THREE JETS FOR THE PRESIDENT

The hallmark of a any government is the ability to successfully utilise the resources of the nation to its maximum and its ability to create value. Someone once said that the greatest disaster that can befall a nation is that of poor leadership. The statement did not quite register until I began to compare how nations that have faced severe disasters have successfully bounced back with good government in place. Nigeria's story is unfortunately different.

Bad "leadership" has always been the bane of Nigeria as a nation. The motivation of those wanting to seek for political office is to line their pockets with stolen money while the people continue in their squalor. In 2006, the Obasanjo government bought a new jet for 48.71 US Dollars which translates to over 5 Billion while he was in office. The decision of the Jonathan led government to buy three new jets for 23.2 billion Naira at a time when the unemployment level is seriously high, hospitals dilapidated, roads barely passable, education in a mess, lack of stable electricity, ...is not only unreasonable but absolutely heartless. It is beyond one's imagination that a nation with so much baggage is bedeviled with misplaced priorities. There is simply a lack of vision.

The government currently has eight aircrafts in its Presidential fleet!!! There are many nations whose heads of government fly commercial flights but the rogue politicians in Nigeria still go cup in hand to beg for aid from these nations. Why do these spend thrifts think that three jets are the immediate need of our nation at this critical time. I certainly do not blame these rogues, I blame the Nigerian people who continue to watch while the rogues loot and tell the nation that salvation is just around the corner. This is simply more than enough, it is time for the people to move enmasse against these heartless bunch that have been taken over by lucre. It is obvious that this move is another avenue to create an opportunity to loot funds in readiness for the 2011 elections, just as like the approval of 17 billion for Independence celebration...

2011, NOW THAT IWU IS GONE

Iwu is gone as desired by the people. It is nice that Dr Jonathan listened to the voice of the people. However, Iwu was just a piece in a corrupt system used to the fullest by PDP. The next step will be to strategically restructure and re-orientate INEC, with a credible Nigerian that is acceptable to all political parties at the helm of affairs in the organisation that has lost its reputation and score almost zero in people's confidence sample.

Our's is a peculiar setting and as such we need to adopt peculiar approach in order to make progress and beat the retrogressives hands down. 2011 is just around the corner and there is no time to be wasted. The 2011 elections should include a pre-election vote for all military personnel in their barracks 2 weeks before the general elections.

The election day should be a public holiday with restricted movement of vehicles except for those involved in essential services. This will prevent multiple voting and various forms of antics by the evil ones. The military personnel who had already done their voting should be drafted to man all polling stations around the nation with special id's already designed for them before this time.

All registered eligible voters should go to their respective polling stations for accreditation as from 8 am when the stations are fully open. Accreditation should be closed at 1 PM. Voting will then begin at 2 PM with all voters lining up behind symbols of their desired candidates. The voters are counted immediately and the votes tallied with all party representatives present and the results declared immediately. This will save us a lot of money on paper for voters cards as it was in the botched option A4. There will be no one stuffing boxes or stealing boxes as there will be none.

This way all attempts to rig will be checkmated and the right candidates will emerge without any litigations which will result in a waste of our judicial resources.

SANI YERIMA AND THE 13-YEAR OLD "BRIDE"

I was completely left speechless reading from the dailies how the "Godfather" of sharia in Nigeria, the man who has been a source of mayhem for those who opposed his questionable move for systematic "sharianisation" of Nigeria, took a 13-year old Egyptian girl to be his "4th" wife. He sent one of his former four wives parking so as to avoid having an excess as permitted by his religion. Sani Yerima and the so called girl's parents' move is not only pathetic but simply in-human.

In a civilised society, Sani Yerima, the man who has enacted and enforced the sharia law to stone, cane, cut the limbs of petty thieves and others contravening the "law", while he himself today is yet to account for millions during his tenure as the governor of Zamfara state. The religious zealot like the Pharisees of Jesus' days, have sought to operate on another level different from that which he sought applied to the people.

Sani, paid 100, 000 US Dollars as bride price for the 13-year old child. The marriage which could not be conducted in Egypt was done in the central mosque in Abuja. Where in the world does anyone pay that much for a bride price? Is it that he bought the child from the parents? It is sad to note that while the Nigerian lawmakers talk about child rights, there has been no official condemnation of Yerima's action. The life of this child is completely compromised and so is that of the previous wife who was dumped to accommodate his evil quest. The possibility of VVF is no doubt high when minors are made to have sex, impregnated and undergo labour and child birth. The stress of labour and delivery have resulted in many cases of females with VVF in the north of Nigeria. These victims, ironically have become outcasts in a society that has failed to pay attention to the inhuman practice of allowing marriages involving minors.

Will Sani Yerima allow his 13-year old daughter to get married at an age where she is just supposed to be beginning secondary school? How will he feel sleeping with a 13-year old child? Does sharia which he has taunted the people with allow such a practice? In a more organised society he would have been charged as a paedophile, yet he identifies himself as a Senator. He like many others are simply a disgrace and do not in anyway deserve to have such a title in a sane dispensation. Unfortunately, ours is far from sane. The government should not fold its hands and allow this sort of rubbish to continue otherwise it will be setting the stage for more evil things to follow.

I feel quite sad for the child involved. A victim in the hands of a "privildeged predator". If the Egyptian laws did not permit marrying a minor, I wonder why this was allowed in our own setting. Sad...sad...and very sad indeed

BANK EXECUTIVES' MESS

The level to which many of the bank executives degenerated to is appalling to say the least. While they publicly deceived the people into believing they were saints they established, supported and legalised an ostentatious lifestyle sustained through their unwholesome banking practices that has unfortunately become standard practice in many banks in Nigeria. This has created a sordid mess in the banking industry and left many investors wondering what the fate of their investment is.

While Akingbola, Ibru and others in their league continue to claim innocence, they should be aware that the evidence against them is enormous. Many continue to shout that this is nothing but a witchhunting exercise by the new management of CBN fuelled by regional sentiments. But is this really the case? However, for the sake of fairness, all banks in Nigeria should have their books seriously examined and a searchlight beamed on the assets and practices of those in charge of those banks. The sanitisation should be done in an objective manner so as not to make any person or persons feel its a tribal issue. All banks should be investigated.

How come Soludo did not see this heap of rubbish while he was at CBN or was it that he turned a blind eye? It is something that still leaves me wondering. A particular bank even had a practice of keeping double books to help cover up their atrocities. The dubious practices of the executives emboldened many of their subordinates to help themselves in whatever means they could ingeniously devise to depositors funds. This has compromised the fledging faith in the Nigerian banking sector.

One question I will ask is this, how come the board members of these banks agreed to rent properties owned by the bank executives rather than allowing the banks acquire their own properties? I know that the Ibrus have been involved in business and have genuinely made much money especially from the fish business. However, is it true that Mrs Cecilia Ibru actually own 53 properties (those identified so far), most of which were rented to Oceanic bank? Did she and Akingbola use companies as fronts for illegal activities? In all of this and as in many sectors in Nigeria, the question remains, where has our moral sanity gone? Is illegally acquired money better than a good name?

The state of our morality is putrid indeed, who will save us and restore sanity to the brains of many? This is not peculiar to the banking sector, it is a reflection of the sort of government we have in place and it will be a tough road getting things back in order. How much does a man really need in life.

Senator Ogunniya and the mysterious ballot boxes

According to the Vanguard Newspaper of 7th Dec. 2009, the Police in Ondo State, yesterday, quizzed the senator representing Ondo Central, Chief Gbenga Ogunniya and three members of the House of Representatives for allegedly being in possession of two boxes containing already thumb printed ballot papers during the bye-election into the Akoko South-West / South East constituency of the state.

The grand process to cover up this incident is already under way. Let's just watch and see how this story will unfold and if the persons in question will face prosecution. Sad how supposedly high office holders can degenerate to adopt such illicit methods in ensuring that their party candidate wins.

I believe that the only way out of this cycle of rigging and other “do-or-die” strategies being used by corrupt politicians and their parties to fraudulently get themselves imposed on the people is simple: OPTION A4. If the police and military are given the opportunity to vote in a pre-election (Option A4 also), they will then have the responsibility of providing security at the polling centres.

There should be no money wasted in printing ballot papers (which do not even count). Let every eligible voter come in the morning and do the identity verification and sign the register and at a specified time all over Nigeria, the eligible voters should queue up against the candidate they desire to vote for, a count is made with the party representatives on hand and the result is signed by the electoral officer (s) and declared immediately. Those thugs being used will not even have the opportunity to cause any problem and the candidates desired by the people will have the opportunity to get into positions. The nation would have saved billions in printing and logistics.

This remains the best way out of the embarrassing nature of elections in Nigeria that is if the politicians want the truth

OSHIOMOLE'S ONE YEAR IN OFFICE

Congratulations on your one year in office. It is nice to hear that there are at least a couple of projects that have been completed. The expectations of the people of Edo state are quite high and you should understand that there is absolutely no room for distractions. You have been very much in controversy lately, you can't afford to be involved in those negative energy sapping ventures. Edo state needs you to focus more on the task at hand. The hallmark of good governance is the ability of those in power to positively impact the lives of the governed and also carry them along, that is the beauty of true democracy.

Governor Oshiomole, the people stood by you throughout your political travails, therefore, they expect you to deliver fully on your promises. Leave a legacy of excellency in infrastructure, health, education, security, sports, accountability, justice...irrespective of the current misbehaviour of those in PDP who have easily forgotten the 8 years of darkness Edo State went through under PDP. As a strong lover of sports, I would like to say that the government should begin the process of reviving sports in our primary and secondary schools. Sports is significant in the overall development of the individual and it helps take the mind away from deviant social behaviours which is now sadly prevalent in Edo state. This will also help to revive the culture of sports excellence for which the Edo people have always been known for. The private and voluntary sector should be attracted to invest in sports and other areas.

I must state here that there were some names on the list of those present at your one year anniversary that leaves a bad taste on the mouth: Falae, Oyegun... these men are a part of the problem on the ground today. How far did Edo go under Oyegun? He desired to share out the Benin trade fair ground before he left office and sold off some of Edo State choice forests also, it took the intervention of the UniBen Students and the people for that to be cancelled after his departure. As for Falae, he was fully a part of the military administrations that solidified the foundation of corruption in our country. Embrace individuals who have succeeded in leaving a positive mark and not the known political prostitutes who are out to seek for parasitic opportunities.

The current trend of defection or cross carpeting by former members of PDP is one that will certainly be of no benefit to your administration. These men should have no place in your administration because they were a part of the PDP administration that ruined the state. It will be nice to say I was right just like many others when you finally won the electoral battle in the court. Keep the focus

David Mark’s comments that Iwu’s removal would not solve the country’s electoral problems

Removing Iwu as the Electoral Commission (EC) chairman will certainly change a lot of things in Nigeria's political climate. The senate President, David Mark definitely missed the point. Its little surprise though and one would have not expected a different comment from David Mark since Iwu was a key factor in the dubious election process that ushered many of them into office. If David Mark, Yar Adua and PDP wants a fair election, they should ask for five representatives from the registered political parties to come together to choose a new EC Chairman.

The PDP is fully aware that Iwu was fully an ally in previous elections and one who can be used in whatever they want. Nigerians as a whole must come together to speak with one voice by asking for the removal of Iwu by next year otherwise other political parties should boycott the elections in 2011. This point should already be made clear now. The technicalities being used to sustain Iwu in office should be completely overlooked and all parties should speak with one voice and now is the to take that action.

Iwu should be replaced with a Nigerian that is known to be progressively orientated and unbiased. We do have many of such persons if only PDP desires fair elections but Nigerians must realise that it is about our collective progress and not PDP. In relation to this, there should be a pre-election for all those in the police and the armed forces to ensure that they are fully available to help ensure security throughout the nation before, during and after the elections. Nigerians must understand that we cannot afford to allow the 2011 elections to hijacked. The country's resources have been squandered enough by these people who do not mean any good for our nation's progress. It is time to make politicians know that the people's votes count.