COVID-19 - THE HARD TRUTHS FROM THESE TRYING TIMES

If someone were to tell me in December 2019 that there would be an occurrence in 2020 which would lead to a near collapse of the financial markets, nearly wipe out the global transportation and tourism industry, put almost all the nations of the world on self-imposed lockdown, I mean basically ground the entire world, I would have simply taken the person for a clown, and if they were to insist on keeping their position, I would have recommended a psychiatric evaluation. Such was the strength of my faith and belief in the social, mental, scientific, and technological evolution of humankind that I could not foresee all of us abandoning life as we know it and scampering for shelter far away from other humans as much as possible.

Let us face it, the world will never be the same again, even after we have been able to arrest the Covid-19 pandemic, but then, why should it remain the same? The current situation has brought to the fore the indispensability of many of the issues essential to the dignity and respect of humankind and how we have for a very long time paid lip-service to them, and that was when we were not outrightly denying their importance. Issues of affordable universal healthcare, social safety net, fit-for-purpose public infrastructure, public programmes planning and execution, and social integration as a whole have been totally neglected, and we can see in real time how nations and societies are paying the price for their laxity. The US is leading in Covid-19 death rates because their healthcare system is broken, and they have a leadership gulf at the very top; Nigeria is struggling to stem the tide because the health and social infrastructures are grossly inadequate and we cannot even effectively give financial palliatives to those who need them because we do not have genuine and verifiable data, and of course we have a leadership gulf at the very top too; and the Northern European Countries are handling the situation well because they have always been structured and they have social safety nets such that they didn’t need to change much to cope with the pandemic.

Brace yourself, even when the Pandemic is over, the fear will remain for a long time, the fear not just for ourselves, but for our kids, our siblings, our colleagues, for all our loved ones altogether. What will be gone though is the trust of social existence – partying, clubbing, even lounging in open spaces such as bars, beaches, and malls will no longer be trustworthy, and we might find ourselves going back to living like cavemen, coming out for sunlight once in a while. Of course, I kid, but when you consider the fact that we were already talking about going to live on Mars, and we already have shuttles which can make such trips multiple times like your normal airplane, you will understand that going back to not being able to gather in public or use public transportation to cover distances of a few kilometers is like a thousand-year regression. Brace yourself, wearing of face masks will be compulsory for months to come, at least wannabe ninjas will be happy at these.

Now back to the hard truths from this pandemic – we the masses have suffered the most and we will suffer more, unless we change our perception and approach to governance and leadership. When we abdicated our responsibilities and left leadership and governance to demagogues, charlatans, misfits and rogues, of course they cannot suddenly develop competence during a crisis, they can only respond to the limit of their abilities. We all have to be involved in choosing those who lead us, in determining those who chart the course for the present and the future, in keeping on their toes those we have surrendered our individuality and personal preferences to in exchange for the social contract of having the freedom to live and pursue happiness. We owe these duties to ourselves, and we will be doing ourselves a great disservice if we leave those processes to the misfits in the society. Most times, we delude ourselves with the fact that we can create enclaves with others who have broken free from the inhuman drudgery of daily struggle to make ends meet, and we have this false security once we go into our gated estates, but the reality as highlighted by the menace of “the One Million Gang” and “the Awawa Boys” during this lockdown is that no one is safe within the vicinity of heartless and hungry miscreants who have been armed by unscrupulous politicians. We are all in this together, and we have to fix it together.

As a parting shot, now that you know that everything is possible, it is now up to you to hold people around you accountable when they tell you it is not possible. Governments all over the world who said “Healthcare For All” is impossible are able to find funds to finance this Public Health Emergency; Governments who said “Guaranteed Monthly Incomes” are impossible are finding funds to provide Financial Palliatives to Businesses and Citizens; Preachers who said you must come to Churches and Mosques to prove your faith are now conducting ministrations online; Employers who would mandate you to suffer through hours of traffic on daily basis to  and fro the office are now encouraging you to work from home and use Zoom and Skype; lovers who told you they were always busy driving, in meetings, in open offices, and so on are now working from home, so what is their excuse for not keeping in touch now? Think about it. While thinking about it, continue to act safe and be safe. Together we will beat the pandemic.

Thank You!

God Bless Us All!!

See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash

Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

THE DANGEROUS NECESSITY OF SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

Let's start this trying to tackle some misconception - did Ganduje have the power to dethrone Emir Sanusi? Yes, he does. Governors have the right to remove First Class Traditional Rulers, and for those Traditional Rulers who are “unlucky” to be below First Class, they are on the stool at the whim and caprices of the LGA Chairperson, and they could be removed by the Chairperson at any time. To quote Abubakar Rimi, a former Governor of Kano State, "A traditional ruler is a public officer holding a public office, who is being paid by public funds, and whose appointment is at the pleasure of the state governor and who can be dismissed, removed, interdicted, suspended, if he commits an offence” This can be summarized as Elected Officials give the "staff of office" to Traditional Rulers, they can as well collect them back when they wish. And of course, many kings have been deposed by the Government across our history, from the colonial days, all through our post-independence days – the British deposed and exiled Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi of Benin in 1899, the revered Obafemi Awolowo dethroned Alaafin Adeyemi in 1955 for differing on the grounds of political affiliation, Sir Ahmadu Bello dethroned Emir Sanusi in 1963 on the grounds of mismanagement, Abacha deposed Sultan Dasuki in 1996, because, well, it was Abacha.

Now to a rather pertinent question - should Ganduje had dethroned Emir Sanusi? Of course he shouldn't have, no Political Office Holder should trample on Traditional Institutions in such a manner, but of course, politicians see themselves as demigods, and backed by the Constitution, they go ahead and rubbish Traditional Rulers - cue in Ajimobi who elevated 20 Family Heads to the level of Olubadan in 2017, just to belittle the Olubadan Throne, a tactic Ganduje also deployed in Kano in 2019 by dividing the Kano Emirate into 5 equal parts, just to reduce the influence of Emir Sanusi. A little tidbit – Ajimobi and Ganduje are in-laws, Ajimobi’s Son got married to Ganduje’s Daughter in 2018. Just think about it. When we consider that as a people, we have lost sight of our culture and lost track of our history, what we should be doing is embarking on massive reorientation of our values and reclamation of our culture, and the best avenue to do that is through the traditional institutions. No system of significance in Nigeria reflects our culture or embodies our history, not education, not legal, not economic, and not political. For the Government to keep stripping bare traditional institutions proves that those we have handed the reins of leadership to basically have no idea about social reclamation, self-realization, and national reorientation. This is what happens when we conclude that politics is dirty and we leave it to the dregs of the society, we will be left with scoundrels running our present and reprobates deciding our children’s future.

For Sanusi, I first took note of him as the CBN Governor, and one quality you can always ascribe to him is "consistency". He has always been "a principled man who speaks truth to power", and his fracas with the Jonathan Administration was based on exactly the same issues as his problems with the Buhari Administration as spearheaded by Ganduje. His message has always centred on "decrying profligacy, preaching accountability, and advocating social changes", those messages have not changed, but obviously, the politicians are tired of hearing them. Whether Sanusi appeals to you or not, you cannot rationally say that he has not been consistent in his positions, flip-flopping is not a jibe you can throw at him. Let me categorically say I always agree with Sanusi's positions, and I love the fact that he shares them at every opportunity he has. That is what I believe people who have podiums and audiences should do, use your platforms to call out the ills in the society, it will come with some sacrifices, but there is no gain without pain. For those who faulted his decision to become the Emir in the first place, claiming he had was too educated, too intelligent, and with too much finesse to go and hide all that within the confines of a palace, we have to understand that it was a lifelong dream for him, and if we all try to understand the concept of "self-actualization", we will understand that it was what he had always considered as the peak of his achievements in life. After earning a Bachelor and a Masters Degrees, he actually went back to the University to get another Degree in Sharia and Islamic Studies, to prepare himself for when he ascends the throne of his fathers - his grandfather and great-grandfather were both Emirs in their lifetimes. Did he know the pitfalls that such a move will present to him? I believe a man of Sanusi’s intelligence would have known, but he might have underestimated the ruthlessness and haughtiness of Ganduje once the lifelong politician got into office.

Now that he is free of the heavy cloaks and the mountainous turbans, Sanusi can choose to join forces with International Organisations like most intellects edged out of public relevance by our sordid politics, or he can even choose to seek an elective office in Nigeria to try and change things from within, but he must continue to speak truth to power at home, because therein lies the freedom for Nigerians. The more people with means and intellect who challenge the devilish political hegemony, the more the politicians continue to reveal their sinister capabilities, the more the people realise that the politicians are worse than vultures and scavengers, and maybe, just maybe, that will push us into action and take the country back.

Thank You!
God Bless Us All!!
See You Next Time!!!


Twitter: @SirRash
Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi
Instagram: @theaspiringsage

…OF VULNERABILITY AND THE ILLUSION OF ELEVATION

Since the last time I wrote here, some things have changed… Not such big changes, but big enough to make me become more introspective and less happy. I mean Life is TOUGH, at least I can speak for here in Nigeria where I live.

The first change is that I changed my job (Again???). Yeah, again. I finally left Telecommunications, I am now in Renewable Energy, Solar Energy to be precise, and while it is financially rewarding and interesting, it is also saddening because I get to come in contact with the real Vulnerables of the world, and that could be depressing, especially when you consider how minute your impact is compared to what they require to get uplifted out of their dire status.

The second change is that I have gone on and become a more open person who now interacts more with strangers and virtual friends, and what I see every day is that basically, no one has it together. We are all just trying to be happy, because happiness is such a fleeting state that you will definitely miss out on it while trying to own it, which is such a disturbing state of things because it means we are never happy, rather we are in an endless race in pursuit of happiness. This means that irrespective of education, income, social standing, and so on, we are all still in a state of flux and we are all still VULNERABLES despite all the illusions of elevation. I am now seeing Vulnerability not from the angle of lack of physical peace but from the perspective of lacking inner peace, calm and control.

The economic situation is terrible, this has been so for long, and it does not look like it is abating anytime soon, but even when by sheer dint of hardwork coupled with God’s blessings you are able to break the yoke and become self-sustaining and self-reliant, you are still vulnerable:

When you build a house and you need an electrified fence higher than your house to feel safe, you are vulnerable…

When you have a car, but you need to vary your routes everyday to avoid being trailed by people with sinister motives, you are vulnerable…

When you have kids but you cannot send them to public schools because it is pointless, and you are afraid of sending them to expensive public schools for fear of them picking up expensive terrible habits from the kids of the rich, you are vulnerable…

When you see every one of your mates emigrating from the country but you decide to stay put, you are vulnerable…

When you cannot access the best healthcare not because of your lack of trying, but because it is not just available, you are vulnerable…

When your kids understand technology better than you, you are vulnerable…

When everything is confusing most of the time, you are vulnerable...

You see, at the end of the day, we are mostly not in control, we are just playing and acting according to a script, and we cannot even control or determine when our character will be killed off. So, the best we can do is be the best of ourselves – treat others fairly and respectfully, live our life to the fullest, and above all, try to leave the world a better place than we met it such that we would have contributed our best to rid the world of the Vulnerables.

Thank You!

God Bless Us All!!

See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash

Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

…OF A NIGERIAN YOUTH AND THE QUANDARY OF ETERNAL OPTIMISM

This is the month of May, today is the 29th, and the appropriate greeting as a Nigerian is “Happy Democracy Day”, but I guess saying “Happy New Year” is not out of place, since I was here last in the year 2016. Yes, I know, I have promised I will not disappear several times and I actually did disappear, but if you know me very well, you know I usually keep my promises, and it is because I try so hard to keep most of my promises

that I have not been able to keep this one – you know, promises like never let the family lack, never let my day-job suffer, never let stress send me to the hospital, never pass up an opportunity to network in real life, etc.

So, here I am again confused as to what to write about, not as much what to write about, but what to write about it – I want to write about the future of those of us Nigerians forty years and below-  should I join the others and continue to wail and rail against the our present sad situation, or should I, like an eternal optimist that I am, choose to tell people that things are improving and they will continue to improve even when I know in reality we are moving at the pace of a faulty unicycle, when we really need to move with the speed of Virgin’s Booms. Let me make this very clear, I am not laying claim to superior knowledge, but I can boldly say it without any qualms that the youths are definitely not ready for the change we all crave.

The premise of my assertion is my interactions with the youths, they more often than not leave me feeling the situation is irredeemable because the discussions are never logical and the larger part of the time is spent arguing for superiority by tribe, age, religion, education, and political affiliation, they rarely display intellect or discuss ideas. They spend most of their time defending those who have put them in this quagmire of existence and I am always confused as to if they do not realise that those who constitute the political elite are the same people who have thrown us all into this abyss of wavering hope.

Societies grow when there are systems and structures which allow ideas to thrive, multiply, and morph into tangible development. Structures such as economic, education, healthcare, judicial, and so on. Those structures exist around here but only in a state of flummox. We have schools but not education; we have hospitals but no healthcare, we have a government structure but no economic development or judicial confidence. I fervently hope the youths realise that most of those who make up the political elite will not be here in fifty years, but most of us under the age of forty today will be here with our children, our grandchildren and possibly grandchildren. What kind of country will we have by then? One where the majority are uneducated, and sick, and uncouth, and unable to contribute meaningfully to the economy.

This is the time for the youths not just to stand up and be counted, or profess eternal optimism, but to get involved in grabbing the reins of leadership from the charlatans we have at the helms now and chart a new course for the country, for our children, and for generations unborn.

NB: Subsequent articles will detail my suggestions on how we take over our destinies.

Thank You!
God Bless Us All!!
See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash
Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

RIVERS OF BABYLON

It started out as a song playing in my subconscious, then I started humming it around the house and the office, then I started playing it out loud through my phone, and I had to go post the lyrics on Facebook, and now it is at the top of my “most played” playlist. I am referring to the popular Boney M song “Rivers of Babylon” which has taken over my life in the last two weeks.

As someone who likes looking for Order within Chaos, and someone who considers rationalizing phenomena as important and as necessary as breathing is to continuous existence, I have been trying to understand why this song has suddenly taken over my life at this point in time. Like all Researchers worth the title would do, I decided to start from the beginning.

Boney M, I am sure have rights to the song, but the original writer of the lyrics is King David aka The Psalmist, the man whose favoured instrument was the Harp, and who has one hundred and fifty curated singles to his credit among which are the popular “The Earth Is The Lord’s And The Fullness Thereof”, “He That Dwelleth In The Secret Place Of The Most High”, “I Will Lift Up My Head To The Mountains High” and the seminal “The Lord Is My Shepherd”. The lyrics to the song could be found in the first four verses of Psalms 137 and the last verse of Psalm 90. However, I am still not close to finding an answer to the question - Why does the song keep ringing in my head?

To answer this question, I had to summon my inner Bertrand, Descartes, Nietsche, Kierkegaard, Kant, Freud, Orwell, Marx, and Awolowo; and ask series of questions about Life, Living, Existence, Afterlife, Happiness, Purpose, Fate, Choice, Spirituality, Love, and a whole lot of other concepts. Suffice to say I did a lot of thinking, probably became enlightened a little more, definitely got a bit more confused, but with a better understanding of why the song has been ringing in my head.

I believe the song is a summation of the state of humans in the present world, a world where divisions are being accentuated, where bigotry and hate are being encouraged, where diseases keep finding ways to morph, where wars have become the norm, where poverty and hunger keep growing exponentially, and where humans seem incapable of providing far-reaching and long-lasting solutions.

This world is not our home as we love it, this must be a captive colony of the wicked, this is Babylon, our home is in Zion; but we are here and we are expected to be happy and show love to everyone, but how do we continue to be happy and loving when sadness permeates everywhere? How do we continue to be model human beings when that represents the exception at the moment? As it stands, when we cannot fathom a way out of the pervasive quagmire, we turn to the Most High and offer supplications and hope He will accept and prepare a place for us somewhere else, a place far better, peaceful, and inspiring than this Babylon.

The song represents my conscious cum subconscious view of the state of the world at the moment – disillusionment, shame, and hopelessness.

I am not giving up though. I believe we can still salvage the world. Believing is a start, isn’t it?

Thank You!
God Bless Us All!!
See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash
Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

THE CONUNDRUM OF BEING A NIGERIAN

Nigeria is one big conundrum, and Nigerians are one lovely nebulous people, we share so many similarities and at the same time so many differences. Nigerians are adept at adapting to situations, especially difficult and unwarranted situations - for instance, Nigerians buy land from some families, lands which they do not own, but only occupy, because the government actually owns all the land and everything therein; then Nigerians build houses; sink boreholes to provide water; erect fences and gates, erect self-contain at the front for the security personnel, thereby providing their own security end-to-end; and then they buy their own generators to provide electricity, or probably go for solar panels on the roof, or go for battery powered inverters, or a combination of all options, thereby becoming their own electricity generating and distributing company. When there are many of such house-owners in the area, they form a Community Development Association (CDA), they contribute funds and tar the roads, they contribute funds and erect electricity poles and cables, they contribute funds and buy transformers and lobby power-company officials to connect them to the electricity grid, then they call on the Local Government Chairperson or the Commissioner or even the Governor to come and commission all the projects. Please, take a moment to reflect and let all these sink in – Nigerians take over the responsibilities of Government, then call on the Government to come and take the glory. We are nice like that. We will rather fight our long-time neighbour who is from another tribe or believes in a different creed in defence of a clueless minister (who is oblivious of our existence by the way), because the Minister speaks the same mother tongue and wields the same Holy Book as us.

Nigerians who work in structured organisations pay income tax in form of PAYE, actually, the Government takes the tax before Nigerians collect their salaries. Those who work in the informal sector pay all forms of levies. We pay VAT on almost everything. We pay stamp duties on almost all bank transactions. We indirectly pay all forms of duties e.g import, excise, etc. We pay for licences to own a vehicle, and to drive the vehicle. In Lagos, we even pay Consumption Tax whenever we have the temerity to go to eateries and hotels rather than bukas. Then we still have to provide basic amenities for ourselves. In Nigeria, the only things we do not provide for ourselves are those things the government do not allow us to provide for ourselves, like fuel and a standing army. Yet, we still find it rational in our minds to continue to fight ourselves on behalf of the same Government

We are capable of expressing righteous indignation at being labelled “a fantastically corrupt nation”, and we are at the same capable of expressing righteous indignation at people who demand government accountability. Ironic, is it not? We are confused like that. Those in Government spend all their time making u-turns on promises, skirting around important issues that affect the most of us, and displaying verbal acrobatic skills on pointless issues like “threatening to impregnate a colleague” or “defending other corrupt colleagues”; yet we only try to match them by labelling ourselves “Hailers” and “Wailers” and ensuring that all our reasoning and positions are determined by those nomenclatures. We spend all our days criticizing smart moves, defending senseless positions, and justifying insanity based on our tribes or political affiliations. Nigerians, I know you love your religion, and your tribe, and your political affiliations; but can you find some space in-between exhibiting all those loves to show some love to the whole humanity too and allow rationality to take precedence over emotions sometimes. See, the problem is that humanity precedes and supercedes every other thing, and if we allow humanity to be wiped off, there will be nothing to defend or criticize again because we would all be gone, as in wiped off, obliterated…

Thank You!
God Bless Us All!!
See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash
Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

...OF PARADOXES AND MORE PARADOXES

I have mulled over a befitting title for this post over a million times (I kid, maybe just over a thousand times), and I have not been able to settle on one as at the time I am writing this first sentence. I want to write about something very real and ever-present, and I want to write in my style of fluid narration, with in-depth description/exposition when necessary , all conveyed in a vehicle of subtle humor and satire, with the very serious message in there for all to see and appreciate. I want to pass across a very important message, but without boring you to death or scaring you to hell, I want to sound funny and interesting without coming across as a clown, I want to make people simultaneously laugh and think, and then go out to contribute to making a positive change to themselves and the society afterwards. This is the Paradox of trying to be a Conscientious Writer.

Interestingly, President Buhari, who strode into Aso Rock hailed as the “Uprightest President Ever Liveth” kept the nation guessing and anticipating his Ministerial List for four months. He kept moving back the release date like Davido’s sophomore album. We were all anticipating the “Baddest” List, but when the List finally dropped, it felt like Wizkid’s “Ayo” Album - made up of materials we have not just grown accustomed to, but also tired of, because they have been circulated as “Official Singles” or “Leaked Singles” in countless DJ mixtapes.

In fairness to the President, he defended the eternity it took for the List to be released:

“Fellow Nigerians, there have been a lot of anxiety and impatience over the apparent delay in announcement of ministers. There is no cause to be anxious. Our government set out to do things methodically and properly. We received the handing over notes from the outgoing government only four days before taking over. Consequently, the Joda Transition Committee submitted its Report on the reorganization of Federal Government structure after studying the hand over notes. It would have been haphazard to announce ministers when the government had not finalized the number of ministries to optimally carry the burden of governance.”

In fairness to Nigerians too, it was the President’s handlers, loyalists, and sympathizers who kept inundating us with tales of how the President was scouring the length, breadth and the nethermost parts of Nigeria to unearth untainted and incorruptible androids to work with him in bringing about the much vaunted change; so do not accuse of insatiability when we complain after seeing names like Audu Ogbeh and Rotimi Amaechi on the List. The lesson here is: the APC is now in charge, we need less of propaganda, and more of implementation of policies, this is not hip-hop, so we do not need to roll out the hype-machine and try to sell Wizkid as the new Fela. This is the Paradox of running a Government: it should be less of hip-hop style promotion, and more like whatever else is big, serious, broken, affects a lot of people, and needs fixing... something like Nigeria.

In similar vein, accusations have been leveled against the President that he is running a Gerontocracy. Of course, the accusations are not completely baseless, but we need to look at both sides of the coin here. Nigeria, towards the end of Jonathan’s administration had become rudderless and directionless, we were actually on the verge of an implosion, and most of the ills were brought about by the conscienceless people President Jonathan surrounded himself with. As such, if the new Sheriff in town is only comfortable working with only the people he can vouch for, I think it is understandable, and considering the President is a Septuagenarian, it is only logical most of the people he can personally claim to have close affinity with will be within the age bracket sixty to eighty years. This however presents another conundrum: how will the Youths garner the experience to take over the reins of Leadership in the nearest future? I have heard many “Young Ones” blame the “Old Ones” for how the Youths are today, claiming the erosion of our value system is the fault of those who have been steering the ship of the nation since Independence. I quite agree to a large extent that role models are scarce, but when you look at most of the Youths who have been in positions of authority, you realize they are not different from those they blame. In this blame-game, the “Old Ones” consider the “Young Ones” inexperienced and untrustworthy; while the “Young Ones” believe the “Old Ones” are archaic and immorally-entitled. This is where the Paradox of Leadership in this dispensation emanates: how do the Youths garner experience and enhance their reputation to step up into higher roles if they are not given responsibilities?

Pervasively, there are so many paradoxes around, so many that we have come to fully accept them as normal: we build beautiful cities and then spend more money providing security in the cities than we spend providing education for children in the cities; we have many smart gadgets now, but we cannot say the same about human beings; we drink alcohol both when we are extremely happy and when we are extremely sad, and everytime in-between; we make advances in technology, and we seem to simultaneously take equal giant strides in birthing or unearthing humans who seize the technology to terrorize us all. Maybe this is how our existence is to be: to always pursue happiness but never catch up with it; to always preach love and show apathy or outright hate; to always promise freedom and deliver bondage. I guess this is the Paradox of our Existence which Shakespeare captured succinctly in the first quartet of Sonnet XXXV:

“No more be grieved at that which thou hast done:

Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud:

Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,

And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.”

I think I will simply title this piece “Of Paradoxes and more Paradoxes” and sign out till next time.

Thank You!

God Bless Us All!!

See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash

Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

Google+: Rasheed Adewusi

INSPIRATION FROM AN UNLIKELY PLACE

I don’t know if you really know your Bible. No, I do not mean whether you are a Christian, or whether you go to Church, I mean, really know your Bible. Well, you don’t have to feel guilty, you are not alone *winks*. Staying on course, let me quickly take you to that part of the Bible, the New Living Translation Version of the Bible, in the book of Job, Chapter 1 Verse 7, Satan went before God:

God: Where have you come from?

Satan: I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.

Now, don’t start getting funny ideas, you are not God, and I am definitely not Satan, but given that it has been ten months since I last showed myself here, you are totally within your rights to ask me “Where have you come from?”, and I am sure the best answer I can give is “I have been patrolling the Earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

Surprisingly, many things have not changed since I was here. You know the way they say the more things change, the more they remain the same, that is exactly the feeling I have right now. Since the last time I trod this path, the PDP has gone from being the Ruling Party to the Opposition Party, but the size of the Government is still huge, the Naira is still reeling, and Boko Haram is still on rampage; the United States and its allies have bombed more terrorist camps with more advanced drones, but insurgency is dishearteningly still waxing stronger and spreading its tentacles across the globe; a lot of us complain about the depth and essence of music and movies being churned out on daily basis, but the bottom just seems to be coming closer to the surface (you must have heard Ladi); and Arsenal have spent about £150m over two years on players, four of them from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Chelsea, and Arsenal have won three trophies in those two years but the media and opposition fans are still convinced Arsenal is a stingy club, there is just no pleasing the haters I guess; and the Company I “work with” has succeeded in sending most of the “expatriates” either back to their country or to a direct competitor, and have successfully replaced them with Nigerians, but the more things change, the more they remain the same, and sometimes, they even get worse.

However, unlike the bear, I did not just curl into a crevice and go into hibernation (How does a bear actually live with itself after coming out of hibernation, knowing it has just slept away a huge chunk of its life? Has it never heard of sagely sayings like “Life is Short” and “YOLO”?), I have actually been very active networking, building, and nurturing. I am really putting in the shift so that very soon, I will not have to introduce myself again because I would have become “Rich and Famous”, to borrow from Praiz. I get inspired everyday by people all over the world working assiduously to actualize their dreams, but nothing inspires more than when those people are close to home, when you know their stories, you experience their struggles and efforts with them, and you partake in the returns first-hand. There are a lot of dudes and dames out there doing a lot of good, and these more than anyone else have made my blogging-hibernation not torturous. There is JayOsbie, a young man full of ideas with an equal dose of energy and steadily climbing the ladder of success; there is Dawan, one of the most versatile people I have ever met gradually carving a niche for herself; there is SphinxPhoto who turned her hobby into a passion and now money is chasing her;  there is Fagro, my guy who is always so productively busy, Lagos with its perennial traffic jams is antithetical to his dreams; there is Dotun, my cosmopolitan friend striving to light up the world and simultaneously save the planet; there are my friends at work who made the days run by fast despite the stress; and then there is Family who always make me feel blessed beyond words and simultaneously encourage me to strive harder because I owe it to them as a life’s duty to always give them the best in life.

Like a pen, I have to at some point run out, and I think I have reached that point. I leave for today, and I promise not to go into hibernation again, and this is a promise I plan to keep.

Lest I forget, thanks Obums for getting me out of dormancy. Your words reinvigorated and prompted me to write this weekend. I really appreciate.

Thank You!

God Bless Us All!!

See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash

Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

Google+: Rasheed Adewusi

CHAOS, ORDER, AND MORE CHAOS.

A discussion with some vast and versed friends has resurrected my thinking about Faith, Hope, and Beliefs. If you are a regular reader of this Blog, you will know I am guilty of overthinking atimes, and this period is one of them. However, rather than focus on religious leanings, I would rather journey through the well-worn road of “Chaos and Order”. From Mathematics, to Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Accounting, Geography, even English Language, the aim is to discover or create “Order” out of the mass of “Chaos” around. But how well are we doing this? Are we really creating “Order” or creating more “Chaos”? Accepting that some events represent “Order” amidst “Chaos”, is it “reality” or “escapism”? Let me try and exemplify my thinking with some real life experiences.

I heard of a Kwara State indigene based in Kano who relocated back to Ilorin due to the Boko Haram Insurgency. Unfortunately, he was killed by armed robbers a week after getting back to Ilorin. Now someone tell me what order is in the chaos of running away from terrorists’ bombs and getting slayed by armed robbers’ bullets in the space of a week? It is in that vein that I also begin to question the relevance of planning and preparation since there are a whole lot of things we have no control over out there. How do you find order within the chaos, when chaos seems to be the order of the day, Nigeria being a perfect example. To go further, how do the families of those countless civilians who have lost their lives in the Boko Haram insurgency find order within the chaos?

I read every day about commendable progress in Science viz-a-viz medicine, engineering, biotechnology, etc and I also read every day about wars, droughts, famine, mishaps, epidemics, etc. Forms of entertainment everywhere from Sports to Music and Movies; Technology is hailed to be making life easier, but Depression and Suicide is on the rise still. Religious Institutions are growing bigger and growing still but it is still behind immorality, corruption, and crime in growth rate. Every time we make progress in one direction, it is nullified by afflictions from three other directions.

I have one friend, and I know you all have that one friend, that one who gets all your jokes, that one who finishes your sentences, that one always singing the lyrics to the song you are humming in your mind, that one who is as financially buoyant or even more financially than you, that one who is always ready to hang out with you at a short notice, that one who is the life of the party, and also that one who always chooses the exact moment when the waiter brings the bill to your table (not when the bill is called for, not when the bill is being compiled, not when the waiter with the bill is fifty meters away, but the exact moment when the waiter brings the bill to your table) to receive a phone call or leave for the restroom. Now this is not much of a chaos, but it is still chaotic. How do you find the order in this?

Sometimes I just feel creating Order out of the Chaos is nothing but Escapism, that as long as the Earth rotates around the Sun and simultaneously rotate on its own axis, Chaos will continue to be the Order of the day and the quest to create Order within the Chaos is as pointless as the last four letters in the word “Queue”, the first letter in the word “Psychology”, and those two other guys in the musical group “Black Eyed Peas”. But like a great sage who I have never known his/her name said “there is no harm in trying”.

Thank You!
God Bless Us All!!



See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash
Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

THE TRIPLE THREAT

Watching the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump, the Queen of Mean, Lisa Lampanelli, talking about a fellow roaster Larry King said “in this business, Larry King is known as a Triple Threat because at anytime he could have a heart attack, have a stroke, or shit his pants.” This got me reeling in laughter every time I watch that particular “Roast”; but this is not the case when I think about the triple threat to the future of the youths of this country, I always struggle to keep back the tears. Stark Illiteracy, Drug Abuse, and Legalized Gambling are the triple threat to the future of the Nigerian youth.

Come on guys, you mean you don’t cry every time you read comments on blogs and websites? The youths cannot keep a conversation going without resorting to ethnic mumbo-jumbo and verbal assaults; and these are usually written in English that is at war with the standards of spelling, grammar, or context, you would think the law has been rewritten to allow everyone determine what the rules of spelling, grammar, and context are. Yes, I know English is not our first language, but how many people can even write in their mother-tongue? Please, do not come to me from that angle. Is it not disheartening that we have so many schools, public and private, from the Primary to the University level, and our youths are still stark illiterates? Most of the Youths cannot keep a logical argument going, they cannot draw conclusive deductions or inference, and they do not read. All the guidance we need in this world is in books, but the youths will not read. Imagine my disgust when Achebe died and I came across some youths who had smartphones and had never heard of Chinua Achebe, come on guys Wikipedia and Google should be bookmarked on every youth’s browser for the nation’s future sake. Most of the time when I see this, I ask myself- are these people normal or are they under the influence of some substances? Maybe!

Substance Abuse is also another threat to the future of the Nigerian Youth. Substance abuse has been around from time immemorial, but it has never been this blatant or pervasive from time immemorial. I remember growing up, anyone who smoked hemp was considered a deviant and anyone who is suspected of taking cocaine or heroin is considered a shame to his/her family. Now, these are considered some of the coolest things to do. Not so long ago, taking a hard drug is considered one of the three axes of ignominy, alongside armed robbery and prostitution. Nowadays, substance abuse is considered a fad of maturity. It is hard to believe that cannabis is an illegal drug because you can always see people smoking them everywhere you turn, and our youths are so creative with its use that they boil and drink it like tea, they also spice their food with it. Yet cannabis is not the worst of the drugs that most youths have become dependent on. Benylin with Codeine is a staple drug for some, while some are slaves to painkillers even when they have not lifted a finger at all. Then comes the creative sniffing of petrol/diesel fumes, sniffing of drainage dregs, and the sniffing of cocaine. Come on people, are you not scared?

Now comes in the cankerworm of Legalized Gambling. I used to remember people pointing at other old people who look as if they have wasted their lives and singling out “pool” as the sole reason why they were never-do-wells. Gambling used to be a vice meant for the demon-possessed and the cursed, but now, it is for everyone. From Government-floated gambling medium like “Lagos Lotto”, to private ones like “Baba Ijebu” to the countless sports-based ones like NairaBet, 1960Bet, Bet9ja, SportsBet, MerryBet, and any other Prefix+Bets you can think of. Gambling is in concordance with the average Nigerian love for the get-rich-quick syndrome, and people will tell you that even life itself is a risk and when nothing is ventured, nothing is gained; but not everything we term risk is actually risk, some are actually stupidity, and I believe gambling falls perfectly within that scope. I am all for one using one’s knowledge and expertise to profit oneself (is that not the only sane thing to do?), but when you think because you watch a lot of football you can always predict the happenings in the next football matches, I begin to doubt if you have not been sniffing too much of “drainage dregs”. If a lot of people actually win, the Gambling outfits would have gone into extinction; the percentage of people who actually win is infinitesimal and the probability that “e fit be u” even less infinitesimal. Gambling is meant to fleece the people of their hard-earned cash with the promise of multiplying it for them, but that promise is like a mirage that keeps shifting its position once you get close.

Honestly, I will not pretend to have solutions to the ills I have highlighted above, and thoughts on the way forward will be most-welcome from you, and while I am still waiting, let me go to Nairaland and read some more of the mumbo-jumbo; then take a walk around my neighbourhood and try to hold back the tears at young guys smoking and sniffing their lives away at every junction, while also trying not to laugh at the guys lamenting over missing the 1960Bet Jackpot of six million naira because Chelsea lost to Crystal Palace.

Thank You!

God Bless Us All!!

See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash

Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi 

A HEARTLESS GOVERNMENT. A TACTLESS PRESIDENT.

HEARTLESS: Listening to the President speak during the last media chat I dare not say my President is stupid. No, no, I dare not. The statement uttered that corruption is not the number one problem of this nation can only come from a head that thinks nothing but ogogoro. I have not seen corruption so pronounced in my years of existence in this country than it is under this ‘transformation agenda”. How can just few people that are employed by us, paid from our collective revenue tell us we are not seeing what they are seeing?’ Ask the Coordinating minister of the Economy’ the President retorted; that is, talk to the Prime Minister, Ms Okonjo-Iweala.

The recent Oduahgate is long expected when many of us did not deem it fit to talk about the shams that are being done at the airport, especially Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), and we started praising Ms Oduah for her adroitness. Good work my foot. Billions were quoted for the renovations but what do we have to show for it: Leaking roofs, dark passage way to the tarmac, nauseating toilets, I know we all are thanking God that finally our airports are getting the much desired facelift that will make them to be regarded as world standard but in all we are much scammed than served, I think, this time worse than in the past. Billions have gone but our roofs are still leaking. They should have stuck to the earlier claim that Madam is rich enough to buy the armored cars worth 225 million naira from her personal purse, after weeks of noise from Nigerians, we would have swallowed that better. I would not want to talk about the blood sucking vampire in her because how can a reasonable person submit that these excusable air crashes are God’s doing even when we all know that God does not do evil. I am waiting to know the outcome of all the Administrative and Investigative Panels set up to investigate an obvious case of scam that the blind-cum-imbecile could even attest to. Anyway, it is typical of this government’s Transformation Agenda for billions to get missing and not a single pulled off the perpetrators. Oil Subsidy Scam is a current and will be a recurrent example. SURE-P is another, I wonder how Baba Christopher Kolade allowed himself to be so used in this regards. Baba!

They said we are not broke as a nation but only having issues with Cash Flow. Madam Prime Minister, I don’t get. Why do some people try as much as possible to present black as white? Aunty, it is obvious we are in a mess as it has been obviously stated by the Governor of Central Bank and Governors of some states as they said never have their allocation been so delayed and deducted like under the present dispensation.

We have accusations and counter-accusations. The economy is affected by about 400,000 barrels of oil being stolen everyday by oil thieves. One would wonder if the NNPC and the almighty Minister of Petroleum could give us an estimation of barrels of oil being stolen, how come we do not even have an estimate of oil that is legally being taken out of our wells to be refined in other countries. I have searched records I have not found such account anywhere. Please, if anyone has it, I will be glad to have a copy. I looked with so much anger as Ms Diezani fondled herself in front of millions of Nigerians, dipping her arm inside of her blouse and caressing herself during the Subsidy Regime Investigation Panel in the National Assembly and I asked what happened to decency? Was she practically telling the men or whoever on that panel ”let me go free and I service you free”? That attitude could only come from a whore, and that kind of buttresses the insinuations of the great services she renders to Mr President which makes her untouchable.

Promises upon promises but this government is never ready to deliver on anyone of them. Our universities have practically been comatose for months due to the government irresponsibly reneging on the agreement entered into by ASUU and the Federal Government in 2009. “LET YOUR YEA BE YEA IN ALL YOUR DEALINGS WITH ONE ANOTHER”, so says the Bible and one would have believed that after a return from Israel the President would have thought to act in line with the admonition of the Bible in dealing with people. The President, rather than honour agreement, foot-dragged to the point where a life was lost in the bid to finally resolve the crisis, a life taken by a government vehicle, on a road neglected by the government. Professor Iyayi, God bless his soul, paid the ultimate price.

TACTLESS:  Governors have been deified, the G7 Governors most especially. Take Amaechi for instance, he has become more popular than he was before the President picked on him wanting to make him a scapegoat but like the story of the donkey that fell into the well and refused to die shaking off the pieces of earth meant to bury him and turning such to make steps that brought him out of the well. Such is the case of Amaechi. He has used the media so well making him to be seen and read by all and sundry even in the remotest parts of the country and the world at large. I wonder what the aides of the President do. Any student of politics will know that sometimes in politics you court the friendship of your purported enemies in order to drown their popularity. Obasanjo Vs Tinubu and Obansanjo Vs Osoba should be case studies for them. I am using recent events so that the President’s aides will see themselves for the inept clowns they are. In the former, Obasanjo refused to give Tinubu, an opposition Governor, the allocation due to Lagos state on the premise that Lagos state created more local governments than enshrined in the constitution, the intention was to muscle and starve Lagos state of her allocation believing the state will not be able to perform well enough to be credible enough to win the next election so that the almighty PDP will take over the state. Tinubu being a tactful politician sourced funds internally and he left a mark that stands him out, such that even till today Lagos state has become a model for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) that other states in the country look up to, inadvertently making Tinubu a godfather. Rather than Tinubu going into oblivion, Obasanjo’s muscle made him to realize his potentials to go beyond the ordinary. Today, Bola is a political superhero, take it or leave it.

On the other hand, during the 2003 Gubernatorial Election, Ogun state, the homestate of Obasanjo needed to be “captured” by all means to give the sitting President, Obasanjo, the credit of delivering his state to his party. Obasanjo devised what I call “eat from the same pot but poison the enemy” tactics. He went to Ogun state on the day of the election, invited his brother, Osoba, to his home, they ate, chatted and played the game of draft while the election was ongoing. That is, Obasanjo courted Osoba’s friendship and doused his vigour on the day of the election so that he won’t be able to make any last minute moves he might have had up his sleeves.

These current President’s aides are not even trying to rescue their boss’ image from the pit of incompetence where it is currently wallowing. They are making him look so incapable of playing the politics that is expected of him. The years of “wet e” politics are long passed. What is happening in Rivers state is just making Amaechi more prominent because he is not coming back for a re-election so he has nothing to lose in a way but it would have been a plus for the President if he has one more friend in Amaechi. Muscle does not beget friendship especially when you are playing this game called POLITIK.

 

Ms Okonjo-Iweala, when she came during Obasanjo’s government, helped in negotiating many deals that took us out of our deficit quagmire, but lately I do not think this Madame Prime Minister is doing what is right. She is the only one seeing that the economy is good even when her brother in CBN is saying otherwise. Kudos should be given to Obasanjo, though he is a man fraught with  faults, he should however be commended for standing his ground by not allowing anyone to come with CVs to intimidate him and today it is obvious that he himself did some brain work , I think more because he had shoes when he was in the military so nothing must have entered into his system to have gone to affect his thinking to believe that once you have a CV that reads IMF, AFDB, and some numerate skills that do not translate to obvious developments and growth of the common man, then you should be taken as the almighty even when you yourself claimed to have a PhD.

I will urge the President’s aides to let him know that one does not cut a red tape at the foundation laying of a house, but until such a building is completed; one does not talk from both sides of the mouth, such will betray one’s mental acumen when as a sitting President you respond “I don’t give a damn” on national television to an issue bordering on national malaise. They need to arrange his schedule to allow him do some reading and get him books on topical issues bothering on nation building because it is demeaning for the office of the President to refer questions on job creation and national growth to a private individual. “Dangote has said he will help us….”

Please let the President do more brainwork that will translate to national development so that he can salvage his present sorry records.  The world is a civil place where election and re-election is based on records and achievements respectively. And I must confess that people are wiser and will not fall for I HAD NO SHOES the second time.

ADEBAYO COKER

https://www.facebook.com/LeonineRex

bacojay@ymail.com