Thursday, May 31, 2007

Hi everyone! I've been out of it for a bit... not that I've been I'll, but I just stayed off the internet for a while 'cos I wanted to rest! Now I'm back and feeling more tired than before! Does anyone feel me? You take a break of work for 1 week and you're expected to return with renewed vigour... instead you come back lazier and more tired than before....Phew! Life seems so hectic sometimes!

Now a lot has happened during my absence and I have had to go round my fav blogs and fill myself in on what's up....not that I'm done blog-trotting anyway...

In Nigeria, we watched history unfold on Tuesday the 29th of May as Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and his deputy Goodluck Ebele Jonathan were sworn in as the new President and VP at the Eagle square in Abuja in the first civilian handover of power since Nigeria's independence....Interestingly, it was reported that tens of millions were spent on the handover ceremony alone.... that aside, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a public broadcast on Monday 28th May said...."Tomorrow, May 29th, will usher in a new and glorious dawn for our country. A new generation of Nigerian leaders will take over the great responsibility of running this great and diverse nation."

Overall, I would say that OBJ did a fair job as our president (my view, so shoot me!) I feel it is not an easy task to control the affairs of a country like Nigeria with diverse minded people, who can be so unreasonable to the point of committing murder (think Reverend, Dr. Pastor King), people who can be so indiscipline (You! yes, you jumping that queue to fuel your car..) and also people who dare to stand for what is right to the point of risking their lives (Prof Dora. Akunyili) We have them all in Nigeria..the good, the bad, the awful, the awesome!

In the beginning, i.e. the early part of the first four years, he was on a constant high- I mean air-bound.... I remember he was reported to have spent half his time flying from one country to the next.... we are all witnesses....

Later on he started to make positive changes....his government made NAFDAC a force to reckon with, his government introduced the GSM, therefore making communication easier for all Nigerians, EFCC started with initially good intentions which turned to bad when they were used to witch-hunt the enemies of his government....more good changes in between with the hiring of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who helped the country secure debt relief from the Paris Club....major draw-backs were experienced in the security sector as Nigeria experienced an all time high crime rate in the Niger-Delta region as well as in the Urban areas...

The power sector progressively declined to the point where people have lost hope in getting 24 hour electricity...Traveling by land or air became a source of major concern as we all witnessed numerous Plane crashes and Road accidents.... We lost so many Nigerians to accidents in the last few years and these need to be addressed i.e. AVIATION and ROADS.... the Health and Education sectors did not fare any better as we had strikes on the regular from healthcare practitioners and Teachers in Primary, Secondary and Higher Institutions.....

Just before the expiration of OBJ's tenure, we saw his government in what seemed to me as a desperate bid to line the pockets of the powers that be conduct a bid round in a very wishy washy way, the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries were 'sold' to the friends of the government with one getting a 51% stake in the Kaduna refinery and the other acquiring a 51% stake in the Port Harcourt refinery....

In what some have described as a final parting gift to us, the price of petrol rose from N65 to N75, the VAT in Nigeria was hiked from 5% to 10% effective last week, and a new tax payable by oil companies was introduced whereby they pay 1% of their profit after tax to the government...pray tell, what's the tax we pay used for? Healthcare? Road rehabilitation? Fuel subsidy for the citizens? what???

Whoa! Let me take a very deep breath here.... this government was also one that 'made' a lot of unknowns....and generally a lot of love was spread all around... left, right, centre, people were getting rich!

At this point, I'd like to say kudos to the bloggers who initiated and were a part of the Nigerian bloggers proclaimation....You go peeps!! Let's make our voice heard... let's leave our mark in the sands of time...

For our new President, I have Hope......very unlike me because I'm usually a skeptic when it comes to Nigeria..... call me foolish, but I am indeed hopeful now.... Let me recall the words of our former president...."Tomorrow, May 29th, will usher in a new and glorious dawn for our country. A new generation of Nigerian leaders will take over the great responsibility of running this great and diverse nation."......let's just hope that by the year 2015, I would not have cause to regret because take it or leave it, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's going to be here for another 8 years!


`moni

27 comments:

Omodudu said...

Nice to know you are back

Zoe Believer said...

Weeelcome baaaack! I feel you, i know when I get back to work next week it's gonna take me time to readjust. Well, no probs there is too much waiting for me there to allow me 'drag' for too long. Good analysis, some stuff o think about.

Admin UD said...

Welcome back Nyemoni. I seem to have a very morbid aversion to the immedaite past president of NIgeria. A school of thought would say he left NIgeria at a worse state it was found.

All the things he's been touted to have done was initiated, along with others. He only implemented it. C'mon You gotta be kidding me nah. The issue of gsm introduction was long overdue in NIgeria so it wasn't a favour. It was His right and dut to implement it.

Thank God you recognized that EFCC was simply set up for the sole purpose of witch hunting, which is wicked.

You know why i LOVE this post, cos you're reasoning was very objective. You looked at both sides of the coin.

In summary, Obj left us 'worser' than he found us. There are no 2 ways about dat! Its just so pathetic and sad at da same tym!

As per Yaradua, that one must do something withing his first month in office to assure NIgerians and the rest of the world that he's not Obj's political stooge.

Unknown said...

no comment. We have 8 years to go...

IJEOMA said...

good post.. i am glad that you remain optimistic.. One thing that i have realised is that power for real change lies in the hands of ordinary Nigerians such as ourselves.. so henceforth i am going to stop blaming those in power.. and try and make my own changes.. however minimal they might be

♥♫♪nyemoni♫♪♥ said...

@ omodudu, thanks so much for the welcome...

@ believer, wassup? I hope you are enjoying your holidays o!! Thanks for stopping by...

@ ugo, you know what I did when I read your remark? I laughed hard and loud! Na wah for you o!!! No wahala sha.... Thanks for taking out time to read and respond....I totally respect your opinion, but you seem to be forgetting the kind of people Nigerians are.... a lot of people don't want change! It's baffling.... There are areas where people prefer to remain without electricity, do you know that???
Did you know that some people are making money out of the country being kept in darkness so they can sell diesel and generators???
Any why, tell me, why is it so hard for the government to fix the roads? I mean, it's not rocket science is it?

No, GSM introduction wasn't a favour, but he could have sat pretty without giving the licenses or doing whatever it would take to make the whole thing swing... In like manner, we are supposed to have water and light 2-4-7 but the laws and processes to make that dream a reality were not put in place too....

You think he left us in a 'worser' (lol, I know) state than he met us??? I wouldn't totally agree with you.... In some areas he made a positive change, in other areas, his regime left us worse..

As per the new President, there's NOTHING he can do to assure us that he's not OBJ's political stooge... believe me... he only has to prove it, and with time, I believe he will...

@ pamela, LOL.. shey you agree with me on the 8 years?

@ ije, way to go! I believe it myself so I'm going to make a more conscious effort to make a change wherever I can...

Mrs Somebody said...

Even though we've had like 4 hrs of elecricity since may 29th, I'm still very optimistic that things will change.
And why is everyone welcoming you back?Where did you go?

Mrs Somebody said...

Oooops! I almost forgot to write this........okay here we go now.

Mrs Somebody was here on 1st June 2007.

? said...

You know my views on this subject. Thanks for stopping by and being hopeful.

Am actually on my way out now. And am doing the rounds stopping (from the last to the 1st commentator) by for the last time on all the blogs that I love. Ill miss your blog however ill try to keep following. Just keep dropping me a line as and when you update. This blog is another candle in my heart that is flickering with a brilliant glow. Please dont let anyone blow it out

good bye
x

Porter deHarqourt said...

thorough post. i think we are all just glad that Genereal Obasanjo has gone home to roost among his chickens. let's see just how forthright Yar' Adua can be with his dodgy mandate and life-presidency-craving Godfather

Stuck in my throat said...

good post.
I disagree with Ugo-daniels saying were are worse off than before.
WhenOBJ came into power, we were at ground zero after Abacha....although even i dont think abacha was all bad...
Let's send out positive thoughts to YarAdua and hope for the best.

Mimi said...

SISTER!!!!!!!!!Hmmm,u got me worried!Good to have you back!

I am so with you on the whole OBJ thing.People are so easy to point figures forgetting that it is a human being on the presidential seat,taking all the brunt for what a whole nation is.Left to me,OBJ tried.It took Naija over 40years to get to what it was so it will DEFINITELY NOT TAKE US 4 or 8 years TO CLEAN UP D MESS!

lol... aws AA?

TMinx said...

TMinx was here June 2nd 2007 lollll.

Zaynnah Magazine said...

Nice one Nyemoni, thanks for this. We must continue to hope for the best in Nigeria.

And...yes, I do feel like you - tired.:->

Have a great week!

chidi said...

i dnt think obj made a lot of difference to the lives of most nigerians? He introduced the GSM, but i think someone else could have done that. Like you said, he spent half his time in the air & so did his wife (before she kicked the bucket) so he didnt really do much for us. He banned the importation of so many things like cloth materials while the materials he is wearing for his abada(forgive me if i didnt spell it correctly) is imported. Many nigerians are still in poverty. 3.5 million people in nigeria live with AIDS & nothing is being done about that. Nothing is being done to help them. People do all sorts of things to try to get money quick. Everybody wants to leave the country. My dad went to 9ja recently & he was talking about how dirty it had become. Why dnt they do something about that. As for Yar'adua, lets hope he makes a change because i heard he has done Katsina good, but with Obj behind him, we dnt know what will happen. He need to listen to African China's "Mr President".

Linda Ikeji said...

what a view.very insightful.well done

Tyra!!! said...

I have faith in this new government. Things will get better with thime in this country. Nigeria go survive.

? said...

Hi there
Have had a second thought going by the general consensus and I think going by that ill be staying for a bit longer in blogsville. Also its not easy keeping away from you guys. God bless ad have a great week.

? said...

"...let's just hope that by the year 2015, I would not have cause to regret..."

Please lets keep that hope high up. We are getting there.

♥♫♪nyemoni♫♪♥ said...

Hahahaha @ Mrs. somebody... I didn't go anywhere o! I just took a break off blogging! I hope the light thing has improved in your area... mine is also very bad, but trust me... Yaradua has no hand in that... his time for accountability will start very soon though...after he's had a chance to warm his seat...God knows how long that'll take....lol!
Thanks for stopping by girl....

@ The Pseudo-Independent, thanks for stopping by and thanks for your compliments! Nice to see you have changed your mind about leaving.. Will see you around!!!

@ Porter deHarqourt thanks for stopping by and welcome to blogging.... only time will tell what Yar'Adua will do...let's just hope for the best!

@ stuck in my throat o... thanks for your insightful comments... GROUND ZERO is the word I was looking for... I remember the feeling of being in bondage we had when it was Abacha in power...OBJ in my view certainly left us better... the positive change may not have been tumultuous, but it certainly is there..

@ blog sis mimi... thanks girl... we are thinking along the same lines...I like what you said...."It took Naija over 40years to get to what it was so it will DEFINITELY NOT TAKE US 4 or 8 years TO CLEAN UP D MESS..." TRUE WORD!!
AA's fine girl... how were the birthday celebrations?? Update us o!

@ Tninx... thanks for stopping by!! lol!

@ April... so you took a mini break too? Keep being Hopeful!!!

@ chidi...No, no, no... I don't agree with you! But I do respect your opinion...Yeah, he spent quite a lot of his time during his first tenure in the air... but that is not enough to say that was the reason why the country's in this state... In my post, you'd notice I stated the bad and the good of his government in my opinion but I decided to be objective about his performance overall...I don't know if you lived in Nigeria during the time of Abacha, but the situation has greatly improved since then.. Any honest person will tell you that. I do agree that he could have done better, but the fact still remains that he left Nigeria better than he found it... even if only by a small percentage.

@ linda, thanks, thanks, thanks...

@ vera...Thank you o!! Nigeria must survive! We will prove to the world that we are indeed survivors!

@ Pseudo Independent...YAY!! You decided to stay after all!

Jaja said...

Hi Moni,
thanks for the stop by mine. Am not done reading your whole blog yet...

Abonnema girl!

Admin UD said...

Ok, so here is it, when are you gonne update....lol!

SOLOMONSYDELLE said...

nyemoni, tobra? just saw your email and spoke to my mom who just gave me some history on 'york city'/nyemoni/abonnema.

Will be back often...

♥♫♪nyemoni♫♪♥ said...

@ jaja, yeah, that's moi!! Thanks for stopping by!

@ Ugo daniels ...oh!! Inspiration, Inspiration, Inspiration... lemme finish the days' jo and out pen to paper!

@ solomonsydelle..Ibim o!! LOL! You spoke to your mum eh? Now that's what I'm talking about! York City rocks! lol!

? said...

Nyemoni: thanks for stopping. Glad you got my message. It’s not that easy to leave those you love, at least for me

btw: this post is just as fresh as when I originally read it. Great post.

adumaadan - Blacktinkerbell said...

Hey, thanks for stopping by. Sorry about the restriction. It was necessary for my sanity. If I do decide to do that again, you'll get an invite.

♥♫♪nyemoni♫♪♥ said...

@ Pseudo independent, Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

@ black tinkerbell, I totally understand! Nice that I and other fellow readers can now access it! Thanks for stopping by!

 

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