@ 55, Lets Praise and Blame Ourselves.

Nigeria is 55 years old today (1/10/15). As Nigeria celebrates her independence anniversary, let us pause, praise and blame ourselves for our fate, as we are the architects of Nigeria’s destiny and woes. Its worthy of note that Nigeria has remained as one till date, even though our foundation appears shaky and wobbly. But thank God, there is no major war,(even though the war against Boko Haram is ongoing). Thank God too, that there are no major natural disasters (even though some of our leaders are worst than natural calamities). But in all, let’s be grateful for the relative peace we enjoy. Countries like Libya, Syria, Somalia, etc are in major wars. Their citizens are worst off as a result. Watching millions of refugees from Syria, and seeing other war torn countries, makes you appreciate Nigeria.

As citizens, we need to work hard for peace and unity of Nigeria. Last line of the second verse of our National Anthem says “To build a nation where peace and justice shall reign”. The government and the citizens have roles to play towards building the Nigerian nation, where peace, fairness, equity and justice shall reign. Singapore has similar clause on their national pledge which says, “We the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation” Though Singapore is small and diverse, yet they are working for the unity of their country.

Nigeria/ns should copy other countries (USA, UK, European Union, India, and China) and build our unity out of our diversity. We are better as one big entity where justice and equity can reign. As we celebrate and reflect today, yours truly suggests, we follow the Chinese examples (massive trading, industrialization, innovations on science and technology, zero tolerance on corruption etc) to model Nigeria. Co-incidentally, Nigeria shares the same Independence Day with China. While China is 66 today, Nigeria is 55 years old. In addition to the above, we have so many similarities. Nigeria is multi cultural country as well as China. Both nations have large multi ethnic groups. The two countries have large population. China is the most populous country in the world, whereas Nigeria is the most populous African country etc.

Remember, that we have to blame ourselves (leaders and followers) for the present situation we have found Nigeria. We should be prepared to accept further blames, if we fail to play our roles in nation building. Failure is unimaginable. Failure is not an option. Fellow citizens, now is the time to give our best to motherland. Kindly accept my warm regards on this anniversary day.

C.V.Akuta.
UK
www.cvakutamedia.com
1/10/15.

Public Information Disclosure.

The Chairman,
Code of Conduct Bureau,
Private Mail Box 155, Garki.
Abuja-Nigeria.
Tel: 08166606606
Email: info@codeofconductbureau.gov.ng

25/09/2015.

Dear Sir/Ma,

Public Information Disclosure.

With reference to the Freedom of Information Act of 2011, and the advice on your website (valid as at the time of writing on 25/09/2015), which states thus, “The public is encouraged to make complaints to the Bureau through personal visits, writing of petitions, telephone calls or e-mails” http://www.codeofconductbureau.gov.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=77 kindly permit me to request that you publish, on your website or any other media, the assets declarations/documents of past public office holders from 1999 till date. This request is in the public interest.

Being that this request is in the public interest, the writer shall be asking Nigerians to join in this request, by endorsing and forwarding this same letter to you, better still, they can write their own requests to you.

Code of Conduct Bureau’s code number three (3) states, “Prohibition of Foreign Accounts- The President, Vice President, Governor, Deputy Governor, Ministers of the Government of the Federation and Commissioners of the Governments of the States, Members of the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly of the States, and such other public officers or persons as the National Assembly may by law prescribe, shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria”. On the strength of the above, Nigerians in Diaspora should kindly consider to approach relevant authorities, or engage c/overt investigators in their respective host countries, for bank account etc disclosures of Nigerian public officials. This could be a way citizens could help the country.

Sincerely Yours
C.V.Akuta.
UK
25/9/15.
www.cvakutamedia.com

cc: Nigerians. Please, if you wish to join/support this petition, kindly copy this mail/message and resend to this email info@codeofconductbureau.gov.ng

Saraki Should Step Aside.

The office of the Senate President is a respected office. The Senate is hallowed chamber. Therefore, in view of (1) the bench warrant issued against the Senate President on (18/09/15) by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, based on some criminal charges, (2) the ongoing investigation about the forgery of the Senate Standing Order, which involved him/his office, (3) his wife’s case with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the most honourable thing for him is to step aside. This is to enable him time to defend himself. No one knows how long these cases would take, before its ending, going by Nigerian judicial standards.

Stepping aside is in the national interest. It would save the nation and the office of the Senate President from distractions, as his cases are most likely going to cause a lot of media attention. His position as the Senate President might likely compromise his cases etc. Senate Presidency is not a birth right, rather an office to serve the people of Nigeria. Therefore, Nigerians should join the call for him to step aside till his cases are over. Remember, power belongs to the people, power belongs to the Nigerian masses. Hoping that some Senators will begin to discuss the issues raised here.

C.V.Akuta.
UK
19/9/15.

Please, watch this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo8bFj_eCKE&=&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Then;

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My First Letter to President Buhari.

Dearest President Buhari, yours truly will be writing you series of letters, and where and when necessary, shall seek audience with you. This particular letter is in view of your cabinet, appointees, all top federal civil servants and yet to be appointed ministers etc. Please, ban any person(s) that falls into this category from seeking overseas medical treatments. At best, make it a condition of their service under your government. You and your household should also be included on the ban.

The reasons are very simple. It is national disgrace when our leaders travel to another country in search of medical treatments. Ex President Yar Adua, was rushed to Saudi Arabia for treatment. Prior to that, he used to fly to Germany for treatments. Ex Head of State (IBB), used to fly to France, for medical treatments. Late Stella Obasanjo (former wife of Ex President Obasanjo) died in a Spanish hospital. Patience Jonathan went overseas for medical treatments. Former Governor of Enugu State spent nearly 6 months in a foreign hospital. Just recently Ex Governor of Akwa Ibom State (Akpabio) was rushed to an oversea’s hospital. This list is endless. The worst aspect is that they use state resources for personal/private treatments.

The idea of seeking overseas treatment has made our leaders not to equip the local hospitals. Leadership by example. When leaders abandon the Nigerian hospitals to overseas hospitals, they are simply telling the Nigerian masses to follow suit. Many Nigerians now go to India, South Africa and some other third world countries to seek medical attention. Nigerians must be spending billions on these medical tourisms. Ironically, the sum total of the money spent yearly by Nigerians, can help to furnish at least one hospital to an international standard, and help prevent these capital flights.

State of Emergency:

Please declare a state of emergency on our health sector. Health should be the number one priority of your government. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Health is wealth. In order for the suggested ban on overseas treatment to be effective, immediate action is needed on the health sector, this is in order to equip the hospitals and health centres. If your government cannot fund, fix or equip our hospitals, kindly consider to appeal to faith groups, banks, business establishments etc to invest in the heath sector. Your government can give them tax holidays if they decide to invest in the health sector. In India Major corporations like Tata, Max, Wockhardt, Apollo, etc have made significant investments in setting up modern hospitals.

But honestly there is no reason why Nigeria cannot equip her hospitals to international standards. If Cuba, under the worst economic sanctions of over 50 years, could develop their health services, and were able to send out about 30,000 medical doctors to (at some point, while facing sanctions) other developing countries, then Nigeria under you can equip her hospitals.

Reversing Medical Tourism.

Nigeria can actually reverse the medical tourism by Nigerians, by equipping our hospitals to international standards. We can as well attract people to come to Nigeria, for medical reasons. Same way we attracts many Christian tourists, coming for spiritual healing. Remember over one hundred (100) South Africans died at the Synagogue Church, when it collapsed. Nigeria can learn from Pentecostal Churches. According to Forbes India, medical tourism is estimated to the value of about $4 billion dollars yearly. So we can tap into this.

C.V.Akuta.
UK
12/9/15
www.cvakutamedia.com

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Buhari, Appointments, and Matters Arising.

This piece is in response to the media uproar following the last appointment made by President Buhari on 27/8/15. Before proceeding, let me reference part of a recent article written by the same author on 15/8/15.

“As soon as any appointment(s) is made, the first likely question most Nigerians would ask you is, what state/zone/tribe etc is S/he from. Rarely do we ask about the qualifications of the appointee(s) and how s/he can deliver. Those not favoured by the appointment(s) will start complaining. Then the spin doctors/conspiracy theorists will move in quickly, and start fabricating all sorts of stories. Mostly, there are stories out of every appointments made by the government. Make no mistake, most of these (spin doctors/conspiracy theorists), make a living out of these fabricated stories, or some try to remain relevant through these means. It becomes an issue, when you see the number of people (both the intelligent and non intelligent) buying into these conspiracy theories.

When you probe further, to discover the reasons, behind these attitudes of so many Nigerians, then you could trace it down to the federal character principle, which is part of the Nigeria’s constitution”... “The federal character principle was adopted during the 1977 constitutional drafting committee. It became part of the 1979 constitution of Nigeria, and has remained so till date. This gave rise to quota system. From then, merit and competitiveness, were sacrificed for mediocre. This principle also means that appointments have to be spread around. Yours truly is totally against this principle, because it will prevent the best from emerging. Max Weber (1864-1920) said, that employees should be hired and promoted based on merit and expertise. Singapore has an official policy on merit”. http://www.cvakutamedia.com/2015/08/appointments-appointees-expectations.html

Agreed that as at today (29/8/15), Buhari’s appointments are mainly Northerners, but he has not finished appointments yet. Besides, some of these appointments are non statutory. Guess, he should be given a free hand to select his cabinet. Those he can work with, and those that can deliver their terms of engagement to the Nigerian masses. If Buhari fails, little or no mention will be made of these appointees. Furthermore, we don’t know the information available to him, as to why he has made those choices so far.

On 28/8/15, the Punch news, had a story where Buhari, through his spokesman promised to redress any imbalance in his appointments. But if Buhari, fails to comply with the federal character principle after his appointments, then hold him to account for that. See further resources on the above. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzprzNURZnY/ http://www.cvakutamedia.com/2015/08/buharis-appointments-so-far.html).

SGF Position.

Just read an online story that the political intrigues etc, from some South Easterners and few others, might have been responsible why Ogbonnaya Onu lost out of SGF (Secretary to the Government of the Federation) position. These days a lot of stories fly up and down. So sure, the masses will think differently, if they know the underground currents regarding appointments. Please inbox me if you want to read the link too.

Buhari, and 2^nd Niger Bridge.

What would have been unusual is, if President Buhari didn’t call for the probe of the 2^nd Niger Bridge contracts etc. Glad he did. On 17^th January 2015, yours truly raised alarm through an article titled (The Tue Cost of The 2^ndNiger Bridge). The article revealed that the proposed 2^nd Niger Bridge, public private partnership (PPP) arrangements were totally against the interest of Igbo masses. If you look at the (PPP) arrangements, Igbos are simply paying/building this bridge on their own. The Governor of Imo State (Owelle Rochas Okorocha) and some other Igbo leaders called for the cancellation of the contract/contract terms and conditions.

This proposed 2^ndNiger Bridge might be the single largest federal government project at the South East. This is because, there are little or no federal government projects in the South East. Considering the contributions, that the Igbos have made in Nigeria, they do not deserve to pay for this bridge. Praying that President Buhari, should correct the anomalies, terminate the proposed toll collection and construct the bridge before he leaves office. Former Military Head of State (IBB) was the first leader that promised this bridge about 1992. Till date, it has been used to manipulate Igbos for their votes. Obasanjo, Yar Adua and Goodluck Jonathan promised and failed to build the bridge.

Job Role For Igbo Leaders.

South East leaders, youths etc, should monitor this project in addition to others through the offices of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Federal Ministry of Works.

C.V.Akuta.

UK

29/8/15

www.cvakutamedia.com

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Buhari's Appointments So Far.

Diaspora Day; Diaspora Demands.

This year’s Diaspora day will take place on 24^th and 25^th August 2015. The usually Diaspora day takes place yearly every 25^th of July. The federal government declared the Diaspora Day in 2005, in recognition of the strength, importance and contributions of the Nigerians in Diaspora. Currently over nineteen (19) million Nigerians live in Diaspora. It is estimated that over 3.25 million Nigerians live in America. According to Mayor of Brent, London (Micheal Adeyeye), over 1 million Nigerians live in London alone. Remittances from Nigerians in Diaspora, accounts for the second largest source of foreign exchange. According to news, carried by Premium Times, Nigerians overseas remitted $21 billion dollars in 2013. Figures are projected to increase further in 2015. Millions of Nigerian professionals are living abroad. Many come back to perform one form of charity project or another.

Recognising the Nigerians in Diaspora.

In recognition of the contributions and potentials of Nigerians in Diaspora, Obasanjo started/instituted the Diapora Day in 2005. Nigerians in Diapora Organisation (NIDO) emerged about the same time. In 2009, a House Committee on Diaspora was established at the House of Representatives. The Senate is yet to establish a similar committee. Hoping they will borrow a leaf from the House of Representatives to do same. In 2014, Ex President Goodluck Jonathan invited about 6 Nigerians from different continents to be members of the Confab. Many Nigerians have been invited from abroad to come and serve as Governors, Ministers, and Commissioners etc. The author will like to suggest to Nigerians in Diaspora to demand at least 6 appointment slots under President Buhari.

Nigerians in Diaspora as Extension of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy.

There is no end to the potentials of Nigerians overseas. They can become a valuable component of Nigeria’s foreign policy, similar to what the Jews in America do to influence US policies towards Middle East. Before the last election, many Nigerians in UK, had audience with some MP’s (UK Parliamentary Members), on the need to ensure free and fair elections in Nigeria. On President Buhari’s war against corruption, some Nigerians are contemplating going to meet their individual MP’s, to raise and discuss the matter at the UK House of commons. This is citizen’s led diplomacy. Every Nigerian can turn into an ambassador of this nation. Every year, the Mayor of Leicester City, UK is invited to the new yam festivals organized by the Igbos living in the city. During the last Leicester carnival (1/8/15), Nigerian flag was on display, during the street parade. Yoruba language has been recognized by the London Metropolitan Police.

Imo State Diaspora Village.

This was by far, one of the best ideas, brought up by the Imo State Governor (Rochas Okorocha). The idea was that, the State government, some banks, and private developers would build a Diaspora village, strictly to be sold only to Imo State indigenes overseas. Payments would be through a mortgage system, of ten or more years. This would have served as a gradual means to invest at home. According to Rochas, all the materials, labour etc would be sourced locally. The multiplier effects (massive cash inflows, employment opportunities, etc) of this project to the state’s economy would have been great. Imo indigenes were so enthusiastic and eager to invest. Presentation was made to people in London about this project. Sadly this project didn’t see the light of the day. However, it’s not late to revisit it again or other states, the federal government can adopt it or something similar.

Nigerians In Diaspora Commission.

Many countries of the world have moved further from recognising their citizens overseas, to the creation of ministries or agencies in charge of their affairs. Let’s look at some examples, in 1995, Haiti created Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad. In 2004, India created, the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs. India has invited their citizens abroad to return home and help develop it. Somalia has Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Community Affairs. Serbia has a similar ministry, dedicated to stop brain drain etc. Mali created a Ministry of Malians Abroad and African Integration. Benin Republic has Ministry for foreign Affairs, African Integration, the Francophone Community, and Beninese Abroad. In Nigeria as in other countries, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission Bill has gone through all the 3 stages at the House of Reps, waiting to be passed by the Senate. This bill seeks to (a) that Nigerian Diaspora Commission to be the sole agency to handle all Diaspora matters, (b) “responsibility for co-ordinating and providing a system of collaborations of Nigerians in Diaspora for their contributions, by identifying, preserving, and mobilising the human, capital, material resources and expertise to the general development of Nigeria”. http://diasporacommittee.com/index.php/about-us

Voting Rights for Nigerians in Diaspora.

Currently, about 96 countries of the world allow their citizens overseas to votes. Some of these countries are, Brazil, Angola, Cote D’ Ivoire, Russia, Algeria, America, etc. In Nigeria, the bill seeking to amend the Electoral Act of 2010, to allow Nigerians living abroad to vote did not make it past the first reading at the House of Representatives. President Jonathan promised in 2011, that Nigerians in Diaspora would vote in 2015 general election, but it wasn’t possible. President Buhari, while addressing Nigerians in Cameroon, promised to look into this. The best would be for the Nigerians abroad to work with the House Committee on Diaspora to re-introduce this bill. Perhaps engage the NASS Members to enable them pass this bill into law. Also the Senate needs to create Senate Committee on Diaspora to complement the House of Reps work and help pass the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission Bill.

C.V.Akuta

UK

22/8/15

www.cvakutamedia.com

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