KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY PROF. YAKUBU

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR MAHMOOD YAKUBU, HON. CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), AT THE INDUCTION RETREAT FOR RESIDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONERS HELD AT THE LE MERIDIEN IBOM HOTEL AND GOLF RESORT, UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE, 8TH- 9THDECEMBER  2017

1.        It is a great honour to be with you at this all-important Retreat. For INEC, a gathering such as this is always a defining moment. It provides unique opportunities to reflect and review past activities in order to strengthen our core mandate. Let me at the outset acknowledge the consistent support of our development partners, especially the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for making this Retreat possible. Let me similarly acknowledge the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and for its support, especially in the drafting, validation and publication of our current Strategic Plan.

2.        As an Election Management Body, the conduct of free, fair, and credible elections is our most important mandate. Beyond just an obligation required by the electoral legal framework, the conduct and delivery of credible elections is a responsibility to be honourably discharged by all of us. The Commission is the organization on whose shoulders rests the largest share of responsibility for nurturing, sustaining and continuously deepening Nigeria’s electoral process. In doing this, the Commission must take the lead in demonstrating to the general public and all staff, that the integrity of the electoral processes is the defining moment for credible electoral outcomes.

3.        This Retreat offers us a great opportunity not only to welcome the newly appointed and returning Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), but also to take stock in an open and honest manner, of the activities of the present Commission since its inauguration and lay out the broad outlines for the 2019 General Elections.

4.        In the two years since our inauguration on 9th November 2015, the Commission has made tremendous progress in deepening, sustaining, and defending the integrity of the electoral process. So far, the Commission has conducted elections into 175 constituencies nationwide, made up of 79 Court-ordered re-run elections, 73 end of tenure elections and 23 bye-elections. It is an honour to have conducted the largest number of off-season/off-cycle elections ever in the history of the Commission, which serve to continually improve our  operational processes and procedures. Beginning from the Kogi governorship election of 21st November 2015, through to the latest Anambra governorship election held on 18th November 2017, the Commission has demonstrated the capacity to fine-tune its operations, sustain stakeholder engagements and rapidly respond to field challenges in our continuing effort to maintain the integrity of the electoral process. In all the elections conducted so far, only 2 have been overturned by the Election Petition Tribunals. Even so, the Tribunals did not order the Commission to conduct fresh elections but to issue Certificates of Return to candidates other than those earlier declared winners. Most interestingly, in the most recent major elections conducted by the Commission, the outcomes were not challenged in Court. This is a clear testimony to the Commission’s continued improvement of our operations and the credibility of electoral outcomes.

5.        In recognition of the important role other stakeholders play in the electoral and political processes, the Commission has maintained consultations with political parties, civil society organizations, the media, as well as periodic meetings with Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government such as the NYSC, National Population Commission, the Nigerian Identity Management Commission and the National Orientation Agency to demonstrate our commitment to opening up the process to public review. Similarly, we have sustained regular engagement with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICEES). In addition, engagements with the international community have been strengthened with close collaboration with development partners, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) on a number of projects based on the Commission’s needs. Such engagements have helped in sharing information, understanding the concerns of stakeholders in the electoral process, clarifying the position of the Commission with regards to electoral threats and operations, availing the public of information about our activities and factoring the useful feedbacks into the Commission’s activities, particularly in relation to the conduct of elections.

6.        All participants at this Retreat should be aware that as at today, the 2019 General Elections to begin with the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on 16th February 2019 are exactly 434 days away. These will be followed by the Governorship, State Assembly and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory on 2nd March 2019. The planning process of the 2019 General Elections started much earlier, with various consultations that culminated into the development, validation and approval of the Strategic Plan/Strategic Plan of Action and the Election Project Plan that contains the entire plans of the Commission up to 2021. The implementation of the 2019 Election Project Plan is to begin in earnest from 1st January 2018.

7.        Similarly, the Commission has taken important decisions with regard to two critical activities - the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and 2019 General Elections. As you are all aware, the Commission rolled out, for the first time in its history, the continuous registration of voters nationwide on 27th April 2017. This is an important development in our efforts to ensure that electoral services offered to Nigerians are better, more frequent and easier to access than ever before. For the first time in the history of the Commission, citizens who have attained the voting age of 18 years and those who could not register during the previous CVR exercises, now have the opportunity to do so on a continuous basis as envisaged by the Electoral Act. So far, some 3,630,529 new voters have been registered. This exercise will continue until 60 days to the 2019 General Elections, as a provided by the Electoral act. The Commission is not unaware of the challenges encountered which are being systematically addressed. Improving the management and conduct of the ongoing CVR exercise, including the low rate of collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), shall be a major issue of discussion at this Retreat.

8.        Similarly, the Commission is aware of the reported challenges to the optimal performance of the Smart Card Readers. Technical reports from more recent elections indicate that the incidence of malfunction in relation to the number of Card Readers deployed is statistically very low. For instance, in the last Governorship election in Anambra State, Card Readers were deployed to each of the 5,339 Polling Units and Voting Points spread across the 21 Local Government Areas of the State. There were reported cases of glitches or outright malfunction in 106 Polling Units and Voting Points. This represents 1.8% of the total number Cards Readers deployed for the election. Our technical support team successfully responded to all but 39 cases representing 0.78%. The Commission wishes to assure Nigerians that we are working assiduously to ensure 100% performance of the Card Readers. That is why there is an ongoing pilot to upgrade it by enhancing its features including new superior processors.

9.        At the same time, the Commission is exploring ways of improving the integrity of the collation and results transmission processes and has begun to deploy the electronic result collation and transmission platform on a pilot basis. Our ultimate aim, learning from the pilot and consequential improvement of the supporting infrastructure, is to deploy the system for all forthcoming off-season elections and, ultimately, the 2019 General Elections. The Commission is working to ensure that this goal is achieved.

10.      As we move towards the 2019 General Elections, changes will be taking place in the political process that will directly affect electoral operations. First of all, with the roll out of the CVR, we must anticipate an expansion in the total number of registered voters. An expansion in the voters’ register requires appropriate adjustments in the planning and delivery of electoral services. The creation of additional Voting Points, the consequential demand for more ballot boxes, voting cubicles, ad-hoc staff, transportation of personnel and logics, training etc. must be adequately planned for. In addition, we must anticipate shift in the focus, scope and attention of Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders on our services and activities beyond the traditional Election Day event to the Commission’s pre-and post-election activities. Related to this are the proposed changes to the electoral legal framework which are yet to be concluded by the National Assembly. While awaiting the Statutory amendments, we must remain proactive.

11.      One area we should begin to work in earnest is the inventory of existing equipment and facilities ranging from the Card Readers to ballot boxes, voting cubicles, power generators and the survey of physical infrastructure critical to elections. The second area is the number of ad-hoc staff required for elections as well as the logistics of movement of personnel and equipment on Election Day. The Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in particular should know that in a General Election, unlike bye-election or off-season elections, no one can rely on support from neighbouring States. Everyone is going to be busy hence the necessity to plan adequately. Thirdly, we must begin the revision of election manuals and procedures for the 2019 General Elections in earnest. This is important because it is these revised manuals that will constitute the basis for all training activities (INEC, Observers and security agencies) towards the election.

12.      Another area that will greatly impact on our operations greatly is the alignments and realignments of political parties and actors as we move towards the election. So far, the Commission has received over 120 applications from political associations seeking registration as political parties. Already, there are 46 registered political parties and recently a Court of Law ordered the Commission to register one more association as political party. Obviously by the time the Commission processes outstanding applications, the number of political parties will increase. The expansion in the number of political parties and possibly independent candidates as contained in the proposed Constitutional amendments now awaiting the concurrence of State Assemblies mean that we need to think fast and plan properly, especially in the management of the ballot.

13.      All organizations must take the interests of their work force to heart in the attempt to deliver and achieve their objectives. The quality and motivation of an organization’s human resource are critical elements for its success. In the past two years, this Commission has consistently placed staff welfare among its top priorities. This is not just in terms of increasing, within available resources, certain benefits to staff, but also the concerted effort to enhance professionalism and promote positive attitude to work through training, capacity-building (both locally and internationally) and expanding the participation of Staff in foreign election observation. The Commission will continue to expand these opportunities, by further enhancing statutory allowances and creating more opportunities to build staff capacity to serve the nation better.

14.      At the same time, the Commission is concerned about creating coordination and synergy within the Commission. There is just one Commission, not an INEC at HQ and another INEC at Zonal, State and LGA levels. This coordination and synergy must be sustained through increased lateral and horizontal intra- and inter- Departmental communication, as well as between HQ, Zonal, State and LGA offices. At HQ, departments are not and cannot be working in silos. No one Department, on its own, can deliver an election. Every Department, every unit and all personnel have an important role to play in the conduct of election. This needs to be borne in mind, especially by directorate level staff.

15.      We need to strengthen and deepen engagements with stakeholders: political parties, CSOs and security agencies at the state and local levels. We need not wait until elections are at hand. Periodic meetings with all relevant stakeholders not only gives the Commission an opportunity to understand stakeholder concerns, but also enables it share information about its key activities.

16.      As the 2019 general elections draws nearer, election security and especially election violence, may spike in certain parts of the country. Closely related to the expansion of hotspots of conflict and violence, is the increasingly disturbing phenomenon of hate speech. It is important for us to have an accurate idea of possible locations of hotspots and peddlers of hate speech, discuss these with security agencies and examine ways to address them well before the election. So too is the disturbing incidence of the use of money to openly induce voters even on Election Day. Our desire is to entrench a truly democratic system for all citizens and not a plutocracy open only to the rich. Violence, hate speech and inducement of voters are criminal activities punishable under our laws. It is therefore important to ensure that ICCES meetings take place regularly, not just at the State but also at LGA level at which these and other sundry by unwholesome practices are discussed and where they occur dealt with according to the law.

17.      One persistent challenge the Commission has faced is the area of voter turnout. The low voter turnout in some recent elections is of concern to the Commission. We must redesign and develop more effective voter education strategies and platforms while we continue to work with other stakeholders to galvanize voters to come out and vote for candidates of their choice on Election Day.

18.      The Commission will continue to introduce more imaginative approaches to addressing the special needs of certain categories of voters, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups. As we move towards 2019, we must develop a more comprehensive and coordinated approach towards making, as far as is practicable, electoral services accessible to categories of voters that are traditionally marginalized by society especially women, youths and persons living with disabilities.

19.      Turning to the RECs, you are all aware that election is a sensitive, people-based and time-bound activity that requires strong leadership skills. More importantly, it is a collective enterprise. Although the Commission conducts a general election with broadness, each State conducts the election as it specifically relates to its context and peculiarity. In the states, these operational and logistic peculiarities must be thoroughly and urgently studied and understood so that we can collectively devise solutions to them.

20.      The date for the 2019 General Election has already been fixed. This means that from today, we have exactly 434 days to the Presidential and National Assembly Elections. It is important to always remind ourselves of this date and to be tracking and appraising our preparations.

21.The EPP has been approved by the Commission. Copies will be made available to all RECs. As Resident Electoral Commissioners, the implementation of the plan at State level is your cardinal responsibility. In doing so, you will also exercise supervisory control over personnel, resources as well as legal and administrative processes and procedures. You will also interact with various categories of stakeholders. As election managers, you should maintain the required candour, openness, fairness, neutrality, and ensure a level playing field to all in your engagements. At the same time, you should be very firm and courageous on the side of the law, as well as our regulations and guidelines. Continue to be fair to all and partisan towards none in your interaction with stakeholders.

22.      As RECs, you are to demonstrate a very high sense of personal integrity, ethical conduct and impeccable standard of behaviour and prudence in managing resources under your care. You must maintain at all times the core vision and values of the Commission. You are not responsible for policy. Confine your public statements to matters decided by the Commission and seek clarification where you are in doubt. Avoid making pronouncements on new initiatives yet to be finalized by the Commission, so that discordant statements do not confuse the electorate. You should continue to adequately plan and meticulously implement the Commission’s policies and programmes. Your management of elections and processes thereof must be that of an independent umpire, an impartial judge, and a firm follower of operational procedures established by the Commission at all times. Elections are largely managed on the basis of impressions you create about your role and strict adherence to these is of uttermost importance, no matter who is involved. It will send strong signals that you are not taking sides and this is key to our success.

23.      On this note, I want to thank you all for your attention and let this Retreat be another defining moment in the Commission’s consolidation  of our democracy.

Chris Imafidon and his 'brainiest' Children

*Nigerian-born Chris Imafidon is a Professor at the University of Oxford, England. Though autistic, Imafidon, whose children have been described as world’s brainiest kids, tells ‘NONYE BEN-NWANKWO, how he got to the height he has achieved*

*_You were at the University of Ilorin recently during their graduation and you said you would give a scholarship to the worst graduating student. Why?_*

You might need to ask my grandmother that because she believes that every child, without exception, has a lot to contribute to the society. She would find out what you are capable of doing. In my own generation, I try to implement what she lived by. She didn’t just preach it, she did it. She was interested in every child. I did what she would have done. She is gone now. But I am here to represent her voice. I must not let her voice be unheard in my generation, I will always echo it and my mantra is that every child is a genius. If every child is a genius, then it shouldn’t matter if you are at the top of the class, bottom or middle. The lecturers were arguing with me but I told them that they would see what these people they judged the worst students would become. I would give them scholarships and if they don’t beat the ones you say are the best students after three years, I will publicly apologise.

*_We understand you have placed such bet before…_*

Yes, David Cameron tried it with me and he lost $25m. That was what we used to build our first school in Birmingham. He said that for my child to pass the General Certificate of Secondary Education exam at the age of six, it was just the gene. I told him it didn’t have anything to do with the gene. I told him to give me the worst performing schools and I would work with the least students and he should come back nine months later. He laughed at it. But when he came back nine months later, he knew what he saw. I spoke to the children, I mentored them and I adopted them as if they were my biological children. I didn’t even teach them all the subjects, I just spoke to their personality and I used one or two subjects as samples and they were flying. In one year, they beat the best.

*_But so many people believe that smart kids are born smart and not made to be smart…_*

Shakespeare said some people are born great while others achieve greatness, and some others have greatness instilled in them; giving us a suggestion that when God makes people, He makes some one way and the others another way. God is not jobless to make some human beings with half brains. Don’t ever say somebody is useless. You are not even insulting the person, you are insulting the God that created the person.

*_But in your own case, who saw that greatness in you? Was it your mother?_*

I still tell you that everybody is smart. That is the truth. However, I remember that in my secondary school days, I remember that my Physics teacher said I could not do Physics.  I took it like that and I went home and I mentioned it to my mother.  My mother quickly called her mum – my grandmother and they went to the school. They almost beat up the Physics teacher. He even had to beg me that if he said anything I didn’t like, I shouldn’t tell them at home.

*_Your parents would have loved you so much…_*

Yes, my mother had a son that died before he was two years. After that, she had another son that also died. So when I came, they used to drive flies away from me. They never allowed anything to touch me even when I was a baby. My father was the only son of his mother. To carry the family name, you must have a son and you protect the son. So anything I did was monitored by my parents and grandparents. All my friends that used to play with me, because of their parental input, scored lower than me. I ended up being different. So if every parent would believe that his child would achieve, that child would indeed achieve. We just need to work out the formula that would make that child achieve what you want him to.

*_So your mother or grandmother had a formula for you too?_*

Yes, mine was football and my mother knew I liked football. But then, whenever she saw me with football, she would take it away from me. She would say I wasn’t working hard enough. But my grandmother would buy me another football and say she would give it to me provided I came first in the class. In fact, I would say my grandmother is the professor and not me. She did all the work to ensure that I am what I am today. If not that she kept ‘bribing’ me to do this and that, I would have just done anything I wanted. So when you saw me working hard to pass an exam, it was mainly because of the football I was promised. I remember a day in my secondary school that I was given my report card, I didn’t go home, I went straight to my grandmother’s house and I gave her the report card. She cooked special food and after that, even while still wearing my uniform, I took the ball she had bought for me and went to the field to play. I played football till it was dark. Remember I hadn’t gone home then, so my parents were looking for me. Later, my father heard I was somewhere playing football. He was angry with my elder sister for allowing me to play football. My father caught hold of me and asked me for my result. I told him I took the first position and he said I made it up. I told him to ask my grandmother. He went to my grandmother and asked her and she told him she gave me the ball because I took the first position in school. He asked her why she didn’t tell him and she said, ‘you, how many times did you ever come first in school?’ So that is the story of my so-called intelligence. It wasn’t based on the love of school, it was based on the fact that I would gain something if I did well.

*_But did you know that your children would ever become world’s smartest kids?_*

I don’t think they are the world’s smartest kids.

*_But that is what they are known as; they are even in the Guinness book of records…_*

It was because British Broadcasting Corporation keeps a record every year during the day the result is announced. There is a programme that BBC runs, CNN later joined them. They usually showcase the best students in that year. So, the first year, Ann Marie, my first daughter passed GCSE exam while she was in primary school. She was the youngest schoolgirl in that year. They had to feature her and interview her. The next year, her younger sister passed the same exam even at a younger age. She was nine then. Then the media said nobody had ever had two siblings from the same family getting that position. Then, Samantha, my third daughter came and wrote that same exam at the age of six and even doubled what they scored. So they just believed that it is in their gene for them to do that well. That was when they started saying those rubbish and calling them world’s smartest kids.

*_But how could a six-year-old pass GCSE exam?_*

She didn’t read any book.  She just played games. You don’t need to read any book to play ‘ayo’.  She understood big concepts just by playing ‘ayo’. It is funny that they are called the brainiest. They are not. They are just a people that consistently performed well. And to show that they are not the brainiest, I told the BBCwhen they were interviewing me to give me the area with the worst school result and they gave me Hackney. I looked for the worst schools there and that was how I started getting students who are not biologically linked to me and we applied the same concepts and they passed very well.

*_How did you get to know the Queen of England?_*

I don’t know if the story is true but I was told that the Queen’s granddaughter told her that the GCSE exam was so hard and the next morning when the Queen was reading the newspaper, she read about a little girl that had passed the exam at primary school. This was the exam that her 17-year-old granddaughter said it was hard. She was marvelled! She asked how it happened and they told her that my child was a genius and we could also have used African voodoo. She then told them to go and look for me. I didn’t know who the Queen was then. I only knew she is a powerful woman whose picture is on the currency. I never knew she could like me because I was following what my grandmother said I should do. She gave us an award and she became interested in knowing how we were able to do what everybody found so difficult. That was how our royal journey started. But it is not difficult to pass; you only have to know the steps.

*_What are the steps?_*

Just know the limit of your mentality. You have to have a mentality that you can do something. Then you have to have a mentor. The mentor would help you construct the next step, which is the module that you would follow. Then you have to have a modality.

*_Why did you migrate to the United Kingdom by the way?_*

What I wanted to study was not available here and in Africa, I had to go to the UK for it.

*_What’s the course?_*

It’s a postgraduate qualification in a specialised aspect of ophthalmology. I wouldn’t want to bore you with it. But the essence is that you will be able to wear contact lenses in the normal eyes and you don’t have infections and inflammations or redness.  I had to study it either in the US or the UK. My options were limited. I did my first degree in Nigeria. The career path in Nigeria is traditionally British. The country went gaga and changed everything to American. But then, it didn’t play any role in what eventually became of me. What became of me was learning to learn. As such, I get irritated when people tie themselves to one profession or one job.

*_Nobody would know you were autistic…_*

I was autistic!

*_Were you stigmatised as a child back then?_*

Of course. I was teased and taunted by my colleagues and friends. People would always pick on you. People would always laugh at you. One of the signs of an autistic person is stammering. The society will laugh at you. If you have good parents, they will reassure you and protect you. I never allowed such to stop me. My grandmother made sure of that.

*_You must have also taught your kids a lot…_*

Buy your kids toy instruments. Let them ruin them if they must. It sounds very expensive anyway but you are teaching the child more than any book because the child is doing it and knowing it and fixing it. My children ruined a lot of my computers when they were growing up. I was so annoyed. But they turned out well. That is why my girl had to get me an iPad when she started working. She tried to compensate me for all the devices they ruined.  But all that they ruined made them understand the internal workings of the devices. When she went to school, the school computer crashed. The head teacher’s PA called the technical support team to come and fix it. My daughter came in, saw the screen with the error message and said she could fix it since it was the same message that was on the one she fixed at home. She was able to fix it instantly and it started working. When the engineer came, they told him a little girl had fixed it. He insisted on seeing my daughter. She told him what she did to the computer and the man opened his wallet and gave her 20 pounds! She was seven years then. The man looked at the head teacher and other staff members and told them if they had problems with their computers, they should call my daughter first before calling him. That was what changed her entire life. She did Information and Communications Technology exam when she was in primary school. She built the website for the school when she was still in primary school. The website won multiple awards. She became the technical director of the school. Why am I saying all these? As parents, we are very careful with all our devices. We don’t even allow our kids to touch our phones. Allow them! Sometimes, they would even be able to restore and repair it. You don’t know where they will be exposed to tomorrow. Every child is a genius. That is what I believe in.

*_Could that be why you decided to work with the Child Dignity Foundation?_*

The society said autism is a disease but autism is a gift. If you think it is a disease, then you cure it. If you see it as a gift, you have to celebrate it and it will replicate. When I heard what the Executive Director of CDF, Amaka Awogu, is doing with autistic kids and those who have Down Syndrome, I decided to key into it. It is irritating to me that we treat autistic people as less than human. We even classify them as disabled. I am challenging the mainstream and I say that I will work with autistic kids and at the end of nine months, if they don’t beat your best, then I will apologise publicly. I know what an autistic child is about. I didn’t read it; I know what it is about.

*_Did you ever know you would get to this level back then?_*

How could I have known? Who would have told me?

*_How is life in the UK? Is there any form of segregation even now that the world is developed?_*

There is no racism. I can tell you clearly. Anytime they see talent, they forget about your colour. They come here to look for (Nwankwo) Kanu to come and play football for Arsenal. He is not from London, so why did they give him that opportunity to play for them and they paid him millions of pounds even more than the Arsenal boys who were there before him? Talent lifts you above geographical boundaries or even racial boundaries. I am not supposed to have access to the Queen but a goldfish has no hiding place. The Queen read how the kids were doing in school and requested to see me. She said we have 35 per cent pass rate in Maths in England and this man is making primary school children to pass Maths, is it voodoo? My children received royal awards.

*_Your children passed secondary school exams in primary school, how then did they further their education?_*

My son and daughter passed secondary school exam and the school board had to meet and they asked themselves what they would do. There was no question paper in that primary school that they couldn’t pass.  So they had to vote an amount for them and so, every Wednesday, the head teacher would put them in her car and drive them to a secondary school so that they could join them to do Maths that is appropriate to their level. My younger daughter, Samantha, had to even do double Maths at the age of six. It hadn’t happened anywhere on the planet before her. I am telling this story because I want to let you know that your talent can trump your race, gender, country or anything because it is a competitive world. We blew Guinness books of records. You will not hear so much about Christiana in the press because she is too busy. At 11, she got a scholarship from the national government to go to a university. It is official. You can check it out at the University of Cambridge website. She studied Mathematics and Statistics. At 14, HSBC gave her a place in the bank and after two weeks, they gave her a credit card. Remember she wasn’t entitled to a credit card at that age. After a month, they said she should go to the stock exchange.

*_In all you do, do you even get tired?_*

Why? This is my hobby! You don’t get tired of doing what you love. You don’t retire from your hobby, you retire from a job. Your job is the profession you do every day to earn a living. I do what I love and I love what I do. I will keep working and working until I expire. Every single human being is a genius and I would want to open that greatness so that everybody would see it.

*_For 30 years, you did not return home since you left for England, why?_*

I wasn’t even supposed to be here now. The first person that invited me to come to Africa was Nelson Mandela. He read about us in the newspaper and he wept like a baby. They had told Mandela that when God was giving IQ, he only gave it to white people and gave the remnant to black people. So when he saw it on TV that a black person defeated a white person in intellectualism, he was thrilled. It’s so painful that he died before we could go there. He didn’t just want me to come; he had wanted the whole family to come when he heard about our story.

*_Did your grandmother live to see what you eventually became?_*

That is why I am sad. She didn’t live enough to see my children. I would have loved for her to have seen the fruit of what she planted. She told me how the educational system suppressed the women in her time. I was pampered by my grandmother.

*_Copyright PUNCH._*

Our Journey Together is so Short

A young lady sat in a bus. At the next stop a loud and grumpy old lady came and sat next to her. She squeezed into the seat and bumped her with her numerous bags.

The person sitting on the other side of the young lady got upset, asked her why she did not speak up and say something.

The young lady responded with a smile:

"It is not necessary to be rude or argue over something so insignificant, the journey together is so short. Anyway, I get off at the next stop."

This response deserves to be written in golden letters:

*"It is not necessary to argue over something so insignificant, our journey together is so short"*

If each one of us realised that our time here is so short so why darken it with:
Quarrels and fights
Futile arguments,
Not forgiving others,
Discontentment and a
Fault finding attitude
all are a waste of time and energy.

Did someone break your heart? *Be calm, the journey is so short.*

Did someone betray, bully, cheat or humiliate you? *Be calm, forgive, the journey is so short.*

No one knows the duration of this journey. No one knows when their  journey would come to a  stop. *Our journey together is so short.*

Let us cherish friends and family. Let us be respectful, kind and forgiving to each other. Let us be filled with gratitude and gladness.

If I have ever hurt you, I ask for your forgiveness. If you have ever hurt me, you already have my forgiveness.

After all, *Our Journey Together is so Short!*

THIS MESSAGE IS WORTH READING OVER AND OVER  AGAIN UNTIL IT COMES ALIVE.

SECURITY TIPS

Nigerian as nation has not experienced this form of hardship in a very long time and things appear to be worse on daily basis. But trust me, Nigerians will always think of good and bad ways of survival.
This little article is about security alert.

Nigerian police have the duty of care to protect every citizen of this country, but we all know what is obtainable.
This piece is an advice, but protection belongs to God.

Ritual Killings may be on the rise !

Some Nigerians will always resort to voodoo to salvage their situations and in most cases, it requires human rituals. So, ritual killings may be on the rise.
To avoid this:
* Do not travel at night or early morning.
* Do not accept food or drink from a stranger when on a journey together.
* Avoid lifts and commuting in a vehicle with people of suspicious look.
* Get to designated parks to get your vehicle and be very careful about Taxis.

Thank God for Uber, you can use it. If you are commuting, always keep a family member informed. Let them know where you are and where you are heading to. If possible, let your family member know the Taxi you taking i.e. the registration number.
Do not enter a Taxi with another passenger already inside. Atimes, it is safer to take a Taxi with an elderly man as the driver.
Be also careful with Marwa (tricycle). Be watchful.

Robbery ! ! !

It is always expected that robbery increases every year end, but cases of robbery may be more this year due to the hardship.
Please:
* Do not drive alone and if you must, do not take route that are lonely or quiet.
* Do not drive late at night or too early in the morning.
* Do not pick up passengers you do not know.
* Ensure that you don't display gadgets or phones or jewelries in any part of your vehicle.
* When in traffic, roll up your glasses.
* Be watchful and sensitive to drivers around you…some may bash your vehicle from behind to make you come down and discuss.
* Also, be vigilant about “Policemen”. Do not allow any policeman inside your car and do not roll down your glass fully to enable them open your door.
Same applies to road safety, LASTMA etc. Ensure your papers are complete and give to show them through your glass except in an open area.
* When in public bus, be careful your sitting location.
* Do not make sensitive phone calls discussing money.
* Do not display your expensive phones and always ensure that your phones are on silence. You can return calls later.
* Do not carry cash around like bullion van. Do not go to ATM at night or use ATMs in lonely path/location.
* Do not put all your cash in one account. It may save you.
Always use cashless platform.
* Do not carry all your ATMs at once, it may expose you. Do not open door for stranger into your house.
* Do not stay late in clubs or hotels for party.
* Sensitize your neighbours about security issues. Report any strange movement in your area to Police.

You can contact police PROs on http://www.npf.gov.ng/contact_us.php

7 THINGS TO CARRY LIKE A CRATE OF EGGS

There are things we must carry and handle with extra- carefulness because these things are fragile and once broken, it is not easy to put back together and once some of these things get broken, they can lead to huge damage and destiny wastage.

1. *Your Name*:

Your name is very important and fragile. There are names that stinks in the ears of people simply because, those who bear those names spoilt the name. The way to handle your name with care is to be careful of your doings. Your actions can rubbish your name. A good name can open doors for you & for your children and generations after you.
Carry your name with carefulness. It is a huge asset. Here is one of the quotes written by Shakespeare:
'Whoever steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name, my enviable reputation
Robs me of that which does not enrich him, But makes me poor indeed'.

2: *Your heart*:

Many hearts are broken, shattered, wounded and bitter today. One of the factors responsible for this is because many of these hearts' owners were careless with their hearts. You can guard your heart from being broken and bitter. Run away from people, and things that are bent on breaking your heart. Carry your heart like a crate of eggs. You need a whole heart before you can be said to be fully whole!

3: *Your purpose*:

Your purpose is your destiny. If you don't handle it with utmost care, it can slip off your hands and gaze and get broken. So many things can come like pressure on this crate of egg of purpose. Discouragement, lack of fund, anxieties, etc. These are things that may want to come like pressure on your purpose to break it. Don't allow them! Carry it with care. Carry your purpose away from people and things that may want to put pressure on it and break it.

4:  *Your health*:

You have only this body as a vehicle that will carry you through your journey of destiny in this life. Handle your health with care. No matter how big your vision is, once you are dead, nobody can really run the vision like you! Fight for your health. Avoid things that can destroy your health. Wealth is useless when your health becomes useless. Don't kill yourself before your time. Do your best to stay alive. WE STILL NEED YOU HERE ON EARTH. Don't use your FORK, KNIFE, GLASS and your SPOON to dig your grave. Watch what you EAT and DRINK. Don't eat anything because it is edible and don't drink anything because it is appetizing. Always pray for divine immunization against sickness and diseases.

5: *Your Marriage*:

SO MANY PEOPLE HANDLE THEIR MARRIAGE LIKE A CARTON OF INDOMIE NODDLE.  Your marriage is fragile. Handle it like a crate of egg. It must not break! A broken marriage is not easily put back together, because, when a marriage breaks, many things get broken with it. But Remember it takes two to tango, Husband and wife must always carry their marriage like an egg. It must not break!

6: *Your words*:

Your worth is attached to your words. Be careful with words. Once broken, you can't gather them up again. Many people are careless with their words. They speak violently. They make empty promises and break them. Some say things they later wish they never said. Guard your words. Be careful with your diction.

7: *Your eternity*:

Those who are running up and down to fulfill destiny here on Earth without thinking of their eternity do not belong here! The matter of eternity is not something you should handle with levity. Think about where you will spend eternity. You will die one day. I will also die one day. All that we are and have in this world are vanity upon vanity.

Take the matter of your end very serious. Stop living carelessly as if you have extra life. Don't live for the pleasure of this world. Have the hereafter in mind in all that you do.     Grace is available.

155 Names of God

Have you praised God today?
Just call these names,don't Stop

1. Wonderful
2. Counsellor
3. Prince of Peace
4. Eternal Rock of Ages
5. King of Glory
6. Mighty God
7. King of kings
8. Lord of lords
9. Lord of hosts
10. Lilly of the valley
11. Healer
12. Deliverer
13. Provider
14. Creator
15. Potter
16. Day Star
17. Cornerstone
18. Prophet of prophets
19. Saviour
20. I AM THAT I AM
21. Wisdom of God
22. Head of the church
23. Governor
24. Righteous Judge
25. Protector
26. Rock of offence
27. Shield
28. Merciful God
29. Gracious God
30.  Faithful God
31. Giver
32. Victorious in Holiness
33. Consuming Fire
34. El Elyon
35. Jehovah Raphael
36. Jehovah Rohi
37. Jehovah Jireh
38. Jehovah Elgibor
39. Jehovah Sham ah
40. Jehovah Shalom
41. El Olam
42. Defender
43. Redeemer
44. Comforter
45. Trinity in Council
46. Instructor
47. Teacher
48. Inspirer
49. Reminder
50. Invinsible God
51. Hope of Glory
52. Lion of Judah
53. Root of Jesse
54. Man of war
55. Lamb of God
56. Sustainer
57. Convincer
58. Light of the world
59. Restorer
60. Silencer
61. Stiller of storms
62. Proclaimer
63. Father of the fatherless
64. Husband of the widow
65. Smith of heaven
66. The Way
67. The Truth
68. The Life
69. Bread of life
70. Bread Winner
71. Champion of champions
72. Winner of winners
73. Composer
74. Author
75. Finisher
76. Glorious in Holiness
77. Fearful in praises
78. Sleepless God
79. Ancient of days
80. Ageless God
81. Eternal God
82. Excellent God
83. Powerful God
84. Leader of leaders
85. Chief Inventor
86. Convener
87. Compassionate God
88. Commander-in-Chief of heavenly host
89. Worthy King
90. Overseer
91. Moulder
92. Shaper
93. Breaker
94. Praiseworthy God
95. Helper
96. Richer than the richest
97. Older than the oldest
98. Trustworthy God
99. Arranger
100. Master Builder
101. Master Planner
102. Master Minder
103. Arrester
104. Relentless God
105. Voice of hope
106. Beautiful God
107. Alpha and Omega
108.Game Changer
109. Our Refuge
110. Our fortress
111. Our Buckler
112. Our Banner
113. Strong Tower
114. Unchanging changer
115. Rose of Sharon
116. All in All
117. Pillar of our lives
118. The First Born
119. Lamb that was slain
120. The Glory & lifter of our heads
121. The word of God
122. Our Advocate
123. Our High Priest
124. Bishop of our souls
125. High and Lofty one
126. Almighty
127. Our Best Friend
128. On time God
129  Lion of Judah
130  Omnipotent
131. Omnipresent
132  Omniscient
133. Consumming fire Adonai
134. The beginning &         the end
135   Living water
136   Unquenchable  fire
137. Awesome God
138  I salute your excellency Baba
139  Battle stopper
140  Unquestionable  God.
141 Jehova shikenu,
142 Mighty one in battle.
143 Glorious in Holiness,
144 Fearful in praises.
145 Mighty man of valour.
146 Miracle worker.
147 Rock of ages.
148 Merciful God
149 Advocate.
150 Always  doing wonders. 
151 Amen and Hallelujah.
152 Answer to prayers.
153 Intercessor.
154 Interceptor.
155 Balm of Gilead
There is no one like him. To Him Be The Glory Forever Amen
May God bless all those who will read these wonderful names of God to the end and share the blessings to others

WISE WORDS

Permit me to give you these words of wisdom sent to me. It will also be a great blessing to you. Please read and meditate on them:

1. ON EARNING:
Never depend on single income. Make investment to create a second chance.

2. ON SPENDING:
If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.

3. ON SAVINGS:
Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.

4. ON TAKING RISK:
Never test the depth of a river with both feet.

5. ON INVESTMENT:
Do not put all eggs in one basket.

6. ON EXPECTATIONS:
Honesty is a very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people.

7. IF YOU are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. Past is a waste paper. Present is a newspaper and future is a question paper.

8. WHEN bad things happen in your life you have three choices. You can either let it define you, let it destroy you or you can let it strengthen you.

9. EMPTY pockets teach you a million things in life but full pockets spoil you in a million ways.

10. OUR EYES are in the front because it is more important to look ahead than to look back.

11. WE USED a pencil when we were small but now we use pens... do you know why? Because mistakes in childhood can be erased but not now.
So read and write carefully otherwise life will be a tissue paper. Hope you have benefitted.
Benefit others.

LOWER THE STANDARD OF EDUCATION AND DESTROY THE NATION

At the entrance gate of a university in South Africa the following message was posted for contemplation:

*"Destroying any nation does not require the use of atomic bombs or the use of long range missiles. _It only requires lowering the quality of education and allowing cheating in the examinations by the students._"*

Patients die at the hands of such doctors.

Buildings collapse at the hands of such engineers.

Money is lost at the hands of such economists & accountants.

Humanity dies at the hands of such religious scholars.

Justice is lost at the hands of such judges...

*"The collapse of education is the collapse of the nation."*

PREVENTING CANCER

*Some interesting points came up;
1. No to refined oil
2. No to milks of animal origin (e.g. nido.)
3. No to cubes
4. No to the consumption of the gasified juices of the different breweries (32 pieces of sugar per liter)
5. No refined sugars
6. No Microwave
7. No to mammography before delivery but echomamaire
8. No to too tight bras going to or after returning from work
9. No alcohol
10. No for reheating frozen meals
11. No to the conservation of water in the refrigerator in plastic bottles ...
12. All contraceptive pills are not good because they change the woman's homonal system and give cancer.
13. Deodorants are dangerous especially when used after shaving.
14. Breast-feeding women are less likely to have breast cancer than none breast-feeding women.
15. Cancer cells eat mainly sugar, everything is synthetic sugar even brown.
16. A cancer patient who suppresses sugar in his diet sees his disease regressed and can live long: sugar = deadly enemy.
17. A glass of beer stays 5 hours in the body and during this time the organs of the system are operating at idle speed.

* Yes to: *

1. Vegetables
2. Honey in measured quantities in place of sugar
3. Vegetable proteins such as beans versus meat
4. Two glasses of water on an empty stomach before brushing teeth, water kept in the room having the same temperature as we woke up
5. Unheated Meals
6. Anti cancer juice: aloe vera + ginger + parsley + celery + promaline (middle of the pineapple) mix and drink on an empty stomach.
7. Other anti-cancer juice: corossol (seedless) + promaline.
8. Eat the raw or cooked carrot or juice each day.

* Just to share this information *
The association of American doctors has given answers to the cause of cancer
1. Do not drink hot tea in a plastic cup.
2. Do not eat anything hot in a paper or plastic bag. Example: potato (fried).
3. Do not cook microwavable foods using plastic material

As a reminder :
When plastic is in contact with heat, this creates chemicals that can cause 52 types of cancer.

This message is better than 100 unnecessary SMS.
Inform your loved ones in order to be free from these effects.

⚠ Avoid drinking Coca Cola on pineapple or after you have eaten pineapple as a dessert.
Do not mix pineapple juice with Cocacola.
This mixture is deadly! People are dying there and they mistakenly believe that they were poisoned .... They were victims of their ignorance of this fatal cocktail!

Sms to share with loved ones.
May God preserve us
* Please read and transmit. *

Dr. Richard from the United States.
Share this message with your loved ones.
Important Health Tips:
�� Answer calls to the left ear.
�� Do not take your medication with cold water ....
�� Do not eat heavy meals after 5 pm.
�� Drink more water in the morning, less at night.
�� Best sleep time is 10pm - 4am.
�� Do not lie down immediately after taking medication or meals.
�� When your phone's battery is low at the last bar, do not answer the phone, because the radiation is 1000 times more powerful.
�� Can you pass this on to the people you love?
I just did, the kindness costs nothing ...

GIVE IT TIME

When someone comes and tells you, "I can't sleep without you, I love you the  way you are and I can put up with your good and bad attitude", before you commit your heart to such a person, please, *GIVE IT TIME*.

When You just met someone today and feel like marrying him/her tomorrow, before you do, remember you need to *GIVE IT TIME*.

When you visit your uncle during a vacation for 2 months, don't be carried away that they serve you your preferred food and give you hot water to bath during your first two days don't start making arrangements to relocate to their house, *GIVE IT TIME*.

When a brother visits you and wakes you up by his shouting of prayer from 12 am to 6 am, please don't shut him down, first *GIVE IT TIME*.

When someone joins your fellowship in the first year and he is in every group/dept, please don't rush and make him a leader, rather *GIVE IT TIME*.

When you enter a new environment and everybody worships you and eat your mess don't be carried away just *GIVE IT TIME*.

When someone comes with a new business with unbelievable promises, please before you involve your money, first *GIVE IT TIME*.

Finally, when you are in a cross road of decisions, you don't know what to do, ask the people or person involved to please *GIVE YOU TIME*.

You can be good in giving people tests and trying out who they are.

Some people know how to pass them all but the test of time they will fail.

Time tests Love and proves it.:-

Time tests businesses and authenticates it.

Time tests spirituality and reveals it.

Time tests friendship and uncovers true friends

Time, a good tester.

Don't say that the utilities in your area is now the best until you have *GIVEN IT TIME*.

Your  uncle or Father told You that you are useless and worthless and can't amount to anything, just laugh it away and ask them to *GIVE YOU TIME*.

*_Quote me..._*

Consistency with time is the true test of Efficiency.

*Time is a TESTER*.

*Time is an AUTHENTICATOR*.

*Time is a REVEALER.*

*TIME IS STILL A MATTER*.

Thanks for giving this long post TIME... J-Chibuike

When you share it around and no one comments, don't assume it was ignored, *GIVE IT TIME*.

PSYCHOLOGY OF POSITIVE THINKING: TIPS FOR FULFILLED LIFE

1. Don't complicate life. We won't be here forever. Once this day is over, it's gone forever. Your time is too valuable to waste on nonsense.*

*2. No matter what knocks you down in life, get up and keep going. NEVER GIVE UP. Great blessings come as a result of great perseverance.*

*3. Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.*

*4. Good things come to those who believe, better things come to those who are patient, and the best things come to those who don't give up.*

*5. Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.*

*6. Disappointments were not meant to destroy you. They were meant to strengthen you and give you fortitude to accomplish your God-given destiny.*

*7. We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but by appreciating what we do have.*

*8. Your child will follow your example, not your advice.*

*9. One day, you'll be just a memory for some people. Do your best to be a good one.*

*10. Associate yourself with people of good quality. For it is better to be alone than in bad company.*

*11.  Don't fear change. You may lose something good, but you may also gain something great.*

*12.  When you love what you have, you have everything you need.*

*13. The greatest act of faith some days is to simply get up and face another day.*

*14. Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have - GRATITUDE.*

*15. Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it has left you.*

*16. When you choose to forgive those who have hurt you, you take away their power.*

*17. Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you are waiting.*

*18. Isn't it ironic:*
*- We ignore those who adore us, but adore the ones that ignore us*
*- We love those who hurt us, but hurt the ones that love us.*

*19. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. Every story has an end, but in life every end is just a new beginning.*

*20. You were born to win. Although to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.*

*21. Every day is a NEW beginning, take a deep breath and START AGAIN.*

*22. Know that you are loved. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are beautiful. You have purpose. You are a masterpiece.*

*23. Don't compare your progress with that of others. We all need our own time to travel our own distance.*

*24. Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher.*

*25. Bad things happen everyday to everyone. The difference is in how people deal with it.*

*26. When you make a commitment, you build hope. When you keep it, you build trust.*

*27. Two things define you: Your PATIENCE when you have NOTHING, and your ATTITUDE when you have EVERYTHING.*

*28. Being honest may not get you a lot of FRIENDS but it will always get you the RIGHT ONES.*

*29. Working on yourself is the hardest part of life. Keep growing up, no matter where you are.*

*30. Be selective in your battles. Sometimes peace is better than being right.*

*31. Keep people in your life who truly love you, motivate you and make you happy. If you know people who do none of these things, let them go.*

*32. Be happy not because everything is good, but because you can see the good side of everything.*

*33. OPTIMISM*
*NO ➔ Shortcuts*
*NO ➔ Quick fixes*
*NO ➔ Blaming others*
*NO ➔ I'll do tomorrows*
*NO ➔ EXCUSES!!*

*34. Surround yourself with positive people who will support you when it rains, not just when it shines.*

*35. Being defeated is often a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent.*

*Enjoy God's grace on this journey we call LIFE.*

OHANAEZE PG's PAPER ON RESTRUCTURING

Ohanaeze PG's paper at Chatham House today wednesday Sept 27

RESTRUCTURING NIGERIA: DECENTRALISATION FOR NATIONAL COHESION

 

Protocols.

Let me begin by extending my deep sense of gratitude to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, for inviting me to participate in this current series of discussions on, Next Generation Nigeria: Accountability and National Cohesion. The involvement of this reputable British Institute in discussing and proffering suggestions for extant Nigeria’s problems is not only commendable, but I believe most relieving for the British establishment, who must understandably feel a deep sense of vicarious responsibility for putting together a country confronted which such grim future.

Nigeria became a united British colony by the amalgamation of its Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914. In 1960 it attained independence, fashioned a federal Constitution which had three and subsequently four regions as its federating units. The pre-1960 and the 1963 constitutions of Nigeria were fashioned by the people of Nigeria as represented by the leaders of their ethnic nationalities. The coup of January 1966 and the counter-coup of the same year occasioned by ethnic tensions and disagreements within the military-led our country to disastrous consequences.

Our first Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Tafawa Balewa and the then premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, as well as the then Minister for Finance Festus Okotie-Eboh,  were murdered. A massive pogrom was unleashed on South Eastern Nigerians living in the Northern Nigeria. A sitting Head of State from the South East, Major General Aguiyi Ironsi and a governor from the South West Col. Adekunle Fajuyi were murdered. The military suspended our 1963 constitution and adopted a unitary system of government to fit their command and control structures. Opposition to this move by Southern Nigeria led to constitutional talks in Aburi, Ghana. The agreements reached Aburi were jettisoned. War broke out and claimed more than three and a half million lives mostly from the South East. After the war, the military-authored two more constitutions, one in 1979 and another in 1998/99. The two military constitutions were finally approved by the Supreme Military Council.

Under military rule, this organ was the highest legislative organ for the country. It was made up of senior military officers, a majority of whom were from Northern Nigeria. The last constitution of 1998/99 which the military approved was the legal instrument that governed Nigeria’s transition to democracy. It is still in use in Nigeria today. It was not subjected to a national referendum. It created 19 states out of the old Northern Region, 6 states out of the Western Region, 2 states out of the old Midwestern Region and 9 states out of the old Eastern Region.

An agreement by a constitutional conference convened by General Abacha divided the country into six geopolitical zones. This agreement was never incorporated into a legislation even though it continues to be adopted for administrative purposes by Government and the political parties. The creation of states and local governments in these six geographical areas did not respect any equitable parameter. 

Our present constitution is not autochthonous. It was not written by the people of Nigeria. It was not approved in a National referendum. In jurisprudence, its effectiveness will score a very low grade on account of its unacceptability. Regrettably, it continues to hold sway and begins with a false proclamation, "We the People of Nigeria…." 

Our present constitution was written at a time of unprecedented increase in National revenue following the massive discovery of oil in Nigeria and its global reliance as a source of fuel for mechanical machines. It had as its centrepiece, the distribution of national revenue and national offices using states and local governments as units for division. It constructed a federation in name but a unitary government in practice following the pattern enunciated in 1966 from the inception of military administration in Nigeria.

Competition and drive for production by the federating units was destroyed. Each state and local government waited every month for proceeds from oil generated revenue to be divided out to them.

The Federal Government became enormously powerful taking over mining rights, construction of interstate highways, major educational establishments, rail and water transportation, power and several infrastructural responsibilities previously undertaken by the regions.  Competition for control of the Federal Government became intense and corrupted our electoral system. Corruption became perverse as the Federal Government became too big to be effectively policed by auditing and administrative regulations.

As I speak to you today, Nigeria has a grim economic outlook. Nigeria’s external debt has grown from $10.3 billion in 2015 to $15 billion in 2017. Her domestic debt has also grown from 8.8 trillion Naira in 2015, to 14 trillion Naira in 2017. Domestic debt component for the 36 states rose from 1.69 trillion Naira in 2015 to 2.9 trillion Naira in June 2017.

The Federal government has on two occasions released bailout funds to enable states to meet their recurrent expenditure requirements. Only about eight states in Nigeria namely Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Edo, Delta, Abia, Rivers, and Kwara have their internally generated revenue sufficient enough to cover their interest repayments on their debts without depending on allocations from Federally collected revenue.

For the Federal Government close to 40% of its annual revenue was spent on servicing of interest repayments on debts and according to International Monetary Fund (IMF), this percentage is expected to increase further. According to Fitch ratings, Nigeria’s Government gross debts is 320% of its annual revenue!! – one of the highest in the world.

In the face of this economic reality, the Population Reference Bureau predicts that Nigeria will in 2050 become the world’s fourth-largest population with a population of 397 million coming after China, India and the United States of America. This is only 33 years away.

In 2011, five Colonels in the United States Centre for Strategy and Technology, Air War College did a case study on Nigeria and the global consequences of its implosion and came out with a conclusion that, “despite its best efforts, Nigeria has a long-term struggle ahead to remain a viable state, much less a top-20 economy”.

Faced with this grim economic outlook and a structure inimical to growth what is, therefore, our way forward? Our growth model has to change for us to survive as a country.

A model based on sharing of Government revenue must give way to a new structure that will challenge and drive productivity in different regions across the country. This new model must take into account that the factors driving productivity in today’s world are no longer driven by fossil oil but rather the proliferation of a knowledge-based economy. The restructuring of Nigeria into smaller and independent federations limits and the devolution of powers to these federating units to control exclusively their human capital development, mineral resources, agriculture, and power (albeit with an obligation to contribute to the federal government) is the only way to salvage our fledging economy. Restructuring will devote attention to the new wealth areas, promote competition and productivity as the new federating units struggle to survive. It will drastically reduce corruption as the large federal parastatals which gulp Government revenue for little or no impact dissolve and give way to small and viable organs in the new federating units.

Those campaigning against restructuring in Nigeria have painted an unfortunate and untrue picture that those of us in support of restructuring are doing so in order to deny the Northern States who have not yet any proven oil reserves of the ability to survive. This is unfortunate. The new model we propose for Nigeria recognizes that revenue in the world today is promoted by two main sources namely, human capital development leveraging on technology to drive the critical sectors of the economy and agriculture. Ten years ago the top ten companies in the world were the likes of Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Total. Today the top eight companies in the world are represented by technology related companies. They include Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon.

The example of Netherlands in Agriculture is also relevant here. The Netherlands is the 18th largest economy in the world. It has a land area of about 33.9,000 square kilometres. Niger State, one of Nigeria’s 37 administrative units has about 74,000 square kilometres. Netherlands has over $100 billion from agricultural exports annually, contributed mainly by vegetables and dairy. Nigeria’s oil revenue has never in any one year reached $100 billion. Northern Nigeria is the most endowed agriculturally in Nigeria. Its tomatoes, carrots, cabbages, cucumbers, tubers, grains, livestock and dairy feed the majority of Nigerians in spite of its huge reserve of unexploited export potentials. In a restructured Nigeria, Northern Nigeria with the right agricultural policies will be the richest part of Nigeria.

Our analysis here must be viewed from the background that datelines have been fixed by OECD countries and China for the cessation of production of automobiles and machines dependent on fossil oil. This development and the new technology for production of shale oil in the United States has made world dependence on Nigeria’s crude oil a rapidly declining phenomenon. 

This brings me to the question of what form Nigeria will assume under a restructured arrangement and how this restructuring can be brought about. Two basic models have been canvassed for restructuring in Nigeria. A conservative model aimed at maintaining the status quo has been proposed to mean simply a shedding of some of the exclusive powers of the federal government like issuing of mining licences, permission for constructing of federal roads and shedding of regulatory powers over investments in critical sectors of the economy like power. This model merely scratches the surface of the problem. It avoids fundamental devolution of powers.

The second model calls for a fundamental devolution of powers to the States as federating units and a lean Federal Government with exclusive powers for external defence, customs, immigration, foreign relations and a Federal legislature and judiciary to make and interpret laws in these exclusive areas.

This second model proposes states at the federating units with two different approaches. The first approach simply wants the states as the federating units and a federal government with limited powers. It wants the states to control a percentage of revenue accruing from their areas and contribute an agreed percentage of such revenue to the federal government.

The second approach proposes the states as the federating units with a region at each of the six geopolitical units whose constitution will be agreed to and adopted by the states in the geopolitical region. The regions will have the powers to merge existing states or create new ones. There will be regional and state legislatures and judiciary dealing with making and interpreting laws made in the respective political entities. This approach proposes a revenue sharing formulae of 15% to the Federal Government, 35% to the State Government and 50% to the State Governments.

To achieve a national consensus on this subject requires a national discussion. Regrettably, the ruling party, APC which promised restructuring in its manifesto after two years and four months in office is still appointing a committee to define what sort of restructuring it wants for Nigeria. To make matters worse, none of the other political parties have come up with any clear-cut route for achieving a consensus on this matter.

The National Assembly itself is a reflection of the deep ethnic divisions in the country and the Northern majority conferred on it by the military makes it highly unacceptable to Southern Nigeria. Recent resolutions made by it on devolution of powers have not helped the situation. Happily, the Senate President has promised a revisit of the subject matter.

In the recent past, self-determination groups have sprung up in Nigeria. The self-determination groups include IPOB, MASSOB, YELICOM, Arewa Youths, Niger Delta Republic and Republic of the Middle Belt.

Of all these groups IPOB and Boko Haram have been designated as terrorist organisations by the federal government. This development in relation to IPOB is unfortunate. Boko Haram is an armed organisation which has attacked and occupied Nigerian territory hoisted its flag and appointed local authority governments.

It has abducted and abused Nigerian w - -omen, kidnapped and imprisoned many and killed over two hundred thousand people. It is still involved in guerrilla warfare against Nigeria yet the Federal government is negotiating with them. No member of Boko Haram captured by the military is under trial. Members of this Federal government are on record for condemning the previous government for brutal murder of Boko Haram members and condemning the retired Chief of Army Staff for zealous prosecution of the anti-terror campaign. Members of the sect who confess to a change of mind have been received along with their abducted female partners in the Presidency and rehabilitated.

The declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organisation is in my view hurried, unfair, and not in conformity with the intendment of the law. Whereas I am not completely in agreement with some of the methods of IPOB like its inappropriate and divisive broadcast, the uncontested evidence given by the Attorney General of the Federation in an interlocutory action claiming that IPOB attempted and/or actually snatched guns from law enforcement agents are, if proven, merely criminal offences. They do not constitute enough evidence to meet international law definitions of a terrorist organisation. Happily, the United States Embassy in Nigeria only three days ago shared this conclusion and asserted that the United States Government does not recognise IPOB as a terrorist organisation. This same unarmed IPOB that is being stigmatised by the Nigerian government had its members murdered in Asaba, Nkpor, Aba and Port Harcourt simply for having public demonstrations without the federal government ordering a judicial inquiry. Instead, after I called for one and Amnesty International provided evidence that 150 of them were killed, the Chief of Army Staff set up an inquiry composed of serving and retired army officers thus abandoning the rules of natural justice which prescribes that you cannot be a judge in your own court.

 The Igbos in Nigeria feel the treatment of IPOB as unfair, discriminatory and overhanded. They see the move as an attempt to encourage a profiling of Igbos in the international security arena.

We know of other self-determination groups in Nigeria that are armed and have destroyed government and private sector installations and wells that government prefers to negotiate with rather than label them as terrorist organisations.

Fulani Herdsmen otherwise called the Fulani militants have ravaged farms in Middlebelt, South West, and South Eastern Nigeria killing several farmers in the process. In January 2016 they killed 500 farmers and their families in Agatu in Benue state. In Enugu state, they murdered more than 100 farmers in Ukpabi Nimbo in April 2016. Photographs depicting them with automatic rifles trend in the entire world media, yet not one of them is facing criminal charges, nor is Operation Python Dance being conducted in the areas where they ravage and kill and the Federal government describes them as criminals and not a terrorist organisation notwithstanding their classification by the Global Terrorist Index as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world (see British Independent Newspaper, 18th November 2015). The London Guardian Newspaper of 12th July 2016 indicated that Fulani herdsmen killed one thousand people in 2014.

Let me seize this opportunity to once more thank the Royal Institute of International Affairs for inviting me as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to speak here today. In Nigeria, Ndigbo whose social cultured organisation I lead are, notwithstanding their historical experiences in Nigeria, the most loyal ethnic group to the concept of one Nigeria. We are the largest ethnic group other than the indigenous group in any part of Nigeria. We invest and contribute to the economic and social life of the committees wherever we live. We are proudly Christians but very accommodating of our brothers of other religious persuasions. We are grossly marginalised and still treated by the Federal government as second-class citizens. No Igboman, for instance, heads any security arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Our area is the most heavily policed as if there was a deliberate policy to intimidate us and hold us down. 

Our endurance has been stretched beyond Hooke’s gauge for elastic limit. The deployment of the Nigerian Army under the guise of Operation Python dance to the South East was unconstitutional under S. 271 of the 1999 Constitution.

Deployment of the army is only allowed in circumstances of insurrection, terrorism and external aggression not in killing of priests, or fighting kidnapping. And in those circumstances where they can be deployed, leave of the Senate must be sought. This brazen impunity in dealing with matters which concern the South East is provocative.

The Arewa Youths Council by issuing a quit notice for Igbos to leave Northern Nigeria and declaring a Federal Republic of Nigeria without Igboland had committed serious infractions of the law. First by declaring a new Republic of Nigeria which excises the South East unilaterally, they were committing treason. By issuing a proclamation for Nigerians to leave any part of Nigeria forcibly they were infringing the fundamental rights of innocent Nigerians, as guaranteed by the Constitution to live and do business anywhere. By commencing an inventory of Igbo property in Nigeria for seizure by October 1st, 2017, they were attempting conversion. By proclaiming a mop-up action of those who did not comply with their order by October 1st, they were, without doubt, inciting genocide. Yet in spite of all these orders to arrest them by the Kaduna State Government and the Inspector General of Police were not enforced nor were they prevented from holding court with Governors and leading elders from the North.

The only hope for change in Nigeria today is the rising call for restructuring pioneered by the Southern leadership forum, supported lately by ex Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former President Ibrahim Babangida and leaders of the Middle belt including Dan Suleiman and Prof. Jerry Gana.

Our expectation is that now that our President is fully recovered and back to work, he will address the situation by constituting a nationwide conversation of all ethnic nationalities to look into the 2014 National Conference report and the trending views on this subject matter so as to come up with a consensus proposal that the national and state assemblies will be persuaded to adopt.

To continue to neglect a resolution of this impasse will spell doom for our dear country. 

Our argument is further reinforced by a two-year extensive study by the UNDP titled, JOURNEY TO EXTREMISM released in September 2017 which indicated that exposure to state abuse and marginalisation not religious ideology are better predictors of radicalisation.

It also indicates that those living on the periphery of their country with less access to education and health services are more vulnerable to be recruited into violent extremist groups. In Nigeria, millions of unemployed graduates from universities waiting for up to 10 years without gainful employment are restive, agitated and veritable cannon fodders for escalating restiveness.

In conclusion, I hope that the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the British Government and British interests associated with Nigeria will continue to offer useful advice to our polity that will lead to an early resolution of our situation.

I thank you for your kind attention

 

John Nnia Nwodo

Chatham House, London

Wednesday 27th September 2017

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CHARITY WRAPPED WITH DIGNITY

She asked him, "How much are you selling the eggs for?"

The old seller replied to her, "#40 for one egg, Madam."

She said to him, "I will take 6 eggs for #200 or I will leave."

The old seller replied, "Come take them at the price you want. May God  bless us, and maybe this is a good beginning because I have not been able sell to anyone today."

She took it and walked away with a feeling that she has won. She got into her fancy car and went to pick her friend, and invited her to a posh  restaurant.

She and her friend sat down and ordered what they liked. They ate a little and left a lot of what they ordered.

Then she went to pay the bill. The bill was #1,400 She gave him  #1,500 and said to the owner of the restaurant: "Keep the change."

This incident may seem quite  normal to the owner of the restaurant. But it is very painful for the poor egg seller.

The bottom line is:

Why do we always show that we have the power when we buy from the needy and the poor? And  why  are we generous with those who do not need our generosity ?

Every time a poor child comes to me to sell something simple, I remember a tweet from the son of a rich man who said, "After every prayer my father used to buy simple goods from poor people at  expensive prices, even though he did not need them. Sometimes he used to pay more for them. I used to get concerned by this act and I asked  him about it. Then my father told me: 'It is a charity wrapped with dignity, my son.'"

Compare these two stories of social hypocrisy.

The first one is disappointing and the second one is inspiring.

May God enlighten our vision.

THE INTERVIEWEE WHO HATED ME

Six years ago a guy looked at me face to face, and boldly told me; "I don't like you!"
I immediately fired a response, I asked him that day; "Thank you for the honest feedback, but those that you like, how has it made their life better? How does your liking people pay their bills or take a bank loan? My brother keep your like, I need God's like And that's what guarantees my future.

Today I joined a CEO friend of mine in an interview Panel to recruit some new staff, it was a long session, as we returned from a coffee break to continue the hectic interview session, here was this same guy walked in with his grey jacket and CV coming for the interview.

Our eyes kissed by fluke, we immediately recognised eachother; "the world is indeed spherical", I soliloquized.
He felt very uncomfortable through out the interview, one could clearly see the volcanic eruption ongoing in his whole nervous system, he even mistook his date of birth for his last date of employment. It wasn't yet my turn to ask him questions so I allowed everyone to take their turns with him and deliberately opted to interview him last.

When it got to my turn, the first thing I said was, "I LIKE YOU so much, you look to me like a brilliant and intelligent person, but it seems you are not doing well now because something bothers you, true?"
"That's very correct Sir!" He responded.
"Ok look at me straight in the eye, I was never offended that day, it is very normal that sometimes as humans you just don't like certain people, but I wasn't bothered either, because whether you liked me or not, it was inconsequential to my life and my success path - as you can see, fate has brought you to my lair"

I stood up and beckoned him to come and embrace me, everyone on the panel at this point were at sea - wondering if we had expeditiously recast an interview session to a Hollywood movie scene.
He hugged me so long and deeply that I felt it. Then I told him, "now get your confidence back bro and answer the questions like a Pro Shark that you are, we all burst into laughter, everyone suddenly liked him and the room became livelier - the interview became more like a discussion, well to cut the long story short, he got the job!

Lessons:
1. Be careful how you treat people when they appear to be in their vulnerable state, your next level may be hanging in their balance; somewhere in the future.

2. If you dislike someone, it is not their fault, it is YOUR FAULT, work on yourself to find good in people and reinvent your Mind to see everyone as likeable.

3. Don't spew hatred vocally just because it came into your heart, you may say it to someone who will keep it forever and use it against you when you find yourself in your own low moments and need them.

4. Learn to forgive, overlook people's dislike and hatred for you, dont punish people just because you have the position and privilege to do so, bless them rather - that's how you court God's blessings, favour and protection.

5. Share this post, someone needs it to heal from their past burdens of unforgiveness they have been carrying which has been hindering their promotions and inhibiting God's blessings flowing their way.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough.

Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Bryan never thought twice about being paid.

This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan .

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.”

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”

There is an old saying “What goes around comes around.” Today, I sent you this story, and I’m asking you to pass it on .. Let this light shine.

Don’t delete it, don’t return it. Simply, pass this on to a friend

Good friends are like stars….You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.

Do good to all people, don't lose your good attitude, it pays heavily.

*It's between you and God..*

*_Your 'Kindness' may be treated as your weakness, still be kind._*
*_Your 'Help' to others may go unnoticed, still be helpful._*
*_People may cheat you if you are 'Honest', still be honest._*
*_People may often forget your good deeds, but always do good._*
*_It is never between you and them; it's between 'You' and 'GOD'._*

RHESUS FACTOR

ASIDE KNOWING YOUR GENOTYPE BF MARRIAGE, THERE'S NEED FOR ONE TO KNOW HER RHESUS FACTOR! RHESUS FACTOR INCOMPATIBILITY IS A LEADING CAUSE OF MISCARRIAGE! NOT ALWAYS YOUR VILLAGE PEOPLE! PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ DZ:

Rhesus Factor is an antigen that exists on the surface of red blood cells in most people (about 85% of humans). It is also referred to as Rh Factor. People who have the Rh have “positive” (+) blood types, such as A+, O+ or B+ are said to be rhesus Factor positive,  while those who  have the Rh  “negative” (-) blood types, such as A–, O– or AB– are said to be rhesus factor negative . The “+” and “-” in front of the blood group is the Rhesus factor. Generally, we have A+, A–, B+, B–, AB+, AB–, O+ and O–. Rhesus factor is genetic in nature. It is inherited from the parents, emphatically the father.

How does Rhesus Factor cause miscarriage?

If a Rh– woman is impregnated by a man with Rh–, there wouldn’t be any problem. However, if a Rh– woman is impregnated by a man with Rh+, there would be a problem if the baby inherits Rh+ from the father . We have here what is medically called Rhesus Factor Incompatibility. The baby would obviously be Rh+. During child birth, once the baby’s Rh+ comes in contact with the woman Rh- during delivery, the antibodies are immediately activated by the woman’s body’s immune system.

The activated antibodies would see the new Rh+ as foreign body or a threat and consequently they would be at alert to attack and get rid of the foreign body. Unfortunately as such, after this particular child birth, the woman would keep having miscarriages because the activated antibodies would see subsequent Rh+ pregnancies as foreign bodies and would keep fighting and taking them off.

Women with Rh activated antibodies are said to be Rh sensitized and once these antibodies are activated , they can never be deactivated until the woman dies. Rh induced antibodies are activated in a Rh- woman by child birth, abortion, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

If a Rh– woman commits an abortion for a Rh+ man and the antibodies are activated in her system, the woman might end up childless throughout her life except if she later marries another man with with the same Rh–. The possibility of a Rh– woman finding a Rh– man is slim as about 85% of human beings are Rh+. This is a warning to our young girls who commits abortions all in the name of boyfriend-girlfriend relationships.

If you’re a woman with Rh– and your fiance is Rh+, and you haven’t committed abortion for him and you don’t want to leave him, then, you need to take note of the following:

In order to prevent the activation of the antibodies, doctors would give women in this category an injection called Rhogam during and after pregnancy to prevent spontaneous abortion due to Rhesus factor incompatibility. The injection is normally administered 28 weeks into pregnancy, 72 hours after delivery, after ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or abortion. If the injection is not administered and the antibodies are activated, they would never be deactivated again!

In many African cultures up till today, women who are so unfortunate to find themselves having serial spontaneous abortions due to Rhesus factor incompatibility are considered witches by some of their people. Some of the women would accuse their in-laws of being behind their predicament.

So, if you’re a woman with Rh– , you need to be very careful. It might be difficult for you to get a husband with a Rh– because about 85% of human beings are Rh+. So, in order not to find yourself in the aforementioned problem, put all that have been said at the back of your mind and go for genetic counselling. If you have a daughter or a sister with Rh–, counsel them on Rhesus Factor Incompatibility and the dangers lying therein.

It should also be noted that a Rh– person(man or woman) cannot receive blood donation from a Rh+ person even if they have the same blood group. The consequence of such blood transfusion is fatal. It would lead to death as the blood would clot. This is due to the incompatibility in their Rhesus factor.
GOD BLESS US ALL������������

Know your Rhesus factor today!
share this knowledge with your friends

THERAPY FOR ELIMINATING CANCER

No one must die by cancer except very careless; the first step is to stop all sugar intake, without sugar in your body, cancer would die a natural death. Second step blend a whole lemon fruit with a cup of water and drink it for about 1-3 months first thing before food and cancer would disappear, research by Maryland College of Medicine says, it's 1000 time better than chemotherapy. Third drink 3 spoonful of organic coconut oil, morning and night and cancer would disappear, you can choose any of the the two therapy after avoiding sugar, ignorance  is no excuse, I have been sharing this information for over 5 years. Let everyone around you know, it's a sacrilege for anyone this day to die from cancer; chemotherapy is a medical scam, it doesn't work. God bless you all. Copied.