In the Grandiose Parlor…

The construction of the world’s longest sea bridge is about to begin in China. The Y-shaped link between Hong Kong, Macau and China will be around 50km (31 miles) long in total, 35km of which will span the sea, according to the state news agency Xinhua. Expected data of completion 2015. Cost: 6.7billion Pound Sterling (73bn Yuan or 11bn USD).

It’s difficult to be hopeful that men and women that can dream big dreams (as this bridge), and make such dreams reality, will emerge in Nigeria in my lifetime! Continue reading…

I love Italians. They can’t hide their emotions; they make it clear where they stand (when they not trying to pulling a fast one on you), just as one did a couple of days ago by smacking his country’s Prime Minister in face (video).

I can think of many Nigerians in high places that deserve the “Berlusconi treatment” because they share all of his crimes, and even more.

The Italian Prime Minister has been the subject of intense criticism over his personal life and management style, and he’s not liked much in his country. “The prime minister scores highly in polls gauging Italian popular opinion, though he has been tried on various charges 17 times since taking office in 1994. The charges include corruption, false accounting and tax fraud”, according the media report.

There are dozens of eminent Nigerians with worst crimes than Berlusconi (the second richest man in Italy, by the way)…

Let’s go smacking!

Slum on stilts is the description for the 50,000+ strong fishing community called Makoko that abuts and stretches into the Lagos lagoon. Some have called it ugly, “ugly(” Idowu Ogunleye, photo journalist, Lagos), and even “dangerous and volatile” (John Vidal, Guardian).

Looking from outside, either though photographs, or from above while driving across the adjacent bridges, I see something different: I marvel at the resiliency of the inhabitants. Continue reading…

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State at a lecture entitled: “Critical Issues in the 2011 elections” delivered to participants at Executive Intelligence Management Course 2 of the Institute for Security Studies said if Nigeria does not desist from “electoral debauchery” through rigging and falsification of election results, the country’s democracy may not survive.

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“Big-man syndrome”, in Nigerian parlance, is a multifaceted social disorder which makes an individual feel ‘above the law’, and pushes him/her to engage in activities that may even run contrary to established protocol or civil ordinances.

This behavioral anomaly can push its victims to be discourteous, or rude to those considered as ‘low status individuals’, and in extreme cases, physical violence may ensue, as was the case between Nigeria’s federal legislator, Hon. Chinyere Emmanuel Igwe (photo), who slapped a ‘lowly’ security guard attached to the National Assembly complex in Abuja.

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The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, used her visit to Nigeria to highlight the core national challenges: corruption, rule of law and electoral reform. One of the significant moments during the visit was the Town Hall Meeting, where she reiterated what appears the Nigerian political class has yet to realize:

“The most immediate source of the disconnect between Nigeria’s wealth and its poverty is a failure of governance at the federal, state and local level. The lack of transparency and accountability has eroded the legitimacy of the government and contributed to the rise of groups that embrace violence and reject the authority of the state.”

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Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is Nigeria’s new Central Bank Governor. Below are some insight to his perspective on the government economic agenda, as revealed during his screening at the National assembly:

“In the seven-point agenda of government, critical infrastructure is the first item. My view is that until we address the infrastructural problem in this country, we will not even begin to solve our problems. As a matter of fact, my view is that in the seven- point agenda, if we could just focus on two or three things and finish them up in the next four years, we will be far more effective in contributing to this country than focusing on seven.

“The small-scale industry that we talk about cannot survive without power. I have not heard anyone saying that infrastructure is not his priority, I think the question is how it can be achieved. But until we address the infrastructure problem, we will not be able to achieve our Vision 20:2020. I believe in the vision and I share the vision but I want us to do something today. If you ask me what I would do differently, I will say stop having visions, stop seeing visions, lets start moving!”

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