Simply "1 Plus 1" Nigerians Don't Know
Simply "1 Plus 1" Nigerians Don't Know
By Prince Charles Dickson
One day I walked into the house and my three year old last son...just screamed out in a song...the young boy seems to love the song..."wahala dey, wahala dey...you go see danger" His mother simply shouted at him "Shut up, I have told you I don't want to hear you sing that song...it's not a good song, its pidgin, bla bla bla". I walked away with a wry smile and in my heart...looking ahead indeed I said wahala dey.
A leadership that lacks the primary knowledge of one plus one is two, scolds its Minister of State for stating the obvious by saying the truth about the state of affairs in NNPC...It is that same kind of leadership that collaborates with criminals to terrorize the state through its nefarious activities which include but not limited to kidnapping, religious bigotry and violence, robbery both pen and armed.
A leadership that has followership that does not know that one plus one equals to two would not be able to question a governor that pockets in excess of N300milion every month in the name of security vote and these are funds that he is accountable to no one for. Meaning, that if I understand arithmetic he steals approximately N6billion per annum with the full security backing of the law.
With all the constitutional review it is amazing that such day light robbery of state funds is not an issue worth looking at a second, third and if need be twenty times to breath sanity into governance.
A citizenry that does not know its mathematics in its simplest form, will not question how come pensioners cannot be paid, workers with salaries less then N10, 000 are owed three, four and ten months yet legislators increase their million naira take home pay on a quarterly basis. Is it not the same citizenry that cannot talk or act that empowers leadership to treat them with impunity and disdain all the time?
A leadership that does not know that when you minus one from two you are left with one spends N6.6billion on celebrating its failure at the expense of providing basic amenities for its people. 50 years and still counting the problem remains leadership, my father said the leaders were terrible, I am telling my kids the leaders are no better, the marked significant change is that they are getting progressively worse by the day.
From when they stole few thousands to now they trade (my apologies...I mean steal) in mind boggling figures, from when our budget was just a few million to now when I have been privileged to live in a Nigerian generation that has broken the billion mark and moved into trillion.
After a visit to the president by all the South East governors...hear Ohakim, the governor of Imo state, he told journalists after the closed door meeting that the state governments lacked the capacity to effectively combat kidnapping.
“There is no particular state government that has the capacity to match these criminals (kidnappers) except with the federal might,” he said.
Such a bunch of unrefined mammals cannot reconcile the nexus between criminality, social vices and stunted development. They just don't know that one plus one equals to two. Even in marriage after one and one becomes one, it takes two to make it work.
Really, is "the security and welfare of the people the primary purpose of government" according to Section 14 (2b) of the 1999 Constitution or has that part of the constitution been amended ...because as at the time I am writing this it actually reads more of...the primary purpose of the olodos, agberos, yan iskas and gbogbo ti gbo that call themselves leaders is steal, kidnap us and impoverish us amongst the many crimes they commit against a docile public.
In defending himself and his colleagues, Ohakim said, “The South-East governors are doing their best; what we have is a national calamity.
“It has nothing to do with the South-East; I believe the issue of capacity should be looked into. What is happening is beyond the capacity of individual states. The types of arms and ammunition at the disposal of the criminals and professionalism of the criminals are beyond the capacities of the states.
...And come to think of it, the problem of kidnapping is now technology-driven and so it is a technical calamity which has to be tackled technologically. So, it is beyond what the states or local governments can handle.”
A senseless leadership that loots technologically, its poverty driven populace commit crimes technologically...are we not doomed technologically?
In simple market English or pidgin can some explain this maths...Nigeria's year on year inflation rate dropped to 10.3 percent in June from 11 percent the previous month. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that growth in food prices, which form the bulk of the inflation index basket also eased to 12 percent from 12.3 percent in May.
If that does not make sense to the unlearned like me, CBN's statement that the Inflation outlook remained uncertain because of the expansionary fiscal policy and an injection of funds to deal with toxic debts in the banking system will only confuse mallam Adamu and alhaja Risi both sell wares at the local Ngozika Wrapper Market in Ogbmosho. And they can tell you, no one is buying and they are not selling either.
The truth is that the real inflation index basket states that one plus one can hardly return one back anymore, how much more getting two because leadership has lost focus since nineteen korodome like my late grandfather would say. When tisha no sabi book skudent don suffer be dat...When salary no fit buy garri, one plus one don turn to minus one.
These unreasonable, unaccountable leaders that lack tact have a lot to show. The indices of their intellect are there for all to measure by their words and actions. For example, its either Soludo is sending his thugs to disrupt his mother-in-law's burial or Dora is defending herself, saying it's because I did not help him win Anambra.
Uzor Kalu enters PDP, better late than never, Atiku had done that earlier in the morning, and the former speaker of the house, Bello Masari leaves PDP for C something of Buhari, Orji Kalu Theodora or whatever he is called in Abia leaves PPA and runs to APGA with Chukwumerije and co. This movement would make a prostitute green with envy, as all these political permutations, geography and one plus one has no space for the well being of the electorate in the scheme of things.
Leadership in Africa's most populous black nation is no bean cake, with a people suffering from expectation fatigue. They are pretty bunch to satisfy, but yet easy to satisfy, infact as easy as Arsenal, Man U or Chelsea winning its Saturday premiership match and you see smiles on their faces depending on which camp. Sadly they are cursed with a 'simple abc you no sabi syndrome' kind of leadership.
Is there hope in the horizon, certainly yes, infact indeed there is, but how is the question. For example, a lot of us cannot wait for when this oil go finish, or when Americans will get an alternative. Maybe then we will start to get our maths right. Sadly, if we don't start soon, infact NOW to get our maths, our priorities and our focus right as a nation and people, wahala go dey...and we go see danger!
Prince Charles Dickson
Editor, burningpot.com
Nigeria's 1st Online Newspaper
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