Tag Archives: #ChangeBeginsWithMe

“Buhari Will Step On Toes, Big Fat Toes & Heavens Will Not Fall” – Lauretta Onochie

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This is a change government. There will be changes to the ways we do things in Nigeria. If we continue in the ways we have done it in the past, we will continue to be saddled with the same woes we are suffering today.

The rule of law is being respected by those in authority for the first time in our recent history. For instance, Col Sambo Dasuki is being held LAWFULLY.

Attacks and Petitions based on falsehood can continue to fly around. It’s corruption fighting back so it makes no difference because there’s a focus. CHANGE MUST HAPPEN.

More Judges, evidently corrupt ones, will be pulled in by the DSS, EFCC, Police, Customs, NDLEA, and Ordinary Nigerians who can obtain a warrant. That’s according to The NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES ACT Section 2 Sub (3). It also covers the activities of the DSS.

?DSS is also, covered by ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT, ACJA 2015, signed into law by Ex-president Jonathan exactly 2weeks before the handover to President Buhari.

Read this:
ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2015
This is what the law provides…

? 12. (1) Where A PERSON or Police officer acting under a warrant of arrest or otherwise having authority to arrest, has reason to believe that the suspect to be arrested has entered into or is within any house or place, the person residing in or being in charge of the house or place shall, on demand by the police officer or person acting for the police officer, allow him free access to the house or place and afford all reasonable facilities to search the house or place for the suspect sought to be arrested.

? (2) Where access to a house or place cannot be obtained under subsection (1) of this section, THE PERSON or Police officer may enter the house or place and search it for the suspect to be arrested, and in order to effect an entrance into the house or place, MAY BREAK OPEN ANY OUTER OR INNER DOOR OR WINDOW OF ANY HOUSE OR PLACE, whether that of the suspect to be arrested or of any other person or otherwise effect entry into such house or place, if after notification of his authority and purpose, and demand of admittance duly made, he cannot obtain admittance…..

?Toes, big fat toes will be stepped on. Heavens will not fall. Ordinary Nigerians have been ruined by the activities of corrupt judges in this nation. Our institutions have been wrecked. About time!

Some confused Nigerians have made a singsong out of “Buhari must restructure Nigeria or we die”. They have no understanding that it’s the role of the Sleeping beauty, the National Assembly. Arresting judges suspected of corruption is all part of that restructuring within the purview of the executive.

It’s nauseating that those calling for restructuring cannot recognise restructuring in the arrest of the Judges as they are up in arms, in condemnation of the cleansing of the judiciary.

But We now have a leader, a President, who has the political will and the good moral standing to lead Nigerians in an onslaught against institutionalised corruption and decay.

Nigerians must speak us in support of our nation as we battle to recover our nation from the corrupt cabal that had held our nation ransom.

God bless Nigeria.
God bless us Everyone.
Lauretta Onochie
@Laurestar.

FG urged to domesticate ‘Change begins with me’ campaign in schools

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Young Intellectuals in Ogun state have urged the federal government to introduce the ‘Change begins with me’ campaign in primary, secondary and tertairy schools so as to inculcate a positive attitude among young Nigerians.

This was the submission of past and present leaders of Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education students associations that gathered at the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State, to deliberate on the “Change Begins With Me Campaign” recently lunched by President Muhammed Buhari.

The campaign is a deliberate attempt by the President Buhari’s administration to change the negative perception and mindset about Nigerians.

Participants at the event all agreed that the ‘change begins with me’ campaign is a well thought out campaign and should be begin with the youths who are the future of the country.

All speakers agreed that until Nigerians change themselves, the country cannot make progress.

One of the Speakers who spoke on behalf of the Muslim Students society of Nigeria, Abdulateef Ganiyu, quoting from the Quran maintained that the current situation of the country, requires deep reflection and clear understanding of the tenets of the various religion on good citizenship.

Quoting from the holy Quran, he said, “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition ofbthe people, until they change what is in themselves”

Speaking at the event, Ogun State Chairman of the Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education, Dr. Iyasere Emmanuel Doyin, called on all students irrespective of level or institution to embrace change of attitude in all their actions.

According to him, the older generation of Nigerians have particularly inflicted on their younger generation a negative and low moral value which has continued to result to the degrading quality of leadership in the country.

He recalled how as a student union leader in his hey days at the University, they could force government to do the right thing, whereas students union leaders today have become stooges of political warlords and social media activists who on daily basis denigrate the image of their own country.

He said the future belongs to the youths and urged them to embrace the campaign so as to build a Nigeria of their dream.

Students union leaders present at the event pleaded with young Nigerians to embrace skills acquisitions and become self empowered, rather than waiting for government to do everything for them.

One student union leader, Ayo Samuel said, “It is high time students pick up the challenge to liberate themselves through good citizenship and dedication to nation building. The future belong to us. We must build a country that we will be proud of. And we can only do this by changing the negatives about Nigeria.”

Change Does Not Begin with an Empty Slogan, Mr. President, By Gimba Kakanda

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Change

Last Thursday, the Federal Government, obviously terrified by the burden of expectations on it, launched what is without doubt an exercise in propaganda. It is a social orientation campaign named “Change Begins With Me”. Introducing the campaign, the President said, “Our citizens must realize that the change they want to see begins with them.” And then, “Before you ask ‘where is the change they promised us’, you must first ask how far have I changed my ways, (sic) ‘what have I done to be part of the change for the greater good of society’.”

This is an audacious attempt to alter the definition of “Change” the APC proposed when it approached us in selling its beautiful ideas for Nigeria.  The governing party’s idea of change has been widely archived, and it’s just impossible to convince the people that the change they promised isn’t creating three million jobs yearly, providing free meals for public primary school public, offering N5,000 stipends to unemployed youths, adopting Social Welfare Programmes to cater for the poor, free maternal and children healthcare services, amongst similar visions as laudable as they were popular.

This is why the definition provided by the President is a contradiction of what the APC told us, that it would lead the way to our redemption. The Change promised Nigerians was framed as institutional and systemic, not this grand campaign for exceptional individualism. The problem, as I’ve repeatedly said, is not the person, not the Nigerian. It’s the institutions, stupid, to creatively quote an exceptional American who also came to power chanting Change. Institutions aren’t made by people, they are made by rules, fair rules impartially administered, hard to bend. That is the Change we were promised, it was the Change we expected and voted for, it is the Change that is demanded.

Have you ever paused to ponder why Nigerians beat traffic lights in Abuja but obey traffic rules in London? It’s because the UK institutions are strong. So, the change we anticipate must begin with institutions changing people. Telling some people that change begins with them is like telling a robber to stop stealing. No, you’ve to build a strong Police to change him, and strong social services so that petty theft for survival is diminished. Citizens are often only as good and as incorruptible as the country wants them to be, through its institutions.

An expatriate friend, an Australian, beats traffic lights in Abuja and he actually once described it as fun. He’ll never try it in his country. Why? It’s not patriotism. Words like “change begins with me” will never stop people from disobeying traffic rules. To achieve this, you need surveillance cameras and strong penalising institutions. Wait, why do you think Americans are afraid of evading tax? It’s the horror of having to deal with IRS. It’s not patriotism. Who’s afraid of FIRS? Definitely not the Nigerian big man who’s sure of his ability to make phone calls and get any case against him dropped! So, change should begin with the President addressing institutional lapses like those employment scams at CBN and FIRS, and apologising to the nation for condoning such nepotism.

Truth is, this “Change Begins With Me” campaign may only further give the President more excuses to skip electoral promises. He and his handlers will claim they failed to deliver as promised because the citizens didn’t change. Our President may go down in history as just another politician if he does not stick to the dream he promised which got him elected, with honest apologies or explanations where necessary.  He’s to lead and inspire a generation by giving them a functional nation to strive to change their realities. Change begins with having stable power supply, equipped and upgraded hospitals, developed road infrastructure, rehabilitated schools, countered nepotism, defeated crony capitalism…

Yes, you don’t need a witchdoctor to understand that the change promised by the APC means overturning our social conditions. Our people are hungry, forex is unstable, businesses are collapsing, and instead of changing their conditions, the government is shamelessly telling them that change begins with them. What the hungry citizens need isn’t an empty slogan, what they need is a favourable socio-economy to stay alive and thrive in. To say #ChangeBeginsWithMe when inflation is on autopilot is an understating of the nation’s reality, it’s a state-authorised insult. To deploy a slogan as facile and silly as #ChangeBeginsWIthMe in 2016 is an insult to the intelligence of even the dullest of the Nigerian electorate. Change means an improvement in the quality and responsiveness of our institutions, and we will never let the President CHANGE the CHANGE!

If Nigerians had not changed, they wouldn’t have volunteered to campaign for Candidate Muhammadu Buhari who, addressing delegates at his party’s National Convention before the elections, said, “I can’t give you a pocketful of dollars or Naira to purchase your support.”  What he offered in place of dollars was a beautiful dream. In that dream, the people saw a Nigeria where they don’t need a “connection” anymore to secure a job. But that has happened under his watch. This is why I suggested #ChangeAlongWithMe as a more sensible slogan elsewhere, because the President was elected to pave the way for the change by, for instance, installing functional streetlamps and establishing strong penalising institutions for citizens to obey traffic rules, and by stopping recruitment scams at our federal agencies for the citizens to get the sense and essence of a Nigeria without nepotism. Psychologists call these conditioning!

But the usual governmental praise-singers, in their serial bid to endorse the campaign, say its critics are ignorant, revealing their amusing misconception of Civics. Some have written that Nigerians have a sense of entitlement. They miss, of course, embarrassingly, that Nigerians are not requesting effective institutional change from the President. We are demanding it as he promised. It’s our right, paid for in blood and votes, it is not a privilege to which entitlement and too much of entitlement can be attached.

Nigerians are waiting for the President have them conditioned into what he wants them to be, possible only through his policies and actions. He has access to the public treasury and administrative machinery to shape the destiny of this nation. That the government is resorting to psychological propaganda to hoodwink Nigerians into embracing a contradiction of its promises and capabilities, is dispiriting. Change begins with action, and with the President not abdicating his responsibility to champion it. May God save us from us.

By Gimba Kakanda

@gimbakakanda on Twitter

#ChangeBeginsWithMe: FG spends N5bn on Presidential fleet in 15 months

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Despite the biting economic recession in the country, the Federal Government has spent the sum of N5bn on the 10-aicraft Presidential Air Fleet in the last 15 months, document obtained exclusively from the Presidency by Saturday punch has revealed.

According to the document, the Presidency put the amount of money so far released for the Presidential Air Fleet since the inception of the current administration in May 2015 till date in the region of N5bn.

The breakdown of the sum showed that N2.3bn was released for PAF by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation between May and November 2015.

That figure included releases for personnel costs, overheads and capital expenditures; out of the N5.19bn appropriated for PAF in the 2015 budget.

Of the sum, the Presidency said N99.715m was spent on aircraft maintenance, spares and subscription services.

The sum of N98.5m was also spent on operations; N165.373m on training and N85.5m on personnel medicals and overheads.

During the period, the document claimed that PAF spent N1.350bn to settle outstanding liabilities carried over from 2014 while N500m was refunded to the NSA for financial support rendered for the maintenance of the Fleet prior to release of funds.

According to findings from aviation experts, however, the Federal Government may have spent about N19.9bn on the 10-aircraft PAF in the last 15 months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The large-size PAF inherited from the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is the second largest airline in the country, coming after Arik Air which has 23 aircraft in its fleet.

According to experts’ estimated projections of expenses made in line with the cost of running and maintaining airplanes, about $65.13m (N19.9bn), using the official exchange rate of N305.5 per dollar, may have been spent on the 10-aicraft presidential fleet between May 29, 2015 and August 29, 2016.

According to the Presidency, the PAF contains 10 aircraft. These are: Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or AirForce One), one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V (Gulfstream 500), two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Sidley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters and two AgustaWestland AW 101 helicopters. Each of the two Falcon 7X jets were purchased in 2010 by the Federal Government for $51.1m, while the Gulfstream 550 costs $53.3m, a former Minister of Information, the late Pro. Dora Akunyili, had said.

The price of other aircraft in the fleets could not be ascertained. But according to Wikipedia, price.wescrawler. com and airline executives, the factory price of other aircraft in the fleet are: Boeing Business Jet, $59m; HS 4000, $22.9m; AgustaWestland 139, $12m; and AgusatWestland 101, $21m.

This brings a combined estimated value of Nigeria’s PAF to $347.4m (N106.13bn).

According to airline chief executives and industry experts, airlines spend between 15 and 20 per cent of the cost of an aircraft on its operation yearly.

They explained that averagely, a little less than one-fifth of the cost of the plane is spent every year on insurance, flight and cabin crew, maintenance, fuelling, catering and training.

Using a conservative percentage of 15 per cent, it means that about $52.11m (N15.92bn) must have been spent on the presidential fleet by May 29, 2016.

A quarter of the annual maintenance cost ($52.11 or N15.92bn) would also have been spent to maintain the 10-aircraft in the presidential fleet in three months after May 29, if the Federal Government followed experts’ recommendation on maintenance of its air fleet.

This means that between June and August this year, an additional $13.02m (N3.98bn) would have been spent in principle to maintain the 10-aicraft presidential fleet.

It means, all things being equal, between May 29, 2015 and August 29, 2016 (15 months), the Presidency would have spent $65.13m (N19.9bn) to maintain the 10-aicraft presidential fleet.

Though the amount ought to have been N12.8bn, the depreciation of the naira from 197/dollar to 305.5/dollar at the official interbank market raised the amount to N19.9bn. This indicates an increase of 45 per cent.

Aviation experts told Saturday PUNCH that depreciation in naira value had made the cost of maintaining airplanes to go up astronomically.

This, they argued, was because airline and aircraft maintenance expenses were denominated in dollars.

They therefore urged the President o reduce the size of the PAF as soon as possible.

The General Secretary, Aviation Round Table, an industry pressure group, Group Captain John Ojikutu, said Buhari needed to reduce the PAF and sell aircraft belonging to most of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

He said, “It is high time the Presidency reduced the number of aircraft in that fleet. We can’t be spending our scarce forex to maintain a large fleet of 10 aircraft.”

A few weeks after his inauguration, Buhari had reportedly ordered the immediate disposal of some of the planes in the PAF.

However, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, later denied knowledge of such directive.

“The story of the order for the sale of aircraft in the Presidential Fleet, about which so much interest is being expressed, is not known to us,” Shehu had said.

Other aviation experts and Nigerians had called on the President to reduce the fleet.

A former Assistant General Secretary, Airline Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Muhammed Tukur, said the aircraft could be sold to both airline operators and private individuals who could use them for commercial purposes.

He said that this could generate more revenue and create jobs.

Nigeria happens to be one of the few countries with a large PAF.

Most major countries in Europe and Asia maintain two aircraft in their PAF. According to Wikipedia, Japan maintains only two Boeing 747-400 planes in its PAF.

Netherlands government operates only two aircraft, a Fokker 70 and Gulfstream IV to transport the Dutch Royal family and government officials such as the Prime Minister and other ministers.

The Queen of England and the UK’s Prime Ministers often go on British Airways chartered flights for long trips.

Countries like Ghana, Algeria and a host of others in Africa maintain only one aircraft in their PAF.

Reacting to the development, Chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said spending a whopping N5bn on maintenance of 10 aircraft at a time when many states “cannot pay salaries and dozens of families going hungry across most parts of the country is insensitive and a hallmark of an anti-people regime.”

While condemning the All Progressives Party-led Federal Government for engaging in the same ‘sins’ it accused the ousted Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for, Adeniran said the high level of waste on the part of the government in the face of hunger wasn’t what Nigerians yearned for while electing Buhari.

He said, “Spending that type of money on maintenance of aircraft is not the best at this time. It is profligacy, it is unnecessary and smacks of insensitivity on the part of the regime that is supposed to effect positive change in the lives of the people.

“A few days ago the Federal Government launched the ‘Change begins with me’ campaign but I disagree with the government that because it is like shifting the goalpost to Nigerians. This administration has not shown us that it has good plans. All the policies that have been implemented so far – both fiscal and monetary – are anti-people. This is not the type of government that we yearned for.

“They criticised Goodluck Jonathan of keeping a large fleet of aircraft but they are also doing the same thing. I think Buhari is alone in his anti-corruption fight because most of his cabinet members have not been able to detach themselves from the lifestyle of the past regime.

A former Governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, said President Buhari administration “is as wasteful as the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.”

He also asked the President to sell some of the jets in order to minimise wastage.“They should sell off some of the jets in order to reduce wastage of our economic resources and also to demonstrate the change they are talking about,” he said.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Presidential Garba Shehu, hinted that there was a committee already deliberating on trimming the presidential fleet.

He made the revelation in a reaction to a tweet by blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, who asked why the Presidency has yet to reduce the 10 aircraft on its fleet.

“There is a government committee already in place, working to reduce the number of aircraft in the presidential fleet,” Shehu said.

 

Source: The Punch

#ChangeBeginsWithMe: The Unnecessary Shenanigans of the Change Brigade – Adeeko Ademola Abayomi

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When you pour water on the head, it flows down to the legs. You don’t pour water on the legs and expect it to come up to the head. Yesterday, we were entertained to an odd logic that suggests water should be poured on the legs and then it’ll be expected flow up. Natural logic should be applied to this change thing.

There is nowhere in the world where responsible follower-ship precedes responsible leadership. The former comes before the latter.

Having said this, I will like us to note that the #ChangeBeginsWithMe campaign launched by the Ministry of Information via the National Orientation Agency is a laudable one. Don’t get me wrong, it is one campaign that is long overdue for the necessary reorientation of the Nigerian people.

However, I have this feeling that responsible leadership breeds responsible follower-ship basically because I believe the best way to set people to a task is to show them through example. And therein lies the difference between a boss and a leader.

Considering how long Nigerians have been in this abusive relationship with the government, it will make more sense if a government that proclaims change to actually take the lead in showing its seriousness about its proclamations, and not dictate attitudinal change. Dictation is for dictators while leadership by example is for true leaders.

Now, what is change? Change is to become different; to make (someone or something) different; to become something else entirely different from the normal.

With that definition, I will honestly say that the present administration has shown basically little or nothing to show that they’re who they claim to be.

Now, let me address some little but key decisions that were not taken, which would have been the moral justification on which this government would have leveraged, to challenge Nigerians to change.

We all complained about waste in Government under GEJ/PDP, particularly, the over-bloated presidential fleet of jets. Months have passed now, nothing has changed. Now, it’s either the waste doesn’t matter anymore or somehow, the government had forgotten it’s promises. Aso Rock still expends millions to feed the President. There is still widespread poor communication mechanism. Media aides are everywhere attacking Nigerians for asking questions but somehow, this government still does not think change begins with it? We’re not ready.

Even though, selling off the extra jets won’t take us out of recession but please find out how much it takes to maintain 1 jet, let alone 9. Recently, Malawi’s new president sold off presidential jets and 60 Mercedes cars in the presidential fleet just to raise funds to avert food crisis in the country but Nigeria still spends its own resources to maintain a fleet of unnecessary jets in this time of recession.

Sometime last year, the President promised to disclose his assets publicly, a promise nobody forced him to make. Till date, it remains a secret. That is not the body language of a government that is serious about change.

Let us take a cue from Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Elrufai. Immediately he was sworn in as governor, Elrufai slashed his salary by 50 % and even that of his staff. He immediately set a tone that very moment to make his people understand that his government wasn’t there to make money but to serve the people.

I agree that our psyche, as Nigerians, has been messed up so much that a verbal campaign like#ChangeBeginsWithMe will achieve nothing, especially with the people groaning under current hardship.

I have not said the campaign is bad but we should have enough intuition to know that you’re asking Nigerians to change meanwhile you have done nothing to show that you want to bring change.

The act in which government makes sacrificial demands from a populace that have benefited nothing from it is unbecoming. People in government need to understand the responsibility that comes with leadership. Sacrifices and Leadership via example are the best tools to get even your enemies to do certain things. You cannot be living in affluence and then expect Nigerians who put their all on the line to make a living under harsh economic conditions to embark on fruitless sacrifices.

The government needs to look inwards and realize that the real change begins with it. When you make sacrifices, you have earned a moral justification to challenge others to  make sacrifices too. If not, you’re only going to succeed in agitating further an already angry people.

#ChangeBeginsWithMe is a good initiative however, not from a government that has shown little or nothing to kick-start the change it promised.

I have said my own, you can now insult my parents. Cheers!

#ChangeBeginsWithMe: Buhari Launches Fight Against Reckless Behaviour

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Today, President Muhammadu Buhari is asking for people to change the way they behave. The president launched the campaign in the capital, Abuja.

 In a speech he said:

It is safe to say today that honesty, hard work and godliness have given way to all kinds of manifestations of lawlessness and degeneration in our national life.”

The government is using #ChangeBegiunsWithMe on Twitter to get its message out. Read tweets below:

https://twitter.com/NOA_Nigeria/status/773821102107787264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw