And Four Other Things...
DOLLAR DISEASE
Let’s hope that the politicians will not destroy this country. It is not enough for them to enjoy the perks of office at our expense, they are now very determined to wreck the livelihood of millions of Nigerians who are struggling hard to fend for themselves. The pressure on the dollar which always results from the nationwide stockpiling of the hard currency for bribery purposes ahead of elections has seen the naira fall to an all-time low. This is worsened by the falling price of crude oil, which stifles the inflow of forex and hits us hard. Pathetic.
AUSTERITY MEASURES
Meanwhile, we are back in that cycle again when crude oil prices fall, when revenue drops, when external reserves take a beating, when governors ask that the excess crude account be emptied to address “food crisis”. I don’t know how many times I’ve been abused for supporting saving for the rainy day. It is unconstitutional. All federally-collected revenue must be shared. Blah blah blah. Now, the governors are running back to the same savings they so derided and are still in court to scrap. Imagine if the savings had all been shared years ago as they demanded. Commonsensical.
TARABA DRAMA
And so, the drama continues in Taraba. In October 2012, Sani Danladi was impeached as deputy governor. Umar Garba replaced him. A month later, the governor, Dambaba Suntai, had an air mishap and suffered brain damage. Garba had been acting governor for nearly two years, and his plan to go for governorship next year had literally brought Taraba to a standstill. We were awaiting the next drama from Taraba when Danladi won his case at the Supreme Court, unseating Garba and taking over as acting governor. The next drama: who picks the PDP governorship ticket for the 2015 elections? Suspense!
EAGLES’ CRASH
So, Nigeria will not be defending the Africa Cup of Nations next year? We thought we saw it coming when the Super Eagles started fumbling at the Confederations Cup in Brazil. Some of us said this team was lacking in some basics, especially in the technical aspect of the game. We said Stephen Keshi needed support. I came under attack for my “blasphemy”. But I don’t have to be a coach to know when a team is not strong enough to withstand quality opponents. For all our noise, we only won one match at the 2014 World Cup. Against the almighty Bosnia & Herzegovina. Ridiculous.