JACK BAUER, CHUNG HONG-WON AND GOODLUCK

Recently, I became the leader of my clinical posting rotation group of 10 students, by chance. The student initially saddled with the responsibility had decided to pass it up claiming he will be unable to discharge the duties well enough. As a group leader, all you really had to do is speak for the group, make arrangements with the rotation coordinator, pass relevant info to the group members and assign duties to each person. In essence, there is no privilege or perk attached to it. While I do not support his abdication of responsibility, I found his sincerity admirable and could not help wishing this could happen on our political scene. When he handed over to me, he said and I quote loosely: “I don’t think I’ll be able to function well as this group’s head, it will be unfair on you guys if you rely on me and I am unable to discharge these duties. I will appreciate it if you could step in in my stead.”

If we look around the world, we see examples of places where people resign from office immediately their citizens begin to lose confidence in their ability to discharge their duty. A recent example is that of the South Korean prime minister, Chung Hong-won, who will resign from office following the unfortunate ferry accident that claimed the lives of just 187 people with the possibility of almost 300 more. He probably had nothing to do with the accident in the first place, he is resigning due to the perceived ineffectiveness of the rescue operations. South Korea, in all likelihood has an emergency management agency of some sorts that will be in charge of managing such a disaster. I am not trying to make a case for the prime minister, but surely, holding the prime minister responsible appears far-fetched considering the circumstances.

There was a popular American TV show about a counter-terrorist agent, Jack Bauer. In the show, he was the most patriotic and dutiful agent, always willing to do anything, not minding the consequences to himself or anybody, as long as it is going to protect America from terrorist threats. I could go on and on about his patriotic zeal, but the really eye-catching feature about this show, and many other American shows and movies, is the utmost regard that public officers, administrators, law enforcement agents etc have for the life of each one of their citizens. This may just be the reflection of an ideal and not the reality of things but the apparent fact that such an ideal exists is a remarkable thing. Sadly, such a thing is absent in Nigeria. How do we explain a president who can still afford to go to a birthday party less than 24 hours after an explosion killed so many people in our Federal Capital; or the same president going to canvas for votes close to the town where more than 150 teenage girls were kidnapped while writing exams in their schools?  The obvious answer is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf: we do not have responsible leaders and we are in dire need of a responsible leadership and an even more responsible follower-ship that will always demand nothing less than the best from their leaders.

 If we, as citizens of this country, could just look beyond the perks associated with public office and see the truly enormous responsibility inherent in making decisions that significantly impact the lives of thousands, if not millions, of people; if we could so much as prime our conscience to realize that anybody holding these public offices is, ipso facto, taking responsibility for the lives of many people; just maybe then, we would be led by a purpose driven government that can formulate clear ideals and targets that we, as citizens, would willingly give all our support to achieving. That, I believe would be a giant stride, in realizing our true potential as a country and as a nation; our potential to be the leader and giant of Africa and even the world. Maybe some JackBauer-like attitude from our leaders would be of effective help too.

Journey with Lisabi to the National Conference

Travelling is something I love doing, the prospect of seeing new places always tickles my fancy leaving me salivating like a dog that sees a juicy bone. Unfortunately I haven’t been to that many places. For starters, I have never been out of Nigeria; the closest I have ever been to a border is Badagry. To my credit, I have been to 10 states in Nigeria including our federal capital and I have passed through about 7 others on my travels. I could claim being a medical student as an excuse or the bad roads; I could even pass the buck to Shekau and his cohorts for making the Northeast a hotbed of violence, the Fulani nomads and their adversaries, in the Jos plateau, I won’t spare from my blame game also. The truth is, the buck I’ve been passing around is actually a boomerang which will always find its way back to me because if I really mean to travel, these issues will become challenges to be overcome.

Like the patriot I claim to be, I always try to find ways to support Nigeria to the best of my knowledge and abilities; I even try to watch Nollywood in spite of the little boy inside me screaming H**L NO! in keeping with my patriotic zeal, I spent a good deal of a Sunday afternoon watching a Yoruba movie about a legendary Egba warrior, Lisabi. He accomplished great feats like defeating the army of the great Oyo Empire, inventing the use of explosives in Yoruba warfare (according to the movie). His own form of explosive needed no timer or detonator; all he had to do was pour a special powder on the target, chant some incantations and BOOM! So, the little boy inside of me took control when that scene was shown and I suggested that all the metaphysical phenomena that pervades our culture and society probably had some form of scientific basis even though the human knowledge base of today is yet unable to fully explain or comprehend it; except the select few who know how to harness it. Among the disconcerting responses I got was from a colleague who equated my suggestion that spirituality/ metaphysics/ whatever name it’s also called is akin to me declaring disbelief in God.  If a 10^th century man finds himself in our time, magic would probably be the only way he can explain how we talk to each other over thousands of kilometers or how we can send objects weighing several tons up into the air. Rest my case.

Right now, about 500 delegates are in the Federal Capital, discussing Nigeria’s future. ‘Disbursing Nigeria’s future’ is probably a more appropriate description. At the risk of being labeled a cynic, i will declare that the conference is not going to yield meaningful results with reasons. A look at the delegate list should already make any concerned Nigerian even more concerned. A conference, where the delegates are people who have, or are currently benefiting from the status quo, is unlikely to make any meaningful change. The fact that whatever comes out of the conference must still pass through the National assembly before it can assume any form of meaning. This may explain why some delegates are just there to fill the attendance log without being in attendance. I don’t blame them! I may do the same too; if I know what I am doing is unlikely to count for anything but I am getting paid anyways, I may simply go there and enjoy the ride. If you’re still not convinced, I have 3 pictures that will definitely convince you.

One might ask; what is the connection between travel, patriotism, Lisabi, metaphysics and national conference. Answer is quite straightforward: despite the fact that I wanna travel, I still manage to give excuses for my inertia. The average Nigerian, even kids, knows what our problems are but always find excuses for not doing something to correct them (the government is to blame!) and harms Nigeria even more by his actions. Patriotism from every Nigerian may be the answer to solving our problems. According to some accounts, Lisabi was murdered by Egba high chiefs because he became so popular he was well positioned to become King in his own right. We should not always expect roses and appreciation from fellow Nigerians even when we have done the country a great service. Some may even attempt to harm you for that. Our collective religiosity in Nigeria may be a hindrance because we keep ‘praying without working,’ we expect heaven’s help without trying to help ourselves.  This national conference is another showpiece of our political system where our ‘leaders’ create diversions to take our collective eyes off the real important issues and focus on mundane things hence, perpetuating themselves in power.

Who will be our Lisabi? If you are scared of being murdered like Lisabi was, don’t worry; some accounts say he lived long and died at old age, others claim he was swallowed by the earth like other men in Yoruba legends who become ‘orisa’. Who knows if in a few centuries, Nigeria will be celebrating you just like the Egba celebrate Lisabi.

homosexuals & paedophiles, horses & carts

     “For the loyal readers of my blog, I offer my sincerest apology for the recent break in transmission on this blog. I am sure some of you must be wondering why and also eagerly anticipating my next post with bated breaths. I want to assure you that from now on, I will do my utmost to keep them coming regularly.” This would have been my opening statement for today’s post if this was a much more popular and widely read blog. Nevertheless, I still appreciate those who eke out the little time and internet data that it cost to read my posts. I really hope I have been able to, at the very least, instigate thought provoking reactions that may initiate progressive attitudes towards this country. I encourage you to leave your criticisms, additions, subtractions, corrections or comments afterwards.

     Sometime last year, when I decided to start blogging; the picture I had in mind was that of a blog with a followership numbering in the thousands; I could almost see myself as an inspirational figure catalyzing ground breaking changes in Nigeria’s political terrain. I remember countless debates where I would discuss, argue and make jokes about recent developments in the country with friends. I remember thinking to myself “criticizing is so easy, can I really guarantee anything different or better if given the chance?” Sadly, the answer is no. It gets worse; this is true for many if not most of us. By ‘us’, I mean those of us in the latter part of our 2^nd decade or early part of our 3^rd decade on earth. Simply put, my reason for starting this blog is to contribute to the intellectual revolution which I believe is the only option for Nigeria when this current political contraption goes kaput!

     In any write-up or series of write-ups, the introduction should always be the first thing. Maybe I was just being overzealous in the pursuit of my dream that I mistakenly put the cart before the horse. In my enthusiasm to publish my first article then, I did not take the time to explain fully what this blog would be about. By now, it is clear to anyone who has had a glance through this blog what it’s about. Action speaks louder than words; in this case, doing the actual writing speaks louder than talking about writing.

Apparently, I am not the only one guilty of said offense. The National Assembly and the executive of the federal Government of Nigeria are equally guilty of misplacing their priorities. I believe there are other bills in the National Assembly that may have meaningful impact on the lives of numerous Nigerians which could have been given the speedy instead of the ‘anti-gay bill’ which only worsens the lot of an already stigmatized group in the country.

     Having put forward this kind of opinion, I am aware that I may have placed a prominent bull’s eye on myself. Chief among those lying in wait to take a shot at me will be my Christian brethren. My Muslim friends may also partake in the melee. Now would be a good time to state, emphatically, that I AM A CATHOLIC. I believe homosexuality to be an aberration of the normal, a mental deformity in other words; though I am also ashamed to confess that I may be biased against someone simply because he/she is homosexual turning a blind eye to the other possibly good qualities he/she may possess; that still doesn’t give me the right to enforce my religion’s laws on other citizens. In the same vein, some accepted practices among Christians are seen as ‘haram’ by Muslims but that does not give them the right to legally criminalize such actions. Therefore, it is inappropriate to make laws binding on the whole federation based on religious sentiments, especially in a multicultural and secular state like Nigeria

     In my next post, I will publish some arguments for and against the actions of the Federal Government with respect to this issue; some of them will be mine while others I gathered from the social media.

He who is faithful in little...

        I have spent the greater part, amounting to about 6weeks, of my compulsory holiday from school in a town or rather, a village called Ayegbaju-Ekiti. It is a town actually, based on my secondary school geography where I learnt that a town should have a minimum population of 1000, among other things, which Ayegbaju has. I decided to call it a 'village' because: there is only ONE tarred road in the whole village; NO bank or banking facility whatsoever; only ONE filling station that does not have fuel most of the time; ONE market place that has specific days set aside for trading; almost non-existent electricity supply; just ONE commercial viewing center for watching football matches (yes! I love football). I could go on and on as the list is virtually endless. Even Obafemi Awolowo University which happens to be my school has ONE filling station and several tarred roads. As always, I'm only stating my own opinion because for all I know, my fellow residents may be satisfied with the situation of the town.

         One might then ask; why did I single out Ayegbaju? Since that is the reality of most 'towns' and 'villages' in Ekiti state and Nigeria at large. In fact some towns/villages have it worse. To its credit, Ayegbaju is a peaceful quiet town, with some hills and vegetation that coalesce to create a beautiful landscape. Back to my question; WHY AYEGBAJU? To answer, I will have to go back to the electricity supply which has been absent for more than a week now and tell a short story to explain the reason behind it.

         As part of the Obasanjo administration's policy of 'DEREGULATION' which is still being carried out by its successors, some of the nation's public enterprises were marked for privatization; a process that led to the demise of several functioning federal corporations e.g. Nigeria Airways, NITEL/MTEL and recently, NEPA now known as PHCN. Since the sale and take-over of the successor companies of the PHCN is as good as done, payment of bills to PHCN has been suspended temporarily. As was customary with PHCN, they carried out their usual house to house trips where they ask for your bill, ask you to pay if you have outstanding bills to settle under the imminent threat of disconnection. It was while on a tour as this that the 'youths' in Ayegbaju had a clash with them citing as cheating the collection of fees by these 'PHCN staff'. The PHCN staffs were obviously outnumbered and were soundly beaten. Long story short, the whole 'town' has being disconnected and deprived of the little electricity we had, including people like my family that have simply paid the money requested, until these 'youths' have paid for their 'sin'.

         I don't think beating them was the best course of action because it is a criminal offense named in the law 'assault', 'battery' etc.; rather, they could simply have refused to pay and then restrain them from cutting the wires. I also think the action of those involved in the disconnection is shameful and disappointing in the extreme since it has led to 'law-abiding' citizens such as my family being deprived of our rights to the electricity we paid for. This event is just an example of an unsettling trend in Nigeria where people wield power and authority to oppress other people and/or aggrandize themselves e.g the policeman who cooks up a charge just to force you into greasing his palms or the public official who expects some 'kola' before he serves you while forgetting that it's his job in the first place; the list goes on and on.... If people in these 'low places' behave like this, can we expect better if they make their way to the 'high places'? NO! We can only expect worse. "HE WHO IS NOT FAITHFUL WITH THE LITTLE HE HAS BEEN GIVEN CANNOT BE EXPECTED TO BE FAITHFUL IF HE IS ENTRUSTED WITH MUCH". When you see the senator, on the road blasting his sirens, forcing you into the ditch so he can pass as though he is going to take the road along with him, or the governor doing the same with his entourage, ask yourself this: WHAT DID/WILL I DO WITH THE LITTLE POWER OR AUTHORITY I WAS/WILL BE ENTRUSTED WITH?

The sheep that walks with a dog, will eat dung

       If there is such a thing as a writer's block, that would explain what I have been going through over the past few days. Out of the blues, a wonderful idea will spring up in my mind and as I begin the process of converting the idea into the currency of communication i.e words, written in this case, the idea simply melts away in my mind. It just seems like I have a leak somewhere; as though finding words that would convey the idea appropriately becomes as difficult as the biblical camel's task of passing through the eye of the needle. At the risk of flattering myself, i would say that inadequate vocabulary is not the problem rather it is a result of my extensive vocabulary. (I just hope Hon. Patrick does not read this because I don't think he will take it lightly if someone as 'lugubriously non-loquacious and  philologically maladroit as I would boast about something he is colossally adept at.)

       Haven beaten about the bush, I should go back on course before i lose my way and find myself in the forest. I still remember the first time, when i was still in J.S.S 1, that I heard the proverb in it's more descriptive Yoruba form "agutan to ba b'aja rin ma je igbe." I felt disturbed, not because of the meaning of the proverb, but because it sounded absurd to me that a dog will eat dung. I am a dog person; I love dogs maybe because i was exposed to a lot of foreign movies, especially American, in which dogs are portrayed as anything but having filthy and unhygienic habits. If anything, they were loyal, brave, heroic, fun loving creatures; hell! they even fell in love(' check out the holly wood movie - Beverly hills chihuahua'). There was this British show on television that I used to watch when I was young; 'the famous five', about three siblings, their cousin and a dog, Timmy who embark on numerous often dangerous mystery solving adventures. As the title implies, the dog was an active member of the group not just in name as he was, on occasion, key to the solution in some episodes. I think the scooby doo franchise may have been loosely based on this series but that is just my opinion.

        I have eventually 'beaten into the forest' therefore i must rummage my way back to the road. The proverb i believe is an equivalent to 'show me your friend and i will tell you who you are' or will become. This proverb should serve as a warning to us to be careful of the fledgling mega party, APC. Recently, APC has been 'phagocytosing' elements from other parties notably, the recent defection of 5 erstwhile PDP governors. While it is a welcome development signalling the fact that PDP is losing it's choke-hold on the Nigerian polity hence raising the possibility of a regime change come 2015, it still raises concerns that the APC will simply become the new mega-party of Africa having simply undergone a transplant of the unscrupulous elements from PDP to APC. I am not in anyway saying the APC is a good enough party but they represent what we need at this point in our democracy; CHANGE! A look at some of the prominent members of the APC their current actions and their antecedents should be enough evidence e.g the comrade cum politician in the south south region or our very own 'Ogbeni'.

        We all are aware that Nigeria had taken several giant strides backward in other to manage a few baby steps forward under the captainship of the PDP. Suffice to say that the APC may even perform worse but the seemingly lackadaisical approach of the ruling elite leaves little to be desired. Now the PDP boat appears to be sinking, some people are jumping ship for the APC boat which appears to be capsizing; who is to say the same people at the root of the PDP's and by extension Nigeria's problem are not already making their way to the APC, if they are not there already? If anyone asks me, I am voting APC in the next presidential elections simply because I want PDP out of power more-so because i want a change but APC cannot count on my vote beyond 2015; they even still have to make sure they don't lose my support before 2015. What is my point? We must always do everything possible to boot out any regime that does not do our bidding as CITIZENS. Oh yes! we are CITIZENS not SUBJECTS!



N.B:- this is simply my opinion although I think if everybody were to be thinking along this line, we would be making sure steady real progress in Nigeria. Please share your own opinion by leaving comments here as I know very well how much I am prone to error. 
 Eventually I witnessed a dog actually eating feces, human feces; luckily it was a 'basenji', the popular local variety here in Nigeria, not the ones I had grown accustomed to seeing in movies and television.
For the benefit of those who don't already know, 'Phagocytosis' is the word that describes the biological concept of cells engulfing other cells or foreign materials

Is our constitution a fraud?

“We, the people of Nigeria, having firmly and solemnly resolved, to live together in unity and harmony as ONE INDIVISIBLE AND INDISSOLUBLE SOVEREIGN NATION under God, dedicated to the promotion of inter-African solidarity, world peace, international co-operation and understanding; and to provide for a CONSTITUTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING THE GOOD GOVERNMENT AND WELFARE OF ALL PERSONS IN OUR COUNTRY, ON THE PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM, EQUALITY AND JUSTICE; AND FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSOLIDATING THE UNITY OF OUR PEOPLE, do hereby make, enact and give to ourselves the following constitution” The paragraph above is the preamble to the 1999 and 1979 constitution(s) of the federal republic of Nigeria. While the ideals set forth are as noble as you can get, there is a fundamental flaw. It is a blatant lie. We the people of Nigeria DID NOT firmly and solemnly resolve, to live together in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under God. We DID NOT promulgate the decree no. 24 which brought this constitution into force. The ‘Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria’ (PRCN) did under the leadership of General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Our input was not sought during the drafting process, neither was our explicit consent sought. To say the constitution is based on a falsehood would be incorrect. The truth is; we accepted the constitution through our non-resistance cum participation in its provisions. During the February 1999 general elections which kick started the transition program overseen by general Abubakar to usher in the ‘new’ constitution; the 1999 constitution which is actually an abridged version of the 1979 constitution which was abolished by the military in 1984. About 50 million of an estimated 120 million Nigerians registered to vote in that election. In a country where minors and seniors constitute about 50% of the population, 50 million adults participating in any exercise is probably as much as you can ever get. THE 1999 CONSTITUTION IS AS LEGAL AS THE EXISTENCE OF NIGERIA AS A NATION. Nigeria was also created without the consent of majority of Nigerians but eventually, our actions signify acceptance of the status quo. We even went as far as fighting a civil war to keep the country intact. The obvious truth is that we have a constitution that has widespread acceptance; lasted more than any other we have had in this country. Therefore we should stop blaming the constitution and point the finger where it should point at; you and me. I firmly believe our constitution is good enough if the people we elect can really play by the rules laid down within it. We also as the electorate have to find ways to hold our candidates accountable to us because even God’s own constitution will not work if we do not uphold it. I know my last statement may have offended some religious people. I therefore offer my sincerest apology though I am not sorry because I believe I have made my point.

Nigeria must survive

How can you say something as awful as that? That was the response I got when I declared to my friends, what I believed then to be true, that Nigeria is on the highway to state failure. It was on a typical “idle” afternoon in Angola hall, OAU and we were involved in the universal pastime of Angola boys – “blind, directionless and intense debate. I was a fresher, like my “co-brawlers” but I was clearly the youngest and maybe a little too green when it comes to life experiences. This obviously implies that my views were simplistic, idealistic and just plain naïve. (If by chance, you are/were a resident of Angola hall, please take note of the last sentence in this paragraph)

The problem was not because of what I said. Rather, it was the fact that I had the guts to say it aloud....i think!. I pray “the angel that grants prayers” (angeli ti n se amin! amin!) was not around that day. History has taught us (at least I have learnt) that no political contraption, regardless of its might, is eternal. Except what we believe happened with Rome, Greece, Arabia, Persia and the other great empires/states all through human history were all lies, I can say boldly that even the United States of America has a countdown timer on its existence. Don’t ask me for the time limit, only God knows. At least there are people alive who knew when China was just a nation filled with short, white people with slit eyes who speak funny, now they are a full fledged world power

What I really should have said that day is that Nigerians are busy at work fast tracking our countdown to the ‘D­-day’. Having a president who appears unable to distinguish his left from right but is still able to hold on to power seems to me a guaranteed promise of state failure. A myopic national Labour union that only responds to fuel price hike but has turned a blind eye to an industrial action which has, in all appearances, paralysed the nation’s university education. Lecturers have now taken to the streets partaking in “Aluta” like undergraduate students. The NYSC just released another batch of graduates of which a good number of them will increase the ranks of unemployed and under-employed citizens. A political class who are unable or unwilling to make forward thinking decisions and make progressive decisions.

I’m no doom watcher; it’s just that as time goes by, it becomes more difficult for me to see the dim flicker at the end of Nigeria’s present tunnel. I am well aware of the positive developments that raise the banner of hope and fly the flag of faith in Nigeria’s brighter future. A question I’d like each of us to answer and ask others is “how have I made improvements in my immediate society and how can I make further improvements?” I frimly believe that the moment we (Nigerians)get the right answer to this question, that moment is the moment we start making real and solid progress towards the ‘promised land’

N.B- I don’t have an exact idea of what our promised land should be but it must include the following:- free fair and credible elections that will bring in people of integrity who have the brains and commitment to lead well; affordable quality education; plenty of food; properly industrialized economy; poverty being defined as inability to afford luxuries e.g. >1 cars and not inability to afford necessities e.g. food; Nigeria being a real leader on the international scene.