Visit African Examiner... Blog | Sports | Guest Book | Write 4 Us
Search African Examiner
| Copyrights 2007 S.O &T Communications LLC, All Rights Reserved www.africanexaminer.com. Africanexaminer is an epublication of S.O&T Communication LLC, P.O. Box 2445 Landover Hills, MD, USA |
Blog | Sports | Guest Book | Write 4 Us
..............................................................................................................................................
| Advert with us and reach millions of your target audience world wide editor@africanexaminer.com 301-803-8033 |
...................................................
Need website? get 40% discount darr-concepts creative studios contact us:- admin@darrconcepts.com www.darrconcepts.com 301-803-8033 |
| Media Associates |
| Pointblank News.com Nwaokonaku.blogspot First Class Magazine huhuonline.com African Examiner Blog vinfish.blogspot.com |
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
Re:Hungarian Lady
Who Keeps An Eye
on Africans
Dear Hakeem
First of all, this lady does
not deserve the above title
and should not have gotten
this..Read More
Who Keeps An Eye
on Africans
Dear Hakeem
First of all, this lady does
not deserve the above title
and should not have gotten
this..Read More
*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
*The Nigeria State Looters
*Mess Made in Kenya
*Dishonourable honourable
*African Beauty in Ireland
*The birthday Lady
*HUASA Fashion
*Senegalese Night
*Golden Eaglets
| African-Examiner Photo Gallery |
| www.grandcaregiver.com e-mail:-roslync @grandcaregiver.com 410-644-4994 |
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
| MAKE BIG BUCKS IN HOME CARE BUSINESS |
*Admiral Arogundade's civility & democracy Read More
*Obama's Saga: A Challenge to Nigerian Americans to Build Own Nation.... Read More
*The Scramble for African Funds...........Read More
*Open letter to Nigerian Ambassardor In Hungary..... Read More
*Let them Celebrate their October Self-Rule By Read More
*The Creation Of Appeasement Ministry Read More
*The death of Nigerian Masses Read More
*The Influential Thieves Read More
*Heaven Awaits Nigerian Teachers, More
*Eulogy for Pa Adedibully Read More
*No Cure for Colonial Mentality Read More
*Tame Those False Democrats First Read More
*My Darling British Airways .........Read More
*Nigerians Are Ungrateful People.......... Read More
*Na lie, he no dey kampe Read More
*Another Police Reckless Disregard for Lives .Read more
*Okiro’s readiness to die for Yar’Adua ..Read More
*Sacking Yar'Adua, Over Obasanjo's Dead Body Read More
*Article previously published on African Examiner
*Obama's Saga: A Challenge to Nigerian Americans to Build Own Nation.... Read More
*The Scramble for African Funds...........Read More
*Open letter to Nigerian Ambassardor In Hungary..... Read More
*Let them Celebrate their October Self-Rule By Read More
*The Creation Of Appeasement Ministry Read More
*The death of Nigerian Masses Read More
*The Influential Thieves Read More
*Heaven Awaits Nigerian Teachers, More
*Eulogy for Pa Adedibully Read More
*No Cure for Colonial Mentality Read More
*Tame Those False Democrats First Read More
*My Darling British Airways .........Read More
*Nigerians Are Ungrateful People.......... Read More
*Na lie, he no dey kampe Read More
*Another Police Reckless Disregard for Lives .Read more
*Okiro’s readiness to die for Yar’Adua ..Read More
*Sacking Yar'Adua, Over Obasanjo's Dead Body Read More
*Article previously published on African Examiner
my smallvoice
by Hakeem Babalola
mysmallvoice@yahoo.com
by Hakeem Babalola
mysmallvoice@yahoo.com
______________________________________________
other articles from Hakeem Babalola
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Nostalgic for a Firing Squad
Hakeem Babalola
Elder Saidu Dogo, Secretary of the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), recently advocated death
sentence for corrupt leaders. The man of God opined that such drastic action is the only way to checkmate
corruption in the country. He said further that the family member of such leaders found to have benefited from the
act should get 15-year-jail term and property confiscated. Good talk but Dogo forgot to include fake and corrupt
men of God. Ah...ah...ah
Anyway, there are two kinds of behaviour that could accelerate the death of a nation. One is considered illegal
and often face stiff penalty including lynching when caught in this obsessive mood. Although the other is also
prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules, unlike the other kind, the perpetrator is protected by the same
law that should lynch him. Notice that my choice of word is strong for the two behavourial attributes: lynch or
lynching.
I consider lynch or lynching to be strong word because it is a kill often without legal sanction. Whilst most lynching
is seen as a cry for justice, others are carried out often by the blood-thirsty mob. Lynching is primitive in customs
and culture; a barbarous crime. And no government - authoritarian or democrat - would be willing to adopt such
technique as a way of punishment or correction.
But it seems this is what has been happening to Nigerians for quite a long time. How they have managed to survive
the lynching should be a subject of intense research. We are being lynched by the very entity whose first
responsibility is to protect you and I. You may dismiss my premise as poetry hyperbolic of a frustrated Nigerian if
you like. I am not going to lure you into temptation - of buying my argument, but I shall clarify the meaning of
things.
Armed robbery is perhaps the most dreaded encounter every Nigerian prays not to experience. An armed robber
is merciless; resembling a tiger in fierceness and lack of mercy. He is capable of an act of ruthless ferocity,
bowelless readiness to take advantage and in the process inflicts fatal and permanent injury - mental or physical or
even both. He is without compunction or human feeling; something dark and inhuman in form. Although his way is
usually obstructive and destructive; death and devastating, he does not pretend otherwise. He is an armed robber
and Nigerians have learnt to take him for who he is.
Pen robbery! This is another terror causing alarm or fear in Nigeria. A pen robber is the twin brother of an armed
robber (you don't have to believe this). He is equally ruthless; a monster of remorseless cruelty. He likes exerting
force or influence, will do nothing unless he gets something out of it for himself. Like his brother he can impose
something unpleasant; kills his victims softly with rhetoric. Although his way is also obstructive and destructive;
death and devastating, but unlike his brother, he pretends otherwise. He cajoles Nigerians into believing he is their
friend.
Agreed, they are both daring in their chosen endeavours. Whilst the armed robber often pays for his daredevil act,
his twin brother often go scot-free. Although the end result of their acts is the same, armed robber is often
rebuked while his pen robber brother glorified. Nigerians admire, even love the pilfering fingers of a pen robber
but detest and are quick to cut the fingers of an armed robber. He has been lynched, faced the firing squad many
times while his twin brother – equally inimical to progress – has been elevated to lead his nation.
This unfairness has angered Mr. Armed Robber who could not fathom why he is being treated unfairly by the
people who should know better. As a result of this unequal treatment, he has devised a master plan. He would
quit armed for pen. After all, it is much safer in his society to rob with pen than gun. What a smart move! Perhaps
that is why there is so much stealing going on at the corridor of power. The ex-armed robber is now a policy
maker, managing the country's finance system. Perhaps this is the reason why it's so difficult to combat or even
curb official stealing. The ex-armed robber has now invaded the Polity House where the so-called Ghana-must-go
aplenty.
Numerous times he had shown the stuff he's made of but each time he succeeded in outsmarting the institution
established to probe or investigate him. He doesn't believe in such institution for he surely knows it's a case of thief
probing thief. He may not know anything about law but he has lawyers on his pay roll. He may know nothing
about speech making but he has journalists and writers ready to improve his knowledge as long as the envelope is
brown (or is it now yellow?). The EFCC boss, Farida Waziri, may be referring to this ex-armed robber turned
pen robber when the hapless woman cried that immunity must be removed from the nation's constitution.
No Smoke without Fire
Analogy apart, it simply doesn't augur well for any Nigerian representative to indulge in buying expensive cars or
houses at this point in time when they should concentrate on managing public funds as well as provision of
adequate security to protect citizens' lives that have become meaningless due to insecurity in the land. Whether the
Speaker and his deputy are legally entitled to eight cars in their convoy does not matter. Spending N1.9bn on the
purchase of state-of-the-art cars and N1.5bn on the purchase of office equipment for the Speaker and his deputy
is ludicrously immoderate. It is extravagance in every sense.
This shameless act of profligacy on the part of Nigerian public officials is perhaps the matrix that continues to
influence Nigerian youths in their quest for materialism and cheating. Some would argue that the cars bought are
for security purpose. But what kind of security are they talking about when foreigners now rob freely on Nigerian
highways? There's no smoke without fire, so even if the allegation by Festus Keyamo, a Lagos lawyer, is being
described as "orchestra of deception" against the leadership of the House, the fact that the House gives room for
such petition speaks volume. The alleged confession by Comrade Umar Farouk that he was offered N1million to
discredit the leadership of the House over the purchase not withstanding!
There are just too many scandals involving Nigerian public officials. Financial scandals are so rampant among our
public officials that such news is becoming obsolete. Judging from the past allegations in the land, no public official
have been able to prove their innocence. It is a shame that House Speaker Dimeji Bankole, a young blood, is
involved in this kind of allegations which if proved to be true, may have everlasting implication on the young and
upcoming politicians. In this time of austerity measures or is it SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme), it is
disappointing to hear that certain public officials are dying to buy state-of-the-art cars. Will heaven fall, for
instance, if the red carpet is replaced with red mat?
Now, the cars they are spending fortune on, where are they made? Is it in Nigeria or in Italy or in Germany or in
America? Instead of spending heavily on technology and research in order to boost homemade goods, our
egregious representatives prefer a display that is vulgar or tawdry. How silly are these men of "honours"? When
are they going to realise that he who murders sleep shall sleep no more? When are they going to know that vanity
upon vanity is vanity? When? Indeed the recent looting of Edo State’s lodge various expensive household items
by several staff is as wicked as it is unbelievable. Immediately after the annulment of Oserhiemen Osunbor as the
governor, his men started stealing government's properties. How low can these people go?
The indictment of House speaker and his deputy by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is
instructive enough. According to the Nigeria Tribune, the final report sent to the presidency indicted the embattled
Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, largely for failing to provide leadership in the execution of the controversial contract
which was alleged to have gulped N2.3 billion in car purchase. Although Bankole reportedly rejected his own
share of the booty, his alleged failure to raise the alarm over the reported deal when he knew about it put him on
the wrong side of due process and probity.
It might surprise you but I support Dogo's call for death penalty. I endorse it because it could be the only way to
scare these official robbers away from authority stealing. Although we may argue that death penalty will not deter
armed robbers, but it will certainly discourage pen ones. A pen robber you should know has become soft since he
graduated to pen robbery. He is now an opportunist who does not want to die (not after all the wealth he had
stolen). My theory is that the mere mention of a firing squad or death penalty would definitely make him piss in his
pant. Hum, who is going to enact such law?
Copyright 2008 mysmallvoice@yahoo.com
Hakeem Babalola
Elder Saidu Dogo, Secretary of the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), recently advocated death
sentence for corrupt leaders. The man of God opined that such drastic action is the only way to checkmate
corruption in the country. He said further that the family member of such leaders found to have benefited from the
act should get 15-year-jail term and property confiscated. Good talk but Dogo forgot to include fake and corrupt
men of God. Ah...ah...ah
Anyway, there are two kinds of behaviour that could accelerate the death of a nation. One is considered illegal
and often face stiff penalty including lynching when caught in this obsessive mood. Although the other is also
prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules, unlike the other kind, the perpetrator is protected by the same
law that should lynch him. Notice that my choice of word is strong for the two behavourial attributes: lynch or
lynching.
I consider lynch or lynching to be strong word because it is a kill often without legal sanction. Whilst most lynching
is seen as a cry for justice, others are carried out often by the blood-thirsty mob. Lynching is primitive in customs
and culture; a barbarous crime. And no government - authoritarian or democrat - would be willing to adopt such
technique as a way of punishment or correction.
But it seems this is what has been happening to Nigerians for quite a long time. How they have managed to survive
the lynching should be a subject of intense research. We are being lynched by the very entity whose first
responsibility is to protect you and I. You may dismiss my premise as poetry hyperbolic of a frustrated Nigerian if
you like. I am not going to lure you into temptation - of buying my argument, but I shall clarify the meaning of
things.
Armed robbery is perhaps the most dreaded encounter every Nigerian prays not to experience. An armed robber
is merciless; resembling a tiger in fierceness and lack of mercy. He is capable of an act of ruthless ferocity,
bowelless readiness to take advantage and in the process inflicts fatal and permanent injury - mental or physical or
even both. He is without compunction or human feeling; something dark and inhuman in form. Although his way is
usually obstructive and destructive; death and devastating, he does not pretend otherwise. He is an armed robber
and Nigerians have learnt to take him for who he is.
Pen robbery! This is another terror causing alarm or fear in Nigeria. A pen robber is the twin brother of an armed
robber (you don't have to believe this). He is equally ruthless; a monster of remorseless cruelty. He likes exerting
force or influence, will do nothing unless he gets something out of it for himself. Like his brother he can impose
something unpleasant; kills his victims softly with rhetoric. Although his way is also obstructive and destructive;
death and devastating, but unlike his brother, he pretends otherwise. He cajoles Nigerians into believing he is their
friend.
Agreed, they are both daring in their chosen endeavours. Whilst the armed robber often pays for his daredevil act,
his twin brother often go scot-free. Although the end result of their acts is the same, armed robber is often
rebuked while his pen robber brother glorified. Nigerians admire, even love the pilfering fingers of a pen robber
but detest and are quick to cut the fingers of an armed robber. He has been lynched, faced the firing squad many
times while his twin brother – equally inimical to progress – has been elevated to lead his nation.
This unfairness has angered Mr. Armed Robber who could not fathom why he is being treated unfairly by the
people who should know better. As a result of this unequal treatment, he has devised a master plan. He would
quit armed for pen. After all, it is much safer in his society to rob with pen than gun. What a smart move! Perhaps
that is why there is so much stealing going on at the corridor of power. The ex-armed robber is now a policy
maker, managing the country's finance system. Perhaps this is the reason why it's so difficult to combat or even
curb official stealing. The ex-armed robber has now invaded the Polity House where the so-called Ghana-must-go
aplenty.
Numerous times he had shown the stuff he's made of but each time he succeeded in outsmarting the institution
established to probe or investigate him. He doesn't believe in such institution for he surely knows it's a case of thief
probing thief. He may not know anything about law but he has lawyers on his pay roll. He may know nothing
about speech making but he has journalists and writers ready to improve his knowledge as long as the envelope is
brown (or is it now yellow?). The EFCC boss, Farida Waziri, may be referring to this ex-armed robber turned
pen robber when the hapless woman cried that immunity must be removed from the nation's constitution.
No Smoke without Fire
Analogy apart, it simply doesn't augur well for any Nigerian representative to indulge in buying expensive cars or
houses at this point in time when they should concentrate on managing public funds as well as provision of
adequate security to protect citizens' lives that have become meaningless due to insecurity in the land. Whether the
Speaker and his deputy are legally entitled to eight cars in their convoy does not matter. Spending N1.9bn on the
purchase of state-of-the-art cars and N1.5bn on the purchase of office equipment for the Speaker and his deputy
is ludicrously immoderate. It is extravagance in every sense.
This shameless act of profligacy on the part of Nigerian public officials is perhaps the matrix that continues to
influence Nigerian youths in their quest for materialism and cheating. Some would argue that the cars bought are
for security purpose. But what kind of security are they talking about when foreigners now rob freely on Nigerian
highways? There's no smoke without fire, so even if the allegation by Festus Keyamo, a Lagos lawyer, is being
described as "orchestra of deception" against the leadership of the House, the fact that the House gives room for
such petition speaks volume. The alleged confession by Comrade Umar Farouk that he was offered N1million to
discredit the leadership of the House over the purchase not withstanding!
There are just too many scandals involving Nigerian public officials. Financial scandals are so rampant among our
public officials that such news is becoming obsolete. Judging from the past allegations in the land, no public official
have been able to prove their innocence. It is a shame that House Speaker Dimeji Bankole, a young blood, is
involved in this kind of allegations which if proved to be true, may have everlasting implication on the young and
upcoming politicians. In this time of austerity measures or is it SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme), it is
disappointing to hear that certain public officials are dying to buy state-of-the-art cars. Will heaven fall, for
instance, if the red carpet is replaced with red mat?
Now, the cars they are spending fortune on, where are they made? Is it in Nigeria or in Italy or in Germany or in
America? Instead of spending heavily on technology and research in order to boost homemade goods, our
egregious representatives prefer a display that is vulgar or tawdry. How silly are these men of "honours"? When
are they going to realise that he who murders sleep shall sleep no more? When are they going to know that vanity
upon vanity is vanity? When? Indeed the recent looting of Edo State’s lodge various expensive household items
by several staff is as wicked as it is unbelievable. Immediately after the annulment of Oserhiemen Osunbor as the
governor, his men started stealing government's properties. How low can these people go?
The indictment of House speaker and his deputy by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is
instructive enough. According to the Nigeria Tribune, the final report sent to the presidency indicted the embattled
Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, largely for failing to provide leadership in the execution of the controversial contract
which was alleged to have gulped N2.3 billion in car purchase. Although Bankole reportedly rejected his own
share of the booty, his alleged failure to raise the alarm over the reported deal when he knew about it put him on
the wrong side of due process and probity.
It might surprise you but I support Dogo's call for death penalty. I endorse it because it could be the only way to
scare these official robbers away from authority stealing. Although we may argue that death penalty will not deter
armed robbers, but it will certainly discourage pen ones. A pen robber you should know has become soft since he
graduated to pen robbery. He is now an opportunist who does not want to die (not after all the wealth he had
stolen). My theory is that the mere mention of a firing squad or death penalty would definitely make him piss in his
pant. Hum, who is going to enact such law?
Copyright 2008 mysmallvoice@yahoo.com