OWOLOWO

Nigeria’s Fools At Large By M.B.O Owolowo “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; ….” -1 Corinthians 1:27 For definitive purposes, a fool can be described as one who is deficient in judgement, sense, or understanding. It could also mean one who has been tricked or made to appear ridiculous. In some instances, being a fool or being fooled could be occasional, so it may be one who acts unwisely on a given occasion. But, when such an act of foolishness goes beyond the occasional and increases its mode of frequency, there ought to be some level of concern by the discerning. I was once taught by my teacher that, no one is born foolish, and rightly so. As I gained more exposure to life's dynamics, I realised foolishness could be gradually attained, sometimes subconsciously and often times unintentionally. There are many types of fools, and Nigeria is gifted with its own peculiar breed of fools. The Complicated Fool: those who aren’t even aware they ar

June 12: Sacrifices, Unity & Politics of Division by M.B.O Owolowo “ Indeed, Abiola contributed to the development of this country. He sacrificed everything for the development of this country,”  - Olusegun Obasanjo, May 2014 Better late than never some would say, how honourable it would have been if Obasanjo had made this statement whilst he was President and honoured M.K.O Abiola accordingly. Maybe Obasanjo has come to accept the bitter reality that June 12 is symbolic and without the sacrifices of the likes of Abiola, he would never have returned to power in 1999. But, this isn’t about the man who 'blessed' Nigeria with 'Goodluck', but something far greater. It is about sacrifices and defending our unity. Quoting the words of another great man in our history, a supporter of the June 12 cause and the first man to move the motion for Nigeria's independence; “ Eventually when things went wrong and he was in detention under Abacha, I had an occa

Nigeria: Dying For Leadership By M.B.O Owolowo Nigeria the 'Giant' of Africa, has suffered years of woeful leadership. The successive maladministration and unrivalled jobbery, combined with the infrastructural abandonment has taken its toll on the polity. By the laws of economics and diminishing returns, such self-inflicting squandering of resources was bound to manifest drastically if unchecked by a purposeful leadership. Goodluck Jonathan ascended the mantle of leadership when Nigeria needed a redirection of our collective vision, a revivification of our economic fortunes and a redetermination of our aspirations as a united nation. Contrastingly, what our direful system birthed was opportunism disguised as transformational leadership. The history of the nation, brewing socio-economic issues and associative underpinnings were generally known, and ought to be top priority for any serious leadership contender. Apparently, some sections of society assumed the presidency w

Life's Worth & A Bomb Too Many By M.B.O Owolowo With sorrow etched on the faces of survivors, the flow of tears and blood was clearly visible, as mangled body parts littered the bomb cratered area. This calculated onslaught was a diabolic attack on humankind: a dastardly act unjustifiable by all causes. This was the April 14, 2014 mass murder of innocent Nigerians, killed trying to earn a living. More depressing was the fact that I waited vainly for hours, hoping to see the news break on major news stations, with most stations broadcasting proceedings of some athlete's murder trial. Though some of the news agencies did report the terror attack later, it seemed the trial was more important than a terrorist attack on the most populous nation on the African continent. Has Nigeria, Africa's 'biggest' economy (rebasing gimmicks), largest oil producer on the continent, and a major oil exporter globally, become so insignificant amongst the comity of nations?

Scamming The Oppressed By M.B.O Owolowo A scam is a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation, in other words a ploy to defraud an unsuspecting victim. It can also be referred to as a devised advance fee fraud, in the Nigerian parlance, a '419' scheme. There are different types of advance fee frauds concocted by fraudsters, from selling an asset that isn’t theirs, to promising impossible returns to prospective victims: what would be referred to as a 'mark' in the conman’s lingua. Call it honour amongst thieves, but part of the 'grifters code' is not to scam an honest person, as even con artists believe it brings bad luck to their activities. Also, it is often stated how difficult it is to con honest people, as they are most often not looking for easy moneymaking schemes. So those who choose to scam honest job seekers, who have already been oppressed by an inept system, have sunk to an all new type of low.  A monumental fraud occurred during the Nigerian I

Arise O Selfless Generation By M.B.O Owolowo “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.   Nigeria is about to witness a generational awakening. The youth have a pivotal role to play in re-shaping the future of our great nation. When the Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka referred to his generation as wasted, he stated: "I coined the term 'wasted generation' because of the scale of our ambition as young people; we were the renaissance people."  What Soyinka's generation wasted was an opportunity for a rebirth of the nation, a chance to set the nation on a path to global success. Unfortunately, they can only rehearse in regret, and dream of what could have been. No doubt some in that generation played significant roles in nation building, as some played an equally signific