Date Published: 05/18/09

Dear Sir,

Where is Nigeria and its Leadership?

The present happenings besieging our country Nigeria are becoming complex. In the process the country is losing its position as the giant of Africa.

I felt humiliated reading and saw in the print and electronic media how and where President Yar’Adua was seated (at the third row) behind Presidents of some of the small African countries at the inauguration of President Zuma of South Africa.

Secondly President of United States, Barrack Obama, would be visiting Africa for the first time. Precisely, he would in company of his wife Michelle, visit Ghana between July 10 and 11, 2009. Why US President choose to visit a country that has just concluded its Presidential elections few months ago and not Nigeria that has supposedly on ground a two-year old government, should inform us further that we are fast losing our past position in the comity of nations. Could it be that Obama is afraid that he and his wife might be kidnapped in Nigeria, since they would neither iuse their trade-mark which is force nor pay ransom should a thing like that happen to them?

It is a common knowledge that our governors, especially some in the South-south region have been paying ransom to kidnappers to justify the spending of their security votes. One of them (Akwa Ibom) in the recent past had reportedly quoted saying that money which are supposed to be used in development projects are being spent on security, while the other (Bayelsa) claimed that he had been getting threat text messages for tinkering stopping the alleged monthly N100million hand-out to the militants.

Mr. Kingsley Ikpe Udoh, 111 Goldie Street, Calabar, Cross River State

kikpeudoh@yahoo.com