SERVICE AND ARROGANCE IN NIGERIA

Many business owners make their employees to understand the importance of good service delivery. Some even leave inscriptions on the walls to remind them that the clients or customers are the reason they are in business; the customer is the boss, and is always right. Many businesses went under owing to poor service delivery even though many attributed it to the activities of witches and wizards only in operation in this part of the world. I have also learnt that leadership means service delivery. But leadership here does not mean service. A leader here does not need to serve or be accountable. Even people in charge of customer service in different organizations do not really understand why they are there and so treat people (clients) like aliens.

 

Service in this part of the world is synonymous with arrogance. Some charged with service delivery are sexists. Some look down on you because of how you appear. Some make percipient comments yet their gesticulations or attitude show the contrary. You are left to ponder and wonder if these individuals do understand why their organization left them at the customer service section. Even the ushers in religious organizations and functions show similar traits. They fail to articulate that their actions and inactions can make huge impressions on first time callers. They discharge their duties in manners that depict arrogance and lack of understanding of what they were actually supposed to do. Most of them do not really understand that first impression matters, and may not have a second chance to create or recreate the first impression.

 

Many believe that those saddled with the responsibility of customer service in the private sector are far better than those in the public sector because of monitoring. Those in the private sector may lose their jobs if there are serious or repeated complains from customers. But in the public sector, many are even tempted to ask you if the job belongs to your father. They treat you anyhow showing you need them but they do not need you. Some times you are left to wonder whether they really applied for the job or were forced to come and work. Some would even ask you how much you think they earn from the job that would make them put so much into it to satisfy you. I dare say that any time you want to be insulted, belittled or even spat on, try going to any government agency for anything either picking a form, submitting a form or paying for any essential services or tax.

 

Leadership is supposed to be synonymous with service, but over here to lead means being in the prime position for the people to serve you. Public office holders and people in the public service do not understand why they are in office – to render service. Many things may never change until the orientation of service is inculcated into our system as a people. The peacock attitude on display at different levels may never allow real change to take place in our lives. Our problem as a nation or people may be half-solved if we can have people in offices at all levels who understand what service entails and who also can imbibe accountability into their day to day activities. The nefarious monster – corruption troubling our national life would be nipped in the bud if our youths are taught service and accountability. But teaching them may not be easy because they tend to learn easily what they see you do than what you talk about. Who will show the youths service and accountability in the present day Nigeria? Their parents or the politicians?

 

Have you watched any of our political leaders while they campaign before elections? Did you notice their pseudo humility and concern? Are they the same people who turn deaf ears to the people’s demands? Some times it is very difficult to understand why they change when they assume office but understanding that it was not your votes that put them there makes it easier. The attitude of most public ‘servants’ show that thy are not interested in the job but are there because their parents, uncles or aunties want them there and got the job for them. There is rarely any sign of passion or commitment to service and service delivery.

 

Have you watched our public office holders address the press or their people? Do you notice the verbal diarrhoea? Most of them talk like they are spending from their personal pockets. Most of them display no diplomacy in speech. Our former president while he was in office showed he had a fair share of verbal diarrhoea and was suffering from the hangover of military brutality. The minister of information who served under him in his bid to impress the Decider-in-chief was very uncultured while addressing issues. Who even gave him the D.G of the Economic summit group after all? The spokes person of our upper legislative house should try show he is there as a servant of the people. I recommend Diastop for his verbal diarrhoea. The image makers should try help the chairman of our electoral body on how to speak like a public servant. It looks like we do not have public servants any more but folks who boss themselves over the people. The rebranding team should look in this direction; rebrand the tongues and speech gesticulations of public office holders. Leadership is supposed to be synonymous with service not arrogance. Genuine public service, service and service alone can put us back on track.

 

ARINZE ALINNOR A.

 P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS.

 08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

PANELS AND PANEL BEATERS

When I was growing up panel beaters, mechanics and iron benders had their shops very close to our neighbourhood. We used to play inside their workshop during the weekends or in the evenings. We took them as people who work and know only about metals. Many of us could not differentiate between a panel beater and a mechanic or iron bender – we took all of them as mechanics. But much later we got to know that their works differ. A panel beater is regarded as the one whose job is to remove the dents from the outer frame of a vehicle that has been in an accident. But we need to redefine or understand panel beating from another angle.

Whenever anything goes wrong in an organization, a locality or a nation, a group of specialists are called in to give their professional advice or opinion about the area in question – a panel is constituted. The panel is usually known or named after the one heading it. It is no longer news that we have had all manner of panels set up in different sectors in the last couple of years. These panels were saddled with the responsibility of unraveling many things, recommend immediate solutions or antidote, or just make professional comments. It is rather unfortunate that over here setting up panels had been futile exercises owing to strong ‘panel beaters’.

Panel beaters are in the best position to know or describe the malleability of metals or panels. But our own panel beaters do not know anything about removing dents from the outer frame of vehicles that had been in accidents, neither do they know about the malleability of metals. Our own panel beaters can beat any panel set up any where around. They either do not make those panels sit, frustrate them or make sure the results are put in the trash can. Most of these panel beaters for fear of indictment threaten the members of these panels with whatever they have in their arsenal. The main issues are swept under the carpet and trivialities become the focal points. Even when these panels succeed in trashing major issues, other panels or committees are set up to sieve out any thing that might indict the panel beaters or their operations.

As panel beaters are in the best position to ascertain the malleability of panels and metals on the body of vehicles, the seriousness of any panel should be determined by the number of panel beaters and their activities they were able to curb or check. Before we give kudos to any panel, we must be able to analyse their activities while it lasted. We must know their basic assignment; what they were expected to unravel, the extent they went to unravel them, what they were really able to unravel, the use of the information and what they actually came up with. If we cannot boast of all these, they may have amounted to futile exercises and total waste of resources – human and capital.

Do we set up probe panels for discoveries alone? May be we do. All the panels set up so far in the polity and in different organizations had only made discoveries. We shout to the high heavens about their discoveries but do little or nothing at all with the discoveries. This might not be unconnected with the impunity with which corruption is perpetrated over here. The ones indicted by different panels either sued the panels for lack of competence or jurisdiction, refused to appear and nothing was done or bought over the members of the panels and there was no substantiated evidence against them. That informed the reason we have had and still have panel beaters around.

Who and who were indicted by the Okigbo panel? Where are they and the result of the panel? The Chukwudifu Oputa panel is another. Did all invited appear? Where is the result and who were indicted? Needless talk about the ones set up in different states and local governments; all were exercises in futility. Let us also put the power probe and the panel behind and forge ahead? The Uwais panel on electoral reforms was a gamble, a big joke or what? Should we resist anybody from setting up any new panel in the near future? I do not think so but we must dare ask for the results oh! Where is the freedom of information bill?

One of my friends would always say that there is no real movement forward without the benefit of hindsight. We cannot really make progress without addressing issues that had enormous potentials to haunt our nation in the future. The issue of panels and panel beaters must be addressed in the interest of the nation. Even though our legislators at all levels have failed to help checkmate some of these excesses – because they are amongst the beaters, we should wake up and demand for accountability from any public office holder. We should at this point ask the government and different agencies to make their reports public. We cannot really stop the panel beaters if we do not have the report of the previous panels. We need the report of the panels now to move forward. Freedom of information may help check our panel beaters.

ARINZE ALINNOR A.

P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS.

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

WHEN THERE IS NO LIGHT…

  

 

We do know that the difference between people is in what they know and what they do with what they know. In a seminar not too long ago, I told the audience that when there is no light there is no life. Knowledge or mental illumination guarantees clarity of vision and can help keep focus in life. While trying to buttress my point, somebody made a comment amongst the audience. He said that the difference between rural and urban areas in this part of the world is also light. He meant that the light in the cities (commercial activities, opportunities, exposure and electricity) is the difference. So when you are in the cities and they are lacking the things he felt are the basics, then there is no ‘urban’ life. His point did make sense.

 

 

 

During my days in the seminary, around 10:15pm we were all expected to be in bed. By that time, all lights are put off with the exception of security lights outside. We were not permitted to be awake to read or do any other thing but to sleep because we had serious study periods. At the moment all the lights had been put off in Nigeria and only the security lights are on. The government of the day had put off the lights. Our educational system is nothing to write home about. Many had said all manner of things about the striking teachers in our school system but failed to look beyond their nose to see the deplorable state of our schools at all levels. We have glorified secondary schools as tertiary institutions and they are not seeing anything wrong about that. The government should stop painting the picture the strikes are all about salary increase. It is a calculated move by the elite to put off the lights in our public institutions of learning and leave only the security lights (private schools and schools abroad even in Ghana) so that their wards alone would have illumination.

 

 

 

The light is very absent spiritually. Many claim we are very spiritual or religious but we are in spiritual darkness. How can we have light spiritually when our minds are not right? Religious leaders shout only to gain attention of the government. Where is the light when the churches and mosques cannot produce or instill moral values in people? Where is the light when religious leaders are only architects of religious violence? Greed and selfish ambitions are the by products of spiritual darkness. Many of the religious leaders went to missionary schools but cannot boast of any school or the ones even the average can afford. Many claim their religion is that of love but we cannot trace any love in their activities. The love of God is measured in our churches and mosques by how much you can bring in. How do we claim to be very spiritual, claim to love God who we have not seen, and yet cannot give or make life good for people we can see? This certainty may be likened to the era of spiritual hypocrisy and darkness.

 

 

 

When there is no light, people walk and work in darkness. Many policies have been tried by different people in all sectors. No policy is sustained, every new person brings new policies. We lack maintenance culture. Today it is regulation, tomorrow it is deregulation. Privatising today, and rescinding the decision tomorrow. We are neither here nor there. There is gross darkness because we are trying practicing democracy without genuine democrats. We are bound to be without light because political jobbers do not want to give chance to genuine technocrats to pilot the affairs of the nation. How do we expect light when leadership had become synonymous with corruption and illicit wealth? The stability we desire may come if we can have stable policies.

 

 

 

We heard billions of dollars had been spent on power but we cannot boast of steady power supply. Is it that our government does not know that many industries had gone under, while many are relocating to neighbouring countries because of lack or epileptic power supply? Is it insensitivity or lack of knowledge on the part of the leaders? It is rather absurd that people are still going about collecting titles, doing parties, granting interviews for doing nothing and their aides would come tomorrow pleading for understanding and more time for mediocrity.

 

 

 

When there is no light, leaders count paying workers salaries as achievement. When there is no light, political jobbers automatically turn to genuine democrats and diplomats. When there is no light, sports especially football and its administration is politicized and tribalised. When there is spiritual darkness, religion is all about greed and self. The light (education) is out, prison doors are now open. Armed robbery and assassinations are prevalent because of darkness within and without. There is darkness in the land, graduates are roaming the streets because the companies that would take them off the street are closing shop and relocating enmasse. Very soon our educational or mental black out would become total system breakdown. There is no light. Who will put on this light? I do not know. Check next door. May be someone from Ghana has the answer – our new Mecca.

 

 

 

 

 

ARINZE ALINNOR A.

P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS.

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

I.N.E.C OR D.N.E.C ?

One of the past leaders of our ‘great’ nation said he had always been afraid of two entities all his life. He said he had always been afraid because of the unpredictable nature of the two. He had always feared God and the referee. He said God cannot be controlled and the referee’s decision cannot be changed by the heads of state of two countries in a football match. Whatever the referee’s decision in a match cannot be changed or challenged by anyone in the stand. In the polity, I. N. E. C can be likened to the referee. But in their case, people in the stand can change or challenge all decisions concerning elections. 

 

Is I. N. E. C really independent or dependent on certain people’s opinions or gesticulations? In any football match, the referee’s whistle is obeyed by all the players even if they are from his home country. He coordinates the game with his linesmen, and all the fouls and misdemeanor are checked. Free kicks, throw-ins, and penalties are given when necessary. The conduct of the players is checked and managed by the whistle. He can give the matching order to any player who fails to behave well in a match to maintain sanity. But I. N. E. C has failed to perform the functions of the referee in all the elections in Nigeria. And the general perception is that I. N. E. C is a biased umpire.

 

 

Based on the findings and reports of the Elections Petitions Tribunals, I. N. E. C is not independent but dependent on gesticulations of the ruling party. Therefore, we should stop calling it I. N. E. C and call it D. N. E. C – Dependent National Electoral Commission. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is decamping and carpet-crossing to P.D.P because being a candidate at any level is as good as being the eventual winner of the election. The whistle being blown in Nigeria by I. N. E. C is only binding on the other political parties and fouls committed by P. D. P and aspirants under the umbrella are family affairs that I. N. E. C should not bother about.

 

 

For the fact that people in different positions would give some conditions before assenting to some things that are national issues means they know the piper or pay the piper. For some to give their automatic candidacy as condition for loyalty means we have had civil rule without democracy. It is also a clear indication that the votes or wishes of the people or their own party faithfuls do not really count. The Electoral body had shown also from the reruns conducted in the recent past that there is not one iota of independency in the activities of the body.

 

 

The legislators should therefore look into changing some sections of the Electoral Act to relieve the executive some of the powers that help in the distortion we have been experiencing. If going to recess without any tangible work would allow them, they should better still change from I. N. E. C to D. N. E. C – Dependent National Electoral Commission or P. D. P. E. C – Peoples Destroyers Party Electoral Commission. Let us have this change now before the 2010 election in some places and 2011 in some other places. For now, let us ‘savour’ civil rule devoid of the tenets of democracy but remain alive to fight the nefarious monster called corruption.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARINZE ALINNOR A.

P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS.

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

 

IS AMNESIA OUR PROBLEM?

 

IS AMNESIA OUR PROBLEM?

Recently, I was discussing with a specialist doctor and I asked him the commonest disease or ailment prevalent in Nigeria. He said we may name any other but a good percentage of our populace suffers from Amnesia. I argued that malaria seemed to be the prevalent one but that did not change his stance. If you do not know, Amnesia is a medical condition in which somebody partly or completely loses their memory. I thought about that for a while before he continued. He said if we are not suffering from amnesia that most politicians would not still be parading themselves in the polity and we would not allow most of the things that we do allow to happen over and over again. He said it is rather unfortunate that we do not know or perceive the developed democracies are not blind or suffering amnesia with us.

I am an unrepentant follower of Fela Anikulapo kuti. I may have repented from smoking hemp but not his philosophy. I do know that Abami Eda was one of the Nigerians who never had amnesia. Even when most people forget about happenings in the polity, Fela would never forget. I want us to covet this spirit of his at this time and put on our thinking cap as a people. If we do covet his spirit, then we can put a stop to many things that had been forced down our throat by politicians masquerading as democrats in the polity. Our problem remains that we have very short memory and foolishly claim to be resilient, having been adjudged by an ‘anonymous’ poll as about the happiest people on earth. Fela said, ‘we are only suffering and smiling’.

It is either we have amnesia or cerebro-spinal-meningitis which had caused us to be unable to turn our neck and see the very immediate past. We have all witnessed the carpet-crossing or defection of Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi from ANPP to PDP, Isa Yuguda and the New Face of Brutus (the New Face of Imo). It showed lack of character and principle. But we should not forget that our political parties are devoid of ideologies. Cerebro-spinal-meningitis had prevented us from looking back to 1956 when the first Action Group government was formed by mass depletion of NCNC to Action Group on the floor of the Assembly of the then Western House of Assembly. What had been done since then and now to curb this ugly trend? I would not rule out more people taking this path of dishonour in the near future because the cure to our amnesia is not in sight.

If not for amnesia or cerebro-spinal-meningitis how would we have had Obasanjo as president and commander in chief of the armed forces a second time at the helm of affair? Was it not the same Obasanjo that Fela sang about? The same obasanjo that Fela sang to the hearing of the whole world how he looted and handed over empty treasury to Shehu Shagari. OBJ whose Operation Feed the Nation metamorphosed into Obasanjo Farms. It was during Obasanjo’s tenure that we had ‘Ali must go’. May be it was not the same ‘Ali’ that later became the National Chairman of P.D.P (Peoples Destroyers Party). If it was not the same ‘Ali’, he would not have supported the third term bid of the same Obasanjo. Fela would always say, ‘Na dem dem’ syndrome.

The election in 1993 was adjudged the freest, fairest and best in our history. Though the winner was not announced, but recently the Professor who headed the Commission that conducted the elections released a book and told us what happened behind the scene. By that election, M.K.O.Abiola became everyone’s hero. As much as I do regard him as a hero, I am not suffering from amnesia. Is it not the same Abiola that Fela sang about in the song I.T.T (International Thief Thief) with the same Obasanjo? I was in the African Shrine before the elections in 1993. Abami Eda asked us a question. He asked, ‘Abiola-Abi na olee for president?’ – meaning ‘Is it a thief for president?’ He also said that Alhaji Tofa was ‘Too Far’, for president. Abiola only became a saint because of the stolen mandate. The same Abiola was dillydallying with the military and was swimming in wealth. The same friends in the military stole his mandate. Is it a case of what comes around goes around?

I wrote a piece many months back in 2007 – The Gospel according to David Mark. When Professor H. Nwosu released his book, we all got to know the key role the leopard that could remove his dark spots played in the annulment of June 12th 1993 election. The same individual who never saw any thing good about Abiola and the June 12th elections is our rebranded senate President? They all are beaming with smiles talking about democracy they never supported. We are all enjoying telephone services today but our rebranded Senate President was the one that said that telephone was for the elite only. I do know that Cerebro-Spinal-Meningitis would never allow us remember the case involving him and his wife in the United Kingdom and the millions of the Queen’s pounds involved. He is sitting at the driving seat of the legislative arm and the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ are having it. The leopard has been rebranded and the dark spots are gone forever!

Many people had been pulled down and assassinated by spirits. Spirits do send thugs or security operatives to arrest or eliminate in Nigeria. May be you do not know how potent spirits are over here. Pa Alfred Rewane was killed by spirits and you cannot trace the killers. Bola Ige was killed by spirits from Venus and we cannot trace them because we do not have spaceship. Harry Marshal may have been eliminated by angels from Mars and our Police were on indefinite leave when he was hacked down. Engr. Funso Williams may have died after a brief illness or the spirit of his ancestors drew him home when the party primaries were some months ahead. The Odi people were all killed by unknown soldiers who did not receive command from anywhere but went on their own? Extra judicial killing is no longer an offence in Nigeria? Spirits from different planets are really on rampage in our nation.

We have had innumerable probes panels from 1983 and now. Some of the probes panels never concluded their assignment. The Panels that concluded theirs submitted their reports and findings. But what was actually done with those reports? The resources wasted cannot be quantified with any tangible results. The people indicated by those probe panels are regarded rather as statesmen. If you claim you are not suffering from amnesia, then you may be in coma. What happened to the Okigbo panel report? Justice Oputa panel report was fruitful and useful? Elumelu-led panel were excellent but the hunter became the hunted. Uwais panel report was also excellent but the government needed to sieve out some relevant part of the report so that it suits the game plan. Our anti-graft agencies have all done well. All the people they indicted and took to court are up there collecting Agricultural contracts and are controlling the move of things in the polity without losing immunity.

The use and dump syndrome is very much around with us. Politicians had used innocent jobless youths in the past and are still using and dumping. Many are scared about the state of things in the polity but because of amnesia had forgotten that the past leaders sowed the seed that we are harvesting from. Most of the restive youths were ‘empowered’ by the politicians by giving them guns. We should also note that complacency breeds militancy. The robbers we are scared about today were innocent youths turned into political thugs used to win elections. They were empowered to terrorise their opponents then, and now even the politicians have become their opponents. So we should not be crying when we reap from what we had allowed the politicians to sow. Let us shake off this amnesia!

I do also believe that Cerebro-spinal-Meningitis would not allow us look back at slavery and the slave masters. The same way our useless chiefs sold our people had not changed in totality. Our people are still living as slaves and working as slaves. Fela Anikulapo Kuti captured it that slave masters worked and used Africans with low mentality to enslave our people. While people up there are busy enjoying their share of what they call Foreign Direct Investment, the people they claim to represent are working as slaves. They cannot even talk because they have collected their share or may still be collecting some percentage from the activities of those companies. This gives those companies the impetus to short-change the people and the system. Most of them evade paying tax, while some enjoy duty waivers. They sit back in air conditioned offices and apartments, leave one Nigerian figure head to aid the maltreatment and manipulation of our people. Most have lost their lives, some have lost limbs and some others partially blind without any compensation or health care package. If you think slavery had ended, visit those companies or stand by a corner on the highway and take a look at the kind of lorries or trailers that convey your own citizens to work or construction sites. All these we seem not to pay attention to or even remember just because of this amnesia.

Nigeria is about the most religious nation in the world. What is the impact of all the noise about town? All the rogues who had looted the treasury at different levels are regular faces in the mosques and churches. Many people had lost their lives because of religious violence. How many people are willing to lose their lives to purge the system of corruption and corrupt leaders? This amnesia is of a high magnitude-pathological amnesia. If a large chunk can be moved to kill and destroy properties in the name of a religion, can’t they be moved to make their leaders accountable? It shows we are not thinking, and that is the reason our actions and inactions had never ceased to stink. Paupers and peasants are the ones suffering this hypnotism by the elite. How many sons or daughters of the elite had been arrested, arraigned or prosecuted by the Sharia courts? Does it mean all their children are saints? How many of the preachers we have around today did not attend a missionary or public school? Their own philosophy about education had gone the elitist direction because corrupt leaders are the pillars of the churches and mosques.

If not for pathological amnesia, we would have had governments that are responsible and accountable. There were cases of plane crashes some months and years back. They made headlines in the print and electronic media. But the magnitude of the resources and human capacity lost in those crashes were infinitesimal from the stance of the government and their body movement. What steps have they genuinely taken to forestall future occurance? What was the report of the investigators? What do we learn from their investigation and report? The main question should be asked now. Have those families that lost their breadwinners and loved ones been duly compensated? Have we forgotten how most of us cried with them then? Why do we forget this kind of things in so short a time? We are always there whenever it happens but leave those concerned to carry their cross in a jiffy. I do not blame ‘us’ but I blame amnesia that is inherent in us.

Something is really holding us around the neck area and it does not allow us to look back-Cerebro-spinal-meningitis of course. We do not seem to remember that the very people who sang to the high heavens about Obasanjo and third term are very much around in the polity. They are warming up again. Very soon they would rent the crowds and begin to sing about second term of inactivity, strikes, confusion and zero point agenda. And we would also concur with our yes! Yes!! And yes!!! The ladies and gentlemen of the press might be bought over to sing the praise of those whose tenure had been characterized by strikes, agitations, pseudo solutions and self service. The amnesty granted without even any trial or conviction is a laudable achievement. I do believe that genuine struggle by the Niger Deltans should include taking good care of their people who had hitherto collected bribes or illegal compensations from oil companies and the previous administrations. Very soon those holding brief for government and the oil companies would be known and those who are genuinely interested in the plight of the Niger Deltans would also be known. It is rather unfortunate that billions of naira would soon enter the pockets and accounts of very few people in the name of amnesty while the area remains undeveloped. Amnesia can be more potent than HIV and AIDS! Like Fela would say, ‘Na dem dem’.

I am using this opportunity to call upon all our medical practitioners, alternative or trado-medical practitioners, in particular psychiatrists and clinical psychologists at home and in diaspora to come together and fashion out a medication to take care of our amnesia as a people. If this dreaded amnesia is not taken care of, we may even forget that we are a nation. This amnesia kept us where we are now, but the foreigners even those who reside here do not show symptoms of this dreaded forgetfulness; they follow our politicians with tact. It is time to covet the spirit of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It is time not to be forgetful of where we are coming from. Let us put on our reasoning or thinking cap. I have a feeling that our physicians and pharmacists may not come out with the medication that can take care of this amnesia in good time. So let us covet Fela’s spirit at this time of our life as a nation. Let us wake up and put a stop to the gimmicks and manipulations of politicians and pseudo democrats. We cannot move forward or go far with this amnesia. Nigeria would be great again if we are delivered from this amnesia. The truth is that only ‘us’ can deliver ‘us’.

ARINZE ALINNOR A.

P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS.

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

WHO IS SERVING WHO?

I looked at the school uniform of my little Precious, and saw the motto of their school. It read thus: “To lead is to serve”. It invariably means that leadership is synonymous with service. But if you take a closer look at what obtains here, you will find out that leadership is not, cannot, would not, and may never be synonymous with service. The slave and colonial attitude and mentality are still very much with and in us as a people. Many who work with white or foreign expatriates still exhibit some funny traits associated with slavery and colonialism. To many a leader should never serve but ought to be served and feared like he made the heaven and the earth.

 

There are some kind of absurdity that had stayed very long with us as a people. Many believe that a leader or traditional rulers authority should not be questioned, likening them to God. Everything they say or do is always right and in line with the rule of law. No wonder even fraudsters and corrupt politicians all want to be crowned or installed as traditional rulers. Many had advocated for constitutional roles for the traditional rulers. I am not against that but have my reservations. It is very true that authority without accountability leads to disaster. We have few or no role models again because of unquestioned authority. Many of them have different magnitude of problems with their subjects when their authority is questioned or put under check. It ultimately shows they are not serving the people but using the people to gain access to their personal needs.

 

I was pushed to ask ‘Who is Serving Who?’ because of certain things we see daily in the polity. Leadership had been redefined by all standards in Nigeria. Some say the redefinition was informed by the fact that most universal principles do not work here because of nefarious fact – the Nigerian factor. Someone very close to me said that if Nigeria can have civil rule without democracy being in place that I should not be surprised having leadership without service to the people. There is leadership without service because the electorate had been over powered by the ‘selectorate’. The only service noticeable in the polity is debt servicing. This debt servicing is not necessarily that of World Bank or any foreign lenders but godfathers and bank managers who bankrolled the campaign and election into office. This is reasonable service!

 

When leadership is devoid of service, dictators are having a field day. Let it be clear to all of us that nobody enters into any position in Nigeria to serve the populace. Do you kill to enter to serve? Many are in their graves today because they were seen as credible candidates by their opponents or party associates. Our expectation from people in office is questionable; we expect them to favour our tribe, state or community and forget anything about Federal character. We do not expect them to be accountable either. They should amass illicit wealth and convert

 

 

many government properties to personal properties. They should steal enough to

throw around as godfathers when they leave office and leave the rest for their unborn generations. We are not making genuine noise about them and corruption because they met our definition of earnest service to the nation or state; they took their portion of the cake that is inexhaustible.

 

Service to the people should deal with unemployment, strikes, hunger, roads, hospitals, schools and security of lives and property. But these things do not bother those occupying positions of power over here because they are immune to the effect of these. Their children and siblings are not among the students on strike. Their children are not among the 90 percent of graduates that are unemployed. Their children eat bread from the bakery called Nigeria while the children and the people they claim they are serving are all over the place in search of bread. People are complaining about collapsed infrastructures and it does not bother anybody up there because their families are abroad and they can afford helicopters when the road become serious death traps. They leave the Police to quench fire with bare hands; robbers with sophisticated weapons overrun police divisions spilling blood of police personnel and civilians around. The truth is that Nigerians run their own governments daily at their offices and homes; they have personal security guards, water boreholes, private schools, generators and yet pay tax to government.

 

Where is the service? Who is serving who? It is time for us as a people to define certain things very well. A journey undefined is a destination unreached. The people up there should know that leadership is a burden, not a blessing. They should be aware that complacency breeds militancy. Values have collapsed because of their inability to give functional education system. Let us look beyond tribal sentiments; the North has enjoyed more years in ‘service’ of the nation but their people live below the poverty line; 95 percent destitute and 5 percent mega rich. Is that the benefit of service? Until we address the issue of corruption, let nobody claim he or she is rendering any service to this nation. We just have ethnic champions using their people to gain recognition and eat the cake. No one is serving.

 

 

 

 

ARINZE ALINNOR A.

P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS.

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

Do we have a Future?

 

 

I have always heard that youths are the future leaders or the hope of tomorrow. Most countries invest a lot of their resources for the welfare of the youths. And many believe that the future of any nation is determined to a larger extent by the quality of her youths and not even mineral resources. But I do not believe that many understand or believe that the quality of our future can be evaluated by the quality of our youths today. If we do believe or understand this fact, our actions and inactions do not depict that we do.

 

 

Good leaders have intuition; they ‘see it’ when others don’t; they get it. There are those who naturally have this gift. They instinctively understand people and know how to move them from point A to point B. Even as children they act like leaders. The youths can be nurtured to see things other people cannot; they have the raw material and can be mentored. The youths just need someone to inform, instruct, and inspire them, and they will become good and great leaders. Without intuition we are condemned to be blind sided by events and opinions all of our lives.

 

 

It is very unfortunate that we have people who may not be gifted in support roles taking leadership roles. Putting these people into leadership roles is like putting square pegs in round holes; you can keep hammering and driving them in, but they would not fit. This can stifle or not guarantee any reasonable future for us as a people. Karl Max said that to conquer a nation you just have to block the transfer of values, morals, and beliefs between generations. What a father says to his children in the privacy of home is not heard by the world, but it is clearly heard by posterity.

 

 

How we spend our time and resources reveals our real values and priorities. How is the government of the day spending our resources? The government of the day is busy spending our time, strength, and resources extinguishing fires that if left alone would burn out on their own. May be they are expecting to reap the wind. Their actions and inactions point to the fact that there is scarcity of ideologies amongst the political elite. People who set goals accomplish much more than people of equal education and ability that do not. Two former lecturers do not even have set goals for education. What an irony?

 

 

The truth is that the political elite wants to conquer this nation. And they are succeeding by their blockage of transfer of values, morals and beliefs through education. They are making sure their stronghold on this nation does not cease even with their demise; their wards, children, and siblings are all in the best schools abroad. Their lifestyle had been very questionable because of lack of character in all they do. While the basic infrastructure and many other things are begging for attention, they are busy on frivolities; giving their daughters out in marriage, celebrating birthdays, taking titles here and there. They want to hand over a party before business attitude to the forth coming generation?

 

 

Authority without accountability leads to disaster. One nefarious monster that would haunt this great nation is corruption and the leaders are neck deep into it. We do not have role models in the polity because of unquestioned authority. What are the priorities of government? Priorities have a way of sneaking out of position when we are not paying attention. Too many of us only become successful at the cost of broken homes or failing health because our priorities shifting somewhere along the line. We just need to get our priorities right if we have a future as a nation.

 

 

From all I have observed which you may have observed also, without sounding pessimistic we do not have a future, if we do – a bleak future. There is little or no investment on the youths which form the fabric of the future. Education must be a priority if there is to be any future for this nation. Thoughtful, loving, productive, happy children do not just evolve, they are trained. How can they be trained in non-functional school system and with parents living pseudo lives in the polity? Let the government of the day not be anxious about the next lap, but should focus on the next step. Great future is a product of great investment on the education of youths!  

 

 

 

 

ARINZE ALINNOR A.

P. O. BOX 17985 , IKEJA – LAGOS .

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

WHO ARE YOU?

WHO ARE YOU?

 

Whenever we hear people ask this kind of question,our minds go to certain things. We presume immediately that we are being asked to explain ourselves from the point of view of where we come from,our parental background, our profession or vocation and some other personal details about us. But today, I am asking you the same expositary question from a different perspective.

 

We are going to mirror people from different points,at the end of which you can then answer the question “Who are you?” for and by yourself.The first kind of people we are going to see are people who watch things happen;spectators.Many people are spectators in the field of life and activities.They are never part of any move in the right direction.They apply the word ‘caution’ in everything.Many are in this state because of fear of failure. Many of them see calamity in every oppotunity.Many of us have at one ttime or the other gone to watch football matches in the stadium or live transmission on the television. You will agree with me that the people watching from the stands or live on television are only watching and not playing. But they seem to appear to know the rudiments of the game more than those playing on the field judging from their comments and suggestions. But they are only watching things happen on the field of play.It is not limited to the game of football alone but to other sporting activities.

In life, we don’t need to watch things happen, we need to be among the key players. Don’t let the fear of failure,being mocked or laughed at deter you from being among the players.

 

The second kind of people are people who ask,”What happened?” Many have died as a result of ignorance of whatever is happening around them or being passive in life. Many are ignorant of virtually everything,even who they are,what they can do and what they have got inside.They are therefore absent in the scheme of things. Opportunites are not recognised by them until they are gone.To them everything happens by chance.They are always behind in everything.When people are quitting outdated ideas,formulas and antiquated approaches,they are rather embrassing such ideas as being worthwhile.They are good traditionalists.To this kind of folks,information makes no sense.Many are never aware of change in policies of governance until they become victims of such changes. This kind of people considers reading newspapers,magazines and watching the news on television as waste of time and energy. They prefer asking what happened from people than knowing what is happening. Don’t be left behind in the scheme of things! Acquire useful information relating to your area of endeavour and other areas of life. Remember that success requires your decision to be active and know what is happening, but failure merely requires your permission by remaining passive and inactive.

 

The next set of people are people who do not need to watch things happen or ask what happened? They are the players in the field of life;they make things happen.This kind of folks take time to prepare,gather relevant information,evaluate the odds,ignore the odds and take on to the field of play.They are the ones who others watch or talk about daily.They are the people in the news.They make the headlines for their exploits in their fields of endeavour.These folks are not afraid of failure or starting small. They are usually the laughing stock of spectators when they are going through the rough terrain and the odds in their journey towards greatness in their different fields.They are determined,focused,resilient,and never give up kind of folks.They are not stopped by obstacles,they are rather built tough by odds against them.They see conglomerates even in their small ideas. They see victory in face of defeat. They see failure as delay and not defeat.They envisage failure as a temporary detour,and not a dead-end street. They believe in themselves and their potentials. Their learning does not lead to knowledge,their learning rather leads to action. They are men and women of vision and purpose. They are the folks that know that vision without action is a day dream. And that action without vision is but a nightmare. They are not afraid of taking chances. These folks have realised the only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try and the faith to believe that it is possible by them. Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to do but these players believe all that they really need is one reason why they can. These kind of folks have seen that business is like wheelbarrow; Nothing ever happens until you start pushing. These players are leaders in different industries who later become coaches knowing that SUCCESS WITHOUT SUCCESSORS EQUALS TOTAL FAILURE.

Beloved, the mirror is before you right now. Have you been watching things happen? Have you been asking what happened? Have you been making things happen for yourself and others around you. WHO ARE YOU BELOVED?

  

  

ARINZE ALINNOR

P.O.BOX 17985,IKEJA,LAGOS.

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

IT IS NOT LACK OF LAWS

IT IS NOT LACK OF LAWS

Have you imagined life without laws? I guess everything would have been chaotic without laws. It is said that life unexamined is not worth living. Laws to a reasonable extent make it easy for life to be examined. If there were no guiding rules which control organizations, their activities, and the society generally, disorder would be prevalent. Laws therefore form the basic part of what is holding us together globally as a people.

 

 I used to think that chaotic situations emanated from lack of laws but I realized it was not for lack of laws but lack of implementation of the already existing ones. I looked around our nation and got to know this, because if we are able as a people to implement and abide by all the already existing laws there would be relatively no need for the law enforcement agents. Many are still clamouring for more laws but I do not think our problems are more laws but ability to abide and implement the ones already on ground.

 

Whenever I hear about or look at laws, my mind is always on the symbol of justice. I used to call for reforms of our laws looking critically at the symbol of justice. The symbol of justice depicts balance, equity, truth and fairness. But it does not depict same in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the law makers and the law enforcement agents are above the law; the people are meant to obey the laws and they remain binding on the people. Our laws seem to favour those who are well to do or money bags. The people who are behind bars for minor offences far out number those who have committed grievious offences against the polity. One of my friends said that the fact remains that the politics of Nigeria consists of men and women who ought to be behind bars but are walking free not because of lack of laws but for lack of implementation and total adherence to the rule of law.

 

What do we tell a ‘serving’ governor who ‘made’ the law that his subjects should all register their cars but have unregistered cars in his convoy? Is it as a result of lack of laws? What do we say of political aides who turn trained policemen into house helps? What of politicians who use and abuse siren inspite of laws that bans the use and abuse? The officers of F.R.S.C and the Police do arrest, seize, or prosecute all motorcycle riders who fail to wear crash helmets. But take a look around town and you would see policemen, air-force men, army men and all manner of law enforcement agents riding motorcycles personally or while discharging their duties without crash helmets. They are either playing to be above the law or proving that the laws are afraid of them. Many law makers and law enforcement agents drive against traffic and even force law abiding citizens to make way for them to pass because they are more important than the people.

 

Now I know why Fela Anikulapo Kuti described them as V.I.P (Vagabonds In Power). Vagabonds do exhibit total disregard for the rule of law. So our major problem is having men at the top who believe that the laws of the land are not binding on them. I realized from John Maxwell that the genuine leaders do not raise followers but raise leaders, and their lives are like bill boards or sign posts. We do not lack laws, we only lack leaders. Looking critically at the laws of leadership and the principle of the lid, we should not be in doubt why the people in Nigeria think and behave the way they do. Occupying a post in the polity should only make you a servant to the people and not the boss. Wearing a uniform should not make you above the law, after all Fela Anikulapo Kuti said that “uniform na cloth na tailor dey sew am”. After reading a book on children psychology, I realized why it is difficult to force people into things. Kids do more often what they see you do than what you say. Government and their agencies should stop talking too much or holding blackboard and chalk seminars and get down to real business. Do what you want or expect the citizens to do. Play by the rules. Obey the laws, and the people would align without much effort. Nigeria would be great again!

ARINZE ALINNOR .A.

 P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS.

08033001782, 07029447342

arinze198@gmail.com

www.arinze198.wordpress.com

10 years of Demon-crazy roads?

10 YEARS OF DEMON-CRAZY ROADS?     Many had said that during the period we had military dictators in power that the voice of the people never counted. Now that we have experienced a decade of uninterrupted ‘democracy’ the votes of the people have never counted. Is it still a nascent democracy? A child of about ten years is no longer a toddler. But looking back, the last ten years had been full of intrigues and infantile activities by full grown adults who are only growing old and had not grown up. Anyone in the polity that wants to pop champagne and celebrate activities in the last ten years just want to celebrate mediocrity and should have the head examined by a psychiatrist.     Democracy is about credible elections and the power of the electorate. I would prefer calling June 12th 1993 our democracy day because of the power of the electorate in the election that took place. May 29th 1999 was just a day the men in Khaki pulled their uniforms and took on agbada, and handed over to their own who had pulled his Khaki before them. Fela Anikulapo Kuti had described democracy as crazy demonstration or demonstration of ‘craze’. Many learned minds have also described democracy in many ways than one. But I wish to add my own satiric definition of democracy. My own says “Democracy is a system of government when the polity is full of crazy demons and demons are crazy in people’.     I therefore submit that we have had ten years of manifestation of crazy demons in Nigeria. Fela Anikulapo Kuti said whenever he wanted to sing about misappropriation, lack of water, lack of power supply, mismanagement of resources, stealing by government, he realized they had become old news. I want to sing about demon-crazy roads and I do not know whether it has also become old news. But I will sing all the same. Since the last ten years, demons had suddenly gone crazy and they are on rampage on our roads. The demons were permitted by the vagabonds in power as Fela would describe them who want to handover everything that government ought to do and do nothing but still remain a government.     I was reading what Dr. Reuben Abati commented on the state of the Lagos-Ibadan road on the ‘democracy’ day but felt he did not quite ask to know the state of other ‘Federal’ roads begging for attention on the same day. I had my own share of the experience on our demon-crazy roads the same day. My own experience was not on the same road but on the Ore axis of the Lagos-Ore-Benin road. While I was trying to call a friend to complain about the state of the road and the terrible traffic we were stuck in, the same person called me. He said he was on his way to Enugu on the express and their tyre went off owing to a big gulley on the road. He said they dodged many of such but were unfortunate to enter one that was like a ditch. I was short of words. Many were complaining about our government and their being too far from the people and their plight. Many concluded that roads had remained like that because of insensitivity of the government officials who do not even ply the roads but enter flight. Though we took a few shots at different spots, my friend deleted most of the shots when he got annoyed at some point. We were at one spot for three and half hours. I was wondering whether it was not the same road our former Minister of Works visited. I would refer to her as the ‘weeping minister’.     Why did she cry then? Would it have been crocodile tears? Did she saw the crazy demons on rampage? May be she was weeping for serving in a government that shows insensitivity to the genuine needs of the people. The deplorable state of that particular road, the man hours lost, the lives lost, the many vehicles destroyed, should have elicited same form of concern from the government. One man said while we were stuck there in traffic that they are trying to formalize the concessioning of some Federal roads and that was what was delaying the repair or reconstruction of the road since the visit of the weeping minister. I told him to say that to the birds not humans. I asked the man, what else had they been doing since all their efforts are geared towards taking their hands off everything that they ought to do as a government? I hear many say the government had not been good in managing her investments and that informs their trying to involve the private sector in everything. Good talk! Who do we blame for inaction, mismanagement, and inability to take full responsibility on the part of government?     I was glad that most of the people up there attended the international conference on the ten years of democracy in Nigeria and they heard Collin Powell speak. He told them that democracy is driven by performance. What is the performance of the democracy over here in the last ten years? Pseudo fight against corruption, lack of transparency, lack of respect for the rule of law, massive rigging in elections, do or die politics, misappropriation of public funds, probes without results, genuine insensitivity to the plight of the people, black board and chalk seminars, policies for the elite, lack of political will to projects, impoverishing of the people in the name of poverty alleviation are all dividends of democracy. There is nothing to celebrate except demon-crazy roads. Strikes and scarcity of petroleum products in an oil producing nation are part of performance and dividends of democracy. God bless them for wasting ten years on personal and party agenda.           ARINZE ALINNOR A. P. O. BOX 17985, IKEJA – LAGOS. 08033001782, 07029447342 arinze198@gmail.com www.arinze198.wordpress.com