Tag: Development

Randoms

Jilomes.com: Ten Years Later

Jilomes

On October the First, 2014, while Nigeria marked 54 Years of Independence, I was somewhere in Osogbo in Nigeria’s South-West when I posted the first article on this blog. “Ibosa – Welcome” was the first of more than 340 articles that I have posted here. In the intervening decade, I have managed this site from different cities in about ten countries, taking my writing with me as I explore life. I have gone from writing on paper to typing everything directly as the thoughts are parsed through my neurons.

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Change

An Anthem Better Than a Silver Bullet

Jilomes

Very few persons will ever have the privilege of witnessing surreal ingenuity as magnificent as the silver bullet to national malformation. Jodi Picoult, the American wannabe pessimist once claimed that “…There are no silver bullets in life, there’s just the long, messy climb out of the pit you’ve dug yourself.” But even Auntie Jodi would be enthralled to live in the same era as the wise men in two chambers who have discovered Nigeria’s short walk to freedom.

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Energy

Lost Decades of the Petroleum Industry

Jilomes

“A business ecosystem is just like the natural ecosystem; first, needs to be understood, then, needs to be well planned, and also needs to be thoughtfully renewed as well.”

Pearl Zhu

What would life on earth be like without lightning strikes, or without flying insects? Most persons are likely to see no significant use for these two, except maybe they sit in a science class and learn that lightning is an important player in the nitrogen cycle, which affects viability of plants (ignore artificial fertilisers and hydroponics), and also learn that insects are critical for pollinating plants to produce fruits (aka food). You see, life functions in many aspects like an ecosystem where different players need to be in the game, else we get stunted growth at best, or bedlam at worst.

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Change, Randoms

P&ID Fiasco: Eleven Billion Lessons for Nigeria

Jilomes

It is all in the news. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is not liable to pay an obscure firm a total of ~US$11 billion arising from a bizarre contract concerning non-existent gas facilities. Considering allegations that the Central Bank of Nigeria either lied or executed “strategic miscommunication”, Nigeria surely had no way of forking out that many benjamins right now. Our closest options would have been either to give international law the middle finger (and outrightly destroy our economy) or negotiate some longer-term payment plan that would effectively turbocharge our debt burden (and further degrade our economy). Fortunately, neither option is currently required. But before we get drowned in the euphoria of a little respite for the naira, here are a few lessons to avoid the next gang of swindlers.

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Energy, Projects

Eight Reasons Why Projects Cost More in Nigeria

Jilomes

Within the last one year, we have seen some public discussions around the cost of certain projects in Nigeria. Whether it is the Ajaokuta – Kaduna – Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, the Lagos metro line, or the recent brouhaha about a road awarded by the Abia State Government to Julius Berger, there are allegations of the contract sums being inflated. Now, we clearly have a corruption problem in both public and private sector procurement, however, here are eight simplified, non-corrupt reasons why a project may cost more than we think.

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Change

For Nigerian Lives Lost at Ologbo

Jilomes

How many lives is too much? One? Two? Hundred? If some random “racist White person” had ended the life of a Black Nigerian, we would likely be up in arms highlighting the low value placed on a black life. However, back home, we suffer worse from persons with the same skin colour whose words and actions demonstrate what Michael Jackson articulated as “they don’t really care about us”. This flagrant unimportance is the reason many Nigerians lost dependence on their lives while Nigeria marked its 63rd Independence Day.

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Change

A Nation of Dumb People Becoming Dumber

Jilomes

I love my country. It has taken a lot from me, but like a wicked but rich spouse, it has given me a proverbial Maybach to sit in while I wipe my eyes with a face towel self-delivered by the legendary Paul Smith himself. So, I weep in the other room wondering what it would take to change its fortunes. Why would a nation seem committed to self-destruction? Every day, we see Nigerians arguing that other nations are responsible for our underdevelopment. This makes me wonder how we have become so blind to our unforced contributions. Do walk with me as I lament my countrypeople.

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Change

Parenting and the Changing Face of Society

Jilomes

There is this common saying that “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” While I would agree that patterns, like multiples or parallel lines on a cartesian graph may repeat, effectively remaining the same, I wonder if there is truly a reality where things get worse, or the perception is just recency bias at work in our minds. But while my thinking may seem inconclusive, I still find a way to convince myself that with regards to raising children, things are not merely remaining the same.

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Politics

Of National Development and Lying Numbers

Jilomes

Whereas every country likely has some aspects of its existence that is based on a fudged foundation, Nigeria deserves special credit for staying somewhat erect despite having a foundation underpinned by distorted facts, half-truths, and plain lies. While we joust a lot about some persons’ real names, real birth dates, real parentage, real educational history, etc., all these debates pale in consequence when compared to a fundamental question: “How many Nigerians are there in Nigeria?”  

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Politics

When the Rivers Stay Stagnant

Jilomes

How do you have so much potential, yet consistently fail to deliver? You go one step forward, then gladly take two steps backwards while smiling and beating your chest proudly. For a state called the Treasure Base of the Nation, and a capital city formerly known as the Garden City, Rivers State has disappointed on almost every developmental metric relative to the resources and potential available. Yet, just as Nigeria happily towers above its fellow underperforming African countries, Rivers State embraces the wrong peers to feel it is doing well.

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