SPLITTING NIGERIA!!! Written by ‘Lanre Olagunju

The issue of how long Nigeria will remain as one nation is becoming more frightening per second. And unfortunately, the present day puppet government with no shoe no direction, isn’t showing enough concern over major fear- provoking national issues.

Now that even the blind from the sockets can see that we are doing everything to fulfill the American forecast, loaded with false prophecies and fatalistic fantasies that a country that has stayed together for fifty suffering and smiling years; with unsuccessfully managed tribal, religious, ethnic and corruption oriented issues would fall apart by the year 2015. The acclaimed world power of our time, USA, choreographs major global events and minor ones too. But what we sometimes fail to realize is that many of her intervention is for the paramount interest of America. At the end no country will matter not even its supposedly close buddies.



Many past and present US ambassadors have expressed many conflicting statements about Nigeria, for instance, in 2009 in a colloquium in Rhode Island University, Princeton Lyman, a former Ambassador to Nigeria said the country was no longer relevant to the USA in the order of events. Conversely, during the dying days of former president, Umaru Yar’adua, same America, labeled Nigeria as the most important partner of the USA in Africa. At that time, former ambassador Johnnie Carson purported that Nigeria was too important a country to be led by someone whose health is puny. Nigeria, you will agree has mastered the act of hearing the worst about itself, therefore the sum total of Ambassador John Campbell’s forecast has scarcely sent enough worry or anxiety.

But to carelessly think or admit that any US envoy will make such seemingly unrehearsed statement is foolhardy. I’m not out rightly saying that the US is masterminding the split of Nigeria. But the US is awfully too strategic a superpower to approve its ambassadors make such unpremeditated statements. Could all of this confusion be a sub strategy to a bigger strategy?

Bloodshed is absolutely unavoidable if an enormously big nation like ours will split, but are we not loosing lives already? Now that we are served with two devils: of either looking for strategic ways to solve our ethnic oriented crises or split up via excessive bloodshed, only to later discover that that wasn’t the issue, shouldn’t we be thinking of which is the lesser devil by now?
Some of the founding fathers of our independence never saw or agreed to the dream of a one Nigeria. ‘So no be today sef” in 1948, northern leader, Abubaka Tafa Balewa said: ‘Since 1914 the British government has been trying to make Nigeria into one county, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs, and do not show themselves any signs of willingness to unite . . . Nigerian unity is only a British invention’.

Also, Obafemi Awolowo, who dominated Western region politics, wrote: ‘Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no “Nigerians” in the same sense as there are “English”. The word “Nigerian” is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not.’ …Can you imagine!

Now, it might be easier to understand the reasoning behind these words but where this ethnic strives as real as this even at infant Nigeria?

Just as I strongly feel that ethnic and religious differences are responsible for some of our national setback, I also feel that it’s neither insane nor mad but more, to fight war in God’s name. The divine is more than capable of winning his own followers. On whose behalf do limited mortals like ourselves fight for the all powerful? Much more, corruption which is the mother of all is the most prevalent of all of Nigeria’s challenge after all, if we would say the truth all tribes, languages and religions are well represented in the class of rich corrupt charlatans. Therefore fighting corruption is the main thing! It would be a colossal waste when we kill ourselves for all the wrong ethnic and religious reasons in the world, only to divide into south and north Nigeria and yet be governed by these same corrupt leaders.

I don’t know who is deceiving us that breaking up into north and south Nigeria like Sudan did would solve our corruption ‘wahala’. For where!? Considering a country with six geopolitical complex zones, and over 350 absolutely different languages, if we must break-up, we would need to break into more than pieces.

The challenge in my opinion isn’t all that a religious, ethnic, or tribal thing like many of our corrupt leaders wants us to see it. It’s more of a class interval barrier, the long difference between the so called ‘haves’ and have more, and the hopeless ‘don’t haves’.

We always erroneously feel that our size is the major problem. If population isn’t India and china’s problem then we had better find productive use of all of our critical human capital and fertile but long lasting fallowing lands. May I suggest that we take lessons from the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia? These two countries collapsed partly because they had size they couldn’t manage.Ours too is a management deficiency. A country that can’t manage its people will need more than a miracle that raises the dead to manage its resources. If you ask me I will rather say oil resource is also our problem. Nigeria needs to diversify her oil economy which in every way has become a course to the nation. The use of oil resources for economic wealth has rendered the mind of many regimes excessively impotent. Plato said “whatsoever is cherished in a country will be cultivated there”. If we really claim to cherish our crude oil, how come we are yet to lunch a sound refinery?

It also worth noting that we all are a part of all this mess, including some of the nationalist a few of us are ever willing to die for despite that they are dead and decayed already. The elite use to think that it was all about going to school, get good grades, more professional certification, get a good job, then drive great cars on roads with big pot holes big enough to make soup for all.

I strongly advocate that for our collective good, we should ensure that our diversities in regions, ethnicity, and religion be viewed as attributes which services our common national interests in mutually beneficial ways. Nigeria is a pluralistic society and that is a positive thing which we must emphasize instead of the manageable differences emphasized and exaggerated at all times.

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NIGERIA: THE CYCLE OF PROSPERITY written by Japheth J Omojuwa

I stated in previous articles the fact the PDP being what it is will never do better than it already has done. In essence, Nigeria can only be worse off with their continued demonstration of total disrespect for the voice of the people, their total disregard for the betterment of Nigerians and their epidemic desperation to feed their depravity and kleptomaniac urgings with our common wealth. Having said this, I should also quickly state that all hope is not lost. We can achieve national prosperity even with the PDP holding forth till 2015 after which they will be sent packing with their short sighted tenure elongation quest and clique oriented policies.


Nothing will be achieved by the Jonathan administration except we daily tell him through the mass media and his Facebook account what he needs to do. He has come out to say the most telling action of his government apart from signing the FOI bill into a law is not his idea. The draw back in having millions of people advising the president is that governance stalls on indecision. The president is sitting somewhere in Aso Rock hands on his chin waiting for the arrival of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala whom many expect would be the saving grace of the administration to come and deliver the goods. Her arrival would also reduce the effectiveness of the president’s petch seekers on Facebook. Irrespective of who is coming or who is going, we have a responsibility to continuously demand good governance from these lot.



In demanding good governance from a party like the PDP whose default setting is corruption and illegality, let us also remember that we as citizens of Nigeria must look out for the interest of one another. No matter how well a government performs, prosperity would be an isolated reality except the people take it upon themselves to make that quest theirs. Let us face it, the average Nigerian does not think he has succeeded until he sees the poverty he rose from and instead of looking to do as much as he can to reduce or halt that line of shame, he simply doles out cash for the people to scramble for when in his heart he knows that would never solve their problems. What is wrong with providing dependable means of survival to ones people? Dogs are being overfed while children are dying, some folks’ children are paying top dollar for walking lessons amongst other luxurious sessions while the majority find it hard to afford the fees for basic education. The reason we have more poor people than necessary is not as much about government’s policies as it is about our age long desire to be “the only one out of a poverty stricken lot” making sense. For most, they are richer if the people in their circle of influence are poor. Like I always say, you are just a poor buffoon!


I believe in earning ones living, you create value in the form of goods or services and get paid in return. The truth of the matter is, you also need the numbers to work well for you. Sometimes you need an introduction to play in the big leagues and a few times your excellence introduces you. When you succeed to an extent, you don’t sit back to caress your new found relative prosperity, you instead look for a way to make someone in the quest for his/her own success find it. We always look to the United States for most of our arguments and that will serve as one here too. The U.S. outgives all other countries in terms of philanthropic generosity, estimated to annually commit as much as $300 billion. Just recently, Warren Buffet the legendary investor gave the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 23.31 million shares in his investment company Berkshire Hathaway. The shares were passed to the foundation on July 6, and they closed at $76.52 on this day. That is $1.78 billion! Warren Buffet alone has donated over $11 billion worth of shares in Berkshire Hathaway for philanthropic ends. The 80 year old is worth an estimated $50 billion and has a concrete plan to give 99% of his wealth away. Beat that! With fellow billionaire Bill Gates, they both inspired and got several other billionaires (and some non billionaires have joined) to give at least 50% of their wealth to charity. Some 60 plus American billionaires have already pledged their commitment to this. Michael Bloomberg,Ted Turner, David Rockefeller and even our contemporary Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg amongst others have joined the giving frenzy. They could raise as much as $600 billion and indeed more if it is sustained. They raised a relatively massive amount from Indian billionaires. This is where copying America would not be a bad idea. Irrespective of where debt has left the Union, I believe her strength lies in her citizens’ willingness to always find better means of livelihood beyond what is obtainable. America will be fine.




Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates...The world's biggest givers...and richest
That is why I weep for opponents of capitalism. You wail about its lack of morality, yet you cannot survive without products off its shelf. The best inventions of man were achieved out of capitalistic tendencies. Look at most of the billionaires in the Gates and Buffet Giving Pledge, they are in fact atheists in large numbers. If there is a Heaven for Givers, these ones will be the rulers there.
Fellow Nigerians, we can blame the government for its entrenched culture of waste and they are indeed wasters, but we have as a people wasted more resources engaging in things that count for nothing. An old man dies, millions of naira get spent to cater for his death after which his survivors die trying to get a few thousands to earn a means of livelihood or find even lesser sums to go to school. We must look out one for the other. The N700,000 you are about to blow on a Brazilian hair that in most cases leave you even uglier could be the difference between a boy becoming a productive member of our society or the one that’d kill you someday in a fatal robbery attack. It is not just about visiting Children Homes, it is about making telling contributions to people’s lives every day. Start where you are, start with those you know, start today. Gather your old clothes (it is the height of wickedness to continue to keep clothes you no longer wear just to see your wardrobe full all the time, please do something about this) give someone in need. Imagine if we all decide to fill in the gaps of poverty left by our governments. We are indeed a good people and I know we can make a difference by doing more. If this piece gets one man to make that difference, I would have succeeded in starting a cycle that I believe is the path to our common prosperity.


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How We Became Unemployed 2. Written by Seun Onigbinde

The imported subsidized oil is used to fuel our imported generators on which Nigerians spend almost 2 trillion naira. What of impact on the environment and so on. We might have created jobs for the generators sellers in Oyingbo and Mikano might employ ten maintenance engineers but what is the multiplier effect on the general good of the economy. The same goes for rice and sugar importation when we have plains of fertile land. Vietnam, China and Thailand farmers will surely be smiling as our demand crumbles their inventory. We have the tact strategy, clear roadmap and implantation plan to fix this anomaly. I have seen volumes of documents, so I am not a nerd presenting new ideas. There is just a system that benefits government stooges.


They tap Nigeria like strings with efficient importation and collection of subsidy and you wonder why they would be happy to keep the system that way. The government that stands as a bridge for public good is scrambling for identity.


Our job agenda rather than distribute more motorcycles, make graduates traffic wardens, tree planters or cleaning officers, should be to first knit our education system with match classroom -to -industry teaching, entrepreneurial skills, boost infrastructure, SME lending and explore our natural resource from first to last end of value chain, and in between jobs will arise. Open new frontiers of service industry and upgrade skills of young talents to meet them. Dangote did a jobs report with FGN and one wonders if it a’int gathering dust. Sorry, he just employed 15,000 tanker drivers at the expense of the roads, are those the jobs we are dreaming of?

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Ruwa Dege Gidan Kashi written by Lanre Olagunju

If you are wondering what language it is? Or you’re thinking I’m going to write in a language I’m yet to fully understand, then I think I’ve achieved!

That the owners of this particular language house me on their land presently is making the ever inquisitive me more curious about their history and why they are quite behind in almost all ramification of civilization. The entire security threat the nation presently suffers hails from these quarters, and some are of the opinion that it’s because they’ve been marginalized, but I beg to ask who marginalized who and when?

Haven’t the northerners always had a fair share in government and politics? Didn’t the evil British colonials succeed at their agenda to give power to the north at all cost, due to the submissive and incredibly loyal nature they naturally posses? Were census result not manipulated for the north’s sake, were they not given accelerated promotions in the military so they could still rule over the southerners who gulped in so much of western culture, religion, and education?

Sure, someone would read this half way and lament “is this what we need at such a time as this?” maybe I should have even flaunted a disclaimer and say that anyone who is allergic to critical analysis as a result of whatever type of paralysis shouldn’t bother reading pass the title. It’s always more rewarding when we critically try to solve a problem from its root. But in a case where a country’s foundation is faulty what can the elite do?

My national call to serve in northern Nigeria has engendered me to so many things that I would have felt some lazy journalist cooked up if I read them on papers. Amazingly I can’t stop wondering if the amusement will ever end.

Exactly two days ago, a young girl around the age of say 13, walked into my lodge saying “sala mu alaikum”. I replied in the affirmative, and that gave her the impression that the Hausa language is my mother tongue. In her soprano voice, she covered me up with so many words than my Hausa ears of understanding and interpretation could not comprehend. I muttered “mai ke na so” meaning what do you want? Again in her lengthy reply, all I could decipher was “asha ruwa”- I want water. Then I gave her a cup pointing to the bathroom where she would get taps where drinkable water could be fetched. Sincerely you won’t believe me! I was taken aback to discover that she actually dipped her hands into the toilet seat to fetch water that went from her mouth through her throat and then to her stomach. I was intensely helpless. I had to call someone to explain what had just happened to her; there and then, I heard and learnt the title for this piece. The poor girl became so scared and was wailing profusely. But how on earth can an adolescent be so dumb to do such? Then a colleague said she probably hasn’t seen a water closet all her life put together.

It’s not hard to believe because in March, UNESCO’s report revealed that the Hausa woman is the least educated on earth: 97% of Hausa women between the ages of 17 and 22 have completed less than 2years in school.

This is a place where cows are one of the most valuable assets to the people; it is here that I see hefty adults sit conveniently in the car trunk when the car is already filled to the brim. Also, it’s here in the north that I see babies give birth to babies, is it not here that primary school kid’s say good morning when the sun is long gone?

How come the British favoured region has now overly become the most impoverished and frightening? Or could it be that they held back education from the north so they could manipulate the people easily?

It’s only manifestly clear that being powerful isn’t enough. I don’t know who Tuface was talking to when he said “power is nothing when your people are dying of disease and starvation” but I forward his words to the former and present day northern leaders who couldn’t do enough to ensure that the mind of their people is developed via any meaningful and peace oriented means of education. UNICEF has estimated that school age children who are out of school in Nigeria are about 10million, and about 8million of them are the almagiris who roam the street with dirty plates, torn clothes and white faces in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Bauchi and some other parts of Northern Nigeria. They’ve been denied the opportunity of living and growing up in a family so why won’t they become utensils for national chaos in the hands of evil politicians and fanatics who have malevolent tendencies.

I wish that Nigerians could see these politicians for their true colours, they are after the pockets and bellies alone, if not, how can we have such primitives and backwardness in the north when their leaders have had the most opportunity to rule Nigeria. It boils down to the fact that it is not where the president is from that matters, but how much he cares about bringing development to Nigeria. The good treatment I have received since coming here also shows that Nigerians are not their own enemies as the political class wants us to believe. The enemy is the man who paints that picture in order to divide and rule. Having said this, the road to Obasanjo’s house in Ota Ogun state is a death trap despite his multiple years in government.

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How we Became Unemployed By Seun Onigbinde

There was a time in this country when telephone was a prime luxury. My Dad lived in Lagos and only one Mr Ade owned a telephone line 825037 on the street. So I called Lagos from Ibadan hoping my dad will be around and someone hadn’t padlocked the phone. But we are witnesses of rapid change in our life as a result of boom in the telecomm sector. How in over ten years we have moved from an abysmal 400, 000 lines to 83 million lines? It is to the credit of Olusegun Obasanjo and Ernest Ndukwe that we have seen this boom but that they have left NITEL to stink is a matter for another day. I am concerned with the value chain analysis of the telecoms sector and the impact on jobs.


When the telecoms sector came in, there was massive boom in banking and structuring facilities for them (jobs), then you have to print recharge cards (jobs). Someone has to distribute recharge cards along the retail and wholesale level (jobs). I have more than seven spots on my streets that sell recharge cards on my phone if we extrapolate that nationwide that will equal millions of jobs. Not neglecting that I can use my ATM, mobile or web because someone sits the server end (jobs). Then the companies have to do advertising, network expansion through local contractors, excavates the sites, cleaners, security agents to man offices and masts (jobs), someone imports telecoms equipment, there is a clearing and forwarding agent, then someone starts a telecomm training center and employs an engineer. MTN thinks of Who wants to be a millionaire contracts it to an event manger (jobs), event manager guy looks for ushers, skilled cameraman, animation experts. Can you ever think of how many schools have been built, CSR projects and jobs such as customer service officer, tower riggers, mobile app developers, network engineer, phone retailers and much more? These were lost jobs of the past when we were obsessed with NITEL but a simple government policy backed by law made this happen.


Now let’s take the analysis of the oil that we have and don’t refine, the land we own that we don’t till or the iron that we have and can’t make steel. With facts I am sure of, it is estimated that, about US$910mn, on a monthly basis, was expended to import refined petroleum product in 2010. In the same year, the country earned an estimated average monthly income of US$3.5b, translating that about 26% of total oil earnings for the year goes out of the economy to settle the purchases of refined petroleum product! Why would our last refinery be built in the early 80s? Why would after the firesale of OBJ technically deficient refineries, Yaradua reversed it and we still have not moved an inch to building even cottage or modular refineries.


You extract oil and government takes full taxes on the oil its people would use. Then you pay a foreign shipping line to take it to Ivory Coast or anywhere and then the foreign government takes all the taxes and duties for the import. The refineries get the oil refined but will surely do it with a profit (the cost to be borne by Nigerians). Rather than we profit from the residue of oil needed by plastics, petrochemical and other allied industries, we pay the shipping company back to bring only petrol, kerosene and diesel separately back to us. Then our customs and others take full import duties charges at our ports. When oil fluctuates due to the madness of Ghaddafi, the costs of subsidies rise as well for Nigerians. Rather than us build lasting structures for refining, we create a short circuit founded on patronage and about N785bn was estimated to have been spent on petroleum subsidy in 2010. At very export of the crude oil, we have also exported direct and indirect jobs. We sold the job of the fresh engineering graduate, the nimble accountant, the KPMG auditor, the recharge card seller, the canteen woman, the technician with three kids in school.

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Fix Education, Redeem the Nation! by Lanre Olagunju

Education is admirable and its importance in a multinational state with a population of over 140 million, with a federation of 36states and Federal Capital Territory with over 350 languages like Nigeria can’t be overemphasized. Transformation of the mind and economy will only remain a frightening vision without a quality structure of either formal or informal education or at best both.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has stated clearly that the main responsibility of the Federal government in basic education is in the sphere of policy formulation, coordination and monitoring.

The federal government is solely responsible for the funding of the tertiary institutions, anyway, the unity schools and technical colleges benefit from the direct control of the federal government as well. A great mass of our secondary schools are under the domain of state government including a considerable proportion of the nation’s tertiary institution. Local governments are saddled with the managerial responsibility for primary education. Nevertheless, both state and federal government exercise appropriate oversight functions from time to time.

Though Primary and junior secondary education constitutes basic education that is free and compulsory, yet you would rather feel at home in any of the Nigerian prisons be it Kirikiri or panti than these ‘supposed to be’ places of learning.


The only question you may want to ask is if this is truly a class or an asylum.

Before now every single community in the country has got a customary pattern of educating its people and this traditional pattern of education safeguards socialization and inter-generational transmission of cultural heritage.

Considering that Islam and Christianity religion are both foreign. At the arrival of the Islamic religion, the indigenous method of educating was infused with the Islamic system and that was solely responsible for the highly sophisticated, organized and literary evolution in Islam oriented region. The advent of the Christian missionary brought western education, though it never received a cheerful embrace in areas of strong Islamic influence while areas with strong Christianity influence embraced the new form of education. Till date, the educational imbalance between the two areas can be greatly attributed to this historical occurrence.


The English weather-like changeability that Nigeria economy has suffered over the decades has largely rubbed on the educational sector. During the oil boom era, centralization was introduced into the country’s education policy and very ambitious but short-lived expansion programs were embarked upon by government with the objective of increasing access to all the levels of education. This was an era when Nigeria had an annual GDP of 6.2%, although 90% accounted for oil. During this oil boom, government conveniently intervened in all aspect of education, so our education sector was vibrant though the vibrancy suffered a natural death at the end of the oil boom in the 70’s when our short sighted government became terribly broke and then household poverty went northward.



Consequently, poor families couldn’t send their children to school, either because school was too expensive to afford or because the return on education wasn’t encouraging. The volume of drop out increased, and children couldn’t but become vital utensils to fetch extra- income for the family upkeep. In fact, the nation admitted that it has over 10million children out of the school system. Report from a research study on open Apprenticeship scheme revealed some of the reasons why some kids don’t attend school include poverty, desire for work so as to earn a quick living.




The epileptic state of government controlled education birthed the intervention of more private participation in education delivery. Nigeria has a country has fulfilled almost all of the index of a failed state and no doubt the educational sector isn’t any better. After all, pictures don’t lie. Since our leaders don’t have their children in public schools or even in private schools in the country but the very expensive ones in the United States and the UK we can’t but keep crying over spilled milk. In 2003, during campaign for governorship elections the former Anambra state governor, Mr. Peter Obi did all he could to influence voters to his side by promising to bring back his children to Nigeria from England to attend public schools as a proof for his love for Nigeria. Did he fulfill the promise? Your guess is as good as mine.


The federal executive council has established six new universities in each of the country’s geopolitical zones in order to bridge the admission gap for students seeking universities admission. Last year alone, only 527,000 out of 867, 000 candidates who actually met the cut off mark for the UTME could gain admission into the university. Infact, the entire university system can only accommodate less than 20% of those seeking admission into our almost ruined universities. Its crystal clear that there is huge absence of planning, monitoring and investment in a sector so vital to the human capital development.


Since the 90’s till now, the funding of the tertiary education sector has been awkward, since different administration showed preference for other priorities including personal gratification having a larger than life share. It’s so terrible that allocations can’t cater for salaries and allowances of personnel. Libraries and laboratories are now in a shadow of themselves. Within 1962 and 2002 the total number of student’s enrollment skyrocketed from 2000 to 500,000 without an equivalent provision for expansion of infrastructure. The idea of creating 44 more universities, starting with the first six isn’t a poor one itself but the question is, is it not like treating a symptom while nurturing the disease?, considering that the five main challenges facing Nigeria universities are poor funding, quality, access, relevance of programmes and university governance and management. Consequently, employers are bitter that majority of Nigerian university graduates are unemployable. Or how else do you describe a B.Sc holder whose interview had to be conducted in pidgin English or in local language? Since that’s the only safe way the company could safeguard its building from oral bombs before ventilating the "we would get back to you" phrase.

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Free Market System Would Free Africa by Lanre Olagunju

Despite the surplus that dwells plenteously on its fertile land, regarding the abundance of human capital, Africa, being the second largest of Earth’s seven continents, covering 23 percent of the world’s total land area and containing 13 percent of the world’s population still, Africa pursues traditional subsistence activities, which continues to provide sustenance for the majority of Africans. Till date, in spite of increasing levels of industrialization in many countries, Africa’s raw materials are exclusively being produced primarily for export. It’s crystal clear that being blessed is not enough. Countries like Niger and Nigeria among others boast of a whole lot of unexploited natural resources yet to be utilized.

Africa is rich in nature but richer in corruption, richer in customized and modern serfdom, richer in deceitfulness in government. Therefore, the benefits of freedom and equality that free market economy provides cant but remain alien to Africa.

Through deliberate reform or violent fight back, most of African nations won independence in the 1950s and 1960s. The colonial era is gone and long forgotten but many African nations have spent their post colonial era trying various forms of failed government with Marxism and military rule reigning longest? Of all the several effects of slavery, which Africa had more than enough to muster; the slavery of the mind is the greatest. Slaves don’t have the rights to think on their own or experiment new ideas, slaves don’t own anything, slaves don’t invest or buy because they have been bought. This is the only effective method slave masters use in retaining lordship over their subjects. Consequently, tyranny in government in the post colonial era is a carryover from the colonial era which is long over but with seemingly everlasting effect.



Over dependence on foreign aid and ‘kleptocratic’ governmental mismanagement is destroying Africa faster than the after effects of war. Or how else does one explain that funds gotten from foreign aids are been siphoned by government officials or at best, spent on things the funds have no business with.

A number of projects don’t see the light of the day while many die an unusual death even before maturity. Why? Over 80% of the funds goes into buying cars, office furniture, meetings, entertainment and the rest of the belly turning expenses that has got no business with the funds in the first place. This is a usual occurrence in Africa and the main reason poverty has become a second nature.

It’s worth noting that despite increasing population, food production has increased by 90% all over the world and this has got a ripple effect on real food price so as to decline by 75% in the last five decades. Unfortunately, many African nations are alien to greater agricultural productivity, internal economic freedom, international trade, a market system without over burdening government intervention, free financial market; which are all factors that brought about such a phenomenal transformation in world food production.

The most successful set of ground rules for coordinating economic activities is the system of protected private property rights which also include the protection of life and limbs and more importantly a private autonomy to compete under the rule of law. This also is out rightly absent and void in many African nations. Public policy normally do not co-ordinate human conduct as good as free market. Albert Einstein couldn’t have said it better when he said “everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom” many traditional collective pursuits such as the provision of water or electricity are nowadays satisfied more effectively by competing private providers.

A critical study of India’s economy reveals that over population, colonial exploitation, pervasive corruption, chaotic democracy, high illiteracy, anti-materialism and fatalistic culture is not solely responsible for India’s poverty rather absence of economic freedom.

A country with a per capita income of US$500 and about US$3100 in purchasing power parity is no doubt a poor one. But India is rich in potential, powered and driven by ordinary uneducated people who have mastered and outlived the excessive involvement of government and byzantine policy which pedals every aspect of the India economy since 1950.

In the 1930s, India emerged one of the developing countries in the world to manufacture automobiles, but interestingly these inventions are made by poor illiterates. Rather than support and encourage such brilliant innovation, the law requires an unaffordable cost to test run such invention. None of these vehicles currently qualify for registration and they aren’t permitted to move on public road under the law. What a law! Consequently, India has one of the lowest densities of vehicles in the world but being a pluralistic democracy, it’s pretty easier to bend this tortuous and anti-developmental regulation. Besides automobile industry, the IT revolution birthed by the vibrant informal sectors is also facing stifling growth due to excess taxation and detrimental government policies, same goes for other economic sector in India.

The relentless and dogged people of India have made it known that consumers are willing to pay for reliable services like electricity, education, automobiles, pay television and the rest. Also, given the opportunity and conducive environment, entrepreneurs can expose the myths of natural monopoly even in sectors as conventional as electricity.

The wrong notion that markets will only thrive amongst developed infrastructure has been proved mistaken by the informal economy sector of India. The reality is that wealth is accumulated through markets and not necessarily a prerequisite for markets to exist.

The revolution and transformation Africa longs for and desire might never materialize until the resurrection and proper use of her dead capital. An estimated $9.3trillion of dead capital exists in developing and former communist countries and these are assets that got the potential to initiate surplus production and increase productivity if adequately maximized. Wealth has to be created in Africa and the most appropriate way is to create incentive for individuals to do so. Free market is the path out of poverty.

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FROM ME TO YOU by Lanre Olagunju

Let me start my expressing my heartfelt gratitude to all those who made my day on the third of June, which is precisely four days ago. Men! You guys made me feel like a celebrity that I am… or did I hear you say potential celeb? As I write, I struggle with the urge to mention names of those who made this precious but simple me feel like a star. No superstar. But since the list is an endless one, just permit me say a golden thank you to you all. And to those who forgot there would always be a next time. I understand. This is my simple gift to everyone, including you, and it’s from me to you. It’s revealing a part of me. Enjoy.

“The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happened to them all”. In these seemingly unfair but just words I solace and build my arsenal for constructive optimism. Exactly two decades and five years ago, I vacated the heavens, though with no choice of choosing my location, neither was I encumbered with the responsibility of picking a race like no one was. But this I do and do conscientiously too, I remind myself always of what I must become, because presently there is a robust distinct between the content of my production manual and my present performance.

With every beginning you would agree that there is most times an element of shapelessness, obscurity, and emptiness, just like the initial case of planet earth where we all now dwell and reside. Nevertheless, the incentive for the mishap of past years dwells in the confidence that tomorrow is absolutely incomparable to the present. Anyway I’m armed with the knowing that each day unravels the destiny I hold in high esteem, and I’m quite fortunate to realize early enough that it’s absolutely my responsibility and mine alone to strengthen and fortify myself, since I've got the intelligence that “no one owes you nothing”. This singular factor I know will make me; because it first changed my perception therefore I can truly say it has changed my life.

As the full glimpse of how the beginning began fades bit by bit, I can only crave that some memories shed off me as the process of ecdysis in reptiles. I sometimes ask how come I still maintain a healthy self esteem, despite all that a particular aunt did to ensure that I look very miserable while I stayed under the nose of my parents. In case aunty ever gets to read this, I’m saying this because I've forgiven you but that I haven’t forgotten.

Many friends feel I should just have my name as Lanre, but I so much nurse the apprehension that the name would lose its beauty and meaning since the richness of a name dwells in its full pronunciation. -so I think! By a way of digression, have you ever considered if your name has got any effect on you? I’m African and I think mine does. I long realized that in my case, the end is most times the compensation of the seemingly unpleasant or cloudy beginning. However, things just get better and better over time with little or sometimes no effort.



Let me open you to one of my very deep secret as long as you promise that I can trust you with my life. After all we all have secrets. This crime I have committed so well. See, despite that I claim to be a celibate at twenty five; I spent the ingenuous days of my life in the warm arms of another man’s wife. To this effect, for every reason under the sun I would choose the person of my mum over and over again. Though if I must confess, there were times I considered her as over demanding, due to her endless list of dos and donts. Heavens knows that words like “jeki baba e de” meaning your dad will handle your punishment at his return sends shivers all over my spine just at their ventilation. I dread these words much more than anything I can ever remember, at least as I write. The feeling of fear and unease can be compared to the cold that runs through the spinal column of a young promising folk who has just been informed that his new status includes ‘positive to HIV’.

If you ask me I would sincerely say that I know better and truly I do. Lanre now understands that she was only trying to emphasize and re-emphasize why we must uphold good character at all times. Can I trust you again? She mustn’t hear this o. Even till now I still considered some of her nagging as over-reacting. Nevertheless, I remain her number one fan.

I’m pretty detailed and analytical, and that can sometimes be quite irritating. I want to know all the whys and why nots before venturing into anything. That makes me worry than an average person does. And the mind you will agree is a remarkable mechanism. The ability of the mind to fulfill intricate tasks with such an amazing speed is notoriously incredible. When I say “what could be wrong?” like I often ask myself. The invisible me compiles and cross reference a list of results just like Google does. A list comprising of things I should have done that I didn’t or things that I should have done better, and in other cases, things that I should have avoided. All of this crops up at a blinding speed. Being the kind that frequently looks out for that which is unfixed so I can fix, my brain succeeds at each point to shower me with a countless list of things I should be worried about and that sometimes, sincerely, dumps me in a perfect state of madness even amidst sanity. Any way am gradually getting over it through personal therapy.



I’ve got so much trust in God, infact he’s a friend who also doubles as a lover. A lover who has been conscious of me while I was unmindful of Him, this lover cum super friend has lent dignity to my existence. In fact I’ve been blinded by the brightness of wholesome affection. In His seeming “foolishness” I have found deep wisdom and direction, in His arms have I found incorruptible affection.

Lanre speak faster than he naturally can. So it makes me sound like a stammer because I may have to repeat my sentences all over again at a slower pace. So I can be clear. But thank God I’m not. I have a great taste for high flying life. I love the red carpets and the green ones too. I use to be among those who say guys shouldn’t wear a chain, but these days I carry one around my neck round the clock. The sentimental feeling behind this particular one i'm wearing broke my long time belief, and also opened my taste for quality neck ornament because if it is not gold it won’t stay.

I have repeatedly failed at several attempts to get out of the poor rat race legally, that I’ve failed before is the reason why I will attain legally. Am contended with what I have and also with what I don’t have. I just don’t feel less important that I can’t afford the blackberry of my choice. But I feel deeply insecure when I know or feel that I don’t just know enough. I studied hydrology, only to discover later that I have a natural knack for psychology and the social sciences. I love to study people and relate their experiences and exposure to why they behave differently. But since it is erroneously believed that the smartest kids should be in the sciences, I headed for the sciences. Anyway, I’m gradually tracing my steps.

Against all insinuations that am overtly extroverted. I know that I could be quite shy at times. The real me that others don’t get to see just wants to stay indoor as long as I can, burying my nose in one book or the other or better still stare at my notepad all day either writing or reading as if my whole life depends on it.

I cherish two categories of people, the intelligent ones and the sincere ones. I tolerate the unintelligent though you don’t get to learn much from them. But I hate those who are not sincere or those who feel they can always cunningly outsmart others. A good number of my friends will ever remain big share holders in my success. Infact some of them can’t get me offended anymore, less they take my woman…lol. I’ve been blessed by the content of their intellect and in every sense I am better for it. There’s this particular one who has an amazing ability to help me overcome my flaws and some of my inadequacies. We’ve stayed long enough together to be referred to as twin brothers. And indeed he is. And there is another who makes me feel that I've got a lot to do and that I haven’t started despite that I’m just as unique as he is. I call him a workaholic and really he is.

I love people, but I love little children more, there is no point trusting the former blindly, because of its grave consequences, but for the latter I’m always fascinated by their pride in simplicity and ability to forgive before been offended.

I can’t wait to behold Daniel and Daniela though I sometimes wish that kids give birth to their mothers….lol. I’m not taking any girl serious for now due to simple yet complex reasons I don’t want to discuss. I’ve got many good and fantastic female friends, anyway some are seen and others are unseen (thanks to the internet). And there exist some that I love them enough not to love them at all . But for this marriage thing, since they say it’s more of endurance and tolerance it brings me more fear than a promise of bliss.

I love to talk and some are of the opinion that I’m talkative; I love those with a wicked sense of humor because I love to laugh and love to make others laugh too, someone said I have a smiling face and therefore nicknamed me‘Ismaila’. I lived with anointed dissers in my first and second year in the university, there and then I learnt to diss intelligently and harmlessly too.

That I belong to a family where babies die at eighty-plus is the guarantee that I would be around for a long time. But somehow I sincerely always nurse this fear of growing old not for death sake. ‘Abeg!’ but because of my set goals and their timing. I’ve always wondered where I was when young and brilliant folks like the Chude Jideonwos, Debola Williams, Tosin Otitojus, and Toyosi Akereles of this world started out with life while their peers were fascinated with childish fantasies. I'm more knowledgeable not to compare myself to others, other than be inspired by their mind blowing achievements. Larry will succeed and you too.

Cheers folks like mum will endlessly say. It’s well.

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JIGAWA BAWO! By Lanre Olagunju

That we compulsorily recited all the states and capitals in Nigeria every school day for six years in primary school didn’t stop me from checking Jigawa state on Google as if it was a new word.

Talking about primary school reminds me of those early days of schooling, and if you ask me I still feel that those naïve days left a more enjoyable memory in my schooling memoir. This were times when you just wanted to do everything practically possible to be on top of the competition, either at answering questions in class or copying notes from the chalkboard. Nobody wants to be wooed by fellow colleagues or be nicknamed by the super talented dissers. Besides that, it’s pretty smart and canny to avoid the heavy and torrential effect of the teacher’s cane or ‘Uncle’ like we most times refer to our male teachers.

But for many reasons which I just feel I shouldn’t bug you with, at least for now. I didn’t really have too many long lasting or terrific memories while in the university. Really if I must confess, I was already tired of staying in school in my second year. I lost the desire to do sciences. However, I couldn’t but patiently and endlessly wait to complete my program which lasted almost six years instead of five academic years-no thanks to incessant strikes.

At the end of my final exams and project I was so glad. Partly because it was over but majorly because I can now desperately pursue my real life.

When it was time for clearance and other related documentations, I felt very reluctant to return to school. Some parts of my brain (whether left or right now I can’t tell) already attached inconvenience to school. The feeling is quite mixed anyway, mixed in the sense that, I always wanted to see my junior colleagues and more importantly draw strength from a place called Father’s House, in Abeokuta. This place is overly more dangerous than Okija shrine yet it’s a place where friends meet friends and we all meet Jesus. Like I most times say, I attended Fathers House but ironically graduated from University of Agriculture Abeokuta.

Just as there can’t be rain without clouds, also, without clearance there would be no call-up letter and without a call up letter no youth service. Therefore, I had to return to school after delaying my clearance for almost forever.

That curious filled afternoon, I could remember laughing heartily like I most times do. This time it was at a particular friend who has remained closer to me than my inner wears. I told him that how can he be so unfortunate to have been posted to Gombe state. Oh you need to see me pour scorn on my very good friend who was doing everything practically possible not to express his shock. But little did I know that he who laughs last laugh best.

At the site of my yellow card called Call up letter, my blood pleasure lost regulation and everyone around me could sense the unrest that travelled from the excess hair strands from my bushy afro down to my socks. I impatiently skipped other details on the letter as I rushed to the bottom where my fate would be revealed. Lo and behold it was Jigawa!

The funniest part was that camp would open in four days and my letter reads that I've been posted to Jigawa but amazingly my journey started first from repeatedly visiting the rest room as if my agenda in-there would make me serve in Lagos like I have always envisaged and proudly ventilated.

Initially I felt filling my empty belly with so much food would heal my empty yet heavy heart, I didn’t just lose my composure, I lost my wild appetite too. I couldn’t figure out how long the journey would take but friends and family who called me increased my blood pressure, they said stuffs like “Jigawa Bawo ” meaning why Jigawa? Others said ‘just ensure you redeploy after three weeks you can’t afford to stay in the north’. All of these just made me uncontrollably restless. But amidst this hullabaloo the positive side was that some had enough sympathy that they made me smile as their pockets and wallets brought a measure of calmness to my restlessness.

I travelled with one of the luxurious buses well known for plying the north. Meeting a fellow Corps at the Otto Park reduced the tension and helped raise some excitement after realizing that we shared the same Alma-Mata.

The overwhelming desire for more money by this transport company brought a promising looking journey to an abrupt halt when we got to somewhere around Berger, an outskirt of Lagos. Though there were few unoccupied sits here and there in the bus, but till now I can’t still understand why the bus crew took in passengers from the road side till there was no passage anymore in the bus, not considering that they could freely pick up robbers who actually have no precise destination. Anyway, my research revealed that it’s a tradition and that the act of picking up passengers on the road side and ensuring that the bus is filled till there is no air space is called ‘attachment’. A slight ethnic war almost commenced between those of us whose comfort had been thwarted and those who came in as attachments, as many attaches were northerners returning to Kano, you really need to see human beings hang and lean by the sit sides, on a journey that lasted over eighteen hours. Infact many sat on the floor.

Traveling via road engendered me with the opportunity of viewing the vast but un-maximized land that Nigeria has. Truly I could see for myself that Nigeria is so big and blessed though, for obvious reasons we don’t look it. Right from Zaria I could sense the temperature difference, I later discovered that the further we travel the hotter it becomes.

Gumel where Jigawa uses as NYSC camp has such a funny weather, during the day you can’t tell what exactly angers the sun that its pours out its venom angrily on the people of Gumel. The dusty wind wasn’t all that friendly, incredibly, even when your mouth is well closed, you just can’t tell how sand particles navigate their ways into your mouth and clothed body.

The camp experience was fun; it did two things for me; it made me admire the military the more especially in terms of discipline, strength, respect, bravery, and co-ordination. Secondly it was an opportunity to mix and interact with other graduates from different cultural and social background.


larigold


Going to the parade ground in the morning is an experience I wish lasted a lifetime. It’s so cool to jug with other colleagues while chanting funny songs that has the morale to raise the dead. I sometimes wonder what inspired those songs, they indeed boost morale especially when you respond to them sharply like they require. But I never loved going for parade in the afternoon or evening, you need to see Corps members faint on parade ground due to the venom of the sun which causes dehydration, cum dusty wind that blows sand particles even into your blood vessels. For the flies they can be so disrespectful, they go as far as kissing your dry and broken lips and that can be very annoying. At a point the regimented lifestyle became boring and the incessant sound of the bugle for boring lectures became nauseating. One singular thing I would also not forget camp for is the opportunity it afforded me to express my artistic cravings.


from L-R Teddy, Grampolo, Ibekwe, larigold


I took lead roles in dance and drama for my platoon (platoon three), I was able to work with brilliant young people who have studied theater art, and others who were just talented actors like myself. We came first in dance and second in drama and this made me feel cool all through camp. But annoyingly many folks didn’t get to know my real name because I was called by my stage name-Baba Bayo all through camp.


from L-R Grampol,Ibekwe, Larigold

It was another opportunity for me to make new friends especially the female ones since I went with big fishing nets. Though, it wasn’t all that easy when many relationships got terminated as a result of posting to different Places of Primary Assignment.

We weren’t informed of our participation as ad-hoc INEC staffs not until our second week in camp and I could remember that during training I asked that what security measure is in place for Corps members but sadly, no assuring or concrete response came.

The National Youth Service Corps, which is a brainchild of Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s administration in 1973, has brought so much call on the Federal government by a critical mass of the population to either review or scrap the scheme. The involvement of Corps members in the election wasn’t a bad idea in itself considering that many are serving outside their state, but while INEC was trying to achieve the utmost goal of having a free and fair election, it never paid attention to the doubt that existed on the minds or Corps members and their parents on security. No thanks, national salute or removal of hair dress to our northern brothers who cleared our doubt vehemently. All Nigerians, most importantly Corps members will agree with me that the executive governor of Bauchi state need attend a school of public speaking.

It’s sad enough that this jobless, illiterate and impoverished youth who are not of so much economic importance to the nation killed scores of vibrant, young educated people who have got more than the potential to birth the New Nigeria that we all crave for.

I rigorously pondered on the issue of scrapping the scheme and I almost agreed. In my opinion I think a review free of selfishness, greed and sentiment would be better. Because I realize that it’s a fundamental tool to promote unity among the educated young Nigerians who are saddled with the bigger than life responsibility of re-birthing our soiled and comatose nation.

I use this medium to salute all the 2010 and 2011 batch A youth Corpers and the ever brave and effective Nigerian Army for the bravery and response to the patriotic call with discipline and zest. After all, it’s this generation of Corpers that brought about the electoral revolution of almost free and fair election

Am getting more informed about the northern part of Nigeria and the peculiar issues that prevail. I now see no reason why Nigeria should be called a developing Nation since I now know that Nigeria doesn’t only comprise of Victoria Island in Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Abuja. In addition I’m also learning the Hausa language so fast so I can speak as fluent as I can before next February.

To all the national heroes who lost their lives during the last election I say may your heroic soul rest in peace. I also pray recovery of mind and soul to all their loved ones.

At this point I rest my case.

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10 months old kidnapped Enioluwa Odegbaike is back and better

I bless God with all that dwells within me at the amazing and splendid news of Eniola’s peaceful return.

Exactly seven days ago my heart was heavy and injured at the news of this missing baby. I had to join the prayer chain and read out the confession that was made available on the blog where I read the sad news.

I’m more delighted because it’s a show that God answers prayer.

How else can I start a new month? In fact, it’s like winning a trophy
Congratulations to the entire nation but most importantly the family of Odegbaike.

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