ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL

By Admin

“In a larger sense, they are victims too. Everyone is only robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Tales of policemen on Nigerian roads extorting money from both defaulting and non-defaulting users of the road has become a daily moonlight tales told by the media and all involved. It is not surprising when a friend narrated an experience last week as he saw meted out on a public transport driver. This made me go down hard on the practice, its causes and apparent solution.

Please do me a favor, please put yourself in the tight shoes of one of them and ask yourself these questions. Why do I need update my vehicular particulars that will probably cost me thousands of naira (plus bribe) when I could easily buy my way through with just a few hundreds? It’s strictly a survival business instinct I’m sure you must have used countless of times (minimize task to ensure maximum satisfaction/profit). Why do I need update the particulars the men in uniform don’t bother to check and yet extort from me my daily means of livelihood? Why do I need waste my time arguing with a legal goon in blue uniform who is hell-bent on siphoning out money from me while I pay the price because minutes or hours spent ‘maintaining and claiming their rights’ costs me lots of money? Note that their kids in school need their school fees paid, wives expect upkeep money, the society expects a certain standard of living from them, their extended families are expectant and even the six-feet nemesis is closer each day.

THE SLEEPING GIANT

By Adeyemi Oluwaseyi

Once I saw a giant,

And such a great giant it was.

Great, awesome and fearful!

And all bowed before it

It went on and on trampling its way with its own big legs.

What a frightening sight it was!

The giant said to itself,

‘’I am the giant of Africa.’’

And behold pride swelled in its head

Arrogance sprung forth from its head

So that it could not distinguish between god and man

And ahead it went on trampling upon them all

WORTHLESS CRIES

By Abayomi Ogundiya

We say to them; "without you there is no us", when, in fact, without us there should be no them.

Recently, I saw a promo on television. It read: it is better to vote for something you want and not get it than for you to vote for what you do not want and get it. (However a paraphrased version, it captures the exact sense of what was communicated). First thing I thought was: what is the difference? If you chose something and you did not get it, what did you get? Apparently, you got what you did not want, or even worse - nothing. And if you, for whatever reason, chose something you did not want and you got it, you still got the same thing - what you don't want. Now, it’s amazing that these guys will say to our faces that we have no choice but to receive whatever they decide to give us, regardless of our rights and entitlements.

Why do we have to choose between a greater and lesser evil? Why do we have so many political parties and only two Presidential candidates (all the rest are just escorts to the polls - do you even know who they are?)? Why should we have a country filled with intelligent people numbering in the millions and yet we can't produce good leaders? Why do our cries land on deaf ears? It's simple, because one man was never meant to depend on another for his progress in life. And every time we cry to the people in leadership, we tell them that our fate is in their hands. Every time we entreat them as though they were our benefactors, even though most of them have enriched themselves corruptly with our abundance. We say to them; "without you there is no us", when, in fact, without us there should be no them.

As long as we lift up our eyes to political leaders for progress in our society and personal lives, so long shall we remain at their mercy. Our paradigm must shift. We must recognize that the responsibility and indeed the power to build our nation lie in our hands. It is only when we arise to our responsibilities as citizens that we can have sufficient power to challenge a corrupt leadership. A Yoruba proverb, loosely translated says, if you haven't taken a hold of the sword, you mustn't ask how your father died lest you die like your father.

Rather than emitting worthless cries, we must arise and build capacity individually and collectively. We must work towards becoming people who can influence the nation positively. We must determine to be that generation of Nigerians who finally changed the nation rather than just complain. We must arise and build the economy of OUR nation by building legitimately prosperous companies and enterprises. We must reform OUR educational system by building excellent institutions, not for fortune or glamour or social divide, but to invest in our future - our children. We must stamp out corruption from OUR nation by personally refusing to be a part of it. We must keep Nigeria clean by personally refusing to litter it. We must do what we can. WE MUST BE ACTION ORIENTED! What are you DOING to make Nigeria a better nation?

We are fortunate to live in a time in the history of our great nation, Nigeria, where an imminent change for progress into true nationhood, cohesion and prosperity is upon us. This change that I speak of will not be delivered to us by a political party but by our own diligence to attain all that we could but we haven't yet. Every great person and nation was forged out of a crucible of great trials. When the night seems darkest, the day is about to break. Our challenges will not kill us, they, like the furnace heat reveals the true beauty of gold; will cause our true beauty to be revealed. On what side of history will you be? Will you be among those that contributed to the nation's progress or among those who betrayed her by their actions? Will you be among those who folded their arms and did nothing? Where will your place in history be? You decide! I believe that if we all built our capacity and did what we could, we would soon have the Nigeria of our dreams. So stop the worthless cries, and do something! When we all do, it'll be easy to deal with defaulters, even those in government.

Abayomi Ogundiya is the founder and CEO, SLIMIC Publishers and lead Strategist at TENARC, a non-governmental organization. He is a social entrepreneur and nation builder, an insightful speaker and thought leader, a prolific writer and published author. Having led in various capacities, he is well respected for his ability to help people put together their innate resources to achieve worthy goals.

abayomidiya@gmail.com

@iycjma

+234 806 555 9076

THE BEAUTY WITHIN

By Victoria Oladoyin

image credit: www.bestourism.com

No lasting beauty emerges without an illustrious, persevering, and persistent patience. Every skin of beauty that eventually manifests had once bled prior to its revelation. Everything beautiful is an eternal testimony to the elegance and brilliance of a mind. Every magnificent building testifies to the beauty in the mind of an architect. Every captivating work of art exemplifies the beauty within the mind of an artist. Every ravishing and striking attire or costume radiates the beauty resident in the mind of a fashion designer.

They Must Think Us Fools

"They thought they buried us. They forget we are seeds"

When one power-starved elephant fight against a power-drunk elephant for bragging rights and coffer treasurer, it is the unwilling silent grasses underneath their seemingly larger-than-life feet who become suffering and smiling sufferers.

They must really think us fools in their blind quest for insatiable power. It is about time everyone, victims and victims, low and middle, youth and old, Christians or Muslims, Yoruba, Ibo or Hausa and all stand, rise against these political goons in overflowing agbada and crisp suits.

It's time we grab our future in our own hands and tell them to go f**k themselves. Stop the B.S. We are not fools.

Every man is free to certain right, but their is a wide gulf between between knowledge and wisdom. We need to know the extent of our power. No man is going to work any magic up there in the seats of leadership. We must know that together, we are the strongest. America might be the land of opportunities, but Nigeria, God's Own Country, is the land of possibilities. It's we re-write our future in permanent ink provided by the boundless possibilities for a sustainable development, corruption-ridden, free of ethnic divide and religious rivalry.

Our voices are our instruments of revolution. We are ripe for it. Lend your voice. Make accountable the white-collar daylight armed robbers in government houses. You can't blame them completely; they just couldn't resist the temptation. Which is why we need to vote those that can.

Your vote is your power. Your choice. Do not trade it in the name of 'Stomach Infrastructure'. It's a seed. Sow it well. Remember, 'they thought they buried us. They forget we are seeds'. We grow with time and must die before we bloom. We've died times and again, it's time to bloom. To sprout and bloom, claim the soil. We deserve good governance. And we will fight for it.

Finally, when generations unborn ask you years from now, "How did it all turn this way?" Let your reply be, "We tried our best" As of now, comparing numbers and other factors, we are even yet to try at all, not to talk of our best. Join the revolution and lend your voice. The end of the plank on which they stand is sustained on the other end by us. They loot because we keep mute. Know your worth. It's huge. Act like it.

I'll speak, and I'll be heard.
@smart_solomon

SKILLS BEFORE CERTIFICATE...

By Kukogho Iruesiri Samson

National Immigration Service screening inside National Stadium, Lagos

 It is no wonder the Nigerian economy has become more of a trap and mine-field than a field for students to plant the seeds that they gathered during their years as within the four walls of the lecture rooms, slugging it out with lecturers in a very stifling academic environment. It is a sympathetic case of from frying pan into the fire when the optimistic graduate finds out that the university, polytechnic or college of education only sold him or her pack of lies in the form of a certificate that is worth less than a wish in a market that’s as discriminatory as it is predatory.

So it’s not shocking to find out that there are more graduates looking for job than there are gainfully employed – so much that even those that have jobs are grossly underemployed and even more grossly underpaid. But do they dare complain about their jobs? NO! Definitely not in a society where there are thousand others waiting in the wings to take the same jobs for even less pay. Sad, but it is the truth that has come to stay.