Ahmed Dodo

Sycophancy and governance in Nigeria “The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or anyone else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about a...

Let me first of all congratulate all our elected and selected representatives in the various contending political parties and states across our dear country on their not so easy 100 eventful days in office.    Thank God, I am not in their positions and happy to watch silently from behind as the various events unfold across the country. Honestly, it is not easy to be a successful politician in Nigeria these days; neither is the glamour and fame enticing any longer, especially for those with prudent eyes to see the kata-kata and wahala that have taken over the joy of being an elected or selected member into any government position across the 774 local government councils. To be frank, it has been 100 days of problems and challenges to our various   office holders across the country, from militancy in the Niger Delta,   Boko Haram bombings across the north, kidnappings and robbery across the south-east,and mayhem   and flooding in the south- west. One hundred day...

Oh God! I am back to religion again this week; an issue I have always tried to avoid by all means. But the reality is that this dynamic topic seems to be one area in our social relationship that appears want to tear us asunder if proper care is not taken. Every right thinking and sensible society has realized and accepted the unquestionable fact that the worst wars are religious wars. And presently some of our ungodly religious leaders are steering us selfishly towards this avoidable calamity. The realization that nobody or a group of individual or community can lay claim to have seen God   or have been directed by Him to fight on His behalf   in this present   generation is a consciousness that should imbibe in   every right thinking and   God fearing   human alive.   The fact that none of us can create even an atom from all the natural things around us, is another perception that should distinguished us from the animals around us. Then why is it that...

“ Politicians have always sought us out because we can provide votes .Between friends and family, each man of honor can muster up forty to fifty other people. There are between 1,500 and 2,000 men of honor in Palermo province. Multiply that by fifty and you get a nice package of 75,000 to 100,000 votes to go to friendly parties and candidates.” - Anthonini Calderone I have just finished reading an interesting book The Mafia:the first 100 years written by two authors William Balzamo and George Carpozzi jnr. This courtesy of an intellectual friend who was kind enough to lend me this priceless novel.   To be honest the ways of the mafia ‘the men of honour’ has always intrigued me right from my school days, especially as they were made more popular by Mario Puzo and his blockbuster the Godfather. One surprising thing after reading this book was the reality that hit me; I have come to compare our present situation in the country to that of the 18th century criminal era of the mafia ...

This no doubt is one of the most challenging periods in the 50 years existence of Nigeria as an independent federal nation.   Perhaps not even the three years Nigerian civil war brought so much confusion and fear as the present siege that the Nigerian nation has suddenly found itself. Again possibly it will be difficult to find a country that has experienced some of the greatest atrocities, looting, plundering, political, religious and ethnic confrontations and maladministration like Nigeria my dear country. And upon all these the country has continue to stand   firm and solid against all the internal and external   attacks on her over the decades since its diplomatic freedom from its colonial master.   A careful study of the nation famously known as   the Federal Republic of Nigeria would revealed an homogeneous country that has been unfortunate to witnessed   an unnecessary civil war, various military coups, massive looting of its resources by government ...

? I had a hidden grin on my face as I wrote this column, grinning silently away at the sudden change that seems to have taken over our hitherto slumbering security formations across the country, including the rapid security consciousness of an average Nigerian these days. All across the country Nigerians are beginning to take the issue of security seriously, especially our various security agencies who had previously   been more engaged in   chasing armed robbers, kidnappers and other   petty thieves like pickpockets, goat ,chicken and bread thieves. Today the story has changed, the coming of the deadly sect known as Boko Haram has instilled an inevitable fear among the populace, especially among our ostentatious elite and politicians who until now had been having it smooth and enjoying their stashed looted public funds. The fear of Boko Haram has suddenly become the beginning of wisdom among them and our elite are now scared stiff of publicly uttering their well known c...

To be honest, I have always tried as much as possible to stay clear out of religious issues. But this time around, I just felt I must do some talking even just to satisfy my troubling soul; because I have always subscribed to the reality that no human among us has the strength or intellect to really fight for God.   Over the years since the coming of various religious groups in this country, the average Nigerian has been subjected to various tirade from different pastors, imams, reverend, sheik and what have you. We have been victims of incitement by our religious body against each other, maiming and killing one another due to the utterances of some of these purported men of God. We have seen and witnessed how some of these men hide under the cover of religion to commit some of the most heinous crime against humanity. Fresh in our memories are the inciting preaching by some of our religious leaders during the last presidential election where some shameless ungodly pastors and imams...

Naturally,the first impression one would assume on hearing the composition of nineteen states in a federation into an umbrella body,would be that of an enormous body of men with strength, vision, political power and will to make things happen across the member states. But sadly that has not been the case with the popular Nigerian Northern Governors’ Forum over the years since its composition. One would have expected to see a vibrant and efficient forum with ideas and initiatives that surpassed the South–South Governors Forum and its other counterpart in the South-East and South-West, based on their number and personalities. Again the expected vibrancy and efficiency of the NGF has left many analysts in confusion and ponder; this especially as regards their visions and plans for the north and its people in general. One topmost case is that of one of the northern governors from the middle belt who over the week seems to be enjoying his stuffy utterances in the media, this by coming out b...

My snooping this week piped into the most expensive and shrouded meetings of the federal, states and local governments in my dear country Nigeria. I just could not hide my inquisitiveness on what most of the states executives usually talk about behind closed doors, before they filter them out to the public. The fact that these meetings are usually strictly for those in the corridors of power, from the President to his vice and his large team of ministers and special advisers, like wise in the 36 six states across the country, where the governor wears the crown as the chief convener, with his commissioners and special advisers taking up the expensive vacant seats inside their posh conference rooms, not forgetting our honourable chairmen and women across the 774 local   government councils in the country. My prying actually is on what exactly they say, propose or visualize for the rest of us? These are men and women who are said to be the representatives of the people and are selecte...

Wonders, they say, shall never end. In Nigeria wonders always mesmerize and baffle any right thinking mind. It is just few months into the Nigerian 7 th   republic and the well known stories of bickering and fighting amongst our politicians are fast surfacing. From those fighting shamelessly for the provision of jeeps as official cars, to those shouting blue murder for the accommodation they are allocated. When will our politicians ever learn to serve their motherland patriotically? Some analysts have concluded that the Nigerian politicians are cursed people; the reason most of them are always blind when they get to the corridors of power. They hardly practise what they preach. News of some legislators rejecting some particular cars purchased for them by the state government is making headlines across the country. Our selected and elected members coming out audaciously to say they prefer big jeeps or nothing. One wonders which one of them came to this world with anything in the fir...

Perhaps no country has the highest numbers of yearly selected and appointed ministers in the world like my dear country Nigeria. I am sure we will beat any other nation in the Guinness Book of Record if they were to ask for entries. Year in, year out, the Nigeria nation and its long frustrated people have had the unpleasant privilege of various individuals in expensive suits, babanriga, tall gele, flambouyant hats and dashing agbada mount the posh position of a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and at the end of their tenure nothing tangible or profitable is derived from their expensive and visionless term. I am sure Nigerians can’t remember when last they saw an action minister or a minister who has delivered even one-third of their promises before his or her appointment. The last time I can remember seeing a ministry with positive result   was during the   Gowon, Murtala and Abacha era where mass housing were developed for the populace. We still have the famous FE...