the world into action.
Aylan was a cute boy full of life and bright mischievous eyes that light up when he smiles. He was a three-year old boy born in the midst of the Syrian civil war. And as it got increasingly unsafe and dangerous, Continue reading
The Will to Survive
Came across this picture on the social media some days ago and got me really thinking. As I sat and pondered over the picture, a wave of sympathy swept over me for the man and his child caught in a political high stakes game of war he didn’t sign for. A.refuge in his own country, I can’t help but notice the sad, dejected yet determined look on his face to make ends meet to feed his daughter and himself. The fact that he was carrying his daughter points to another issue, no accommodation. And his daughter Continue reading
THERE IS INDEED,A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN!
By Tunde Olayode
If before now,you are among the motley crowd of”doubting Thomas,”doubting the veracity of the incontrovertible fact that,there a new “Sheriff” in town,with a name Mohammed Buhari,nor you think,talking about new Sheriff in town all these days,is an infantile jokes of sort.Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Buhari new appointment,that proved all political pundit and book-makers flat- footed wrong,should long have cleared that doubt,since last-night.
Continue reading
PROBING JONATHAN YEARS – BUHARI MUST EAT THAT FROG NOW!
By Tunde Olayode
The core essence of leadership,is making a decision.So essentially in his job description,upon been hired,the apogee of his function that encapsulate all other thing,is making decision for the common good of all and the consequence of which,he face the music alone,as result of his decision.
On The Famous Side of History!
There comes a moment in time, in the history of nations and people of the earth, when you decide, on whose side you want to be.
On the famous side of history or infamous side of history. There is no sitting on the fence here, its simply matter of a single choice.
God Give Us Men! – Part 3
Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
And whose princes party all night.
Lucky the land whose king is mature,
Where the princes behave themselves
And don’t drink themselves silly……..Eccc 10:16-17 (MSG)
Poverty has risen in Nigeria, with almost 100 million people living on less than a $1 (£0.63) a day, despite economic growth, statistics have shown. The National Bureau of Statistics said 60.9% of Nigerians in 2010 were living in “absolute poverty” – this figure had risen from 54.7% in 2004. BBC News – Nigerians living in poverty rise to nearly 61%
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, absolute poverty is measured by the number of people who can afford only the bare essentials of shelter, food and clothing. The NBS said that relative poverty was most apparent in the north of the country, with Sokoto state’s poverty rate the highest at 86.4%.
In the north-west and north-east of the country poverty rates were recorded at 77.7% and 76.3% respectively, compared to the south-west at 59.1%.
BBC Africa analyst Richard Hamilton says it is perhaps no surprise that extremist groups, such as Boko Haram, continue to have an appeal in northern parts of the country, where poverty and underdevelopment are at their most severe. The report also revealed that Nigerians consider themselves to be getting poorer. In 2010, 93.9% of respondents felt themselves to be poor compared to 75.5% six years earlier.
And Corruption is on the increase steadily in the nation. Its so entrench in the fabric of our nation that its now a second skin. Its so brazenly done now that it’s the norm, its business as usual. Interestingly, Nigeria is not quite the most corrupt country on earth. But according to Transparency International, which monitors international financial corruption, it is not far off — coming a shameful 172nd worst among the 215 nations surveyed. Legislators earn the highest salaries in the world, with a basic wage of £122,000, nearly double what British MPs earn and many hundreds of times that of the country’s ordinary citizens. (www.dailymail.co.uk).
80 per cent of the country’s substantial oil revenues go to the government, which disburses cash to individual governors and hundreds of their cronies, so effectively these huge sums remain in the hands of a mere 1 per cent of the Nigerian population. And we call ourselves a Nation….
I could go on about the economy but here is not the time to do that analysis. It will be for another time.
God Give Us Men! Part 2
Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,And whose princes party all night.Lucky the land whose king is mature,Where the princes behave themselvesAnd don’t drink themselves silly……..Eccc 10:16-17 (MSG)
Am sure Josiah Gilbert Holland must have had this scriptures in mind when he penned the poem, God Give Us Men!
In our nation Nigeria, ever since we returned to democracy in 1999, i would say, the last 3 years has been the most miserable, and heart-rending so far. Before you start to take pocket shots, lets sit back and do a reflection, from Obasanjo’s 8 years to Yar’Adua’s 2-3 year sojourn and to Ebele’s current dispensation.
Each time i had the opportunity to sit with my Brother to talk heart to heart, his one major line is this, “It has never been this bad, but it will get better”. His other line, “this country cannot go on like this, otherwise there will be a total catastrophe”. And i won’t agree less… Here is someone who runs his own business and provides jobs for People. But has been forced to tailor down his operations, lay off people and had to set up a satellite office due in an area with “better” electricity than where the main office is.
Let’s look at the economy, yes we re-based our economy this year to make us the biggest economy in Africa, but in terms of naira and kobo to the peasant on the streets, what has this translated to? To the young chap and lady just leaving school, what is the job prospects? To the entrepreneur, where is the market, the financing, the wherewithal to successfully establish and run a business.
According to the Economist, ” Of course, Nigerians are no richer than they were……. The majority of the country’s 170m people live on less than a dollar a day. What the revised GDP figures show is that its economy is far more than just an oil enclave, exporting crude to pay for imported goods from richer countries. The oil industry’s share of GDP is now put at just 14%, compared with 33% according to the old figures. Manufacturing is much larger than previously thought. Services are booming. It is still a tough place in which to do business. – See more at: http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/04/economist-explains-2#sthash.WqXrim3L.dpuf”
With Oil accounting for 75% of Budgetted revenue, it is becoming increasingly a stark reality that the country needs to change its source of revenue from predominantly oil to other alternate source. Oil revenues has been on a steady decline in the last couple of years with the resultant effect on government budgeting, weaker oil prices, fall in capital project funding, fall in revenue sharing and all the works.
To be continued….
samaderibigbe 