One could feel the anger and the frustration behind each text message we received on our piece on how fuel pumps attendants short-change customers. Maybe many of us are still smarting from the recent hefty fuel hike, and the current exorbitant costs of kerosene and diesel; or perhaps just the stress of having to cope with many things that don’t work in our beloved country. However, everyone who wrote in was displeased with all the fuel-related problems we have to endure.

Mrs. Anne Lawal is the Senior Programme Officer of Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, a non-governmental organization in the forefront of promoting the rights of women and girls. She spoke with Vista Woman recently in commemoration of the year 2012 International Women’s Day, highlighting progress made on issues affecting women and girls. Her words:

When the new acting Inspector General of Police, IGP, first ordered the numerous police check-points, nationwide, to be dismantled, few people believed him. To be candid, I never did; and for good reason. Every IGP since Babangida’s administration, had announced that those illegal and shameless toll gates be removed – without success.

On Wednesday (28/03/12) I heard it for the umpteenth time. It was the 4th Bola Tinubu Colloquium on the eve of the 60th birthday. Chief Emeka Anyaoku , a seasoned diplomat, said what some other Nigerians have said and what Nigerians are still saying. Even he put a fiat, and that is not also new: that to break up the country will not be entertained. And that is not to say that yours truly have not said that a number of times.

The kid-glove attitude to, and glamorisation of, high level corruption at the top echelons of business, politics, and other institutions of state by government implies that most public officials in Nigeria are corrupt, and that corruption is official in the country.