January 21, 2010

Enough is Enough


“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”- Martin Luther King

The Lagos version of the Abuja walk by the Save Nigeria Group titled, “Enough is Enough” is taking place today at 10am. We’ll be moving from Arch Bishop Vinning Memorial Church to the Government house in Alausa. Our message has not changed, we are marching in peaceful protest against the current issues which stem from the same root -lack of good governance! Ever so often the intellectuals want to ask -why are you walking? Will this walk achieve anything? Are there no other risk free things that can be done? Is there a hidden agenda?  Intellectuals love to ask questions, and thankfully, I’m not un-intellectual as well, so I can answer what I can.

6 months ago, I stayed for many hours everyday at the intensive care unit of a Teaching Hospital, waiting outside in the sun everyday as my young mother struggled to live. Ever so often power would fail in the hospital, and I will hear the UPS of the most funded and most equipped room in the hospital beep as it neared its life’s end. Amazingly these life support UPS’ were no different from those used for small personal computers.  I sat and watched as many fairly clothed bodies got wheeled daily to the mortuary. It wasn’t rocket science, but it struck me, when power fails, people die!  My mind wandered back easily to the road accidents that I had seen on my many road travels over the past few months, and to the other thousands of lives lost uncelebrated. It’s real, that we are losing people who ought to be alive daily in this country! Continue reading

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January 7, 2009

FG,Agencies Predict: Darkness


 

 “For behold, darkness will cover the earth  And deep darkness the peoples;  But the LORD will rise upon you  And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light,  And kings to the brightness of your rising.” – Isa 60:2,3

In my native language there is a proverb that says that describes an unfortunate situation. It’s the situation where the person you have trust to help you blow out specks from your eyes has pepper in his or her mouth or where the person you depend on to scratch your back has thorns in his or her hands. When war gets to a point where the choice men of war in town begin to run, what becomes the of the peasants?

One of the shocking headlines in the dailies yesterday was the FG of Nigeria and it’s agencies have budgeted N2 billion to fuel their generators in 2009. The state house – the seat of power and the home of the president was said to have a budget of about N27 million for fuel and another N14.3 million for maintenance. The Police force will spend about N110 million while the national assembly, over N466 million for acquisition of alternative power, fueling and maintenance. 

What instructions can we take from all these? Read on. Continue reading

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