Nigeria is elitist greed and nepotism. Followed by external impositions of foreign ideas, foreign economic-interventionism which has impeded Nigerian economy. In 60s down to 80s 60 kobo was equal to a dollar. Europeans flooded our universities to teach and to study. University of Ibadan and UNN and others had the best equipped Medical Training Centers in the whole of Sub-Sahara Africa – SSA if not the whole of Africa. Iraq, Nigeria, and other countries are typical examples of foreign intervention taking its toll on these developing economies. Exxon and Elf Oil companies control our industry. These multinationals in collaboration with Nigerian elites drill our oil and ship refined oil products of exorbitant prizes to Nigerian and other consumer populations around the world. While through this scheme and Nigerian collaborators refused to allow repairs or building new refineries to enable them continue their looting prey. This is why everything is heading to collapse today because somebody is getting rich, benefiting from the chaotic system in the land. Democracy cannot be externally imposed on countries – democracy will take hold only when it is locally developed, nurtured by locals not by foreign interventionists.

" /> A Rejoinder to E. Terfa Ula-Lisa, Esq. "Ngozi Iweala, Our Next President" - Nigerian Village Square

19

Dec

2005

A Rejoinder to E. Terfa Ula-Lisa, Esq. "Ngozi Iweala, Our Next President" PDF Print E-mail
By Carlisle U.O. Umunnah

A Rejoinder to E. Terfa Ula-Lisa, Esq. “Ngozi Iweala, Our Next President”

This communication is to express my appreciation to Mr. E. Terfa Ula-Lisa, Esq.’s new found freedom, liberty and brotherhood in Milwaukee here in the United States his adopted home. In this light, his free agency found in his recently posted article at NVS titled: “Ngozi Iweala, Our Next President.” Permit me to note that the idea – Freedom is a beautiful concept, when properly deployed within the scheme of things particularly within the current troubling-waters within the Nigerian-political-plate these days.

With all due respect to the writer, Igbo-women and women cross the globe, I respectfully disagree with you on many things. First and foremost, within the organizational leadership found in Igbo-plate, Ndi-igbo’s organizational structure identifies men and women with their exceptional roles thus our sons and daughters know their place in society. Also note that we take exceptional reverence for our woman and appreciates their contributions overtime. For instance, Aba-Ngwa women’s riot of 1929 triggered a record high act of freedom, expressed in their collective rejection of outrageous foreign dominance administered by the British under its criminal colonial control of our land. Their efforts then and today in the political process of our existence never depreciated and we will have a hard time to completely figure it all out. This singular act of 1929 has gone down in history forever, a historicity of Igbo women’s excellence and virtue. To this end, I adore and salute their courage today and always.

Conversely, make no mistakes that as long as the sun gives it light and other earthly and heavenly firmaments are on time, this writer can assure you that no amount of gross intellectual deceptions can shield the truth from the light. Mr. Ula-Lisa in his communication remarked that Mr. Obasanjo “has intimated us that he knows those who would not succeed him; made it clear that Mr. Atiku is not his favorite, not to mention the issue of being his successor.” Great! But in response to your article, this writer disagrees and now questions who Mr. Obasanjo thinks he is to dictate to Nigerians who would succeed him and who would not succeed him under the current “Nigerian fledging democracy” as it were. To this writer this attitude is flagrant display of totalitarianism if not fascism on the side of Mr. President. Under free and fair elections, one would hope that it is the duty and responsibility of Nigerians to make that call, make that decision at the polls not Mr. Terfa Ula-Lisa and OBJ.

Be mindful that this is the only seating President that thumbs his nose at Nigerians by openly instituting personal library worth over N1.8 billion with public funds. I stand to be contradicted or corrected on that statistical index. Otherwise, were did OBJ get his funds from to contemplate of such a magnificent edifice, completing of a private University while the premier universities and other universities across the country are collapsing due to lack of funding or other related matters. OBJ is the only tyrant that used federal funds allocation from fed meant for Operation Feed the Nation [OFN] that turned up in Ottah Farm. This is the only administration that has no Minister of Defense and Minister of Petroleum & Gas and someone somewhere conceptualizes and projects that he has good intentions and then call it fiscal responsibility. To this writer and others it is called fiscal criminality and open day robbery of Nigerian resources for his personal use and ownership. The anti-corruption campaign has in all intents and purposes, with acclaimed good intentions has displayed gross sellectivism and scapegoatism in its mission and operations. As it now stands we are living witnesses to this whole hubris.

DSP Alarm was wrong in all ramifications. However, in all fairness, the process leading to DSP’s impeachment as processed and triggered in Lagos rather than in Bayelsa, his subsequent arrest both in London and Nigeria, the calculated display of arrant breach of constitutional fairness of individuals as prescribed in the constitution as deemed innocent until found guilty by law in dispensing the process, not given him or his attorneys’ opportunity to defend himself or themselves and present their side of the story to Bayelsans and Nigerians in a “democracy,” is not only flawed, it is tragic and very embarrassing. Just as DSP’s money laundry and his other illegalities were tragic, flawed and embarrassing to all of us.

OBJ’s anti-corruption campaign and other reforms cannot work because OBJ and his administration are not clean either. It gives a picture of a situation were criminals are chasing criminals and political opponents. You can spin this idea however you want, OBJ is not a messiah that Nigerians want or that will free Nigeria from its current troubling waters. Continuity cannot effectively function or take-off unless there is capacity sustainability and capacity retention matrix put in place which, to the best of my knowledge does not exist in the Nigeria-plate today. In addition there is this lack of maintenance culture in Nigerian frontiers, reflected on decades of pot holes on our roads, depleting runaways of our airports and other infrastructures and then and finally, decades of corruption across the land, corruption with impunity has shifted to total system-collapse seen on land, air and sea. As if not enough, air disaster after air disaster explains the indescribable massive corruption within the aviation industry and corruption in all ranks and files across Nigerian-plate.

Professionalism and technocrats

Beside your acclaimed Nigerian professionals and technocrats in diaspora that you and others have incessantly implored OBJ to get on board, allow them with free hand to fix economic mess created by previous administrations as this would ensure smooth sailing system like other nations is also based on falsehood. The truth is that the concept of Nigerian foreign professionals may contribute a little but their contributions can never be a major panacea to problems in the homeland because foreign professionals have been away for too long, do not understand it, are not on the ground to review the statistical indexes of damage done in the homeland. Lets you wallow in intelligibility absence, be it known that Nigerian problems are culturally and ethnically interwoven, engrained in its structures. To this end, not until ethnicity questions are address and rebuilding take place via local ingenuity, rather than via foreign expertise the project will remain a charade. Foreign expertise has failed the republic time and time again in the country’s 45 years of existence, Please check your research papers before delivery.

The idea of Ngozi as having a grasps of macro-international-financing, based on her western training and more is economically suicidal and irrelevant to the conversation of bettering our economy through locally built engines for so many reasons. I will explain.

The IMF, World Bank and other western financial institutions were built to serve the western interests while in the other hand, directly or indirectly these financial institutions are structured with regulations and laws to pauperize the rest of the earth-plate and its inhabitants. With due respect to the west, in the latter’s worldview, any socio-economic-agenda in the world that does not align such agenda in specific clear terms with economic-strategic interests of the west or that of the United States and its multilateral partners is seen and treated as aberrational, unsophisticated, mundane and thus unacceptable.

To refresh and re-educate your mine, remember that after WW II in 1945, Brenton-Woods and Associates were instituted under the eagle-eyes of United States its key founder and controller. Its key purpose was to re-construct war torn Europe and Japan. Funds emitted from these institutions were made out as grants to these European countries and Japan not loans as they are today to “developing countries. Sometimes thereafter, in the likelihood of 50s and 60s, Brenton-Woods & Associates changed its name to what is known today as World Bank and began its initial loaning system to other countries what you labeled Third World Countries [TWC] or countries with economies in transition if you include former Soviet Union satellite states now known as countries of Independent States [CIS]. Loans with stiff conditionalities from IMF/Bank to countries like Jamaica, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda to mention but a few subsequently destroyed these developing economies or countries with economies in transition. This happened through – IMF/Bank failed Programmes in these plates – namely: Poverty Eradication Programmes – MAMSER/Structural Adjustment Programmes [SAP] in Nigeria under IBB and similar agendas were in full swing in countries mentioned in this piece. Note that not even a single program by these institutions was a success. They failed flat and the writer stand to be corrected.

In their usual manipulations, these financial institutions will then get into blame game with host countries and thusly every two years they will eventually change these program names to other acronyms like – PEP – Poverty Eradication Program et al. The point here is that none of these programmes had any tangible impact on the people. No matter how good these programs sound on the paper, they were not designed or meant to help the populations of these nations-states, rather it was designed to mortgage them to debt forever. If not how come Nigeria’s debt of 9 billions became twenty-something to thirty-something billion dollars? In fact, these programs were by itself a recipe to poverty and other challenging difficulties for our peoples.

The trick is that Fund [IMF] in collaboration with the Bank [World Bank] will actually advise or come to nations and appeal to them to take the loans, tell them to open their markets and then plagued these loans with stringent conditionalities that at the end of the day the servicing of the principal alone is greater than the principal itself. Under this pedigree, your Ngozi belonged and served honorably before she became Finance Minister. My question therefore it while Ngozi once served as one of its Vice Presidents, why didn’t she provide advisement then to the Nigerian paper-tiger - under IBB not to get our nation involved into this imbecilistic-mess? Was it not the same Ngozi and her likes that insisted in dollar salary of 250.00 plus per year if not all heads will break loose in Aso-Rock? The debt relief under her watch and Soludo is tainted, as Paris Club and IMF in its secret-stratagem knows that these nations cannot get off of these debts, ever, under any circumstances.

The 19 billion dollars debt relief that will be monitored in phases by the body with its tripling interests is not a good deal for our people as you would otherwise like us to believe. With due respect to you sir, your applause of debt relief package under these foregoing conditionalities, including neo-colonialistic-seals with other remarks by you in your paper showcased your intelligilibility absence at the highest order. The truth is that Paris Club has stolen from Nigerian population. Money that would have been invested in Education, hospitals, maintenance of colossal collapsing infrastructures across Nigeria has been criminally handed over to the international fraudsters like Paris Club while our people die everyday in abject poverty.

Bottom line, in my view, Ngozi and their likes are western gate-keepers representing the interest of the west rather than the interest of our people, case closed.

Nigerians in the homeland has local ingenuity professionally across the board that can provide guidance and assistance to the Republic but these technocrats have been sidelined for too long. They have not just been allowed, given the opportunity to participate in that country’s body polity as we know it.

Politics of Continuity

It is not completely true to say that one of the major or rather greatest problems of Nigeria is the lack of continuity. To the contrary, you failed to see the major bottleneck[s] in Nigeria. The true problem in Nigeria is elitist greed and nepotism. Followed by external impositions of foreign ideas, foreign economic-interventionism which has impeded Nigerian economy. In 60s down to 80s 60 kobo was equal to a dollar. Europeans flooded our universities to teach and to study. University of Ibadan and UNN and others had the best equipped Medical Training Centers in the whole of Sub-Sahara Africa – SSA if not the whole of Africa. Iraq, Nigeria, and other countries are typical examples of foreign intervention taking its toll on these developing economies. Exxon and Elf Oil companies control our industry. These multinationals in collaboration with Nigerian elites drill our oil and ship refined oil products of exorbitant prizes to Nigerian and other consumer populations around the world. While through this scheme and Nigerian collaborators refused to allow repairs or allow building of new refineries to enable them continue their looting prey. This is why everything is heading to collapse today because somebody is getting rich, benefiting from the chaotic system of the land. Democracy cannot be externally imposed on countries – democracy will take hold only when it is locally developed, nurtured by locals not foreign interventionists.

Oil bunkering and corrupt illegalities tripping Nigeria-state today is as a result of external influences as encouraged as well as internally motivated collaborations with aliens thusly creating a force-multiplier-force grid-lock of gatekeepers at the detriment of the Nigeria population. If we want prospective investors to invest in Nigerian-marketplace there has to be trade-regulations and laws passed at the National Assembly encouraging our trading partners to buy Aba-made and Igbo-made products in exchange to their incessant use of our land to dump their outdated commodities into Nigerian-shores. Otherwise, it is not a Fair Trade – but rather a Free Trade with colossal lopsidedness in favor of our foreign international business partners. As hinted above, we have situations were United States and its allies encourage countries like Haiti, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, South African countries to open their markets but in return refuses to buy merchandize made in the partnering countries. What kind of international trade and partnership is that? Nigeria has turned its land into a free-for-all marketplace when it comes to international trade with little or inconsequential regulations and trade laws created in order to monitor foreign investors and other participants in this arena. It is almost everybody rushing to it to dump their outdated commodities since it is a country a-washed with mediocrity. The looting and other unjust practices in the Nigerian-plate have gone unabated for decades and might even be on the rising. OBJ and majority of his cronies, family members according to reports are part of operation loot-Nigeria dry as their actions are a manifestation to these ills which are by means antithetical to patriotism which he - OBJ attempts to project. It is not OBJ’s duty to look for his successor it is the duty and responsibility of Nigerians to decide that Sir. And from the writer’s aforementioned scenarios, Minister of Finance is not equal to the task either and she is not Ndiigbo option. Be informed that Ndi-igbo are not afraid to leave the good and go for the great.

Ndi-igbo and Presidency

This writer appreciates your suggestions about Ndiigbo question and Nigerian presidency. On the other hand, with all due respect sir, your appeal again showcases your intelligibility absence as to the political structure in Igbo-plate. This writer earlier on pointed out that Ngozi is Bank’s gatekeeper and does not represent Igbo neither is she the answers of Igbo questions as you postulated spuriously in your material. Ndiigbo by nature are charismatic, exposed through trade- and commerce. They are exposed and industrious in all they do domestically and internationally. Anywhere in the world you do not find a single Igbo son or daughter, it is this writer’s advise that you depart from that area. Something is definitely wrong with the area or country in question. Perhaps this environ is not meant for human-habitats. You told the truth when you remarked that other tribes have ruled repeatedly for years for whatever reason. Nonetheless, either by commission or omission, there seems to be a sense of departure in your article when it comes to Ndiigbo and the presidency.

This essayist will not hesitate to identify your cluelessness coated with subtle insinuations which, in this writer’s view are calculated attempt to insults Ndiigbo:

I] your article almost recapped that throughout Igbo-land there is no credible Igbo son to run Nigeria except Ngozi. Please stop and think if possible and stop your insults on Ndiigbo while using this platform as your lunching pad for relevance. II] According to your article, we understand you live in Milwaukee. One wonders when you and the discussant visited the homeland last. It is disappointing that even many commentators at NVS and elsewhere were lining up to applaud your weak recommendations. I am not one of them. With respect to you and I do understand the hunger and thirst for relevance within the committee of nations however, your attempt to seek relevance by this means via NVS do not in this writer’s view showcase you in good light as a matter of fact it was a cheap means to this end. Please do not use Igbo as your launching-pad by throwing direct and indirect innuendoes against Ndiigbo. The writer would encourage you to take some break off of writing activities. Forgo jumping onto the key board until better ideas comes to you. If you have nothing or anything good to say about Igbo leadership[s], it is important that you get into other topics that you are conversant with and leave Igbo question out for now.

Ndiigbo has great sons, professionals, technocrats to provide guidance and assistance for Nigeria if Nigeria and Nigerians decides to start on a clean slate.

For your information, record shows that the current governor of Enugu State: Governor Nnamani was named the best performed governor in Nigeria irrespective of the fact that Governor Nnamani operated his state with meager resources. He has also rolled out next year’s [2006] budget already and ready to go to work. He can run Nigeria better than OBJ. states like Rivers – with huge oil deposits, Lagos and others did not do well in the state to state performance indexes; Dim Ojukwu at 72 is young and strong, he knows Nigeria inside-out has the capacity to restructure Nigeria militarily and economically; Professor Ralph Obioha, Ben Nwabueze, Joe Achuzie and others are men with untainted character of Igbo extraction and highly respected in Igbo-land, throughout Nigeria and abroad. Therefore, please go and do your research before recommending anything on Igbo-question and the Nigerian presidency.

And by the way, in Igbo – land, if not in your part of Nigeria, we have an inseparable chain-of-command-nexus and organizational leadership and its political engineering is strong and works. With due respect to Igbo-sisters and other Nigerian-sisters out there, the priesthood leadership runs through the men and not women. I am not trying to throw clay at the clergy. But as the conversation presents itself, you make your argument through certain varying political lenses. Nonetheless, you cannot in this writer’s opinion, make a clear separation from sectarianist to secularist organizational leadership. It is challenging to operate these two without the other. It is sometimes like a water-tight compartment when it comes to the discourse – sectarianism and secularism orthodoxy. It is tough, otherwise these concepts are interwoven thus the quest for Separation of Church & State has remained battleground like century’s long struggle in the United States and elsewhere for example seems not to go away. That might as well be the case in Nigeria for there is this spiritual linkage of political-leadership-provisions, sectarianism, providence and secularism.

Feminism and Presidency

With new wave of women’s emancipation in the 60s which, has added new spice to the political and economic leadership and its landscape around the world there is absolutely a rethinking going on but it is hard to point at the thresholds or limitations. It is good to say welcome to the patriarchal society were masculinity is a primacy to what is obtainable in this area. But the question is under what structure did women emancipation take place? From Indri Gandhi of India who used Gandhi her father’s influence to grab power, to Margaret Thatcher in Britain, to recently Mrs. Johnson another gatekeeper of the west to Germany’s compromise as recent development have shown an elements of new leadership which are ample examples of women rising to power. It is important to recognize that all these women rose and operated under a patriarchal society – in other words men dominant system. By participating under this patriarchal umbrella, women lose their feminist characteristics and eventually take up new roles in the society even sometimes becomes more tyrannical or rather ironic in nature than their men counterpart – a turf braced with survival of the fittest. In this situation, women lose their motherly characteristics. Their lovely, kinder attributes disappears with the thin air. They also join the dehumanization machines found in most men. Sir in society like Nigeria, such idea will be a big trap for Ngozi. She definitely knows better.

On your other point: international businesses as controlled by multilateral entities and corporations are facts to some extents because they operate without the approval of the people. The fact remains that these corporations do not have to go through the rigor of elections but operates through lobbying means through party lines-donations. These corporations donate to Republican and Democratic parties respectively in the United States for example. In the foregoing in this paper, the explanations have been tendered expressing our revere for our women and would not expose them to this vilest political tryst in Nigeria with its lawlessness. IMF, World Bank and other multilateral bodies do not have the interest of non-western countries at heart and these entities make it impossible for nations to get off of these debts. It does not matter whether it is capitalism or communism. To this writer the two political ideologues and their likes are not good – and do not have answers to alleviate the human sufferings. While the former worships corporatization and or commercialization and control of resources in the hand of few, the latter promotes state-control and almost worship of and turning party leadership to gods such as North Korean – DPRK. Whether it is in former Soviet Union or here in United States it has always been about control, power and dominance of global resources. Russians did not beg for loans it was suggested to her by the United States and its controlled Bank operators. The US and these financial institutions gave or trade advisement to nations presenting it benchmarks as a better option to nations-states thus competing against local ideas, methodologies and creative ingenuity which they label or call traditional. The Bank and other multilateral partners based in Washington D.C. run and partner with these financiers when it comes to development project et al. So the assumptions that Russians begged for loans is unfounded and false, the climate was created for it by the Bank and the collapse of the former Soviet Union not the other way around.

China, Cuba and Venezuela and others for example refused to take the Bank’s loans and other financial advisements. Today they are gearing up to becoming vintage of power balancing gridlock in the global digital market economy, China in particular. Today, Cuba, proud her frontiers as a medical-nexus and one of the best centers in the world where one can find best trained doctors. Best doctors, better than those found in most European countries. Venezuela under Hugo Chavez currently is resisting and rejecting external influences thusly controls its resources and has altogether rejected IMF and Bank’s encroachments in all its forms and manifestations.

A week or two ago, Chavez came through on a promise he made earlier this year to provide oil to low-income communities in the U.S. Two Bronx groups – Mt. Hope Housing Corporation and Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, began receiving heating oil at discount prices. You can call it Hugo’s hubris. But at the end of the day, 8,000 families according to Sandra Guzman will purportedly save around $7 million. This is at a time when fuel costs are staggering and oil companies are reaping, recording breaking profits, Chavez’s fuel-for-for-poor grogram in the U.S. is a welcome relief of less income and less fortunate New Yorkers. This is not to say that Hugo’s a saint, but there seems to be something fascinating about this public figure. Friends depending on foreign expertise as Mr. Ula-Lisa write up seems to suggest will do us no good, building and supporting local ingenuity we will better off than depending on foreign ingenuity.

New ideas

In the foregoing indexes, it is a mistake to get into comparative analysis sometimes especially when these comparative schemes do not fit the picture of the discussions. Sometimes it does but not definitely in this case. Socio-economic-political dynamics of Nigeria is evidently different from those we sometimes compare her with. It is important that we look inward us rather than outward us to find lasting solution to Nigerian-mess.

What is wrong with Nigeria becoming a nexus of ingenuity that will prompt member states to seek and recommend her technological know-how to others that present her as a place to go when it comes to technological and scientific expertise?

First, patriotism is not completely measured by personal hard earned money in home turf or in foreign turf or by how much we send home to our families. Patriotism can be measured through honesty and sincerity benchmarks and other ethical indexes especially when it comes to our dealings one with another and fellow mankind. Support for our local ingenuity rather than enslaving Nigerian masses and the land to greedy foreign and domestic thieves is better off.

In Owerri’s Chamber of Commerce sometimes in the 80s and 90s one Mazi Anyanwu showcased a Nigerian built helicopter that was operated via solar system. In Enugu state, a Car was built powered by solar system via local engineering. By encouraging local ingenuity in the right way we can manufacture our own jets without sitting around waiting for foreign assistance in this area.

Second, a sincere balanced anti-corruption system needs be deployed with strong constitutional powers. In this way, it will remain in place regardless of who is in power administering Nigeria today or tomorrow. If fair capacity retention is effectively situated it will take away the fear of who takes-over from whom and the concept of good intentionality and intelligibility pathology will become something of the past. Also we are in this mess today because of Nigerian masses now dwells in passivity, opportunitism and charmelonism. No wonder organizations like MASSOB, NVF and others whose recent activity seems to have wakened the consciousness of Nigerians a bit on what is at stake. But the bad news is that 99.99 percent of Nigerians are gullible and gluttonous in their quest for riches and will do anything to get rich. This is a dangerous trend that needs be addressed or redirected.

Third, the conceptualization and politicization of dual-citizenship is irrelevant to this writer as 99.99 percent of Nigerians careless about dual-citizenship. The fact being that almost every Nigerian regardless of their place of aboard retains their characteristics of their Nigerian-ness. This is also true for those who have spent much part of their lives in their adopted countries and have bagged varying degrees overtime. Nigerians at home can do better than Nigerians in their foreign adopted homes because those at home know better. Those at home know[s] better and live through these challenges and constraints everyday than those of us in far lands. Many Nigerians in far lands, more often than not have gone through hypnotization and pornographization and other social-cultural transformation to the point of confusing developments at home with those found in their adopted countries. These and other borrowed elements from foreign countries are more often than not are antithetical to the psycho-cultural dynamics found in the homeland.

For example statistics show that about 90 percent of Nigerians in foreign lands by omission or commission, negligence or ineptitudes or all of the above do not speak, read or educate their children in their local Nigerian-dialects. Yet these groups claim patriotism while linguistically their practices at home are antithetical and unpatriotic. For me, to speak, read and educate our children in our local dialects are elements of patriotism and indeed a national pride. Let’s leave linguistics explanations for future dive.

Finally it is essential to observe that Mr. Ula-Lisa’s article is essentially based on the belief that foreign expertise is the answer to Nigeria difficulties. This is sheer false. To the contrary, foreign expertise will bastardize our economy further. This bastardization and commercialization of our economy is done through collusion by western gatekeepers, by OBJ and his people. This is because these foreign expert have no interest of the people and the land at heart and careless whether we are dying or living than their profiteering of our resources – oil and gas and others; have no idea on how to make the necessary transition away from their foreign cultures, foreign trainings and foreign education which in all intents and purposes do not fit into Nigerian socio-econo-political or psycho-culturality found in Nigeria within its mix-ethnicity orthodoxy. Thusly, creating a circle of revisionist that makes it an impossibility to generate the decorum toward the part of a better, stronger, efficient and effective economy were Nigerians are indeed in charge of their lives through local ingenuity rather than neo-colonialism under foreign interventionism via oil-multilateral corporations that have turn the Ogoni-land, Omoku, Egbema and other places into nexus of wastelands and contributor to global-emissions and ecological abyss.

Suffice it to say that Ndiigbo has numerous sons to lead Nigeria in partnership with other Nigerians toward an enviable part of self-reliance and self-actualization. This noble track can be done by first and foremost getting started by deploying, appreciating indigenous technocrats with local ingenuity not foreign capacities that do not fit. With all due respect to Ngozi, she is not a presidential option for Ndiigbo. Dr. Mrs. Iweala Ngozi and her likes must work with other Nigerians at home and others in their adopted countries in far lands by adjusting and de-socializing herself/themselves from their hypnotized mindset of their high horse theaters derived from the west. A conceptualization and technologies that were indeed stolen from the continent – from Tumbamtu University in Mali under King Songhai and Abubakar III, from technological capacity from Egyptian architectures - Pyramids, from Ethiopia, from the industry of Bini-Kingdom and more. These conceptualization and philosophies now manipulated by the west and make hers is what this writer called: The Stolen Legacy. Foreign corrupted ideas and trainings would not do us any good. The only answer to Nigeria current predicament will found if only we return and turn locally to our own inventions, concepts and ideas that is culturally and ethnically acceptable to its population. Ndiigbo’s leadership and capability is not in question whatsoever. What is in question today is Nigeria’s legacy after 45 years of its existence not great sons of Ndiigbo and many great sons of Ndi-Nigeria.

Igbo leadership in the Nigeria-plate can provide the needed leadership in 2007 in partnership with other Nigerians, by forging better alignments, realignments and redirect and organizationally reorganize the Nigerian-frontiers to a better and stronger prospect and a better life for its citizenry. Ndiigbo are not afraid to leave good and go for the great. One would hope this is the case for all Nigerians in the homeland and those across the atlantics. We must remember that the entire Black-world looks unto Nigeria in search for its pride and we cannot afford to fail them today and always.

December 1, 2005

Written by Carlisle U.O. Umunnah

New York



Your Comments

Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.

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RobotRobot is offline

 # 1 | 19.12.2005 23:44

A Rejoinder to E. Terfa Ula-Lisa, Esq. Ã...This communication is to express my appreciation to Mr. E. Terfa Ula-Lisa, Esq.’s n...Read the full article.

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DeepThoughtDeepThought is offline

 # 2 | 20.12.2005 03:37

I found Ula-Lisa's last article about Mrs Iweala and the presidency quite annoying and I find myself agree with most of the points made by Mr Umunnah. The Igbo reserves the right to choose rather than having others telling them who is to lead from amongst them.

My view on the IMF/World bank are even far less charitable and definitely would never support the idea of having anyone who has held any position like that by Iweala as a viable candidate for any serious enterprise, unless of course I planned on totally destroying that enterprise.

However, one of the few parts I can't agree with is the Nigeria is the hope of the black world stuff. I never fail to get irritated whenever any group imagines themselves superior to others.I find that chuvanistic and condescending to other Africans.

It may be true that the world has been set upon a certain path of strife, destruction and confrontation. But there could be a better alternative, Africans need not follow this pattern.The black world has not ordained or annointed Nigeria to any special calling, so we should never be presumptious or arrogant enough to go about setting ourselves up for leadership in this way. That smacks of the Imperialism which we condemn in the West.

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EezeeBeeEezeeBee is offline

 # 3 | 20.12.2005 09:04

Finally it is essential to observe that Mr. Ula-Lisa’s article is essentially based on the belief that foreign expertise is the answer to Nigeria difficulties.

I totally agree! What is wrong with utilizing the many resources of Nigerians IN Nigeria? With encouraging Nigerians IN Nigeria to aspire to higher levels of achievement? What is the 'magic' associated with someone just because they are outside the country? Please!

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DaBishopDaBishop is offline

 # 4 | 20.12.2005 13:31

To the above, there is nothing, absolutely nothing with the Nigerians in Nigeria helping build up the economy. The question may be personal preference and need not be answered;

Why is Carlisle and Ezeebee not in Nigeria contributing. Are they less qualified because they are in the Diaspora?

There is also the little addressed issue of globalization which I may expound upon my official reply.

At least for good or for ill, it gave someone food for thought and possibly action (reaction). Mission accomplished.

Cheers.

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EezeeBeeEezeeBee is offline

 # 5 | 20.12.2005 14:12


=ula-lisa>To the above, there is nothing, absolutely nothing with the Nigerians in Nigeria helping build up the economy. The question may be personal preference and need not be answered;

Why is Carlisle and Ezeebee not in Nigeria contributing. Are they less qualified because they are in the Diaspora?

There is also the little addressed issue of globalization which I may expound upon my official reply.

At least for good or for ill, it gave someone food for thought and possibly action (reaction). Mission accomplished.

Cheers.



Mr Ula-Lisa Sir,

You have NO IDEA from whence I make my contributions. Like you say and promise to address, globalization means that anyone with the right mind can contribute from anywhere. The contribution is the issue; the right heart also matters. Not where you are.

Contribution itself means coming to add to an existing body, organization or institution with a goal if improving what is, not coming with some kind of superiority complex to 'show all those savages how it ought to be done'.

If you (or anyone else) believe that JUST BECAUSE you (we) are in some foreign country, we are automatically MORE QUALIFIED than people on ground in Nigeria, then we are totally missing the point. There is value on being on ground and the task is to find how to merge our efforts in a mutually respectful environment.

If there are things our life's experience has provided us that allow us contribute to Nigeria, focus on the content and quality of that contribution, rather than where you may be. You are no better than anybody on ground; nobody on ground is any better than you. We can all work to improve the quality and prospects of our country for the TOTALITY of our populace.

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malcolm12398malcolm12398 is offline

 # 6 | 20.12.2005 14:53

This is a good write up. I believe there are lots of Nigerians who could turn that country around regardless of where they are from. Just yesterday I read in the papers that they are trying to hold on to power in the south.

If someone has good credentials, good vision and good program that to me is what we should look at and not where the person is from.

It is time we place premium of merit rather than ethnicity. To me the presidency should be open to anyone regardless of his or her ethnicity. If the government is doing what they should the people would be careless as to where the person is from.

They tried this ethnicity thing with JAMB and it resulted in great injustice in that people with higher marks from one side of the country where not qualified to get into the university while people from other parts of the country with lower marks are being considered.

If a region belief that its citizens are not getting into the universities, they would work harder at training their students. People should not be held back because of anyone or for any reason.

I don’t care where anybody comes from. As far as I am concern, these politicians should come up with creditable programs so we can make an informed choice. A good man is a good man no matter where it’s from. This ethnicity problem is more with these greedy Nigerians than it is with the populace.

The earlier we ask for merit rather than this stupid rotational thing all these imbeciles who calls themselves politicians are asking for, the better.

If one group produces the man with the ability to make the lot of the people better ten times so be it. I will vote for any man from anywhere if he’s the man for the job. Reason is when the result of bad governance manifests it doesn’t affect people on an ethnic line. Just like the best footballers should represent Nigeria no matter where they are from so should presidency belong to whoever can deliver the goods rather than where he’s from. Nigeria has been known to be represented by all igbo players and sometimes majority of other people from other state.

In looking for a suitable candidates let’s open our eyes wide and choose the most appropriate candidate

MICHAEL EWETUGA

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DaBishopDaBishop is offline

 # 7 | 20.12.2005 19:20

Mr. Ewetuga,
In an ordinary setting, it is not hard for the cream to rise to the top. In the Nigerian perverted political scene, the same square pegs insist on plugging the round holes. I do not know if any of the contributors has political experience in Nigeria, but the norm in Nigeria is an abberation.

Compromises are sought because individual groups are stuck willy-nilly to their resolute positions. Those on the ground in Nigeria should do what they know to do then, since they are resolved and have direction and do not need the rest of the world or other Nigerians in Diaspora.

The Nigerians in Diaspora are no less Nigerian. They too can contribute. The isssue of a superiority complex has to be first given to the Generals, then Obas/Emirs who are in every government before the Diaspora is visited.

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AhamefulaAhamefula is online

 # 8 | 21.12.2005 13:18

Dear Mr. Umunna -

God bless you for responding to this man's fraud to against our people and against himself through is lip service pretending to write for those overseas. Mr. Ula-Lisa is a disappointment as he seek relevance on NVS from his adopted home.

Please Mr. Umunna write more. I prefer reading your rich and deep articles if it is possible for you to make out time to write more often. Here is what a friend Mr. Chukwemeka Ugwu, of Isiala-Ngwa Abia State, Nigeria sent to me as I bemooshed with tears about that entity called Nigeria. From its Airways to land and sea, it is a total chaos and at the verge of collapse it has not collapsed yet. I also got elated when you mentioned airdisaster: "Disaster after disaster" Here is a conversation with Caption Tito who served for 35 years with Nigerian Airways. Captain Tito's conversation:

Subject: Very scary...


> CORPORATE: Why our airspace is dangerous -Capt.
Tito
> By Omoh Gabriel
> Posted to the Web: Monday, December 05, 2005
Vanguard Newspapers
> Online
> The crash of Bellview airplane and several
other
> crashes by local
> airlines in the last two months have brought to
the
> fore the inherent
> danger in air travels in Nigeria. One man who
should
> know happenings
> in Nigeria Aviation industry is Retired Captain
> Omaghon Tito who
> worked with Nigeria Airways as a pilot for 35
years.
>
>
> Captain Tito two weeks ago was the guest of
Vanguard
> Board of
> Editors. In a no holds barred discussion, he
provided
> a frightening
> insight into the inherent dangers in flying
local
> airlines,
> describing the operations in the industry as
that of a
> "molue' in the
> air. Tito avowed that operators rather than
pilots now
> decide when
> and how to use an airplane contrary to
international
> convention in
> the aviation industry.
> Excerpts:
>
>
> I am here not to discuss the Bellview crash as
such,
> but by the time
> I finish my presentation to you, you then add
one and
> one together
> and deduct what probably happened in the said
crash.
>
>
>
> In the Aviation industry we have what is called
MEL -
> minimum
> equipment lease. In Nigeria, we have a
situation where> regulations
> are not complied with by local airline
operators.
The minimum equipment lease by regulation say
if there> is a> malfunctioning part of an airplane, provided
some basic parts are functioning in the airplane, you can take it to
where repairs could be effected. In Nigeria, Lagos is the hub, the
base> where all other> flights and airplane are brought to be
repaired. We> know that the
> local airlines operators as of today, have
cautioned> their pilots not> to record snags on their check log because,
when you> start recording> one snag, two snags, three snags and it gets to the> requirement of
> minimum equipment lease, MEL, the airplane is
> grounded, you cannot> go.
> The local airline operators have turned this
whole
> thing into a
> molue kind of operation. I flew Nigerian
Airways
> planes for 35 years
> and those of who have been flying that long
will
> recall being told
> very often at the Nigeria Airways counter:
"ladies and
> gentlemen, we
> are sorry we are delayed for technical
reasons."
> Seventy five per
> cent of Nigerians Airways delays at that time
were
> caused by
> technical reasons because the pilot will not
accept an
> airplane that
> is not airworthy.
>
>
>
> Today, only 25 per cent of these local airlines
> attribute their
> delays to technical reasons, the rest are
either as a
> result of
> weather or something else such as operational.
So we
> have found
> ourselves in a situation where the operators
now
> determine what
> happen in flights and the law says the captain
is the
> final authority
> in the operation of the airplane. That is what
the law
> says. Today
> local airline operators have shifted that law,
the
> operators are now
> the final authority as to the operation of
their
> airplane for their
> own selfish interest. To worsen the already bad
> situation, most
> Nigerian pilots are hungry people. I wouldn't
mince
> words, they are
> paid according to the number of flights they do
and
> the number of
> hours they log. So if any particular pilot
refuses to
> fly a plane for
> safety reasons by saying I will not accept this
> airplane because it
> is not airworthy, somebody is standing by to
go.
>
>
>
> That brings me to a publication in your paper,
the
> publication of
> the 2nd or 3rd of this month, the Minister of
Aviation
> indicted
> herself by trying to spell out the
qualification of
> the late Bellview
> captain and the number of hours he has flown.
You will
> see that he
> did 1,200 hours in 10 months. That is an
indictment,
> if any of my
> relative was on that flight, based on that
publication
> alone I will
> sue that airline, I will sue NCAA, they cannot
recover
> because their
> own publication has said that the man was doing
an
> average of 120
> hours every month.
>
>
>
> The maximum is 100 hours a month, 1,000 hours
in a
> year, but the
> publication I read in your paper, said 1,200 in
10
> months, can you
> imagine? That is an indictment. In short pilots
are
> being used,
> misused and abused by local air line operators
and the
> irony is they
> cannot say they will not fly.
>
>
>
> Now let's talk about Aviation:
> The radar, you gentlemen know that the radar
used in
> Nigeria today
> does not operate on weekends. Secondly, it is
the
> oldest radar
> anywhere in the world. It was manufactured in
Italy
> several decades
> ago, and it has been phased out due to
advancement in
> technology. The
> last time it had problems, they have to search
and
> search before they
> saw the needed parts in one store in USA in one
> village airport. That
> was where they got the spare part for that
radar which
> they brought
> and put, before it started working. If it
breaks down
> today, forget
> it, because the manufacture would say this
particular
> model has long
> been phased out.
> Let me tell you about the frightening aspect of
your
> flight, when
> Nigeria Airways used to fly, you know it was
the only
> airline in the
> world where you were made a captain only when
you have
> flown 6,000
> hours under supervision, you have logged 6,000
hours
> under
> supervision as a co-pilot. The airline
management then
> will send you
> to Lufthansa, Air France, British Airways, to
train
> and compete with
> your colleagues in those choice airlines and if
you
> make their grade
> as a captain, it is only then the Nigerian
Airways
> will give you your
> first bar. That training practice is no more.
>
>
>
> When I go to the airport these days to board a
flight
> I take my time
> to find out who the pilot is. If I am not sure
of the
> competence of
> the pilot, I take my bag and go back to my
house. This
> is the
> terrible situation in the Nigerian aviation
industry,
> because people
> become commanders in our aircraft now under
1,000
> hours. What will he
> do under emergency. In actual fact emergency
does not
> kill. That is
> the truth. Emergencies do not kill. It is your
action
> during an
> emergency that will make or break you. I recall
14th
> of April 1991, I
> flew the Airbus that overran the Murtala
Mohammed
> Airport with 245
> people on board on a Sunday morning. The runway
was
> water logged, 12
> hours after the accident the manufacturers came
and
> took the black
> box away, they investigated and I was given a
citation
> for a job well
> done in an emergency situation.
>
>
>
> This is why I tell you emergency don't kill.
But when
> you have
> people who are half baked flying people all
over the
> world, then
> there is a big problem. I decided to come here
today
> because Mr.
> President has hit the nail on the head that the
entire
> aviation
> sector in Nigeria is corrupt. My only exception
to
> that statement is
> the new minister, who has just taken over. He
has not
> been long
> enough in office for him to commit any fraud,
but all
> the directors,
> I challenge them to an open national debate.
NCAA as
> far as I am
> concerned is a crying shame.
>
>
>
> The inspection of airplane
> We have a very sad thing happening in respect
of
> airplane inspection.
> You have an airline and you want to acquire an
> airplane. Quote me.
> Where the man who is inviting you to inspect
his
> airplane is
> responsible for your estacode, for your air
ticket,
> for your hotel
> accommodation and money for shopping, what
moral
> justification have
> you got to inspect his airplane and say, the
plane is
> not in good
> condition. This is what is happening at NCAA,
and
> these examiners or
> inspectors travel abroad with airline operators
to
> inspect their
> planes. Rather than do actual inspection, they
look at
> the airplane
> from a distance, and move to town on shopping
spree.
> They come back,
> load that airplane with their goods and
curiously they
> do not have
> the courage to fly that particular airplane
back to
> Lagos. They will
> say, old boy, we meet in Lagos. They take a
different
> flight back
> home. That is the kind of inspectors we have.
>
>
>
> Talking of licensing
> In practice, every pilot must do a medical,
once a
> year. He needs a
> first class medical report. Co-pilots do the
same
> thing. Every six
> months, pilots do their simulator checks. The
essence
> of a simulator
> check, gentlemen is the fact that there are
certain
> things you don't
> do with the airplane because it is too
expensive to
> start troubles
> shooting in the air. So the simulator, which is
made
> in such a manner
> that once you enter, psychologically you feel
you are
> in an airplane
> life performance. It takes you up to 26,000
feet and
> at that attitude
> they simulate loss of cabin pressure which me
and you
> should know
> that if your airplane is not pressurized over
8,000
> feet you cannot
> sustain any life. That is why they take you to
25,000
> feet, to
> simulate that you have lost pressurization.
Under such
> a situation
> the captain is expected (he has 15 seconds for
TUC,
> time of useful
> consciousness) to put on his oxygen mask and
get the
> airplane down in
> 15 seconds to 10,000 feet, otherwise everybody
will
> black out in that
> airplane, these are checks.
>
>
> Engines
> You may lose an engine during take off or
develop
> engine fire, loss
> of hydraulic. Simulator is the place you
practice all
> these
> emergencies before you can go on and be flying.
And
> when any of these
> situations arises, there is no problem, you
handle it
> with
> confidence. That is why the white man tells you
that
> you will lose
> your cabin pressure one day, have an engine
fire, lose
> your
> hydraulic. Inside the simulator you go from
normal
> operations to
> abnormal, then go to emergency. This is the
only time
> we go once
> every six months to simulate all these
problems. But
> you will be
> shocked that pilots nowadays do not go for this
any
> more, they just
> take simulation forms and sit down in their
houses, in
> Kaduan, Lagos,
> Ibadan, Enugu or wherever they are based and
tick,
> tick, tick and
> sign the forms as if they have undertaken the
> exercise. They put
> small money in an envelope and go to NCAA and
have
> their licences
> renewed. Those who have opportunity of going to
where
> these
> facilities are in use abroad know that there
are
> standard procedures
> and the numbers of hours you need to do it.
Some go
> today, tomorrow
> they are back. It is so scary now that I have
told
> them I will not be
> caught dead in an airplane any more. That is
one
> aspect of it.
>
>
>
> This is where we have found ourselves in this
country,
> people have
> been shouting about the Bellview that crashed.
I was
> shocked when I
> heard that they went 500 miles in the Atlantic
looking
> for it, they
> went to some other side, looking for it, the
basic
> student will tell
> you, every flight that leaves Lagos or anywhere
in the
> world flies a
> flight plan.
>
>
>
> What is the use of the flight plan? To know
your
> routing. So when
> something happens to you in the air, they come
looking
> for you on
> your route that you have filed, there is no
deviation.
> Nothing. For
> them to have gone for 14 hours looking for a
crashed
> plane that long,
> I do not want to comment on it, to say the
least, it
> was a criminal
> negligence.
>
>
>
> Limagol
> what they call limagol, it is a facility in
Iju, it is
> a radio
> facility, that is where everybody first call.
No
> matter how you take
> off from Lagos, you will come back to that
radio
> facility which beams
> signals 360o, your route falls on one of those
> degrees. You are going
> to Kano you fly 046 degree. You are going to
Port
> Harcourt, you fly
> 163 degree. From that facility, pilots take
direction
> so that
> Bellview airplane took off one minute after
that, it
> disappeared, the
> airplane was in our backyard burning away.
>
>
>
> Nigeria is the only country in the world where
a pilot
> who goes to
> prison and return to fly a plane. If you go to
jail in
> America, it is
> automatic revocation of your license.
>
>
>
> Yes. People who were junkies, who were around
the
> Ikeja airport,
> begging us money in the petrol station because
they
> are on drugs.
> Today, they are employed. They are working.
That is
> Nigeria for you.
>
>
>
> People who fly airplane with both eyes open and
are
> saying, by the
> way do you know that the late Captain Imasuen
was
> attacked by hired
> assassin. He had attempted to defend his face
from his
> attackers by
> using his hand to cover his face, they took his
hands
> away and their
> bullets went into him through. This was a guy
that had
> no place for
> 10 years when he was attacked, he was flown to
the US
> for plastic
> surgery. He came to look for job and they
employed
> him. The trauma he
> has gone through in life to be cut in an
airplane in
> the night inside
> a thunder storm? That man flipped?
> That was the situation. But nobody is now
talking
> about that. What
> was his medical condition? Who examined him
after he
> had been shot in
> the face before he started working? Now, you
are
> making him to fly
> hours every month. This is what we should be
looking
> at.
>
>
>
> The airplane has crashed, it has crashed. I am
> convinced that they
> will not see the black box, because where the
airplane
> crashed into,
> they started seeing human flesh on top of
trees. That
> showed that
> those human flesh did not fly from the ground
to top
> of the trees.
>
>
>
> The black box is always at the tail end of the
> airplane. You can add
> one and one and see what happened, that is
that.
> Now Mr. President said if he did not have
reliable
> Nigerians to run
> the country's aviation industry, he would hire
> expatriates. It is
> very welcomed. I was not surprised when I read
in the
> papers
> yesterday or today that the MD of Virgin
Nigeria has
> been relieved of
> his duty and that he would be staying in
Nigeria for
> some time.
>
>
> It may not be unconnected with this expatriate
thing
> the President
> said he was going to hire if he does not have
the
> people to do the
> job. But the irony of it is that there are
competent
> Nigerians to do
> this job. Well because these Nigerians are not
going
> to boot leak,
> lobby but they know them.
>
>
>
> I hate to say this, we know the pioneers of
aviation.
> If you go to
> FAA in USA, people in FAA all are retired
pilots, Air
> Traffic
> controllers, Engineer. These are the people
manning
> aviation up to
> their space centre.
>
>
>
> What are you bringing a civil servant to run in
> Aviation in this
> country? We should go back and look, people
like
> Captain Hayes who
> retired in this country. When you call aviation
you
> call captain
> Hayes, Captain Obimaleye. Those are the old
ones. They
> know what it
> takes to formulate all our policies because
they have
> used first
> class facilities all over the world. They know
what
> these facilities
> are on ground, they have used the facilities
all over
> the world. You
> used them. They have benefitted from them. So
if you
> appoint them,
> they know what to ask for. Aviation is very
expensive
> you say? Try
> accident and see.
>
>
>
> This is what we have just found ourselves. What
> happened to Bellview
> airplane crash, you cannot put a price on it.
But
> these are the
> people who will tell you this airport needs
this, you
> put it. This
> airport needs this, you put it. Government has
enough
> resources to
> fight and give us a safe aviation industry. If
you go
> into Saudi-
> Arabia, as a pilot you will close your eyes and
fly
> around Saudi-
> Arabia. They have radar to tell you turn to
this end,
> reduce your
> speed, turn to this direction and reduce your
speed to
> 120. If you
> fly 125, they will call you, your speed is 5
knots in
> excess, reduce
> speed. These are facilities in Saudi Arabia. We
come
> here to land, we
> can't land. We go to Cotonou and we land, the
same
> weather that is
> affecting Lagos is affecting Cotonou.
>
>
>
> Because everybody they have put in the aviation
> industry in Nigeria
> is there for self interests. That is what is
happening
> to our
> aviation industry. So, let Mr President, if he
says he
> cannot find
> the people here, for your safety and my safety
let him
> bring
> expatriates. It is a shame though.
>
>
>
> Let them bring expatriates to come and run the
> aviation industry
> here. That is when you can go to sleep in this
> country. Air disaster
> will still happen, it will continue, that is
the
> truth, our airlines
> are not safe because the controlling agency are
> cutting corners with
> them.
>
>
>
> Let me share my experience with you. I met the
late
> General Abacha
> in Graham Douglas's house when he was Minister
of
> Aviation. I was
> with him with one of your former Editor, Frank
> Aigbogun and Abacha
> came in. And we started discussing about Air
Force
> Plane 001, the Air
> Force One that carries Mr. President all over
the
> federation. I told
> him sir, if all the pilots, all your crew in
001 are
> from Ogoni
> village and they are the best in this business,
please
> sir, let it be
> because no pilot wants to die in an aircraft. I
told
> him the reason.
>
>
>
> The following week, we were going to Sokoto for
the
> turbaning of
> Alhaji Abubarkar Alhaji, General Abacha came to
the
> airport, himself
> and the Minister of Aviation Graham Douglas, he
> entered Julius Berger
> airplane and asked me and my board members.
Then I was
> a member of
> the board of NAA, to enter into the Air Force
One
> airplane and we
> went. We got to Sokoto we could not land. We
were in
> the plane
> overhead Sokoto, we saw seven approaches. The
late
> Adisa was in that
> flight, about three state governors were there,
> Secretary to Federal
> Government was there. We saw this approach,
another,
> seven times. It
> was one of my board member, Dr. Don Pedro who
called
> me and said Oga
> Tito go and see what your people are doing
there. So I
> removed my
> babariga, I went there and I knocked, opened
the door.
>
>
>
> The co-pilot, the an Air Force personnel had
goose
> pimples all over
> his body. I tapped the man on the seat, he came
down
> and I sat down.
> I said, ol' boy what is happening here? He told
me
> that whenever they
> see the run way, it's either on the left or on
the
> right. They've
> done eight approaches. I said I knew. What is
the
> visibility? They
> said 600 metre, it was getting low. I looked at
the
> instrument that
> measures your height from sea level. We have a
traffic
> patterned
> attitude to fly if we want to land, 1,500 feet,
he was
> flying 1,500ft
> above ground level, 1,250ft which is Sokoto
elevation.
>
>
>
> So that guy was at 2,700 and something feet,
how would
> he see the
> runway? So, I drew his attention, I say with
this
> calls for a low
> settling approach. Go down to 500ft above the
airport,
> keep the run
> way in sight, all your turns, use the captain
on the
> left hand side,
> all your turns must be to the left, always
keeping
> that runway in
> sight so that you don't miss it. I became an
> instructor. We went over
> the runway, we turned, he had the runway and I
said
> tell me where you
> are and he said Captain I can see the run-way.
I sad
> gear-down, co-
> pilot take time, 25 second, that was how he
turned
> that plane and by
> the time we finished we touched down. Everybody
at the
> airport had
> their hands on their heads because they had
been
> watching that
> approach. So Adisa came down, once they opened
the
> door for him, he
> said, ah! (Awon Air Force won gi o mon nkan
nkam)
> meaning: these Air
> Force men don't know anything. He said but for
Captain
> Tito, we were
> all gone. On our return journey, nobody agreed
to
> enter that Air
> Force plane.
>
>
>
> But gentlemen, the unfortunate aspect of this
story
> I'm telling you
> is that three days after, that same crew took
Abacha's
> son to Kano
> and they perished in the night. People who
could not
> land the plane
> in the day time, they went to Kano in the night
and
> that was it.
>
>
>
> When that accident happened, Graham Douglas
called me
> that the
> Commander-in-Chief said I should send him a
memo on
> that accident. I
> said I would not send because he had set up a
panel.
> The airport was
> the judge, the jury and the accused. That was
how that
> matter ended.
>
>
>
> That is the risk which people have been taking
and I
> have told them,
> if they invite me to a national debate on TV
tomorrow,
> nobody will go
> and enter airplane. I'm not running anybody
down. I'm
> not looking for
> a job. I'm not looking for any position, but
for
> Nigerians who will
> take their hard earned money to go and fly, we
should
> do things
> right. This is one industry we must get right
or we
> scrap it and we
> start all over again.
>
>
>
> When Nigeria Airways used to park all their
airplane
> on ground every
> 6 o'clock in the evening. All our flight
terminates
> maximum
> 7.0'clock. You see all our airplane parked.
It's not
> because we could
> not fly in the night, because we knew if we
fell in
> the bush in the
> night, nobody will see us. That was the
thinking,
> nobody will see us.
> That was the thinking, nobody will search and
rescue
> in the night in
> this country, that's why Nigeria Airways
parked.
>
>
>
> The liquidation of Nigeria Airways is what has
opened
> the floodgate
> of hell in aviation in this country because
there was
> where the well
> trained people around were. Airlines now want
to
> employ you, you are
> a pilot, they don't want to put money to train
you.
> They ask you to
> go and get your rating on that airplane, come
back and
> they will
> employ you. However you want to go and get your
rating
> is not their
> business.
> They want to see it stamped on your licence,
they give
> you job. They
> are not prepared to put their neck out to train
you.
> So, in this
> country we all just have to stand up to fight
this
> corruption that
> has eaten into the aviation industry, if you
and me
> will be safe to
> fly from point A to point


Please everybody read and if you can pray pls pray for the land particularly during this holidays. It is going to get grazier. Mr. Umunna thank you again for your intellect and patriotism. You are a great son of the land.

Merry Xmas and Happy holidays every body -

Ahamefula


Ahamefula

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UmunnaUmunna is online

 # 9 | 21.12.2005 13:37

Dear friends -

I want to use this note to say thank you most kindly to each and everyone of you for your wonderful remarks and for all that you do everyday. I am thankful to NVS for the opportunity to publish my articles here. Each of your remarks move me a lot especially with the current deturbing tragedies across the land. My heart goes out to families, friends and fans who directly and or indirectly were affected by these urgly developments. I join each of you in prayers for a better day - a better Nigeria.

I wish each of you a wonderful, resourceful and reflective Xmas, Happy Holidays were possible and as much as you can and Happay New Year in advance.

Carlisle Uzoma Obinwanne Umunnah
Author

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UnregisteredUnregistered is online

 # 10 | 21.12.2005 13:51


=EezeeBee>Mr Ula-Lisa Sir,

You have NO IDEA from whence I make my contributions. Like you say and promise to address, globalization means that anyone with the right mind can contribute from anywhere. The contribution is the issue; the right heart also matters. Not where you are.

Contribution itself means coming to add to an existing body, organization or institution with a goal if improving what is, not coming with some kind of superiority complex to 'show all those savages how it ought to be done'.

If you (or anyone else) believe that JUST BECAUSE you (we) are in some foreign country, we are automatically MORE QUALIFIED than people on ground in Nigeria, then we are totally missing the point. There is value on being on ground and the task is to find how to merge our efforts in a mutually respectful environment.

If there are things our life's experience has provided us that allow us contribute to Nigeria, focus on the content and quality of that contribution, rather than where you may be. You are no better than anybody on ground; nobody on ground is any better than you. We can all work to improve the quality and prospects of our country for the TOTALITY of our populace.




Ezeebee -

I agree with you and your contribution in this piece and thanks to Mr. Umunna for challenging the falacies of Mr. Ula-Lisa. Finally a better response has come. Mr. Ula-Lisa should be rethinking his article by now. Thanks Ezeebee for a follow up in that direction.

Chad
 

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