tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18846797023631089392024-03-05T05:51:19.148+01:00SAM OHUABUNWA'S PARADIGM ...The BLOG for The wise, The Paradigm of Knowledge SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.comBlogger267125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-18235842568546387502019-01-16T13:34:00.000+01:002019-01-16T13:34:56.032+01:00IS INEC REALLY PREPARING FOR SUCCESS OR FAILURE?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Usually, there are many parties to every contest. In a football contest you have the teams, the referee and his linesman, the spectators - supporters and opposers and then the managers of the stadium and finally those who control the crowd and provide safety for all. <span class="il">This</span> is largely the same for all other sports. In Educational pursuits which can some times turn into a contest when we want to determine winners and losers for prizes, honors or for access to limited space, you have the Students, the teachers, the examiners and those who set standards. But in these situations there are always the most critical parties, those who really can make or unmake. Similarly, in political contests, there are many parties- the political parties, the electorates (voters), the electoral umpire, the security agencies and the government in power. The question is which party determines the election?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It depends. In normal circumstances, every party has significant impact. The political parties and their conduct may make or mar an election. In deed in our experience as a Nation, the political parties have largely determined the outcomes of many of the political contests. When they buy votes, snatch ballot boxes, steal or destroy ballot papers, instigate violence at pooling booths and collating centers including burning down electoral centers, they often determine the election. When the security agencies decide to jump into the fray, intimidating and rough handling opposition parties members or preventing voters from voting their choice, then they help to determine the outcome of the elections. When the electoral umpire decides to be partial, then they will naturally determine the outcomes of the elections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At every election when the government in power is determined to see free, fair and violence-free elections, they take actions to get every party in the contest to behave well and act according to the rules of engagement. That does not always guarantee that all parties will behave well, including the government itself. That was why despite all the advertised desire of President Babangida’s Government to bequeath a good election, it went ahead to sabotage the same election which has been variously described as the best election in Nigeria. But if one particular party behaves well, it can check or dampen the impact of the misbehavior of other party or parties. But if that same party decides to misbehave, it is not certain that the other parties can sufficiently contain its impact. That party is the electoral umpire which in Nigeria is called the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Indeed in many elections the electoral umpire holds the ace. Their ability to determine the election is influenced by the discretion they can exercise. In sophisticated and automated systems where voting and/ or results collation are done </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">electronically their ability to do harm is minimized. But in less developed and analogue systems where collation of results from the pooling booths to the National collation centre is done manually, the capacity of the umpire to do harm is grossly accentuated. And</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span class="il" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">this</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">is exactly where Nigeria is currently located. That</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span class="il" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">this </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">umpire has the capacity and perhaps the looming propensity to work along</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span class="il" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">this</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">dangerous path is indicated by a couple of baffling false steps. The primary dissonance is a tendency to work at cross purposes with its major parties in the contest- the political parties. INEC is showing strong headedness, not willing to listen to the political parties except perhaps to only one- the one in power. If INEC desires to superintendent over a peaceful, free and fair election, it can not feel unconcerned with the concerns of the 91 parties that make up the CUPP. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first concern is Amina Zakari. Whether she has a blood or water relationship with Mr President should not be the only issue. What is important in a democracy is that if a significant segment of the electorate opposes any decision, then they must be listened to. <span class="il">This</span> was what happened when she was made the acting Chairman,when Prof Attahiru Jega finished his term. Perhaps the President was minded to send her name for confirmation as substantive chairman but when he listened to the voice of a significant segment of the stakeholders, he decided against it, and rather appointed Prof Mahmoud Yakubu. I think, INEC if it is truly independent must listen to the stakeholders and avoid any thing that can tarnish the outcome of the elections. They should learn from the President or are they?. Already the leading opposition parties have drawn international attention to their objections and the stubbornness of INEC. The parties are not asking that she be removed as a national commissioner but just that she be reassigned. To me that is not too much sacrifice. It is essentially complying with good corporate governance practices because there is perceived conflict of interest. In many advanced Nations, she would naturally recuse herself even if no body raised any objection.That is where honour means much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The second concern is that INEC is re-writing the guidelines for conducting the elections without taking the parties into confidence. They have just been presented with a fiat accompli. And now the parties are protesting. Was <span class="il">this</span> not avoidable? In 2015, accreditation was completed and the number of accredited voters announced before voting started. That way, voters and party agents watched out for over- voting and that helped in some way to deliver a good election.But now INEC says accreditation will go on simultaneously with voting. There are certainly pros and cons for either procedure. But why would INEC not sell these to the parties before firming up the guidelines. To me <span class="il">this</span> is breeding unnecessary controversies and contradictions which are souring the relationship between the parties to the contest even before the contest begins.Thus from the look of things, INEC will determine the 2019 elections and must be prepared to bear the consequences. But with the most recent rumblings in the polity the Government in power may beat INEC to it!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa OFR,FPSN</b></span></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-46562494218274104222019-01-08T17:50:00.003+01:002019-01-08T17:50:53.765+01:00HOW NIGERIA CAN ACHIEVE HAPPINESS IN 2019<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is traditional to make wishes for a new year. And it
is also normal for everyone to wish for better in a new year. Many Nigerians
have wished each other many things for the new year. One common or universal
wish is “happiness “. That is why almost every Nigerian must have wished many
other Nigerians “happy new year” since the mid nite bell rang on 31st December
2018 ushering the new year- 2019. Indeed the same thing has happened globally,
just as it has happened every year since I was a child. I cannot say when the
greeting was first used but it must have been since the 1st century or so. But
my earliest vivid recall of hearing and exchanging this greeting was at age 5.
And that’s over six decades ago and yet these greeting remains current and
indeed the major goodwill exchange every new year.<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thus it becomes very clear that the attainment of
happiness is one the greatest needs of man on Earth. But what is happiness?
Many dictionaries and psychologists have different takes on the concept of
happiness.<u><span style="color: #1155cc;">Vocabulary.com</span></u> say
that happiness is “the sense of wellbeing, joy or contentment, when people are
successful or SAFE or lucky “Another author defines happiness as “the
experience of joy, contentment and a good feeling about yourself and your life.
It is a positive emotion that makes you feel good and satisfied. It is joy,
satisfaction and wellbeing and a sense of bliss.” Another Psychologist defines
a happy person as “someone who experiences frequent positive emotions such as
Joy, interest and pride and infrequent (though not absent) negative emotions
such as sadness, anxiety and anger” An Ancient Greek philosopher said”
happiness is the joy that we feel when striving after our Potential” and
another adds “happiness comes from within you, rising into your awareness, when
the mind is calm and quiet”. Finally another author concludes that “happiness
is about loving yourself, while constantly changing to become better. This
comes from deep inside your heart and soul. Outside circumstances may create
difficulties and hardships, but true happiness prevails because you know that
you will survive and move beyond this point in life”<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From the above it is clear that there are two components
to happiness- intrinsic and extrinsic. Who you are and what happens around us.
While those with spiritual anchors and who live purpose- driven lives will
experience more happiness than those who do not, It is indisputable that
external factors do contribute to happiness. Thus while my primary Wish for
Nigeria and Nigerians in 2019 is that they experience true happiness, I would
wish that the external conditions are such that will help them feel truly happy
all year round. Safety of physical life is essential for sustainable
happiness. When people live in fear of physical harm or death like what has
been happening in many parts of Nigeria but specifically in the North East,
North Central and parts of North West, it is difficult for them, no matter
their spiritual strength to have complete happiness. When people in the South
of Nigeria fear to sleep in their villages for fear of kidnappers and armed
robbers, they are robbed of complete happiness. My wish therefore is that
whatever has been causing the untimely killing and shedding of innocent blood
in these regions must stop in 2019 so that these Nigerians can better
experience happiness. It is indeed hard to live happily in refugee or IDP
camps. I wish that all the internally displaced will return to their homes this
year. <span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Negative emotions of anxiety, fear and uncertainties
detract from happiness. Many Nigerians have entered into 2019 with so much
anxiety concerning what will happen with the 2019 elections. Matters are not
helped by the refusal of the President to sign the electoral bill after four
amendments. Only last week, INEC raised the anxiety level when an alleged
blood- relation of the President Amina ZAKARI was announced as the head of the
election result collating committee. Ninety one parties under CUPP have protested
this appointment and many other Nigerians and observers think this is
unnecessary stoking of the fire. INEC must not take any action that will
increase the level of tension and suspicion already associated with the
elections. Amina may never do anything untoward in collating the Presidential
election result, but as they say “Perception can be worse than reality”. There
are many other National commissioners in INEC who can fit the role without
raising the kind of eye brows Amina has raised. The political parties are key
stakeholders in the electoral process and INEC is well advised to pay attention
to their concerns in a key democratic exercise. My real wish is that Nigeria
will have a free, fair, credible and non- violent elections. The way we prepare
for the elections, conduct the campaigns, execute the elections, announce the
results and handle the post-election responses will in large measures determine
if Nigerians will be happy or not in 2019. Luckily, so far we have not heard
such rhetoric as ‘baboons being soaked in their blood’ or ‘we must win by all
means’; but we can feel fierce competition in the air. It will therefore be
appropriate to impress upon the politicians to temper their desperation to win.
I encourage all to see elective competition with the eyes and demeanor of
President Good luck Jonathan who repeatedly declared that his “victory was not
worth the blood of any Nigerian” and when the test came, he discharged himself
creditably and honorably.<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By the grace of God, I am a spiritual person but I know
how one’s spirituality can be challenged by involuntary fasting or hunger. They
say a hungry man can become an angry man. And I do not see how anger can add to
happiness. I know how one’s spiritual stability and equanimity can be challenged
when bills are not paid and Children cannot return to school. I therefore wish
that Nigeria’s economy will grow faster than our population growth in 2019 and
that unemployment will significantly decrease from the high levels we ended
2018 with. Therefore it becomes imperative that the governments we install at
the federal and state levels must be manned by Men and women who understand how
jobs and wealth are created. The idea of putting novices or untested men in
power just hoping that they would know what to do, has proven costly to us over
the years. Let us shine our eyes to choose wisely and avoid” nmakwara”<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The other major wish I truly have for Nigeria in 2019 is
that Nigeria becomes a land of peace where everybody will live at peace with
each other; a land where justice, equity and fair play will reign; a land where
discrimination against Ndigbo in Nigeria will cease. I wish that all
governments at every level will run inclusive governance where majority and
minority are included and where all segments of society are treated equitably
and fairly. Whatever made Fulani cattle herdsmen turn from carrying
sticks to carrying AK-47 rifles must never be allowed to happen
again. Nigeria needs peace- builders and those who bear no grudge against
any ethnic group to rebuild national cohesion and peace. This is actually my
greatest wish for Nigeria in 2019 and I pray that the Lord will grant me
these wishes. I cannot hear your Amen!<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mazi Sam I.
Ohuabunwa OFR,FPSN</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-41579612517758667962019-01-08T09:49:00.004+01:002019-01-08T09:49:39.239+01:002019 AND THE PROSPECTS OF A BETTER NIGERIA<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome to 2019. Let us thank God for granting us the grace of entering into the new year. Thank God we are not in the statistics of those killed by Boko Haram insurgents, militant cattle herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbers, police/ military stray bullets and sundry marauders who combined to turn Nigeria into a killing field in 2018 particularly. We thank God that we did not die on the road, on the sea, or in the air. We really must thank God that there was no fatal air crash, despite several reported near misses, including air craft doors opening in mid flight or cabins being decompressed in flight. I am starting this way, because it is normally necessary to thank God for crossing from one year to another but every Nigerian, including the military must give more thanks for surviving 2018. It was a bloody year from the first week of January starting in Benue State and concluding in the last week of December in Zamfara State. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Importantly also, we must continue to pray, first for the comfort of the family of the bereaved. Except you have been through similar experience, it is difficult to truly understand how it feels to lose a family member through brutal human violence. It is extremely distressing to go to sleep and wake up in the morning to see your home ablaze and and sometimes watch family members who are running away from danger being cut down with guns and knives as happened in several parts of the middle belt during the outgoing year. What is worse, is when no meaningful effort is made by the authorities to arrest and punish the perpetrators of the heinous crimes. Then some busybodies arrive to preach peace to you asking you to live at peace with your neighbors, only for them to depart and the attackers return, sometimes under the watch of security agents, to kill and destroy what was left from the earlier attack. That is the burden, some of our Country men and women are carrying today and largely everyone else gets on with their lives, oblivious of the deep pains in the hearts of these victims.Secondly we need to pray with greater intensity for the mercy of God on Nigeria and its leaders. The blood of the innocent shed all over Nigeria continues to cry for judgement, justice and appeasement. Unless God Shows mercy, there will neither be sleep nor rest for the perpetrators of the crime, their agents, collaborators or those who failed to exercise the duty of protection over the innocent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thus we arrive 2019, a year that is already pregnant. What shall it deliver? A child of destiny or a child of perdition ? Me I think a child of destiny, though the signs indicate it will be otherwise. In 2015, the World predicted that Nigeria would walk down the road of perdition. It was widely predicted that Nigeria would split. But Nigeria disappointed the World. That was essentially because the church prayed. Is the Church praying for 2019? True,the church is praying hard. In addition, 2019 elections is not between the North and South, neither is it a contest between Islam and Christianity. For the real first time in Nigerian political history, religion and region will play very minimal role influencing voting preferences at national level. And for me that is a good thing . For instance, the two principal contestants for the presidency are from the North and they are both Muslims. Thus other critical criteria will play significant roles in determining who wins. The first criterion in my view is believability. Which of the principal candidates do Nigerians believe most? Making promises is the forte of politicians, but living up to promises is what differentiates one politician from another. Iam Persuaded that most Nigerians can differentiate between facts and propaganda. Luckily both leading candidates have been in the public space and Nigerians can assess who is best able to fulfill promises or political campaign manifestos. I believe that Nigerians have been disappointed too many times that they must be wise enough to interrogate all political promises. They must now be wise enough to separate propaganda from reality. I will like to believe that Nigerians can predict what a politician can do in the future from what he did in the past. If you promise buoyant economy, is there evidence that the economy was buoyant when last you were in power? If you promise a secure and safe nation, what was the situation last time you influenced National security. If you promise employment, how much jobs did you create at the last opportunity. If you promise democratic freedom, how much freedom did we see at your last opportunity? If you promise a nation free from corruption, what was the situation the last time? If you promise peace and unity, how peaceful and how United was Nigeria when last you were in position to influence both?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I truly believe that Nigerians have never had a better opportunity to make rational decisions as to who governs them at State and Federal levels this time than they ever did in the past. That is what gives me hope that 2019 will be truly a year of destiny. My prayer therefore is that Nigerians must take the opportunity and responsibility with both arms. If we miss it, then we must blame ourselves not ethnicity or religion. 2019 is our year of manifest destiny. Happy New Year Nigerians!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR, FPSN</b></span></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-33089302810284125162019-01-01T22:10:00.001+01:002019-01-01T22:10:25.123+01:002019 AND THE PROSPECTS OF A BETTER NIGERIAWelcome to 2019. Let us thank God for granting us the grace of entering into the new year. Thank God we are not in the statistics of those killed by Boko Haram insurgents, militant cattle herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbers, police/military stray bullets and sundry marauders who combined to turn Nigeria into a killing field in 2018 particularly. We thank God that we did not die on the road, on the sea, or in the air. We really must thank God that there was no fatal air crash, despite several reported near misses, including aircraft doors opening in mid flight or cabins being decompressed in flight. I am starting this way, because it is normally necessary to thank God for crossing from one year to another but every Nigerian, including the military must give more thanks for surviving 2018. It was a bloody year from the first week of January starting in Benue State and concluding in the last week of December in Zamfara State.<br />
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Importantly also, we must continue to pray, first for the comfort of the family of the bereaved. Except you have been through similar experience, it is difficult to truly understand how it feels to lose a family member through brutal human violence. It is extremely distressing to go to sleep and wake up in the morning to see your home ablaze and sometimes watch family members who are running away from danger being cut down with guns and knives as happened in several parts of the middle belt during the outgoing year. What is worse, is when no meaningful effort is made by the authorities to arrest and punish the perpetrators of the heinous crimes. Then some busybodies arrive to preach peace to you asking you to live at peace with your neighbors, only for them to depart and the attackers return, sometimes under the watch of security agents, to kill and destroy what was left from the earlier attack. That is the burden, some of our Country men and women are carrying today and largely everyone else gets on with their lives, oblivious of the deep pains in the hearts of these victims. Secondly, we need to pray with greater intensity for the mercy of God on Nigeria and its leaders. The blood of the innocent shed all over Nigeria continues to cry for judgement, justice and appeasement. Unless God shows mercy, there will neither be sleep nor rest for the perpetrators of the crime, their agents, collaborators or those who failed to exercise the duty of protection over the innocent.<br />
<br />
Thus we arrive 2019, a year that is already pregnant. What shall it deliver? A child of destiny or a child of perdition ? Me I think a child of destiny, though the signs indicate it will be otherwise. In 2015, the World predicted that Nigeria would walk down the road of perdition. It was widely predicted that Nigeria would split. But Nigeria disappointed the World. That was essentially because the church prayed. Is the Church praying for 2019? True,the church is praying hard. In addition, 2019 elections is not between the North and South, neither is it a contest between Islam and Christianity. For the real first time in Nigerian political history, religion and region will play very minimal role influencing voting preferences at national level. And for me that is a good thing . For instance, the two principal contestants for the presidency are from the North and they are both Muslims. Thus other critical criteria will play significant roles in determining who wins. The first criterion in my view is believability. Which of the principal candidates do Nigerians believe most? Making promises is the forte of politicians, but living up to promises is what differentiates one politician from another. Iam Persuaded that most Nigerians can differentiate between facts and propaganda. Luckily both leading candidates have been in the public space and Nigerians can assess who is best able to fulfill promises or political campaign manifestos. I believe that Nigerians have been disappointed too many times that they must be wise enough to interrogate all political promises. They must now be wise enough to separate propaganda from reality. I will like to believe that Nigerians can predict what a politician can do in the future from what he did in the past. If you promise buoyant economy, is there evidence that the economy was buoyant when last you were in power? If you promise a secure and safe nation, what was the situation last time you influenced National security. If you promise employment, how much jobs did you create at the last opportunity. If you promise democratic freedom, how much freedom did we see at your last opportunity? If you promise a nation free from corruption, what was the situation the last time? If you promise peace and unity, how peaceful and how United was Nigeria when last you were in position to influence both?<br />
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I truly believe that Nigerians have never had a better opportunity to make rational decisions as to who governs them at State and Federal levels this time than they ever did in the past. That is what gives me hope that 2019 will be truly a year of destiny. My prayer therefore is that Nigerians must take the opportunity and responsibility with both arms. If we miss it, then we must blame ourselves not ethnicity or religion. 2019 is our year of manifest destiny. Happy New Year Nigerians!<br />
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Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR, FPSNSAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-12678537445316104242018-12-25T12:37:00.004+01:002018-12-25T12:37:40.035+01:00HOW TO ENJOY CHRISTMAS IN A DIFFICULT ECONOMY <div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCQ_2ptKgsMA0lV4XGiJjl98ZT6jKOTsc8qP-jEa-xKWSaYPceFwltDYEl0uuUg2bedr7L3xJ5jeRva4Ced9d60EMDkUCda23N2uCKWY9AjRw4iCdaO2DXgcK2CpXt1ARDl2YApU6q5w/s1600/IMG_20181225_004027_206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCQ_2ptKgsMA0lV4XGiJjl98ZT6jKOTsc8qP-jEa-xKWSaYPceFwltDYEl0uuUg2bedr7L3xJ5jeRva4Ced9d60EMDkUCda23N2uCKWY9AjRw4iCdaO2DXgcK2CpXt1ARDl2YApU6q5w/s320/IMG_20181225_004027_206.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The timing is very wrong. Just last week, few days to Christmas, the National Bureau for statistics (NBS), released its latest Labour force statistics. Total number of the unemployed increased from 17.6 million in Q3 2017 to 20.9million in Q3 2018. Official unemployment rate moved from 18.8% in Q3 2017 to 21. 3% in Q3 2018. Unemployment plus underemployment reached 40%. Before this unpleasant news from NBS, the UNDP had announced Nigeria as the new World Poverty capital with 53.7% of its 180 million Nigerians living in EXTREME Poverty. That is to say that nearly 97 million Nigerians( those working and those not working) live on less than two dollars a day( 700 Naira). India with about four times times Nigeria’s population now has about 71 million people in that category. With Nigeria’s GDP growing at 1.8% and population growing at 2.5%, this is bound to happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps this helps to explain why,in the last two weeks, I have constantly been on my Diamond Mobile bank App transferring money to different people in different parts of the country, who have accompanied their pathetic stories with their account numbers. An acquaintance of mine in Kaduna sent me a text message: “Mazi, pls in the name of Jesus Christ, kindly find a place in your heart to assist me this Christmas, as I sms you, not a single pepper do I have at home....your widow’s might will do a lot. Below is my account details”. Single pepper? That is the pattern of most of the messages that pour into my phone repeatedly. Last Friday night, I promised a cousin of mine in Portharcourt that I would send him something to buy rice and chicken for the children after a lengthy cry of woes. That night I tried using my app, the bank said they were doing maintenance and so could not go. This ‘desperate’ cousin of mine had called seven times and the eighth call woke me from sleep. Why the apparent harassment?; he said he had told the children and their mother that I was sending them something for food, and everybody kept a vigil waiting for the alert! This is the damning reality of today! I can bet that my situation is not exceptional. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am wondering what our politicians are going through now? If a retired man like me is facing this deluge of desperate calls for help, I can only imagine what politicians and office holders are facing this season. And coincidentally this is elections season. And some people who have no idea of what the reality is on the ground are talking about banning or legislating against vote buying. How long have we legislated against the police collecting bribes or extorting road users in the open on our highways? Who is obeying? and yet the Nigerian Police authorities can not do anything about that, let me see how legislation against vote- buying can be enforced. Recently I read a story( I have also read such reports in the past) that the IG asked that all check points be dismantled in Nigeria. I travelled from Portharcourt Airport to Owerri to Umuahia to Arochukwu last week and I passed more than 30 police checkpoints and they were all busy collecting cash and in some cases returning change in the full glare of all. I then wondered if this area was still part of Nigeria and within the jurisdiction of the IGP? But when all is said and done, the situation with Nigeria Police is only symptomatic of what is wrong with Nigeria.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before I left lagos, I met many of my friends from the South East and when I asked when they were going home, I was shocked that an unusual number said they were going no where, some said they would travel home after Christmas and those that indicated they would travel for Christmas, said they were not going in full force( that is to say they would leave some of their family members behind). What about who would host the meetings at home? No volunteers !. That’s when I knew that Latin has moved from ‘Mensa’. Yet the cost of transportation did not come down, neither has the cost of foodstuff. Eventually we blackmailed some who have recently received arrears of salary in ABIA state to at least host the compound meeting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The redeeming feature in all this is that the Federal Government is aware of this persisting challenge. And despite the Large social spending and the efforts in implementing the Economic recovery and growth plan, the continued worsening of unemployment and poverty must be embarrassing the government. Perhaps that’s why President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerians to show understanding, be patient and give him more time to solve this apparently intractable problem. That is hoping that Nigerians have not reached the limit of their patience. But what ever may be their verdict on February 16, 2019, the critical issue now is what to do to enjoy this Christmas. My first suggestion is to encourage all those who have, to make efforts to share with those who do not have. The Bible said that” those who lend to the poor, lend to the Lord “ and that the Lord will pay them back bountifully. I saw MTN giving out Ten thousand Naira to passengers on Arik flight. What a good gesture. I hear they also went to motor parks. I hope they went to the rural areas as well. But that is the kind of gesture we badly need to help many of our countrymen enjoy this Christmas. Secondly, I urge the suffering Nigerians to accept the invitation given by the Lord Himself whom we celebrate His Birth at Christmas “ Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”. This in my view is the surest way to forget about problems and pains of the economy. Because in Him “ there is liberty and fullness of joy”. Merry Christmas Nigerians!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR, FPSN</b></span></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-31110630849992230942018-12-17T08:00:00.000+01:002018-12-17T08:00:06.256+01:00SEEKING PEACE WITHOUT ENTHRONING JUSTICE, EQUITY & FAIR PLAY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12LLABpEUOOcKiEGjlVytr98VedTcvcC8P7hKiC-hTFXvGFZ3NoINH1tM99FPXIf_I4HGsYhGj8Is6ZoOb4MT0oacUpZ3ZcS6Ml6vwqd2IwrUXnAkd4EsmXDHfLFzWcD36_3blo9rThk/s1600/download.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="277" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12LLABpEUOOcKiEGjlVytr98VedTcvcC8P7hKiC-hTFXvGFZ3NoINH1tM99FPXIf_I4HGsYhGj8Is6ZoOb4MT0oacUpZ3ZcS6Ml6vwqd2IwrUXnAkd4EsmXDHfLFzWcD36_3blo9rThk/s320/download.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Of recent, General Abdulsalami Abubakar former military Head of State who ushered in the current civilian democratic governance, which is in its 20th year, has been in the news. His National Peace Committee got the 2019 Presidential candidates to sign a peace accord or rather an accord for peace. Wonderful gesture! This is actually not the first time, this committee that seems to have no tenure limit has gone on its missionary assignment of preaching peace in the Nation. They did so in the lead up to the 2015 elections and got Jonathan and Buhari to sign an accord for peace. I also noticed that at the heat of the Cattle - Fulani/Herders conflict that threatened to consume Nigeria, they were active in preaching Peace and arranging some meetings. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over many years, General Yakubu Gowon, the man who led the Nigerian Civil War, who is also a member of this National Peace Committee, has been going round ‘praying’ for Nigeria. If the measure of the efficacy of his prayers is that Nigeria is still one sovereign Country, then it can be concluded that the effort has been successful. But if the measure is the Peace, and Unity of Nigeria, then it clear that a lot more work and prayers are needed, because, most Nigerians who are old enough will agree that Nigeria is more disunited today than she was 1970, months after the grueling Nigeria-Biafra war ended. As for peace, Nigeria’s peace is so fragile that at times, many Nigerians wonder if we are at war. Innocent Nigerians are murdered everyday by all kinds of state and non-state actors that it has become the new normal. There seems to be a lull now as many of the non-State actors have been engaged in political electioneering duties,and indeed many are getting re-armed. I do not make mention of the economic deterioration. Isn’t it troubling that both poverty and unemployment rates today are worse than they were in 1975, despite all the “Nigeria Prays” across several stadia in Nigeria.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have the highest regards for HE, General Gowon and as a Christian, I will never undermine or underestimate the power of Prayers. But to me, much of these public prayers is sheer hypocrisy. The Bible says that ”The soul that sinneth, it shall die” and that “ he that covers his sin shall not prosper”. But that he who ever confesses his sin, repents and forsakes evil, God is faithful and Just to forgive him and cleanse him from all unrighteousness. “Sin is a reproach to any Nation” but “righteousness exalts a nation”. We can not be praying for peace and unity when we have loads of sins which we are either so self-conceited or so self-deluded to accept, not to talk of confessing and then forsaking, before we can receive forgiveness. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is His delight”. If you ask me, what we must do is to declare a day of confession and repentance and maybe have an annual National repentance day! General Gowon should lead Nigeria to confess its sins and acts of wickedness during the progrom of 1966, its acts of wickedness against pregnant women and children during the civil war, several acts of wickedness carried against Nigerians across the Nation from the Niger Delta, to the middle belt, to the North East, and to the South East etc. There is no section of Nigeria that has not been subjected to manifest wickedness by the Nigerian establishment since Independence. Barrels of the blood of innocent Nigerians shed in this country is speaking against the Nation and until we come down from our high horses, humble ourselves, pray and seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways, the Lord may not hear us, nor forgive us, nor heal our land! The choice is ours - to have genuine repentance or continue with ‘political’ and hypocritical prayers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is why, I am often amused when I see or hear the likes of General Abdulsalam Abubakar preaching peace in Nigeria without a mention of Justice, Equity and Fair play. Such preachments sound shallow and indeed are a sham. Sustainable peace can only be built on those three pillars. How I wish, these revered gentlemen and women, will mount a campaign for the enthronement of Justice, Equity and fair play in the conduct of national affairs. If they do, then the chances of having true peace will be greatly enhanced. They keep mute as evil is being committed and only to come out once in a while to dramatize peace accords. Let’s take the present accord for peace for example and ask a few pertinent questions: How can the Presidential candidates maintain peace if the election is rigged? How can peace be assured if INEC decides not to allow the votes of Nigerians to count? How can peace be achieved if the security forces determine to intimidate some voters and prevent or frighten them from casting their votes? How can peace be achieved if EFCC is used by the party in power to harass, arrest and discomfiture opposition party leaders/contestants? Why is the peace committee silent on the controversy over the 2018 Electoral bill? Are they not aware that this could be a major disruption of the peace they are trying to guarantee? It would be a much more worth while effort if this committee can intervene now and use their goodwill to resolve or detonate this potential bomb that could fully destabilize the peace which we desire. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have we considered what will happen if the National Assembly overrides the President’s veto and goes ahead to pass the bill into law? What will happen, if the Executive and INEC ignore the new law? Have we considered what will happen if INEC goes ahead to conduct the election with the old law or even if it does so with the new law? We have a potentially major crisis brewing and if we are serious about peace, this is what we should be focusing on, not just the drama of signing accords which may fail with the minimum test. 2015 elections ended peacefully, not because an accord for peace was signed but because Jonathan is a man of peace who repeatedly said that no man’s ambition was worth the blood of any Nigerian. And he allowed INEC to conduct the elections to the best of its abilities with no official intervention. There was no reported intimidation of the opposition parties and when the test came, Jonathan lived up to his word. That is what must happen in 2019 if we truly desire a peaceful election. But above all, all votes must count, no one should be disenfranchised and let the vote be counted for whom it was cast for. The moment we can guarantee these, there will be peace. Unfortunately these are not in the hands of all the presidential candidates. They are essentially in the hands of the government of the day. May God help them to do justice to all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR,FPSN</span><br />
<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-8352779453323806132018-12-04T14:10:00.001+01:002018-12-04T14:10:11.610+01:00THE NEW THREATS TO A CHALLENGED ECONOMY<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-UCqWVddEWJMKLfGlAj47SNbPIamq32144WJsmW6rRlVu4FxXMtD-ahamIHhy-bIUp1UMDZ9_oN8IOrQ-HMIpTe7mS9rkxLk5q09B5jfBB_0q6nd3s0iLpvn5ufEPUC8dF1KfqGJptc/s1600/nigeria.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-UCqWVddEWJMKLfGlAj47SNbPIamq32144WJsmW6rRlVu4FxXMtD-ahamIHhy-bIUp1UMDZ9_oN8IOrQ-HMIpTe7mS9rkxLk5q09B5jfBB_0q6nd3s0iLpvn5ufEPUC8dF1KfqGJptc/s1600/nigeria.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">After fIve
quarters of economic contraction (Q1 2016 - Q1 2017), Nigeria exited recession.
With a positive 0.72% GDP growth in Q2 2017, economic recovery has been slow
and grinding, reaching 1.9 % in Q1 2018 and declining to 1.5 % in Q2
2018. Consequent on this, the economic well-being of many Nigerians has
been unsatisfactory. Indeed for many, there is actually no evidence that the recession was over. And this is understandable because unemployment
and underemployment continued to grow reaching 40% in Q2 this year (Unemployment =18.8%: Underemployment = 21.2%). Because inflation, though
moderated remains at double digit, combined with the high unemployment rate
resulting to an improved misery index of 30% (the eight highest in the World,
behind Argentina, Kosovo, South Africa, Mozambique, DRC, Yemen and
Venezuela). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Indeed,
the difficulties in the economy are logical, giving that a GDP growth of 1.5%
against a population growth of 2.5% can only result in decline in GDP per
capita, and therefore many Nigerians will naturally continue to feel that the
recession was still subsisting. The modest and tentative recovery from
recession occurred mostly because of the recovery in the price of crude oil in
the international market. In January 2016, a barrel of crude sold for $29. 78
but by October 2018 the price had recovered to nearly $80 per barrel, with
projections that it could hit 100 dollars per barrel. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government (ERGP) is expected to be supported by the
recovery in oil prices. Certainly the significant rise in our Foreign exchange
reserves from about 24 billion dollars in Q4 2016 to nearly 44 billion dollars
in November 2018 derives essentially from this recovery in
global price of crude petroleum. The arrest of the devaluation of the Naira
from about 500 Naira to about 360 Naira against the US dollar was made possible
by the significant improvement in the price of oil. That became a major factor
coupled with the CBN tight monetary stance in reigning in the inflation which
had reached nearly 20% in Q4 2016, but today is under 12%. Despite these
improvements in macroeconomic indicators, the government has had to face up to
the unrelenting growth in unemployment and underemployment. The current efforts
at social spending, including conditional cash transfers (CCT) to the poorest
of the poor, some support to the industry and micro financing need more time
and sustained intensity to show significant result. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">But the
hope for sustained recovery is facing three threats. One is the changing focus
to politics, and the diminishing focus on good governance. With the ringing of
the bell for the resumption of political campaigns, all gloves are off and soon
governance may go on auto-pilot while the politicians focus either on remaining
in power or returning to power. If you are looking for evidence that this is
true, kindly consider the fact that a serving economic minister is made the DG
of a Presidential Campaign Organization and the Leader of the Nigerian
Legislature is the Chairman of a Party Campaign Council. With the very low
level of national productivity, any prolonged distraction from the levers of
good governance will further imperil the fragile economy. Most government
officials (at the centre and sub-national levels) will discuss issues with you
if only it will help them or their party win the forthcoming elections. If you
bring up any other issue, you are asked to wait till after the elections. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Secondly, as if taking cue from the political officials, many investors (local
but especially foreign) have put most investment decisions on hold. They claim
it is part of risk management on one hand and a hedge against Nigeria’s
notoriety for policy inconsistencies. An agreement with one government can
easily be repudiated by another government, even if both belong to the same
political party. So new investments may be slow in coming for the next 6 months
at the least. This certainly will take a toll on a country that is in
dire need of investments. Investments create jobs. Jobs create wealth. And
wealth drives away poverty!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The third
and perhaps more troubling threat is the unpredicted fall in oil prices. It was
hoped that Trump’s trouble with Iran was going to push oil prices higher up to
100 dollars per barrel. Prices that picked at $ 80 dollars in Sept/
October have inexplicably been going down over the last several weeks,
reaching a low of $ 50.93 last week, a huge 22% decline in November alone.
Nigeria, remains, despite all pretensions to the contrary, an oil dependent
economy. And so, our economy moves in sync with the movement of oil price. If the
price goes up, Nigeria’s economy goes up and if the oil price goes down,
Nigeria’s economy takes a dive. That is the way it has been since Oloibiri. But
traditionally there has always been some reasonable gap between the swings,
allowing sufficient recovery before a new burst. Before the June 2014 burst,
GDP was over 6% and had been at such high levels for nearly a decade, which
helped us sail through the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-2010 (of course
helped by our excess crude savings). But here we are just laboring to achieve a
GDP of 2% and after about only an 18-month recovery time frame, we are faced
with the present danger of another sustained decline in oil prices and a
possible relapse into recession. I just pray that the effort of OPEC to cut output
will help stabilize prices and perhaps reverse the decline. If we are borrowing
our entire 2018 capital budget with the improved level of oil prices and
production out put in the last two years or so, I am scared about what will
happen if the prices go below today’s level. I hope that I am not the only one
worried!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><b>Mazi Sam
Ohuabunwa OFR, FPSN<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-80053297021792256482018-11-19T15:59:00.001+01:002018-11-19T16:01:17.940+01:00HAS RELIGION IMPROVED THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There has been this argument as to whether Nigeria is a secular or non-secular state, religious or non- religious Nation. A secular state is a state which purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion A secular state also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion/non religion over other religions/ non religion. Secular states do not have a state religion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some states become secular upon creation of the state, for example the USA or upon secularization of the state (e.g. France & Nepal). Historically, the process of secularizing states, typically involves granting religious freedoms, disestablishing state religion, stopping public funds being used for religion, freeing the legal system from religious control, freeing up educational system, tolerating citizens who change religion or abstain from religion and allowing political leadership to come to power, regardless of their religious beliefs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ordinarily secular means worldly, non religious or not spiritual while non-secular will then refer to be spiritual or religious. But it does not always work out that way in real practice. Some non-secular states actually do not subscribe to any spirituality. Indeed some of the greatest atheist Nations are regarded as non- secular, such states as China, Japan, Czech Republic, France, Australia and Iceland. But many non-secular states truly have state religions- that is they recognize a special religion in their constitution. Some Christian Nations include Costa Rica, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City (Catholicism); England, Jersey & Tuvalu (Anglicanism ); Denmark, Norway, Greenland, Finland (Lutheranism). Zambia is one of the few Christian States in Africa. Many of the predominantly Muslim-dominated states have Islam as the official state religion, countries such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh,Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan and Morocco. Some other States have Buddhism or Hinduism as their state religion. Some Countries have transformed political ideology into some kind of religion. China in the days of Mao Zedong and North Korea even as at today adopt their political ideology as religion and very much resist any true religious influence.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So what is Nigeria - secular on non-secular? My answer is both. Secular because, Nigerian constitution does not recognize any official religion yet, some states in Nigeria have adopted the Sharia legal system. It is also non-secular, because Nigeria as a Country invests in religious activities and is essentially a religious Nation. Every year the tax payers money is spent to pay for or subsidize religious trips to Israel and Mecca called pilgrimage. The government of Nigeria funds the offices that organize the pilgrimages and governments - at all levels, donate money directly to religious bodies and for religious purposes. Is Nigeria religious or non-religious. The answer as shown above is affirmative. The Country is not only religious, it is essentially multi-religious. It officially allows freedom of religion or worship and often starts many official functions with prayers. The second verse of the National anthem is actually a prayer. But certain sects have developed in Nigeria overtime that have tended to abridge the freedom or rights of other religious adherents. The current Boko Haram insurgents first fought against the Christian Churches, claiming that western education was bad, which of course has the Christian imprint, before turning full circle to fight those who they believed did not practice their model of Islam.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That Nigeria is a deeply religious Country is well established and well expressed. Truly I believe that Nigeria is among the most religious Nations in the whole world. It is believed that Nigeria has the highest number of church denominations and highest number of Churches in the World. I may not speak authoritatively for Islam but I can see mosques everywhere more that I see in many of the Nations that I have visited. I have not visited Saudi Arabia but I am prepared to place a bet that there are more mosques in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia. Even in the Traditional religious practices, every hamlet in Nigeria has shrines and coves where Traditional worship takes place. At some point, especially in my part of the Country, there was a time it looked like Christian Religion was displacing Traditional religion but there has a recent resurgence in Traditional worship centers and even some so called Christians who are “tired” of waiting for God to act now take their matters to deities and shrines. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now my question is, <i><b>has religion helped the growth and development of Nigeria?</b></i> Indeed has it helped the growth and development of other Countries? One way to begin to address this question is to see if there is any difference in the rate of growth of religious Nations- where religion is practiced and those Nations that prohibit or limit freedom of worship. America, Israel, Germany, Norway, Denmark and the UK are good examples of where liberal Christian religion is fundamental to their way of life, though many now have growing populations of Muslims and Asian religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Shintoism. These countries represent the gold standard in economic growth and development. There is ample evidence that their religious practices have been positive to their economic growth and orderly development of their societies. You can say similar things about Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai, Turkey, Egypt and a few of such countries that have adopted Islam as state religion, even within the context of belonging largely to developing Nations categorization. Countries with restricted religious freedom like Russia, Japan and China have shown mixed results. Japan had delayed economic growth but shot up in the 20th century with massive technological breakthroughs. Russia has been mixed. It has not shone forth like other countries of its age. Communism which was a political ideology that more or less replaced religion for a longtime in my opinion may have undermined economic growth and development. The low pace of economic development in North Korea as different from the exceptionally rapid growth in South Korea (with one of the largest Churches in the World) may derive in some part from their opposing religious orientations. One area of clear distinction in my view is that those countries that allowed religious freedoms have a higher moral tone and overall better quality of life. Though China has become a recent economic miracle, its economic liberalization which mimicked the western course of development, happened because of toning down of communism and some better religious tolerance. The violence predominant in the Middle East and the terror that have been exported from that axis- Osama Bin Ladan’s Al-Qaeda, and its metamorphosis -ISIS May be difficult to explain along religious lines. But there is no gain saying that there is some impact of religion, perhaps misguided extremist religious ideologies that say that God would reward any one who kills in His defence, such as has been exported to Somalia’s Al-Shabab and West Africa’s Boko haram.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>In Nigeria, there is certainly no gain saying that the multi-religious practices in Nigeria have played more positive roles in its growth and development than the negative consequences of some of the religious practices. </i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That is to say that in my view religion has helped the growth and development of Nigeria. Early education in Nigeria was influenced by both Christian and Islamic religions. Many of the Mission Schools and healthcare centers in Nigeria established by the missionaries especially the Christian genre provided much of the educational and healthcare needs of Nigerians in the years after independence. And even today, they still represent the gold standards as Nigerian governments with few exceptions over the years haven shown a chronic inability to provide or manage efficiently public educational and health institutions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The major paradox in Nigeria is that it looks like the more religious institutions we build in Nigeria, the more denominations and sects we create, the worse we become morally.</i> </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Corruption in Nigeria, for example, which is preached against by most (if not all) religious groups, seems to be growing in tandem with our religious expansion. And endemic corruption has severely compromised Nigeria’s growth and development. Violence and all forms of criminality have been growing as our churches and mosques grow. Poor work-ethic and consequent low productivity continue to doug our economic land space. Poor governance and poverty have increased along the same scale as the growth in worship centers in Nigeria. In fact in Nigeria, people are now stealing and killing in the name of their “gods”. This development has led many to begin to query the impact of religion on our moral tone and economic well being. They seem to be pointing to atheistic Nations as Japan, China and Australia as having better moral tone and registering better growth and development than Nigeria where most people practice one form of Religion or another.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As I was discussing this bewildering situation over this week end with a friend of mine, he raised two reasons why he thinks religion is not making as much positive impact as it made in the colonial or immediate post colonial eras in Nigeria. First is, that many false religions or false variants of true religions have proliferated in Nigeria in the guise of freedom of worship. The prayers and activities of these false religions are cancelling out or neutralizing the effect of the true religious groups . The second is that chronic poor governance in Nigeria has driven many Nigerians into poverty and the only religion that interests many now is the religion of stomach infrastructure” and many Nigerians are now compelled to worship any ‘ god’ that will guarantee regular meals. So how do we deal with these two problems? For the first one, he suggested vigilance and some form of censorship by the major religious groups. Which is to say that CAN for example should find ways to expose the false prophets and the lions in sheep’s clothing within the Christian religious groups while the JNI should do same for Muslim religious groups. What of the Traditional religious groups? He could proffer no solution. Should we set up a religious control body in the nature of NAFDAC to rout out fake prophets or fake or false churches and mosques? He said that would create more problems than it can solve! On the second issue, he said that the answer was that Nigerians should vote in responsible leadership in the forthcoming elections. If poverty decreased many will not fall prey to magicians and necromancers who parade as religious people. Or are they? In response, I told him that the way out was to stop religious proliferation - People searching for God and in the process clutching at anything that pretends to be “God” and to begin a culture of people responding to the call of God. <b>God is calling man to repentance and a new relationship. That to me is the true religion which will help change things for Nigeria.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa OFR, FPSN</span></b></span></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-13485457717012638212018-11-12T14:15:00.002+01:002018-11-12T14:16:24.936+01:00EMPOWERING PHARMACISTS TO CHECK DRUG MISUSE & ABUSE IN NIGERIA <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwLQeyYbYlhU5LxmHBr_zP8KxlD3pdhQ96YZHLLLO4cocTlbRgfPaAz0D6PP2Iyv1B1JgAoyzXyl2fIT0OcQ20qateA5tod8SOulvB4ApX0VPgMD4-P9BNU2ae1Qr2kNsa_YeCpL25Qg/s1600/Drug+abuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwLQeyYbYlhU5LxmHBr_zP8KxlD3pdhQ96YZHLLLO4cocTlbRgfPaAz0D6PP2Iyv1B1JgAoyzXyl2fIT0OcQ20qateA5tod8SOulvB4ApX0VPgMD4-P9BNU2ae1Qr2kNsa_YeCpL25Qg/s1600/Drug+abuse.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the year 2001 or thereabout, I was a member of a
delegation of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) that visited
President Olusegun Obasanjo at Aso Rock. The delegation was led by the
President of the chamber at that time, Chief (Mrs) Priscillia Kuye SAN. When
Mrs Kuye finished addressing the President, she graciously requested if I had
something to add. I rose up to grab the opportunity. But before I would speak,
she introduced me to the President as a Pharmacist and Chairman/CEO of Neimeth
International Pharmaceuticals Plc, a successor company of Pfizer Products Plc.
As I tried to open my mouth, the President charged at me, <i><b>“You Pharmacists,
you are the ones that import Fake Drugs into the Country!”</b></i>. I was stunned, but
quickly remonstrated that his statement was untrue. When he insisted, I told
him emphatically that no trained and licensed Pharmacist will deal in fake,
adulterated or counterfeit drugs, except if he was insane (mentally deranged)
or did so unknowingly. I told him that there were many interlopers and business
miscreants who were pretending to be “Pharmacists”, who actually were the ones
making merchandise out of the suffering and death of innocent Nigerians. To
further push his point as we all know that OBJ will never voluntarily lose an
argument, he raised another accusation against Pharmacists. He said <b><i>”But some
of you make copies of your certificates and licenses and place them in many
shops without adequate supervision”. </i></b>Here I conceded that such could have
happened in the years of yore, when there were very<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>few licensed Pharmacists in the Country. I
assured him that with the new Pharmacists Council Decree of 1992, such
practices had stopped and that as a matter of fact, there were many unemployed
Pharmacists looking for jobs, so it would be unacceptable to the profession and
Council for one person to oversee more than one premises or outlet while others
were without job. We concluded this altercation which was now beginning to make
Mrs Kuye ‘uncomfortable’ by the question OBJ asked me. <b><i>“Ok you have defended
your people well, what should we do to stop or minimize the problem of fake
drugs?”. </i></b>I answered swiftly: Put the round peg in a round hole. After the
meeting, I was asked to stay back. I was given paper to write out my thoughts
and proposal. Few months later, late Pharm (Dr)Dora Akunyili was appointed as
the Director General of the National Agency for Foods & Drugs
Administration and control (NAFDAC). I do not in anyway take credit for her
appointment but for once Nigerians saw how a professional Pharmacist put her
life on the line to battle the fake drug merchants and the great success she
accomplished for Nigeria and Nigerian medicine consumers. We also noted what
happened when a non professional Pharmacist was appointed to succeed her. Some
of the achievements were rolled back, because no other professional has the
in-depth knowledge on drug matters including the drug trade as the Pharmacist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...no other professional has the in-depth knowledge on drug matters including the drug trade as the Pharmacist.</span></i></b></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After this encounter
I began to reflect on why OBJ should place the problem of fake drugs
importation and distribution on the lap of Pharmacists. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkO5Q1UQqep07EYoJF6Ob69W0Yi8L1O3-TmnE8-0HFnUGNfDci4yEI0_oPyOygucEX6Kiq10rlaptf_ovKRfSkFTAkI2Okmwm75Xzj02kbIjxsJEs73uMWE3tAHMmYJEUdxH5yS02uWiE/s1600/PSN+Logo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkO5Q1UQqep07EYoJF6Ob69W0Yi8L1O3-TmnE8-0HFnUGNfDci4yEI0_oPyOygucEX6Kiq10rlaptf_ovKRfSkFTAkI2Okmwm75Xzj02kbIjxsJEs73uMWE3tAHMmYJEUdxH5yS02uWiE/s1600/PSN+Logo.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pharmacists are the
only professional group that are licensed by the government ”to manufacture,
mix, produce, warehouse, import, export, distribute and dispense, POISONS &
DRUGS” in Nigeria.</span></i></b></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In short they are the custodians of drugs and poisons in
Nigeria. Poisons?. Yes poisons - chemicals and concoctions that can kill. Which
is really the main reason government assigned this weighty responsibility to a
group of people who are thoroughly trained and disciplined to manage these
items called drugs or medicines. The real truth is that most drugs and
medicines are potentially Poisons. That is to say that they can really main or
kill those who take them. That is the major reason the profession of Pharmacy
was created to be custodians of drugs and medicines, <b><i>first to limit access to
these potential poisons, and secondly to ensure that those who need the drugs
or medicines are sufficiently counseled and guided as to how to take the
medicines, when to take the medicines, what quantity to take at a time and for
how long, what to avoid when taking particular medicines and how to respond
should unanticipated reactions occur or should an overdose be mistakingly taken.</i></b> The Pharmacist is expected
to be the intermediary between the medicine (prescribed by a doctor or
purchased over the counter) and the patient. The truth is that anytime this
inter-mediation is breached, the patient or consumer of the medicine is actually
putting his life in danger, because the same drug that can heal when taken
appropriately as prescribed and dispensed, may kill when taken inappropriately.
And the tragedy is that very many Nigerians have more or less committed suicide
through taking medicines in appropriately, often without the inter-mediation of
the professional Pharmacist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore from
OBJ’s point of view, if Pharmacists are the only ones licensed to produce or
import drugs, we should not search far for whom to blame when we encounter fake
drugs in the system. Indeed this was the same thinking of our Distributor in
Lagos in the 80s. We had gone to Richson Pharmaceutical company to show him
that a set of Pfizer pharmaceutical products which he sold to a retailer in
Ikeja were fake drugs. Richson laughed at us and asserted ”Sam, I do not
manufacture, I do not import Pfizer products, all that I sell are gotten from
you. So if you say these items are fake or substandard, then it must be that
Pfizer now produces fake drugs”. Of course I assured him that there was no way,
Pfizer could manufacture fake drugs. To cut a very long story short, we
eventually found out how the fake drug importers infiltrated his system by
coming to his boys in his absence to claim that they had bought products from
us on credit and were finding it difficult to pay and that Pfizer was putting a
lot of pressure on them to pay or face legal action. They claimed to have
decided to discount the products by 50%, so that they could quickly raise cash
to stave off the legal action. Richson’s staff saw a good opportunity to make “a kill” and inadvertently procured the fake drugs and mixed them with the
genuine ones they had brought properly from Pfizer in Nigeria. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ordinarily, this
thinking should be seen as reasonable and logical. But in our country many unreasonable
and illogical things happen. The painful truth is that over many years, the
pharmaceutical professional space has been invaded by all manner of people who
see drugs just as items of commerce or mere medical disposables and in some way
the government’s acts of omission or commission have intended to undermine the
custodian status of Pharmacists. It is not unusual these days to find decisions
about drugs and medicines taken without the input of Pharmacists. In many
clinics, drugs are dispensed without the inter-mediation of a Pharmacist. Even
in some Government General Hospitals, drugs are dispensed without any
Pharmacist’s oversight. In several Primary Health Centres in Nigeria, drugs are
procured and dispensed to patients without any Pharmacist’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>input. Here there seems to be the misinformed
and simplistic view that all that Pharmacists do is to ask patients to “take
two tablets three times a day” and as such any ‘idiot’ who can speak English
can do the same. This misinformation surprisingly gets hearing even in some
high government quarters, peddled by agents who profit from the suffering of
Nigerian medicine consumers. In the community, many private consumers of drugs
can get any drug- ethical or OTC (prescribed or not) from roadside kiosks, moving
intra and intra-city buses and trains, open market stalls and even in bars,
lounges and nightclubs.This does not happen in most Nations of the World
including our African neighbors. So why must Nigeria be allowed to continue to
operate in this way?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The result we face
today is the growing incidence of drug misuse and abuse. Recently the Nation
was embarrassed by the international Codeine scandal and there is so much
misuse and abuse with varying morbidities and mortalities , most unreported. So
like the fake drug issue, who is to blame for the high incidence? The answers
will be as varied depending on who<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you
ask, sometimes with disproportionate blame on the victims. For me the official
and legal custodians of drugs - Pharmacists , their professional associations
and their regulatory agencies - Pharmacists Council of Nigeria( PCN) and the
National Agency for Food & Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) can
not absolve themselves. Yes, when asked, they blame delay in signing the
amended PCN act into law, and other lacuna in drug control legislation, poor
resourcing and funding of the regulatory agencies, discriminatory and poor
renumeration, lack of executive political will and support for effective
ring-fencing of the pharmaceutical space to admit only those qualified and
licensed to legally operate, following orderly guideline. My take is that these
problems are not insurmountable. I believe the call is for a new approach to
ensuring that professional pharmacists take full responsibility as custodians
of medicines in Nigeria, ensuring only responsible access to bring down the
current level of damage caused by unbridled access and consequent misuse and
abuse. I believe that the support of the governments of Nigeria and other
healthcare professionals should be taken as granted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="mailto:samohuabunwa@gmail.com" target="_blank">Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa OFR,FPSN</a></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-43008859348340808452018-11-05T09:00:00.000+01:002018-11-05T09:00:02.584+01:00IT MUST BE MINIMUM PAY FOR MINIMUM WORK<div>
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The National Labour movement represented by NLC and TUC is threatening to shut down the Nigerian economy soon if their demand for a minimum wage of thirty thousand Naira is not accepted by the Governments of Nigeria in the next few days. The Nigerian economy is still struggling despite the efforts of government and it will be disastrous to allow the labour to proceed on the planned indefinite strike. I must say that it is within the ambit of the labour movement to demand a review of the national minimum wage. I also must state that I absolutely agree with labour that there is absolute need to review the minimum wage</div>
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As at 2011 when the present minimum wage of eighteen thousand Naira came to effect,the exchange rate of the Naira against the US dollar was 156 Naira. Today it is about 363 Naira to the US dollar, and this represents 132 % depreciation. Since the last raise, inflation had climbed from 10.8 % to nearly 18% though it is now about 11.8% Therefore from every objective analysis, the demand is justified. As we have always stated, agreements on National wage reviews is a tripartite affair between Labour, employers and government. It must be negotiated, not imposed by any party. Ideally it is essentially between workers and their employers. Government is essentially a regulatory agent. However in Nigeria, government is also a significant employer and this dual role seems to complicate the issues. In this particular negotiation, the government’s conduct has been inelegant. Several months ago, the federal government assured Nigerians that the new minimum wage would be operative by quarter 3 of this year. We are now in the middle of Q4 and no agreement has been reached. So every often, the government has failed to convene the meeting of the negotiating team and the last time, the labour had to go on a warning strike before the government reconvened the meeting. I am always surprised at the way government treats negotiations regarding workers welfare. Whether it is NLC, ASUU or NASU, Government seems to adopt the same strategy: dillydally , evade the issues, make promises, break the promises, flex muscles, try to divide the unions and eventually precipitate a strike. Then the economy goes through rough patches, with everybody suffering. After damaging the economy for a while and causing pain for all - employees, employers and the citizen, they get back to the negotiating table, almost always accepting the demands of the labour and often paying arrears. I have always wandered why this strategy will not change.</div>
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Maybe because the governments have no real understanding of what harm is done to the economy when work is disrupted. They seem to have no idea of what losses businesses incur any hour work is stopped. Yet governments in Nigeria allow strikes to go on for many days and in some cases many months before they accept workers’ demands. Then they pay workers for the months they were on strike. This apparent lack of understanding of how work disruptions affect our economic growth is demonstrated each time, governments of Nigeria declare public holidays for no good reason. I am still at a loss to understand why events that fall on holidays should attract declaring normal working days as holidays. In Nigeria Saturday and Sunday are work free days thankfully. Therefore what is the purpose of declaring Monday and Tuesday as public holidays for events that happened on Saturday and Sunday. Yes, developed economies may have the luxury of doing that (but many do not), but for a poor country like Nigeria to seek every opportunity to keep people out of work is preposterous in my view. Therefore it is imperative that the government gets serious, and avoids this hide & seek stance and delaying tactics. The issue of reviewing the minimum wage has merit and should be quickly concluded to avoid unnecessary disruption of the economy.</div>
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But I must also advise labour to show understanding on this matter. First, they must realize that the ability to pay is a critical factor in negotiating wages. And it is clear to the blind and deaf that many states in Nigeria are patently unable to pay even at the current minimum wage level. So does it make much sense to force state governments to accept the 30k minimum wage when many are in arrears of several months at the current rate, despite the several bailout efforts by the Federal government?. What will be the point of forcing states to accept rates they can not pay? Yes, if they managed their finances better, they could pay more. But is the state resources only for paying workers emoluments ?. Nigeria currently spends up to 70% of the National Budget on recurrent expenditure and for some States it goes up to 90%. We therefore need the governments to be more efficient in resource disposition. But should we spend such savings on worker emoluments instead of on capital expenditure? My point is that Labour should be reasonable in their demands. Alternatively we may have two minimum wages: Federal and States. I believe the federal can pay the 30K but States may pay 22K or 25k. That to me is pragmatic and should receive proper consideration by labour. To insist on national minimum of 30k may be stretching the argument too far.</div>
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Finally, let me also add that we should not be trying to reward indolence and low productivity. It is well known that many in the civil or public service are over paid. Many do not produce enough to merit their current pay, including the high and mighty in all the tiers and arms of government. So if we are making a case for increased minimum wage we must also make a case for increased minimum work. Otherwise, we may just be robbing Peter (ordinary Nigerian taxpayers) to pay Paul (fat-cat public servants in the executive, legislature & Judiciary).That will not help to improve our economy, it may actually drag us further down as we may end up paying 100% of our National income to less than 2 million public servants. That will be patently unfair to the people of Nigeria.</div>
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<b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b></div>
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<a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com"><b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b></a></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-13547749668425713222018-10-22T09:00:00.000+01:002018-10-22T09:00:01.836+01:00CREATING LEVEL PLAYING GROUND FOR NIGERA’S HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans, sans-serif; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px 0px 20px; width: 759px;">
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">I was in the United States of Nigeria recently and I felt that I needed to go to the clinic. My sister inlaw booked an appointment. When I arrived, I was warmly </span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">received by a receptionist who gave me a form to fill. He was neatly dressed and after collecting my data, ushered me into a room. Soon afterwards a lady walked into the room to take my vital signs- blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">This</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">healthcare professional who I got to know was a nurse was decently dressed in a white over coat. But at first he could have passed as a medical doctor. He asked me a few questions and got me ready to see the physician. A few minutes after, the medical doctor also walked in wearing a white overall. He took his time to examine me, asking questions . At some point, he asked me to undress for a thorough physical examination. Then he left. Thereafter some one I suspected must be a health technologist walked in with an ECG machine and strapped some wires on my chest. When he finished, he left and the medical doctor returned to discuss the ECG readings with me. Afterwards, the doctor requested some laboratory examination and I was escorted by a nurse to the Lab. My blood and urine samples were taken by a medical laboratory scientist. He told me to come back and see the doctor in two days time.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">On my return, I was again courtesy ushered in to a waiting room. The doctor whom I had seen two days earlier reviewed all the test results and wrote out a prescription. Then he asked me “ what is the name and code of your Pharmacy?”. I asked why and he said, he was going to remit the prescription to the Pharmacy, so I would go and fill the prescription at a Pharmacy. I then told him I was not resident in the USA and would rather fill the prescription when I returned to Nigeria. He insisted that I must begin to take some of the medication immediately while I begin the others when I got back. I agreed and suggested If he could let me have those medicines from the clinic. He said he I could only get any prescription drug in the Pharmacy in town or the Pharmacy in a hospital not from the clinic or elsewhere .I was impressed as</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">contrasted with the situation in my country where you can get drugs ( prescription or not) from anywhere- open markets, kiosks, moving trucks and all manner of clinics and health centers </span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">That was not just what pleased me most. I was thoroughly impressed by the harmony that existed within the healthcare team. Everybody knew his job, respected each other and kept in their lanes. They all looked happy, contented and proud of their professional duties. And all these worked in my Favour- the patient. Again</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">seems to contrast with what happens in my Country. I really do not know how it all started but there seems to be so much acrimony within the healthcare team in Nigeria.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">This</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">acrimony came strongly to the fore during the recent health workers strike under the auspices of JOHESU. What was meant to be a protest by public sector health-workers against their employers - Federal and State Governments turned into a war between Medical doctors and the other health workers- Pharmacists,Medical Laboratory Scientists, Physiotherapists, Nurses,Midwives and Health Technologists. I could never understand why the gain of one group should turn to be the loss of another group. Is it not possible for the gain of one to be the gain of all. I am pleased that the leaders of the different professional groups are working hard to restore the relationship and I commend them. For me we must ensure that</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">does not happen again. Since healthcare is a team operation, it is not in the interest of the patient for some to he happy and others sad. A demoralized team member can ruin the good work of other team members. It is in pursuit of</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">objective of restoring inter-professional harmony that I offer the following suggestions</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">First, the current practice of having a particular professional group head hospitals must be reviewed. Leadership of institutions is a competency based activity. To make it a birthright of any particular professional group is not fair to all. Let the most competent or most senior professional head the hospital or the establishment. That is what happens in every progressive organization. The best leads! Peace is elusive where there is lack of justice and fairness. It is appalling and almost sounding like apartheid policy when a 5 year old medical doctor becomes the boss of 20 year old Pharmacist for example in a hospital just because the hospital must be led by a Medical officer. Everywhere in the World that a ceiling is placed on the growth or advancement of one group and another is allowed to advance, there will always be discontentment that eventually leads to rebellion. See what happened in America in the days of racial discrimination or in South Africa due to the apartheid system!Alternatively we should return to what used to operate in our days in the hospital. There was a director of Administration who ran the administration while the professional groups had their heads and ran their clinical services without any problems.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">This</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">made for more harmony among the healthcare professionals. The change in the nineties or so that dislocated the old system bequeathed to us by the British has effectively dislocated inter-professional harmony in our healthcare systems and must be revisited if the much desired harmony must be restored.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">Similar to the above is the growing practice of always making medical doctors Ministers of Health and as is so often, the two ministerial positions including minister of state for Health are assigned to medical doctors. Ditto for States where it is almost becoming an</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">article</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">of faith that Health commissioners must be Medical doctors.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">This</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">is breeding professional arrogance on one hand and on the other hand professional jealousy. Way back, some of the best health ministers we have had were not medical doctors and some like Chief Ugwu in the first Republic were not even healthcare professionals. In recent history, the likes of Professor I.C. Madubuike, Prof ABC Nwosu and Professor Eyitayo Lambo were not medical doctors and during their tenures, professional harmony soared among the healthcare professionals and many left great landmarks. In 1993 when Prince Julius Adelusi- Adeluyi, Pharmacist was secretary of Health for only a few months, he left enduring legacies . So if we must make health professionals ministers in the health ministry, we should rotate it between the different health professions and specifically, we must never make the two ministers come from the same professional group. It is a patently unfair practice.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">Thirdly, welfare issues for healthcare professionals should be taken together. The existing dichotomy must be removed. In my days as a pupil Pharmacist I was employed on Salary grade 8, step one and my house officer colleagues were started on grade level 8, step three. And when we had any issues with the hospital administration, we presented our cases jointly and we rotated leadership amongst ourselves, looking for the most competent, blind to our professional groupings.But somewhere along the line, the medical doctors were removed and placed on a different salary grading while the rest of the healthcare professionals were left in another salary grading.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">This</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">was how the seeds of suspicion and disharmony were sowed. There is no where else in the developed World that</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">dichotomy exists. To be true</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">is the major destabilizing factor in the healthcare team. No body is proposing that the salary or allowance of any group presently enjoying advantage should be reduced, rather the gulf created between one group and others should be reduced. I do not see how</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">causes any loss to any group but I see it helping to bridge the current subdued differences and resentment.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> I must conclude that in making the above suggestions, I sincerely do not have any prejudice against any group. I am a very concerned Nigerian who wants our health care professionals to work in harmony for the good of the patient and the improvement of healthcare in Nigeria. The unrelenting poor rating of Nigeria’s healthcare may not be unconnected with</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">simmering animosity and disharmony among our healthcare professionals. Even the worsening medical tourism out of Nigeria May have its roots in the enthronement of a patently unjust system of compensation and rewards in the health care team.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">I call on well meaning healthcare professionals to join me in</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">crusade to restore inter professional harmony in our healthcare team, keeping in mind the following wise sayings: Injury to one is injury to all; </span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">Do unto others as you will like them to do unto you.; Where there is no justice and equity, there will be no peace. May God help us to heed</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">this</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">appeal </span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; max-width: 100%;">Mazi Sam I. Ohuabuinwa OFR</span></div>
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<a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: georgia, palatina, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">sam@starteamconsult.com</a></div>
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SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-14259495379978016802018-10-09T23:22:00.001+01:002018-10-09T23:22:31.417+01:00WHY HAVE THEY THROWN AMBODE INTO THE LAGOS LAGOON?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFE-E_RhlIfJfCm3yaKHId1FpSE5FyDZ9al-4trr1UotO9Nb7AAZn4R3sRwvuCKTFQaAEKgGmnjNhkBhZlPePgWh0OdSuV5J4I_nbpePOLJp2myyfioEnD3JtUq6uoc3WV4w-c6ZDSlk/s1600/Ambode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFE-E_RhlIfJfCm3yaKHId1FpSE5FyDZ9al-4trr1UotO9Nb7AAZn4R3sRwvuCKTFQaAEKgGmnjNhkBhZlPePgWh0OdSuV5J4I_nbpePOLJp2myyfioEnD3JtUq6uoc3WV4w-c6ZDSlk/s1600/Ambode.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Many Nigerians will remember the story of the threat which the Oba of Lagos was said to have issued to Ndigbo who lived in Lagos during the 2015 political season. Those who decide what happens in Lagos State were in great panic. They looked into their crystal balls and found that a majority of Ndigbo in Lagos had planned to vote for Jimmy Agbaje of PDP as governor of Lagos. All the political principalities in APC in Lagos went berserk. What to do? Oba of Lagos was recruited. He summoned some of the so called Eze Ndigbo in Lagos and issued the infamous threat. They must vote for Ambode of APC or they better be prepared to be thrown into the Lagos Lagoon. It was a desperate situation that demanded desperate action.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Ambode went on to win the election. I do not know if the threat succeeded in frightening the Igbo Lagosians into voting for Ambode in order to stay alive or if it did not. But that threat actually awakened the Igbo, both in Lagos and elsewhere in Nigeria. When later in 2017, the Arewa Youths gave ultimatum to Ndigbo to move away from Northern Nigeria before 1st October, many Igbo finally (hopefully) came to the conclusion that they remain in a precarious situation in Nigeria. And the Nigerian government kept mute as Ndigbo went through these psychological terror campaign from our compatriots. As if these were not enough to break a people, this same Government visited additional terror on the people with operation Python dance 1 & 2 and Operation Crocodile tears. Yet paradoxically, the Igbo remain the most committed to the unity of Nigeria, as they continue to water the tree of Nigerian unity with their blood.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank God that the Oba of Lagos did not carry out the threat and Ndigbo have continued to live and do their businesses in peace in Lagos and the Arewa Youths eventually rescinded their ultimatum and Ndigbo have continued to build more houses and set up more businesses in every part of the North of Nigeria and indeed in every other part of Nigeria, perhaps until the next political eruptions! But now, it looks like Ambode for whom the Ndigbo in Lagos would have been thrown into the lagoon seem to have himself now ended in the Lagos Lagoon. What happened?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcwZAkimNbloKfIoPhSDV4NYXqogVNP1aNvZ2-o88d15uvg8T95gdSs1gmxymV8NJzb0X40BGvNTihLZSQ9omdUjzNoLi_0zmke-xXxytXxxklOzWJyRatHzDVQq0Gud6tSLDnuKD-O0/s1600/Tinubu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcwZAkimNbloKfIoPhSDV4NYXqogVNP1aNvZ2-o88d15uvg8T95gdSs1gmxymV8NJzb0X40BGvNTihLZSQ9omdUjzNoLi_0zmke-xXxytXxxklOzWJyRatHzDVQq0Gud6tSLDnuKD-O0/s1600/Tinubu.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lagos has been run essentially on a strategic plan laid out by Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) when he came into office in 1999. Like him or hate him, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a strategic leader. I had the privilege of joining the rank of the greats like Professor Olikoye Ransome Kuti to serve as a member of the transition committee that helped Asiwaju to plot the strategic plan for governing Lagos State. Bola chose a broad range of great Nigerians who live (or lived) in Lagos to help him chart the strategic plan. I also served as the Chairman of the Planning Committee of the first Lagos State Economic Summit. I did not know Asiwaju from Adam, but he got me and many like me to support his vision. I truly believe that one of Bola's strongest virtues as a strategic leader is his uncanny ability to pick good men or good people to work with or for him. His cabinet in 1999 was star studded, many from the Private Sector. It is to his credit that many of those who worked with him at that time are now the people running the Nation at the centre - Yemi Osinbajo (VP), Babatunde Raji Fashola (Minister of Works, Power and Housing), Lai Mohammed (Minister of Information & National Orientation), Tunde Fowler (Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service), Ade Ipaye (Deputy Chief of Staff in the Presidency), etc</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu chose Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF) to succeed him, many were rattled. For many, BRF did not belong to the first eleven. After all, he only became the Chief of Staff,when Bola had despatched Lai Mohammed to go and take up political position in Kwara State. In 2007, when as the President of the Business Club Ikeja (BCI), I organized a Private-sector driven debate for the Gubernatorial candidates in Lagos, I must confess that I did not see what Bola had seen in BRF. But from 2007-2011, BRF dazzled all Lagosians. He literally transformed Lagos. He boldly cleaned up Lagos, dealt with chaotic Lagos traffic and brought crime down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I do not know exactly what Fashola did to Tinubu that, he considered not allowing him run for a second term. But Lagosians had fallen in love with Fashola and were prepared to rebel against the lion of Bourdillon. Being a smart leader, Asiwaju retreated and gave in to what was essentially public pressure and allowed him run. BRF did so well that President Muhammadu Buhari rewarded him by making him the defacto Prime Minister of Nigeria. Now enter </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Akinwunmi Ambode. Again when Tinubu brought up a retired civil servant to succeed BRF, many Lagosians cried foul especially when we seemed to have a suffice of great materials in the mould of BRF. But as usual, Asiwaju stood his ground, touting the great success of BRF as evidence that he knew who would deliver best among his team. At last the Lagosians gave him the benefit of doubt and elected Ambode.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you ask me I will say that Ambode has done well but not as stellar as BRF. So why did the people not rise up to defend him against Asiwaju's 'mid term crisis' as they did for BRF? First, Visionscape. From nowhere, Ambode decided to change the working refuse clearance system in Lagos initiated by BAT and perfected by BRF. Lagosians were shocked by the return of filth to Lagos after many years of not seeing refuse dumps on Lagos streets. This was very disappointing to many. Indeed, some thought it had to do with Asiwaju , but later, we got to know that he did not have a hand in it. Then Ambode began to repair and construct many roads at the same time, returning Lagos to the traffic gridlocks it experienced last when Fela was still living at Ojuelegba and driving against the traffic. Though I believe this was for good cause, but many Lagosians were really sad. Up till Ambode was thrown into the lagoon, I had no idea, he had other problems with the people of Lagos and the King makers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">But I have since read and heard of the so many 'sins' of Ambode, from what he did to the Chaplain of the State house chapel to how he sacked several Permanent Secretaries without apparent cause and how inaccessible he was. I have generally seen these as effort to call a dog a bad name to justify why it was hanged. Nevertheless, one matter ran through all the stories including first hand stories told me by some close friends who are top notchers in APC in Lagos - the man forgot those who held the ladder for him to climb up. So the guys quietly took away the ladder and Ambode had no other way to climb down than to jump. And unfortunately he landed in the lagoon, the same one the Oba had prepared for the recalcitrant Igbo Lagosians who would not vote for Ambode. How the tide changes!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To be true, the popular view amongst many Nigerians is that BAT purposely pushed Ambo into the Lagoon for his own selfish reasons. Well may be BAT often suffers from such 'malady' at mid-term, but because BRF stood with the people, he was saved from the Ambo treatment. It therefore makes sense to always stand with the people, especially those you met on your way up, because you are most likely to meet them on your way back. Now we may be back to where we were in 2015. The old war horse Jimmy Agbaje is back on beat. I wish to believe that both the Oba of Lagos and the new darling of Lagos APC - Babajide Sanwo-Olu( BSO) will not adopt any such desperate measures and threats. There may always be the 'midterm crisis' and what goes round often comes round. Eko oni baje: ju bayi lo!, then itesiwaju ipinle eko..oje wa logun, what next for Eko?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b></span></a></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-18894961845515948072018-10-02T10:26:00.002+01:002018-10-02T10:26:23.743+01:00THE INCONCLUSIVE CONCLUDED ELECTION<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-42xyfcNhLx4WBgVWptKQUIkz0d1886KzqTgeMU1-hXl5rYP2cRCwq5Qw_BHl-V3BHPBV1Z_PdxEq9zB39mqsfCIpiZbSz2UtJ1JNm_xXNZ55RdkoLQQbrTddZryZKqQhaYFnpbzV7k/s1600/inec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-42xyfcNhLx4WBgVWptKQUIkz0d1886KzqTgeMU1-hXl5rYP2cRCwq5Qw_BHl-V3BHPBV1Z_PdxEq9zB39mqsfCIpiZbSz2UtJ1JNm_xXNZ55RdkoLQQbrTddZryZKqQhaYFnpbzV7k/s1600/inec.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">There are ominous
signs in the air. Seeds of instability are being sown and we seem to be
watching helplessly. I held my breadth as I watched concluded election transit
to inconclusive and the concluded return to inconclusive. On Saturday 22nd
September 2018, Osun people went to vote for who would take over from Comrade
Rauf Aregbosola as their governor. Rauf who became "popular" for
owing arrears of workers' salaries was completing his very tumultuous tenure.
It was a hotly contested election with an unprecedented number of parties-about
38 fielding candidates for the elections.
</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">Everybody expected the competition to be fierce and so it was.
The elections closed and were counted at the different pooling booths. Then
collation started at ward levels and was concluded. Then it moved on to the Local Government Collation Centres and was concluded. The LGA returning
officers moved their collated results to the state collation centre where Prof
Joseph Fuwape was both the chairman, master of ceremony and returning officer.
Watching him on Television, he took full control of all that happened and his
voice was commanding and he sounded excited. When he finished collating results
of all the concluded collations from LGAs, his voice went mellow. The
excitement was diminished if not lost. An otherwise ebullient man, became hesistant.
The unexpected had happened. The "dancing" Senator Adeleke was
winning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"> </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQGQya4uC90fYXy_vW2KRi7uVQ8uPAXL3tHybv-_t7Uqx69p0K2ZHNjS_uVZB0vP3MxN_i2r-kuQHk6rjoW6FdYVoXsUW7kkyY8dDNz4OPWoebjFl7Ut8Uo9fZtkiTh_2VW_DfHbS2ao/s1600/Adegboyega+Oyetola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1205" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQGQya4uC90fYXy_vW2KRi7uVQ8uPAXL3tHybv-_t7Uqx69p0K2ZHNjS_uVZB0vP3MxN_i2r-kuQHk6rjoW6FdYVoXsUW7kkyY8dDNz4OPWoebjFl7Ut8Uo9fZtkiTh_2VW_DfHbS2ao/s320/Adegboyega+Oyetola.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Adegboyega Oyetola</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">And that's how
an already concluded election turned inconclusive. INEC who cancelled elections
in some booths for sundry 'justifiable' reasons, then realized, they had shot themselves
on the foot and then reversed themselves. A supplementary election would be
held to correct the 'anomaly'. Last Thursday 27th September a supplementary
election was held in Seven pooling stations in four LGAs. When the results were
added up, Adegboyega Oyetola was winning and Prof Fuwape regained his cool and
then declared the concluded elections which had become inconclusive now
concluded. And asked those unhappy while he was happy to go to court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">With this, many
matters now arise which in the end may make this concluded matter return to an
inconclusive mode. First, Senator Ademola Adeleke who was winning before the
matter became inconclusive has vowed to reclaim his victory in Court, which
means that all the previously concluded matters would be reopened and the
courts would then conclude the unconcluded, inconclusive and reopened matters
at the Supreme Court. Second, the "unholy" alliance negotiated
between APC and Senator Iyiola Omisore may soon unravel. Already, Adams
Oshiomhole's version of the deal differs in material detail from Omisore's
version and both are different from the information gathered from the grape
vine. There are already disputations as to how much was agreed as electoral
expense write off; automatic, semiautomatic or Manuel senate seat, number of
commissioners to be allocated and how the government will be run by the
alliance; dropping of the EFCC charges and the final closure on the Bola Ige
matter. Soon the concluded deal may become inconclusive. Thirdly, Chief Olu
Falae, Chairman of the SDP, on whose platform Omisore ran seemed to have
distanced himself from the alliance and that creates some inconclusiveness,
which may scuttle the alliance.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LCar43iepPTc7yaRFVU4JBnUYM4xje-Z8sjA8hzejCKgik-TIElvpy7KN1DjlfRSLoN3of0mXIyHLK7AEqsxakrUiQo3h8WjjiwdfUXXCzyUFFnIqlLWNCCLBJ3V83ra1_lUHR3Oyts/s1600/adeleke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LCar43iepPTc7yaRFVU4JBnUYM4xje-Z8sjA8hzejCKgik-TIElvpy7KN1DjlfRSLoN3of0mXIyHLK7AEqsxakrUiQo3h8WjjiwdfUXXCzyUFFnIqlLWNCCLBJ3V83ra1_lUHR3Oyts/s1600/adeleke.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Senator Ademola Adeleke</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">The real worry
here is that seeds of instability are being sowed in the polity. Senator
Ademola Adeleke strongly feels he has been cheated, robbed of victory.
His Party PDP feels this is a rape on democracy and that it was part of APC's
desire to win by all means- fair or foul. Osun people are divided down the
line- half feeling bitter and half feeling happy. Other Nigerians are also
divided with perhaps more people empathizing with the 'weak'-Adeleke. Many also
feel that what APC did is what PDP would have done if they had the power.
Additional worry is created by the damning report of the international
community on the supplementary election. In an unusual undiplomatic manner, the
Envoys of the USA, UK and the EU condemned the conduct of the election,
alleging interference, intimidation and violence. This was quite weighty and must
have some consequences, now or in the future. They do not often speak this way!
They have even made additional comments since then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">All these rub
off negatively on INEC. It is true that nobody accepts that he lost election in
Nigeria, fair and square except for Dr Goodluck Jonathan who accepted defeat as
a lamb, did not protest, did not resist, did not complain, refused to go to
Court. So it is normal to hear losers complain of impropriety and many
observers often give the electoral umpire, the benefit of doubt. But this Osun
election left bitter taste in the tongues of many. In the front of everybody,
INEC declared an election which had been concluded in the eyes of many people
inconclusive. Then it arranged a supplementary election reported to have been interfered
with and looking all in the face announced that the man who was leading at
close of the election has lost at extra time. It was like a referee awarding
penalty kicks at extra time to the losing team, allowing them first to equalize
and then going ahead to score the winning goal at which time the referee
stopped the match. Yes the favoured team will rejoice but the cheated team will
protest. This looks like the game we just watched in Osun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">Will this be the
pattern of the games under this umpire? What does it portend for Nigeria's
democracy?</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;">Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and now Osun have all ended
with shouts of foul by PDP while APC has rejoiced. Many who love this Nation
are praying that the pattern of referring must change. I just pray that this
prayer is answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: #2000;"><b><a href="mailto:sam@starteamcosult.com" target="_blank">sam@starteamcosult.com</a><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-44129721423558138192018-09-25T00:38:00.001+01:002018-09-25T00:48:09.390+01:00GOODWILL MESSGAE TO ALL NIGERIAN PHARMACISTS ON WORLD PHARMACISTS' DAY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My dear professional colleagues<br />
<br />
It is my great pleasure to send this goodwill message to all Nigerian Pharmacists on the occasion of the celebration of the World Pharmacists' Day holding today, 25th September 2018. It is exciting that the different branches, technical and interest groups have outlined several programs to commemorate this day. I pray that as we reach out on this special day to the community, the Good Lord will empower and enrich us all greatly and grant us very successful celebrations.<br />
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Taking into cognizance the theme of this year's exercise:<b> PHARMACIST, YOUR MEDICINES' EXPERT,</b> I must say that the time has come indeed for us to push this subject as we face competition from all and sundry in the handling and management of medicines in Nigeria. Despite the great efforts of our leaders over 90 years that the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has existed, there still exists some confusion in the minds of the people on who the real experts and custodians of medicines in Nigeria are.<br />
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And this why I have stated that the place of the Pharmacist in drug research, production, distribution, drug retailing, drug dispensing and administration must be assured and unencumbered in the scheme of things in Nigeria. We must bring quackery to a halt and fully enthrone the pharmacist at the centre of all pharmaceutical activities in Nigeria. We must ensure that all those who have no genuine or legal business in the industry are routed out as we reclaim our profession, by ring-fencing it.<br />
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My vision is to see the Pharmacy profession become one of the most <b>TRUSTED, RESPECTED and REWARDING </b>Professions in Nigeria. Our mission is to significantly enhance the impact, image, prestige and respectability, recognition and reward for the Pharmacy profession through the dedicated enhancement of professional excellence and service to the medicine consuming public, effective partnerships with stakeholders in the healthcare delivery system and a proactive advocacy stance.<br />
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It is therefore my pleasure dear colleagues to place my wealth of experience and the deep-rooted networks across the length and breadth of Nigeria and the West Africa region at the service of the Society as we enthrone a visionary, impactful, ethical, accountable and God-fearing leadership that will take our Society and profession to the manifest destiny.<br />
<br />
I am hoping that we shall all make it happen at Oluyole 2018. Have a blessed celebration<br />
<br />
Your colleague and PSN Presidential Aspirant<br />
<br />
<b>PHARM. (MAZI) SAM I. OHUABUNWA OFR, MON, NPOM, FPSN, FNAPharm, FPCPharm</b>SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-19795284972295400582018-09-24T09:00:00.000+01:002018-09-24T09:00:05.032+01:00NIGERIA : A FAKE NATION OR A NATION OF FAKES?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nigeria is an intriguing nation. A 58- year adult nation that is still crawling like a toddler, while most of its mates are running on sure feet. Many people including political, traditional and religious leaders have expressed their bewilderment with Nigeria's chronic inability to truly rise. Never mind that a tiny minority including some who earn 12 billion Naira as annual dividend will argue differently that Nigeria is rising. Many ordinary folks in Nigeria have raised their hands in desperation as they find themselves daily pushed into poverty despite their best efforts.This is evidenced by the fact that Nigeria the seventh most populous nation with a 'tiny' population of about 198 million People has become the global poverty headquarters,beating India( with a population of over 1.2 billion ) according to the Brookings Institution. Nigeria is said to have 87 million of its citizens in extreme poverty as today and according to Melinda Gates foundation, this number may grow to 152 million in 2050 and we say Nigeria is rising. Yes Africa may be rising but not Nigeria and if anything, Nigeria is dragging Africa down!<br />
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What is the trouble with Nigeria? Chinua Achebe tried to answer this question in his book. Many other authors have posed this question and some have proffered answers. Many have blamed the leadership,others the followership,and some both. Majority have rightly blamed corruption but we have failed to reach a national agreement on what constitutes corruption and how to identify corruption and how to prevent or punish corrupt acts. Even the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) seem to have a limited view of what constitutes a corrupt practice. For example appointing a serving Minister who is maintained by tax payers to serve as DG of a partisan campaign organization is a corrupt practice in my view. Indeed using official time or resources to serve private or partisan interests spells corrupt practice in my dictionary. But those who claim to be fighting corruption are actually only fighting stealing money in Nigeria. They seem to think that stealing or frank financial crimes constitute the total essence of corruption. I fully accept that stealing is a corrupt act but it is not all. In my opinion it is not the most weighty act of corruption. Indeed for me, it is one aspect of corruption that is easiest to fight or even to prevent.<br />
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There are more insidious and damaging corrupt acts than straight forward thieving. Which was the point I believe President Goodluck Jonathan was trying to make, but his detractors refused and failed to understand his point, preferring to confuse issues in order to mock him. One of such corrupt acts which has become so pervasive in Nigeria is faking. Fake educational certificates, fake NYSC certificates, fake drugs, fake doctors, fake motor parts, fake identity cards,fake Naira notes, fake letters of employment, fake policemen, fake soldiers, fake election results, fake politicians, fake news etc. Some thing tells me that the problem of faking in Nigeria is perhaps at the root of our national malaise. Who knows how many of our political leaders in the executive and legislative arms of government are in office with fake or forged certificates. If people can forge a mere NYSC exemption certificate which ordinarily is not difficult to get in the right way, imagine the number of our so called leaders at local, state and Federal governments parading fake secondary and university certificates, diplomas and degrees. We can not easily forget the story of the House of Representative speaker Busari who came to power with a fake University degree. That incident quickly opened a can of worms which threatened to cause a lot of damage to the 1999 class of our political leaders at all tiers of government. That was when we became aware of the difference between Chicago University and University of Chicago. Can we possibly estimate the damage such fake leaders have caused in our polity and economy?<br />
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In the private sector where we operate, the matter is worse. Everything is being faked. I once employed a staff who promised to be faithful,dutiful and honest. When I tried to check on his references, I found that the referees knew him by different first name from the one on his papers. Subsequently I discovered that this " honest" employee was impersonating his deceased elder brother. At another occasion I interviewed a candidate for a job . The guy showed Master's degree certificate but could not string together one grammatically correct sentence. We all know that many Nigerians have been despatched to untimely death by fake drugs. Many have been involved in preventable auto accidents because of fake brake pads or brake fluid. And then we say we are fighting corruption!<br />
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As I was completing this article, my friend, the one that was with me when we ran into the interminable traffic gridlock caused by the overloading of the Lagos ports to the utter neglect of the Eastern ports. Those who read this column regularly will remember that this my friend knows how to stoke trouble. He asked me what I was writing about this week. I announced to him that I was writing on a 'Nation of fakes' He quickly jumped in and asserted that the real reason that there is so much faking in Nigeria is that the Nation itself is a fake Nation. I remonstrated and asked why he would say such a thing. He looked at me and said " Mazi, it is only logical that a Nation of fakes can not but be a fake Nation" I asked him for evidence. He referred to the preamble of the 1999 constitution. He said that General Abdulsalami Abubukar sat with a few of his friends and put up the 1999 constitution but ended up saying that it was done by" we the people of Nigeria" He concluded that this is master faking and said that if we wanted to change his assertion that Nigeria is a fake Nation, then we should abandon the fake constitution and get the true people of Nigeria to draw up a true constitution for the good and peaceful governance of Nigeria. Truth is that I could not help but agree with my friend.<br />
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<b> Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b><br />
<b> sam@starteamconsult.com</b><br />
<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-51965508850468850082018-09-19T20:22:00.005+01:002018-09-20T09:44:21.526+01:00RESTRUCTING NIGERIA MAY NOT BE ENOUGH!Recently, it was reported that Vice President Osinbajo (VPO) had a different view from former Vice President Atiku (FVPA) concerning the type of restructuring that Nigeria needed. While VPO only wanted fiscal restructuring, FVPA wanted both fiscal and geographical restructuring. I must say at the outset, that it is a good thing that both political leaders are agreed that Nigeria needs restructuring, unlike some other political leaders who say all is well and do not see any need to restructure.<br />
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For me, I do not only agree that Nigeria should be restructured geographically and fiscally but I believe that Nigeria should be reinvented. This is because a broken bottle can not be repaired, patched or amended. It just has to be re moulded. The breaking of the Country did not start today. It did not start with this Government, nor the one before,not even the one before that, though some elements in these governments have contributed in some way in the breaking of the Country. In my view, the breaking process started when the military led Nigeria to destroy the foundation on which Modern Nigeria was built. My Bible asks: "If the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do?".<br />
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Nigeria was clobbered together by the British, not for the love of the different Nationalities that governed themselves, before their arrival but for their commercial advantage and administrative convenience, in some cases applying force. They held the disparate nationalities together by guile and subterfuge and when they were preparing to depart, they feared that the whole arrangement could unravel. Thanks to the wisdom of our foundational leaders who painstakingly worked out an arrangement that gave the Nation the best chance to survive. They accepted strong regional geographic structure as the federating units. The semi-autonomous regions ceded some limited power to a federal government. From 1956 when regions began to obtain regional autonomy and self governance status, Nigeria's growth in the global community assumed accelerated growth and significance. The arrangement was not a perfect one but it was the best in the circumstance.<br />
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But when the Military came on the scene in 1966 and until they left in 1999, they broke down all the covenants and structures that held the Nigerian federation together and substituted their unitary structure that fitted their " command & control" set up. They dissolved the federating units and the foundation of a stable federation and later began to create a new set of federating units, ceding limited powers to these new 'creatures'. We then ended up with an inverted federal structure that has been wobbling since 1999.<br />
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When Obasanjo came to power in 1999, he was embarrassed by signs of an unstable federation which the military (which he was part of) left behind. First he ignored the symptoms; when the signs got worse and could no longer be ignored, he tried the strong man military tactics. The symptoms exaggerated and in 2005, he was" compelled" by reality to call the National Political conference and requested it to fashion out the way to restore stability to Nigeria. Unfortunately, the National Assembly under the leadership of Senator Ken Nnamani refused to consider the report for sundry reasons, including self-survival.<br />
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Yar'adua and Jonathan came to power and concluded that some good gestures to the Niger Delta would solve the problem. The gestures gave some respite but soon after, the vibrations started and soon escalated to tremors, threatening earthquakes. Jonathan was " forced" to call the 2014 National Conference. Again, the 6th National Assembly failed to look into the report and recommendations before it wound up its session. Then came President Buhari's APC government promising to restructure the Nation. They forgot this promise on coming to office. Then the vibrations returned and soon the tremors. Like Obasanjo, Buhari adopted the strong arm tactics employing operation Python dances, crocodile tears etc. The National Assembly called for the 2014 report.Temporary relief. Buhari refused to send it, but some one did. Soon the political battles for the senate leadership eclipsed everything. And the vibrations returned with stay at home orders by IPOB last week. The leaders of Southern Nigeria issue statements about DSS appointments and the continued lop sided appointments. Meanwhile the Boko Haram insurgency remains active, so also the herdsmen killings (with reduced frequency) and the Niger Delta militants issuing threats.<br />
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Many states are insolvent and most depend on the Federation account while Concurrent expenditure consume over 70% of total national budget. On all scales of measuring human development index, Nigeria seems to have peaked in 1966 and seems to be on continuous roller-coaster ever since.Many Nigerians and good friends abroad agree that current Nigeria's political and fiscal structures are unsustainable and are responsible for holding the country down and chronically preventing it from rising up and achieving its full potentials. Truly, Nigeria needs to set itself free and indeed needs to reinvent itself. A new foundation is indicated in line with the former destroyed foundation.<br />
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But as has been shown over and over, those in power have often failed to accept reality and do the needful. It is certain that self or group survival has been the main hindrance. Politicians in power who often do not feel the pain of the people and most times are consumed with selfish ambition have been most reluctant to take the bull by the horn. Because the needed restructuring or reinvention will lead to job and privileges losses, they have continued to deny or delay this panacea to save Nigeria and return it to a peaceful and ordered growth and development. Certainly the piece-meal amendments of the 1999 constitution with token yielding of fiscal privileges to the beleaguered States, which VOP seems to prefer will not solve Nigeria's problem. We need a total reinvention of Nigeria-drastic overhaul and rearrangement of Nigeria's political, geographic, economic, fiscal, educational, cultural and social structures and practices, captured in a new truly federal Constitution truly drawn up by the true peoples of Nigeria. I am not quite sure Atiku's concept of restructuring is as deep, holistic and wholesome as my own concept- hence I am standing with him half-way.<br />
<br />
<b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b><br />
<b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b>SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-6340564493026497702018-09-10T11:19:00.000+01:002018-09-10T11:19:14.717+01:00GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, MTN & NIGERIA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">The giant telecommunication company </span><b style="color: #222222;">MTN</b><span style="color: #222222;"> has been in the news lately. Of course it is good for a corporate organization to be in the news, but it must be for good reasons. A few days ago, </span><b style="color: #222222;">MTN</b><span style="color: #222222;"> was on National news for illegal money transfer. The CBN accused </span><b style="color: #222222;">MTN</b><span style="color: #222222;"> of transferring foreign exchange illegally out of the Country and asked it to refund the sum of </span><b style="color: #222222;">8.1 billion dollars</b><span style="color: #222222;"> it allegedly transferred. When I first heard this news of illegal transfer, I shuddered. How did this happen? Was it possible that they bought this huge sum of forex from the Mallam or the unlicensed Bureau De Change? Later I heard the </span><b style="color: #222222;">CBN</b><span style="color: #222222;"> sanctioning some banks for aiding </span><b style="color: #222222;">MTN</b><span style="color: #222222;"> to transfer the money illegally. Then my worry got worse.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How come that banks which are licensed to deal in Foreign Exchange are being accused of aiding illegal transfer? <i>Is this a case of illegal transfer of money or a case of the transfer of illegal money?</i> I think that one of these or both of them sound like criminal offence. And if so, does <b>CBN</b> have the power to accuse, prosecute and exact punishment? One has always had this impression that foreign exchange transfers go through a process of authorization. It Looks like that the banks penalized by <b>CBN</b> to pay fines of <b>5.87 Billion Naira</b> -<i> Standard Chartered, Stanbic-IBTC, Citibank, and Diamond </i>did not obtain appropriate authorizations from <b>CBN</b> before the transfers were made. Is it possible that these four otherwise respectable banks would deliberately act against the norm or against the law? And these alleged infractions occurred between 2007-2015. How come it took this long to find out, whereas Banks make monthly returns to <b>CBN</b>? Troubling questions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While we were still trying to figure out answers to these bewildering posers, another bad news concerning <b>MTN</b> broke out last week. The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation charged <b>MTN</b> with failing to pay appropriate taxes, duties and levies. They were asked to pay tax arrears worth <b>$2 billion</b>. Again I shuddered. <b>MTN</b> again? What is going on here? Tax evasion over <b>10 years</b>? Where is the <b>FIRS</b> in all this? When did this tax dispute start? and how come it is blowing out in the public a few days after the illegal money transfer charge? Is this a mere coincidence or is it a fatal corporate governance failure in <b>MTN</b> or is there a plot to demonize and destroy <b>MTN</b> in Nigeria? Or indeed is it a combination of all of the above?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I recollect that in 2015/2016, <b>MTN</b> almost went into liquidation when the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) imposed fines of <b>$5.2 billion (N1.04T) </b>for failing to comply with the directive to deactivate telephone numbers sold to customers without registering the customers (unregistered or pre-registered SIM cards). The company's income, stock prices, shareholders's funds and corporate image took terrible hits then. And now similar or worse damages may happen. Why is MTN subjecting or allowing itself to be subjected to this kind of ordeal? I can never tell and I have a sneaky feeling that there is more to all these than what the headlines suggest.<i><b> Is there a political or diplomatic angle to these?</b></i> Your guess is as good as mine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But whatever may be the undertones or ulterior motives in these brawls, one thing is certain, <b>MTN</b> has some culpability. I have often worried about <b>MTN</b> and the way it carried on with its business since it came into this country with a bang. True <b>MTN</b> takes a big portion of the bragging rights for liberating Nigeria from the tyranny of <b>NITEL</b> and ushering Nigerians to the telecommunications age. Along with its competitors it has created jobs for several young Nigerians including service suppliers and recharge card sellers. But <b>MTN's</b> dealing with its trade partners or distributors has continued to baffle me. For long ,it looked like they never wanted any trade partner or distributor to succeed. They were often erratic in the way they changed trade policies and terms. It was as if they got irritated if they saw their distributors make profit! There was hardly any negotiations and their policies were often "take or leave it". In the process they have driven many distributors out of business, many with bitterness in their hearts. Less than 5% of the distributors who started with them in 2001 are still trading with them today. Those who currently run the <b>MTN</b> business connect franchises are barely able to scratch out any margins as <b>MTN</b> gives them impossible targets and terms with little headroom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">I presume that part of the problems of </span><b style="color: #222222;">MTN</b><span style="color: #222222;"> is poor corporate governance. Any business that behaves as if it wants to maximize profit, without keeping a damn on what is happening to other stakeholders - suppliers, distributors, employees, customers, regulators, etc, is essentially courting trouble. Recently, <b>MTN</b> and some of their competitors were picketed by labour leaders for their unfriendly labour policies. I feel extremely sad when <b>MTN</b> and companies like them, such as Banks make humongous profits, and yet are so wicked that they hire University graduates as ad-hoc staff or temporary staff (often through third parties), drive them so hard with neck-breaking schedules or targets and then pay them twenty five thousand Naira (N 25,000)as monthly stipend. Therefore when such companies run into the kind of problems that <b>MTN</b> and some of the banks seem to repeatedly run into, you wonder if it is nemesis that is catching up. May be not, but the failure of corporate governance is evident.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Nevertheless I will end up by appealing to our regulatory agencies to take it easy with investors and such foreign owned companies like </span><b style="color: #222222;">MTN</b><span style="color: #222222;">, especially when the punishment for infractions look out of proportion to the infraction. Investors generally have herd mentality and when they feel persecuted as the </span><b style="color: #222222;">MTN</b><span style="color: #222222;"> matter looks, they first become hesitant, and when the negative pressure is sustained, they flee. With our precarious economic growth status and the unrelenting unemployment, we must err on the side of caution. Such issues as tax dispute need not be held in the public glare. I will also advice <b>MTN</b> to improve its corporate governance practices. Corporate Social responsibility is good but it can not replace <b><i>good corporate governance </i></b>nor can it sufficiently compensate for poor corporate governance. Luckily there is a corporate governance conference organized by the <b><i><a href="https://www.acgpnigeria.org/" target="_blank">Association of Corporate governance professionals of Nigeria (ACGPN)</a></i></b> going on this week in Abuja. I fully recommend that <b>MTN </b>and other corporate organizations attend this conference and begin to internalize and practice good corporate governance principles as a hedge to these recurring corporate embarrassments. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span></div>
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<a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b></span></a></div>
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SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-79669958940895459002018-09-03T09:00:00.000+01:002018-09-03T09:00:04.479+01:00PRESIDENTS' HEALTH : MISSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR NIGERIA'S HEALTHI believe that I am not alone in feeling distressed about the situation of healthcare in Nigeria. Everywhere you look, the problems stare you on the face. In the public healthcare space, you face poor infrastructure, old or inoperative equipment and generally poor attitude. Even skill and competency levels are often suspect. If you have taken a seriously ill patient to our public health facilities - be they primary, secondary or tertiary institutions, you will have known that many more people are healed by faith in Nigeria than by medical care. If you go to the private health care institutions, may be infrastructure and equipment may be better but attitude and skills are subject to national averages. Additionally, in all cases, affordability remains a key limiting factor. Since managed care and health insurance are still in their infancy or rather has remained in a state of stultified growth, most Nigerians have to deposit cash before they can be attended to or admitted in hospitals. If you have no cash, then chances are that you will depend on faith.<br />
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Then, there is a large grey market that spreads from the Mallam trying to sell you "burantasi" at the filling station, to the unlicensed doctor" hanging a stethoscope and trying to diagnose "staphylococcal" infections to the illiterate medicine dealer who is mixing you a concoction of black & red capsules and yellow tabs from his illegal and ramshackle kiosk for the treatment of malaria and thyphoid, pretending to be a "chemist". Meanwhile on certain TV and radio stations you are daily assaulted by all kinds of herbalists who claim to heal everything from HIV/AIDS to prostrate cancer. Many are deceived and are despatched to early grave in a largely unregulated or poorly regulated healthcare environment.<br />
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Meanwhile the licensed healthcare professionals are busy squabbling and fighting for tuff and freebees while quacks are taking over the market and causing mayhem. All over the World, focus has shifted to preventive and patient care, necessitating an enhanced professional specialization and inter-disciplinary collaboration amongst healthcare professionals. Unfortunately in Nigeria, this global development seems to be opposed or resisted by some professional groups, thereby denying the patient of the benefits, leading to preventable mortalities and morbidities.<br />
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We then end up with one of the most miserable health statistics in the World in infant mortality, maternal maternity, under-5 mortality; HIV/ AIDS prevalence rate and life expectancy Malaria and seasonal cerebrospinal meningitis are still ravaging us and we remain one of the world's last bastion for Poliomyelitis, Yellow Fever, Lassa fever and Dengue Fever. It must however be admitted that some improvements have occurred over some time but only in spurts. During the days of Prof Olikoye Ransome Kuti as Health Minister, he refocused the Nation on Primary Health care and certain statistics improved. President Obasanjo seemed determined to equip our tertiary institutions and he engaged one of his friends that dumped sophisticated equipment in hospitals that were not ready to receive them, leaving some of the equipment in crates up till very recently. Following the embarrassing handling of the illness of President Umaru Yardua, Professor Osotimehin, then health Minister empaneled a committee of experts of which yours sincerely was one of them to propose four centres of medical excellence that would compare with the best in the world and which would help to reduce medical tourism by Nigerians to Europe, America, China, India, Egypt, and Dubai, and help remove the shame from Nigeria. The committee went to work with much enthusiasm and grit but that effort seemed to have ended with the Death of Yardua and the removal of Osotimehin as minister of Health. Another spurt occurred when President Goodluck Jonathan set up the SURE-P committee and mandated it to focus on Primary Healthcare with emphasis on Maternal and Childcare. So much happened in that season - building of new health centres, rehabilitation and refurbishing of old ones, supply of essential medicines to health centers across the Nation, distribution of ambulances, employment, training and deployment of nurses and midwives to several health centres. But all that seem also to have ended with the end of Jonathan's tenure, because I do not get hear much in this direction.<br />
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That's why President Muhammadu Buhari came to power and soon became sick and could not find any health institution good enough to deal with his matter and has had to travel abroad a couple of times, some for extended periods to seek healthcare. Things became extremely embarrassing when the wife and daughter of the President complained openly that the State House clinic which was supposed to be the best specialist outfit in Nigeria lacked the most basic of facilities, drugs and medical consumables. And that is despite all the huge annual budget provisions for the State House Clinic. If things can be this bad in Aso Rock that forced the outburst from the president's family, do we have to show any surprise if I tell you that there is lack of critical equipment or essential drugs in the General Hospital in my town - Arochukwu. Many People have died prematurely because they could not access proper care in Arochukwu and before they could get to Umuahia through the long and neglected Arochukwu road, they would have run out of 'vital gas'. (Thank God, the contract for the road rehabilitation has recently been awarded by the FGN).<br />
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Just recently, PMB had to undertake another 10- day medical vacation to the UK and I felt sorry for Nigeria. Three years is long enough time to fix one hospital in Nigeria to take care of our President. If the health of our President is not enough motivation to take the bull by the horn to create one centre of medical excellence, then what would? President Yardua was sick while in office, and rather than invest in providing a properly equipped and resourced centre that would care for him and others, we preferred to play politics with the health of one of the Best Men that this Country ever produced. Now another opportunity has been offered us by nature, and it looks to me that we seem poised to miss this too! I am pained.<br />
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<b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b><br />
<b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b><br />
<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-62999644507237875422018-08-31T10:41:00.000+01:002018-08-31T10:41:01.986+01:00WHY NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS SLOWING DOWN<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ordinarily there should be so much going for Nigeria's economy. Production of crude oil at about 2 million barrels per day at a good price of about 70 dollars per barrel is yielding good foreign exchange for the Nation, helping to boost foreign reserves which today stand at about 47.25 Billion dollars. Inflation has continued to decline steadily over several months coming to the current level of 11.4% as the CBN and its MPC retain monetary policy index at a tight stance. Also some great effort is being made at the economic management level to pursue the Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth plan( NERGP). Additionally, some improved liquidity has been noticed in terms of funding Nigeria's infrastructure projects, combining oil revenue,tax heist with a large dose of debt from sundry sources.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though the trickle down effect of the budgetary expenditure and policy choices are yet to appropriately reflect on the quality of lives of most Nigerians or on the overall Human development index( HDI)as unemployment and under-employment still hover around 40% in the General population, with worse statistics in the youth population. In the last Global HDI ranking we are around the 150 mark against 188 Countries, with a GDP per capita of $1995 ( as against $3082 in 2013). Yet there was hope that the sustained effort at better economic management and much more determination to improve our operating environment, improve the ease of doing business and competitiveness index, the trajectory of economic recovery would be sustained and may be the long expected relief would be attained.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But recent events in the Nation are threatening to undermine or stultify much of the efforts made in the management of the economy. Talking to investors and business men at both local and international fora recently , I find there is a great deal of apprehension about what one American investor described as "High dose of Political uncertainty, weak business environment and scary security concern". They point to all the issues that Nigeria is confronting and accept that there is some evidence that the Nigerian economic managers are making reasonable efforts to make the economy attractive for investments. But they point that the problem lies with our politics and governance. They feel that our political institutions are being weakened by the day, pointing to what has been happening between the Executive and the Legislature. They seemed terribly alarmed by the recent security siege on the National Assembly and expressed a fear that a weakened or ineffective legislature would result in a denatured democracy, resulting in a high level of executive impunity. For them, impunity is a precursor of self help and lawlessness. They fear greatly that law and order may break down in Nigeria if things are allowed to remain as they are with no punishment for those who take laws in to their hands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They tell of warnings by many of their country embassies in Nigeria that Nigeria is becoming a very high risk Country.They are alarmed by the regular killings of Nigerians by all kinds of non- state actors who seem to have a free reign,facing little or no consequence. They point to the regular alarms raised by opposition governors of threats to their lives. Governors Wike and Fayose had raised alarms in the past and last week Ortom raised similar alarm.They wander that if State Governors are so terrified as to raise alarms over their safety and then other Nigerian Nationals are killed without much consequences, what would be the fate of non- Nigerians?Many say they are under tremendous pressure by their families not to visit Nigeria, and if they must, then they should restrict themselves to Lagos and Abuja only. In fact many said, they have been asked not to go anywhere in Nigeria by Road except within Lagos and Abuja metropolis and even here, it must be with security escort. Some efforts I made to explain to them, that things may be bad, but not really as bad as they seemed to perceive, was rebuffed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well some of the fears may be over stretched,but we can not deny that the political shenanigans going on in Nigeria right now are beginning to take a toll on Nigerians psychologically and in real terms. In terms of economic out put, it is doubtful if the economy recovery will not be slowed down by these worries and uncertainties especially in the months leading to the 2019 elections. Q1 2018 GDP at 1.95% growth declined by 13.4% over Q4 2017. Hope was that Q2 growth should be stronger than this but that hope is being challenged and yet we are still about 6-months to the elections. Some analysts projected a Q2 GDP growth that will be below Q1 growth and this week, Nigeria' Bureau for Statistics confirmed that the economy grew by only 1.5%. With population growth of nearly 3%, this is bad news.The analysts had pointed to the stagnation or sluggishness of the Purchasing Managers Index ( PMI) since April when it reached 56. 9% but declined to 56. 5 %in May, went up to 57% in June before moving back to 56.8% in July. They project this to indicate a drop in the momentum of productive activities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is potential that the economy could take a big hit if efforts are not made to reduce the political uncertainties and improve governance. We therefore appeal to our political class to consider the poor and suffering masses of this Country and try and calm down and do what will keep Nigeria in peace and promote investment and economic well being. The Party in power particularly has a critical role to play in lowering the political temperature. They should know that it is their responsibility to ensure that Nigeria does not derail any further, because they are the party in power and will take much of the blame should things get really awry. Chairman Oshiomhole must temper his rhetoric and work to engender peace across the lines. Critically the party should discontinue with its effort to remove Saraki from the Senate Presidency by all means. This desperation has become a major destabilizing factor in the political environment and it is helping create much of the political uncertainties in Nigeria . It has been a three-year battle that must cease now, before it boils over and cause irreparable damage to Nigeria. It is only six months to elections and that should give the Country a peaceful opportunity to change leadership of all arms and tiers of the government without destroying the economy. Equally important is that we must shield the economic ministers and managers from politics. Let the politicians do their partisan manipulations and gerrymandering, but let the economic managers keep their eyes on the ball, if at all possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b></span><br />
<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-22737882103318034192018-08-21T17:13:00.000+01:002018-08-21T17:13:54.620+01:00IS THERE A COMMON DESTINY BETWEEN BUHARI & TRUMP?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been in the United States of America attending family events and attempting a vacation. Before I left Nigeria, I was really downcast with the turn of events in Country, especially the show of shame happening in the political circles: rumours of planned decamping, mass decamping and some des-camping; threats of impeachment and attempted impeachments in the midst of worsening insecurity and growing poverty. Nigerian politicians seem to be taking the people for a ride. For me the political environment in the Country was unpleasant especially the high display of impunity and rascality displayed by the security agencies and naturally many people were blaming President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) and his ruling APC Party for fouling the environment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, when I arrived the USA and turned on the TV and listened to what people were saying about President Donald Trump (PDT), I realized that the social and political environment in the USA was also agitated and for some very unpleasant, though for different reasons and circumstances. Just as many Nigerians were blaming PMB, so were many Americans that I spoke to or watched on TV pissed off with PDT. That got me thinking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Are there parallels, coincidences and differences between these two leaders who though are being heavily criticized by many today, also seem to enjoy cult following by group of others who seem unfazed by the criticisms?</b></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First I noticed that both PMB and PDT are not mainstream politicians, though they have long nurtured the desire to rule. They are not chartered politicians like my sibling - Senator Mao. Yes they have had Long political affiliations but seem to lack nor motive political skills. Trump has been a real-estate businessman and TV Personality while Buhari has been essentially a Soldier. Even in their political affiliations, they have moved around. PDT was Democrat at some point (up till 1987, 2001-2009), Reform Party( 1999-2001), Independent (2011-2012) and Republican ( 1987-1999, 2009-2011, 2012-Present). He also had made some attempts to join the Presidential race at three previous times and actually went through Reform Party Primaries before dropping out and then finally making the bold and audacious bid in 2016 that brought him to the Presidency. PMB, we know seized power through a military coup in December 1983 and was in turn overthrown in August 1985. He contested three times under two political platforms (2003-ANPP, 2007-ANPP, 2011-CPC) before making the 4th and ultimate bid in 2015 on the APC platform that finally brought him to the Presidency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Second, PDT is the oldest and wealthiest person to become President in America at age 70 just as PMB is the oldest person to become Nigeria's Civilian President at age 73. PMB was supported to become Nigerian President by Obama and he was the first African President to be invited to the White House by Trump. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Third, both PMB and PDP won elections to the presidency against the run of play - coming from opposition parties and were heavily demarketed because of their past records. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fourth, both are strong willed and profess populist, protectionist and nationalistic world views and currently have poor domestic ratings mostly for different reasons- PMB for poor security management, struggling and post-recession economy, one-sided anti-corruption fight and a rancorous political environment, while for PDT it is for his largely anti-American stand on many issues, his romance with Putin of Russia and the repudiation of global agreements - WTO, Paris climate agreements, Iran nuclear deal etc. He seems to be turning American values upside down, restricting freedom of speech and press freedom and currently has grave integrity challenges. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fifth, both have scant respect for diversity. In PMB's Security architecture leadership as in his discretionary appointments, he has ignored the South East Nigeria and has focused heavily around his catchment area. The gains made by Women in Jonathan's era has been grossly eroded. Similarly, PDT has expressed racial preferences and in his White House, most of the faces are white and the colour and gender diversity built by Obama has been fully annihilated. PDT is accused of trying to restablish white supremacy while PMB is accused of trying to establish a Fulani Empire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the flip side, PDT is loquacious but PMB is taciturn though both have to be kept on point, to avoid accidental discharges, which happens more with PDT as he often feels obliged to comment on every issue from his twitter account. PDT is very active, pushing his agenda and fighting through several unpopular policies,executive orders and social commentary, but PMB is restrained and seems more strategic than tactical. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As it stands, both seem to be fighting battles for political survival. Both men are in their first terms and from all indications want to do second terms as allowed by their respective country constitutions. PDT is facing tough challenges. He is at logger heads with most of the international community, except perhaps Russia and Israel. He regards the European Union (EU) as adversaries or even enemies. He is at war with closest Neighbours - Mexico and Canada and has problem with NATO Allies. He is currently undertaking an economic ware fare with China using unheard of tariff spikes with China struggling to retaliate. He has exacerbated the Middle East tensions with his unilateral recognition of Undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,moving the US Embassy from Tel aviv to Jerusalem. He has repudiated the Iran nuclear deal and is currently on a shouting match with Tehran,recently opening another shouting frontier with Turkey. The international community would wish for a change of leadership in America by 2020 or preferably earlier. Naturally they share similar views with the Democratic Party and now many conservative Republicans are even sharing this view. Last week President Jimmy Carter spoke, following earlier comments by George Bush and Ronald Reagan's daughter and several other Leading Republicans like Senator John McCain. Even the intelligence community has joined in raising the red flag against PDT. Everybody is waiting for Special counsel, Robert Mueller's report on Russia and related matters! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fortunately, PMB does not seem to have much problem with the international community, though Nigeria is holding Africa back in many respects, more so now with its reluctance to sign the <a href="http://samohuabunwa.blogspot.com/2018/03/afcfta-why-is-nigeria-hesistant.html" target="_blank">African Continental Free trade Area (AfCFTA) pact.</a> He is widely respected abroad and has been made the anti-corruption champion by the African Union (AU). Recently he was the only head of State invited to speak at the international Court of Justice (ICC) event in the Haque. But PMB has plenty of issues domestically, the greatest of them being his patent inability to secure the lives of Nigerian civilians. Life has always been cheap in Nigeria since 1966, when the Military of which he was a key player turned Nigerians against themselves but in the last three years, life has become completely worthless in many parts of Nigeria. This coupled with the inability of his ruling party APC to either unite its members or cause the government to unite the people of Nigeria.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many Nigerians say that the Country has never been as divided as it is today under PMB as ever it has been since the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970. Coincidentally Many Americans say that America has never been as divided as it is today under PDT, as ever it has been since the end of the American Civil war in 1865. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Would this be worthy legacies for PMB & PDT? I would rather not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b></a></span></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-45178058658396238192018-08-15T11:01:00.002+01:002018-08-15T11:01:32.732+01:00ALL IS NOT WELL WITH NIGERIA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFlkBmZuNiWwfYy2zolE_C69CK70g5BGRSuUQM9DTKLqAP1IGN0G9Fniuz25_SNkHKzEM-63Qng_KBVxyCV2MpNjuyDMWN5euNBsTrUpL62khzhWqQKjqWVO6WNdkoJ4DLBAlXxTjp6c/s1600/madness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFlkBmZuNiWwfYy2zolE_C69CK70g5BGRSuUQM9DTKLqAP1IGN0G9Fniuz25_SNkHKzEM-63Qng_KBVxyCV2MpNjuyDMWN5euNBsTrUpL62khzhWqQKjqWVO6WNdkoJ4DLBAlXxTjp6c/s1600/madness.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">Those who are familiar with how madness begins to manifest in a person, will tell you that no man becomes mad in just one day. Madness follows a sequence. Of course psychiatrists and those who work in the mental health area can easily notice when a patient goes through the stages or sequence. But for the ordinary folks like us, we also some times notice this sequence more so when the subject is closely related to us. Signs of mental illness may start with the subject being unusually moody which could represent depression or in some cases the subject may become unusually aggressive and hyperactive called hyperactive disorder.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">If the subject is subjected to treatment at these early stages, psychiatrists tell us, the mental health can be corrected but if not, the situation could deteriorate. Soon the subject begins to neglect his personal hygiene and then may begin to speak incoherently similar to what is called psychotic disorder. I am told that even at this stage the situation can still be remedied if urgent medical attention is sought and the patient can be persuaded or compelled to take the prescribed medicines. When this is not done, the Patient may leave home and begin to walk about aimlessly. Soon he may begin to tear his dresses and could even begin to inflict injuries on himself. At this point, he may be said to have become schizophrenic. Again those who heal mental people tell me that even at this stage something can still be done to save the situation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">But when the subject goes down to removing his clothes completely and arrives at the Market place (particularly on Eke or Nkwo market days) the situation is regarded as very grave and at even at this near end stage, there remains a slim chance of reversal. However if the subject finally dances to the music played in the market place by both visible and invisible drummers and singers, the matter is declared hopeless and the madness fully grown . In Igbo it is called "araocha". Only a miracle can now reverse the madness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">Our Country Nigeria has been going through the rites of insanity in the last couple of years and some how we have failed to take remedial actions to restore the Nation to sanity. One of the earliest visible signs came when some guys decided that Book was evil (Boko Haram) and then began to attack churches, bombing, killing and maiming innocent civilians. When they were done with Churches, especially in Abuja, some parts of the North Central region and in the North East Nigeria, they began to attack mosques, kidnap school children and seize large swatches of land, driving the occupants into refugee camps (called IDPs in Nigeria). <b>What is the problem? What do they want? Up till now, nobody can tell for sure.</b> Psychologists and psychiatrists tell me that when people begin to act in bizarre manners and you can not relate their actions to remote or immediate causes, then insanity is a probable diagnosis. Subsequently, herdsmen who over the years plied their trade all over Nigeria and moved around with bows, arrows and sticks, then began to move around with automatic AK-47 guns and started murdering people, some in their sleep and others in their farms, the madness took a new turn. Soon some guys called marauders began to invade villages in the Zamfara and later Sokoto areas of the North West, killing and maiming. When they were asked what the problem was, no answer. And yet, everyday, a new village is invaded and human beings slaughtered. If this is not madness, then what can it be?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">Hitherto in the Niger-Delta region (South-South & Parts of the South-East) we have seen signs of Bipolar disorder-mood swings. Now there is peace and all of a sudden war. Pipelines are broken and oil workers kidnapped, some killed and the flow of crude oil and refined petroleum disrupted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";"><b><i>Promises are made and broken and the cycle repeated. Clear manifestations of insanity!</i></b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">As they say, madness comes in different forms. While we were still wondering how to handle the madness happening in the North East, North Central, parts of the North West, manifested in the daily wasting of human lives without any justifiable reasons, and the cyclical eruptions in the Niger Delta, we ran into political madness. Actually, the earliest signs were unrecognized until the signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) manifested. The APC government moved from anxiety disorder to full blown schizophrenia when Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu became Senate President (SP) and Deputy Senate President (DSP) respectively. They first accused them of forgery and took them to court, then took Saraki to the Code of Conduct Tribunal and when all these did not work, they sent EFCC after them and their families and followed with accusing every body that opposed the government of murder - Dino Melaye, Shehu Sani, Bukola Saraki and Abdulfatah Ahmed. Which normal government run by normal people will do everything to demonize its 3rd ranking citizen accusing him of corruption, Perjury , armed robbery and murder in succession. Very abnormal! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">A few weeks ago we woke up to watch drama, the type displayed by the madman on his way to the market. The homes of the SP and DSP were barricaded by Security operatives-mainly the DSS and Nigeria Police. For what reason? No one could actually tell. After a while the siege was lifted. The scene then moved to the National Assembly where the ensuing madness was in full display. Senators and Honourable members were dancing like excited school children. Why? Well for the ostensible reason that some of them have crossed carpets, a phenomenon that is becoming normal in Nigeria. This act then stirred the adrenaline in the psychotic Nation and the dance in the market place went full blown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">As the World watched our nakedness, Eight members of the Benue State House of Assembly out of thirty were given security cover to go and take over the House. They claimed to have impeached the speaker and went on to serve impeachment notice on the Governor of Benue State. As they sat to impose the will of the minority over the majority (8 vs 22), Nigeria's police force still under IGP Ibrahim Kpotun Idris and the Department of State Security services (DSS) then under DG Lawal Daura , prevented any body else including the assembly staff from having access to the premises. When they finished the dance, they were escorted by the security to safety and the house of Assembly shut down. Very Abnormal!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">As the madness raged, one Senator Akpabio, immediate past PDP Governor of Akwa Ibom State and until very recently the Senate Minority leader jumped into the fray, crossing the carpet against the run of play and apparently against the tide. It takes a good dose of mental abnormality to swim against the tide or commit what a friend called 'political suicide'. While he was concluding this abnormal mental feat, we took off our clothes and the macabre dance ensued. On Tuesday August 7 2018, the DSS then under DG Lawal Daura took over the premises of the National Assembly and cordoned it off. About 100 DSS operatives wearing masks and fully armed,linked themselves, forming a chain. They refused the Legislators and staff of the National Assembly from having access to the chambers and offices. Why? No one could tell correctly. Many voices, similar to that of a madman who hears many voices and does not know which one to follow. One voice said it was to allow the APC Senators effect leadership change, another said it was to embarrass President Buhari, another said it was in support of Senator Saraki and yet another voice said it was to prevent blood shed! One female Legislator, Boma Goodhead who arrived early confronted the DSS guys, looked them on the face and asked them to shoot her. This was a full confirmation of the madness that has befallen our Nation.Is it normal for a completely sane person to look at a hooded armed man and dare him to shoot. Madness comes in different forms! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";">But how come we have allowed this madness to continue to deteriorate by the day? How come we seem to have ignored all the signs? How come we have ignored all the good counsel, recommendations and prescriptions of all the National Conferences & Regional declarations-Pronaco, 2005 National Political Conference, 2014 National Conference, the South West Ibadan Declaration, the South-South Asaba declaration, the South East Awka declaration and the Middle belt Makurdi declaration?Perhaps Dementia has also set in. Let's then pray fervently for a miracle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span></div>
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<a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: ".HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular";" target="_blank"><b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b></a></div>
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SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-59918017495795593082018-08-07T10:38:00.000+01:002018-08-07T10:38:11.837+01:00MASS DEFECTIONS: CAN PDP RISE TO THE BALL?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xCW8KgatUMDPBqgfqK6h31AeS_BgtoIfs6dybciiyBtXN1L3sypNV58OEpDfye-kIKged6EMPNh6vp2LHE7_DOJj9h44DXRhu0lSa9o_K0v1ks4-5cvIysGxbHOHzvvZVI50tX7GOOA/s1600/pdp.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xCW8KgatUMDPBqgfqK6h31AeS_BgtoIfs6dybciiyBtXN1L3sypNV58OEpDfye-kIKged6EMPNh6vp2LHE7_DOJj9h44DXRhu0lSa9o_K0v1ks4-5cvIysGxbHOHzvvZVI50tX7GOOA/s1600/pdp.png" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjYdj0l04CvTdimaNj8WVNvsKhRrIRGQHJ1S-Sy0e40LTp7Y1FdHHEIzeR8OwR_Kik5vlEo5Eb1uEoiHOQRjkIEJipolPDvMRVTTKQUXepPbkNVrClj1yxC7XtrfawPNLRyiVTgY2VIY/s1600/apc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjYdj0l04CvTdimaNj8WVNvsKhRrIRGQHJ1S-Sy0e40LTp7Y1FdHHEIzeR8OwR_Kik5vlEo5Eb1uEoiHOQRjkIEJipolPDvMRVTTKQUXepPbkNVrClj1yxC7XtrfawPNLRyiVTgY2VIY/s1600/apc.jpg" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So very often, we pray for something. And sometimes when the payer is answered, a new problem emerges, that of managing the outcome. The problem is some times exaggerated when God decides to 'embarrass' you and give you more than you asked for or were expecting. There was this story of an Okada driver who had been praying for a child for seven years and eventually his wife became pregnant. Through out the pregnancy he was full of joy, but could not afford to pay for a scan for his wife and so had no idea what was on the way.Because the wife's stomach was very big, he suspected she could be expecting a twin. However on the day his wife was delivered, he was shocked to welcome six tiny children with their tiny fingers in their mouths gaping at him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He went through contradictory emotional swings. First, he was happy that God had answered his prayers. Then he looked at the tiny girls with their tiny fingers in their mouths and the man burst into tears and before you know it, he was wailing and as the hospital staff were gathering to find out what could make a man who received such bundle of multiple blessings from God to cry, wandering if it was a matter of tears of joy taken too far, the man took to his heels, abandoning his wife and the sextuplets . When eventually his relations caught up with him and queried him on why he should behave in that despicable manner. He retorted that by asking why God should give a man blessings that could turn into sorrows? He said, he was finding it hard to take care of himself and his wife with his meager earning from his Okada business and then to be confronted with six tiny children who on their first day on Earth were sucking their fingers, indicating they were hungry and seemed to have voracious appetite. The only logical response in his circumstances was to run away from the unexpected windfall of six children. Of course his relations berated him and counselled the man to learn to accept every blessing and then learn how to deal with the consequences of every answered prayer. They tutored him to understand that every problem solved, results in a new set of challenges and so while praying or wishing for anything, we must always anticipate the new challenges that would naturally emerge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This story came back to my mind strongly last week as I pondered on the political events of the last couple of weeks. All of a sudden or so it seemed, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has become a very beautiful bride attracting suitors in droves. At the last Count, 15 Senators, 37 Honorable members of the House of Representatives, 3 State Governors with their commissioners, most members of their state houses of Assembly and their local Government Chairmen and sundry political office holders have decamped from APC to mostly PDP. Did PDP pray for this turn of events? Yes, I believe they did. But did they imagine it would be a windfall? I do not quite think so. Are they adequately prepared to handle the challenges & consequences of this mass political gain? May be but most probably not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That then creates a big burden. The magnitude of the burden is amplified by the fact that the PDP itself is a party in transition, from instability to stability; a work-in progress in an effort to reinvent itself. After losing the National elections in 2015, it almost went into a tailspin. Its 'game changer' Chairman Muazu, who led the change from a ruling party to an opposition party after woeful defeat in the hands of APC, got himself changed. In a desperate bid to recover from the damage already suffered in the hands of the 'game changer' and APC, the party ran into the hands of a 'one chance' bus driver called Sheriff from Borno state. This guy did his best to finally liquidate PDP. Like the case with the monkey, it was easy to give Sheriff the cup of leadership. But like 'Ikiri' it was very difficult to get the cup back from him. At this point many Nigerians had begun to sing the 'Nunc Dimitis' for PDP.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That PDP came back to life after Sheriff is an indication that there are some people in PDP whose prayers God hears or it could be that God has not finished with PDP in Nigeria. The Party must remain grateful for the way Senator Markarfi former governor of Kaduna state, a man with a calm exterior but an internal steel managed the party through its litany of court cases until the Supreme Court granted final victory to PDP. Of course the solid-Rock support of the PDP governors especially Nyesom Wike and Ayo Fayose; the former governors and the BOT held up Markarfi's hand till victory was won. The job of reinventing the Party finally fell on Uche Secondus. Realizing that this was like placing green snakes in one's hand, Secondus seems to have approached this assignment with a lot of prayers, tact and steady steps. And now this windfall!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My hope is that he will not do like the Okadaman father of the sextuplets who was overwhelmed by the blessings of God and took the least line of resistance- temporary escape from reality. Is there challenge with this gale of defectors from APC, who in the main should really be called returnees? Plenty! More than any chairman would wish for himself and perhaps more than any previous chairman has handled including the garrison commanders and cattle colonizers who used to eat pounded yam with OBJ. Before the defections, Atiku, Makarfi, Turaki, Ahmed and former Jigawa State governor Lamido were hassling for the PDP presidential ticket. With the defections, Kwakwanso and Tambuwal have joined the list. And I hear that Saraki is on the way! Who takes preference? Those who had remained in the party or the returnees? Headache! What of the defecting legislators at Federal and State levels. What happens to the existing PDP aspirants? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If we had any doubts in the past, we have now become all convinced that politics especially in Nigeria is essentially about self interest, not much about idealogy since the idealogy is same for most shades of politicians in Nigeria-stomach infrastructure. So how does PDP handle all the myriads of conflicting self interests that have come with the defectors. I know that some one will soon tell me that the PDP umbrella is big or large enough to accommodate all. Yes that would be true when the rain is mere drizzle. But with the gale we are seeing,PDP may have to change their logo to a canopy or tarpaulin tent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My first free advisory is that the PDP CWEC, NEC & BOT must take a retreat in Accra Ghana or elsewhere in Africa for at least one full week and do three things. First, breathe down and pray, second to receive training and counsel on how to manage a windfall and the challenges, conflicts and contradictions that come with sudden good fortune. Third, develop a strategy on how to reintegrate the decampees and returnees while devising how to retain their current customers (members). They must see this as a serious challenge and make the investment and create the time to devise a proper strategy, not to act on impulse or use rule of the thump. They will minimize this challenge at a great risk. I believe this was one of the failures of APC in 2013/2014. They had no strategy to wield the party together. Also it will not be profitable to gain new customers and lose old and reliable ones. Nigeria has brought into the English lexicon a new phenomenon called ' des-camping'. It is different from 'decamping' . Des-camping happens when a man decamps from APC today and decamps back to APC the next day or within a short period. And it is on our record that Senator Lanre Tejuoso from Ogun State is the first to practice the act in Nigeria. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My second advisory is that if Uche Secondus and his NEC members know anything about internal Party democracy, this is the time for full practice. If they do not know, they should hire advisors to help them. Related to this, is that they must resist any pressure (from within & without) to impose any candidate. The primaries must be transparently transparent(if there is any thing like that). Thirdly, in appointments or recommending candidates,the party must focus on candidates with credible and verifiable pedigree. The influence of money or mundane or sentimental issues in the choice of candidates must be minimized or completely demolished if at all possible. Nigerians want a true change from the past in the conduct and actions of political parties and elected officers. Many who hoped for this from APC hence they bought into the 'change' mantra seem to have been disappointed. PDP must make the best of this windfall for the good of this Country. Nigerians are yearning for those who are ready to do what will bring Peace, Prosperity, Good neighborliness, Friendship, Security, Equity, fairness and Justice to the peoples of Nigeria. Can PDP rise up to this expectation? That is the million dollar question!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span></div>
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<a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>sam@starteamconsult.com</b></span></a></div>
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SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-21441904658941040702018-07-30T13:52:00.001+01:002018-07-30T13:52:33.466+01:00APC: NOW THE PLOTS & COUNTER PLOTS THICKEN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nigeria has experienced a couple of incomplete military coup d'états. An incomplete coup is one in which the intended objectives are not fully accomplished in one fell swoop. In Nigerian history, we have seen all types of coups-attempted, aborted, failed, phantom, incomplete and complete. They are all different, though they all share a common foundation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nigeria's first incomplete coup was the one led by the majors- notably Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Adewale Ademoyega and their co revolutionaries on the 15th of January 1966. Their critical objective was to overthrow Balewa's government, release Awolowo from prison and enthrone him as the Prime Minister. Due to the poor performance of some of the team members and the resistance of some officers like Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu in Kano and the counter moves of General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi in Lagos, the coup became incomplete. Balewa was overthrown but Awolowo was not installed as Prime Minister then. But following a sequence of events initiated by this incomplete coup, Obafemi Awolowo was subsequently released from prison and made the defacto Premier under Yakubu Gowon's 'presidency'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another example of an incomplete military coup in Nigeria was the one organized by Col Buka Suka Dimka on the 13th of February 1976. They planned to overthrow General Murtala Muhammed and instal their own government. But following the intervention of guys like Ibrahim Babangida, the coup became incomplete. Murtala was overthrown but Murtala's guys led by Olusegun Obasanjo & Theophilus Danjuma remained in power. A classical example of a successfully completed coup was the one carried out by TY Danjuma and his co-conspirators on the 27th July 1966, when they succeeded in dethroning Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi and changing his government, installing Yakubu Gowon as the head of state. This coup instigated a series of events that led to the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-1970. On the other hand, a classical example of a failed coup was that executed by Gideon Okar and his altruistic group in 1990. It failed on the two counts. It could not overthrow IBB and therefore could not install a new government. However some commentators have opined that if Orkar's coup had succeeded, may be the problem that has held and continues to hold Nigeria down would have been long solved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week on the 24th of July 2018, something that looked like a civilian equivalent of an incomplete military coup happened in Nigeria. From the scenes of celebration at the National Assembly and in many parts Nigeria you would think, Nigeria just won the World Cup. In one single day 14 Senators( 15-1) and 36 Federal Representatives decamped from the ruling APC to the opposition parties, mostly PDP. Something similar had happened in 2014 in the run up to the 2015 General elections with the formation of nPDP, a breakaway faction of PDP, but it was not as dramatic. What happened last week was an epic drama full of plots and counter plots. The first act was enacted with the formation of rAPC a few weeks ago by the same elements who formed nPDP, except that this time they were more virulent. They knew where they were going but decided to act out the drama script. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What heightened the theatre and suspense was the rather belated attempt by President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) to abort the 'coup'. He held several meetings with Leaders of the legislature especially Senate President. He should have hired IBB, who has tremendous experience in aborting coups. But that may not have been possible, because those who know how to read signs tell me IBB was part of the coup plot. But then PMB hired Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who these same fellows with clairvoyant powers tell me is the one assigned the role of finally liquidating the APC. While PMB was trying to placate and do damage-control, Adams was blaring on all cylinders threatening fire and brimstone. Not only was he abusing, cursing and threatening the ready to decamp, decamping and des-camping legislators, he was threatening to help some ministers decamp! APC must find a way to exorcise the spirit of trade unionism activism from Comrade Oshiomhole before the prediction that he is the APC undertaker finds early fulfillment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The legislative'coup' of 24th July was incomplete. It is certain that the last minute Gestapo-type effort to abort the 'coup' and perhaps stage a pre-emptory 'coup' similar to that of the five majors, may have delayed the completion of the original 'coup '. It is alleged that a pre-emptory 'coup' was going to happen. Saraki & Ekeremadu were to be prevented from going to the Senate Chambers that morning. They had been invited late 23rd evening to appear at different police offices to answer some questions and while there, the planned defections would not have held, rather the two would have been removed from office. Thus an event that would have held on Thursday, the last legislative date before the long recess seemed to have been moved forward to Tuesday with premature adjournment to frustrate the preemptory 'coup'. Therefore for now, some of the objectives of the legislative coup have been achieved. In the Senate for example, the number of Senators in opposition exceeds the number still in the ruling party. I suspect, this may be similar to what now obtains in the House of Representatives. This will certainly change the balance of power in both houses. What is more, more defections and perhaps much weightier ones may happen at resumption. Who knows, this legislative 'coup' may then be brought to a full and successful closure and the 2019 political equation would have become more easily solvable .</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span></div>
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<a href="mailto:sam@starteamconsult.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">sam@starteamconsult.com</span></a></div>
SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-88939413209313527882018-07-17T13:28:00.000+01:002018-07-17T13:28:20.409+01:00FAYOSE, FAYEMI, BRAIN-CRACKING & THE DEPRESSING SPECTRE<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Last week, Nigeria's killing fields expanded North Westwards. Indeed the
entire North seems to have been partitioned by three non state actors into
three fiefdoms. On the North East, we have the Boko Haram insurgents bombing
and snuffing out lives and occasionally making territorial forays into the
Borno, Yobe and Adamawa areas. In the North Central, including parts of
Southern Kaduna and Taraba, the Militant Herdsmen hold sway killing the
innocent, destroying farms and property and in the Northwest a band of
marauders are freely raining terror. For a while, it seemed they were only
interested in Zamfara State. But last week, they expanded their theatre of
influence to parts of Kebbi & Sokoto States and when they were finished on
this first assault, 32 citizens of Nigeria were dead, compounding the
increasing statistics of the violently dead in these times.</span><br />
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Naturally the President was distraught with this new development and was
actually short of words. He was thoroughly exasperated or so it seemed. You
could hear his exasperation but he struggled to give hope and then he said
"I wish to assure all Nigerians that their security is receiving the
greatest attention from this administration and there is no compromise in this
commitment. I appeal for your patience while my security teams CRACK THEIR
BRAINS to put an end to this horrendous violence"And I was lost. My hope
dimmed and my emotions ran riot. After 3 years of going through this chronic
insecurity, our security Chiefs are just now cracking their brains, perhaps
wondering what to do. I thought we had a plan! Well, since the President is
satisfied with their performance, how can anybody help? My only note of
advice<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the President is that he must
realize that those Nigerians who are unhappy with the situation are
transferring their unhappiness to him. If therefore I were him, I would rather
that these cracked brains are broken and discarded. Naturally the President is
not obliged to accept this advice or any other. He is the President and takes
full responsibility for the actions or inactions of his appointees- with or
without cracked brains!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
distressing spectre became depressing last week, when I watched Governor Ayo
Fayose with collar on his neck and his hand in a sling, weeping like a baby on
National Television. I am naturally a sympathetic person and easily identify
with the underdog or mistreated. I felt sad and sorry for Ayo Fayose. I also
felt sorry for Nigeria's democracy. How could a governor that enjoys immunity
be so treated and humiliated in the public? Some People said he was acting. May
be Ayo is theatrical but he is also macho. He gives the impression of a tough
guy and does not sound like a guy who would show weakness by crying or indeed
wailing in the Public. But even if any one would give the benefit of doubt to
such absurd acts of theatre, when you listened to the testimony of the his deputy
governor and PDP governorship candidate for the elections held over the weekend
you would dismiss such thoughts. Also when I listened to the rambling
explanation of the Police Commissioner I was sad. How could the Police be
talking of unlawful assembly of people or talking of obtaining permission for
political campaigns in the last week before an election. It was clear that the
Police was on an assignment to assault the PDP politicians and their
supporters. They were on a kind of revenge assignment to punish Ayo Fayose for
what he did a day before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I always had the feeling that trouble was brewing in EKITI. Four years
ago, Ayo Fayose who was a returning Governor defeated Kayode Fayemi, then of
ACN. After that, ACN and latter APC tried everything legal and extralegal to
stop him from governing. He was chased around and harassed by EFCC and other
security agencies. That Ayo Fayose survived to complete his term is a testimony
to Ayo's ability to fight and the extraordinary grace of God. Now the time has
come to stop Fayose by all means. Though he is actually not running for another
term, but it is as if he is running. His loyal Deputy Governor -Prof Kolapo
Olusola whom he personally selected to replace him is running. Ordinarily APC
will do everything to replace a PDP governor as they did in Ondo last time, but
more so Ayo Fayose( the enfant terrible) or his chosen successor. I was sure
the desperation of Fayemi & APC to replace Fayose and his PDP would lead to
some form of violence and that's what is playing out. Certainly I was not alone
in this prediction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
situation that unfolded last week was aided by previous and present events. In
2014, when Fayose was campaigning to displace Fayemi as Governor, his party PDP
was in power in Abuja and we know what help the government gave him. We know
the effort made to stop the APC politicians from attending the closing campaign
in Ado Ekiti. We heard of the closing of the Akure Airport to prevent APC
bigwigs from flying easily to Ekiti. There was also a large contingent of
security forces sent to EKITI. So as is the way of the World, and more so of
Nigerian politics, the principle of tit for tat must apply. But as it always
happens, vengeance often goes beyond the level of the original injury and
creates a cycle of vengeance & reprisals. Secondly, the day before this
debacle when Fayose was prevented from moving freely and got gassed and rough
handled by security officers, he was alleged to have motivated Transporters in
Ado-Ekiti to park their vehicles so that the supporters of APC would either
trek to the Stadium or stay at home. To me this was an unnecessary affront to
the APC which controls the Federal government, more so when the President was
at the campaign rally. I knew there was going to be a reprisal and it came
speedily the very next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My people
say that one should not touch the tail of the lion whether it is living or
dead! Ayo decidedly stirred the bees and got stung!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now
we are running a Nation of tit for tat. The Beron youth are alleged to steal
300 cows belonging to the Fulani and the Fulani kill 200 Beron Men, women,
youth and Children. The Benue state government enacts an anti-open grazing bill
and the cattle herdsmen open attack on everybody in the community, including
Reverend fathers. An Igbo drug dealer cheats another, and he sends assassins to
go into the Church and kill all in sight. Can a Nation survive this kind of
primitive inter-relationships? And then the Beron cow thieves, the Fulani
Herdsmen and the Igbo drug dealers,those who caused the problem and those who
retaliated are all walking around free, planning their next moves, while many
innocent have been despatched to untimely and violent death. What really is the
purpose of government in our Country? This is actually a depressing reality in
Today's Nigeria. Can anything be done? Let me recommend to Prof Kolapo Olusola
and Dr Kayode Fayemi (whoever wins the election )to make a decision to break
this cycle in Ekiti and let us pray that whoever becomes the President of
Nigeria in 2019 will change this debasing and depressing spectre. And one sure
way to proceed is to agree to drastically restructure the Country in all
ramifications and make the resultant governments take full responsibility for
protecting the lives of their citizens in word and deed,and without favour or
ill will.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa OFR</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">sam@starteamconsult.com<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1884679702363108939.post-33320521427032141032018-07-11T13:11:00.000+01:002018-07-11T13:11:32.266+01:00APC- A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF<br />
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Nigeria there are many prophets, mostly
false prophets. But the effervescent dynamics of Nigerian political environment
often gives them the opportunity to brag. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I asked one of such 'prophets'a few weeks
ago, who would win the World Cup and he told me it was going to be either
Germany, Spain or Portugal. When these three teams got eliminated early in the
tournament, I called this 'prophet' friend of mine to ask 'how come?'and he
told me that the Octopus on which he depended disappointed him. But this my
friend called me last week and sounded triumphant and announced to me that his
prophesy about APC splitting into factions has been fulfilled and requested me
to withdraw my earlier classification of him as a false prophet. I ended the
discussion by telling him that if predicting that APC would split into two or
even self-destruct was an act of prophesy,then, most Nigerian political watchers
and analysts like me would also claim to be prophets as well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How could anybody not see it coming? The
Bible said centuries ago that a house divided against itself can not stand. And
that if you sow to the wind, you will reap the whirlwind . APC was clobbered
together as a vehicle in a determined effort by political power mongers to take
power from Jonathan and his PDP. Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) led teams of this
confederal group to go and invite his one time arch-enemy Olusegun Obasanjo to
come and lead them to 'rescue' Nigeria from Jonathan's 'cluelessness'.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One would have hoped that once the mission
of capturing power was accomplished<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
leaders of this amorphous congregation would take determined steps to begin
welding the disparate groups together. But never. The first sign that the
future was frought with danger was the bad omen on the day the NASS was
inaugurated. The President had signed papers to proclaim the NASS at its first
sitting at 10am on that fateful date. At the same time, it was alleged that the
same President called the party leaders including NASS members to a meeting at
the International conference centre,Abuja. It was when they saw on Television
that Dr Olubukola<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saraki was being sworn
in as the Senate President,that the parallel meeting ended abruptly with
Legislators scampering and running to the National Assembly. In the meantime,
the Senate had elected Saraki as its President and Dogara as the Speaker of the
House of Representatives. That pained leaders of APC to no end as these were
not their preferred candidates. And everything Saraki and Dogara did thereafter
to appease them, including joggling the other principal officers to accommodate
the Party's desire failed.But the unforgivable sin committed by Saraki was that
he allowed Ekweremadu of PDP to become Deputy Senate President. Well I do not
know what would have happened if PDP was bold and daring enough to have used
its overwhelming majority that morning to take the Senate Presidency. But I am
sure there would have been a war in the Senate Chambers to forcefully remove
such audacious President.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In deed there have been wars in other ways
to dislodge Saraki and Ekweremadu. First they were charged with forgery and
illegal changing of the senate rules to inaugurate the chamber. When that
failed, they took Saraki to the the code of conduct Tribunal (CCT) for failing
to declare some assets he owned 15 years ago as Governor. When they lost at the
CCT, they appealed and got some support for 3 out of the 15 charges at the
Appeal Court.Saraki went further to the Supreme Court who late last week
quashed all the charges, setting Saraki free after nearly three years in court.
A few weeks ago Saraki was to be arrested for allegedly sponsoring armed
Robbers who violently robbed banks in Offa in Kwara State. Saraki along with
the serving Governor of Kwara State were roped into the armed robbery case by
the Nigeria Police under the leadership of IGP Ibrahim Kpotun Idris. Were it
not for the outcry of the media and notable Nigerians, Saraki would have been
handcuffed as a common criminal and put away in detention, awaiting trial as
alleged sponsor of such deadly armed robbery that took the lives of about 30
people. He was then asked to write his statement and I believe the case was
slowed down waiting for the outcome of the Code of Conduct case in the Supreme
Court . Now that Saraki has been acquitted and discharged, may be the case
would now be accelerated and charged to court. Much so, that Saraki is now
being suspected as one of the sponsors of rAPC. Before that,Nigerians watched
in amazement as hoodlums walked into the Red Chambers, picked up the lace as
the senate was in Plenary and left unchallenged by the Security forces.I hear
this was part of a plot to impeach Saraki & Ekweremadu which again failed
but further caused intra party dislocation. Not to talk of the efforts of the
APC governments in Kogi and Kaduna to incriminate APC Senators Dino Melaye
& Shehu Sani respectively. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the campaign of APC against APC
continued in both chambers of the NASS, of course with greater ferocity in the
Senate, the President opened another front with Tinubu on who was the National
Party leader. The President had to cut BAT to size when he admonished him to
stop parading himself as the national leader of APC but to be content with
being addressed as one of the National leaders since there can not be two
captains in one boat. This rift<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>caused
instability for a while in the Party and began to widen the gaps leading to
further humiliation of BAT in Ondo State regarding choice of gubernatorial
candidate. The then Party Chairman Odigie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oyegun rose in defence of PMB and another conflict front was opened
between the Party Chairman and the defacto National Party leader -BAT who was
incensed by Oyegun's betrayal. He then began a major effort to remove Oyegun
from his position even before his term was up. PMB in an effort to reward
Oyegun for helping him cut BAT to size, was at first willing to allow Oyegun
and his Exco to extend their term but BAT rose like a wounded lion and
pointedly asked PMB to chose to lose the next election (apparently by
withdrawing his support for PMB) or ask Oyegun to go. Given the current patent
weakness of the brand, PMB made an about turn and asked Oyegun and his Exco to
go and hand over to Oshiomhole.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oyegun felt injured but bore his pain with
grit and took a bow, certain that the centre of the Party would soon fall apart
giving the contradictions and stresses it has gone through since victory was
achieved in 2015. Even the rapprochement between PMB and BAT which led to BAT
being given the job of reconciler-in-chief failed to achieve its purpose. I do
not know whether BAT even made any moves as it seemed Odigie Oyegun was set to
sabotage his efforts from the onset. Then the cracks began to widen and we all
began to hear the creaks from the cracks. All of a sudden the nPDP was
resurrected. One had thought it was dead buried and eaten up by ants after the
'coup 'to sack Jonathan was completed. It was when this group from PDP to APC regrouped
to bring nPDP back to life that my friend the false prophet called me one
evening as he did recently to prophesy to me that the crack had gone beyond '
nmekwantaism' ( beyond mending)and that soon APC would fall apart. Last week
this came to be as PMB, BAT and new Party chairman Adams Oshiomhole watched in
apparent amazement. I said apparent amazement because APC leaders seemed to
have called the bluff of the nPDP. They were offered opportunity to avert it,
but it seemed the leaders did not care that much.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So enter the reformed APC (rAPC) into the
Nigerian political equation. Is rAPC equal to nPDP?. I do not think so. When
nPDP entered into APC they were led by Kawu Baraje but when rAPC emerged from
APC, they were led by one Buba Galadima (with Baraje in tow)who was never in
the nPDP and I hear he used to be secretary-General of PMB's CPC. It then means
rAPC equals nPDP+, reminding me of the biblical parable of some wicked demon
who was cast out from a man and the demon roamed all over and when he found
that the space created on his departure had not been filled with any good
spirit,decided to return taking along seven other more wicked demons to
re-possess the man. The bible records that the man's latter situation became
much worse than his former situation before the lone demon was cast out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This therefore complicates the Nigerian
political equation. With many variables, it may be difficult even for the likes
of mathematical Chike Obi to balance. Do we now know all the members of the
rAPC? Do they have members in the National Assembly? Are there state governors
in their fold? Where is their ultimate destination- back to PDP or on their way
to ADC or the third force? Will anything come out of Oshiomhole's threat to
them?Wherever, though I am not a prophet, in the mould of my friend, I can say without
fear of losing my deposit or bet that Nigeria's political equation has changed
for good for some and for bad for others. A few more constants will emerge in
the next few </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">weeks which will help balance the equation. Quote me anywhere.</span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa OFR<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="en-NG"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">sam@starteamconsult.com<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />SAM OHUABUNWAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08309529246531833193noreply@blogger.com0