I left Switzerland this week in admiration of its rail infrastructure. One can live in a small village hours away from Zurich, yet work in the city without having to use a car. That would be a challenge in Atlanta. Within major cities like Zurich and Geneva, one can use trams to move around easily. I couldn’t help but think about how the Metro Atlanta area could benefit from Zurich’s expertise in establishing a model tram network that encouraged commuters to use rail to move around. Concurrently, the potential for Lagos to learn from Zurich’s experience with light rail transit presented itself as an attractive connection area as well.

Like me, anybody who has broadly followed political democracy will easily notice the difference between Nigeria’s political rhetoric and the political rhetoric of advanced democracies like the United States and Britain. By political rhetoric, I mean the language and choice of words with which candidates address the masses. As I think about this difference, what comes to mind is the usual argument that Nigeria’s democracy is in its infancy; it will someday become what advanced democracies are today. Such an argument is lame. If Nigeria does not lay a solid foundation for democracy, the result will be different.

In Nigeria, statements like “why I want to rule Nigeria” are commonly thrown around. While the word “rule” can be used in a broader sense to mean govern, its underpinning psychology suggests a master-servant relationship. When people have lived with this type of collective psychology for too long, they begin to perceive themselves as existing under the state described in the rhetoric. So at the back of their minds Nigerian masses perceive themselves as people who are being ruled instead of being served by public servants whom we have entrusted with such an honor.

On the other hand, imagine that President Obama titled one of his campaign speeches “Why I want to Rule America.” his campaign would have died as quickly as it started. When Robert Munford wrote in The Candidates that “in order to secure a seat in our August senate, `tis necessary a man should either be a slave or a fool; a slave to the people, for the privilege of serving them and a fool for himself, for thus begging a troublesome and expensive employment,” he captured the tone of politics in the United States. He also confirmed that the essence of democracy is that power belongs to the people and that the masses rule. Because of this understanding that power belongs to the people, those who aspire to leadership positions in advanced democracies, like President Obama, talk about serving the people as opposed to ruling them. So Americans see themselves as people who are being served, not ruled.

It is the lack of these fundamentals of democracy that makes me question, as I have done in the past, whether Nigeria as a nation has laid the necessary foundation for democracy. Anybody who accepts that democracy is the only system of government designed to respect the masses and give them some sense of responsibility will wonder if the political rhetoric in Nigeria is in sync with the values of democracy.

The language of politics and governance in Nigeria needs to change. I draw attention to this because it has been proven that when democracy is conducted in the appropriate language, over time the role of the masses in a democratic process becomes very clear. For instance, the masses will begin to realize that those whom they have voted for are there to serve. Also, when a democratic process is conducted in the language of democracy, the masses engage more in the system. The American voters understand their responsibilities in a democratic process because the language used in politics and government places some responsibility on them – to choose a good servant of the people.

How the masses are governed and the role of government are often echoed in political rhetoric. With time, the prevalent political rhetoric begins to shape the masses’ collective psyche. While citizens of advanced democracies like the United States and Britain are likely to believe that the role of public officeholders is to serve the people, Nigerian citizens are likely to believe that the role of public officeholders is to rule – in the negative sense that the citizens are second class.

I am not surprised that as a nation Nigeria is stuck in its despotic political rhetoric. The country has seen many years of military rule. Unfortunately, its democracy has become an extension of that rule both in terms of rhetoric and of those who aspire to lead. Nigeria’s political rhetoric is spoken as if the country is still under military rule. Many of those who aspire to lead Nigeria are military men who have not undergone any formal leadership training to acquire democratic values. Yet they assure Nigerians that they are coming back to “rule” because they want to correct the ills of Nigeria. Their reason clearly shows that they do not understand the process of democracy. Whatever good deed they did not achieve for Nigeria as dictators will even be harder to achieve because of the very bureaucratic

A life without a purpose is a life without a destination. Like a boat adrift on the ocean, there is no telling where you might end up. With no direction we all head to the polls to cast our votes for the various elective offices to be filled in the General Elections. Same story, same people, but we are expecting a different result. This possibility is in the bosom of time.

With the way things are going in the country, we are not sure of what to expect in the coming days as we become more anxious of the direction we will be taking after May 29 when the winners will be sworn into power.

We all want change but do we consider our ways every day? Going round town, it is same account from the populace everywhere you go; complains of irresponsive governance, corrupt leadership and the likes, but the truth of the matter is that the decay we see actually cascaded from top to bottom and moves in circles. We all have our role to play; complaining of many other things not going right in this country, it’s in our hands to turn things around, as we go to the polls to choose our leaders.

Even when we are not so sure of how to defend the votes we cast; let us at least vote for the candidates that we believe will guarantee our interest. Aside this the little effort we give will go a long way in steering the change we so desire, we all count in the transformation process, we all have our own quota in the new scheme of things as we continue to push for a better Nigeria; this we can readily achieve by becoming better Nigerians.

Revolution can either start from the top or the bottom. Whichever way, it goes beyond blame passing – which will not help us – our actions and inactions are very important in our quest for change. What are the conscious efforts we make to leave a better impression of this State? If I don’t leave an effort to better the lot of the Nation who do I expect to? Most times we are very quick to accuse others of corruption, nepotism and the likes are we better in the little things that is placed in our hands. Even at that often times the society mounts undue pressure on same people we accuse as corrupt, to settle the many struggles we face to the detriment of our nationhood.

Our societal values have eroded so bad that even the unexpected can surface as anything now goes around us; our pursuit for wealth is alarming and nobody question anybody’s source of livelihood as people are celebrated for malevolence, the family unit is almost nonexistent with many homes having kids growing up in the street while the few that will stake claims to a home lack parental care and guidance, this social decay affects the setup of our political class. An unusual chase for wealth is what we see everywhere as comfort, leisure and peace of mind have all been redefined.

Our middle class is virtually elusive, as poverty as forced the people to survival at any means and this is a bane to our socio-economic freedom, and the structure of the social life is so flat that we cannot form any sort of base with it. Poverty has eaten deep that it has affected the mentality of people as their sense of reasoning is deluded.

This is why youths willingly trade their future in exchange for some thousands of naira, just to quench their hunger for a moment while they prepare to live the rest of their lives in misery. How can we rise when we are down? We need courage, character and sincerity of purpose to power a revolution. This is what we need to step out of the clutches of poverty which is a setback to our National aspirations.

Until we have a compassionate leadership that can motivate the down trodden; we cannot move forward with these pathologies looping round us, we need to break this circle of retrogression and spring out a renewed passion to serve our fatherland better with integrity, honour and character. Only a man that is full will fight but the most feared fighter is the one that has nothing to lose.

Who will take us out of this circle of lack, poverty and retrogression?

Since society is attributively organic and inorganic in its nature, therefore, one can seek the understanding of what a society is, from the prism of people relative a society. Predicated on this premise, this article sets out to contend that Jonathan and Dame Patience Goodluck-Jonathan personify the problems that have rendered Nigeria a failing state.

To begin with, a nation, on a specific note and a civilization, on the broad range, is made by the education that grows its people. It is education that develops moulds and engrains the minds of the people constituting a nation with the developmental traits, which ultimately, transforms into the physical indexes that are seen and used in gauging a nation’s growth and development. It is through education that variety of problems, human, societal, environmental are researched and ideas articulated on how they can be solved. This is why education is a nation’s problem-solving centre. However, in the Nigerian case, from being a problem-solving- centre, our institutions of learning have sadly been transformed into problem-creating and corruption breeding grounds, which turn out uneducated graduates, sophisticatedly incubated crooks, who, following a sadistic and cyclic trend, unleash their crookedness on the state and start the process time and again by replicating their likes through biological and fraternizing means. From the standpoint of gross underfunding of our institutions at all levels, one needs no extraordinary logic to discern why Nigeria is donning a despicable and ghetto-like jagajaga appearance.

Therefore, since we have decided to kill the problem-diagnosing and solving-centre, then, the end result is what Nigeria is witnessing as a gravely diseased state. Also, the level of corruption in our country is a reflection of the corruption that prevails in our education sector. Moral, academic and financial corruptions have not only reached alarming proportion in our various places of learning, also, they have sadly become integral parts of our learning culture. We have educational handlers, academic and non-academic, that occupy places not merited. Our educational centers, particularly, the public ones, are populated by bribe-takers, certificate forgers, plagiarists, fund looters, abusers of oath of service and those who receive monthly salary for services not rendered. On our campuses, grades trade for money, sexual-pleasure and etcetera. Also, students engage in all sorts of malpractices with parents as aiders and abettors. Therefore, if Nigeria is to experience a positive and enduring change, all we need, is to re-make, retool and give our education, its traditional role and as a well-facilitated problem diagnosing and solving centre.

The question now is, whether Jonathan Goodluck posses the credentials needed to solve the Nigerian education crises? If the proverb, “Nemo dat quod non habet” which means “you cannot give what you don’t have” is anything to go by, one may be saying the obvious that Jonathan Goodluck lacks the aptitude to either initiate solutions to, or o preside over the problem-solving attempts in our educational sector. This is for the simple fact that educationally, Jonathan is a patient who is dire need of a doctor’s service. Jonathan is by all standards, a good example of sub-standard doctoral degree holders that the Nigerian education system has produced. It is sad to note that, a man who has been awarded a doctoral degree and worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer, for years does not understand the simple rules of grammar. As pointed out by Farooq A. Kperogi, a Nigerian-born scholar that is resident in the United States, Dr Jonathan language is “awful. He doesn’t seem to be aware that there is something called subject-verb agreement, as evidenced in statements like, “I wish to thank the esteemed members of the Council on Foreign Relations for its continued interest in Nigerian affairs,” “issues of corruption bothers us,” etc. And “Muslim faithfuls”? Well, there is no word like “faithfuls” in the English language, Mr. Acting President. And by “sectoral crisis between Muslims” did he mean “sectarian crisis between Muslims”? Hmm.” If Jonathan does not know the difference between “sectoral” and ‘sectarian,’ and the elementary rules of subject-verb agreement, then, one may logically submit that, Jonathan is educationally unfit to preside over the solution-finding attempts to mass failure in English language in our secondary schools.

Also if Jonathan, a doctoral degree holder in zoology would utter un-zoological statements such as “we are diverse in terms of different human species,” then, one may be saying the obvious that Jonathan cannot proffer solution to the Nigerian education problem. If, as pointed out by Farooq A. Kperogi, “a putative Ph.D. in zoology (the branch of biology that studies animals, including humans) doesn’t know enough to know that all humans belong to the same species,” then, it may be illogical to expect such an individual to churn out a pragmatic and effective roadmap on how we can solve our education problems at our levels.

It is sad to note that like her husband, Dame Patience Jonathan-Goodluck also posses questionable and defective educational credentials. Madam Patience, holder of National Certificate of Education (NCE) in Mathematics/Biology from the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, and a bachelor’s degree in Biology/Psychology from the University of Port Harcourt, one may be prompted to conclude, belongs to the generation of Nigerian students who obtained their degrees through fraudulent means. As documented by Farooq A. Kperogi, despite a bachelor’s degree, it is weird and mirthful to hear Madam Patience, “Our politics is without bitterness, my husband Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Sambo is a very good people, !”; “the president was once a child and the SENATORS WERE ONCE A CHILDREN”; “my fellow widows”; “the people sitting before you here were ONCE A CHILDREN”; “it is not easy to CARRY SECOND in an international competition like this one”; “the bombers, who BORN them? WASN’T it not a woman? They were ONCE A CHILDREN, now A ADULT, now they are bombing women and children making SOME CHILDREN A WIDOW”; “my heart feels sorry for these CHILDREN WHO HAVE BECOME WIDOWS by losing their parents for one reason or another”; “We should have love for our fellow Nigerians irrespective of their NATIONALITY”.

From the foregoing, it amounts to saying the evident that Jonathan Goodluck and Dame Patience Goodluck-Jonathan is mirror image of how defective is the Nigerian educational system. If a quote which reads, ““My doctor says that I have a malformed public duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber,’ he muttered to himself, ‘and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes,” (credited to Douglas Adams, a prominent English writer and dramatist) is anything to go by, Jonathan would need to excuse himself from presiding over and on the discourse on the Nigerian education. Since it is also rational that Nigerians should borrow a leaf from Erma Bombeck’s counsel that “Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died,” then, it will be a disservice to wisdom by allowing a man who is grown by dead education and whose doctorate degree is dead to preside over our affairs.

At this juncture, attention will now be focused on the issue of integrity, corruption and the Nigerian state. While some exponents are of the opinion that the lack of integrity and not corruption is the root of the Nigerian problems, others have either argued the other way round or considered both factors as the core of our problem. Based on the concept of cause and effect, I have informed basis to toe the line of those who consider, dearth of integrity, the hub of our problem. It is a known fact all over the world Nigerians are looked down upon as people who cannot be trusted. There was a time we were making efforts to convince a company to invest heavily in portable water projects in different parts of Nigeria. This company works in collaboration with one Asian-based Non-Governmental Organization in undertaking portable water projects based on the philosophy of Build, Operate and Transfer. While at the advanced stage of our deliberation, we requested that the company should allow us submit to the appropriate Nigerian authority, a detailed proposal on this project. They declined. Why? one would want to know. It was said that if given such document, the Nigerian government will hijack the idea and sell it out to another body to execute.

On patriotic grounds, we insisted otherwise, but, in our minds, we knew, that was the bitter truth. When I shared this experience with a friend who has been working in conjunction with some young entrepreneurs in Nigeria, he confirmed the fears exhibited by the Asian-based company as the Nigerian reality. He narrated how they initiated some ideas which gave birth to some projects which were later proposed to some Nigerian government officials for implementation. He recounted how approval issued for the projects’ execution was reneged and given to another company that knows nothing about these projects. In either of these narrations, the common denominator is that Nigerians are seen as people who will never honor agreements. Failure to honor agreement will often create mistrust and mistrust will create atmosphere of suspicion which in turn will give birth to the feelings of animosity and hence, instability.

If Nigeria and Nigerians are now synonymous with distrust, then, the refusal of Jonathan Goodluck to honor his party’s constitution on zoning (PDP Constitution, Section 7.2.c), clearly suggests that Jonathan is what distrust is to Nigeria and what Nigeria is to distrust. Section 7 (2) (c) of the PDP constitution which backs zoning reads “…in pursuant of the principle of equity, justice and fairness, we adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and elective offices at all levels.” Jonathan, a man who, according to records, not only witnessed the PDP’s deliberation on zoning but also voted in favor of zoning, later made a U-turn and 360 degree turnaround by distrustfully stating that, “Either by virtue of the PDP Constitution,… the presidency of Nigeria has never been zoned to any part of the country. There is the concept of zoning and rotation in the PDP constitution to encourage power to move from one part to the other and it is not limited to the Office of the President”.

If the number one in Nigeria, the supposed father of the nation will distrustfully deny the obvious, it has only shown that he is living the much held view that Nigeria and Nigerians are now synonymous with distrust. Little wonder, Shehu Abdulqadr wisely submits, “The state itself is nothing but its leadership and a leader is a reflection of the society that produces him.” If being a Nigerian is what Reuben Abati describes thus, “you must learn the lesson that nothing is ever fair, and that indeed anything is possible,” then, by denying zoning, Jonathan deserves to be elevated to Grade A Emeritus of a truly Nigerian. Therefore, if Nigerians consider distrust a national disaster that should be fought at all fronts, Jonathan is therefore not a reliable hand that can be looked up to spearhead such must-win battle because his action inspires Nigerians more to distrust than to honoring pledges. If as stated Vincet Lombardi, there must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character for a leadership to be based on truth and character, therefore, Jonathan, a man who contemptibly disregarded an agreement to which he was a party and called the bluff of his party’s constituent, lacks the wherewithal that is required to lead based on truth and character.

Since corruption is what I consider the effect of distrust, therefore, focus would now be on how Jonathan and his wife are mirror images of the Nigerian dilemma. One of the reasons why Nigerians are looking for alternative to the ruling PDP is because it has earned itself the infamous appellation as party of looters. Corruption is in truth not just a PDP problem; it is in reality, a problem that is affecting most Nigerians. Corruption is so pervasive in Nigeria that if a Yoruba man accuses an Igbo man of being corrupt, the latter would as a defense; mention the names of the Yoruba’s who have looted the country to stupor.

Jonathan, the man who is a truly Nigerian, has on a number of occasions exhibited this trait. Virtually all aspirants have alleged Jonathan to be ruling and heading a government of corrupt persons. Although these aspirants are merely saying what prevails in the minds of most Nigerians, the PDP is saddened that Buhari, a leading Presidential aspirant in the ongoing democratic dispensation is favored by the electorates because he is seen as an incorruptible person. Realizing this as his strength, Buhari has focused his campaign on anti-corruption crusade. Overwhelmed by the effects of this on his electoral worth, Jonathan, a typical Nigerian, warned Buhari in particular that, he and Ribadu are no apostles of anti-corruption and that he will expose them as members of the corrupt empire. To argue his case, Jonathan cited the case of the controversial 52 cases which was allegedly smuggled into the country in 1984 during Buhari’s reign as the Head of State. This was in reaction to a case of $13.5 million Dollars (US) and another N104 million money laundering case involving Jonathan and his loving wife, Aunty Patience which Buhari’s campaign team has been making issue of. Therefore if Nigerians are interesting in overcoming the crisis of corruption, one direction not to direct our gaze at is that of Goodluck because it reminds us why our resources are not used in providing for our daily needs.

On a concluding note, since it has been established that Jonathan Goodluck and his wife, Aunty Dame are mirror images of the Nigerian quandary, then, if we desire a better future, it is only logical that Nigerians should seek change and a better future in other individuals who are aspiring to lead Nigeria.

Adebiyi Jelili Abudugana, a former Unilag student union leader can be reached through abudugana2000@yahoo.com

The argument goes something like this; corruption is the backbone of African business dealings and bribery one of corruptions offshoot is the quintessential tool of choice for African Governments and leaders. If you want to do business in Africa you must have two forms of capital investable capital and corruption capital. To succeed your corruption capital must be 2x your investable capital. You must bribe to see stakeholders; you must bride to get your licenses and papers approved. You must play ball or face being flagged persona non grata for whatever dealing you are involved in. And by the way, you have no legal recourse should you lose your corruption capital and invested capital

Take Nigeria for example with 144 million people, it is the most populous nation in Africa. Of this number, per UNDP 100.8 million of them live and survive below $ 1 a day and 132.5M people lives below $2 per day. On average, each family has 5 kids or more to feed with $1 or $2 unadjusted for inflation. Inflationary pressures in Nigeria are at 13% up 2% from prior year Per the Central Bank of Nigeria. The interaction of these pressures; rising food prices, inflated and unregulated housing prices, lack of jobs, security, maternal mortality makes the decision to accept bribe an easy choice. It makes this decision a necessary evil in the arsenal you need to survive and feed your family in Nigeria. It is literally impossible for a family of 7 surviving on $1 a day and faced with the choice of accepting $5 as bribe to look the other way bypassing procedures and or processes.

For some in Nigeria, Integrity and principle don’t have a strong foundation when the pressures of feeding ones family takes hold. The kids bear witness to their circumstance and are unable to impact these events, they are exposed to the teachings of corruption and the education of just surviving early in life. To add to this, Nigeria’s spending as a percentage of GDP on education is at 3% but in neighboring countries like Ghana, South Africa and Kenya it is 5.4%, 5.4% and 6.7% respectively. The UNDP ranks Nigeria as a low human development country at 158 out of 177.Despite its oil wealth, Nigeria remains a highly unequal society with a gini coefficient of 0.43.

African families in North America, Asia, Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean’s have the same conversation about what they would do if they were in charge and have an opportunity to bring about change. And while they do not spell it out in a manifesto, they are quick to stake out there position in mini living room congregations that become their campaign voting population. Everyone tries to make their case as strongly as they possibly can. The problem is that everyone talks about the eradication of corruption knowing that it is an impossible task. Too many people and too many livelihoods depend on corruption capital. We must acknowledge this fact and rethink the conversation within our living rooms in search for a solution.

Africans in the Diaspora want to have a positive impact on what is going on in their mother land. They all have great ideas on what it would take to make Africa great. They all know the problems with Africa and can recite and analyze the subtle issues and plight of the African continent and nations therein. Passions and emotions flare up whenever you find them congregated over food and drinks in celebration of a holiday or graduation or simply having a party to celebrate friends or a change in the prefix before their name. I often wonder how possible it would be to gather all the thoughts and solutions that are shared within these forums or informal panel discussions that occur daily at the kitchen tables and living rooms.

Let us change the model of the conversation and in so doing move away from just issues of corruption which is the standard excuse for the Diaspora not getting involved or losing interest in the current state of affairs in Africa. Instead, we must find a solution with corruption capital built in from the onset.

What is the difference between Jonathan, Buhari, Ribadu and others? As we will draw closer to the General Elections, we continue to probe the contenders for the race to the presidential seat in Aso Rock Villa, the contest is getting stiffer and every move is becoming more strategic as we see more political intrigues, manipulations and sometimes foul play from the various political parties in their interplay.

Accessing the contenders one after the other, we will see that one quality that is prevalent is that the parties tends to be looking for candidates that can be appealing to the people. Looking at the political stage at the moment they seem to be no clear cut edge from any of the men running for this position, the one who can revive our present situation to becoming a nation to reckon with amongst the League of Nations.

Let’s take the contenders one by one, ascertaining the difference between them and what their individuality has to offer, if elected the president of this country.

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GEJ of PDP, currently President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, assumed office after the death of the then President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He succeeded him being the Vice President after a series of political mishap to complete their tenure. That has given him some form of experience and exposure to stake claims to the seat.

GEJ choice as president is triggered on the interest of stability, aside that can he make the different? If yes how? Definitely not with the news of internal insecurity flowing in every now and then; Looking at the socio-political situation in the country now, we have been expecting the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign to produce a clear blueprint on how they intend to change thing for good, all we see and hear is same old story of amenities and socio infrastructure promises that has always been made for ages; We want them to use the resources at their disposal to effectuate the impasse of our national struggle to be revolutionized. The absence of this leaves them at the cross road.

Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), has few things are going well for him, considering his antecedence, we might be tempted to say that he is the candidature with the highest stake for integrity and discipline and the choice of Tunde Bakare as a running mate should quench our suspicion of his religious sensitivity. While he is giving youthfulness and intellect a chance, his problem is same with GEJ’s team; what is the blueprint to re-writing our history?

Other than castigate those that didn’t do what should have been done, let us know how the undone is to be done. Nigeria’s problem we all know but solving same is the ultimate challenge of our leaders; the key to our socio economic change is a sharp contrast from our regular socio-political style, noting that the platform of Buhari’s campaign lacks intensity as touching our pathologies and finding a solution for them. The challenge of covering the nooks and crannies of the country gives a party like the PDP an advantage over them. A better preparation would have given them an edge; this team is neither here nor there.

Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN is another contender for the seat, though he has a strong reputation which would be put to test as many has always accused him of being a political tool in the hand of the previous administration, how true this claim is will be seen in his ability to direct the affairs of his campaign in the right direction. His choice of Fola Adeola shows his appreciation for intellect and a renewed drive towards economic boost from entrepreneurial perspective. How well will he coordinate all this is a big task considering the people he is surrounded with?

He has the tenacity to overcome corruption which is the cankerworm to our quest in discovering our destiny as a nation. Though he seems to lack the knack to interface our diverse resources with our potentialities as regards our socio-economic realities and this is a key indicator of our quest to asserting true leadership that we deserve. He has always concentrated on corruption and I personally believe he has more challenge asserting himself in ACN than leading Nigeria.

In conclusion, Let us look closely at the candidates that we have now and vote for our choice as we hope the winner will in turn deliver amongst the many daunting challenges of our nationhood, a better Nigeria; If this is an uphill task for him to achieve, at least let him lay the foundation for his successor to perform better in meeting our national goal.

Other influences will count but none of the candidates has shown that he has what it takes to hit the bull’s eye in turning things around as we continue moving in circles.

HERE’S a statistic you may not be aware of: about 50 percent of the world’s uncultivated, arable land is in Africa. This abundance of potential farmland offers Africa the opportunity to feed itself and to help feed the rest of the globe. But consider another statistic: because of poor roads and a lack of storage, African farmers can lose up to 50 percent of their crop just trying to get it to market.

In other words, Africa needs not only greater investment in agriculture, but also in roads, ports and other facilities that are vital to moving the land’s products to consumers. Fortunately, part of the solution could lie with the almost 23 million African migrants around the globe, who together have an annual savings of more than $30 billion. Tapping into this money with so-called diaspora bonds could help provide Africa with the equipment and services it needs for long-term growth and poverty reduction.

These diaspora bonds would be in essence structured like any bonds on the market, but would be sold by governments, private companies and public-private partnerships to Africans living abroad. The bonds would be sold in small denominations, from $100 to $10,000, to individual investors or, in larger denominations, to institutional and foreign investors.

Preliminary estimates suggest that sub-Saharan African countries (excluding South Africa, which doesn’t have significant emigration) could raise $5 billion to $10 billion a year through diaspora bonds. Countries like Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, which have fairly large numbers of migrants living abroad in high-income countries, would particularly profit from issuing diaspora bonds.

There are precedents for such moves. Greece announced this week that it was preparing to issue $3 billion worth of diaspora bonds in the United States. India and Israel have issued diaspora bonds in the past, raising over $35 billion, often in times of financial crises.

Why would diaspora bonds work so well? For one thing, the idea taps into emigrants’ continuing patriotism and desire to give back to their home countries. And because diaspora populations often build strong webs of churches, community groups and newspapers, bond issuers would be able to tap into a ready-made marketing network.

Another advantage of diaspora bonds for African countries is that migrants make more stable investors in their home countries than people without local knowledge. They’re less likely to pull out at the first sign of trouble. And they wouldn’t demand the same high rate of interest as a foreign investor, who wants to compensate for the risk of investing in what would seem to them like a relatively unknown developing country.

Diaspora bonds could also be issued in the local currency, as migrants are likely to be less averse to the risk of currency devaluation. That’s because members of the diaspora have more use for local currency than foreign investors; migrants can always use it when they go back home or for family-related expenses.

Take, for example, an African living in the United States who now earns an annual interest rate of less than 1 percent on small deposits; a diaspora bond with an interest rate of about 5 percent certainly might seem attractive. To make the bond even more appealing, the countries the migrants reside in could provide tax breaks on interest income. Donor or multilateral aid agencies could also offer credit enhancements in the form of partial guarantees, to mitigate default risks.

Even more money could flow into Africa if countries tapped into the billions of dollars that members of the diaspora send home each year by using those remittances as collateral to raise financing from international markets. This approach has allowed banks in several developing countries — including Brazil, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Turkey — to raise more than $15 billion since 2000.

Here’s how this works: When a migrant transfers foreign currency to a relative’s creditworthy bank in his home country, the bank pays out the remittance from its holding of local currency. That transaction creates a foreign currency asset equivalent to the size of the remittance, which can be used as collateral for borrowing cheaply and over the long term in overseas capital markets.

Such borrowing has no effect on the flow of money from migrants to their beneficiaries. Yet development banks, national banks in developing countries and donor agencies can partner to harness enough remittances and create enough collateral to raise significant sums of money to invest in agriculture, roads, housing and other vital projects.

The people of Africa are scattered around the globe, but many still feel a powerful sense of belonging to the continent. Through diaspora bonds and remittances, they could create a better future for their homeland.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the managing director of the World Bank. Dilip Ratha is the manager of its Migration and Remittances Unit.

Carlyle plans to launch a $750m fund to invest in Africa, a continent long neglected by the large international buy-out firms, people familiar with the US private equity group said.

David Rubenstein, the group’s co-founder, has a reputation for being a pioneer in raising and investing money in frontier economies.

Mr Rubenstein was among the first buy-out executives to raise money in Libya and has oil money going into Carlyle funds from resource-rich African nations such as Angola.

The soon-to-be-launched Carlyle fund would be overseen by a team of three with a presence in Johannesburg, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, these people added.

Carlyle already has a significant presence in north Africa, as well as a dedicated private equity fund for the Middle East and north Africa.

Many parts of Africa are now enjoying better prospects than at any time in recent history due largely to a rush for resources led by the Chinese.

“The majority of Americans don’t pay enough attention to Africa,” one source close to Carlyle said. “It has been China that has been the catalyst for economic activity in Africa.”

Carlyle’s fundraising machine is by far the most powerful of any of the large private equity groups. But speaking at a conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Mr Rubenstein referred to a difficult fundraising environment, a complaint echoed by executives at all of the significant private equity groups. For example, in 2007, at the height of the boom, Carlyle raised $30bn, a figure it is unlikely to come close to today.

“We have seen more investment and more exits, but fundraising lags behind,” Mr Rubenstein said. Yet, he added that he expected fundraising to improve due to low interest rates and the thirst of pension funds in particular for yield. But even when the pension funds and sovereign wealth funds increase the money they give to the buy-out firms, the fees they pay are likely to be dramatically smaller, Mr Rubenstein said.

The sovereign wealth funds in particular are becoming less passive, seeking to invest alongside the private equity groups, hold separate accounts with them or invest directly and avoid paying fees.

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On a Wednesday afternoon, after a strenuous day’s job off to the canteen to have lunch, as I sit to wait for my order, I hear chants from the Television and had to follow up what was happening, and then discovered it was the Peoples Democratic Party PDP’s Lagos rally at the Tafawa Balewa’s Square on the Island.

This was obviously the reason for the horrendous traffic round town. Either out of interest or dullness, I had engaged myself in the rally proceedings, as I watched; I noticed a colourful and quite cultural event, with lovely tunes coming from King Sunny Ade himself. Then I asked myself a question is this festival to blow their trumpet or a rally to sensitive the populace of the party’s intension for them?

To my utmost surprise, none of the speakers had a clear cut shot on their deliverables not even as a group all talked here and there, praises for the party, their leadership and self was all I heard from them as none satisfied my curiosity to hear them out, not even the gubernatorial aspirant of Lagos State, Dr. Ade Dusunmu.

I was expecting the maritime marshal to impress but his show was a run of the mill for a man vying for same office as BR Fashola SAN of the Action Congress of Nigeria ACN; knowing Fashola has an edge with his precedence added to his party’s political grasp on the state; I had expected at least a stiff opposition from her closest political rival the PDP which would give the state some sort of political check. None is forthcoming.

What the party lacked on the day was vision; and as such the rally was not guided, it went bizarre. It calls for serious concerns knowing that the platform our political leadership come from lacks base, we cannot embark on a journey and expect to get there when we do not have a clear cut direction, we have political parties that do not have the basic upon which good governance can strive evident by their lack of purpose, integrity and cohesion.

The way with which Bode George was celebrated was disheartening; a man just coming from jail for financial misappropriation, gross abuse of public office et al, all that notwithstanding he was given a hero’s welcome. It was so shameful that PDP would degenerate so low that they will give an open and warm embrace to such a disgrace to social liberty. This calls for questioning of the integrity of the party, as well as the individuals who celebrated him.

What beats my imagination is that a man will be celebrated for criminality, while an honorable man is relegated to the background and mocked for his steadfastness and honour. There is no longer any place for morality and conscientiousness in our political arena.

Our journey from 2011 will not accept such excesses from us, we are supposed to have a party system that will enforce integrity from the grass root to the top echelon of government, and if we can’t enforce integrity and conscientious drive by doing things right from the party level thereby avoiding eminent shame like this, then what is our fate when these political scavengers get to power.

What can be deduced is that this present political parties does not have future with this nation, by the time the much awaited renaissance starts, they will all die natural death, because they lack purpose, character and integrity. Even few that will survive; will all be a shadow of themselves. Other political parties are not left out, as they also have their short comings, parties that are ruled by a man’s opinion rather than a consensus ideology. There is no place for them all.

A general appraisal of the present political parties shows an absolute lack of political structure; this lack of structure shows in the quality of candidate(s) that they bring out. We have political parties that lack internal democracy yet stands for democracy; A shame to our national character.

Even the mentality of an average politician betrays what democracy stands for. Democracy does not stand for violence; democracy does not stand for results alone, it stands for process, character and value. An imp limitation of rascality is what our politicians portray.

A political reform will not make sense without the political parties being involved because they are the platform for this continuous manipulation of our socio-political justice. This can be injurious to our democracy if not reverted as it is gradually becoming a democratic tyranny.

These political parasites will continue to sap us dry until we all call for a revolt. Even when an aspirant has the intension to deliver they will frustrate and choke life out of him.

What a show of shame!!!

On Tuesday, March 8th 2011, Bayelsa State will witness a rousing reception for her illustrious son ,President Goodluck Jonathan at the Sampson Siasia Sports Complex. This reception originallpy expected to attract more than one million people has been toned down because of the obvious logistic difficulties it will present in terms of crowd control. Accreditation to this event has been tight even for journalists. This has been the case with every stop of the President in his nationwide campaign. His popularity and widespread acceptance is not in doubt. The question has always been that of space constrains and how to secure the people and their visitors never whether the crowd will come.

I say this because of the hype following the crowd pulled by the Gen.Buhari, the CPC presidential flag bearer’s campaign in Kaduna and attempts by the press to judge his popularity with this criterion. There was also the talk about the PDP’s Lagos campaign which “attracted a smaller crowd”. Some analysts have even been fixated lately on the relatively small voter’s numbers in Bayelsa State vis avis the so called opposition States as signal that the President was already disadvantaged in going into the polls. These things happen in politics but the reality is different from visuals being created by opposition parties. Let me crave your indulgence to explain the reality here.

The issue of crowd in Nigeria is not what you see. It is easy to present a big show like the Kaduna spectacle even by churches. It smacks of deep seated Religious and fanatical ideology. You can make it mandatory that all your church members and all worshippers present themselves in a large place for a stipend. But for the ruling party campaigning in Lagos under the heavy dose of sabotage, security was more paramount. Most people who wanted to attend the rally were advised to watch on television. Lagos is presently not a PDP State. Even then, there are huddles for anyone invited to a Presidential function in Nigeria and this should settle the question of crowd.

On the issue of registered voters in States, people should understand that voting in the new system of DDC machine is a different ball game altogether from what we used to know. Here the nitty-gritty will be as different as black and white. It is true that there were allowed double registration and you wonder how they could still do it but nothing is perfect. It is true that under aged registration may have occurred in those Northern States with figures that defy logic but not to worry, for instance those in Puddah during registration, those whose registration could not be effected but through their computer literate husbands or relatives will come out to vote and we shall see their faces and determine whether they are toddlers even if we cannot know whether they are Nigerians or from across the border. At that time it will be the Party on ground that has the right to make a complaint or query a result. To be on ground requires a lot of finance and logistics input and not many parties today can match the national spread of the ruling Party.

So what may happen is that those states with inflated numbers will have actually reduced voting population to the extent that eyebrows will be raised again. The taste of the pudding is in the eating they say. So do not be carried away yet. Sectional parties have always found it difficult to survive the Nigerian political terrain all through history and this time will not be an exception. The fact that a party takes control of the states of South West with the second highest voter strength does not translate to a loss for the President in the Presidential election here. The revise is more likely to be the case however because it is more likely that the people will vote a more likely to win President of southern extraction than anyone else and this may create a bandwagon effect to affect even the result of the gubernatorial elections here. The safeguard here is that the South Western electorate is relatively better informed and therefore also more flexible in their choice patterns.

One of the reasons for caution in predicting from the registration is of course the requirement for spread in electoral votes across two thirds of the country. It is better that you are everywhere accepted in smaller numbers than you score ninety percent in few. We have seen it in Chief Awolowo and his Action Group AG; we saw it in Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and his Nigerian peoples Party NPP in the past. The issue of drawing crowd by raising local sentiments has always been counterproductive in this political system. It may win you some states but the Nigerian Presidency is not for extreme ideologues.

The Jonathan Presidency is sponsored not by Bayelsans but all Nigerians who yearned for change. We decided that he should be the bridge in our effort to cross this putrefying river of national stagnation. Our basic judgment was to answer the question “Who is capable of going for us? We saw that under the circumstances that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was the best choice so we decided to support him. Each mission is limited by the requirements of it. Nigeria is in a transition because we are yet to attain Nationhood to enable us act as one people more easily. What we need most is a uniting element not a tiger. A tiger acts for the body that is already united and strong otherwise by his sudden strength he will only pull it apart. The South South Presidency is the uniting factor for Nigeria because it will give the so called minorities a sense of belonging and will restore hope for a permanent move towards nationhood through citizenship. Therefore competence is qualified in this instance to suit the goal. We cannot be looking for someone to unite Nigeria towards nationhood and we are seeking the one that can tear her apart.

So as the President comes to campaign in his home state Bayelsa state, it is important that all well wishers know that the place of his presidency amongst the array of Presidential candidates seeking your votes com April. Since the time of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria has never seen another bridge builder like Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Maybe this assertion will become clearer with time. Permit me once again to introduce him here.
Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, GCON, and President, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was born to a humble Niger Delta family of canoe makers on November 20, 1957. He attended St. Stephens and St. Michaels Primary Schools, Oloibiri, finishing in 1969. He proceeded to Mater Dei High School, Imiringi, where he passed his West African School Certificate with flying colours in 1975.

On completion of his secondary education, he worked as a Preventive Officer with the Nigerian Customs Service for two years before proceeding to the University of Port Harcourt as one of the pioneer students of the new University nestling on the shores of the Choba River. He graduated with Second Class Upper honours in 1981. In 1985 and 1995 he studied for his Master’s and Ph.D degrees in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology, and Zoology respectively, from the same University. But this was not until he had completed his mandatory one year of National Youth Service in Iresi, old Oyo State, and now Osun State of Nigeria.

Returning to the warm embrace of family and friends in 1982, he was appointed as Science Inspector of Education, Rivers State Ministry of Education, while studying in between for his post-graduate and graduate degrees. Between 1983 and 1993 he took up employment as a lecturer in the Department of Biological Science, Rivers State College of Education. In 1993, he was appointed Assistant Director (Ecology of the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) in charge of Environmental Protection. He resigned his job in 1998 and went into politics.

His honesty, simplicity, charisma, quiet strength and determination made him an ideal running mate to Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha on the Bayelsa People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and gubernatorial ticket. They won the elections, and he served as a Deputy Governor from 1999 to 11 December 2005. On 12 December that year, he became the substantive Governor of Bayelsa State.

It wasn’t long after that fate once again beckoned. He was busy preparing for re election to his first full term as substantive governor, when the PDP, which is the largest political party in Africa, nominated him as running mate to the Presidential candidate, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua. After a keenly contested election, the Yar’adua/Jonathan ticket won, and on May 29, 2007, he was inaugurated as Nigeria’s Vice President.
Precisely on February 9, 2010, Dr. Jonathan assumed office as Nigeria’s Acting President by virtue of a National Assembly resolution empowering him as Acting President, following President Yar’Adua’s long absence for medical attention in Saudi Arabia. This popularized the doctrine of necessity. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was sworn-in on May, 6, 2010 as President, Commander-in-chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following the passing away of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on May 5, 2010.
Dr. Jonathan has received several local and international awards. He was voted the ‘Best performing Deputy Governor’ in 2002 by IPAN, given the ‘Democracy and Good Governance Award’ by Nigeria Union of Journalists in 2004. The Africa International News magazine league conferred on him the ‘Niger Delta Development Award’; the Nigerian Bar Association, the ‘Distinguished Personality’ award in 2006, and the All African Students Union in South Africa, the ‘Africa Leadership Award 2006’.

Additionally, the Nigerian Union of Teachers voted him the ‘Best Performing Governor in Education in the South-South’ in 2006. He was also recognized by the International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) in 22 July 2006, with ‘Ambassador for Peace Merit Award’ as well as the ‘Leadership and Good Governance Merit Award’. There is no complete introduction of the President without mentioning the indefatigable First Lady Dame Goodluck Jonathan who is actually the engine room behind the President’s success.
As Bayelsa’s turn out in large numbers led by Governor Timipre Sylva to welcome a man whose personality has literally shut down all quarrels between brothers in the State, it is expected that all political parties and their supporters will be represented a this unique rally of solidarity. The only problem to grapple with is space and consideration for the safety of the crowd. Organizers are toying with the idea of setting up huge screens TV screens for those who cannot make it into the Stadium. The last time he visited Otueke the logistic problem forced some visitors to watch the event on television from their hotel suites. .This time around the focus is on accrediting only leaders and representatives of the people to such rallies but in Yenagoa, the President is likely to interact directly with the crowd of his home State.