Grandiose Parlor

I caught wind of the Enough-is-Enough youth march in Abuja late. From what I’ve read and seen online so far, the match did happen as planned, the group made their way into the National assembly grounds, but could not get anyone of relevance to address them. Nice and encouraging try, it was.

A video clip

Overall, I appreciate the energy and commitment of planners of the event. They are the ones in the trenches and up against the brutality of the security forces. Putting their bodies at risk and investing their time to make a case for the general well being of Nigerians is a noble task, and I doff my hat!

However, I wish the demands made could have been more potent and better conceived Continue reading…

Why is it that Nigerian elected officials develop inertia when it’s needed most? This is a question that has become even more relevant given the Yar’Adua’s impasse.

The man is clearly incapacitated and not able to perform his duties are required under the law. In fact, it now appears the man is not even in the right state — physically and mentally, to make his situation known to the people who gave him his mandate! This is what the recent events strongly suggest since his return from Saudi Arabia about a week ago.

So why has it remained a Herculean task to the representatives of the Nigerian people to do the right thing and relieve the man of his burden?

Why is the conscience of our elected officials so dead to the expectations of the people whom they represent?

I doff my hat to the Nigerian information minister, Dora Akunyili, for her new-found courage and consciousness to the moral contract she has with the people. Her unilateral stance against the deceit and rascality of the Yar’Adua cabal is a refreshing breeze instead of the foul staleness of the Abuja obstructionists and status quo keepers.
Continue reading…

An excerpt of a statement credited to Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, the National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian ruling party, PDP, reads:

“The safe arrival of Mr. President from his sojourn in Saudi Arabia is a testimony to the fact that the prayers of all Nigerians for his quick recovery have been answered. We therefore rejoice with our fellow citizens for this unique favour done to us by the Almighty God…

Now that the President has returned, we call on all Nigerians irrespective of political leanings to cooperate with him to realise the lofty programmes he has outlined for our dear country.”

what an arrant nonsense!

First, the prayer is not for the president to just return, but be able to function fully as the president. His presence in Nigeria is of no use if he can’t act and fulfill the responsibilities of his office.

The concluding statement gives the impression that all is now well with the president and ready to function. This is so far from the truth! Not the way the president was smuggled into the country in the dead of the night guarded by soldiers!

What irks me deeply is that utterances as this shows how much respect the PDP /Yar’Adua’s inner caucus / Presidency have for the Nigerian people: Zero!

Nigerians have been insulted and lied to enough over the Yar’Adua matter. Everything seen and heard so far strongly indicates the man is no longer able to function. So, in reverence to the national motto of Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress, all relevant forces must converge and be brought to bear on those obstructionists to yield and move out of the way.

As for me, Umaru Yar’Adua is an ill man, and no longer the president of the Nigerian federation. And nobody, not his wife Turai, or security aides and members of his inner circle have the right to direct the affairs of the nation.

This is the time the national assembly must act to not only save Nigerians from a prolonged international embarrassment but reverse this sprint toward destruction.

The president has broken his contract with the Nigerian people who voted him into office. Even if he now appears to have resurrected and able to give a barely-over-one-minute-interview on BBC, there are just too many controversies surrounding his medical stay in Saudi Arabia to warrant forgiveness from the Nigerian people.

Dead or alive, Alhaji Umaru YarAdua is no longer fit to govern Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The dissing will continue until…

Nigeria is a sick nation needing disruptive turnaround!

There are three clear-cut prognoses to any medical malady: It can either resolve; turn chronic, lingers and cripple the victim, figuratively; or the victim may just caput, and succumb to the illness.

That Nigeria is sick is stating the obvious, but as apparent as this may be, Nigerians keep getting smacked in the face, incessantly, by actions and developments that continue to buttress this fact. Here are some reference points in 2009: Continue reading…

Another head-scratching matter manifests again in the home country: How could a man on a 170-count charge of corruption involving the laundering of millions of dollars got discharged and acquitted by the court? At least one of the charges ought to count, right?

Well, probably not, if your name is James Onanefe Ibori, the well connected former governor of oil-rich Delta State. There are two or three possibilities of what happened: Continue reading…