"Corruption in any form poses a clear and present danger to the survival of Nigeria and to its medium- to long-term development. Already, a combination of institution desecration and decay has left Nigeria at the mercy of bandits, kidnappers, and bona fide terrorists. The security deficit has also fueled separatist impulses in different parts of the country". “Corruption will remain a formidable opponent unless and until the culture of impunity is replaced with that of … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2018
IV. Putting the citizen first in Nigeria: the roadblocks and the headaches
"You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself, that values itself, that understands itself."-- Wangari Maathai "Your creation as well as your resurrection is but as an individual soul" -Holy Qur'an, Surah 31/Luqman, Ayah 28. "He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior" - Confucius The moles and the "sleepers" embedded in law enforcement agencies have, in all probability, been sponsored or planted by powerful individuals that have little or no regard for national security. These other … [Read more...]
III. Pushing for change in Nigeria: why real change proves elusive
“The only beneficiaries of the periodic change of guard in Nigeria are career civil servants, traditional rulers, ethnic lobby groups, media practitioners, and politicians skilled in the art of self-preservation and self-reinvention”. “Nigeria’s recurrent governance crisis…is best understood neither as an intractable one, nor as the dynastic succession “conspiracy” of here-today, gone-tomorrow, rulers. The stumbling block … [Read more...]
II. Pushing for change in Nigeria: why change is the only option
"Already, rapid population growth has turned land into a contentious issue and created flashpoints across the country, especially, in Plateau, Kaduna, Zamfara.... Dispossessed and impoverished herders have been known to, in desperation, turn to banditry and kidnapping." "The demographic time-bomb would have been defused if the rate of economic growth had outstripped, or at least, matched, the rate of social mobilization. This is clearly not the case. The tension sparked by population growth and … [Read more...]
I. Pushing for change in Nigeria: First, the theoretical underbrush
A system that goes out of its way to block change is in a state of self-contentment. In that state, it sees no evil, hears no evil, and thinks of nothing that needs changing.... It piles up and implements new programs, but leaves the underlying values, structures, rules, and processes untouched. It remains in this basically motionless state until changes begin to emerge from unanticipated directions. A revolution or radical transformation thus becomes inevitable when practices have remained … [Read more...]