Product Pricing in your Locality

We want to ask this question. 'A look at the list below, does it apply in your neighbourhood'?
As we access the state of living for the Nigerian populace since the inception of "CHANGE" government.

A bag of rice changed from #8000 to #22000.

Fuel pump price changed from #87 to #145.

A Congo gari change to #850

A Bread of #200 changed to #300.

A Bag of beans changed from #18000 to #27000.

A sack of sugar changed from #8800 to #17000.

Semovita and wheat 5kg changed from #900 to #1500.

Crates of eggs changed from #680 to #850.

A litre of kerosene change from #150 to #220.

Even ordinary razor blade changed from #5 to #20.

Coaster Biscuit change from #5 to 3 for #50

And our minimum wage still remain #18k

Please reply with what is happening in your city and also furnish us with items that has remained at its price as of 2014 and those that have increased with respect to its price as at 2014.

Amaechi: I Shunned Nigeria’s Centenary To Pay Back Jonathan

 RIVERS State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has said that he stayed away from the Nigeria’s centenary in Abuja in order to get even with President Goodluck Jonathan whom he said failed ...to honour the invitation to 100 years anniversary of Port Harcourt last year.

The governor explained that even when prominent indigenes of the state visited the President in Abuja and invited him to the 2013 event in Port Harcourt, he refused to be at the occasion.

Amaechi, who spoke at a book presentation to mark the 70th birthday of the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Nimi Briggs, on Saturday, explained that he had expected Jonathan to honour the invitation from the state.

He said, “When they ask me why I did not attend the celebration, I said five prominent Rivers men left here to go and invite the President. When they approached me that they wanted to go and invite the President, I said, ‘don’t bother your head, the President won’t come.’

“They said ‘no, not after he had seen us.’ They (Rivers indigenes) are seated hear, Justice Karibi Whyte, Prof Tekena Tamuno, Prof E.J. Alagwa, Chief Agbaru and Prof. Nimi Briggs; and they went. They were very well received by our President and they were very impressed.

“They came back to my house that day in Abuja and they told me that they met with the President and I was excited. Everybody in the Federal Government told me the President would come (for the Port Harcourt centenary). The President did not come.

“So, I told them that I would not go to (Nigeria’s) centenary because Port Harcourt turned 100 and the President refused to come even though he grew up here. I said I would not go to Nigeria’s Centenary in response to his (Jonathan) refusal to come for Port Harcourt Centenary.

“I did that not because I wanted to disrespect the President. I respect him for his age and his achievement in the society. I thought that the Federal Government should have respected and honoured that invitation,” Amaechi said.

On the political crisis in the state, the governor said the only way the problem could come to an end was for the state to benefit from Federal Government projects.

He acknowledged the presence of some elders in the state that could make him move from the All Progressives Congress back to the Peoples Democratic Party, but added that such elders had not been convinced on the need for him to leave the APC.

He said, “They asked me, how would you end this crisis? I say with me, it will be difficult to end because I stand forward to look at Rivers State. I said the only way to end it is to change the face of Rivers State. If Rivers people get better things, I will change.

“Then I put a caveat; I said there are some old men here who can make me move from APC to PDP because they will never tell me to move to PDP if they are not convinced that it is the right thing to do. This means you can’t influence them with anything rather than what is right for Rivers State and Nigeria.

“They are here; they know themselves and they have been part of the struggle in a very quiet manner and they support me. My prayer is that God will continue to bless all of you.”

Kanu Nwankwo Undergoes Heart Surgery Again

Kanu Nwankwo Undergoes Heart Surgery Again

Nigerian football Star and founder of Kanu Heart Foundation, KHF, Nwankwo Kanu underwent a corrective heart surgery at the Cleveland Hospital, Ohio, USA over the weekend.

According to a statement... by the Co-ordinator of the Kanu Heart Foundation, Pastor Onyebuchi Abia, the surgery was carried out during one of his normal yearly routine medical checks at the hospital following his 1997 heart surgery at the same hospital and it was a success.

Kanu has since left the intensive care unit, ICU, of the hospital and is now recuperating.

Pastor Abia said; he will be back home in a few days time. I spoke with him on Sunday afternoon and he confirmed he’s in a stable condition.

The full list of Oscar winners 2014

The full list of Oscar winners 2014 is as follows, with links to reviews of each film.

 

The winners are as follows (the full list of nominees is further below):

BEST PICTURE:

12 Years a Slave - WINNER

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine - WINNER


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave - WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR:
Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity - WINNER

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Great Gatsby - WINNER

BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING:
Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Mr Hublot - WINNER

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Frozen - WINNER

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):
Helium - WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life - WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
20 Feet from Stardom - WINNER

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Great Beauty (Italy) - WINNER

BEST SOUND MIXING:
Gravity - WINNER

BEST SOUND EDITING:
Gravity - WINNER

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Gravity - WINNER


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Gravity - WINNER

BEST FILM EDITING:
Gravity - WINNER

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
The Great Gatsby - WINNER

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
Gravity - WINNER

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
Let It Go - Frozen - WINNER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave - WINNER

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Spike Jonze - Her - WINNER



The full list of nominees is as follows:

BEST PICTURE:
12 Years a Slave - WINNER
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Nebraska
American Hustle
Dallas Buyers Club
Her

BEST DIRECTOR:
David O Russell - American Hustle
Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity - WINNER
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine - WINNER
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Meryl Streep - August Osage County

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave - WINNER
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Julia Roberts - August Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Despicable Me 2
Frozen - WINNER
The Croods
Ernest & Celestine
The Wind Rises

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke - Before Midnight
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope - Philomena
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave - WINNER
Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Eric Warren Singer and David O Russell - American Hustle
Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack - Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze - Her - WINNER
Bob Nelson - Nebraska

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Great Beauty (Italy) - WINNER
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
Let It Go - Frozen - WINNER
Ordinary Love - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Alone Yet Not Alone - Alone Yet Not Alone
Happy - Despicable Me 2
The Moon Song - Her

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
The Book Thief
Gravity - WINNER
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr Banks

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom - WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
SaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life - WINNER
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

BEST FILM EDITING:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity - WINNER
12 Years a Slave

BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING:
Dallas Buyers Club - WINNER
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr Hublot - WINNER
Possessions
Room on the Broom

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)
Avant Que De Tour Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium - WINNER
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby - WINNER
Her
12 Years a Slave

BEST SOUND EDITING:
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity - WINNER
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

BEST SOUND MIXING:
Captain Phillips
Gravity - WINNER
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Gravity - WINNER
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby - WINNER
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster
Gravity - WINNER
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

YOBE MASSACRE: How My Mates Were Killed – Survivor

DAMATURU—“I was shot on my left leg, while I was sleeping.
When I woke up, I could not walk and was later taken to the
girls hostel where the insurgents gathered us with the female
students. They selected some of the female students and
went away with them, while they left some of us groaning in
pain from gun shot”.
Those were the words of 14-year-old Ibrahim Musa Lampo, a
JSS 2 student of Federal Government College, FGC, Bunu Yadi,
Yobe State who was one of the lucky survivors of the Boko
Haram massacre on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of 43
students. The insurgents also burnt the hostels, classrooms
and more than 40 houses during the attack.
Ibrahim who recounted his experience while groaning in pains
was receiving treatment for gunshot injuries at the General
Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu.
His mother, Hajiya Hauwa Lampo, who was sitting beside him
on the hospital bed lamented the inability of government to
protect the lives of the innocent students. The mother
passionately appealed to the Federal Government to “provide
adequate security for all unity schools in Nigeria, particularly
in the north eastern region of the country by constructing a
fence that will shield the students from intruders. And if the
government can not deploy adequate security personnel, they
should despatch sniffer dogs into the schools to patrol every
nook and corner and this will go a long way in curbing the
insurgency.”
Ibrahim’s father, Mallam Musa Lampo, an immigration officer
was still in shock over the incident and simply said: “I have
committed everything into the hands of God.”
Boko Haram attacks
Thousands of Nigerians from the troubled North eastern states
are fleeing into Niger Republic as the Boko Haram attacks
heightens fears in the region.
A source in the North-East, yesterday, said tens of thousands
of people have gone to Niger Republic to escape a wave of
attacks and bombings by Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is
fighting to carve out an Islamic country from the northern
states.
The government in Niamey has granted them refugee status,
but United Nations workers say it has also banned the
construction of formal camps, fearing any structures could
encourage an even bigger influx — or even bring fighters over
the border.
“We’re living on the charity and hospitality of locals and aid
organizations,” said 28-year-old Umara. “It’s difficult to feed
my family. We eat once a day, twice at best.”
A spokesman for Niger’s Interior Ministry was not
immediately available for comment. But Hassane Ardo Ido,
General-Secretary of Diffa province, said authorities feared
militants might infiltrate the camps and use them as bases.
“We are trying to handle the situation and stop any act that
could hurt our security,” he said.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR,
country representative in Niger, Karl Steinacker, said Niamey
was particularly worried because most of the refugees came
from the Kanuri ethnic group, a stronghold of Boko Haram.
“The authorities are worried the Nigerian insurgency might
spill over into Niger,” he said.
Meanwhile, condemnations have continued to trail the
massacre of the students.
Perpetrators should be swiftly brought to justice —UN Scribe
United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in a statement
issued, yesterday, in New York, strongly condemned the brutal
killing of students in Yobe. He expressed “sincere
condolences to the bereaved families and hoped that the
perpetrators would be “swiftly brought to justice”.
It’s declaration of war—Mark
Senate President, David Mark in his reaction described last
Tuesday’s slaughter of over 40 students by Boko Haram
insurgents as an open declaration of war on Nigerians.
Senator Mark who condemned the killing in a statement
issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh said that the
insurgents had no justification to kill students who neither
offended them nor committed any crime, saying “even in war
situations, children and women were always spared.”
The Senate President said: “This open declaration of war on
everybody especially defenceless students cannot be
justified. This is inhuman, it is animalistic and barbaric. It is
unthinkable that this is happening in Nigeria. It is also curious
that under an emergency rule when security operatives should
be on red alert, this mayhem still persists. Honestly, this calls
for soul searching and I believe the security authorities must
rise to this challenge.”
Killings wicked, horrendous —Tambuwal
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal, also described the killings as ignoble, wicked and
horrendous. In a statement issued in Abuja by his Special
Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam,
Tambuwal tasked security agencies to redouble their efforts
and change their tactics, especially now that those engaged in
the killings had increased their attacks on softer targets. He
said the only way to console the families of the victims and
Nigerians was to fish out perpetrators of the dastardly act and
bring them to justice.
Sultan condemns Yobe killings
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar condemned the
killing, saying it was a senseless killing perpetrated by
criminals. “The barbaric and heinous attack is utterly
condemnable in its totality,” the Sultan said.
He recalled similar attacks in the past and called on the
Federal Government to wake up to its responsibility of
protecting lives and property of Nigerians, especially the
North East.
“Human lives are sacred and must be treated as so,” he said.
Killings extremely shocking — PDP
National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on
its part described as extremely shocking the massacre of the
students of Federal Government College, Bunu in Yadi, Yobe.
In a statement, yesterday, PDP National Publicity Secretary,
Chief Olisa Metuh, said that as a party, it has been grief-
stricken since it received the news of the gruesome killing of
the students.
Metuh who described the attack and killing of the harmless
students as “monstrous and extremely shocking, said, “The
massacre of these harmless students cannot be justified
under any guise.”
President should visit Yobe State —APC
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on its part unreservedly
condemned the horrific attack on the Federal Government
College in Yobe state.
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its Interim
National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party
said the attacks, which were extremely gory even by the
scorched-earth tactics of the terrorists, plumbs the depth of
horror.”
APC called on President Jonathan to immediately visit the
state to offer succour to the families of the victims and the
state government.
Senate asks COAS to relocate to Maiduguri
The Senate on Wednesday directed the Chief of Army Staff,
COAS, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah to relocate his office to the
7th Division in Maiduguri and take urgent and appropriate
steps to quell the killings by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram in
Borno and other states in the North East.
The Senator George Sekibo-led Senate Committee on Defence
and Army which said it regretted the Yobe slaughter advised
the COAS to re-strategize on possible new ways of curbing
the excesses of the terrorist group and also mobilise all
available military resources and face the insurgents.
The Committee said, “We heard of your planned relocation to
Maiduguri, we hereby as the Committee overseeing your
activities, direct that your office relocate temporarily to the
7th Division in Maiduguri and that you take urgent and
appropriate steps to quell the situation.
“From today, all schools and health institutions should be
provided with special security, as we do not want a repeat of
these killings of our innocent citizens.
Clerics condemn attack
Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN in the
North East, Rev. Shuaibu M. Byal, called on President
Jonathan to do something decisive to arrest the current
madness, asking “or how many more innocent persons must
be killed before the government comes to our aid?
In a similar development, the Prelate Methodist Church
Nigeria, His Eminence Samuel Uche also expressed great
shock and sadness over the gruesome attacks by gunmen
suspected to be Boko Haram sect members.

The Reason Sanusi Was Sacked

**Sanusi claimed a whooping N1.257 Billion for “Lunch For
his Police guards” and expenses for “Private Guards” In
2012.
**Bogus Payments To Non-operating and non-existing
Airlines To Distribute Currency Nationwide Exposed.
**Operated Bogus Expense Heads To Hide Fraudulent
Activities.
**CBN Has Held An Account With A Balance Of N1.423
Billion For An Unknown Customer Since 2008.
Following Thursday’s suspension of Mr. Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi as Governor of the Central Bank by President
Goodluck Jonathan, 247Nigerianinfo has exclusively obtained a
copy of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria report that
ripped apart the 2012 audited financial statement of the apex
bank and exposed the fraud, excesses and wastefulness of
Sanusi and the CBN.
Sanusi had over the years projected an image of an anti-graft
banker, activist, reformer and crusader against graft and
waste in government, as well as the financial sector. Weeks
before his ouster as CBN Governor, Mr. Sanusi had accused
the NNPC of failing to remit billions of dollars in oil revenue
to the federation account, a claim which the NNPC has
continued to dispute.
The 13-page Council report emanated following Sanusi’s
response to a query issued him in early 2013 by President
Goodluck Jonathan over the apex bank’s alarming reckless
donations nationwide and its finances.
Whilst describing Sanusi’s response to the President’s query
as “a clear display of incompetence, nonchalance, fraud,
wastefulness, abuse of due process and deliberate efforts to
misrepresent facts…”, the Council accused the suspended
banker of several violations including but not limited to
carrying out activities with financial implications that are not
related to the CBN’s mandate, especially billions of naira in
ambiguous payments to invoices referred to as “Centre of
Excellence” and “Contribution to Internal National Security”,
and the CBN’s claim that it paid N38.233 billion to the
Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc in 2011
for the “printing of bank notes” whereas the turnover of the
entire printing and minting company group is N29.370
billion.

The Council also accused Sanusi of rogue payments as air
charter fees to Emirates Airways (N0.511b), Associated
Airline (N1.025b) and Wing Airline (N0.425b), for the
distribution of currency nationwide whereas Emirates does
not operate local charter flights within Nigeria, Wing Air is
unregistered in Nigeria with the Nigeria Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA), and Associated Airlines did not have a
billion naira turnover in 2011 and have no financial
statements because the company said it had not had any
significant operation in two years to warrant preparing a
financial statement.

In lieu of the serious misconduct found against Sanusi and
the leadership of the CBN, the Council urged the President to
exercise the powers conferred on him by “Section 11 (2) (f) of
the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 or invoke Section 11 (2)
(c) of the said Act and cause the Governor and the Deputy
Governors to cease from holding office in the CBN and also
direct the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria to carry out
a full investigation of the activities of the CBN…”

It is a shame that a very Corrupt Sanusi Lamido after getting
copy of this Report in June, 2013, started to sabotage and
blackmail the government by writing his bogus letter to the
President in September, 2013 claiming that NNPC did not
remit the sum of $49.8 billion, a figure he later apologized
that he did not calculate properly.

APC: Fantastic future or fatality?

The events preceding and culminating in the formation or amalgamation (some do not want the use of the latter) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are interesting as well as intriguing to an inquiring and analytical mind. While there is the need for Nigeria’s fledgling democracy to have a strong opposition to curtail and checkmate the excesses and seeming impunity of the ruling party at the centre, the coming together of parties: ACN, ANPP, CPC and a faction of APGA to form the APC was unexpected by many Nigerians. Much more so, the speed and timing of its formation caught many napping, especially in the ruling party. It was the thought of many political pundits and analysts that leaders of these erstwhile parties in the ally will truncate the process because of their ambitions. However, it is worth commending that the leaders involved in the merger put their act together against skeptics to initiate the formation of the APC.

Looking at the whole scenario with another lens, some opinionated that the merger is the coming together of strange bed fellows which may soon develop fractures and be fragmented into different political parties before the next general elections in 2015. In fact, to talk of the amassing of human resources, the APC currently boasts of many erudite as well as exposed, equipped and enlightened minds criss-crossing the Nigerian landscape. This is one crux of the matter. The writer, as an organisation leadership researcher, will want to analyse the present and future while not losing a vital gaze of the pedigree of the dramatis personae involved in the merger process. The top leaders definitely have more work to do to convince many Nigerians that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not the same as the APC, as some are already insinuating, especially with defections from the new PDP to the APC. The loss of five governors from the PDP to APC has really caused nightmarish insomnia for the ruling party at the centre, especially with the recalcitrant, albeit immature, attitude of the leaders of the Senate to let go of defecting Senators from the PDP to APC as the issue has been taken to court.

Inculcating the four I’s

It is the opinion of this writer that for APC to have a sustainable and desirable future envisaged by the founding fathers, it is high time the leaders, given consideration to broad-based consultation with the followers (members of the party at all levels), began to initiate a process of inculcating the four I’s: Identity, Ideology, Induction and Institutionalisation. The time is short. However, with a sagacious strategic leader like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the fold and with other cerebral minds, a lot of ground can still be covered in a few months with a dint of hard work.

Identity

It is not only a good development but a farsighted one that the APC initiated a process of party membership registration throughout all the wards, local government areas, and states of the federation. As at the time of writing this article, the registration is still on-going. It was indeed a formal way of real members identifying with the party irrespective of their social status. However, to identify with any group, some factors come into play like who are the members of the group, or cherished norms of the group or objectives of the group, etc. Hitherto, the broom is the most popular of the emblems representing the APC as a party largely taken from the erstwhile ACN logo. It is a slogan of the then ACN that the intention of the party was to sweep away the epileptic and inefficient government of the PDP. However, especially with defectors in droves from the PDP to APC, this is the moment for the APC to bear a unique identity that will make and mark them distinctively different from the PDP. For instance, I remember, in Singapore, the ruling party, People’s Action Party (PAP), has a unique identification of wearing white as the party uniform to denounce and exhibit zero tolerance for corruption at all levels in the polity. This is a form of identity that is unique and catchy. The APC will need to do more that flashing or wielding the broom to convince Nigeria that the party is here to herald the real change yearned or longed for by the citizens.

Ideology

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, ideology can be defined as “the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party.” Alternatively, it is seen as “a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture.” In essence, there is the urgent imperativeness for the top leaders in conjunction and consultation with members to define and depict in clear cut manner the real, pragmatic and all-embracing ideas, beliefs and line of thought unique to the APC as a political party that all members know, understand and can exploit to woo others into the fold. For instance, for those of us alive in the Second Republic, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) under the leadership of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, had the four cardinal programmes: Free Education, Free Medical Services, Gainful Employment and Integrated Rural Development. These were once acknowledged by the then UK Government of Harold Wilson administration. Recently, Senator Olusola Saraki came out with some hastily and hurriedly crafted programmes for the APC. For the APC to have a sustainable future and avoid fatality at an early stage, it is imperative for the top leaders to constitute a cerebral and level-headed committee to fashion out a robust and realistic ideology that is sellable to Nigerians in all the six geopolitical zones not just within APC members if the party will want to win at the centre not only in 2015 but to sustain the winning streak like the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore and the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in Malaysia.

Induction

While it is worth commending for members to register, it is much more vital for the APC to properly induct its members. In essence, inducting members will be a formal process of making someone a proper member of the party. The process in modern day organisations is to set aside weeks of capacity building for new employees for them to know, imbibe and internalise core values and culture of their organisations so that the new inductees will function in accord or harmony with old hands without friction thus ensuring and engendering organisational effectiveness. The APC needs this more than any other party now if the leaders desire right attitudinal approach, discipline and healthy organic growth. To this end, the APC, in these days of digital technology, can latch onto online platform to educate, enlighten and equip members at all levels. It is also essential to organise at local government, state or federal level leadership and followership training programmes such as seminars, workshop and conference inculcating the party’s ideology, constitution, history, partisan politics in Nigeria, theory and practice of social inclusion, religious and social harmony, servant leadership, exemplary and courageous followership, etc.

Institutionalisation

The last but not the least is institutionalisation. It is instructive to point out that after proper means of identification; carving or crafting a befitting ideology; imbibing or internalising core values and culture of the party through well thought out and tailor-made capacity building, the top leaders should envisage a way of building the APC to becoming a national institution that is colossus in status just like UMNO is in Malaysia. For instance, it is impossible for anyone entering Kuala Lumpur, the capital city, not to notice the presence of the ruling party in the Central Business District (CBD) with the UMNO building hosting the party secretariat and providing spaces for other corporate organisations to do their businesses. No doubt in Malaysia, the UMNO has passed the stage of just being a ruling political party to an institution. The APC can strategically think and tinker in a creative process towards becoming a notable and noticeable institution within our clime. I am yet to see one political party from independence till date exhibiting any trait of an institution within Nigeria’s polity. The pervading and prevailing attitude has largely been to grab power and share our common wealth. In line with this line of thought, the APC should begin to head hunt internally for cerebral minds to craft a well robust, sustainable, practicable, adaptable and amenable Strategic Change Plan (SCP) covering a period of five to ten years if the party intends to foist feasible change that is peaceful, proactive, passionate and progressive on the psyche of the Nigerian nation.

Conclusion

The APC has a golden opportunity to make a real change through servant-leading that can result in real transformational changes that are all-encompassing. Followers all over the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and also Nigerians in the Diaspora are watching and waiting to see if they will ever witness a paradigm shift from this mess of cantankerous corruption ravaging the soul of the Nigerian nation to an egalitarian society where poverty will be alleviated. May this golden opportunity not be marred by sheer greed, blind ambition, ethnic jingoism, religious bigotry, rivalry, etc. The leaders must roll up their sleeves to work assiduously, optimising the avalanche of resources within the party. The top leaders should continually demand and value genuine feedback from followers. This should be imputed into the decision-making process of the party. Issues such as conduct of primaries, internal democracy within the party, discipline, nomination, etc should be clearly spelt out in the party’s constitution.

-Dr. Ekundayo, a researcher and organisational management consultant, resides in Lagos.