The bats in our belfry

By Casmir Igbokwe

Published: Sunday, 20 Jul 2008

Bat is a strange mammal. It is ugly, mouse-like and nocturnal. But unlike other mammals, it can fly. Recently, the strangeness of this animal manifested in Norwich, England. Foreign media reports indicated that a 19-year-old lady felt some vibrations in her bra. For about five hours, she endured the thing, thinking it was the mobile phone in her jacket pocket. When the vibration persisted, Abbie Hawkins decided to check her 34FF underwear. Curiously, she found a baby bat taking a nap there. Apparently, this strange lover got to the bra the previous day when the underwear was on the washing line. As Hawkins reportedly put it, “I put my hand down my bra and pulled out a cuddly little bat. That shocked me very much at the time, but it scuttled off under the desk into the dark…It looked quite cosy and comfortable in there so it was quite rude of me to take it out.”

Like Hawkins, Nigeria has some bats in her belfry or bra if you like. To have bats in the belfry means to be crazy, eccentric or mad. There is no better way to describe what life is gradually turning into in this country than this. A few examples will suffice here.

Last Wednesday, some newspapers reported the tragic death of scores of people in Abia State after a deliverance prayer. The Nigerian Tribune headline says, “40 die after deliverance prayer.” The Daily Sun of the same day says, “Mystery fire consumes 30 family members.” Essentially, the story is that these people organised a prayer and deliverance session in their compound to arrest a series of spiritual problems purportedly hindering the progress of members of the family. Apparently, they belonged to the same extended family.

According to the Daily Sun account, after the prayer, came the deliverance session. This involved the exhumation of charms some enemies allegedly buried in the compound. As this was going on, a mysterious fire reportedly came like a wind and consumed everybody in sight. The Nigerian Tribune account says the dead were members of Deeper Life Church. And that a zonal coordinator of the church organised the prayer session in his newly built house, which he had not slept in because of perceived spiritual attacks. The incident occurred at Umuolihe village near Omoba in the Isialangwa South Local Government Area.

Almost the same period, the nation witnessed the demise of some youths, who had gone for immigration and prison service recruitment. Over a dozen applicants reportedly died during the exercise. Tens of thousands of job seekers had applied for these limited vacancies.

I was saddened the more when I read reports that over 64 million Nigerian youths are unemployed. The Minister of Youth Development, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, who gave this grim report last week, said of the 16 million youths that were engaged, 1.6 million of them were underemployed. This means that more than 80 per cent of the 80 million Nigerian youths are unemployed.

Most of the few who are working go through hell taking care of siblings, relations and hangers-on. Teachers have been on strike because what they receive as salary barely lasts for one week. So far, they have not been able to get what they are asking for. And so, the Nigeria Union of Teachers enjoined its members to embark on a regular prayer session. This is to invoke nemesis to deal with their enemies. Happily, there is no mystery fire yet.

Tanker drivers have just called off their own strike. Even oil workers equally agitate for better conditions of service. Soldiers may not be able to organise themselves to go on strike. But the other day, they went on the rampage in Akure over peacekeeping allowances. Many workers see and read about profligacy in high places. Yet, their conditions keep deteriorating everyday.

This is partly why many of our compatriots will do anything possible to migrate abroad. Recently, scores of Nigerian illegal migrants drowned off the southern coast of Spain. Over 100 of them attempted to enter that country illegally. They had paid thousands of dollars to a syndicate that reportedly promised them safe entry to Spain. At various embassies in the country, thousands of Nigerians queue everyday to obtain visas to foreign countries. Last Wednesday, a middle-aged woman reportedly slumped and died while waiting to procure German visa in Lagos.

Life doesn’t seem to have any meaning here anymore. Millions of children are dying of preventable diseases every year. Some of those who survive have become articles of trade. The majority of the adult population are at the mercy of poverty-related diseases. The Niger Delta is boiling. The power situation is worsening rather than improving. Some major bridges are vibrating. Railways are comatose. The other name for roads here is gullies. Last Wednesday, a trailer truck with two full containers fell at Ijora, crushing a pick-up van. The country is moving dangerously from a failing state to a failed one. And native doctors and prophets are making fortunes from desperate citizens.

Nothing typifies this bedlam called Nigeria better than the confusion over President Umaru Yar’Adua’s birthday. His actual birthday is August 16. But some highly placed public officials thought his birthday was July 9. And so, they were beside themselves with congratulatory adverts. The President himself did not find it necessary to correct the mistake until THE PUNCH broke the story last Tuesday.

The desperate situation in Nigeria is largely a result of an insensitive leadership. The tragedy is that our leaders do not seem to appreciate this fact. Yar’Adua and his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, reportedly spent N655.97m on foreign trips in the first six months of the year. This, according to a report by THE PUNCH, is only N63.49m short of the N719,463,736 allocated for their international travels and transport in the 2008 budget. Perhaps, there will be a supplementary budget to take care of more foreign trips that will likely follow. The legislators, on their part, have taken good care of themselves through probes and capacity-building funds. The judiciary has its problems, as some judges are known to have compromised their position.

Some Nigerians have suggested a revolution. This may not solve the problem. But those in positions of authority should know that they are pushing their citizens to the wall. They should take a cue from what happened in Peru earlier this month. Thousands of protesters embarked on strikes and marches across that country to protest the life of squalor they are subjected to amid an economic boom. They accused President Alan Garcia of betraying his socialist roots.

Every mad situation demands eccentric solutions. This is where I tend to support the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, who suggested recently that those who wish to govern this country should be subjected to a psychiatric test before they go for any leadership position.

Before we all run mad, we need that psychiatric test desperately!

Fat, killer-vitamins and poor lifestyle

Published Sunday, July 13, 2008

Casmir Igbokwe

 

For some male travellers, the attractiveness of air hostesses could be a factor in deciding a particular airline to patronise. In India, private airlines recognise this fact by engaging beautiful and smartly-dressed young ladies as crew members. On the contrary, state-owned Air India used to care less about the physical appearance of its stewardesses. But stiff competition has jolted it from slumber. Recently, the airline prevented its fat air hostesses from flying. The reason it reportedly gave was that overweight crew posed a safety and health hazard. Five of the cabin crew took the airline to court. The Delhi High Court ruled against them, saying the airline had the right to do what it did. According to the court, the physical appearance of an air hostess matters a lot.

 

It also matters to many companies in Nigeria. Most new generation banks, for instance, try to beat competition by employing young shapely ladies in their marketing departments. Love it or hate it, it works for some of them. Some men are wont to fall for such traps by depositing huge part of their earnings to such ladies or their banks.

 

This is one of the advantages of maintaining a trim and shapely figure. But many Nigerians don’t really care about their weight. Some live a sedentary life. They sit in an air-conditioned office from morning till night without any form of physical activity. They eat as much junk as their stomach can contain. Even those who are jobless, especially housewives, have similar problem. Most of the time, some of them do nothing but sleep and eat. Their activities revolve around cooking and a few other household chores.

 

The problem is not peculiar to Nigeria. In the United Kingdom, for instance, food is not a problem. Most citizens can afford to eat five meals a day. They throw away the greater number of this food. A government food policy study indicates that UK families waste about 4.1m tonnes of food every year. This amounts to about £420 per family per year. Much of these foods are burgers, chips and other junks. This, perhaps, explains why about 50 per cent of adults are said to be obese in the UK.

 

Globally, over a billion adults are overweight. At least, 300 million are clinically obese. More disturbing is the World Health Organisation’s prediction that clinically obese population would balloon to 700m by 2015. As the world continues to grapple with food crisis, experts attribute part of the causes to obese people. A report credited to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says obese people consume 18 per cent more calories than average. They also reportedly contribute to climate change and higher food prices. The argument is that the higher the demand for food, the higher the efforts to produce more. The more the production, the more fuel or oil is used to service agricultural machinery. This eventually translates into higher energy and food prices.

 

Besides, fatness makes one look old and sluggish. It could engender cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, diabetes, and gall-bladder disease. Fertility experts have linked infertility in some women partly to obesity. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen discovered recently that obesity could also lead to poor quality sperm for men. The scientists reportedly examined over 2, 000 men whose partners have problems in conceiving. They found out that overweight men had a higher proportion of abnormal sperm and lower volumes of semen than men with a healthy body mass index. One probable reason, the researchers say, is overheating of the testicles caused by too much fat. As the lead researcher, Dr Ghiyath Shayeb, enthused, “We are pleased to be able to add improved semen quality to the long list of benefits that we know are the result of an optimal body weight.”

 

Maintaining this optimal body weight requires taking a balanced diet. Vitamins are an important part of this balanced diet. Fruits and vegetables are one of the major sources of vitamins. Nutritionists recommend at least five fruits a day per person. Some rich people decide to add vitamin supplements to their diet as well. Unfortunately, another research suggests that such vitamin supplements could actually result in a premature death. The BBC quoted scientists at the Copenhagen University as saying that vitamins A and E supplements could interfere with the body’s natural defences.

 

These scientists reviewed 67 studies and examined 233, 000 people. They found no evidence to support the belief that antioxidant supplements prevent diseases. To them, 16 per cent of increased risk of dying could be a result of intake of vitamin A supplements, seven per cent to beta-carotene and four per cent to vitamin E.

 

I’m sure those who deal in supplements will dismiss this with a wave of the hand. In Nigeria, there are companies that make fortunes marketing supplements. I don’t know if they have a defence to this research finding.

 

Hopefully, there may not be any research that will caution against the use of natural fruits and vegetables. I try to eat more of them these days. But some friends say I am fatter now than when I came back newly from the UK. I have tried as much as possible to reduce the quantity of food I take. But the more I try, the more I see mountainous food on my dinner table.

 

The ideal thing is for all of us to live a healthy life, eat balanced diet and exercise as much as possible. Those who are over 40 years should watch what they eat and drink. For women, there is no denying the fact that your appearance, to an extent, determines the type of suitor that comes your way. The married ones who feel they are not dancing to attract attention again should realise that, like the Indian hostesses, they could become victims of rejection at home.

 

  From my cell phone

Casmir,

Exorcise yourself of the ghost of intellectual bandwagonism as manifested in your June 22 ’08 piece regarding Prof. H. Nwosu’s book on June 12, ’93 polls. Please read the book before analysing. He didn’t exonerate IBB contextually, by deduction or induction.

Emmanuel Onwubiko, Author/journalist

07055831387

  

Casmir,

You have surely come of age since TheNEWS/Tempo. Not a surprise to some of us who have closely watched you from the sidelines. Keep the quality up.

Dotun Adekanmbi, 08022231789

 

Casmir,

I’m a boy of 17 years and an ardent reader of your column. I’m deeply moved by your mode of thinking. How many people can say the truth openly? I planned on studying economics, but I will become a writer because you inspire me with your column.

Anonymous, 08076234938

Reflections on the National Assembly probes

By Casmir Igbokwe

 Published: Sunday, 6 Jul 2008

MOST honourable members of the National Assembly are very busy at the moment. They have probed and are still probing some past activities of government agencies and parastatals. Ndudi Elumelu and his committee investigated the embezzlement of the power sector funds. The Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory examined Abuja land allocations and revocations. Currently, there is an enquiry into the mismanagement of the N19.5bn aviation intervention fund, etc. Last week, Senate spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, hinted that more of these public hearings were in the offing. Not only has the wind of these probes exposed the rump of corruption involving past government functionaries, but has also revealed some lacunas surrounding the exercise.

First, Senate President, David Mark, has given a hint of what Nigerians should expect from the investigations. According to him, ”This is not a probe (referring to the aviation probe) to indict or send anybody to jail. It is a fact-finding public hearing, so that we know exactly what the problems are. And once we identify the problem, I believe that we will be 50 per cent done in finding a realistic solution.”

Obviously, what Mark is saying is that those who allegedly attempted to bribe members of the Senate committee on aviation will go scot-free; that nothing will happen to those who allegedly inflated the N6.5bn safe tower rehabilitation contract by N5.5bn; and that Nigerians should forgive and forget the mindless looting of over $10bn power sector funds.

At least, Mark is sincere. He didn‘t want Nigerians to have any illusion about the outcome of the probes. Some past administrations, which also embarked on probes, made some noise about them. At the end, they all became an exercise in futility. There was Justice Obiora Nwazota Judicial Commission of Enquiry that investigated the mismanagement of Nigeria Airways. That commission toiled for about 12 months to gather facts. On May 8 2002, it submitted four volumes of report. This indicted some prominent citizens of this country and proposed some sanctions. Till date, nothing has come out of the report.

What of the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa panel? For about three years, that one traversed the length and breadth of the country, collecting information on how past military regimes abused the rights of Nigerians. Today, the report is still gathering dust somewhere. Nigerians had also witnessed the Christopher Kolade panel on contracts and licences; Pius Okigbo panel on the $12.4bn Gulf War oil windfall; and many other panels.

The question is, why does our National Assembly still fancy probe panels when their reports will virtually amount to nothing? I wish to hazard some answers. One, setting up investigative panels may be a way of settling scores with real and perceived opponents. For instance, the Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba Committee that investigated the mismanagement of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund last year gave the impression that the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar was the main target. Recall that the committee indicted Abubakar for diverting and mismanaging public funds. It recommended that he should be sanctioned. Curiously, the same committee did not prescribe any punishment for former President Olusegun Obasanjo who, it admitted, acted outside the law and did not follow due process. The report was generally seen as an extension of Obasanjo‘s personal war against Abubakar then. Even the probe of the Abuja land allocations under Nasir el-Rufai had the same vindictive undertone.

Two, probes are another avenue for committee members to make more money. Of course they cannot embark on such hectic national duties without collecting sitting allowances. We are familiar with the penchant of our lawmakers for agitation for allowances under different guises. A report in THE PUNCH last Friday indicated that the proposed probe of the oil sector by an ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives would gulp about N273m. The money is to cover for consultancy charges, running the secretariat, publicity, and a capacity building retreat for members. Each member of the panel is also expected to go home with N20, 000 per day for the 90 days the investigation will last. This is not ruling out the temptation of bribery.

If the lawmakers had genuine intentions with regard to this avalanche of probes, why have they pussyfooted about the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill? This is a law that will help ease the workload of the lawmakers. It is a law that will ensure transparency in public office. With it in place, there may not be much need for probes. The 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives are accountable to the over 140 million Nigerians who are desirous of change. But most of these legislators who profess to be working for the interest of their constituents have continued to reject the FOI Bill.

But we need to let them know that while we appreciate their preoccupation with the activities of the past regime, we will appreciate it more if they devote more time to their major responsibility, which is to make law. Last May, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, admitted that they had not done well in lawmaking. The last legislative session, Bankole observed, passed 35 bills after one year. The incumbent legislators could only boast of passing 11 out of 65 bills after their own one year in office.

This low productivity is in spite of the lawmakers’ often-touted capacity-building trips abroad. The truth is that they build the capacity more in their bank accounts. They collect money from ministries and elsewhere for oversight functions. Yet, the cases of corruption they are now probing happened under their noses. Why couldn‘t the committees of the previous assembly discover the crimes then during their oversight functions? I will not be surprised if the next assembly spends time and money to probe how the Ministry of Health mismanaged the N300m unspent 2007 budget of the ministry.

As if to confirm that the probes are an exercise in abracadabra, the National Economic Council, last month, appointed three principal characters, who supervised the rot in the power ministry, to a committee that will monitor investments in the power sector. They are Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu; Cross River State governor, Liyel Imoke; and Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje.

Can there be a better circus show than this?

Kids as witches and commodities

 By Casmir Igbokwe

 Published: Sunday, 29 Jun 2008

I was privy to a discussion of two young women recently. One told the other that her menses were causing her stomach upset. She last experienced this some years back when she had not started having children. The other asked her if she had been using contraceptives. She answered in the negative, saying her husband only used condoms. The other woman shrugged and noted, ”My husband does not like condom o!” Even, the two women do not fancy injectables. The assumption is that they have side effects and could make a woman look like an inflated balloon.

In the absence of any form of birth control, two things could happen. The couple could either cuddle their pillows in their different rooms, or sleep together and produce what some people call unwanted pregnancy. Some terminate the pregnancy. Some allow it to run its natural course. Even single girls that play with boys without caution risk this situation as well. When the babies eventually come, they consider many options regarding what to do with them.

One, they may decide to keep them in the family and train them to the best of their ability. When the child grows to a certain level, they either give them out to relations as housemaids or houseboys or they release them to the larger society, where they grow to become social miscreants.

The kids may show some signs of mental retardation or sickness due largely to malnutrition and lack of adequate care. In this case, the parents will likely visit prayer houses or what passes for a church. There, they may label them witches or wizards. Prayer warriors will then start a series of exorcism. ”Holy Ghost fire! Die by fire!” they are wont to chant. They torture, machete, abandon and, sometimes, burn these kids alive.

This is exactly what is happening in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. Courtesy of a United Kingdom registered charity organisation, Stepping Stone Nigeria, we got to know that over 15, 000 children are suffering this problem in the two states. Abandoned by those who gave birth to them, they roam the streets begging for alms and looking for where to retire at night. Some die off. Some fall into the hands of ritualists and rapists.

The problem is not peculiar to Nigeria. A particular family, which came to London from Congo to seek asylum, allegedly accused a little girl living with them of witchcraft. They tortured her, cut her with a knife, rubbed peppers in her eyes, tied her in a sack for days and finally threw her out of their house. The culprits were later reportedly convicted on cruelty charges.

Kids who escape allegations of witchcraft may end up as articles of trade. Recently, in Aba, Abia State, the police arrested some pregnant girls and their matron, Mrs Grace Erondu (80), for alleged involvement in the illicit trade of trading in babies. At Erondu‘s maternity, a baby boy reportedly goes for N250,000, while a baby girl goes for about N200,000. This woman, who claimed to be a prayer warrior, bathes her girls with alcoholic drinks to exorcise them of evil spirits.

A few days after the Aba arrest, security agents raided another home in Enugu and arrested 22 pregnant girls. Also arrested was the patron of the “maternity,” Dr. Kenneth Akune. The alleged crime blew open when a woman arrested with a day-old baby confessed that she bought it at the so-called maternity for N340, 000.

We are wont to blame poverty for this kind of mindless trade. This is true to an extent. But what kind of poverty will push a parent to sell his baby? Or move him to push her out of his house in the guise that she is a witch? Even wild animals don‘t behave this way. They cherish and protect their offspring against any predator.

Indeed, our society is becoming more conscienceless and savage. And we are the most religious country in the world. The truth is that many of the self-styled prophets and seers in our midst see religion as a big business venture. They trade on the ignorance and feeble-mindedness of people to make their money. You can never visit them without being told of a looming imaginary death, an accident that will soon happen or a child who flies in the night to attend a meeting of witches. Out of panic, the person concerned may offer money to obtain prayers that will seemingly avert the predicted calamity.

We will never progress as a nation if we continue this way. A newborn baby has his own right to life and decent living. Whoever denies him that right should face the full weight of the law. And this is where the government comes in. It must enforce the relevant laws that deal with illegal sale and trafficking in persons, even as it should endeavour to improve the economic condition of the citizens. It should also standardise and publicise the procedure for child adoption.

All the states of the federation should also endeavour to adopt the Child Rights Act of 2003. So far, only 14 states have adopted the law, which is an offshoot of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention urges countries to take appropriate measures to protect the child against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions or beliefs of the child‘s parents, guardians or family members.

On their part, couples should ensure they have the number of children they can adequately cater for. Those who cannot control their libido should sit down, like the woman with painful menstruation and her friend, and discuss the family planning method that best suits their belief and condition.

Feedback

Dear Casmir,

I have a confession to make – I love you… Though I am a 54-year-old lady, conservative and proper, I cannot contain myself. Every time I read your piece, I feel like embracing you and pecking your cheeks – Yes! You are “just too much.” I have been “in love” since you were in Cardiff. Your write-ups are incisive and very thorough. Sundays would be incomplete without them. In fact, I read the “last page” first. This goes to show the importance of finding one’s purpose in life. No doubt, Casmir, you were born to write. May your “well” never run dry. Amen.

Mrs. F. Martins, Ifako,

anjolam@yahoo.com.

Dear Casmir,

Thanks for your piece “MTN, free airtime and phone abusers.” It‘s superb. I wonder why our people behave strangely. As a radio and television presenter, I give out my phone number for reasonable clients to book advert appointments. Alas! What do I get in return? Endless flashing, terrible text messages like “are you married?” “Who are you?” “Send me credit” and lots more. They no longer understand simple instruction, “Please call for advert placement only”. It‘s a terrible trend. I think networks should charge for flashing, so that our people can find better things to do with their time instead of disturbing other people‘s peace!

Mrs. Bimpe Atofolaki,

Sango-Otta, 08072324558.

Selling truth down the river

 By Casmir Igbokwe

 Published: Sunday, 22 Jun 2008

TO sell somebody down the river is an idiom. It means to betray somebody, especially to one’s own advantage. I find this expression very apt, especially against the background of some happenings in the country today. First, former Heads of State (Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar) openly exonerated their late colleague, Sani Abacha, from the allegations that he looted public treasury. Four days later, precisely on June 12, the erstwhile Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, came out with his own truth. At the launch of his book: Laying the Foundation for Nigeria’s Democracy: My Account of June 12, 1993 Presidential Election and its Annulment, Nwosu absolved Babangida of any blame in the annulment of that election. He blamed the annulment on senior military colleagues of Babangida.

My concern here is not about the canonisation of Abacha. Nor is it about Nwosu’s fallacious argument. Many analysts and opinion leaders have adequately tackled those issues. I’m troubled more by the events at the public hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up by the Rivers State Government to engender peace in that state. From the look of things, the commission may have a harder task in reconciling lies and half-truths than in bringing peace.

Between Tuesday and Thursday last week, some prominent citizens of the state gave their testimonies in Abuja. They are the former governor of the state, Dr. Peter Odili; the former Transport Minister, Dr. Abiye Sekibo; and former Governor Celestine Omehia.

In his testimony, Odili, in the name of God, denied all the allegations against him. Prodded on by aso-ebi wearing women and a band of clappers, the former governor noted, “At no time between 1999 and 2007 did Governor (Rotimi) Amaechi advise me against the use of cult groups for election because there was no need for such advice.” Recall that Amaechi, in his opening speech at the inauguration of the commission, said he spoke against using cult groups for elections during Odili’s tenure. As it is, between Odili and Amaechi, one person must be a liar. Hence, truth has not been established in this instance.

Odili said youth restiveness was common in the Niger Delta due to a feeling of frustration among jobless young people. He suggested creating jobs in the oil industry and its subsidiaries to tackle this problem. He spoke of the need for true leaders and elders of Rivers State to unite and plan for the future of the state. Unfortunately, he laid another foundation for mistrust and acrimony when he said he did not believe that the intention of those who set up the commission was to find genuine peace and reconciliation.

If Odili was a little suspicious of the real intentions behind the conception of the commission, Sekibo had no doubts at all. He said he had strong reservations about the nobility of the intent behind the setting up of the commission and its transparency and fairness.

Sekibo further told the commission, “You have been called a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but any fair minded observer who has listened to, and seen all that has been shown on television will wonder if the truth indeed is being told and if so, if it is possible to achieve reconciliation bearing in mind the utterances of the unelected Governor Amaechi and several others who have appeared before this panel.” He alleged that Amaechi had told him that he would destroy him, wondering if the commission was not one of the contraptions the governor intended to use to destroy him.

These are weighty words spoken out of extreme bitterness. And like Sekibo and Odili, Omehia made his own allegations, denied the ones levelled against him and added some drops of tears in the process.

What this indicates is that the reconciliatory part of the public hearing is heading for the rocks. In the first place, real truth has remained elusive. And in the absence of truth, reconciliation cannot take place. Many individuals and groups fingered Odili and Sekibo as the architect of the crises in the state. Yet, these former leaders of the state have denied all the allegations. Obviously, truth is on trial here.

The public hearing in Abuja also transmitted some troubling signals. One, why couldn’t Odili and Co. come to Port Harcourt to testify? What are they really scared of? What purpose did those who came to Abuja to clap intend to achieve? Is the public hearing a circus show or a moment for sober reflection? Though we do not know what the commission will recommend, the conduct and utterances of testifiers have unwittingly provided grounds for condemning its report.

Without internal peace in Rivers and the entire Niger Delta, there will not be peace in Nigeria. Just as the commission wound up its sitting in Abuja on Thursday, militants attacked the Bonga oilfield, which produces about 200,000 barrels of crude or 10 per cent of Nigeria’s current daily output of about 2m barrels. This forced Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to shut down production at the oilfield. Similar attacks on oil facilities have reduced about a quarter of the nation’s total oil production.

Some leaders of the Niger Delta had recommended provision of jobs as a way of rehabilitating gang leaders and dousing tension and restiveness in the region. Providing employment is only a step. It will not significantly change the situation. Or what type of job will satisfy somebody who, apparently, is making millions from kidnapping and some other illegal activities?

For a start, the Federal Government should increase the revenue allocation to Niger Delta states to at least 25 per cent. It is only after this that it could have the moral basis to attack criminality in that region.

I had commended Amaechi for setting up the TRC (SUNDAY PUNCH, 8 June 2008.) I had also advised him to be ready to pardon remorseful gang leaders since he modelled the commission after South Africa’s TRC. Similarly, I wish to plead with Odili, Sekibo, Omehia and all the characters in the Rivers crises to sheathe their swords and embrace genuine peace and reconciliation.

MTN, free airtime and phone abusers

 By Casmir Igbokwe

 Published: Sunday, 15 Jun 2008

I GOT a queer text message from a reader of this column last Sunday. It reads: “I love you, from the Deputy Governor of Lagos State. Call me for further details. This is my number: 07057410198.” Knowing that the Deputy Governor of Lagos is a woman, I first alerted my wife about the suspicious message. Together, we agreed to call the number. We tried many times. But the owner permanently diverted all calls to voicemail, without giving any allowance to drop a message.

I believe that the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Sarah Sosan, will not want to send a message in that fashion. When contacted, one of her aides could not identify the number as madam’s. I wanted to expose some other funny messages I have received from readers to keep your Sunday lively. Unfortunately, phone thieves stole my two phones last Wednesday night.

The incident happens to be the second I have experienced this year. The first time was in February on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway by Dopemu Bridge. It was along a traffic jam. This second one was at Orelope and Idimu Road intersection at Egbeda area of Lagos. The pattern was the same. A young man would emerge from nowhere and tap you, saying some senseless things to distract your attention. His partner in crime will stretch his hand from the passenger’s side and take your phone. I never ever imagined that I would fall a victim the second time. I became less security conscious because there was no hold-up since it was past 10pm. The incident happened just as I slowed down at Orelope end of the road intersection.

The irony of the situation is that after the incident, the journalist in me took over. Instead of mourning the loss of my phones, I started constructing a story in my mind, a story that will best illustrate my painful losses vis-à-vis the poor phone etiquette of Nigerians and the exciting free airtime noise that MTN Nigeria Communications Limited is making of recent.

Recall that MTN came out recently with an advert, which says, “MTN excites subscribers with free airtime.” The GSM giant said it was its own way of saying “thank you” to its customers’ friendship. In a text message sent to my MTN line on Friday, June 13, the mobile phone operator further noted, “You will receive free N175 airtime on 14th June. This is MTN’s way of showing appreciation for your support and loyalty. Do enjoy it at your leisure. Thank you!”

As a Nigerian, I know that there is nothing exciting about the so-called free airtime. It happens to be a penalty the National Communications Commission mandated MTN and Celtel Nigeria to pay customers for poor services. When NCC imposed this sanction, the cost of compensation was about N4bn.

The mobile phone operators first went to court to restrain the NCC from implementing the sanction. They lost at the court. Hence, it became compulsory for them to pay the penalty. Celtel was the first to set the timetable within which it intends to pay the compensation. Then came MTN with its exciting free airtime.

The Senate Committee on Communication sees this free airtime message as deceptive. The Chairman of the Committee, Sylvester Anyanwu, reportedly said the operators had presented the sanction on them as if they were doing Nigerians a favour whereas they should be remorseful for rendering poor services. He demanded that the operators should retract the messages to reflect the true position. He also noted that the sanctions would continue pending the time operators improved their services.

The relevant question to ask at this point is: is the NCC justified in meting out this punishment to the GSM operators? Yes is my simple answer. Personally, I have had to contend with calling people only to be told “error in network connection”, “the number you have dialled is not available at the moment, please try again later”, “the number you have dialled is incorrect, please check your number and dial again,” etc. These programmed voices will continue echoing these messages, even when the number you are dialling is just in front of you.

Everywhere you go, subscribers also complain of drop calls, non-delivery of text messages and inability to recharge their lines. On at least two occasions, I have had to visit MTN friendship centre at Akowonjo, Lagos, to complain of my inability to recharge. Even after their intervention, I still had to wait for about five days for my recharge to be credited.

In all fairness to the GSM operators, they have their teething problems. Poor infrastructure, especially erratic power supply, is a major headache. But they compound the problems by selling more lines that will further congest their networks.

Out of frustration, some people dump their old lines for new ones. A report in THE PUNCH of 2 June 2008 quoted statistics from the NCC as indicating that out of about 57.72million lines connected by the four GSM operators in the country, 43.79million were active while 13.87million were dormant as at March this year.

This, perhaps, is why MTN’s current customer-focus is geared at achieving what it terms “next generation customer care.” In a recent advertised message, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Ahmad Farroukh, introduced his new Customer Relations Executive, Akin Braithwaite, and enthused that in the past nine months, the company had embarked on an aggressive network capacity expansion programme.

Since Farroukh expressed his desire to receive comments and suggestions, may I suggest that they do something about free midnight calls. I understand the free call is from 12.30am to 4.30am. Mainly students particularly find this free call very rewarding. A few days ago, a phone call from a close relation woke me up at 3.30am. Fear gripped me when I saw the call as I thought something terrible had happened. As it turned out, nothing happened. She just called to say hi. I was furious, but I later learnt that she only took advantage of MTN’s free calls.

In all, the NCC should continue to protect the interest of Nigerian consumers as it’s done in civilised societies. In India, for instance, telecom regulator, in 2001, ordered cell phone operators to compensate millions of subscribers for overcharging them. The United Kingdom’s industry’s watchdog also fined a mobile phone company, Moby Monkey, £50,000 in 2002 for sending misleading text messages to customers.

The NCC could engender more competition and better services if it could fulfil its promise to introduce number portability in the services of the GSM operators. With this service, customers can migrate from one network to another and still retain and use their numbers.

Nigerians should also learn some things about phone etiquette. What we call flashing contributes to the problems of the phone operators. If you don’t have money to call, send a text message. But not like the one who says she is Lagos Deputy Governor. If you wish to make a call, it should not be like the girl who called me last week and said, “Hello, I saw your number in the newspapers. I want to know if you have somebody who wishes to adopt a baby?” I saved her number with the name “baby seller” so that I can contact her for further details. Unfortunately, the number has gone with the thieves who stole my handsets.

Home truths about treasure base of militants

By Casmir Igbokwe

 Published: Sunday, 8 Jun 2008

IN those days when Port Harcourt was still the Garden City, many good things came out of Rivers State. From Bonny Street to Aggrey Road; from D/Line to Borokiri; and from Mile One to Mile Four, Port Harcourt residents had a good time. There were good eateries, which, most times, could not find enough space for lovers of such delicacies as fresh fish and isi-ewu. Nightclubs were not in short supply even as expatriates had upper hand in the game of wooing ladies. Many parents reflected the mood of the time then by giving their children such names as Gold, Precious, Finecountry and Fineface.

Today, there is nothing fine about the face of security in Rivers State, nay Nigeria. The state is nicknamed treasure base of the nation. But from the activities of militants and sundry criminals that currently hold sway there, one can rightly call it the treasure base of militants/bandits.

Disturbed by the negative trends in the state, the governor, Chibuike Amaechi, set up Truth and Reconciliation Commission on 29 November 2007. He gave the commission a seven-point agenda. Parts of the agenda were to identify the nature of the discontent in the state, its remote and immediate causes and the extent of damage that has been done to the people and to peace in the state. The commission is also to identify the various factions and people who have been involved in fostering the discontent and to advise on ways to reconcile the factions with a view to bringing peace and concord in the state.

The governor deserves commendation for this action. Before the emergence of democracy in 1999, the unrest in the state revolved around pockets of communal disturbances as well as protests by the Ogoni people against Shell Petroleum Development Company. After 1999, the situation changed. Such cult groups as Deybam and Deywell began a rein of terror. They killed and maimed. At a point, a supremacy war erupted between the Niger Delta Vigilance Group led by Ateke Tom and Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force led by Asari Dokubo. Allegations were rife that some powerful politicians in the state armed some of these groups to help in prosecuting their political wars.

In September 2004, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo invited Tom and Dokubo to Abuja for a peace meeting. The following month, the two groups signed a peace agreement. Thereafter, they began to hand over their “weapons of mass destruction.” Over 3,000 of such weapons were publicly destroyed. But no sooner had this exercise ended than other forms of insurgency surfaced. In 2006, militants began kidnapping foreign oil workers. This, ostensibly, was to bring international attention to the plight of the Niger Delta people. But now, a large dose of criminality has enveloped the struggle as fellow citizens, toddlers, wives and mothers are targets of the kidnappers. Attacks on oil installations and police stations have also heightened.

This has led to a jump in global oil prices, a surge in military offensive and a cut in oil production. The President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Dr Ignatius Adaji, was quoted to have said last week that between 2006 and 2007, the nation lost about 500, 000 barrels of oil per day at an average price of $60 per barrel. In monetary terms, this approximates to about $26.9bn. This is besides the huge losses in human and material capital.

With regard to identifying the nature and characters involved in the Rivers crises, the TRC appears to be on the right track. As its Chairman, Justice Kayode Eso (ret), put it, “We have already received over 200 memoranda…The context of the memoranda, which we have received has gone a long way for any one to come to a conclusion that all is certainly not well with the Delta, the economic pivot of the nation and except something is done drastically and urgently, this country is sitting on powder-kegs.”

Since last Monday when the commission started its sitting, it has been allegations and counter-allegations. The governor himself released the opening salvo. According to him, “I personally had to take refuge outside the shores of this country for the fear of being assassinated when I was pursuing my political ambition to be the governor of the state…Throughout the period of Dr. Odili’s tenure I was considered to be independent-minded. This explains why I later went through all my tribulations. I spoke against using cult groups for election; that was why in my local government area there were no cult groups even up till now.”

By this submission, Amaechi indirectly confirmed that prominent politicians in the state sponsored cult groups to achieve their political ambitions. Some witnesses have accused former Governor Peter Odili and former Transport Minister, Abiye Sekibo, of being the godfathers of some of the cult groups. For instance, the people of Okuru Ama, last Wednesday, alleged that Odili and Sekibo masterminded the destruction of their homes during the 2001 crisis in the state. The crisis reportedly took the lives of over 40 people. They demanded N1bn as compensation from the Rivers State Government.

As the commission awaits the response of Odili and Sekibo, it is imperative to note that the reconciliation part of the public hearing appears to be emitting negative signals. The animosities are so deep-rooted that even the governor, while responding to the plea to forgive some gang leaders, reportedly said, “If you were to be the son of a man whose father was brought out and shot in his presence, would you ask me to forgive the man, who killed your father?” He said people must be made to answer for their crimes.

If the governor had named the commission, Truth and War Crimes Commission, I would have supported him totally.

It has always been my position that criminals must be made to face the full wrath of the law. But as long as the body handling the public hearing is called TRC, the governor should be ready to pardon any remorseful gang leader. Since he modelled the commission after South Africa’s TRC, he should emulate Nelson Mandela who pardoned his white adversaries in spite of the atrocities they committed against him and his country. He should also be ready to pay compensation to those who have genuine need for that. He should not deviate from his promise to seriously consider the recommendations of the Commission and take such decisions as would help restore peace in the state.

But whoever is caught again for criminal activities after the reconciliation must be made to pay for such crimes. The major consideration for any action should be restoration of peace. Without internal peace, the struggle for equity in the Niger Delta will continue to present a variegated and ugly face. Criminals will continue to hijack it. Local and international businesses will suffer. Expatriates will leave in droves. And the ultimate losers will be the Nigerian economy, hotel and nightclub owners, company executives, market women, fresh fish and isi-ewu lovers, tourists and sundry fun seekers.

Reception for Obasanjo-Bello

Casmir Igbokwe

Published Sunday, June 1 2008

 

Many people seem to be courting Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello at the moment. Penultimate week, her estranged husband, Akeem Bello, visited and prayed with her at Maitama Police Station, Abuja. She was in brief detention there. Also, some of her colleagues in the Senate were delighted to see her again after about three weeks of evading arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. To crown it all, members of Ward 11 of Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State held a reception for her in Abeokuta.

 

According to media reports, the reception was to celebrate the air of freedom the woman breathed again after the face-off with the EFCC. Hundreds of her supporters reportedly thronged the streets of Abeokuta, drumming, dancing and singing the praises of the Senator. There were banners welcoming the beloved bride of the Owus at strategic locations in town. Prior to this reception, members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ward 11 had gone to Abuja to show solidarity during her appearance in court. Obasanjo-Bello, who expressed gratitude to her people, assured them that she was not a thief.

 

Recall that the woman was embroiled in the controversy surrounding the sharing of the N300m unspent budget of the Ministry of Health. President Umar Yar’Adua had directed all ministries and government agencies to return all unspent 2007 budget to the treasury. Instead of complying with this directive, the Ministry of Health allegedly decided to share the money. The House of Representatives Committee on Health and its counterpart in the Senate got N10m each. But while the Reps returned their own share, the Senators under the headship of Obasanjo-Bello, allegedly used their own for a capacity-building trip to Ghana. The EFCC had since prosecuted the former Minister of Health, Prof. Adenike Grange, and some others. Obasanjo-Bello’s eventual arraignment happens to be one of the major highlights of the incident. There are other scandals allegedly hanging around the neck of this woman. It is left for the courts to either convict her or declare her innocent.

 

But rather than await the verdict of the courts, some individuals are falling over themselves to humour her. It’s just like some party stalwarts, friends and indigenes of Bayelsa State who humoured and warmly received the former Governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who was convicted for looting the treasury of his state.

 

At the root of this kind of perfidy is poverty. For instance, the PDP Vice-Chairman for Obasanjo-Bello’s ward, Alhaji Akanni Oyeleye, wanted to go to Abuja to show solidarity with the Senator. As he reportedly put it, “I even got to Lagos until I was told that the transport fare was N5, 000. So, I backed out of the trip and we continued to pray at home.” Oyeleye turned a prayer warrior at home because he could not afford N5, 000 transport cost to Abuja. And to compensate people like him, Obasanjo-Bello donated N100, 000 to support the empowerment programme organised by an official of Abeokuta North Local Government.

 

We always blame our leaders for Nigeria’s woes. But it is the followers who are stoking the fire of corruption for them. If you are in government and you fail to steal from the public till, your own people will be the first to condemn you and call you a buffoon. This is partly why the war against corruption has yielded little dividend. Until we begin to ostracise looters; until we stop worshipping ill-gotten wealth; and until the government begins a campaign to make people change their wrong values, we may never move forward as a people.

 

Re: Hunger, anger and strategic food security

 

Casmir,

You are extremely too frank and humourous, else you won’t contemplate selling of wives. Can’t husbands be sold too? I Love your write-up.

Mrs Sola Sobande

08056633341

 

Casmir,

Your article on strategic food security is indeed a true Nigerian reflection of current global food crisis. In fact, it has exposed the weakness of our system as it relates to food strategy. It is laughable that the Fed Govt is just reacting to this. It shows the myopic nature of govt policies…

Barth Az. Okonkwo

08033019205

 

Casmir,

Those at the villa are too egocentric to think about food security. Casmir, you deserve a national honour, MON, for your write-ups.

Akinleye Adepitan,

UNAAB.

08075576801

 

Casmir,

Your write-up on food security should be another challenge for a focused and serious government with genuine concerns for its citizens. Unfortunately, what we have at the moment is a government that lacks vision, with a lot of confusion. I doubt if they will address the food crisis issue correctly…

Lai Adeyemi, Lagos.

08058988580

 

Casmir,

I read your article on strategic food security. As an agricultural economist and extensionist, I totally agree with your “permanent solution to boost local production”. Keep up the good job.

Essien Antia-Obong.

Calabar. (08055622455)

 

Casmir,

My suggestion is that government should invest in farm communities that will employ the army of unemployed Nigerians trading in traffic, touting and doing 419 activities. The farms should provide simple accommodation and a guarantee of three meals/day for the workers. Government after establishing the farms and working capital should divest from ownership by converting the capital to shares that will be sold principally to the workers through loans payable over five-10 years deducted from salaries. This way we will ensure good management and realise the objective of providing food for Nigerians.

Gbola Oshodi

08023133398

 

Casmir,

You are a fearless writer. Keep it up. But I believe the solution to the problems is to stand against these crooks by every means, even if it involves lives. That is if we are ready to die (poverty is a curse/disease).

Pastor Sunday A.

Ilorin (08035759592)

 

Casmir

Hard for me to choose who is the best between you and Ishiekwene. But I am in no doubt that you are a simply great stuff.

Barrister Jerry Llimezekhe.

08033311290

 

Casmir,

I buy THE PUNCH on Sundays only to read your column. I have not seen any columnist that chooses words like you so much that my elementary school children make sense out of your write-ups. Believe it, you write for every Nigerian…

Taiwo Akande

Ibadan (08055684174)

 

Casmir,

I am a Catholic. Anytime we are asked to recite the prayer for Nigeria in distress, I do so with a passion, most especially the part where we say, “Spare this nation (Nigeria) from chaos, anarchy and doom.” I believe that Nigeria needs this prayer for it not to end up a failed state.

Olumide Soyemi

Shomolu (08034977903)

    

               

Hunger, anger and strategic food security

By Casmir Igbokwe

 

Published: Sunday, 25 May 2008

Many Nigerians are already familiar with the story of Kola and Seyi Woniye. This couple in Oyo State reportedly attempted to sell their five- and three-year-old sons a few months ago. The British undercover journalist, who posed as the buyer, revealed that the price tag on the boys was N1m (N500,000 each). Recall also that a Nigerian woman purportedly sold her twin children for N120,000 recently. Every year, hundreds of children in Nigeria fall victim to this kind of situation. Some are reported. The majority of the cases go unreported.

The question is: What can push a mother to ever consider selling her child? The answer lies in the fact that most Nigerians are heavily indebted to poverty. And to recover this debt, poverty has taken food off many tables. By the estimation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, 65 per cent of Nigerians do not have food security. This entails insufficient access to the amount and variety of food that makes for a healthy and productive life. The ministry also puts the number of stunted children under five at about 40 per cent. Besides, Nigeria ranked 20th in the 2006 Global Hunger Index. I suspect that these statistics are grossly underestimated.

To worsen matters, food crisis suddenly surfaced in different parts of the world since December last year. In Nigeria, for instance, the price of rice jumped from about N5,000 to about N10,000. A bag of beans goes for about N7,000 as against the former price of about N4,500. The price of a bag of wheat also went up to about N10,000 from the initial price of about N7,000. The World Bank had warned that food crop prices would remain high in 2008 and 2009.

One major cause of the global food crisis is the conversion of food crops into bio-fuels. What this means is that countries searching for clean and cheap fuels are converting such crops as wheat, soybeans and corn into fuel. This has caused undue scarcity of essential food items. And due to the shortages experienced in the world, two leading producers of rice, Thailand and India, put restrictions on the exportation of the staple.

The food crisis has caused riots in such countries as Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Mali. In Nigeria, some housewives have also staged their own ”riots” against their husbands. Feeding money is no longer enough and most women want an increase in their feeding allowances. Some hoodlums now steal cell phones and other valuables just to survive and make ends meet.

As part of efforts to mitigate the food crisis, the Federal Government resorted to releasing grains from the strategic grain reserves. The Federal Capital Territory, for instance, reportedly got about 30 trucks of grains with 50 per cent subsidy. The FG also suspended all levies and duties on rice imports for a period of six months; established a N10bn credit facility from the Rice Levy Account to support local rice processing; and plans to increase the capacity of the National Strategic Food Reserve from 300, 000 metric tonnes to 600, 000 metric tonnes.

These efforts are laudable. But they are not enough. Media reports last week indicated that the Food and Agricultural Organisation‘s recommendation was that every country should have reserves of 20kg per person for three months at any point in time. What this means, experts say, is that Nigeria should always have a minimum of 2.8m tonnes in its reserves. But it currently has only about 10 per cent of the FAO recommendation. Prof. Yomi Omotesho of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, reportedly doubted the ability of the country to even store grains up to the limited capacity of its reserves. Perceptive governments elsewhere, Omotesho noted, were further boosting their already sumptuous reserves. Even a poor country like Zimbabwe is said to have strategic reserves of five million tonnes.

As a matter of urgency, the Federal Government should raise our grain reserves to, at least, meet international standard. Besides, waiving duties on rice importation for six months may not solve the problem. The permanent solution is to boost local production. The first step towards this is to build feeder roads and develop other infrastructure that will aid agricultural production. If the government was ready to stake N80bn for rice importation as initially announced but later jettisoned, I believe it could go beyond the N10bn credit facility it earmarked for farmers.

We can toy with many things. But we should not toy with food security. If there was food on the table of the Woniyes, I don‘t think they would have ever contemplated selling their children. I hope the situation does not get to the point where we also have to sell our wives to survive.

Deportees as symbol of a failing state

By Casmir Igbokwe

 Published: Sunday, 18 May 2008

IN JUNE 2006, some Nigerian deportees allegedly caused pandemonium at the Caracas International Airport in Venezuela. They had disembarked from a commercial flight from Trinidad en route to Lagos. As they were to go through Madrid in Spain, they got to the tarmac to board an Iberia flight to Madrid. But, as they were boarding, they reportedly started shouting “asylum, asylum.” Aboard the aircraft, the shouting continued. Nauseated, the captain of the aircraft refused to move, saying the Nigerians posed a risk to the flight. Normality returned when officers of the Venezuela National Guard ejected the Nigerians and took them into custody. The following day, Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard sent an aircraft that brought the deportees back to that country.

Although we are not fighting any war, nor are we afflicted by natural disasters, Nigerians have continued to emigrate from their country en masse. The unlucky ones are caught and sent back to the country. Last Wednesday, about 156 Nigerians were deported from Libya. Some of the deportees included a four-month-old baby and her mother, who said she was actually heading for Italy to join her husband. Last year, Libya repatriated over 700 Nigerians from its territory. The deportations were for either criminal or immigration offences. Also, last year, the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly repatriated about 50, 000 Nigerian illegal immigrants.

Some of these deportations had ended on a sour note. In November 2000, thousands of Nigerian deportees from Libya staged a demonstration in Abuja. Their grouse was that the Nigerian government allegedly refused to pay them $25m the Libyan government purportedly provided for their resettlement. In May 2001, a 27-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker, Samson Chukwu, died in a detention centre in Switzerland as the authorities of that country attempted to deport him forcibly. Last year, Osamuyi Akpitanhi met his own untimely death when Spanish immigration authorities tried to forcibly deport him to Nigeria. Similar tragic death of Nigerian deportees had been recorded in such countries as Austria, Belgium, Germany and some other Western nations.

Perhaps, this was why some Nigerians decided to intervene to save their compatriot from forcible deportation at the Heathrow Airport in London last month. The intervention sparked off a row. One issue led to the other and, pronto, about 136 Nigerian passengers were asked to disembark from the Lagos-bound British Airways aircraft. Many Nigerians have expressed disgust over this incident and have been campaigning for a boycott of British Airways.

The fundamental questions are: if the living condition in our country is good, will our countrymen be migrating in their thousands to other countries? If there are employment opportunities in the country, will they seek asylum in Trinidad, Spain, or Belgium? And what could have made Nigerians prefer staying in prisons abroad to coming back home?

Recall that the Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, last month, expressed surprise that Nigerian citizens serving various jail terms abroad rejected attempts to bring them back to serve their jail terms in Nigeria.

Surely, Maduekwe would have known the reasons by now. Earlier this month, THE PUNCH published a report, which indicates that the UK government spends £48,000 (about N11.8m) a year for the upkeep of one Nigerian prisoner in that country’s prisons. Due to this huge maintenance cost, Britain is seriously considering transferring those prisoners back home. Indeed, how many able-bodied free Nigerians can ordinarily afford half of this amount of money?

Recently, a lawyer friend who is a member of staff of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria expressed his strong desire to relocate to the United Kingdom. As he put it, “It won’t be out of place to find a way to fit in there as each day we get serious doubt that our leaders here have any vision.” For a privileged oil company worker to contemplate checking out of Nigeria shows the serious decay this nation has fallen into.

And why will anybody want to remain in Nigeria when we have refused to move forward as a nation? We cannot maintain our roads. We do not have access to potable water. Even the generators we buy to provide us electricity have turned out to be part of our major problems. Last week for instance, fumes from a generator killed a family of six at Ozuoba in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The generator ran throughout the night because there was no prospect of getting public power.

Life has no meaning to the majority of Nigerians anymore. Even those who are working are not sure of what will become of that work tomorrow. Earlier this month, I read reports that Shell was planning to sack over 3,000 workers. The retrenchment was said to be a reaction to the cuts in output occasioned by frequent attacks on the company’s facilities by Niger Delta militants. The Niger Delta crisis is seriously threatening the revenue base of the country. Already, Angola has reportedly overtaken Nigeria in the last one month as the leading producer of crude oil in Africa. As at last year, Nigeria was still Africa’s leading oil producing country. But the way things are going, Angola may take over that position in 2008.

We have all failed and come short of the glory of Nigeria. The President who promised a seven-point agenda, but has no blueprint to achieve any of them after almost one year in office has failed Nigeria. A governor or local council chairman, who pads up his foreign bank accounts with public funds, has failed Nigeria. The legislator, who is only interested in foreign trips and fat allowances, has failed Nigeria. A legislature that has only passed 11 bills out of 65 before it in about one year, as admitted recently by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, has failed Nigeria. A judge who collects bribes to grant spurious injunctions has failed Nigeria.

A minister or permanent secretary, who corners unspent budget of his ministry and shares it at the end of the year as Christmas bonus has failed Nigeria. An accountant or auditor, who collects such loot and refuses to alert the nation about it, has failed Nigeria. A journalist who collects brown envelope and turns facts upside down has failed Nigeria. The auto mechanic who collects money for original spare parts, but fixes fake ones for his customer has failed Nigeria. The businessman/woman who sells fake drugs and fake drinks to kill their compatriots has failed Nigeria. The contractor who collects mobilisation fee to build roads or electricity, but pockets the money and does nothing has ruined Nigeria.

Collectively, we have contributed in sending our citizens abroad as asylum seekers. We have made Nigeria a fragile state, a failing state. At the fullness of time, we shall all pay for our sins against this country. But as an incurable optimist, I believe that collectively, we can still reverse the situation such that our people will change their chant of “asylum, asylum” to “paradise, paradise.”