ADIEU MADIBA

You deserve a place in heaven!

Sleep well Nelson Mandela!

Nigeria: The New Sodom?

Nigeria has become reputable with murders and senseless killings by religious fundamentalists, using our unhealthy religious beliefs as basis for slaughtering ourselves on a daily basis.  Based on events the world over, this is not the type of killings that tend to go away very easily.  Sadly, many have died and many more will die.

Nigerians are beginning to get accustomed to tragedy as a way of life.  This is changing the way we see ourselves and live our lives. The recent events in Nigeria caused by religious beliefs and other negative socio-political events are shaping our lives in a very dangerous way.

Every Nigerian waits daily for the next tragic news to come from Nigeria in various news medium, not for once are they disappointed because you can be sure that another tragedy has just happened or about to happen.  Nigeria is a gun powder, already exploding and not many people understand the magnanimity of the problem at the moment. These problems does not seem to show any sign of abating and our leaders are not with an immediate plan on how to curb the ‘sodomic’ problem we have put ourselves in.

This way of life is not worthy for anyone living on this planet.  Living in Nigeria is like knowing the day you are going to die, our beautiful country is now converted to a dungeon of gallows.  You are not particularly sure how the next set of people will die, but you can be certain many people will die soon. 

As 2013 is drawing to a close gradually, this year has been full of unpleasant news from Nigeria, ranging from suicide bombings in the North by religious bigots and terrorists, armed who are fighting for their gods, leading to the death of many innocent Nigerians.  There is kidnapping and armed robbery.

Except something is done urgently, I see Nigeria on the path to sudden destruction.  

I Give Up On Nigeria. - Part 1

I love Nigeria, Nigeria is at the top of my heart; full of human and natural resources, with the best in educated and enlightened people. I have strong believe in the potentials and ability of the country as one of best in the world. However, Nigerians have continually betrayed my trust.

Nigerians are very egocentric; they know the right things to do for the progress of all, but always choose not to. We always concentrate on self-progress and not collective-progress of all, no country works like that. A selected few swindle the wealth of the rest to themselves and this has continued over several decades, with no sign of abating. Those we trust with our affairs are the worst for it. Despite our level of education and international exposure, we have continued to be enmeshed in tribal and religious conflicts, killing ourselves for selfish reasons. They say that you do not live next to a river and bath with sand, that is not the case in Nigeria, not only do we bath with sand, we also sleep in it. Our years of education amounts to nothing more than ego-boosting chauvinism, it has been a game of everyone for himself alone and not the other way round.

The average Nigerians have been failed repeatedly, they have been left alone in the rain for so long, soaked with no shelter. They have not received any support from the government they so much believe in. Everyday of their lives is a struggle for survival, of what use is the government that cannot provide the basic things of life to its people. Nigerians have been made to suffer more than any of their contemporaries in other countries, they have been repeatedly denied their basic rights, they make and fix their own road themselves, provide their own security as the police cannot be trusted, they have to access and pump their own water, they have to source their own power supply and other basic amenities. Of what good is a country that cannot provide these amenities for its citizens?

The world can see the potentials in Nigeria, the prime minister of England was in Nigeria recently, and gave a very inspiring speech about the potentials in the country. He said the future is in Nigeria, but Nigerians have not seen the future yet, we are confused and do not know where to start from. Nothing so far is working in Nigeria. We are all glad that the world is praising the potentials, but our leaders are clueless. President Jonathan wants Nigeria to work going by his facebook wrangling, but he does not seem to have a clue of what to do to make Nigeria work. He has already spent 2 months in office with no visible evidence of what he stands to do to turn things around. His only noticeable project so far is trying to have his tenure increased to 6 years term, how absurd.

Corruption is still everywhere you go in the the country, every one wants to eat in the national cake, even children of Nigeria knows what corruption is about and they openly participate in it. Nigerians now see corrupt practises as a way of life, we all must cheat or be cheated. Our best brains would rather use their brains to scam foreigners through advance fee fraud and 419, spoiling our already decrepit image. Justice is openly denied and there is no orderliness or procedure anywhere you go, from the police on the street to the public office staff, even private individuals expect money to change hands before anything tangible can be done for you. We take 2 steps forward and 4 steps backward, all our efforts to turn things around have met rigid opposition from those benefiting from these joke. Innocent people are assassinated on a daily basis for no just reason, the countries image is stained by the blood of these innocent people. I think it is getting late to turn things around in Nigeria, corrupt politicians easily slaughter anyone trying to stop their schemes. We are in a big mess that many of us have underrated.

We are not investing in research to develop the country; we believe more in God to come and clear our mess, which He has not created in the first place. We continue to inflict unnecessary pains on ourselves, fighting and causing undue harm, killing our friends and neighbours because of tribal and religious differences, which should be what binds us together. There is division everywhere you go, the government is divided, the religious houses are divided; its blood for blood. The tribes are divided against itself, the Ibos sees the Hausa as the enemy and Yoruba can’t stand the Ibo; but why can't we all come together as one to develop our land? An Hausa president is seen as belonging to the Hausa and the Yoruba president belonging to the Yoruba’s, lets not forget the aftermath of the last presidential election, with the northern youth slaughtering every one in sight that is not from the north, because President Jonathan have been declared winner, when he is not from the North, this is a terrible signal for the future of the country. How more insane can it get?

These abnormalities have continued over a long period, and there seems to be no solution at hand, we are all just dragging along in this joke we call a nation. It is mind bugling to know that despite our wealth and potentials, average Nigerians have suffered this much over such a long time and nothing seems changing. I am bitter for Nigeria, I am bitter for our leaders; who have put us in this mess, I am bitter for my children whose future has not been protected, as a matter of fact…..I give up on Nigeria. To be continued.

Corruption! - Abiola Olaifa's Opionion.

1. What are the causes of corruption?

The greatest cause of corruption in Nigeria is greed; there are too many greedy people in Nigeria. Individuality clearly supersedes collectively. The concept of one for all, all for is not in any way practiced in Nigeria.

Secondly we pay too much attention to money than is necessary and this is done at the detriment of a quality life. People are too drawn to money in Nigeria and clearly money has lost its intrinsic value in Nigeria. The effect of this is that everyone is desperate to acquire money through legitimate or illegitimate means. Peoples value money more than life and if this happens, the purpose of money itself is lost. There is huge chaos in Nigeria, massive level of corruption as result of greed, selfishness and human’s wickedness to each other.

In UK as an example, your next door neighbour may be a Millionaire; you will only know this if you see their bank account. They are modest, they wear the same type of jeans that everyone wears, rides same cars like everyone else, greets and participate in activities as every other neighbour, they show respect to one other and are never boastful. They respect everyone irrespective of their financial strength, until we bring ourselves to this level, we will continue to struggle with corruption.

Reverse is the case in Nigeria, everyone wants to show off in Nigeria, we do not respect our lives, but you are rated only on the basis of how much you have to show off and share around. If you are not rich in Nigeria, you are seen as an idiot. This is a shameful trend that encourages corruption.

2. How do we expose the corrupt?

We all need one voice in the corruption fight. The concept of if you can’t beat them, you better join them must stop. We all need to be part of the fight to nip corruption in the bud. As much as we all need money to go through life, the illicit acquisition of money and show of grandeur in Nigeria needs to be curtailed, this is driving the country in the straight path to destruction.

There are many people showing off the wealth they acquire through their illegitimate means. We need to stop this show of shame; it is driving more people to embrace very dangerous corrupt means to acquire money at all cost. As difficult as it sounds, let us bring back the old days of civility and start to shun corruption. Let’s say no to bribe. Let’s stop to give recognition to people who we cannot identify their source of wealth. Let’s root out corruption anywhere we are and avoid tagging along with corrupt people.

3. What are the new ways to fight corruption?

It is important to have a judicial system that works, so every identified corrupt people is brought to book and given adequate punishment that matches their offense. Everybody embracing corruption is a criminal and we must treat them as criminals that they are, not as hero. We all know corrupt people around us; let’s expose them, so we can bring them to book.

We need a good policing system, one that is devoid of corruption and can do the job as necessary and there is need for the police to embrace the power of technology to track and investigate corruption through adequate forensic process.

We must not give any room for corruption, joining to share in the loot is same as carrying out the loot. We need openness and not close door approach to activity involving money exchange and there is also the need to constantly sensitize ourselves about corruption and the damages it si doing for us.

4. Tackling corruption: can citizens make a difference.

The Citizens of Nigeria have a lot of work to do in fighting corruption. As much as we have experienced many high level corruptions among our leaders in Nigeria, I still feel the citizens of Nigeria have not done any better either. Nigerians easily participate in corruption without blinking their eyes and the trend is worse than we may think.

The Citizen of Nigeria needs to shun corruption and work to develop a nation we can all be proud of.

5. If you were Mr. President today, how will you fight corruption?

If I am the President, my top priority will be to better the battered image of Nigeria. Nigeria’s image at the moment is not good both home and abroad and we are not doing much to stop the wave of corruption ravaging the economy.

I will do all everything within my power to deal with the cabals responsible for corruption in Nigeria and follow due process to bring them to justice.

I will ensure my government sign up to zero tolerance in fighting corruption.

I will institute a new anti-corruption body who will work as forensic auditors in all ministries and public parastatals to track, audit and empower the bodies to bring to justice anyone caught performing any act of corruption.

6. What does it takes to be a corruption fighter?

You need a lot of discipline and conscience. Be driven by a desire to achieve a good quality life and not just a fat bank account. Be resolute to fight and not be inundated by distractions all around.

The Pandemic Rate of Road Accidents In Nigeria.

Nigeria road is a death trap, a bomb ready to explode, going by the report given by the Federal Road Safety Corps recently as researched by WHO, out of 192 countries ranked, Nigeria came 191 in number of deaths caused by road accidents, coming as the 2nd worst country in the world. It states further that 162 people die from road accidents from every 100, 000 Nigerian, this is a pandemic. This report indicates that road accidents is gradually overtaking deaths from Malaria and Tuberculosis. Road accidents in Nigeria have claimed some of our best brains, ranging from all known professions. The tide is very high and has got to a dangerous proportion and we all need to do something to stem this critical, but avoidable development.

The principal cause of road accidents in Nigeria is the state of our roads, they are poorly constructed and very rarely managed. Our roads are in such state that driving on it is very risky, the roads are constantly in poor state and do not follow international standards causing quick degradation and deterioration. Roads like any structure deteriorates due to accumulated damage from vehicles and environment forces like oxidation, thermal cracking etc. Every roads should have life span, which needs to be adhered to strictly and should be constantly tested for degradation, joint and crack formation. Our roads should be constantly maintained to reduce this negative environmental impacts and in effect help to drive down deaths suffered as a result of road accidents in Nigeria.

Most of the roads in Nigeria do not have traffic signs, the few roads with signs are poorly marked and most drivers have not gone through any formal drivers training or assessments to learn the signs. People simply get on the road and just drive their cars. An average life on the road in Nigeria is a chaos, most people do not obey, know or follow any traffic rules. Driving in Nigeria is a game of who is the smartest and these have led to unnecessary accidents and deaths. It is very sad to know that portholes are still on our busiest motor-ways and are left unattended for so long that it ends up claiming so many lives. Many driver bump into those portholes, causing their cars to somersault, while others run into other vehicles on the road, while trying to avoid the portholes, leading to untimely deaths.

Traffic signs are very important if we want to reduce road accidents, it is not an option we can ignore. There are several categories of road signs we need to enact as advised by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968, part of these signs are danger warning signs, priority signs, prohibitive or restrictive signs, mandatory signs, special regulations signs, direction, position and indication signs, also information, facilities and service signs. These and more signs needs to be enacted in Nigeria, it will guide non-local drivers and help to drastically bring down road accident figures in Nigeria.

A lot of Nigerians invest their earning on cars that have already been scrapped from their source countries, but they believe their illiterate road-side mechanic can do the magic and bring the cars back to live, this often dilapidated and overused cars lead to road accidents and air pollution, which is very prevalent in Nigeria. Nigeria has become the dumping ground for scrapped, unmotorised cars and other equipments, most vehicles on our roads are are badly maintained, over-aged and not fit for the roads. These cars constantly find their ways into Nigeria on a daily basis.

The long held belief that 'Tokunbo (used cars) cars are better than new cars is unfortunate and should be done away with, there is no way used cars would be better than new, we will only continue to risk our lives and cause more deaths if we continue to use cars that should be scrapped. Some people even prefer to buy used car tyres, the tyres ends up bursting while the car is in motion. It is not compulsory for all of us to drive, if you cannot afford good and sustainable cars, you might as well not bother, rather than buying cars that will eventually terminate your life.

There is need for improved standards among the engineers that maintain vehicles in Nigeria, currently the available workforce falls way below the international standards and Nigerians need to start getting careful of the mechanic they give their cars to for repair. Most Nigerians seldom service their cars, they only remember the mechanic when the car breaks down, this is not right and servicing of cars regularly will go a long way in reducing road accidents.

We must also be mindful of the speed that we travel, speed limits are often neglected in Nigeria despite our bad roads, these makes it a lot difficult for drivers to control the cars in a reasonable manner when things go wrong. A lot can still easily get their drivers license from the comfort of their homes without undergoing any test or learn how to drive formally, that way we have so many unlearned drivers on our roads increasing the level of road accidents in Nigeria. Loads in our vehicles should be weight, a 75 tons trailer should not be made to do 100 tons, it will help the driver to control the large vehicles when things go wrong and will save our roads from constant damage.

A lot of our vehicle owners are not helping the situation, a vehicle that is designed to accommodate 4 passengers, are often overstretched to carry as much as 7 passengers. Our commercial vehicle operators are not helping either, they are only concerned about the money they make, and often redesign the sitting pattern of their commercial vehicles to accommodate as many people as they can get in. Nigeria needs to have regulations in place to determine the number of people that should be in each brands of vehicle at any particular time. 'Lapping' in commercial vehicles should be stopped and conductors must be made to sit and not hang on the doors. Accidental deaths caused by commercial vehicles are on the high and we need to address these as soon as we can.

abiolla@gmail.com