By Denrele Animasaun

There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.-Nelson Mandela
It is incredulous that it took the visit of Malala Yousafzai, to wake our Jona to consider meeting with the parents of the kidnapped school girls.

The window of opportunity was three months ago and now he weasels out of the promise he made to a 17-year old. There is no amount of spin doctoring that can make Jona look lily white. The facts are there for the world to see:  on his watch, he and his administration failed and they failed spectacularly. The girls remain missing and there is an almost daily onslaught by Boko haram, with no end in sight of abating. All the entire world and our people witness from Jonathan is more posturing, lame pronouncements and no action.

To add insult to injury, he wanted to cherry pick parents who can see him, and he invited the world media. The parents did the right thing; they wanted all the parents of the missing girls to be present. Our president was not having it so he threw his rattle out of his pram with a mighty tantrum, very well echoed by his court ministers. How dare they, don’t they know who he is?

File: Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai  with President Goodluck Jonathan the State House in Abuja.

Enter his spin impresario, Okupe who declared that the refusal to meet the president “had become obvious that the campaigners were being driven by politics.”

He claimed that the motive behind their action was to ensure that Jonathan was discredited so that he would not be able to present himself for re-election in 2015. And so he concluded “My priority is not politics. My priority is the return of these girls”. Try telling that to the parents of the missing girls. My, My  here we go again, it is  all about  2015,not about the children nor their parents or Nigerians and millions of concerned people worldwide. As for discrediting and sullying, the big honcho, no help is needed, he is making this on his own with the help of his advisers.

Apparently, one politician declared that Nigerians can be bought for N10, 000 and a bag of rice! Roll on 2015.
Sir, you are not fit to lead. Get out!

One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.” — Nelson Mandela

I am not sure the people of Adamawa State will recover fully from the bungling, avaricious, Lothario pimpernel, Murtala Nyako. His impeachment couldn’t have come soon enough. In fact, this man was not fit for office from the word go. He fuelled his contemptible lifestyle by siphoning the state coffers, misdirecting official funds and cooking the books while the house and the government watched.

This man should be arrested and frog marched to jail while the law deliberate on a worthy sentence to fit his crime. He did not put his people first as he should, he starves his people by withholding their salary for months. He should be made to apologise to his state and the country for the conduct.

But then, this is Nigeria. Speaking at his swearing in, the Acting Governor, Umaru Fintiri has promised to bring back the “state out of Darkness”. He promises to pay the outstanding two months salaries owed the civil servants in the state by ousted Governor of the state. And he went on: “The civil servants will get all their entitlements and benefits including the two months salaries they are yet to receive”.

Mr Panny Boga, a member of the Save Adamawa Group, said of the impeachment: “is long overdue and the best thing that has happened to Adamawa State”. He said that the former governor was handed an impeachment notice “only that this time around it succeeded”. And he insists that “the man was a failure”.

Obviously politics and the pending election is at the centre of everything as the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, warned the PDP-led Federal Government against what he described as ”excessive use of power”.

He did not think the impeachment was good for decent democratic practice. Try telling that to the thousands of civil servants who went without pay for months! When will we learn that when something or someone is wrong, it is wrong, no matter whom it is. This country is riddled with rotten politicians and people so it is hardly surprising that his cronies, the chairman of the APC Governors Forum, Mr Rochas Okorocha, waded in “that the impeachment of the governor was not what the country needed at a period it is faced with serious security challenges”. Is he for real?

Governor Okorocha said, “What the nation needs most this time should be ideas, unity of purpose and patriotism to deal decisively with the lingering security problems threatening our nationhood and not actions that would further inject bad blood among the leaders of this country and the citizenry in general”. What are these people on?

Make hay while the sun shines

According to the Bank of America Corp, the U.S. will remain the world’s biggest oil producer this year after overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia as extraction of energy from shale rock spurs the nation’s economic recovery. Can someone tell our politicians that we can no longer rely on our oil wells and that we need to diversify? They can no longer continue to squander our future commonwealth.

Osun State indigenes in the diaspora
In the UK, the group have launched a website and app to serve as a repository of talents and expertise. The app and the aptly named website, OMOLUABI in Diaspora is to assist both public and private entities engaged in the development of Osun State by making available a pool of professionals and experts of Osun origin in the diaspora.

This will also be bolstered by Non-Osun indigenes, friends and well-wishers of the State who have continued to keep a keen eye on the immense developmental programme being carried out under the leadership of Ogbeni AbdurRauf Aregbesola. “This is quite innovative and it ties in perfectly well with Gov. Aregbesola’s plans of taking Osun State to the next level technologically” according to the coordinator, Abdul Rasaq in the UK. He concluded that with the app “It means volunteers, consultants and experts who would be willing to contribute their own quota to the development of the state are only a click away”.

Mail bag-Osun: let the people decide
I just finished reading your weekly OUTSIDE LOOKING IN in today’s Vanguard Newspaper titled “Osun: Let the people decide”.

You are totally correct for saying that August 9 election is all about the future of those of us in Osun. And I can tell you that we’ll do the `right thing when the time comes. Similarly, I want to thank you for pointing out Ogbeni giant strides in all ramifications for all the doubting Thomases to see. Permit me also to tell you that I’m from Iwo. Thank you very much for being on the right side of history, God bless you.

Aduralere Olugbenga