Nigeria, the land of plenty

 a wooden candidate  Gubernatorial elections (for States governors) Today is the day to elect States governors. Same movement restriction as during the presidential elections two weeks ago between 8am and 5pm or so. The difference is that people are much more relaxed this time round. I therefore went for a walk on Lekki bridge  before it was too late to be on the street. Joggers and bicycle riders were about the only occupants of the bridge, it was serene unlike the roaring of fancy cars whose drivers are either very much in a hurry (no time to waste) or want to use the clear stretch to feel vibrations of their engines ;-) and perhaps impress the side passenger(s). Right before the bridge, one was greeted by a temporary wooden statue of one of the candidates to Lagos governate. I suspect from the shape that he was gracefully elongated to gum his roundness and appear more towering. It was Kinwunmi Ambode, APC candidate, who was declaring " vote for me I will treasure ...

faded hope The sun worked relentlessly to illuminate campaign posters, showing a remorseless power to bleach colors. The whole thing then takes a vintage look. One exception the dark green of "continue moving forward that turned to blue! from Nigerian green to blue Presidential elections are coming up this Saturday March 28th, planes are said to be overbooked to leave the country, just in case. In the meantime, I plan to buy some food for the next week and have enough french wine to taste with my neighbors so that time does not have to be boring sitting at home. Cheers in advance! One last picture for the road: the man for the job (not for president but governor of Lagos) super jimi

cheating is corruption Bored by the slowness of evening traffic my eyes, came across a billboard from APC (opposition political party) claiming "cheating is corruption". My driver said yes it is so. So, I wondered, what is the link between "cheating", which in my view means not abiding by the rule or infringing the law, and "corruption", which implies paying someone for getting a service in return? Well, he replied, if a kid of 12 years old is stealing something, we say that he is corrupt. So in effect corruption is not only an active mechanism it is also a passive state in which the mind can be. This boy ('s mind) is corrupt. Hence the possibility that not abiding by the law (e.g. cheating) is a corruption of the mind. I thought that this was an interesting light to the message but was still puzzled by the political meaning of it. Did APC mean that the opposition has a "corrupted mind" because it is cheating (at least those who do)? ...

"Forward Nigeria" is about to pause "Forward Nigeria" on "Pause" Nigeria Presidential Elections have been postponed by 6 weeks: from Feb14th to Mar28th. The official reason is to allow time to build a multi-country military coalition to defeat Boko Haram who was threatening to disturb the elections through attacks and, in the area they control, to bar the vote from happening. The postponement was actually pushed by the PDP, party in power, after it realized it was going to be defeated if the elections took place on Valentine's day. It seems the opposition has been very effective in churning voters' opinion with the speech of change and this despite the fact that none of the candidates are really appealing. The opposition party, APC, was against the postponement. Now there are two interesting factors at play which are not really discussed locally: - is the Nigerian Army is in a position to defeat Boko Haram in 6 weeks in a context w...

zoom on Nigeria Future Forecast : war or prosperity Binary Politics explained As the election campaign becomes more and more present in everyone's mind, here is a an interesting diagram which needs concentration to fully comprehend (I was probably slow-brained the morning I saw it). But I guess it could apply to Greece too : Sacrifice - rule of Law and the expected outcome Love and Prosperity. In any case, a much better version to hope for than Greed and Corruption with the proposed outcome of Hatred and War which no one really wants to see happening. In the office, recreational moments (during which work is put aside) generate loud conversations between opponents. The opposition saying to the proponents of the party in power: what have you done with all the money from oil sold at over 100USD a barrel? Now it has dropped by half, and we have very little foreign currency available to prevent the Naira from weakening against foreign currency. This will put strain on our ...

flower power: roadside covered sewer bordered by plant nurseries Disclaimer : today we will talk about nature in the city with electoral campaign posters popping up in the landscape like mushrooms of various colour and size. The point is not to discuss the merit of political parties but merely the esthetic and the tone of its advertising. Nigerians should decide for themselves whom they wish to vote for, I have no opinion on the matter. I have just been told that political parties do not really follow the split between right and left, as it is the case in many other countries, it is rather linked to connections of tribes or extended areas. Saturday morning, traffic is very thin in Ikoyi; perfect time to go out and explore. There are many plant nurseries gracing the roadside with an air of giant garden. A nice contrast to Victoria Island. Some are selling only plants, other have a selection of pots. why women should earn less than men   ...