Prince Charles Dickson
Jos, Plateau Nigeria.

Nigeria is a beautiful land; it is a statement of fact, no doubt. We take everything and anything, infact sarcastically we take nothing. We go to bed and wake, what we see, we take, no one asks questions and when we do very little comes by way of answers.

I get honestly amused at our attitude to life and the very essence of what makes us what we are. Only days’ back I talked about times when it really hurts to be a Nigerian and from a number of reactions I discovered that there is hardly anytime that it does not hurt to be Nigerian.

Only last week it was the anniversary of Stella Obasanjo’s death, the Bellview crash and in the next few weeks the Sosoliso crash too. As I recalled these events it led me to another round of questions which I wish to share with us.

Why is it that the newspapers were not littered with paid adverts, is that we have forgotten so soon, indeed how many of us remembered? In the wake of these tragedies the dailies, on air, everyone wanted to be counted and as a matter of fact many were counted. The Lisa Village project began and today it is in a state of nowhere.

I hear that there are still cases pending in various courts regarding settlements of the victims of that crash. How has our airports changed, is it any better than they were when those tragedies struck? The Dike led investigation panel went to all the airports, made recommendations, billions were spent, while another set of billions stolen and still have we moved.

This is a nation I have come to appreciate because of its peculiarities, while we are yet to understand a phenomenon, another sets in.

Stella Obasanjo’s case evokes the realities of life, the fact that power is transient, and that nothing in life is as absolute as integrity. Since May 29^th 2007, it is sad to note that n several counts the ex-President Obasanjo had escaped being mobbed.

I was discussing with a friend, the honor done to Mandela by racist British Government and asked if same could be don for Obasanjo and the answer was an emphatic NO! My heart grieves when people discus the achievements of the last administration, one wonders when our memory took leave of us.

True to style that all is never lost but then can we say that Obasanjo got debt relief, no, it was Ngozi, can we substitute Dora, Oby, Rufai, Ribadu and few lights in that darkness with Obasanjo, I beg to say no. In our day dream we have credited Obasanjo to providing Mobile Telephony, an annoyed commentator asked “…na im papa get the company”.

Very quickly let me say that I want us to look at the next few lines dispassionately and answer the next few questions that I pose. Within eight years of the Obasanj debacle a lot happened and I pick a few of them and say to us, what do we remember, what do we forget, is our memory short by choice or by fact?

Once upon an Okija, What happened to the long list of the high and mighty that were reportedly, or better allegedly on that list including Uncle Sege. On the contrary, it went like one of those cases and I know that within a period several other shrines were found and nothing happened?

There was a certain family member called Makunjuola that was at the defense ministry helping himself, after all the noise, very little happened. The good thing was them EFCC was still in the pipeline.

There was this bundles of mint displayed on the floor of the House of Representatives during Ghali Na’abba…Where did it come from, and oh yes where did it enter.

There was a Mexican, pardon me Nigerian soap called Oputa Panel, was it a PR stunt, or was it to keep Nigerians busy, as nothing, absolutely nothing was achieved. So soon we have forgotten that famed letter written by Orji Uzor Kalu and so also the Chicago school drama involving Tinubu…

Where is Tafa Balogun, with the Jeep Farm, and all those accounts, and companies? Instead only recently someone muted the idea of collecting ex-IGs together to help combat crime. Let me ask would that list include Balogun and Ehindero?

In eight years I lost count of how many assassinations, first the low profile and then the not so high profile and then the ‘BIG’ ones. Even in the last days of that eight years we seem to have forgotten the drama of witness between the Police and the then President.

After all the noise have we not forgotten the whole drama of the Population, the Census figure that even Obasanjo unilaterally increased on his own after few months? Lagos is now content, so also the likes of Abia, and I wonder.

Only recently there was this mild drama in India with a defence attaché and plenty dollars and it died after just the regular noise. Still yet, we cannot identify who Andy Uba is, we cannot contain the nuisance that his other brother Chris had become.

We cannot recall how Adedibu started, but we see the carnage in the streets of Ibadan. We forgot ‘Ali must go’, and ‘Ali’s PDP rigged’ and we are rewarding him with an ambassadorial post. I beg to say, in the words of reggae sensation Bob Marley, time, time alone…time will tell. I only pray we remember.

The Sosoliso crash had a survivor, where is she, at the school, during the wake promises were made. How many have been fulfilled.

What has become of Zak Ibiam, Odi, and the entire crisis zones that were the hallmark of the last eight years? We witnessed Doctors strike, teachers, psychiatrists, nurses, civil servants, policemen all ‘struck’ at one point or the other. If we have forgotten let me remind us that even Legislators threatened a strike at a point.

Once upon an Okadigbo and anticipatory approval, we have forgotten, today it is a hairdresser and her undue behavior. We display temporary grieve, give us some time, we forget what the issue is all about.

Alams the beautiful man from Bayelsa weeks back was on shopping spree in Dubai and the papers carried it. I thought the monies were collected from him.

I know some crooks that played a masquerade dance with education monies, some were from the Senate, infact, a Senate President  and Ministry officials, they all shouted innocent, today we still do not know who is innocent and who is guilty…the matter died!

I end by asking that apart from the case at the election tribunal, where is Atiku and the entire ‘if I open my mouth ‘bragado’, of that and this would happen’. Where are those that know that Obasanjo had barely N30T and now is a multi- millionaire in various currencies?

Personally I have forgotten a lot of issues too, have left out many, but as a nation if we keep on like these, do we still have hope for the future. There was billions sunk into NEPA, now PHCN, now whatever you call it, there was billions only the likes of Anineih can account for, regarding our roads. There was the last minute circus called Chinese railway…

If we look back into the last eight years we have made more money, we are poor for it, it hurts, it does hurt, and I ask can we for once remember that which we have forgotten. Almighty Allah remember us.

Robot  Villager

# 1 Pr...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 02.11.2007 12:42