#StopJungleJustice: Nigerians Have a Right to Life

If the Nigerian government can not guarantee its citizens the basic and fundamental right to life, what else can they provide?


This question came to fore November 17, when gory images of a young 7 years old boy who was accused of stealing a phone, badly beaten and later set ablaze in Badagry, out skirts of Lagos, trended in the social media, triggering widespread condemnation in both the social media and local media.

The Nigerian Police reacted to a tweet I posted that morning in which I copied the Senate, the Nigerian Police and Presidency issuing a statement denying incident, claiming that the person involved was not a young boy and that it didn't occur in the Badagry area of Lagos.


"We must put an end to such acts of #lawlessness and #barbarism.The @NGRSenate must enact a law to #StopJungleJustice now! @PoliceNG @MBuhari"

This reaction from the Nigerian  Police met a stiff received from the public, condemnation the denial despite videos and images that were circulated. However, it pleased me to know that the Senate condemned the killing and immediately put in motion a motion asking the police to stop jungle justice. The motion was sponsored by Gbenga Ashafa (APC, Lagos East) and supported by Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South).

Nigerians should come out and condemn this act and ensure that a law is passed to protect the rights of Nigerians against willful murder of persons by mob-action for petty stealing and sometimes, for apparent suspicion.

Related story: https://www.facebook.com/Coretvnews/videos/vb.1481802532031602/1820352484843270/?type=2&theater

Weak Political Structure: Bane of Bayelsa Problems



Photo: Ijaw Egbesu Dance Troupe www.opinionnigeria.com

"Aaaaah Izon! Izon keme emigha? Emi oooo!" The greatness of the Ijaw people is represented in this powerful eulogy, a call to order and unity. Whenever I hear this call, I duff my hat for the Ijaw race. It reminds me of hour great our people are.

We exhibited that greatness in the battlefield, and we have never lost a battle. We are great even in wrestling, dance and cultural festivals. The Ijaws never go begging, we are great hunters and fishermen. We farm to feed our families and you will never see an Ijaw man on the street that have no food to eat.

That is what we are and will continue to be. The Ijaw Nation has not fared very well in the area of politics. We appear not to understand the rules of the game of politics. Politics is about governance and how much development you can bring to your people from the federation. I repeat YOUR PEOPLE, not yourself.

Whether you like it or you do not accept it, the truth remains, the sections of the nation with the strongest political structures get the bigger share of the federal pie. What that tells us, is that we are pitched against those sections of the nation with great strength, and how much development we attract to our State depends tremendously on how politically united and organized we are.

Are the Ijaws demonstrating that natural greatness that we are known for? No we are not, not in the area of politics at least. This is easy to analyze. Draw up a list of the ten best performing States developmentally in the federation. Will Bayelsa be on that list? Of course not. Again, draw another list of States with the highest federal government allocation. On this new list, Bayelsa is the third highest earner.

What does that tell us? It tells us that we achieve very little progress in the area of development, despite the huge revenue earnings. Let us ask ourselves why? You know the answer, do you? Well, I will tell you. It is because we have a weak political structure and we do not understand the rules of the game of politics.

In politics, just like in wrestling, you select amongst your strongest wrestlers to represent your people, so too are we expected in politics to pick the sharpest and most qualified candidates to represent us at the State and federal level. Politics is also like the court, if you allow an inexperienced lawyer to handle your case, it is certain what the outcome of the case will be, because he will perform woefully.

What then is the significance of the saying, "Aaaaah Izon! Izon keme emi gha? Emi oooo!" When the present crop of politicians are not truly the great fighters 'olotus' that can represent the people well and make them proud. What we have now, are they really the best that can come out of Ijaw land?

Like Chess, politics is a game for the intellectuals. It is for responsible leaders with requisite qualities. We have allowed lazy wrestlers to hijack the Bayelsa political wrestling match, and the results are clear.

Bayelsans are no longer just fishermen and hunters. We now have some of the very best in the professions scattered all around the country and in the diaspora. They are well educated and trained employees of Banks, oil and Gas, foreign missions and multinational organizations, who are in managerial positions in these and other organizations. Many of which are intellectuals in their own rights and can fill the gaps and provide the much needed good leadership that is presently lacking in our politicians.

Community by community, if we produce our very best and put them through a screening process, we will surely find one very good person to represent us in the constituency, State and federal levels. We can create Regional Development Councils (RDCs) in each Local Government Area (LGA) to manage the selection process. Representatives of communities in the LGAs will constitute the RDCs.

These nominees are the once we will present to the parties for the primaries. At this level, every individual in the race is highly qualified and owes allegiance to the RDC that nominated them. That way the grassroots will have firm control of the political structure.

Let us take a second look at it. Bayelsans no longer just fish or hunt. We now have some of the very best in the professions scattered everywhere in the country and in the diaspora. They are well educated and trained employees of Banks, oil and Gas, foreign missions and multinational organizations, who are in managerial positions in these and other organizations. Many of which are intellectuals in their own rights and can fill the gaps and provide the much needed good leadership that is presently lacking in our politicians.

Community by community, if we produce our very best and put them through a screening process, we will surely find one very good person to represent us in the constituency, State and federal levels. We can create Regional Development Councils (RDCs) in each Local Government Area (LGA) to manage the selection process. Representatives of communities in the LGAs will constitute the RDCs.

These nominees are the once we will present to the parties for the primaries. At this level, every individual in the race is highly qualified and owes allegiance to the RDC that nominated them. That way the grassroots will have firm control of the political structure.

Bayelsa: The most mismanaged State in Nigeria

It is unimaginable why Bayelsa which is the smallest and one of the richest States in the federation, yet could not cater for its people, allowing them to starve and die in hunger and penury. Bayelsa only covers an area of 9,415.8 square kilometers, with a population of 1,704,515, a meager 1.2% of Nigeria’s total population.

Why such a tiny State will have a wage bill of N4.5 billion bugles my mind. Ebonyi State has a population of 2.3 million and a wage bill of N4 billion. With just a paltry 2.16bm federal allocation which the State receives, salaries are paid up to date and the State is embarking on massive rural development.

Bayelsa State July allocation alone was a whooping grand total of N19,197 billion, with N7.97billion from the 13 per cent derivation account and another N10billion from excess crude account. Additional N538million was also credited to its accounts for its councils and N597.7 million from the excess crude account for the local councils in the State.

I rank Bayelsa as the most mismanaged State in the whole of Nigeria. As for corruption, State has a legacy that speaks for itself. All this while when civil servants were being owed several months salaries, the Legislators and government functionaries of the State were regularly paid their salaries. This is to ensure that the executive is not under any form of impeachment treat or sacked by the House.

If Bayelsans don’t know why they are suffering, now they should know that the cause of their pains are from both the State House Assembly and the Government House, a tag team of evil collaborators fleecing the State of its resources and lying to the poor indigenes that they are conducting civil service head-count and biometrics verification.

Where are all the moneys the governor claimed he was saving for the rainy day during his first tenure in office? Now that the rains are here, let him produce the money, no, instead he is telling us that the State is broke.

We are all aware of the precarious financial situation the country finds itself. The drops in oil price, dwindling oil production, low exchange rate and high inflation have affected the economy very negatively. Not that I really care or sympathetic with the government, no because it was evident this would happen, judging by the very poor and reckless manner the government was being managed.

The Federal Government has disappointed the Niger Delta people, we agree, but the State government have disappointed its people even more. That is why I wonder why the struggles by the Niger Delta people are only focused on the Federal Government and not also to the States.

The federal government has always lied to us. They deceived us by creating the NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry to make believe that something is being done, meanwhile these agencies are conduit for challenging money back the same government officials. If you carry out a survey of the amount so far disbursed to these bodies, and compare it with the extent of work done in the Niger Delta, I can bet it won’t be up to 5 percent that has gone into projects in the region.

What really pains me the most is when I hear statements like the Niger Delta area have very bad terrain, and development poses great challenge to the government, it make me sad, because, when they enter the swamps and creeks, and dive our waters to drill oil, they never know the terrain is bad. The issue of the federal government is a discussion for another day.

Let us get it right in Bayelsa first, and that is my immediate concern. Clearly, the government of the State is sitting on its oars because all the persons and groups that are capable of bring pressure to bear on the government have been settled one way or the other and the poor people of the State are left to suffer with no support coming from civil society.

The Bayelsa people need to exert pressure on the government, which includes the State House of Assembly members, to make them pay greater attention to the poor and deprived children, mothers, elderly and unemployed youths of the State.

 

LEKKI: THE MILLIONAIRES HAVEN

The Suspension bridge connecting Lekki Phase I to Ikoyi, Lagos

Lekki is the new haven of the crème la crème of society. The millionaires hideout. A cocktail of growing rich neighborhoods hidden behind brick and mortar curtains of office plazas and shopping malls along the Lekki Peninsula expressway in Lagos. Evidently one of the fastest growing private development in the world.

Properties here are a hot cake both for developers and house owners. There has never been in the history of Africa or indeed any part... of the world where private development of public infrastructure of roads, drainages and electrification has been so immense. In Lekki you just don't see homes spring up over night, entire neighbourhoods emerge within months complete with roads, drainage, electrification and recreation.

Swamps are being reclaimed and turned to high grounds. The initial concerns of ocean surge and flood water have been substantially put under control by structural engineering prowess of the developers and Town Planners.

The type of structure you find here are world class and the residence here are both middle class and the super wealthy. Prices of properties here go from between N40 million to N300m.

Lekki Conservation Plaza

The key attractions of development to this area are the expansion of the Lekki road, Chevron office complex, the world class shopping malls the likes of De Palms, Shoprite, Games, Park N Shop, Walmart, Ebano etc., and the massive Free Trade Zone projects which include the new Lagos Airport and Sea Port projects.

Private industrial developments are rapidly emerging. The new refinery and fertilizer plants by the Dangote Group are now firing on 24/7.

This trend will continue and the value of properties will continue to appreciate. With very little government infrastructure the property sector is experiencing such massive growth, it has even more prospects in future when government begin to provide basic amenities in the axis.

Corrupt Politicians: Bane of Bayelsa's Poor Growth

My Ogboin brothers and sisters, let the truth be told, what dividends have all these appointments of Ogboin indigenes brought to the clan and the Bayelsa people? NOTHING!

So, why celebrate mere appointments without achievements. I will be happy if accomplished projects in Ogboin where listed, rather than celebrating the appointments of political non-achievers. I look at the childishness of our grassroot politics, at the least, it is laughable and disgraceful.

Why do Bayelsa politicians have this wrong belief that they have performed when they own big cars and acquire fancy homes, even to the detriment of the wretched helpless indegenes who pass through thick and thin to vote them into office.

Haba, politicians show little compassion now! Henceforth political office holders will be judged and voted for based on the number of social amenities and projects executed and not by the individual and personal wealth they flaunt, which of course is often stolen public funds.

My people, Daddy Shoky say "shine your eyes". Make monkey no dey work for baboo to dey chop alone.

When people say that appointing the people to various offices in the political agenda is development of our society because the people have to be made prosperous, or that providing power and fixing a three kilometer road, is sufficient to give credit to State as haven performed. I shudder with grief and undiscribable shame.

I am indeed not surprised, ‘omoni biribein ka tei ikiyegha.’ (meaning: a slave that has enough to eat never thinks of escape). Some of you are partly or wholly in the equation and are defensive and aggrieved by my honest call to better the lot of the helpless and impoverished indigenes of Bayelsa. I understand the essence of your positions and I know very well too, that ‘Esibiri kori keme ke obudo gbolomo’ so, I will get into the mud with you just to enlighten you.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja was constructed under ten years with a budget of N59 billion. Bayelsa State receives an average of about N17b monthly, totaling over N2 trillion in the last ten years from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which is enough to build four prototypes of Abuja in Bayelsa State. The State has a population of just about 1.7m and a land area of 21,110 km2, making her one of the smallest in the country but in terms of revenue, she is the fourth largest earner from the federation account. My people, where are all these monies? I demand an explanation from any of you who has an answer.

At this point let me correct some of the erroneous thoughts in your response to my article. Firstly, I am not a politician; neither did I name dropped or have anything against my Excellency, governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson or indeed any other person for that matter and therefore do not owe any apology to anyone.

Secondly, I want to also correct the impression that because I do not reside in Bayelsa does not make me oblivious of happenings in the State. Let me reiterate that I am involved in private effects to bring development to the State. This year about a dozen students from Bayelsa resident in Lagos benefitted from the sponsorship of their JAMB fees by a group of volunteers from Bayelsa, amongst which I am a party. I and a few other friends from Bayelsa are providing a library project in Toru-ebeni. Also, the ongoing Medical Laboratory project in the Niger Delta University sponsored by Chevron had my influence. I am also working on a plan to rehabilitate an historic structure in Amassoma for the purposes of siting a museum.

ayelsa politicians have this wrong belief that they have performed when they own big cars and acquire fancy homes, even to the detriment of the wretched helpless indegenes who pass through thick and thin to voPutting up arguments such as bad terrain, a purely civil service economy, political instability and poor Internally Generated Revenue as being the reason why Bayelsa’s development is slow, to me, holds no water.

My brothers, ‘me Bayelsa amongaru me, ose ke sai worimi.’ (meaning we are in this Bayelsa boat regatta together). We are all in the same boat and therefore have equal stake. If the boat sinks, we all go down with it, regardless of whether you are in Abuja, Lagos Yenagoa, Zamfara or in the diaspora. The truth remains that Bayelsa is not doing well at all and it is more worrying because it is not due to lack of revenue, we have a large monthly allocation at our disposal.

Believe me, I do sincerely, appreciate the peculiarity of our terrain, low IGR, unstable government and the purely civil service nature of the State as challenges militating against the smooth development of the State. But are we not looking away from other equally important issues affecting the State as well? Giving the size of the State and the amount of federal allocation she receives monthly, it is evident funds is not really the issue but corruption, lack of dedication to duty on the part of civil servants and cheer wastefulness in the polity. The State cannot grow at the pace it is expected if we continue to place personal convenience over and above the development of the State.

There is competition out there. You will never know because you reside in Yenagoa. Our children need quality education, comfortable accommodation, clean water and electricity supply, healthcare and good food. These are mandatory requirements for them to be well developed in mind and body to be able to compete favourably with children from other parts of the country.

While agreeing with you that we have challenges, I do not believe these challenges are insurmountable. We can actually turn these challenges to opportunities and exploit them to our own advantage.

PECULIARITY OF OUR TERRAIN: We can learn from our neighbouring Cross Rivers State, whose terrain shares many similar features like ours. The Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia are examples of States that have converted their otherwise unfriendly terrains to a world acclaimed tourist paradise.

GOVERNMENT INSTABILITY: It is ironical that the instability and call for change of government portends a vote-of-no-confidence on the part of any administration. A government that is doing well, will definitely win the support of the people and will therefore not be asked to vacate.

INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUE: IGRs are monies received from income tax, land charges, licensing fees, tolls, public amenities fee and the likes. The State has to provide more hospitals, motor parks, leisure gardens, market stalls, shopping malls, toll-able roads and others, that can help boost the IGR of the State. That is what these other States do, that is why that has high IGRs.

CIVIL SERVICE STATE: The State civil service is a mirage. Workers often resume very late to work or never even show up for days and sometimes weeks and months. Even when they show up, they have little or nothing to engage them for a better part of the day. Productivity is very low but the State wage bill is almost N5billion each month, with ghost workers having a big bite of that.

The World Bank classifies Bayelsa as one of the States in the country that is most difficult to carry out business transaction. The civil service is very corrupt, ICT infrastructures in the ministries are very poor, and thereby most business processes are done manually and are very unreliable. Civil servants ask for high kick-backs upfront from potential investors even before submission of their proposals.

As a result of such bad business model, coupled with the poor security rating of the State, investors are dissuaded from coming. The civil service needs to be reformed and run like an enterprise where only productive and essential personnel are retained. Also the suggestions above on IGR will create more jobs and help to keep the work force busy.

The Devil and the Deep Sea: Is Abstention a Choice in Politics?

I wonder now if it really matters anyway, after all it's just a single vote and majority will always carry the day in a normal democratic setting. But it just happened that I was left with two bad choices leaving me to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea, a situation where I rather be on the fence. That was my dilemma. GEJ is said to be a weakling and an under-performer and his opponent Buhari is also tainted as a coupist, tyrant and a religious fundamentalist. What separate both of them in my opinion are mainly tribe and party. As for who amongst them is better, read my lips - 'n***.'

I don't believe that out of 160m Nigerians, the opposition cannot throw up a more vibrant aspirant. For GEJ, he used his power of incumbency to win the party ticket. Since I have been given no option but these two aberrations, the fence provides more solace. This is my personal opinion and if you don't like it, too bad, because, there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Well, maybe if someone can give me good reasons why I should climb down, I just might.

Some people have said sitting on the fence will not help us or our country Nigeria, that we know our problems in Nigeria, so we should be able to know which of the two can best address the nation's problems as it were. They believe if we can reduce corruption a little bit, the nation's funds can be used to create jobs for our ever increasing jobless youths. As for thee, they rather chose one that's most likely to make than go with a clueless government that has brought us to this point in 6 years.

They believe that if we all seat on the fence, who will bell the cat? We will continue to complain of any eventual bad government and leadership. It is known across the world that Nigeria ' problems arose from bad leadership. Hence we followers can't afford to sit on the fence and allow things go bad again for another 4 years. Note that you didn't disappoint me. Our leaders have frustrated you and many others like you, but the only weapon we have is our votes (if they allow it to count). I still want to encourage us all to vote our conscience among the two of them.

Other argue that a bad choice is better than doing nothing. If you align your values with your expectations probably making a choice could be a lot easier.

Abstention is a legal democratic choice which is acceptable and practiced worldwide. There are times where ballot papers are marked {Yes, No or Abstain} as choices for the voter to choose from. Abstention does not always mean not voting at all, but sometimes a voter may print on both the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ option to invalidate the vote as a form abstention. In the 1970s the Speaker of the House of Commons, George Thomas warned MPs considering a stroll through both the "aye" and the "no" lobbies. There was a real threat of abstention by the Commons at the time.

It's not a crime to decide to abstain from participating in an election that has been compromised from the primaries by the two major parties. You reserve the choice to starve if you are offered between a rotten egg and a smelly chicken as meal, even in a precinct.

“Abstention is a useful political situation to being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Typically, you don't want to choose between two really bad situations or, for OpenElections?, you don't want to offend either camp. So, instead you choose to make no choice.  
 
Believe me, you will be held responsible for your vote if it is successful. Ask the Iraqis or the Serbs.
 
By voting for some political group you accept responsibility for the actions of that group. If the system chooses to remove a person’s right to be represented by never representing their views, then to vote within that system is to endorse it. Democracy is about representation, not a charade of votes for essentially the same group of power-elite. I would welcome a RON entry or a 'no confidence' entry on a ballot.
 
This does not serve the system, however, and so is very rarely seen. Better to pretend people are too lazy or too stupid, rather than admit maybe people cannot respect a government which represents only itself and its sponsors. You are 'de facto' responsible for the consequences of your actions. Most criminal law is predicated on this.”  http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?YesNoAbstainVoting
 
Our standards are very low here and so are our expectations. We use the poor performance of our past leaders as criteria to select new leaders. I am exercising my right to resist bad leadership and sending a message that you don't just throw bad choices with empty promises at me and get my vote. You have to earn it or you get the BOOT. And as for belling a cat, I don’t bell wild cats, I simply dispose them.

MEMO TO UNCLE JONA

President Goodluck Jonathan

OUR PROBLEMS (Part I)

Is fifty years in the life of a nation not sufficient time to make all the mistakes ever possible? At what time and age are we going to be pained enough to start tackling all our problems head-on?

Take a look at the faces of the common man on the streets, all you see is hardship, poverty, disease, desperation, frustration, abuse, neglect, hunger, anger, insecurity, violence and you can go on endlessly, because we all know what our problems are. We have been abused and de-humanized to the extent that we now have very low self-esteem. Our moral values have been compromised. We have lost pride, virtuousness, dignity and respect for human lives.

Fraud, corruption, embezzlement, robbery, slander, murder and all forms of crimes have now become a part of our lifestyle, and it has made us lose all our natural resistance, decorum, self-discipline and up-rightness.

Hasn’t the time come yet for those in government to be vexed enough to start addressing these issues with determination and commitment? What exactly are the problems we are even talking about? Water, light, food, house, which the legendary singer, Fela Kuti, sang in 1982 in his Original Suffer Head album, and this remains true even today. Water, light, food and house are physical, there are now in addition, morality and psychological dimensions, which is even more worrisome.  

We have everything that is required to resolve these challenges. We have human, material and financial resources to take on these problems head-on. Our universities may not be top-notch when comparing them globally, but we have what it takes to start a robust developmental programme. With our mineral resources harnessed and prudently administered, we can generate sufficient financial resources to fund this project without seeking international assistance or taking any foreign loan.

The universities will look at the best scientific applications of knowledge within their confines to proffer indigent solutions to these problems.

These plagues, so to speak, threatening the entire fabric of our existence has reached a climax now that we are supposed to be seeing the urgent need to start thinking of radical changes to the way we perceive, and even react to our conditions. It is time to put on our thinking cap and start finding ways to address each of these problems. We can do this by introducing science as a bedrock of our new policy approach. That is the essence of involving the universities in our developmental agenda.

Looking back at our checkered past, apparently, you would but conclude that we are still basking in some kind of victory celebration fifty long years after independence. We need to snap out of this victory dance. We have experienced a number of rare interruptions that seemingly brought us together as a people, and the independence struggle is one that presented us with one of the greatest national challenge, forcing everyone and all sections of the country to come together as one, and attacking and destroying the obnoxious colonial slave masters.

The Nigerian civil war again brought another phase of nationalism whereby the greater Nigeria people came together to fight and maintained one united and indivisible entity against the Odumegwu Ojukwu led Biafran forces in a civil crisis that lasted from July 6, 1967 to 15 January 1970.

In 1993, the failed election of the IBB-Abacha regime culminating into the Moshood Abiola June 12 saga, yet again demonstrated how resilient we can be when our common destiny is threatened.

Occasions such as these have always brought us together to counter any apparent threat on our national unity. The Nigerian people have always shown resistance and had fought back and defeated our common enemies.

After each of these interruptions and national rejuvenation, we seemingly relapse into a continuum of wastefulness and recklessness. From the president, national assembly, governors, ministers and head of the various agencies, down to the local government chairmen, evidently, there is systemic lack of control and tendency of blatant abuse of public office and mismanagement of our common wealth.

Do we have to wait for another interruption for us to realize that we have to do the needful? The cost of such interruptions on the nation is very heavy, therefore, we do not have to wait for another civil disruption, which by the way, the Boko Haram insurgency is gradually leading us to.

As Nigerians, there are just enough problems already, we are tired Mr. President. List all the aspects of human development and score each indices using third world criteria, every single item, from water, light, food, house, education, health, employment, security, roads and transport etc., will score very poorly. And it just all reminds me of a student who do not spend time studying and expect to do well in an examination.

There is something fundamentally wrong with our approach to problem solving. We know what the problems are, and our lack-luster effects at mitigation always leads to failure. We keep repeating our mistakes without learning any meaningful lessons. What amazes me is that we keep going in circles, trying to solve the same problems repeatedly, year and again, one administration after another.

The time has come to stop this spinet. The era of motion without movement has to end. Let us take solace in science, using our universities to research on how best we can adapt indigenous technological approaches to proffer solutions to our various challenges.

THE NEW APPROACH (Part II)

Let us take for example, desertification in part of the North and flooding in the Niger Delta region. Already we have establishments such as the River Basin Development Authority and the Ministry of Niger Delta mandated to manage the development of these areas.

There are countless number of agencies and parastatals that have been established by government to address various national concerns. These structure were setup with good intention, but shabby implementation and gross mis-management has been their bane.

The new direction is to rejuvenate our university research structures and the funding of research institutes, creating new research bin where all government policies henceforth shall derive guidance and direction. For example, the ministry of Power will fund researches into cheaper alternative energy and development of a work plan on a short-term and long-term basis.

All other ministries and parastaltals will have similar research bodies pivoting the new science-based policy drive that will energize the new national development plan, berthing alongside the existing vision 20-20-20.

We have to walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk. Let us again remind ourselves that it is not going to be business as usual. We must stop being the big blind country which Fela also sang about, and start taking responsibility and mean every action we take. It is time to earn our title, “giant of Africa.” You don’t win a contest by word of mouth but by commitment and perseverance to the objectives and goals.

There must be a new regime of penalties for dishonesty and mal-administration of public office and funds. Starting from the universities down to the local council, and to put an end the ways of the past were monies provided to universities for research work are shared amongst professors. These research results should henceforth be confirmed by international monitoring bodies, and sanctions will be imposed if found culpable.

The fight against corruption, protection of human rights and enforcement of law and order must take a  new dimension and must be one that truly seek to re-invigorate the pursuit of justice and fairness in the administration and management of our common resources.

We must now take into our own hands our destiny and common growth. We must apply science in finding solutions to our problems and we must take these challenges head-on. We must put the ‘sorry days’ behind us and look forward to a brighter side of life and expect a rewarding future that will guaranty a good life to our teaming vibrant youth population. And therefore, repositioning Nigeria as a true giant of Africa.

History will not forgive this generation of any guilt, if we fail to do what is right now to re-align our checkered past, and bring us back on track in the global arena.