TORCHBEARER

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!!!

Sequel to the unending face-off between the dreaded gladiators of all time, ASUU and FG
N,  Amen? By the powers conferred on me consequent of the irresponsibility and insensitivity of the FG, Amen somebody,,I hereby “order” as follows:

1. All students should report for lectures at the federal or state ministries’ offices in states where their universities are located. Amen?!
2. They are to resume at the ministry relevant to their course of study and faculty .e.g. College of medicine students to ministry of health.etc.
3. All ministers are to second as Deans and Provosts for federal universities e.g. Ngozi as Dean, Faculty of Banking and Finance, Wike as Dean, Faculty of Education. Akinwunmi as Provost, College of Agricultural sciences Etc. While governors and commissioners are to replicate same at the state universities, Amen?
4. All senators and Representatives are to lecture in federal universities according to the committees in which they serve, while state assembly members take over the state lecture rooms.

This directive is necessitated by the revelation that the federal government has too much on its hands and education is the least of its concern, after all their children are not in any of the shut universities! GOD P##*#H THEM! Can I have a louder Amen?

ASUU SOLIDARITY FOREVER!!!

GREAT NIGERIAN STUDENTS! ALUTA CONTINUA, VICTORI ASCERTA!!!.

Just a little history to refresh our memory, pointing to the swiftness of the military to take over power at the slightness sign of misrule, corruption and insecurity in the country, I am drawing your attention to the “Maximum Tolerance Quotient” of our soldiers before they come to the rescue of the people.

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was the first elected Prime Minister, the first Republic under a British parliamentary system, He had only governed for five years (actually) 1960-Jan 1966 when “junior officers of the Nigerian army, mostly majors overthrew the government in a coup d’état.” Why did they take over?

1. To institute a strong and efficient government committed to a progressive agenda and eventually to new elections. 

2. To stop the post-electoral violence and stamp out corruption that they said was ubiquitous in the civilian administration.

General Johnson T. Aguiyi-Ironsi; 1966 (August 1): Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon (promise to return power to a democratically elected government in 1976); 1975 (October): Brigadier (later General) Murtala Mohammed (promised a 1979 restoration of democracy); 1976 (February 14): General Olusegun Obasanjo, all stepped in to restore order.

1979 (October 1)  Mission accomplished “General Obasanjo handed over to Alhaji Shehu Shagari as first elected executive President and the first politician to govern Nigeria since 1966.

But alas! After about five years again in 1983 Dec.31, following a coup d’état, for obviously the same reasons as before or maybe a little more such as “accusations of callousness and overzealousness”, the military returned to power.  Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, (who ruled for two years); 1985 Aug. 27 The army chief, General Ibrahim Babangida were named heads of state. In 1993 Aug. 26, Babangida, after ruling for eight years, grudgingly “stepped aside” and appointed an interim government headed by Chief Ernest A. Shonekan. And while Shonekan was still dusting his chair, 1993 Nov. 17 General Sani Abacha, defence minister, seized power, abolishes the constitution. Five years later 1998 (June 8): General Abacha died suddenly and mysteriously.

1998 (June 9): Gen. Abdul salaam Abubakar was named Nigeria's eighth military ruler. He promised to restore civilian rule promptly. Abubakar relinquished power on May 29, 1999 to former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo “winner” of the 1999 Feb.15 presidential election, the standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

In the 30 years of military rule we can point to the good and the bad of their administrations, and indeed their interventions at the time were justified and based on clear cases of corruption, insecurity and obvious threats to the wellbeing of the people, and all were as a result of the cries of the people coming into their ears. And in fairness to the military, apart from Abacha’s regime, I think they did averagely well, but not so much could be said of the civilian governments that we have had in this country, though as highhanded and forceful as their style may seem, they have accomplished more than we can ascribe to their civilian alternative. And I dare to say that if General Abdul salaam was the Head of state till date, (that is if he wasn’t overthrown) things wouldn’t be this bad. People who say that the worst democracy is better than the best of military rule should be having a rethink right now!

PDP has plunged this nation and the people into despair, misery, desolation and hopelessness over the past 12 years. The trademark of their stewardship is the auction of the nation’s assets and people to private and foreign investors! The telltale signs of their leadership are myopia, perplexity, woe and wretchedness! PDP has afflicted and plagued this nation with endemic corruption and terminal poverty! Their strategy to simulate compassion for the people is the phony programs they run. I call these programs e.g. ‘sure-p’, ’youwin’ etc  “turning of the waters” because the  beneficiaries are usually an insignificant and always selected few; obviously their party members. Who are they fooling?

The atrocities committed by PDP are exceedingly greater than those of the past military and civilian administrations put together, it is in fact exponential and with such infuriating impunity.

Personally, going by antecedence, I think the military have be silent for too long, and this of course brings to mind all the moves of General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, when he came to power; retiring top military officers, having meetings with the military in and outside the country, etc, then we believed it was all in good faith to secure our nascent democracy, but now our doubts and suspicions are being aroused. “Nigerian Armed Forces, I put this question to you, have you been bought by PDP?” don’t answer now, as events unfold, we shall all know your take. If in the midst of all these crises, PDP wins the presidential elections in 2015, that is, if any election will hold, and there is no military intervention, then all Nigerians and indeed the whole world will know that this is one massive and colossal scam in complicity with the Nigerian military!

Because your Maximum Tolerance Quotient is five (5) years!

PASTORS, DO NOT LAY HANDS HASTILY.

This is a special warning to pastors all around the world, do not lay hands hastily on anyone, because not everyone that has a predicament wants a solution, so before you pray for someone, ensure they need the miracle so that you don’t get yourself into trouble. For example if you are to minister to a barren woman ask her these fundamental questions and don’t proceed unless all are answered in the affirmative;

1.       Are you barren?

2.       Do you want to have a child?

3.       Does your boss at work want you to get pregnant?

4.       Does your husband want a child?

5.       Does your mother-in-law want you to have a child for her son?

TORCHBEARER: People we are happy to have you again in yet another exclusive interview with our Nation; Nigeria, you are welcome, Lets kick off, Nigeria In our last talk when I congratulated you on your 53rd independence anniversary, shockingly your response was that you had always been free, that it was the people that were colonized, please can you explain.

NIGERIA: Yes that was my submission and I still stand by it, every marker is pointing to the fact that the people’s independence was freedom into bondage. My people are not truly independent, because of a certainty if the British were still in control; I believe things won’t be this bad. If worse things are happening now than 53 years back then the people are not independent.   

TORCHBEARER: Now the federal government has set up an advisory committee to design the framework for a national dialogue, in an attempt to bring the people to round-table discussion on how to co-exist, what do you say about this, is it the right way to go?

NIGERIA: For the FG to agree to a National dialogue in the first instance is a shameless admittance of failure and its inability to provide responsible and visionary leadership to the people. The government has just technically declared a state of emergency; it is a confused and failed government and leadership that call on the people to tell it how to govern. The honorable thing to do is to admit its failure, resign and step aside; a lot of leaders have done that all over the world. You don’t call a national dialogue to take the pulse of the people and confirm your weakness and inefficiency.

TORCHBEARER: Nigeria, you have been around longer than any  of us, what do you say is the way forward, should the national conference hold or not?

NIGERIA: To what end and rationale must it hold? What is it expected to achieve? It is absolutely superfluous, a waste of time and sparse resources, from start to finish it is an exercise in ineffectuality, it will accomplish nothing but more dissonance, why put the people through the hassle and complicity of a national conference? This exercise is a drowning man grabbing at a straw approach; it won’t yield any tangible outcome. The blind ,the deaf and even the unborn knows that corruption and poverty are the arch demons that has held the people captive and they are being fueled, energized by the constitution, negligent and appalling governance, does the FG need a National conference to hear or address that problem? This conference as noble and expedient as it may appear is leading to another colossal corruption, you will hear of the billions that were spent on it.

TORCHBEARER: This is really getting very convoluted; I have actually believed that the conference will bring better things and a brighter future. What is the way forward, Nigeria?

NIGERIA: Typically, that is how it should be but in this case, the facts on ground and even the body language of the FG point to the contrary. 60% of annual budget on recurrent expenditure, more than 70% of youths and university graduates are unemployed/unemployable, massive and unabated oil theft, total collapse of vital sectors e.g. education, health, security, energy, infrastructure, and agriculture. Insurgences, communal clashes, etc all of these are incontrovertible indicators of a failed state and vision-less government. Does the FG need a conference to correct that? The answer is NO!                                                                         SOLUTIONS: Start from the top, (A) Downsize the government structure: the government structure especially political office is nauseatingly over-sized and overpaid. you don’t need a house of representatives and a senate, delete one, you don’t need ministers of states, special advisers, senior special advisers, appoint a technocrat minister who can advise and administer. Place everyone on the minimum wage structure. Political offices and appointment should be seen as a call to service not opportunity to amass wealth. Recurrent expenditure should not exceed 30% or less of annual spending.                                                                         (B) Prescribe stiffer penalties for misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds, theft and destruction of public resources and properties e.g. forfeiture of assets to government, stripping of all national honors and accolades, ban from participating in national events and any public office  appointment, imprisonment. This will reduce corruption and pave the way for addressing the issue of poverty.

TORCHBEARER: How do we alleviate poverty?

NIGERIA: Poverty alleviation starts from giving the right and relevant education, presently the children are not empowered to prosper, their education is archaic, extraneous and unsellable, the present curriculum should be reviewed and children must be empowered right from the cradle, education must be free and compulsory at all levels and funded from the center by the FG, Education should be modernized to integrate compulsorily academics, skill acquisition and sports, every child must be well grounded in all three. Some subjects and courses should be deleted outright from the curriculum. Teach only courses that have national and international economic values and impacts in the universities, it is hopeless for a student to go through four years of studying a course that he can’t sell or use to impact positively the society, I think it is a waste of life. The FG’s space science ambition is a misplaced priority and wastage. There are far more crucial matters to focus attention on and use money for.

TORCHBEARER: What then do you suggest that money be used for?

NIGERIA: I recommend that a social security fund be put in place, of what use is having excess crude earnings that politicians will squander on elections and frivolities?, put the money in the purse of the people to better their lots, let every person open a specialized social security account that will be linked directly and exclusively to their national identification numbers. Leading stable banks can be selected for this project. Government should pay every citizen above 21 years old,persons from age 0-21years a monthly stipend which can be assessed at their 21st birthday with consent of parents or guardians, I cannot begin to itemize the positive multiplier effects this will have on the present and future generations, consider the effect on crime, unemployment, social vices, workplace victimization, crave for secondhand products, terrorism and youth restiveness etc. The boost on personal dignity and respect, small and medium scale businesses, taxation and government revenue, exports, think about it. Yes, this sounds very ambitious, but it is not impossible. Anyone charged and prosecuted for criminal involvement will have his stipend suspended or cancelled.

TORCHBEARER: But how will this be funded, it looks so large and won’t it lead to another form of scam just like the petroleum subsidy.

NIGERIA: Good question, the account will be a savings /salary account so you can only make withdrawals in person, so when you don’t receive alerts on due date, you will ask questions. As for the funding, there is more than enough to go round, believe me, the FG can’t say there is no money,  you have other viable and untapped source of income virtually in every state, I am too blessed to have poor citizens, about 8 states are very rich in crude oil, why can’t you have a standard refinery in every oil producing state? you have no business importing petroleum products, you should be selling to every nation in Africa, On agriculture, you are so blessed that there is scarcely any state without something fantastic to offer, vast and fertile soil, every inch of land is suitable for a least 10 types of crops, crops with immense dietary, health and financial values, why sell your crops raw?, add value and process them into finished products.Cocoa.in the west, oil palm in the east, fruits and tubers in the middle belt, nuts and condiments in the north. Minerals are waiting to be tapped; tourism is lying fallow, vast and virgin. Poverty is an aberration in this land!    

TORCHBEARER: Nigerians I will leave you to consider these things because it is quite loaded and multifarious. Please let’s have your comments, feedback and questions on this matter. Thank you, and thank you Nigeria.