Dear President Buhari, The Last Time I checked, You Are Still The Minster Of Petroleum Resource. By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

Your Excellency Sir, I write you this piece not as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but as the minister of petroleum resources appointed by yourself on the 11^th of November, 2015.

You seem to have forgotten that you are the minister of petroleum resources and may have completely relinquished your responsibilities to the minister of state of petroleum resources- Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, who to me, to a reasonable extent has been up and doing.

You seem to have neglected the fact that you are directly answerable to Nigerians as the Minister of petroleum resources, and owe it to Nigerians to make the product readily available and affordable.

As a reminder of what you already know- the fuel scarcity has fully gripped major cities in the country and contributing negatively to an economy that is still struggling to pick its stand.

Dear Mr. Femi Adesina; Your Vulgarity Is Fast Becoming Unbearable, Take Heed Lest You Fall. By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

Dear Mr. Femi Adesina; I bring to you this passage from the Holy Bible: “Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls- 1 Corinthians 10:12”. That is my message for you today. Meanwhile, I will try as much as I can, to keep it brief but concise, lest you call me a wailing wailer.

Sir, may I remind you that your appointment into your present position came on the 31^st May 2015, you resumed officially into office on the 9^th June, 2105 and on the 1^st July, 2015, barely a month after your resumption into the President Buhari`s led administration as the special adviser on media & publicity to the president, you coined the phrase- “wailing wailers”.

Ese Oruru, Yinusa Dahiru And The Tragedy Of A Divided Nation. By Ogundana Michael Rotimi.

We may not have been together if not for the 1914 amalgamation. But since the artificial wedding took place over a century ago, it is quite surprising how and why we remain divided in the face of various integration plans and programs to keep us united.

Few weeks ago when the Ese Oruru saga broke out, it again showed to the world how divided a nation amalgamated over a hundred years ago is. The Ese Oruru saga, prove once again that we have only been struggling to live in harmony with one another and always looking for the slightest opportunity to go against each other.

Worse as our division is, we are not only divided along regional or ethnical line, but we are so divided along numerous lines and that only calls for concerns for a nation dreaming of development and prosperity. One wonders how we have managed to stay together as a nation in the midst of these divisions all these years.

Let`s Talk Frankly, All Lives Matter! By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

You must have noticed that it has gradually become a norm that we almost completely overlook and feel very much less concerned when there is a terrorist attack or violence that claimed the lives of innocent people especially in some particular part of the country. For the government, all it does is to wait for about 24/48hrs before condemning the attack just casually and mildly sympathize with the victims or with their families and loved ones. For the people, all they say is- “Eh yah… Na wa o…” and move on. While those on the social media especially Twitter, continue their normal political racketeering and sides taking and showing fewer concerns for the victims of the incidents as long as they are not directly or indirectly a victim. Worse as it were, our media houses only report the attack like a flash. Like- “BREAKING NEWS: Boko Haram attacks Maiduguri”. And to me it appears like, don`t worry it`s nothing serious, people died though but no big deal…

Before Metuh Becomes Methuselah... By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

Ridding a corrupt country like Nigeria of corruption will take a little while, but it has to start from somewhere and by someone.

Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. It undermines democratic institutions, slows down economic development and contributes to governmental instability. Corruption attacks the foundations of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes and conducts, perverting the rule of law and creating bureaucratic quagmires whose only reason for existing is for soliciting bribes.

Economic progress is stunted because foreign direct investment is discouraged and small businesses within the country often find it impossible to overcome the "start-up costs" required because of corruption.  Corruption threatens our national security and gives rise to a safe haven for terrorist. This is the scenario we find ourselves as a nation.

Frankly Speaking, Electoral Violence In Nigeria Is Becoming Unbearable! By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

First of all, congratulations to Governor Seriake Dickson for his hard earn victory to secure his second term in office in the just concluded Bayelsa State gubernatorial election.

But like many other Nigerian elections, it was not without violence and loss of lives. No fewer than 5 people lost their lives in the just concluded Bayelsa election. A process naturally that has nothing to do with arms and terror turned out bloody.

Nigeria, 17 years into democracy still struggle to hold a peaceful, free and fair election. Worse as it was, even in a state like Bayelsa- one of the smallest states in Nigeria both in land mass and population, the just concluded gubernatorial election was marred with violence and loss of lives.

By now, Nigeria should have come of age democratically. Elections are not war and should never be seen as a do or die affair.

It seems to me, that since the day of Nigerian independence, political positions suffer violence and the violent takes it by force. But this shouldn’t be so!

Beginning from the 1964–65 general elections, violence has been a major feature of electoral politics in the country.

#DasukiGate: The Real Terror! By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

Boko Haram was tagged the world most deadly terrorist group in 2014. According to The Global Terrorism Index, Boko Haram killed more people- 6,644 in terror attacks in 2014 than any other terrorist group in the world. The Islamic State, ISIL, which is based in Syria and Iraq, follows closely behind, at 6,073 deaths through terrorism in 2014.

Figure 1: © static.visionofhumanity.org

The Global Terrorism Index is an annual report by the New York City-based Institute for Economics and Peace. It tracks global deaths from terror attacks, which it defines as “an intentional act of violence or threat of violence by a non-state actor.”

In confirming this figure, the highly respected Nigeria Security Tracker, compiled by the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, found that over 6,000 people were killed in clashes between Boko Haram and Nigerian forces in 2014.