But among the 0.001% of human beings willing to be a ‘guinea pig’ is a Nigerian, named Idris Wada, the Executive Governor of Kogi State. We all know his recent story. But if you don’t, let me refresh your memory. On Thursday 27 December 2012, while on his way back to Lokoja, the State capital, from an official assignment in another town in the State, he had an accident in which his ADC who sat in the front seat beside the driver, died on the spot. Nobody needs to be told that the Governor must have sustained serious injury. I mean an accident that claimed on the spot the life of a fellow occupant in a car must have left serious damages on the rest of the occupants that were lucky to be alive. After the initial resuscitation of the Governor in Lokoja, he was transferred to Abuja for better care. Am sure nobody would have been shocked to hear that he had been flown abroad, in fact am sure, such announcement was expected. But alas, what we heard and later saw both on television and in the papers, is the Governor being treated, not even at the National Hospital where the big boys and girls are given first-aids, but at a private hospital in Abuja. He went through the surgery on his leg and stayed in the hospital for his initial recuperation. He refused blatantly to be flown abroad. He consequently challenged the bravado of the Nigerian doctors. He offered himself as an executive guinea pig to the Nigerian medical profession to prove to the world their so-called claim that they are among the best in their profession if given the opportunity.

Am a little bit sad that the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, just glossed over this golden opportunity offered on a platter of gold, to demonstrate their ability to deliver and for Government officials, senior and well-to-do citizens of the country, to have confidence in the capabilities of the Nigerian medical professionals. In a country, where Government officials and the rich take the first available flight abroad at the first sign of a headache, l would have thought that the Dr. Osahon Enabulele-led NMA would have used Governor Wada’s confidence to demonstrate the futility of the people seeking medical help abroad for things that should normally be routines in the country and a betrayal of the Nigerian nation on the part of those people. If a whole Executive Governor of a State, who will not even use his personal money to treat himself abroad, can decide to surgically be operated upon locally, despite possibility of complications, it beholds on NMA to forcefully drive home the point to Government officials in particular to patronize locally-based medical professionals. But alas, the opportunity was missed. I just read one line sentence in one obscure online journal where one doctor commended Governor Wada for his patriotism. Even the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, is not blameless. They need to celebrate Governor Wada. It will not be out of place if both NMA and NUJ, pay courtesy visits to Governor Wada to wish him well and in particular commend him for his patriotism at a cost to his health.

Before l end this piece, let me state categorically here, that l do not know Governor Wada. l have never met him and am not even from Kogi State. But am totally convinced that he had proved beyond reasonable doubt, using his unfortunate accident, that it is high time we start having confidence in our institutions. And from his demonstration, this must start from the top.

I commend you sir, and l wish you quick recovery, Your Excellency.

-GG

Even though, 2012 was a difficult year in a lot of ramifications, some events took place which made Nigerians to be expectant of a bright 2013 and beyond. As one Yoruba adage says, ‘it is from the black pot that the white pap comes out’. From the ashes of the June 3, 2012 Dana Air crash, came the robust developments that is changing the aviation sector for the better. Not that there was no plan for development prior to the unfortunate crash. But the accident and the attendant consequences, galvanized the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, into actions that have resulted in various investments in the sector, which were already manifesting towards the end of 2012 and will continue throughout 2013.

The power sector is also improving. I live in Kado Estate, Abuja, where residents will testify that the only time we enjoy a 5-hour light period in three days, is during the raining season in the months of July – August every year, and l’ve been living there now for over 10 years. But for the first time in that decade, we have been experiencing on the average about 12 to 15 hours of light daily in the past 6 weeks.

For the first time since i’ve been living there, we celebrated Christmas and New Year days with light. And that is the experience of most residents in Abuja. I also learnt the same thing happened in Lagos, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Benin, Kaduna, Kano and other major towns in the country in the last one or two months. We are not yet in ‘Israel’ but we are on our way out of ‘Egypt’.

One major area, Nigerians are also expectant is, road and rail transportations. For those who travelled home by road during the Yuletide season, they came back with wonderful tales. There are first-hand reports that massive constructions are going on all over the place and that there seem to be some seriousness on the part of Government to alleviate the suffering of road users and end once and for all the perennial road constructions within the shortest possible time.

There had been modest achievement in Agriculture, the Economy, Rule of Law, Politics and even Security. A lot still need to be done in all these areas and others before we can shout Halleluyah. President Goodluck Jonathan will be the first to tell you that he is not satisfied with whatever achievement that have been recorded. A lot happened in 2012 that dampened our spirit but a lot still happened in that year that gave us hope that 2013 can be better. Let us play our part – pray for our leaders even if you cannot do anything else – and hopefully our expectations of the goodies in 2013 will not be in vain.

Before l start any hysteria, let me restate how the prophets of apocalypse say this will happen. Now, according to a tribe called the Mayans, who lived somewhere in the present continent of South America,  the world regenerate itself after every 5,126years. I will spare you the technical way of measuring their own calendar which is different from our own which is the Western Gregorian calendar. But suffice to say that according to the Mayan calendar, the world changes after every 5,126years. And it has done so 11 times since the creation of the earth. They say the 12th edition of the new earth regeneration started on 11th August 3,114 BC. Now, 5,126years later which according to them, falls exactly on 21st December 2012 AD, the 12th world will end and the 13th one will begin! That is as possible as l can explain it.

But will it happen?, according to NASA, (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), an independent agency of the US Government responsible for aviation and spaceflight, No. NASA is so certain that the world is not going to end on 21 December 2012, that it has already posted a notice on its website dated 22 December 2012.  But the Mayan scholars warned that “the end of a great circle (like 21 December 2012) is the culmination of a series of long-term sunspot circles which will flip the sun’s magnetic field, causing a catastrophic earthquakes and flooding of immeasurable proportion”.

Who are we to believe? The Scripture says, the end will occur like a thief in the night. In order words, nobody will get a prior notice on the day the world will end. So, that is comforting. Which in effect means that l will be here next week Tuesday, the budget will hopefully takes off on 1st January 2013, for the first time since the civilian administration began in 1999. All the intending brides and bridegrooms can go on with their preparation and of course, we the Red Devils will get our crown back from the pretenders that is Manchester City. Everything will go on as usual. But remember, the world  continues to end for various people as the days go by. Many have gone in the last few minutes you have been reading this and it will  continue like that till it all ends one day for everybody. The question is, are we all prepared to meet our Lord if that day is today, 21 December 2012 or any day in the foreseeable future?

“Seeing”, the saying goes, “is believing”. It is that time of the year when various sectors of the economy are assessed by the media, scrutinized by the National Assembly and practically engaged by the public. In other words, it is that time of the year when those who govern, render accounts of their stewardship to the governed. From what have been written by public analysts and other commentators, from what is emanating from the National Assembly and from the experiences of the general public, the Aviation Ministry is flying the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in sparkling colours.

Though the write-ups have been favourably positive and the National Assembly are quite satisfied with the budget implementation of the Ministry both in terms of personnel and capital projects, it is the comments of the general public that is most satisfying. And this is because they can actually SEE developments taking place in the sector before their own very eyes. A poll conducted by Top Grand Associates, published last week in which the company interviewed 1,578 passengers across the four busiest airports of Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano over a period of 3 simultaneous days in November, showed that 1,346 or 85%, poured encomium on the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, both in terms of service delivery and tough political decisions.

They cited the newly commissioned sparkling General Aviation Terminal in Lagos, which can rival anyone in the world. This is first of the 11 airports terminals to be commissioned in the first phase of the reconstruction and remodeling of airports in the country, with the second phase of another 11 to follow soon. They also expressed their gratitude to the Ogbaru Princess for resisting the increase of passenger fuel surcharge from N1,000 to N2,500 by Bi-Courtney which prevented exploitation of the air passengers by the concessioners. But the one masterstroke that has endeared her to thousands of passengers and millions of Nigerians, is her stands-off  with the British Aviation authorities as well as other international airlines, in which she came out tops each time.

First, just about four months into her tenure as the new Aviation Minister, Oduah took the UK’s Airport Coordination Limited, ACL, head-on, when she insisted that Arik Air’s landing slots into London Heathrow airport should be respected as contained in the bilateral agreement signed by Nigeria and Britain, failing which the British Airways’ seven weekly flights to Nigeria will be reduced to three. The UK authority thought they were dealing with the usual Nigeria empty threat only to learn to their chagrin that this is no ordinary Nigerian. She had her way, thanks to President Goodluck Jonathan who stood by her to fight the Nigerian cause. ACL had to eat the humble pie and complied, otherwise BA stand to lose the lucrative Nigerian market. Another fight was directly with BA, Virgin Atlantic and all international airlines.  She fought them to submission to dismantle the regional air fare imbalance between what Nigerian passengers pay for international flights and their counterparts in the West Africa subregion. These acts made Nigerians feel 10 metres tall, thanks to Princess Oduah.

It’s not all about fights that she is known for. She has done a road show to United States, China and the Carribeans to solicit for investment in Nigerian Aviation sector. The tour is already yielding fruits, particularly after she convinced Mr. President and the FEC members to grant import waivers on all imported aircrafts and spare parts. Already a loan from Chinese EXIM Bank, signed by the Coordinating Minister of the economy and Minster of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on behalf of the Aviation Ministry, has been obtained for the construction of five brand new international passengers and cargo terminals. All these played a significant part in Nigerians giving her a pat on the back.

The commendation of the National Assembly is also no less satisfying. During the Ministry’s 2013, budget defense, the Chairperson, House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, expressed the Committee’s satisfaction in the performance of the Ministry in the outgoing year, when she said “the Aviation Ministry has surpassed other Ministries in terms of capital budget implementation for the 2012 fiscal year. The transformation of our airports terminals by the ministry is phenomenal and highly commendable”. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, also spoke in the same vein. Now, we know the frosty relationship between the Legislators and the Executives. For the two Committees of the National Assembly to commend the Aviation Ministry, says a lot about the positive and genuine changes taking place under the watch of Oduah.

Yes, there are areas that need serious attention, like the certification of our airports in accordance with ICAO standards which the Minister is well aware of and promised to address squarely in 2013, there is no doubt that the transformational change President Goodluck Jonathan crave for, is steadily and surely moving in the right direction under the supervision of Princess Stella Oduah.

 And we should not forget that this is the same woman who revolutionized  the way political campaigns are run by radically transforming the 2011 Presidential campaign through Neighbour To Neighbour. The Almighty God said in the scripture to our Lord, Jesus Christ after being baptized by John, “this is my beloved son, in whom Am well pleased”, President Jonathan too, must be feeling pretty cool that he can showcase Princess Stella Odua as the stellar example of what the transformational change is all about.

The confusion that trailed the submission of the Ribadu fuel report goes on unabated. It seems to me that the two principal actors, Mallam Nuhu Ribad, the  chairman of the committee and his deputy, Mr. Steve Orosanye are fighting for the people’s souls through the media, particularly, Orosanye. Last week, one woman came on Channels TV to defend the embarrassing action of Mr. Orosanye on the day the committee submitted its report to Mr. President. She went on and on to disparage the character of Ribadu. It was very amusing. And only on Monday, 12 November, one Femi Segun, took up the baton from where the other woman stopped. There was nothing he didn’t call Ribadu. Because l joined the program midway and by the way he reeled out procedures and the modalities adopted by the committee in producing the report, l was under the impression that he was a member of the committee, until Chamberlain pointedly asked him whether he attended any of the committee’s meetings, to which he said no. I was then not surprised when he was later shown to be a “Public Affairs Analyst” – a phrase that has been seriously bastardized. After him came another man, who obviously was brought in to balance the equation, who l must add was not as blatant in defending Ribadu as Segun was in defending Orosanye. So the question is, how long will this “Awada Kerikeri” last?

Since the country has been turned into a perpetual giant theater, we are currently being treated to another potential thriller in the Ifeanyi Ubah’ blockbuster. Here is a man, who has the world at his feet – young, rich and virtually untouchable, that is until about two or three months ago. Now, the young man feels the whole world is against him, and he doesn’t like it one bit. And he is behaving like a bull dog in a china shop – ready to destroy or crush anything in its wake. Having been bailed from the EFCC custody, where he has been, following his alleged involvement in the fuel subsidy scam, he has come out fighting, taking on the very institutions that made him. According to him, he is taking Access Bank, Chief Cosmos Maduka and even the Minister of Finance, to court. Even angrily asking nobody in particular whether, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is God?

Now another ongoing drama is the current fuel scarcity being experienced throughout the country, especially in Abuja and Lagos. We were told, first by NNPC, that there is no reason for the scarcity, then the Minister of Finance reinstated this stand during the past week and went further to inform a bewildered nation that we are being held to ransom by some fuel marketers who are refusing to sell their products on the ground of non-payment of fuel subsidy to them by Government. She then insisted that no unverified claims will be entertained and that it is no longer business as usual. This is all well and good, but who in the meantime suffer? , the masses of course. For the past four weeks, I have been buying 10litres of petrol at N1,800 – N1,900. In fact today, Tuesday 13 November, l bought 10litres at N2,200. Am one person who is ready to queue to buy my fuel, but the filling stations would not just sell, so, one is left no choice but to patronize the black market boys. Again, l ask the question, how long can all these continue?

Instead of addressing these issues, the authorities concerned are fighting for media space. These things are no more funny. I pray that people concerned should not jeopardize Mr. President’s Transformation Agenda. The President is creating the enabling environment for economic growth, however, some of us are not making things easy for him by our actions or inactions. It is time to have a rethink and face our responsibilities squarely instead of turning every serious venture into soap opera.

How else do you appropriate the latest brickbats arising from the crude oil revenue probe report. Instead of engaging in the critical analysis of the report, we are busy being treated to another soap opera from personnel of the report. The message of the report is now a footnote while the messengers have now taken over the centre stage.

Well, if you are just back from the moon, let me feed you in. On Friday, 2nd November, 2012, the committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan, following the January week-long fuel subsidy protest, submitted its report to Mr. President. But even a simple task of submitting a report turned out to be a bridge too far for Nigerian elites. Both the Chairman of the committee, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (former EFCC Chairman) and his deputy, Mr. Steve Orosanye  (former Head of Service) openly quarreled at the presentation of report in the presence of President Jonathan and in full glare of the public and journalists. In fact, l believe, it is Mr. President’s presence that actually prevented a physical fist-cuts between the two. And as a Yoruba adage says, it is the mediator that normally gets the worse injury – Mr. President was caught by the uppercut thrown by Orosanye. In his response to the Ribadu’s comment that Mr. President directed the committee to submit the report unfailingly that Friday, Orosanye retorted by saying, “so what if Mr. President directed as such,……if the report is not ready, then it is not ready”. How did Mr. President receive Orosanye’s uppercut? The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, just smiled. He was clearly embarrassed, but he kept his cool.

But if the truth must be told, Orosanye talked beyond his tongue. His explanation later was only an after-thought. That was a blatant insult on Mr. President. With his wealth of experience as a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, he should have been more diplomatic in his choice of words no matter how angry he was with Ribadu. Even Robadu that people know as a rabble rouser at times, was very mindful of his surroundings and consequently revered the occasion. That incident went a long way to confirm to many doubters what a liberal person our President is. Orosanye wouldn’t have lasted another minute in that hall after that diarrhea of the mouth, if it had been another President, public or no public; journalists or no journalist. But President Jonathan hid his embarrassment very well and allowed the two to shame themselves, particularly Orosanye.

That then marked the beginning of another soap opera in the latest episode of the corruption drama that has plagued the country, particularly in the last two years or so. We can all remember the Honourable Elumelu’s Electricity Power probe,  Honourable Hembe – Otteh Capital Market probe, Honourable Lawan – Otedola probe, Maina pension probe. In all these, the reports are always secondary, it is the personnel that became the topic of discussions. We always left the substance and continued to chase shadows.

People are already saying that this latest one will go the way of the others – get occupied with the crossfire, the melodrama and what Chief Mike Ezekhome, SAN, calls “Baba Sala Awada Kerikeri”. Soon, it is being insinuated, that the whole thing will die down and we will soon forget about the initial subject matter until another round of soap opera comes around. My experience of what happened to the recent probes has not given me the confidence to say that the people are wrong. In the meantime, the agony of the long-suffering Nigerians, continues.

But for how long can this continue? We ordinary citizens are helpless. That is why l now call on the high command of the Nigerian Faith-based organizations to rise up to the occasion and visit God Almighty in His inner chambers to attend to Nigeria quickly, urgently and immediately, otherwise the current trek towards Siberia would be irreversible.