It was the mentoring Patriach who told me on my last visit to Nigeria that the level of poverty in the Country is as such that "a comfortable man/woman( not Rich but Comfortable) that earns just enough to feed his Family and save a few on the side has about 100 extensions as hanger ons who sees him/her as the salve to their aching needs. And with Culture and Religion adding as the strengthener for these extensions; any benefactor with impunity tendencies will harness this links for whatever means deemed fit. In Nigeria, the rich celeberates sufferings of the poor as a basic. The kind of wealth we exhibit measures it self with how many beggars we have on the streets and not how many urchins we rehabilitate. When i noticed people wearing ' High Vest' (High Visibility Vest) on the streets of Lagos, I had thought they were some workers for the countless State Agencies or something until i found out that they were actually mandated to buy and wear such by the pastor of their church. People are being brainwashed daily in Nigeria as they seek an explanation to their daily hardships. The continuous lack of employment,persistency in power outages, failed educational and social infastructures can all be hijacked by people that i call ' zealots of money' whose main aim is to acquire as much from the gullible people who thronged unto them. Worst still, the people responsible( Leaders) for these problems also blame it on spirituality or any excuse that can be so flimsy.

Again there is the issue of reverence sought by these zealots and they over exploit it to the optimum. That is why a Pastor all in the name of Jesus would set a fellow Human ablaze or perform more miracles than Christ himself did on Earth. Clergy men are open in their search for money and it does not matter what their religion is, greasing their palm is most essential. Growing up in the Early 80's Slavation for the hereafter was the onus of preachings but nowadays though, a psychological sermon hooked on Earthly prosperity is enough to massage the psyche of the hungry man who sees his neighbour's 20 years old son driving a Bentlley. Ruben Abati of the Guardian had once wrote that the Leaders of Northern Nigeria have done gross injustice to their subjects in trying to keep them in the same ignorance that have been since time but an argument to that is the fact that how willing are these subjects in wanting to abandon the said ignorance?. Trust me it does not take anything for an agrieved Politician to hire a bunch of unemployed youths to do their bidings. The Nigerian system has provided a sitting platform for such. A busy mind that has a lot to live for would not heed the Mega phone man who tells him he has the secret to his success in life. The Niger Delta cause together with the Boko Haram unrest are cyclonic and circularly causal in the Nigerian situation. Lets not fool ourselves; it can happen and will happen again as long as a council chairman keeps relocating all the security aparatus to his house for personal use. In the end we heard the Boko Haram sect were sponsored by a politician who had enjoyed a cordial relationship with the current Governor of Borno; therefore execution of the ring leaders by the cops denied us the chance of knowing the people behind the scene. Fundamentalists and extremists are everywhere in our daily lives even amongst close associates...there are zealots whose views on matters requires caution and it is only a larger force that can deal with it. It is the Government's responsibility to descend to the low levels of the grassroot to discover how the ordinary people live in Nigeria.It can start that through the provision social infastructures and a constant monitoring and mentoring of idle hands with the help of the communities or Non-voluntary organizations. Government can fight idleness and social exclusion through employment and engagement of these youths. Without these descent by the Government, it will be difficult to solve the Niger- Delta crisis and all other socio-economic/religious upheavels bedeviling the Nation

Robot  # 1 | 07.08.2009 07:18

It was the mentoring Patriach who told me on my last visit to Nigeria that the level of poverty in the Country is as such that "a comfortable man/woman( not Rich but Comfortable) that earns just enough to feed his Family and save a few on the side has about 100 extensions as hanger ons who sees him/her as the salve to their aching needs. And with Culture and Religion adding as the strengthener for these extensions; any benefactor with impunity tendencies will harness this links for whatever means deemed fit. In Nigeria, the rich celeberates sufferings of the poor as a basic. The kind of wealth we exhibit measures it self with how many beggars we have on the streets and not how many urchins we rehabilitate. When i noticed people wearing ' High Vest' (High Visibility Vest) on the streets of Lagos, I had thought they were some workers for the countless State Agencies or something until i found out that they were actually mandated to buy and wear such by the pastor of their c...Read the full article.