Obasanjo, Goodluck and the lies/truth you didn't know

In the late last year, which turned out to be a season of open letters, that many Nigerians have been talking about; a certain letter written to President Goodluck Jonathan by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. has spiced lots of controversy amoung people. recently Goodluck also sent his open letter to media which he structured in 1st to 10th reason his reply to Obasanjo Letter but i found something more compelling in his sixth reason, which the role baba have played in Goodluck  political life according to Jonathan, in his sixth reason for replying the former president's letter he also admitted that aside 'baba'  having ruled the country twice both as a military head of headstate for three years and eight months, and an elected President for eight years. that Obasanjo commands considerable international clout. If such a man says the current president of his country is hiring killers just to stay in office and that corruption has reached the level of impunity, one can only imagine the kind of damaging reports ambassadors in Nigeria have been sending to their home countries in the last couple of days.especially Americans and Uk.

Back to the farce any honest interrogation of the contents must begin from the motive. Why did Obasanjo write the letter? The answer is simple: He wrote it to exact some revenge from an “ungrateful” benefactor. That explains why he began by stating: “Mr President, you have on a number of occasions acknowledged the role God enabled me to play in your ascension to power. You mentioned me third after God and your parents among those that have impacted most on your life.” Anybody with a little intelligence would know that what Obasanjo was saying in effect to President Jonathan is: "I made you...."  Jonathan also refused to indulge in the same blistering castigating negative attacks that Obasanjo had launched against him but Jonathan’s respectful tone in his reply stands out in contrast to Obasanjo’s castigating ‘I-made-you-I-own-you-and-you-are-nobody’ demeaning tone, filled with unfounded allegations.  These contrasting tones infer a level-headed man with facts on his side, versus an individual throwing tamper tantrum.--uuhmm...It is indeed instructive that some of the personal injuries that inform Obasanjo’s current angst are well highlighted in his letter. From the charge that the president had been ignoring his previous letters

There is also sufficient hint in the letter to indicate he feels  unhappy probably becasue President Jonathan did not let the ex- president (Obasanjo) meddle so much into his government any more, and this might have gone against his political godfather's interest.So he is is disgruntled about that.

On the issue of foreign investors coming to Nigeria, Obasanjo accused Jonathan of scaring away investors.  If truth should be told, which foreign company would want to invest in a country with the Boko Haram demolishing a United Nations office with bombs, killing thousands of people, setting fires to school hostels.  But despite all that, Jonathan showed that his administration had performed more than what Obasanjo had achieved in eight years instead of the three years it had taken him.

Wrote Jonathan to Obasanjo, “On the issue of investors being scared to come to Nigeria, economic dormancy, and stagnation, I will just refer you to FDI statistics from 2000 to 2013. Within the last three years, Nigeria has emerged as the preferred destination for investments in Africa, driven by successful government policies to attract foreign investors. For the second year running, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Investments (UNCTAD) has ranked Nigeria as the number one destination for investments in Africa, and as having the fourth highest returns in the world.

Today, Nigeria is holding 18 percent of all foreign investments in Africa and 60 percent of all foreign investments in the ECOWAS Sub-Region. Kindly note also that in the seven years between 2000 and 2007 when you were President, Nigeria attracted a total of $24.9 Billion in FDI. As a result of our efforts which you disparage, the country has seen an FDI inflow of $25.7 Billion in just three years which is more than double the FDI that has gone to the second highest African destination. We have also maintained an annual national economic growth rate of close to seven per cent since the inception of this administration. What then, is the justification for your allegation of scared investors and economic dormancy?”

However, the bit that is most damaging in Obasanjo’s letter is not even the issue of presidential zoning or the “1000 snipers” tale that president Goodluck is hiring killers just to stay in office, but rather the inference to President Jonathan’s lukewarm disposition to issues of accountability and transparency; because he only re-echoed what most people have been saying. While perception may be different from reality, when it comes to corruption, what is often measured is what the people believe with respect to the management of public resources and that is one area in which this administration has been failing rather spectacularly. Most Nigerians today believe that the Jonathan administration is not committed to the fight against corruption and that feeling is not helped by the EFCC statement lately that it has been so starved of operational funds that it cannot even boast of N2 million in its account! How can such a commission fight corruption?

What the foregoing says very clearly is that nobody should be under any illusion that Obasanjo wrote Jonathan that stinker out of any sense of patriotism. No, the letter--which is patently self-serving, In another 11 pages Open letter purpotedly written by Iyabo Obasanjo the daughter of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo. She allegedly denounced ex-president Obasanjo as a self-seeking man lacking in all key expectations of a father and a leader, but often appearing quick to accuse others of the same ills. She also allegedly described her father as a liar, manipulator, two-faced hypocrite determined to foist on President Goodluck Jonathan what no one would contemplate with him as president.

So this give a clear hint that Obasanjo letter to Jonathan is selfseeking not out of being a patriotic Nigerian.

In my own opinion; On the other hand i will say Obasanjo has been a patriotic Nigerian, but a man within the field of play may never know the mistakes he is making while still in the game, but as he is replaced and sits on the bench to watch others play, he can now see and wish he can go back and ultimately do better. That is the case of President Obasanjo. Now that he cannot go back to becoming the head of state or president, I think he owe the incumbent a duty to help him see and correct some of the mistakes he made while in office. I think it will be futile for the incumbent to think it negative to be criticize, I will rather that he takes that criticism and make something good out of it.
All those who have been privileged to rule Nigeria must continue to speak up on national issues whether the incumbent is performing or not. That is the way to ensure that the country attains its greatness." and i also think we shud encourage more open letter 'because the open from OBJ to GEJ has actually made GEJ give a report on his successes, challenges and failures....which he hasn't given since the commencement of his reign

Celebrities and Social media

social media was once intended to bridge the great divide between celebrities and fans. Platforms like facebook, Instagram and Twitter have taken on a life of their own with the average interacting with. Unfortunately the social outlets that allow stars like Tonto Dike, Kcee, Uche Jombo, wizkid etc to get close and personal with their adoring fans, have caused global embarrassment, or worse for some stars.

instantly releasing their opinions and thoughts for all to see, many celebs skip forethought when hitting the share button. this was wreaked havoc on their lives and images, leading to social media wars, angry fans and in some cases legal repercussions.

singer like wizkid has become notorious for sparking outrage across the landscape of twitter and instagram. Lately he insulted a fan For correcting his English on a photo on his Instagram page, Wizkid told a fan that 'broke people always think they have an opinion'. His fans took offense over his comments and called him out on Twitter. some celebrities bumped their account into private mode or slamming social media. one celebrity stated "social media takes away the essence of why we are even special or icon. so with that i'm detaching myself from that world"

Acress Halimat Abukar also found hersef in a hot water this past month, when one of  the talented thespian twitter followers got angry with her after she was begged for a follow back. When the award winning actress declined, the fan tweeted at her, "why forming for me nah? Follow me back, you don't want to. Don't you know that I am your sister?

"Who you be self? You fine reach Tonto, or my queen, Mercy Johnson? You this shortie, you expired maggot."...... Continue to see the actress reply and subsequent tweets from both of them..

And actress fired back, "I am nothing, but you followed me. Go f*ck yourself."

The fan responded, "I followed you because I want to be seeing your mess up. You this godiga (gold digger), smelling 'ascrimate'. Go f*ck yourself, you this public toilet."

Halima continued, "and hey expired? You mean your pus*y? Bit*h, I am not 30 yet. So, hey, hop on a d*ck and do a full split."

One of her fans told her that she should have remained silent on the issue. Another fan of hers, "Sweetie, it is very unhealthy for a status chic of your type to lose her cool publicly"

Tonto Dikeh  has also received her fair share of backlash throughout Twitter channels after sharing aspects of her personal life. The Poko Singer has become the subject of thousands of headlines, with attacking her collegues and fans with abusive words, she recently tweets calling actress "mercy johnson" a fool and bastard. she have converted her twitter handle to an abusive tool for fans and fellow colleagues. Totonto has now become more notorious for unapologetically waging wars on twitter than for her acting/singing talents.

An american born singer, Rihanna has also created some serius buzz among Twitter follwers after posting pictures of marijuana bud she believed resembled a skull. in one instance a fan had compared her to Whitney Houston on Instagram following one of the 24year old's infamous photos of her smoking a joint. Rihana shot back, insulting the fan before deleting the interaction on her account. "Yeah cuz Whitnet overdosed on a joint!!! Fuck outta here you weak bitch!!"

Ruggedman and  Goldie before her demise also had a twitter war with a fan by twitter name "akegag" after he took to twitter with abusive statement  saying  “Ruggedman deserves to die after making us endure all the wacky s**t he makes us hear, It would be cool if he was dead though, wack rapper.”  In a reply, Ruggedman tweeted, “please twifam, join me as I mourn the death of akegag,

In a support of to colleague in the music industry, Goldie picked on akegag when she tweeted, “you are telling celebs that they should die, it is uncalled for. The other day, you said I wasn’t worth it, I ignored you.” Ruggedman tweeted these curses on akegag, “Father Lord God, for akegag and anyone like him, let his prosperity be cut off; and in the generation following, let their names be blotted out and cut off the memory of them from the earth. Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; let them seek bread in desolate places. Let his prayers become sin. In Jesus name I have prayed. AMEN.”

While Ruggedman was doing the curses, the following was going on between Goldie and akegag.

Akegag: “When will Goldie change her weave, it is nasty now, maybe it is Brazilian.

Goldie: “You will be nothing but a fake wack bas***d who thrives on twitter famzing and will be forgotten as soon as a new social network comes up.”

Akegag: “Shut up hot kini. Goldie an ugly whore spotting fake weave-on! National cake, f**k anywhere belle face

Goldie: “No wonder you are confused, your uncle actually paid to f**k your mother. So sad you don’t even know who your daddy is. Meaning your mother was a never do well whore who f**ked whatever was paid to her to, including rodents and pigs.

Akegag: I bet you slept with all the producers and they did you till all your hair fell off, hence, the weave on. Goldie is actually her stripper name and Ruggedman will remain rugged and wretched. Goldie sang you don’t need to pay to touch her body. I guess she’s a free bi**h with a bald hair-do.

Goldie: I am having fun at your expense; I might walk around bald for all that I care, I will still be Goldie, and you? I have nothing more to say to you, you can kiss my fake blonde weave-on, lol and go RIPieces as Ruggedman has already said. Cheers.

some celebrities have sworn off the social media altogether. Actress Oge Okoye , has slammed the social platforms. "i'm sick of it. Exhausted. and it makes me numb and that's dangerous. she give up the management to her publicist following a tweet involing an issue. sharing her opinions. Oge was attacked by her own fans and others which almost tarnish her image in the public eye. her publicit fire back 'stop bullying Oge okoye you bullied her and made her hypertensive. do u want to send her to where u sent Goldie to?"

 People are just under a barrage. there's no time to think and people are'not making their own opinions. and it makes intimacy almost impossible. And i find that worrisome, really worrisome. whats going to happen in time, with a generation of people who have that kind of ADD?.

COMMUNITY RADIO; THE VOICE TO THE VOICELESS

Community radio is a type of radio service that offers a model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial and public service. Community radio broadcasting serves geographic communities and communities’ interests. It is a medium that gives voice to the voiceless; that provides opportunity for the marginalized to be heard and it is at the heart of communication and democratic processes within societies.
With community radio, citizens have the means to make their views known on policies and issues that concern them.
The content of broadcasting in a community setting is largely popular and relevant to a local/specific audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters. Community radio stations are operated, owned, and driven by the communities they serve.
Community radio is not-for profit making and provides a mechanism for individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own diverse stories, to share experiences, and in a media rich world to become active creators of and contributors to media. In many parts of the world today, community radio acts as a vehicle for the community and voluntary sector, civil society, agencies, NGOs and citizens to work in partnership to promote community development.
By the core aims and objectives of this model of broadcasting, community radio stations often serve their listeners by offering a variety of content that is not necessarily provided by the larger commercial radio stations. It also serves as a voice of the community; speaks on behalf of the community when there is crisis, apart from enlightening the people. To that extent, it can be seen as a tool to reach out to everybody because of the language that is used in disseminating information. It also helps in transforming the community by projecting it in a brighter light to the outside world.
Thus, such a radio can be seen as a two-way vehicle in the sense that, it doesn’t just project the community to the outside, but also informs the people in such a community about the happenings around them, so that they will not be left out of what is going on in the outside world.

In an exclusive interview with Miss Salamatu Daudu one of the staff of Sepeteri Radio, a community radio station located in a small rural community of Ilasamaja, in Ibadan, she described community radio as a gathering of people of common goals with the soul determination to free the people.
She added that community radio had remained a powerful tool in disseminating information to the people, a medium that had the strongest feedback mechanism, (community members provide feedback in the form of stories describing the desirable change in their life as a result of the activities of the radio.)Capable of creating a bond between the leaders and the followers, with a strong benefit of the doubts because it uses the local language of the people of the area.

Another respondent, Mr Jayeola Tokunbo who is the top management of the community radio station, said, Community radio could play a significant role at the grass roots level for rural development. For instance, issues of poverty, agriculture, gender inequality, education, social problems among others could be the focus for programming.
Effective radio activities can make a significant change in a community’s life, he said, stressing that, a community radio facilitates a number of capacity building activities. In this regard it provides a set of participatory communication techniques that support agricultural extension efforts by using local languages to communicate directly with farmers and listeners’ groups.
It doesn't just benefit the farmer, palm wine tappers, the market women, men, also the local chiefs; but it also prepares the youth who aspire going to the outside world to pursue their dream.

He concluded by saying that the exchange of information, networking of groups, the provision of skills and training and these undoubtedly are key elements of developing a community.
Again, a radio facility for a community facilitates the promotion of awareness of community groups and facilities in the area as well as providing the avenue for the empowerment of these groups to use radio to promote themselves and to speak directly to the community.
It is accessible to the community in terms of ownership, decision-making and programming output. In majority of cases, programming is influenced by the community, with focus on local concerns and issues. Unlike in the case of the mainstream media, rather than merely talking about the community, the people themselves talk about themselves through the programmes which they are part of. This strengthens local culture with the recognition that this is their station; it becomes a forum for a wide diversity of local opinions and views.
Another respondent who  did not want his name mentioned explained the challenges and problems which faces such a station.
According to him, despite radio’s advantages of being one of the cheapest and most accessible mass communications technology, small stations still struggle to survive. Here in Nigeria and elsewhere, many community radio stations operate in situations of dire poverty. This is despite having been set up confident that local needs would ensure community support in the form of volunteering, in-kind support and donations.
On the contrary, poor communities faced with high unemployment and lack of access to infrastructure view the sector as providers of income and resources such as gaining access to telephones, the Internet, training opportunities and above all, paid work rather than as initiatives needing community support.
The lack of viable social support, technical know-how, and managerial skills in the sector often leads to compromised broadcasting service to communities served. Consequently, lack of quality service through irrelevant programming, interrupted broadcasting service, absence of community participation and a weak financial base threaten the sustainability of community radio. This makes the radio to seek funds from politicians, and they use it as tools for their political campaign:  a popular proverbs says 'He who pays the piper dictates the tune'.
The interpretation is that If you are paying for someone's services, you can dictate exactly what you want that person to do.
It is evident therefore that the challenge of sustainability remains one of the principal aspects contributing to poor performance of the community radio sector, particularly in rural communities

Consumer rights… your pass to quality service- by Dare Faramola- NMC/11/2365

Ours is a society where the consumer –across board - is usually taken for granted.

 He would have parted with his hard-earned money, and possibly wasted his precious time, yet can’t get quality service.

When he complains, he’s hardly taken serious. Most times, he is forced to make do with just any service, just any product, just anything that is available, rather than aa product of commensurate value to the money’ he’s putting down, or service that meets his expectations.

But that is not the way it is supposed to be, in this age and time, with all the effort it requires to make even a dime? And that is one reason we are here.

If you have been swallowing the insults, the mediocre service, accepting the short-change for want of nothing else to do, you have to stop now.

Instead, join this noble initiative; enlist in this positive drive to guarantee value for any money we spend, the crusade to ensure that the consumer is respected and that his views count.

It may be at the shopping mall, community store, banking hall, or any other service outlet. Even if it is at the PHCN office or at the car mart, don’t just swallow the insults, don’t just accept the slights, share it with us.

So, wherever it is your rights as a consumer have been denied, abused or abridged, share with us now and be sure to get your redress.

Write in to “Consumer Rights” at the daretdesigns@gmail or dreetim@yahoo.com