African youth leadership program and experience in Nigeria

[Ete]

I just want to share an experience my colleagues and I encountered in Nigeria on a recent trip.  About a year ago, three of my friends and I had formed an organization called African youth leadership program. All four of us that found this organization had played college basketball here in the US under athletic scholarships in different Universities/colleges.  We graduated and moved on to our respective professional careers, but stayed in touch as friends and would often collaborate on what we could do to help the next and future generation of Nigerian athletes (basketball players) to pursue their dreams.

So we found the African youth leadership program. The objective here is to help the next generation basketball players develop into leaders through a total college experience and not just focus on sports.  We brainstormed, designed programs, etc. I for example would sometimes get calls from college basketball coaches that I played against asking me if I could recommend some local kid in Nigeria for their program.  So we decided to organize a basketball clinic in Nigeria for a week and invite some of these schools/Coaches  so they could see the kids for themselves and decide on recruitment based on NCAA rules.

We decided to hold two camps.  One in Abuja and one in Lagos. We figured most of the youth in the northern part of the country would find it easier to attend the Abuja clinic, and the interested youth in the Southern part of the country, would find it easier to attend the Lagos program.  A clinic is basically a camp where we teach the players certain skill set,  show them certain drills, and then split them into different teams so they can scrimmage, and observers will access their talent level. A clinic is also not just about basketball, there are education sessions where speak to these young people about real life issues, decision making, personal responsibility, individual goal setting, etc

So we coordinated this program with some local coaches in Nigeria, we contacted the Ministries of sports and information with notification. We also contacted the Basketball governing body in Nigeria, NBBF, who showed no interest in our initiative.  We clearly wanted to partner with the so called stake holders in Nigerian basketball mainly because we felt this was our way of giving back.  In any case, they didn't seem very eager to be a part of the program until they saw the attention the program began generating.

From the US, we made several calls to people we knew personally, and tried coordinating with others to secure a gym so we coud run this program.  We were unsuccessul. As a matter of fact, the controllers of sport hall at the National stadium in Lagos were demanding for all kinds of ridiculous sums of  money from us. They even demanded for Diesel fee in the amount of =N=20,000 a day.
Eventually, the American International school in Victoria Island gave us full use of their gym for free.  There is an irony here. Here we are organizing a program that may benefit Nigerian kids, but the Nigerian authorities would not care to assist by allowing us the use of a dormant facility. Instead, an American institution in Nigeria, that has no stake at all, were the ones opening their doors to us for free so would host an event that may benefit not their kids, but our own Nigerian kids.  

In any case, I'll come back to that later. In preparation for the program in Nigeria, we had contacted the Nigerian consulate in NY, and informed them as well of what we were doing. They were aware because several American coaches had contacted them to request information concerning visas because they had arranged to be in Nigeria.  We managed to build some rapport with a high ranking member of the embassy who assisted with making sure the visa applications for the American coaches were reviewed and processed accordingly. It is sad to say also that the embassy in NY is full of crooks and very defficient employees that have no business working in that environment. It is pitiful to observe the unprofessionalism in that building.

Now, prior to going to Nigeria, we really did some recruiting because several schools had asked me to help find quality student-athletes from Nigeria. I asked around and got a list of prospects. I proceeded to contact the prospects just to get an idea who they were and what goals they had. They all wanted to play basketball at the next level. So I sent them a questionnaire via email so they could fill out their personal information and answer some ordinary questions included.  In all, the questionnaire had about 15 to 16 questions, and it asked about their academic background, what classes they had taken at completion of high school,  what their goals were in life, etc.  None of these kids could send back a completed questionnaire.  They all filled out their names, and addresses, and maybe the names of their high schools, and that was it. The ones that went beyond that point,  may have as well not bothered at all, because you could not make sense of what they wrote.  

This bothered me.  I sent out more forms to other sets of kids and the response was very similar.  In fact, I called some of the names on the list I had, and the kids I spoke to were just as clueless as the forms they filled out.

So I was wondering here if this was a massive decline in Nigerian education or what? If these kids could not even fill out a simple form, or contruct a simple sentence, how in this world do they figure they could manage college level course in the US and combine that with a rigorous athletic routine and pressure like they've never seen in their lives?  This poor showing mentioned above, applies to both Nigerian boys and girls.  The other thing I noticed in dealing with these young people was their lack of forthrightness. They were never forth coming, even though I stressed that over and over. The reason being, if there was something we needed to know about them, we wanted to know ahead of time so that if there was an issue with their academic paper work for instance, we could find ways to resolve them legitimately and be in compliance of NCAA regulations regarding foreign students.  But Nigerian kids are just so shaddy to borrow the phrase of Waziri.

Through my communication with some coaches,  the women's basketball coach at University of Illinois got in touch with me. After a while, I found a female player for her and connected them together. I told her what I knew of the girl, (which wasn't much), but basically sold her to the Illinois coach, and eventually, the coach offered a full scholarship and  began processing the form I-20. I had insited that the coach contac the US embassy directly or send her assistant to our clinic in Lagos so the assistant would take the Nigerian girl directly to the embassy and this way, her visa application may be granted without difficulty.  

This whole thing was set, then this girl did something really weird. She called the Coach up in Ilinois, and began talking about how she had already acquired her Masters degree in Nigeria and all what nots.  This just screwed up everything. For one, one has to be a legitimate freshman to be offered a scholarship based on need.  Two, you must be no older than 18. The school began asking questions about age at the pointand since they smelt a rat, they backed out of any commitment with the Nigerian girl.  So bottom line, this opportunity was lost because the school withdrew the scholarship.

In any case, this is just a side note, Let me go back to the youth program itself.  Eventually, we travelled to Nigeria a few weeks ago, and arrived at  the Abuja airport.  My three other colleagues had left 2 days prior.  Aside from the two luggages that the airline allows, I had 3 other extra luggages and had paind $700 in excess luggage at Newarck, NJ. We all had excess luggages and what those items were, were some material donations that our alma mata and some other schools had given us knowing that we were planning this camp to help Nigerian youth. They gave uniforms, coaching clip boards, basketballs in excess of 60, T-shirts, basketball shoes , whistles, etc.  We wanted to take these items because the local Nigerian coaches that we know often complain of how they lack ordinary items like balls to practise with.  So our excess luggage contained these items, and we gave them away to these kids freely in both Abuja and Lagos. I am glad we took those item because there were way too many impoverished  youth that the little things we were able to give made a small difference.  As a matter of fact, if we decide to hold another camp next year, we'll be looking to gear it more to under privileged youths. Gosh! There is massive need for kids that fall into this category, and through this effort, I realize how much we can infact do because there are people we know that are in support our our initiatives, especially schools and sports Organizations.
Right now, I have 40 computers with monitor sitting in my storage, and do not know what to do with them. They are all one or two year old, all given to me by my former college because I solicited their help with this youth program.

On arrival at Abuja, I had an open confrontation with the Nigerian customs and was delayed at the airport for about three hours after arrival. I was  going at it with members of the Nigerian customs because I refused to part with a single bribe.

What is so sad was that this was at the  Abuja Airport, the nation's capital, yet customs officials were so openly and blatantly recieving bribes in full public view. They not only receive, they also demanded as if it was a right.

I explained to the customs officer that attended to me that I was in the country for a youth leadership program. He told me to begin the program right there at their counter.  So was I supposed to begin running layup and shooting drills on their counter? When I refused to comply with his lousy request, it turned into an argument. I explained to the nutcase that this was a known program and that even their Boss Buba who happens to the be patron of the Nigerian Basketball Federation was aware of the youth program because we notified him a long time ago via email and letter.

They then demanded that I show them a letter from Buba since I claimed that he knew about the program. They said until I prodiced such letter, I would not be allowed to leave the airport with my luggage. The only option that I would have, would be to leave all the luggage at the airport and come back for them the next day.  I knew their game was aimed at frustrating me.  I told them that if the US and EU customs who were way superior to them saw no problem with my multiple luggage, why should they ? Wao!!!!!!!!!! This struck a nerve, and they began the usual....."ARE YOU TELLING ME MY JOB? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?......."

Anyhow, I would not give in. Some of my relatives that came to get me begged and begged that I should just part with something and let it go.  I seriously cautioned them, that it is exactly that attitude that has gotten the country into the mess it's in today. How could I be going to run a youth leadership program aimed at reshaping the metality and conduct of our young people, but end up offering bribes to get out of a jam? That compromises everything I stand for and would under no circumstance do give in. Eventually, they could not hold me, so I left with all my luggage.

That was day one. I will continue later.

[Nuruddeen]

I just want to share an experience my colleagues and I encountered in Nigeria on a recent trip.  About a year ago, three of my friends and I had formed an organization called African youth leadership program. All four of us that found this organization had played college basketball here in the US under athletic scholarships in different Universities/colleges.  We graduated and moved on to our respective professional careers, but stayed in touch as friends and would often collaborate on what we could do to help the next and future generation of Nigerian athletes (basketball players) to pursue their dreams.

So we found the African youth leadership program. The objective here is to help the next generation basketball players develop into leaders through a total college experience and not just focus on sports.  We brainstormed, designed programs, etc. I for example would sometimes get calls from college basketball coaches that I played against asking me if I could recommend some local kid in Nigeria for their program.  So we decided to organize a basketball clinic in Nigeria for a week and invite some of these schools/Coaches  so they could see the kids for themselves and decide on recruitment based on NCAA rules.

We decided to hold two camps.  One in Abuja and one in Lagos. We figured most of the youth in the northern part of the country would find it easier to attend the Abuja clinic, and the interested youth in the Southern part of the country, would find it easier to attend the Lagos program.  A clinic is basically a camp where we teach the players certain skill set,  show them certain drills, and then split them into different teams so they can scrimmage, and observers will access their talent level. A clinic is also not just about basketball, there are education sessions where speak to these young people about real life issues, decision making, personal responsibility, individual goal setting, etc

So we coordinated this program with some local coaches in Nigeria, we contacted the Ministries of sports and information with notification. We also contacted the Basketball governing body in Nigeria, NBBF, who showed no interest in our initiative.  We clearly wanted to partner with the so called stake holders in Nigerian basketball mainly because we felt this was our way of giving back.  In any case, they didn't seem very eager to be a part of the program until they saw the attention the program began generating.

From the US, we made several calls to people we knew personally, and tried coordinating with others to secure a gym so we coud run this program.  We were unsuccessul. As a matter of fact, the controllers of sport hall at the National stadium in Lagos were demanding for all kinds of ridiculous sums of  money from us. They even demanded for Diesel fee in the amount of =N=20,000 a day.
Eventually, the American International school in Victoria Island gave us full use of their gym for free.  There is an irony here. Here we are organizing a program that may benefit Nigerian kids, but the Nigerian authorities would not care to assist by allowing us the use of a dormant facility. Instead, an American institution in Nigeria, that has no stake at all, were the ones opening their doors to us for free so would host an event that may benefit not their kids, but our own Nigerian kids.  

In any case, I'll come back to that later. In preparation for the program in Nigeria, we had contacted the Nigerian consulate in NY, and informed them as well of what we were doing. They were aware because several American coaches had contacted them to request information concerning visas because they had arranged to be in Nigeria.  We managed to build some rapport with a high ranking member of the embassy who assisted with making sure the visa applications for the American coaches were reviewed and processed accordingly. It is sad to say also that the embassy in NY is full of crooks and very defficient employees that have no business working in that environment. It is pitiful to observe the unprofessionalism in that building.

Now, prior to going to Nigeria, we really did some recruiting because several schools had asked me to help find quality student-athletes from Nigeria. I asked around and got a list of prospects. I proceeded to contact the prospects just to get an idea who they were and what goals they had. They all wanted to play basketball at the next level. So I sent them a questionnaire via email so they could fill out their personal information and answer some ordinary questions included.  In all, the questionnaire had about 15 to 16 questions, and it asked about their academic background, what classes they had taken at completion of high school,  what their goals were in life, etc.  None of these kids could send back a completed questionnaire.  They all filled out their names, and addresses, and maybe the names of their high schools, and that was it. The ones that went beyond that point,  may have as well not bothered at all, because you could not make sense of what they wrote.  

This bothered me.  I sent out more forms to other sets of kids and the response was very similar.  In fact, I called some of the names on the list I had, and the kids I spoke to were just as clueless as the forms they filled out.

So I was wondering here if this was a massive decline in Nigerian education or what? If these kids could not even fill out a simple form, or contruct a simple sentence, how in this world do they figure they could manage college level course in the US and combine that with a rigorous athletic routine and pressure like they've never seen in their lives?  This poor showing mentioned above, applies to both Nigerian boys and girls.  The other thing I noticed in dealing with these young people was their lack of forthrightness. They were never forth coming, even though I stressed that over and over. The reason being, if there was something we needed to know about them, we wanted to know ahead of time so that if there was an issue with their academic paper work for instance, we could find ways to resolve them legitimately and be in compliance of NCAA regulations regarding foreign students.  But Nigerian kids are just so shaddy to borrow the phrase of Waziri.

Through my communication with some coaches,  the women's basketball coach at University of Illinois got in touch with me. After a while, I found a female player for her and connected them together. I told her what I knew of the girl, (which wasn't much), but basically sold her to the Illinois coach, and eventually, the coach offered a full scholarship and  began processing the form I-20. I had insited that the coach contac the US embassy directly or send her assistant to our clinic in Lagos so the assistant would take the Nigerian girl directly to the embassy and this way, her visa application may be granted without difficulty.  

This whole thing was set, then this girl did something really weird. She called the Coach up in Ilinois, and began talking about how she had already acquired her Masters degree in Nigeria and all what nots.  This just screwed up everything. For one, one has to be a legitimate freshman to be offered a scholarship based on need.  Two, you must be no older than 18. The school began asking questions about age at the pointand since they smelt a rat, they backed out of any commitment with the Nigerian girl.  So bottom line, this opportunity was lost because the school withdrew the scholarship.

In any case, this is just a side note, Let me go back to the youth program itself.  Eventually, we travelled to Nigeria a few weeks ago, and arrived at  the Abuja airport.  My three other colleagues had left 2 days prior.  Aside from the two luggages that the airline allows, I had 3 other extra luggages and had paind $700 in excess luggage at Newarck, NJ. We all had excess luggages and what those items were, were some material donations that our alma mata and some other schools had given us knowing that we were planning this camp to help Nigerian youth. They gave uniforms, coaching clip boards, basketballs in excess of 60, T-shirts, basketball shoes , whistles, etc.  We wanted to take these items because the local Nigerian coaches that we know often complain of how they lack ordinary items like balls to practise with.  So our excess luggage contained these items, and we gave them away to these kids freely in both Abuja and Lagos. I am glad we took those item because there were way too many impoverished  youth that the little things we were able to give made a small difference.  As a matter of fact, if we decide to hold another camp next year, we'll be looking to gear it more to under privileged youths. Gosh! There is massive need for kids that fall into this category, and through this effort, I realize how much we can infact do because there are people we know that are in support our our initiatives, especially schools and sports Organizations.
Right now, I have 40 computers with monitor sitting in my storage, and do not know what to do with them. They are all one or two year old, all given to me by my former college because I solicited their help with this youth program.

On arrival at Abuja, I had an open confrontation with the Nigerian customs and was delayed at the airport for about three hours after arrival. I was  going at it with members of the Nigerian customs because I refused to part with a single bribe.

What is so sad was that this was at the  Abuja Airport, the nation's capital, yet customs officials were so openly and blatantly recieving bribes in full public view. They not only receive, they also demanded as if it was a right.

I explained to the customs officer that attended to me that I was in the country for a youth leadership program. He told me to begin the program right there at their counter.  So was I supposed to begin running layup and shooting drills on their counter? When I refused to comply with his lousy request, it turned into an argument. I explained to the nutcase that this was a known program and that even their Boss Buba who happens to the be patron of the Nigerian Basketball Federation was aware of the youth program because we notified him a long time ago via email and letter.

They then demanded that I show them a letter from Buba since I claimed that he knew about the program. They said until I prodiced such letter, I would not be allowed to leave the airport with my luggage. The only option that I would have, would be to leave all the luggage at the airport and come back for them the next day.  I knew their game was aimed at frustrating me.  I told them that if the US and EU customs who were way superior to them saw no problem with my multiple luggage, why should they ? Wao!!!!!!!!!! This struck a nerve, and they began the usual....."ARE YOU TELLING ME MY JOB? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?......."

Anyhow, I would not give in. Some of my relatives that came to get me begged and begged that I should just part with something and let it go.  I seriously cautioned them, that it is exactly that attitude that has gotten the country into the mess it's in today. How could I be going to run a youth leadership program aimed at reshaping the metality and conduct of our young people, but end up offering bribes to get out of a jam? That compromises everything I stand for and would under no circumstance do give in. Eventually, they could not hold me, so I left with all my luggage.

That was day one. I will continue later.

I would not mind if you coud kindly give me the liberty to edit, publish and share your experience in Newspaper.

Jibo

[lionger]

Wow. Can't wait to read your next post Ete. What an indictment on our society :!:

[Ete]

Nurudeen you have my permission. I would have loved to post names of the several crooks I encountered starting from the customs officials at the airport, to the crooks in the local/state sports councils. I am still considering that, but what difference will it make.  We plan on running another program by December of this year. This time, we'll have several hidden camera devices to catch all the action at the airport, and our interactions with local and state officials.  Then, I'll make an official complaint to the authorities, and if some sanity is restored, I would not mind sending the CDs/tape of corrupt practices and corrupt persons to CNBC, CNN or any of the major T.V stations here.  when they air what is caught on tape,  maybe Obj's government will be  embarrassed enough to do something. Perhaps if President threatens never to invite him again to the white house, he'll sit up.

[HUSNAA]

We plan on running another program by December of this year. This time, we'll have several hidden camera devices to catch all the action at the airport, and our interactions with local and state officials.  Then, I'll make an official complaint to the authorities, and if some sanity is restored, I would not mind sending the CDs/tape of corrupt practices and corrupt persons to CNBC, CNN or any of the major T.V stations here.  when they air what is caught on tape,  maybe Obj's government will be  embarrassed enough to do something. Perhaps if President threatens never to invite him again to the white house, he'll sit up.

Your very own 'SMILE, YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA!!!'  .
Your social conscience is quite commendable Ete. However catching small fish taking bribes will hardly rock the boat. You need to get the big names. Keep us posted, that was a most interesting read.

[Nuruddeen]

Nurudeen you have my permission. I would have loved to post names of the several crooks I encountered starting from the customs officials at the airport, to the crooks in the local/state sports councils. I am still considering that, but what difference will it make.  We plan on running another program by December of this year. This time, we'll have several hidden camera devices to catch all the action at the airport, and our interactions with local and state officials.  Then, I'll make an official complaint to the authorities, and if some sanity is restored, I would not mind sending the CDs/tape of corrupt practices and corrupt persons to CNBC, CNN or any of the major T.V stations here.  when they air what is caught on tape,  maybe Obj's government will be  embarrassed enough to do something. Perhaps if President threatens never to invite him again to the white house, he'll sit up.

I will edit and publish the story in my newspaper but please try and include all those who are involved. I will send u the website link of the newspaper via ur e-mail whenever its published.

[Ete]

Thanks Husnna. Let me just say here though that catching the small fish is as important as catching the big fish.  Both classes of criminals are a problem, and they keep putting more dents on our already battered image.
Now, catching the big fish is a all whole different ball game, and would require the combined effort and will of the majority of Nigerians.  The powers feeding this corruption has dug in quite deep into the moral fabric of our society, and you know this.  There is not much one person or even a cross section of good intentioned people can do about them. To take on these people (big fish) would require a whole lot of planning and resources.

Anyhow, let me continue with my experience: So here is DAY 2.

Now, prior to arrival in Abuja, we had secured a gym at an army base. We had coordinated with the FCT assistant basketball Coach regarding the use of this facility. Now this guy is a real slimy rat, and has no character. During all our interaction with him over the phone, he totally assured us that the army gym had been secured for our use, and that everthing was in place and that the base commandant had given his approval. I sent official letters to the appropriate authorities on the base through him. In the letter, which had our organization's letter head and logo, I explained the purpose of the youth leadership program, and requested free use of the facility. The Abuja assistant coach got back to us and assured us that the approval had been granted.  He told us that xxxx amount of kids had expressed interest in attending the camp, and so on.  His only request or complaint, was that his team lacked balls to practise with, and that he lacked basic coaching tools such as clip boards, whistles, play books, etc.

I had no problem procuring those items for him. As a matter of fact,  I had about 20 indoor/outdoor basketballs we were going to leave with him as well as several pairs of shoes and uniforms for his players.

Well, so come the next day, and we left for the gym early to get the place ready and set up prior to the arrival of the participating kids.  While we were in the gym setting up banners, tables, equipments,  the Abuja assistant Coach shows up, and out of the blue informs me that
(A) Cost of feeding the kids for the duration of the camp in Abuja comes out to =N=300,000 naira

(B) Cost of diesel for the generator comes out to =N50,000 naira a day.

(C) Cost of accomodation for the kids from out of town comes out to =N=280,000 naira , and so "oya, oya, oya, we should bring the money quick so he can promptly take care of those needs.  He put up this hasty demeanour like he was doing us a favor. We were stunned at first because we never discussed any of this with him.  I flatly told him "HELL NO".  How ridiculous was that? I asked him if he took us for idiots.  He tried in vain to convince me to part with some money, and I told him to forget it. Then he left. By this time, about 100 kids and counting had showed up, and the Nigerian Coach from New York that was in charge of running the clinic went ahead issuing assaignments to other local volunteer coaches so the program could commence.

Not long after that, some sergent shows up out of the blue and informed me that we had no authorization to use the gym, and that we had to pay him =N=200,000 right there if we wished to proceed with our program.  The soldier said the 200,000 naira was even cutting us a deal.  So I said, F....K it, we are done. I went and apologised to the kids and informed them that we could no longer continue with the camp. The poor kids were so disappointed and confused. They had already started learning some interesting fundamentals , and had been given uniforms, etc.  So they were confused over my sudden announcement that they could no longer continue with the activities we had lined up for them.

One of the local coaches there was upset as well, and he suggested we go appeal to higher authorities on that army base, so we  bothl went.  We got tossed and directed from one officer to another, and back and forth without making any head way.  The program interruption began at about 10am. We eventually got a chance to meet a General who happened to be the base commandant by 6pm.  I really take my hat off to that General.  This was one of the few quality people we met.  We explained everything to the commandant.  I showed him my business card and explained to him that we all have our professional careers in the States, and that we have expended our own personal money just to do something nice for many of the under privileged kids.  I showed him copies of the Original letters of appeal I had written to whoever was in charge at the base asking for permission to use the base gym.  I showed him a list of items we brought along with us, I showed him a list of American Schools that would be represented, etc

The poor guy calmly commended our initiative and informed me honestly that nobody explain anything of such to him.  He said all he got was a regular request form for the use of the gym and that he approved it pending payment of the 45,000 naira rental fee.  The General told me he had never seen my letter. In fact, he informed us that he had just recently taken over as commandant of the base and one of his plans had been to figure out some recreation program or something so that the idle kids on the base would channel their energy towards that and hopefully not be unduly influenced by negative activity. So the General was all too happy to allow us free us of the gym and even went a step further by offering a hostel free for accomodation to kids that travelled in from sorrounding towns.  I could not thank him enough.  The General infomed me that he has had to personally sponsor a youth soccer team from the base just to keep those kids engaged in something positive.  True enough, a good percentage of participating kids in our camp were children of service men on that same base.
So bottomline, that was how day 2 went.  It was totally wasted except for my meeting with the base commander.

Just when I thought, we had accomplished something that day, I got a call  from the notorious Abuja assistant basketball coach informing me that the sports commission's bus which he had gone to bring so we could transport  the out of state kids to the hostel had suddenly developed engine problems and would require some =N=45,000 naira to fix.  I just ignored him, and so he never showed up again. We did make altrernative arrangement to transport the kids however.

Upon arriving at the hostel venue, of course another problem arose.  The damn corporal at the gate refused to allow the kids entrance into the hostel. He was shown a letter from the Commandant, but he would not bulge.  So I had to show up there in person and go over the spill, but it made no difference.  By this time, it was 9pm at night.  I could not call the general, I didn't think that would have been polite. So my colleague called a high ranking woman at the sports ministry. The poor woman who was aware and in support of the program, dashed to the scene and pleaded with this Corporal who eventually granted those kids accomodattion at the hostel.  When it was all said and done, and I made sure all the kids were settled in and safe. I left after verifying everyone's identity.  I even took pictures of everyone with my digital cameras. I verified the names of the personnel of duty and documented everything, then left to go prepare for the next day. It was 11:25p.m at night by that time.

I am glad however for the few good people that saw the good in our initiative and reached out to help one way or the other. Hopefully, when I go back in December, I plan on getting those decent people  some quality gifts they can treasure because without them, it would have been frustration without result.

Oh, by the way, on my way back to the US, I had gone to use the rest room at the departure hall of the International airport, I noticed that some nuisance kept hanging around like he was doing something. When I was done using the rest room, he asked me to "find him something" .  FIND YOU WHAT? I almost yelled.  Money of course. What for? I asked. His response was that he is the guy that keeps the rest room clean. So? Don't you get paid? Well yes,  he replied, but if I can still find him something, he would appreciate it.

[lionger]

Good stuff Ete. This is really good stuff you'r doing for these children. The case of the naija sodja is yet another example of the vicious cycle of poverty and corruption. When I was in Abuja I went to a public primary school populated for the most part by children of low-ranking servicemen, and later I attended secondary school in the barracks where these children lived. Sad to say that these servicemen did not live in the best of conditions. They could not even afford to send their children to the primary and secondary schools in their own barracks ( which were of relatively good quality); so it turns out that the vast majority of the children going there are of civilian parents. Never mind the fact that the school fees were thrice as expensive for the civilians as it was for the servicemen! It's no surprise then that some of them resort to bribery and extortion, as do the police and others.

On the other hand HUSNAA I think it is important to catch the small fish as well. I think one of the main reasons why Nigeria tops the list of world's most corrupt countries is due to the insidiously pervasive nature. So unfortunately we can't discriminate b/w small fish and big ones; all need to be caught

[HUSNAA]

I quite agree that small fish also have to be caught. What I meant was that in terms of trying to shake the govt out of its lethargy, one needs to have a big scandal involving well known ppl that would make everyone sit up and take notice. That's what should rock the boat and force OBJ's hand.

Talking of corruption, I was  shaken to hear that Okonjo Iweala has resigned. I am really disheartened. There is more than meets the eye in her resignation and the fact that OBJ readily assented to the resignation leads me to believe that she was being obstructed from pursuing the case of some several hundred millions that had been diverted before she took office, in her new ministry and the matter of which she unearthed and wanted to pursue. I dont know how many of us have heard about this latest scandal, however, she was told by the Secretary to the Federal Govt that the case was an old hat, meaning that it had been dealt with I suppose, ( in their own fashion), which is to say that it has been swept under the carpet and wont be investigated, presumably because some top bureaucrats are involved.
OBJ wants to sanitize the country from being corrupt, but I really believe he is meting out selective indictments  because there are some ppl he just wont touch.

[Dave_McEwan_Hill]

This is some of the best information I have read since I started visiting Kano Online. It is heartening to know that there are people deeply concerned about the depth of corruption in Nigeria. " Pervasive" is the right word. When I was in Nigeria it was mostly the white folk that got bribes extorted from them and particularly rich Lebanese. Many white folks refused to pay the bribes at the airport and for any services they required from various ministries but these were mainly teachers, doctors and government officers. Most commercial operators paid the bribes and therefore encouraged the whole corruption process.
As a teacher I was never asked for airport bribes. This was not because I was a valued helper to Nigeria but more likely because the officers at the airport knew my salary was very small.
Before I left Nigeria cooruption was spreading out into the whole society.
It is hard to blame the "small fish" whenn they see the big men and your leaders stealing millions of dollars and still being held in respect.

Dave McEwan Hill

[Ete]

Thanks Lionger. I appreciate your commendation. Husnna, I agree with you regarding Okonjo-Iweala's resignation. she wandered past her 'pay grade' if you may.  As you stated, the minute she began uncovering things, the government got nervous and re-assaigned her.  This all goes to show the unseriousness of this administration in doing what's right.  Obasanjo has no intention of sanitizing the country. I don't believe he even knows how.

I am disappointed by the resignation of Okoju, but she's a class act. I expected she would quit sooner or later.  If according to Obasanjo, Okonju secured the debt relief deal with the Paris club (something that has eluded Nigeria for decades), initiated economic reforms to begin transforming our economy, etc , what then was the sense in replacing such a perennial over achiever?  Then within days of her re-assaignment to the Ministry of foreign affairs, she discovers that the Ministry had no functional copy machine, barely had electricity, had no internet access, no papers to type official letters with, and above all a fraudulent transaction of 4.9 million dollars that couldn't be properly accounted for.  So she went public.

Though Obj stepped in quick in defense of the previous Minister, but if Okoju's indictment of the Ministry were out of place,  how come the issues she raised existed anyway?

Where does one begin with a country like Nigeria?

[gogannaka]

Quite regrettable.
Let this not stop you from what you are doing ETE.
Good luck.

[gogannaka]

Quite regrettable.
Let this not stop you from what you are doing ETE.
Good luck.