Groping through darkness !

Our wind of hope is being nearly stifled by the choking breeze of hate. So much has transpired over these past months, that one wonders if we actually set ourselves up and selected a weakling as President instead of a David! Where have we really gone so wrong on this dream called a Nation. As we all hoped beyond all possible pessimism that we may have gotten it right this time, I'm afraid that with the events of the past five months its almost certain that we haven't. I never expected an overnight miracle but I also didn't expect the level of corruption, incompetence and sheer unpatriotic inaction that lingers like an unending midnight mist. Where are we really headed to? An abyss comes to mind, a free falling feeling with no end in sight. As a matter of fact, its getting worse by the day. Between 1999 and today,the experiment called democracy in our dear country has moved us all more towards disintegration than towards a union. The constitution has been twisted to give voice to destroyers of life, livelihood and dreams. And on the streets we are more disunited than ever before. How do people justify the existence and continued violence by terrorists who are clearly motivated by selfish interests and misplaced idealism? If the truth must be spoken why postulate from thy backrooms. The subtle acceptance of the actions of hooligans and mean-spirited criminals in Nigeria is disgusting!If we allow their acts of destruction to continue, this country will not be called a nation in the very near future. Sooner than one may imagine.

Geez! im been kicked to the curb!

So my landlord in Abuja decided that since the rent in the city was skyrocketing, and after having me as a tenant for three years it was time for me to hit the road! Damn ! was I pissed or was I pissed ! I've been house hunting for the past month and I can say that I am gravely disappointed by the insult some individuals call accommodation! There is no comparison with regards to quality, style, cleanliness, Oh Cleanliness!- well lets not go there now! Its a disgrace that will all the hype about Abuja being a modern city its merely a whitewashed slum waiting to bust from the sims !
Aha ! lest I forget my brothers and sisters that are the "agents" are only trying to sweet talk you into getting what you don't want or even want to set eyes on. Then the small houses that they call "Estates"? Drago (my dog) has better accommodation than most of what is offered here. Yeah yeah, you get the proverbial lawn (Oh No) interlocking blocks and white corrugated fence but that's about all you get! the all en-suites seem more like all unsure! I walked into this place in Maitama and loudly declared that although this was Maitama,anyone that lived here should consider themselves unlucky and terribly cheated. The name of an area or section of town should not determine what the rent in that area should go for rather the amenities provided, the atmosphere created and the strength and quality of construction. I do understand that all cannot be perfect and some will say if you complain so much why don't you go build your own! Well great argument! But if one cannot afford to build, should one then compromise for comfort by accepting crap as living quarters? I don't believe so. Compromise is a rule of life but also getting your money's worth also ought to be in the sphere of life too !
Lastly, who even created this 2 year rule for rent ! Of all the cities that I have lived in, Nigerian cities are the first to ever offer 2 Year upfront rent as prerequisites. How many people can say they know for sure that in the next 24months they will be alive? OK even if you are sure of that, in an economy where nothing (not even the price of cold bottled water) is predictable or can be estimated with the best economic models, greed supersedes policy that citizens expect of responsible Government !

Geez! disappointment in Nigeria is an understatement!

Wind of Hope

I recently had the opportunity to be selected by AfricAgenda to participate in an editorial assignment of unbounded importance. An autobiography that on all accounts will attract a lot of criticism because of the subject, its timing and the political landscape in which Nigeria finds itself today. As a non-partisan, I was initially reluctant, but after much thought, I have decided to trudge on and see a definitive end to this work!
Overtime I hope that the decision which I have taken with regards to this assignment is not one that I will live to regret. As Sidney.J.Harris said "Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable".

Re: On an old note

The youth of this great Nation have a lot to answer in the coming years about their in activity during these trying times in our Nation. As we move on in this so called democratic period of Nigeria I stop and wonder why there is so much acceptability of suffering and hardship by the youth in Nigeria. Is it that they do not know any better of the situation that they find themselves, I know experience is the best of teachers but does inexperience dull your senses into non recognition of what is ultimately good or bad? I recently came back from a trip to the southeastern states of Nigeria and as usual was depressed on the state of the roads that Nigerians travel on. There were at least 4 major collisions on these highways to death, and one wonders if there is no sensitivity on the part of our so called leaders. Men and women given the responsibility to manage the affairs of this country have decided that those responsibilities are not theirs but rather, the search for financial gain and power surpasses their obligations for truth to their fellow brothers and sisters. All I can say is that this cannot go on forever. Be it in my lifetime or not but there is a constant in this earth. Irrespective of religious affiliation, ethnic or cultural background there is a natural law that rules us all under the sun. That is the law of good and bad, you don’t need to be thought what good is and what bad is, it comes naturally and spreads its tentacles at any given opportunity. There is a need for individuals as a group or by themselves to rise up in this country and shout from their guts WE CANT TAKE THIS ANY LONGER! There is a need for sacrifice meaningful sacrifice that MUST be recognized by the people. Why do we keep on procrastinating about our present situation, why do we keep on wishing that a messiah will surface and everything will be alright, we do really live in a fools paradise if we honestly have not realized that our problems are ours alone and that solutions lies in our hands. In a country were there is claim of democracy yet there are no elections that support this claim, where there is declaration of the rule of law yet in the very streets where this rule is supposed to prevail there is so much chaos and abuse of simple traffic laws. Charity begins at home as the old adage says so does responsibility and the rule of law. How can you declare principles based on the rule of law when you run a heavily corrupt government that lacks transparency and there is decay so visible for the common man that stares from the outside? What are the parameters used to ascertain if the policies declared by this present government are actually working?
As I speak the country is slipping into a precipice, one that is so deep that crawling out will require unimaginable athletic prowess. Deregulation of the Oil sector is now been taunted as a major avenue to free up almost 600 billion Naira that is been spent yearly on subsidizing petroleum products. It’s amazing to think that that amount of money is been spent on subsidizing imported petroleum products but the federal government forgets to also give us details on how much it would cost to resuscitate our refineries. Refineries that have been unproductive because we are lazy, corrupt and very content on having other countries refine our natural resources. There is the argument that only when you deregulate that outside investors will find it viable and lucrative to invest in these refineries or even build new ones. But we forget that there are other sectors that are viable and lucrative that has not attracted these investors because we still lack the transparency and corrupt free environment that encourages free markets. And what if this money is freed up to be invested in infrastructure, education, health and nation


building as the government has suggested who takes responsibility for its adequate management? The same corrupt institutions that have been the crux of the problem?
We must look within and start solving these problems ourselves. And the only way is to insist in what is honest and decent for us and our neighbors.

Contributions of the Diaspora

This article being the first in this series aims to bring our long travelled friends, relatives and families a little closer to home. It will be dedicated to the effort seen and unseen of Nigerians in the Diaspora. What manner this will be done is yet to be ascertained but I will in subsequent months endeavor to highlight the highs and lows of the Nigerian emigrant. Our beloved, who tirelessly sojourn in foreign lands with the intention of improving their way of life and their standard of living, growing up in the south eastern part of Nigeria, one of the first things that I realized as a boy was that almost all my friends and relatives had a friend or relative that was living, had lived or was planning to live abroad. Fashionable or not, taking that long trip at times across the Atlantic and pacific had been synonymous to Nigerians as early as the 1900’s. Education has been the oldest and most powerful force that draws us to strange lands but as our country matures and grows (stunted or not) the forces have become more and more diversified. The need to attain better financial positions, raise a family and contribute to the growth of our dear Nation has all been thrown into the mix. Has our sojourn over many decades been a successful one? Are we counting in decades or in reality centuries? We must not forget that our forbearers were subjected to known and unknown hardships in the name of slave trade. There are no Yes or No answers to these questions. To move forward we must consider the advantages that Nigeria has by having a growing number (according to World Bank figures 836,832 annually) in the forays of a world outside ours.
The UNDP defines development as a condition that creates an enabling environment for people to enjoy long healthy and creative lives. According to Orozco, one key consideration of the relationship between Diaspora, migration and development is that Diaspora form, in part, as a response to changes in the composition of the international system, that is the global economy or the international political landscape as well as development or underdevelopment. How has the average Nigerian in Diaspora contributed to the Nation? Are they even doing so? I think the answer to that is yes. Maybe not in magnanimous gestures but in small bits that makes a whole and eventually becomes significant. A typical immigrant’s economic linkage with the home country extends to at least four practices that involve spending and investment; family remittance, demand of services such as telecommunications, consumer goods and travel, capital investment and charitable contributions to philanthropic organizations. The stock of Nigerian emigrants remits about 3.5 billion dollars a year.
Recently, Oby Ezekwesili the World Bank Vice president for the African Region reiterated the call by Robert Zoellick the World Bank president on donor countries, to devote 0.7% of the amount of their stimulus package to a vulnerability fund for Africa.
I’m making a similar call but this time not for physical cash and definitely not 0.7%. I am making a call for donations of Intellectual property, property that is abundant amongst Nigerian émigrés, one that will have a significant effect on our developmental journey as a nation. Intellectual property which in principle and by right is owned by everyone, because as the old African adage goes “it takes a village to raise a child”, thus after the child is grown it also takes a village to enjoy the full potentials of our child.
There is no benefit to us as a country if our best minds are not within our boundaries experiencing those day to day hardships of Nation building and contributing significantly to it. My friends and relatives abroad always argue and rightfully so, that the main reasons why they are not compelled to come home and help is long winded and almost infinite. The lack of basic infrastructure, the lack of adequate security, a less than authoritative penal and justice system, the continued corruption in the public and private sectors, the insecurity which emanates out of the corners of the country in the guise of religious and political differences, their lack of will power to continually lay eyes on dying, poverty and disease stricken fellow citizens and the list goes on. I am further reminded that this steadily dilapidating situation in Nigeria has been consistent for decades.
My father, who happens to be of a generation that saw events differently in Nigeria; he reminds me constantly how they as young men and women in the early decades of the 20th century sojourned to foreign lands before Nigeria’s independence. The main purpose then as it partly is today was to acquire education and quickly board their vessels returning home with a sense of patriotism and national service in mind. Many of them contributed positively to the Nigerian state. Their contributions today can be seen by the newer generation as the decaying social, economic and financial structures that where not sustained and have gradually faded into obscurity. History has a funny way of repeating itself but if we allow it then us as a country of great minds and great people will have lost out in the dramatic wind of prosperity, economic development and globalization which has swept the world from the Far East to the rising west.
There are organizations that have been created in recent times that tout their abilities to represent Nigerians in the Diaspora in different countries. A mere search on Google will further clarify their existence. But are there of any usefulness? What are the organizational structures behind these groups? What are their Aims and Objectives, barring the need for one or more individuals that have the zeal to take up these noble efforts but lack the resources to move it further than outdated websites and long opinionated paragraphs? Nigerians in Diaspora have been crippled by their lack of cohesion; in the United States for example there are numerous villages, family and community meetings and organizations that sprawl the whole country. Many a times efforts are duplicated, resources wasted and no clear goals achieved. This is not a situation peculiar to any particular ethnic group. The need for Nigerians living outside their homelands to join hands and work together is past over due. There are various models they can copy. Jews for example are well known for their togetherness and efforts to be their brother’s keeper irrespective of location or situation, Koreans and the Chinese are no different. Yes it would take a great deal of effort, damnation of pride and total annihilation of egos, the bottom line will surely justify the endeavour.
But all is not lost as there are still solid contributions that we have seen from the Diaspora. For example, the Obasanjo administration made concerted efforts to attract good men and women of the Diaspora to contribute to his government. The likes of Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Magnus Kpakol, Oby Ezekwesili and even Maurice Iwu have contributed in their own way to the Nations growth (stunted or not) in the past few years. The Federal capital Territory in addition encouraged the Diaspora by setting aside developmental land specifically for those interested in capital investment in the country. Apart from the remittances that has steadily been on the increase over the years there are good men and women in the Diaspora who have in their little way been involved in various Non governmental organizations and private enterprise that have a sense of duty, purpose and obligation to their country. Medical doctors, pharmacists and nurses individually or in groups have been making regular visits in a bid to set up temporary camps and clinics whereby they reach out to the rural and urban citizens with free medical services and products. There is a need for more of this, not only by the medical community in the Diaspora but by lawyers, Engineers, social workers, artists, educators, technocrats and all who have some form of knowledge to impart on the present generation. Only then can the steady rise in decay in our communities and the nation as a whole start receding.
The development we see which attracts us to Europe, America and the Asian continents where not achieved overnight, but happened through painstaking effort, will, loyalty, patriotism and dedication towards a common goal; Nation First.
If we fail at it we only leave a legacy and a future of more suffering and hardship for the generations ahead. If we succeed our land will smile upon us and upon our future generations.


This article was published in the second edition of Phenomenal People Magazine 2009.

All Rights reserved.

Health Wise

The Health Sector in Nigeria is seriously in dire need of resuscitation if not outright resurrection. Over four decades, issues’ pertaining to the lack of adequate primary and tertiary health care development has continuously contributed to the underdevelopment of many faucets of the Nigerian economy. When one looks at the issues that affect Health care in Nigeria its seems they are never ending because from all angles of the problem there seems to be no ready set remedies to aid this very important sector of the Nation. But one of the most important issues that cripple the health care sector is the lack of long term planning by the Government with a vision to achieve set goals and objectives. Primary healthcare over the years has not been supported giving ground for inadequate provision of health care to 80 percent of the population. According to Luke Onyekakeyah a former lecturer at Enugu State University of Technology, Enugu “without an integrated strategic plan involving the states and local governments, any talk of making primary healthcare the cornerstone of healthcare delivery in the country would be empty rhetoric”. In addition to the lack of planning, corruption also seems to be a major contributing factor in the mix of ailments that snuffs the life off a reliable health sector. Without a healthy Nation, as much as we make efforts for the development of Nigeria it almost seems that nothing is accomplished. The failure of the health sector is unlike any other major sector of Nigeria’s growth.
In 2009, the Nigeria health sector was besieged with all manner of plagues. Plagues that manifested in form of terrible communicable diseases like Cholera; at last count between the Northern states of Adamawa; where according to the commissioner for Information, up to 77 died and 950 where infected ( these figures have been contested since the chairman of the states medical and health union believes it runs into the hundreds) and Taraba where at least 25 people died, one wonders why in these times of rapid globalization, Nigerians are still dying of preventable diseases such as cholera; a disease which to tackle needs as little as information on its manner of manifestation, transmission and cure. The lack of adequate education of the populace was buttressed by the results of a poll conducted by NOI poll in Nigeria to access awareness levels of the existence of H1N1 virus (swine flu) and perception of Nigeria’s ability to deal with an its outbreak and other possible outbreaks in the country. The results of the poll showed that most Nigerians up to 70 percent of respondents polled do not have any confidence in the ability of the present administration to handle an outbreak of any kind.
Many factors have contributed to the gradual death of this very important part of our economic growth. One of these factors is the constant flight of qualified health workers to other countries. There are an unknown number of medical professionals that presently work outside of Nigeria, providing needed Human, capital and material resources for the socio economic, cultural and political development of other countries. But why should they? When Nigeria has not shown any serious steps towards creating a favorable environment to encourage medical professionals to stay back and serve their own. Why should they? It is a known fact that outside of Nigeria, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, physical therapists, microbiologists to name a few make more than a decent living and are treated with respect in working environments that encourage intellectual creativity and development.
According to Simeon Kayode Olubiyi, Course Cordinator National Open University of Lagos, “Better pay and medical facilities have been cited as the main reason for the flight of Nigerian doctors, nurses and paramedical staff” Speaking at the graduation ceremony of nurses at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos he also stated thus ‘Nurses do work hard but they receive little as salary, which make them like anchors in the hospitals. Many of them who would want to further their education battle with job problems along with poor remuneration”. It does not take one to hear this from a working professional in the education sector to realize its validity.
In 2009, apart from the strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities there were also numerous strikes by medical workers; Doctors, Nurses and Paramedical staff on a National and state level. These industrial actions were as a result of remuneration with the various unions aggrieved over issues such as lack of an improved salary structure, overdue arrears, lack of promotions, non implementation of medical service scales, and non payment of 24 month monetization arrears. With the year 2020 very much around the corner how does Nigeria expect to achieve it much touted bump up into the list of first 20 industrialized nations in the world, when medical workers strike over resolvable issues that they truly deserve?
In the 21st century Nigeria is still flying its leaders abroad for medical procedures; making a mockery of its own medical facilities and professionals.
However, there are Nigerians in Diaspora who have been making themselves available, especially through the creation of medical missions and Non Governmental Organizations aimed at providing and giving back a little to communities in Nigeria. Mainly, these organizations because they are non-for-profit, run small
charitable operations but make a huge impact in the lives of the poor and needy.
Two of such organizations are Hope Restoration Medical Mission (HRM), established in 2003 and based in Queens, New York, U.S.A and Mutual Union of the Tiv in America (MUTA) established 3 years ago in 2006 in the state of Georgia, U.S.A. Both organizations have over the years established a track record for efficiency and reliability by providing medical missions backed by professionals and non professionals in the Disapora.
Hope Restoration mission has shown its dedication to the under privileged and has established good working relationships with major drug and home goods manufacturers in the United States. In turn, Pastor Reuben Chizor who leads this mission has extended the same philosophy of charitable giving to citizens of his home country. Over the past 5 years of its mission, HRM has donated over 2 million dollars worth of medication to communities in Lagos, Abuja, Delta, Anambra, Enugu and Imo State. In October of this year, eight (8) members of HRM were in Nigeria for their annual visit to various communities. The 2009 mission was made up of dedicated medical doctors, nurses, physical therapists and Social Workers. When there are in these beneficiary communities their work entails providing free blood pressure, blood sugar and ENT tests, administering over the counter and prescription medication as well as conducting cancer, diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS awareness programs and testing. To members of HRM the service they provide is as fulfilling to them as the time they get to share with friends and families in these communities were they have become very familiar with; touching lives and creating smiles in the faces of Nigerians who at one point or the other have all but given up hope on their ability to get much needed medical attention.
In similar fashion, MUTA has also set a standard in Benue State where their efforts have been supported by the Benue State Government and backed by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). According to their past Vice President Mrs. Monica Hemden Eimunjeze, MUTA is all about members giving back to communities that have been instrumental to their growth and development into responsible individuals of a country they call home and their home country. With nine (9) and ten (10) medical professionals in 2008 and 2009 respectively taking that long trip from the southern state of Georgia, United States to Nigeria, MUTA has been able to provide medical assistance to more then 5,000 Five Thousand individuals in communities like Katsina-Ala, Gboko, Oturkpo, Makurdi, Vande-Ikya and Agbasha. In 2009 MUTA’s efforts where compounded because of a general strike by doctors in Benue state, making their outreach relevant to poor citizens who could not afford private medical care. Their medical mission has also organized conferences that dealt primarily with issues such as Emergency medical service; according to the Federal road Safety Commission (FRSC) 400 people die monthly in Nigeria as a result of road accidents of this amount up to 200 people can be saved if there are reliable emergency medical services.
In addition, there are also umbrella institutions that hold partnerships of different groups with one vision in sight. One of such NGO’s is the Partnership for Development (PTD). PTD has partnered with other NGO;s, women groups, USAID and government institutions at local and state levels in donating materials for orphans and vulnerable children. In addition PTD has been working in states like Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi and Benue state, offering counseling, care and retroviral mentoring programme ((CAMP). With unity in purpose such as has been seen with PTD more can be achieved with less.
But I must say that there are many missions, NGO’s and individuals who have been contributing and continue to uplift the health care standards in Nigeria. Sometimes their endeavors are recognized and other times they are not. But mostly these exercises in giving are voluntary and need to be commended in all possible ways by a society that needs its members to be healthy and a Government that has failed in the provision of adequate and sustainable health care. This will only encourage more of these acts of kindness and raise our health indices.
Recently, in the House of Representatives a bill was introduced that seeks to create a Diaspora Commission. In all understanding this is a great effort by our legislature in recognizing a missing factor in the development of the Nation. In realizing that Nigeria loses more from having skillful individuals spread across various disciplines absent from the creation of critical national policy and decisions, the
House of Representatives takes a bold step towards taping into a resource that has long been ignored. But creating a commission is one thing and properly articulating its structure, framework, mechanism and eventual operation is another.
In the past and presently, Nigerians in Diaspora have in their minute ways contributed to different sectors of the country either by taking critical positions in Government Ministries or privately creating businesses and organizations that seek to transfer
knowledge to up and coming Nigerian based professionals. It is important to note that establishing a Diaspora commission will create a bureaucratic organization which if not properly managed will stifle the particular goals that it seeks to accomplish. Its is also important to note that as much as a commission as thus is needed, there is also a need for Nigerians in the Diaspora to be more organized under an umbrella in their respective countries of abode. Insisting on organization will make it a lot easier to aid a smooth transitioning of these individuals to their motherland.
What Nigerians in the Diaspora yearn for with regards to their efforts to give back and contribute to their Home country is an enabling environment that is free of political drawbacks but loaded with incentives both material and otherwise. These incentives would include adequate infrastructure and an organized system that supports individuals and organizations pursing philanthropic goals. Learning from the experiences of Non governmental organizations like Hope Restoration, MUTA, PTD and many others also helps, since they can serve as models for creating smoother running missions in the Health sector and other sectors of the Nigerian society that needs massive rehabilitation.


This article will be published in phenomenal people Magazine 2010

All Rights reserved.

Press Ups !

Its amazing what you read in the National dailies and the absurdity in some of the reports ! The recently concluded ILO world conference just depicts some of such governmental disappointments that we get to hear almost on a daily basis in Nigeria . A conference that was supposed to have Nigerian legislative representatives as observers and participants only had them showing up on the last day with silly excuses of missed flights and underfunded ministries>?! after 16 days?...... Then the minister of works tells the press, public or his own Government "to be careful" after he was asked by the press what actions and plans his ministry was taking in repairing the Oshodi-Apapa expressway in Lagos! Be careful of what!? speaking the truth and letting the world know of your incompetencies? Damn if I had hair it would be all gone by now!..... then there is the recent interview by DSP Alamesigha, interesting read ! We all have an idea of how the country was run between 1999 and 2007 but either way its refreshing to hear these unashamed corrupt potbellied and gross so called politicians tell all about their power plays and squabbles behind the scenes... Please bring it on ! we need more, more, more !