Now that Gaddafi is Dead...

Its funny how tables can turn overnight.  The once strongman of Libya was captured like a chicken early today when he was trying to flee from the overwhelmed city of Sirte, his birthplace which has been his hiding place since he was deposed in August this year.  This once reverred messianic persona who throd over the landscape of Libya like a collosus is now killed and has left the realms of the living.

There are lessons that we should learn from the mistakes and mishaps of others but most often than not, we do not get down to learn these lessons.  Gaddafi was alive when Liberia's Samuel Doe was captured and butchered like a goat in the 1990s when Prince Yommie Johnson and longtime Liberian war-lord turned President, Charles Ghankey Taylor led a splinter of rebellion against his regime.  Even the Ecowas Monitoring Group co-sponsored by the Nigerian government under the leadership of President Ibrahim Babangida could not save the then famous Sergeant Samuel Doe.

In the wake of the Arab Spring which spread across the Arab Magreb in Africa, Gaddafi saw how Ben Ali of Tunisia and his old friend, Hosni Mubarack were swept  by the whirlwind.  He never took notice to quietly stand down and take a deserved rest.  When the youths in his country began the uprising which led to his eventual removal and now death, he called them mad dogs and insisted that Al Qaeda was leading the "rebellion" and went as far as saying that the youths had taken some drugs which has led them into some kind of delusion.  Now we know who was being deluded. 

There are other sit-tight leaders still hanging around the African continent and in the Arab bloc.  In Africa, Cameroon's Paul Biya is approaching the 30 year mark, Eduardo dos Santos in Angola is been there about the same time.  Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe is in his 31st year as the only President to have led the republic since independence.  A dynasty of succession of leadership of sort is taking root in Togo with Eyadema Jr now in the saddle after his father passed away after over 30 years.  I believe that Gaddafi was also not unaware of the pranks that Ivorien former President Laurent Gbagbo tried to play after losing the election to Allasan Quattara late last year.  He was eventually captured after some months of dilly-dallying.  Despots and autocratic leadership will always end up in shambles.  If you always want to be a leader by hook or by crook, you will be hooked by a crook as well.

Gaddafi's demise should sound a clear signal once again to all undemocratic and authoritarian leadership across the African continent and the world at large that in today's world, there is no hiding place for the wicked.

A word is indeed enough for the wise.

NIGERIA: What manner of governance?

It is with pain in my heart that I write this post on Nigeria's leadership crisis.  It is a crisis because Nigeria has had issues with leadership since its advent as a nation that sought to lead itself since 1960 when it was handed an independence on a platter of gold by the British colonial masters.  We have had the misfortune of having leaders who were mostly rudderless and having no clue where to lead the nation.  As a matter of fact, some of our leaders needed to be properly led first before stepping into such positions of authority.  A whole lot of them had no personal leadership in their own lives - little wonder then that they could not lead at the political or national levels.

Leadership from the concept I seek to address here which is a scarce commodity in Nigeria is strange to many people in positions of authority in the country today.  While real leadership is about adding value to the lives of the people one is expected to lead, in Nigerian parlance based on the way politics is played, leadership is about a personal ambition to get a position of authority and command respect from people and at the same time use the position to amass wealth and display such wealth stupendously amongst the poor and disadvantaged Nigerians.  The former concept of leadership changes the society and adds value to the citizenry while the latter leaves the people more impoverished and the nation more sapped.

To my thinking, very few Nigerian leaders from 1960 were actually prepared to lead this vast nation.  My readers may chose to agree or disagree with me but we have had only two people who were actually ready to tackle Nigeria's leadership issues from the day they took over the reigns of leadership.  These two individuals knew from day one what their mission was and they set about doing it.  One of them started out and was cut down by the bullets of fellow soldiers in a bloody military coup.  The other came on board with grand plans but was sabotaged by the kind of people he surrounded himself with.  They are General Murtala Ramat Mohammed and General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida respectively.  All other leaders apart from the first set of leaders from 1960 to 1966 were all circumstantial leaders who got into leadership by chance and therefore had to try finding their feet while already in the saddle.  By the time they get an idea of what to really do having spent and wasted time trying to understand the complexity of the Nigerian situation, their tenure would have expired or they would be busy trying to enlongate their stay that they end up losing focus on the main business of governance and leadership.

The same is the case for the Goodluck Jonathan administration which is presently enmessed in a lot of problems it is finding difficult to grapple with.  Goodluck Jonathan was a circumstantial governor of Bayelsa State with no ambition or eye for Aso Rock until President Olusegun Obasanjo drafted him to run on a ticket with late Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua in the 2007 Presidential Elections.  He was still trying to get used to being thrust in the center when Yar'Adua took ill and he had to be saddled with the responsibility of becoming an Acting President.  While at that, his boss died and he became a substantive President.  Amidst all kinds of confusion, he announced his intention to run for the President and riding on the crest of popular acclaim for having a minority candidate and being so "innocent", he won the Presidential Election.  Now is time to lead the nation and he is being found wanting.

Communication as a leadership tool

The Nigerian people are becoming enlightened by the day.  They can tell when a leader is confused.  The best way to douse such insinuations (if they really are) is to speak directly to them.  There is a place for press statements through the Special Adviser on Media and Communcations, there is also the role of the Minister of Information and all the Cabinet Ministers responsible for specific job functions but the real leader of the nation is the President.  The buck eventually stops at his desk.  If he has a major policy thrust that he wants to carry out in the nation like the current issue of the State Governor's opposition to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and their insistence on the removal of the petroleum subsidy, as a President, is expected that he takes to the airwaves and address the Nigerian people directly on the issue.  He could also call a Presidential Press Conference and address the nation through that avenue and take questions off the hook from the members of the Aso Rock Press Corp.  That way, Nigerians can be properly informed.  But the reverse is the case.  The President of Nigeria is silent and many of the other leaders are busy engaged in a cacaphony of noise thereby confusing the Nigerian people and leaving a picture of a confused leadership.

When the British nation was under attack by Nazi Germany during the World War II, the Prime Minister of the British, Sir Winston Churchill spoke to the heart of the nation and charged them to be strong.  His voice represented the English nation's resolve not to be cowered to submission by the madness of Germany's Hitler.  On the strength of his powerful communication, he galvanized the English troop even though weak compared to the Germany machines to victory.

Every remarkable American President had changed the tide of the mood of the nation at adverse times through direct and powerful use of words to communicate to the American public.  Besides the prepared speech and the paraphenalia of state protocols, powerful leaders have been known to speak off the hook from their heart to convince their citizens that as leaders, they were on top of the situation.

Why would President Jonathan play the ostrich at this time of our national emergency and by not communicating directly with the Nigerian people?  It is time to speak your mind about the critical issues and if you think we oppose government's position, try your best to convince us and if we are not, do a rethink.  You are there to serve us and not the other way round.  Be courageous and be bold.  Take the reins of leadership and give the Presidential job your best job.  A whole generation of people is counting on you and the destinies of millions is hinged on your decision today.  We are waiting.

My Headache Over Nigeria...

Dateline was Saturday, October 8, 2011:  The place was the National Stadium in the heart of Abuja, Nigeria's sprawling capital city.  The occasion was the make or mar African Nations Cup qualifier between Nigeria's Super Eagles and the Syli Stars of Guinea.  The stakes were high and much was expected from the Nigerian team.  They needed a slim win of 1 goal to nothing and they would be through to the Nations Cup starting in Equitorial Guinea/Gabon on January 12, 2012.

As expected, Nigerian fans came out in their numbers to support their home team.  The world outside was watching on cable TV as the event was being beamed live to every Nigerian home and those in the Diaspora.  At the end of 90 minutes, the result was Nigeria 2, Guinea 2.  Verdict:  Guinea has qualified ahead of Nigeria to play at the bi-annual soccer fiesta.  For records:  This is the first time in 25 years that the National Team of Nigeria has failed to qualify for the Nations Cup.

The Nigerian fans who went into the stadium expecting to come out celebrating were so frustrated some of them who could not stomach the defeat had to resort to damaging some of the stadium facilities.  As much as such venting of anger is unnecessary, one can understand the frustration in the land not just only in the area of football but also in every sphere of our national life.

After a thoughtful reflection time on the ouster of Nigeria from the Nations Cup, I got out of my angry mood and suddenly I was no longer surprised that Nigeria would not be at the soccer fiesta.  Why should we single out football administration and artistry from the many troubles we are having as a country. Is the country not one?  Are the players and soccer administrators not part of the corporate entity called Nigeria?  The rot we have in the nation is inclusive of the sports realm.

Our national institutions are collapsing right before our eyes and our so-called leaders are busy speaking English and giving press statements.  The reality on the street is a far cry from the "reality" in the laptops they carry out in the different state houses and Aso Rock proclaiming a drop in inflation.  There are more people out of jobs than those in any gainful employment.  Our educational institutions are bereft of any standards.  Many Nigerians who can now afford it are sending their kids by road through the Lagos axis to Accra where the standard of education in Ghana surpasses all of ours here.  Our children who get out of secondary schools number over a million every year yet our Universities can only support the admission of a little over 150,000.  No provision exists for the remaining 850,000 even if they are qualified.  While we struggle with that, the rate of failure in the secondary school WAEC examinations is a national embarrassment.  To worsen the situation, they are not issuing conflicting results on the internet and in hard papers!

Are we this daft as a nation not to be able to produce a leadership that can fix things in record time?  We have been giving President Goodluck Jonathan a benefit of the doubt for the past 2 years.  Yes, he won a fresh mandate in April, but he has been in the saddle for nearly 2 years.  Where is the impact of his being there?  The power situation improves only on the pages of newspapers and our hospitals are national morgues of repute!  Recently, I took a personal war with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano where patients are treated worse than animals.  No wonder, the rate of deaths in that hospital is alarming.  I have lost two kids to the lacklustre attitude of their personnel and consultants.  A family friend who was about to be delivered of her first baby was so delayed because there was "no bed" for two straight days and when she went in for a CS, she could not come around neither was the baby alive!  Yet she undertook all her ante-natal sessions in that same hospital.

The other madness that has entered the head of the leaders is the issue of the  quarrelling over the Sovereign Wealth Fund which was set up to inculcate into the consciousness of the nation the culture of savings.  The State Governors who have refused to think up other revenue generating activities within their respective states are clamouring for the scrapping of the fund to enable them continue their looting spree.  The immediate past Governors now being queezed by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) were all part of the ones who opposed former President Obasanjo for starting the Excess Crude Oil Fund back in 2003.  We now know why they wanted the money.  They claimed the wanted to alleviate poverty but the poverty was actually in their pockets.  How can a single individual loot over 20 billion Naira?  Can you imagine what that amount can do in alleviating poverty and providing gainful employments to our teeming youths?

If the situation continues this way, like many people have alluded to which I do not have the evidence to prove otherwise, we are headed for the precipice and a failed state stares us all in the face.

That is my headache about Nigeria and it is getting me really worried.  

You Can Survive Anything Thrown @ You!

I have not been too faithful to postings and updating my blog of late, but it is not unconnected with the huge demands on my time in the last couple of weeks.  In some random thought processes which I tried to streamline over the last couple of days, I want to share a few thoughts on the significance of your remaining steadfast in the midst of the storms you might be going through right now because inside you is a capacity to survive anything thrown at you.


It is critical to know that nature and even the devil (for the spiritually conscious) will always try to prevent any change that is set to produce better results in your life.  Take the life of a corn sown in a soil for instance.  The first reaction of the earth is to squeeze and muzzle the corn by killing it.  But in the killing of the seed of corn is its life for replication!  What the earth was trying to kill springs up with a stronger force from inside the seed itself and defies the earth and grows to be a blessing - fulfilling its original purpose!


In the same vein, whenever you as an individual try your hand on anything new that has the tendency to change the course of your life, nature and the devil (even using human beings and those close to you) will conspire and gang up against you to stop you.  But I have good news for you:  any time you come against a very strong opposition whenever you set your heart to do what is right, you must immediately realize that whatever it is you activated yourself to do is a good thing and will bless you and the society around you.


Having a mindset of a victor from the outset of any venture is very critical to your winning.  If you believe you can win, then you will win.  If you think you are not up to the task and will not win, then the situation will respond with an appropriate reaction of defeat.  You must remember that the law of attraction is always at play.  You attract whatever you constantly dwell and think about.


There are so many things that will distract you from moving ahead in whatever you have your hand upon.  They include people who speak down on your dreams - stating that you do not have to it takes to succeed, or that your time is past or you are too young; situations that will prevent you from taking necessary steps because of public opinion - by all means die to public opinion and develop a person opinion by which to live. As long as that opinion is unique to you and not inimical to sound godly principles, you are on track.


I just feel like encouraging you today.  Stay focused, don't fret over the mountains you see - if you get closer and walk towards it, it will reduce to a size you can overcome.  If you stay afar off, you will never overcome the obstacles you see.  Some of these obstacles are mere mirages that do not really exist - when you move towards them, they disappear.  You are equipped to be a consistent and natural winner.  Live with that mentality today!

Of the Nigerian Cross-roads, Libya's Fugitive Dictator & Myself...

Nigeria is obviously at a crossroads... besides the alarming security situation which has further degenerated over the last couple of weeks, the economy is barely holding together in spite of Government's claim of reduction in inflation figures.  I believe that is the workings of some paper and computer calculations which is not having a direct bearing on the man on the street.  Our government has continued to reel out the thousands of megawatts of electricity it has continued to generate on paper too.  In the house where I live, I have not seen electricity for nearly one year... we have had to depend on generators.  Transformers are bad and we are left to our fate.  Yet, how do you want me to believe that the megawatts of electricity has increased?

At state government levels, our workers have been going on strike on account of fully legislated minimum wage amount.  State Governors are prevaricating on payment of the wage benchmark which has already been signed into law.  In Kano State for instance, throughout last week, as the State Government Civil Servants downed tools, banks in the commercial city also joined in the fray to stop depositors and customers from depositing funds or withdrawing money.  Corporate organizations who have no access to ATM cards are left to suffer.  What is the relationship between privately run banks and the State Government employees?  Is this some form of solidarity?  Businesses in states involved are suffering huge losses.

Security situation in Jos and on our highways are begging for serious attention.  Jos is almost heading for a Somalia-like brigade where no real government can be felt because as it were in the days of old in Israel, there was no king and every one did what was right in his own eyes.  That anarchy level must not be allowed to prevail on the Plateau.  

While all these and many more happening, we need an active, responsive and proactive government to proffer solutions to the myriads of problems.  We must be careful to note that we have a huge population of educated youths who are roaming the streets without jobs.  We should not allow their frustrations to become filled to overflowing level.  The Arab Spring is still fresh in our consciousness and we must not make the mistake of thinking "it can never happen in Nigeria".  Nobody ever contemplated suicide bombing in Nigeria in the last 2 years; but today, we have joined the league of nations that have groomed within its territory internal terrorists ready to die for a cause (even if such causes are ironically not right - at least by our rationale judgement).

Col. Gaddafi in Northern Nigeria?

For weeks now, I have been shouting myself hoarse about the possibility of the Libyan crisis spilling over our borders because of the proximity of our northern neighbours to Libya and the fact that Niger as it were is a vast expanse of empty desert land that can be traversed by any group of people with less than noble ambitions.  In the wake of the NATO bombings over Libya to help the rebels opposed to Gaddafi topple the dictator, I remember sounding a note of warning via my facebook page that the Nigerian authorities should watch her northern borders for possible infiltrations.  Obviously, these warnings were ignored.  Gaddafi was toppled and he is on the run.  Latest reports indicate that his sons were among the convey of his military people who entered Niger, specifically spotted in the desert town of Agadez.  I again warned through facebook that we should take note of these happenings.  Just yesterday, I discovered the Nigerian authorities, through some media reports are putting security on high alert across the Northern cities of Kano and Kaduna as rumours filled the air of the possibility of Gaddafi being in the area!  What a shame!  How long are we going to continue to be taken for a ride?

Myself

I have not updated this blogspot for weeks now.  I have been busy with a lot.  LoveHouse International Gospel Center, my Church has been helping Singles in the North Western city of Kano to understand purpose of relationship and marriage.  We have had 3 sessions already and heading for Week 4 meetings.  Its been an incisive time all through and its joyful for me to see singles rejoice on account of receiving new information and correct one at that to help them make informed and result-oriented decisions in respect of their relationships.

I have been on the road a lot of late.  Having some work to do at Gwagwalada in Abuja and making new friends in the process.  Attended to issues in Zaria and Kaduna on media purposes.  I have discovered that in the midst of great personal conflicts, if you engage your mind on purposes issues, light will shine through and keep you through to the top.

Final Note

I am a passionate Nigerian and a patriot.  I make these statements on our situation as above based on true patriotism.  Our leaders must not lead like in the 1990s and early 2000s.  This is a new era with changing tides across the world.  We must be up and about.  Leadership is about seizing the initiative.  That we lack in quantum and we must cover lost grounds in good time before we are left behind by the rest of the world.  This is our moment, it is our time, we cannot fail this generation and the generations yet unborn.  Nigerian Leaders Arise!  I REST MY CASE...