Okay, we seem to agree more than we disagree, so a near-armistice is in order...
But you have a personal crisis which I cannot help - of lack of confidence in many things Nigerian - of our auditors, of our records (books), of all our leaders since Lord Lugard. Skepticism is permissible, cynicism may be incurable.
And there we part ways, until you repent!
Let us move on.
Bolaji Aluko
PS: if you will be talking to the BBC on Nnamdi Kanu (among other Igbo Q&A), do take some time to watch him on YouTube addressing the World Igbo Congress in Los Angeles recently soliciting for money for arms and ammunition. Do your home work well....you will be on a world stage, and calm down.....
On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:
-- Bolaji, thanks for keeping it civil, we are making progress. I have some time to waste today so let me respond to your responses (in quotes)"1. I insist that you make too much of social media with respect to Nigeria....in any case, you seem to make your fame there, so I can understand."Okay. *shakes Bolaji's hands* Let us move on from this one."2. You have made quite some sense in your "Accountability-Economy-Security" re-grouping of PMB's "Anti-Corruption/Employment/Security" troika. For example, Finance Minister Adeosun's "Efficiency Unit" concepts in MDAs also speaks to accountability, and not simply corruption."Okay. *shakes Bolaji's hands* Let us move on from this one.3. The call for External Auditors in Works, Security and Education - why EXTERNAL, by which you mean FOREIGN, like in the UK or USA? Who do those countries to do their own auditing? Nigerians, Iranians? No, let us do it ourselves, and maybe use multiple of them. Some of that is already being done, particularly in Works and Security, and yes, Education may be next.Yes, I mean FOREIGN, like in the UK or USA, or France,the same places that Buhari goes to any time he needs to speak to Nigerians, home of the FOREIGN newspapers that Buhari writes from any time he needs to share something important to us, the same places that build our roads and infrastructure as you have shared with us only recently. How many times has Obama run to Nigeria to speak to the American people. Your pride here is selective and misplaced. Heck, we could not even review Fashola's receipts for allegations on the boreholes and websites, how do you expect our auditors to function on the scale that I am talking about? There is a crisis of confidence in the ability of our leaders and institutions to deliver on this issue of accountability. There is a huge credibility issue. Buhari can make a quick win by getting external auditors to examine our books and make some judgment about our fiscal and professional judgments. That move alone would restore a lot of confidence in his ability to govern. Right now, he is basically under arrest by the powerful crooks and thugs that put us in this mess in the first place."4. But also remember that if they start with the "Jonathan years", you and others may be the ones shouting "Blue Murder", that the "focus on just Jonathan is silly.""
The books are probably so degraded, I would start with the past two years. I would love for Obasanjo, Atiku, Tinubu and others to face the music, sure, but we must start from somewhere in terms of a forensic audit. Those criminals are already condemned in the court of public opinion. Besides, like I keep telling you, no matter how much you recover from these animals, the most you can do with the funds is for one-time projects. We need to jumpstart the economy in other ways.""5. As to PMB's junkets, I support them....He has not been around the world much since 1985,,,,.but he will soon run out of places to go, and will stay around more. He has so far been to the UK, US, OAU, ECOWAS, Commonwealth, France, etc. After Russia, ACP, South-Africa, and Australia, I will start getting nervous if he goes elsewhere....I am serious."Okay. *shakes Bolaji's hands* Let us move on from this one."6. Military warfare is not exact science....you win some, and sometimes you get reverses. On the whole, I believe that Boko Haram will sufficiently be degraded by the end of the year - or continue to be significantly degraded by the end of next year. We should just not gloat over those, because those soldiers belong to families that may be closer to each one of us than we know."Okay. *shakes Bolaji's hands* Let us move on from this one."7. On the whole, I am much more optimistic than you are....you were never a supporter of this new administration anyway, and I don't expect you to change overnight."I was never a supporter of Goodluck Jonathan, certainly not of Obasanjo. Buhari is a collosal mistake and expectations of change from him are misplaced. You don't ask for what is not there. As I have shared ad nauseam, we need to have a real conversation about this democracy. It is not working. That is the message I will pass on to the Nigerian people tomorrow via BBC London. Yes, I will be on BBC London tomorrow, talking about the Igbo question - from a broad perspective. It is all Obasanjo's fault. E go hear am!"And there you have it."Okay. *shakes Bolaji's hands* Let us move on from this one.- IkhideStalk my blog at http://www.xokigbo.com/Follow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
From: Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com>
To: Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com>
Cc: USAAfrica Dialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 10:41 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [africanworldforum] SUNDAY MUSINGS: President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) at Six Months: My Score-Card
Ikhide:1. I insist that you make too much of social media with respect to Nigeria....in any case, you seem to make your fame there, so I can understand.2. You have made quite some sense in your "Accountability-Economy-Security" re-grouping of PMB's "Anti-Corruption/Employment/Security" troika. For example, Finance Minister Adeosun's "Efficiency Unit" concepts in MDAs also speaks to accountability, and not simply corruption.3. The call for External Auditors in Works, Security and Education - why EXTERNAL, by which you mean FOREIGN, like in the UK or USA? Who do those countries to do their own auditing? Nigerians, Iranians? No, let us do it ourselves, and maybe use multiple of them. Some of that is already being done, particularly in Works and Security, and yes, Education may be next.4. But also remember that if they start with the "Jonathan years", you and others may be the ones shouting "Blue Murder", that the "focus on just Jonathan is silly."5. As to PMB's junkets, I support them....He has not been around the world much since 1985,,,,.but he will soon run out of places to go, and will stay around more. He has so far been to the UK, US, OAU, ECOWAS, Commonwealth, France, etc. After Russia, ACP, South-Africa, and Australia, I will start getting nervous if he goes elsewhere....I am serious.6. Military warfare is not exact science....you win some, and sometimes you get reverses. On the whole, I believe that Boko Haram will sufficiently be degraded by the end of the year - or continue to be significantly degraded by the end of next year. We should just not gloat over those, because those soldiers belong to families that may be closer to each one of us than we know.7. On the whole, I am much more optimistic than you are....you were never a supporter of this new administration anyway, and I don't expect you to change overnight.And there you have it.
Bolaji AlukoOn Tue, Dec 1, 2015 at 3:12 PM, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:Bolaji,Fair enough. In the absence of robust structures of accountability, social media for a generation of Nigerians has become the de facto accountability tool. It is not perfect, but suddenly civil servants and politicians who ordinarily would not have spat in the direction of peasants are being forced to submit themselves to scrutiny. And you don't need to know people to survey them.Buhari is not Obama, let me just leave that there.We are at a very uncomfortable crossroads; Buhari and this APC government is losing several battles on several fronts. The APC needs to quickly regroup, dump all its silly campaign promises, every one of them, and focus on three areas as you suggest. I would term them Accountability, Economy and Security. The anti-corruption initiative (to abuse that term!) would fit into "Accountability." Buhari should secure one quick win by loudly contracting external auditors (external to the country) for a forensic audit in say three areas where the Federal Government has spent a lot of money: Works, Security and Education. Let them focus on say the Jonathan years and let them release the results. I would be interested in the return on investment. I have my suspicions. In terms of education, I have always argued that the cost per student once adjusted for cost of living is not much different than what obtains in the West, the difference being that much of the money is systematically looted from Aso Rock to the gateman. Same with security, same with roads. By the way our soldiers are taking a beating and being kidnapped upandan and Buhari is still junketing around upandan doing what I don't know. After what happened to the military this Sunday, Obama would have returned home - because of the kidnapped and dead.Where is the nation's think tank? Should we restructure the country into regions and/ort viable sustainable states? Why is Osun still a state, Ekiti, Edo, etc? Why is the Federal government still building schools when it should be overseeing them, etc.? These are questions that we have not resolved since 1999 when our rulers started loitering in the halls of power doing nothing but stealing.To be honest, I don't hold much hope that any of this will happen. This is a government just as incoherent and inarticulate as the one it just ousted. Trying to make a difference between the APC and the PDP at this point is an unproductive exercise. All these politicians are the same. That is why the focus on just Jonathan is silly. Democracy has been hurting Nigeria since 1999 when it allowed Obasanjo into office.And there you have it, Abo mi re o! o'dua!- IkhideStalk my blog at http://www.xokigbo.com/Follow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
From: Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com>
To: Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com>; USAAfrica Dialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 10:52 PM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [africanworldforum] SUNDAY MUSINGS: President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) at Six Months: My Score-Card
Kits:You seem to think that Social Media is now the real world, all the real world, that what everybody says that is gospel truth, and determines reality. You are wont to quote Facebook, and Twitter, ad nauseum.....and young persons who you don't know what they really do for a living, just that they are as mad as hell....I don't.About "wailing wailers", I keep reminding people about Obama's first year as President, He got all kinds of pastings, but he stuck to his guns. PMB just needs to stick to his guns, and I believe the difference in Nigerian lives will be see soon.And there you have it. You are not the enemy, and I am not .Bolaji AlukoOn Tue, Dec 1, 2015 at 4:37 AM, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:Bolaji,No need to be testy; you write these things and I am sure you are expecting feedback. My feedback was honest and polite. You have responded with ribaldry and rudeness. I give it to you, you can be funny when goaded. I didn't think I was goading you, though. Your conclusions just seemed totally disconnected from, out of touch with reality, which is that Buhari and his band of (alleged) thieves are now the laughing stock of Nigerians. By the way, even your numbers don't add up; how can you give Buhari an "A- overall" when he had 2 As, 1 A-, 2 B+ and a regular B. He gets a B, even by your generous, some would say, partisan grading system, lol. And still, don't bring these grades to social media o, they will show you pepper, those rude young ones who have been routinely screwed by our generation of leaders, rulers and looters.One thing I failed to mention; Buhari as a matter of urgency needs to fire his entire PR team (Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina) and get real professionals to sell his message (whatever it is) to the Nigerian people, in a credible, holistic and articulate manner. Right now, he is taking a shellacking on social media, it is painful to watch. And it is easy to do, he comes across as someone stuck in the 80's in the worst possible way.Here is an example of the beating he is taking on Facebook. Once you get over the bad grammar, you can feel the disappointment:"After six months, nothing has Changed. No one charged and successfully prosecuted and jailed for corruption. Power outages are worse than under GEJ era. Fuel scarcity has remained the order of the day. Insecurity has worsen under PMB. Our gallant armed forces are being slaughtered daily without response from the government The economy is in total comatose. Yet, PMB continue his globetrotting. Where are the much anticipated revolutionary Changes in fatherland? It is time to wail."The BBC today posted Bloomberg's lamentation on our tanking economy that you gave Buhari an A for:"Nigeria stocks fall to three-year lowPosted at 16:50Nigeria's stocks fell to their lowest level in almost three years as foreigners exited the market amid fading hopes that President Muhammadu Buhari's government can revive the Africa's largest economy, Bloomberg news agency reports.All Share Index dropped 0.8% to 27,385.69 at close in the commercial capital of Lagos, the lowest since December 2012.The gauge declined on all but three trading days in November for a monthly drop of 6.2%."Even Tinubu who gave us this monstrosity is tired, he has now joined comedians like Dele Momodu to be a Wailing Wailer:Tunde Bakare too. The situation is dire.Here Shaka Momodu:"The promoters of "change" only preach "change", but pay lip service to the attitudinal change required to bring about real and enduring change. The followers on their part have embraced well packaged falsehoods as a way of life. They have even crowned well known villains heroes of a new democratic order and yet yearn for change. Sadly, the country's resources have become the gift of a few people. And Nigeria gets nothing but mismanagement, corruption and devastation in return. The people have been sold on a change that does not exist and they can't seem to see or better still have become numbed by unfolding events."The situation is dire. We should all put our heads together and find ways to help Buhari get out of the mess he has put us in. I stand ready to help. Always.KitsStalk my blog at http://www.xokigbo.com/Follow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
From: Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com>To: Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> Cc: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>; "africanworldforum@googlegroups.com" <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 1:11 PMSubject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [africanworldforum] SUNDAY MUSINGS: President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) at Six Months: My Score-Card
Kits:You talk and write too much, and too loudly.....if I did not know you face to face, I would tear you to pieces with all this your loud-mouth-edness.But I will spare you.......for old time sakes.I advise you to set up your own parameters, and judge Buhari yourself......I won't criticize you for whatever grades you give him. I have given mine, and no amount of literary terrorism - which is what you tend to be: a literary terrorist, despite all your attempts at democratic credentials. Anybody who does not agree with you should maybe be - eliminated?As to doing a doctorate under me at Howard or any where else, I would ask you a few questions, and if you shoot your mouth the way you often do around here, I would not even admit you.And there you have it. Behave yourself.Bolaji AlukoOn Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 5:28 PM, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:Bolaji,This your grading system sha. Disappointing is not even a word I would begin to use. If you really believe these grades, if you are really this generous with grades, I fully regret not taking a doctorate in engineering from you at Howard. I would have earned 10 of them, By your standards.Please do not share these grades on social media. You will suffer an extreme case of high tech lynching. The youngsters who helped propel that man into Aso Rock are really upset and are taking no prisoners. Buhari is being lampooned and ridiculed in ways that even I did not think possible. It is pretty bad.With all due respect, these grades are inappropriate; they lower the bar for acceptable governance to an unsustainable low. And the are quite patronizing. To call Fashola and Amaechi, especially Amaechi "proven performers" seems insensitive to the outrage out there over their alleged looting of state resources. People are really angry. I know they have not been found guilty of anything. No one has since Obi Okonkwo was convicted in Achebe's No Longer at Ease. As you know that was fiction. Obasanjo is a holy man, Goodluck Jonathan is a saint, IBB is a statesman, the treasury simply emptied itself.This is what you and I know, Buhari is an unmitigated disaster. It is time for good people like you to step forward and be productive. Suggest practical ways to get Nigeria out of the mess that those who engineered his rise got us into. Once I go past your hagiography (a lead balloon by the way, guessing from the wooden response here) you have started something. You have asked that he be judged on three areas: Security, Anti-Corruption and Employment. That is exactly what Buhari and the APC should be doing; focusing on a few measurable areas and securing quick wins. I would replace "Employment" with "Economy."The focus on "anti-corruption" by Buhari as a means perhaps of funding a moribund economy is silly. This is where Nigeria has been failed with loud-mouthed, poorly educated social media overlords and some public intellectuals with zero idea about managing sophisticated systems. Even were we to recover funds from these alleged looters (Fashola, Amaechi, OBJ, GEJ, Diezeani. and co) these would be one-time funds that would only be useful for one-time expenditures like capital projects (razing down OAU hostels and building brand new ones so that children will not be doing 'shot putt' with faeces!). Nigeria needs funds that can be replicated every budget cycle, to pay her bills and revamp the economy. Buhari is quite frankly clueless and you should be alarmed.Buhari needs to talk to our people. Come up with a plan, including a Marshall Plan by the way that hands him and Nigerians some quick wins and some long term sustainable gains. Right now, he has no idea what he is doing.By the way, I did a survey on Twitter and on Facebook; 3 out of 4 respondents strongly believe that Buhari is leading us on the wrong path. Some of the comments are quite disrespectful of him. He has been demystified. This is what happens when you delete history from the classrooms, youngsters learn painfully.- KitsStalk my blog at http://www.xokigbo.com/Follow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
From: Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com>To: "africanworldforum@googlegroups.com" <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com> Cc: NaijaPolitics e-Group <NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com>; OmoOdua <OmoOdua@yahoogroups.com>; "nigerianid@yahoogroups.com" <nigerianID@yahoogroups.com>; NiDAN <nidan-group@googlegroups.com>; Ra'ayi <Raayiriga@yahoogroups.com>; Yan Arewa <YanArewa@yahoogroups.com>; NigerianWorldForum <NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>; "nigeriaworldforum@yahoogroups.com" <nigeriaworldforum@yahoogroups.com>; USAAfrica Dialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>; naijaintellects <naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>; ekiti ekitigroups <ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2015 4:47 PMSubject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [africanworldforum] SUNDAY MUSINGS: President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) at Six Months: My Score-Card
Joe Attueyi:Some quick response, before I head off to do other things:On Sun, Nov 29, 2015 at 4:47 PM, 'Joe Attueyi' via AfricanWorldForum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com> wrote:Prof Aluko,Things must getting very desperate in Otuoke --the land of 5 citizens and 5 crocodiles according to my brother Abba.No desperation whatsover...Otuoke has never been a "land of 5 citizens and 5 crocodoiles." In fact, with 1,800 staff and 2,300 students, the once-sleepy town is bubbling with activity.....Abba is given to hyperbole, and you are given to rumor-mongering... He should visit sometime, and you should visit again soon.......Why? Hehehehe!PMB gets an 'A' on the basis that we had a free and fair election in May, Jonathan peacefully handed over? Really?To have gallant loser in GEJ, you got to have a gallant winner....PMB scores an A for being the gallant winner.I waoh for WAEC.It would seem you need some lessons on objective appraisals. You know the type that sets Specific Measurable and Time bound goals BEFORE and measures results against these objectives AFTER.A good starting point for your sunday lesson would be the Buharimeter maintained by the folks at BudgetiT et alDid I hear you say thank you? You are welcome. My public serviceTo fulfil all righteousness, I have added this table, which I call Project 222 of Buharimetry...:Table 3: Project "222" of Buharimetry…..
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