Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014, pray for them.
Nigeria was never poor, unable to cater for its ‘huge burden’ population as falsely stated by political class to cover its theft. Nigeria’s wealth was politicians’ ‘best kept secret’. Nigeria is blessed by God with oil and was rich for the last 50 years increasing exponentially till the ‘Nigerian Fiscal Famine of 2015-????’ The ‘Nigerian Fiscal Famine’ was precipitated by 1) Massive 70-100% corruption in national, state, public and private life; 2) Spectacular moral and political failure to establish a strong $50-100+m Sovereign Wealth Fund with 1-10% of revenues; 3) Failure to diversify the economy by massively increasing power to the required off and on-grid 150,000Mw with 1.5 million power service jobs, using God’s second gift to Nigeria, solar energy, and other sources; 4) Failure to factor into the budgets economic countermeasures to the inevitable fall in oil.
Halfway over the precipice, why are we blaming those who put the brakes on the crashing vehicle Nigeria, Buhari and Co, and not his predecessors? The predecessor should be condemned to media silence and jail for fiscal, power and political failures. It is a Human Rights Crime Against Humanity to give 150,000,000 fellow Nigerian citizens just 2-5,000Mw power. This is the crime of ‘Needless Powerlessness’ amidst plenty. Nigeria must urgently replace this lost power to prevent another generation of nationwide misery, generator fumes, noise pollution and the massive cost to families and businesses that ‘Needless Powerlessness’ has caused. The ‘Pain of Powerlessness’ is real.
Nigeria was richest in the last 20 years from God’s oil. Nigeria still has God’s sun if only we had a decisive, visionary ‘Solar’ leader. Can Buhari become that leader in this ‘Solar Century’? These ‘50 years of progressively increasing Plenty’ did not coincide with a visionary Churchillian, Kennedyesque or Mandelaian leaders. Instead Nigeria experienced progressively worsening Presidential manipulation of budgets, funds and elections with an increasingly greedy political class feasting on ‘Corpus Nigeria’ with the greediest civil service and contractor classes in the world. Obasanjo’s recent rant and boast at 79 years is in conflict with the developmental disappointments of his two-nearly-three term regime. Later Presidential hands-off election manipulation was not reproduced in states though budget draining was specialised in by all parties.
During the 50 years, particularly the last 20, infrastructure services to Nigerians was characterised by media misnamed ‘dividends of democracy’ when they were actually demonic ‘Deceptions Of Democracy’ exemplified by corrupt ‘Constituency Projects’ which steal 70-90% for enrichment of National Assembly (NASS) members concerned. Have our media no conscience? The hoodwinking of citizens is more widespread, involving all government activities like handing out exercise books and road construction. Most are ‘Deceptions of Democracy’ and we must stop attending and stop applauding while we are continually being defrauded by the ‘Gang of Politicians’ in power, past and even present. Happily the Federal Government has apparently stopped the Security Vote, the monthly slush fund which was a hangover of military government corruption.
The worst thing about our farcical and fraudulent country is that shame, repentance and reparations never go with offences committed like the abuse of ‘True Federalism’ by withholding central approval for meaningful state development. The success of the Lagos Lekki Link Bridge is a fine example of true federalism practiced by visionary leaders like late President Musa Yar‘Adua. But Lagos needs 20 such bridges! Other states have similar development needs stopped by a scheming federal political and Civil Service government machinery with a mantra ‘To Deny Enemy States Development Projects’! Across Nigeria there are 100 State-Federal Agreements/state awaiting urgent presidential approval. Look at the repair of federal roads in states -a disgraceful example of Federal–State discordance! For years, citizens of states run by political parties different from the party running the Federal Government were squashed, mistreated, ignored and cheated of their federal rights.
Will there be no reparation or apology from past heads of state advising us on the way forward when they misled us? Is Buhari that visionary leader to embrace states and re-orientate federal might and stop Federal Vs State Ministry infighting? Every Nigerian belongs to a state. For years, only ‘Some Northerners’, not all, were ‘allowed’ to strut the federal stage and force narrow regional educational and other interests on the national agenda executed as ‘Federal Might’. Everyone else represented himself with no reference to his own Oba/Obi before national decisions were taken. Obasanjo re-gained some territory and Jonathan tried. Where are we going now – hopefully not back to ethnic domination? Buhari must know about Fasola’s titanic battle with opposition federal ministers sent as attack-dogs shamelessly delaying development and destroying their home states. While fighting corruption, Buhari can initiate a ‘Federal- State Cooperation Action Plan’ with a ‘Coordinating Minister for State Development’ to fast track development. The Council of States must cut State-Federal red tape and inter-ministerial bottlenecks around development projects. No more State-Federal dichotomy. We want ‘Unity in Democratic Diversity’.
Nigeria’s ‘In Office Offences’ cannot attract ‘judicial immunity’ or ‘SAN’itisation from herds of lawyers encouraging another ‘50 years of fiscal impunity’ that sent millions to graves and left many millions more underperforming and underachieving. Strangely we and the media are hungry to call on disgraced ex-presidents and even Al Mustapha for advice at public lectures. Is our heroes’ blood so worthless?
Lagos State is to get a DNA forensic laboratory, hurray. Criminals and ‘pregnant’ boys, beware! It pays to do DNA!
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