Whatch that comment

The statement credited to the Chief of Defence Staff - Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, leaves a lot of sour taste in the mouth. If anyone is sensitive enough you should know what I am saying. When he was reacting to the fact that the battle against the insurgency in the North–east is hotting up, while revealing the fact that the military has also discovered where the Chibok girls are camped, hear him: “We are not happy at all because we are killing our own kinsmen, and we are killing mostly the youth. We cannot afford to eliminate our youths”. “Who are we going to hand Nigeria over to?” “We can’t kill them” he added. He said the Nigerian military was fighting its fellow brothers!

Alex Badeh

Now, how can we ever win this battle if such sentiment continues to play out? I guess it was in the same vein that pressure was mounted on the president to remove Ihejirika the former CDS even when he was doing fine with the military in the fight against Boko Haram. I do not understand such sympathy at all. If my brother or sister (I mean blood relation) is a member of B H, he/she has automatically lost the privilege of being a brother or sister. How dare you call a bunch of devils our brothers and kinsmen?

Breaking Through

For a change some good news filtering in about what Nigerians can do as a people. If only leadership could be a little more forthright, there is no limit to how far we could go leveraging on our indigenous ingenuity – in Science/Technology, Art, Literature, Economics, etc.

Recently I learnt of the exploit of the Nigerian Air force team in technological breakthrough: President Goodluck Jonathan unveiled an unmanned aerial vessel (UAV) or drone, which was designed and constructed by the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) in collaboration with other local institutions. The President described the launch of the UAV as a”landmark moment” in Nigeria’s history, and so it was.

Science & Iechnology

I have seen a video capturing a practical demonstration of this device – a flight test, and I am impressed and proud that for once something good and worth celebrating is here. Follow this link and see for yourselves the Nigerian drone in action:                                         http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TX1L_AxHXXw . Some cynics (and you can’t blame them) have expressed disbelief saying the whole arrangement is a phoney, but I tell you – this is for real.

Furthermore, in the year past like the president captured in his speech, we have launched the first indigenous combat vessel, developed by our Navy, and various Armoured and operational vehicles developed by the Nigerian Army. All of these are highly to be commended, and need I say that more resources and encouragement should be channeled towards such directions and the Nigerians so involved.

By: Morgan Nwanguma

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the Brick wall of Corruption

Why is it that after the whistle blower had revealed to the whole world a catalogue of missing funds that should have accrued to the government, the Goodluck Jonathan administration instead decided to suspend him from office on the grounds of (financial) impropriety? While it is true that Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has his excesses, it is still morally wrong of the government at this point in time to carry out such an order. In the first place, it has been made clear to us that going by the books, the president has no right to suspend a Central Bank Governor unilaterally. He needs the backing of two-third majority of the Senate. Secondly, you need him at this point: A man who had just told the whole world that $20 billion is missing from the national coffers is not the one to be sidelined, except of course you are hiding something.

Should the government not be interested in hearing him out; should the government not be interested in finding out what happened tour money; should the government of Goodluck Jonathan not be interested in how to recover our money and apprehend, and also punish the culprits involved? Obviously this administration is not interested in all of these.

The petroleum minister in trying to sell us a dummy instead came out in the throes of the ugly episode to say that the money was not missing, but rather the said amount was used to pay off kerosene subsidy! My goodness! But we learn that the said subsidy (has) or will bring down kerosene pump price to N50 per litre. But what do we get? Kerosine, the common man’s domestic fuel is gotten in the open market for between N130 – N170 per litre. Even after all the myriads of controversies surrounding the misappropriation of funds in NNPC, the huge oil subsidy frauds, etc, Mrs. Diezani Madueke has not been suspended, let alone sacked. And with Miss Stella Oduah at the helms of affairs at the aviation ministry, two bullet proof cars were purchased for N255 million, she was never suspended – come on!

 

Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

In civilised climes such persons as Mr. Sanusi will be encouraged to come forward to aid government in their investigations, but no, not here. This man has given very useful information to government, we ought to use him to clean up the mess he discovered and then investigate his own matter too and prosecute him if need be. But it is clear that these Nigerian leaders are not interested in the least in tackling the corruption monster bedeviling our society. They would rather grow it to an unprecedented height. This nation is headed for the abyss if we continue like this. We are not even talking about insecurity and others yet. But may God help us all.

That day of reckoning still has to come before we get straightened out. That revolution has become inevitable. All we need is good governance; we should all be united in calling for that and not these ethnic, religious, or political sentiments that some peddle around. Our kind of so called democracy has failed woefully. But what does it matter, all that Nigeria needs is an exemplary, bold leader, and I do not care if he or she comes from Sao Tome & Principe. Truly speaking and in the words of a public commentator, I honestly feel “Nigeria needs a benevolent dictator”. Such a person cannot come from this present system. 

By: Morgan Nwanguma

Unwarranted Embarrassment

I feel utterly disgusted that the assembly members at the Senate yesterday could behave the way they did. At the screening of ministerial nominees yesterday members of the Senate decided to exhibit the most immature behaviour by the totally unwarranted embarrassment meted out to one of the nominees – who happens to be a nominee of President Goodluck Jonathan himself.

Alh Abduljelili Adesiyan

In the process they left the very important questions out and instead were harassing Alhaji Abduljelili Oyewole Adesiyan from Osun State. They started with the ridiculous question: “Did you kill Chief Bola Ige?” They continued in this embarrassment until the gentleman broke down and sobbed in his defence; they even made him to swear by the Quran right there in the house!

Just imagine what the civilised world will be thinking of us when they hear or watch this kind of shameful behaviour of our law makers. Now, my question is: Is the House of Senate a court of law; was the nominee on trial; if they felt he was guilty of some sort of offence, why was he cleared to stand for nomination in the first place? And even if Alh Adesiyan had a hand in the murder of late Bola Ige, did they expect him to have said yes I did it? 

One would have loved to ask the senators in reply – if Alh Adesiyan was the one that told all the security guards at Bola Ige’s house to go and eat at the same time on that ill-fated night; who was the one that withdrew all of Bola Ige’s personal police guards and orderly that before then were always found around him? 

Also, Chief Omisore who was roundly indicted in the said act has for long been having a field day in the house – having won election while in detention, nobody is asking him any questions. We all know the roles of Omisore, Atiku, and Obasanjo in that unspeakable crime, but the future will tell. 

 

One is not in any way defending the man, but it is just that the place and time was completely wrong for the kind of exercise they were putting up yesterday at the Senate. If they think he is guilty, then they should go and try him in a competent court of law. These law makers of ours need to be called to order quickly.

By: Morgan Nwanguma