‘Good people, great naton’ (VI)

Of course it is a mutinous act for soldiers to engage in violent demonstration on the streets of Akure over ‘a non issue’ as the non payment of allowances’.  That is what the Army’s Spokespersons said and I agree with them but what about the question of why these soldiers rioted (mutinied) knowing fully well […]

Of course it is a mutinous act for soldiers to engage in violent demonstration on the streets of Akure over ‘a non issue’ as the non payment of allowances’.  That is what the Army’s Spokespersons said and I agree with them but what about the question of why these soldiers rioted (mutinied) knowing fully well the implications? Someone answered my question succinctly; “If their commanders had not stolen their allowances, the soldiers would not have mutinied -No American commander worth his salt would steal the salaries of his troop. Haba, you steal his life wire and you say keep quiet simply because he is a soldier ……”! Hear their dumb explanations; “The soldiers in Makurdi had collected their savings while in the mission area but those of Akure were to receive their own on arrival back home. I hope those characters supposedly ‘mistaking’ one unit for another also gets their mutinous punishment too.

That warning by Adamu Aliero:

I want to believe that the  warning by the Minister of FCT, Senator Adamu Aliero to members of the public to desist from buying plots from Mass Housing Sites is in good faith. However the warning is not only coming too late , it is in their usual style of frustrating the struggling average man who has been pushed by necessity to patronize these developers. It is already clear from the tone of the Minister’s warning that he intended to punish such persons: ‘any person that buys a plot in the Mass Housing Sites is doing so at their own peril as title over affected properties would be denied  and illegal structures removed’! Adamu Aliero cannot imagine from his ‘privileged height that people patronize these Developers because they are pushed by necessity. Like all government policies, the idea of mass housing was supposed to have been conceived in good faith but not expected to be executed in good faith as these so called Developers only build structures fit enough for chickens. These  eyesores are supposed to have been supervised by engineers and they are what the Minister is calling mass housing.

A cursory look  at the roof top of those structures built by FHA and one other famous Developer that has structures everywhere from Gwarimpa, Mbora to Lokogoma will tell you the state of things. The minister may wish to take a ride around to see things for himself  and confirm if those are the kind of mass housing he is talking about. Those ‘supposedly selling plots have better structures; (by the way, they call it partnership). I hope this sudden brain wave of the Minister is not related to the comparisons that were drawn between FCT development fees and those of the Estate Developers  after the sudden increase in FCT land rates. Could this be a bad belle case?  This is not to say that illegal activities should not be checked, but while the Minister is at it, let him bear in mind that his job is to make life easier for the ordinary man and not to pummel him into the sand.