By Denrele Animasaun
“Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others.”- Plato
They say bad news travel fast and in Nigeria, bad news travels in supersonic. It is a fact that bad news sells and many people seem hungry for the latest bad news. Nowadays it is expected to always expect shocking bad news. It was a running joke when I was growing up because we had irregular power outage, so we say NEPA-Never expect power always. Nothing has changed and now it seems that people never expect good news always. The trouble with bad news is, it appears that there is no saturation point, it seeps into greater depth and unfortunately, for those who feed on regular bad and tragic news, they are always on the lookout for more bad news. If they do not get some, they are like junkies, looking for their next hit or they start going old turkey. This pattern affects the psyche of the nation and it affects the health of its citizens. When one is living in a state of anxiety for so long, which many people in Nigeria are with money worries, lack of proper and adequate healthcare, high unemployment rate, kidnappings, insecurities, high corruption rate, high poverty rate and the list goes on, it is bound to have a knock on effect on everyday life and living and to have gone on for as long as it has, it is remarkable how people have been able to carry on. Nigerians are resilient but it is not fair to expect people to continue to go on in this manner for so long. One of the hallmarks of a Nigerian is being fatalistic and always accepting things the way they are. It should not be, we should expect better and strive for better.
So here is the good and bad news- we make our own good or bad fortune. Time to stop acting like victims, the time to work together and grow together is now. Like karma, you reap what you sow. We make our own good news.
So here is some good news. Nigeria is coming out of recession. The nation’s external reserve has risen from $260 million to $30.6 billion and according to the CBN; the reserve rose from $30.3 billion at the end of March to $30.6 billion as at today, and the reserve has risen by $4.8 billion since the beginning of 2017. In Yola, Waste to wealth recycle programme has helped over 300 women become entrepreneurs. The women are collecting used plastic bags and creating crafts from recycled plastic bags and other products. They are making a living, sending their children to school, feeding their families and helping their community by regenerating the local economy. Slowly but gradually, the internally displaced are returning to their homes and are being assisted to resettle. Boko Haram has lost its grip on power and the Nigerian armed forces have done a sterling job to rid the nation of these nefarious rebels without a cause.
Lagos State kicked off a 50 day extravaganza golden jubilee celebration of the state. There is much to celebrate in Lagos State and nothing better than showcasing its many talents, traditions and diversity.
Osun State generously laid out its free annual train journey for people going home for Easter.
In the US, Apple has bought an App by Nigeria’s Chinedu Echeruo’s HopStop.com. And according to The Wall Street Journal’s publication, AllThingsDigital, though the deal has not been disclosed officially, it is reported that it may have fetched a cool $1 billion. Echeruo, a product of Kings College, Lagos and a former analyst at investment banks and hedge funds, who founded HopStop, is now chairman of the Board for the app firm.
Several states are creating employment for young people and offering set up funds for small businesses to stimulate the economy. This has been a long time coming. Our young people are paving way in new and innovative digital business and in music. They are putting Nigeria on the map and for the right reasons. Of course, the President has promised to clean up corruption and the results are there for everyone to see. The EFCC has a herculean task to ferret out the buried and siphoned loot from the greedy hands of the poli-looters. Yes, it is time to take out the trash and make the time suit the crime. These thieves in fine clothing deserve to be locked up for a very long time. There should be a stringent deterrent that crime does not pay. The recovered money has to be used and accounted for legally and administratively for the general good; better and affordable schools, employment, training, free school meals, affordable health care, better equipped high institutions, better roads and public amenities. These are not pipe dreams, in my lifetime I experienced all these so it is not too much to ask that our children and future generations are beneficiaries of such opportunities.
Corruption is Corruption.
Contrary to what the former president, Jonathan said “that there is no corruption but mere stealing in Nigeria” I vehemently disagree.We should never declassify corruption. Corruption is not cursory appellation of stealing, not then and definitely not now. We are where we are, because some people thought it was all right to take what does not belong to them because they felt entitled. It has never been a case of mere stealing and, by the way, stealing is stealing, be it big or small. It is wrong to take what does not belong to you and the fact that they abused their power for personal gain is reprehensible.
Normalising corruption is the bane of what is fundamentally wrong with Nigerians today. Anyone found with their snouts in the trough deserves to have the full weight of the law thrown at them and their expulsion from public office should be for life once found guilty at home and abroad. If Nigeria is to work, there cannot be one law for the guilty and affluent and another for the poor and marginalised.
Buhari has promised to rid the nation of corrupt practices across the board so that Nigeria can work and its people can thrive. So those who are rumbling and making snide remarks where were they when the bullion van was distributing money to the greedy looters? What is happening in Nigeria is unprecedented, never in the history of any nation as so much money been flushed out from many unexpected places. So if they don’t have positive contribution to make can they please keep their trap shut and let PMB get on with the programme.
I expect it will be in the best interest of Jona if he does not wade into the affray, he will get enough time to answer when he is called in by the EFCC. He would need to explain why under his watch, many people in his cabinet got stupendously rich on the nation’s commonwealth. He has said on several occasions that he was not aware that corruption was rife in his administration.
And besides, he tells those who care to listen that he fought a crusade on corruption. Of course, he did.
The law should be fair.
“However long the night, the dawn will break.” – Hausa proverb
I was sent the information that a 23-year-old man called Tope Abiodun, has been sentenced to death by hanging by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for stealing an android LG phone valued at N87, 000. He committed the crime when he was 18yrs old and admitted he stole so as to feed his younger siblings. If we hang a common phone thief, then what do we do to those who steal billions. His crime does not fit level of his sentence.
Spy master, criminal
“If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.”- Socrates
Spy chief Ayo Oke has been suspended after anti-corruption officers found more than $43m (£34m) in a flat in Ikoyi, Lagos. PMB has ordered an immediate investigation into how the spy agency headed by Mr Oke came into possession of the money. Oke is yet to comment but according to unnamed intelligence officials, apparently the money was kept in the flat for covert operations. Mr Oke remains suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, it said.
Covert money! Yes! Pull the other one, it’s got bells on.
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