Is it not amusing that hundreds of Nigerians want to go to Ukraine to fight Russian soldiers? This is even as Boko Haram war rages in the North-East and banditry in other parts of the country. The Second Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy in Abuja, Bohdan Soltys, said the embassy was already compiling a list of eligible volunteers from the pool of applications. The major hindrance has been the cost of visa and flight ticket, which the embassy put at $1,000.
In a normal situation, people run away from a war zone. It is understandable because war is not a tea party. It only harvests deaths, injuries, destruction and refugees. The questions are: why are some Nigerians eager to go and fight in a war that does not concern them? Are they not aware that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine did not ask for mercenaries but only an international brigade of volunteers to help in fighting Russia? Why do they want to commit suicide? Maybe they have tied some ‘odieshi’ (juju) around their waist! But we shall come back to this.
First, let’s note that Russia has reasons for invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The country’s President, Vladimir Putin, explained that the invasion was necessitated by the need to protect people against alleged bullying and genocide going on Ukraine, a country of 44 million people. The main reason though is that Putin is not comfortable with the way Ukraine is cozying up to the European Union and the West’s military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). He feels that, with the current leadership in Ukraine, Russia is not safe and free. This is worsened by NATO’s deployment of forces and military infrastructure in some member states that are near Russia’s borders. So, Putin feels the best thing to do is to overthrow the government of President Zelensky and enthrone Moscow’s puppet in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. To Moscow, everything humanly possible must be done to ensure that Ukraine remains a neutral territory and not become a member of NATO.
So far, Russia has attacked airports, military headquarters and oil and gas facilities, among others, in Ukraine. Hundreds of civilians have been killed. Over a million others have been displaced. Some have fled to such countries as Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Romania. Many citizens find it difficult to access food, cash and some other essentials.
A good number of Western countries responded by slamming sanctions on Russia. Key Russian banks, for instance, have been shut off from the International Swift payment network. Many European countries have also banned Russian airlines from their airspace. Some have pledged to send weapons and military equipment to Ukraine. For instance, Germany said it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air missiles to Kyiv. Africa, nay Nigeria, is not isolated from this war. The continent imported agricultural products such as wheat and sunflower oil worth $4 billion from Russia and $2.9 billion from Ukraine in 2020. The war will significantly affect this trade.
Besides, about 8,000 Nigerians live in Ukraine, 5,000 of them are students. Last week, the Federal Government evacuated some Nigerians and gave them $100 for transportation. President Muhammadu Buhari had approved $8.5 million for the immediate evacuation of at least 5,000 Nigerians from Ukraine. The government had failed to follow many other countries that timely evacuated their citizens when the rumour of the war was strong. Nevertheless, we have to commend the Federal Government for eventually waking up to its responsibilities.
If the government could also look into other problems plaguing Nigerians with dispatch, patriotism will be the second name of many Nigerians. It is even my prayer that these returnees will not have any cause to think of going back to the war zone now because of the challenges they will likely face in Nigeria.
The challenges are quite huge. And that is why some of our compatriots want to escape to Ukraine ostensibly to fight, the dangers notwithstanding. One of the volunteer fighters, Monday Adikwu, reportedly said he was dismissed from the Nigerian Army for visiting his pregnant wife without permission. He said he wanted to join in the fight so that he would use his pay to take care of his family, including six children. An applicant from Anambra State who attended a Russian military academy in 2007, Nkem Ndueche, was reported to have said he was 101 per cent ready to fight for Ukraine. Can you beat that?
These people would not think of going to Ukraine if they had stable and lucrative jobs in Nigeria. According to recent statistics, about 33.3 per cent of Nigerians are unemployed. This is why there is an upsurge in crime in many parts of the country. Bandits and terrorists rob, kidnap and kill people at will. Some others resort to all sorts of rituals to make money. How I wish those gunmen terrorizing innocent people in the South-East move to Ukraine to show their prowess.
Those who don’t have the liver to commit crime find it extremely difficult surviving the harsh economic environment in Nigeria today. Even some of those who are employed also find things tough these days. The rate of inflation is quite high. People suffer heat rashes because electricity is epileptic. Fuel queues have returned. And in a place like Lagos, you may have to devote the whole day to get fuel and another full day to get road worthiness certificate for your vehicle. The suffering is just too much for many Nigerians to bear.
I am happy President Buhari has signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law. This is just the beginning of the journey to enthrone an egalitarian society in Nigeria. The ball is now in the court of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct elections that will give Nigerians what they want. If Party A knows that it could be voted out easily if it messes up, it will sit up and give Nigerians credible leaders who will rule with fairness, accountability and effectiveness.
In essence, effective leadership is what will deliver Nigeria from the pit of its socio- economic and political problems. The present leadership at the centre is mediocre. As the 2023 general election draws closer, Nigerians must be vigilant and vote according to their conscience. We must vote someone with a track record of performance and pedigree. If we make the mistake of electing another ineffective leader next year, Somalia, Afghanistan and Syria may be added to Ukraine as preferred destinations for Nigerian youths.
Re: Nigerian lawmakers’ self-serving scramble for life pensions
DEAR Casmir, it shows how selfish and greedy our lawmakers are. Instead of making a law that will make them cut down their huge take-home pay and other emoluments for the benefit of less paid public workers and millions of unemployed youths, who are mostly graduates, they want life pension. I think every elected public officer or appointee in Nigeria does not deserve a pension. Pension is for career workers who have put in a reasonable number of years in their chosen field before retirement. How do we compare that with a lawmaker who is elected to serve for four years and may not be re-elected afterwards?
– Alex Arinze Onyejaka, [email protected]
DEAR Casy, since politics in Nigeria has become the dual carriage way for obscene acquisition of wealth, the Life Pension Bill by the National Assembly is a fraudulent but legally coated means to mindlessly subject the limping economy to overload for the benefit of the privileged few. Since Nigeria has degenerated to a clime where:-1. God seems to have deserted the souls of the leaders and turned them into dealers, such law obtains; 2.avarice has degenerated to kleptomania, such law obtains; 3. Obscene wealth is flaunted to browbeat the have-not, such law obtains. I therefore suggest that SERAP should not only go back to the legal trenches but well-meaning Nigerians should join the fray with rocket launchers to shoot down the bill.
-Steve Okoye,Awka, 08036630731
Nigerians and labour unions should reject the proposed life pension for the principal officers of National Assembly. Let lawmaking in Nigeria be part time not full time. Our so-called lawmakers do not wish Nigeria well but after their pockets.
– Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, +2348062887535
DEAR Casy, the Nigerian lawmakers that are scrambling for life pensions are part of our current problem. In any sane society, the lawmakers, judiciary and the police checkmate evil men both in the executive and the lager society. But in Nigeria today we have election riggers, treasury looters, drug barons and other evil men in all arms of govt. The bogus salaries, N500 million constituent projects and other estacodes they consume are no longer enough. The present National Assembly members have ruined Nigeria.
– Eze Chima C., Lagos, +2347036225495
CASMIR, the ‘bizarre proposition’ by a gang of egocentrics, ego-tripping, ego chasing ‘joint special pro-poverty hardcore’ sorry ad hoc committee members of the 9th ‘stomach’ gislatures, that will ultimately lead to the ‘invasion’ of the Nigerian treasury/purse left me perplexed, flabbergasted, disappointed and fuming with anger. At the onset of the 2nd republic, the Akinloyes, Joseph Wayas and Umaru Dikkos were chopping and cleaning their mouths but met their waterloo when they started ‘chopinco and drinkinco’ with Akinloye champagne bottles without cleaning their mouth. They were thrown out by the 1983 military coup. A word is enough for the wise.
– Mike, Mushin, Lagos, +2348161114572
LIFE pensions for lawmakers? Before now the same people prayed that they should also be robed with the immunity veil. Very funny development! Allowing a self-seeking and fraudulent move of this magnitude to fester may provoke another ‘EndSARS’. This latest fraud must not stand.
– Edet Essien Esq., 08037952470
LIFE pensions proposal by lawmakers is an abuse of legislative privilege taken too far! Are the lawmakers there to ‘appropriate’ for themselves? They had better do away with this self-seeking agenda in order not to attract the people’s anger against them.
-Ediye James, +2348108095633
CASMIR, most of the lawmakers were never elected but found themselves there through obeisance of godfatherism. Abinitio they don’t have any plans to make the country a better place for the masses. They need money at all costs to maintain the level they have attained in the society. Among the members of the legislature, they have their cronies who want to help them get all goodies with hope of being compensated with juicy committees’ memberships. These are the foot soldiers who work tirelessly to get the life pensions package approved. It’s regrettable that in a country of ours where University graduate scramble for unavailable job with monthly salary of less than #50,000, our legislators in spite of mind boggling salaries and allowances are still clamouring for pensions package for some of their leaders
– Pharm. Okwuchukwu Njike, +234 803 885 4922
DEAR Casmir, legislation is a serious affair so it’s not right for lawmakers to move motions just for moving sake. In Jewish tradition, the age of maturity is thirty and none of them is below that. Right from hate speech bill to that intending to ban NYSC to some others that tend to belittle their maturity. We are not talking of our expenses but the need for them to be calculative to avoid waste of exposure. The life pension will not be.
– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +234 909 538 5215