.......................................
............
............
Need website? get 40% discount darr-concepts creative studios contact us:- admin@darrconcepts.com www.darrconcepts.com 443-904-1239 |
Do you want to
contribute
ARTICLES to African
Examiner? We have
space for You. Click
HERE to Contact
contribute
ARTICLES to African
Examiner? We have
space for You. Click
HERE to Contact
*The Electoral
Fraudsters
*The Nigeria State
Looters
*Mess Made in Kenya
*Dishonourable
honourable
*African Beauty in
Ireland
*The birthday Lady
*HUASA Fashion
*Senegalese Night
*Golden Eaglets
Fraudsters
*The Nigeria State
Looters
*Mess Made in Kenya
*Dishonourable
honourable
*African Beauty in
Ireland
*The birthday Lady
*HUASA Fashion
*Senegalese Night
*Golden Eaglets
| www.grandcaregiver.com e-mail:-roslync @grandcaregiver.com 410-644-4994 |
| MAKE BIG BUCKS IN HOME CARE BUSINESS |
African Daily
Newspapers
THE GUARDIAN
THE STAR
THE SUB SAHARA
THE PUNCH
NIGERIA TRIBUNE
TIMES OF ZAMBIA
THE SUN
DAILY GRAPHICS
CAPE TIMES
THISDAY
MAIL & GUARDIAN
VANGUARD
DAILY INDEPENDENT
TELL
ACCRA MAIL
THE NEWS
Newspapers
THE GUARDIAN
THE STAR
THE SUB SAHARA
THE PUNCH
NIGERIA TRIBUNE
TIMES OF ZAMBIA
THE SUN
DAILY GRAPHICS
CAPE TIMES
THISDAY
MAIL & GUARDIAN
VANGUARD
DAILY INDEPENDENT
TELL
ACCRA MAIL
THE NEWS
| African-Examiner Photo Gallery |
| Visit African Examiner... Blog | Sports | Guest Book | Write 4 Us |
Article Tools |
| Copyrights 2007 All Rights Reserved African Examiner Online (www.africanexaminer.com.) P. O. Box 11582 Baltimore, MD, 21229, USA |
| More on African Examiner |
Search Previous stories on
African Examiner
African Examiner
+ United Nations
+ UNESCO
+ World Bank
+ African Union
+ ECOWAS
+ EU
+ Freedom House
+ Cttee to protect Journalist
+ Transparency International
+ UNESCO
+ World Bank
+ African Union
+ ECOWAS
+ EU
+ Freedom House
+ Cttee to protect Journalist
+ Transparency International
| Oludare Sunday Fase Editor in Chief African Examiner.com editor@africanexaminer.com 443-904-1239 |
+ Sports
+ Archives
+ Site Maps
+ Blog
+ Guest Book
+ Write 4 Us
+ News Tip
+ Archives
+ Site Maps
+ Blog
+ Guest Book
+ Write 4 Us
+ News Tip
+ NIDO (AGM)
+ Women conference
+ Bankole in Toronto
+ The Electoral Fraudsters
+ The Nigeria
+ StateLooters
+ Mess Made in Kenya
+ Dishonourable
+ African Beauty in Ireland
+ The birthday Lady
+ HUASA Fashion
+ Senegalese Night
+ Golden Eaglets
+ Women conference
+ Bankole in Toronto
+ The Electoral Fraudsters
+ The Nigeria
+ StateLooters
+ Mess Made in Kenya
+ Dishonourable
+ African Beauty in Ireland
+ The birthday Lady
+ HUASA Fashion
+ Senegalese Night
+ Golden Eaglets
| African Examiner Photo Gallery |
| The African Examiner.com |
| International organisations |
Foreign Media
| Journalism Network |
| To advertise call 443-904-1239 or send mail to editor@africanexaminer.com |
| News Tip? send it to editor@africanexaminer.com |
Use google search engine to search the net
.........................................................................................................................................
When Akunyili reeled the nation
By Muhammad Ajah
The Minister of Information and Communications, Professor Dora Akunyili is not someone
that anyone will hear her words and actions without having a deep thought over the
splendour in a percentage of humanity as a whole and woman folk in particular. Those
who have known this woman in Nigerian politics will believe with the writer that she has
been so consistent in her efforts to affect a positive change in the system. One thing in
her method of tackling issues is the mixture of stringency, bluntness in serious national
issues and humanity even in the midst of opposition.
So, that in a cabinet predominated by physically powerful men, a woman was the only
person who could stand up boldly to say the bitter truth that the nation has unduly
suffered from the long absence of the President has become an added advantage to
female politicians in Nigeria and to the female folk in African and the world.
A professor in pharmacy and former boss of NAFDAC where her performance was
acclaimed nationally and globally, Akunyili has been inscribed in the list of Nigerians who
believe that the nation can change for better but only when sycophancy, hatred and
inhumanity are defeated in governance. To her, governance in Nigeria should be for the
profound-minded patriots who believe firstly in themselves as real citizens and secondly in
the nation that a change is possible with collective efforts.
She did her NAFDAC job with awesome competence and won respect in that process.
That earned her the entry into the federal executive as a minister. And since then, no one
who does not harbour partiality in the mind will score her low. She has been doing her
best and Nigeria definitely needs more of her to affect the expected positive change in the
system.
Her singular action, though replayed in many ways in the past when she headed
NAFDAC, engendered criticism from several quarters. Some columnists described her as
sensational. Some said she was an opportunist. Others claimed she was merely playing
to the gallery in order to secure a fatter position if Jonathan becomes the president. There
was another group which regarded her memo as a diversion in confusion, even as few
others demanded for her resignation since she has failed to rebrand the nation. I recall
that a critic claimed that she was rather rebranding herself instead of Nigeria.
Immediate former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice called
Akunyili’s memo as a personal view. There was word-trade and tongue-lashings between
the supporters of the two parties. Akunyili even threatened to take legal action against
libelous publication on her. Since this episode began, Nigerian news outfits have been
awash with the intrigues and inherent circumstances.
Although a lot has been said about the memo, let us read some important parts of the
memo: “…that I am a 100 percent loyalist of President Yar’Adua. ..President Yar’Adua is
very dear to me just as he is to all of you…as it is today (then), the Vice President cannot
take any document to National Assembly.”
“Just recently, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, has opted out of the
amnesty and resumed hostility. They argued that they have been kept in limbo since the
President took ill and they appeared to have been abandoned since nobody could talk to
them or keep the promise made to them. Our economy is once more being
threatened…The past Chief Justice of the Federation swore in his successor for the first
time in the history of our nation. The power vacuum at that level has also compounded our
‘poor image’ at the international level because of our failure to rise to international
expectations, commitments and engagements that require the presence of our President.”
“The looming crisis in the system is over boiling. Our hard earned democracy is being
threatened by the day…We love our President but we should remember that he is not
infallible. Mr. President is ill and did not choose to be sick. But while we continue to pray
for his recovery, we should try to right the wrong…We are all in a better position to know
that the polity is overheated to a frightening level. Posterity will judge us harshly if we do
not positively intervene to resolve this logjam…We also need to save ourselves from
shame because our stand is becoming very embarrassing.”
“We need to do what is morally right and constitutional for the President to officially hand
over to the Vice President to function as Acting President. If he does not, we can evoke
whichever aspect of the constitution that should make the Vice President an Acting
President…I am not saying that President Yar’Adua should resign or condemn him for
being sick. He did not choose to be sick. The name of our President and all his
achievements are being rubbished by this unfortunate debacle…If we fail to act now,
history will not forgive us.”
What seems surprising is the assumption of some Nigerians that if she feels she is
incapacitated to defend the government, she should resign. Does this imply that she has
no constitutional right to express her mind? First, the memo was not intended for
immediate public consumption. It was to the Federal Executive Council which she belongs
and which in all cases deliberates over issues before speaking to the press for the public
to be told later.
Secondly, who in Nigeria disbelieves the fact that fighting the government from outside is a
futile venture? This does not in any way imply that Akunyili is fighting the government.
Rather, she is fighting for Nigerians that the right thing should be done. Even as a Minister
of Information, should she blindly defend the government against Nigerians and the
nation? Is the government constitutionally greater than the people? Something is really
wrong with the ways some of us think. Don’t we talk of change and the way government is
being run? Is it the jinn that will transform to humans and change our condition?
Up till now, our struggles to change the fortunes of this country are merely on papers and
the oratory of our politicians. They stay in their air-conditioned offices, houses and cars
and articulate on sheet of papers how Nigeria should be. They use the press to convince
the mass that things will change very soon. One bleeds in the heart to recall all that
Nigerians have been openly promised on education, power, transportation, employment,
and life and food security, name them. Fifty years after our presumed independence from
colonialism, it is hard to reckon one thing we can be proud to have advanced in.
Although we should sincerely pray for guidance, good health and protection for our
leaders, we should be bold enough to challenge them, within the provisions of the
constitution, if they attempt to derail from the noble course of good governance and
humanity. And in this case, since there is no ascertained time for the recovery of our
president, is it proper for the affairs of one hundred and fifty million Nigerians to be
suspended till whenever the president recovers and returns?
Fellow Nigerians, it’s time we desist from deceiving ourselves if truly we desire
development, unity and peace. Akunyili is the woman of t our time. Definitely, no human is
a saint. She may have her shortcomings but since she joined the leadership in this
country, she has tried her best and we expect that more Nigerians – those who really
believe in one Nigeria, its peace and prosperity – would change for our collective change.
Ajah, a writer, author, advocate of humanity and good governance writes from FCT, Abuja
(mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk)
By Muhammad Ajah
The Minister of Information and Communications, Professor Dora Akunyili is not someone
that anyone will hear her words and actions without having a deep thought over the
splendour in a percentage of humanity as a whole and woman folk in particular. Those
who have known this woman in Nigerian politics will believe with the writer that she has
been so consistent in her efforts to affect a positive change in the system. One thing in
her method of tackling issues is the mixture of stringency, bluntness in serious national
issues and humanity even in the midst of opposition.
So, that in a cabinet predominated by physically powerful men, a woman was the only
person who could stand up boldly to say the bitter truth that the nation has unduly
suffered from the long absence of the President has become an added advantage to
female politicians in Nigeria and to the female folk in African and the world.
A professor in pharmacy and former boss of NAFDAC where her performance was
acclaimed nationally and globally, Akunyili has been inscribed in the list of Nigerians who
believe that the nation can change for better but only when sycophancy, hatred and
inhumanity are defeated in governance. To her, governance in Nigeria should be for the
profound-minded patriots who believe firstly in themselves as real citizens and secondly in
the nation that a change is possible with collective efforts.
She did her NAFDAC job with awesome competence and won respect in that process.
That earned her the entry into the federal executive as a minister. And since then, no one
who does not harbour partiality in the mind will score her low. She has been doing her
best and Nigeria definitely needs more of her to affect the expected positive change in the
system.
Her singular action, though replayed in many ways in the past when she headed
NAFDAC, engendered criticism from several quarters. Some columnists described her as
sensational. Some said she was an opportunist. Others claimed she was merely playing
to the gallery in order to secure a fatter position if Jonathan becomes the president. There
was another group which regarded her memo as a diversion in confusion, even as few
others demanded for her resignation since she has failed to rebrand the nation. I recall
that a critic claimed that she was rather rebranding herself instead of Nigeria.
Immediate former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice called
Akunyili’s memo as a personal view. There was word-trade and tongue-lashings between
the supporters of the two parties. Akunyili even threatened to take legal action against
libelous publication on her. Since this episode began, Nigerian news outfits have been
awash with the intrigues and inherent circumstances.
Although a lot has been said about the memo, let us read some important parts of the
memo: “…that I am a 100 percent loyalist of President Yar’Adua. ..President Yar’Adua is
very dear to me just as he is to all of you…as it is today (then), the Vice President cannot
take any document to National Assembly.”
“Just recently, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, has opted out of the
amnesty and resumed hostility. They argued that they have been kept in limbo since the
President took ill and they appeared to have been abandoned since nobody could talk to
them or keep the promise made to them. Our economy is once more being
threatened…The past Chief Justice of the Federation swore in his successor for the first
time in the history of our nation. The power vacuum at that level has also compounded our
‘poor image’ at the international level because of our failure to rise to international
expectations, commitments and engagements that require the presence of our President.”
“The looming crisis in the system is over boiling. Our hard earned democracy is being
threatened by the day…We love our President but we should remember that he is not
infallible. Mr. President is ill and did not choose to be sick. But while we continue to pray
for his recovery, we should try to right the wrong…We are all in a better position to know
that the polity is overheated to a frightening level. Posterity will judge us harshly if we do
not positively intervene to resolve this logjam…We also need to save ourselves from
shame because our stand is becoming very embarrassing.”
“We need to do what is morally right and constitutional for the President to officially hand
over to the Vice President to function as Acting President. If he does not, we can evoke
whichever aspect of the constitution that should make the Vice President an Acting
President…I am not saying that President Yar’Adua should resign or condemn him for
being sick. He did not choose to be sick. The name of our President and all his
achievements are being rubbished by this unfortunate debacle…If we fail to act now,
history will not forgive us.”
What seems surprising is the assumption of some Nigerians that if she feels she is
incapacitated to defend the government, she should resign. Does this imply that she has
no constitutional right to express her mind? First, the memo was not intended for
immediate public consumption. It was to the Federal Executive Council which she belongs
and which in all cases deliberates over issues before speaking to the press for the public
to be told later.
Secondly, who in Nigeria disbelieves the fact that fighting the government from outside is a
futile venture? This does not in any way imply that Akunyili is fighting the government.
Rather, she is fighting for Nigerians that the right thing should be done. Even as a Minister
of Information, should she blindly defend the government against Nigerians and the
nation? Is the government constitutionally greater than the people? Something is really
wrong with the ways some of us think. Don’t we talk of change and the way government is
being run? Is it the jinn that will transform to humans and change our condition?
Up till now, our struggles to change the fortunes of this country are merely on papers and
the oratory of our politicians. They stay in their air-conditioned offices, houses and cars
and articulate on sheet of papers how Nigeria should be. They use the press to convince
the mass that things will change very soon. One bleeds in the heart to recall all that
Nigerians have been openly promised on education, power, transportation, employment,
and life and food security, name them. Fifty years after our presumed independence from
colonialism, it is hard to reckon one thing we can be proud to have advanced in.
Although we should sincerely pray for guidance, good health and protection for our
leaders, we should be bold enough to challenge them, within the provisions of the
constitution, if they attempt to derail from the noble course of good governance and
humanity. And in this case, since there is no ascertained time for the recovery of our
president, is it proper for the affairs of one hundred and fifty million Nigerians to be
suspended till whenever the president recovers and returns?
Fellow Nigerians, it’s time we desist from deceiving ourselves if truly we desire
development, unity and peace. Akunyili is the woman of t our time. Definitely, no human is
a saint. She may have her shortcomings but since she joined the leadership in this
country, she has tried her best and we expect that more Nigerians – those who really
believe in one Nigeria, its peace and prosperity – would change for our collective change.
Ajah, a writer, author, advocate of humanity and good governance writes from FCT, Abuja
(mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk)