Just so that I am the first to comment here today. I crave your indulgence that I go to church first to thank God for the free and fair election( I think)and also the indicative victory. God willing, I will be back to present my thoughts on the above post.
Do you really think Fela is still relevant in today's politics? I personally think his ship has sailed. Today's prophets are not found sitting in their pants, with a harem of women and drugs in every corner! I guess that's just me!
Congratulations to Oyinade for carrying first!! I bet Risi is going to give you a prize! The vulture is a patient bird! So one day will be one day for me too o! Rock on Fela! I know that Fela was before his time, he wasn't into title Uncle, broda, Baba Yeni etc Come and see stress in a lot of families cos of title!!! RBN note for another day's blog o! However, here' s my imagination running just a little riot : what if Fela were to break out of his coffin for the weekend to see how far we have come with our 'just manage it" election..... We try sha !!! Lots of hiccups but with PVC that struggle to work, long queues, missing names on lists and a lot of other teething problems. Uncle Fela, nobody can thief votes. Technology has the upper hand. Uncle Fela even you would have had to change the tune to your songs . Uncle Fela just for this once tell us that you are proud of us! So for this weekend alone what would your new song be? Possibly, same song I'd sing too if I could sing " Iya ibeji for president"
It must be inherently wrong to use the words "BRILLIANCE" and "MADNESS" in the same sentence.
Fela was BOTH!
My secondary school was a short walk from the Shrine that was burnt to the ground. A senior girl at my school ran away from home to become one of his 27 wives. Rumour had it, she spent many a lunch time at the Shrine before that. Wink!wink!
Why will 27 women want this man? Apart from the very OBVIOUS reason, you have to see Sahr Ngaujah (actor) play him in the musical about his life, maybe you can then see the charismatic, rather sexy (by Nigerian standards) man beneath the mad man! "who is several sandwiches short of a picnic"
Baba left a wonderful legacy, that is, his music, timeless. That was the first thing that I listened to this morning. It is a pity Baba is no longer here to give the final analysis of this current situation. However, we are all eagerly expectant, awaiting the results of the election. I can only say, may the better man win, insha Allah, Amin or IJN, Amin.
Indeed authority stealing pass armed robbery and yes Nigerians are ready to do something about the nonsense. Nigeria ranks 136th out of 175 countries surveyed for Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index – which measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be. Nigeria is greatly blessed in terms of human and material resources. Should the country have been properly managed; Nigeria would have been one of the top 10 most advanced countries. However, despite the colossal opportunities availed us, we are regrettably one of the top 10 most backward countries. No thanks to Kleptocracy; a form of political corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often with pretense of honest service. Kleptocrats handle their country's treasury as though it were their personal bank accounts, frittering away tax payers’ money on wanton ostentation. They furtively transfer public funds into covert personal foreign bank accounts just to arm themselves with uninterrupted luxury when they are eventually removed from office. They steal monies that their great grandchildren will spend and pass on to 10 unborn generations after. Our leaders are profoundly corrupt. Corruption in Nigeria is so endemic to the extent that people are no longer ashamed to be called thieves. They steal with a sense of entitlement. Power is perceived as the licence to loot. Can you imagine a former public office holder asking “Which one among us is not a thief, which one of us has not participated in stealing public resources”? The heart-stopping degree of official corruption is beyond calibration and has continued to scourge the lives of more Nigerians than even the deadly insurgency. Our leadership is a “thieving” one as astronomical frauds are committed almost on a daily basis. Someone once said that “Nigeria is a country where you can “disappear” an elephant into the pocket of a shirt.” Nigeria loses about N1.18 billion to oil theft daily, leading to an estimated loss of about N433 billion to the country annually. About 100, 000 barrels of crude oil are stolen on the nation’s territorial waters. Nigeria currently ranks as Africa’s largest economy, powered by vast oil reserves, yet one-third of Nigerians live on less than a £ a day. The cost of running government is too heavy on our economy especially cost of maintaining the legislators, the presidency and other political office holders. Imagine the recent distribution of N50m each to some traditional monarchs. (Awon arije ni di ibaje i.e people who revel themselves in wrongdoings). Honest and scrupulous leaders are an endangered species in Nigeria as they are being threatened with extinction.
Way out:
1. The leading role of self interest should be replaced with the leading role of public interest. 2. Our leaders are too powerful; the powers accorded them by the Constitution should be substantially reduced. 3. A revolutionary transformation of the country is needed.
Like my grandma would say "panshaga bi omo eyin Fela". I have always been a lover of Fela's music but never been a lover of Fela as a person. Most Nigerians didn't know the reason why & how Fela's house got burnt. There were search warrants issued by High Court Judges to search Fela's house for those girls as they were reported missing by their parents. I won't go into details so as not to offend Ola(Omo Fela atata). Corruption, looting, stealing, rigging, etc are old stories in Naija. No be today dem start o. I once asked a Naija civil servant friend of mine why they couldn't do anything about all these anomalies. She simply told me that no civil servant pray for corruption/looting/stealing/rigging, etc to be stopped so that when its their turn they can get rich as well. That goes to prove the saying from the popular Ibadan man, Adelakun, who said "Omo ta ni ishe wun?" meaning who likes being wretched?..... Once people still have these kind of mind sets, situation continues....Eshe jeje ke maja o.....Demola
They say hind sight is 20/20 vision. When the wahala at home was too much for me Fela's shrine seemed an attractive escape. I remember reading about girls in the late 70's and early 80's making the choice to become 'Omo Fela" Imagine me today, no Fela, no money, no future! Thank God I didn't make that move! I actually loved doing the basic bootey shake that Fela's girls did then! My cousins used to look at me with such disgust and say that you want to become omo Fela Abi?
I do not see the difference between armed robbery and pen robbery. In fact armed robbery is child's play compared to what our politicians are doing. The steal our collective resources and tell us corruption is not stealing. Armed robber steal and kill, our politicians do the same even on a higher scale. Due to our politicians’ actions and inactions, by stealing our collective resources and refusing to carry out their legitimate responsibilities for electing them, people die on a daily basis. There is poverty in the land. People have invented different types of formulae to survive hunger - 0-0-1; 0-1-0. Fatal accidents are daily occurrences on our roads, yet roads contracts are awarded in billions of naira. People die from fire incident from candles, lanterns and fumes from generators because government cannot provide light. People die from ailment that should ordinarily not lead to death because hospitals are not well equipped for medical personnel to carry out their duties. I can go on and on. I think there is something wrong with the black race, particularly Nigeria. Otherwise, how do we explain Nigeria’s under-development after over fifty years of oil discovery. Some countries do not have 20% of our resources, yet they are well developed. See what UAE is doing in the desert, Dubai with their oil. Somebody suggested that unless there is revolution, the Jerry Rawling’s type, our politicians will continue to take us for granted. Another suggested we should just sell Nigeria to whites who will transform Nigeria to a developed nation within five years of maximum of ten years. These suggestions are going to the extreme. Like l said in my last comment, we also share in the blame of Nigeria under-development. We should start questioning our politicians and government officials. We need to know the source of their sudden wealth as soon as they join politics or given government appointments. We should make them accountable for our collective resources.
This post was written just after the election, I personally finds it funny that your post should be about the above . Fela sang that song many many many years ago and still in almost more than 20 years after his death AS is the most common thing in that our country.
All this big big talk nor dey help wettin each and everyone of us can do to stop this AS Na him make we discuss Jona don start by letting no blood pour for that country after the election WETIN WE TOO GO DO?
11 comments:
Just so that I am the first to comment here today. I crave your indulgence that I go to church first to thank God for the free and fair election( I think)and also the indicative victory. God willing, I will be back to present my thoughts on the above post.
Face paint is on, beads around waist, cowrie beads on head sheke sheke on feet and I am dancing skelewu azonto and shoki.
This results seems to be going in the best direction.
I no be tiff, you be tiff.
Do you really think Fela is still relevant in today's politics? I personally think his ship has sailed. Today's prophets are not found sitting in their pants, with a harem of women and drugs in every corner! I guess that's just me!
Congratulations to Oyinade for carrying first!! I bet Risi is going to give you a prize! The vulture is a patient bird! So one day will be one day for me too o! Rock on Fela! I know that Fela was before his time, he wasn't into title Uncle, broda, Baba Yeni etc Come and see stress in a lot of families cos of title!!! RBN note for another day's blog o! However, here' s my imagination running just a little riot : what if Fela were to break out of his coffin for the weekend to see how far we have come with our 'just manage it" election..... We try sha !!! Lots of hiccups but with PVC that struggle to work, long queues, missing names on lists and a lot of other teething problems. Uncle Fela, nobody can thief votes. Technology has the upper hand. Uncle Fela even you would have had to change the tune to your songs . Uncle Fela just for this once tell us that you are proud of us! So for this weekend alone what would your new song be? Possibly, same song I'd sing too if I could sing " Iya ibeji for president"
It must be inherently wrong to use the words "BRILLIANCE" and "MADNESS" in the same sentence.
Fela was BOTH!
My secondary school was a short walk from the Shrine that was burnt to the ground. A senior girl at my school ran away from home to become one of his 27 wives.
Rumour had it, she spent many a lunch time at the Shrine before that. Wink!wink!
Why will 27 women want this man?
Apart from the very OBVIOUS reason, you have to see Sahr Ngaujah (actor) play him in the musical about his life, maybe you can then see the charismatic, rather sexy (by Nigerian standards) man beneath the mad man! "who is several sandwiches short of a picnic"
Truly "omi o ni ota o" (water has no enemies)
Baba left a wonderful legacy, that is, his music, timeless. That was the first thing that I listened to this morning. It is a pity Baba is no longer here to give the final analysis of this current situation. However, we are all eagerly expectant, awaiting the results of the election. I can only say, may the better man win, insha Allah, Amin or IJN, Amin.
Indeed authority stealing pass armed robbery and yes Nigerians are ready to do something about the nonsense. Nigeria ranks 136th out of 175 countries surveyed for Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index – which measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be. Nigeria is greatly blessed in terms of human and material resources. Should the country have been properly managed; Nigeria would have been one of the top 10 most advanced countries. However, despite the colossal opportunities availed us, we are regrettably one of the top 10 most backward countries. No thanks to Kleptocracy; a form of political corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often with pretense of honest service. Kleptocrats handle their country's treasury as though it were their personal bank accounts, frittering away tax payers’ money on wanton ostentation. They furtively transfer public funds into covert personal foreign bank accounts just to arm themselves with uninterrupted luxury when they are eventually removed from office. They steal monies that their great grandchildren will spend and pass on to 10 unborn generations after.
Our leaders are profoundly corrupt. Corruption in Nigeria is so endemic to the extent that people are no longer ashamed to be called thieves. They steal with a sense of entitlement. Power is perceived as the licence to loot. Can you imagine a former public office holder asking “Which one among us is not a thief, which one of us has not participated in stealing public resources”? The heart-stopping degree of official corruption is beyond calibration and has continued to scourge the lives of more Nigerians than even the deadly insurgency. Our leadership is a “thieving” one as astronomical frauds are committed almost on a daily basis. Someone once said that “Nigeria is a country where you can “disappear” an elephant into the pocket of a shirt.”
Nigeria loses about N1.18 billion to oil theft daily, leading to an estimated loss of about N433 billion to the country annually. About 100, 000 barrels of crude oil are stolen on the nation’s territorial waters. Nigeria currently ranks as Africa’s largest economy, powered by vast oil reserves, yet one-third of Nigerians live on less than a £ a day.
The cost of running government is too heavy on our economy especially cost of maintaining the legislators, the presidency and other political office holders. Imagine the recent distribution of N50m each to some traditional monarchs. (Awon arije ni di ibaje i.e people who revel themselves in wrongdoings).
Honest and scrupulous leaders are an endangered species in Nigeria as they are being threatened with extinction.
Way out:
1. The leading role of self interest should be replaced with the leading role of public interest.
2. Our leaders are too powerful; the powers accorded them by the Constitution should be substantially reduced.
3. A revolutionary transformation of the country is needed.
Like my grandma would say "panshaga bi omo eyin Fela". I have always been a lover of Fela's music but never been a lover of Fela as a person. Most Nigerians didn't know the reason why & how Fela's house got burnt. There were search warrants issued by High Court Judges to search Fela's house for those girls as they were reported missing by their parents. I won't go into details so as not to offend Ola(Omo Fela atata). Corruption, looting, stealing, rigging, etc are old stories in Naija. No be today dem start o. I once asked a Naija civil servant friend of mine why they couldn't do anything about all these anomalies. She simply told me that no civil servant pray for corruption/looting/stealing/rigging, etc to be stopped so that when its their turn they can get rich as well. That goes to prove the saying from the popular Ibadan man, Adelakun, who said "Omo ta ni ishe wun?" meaning who likes being wretched?..... Once people still have these kind of mind sets, situation continues....Eshe jeje ke maja o.....Demola
They say hind sight is 20/20 vision. When the wahala at home was too much for me Fela's shrine seemed an attractive escape. I remember reading about girls in the late 70's and early 80's making the choice to become 'Omo Fela" Imagine me today, no Fela, no money, no future! Thank God I didn't make that move! I actually loved doing the basic bootey shake that Fela's girls did then! My cousins used to look at me with such disgust and say that you want to become omo Fela Abi?
I do not see the difference between armed robbery and pen robbery. In fact armed robbery is child's play compared to what our politicians are doing. The steal our collective resources and tell us corruption is not stealing. Armed robber steal and kill, our politicians do the same even on a higher scale. Due to our politicians’ actions and inactions, by stealing our collective resources and refusing to carry out their legitimate responsibilities for electing them, people die on a daily basis. There is poverty in the land. People have invented different types of formulae to survive hunger - 0-0-1; 0-1-0. Fatal accidents are daily occurrences on our roads, yet roads contracts are awarded in billions of naira. People die from fire incident from candles, lanterns and fumes from generators because government cannot provide light. People die from ailment that should ordinarily not lead to death because hospitals are not well equipped for medical personnel to carry out their duties. I can go on and on. I think there is something wrong with the black race, particularly Nigeria. Otherwise, how do we explain Nigeria’s under-development after over fifty years of oil discovery. Some countries do not have 20% of our resources, yet they are well developed. See what UAE is doing in the desert, Dubai with their oil. Somebody suggested that unless there is revolution, the Jerry Rawling’s type, our politicians will continue to take us for granted. Another suggested we should just sell Nigeria to whites who will transform Nigeria to a developed nation within five years of maximum of ten years. These suggestions are going to the extreme. Like l said in my last comment, we also share in the blame of Nigeria under-development. We should start questioning our politicians and government officials. We need to know the source of their sudden wealth as soon as they join politics or given government appointments. We should make them accountable for our collective resources.
This post was written just after the election, I personally finds it funny that your post should be about the above . Fela sang that song many many many years ago and still in almost more than 20 years after his death AS is the most common thing in that our country.
All this big big talk nor dey help wettin each and everyone of us can do to stop this AS Na him make we discuss Jona don start by letting no blood pour for that country after the election WETIN WE TOO GO DO?
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