State of the Nation: Matters Arising

In my country Nigeria, things can go from 0-100 in the twinkle of an eye. I was going to write on some social/national issues but stuff just escalated overnight. So, sorry if you want to get the low down on the Hushpuppi and Phyno/Ice Prince beef or the #osisuavechallenge, you’d either have to wait a while or maybe just maybe I might squeeze it in. Here’s the gist for this week

The Assistant Acting President

On Tuesday July 4th, the chances of having a democratic coup were carefully tested.  As we all know, the president of Nigeria is currently on an unexplained vacation and the number 2 man is on official assignment outside the shores of the nation also, and we know that once a president is unable to actively run the nation, power falls on the next in line. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe had, during the senate’s session after a 3-week break, pointed out that the nation was without leadership and this was strongly countered by Senator Kabir Marafa representing Zamfara Central who, while stating order 53, rule 4 of the Senate standing rules said “If the President is not around, the Vice President should act, and if the Vice President is not around, the Senate President, who is the number 3 citizen should become acting President.” The Senate President, however, quickly ruled Senator Marafa “out of order”. I believe there’s more to this story and as I have previously forecasted, Senate President Bukola ‘Underwood’ Saraki would run for office come 2019. Someone is helping him test the waters. Let’s see how it all plays out.

Who really needs proof?

In the normal outspoken and sometimes instigative nature of the executive governor of Ekiti state, Governor Ayodele Fayose has stated that he believes that the president is dead and needs proof of life in order to change his opinion. As expected, the APC has come out swinging also, telling the Ekiti man to show them proof of death! What kind of country do we live in? If someone accuses you of being dead, you jump out and shut the person down physically. What is this proof of death issue again? With all due respect to the president and the APC, the best way to end this mess is to either broadcast the president live, or agree that the president is no longer fit for office.

Restructuring Nigeria

The good book says, “If the foundation be faulty, what can the righteous do?” The very existence of Nigeria is a miracle, a miracle built on greed, deceit and an incessant thirst for power. The very foundation laid for the existence of this country is a faulty one. It is crystal clear to the blind and very audible to the deaf that a continuous movement on this path would lead to catastrophic events that this country may not recover from. Several stakeholders and elder statesmen have called for the restructuring of Nigeria, its economy, its power arrangement, its socio-political distinctions and all that is summed up in one word — FEDERALISM. We lack accountability because power, resources and even blame is pushed to the center. This is a very big letdown for the idea of sectional accountability and development. We really need to address the issue of restructuring moving forward. (Look out for my upcoming piece on true federalism)

From Sambisa to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

The leader of the free world and President of America, President Donald Trump, recently hosted two ‘CHIBOK’ girls: Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu, at the White House in company of the ever gracious Ivanka Trump, his daughter. The very details of the meeting are still unknown at this time but I believe it’s a good experience for them and I just hope our president can come back home and do the same for the other girls who are currently free and if possible, seek for productive help (not just photo shoots) from the developed world in not just rescuing the remaining girls but in making sure these girls are mentally, emotionally and physically fit to blend into society.

Does Government pay for Media Distractions?

If it’s not Bobrisky today, it’s Daddy Freeze tomorrow, or Hushpuppi or Wizkid and Davido, even the Cinderella Man. I have a conspiracy theory; I believe government engineers most of this social media fracas just to distract Nigerians from seeing the true picture; a smokescreen if you will. I’m just kidding though… or am I?

Earlier in the week it was Hushpuppi who stirred a whirlwind when he attacked Phyno and Ice Prince claiming they wore fake designer wears. You’d expect me to focus on what transpired, but no. What’s imperative is the fact that between Hushpuppi, Ice prince and Phyno, they didn’t do more than 20 posts on all their social media platforms, yet Nigerians were distracted by this for 2 days. Two days when no one was concerned about the wellbeing of this country. Before this, it was Osi Suave (@cinderellaman) who was caught red-handed in a puddle of lies and poorly rehearsed facts. The topic was on his mom’s involvement in family life and also his hustling ability and his first car experience and since the internet never forgets, he was openly disgraced.

Now, here’s my problem. Osi Suave has moved on, but Nigerians were left distracted for longer than they should have been. So distracted that they even had the #OsiSuaveChallenge. As I write this, an ongoing social media war between Wizkid and Davido has taken the center stage and the entire nation is focused on that. It’s either the government is involved in all this drama or we have a very poor willpower and as such we don’t deserved accountability if our focus can be shifted with something as small as a tweet.

God bless Nigeria.

Efosa Iguodala

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