The agitation for the convocation of what some called Sovereign National Conference has been around us for a long time and particularly gained currency in the last ten years. Some of the agitators with all their political and intellectual pedigree still show a remarkable lack of understanding of the socio-political dynamics of the country, especially the intricate logic of being a country of several configurations.
There are so many issues begging for attention in Nigeria on a daily basis as a result of our peculiar configuration. In the fullness of all the issues that have occupied public space in recent times, we do not seem to be paying attention to details. The Bayelsa politics of old has been one characterized by fraud and corruption since 1999 till date.
I am still in the realm of the metaphysical, trying hard to rationalize a number of things that took place in the country in the last two weeks. I have seen strikes before in this country but not one that was peacefully conducted. I think the Arab Spring mentality has come home to us and gladly too because it will help mitigate the unmitigated powers of our leaders who feel they can sit in their cocoon to dish out choking air for us to swallow.
The so-called complete deregulation of the downstream sector and the removal of subsidy may seem like a purely economic policy decision, but it is so tied to larger Nigerian questions that it ought to be more rigorously debated, and government should make haste slowly. As at this moment, Nigeria operates a partial deregulation regime in the downstream sector.
I watched the punctured imageries of the so-called government induced debate at the Muson Centre in Lagos penultimate week, and I could see how difficult it was for the protagonists of subsidy removal to sell their unpopular motive.
Truly, we are in difficult times in Nigeria. Anywhere you turn, the responses one gets as a direct output of interaction, are hisses and sighs. Such dismissive conclusion isn’t the best way to show satisfaction.
The remains of Prince Bello Afegbua, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, will be interred today at Okpella, a border village between Kogi and Edo States of Nigeria. He had died penultimate week at Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo State after a brief illness, marking the end of an era and a journey that saw him dominate his environment for 80 years on this putrid plane.
The Senate on Tuesday gave an inkling of why Professor Chinua Achebe turned down his National Honours Award the second time when the Upper House raised queries about President Jonathan’s inability to confront the security challenges in the country.
One is getting unusually stressed up these days as a result of the very unsavoury news we get about our economy, politics and the future of Nigeria. Everything we do in Nigeria has a corruptive undertone; appointments, fiscal responsibility, allocation of resources, distribution of wealth, and appropriation of responsibilities, patronage, and general lifestyles.
