Nigeria And Her “Ever Smiling Jobless Graduates!” – Boluwatife Adekunle

I overheard a discussion involving two outgoing corp-members; in as much as most people would assume that a day of discharge certification from NYSC program should be a day of celebration for every corp-members, apparently that doesn’t seem to be the case with reference to the “said” discussion following an ultra emotional depression from both corp-members discussing the end of an unprecedented year run of monthly allowance. Well, in a country where publication of conflicting figures is the order of the day, maybe it’s safe to conclude that 60% of outgoing corp-members in every batch develop sore hearts over the completion of their service year. Please don’t bite me over the  percentage, If you’re not going to challenge why Nigeria has the biggest economy in Africa and you’re able to concur with such laughable joke- you could as well let my “subjectivity with the arguable fact” have a space to breath.

How the huge numbers of unemployed graduates are able to cope with the unfriendly economy beyond the common routine of “one pure water and one galla to uplift their energy” after challenging the strength of a camel in a competition to walk long kilometres in search of jobs, these are the group of jobless graduates that desire to look for jobs rather than waiting for jobs to look for them. How they are able to cope “in dimming colours” is not farfetched; majority of Nigerian youths with tertiary education are bunch of jokes in this part of the world with horrible & deplorable jobs, arguably the most underemployed set of people, contributing immensely to the increasing poverty rate in the country.  It’s disheartening seeing graduates manning pumps at gas stations, packing & unpacking pure water bags at funny locations. Amazingly, some have embrace different means of practising their qualifications, those with B.sc in Communication have successfully established a business; selling call-cards under a tent strong enough to be blown away by the wind, graduates from land & minerals surveying departments go into the wild with a Tipper Driver to fetch sharp sand and the rest for construction and those from geology classes are truck boys for tanker drivers conveying fuel from one location to the other. It won’t be a surprise if we have graduates of transport planning & management having full-time job as bus conductors.

Following the alarming & disgraceful display of unemployment statistic during the NIS massive recruitment scam; financial extortion and blood sucking operation, which led to the end of some unfortunate compatriots who had their lives cut short by the leaders saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives & properties of its citizens. One would expect to see such huge turnout to re-mobilize with great fortitude; to voice out furiously; to ask questions and demand answers from their leaders who are feeding fat and building empires from public purse and fortune of the land. It’s a no brainer to realise that such expanse of unemployed heads “colliding together” is a force to bring any government to its knees, unfortunately Nigerian youths would only see when their favourite European football clubs’ managers are failing and the decision to have their contracts terminated by the clubs’ management with immediate effect. In spite of the shameful inaction and silence on the part of the NIS applicants, some prominent citizens who felt their pains- cried their cry and decided to lend voice to the voiceless; sparked the flame and kept the fire burning, they organised a protest and behold the almost 60,000 applicants who turned out at the stadium in Abuja during the recruitment menace disappeared into thin of the air. How unemployed graduates in this country comfortably dance to the rhythm of poverty baffles me.

In a sane country where citizenry are not treated like animals, where” impunity” is long lost in its dictionary, where its government officials “beyond constitutional rights” are as ordinary as every other citizen, where there is fair hearing and injustice is not the order of the day. Someone like Comrade Patrick Abba Moro; who is currently enjoying a great monopoly and flexing muscles in the corridor of power,  the Minister of Interior; the chief architect of a national fraud and the mastermind behind NIS recruitment tragedy: A comrade who openly took responsibility over the lost souls during the scandalous exercise would have long been charged for Manslaughter but in this part of the world we embrace a special dictionary where the word “Ideal” is missing and “Corruption” is seen as a mere case of people stealing. Hence, when one of government functionaries advocate that Nigerian Boko Haram crisis and issue of the abducted chibok girls would be handled in a Nigeria way. A country where majority of its people would agree that, since 1960 following Nigeria’s disconnection from the British Colonial administration; most of its actions and decisions thereon have been positioned from an irrational point of view.  What such advocacy then means is; Nigerians would heal over their pains in due course and move on as usual.  Agreeably this ineptly attitude has since been a norm in this part of the world.

For thousands of jobless graduates living below poverty line, sadly it doesn’t appear the situation would be changing in near future with their ever-smiling philosophy. I mean Nigerian youths should take leads from several youth movements that have brought revolutionary change in so many nations. It doesn’t have to be in a violent manner; countries like Serbia, Ukraine and Georgia each had a successful nonviolent youth movement. It seems our young generation do not understand how critical/important their role could be in propelling political change and strengthening democratic institutions in the society. “Social media is a tool and a tool is as good as the person using it – J.J Omojuwa”. The importance of social media cannot be overemphasized; it has become a tool for revolution all over the world. We saw the key role it played in the April 6 youth movement in Egypt. It began as a Facebook group expressing solidarity with protesting industrial workers in al-Mahalla al-Kubra. The protests escalated to calls for a national strike, and on April 6, 2008, thousands of Egyptians flooded the streets. The power possessed by youth is a recognised force in the world today and Nigerian youths must realise that the nation’s destiny lies in their hands.  “Youth are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but also the partners of today. ’’ God Bless Nigeria.

Boluwatife Adekunle

@boluzzz

President Jonathan’s Administration; A Big Joke! – Boluwatife Adekunle

“Ofi ete si lee, O’ un paa lapalapa”

First off, I’ll like to sympathize with the family of Billion Dollars; below I attached my condolence letter.

 CONDOLENCE LETTER TO THE FAMILY OF BILLION DOLLARS

It struck our heart  like lightening when the news concerning “Twenty" one of your children broke out to the public; her disappearance ignited uproar among Nigerians and for the  past four weeks the name “TWENTY billion dollars” remain nation’s most discussed; dropping President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to second on the chart. According to reports, the tragedy has been linked with possible destination to FCT (Fortress of Corruption Territory), although there are claims that “Twenty” might be missing for a long time: I feel it will be unfair to think Nigerians arose to this incidence too late, your business has been a secret affair involving a minority group; those who turned to be bone crushers, the larger public couldn’t ascertain your movement between Niger Delta/Across borders, up to your residence in CBN.

Some’d say “Twenty” had been murdered by the “said” group, an unthinkable brutal incidence resulting to a complete dismantle (like a pride of lion feasting on a prey). Her demise indeed saddens the heart of Nigerians; many could not begin to express how painful “a act” this is. The thought of how influential “Twenty” could be on this great nation has given many Nigerians sleepless nights; following reports of great addition your children in diasporas have contributed to the development of those nations. It was reported that her twin sister “TWENTY-TWO billion dollars” was responsible for the construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric power station: The Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China, has the world’s largest instantaneous generating capacity (22,500 MW). Other reports confirmed the massive contribution of her younger sister “TEN billion dollars” towards the construction of Jamnagar Refinery in Jamnagar, India: The world’s largest refinery with the capacity of 1,240,000 barrels per day.

It’s with a sad heart I write this letter and I hope the perpetrators would be brought to book. Hence, applying FFK’s IDEAL and REALITY school of thoughts; would mean “Ideal” is ensuring the appropriate law enforcement agencies do the needful in bringing the “said” group to justice and “Reality” speaks volumes on how they’ll continue to roam about arrogantly in convoys and enjoy their roasted pangolins in their suspension roofs. On behalf of Nigerians; I say please accept our condolence.

OFI ETE SI LEE, O’ UN PAA LAPALAPA.

Not many of us are conversant with “yoruba” quotes and for the records; it simply means “Not applying scale of preference”… The moment you’re told “Ofi ete si lee, O’ un paa lapalapa” in yoruba circle, it means you’re not getting your priorities right.

Research says ratio 1:6 of Singaporean households are millionaires, it is also safe to say; for every six households in Singapore there is a millionaire. “Singapore” officially the Republic of Singapore, a very poor country many years back with no natural resources not even potable water. Singapore is rated among the countries with best water technologies (desalination technologies), so good they can drink their own pee. The result is NeWater, which is non-potable wastewater filtered into high-purity H20 that can be used for industrial development and even drinking. The world’s greatest city;m.travel.cnn/Singapore states 50 reasons why Singapore is No 1; one of the reasons reported is that, Singapore has one of the best health care infrastructures in the world, with various dignitaries and royals from the region patronizing local hospitals: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe even slipped in quietly for a ‘secret cancer check-up’ in 2008. According to CNN, Singaporean health care provision system is also one of the world’s best, so good that some say it beats the proposed ObamaCare model. A country that gained its independence in 1965, five years “late” of Nigeria’s 1960, this is what I call TRANSFORMATION: From a sleepy island to one of Asia’s most developed states, despite lack of natural resources.

In as much as some would say “Rome was not built in a day” and some will repeat the common rhymes that seem unending; saying Nigerian problems didn’t start during President Jonathan’s administration. Hence, Nigeria was not in a state of disrepair at the injunction of President Jonathan’s administration, we’re saying this country is a building with a leaking roof; these are visible problems “clearer” to the presidency during its two years incumbent era, which he used as a campaign tool towards 2011 presidential election promises to tackle head-on. Not disregarding his tenure as an incumbent president, I think five years is huge enough for any presidency to set standards that will have a direct impact on every Nigerian. An administration can not continue to inflict pains, then advertises transformation thereof… Is like telling a blind man he has regained his sight, does he needs to be informed? Through the function & dis-function of his walking stick; his story would be told. Either via publication of some conflicting figures or showcasing unrealistic statistics; this administration has shown the magic its willing to perform in pushing millions of Nigerians living in abject poverty to the limit of admitting either by force or by degree that their lives have changed.

KAA MA FI ETE SI LEE, PAA LAPALAPA… “Getting the priorities right”

If a web search “linked” with merriam-webster.com defines Transformation as a complete or major change in someone’s OR something’s… then the question we should be asking is, how do we affect the lives of ordinary Nigerians? Here’s my order of priorities. UNINTERRUPTED POWER SUPPLY, JOB CREATION, REVIVING THE REFINERIES, TACKLE THE SECURITY CHALLENGE, IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, AND ENHANCING THE HEALTH CARE PROVISION SYSTEM. Others will be icing on the cake.

If we must not forget in a hurry, there was a “trend” that seemed to had faded off… This trend painted a picture of how availability of electricity has been source of happiness in various households. We remember the famous chant “….Up Nepa” a sickening celebration common in Nigerian homes; an expression of joy towards availability of electricity that would be up-running for just a short  period. In recent time; the trend has changed, once electricity is available citizens rather “rain” curses on the power companies and multiply the curse few minutes after a predictable interruption. The importance of uninterrupted power supply can not be overemphasized, one that’ll contribute immensely to the progress of my second highlight according to my order of priorities: Job Creation.

Recently, the US government experienced a slight increase in the percentage of unemployment in the country; what was the instant response thereon? I’m poised to extend the distance “with which” the news would travel, confirming the fact that thousands of jobs were created last month: As reported by CNNMoney…“The U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs last month, according to the government. That’s an improvement from December, but was far weaker than hoped. Economists had been expecting an addition of 178,000 jobs “… This is to say, in other to stabilize the situation and reduce the negative effects of the slight uprise; economists expected an instant creation of 178,000 jobs and for U.S. government to have met about 63% of the expectation thus far, one tend to ask ” if there’s any ” what has been done to combat the pragmatic display of unemployment statistic during the NIS recruitment menace?.. I do not understand why this administration has continued to shy away from reality, it’s no news that unemployment and underemployment lies at the core of poverty. For the poor, labour is often the only asset they can use to improve their well-being. Hence the creation of productive employment opportunities is essential for achieving poverty reduction.

It’s a no brainer to realise the significant of “Fuel” in this country, therefore it should be a priority for any administration willing to improve the living conditions of its citizens to do the needful in ensuring “Fuel” is available at realistic price; I  mean having to consider millions of Nigerians living on minimum wage.. Nigerians must realise that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua meant well for this great nation, during his short tenure, we saw a new administration “reduced” the pump price of petrol from 70naira to 65naira per litre, his leadership also reversed the sale of Kaduna and Warri refineries that the former President Olusegun Obasanjo had tried to sell off and promised to revive the refineries thereon before the illness that led to his death came knocking on his window. I say may he keep resting in perfect peace (Amen).

Few months ago, the special adviser to the president on Media and Publicity Dr Reuben Abati dismissed reports surrounding the sale of Nigeria’s four refineries and claimed the federal government had no plans to privatise the refineries. The four refineries have 445,000 barrels per day crude oil refining capacity which should produce 70,755,000 litres of petrol and will ignite a drastic fall from the current pump price on the 40,000,000 litres needed for daily domestic consumption. Nigerians need to know why the refineries remain unfixed..(?)

To be continued…