The Garrulous Mallam

I've been getting some comments and reactions to my posts and I really appreciate them (did I forget to mention criticisms too? I now feel like a blogger). This would be the last piece on the presidential debate and it's about Mallam Nuhu Ribadu the ACN  candidate who could not just stop talking. Clad in a white native attire, the Mallam was the best "talker" of the night. He couldn't just keep to time. It had it's negative side because he was the only one that was cautioned by the moderator and booed by the audience.

On the night, I believe he was the most eloquent and the most prepared (or even over prepared) but that doesn't mean you have to go against the rules of the debate. I believe if he wins the race he'll become another Fidel Castro and Moammar Gaddafi when it comes to UN general assembly speeches (if you don't know what I'm talking about, google "longest UN general assembly speeches") but unlike those two dictators, he has something cogent and reasonable to offer.

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu

There is nothing much to say his principles because they were reasonable but I have a problem with the way he was attacking the other candidates. Statements like "some people have been retired for 25 years while some of us have been working for the past 25 years" (was refering to Gen. Buhari) and "some of us have the global experience while some have not yet left the local level" (reffering to the Kano state Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau) were constantly resonating from his podium.

I believe that was poor judgement on his path. Looking at it very well, you came well "loaded" to the debate, why waste your precious little time being sarcastic and not laying down your ideas? I agree with his idea that Nigeria needs younger leaders. I think its time for young people to take active roles in politics in Nigeria (so all of you that are on strike, go and buy nimination forms). Most of the world leaders are not above 60 years old (unlike most of our presidential candidates). The old men need to rest.

But seriously… NIGERIA NEEDS YOUNG PEOPLE IN POLITICS!

The Insensitive Governor

Back to the presidential debate (I know some of you are tired of this but I'll just put one more post after this. Happy now?), I was awe struck at the attire one of the candidates was adorned in because it looked like a piece of tie-dye that I did I my JSS 3 in Fine Arts (ironically I got the highest mark for my "great" piece of art). I'm talking of no other person but Gov. Ibrahim Shekarau. Of all colours to wear, it was bright yellow that he decided to wear and he looked like a caricature when standing amidst his well clad opponents (I started to wonder if its against the Sharia law to have a wardrobe advisor).

Gov. Ibrahim Shekarau

Let's leave his clothes alone and focus on the man and his principles. During the debate, he was asked why he stopped the polio immunizations in Kano state (the state in which he is the Governor). I was shocked and it was as if I did not hear the question well (The Governor probably did not hear the question because he asked the moderator to repeat it). I started to think, what in the devil's vocabulary would stop a sane man to stop the immunization of babies in this time and age? He was giving some reasons (or excuses) but all of them were sounding like "blah blah blah blah blah…".

An Immunization worker (obviously not in Kano State)

Let's examine this. Nigeria is one of the few (I really mean few) countries where the disease called poliomyelitis is still present. Behind India, Nigeria is the second most infected country when it comes to this disease. It's a shame to still be battling with polio in this time and age. Cases of polio have not been recorded in many countries in over two (2) decades and some people in this world don't even know that the disease still exists (not to talk of it being a killer in some countries). And still, an elected public officer, who is serving in the capacity of the Governor of a State (the most populous state in Nigeria) has the audacity, guts and effrontery to stop the immunization of babies against poliomyelitis.

Showing the Polio Infested countries of the world

In my opinion this a crime and it is tantamount to the serial killing of children and it should be punishable. Let's face the fact, there is no pertinent reason to stop immunization and the action that the Governor took is a very insensitive one. He said he is a guidance counselor by profession but his action does not give any inclination that he saw the four walls of a classroom.

But seriously… LET'S KICK POLIO OUT OF NIGERIA! 

The Cynic General

Still on the presidential debate that was held this week, I must once again commend NN24 and its partners on the organization . The production was good, the stage setting and sound was of good quality and the moderator was harsh!!! (good for the candidates because she threw tough questions at them). Due to the quality of questions coming from the moderator and the tone she used, General Buhari was going off point (I believe he was shell shocked because as a general, he is not used to being questioned especially in that kind of tone by a younger "girl"). This probably led him to say that "Nigerians are corrupt and undisciplined".

Gen. Buhari

I my own opinion, I would say that the above statement is very negative and it shows the pessimistic, cynic and skeptic perspective that the General would use to tackle issues if he is voted into power. Come on General (or retired General), you have to have some faith in the people that you are leading. If you were I Christian, I would have asked if you knew the power of negative thoughts and speech (maybe your running mate may exhort you on that). But, since you are not a Christian, I just have one (1) question in regards of the authenticity of that statement because I believe that it is a fallacy of hasty generalization.

General, you should be aware that there are many Nigerians living outside the shores of the nation. And you would agree with me that most of those countries have rules and regulations. If Nigerians are corrupt and undisciplined, why is it that when they go to other countries they become civilized and disciplined? They pay their taxes, park their cars at authorized spots, obey the traffic light and abide by the rules set before them. There is even the story of a man who stopped the cab driver on his way back from the airport (after landing from abroad) and went to the side of the road to urinate on the side walks because he is back in Nigeria.

 General don't you think that it is the system not the man that is corrupt because the system over there never gave him the chance to do that? What would you call a system where the amount of money the House of Assembly uses to fuel its generators on a daily basis is more than the amount that is allocated to my department (Computer Science and Engineering) on an annual basis.

General, even if we bring those whom you think are not corrupt and very disciplined and you make them live in this type of system we are operating in Nigeria, they'll become worse. I'm not trying to say that we are not also to blame for the way things are run here but it is not good enough reason to say that Nigerians are corrupt and undisciplined. I believe in a greater and brighter Nigeria and statements like that would not help matters.

But seriously…NIGERIANS ARE GOOD AND DISCIPLINED PEOPLE!

Mr President, The Kokomaster

There are 18 people running for the post of President in Nigeria. During the week, the news channel NN24 in conjunction with Tony Elumelu foundation and Benson Idahosa University organized  a presidential debate for the four "forerunners" in the up-coming presidential elections (It seems the other 14 are just there to amuse Nigerians). The forerunners are Pres. Goodluck Jonathan (PDP), Mallam Shekarau (ANPP), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (CAN) and Gen. Buhari (CPC). There where four (4) podiums but one was empty (it was that of Pres. Goodluck Jonathan). Where can the President be on this special evening?

 The answer to the above question would surprise many of you and it may make you question the smartness and the decision making abilities of our president. You might be wondering, "what in the devil's vocabulary can keep our president from showing up from a debate like this that would be viewed by millions all over the nation and give him a great chance to reach out to the public?". Who on earth can he be granting  audience when he has the chance to prove to Nigerians that he has something upstairs? It wasn't Barack Obama neither was it Nelson Mandela it was…wait for it…. D'Banj (a musician)!!!

Pres. Goodluck Jonathan

 When I first heard that, I felt like vomiting (it not only caused emotional upset but also stomach upset). I asked my self, "what in the devil's vocabulary can our President be doing with D'Banj at this time when his mates are on a platform expressing their views (it reminded me that biblical story of David, walking on the roof of his house when the Kings were at war. And  you know what he saw…). It was said that he was being interviewed by D'Banj and I started to ponder about the rationale behind that.

 I believe the time has come when our leaders should stop "covering" themselves and come out and tell us what they have got. It's time for our leaders to involve themselves in intelligible conversation with their rivals and not loafing around with any frivolous artiste that has captured the hearts of musically deaf and irrational Nigerians by his unreasonable, incoherent and morally depraved shouts and yells. I would like to congratulate the three (3) candidates who showed up.

 Some people say he was on tour with D'Banj, others say that Mo'Hits  Record has signed our President up and he was waxing an album with D'Banj in the Aso Rock. Nevertheless, irregardless of what he was doing with D'Banj, the truth is that there was a Presidential debate and the President, who is a candidate was not present due to some reasons best known to him but don't seem pertinent enough.

 But seriously… NIGERIA DOESN'T NEED A KOKOMASTER AS A PRESIDENT!

Lessons From Fukushima

Last week's tsunami hit Japan very hard and I sympathize with the government and people of Japan. I would also like to acknowledge the laudable efforts of the international community in assisting with clean up and rescue missions to find survivors.

 The tsunami has come and gone but there is an impending danger still looming around - FUKUSHIMA. Fukushima is a town that was hit by the tsunami and do you know the creepy thing about this town??? Yeah, you were right if you said it has a nuclear reactor. The disaster affected the reactors and radiation levels started to rise (it got me wondering what kind of karma Japan has with radiation? Remember Hiroshima?). It doesn't take an atomic physicists  to know the effects of exposure to radiation. But for those of you who don't know, the person would undergo some transformations, hair falling off, nails removing and the likes (it reminds me of one popular black and white musician).

 So what can Nigerians and the entire African continent learn from Fukushima (that's if we learn anything at all)? The major source of generation of electric power in Africa is through coal, gas and hydro-electric plants and I read reports sometime back that Nigeria wants to start generating power through Nuclear energy. And I had some questions.

 It is common knowledge that there are eight (8) turbines at Kanji dam (the major hydro electric power generation station in Nigeria) and only one (1) turbine is working. If the government can not maintain and improve on a technology that some Chinese farmers were using decades ago (hydro-electricity) how can they maintain a technology as advanced as a Nuclear power station?  How can the government whom can not take care of its sports men and women even when on national  assignments take care of a nuclear power plant? How many Nuclear engineers and Atomic physicists do we have at our disposal to manage the facility? We all know the low grade materials used for building projects, how are we sure the materials used for the power plant would be an exception? I would like the Federal Government to consider these questions before they go on another white elephant project.

 Once again, I would like to congratulate the officials in Japan for their management of the reactors and also Manchester United, for observing a minute silence in their previous two (2) matches.

 But seriously… NIGERIA IS NOT READY FOR A NUCLEAR REACTOR!

Thank God For The Strike

Have you  realized that it is at the time of adversity that talents and gifts are properly honed? The break out of diseases made Alexander Flemming's star shine brightly, the Second World War made Winston Churchill to bring out his excellent leadership traits and the injury of Jose Bosingwa (a bad moment for Chelsea fans in the 08/09 season)  made Branislav Ivanovic show that he's not just someone who came all the way from Serbia for sight-seeing in London (I don't blame him, Stamford Bridge is beautiful).

Similarly, I have been affected (or infected)  by that principle. Presently, my School has been closed down (the Vice-Chancellor was tired of seeing our faces and our Student Union leaders were feeling homesick) and that has given me the opportunity to sharpen one of my latent gifts - WRITING.

Many Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U) students would look at the title of this blog and call me names like "loafing truant with misguided intentions and aimless aspirations" (that was actually what I called those whom were protesting by sleeping on the road). They would ask questions like "How in the devil's vocabulary can you be thanking God for this strike that has sent over 30,000 youths to their houses or even the devils workshop (because of the high rate of pregnancies strikes like this)?"

But seriously, let's consider this issue very well. First of all we are urged to give thanks in all situations by the Bible. Also, this strike is an opportunity for self improvement. As I always say, the school calendar should only affect your education not your learning nor your growth. People see this strike as another avenue to waste time (or to get pregnant), I see it as an avenue to gain time by learning skills that would help me in the outside world. Don't let any day pass by without adding value to your life because, wait for it….BREAKING NEWS: LIFE IS SHORT!!!!

You might be saying that it is not easy to live such kind of disciplined and growth inclined life during strikes like this and I fully agree with you. It's not easy because YOU DON'T HAVE A PLAN!!! I wouldn't like to go much into making plans. I would save it for another time. I hope this is good enough for my first blog post.

but seriously... LET US THANK GOD!