The week in review in small bits and bites

 The New Naira Notes and the silly-ninnies

You can trust the usual "sad Sams" to be sad and silly as is usual with them. Only God knows who gets the first prize for silliness among them. Past Senator Fellaini, the comedians class captain and many more say that the newness in the new Naira notes is just a change of colour. Yep! That change in colour is the "change" in the Naira. That change of colour is what we need to effect the entire purpose of the policy of a change in the Naira. What did these sad people expect? Did they think the legal tenders which were backed by law in form of the personalities that were depicted on the notes would suddenly change. Did Senator Fellaini expect that his picture would be on the N1000 note? Please, let Nigerian self-acclaimed social critics and commentators get a life or at least get better brains. That change in colour which they laugh at laughs back at them. If dem born dem well, make dem go spend their old Naira notes in February 2023.

Elon Musk may be weird to the 'woke' but he is the normal that I know

Elon Musk is a disrupter  in the true sense of the word in the modern day GenZ world and perhaps the one person that may bring some sense into their impractical heads and ideas. Elon found Tshirts at the Twitter head office that had the words "StayWoke" and he simply had new Tshirts made that now had the words "Stay@Work. He is my main man please. What on earth is "stay woke". I am familiar with stay at work in my own case. Many of the work ethics and styles of GenZ are alien to people of my age. Do I disagree with their style? No, not really, but is it my style? Definitely not. I will not be emulating many GenZ code of conduct because I am not woke. I am a nose to the grind kind of person. The only thing I know is work. If you can't stay at work in the new Twitter, then please stay woke in your house.

Buhari flags off first oil exploration in the North East

This delights my soul a great deal. I like the fact that our APC flagbearer BAT was at the event as this will give more context to him for when he takes over (by God's grace). This oil discovery in the NE and its eventual exploration has been made possible by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which set up a Frontier exploration fund. (If you want to read a good breakdown of the PIA, you can read my article  here: https://verityreporters.com/for-the-nnpc-and-nigeria-is-the-petroleum-industry-act-the-wind-of-positive-change/. The fund has set aside 30% of NNPC profits for the purpose of prospecting for oil in new frontiers basins of Anambra, Dahomey, Sokoto, Benue trough, Chad and Bida Basins. The Kolmani oil and hydrocarbons in Gombe/Bauchi is the first beneficiary. I am happy that the NE will begin to enjoy derivation funds as well and that development will be spread equitably around Nigeria. One good thing also is that the Governors of the two states are already on board for carefully monitoring of the environmental impact and promise not to allow the degradation of the Niger Delta to be repeated. Me, I just love my Bubu. (PMB). What about you. Mind you the project has already attracted $3B FDI.

Catriona Laing, the British High Commissioner visits the PDP and sues for peace. 

Madam Catriona is lucky that I am not on Twitter, because I would have directed this piece to and @ her. I do not like the colonial day 'superiority' outlook of this woman. Wetin concern her with our internal affairs? I have been sceptical about this madam for long and this move again worries me. Before you crucify me, just think about this: Would the Nigerian Ambassador to the UK have gone to meet with Rishi Sunak and/or Liz Truss or all the other Prime Minister contenders in the last UK leadership tussle? Then she has the effrontery of issuing a visa ban warning to the political class. We are being insulted as a nation in my view. I hope that Geoffrey Onyeama is not sleeping on our rights. You all know that I am APC and that PDP is not my cup of tea, but in my view, Madam British High Commissioner has no business going around political parties. This is meddlesomeness in my view. See picture of the visit that I got from Channels TV website.https://www.channelstv.com/2022/11/23/photos-british-high-commissioner-visits-pdp-nwc-sues-for-peace/ 

BAT of the APC says he will recharge Lake Charge and the sillies are triggered.

You just can't catch a break from the silly-ninnies or dem dem Akuris like I call the deliberately obtuse opposition. At least someone is saying something new in this quite frankly boring campaign season. Happily it is my candidate BAT that is saying it. He said it in context of eradicating hunger. For year, PMB had been telling us that the herdsmen/farmers clashes was an economically and environmentally  induced conflict. With the climate change drying up the Lake Chad, lushness of grass and vegetation has resulted, reducing feed for pastoralists and forcing them to migrate out of season to the south of Nigeria. PMB has raised this issue on global stage almost yearly at the UNGA. The opposition in Nigeria have preferred to politicise the issue as a Fulani attempt to take over the south. If I were they, I would rather have asked BAT how he intends to do the recharging. The Lake Chad issue involves several countries and we will need their agreements on where rivers can be dammed or open to flood into the Lake Chad. BAT is not wrong to have seized on focus on the Lake Chad and this focus as well as the title of his MANIFESO -Renewed Hope- gives me renewed hope that Nigeria will only advance in his hands. APC is still the only party that can advance the developmental trajectory that Buhari commenced since 2015. https://www.channelstv.com/2022/11/22/i-will-recharge-lake-chad-if-elected-president-tinubu/

That N109b fraud by the Accountant General of Nigeria

There is no point calling it an "alleged" fraud. It is a confirmed fraud in so far as the 'fraudee' returned $900,000 (less $100) according to the testimony of a witness for the prosecution at the on-going trial of Idris at the Federal High Court. I hate capital punishment with every fibre of my body, but even I believe that perhaps it may be the only deterrence that will work in Nigeria. How on earth is the person who is put in a fiduciary position (of trust) be the one to blatantly steal from that Trust. This is not on Buhari and only people with cotton-wool instead of grey matter would in anyway put the failing of Nigerians when it comes to corruption on a President who has repeatedly shown himself incorruptible. The President has enabled the anti-corruption agencies to do their work without interference and this is why Idris and all those in cahoots with him are in this hot water. I pray that the next administration will continue in this line to allow the agencies to work without interference. We who love Nigeria must be the watchdogs to ensure this. Perhaps a reverse punishment may be better than capital punishment. Perhaps our laws may include parade of the convict of corruption along the streets of the FCT and his home land and then making him do community service for 3 to 5 years while he is in jail. We must devise effective punishments that will stop the white-collar thieves from continuing in their enterprise.

Wike causes a stir 

Wike stirred the hornet's nest with his declaration that Buhari had paid all oil producing states the outstanding derivation from many years back. He also extolled Buhari's virtues as a man of integrity. I do not much care for Wike and his politics or for his motives now that he is at loggerheads with his PDP, but in Yoruba land as one of our nursery songs go "esu tapo si ki nri ran wo, tapo si" (translated as satan, please add more fuel to the fire, so that I can enjoy the spectacle"). I am enjoying the reaction/non-reaction of ALL the other derivative earning states to the fact that they were and are not poor in revenue yet they have their fair share of poverty in the land. When citizens decide to be responsible citizens, they will ask of their Governors accountability and stop visiting all the challenges of the nation on big brother FGN that constitutionally is not empowered to handle the challenges that are in the hands of the State Governors constitutionally.

I celebrate the American Thanksgiving but without the turkey

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA. I have always liked the American thanksgiving holiday. It is a good thing to set a day aside to actually think on why one should be grateful. Today I am specifically grateful for my country, that we are still standing 'gidigba' despite all the winds of ill-boding that people had blown our way. I am thankful for my President who has stirred the Nigerian ship this far without guile and purposefully towards development of infrastructure and consideration for the poor. I am grateful for Nigerians who have joined me over the years to defend Nigeria and stand up for her always against those who would rather profit from a nation that is in turmoil. I am thankful therefore for yes sayers and not naysayers. I am thankful for my family close and extended, but most of all, I am thankful for you all-my fellow patriots. I will not be eating turkey or cooking the thanksgiving dinner, but spending the day intermittently praying and giving thanks to the Almighty for all His blessings. You should do the same as well. Let us count our blessings. God Bless Nigeria. Amen.