httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxlb_aESLZQ

This is BREAKING NEWS LIVE from the University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria where the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has successfully mobilised her arsenal, the Nigerian students to protest the prolonged faceoff between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Academic Staff Union of Universities over a pay rise and breach of contract/agreement by the Federal Government.
For the last 9 weeks, this problem has gotten no head way as both parties are not willing to give any more grounds to the other. Like an African proverb says:

When two elephants are fighting, the grass suffers

It appears the grass in this case has decided to protest its continued suffering and the Nigerian students have decided to take to the streets, closing the major road leading out of Port Harcourt to other parts of the country like Bayelsa, Delta, Benin etc. The peaceful protest which started at 8.00am Nigerian time was initially greeting with gun shots by policeman who showed up on the scene. However, the students have stood their ground and are not relinching on their effort to solve this strike problem.

Hear what they are saying:

The bedrock of development in any nation is EDUCATION

We want Educational Amnesty for protesting

We will not allow our fathers, who have squandered their own future to mortgage ours as well

We call for the immediate resignation of the Education Minister, Dr. Sam Egwu, he is a failure

Asked how long the protest will last, an official of the NANS said that the students will continue to read on the major road until the strike is called off. Interesting, isn’t it?

More of the action, which is ongoing, will be relayed in the Featured Video Section on the right sidebar. It is our earnest desire that the President Umaru Yar’adua, his cabinet, ASUU and the rest of the stakeholders in the decaying Nigerian Educational System will heed the students plea and call off this strike action.

This is a clarion call to every Nigerian student. Wherever you may be, let’s join our hearts together and pray for the deliverance of this nation, the deliverance of our future, the deliverance of the poor minority who cannot afford One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira school fees and yet have to spend 6 good years in a 4-year programme, while the children, grandchildren and great-grand children of our rulers (not leaders) attend prestigious private universities in Nigeria and abroad (abroad, that includes Ghana) with our own money, our monies that we kept in banks for safe-keeping yet one human being will borrow and not pay until the bank goes bankrupt. What an irony of life!

Wake up folks, raise your voice aloud, on top of the hills, on top of the mountains, in the creeks of the Niger Delta, in the poorest surburbs of the lagoons, in the posh homes in Abuja, in the deserts of the North – wherever you are, raise your voice. This nationa belongs to all of us, not a select few. One family or dynasty doesn’t have the RIGHT TO RULE over us for eternity. Let your voice be heard!

Thumbs up to NANS officials, thumbs up to every Nigerian student on the street today.

Long Live NANS,
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Long Live YOU, the Nigerian Student.

Comments are very much welcome.

It is no gainsaying that the problems of our nation, Nigeria, are becoming more complex by the day. Every sector of our economic life is getting weaker and weaker and it’s only a matter of time before all hell is let loose. From ASUU strike to PHCN/NEPA strike, SSANU strike and probably NLC strike very soon, the whole of Nigeria is going on strike. Meanwhile, the militants are giving the government a run for the main source of our income – crude oil revenue – as they continue their sabotage of oil facilities across the nation. Unfortunately, the government doesn’t seem to know what to do or perhaps, better put, the government is not willing to do what must be done to salvage the nation from the claws of death.

As I transit within the metropolis, whether in Port Harcourt, Calabar or Lagos, I often get excited when ordinary citizens begin heated discussions on the state of our nation. It appears to me that the masses have the solutions to our many problems right at their fingertips. Unfortunately, they are not within the corridors of power to effect these solutions. On the other hand, correct me if I’m wrong, once the power is in their hands, people seem to forget about the solutions they’d proposed and all the problems they wanted to solve; they’d just get swallowed up by the cartel of a mess that already is.

I’ve heard so many proposals with respect to how we can solve the Nigerian problem. Howbeit, there’s always an underlying issue – do we really understand our problem? There are Four Steps to Problem Solving – Step 1 is UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM. Take that out, and every solution you propose crumbles to the ground like a pack of cards. Recently, I asked a very pertinent question on Facebook, and got quite a number of responses from my friends. Some, very few though, were obviously joking, while many did raise genuine concerns. Here’s the question:

If you are Mr. President for 24 hours, and have all the power available to you to solve Nigeria’s problem, what would be your priority?

Below are some of the responses I got:

Paulson Edum says:
corruption

Elo Onome Onwah says:
internet connectivity……
then I’ll buy over FB, then google, then yahoo. then I’ll retire.

Coco-Bassey Henry at 2:03pm July 16
electricity

Ozo Nnamdi Nwokolo says:
Reinvigorate agriculture as the alternative to over dependence in oil and solve the power/light issue once and for all.

Uzuazo Onwah says:
I’ll join the army then declare a state of emergency so that nobody can ask questions like this.
Seriously, though, all the strikes would be my top priority.

Gbenga Osunjaye says:
I will declare death sentence on all the previous bad leaders…..damn, they made us so far behind!!!

Godwin Allen Joseph says:
electricity… we’ve been victimized for a long time

Emmanuel A. Robert says:
i think corruption is nigeria’s no 1 problem. solve that and everything will fall into place

Ngozi Nwagbara says:
corruption at all levels even if it involves mass killings like they did in Ghana.

Tony Ayamba says:
i’d look into the seemingly incurable power problem

Itopa Izay says:
i will retire all d old men and give room to the youths

Paul Fakayode says:
The No 1 priority problem to tackle will be power generation and distribution

Ogozi Bassey says:
I’ll have just one point agenda, all Nigerians must be Born Again.

Unyime Victor Udotai says:
Simple I will inspect how down the ladder we have gone. Honest assessment is what we have always shied away from. No individual or Nation can make moves until the become the prodigal son who sat down to access how far he has gone down. only then did he think of a solution. The principle has not changed

Igali Miebimo Jane says:
For 24hrs?
I wont do anytin
Get all the money i can lay my hands on.
Stop education in dis country cos its all trash.
We should start as if we got independence in 2010 and count 50yrs as loss and then disappear into thin air.
Or
Fuel a war to give the Niger Delta freedom to be on it’s own!

Ugochukwu Uwadinma says:
i will work on the power sector basically,so that the local and international company will come and invest

Would you like to answer the question too? Do you think you Understand the Problem? Then please leave a comment.

We live in a world full of problems – challenges, unpleasant surprises, unfavourable conditions, accidents, incidents, aches, pains, penury – call it what you will. In fact, from the very moment he is born, through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and to his grave, man’s journey through life is dotted with problems every step of the way. Even those born with the proverbial silver spoon are not left out. On the contrary, I dare say, the higher your social status, the ‘bigger’ the problems you face. You can ask Barack Obama and OBJ. 

The higher you go, the hotter it becomes

If I asked you to reel off what you consider are the problems facing humanity, I am sure that your list will be endless, just like mine. From poverty to diseases, HIV/AIDS, global warming, conflicts, hunger, terrorism, education, air pollution, nuclear programs, war and rumours of war, religious intolerance, political dictatorship, unemployment etc. The list goes on and on.  In fact, every new day presents man with fresh challenges. In May 2008, a group of 80 university students from 37 different countries met and prioritized the best solutions to ten of the world’s greatest problems. You can find that comprehensive list here: http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/Copenhagen%20Consensus%202008%20Youth%20Forum%20-%20Home.aspx. Interestingly, they never envisioned the next wave of problems that was going to befall the world. Did you notice that the one key challenge the entire world is currently facing is missing on that list. I am certain even a child in the densest slum in US can tell me the right answer – The Global Economic Crisis, which has torn economies apart from America to Africa, Europe to Asia. Did I hear you say the Middle East? Hmmm, perhaps when they are done with all their conflicts, they will face their own share.

Let’s come back home. President Yar’adua has clearly stated what he considers Nigeria’s greatest problems in his much talked-about 7-point agenda: power and energy; food security and agriculture; wealth creation and employment, mass transportation, land reforms; security; qualitative and functional education. Is it true he added the Niger Delta recently? Guess, that’ll make it 8 now. I call these “Nigeria’s Problems Summarized”. Well, if we take a trip to the very basic fabric of society, the Family Front, it’s a whole new world of problems. Wanna name them? Just forget about it, that’s a Herculian task.

Or maybe not, you can give it a try. Seriously, let’s give it a try. Write down ALL the problems/challenges you are currently facing in your personal life. If you like, give a name to anyone that seems nameless. Ready? Now, take a good look at all the problems you have written down (I hope you did this?). Nay, I mean take a long look at your list and surgically dissect it. You should notice something, do you? Very simple, no matter what you’ve written on your list, check this out – they are all man-made problems. Yes! Caused by you and I. And that’s  some good news, anyway, because since we caused them, it simply means WE CAN SOLVE THEM. YES WE CAN! (thank you, my brother Obama).

So, my friend, where do we start? Good question. Of course we can’t handle all our problems at once, but I believe there are three key areas that constitute what I call the bedrock, the foundation and the pillar of all problems. These are: Your Mindset, Your Education and Your Employment respectively. I call them my 3-point agenda for Glorious Solutions Centre. Trust me, if we don’t get it right in these three areas, we will never be able to solve our problems. So, come with me as we explore this world of problems and find lasting solutions to them. Let me reiterate this in the words of J.F.Kennedy himself: Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. See? It doesn’t matter what problem you are currently facing, be it miniature or gigantic, temporary or permanent, hereditary or acquired, physical or spiritual, if you are willing to do something about it, you are just a step away from getting it solved. Someone once said, “I must do something” always solves more problems than “Something must be done.”

Wanna get a solution? It begins with YOU.