Imo and her Antics during polls

IMO AND HER INVARIABLE ANTICS DURING ELECTIONS

    

The last time I checked, pathetically among the several states across the federation that were meant to witness the rerun elections scheduled to hold on Saturday 20^th of February 2016, only Imo State the acclaimed Eastern Heartland was deprived of the awaited event.

     

After a long unabated wait by the concerned electorate as well as Imolites in general, they were abruptly informed the previous day by the electoral umpire that the said elections had been postponed indefinitely owing to foreseen security hitches. The most pitiable aspect of the melodrama was that most of the electorate weren’t even aware of the postponement due to their inability to acquire news on time; the vulnerable persons in question left their various homes for their respective polling units to cast their votes on that fateful Saturday.

     

The moment the news got to my humble desk, having tried to reach the state Police Commissioner in the person of Mr Taiwo Lakanu via cell phone to acquire more detail from his noble office to no avail, I was deeply wondering what kind of sensed security threat could warrant the postponement of elections that had enjoyed all the needed and consequential preparations.

     

Though my inward inquiry yielded no tangible answer but luckily I was able to grab an antidote that succeeded in calming my boiling system down. The said antidote wasn’t unconnected to the conversation I established therein through phone call with an astute electoral officer; I was rightly intimated by the INEC official that Imo wasn’t safe for the proposed rerun polls, thus going ahead with the election was not unlike risking the mandate of the electorate coupled with their precious lives.

     

It appears as if Imo is synonymous with anomalies considering how far she has fared ab initio during electioneering eras thereby making her seem laughable. A state that is meant to be educating others particularly her sister states, when it calls for electoral issues in view of her age and experience political wise, and what have you, is ironically found doing otherwise.

      Members of a certain political party would be freely talking from both sides of their mouths whilst the other staunch political party on its part would be busy seeking for an avenue to defend itself. Every now and then the god-sent state is being besieged by fathomless tantrums accompanied with lies while concerned stakeholders like us would prefer to observe, hoping that Imolites already know where to go from here.

    
For crying out loud; isn’t it time we detested these jaundiced appellations that are really and seriously telling on our polity? Rather than acting childishly, I expect every Imo statesman to act child likely because a childlike idiosyncrasy, which is a quality that befits us, is no doubt worthy of emulation. Noisemaking, name-calling, character assassination, et al, aren’t what are required of people who address themselves as ‘politicians’.

     In any society especially in democratic societies, leaders are gotten from the political class. Needless to say that every politician ought to see him/herself as a potential leader. If this assertion holds water, then why are the teeming politicians in the state acting or reacting as the case may be, like followers? Honestly, something must be wrong somewhere and needs to be addressed in earnest.

    
Please I’m earnestly appealing to Imo politicians irrespective of their party affiliations, to endeavour to desist from indulging in activities that are liable to make our young ones or their children laugh at them. It’s really absurd and disgusting to observe that when we are expected to educate them (the children) on the ethics as well as modus operandi surrounding a worthy lifestyle, we are busy dancing Makosa.

     My joy remains that our consciences are very much alive even when we try to pretend that they are dead; hence, our consciences will continue to judge us based on what we do on a daily basis even in seemingly secret arenas. Come rain come shine the law of Karma will invariably prevail; and it must surely surface while we are still alive and not after our deaths as most of us presume.

     When I try to embrace despair over the antics usually displayed by these so-called politicians or statesmen, I often find solace in the fact that majority of Imolites cannot be deceived again; they now understand their left from their right because they are politically aware at the moment. To this end, I enjoin them to concentrate only on the individuality of the candidates involved rather than laying emphasis on their respective political parties. Unequivocally, the era of party-politics has gone for eternity not just in Imo State but in Nigeria at large.

     My utmost worry now is the INEC. Considering the obvious fact that the said independent body is answerable for any failure recorded in any election regarding Presidency, gubernatorial, federal and states Assembly that took place in Nigeria, its personnel needn’t be told or reminded that the country’s future lies in their bare hands. In other words, they are expected to do nothing but the needful towards ensuring that every election becomes an absolute success. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

  

    

        

    

Who Raped the Naira?

WHO RAPED NAIRA?

    

The last time I checked, the Nigeria’s currency, Naira suffered a seemingly unpredicted rape though the identity of the rapist in question was significantly unknown. This critique was informed by the compelling need for every Nigerian to comprehend fully the overall nomenclature of the masked rapist.

    Currently, the worth of naira per a US dollar is almost #400 in the parallel market as against its official exchange of #198. Though it isn’t only Nigeria that is confronting the US dollar that is presently ravaging her once respected currency, naira and local economy – some other countries are obviously passing through similar fate, but it’s pertinent to acknowledge that the ongoing misfortune of the said currency didn’t abruptly emerge; suffice it to say that the above mentioned ‘rape’ was apparently a foreseen circumstance.

     Going down the memory lane, it would be recalled that from 1972 to 1985, the official worth of naira per a US dollar was between #0.66 and #0.89 involving a consistent slight fall and rise. From 1986 to 1992, it was worth between #2.02 and #9.91 involving a steady fall. Subsequently, from 1993 to 1999, its worth was between #17.30 and #21.89 involving an onward apparent constant exchange rate after an initial decrease. Similarly, from 2000 to 2009, it was between #85.98 and #145, which involved an outrageous continuous fall.

   
Then, recently from 2010 to 2015, we witnessed a steady fall from #150 to #171. And presently, barely from last year till date, it has declined to #198 per a US dollar, witnessing a free fall. The bone of contention is that ab initio, excluding the initial point when it was ostensibly steady, there has been a continuous fall of the value of naira when compared to the US dollar.

    
Hence, having painstakingly perused the above comprehensive chart, I have succeeded in disabusing us of the notion that the fall of the exchange rate of naira either at the official market or parallel market commenced in recent time. Needless to say that naira had suffered an untold hardship from genesis till this moment.

     But if you take a closer glance at the above analysis, you would observe that it was during the democratic era that the naira’s value fell outrageously, although the origin of its downward depreciation could be traceable to 1986 or thereabouts. In view of this assertion, one may be challenged to ascertain the reason for such anomaly.

     The answer is simple. Any democratic leadership, compared to military regime, is usually synonymous with loose principles or policies. This implies that the former often ends up overlooking the invariable nonchalant or lackadaisical attitudes of its citizenry which is definitely not a wholesome practice in any society that intends to grow economically. Most times, sustaining a certain policy requires a nonhuman face.

     Looking beyond the history, currently it’s obvious that the value of the Nigeria’s currency, naira is diminishing on a daily basis as if it’s being relentlessly and endlessly pursued by a hidden monster. The ongoing phenomenon unarguably is categorically not unconnected to the recent stiff measures taken by the nation’s apex bank – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    
It’s no longer news that penultimate year, foreign exchange for importation of various commodities into the country was banned by the said bank. This severe approach warranted people particularly importers to divert their attention to only the various illicit Bureaux De Change (BDCs) situated across the nation. Consequently, the CBN ordered the closure of all the existing branches of the BDCs in Nigeria, and thereafter stated that it could not continue selling foreign currencies directly to them (the BDCs).

    
Owing to the above sanctions, the various seekers of foreign exchange have shifted their entire attention to the parallel market thereby causing an alarming increase of the demand for forex at the market. This is no doubt the sole reason a US dollar is being unofficially sold at almost #400.

    
However, the question remains: who raped Naira? Unequivocally, naira was dastardly raped by some unscrupulous elements in Nigeria as a result of their selfish interests. This signifies that the present pitiable physiognomy of naira was occasioned by the fact that she was gang raped. One of the rapists is the inability of Nigeria to export a finished product to other nations, not even the oil and gas which are in abundance in the country. How can a country be importing a product that is being generated from its land? Doesn’t it sound ridiculous? Undoubtedly, the relative steady rate of the foreign exchange in Nigeria during the early years such as between `72 and `85 or thereabouts might not be unconnected to the obvious fact that the various Nigeria’s refineries - in Port-Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, were functional during the said era.

     It doesn’t end at the fact that we are importing virtually everything including toothpick, our education and health sectors are also fundamental plights to our forex. It’s obvious that due to inadequacy in spite of the uncountable number of tertiary institutions situated across the federation, millions of our children are currently studying abroad even in such educationally less-privileged countries as Kenya and Niger Republic thereby warranting the export of billions of naira on a daily basis. Same nauseous practice is applicable to the health sector; none of our prominent citizens receives medical treatment in Nigeria, especially in issues relating to surgery. Every pregnant Nigerian woman wishes to deliver her unborn baby in the US.

    
Inter alia, the country’s science sector that was relatively alive and viable had abruptly become soared. All the country’s technical colleges are currently moribund thereby posing a deterrent to our teeming young ones in regard to production of scientific gadgets contrary to what was formerly witnessed among them. In the same vein, none of the government owned industries is functional at the moment. Frankly, everything has completely gone wrong, thus requires a total turnaround.

     The demand for foreign currencies, in particular dollar which remains a global commercial currency, is presently astronomically high in Nigeria as a result of the fact that virtually nothing is seemingly happening in the country; Nigerians want to get everything done outside Nigeria or by foreigners. Almost every contract is being awarded to foreign firms as if ours aren’t equal to the tasks. An average Nigerian would prefer embarking on a trip to England for a football match between Chelsea FC and Manchester United FC to travelling to Owerri for a match between Heartland FC and Enyimba FC. A two-day relaxation period or a honeymoon would be spent abroad as if our hotels are mere hatches. In a nutshell, we are currently enjoying foreign services in all our day-to-day activities. This is why the country is being hit by soaring inflation. Without mincing words, our past leaders assisted in raping naira because they had the immunity to address all these anomalies but they never cared.

     To restore normalcy, first we need to start by believing in ourselves which would enable us to at all times encourage our locally made products as well as our indigenous services. In other words the ban on forex against most goods and services ought to be strengthened headlong; this implies that our various borders need to be holistically checkmated at all cost. In the same spirit, the ban needs to be extended to other activities to include travelling abroad for trivial issues.  Similarly, all the illicit forex dealers must be captured and thereafter brought to book without much ado; the saboteurs don’t deserve any mercy. Hence, the Money Laundering bill that was recently sent to the National Assembly by the Presidency must be considered seriously.

      Most importantly, we must revive such most of our essential sectors as the aforementioned ones. In addition, the power sector ought not to be left out; it’s imperative to note that several countries not unlike the USA that can’t invariably boast of up to 15 degree Celsius are currently sourcing their electricity from the solar energy let alone a country like ours that constantly boasts 40 degree Celsius that lasts for a long period of time. Indeed, this proposed measure is meant to be handled with an utmost political will.

    
Surely, devaluing naira as being agitated in some quarters isn’t the required avenue towards bringing the group of monstrous rapists that are on the run to book. Hence, we needn’t a soothsayer to notify us that we’re expected to drastically do the needful to return naira to her initial resplendent countenance that has suffered a colossal rape. Think about it.  

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

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