12 Reasons Women Don’t Date ‘Nice Guys’

1. Not real. Nice guys are too nice. No one can always be that nice unless they’re a saint. They are busy being nice instead of being real and women instinctually don’t trust that. Bad boys “keep it real.” Nice guys don’t want to upset the apple cart.
2. Respect. No one respects a doormat. Nice guys don’t set boundaries or make any real demands. A bad boy doesn’t let a woman walk all over him or control him. Women can’t respect a man they can control. No respect equals no attraction.
3. Predictable. Most people lead boring, predictable lives, so they’re attracted to people who are exciting and a bit unpredictable. Bad boys are always a challenge. Nice guys are never a challenge. Predictable plus no excitement plus no challenge.
4. Mother Nature. Women are designed to nurture. However, instead of doing this with children, they often end up doing it with bad boys. They think their love will save them. Nice guys rarely need to be saved.
5. Fixing. Nice guys don’t usually need to be fixed. Bad boys usually do, so they become a project. Women think if they can “create” the perfect man, he will never leave them. Also, if they’re busy fixing someone else, they don’t have to look at what needs to be fixed in their own lives.
6. Genetic wars. Women are designed to procreate with the strongest possible genes. Bad boys are sending an unconscious message that they have great genes, so they’re not afraid of losing the woman by misbehaving. Nice guys are sending a message that they don’t think their genes are good enough, so they won’t misbehave.
7. Fear of intimacy. If a woman is afraid of intimacy, she subconsciously knows she can avoid it with a bad boy, since she can never get close enough to him to have to go there. A nice guy will eventually want a commitment, and that’s scary.
8. Low self-esteem: We don’t feel comfortable with people who treat us better than we treat ourselves. If you don’t think much of yourself, the bad boy is simply reinforcing your negative belief. A nice guy is treating you in a way you’re not familiar with.
9. s*x. Women feel a nice guy won’t be good in bed. They sometimes like to be manhandled and think a nice guy won’t be able to take control and get the job done. A bad boy comes across as being able to deliver, even though that may not always be the case.
10. Hot. Have you ever seen a bad boy who wasn’t hot? They probably wouldn’t be able to get away with half the stuff they did if they didn’t look so good. Meanwhile, when a woman describes someone as a nice guy, she means, “He’s not hot.”
11. Charm. Nice guys don’t always know what to say and are sometimes at a loss for words. Bad boys can be very charming and know exactly what women want to hear. However, they eventually switch over to being selfish. By the time they reveal their true colors, the woman has fallen for them and has a hard time letting go.
12. Protection. Historically, men have protected women — physically and otherwise. Bad boys give the illusion of being able to protect women, while with nice guys, women aren’t so sure. Life is about balance. Most men fall into either the bad boy or the nice guy category. The ideal man is neither, but walks that fine line between the two. Until men learn how to do this, more often than not, women will choose the bad boy, until they realize that his bad qualities outweigh his good ones.

Sure-P Missing Funds By Sola Ademiluyi

When the late Afro beat Maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti sang a hit song about 2.8 billion Naira missing from the treasury during the first tenure of Olusegun Obasanjo with Muhammadu Buhari as Petroleum Minister, it must have sounded like a big deal then. Now such amount of funds is mere chicken feed compared with the trillions of dollars that have been salted away since the return of democracy fourteen years ago.
The nation was engulfed in a crisis last year January as a result of the removal of petroleum subsidy. This was the precursor of the Occupy Nigeria movement that led many Nigerians old and young, rich and poor to protest the inhumane and anti-people policy in unison. The effect of the removal was the hike in the price of the products from 65 Naira to 141 Naira before its reduction to its current 97 Naira.
The Sure-P was established as an interventionist agency to manage the proceeds from the fuel subsidy removal. It is financed by the savings or the difference which would have been used to subsidise premium motor spirits had has been full subsidy for the product. The difference between the 65 Naira cost as full subsidy and the 97 Naira as partial subsidy is what the government uses to fund the project. The funds saved are divided among the three tiers of government.
There was a bit of hope as a committee was inaugurated with Dr. Christopher Kolade a man of proven integrity who had headed the National Broadcasting Commission, Cadbury and was Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom was appointed Chairman. They were to work closely with the Ministries of Finance, Petroleum and the Director-General of the Budget Office to ensure the funds were properly managed and restore the confidence of Nigerians.
The allegation by the Senate that 500 billion Naira was missing jolted the nation and made nonsense of its launch with great fanfare. The Plateau State House of Assembly’s SURE-P Chairman, Dalyop Mancha declared that funds from the project were not disbursed to the state and local governments since January last year.
The bane of the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world has been mind boggling corruption and the impunity with which it is perpetrated. The Senate ad-hoc committee on SURE-P summoned Diezani Allison-Maduekwe, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Engineer Andrew Yakubu to appear before it and explain to Nigerians how over $3 billion grew wings. As is the norm in this clime fast sliding into a banana republic, they refused to appear before it giving the hapless populace the impression that they can fart and pour faeces on their faces with the confidence that the Heavens would not fall. This is not the first time this arrogance is being displayed. Chief Tony Anenih refused to appear before the House of Representatives Committee investigating the alleged 310 billion Naira scandals while he held sway as Minister for Works and Housing and combined the juicy portfolio with the Chairmanship of the Poverty Alleviation Programme. He has not only gone to become the Chairman of the Board of the Ruling Party’s Board of Trustees twice but is currently the National Ports Authority Chairman. Sir Emeka Offor was summoned by the Senate to answer questions over the abandonment of the turnaround maintenance contract for the refineries he received under the dictatorship of the late General Sani Abacha. He was at least ‘courteous’ to come but insulted the members of the senate committee and by extension the general populace by opining that he was too big for anyone to deal with in the country. How tragic!
The Petroleum Ministry released a report that the country consumed 1.3 billion litres in January last year; it dropped to 941 million the following month and slightly over 770 million by September. Why then have the remittances remained constant and not dropped? Don’t Nigerians have a right to know? Why the secrecy? Why is the NNPC feigning ignorance over this matter? It is high time the Freedom of Information Act Bill is invoked to compel these tin gods to render an account of how they allegedly squandered our commonwealth!
The programme has not even achieved anything. What is the rationale behind paying graduates 18,000 Naira a month that is worse than a piddling? Youth corpers earn more than that. Is the government preaching retrogression? We should be thinking about developing our human capital to the zenith and not fostering an economic structure that makes its most productive minds in their prime no more than glorified serfs.
Nigerians demand an answer to this recent hocus pocus!
@ademiluyitony

The Shame That Is Murtala Muhammed International Airport By Japheth Omojuwa

By Japheth J Omojuwa

How much does a country need to keep its busiest international airport from running like an oven? The Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos has to be the hottest airport in the world. It is easily the hottest I have travelled through and I have been through quite a lot of airports. Even the Nairobi airport in Kenya that was engulfed by fire is not as hot as the MMIA.

You should not even get started with comparing it with the airport in Cape Town or Johannesburg, South Africa. Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport, Accra may be small but it does not meet you with the repulsiveness the MMIA greets you with. Even the Eyadema airport in Togo has a better atmosphere. The Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal trumps ours by light years. This is speaking of African countries. We dare not try to compare with airports outside Africa. As soon as you descend from the plane to go through the immigration point, the feeling is as though you were being punished for daring to travel to Nigeria – if a foreigner – or you were being punished for daring to leave the country – if a Nigerian. The saddest part of this reality is that money is not the reason why we have an airport that makes us look like we are a people without shame. Or, are we?

There is a chance you are busy during the week. If you find time this Sunday, please pay a visit to the MMIA. Find your way to the Departure Hall. If it does not remind you of the old Oshodi in Lagos, I’d write an apology for everyone who says it doesn’t. Of course, there is a chance they quickly react to this piece to make a few cosmetic changes. If it looks better this Sunday because of this piece, just wait another four weeks; I can bet it will be back to its seamy self. Last Sunday, there were more touts than there were passengers inside the airport. The system is such that even getting your boarding pass to travel is made difficult so an incentive is created for you to engage one of the touts. I was approached to pay N5,000 to get my boarding pass. I wouldn’t pay because I just needed to see if I’d miss my flight despite arriving over three hours earlier. If that had happened, I’d have made sure the airline in question never gets to try it with anyone again. Where else could an anomaly like this happen? If you arrive the airport two hours before your flight, there is a chance you miss your flight not because that is not enough time before your flight but because somehow, someway, bottlenecks have been created to make you need touts to do what you’d do within minutes elsewhere. Nigeria is a nightmare!

If per chance you are wondering why one would dedicate a column to an airport of all the myriad of issues facing Nigeria, please have a rethink. The airport is an essential part of a country’s prestige and perception. Any country with a badly managed airport as ours is likely to be as badly managed as our country. If a country cannot manage its main airport, how can it manage anything else? Travelling through Section D 34 on Sunday and it was as though someone was increasing the heat as we were getting boiled. How much does it cost to make the air-conditioning systems work? What does it cost to make the airport clean enough? Why should we have people in queues for hours just to go through immigration and security checks? Why have more metal detectors if passengers are made to use just one or two on most occasions? Body scanners have been in use since 2007, how much does it cost to have them in our major airports? Why is Nigeria the only country where, to travel, you must have your box opened and ransacked by security men? What is the essence of running these same bags through electronic security? Why in the world can’t we get even the simplest of things right?

The first impression you get about a country upon visiting is its airport. There are people who intentionally run their flight connections through some airports just to make use of their facilities or make purchases. I know people who travel to other parts of the world but make sure to travel through Dubai simply because of the travel experience. I dare not start comparing our airports with Dubai’s because then I’d be comparing two things of different kinds. You will not find a Nigerian who has been outside of this country who is not ashamed of our airports. Of course, this does not include Nigerians who call things that do not exist as though they do; Nigerians who look at the poverty and gross unemployment and proclaim our lives are being transformed. You will not find a Nigerian who has the ability to face the truth who’d not admit shame at looking at our major airports. I was at the Addis Ababa airport last August when a Nigerian started lamenting behind me. She was shocked even Ethiopia could do better than the “giANT” of Africa. Giant ko, dwarf ni. We stay living in a delusion of grandeur that does not exist.

Having said all this, I will never be able to describe the pain and sadness that come with travelling from the MMIA. The only way you won’t feel this sadness is if you’ve gone past caring about this country or you are one of the reasons this country is so messed us as it is. The MMIA was modelled after Amsterdam’s Schipol. Over 40 years later, the MMIA is worse than it looked when the military government of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo remodelled it. Just look at Schipol airport today. If you dare compare both, tears will fill your eyes before you even get started.

Where then do we start? We can start by doing away with the touts inside the lobby. We can start by ensuring the air-conditioning systems work. We can look to make sure passengers are well-treated on arrival and departure. We always look at problems and immediately assume throwing money at them will solve them. I have since realised half the problems with Nigeria have nothing to do with money. Even with all the money in the world, our airports and our country will not work as long as we do not have people who care about excellence. Caring about excellence means knowing that Nigerians deserve the best all the time. When we reserve the rights citizens of other countries take for granted, upgrade such to privileges for our citizens, we will always miss the point of making things work. Nigerians deserve more but as long as we have people – including the President – dancing on national TV because a road contract has been awarded, we’d always have a situation where mediocrity will remain the norm. Would anyone say the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is the mess it is because of money? Nay. It is what it is because we are who we are. We have become a people accustomed to seeing nothing work.

It’d be great to see someone in authority do something about the mess that is the MMIA for starters. It’s a shame to Nigeria. But does Nigeria even understand what shame is? Does anyone really give a damn about the shame?

mr.omojuwa@gmail.com; twitter: @omojuwa

OSUN 2014: OYINLOLA TO MEET TINUBU

Barring last minute change of mind, plans have been concluded by the former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola to lead his associates and supporters in the new Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, over the coming governorship election in the state.

Daily Sun learnt on Monday that Oyinlola had held several meetings with his political associate where the idea of collaborating with the APC over the coming poll ahead of final consideration to join the party later.

A close source to one of the meetings held at Oyinlola’s residence in Okuku, headquarters of Odo-Otin Local Government Area of the state confided in Daily Sun that “the choice of APC in the coming election is borne out of the belief that if a former senator grabs the PDP ticket, he will have the backing of Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who is the leader of the Labour Party.”

Governor Mimiko is believed to be a good friend of the senator and former deputy governor, who is believed to be so strong footed in the state chapter of the PDP so much that clinching the party’s ticket in the primaries is almost a foregone conclusion.

And if that happens, he will be the automatic leader of the party in the state over Oyinlola, his former boss a situation that no serious politician would detest.

Daily Sun gathered that the meeting was polarized into two factions with one faction supporting joining the Labour Party, while the other was in agreement with Oyinlola over the APC choice.

The faction that preferred the Labour, according to investigation hinged its support for the party on the reported Mimiko’s commitment to support any Labour candidate in any contest, while the other faction was of the conviction that teaming up with the APC would make them equal joiners since the party had not registered its members.

They said following Oyinlola to the APC would be in line with the thinking of the ‘rebel governors’ who were talking with the leadership of the APC about the possibility of belonging to the same party in the event that the old PDP refused to reconcile with them.

Daily Sun can authoritatively report that, it is against that polarization in the team that has led to some of the team members to go ahead to romance with the Labour Party with a view to joining the party and seeking its governorship ticket for the coming election in 2014.

Daily Sun had reported last week that a former commissioner under Oyinlola had concluded plans to declare for the Labour Party and also intend to declare his governorship interest before the end of this month.

A source close to the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregesola, who craved anonymity confided in Daily Sun that “the governor is not unaware of the move by a section of the opposition to have a meeting with him and his party.”

APC Demands INEC Prosecution of Anambra Governorship Candidate Within 24 Hours

By SaharaReporters, New York

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has requested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to commence the prosecution of Maduabuchi Willie Obiano, the candidate of the All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA) in next Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Anambra State.

 

Mr. Obiano is alleged to have registered as a voter more than once as is allowed under the law, and in more than one state

In a letter today to the chairman of INEC, Mr. Festus Keyamo announced that he has been retained for the prosecution of Mr. Obiano. 

Recalling previous instances in which INEC has stated that it would prosecute cases of multiple registrants, APC drew attention to the situation in Anambra, saying that it puts the Commission’s resolve to test.

“This is the case of one “Obiano, Maduabuchi Willie,” a voter registered at Otuocha Ward 1, Polling Unit 004, Eri Primary School 1 of Anambra East Local Government Area. From the Voters’ Register made available to all the political parties including our client, the said “Obiano, Maduabuchi Willie” was issued a Voter Identification Number (VIN) 90F5B12B88377091121 at 2:18 pm on August 21, 2013. Further, the said Obiano was again issued with another Voter Identification Number 90F5B15E7D378200332 at exactly 10:25 am on September 3, 2013.”

The letter further noted that but for the clothes worn by the same Obiano on the different dates, all of the particulars of the voter were the same. 

“Also, it is now public knowledge that the said “Obiano, Maduabuchi Willie” had earlier registered at Ifako/Soluyi Ward 2, Polling Unit 060 - Junction of Ramot Oluwakemi Street, Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State. His Voter Identification Number (VIN) is 90F5B12B01296204172 while his serial number on the Voters’ Register is 416,” the statement said, attaching a copy of the document evidencing the said registration at Ifako/Soluyi Ward 2 of Lagos State.”

Saying that INEC is reluctant to prosecute the suspect, the lawyer drew attention to Section 12(2) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), which says, “A person shall not register in more than one registration centre or register more than once in the same registration centre.” It also drew attention to Section 12(3), “A person who contravenes the provision of subsection (2) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N100,000 or imprisonment.”

On those grounds, it gave INEC a 24-hour ultimatum to commence the prosecution of Mr. Obiano or it would apply for Mandamus to compel the Commission to carry out its statutory duty. 

Appearing on SaharaTV last Saturday, Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary of INEC, confirmed that the commission was aware of the controversy surrounding the multiple registration of Mr. Obiano, but he did not say if he would be disqualified for that reason

Jonathan announces 2m Naira reward for Golden Eaglets: Vanguard

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday announced cash rewards and national honours for the Golden Eaglets and their handlers who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Friday in the UAE.

President Goodluck Jonathan lifts the FIFA U-17 World Cup trophy at the reception for the Golden Eaglets Sunday in Abuja. Photo: State House - 

Jonathan made the announcement at a special reception in honour of the victorious Golden Eaglets, held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The President announced a cash reward of N2 million to each of the team’s 19 players.

Jonathan also gave N3 million to the head coach, Manu Garba, and N2.5 million each to the two assistant coaches, Nduka Ugbade and Emmanuel Amunike.

The team’s doctor, physiotherapist, secretary, and the Chief Technical Officer were rewarded with N500,000 each.

Also, the Team Co-ordinator, Media Officer and Curator were given N300,000 each.

The President also said that the players, all their handlers and some key officials of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club would be given national honours at a later date.

Jonathan, who described the cash rewards as ”very very little tokens” from the federal government, urged state governments, the private sector and public-spirited individuals to follow the federal government’s step in rewarding the Eaglets.

The President extolled the team’s dedication, discipline and spirit of sportsmanship, noting that they brought honour to the nation.

He said ”with commitment and hard work, from being the second best in Africa, the Eaglets had transformed to the best in the world by winning the World Cup”.

Jonathan noted that with the consistent winning of five major tournaments in the last two years, Nigeria had recorded its golden era in sports.

The President attributed the success in the sector to the pro-active measures and policy action taken by his administration after the the country’s disappointing performance at the 2012 London Olympics.

He assured that his administration would continue to provide necessary support in terms of facilities and funding to the sports sector.

”The victory of the Eaglets was for the whole of Africa and the beginning of the revival in the nation’s sports sector,” Jonathan said.

He also charged stakeholders in the sector to harness the potentials of the victorious Eaglets for greater successes.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, said that the success recorded by the team was not by accident but as a result of a system reconstructed to deliver results.

He said the process of selecting the victorious 19 players was rigorous and competitive, devoid of favouritism.

Abdullahi said the successes recorded so far in the sports sector in the last two years had placed Jonathan as the most successful President in Nigerian sports history.

”The victorious Golden Eaglets team is not just a team but a project and their winning will not be the end but a beginning of greater victory for the nation,” he said.

Before the President’s speech, the captain of the team, Musa Mohammed, had presented the cup to Abdullahi, who in turn presented it to the President.

The Ambassador of Mexico to Nigeria, whose country played the final match with the Eaglets, was also at the event.

He presented the home and away jersies of his country’s national football team to the President in a show of spirit of sportsmanship.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the Senate President, Sen. David Mark, and his Deputy, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, were also at the reception.

Others at the event included the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and his Deputy, Hon Emeka Ihedioha.

Also at the event were state governors such as Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Jonah Jang of Plateau, Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Liyel Imoke of Cross Rivers, ministers and presidential aides

Governor Chime Chases His Wife Out Of Government House

These are indeed not the best of times for Governor Sullivan Chime and his second wife, Clara, who is said to be having "serious" medical challenge. Their crises assumed a new dimension on Sunday as Governor Chime with the assistance of security operatives, sent his wife from the Enugu State Government House.

Mrs. Chime’s personal effects were packed for her by the governor and his security detail, and she was forcibly taken out of the Government House in broad daylight.

Mrs. Chime, who struggled to depart with her four-year-old son, was bundled into a convoy of six cars and taken to her mother’s residence at House 38, Coal City Estate, Enugu.

However, on getting there, the mother who had not been notified that her daughter was being brought home, was not around. This forced Mrs. Chime and the security operatives to sit in their cars waiting for her mother to return for several hours.

Soon, the news spread round town and journalists rushed to Clara mother's residence to cover the incident live. Consequently, Governor Chime ordered that his wife be brought back to Government House.

Sources say he intends to send her back to her mother on Monday.

The governor was said to have taken the sad action to drive his wife away because she petitioned him before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over her confinement against her wish.
Turner says Nigerians "don't like to support their leaders" but need to give Jonathan time.
"Nigerians should allow him time to focus on what he wants to achieve. He has not been in power for a long time. He has not been given any breathing space to focus on the issues," he said.
In a January 7 speech, Jonathan said elimination of the subsidy was a tough but necessary choice for the country's economic future. "I am determined to leave behind a better Nigeria that we all can be proud of. To do so, I must make sure that we have the resources and the means to grow our economy to be resilient and to sustain improved livelihood for our people.
"We must act in the public interest, no matter how tough, for the pains of today cannot be compared to the benefits of tomorrow."

A president under pressure (A MUST READ)

"El-Rufai’s ‘insulting’ Twitter post on Jonathan sparks debate"

A post on the Twitter page of a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, describing President Goodluck Jonathan as “docile”, has sparked a debate.

El-Rufai, who is the Interim Deputy National Secretary of the opposition All Progressives Congress, had on Saturday quoted a tweet and its accompanying picture of one of his followers, Lauretta Onochie, on his Twitter page, which some people deemed anti-Jonathan.

The picture showed the President on his knees praying to God. However, the message which accompanied his picture stated, “Many prayers of the lazy, docile, incompetent, clueless, hopeless and useless leader!”

In an apparent move to shrug off initial criticism that he is a religious bigot, El-Rufai, who describes himself as a “certified ruffler of feathers” tweeted that he would have gladly posted such a tweet on his Twitter page if the President were a Muslim praying in the mosque.

“If he (a muslim President) prays instead of honest work, yes!” he tweeted, in response to a query by one Editi Akpan, who was worried about the tweet.

Quoting the words of American born poet, Joybell C, El-Rufai wrote that he has a message for members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and supporters of the President whom he described as “Jonathanians.” He wrote, “No, I am not bitter, I am not hateful, and I am not unforgiving. I just don’t like you.”

But the Presidency has reacted to the Twitter post, describing it as mockery of the office of the President. Special Assistant to the President on New Media, Reno Omokri, in a tweet to el-Rufai, branded him as a “bitter” fellow.

“It is only a sick and bitter fellow like you that would stoop so low to mock a man praying to his God. What type of man mocks a person who is praying to God? Even if you don’t respect your President, at least, respect God!” Omokri stated.

However, the controversial tweet has attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians on social media. While some Nigerians condemned the former minister for the message others argued that the adjectives used in the tweet truly describe Jonathan.

Those who carpeted el-Rufai said they had expected him to have steered clear of such tweets and not amplify such on social media.

According to them the President deserves some respect and putting such a post on his (el-Rufai’s) Twitter page was out of place.

A Twitter user, Ladi Owolabi, said the words used on the President were too heavy. “As an opinion leader and a former minister el-Rufai should know better than retweeting that rubbish? You (el-Rufai) should be totally ashamed of yourself!”

Another Twitter user, Bryan Chaut, described el-Rufai’s actions as a misbehaviour, adding that he needed to turn a new leaf.

“So the accidental Mallam misbehaved again today. We have become too wise in our own eyes that we mock people who pray to God. Mallam’s style is always the same, he asks someone to tweet something and then he retweets. This isn’t the first time. Mallam and his paid goons need to repent,” Chaut wrote on the micro-blogging service.

Jonathanian Bigotry now targets Lagos State - read "2015: Christian or Muslim governor for Lagos?"

By Bayo Olupohunda

There is a campaign currently going on in Lagos State. Its drumbeat is beginning to reach a crescendo in recent times. As the race for the 2015 general elections gathers momentum, the question of who succeeds the incumbent governor, Babatunde Fashola, has become the subject of intense public speculation. The governor, who is on the final lap of his second term tenure, will quit office in 2015. Thus, it is not surprising that the debate of who replaces him will become the subject of public interest. 

The succession brouhaha in Lagos is not totally unexpected. Lagos, with a population of 25 million inhabitants, is perhaps the only Nigerian city with global acclaim. It has also over the years grown to be Nigeria’s most important state. Its massive internally generated revenue, about N17bn; a huge commercial and industrial base coupled with its being a former federal capital city make it a coveted state among the political elite in the country. 

That is why Lagos has been the theatre of fierce political battles–the struggle for its political dominance peaked since the return to democracy in 1999.

More specifically, the state is still the scene of an ongoing political struggle between the Peoples Democratic Party and the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria now under the All Progressives Congress. The jostle for who becomes governor had also once witnessed intra-party rivalry that pitted one faction against the other. 

The importance of Lagos has ensured that it is continually in the eye of the storm with the Federal Government which would give anything to bring the state under its political control. 

Successive governments in Abuja have always sought to wrest control of the state from the “progressives” who have dominated political power since. In most cases, they have blocked policies embarked on by the state just to prove a political point or strangle it to submission. This points to the importance of Lagos in the national political equation. That is why it is not surprising that, once again, the race for Alausa is attracting attention, except that this time, it has taken a religious dimension. But I consider the present call by some Christians for a Christian governor strange and unprecedented. 

It is strange because it is curious that some so-called Christians in the state would seek to campaign for a Christian governor as if it is the sole determinant of good leadership.

It is also unprecedented because this is the first time an attempt will be made by a religious body to consciously campaign that a governor emerges from their faith. The clamour first began not too long ago. 

It was brought into the public space by the Director of Civic and Political Affairs of the Diocese of Lagos Mainland of the Anglican Communion, Venerable Folarin Shobo, who asked Lagos residents to vote in a Christian as governor in 2015. Shobo said it was time for power to shift in the state. 

According to him, ‘’Lagos residents cannot afford to continue with the present political arrangement whereby political officers were largely people of a particular faith”. 

The cleric urged Christians in the state to change the political status quo. He said, “It is not fair to have a government that is largely tilted to people of a particular religion. Christians over the years have been magnanimous enough. We have worked for people who are not of our faith and we have supported them to be in government. It is now time for us to come out and take the bull by the horns’’.

He reportedly lamented the situation where none of the five people being tipped to succeed Fashola come 2015 is a Christian. “Asking for a Christian governor in Lagos State at this time is not out of place. It is long overdue and it is time we began to do something about it,” 

Shobo’s position was re-echoed at another forum by a group called the Men Mission’s Union of New Jerusalem-City Baptist Church, Ejigbo, at a breakfast session with the Chairman of the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Kehinde Bamigbetan, on the theme: Christians and Politics: A Personal Reflection. 

Bamigbetan debunked the allegation that neither the party nor its leaders is consciously sponsoring Muslim candidates. Then enter the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria Lagos branch. In a statement titled, “The Church and Governance of Lagos State”, Its chairman, one Apostle Alex Bamgbala, said Christians have supported the two Muslim administrations in the state since 1999 and it is only fair that they give room for their Christian counterparts to be elected in 2015.

As the race for the Lagos top job gathers momentum, I am sure it will not be long before other Christians join this annoying and bizarre campaign. 

My take on this is simple. I consider the reason behind the Christian-for-governor disgraceful and odious. The campaign by these so-called Christian leaders is also dangerous, diversionary, hypocritical and inimical to peaceful co-existence of the state’s residents. It detracts from the real issues of governance. 

And there lies our problem as a country. 

I am a Christian and if you ask me, I do not give a hoot about the religion of the next governor. Neither has religion determined who gets my vote. 

Not in past elections and not in the future. For all I care, the next governor can be a traditionalist or even an atheist. What is important to me and for all residents is performance and pedigree.

The position of the so-called Christians is immoral to me, and reprehensible at best. It is curious that they have chosen this time for their divisive and unpatriotic campaign. One would expect them to demand good government no matter who will rule Lagos. 

What Lagos needs is good governance. Lagos residents want improvement in all aspects of their lives. They want better inner city roads, effective transport services, good schools, improved health care services, more independent power projects and security of lives and property. So, what has religion got to do with these? Lagos needs the best man for the job.

There are those who have applauded Fashola’s performance so far. Never for once has his religion been in contention. What these masquerading as religious leaders have failed to tell us is how Fashola’s performance have impacted on Muslims alone.

What they have also failed to tell us is what other leadership qualities a Christian governor must possess other than just being a Christian. For them, Lagos needs a Christian governor even if the would-be candidate lacks the qualities. 

This attitude should be condemned by all Lagos residents. This is a dangerous trend that must not be allowed in a democracy. Not the least an enlightened state like Lagos. 

It is either they are acting in ignorance of the ignominious role religion can play in our national life or are being mischievous. Have they even forgotten that a political party has its own structure? Are they now saying that even when a candidate, who is Muslim emerges, he should be dropped for a Christian who is not in the ballot or who did not have the required number of votes to stand election? 

Christian leaders should be conscious of the role they play in the society. They should avoid stoking the embers of religious hatred by playing up one religion against the other. 

Playing on mass hysteria will further widen the schism that is threatening to tear us apart as a nation. They should encourage leaders to deliver on their electoral promises. A Christian governor is not a guarantee for good governance. This campaign is nonsensical and must stop.