How Not To End Recession In Nigeria

By Fred Nwaozor

The last time I checked, people had abruptly become fond of attributing silly jokes, even the ones cracked by a day-old child, to Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president. Currently, a day won’t pass without experiencing a certain comic utterance trending on the social media, and when one scrolls down, he would observe the comment is credited to no other person than the man who has ruled Zimbabwe for 36 years.

*Buhari 

This can be related to what is making the rounds in Nigeria at the moment. Right now, any misfortune in the country, be it personal or corporate, is wholly attributed to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government owing to the obvious minuses the administration is characterised by.

It is needless to reiterate that Nigeria is at present undergoing recession. I’m afraid, if the needful is not done as quickly as possible, depression might set in soonest. Hence, sound thinkers cannot fold their arms as the painful and pathetic situation lingers. It is their duty to proffer the needed remedy as well as tender constructive criticism when and where necessary to ensure that the embattled giant of Africa regains its strength.

The Federal Government (FG) has promised that the 2017 budget, estimated at N7.298 trillion, would pull Nigeria out of recession. This pledge does not augur well for the country since the implementation of the 2016 budget of N6.08 trillion is still ongoing, and indeed, over 60 per cent of the budget is yet to be implemented.

Besides, do not forget in haste that Nigerians were equally promised a while ago that 2016 budget would end the recession. Intriguingly, the focus has suddenly been shifted to the yet-to-come 2017 budget. This confliction of promises significantly indicates that the actual disease ravaging the country’s economy is yet to be discovered by those entrusted with the task. I would say the 2016 budget can end this monstrous era once and for all, if the appropriate things are done. The 2016 budget is conspicuously bedevilled by limited funds, hence, the prime problem is not its implementation but how to find the required funds. We need to concentrate on realistic issues rather than empty ones. This is the only way we can make progress.

If we fail to implement the 2016 budget as expected, we will arguably still encounter similar hurdles when the awaited 2017 budget is eventually approved by the National Assembly (NASS). Moreover, a deficit of N2.269 trillion in the 2017 appropriation bill is enough reason to worry. This implies that Nigeria would continue to live on mere promises whilst thousands of Nigerians are dying with countless firms running out of business, on a daily basis. Since the NASS is yet to approve the Presidency’s request to borrow $29.9 billion externally, which is in line with the people’s wish, I suggest we look inwards toward sourcing for funds internally. Several citizens would be willing to lend, or even donate, to the government.

Who Murdered A Seven-Year Old Kid?

 By Fred Nwaozor 

If the news that’s currently making rounds on the social media holds water, then Wednesday, 16th November 2016 – a day that reportedly claimed the life of a 7-year-old boy owing to alleged attempted misdemeanour – was another day Nigeria, and mankind at large, would live to mourn; a day that would cease to rest until justice is duly done to wickedness; a day that would stop at nothing to ensure that humanity is separated from insanity. 

 On that fateful day that could be best described as unfortunate, the said kid was reportedly set ablaze by a so-called angry mob at a locality in Lagos State for allegedly attempting to steal ‘Garri’ from a trader’s shop. He was caught by dwellers cum passersby, brutally tortured to stupor, and therein burnt with fuel and condemned tyres. The report equally had it that, while in the hands of the monsters, he pleaded for freedom, for the umpteenth time, still the vulnerable plea fell on cancerous and deaf ears. 

Even if he was more than seven years, or involved in felony as claimed by the police, did it call for such reaction? As I sat soberly and tried to recall the news, my emotions kept burning until I ostensibly lost my senses that I could not see nor hear anything, not even the like of the horn of a moving train. Whilst in the tattered mood, my utmost worry remained that, the public kept watching the scene until the fire engulfed that helpless ‘kid’; probably they were deriving pleasure from it. Worse still, the scene was videotaped, perhaps having been considered a mere melodrama. 

Any sane and rational since takes a closer look at these two observations would begin to wonder how wicked the heart of man is, as well as in whose image he was really made of. It is even more overwhelming to realize that the police, or any other law enforcement agency, was nowhere to be found throughout the incident that lasted for over an hour. I am yet to believe that while the duration of administering the obnoxious jungle justice lingered, no bit of notice got to any security outfit within, in spite of the obvious fact that the arena in question is urban. 

Dealing With The Vulnerability Of Widowhood

By Fred Nwaozor  

On June 23, the world over commemorated the annual International Widows’ Day as stipulated and observed by the United Nations (UN). The International Widows’ Day is a UN ratified day of action to address the poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in many countries. The event invariably takes place on every day of June 23.

The day was established in 2005 by Raj Loomba whose mother became a widow on June 23, 1954, and the bereaved woman experienced the social intolerance and financial adversity that can befall widows. The establishment was made under the aegis of The Loomba Foundation to raise awareness of the issue of widowhood, which was thereafter formally adopted and duly approved on December 21, 2010 by the United Nations’ General Assembly under the leadership of the present UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon. The proposal for the approval was tendered by President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon.

A widow is a woman whose husband has died, whilst a widower is a man who has lost his wife; thus, widowhood is a state in which a man or a woman, as the case may be, has lost his/her marriage partner. It is obvious that in any society in the world, anyone either a man or a woman found in a state of widowhood is regarded as a less-privileged, because his/her partner in whom he/she is well pleased has departed for eternity. But in Africa, particularly Nigeria, the most devastating aspect of widowhood is when a woman is passing through the ordeal.

In Nigeria for instance, on the average, a widow regardless of her status, is severely molested, intimidated as well as humiliated. The major plight faced by a widow in this part of the world is deprivation of her late husband’s property or possessions by her teeming in-laws. In this case, she could be banned from making use of anything belonging to the deceased, thereby making her appear like a mere slave in her matrimonial home.

In many cases, the widow in question could be accused of being responsible for her husband’s demise without minding the severe psychological pains and agony she is passing through. In some quarters, to prove her innocence, the poor widow would be mandated by the accusers to drink the water used in washing her late husband’s corpse; a practice that obviously seems highly irrational and barbaric.

The Herdsmen Conundrum: Before We Witness Reprisals

By Fred Nwaozor

The popular warning for men to ‘make hay while the sun shines’ would only be considered reasonable and rational when there’s still hay left in the bushes and every arena where it is usually found. Of course, you can only be conscientised to grab something on time when the stuff in question is still available.

Over the years, several communities across the federation had been subjected to untold hardship and seeming perpetual torture by Fulani herdsmen. I can’t forget in a hurry that virtually all the states in Nigeria, particularly those in the Southern region, have tasted a bit of this conundrum at one time or another. The aforesaid set of farmers, rather than concentrating on grazing towards breeding their livestock, end up constituting nuisance in their various host communities, in the name of ‘revenge’ or what have you.

This domineering and nonchalant idiosyncrasy of these armed herdsmen who parade themselves with unspeakable ammunition was arguably overlooked by the government and other concerned authorities, not until they recently unleashed an astonishing terror on the people of Nimbo Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State; an attack that left in its trail tears and blood. In the crisis, which occurred on Monday, April 25, 2016, scores were found dead, countless persons maimed, about a hundred residents injured, several houses and churches razed, thereby rendering over 2,000 dwellers homeless.

The incident might have come and gone, it is imperative to acknowledge that the peril it inflicted on the living victims is unarguably an experience they will all live to recall. Each time I recollect that a certain community in Enugu State sometime in the history of this country woke one morning only to be brutally taken unawares by a group of total strangers, I invariably take solace in the ‘notion’ that it could be a mere dream.

Obviously, the deed has already been done. Instead of indulging in retrogressive discourse or debate, the most logical and viable thing to do at this point is to concentrate on the way forward. In a situation like this, having taken a formidable step towards checking recurrence, the next most reasonable action to take is to harmonise the atmosphere or the ties binding the affected persons or groups.