By VICTOR ALI

YOU do not need a soothsayer to tell you that, presently, Nigerians are in dire straits.

Access to basic needs such as food, shelter and Medicare, amongst others, has almost become a mirage. And where and when they are available, their prices have skyrocketed, making them unaffordable. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to posit that Nigerians are literally living in hell here on earth.

For a country that boasts, and rightly too, of having almost everything in terms of both human and natural resources in abundance, the situation becomes an unacceptable paradox. Feeding three times a day in most households has become practically impossible, access to Medicare is too much of a responsibility while the payment of school fees is a Herculean task.

Added to these are the bloody activities of Islamist terrorists – Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), etc – which have wreaked unimaginable havoc on communities all over northern Nigeria. These have been further accentuated by banditry, kidnapping for ransom and armed robbery in other parts of the country.

Insecurity in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria has become a thriving industry so much so that the security apparatuses are simply overwhelmed. Every day, Nigerians are inundated with the news of more and more dastardly acts and atrocities committed by these heartless individuals. To say that the country has suddenly become a land overtaken by savagery is not an overstatement.

But where did our country get it so wrong? Needless to say, diverse reasons have been advanced to explain why and how Nigeria walked its way into this cul-de-sac. One of the most popular reasons was given by the celebrated literary icon, the late Chinua Achebe. In his small but insightful book, The Trouble with Nigeria, he postulated that ours is “simply and squarely the problem of leadership.”

Yes, to a large extent, that sounds reasonable. What about the followership? This certainly is subject for another discourse. However, it is awfully worrisome that corruption has eaten very deeply into almost every fabric of the Nigerian nation. Greed, avarice and selfishness have taken the centre stage of our political space while patriotism has been relegated to the background.

The ground norms of ethics deeply rooted in other societies are sorely missing here. As a result, the concomitant repercussions of the several missed opportunities are what is bedeviling the country at the moment. Sadly, in moments of trails like this, Nigerians are quick to recoil to their cocoon of blame game. The latest being the removal of subsidy on petroleum.

No doubt, petroleum, being the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, is vital to our nation’s overall existence. There is always a spiral effect on other sectors once petroleum is tampered with. But is that the only cause of the present economic predicaments facing Nigerians?

The answer, to my mind, is an emphatic No! Before now, there have been several economic policy somersaults, fiscal and monetary policy ‘abortions’, budget padding and, of course, the hydra-headed monster – corruption. How then do we expect to get it right?

Interestingly, while majority of Nigerians are wallowing in abject poverty, disease, penury and want, a few individuals are shamelessly displaying their unexplained opulence through flashy cars, mansions and medical tourism, amongst other. It is simply a case of one country two nations.

While the rich are relishing in the oasis of their riches, the poor are managing their poverty and engaging in what the legendary Afro beat maestro, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, aptly referred to as “suffering and smiling.”

Indeed, in moments of trials like this, a typical Nigerian has the capacity for resilience and endurance, patience and hope. But it must be pointed out that there are limits to these virtues. An implosion may set in if the leadership continues to pretend that all is well with the country and her citizens.

After all, the age-long saying that a hungry man is an angry man is still has some potency, even today. And what is the panacea? The leadership should do the needful by fashioning out workable policies which would get Nigeria and Nigerians out of this economic quagmire.

And fast too. Before it’s too late.

Shaibu’s impeachment: History repeating itself

By KANU OBIEZU

PHILIP Shaibu has been impeached as the deputy governor of Edo State and replaced by 38-year-old Omobayo Godwin. He has declared his impeachment illegal, but until a court of law follows suit, such a declaration would remain beyond his fiat as an erstwhile deputy governor.

In Nigerian politics, the heads that are reared up too soon are swiftly cut off and served in style as the prize for ambition in a gathering of power.

Since he indicated his intention to become governor, he has become the number one enemy to power in the state. Godwin Obaseki, the governor, has been open in his opposition to Shaibu’s bid. Obaseki’s grouse that Shaibu did not tell him, has quickly become fierce opposition to his bid in all respects. It is a strange case of a governor being in the opposition together with the legislature, all arrayed in battle against one man.

Snippets from Shaibu’s side of the story, which have come more out of compulsion than actual consternation or contempt, betray feelings of betrayal. Having sunk his resources into a joint ticket, he feels he should now be the first name on what is a testament to its success story. But that is not how things work. In the cut-throat world of Nigerian politics, loyalty is often a knife sharpened for one’s back.

What iniquitous offence did Shaibu commit to impel his impeachment? What has changed to make a pariah out of a man who has claimed to have bankrolled elections in 2016 and has not been challenged?

Shaibu’s fate sealed from the moment private disaffection over the next governor of Edo State spilled into public disagreement is a remaking of the impossible remit of the Nigerian deputy governor. An office hamstrung by the Constitution itself is often made impossible by the clownish tendencies of governors who act like emperors, and crave control of everything.

What is happening in Edo State is history repeating itself. In 2010, as President Musa Yar’Adua dangled between life and death from the threads of a terminal illness, his closest aides and family members cared less for the president’s survival than to check his inevitable replacement by the vice president to the office. This was until death checked them all.

Ondo State also required death to ultimately disarm the bomb that was about to detonate in the state. Since 1999, deputy governors in Zamfara, Oyo, Kogi, Ekiti, Imo, Lagos, Osun, Akwa Ibom and Bauchi have all been impeached for farcical offences. It is a battle that is never far away from government is with the prudent question being where next.

It is disruptive that a governor should spend his last days in office orchestrating the impeachment of his deputy rather than consolidating his legacy.

The clearest lesson for Shaibu and other deputy governors may yet be that in a duel of big dogs, it is impolitic to show sharp teeth.

There is also a sense in which those who have treated Shaibu so shabbily are heedless and reckless students of history.

Edo voters recognised a system synthesised to oppress and deployed their voter power to foil it. They may yet queue behind Shaibu as he seeks to shame his executive and legislative oppressors. But before they can, Shaibu may have to leave the PDP lest fortune which fears the brave but tramples cowards underfoot fails to foil his fate.

Culled from Daily Trust

By VICTOR ALI

YOU do not need a soothsayer to tell you that, presently, Nigerians are in dire straits.

Access to basic needs such as food, shelter and Medicare, amongst others, has almost become a mirage. And where and when they are available, their prices have skyrocketed, making them unaffordable. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to posit that Nigerians are literally living in hell here on earth.

For a country that boasts, and rightly too, of having almost everything in terms of both human and natural resources in abundance, the situation becomes an unacceptable paradox. Feeding three times a day in most households has become practically impossible, access to Medicare is too much of a responsibility while the payment of school fees is a Herculean task.

Added to these are the bloody activities of Islamist terrorists – Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), etc – which have wreaked unimaginable havoc on communities all over northern Nigeria. These have been further accentuated by banditry, kidnapping for ransom and armed robbery in other parts of the country.

Insecurity in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria has become a thriving industry so much so that the security apparatuses are simply overwhelmed. Every day, Nigerians are inundated with the news of more and more dastardly acts and atrocities committed by these heartless individuals. To say that the country has suddenly become a land overtaken by savagery is not an overstatement.

But where did our country get it so wrong? Needless to say, diverse reasons have been advanced to explain why and how Nigeria walked its way into this cul-de-sac. One of the most popular reasons was given by the celebrated literary icon, the late Chinua Achebe. In his small but insightful book, The Trouble with Nigeria, he postulated that ours is “simply and squarely the problem of leadership.”

Yes, to a large extent, that sounds reasonable. What about the followership? This certainly is subject for another discourse. However, it is awfully worrisome that corruption has eaten very deeply into almost every fabric of the Nigerian nation. Greed, avarice and selfishness have taken the centre stage of our political space while patriotism has been relegated to the background.

The ground norms of ethics deeply rooted in other societies are sorely missing here. As a result, the concomitant repercussions of the several missed opportunities are what is bedeviling the country at the moment. Sadly, in moments of trails like this, Nigerians are quick to recoil to their cocoon of blame game. The latest being the removal of subsidy on petroleum.

No doubt, petroleum, being the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, is vital to our nation’s overall existence. There is always a spiral effect on other sectors once petroleum is tampered with. But is that the only cause of the present economic predicaments facing Nigerians?

The answer, to my mind, is an emphatic No! Before now, there have been several economic policy somersaults, fiscal and monetary policy ‘abortions’, budget padding and, of course, the hydra-headed monster – corruption. How then do we expect to get it right?

Interestingly, while majority of Nigerians are wallowing in abject poverty, disease, penury and want, a few individuals are shamelessly displaying their unexplained opulence through flashy cars, mansions and medical tourism, amongst other. It is simply a case of one country two nations.

While the rich are relishing in the oasis of their riches, the poor are managing their poverty and engaging in what the legendary Afro beat maestro, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, aptly referred to as “suffering and smiling.”

Indeed, in moments of trials like this, a typical Nigerian has the capacity for resilience and endurance, patience and hope. But it must be pointed out that there are limits to these virtues. An implosion may set in if the leadership continues to pretend that all is well with the country and her citizens.

After all, the age-long saying that a hungry man is an angry man is still has some potency, even today. And what is the panacea? The leadership should do the needful by fashioning out workable policies which would get Nigeria and Nigerians out of this economic quagmire.

And fast too. Before it’s too late.

Shaibu’s impeachment: History repeating itself

By KANU OBIEZU

PHILIP Shaibu has been impeached as the deputy governor of Edo State and replaced by 38-year-old Omobayo Godwin. He has declared his impeachment illegal, but until a court of law follows suit, such a declaration would remain beyond his fiat as an erstwhile deputy governor.

In Nigerian politics, the heads that are reared up too soon are swiftly cut off and served in style as the prize for ambition in a gathering of power.

Since he indicated his intention to become governor, he has become the number one enemy to power in the state. Godwin Obaseki, the governor, has been open in his opposition to Shaibu’s bid. Obaseki’s grouse that Shaibu did not tell him, has quickly become fierce opposition to his bid in all respects. It is a strange case of a governor being in the opposition together with the legislature, all arrayed in battle against one man.

Snippets from Shaibu’s side of the story, which have come more out of compulsion than actual consternation or contempt, betray feelings of betrayal. Having sunk his resources into a joint ticket, he feels he should now be the first name on what is a testament to its success story. But that is not how things work. In the cut-throat world of Nigerian politics, loyalty is often a knife sharpened for one’s back.

What iniquitous offence did Shaibu commit to impel his impeachment? What has changed to make a pariah out of a man who has claimed to have bankrolled elections in 2016 and has not been challenged?

Shaibu’s fate sealed from the moment private disaffection over the next governor of Edo State spilled into public disagreement is a remaking of the impossible remit of the Nigerian deputy governor. An office hamstrung by the Constitution itself is often made impossible by the clownish tendencies of governors who act like emperors, and crave control of everything.

What is happening in Edo State is history repeating itself. In 2010, as President Musa Yar’Adua dangled between life and death from the threads of a terminal illness, his closest aides and family members cared less for the president’s survival than to check his inevitable replacement by the vice president to the office. This was until death checked them all.

Ondo State also required death to ultimately disarm the bomb that was about to detonate in the state. Since 1999, deputy governors in Zamfara, Oyo, Kogi, Ekiti, Imo, Lagos, Osun, Akwa Ibom and Bauchi have all been impeached for farcical offences. It is a battle that is never far away from government is with the prudent question being where next.

It is disruptive that a governor should spend his last days in office orchestrating the impeachment of his deputy rather than consolidating his legacy.

The clearest lesson for Shaibu and other deputy governors may yet be that in a duel of big dogs, it is impolitic to show sharp teeth.

There is also a sense in which those who have treated Shaibu so shabbily are heedless and reckless students of history.

Edo voters recognised a system synthesised to oppress and deployed their voter power to foil it. They may yet queue behind Shaibu as he seeks to shame his executive and legislative oppressors. But before they can, Shaibu may have to leave the PDP lest fortune which fears the brave but tramples cowards underfoot fails to foil his fate.

Culled from Daily Trust