A government against the people

It's a government of some people, by some people, and definitely against some other people.
I don't see any sense whatsoever in the Federal Government's plan to spend N19 billion on a new Petroleum Training Institute in Kaduna, when the already-existing Institute in Effurun (Delta State) is not really functional.

I think it's unjustifiable, and quite insulting to the people of the Niger Delta.
How do you abandon a petroleum institute in the country's main oil-producing area, and then dole out billions to build a new institute in a place where there is absolutely no hope of even smelling oil?

At the same time, the "Federal" government is calling for peace in the Niger Delta. Calling for militant youths to lay down their arms, and receive amnesty. In essence, calling for the youths to stop protesting and sit back and watch callous actions such as this take place.
The youths might be going about it the wrong way, but it still doesn't change the fact that the Niger-Delta needs to be developed.
From what we have seen so far, Yaradua obviously has no regard for the feelings of the people, nor does he seem to have any plans to develop the troubled Niger-Delta region.

The proposed Petroleum Training Institute in Kaduna will probably be transformed into a Petroleum University, while the one in Effurun will be abandoned.

I don't want to turn this post into a long rant, it's just that I'm too ticked off by the direction that our leaders are taking. You just can't promote peace by flaunting your power in such a fashion.
May God help us, and save us from such people.

Of militants, soccer and spraying of the Naira: King Sunny Ade vs Charles Soludo

It's been a week again. What on earth is happening to me? I need to improve my blogging attitude.
Val's day came and went, and with it a whole lot of uproar. I spent the entire week in Calabar. Quite a beautiful place I must say. I always enjoy popping in there to rest once in a while. Those guys sure know how to keep their town clean. And the fine girls...well, no wonder Calabar has lots of tourists.

I don't know if it's writer's block or something, but all of a sudden, blogging seems like a very big task. I haven't been able to shake off that feeling, and even when I tried to blog on Saturday, I got depressed by the 4-0 mauling of Arsenal by Man United. The United boys literally took them apart at Old Trafford and it wasn't funny to watch.
I'd better shift from the football talk. My passion for the game keeps threatening to turn this blog into a running football commentary. Anyway, that's the beauty of a blog; the flexibility.

On the National front, there's some noise about one of the MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) leaders, Comrade Henry Okah, who was extradited to Nigeria last Thursday. The militant group claims that Henry Okah was beaten up and shackled before being flown out of Angola where he was arrested and detained since September, last year, to an undisclosed location in the northern part of Nigeria. MEND is now threatening that there will be more attacks on high-ranking military personnel in the country. Almost routine stuff.

There's something funny though, I came across an article in the Vanguard, where King Sunny Ade (KSA) claims that the spraying of the Naira is part of Nigerian culture. What bollocks! Nobody can lay claim to a culture of deliberately defacing and mutilating his national currency. Whether it is as a result of spraying in parties or wrong handling, there is no excuse for mutilating money. KSA has called on the CBN and the government to review the new aw, claiming that sprayed money isn't necessarily trampled underfoot. Well, maybe he doesn't trample on his, but I have seen plenty others do just that. And even the idea of pasting Naira notes on a musician's sweaty forehead still makes no sense. If it is wrong, then it is wrong. Simple.

Instead of spraying cash on performers or celebrants during occasions, why don't people package the money in envelopes and present them to the beneficiaries. Simple, isn't it? And it's definitely a better tradition. Sorry, KSA, but the spraying has to stop.