Friday morning musings

"There is fire on the mountain and nobody seems to be on the run" That was Asa singing four years ago. Writing or thinking about Nigeria most times has a way of putting someone in a despondent mood. Anytime I think of writing about my beloved country, I subconsciously discard the synopsis that was already formed on my mind. Why should I go through the mental torture of birthing what was on my mind, putting pen to paper or typing it out as the case may be and still feel like "alarudale bi oko tipper"-a truck?

It is very easy to give up on Nigeria. It is very easy to gloat and adopt and castigate someone for not voting for your preferred candidate in the last elections. Buhari or Ribadu would have done a better job, some people would argue. What people forget easily is that a society that does not care so much about its human capital will pay a very stiff price.

Some people miss the point, they say our leaders are bad. Babangida institutionalized corruption. Obasanjo was corrupt...blah blah blah What have you done to actually better yourself and make yourself a better member of society?

At the tertiary education level in Nigeria, it hasn't been good since the 1980's. A lot of people were vying to get into University and there were not enough universities to cater to the increasing number of applicants. A lot of students got enrolled to study courses that had little or no semblance to what they were interested in life. The situation didn't get better until some private universities were granted licenses to commence operations about a decade ago. With the addition of the private universities, a lot of students who hitherto would not have had the opportunity to attend a good quality university due to JAMB and other issues were enrolled and finished their studies in the time period they were meant to study.

A lot of students now though, sadly more than in previous years are not guaranteed to study at tertiary levels even when they have the pre-requisite grades. A lot more are settling for courses that they probably never knew existed before they got told that if they want to enroll, that is the only available department. It is not difficult to find students who wanted to study computer science and were told to enroll for Botany instead. There are students studying Philosophy who wanted to study Law to become lawyers.

It may surprise or shock you to know that 1.2million prospective students from a total of 1.7million people who wrote the JAMB exam this year will not be able to attend University in Nigeria even if they pass the examinations. Only about 500,000 students will be able to enroll into university this year...federal, state and private universities included.

Most of those who were denied good quality education starting from the 1980's are now adults and the quality of public discourse to a very large extent reflects the kind of education that they got. Majority of those born in the 1990's who have not really known a good Nigeria. People who could afford private schools attended private schools up to secondary school level. They either continue their studies in a private higher institution or check out options abroad. However, it is increasingly becoming very difficult to see the advantage of having attended a private institution where one was supposed to receive a good education and public institutions that are clinging to questionable maxims.

It is very incredulous to find out that someone who purportedly wrote the WASSCE or NECO examination and passed with a very good grade in the English Language subject cannot write a formal letter. The best they will tell you is that, "Oh Ok, they used to give us this thing as an assignment back then."

Look no further than the major online forums that shapen the public discourse among the 15-40 age bracket in Nigeria today e.g. Linda Ikeji,forums on Nairaland and Naijapals, etc., it is either they are talking about Kelly Rowland flashing her undies or Kim K's butt. Hardly do you find most of the online forums and accidental celebrities championing a good public cause. They would rather convict public officials who allegedly dip their hands into the till, irrelevant stories from Dailymail, UK and the shenanigans that someone in the US or Europe has been up to. Bad grammar, uncouth attitudes and blatant disrespect for the opinion of others are a common thread on these forums.

While it is the right of these kinds of groups or individuals to exist or put out whatever it is that they do, their influence and domination of popular culture is worrisome to say the least. Their acceptance by a society who should demand better is the real tragedy. It is not too late to save the future generation by investing in a good society that takes education very seriously.

Boko Haram...What will Buhari do?

Photo Source: The Nation Online

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria has been called every unprintable name that you can imagine. After the general elections last year, it seemed like there was nothing happening in government circles that was reminiscent of the "auto-drift" era of the last Yaradua days. The audacity of the Boko Haram to move from bombing banks and police posts to the UN building gave the group more worldwide coverage. Since then, "Boko Haram" has bombed churches, schools, police posts, media offices, etc. and up till now, it seems like the group has waxed stronger instead of being weakened. With the indictment of the PDP on Boko Haram by the National Security Adviser recently and not forgetting that the bombs are still going off, I asked myself a question: What will Buhari do about Boko Haram if he was President of Nigeria?

When Dame P. Jonathan came to town

Last week, the Nigerian media was awash with the discomfort experienced by Lagosians when Dam Jonathan, the first Lady came to town.
One problem with Nigerians, especially those with computers or smartphones that can connect to the internet is that we don't always get our facts right before commenting on issues.

Not taking anything away from the inconvenience that the visit caused a lot of people but blaming Jonathan's wife is like taking it too far.

Is Dame responsible for coordinating her own security or determining her own security protocols?
Can she even ask her security details for the security plans that have been put in place for her visit to Lagos? The answer is NO!

Let us blame the Nigerian Police Force in Lagos. The IG of Police recently directed that all road blocks in Nigeria be dismantled except if the President and his wife are exempt from that directive.
let us forget about the state government traffic agencies for now who claim they were not informed beforehand of the visit.
Also, let us not forget to blame the SSS and other federal agencies who are directly or indirectly responsible for the security of the First Lady.
Forget about Dame, she just happens to be the first lady.
It could be Bimbo Fashola tomorrow who will be the First Lady. What happens if we dont point fingers in the wrong direction now? We blame her and wait for the next in line to also grind another day to a halt...

God bless Nigeria!!!

Kofi in Syria

Photograph: AP
Kofi Annan is in Syria as a special envoy of the UN and the Arab league. What is worrisome is the attitude of the loose coalition of the friends of Syria and other high ranking officials of the U.S. and Western Europe.

It seems like they are just waiting for Kofi Annan to fail and have a "legitimate" (sic) reason to finish Bashar Al-Assad once and for all.

I really hope Kofi succeeds in brokering a peace deal in Syria and bring an end to the massacre of the Syrian people from government and opposition forces alike.

However, as a commentator on CNN pointed out 2 days ago, "Kofi Annan is the wrongest man for the wrongest job at the wrongest time."

Kofi is no doubt a fine diplomat with impressive credentials and a very good outing as the UN Secretary General. He is on record to have declared the US-led invasion of Iraq as illegal. However, as the head of the UN, he was not able to prevent a coalition of some countries not to invade Iraq.

Kofi also failed to resolve to a logical conclusion the Cyprus problem that has been going on for decades. Even though, he is credited with the last major plan that the South Cypriots rejected and was overwhelmingly voted for by Northern Cypriots, the Cyprus problem still persists and all there is to show for all his effort is the "Kofi Annan plan".

As I mentioned earlier, Kofi is a very fine diplomat and I really hope he can bring his influence to bear on the Syrian government and opposition forces to cease fire and rebuild their country.

Who do I think would do a better job in Syria? The ex-Nigerian President Obasanjo.

2Face releases new album?

Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir- I Never lost My Praise

Arthur Unegbe & Victor Banjo...Heroes or Villains?

It has been a while since I posted something of note on this blog. Recent happenings in the Nigerian polity have woken me from my slumber and got me thinking.

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (Rtd?) has recently been in the news and has ruffled not a few feathers in just a couple of days.
What could he possibly know that has kickstarted a smear campaign against him by people who were hitherto regarded as saints, untouchables and untaintables?

One thing is for sure, a man who has been locked up for 13 years has got nothing much to lose. Going by the number of weeks/months that recent VERY High profile cases in the country were dispensed with or paused indefinitely, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha has served and over-served the number of years He would have been sentenced taking into consideration that He might have been allowed to plea-bargain as in the norm these days.

Before Major Hamza Al-Mustapha is branded a Hero by teeming Nigerian cyber-activists, lets take a trip back memory lane and take a look at the role that two characters played that has earned them a place in Nigerian History. Were they Heroes or Villians?
The two characters are Lt. Col Arthur Unegbe and Lt. Col Victor Banjo.
So much has been written about them by so many people and I will not pretend to have a new insight on who they were or what they stood for. I'll just surmise what I know.

Lt. Col Arthur Unegbe
Lt. Col. Unegbe is remembered correctly or incorrectly as the Igboman that clogged the wheels of the first Nigerian coup, January 15, 1966.
Lt. Col. Unegbe was the Quartermaster-General of the Nigerian Army at Army Headquarters in Lagos and supposedly had the key to the armory which the coupists were keen to get into to secure weapon and ammunition. He was killed for resisting. Most historians have painted him a man that was averse to the coup and his killing during the coup has undermined the propaganda that the coup was by IGBO men in the Nigerian Millitary to entrench the interest of IGBOs in the Nigerian polity.
Max Siollun on dawodu.com has a different take on why Unegbe was killed. Please read http://www.dawodu.com/siollun1.htm

Lt. Col Victor Banjo
A few years ago at the Covenant University Library, I read "Breaking the silence" by Victor Banjo's elder sister who i believe did her best to portray her brother as an unfortunate victim of circumstances.
Lt. Col Victor Banjo was the first Nigerian Director of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps of the Nigerian Army. In those days, young educated men who enlisted in the Nigerian army quickly rose up the ranks and were in control of vital positions before they clocked 30.
Victor Banjo was killed on the orders of the Biafran authorities together with Lt. Col. Ifeajuna on September 22 1967, the man who conceptualised the Jan. 15, 1966 coup.
That is an irony for students of history to explore. How could Ifeajuna who planned an IGBO coup be executed by the Supreme Millitary Council of Biafra?
For more on Victor Banjo, please Read this piece by Reuben Abati http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/reuben-abati/victor-banjos-gift-to-the-nation-18.html

As someone said, someone's hero is another's villain.

What is your take on Arthur Unegbe and Victor Banjo? Heroes or Villains?