Readers' Response

Readers' Response

Dear sir,

Happy new year to you and your family,

l like your blog so much l do not know how l can advertise in it. l mean to sell my self in terms of my discipline. You know l can teach mathematics and physics and I am very good at these subjects. l would not mind if you can place me on adverts. Tell me what I need to do in this regard.
Thank you.

OSOBA DANIEL
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Re: African scholarship students must return to Africa

Dear Hakeem,

Your piece on the African scholarship students or
Eggheads is quite unique. I would not believe you have this thought in mind and its even an insult to us Africans here that a minister will have to make such statements. Moreover, there is this gap of distance. That is to say you are a hustler despite finishing at Legon, Unilag, Enugu or Makerere.

In fact this attitude has rendered most unions of african countries here inefficient, especially in the case of the Ghana community here in Hungary. Thank you very much for this article.
AB.
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Nice piece on Fela.-- Rudy

Rudolp Lewis is the publisher, ChickenBones: A Journal (African American). He sends this from New Orleans
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Dear Hakeem,
I often enjoy reading your homesite. Good job! :-)

Moni Oyeyele from Budapest
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HELLO,
WHY SHOULD I REMEMBER FELA?NA ME KILL THE GUY?HE DIE2ND AUGUST,I BORN 2ND AUGUST,SO FOR ME AND FAMILY NACELEBRATION,FOR FELA FAMILY IF THEY STILL REMEMBER HIMGOOD LUCK,AND TO YOU IF YOU ARE HIS RELATION GOOD LUCKTOO. PLS I WILL APPRECIATE IF YOU STOP SENDING MAILSTHAT IS NOT MEANT FOR ME.IF YOU ARE IN THE POSITION OFSTEALING AND EMBEZZLE MONEY WONT YOU DO IT?ABI WHO SAYSUFFERNESS DEY FIT BODY?PLS TELL ME HOW TO ROBGOVERNMENT AND GO INTO 419 NOT TO REMEMBER PEOPLE WHOHAD GONE BEYOND,AM SURE VERY SOON YOU WILL TELL ME TOREMEMBER ABACHA AND ABIOLA. IF YOU DONT HAVE A GOOD STORY FOR ME PLS DONT SENDMAIL TO ME,INFACT I NO BLAME YOU NA PERSON WHO YOUCOPY MY ADDRESS FROM.
okocha nkechi
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Are we still divided?

I'm writing to register my surprise over the attitude of Nigerian journalist, Nigerian union, and embassy. To my surprise nobody writes to our Muslims citizen to wish them happy Sallah. EIDL FILTRI. Is this an over sight or what is this? I am not trying to create sentiment on this issue but this is simple gesture that will be appreciated.

Or is this reflection of what is happening at home? You can read more of this article in my next piece titled, "MIRROR IMAGE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN NIGERIA". I will sight the example of Union election, we talk too much on Image of Nigeria but in practice nobody is really serious about it, we talk about elimination of this and that, but in reality nobody is serious about it. (see the case of speaker) etc.

My allegation about the Union president was to be investigated at least if we really meant what we said. It shows that we are not capable of learning from our mistakes, see the case of past executives. What are we up to for goodness sake??????
HUSAIN OMAR writes from Budapest, Hungary
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Dear Mr Hakeem!
I am very happy to read through your blogs. I personally think it is very important to have this kind of forum where we can read and obtain more informations about each other, and about our beloved country.
Thanks,
Olufemi Sodiya.
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For your information I read the preface on your blog spot, you mention a nation and a continent but all the news is one sided that is on Nigeria alone so I will be happy if you try your possible best to include some news from other countries
on the continent to make your blog more authentic unless your focus is only on Nigeria.
Best regards,
Fredrick Konor
alias archie bonka.

After Etteh, Yar’Adua Next?

Hakeem Babalola

Once again Nigerians are all agog over the resignation of Patricia Etteh, the disgraced House Speaker who was alleged to have approved #628 million for the renovation of her official residence and that of his deputy, Nguroje Babangida, as well as the buying of twelve exotic cars. The battle had started almost immediately she assumed the exalted office as the number four citizen.

During the battle, one house member lost his life, but Etteh considered it appropriate to continue the fight. She must fight to be. As far as Etteh is concerned, #628 million is not that much to renovate an already renovated official residence and buying exotic cars. What do they mean by exotic cars anyway? No car is too exotic for a woman of Etteh’s status. Nigeria has money and so what is the increasing hubbub all about?

But the opposing house members fought till the end. At first, I had thought it was because Madam speaker did not palm their hands, but now I could see that the bone of contention is/was much more than that. Etteh committed a crime and she must be punished. As from now on, no erring public officials should be allowed to go scot-free – no matter how influential she may be.

Of course I am delighted over Etteh’s sudden resignation but as far as I am concerned, there’s nothing to celebrate yet. Why should I jubilate when the battle against ineptitude service to the nation is still rampant? Why should I celebrate when we have not even started battling corruption in a way to battle it? Although the exit of Etteh and Nguroje is a welcome development, there are still thousands of them in the public service. Etteh may be out but her soul pervades every nook and cranny of our society.

Nigerian society accepts and honours Etteh and her ilk. This vast country of 140 million souls nurtures and protects Ettehairstyle otherwise Etteh would never have become number four Nigerian. It is apparent that she did not prepare for such responsibility. Does Madam even know what it means to be a Speaker of the House? She was selected and imposed on Nigerians just like Mr. President whom I prefer calling a caretaker President until the Election Tribunal decides otherwise.

Etteh went to the Lower House with one aim: to accumulate wealth. I admire the woman because she didn’t mince her words or waste time about her intention. Perhaps she was too careless in her greed, thinking the emperor would always rally round her no matter how. Obviously she had fallen for his power. This emperor was also disgraced out of aso Rock. Birds of the same feather.

It is quite unfortunate that Nigerians are jubilating instead of planning how to remove every Etteh from the service. Honestly speaking, the profound problem is not Etteh but the system in place that often breeds Ettehairstyle. This is what every Nigerian should focus on. This is what should be our chewing words as from now.

It does not augur well to kick out Etteh and leave David Mark, the Senate President and Musa Yar’Adua, the President behind. This is because all of them were imposed on us by the power of that moment called Obasanjo. None of these actors by virtue of their personalities or utterances is qualified to hold the position of number One, Three and Four respectively. Was it not David Mark who told us during the military regime that telephone was not meant for the poor? Is there not trouble in his own House too?

Corruption and inefficiency come in different form. Rigging elections is perhaps the mother of all corruption and illegalities. Thank God Yar’Adua himself has admitted that elections which brought him to power was not without discrepancies. Let him also resign before people chase him out. It is not enough to admit that one is an armed robber. Let him who know he is an armed robber returns the loot and then repents. That is the hallmark of a virtuous man.

As Frederick Douglass once said, The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous. With David Mark as the Senate President and Musa Yar’Adua as the President, can we honestly say that our nation is secure? I don’t think so. And this is the main reason we should suspend our jubilation over Etteh’s woe and concentrate on expelling other impostors. Let us fight Yar’Adua’s imposition as much as we have fought Etteh’s.

In all, there are lessons to learn from Ettehairstyle. Power is not absolute but transient. Yesterday, Obasanjo coerced us into believing he’s almost God. He did everything with emotions or perceptual stimuli. He behaved as if he owns Nigeria and Nigerians. He mocked us with his sarcastic and expensive jokes. He reduced us to a mere slave in our own country.

And above all, he deprived us of our votes. He chose his comrades to succeed him. But that was yesterday. Today one of his comrades has been removed from the glass House. I wonder what would be in the mind of this Theology student. Is he too going to be prosecuted along the way? Time will definitely tell.

Copyright 2007 mysmallvoice@yahoo.com

Nigeria @ 47: Laughing Off the Grief

By Hakeem Babalola

They are both Nigerians but one picture symbolizes wealth, corruption and deceit while the other depicts poverty, hunger and anger. The picture on the right was taken by Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye of The Independent Newspaper in Nigeria.

I have this silent believe that every citizen does love his country in a certain way even though critics are always branded unpatriotic, because they expose all what is wrong in their land. But how can I keep quiet when the government that is responsible for the growth of its citizen is ironically the one that stands in the way of such growth? The highest form of criminality is when a government deliberately uses the instrument of state to crush its citizens – from development... click and read more

Copyright 2007 mysmallvoice@yahoo.com

Address By President Yar'Adua to the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly

Nigeria is wholly committed to the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy in the fight against international terrorism. As a follow-up to that commitment, Nigeria has established four counter-terrorism centres in the country in addition to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit which, together with the Central Bank of Nigeria, monitors banking transactions as part of the mechanism to locate and terminate the illegal transfer of funds for terrorist and other criminal acts including money laundering. Nigeria reiterates its condemnation of all acts of terrorism and calls upon the international community to muster the necessary political will to confront and check this menace...read more

Robert Mugabe's Speech at the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly, New York, 26 September, 2007

Once again we reiterate our position that the Security Council as presently constituted is not democratic. In its present configuration, the Council has shown that it is not in a position to protect the weaker states who find themselves at loggerheads with a marauding super-power. Most importantly, justice demands that any Security Council reform redresses the fact that Africa is the only continent without a permanent seat and veto power in the Security Council. Africa's demands are known and enunciated in the Ezulwini consensus...read more