Gadafi’s murder is a tragedy to civility and modernity. That western leaders are celebrating the extra-judicial killing of a former head of state, or anyone for that matter, is a mockery of the democracy they supposedly promote. Now I hope the International Court of Justice will now try the transition leaders who have said the death is something they have waited for, for long. What better evidence for command responsibility will anyone need?
I was one of those who called for an international effort to protect the civilians in Libya. But I also wanted same effort in Ivory Coast and Bahrain. I also wanted the initiative to include a strong call on Saudi Arabian authorities to allow demonstrators to express their democratic aspirations.
As it turned out the West have come into the Libyan conflict with an extra agenda to control the flow of oil and stabilise global oil price. How else will you explain the double standards where nothing has been done about Ivory Coast that has no oil and pro-West Bahrain and Saudi?
While I would like to see a regime change in Libya through internal dynamics, there is no moral grounds for any external body to enforce, or even actively encourage that change. David Cameron who has lampooned labour for years on the Iraqi war has no right to say ‘Gaddafi could be killed’. His statement underlines his interest in Libya.
International interference in Libya must use only reasonable force to protect civilians. While they do that the rebels have no right to use arms. The consequence of what is happening will be hard and long in going. Africans must be united in condemning the coalition’s use of excessive force.
What rationale has the Arab league to approve the current shelling of Libya without calling on Saudi to stop muting opposition?
By Evong Evong CISA, MBCS
INEC voters’ registration kicked off over the weekend with a number of hitches, including problems with reading fingerprint of potential registrants, notably former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Senate president, Senator David Mark and Governor Suswan of Benue State. The immediate response has been a rash of criticism of the fingerprint technology introduced by INEC for the process. Some people have even suggested Nigeria does not require such sophistication in electoral registration and should have made do with the usual manual processes. Read the rest of this entry »
Nomination campaigns at all levels were bereft of strategies, ideas and programs to bring Nigeria and the component states out of the woods. We hope the candidates will now return to the drawing board to establish why they want to be in government and how they intend to achieve these. Otherwise the next four years are probably wasted before even starting!
Simon Kolawole Live!: Email: simonkolawole@thisdayonline.com
I foresaw the comprehensive defeat of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at the PDP presidential primary. You don’t need to possess any special talent to know that there are certain dynamics that define our politics. The problem with many of us is that we have mindsets that are defined more by perceptions than reality. For instance, we perceive that a Southerner would always want a Southerner to be president, even when the facts of history do not support such a presumption. It is even worse for foreigners who habitually define Nigeria as “Muslim North” and “Christian South” and analyse every issue from that prism. Nigeria is certainly more complex than that! Read the rest of this entry »
There are several reasons why every Nigerian must take interest in the 2011 elections, whether from point of registering to vote or actually lining up to vote, or ensuring that the vote we cast is counted and counts towards the election of our next leaders.
Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians, about 150 million of us at home and in Diaspora. Only a few people can take responsibility for the rest of us for organisational purposes. That is why a government is needed, whether at local, state or federal level. We are all equal, from the unborn child in a market woman’s womb to the occupant of the office of the President. Any commonwealth belongs to us all equally.
Unfortunately the few that have been put in charge of responsibility for the nation have not only abused the resources and compromised the sovereignty of the nation by ceding portions of it through wilful subjections to international conspiracies as seen in Bakasi, but have abused her citizens and done everything to ensure Nigeria is wiped off the global map. Read the rest of this entry »
It happens so fast that I hardly realise a year has passed by these days! In my early days it will take ages between Christmases, not again. I am not sure what the explanation is, but some have explained that in adulthood, as you begin to fend for yourself and others activities become to many you don’t notice time pass by. That may be the case. Another reason is that in Scotland, for most of the year you wake up without day light and long before you are ready for bed, night is come upon you! Even the ‘day saving’ time scheme has proven unable to help.
Any way, the purpose of my write-up today is to wish my family across the world, my friends and fans wherever they are a very meritorious Christmas and a happy, 2011 with blessings of unimaginable proportions. I wish all my friends who a searching a happy and fulfilled hunt that they will never regret in Jesus name! Amen. Read the rest of this entry »
The Federal Government recently approved the establishment of six new universities across the six geo-political zones at the cost of 10 billion Naira (N10b). They are meant to address the current low enrolment figure of 16%.
Laudable as this sounds, it has to be weighed against the fact that the existing universities are not measuring up to their expectation and peers, resulting in unprecedented rejection of her graduates globally and mass exodus of Nigerian youths to universities in foreign lands. Against this background I cannot accept that our money should be appropriated in the planned manner. If we have to choose between increasing capacity for university enrolment and quality I would always go for quality. Most Nigerians would do the same.
At best establishing new universities all of which will begin academic activities under one year, according to government plans, would mean temporary sites that would sit in and dislodge existing primary and secondary schools, hospitals, party headquarters and other public places all of which are needed any way. These universities will not be good golden anniversary gifts to a beleaguered nation begging for life!
I would therefore ask the government to use the ten billion naira to upgrade one existing university each from the six zones of the country. This should include recruitment of world-class lecturers and development of the current ones; infrastructural development, including libraries and laboratories; information technology and research provisions.
The government must listen!
The Americans seem to know better, how much Nigeria earns. From the article below, it is obvious that neither the government nor the Central Bank has this fact. The real problem begins when as a country we do not agree or seem to know how much we earn. How can you plan when you do not know your financial capability? Over the years, a cabal has treated Nigeria’s economy as family estates without proper bookkeeping! This is disappointing to say the least.
Do we need to look further where the problem is? Read the rest of this entry »
I have just read the article below, titled ‘2011: Opposition Parties to Float Coalition Platform’ on Thisday Online dated today, 22 October 2010 (written by by Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Kelechi Eze). Given the antecedents of the opposition parties in Nigeria it will be difficult to take this initiative beyond comic relief at best. I am not writing it off and believe it would be a good thing to have a robust opposition in every situation.
The pertinent question is, are we going into a two-party state where we have PDP and the PEAF? Is it possible to have all the gubernatorial aspirants in each of the states to agree on what party has the best prospects and therefore support that party? My thinking is NO. However, we will see. The possibility becomes even more remote as you consider the other positions available for contest. I even doubt that at the presidential level we have matured politicians that can sacrifice their ambition, no matter how remote their chance of winning is. Read the rest of this entry »