Muses on the Ese Oruru's Saga

      It is funny how the police operates sometimes  concerning the VIPs in our midst.  A case in hand is the  current case of Ese Oruru.  She was  abducted last August 2015 at the tender age of 13 years. She was abducted from Yenagoa, Bayelsa to Kano in Kano state. She purportedly changed her religion from Christianity to Islam. The last time I checked she was an underage ( at least in Bayelsa where she was abducted).  Yunusa , her abductor,  claimed he had married her and she had converted to Islam.  The constitution and the Child Rights Act however are explicit on the age of consent for girls which is pegged at 18 years even though these laws have (in the main) not been domesticated in the  North. This is because as a former Governor of Zamfara state and a Senator Mal. Ahmad Sani  Yerima said; once a girl has breast, public hair, and is menstruating she is marriageable e.  It is instructive to note the said senator married a 13 year old girl from Egypt.

     Sharia law  requires the parents' consent for a marriage to be valid.  With this knowledge it is therefore surprising that the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi ll, allowed the child to be kept under his roof in the palace for so long.  Agreed that he halfheartedly called for the girl to be released way back in September 2015 what he should however have done is see to it that his directive is followed to the letter and conclusively . After all, he is the leader of the Emirate and if his body language had shown seriousness I doubt if any of his subjects will defy his directive. He could have even gone further by handing over the said Yunusa to the security agencies.  Afterall, Yunusa had committed a crime by kidnapping and abducting Ese Oruru from her family back in Bayelsa state to Kano  state.  A leader is expected, at all times, to be above board and be seen upholding the law.  However, the buck lies ultimately with the police and the state security both which were aware of the case from day one.  They obviously knew a  crime had been committed yet they were powerless to bring the culprit to justice and also get the  hill released.  The  Inspector General of Police (IGP) was quoted as saying :
 "The Emir decided that he was going to mediate. But, because of his trip to Mecca with the president. That was what caused the delay. But now that he is back, we are going to sort it out as quickly as possible.” The IGP Solomon Arase further asserted that the release of Ese was dependent on the intervention of the Emir.
    Pray, is the civil authority now subjected to the whims and caprice of the traditional rulers?
This is definitely not good enough. In saner climes he wouldn't have resigned or booted out of the force for pandering to power and not upholding the law to which he was sworn.
  It was cheering news however, that the girl is finally on the way back to her family in Bayelsa. Thanks to  the #freeesenow movement on social media  and  the mainstream media.  This movement in no small way brought the plight of little Ese to the national, nay, international frontburner.
    I sure hope a lot of lessons have been learnt going forward. The family of Ese should be well   compensated by the  state for the unnecessary stress and trauma it was put through by the conspiracy of silence and the dilly dally of the security operatives. Punishment must of necessity be meted out to Yunusa for the kidnapping and abduction of Ese according to the extant law of the land.  This will serve as a deterrent for others who might also in  want to toe this ignoble path in future.  

Muses on the Ese Oruru's Saga

      It is funny how the police operates sometimes  concerning the VIPs in our midst.  A case in hand is the  current case of Ese Oruru.  She was  abducted last August 2015 at the tender age of 13 years. She was abducted from Yenagoa, Bayelsa to Kano in Kano state. She purportedly changed her religion from Christianity to Islam. The last time I checked she was an underage ( at least in Bayelsa where she was abducted).  Yunusa , her abductor,  claimed he had married her and she had converted to Islam.  The constitution and the Child Rights Act however are explicit on the age of consent for girls which is pegged at 18 years even though these laws have (in the main) not been domesticated in the  North. This is because as a former Governor of Zamfara state and a Senator Mal. Ahmad Sani  Yerima said; once a girl has breast, public hair, and is menstruating she is marriageable e.  It is instructive to note the said senator married a 13 year old girl from Egypt.

     Sharia law  requires the parents' consent for a marriage to be valid.  With this knowledge it is therefore surprising that the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi ll, allowed the child to be kept under his roof in the palace for so long.  Agreed that he halfheartedly called for the girl to be released way back in September 2015 what he should however have done is see to it that his directive is followed to the letter and conclusively . After all, he is the leader of the Emirate and if his body language had shown seriousness I doubt if any of his subjects will defy his directive. He could have even gone further by handing over the said Yunusa to the security agencies.  Afterall, Yunusa had committed a crime by kidnapping and abducting Ese Oruru from her family back in Bayelsa state to Kano  state.  A leader is expected, at all times, to be above board and be seen upholding the law.  However, the buck lies ultimately with the police and the state security both which were aware of the case from day one.  They obviously knew a  crime had been committed yet they were powerless to bring the culprit to justice and also get the  hill released.  The  Inspector General of Police (IGP) was quoted as saying :
 "The Emir decided that he was going to mediate. But, because of his trip to Mecca with the president. That was what caused the delay. But now that he is back, we are going to sort it out as quickly as possible.” The IGP Solomon Arase further asserted that the release of Ese was dependent on the intervention of the Emir.
    Pray, is the civil authority now subjected to the whims and caprice of the traditional rulers?
This is definitely not good enough. In saner climes he wouldn't have resigned or booted out of the force for pandering to power and not upholding the law to which he was sworn.
  It was cheering news however, that the girl is finally on the way back to her family in Bayelsa. Thanks to  the #freeesenow movement on social media  and  the mainstream media.  This movement in no small way brought the plight of little Ese to the national, nay, international frontburner.
    I sure hope a lot of lessons have been learnt going forward. The family of Ese should be well   compensated by the  state for the unnecessary stress and trauma it was put through by the conspiracy of silence and the dilly dally of the security operatives. Punishment must of necessity be meted out to Yunusa for the kidnapping and abduction of Ese according to the extant law of the land.  This will serve as a deterrent for others who might also in  want to toe this ignoble path in future.  

Demystifying Oil

The fixation with the Petroleum Industry by our leaders is simply mind-boggling to say the least.  The fact that a mono-economy has been shown to be a less than desirable state of affairs is immaterial to these set of people.  These leaders cannot be bothered that Petroleum has constituted more of a curse than a blessing to the nation. They still go  about as if our very being as a nation depend on the  black gold when the reverse is clearly the case.  I dare say without any fear of contradiction that without crude oil, Nigeria would have been a better country and a proud member of the world economic committee. We would be ranked up there with the world economic giants.
   With the avowed promise of President Buhari during the 2015 electioneering campaign, of improving the economic lot of Nigeria citizens,  one would have thought he would be proactive per the "oil conundrum." The first false step President Buhari took on assumption of power  is making himself the Petroleum Minister. This act, to all intents and purposes, shows that he is very much an "oil man." One would have thought he would have made himself the Minister of Agriculture to underscore the importance of the sector to his administration. The fact that billions of naira was budgeted to look for oil in the Chad basin is another pointer to the fact that crude oil still remain central to this administration policy thrust.
  At present President Buhari is in Saudi Arabia and later will be in Qatar on a week long meeting with the sole agenda of arresting the oil price free fall in the international market. This is coming at a time when the President's attention is sorely required at home considering the  current mauling of the naira by the dollar. N370 to the dollar for an importing country like Nigeria is enough reason for the President Buhari to stay put in Nigeria for now. Most developed nations like Japan, South Korea etc lack any sizeable mineral resources yet are wealthy through the conversion of imported raw materials into finished products. Rather than relying on crude oil Nigeria will do well to  invest massively in the agro-allied industry.  We have a huge comparative advantage in agriculture and common sense dictates this is the way to go. For our teeming unemployed youth the agriculture sector offers a veritable employment opportunities.  Figuratively speaking, what Buhari is looking for in Sokoto is right there in his sokoto pocket.

Wanted :A Visionary Leader

     It is a pity That Nigerians are still living on past glories. A nation that is a mono economy, whose main export is commanding a low price in the international market can I'll afford to live the way we are right now. People are going about as if it is business as usual. Looking round, one can see no sign of the sad turn of the economy in the everyday lives of our functionaries The National Assembly is carrying on as if all is well. At the last count oil per barrel is less than $ 30. Our naira is in a free fall at more than N300 to the dollar. It's southwards journey continues unabated. With this reality nonetheless , the Nass is planning on buy posh foreign made cars with money from the national coffers. With Nigeria's foreign reserve at a meager $29bn the planned purchases is one the nation can ill afford. Comparing this amount with close to $3bn James Cameron's film 'Avatar' grossed worldwide will give a scale of what the nation can make in other sectors when we really put our back to it.
 Opportunities however abound within the nation. Wither the groundnut pyramids, the textile industry, the real sector of the economy? Nigeria has no foundry industry to boast of. Since when was something invented in the country? The environment where excellence can breed is lacking. With a teeming population Nigeria should be coasting economically. However, this sorry pass we have gotten ourselves into was of our own making. Our so called leaders have failed us woefully. They've been superlatively lacking in vision and foresight. What you sow that you'll reap. This is an eternal truism. As a new oil producing nation Gen. Gowan, the then Head of State was said to have said money is not Nigeria's problem but how to spend it. What an unfortunate utterance as as at then a lot of towns and villages were still without roads, electricity, potable water, modern rail system etc, etc. This present parlous condition we find ourselves had been set in motion a long time ago. Where nations like the Emiratis where looking forward to a time when oil will lose it's shine, Nigeria was busy eating it's future. Those countries have diversified their economy to the extent that when you talk of those nations you don't think of oil but tourism, financial services and other allied activities.
  The earlier Nigeria invests in agriculture the better for everyone. I humbly believed that without the curse of oil Nigeria would have ranked high in the comity of nations. Where did the groundnut pyramids go, our cocoa, coffee. Our palmtrees? With our teeming population and our land and climate there is no reason why we should be feeding Africa, nay, the world. 

Wanted :A Visionary Leader

     It is a pity That Nigerians are still living on past glories. A nation that is a mono economy, whose main export is commanding a low price in the international market can I'll afford to live the way we are right now. People are going about as if it is business as usual. Looking round, one can see no sign of the sad turn of the economy in the everyday lives of our functionaries The National Assembly is carrying on as if all is well. At the last count oil per barrel is less than $ 30. Our naira is in a free fall at more than N300 to the dollar. It's southwards journey continues unabated. With this reality nonetheless , the Nass is planning on buy posh foreign made cars with money from the national coffers. With Nigeria's foreign reserve at a meager $29bn the planned purchases is one the nation can ill afford. Comparing this amount with close to $3bn James Cameron's film 'Avatar' grossed worldwide will give a scale of what the nation can make in other sectors when we really put our back to it.
 Opportunities however abound within the nation. Wither the groundnut pyramids, the textile industry, the real sector of the economy? Nigeria has no foundry industry to boast of. Since when was something invented in the country? The environment where excellence can breed is lacking. With a teeming population Nigeria should be coasting economically. However, this sorry pass we have gotten ourselves into was of our own making. Our so called leaders have failed us woefully. They've been superlatively lacking in vision and foresight. What you sow that you'll reap. This is an eternal truism. As a new oil producing nation Gen. Gowan, the then Head of State was said to have said money is not Nigeria's problem but how to spend it. What an unfortunate utterance as as at then a lot of towns and villages were still without roads, electricity, potable water, modern rail system etc, etc. This present parlous condition we find ourselves had been set in motion a long time ago. Where nations like the Emiratis where looking forward to a time when oil will lose it's shine, Nigeria was busy eating it's future. Those countries have diversified their economy to the extent that when you talk of those nations you don't think of oil but tourism, financial services and other allied activities.
  The earlier Nigeria invests in agriculture the better for everyone. I humbly believed that without the curse of oil Nigeria would have ranked high in the comity of nations. Where did the groundnut pyramids go, our cocoa, coffee. Our palmtrees? With our teeming population and our land and climate there is no reason why we should be feeding Africa, nay, the world. 

Pilgrimage and the Nation

    At the last count about 66000 Muslims and 30000 Christians will be going on pilgrimage this year. A whooping N70 bn will be spent largely by the three tiers of government. This is a sum of money that should ordinarily be spent on the real sectors of the economy. Juxtapose this with the latest news where WAEC is threatening to withold the results of 13 indebted state and the criminality of the political actors in this farce called state sponsored pilgrimage is laid bare. These are the same states that throw money into the Pilgrim cesspool. Government - sponsored pilgrimage is a scam. It is both a religious and an economic scam. It is a religious scam in that Pilgrimage is a personal journey and should therefore be personally driven. It is more fulfilling when a pilgrimage is embarked upon solely by the individual devoid of government sponsorship.

It is an economic scam in the sense that their is no known criteria for inclusion into the scheme. Everything goes. Inclusion is based primarily on political patronage. An exercise where public money is spent on a scheme whose inclusion criteria is nebulous should be strongly discouraged.
      Nigeria is by no means a spiritual nation (what with a corruption ridden landscape) but only a religious one. Nigeria should divest herself from investing in non yielding ventures but rather invest in sectors like education where the results are positive and can be traced directly to the investment. Recently the Adamawa government voted N200m just to pray to end the Boko Haram scourge. N200m voted for so-called 'prayer warrior s'. These are all laughable misapplication of scarce resources that the people can jolly do without.  It is criminal to say the least. 

Of flags and Correctness

     It is amazing the fact that seats (literally) of power do not show the proper coat of arms of Nigeria.The above is the picture of a Governor with the coat of arms on the back seat showing the horses in yellow colour. Sometimes the flag is shown with the coat of arms in the middle (of course with the horses in yellow). This state of affairs has unfortunately become the new normal in most state houses in Nigeria. The lecterns are also not left out.

They are most times emblazoned with this 'foreign' coat of arms.The horses in the normal Nigeria coat of afms should be white in colour. Can we safely say these public functionaries are aliens and foreigners? No wonder they don't represent the people in governance. If a student is asked the colour of the horses in Nigeria coat of arms and he answers yellow would you say he is wrong? How can our political office holders seat on chair's chairs with some alien coat of arms on the back. If these anomalies occur in such high settings little wonder that Nigeria is in such state she is. National Orientation Agency(NOA) over to you.

Of flags and Correctness

     It is amazing the fact that seats (literally) of power do not show the proper coat of arms of Nigeria.The above is the picture of a Governor with the coat of arms on the back seat showing the horses in yellow colour. Sometimes the flag is shown with the coat of arms in the middle (of course with the horses in yellow). This state of affairs has unfortunately become the new normal in most state houses in Nigeria. The lecterns are also not left out.

They are most times emblazoned with this 'foreign' coat of arms.The horses in the normal Nigeria coat of afms should be white in colour. Can we safely say these public functionaries are aliens and foreigners? No wonder they don't represent the people in governance. If a student is asked the colour of the horses in Nigeria coat of arms and he answers yellow would you say he is wrong? How can our political office holders seat on chair's chairs with some alien coat of arms on the back. If these anomalies occur in such high settings little wonder that Nigeria is in such state she is. National Orientation Agency(NOA) over to you.

Buhari's Difficult Job

     President Muhammad Buhari rode to power on the strength of his anticurruption posture.  He has been in power in Nigeria since the 29th May 2015 without appointing key officers to his cabinet. Till date no cabinet exists, which means the retired General is currently at liberty to exercise some dictatorial powers as it were.  This means the President has free rein to arrest the decay  caused by corruption on the Nigeria psyche.
 

The moot question remains: can the General go far in his avowed anticorruption crusade?  I believe the President is damned if he did and dawned if he didn't. The simple reason being that Buhari rode to power with the active support of some known corrupt personalities. Buhari was (and is)  supported by politicians of questionable sources of wealth.  To move against such characters is to open Buhari to a campaign of being an ingrate. And no doubt these powerful politicians sure know how to manipulate the media to pursue their narrow and parochial agenda. If, on the other hand President Buhari decides to go after the opposition he would be accused of selective dispensation of justice.  It therefore seems the President is balanced precariously on the horns of dilemma.  How he chooses to move forward will, to a large extent, define his Presidency. 

Buhari's Difficult Job

     President Muhammad Buhari rode to power on the strength of his anticurruption posture.  He has been in power in Nigeria since the 29th May 2015 without appointing key officers to his cabinet. Till date no cabinet exists, which means the retired General is currently at liberty to exercise some dictatorial powers as it were.  This means the President has free rein to arrest the decay  caused by corruption on the Nigeria psyche.
 

The moot question remains: can the General go far in his avowed anticorruption crusade?  I believe the President is damned if he did and dawned if he didn't. The simple reason being that Buhari rode to power with the active support of some known corrupt personalities. Buhari was (and is)  supported by politicians of questionable sources of wealth.  To move against such characters is to open Buhari to a campaign of being an ingrate. And no doubt these powerful politicians sure know how to manipulate the media to pursue their narrow and parochial agenda. If, on the other hand President Buhari decides to go after the opposition he would be accused of selective dispensation of justice.  It therefore seems the President is balanced precariously on the horns of dilemma.  How he chooses to move forward will, to a large extent, define his Presidency.