1. Find your “something the Lord has made”

2. No setback in life is an end, it’s just a bend

3. Out of sight can be out of mind and out of greatness

4. If you are not having fun, then you are doing the wrong thing

Very many years ago, when Africa was simply geographical statistics to Europe; when the land was divided and passed from on european Nation to the next as gifts regardless of the diversity of those who lived in that geographical region, the church stood alone as a body that had a singular role of developing and building the region.

Missionaries from different parts of the developed world stormed the then jungles of Africa bringing with them a message of salvation through Jesus Christ and education as an essential tool for development.

In times when the colonial masters and native government of the African people couldn’t be bothered about the responsibility of education, rather, they were encumbered with acts of milking the land dry of its rich resources and making gains by that, selfless missions started schools to educate Africans and teach them how to read and write.

So focused where these missions, that they shouldered funding almost completely, getting no funds from the colonial masters or the native leaders in the building of the school structures or payment of the teachers who actually doubled as missionaries then.

With time, the schools moved from single class schools to multiple class schools. Curricula were drawn up and very soon, africans started competing on almost level grounds with European students all around the world.

Teaching the African man to read was the first step in the direction of his liberation and that responsibility was taken on by the church.

Now, there are schools everywhere in an african country like Nigeria. Government has gotten involved though on a paralytic level in education. The church has shirked its responsibility and is focused on making profit especially now that churches have millions of naira come in by way of offerings, tithes and other giving vehicles or projects from the upwardly mobile professionals and middle class citizens who must attend church because religion is a culture.

The church now is involved in financial blessing seminars and faith conventions featuring night vigils with prayer requests of financial abundance and prosperity at the expense of National development.

Church members have grown a thick skin against the deep poverty that is eating the land and have turned their face away from other members who are in church to come in contact with their “angel” (who will probably provide their next meal). Loads of young lads and ladies have no one to pay for their education and are stuck as a result at secondary school education and forced to go do manual labour. Some are even jobless

Yet, in most churches in the land, the congregation gathers, enjoy worship with scintillating music and dancing, listen to the word, pray and go home while the Nation regresses in illiteracy and bondage. Pastors now live a “larger than life” life especially in an environment where “God gives the power to get wealth”. A large percentage of them can not give proper account of the monies that they spend as they have an unhindered access to the church account and spend at will.

The church is sleeping is why a Nation’s government is killing innocent citizens in the niger delta and not much noise is being made about it. After all, the vice president dines with the leadership of the church associations regularly and they wouldn’t want to corrupt the goodwill that is between them till date. 

Loads of youths have dreams to be successful in the arts (music, graphic arts, dancing etc) and even sports but lack an enabling environment and a platform to launch and the doors of the church are locked from monday during the day to friday during the day with so sort of empowerment going on. 

How long shall this neglect and wickedness continue. If this nation, Nigeria must develop, the church must take it’s rightful place again in taking responsibility for the building of this nation academically, spiritually, financially and even politically.

Our values are flawed because the church is sleeping. LET THE CHURCH ARISE AND LET THE ENEMIES OF NIGERIA BE SCATTERED.

Hi friends, I hit a writer’s block a while ago. I’ve had so many things to write that I’ve not written anything. There’s a passion burning deep within me for the development and emancipation of my country, Nigeria.

I’ve been studying the Bible for a while now and I’ve been looking at Nehemiah and his exploits written in the book of Nehemiah. Let me give you some back ground info. The news of the desolation and ruin of Jerusalem came to Nehemiah while he was serving under  Artaxarxes, the then emperor.

The news of desolation of Jerusalem brought a great burden upon Nehemiah’s heart that led him to fast and pray many days and cry to God for God to listen to him and grant him favour before the king, for he was the king’s cupbearer.

Even though Nehemiah was in a strange land (diaspora), His heart was yearning for his Nation. He never for once forgot his roots. He constantly desired the prosperity and advancement of his Nation. 

And though he had risen quite high on the social ladder where he was, he counted it his failure, if Jerusalem failed.

Nigeria is my own Jerusalem. There’s no where else but Nigeria that I can call home. Nigeria is my home. The desolation of this country is and remains a burden on my heart all the time.

Nehemiah in praying to God took the breaking down of the walls of Jerusalem as his own fault. He asked God for mercy collectively for the sins the Israelites had committed and asked for forgiveness because they were collectively repenting and turning back to God even though it was just him who was doing so.

He stood in the gap for his country. He believed that what happens to one happens to all and all will need one who’ll take responsibility to deliver the rest from desolation.

Nehemiah in his prayers to God did not ask God to rebuild or facilitate miraculously the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem. He took responsibility for it in his prayers and asked God to cause the king to have compassion on him when he presented his case - ”The re-building of Jerusalem’s wall”

Neh 2:1  In the month of Nisan, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, after some wine was brought for the king, I picked up the cup of wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before. 

Neh 2:2  The king asked me, “Why do you look so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You must be troubled about something.” (I was really afraid.) 

Neh 2:3  ”May the king live forever!” I said to the king. “Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?” 

Neh 2:4  ”What do you want?” the king asked me. So I prayed to the God of heaven, 

Neh 2:5  and I asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, and you are willing to grant my request, let me go to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.”

Once a burden (National) has been put on your heart. It becomes almost completely impossible to go around in the same manner as before. Nehemiah’s countenance was so sad that the King noticed it when he went to give him wine. The burden of Jerusalem’s ruin wouldn’t allow him return to his normal emotions. 

He became so consumed by the liberation of his country that his visage changed completely. The king even noticed it and commented about it. You cannot be consumed with a passion and it would not show. Those around you must be able to see and feel your passion. If it doesn’t permeate the air and environment around you, then you are not passionate enough about it.

Nehemiah took the risk of the king’s displeasure at his countenance just because of this burden he carried. What am I willing to risk to deliver the future. Who’s displeasure is too valuable for me ?

Nehemiah prayed to God while asking the King what was really consuming Him. And God gave him favour. I need to be in motion to get swift and effective answers from God to my prayers. It is allowed to “pray as you go” and not wait all the time for physical manifestation of answers before I move. His word says “These signs shall follow them who believe”…

Motion is a prerequisite for signs and wonders.

Neh 2:6  The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, “How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?” I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me. 

The King gave Nehemiah approval and even furnished him with man and material to build the wall. He also sent him protection and gave him good will.

When I have a burden, the responsibility of the solution usually lies with me. If I take that responsibility, I would experience access at unbelievable levels.

Neh 2:7  Then I said, “If it please the king, provide me with letters to the governors across the Euphrates that authorize my travel through to Judah; 

Neh 2:8  and also an order to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of The Temple fortress, the wall of the city, and the house where I’ll be living.” The generous hand of my God was with me in this and the king gave them to. 

The secret of success is to ask. No one can on his own solve the problem of a Nation. He needs help and will get it only if he asks it.

Hi guys. It so nice to have me back again aint it? I can hear some of you screaming “when will that guy write an article again?” It’s 11:48pm and I don’t want to sleep before I send this post. I got sent this link while I was networking online. I decided to check it  out immediately especially  because it was sent to me by one of my mentors.

One of Nigeria’s journalists of renown, Reuben Abati’s name  jumped out at me as I got to the site. I discovered it was a link to an online Nigerian newspaper. The fact that that the article was posted in the weekend edition also piqued my curiosity even more. This piece will be interesting, I told myself.

It was an insight into what the erstwhile Economic and Financial Crimes Commission chairman, Nuhu Ribadu thought about corruption and it’s effects in Nigeria and how from a trailblazer point of view, they tackled corruption without fear or favour during the Obasanjo administration.

He also gave a highlight into what life as a deposed and disgraced public servant and super policeman is now. The first ever policeman to charge sitting governors and senators to court over corruption and even send one to jail. The first cop to investigate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and charge his daughter to court over corruption. The first cop to jail a sitting bank MD and handcuff  and jail a police Inspector General. He suddenly has become Public Enemy No. 1 because the current political proponents and crooks are out to deal with him for his selfless service and commitment to the eradication of crime in his Motherland.

Never before have I been this touched and impressed about the testimony and resolve of a Northern Nigerian. In fact in the discussion, he pledged his life to the fight against corruption. Hear him,

I swear by the Almighty that wherever there are people who are trying to make Nigeria a better country, I will be among them. Walahi.”

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu thus qualifies as a Hero for me and as a voice and face of The Future Movement and ultimately a New NIGERIAN. Three happy cheers for him. HURRAY! HURRAY!! HURRAY!!! What are you doing to take responsibility?

Please find the full article below.

I Saw Ribadu In Rwanda
By Reuben Abati

I RAN into him at the reception lobby of the Hotel Des Milles Collines in Kigali. He had just arrived and was trying to check into the hotel: Nuhu Ribadu, the erstwhile Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission who lost his job under rather controversial circumstances, and who is regarded as having been unfairly treated by the Yar’Adua government. I hugged him. He had lost nothing of his humility, his sense of humour and his humanity. He didn’t look like a man who had just been rough-tackled by the unpredictable Nigerian state whose moral compass is subject solely to the whims and caprices of whoever is in charge, and not necessarily principles and values.

The following morning, we sat together on the same long table, and I slipped a note to him. I wanted an interview with him for The Guardian. It is about time he told his story at great length. He read my note, and picked up his pen. I noticed that he is a Southpaw, and I chuckled remembering how so many southpaws tend to find themselves in the hot corners of history. In his response, he had said “we would discuss.” We were both attending a conference organised by UNECA in collaboration with UNDP to assess the efficiency and impact of anti-corruption institutions in Africa. There were anti-corruption chiefs in attendance from various African countries.

Ribadu wouldn’t grant an interview, but he was ready to discuss. “I think it is better for me to remain silent now”, he says. “I am using this period to reflect on what we did. You know when I took up the job in 2003, I resolved that I will try my utmost best. And walahi, I tried. I took the assignment seriously. Maybe I failed, but at least we proved that it is possible. So, I have been thinking and trying to figure out what further should have been done or could have been done differently.” We were soon asked to introduce ourselves. When it was Ribadu’s turn, he told the meeting: “I am Nuhu Ribadu, former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, currently recuperating from a bloodied nose”. The hall cracked into laughter. But the other anti-corruption chiefs and operatives would not laugh later when Ribadu took part in a country case studies panel.

There has been so much speculation about Ribadu’s whereabouts in the Nigerian press. But the fact is that he is currently a Senior Fellow at St Antony’s College in Oxford University in the United Kingdom, working with Professor Paul Collier, the leading authority on African economies and politics. St Antony’s College has become the sanctuary for many progressives who get into trouble in the developing world. Ribadu stays in a residence that was recently vacated by Anwal Ibrahim, the embattled former Prime Minister of Malaysia whose only offence was that he fell out of favour with his boss, Mahathir Muhammed. “Such a nice man”, Ribadu says. “he left me his plates and cutlery and kitchen utensils.” One of the persons Ribadu met on arrival at St Antony’s is John Githongo, the Kenyan newspaper columnist and anti-corruption campaigner who had to flee from Kenya in 2005, after he discovered that the majorly corrupt persons in the country are his own colleagues: Ministers and the big men of Kenyan society. Githongo got their confessions on tape, but they told him bluntly that they are the ones milking Kenya dry. One fateful day, Githongo packed his bags and fled to London, from where he sent a letter resigning his position as Permanent Secretary for Ethics and Governance in Kibaki’s NARC Government. He has now returned to Kenya where he enjoys massive media and civil society support, and his book, written by Michela Wrong and titled It’s Our Turn To Eat will be released in London on February 23. It will go on sale in Nairobi the same day.

Unlike Githongo, Ribadu did not run away immediately he discovered that he had fallen out of favour. He stayed and tried to fight the system. He was sidelined and sent to a course he didn’t ask for in Kuru near Jos. Behind his back, they gave his job to someone else, without regard to the security of tenure. Then, they demoted him in what looked like a routine administrative exercise, but the political undertones were writ large. When he tried to resist the system, they shoved him out of the graduation hall at Kuru, and his employers, the Police sent him to Siberia: what Nigerians would call the Ogbugbuaja treatment. Ribadu got lawyers and again tried to fight back. He refused to report for duty. He refused to wear the uniform of the new rank.

One day, assassins trailed him and pumped bullets into his car. Having served in the Nigeria Police for more than two decades, he could spot a warning shot if one was fired in his direction. So, Ribadu succumbed to the logic of Bob Marley’s lyrics: “He who fights and runs away, will live to fight another day.” He is not likely to come anywhere Nigeria for a while. Those who do not like his face and his work have effectively driven him out of town. But he is a determined man. “What has happened to me is just a temporary setback”, he concludes. “I am a fighter, I don’t give up. I don’t believe the people who think they have dealt with me will have the last laugh.”

Like Githongo, Ribadu is spending his period in exile to think and write. “I am working on two books”, he told me. The working title for the first book is “The Problem of Corruption in Africa: The Nigerian Experience.” He explained: “You know corruption is the biggest problem we have in Africa. It is so central to the problems we have. But to fight corruption, the biggest man in government, the President or the Prime Minister must be honest about it. That is where it starts. Americans talk about Obama. We need change in Nigeria more than America does. What I discovered is that we have a challenge to give power to ordinary Nigerians, to ordinary people, to take it from the politicians. And we don’t have time. Change is important.” He didn’t have a working title for his proposed second book. But he offered an outline of its posssible contents.

“When I look back, I realise that some of the people who liked what I did also have issues with some of the things we did. I plan to do a second book to address some of their concerns. I intend to show for example that we deliberately went after grand corruption because that is where the problem is. We interrogated the Governors, the Senate President, the Vice President. I put a Bank Director, Bulama in handcuffs. The moment we did that, the banks knew immediately that there were no sacred cows. We needed to send a strong signal that corruption will not be condoned and the cleansing process had to start from the stop. The day I took the job, I knew that it could end up like this. I knew that I could be victimised or dismissed or killed. It could have been worse. That I am alive today is by the Grace of the Almighty and I am grateful. But my position is that some people just have to make the sacrifice to save our country. I swear by the Almighty that wherever there are people who are trying to make Nigeria a better country, I will be among them. Walahi.”

Another objective Ribadu intends to achieve in the second book is to comment on a number of case studies. “People go about saying that Obasanjo used me to go after his enemies, Obasanjo didn’t use me, in fact may be it is the other way round. If you check, you will notice that the people we went after were actually Obasanjo’s people. Alamiyeseigha was very close to the President. Odili was also very close to him. Saminu Turaki was an Obasanjo man. I deliberately did not go after the opposition. Yes, we investigated Orji Kalu. We also investigated Bola Tinubu. I know the President’s people would have wanted the EFCC to go after a man like Ken Nnamani. But we needed to start with the Obasanjo people to make a point that nobody is above the law. And that was why we investigated the President himself, And we went after his daughter. I was in Kuru then, but I knew about the Iyabo case. If we want to clean up our country, then let us do it. And that was why I went after Atiku. Atiku is from the same village with me. But Nigeria is more important. It belongs to all of us, not some powerful people.”

Ribadu’s book is also a response to questions about due process and the rule of law. “People complain that we didn’t obey the rule of law, that we violated due process and they use specific instances to criticise us. I plan to respond to all those criticisms. Take a man like former IG Tafa Balogun. I didn’t like what happened myself. I was against putting him in handcuffs. But I have to be sensitive to the people who work under me. They came to me and accussed me of double standards. When I accepted the job, I was inspired by the example of Jerry Rawlings of Ghana who went after the big fish and changed his country for good. So we decided that if we could put a Bank MD in handcuffs and follow that up with an Inspector General of Police, then Nigerians would realise that we meant serious business. That was what happened. I am a human being. I make mistakes. I admit that. But I was honest about what I did. So they say we abused the rule of law? What is rule of law? The same rule of law that has now been used to recapture Nigeria?”

I told Ribadu I can’t wait to read and review his books. When are they coming out? “This year. By July. We have to keep the anti-corruption campaign alive. For me personally, there is nothing left for me other than to dedicate myself to the struggle. I am not seeking to be an Obama. But people must be prepared to make the sacrifice. We need change more than America.” How is he these days? “I sleep well these days”, he said. “My needs are minimal. Look at this pair of slippers”. I checked: an over-abused pair of slippers with worn edges and threatening holes. “I have been wearing this since 2003 and I am okay. But I must tell you I have enjoyed a lot of goodwill since I left office. I was offered jobs by many international organisations. I receive invitations to attend conferences and to write books. I came here for example from Lusaka. I am happy to know that there are people out there who have faith in human progress and integrity.”

It was soon the turn of Ribadu to participate in a panel discussion focussing on country case studies. There were contributions from representatives of Nigeria’s EFCC and the ICPC, but Ribadu’s comments had a special accent which struck a chord among the participants. He said: “If you fight corruption, it fights back. If you go after petty corruption nothing will happen to you, But if you go after grand corruption, you’d be taking on the politicians and they have the money. And they will come after you, But you can choose to go to bed with them and you’d continue to be Chairman or Director, and you can go to conferences and enjoy tea and collect estacodes. But I made a choice, I decided to go after the big ones, even if they were the ones that put me there, I investigated President Obasanjo, I took his statement myself. I went after his daughter, a Senator, I went after Governors, I charged all of them to court. One of them offered me $500, 000 US and a house in Seychelles and an aircraft, but I rejected all of that. By the time I left EFCC, I had 275 convictions in a country that never had one on cases of grand corruption, I charged the Vice President to court – somebody from my village. I proved that it can be done.

“It is the most difficult work to do. To confront it will require people who make sacrifice like Mandela, like the people who fought for independence in our various countries. It requires people who have courage, people who do not think that they want to enjoy. If you want to enjoy, it is not the kind of work you can do. I have no regrets. It requires a strong will to make sacrifice. You have to make a fundamental decsiion. It can even mean you lose your life. They will try to compromise you, They will try to blackmail you. I survived an assassination attempt. I have bullets in my car. I intend to keep that car for life. I have no regrets. You have the media. You have to carry them along, be open, be accountable. I have never given a penny to anybody in the media, But there is no newspaper in Nigeria that has not made me Man of the Year, even though I charged some publishers to court and even threatened to close down newspapers. Which shows that people are good. If they see that you mean well, they will support you. I am out now, but Nigeria has changed. You need international co-operation. You also need to build capacity.

“We built a Financial Intelligence Unit, you have to be in control of Financial intelligence in your country. because money is at the root of all forms of corruption. If you track the money, you can stop the corruption. Be on the side of your own people. Don’t be on the side of the leaders. A President will go, but the country will be there, Those who are in control, it is only temporary. History will judge you and you will never regret.”

]]> http://busayoakanro.com/2009/02/22/public-enemy-no1/feed/ 3 http://busayoakanro.com/2009/02/06/the-future-is-now/ http://busayoakanro.com/2009/02/06/the-future-is-now/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:01:00 +0000 bussee http://busayoakanro.com/?p=239

I was told about this song few days ago and I’ve been listening to it relentlessly. It was rendered by John Legend at the Democratic National Convention for the recent Presidential Elections. It inspires me per time. It motivates me and sets me on fire.

I haven’t been able to write post for the past few days not because of lack of desire or lack of content but because of a heaviness a just couldn’t lift. I have been reading “Long walk to freedom” by Nelson Mandela and I regularly get goose pimples as I read and discover the way destiny unfolded for him. He didn’t plan to become the president of South Africa but his beliefs about how africans were treated against how they should be treated drove him to fight for equality between white and black in South Africa and ended in his becoming president of the Nation.

Mandela was the son of a chief and was being groomed to become a high chief in his native land. In fact, the reason education was important for him then was because as a respected adviser to the regent which was his career path, he needed to be educated so he could contribute from an enlightened perspective to the matters of council.

Education exposed him to the reality of racism and unfair governance in his country and sucked him deeper and deeper into the fight for liberation. One way or another, he gave up his rights as a chief in the making, as the ward of a regent and even as a lawyer to fight for the emancipation of his people.

He could no longer wake and sleep in peace knowing that with every turn of the day africans (the original owners of the land) were living as slaves in their own country in bondage to the white man. He suffered for his beliefs. His family paid for his beliefs. He eventually went to prison for his fight against enslavement and spent almost 3 decades behind bars.

He was ready to die to see South Africa free of Apartheid. He wouldn’t live free if his people were not free. He saw the that the future was now (while he was alive). He was willing to sacrifice his present even though he was aware of the past so he could secure the future.

He is now the most influential man alive and the future of native South Africans is secure.

Nigerians!!! Let’s wake up to the present so we can face the future and deliver it. The future was yesterday and we are already late, John Legend sang. Are you out there? Can you hear me? If you can, let’s join our hands together and set our faces toward the future while we employ our present with the benefit of our past to DELIVER THE FUTURE for Nigeria.

The country is far, very far from its destination and slavery, slavery by our own is holding forte. We need to be ready to break free from form this bondage. We need to become informed followers so we can elect responsible leaders. We need to become impossible to enslave any longer. We need to become difficult to rule but easy to govern.

IF YOU ARE OUT THERE…….

A few minutes ago I saw President Obama (doesn’t it feel good to call him that) escort ex-president George Bush to the “Mobile One” helicopter and went back to the steps of the white house to wave at him as he was flown off the white house premises. That was the activity that culminated the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America. A few minutes before then the president had been sworn in at the Capitol Hill and had given a land mark inauguration speech.
I saw the camera view change time and time again from the crowd at the Capitol Hill to crowds in Memphis, Tennessee, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and so on. Even in the National Museum was gathered a crowd to watch on screen the inauguration process. Crowds gathered in the streets of New York to participate in this uncommon but popular mark of history. I was moved to tears especially during his speech not only because it occurred to me that he was setting in clear terms the direction for the price of oil subsequently with statements like “We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories”, but also because I felt, if we ever have any inauguration or swearing in of a president that has as many people in the country participating in watching the process, then whoever that person is must be the right person this nation needs to rule it.
I have a dream that one day, crowds of people will gather to see Nigeria swear in a true president that is deserving of the office.
Regardless of how much emotion one feels at the fulfillment of such a seemingly far fetched goal, we must understand as Nigerians that loads of preparation and strategy must have gone into the process. Even George Bush never really knew anything about Obama until about two years ago and could never have had a bad dream in which Obama was running for president on the ticket of the Democrats not to talk of becoming the President he would hand over to. He was watching out for Hilary Clinton.
We as forward looking Nigerians, Nigerians who want to see a new Nigeria, Nigerians who desire a procession like that we just witnessed today; Nigerians who want to have leaders whose quotes generations after them would stand with pride and declare; Nigerians whose children and grandchildren would learn about in their primary and secondary schools with pleasure and a sense or awe; Nigerians, whose definition of leadership would be service and progress to humanity and the society; NIGERIANS WHO WILL DELIVER THE FUTURE.
Fellow Nigerians, interestingly the 2 verses of our National Anthem define how responsibility should be divided. Verse 1 points to our responsibility and verse 2 points to God’s responsibility. If we do our responsibility FIRST, we can then pray and trust God to do His part.
So then,
ARISE!!! O compatriots, NIGERIA’s call OBEY
to SERVE our father land, with LOVE and STRENGTH and FAITH
the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain
to SERVE with HEART and MIGHT,
one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity

O God of Creation, DIRECT our noble cause
GUIDE our leaders right, our youths the truth TO KNOW
in love and honestyTO GROW, and living JUST and TRUE
great lofty heights ATTAIN, to BUILD a nation where peace and justice SHALL REIGN.

God bless you and God bless Nigeria

If wealth is lost, nothing is lost; if health is lost, something is lost; if character is lost, everything is lost……….

I heard that last week, Reuben Abati, a foremost journalist with the Guardian newspapers wrote an article of how his email account was hacked into and his friends had all received emails allegedly from him stating that he was currently in India attending a conference and his daughter who was very ill and needed to undergo a life saving operation urgently. The mail stated that he urgently needed N250,000 to balance the operation fees and that those who were willing to help should pay to a particular account with the details of the account included.

Mercifully, those who were willing to help immediately gave him a call on his number expecting that even if he was in China, he should be roaming. To his perplexity, his phone rang at 4am Nigerian time and one of his friends is on the other end of the line commiserating with him and expressing their suprise at haven not known about his daughter’s condition before they received the mail. He was said to have felt like fainting. His shock couldn’t be hidden as he told his friend and all the other friends that called him after that the information on his daughter was as knew to them as it was to him.

This is a scenario that is being replicated everyday in Nigeria. Scammers looking for people to steal from. I just imagine if only 10 of his friends had responded immediately to that distress email and each sent in their magnanimity N250,000 to the stated account. Soneone or some people would have made about N2.5 million immediately. Why is it that in Africa and ofcourse Nigeria corruption and fraud have become the character of the people.

When Nigerians go to certain places now, the warning lights that flash in people’s minds are “corruption, greed, fraud…“ Why? Why must we be set aside for humiliating searches at airports? Why are we considered security risk in many places? Isn’t because NIgerians have built a culture of wrong doing? Isnt it because people now lack character. If the quote at the beginning of this post is anything to go by, can we say that for the majority of Nigerians, “all has been lost?”

Or how do you explain parents who hire mercenaries to write exams for their children? Or governors who loot the treasuries of states they were elected to serve in and get chieftaincy titles from royal fathers within and outside those states?

The corrupted character Nigerians exhibit is no longer seedlike in form. It has grown to become a very great tree and regardless of how much the leaves and branches are cut. The tree will still continue to remain and to grow except it is cut down and uprooted. That is to say a total paradigm shift may be necessary. I also do believe that the several corrupted trees in Nigeria that constitute the dark forest can be set on fire and razed down till they are burnt to ashes. (those who need to be killed, jailed, disgraced or banished need to get those measures meted out to them urgently)

Good character is a product of a good heart. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”. Until Nigerians change the content of their hearts, Nigeria will never be known for good character. Until character is more celebrated than money, Nigerians are not likely to take it as priority. Until our children, the next generation, understand that possessing good character is sufficient to get them wealth and even health, EVERYTHING will ultimately be lost.

I stumbled upon this article by Gani Fawehinmi a few hours ago as I was going through the local news online. I really wasn’t surprised at the contents. Apparently, the weak government of the day in Nigeria had offered to bestow upon him a National Award, Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) to be specific. Unfortunately for this government, no right thinking person had brought it up as an issue before he was contacted that he might refuse. If Professor Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, right thinking pro-democracy icons in Nigeria have rejected such awards previously, someone should have suggested his rejection and its possible consequences.

Anyway, since nobody was thinking proactively, Gani Fawehinmi was sent the notice of intention of the government to honour him with a National Award. He therefore replied accordingly. 

I was not just impressed with his reply but I couldn’t help thinking “If Gani had fought for and believed to see a New Nigeria for over four decades and is almost dying without seeing his dream come to fruition, then I must live my life giving to Nigeria all it demands to become the Nigeria of his, my and other believers in the New Nigeria’s dream”.

I so believed this hero of democracy deserves to be honoured by having his response to the National Award offer published on my blog. Please read.
Why I can’t accept award of OFR, by Fawehinmi
By Gani Fawehinmi

AT the weekend, notably on Friday December 12, 2008 it was published in most of the newspapers in Nigeria that the Federal Government of Nigeria has honoured me with the Officer the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

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I have had time after the publication to think deeply whether to accept or reject the honour.

I thank President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. I thank the Federal Government of Nigeria and I am very grateful to the Council of State, which approved the honour of OFR given to me by the Federal Republic.

I wish to express my gratitude to numerous Nigerians who by telephone calls, mobile text messages and some by personal visits congratulated me on the award of the honour of OFR.

This is the first government in Nigeria to honour me with the national award. Obviously this government must have considered my activities in the last 43 years before deciding to give the national award of OFR. From my own standpoint and perception, my struggles and crusades include:

1. The abolition of poverty from the face of our country.

2. The unqualified need to preserve, defend and protect the fundamental human rights.

3. The governance of our country through democratic processes.

4. The subjection of everybody and everything to and under the Rule of Law.

5. The right of the people to free and qualitative education at all levels.

6. The right of the people to free and qualitative health services and facilities.

7. The strengthening of our economy through sound development of infrastructures including power generation (electricity), good roads, good and modem rail-system across the, length and breadth of Nigeria, good water way transportation system.

8. The overall duties of all Nigerians and governments (local, states and federal) to make Nigeria a corruption free country by fighting corruption with all our might and main.

In the course of my struggles over the decades for the above ideals, I have been subjected by various governments to all traumatic travails and persecutions including:

(a) Series of detentions in several prisons across Nigeria notably Ikoyi Prison (three times), Kaduna Prison, Gombe Prison, Gasua Prison, Kuje Prison (two times), Bauchi Prison, etc, etc.

(b) Twenty three (23) police detentions between 1969 and 1998 at Police Headquarters, Kaduna, Jos Police Station, lIorin Police Station, Police Headquarters, Lagos, C.I.D., Alagbon, Lagos, Inter-Centre Detention Outpost, Lagos, Ikoyi Police Station, Panti Police Station, Lagos, Police Station, Wuse, Abuja, Police Station, Ikeja, Police Headquarters, Abuja, etc, etc.

(c) Arrested 32 (thirty-two) times between 1969 and 1998, which led to the series of detentions and trials.

(d) My Chambers (Gani Fawehinmi Chambers) at Anthony Village, Lagos was attacked by security men under various governments 16 times, culminating in the attack on Friday August 26 1994 when security men under Gen. Sani Abacha regime at 4 am turned my Chambers into a pool of blood.

(e) Thousands of copies of my books notably on the murder of Dele Giwa were forcibly removed and seized by security agents under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida regime and despite court orders to return my books, the military government at that time refused to obey the court orders.

(f) My international passport was seized more than 15 times between 1966 and 1998.

(g) I was charged to court 18 for politically motivated criminal offences including treason and I was jailed once and became Prisoner J60 before the Court of Appeal terminated my imprisonment.

Today I am 70 years and eight months old and I am struck down by lung cancer for which I have been receiving medical treatment outside my country because my country Nigeria has one of the poorest medical services in the World but one of the richest countries in the world in terms of oil revenue.

My decision to either accept or reject the award of OFR will depend on how far the Nigerian nation through Nigerian governments tried to achieve any of the eight goals I set out in page 2 above.

1. The Abolition of poverty from the face of our country:

Nobody can contest or dispute the fact that poverty in Nigeria today is more pervasive, humiliating, dehumanising than 43 years ago despite our mounting and skyrocketing billions upon billions of dollars of revenue from oil and gas exploration. In this respect, the nation has failed to use the resources to abolish poverty. This is an indictment against all Governments in Nigeria including the present government that awarded the honour of OFR to me.

2. The unqualified need to preserve, defend and protect the fundamental human rights.

In the last 43 years all governments military and civilian have been guilty of abuses of the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people. The present government that awarded this OFR to me has been guilty of abuses of human rights. For example, the closure of Channel Television Stations in Lagos and Abuja on Tuesday, September 16, 2008. The man who helped to catapult this regime into office Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo committed some of the worst abuses of human rights as a civilian leader between 1999 and 2007 namely: He sent troops to murder 2,999 innocent Nigerians in Odi, Bayelsa State of Nigeria in November 1999. He also shut down African Independent Television (AIT) on Sunday October 23, 2005 and Bayelsa State Radio Station on Wednesday, November 30, 2005. Some of the most atrocious human rights abuses were also committed by the military regimes.

3. The governance of our country through democratic processes.

Democracy is the best form of governance. However, Nigerians have never been allowed to usher in a truly democratic government with their ballots. Rigging has been the order of every elected in this country. We have never had a truly elected leader with the ballots of the people. Several thousands have died at every election. Only recently in Jos, Plateau State, more than 500 Nigerians were killed including three National Youths Service Corps graduates, one of whom was a lawyer. In this country most election results have ended up in the law courts. The 2007 General Elections of which the present government that awarded me the OFR emerged were characterised by bloodletting, rigging and all forms of malpractices at all levels including the elections of some of the Governors who are members of the National Council of State that approved my OFR honour. Some of the members of Council of State who approved my OFR were not known or elected by the electorate as the court imposed them. For example, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.

4. The subjection of everybody and everything to and under the Rule of Law.

The most fundamental Rule of Law can be found in the Constitutions of Nigeria, the current one being that of 1999. All the relevant sections of the Constitution that will promote the wellbeing and welfare of the people of Nigeria have been ignored and dispensed with since the making of that Constitution in 1999 and they are still being ignored by the present regime. I refer to one of them i.e. Section 16, which provides in sub-sections 1(a), (b) and 2(d) as follows:

“16(1) The State shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this Constitution

(a) harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy;

(b) control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity;

(2) The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring – (d) that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age ‘care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens.”

Take for example, the National Minimum Wage in Nigeria today is N5,500 monthly, which is N183 per day. This cannot buy a bottle of palm oil and no national minimum wage in Nigeria today can buy one tuber of yam.

The leaders of the country in the Executive and the Legislature are swimming in splendour of wealth while the masses are wallowing in agonising and abject poverty. Today, the judicial workers in the country are on strike because of poor wages, which are not living wages as enjoined by Section 16 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

5. The right of the people to free and qualitative education at all levels.

The standard of education in our country is at its lowest ebb. The infrastructure for the promotion of education are the worst ever. Teachers, lecturers, professors many at times use ‘okada’ as a form of transport. Today, of the first 500 educational universities in the world, Nigeria is not included. In most educational institutions, textbooks are not available;’ students depend on handouts.

6. The Right of people to free and qualitative health services and facilities

All universities teaching hospitals in Nigeria lack modern health facilities. All General Hospitals across the country lack modern health facilities. Modern diagnostic equipment cannot be found in most parts of Nigeria. It is difficult to treat a patient without knowing what is wrong with him or her. Hardly a month passes without a Nigerian going abroad for proper medical treatment not because we do not have qualified medical personnel but because those that chose to remain in Nigeria among them work virtually with their bare hands. I am a living victim of the failure of medical services in Nigeria and yet I am an awardee of the OFR.

7. The strengthening of our economy through sound development of infrastructures.

Without doubt, our entire infrastructure are decadent and no effort has been made by this regime to improve on the infrastructure. Under this regime, power generation is next to zero and everyday the country is thrown into darkness. The manufacturers and domestic users of power are at the mercy of generating sets. Waterway transportation has not been harnessed. Our railway system has not appreciably improved from what the British left behind on October 1, 1960.

8. Corruption

Corruption is one single, fundamental factor that has retarded the progress of the nation and its socio-economic development.

The issue of corruption is fundamental in the governance of any nation. It affects the economy in its entirety. No country can’ effectively and properly develop if corruption holds sway as all aspects of, human existence will be negatively affected where government encourages corruption.

It is generally agreed nationality and internationally, that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu did a lot to retard the inhibitive progress of corruption. 419 crimes were on the decline. Gross misuse of public funds by public officers was on the downward trend. Looting at the top became minimised. As Nigerians were breathing a sigh of relief, the government of Yar’Adua threw Ribadu out of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The removal of Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC Chairman happened at a time Nigerians were saying the fear of EFCC is the beginning of wisdom as far as corruption was concerned.

I went to court to challenge Ribadu’s illegal removal from the EFCC. I thought Yar’Adua’s government would allow the court to do its work. But alas, Ribadu was sent to National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru for a one-year course. While undergoing the one-year course in Kuru, on August 5, 2008, the Government demoted Ribadu from the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police to Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Ribadu rightly approached a court of law by instituting an action to challenge the obnoxious demotion. Whilst the suit was pending, security agents physically removed him from the ceremony on November 22, 2008 where he was to be awarded his certificate for success at the NIPSS.

Today, the architect of the unprecedented anti-corruption war, unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria since, 1914, is now literally roaming the streets of Nigeria without official car, without official status, without any form of security, and yet he is still being subjected to, hounding, haunting and all forms of dehumanising vilification by the Government.

His only “offence” is that he used the instrumentality of a public institution the EFCC to investigate, arrest, charge, and in some cases, to convict through the law, courts some public officers, in various corridors of power throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria- people who were otherwise called the untouchables.

By the performance of his duties, Nigeria and Nigerians gained in integrity, honour and recovery of their looted wealth. But Ribadu did not make any personal gain. He only waged a war against corruption, graft, stealing, money laundering, etc, etc, in the corridors of power. In return, the regime of Yar’Adua decided to wage unrelenting war against anti-graft war.

Instead of the Government to publicly acknowledge the unprecedented good Ribadu, has done to the, psyche of Nigerians by awarding him the greatest national honour, the Government has decided to continuously persecute this young man. It was therefore the greatest embarrassment for me, when at the weekend, it was announced that I was one of those 275 Nigerians honoured with national honours and in my case the OFR.

Yes, I have done my best for this country in various fields and I still want to continue to do my best. But we live in a situation where the 1999 Constitution provides in Section 15(5) that: “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power” and a young man emerged to do what the Constitution enjoins and he is being persecuted. Yet, the President swore to observe, preserve and defend the same Constitution. I find it extremely difficult to accept that Yar’Adua’s government has the honour to dispense honour.

In the light of the above, I cannot accept the “honour” of the OFR. Whether now or in the life beyond, how can I wake up in the morning and look at the insignia of honour bestowed on me under a government that persecutes anti corruption efforts particularly the of Ribadu?

At the time the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) wrote the letter to my office that my name would be forwarded for national honour while I was in London receiving medical treatment for lung cancer, the Government of Yar’Adua had not begun in earnest the war against anti-corruption war and the harrowing persecution of Ribadu had not reached its crescendo. I do not blame the NBA for sending my name at the time it did for national honour. However, events from August 2008 to this day are so bizarre, unbelievably barbaric in their intensity, in terms of persecuting those fighting against corruption and the singling out of Ribadu for persecution, all for giving honour and dignity to this country and for recovering for our treasury, billions of naira and other forms of wealth looted by public officers.

A government that covertly and overtly encourages corruption has no honour in its arsenal of power to dispense honour. Consequently, I reject the dishonour of OFR termed ‘honour’ given to me by the Government.

The Plight of the masses of our people

Nobody can dispute the fact that since this regime came to power the plight of the masses has worsened as I have shown in items 17 above. But I wish to reiterate that in all the ramifications of human existence, the masses have found themselves in the doldrum of pain occasioned by gross mis-governance of the country.

Furthermore, since the President came to power on May 29, 2007, the masses of our country have been groaning in unprecedented poverty as a result of lack of direction.

The directionlessness of the Government has been characterised by the following, amongst others: collapsed infrastructure, total paralysis of the health sector at all levels, constant nationwide power failure and the attendant negative effects on all sectors of the economy; pervasive unemployment, thereby generating increased armed robbery cutting across all ages of our people; debilitating homelessness; retrogressive educational programmes and policies, which have made no Nigerian university to be ranked within the first 500 universities in the world, and no effort is being made by the regime to improve on the humiliating situation.

Put simply, the Federal Government is a total failure, worsened by lack of direction and leadership. Is this the atmosphere for the award of national honours? Certainly Not!

In addition to my rejection of the honour of OFR on the ground of Government’s conscious war against anti-corruption war, the decadent socioeconomic situation does not engender the wellbeing of ordinary people and there is no hope in sight.

In view of the foregoing, I reject the award of OFR.

For the first time after it was created, the Eurozone is in recession, needless to overflog that the U.S is also in the same state. Japan and other parts of Asia are not left unscathed by the economic whiplash flying all over the world. Banks are crumbling; industries are folding up; mega multinationals are laying off staff. All are begging for bailouts varying from one to another but not less than billions of dollars. Only Africa has remained untouched, unsullied by the economic mistakes caused by excessive credit exposure and lending. Africa’s economy remains solid and at the top of it is Nigeria. Our stock exchange boasts of companies with strong fundamentals, our economy is strong and deep enough to deliver sizeable returns on investment. The world is turning to us. See what Merril Lynch has to say.

A major boost was given to Nigeria’s quest for foreign investment inflow at the weekend as the country was named the least vulnerable economy in the world, according to a report, Global Economics, compiled by a team of experts from Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch is one of the world’s leading financial management and advisory companies, providing financial advice and investment banking services.

The report, a copy of which was made available to THISDAY at the weekend, was compiled following several data requests from clients of the investment bank for key risk indicators for all major economies including Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

According to the statistics, the world’s 10 least vulnerable economies are Nigeria, Mexico, Philippines, Colombia, Egypt, Oman, Indonesia, Peru, China and Russia. Also, the report identified Australia, Switzerland, Korea, Romania, Hungary, Sweden, Bulgaria, Euro area, United Kingdom and the United States of America as the highest risk economies in the world.

The risk ranking was based on seven indicators and they are – current account financing gap, foreign exchange reser-ves/short-term external debt ratio, private credit-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, and private credit growth, loans to deposits and banks capital-to-assets ratio. Merrill Lynch said the report also addressed all the requests in 62 indicators of the 60 world economies.

According to the report, Nigeria, with a population of 141.41million, was able to record a 7.3 per cent growth in GDP, with its Consumer Price Index hovering at 11.5 per cent, its current account balance, fiscal balance and public debt at 6 per cent, 6.3 and 10.4 percentage respectively.

To determine its external vulnerability, Nigeria’s external debt position was put at 12.9 per cent of the GDP, while external debt /exports ratio was put at 9 per cent. Her forex reserves totalled $60.8billion.

The percentage of Nigeria’s total external debt in relation to the GDP was put at two per cent, total foreign claims is $15.3billion while international claims stood at $13.1billion.

The report stated that the percentage of Current Account Balance plus net Foreign Direct Investment of the Nigerian GDP was 34, Forex reserves/short-term external debt totalled 41, while percentage of export of the GDP was 38 point.

The percentage of private credit of GDP was 43, while the percentage of bank capital to assets, according to Merrill Lynch was 41.

The 10 most vulnerable countries, which are mostly European countries, were said to have exhibited worse balance of payments positions, stretched external debt service ratios and overleveraged financial systems.

“Many of the economies that top our risk ranking have been identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) as those that have experienced capital flow bonanzas in the past five years and hence exhibit higher likelihood of economic crisis,” the report explained.

Explaining further on how it put the report together, Merrill Lynch states that: “While we believe that our country risk ranking produces plausible results, one needs to be aware that, as any ranking of that type, it is highly sensitive to the selection of indicators employed. For example, developed countries can probably sustain higher external vulnerability indicators than emerging markets; some Euro area country statistics are possibly misleading given there is a monetary union.”

In their reactions, the leadership of the Nigerian organised private sector said the various investment-friendly programmes put in place especially in the past five years largely gave Nigeria a pride of place in the ranking.

Immediate past Director-General of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Dr. Mansur Ahmed said the latest ranking has confirmed that Nigeria is indeed an investors-haven. The feat, he said, should be traced to a regime of consistent and sustained improvement in the nation’s fiscal management.

Speaking with THISDAY in a telephone interview yesterday, Ahmed acknowledged that Nigeria has been able to maintain a healthy foreign exchange management, low budget deficit and heavily low external indebtedness, which he said have combined to grossly reduce the nation’s level of risk. He said those indices have also endeared the nation’s economy to foreign investors.

However, the incumbent DG of NESG, Mazi Sam Ohuanbuwa said the investment community would not be surprised at the latest ranking by Merrill Lynch.

According to him, the key indicator to the safety of investment in Nigeria is the freedom to invest in any part of the country without government’s intervention.

He maintained that issues like hostile acquisitions, or government take-over is not common in Nigeria, explaining that even in cases where government reversed policies, it is always limited to government investments.

“In Nigeria, people can invest anywhere without hindrance. Other important considerations are the sheer size of the Nigerian market and underlying macro-economic issues,” Ohuanbuwa said.

He noted that although investors in Nigeria are still complaining of high cost of doing business, the level of risk is far lower than what obtains some other economies of the world.
Relevant Links

* West Africa
* Economy, Business and Finance
* Nigeria

On measures to improve on the latest ranking, the experts were unanimous in their call for the sustenance of investor-friendly policies by the government.

Ahmed emphasised the need for effective management of the nation’s foreign asset especially in the face of the dwindling prices of crude oil at the international market.

Ohuanbuwa charged the government to liberalise the economy by removing all hindrances to the economy.

written by Felix Akanbi on

Kuti Olarenwaju Peter, is a philanthropist. A Nigerian with a big heart, he lives his life striving to bring succor to people in the shackles of poverty and make their lives worth living. His consuming passion is to see that citizens are empowered to become self-reliant. To keep this dream alive, he said he has been channeling all his earnings and resources into training of youths on entrepreneurship and skills acquisition.

It is something the 32 years old graduate of electrical and electronics engineering who hails from the Ikorodu area of Lagos state has been doing for the past seven years.

Since he enrolled for trainings with the Junior Chambers International (JCI) in the 2000, he never looked back. Over 3000 Nigerians have benefitted from his programme of economic empowerment.

Peter who also holds a post graduate diploma on development, policy planning and administration said also that he engaged in training corps members for free over the years to prepare them to face the challenges of unemployment in the society when they pass out.

“I train and empower people on how to start their own businesses, that is entrepreneurship and personal development. I have done that severally for youths and National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) members. When they come to camp, they come with blank minds, they don’t even know what and what to do within the one year. And from my own experience I discovered that within that one year they can learn so many things in the new environment they’ve found themselves, but how they would go about it is always a kind of problem,” he said.

What Peter does is to put them through on what to do through training. Since February this year, he has set aside 45 minutes to one hour every Friday to train corps members on skills acquisition. The idea, he said is to drive them through their entrepreneurship ideas and help to deepen their knowledge and sharpen their skills for life after school.

He is elated by the results he has been getting since the programme started. Beneficiaries of his kind gestures, according to him, have continued to testify to the potency of the trainings on their economic lives. He said: “From the testimonies I get from the trainees, they have confirmed that the ideas are workable. Some of them, before they came into NYSC scheme have not been earning anything, they just get money from their parents. While they are on their own, the first three months, they would not get employed because they would not know how to manage their resources. They would not still have the feelings that they are already on the way to being on their own.”

In that situation, he said, Peter would tell to start a small business while they are serving so that after their service year, they would still run with the same vision at least, managing themselves and thereby continue to grow after their service year., and this has been wonderful, he insisted. As some of them started practising what they have learnt, a majority of them complained of incurring loses at the start. But Peter said he encouraged and taught them on what to do, adding that risk bearing was also a characteristic feature of entrepreneurship. Apart from Youth Corps members, secondary school pupils and youths generally from his free training programmes.

He said the fund he was using to execute the trainings was largely from the proceeds of his small business. He said he was also getting supports and contribution from his friends and family members, especially his mother, who believed in him and his vision to help the society. He insisted that he was not expecting any personal benefits in return for his philanthropic activities, adding that it was the greatest legacy anyone could leave behind after life on earth.

“One important thing is that whatever money you make, you still need to sow it back into the society. And I know that in the nearest future, people of goodwill will come to assist when they have seen the good works. For now, I sow money from the little jobs I do to empower the youths because empowering people is something I so much believe in. The gain I have in return for this is just the goodwill I get from the people and their testimonies give me satisfaction. There is much goodness in helping people and not being conscious always about what you will get in return. You never can tell, some of the people you’ve helped may still be the ones to help you when you are in need of help,” he said.

Observing that wealth is not everything, he said leaving a legacy is more helpful to the society. And Peter, the only meaningful legacy one can leave is the empowerment given to others. “It is the vision that other people can continue with after you have left this world. So when you amass wealth, you are busy thinking about yourself and not considering the society or touching on lives. As a result, there would be nothing to remember you of after you have left. So it is all about leaving legacy. If you want to leave legacy, you must definitely empower people,” he noted.

According to him, those who amass wealth are people who do not really have any vision, and would neither want to leave anything behind nor be remembered for any good they had done. On the other hand, he said, those who are most remembered after they had gone are those who assisted and empowered others who would continue with their visions after their death. He believes that nobody is too poor to affect lives positively. “Even if you don’t have much, you can sow into the lives of people and everything would work out well and the society will be a better place for all to live in.”

Peter is convinced that when this spirit has been imbibed by a greater number in the society, there would be very little margin between the poor and the rich. Heaping praises on Rochas Okorocha for choosing to spend his money on the poor, he said those who dismiss the gesture on the ground that Rochas is a politician miss the mark: “What of other politicians that have the money but are not doing anything with it, so what do you say about that? When you have money, touch lives. Create something that people can benefit from.

Do community based projects. Do things so that people can benefit from your good will.”

Through his organization, PETCOM Integrated Training Consult, the he trains people for free on soap making, hat making, candle making amongst others. For those skills which he lacks, he pays experts who have them to train his beneficiaries on them in order to achieve his dream of making his fellow youths entrepreneurs. “This is the best thing that will happen to any nation,” he said.