TO MY FRIENDS WITH LOVE

Friendship is like clothes. Good ones make you look great and gorgeous. A bad combination gives you an awful appearance. --- Elegbede M.D

I've started my life with the simplest view of friendship. So long we have had the opportunity to run after grasshoppers on the field or mould houses out of clay, you were qualified to be called my friend.

Examining the life of an innocent young boy whose immediate challenge was catching fun, you can't expect any less. The funniest, looking back is when I'm asked what I'd like to be when I grew up; without hesitation, I'd answer, I WANT TO BE A DOCTOR. The way my father patted my head now appears like he was actually indulging my childhood fantasy.
Now I know more; being a Doctor, judging by my experience in OAU, is a BIG-DEAL simply put.

My best friends, you wouldn't believe, where the few ones who always had things I don't readily have or have at all and are more than willing to share with me.
To make my list of enemies was as simple; when I beg you for something, don't give me, you are my enemy, end of story. My worst set of enemies were these creepy ones who would stand by me to enjoy all I can offer, from playing my video games,(don't ask me, I had them for real), to meddling with my toys and sharing my snacks only to disappear into thin air when they have theirs. Oh my God, if I could turn back the hand of time and be a small boy again, I still would dislike this people. The reason for this is that, this particular principle grew with me and I somehow kind of believe people with such tendencies should be kept far from me, as far as I can imagine.

Another funny thing about friendship back then was the endless list of friends I kept and the ease of moving from friend to enemy. I kept making new friends almost on per event basis. The rules were very fragile, so, more people became enemies after a very short tenure of friendship.

What has changed?

As I grew into adulthood with more experience and realistic goals to be pursued, I began to learn more about friendship. As a student of real life experience, I first understood that the true definition of friendship, by far exceeds the ease of calling someone a friend.

Second, whoever I call my friend, may not necessarily see me as close to him as I feel he is to me.

These two principles formed basis for other silent ones that have today made me who I am and how I choose my friend.

For all I care, friendship is more sacred than family ties, a very strong reason why I believe in fraternities (not the types practiced in our tertiary institutions). My blood relations' choice to love and cater for me is ordained naturally and whoever falls short can only be said to be irresponsible! A friend on the other hand, is coming from a different background and ideology, no blood link nor particular
association beyond unwritten oath of love, loyalty, care and duty. Irrespective of whom I am, my religion, colour or economic status, He calls me friend. This analogy probably explains why you pick friends even within your family members; friendship and blood ties are mutually exclusive.

I feel more shock when a friend hurts me than a family member. For friends, betrayal could carry grave consequences. Even at that, the best time you define true friendship is in the time of crisis.

Every of our utterances, actions and moves when we quarrel with people we call true friends are modified by the good times we have spent together before things went sour. No true friend would wish me death even in bad times. The irony however is that, my best friend in very extreme irredeemable situations may grow into my worst enemy. This is one situation I dread so much, although I have experienced few.

So as not to sound like you need to fill a form to be my friend, I have adopted a slang to define people we share some relative closeness, they are my 'Guys'. Yeah, we do stuffs together and hang out once in a while. I might not be able to stand in for them or vouch for them; just as I might not feel their absence when we lose contact. As a matter of fact, I would never expect that much from them either! They are only there to serve immediate purposes of association, something I truthfully respect while it lasts.

Sometimes, I look at some of these people I call my friends and ask myself whether I truly deserve them around me. This is not a question of low self esteem but genuine self examination. They give to me more than I can ever give back and when I try to limit their gestures, they appear not to have done anything at all.

The people I call my friends, have helped me discover more about myself and offered me platforms to express myself. They have spoken for me where I haven't been to and stood in for me at different instances. To be frank, I at times feel, I've been over-rated.

Each time I pray to God, I mention my friends and God knows who and who I'm referring to, irrespective of their religion. I miss them when we are far apart and try to catch up via mails or calls. When I miss their functions, I feel awkward and try to make up.

I hold my friends in high esteem and have a great deal of respect for them. I really don't have written criteria for choosing my friends but I think I have been fairly consistent with reasons I have for making whom I wish my friend.

One of my strong points with keeping friends is that I don't expect to get as much loyalty as I give just as I know I'm not giving back to some of them. Yet, they call me Friend.

If after this, you still think I'm your friend, this is for you:

Having you in my life is ordained by boundless love and it is important to me. Everything you have added to me has significantly contributed to whatever I'm today and I'm grateful. Whatever it is I am able to give back is a mere representation of how much I wish I could do and I hope you appreciate them.

For every action of mine that you consider inappropriate, please take them as my little mistakes and be assured I'm willing and working hard to be a better person.

If you are my friend or I've called you my friend, this is a faint picture of what you truly mean to me. There's always more to friendship.

As long as you are my friend, FOR YOU, I WILL.

This goes out to all my friends, with love.

A SAN’S IDEA OF LAGOS.FASHOLA AND THE NEW LAGOS PROJECT: FANTASY OR REALITY

I have carefully observed the spate of work being done in Lagos state before putting together this piece. It does not however mean that I might not have made mistakes in my observations. We should however understand we are a reflection of the way we see things.

I find it important to start off saying that I do not eulogize Governors atleast as far as Nigeria is concerned. This is not because I am cynical or unable to praise whoever deserves it but that you find our various Governors wanting in one area or the other; this areas are so much tied to the acclaimed dividends of democracy that you begin to wonder what exactly the job of a Governor is.

Over a period of time, some Governors have been adjudged best performing Governors for reasons best known to the award-giving organisations. Looking critically into what these Governors have done to deserve such award, you would be shocked that they have won such awards on the basis of overblown projects executed by the administrations without a commensurate effect on the lives of the people and their immediate environment.

On the other hand, when a slightly active Governor is placed side by side a dead heads, you would be cornered to award the latter; atleast someone has to take the award home. In the final analysis, it becomes a proverbial case of a one-eyed man in the land of the blind. I can readily place my fingers on your response!

Having said that, I like to weigh the two sides of every of our folks’ teaching. When we master the art of punishing a child for doing the wrong thing, we should be fair enough to reward such a child for the right things he does. This would to a large extent build a balanced justice system for our almost unjust system. The essence of this seeming academic exercise is to in the first instance understand the concept of reward and punishment and then delve into the aspect of who should be praise or punished.

I have spent a reasonable part of my life in Lagos State while growing up so much so that I’ll be qualified to have a say in any discussion that is set to x-ray the then Lagos and what it is now. I naturally would not have so many to say but you would agree it suffices for a little boy to tell what his name and surname is, whether he is AA or AS would be asking for too much at such a tender age. In a nutshell, I know enough to say whether or not Lagos is improving.

After the April 14 gubernatorial elections and subsequent swearing in of elected Governors across the country, the story of Lagos was set for a rewrite.

It truly has not been a full tale of roses for all Lagosian for what some people referred to as cleansening instantly took some back to square one. Better put, what brightened the days of some, darkened that of some others.

We in any case can all not have the same definitions for every actions of the state Governor. While we therefore relish a dawn of a new Lagos, there is a need to look the other way to see what some others are going through. The idea is to have a practical and balanced understanding of the Fashola’s transformation; so if we have to commend him, he’d get a full one that I have no doubt he deserves.

I have for a long while battled bagging my BSc from OAU, Ile-Ife; this was such a fierce battle atleast you can define fierce if I can now post on the alumni group's page of my alma matter!!!. The essence of mentioning this fierce battle is that it took me away from Lagos for such a long time, (for your consumption only; I had to put up in ibadan to finish my BSc palava once and for all).

On arrival in Lagos after the Ife chapter, my opinion couldn’t have definitely remained the same given what I saw happening in Lagos. Yeah, I missed my way couple of times and on one occasion I tried to get my friend to maneuver his way to get back on the right track; you can fill in the blank space. LASMA!!!

The Tinubu era in Lagos might have in the real sense laid a template for what is happening now, but we need to salute the resoluteness and will that has so far been displayed by our dear SAN Governor. I might truly not have a deep understanding of the political playings in Lagos, and you can hit me below the belt on that, the truth is you would agree with me that there seem to be a peck of seriousness in the drive to change the face of Lagos.

I was initially dancing round the BRT buses, though I have seen some of its Pilots behave in the most demeaning manners,(the Nigerian factor you’d say, I think we would gradually outlive that, thanks to the NAFDAC turned Minister of Info, Aunty Dora…that would come at another time!) but overall I think the BRT would outlive most of our misgivings and doubts.

The roads are also wearing new looks, illegal structures are bowing to the aggressive blades of bulldozers, concurrent building of roads and bridges, installation and planned deployment of CCTV around notorious areas in Lagos state. this is yet another aspect worth commending.

Anyone could have done this or could build roads though, but would we be fair to say not just anyone would have been able to pocket the menace in Oshodi and Mushin bringing the much sanity currently being witnessed.

Like I started earlier, a Nigerian Governor compared with his Nigerian counterparts may easily win an award for the best performing Governor but with the Fasholalistic style, the stakes may be a bit higher and we may have to pick Governors outside the shores of our country to compete with.

Here is the poser, would you nominate Gov. Fashola for the best Governor if Africa or not? Be fair about it and let’s know what you fill. One thing I would not do outside the shores of Nigeria is compare Senator. McCain of the USA with our very Senator. Omisore of Nigeria! (You definitely would have to remove the Senator title, it is worth the trouble!).

As if this is not enough, one other thing SAN has successfully done is to inculcate the spirit of development in the Lagos people. For once, Lagosians are willing to pay their tax without running after them; you can’t expect anything short though if the payment system is so convinient and also what payment of such monies is attached to.

What seized my breath is the mega city plan I have been priviledge to see; even if Fashola is 'scoping' us, I like to share that fantasy(whether it would come to pass or not, we are yet to see).

I do not intend to doubt the possibility of this, but having suffered this much neglect and abuse in the hands of democratic leaders, one may find this so hard to believe!

On a lighter mood as I sign out, I hope I don’t wake up one day and be told that all we have seen around Lagos and what we have been promised is APRIL FOOL!!!

EKO O NI B’AJE!

Same for Nigeria!

HMMM, EKITI! Pt.2

My heart bleeds.

I weep for this nation.

Just before I put anything forth, I’d like to copy a part of my earlier article for the benefit of those who did not read it.

"..... I therefore can not be deceived by the saintly disposition of his anointed disciple in the Ekiti mandate scam, Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, the Resident Electoral Officer in Ekiti. She must have been brought into these scheme for two clear reasons; either she is so weak and can be easily manipulated or very loyal and criminal-minded as Iwu!..."

I am in a way delighted that I did not fall for the deceptive style of this 74yr old widow who ought to have by now retired from civil service. I just sensed something fishy when she arrogated her refusal to announce results to FEAR OF GOD. That just came as a repackaged ‘IBB-brand’ of promise to Nigerians in 1992/93.

I do not have any grouse against those who fell for her move, it is just natural to trust such utterances given the acclaimed Christian background she held on to; but how do I explain the standpoint of CAN to have hastily tagged Mrs. Adebayo a true Christian. With what standards do you measure the truthfulness of man? I’d like my Christian brethren to furnish me with a response. The moment you begin to drag the sanctity of God’s name to political arena especially in the Nigerian context, you no doubt insult the pride and dedication of the true worshipers.

Here is the game plan:

Maurice Iwu chose one of his MVRs (Most Valuable Riggers) to anchor the Ekiti election not only riding on her commitment to fraud but also her abilities to pose as a SAINT.


Mrs. Adebayo REC, according to the script, feigned a strong disapproval of the conducts of the elections and helped fuel an already tensed atmosphere in order to create a justification for militarization. She cried for her life to gather sympathy and resigned to finally confirm her principles. Less than 48 hrs, she started speaking from the two sides of her mouth claiming to remain a member of the INEC Mafia or Family as she put it. The ploy played out so well that the Federal Government deployed so many personnel that outnumbered registered voters.

With the presence of such militarization, an unarguably subjective calmness visited Ekiti not necessarily because people were happy, but afraid. You only need read about the havoc wrecked at ODI Village during the Obasanjo regime to understand why people withdrew into there shells.

As planned, elections were hurriedly rescheduled while this graveside peace lasted to rubberstamp the well planned out scenario.

Then came the Head of the titans, the woman whose voice was needed to validate the rape of democracy, Mrs Ayoka Adebayo. A master at the art, laid the case finally to rest by misrepresenting the raging resentment of the Ekiti people for peaceful conduct of the elections and then went further to declare the most controversial results in the Ekiti rerun (Ido-Isin) all in the name of arriving at a mathematical justification to declare Segun Oni as the winner.

You can now draw the curtains and go home, we have a new GOVERNOR!
I would have being glad if these shameful men of no virtue had put me to shame by doing the right thing. Nay, they are products of malpractices and that they shall hold on to.
It is unfortunate we have to battle this cankerworm continuously but we can only hope things get better.
I need to run now while I hope I would have no reasons to write the part 3 of this article.
You can place your bet; Segun Oni would give me a reason to!
Thanks for reading as I make this final request, pray for Nigeria and please take God’s name out of this mess!

HMMM, EKITI!

I have watched the events visiting the April 25 election in Ekiti with my jaw sorrowfully rested on my palm not because this macabre dance is strange but that these rogues who masquerade as leaders could bring their antics to us in open day.

It beats my imagination that after close to two years of general gubernatorial elections, we are still battling with the institution of a legitimate leadership in various states; you may tHEN want to ask when citizens of such state are expected to enjoy the so much celebrated but faintly felt dividendS of democracy. It is needless to say that those states that appear settled do not necessarily have a democratically elected leader but a product of well perfected rigging process.

Let’s note this well ahead of time that I still thank God I am a Nigerian despite these unpardonable flaws; it has above every other things offered me on the platter of gold, the opportunity to appreciate the other side of God’s creatures. While I must put it on record that our white counterparts are not any better, I have come to agree that they execute their crimes with a pinch of decorum and keep their dirty linens indoors.

The Ekiti indigenes in their mind (at least if the truth would be said) wouldn’t have expected anything less, what would have further shaken them to the marrow however is the unrepentant and non-challant attitude of INEC in stealing their mandate.

I do not have any intention to speak for Kayode Fayemi whom in my own definition is also part of the elites who have continuously made democracy look like a favour rather than a right of the common man.
I want to take it a step further that his final emergence (if it ever comes to be) may not necessarily represent the ideal leadership needed to deliver to Ekiti people the long awaited dividends but it would give a semblance of conformity with democratic ethics.

The Nigerian version of democracy one way of the other has just refused to fit into the worldwide accepted model, a situation that has forced some outspoken individuals to call what we have a mere civil rule. I may not agree any less if South Africa is set to put her new government to work after less than a month while we are still struggling to come to terms with ours after almost two years!

Like I said earlier, I am not too surprised but embarrassed. This is because I am yet to find a meaningful answer to explain what message Mr. President thought he was passing across when he abandoned state assignments to attend Segun Oni’s rally in Ekiti before the April 25 elections. After some thought juggling moments, I came to a conclusion that, it’s either Yar’adua wants to make it clear he is a PDP President or that he is so idle as a result of not understanding his priorities as a President.

On the other hand, we may be out-rightly obnoxious to expect anything honourable from Mr. President who is also a product of a manipulated process, a fact that he openly agreed to. He might have been held back from making any sensible move truly if his conscience is alive.
It should have however turned out that for a man who has benefited so much from the ills of the system and also working around unduly celebrated electoral reforms, be seen doing the right thing to redeem himself having failed to take the most honourable option which is to have resigned from that office. (I beg to be disagreed with!)

Back to the Ekiti drama, I have seen a lot of people coming out to speak on it across board; even though they speak different languages and adopt different models; they seem to have come to a conclusion that INEC has done a sloppy job and that a winner has emerged from that election. You can not but agree if records and antecedent is anything to go by.

We should also pick some lessons from this post-election melee. First, it is important to understand that the role of an umpire calls for more than mere official details but some peck human dignity, self respect and fear of God. Maurice Iwu has continuously mistaken himself as a sleek criminal who is likely to get away with every of his tricks. His moves are deft and his explanations very hard to jettison; it takes a critical analysis of his every word to see the deceit and his unrepentant flair for malpractices.

I therefore can not be deceived by the saintly disposition of his anointed disciple in the Ekiti mandate scam, Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, the Resident Electoral Officer in Ekiti. She must have been brought into these scheme for two clear reasons; either she is so weak and can be easily manipulated or very loyal and criminal-minded as Iwu!

Second, when you have allowed a criminal to walk around for a very long time without recourse to justice, he becomes a man of the people and tactically have his crimes swept under the carpet. We may not have an agreement on this especially if we want to place Fasoye, Ayodele side by side with the biblical Saul who later became Paul!

Men like Fayose should by now be behind steel bars awaiting the devastating effects of the hangman’s noose but for our porous and reckless judicial system they are seen walking tall and making policy statements.

It might come as a shock if this man gets a state pardon in recognition of his battle against his erstwhile masters; what else would you want to offer a monster eating up its creators. This is a golden lesson for PDP, do not let loose monsters you can not tame!

The final lesson to learn is differentiating between political acceptance and fame. Within the political setting (the way I see it), fame is a mere form of peoples’ knowledge of an individual. It doesn’t necessarily mean such person is identified with good things; Anini (the notorious armed robber) was famous you’d say while political acceptance on the other hand adds to fame, peoples’ endorsement of your person and what you are known with. This might be what is accounting for Segun Oni’s deafening silence and Kayode Fayemi’s march around Ekiti amid cheers and ovation.

In conclusion, the Ekiti version of our decayed system would get attentions for a while but would no doubt find its place in our historical cabinet, we can only wait for our Masters to deliver a wrapped gift of genuine leadership should they reason with peoples’ yearnings. All I know is that this is not likely to mark the end of this rape of the electorate.
Whatever comes out of this, I know that one day, we would all have to account for our every action not before men or Kings but before the Creator of the goods and the ills of the world. This might after all turn out to be necessary events that would have to bring us before God’s throne for judgment!

My sincere prayer is, Oh God! Let the will of Ekiti people be.
My heart goes out to the family of individuals who have lost one of their own in the quest for true democracy. I can only wish for them they get the ultimate reward for such loss!

Hmm, Ekiti!!

OPC: A CONFUSED INTEREST

I have at a certain point poured out my mind on the Niger Delta siege. Probably for the sake of emphasis, the only thing that has sustained this crisis is the irresponsibility of the Nigerian government.
Having said that, i want to quickly excuse myself from the rank of any Yoruba race the OPC may be arguing to represent.

For whatever reasons known to MEND and every allied group, Atlas Cove became their target and they struck. This attack is a further reflection the government's laxity and non-responsive nature to crisis management. They (MEND) went beyond the limits of their zone, abandoning our raging and overworked Military and her over_praised capability to deal with the crisis in Niger Delta, to torch the installations in Lagos.

The essence of this write-up is to look into the concern of OPC in this attack. I would not bother my patient readers with the nasty history of waywardness known with OPC during the military regime and afterwards, but little can be said of a nation whose instinct has been limited to immediate survival and friend-of-the moment syndrome. During the turbulence of the military junta, Nigerians in their usual deafening silence endorsed the violent resistance of this militia outfit and made popular the likes of Dr.Federick Fasheun and Mr. Gani Adams.

Without intentions to be rude, Fasheun wasn't as popular as a Medical Doctor while Gani Adams as a carpentar or whatever occupation he then had to deal with. There is therefore no striking difference beyond physique and tribal orientation between Henry Okah, Asari Dokubo, Jomo Gbomo and our very own Fasheun and Adams, they are all the same thing. As a matter of fact and i beg to be corrected, MEND carries a far more meaningful mandate than the moribund gathering of confused thugs and drop-out with a taint of unemployed minds called OPC.

No doubt, i condemn in clear terms the attack on Atlas Cove. It was just one of so many moves made by MEND, who have claimed responsibility, to rubbish the initial principle that informed the agitation of a neglected region.
This however does not endorse the insult passed on Yorubas by OPC who are now posing as a mouth piece for the Yoruba people.

To start with, Atlas Cove is not an Oodua group asset or Investment neither is it a core Yoruba corporation. Should it even be, the duty of redress doesn't lie on the shoulders of the various OPC factions. Where was OPC when three Youth Corp members who incidentally were Yorubas were gruesomely murdered in Jos? What role did they play in Owo during the Olateru Olagbegi Obaship tussle, what were the roles of OPC in the Iwo road mayhem in Ibadan and many more? OPC can't become so responsible over night, so,whats the noise about protecting the Yoruba race?

The utterances of OPC is myopic, selfish and stupid. Myopic because they don't seem to see the larger picture of ethnic crisis we would eventually be plunged into, selfish because they are not in any way representing anybody and stupid simply because of who they are.

We would be doing our collective bond as Nigerians a great injustice should we begin to view the attack from an ethnic perspective.

We would have long tackled these problems if everybody had sang the melody of our brothers in the Niger-Delta region before it degenerated into arms running and pure commercialisation of human conscience.
We wouldn't have had reasons to engage the military against our very own people and then patronize them with Amnesty. We cannot afford to close our eyes to the odious fact that our government is our number one enemy, why then should we turn against ourselves? We now parade locally manufactured warlords as candidates of sudden Amnesty. This is what our country is.

If anybody under whatever guise initiates any attack or incites crisis, let the law take its due course. The parting question is, is the law fair or potent?

For me and my household, we are Nigerians and an injustice to a Nigerian is an injustice to all Nigerians.

God Bless Nigeria.

BOKO HARAM KILLINGS: ANOTHER REFLECTION OF A SICK NATION.

I have in a couple of weeks had to write about certain issues rocking the stability of our dear country, Nigeria. Having to write this piece in addition to others, makes me so sad that i was almost going to simply write,..
'Dear Nigeria,
Get Well Soon.'

This however would convey nothing but complacence as against the depth of my concern for this country.
Let me be clear from the scratch that I am outrightly opposed to the principles and modus operandi of Boko Haram. It still doesn't fit anywhere in my wildest comprehension, not as a Muslim or a Nigerian, how such principle was intended to be propagated especially if one has to consider their target points and the underlying slogan,' Western Education is a Sin!'. It's simply outrageous.

I have exchanged notes on this matter with respected individuals and one of my conclusions in the course of the exchange was, and is still that, Boko Haram is no where close to MEND as in the case of Niger Delta considering its scope, organisation, underlying ideologies, (permit me to add, Sponsoring Authorities) and above all, style of combat.

What bothers me is the confidence that comes with this shoddy implementation of the anti-west slogan. Targeting the Nation's Military might with locally-made guns, bows and arrows? It's laughable and only laughable can match the folly.

We might however get a better understanding of the overall approach to this crisis if we take a quick look at the colonial history of our country, the period when our collective destiny was re-written and our heritage shortchanged.

The colonial master had at that time deliberately built a monster to terrorise its own people. The psyche of this monstrous structure was so altered to make it intimidate and brutalise its own people under the guise of crisis management.

Our masters christened it the Nigeria Police Force. In our haste to become an independent Nation, we left this menace untamed, a problem we became doomed to battle later.
This is the sad story of the Nigeria Police. Do not forget, none of our colonial master's policing unit has the suffix 'FORCE' though it is still obvious in their policing manner when dealing with Black immigrants.

When our sleep was rudely interrupted with the news of attacks in some Northern states and the attendant death toll, one would have expected a sensible government to manage the crisis and effect necessary arrests that would aid conclusive investigation.
The reverse was offered to my dismay. Our government gave a blank order to an already berserk and under-informed Police and Military force to manage a crisis she had allowed to grow, out of sheer negligence and ineptitude.

Everything immediately became Boko Haram and was guilty of instant death like it was in Mile 12, Lagos, Odi village and Choba in Rivers state (1999), when shoot-on-sight was General Obasanjo's favourite slogan.

The government agents took a step further to confirm their agelong over-zealousness by killing the leader of the Boko Haram sect after his arrest.

This inevitably punctuates whatever investigation we could have called for to understand the workings of Boko Haram and opens a fresh chapter of debate: WHY KILL A MAJOR WITNESS? WHO ORDERED HIS KILLING?

Rather than get an answer, our then rebranding agent, Dora Akunyili, hastily packaged an instance of gross abuse of human right as a blessing to the nation, who is rebranding what?

I am all hears hoping to get my facts right and understand what exactly motivated the killings. No doubt, it was meant to silence the truth but we need to know what truth it is.

Let Nigerian beware.

WHEN DEATH BECOMES HONOURABLE

I'll start out making it clear I share a very strong bond with Late
Umar Yar'adua, so strong is it that it outweighs every other things
put together that you may want to consider. May Allah accept his soul
into Paradise and forgive his sins and shortcomings. Amin.

My mobile phone had woken me up at about 12:27 am, I'm a staunch fan of
crazy ringtones, I scrambled over the rug before I could finally spot
my device. A text message from a very close friend had conveyed in
simple english the demise of Yar'adua. I sighed and had a moment of
silence to pray for him; the controversy finally came to rest.
I'm not a fan of Yar'adua, but in death, I owe him very sacred
responsibilities, one of such, Respect. I'm therefore not writing to
further damage a bad situation but besides picking a lesson from death
especially in high places, it is pertinent to re-examine what factors
we put into consideration before making decisions. Also, who are the
people we so trust to guide our decisions and what exactly motivates
their approval and or otherwise.
At the end of it all, we all might come to agree I hope, that even
Healthy Heads of State die around the world either as a result of
assassination or accidents, so the main issue might not be Death as it
were but how some decisions we make having thoroughly considered our
state of health reduce our eventual demise to Suicide!
Let me quickly advice you ignore most statements credited to most
politician over this issue, it would be a rehearsed collection of
words meant to put them in a sober frame. Don't buy it, deep within,
they feel it has finally come to an end and everyone would begin to
count his gains or losses.
To say the 2007 elections were far from the true representation of the
Nigerian peoples' choice of leadership is just reproducing an
over-bothered picture of outright disrespect for the right to choice.
How men of acclaimed high moral values then get to benefit from such
anomaly beats my imagination so much so that I feel everybody and I
repeat everybody that today currently occupies a seat whereever in
whatever capacity, dead or alive, had fed fat on a grossly manipulated electioneering process and as such should willingly shed some weight
of moralty and waste the rest trying to rewrite their own very
history.
What makes Late Yar'adua's case special is that he had a choice from
day one, for the sake of a broad window of decision making, I'm
counting my day one from when the idea was first sold to him, he must
have had an opportunity to choose between his Health and the Hot Seat.
Let's give it to him that he made a wrong choice ab initio, his health
situation gave a clear warning when he collapsed during a campaign
outing, yet, his rumoured death then, rather than taken as a mortal
warning was danced around for its political gains. Today, those days
and periods would sound like yesterday!
If he had families, I would ask what their concerns were or whether
such concerns irrespective of its colouration mattered to the First
Family.
I have always been an advocate of standing by ones integrity whenever
it clashed with interest. Believe me, it pays off. I would as a result
of this score Yar'adua very low and also let whoever is advisers were
share a part of the blame because at some point going by Medical
postulations, it was obvious our Man couldn't make his own decisions
anymore. So passionate am I about this fact that I found it very hard
to agree that late Yar'adua knew he was being flown to Nigeria or that
he was even in Nigeria.
Just like I've earlier indicated the direction of my article, it is
also not meant to grace the already overblown influence of Turai but
to ponder over what choices she could have helped her husband make,
what interest she puts first, that of the nation that needs a truly
committed, hardworking and Healthy President or that of making clones
of First Ladies of her daughters or the transient title of First Lady
and its worldly attachments. Whatever she was thinking or informing
those thoughts has now set with the sun. I need not add that Nigeria
would move on.
The common 'I WOULD DIE FOR NIGERIA, IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES ANTHEM'
has finally come to bear its true meaning.
Ours is a country that really doesn't need anybody to die for her,a million and one had already done that and moved us away from that
phase. What we need is a Leadership that would restore hope.
Very many of these guys around the corridors of power, plan and make
authoritative statements about the future as if they had an
arrangement with death. Yar'adua most likely must have discussed what
his Second term in office would be like.
We need to give more time to reading between the lines, thats where
the facts are. The lessons of Death and the choice of Man have a way
of explaining Destiny: what every man is designed to work with.
All matters hanging around this gentleman can now be allowed to rest
with him and pay attention to the Lessons thereof. All the lobbying
and lobbyists, sycophants and their over-priced masters, whatever
categories that are left would today learn to respect the ultimate
power of Death.
If Turai had truly managed to keep things the way they went for the
sake of remaining the first lady, I think events have finally set the
stage for an official first lady.
A new page has inevitably been open and whatever falls on the old page
sadly would serve a mere purpose of historical reference. Whatever
achievements we might want to add late Yar'adus's credit, we may want
to include the fact that he is the first Nigerian President to die of
Natural cause while serving. 'Natural cause' in this context could
only mean that there wasn't a Military Coup! What a record?
The National Assembly and House of Representatives that could not come
out boldly to declare that gentleman unfit and help him enjoy his last
days have been shamed. The religous leaders who have refused to
admonish the grandstanding former First lady and the hailing President
on the stance of religion on Power and leadership have failed in their
responsibilities as custodians of Faith.
We mourn as a nation, the death of our President just as we should
united by the lessons of his death.
Let's live our lives such that when death finally comes knocking,
we'll be honourable.
God Bless Nigeria.

CHANGE OF SUBJECT OF FORMULAR

This sounds quite familiar to some of you who have done elementary maths in High School. An equation like; X =4/3(2Y+Z) requires you to make Z the new subject of formular.You need not bother to solve it considering what most of us went through before managing to get average grades in our Mathematics days,this would be a bitter invitation to our stubborn past. For the purpose of this discourse, I'd like to refer to the above equation.

Since Y is our final destination, we would need to pay detailed attention to other parameters like X, Y and associated numbers that make up the equation. Any choice to disregard these parameters would unarguably have far reaching effects on our final answer, that on one hand. The outcome of our conquest equally creates an impression of us on the mind of the examiner who must have safely assumed we should have an idea of what is expected of us. Enough of this mathematical jargon, let's return to the main point of discourse.After the eventual demise of Yar'adua, many things, you should expect must have changed. People must have fallen out of favour, while some are just smiling at their fortune. Old offices closed and new ones created. A whole lot of juggling and adjustment would most definitely add colours to this new administration. New in the sense that Dr.Jonathan was finally sworn in but in it's real sense, all we have is a continuum.

While concerned Nigerians were soberly clothed in their mourning garments, consoling one another and looking into yet another mixed future, certain top boys also pretending to be in the same mood have flown and travelled the lenght and breadth of this country enlisting the support of godfathers in the face of the emerging race for theVice-Presidency. I'm truly not sure how to qualify this individuals beyond that their concerns are localised and they would stop at nothing.

Well, that is an issue to contend with in the immediate. It's not out of order however to take a look at other issues that would mould our political future. This is where parameters must be carefully considered.To pretend we have opened a new page and disregard the effects of certain forces would only take us some years back. Yes, we have a new Leadership with promises to pursue the cardinal programs of Yar'adua and additional people-oriented pursuits; but beyond that, we have to begin to probe into factors that would eventually position us for the challenges of true democracy.

2011, a year set to test whether or not we can truly stand as a democratic nation would play itself out without known midwives and key players of 2007. I'm predicating this on the ground that more people would not pass on.The first casualty of the yet-to-be released script of 2011 being Prof. Morris Iwu, the Magic hand that produced the sad, bad and ugly faces of pilitical cohabitation. Abubarka Rimi may also make my list of casualties but I might not be able to answer why. Now, Yar'adua.

The dispositions, actions and inactions of Dr. Goodluck gave a strong signal that the order would change especially going by the people he chose to meet and discuss with. By my judgement, a reasonable number of them had a semblance of Umar administration's scapegoats or safely put antagonists of the Cabal-aided self styled Yar'adua dynasty. Now that he's a substantial President, there's no point limiting his tendencies. He appears to me like someone who understands the enormity of the assignment before him and is prepared to squarely confront same.

If this is so, Jonathan may transform himself into a peoples'choice like Gov. Fashola of Lagos and by far undermining whatever zonal arrangement that has being put in place. (As a quick diversion, is there any provision for zonal arrangement inthe Nigeria Constitution?) This scenario would again pitch PDP as usual against the wish of Nigerians, needless to say PDP have almost always performed woefully under such circumstances,should they stick to the zonal plan. How much the opinion of the electorate would matter depends on who is conducting the Elections. A very tricky and delicate parameter this is.

Mr. President must be careful not to appoint a petty individual. I am not expecting a totally free elections, very few countries if any at all, have achieved that; but any process that would put riggers at bay and have a fair representation of peoples' mandate would do. The likeliest challenge of a befitting candidate is having to work with a bad tool. The present crop of individuals promising to bring to life, credible electoral reforms mostly perfectly match Rogues and nothing more.

If Mr. President, a man noted to have instituted the right manner of addressing the legislative arm as against the Late Yar'adua's 'My Dear Brother' kind of salutation, can get them to do the right thing, we could be looking at something close to free and fair.

There is another principle of mathematics, called Elimination. If mother nature chooses to adopt this principle, more factors may come into play in order to get our parameters right and come up with the proper equation for 2011.

God Bless Nigeria.

WHEN DEATH BECOMES HONOURABLE

I'll start out making it clear I share a very strong bond with Late
Umar Yar'adua, so strong is it that it outweighs every other things
put together that you may want to consider. May Allah accept his soul
into Paradise and forgive his sins and shortcomings. Amin.

My mobile phone had woken me up at about 12:27 am, I'm a staunch fan of
crazy ringtones, I scrambled over the rug before I could finally spot
my device. A text message from a very close friend had conveyed in
simple english the demise of Yar'adua. I sighed and had a moment of
silence to pray for him; the controversy finally came to rest.
I'm not a fan of Yar'adua, but in death, I owe him very sacred
responsibilities, one of such, Respect. I'm therefore not writing to
further damage a bad situation but besides picking a lesson from death
especially in high places, it is pertinent to re-examine what factors
we put into consideration before making decisions. Also, who are the
people we so trust to guide our decisions and what exactly motivates
their approval and or otherwise.
At the end of it all, we all might come to agree I hope, that even
Healthy Heads of State die around the world either as a result of
assassination or accidents, so the main issue might not be Death as it
were but how some decisions we make having thoroughly considered our
state of health reduce our eventual demise to Suicide!
Let me quickly advice you ignore most statements credited to most
politician over this issue, it would be a rehearsed collection of
words meant to put them in a sober frame. Don't buy it, deep within,
they feel it has finally come to an end and everyone would begin to
count his gains or losses.
To say the 2007 elections were far from the true representation of the
Nigerian peoples' choice of leadership is just reproducing an
over-bothered picture of outright disrespect for the right to choice.
How men of acclaimed high moral values then get to benefit from such
anomaly beats my imagination so much so that I feel everybody and I
repeat everybody that today currently occupies a seat whereever in
whatever capacity, dead or alive, had fed fat on a grossly manipulated electioneering process and as such should willingly shed some weight
of moralty and waste the rest trying to rewrite their own very
history.
What makes Late Yar'adua's case special is that he had a choice from
day one, for the sake of a broad window of decision making, I'm
counting my day one from when the idea was first sold to him, he must
have had an opportunity to choose between his Health and the Hot Seat.
Let's give it to him that he made a wrong choice ab initio, his health
situation gave a clear warning when he collapsed during a campaign
outing, yet, his rumoured death then, rather than taken as a mortal
warning was danced around for its political gains. Today, those days
and periods would sound like yesterday!
If he had families, I would ask what their concerns were or whether
such concerns irrespective of its colouration mattered to the First
Family.
I have always been an advocate of standing by ones integrity whenever
it clashed with interest. Believe me, it pays off. I would as a result
of this score Yar'adua very low and also let whoever is advisers were
share a part of the blame because at some point going by Medical
postulations, it was obvious our Man couldn't make his own decisions
anymore. So passionate am I about this fact that I found it very hard
to agree that late Yar'adua knew he was being flown to Nigeria or that
he was even in Nigeria.
Just like I've earlier indicated the direction of my article, it is
also not meant to grace the already overblown influence of Turai but
to ponder over what choices she could have helped her husband make,
what interest she puts first, that of the nation that needs a truly
committed, hardworking and Healthy President or that of making clones
of First Ladies of her daughters or the transient title of First Lady
and its worldly attachments. Whatever she was thinking or informing
those thoughts has now set with the sun. I need not add that Nigeria
would move on.
The common 'I WOULD DIE FOR NIGERIA, IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES ANTHEM'
has finally come to bear its true meaning.
Ours is a country that really doesn't need anybody to die for her,a million and one had already done that and moved us away from that
phase. What we need is a Leadership that would restore hope.
Very many of these guys around the corridors of power, plan and make
authoritative statements about the future as if they had an
arrangement with death. Yar'adua most likely must have discussed what
his Second term in office would be like.
We need to give more time to reading between the lines, thats where
the facts are. The lessons of Death and the choice of Man have a way
of explaining Destiny: what every man is designed to work with.
All matters hanging around this gentleman can now be allowed to rest
with him and pay attention to the Lessons thereof. All the lobbying
and lobbyists, sycophants and their over-priced masters, whatever
categories that are left would today learn to respect the ultimate
power of Death.
If Turai had truly managed to keep things the way they went for the
sake of remaining the first lady, I think events have finally set the
stage for an official first lady.
A new page has inevitably been open and whatever falls on the old page
sadly would serve a mere purpose of historical reference. Whatever
achievements we might want to add late Yar'adus's credit, we may want
to include the fact that he is the first Nigerian President to die of
Natural cause while serving. 'Natural cause' in this context could
only mean that there wasn't a Military Coup! What a record?
The National Assembly and House of Representatives that could not come
out boldly to declare that gentleman unfit and help him enjoy his last
days have been shamed. The religous leaders who have refused to
admonish the grandstanding former First lady and the hailing President
on the stance of religion on Power and leadership have failed in their
responsibilities as custodians of Faith.
We mourn as a nation, the death of our President just as we should
united by the lessons of his death.
Let's live our lives such that when death finally comes knocking,
we'll be honourable.
God Bless Nigeria.

MY SUPER MOTHER

I really can't place my finger on your opinion about the timing of this piece. It's not Mothers' Day and i still haven't lost my mum.
My life as a young man hussling on the street to make ends meet has afforded me the opportunities to see things for myself. I have always shared the view that those who limit themselves to core western curriculum without a peck of street sense are not likely to appreciate life in its glory.
I have a mother i grew up to not only like as a matter of mother and child bond but also as dictated by the tenets of Islam.
For every of her actions up to the ones i at times feel unsatisfied about, I have come to agree that my mother truly deserves my love, care and utmost respect without feeling shortchanged by the religious decree.
My sojourn has however given me reasons to think otherwise about some mothers and i keep asking myself this question, DO THESE MOTHERS DESERVE ANY SUCH THING LIKE LOVE OR RESPECT? I beg to be corrected as something tells me the Quran must have made adequate provisions for this confusion. Nothing can be worse in the face of SHRIK!
I have seen adulterous mothers, bleaching mothers, alcoholics and the most recent is a MARIJUANA smoking mother. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth calling these elements Mother if my mama is also referred to as Mother.
To make the case simpler, i'd call mine SUPER MOTHER! If your mother, living or dead is so special to you, call her that as well.
God bless my SUPER MOTHER!

ANOTHER ONE DOWN...WHO'S NEXT?

I write this piece with heavy heart not only to mourn the death of another Youth Corper in Borno State, but also to decry the spate of insecurity rocking our country.
The scars of the Plateau trio have barely cleared off when this news came again as yet another rude shock.
Our colleague, Miss Grace Adie Ushang, was raped, gruesomely murdered in cold blood and had her body dumped by a riverside by 'unknown' people.
This is a time for sober reflection and not a time to dig into political ills troubling Nigeria. A time like this raises lot of questions tucked under the umbrella of National insecurity and gross irresponsibility of the Government.
I might end up not asking for the killers to be brought to book as it may amount to waste of time. The Nigeria police has continuously improved her art of toll and bribe collection rather than investigate such events like this one.
It most definitely would amount to a wild goose chase looking up to the government for any respite given the comment credited to the NYSC DG, Brig. Tsigai that Corpers should take their own security serious as what they (government) provide can not be enough. Are Corpers expected to carry guns, bow and arrows or charm? It probably could mean that going out to fetch food in your NYSC uniform is insecured and frivolous!
I'd be shocked if anyone in government or NYSC would still expect any Corper within the state to be upright in the face of such terror that has befallen their colleague without an assurance that they are also save.

The point is made and no doubt, we seemingly can tell the end of the tale. No arrest would be made and the case would eventually make its way to the middle pages of newspapers and then back pages, then swept under the carpet only to surface when another Corper is killed.
I would have expected prompt actions like:
1. immediate withdrawal of the remaining youth corpers from such community and infact state.
2. A panel of inquiry to look into the matter.
3. Refusal to post subsequent batched of corpers to such community that must have been blacklisted. This option should only be up for reversal if the leadership of such state can put in an undertaken to protect corpers.
I would naturally have expected more were it a Nation driven by a Leadership that is up and doing but given what we have, i leave the questions of investigation and compensation for God to direct.
It is a time to lend our voices in questioning the unending attacks on corpers. I would on this basis appeal that all serving youth corpers put on a black vest as against the white vest on the 29th of October as we march to our respective local government secretariats for CD. That day would be a National mourning day for our colleague. A condolence register should also be opened at every local government for a whole week running.
This is a way i feel we could pass a message now that we can't stage a walkout protest.
Grace is gone, nothing has happened: the likeliest question that crosses my mind now is: WHO'S NEXT???

REST IN PEACE, GRACE!!!