ISSUES WITH FESTUS FIFEN

By Festus Fifen. It is no longer news that diversification of the Nigerian economy is one of the recent clichés used in almost every government engagement, event or function, by this I  mean  every level of government from the Federal to State and Local Government/ Area councils.  This has made Political analyst to imagine if the statement is just another Political "Igodomigodo". The All Progressive Congress APC as a political party  during political campaigns and rallies promised to 'CHANGE' Nigeria with 81 campaign promises as aptly compiled by Naij.com an online publication with the reduction of over dependence on oil revenue as the hub of  the 'CHANGE' agenda.  Whether these Promises have been met or is being met  is a story for another day The President did not fail to Echo this in his inaugural speech when he said   "Unemployment, notably youth un-employment features strongly in our Party’s Manifesto. We intend to attack the

By Festus Fifen. About 3 days ago Sahara Reporters one of the foremost online news medium in investigative journalism published the names and mobile numbers of state governors in Nigeria for the public to see and demand for a "better deal" in terms of governance; this is shortly after the names and mobile numbers of Senators Representing the 109 Senatorial Districts of the country were published on social media  by the same organization with a 'Directive' that Nigerians should demand for dividend of democracy from their representatives.  As good this action may seem to some Nigerians, it got me thinking of the impacts those mobile numbers can have on  an impoverished people who find it very difficult to feed under the current economic fortune of Nigeria. This publication reminded me of an article Written by one of my  colleagues Ukachi Chukwu with the title,  "OUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE MORE INTERESTED IN REPRESENTING THEMSELVES" initially I thought oh, this to

By Festus Fifen In the heels of the successive passage of the 2016 Budget of N6.06 Trillion by the National Assembly which is about N17 Billion less than the initial  N6.07 Trillion submitted to the National Assembly on 22nd December 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari, presidential spokesman Mr. Femi Adesina has said that from the look of things if the reactions of the president is anything to go by, that Nigeria may not actually borrow the over N2Trillion deficit as at when the Budget was presented to the Nation Assembly over 3 months ago. In a chat BEN television in an exclusive interview at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa Abuja, Mr. Adesina said he is optimistic that some of the steps taken by the president since he assumed office,  especially in the Areas of recovery of looted funds, blockage in the revenue leakages of the Government and the strict compliance with the treasury single account TSA, the budget might just be void of borrowing. In his words, " we know what the prov

BY FESTUS FIFEN. It was on a  sunday afternoon , after returning from church I decided to take a look at a weblink one of my junior colleague in this  profession UK as I call her  sent to me days back. Ukachi Chukwu had written an article about what she referred to as  the failure of Nigerians to attend the  senate public hearing on the controversial social media bill which so many have described as an infringement on the fundamental human right of every Nigerian especially as it has to do with expressing their opinion through available medium.   Ukachi  raised some  Thought provoking issues in that piece  that got me thinking especially the failure of most social media "commandos" to be physically present in that hearing to defend their stand on the issue especially as it affects them in particularly and Nigerians as a whole. The frivolousness Petition Bill popularly called the anti social media bill could be laid to rest if all stakeholders come to discourse the salient poi

By Festus Fifen. Life they say is funny. since yesterday, the internet have been awashed with stories on the war against the rats in Lagos State sequel to the outbreak of lassa fever in the country.  As funny as this was to me, there is one thing that baffled me concerning the story which is  the number of rats killed and the place(s) these rats were killed. Why some media organisations reported 4,400, others reported   7,243 rats . In as much as I don't want to talk about who is correct as far as the number is concerned in this  little expression of my thoughts; a few questions came up immediately;( don't blame me, my training has made it difficult for me to see or hear things only from the surface value.)  Who killed and  counted these rats? Was the first question that was staring at me; is this number an estimation or a confirmed number In a country were our population is and estimated values? Who carried out these mass 'Murder' on innocent rats that were enjoying th

By Festus Fifen. Its been a while since I penciled something on this blog not because there are no issues to write on, but because so many people have turn the new media popularly called social media to a medium they use to churn  out so many un verified speculation and disinformation which has now made it difficult to know who is right or wrong. But that's a story for another day. The visit of the International Monetary Fund IMF Boss Christine Laggard  played up one issue that has plagued Nigeria as a nation for a very long time, that's the issue of who is a Nigerian? What is  the actual  population this geographical milieu called  Nigeria? How many are Employed, unemployed or under employed? How many of belongs to the lower class, middle class or High class as the case maybe? What is the actual number of those living below this over used cliché of 'living below a dollar per day?' What's the percent of the skilled artisans that we have in our workforce? You will ag