$1 Billion To Fight What?

The ones to loathe are the political generals who wear their undeserved stars on their shoulders while their knives on the defense budget; they endanger the lives of their men.In requesting $1 billion to fight the insurgency, President Jones has fallen into the trap set for him – accepting the fact that the military are […]

The ones to loathe are the political generals who wear their undeserved stars on their shoulders while their knives on the defense budget; they endanger the lives of their men.
In requesting $1 billion to fight the insurgency, President Jones has fallen into the trap set for him – accepting the fact that the military are worse off under his command. This is a very dangerous admission given Naija’s history with its restless army. An army that successfully fought a civil war; restored peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone, won medals for UN peacekeeping missions fails to stop a band of local terrorists without plunging the nation into financial ruins.
If the request is for more arms, it opens up a flurry of questions. Can the present corps of commanders use new weapons effectively? Can they guarantee that the weapons won’t end up in the hands of the insurgents who risk using them as bragging trophies? Would part of this loan be used for the much-needed re-orientation of the military to win the battle for hearts and minds without which there’s no winning the war against the insurgency?
These are normal questions that a conscientious legislature must seek answers. Ours is a rubber-stamp assembly that approves anything without question. For now, there is no better way of confirming that our military is underfunded and hapless before the insurgents. But wait a minute; let’s hear the $1.2 million Levick spin on this matter before reaching a conclusion.
By hiring foreigners over homegrown PR firms, our government again confirms its lack of trust in its own. It suffers from inferiority complex. But beyond that, government- appointed and publicly paid image-makers have the presidential vote of no confidence. They have no reason to keep their bogus titles. Would America hire a Naija PR firm over its own? Capital no.
In a nation where shamelessness is a badge of honour; these overpaid and under-utilized ‘image makers’ are sitting tight, collecting their allowances and increasing their nuisance value and their mileage of irrelevance. One of them, in the heat of the furore over Malala Yousafzai’s visit was eager to turn the blame on parents and the opposition. One would have thought it ludicrous to gloat over a 17-year old Pakistani coming to teach his president how to relate with his beleaguered citizenry. It should have been shameful for the parents to concur to meet with the president who has shown no empathy towards their plight three months into their ordeal. Some of these parents have died unsung and unmourn.
Times like this makes President Jones look like he’s in government to bungle every golden opportunity. In his attempt to become the latest evil genius, this president is burying his dead with one leg above the grave. Unfortunately, the stench disturbs the undertaker and the neighbour.
In their mad rush to kick Murtala Nyako to the kerb, they bungled the procedure. The sleaze-soiled rookies in the state assembly did not get proper briefing on saving their man – the deputy governor’s pension. So they made him send his resignation letter to the speaker instead of the governor and hurriedly swore-in the Speaker. This is a judicial error that questions the whole process. Not that it matters now that it has happened, but here is one other explanation that our American image makers would have to speak on, in case CNN starts making enquiries.
The opposition is parades its own bumblers. They too have reportedly hired foreign firms to launder their image. Events like these should make Sam Epelle turn in his grave. He was the founder of Naija’s modern public relations. Having suffered an ideological shellacking from the hands of the ruining party in Ekiti, the opposition wants to add judicial ridicule to its failure by challenging the polls in court. You lost in Ekiti live with it. You’ll probably lose if there was a re-election in December or January. Yes, Fayemi was definitely the better man; but the political Barabbas is street savvy while Fayemi played his politics with the teacher-student attitude.  
In politics, an opposition does not win by picking the dregs of the ruining party from the dumpster and celebrating as if it has found lost treasure. An opposition that wants change reflects change in all ramifications, it knows that it is constantly being judged and so does not put its hands in shady deals. Nyako learnt that too late in the day, assisted by those who later sent him packing. The question is – how many more will be pushed off the cliff by those whose hands are even dirtier than theirs?