Wednesday, December 19, 2012

How not to rule

by Eze Eluchie

Whilst one acknowledges the palpable ignorance of the young Journalist who penned the attached article, one is at a loss on how to describe the conduct of the Editorial Board of Guardian Newspapers who allowed this nonsensical piece to be published.

A technical arm of the Nigerian government makes a decision and by fiat, without as much as trying to understand why the decision was made, Goodluck Jonathan (under the instruction of some low level bureaucrat in Germany) orders a reversal of the Ministry of Aviation decision! The story that Goodluck Jonathan 'calmed the German leader' is trash talk.

At least we now know who to hold responsible for the rot in the Aviation sector - certainly not the Minister!

Sanusi: Central unBanker of the Millennium

by Eze Eluchie


Once again the Central Banker of the Millennium and the Dan Majen Kano is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Sanusi's latest call for the sack of 50% of Federal Civil servants, more than anything else demonstrates his level of mental depravity and social disconnect.

In saner climes, a Central Bank Governor whose naughty 'advices' are routinely not taken by the government he is serving would have thrown in the towel, but not here.

The nagging question as always is: 'how did we get to this level of depravity where a man in the mold of a Sanusi can become the Governor of the central Bank?

Picture: Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi


The President is afraid

by Eze Eluchie


It appears that the only and real reason why Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan is building a N2.2Billion (U.S.$13.75million) Reception Hall within the premises of the Presidential Villa is that our very brave and incredibly strong ruler (not Leader) is so scared of the Boko Haram guys that he is afraid to even step out of the cozy and fortified villa to host or receive official visitors!

Not done with cancelling public commemorations of the National Day and shifting the event to the presidential villa, I believe the next project to be approved by the rubber stamp Federal Executive Council would be for a new Presidential Airport within the villa. At least the Presidential Pastor, Ayo Oritsejafor, will be able to fly his newly acquired jet direct to Aso Rock to pray for good old Jonathan from time to time.

Jonathan is forgetting that he had earlier told the world that he had members of the Boko Haram terror group amongst his cabinet members and in his inner circle, and that you can only have peace and security when there is justice!.

Picture: Aerial view of Nigeria’s secretive Presidential Palace (Aso Rock)


How not to help.

by Eze Eluchie


The absurdity inherent in most ‘developmental aids’ given to so-called ‘Low and Middle Income Countries’(LMIC's) by the so-called ‘High Income Countries' is typified by the real life story of the homeless man who was given a pair of U.S.$100 boots by a police officer on the streets of New York.

The Police officer (who had the 'good-sense' of making sure his act of ‘giving’ was caught on camera) had been celebrated as a unique ‘man-of-compassion’ and mention had been made of the officer being nominated for the Nobel Peace prize. Barely a week later, the same homeless man is, once more, barefoot again.

Lesson: Tackle the system which made the man homeless and not just give him shoes. For the LMIC’s where corrupt governments have rendered otherwise vibrant and prosperous economies aid-dependent – tackle the corruption behemoth and not give fake ‘international aids’ that ultimately trickle back to the same banks from whence the ‘funds emanated in the first instance.

At the individual level, do not merely as the saying goes, give a man fish, rather teach him how to fish: at the State level, do not merely give dubious 'loans' and 'developmental aids', allow markets access and integrated development. 



Picture: The New York city police officer's wasteful gift of a shoe to a homeless man.


Robbers in Government House!

by Eze Eluchie

Armed Robbers have truly taken over governance in Nigeria!

Persons outside of Nigeria who read the news item that N2Billion (U.S.$12.5million) will be spent to build a house for Nigeria's Vice President in addition to other princely sums to be spent to build houses for the Senate President, his deputy, the Speaker and his deputy and sundry other officials, will think that these are the first set of such officials Nigeria will be having or that previous holders of these offices lived in hotels or under trees?

Far from it! Under our former notorious president, Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian rulers adopted a novel criminal concept of selling off official houses to their occupiers for peanuts and having to build new ones for incoming office holders every time new ones are selected (not elected)!

Grand larceny clothed as 'capitalism'

by Eze Eluchie


Under a bogus 'privatization' scam, Nigerian authorities under the dubious Olusegun Obasanjo presidency, handed Aliko Dangote a most vicious monopoly over a basic building material in Nigeria - Cement. Part of Dangote's climb up the 'rich-list' on Forbes Magazine was due to this illegitimate monopoly. So vicious was the ‘monopoly that Obasanjo (and his then henchman, Nuhu Ribadu of the EFCC) went all out of their way to cripple all competition that tried to ensure availability of this essential product to Nigerians at reduced costs, including IBETO cement, to secure the Dangote Cement's monopoly.

Now that the price of cement is coming down, Dangote shamelessly moves to blackmail Nigerians, by amongst other things closing down Benue Cement Company (which like most other acquisitions under the privatization scam, was acquired for peanuts). It is beginning to dawn on many why there had been so much opposition to Dangote's acquisition of BCC in the first instance.

In saner climes, conduct as being exhibited by the Dangote Group is appropriately sanctioned with some time in a jail house - but not in our good old contraption.

A holistic restructuring and renegotiation of our contraption will spare us the continued negative impact of grand larceny clothed as 'capitalism'.




Picture: Chief Executive Officer of Ibeto Cement, Cletus Ibeto


Is Islam compatible with democracy?

by Eze Eluchie


Is Islam compatible with Democracy?

Whilst one is not unaware of the rich contributions of Arabian culture to knowledge and civilization, the situation throughout North Africa and the Middle East and as far east as Pakistan (where Islam is the predominant religion) makes one to ponder if indeed Islam is compatible with democracy?


Picture: Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem



Go al-Asaad, go!

by Eze Eluchie


Earlier in the Syrian civil war, I had rationalized the failure of Russia and China to support UN Resolutions imposing sanctions on al-Asaad’s regime as a direct fall-out of NATO excesses following similar sanctions against Qhadaffi’s in Libya.

Realities have since changed.

A brute that bombs his people relentlessly and as viciously as al-Asaad has done in the past few months does not deserve to remain in office. That this character is actually contemplating using chemical/biological weapons on Syrians makes it imperative to oust him as soon as possible.




Picture: Syrian President, Al-Assad


Corruption is a 'crime against humanity'


As the world marks the International Day Against Corruption, one panacea to the dire impact of large-scale corruption on populations is for the international community to truly treat corruption as a crime against humanity.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/corruption-is-a-crime-against-humanity-and-ought/

Post Madiba South Africa.

by Eze Eluchie

Will the ‘rainbow nation’ survive the demise of Mandela?

Ask any South African and you will realize that Madiba’s near deity-status serves to maintain societal cohesion.

In the course of an earlier trip to Johannesburg, I encountered a rather vociferous and seemingly well organized group, the ‘Landless Peoples Movement’ whose demands were akin to those that led to Robert Mugabe’s directive for forceful repossession of lands by native Zimbabweans from the commercial farmers. Over 18 years after the attainment of majority rule in South Africa, over 90% of the land still belongs to less than 5% of the population.

The landless Peoples Movement coupled with the spate of pre-existing political tension and repeatedly harsh police tactics against Miners and the mostly poverty stricken native South African population seems indicative of a brewing volcano beneath the surface.

Unlike in other episodes of mass disasters of epic proportions (particularly the Holocaust and the destruction and subsequent rehabilitation of Europe and Japan after World War II), the international community virtually turned a blind eye on the plight of black South Africans at the end of the heinous devilish Apartheid regime. Black South Africans who had suffered generations of injustice, inequity, segregation and depravity in all ramifications of social existence were offered platonic 'independence' whilst lacking the educational, social and psychological capacities to take advantage of the so-called independence.

The charade represented by the Desmond Tutu-led Truth and Reconciliation Commission though meant to obscure reality could certainly not have been expected to last till eternity as it woefully failed to achieve any semblance of reconciliation or justice.

The deep seated anger, hunger and vengeful spirit prevailing in South Africa is palpable for all, save those who opt for an ostrich-like existence, to see. The continuing ambivalence of the South African government's response to the re-occupation of farm lands in Zimbabwe is in direct realization of the touchy nature of the issue and resemblance to the situation in South Africa.

In the face of continuing denial of people’s rights, failure of the international community to recognize and adequately address the fault-lines, the Movement and many others refrain from outright explosion out of respect for Madiba.

Some will argue that Madiba has not been a part of governance in South Africa for almost a decade. Well, thats true, but his persona still dominates the polity. There is yet opportunity to address this issue whilst Madiba lives.


As we wish Africa’s surviving greatest gift to mankind speedy recovery, one cannot but wonder if the ‘rainbow nation’ will survive him.

Picture: Madiba


One Crash Too Many

by Eze Eluchie


Whilst I commiserate with the families of the victims of Saturday's (15th Dec, 2012) helicopter crash in Bayelsa State, Nigeria (it is always sad to loose loved ones under such tragic circumstances) one cannot but glean into the events which precipitated the accident. The following issues readily come to mind:

1. Why were equipment's of the Nigerian Navy deployed so lavishly towards a private individual’s event?

2. Was the Nigerian Navy paid for the use of its helicopters for a private individual’s event?

3. Of what value to the Nigerian contraption was the funeral of not the President, not the Presidents father, but the father of one of the numerous Assistants in the Office of the Presidency that would warrant the deployment of half of the airworthy helicopters in the fleet of the Nigerian Navy?

4. With two helicopters, out of the 4 air-worthy helicopters in its fleet, deployed towards conveying people to a funeral party, was the Nigerian Navy exposing our territorial waters to sundry intruders?