Nigerian Civil Servant - Contestible =N=18,000, Senators - Estimated 9 Zeros Per Annum, Qualification - Same!

In this edition of our Weekly Dialogue, we bring you a dialogue based on the announcement  made by some governors of the 36 states in Nigeria, during the National Economic Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria's Capital, on Thursday, November 19th, where they stated that they can no longer keep up with the =N=18,000 ($90) monthly Civil Servants minimum wage. 

The setting is the living room of a Nigerian retiree in a rural area in one of the Nigerian states. 

Pa Jones,  (A retiree who depends on the monthly  allowance sent to him and his equally aged wife by their four children, particularly his second son who is based the abroad) was in his living room, going through the dailies supplied by a vendor, when another retiree, (Pa Ojemba) walks in.  

Pa Jones: Ahaa there you are, I was thinking you are not going to make it this morning.

Pa Ojemba: My friend....I ran into Mr.Bello, on my way here, he was rushing to the post office to see if they sent his pension pay slip, he might branch here when he is done....(makes himself comfortable on a chair)...what is good in the papers this morning.

Pa Jones: Frowns, flips to another page...then hands over the paper to Pa Ojemba, 

Pa Ojemba: This one you quickly released the paper to me, I hope there is no suicide note in it

Pa Jones: Suicide note is better than what they keep dishing out these days, 

A young boy in his mid teens walks in with a tray containing two tea cups, a pack of tea, two spoons and a small kettle of hot water, he leaves it on the center table greets Pa Ojemba and exits.

Pa Ojemba: What is this country turning to, now state governments can not come up with =N=18,000 minimum wage for civil servants, where have they been channeling the state allocations to, what amount do they expect these civil servants to receive at the minimum, =N= 5000? 

Pa Jones: (helps himself to a cup of tea)...Maybe the civil servants should be working for free, have they stopped to think that these civil servants are human being with needs just like the governors, senators and every other person out there, that these workers have responsibilities and do not have any other source of income? I know how much my kids strive to send down here for I and their mother and this young man living with us... every month...just three people in this household, yet it is barely enough. 

Pa Ojemba: (gets up to help himself to a cup of tea).. And that is because the children are all grown and doing well at their various levels. the responsibility is greatly reduces at your level...

At this point, Mr. Bello walks in, sweating profusely, holding one of the dailies...Pa Jones calls to the young man living with him to bring a tea cup and some hot water..

 Mr. Bello: (Goes to share the double setter chair with Pa Jones).. I hope both of you have seen the dailies by now, how these people are shamelessly planing to refuse the merely enough =N=18 minimum wage, please what is the difference between a Senator who receives allowances, minus salary, gulping up to six zeros per month and a civil servant? 

The boy walks in with another tray, keeps it on the table and leaves...at that point, Ma Jones walks in to exchange pleasantries with their regular visitors...

Ma Jones: Welcome Pa Ojemba, welcome Mr.Bello...considering the fact that we all live and bear the brunt of the same economy....I am beginning to think that Peharps the Senators, governors and these "senior" government officials shop in a special kind of market, where the prices of items are higher.

 Mr. Bello: settling to sip his tea, ..and peharps they are more qualified than the civil servants..peharps they are educated in especial schools..

Pa Ojemba: Which qualification are we talking about...a civil servant today can become a governor tomorrow...same qualifications...same responsibilities yet...very wide margin in remuneration.....That is to say..once you get in there, the rule changes to "all animals are equal...but some animals are more equal"..doesn't make sense at all.

They all burst into laughter...

Ma Jones: I know politics have got its hiccups every where in the world, but in our situation, it baffles me why people who canvass for votes with promises of "heaven on earth" turn around all of a sudden to wipe the very same people in so bitter way, how can a man with three children in elementary school, a wife and aging parents fend with =N=18,000, and now they are saying that the state can no longer come up with that, meaning it is even too much to pay him? Oluwa, we are in Your Handsoooo....she said, raising her hands in the air as she leaves the room.

Pa Jone: In deep thought....heaves a sign....Hmmmm... they make these promises....which I don't buy anyways, then as soon as they get into power...they declare that they met empty treasury...then reduce workers salary to fill up the treasury...

Pa Ojemba: Whiles the ones who emptied it go scot free to enjoy their loot....

Silence in the room...as the light fades.

Dialogue copyright: Oby Denis

What Early Morning Rush Can Cause...Lol!

See what early morning rush to beat the traffic caused this var owner, forgot the rag used in cleaning the vehicle at the boot...

Open Letter To President Muhammadu Buhari!

The open letter below which was published in Huffington Post (HuffPo) website, an American online news blog on Monday, 30th November, was written by an American Constitutional Lawyer and Author, Bruce Fein, addressed to Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari.

The Letter:

"President Muhammadu Buhari

Aso Rock, Abuja Nigeria

Dear President Buhari:

When you visited the United States Institute of Peace last July, you pledged that you would be “fair, just and scrupulously follow due process and the rule of law, as enshrined in [the Nigerian] constitution” in prosecuting corruption.

Such loftiness is laudable. As the Bible instructs in Amos 5:24: “[L]et justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

But to be just, the law must be evenhanded. It cannot, in the manner of Russian President Vladimir Putin, be something that is given to punish your enemies and withheld to favor your friends. If so, the law becomes an instrument of injustice bearing earmarks of the wicked rather than the good.

In the United States, you declared a policy of “zero tolerance” against corruption. You solicited weapons and other assistance from the United States government based on that avowal. But were you sincere?

During your election campaign, you promised widespread amnesty, not zero tolerance. You elaborated: “Whoever that is indicted of corruption between 1999 to the time of swearing-in would be pardoned. I am going to draw a line, anybody who involved himself in corruption after I assume office, will face the music.”

After you were inaugurated, however, you disowned your statement and declared you would prosecute past ministers or other officials for corruption or fraud. And then again you immediately hedged. You were reminded of your dubious past by former Major General and President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who succeeded your military dictatorship. He released this statement:

“On General Buhari, it is not in IBB’s tradition to take up issues with his colleague former President. But for the purpose of record, we are conversant with General Buhari’s so-called holier-than-thou attitude. He is a one-time Minister of Petroleum and we have good records of his tenure as minister. Secondly, he presided over the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, which records we also have.

We challenge him to come out with clean hands in those two portfolios he headed. Or we will help him to expose his records of performance during those periods. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. General Buhari should be properly guided.”

You then swiftly backed off your zero tolerance policy because you would have been its first casualty.

You opportunistically announced that zero tolerance would be narrowed to the predecessor administration of Goodluck Jonathan because to probe further would be “a waste of time.” That conclusion seems preposterous. In 2012, the World Bank’s ex-vice president for Africa, Oby Ezekwesili, estimated that a stupendous $400 billion in Nigerian oil revenues had been stolen or misspent since independence in 1960. The lion’s share of that corruption spans far beyond the Jonathan administration.

Your zero tolerance policy seems to come with a squint to avoid seeing culpability in your political friends. A few examples are but the tip of the iceberg.

A Rivers State judicial commission of inquiry found that N53 billion disappeared from the Rivers State Reserve Fund under former governor Rotimi Amaechi. Former Lagos governor and head of your campaign finance team Babatunde Fashola was accused ofsquandering N78 million of government money to upgrade his personal website. The EFCC has ignored these corruption allegations, and you have given both promotions: the Ministry of Transport to Mr. Amaechi, and the Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing to Mr. Fashola.

In contrast, you have played judge, jury, and prosecutor in the newspapers to convict former PDP Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke of corruption.

Is this evenhanded justice?

United States Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson taught: “[T]here is no more effective practical guaranty against arbitrary and unreasonable government than to require that the principles of law which officials would impose upon a minority must be imposed generally. Conversely, nothing opens the door to arbitrary action so effectively as to allow those officials to pick and choose only a few to whom they will apply legislation and thus to escape the political retribution that might be visited upon them if larger numbers were affected.”

To investigate or prosecute based on political affiliation or opinion also violates Articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is unworthy of a great nation like Nigeria.

Make the hallmark of your administration justice, not retribution, and you may live for the ages.

I am a United States citizen and lawyer. I have no political standing in Nigeria. Some might argue that my speaking about the administration of justice in Nigeria bespeaks impertinece. But you chose to vist the United States to solicit weapons and other assistance from my government–a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The United States government represents me. What the United States government does reflects on me. I thus have an interest in addressing the actions of foreign governments that receive United States government aid.

Sunshine is said to be the best of disinfectants.

Sincerely,

Bruce Fein". 


We hope the Presidency responds by shedding light on the reason behind the actions it is accused of in this letter.

Nigeria Moves To Suspend Rice Importation By Land Border!

The Nigerian Senate during its seating on Wednesday, 2nd December, 2015 recommeded the suspension of rice importation into the country by land borders. 


This came as the Senate south to formulate policies that will make local rice farming attractive, some of which includes encourages and protecting local producers, while equiping the Nigerian Customs to protect the borders.

2nd Annual Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme Launches 1st January 2016!

"We don't need a few successful people in the sectors in Africa, we need a multitude" - Tony Elumelu.

It is inline with the above quote from  the entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu, founder of the The Tony Elumelu Foundation, made while addressing young entreprenuers at the 2015 TEEP Boot Camp, that we report the announced second annual round of the $100m Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP 2016) for emerging African entrepreneurs. 

In 2015, The Tony Elumelu Foundation empowered 1,000 African entrepreneurs, with an average age range of 21-40, selected from over 20,000 applicants, from 51 African countries, (Congo, Benin Republic, Kenya, Togo, South Africa, Madagascar, Senegal, Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana and the list goes on)...... 

.....who completed the programme, with start-up investment of $5,000 in seed capital, active mentoring, business training, an entrepreneurship boot camp (to boost net working) held at Covenant University, Ota - Ogun state, Nigeria, between 10th - 12th July 2015.

So far, the Tony Elumelu Foundation invested a total of $4,860,000, including $1,405,000 in agriculture; $410,000 in education and training; and $365,000 in manufacturing.  The sector-agnostic programme funded start-ups across a further 20 industries, all based in Africa.

There are testimonies from benefactors of the 2015 TEEP Seed Capital on how the fund empowered them to create Small and Medium Scale enterprises across Africa. For other categories of entreprenuers, how the fund leveraged them to transform their Small and Medium businesses into a larger scale enterprises. 

"I love you all because the future of our continent is in your hands"- Tony Elumelu @ 2015 TEEP Boot Camp.

For information on how to apply, visit : http://tonyelumelufoundation.org/teep/teep-2016-2nd-annual-tony-elumelu-entrepreneurship-programme-round-launches-1st-january-2016/

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Share Their Daughter's Birth On Facebook!

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan in a post on Facebook announced the birth of their daughter, Max Chan Zuckerberg, the couple also said they plan to donate 99% of their Facebook stock over their lifetimes.

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Photo Of Pope Francis Addressing The Masses At CAR Makes Waves!

This photo of Pope Francis addressing the masses  at a Mosque in a Muslim neighborhood in Bangui, Central African Republic,  followed by an open air Mass at a stadium, on Sunday, 29th November, which appears like Papal was rapping some hip-hop has been making waves on the Internet. 



In his message, the Papal called on Christians and Muslims to shun violence and embrace peace. According to Pope Francis, Christians and Muslims are "brothers" and should reject hatred and violence.

The Pope also paid visit to a Paediatric Hospital in Bangui, where he interacted with patients.

Pope Francis was warmly received by the People