Take a ride to our block.
They’ve got us brothers/
shedding tears, reminiscing on all our fears/
cos things have been hectic these past ten years/
it appears that we’ve been marked for death/
all these heartless threats/
the underlying cause off all the stress/
and no rest, forever weary/
my eyes stay teary for all the brothers that we’ve buried in the creeks and cemeteries/
things are scary/
and all this makes for sensation unnecessary/
we’re all worried/
teardrops and closed caskets, the death toll on us is drastic on them soldiers and us Delta bastards/
what can we do in our oppressed state but open fire?/
Life in penury ain’t for we cos we’de rather die/
But please don’t cry through your despair/
I wonder if the Lord still cares for us brothers here/
and who cares if we survive?/
The only reason they’ve noticed us is cos we’re clutching on AK47s/
My neigbourhood ain’t the same/
cos all the little children are going crazy, suffering in all the stress/
and I tell you this place is a trap/
but I’m not giving up on this land/
its all good when I go back/
folks show me love, brothers give me props/
cos the party don’t stop/
on our block/
Living life is but a dream/
hard times is all we’ve seen/
Maybe one day this life will change for we/
And our block we still pray.
Now things are constantly hot/
on our block, there never fail to be gunshots/
can’t explain a mother’s pain when her son drops/
Nigerian male sleeping in hell/
when will we prevail/
fearing death but crime, bunkering, kidnapping got me living well/
I know that you say I’m suicidal with this thug life/
staying strapped with bullets in a crap existence/
But I was starving, I couldn’t get a job/
so I resorted to robbery since my life was hard/
I can’t sleep cos all the dirt make my heart hurt/
all this pain plus shedding tears for my dead peers/
misled from childhood by these corrupt elders/
till this day I’m still praying for a better way/
can’t help but feel hopeless and heartbroke/
from the start I knew that these elders were destroying us/
in my heart, I feel all alone out here on my own/
I close my eyes and picture home on our block.
Living life is but a dream…
And I can’t help but wonder why/
so many young kids and their mothers had to die/
caught in the middle of the hail from our AKs/
from the government and from their sons/
we all cry for broken lives/
Mama, come inside/
cos our block is filled with danger/
used to be a close knit community /
but now we’re all close strangers/
time changes us to stone and drug addicts/
all up and down the block exterminating black life/
How can I blame my brothers?/
when our roads, hospitals, schools and welfare has bought our elders chrome wheels/
all this is real/
do you feel the tragedy?/
staying trapped, fantasies of a brother living fat but held back/
pipe dreams can make the night seem hopeless/
wide-eyed I’m losing focus on our block.
Living life is but a dream/
hard times is all we’ve seen/
maybe one day this life will change for we/
and our block we still pray…
and our block we still pray.
Adapted from the Rap Song, “My Block” by Tupac Shakur.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Night Cometh
Oil is the flavor of the day now, but that is going to change. There is absolutely no way the West is going to allow the present paradigm continue indefinitely; great efforts and sacrifices are going to be made to change it. Who believes that they will rest their strategic energy policy on the current global energy model? This is a system that has them at the mercy of ambivalent, unstable and downright hostile powers. Also, the “Green” community has gained incredible momentum politically, socially and, very importantly, scientifically such that energy security and environmental concerns now have a common objective of ending their reliance on oil. We are in the oil dominance end game.
If anyone doubts what it will mean for the profitability of oil should the west move off oil, consider the effects the economic slow down in the US is having on the price; from a high of 130/140 dollars, the price of a barrel has dropped to under a 100 dollars in a little over 6 weeks. What this means is, just because America is spending a lot less on gasoline (just gasoline), the demand drop has been very sharp. So imagine what would happen should America move of oil completely; the price of a barrel would be at par with that of a loaf of bread. And you can be sure the US won’t move alone-the UK and Western Europe would move too.
Conventional wisdom here has it that, should Nigeria’s oil finish tomorrow, it would be a most excellent thing. I understand the sentiment. The barbaric greed and avarice that has spawned the incomprehensible under-development of Nigeria is blamed in part on the “free” money oil provides; it is not an industry that requires too much local content or investment, we are paid just for the fact that we have oil in our land. Inherently it doesn’t breed any type of expertise or skill sets that would distinguish the nation in any field of endeavor. Its “free” revenue: we don’t have to lift a finger to earn it or worry too much about how we spend it. It breeds a financial mercenary type attitude in those who are in positions of power. We are at ease in this monolithic economic bubble. The mantra is, “getasmuchasyoucanforyourself”.
Therefore if the oil finished, so would the free revenue and then we would be forced to face reality. Can you imagine Nigeria not been able to source 10 million dollars in 6 months? I will not go there… no more state allocations, no money to pay salaries, the sudden realization that we are not skilled enough to be part of the global press for investment and markets, the way we would so disappear from the world’s radar screen and nobody would care…I will not go there.
I have heard this sentiment from eminent people like Simon Kolawole, Wole Soyinka et al, and while I understand the sentiment, I do not agree with it. Oil should have been an easy way out for us, the means by which we took our great leap into the post industrial revolution age, and integrated ourselves into the global economy proper. Look at the Gulf States. No developmental suffering for them, they have no need to borrow from anybody, they are not at anyone’s mercy, they have the advantage (as we do) of standing with the best because of their oil revenue. Simply put, they are not re-inventing the wheel. Look at their HUGE Sovereign Wealth Funds. (Can you believe they have started supporting aid work here?)Building their infrastructure to beyond world class, leveraging their oil income to invest and take huge positions in the global economy, training a lot of their young people in the best schools and universities in the west and luring knowledge investments in their economies. They have a vision beyond oil and are positioning themselves as financial and business hubs in their regions by establishing financial centers, luring top financial institutions to establish a significant presence in their territories and developing programs that encourage entrepreneurship. They are building excellent healthcare systems. They are luring top sportsmen and women so that their sporting events acquire top prestige, they are buying a 100 A380 planes to modernize their fleets such that in the next 10 years they would be able to compete with the best anywhere and above all, they are branding themselves so aggressively, we all believe what they are saying about themselves.
These people will not suffer should oil become another commodity tomorrow. They are taking the high speed express to join the global economy without all the grunt work of those who don’t have the resources. They are taking full advantage of their opportunities. Why won’t we do the same? We are a nation of 150 million people living in a land that has enough space; we have the fortune of earning this ‘free’ money all these Gulf States are earning. We don’t have to suffer in the coming Green Revolution. Our revenues can power education, power an agriculture renaissance (why are we even whining about the west’s farming subsidies when we can play that game better?), power a revolution in the financial sector. Does anyone think that 25 billion naira is the end? Why can’t our financial institutions take advantage of current market conditions to buy companies like Lehman Brothers, AIG? What is so hard about that? 250 million dollars? 1.2 billion dollars? Odili stole more than that in his first 6 months in office. Why aren’t we building world class infrastructure, organizing events that bring the world to our doors? We have the unique opportunity of putting together a coherent national development plan without thinking too much of how to get the resources to execute.
We are not ready and we will suffer for it. The collective body language of our leaders (political, cultural, and business) and those-in-waiting in Nigeria is greed. We are so blinded by it, they cannot see beyond their eyelashes. All we are good for is their stomachs. I do not know whether to attribute this to a lack of exposure or just plain gross illiteracy. Its totally overwhelming. It is totally beyond belief. I have run into a few and I am aghast at the things that concern us, the issues that occupy our minds. I am often struck by a feeling that we are driven by an inferiority complex; we try to show themselves by the cars we drive, the houses we have, the size of our bank accounts, the cultural respect we’ve earned and so on; mine-is-bigger-than-yours. And yes, its both men and women. We have no self interest or self love that I can see-what is on display is just gross stupidity.
We need a renaissance. We need a renewal in the attitude of our minds. We need to wakeup and make hay while the sun still shines. The Night cometh.
If anyone doubts what it will mean for the profitability of oil should the west move off oil, consider the effects the economic slow down in the US is having on the price; from a high of 130/140 dollars, the price of a barrel has dropped to under a 100 dollars in a little over 6 weeks. What this means is, just because America is spending a lot less on gasoline (just gasoline), the demand drop has been very sharp. So imagine what would happen should America move of oil completely; the price of a barrel would be at par with that of a loaf of bread. And you can be sure the US won’t move alone-the UK and Western Europe would move too.
Conventional wisdom here has it that, should Nigeria’s oil finish tomorrow, it would be a most excellent thing. I understand the sentiment. The barbaric greed and avarice that has spawned the incomprehensible under-development of Nigeria is blamed in part on the “free” money oil provides; it is not an industry that requires too much local content or investment, we are paid just for the fact that we have oil in our land. Inherently it doesn’t breed any type of expertise or skill sets that would distinguish the nation in any field of endeavor. Its “free” revenue: we don’t have to lift a finger to earn it or worry too much about how we spend it. It breeds a financial mercenary type attitude in those who are in positions of power. We are at ease in this monolithic economic bubble. The mantra is, “getasmuchasyoucanforyourself”.
Therefore if the oil finished, so would the free revenue and then we would be forced to face reality. Can you imagine Nigeria not been able to source 10 million dollars in 6 months? I will not go there… no more state allocations, no money to pay salaries, the sudden realization that we are not skilled enough to be part of the global press for investment and markets, the way we would so disappear from the world’s radar screen and nobody would care…I will not go there.
I have heard this sentiment from eminent people like Simon Kolawole, Wole Soyinka et al, and while I understand the sentiment, I do not agree with it. Oil should have been an easy way out for us, the means by which we took our great leap into the post industrial revolution age, and integrated ourselves into the global economy proper. Look at the Gulf States. No developmental suffering for them, they have no need to borrow from anybody, they are not at anyone’s mercy, they have the advantage (as we do) of standing with the best because of their oil revenue. Simply put, they are not re-inventing the wheel. Look at their HUGE Sovereign Wealth Funds. (Can you believe they have started supporting aid work here?)Building their infrastructure to beyond world class, leveraging their oil income to invest and take huge positions in the global economy, training a lot of their young people in the best schools and universities in the west and luring knowledge investments in their economies. They have a vision beyond oil and are positioning themselves as financial and business hubs in their regions by establishing financial centers, luring top financial institutions to establish a significant presence in their territories and developing programs that encourage entrepreneurship. They are building excellent healthcare systems. They are luring top sportsmen and women so that their sporting events acquire top prestige, they are buying a 100 A380 planes to modernize their fleets such that in the next 10 years they would be able to compete with the best anywhere and above all, they are branding themselves so aggressively, we all believe what they are saying about themselves.
These people will not suffer should oil become another commodity tomorrow. They are taking the high speed express to join the global economy without all the grunt work of those who don’t have the resources. They are taking full advantage of their opportunities. Why won’t we do the same? We are a nation of 150 million people living in a land that has enough space; we have the fortune of earning this ‘free’ money all these Gulf States are earning. We don’t have to suffer in the coming Green Revolution. Our revenues can power education, power an agriculture renaissance (why are we even whining about the west’s farming subsidies when we can play that game better?), power a revolution in the financial sector. Does anyone think that 25 billion naira is the end? Why can’t our financial institutions take advantage of current market conditions to buy companies like Lehman Brothers, AIG? What is so hard about that? 250 million dollars? 1.2 billion dollars? Odili stole more than that in his first 6 months in office. Why aren’t we building world class infrastructure, organizing events that bring the world to our doors? We have the unique opportunity of putting together a coherent national development plan without thinking too much of how to get the resources to execute.
We are not ready and we will suffer for it. The collective body language of our leaders (political, cultural, and business) and those-in-waiting in Nigeria is greed. We are so blinded by it, they cannot see beyond their eyelashes. All we are good for is their stomachs. I do not know whether to attribute this to a lack of exposure or just plain gross illiteracy. Its totally overwhelming. It is totally beyond belief. I have run into a few and I am aghast at the things that concern us, the issues that occupy our minds. I am often struck by a feeling that we are driven by an inferiority complex; we try to show themselves by the cars we drive, the houses we have, the size of our bank accounts, the cultural respect we’ve earned and so on; mine-is-bigger-than-yours. And yes, its both men and women. We have no self interest or self love that I can see-what is on display is just gross stupidity.
We need a renaissance. We need a renewal in the attitude of our minds. We need to wakeup and make hay while the sun still shines. The Night cometh.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
GODOT IS NOT COMING
I came across the play, ‘Waiting For Godot’ by Samuel Beckett, a few years ago. The original version was written in french between 1948 and 1949.
The drama follows two consecutive days, in the lives of two able bodied, old men who divert themselves as best they can while waiting expectantly for someone called Godot. They claim Godot to be an acquaintance but in fact hardly know him, admitting they wouldn’t recognize him if they saw him. To occupy themselves they eat, sleep, talk, argue, make up, sing, play games, exercise, swap hats, contemplate suicide ; anything so as “to hold the terrible silence at bay”. "Silence," says Beckett, "is pouring into this play like water into a sinking ship." There are in fact several extremely long pauses where communication breaks down completely. The play opens with Estragon struggling to remove his boot. He gives up for the moment. “Nothing to be done,” he says. Vladimir takes up the thought and muses on it identifying himself immediately as the more thoughtful of the pair. The implication here is that nothing is a thing that has to be done and this pair is going to have to spend the rest of the play doing it.
Of course, as with any significant literary work, it has been subjected to plenty of interpretations. I will be subscribing to the view that says it was written in the aftermath of the Great American Depression of the 1930s which lasted ten years-personal incomes were hard hit, prices of goods skyrocketed, taxes and profits all took a nose dive during this most excruciating period. In other words, a poor economy.
The impression I get from the play is, Godot is the Answer, their Messiah. He will show them what their lives are good for, he will provide their lack whatever it may be and satisfy all wants, he will quiet the discontent they feel and overpower the “terrible silence” of their lives-the purposelessness, the pain, that gaseous feeling of futility. He will bring prosperity, take away the heavy burden of personal responsibility and bring to them (or take them into) a ready made life much to their full liking and satisfaction. He will do all this for them free of charge and they won’t have to lift a finger. And this is the reality of my generation- the under 40s.
We are all waiting for Godot. Who he is, and how he will bring us into our own, we are not sure. But we just know there must be Godot somewhere, and we have different ideas: the government, our parents, our relatives, that man (husband), that woman, that job, that child, the cash money, that 419 scheme, that overseas education, that car, that church, that dress…
It goes on and on and on. You hear this idea expressed in modern day church sermons; its about to happen, your breakthrough is around the corner. Its never happening now-its always in the future. Its always someday, never today-this motivational blather is the stuff we use to encourage ourselves, to keep ourselves warm. “Someday”, we tell ourselves, “everything will be alright”.
The resultant effect is that we have become a generation that has sat still; we have wasted and squandered the opportunities we have, and could have had. Let me site a few examples: the thousands of ladies and young men in the University who have learning right in front of them, who do not understand the unique opportunity they have, to do the best with what they have-wasting their lives in cultism, quid pro quo relationships and just plain mopping. Yet we complain about the education system, how education outside Nigeria is heavenly and does all the work for you... this from people who don't understand algebra but want to take on calculus. So okay, what about those of us who have the opportunity to school in the heavenly realms? 90% of us come back with third class and pass degrees to pose and distort the job market. "I schooled at so and so in the UK...the US" is the only benefit we parted with all that money and calendar days for.
I know many young professionals and entrepreneurs who complain about the hours, bitch about the job and are always broke. We are looking for better jobs-those that pay more but demand less. In the meantime, our skill set atrophies and our self/knowledge development is very minimal-we learn, and do the minimum to get along. Our jobs are for posing. Oil companies, NGOs and the Telecom companies will be the salvation for us wearied souls.
Never mind that some of us have earned over 7 Million naira in two years but cannot boast of any solid investments. Never mind that some of our ventures have been very successful but instead of taking it to the next level, we promote ourselves big boys and girls. We have the hummers, new benzas, the wardrobe and accessories to prove it.
Girls waiting to bag the necessary degrees: B.sc, M.R.S. The first is some sort of prerequisite for the second-cram, cheat, lie, just do what you can to get it. The second is really the most important, and will more than make up any sacrifices for the first.
The young man will know how to treat her right to deliver from the miserable life she lives. They know how to prepare for the role of wife and mother…the position will make the woman.
I could continue. We are a generation that is tired before 30. Young men and women dragging their feet along life’s corridors with that victim’s stare in our eyes. So many chips on so many shoulders; so many things to prove to so many people.
We accuse the whole world of not knowing where they’re going, but we are not even moving. Bored middle class children take to seeking thrills: drugs, drink, smoke, armed robbery, pimping-prostitution, 419, cultism, bragging about nothing.
In the mean time, the bankrupt and corrupt baby boomer generation holds sway in almost everyway. They own and run business and finance, politics. They let you in willingly only up to a certain point, anything after that they try to shut you down; if they can’t, suddenly you become an enemy, a stubborn brat to be put down or ostracized. They hover over their children emotionally like a dark, angry rain cloud. This they do to breed guilt and a sense of being beholden so that one can never really take off. All they do, consciously and unconsciously, knowingly or ignorantly, is to make us dependent on them indefinitely. Independence is the enemy they battle in this generation.
We need to stop waiting for Godot. He is not coming today, tomorrow or ever. We need to truly believe it. There is no magic wand to be waved over our situation to turn cotton into gold, to bring prosperity while we lie on a bed of ease and complacency. There is no instant solution for the myriad difficulties that we face. And yes, you may have been grievously wronged, but the whine of those who are possessed of the victim’s spirit irritates the ears and soul of even the most forbearing and understanding.
Godot is not coming.
Of course, as with any significant literary work, it has been subjected to plenty of interpretations. I will be subscribing to the view that says it was written in the aftermath of the Great American Depression of the 1930s which lasted ten years-personal incomes were hard hit, prices of goods skyrocketed, taxes and profits all took a nose dive during this most excruciating period. In other words, a poor economy.
The impression I get from the play is, Godot is the Answer, their Messiah. He will show them what their lives are good for, he will provide their lack whatever it may be and satisfy all wants, he will quiet the discontent they feel and overpower the “terrible silence” of their lives-the purposelessness, the pain, that gaseous feeling of futility. He will bring prosperity, take away the heavy burden of personal responsibility and bring to them (or take them into) a ready made life much to their full liking and satisfaction. He will do all this for them free of charge and they won’t have to lift a finger. And this is the reality of my generation- the under 40s.
We are all waiting for Godot. Who he is, and how he will bring us into our own, we are not sure. But we just know there must be Godot somewhere, and we have different ideas: the government, our parents, our relatives, that man (husband), that woman, that job, that child, the cash money, that 419 scheme, that overseas education, that car, that church, that dress…
It goes on and on and on. You hear this idea expressed in modern day church sermons; its about to happen, your breakthrough is around the corner. Its never happening now-its always in the future. Its always someday, never today-this motivational blather is the stuff we use to encourage ourselves, to keep ourselves warm. “Someday”, we tell ourselves, “everything will be alright”.
The resultant effect is that we have become a generation that has sat still; we have wasted and squandered the opportunities we have, and could have had. Let me site a few examples: the thousands of ladies and young men in the University who have learning right in front of them, who do not understand the unique opportunity they have, to do the best with what they have-wasting their lives in cultism, quid pro quo relationships and just plain mopping. Yet we complain about the education system, how education outside Nigeria is heavenly and does all the work for you... this from people who don't understand algebra but want to take on calculus. So okay, what about those of us who have the opportunity to school in the heavenly realms? 90% of us come back with third class and pass degrees to pose and distort the job market. "I schooled at so and so in the UK...the US" is the only benefit we parted with all that money and calendar days for.
I know many young professionals and entrepreneurs who complain about the hours, bitch about the job and are always broke. We are looking for better jobs-those that pay more but demand less. In the meantime, our skill set atrophies and our self/knowledge development is very minimal-we learn, and do the minimum to get along. Our jobs are for posing. Oil companies, NGOs and the Telecom companies will be the salvation for us wearied souls.
Never mind that some of us have earned over 7 Million naira in two years but cannot boast of any solid investments. Never mind that some of our ventures have been very successful but instead of taking it to the next level, we promote ourselves big boys and girls. We have the hummers, new benzas, the wardrobe and accessories to prove it.
Girls waiting to bag the necessary degrees: B.sc, M.R.S. The first is some sort of prerequisite for the second-cram, cheat, lie, just do what you can to get it. The second is really the most important, and will more than make up any sacrifices for the first.
The young man will know how to treat her right to deliver from the miserable life she lives. They know how to prepare for the role of wife and mother…the position will make the woman.
I could continue. We are a generation that is tired before 30. Young men and women dragging their feet along life’s corridors with that victim’s stare in our eyes. So many chips on so many shoulders; so many things to prove to so many people.
We accuse the whole world of not knowing where they’re going, but we are not even moving. Bored middle class children take to seeking thrills: drugs, drink, smoke, armed robbery, pimping-prostitution, 419, cultism, bragging about nothing.
In the mean time, the bankrupt and corrupt baby boomer generation holds sway in almost everyway. They own and run business and finance, politics. They let you in willingly only up to a certain point, anything after that they try to shut you down; if they can’t, suddenly you become an enemy, a stubborn brat to be put down or ostracized. They hover over their children emotionally like a dark, angry rain cloud. This they do to breed guilt and a sense of being beholden so that one can never really take off. All they do, consciously and unconsciously, knowingly or ignorantly, is to make us dependent on them indefinitely. Independence is the enemy they battle in this generation.
We need to stop waiting for Godot. He is not coming today, tomorrow or ever. We need to truly believe it. There is no magic wand to be waved over our situation to turn cotton into gold, to bring prosperity while we lie on a bed of ease and complacency. There is no instant solution for the myriad difficulties that we face. And yes, you may have been grievously wronged, but the whine of those who are possessed of the victim’s spirit irritates the ears and soul of even the most forbearing and understanding.
Godot is not coming.
(With quotes from Wikipedia)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
KILL THAT NOISE 1
I hate armed robbers in particular with a passion. These are people, who on a normal day, one on one you could probably beat to death, but they come together in large numbers, they carry weapons with which they intimidate, and take from you and me by force, what is rightfully and legally ours. They dispossess us of our belongings, which we have worked hard for. They take from you, as if it is their right. It galls me.
They rape and traumatize women who on a normal day they could not hold their own with, ladies who would have them tongue tied: they prance around with that feeling that only a gun can give, they experience the thrill of being in control, of being respected and feared.
But just see them when the tide is turned: they are the most contrite and pitiful people you ever saw. “Oga”, they say, “na devil cause am. Na hunger…” All of a sudden, they are begging you with such earnestness and grief, it dumbfounds and you find yourself trying to reconcile the larger than life, dark, tall, ferocious being who carried guns you had never seen before even in the Rambo movies to the miserable waif sitting on the ground before you crying. Until he or she (you heard me: she!) is released: the way they will so revert to the monster you witnessed will be beyond you.
I have heard a lot of people blame this upsurge in armed robberies on hunger, unemployment, displacement… and I am here to vehemently disagree. No doubt, these things are factors that play some type of role, but their effects are at best tertiary. The first real problem is that there is no respect or fear of the law enforcement agencies. More and more, there is anarchy in the air- just come to the east and see the way in which weapons are bandied about. Secondly, the Nigerian politician is a reckless, lawless and arrogant/proud sort who is ready to burn the house down if he or she does not get their way. Nobody embodied this ideal more the past president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo.
He was leader of the rabid pack who used these same boys terrorizing us, for their dirty work and got them of the hook with law enforcement. Like themselves, so many of these boys became untouchable and have established their own links with the security authorities. Explain this to me: how do three buses and two cars, full of gun-toting individuals make their way in the day time to a bank on the other side of Lagos, fire their guns in the air and rob for four hours with no fear? How does a gang of twenty young men, come out around 4pm, armed to the teeth and drive through Makurdi town and nothing happens? How can thirty gun wielding individuals hold most of Jos to ransom with no fear? It defies logic unless there is some very serious collaboration going on.
Large parts of the security apparatus have been compromised by politicians for their nefarious ends and have left the force debilitated and weak. Police Commissioners and DPOs come around politicians and co for settlement/payment for favours done. Some are even called this person’s “boy” or “person”.
How can twenty young men organize themselves in the way we are seeing? How do they get these sophisticated weapons? These things are not plucked from trees or dug from the ground. Most of them belong to the security forces.
There are big shots whom these boys are organized around. I dare say that 95% of robbers have godfathers, men who call themselves big men in society. These are the men who organize the planning, funding, weapons, logistics, and “political” backing for these hoodlums.
Any serious person will know that there is a network and that all that needs to be done is to strike the shepherds and the sheep will scatter. All this noise being made about patrols and vehicles and equipment is so, so secondary. Prevention is better than cures. If enough pressure is put on the SSS, you will see names and photographs; you will see a list of hideouts and a list of all backers. If the police force is too weak, call in military strike teams and ask them to begin to conduct surgical and precise strikes against all those identified. In two months, Nigeria will be quiet.
Have you ever come into contact with a top police officer before? I once met a Police Commissioner in Plateau State who nurtured and fed armed robbery in the city of peace and tourism: the man oozed corruption and vileness; there was something slippery and shadowy in his eyes. The very way he moved told you that this was a very, very dangerous man- a man of the underworld to look after the security of a state. The Police force is full of them, especially at the top.
Crime blossomed under the man until the Governor intervened to bring Paul Akanya-a straight shooter who didn’t give a damn, who went after anybody no matter who you where. Jos quieted down within the space of two months.
The truth is we are not yet serious. I have watched the Police Commissioner of Lagos very closely; the ethos round the man is tortured. He is trying to play a balancing act, trying not to offend “powerful people (criminals)” who could make life difficult for him politically. The passion and zeal he needs is being undermined by his perceived need to be cautious.
We need passionate and dedicated law enforcement people who are ready to go all out to kill this noise. They do not need to be noisemakers, the need not tell us all they are doing- they need not advertise their strategies or succumb to PR. Security speaks for itself. Period.
They rape and traumatize women who on a normal day they could not hold their own with, ladies who would have them tongue tied: they prance around with that feeling that only a gun can give, they experience the thrill of being in control, of being respected and feared.
But just see them when the tide is turned: they are the most contrite and pitiful people you ever saw. “Oga”, they say, “na devil cause am. Na hunger…” All of a sudden, they are begging you with such earnestness and grief, it dumbfounds and you find yourself trying to reconcile the larger than life, dark, tall, ferocious being who carried guns you had never seen before even in the Rambo movies to the miserable waif sitting on the ground before you crying. Until he or she (you heard me: she!) is released: the way they will so revert to the monster you witnessed will be beyond you.
I have heard a lot of people blame this upsurge in armed robberies on hunger, unemployment, displacement… and I am here to vehemently disagree. No doubt, these things are factors that play some type of role, but their effects are at best tertiary. The first real problem is that there is no respect or fear of the law enforcement agencies. More and more, there is anarchy in the air- just come to the east and see the way in which weapons are bandied about. Secondly, the Nigerian politician is a reckless, lawless and arrogant/proud sort who is ready to burn the house down if he or she does not get their way. Nobody embodied this ideal more the past president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo.
He was leader of the rabid pack who used these same boys terrorizing us, for their dirty work and got them of the hook with law enforcement. Like themselves, so many of these boys became untouchable and have established their own links with the security authorities. Explain this to me: how do three buses and two cars, full of gun-toting individuals make their way in the day time to a bank on the other side of Lagos, fire their guns in the air and rob for four hours with no fear? How does a gang of twenty young men, come out around 4pm, armed to the teeth and drive through Makurdi town and nothing happens? How can thirty gun wielding individuals hold most of Jos to ransom with no fear? It defies logic unless there is some very serious collaboration going on.
Large parts of the security apparatus have been compromised by politicians for their nefarious ends and have left the force debilitated and weak. Police Commissioners and DPOs come around politicians and co for settlement/payment for favours done. Some are even called this person’s “boy” or “person”.
How can twenty young men organize themselves in the way we are seeing? How do they get these sophisticated weapons? These things are not plucked from trees or dug from the ground. Most of them belong to the security forces.
There are big shots whom these boys are organized around. I dare say that 95% of robbers have godfathers, men who call themselves big men in society. These are the men who organize the planning, funding, weapons, logistics, and “political” backing for these hoodlums.
Any serious person will know that there is a network and that all that needs to be done is to strike the shepherds and the sheep will scatter. All this noise being made about patrols and vehicles and equipment is so, so secondary. Prevention is better than cures. If enough pressure is put on the SSS, you will see names and photographs; you will see a list of hideouts and a list of all backers. If the police force is too weak, call in military strike teams and ask them to begin to conduct surgical and precise strikes against all those identified. In two months, Nigeria will be quiet.
Have you ever come into contact with a top police officer before? I once met a Police Commissioner in Plateau State who nurtured and fed armed robbery in the city of peace and tourism: the man oozed corruption and vileness; there was something slippery and shadowy in his eyes. The very way he moved told you that this was a very, very dangerous man- a man of the underworld to look after the security of a state. The Police force is full of them, especially at the top.
Crime blossomed under the man until the Governor intervened to bring Paul Akanya-a straight shooter who didn’t give a damn, who went after anybody no matter who you where. Jos quieted down within the space of two months.
The truth is we are not yet serious. I have watched the Police Commissioner of Lagos very closely; the ethos round the man is tortured. He is trying to play a balancing act, trying not to offend “powerful people (criminals)” who could make life difficult for him politically. The passion and zeal he needs is being undermined by his perceived need to be cautious.
We need passionate and dedicated law enforcement people who are ready to go all out to kill this noise. They do not need to be noisemakers, the need not tell us all they are doing- they need not advertise their strategies or succumb to PR. Security speaks for itself. Period.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
All This Madness
We are it again. It has always amazed me how we love to major in the inconsequential while we leave the truly major and important things undone.
In a time like the one we face in our nation today, our legislators are debating female dressing. In the Nigeria of today?! Unbelievable! Who are these people for God’s sake?
What happened to the Niger Delta issue? The state of anarchy armed robbers have unleashed on us? The state of our healthcare and educational infrastructure? The state of our nation’s physical infrastructure? Electricity, Water? What happened to the fight against corruption? The one we are not winning by any stretch of the imagination?
There is so much work to be done if Nigeria is to become the world’s 20th most vibrant economy whenever. So much work to be done in so little time that one has to wonder at what type of human reality resides in the senate chambers discussing something as trivial as female dressing.
These are people who have work? I am of the opinion that most of them are possessed by legion-7 evil spirits multiplied by a 100. I have said , and thought, it so often, that the bane of Nigeria today is the baby boomer generation born in the late sixties and seventies.
Spoilt by a post-colonial government seeking complete self determination and progress, many of them schooled outside our country at no cost to themselves. Take a look at the home universities they schooled in, OAU, UNN, ABU, UI…even my own small ATBU. They ate food then that would give any dinner occasion now bragging rights. Look at the faded magnificence of those campuses and you can begin to understand what it must have been like back then. Then, look at what they left us. Compare that to the complete nonsense they build today.
In a time like the one we face in our nation today, our legislators are debating female dressing. In the Nigeria of today?! Unbelievable! Who are these people for God’s sake?
What happened to the Niger Delta issue? The state of anarchy armed robbers have unleashed on us? The state of our healthcare and educational infrastructure? The state of our nation’s physical infrastructure? Electricity, Water? What happened to the fight against corruption? The one we are not winning by any stretch of the imagination?
There is so much work to be done if Nigeria is to become the world’s 20th most vibrant economy whenever. So much work to be done in so little time that one has to wonder at what type of human reality resides in the senate chambers discussing something as trivial as female dressing.
These are people who have work? I am of the opinion that most of them are possessed by legion-7 evil spirits multiplied by a 100. I have said , and thought, it so often, that the bane of Nigeria today is the baby boomer generation born in the late sixties and seventies.
Spoilt by a post-colonial government seeking complete self determination and progress, many of them schooled outside our country at no cost to themselves. Take a look at the home universities they schooled in, OAU, UNN, ABU, UI…even my own small ATBU. They ate food then that would give any dinner occasion now bragging rights. Look at the faded magnificence of those campuses and you can begin to understand what it must have been like back then. Then, look at what they left us. Compare that to the complete nonsense they build today.
Welcomed back with open arms to the civil service, they were housed and maintained-neat houses and lawns, car loans and even light bulbs in drawers to replace those that got blown. These are the same who allowed the military in and helped corrupt them. These are now the men and women with so much self esteem issues that molehills become mountains in their shadows.
Our founding fathers, gravely imperfect as they were, had some noble dreams. These ones have absolutely NOTHING.
Look at what such a privileged generation turned Nigeria into. And instead of helping to fix the mess created, they discuss dressing. DRESSING! Its absolutely preposterous. Such a waste of our time and our petrodollars discussing and deliberating what we all know: everyone has the right to wear what they like and if you don’t like it, SHUT YOUR EYES AND LOOK AWAY. What is so mission critical about dressing?
I tell you what is critical: its armed robbers having a field day and policemen and women abandoned to violence by government. It’s the state of our road network, our power infrastructure, our education, our lack of housing, our poor corruption record (sorry, I stand corrected; our abysmal record on corruption).
Our founding fathers, gravely imperfect as they were, had some noble dreams. These ones have absolutely NOTHING.
Look at what such a privileged generation turned Nigeria into. And instead of helping to fix the mess created, they discuss dressing. DRESSING! Its absolutely preposterous. Such a waste of our time and our petrodollars discussing and deliberating what we all know: everyone has the right to wear what they like and if you don’t like it, SHUT YOUR EYES AND LOOK AWAY. What is so mission critical about dressing?
I tell you what is critical: its armed robbers having a field day and policemen and women abandoned to violence by government. It’s the state of our road network, our power infrastructure, our education, our lack of housing, our poor corruption record (sorry, I stand corrected; our abysmal record on corruption).
This baby boomer generation is an accursed lot. How so many of them got into power is truely mind boggling.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Slate Magazine - Editorial and Political Cartoons, Comic Strips
Slate Magazine - Editorial and Political Cartoons, Comic Strips
I'm back for good this time...it didn't quite work out well the first time round.
Lets begin like this.
I'm back for good this time...it didn't quite work out well the first time round.
Lets begin like this.
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