Yesterday, 29th September, I was at Princeton University, the No 1 University in USA, (US-News), as Keynote Speaker at Chinua Achebe International Symposium and 40th anniversary of his booklet "The Trouble with Nigeria"
I elucidated to the audience how cumulative bad leadership, over the years, has done great harm to the Nigerian nation, using the periods 1980-1983 and 2020-2023 to illustrate. Our Political Leaders have turned Governance into a gigantic criminal enterprise, and wickedly
plundered our commonwealth, which made our country to become among the very few Nations in world developing backwards. The world is about to exit fossil fuel, and yet we cannot point to sustainable investment or savings from the trillions of petro-dollars we have earned since
1959. Consequently, we are classified among failing/failed States, and below are just few illustrations of our predicament.
1. Within the said period our poverty numbers have quadrupled to 130 million people living under multi-dimensional poverty, making us the undisputed poverty capital of the world. 2. We now have over 22 million out of school children, again another undisputed champion in the world
3. We are now among 5 most dangerous or unsafe countries in the world.
4. Our GDP per capita in 1981 was $2180, and in 2020/21 was 2097, which not only shows that there was no growth, but infact we are far worse.
5. Our currency Naira exchanged =N=1/$1.60, in fact in September 1983,
=N =1,000,000 = $1,500,000
**And** 40 years after September 2023,
=N=1,000,000 = $1,000.
6. Our minimum monthly wage in 1980/1983 was =N=125 which was then $190-200.
States of Kano and Kaduna under PRP Party led by our Revered Leader Aminu Kano with Governors Abubakar Rimi, and Balarabe Musa paid additional =N=2 making =N=127 which was above $200.
Today with 1980/83
purchasing value of Dollar about a tenth of its value, our minimum monthly wage is =N= 30k, which is $30, just barely 1/6 of what we paid 40 years ago with far less purchasing value.
7. University Professors were paid between =N=1000, and =N=1200 which was about $1,600-2000 then, and today if he is lucky to be paid as and when due will earn =N=400000, =$400, about 1/5 of the earning 40 years ago with far less purchasing value.
Though people will have the opportunity of listening to the full speech, my closing remarks remain that with committed Leaders of good character, competence and capacity, we can start the rebuilding and healing process to a possible New Nigeria. -PO
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As we mark 63 years of our nationhood, I wish to encourage Nigerians not to despair over the agonizing situation in the country, but to remain resolute and hopeful that a new Nigeria is still POssible.
Unfortunately, at 63, Nigeria is still faced with so many sad realities that continue to keep the nation on the path of retrogression. It's also saddening that there is hardly any sector of our national existence that commands celebration 63 years after Independence.
The challenges we face today as a nation are occasioned by the successive failure of leadership. Notwithstanding the grave uncertainties and hardships the people are experiencing, the situation is still not hopeless.
I travelled to Bangladesh last week to participate in the Investment Forum organized by the Bangladesh Government and Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.
As a Guest Speaker at one of the events, I spoke on "SME Formalisation and Internationalisation in the Commonwealth: Empowering Growth and Global Reach." I visited Bangladesh in mid-2009, about 6 months after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assumed office.
At that time, the country's Human Development Index was within the low category. Her GDP was $102 billion, with a GDP per capita of $688. Unemployment was around 10-12%. You could see and feel the poverty and poor infrastructure.
On this year's celebration of International Democracy Day, we must remind ourselves of the need to work together to build and deepen our nation's democracy. As witnessed in the country today, the mindless erosion of the very ideals and tenets on which Nigeria's democracy was
built, if not checked, will only push the nation deeper into lawlessness. The current trend of endemic corruption, abuse of the constitution, disrespect for the rule of law, and transactional politics which cuts across the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government,
have continued to conflict with our nation's enforcement of democracy. Consequently, our dear nation has continued to swing dangerously away from the boundaries of true democracy. Gradually, we are losing one of the biggest intangible assets that makes a nation strong,
I trust that you all have listened to, or read my reaction to the judgment delivered by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Wednesday, 6th September
2023. Understandably, there has been a note of general disappointment within our fold and indeed the general population of Nigerians who hoped that the outcome of the February 25th Presidential election would usher in a new and different Nigeria of our dreams. That dream has only
been deferred for now but remains alive for all times. Since the Tribunal verdict, there has been a note of general despair among the Obidients and the generality of our supporters. I assure you all that on this journey, despair or surrender is not in our options.
Ordinarily, I do not get involved in name-calling and mud-slinging. Neither do I attack people nor try to defame their personalities in the course of my political journey. I have also avoided replying to cheap, wicked or malicious blackmail publicly or privately in the same
irresponsible manner that they are thrown at me. Anyone who has followed my corporate and political life knows that I always stay on issues, with my focus on finding solutions to societal challenges and ameliorating the suffering of the people.
I do however need to clarify a few issues, especially since a third party is involved. There is a recent case where my name has been mentioned in a malicious and cheap blackmail against one of Nigeria's best Television presenters, Mr. Rufai Oseni, who has stood sternly
Two young Nigerians have, once again, distinguished themselves on the global stage through their academic achievements. Miss Mmesoma Okonkwo and Miss Olubukola Adeyemi, according to reports, have received the British Council Outstanding Cambridge Learner’s Awards following
their stellar performance in the 2022 Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge AS Level Examinations respectively. I congratulate them, their school, and their teachers for putting Nigeria on the global map through their academic feats. I believe that through their achievements,
many Nigerian students will be inspired to put more effort into their educational pursuits. I wish them well in their future endeavours and urge them to keep the flag flying. In the New Nigeria, our brilliant minds around the world will form very critical parts of our