Laugh Therapy

Dear Mum

I just thought that you folks need some laughter this season, to facilitate your consumption of the bizarre news that ooze from this land. We are presently gripped in the vicious vice of acute fuel shortages nationwide. This, after eight years of the president himself holding the oil and gas portfolio as petroleum minister! Now we are told that the shortages are caused by pipelines' vandalism, militants-actions, products-diversion, non-importation by licensed agents, etc. The cruel jokes in town are that people living next to refineries see no products; government is owing the so-called agents billions of naira yet was publicly offering them credit lines; and many touts brazenly hawk fuel around town while filling stations are empty!!!

Our roads have been nightmares over the years, yet the government promised to fix them for the 2006 end-of-year travel season. When that failed and we screamed, we were told there was no money; yet Nigeria has billions of dollars in foreign reserves!!!

They said they had refurbished and updated several of our university teaching hospitals, even as the president lavishly praised and inaugurated them as world class facilities. Same goes for the National Hospital. Yet, we keep flying patients, including government functionaries, abroad for tests and treatment!!!

They now say the president, by his endless junkets and extensive globe-trotting escapades, has restored our country's image within the international community, yet our citizens are routinely humiliated and denied legitimate visa requests at home, and immigration clearance cum entry abroad! Worse still is that our government does absolutely nothing about it!! And the worst part is that even African countries, including those which had enjoyed or still routinely benefit from our help and generousity, have become deeply entrenched in Nigeria-bashing!!!

I don't want to exhaust the Bag of Jokes in this post. Next time, mum, next time.

The final piece is, President Obasanjo, present and future Life-Leader of the PDP, and by the grace of God the post-May 29 chair of their board of trustees, publicly proclaimed that it will be a disaster if the party did not return to power in the 2007 General Elections!!!

Those who know and follow the president avow that his sense of humour is legendary.

Well, well...

Love you, Mom
Dayo