TRANSFORMATION AGENDA...TRANSFORMING THE POCKETS
A man may have good intention of affecting the lives of his immediate environment positively but if such intention is not guarded jealously, it may end up enriching his own self, immediate family, associates, sycophants and what have you. This he does sometimes unknowingly but often conscientiously to the detriment of the larger society. Such is the similitude of Nigeria under the current hegemony. Just like the popular-comedian-turned musician from the Ijaw extraction, Julius De Genius Agwu who once sang in one of his lyrics about late president Yar'Adua's good intention to salvage the Nigeria society from its economic doldrums, its judicial fiasco, its higgledy-piggledy politics, not leaving its socio-educational quagmires, but for the hawks around him. The same may be said of Mr. Jo who's holding sway at the moment, but unfortunately and painstakingly, he is surrounded by avaricious and covetous Homo sapiens which are NOT exclusive of his immediate family.
Has anybody observed somethin' in recent times, say may be in the last 11 months or more? May be or may be not. You will agree with me that during the years late Umoru Yar'Adua held sway, and a few months after his demise, a bag of rice in Nigeria still went for between #7,000 and #9,000 depending on the product-Mama Africa, Mama Royale, Mama Gold among others. But for those of us who are well acquainted and conversant with events in the country will agree with me that, hardly had Madam P assumed the FIRST LADYSHIP when we witnessed the skyrocketed increase in price. A bag of rice as of today, especially in our Abuja o goes for (the least) #10,500. I am not insinuating that Madam P is the cause of the increase in price of the common man's food, but a research or investigation into who's given the sole authority to import rice into the country will readily provide an answer for that. And may be by then, just may be, it will be an eye opener for Nigerians.
Which brings us to another funny issue of the new Number Plates introduced by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). Everyone wants his impact felt, but some do that to exploit the ordinary man on the street, that may not be different too from the case with the Corps Marshal, Osita Chidoke, the "Oga at the Top" for the commission. Today is the 16th day of September, 2013 which makes precisely 2 more weeks before it becomes a crime for any motorist-the "Haves" and "Have-nots" to ply the Nigerian road without the new number plate. You ask the question, what's so special about the new number plate, not even talking now about the amount required to acquire it. What makes it different from the extant plates? The only difference I saw in it is mere TRANSPOSITION and nothing more but that. For instance, a number written XA 123 AAA in the existing one is written from the reverse as AAA 123 XA with the insertion of Nigerian map with little or no value and which fades up within 3 to 6 months!
It is not that the new number plate has anything so spectacular as to prevent cars from being stolen, yet, Nigerians have to still pay through their nose to get one. You pay a whopping #35,000 for something which ordinarily should have cost less than #10,000. Then, ask how is the payment made? Since the objective of the new number plate is to generate more income for the government, why is the payment NOT made into government designated account? Why do people have to pay into private account for a product purportedly meant to generate income into the government coffers. And when you also probe further, you realize there is an interlink between those behind the project and Madam P. Or is it the sale of the Enugu Distribution Company you want to dabble into? Where it is said Madam P is the unseen hand behind the constant bending of rules on Interstate, a company owned by the embattled former Anambra state governor's (Mbadinuju) godfather, Emeka Offor, by both the Bureau for Public Enterprises and the National Council on Privatization under the ascendancy of vice-president Namandi Sambo.
Yet, we are the same people who accused former FCT minister, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of nepotism and undue favouritism in handling public assets during his sway as the helmsman. Our case in Nigeria is tantamount to the popular parlance of the more you look, the less you see. As for me, those who live in glass houses should NEVER throw stones, because in my mother tongue it is often said that "mòkàn mòkàn loyè ñ kàn" meaning, life is turn by turn. We can only hope here, thatbrhings will change for the better!
Czar Wisdom Omógbóláhàn Mofólúwasó Kòkúmó Babs-CFR
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