MADAM SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPS IS NOT A MOTHER

The achievements of the women that dotted the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasango left one impression in the psyche of many Nigerians-Women can do it better. What with the Akunyilis, Okonjo-Iwualas, Oby Onyekwelus among many others. In conservative terms, Nigerians welcomed the election of Mrs. P. Etteh as the Speaker of the lower house of the National Assembly. Many people, especially the PDP guys wanted us to believe that it was not just a gender issue but because of the ability of Madam Speaker. The first step can be so costly. Beyond the endless thanksgivings organized in honour of the first Nigerian female Speaker, so little has been heard or seen about the speaker.

Today however, that enthusiasm has suffered a heavy blow. Suddenly, Madam speaker's house, newly refurbished in 2003 together with that of his deputy is due for renovation at the whooping sum of 628 million naira. Well, part of the money they have cleverly argued is for the acquisition of 12 choice cars for the Speaker and her deputy. Whatever your level of mathematical formation is, I am sure you have heard the unofficial population figure of 150 million. Out of these, more than 70% by current UNDP figures live below $1 a day. One dollar is approximately 128 naira depending on your choice of market-black or 'white'. I leave you to work out the details of the alternative use this money could be put into to uplift the living standard of the most vulnerable of our population. The intriguing question is, how can a mother with children do a thing like this? The guardian editorial today categorically questions if Madam Speaker would approve of such renovation if the houses were hers and to be renovated from her pocket. Your guess is as good as mine. Madam Speaker, if you ever meet a man whose monthly salary from the same government is 6,000 naira with what face are you going to walk into your palace? Her Majesty the Queen Speaker, I am sure by now those of your family that have conscience would have started denouncing you just as I disown you as a Nigerian. Does this Madam Speaker know the infant mortality rate in Nigeria, does she know the number of out of school children of school age, does she have the figures of Under 5 mortality rate? Where do we possibly console ourselves? These politicians have not learnt anything. My advice to the Dishonourable speaker is to resign her position and apologise to the Nigerian women for betraying the compassion of motherhood and then to entire Nigerians for misplacing her mandate. You are not a mother!!!!!

Re: Thinking the Unthinkable

The author of this article starts with a bold premises, framing up a good line of theoretical frameworks and building on the workability and justification for his conviction that the Nigerian state is irredeemable. Wait a moment for that is not the end of the story, he has a caveat 'let us go back to old skool', 'let us call back the colonial masters' ; 'let us admit that we don't have the capacity' or worse still, that there exists a deprivation of capabilities that he considers pathological. THE BLACK MAN IS INCAPABLE OF SELF-ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNANCE. One line of argument interest me, not for its sophistication but for its implications. If the famous Newtonian law of gravitation is used as a benchmark and an example of the unthinkable, may be the author is wishing Nigeria an irrevocable colonial dominance. It is either that he is short of historical trends that lend to the evolution of the so called developed countries or he is yet to appreciate the impact of that type of rule, years after the end of apartheid in South Africa. Most African scholars agree that there is a strong correlation between the state of African Nations and their colonial past. While this cannot be waved aside, I am of the strong believe that we can do better and more strongly yet, that there will be a third day for the resurrection. After rain they say, comes sunshine.

Yes,it is difficult to resist the argument that failed leadership is the main factor that has stalled national development. It is even more difficult to sustain that we have been anything close to an upward movement. Ours is a sad story of a consistent drift on a downward slop often told by those who are as guilty as the system. Nigerians have grown weired like their leaders. But this is not our contention neither is it our end. The global system, the way it is configured now, makes both corruption and dictatorship less fashionable. If not any other thing, Nigerians are becoming more aware of things and at the long run we shall get things right. God bless Nigeria and Nigerians. Make it a personal commitment to do good at all times and in time Nigeria will be good.

EFCC: SHALL WE HAIL THE PRESIDENT???

A good number of us have started recanting our positions, taking new positions and consolidating on others. EFCC's credibility was questioned when at the expiration of the OBJ years of disaster the anti-corruption czar took a back seat to the surprise of many Nigerians. It was a veiled confirmation, many columnists claimed, of its identity as OBJ's witch-hunting machinery. The events of the last one month have however jilted many Nigerians, critics and admirers 'are these guys really out for business?' or are they continuing with the suppression of the old enemies of the Egba-tin god? My guess is yes and no. Before we hail Mr. President, let us respire for a longer time and see how far the EFCC goes. It is only time and Mr. Yar'Adua, whom God has placed the destiny of this nation into his hands, that can tell. With OBJ still lurking around the corner, we must wait while he coughs to know what next we get from the new deal. If EFCC goes all the way, then OBJ beware of Malam Yar'Adua!!! It is a long time for the waiting game.

THE GHOST OF OBJ

There is an unusual calm in the countenance of the new president that gives one the impression that he is a man on a mission who is taking time to put the bits to good shape. Could it be that he is taking his time to win the battle of legitimacy that is tilted against his regime? Is he waiting for the whistle blower (OBJ) to say, you can go Shehu? Well, I consider it wise to give this man the benefit of doubt. He might just be his own man trying to understand the 'impossibility' called Nigeria. His list of ministers to the national assembly does not give credence to my hopes. However, when the chips are down I am confident that democracy will continue to refine itself. What do we say about, Mr. Egbaman (OBJ)The supreme commander of PDP Board of Trustee and the omega point of one queer PDP creation 'whatever on legislative agenda'. OBJ is everywhere in this government and it will take Yar'Adua some years to be his own man. Nigerians should be alert to call this man back if OBJ decides to draw him all to himself.

GEAR TWO: LOOKING INTO YOUR EYES

My compatriot, looking into your eyes after the reign of terror that followed the general elections, I can see once again frustration trickling down your eyes. I could almost feel the anguish of your heart. If not for being a communicator, I assure you that I would have given up reading Nigerian news because it is a recycled scenario that holds no novelty. Yes, you must admit that the elections of this year was one more time worse than the previous one. One of my friends and a great proponent of evolutionary politics might be leaning on the law of diminishing returns to catch up with this massive perpetration of injustice. But what I see is that if the trend is an exponential sophistication of fraud and thuggery, the blatant co-option of 'independent' institutions like Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Security operatives, then we are not in a learning process because in learning each stage improves on the former.

Tears, only but tears trickled down my eyes. It was in CNN, BBC; Aljazeera among others, that this country is a pariah state. Weep not my child, weep not my darling for those who made spirited effort to keep our heads high are not giving up the struggle. We are not giving up the struggle because democracy is not about elections only but the consolidation of democratic values. While others may have chosen to wait again for four years to come out and tell us that God has sent them to take over the affairs of our country, look out for those who after elections are ready to keep galvanizing our voices and to put smile in the face of many downtrodden Nigerians.

We are getting it right, we are resorting to gear two. The first gear was a hard start but the second puts us on a smooter ride. Don't forget that the higher we go, the better it shall be. Tighten your belt and let us ride on.

14th APRIL: SENSA PAROLE!!!! WITHOUT WORDS

After the 'free' and 'fair' elections conducted on the 14th; die hard optimists like us will still insist that the nation is not going to remain the same and that together we can change the situation. Was there elections by the way? My best imagination is that there was only a semblance of election because there was an electoral body, a day for election and political parties. However, beyond these, my mouth is shot. After all, I was not in Nigeria.

If I cannot trust the media reports from both the international and local media perhaps, I could trust my Mum whom I called on the night of the 14th. 'Ikem, I did not vote' she responded. Why didn't you vote? 'My son, we got there(pooling boot) but there was no sign of voting going on, no officials, no voting materials, nothing'. What did you do then? 'Around 2:30 in the after noon some heavily armed uniformed men took over the place and there was a rather sham pretence of voting for 30 minutes and that was it'. 'My son forget this place, we don't really belong'

My poor mother left in desperation, once again disenfranchised and hopeless. Mum, don't worry, I am caught without words just like many Nigerians but the end is very close, I can smell it and as long as we keep the hope, we shall not remain speechless for long.

ARARUME: LEARNING THE HARD WAY

Only God knows what is going on in the mind of Ifeanyi Ararume, the disgraced, disqualified and disdained erstwhile governorship candidate of PDP in Imo state. The poor masses are laughing last obviously. Ararume is not a victim of political grand posturing of the Aso Rock gods, he is a victim of a fallout of a gang to which he belongs. May be governorship candidate was the promise that held him as one of the most vocal supporters of the failed third term for Mr:President. Charles Ugwu the Abuja anointed candidate was also an apostle of third term, if not the first person to mention it during his valedictory speech as the out-going Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). Now that God has said no to both men, I call it nemesis for Ararume, a failure for PDP and a deterrent to other self-seeking Nigerian politicians. The trade off for Ararume is too costly. We are having the last laugh.

ONE YEAR INTO YAR'ADUA'S ADMINISTRATION

It sounds obviously like a detour, from campaigning for a change to prediting victory for the hawks. Yes, I have to admit to myself that it is a kind of a defeatist approach. Let us look at it this way, a desperate president has seen something about the future of Nigeria that the rest of us have not seen. He is committed to realizing what his best approach to it is and has deployed all the arms in his arsenal to fight the way. One thing that he knows is that he has lost the battle at the court of public opinion and by extension public vote. He arbitrarily declares public holidays to scuttle court processes and constantly positions himself as the Lord of the Mano. The day comes as Mr. President expects and Yar'Adua wins. My People it is not a free and fair election, once again it is going to be a selection, one tainted by hawkish interests.

No, it is too early to succumb. What happened in Imo state is an eye opener, Baba is not having it his way all the way. yet again, before this time, Adebayo Adefarati the deceased AD presidential candidate lost out to a battle between life and death. Our presidential hopeful is to say the least more fragile than the late Adefarati, that is not to predict his death anyway. Democracy has a way of refining itself. While men will keep playing gods in African situation, the dice might swing in a minute.

Ikennamindset is not sold to pessimism and refused to buy into the arguments of several of my friends who are theorists of a social evolution that cannot escape the mistakes of others in the light of new knowledge and advancement in science and technology.

Mark this, one year into Yar'Adua's administration, OBJ will have the course to say, why did I make this type of monumental mistake. His pet dogs will be his ferocious enemies and bite him they must do.

AND IWU DIED IN HISTORY!!!

Maurice Iwu or whatever he is called, is not to be considered an honest man by my own modest standard. Exibiting that usual I-have-soiled-my-hand attitude, the umpire has decided a game that is yet to begin. But does Mr. Iwu know that history is beckoning on him to win a credibility war in 2007 elections or forever be cast in the black book of history? I am hardly a sympathiser of AC (Action Congress) but I have the course to isolate the party as one of those who have consistently told us what Mr. President has not told us about himself. Their courage to wage a war against the War Lords of Aso Rock gives us little hope. Wait a moment, similar reason has made many of my friends to see Atiku as a hero. Much of his heroism are products of Baba's own lack of understanding of the affairs of men and his penchant for the Dudan-Barrack-type of show in Aso Rock. Before AC starts singing, let them be reminded that Nigerians are aware that they belong to the same garbage in which Nigerians want to throw the Umbrella men.

If you are with me, you will almost be asking the same question. Why does obeying court order constitute a problem for Mr. Iwu? May be the alleged Mass he was said to have booked for Andy Uba is getting him so drunk that he wants to help God to see that the victory of Ubah is a prayer answered as prayed. Chris Ngige and other candidates legally reinstated by the court of law should be allowed in the spirit of justice to contest elections.

As doubts hang on the air as to the future of this election, the death of Adebayo Adefarati, the AD presidential candidate has not helped issue. It might be the all-time-needed window for Mr. President to sit-put. While FG is pretending to be against this, we know OBJ too well to dispel these possibilities. Somebody should help me tell Iwu that Nigerian youths are not sleeping and hiding in the US after the election will not save him from the chaos to which he wants to throw this country.

AT ALL TIME, REMEMBER THAT THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF OUR NATION STARTS FROM THE MIND. PROF. PAT UTOMI REPRESENTS THE FACE OF A NEW SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS. VOTE FOR NIGERIA, VOTE FOR PAT UTOMI AND GHANA-MUST GO QUITS THE DICTIONARY OF OUR BODY POLITY

PAT UTOMI: NIGERIA 2007 AND THE EMPOWERED CASUALTIES

Nigeria is obviously at cross road, marred by a reckless political class, bundled by a garrison commander in the name of a President, and constantly conned by politicians who have no idea that power is exercised with responsibility. In Nigeria it is a season of victories and disputes in the political circle, a season of apologies, a season of declarations, a season of ‘look my way, I am a saint. I am not like them’ and ‘look at them they are the thieves’. A season for those holding the umbrella (PDP) and those wilding the broom (AC) to sweep away the umbrella men. It is really a season of accusations-the election fever that follow politicians’ endless and egoistic battle for the soul of our nation. The President fired a shot against the major opposition AC (Action Congress) led by the Vice President with the acronym ‘Alliance for Corruption’. The vice president fired back; the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a Poverty Development Party. It is a season when court rulings are celebrated and the same breached without consequences. While both present the thesis and the anti-thesis, obviously, the synthesis is that of the masses and our judgment is that it is a season for the casualties. It is a country, my dear country, where George Orwell will definitely finish the unfinished work in ‘ANIMAL FARM’.

The victims, the casualties are the poor masses, me and you who have been driven far across the borders to suffer indignation in the hands of immigration officers and some chronic racists. The casualties are the traders whose little money has lost purchasing power due to inflation and harsh business environment. The casualties, the lonely casualties -those voices we may never hear again, are those who died in motor accidents because of bad roads, those who got killed by armed robbers who lost out in the unemployment battle with hunger. Those pensioners, who gave their all to this nation, yet stand endlessly in queues begging for their hard earned money. The casualties are the teaming Nigerian youths who stay under rain and sun at Walter Carrington Avenue begging visitors (Foreign missions) in their own country to allow them to leave this fire called Nigeria. Among these promising breed of young men and women are found, graduates who by virtue of lack of engagement in their fields of study; are loosing the finer parts of their academic training. Those beautiful young ladies whom hardship has driven into prostitution are also there. Nigerian youths keep transversing seas and oceans, dangerous forests and deserts to escape from this grave of a home in search of a greener pasture. Many get to their destinations; others perish in the deserts and get drowned at the sea. Petroleum supply has remained top in our importation list and electricity supply the most epileptic in the continent, making many families unhappy possessors of generating sets that best pollute the already polluted environment. Nigeria is once again under a siege.

Forgive my style but the only business that thrives in Nigeria is the business of politics, where men who never knew what it means to do business are the controllers of the economy. Looters of treasury are celebrated and the vicious circle is entrenched in the mentality of an average citizen. Corruption has become the rule of the game rather than the exception. In spite of the roaring and posturing of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), those who control its operations are the architects of corruption. The campaign office of the Vice President recently questioned the multi-billion naira business of the seating President; who as at 1998 when he came out from prison had only 20,000 naira in his account. Mr. President responded that he borrowed 2Billion naira from a bank. In eight straight years, this borrowed money exponentially increased to a thousand fold. What a business environment, where only the President’s business witnesses a boom? Nothing could be farther from the truth or did Mr. President use Nigeria as collateral? (Probably the Petroleum ministry under him).

Is it not absurd that within the last eight years this country that generated its highest revenue ever and still lavish in poverty with untold hardship among the citizenry? Is it not even more dumbfounding, that Mr. President woke up one morning in a desperate bid to deal with his Vice and declared the former’s seat vacant? It took some wise counsels for the government to understand that the military man in President Obasanjo is not used to reading constitutions. Again, this action was at the prompting of a lame party structure whose officers are concerned more about getting settled by the President than looking into his eyes. Is it not absurd? Is it not absurd that a seating governor is kidnapped and those who perpetrated the evil were rewarded with heavy police security around them when many Nigerians perish for lack of security?

To borrow the words of Sen. Femi Okuruonmo, AC (Action Congress) like PDP represents the same structure, the same culture of corruption and subjugation of the citizens’ needs and rights. The two parties are ideological twins separated only by personal political differences and more strongly bonded by the creed of relative individual aggrandizement.

But the casualties are not only those who died in the war, they include also the emissaries of war. Yes, the ultimate casualty of this mess will definitely be these hawks in the corridor of power. This is the birth of a new season, when the present casualties must rise in unison and change the hands of time. This season is a season for ordinary Nigerians, the casualties, to reclaim their lost ground through their treasured vote. If our generation must see the light at the end of the tunnel, then we must turn to embrace new faces that hold those precious values of leadership as stewardship precious. Prof. Pat Utomi represents that hope, that aspiration, that yearning for a country whose leadership is driven by commitment, competence, accountability, transparency, humility and service.

2007 general election is decisive for the future of our country and those who care about its outcome would need to make informed choices. Many Nigerians have given up on the country and have taken to political disengagement. Prof. Pat Utomi calls it ‘Hope in Recession’. In a well articulated article in one of the Nigerian dailies, Sen. Udo Udoma emphasized that the power of one vote in a democracy is so fundamental that only that one can make the whole difference. If we are to re-live 1999 and 2003, will you vote (General) Obasanjo? If we are to re-live 1983-1985, will you vote for (General) Buhari? Can we trust Alhaji Abubakar Atiku with his rhetoric? Let us embrace the future with hope, action and not just resignation. Those who keep criticizing the system without making any attempt to change it would take responsibility for the evil that await us. A vote for Pat Utomi is a guarantee for the future, for progressive politics and for a government to which that home call to its numerous citizens abroad will be an irrevocable vocation and whose bonding with the poor masses will be a covenant of liberation and empowerment. If we cannot vote abroad, we can influence those at home to vote wisely.

MY PREFERENCE 4 UTOMI PRESIDENCY

PUT ON YOUR SEAT BELT!!!So many of my friends ask me on which side of the political divide do I fall into? My answer is that there are no political divides in Nigeria as that concept would be referring to the Right, Left, Center, Center Right, Center Left and as many of such categories that follow ideological leanings in western political thought and practice. I am as such on the fence, more for lack of choice than for lack of position. When there are no positions, what you get are accidental groupings that disintegrate as soon as differential interests manifest. In our jungle democracy what obtains actually is a concentration on winning elections. The consequence is that winning elections become the ends and not the means of democracy. Having lost out in seeking ideological leanings reflected in party structures, I am now a candidate-driven democrat. Pat Utomi is one person that Nigerians need as a matter of urgency. May be you are yet to know him.

If you have never believed me, this is your last chance to believe that a revolution is going on in Nigeria. The chief revolutionary is Prof. Pat Utomi. Pat is full of humanity, he is a man who through diligence and hard work earned for himself the admiration of all value driven Nigerians and even those who hate him for not trading the 'usual road' of unholy compromise, acknowledge that here is the man for today's Nigeria. When others are busy buying crowds in the big stadium, Pat is in the villages talking with the deprived, he is found among the market women encouraging and learning from them. When others float NGOs to seek government patronage, Pat is building a Center for Values in Leadership to make sure that my mindset and yours is not infected by the diseases of our villains past and present. When others are musing about creating ministries to take care of Niger Delta, Pat is busy constructing a road map in which the Niger Delta people will work themselves out of the situation. When others are buying and stock piling arms for elections, Pat is building the army of servant-leaders in the street, servant leaders in the schools, servant leaders in businesses, servant leaders in government, servant leaders among musicians, actors and actresses. He is the man who knows that everybody is a leader and that factor underlies every sincere approach to development.

The shepherd looks for his sheep and not vice versa. For those in Nigerian politics today the reverse is exactly the same. I bet you, Pat has gone to rural areas to look for his sheep because for a nation whose 75% of its population live in rural areas, mounting rallies in the cities and paying crowds marks the laziness of those who seek to shepherd to look for their sheep. Pat found me and I am sure he will also find you. ECCO LA MIA PREFERENZA!!! (ITALIAN)BEHOLD MY PREFERENCE. BUT BUT BUT: WE ARE THE ACTORS NOT THE SPECTATORS. VOTE FOR PAT UTOMI, CAMPAIGN FOR PAT UTOMI, HE WILL PAY YOU BACK BY GIVING BACK THE POWER TO YOU AND I. HE IS THE FACE OF A NEW NIGERIA

If I am not driving you too far, I suggest you just go further with two or three clicks at www.utomi2007.com, www.europe4nigeria.com, www.utominotes.com, www.nairaland.com and many more sites. Make sure you share with me your discoveries.

MY FRUSTRATIONS

So many are my frustrations with our beloved country Nigeria. They might not be different from yours because we are telling the same story from different points of view. Locked up in the web of identity crises and an ultimate search for where I truly belong, my heart and head are so separated by differences in desire as much as rage. My heart longs for my fatherland, where I was born and brought up, where the cheers in the neighbourhood bring an unknown joy, where the language I speak is part of me from origin, where the song I sang were those of my ancestors, where the dreams I dreamt were those of progress, where communal humanity enriches our collectivity and individuality, where I greet and acknowledge greetings from all. Disappointments is all that I see, as leadership fail and citizens praise corruption, admire arrogance and demonstrate resignation and weakness. Waisted are the labours of our heroes past, yet we can be heroes for the next generation.

Yet my head, that lone ranger is more at home with the West, where the basic comforts of life are assured, where the dignity of human person is sacrosanct, where the infrastructures appear to be wonderfully fixed by the arms of the creator, where the police protect the rich and the poor, where hunger exist in the media presentation of the Southern divide of the world, where the leadership is answerable to the people and where majority of the citizens have relatively comfortable jobs or conducive environment to do business. They are reaping the labours of their heroes past. My rage towards the West is by no means diminished by the above, the so called civilized West, where individualism threatens human relationship and constrains us to a mechanistic co-habitation, the West where colours determine acceptance and integration a paternal extension of the good will of the West.

My spirit succumbs in pain because laced with the milk of human kindness, with the brotherhood we share, we could achieve more. We can save ourselves embarrassment of race bias, of doing odd jobs with advanced educational background, of blaming immigration laws just by thinking home, yes, by looking at our frustrations from the actors perspective because those who hold our future hostage, who make it impossible to think that things can change for the better will sooner than later know, when my mindset and yours turn to those precious values which permeate and transform all social relations, that the end has come for the masqueraders.

WHEN HOME CALLS

Life is an accumulation of experience, a constant growth in knowledge, a plunge into the unknown, yet the invisibility of tomorrow is resolved by the provision of some 'safety nets' for the shape we want the future to take. Our knowledge base is thus a spring board, a bridge upon which the pathway leading to a sustainable future is constructed. How I admire Nigerians, the boldness of their aspiration, the wealth of their knowledge and the richness of their experience. How I bemoan the poverty of our action and the levity of our attitude, the pessimism of our hearts, the ability of formulating and postulating policies and the inefficiency that double cross our intentions. This blog is meant to stimulate our thought towards an action based approach to the resolution of our personal problems with our father land. It focuses on the life of those in diaspora and shares the experience of those at home who want to leave that country at the blow of the first whistle. We can share our experience and remember that the north and south pole do not define the anscestral blood in our vains. Home ultimately calls and the time to answer the call is not far...