Ikenga Online
    What's Hot

    Trafficking: We’ve nabbed 31, rescued 93 victims in Anambra – NAPTIP

    December 7, 2023

    Yuletide: Army chief assures residents of improved security in Anambra

    December 6, 2023

    Why we ‘re strict on accreditation for medical college  – MDCN

    December 6, 2023
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Ikenga Online
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Donate
    • Home
      • Igboezue
      • Hall of Fame
      • Hall of Shame
    • News
      1. Other States
      2. National
      3. International
      4. Interviews
      5. Personalities
      6. View All

      Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer laments targeting of Igbo property in Lagos for demolition

      November 26, 2023

      Diri wins Bayelsa guber poll

      November 13, 2023

      Kogi guber poll: Council boss arrested with bags of cash, ammunition

      November 11, 2023

      Nigeria gov reportedly escapes assassination attempt near Abuja

      October 22, 2023

      Julius Berger hands over 2nd Niger bridge to FG

      December 3, 2023

      Peter Obi, Alumona, others urge youths to remain positive

      December 2, 2023

      Kanu cautions Biafra agitators, security agents ahead of supreme court judgment

      November 30, 2023

      JAMB sets dates for 2024 UTME

      November 29, 2023

      Niger junta says it has blocked ousted President Bazoum’s escape bid

      October 21, 2023

      David Hundeyin alerts UN to alleged plans by Tinubu’s govt to silence him

      September 27, 2023

      US court orders Chicago university to tender Tinubu’s academic records

      September 20, 2023

      Foreign policy: What can Tinubu gain looking West? By Nnamdi Elekwachi

      September 18, 2023

      The Ekweremadus: Obasanjo writes UK court, seeks pardon for them

      April 5, 2023

      I’m coming with loads of experience to re-set Abia – Greg Ibe

      February 1, 2023

      2023: Nigerians will determine the fate of ‘third force’ – Inibehe Effiong

      June 8, 2022

      Interview: By joining APC, Jonathan living up to the tag, ‘the clueless one’ – Dr Onumah

      May 22, 2022

      Anambra-born Ugochi Nwizu shines as UNN best graduating doctor with multiple distinctions

      September 29, 2023

      Bulwark for women, girls: Meet Ikengaonline September town-hall guest speaker, Prof Joy Ezeilo

      September 27, 2023

      Rufai Oseni, the most dangerous man on Nigerian TV by Okey Ndibe

      February 13, 2023

      Stanley Macebuh: Unforgettable pathfinder of modern Nigerian journalism by Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

      February 7, 2023

      Trafficking: We’ve nabbed 31, rescued 93 victims in Anambra – NAPTIP

      December 7, 2023

      Yuletide: Army chief assures residents of improved security in Anambra

      December 6, 2023

      Why we ‘re strict on accreditation for medical college  – MDCN

      December 6, 2023

      Stakeholders give real reasons S’East youths shun police work

      December 6, 2023
    • Abia

      Why we ‘re strict on accreditation for medical college  – MDCN

      December 6, 2023

      Stakeholders give real reasons S’East youths shun police work

      December 6, 2023

      Protest rocks Abia as nursing students again demand cancellation of rescheduled PTS exam

      December 4, 2023

      Int’l disability day: We ‘ll continue to consider PWDs’ interests – Gov Otti

      December 3, 2023

      We ‘ve procured new equipment for re-accreditation of ABSU medical college – Gov Otti

      December 3, 2023
    • Anambra

      Trafficking: We’ve nabbed 31, rescued 93 victims in Anambra – NAPTIP

      December 7, 2023

      Yuletide: Army chief assures residents of improved security in Anambra

      December 6, 2023

      Stakeholders give real reasons S’East youths shun police work

      December 6, 2023

      Mrs Soludo rejoices as two women give birth to quadruplets, triplets in Anambra

      December 5, 2023

      Extend NHIS programme to the poor, vulnerable – group tasks govt

      December 5, 2023
    • Ebonyi

      Stakeholders give real reasons S’East youths shun police work

      December 6, 2023

      Reps member commences free medical outreach for constituents in Ebonyi

      December 6, 2023

      Catholic bishop advocates creation of another diocese in Abakaliki

      December 6, 2023

      Rep member debunks reported attack on Benue youths in Ebonyi

      December 2, 2023

      PWDs seek deployment of sign language interpreters to S’East hospitals

      December 2, 2023
    • Delta
    • Enugu

      Stakeholders give real reasons S’East youths shun police work

      December 6, 2023

      Mbah budgets ₦521.5bn for 2024

      December 5, 2023

      2024 Budget: Gov. Mbah earmarks ambitious 33% to education

      December 5, 2023

      Enugu govt moves to mitigate noise pollution in state capital

      December 3, 2023

      Senator gifts N.1m each to students for emerging best in quiz competition

      December 3, 2023
    • Imo

      Stakeholders give real reasons S’East youths shun police work

      December 6, 2023

      Police arraign 25 suspected criminals in Imo

      December 3, 2023

      FG set to re-equip Nigerian universities

      December 3, 2023

      PWDs in Imo receive disability certificate 

      December 3, 2023

      PWDs seek deployment of sign language interpreters to S’East hospitals

      December 2, 2023
    • Rivers

      Photo-speak: From Aba to Port Harcourt is a journey you don’t want to make

      November 26, 2023

      Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, valley of agony and carnage (Video)

      September 21, 2023

      6 suspects arrested over beheading of DPO in Rivers

      September 11, 2023

      US billionaires now ready to invest in S’East after tracing their Igbo ancestry – Ohanaeze

      September 1, 2023

      Chiedu Ebie now heads NDDC as Tinubu appoints new board

      August 29, 2023
    • Politics

      Otti wins again as appeal court throws away Ahiwe, Emenike suits

      December 2, 2023

      Women protest over non-release of election documents in Owerri

      December 1, 2023

      Rulings: Nigerian judiciary corrupt, has become a national security crisis – Odinkalu

      November 23, 2023

      Abia guber: PDP loses again as supreme court awards N5m in favour of Otti

      November 22, 2023

      Imo LP supporters protest alleged non-release of election materials by INEC

      November 20, 2023
    • Opinion & Editorial
      • Editorial
      • Columnists
        • Osmund Agbo
        • Chido Onumah
        • Uche Ugboajah
        • Hassan Gimba
        • Edwin Madunagu
        • Rudolf Okonkwo
        • Azu Ishiekwene
        • Osita Chidoka
        • Owei Lakemfa
        • Chidi Odinkalu
      • Opinion
    • Special Reports
    • Art & Entertainment
      • Nollywood
      • Music
      • Ikengaonline Literary Series (ILS)
      • Life
      • Travels
    • Sports
    Ikenga Online
    Home » Nigeria, Africa’s giant advancing backward by Owei Lakemfa
    Owei Lakemfa

    Nigeria, Africa’s giant advancing backward by Owei Lakemfa

    EditorBy EditorMay 2, 2023No Comments6 Mins Read
    Owei Lakemfa

    By Owei Lakemfa

    Census is very serious business as it requires the general mobilisation of the populace. In many cases, the nation is placed under an emergency. One of the earliest accounts of census was given by Dr Luke in his Gospel in which he wrote that Emperor Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the Roman world, including colonised Israel (Luke 2:1-5).

    This general mobilisation required everyone to go to his own city to be counted. This was why Joseph and Mary, his betrothed wife, went up from Galilee to Bethlehem. It was during that obviously stressful journey, Mary had cramps, and because populations were on the move, the inns were overcrowded and the couple had to rest in a manger where Jesus was born. So, Jesus was counted as part of the important statistics required to run the Roman Empire.

    This account serves to illustrate the fact that census is serious business as, theoretically, it provides vital data, especially demographic, social, economic, migration and immigration. It also provides the basis to plan employment, school enrolment, services and social protection programmes. These programmes include the palliatives the Buhari government is so much in love with perhaps because the figures never tally and its documents can easily go up in flames.

    Census is ordinarily a reliable method of count compared to the estimate method that, today, puts our population at 220 million. I like the sound of that figure; that means when we pound the ground, the world will know Nigeria is the true Giant of Africa, and that contrary to the claims of our enemies, we are not a sleeping giant.

    Just as Luke showed, census is general mobilisation, although in our case, we necessarily do not need to be counted in our villages and clans. Therefore, when this government joked with the idea of holding a census from this Wednesday, May 3, 2023, it was obvious there are unstated underlining reasons. There had been quite inadequate mass enlightenment and awareness. In any case, real census was impossible in the season of general elections which itself is a weapon of mass distraction, and can also be quite divisive.

    So, what was government thinking before fixing the census date; a date some three weeks to its welcome exit?

    Could it have been for the records, for fame or fortune, especially when the hangers-on would soon become financial orphans?

    It was clear that government was not prepared for the census. So Nigerians were not surprised when last Friday, April 28, 2023, that is five days before the scheduled census take-off, Buhari postponed it.

    If the exercise is postponed, can Nigerians be obliged the census of the huge sums of money so far expended or will this go into voice mail?

    If the in-coming administration were to conduct a proper and reliable census, its motives must be clear and pure. They should not be like the colonial 1953 Census rigged by the British colonialists; the unreliable and disputed 1962/63 Census or the orphaned 1973 Census which even its parents disowned, leading to it being officially scrapped.

    Also, the Buhari government rescinded its decision to collect an $800 million loan from the World Bank to provide palliatives for its fuel subsidy removal. The regime’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had claimed the largesse would be distributed to 50 million Nigerians representing 10 million households.

    First, if it is true that trillions of Naira would be saved by stopping the subsidies, why not expend part of it on the so-called palliatives rather than take another loan from the World Bank shylocks?

    Secondly, what is the sense in the World Bank and Finance Ministry agreeing to spend about $53 million of the $800 loan on hiring staff, office administration, committee overheads and other logistics such as training and workshop?

    Thirdly, we know palliatives, at least in Nigeria, have not improved the lives of the populace. For instance, President Muhammadu Buhari claims to have spent over N2 trillion on Social Investment Programmes, SIP, yet the state of the poor Nigerian has become worse. One of the testimonials on this failure is this same World Bank, which in its Poverty and Prosperity Report for last year, stated that Nigeria contributed three million people to global extreme poverty, and that every minute, over six Nigerians enter the extreme poverty bracket.

    Fourthly, simple economics and accounting, common sense and logic dictate that if the payments of subsidies are stopped, that should reduce, not increase our debt burden.

    Fifth, it is illogical seeking foreign loan to pay unsustainable sums allegedly to cushion the effects of subsidy removal rather than seek funds to either repair the refineries or build new ones.

    Sixth, the reason for the so-called subsidy is clear: the failure of this government, after eight years in office, to refine petroleum products locally despite the abundance of crude oil in the country.

    Seven, the slave-like acceptance of the World Bank policy that assigns to underdeveloped countries like Nigeria the role of raw material providers, and the West, that of manufacturers of finished products.

    Eight, this government that claims to have fed school children when they were actually on lock-down at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has clearly shown it can neither manage nor be entrusted with palliatives.

    Nine, this regime, because it is in reality, a regime, has manufactured so much untruth in eight years that even lies are ashamed to be associated with it; so giving it new loans for palliatives is like putting a cat in charge of fried fish.

    Ten, this government after eight years has been unable to deliver on its promises to provide basic electricity; in fact, it is incapable of even distributing the 4000MW its “clueless” predecessor distributed. Consequently, many households rely on the use of PMS-powered generators. So, increases in fuel prices, among other things, automatically lead to higher prices, reduced economic activity and higher inflation which is already over 22 per cent.

    I am not surprised that the Buhari regime backed down on the removal of fuel subsidies which would automatically would have led to higher PMS prices. While the Finance Minister was shouting about the regime removing the subsidy, the Petroleum Ministry under Buhari, in January 2023,was assuring the populace this will not happen.

    Its Senior Media Adviser, Horatius Egua assured Nigerians that the President : “understands the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorate.”

    As the Buhari regime beats a retreat from holding the census, collecting the World Bank loan and further removing fuel subsidy, so should it also retreat from awarding more weekly contracts, and from the Presidential Villa not later than May 29, 2023.

    Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), is a human rights activist, journalist, and author.

    Editor
    • Website

    Related Posts

    Akeredolu, Aiyedatiwa and a dicey peace deal, by Zainab Suleiman Okino

    December 6, 2023

    Why nobody is saying anything about It by Rudolf Okonkwo

    December 5, 2023

    Who will tell the chief justice? By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu 

    December 3, 2023
    Editors Picks

    Trafficking: We’ve nabbed 31, rescued 93 victims in Anambra – NAPTIP

    December 7, 2023

    Yuletide: Army chief assures residents of improved security in Anambra

    December 6, 2023

    Why we ‘re strict on accreditation for medical college  – MDCN

    December 6, 2023

    Stakeholders give real reasons S’East youths shun police work

    December 6, 2023
    Latest Posts
    Anambra

    Trafficking: We’ve nabbed 31, rescued 93 victims in Anambra – NAPTIP

    Anambra

    Yuletide: Army chief assures residents of improved security in Anambra

    Abia

    Why we ‘re strict on accreditation for medical college  – MDCN

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest news from Ikenga Online.

    Advertisement
    Demo

    IkengaOnline is a publication of the Ikenga Media & Cultural Awareness Initiative (IMCAI), a non-profit organisation with offices in Houston Texas and Abuja.

    We're social. Connect with us:

    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn WhatsApp RSS
    • Home
      • Igboezue
      • Hall of Fame
      • Hall of Shame
    • News
      • Other States
      • National
      • International
      • Interviews
      • Personalities
    • Abia
    • Anambra
    • Ebonyi
    • Delta
    • Enugu
    • Imo
    • Rivers
    • Politics
    • Opinion & Editorial
      • Editorial
      • Columnists
        • Osmund Agbo
        • Chido Onumah
        • Uche Ugboajah
        • Hassan Gimba
        • Edwin Madunagu
        • Rudolf Okonkwo
        • Azu Ishiekwene
        • Osita Chidoka
        • Owei Lakemfa
        • Chidi Odinkalu
      • Opinion
    • Special Reports
    • Art & Entertainment
      • Nollywood
      • Music
      • Ikengaonline Literary Series (ILS)
      • Life
      • Travels
    • Sports

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest news from Ikenga Online.

    Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn WhatsApp RSS
    © 2023 Ikenga Online. Ikenga.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.