Tag Archives: Critics

JJ, Omojuwa: An Exposé, Critics versus Wailing Wailers

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I felt led to drop this note against the fact that some Nigerians, especially on social media, just do not get it.

 

My criticisms of President Buhari and his administration are often met with statements like, “come and collect your Wailers form,” or “Wailers form has finished,” or “welcome our new wailer” or “Aso Rock has delayed your alert” amongst other predictable inanities. It has become necessary to define the context of some of the terms in the subject matter.

 

It is the right and responsibility of every citizen to hold the government accountable, this right does not suffer any limitation based on whether you voted for the government in power or not, it is your fundamental human right. Citizens who genuinely care about their country never fail to do same. Holding government accountable includes calling out public officers when they are wrong, continually demanding for transparency and accountability in the running of government and putting the government to task at all times. Take what the Bring Back Our Girls advocacy group are doing for instance, that is a classic way to hold your government accountable. You demand for your rights and that of others until at times you are seen as a pest.

 

Being a government critic is being a government critic irrespective of who the head of government is. When the government gets it wrong, it is your responsibility as a citizen to call them out. As usual, the so called Wailing Wailers decided to go petty yesterday after I called out the Buhari government saying, “Change begins with selling the presidential jets. ONLY a genuinely rich country should think of having up to 3. We have about 10 jets.” Now, irrespective of who is president, Nigeria has no business owning and maintaining 10 jets for the presidency. This particular statement came on the heels of the “Change-Begins-With-Me” campaign launched by the Buhari administration. An unnecessary campaign in my opinion and the reason for this position has since been treated on my @Omojuwa twitter timeline. No, criticizing the government does not make me a wailer, it makes me a normal citizen.

 

I do not know what was going through Mr. Femi Adesina’s head when he called out a group as “wailing wailers” but I do not know that its definition cannot wrap up everyone who rises in criticism against president Buhari. The reason is simple and intuitive enough. If you spent five years deifying and praising a largely corrupt and clueless Goodluck Jonathan administration, an administration whose high point was the fact that it left in peace when it got voted out by the Nigerian people, how do you justify your intentions on the altar of national interest when you suddenly realize just months into a new administration you were already calling for miracles, the miracles you did not expect with record breaking oil prices?

 

A wailing wailer is different from a regular critic in that the regular critic sees something wrong and points it out, he or she even gets to point out ideas to make change happen and the position of the regular critic does not change just because the head of government has changed. The wailing wailer is one who does not care about anything other than to show that Nigerians were wrong to have voted Goodluck Jonathan out. Period. For them, it is about proving a point; you all were wrong to have voted Jonathan out. If you regularly see those who voted Buhari often posting messages like, “even though Buhari is not impressing me, I do not regret voting Jonathan out,” that is because these wailing wailers wake up dialy reminding people they should never have sacked Goodluck Jonathan. For them, it is about nothing but Goodluck Jonathan.

 

This is why all of us cannot be wailers. Like I tweeted in July after another round of criticisms against the Buhari administration and the so called wailers came with their, “oya come and take form” pettiness again, “I am NOT a Wailer. I do not criticise govt because I hate those who run it or because of appointment, I do it because government needs it.”

 

I hope the so called wailing wailers continue to have the strength to wail against Buhari – it hurts to lose power but they should focus on that and not look to ascribe the I-lost-so-I-am-crying mentality to others who are just about our country’s collective progress. In the end, whether you wail or you criticize just because you care about your country, every administration needs to be called out when it gets things wrong. You cannot excuse maladministration for 5 years, praise a government globally renowned for corruption over the same period, suddenly find the eyes to see that government can actually be wrong after a government you worshipped got voted out and expect that your wailing against the new government and my criticism of the new government should have us get called the same name. Nah, I am not a wailing wailer and one million criticisms against this government or any other one after it will not make me one, because I am not crying over spilled milk, I just want a better country, irrespective of who is president.

I Will Not Resign, Sheriff Replies Critics

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The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said that he will not be forced to relinquish the task of rebuilding the party entrusted to him by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP.

Speaking at his first interactive session with journalists at the party’s national secretary in Abuja yesterday, Sheriff said since he was given the major task of rebuilding and repositioning the party, he believed that it was the responsibility of the leadership to decide on his tenure.
Responding to allegations of his links to Boko Haram, Sheriff said there was no one in authority or any court of competent jurisdiction that had ever indicted him for complicity in the criminal acts of the terrorists.

Reacting to calls by some leaders of the PDP to step down to avert a further crisis in the party, Sheriff said such a move was uncalled for, assuring the party’s stakeholders that he would reach out to all aggrieved party men for reconciliation and join forces to rebuild the party.
“I saw the person who was reading at the press conference, Ambassador Wilberforce Juta. He submitted himself to the National Working Committee (NWC) of this party, aspiring to be chairman.

“Also, (Mohammed) Wakil whom you saw on television submitted himself to the NWC to be appointed chairman and votes were cast. The man that was speaking at the press conference (on Sunday) got one vote and he is asking me to resign. Therefore, I will not resign,” he said.

The former Borno State governor insisted that his emergence took place through due process, adding that contrary to the views propagated by his critics in the party that he was imposed on the PDP, he was granted a waiver to contest the Senate seat after joining PDP and was endorsed by a duly constituted NEC.

“I was given an official waiver by the NWC immediately I joined the party when I sought to run for the Senate and my letter of waiver was signed by the National Secretary.

“The leadership of this party, in its wisdom, asked me to lead. If the NEC of this party collectively asked me to lead, I will lead; but not somebody who contested an election and got one vote.

“I think if there is a moral issue, because he should not even have gone on air. However, in this country, people are allowed to say what they like.

“I took over this party; I am here as a national chairman of this party by the grace of all the NEC members of the party. I am here to rebuild the party.

“What time we need to do this job will be determined by the leaders and owners of the party when they sit down collectively to discuss.

“For me, taking over office today, I cannot tell you when I will be leaving, I will only tell you when the party leaders sit down and see what is the immediate time to do this job, and if they decide, I am ready for it.

“The person we saw on the television asking me to resign submitted himself to the NWC for the position and got just one vote, but I will not resign. I do not plan to resign as I was appointed to reposition this party. I will do my job and will not resign,” he said.

Elaborating on his tenure, Sheriff said he was appointed to rebuild the party but the time frame under which this would be done would be the job of the party leaders to decide.

Sheriff expressed regret that PDP was undeservedly pushed to the role of opposition after leading the country for over 16 years.

Credit: ThisDay

Stop Blaming APC For Nigeria’s Economic Challenges – Dogara

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Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives, has called on the critics of the All Progressives Congress-led administration to stop blaming the government for the current economic challenges facing Nigeria.

 

Dogara made the call in a statement signed by Mr Turaki Hassan, his Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs and issued to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

 

The statement said Dogara made the statement when he received unemployed Aeronautic Engineers and Pilots from Bauchi State who paid him a courtesy visit.

 

He said that instead of the blaming the APC-led government, the people who brought Nigeria to its current state should be blamed.

 

Dogara said that the Buhari-led government was working hard to sanitise the system, adding that it would take some time to achieve the objective.

“You know that we are facing challenges in the country at the moment. Even though people do not want to talk about on the ground that we campaigned that we are going to fix the country,’’ he said.

 

“We have sowed in the wind and we are now reaping whirlwind and as long as the earth abides, there will be seed time and harvest time. We do not want to dwell in the past, we are facing the future,’’ he said.

 

The speaker urged unemployed youths in the country not to despair and assured them that government was doing everything possible to create job opportunities.

 

“Investment in education, skills and knowledge is never a wasted investment,’’ he said and expressed optimism in the ability of the government to reduce unemployment in the country. Don’t despair because no training is wasted; but it is our responsibility to open the private sector for job opportunities,’’ he said.

 

He urged Nigerians to join hands with the government to sanitise the system to enable it create job opportunities, especially for the youth.

 

“If youths are not employed, it will be a disservice to the society as well as discouragement to the graduates, ’’ he said.

 

Speaking earlier, the leader of the team, Capt. Bala Jibrin, said that the pilots and Aeronautic Engineers, who were sponsored by Bauchi State Government to acquire knowledge in the United States, graduated in 2011.

 

Jibrin, who said that the pilots and Aeronautic Engineers had been unemployed since their arrival in the country, requested the speaker to facilitate their employment.

 

He said that Bauchi government spent N1 billion to train the 20 youths drawn from the 20 Local government areas of the state.

 

 

(NAN)

See Bishop T.D Jakes’ Classic Response To Ripped Jeans Criticism

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What should one wear to church?

Bishop T.D. Jakes’s decision to wear jeans to One Church LA on Sunday to the contemporary church son-in-law Touré Roberts and daughter Sarah lead, has garnered such a mixed response.

But Bishop Jakes was ready for his detractors. He stated that if people were as concerned with more important matters as they are his decision to wear jeans for one Sunday to the church in LA that he visited, the world would be a better place.

“I certainly want to comply with the word,” Bishop Jakes said. “I just missed the one about jeans in the pulpit.”

“When all else fails send everybody to hell who disagrees with you about blue jeans! Smh”

“I just can’t believe this has been debated by two or three antagonist all night! You don’t have the right to dress me! You do have the right not to like it. I probably might not like something u wear. That’s fine! If we just mind our own business, the whole world would be better!”

“I wish we had this much passion for the murders in Chicago, or those who are suffering in our cities. When I make post about helping the needy I don’t hear from many of you at all. You all seem to know what Jesus would wear but have no interest in what He would do! @art_vsz While you debate my jeans, tell em where you stand on women wearing make up, or female pastors. This kind of legalism is why so many frown on people of faith! In a word, get out of my closet and help the people in your cities! The homeless don’t care what any of us wear. Those suffering w cancer and disease don’t either. But you’ve spent your time arguing about something that is irrelevant! Most of the antagonist don’t even follow me anyway! Go back to your world and DO GOOD FOR GOD!”

Credit: madamenoire

Michelle Obama Slammed For Calling Beyonce A ‘Role Model’

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A tweet from the US First Lady wishing Beyonce a happy birthday and calling her a role model caused an online uproar on Beyoncé’s birthday. Some didn’t agree that the singer is a role model. Most of the negative tweets focused on the way she dresses, her behavior on stage and in videos, her ‘sexually explicit’ lyrics, her husband’s violent past, and allegations that she has used or does use drugs. See the tweets below…

However, others pointed out Beyonce’s business successes and praised her “body confidence”:

Soyinka Is More Of A Successful Hunter Than A Political Critic- Obasanjo Re Echoes Opinion

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Former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has repeated once again that Professor Wole Soyinka is more of a successful aparo (guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic. He repeated it on a programme tagged ‘Book Club’ on Channels. It will be recalled that in his book, My Watch, the former president had said;

“For Wole, no one can be good, nor can anything be spot-on politically except that which emanates from him or is ordained by him. His friends and loved ones will always be right and correct no matter what they do or fail to do. He is surely a better wine connoisseur and a more successful aparo (guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic.”

The professor however replied him last year December, shortly after the book went public, in a piece titled ‘Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey’, where he vehemently protested the description of him, calling Obasanjo an expert liar, who lies to boost his ego.

But repeating what he had earlier said, Obasanjo in the interview said;

“Wole Soyinka is a gifted man. I have always acknowledged that but he is a bad politician and I have also always said that; and that is my own point of view. He may agree with it, he may not agree with it.

“But having said that, I also, in my book, bring out Wole Soyinka as I see him and that’s my own judgment; that’s my own perspective of him. He may agree, he may not agree but anybody can bring out his own perspective of me.

“For instance, I know that if I want somebody to give me the best wine, one of the people I will go to is Wole Soyinka and I know he has a taste for good wine and I said that in the book.”

Fashola Blasts Critics Over Lagos Debt Profile

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Perhaps as a parting shot, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has asked critics of his administration to evaluate the gains of the infrastructure development brought about by the loans of his administration and stop emphasising the figures.

Fashola, who made this clarification at the weekend during an interview session with select journalists at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, also noted that there was a distinct repayment schedule for the bonds obtained by the state government with credit worthiness.

“The borrowing you are talking about, when you measure it against the asset, today, we took N275 billion bond over about eight years. The first thing we had to do was to repay the old bond of N15 billion because Lagos State drew N15 billion out of the N25 billion bond. We had to repay so that we can take full benefit of what we were trying to do, which was going to be issued in series and we did all these things in public.

“What did we use that money to finance? We used that money to finance infrastructure. So as the monthly Internally Generated Reveue (IGR) is coming, we are refunding 15 per cent of that IGR and don’t forget that the N20 billion you are talking about, 15 per cent goes straight into a consolidated debt service account. We can’t touch it. So, take 15 per cent of N20 billion out. We have close to about N100 billion in that account to pay the debts. So, those who are saying we owe; the system to pay the bond is secured.

“We just paid the second bond, which was the first that I took. We paid it; I think it was last year. The next bond will be due in 2017 and it’s about N60 or 70 billion, but we have N100 billion in the account,” he explained.

The governor however reiterated that the state had “secured our liabilities as far as the bonds are concerned. As far as the local short term loans from banks are concerned, we are able to pay and if you don’t want a life of debt, it means first that Lagosian must agree that let us reduce our budget to only what we earn. We have a budget of about N489 billion, let’s use the IGR example, 30 x 12 is 360, and so, we are already in a hole of about N119 billion,” he explained.

Fashola noted that most of those attempting to criticise the administration are doing so without paying attention to the advantages that the bonds have brought to the people of the state, particularly in the area of improved living standard of the populace.

Read More: thisdaylive