OWOLOWO

Certifying A Distraction By M.B.O Owolowo "You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks." - Winston Churchill ‎ Nigerians know where the 'dogs' are concentrated and they are barking loud! The issues that confront Nigeria are as glaring as a bright shining star, and the effects as scorching as the rays from the sun, but some pettifoggers employed by the PDP choose to deliberate on inanities . The issues are; managing the manifestations of corruption, and the deleterious effects on the economy; economic recovery, diversification and the future; energy creation, power generation and sustainability; securing of lives and battling insurgency; poverty and unemployment. The issues are; girls from Chibok have been missing for over 280 days, and counting. The issues are; Boko Haram control a significant part of North-Eastern Nigeria, including Bama, Kukawa, Mafa, Konduga and Damasak . The captured areas are...

Re-Election, Extenuation & Actual Performance By M.B.O Owolowo Excuses galore! A serious government doesn't lament about the existent societal impediments and apparent issues that have unfortunately hampered our collective progress. A serious government being fully aware of the challenges it faces, proffers and effects realistic solutions to these problems. As Nigeria adjusts to global economic realities, the Shale alternative, and dwindling oil prices: generally, a world less dependent on oil and a post-oil economy realisation. Economically, can Nigeria really afford another 4 years of this administrative style? Recently, Jim O'Niell, the former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and the economist who coined BRIC (Brazil, India, Russia, China) and MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey) respectively, highlighted the global perception of Nigeria, by stating the positive implications of Jonathan not getting re-elected in the forthcoming elections...

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...