Nigerian Senate, A Gathering of Sleeping "Yes Men"

I had to find the origin and the meaning because I was getting a bit confused about the function, duty and purpose it was created to serve, I wasn’t surprised at all when I discovered that it all started from Italia, the Mafias, “Senātus”, derived from the word “Senex” meaning the old man or more creatively, THE GODFATHER.

Senate started as the state council of the ancient Roman republic and empire, which shared legislative power with the popular assemblies, administration with the magistrates, and judicial power with the knights. So our 109 supposed “Senātus” in Nigeria technically shares power with the Reps, The Executive and The Judiciary and must be a part of anything that goes on within these entire arms of government. In fact,

"the senate must ratify any treaty with a two-thirds majority".

Meaning the president do nothing without the approval of two-third of the senate.

At the last State of The Union address by President Barrack Obama, these words stuck with me and I will quote the interesting part of it. 

“What I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class.  Some require Congressional action, and I’m eager to work with all of you (senators).  But America does not stand still – and neither will I.  So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.”

I was amazed because here in Nigeria, the senate is not a check and balance entity for other arms of government,  the only time they exists is when the budget is sent in for deliberation on how to “share-the-money”. Once that is settled by February, the executive becomes an independent arm of the government that acts without the senate ratifying its actions and the senate then becomes a sit and sleep gathering, where old fools wake up only to discuss contracts and allowances before they go back to sleep, to wake up on weekends to attend “Owambe” parties, a committee of "Yes Men".

Perhaps, I misunderstood the function of the senate? Ours throw chairs and mace when the allowee and contracts are being blocked or when there is tussle for power and never in the interest of the state.

Senators are men, (young or old) elected into congress to represent and serve the interest of the people, but here in Nigeria, they do the will of the party and presidency for the sake of their personal purse, damning their primary objective wish is to serve the will of the people by checking and balancing governance with legislative powers. I recently watched a Nigerian senate plenary session on NTA and the site was an eyesore. Half of this "Yes Men" were asleep, I am sure most must have been snoring and the whole session was blurry until the senate president smashed his hammer to jerk the lot that were dead back to life… A few mumbled words, no audible or visible objections from anywhere and smack! again, "The Hi's have it". No wonder they missed the Pacific Christian University on Stella Oduah's CV when she was screened as a ministerial nominee, they only woke up to say "HI" at the sound of the hammer.

CNN was interesting over the weekend. The congress screened ambassadorial nominees of Obama and there reports were everywhere, plenty NOs or Nays as the case may be, plus plenty recommendations but I am yet to hear of a situation where our senate said nay to any executive nominees at any level for any position.

The Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich fled Kiev after acting interior minister says he is wanted for mass murder with a warrant signed by Congress. The convoy of  Kogi state killed Professor Iyayi and nobody was arrested or questioned, all we got were condolence messages. The Son Of Abia State Governor, Chinedu Orji Killed was accused of killing his PA at a rally organised to flag of his father's Senatorial ambitions and the best we had of it was the breaking news, no arrest. Four people were killed, while others were injured by Ondo State Deputy Governor's convoy in February but nothing was said about it. The first Lady Of Kwara State was alleged to have killed a Community Leader with her over-speeding convoy but she denied by claiming that her convoy saw the truck coming, and sped off before the accident happened. I am not surprised that nothing has happened, Boko Haram killed over 300 hundred Nigerians in a single weekend and all GEJ could say in his media chat yesterday was

“It is quite worrisome, Surely we’ll get over it.”

When GEJ was asked about the recent comments by the governor of that state that it appears the militants have upper hand in the war, his response was plain stupid

“if we pullout the military from Borno state, let us see if he (governor of Borno state) will be able to stay in the government house,”

No sense of remorse, no compassion, everything is just fine. I am sure if such had happened in Ghana and the president made such senseless political remarks, the senate would have a moved a motion for his impeachment but here in Nigeria, most of Senex are "Yes Men" and PDP so it's cool.

Yes, we will get over it because today again, 29 young lives were taken in Yola and the senate is still silent because clueless GEJ is yet to say a word.

ü  We have the Navy and Air Force with hundreds of thousands of men in service but still, our water ways security is contract to Tombolo and Dokubo in billions of naira because the senate said YES to it.

ü  The subsidy jumped from a few billions in naira to trillions of dollars in less than two years, and the senate said YES it's normal.

ü  Tens of trillions of naira of the nations had disappeared because the senate said YES you can take it.

ü  Boko Haram is killing Nigerians, GEJ is watching and the senators are saying YES it's a war film, watch it.

ü  Nigeria is suppose to be a secular state but the Executive spends billions for religious pilgrimages every year and YES says the Yes Men

ü  Young girls are being handed out to pedophiles in marriage and our senators said YES

A lot of yes is what we get, we can't sit down with our arms folded and watch this insane senators say YES everything in their old age while they ruin the future of this great nation. I choose to say No to this Yes Men

A Clarion Call, It Is Time To StandUP (Let's Get Dirty, Blogging and Tweeting Is Not Enough)

I watched CNN at night for weeks now and what has been trending is Ukraine. The protesters have been unpeaceful for THREE MONTHS, turning The Independence Square in the capital to a burn-fire altar in their demand for Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to conduct new presidential elections, return to the old constitution and form a national unity government. The police (not soldiers) have been managing the crisis very professionally without guns until days ago when security forces (snipers) opened fire on protesters who were firing on unarmed police according to the Interior Ministry report. Dozens were killed by the snipers, health workers trying to help the wounded  were also caught in the crossfire but the protesters never gave up, they are still standing. They stood on death ground to demand what they believe is right for their nation and early until the Ukrainian president conceded to their demands with the promise to conduct a new election in ten days while meeting all other demands in order to have peace again. No cabal was blamed, No explanation was demanded and neither was Viktor's tenure over, the people just felt Enough is Enough, and with tears and blood on the streets of Kiev, they are getting what they want. The Old Constitution and a New Government.

We all woke up to it… It was more like a joke when the No. 1 son of Otueke, and president of Nigeria GEJ woke us up with the news of fuel subsidy removal in January 2012. Out came his Defenders spearheaded by the eye-balling wife of Madueke, the lipsy ankara tying Eweala and the forever slim (now embattled) aboki Sanusi with explanations on how the External Cabal are milking Nigeria and why they must divert to the Internal Cabal for the draining, cutting and dissecting of Nigeria through NNPC, SURE-P and other 'Ps'. I hope the Defenders can gather again like the cartoon super heroes 'Avengers' to rescue us with their statively clandestine explanations on how the money will be transferred from the pocket of the Internal Cabal directly to the purse of the Super Cabal aka PDP for the conduction of the 2015 elections. Too bad the slim aboki is currently on suspension and the two Iyalode's have switched camp permanently to NNPC, abeg! that's where the real cabalistic money is breathing.

I remember how we moved heavily to reject the arguments of these scavengers led by Sanusi with bones and stones in hand, A big NO on our lips and cries for freedom at the Freedom Park in Ojota and all over Nigeria. Days later, the guns were out without any provocations, Ademola was shot dead in Ogba while three others had bullets holes to show for playing football on the street during a national wide protest. The same thing happened in Kwara, Abuja, Kano etc, young lives shot into oblivion but still we stood. Cowards we were but we felt we had a chance if their thugs were the police, we had the real street thugs with us this time so we felt stronger together but our forever failing "Elders-In-Struggle" in the name of TUC and NLC had compromised, the color of the bags they collected we knoweth not, but on the body was written, "Protesters Must Go" a perfect replica of "Ghana Must Go", and while we sang the songs of freedom in Ojota with joyful hope, TUC/NLC called of the strike on Jan 16, 2012 and the military tanks arrived with unknown soldiers. Some of us stood our ground, others fled for their lives as  the tanks approached so we receded, hoping to live and fight another day. I wonder why we turned to hope?

Now Sanusi is the victim of the presidency and he's painted a martyr for exposing the so-called NNPC fraud. I guess we were quick to forget how verbose he was as the advocate of GEJ while they presented the design that guaranteed that NNPC could steal with impunity, without allowing the External Cabal to get any major part of the action. I remember how eloquent he was on national TV, explaining how the money realised from the subsidy removal would be used to repair the refineries, build schools, buy buses for commuting citizens, expand agriculture, promote commerce and build our foreign reserves through SURE-P but here we are. The promises are still in the pipeline but the funds are long gone. If Sanusi was so credible like his new crusade claims, I don't think he needed two years to notice his arguments in 2012 were lame and fallible, prompting him to give account of his stewardship and call Nigerians to the deception before the figures got to $47Bn, $10.8Bn or $20Bn whichever we can regard as correct. Mind you, this slim mallam spent N20billion on legal services and 9.24 billion on training and travel expenses in 2012 alone without a voucher to show to which case and who collected it from the CBN…  I wouldn't be surprised if he comes out later this year to declare a presidential ambition, a clear indicator was his hint that he wasn't going for a second term with the apex bank. All the noise and hullabaloo is to and end, although it is good for Nigeria and her people, and definitely will awaken the erudite sleeping giants in us again to demand without compromise what Nigeria as a democratic state and her people deserve from her wealth in gold (blue, black or white) and in silver.

Yes we are erudite, so knowledgeable that I will suggest we remove the fourth line of the second stanza of our national anthem and replace it with "help our youths with courage to act" because we definitely know the truth but we lack the courage to act. We hide in front of our computers blogging, tweeting and posting, fighting with this imperfect tools for activism (I am guilty too). We write great scholarly essays while the real problem that needs real solutions continually devour our nation and people. It is so easy to hit a few strokes on the keyboard screaming “I AM READY TO DIE” but an unexpected burst of “danfo” tyre on the street makes us scamper for the cuddliest corner under our beds in search of safety. I dare to say we are only paying lips service to fighting corruption and even some of us are only advertising through blogging and online activism, hoping to get dinner invitations, like the GEJ dinner of 2011 and more recently the Fayemi Tour attended by The “So-Called” Nigerian Youth Activist  or even political appointment aka Special Adviser Reno “Mockery” spelt Omokri. Here is the truth, we will never win from the comfort of our offices and room, our fight for freedom is off the pages of the internet, we must take it to where the real youths. We are not the youths, the real youths are out there on the streets, they vote and determine who wins or rig elections, they don't tweet or read a blog post, Linda or Omojuwa is just a name to them. We must get off our grind because while we are here goofing, BAT,GEJ,IBB,GMB etc are busy engaging the street in preparation for the battle ahead and they are keeping us busy online while they run the streets ragged. Now they have Savannah  Reports to counter Sahara Reporters, and the truth is, they have more resources than we do but they don't have the numbers, that’s our strength and wisdom will be found in our actions and not writeups.

I am from the street and I can take you there, let’s take the streets and not a sit, let’s stand up and stand tall, let's rise up and walk. It is time to face the tanks, bullets and baton, let's live for a reason, knowing that our actions will live and change the course of history forever. It is time for us to build Nigeria with our sweat, flesh, blood and bone. Let’s stop wearing those Awolowo styled caps if we can’t do what he did to leave a mark. If you’ve not done anything that could put your face on a naira note other than write blog post and tweet, I am talking to you… Winter is coming, let's go to the ants...let's leave the comfort of our air-conditioned rooms and office and be seen spearheading the move for change.  If Europeans and Americans that live in very smart worlds still come out when change is desired, then we will be fools if we keep keeping it online… It is time to get our feet wet in other to cross to the other side like the Israelites did in Joshua 3:14 -17.

I am Abidemi Babaolowo Oderinlo 

iThink, iWrite and iActOnIt

Twitter: @enyola

The Prophesies of BabaOlowo, The Curse of NNPC, DAM, NOI, GEJ and their cohorts

Here's My Personal Message to NNPC, FM, PM, GEJ and there Cohorts, I hope their sons and daughters get to read this before their mothers and fathers because like the oil, it will flow from head to feet where it will fit and sink into the roots.

Woe unto NNPC and the GEJ internal cabal of Diezani Alison-Madueke, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Andrew Yakubu and there cohorts, cursed is there days and everything that God has given them and everything they've have stolen to complement it, everything they have gathered with fraud and death will be scattered like ashes placed in a tray on the roof of a Jigawa mud house in harmattan...gone without a trace. Their poverty will never be cured by the abundance of their loot, the word of God according to Proverbs 13:23 "Much food is in the tillage of the poor; But there is that is destroyed by reason of injustice"  will come alive in their affairs and family... The injustice in them will destroy all the works of their hands and everything they've laid up according to Prov 13:22 "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored for the righteous." will come to pass even while they still breathe and walk the earth.

Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!

"This is almost unimaginable. They steal the commonwealth of the people in billions of dollars, the people rises up to demand accountability and in response, queues returns to the filling station. We are being held to ransom by this thieves because they feel nobody should question the looting and stealing of the nations wealth as if it belongs to only their family and friends."

For every extra minute every average Nigerian spends in a filling station queuing up to buy PMS or Kerosene, their wives and daughter will stay a minute longer in labour rooms across the earth for generations until every minutes is redeemed in two fold. 

Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen! 

For every life that is lost on the altar of this injustice, a son will be lost in their household like it was in the days of Pharaoh against the Israelites, an invisible hand will smote their first sons, and a stronger hand their last; making it more exciting than what the Egyptians experienced. We will celebrate their woes like the streets celebrated the death of Abacha and their names will fade into oblivion like the piece of clothing that adorns the body of an almajeri on the streets of Yobe.

Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!

I am sure they would have exhausted the quota of amen officially assigned to them by the Constitution by now so they can continue in silence as death catch up with everything they do. Their trails will be lost forever, and their remains will belong to the gutters... The wailing of the deaf and silenced gaze of the blind will reach to God like the blood of Abel, and even though they will find forgiveness if they return to God and turn to righteousness, the long arm of karma will hold fast unto their unholy grail and cloth them with garments of shame.

Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!Amen!

Here is the link to a song I wrote for them in August 2010, soon the reality of this song will be wide spread like famous DBanj song...Oliver Twist. We will ask in pity "Why Evils" like Vic O but we won't be able to help deliver them from their misery.

http://babaolowo.blogspot.com/2010/08/taking-matter-personal.html

I know that today, if I take to the streets to protest and demand justice for the people, I will be alone at it but not for long. Soon Nigerians will rise from their slumber with the fanning ember of pain, penury and poverty and burn out the cancerous hold of corrupt public officers and politicians with brimming fire, spikes and thorns, tearing down their defenses, escorting them to prisons and standing guard to keep them within its walls, leaving their homes desolate, their wives and husbands lonely and if need be, their children fatherless away from the luxury they built with the stolen wealth of  the masses. In those days, we won't wait for the judges to call the verdict, we will call the verdict and make the judges call it or join them within the walls of prison. Christians will join forces with Muslims and Traditionalist, with military like might, we will strengthen the law and justice will be served expressly within the walls of courtrooms and outside on the street. We will liberate Nigeria from the Nigerians who deem it fit to enslave Nigerians within her walls in the name of politics and power play, and her goods will be delivered to her people with strength and smiles. Youths will govern the land and lift her to a new horizon, while our adults will grow old in a new world where the faces of corrupt public officers and politicians will no longer adorn the walls of banks, schools and public places. Our children will grow in truth and honesty and peace and justice will reign supreme in Nigeria, a country where the good life will no longer be a dream again, but a reality.

The Rapist Among Us

I was shocked to the marrow a few months ago when  I got home to a strange news, the type I'd never heard of before in my area in history, past or my growing up years (I am not assuming such never happened though). I only asked why Femi (not his real name) a young 19 years old boy operating a barbing salon just outside my house was not opened, and to my surprise, I was told that Femi, and his friend Drogba (nick name) my neighbour's son who was 18 years old and a third person who probably was as strange as the dastardly act were raped two teenage secondary school girls, recorded it with their phone unmasked, and shared it with friends. It was almost unbelievable because I watched two of the three accused grow up, and I sometimes do the long journey of driving home, just to have a haircut in his shop to encourage him. I dismissed allegation (the family syndrome) until I was confronted with the video. I busted  out with rage, my blood boiled and I would have committed another crime if any of those kids were 100km near me when I saw the video. They were lucky to be far beyond my reach. Femi was in police custody cooling off while he awaits trial, and his gang members had absconded before the law enforcers could lay a hand on them. The sad reality of this event was that the video was in circulation for months, people watched it and passed it, nobody was going to report it because they knew the criminal kids involved and their parents, it was wrong but it was acceptable because of some stupid communal bond (family syndrome). It took a real mother, one great woman to report the case. She discovered that the girls that got raped were her daughter's classmates, she felt it could have been her daughter in that room crying, begging and screaming for help and mercy, she dragged the bull by the tail ignoring whether it kicked or not, without fear of the communal stigma and danger involved, she went to the police and took them to the home of Femi first, but the news of the arrest broke and the two others fled before the law could catch up with them.

Eight months later, 20 years old Femi has been sentenced to spend all of his youth in prison and should probably be out before his 40th birthday if he lives long enough to complete his 19 years sentence. His fleeing compatriots were also found guilty in absentia and given a longer sentence but since they are at large, they will begin anytime they are found, anywhere in Nigeria by the law enforcement agencies. I am saddened by the fact that this young boy will lose his youth and perhaps his co-criminal will someday be found and led to prison too but hey! Who will stand up to lead this few public office holders and corrupt politicians that rapes Nigerians by the million everyday to the altar of justice so we can send them to a pathetic sojourn within the walls of the very desolate prisons across Nigeria.

Nigeria is built on the immoral and feeble threads of diverse communal connections along different variation in the name of ethnicity, tribe or religion and the stench of the decay in our society we cover daily with the torn umbrella of being our brother's keeper. The hypocrite in us as grown so huge that we can no longer act or pretend. It is as seen on TV, unscripted like the pages of the scriptures.  An Edwin Clarke supports the lackluster performance of the presidency not just because he's being enriched by it, but because he's an Ijaw man, a Dokubo is far more outspoken with is alienation. The North will only hear of it if the man is Hausa or Muslim no matter how light the weight of his credibility is, the Easterners will not even bother about whether their brother or sister is a saint or sinner as long as he, she or it is "Ndigbo" and the Yoruba's have a lewd expression for supporting this mediocrity that has brought Nigeria to her knees "Omo wa ni, eje o se" (He's  our son, let him do it irrespective of his standing), I just hope this syndrome doesn't cripple Nigeria and keep her lame before we break out of it. Perhaps the only people that had sent their own to prison is the OBJ and the ex-convict is Bode George and it was all as a result of personal beef and not for the good of Nigeria. 

Nigerians are being raped and sodomized every second of every day and night by her own government and people. We wash in horror but instead of calling the law to act, we sympathize even enjoy it and share the misery with the next man, woman or child just because the culprit is a kin by ethnicity, tribe or religion but we are quick t scream if the rapist is from the other side of town, screaming for his head or tail in atonement for the sin that happens recklessly and endlessly within our own court that we do nothing to control, end or punish the culprit or heal the victim. It is one of those things when it the criminal is one of our own, we do everything to cover the dust and mop it up, but we scream till we convulse when it's an Imam because our own murderer is a deacon. I hope the mothers (male and female) amongst us will awake to the danger this anomaly potent within, let's not wait till the victim is our son or daughter, let's squash our stupidity in supporting mediocrity. We can end corruption by exposing it within our walls and household, end the menace of Boko Haram by pointing our sons that are in the sect, build a new Nigeria by ending the stupid protection policies that God did not ordain us to observe.

I doff my hat for Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, the father of the "Xmas Day Bomber" who reported the extremist tendencies of his own son before that fateful Christmas day episode. We must quit pointing fingers and win the war from within before it wane us down to the lowest ebb and win us from within and without.