Anyway...numero uno, I love being multilingual even though I'm bilingual - just my good ol' Igbo language and some retarded English grammar.... I own my mistakes and owe you no apology, pick the beans and trash the stones.
In addition, these thoughts are my personal insights as the blog name suggests. I don't belong to any political party anywhere in the world and I haven't changed my mind yet on the issue. It affords me my peace of mind. So, feel free to agree or disagree with, jettison, believe in or question these points of mine. I believe that these problems increase our national debt burden but with individual and often disparage consequences. Finally, I don't get paid to blog not even by Google AdSense; what is that? It's a long read. Enjoy, please. Thank you.
- NYSC: People must disagree with me on this one because it's a fast cash cow for many lucky people and the only real tourism industry in the country. But how much does this exercise and corps cost Nigeria(ns) twice yearly sometimes three times in batches and streams? How does the corps check repeat service of corps members from one state to another? As there are repeat offenders in the judiciary, there are also career corpers of Nigeria who move from state to state in their green khaki dresses. There are 37 NYSC locations - 36 states and the the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Does biometrics check repeat service at the PPAs? How do you tell a corps member is a Nigerian? Because of one senseless civil war, Nigeria is wasting money and turning the corps into a trade in hopes of some criminal national unity while destroying the dreams of many people. The corps members don't have respect accorded them at the places of primary assignment owing to intercultural differences, with the employer often seeing them as children in dire need of the cane too. It derails a graduate's career plan and trajectory. During my time 2004/2005, nearly everybody was forced to teach in the classroom at Air Force Comprehensive School, Ibadan, Oyo State. What would a graduate of a bachelor's degree in the arts, social sciences, sciences, agriculture or even engineering be doing in the classroom without proper guidance and tutelage? Who taught them Micro-teaching in the university? Must every Nigerian graduate become a teacher? And the poor local pupils and students get no quality education for their time. The Corps retards a graduate's career projectile; it doesn't build upon skills learnt in higher institutions. If all graduates can teach, why have a faculty of education at the University where students are taught the craft of teaching through placements called Teaching Practice or even learn Curriculum and Instruction? NYSC is not a food stamp initiative of Nigeria for hungry Nigerian youth nor should it be the career albatross that it has become in the last decades. Many don't heed the age limit. Nigerians don't care and foreigners might even enter the country on empty stories and lies of being born to a Nigerian. Do we have enough mechanisms to check fraud and determine the incidence of under aged or over aged corps members? NYSC camps are the only place where credentials are cross-checked and decoys slipped in among the corps members move onward to the PPAs. Scraping the NYSC or mandating it to become a practical opportunity for career-related skill building will yield more productivity for the country. This argument doesn't include the often talked about death of corps members during the service year, real or imagined, in road accidents or corps incidents. The NYSC should be career relevant and not a career destroying imbecility full of impostors, prostitutes and criminals. NYSC discharge certificates should also contain the name of the higher institution and course (programme) the corps member graduated from. The picture is not enough. NYSC certified education in degrees (bachelor's and/or master's for foreign trained corps members) and higher national diplomas must have a one-time pass and lifetime use. Each graduate serves only once too even if they've gone to get another NYSC qualifying education even from the same or another higher institution and under the age of 30 years. Otherwise, it's a sham. Gimme a break. The corps should be serious business and not an event meant for food stamp, allowance, hero worship, vain arranged marriages and yearlong tourism in the hope of an elusive and commercialized national unity. In light with the foregoing, a typical NYSC discharge certificate in addition to having a biometrics picture should read, 'This is to certify that (Name of corps member as contained on school records and if needful supported by an authentic change of name by a Marriage Certificate and other identification documents such as NIN card/slip, publication, etc and NYSC Number with State Code and Year), whose picture appears here was born on or is (Age at the Beginning of Orientation Camp training as Date of Birth or in Words AND Number) and hails from (Community, State of Origin on school records and if needful supported by an authentic change of origin by a Marriage Certificate and other identification documents such as NIN card/slip, publication, etc), a graduate of or graduated from (Name of Higher Diploma/Degree Awarding Institution), having earned a/an (Name of Degree/HND, eg. BA, BSc, BEd, MBBS, HND, etc) in (Course of Study) has fulfilled the requirements of the (or as was written in mine "has satisfactorily completed") one year national service at (Place of Primary Assignment) from (Date of Opening of Orientation Camp) to (Date of End of the National Service) in accordance with Section 11 of the National Youth Service Corps Decree No. 51 of 1993 (or as the case may be from current provisions). It is not rocket science, you know. How many other African countries that experienced internal strife including civil war observe a national service? Rwanda is the only African nation that just recently started one over 15 years after the infamous genocide. The NYSC is not a diploma nor degree but those higher education qualifications are the entry point for the exercise. It has become another war against the Igbos only that Hausa and Yoruba leaders often at PPAs (places of primary assignment) use Igbo named harlots and prostitutes to shame bona fide Igbo graduates through identity fraud. But due to its monetary compensation and some say poverty, the so-called Igbos await NYSC commencement upon graduation each year and they are the repeat or career corpers I talk about. They are spies and concealed assassins on errand for friends and relatives in often far away places. In my own case, a woman only had the top khaki green shirt and lied that the corps had exhausted the uniform and she would go back for hers. She stayed put for the long year, whether she was a corps member or not I couldn't determine as there were no ID cards issued to us. Nigeria is a fraud waiting to happen. Nigerian leaders including heads of government are complicit of this crime and on a quest for personal vendetta. They are aiding and abetting NYSC career and life fraud. Nobody is above the law in most places except in Nigeria. Beasts of no nation. Nameless beasts and zombies.
- National Travel Passport: passport renewals cost Nigerians so much unnecessarily. Why renew what hasn’t elapsed with a new one? Why not find a way to extend than renew passports? Passports serve as identity card too. Why not allow passports to be renewed or replaced only when the pages have been used up or due to loss or theft than using the wasteful 5 year validity benchmark? I got my first travel passport in Nigeria in 2005. I travelled abroad and renewed it by getting another one in New York in 2010. I didn't use more than a page of the 32 pages of that one. I returned to Nigeria and got yet another one in 2017 that gave me 64 pages to use. It has expired all its 64 pages and I'm to pay some N80, 000 or so for another when I'm ready to travel. Those who want to use the Nigeria Immigration Service to be born again and receive a new name know that I'm bullony. Nigerians have mastered the art of deceit that corrupt officials to do a name change. It's a shame what people do for rites of passage these days. It is very bad of you no matter your excuse and this constant change than renewal passport policy is ugly. Of course I now have gray hair on my head than in 2005. Have all my facial features changed? We work very hard at deception in this country. Mana anu na echi, dinta a na echi. There will be consequences for all concerned entities.
- Public Holiday: Nigerian public holidays should be national, regional or personal. National holidays rather than religious holidays build a nation and validate our collective statehood. Holidays should be meaningful and not a way to stay out of a day’s job or relax for the day or period. It doesn't foster national unity when they are religious. Religious holiday are full of ethos, craft, taboo and sensitivity. Leave people to do their thing and go to work. Of course, some religious holidays are regional, such as Christmas/New Year, Easter, Salah/Ramadan, etc. Let people celebrate in their regions, states or homes and let others go to work. Holidays are not for national camaraderie. Haba people. Some come back reluctant to return to work, or naturally want to recoup what they had spent during the festivities. And you're talking about corruption, yakking about graft. It's a shame that people steal, not the country. But Nigeria stops productivity through unproductive public holidays that have turned civil servants into national sacred cows. They get paid for no physical exertion at work under the fan or air conditioner if the national grid permits, or some have generators, get annual and casual leaves, free office spaces (they don't pay for shop rent). medical expenses paid for sometimes and still have over 12 days off each year as public holidays. And you want productivity from them, right? How many days are they even at work each year? And that's a teeming population with even me struggling to join them. I recommend three (3) national holidays to be celebrated by all Nigerians whether in public or private sector, as they are affected. These are May 1, Worker's Day; June 12, Democracy Day and October 1, Independence Day. Other holidays should be celebrated on an individual basis as they are useful to the person, entity or region. One Christian mustn't be in the office during Ramadan in Kano State, for instance no matter what work can be done. Not sane, not safe. Nor should three Muslims be the only workers in an office in Cross River, Abia or Enugu State, on Christmas Day. Na so I see am.
- No National Culture Leads to Ineffective National Policies: Nigerians have different ideas on how to address taboos, desires, lying, corruption, tax, bribery, money, sex, bravery, madness, crime, vice, hygiene, maturity, work, religion, etiquette and everything under the sun. Who are Nigerians? I don't really know. Where is Nigeria? That I know. Nigeria is a country on the west side of Africa, bordered by Cameroon to the East, Benin Republic to the West, Niger and Chad to the North and the Atlantic Ocean to the South. How can you tell a Nigerian from a Togolese? I don't know maybe the name might share some information about her or his perceived origin. How many tribes are found in Nigeria? Some say over 200. Do they all speak the same language? Yes. Which one? English. What other language do Nigerians speak? Pidgin English. Is that all? Ah, there are several others depending on the region, state of origin and tribe. Do Nigerians understand all the other languages spoken in the country? Well, it depends on your HIQ or SQ. What is that? It's called Hustle Intelligence Quotient or Struggle Quotient. Throw more light on it. If you are tired of the problems associated with your tribe or region, if you work hard enough to learn a new language, you become a member of that or those other states or tribes. So Nigerians who speak more languages do better in life. It depends also on their circumstances. Some children are taken in as house help or apprentice for some people and while in the struggle they integrate into the other's culture and use it for survival or to do crime. So, Nigerians don't have a unitary or uniform culture? No. And there's no way to tell one Nigerian from another when they are lying? No way, except if there are facial or tribal marks and scarification. Does an Igbo child with a Yoruba tribal mark become Igbo or Yoruba? I don't know. It depends on their cultural orientation. If she's told she's Yoruba and called Bunmi or Tolu but behaves like Ngozi or Tochi she's likely Yoruba but might prefer having Igbo friends. Who is a Nigerian? Anybody born in Nigeria or who has Nigerian parents and origin. Haha...doesn't that lead to loss of national identity? Can there be a national culture of Nigeria? I don't know because Nigerians are ethnocentric and one culture wants to trump another even in toileting habits. Some use water after toileting and insist on it being the only hygienic way to be Nigerian. How can we address this ethnocentrism? Making it clear what Nigeria does for Nigerians and why we should value the country above and beyond ethnic sentiments is one way. Do all Nigerians value national policies the same way? Yes. Explain how. They don't adhere to them. They all abuse the national policy depending on how it affects their tribal identity. Today, a Nigerian is a lawyer defending a suspect in court, another day he's hoisting a stethoscope in a theatre performing a surgery. That's the HIQ or SQ at work. Should we rename Nigeria? Maybe. To what other name? Let me consult a dictionary first. We cannot be 'African' and a civil society. One must give way to the other.
- Free and Fraudulent Government-Issued Cards: Identity cards issued by the federal government should be paid for and not given out free of charge. Voter cards, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) cards, work identity cards were given to Nigerians free of charge. If it's taboo to charge for the initial card, Nigeria could charge any determined sum for a replacement. FRSC charges for driver's licenses so should INEC and NIMC and government offices. But federal university identity cards should be free or subsidized for the students. Haba, Nigeria. NIMC prints National Identification Number (NIN) slips on ordinary white paper allowing for all forms of organized fraud. Yes, the staff are human beings that have relatives. When relatives and friends ask for assistance, these people stoop very low and commit heinous identity frauds. What are the consequences of such evil designs? Nothing. Money exchanges hands and that's that.
- Prostitution: Hotels everywhere you go. Who is making use of them? Are those the new citadels of learning and 'wisening' up? Many people young female graduates now live in hotels because they provide accommodation, room service and security, and no harassment from a judgmental landlord/landlady. But is this innovation or tact, trick and stratagem to hide prostitution? The last time I checked having sex for compensation was still a crime in Nigeria. Maybe the times have changed and innovation has caught up with us. Nigeria should legalize prostitution but restrict its use. Whether we like it or not, many undergraduates have become full-fledged runsgirls that wait on their grandfathers or grandmothers for money. It is even called the name 'Abuja,' meaning that there's no girl or woman in the FCT, Abuja who isn't a call girl and prostitute no matter the name of their workplace, vocation or avocation. In fact, some of the 'assignments' given to the workers include sleeping with diplomats and expatriate workers in order to make money in foreign currency for the establishment. How? I don't know the modalities - government denies complicity of the crime, some of the girls insist that they will be sacked if they fail to comply. Nigerians are affected by being victims of police detention, brutality, extortion and sometimes even death in the hands of ritual murderers and (wo)men of the underworld.
- Federal Government Funding: Government loans, grants and subsidies that aren’t transparent, useful and feasible are sapping life out of the Nigerian economy and causing hardship to Nigerians. Farmers are burdened with loans, when they are fortunate to receive any, have minimal yield and ROI (Return on Investment) due to a lot of factors including illiteracy, lack of feasibility study, no consideration for the fluctuating economy, incessant and arbitrary increase in the prices of agro-products such as fertilizers, pesticides, ransom for kidnapping, etc. Loans aren't free money. Many Nigerians don't like to learn this and those that do and know don't care. Funding burden from parastatals and federal secondary and tertiary schools and the National Assembly and Executive is giving us national debt. It is national debt but personal allowance for some sacred cows. National Debt Service has become a new corps among the elite and celebrities in and of Nigeria. Bogus National Assembly and Executive salaries real or make-believe should cripple any economy. Need I say more? No university in the so-called advanced or industrialized countries is funded by its federal government. E no get reason why? Those are funded through federal allocations to states. The states in turn fund their public schools. The population of Europe is not as dense as many African countries. While we breed children like rats here, we expect the federal government to carry everybody's fantasy. I find this mentality of Nigerians very disgusting. We are responsible for the corruption we cry about. Parastatals are meant to be privatized but they remain a huge burden to the Nigerian economy through federal budgetary allocations.
- Job Rigging: Job racketeering and fraud mean that jobs are in the hands of vendors and not workers. Those who pay for work are killing the Nigerian productivity and economy. Jobs have become a racket that are now seen as a mark of financial and social attainment and status especially among the Igbo tribe. They are traditionally merchants and think that their money can buy anything. Unfortunately, those who created the civil service did so to compensate humble and hard working citizens and not Merchants of Venice. E ji ego ego akpata ego does not work in civil service. It is only for people in business. When you pay for a job it becomes an investment rather than a job. So how to do you work for a pay or remuneration when you're looking for a profit or gain? No way will corruption and graft go away from our civil service when we pay for employment. It also means that the best talents have not necessarily been offered the positions if they didn't have the cash needed for employment. Some senators are responsible for job rigging. Some claim that that they bring the salaries of the workers and will only pay their own 'staff.' All politicians and technocrats are guilty of this anomaly and crime. When you employ the staff of a politician, they are wont to inform you that they call the shots. No queries, no sanctions because 'oga at the top' is involved. Again, some use their office to steal identity of other people using affidavits and testimonials to effect fake identities. Who is checking worker identity and the use of one or set of certificates for different government jobs? Is there a database that shows if a certificate is being used by different people and/or in different government jobs? Fraudulent citizens and not just leaders are doing harm to the Nigerian economy and causing everyone hardship because of personal benefits coming to them. How many government jobs do you have in your possession? Alert bazaar or are you using a market woman for your palm pay?Paying ghost workers is not development, it is corruption. Every year the mass media are awash with vain jingles and slogans to fight corruption. Who exactly fights corruption when the leaders were themselves one-time accessories? I think Nigerians should have a WIN - Worker Identification Number - that serves everybody in public and private sectors. This should regulate job rigging.
- Vandalism: Government offices are clients of the Federal Government who are in turn clients of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Money allocated for development must yield the needed incentive. But when a mob destroys these properties, the people must suffer especially now that we are no longer getting much revenue from oil. When government property is vandalized, innocent people may pay for what they themselves haven’t damaged. This is done through raising tariff and initiating levies and fines. Train your children to control their anger. Protests are good, but riots are destructive. Who is government, your papa, my mama or President Tinubu? When his term is over he packs his bags and leave Abuja for his hometown in Osun State and you now queue in the sun for hours to get your PVC because one thing or another that has been vandalized in INEC office. Una go queue nah.
- Irregular Foreign Exchange Rates and Price Hack: How much did you buy a bulb of onion recently? A wheelbarrow onion seller is a millionaire as you see him. Some wheelbarrows contain two million naira worth of commodity especially onion. Why? Dollar don rise. Yes, a Nigerian trader of farm produce is also affected by the unregulated foreign exchange market. The farmer uses farm equipment imported from abroad, he relies on fertilizers such as fertilizers to improve his crop yield. Even if he gets dung from his cows, assuming he trades in cattle too, he must have his neighbour for more dung. Chicken excreta comes to him at a fee which he mustn't regulate. He pays for irrigation too. This unregulated price hack is found across all commodities especially petroleum products and FMCGs. Cost of transporting goods from the market to the shop is dependent on the realities of the day namely the pump price and the whims of petroleum marketers. Why do we run a country full of lords and masters, scapegoats and sacred cows? Even the Judiciary have increased the amount of bail. Did a magistrate court ask somebody to pay N30 million for bail recently? How much does the magistrate make for a living annually? Could he or she pay such amount from their own salary and/or savings? Yeah, people should learn to stay out of trouble. Right?
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