ABOUT A WORD.

You see, I decided to check what was trending on twitter this evening and saw Kemi Adeosun was. 

I wondered why so I decided to check it out. I didn't bother to dig too deep but the summary of it was that some folks including many supposed to be cerebral slated the finance minister for allegedly dismissing Nigeria's status of recession as "just a word." Some folks asked for her resignation while more 'eloquent' ones demanded for her sack by the president. 

Some were very angry because she appeared to dismiss the 'suffering' of the masses by saying "recession is just a word" while others stated it more accurately "recession is a word" but these ones were still equally angry. 

So I saw this tweet by one fellow who I understand worked with someone associated with the last administration and now a social media celebrity or something like that.  I'm kind of glad I didn't get to know him while in the university of Ibadan. Well the dude now runs an online propaganda outfit where he gets to write a lot about members of the present administration and also publish statements from the likes of Diezani Madueke explaining her financial activities and stuff like that. 

You see,  this guy tweeted the link to an article on his online paper which was about how Mrs Adeosun denied she made the statement through an aide and how a twitter profile allegedly operated by her tweeted the same words and then deleted it before editing the bio and some other nonsense like that.  There are some tweets which indicate that the mentioned twitter account does not actually belong to the minister.  The story also had a youtube video link to a speech delivered by the minister at a town hall meeting in Abuja early in August https://youtu.be/tZcwG36gq3Y. This is their proof that the minister is a fraud, insensitive and deserving of a sack. 

I read the article and watched the video; I'm still amazed that supposedly sensible people reacted negatively to the "recession is a word" comment.  What exactly is the problem with some Nigerians?  Are they just defiant or just deeply flawed and bereft of comprehending things accurately in context? 

I replied the tweet by this twitter intellectual and asked him if the matter on Adeosun's statement and the video was what he tagged "Scandal." I asked him to "get a grip" but he replied and told me to read the article in order to get a grip. I replied that I indeed read his "lame" article and then asked if that was the best he could have come up with.  MrFixNigeria then slammed his hammer and declared my banishment into twitter 'blockdom.' He blocked me from both his personal handle and that of his online machine and I'm left to wither as a destitute in Cyberia. 

Well, that fellow has tomorrow to deal with. I'm sure he'll come forward seeking public office and will use his exploits over the past 5years as leverage but social media will be there to remind the electorate that he'd not be worth it. 

For those who have constantly asked why we have struggles as a nation;  you may do well to watch the "recession is a word" video and pay rapt attention to every word spoken by the minister.  Hopefully the impervious ceiling blocking the download of commonsense to many Nigerians will come crashing down.

Hopefully.

ON UMBRELLAS

My President has been mocked severely for this canopy this one time..

Well,..here

And here again... Can I apply for this job?

But they forget he's like steel really, he can brave any weather.

They say he should be like this guy who's got swag all locked down.

And his fellow southpaw who didn't learn anything politically from Nigeria. Brexit lásán làsàn ló gbe shánlè.

They forgot Belu bobo na mafia Don

And this guy...bad guy

What about this guy?

Even Madiba the great after prison?

My gee Fortunato post presidency

Or these former service chiefs. Police IG too go dey form

But mama Charlie get different color sef  to match her dress

And awon omo Charlie nko..Fine geh💓.

RR carried his own in old age

But no be everyday

For Master Putin, I bet that umbrella is very useful for self defence.

security detail still dey chase master Putin with one

Back to Cameron, still lèpá here while campaigning in Birmingham

Oh, my guy....once in a while sha.

Our golf stars still need their protection as well since they can't wear 'raincoat' like Tiger

Over sabi no dey ever make sense

Just flow with the swag at times to avoid unnecessary complications.

MORE THAN A MYTH.

I have used a part of the text copied here before as a Facebook post but I want to use it again hoping that it'd drive home a message this time around.

The words copied are part of a press statement by Obafemi Awolowo at the Action Group headquarters in Lagos on the 28th of June 1961.

"African Unity is a necessity" is the title of this statement and the part which strikes me the most is that about Africa not affording to behave like the mythical phoenix believing that she can burn and destroy herself before resurrecting from the fire.

Can we replace Africa with Nigeria in this context? There are those (especially 'educated' folks) who are passively or actively wishing that Nigeria burns and disintegrates either to prove a supremacist point or just out of suffering from a bandwagon syndrome. If we ask certain individuals why they detest the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; I'm not certain we'd be able to squeeze out concrete and legitimate reasons from them; they just hate the man mainly because of what they've been reading on social media or due to some autosomal dominant disdain they inherited from their forbears.

I am not one to lump up entire groups of people and stereotype them as all having a common flaw. However, it is my opinion that majority of those who are vehemently opposed to the incumbent administration headed by Mr president have tribe and/ or religion in common and this is significant. There are also those who are opposed simply because of political affiliation or other preexisting sentiments.

John Kerry who currently is the third in line to the American presidency in case of emergency reasons was recently in Nigeria. He met with the president and the 19 Northern governors as well as stopping by in Sokoto to see the Sultan. It is amazing how some people have translated this visit by the American foreign secretary as proof of President Buhari’s 'Islamization agenda'; whatever that means. USA and spreading Islam? Femi Fani-Kayode has recently become the spiritual overseer of many 'Christians' in Nigeria and his recent conspiracy theories should be copied by Nollywood to expand their production capabilities. How anyone pays attention to the high and risen state of FFK is still a mystery I'm trying to solve.

Is it that Nigerians don't have a clue about what Nigeria was or potential is? Do they not know that our exploited resources have in the past been used to develop entire nations? Our artworks still adorn many museums in the United kingdom till today and our blood irrigated Congo Kinshasha, Burma, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Angola got planes, funds and frozen meat from us in the 1970s and apartheid didn't rest from our trouble making.

Gowon paid the salaries of civil servants in another country at one time but by the early 1980s we were caught up in a worsening economic situation alongside other Sub-Saharan nations. The situation must have been so pressing enough for the acting secretary general of the Organization of African Unity to write to the president of the world bank on December 11th, 1984. Dr. Peter Onu conveyed the resolution of the member nations of the OAU to accept the world bank's plan to establish a "special fund for Africa" which was to be financed by certain 'friendly' donor nations. Onu requested for progress report on the establishment of that fund highlighting the economic downturn that confronted the African nations; that sounded desperate to me considering that the OAU had developed a "Lagos Plan of Action" in April 1980 characterized by the creation of an African economic community [like the ECOWAS] liberated from negative trade relations on the global stage; food sufficiency, trade cooperation on the continent and development of transport systems, communication and industry. They said we were not ready and it appears we are still not ready largely because saboteurs have thrived for far too long but I may be wrong. I do not know exactly how the economic crisis of the early 1980s relates to the mismanaged Nigeria of that era but I think there is a chance Nigeria's stability affects the entire continent with respect to economic viability and in modern times, security.

Awo advised us in 1960 to establish large scale ranches in Northern Nigeria and close the educational gap between the North and the South but it appears these counsel still continues to fall on deaf ears. I feel some people are perfectly alright if this status quo remains. When there are calls for livestock grazing areas; the only thing which some people understand is that their land will be seized from them. Land is a resource which ought to be seen as something that'll yield increase whether it's seed sown in it or animals reared upon. Our land area is massive, should we not consider making room for agriculture to thrive upon across the nation? It's not every space that we'll be able to build houses upon; I believe we should trust the government(s) to make appropriate and judicious use of these lands. It's important to note that the main sponsors of bills regarding livestock grazing are actually PDP members.

Agriculture is far more than farming tubers and grains; it is also so more white Fulanis and Red Bororos. Some nations thrive and earn foreign exchange via agriculture and exporting agriculture products as well as indigenously developed technology. Small industries cannot thrive without agriculture; Governor Willy Obiano during a visit to Interfact breweries in Onitsha a few weeks ago announced a 2017 target for the provision of an important raw material from Anambra farms which the operators of the plant had always sourced from South Africa. I'm sure those who heard were unhappy and some Nigerians would have been empowered to sabotage the governor's plans just like other Nigerians do in just about every sector.

If Nigeria succeeds, we all succeed. It is high time certain Nigerians looked at themselves in the mirror to see their self inflicted mutilated faces. Nigeria won't burn and it matter how many times they confess or pray it. Nigeria is a more than a Phoenix; we are not a myth but the real deal. We have weathered every storm and this present incapacitating wave of ethnoreligious and political intolerance is one we can and will ride like we've always done. However, we will rise this time and be that global force with people John F. Kennedy said were her greatest asset.

Let's start being Nigerians again; let's start being human again.

References

Voice of Reason : Selected speeches of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Fagbamigbe publishers Akure. 1981.

Diplomatic soldiering. Joseph N. Garba.

RADIO PLAGUE

One of the most agonizing jobs in Lagos right now must be hosting radio shows on national issues which involve significant audience participation via routine phone calls and the diverse social media platforms.

I get to listen to the radio every weekday, particularly in the mornings so I am quite familiar with certain shows aired on certain stations that dedicate sufficient time for discussing sports, politics and current affairs. I must commend the efforts of some On-air personalities in preparing sufficiently for their shows and such need to be encouraged. Some shows are however shallow, prejudiced and downright destructive. I still remember my Twitter exchanges with a certain radio host on Wazobia FM. Individuals like that are reasons why clamping down on free speech be deemed acceptable measures; they are no different from Nnamdi Kanu of the Radio Biafra infamy.

The discussions on Nigerian matters are usually interesting due to the many amazing things happening; these range from legislative budget padding to comical judicial declarations to the suspected slowness or perceived ineffectiveness of the executive. It is apparent that the emergence of a Northern Muslim septuagenarian in March 2015 as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria remains a chief cause of migraine and heartache to many who bitterly opposed his candidacy in 2015 due to reasons best known to them. Many of these unhappy individuals have since resorted to regularly calling into these programs on radio perhaps to continue spewing their bile or simply to console themselves; who knows?

The radio hosts usually start out by declaring the topic up for discussion and then follow up by an introduction or background summary of the subject matter. The good hosts may offer facts and figures, references and other relevant information to aid the potential callers in contributing appropriately and coherently. For example, the story of the day may be: "FG agrees multimillion dollar deal with Japan to connect 36 State capitals and the FCT with high speed trains." This example will normally initiate a lot of feedback with many expressing opinions for or against depending on the nature of the struck deal. Unfortunately, I have observed that there are those serial callers who have become accustomed to digression and diversion. These individuals go from radio station to radio station regurgitating the same lyrics and taking every opportunity to weigh into the President even when the topic being discussed has nothing to do with the elderly man.

On one occasion, the topic discussed was the allegation of budget padding in the Federal House of assembly by Mr Jibrin. Some highly cerebral individuals managed to downplay the parts played by the key actors in the plot; they however cast the President as the villain and the source of the budget diapers. These great fellows have proven to be highly effective corruption detectors. They are not hoodwinked by the characteristic corrupt practices of President and his crew and they are certain of his 'cluelessness'. Interestingly, these corruption detectors never found anything wrong with the Hero of the last administration; most will never admit that president Jonathan and his cohort were perpetually on a corruption diet.

I listened in today to two separate shows on the same topic which was reported in some daily newspapers. The President based on counsel from his economic team headed by the vice president was prepared to send a bill to the National Assembly for emergency powers to issue executive orders to expedite measures aimed at quickening the pace of economic recovery by navigating through unnecessary bureaucracy. 

On one show, the regular bashers of Mr President were on hand to condemn the proposed bill. As far as they were concerned, the president of Nigeria is one of the most powerful in the world and already with enough powers to do whatever was necessary to get the nation back on track. It is not clear exactly what "whatever it takes" refers to but many have constantly harped on true federalism, restructuring the country or the implementation of the report of the sovereign nation conference. They took this further by accusing the president of seeking executive powers for the sole purpose of fulfilling a 'tyrannical' tendency carried over from his years in the army. 

"The National Assembly must trash this bill" they said and they went further to blame Mr President for failing to revive the economy within one year and three months, sufficient time in their optic chiasma to take Nigeria from third world to first world. I do not want to go into the subject of apology peddlers; I am afraid I do not take them seriously. Back to the radio callers; I was delighted when the host of another morning show discussing the same topic cut off one caller for going off on a tangent and suggesting to the host that she did not clearly understand his 'majestic' point. He was actually talking two truckloads of cow dung without sticking to the topic for five seconds. 

I truly wonder how these radio hosts cope with the plenty thrash talk bursting their headsets on a regular basis. I am not certain I have the temperament to stay quiet and listen to more than a few incredibly shallow individuals who take pride in what they assume is superior wisdom and knowledge of how a nation works. They are like one of their mentors who wrote an article recently where he highlighted his prediction that Donald Trump would win the Republican party primaries and ultimately the White House. This same man interestingly was unable to see the future of his former boss when the latter ran for presidential reelection in 2015. 

I believe radio show hosts expect robust discussions and debates from their callers. I can only imagine the amount of restraint they deploy to stay silent and unconfrontational in the face of pseudo intellectualism and outright bigotry. There is always freedom of speech and even the foul mouthed and 'never see good' folks must not be denied their moment of fame and rage. One fellow on an afternoon call in show must have spoken for almost five minutes on the state of the nation with so much anger but he made absolutely no sense. The post host tried in vain to reason with him without success; he must have felt like someone saved from drowning when the call eventually got terminated.  

Many of our Nigerian brothers do not cover themselves in any glory. They claim objectivity but deep in their hearts harbour  ethnic and religious skeletons. They are committed to antagonising the current administration and hope Nigeria fails so that they can crown a certain individual as  the greatest hero of all time. Like the radio hosts, this is the unfortunate post election plague we have to patiently deal with. I'm optimistic that there is a cure and the inevitable good performance of the incumbent administration to resuscitate and rehabilitate the economy is hopefully that cure if the antibodies of our dear friends do not fight back.

This government is condemned to succeed; there is no other option but success. We should properly criticise those in charge but still trust and support them. If they succeed, we all succeed and not one particular ethnic group or political party. I hope this scars some brain tissue.

A "YUGE" CASE FOR A TRUMPET?

Is Donald Trump as POTUS really going to have the 'football' for America's nuclear warheads in his hands and press 'X' and 'O' like a game console to unleash terror on America's enemies?

Is he going to invite Putin to a White house 'orgyfest' simply because he may be a KGB operative activated to bring down the great USA?

Harry Truman was in no way like Trump except that the first four letters of their names are similar but he dumped two atomic bombs on Japan even though he was a democrat. Over 100,000 human beings got wiped out in just 2 days and plenty more left with physical disorders.

Bush senior and junior are not openly backing Trump (perhaps due to Jeb missing out on making it a Bush Hattrick at the Whitehouse) but they invaded Kuwait and Iraq/ Afghanistan respectively. George W's time as POTUS is better forgotten especially with the revelations coming from Tony Blair and the perpetually missing weapons of mass destruction yet he didn't indulge in vile and hateful speech like Trump actively does.

I understand why many folks love the outgoing POTUS Barack Obama; he has a lovely wife. Pardon? you mean he's loved for far more than that? My bad, the brother's got swag no doubt and seems able to restrain himself even in the face of severe abuse like he got when he first ran for president. He's shot hoops like no other POTUS and he's got a trainable voice for broadway. Barack knows how many drops of tears to release per school shooting and he knows how to make everyone forget that he campaigned to shut down Guatanamo bay.

Guatanamo was not his fault really, there are many things politicians rant about when on the outside but as soon as they get briefed before taking office; their 'initial gragra' gets neutralized. When it comes to security of a state, it goes beyond the charisma of a POTUS. Who says that Trump would not have his cerebral cortex fried by the establishment just in case he finds a way to win the election in November? A lot can happen between November and January.

Let us admit it; the idea of a first female POTUS sounds very brilliant and reasonable considering the times we live in and the number of female actors who have played POTUS in various television series. Those presidents on TV did not do badly I must say so Hillary can definitely do great. Above all these, Madam Hillary has had to wait 8 long years for her turn. At 69, she could have been preparing for a retirement with Bill 70 and her grand kids but she has to smile for the camera and do this job for the next 8 years till she turns 77 potentially. In a country where a 35year old can aspire to be president, Mama Clinton is just getting her chance and one recently converted democrat 75yrs old Bernie Sanders wanted to mix reggae with her blues. Are we shocked at the contents of the leaked emails from the Democratic party officials?

It could have been Barack at 55 taking his first plunge and making history as the democrat candidate this year but Hillary is the one to make her own history instead. Trump can also make his own history too. He has done well for himself already by upturning the carts of the Republican party and turning them into a race based group.That party is at great risk of going into orbit and never to return; many there are waiting for the Trump asteroid to crash land so they can leverage on that to make renewed bids in four years but their collective future is indeed bleak.

Trump may just be the joker in a cleverly written plot to ensure Hillary gets crowned as the Queen of America or he may be a genuine candidate determined to make America grate again by the construction of a yuge wall. There is nothing really wrong with building a wall if such a structure was built without plunging the nation into debts. Trump may just have barb wire, straw or plywood as his material of choice for building that fence.

Would I vote for Trump if I was American? Absolutely not. I think he has a big and porous oral cavity and won't be able to hurt a fly unlike how apocalyptic he is portrayed but I may just be wrong. I think I would be more offended by his foul words more than anything else. Would I vote for Hillary against Trump? Maybe, I'm not wowed by her, I just think she's eager to make history more than anything else even though she is qualified for the job. Being a president of any country means one will have to kill people; let us not kid ourselves. Hillary or Trump, people will die but we can't tell the rate.

Under ideal conditions, Trump wouldn't even run for governor but he had an opening and he took it. Those who think he cannot win should rethink and do the needful to counter him. It's not just enough to lay back and tell people how motherly and caring Hillary is.

Some folks who support somone like Ayo Fayose for his foul mouth are out telling people how foul Trump is because they like the idea of a Clinton dynasty. That is just politics.

(Some ages quoted are estimated based on what they'd be this year)

NA TODAY?!

It is quite hilarious how many Nigerians express shock at the manifestations of the issues plaguing Nigeria like they didn't know beforehand that we have serious problems. 

We have problems no doubt,  some admit we do while many others either live in denial or are genuinely naïve. The fundamental problem(s) with our union is widespread and the symptoms are more or less similar across various systems. 

We have been informed that we are technically in recession (even though some don't quite like the use of technically) and that our contingent to the Rio Olympics are out sourcing for help to live their dreams. There is not enough money to do as we like which is the truth but some do not want to accept this just as they do not accept that the looting of the past years since democracy returned has brought the nation to her knees. 

Some individuals came out claiming to be Marvel comic characters while another group claimed marginalisation and sought secession. Oil installations were set ablaze like it was Christmas season yet they demanded for more revenue; the president was blackmailed and accused of crimes despite being just a few months into his tenure. Some athletes have recently become very vocal and overtly criticised their trainers and officials like the impending failure at the Olympics has nothing to do with all that has happened for many years now. 

Many have cheered the Avengers for holding the nation to ransome and those who think secession with bring them paradise have not lost their voices. Times are hard but many want Merlin as their president.  They don't realise or won't admit that this anemic nation won't bounce back immediately after a life threatening crisis just at the snap of a finger. 

The truth is that Sports in Nigeria has been run in recent years as an appendage of government;  a sector to rehabilitate politicians and retired military folks. It was so even when we had success winning championships and Olympic medals.  We threw money at everything and those within sports administration fed fat.  They got so used to feeding that Amos Adamu found himself in FIFA and joined the bandwagon.  

The practice of 'chop clean mouth' is characteristic of Nigeria and all her ministries. One becomes endangered and vilified if one appears to be opposed to this modus operandi. $200,000 was reported to have gone missing from the safe of the Nigeria football federation a few years ago and that money remains in a gaseous state till tomorrow. That is exactly how monies have been vaporising over the years in Nigeria such that even hardware like generators got snuffed like cocaine dispensed on a phone. 

Scandals have always happened but they always threw money at such. There have always been disputes between officials and sports people over money.  Footballers complained about travel arrangements and safety; some had to wash and wear jerseys in between games while our female team was once conveyed in a truck from the airport after arriving from a successful nations cup in South Africa. 

It is not today that our athletes got upset and dumped the country for saner climes; our fastest man opted for the British navy to wade in water.  I watched one boxer one day get pummeled by a well nourished North African  during an All African games bout in 1999 and I wondered why he was starved before the games. We went from a nation blessed with great female quater milers to one searching for those who couldn't make the grade in other nations to represent us. 

All these happened but those who played the politics successfully recycled themselves and lived large covering their tracks in the process. They always appeared to get it right at the youth level but these youngsters somehow more often than not manage to fade into oblivion due to retroactive fusion of their epiphyseal plates. The football house was always broke and were perpetually cap in hand begging previously boyant governors for bail out. Money no dey again and this has embarrassingly exposed their poverty such that no foreigner is interested in their job offer. Unfortunately the man who wants the job is deemed unworthy and people who do not even have a clue of his record indulged in vilifying him on social media because of his ethnicity and religion. It is unfortunate that Nigerian coaches including the recently departed ones are still owed money. 

Nigeria is one nation where the rich, high and mighty oppress the poor.  It is one country where a 'money miss road' football club chairman went onto a football pitch after a match involving his team and slapped an opposing player. Trainers and officials must have oppressed and blackmailed their athletes forcing them down the alley of cheating and servitude.  Football administrators have been reported to literally sell players like slaves for financial reward and match fixing has not been alien to us. 

Many have thrown the word 'restructure' around but I fear they don't quite understand what it connotes.  We want to restructure Nigeria but we may not understand how greatly messed up we are.  I think it goes beyond one man issue a directive in a democratic setting;  the people also have to want restructuring. This is more than changing a roof or repairing some pillars;  it may require a new foundation altogether but it appears we don't want the time out in the sun or rain. 

We have had a dysfunctional civil service in Nigeria (I can't tell how much disorganised this it in all ministries) but we cannot just fire them all to import new ones. The last individual who shook the nation in like manner was eliminated within 7 months. In recent years,  we would not have readily gotten wind of failings in government but we get such now.  I think this is much needed transparency which allows the people to see clearly the problems and those who trouble us. 

It is not money released in the past 12 months that would have adequately prepared us for the Olympics to win medals. Serious nations have been prepping their sports men,  women and teens for at least 4 years since the London games.  We have had budgets,  grants,  sponsorship deals and all sorts of revenue sources over the past 4 years at least but only a remnant must have trickled down to those who actually needed such funds to prepare.  We ought to be glad that this is out in the open;  we would not have helped ourselves if we went the denial route and bailed out the creators of this mess. 

Another truth is that the resources available to the central government to fight financial crimes have been stretched very thin. There has been corruption in the sports ministry but the reality on ground is that the investigators can only do one step at a time.  The same way a wrapper has been tied to cover the rot in sports is the same a laboratory coat covers the decay in the health sector and the book of these ministries haven't been brought out yet for scrutiny like defence and petroleum. The politicians, other civilians and military folks under scrutiny for arms purchase are busy playing chess with the judicial process while they get protection from their aides and fan club who do not waste time to scream "Victimisation,  witch hunting or tribalism" when questions are asked of them. 

Corrupt  administrators at all levels have their fans as well but it will take other stakeholders getting sick and tired of mediocrity to wrestle our institutions from their grip and prevent them from covering up their deeds and manipulating the justice system.  We really need to take this raging bull by the horn instead of letting it roam free to destroy our fields.

To the matter of the minister of sports Solomon Dalong. I have read many criticisms about his choice of apparel but frankly;  I don't have any issues with his khaki and red beret. We have had ministers draped in expensive 'agbadas' or red caps in the past who were woeful at their jobs.  He is most likely out of his depth sportswise but this is the hazard of our federal character system of appointing government officials and ministers.  Many of those contesting his abilities now will be the most vocal if their kin or state got overlooked for an ambassadorial slot as stipulated in the constitution. 

I am not certain being from any catchment area should be the most important criterion to become a minister in an associated field. Doctors have mostly held sway in the health ministry but the disputes in that ministry are near world war proportions and never ending.  A lawyer is the attorney general but that judicial sector has been systematically rigged to ensure a phone thief got locked up for months to years while another who collapsed a bank remains relevant and without a fine.  Dalong has not covered himself in glory by meddling with football matters and claiming that Nigeria qualified for the Olympics while some other unfortunate nations didn't. He has also been making some noise for a few months about the state of his ministry's finances but I guess he wasn't taken serious enough. 

The sports ministry didn't necessarily need a minister to get us well prepared for Rio. We don't need some of the ministries we have now and we also don't need so many ministers.  The reality is that a few of those appointments were made to fulfil all righteousness and we should be weary about being overly upset that there are many redundant portfolios.  Should we not aid the current administration to develop a system that eliminates waste instead of always brandishing a seemingly sacrosanct constitution overdue for modification? 

Are we really ready to wrestle our nation from the sleeper hold of corruption and its sons? It is high time we embraced and leveraged on the information getting out to make appropriate demands of our government to truly serve the people and ensure justice is served.  I'm afraid we will suffer and experience some embarrassment from this process but this is the bitter truth we have to tell ourselves if we are indeed sincere. We need a complete culture overhaul and I want to believe we are on the right track.

Open Roofs

I have had it in my mind to write about the state of some of the schools I have seen in Lagos for more than a few months now; I shelved these thoughts until today.

I must commend the efforts of the state government over the years since the return of democracy in 1999. What existed in the few years prior to end of military rule was nothing to write to the Queen about. Many dropped out of school and either acquired technical/ creative skills or followed the wide road engaging in such vices as crime, substance abuse and diverse deeds which their parents would have been embarrassed about. Those who stayed had to practically arrange for their own education despite the proliferation of gang violence and cultism within the schools. There is no doubt that many became premature mothers who remain under the care of their parents till this day. Some pursued adventures into higher institutions either as tag along passengers without admission letters or became professional students who never graduated but pursued fraudulent student unionism for more than a decade. The stories of cult related killings are abundant and gory such that HBO could produce more than three full series from the numerous authentic tales. Many geniuses were sadly cut short before their primes by illness, cult violence or the ever persistent accidents on the mine fields we call roads in Nigeria. How politicians can know about all these and yet continue in their folly and thievery is beyond human comprehension.

Back to the current matter; I have had the privilege to travel a bit around this country and to visit quite a number of schools across the land save the SouthEast and most of the SouthSouth region. The seeds planted by the Premier of the old Western region yielded trees which still remain till this day. The works of the missionary institutions also still remain however there are still regions where pupils take lessons under palm frond sheds like my father did in the 1950s while in his home country. It is clearly that the governments of recent years have not done enough to match the foundations laid by those of the past; many of the buildings constructed in the 1940s-1970s still stand despite the many years of wear and torsion unlike those erected in the last few years. They have simply relegated education and squandered whatever ought to have been ploughed into educating Nigeria's future while they send their wards to greener pastures.

I have been to or passed by a few primary and secondary schools in Lagos and it appears the government has done well to ensure attendance. There does not appear to be discrimination in these schools as children from diverse tribes and tongues are in attendance. I have seen proper school uniforms and sport wears, organized food vendors, furniture, books and of course smiling kids. Although there are new structures present in some schools, many more have had what appears to be renovations done. Unfortunately, blown off roofs following these renovations characterize many of these schools.

I saw another primary school without proper roofs today and it was the last straw needed to prompt this. One wonders if the government deceived the stakeholders that it was committed to rebuilding schools but instead did not provide funds sufficient for the task. Could it be evidence of the poor quality of materials available to contractors or are our craft men simply incapable of doing work with dexterity like their West African counterparts who are noted for their competence and skill?

Relatively new roofs getting blown open by winds and thunderstorm have caused some headteachers to abandon entire classrooms. The relative shortage of competent teachers to tutor and monitor pupils also contributes a great deal to the suboptimal use of available facilities. Many of the teachers have been at the helm for upwards of 20-25years. Many schools cannot operate classes for toddlers adding to the dormant spaces. 

There is an emergency in the educational sector particularly at the primary level. It is unfortunate that our children have to go through this scarification process we call education. Lagos has done well but can do so much more. Some states do not even do anything while one Governor in particular wants to be worshiped because he got the Japanese to refurbish some schools in his extremely filth laden state. Those who get contracts to construct have to prove they have neural tissue in their skulls while the recruitment and proper renumetation of teachers should be taken up with urgency, seriousness and sincerity. There are too many blown roofs, it means our future is exposed to the elements and in grave danger.