By nature all men are alike, but, by education widely different. (Chinese Proverb)
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others can not keep it from themselves. (Irish blessing)
Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop back. (Chinese Proverb)
Lawyers and painters can soon change white into black. (Danish Proverb)
Laws, like the spider�s webs, catch the flies and let the hawk go free. (Spanish Proverb)
Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons. (Aristotle)
The direction education starts a man will determine his future life. (Plato)
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. (Aristotle)
If you do not study hard when young you�ll end up bewailing your failures as you grow up. (Chinese Proverb)

very time I want to take a break from writing about the happenings in Nigeria, something crops up that will disturb my inner peace. I have a date with destiny that I must keep. My nature is one that will not keep mute when things are going wrong, I am one of the consciences of my generation (40-50 years olds) and will try to live up to that, no matter how inconsequential people think my efforts might be. I have a presentiment about Nigeria. I hope it will not get to that.

advertisement

Few days ago, the Northern Union presented their so called economic development blueprint to President Umaru Yar�Adua. (Punch September 19, 2007).

The leaders of the Northern Union led by Dr. Olusola Saraki presented the blueprint to the President, saying that the gesture is part of their efforts towards the success of the Yar�Adua government. What is the meaning of all this? When we were crying about the northern agenda, people thought it was based on unfounded fears. I want to decipher what the Punch Newspapers wrote as to know what they are upto. This action of the northern union is suspect and in bad faith. Why didn�t the northern union offer such a blueprint to Obasanjo when he was the president? The northerners didn�t know just yesterday that they are lagging behind the south or that poverty there is overwhelm. Why wait to present their ideas of how Nigeria can solve the problem of poverty till now that one of their own is in the saddle? The northern union as a parochial organisation should know that Nigeria does not belong to the north alone. Other parochial organisations from the other zones can as well lay such claim.

Before proceeding further, let�s look at the leader of the northern union. Dr. Saraki is the father of Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara state. The sarakis are like the Kalus of Abia State. The sarakis pigeon-holed Kwara State into their personal fiefdom and are doing everything they want without anybody questioning them. Bukola is the governor and his sister is a senator. Their father had the gut to say that the north is backward, but, did not say that he and his family contributed in one way or the other to this backwardness. Maybe, the Saraki family should tell us what happened to the Bank of the north and where it is today? Charity they say begins at home, Dr. Saraki should first of all, tell his son (Bukola) who is the governor of Kwara State to judiciously use the resources of the state to develop it at his own level by eliminating poverty, ignorance and eradicating diseases before bringing the bogus blueprint to the federal level. Members of the northern union are doing another thing in their states while preaching another thing for the whole of the north. They are hypocritical in nature.

Guardian of July 18, 2007 wrote how some state governors started subterranean moves to save their former colleagues from their trials by EFCC over their alleged involvement in graft. Those governors constituted themselves into a lobby group and visited President Umaru Musa Yar�Adua to save the necks of their erstwhile colleagues. They were led by Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State who with some of his colleagues is quite disturbed about the humiliation of their former colleagues by the EFCC. The Guardian wrote further that the governors noted that the handling of the former governors would affect the rating of the serving ones in the eyes of the public. Now again, one of the Sarakis led the northern union to Yar�dua. Something is wrong here.

Dr. Saraki said that the northern union played a part in making sure that one issue that has been causing problems in Nigeria is permanently settled, and that is the rotation of the presidency. Can you hear that? The North has being ruling since independence, then the eight years stint by Obasanjo opened their eyes that non rotation of the presidency has been causing problems in Nigeria. Why didn�t they say this when their sons were ruling Nigeria one after the other, that they knew during those years that it was a problem and still did nothing about it is disservice to Nigeria and a cheating to the southerners. I hope eight years from now; they will be singing the same tune as he promised that the presidency will move southward. I hope the rule will not be changed. The northern union was formed during the last months of Obasanjo�s administration with the sole purpose of making sure that power returns to the north after Obasanjo.

Saraki said that after eight years of Gen. Obasanjo, they thought that power should come back to the North. That they fought for it and went round the whole country; and he thanked God, they succeeded. Saying further that they felt it is their duty to make sure that this government does not fail, so that the common man will feel the impact of this government. What stopped them from initiating such move when Obasanjo was there in order to �help� his government succeed also?

Saraki told us that the poverty in the north is seventy percent, while twenty nine percent in the south. Everybody knows that these figures were like that more than ten years ago. How come the northern union just woke up in the last one hundred days or so that this government has been in office to learn that they have cheated themselves, their people and Nigeria as a whole, after holding on to power for so long and not using it to improve the lives of their own people in particular and Nigerians in general?

Saraki told us how they sat down and prepared a blueprint in which all the seven points of the present government were incorporated and that they decided to bring it to Yar�dua. Saraki did not offer any further insight on the contents of the blueprint. If their intentions are clear, why didn�t they make the blueprint available to all to read immediately?

Saraki added that the blueprint was �only a suggestion, an advice�. That is not true. Yar�dua will implement it to the letters. With flip-flopping as his trademark, the president has refused to be his own man; the northern union thwarted the re-denomination of the naira and is influencing the AG Aondoakaa to be making mess of self all in the name of rule of law. The Northern Union is the unseen hands controlling all the machineries of government.

Saraki said that they are only a small, very little part of the country, that what they presented to the president is just a suggestion for him to consider. Every nice thing he said to make their action look nationalistic in approach was just playing to the gallery and to deceive the eggheads. They are for something big; they have something up their sleeves. If you are in doubt, ask Andy Uba.

Yar�dua in receiving the report promised to incorporate the salient points of the blueprint into his administration�s agenda. Is he out of his mind? There is nothing wrong in taking nice ideas from others and using them to serve Nigeria well, but, he should have been guarded in giving out that promise, because, Nigeria being an ethnic conscious entity, everything goes through ethnic prism because the trust has never been there. I hope that if Ohaneze Ndigbo, South-South Peoples Assembly (SSPA), Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) or Afenifere respectively present him with their own versions of a blueprint for development, that he will also send them to his economic team to lift up the salient points there so as to incorporate them into his administration�s agenda also. Those in authority positions should stop creating un-necessary problems for themselves.

It is funny that Yar�dua sent the blueprint from northern union to his economic team for them to lift out the salient points as to incorporate them into his administration�s agenda, but, discarded a well thought out policy initiative from Prof. Soludo and his team at the CBN concerning the re-denomination of the naira without even sending the policy to his economic team for consideration in the first instance. Soludo is a renowned economist and the best CBN governor so far, but, Yar�dua rejected his policy initiative without a consideration, but, accepted the blueprint from northern semi-illiterates. This is an insult on our intelligence. It is outrageous; those in authority positions are going bananas and dragging Nigeria along with. What do they think they are doing? The Punch (September 19, 2007) wrote that Nigerians fault the suspension of new naira policy. That the result of an online opinion poll conducted by the Paper indicates that a majority of Nigerians do not endorse the Federal Government�s recent suspension of the proposed redenomination of the nation�s currency. According to the paper, Of the total of 762 online readers who voted on the topic, 441 (or about 58 per cent of all the respondents) kicked against the government�s decision, while 297 respondents (or 39.0 per cent of the total) supported the FG�s suspension of the policy. The remaining 24 readers (about 3.1 per cent) said they were undecided on the issue. We are still to have a �listening� government in Nigeria. They do whatever they like without taking the interests of the citizens into consideration.

I will look at development that the northern union said they are clamouring for their people in the real sense of the word �development� which is: The elimination of poverty, ignorance and the eradication of diseases. Anything short of these three words has nothing to do with development, but, can then be the artefact of development. The North has been all along acquiring the artefacts of development and erroneously thinking that those artefacts can bring real development on their own. The north should have known that building of refinery in the north hundreds of miles away from the source of the raw material, establishing car assembly lines in the north, establishing the military complexes in the north, establishing industries in the north even when they are not viable there etc. can�t bring development in the real sense of it. Development begins and ends with people.

In general sense of it, the rulers are to be blamed for whatever condition the north finds itself. In one of my articles, I wrote that the Northerners have been ruling Nigeria with the exception of Obasanjo�s eleven years put together and still they can�t improve the lots of their own people let alone the whole of Nigeria. Go to the North and see how backward they are upon their years of holding the political power. The Northern rulers are only experts in embezzling money and in looting our commonwealth, but, when it comes to using power to improve the lives of the citizens, they become dunces. It is high time the Northerners hands off from the Nigeria political power and allow the southerners to take a shot at the presidency for a long time so as to see if things will be different in Nigeria. We can�t be allowing the northerners to be running Nigeria to the ground every time; they should be realistic enough to know that ruling Nigeria is quite different from rearing cattle. There are enough intelligent people in Nigeria, even there are some intelligent northerners who can stir the Nigeria �ship to safe harbour�, but, these few will never get the opportunity.

With all seriousness, if the north can give Nigeria one of their own that is as efficient and effective as Nuhu Ribadu or El Rufai to rule Nigeria, I will not complain, but, will support them to hang on to power for ever. For me, it is not important who is ruling, but, that he or she is rendering the best service to the people of Nigeria. Afterall, what good is holding on to power, if that does not bring positive changes in the lives of the people?

Education is the key to success, but, successive rulers and the past northern governors did nothing to encourage their people to take to academics very seriously. Parents prevented their wards from attending schools and in few cases; the parents had to be entice before they allowed their wards to go to school. The rulers at federal and state level over there failed to give the necessary priorities to the education of their people because they want to continue keeping them in subservient conditions, as that serves the northern elites well.

Guardian (Sept. 14, 2007) wrote how Yobe State suspended degree courses in its university. That Governor Mamman Bello Ali of Yobe State suspended the running of all degree programmes and courses by the Bukar Ibrahim University, Damaturu, following the state's inability to produce qualified candidates for admission and lecturers to teach in the recently established higher institution. That suspension, which is indefinite, is to allow the state produce enough candidates and teachers to fill the admission and teaching quotas before the university runs its full-fledged degree programmes. The governor said although the idea of establishing a state university is for the development of education and training of more manpower, that Yobe State has been unable to produce the qualified candidates required for admissions into the institution.

Can you believe this in Nigeria of the twenty first century? While many qualified southerners are fruitlessly looking for admissions, because, of scarcity of offers, a university in Nigeria suspended all its degree programmes, due to lack of qualified students and lecturers. Am I in another planet or what?

Poverty rate is high in the north because the rich people over there want it to be so. They like to see beggars lining up in their compounds everyday for pittance. That gives them a false sense of satisfaction. Because of that, the rulers at all tiers of government do nothing to alleviate the sufferings caused by poverty. Jobs are not created for the people; the people are not empowered to change their lives on their own. What we see are beggars on the streets all over Nigeria, because, the rulers instilled in many northerners the idea of begging for alms and many of them know no other life than that of begging and will refuse to leave the streets for anything.

Diseases in the northern part of Nigeria are overwhelming. People there are still drinking well water in this century. People are afflicted with diseases like guinea worm infection, polio, tuberculosis, cholera, meningitis etc. Although there are such sicknesses in the south, but, only in isolated cases. The northern and southern leaders at all levels don�t have the interests of the ruled at hearts.

Since independence, the north has been struggling to level up. In one of my articles, I wrote that Balewa during his tenure was only interested in pulling up the Northerners from their educational and social backwardness so as to match the Southerners. He saw his ethnic group as being so backward and he made that the centre-piece of his administration. His administration was bedevilled with ethnic animosities and bickering that he hardly had time to improve the lives of Nigerians then. He was lucky that the infrastructures left behind by the colonial masters remained intact; otherwise he changed and added nothing except embers of ethnicity. He played on the fears of the Northerners and whipped up ethnic sentiments. So what Saraki and his northern union are saying is not new to us, they have been clamouring for it since 1960, they should go back and do their home work well. Despite the scholarships they award to their sons and daughters and the oil wealth from the south they are enjoying exclusively, they are unable to pull their people out of poverty, ignorance and diseases.

EFCC IS EMPOWERED THE MORE

The newspapers said it all; I will leave you with these extracts to show that EFCC is above Aondoakaa and his patrons� destruction.

Punch (September 20, 2007) wrote that the �Senate backs EFCC, doubts AGF�s ability�. That the Chairman, Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption, Senator Sola Akinyede, expressed doubts over the ability of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to effectively prosecute all the corruption cases. Saying further that he believes that it was because the office of the AFG lacked this capacity and because of the serious threat that these crimes had become to the very existence of our nation that these specialized agencies (EFCC, ICPC and NDLEA) were created, arguing that it would be a share waste of time and resources to deploy the nation�s resources to train specialised personnel to man these agencies only to have their functions taken over by another government body. Akinyede at the same time acknowledged that the activities of these agencies had improved the image of the country. In his own remark, the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, said whether people were willing to admit it or not, that the EFCC had perform creditably well.

Guardian (Sept. 14, 2007) wrote that �Nuhu Ribadu said that the EFCC is not answerable to AGF, declaring that he is answerable only to the National Assembly�. Here, Ribadu said that the EFCC was established by an Act of the National Assembly, which is composed of the elected representatives of the Nigerian people, that all agencies, not only the EFCC alone, that are involved in fighting corruption are answerable to the people and the parliament which is a body of representatives of the people. Ribadu at the same time, asked the legislatures to give the anti graft agencies the directive on where to go, as they were ready, because they will continue to do what the law says.

Daily Independent (September 20, 2007) wrote that the Senate resolved that the EFCC should prosecute, without delay, all persons against whom it has established cases of corruption, no matter how highly placed, observing with embarrassment the ongoing public dispute between the minister and the EFCC, and called on Yar�Adua to urgently step in and resolve the crisis between the two executive institutions in such a way as to preserve the undoubted constitutional powers of Aondoakaa to prosecute and those of the EFCC, which according to the senate, has been internationally acknowledged as doing an excellent job.

Vanguard (September 20, 2007) wrote that the motion to strengthen the EFCC was sponsored by Senator Lee Maeba (PDP, Rivers) and seconded by Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta South). Senator Maeba noted the achievements of the EFCC since its creation, observing that recent efforts of the Attorney-General to use his prosecutorial powers as established by Section 174 of the Constitution to interfere in the functions of the EFCC were against the public interest.

Many senators contributed either for or against the motion, but, these two contributions stand out: The vanguard wrote that Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South) gave bite to the motion when he said the injunction obtained by former Governor Kalu cited by the AGF was itself crooked because the injunction obtained by Kalu in an Umuahia, Abia State High Court more than six months ago was supposed to have lapsed after 14 days. Bassey Ewa-Henshaw (PDP, Cross River South) said the injunction being flaunted by opponents of the EFCC was itself questionable. He made an interesting remark when he said that �Abia State in the last eight years, seems to have had a factory for bringing out orders even if you have never been to the state,� in apparent reference to the white paper produced by the last administration in Abia State that indicted some prominent political figures, some of whom that have never set foot in the state before.

Guardian (September 19, 2007) wrote that President Bush of United States lauded Nigeria's war against illicit drugs and money laundering. The statement said the Federal Government has made progress on many narcotics control and anti-money laundering benchmarks. That EFCC has seized millions in the proceeds of crime, anti-money laundering efforts have been successful, and Nigeria is cooperating with the international community to improve its efforts against money laundering even more.

Vanguard (Sept. 19, 2007) wrote that President Yar�Adua is not amused by the current flexing of muscle by the Attorney-General of the Federal, Chief Michael Aondoakaa and EFCC, and has accordingly directed the Secretary to the Federation, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe to resolve the matter forthwith. The president delegated the role of resolving the altercations between EFCC and AGF to somebody else instead of him taking up the initiative personally as the �head� of government. That tells you a lot about the so called �servant-leader� that can�t take a decision of his own. Yar�dua has never shown any sign that he has the authority stuff in himself. I wonder who is ruling Nigeria. Your guess is as good as mine.

Yar�dua is still hibernating; he should come out of his shell. The �snail� of Aso Rock should come out of hibernation, the dry season is over and the rains are here.