SOMETHING GOOD MAY HAPPEN.

So there I was last week, preparing to compose this special Nigerian independence anniversary post and then suddenly realizing that I was in a dilemma of sorts. You see, I desperately desired to write a motivating and optimistic piece about the ‘celebrant’, yet one that was truly newsworthy. I had been trying for over two hours, it was now 12.42am and I was nowhere close to a solution. I made a mental note never to criticize CNN again for its failure to report cheery news emanating from Nigeria. Cheery news is hard to find.

I tried all manner of permutations; sector by sector, region by region, and each time I came to the same conclusion- NOTHING GOOD IS HAPPENING. Power supply is as erratic as ever, staggering facts revealed this week that Nigerians spend as much on fuel and diesel as our entire 2009 capital budget; roads are in bad shape, a trip from Lagos to Benin by road averages 6 hours and 42 police check points; the knowledge sector is in shambles, universities are closed and have been so for over three months at a time when the knowledge industry in other nations is powering a ‘soft revolution’ by overthrowing mineral resources as the chief source of revenue and employment. Yet nothing good seems to be happening here. Amnesty was supposed to give hope but there are ripples already, some who dropped arms are threatening fire and brimstones as they claim that the government is reneging on key aspects of their agreement. The Niger-Delta remains ever contentious, with the only difference being that there now exist a comatose Niger-Delta ministry headed by an incompetent. Maurice Iwu still reigns supreme in INEC and continues to wreak havoc on our electoral system with the most recent example being the Anambra APGA about-face. Our national assembly has even become more toothless and corrupt. And now, sports and particularly football that used to be a periodic source of consolation for Nigerians has unsurprisingly caught the ‘Yaradua flu’. So nothing good is happening.

But football- that most cherished of all sports- taught me something about Nigeria. NIGERIANS STILL HOPE. That was an important lesson. Even though we are always the least prepared of all teams, Nigerians always watch every football match with hope and ridiculous optimism. We believe that on a ‘good day’ we can beat anyone; the fact that oppositions spend more in preparations mean little or nothing to us. We refuse to give up on our soccer stars even though the ‘good days’ come less often. We get disappointed for a fleeting second only to get set to cheer them on the next time with renewed hope and more ridiculous optimism. On the face of it, this does not seem like much but it tells me that Nigeria is not finished yet. That means, just as it happens sometimes in football, Nigeria and Nigerians have what it takes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. We have ourselves. We have Nigeria.

But as we clock 49, it’s about time that we begin to match hope and faith with tangible actions. Let us remember that a country does not always get the government it deserves; it gets the government that it demands. The more I see the ‘people power’ in other nations, the more I conclude that it could happen right here in Nigeria, if only we could overcome our intense risk-averseness as a people. The power of the American people is being heard loudly in their ongoing health care reform debate, in their tea parties and in their uproar which led to the sack of a key Obama adviser, Mr. Van Jones; the power of the Iranian people in spite of the repressive regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to their voices being heard all over the world and shook the foundations of the Iranian political establishment after the June 12 fiasco; we still remember the power of the Ukrainians that fuelled the Orange Revolution which forced the hand of the government of the day in 2004 and placed the people’s choice, Viktor Yuschenko, in power. Remember that theirs was a revolution without a single gun fired. In Nigeria, the Macaulay’s, Azikiwe’s and Enahoro’s gave their all that we might gain it all. The best gift we can give to our nation in commemoration of our independence is a solemn commitment never to let the labour of our heroes past to be in vain. And that means doing all it takes including civil disobedience, bold actions, strikes, protest, hecklings, honesty, integrity, voting, being thrown in jail and citizen journalism (take pictures with phones and cameras and place same in the media and online in order to stimulate actions and reactions). Do not think for one moment that our actions will favor only the elected officials who might come in from our efforts; it will favor us all. Because even if the officials fail to live up to our expectations, our previous experiences will embolden us; it will cause us to ensure that we are heard again and again until gradually change begins to flow in droplets and trickles and then in torrents and downpours. Only then would we know what it means to be called free. Continued confinement in the cozy enclave of a cocoon will only serve to delay and frustrate the revelation of the magnificent butterfly. Cocoons aren’t beautiful, butterflies are. But the more we choose to love our comfort zones, never risking anything, never sacrificing anything for the greater good; the more things will remain the same- ugly and uninspiring. But if we choose to hope and act and give and live, soon the sun will rise and something good may come. Happy Independence Nigeria! God bless Nigeria.

WHY I SUPPORT THIS ASUU STRIKE.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has never been strong candidates to win a popularity contest in Nigeria, and honestly their present strike action would not help matters at all. They are no saints. But then, neither is Yaradua’s government. As the back and forth between ASUU and the Federal government continues, it is ASUU- not the government- that is being picketed, pressured and lampooned by most, thanks majorly to government’s effective propaganda as well as ASUU’s general inarticulacy. Suddenly, ASUU bashing has become a fad. ASUU’s position may have been disjointed sometimes but they are not fools. If they dare call off the strike before their demands are met, it is highly improbable that they would be able to muster again the kind of widespread compliance that they have managed this time, if and when this government reneges. That would be rather unfortunate because only a non-discerning optimist can delude himself into believing that this government will concede anything tangible once the strike has been called off and the lecturers are back in the classrooms.

I support this strike for equity sake. Common sense would tell you that when individuals determine whether the compensation they receive is fair compared to their coworkers’ compensation, any perceived inequality will affect their motivation, thus they will act in a way that restores the sense of equity. This strike action is intended to rectify the disparity and inequity between Nigerian lecturers and their African counterparts as well as other Nigerian public servants.

INEQUITY IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES: It is funny how successive Nigerian governments love to label Nigeria as the ‘giant of Africa’ on every single issue apart from those relating to the government’s responsibilities towards its citizens. ASUU has argued- and I agree- that the wide gulfs between lecturers pay in Nigeria and other African nations is unfair and is responsible for the mass exodus of smart lecturers from Nigeria to countries like Kenya and Botswana for example. The salaries of academic staff in this nation are among the least anywhere in the world. How sad! Even though the strike action affects and disturbs me just like every other Nigerian student, I cannot in good conscience argue that ASUU’s clamor to be paid at least up to the African average is too much to ask. The inequity and subsequent brain drain is responsible for the saddening fact that the University of Benin for instance which is ranked as the best Nigerian University is only 61st in Africa and 6662 on the world rankings. That’s what you get when your best minds are herding away in droves in search of greener pastures.

INEQUITY IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER NIGERIAN PUBLIC SERVANTS: This is where logic is turned on its head. Let me explain and maybe you would have better luck making sense of it. An average university professor earns about N321 589.88 monthly and ASUU is demanding that this is upped to about N525 010. Huge leap, you might argue. That is until you consider that local government councilors -many of which are stark illiterates- earn about N1 129 647.92, more than double of what ASUU is demanding for the PROFESSORS and about 251% of what PROFESSORS earn now. Special advisers to President Yaradua earn about N1 902 742, over 400% more than PROFESSORS. You will rethink your stand when you realize that the Minister of Education, Mr. Sam Egwu earns about N2 659 650; yet he begrudges ASUU for demanding that their professors earn up to a quarter of what he earns. Not to mention our ‘distinguished’ senators and ‘honorable’ members. So where is the justice and why must our dons wait until they get to heaven before they receive their due reward. Things have got to change. Nigerians should stop whining about ASUU and start demanding that our government do the right thing. If the extravagant pay of some of these public servants is cut, we would not even need to bother about further depleting the nation’s already lean purse.

And this is not to say that increased pay is all our lecturers are demanding, but on the face of that alone, they are fighting a just cause. Let us understand these facts and start rallying behind ASUU. How long would we be satisfied to just turn around and be whipped? Dr. Andrew Efemini is a lecturer in the University of Port-Harcourt and has a Phd in philosophy. He is also the chairman of ASUU in that university. Thanks to our government’s insensitivity, he now spends this free time working as a bus conductor. I do not care whether his action is just a mere public relations ploy. What I do know is that there is a cause. A nation that despises its academicians must be ready to watch from the sidelines while other serious minded nations set the pace and blaze the trail. Traditional rulers, concerned parents, distraught students, everyone should start calling on our government to wake up from their slumber and call off their strike because in reality, ASUU isn’t on strike- our government is. We should be ready to make sacrifices and endure pain for future gain. If we don’t pay, subsequent generations will pay; either way, to chart a new course for this nation in the education sector or any other sector for that matter, somebody’s got to pay.

WHO IS PULLING OUR STRINGS.

Unanswered questions at times question my hopes and belief in a future where I would live in the Nigeria of my dreams. In the cause of a knowledge project I was undertaking on the American Capitalist model, I came across a chilling quote by former American president, Woodrow Wilson (1919): “I am an unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my nation. We are no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.” Because I am configured to relate my learning experiences at all times with the Nigerian situation, something in me snapped on reading that quote. It wasn’t like I or anyone else for that matter was unaware that our government is an oligarchy, but the quote which became to me like a confirmation piqued my curiosity as to the tightness of the stranglehold and the faces behind the manipulation of this nation. So I have been asking very simple questions and I need honest answers from anyone. That is responsible for my Socratic-style inquisition in this piece.

Why is it so hard to bring those ex-leaders to book, which for 8 years in the last dispensation looted and pillaged the treasury with impunity? How come some of them are strutting in the corridors of power in this rule of ‘lawish’ government? Is it because they are assumed innocent until proven guilty? Or could it be that in the analysis for 2011 and beyond, they are still seen as relevant, as they have the much needed big bucks and control large voting (or ‘thugging’) blocks? If the latter is the case, is it that it is these same people- and not the average citizen- who pays the piper and hence dictates the tune? How come even the few who have been convicted end up with a slap on the wrist (like former governor Lucky Igbinedion who for all his troubles was fined a paltry N3.5 million by the courts)? I just want to know. Why it that heads have still not rolled after the Tompolo list came to light (or rather almost came to light)? Whose names are really on that list? Should Nigerians- whose wealth, livelihood and security came under serious threat- even know the faces and corporations and probably nations that fuelled the domestic terrorism engine of Camp 5? Why have I stopped seeing some of this news on the media? Why are so few asking these questions?

I would also like to know why it is easier for our government to announce an amnesty deal for militants in the Niger Delta than to implement most of the recommendations of the Ledum Mitee led committee on the Niger Delta situation. Are they really sincere or are they trying to claim the morally higher ground as the ones who offered a favorable deal for peace in the region? Why are independent committees and panels like the Electoral reform committee even set up, when the government has no intention of accepting the crux of their recommendations from the get goes? How come it has proved rather difficult over the years to revive the nation’s power sector even when it is obvious that it is the lifeblood of the nation? Is it true that some are benefitting from the pervading darkness? Who -if any- is benefitting from the death of the textile and other manufacturing industries and from the import economy that we survive on? Are we cursed? If not can someone tell me what the cause is?
Can someone tell me why my government thinks that removing one car out of the myriad a certain politician in Abuja has will make me feel better? Or why a marginal cut in their salaries should inspire confidence in me as though the salary was ever the major conduit pipe. In fact how come politicians earn so much in Nigeria when they aren’t the most educated or the hardest working? Why does the government of our nation at all levels thrive on mortgaging our future and hemorrhaging our economy by placing round pegs in the square holes of government ministries, departments and agencies just for the sake of political patronage and compensation?

I could go on and on, but that would bore you. I have consistently maintained that things are not always the way they seem. In Nigeria more than anywhere else, this is true. And the thing is that the more you look, the less you see; the more you listen, the less you hear. I have looked and am still looking; I could easily come up with answers the way I see it but I might be wrong. So today, I don’t see anything. All I need are answers. Who are the one percent that pulls the strings which controls the rest of the 150 million in this nation? And what can we do about it? Answers anyone?

MY PROBLEM WITH MTN

They say people mimic the opinion you have of them. As I walked home after my latest visit to their office, I could hardly suppress my anger because MTN Nigeria had succeeded -once again- in validating that statement. I must confess that I have never liked MTN. Initially it was as a result of hearsay but gradually my irritation began to stem from available facts. However, I still went ahead and bought an Mtn line precisely four months ago. Frankly, nothing I heard or read could have readied me for my experience ever since.

After my first two days in the MTN family I was sure my worst fears had come upon me. My entry coincided with a massive technical malfunction where there was hardly anyone on the network (at least in Benin) that could successfully load an MTN recharge card. I felt it was a befitting welcome to their critic number one and so brushing it aside I moved on. But how can you beat the fact that for four months, I have been unable to connect with their customer care lines despite trying repeatedly. The way i see it, no matter how populous a network is, that is totally unacceptable. Yet this was nothing compared to my most recent experiences.

The difference between 10 and 100 is a whole lot especially in monetary terms. But MTN either doesn’t agree with this or is grossly incompetent or worse still, dubious. There is no other way to explain why (or how) on checking my account balance, MTN’s invitation that I join the MTN treasure hunt stated that all texts cost N10 (ten naira).I sent the text, checked my balance and received two shockers. First, my call credit was N100 short and second, as if by magic the invitation now read differently. In the place of “all text cost N10” was “all text cost N100”.Immediately I caught the drift and despite their repeated entreaties to play more and win more, I counted my loss and avoided that game like a plague. But trust MTN to locate you “everywhere you go”. I came to Port Harcourt and as if I had not had enough, I fell right into their hands again. This time I mistakenly scratched off some of the numbers on the N200 recharge card I bought. In spite of their antecedents, I honestly thought rectifying that fault would be a routine affair. I was wrong. As usual connection with their customer care line was impossible (I tried for 2 days).So I set off for their office along Aba road in Port Harcourt. I don’t know what offended me the most-the fact that they could not take care of it right away or the sheer arrogance of the representative who attended to me. Anyway, after I had written my name, address and phone number he promised that my account would be credited with N200 before the close of the next working day. I had to exercise all the restraint I could muster to keep them from fouling my mood. As I turned to leave, I said to him (the customer care rep),”I hope I would not need to come here again to complain on this issue”.”No, you won’t”, he said, “Unless you just feel like coming”. Just as I feared, it was not done and I had to go back to that office even though I didn’t “just feel like coming”. By now, I had come to expect only the most bizarre from MTN and so I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I arrived at that office, made the same complaint, and was told that my line had an error (whatever that meant).He offered to load the card into his phone which was error free (I suppose) and then transfer it into mine before the end of the working day. Of course he did not deliver and so I had to visit that office for the third time over the same issue. This was the final straw.

Mr. Customer care kept me waiting for 20 minutes because he couldn’t locate my recharge card anywhere. I decided that -rather than going through another cycle of empty promises-if the recharge card is found, I’ll take it and leave. He found it and gave it to me, I said a nice thank you to him and walked away half expecting him to call me back and offer an apology. He didn’t. So I walked home, with my worthless recharge card tucked away in my wallet as a souvenir.