N54billion for ‘Babi Allah’

WHILE in detention during the General Ibrahim Babangida regime, Dr. Beko  Ransome-Kuti became so frail and collapsed in court. His brother, Olufela, would not take that lightly. He called those of us in the media who are his friends to his house for a briefing.  As he was talking, he saw his brother, Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kudi on the front page of The Guardian chastising medical workers who were on strike at the time for not having enough regard for the lives of their patients.

Said Fela: “My brother too don dey talk like person we no well as him dey work with people wey no well. Doctor life no important to protect before him go protect patient?”

This came back powerfully to me last week when I got to the details of the fight my friend, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, was engaged with some lawmakers in Abuja. The junior minister for Labour and Productivity who was one the best screened for the job blew his top and issued a very angry statement after the encounter. I was even going to take his side until I got the messy details of the “Babi Allah“ project they were fighting over.

Very angry statement

I recall my discussion with the Ooni of Ife after the president announced the Prof. Doyin Salami Economic Advisory Council. The Arole Oodua surmised that he got that right. I agreed with Kabiyesi but added that I would have thumbed-up if those were our ministers and not just advisers. I doubt very much if the N20,000 per month job for the 774,000 was an advice from them or if they were asked their thought and what they said.

The N54 billion we are asking Keyamo to supervise “burning”, assisted by MC Olumo and others, is just one more evidence that there is no country here anymore and that if you give garri, water, stove and lighter to our Federal Government, they cannot successfully make  eba. So, these are the kinds of inanities they discuss about our lives at the Federal Executive Council? There is nobody in that council with an idea that can get 20 per cent of that number permanently engaged and with serious value to the country?

The government of Gen Yakubu Gowon who exuberantly said Nigeria’s problem was not cash but how to spend it used £11m to build a Volkswagen plant. In today’s value that is just a little over what we want to burn in three months with no value added. In my corner of the country, it is said that a child lacks wisdom and the children are doing fasting and prayer for that child not to die as if anything kills faster than stupidity.

This government is busy borrowing money from anywhere loan is available around the world, but it is clear now it is bereft of any transformative idea that can give value to the country and improve the lives of our people. Its best ideas are rearing of cows in the crudest form that leads to intermittent loss of lives.

We should be on our knees for God to take us through the remaining three years of this government without fatality to the country so we can have the opportunity to start afresh with whatever is left of it.