Lagos, Agberos and Politics

Lagos, Nigeria's mega city, is synonymous with thugs. These thugs are locally called agberos by the Yoruba folks in Nigeria. The agberos are authorities in the commercial sector of the coastal city. Under the auspices of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), they control the transportation sector of the city - by merely sitting at bus stops and forcefully collecting (extorting) money from commercial bus drivers.

Anyone may be quick to ask why the money is paid, but for commercial drivers in Lagos, such question is unnecessary. Daring to ask such question could result into the vandalisation of your bus and other personal valuables. It could also result in physical assault or even death. No one - even the Police - can question their methods and decisions. And this simply shows the depth of authority exercised by a 'legalised' set of hoodlums in a supposed developed Lagos

You might be asking, how can hoodlums and touts be legalised in a society like Lagos? Well, that's where politics come in. Politicians have great need for these agberos as they are utilised during electoral periods - either to run campaigns or to manipulate election results. When these politicians eventually come into power, it becomes difficult to oust these thugs. But rather than employ them directly, our leaders allow these agberos excess liberty to raise money for themselves - using any method. The thugs - in turn - exploit the commoners to satisfy their whims. Even if a death case is recorded during extortion, the government turns a blind eye to it. This is why it is said that in Nigeria, playing politics with security isn't frowned upon.  Continue...

Why has Democracy failed in Africa?

Democracy prospers in other continents, but Africa is yet to enjoy the dividends of democratisation. What could be the cause of the failure of Democracy in our land?

According to the 2009 African Governance Report (AGR II), put together by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), it seems that many of the democracies in Africa are suffering from authoritarian hangover.

Many African countries adopted the system of democracy because it enjoys global endorsement as the best form of government and panacea for development. But it is a truism that development in Africa remains impeded. This is because many African leaders are ignorant, negligent of the philosophical principles upon which democracy was formed. Democracy has failed in Africa simply because African leaderships lack the moral courage to live up to its expectations. Characterised by greed, ignorance and negligence, many African leaders do not practice democracy in the light of the foundational principles upon which democracy was formed. John Locke and other pro-democracy philosophers had based the ideals of democracy on the principles of discipline, tolerance, truth, nobility, restraint, justice, selflessness, self control and equity.These principles have helped Europe and America develop rapidly.

African leaders lack the moral courage to live up to expectation; hence, they easily drift from the path of democracy to satisfy their own whims and caprices, ending up practicing pseudo democracy.

What other reasons could be the cause of the failure of democracy in Africa?

Why are African leaders practising another version of democracy?

West African Young Leaders Summit (WAYLS- BENIN 2015: Coming soon.

Young African Leaders, this interests you. It is an opportunity like no other ... From 10 to 12 September 2015, Benin home the first edition of "West African Young Leaders Summit -WAYLS". This is a pan-African meeting designed to encourage economic development and the eradication of youth unemployment through self-employment and entrepreneurship. Are expected in Porto-Novo, Benin's capital city, more than 200 young African leaders from West African countries to exchange, sharing of experiences, training, communications and tourism. As part of the 2015 WAYLS, fair businesses is programmed to allow foreign participants as national exposed their businesses and share with youth ideas and achievements.

Similarly, there is provided a sightseeing tour in the Ouémé valley to finger the wealth it is to mount the agricultural transformation projects for food production and create a network of young African leaders to help sustainable development in Africa. The 2015 WAYLS experience the presence of highly skilled communicators and teachers; entrepreneurs and economic operators; media professionals and business leaders of Benin and the participating countries. During the three-day summit, participants will be accommodated in hotels in Porto-Novo. Participation in WAYLS 2015 is estimated at 30.000f all inclusive (accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, travel for sightseeing) for all participants. Any participant in WAYLS 2015 will receive a participation certificate, signed by all educators and communicators. It will demonstrate its commitment to the development of Africa and its dynamism. Participants still entitled to binders, pens, badges and notebooks

Do you want to register for the WAYLS 2015 ...? See you soon on the website of BENIN SHOWBUZZ-NETWORK, at www.beninshowbuzz.com. A registration form will be presented to guide you. For further details contact the National Coordinator of WAYLS 2015 on 97638321 or write to kodjo_armand@yahoo.fr. BENIN SHOWBUZZ-NETWORK, we believe in the global change of Africa ..!

Join the Revolution: The African evolution can only happen through technology.

Recognition to previous blogspot contributions;
Africa and its challenges by Teresa Abila
Africa needs to stand up by Armand Kodjo and
Individual development by Prince Ifoh are necessary to bring to your attention, before you read this philosophy. Because all three these subjects apply; and to get your mind fretting, these three contributors have nailed this Revolution in place.

Secondly YALI for achieving the Young Leaders of Africa database they have via Social Platforms to date. You have achieved a phenomenal breakthrough already on the above mentioned subjects.

A revolution is a fundamental change that takes place in a relatively short period of time whilst Evolution is the change in biological populations over successive generations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level. However its clearly outlined by YALI and also mentioned, by the three outlined blogs above, that the young leaders of Africa, today, born and shaped into technology, are the empires of applying and transferring the next revolutionary evolution via, the correct transfer of information to their peers and erlderly, willing to constitute change over a short period of time and by the use of the worldwide web, who will shape Africa to victorious hights.

The greatest care needs to be implemented and acknowledged, that East will meet West and North will meet South without borders to cross, distance no longer exceeds time, accept for those who takes part in delivering products from online orders, an undyable industry unless teleportation of goods was also made possible over the web, immediately.

Young Africans from all countries, cultures and background are invited to become leaders and techno entrepreneurs overnight and whilst creating their business profiles concentrate on their finesse, creativity imagined is all that is required to serve communities with products or services, businesses and organisations can also be constructed and carefully implemented overnight. Obedience to country rules and regulations to conduct business within a countries borders, registration and taxation under curent regulations still applies. Young leaders can implement departmental and individual statuses to their newly established organisations to conduct processes and procedures to their followers and databases. Continue....

Africa and Its Challenges: The Way Forward by Teresa Abila

Africa, the Mama-Land, is rich and ripe with protruding natural resources,wildlife and immense talents/skills. It is one of the richest continents in the world - a place where most of the world's untapped resources, fertile lands and human capital lie dormant, waiting to be exploited. Ironically, from time immemorial, Africa has and is continuing to suffer the most.

Africa, in entirety, has continued to experience unending challenges.These challenges have hindered the realization its full potentials. The aforesaid challenges range from economic, social, political and climatic factors. These factors, cumulatively, have led to the retrogressive nature of the continent; like the high levels of unemployment, over-dependence on Western nations for their developmental agenda which leads to excessive huge debts, unexploited minerals (gold, silver, stones), dependence on culture, individualisation, tribalism. More so, Africa has been questioned on its inability to emit gases as its countries are not polluting much as Western ones.For developmental purposes, Africa must fully embrace industrialization. Continue....

Individual Development: The Pathway to African Development

Fellow comrades, I acknowledge your presence as our dream is gradually becoming a reality. Let us kick-start this blog by laying a basic foundation for the development of our continent.

Below is an article which points to the easiest way to achieving development in Africa.

Man is the measure of all things. He forms the bedrock of any society, and his nature determines the state of the society. It is paramount for the individual to be developed if a nation is to achieve sustainable development. This is because without first solving the problem of the individual, it is almost impossible for any nation to develop.

Individual development is the foundation of a nation's development; and no nation will prosper if the individuals that constitute it are not developing. This fact is analogous to a machine which parts are faulty. It is obvious that the overall functioning of such machine will be hampered to the extent which depends on the role played by the faulty part. That is, if a vital part is faulty, the overall functioning of the said machine will be thoroughly weakened.