Little things. part 1

Its interesting just how much of the little things we just don’t care about. i have never been one to trip myself over petty info but I wonder just how much life would have changed if I had paid a little more attention to that dip in smile, the hint of a frown and, many other such nuances. Its not a lecture in reading facial expressions, it goes beyond smiles and dimples when we have to elect a guide over 150 million people. But then, it is the little things....

I have never met any Nigerian leader beyond the brief sighting of the IBB in my childhood and that does us no good here. i have-like most Nigerians, watched with interest the changing faces that occupy the positions of leadership in our lives. I read about them, watch them on TV, listen to them over the radio and rather unmistakably, come to deduce a bit of the character behind what they portray. Obj might have wanted a third term, is undeniably vindictive, accused to bedding his son's wife but we cant deny him a bit of rustic flavor. Coupled with the title ‘Baba’, the image of the Egusi and pounded yam eating father is crystallized in the nation's consciousness. its the little things....

as the nation searched for a suitable candidate for the office of the president in 2011, there was little doubt in my mind who exactly would be deemed suitable by the electorate. it wasnt really a free and fair contest between the stoic faced general and the fedora wearing fisherman’s son. Aside the power of the incumbency (and what that implies in Nigerian politics), there was a certain suavity to his style that was almost coy. The teaming mass of Nigerian voters, sufficiently discouraged by the media assassination of General Buhari could not believe that the candidate they would vote for could actually relate to them via the internet. Suddenly the argument became, new against old. Buhari seemingly represented a part of the Nigerian history they were all too willing to put a lid on. Buhari didn’t own no Facebook account, he campaigned the old fashioned way, comes from the north and has a media imposed reputation of being an Islamic fanatic.   Nigerians felt they had seen enough of such righteous politicians, Nobel laureate, Soyinka brought back ghosts of executed suspected drug dealers, elections were rigged on both sides and finally a Facebook president was elected.

Months later, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is no longer a darling of the sympathetic media, he presides over a phase of the Nigerian continuum that is make, or break to our continued existence. He is probably the most incompetent person ever to assume the mantle of leadership in any self respecting nation. He is famous for condemning terror attacks with liquor induced boldness, he has unleashed the Dame as the very antithesis of Soyinka’s literary prowess and as I write this, he is probably the last duly elected president we may have as a united Nigeria if he does not fix this BH madness. Yes dear friends, the situation is really that terrible.

But how did we get to this place? Surely for someone who displays this level of gross incompetence there should have been warning signs, great Neon lights pointing at his hat saying; Incompetent!!! There were, we just did not care to see them. Why? Cause, Nigerians vote along ethnic, tribal, religious lines. And do we wonder why we are backwards?

Way back in 2006 Dame Patience was indicted by the Ribadu led EFCC as having laundered a sum a little greater than a hundred and forty million Naira (140 Million)-this allegation, made in the hallowed chambers of the Nigerian senate house by none other than the then anti-corruption czar himself. In civilized societies, the hint of an involvement with criminal activity no matter how remote is usually enough reason for a dignified resignation to make room for an unbiased investigation. No one resigned, no investigation has been conducted and the matter has in fact been swept under the rug!...one little thing…..

Nollywood: Euphemism for Crap.

Have you ever watched a Nigerian made movie? Yes? No? I advise you don’t. I can hear the screams already; ‘off with his head’!!! Support Nigeria!!!. I’d poke my tongue out at all of them. It seems to me-and I may be wrong-that the singular reason why youths watch Nigerian movies is for the sheer indecency (indecency can be appealing to some of us as we are well aware). I find it hard to believe they watch it because they find them interesting. I also don’t believe Nigerians are that dumb as to be excited by the terrible screenplay.

In 1960 the pioneers of the Nigerian movie industry (credit is rightly given to Herbert Ogunde, Ola Balogun and co.) were forced to curtail production due to high costs , absence of distribution channels and government’s lack of active partnership. The content however wasn’t lacking, production involved detailed execution, intelligent screenplay and rich cultural performances. Given that the government of those days was a whole lot more reactionary, the later establishment of government owned stations helped induce Nigeria’s first introduction to proper acting without the direct influence of the Pioneers. Nigerians were treated to the likes of Checkmate, Behind the Clouds,Cockcrow at Dawn, Mirror of the Sun, brilliant hilarious comedy such as Mind your Language, movies such as the adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s: Things Fall Apart.

The commercialization of the industry as is currently seen did not begin full blown until, Living in Bondage (1992) directed by Chris Obi Rapu. Figures as to just how many copies this particular movie sold is controversial. What is not contested however is the popularity of this particular effort. Perhaps due to the ingenious marketing strategy employed by the producers of the movie using the Onitsha, Aba markets, foreign movies began to suffer a decline in viewership. Nigerian made movies utilizing the commercial power of the eastern markets virtually started to dominate the video industry. (the writer supposedly made the film because of the large number of empty cassettes he had, easily replicated, he was able to control piracy at a time where technology for dubbing by pirates in Nigeria was minimal).

We only outlined this brief, history to understand the context of just how profitable and widely acceptable the Nigerian movie industry is today, from the exploits of a determined amateur effort to a multimillion Naira industry. But just how relevant the industry is other than a money spinning venture that provides employment is highly questionable.

Nigerians, it must be said are highly exploitative,-a defensive mechanism against the scourge of government induced poverty, the opportunity to make a quick buck, a chance to get further ahead in the unending rat race-this mentality, coupled with laziness, lack of vision, and crass mediocrity becomes the active ingredients for the rot in the sector.

Movies today mean little or nothing. It is a chance to get Ini Edo in revealing clothes, mixed with logic defying story line, poor acting, an even poorer script-and for what? The knowledge that, regardless of whatever trash you make, Nigerians, in a misguided sense of patriotism and, misplaced priorities are going to buy. It’s a formula that has never failed, seemingly never will. It is also a tragedy.

It would seem our fault to expect more really after-all, we all witnessed the adoption of the ‘’Nollywood’’ appendage and approved of it. It is a nomenclature that has sickened me not just for the fact that it mimics the American “Hollywood” but because it gives a proper noun to our abject lack of creativity. It gives a name to our sickness.

Proponents of the industry are quick to shoot growth figures at you as a response to any criticism; depending on who you talk to we are either behind Bollywood, (another sickening nomenclature) or directly behind Hollywood in yearly output. Local A-list actresses and actors earn 6-figures but unlike foreign movies we have not been able to create any societal change or introspection with our movies. The plight of the Nigerian woman is not helped by the portrayals she is given. More often than not she is pictured as morally loose, diabolical, cunning and outright mischievous. Societal ills are more or less glorified; a particular instance is when we find ritual killers (a realistic societal ill) as a matter of routine, finding salvation in Christ at the end of every movie as opposed to facing any form of justice for the crimes committed! It is almost as if producers are ignorant of the power they wield over society or are just too willing to abuse it.

As a rule, movies are windows that let you see into society first by mirroring society, hence the saying; ‘’it is just a movie, it is not real’’. However unreal it maybe, we are utterly convinced by the storyline and the portrayal of it to the point where it elicits an emotional response from us. By acting we are inspired, moved to tears, upset, happy, and tilted to reflect, that’s why we are going to remember a certain Brad Pitt and not Jim Iyke in 30 years from now.

And while we are talking about acting, are you ever convinced when you watch Nigerian actors?, hardly? Just why is that? An utter lack of professionalism runs deep in the business. I have seen Peter Edochie, Olu Jacobs, men who ordinarily have an enviable career, and are the few remaining professionals in the business, taint it with stereotyping themselves into ‘Igwe’ roles, movie after movie. I can’t be bothered counting but am sure between them, there are probably 600 or more such similar appearances. Why? Simply because it pays the bills! Actors with less impressive work catalog I assume simply play into the stereotypes they are given for this same reason. Hence, chances are you are going to play the same type of character for over a period of time or, for the rest of your life. While in Hollywood certain individuals have made the portrayal of an identity such as a villain’s, their exclusive preserve, we don’t get tired of seeing their faces because over there, there are such things as proper costumes, better acting, intelligent scripts, sets, and more importantly; no one plays a villain in 40 movies in a single year.

But it so typical of us isn’t it? A putrid lack of any maintenance culture in all aspect of our endeavors otherwise, just why are we not able to make better props? Stage better effects? A scene leading to an accident in a Nigerian movie is as uninspiring and as ridiculous as it was 15years ago. All that is done is have the camera go around in circles and have the next scene shows Tonto Dike mummified with bandages on some hospital bed somewhere! And this is an effort we supposedly export?, a digital recording of our idiocy?  It is unfortunate that for the entire money spinner the industry is, it is managed by louts who only care about undeserved celebrity status than actual content or their legacy. That’s why for all its growth, there is an unequal ratio in reinvestment, no sets are constructed for films, no special effects are done in movies, no worthy scripts are written, talented people are rather into art academia than on our screens,  and  knock-outs (local cheap fireworks)  are used to fake bullets…..

 Like most of the many things where we Nigerians prefer a foreign version to its local equivalent, we find that the Nigerian movie industry isn’t exactly any different. Sounds absurd right? after-all we only just argued that Nigerian watch a lot of home videos to foreign ones but think again, just what is Nigerian about what we watch? The only time a woman wears Ankara most often is in a scene that shows her as a villager, uncivilized and mealy-mouthed, spewing brimstone upon her drunk alcoholic husband. Is that Nigerian? it maybe a believable scenario, one that exists in contemporary Nigeria but when for a single year over hundreds of such films are made then it betrays a lack of talent in our producers or mirrors the generality of society we live in. and if it must be said as mirroring the society we live in then isn’t there something grossly wrong with that picture? the misrepresentation of an absurd singularity for the whole.

What is Nigerian about the portrayal of a society that is all too often trapped between whole scale copying of western values and the mismanagement of it’s downsides?

And then there is this issue of nudity and sex in our movies, especially those in collaboration with that equally redundant Ghanian movie industry. (At least they have the decency to avoid ‘ghannywood’.) Insiders say it’s a measure of our ‘advancement’-sophistication, if you will. I wonder what is sophisticated about a sex scene? What exactly does a sex scene tell us? That two people are play acting sex? It’s a technique that has been used by Hollywood as a marketing ploy, its not art and all that talk is for the birds. These days however its mired up in ‘art’ and any critic of it is seen as a criticism of their freedom of expression but oh well…

I hope I get some venom spewed at me for writing this so I can cough up more reasons why there is so much rot in that system and hopefully someone somewhere will wake up to correct it. Or I can just poke my tongue out at them!

Abacha and the Fourth republic.

Today makes it exactly 14years since the demise of the military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha. I refrain from using the media imposed title of ‘Dictator’ not because the General wasn’t deserving of it but because if that appendage must be applied at all, it should be applied to the entirety of leaders in Nigeria today. Abacha died in the most uncertain of circumstances, from tales of Indian call girls, to poisoned apples and international clandestine operations as stated by his C.S.O, Maj. Al-Mustapha. What was certain however was the relief and elation Nigerians felt at his demise. 

       I was a skinny little lad then, not yet a teenager, my younger brother and I were in the local neighborhood market trying to obtain school sandals when the news filtered through over the radio- what happened next was an experience that was clearly unprecedented in my mind. The market place erupted into a scene of wild jubilation and euphoria and even then it occurred to me the oddity of celebrating over the death of a fellow human being. Suddenly, there was alcohol everywhere, wild joyful screams, laughter, people locking up shops to get lost in the moment. “ Abacha ti kuu ooo.”!!! “O ti kuu da nu”!!! Rent the air, the local women turned to dancing, the burdens and the business of the day forgotten. That scene made an impression and I have never forgotten it nor do I doubt that I ever will. Sometimes I even wonder why I just happened to be listening to the radio at that stall. “…..the death of the commander in chief of…” every moment seemingly etched.

   With the passage of time my view of that scene has changed, the still clear voice over the radio, the woman whose scream after the announcement seemingly starts the pandemonium, the coloured plastic buckets behind her, the dancing characters….., all remain the same except the reason for the jubilations. While I cannot speak for them I can however deduce that the euphoria wasn’t about the demise of a fellow human being but the realization of their freedom from a reign of tyranny and the hopes for a far better future.

    Fast forward almost a decade and half later and one wonders if the celebrations had not been ill advised, a little immature perhaps. The transitional government of Gen. AbdulSalam Abubakar handed over to another General-as a sign that our democracy was just another scam-Olusegun Obasanjo to begin a chapter that holds the record for being the most putrid in our nation’s history. The Fourth-Republic for all the aspirations behind it could rightly be argued as having a greater symbolism in the life of this country than the fight for independence itself. Permit me, the fight for independence holds great value and I by no means demean the struggle of those who fought for a ‘sovereign Nigeria’ but if we hadn’t fought for it back then the British would have gotten bored eventually and handed over. It may seem a difficult argument to observe given that some say the colonialists would never have left this shores if oil had been discovered earlier but the answer simply is the current presence of Shell, BP and the others.  Colonialism as a system of government practiced as it were pre-1960 was definitely not sustainable it has simply just morphed into other forms-media, resource, technology-colonialism but, I digress.

     1960, our fight was against colonization, now our fight is against corruption. The control of our means, welfare and resources by a few, using this said resources to further pauperize the masses they govern over. It is a newer, more brutal form of colonialism and just so because it is done by us to us.

        The fourth republic shares a lot of similarities with any military government. And since we  are discussing Abacha and his place on the scale of villainy allow me to rephrase the above. This fourth republic shares a lot of similarities with Abacha’s military government. The website www.assetrecovery.org/  places the amount looted in five years to 3-5 billion USD. Estimated amount recovered is given at 2.6 Billion USD. compare with the amount misappropriated by the successive PDP led governments of the Fourth republic. Do we have an estimate of the said sums? Need we? The undeniable fact remains that corruption is corruption and the difference in scale is irrelevant as long as the people remain impoverished and uncared for. If in a single year allocation for subsidy increases from 280 billion Naira to some shady 2.6 estimate in trillions without an equivalent increase in fuel consumption, and or production cost of crude then should we not begin to honestly see the similarity between Abacha’s resource grabbing and that of misappropriations of this fourth republic….?    

Let us take this particular instance; After the fuel subsidy reduction, we find that in the first quarter of 2012 financial year, the increase in the price of PMS to 97 naira only gave the government 60b naira. At 50 %, deregulation calculations will prove that the government will be saving a mere 240 billion. Now I don’t need no calculator nor mathematician to tell me 240bn is far cry from 2.6 trillion spent in 2011, so where is the subsidy?  what really is going on? And we aren’t even quoting facts from the Farouk Lawan report they are trying so hard to discredit.

Abacha wore a uniform, and couldn’t really figure what diplomacy meant hence anyone who held a dissenting opinion got shot, imprisoned or exiled. The lucky ones quickly buckled up and adapted until his demise in 1998. Similarly, the rulers of our fourth republic don the uniform of respectability, honesty and accountability. They haven’t exactly been shy to shoot people down either: the nation watched as President Olusegun directed the flattening of Odi, Zaki...Aljazeera exposed the death squads that we call the police over the Boko Haram insurgency. (Some have argued that this is what has spawned the current spate of national terrorism.) But while Abacha’s  has been the only face we spit at for massive corruption and misappropriation, this republic has given us variety. The small names: Ibori, Alameyesigha, Bode George, Tafa Balogun, why not the EFCC corruption list of 2006/2007 ET-al.? And to the big name: Lord Obasanjo.  While the opposition has not been exiled in this fourth republic, they have suffered worse: they have been grossly ignored. Ask anyone shouting at the top of his voice what is worse than being ignored? you might as well be voiceless. It is a strategy that has been perfected in this current dispensation, one which the opposition is discredited so it's message whether right or wrong is rendered....silent.

We could list instances but that entirely goes against what this article is meant to do. Am not trying to tabulate differences here, anyone can see that CORRUPTION as personified by Abacha, is the same CORRUPTION today in the fourth republic. While the patients have simply been rotated, the disease remains the same, nay! We may add that the disease has become more resilient, deadlier.

So what exactly is this article about? Is it to absolve the long dead General his wrong doings by equating his crimes to that of our democracy? I simply try to put in perspective the Crime with which we have judged Abacha and the Crime we are letting this republic’s leaders get away with. They are both one and the same. Like the proverbial two sides of a coin, heads or tail- both meaningless to the coppery nature of the coin.

 And in assessing ourselves, we of the dancing market women, former exiles and righteously indignant media, do we not profess to a certain double standard? And by this standard are we justifiably recompensed by the strengthening of corruption in our lands? Why are we not preparing another bizarre market dance? That good feeling as we returned from exile, free from the strongman’s whims did not burn strong enough? The dizzy dance and feelings of freedom surely must have been incentive enough for us to have prepared some sort of vaccine against corruption?? It wasn’t, we didn’t.  Look where we are.  

But if we must compare for the sake of this piece we are subtly tempted to romanticize that bespectacled General, we begin to see that it was his ground work that gave birth to 13% derivation (although true credence should be given to the Martyrs of that region), who implemented policy for the mobile telephony that we currently enjoy today. A foundation that the Obasanjo’s administration hijacked and termed: “dividend of democracy”.….This same Abacha had a better idea of what foreign policy for a country such as ours should be. Alas! Do we forget just how well he chided South Africans who are too willing to forget the role Nigeria has played in her History? Few leaders since then have defended the sovereignty-whether rightly or wrongly- of Nigeria with such resolute fierceness. (Even though he was pariah of sorts to the rest of the western world. )  But the temptation to romantics we must severely resist, just as the restraint-which we currently feel in appropriately labeling this dispensation as due-we must subdue. We must all not forget that they of the fourth republic and he of the spectacles and all that they stand for are one and same. The abuse of power for personal enrichment at the detriment of those whose interests they claim to protect.

We must dance in the markets again, and to do this we need to first tell this present crop of looters that they are no different from that General, that they should derive no sense of sanctimony over him. We must tell them that they are but changing faces of the same evil, that they are one and the same, nay!! Worse than Abacha himself! For they had the example of his years of terror to educate themselves from yet, they learned only of his greed.      

   

Motivational Leadership

Root word motivate. That is; causing action in a particular way. Leadership; the quality of being able to lead others. Together, motivational leadership is to lead others through one's ability by causing followers to think and or act in the  desired manner.

  While many forms of leadership have motivation included, motivation through negative emotions such as fear, ridicule etc do not exactly gather any other mention than as necessary in this piece. Motivation is primarily a positive word, even though general usage might not reflect this in entirety, it is worthy to note that many leaders have been able to motivate, through personal conduct, followers, into positive albeit, suprising cause of action. We note the personal conduct of leaders such as Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela, who through their peacful natures endeared their causes to the rest of the world and made followers out of them. In 1941-1945, so did Adolf Hitler. He motivated Germany with the message of hatred. The history of the world is replete with examples of  leaders who have motivated followers and-collectively, either made humanity a polished brilliance or an eternal pit of horrors.
   
  In truth, everyone is essentially a leader and follower at once. A leader should always be a follower of law. Situations arise where people who have never been in positions of influence find themselves giving directives-even if momentarily, to others, in order for common goals to be achieved. And while that part of human nature may resent forms of authority, a follower knows that he plays a part-no matter how minute, in the furtherance of the goals of society to which he is a member. This synergy of arbitrary class is the goal of a leader and any follower.

  In Africa, reserve is given to the Male as the head of the family unit. While the Female's role may not be given as much relevance as is due, her role in the family can not be overemphasized nor devaluated. Putting aside the burdens of housekeeping placed on the African female's shoulders, commendation is due to one who plays the role of follower and leader quite as brilliantly. She is a leader as a mother and plays the follower as wife. Due to increase in African female education, we see that the female not only plays the leader at domestics-via her influence over her domain but also in her field of expertise.  She should not be limited either when between the Male and Female, she shows better leadership qualities. The dynamics of leadership and followership are not fixated, and no one makes a good leader without becoming a better follower. The animal world draws great parallel we could aspire to. We respect the heavy maned Lion as the king of animals and he pays due to his female-she runs the pride. The power inherent in that simplicity is amazing!

  Humanity, if truly we evolved, should realise that the next step in our progression, is a more unified effort at becoming better followers. Given that leadership is at most opportunity given, our default should be a class of followership that recoginises its leader, but is not restricted by it, and, is equally served by benevolent, dutiful leadership.        Perhaps, we may apply the law of diminishing returns to our evolutionary progression, this would mean that given the multitude of years and the connsequent advances in science, humanity may be judged to have failed to battle the problem of leadership and followership that has plagued it since Adam met Eve. While we have no one holding a scorecard over our heads- and really need we? The attendant consequence of our inability, wars, famine, corruption, civil disobedience should spur us all to a solution.

the enemy of project Nigeria. (part one.)

   I do not subscribe to the notion that the solution to Nigeria’s myriad of problems boils down to having a representative of all our peoples sit around a table and talk. It’s a duplication of our senate and the lower house. I don’t believe the SNC idea is a frivolous one either. There is a need to talk about our problems collectively but we must realize that despite our seeming desperation, investing all our energies in the assumption that the SNC serves as a panacea to our problems is creating a new one. I do not think that those who are quick to call ethnicity and religious intolerance the greatest problems in Nigeria have the slightest idea of what the country suffers from. I know this.

  You see there really is no fault with discussing our common problems, probing these problems and coming up with solutions to them. None. It has been a means of livelihood for some and a vocabulary showing off experience for others. We have had the panels, the commissions, the senate probes and what have you. For some still these probes/committees/councils/whatever provide a limited cathartic experience and national TV air time.  All have failed in one major way. The only difference being the scale of failure.

  What does the SNC actually intend to accomplish?, an answer to the Nigerian identity? Splitting the Nigerian entity around ethnic lines?, the elimination of religious bigotry?, A return to true federalism? The questions are numerous.  If the general mood is anything to go about then paramount at the SNC is the continuation of the project Nigeria. The question of what exactly makes a Nigerian, where the Nigerian state is is headed, and, so far; how has the experience of being Nigerian-civil war, oil boom, Boko-haram, military regimes, et al, influenced the idea of a continued , Nigerian-ness.

  Seemingly, at the front of those calling for the SNC are those who are quick to remind us that the Nigerian state is simply a desire of Lord Lugard’s. a mere geographical expression they scream. They remind us that the Ndigbo, Yoruba, Arewa is a more cohesive unit than the Nigerian state. I say this is a lie. Before a Yoruba man is a MAN and the fundamental problem with any MAN is the corruption of his inner. Consequently, I do not believe that any one of this new entities that Nigeria will be split into will be more successful than the Nigerian state, in fact it will be a lot worse because problems will be the same and then they won’t have ethnicity to blame for it. Perhaps then the problem of the Ndigbo nation would be its Muslim minority heh?

 

  And then when we finally decide that we are done with the Nigerian project (regardless of the fact that this is an admission of defeat) do we simply just go back to our states of origins and start anew?, at the expense of our livelihoods, investments, and such and such?  Its not as easy as they say it is. And most importantly, its not necessary.

 To say that the Nigerian state has failed to live up to expectation is putting it mildly, to admit that the only solution is to disband the state completely, smacks of a serious insult to those who have given up their lives for our continued existence. It also shows why the Nigerian state won’t work-our persistent lack of attempts at making work.

  The problem with the Nigerian project has been CORRUPTION and still is. It is the sole reason why our current state of affairs is in such shambles. It is the singular reason why religious/ethnic violence is at such alarming proportions. It is the reason why we have had years of murder and strife over religion-this is not to say that religious crisis cannot occur without corruption, it just seems that the reason why our strain of strife waxes stronger is solely cause corruption has created  a fertile soil for its growth and continued spread and regeneration. When a politician wants to gain advantage over his opponent he plays the religious card. When they are of the same religion he plays the ethnic card. When they are from the same faith and location, it boils down to who influences more political thugs, the cycle is as vicious as it is endless. It isn’t rocket science to deduce that if our youths were better educated, better employed, they would spend less time talking about the flaws in the other person’s ethnic background. Little wonder why inter-tribal marriage is most common in urban, educated Nigeria? That positivity can only continue but alas!, our corrupt leaders engineer discord between us. Its really like Lugard’s divide and rule tactic.

(to be continued…)

bedroom gangstarr

i cant wait/
to have you participate/
in events my mind's eye precipitate/
candle lit dates/
intertwined fates/
be sumtin like our destiny/
you undressing me/
no other trick distracting us
just us/
ill never give you a reason to
believe otherwise/
otherwise?/
its a reason
u disappear into the horizon/
but your eyes is my sunrising/
and you wonder why i call you my sunshine?/
girl!
every minute with you needs a rewind/
gentle kisses on your neck
my hands on your behind/
i aint tryn to get freaky*
but i wnt you like its lunch time/
you are my cookie jar
and my hands are sticky*
i cant get em offa dis star
dis situation is real tricky/
i love it cos we friends/
and i love it cos we more than just friends/
guessing you that friend that's more than just a friend/
the type i'd have to be crazy to offend/
hold hands with till the very end/
make a nigga like me
do my routine
and miss steps/
butterflies gat me doing silly dance steps/
i swear
every love song on radio feels written out for you/
every love song be goin out foryou/
its crazy/
something like gettin high
without miss blazzy/
pretty things, roses and daises/
@$#*!
why else would i wanna be a street gangstar/
when its official
am your bedroom gangstarr./

Talk about the gift of subsidy removal

      There should be a name for a gift that is given unintentionally, especially when it is supposedly designed to be punitive and then turns out to be in the best interest of the intended recipient. We call such a gift what? Before we begin to beat ourselves up over acute adjectives or names to answer the question to the question, might we not be tempted to consider this gift for clues to a suitable nomenclature?

       On the first day of January 2012, the duly elected government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria perhaps as a result of growing incompetence effected the removal of the oil subsidy in flagrant disregard of due process and indeed the law, much to the disbelief of Nigerians who watched as their government bandied facts, figures, and promises in a bid to solicit support for the policy. The results were predictable but quite unprecedented (at least every sensible Nigerian knew that neither they nor their fellow compatriots were going to take the new policy standing), the only party for which the surprise factor affected was the governments’.  Arguments were made and heard from both sides but it was clear that the govt was always going to lose. If not over the logic of the argument then over the basic fundamental tenet of democracy; that being that democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people. The people do not want subsidy removal to be implemented-at least not for now, and they want their government to listen. However if there is anything the Goodluck Ebele govt is good at as previous governments before it; is grandstanding. And this is what puzzles me. For a President that has been touted as humble, listening to heady economics, justifying this said economics and attempting to force down the worst of this economics down our throats irrespective of how we feel about it isn’t humble by any stretch of the imagination.

      For our collective benefit, here is what subsidy means in simple Nigerian terms; it is a corrupt practice whereby our govt pays a group of people certain sums in order to keep the price of fuel at a certain economically viable fixed pump price which until the 1^st of this year was #65 per litre. Why? Because the costs of exporting crude abroad, refining the crude, and importing this said crude back into the country is rather on the high side and if the government doesn’t subsidize, then you and I end up in this position.

      At this point however just why do we call the call this seemingly beneficial practice, corrupt? This is because of the well documented illegality inherent in the process; round tripping, demurrage charges, hoarding and any other criminality you can think of. Given that we have as a nation always have done nothing to battle corruption, we have let this practice continue to the point that it has supposedly become so much of a burden on governance and, our government being the slumbering reactionary that it is has decided to end this practice.

      Then there is the business of just how much of a burden this practice has become. According to the facts that the government is quick to shove at us, subsidy has cost the govt a whooping #1.16 trillion Naira, an excess of 300% of the original budgetary allocation-#280bn for the 2011 fiscal year. (this excess, an illegality in itself.). Thus the govt has proposed that future allocations for subsidy be withdrawn and saved instead. They argue that this sum could be used in other sectors of the economy; they say this money will be invested in healthcare, provision of infrastructure and such and such. They argue that to meet up with vision 2020 and to avoid bankruptcy govt must desist from paying subsidy. Here let me digress: does it not beg the question why #1.16trn and not #280bn? What happened in between? Shipping costs hiked up? And why can’t we sustain payment? Why has it drained government reserves? We have most definitely not been paying these ridiculously inflated sums every other year have we? What kind of economists does the govt employ if they cannot project a sensible estimate even while making allowance for the unforeseen? The ‘’whys’’ are just nonstop!

     It borders on a high degree of idiocy to assume that surpassing the budgetary allocation for the provision of infrastructure with a mere 1.6bn is the instantaneous solution to the lack of it. It would mean that govt would still allocate monies for subsidy to the above said tune of 1.16bn (280bn? Who cares?) but rather invest it elsewhere. Didn’t they for God sakes say this sums are not payable? Oh! Perhaps only payable when we invest this money for infrastructure? Their argument is self defeatist. We bail corporate Nigeria but won’t bail the people? Any government that fails to recognize that the people it represents is its singular responsibility should know that at the demise of the people there won’t be any need for infrastructure. Such govt has failed the people and should shut the hell up, pack the hell up and get out of town.

     But as a Nigerian, the hope is not to see Jonathan fail. His failure at this junction of our nation’s existence becomes the failure of the Nigerian state and that is why the people of the state in harmony with organized Labor have taken to the streets. As I write this article, this is day 5 of a relentless insistence on enforcing the rights of the people, the right to be heard, the right to account-able governance, et al. Consequently the protests have caused the economy an estimated loss of over #320bn per day and judging from the mood of the people, if government continues its grossly unrealistic grandstanding, then we could be talking loses more astronomical. It is perhaps the potential of this bargaining chip that the masses have realized and are very unwilling to give up. As more and more Nigerians become aware of this hardship that is forced upon them, the streets have become battle ground where they chant their dismay. Definitely, it is not rocket science to understand why we see Nigerians out on the streets protesting the removal of what is a cushion effect from day to day economic hardship. With state governments unable to pay the new minimum wage of #18,000 and inflation rates gradually going upwards, costs of the most basic amenities and living, ever so slightly out of the reach of the people the difference in cost of living between government Nigeria and Masses Nigeria is alarming. And it is in this dimension that the true nature of this gift begins to unravel. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter-most times via the #OccupyNigeria hash tag, BBM, are fast, reliable, easy tools for the dissemination of information, voicing of grievances etc. And if one were to check carefully if one were so disposed, you would find that the #OccupyNigeria protest isn’t solely about reverting PMS pump price but also getting the root cause of the problem-CORRUPTION in governance. Why haven’t we invested in more refineries before now? The argument of deregulation of the downstream sector away from state participation is stupid. At least why not repair existing ones long before now? And that talk of 50 seater buses numbering 1600 touted as palliatives is just too retarded and embarrassing to be given any mention. Same with the pitiful 25% cut in executive salaries. Really?

    Free market is not opposed to a little government involvement. Besides, free market like any capitalist tool does not always allow for the most humane publicly beneficial and rational outcome hence the idea of state run packages like welfare. Given that the majority of users of internet technology in this country are the youths, we find this paradigm shift into forcing a more responsive, streamlined government free from waste, ineptitude, nepotism and every other ill associated with governance in Nigeria most welcome. It is as if the youths have suddenly become more aware and more involved. And even if they aren’t entirely trooping out on the streets in their youthful millions, they are clicking and typing in change. If the youths are thinking this way and can force this government to a standstill then we really should appreciate this first step. He could not have presented a better gift to our youths, one that has forced them to become more involved and thinking and if one were warped enough then a Thank you to GEJ for his gift isn’t entirely out of place. The gift that we call fuel subsidy removal,

welcome!

I finally get around to doing something I have always wanted to do. This is one opportunity to write whatever the hell I want, how I want it, and, when I wanna. (open to public discourse-of course). Am crazy about cars, beautiful women, music, books, kpoli, Arsenal Fc and life in general. This is no feel good stuff, shit aint roses. looking forward to pissing you off as much as getting yall thinking and if yall come to like me for it then pay the man danmmit! At this point, nothing constructive yet but heh?