By Ayo Oyoze Baje
The most immediate source of disconnect between Nigeria’s wealth and poverty is a failure of government at the federal, state and local levels” – Hillary Clinton (2009)
The poem titled, ‘Our Children’s Anthem’, was written by yours truly and published by the Nigerian Herald back in 1988, sincere concern was raised over the quality of life of the upcoming generations of Nigerians, if the political leadership did not get it right, as a t that time.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“Truth crushed to earth shall rise again;/ The eternal years of God are hers./ But error, wounded, writhes with pain./ And dies amongst his worshippers” – Willian Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
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By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“Success
is not measured by the position you reach, but by the obstacles you overcome” – John Harold Johnson( late publisher
of Ebony Magazine)
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the beacon-bearer of Nigeria, nay Africa’s peaceful coexistence and the flag-flying patriot certainly deserves sincere apologies, eight years after he graciously and peacefully left the corridors of political power, at Aso Rock, Abuja.
And the apologies should in fact, come from the All Progressives Congress (APC) political party with its ‘Change’ mantra, which the millions of overtly naïve and gullible supporters swallowed line, hook and sinker. That played itself out of course, during its well-oiled, puerile propaganda-fuelled presidential campaigns back in the 2014/2015 season.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“The
only way out of the valley is uphill”
–Anonymous
If there is one persisting, yet critical issue of
national importance that must be frontally tackled by the incoming
administration, after May 29, 2023 it has to be that of drastically reducing
the huge burden of the cost of governance. So debilitating it has become that
it is weighing down the steps towards economic recovery. Though the cost
of governance is incurred by the government in the course of providing goods
and services to the citizenry, the statistics on its effects on the national
economy and the human development index are humongous and unsustainable.
*President Buhari
For instance, as at April 2023 it was revealed that Nigeria reportedly spends 96.3 percent of its revenue on debt servicing! That is up from 83.2 per cent in 2021. And the World Bank has raised a timely warning on how the fiscal deficit has worsened the nation’s public debt stock. But that is just part of the scary figures on our worsening economic paradigm.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“Some praise at morning what they blame at night.
But always think the last
opinion right” – Alexander Pope
They make the fantastic promises of the weaver bird, exude the sinister smile of the hyena, with the embrace of the gorilla, while executing the dizzying dance steps of the monkey, at the sight of bananas. As far as their own erroneously perceived Nigeria is concerned, the end justifies the means. Call it the Machiavellian doctrine; it does not matter to them.
Truth be told, what engages their mind most is the lure of the lucre-filthy or not. So, they kowtow to it, raining insults and innuendoes on anyone who has a different opinion to that of their paymasters. And that includes their townsmen, brothers, sisters, friends or associates. What a crying shame!
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“Where there is no vision, the people perish”
—Proverbs 29:18
The piece of heart-warming and inspiring news that three Nigerian lecturers, Dr. Aliyu Isa Aliyu, Tukur Abdulkadir Sulaiman and Abdullahi Yusuf have been listed among the top 2% most-cited scientists in the world soon after another Nigerian-born,31- year old Silas Adekunle became the youngest and richest robotics engineer in the world at the age of 26 is thought-provoking.
Not left out of the praise-worthy exploits of Nigerian-born scientists, inventors, engineers, innovators, lawyers and entrepreneurs is the interesting fact that Nigerian doctors, nurses, hi-tech entrepreneurs rank amongst the best and highest in number in the United States(US). For instance, it is gratifying to know that Myma Adwowa Belo-Osagie (nee Bentsi-Enchill), a Nigerian, serves on the Global Advisory Council of the Office of President of Harvard University, and she is also a member of the Harvard University Center for African Studies.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
One of the most significant factors that define and drive the engine of democratic processes is respect for the rule of law. That explains why constitutions are drafted and approved, with the aims and objectives to protect human rights and freedom of association and expression. In its full essence, the Constitution prevents the government and its officials from abusing power.
It also specifies the functions of
the arms of government, be it the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
As for the 1999 constitution of Nigeria (as amended) it is predicated on
promoting the principles, norms and ethos of democracy.
With it, Nigerians are supposed to be separated far from “The law of the jungle” which as an expression has come to describe a scenario where “anything goes”. In fact, the Oxford English Dictionary defines the Law of the Jungle as “the code of survival in jungle life, now usually with reference to the superiority of brute force or self-interest in the struggle for survival”.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
"Free, fair and credible elections form the strong foundation on which to build the house of democracy" – Ayo Oyoze Baje (On ‘Editors Forum’, Galaxy TV, May 2011)
When on Saturday, July 11, 2009 the then United States President Barack Obama stated that: “Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions” it was made in total condemnation of tyrants on the continent; especially those who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor people. That is according to ‘International Articles’ online platform. Back then Obama was on a landmark trip to Accra, Ghana.
By Charles Okoh
To attain the age of 70 in Nigeria at a time when the life expectancy of Nigerians is about 55 years is worth celebrating. To attain the Biblical three score and ten, in a country where the stress levels seem permanently on the increase and other attendant stressors seemed arrayed to snuff out life from the people is more than enough reason to celebrate and give thanks to God Almighty.
It is not often that people get celebrated while alive. It was the famous Nigerian musical icon Patoranking who insists that he is celebrated in his hit song in local lingo; “Celebrate me, now when I dey alive…”
For veteran journalist and celebrated newspaper columnist, Ayo Oyoze Baje, who turned 70 years on Wednesday, February 8, it was an opportunity to celebrate a journalist who has remained undeterred and undaunted in his resolve to constantly lend his voice to the voiceless.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
No money, no food, no fuel, no electric power supply, no justice, no equity, yet all our politicians are concerned about now is how to grab and retain power through the forthcoming general elections! Nigerians now queue for fuel, queue for their own money and queue for PVC in our fatherland!
Worse still, the current currency redesign has drastically reduced the much-needed cash flow, putting millions of Nigerians in the pit of acute hunger and desperation. Did you watch the video of the lady who stripped herself half-naked inside a banking hall to express her outrage at their services, that went viral on social media? It is despicable. Imagine the sad situation that you cannot withdraw your own money, old or new currency from the bank or the ATM ”. He responded.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
The newspaper headlines are haunting, heart-jerking, painting a horrifying spectacle of the preventable pains of the long-suffering Nigerians, still stewing in the paradox of want -of refined premium motor spirit (pms)- in the midst of plenty natural deposit of crude oil resource.
If in doubt, consider some of them: ‘Petrol scarcity bites harder in Abuja, Oyo, Yobe’(-2nd March, 2021). ‘Commuters groan as fuel scarcity bites harder’ (24th Nov., 2022). ‘Fuel scarcity bites harder, cripples socio-economic activities in Kebbi (18th December, 2022). ‘Commuters trek, motorists sleep at filling stations as petrol scarcity bites harder’ (23rd January, 2023).
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“The truth about Nigeria
‘s worsening socio-economic and political situation is that we hate
to tell ourselves the bitter truth!” – Oyoze Baje (on the
State of the Nation, Facebook, November 12, 2022)
Unlike millions of eligible Nigerian voters, who troop out daily to campaign grounds to clap and dance themselves dizzy for those who have brought us collectively to this current sordid, socio-economic and political mess, I am not excited about whatever the outcome of the 2023 general elections will turn out to be.
Yes, the mentally mesmerized party supporters might be doing so, some allegedly after collecting some insulting peanuts from their masters’ table, all in the bid to satisfy their vaulting political ambitions but yours truly is not moved a bit. Are you surprised by my self-expressed view?
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“The time to start taking concrete, pro-active measures is now. Not tomorrow. Not when the dams have overflowed their capacity and the rivers have swelled their banks, swallowing up the pothole-riddled roads, homes, offices and shops. Not when casualty figures have risen to thousands before half-hearted, panicky measures are embarked upon by top government officials” – Ayo Oyoze Baje (‘The Rage of floods’, opinion essay published in 2013)
Nowhere To Run is the title of the mind-riveting, thought-provoking and
multiple-award-winning film, as part of the noble and patriotic efforts of the
Shehu Musa Yar’Ardua Foundation.
Meant to sensitize the public on the deleterious effects of global
warming, it was screened to a jam-packed audience, made up of the management,
staff and students, at the multi-purpose hall of Bells University of
Technology, Ota, Ogun state, on 24th November 2016. That was some six years
ago.
How apt! How timely and thematically relevant the film by the
Foundation has proved, more so considered against the dark background of the
current devastating floods in the country. For instance, more than 600
Nigerians have been confirmed to have died as a result of the floods in two
months.
About 1.3 million people have been displaced. And more than
200,000 homes have been destroyed in the worst flooding the country has
witnessed in over a decade. So, as the film rightly noted, hundreds of
thousands of Nigerians have currently nowhere to run!
The
painful aspect of it all is that the earlier warning signals given by the
Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) were dismissed with a wave of the hand
by many citizens as well as their state governments. All because we have
refused to learn from the hands of history, the ugly decimal keeps recurring,
and worsening by the day from 2008, through 2012, 2018 till the moment.
How
terribly sad!
As previously highlighted by yours truly, the menace of flood has become a
global phenomenon and challenge. From China through India to Indonesia,
Malaysia, European countries and the United States, flooding shoots its ugly
head in the twinkle of an eye. The difference, however, is that in those listed
countries there are more proactive, prompt and practical mechanisms for
stemming the tide of flood on the part of their Emergency Management teams, to
assist the victims. But it is a far cry from that here in Nigeria. Now, a scary
scenario of food insecurity caused by the floods looms at our doorstep.
For instance, it would be recalled that in November 2008 the
United Nation’s sponsored Summit on Sustainable Development held in
Johannesburg, South Africa gave the warning that within a few years Nigeria
would be amongst the 14 countries listed as vulnerable to food insecurity
courtesy of climate change, including the flood menace. But our political
helmsmen took it with a pinch of salt.
In fact, during the 2021 flood outlook presentation, the Nigeria
Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) made public the vital information that 28
states, including the FCT, were most likely to experience flooding in the year.
In
a similar vein, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NMA) stated that the signals
monitored by the agency in the last seven years show that things are changing
on the climate front and that Nigeria was expected to experience unprecedented
heavy downpours. That came in its 2021 Seasonal Climate Forecast.
But it was not taken seriously.
So, on 20th October 2020, the Nigeria Red Cross had to meet the
emergency needs of 12,000 people (2,000 households) affected by floods in the
five states namely Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Sokoto and Zamfara. According to
Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) the food security emergency
worsened in areas of the Northeastern part of Nigeria as access to food was
further constrained.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM),
over 20,000 were displaced between late July and mid-August 2018, in the
Northwest and North-Central States. The death toll rose to 52, with 90 houses
destroyed, over 260 livestock confirmed dead and several people declared
missing. Property worth millions of naira was destroyed as flood wreaked havoc
in 10 communities of Jibia Local Government area of Katsina state.
Before
then the sweeping tide of the devastating flood claimed 12 lives and
overwhelmed 3,800 houses in Ogun State. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo promised
then that the Federal Government, along with the two states will look into the
root causes of the flash flood with a view to providing a lasting solution so
that such an incident does not happen again! But as usual, we must have heard
this swansong years before, haven’t we? That is Nigeria for you.
That was in 2018. As usual, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency
(NMA) warned that many parts of the country were likely to experience flooding.
According to the Director-General, Prof. Sani Mashi, this was due to a shift in
rainfall patterns caused by climate change. Back then, yours truly advised that
the main political actors should put their 2019 ambitions on the back burner
and prepare for the climatic onslaught. But did they?
Currently, in 2022, as another pre-election year, some 27 out of
the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) are affected by the flood
disaster. These include Adamawa, Anambra, Gombe, Jigawa, parts of Kaduna, Kogi,
Niger, Delta, Benue, Nasarawa and Bayelsa, to name but a few. There, farmers
suffered huge losses, of plantations and livestock while some even lost their
precious lives.
Unfortunately,
we – both the leaders and the led majority- have refused to learn from history.
So, we keep grappling with the sweeping floods. But the questions remain: What
have some state governors done with the huge ecological funds collected? Why do
we, as Nigerians turn deaf ears to the warning signals given by NiMeT, NIHSA
and NMA every blessed year? How prepared are members of the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) to deal with flood-related emergency situations in the
country? Why do some political leaders refuse to take responsibility for their
gross failures but exhibit great pleasure in blaming others, including God for
not taking preventive measures when due?
As the Vice Chancellor of Bells University of Technology, Ota,
Prof. Jeremiah Ojediran rightly noted back in 2016, Nigerians need to key into
the Climate Change-themed film project of the Yar’Ardua Foundation, with a
commitment to environmental protection, good governance and a democratic
society for all Nigerians.
Similarly, Nigerians should shift focus to finding lasting
solutions to the worsening environmental disaster. With Nigeria’s population
expected to rise to 250 million by 2050, the awareness created by the film
should be extended right to the grassroots. Their activities such as tree felling,
over-cultivation and bush burning, come out of extreme poverty which needs to
be addressed
No effort should, therefore, be spared by various governments,
their related Agencies, the private sector and concerned individuals to
enlighten the public and more so, put in motion pragmatic measures to mitigate
the scourge of climate change on man. A stitch in time would save nine.
*Baje, President of Guild of Public Affairs Analysts (GPAN), is a commentator on public issues
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“While other nations are faced with the challenges of the 21st Century,we are bogged down by the avarice of the elite. Every time we believe we have seen the worst from our country, the shameless, opportunistic power grabbers take us back to a new low” – Nigeria Democratic Liberty Forum, NDLF New York (June, 2010)
Looked at, over the past six decades the statistics have been simply scary, shocking and scandalous! One is talking of course, about the inexcusable social inequality and injustice that still persist between the few rotten-rich citizens and the long-suffering led majority, here in my dear fatherland, Nigeria. With the knowledge that we live in a country abundantly blessed by God with vast and varied natural resources, it is a crying shame that we are still enmeshed in the deepest pit of pitiable poverty, globally.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
According to Professor Innocent Ujah, the President of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Nigeria lost over 9,000 medical doctors to the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America between 2016 and 2018. In fact, no fewer than 727 medical doctors trained in Nigeria relocated to the United Kingdom alone between December 2021 and May 2022.
He
made this shocking statement during the Maiden NMA Annual Lecture Series
earlier in the year. The event was held in Abuja. The theme of this year’s
lecture is ‘Brain Drain and Medical Tourism: The Twin evil in Nigeria’s Health
System.’
Are you alarmed by this saddening situation that has the best brains in the medical field jetting out to greener pastures far beyond our shores? You should be and that is because the loss left Nigeria with only 4.7 per cent of its specialists to service the healthcare needs of over 200 million people!
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
”Nothing is as dangerous as power with impunity” – Isabel Allende (Chilean journalist and author)
My dear concerned readers, lest we forget, when yours truly wrote and got published the opinion essays titled: ‘The Gathering Storm!’, ‘Of Gumi, Bandits and Impunity’ both in March, 2021 and followed them up with ‘Tackling Insecurity: The Hard Way, The Only Way’, it was with the fervent hope that the current crop of politicians, constitutionally entrusted with the protection of our irreplaceable lives and precious property would live up to their matching mandate. But unfortunately, they have not!
And not unexpectedly, things have gotten worse, more than ever before in our country’s chequered history. Consider the critical issues of high inflation rate, economic challenges with alarming youth unemployment, the incredible Naira-to- Dollar exchange rate at 710( as at this day), education lockdown courtesy of the lingering ASUU strike, the aviation meltdown with huge cost of fuel. They all stare us all right on the face and we cannot but ask ourselves if we are watching a horrifying midnight movie or these encapsulate both the ‘change’ and ‘higher level’ puerile political promises the All Progressives Congress(APC)-led government promised the long-suffering Nigerians in 2015 and 2019.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“There can be no faith in government if our highest offices
are excused from scrutiny. They should be setting the examples” -Edward Snowden
They come in with guts, grits and such a high level of gruesomeness to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians and yet go Scot-free! The dare-devil bravado of these unpatriotic elements cannot but ignite in you the urge to ask the million-naira question of who really owns this country, Nigeria? Right from 2009 the mindless mission of the terrorists (call them Boko Haram insurgents, bandits or ISWAP) has been to turn the apple cart against the peaceful cohabitation of the good citizens of the country, by deploying ethno-religious sentiments.
Unfortunately, they seem to be succeeding in the heinous crimes against Nigerians and smiling all the way to their blood banks! That brings in the pains, considering the several thousands of those who have lost their lives to their deadly attacks; others who have lost loved ones and thousands of those left to stew on in preventable anguish in several IDP camps. Add the humongous public sums budgeted every blessed year, surreptitiously to fight the insurgency and the pitiable plight of the people in the face of insurgency and the nebulous picture gets clearer. But, it is only part of their nefarious agenda to bring the indigenous people of Nigeria to their begging knees.
By Ayo Oyoze Baje
“Thou shall not kill” (Exodus
20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17)
*Deborah Samuel
“Does human life really matter here?”
“Is religion no more your personal
relationship between you and your creator?”
“Can we really judge others on behalf of God
or Allah?”
“What
shall we tell our maker about our actions on the Judgment Day?”
These
were few of the burning questions that troubled my humid heart on the recent
cruel, callous, crude and conscienceless murder of a female student, who was a
Level Two student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Ms Deborah
Samuel, by her school colleagues for alleged blasphemy.
According to credible media reports, the late student had cautioned those who posted what she considered as “useless information” on a Whatsapp Group platform created basically to share information about their studies as she was said to have asked the sender, in a voice note shared by her fellow students, to send important information, pointing out that “this group was not created for you to send useless information.” So, how did her traducers react when she traced her good grades to the salvaging power of Jesus, the Christ?
Press Release
The Guild
of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria received, with horror and utter
disgust, the gory news of the invasion of a train of Nigeria Railway
Corporation on its way from Abuja to Kaduna by a horde from hell on 28th March
2022.
We have waited this long to make a statement
because we had hoped that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the
heads of the security agencies would have resolved the problem so we could have
a positive statement to make. But alas!
Terrorists rigged explosives on the rail track, to cause the train to hobble to an unscheduled stop in a most unlikely place in the bush. As soon as the trip was disrupted the killers boarded the disabled coaches, shooting sporadically.
