Nigeria: How Subsidy Removal May Collapse The Economy

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

Ordinarily, the removal of subsidy on energy sources – petrol, kerosene, diesel and electricity would free up billions of naira for government to plow into other social and economic needs such as infrastructural development, give incentive for domestic refineries to produce more petroleum products, reduce the country’s over dependence on imported fuel, boost the economy and create jobs. Some of these are very contentious in the Nigerian context.

This line of thinking may be possible for stable economies and not one that is deep in crisis like Nigeria. Truth is that the removal of subsidy is an ill wind that could collapse the beleaguered and fragile economy of Nigeria.

The Rise And Fall Of Lagos

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

The raging acrimony over a vicious plot by the authorities in Lagos to edge out the so called non-indigenes, particularly, the Igbo out of Lagos through appropriate discriminatory laws by the State House of Assembly should not bother anyone for it is only the ignorant who don’t know that cities rise and fall depending on the circumstances at a given time.

When the circumstances are ripe with positive conditions, a city may spring up and flourish so long as those conditions exist. But when the circumstances change and the conditions that made the city wane, the city begins to shrink towards eventual fall. The foregoing occurs when humans are the change agents in a city’s dynamics.

Igbo Adventurism In The World Context

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

Adventurism in the context used here refers to the tendency of the Igbo to migrate to other lands and consciously decide to settle, build homes and develop those lands while their homeland is abandoned in a pathetic and undeveloped state.

Some assume traditional titles and begin to command influence in the Diaspora. The Igbo proclivity is different from what obtains with other migratory peoples around the world. There is nothing wrong with migrating to other lands but there is everything wrong with abandoning the homeland, which is senseless.

Peter Obi: When The Apparel Of The Tortoise Is Damaged

 By Luke Onyekakeyah   

Once upon a time, the tortoise went to visit his in-laws. While he was there, a stubborn nanny goat picked his apparel, chewed and damaged it. That was a big problem. His in-laws were bothered with what happened. They didn’t know what to do.

*Peter Obi

The tortoise said to his in-laws, you see that your goat has chewed and torn my apparel; I will not ask you to pay for it but I will not go home naked. His in-laws were confused. They were in a serious dilemma. The tortoise left them and went ahead with other activities. At the end, his in-laws had no choice than to get another apparel, which they gave to the tortoise. The tortoise was happy.

The Beauty Of The 2023 General Elections

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

The 2023 general election, which is around the corner, is the easiest for Nigerians to vote and vote rightly. The anger and hardship in the land should be visited at the poll. People should be angry enough to say enough is enough and translate it by voting only those who are capable and prepared to bring relief to the people. This election is a matter of life and death for a country. It is either that Nigeria gets it right or this might be the last chance.

Luckily, choosing the right presidential candidate would not present any difficulty. The choice is very glaring among the contestants. It has never been like this since 1999, when the present democratic dispensation birthed. This is the beauty of the 2023 elections. In the previous elections, there were many capable contestants, which made it difficult for the electorate to select. The situation is different this time around.

2023: Last Chance To Save Nigeria

By Luke Onyekakeyah

Looking at the way things are going on in the run up to the 2023 general elections, it is abundantly clear that the 2023 general elections presents Nigeria with what could be the last chance, the last opportunity to save the country. It is now or never, going by the precarious situation the country is facing. This consciousness should pervade the whole nation.

Unfortunately, the professional politicians who have contributed in making the country a laughing stock, obviously, don’t seem to have learnt any lesson from the failures of the past or the abhorable state of affairs in Nigeria. All the fears and apprehension about a possible collapse of a ruined country do not resonate among the rich ruling class. Can 2023 bring remedy?

Easing The Niger Bridge Traffic Agony At Christmas

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola’s recent announcement that work on the Second Niger Bridge has been completed made cheery news, especially, for motorists and other travellers who use the Niger Bridge at Onitsha at Christmas. The route is usually bedlam, indeed, hell on earth during Christmas and New Year festivities.

There is hysteria that the suffering and pain experienced at the Onitsha-Asaba Bridge head would, henceforth, be a thing of the past once the Second Niger Bridge is commissioned and opened. Fashola’s announcement came on the heels of the ministry’s acting Federal Controller of Works in Anambra State, Seyi Martins, who announced earlier that the bridge would be ready for use in December 2022.

Why Nigeria Is Stuck In Underdevelopment

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

If you ask anyone on the street what is Nigeria’s number one problem, he would most likely say corruption. The refrain on corruption is so profound that no one has taken time to ask why there is such abrasive corruption. The reasons behind corruption are known but not addressed. They are totally downplayed. Truth is that corruption is merely an effect. The cause is ignored. Chasing the effect and leaving the cause, as in this case, is senseless. It is like pruning a tree, which would blossom once again after a short while. The only way to effectively kill a tree is to uproot it.

Even if you cut it down, shoots could sprout from the stump showing that the tree is still alive though in a smaller dimension.

To deal with corruption would require a blunt attack on the roots. Nigeria’s corruption is systemic meaning that it is entrenched. A faulty system is responsible. The system is where the problem lies. There are deliberate gaps left in the system that have blended with the body and soul of Nigeria that can’t easily be rooted out. Vested interest would rather shed blood to ensure that the gaps remain untouched. But not until those gaps are closed, Nigeria’s underdevelopment quagmire would persist.

The Buffeted Naira

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

The recent announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the introduction of newly redesigned N200, N500 and N1, 000 banknotes, has political and economic implications. Like a thunderbolt, the move has jolted many people, particularly, politicians who promote money politics. Those who have amassed naira and dollar waiting for the forthcoming elections are biting their fingers.

The move is a masterstroke against corrupt politicians, who have hoarded huge sums of money for vote buying during the 2023 general elections. By redesigning the naira and releasing it barely a month to the elections, the CBN may have played the trump card to frustrate all the permutations by politicians who banked on the hoarded naira. That way, the CBN may have contributed to the country having a more credible election in 2023.

The Ayo Adebanjo Support For Peter Obi

By Luke Onyekakeyah

The Ayo Adebanjo-led Afenifere’s support for Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) has roots in the historic parley held between Ohaneze and Afenifere in Lagos in early 2017. That parley made strong national headlines as it was welcomed by political pundits from both sides as a worthwhile development.

*Adebanjo 

As an elder statesman who has no other option than to follow the path of honesty and speak the truth no matter what, Pa Adebanjo, who led Afenifere to that parley, cannot afford to backtrack from what he personally championed and endorsed. That is why he is not mincing words to say that equity, justice and fairness demand that the South-East should be given the opportunity to produce the next president in 2023, if the so-called national unity is anything to go by. Otherwise, the whole thing would be mere propaganda and deceit for sectional domination by those who think they are born to rule.

Nigeria: End The NYSC To Save Lives!

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

The reported death of a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Chioma Eunice Igweike, who was allegedly abducted and later found dead with vital parts of her body missing has added to the long list of innocent and promising youths who have lost their lives on account of being called to serve their fatherland under the now lackluster NYSC scheme. There is no doubt that under the alarming and frightening insecurity situation, the NYSC scheme is an aberration, which ought not to be because it exposes youths to danger that pervades the entire country. No place is safe in Nigeria.

Government ought to have reviewed the scheme with a view to scraping it, given the highly volatile situation in the country. Besides, the conditions that warranted the establishment of the NYSC no longer exist. It is only for selfish reasons that the scheme is allowed to run because some top government officials are reaping huge benefits from it on the grave of those being killed. This is insensitive and unpatriotic, to say the least.

Reports say Chioma Eunice Igweike left her house on Wednesday, July, 20, 2022, for the three weeks orientation course at the Ogun State NYSC camp. Her friends and former course mates said the Federal Polytechnic Oko graduate was kidnapped and killed by suspected ritualists and dumped somewhere.

Why Nigerians Are Flocking To Peter Obi

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

The burning desire by Nigerians to see a turnaround in the country underscores the reason why Nigerians are flocking to Peter Obi and the Labour Party.

There is an urgent expectation for a new dawn to manifest in Nigeria without delay to give Nigerians a new lease of life. People are fed up with the status quo. Any political platform that could guarantee the desired rebirth becomes the centre of attraction.

*Peter Obi 

As it were, Nigerians have suffered untold hardship, pain and anguish brought by selfish and greedy politicians. The political and economic system has been ruined. Long-suffering is a norm in Nigeria as people bear the burden of misrule. The virtue of patience has been overstretched beyond the limit and this is understandable.

Understandable in the sense that the country has been raped and bastardised and Nigerians denied the good things of life since independence. The desire for a productive country started on October 1, 1960. That desire did not materialise. Barely six years into independence the country was plunged into a fierce fratricidal civil war that claimed over a million lives and truncated the political and economic trajectory.

2023: Last Chance To Save Nigeria!

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

Looking at the way things are going on in the run up to the 2023 general elections, it is obvious that politicians have learnt no lesson from the mistakes of the past and the abhorable state of affairs in Nigeria. All the fears and apprehension about a possible collapse of a ruined country do not resonate among the rich ruling class. Can 2023 bring remedy?

There is nothing in the horizon to show that these people are bothered about Nigeria or interested in redeeming it. Politicians need to be reminded that they have to save this country now or else lose it. Consequently, given the awful state of affairs, the 2023 may be the last chance to save Nigeria from imminent collapse and disintegration.

Otherwise, as it were, we are back to square one. The cat and mouse race has reopened. The witch that cries and children start dying is at it again. It is as if to say the end of Nigeria is at hand, as all the political gladiators appear to be hell bent on capturing the presidency.

The Niger Bridge Traffic Agony At Christmas

 By Luke Onyekakeyah

As the Christmas and New Year festivities draw near, millions of people will travel home to join their kits and kin to celebrate the occasion. Mass movement of people from the North and South-West to the South-East is a common feature of this season. Heavy vehicular traffic of goods and people is the norm. There is heightened fear and apprehension by millions of travellers to the South-East in particular, who must cross the now infamous Niger Bridge at Onitsha to reach their destination.

Harrowing tales of suffering, pain and anguish by travellers heading eastwards from the West at the bridge are commonplace. As a matter of fact, the Niger Bridge experience is like a nightmare at Christmas. While it may take a traveller about eight hours from Lagos to Asaba, at the height of the chaos, the same traveller may spend between five to eight hours before crossing the Niger Bridge from Asaba to Onitsha and vice versa. Over the passing week, some travellers from Lagos going to the South-East slept over at Onitsha due to the killer traffic jam at the head-bridge.

NNPC: Northern Nigeria Petroleum Corporation?

By Luke Onyekakeyah

The reported lamentation of the leaders of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), over the blatant lopsided appointments into top management positions of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), deserves attention from the Federal Government with a view to correcting it. The development makes one wonder if the organization has surreptitiously become Northern Nigeria Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

It is clear that since 1999, for instance, what used to be a pan Nigeria giant oil corporation that manages Nigeria’s “cash cow”, has been northernised by way of appointments into key positions in the organisation. The complaints and disaffection resulting from this have largely been ignored by the Federal government.

The latest appointments of 20 northerners into management positions in the NNPC while ignoring the south has raised the ante, leading to discontent as reported by ThisDay of May 17, 2020. For those looking for divisive forces threatening Nigeria, this is one of it.

Africans Should Isolate South Africa

By Luke Onyekakeyah

President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to evacuate Nigerians from South Africa is a positive step in the right direction. Nigerians, indeed, Africans should leave South Africa and not regret it, as a first step towards redressing the unceasing bullying, intimidation, and arrogance of that country against fellow Africans that joined forces to liberate her from the crushing white apartheid regime. African nations should severe diplomatic relations with South Africa as a mark of protest. This land of apartheid should be isolated and let’s watch how it copes with being an island.

Good enough, an uncommon patriotic Nigerian, Allen Onyema, owner of Air Peace, offered to voluntarily evacuate the troubled Nigerian citizens from South Africa. I must commend all those in the forefront of this operation, namely: President Buhari, Air Peace Management, Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Kabiru Bala, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike-Dabiri-Erewa, among others. The belated arrest, delay and harassment of departing Nigerians on highways and airport in South Africa, is of no consequence. It is akin to the pursuit of departing Israel from Egyptian bondage by Pharaoh and his army, which ended in disaster.

Gov El-Rufai: Throwing Stones In Glass Houses

By Luke Onyekakeyah

The unwarranted attack by the Governor of Kaduna State, His Excellency Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, against the person of former Governor of Anambra State and running mate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, has exposed the bigotry of El-Rufai which he is now shifting to Peter Obi. Nigerians should ignore a personal opinion that has no weight.

*Gov El-Rufai 

I tried to look up for the meaning of bigot for better understanding. According to the Encarta Dictionary, a bigot is “an intolerant person; somebody with strong opinion, especially in politics, religion, or ethnicity, who refuses to accept different views.”

How To Stop Herdsmen Killings In Nigeria

By Luke Onyekakeyah

President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent statement urging Nigerians to be patient while his security chiefs are racking their brains to tackle the ongoing killings across the country puts the administration at a tight corner. The implication is that government has no strategy yet to deal with a deadly pogrom targeting innocent hapless folks across the country.

The president ought not to have made such statement as that would embolden the killers. How could you tell your enemy who is out to eliminate you that you are still racking brain to know how to tackle him? The statement is self defeatist and totally uncalled for. 

Nigeria: The Illegality Of Post-UTME

By Luke Onyekakeyah  

The confusion that has trailed the re-introduction of the post University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (post-UTME) in higher educational institutions across the country over the fees payable by candidates forced me to dig into the legality or otherwise of the test that now determines our children’s educational destiny. There should be an established law for post-UTME otherwise, it should be scrapped. The test has become so controversial and ought to be challenged in court of law.

Is there a law that established the post-UTME? I called some lawyers to get their view on the legality of the post-UTME. All the lawyers said, to the best of their knowledge, there is no known law that established the post-UTME in Nigeria.

If that is the case, why leave an illegality to rule the system and even truncate the aspirations of most candidates? Who introduced the post-UTME in the first place and for what purpose? 

How JAMB Is Destroying Education In Nigeria

By Luke Onyekakeyah  

Two shocks in the tertiary education sector that have jolted Nigerians, once again, show how the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is geared towards ruining the future of Nigeria. It also proves the much-talked about need to scrap JAMB, which has outlived its usefulness, to allow universities admit qualified candidates.

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and JAMB registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede are behind this national embarrassment. Could President Muhammadu Buhari save the future of this country by reversing these retrogressive decisions? This is not the kind of change we need.

First is the appalling and disgusting slashing of university cut-off marks from an awful and lamentable 180 (45 per cent) to a deplorable and scandalous 120 (30 per cent). It is like the 180 score didn’t get Nigeria at the jugular, which the 120 is now out to accomplish. Without equivocation, these say much about the direction the country is headed. 

The second is the re-introduction of post-UTME test that was banned barely a year ago by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu. What is a post-UTME test going to achieve when failures, who scored 30 per cent, in JAMB are admitted. Is it possible for candidates who scored 30 per cent in JAMB to score 80 per cent in post-UTME test? This is most unlikely and would call for investigation if it happens.