State of the Nation: Hypocrisy at its finest!

May God help this nation. I start this way because it’s beginning to look less likely that we would overcome the web we spun for ourselves. The government of change has turned out to become the most despicable agent of hypocrisy. Before I blow my lid off in rantings and finger-pointing, let’s assess the state of our nation this week.

Uncle Lai on the Beat

We are used to the antics of the Minister of Information who many have stated that it was by no mere coincidence that his name corresponds to his nature (nor be me talk am o!). But time after time, he does very little to dissuade that impression. Just this week, Uncle Lai told Nigerian artistes during the launch of a 1-million-dollar venture capital investment in the entertainment industry, that they should stop shooting music videos and movies outside Nigeria. He has since had serious backlash following that statement, chief of which has been coming from Peter Okoye, one of the brothers of the iconic duo, P-Square.
Now, here’s my school of thought: Even though it sounds very considerate and progressive based on its impact on our economy, there are a couple of problems with it, vis

1. It totally limits creativity. What about those movies and music videos whose plots, themes and settings make them impossible to shoot here in Nigeria?
2. It is the height of hypocrisy. I am very sure that Uncle Lai’s children are not entirely based in Nigeria. I also cannot remember the last time the president was in the country; his children almost never schooled in Nigeria. The “Buy Naija to grow Naija” message coming from them makes very little sense to me, it’s hypocritical crap.

Diezani and her Cohorts

When Davido shouted “30 billion for the account e o”, Nigerians began to estimate the weight of the statement with many, including myself, claiming that the musician cannot have that amount. But I was Odunlade-shocked to find out that some of Diezani Alison-Madueke’s business partners – Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore — spent 29 billion naira on a yacht and almost 18 billion on an apartment in New York. When we mention these sums of money, they sound like unimaginable figures but if someone can spend this much on a yacht and an apartment, how much is actually in the bank or stashed away in hidden locations? These guys were middlemen in our oil trade deals but the US government through its Department of Justice sees these men as money launderers and are seeking for a recovery of almost 52 billion naira! This makes me wonder, if this is just one deal, how about the countless number of persons who have benefitted from the “National Cake”?

The visit to the Away King

It is only in Nigeria that we have home and away presidents. Just this past week, the home president went for an away match hosted by his away counterpart. As recently described by Shehu Sani and Aisha Buhari, the “Lion King” who is coming to get rid of “Jackals and Hyenas”, was visited by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and the meeting lasted less than an hour (because there was so little to talk about, presumably Saraki was the only topic).
Here’s my problem with the so-called visit: The United Kingdom is not our nation and it makes no sense for one president to be there for almost three months and also receive visitors. We paid for one president to go and live in London, I see no reason why we should waste more taxpayer’s money for the other president to go visit the aforementioned president. Also, the existence of our elected president has not still been validated with all the speculations surrounding his condition. And after the most public visit ever, nothing was done to change the public’s perception or maybe disprove the loquacious Fayose.

Religion, Education and the Fear of Islamization

Nigeria is fundamentally divided based on religion and this has eaten so deep into the fabric of our reasoning. We have Muslims to the North and Christians to the South. This division is made even more visible in our educational system even to the most basic unit of learning.
Students in Nigeria study two subjects based on religion and geographical location and suffice to say that this has helped the country. The current moves by the Ministry of Education to make both Christian Religious Knowledge and Islamic Religious Knowledge compulsory subjects has not only unsettled our religious folks, but it has also stirred up the whole fear of Islamization. Why force an unwanted subject on highly sentimental and religiously biased people if you don’t have an agenda? Also, in an age of technology and innovation, are subjects based on religion supposed to be the main focus of education? This question is for our misguided Minister of Education!

Fayose for President

It is no news that the governor of Ekiti State is gunning for the highest seat in the land. His consistent bashing of the incumbent president raised serious concerns as regards his motives before he personally confirmed it. However, his desires might not tally with that of his party, with the PDP seemingly prepared to zone the presidential ticket to the North. But is the outspoken governor a right choice or even a reasonable aspirant? We have had other persons showing interest including the likes of Donald Duke, Atiku, Fela Durotoye and Peter Obi. It would be interesting to see the future of Nigeria unfold. I would advise at this point that we shun the idea of “sidon look” and embrace active participation in determining our future.

God bless Nigeria.

Efosa Iguodala

Graduate of Chemistry, GrantCorp founder, political analyst and a Gunner for Life!