President Yar'adua in a Coma?

Today is Day 24 since our President went for Medical attention in Saudi Arabia.
The President of the West African Bar Association, Mr. Femi Falana, has said that President Umaru Yar’Adua’s failure to formally inform the National Assembly about his medical trip to Saudi Arabia constituted an impeachable offence.
Is it impeachment now or how the man can recover and come back quickly before Nigeria collapsed.
Since Monday 14th December 2009, there has been fuel scarcity in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. I was extremely lucky to have bought fuel that monday. I saw cars queuing to purchase fuel in Marina, Lagos and knowing the kind of system we operate where information is heard from the rumour mill and people's reaction, i suspected fuel would not be available in days to come. We jump queue at a point to enter the filling station before the security guard shut the gate.
By the next day, it was confirmed that there was a misunderstanding between the independent marketers who import petroleum products and the Government agencies. The government decided to hold back due to the inability of the importers to pay off what they are owing. Who suffers? The MASSES of course. The masses are the ones queuing from dawn to dusks at filling station to buy fuel and diesel for thier vehicles and their generators. We were told to expect 6,000Megawatt of electricity by December 2009 which would have saved us from putting on generators. But that promise is not fulfilled because today 17th December, everyone around me is using generator. The noise pollution is what i am going to discuss in the next write up shortly. IN fact its deafening but we have to put up with those generators because we cannot stay in darkness. There must be light whichever way.
If you look at all the myriads of problems we have as a nation, then our President should not be sick at all. If he must be sick, then he should not leave without handing over to the Vice President. Now he's been gone for weeks and everything is grinding to a halt. Goodluck Jonathan is not Atiku, the former Vice President who always step in whenever the former President was away from the country which was almost every week.
The civil societies and some lawyers have been protesting the President's absence but that had not yielded any result. Femi Falana had taken the case to court and had on tuesday asked the Federal High Court, Abuja to invalidate decisions taken by the Federal Executive Council in Yar’Adua’s absence. He also asked the court to compel the President to formally inform the Senate president and Speaker of the House of Representatives about his medical trip and empower Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to function as acting president. Speaking with some journalists later Falana said, “Presdent Umaru Yar’Adua’s failure to write to the National Assembly before his medical trip abroad is a violation of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution. It is an impeachable offence.” He also lamented the statement credited to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, that Yar’Adua was in charge of the government, wondering how a man who had been admited to hospital for over three weeks could be running the country, “How can the President, who is on medical vacation and has not been able to discharge his functions for the past 23 days, remain in effective charge of this country? The statement is unbecoming of an attorney-general.”
Whatever is the situation, the Vice President should be empowered so that Nigeria can move forward. We are stagnated as it is. The budget for 2010 is another issue. What will happen to that. Electricity is not stable. The militants are getting restless as the promises made to them to surrender are not fulfilled. The econmy is being run by a man with vendetta on his perceived 'enemies' who opposed his being made CBN governor. The roads are bad especially Lagos to Benin highway.
President Yar Adua is not the kind of person that will be alive and not advise his aides to cause a letter to be written empowering his vice to act till he recovers and resumes. Why is the President keeping silence? Is he truly recovering or is he in a coma?
Nigerians need to know. Please AONDOKA, stop playing politics as this involves life. Lets know what is happening to our President.

Ailing President and the Attorney-General

The Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa said on Tuesday 17th December, that President Umaru Yar‘Adua, irrespective of his state of health, can carry out his official duties from any part of the world without being physically present in the country.
The opposition or the voice of the masses, Action Congress issued a statement through their National Publicity Secretaries, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and describing the story by the Minister as an attempt to deceive Nigerians with what they called ”his string of poorly-thought-out statements bordering on the ill-health of the President.” Other commentators described his statement as unfortunate.
Action Congress said, ”If the framers of our constitution had wanted the President to rule from a distance, it would not have dwelt on the need for the President to hand over to his deputy if he is proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to carry out his official functions for whatever reasons.Unfortunately, many members of the President‘s cabinet, in their desperate bid to ingratiate themselves to him, are ready to distort the constitution and even peddle bold-facing lies. It is particularly sad when the official leading such a campaign of lies and deceit is the country‘s chief law officer. The minister was previously quoted as saying President Yar Adua's ailment is 'minor', even when the President has been in Saudi Arabia for the past 23 days as at December 16. With his latest comments, which have not been denied, Minister Michael Aondoakaa has hit a new low.”
The party also stated that it was a fact that many of the President Yar Adua's aides and ministers are self-serving rather than being concerned about the sick President.
The Federal Executive Council is supposed to act in accordance with the provisions of the constitution by commencing the process of ascertaining whether the President could continue in office or not on account of his ailing health but the council members would not. They are only interested in personal gains.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa is one of the politicians that has benefitted so much from this administration and would not want the President to resign no matter how sick he is. But as the chief law officer of the federation, is he not violating the 1999 Constitution by insisting that the President has not done anything wrong in travelling out of the country for weeks without handing over to the Vice President?. He is constitutionally empowered to advise the President and interpret Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution as regard absentism.
The CNPP also condemned the Attorney General outburst and issued a statement. The following extract is from their statement ”CNPP is happy that President Yar‘Adua is recovering; however we are of the candid view that he should avail himself of Section 145 so as to enable him to recover fully, devoid of distraction from state duties; after which he will be back on duty.”
To them the fundamentals of the President‘s functions disallowed him from ruling from the Diaspora. According to the Constitution, the President should be holding regular meetings with the Vice President and all the Ministers of the Government Section 148(2).
”Does the constitution want the President to be in Saudi Arabia and his ministers scattered all over the nations and are holding the necessary meetings expected of them from abroad? Are they shifting Nigerian cabinet to Saudi Arabia? Is Aondoakaa saying that we should now compromise our sovereignty and allow our Aso Rock to be shifted to Saudi Arabia?”
The Attorney General should tell us what the position is. To me the man is full of inconsistencies.

6,000 MEGAWATT

The Federal Government of Nigeria promised the citizens uninterrupted power supply by December 2009. This promise has been given before but was unfulfilled by former administration so this latest promise was taken with a pinch of salt and we seem to have taken the right decision. We have few days to the end of 2009 and there is nothing to show seriousness on the part of government.
Recently, the Senate Committee on Power on Tuesday December 8, demanded to know from the ministry of Power if the December 31, 2009 target for the generation of 6000 Megawatt of electricity in Nigeria was realisable and the Minister said Yes. The Minister, Mr. Lanre Babalola was emphatic on their target even when the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Nicholas Ugbane expressed disappointment on the non availability of road map for the realisation.
While the Senate Committee Chairman was being 'confused' and the Minister was defending the huge budget spent with nothing to show to the people of Nigeria on power, Power Holding Company placed an advertisement in the dailies that they are now targeting 4,000 Megawatt instead of 6,000Megawatt earlier promised.
Why i said the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power was confused was because he that had oversight function over the Ministry of Power does not know what was generated and distributed to the consumers. 'I don't know where we are today...we have spent billions of naira on the power sector, what is happening?' This quote is the word of the Chairman and i wonder if the man that is supposed to supervise does not know, then what happens to the masses? The Minister responded to the Chairman's worries by assuring that the 6,000MW target is still on course and has not been jettisoned. The Minister said there are more issues to power than generation (as if we don't know). His explanation was that sustainability was mopre important. According to him, 'we are not only targeting 6,000MW but we are looking at sustainability. Without a doubt a lot of money has gone into the sector but the issue at hand is to deal with the whole gamut of generation and distribution.To build a transmission station will take a better part of three years without having major issues and the lines will take about two years. We need to build capacity beyond 6,000MW. We agree that billions of naira have been spent on the power sector. We have not jettisoned the 6,000MW, it is still in focus all things being equal...' All things being equal means that target is subject to other factors which is out of their control and that is gas which is being supplied by the petroleum sector. He assured the Senate Committee that discussions were ongoing with that sector to ensure availabilty of gas to power some of the generating stations.
Recently we read in the dailies that the total power generated by the power stations stood at 2,960MW against the target of 6,000MW. There is a serious shortfall in gas supply to the power stations from the Nigerian Gas Company.
With this revelation, is the 6,000MW target set by the Federal Government realisable? Time will tell because we have few days to 31st December , 2009.

Ailing President

Our President UMARU MUSA YAR'ADUA is sick. He is been diagnosed in a Saudi Hospital with an acute heart condition. The ailment is called 'acute pericarditis'.
In 2007, when the campaign train of the ruling People Democratic Party was going on in Nigeria for the election that same year, the Presidential flagbearer who is now the President was flown urgently to Germany for medical attention. It was the then President Obasanjo that was campaigning for Yar'adua throughout the period. Six months after he 'won' the election and was sworn in as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he sought medical attention again in Germany while attending the G-8 Conference. In 2008, a scheduled trip to Brazil was cancelled because his health failed and he had to undergo an urgent medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. He was away for two weeks.
Now, the President is in Saudi Arabia once again for 'inflammatory condition of the covering of the heart'. So far, he has made five trips abroad since 2007. This time around, it seems he may be gone longer than the other times. We wish him quick recovery after the surgery but what about the governance of this nation. Does the Constitution of Nigeria permit the President to be away for weeks without an acting President?
1999 Constitution Section 145
'Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representativea a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmit to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the vice-President as Acting President'.
In view of the above, the President did not 'transmit' any written declaration so the Vice President cannot act so what happens to governance as he's away on medical ground? Rickey Tarfa says it is a constitutional issue meaning only his personal physician that can certify the President unfit to govern thereby allowing the Vice to act. To him, Yar Adua being away does not mean an end to governance as he can governed Nigeria from any where. That is the same opinion of Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa.
Most lawyers faulted the statement and declared it is an attempt to trample the constitution of the country. Prof. Itse Sagay says the Vice President takes over whenever the President is not around because anything contrary to this will bring governance and the entire economy to a standstill.
For Mr. Fred Agbaje, Section 145 of the Constitution is clear on what the President should do if he is going away for vacation or any other leave. The only issue about that section is the duration that the Vice President should act. To him, a serious minded President should not be away for more than two weeks. We are all human and any one can fall ill so the President going away longer on health ground is allowed. But what happened to governance? Who signs the year 2010 budget now that the two houses have passed it?
When will our president come back to Nigeria? We are all praying because the Bible commands us to pray for our leaders. In the meantime who attends to the urgent state matters like electricity, economy, Niger Delta issues and the recently disarmed Militants?

All hail SWISS

Was I happy that Nigeria lost? You bet I was happy. Let the cheating Nigerian 'men' go and relax. Imagine the captain of Nigerian side claiming to be 17 when he competed in an under 18 football tournament in year 2002. The group photograph taken was published in Punch Newspaper for everyone to see. Why lie about age?
This lying about age in Nigeria is not new. In Ministries and Government parastatals, workers keep swearing to new affidavits every year to maintain a particular age. Some call it official age while hiding the real age. In football, it is called 'football age'.
This is dishonesty and it pervades social, political and now sports in Nigeria. Why would a young man who knows, he's way above the age approved for a particular tournament still goes ahead to participate? Why did his parents allow him when they knew the truth? What about the coaches and the technical team? Is the Nigerian Football Federation ignorant of the true age of the captain of Golden Eaglets, FORTUNE CHUKWUDI and another aggressive player STANLEY OKORO? Are the government representatives or officials claiming 'deafness' or they deliberately shut out the screams of Nigerians in order to justify the huge budget presented to execute the tournament?
Some call it sabotage and some call it witch hunting but whatever we decide to call it does not justify using over age players to compete in this under 17 FIFA World Cup tournament.
After reading comments of several people in the dailies and hearing sport commentators on electronic media, i felt sad for this Nation Nigeria. Most of the commentators blamed Barrister ADOKIYE AMIESIMAKA for speaking out against this fraud. Some say he is seeking attention while others say he is fighting back for being excluded from the several committees set up for the tournament. What a shame that the so called sport administrators and managers should see this issue differently and become illogocal to reasoning. Where lies our honour and integrity? Why has lies, corruption taken over and truth and honesty taken flight from Nigeria? Must we win at all cost? Is this a do or die affair? The former President Obasanjo said that the last election was a do or die affair and its being seen in every area of our national life.
I read a comment from a former player who said the problem of over aged players being fielded in tournament is the fault of the administrators. He said there is this mentality of 'real age' and 'football age' and since nobody complained, they thought there was nothing wrong with it. He said they were encouraged to play despite their 'old' ages and were even promised protection as long as they win matches. Is winning footbal matches the bottom line? What about development of the game?
I refused to watch those 'old men' when i heard the Captain is 25 years old and the other players are between 20 and 22 years old. Little wonder we perform poorly in the U-20 and the senior category.If the age of 25 and 27 play in U-17, then they will be 40 years by the time they are promoted to the senior side and by then, the legs are weak.
On the day of the finals, i prayed that their 'jazz' would not be effective against the Swiss and alas it did not. The young lads won and i was so happy for them. Let our cheating 'men' go jump into the lagoon.
Patriotism, No way.

NKEM OWOH, an actor

The militant of the Niger Delta in protest of the devastation of their environment by the oil companies in Nigeria started kidnapping the foreign nationals that were working in those companies to show them what destruction the communities were subjected to. They started with the foreign nationals and then some of the senior management staff of those oil companies. The militants resorted to this when it seems the bombing of police posts and oil installations was not getting the international communities attention.
The Militants of the Niger Delta had a reason for that because for many years, the Federal Government of Nigeria paid lip service to devastation in the area. The heavy pollution that left the region bare of cash crop and aquatic life did not bother them as long as the oil companies are paying royalties and taxes to the government. The people on whose land the crude was flowing and millions of Dollars flowing into "agabadas " (flowing robes), were neglected and abandoned. The land produced money but the people live in abject poverty. The oil companies workers are living in concrete building with clean water to use, electricity, social amenities, good and tarred roads while the owners of the oil are living in thatched houses with no light, no water and no social amenities.
These evil forced the youths in the region who unfortunately were unemployed and uneducated to take to armed struggle and kidnapping for attention. The kidnap of the wife of the head of the Lulu-Briggs family and the huge ransom opened a new avenue of financing the struggle. Did their struggle get the needed attention? Oh yes it got the attention of the whole world.
The kidnapping that the Militants in the Niger Delta started and the money collected as ransome became the new business the igbo people of the Eastern Nigeria has gone into now. No more spare parts and electronics. The kidnapping in the East is not as a result of oil spill that has destroyed sources of livelihood but for gains and quick money. First, Pete Edochie was kidnapped and later released and Professor Charles Soludo's father was kidnapped. Although Pa Soludo's kidnapping was politically motivated, it was still kidnapping for money. Why will any one think kidnapping of a fellow human being is a good business. Do they know the trauma that the kidnapped person goes through deprived of freedom? What wickedness!
Now NKEM OWOH, a popular and award winning actor was kidnapped on the Port Harcourt/ Owerri road last week and since then the kidnappers have been communicating with the family on the ransom to be paid before release. The ransom amount is so small but the nightmare he is going through would live with him for ever.
Please Nigerians, this is not business. This is a terrible siege on everyone and Nigeria will suffer for it. As it is now, most of those artists in the East will start relocating to LAGOS. Even the shooting of films in Enugu will stop then the people who were benefitting from that business will start counting their losses. The eastern part of Nigeria will be greatly affected .
Remember Christmas is coming. If this trend does not stop, then the regular exodus home of the igbos may not be witnessed this year.

ASUU ends strike

Academic Staff Union of Universities and three other unions in the universities commenced an indefinite strike on June 22, 2009 to force the Federal Government to sign and implement the agreement entered into with them in 2001.
The Federal Government through the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu met the leadership of the Unions severally before the negotiation broke down. Whilst all stakeholders were wondering what next to do, the Minister knew what next to do. He organised an expensive wedding and birthday anniversary that was the talk of the town for weeks. The creme de la creme of the society were present at the expensive bash. The Ministers children flown in and had a wonderful time at the taxpayers expense.
For four months that the strike lasted, the students were on the street wasting away. Some got part time jobs while some learnt new skill like computer programming, sewing, dancing etc. While some were busy finding tasks to keep them fully engaged and productive, some went into prostitution and armed robbery. For a few, travelling and visiting uncles and aunts became their passion. Whether doing good or bad, the students had free time that was not planned for to waste. This is not the first time that lecturers in Nigerian Universities would be going on strike but this was one strike to many.
The Union in demanding for the signing of this agreement, looked at the state of education in Nigeria and the deterioating facilities in the Ivory Tower that were crumbling. The agreement entered into covered funding, condition of service for Academic and Non Academic staff, University autonomy and Academic freedom.
In October, Adam Oshiomole, the ex labour leader and governor of Edo Stae, was contacted by the Federal Government to lead thier team to the negotiation with the leadership of ASUU after similar effort did not yield result with the former appointees. Both team met and finally decided on a two week suspension of the strike for the final stage of the negotiation
On Funding of the Universities, UNESCO prescribed a minimum of 26% of the annual budget of each nation to go to education. But in 2009, the Federal Government of Nigeria allocated only 13% of the budget to Education. This according to the Union is not enough to restore and expand facilities such as Hostels, classrooms, laboratories in all the Federal Universities in Nigeria. The state budgetary allocation to Education is even worse.
With proper funding, Universities would engage in research which is one of the responsibilies of tertiary institutions by Professors.
On the issue of autonomy, Universities will be in a better position to manage the resources available by utilising it for necessary projects unlike the appointed governments stooges and politicians who are intersted in stealing and wastages. Also the smooth and efficient running of the Universities would not be negotiated. There would be proper accountability, utilisation and transparency in all dealings.
Salaries should be such that young scholars would stay back in Nigeria and not all take off to America and Europe in pursuit of greener pastures. The brain drain must be stopped and the time to act is now.
It is a pity that our government representatives are not in tune with the yearning and expectations of Nigerians.
I pray this is the last time that universities would shut down for months. The damage to development work, human capital and the society is huge. I pray someone that started a four year course would finish under four years and proceed for the National Youth Service Corp. I pray our students would not be leaving for Ghana to continue thier academic pursuits. My prayers are many and I know God answers.

ADIEU MISS GRACE USHANG

When the news broke on sunday September 27th that a youth corper, Miss Grace Ushang from Cross River State serving her mandatory national one year service to her fatherland was raped and murdered in Maiduguri, i grieved.I imagined what she went through before life was finally snuffed out of her. Oh! what pain, what torment, what horror that the young lady was subjected to. Why would anyone kill another man because of religion or dress code? WHY?
I remember in 1987 the horror that almost happened when we finished from the NYSC camp in Zaria and had to stop by in Kaduna township to see my cousin and his family. I did not know he stayed at Badarawa village, a slump withn the city. Our friends took us to Kaduna and we ( my friend from school and the camp) highlighted at a nearby busstop and took a cab to the village. In fact my cousin stayed just at the boundary between the village and civilisation. In that hot afternoon in August 1987, the children had just closed from the schools around and were going home. We saw some mallams pushing carts of water containers and selling sugar canes in wheel barrows but we moved on hoping to get into the main street to ask for direction to my cousin's house. Just before we crossed the large gutter to step into the main street, the children acted as if on cue, bent and picked stones to throw at us. We were shocked and momentarily froze at one spot. Here were young ladies like Grace Ushang on National assignment from the southern part of the country in the Northern region being surrounded by children with stones and some had started throwing stones because we were wearing NYSC khaki trousers. Unfortunately the few hausa words we had picked from the language classes in the camp, did not help. God intervened. Two of the teachers in one of the schools just passed by and saw the scene unfolding so they quickly came down from their motorbikes and started shouting 'MAKARANTA NE, MAKARANTA NE'. Like a scene in one of Nigeria's Nollywood homevideos, the crowd that had gathered started dispersing slowly and relunctantly. The men apologised but we were so grateful to be alive that we almost knelt in the stagnant filty gutter to show our appreciation to the teachers for saving us from untimely death. That experience, that nightmare is still fresh as i am writing this.
Ours was a threat and we are alive to say it but the poor Miss Ushang is not alive to narrate her experience. What a shame. What an unfortunate but avoidable tragedy. Why would an agency send innocent people to areas that are prone to crisis and religious intolerance. Why waste a young girls' life so suddenly and wickedly?. Why must the ladies be sent to a remote and sometimes rural areas where there is no civilization for national assignment. Is it a must that Nigeria must be one? In all this, the innocent ones are the one paying the price for our leaders insensitivity.
May GRACE USHANG soul rest in perfect peace and may those criminals that carried out the dastardly act be apprehended by God and the police.

Climate change and Nigeria

Barely nine weeks or thereabout to the United Nation summit in Copenhagen, African officials that met at a special meeting in Bukina Faso resolved to demand billions of dollars in compensation from the rich polluting nations for the harm of gases in the atmosphere. This is because Africa is the worst hit of all the continents by global warming. Even the World Bank estimated that the developing world( most countries in Africa are developing or under developed) will suffer about 80 percent of the damage of climate change.
This agitation and many other activities all over the world show that climate change is about the most important issue dominating international and national discourses right now. Different regions including Africa are taking radically different positions on how to reduce greenhouse gases that cause rise in global temperatures with disastrous consequences. Some of the negative effects of the changing climatic conditions are unusually hot weather, rising sea level due to melting of the antartic ice caps, depletion of greenbelts etc.
In Nigeria, our government is yet to put plans in place to contained the effects of climate change on the environment and the people. One wonders what position we will be taking come December 2009 negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark when all nations especially Africa will be placing demands and asking for compensation from the rich polluting nations. Is Nigeria not feeling the impact of climate change? NO? We are feeling the impact seriously. The incessant and unexplainable flooding of cities across Nigeria is taking alarming proportion. Most states are crying for help as erosion had sacked communities and rendered millions homeless. Desert encroachment is ravaging most parts of the country. People are relocating, businesses are closing down and many are thrown into the labour market.
Due to the Federal Government of Nigeria lack of direction on this issue, the Governor of Lagos state, Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola said it was not a matter of choice but of necessity for every nation in the world to work to save our environment. Without the environment, there is no planet earth. The threat to the environment is a threat to humanity and all levels of government across the earth must act quickly irrespective of belief and convinction to save the planet. One of the effects of the changing climatic conditions is desertification and deforestation and the governor has embarked on planting and nurturing plants all over the state to combat that problem. The Federal government on its part should provide cheap source of energy so that the people do not resort to forest resources as their energy sources.
As the world celebrates Blog Action Day on climate change today, i wish everyone a pollution-free environment.

Mike is Winner Project Fame

MTN Project Fame Season 2
Season 2 of the MTN Project Fame West Africa opened with 15 unique men and women from all over West Africa who entered the academy. They are MIKE, the winner, Sametta, Tomiwa, Tarri, Nicholas, Deniece, Zoe, Savannah, Desmond, Madonna, Anis, Jennifer, Krimi, Damilola and David.
Mike Anyasodo, the 26 years old undergraduate of Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma, Edo State had right from the beginning stood out with his performances. But Nicholas was the voice in the house that got me captivated every time he mounted that stage to perform. That is a young man that is definitely going places. I would say the sky is his limit. I hope he would remain as focused and determined outside the Academy as he was in the Academy. Krimi, the ‘fabulous’ was another enthralling voice. She sure knew how to package and carry herself. The others were equally good performers though vocally disappointing.
After several evictions, we had five standing and ready to battle for the ultimate price and fame. The five were Nicholas, Madonna, Tomiwa, Krimi and Mike. The five had worked really hard to be there but Madonna had worked the hardest. To me, she improved with each performance and the faculty helped her a great deal. I think they were a bit ‘partial’ in saving her from eviction but she gave all to escape till the end.
On the D-day, Sunday 27 September 2009, the five stormed the floor with “We are family” by Sister Sledge. It was wonderful. The winner of the Project Fame West Africa Season 1, Iyanya Mbuk was in attendance and he performed his track “Love truly” to the delight of all. He looks more of a Model than a singer to me. I watched him on the platform Catwalk for one of Nigerians’ designer Joan, abroad. He did a collabo with DJ Zeez who is making wave with his song ‘ofokasibe’. It was good.
The final five then performed the “most requested” songs. Nicholas, my favorite was first with “Angels wings” by Westlife. The boy is good. The performance was absorbing, spellbinding and captivating. Everyone present was held ‘captive’ by this wonder voice. He got a thunderous ovation for his gripping performance. A commentary I read said ‘Nicholas has come full circle…it is time to go into the world and shine’. I agree totally.
Madonna performed the song by Bob Marley titled “Is this love”. Like I said earlier, she is the real discovery of Project Fame West Africa season 2. Madonna came into the Academy a rookie and left a STAR. Her determination and strength of mind paid off. She is turning into a professional performer.
Tomiwa, the older, unfailing and unswerving performer sang “Oju re a ja” by Lagbaja. He combined so many songs to make people singing along with him. People had fun dancing and singing along.
Anita Baker’s “Sweet love” was performed by Krimi, the fabulous. It was a superb performance. It was really brilliant . Even the judges sang with her. It was great.
Finally, Mike came along to perform Wyclef Jean’s “Diallo”. The audience sang along and the studio was charged with Music and fun. They call him the King of Swagger or showing off guy but you know what, he knows how to strut on stage.

He is always giving the audience a wonderful performance.
After the last five had performed and just before the results were announced, the 10 evictees performed “Le Freak” by chic very vigoriously.
Wande Coal was the surprise of the evening. He performed his hit track “Bumper to bumper” to the dancing delight of the audience.
After all the performances, the moment arrived for the results to be announced. The wonderful hosts ( did not perform badly) started with the 4th runner up, Madonna who went home with N500,000; Krimi the 3rd runner up got N1 Million for her fabulous effort. Tomiwa, the constant performer clinched the position of 2nd runner up and got a Toyota Yaris and N1 Million naira. He promised the wife a car and luckily he got one and he handed over the keys to his wife. Nicholas with his wonder voice was the 1st runner up and he went home with N1.5 Million naira and a Toyota Corolla.
The winner of MTN Project Fame West Africa Season 2 went to MIKE ANYASODO. He went home with N2.5Million naira, a Toyota Rav4 and a one year recording contract. Good luck Mike and may your reign be scandal free

My new office

My new office has done four months since it started full operations. We have eleven members of staff. Three experienced Management staff and eight greenhorns. I am one of the experienced staff having worked for twenty years post graduation. You know what, as i am writing this now, the twenty years post graduation just hit me. So I have been working for almost eighteen years. That is very intereting. What has happened in all those years? What is my testimony? Let me leave that for another day. The other management staff had equally done more than twenty years in the banking sector although one spent his in the support department of a bank. He is still being referred to as ex-banker.
My new office is located in Victoria Island, the elistist residential area that has been commercialised. Before now the street was being referred to as bankers street because most of the major banks' headoffices were there. We used to have Broad Bank, Allstates Trust Bank, Standard Trust Bank. Guaranty Tust Bank, Access Bank and other banks branches. With the consolidation of banks all those headoffices had been moved except two but the commercial activities remain. As the hustling and bustling continues so has the traffic congestion defied all strategies to make the roads free for use all the time. The complex housing our office is the worst for car spaces. When i started, i had to be paying monthly for my car to be parked inside but when the official car was bought, we had to stop that arrangement and even threatened to report the security personnel to the managers of the complex. Talking about corruption, it shows in every area of our lives. To me that was thank you for looking after my car but for my management that was extortion and they frowned at it.
Today, the Board had an Extra-ordinary General Meeting to adopt the proposal of the review downward of the start up capital of the business by the regulator. Prior to this time they had been several meetings of one or two of the Management and the shareholders on the modality to be used in handling the refund. On the Management part, we agreed that sharing of the money to put a stop to the incessant sharing of 'crude' by the Shareholders will stop. How can a new organisation grow if the profit realised is not ploughed back into the business? Agreed the business is a money spinner but cant we have a 'grace' period to accumulate before sharing the earning?
AT the end of the meeting, the money was shared out in the proportion of what was initially invested by each of the shareholders. You needed to see them all smiling broadly as if they had hit a jackport. They were really happy that their investment of few months that have been yielding so much profits weekly is still giving back half of their investment for use. Nigerians investors are not committed business men. They want to invet today and reap bountiful the next day. Infact,they cannot wait especially if the business is bringing in so much money. If it was a one man business, daily the vault will be empty because the owner would be going to "Owanbe" party and be spraying everyone so that the entertainers would be singing his praises.
I pray my salary is paid as at when due (28th of every month) and my bonuses are approved promptly and payment effected "kia kia" meaning immediately.
Keep you posted as i embark on this new terrain of meeting new friends and learning new things.

The return

WAO O O.
Its been such a long time to be away. I thought i would not come back. Its been one issue or the other and i kept postponing when i will start pouring out my thoughts on this blog. Anyway, a lot has happened, Barak Obama is the president of America, Africa is hosting the world cup, Samuel Peters has lost the world boxing titles over and over and Ajaokuta Steel Company has not paid their staff yet the ten months salary arrears. But you know what, life continues but for some it ended. Michael Jackson was one of those whose life ended suddenly at age 50.
Michael Jackson born August 29, 1958 to katherine and Joe Jackson was a trail blazer. He was a child of destiny. As a young boy he exhibited a raw talent that saw him become a great entertainer at age 5 and did not stop till death stopped him June 25, 2009. It was a shock to me. and the entire world. This was an artist that did what no other person can do by breaking down the 'colour curtain' as the Reverend Al Sharpton called it. His music brought blacks, whites, Asians and Latinos together.Unlike Ray Charles, a great and talented artist who had to fight throughout his life against discrimination, Michael used music to eradicate the barrier between whites and othe races. He actually dealt with racial discrimination but in his own way.
In the thriller album, Michael outdanced and outperformed the best and got the name the king of Pop. He became a legend. With fame and money, he became the target of the opportunists and greedy acquaintances who wanted a share of the fortune. He was sued for child molestation, abuse and even lookery ( looking at). He appeared severally in human and organised courts to answer questions on his relationship with kids. His friendship with them was questioned. Thank God that he had children of his own and even married twice if not the news would have been agog of his sterility and inability to be with women. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
The financial institutions in Nigeria are facing some hard times. I hope the global economic recession would not adversely affect our weak economy. The unemployment rate is very high as it is. If we cannot manage the economy then those on the street looking for employment would be more than those gainfully employed and that is disastrous.
The political situation in my country is really bad. This is a country where the constitution is only binding on those on the other side while the ruling party PDP does whatever it wants. They came with rule of Law but so far no law is being upheld.

Nigerian Politicians and Obama

When President Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of United State of America, Nigerians were amongs the millions of people all over the world that celebrated the victory of a black man of an African father over a white American. The wild celebration was due to the fact that racism was openly practiced in America and blacks were treated as second class citizens. To aspire to be the Pressident of the most powerful nation in the world was a dream which Martin Luther King had in the early 60s when he gave that speech, 'I HAD A DREAM'.
Barrak Obama, the strategist whose intelligence and oratory has been widely acclaimed shot into recogning with his approach to campaign. He simply relied majorly on the mass contribution of cents and pennies from the people who believed in him to the few corporate organisations with billions of dollars. He insisted on the cents to ensure a mandate of maximum independence and a true government for all. Obama came into power through popular and overwhelming votes of the people of America. And in his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the people for standing for collective governance of progess and development in every sector of their life.
With what President Obama stood for and still standing for, honesty, simplicity, good governance, it was strange to see those in power in Nigeria, the self styled 'Giant of Africa'angry that Obama did not visit Nigeria on his first and historic visit to Africa. Why will President Barack Obama come to Nigeria? Why will the man that came to power through a respect for the manifested will of a people and through a system that recognises the people's right to good governanace visit a country that just conducted a corrupt ridden election and whose leadership is to the highest bidders or to the stooges of the most powerful and corrupt godfather.
The level of electoral robbery is so high in Nigeria that the voters preferred to sleep at home during election instead of going to perform their civic responsibilities. Who would go and queue in the sun to cast a vote that does not count? Who will watch ballot boxes being snatched at gun point (as if they are stealing money) to be returned in the night filled with fake ballot papers and will risk his llfe. IF a Nigerian cannot tolerate such rape on democracy why will a respected President tolerate such abuse and electoral robbery. The perptrators of this evil in our land are those mediocres who call themselves politicians who are not contributing anything but systematically looting every kobo that is coming into the treasury. There are a select hegemony that have resolved to remain in power and have perpetual control of the nation. These politicians are selfish, unproductive, arrogant, shameless and bereft of ideas yet they are not ready to let go. They used to be two of those old 'cargoes' in the Nigerian political system, one in the west and the other in the middle belt. Fortunately for Nigeria, the one in the West died sometime ago and his political son was away from the country but the one in the middle belt is left.
The former President Olusegun Obasanjo said election was a do or die affair so all his party men started buying guns and looting the treasury to finance 'this war' otherwise known by civilised people as election. In the villages the elderly were scared away by heavily armed policemen so that the thugs can have a field day stuffing the ballot boxes with fake ballot papers. These leaders are mean and evil because in the process, innocent people were killed and they did not care.
Is this the type of people that our leadership wanted President Barack Obama to come and shake hands with? Definitel NO. I was happy that he did not come. I pray our current President will learn from this and approve Justice Uwais electoral reforms report so that sanity and the so called rule of law can prevail during campaigns and election into all the tiers of government in Nigeria.