QUOTES
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AND GLOBAL ISSUES
“The fight we fight for is for ideals without which, not just Africa, but the whole World would come to an end in the 21st Century!” - Speech to the Youth at the UN General Assembly September 26th 2016.
“An impression is projected that there is no need for hard work, incentive and creativity, all one needs to do is to get attached to a big man, who has all the answers”. – Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 55.
“By youth, I refer to anybody in the age bracket between six and thirty. Collectively no other generation has faced more daunting challenges than this age bracket.” – Nigeria after… Page 137.
“The youth cry against a future which is non-existent because it has already been stolen.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“Successive Political leaders of Nigeria had conned, hoaxed, deceived and predated on the youth.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“The old must give way to a new mind-set. The old and rotten mind-set like the mushroom must wither and die politically so that the new Nigeria we need, want and which is within our grasp can be born.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“Nigerian children and youth are exceptional.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“It is remarkable that no Nigerian generation is better equipped to collectively change the destiny of Nigeria like today’s youth.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 137.
“It is true the future belongs to them [youth], but so also does the present, which is denying them expression.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 138.
“The youth in Nigeria are angry. They feel powerless because of adult subordination in homes, schools and communities. They also feel left out of the political and economic system that denies them expression.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 138.
“The endemic corruption by the political elite has starved critical needs of youth empowerment like education, health and social infrastructure.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 139.
“The Democracy of the stomach has put many youths in harm’s way in their effort to be placed in neo-patrimonial politics.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 141.
“The inability to view the youth as assets rather than liabilities and as a source of pride, rather than sorrow has bred unhappiness in homes across the nation.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 142.
“Giving youth money without training is not a sustainable economic initiative. Only a disciplined, trained and well-matured youth can become a real agent of change as the next strategic Nigerian generation.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 144.
“Young voices are crying out against injustices that deny the youth the status of human beings in the Nigerian society.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 144.
“The young women’s cries are beginning to be heard and they are expressed in soft patterning sounds of telephone texts in secret discourses that express their dreams, realities, syntax and semantics.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 144.
“The fate of the Muslim girl child in Northern Nigeria is taboo in public discourse.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 145.
“Today in Iran, Turkey, Canada and France there is growing awareness that Muslim girls can be educated, have careers and raise families without diminishing their faith.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 145.
“It is important to speak on behalf of the uneducated Muslim girl-child in Northern Nigeria.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 145.
“It remains to be seen how the country, especially Northern Nigeria, can wake up from the stupor of slumber and direct energy towards stopping injustices against the girl-child and eradicating the girl-child enslavement and abuse.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 145.
“If there is one sure war that the younger generation always wins, is that at the right time, leadership always devolves unto the younger generation, as the older ones give way in a never-ending circle.” - Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 196.
"Creativity and innovation will create a better world for the future than the one you are forced to inherit. Do not accept the old worn-out lie that you are leader of tomorrow. It is a lie. Prepare to lead now. You are leaders of today." - The Coming Revolution Page 106
DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL RIGHTS
“A democracy that refuses to guarantee economic and social rights is deficient and damaging to the concept of democracy”. Weapons of Mass Instruction, Page 51
“A democracy that merely pays lip service to the rule of law but in reality, has different laws for the poor and the rich is a charade”. – Page 51.
“Anytime any governmental system lays more emphasis on democracy than the people, democracy is threatened.” – Page 52.
“Because of the fall of man and his innate badness, democracy is necessary to restrain bad people from seizing power and staying on too long” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos… Page 49.
“Racism in all its manifestations is pernicious and evil. It is an ideology of the sick and depraved.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 69.
“Racism is an objectionable metric for judging human achievements, which have been proven, time and time again, to be totally wrong and false.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 69.
“Nigerian elections are costly wars, waged by a political elite against those who oppose their parasitic intentions, all for the control of the National resources.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 148.
“The interest of the small and vicious political elite must be made to succumb to the power of the people and not vice-versa.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 149.
“Africa is still the victim of a false consciousness that pervades the Western society.” - Beyond Hate and Violence Page 7.
“We need to immediately seek to institutionalize justice as the spirit behind the creation of the family of man.” - Beyond Hate and Violence Page 8.
“The biggest problem confronting Nigeria and Africa is leadership. We are desperately in need of leaders who hold themselves morally responsible for their actions and to higher values than the exercise of raw power.” - Beyond Hate and Violence Page 8.
“If one were to examine the roots of ethnic violence in Africa today, the foundation stones would be the colonial policy of divide and rule.” - Beyond Hate and Violence Page 9.
“Dialogue is an expression of love and is made possible only by love, which facilitates dialogue as well as expresses it.” - Beyond Hate and Violence Page 183.
“A democracy that refuses to guarantee economic and social rights is deficient and damaging to the concepts of democracy.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 43.
“The starting point of our democracy and its political foundation is and ought to be morality. Politics that is not moral in practice is nothing but brigandage.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 196.
WRITER'S ROLE AND SOCIETAL LIBERATION
“Our cardinal goal as writers is to liberate man from the fetters of tribal and religious jingoists, isolationists, prejudices, hatred and fear!” – Page 51.
“As a playwright, I don’t look at art or life with clinical detachment. I am in the pit of struggle with the poor and the downtrodden men, women, and children.” – Corruption in Africa Page xiii.
“In their daily toil, the poor are repositories of our basic human character, having been shorn of all masks and pretences of affirmation and dignity which prosperity adorns us with.” – Corruption in Africa Page xiii.
“The ordinary poor, weak and downtrodden are the citizens and heroes of my plays. They are my people. They are me.” – Corruption in Africa Page xiii.
“Poverty is dramatic. It is a tragedy defined by extremities and a comedy defined by want that opens the imagination when darkness falls on an empty stomach.” – Corruption in Africa Page xiii.
“Poverty doesn’t happen; it is caused by human factors and the environmental conditions. And bad leadership is one industry that never fails to produce poverty.” – Corruption in Africa Page xiii.
“The African then, need not bow before the shrine of western globalization that will bring us to the dead end of culture, founded on supremacy and racial typology upon which the universalism of man was founded.” - Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 18.
“The IMF and the World Bank have constituted themselves into a weapon of mass destruction.” – Weapons of Mass Instructions Page 19.
“The fight we fight for moral ideals, without which, not just Africa, but the whole world would come to an end in this 21st century.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 20.
“To defend the poor, the weak and the oppressed, the writer needs to have an ordered personal life.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 47.
“The writer in Africa needs to engage the society in the language where real communication takes place.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 50.
“Our cardinal goals as writers are to liberate man from the fetters of tribal and religious jingoists, isolationists, prejudices, hatred and fear.” Page 57.
“Good leaders have four things in common. They are: Vision, passion, integrity and courage.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 68.
“But if our leaders can put the ideology of servant-leadership, as the national ideology, then all our institutions would experience a new lease of life, as both the leaders and the led, serve one another, for the mutual benefit of our society and the glory of God.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 79.
"Leadership is anything but leadership until it is performed for and with the followership" – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 4
"Dialogue is an expression of love and is made possible by love, which facilitates dialogue as well as express it." - The Coming Revolution Page 181
POLITICS, CORRUPTION AND GOVERNANCE
“Corruption anywhere in society is a threat to everybody in that society and beyond because it thrives on injustice and the granting of unfair advantage to a few corrupt” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos... Page 20.
“Fighting endemic corruption without changing consciences requires a police state. The pragmatic approach should be enforcement and conscientization”. – Leading Africa Out of Chaos… Page 43.
“What prison can contain the millions of corrupt men and women who deserve to be jailed for life? Or perhaps we are all serving time; hence the whole country is one large prison” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos… Page 64.
“When enough history of Nigeria’s oil has been put under scrutiny, the pathetic fall of Nigeria from grace to war, poverty, corruption, misrule and global odium might well correspond with the rise and fall of Nigeria’s oil fortunes.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 63.
“A Nation that does not have a credible plan to invest its strategic resources for its people will see the transformation of such resource into a curse.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 64.
“Endemic corruption is the metastasis of all afflictions.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 70.
“Those who live in a corrupt nation state can hardly understand the insidious corrosion of values that take place in such a political system.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 70.
“The philosophy of corruption is that everyone must acquire, by any means, favours, resources, gratifications and benefits to satisfy individual personal appetites while building concrete boundaries against communal growth and social progress.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 70.
“Corrupt government officials and permanently striking teachers sacrifice the future of Nigeria’s children and stunt Nigeria’s growth.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 141.
“It is the members of the corrupt elite who are used to easy unearned money that win elections so that they will continue to preside over the looting of the nation’s resources and treasury.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 149.
“Nigeria needs a new politics and new President who will provide a new leadership that can transform our national institutions around and create a new Nigeria.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 149.
“Nigeria deserves a President who will provide growth over decay, peace over violence, benevolence over greed and integrity over corruption.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 150.
“Nigeria needs a President who understands the meaning of empathy and love as he or she addresses the toughest social challenges confronting Nigeria today.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 150.
“Nigeria cannot afford a President who is partisan, divisive and a regionalist.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 150.
“The next President Nigeria deserves must be able and willing to take up Nigeria’s federal structure seriously by reconstituting it in a way and manner that represents the interests of all and not some.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 153.
“The next President must be consistent, strong, able to move people with his ideas and a clear sense of the vision he has for this country.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 153.
“The next President must show wisdom, tact, and resilience in dealing with this issue of structural reformation.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 154.
“To recycle into office a President who has been identified with corruption, injustice, arrogance or violence is like putting a dead man in the driver’s seat of a molue (bus) with his feet permanently tied to the accelerator.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 154.
“Nigeria’s next President must be capable of assimilating the bare and unassailable truth that democratic power resides in ‘we the people.’” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 154.
“The next President will give us unity to overcome our savage partisanship. He will give us hope to overcome the fears we have of one another and of ourselves.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 154.
“The next President will give us unity to overcome our savage partisanship. He will inspire our youth and women with new moral ideas that shall create a momentum to greatness.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 160.
“There is danger when the Nigerian billionaires do not emerge from productive industries but due to political patronage, allocations, tariff exemptions, and opaque privatization exercises.” – Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 15.
“Nigerian billionaires are enemies of capitalism, democracy, and the people. They feast on endemic corruption and unenlightened self-interest.” - Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 15.
“We have to deal with this biggest pathology of corruption in Nigeria – Patrimonialism, so that decent people can exercise their integrity in political leadership without soiling their hands.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 85.
“The new leaders of Nigeria traded honour and justice with self-enrichment, ethnicity, religious bigotry and nepotism.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“Nigerian politicians are excellent manufacturers. They manufacture colossal misery, which they heap on the citizens and they escape from it all with their families.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
"Today, Western establishment determines the reality of Africa, yet the West is hailed for multiplying its wealth while Africa is blamed for multiplying its poverty" – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 6
"Governments in Africa seem to be fabricated machines that thrive on cruelty and exploitation" – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 6
"The African leader, it seems, is getting richer and more comfortable while the disorder, violence, crime, wars and death become more acute." – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 7
“Corruption anywhere in society is a threat to everybody in that society because it thrives on injustice and the granting of unfair advantage to the few corrupt.” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 20
“Corruption in the world is a macabre dance, in which the public agents are the drummers of silent drums, beaten silently, to the dirge of phantom dancers, outside the dance arena.” - Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 43
“A corrupt person is one whose innate goodness – his divine state – has been infected, tainted or contaminated by badness which ramifies in his conduct which is characterised by moral perversion, dishonesty, bad judgement and decisions as well as perversion of justice” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 20
“That people behave barbarically in Africa is undeniable. But barbarism is not an exclusivity of Africa. It is a human condition, which still persist even in our time in the heart of the supposedly civilised world and modern nations.” - Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 27
“A politician can only bring to bear on political practice his own worldview, which is a product of his beliefs, education and his concept of right and wrong.” - Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 97
"We cannot afford to be paying the people we hired so much money when the base salary of ordinary civil servants cannot pay for a bottle of wine, they drank nor one meal at their exotic resorts." - The Coming Revolution
"Nigeria desperately needs a president who has a new understanding of power." - The Coming Revolution Page 171
“The ultimate leadership lesson that our leaders need is the lesson of honesty and integrity. Without these attributes, no leadership can withstand the constant buffeting of corruption, prebendalism, cronyism and patrimonialism.” - Beyond Hate and Violence Page 186
“The propensity to violence is great, yet violence once started cannot easily be controlled and may even consume the principalities that gave it expression.” - Beyond Hate and Violence
RELIGION AND LEADERSHIP
“A God-centred leader is a transforming leader who raises the vision, values and aspirations of both the leader and followers to new levels of expectations of peace, justice and freedom”. – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 16.
“When a Christian or the church consciously decides to withdraw from participation in political power, they are making a political statement… [that] they are totally satisfied with the status quo of the political system” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 90.
“Just like the followers have seen no sleep as a result of bad leadership, the leadership faces a similar fate, as violence and death have become in a profound and dangerous way the prevailing motif of our lives.” – Corruption in Africa Page 3.
"The sad reality is that Africa cannot be saved by the Western society, itself in decay, as it allows its foundations of democracy based on the Christian truth to slowly crumble" – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 6
"Africa needs God-centred leaders who are disciplined, visionary, selfless, sacrificial, reformatory, pro-active and effective." – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 7
"The God-centred leader derives his moral power from God’s word and puts God at the centre of all his thoughts, actions and speeches." – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 11
“A God-centred leader is a transforming leader who raises the vision, values and aspirations of both leader and follower to new levels of expectations in the provision of justice, peace and freedom.” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 16
“Servant leadership is first and foremost God-centred.” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 17
“A leader is God-centred only when he has come to peace with the three critical questions of identity, survival and meaning.” – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 16
“A God-centred mind is not an end product or by-product of leadership. It is rather the leadership tool with which a leader can re-model himself or develop others to be effective leaders.” - Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 120
“Every leader must have the skill of communication. Without this skill the leader with great ideas, may yet fail, because he will be unable to communicate.” - Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 135
“The future leader of Africa will need a powerful vision that will lead Africa out of the pit and away from the dark alleys of poverty, crime, war, disease, corruption and death.” - Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 243
EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
“We insist that there shall be no meaningful educational, political, economic nor social progress in Tivland unless we urbanise, bring the people together to share amenities like schools, hospitals, markets, roads, churches, and even knowledge”. – Page 98.
“Nigeria is in dire need of manpower and training in education to convert its strategic advantage to become a vantage resource.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 88.
“The universities are not expected, normally, to give jobs. The university’s primary objective is to conduct teaching and research.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 143.
“Good teachers need to be dignified with good salaries!” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 143.
“Corrupt government officials and permanently striking teachers sacrifice the future of Nigeria’s children and stunt Nigeria’s growth.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 141.
“Giving youth money without training is not a sustainable economic initiative. Only a disciplined, trained and well-matured youth can become a real agent of change as the next strategic Nigerian generation.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 144.
“Witchcraft constitutes an impediment to development; it should be eliminated through rigorous education.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 158.
"…Africa is modernizing without development." – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 7
“The poor and inadequate education ramifies in high costs for society in public spending, crime, health, and economic growth” - The Coming Revolution
"Ultimately and educated Northern girl-child will rightly take her place as a great dignified Nigerian woman and honoured mother." - The Coming Revolution Page 122
"Poverty has made every Nigerian child an adult." - The Coming Revolution Page 157
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND NATIONAL IDENTITY
“Nigerians are by their national character a people of diversity, festivity, piety and mystery. They are spiritual, proud, passionate and friendly. They are also pushy, determined, humorous and excessively self-critical.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 19.
“Nigeria is a country of a Thousand festivals and festivities that exuberantly express its passion. No other nation expresses in its daily dresses the warm diversity of the Nigerian temperament.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare
“It is important to speak on behalf of the uneducated Muslim girl-child in Northern Nigeria.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 145.
“Nigeria needs to learn the tolerance of diversity to deal with our brand of racism.” - Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 17.
“Nobody is born a racist, an ethnic racist, or a bigot.” - Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 57.
“The British invented racist ideas through historiographers, ethnographers, and anthropologists.” Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 61.
“Skin bleaching is a racial death wish, akin to making whitening a destination or dying in the attempt to become white.” - Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 64.
“The time has come when the churches must stop collecting huge monies from the people to build big churches only, but should organize the people to do something to change their lives so that the living body of Christ as the church shall have practical results in our society.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 126.
“….an impression is projected that there is no need for hard work, incentive, and creativity, all one needs to do is to get attached to a big man, who has all the answers.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 84.
“We must wrest the control of art, music, rituals, news, and literature from the hands of the dominant ruling white elite and democratize these. Whoever controls our culture, prescribes the parameters of our civilization.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 32.
“Help me oh God as I return to my country to understand and to teach, to love, to act and set an example and be the needed change my country has been waiting for.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 161.
"I am wounded and bleed that fellow Nigerian children living in the rural areas of Nigeria live and die like animals." - The Coming Revolution
OIL ECONOMY AND NATIONAL CHALLENGES
“The past prodigal squandering of the oil wealth is an act of youth deprivation as this non-replenishable commodity will not always be available for future use.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 137.
“The youth cry against a future which is non-existent because it has already been stolen.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“Successive Political leaders of Nigeria had conned, hoaxed, deceived and predated on the youth.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“The new leaders of Nigeria traded honour and justice with self-enrichment, ethnicity, religious bigotry and nepotism.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“Nigerian politicians are excellent manufacturers. They manufacture colossal misery, which they heap on the citizens and they escape from it all with their families.” – Hagher’s Response to his Endorsement by Youth to run as President in 2019 elections.
“We are modernizing without developing a democratic culture. Mercedes Benz cars, GSM phones, 4 Wheel-drives may abound, yet modernizing without development seems our lot.” – Beyond Hate and Violence Page 4.
“We cannot continue to blame Britain for our woes. Britain also colonized other countries of the world. They also inherited inequalities, corruption, and divisive forces. The United States is one of such examples. Northern and Southern territories contrasted in education, politics and economic opportunities. These differences led to the civil war. But the country settled down and devised homegrown solutions and nation-building strategies that made it the world’s greatest superpower.” - Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis Page 160.
“The development of rural roads at best may be to render such roads fully asphalted surfaces and by a “grade A” construction company. But where there is a minimal budget, or a wider area to be covered, the emphasis should be to fully involve the community in the labour that goes into construction.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 150.
“In this context, rural hospitals, community schools, industries, etc are to be put under the supervision of the local party leadership, which represents the hierarchy of the ruling administration. In this way, we can channel the abundant energies of the unemployed men and women in politics, who claim to be professional politicians while in reality, are merely glorified beggars and thugs. These energies can be effectively rechannelled into rural development.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 152.
“…. Undertake systematic research of traditional healing, especially HIV/AIDS, orthopaedic and mental cases.” Weapons of Mass Instruction Page 154.
“The past prodigal squandering of the oil wealth is an act of youth deprivation as this non-replenishable commodity will not always be available for future use.” – Nigeria after… Page 137
INTELLECTUALISM AND ETHICS
“The intellectual is the bridge between the limitations of traditional cultures and the expansiveness of the technological world.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 111.
“The intellectual must seek to rebuild the sense of greed and redefine success by an inner quality of integrity rather than the outer symbol of social status in material possession.” - Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 118.
“The intellectual must seek to rebuild the sense of greed and redefine success by an inner quality of integrity rather than the outer symbol of social status in material possession.” – Nigeria After the Nightmare Page 118.
"The opposite of a God-centred leadership is self-centred leadership" – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 16
"Human leadership appears to be in its twilight, since it seems the world’s self-centred leaders have, like the Prodigal Son, expended the resources entrusted to man by God." – Leading Africa Out of Chaos Page 16
“Failure to fund research puts Nigeria as risk in knowledge-based economies” - The Coming Revolution Page 120
"We were not born corrupt, we learnt it." - The Coming Revolution Page 63
"Only if humility allows us to accept our guilt, and the strength to say we are sorry." – Beyond Hate and Violence Page 184