Poverty Indices versus Reality

Also published in Daily Trust

 

The controversy that trailed the recent poverty rating of Nigerian states was quite predictable in view of the issue of credibility that defines the process of generating figures and data, which are supposed to be of strategic importance to the country’s overall sustainable development. After all, there are hardly any official figures and statistics including the population of the country and that of the individual states, which are accepted by all or even the majority of the people of Nigeria.

Playing with Fire

Also published in Daily Trust

Even though it hardly if at all makes any appreciable progress in tackling the current insurgency and general insecurity in the country, Nigeria, among some other West African countries, has been literally herded by France and its western allies into the increasingly precarious terrain of northern Mali. The mission is to fight a proxy war without realizing its security implications on its own already fragile security situation.

Not Yet Ready for a Change

Also published in Daily Trust

Sometimes I wonder if the average Nigerian has moral right to criticize the ruling elite, in view of his equally active contribution to the general mess in the country, after all I even highlighted the elements of hypocrisy inherent in his attitude in a piece titled “Our Collective Hypocrisy” {Daily Trust, 23 Sept 2011} Yet, among all the challenges facing Nigeria, nothing, including corruption and incompetence of the ruling elite, nearly makes me lose hope more than the average Nigerian’s apparent unwillingness to adjust to the new realities necessarily associated with the change he often craves. This is quite obvious in the way he resists any initiative aimed at creating some measure of social orderliness in the largely chaotic society.

Death and Politics

Also published in Daily Trust

Though politics generally involves intrigue, it is particularly intrigue-ridden in Nigeria due to the virtual absence of the rule of law, which makes power struggle often desperate. Aspirants and candidates jostling for power go to any length to get it, and those who manage to get it become even more desperate in order to retain it for as long as possible and at any cost. And even when they have to relinquish it, they still want to be succeeded by their chosen candidates to ensure the continuation of business as usual.

The Worth of a Nigerian Passport

Also published in Daily Trust

“These are to request and require in the name of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria all those who it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford him or her every assistance and protection of which he or she may stand in need.” Adorned with such a beautifully worded presidential note, Nigerian passport is presumably a very valuable booklet that is supposed to facilitate its holder’s movement around the world in dignity and respect.