ARE THERE STILL REAL MEN???

...... I checked my facebook page this afternoon and I saw a friend's update. Well, the update was nice and just in case you cant see it clearly in the picture, here it is. "I don't care how alarming the percentage of cheating men is....I know of a truth that I'm marrying one of the faithful ones left!most def! I mean pple should stop this mess**smh** There are still some real men around!" Hmmmmm.. hmmm... (got to clear my throat, sorry) 'now let's continue' While some church goers would call the above statement a positive confession or a statement of faith, some people even ladies would regard it as mere wishful thinking. I was trying to figure an angle to this when i remembered that I read something similar to this on Sumptuous' blogpost, "Yes, Sumptuous is a girl and my friend, a good one at that" she actually wrote on something like this on her blog in 2010 and she presented the opinions of some of her friend..... hear her (please read in her beautiful voice).".....The general concensus among my people here is that there is no faithful man and as long as he respects you by not flaunting his affairs in ur face, then you couldn't wish for a better husband. My insides literally churn when i hear this view and especially if they are held by the female folk. WHAAAAAT? So they are preparing themselves for a lifetime of unfaithfullness and bulls**t? No be me, i dont roll that way. In the course of trying to present my view, sumbody calls me unsubmissive (i cant even fit to laff) dude was going on and on, giving advice to the femalefolk on how to keep their men and condone their cheating philandeering ways, he advices that women should not fight/confront their cheating spouses but instead pamper them, have their food ready run him a hot/cold bath as the case maybe, make ur body available for him (in case he wants dessert after chopping anoda woman belleful?), then he'll see the error in his ways and change, and i say lai lai and dude says that he can already tell that i aint the submissive type. na u sabi, Submissive and mumu arent synonyms in my dictionary" Sumptuous was a corper in 2010 and the above conversation took place in the corper's lodge somewhere in the Niger Delta where she proudly served her fatherland, But Sumptuous' opinion expectedly, was different... "I believe that as a 'good' girl with morals and values, i deserve the same and won't settle for less, i was conceived, born and brought up in love, so i expect noting less than what i have to give" she continued..... "....After 23 years of marriage, my dad calls my mum his girlfriend, kisses her in public and he is not ashamed to declare his love for her anywhere. And now some random boy is telling me to accept that i will marry an unfaithful man? No way! To whom much is given much is expected. I have seen true love and i'm gonna get mine! *wish me luck*" I will have to ask her on bb tonight if she still hold same opinion after 2 years and having dated outside school environment where your chance of bumping into 'the boy' while going and coming from class, library or cafeteria is considerably higher than when he lives and work several kilometres away from you. What am i trying to say? I believe there are honest men, I have seen them, I have come across them but their population grows thinner each passing day. before now, when a man is an ardent church-goer, you could comfortably call him a faithful man... presently, most of us don't even trust our G.O when it comes to women(I trust mine)...! I have seen men who profess love for thier wives and still "do" thier househelp... i have heard of women who says 'as long as he doesnt bring them home, he can do whatever he wants to do, we just have to manage them like that, men MUST cheat..' So, I am thinking, even if the man does not want to do it, his wife will still thinks he is doing it, so why not 'kukuma' do the thing..! But my questions really are, 1. WHERE ARE THE FAITHFUL MEN? 2. IS IT TRUE THAT WE MEN ARE POLYGAMISTS IN NATURE? 3. DO OUR WOMEN ENCOURAGE US TO BE UNFAITHFUL? 4. WHEN MEN CHEAT, WHO DO THEY CHEAT WITH, FELLOW MEN OR OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT/WISH TO MARRY FAITHFUL MEN? 5. THIS THOUGHT PROVOKING STATEMENT, IS IT POSITIVE THINKING, STATEMENT OF FAITH, STATEMENT OF FACT OR MERE WISHFUL THINKING? Over to you ladies

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT JONATHAN BY SEGUN SOKOYA A CONCERNED CITIZEN OF NIGERIA

Dear President Jonathan, My friends call me Sokii, but you, well just call me Segun. I have watched you in the last one year jump from pillar to post under the pretext of governance; clinging to the inconsequential and deliberately ignoring that which the times demand of governance in today’s Nigeria. From the moment you were sworn in as an elected president, it’s been a galore of gaffes and conscious distraction of Nigerians from the things that actually do matter to them. Within weeks of your Presidency, your first executive move was to amend the constitution so as to allow for president and governors to serve just one term of six years in office. Not sooner than the dust raised by that move settled, you declared an economic war on the Nigerian people with an imposition of fuel tax, called fuel subsidy removal, which was just a way designed for you to avoid confronting your friends and officials who defrauded the country you preside over. Mr President, you may recall that last October, during a church service to commemorate Nigeria’s Independence Day, you lamented that we condemn you at home while Obama commends you abroad. Even then, we argued that Obama’s commendation of you – whatever it was meant to achieve – was ill-timed and ill-informed. We reasoned that we were the ones who elected you our president and so were best qualified to assess your performance in office. Today, the table has turned. Does Obama still commend you? Just in case you haven’t heard, the United States government has seen you for whom you are – a president who presides over a criminal empire without making any meaningful efforts to curtail corruption. Before you dismiss my message as another baseless rant from a disgruntled opposition member, kindly read this, Sir: In its year 2011 report on global human rights released Thursday by the State Department, the U.S. said the three tiers of the Nigerian government was ridden with “massive, widespread and pervasive corruption,” that failed to receive appropriate punitive response from the authorities. “The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,”the report, submitted by Secretary of States, Hillary Clinton, to the U.S. Congress said. “Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security forces,” it continued. So this is what your government has come to be known for. Still in that church service, Sir, you told Nigerians that God was the captain of the Nigerian ship. So I had expected you to show more than a passing interest in surrendering the fight against corruption to God. But I was surprised that when the rare opportunity came, last Sunday, during another church service – this time to commemorate your one year in office – you refused to support the man of God who pleaded that you and your administration officials took the fight against corruption to the alter of God. What were you afraid of, Mr President? That, Sir, speaks volumes about your sincerity in the corruption war. And that brings me to the role you played in the hurried moving of N155 billion out of our account under a questionable circumstance. It was done a day before Okonjo-Iweala resumed as your Finance Minister. And the characters involved in the transaction, the Etetes, is the reason I will need your explanation on this. I will go straight to your Democracy Day speech. As expected, it could not boast of any visible achievement other than economic indices and statistics that were quite divorced from the stark realities on ground. You showed an amazing excitement when you announced your administration’s empowerment of 1200 youths who benefitted from your Youth Enterprise with Innovative Programme, YouWin. I was surprised that such was considered an achievement by you, Sir, let alone being included in your anniversary speech. Mr President, may I humbly inform you that 70 per cent of the Nigerian population is comprised of people who are thirty five years and below. Each year, Sir, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) churns out at least 100 thousand young Nigerians who throng into the labour market in search of nonexistent jobs. This is in spite of the fact that a larger percent of those who passed out before them may not have gotten jobs. So why should we be excited about 1200 people in a population of 160 million? Is it a deliberate celebration of mediocrity or just an attempt to appear serious with the job we elected you to do? In reference to electricity supply, you said, “By mid-2010, the national power output was about 2,800 MW. By the end of 2011, we reached a peak of more than 4, 000 MW. A National Gas Emergency Plan has also been launched to redress the problem of gas supply which are essentially due to poor planning.” Curiously, you didn’t tell us where we were by end of May, or mid-May, the period you were reeling out the achievements. So I ask now, Mr President, where are we on power generation? How many megawatts have we achieved between 2011 and mid-May, 2012? Where we are on electricity generation, Mr President, is on the region of total darkness. The wattage is negligible. Nauseating sound of generators still buzz in my neighbourhood daily, and darkness is the light in the villages where poverty even bites harder. That must be why you jumped it. The efforts you put in advertising your cassava bread, if not tragic, would have been funny. You cannot re-write history, Sir. Cassava bread is not novel. Your constant efforts to lay claim to it as your achievement in office is worrisome. For the records, on 1st July, 2005, Obasanjo’s government made it mandatory for bakers to include 10% of cassava flour in the production of bread. I followed that administration closely. Yet even at that ,you cannot force people to eat what they do not want. Telling us you eat it makes no difference in our lives. Our billions are stolen by the day, anyway; and you watch without taking any punitive action against the criminals. Your penchant for majoring in minor, if not entirely irrelevant issues, should worry every sound mind. Your change of Unilag to MKO Abiola University just by a presidential fiat betrayed your love for vanity; your lack of appreciation for substance. And as expected, it stirred up eruptions in the school. Yet rather than quickly reconsider your stand, you declared to many who think you made another gaffe; “no going back”. I know political expediency informed that decision. But unfortunately, that was politically incorrect. It has boomeranged, and will not shield you from the harsh verdict of your critics, which is that your first year in office as president was a total failure. It was a shock to me that you ended your speech without making any mention of the fuel subsidy scam – the biggest in Nigeria’s history. You said nothing about your plans to prosecute the offenders. In case you don’t know, Mr President, the amount involved in that fraud is N2.6trillion, more than half of our annual budget. If that is not weighty enough to cause you to act, I wonder what will. I have a hunch some 19th century folks have been giving you lessons on how to rule Nigeria in 2012. They may have presented the IBB model and you bought it hook line and sinker. But that will be risky for you, Sir. Unfortunately, you are heading Nigeria at a time when there is only one way to face the task: fight corruption and shun patronage! You cannot do this job the way you want, or the way your predecessors handled it. The cumulative effect of the mess your predecessors put Nigeria into has saturated our landscape, forcing people to demand serious leadership from their president. Distractions will not just do. And you must understand this, Sir. And talking about serious leadership; did you hear, Mr President, that Mrs. Joyce Banda, the President of Malawi – an African country – sold off her country’s presidential jet and fleet of 60 limousines? President Joyce declared that she was “happy to offload” the jet and the cars, and she would be traveling on passenger airplanes like every other citizen. Mrs. Joyce Banda understands basic economics and means well for her people. She appreciates the truth that a poor man who seeks future comfort must delay gratification. She is a living example of a serious leader. Can the same be said of you, Mr President? I will not wait for your response, Sir. I know it will never come. The same cannot be said of you. You do not mean well for Nigeria, Mr President. In 2010, you ordered 3 more presidential planes to increase an already over bloated fleet of presidential jets, underscoring your penchant for wasting public funds and downplaying the depth of poverty in our land. You can’t mean well by having 10 presidential jets when the reality on ground demands that you travel with commercial planes. You can’t mean well with a feeding budget of almost 3 million naira per day in a country where 112 million people live on less than N300 (three hundred naira) per day. You can’t be seen to mean well with the number of cars in your presidential fleet. The British Prime Minister, who runs a civilization and economy that is light years ahead of yours, has no official jet. You have effectively wasted the last one year, Mr President. And for a country with steady drop in life expectancy, we don’t have the luxury of time. We have the need for speed. We need a president who is ready to work, not distract us with an uninspiring campaign for cassava bread. We need Boko Haram’s onslaught on the Nigerian state to be addressed by your government. We need our people to be lifted out of poverty, not some phony statistics. We need leadership, not mediocrity. You, Mr President, have not been a leader in the last one year. But will you be in the remaining three years? I don’t think so. I only hope you prove me wrong. Your body language tells me your eyes are fixed on 2015. But that is a tragedy on its own; for you maybe, not for me or Nigeria. Most of your moves are made with the intention of securing your seat in 2015. But I am also shocked that neither you nor your advisers understand that the surest way to winning re-election is to work and be seen to have worked. I will be glad to see you declare for re-election. The thoughts of having you as the first sitting president in Nigeria to be emphatically defeated excites me. Kindly follow your secret quest for re-election, Sir. I’d like to see the next sentiment your team will sell to the electorate. You could see, Mr President, that I didn’t have time to pretend about the message I wanted to pass across. You already have enough praise singers to last you a lifetime. Pardon my directness, it was meant to deliver the message in a manner you will be stirred to act. Do have a great day, Sir. I hope the domestic staff will remember to not prepare imported rice for Sunday. Kindly remind them of your “resolve to always eat local rice”. Today should be for Abakaliki or Ofada. And lest I forget; happy anniversary, Mr President!

A NATION REPRESENTED BY IDIOTS

When Vanguard newspaper reported that the House of Representatives has summoned a Korean Company, makers of Hyundai Motors to appear before the National Assembly for investigative hearing over alleged defective Elegance Jeep sold to one Willie Ogbeide, Honourable of the 4th assembly. The house in a letter signed by the chairman, House Committee on Public Petition, Hon Uzo Azubuike invited the company and Ogbeide to appear before the House next week Thursday over the alleged defective jeep sold by the company to Hon Ogbeide. Hon Azubuike states in the letter to the "Hon", “The House of Representatives at its sitting of Wednesday, 22nd February, 2012 received a petition from you against the managing director, Hyundai Motors Nig Ltd on alleged sale of defective Hyundai Jeep 1 x 35 Elegance GLS OL. To this effect you are invited to an investigative hearing on the matter”
"Honourable" claimed he purchased a Hyundai jeep for his wife at a cost of N4.1million from Hyundai Motors Nigeria Ltd in Abuja on October 27th October 2011. in his words, “The car had no Wheel spanner when it was delivered to me and that I first complained ,to them. Then when l drove the car to Benin for my wife, I observed that it has acceleration problem, immediately l called Hyundai office to complain to them, they promised to rectify it since it was still under warranty and before we could solve that, the air-condition had problem for which l also called their office through my lawyer and in less than five weeks”.

“When l got tired of their dripping, I requested that they refund my money to me within seven days. They did not and have not responded and l wrote to House of Reps to save me and other Nigerians from the Korean company”.

Well, while I do not have a problem with the Honourable buying a jeep or complaining to the company that sold it to him I do have issue with the House turning the case into an Investigative hearing, it is laughabble and idiotic at best. Just while Nigeria is burning daily with Zero Security and no means of livelihood for millions of Nigerians, the House of Shame has taken it upon itself to harrass and embarass a car company for knowingly or unknowingly selling a defective car to one the friend's of the house. My question is, How does House of Representaive come into this business matter? Are they suddenly now a police force or court of law to hear cases of breach in a signed contract or is my elementary knowledge of the three arms of democratic govermnent failing me?

These 'honourables' happened to be the highest paid in the world yet, their head seems empty of anything that seems like a brain, or maybe they are simply shameless. Only in my country will such a thing happen and no one will see it as a big deal. These people are really getting on my nerves. I think what they will do next is invite durex over a defective condom.

Nigerians should begin to see the kind of 'idiots' who preside daily over us. Just last thursday in Lagos, Patience Jonathan and her security goons made the lives of thousands of Lagosians struggling to make an honest living hell. Commuters, office workers and local and international businesspersons got stuck in hours of endless traffic and detours just because of one person-the wife of the President who was never on the ballot or voted for. What happened on Thursday is the height of executive insensitivity and a flagrant violation of our constitution.

Nigerians had on display a naked show of strength and overzealousness condemnable in every sense of the word. It was an assault on the rights and sensibilities of Nigerians, unsurpassed in recent times that the wife of the president, whose name was never on the ballot and whose role is not recognized by the Nigerian constitutional is accorded such expanse of power and the abuse of same. For a ‘Thank You and Peace Advocacy’ visit it was overkill. Why choose Lagos for a thank you visit meant for South-South women voters?

Just to attend an event at Ocean View Restaurant on Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, she shut down Lagos for NINE hours and turned the lives of residents to hell. The whole security apparatus of the federal government and other personnel and services were deployed and put at her service. I recall the President himself had visited Lagos a few times in the recent past, yet the city did not groan or suffer a shut down like we saw last Thursday. Even if I do not like President Goodluck, he is Nigeria’s constitutional leader. He was the one that Nigerians voted for and by virtue of his position within the ambit of the law enjoys the highest level of protection and security. It is however most unjustifiable for his wife, who is unrecognized in our constitution by any stretch of imagination to appropriate the same protection enjoyed by the president. I wonder how many States Michelle Obama has shut down for nine hours in the US.

I think it is ok for Nigerian to go about unprotected and without security while the wife of the president should be over protected. I think it is ok for the common man to die due to the weakness of the first lady's husband? I think it is ok if we are ruled by IDIOTS over and over again. 2015 beckons, I think it is ok to go ahead and vote for PDP since we are FOOLS ruled by IDIOTS.....!

TAKE THIS SHACKLE OFF BUHARI

Fellow Nigerians,
Why set limitation on a man because of his age, colour of skin, tribe, geographical locations and religious affiliation(s) and beliefs? I hear funny Nigerians, yes funny! say Buhari will be too old at 73 yr of age to contest in 2015! I say, why are we then crying and complaining since 1999 till date for bad governance and leadership under relatively young nigerians like OBJ,GEJ and the likes?
Really, If I 'bi' God I will really allow Nigerians to suffer this human disaster in leadership [I don't think we have learnt our lessons yet] , because really when the chips are down, Nigerian will follow their sentiments, {religion, ethnicity, [media]-propaganda} which of course has just been upgraded by one now: 'old age'. Well, I want you to consider these people below and see for yourself that it is all sentiment. I know for sure an 80 year old man could be more effective than a 40 year old, depending on who he is, his vision and who he surrounds himself with.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Maybe some of them are too young to know [not anymore in the age of google] maybe they have forgotten - [thank God for records], that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was 76 yrs old when he became the president of South Africa in 1994, before then he had been in jail for 27yrs before he was released in 1990. Yet as an old man, took his country to another height. [Pls compare him with Thabo Mbeki or Jacob Zuma!] But here is Buhari, who has not been in jail (for right or wrong reasons) actively engaging the polity of this nation and yet are dismissing him with a wave off the hand saying 'he is old!'.

Golda Meir
At 70 years old, Golda Meir became the 4th prime minister of Israel. At the age of 49, she was Israel’s ambassador to the Soviet Union. She was born in Russia, but raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She became the foreign minister of Israel at age 55, and retired at age 66, [but came out of retirement at 70] and served for 4 years, to become the first female head of the country.
If a woman [am not a sexist ooo] could come out of retirement at 70, so why not Buhari?

Ronald Regan
The average age of the men who have served as president of the United States is 54 years and 11 months. The youngest was Teddy Roosevelt, age 42, the oldest, Ronald Regan, who became President 16 days before his 70th birthday. He was president for 8 yrs afterwards.

FDR
Why must we always have 'variables' as substitudes for real virtue? Is it age or the heart and competence of the leader or even his state of health [A man with paralytic illness was once a president in [and of] America, he was paralyzed before he became the 32nd president of the United State in 1933. [am sure such will not stand a chance in Nigeria politics and populace opinion]. Infact, Franklin D. Roosevelt was and is still the longest serving American President, elected into office more than 2 terms.

So, am saying if Buhari is too old, so is any one over 50 yrs of age in Nigeria, because that Individual is a miracle walking, since life expectancy in nigeria as at January 9, 2012 is slightly below that.

Am tired of shallow Nigerians, who are easily swayed with facts that holds no water, If others in the nations of the earth can do it, irrespective of natural proceedings,then why not Buhari or any other person that has a track record of Interity and righteousness? or can Buhari or anyone for that matter stop his age, or the aging process?
I sincerelly hope we will not make another mistake of casting our votes base on sentiments, i hope we are tired of being a nation of 'fools ruled by idiots'

25 REASONS I WON'T VOTE FOR PRESIDENT JONATHAN

Voting is not child’s play, it is an action a people do when they willingly surrender the ability to determine the direction and the pace in which the country will go (towards development or damnation) into the hands of one man/people. Apart from being a reflection of our intelligence, it is also the only major opportunity a people have to choose their leader peacefully. Once that is done especially in Africa, we are left with complaining and protests. We are about to put the scepter and the staff in the hands of someone and I think it is an insult for us to vote without a careful and objective thought and how it affects our daily lives.

I have decided not to vote for the PDP in the next elections. They’ve had the opportunity to deliver the dividends of democracy to my nation and her people and they have largely failed. They have continued to over-promise and re-promise the same things without doing anything significant to make the life of the ordinary Nigerian better. For 12 years they have allowed our cousins, friends and neighbours become sacrifices on roads they habitually collect money to repair – ok, they repair it when their close relatives die. They have consciously slaughtered every public infrastructure created to make our lives better only to tell us they will be better when we sell it to them and their cronies. We have empowered them by not voting and they punish us for voting them into power (with our silence) by building an island of prosperity in the quicksand of poverty. Without telling us their ideology they have demonstrated it, they have shown they care more about having power than doing something with it.

In 25 ways PDP won’t have my vote and in 25 ways I will demand we vote not for anything and anyone that represents the same ideology (PDP or not); we must vote and ensure the people we are voting for have the capacity to cause a reversal in our fortunes. Nigeria needs drastic and aggressive reforms and we need leaders with the heart, courage and capacity to do that.

1. Firstly? I gave up long ago about getting President Jonathan to willingly appear for any presidential debate, I still hope he does. In the past 12 years, no PDP presidential aspirant has featured in a presidential debate. After watching Lagos Gubernatorial on Channels TV, I think you should know why …
2. The PDP has demonstrated over time and across situations that they are not interested in solving the Nigerian problem except staying in power… their solution? throwing money at problems (check here http://tinyurl.com/5rbtmtp)
3. In 1999 Petrol was N22 per liter and 12 years after, after billions being pumped into refineries and papers written, the price of petrol per liter is almost competing with that of a liter of bottled water (N65)
4. Though crude oil has witnessed a boom and has sold well above the benchmark price for a better part of the last 12 years, the PDP-controlled government had not been able to address the critical issues of power and poverty
5. In the last 12 years, PDP has mouthed its commitment to the rule of law on one hand and the certification of illegality on the other e.g. President Jonathan’s South west Campaign Manager (OGD) runs his state without a Legislative arm and his Bauchi counterpart has two deputies, he has made no single statement about this.
6. PDP hasn’t stopped using state resources to harass its political opponents. After clearing allegations on Tinubu, Ribadu and El-Rufai over some time, they have begun to unleash every state parastatal at its disposal to distract these people from the electoral process.
7. Under PDP’s watch in the last 12 years, Education has nose-dived and is collapsing. In all public examinations Nigerian students failed with an average of 92% with the NECO exams having Nigerians having up to 98% failure rate. PDP’s solution - Throw more money at problems again by building one university in each state while the existing ones are barely surviving. Duh?
8. If a list of 100 people were to be compiled, with the names of people that have pauperized Nigeria and reduced the country to a theatre of unending tragicomedy, 80 of the names would probably be PDP top shots. – apologies to Salisu Suleiman
9. Few years ago, webcasts were seen as archetypes of the Middle East. Today Nigerians are whipping up every reason in their minds to maim and fight one another. Our NYSC members posted for national service are being turned into sacrifices to the god of disunity. Insecurity has reached frightening proportions. Yet the Jos they refused to go when people were being slaughtered is the place they thronged to when they needed votes. Security? I score PDP 25%
10. Nigerian presidents have been characterized by the people surrounding them. People said Abacha was a good man who had bad advisers. The difference between Obasanjo’s first and second term ministers and advisers have proved this. I really may not be against a Jonathan as a person, but I wonder the kind of president he will be with the kind of new friends he has (Have you read “My REAL friends and I?)
11. Asking about their plan for the next four years, PDP has said nothing different from what they have been saying. More money, more committees and they smile to the bank
12. Despite admitting they have made income that will make all other African nations grow with envy, Nigerians have continued to groan under the yoke of inconsistent economic policies, lack of electricity and an abysmal results in maternity and mortality rates – Nigerians are dying, PDP is dancing
13. I remember Mallam Muhammadu Buhari for WAI; Abacha for PTDF; Abusauhlami for handing over; IBB for Third Mainland Bridge and Abuja …. The only landmark PDP will have me remember it for is telecommunication…Then they reduced our indebtedness and they’ve got us into debt again.
14. Forget the mouthing of campaign rallies and promises to fight corruption. Corruption rate in1999 was 50% and 95% in 2011. Haven’t the PDP reflected its ideologies in celebrating the ‘achievements’ of an ex-convict? OBJ said he was tricked, what has Mr. President said?
15. Despite huge budgets allocated to the transportation and the awarding and re-awarding of contracts, I still cannot mention a major road in Nigeria that has witnessed a transformation within PDP’s rule in last 12 years. Oh ok, the Sango Bridge in Ogun State – it took them 10 years. But, must some Nigerians die so that others can live?
16. Manufacturers also agree with me, more companies have moved out of Nigeria under PDP’s watch than at any other time. In the textile industry alone, the 129 companies have abandoned factory, infrastructure and disillusioned staff to begin again in neighboring countries. We have been turned into a country that imports everything.
17. Brazil built a power plant of 120,000 MW in 3yrs with a loan which they also paid back in 3yrs. South Africa gave a contract for a 5,000 MW power plant at a cost of just $3b!!! PDP spent $17b in 12yrs yet electricity remains a priviledge.
18. The PDP doesn’t believe our political system needs adjustment. OBJ allowed reforms to push his third term agenda, Yaradua said he was elected to make that decision, and Jonathan said it is 96 years late. Will we continue in this macabre dance? ( apologies to Igodomigodo)
19. While people might say the reason why PDP’s weakness is pronounced is because they are in power, their culture of impunity is unprecedented and they are gradually dragging the judiciary into the fray. Can we just try someone else?
20. While the average Nigerian employee is fighting for the approval of NGN 18,000 as minimum wage. Our House of Assembly men were busy milking the nation. They remain the highest paid employees in the nation (yes also in the world!). Yet, evry tenure, the House allocates money for Officers’ quarters only to offer it up for sale to themselves at the tail end of their tenure. The next set of Assembly members come in and the cycle goes on again … presently, official quarters of key official are up for sale and Mr. President hasn’t said anything
21. While we have recorded successes in terms of reforms within the financial and economic sectors everyone admits it has not translated into economic progress for the average Nigerian. The key issue? Infrastructure. But then PDP’s approach is to award more contracts to cronies? Will this ever work?
22. Of course everything is hitting the roof and income sources are dipping fast; Fertilizer: N1,200/bag in 1999 and N4,800 in 2011; Sugar:N2,500/bag in 1999 and N8,500 in 2011; Cooking Gas:N450 in 1999 and N3,000 in 2011; Rice:N2,500 in 1999 and N9,000 in 2011. Well the people benefiting from the system will never know the difference.
23. In a country where people were complaining and finding difficult to eat, my President expended 17 Billion Naira to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of a nation to which he admitted that the only thing to celebrate was our being together. ( CNN interview: - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYj9coCZpc8)
24. Of course Jonathan seems like the good guy with all the luck, but then he is learning the ropes fast. The people he has been encouraged to approach for donations don’t give donations, they make investments
25. Finally I look at the myriad of challenges and courage it will take to lead Nigeria. I look at our multifaceted challenges and the amount of gusto the next leader will need to have. I look at the multitude of varied interests and opinions that need attention in Nigeria. I look at the contestants and I have decided to do President Jonathan a favour and not vote him into power.

In the last few weeks I have seen people give support because they want an honest man. I have seen the eyes of the okada man brighten with the possibilities of a new Nigeria. I have seen Christians go for meetings in a mosque (and vice versa) for a new system of leadership. I have taken time to be on the streets, I have seen the efforts of someone’s NGN1000 and another’s NGN50 make a difference in our efforts. I have seen the enlightened and the uneducated agree to pull our efforts in the direction we believe in. We can never remain the same again, we have seen the light; we have embraced the new Nigeria from afar. I see it; I smell it, a nation where your diligence makes a difference; a nation of equal opportunities to succeed. A nation we will believe in and not the one we will be leaving; a nation where sound character can stand as legal tender. Between that dream and our present realities are our votes. I have decided to cast mine for the Buhari-Bakare ticket, what about you