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WILL CALABAR LET ITS CHILDREN DIE?

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Okay I admit that I have a flair for the dramatic as there really isn’t a need for the title of this article. But knowing Nigerians very well, we share this same flair and I am only playing to this national character. Calabar is not the name of a wicked woman who is aborting the destinies of her children; neither are children dying on the streets of Calabar, so no cause for alarm. However, my use of language speaks to another equally important issue that burdens my heart. For me to write about this, which is usually outside the scope of matters I consider ‘note-worthy’, it tells how concerned I am with preserving some of the products of the great city of Calabar. So I hope the right people are reading this; people who can influence change and ensure that we do not lose out in the future simply because we were not careful to invest in our endowments.

Apart from the successes of the state in tourism and entertainment, there remains a lot of untapped resources that we must start investing in. Between the administrations of Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke, we have seen how government can bring prosperity to the lives of people by investing in those areas that are natural strengths for the State. Concentrating on other areas where we do not display comparative advantage is a huge waste of limited resources, and we are not unaware of the effect of this in times past. So this note is just to bring to the fore two other areas where we show relative advantage over other parts of Nigeria.  For these, I believe the State needs to create a strategic plan to enhance our position if none exists at this time.
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NIGERIA: THE BEGGARS COLONY

This is one of those rants I cannot but punish you with because I am getting really sick and tired of its frequency. Almost anywhere you go in Nigeria, you are faced with beggars begging right up to your face and totally crowding your space that you feel your only escape is to settle them. I am not talking about the poor, haggard, and destitute soul on the street without a home to go back to; not the physically maimed citizen crisscrossing go-slows to tap on your car’s window screen for their sustenance. It is not even the poor person in the neighbourhood who has genuine need and shows up at your gate on a weekend. If it were just these, I would understand for even Jesus said we will always have the poor with us.

My concern is with the pervasiveness of subtle beggars who trudge our corridors of service, demanding privileges that they do not exactly deserve. They are everywhere from the supermarket you frequent to the professional offices where they don the most formal attires. Anywhere you go it seems you are bound to encounter what feels like an organized mob of commercial inducers, asking for settlements for all kinds of spurious reasons ranging from ‘weekend money’ to ‘big man status money’. The latter is very upsetting because you now have to pay for looking affluent, as though it were indicative on the flesh.

The matter has become very embarrassing (or ‘embarazzing’ for emphasis) to the point that I am suddenly put on the offensive every time I request a simple service. Even when I am not asking for any services, usually some freelancer suddenly appears and imposes a service for which you have to cough out something. I drive into the parking lot of a public facility and the security man directs the parking process, a role for which he is also employed along with securing the vehicle. The profuse greetings you get from the security man on alighting your vehicle has its cost implication. The doorman usually almost prostrates before opening the door even though he sees your fully functional limbs. You have to factor all these into the expense to be disbursed at your location – of course not forgetting the tips you have already given for services in the inner sanctum.
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OF A PARTY IN LAGOS AND JESUS

I have been in Lagos for over ten days now and cannot but admire the resilience of the people. Admittedly, a lot of Nigerians are very aware and Lagos is filled with highly educated people who are hopeful of a change given the amount of hard work already imputed into the rusty system. Here, people work very hard in productive labour, despite the fact that there is a lot of disorder that inherently promotes corrupt practices even within glossy financial institutions.  Looking at all the bus drivers, the okada riders, the budding bankers, the street traders, and the mid to senior executives on the streets, you get a sense of an economy on the move. Although it is still very questionable or debatable what exactly our economy produces, if intensity of work spells productivity, then by all means our streets will be soon paved with gold.

Flowing from this, every time I see Lagosians party heavily, I always make an excuse for them in my heart that a lot of the people at these parties work very hard, thereby find consoling such social escapes. Even though such gatherings are spiced with overkill of apparel, music, wine and food, you get a sense of satisfaction in the air of celebration as a reward for diligence to duty. I attended one of such society events a few days ago as an accomplice to grandiose living. I must add that it was due to filial respect and promissory servanthood that I acceded to the demands of socializing. On location at Ahmadu Bello way, we were cramped into a hall that didn’t respect the laws of space economics. The food was good I must admit and was well-organized in terms of distribution. Wine flowed like water and the dancing was without mercy, especially being to the beat of the legendary King Sunny Ade, who is known to jazz his audience with mid-tempo rhythms that spell-binds the hearer into a legal tender spraying frenzy. Interestingly, to add colour to the proceedings, a full representation of the clergy was present in their full regalia and conspicuous emblems of religion. Of course they were escorted to the choicest of seats, closer to the noise ready sound emitters and I asked myself the question if this was a proof of God’s endorsement.

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