NigeriaPlus » Politics

The Demise of Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu and the Place of Ndigbo in the Nigerian Entity

Chamberline Chinaka — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:27:55 +0000

Odumegwu-Ojukwu, The Ikemba

When in 1967, Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu made a proclamation that the Igbo nation be granted the right for self determination, the government of Gowon, with immense support from the British government under the leadership of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, fought the Igbos with every force conceivable. The British government, despite its stance on human rights and the right for self determination, denied the Igbos the opportunity to take their destinies into their own hands. The question that has remained unanswered is: if the British government could grant animals the right to live, and gays the right to their sexuality, why then deny a people the right to govern over their affairs?

The maltreatment of the Igbos in the Nigeria political sphere is unprintable and their experience after the civil war remains a scar which every Igbo indigene have come to live with. After the Nigerian–Biafran War, Igboland was devastated. Many hospitals, schools, and homes were completely destroyed in the war. The savings of Ndigbo (as they are fondly called) in various banks and their investments in other parts of the country were all lost. Many people of Igbo extraction found themselves discriminated against by other ethnic groups and Ndigbo were completely absent in the new federal government of Nigeria formed immediately after the war. As an extension of the discrimination of the Igbo people, some Igbo subgroups, such as the Ikwerre, started disassociating themselves with the larger Igbo population after the war. Many people and places in the Igbo subgroups were renamed to non-Igbo sounding words to further demonstrate their disdain for the Igbo race. For instance, the town of Igbuzo was changed to Ibusa immediately after the war to further disassociate themselves from the Igbo people.

As a result of the discrimination melted out on Ndigbo, many Umu Igbo had trouble finding employment, and the Igbo became one of the poorest ethnic groups in Nigeria during the early 1970s despite Gowon’s promise of no victor, no vanquished! The policy of reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation only existed in the books as far as Igbo land is concerned. There was visibly no construction, no rehabilitation and no reconciliation. Many Igbo soldiers who fought on the side of the Biafra were completely denied any form of after-war rehabilitation and majority died of hunger. The Nigerian government failed to recognise them. On the contrary, those who fought on the side of Nigeria lived on frivolities and many of them ended up becoming heads of states; both during military and civilian rule.

The Biafran Civil War and the genocide that followed cannot be compared to the Libyan revolution, yet Barrack Obama and other world leaders dispatched troops and war planes to go capture Gaddaffi. Mubarak of Egypt, Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast and Gaddaffi were either killed or charged with war crimes, yet Gowon, OBJ, Babangida etc walk the streets as free men despite the genocide committed by these men during the Nigerian Civil war.

This was the experience of the Igbo people. This is the story of a group destined for greatness by God. Today, the Igbo people are known as the most progressive ethnic group in Nigeria. Hardly would you find a place where an Igbo man does not own a business in Nigeria. Ndigbo have been found in almost all facets of the Nigeria society. The undying spirit of Ndigbo keeps moving and will not rest until the injustices unleashed on Igbos are pacified.

In all these tribulations, Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu stood firm to the Igbo people and their destinies as a people. Despite his elitist upbringing, he stood by the poor, dined with the forgotten and lived with the downtrodden. The question again is; can the Igbos survive the demise of Odumegwu-Ojukwu? What does the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu mean to the Igbo community and its continuous existence as a people? It takes centuries for men like Odumegwu-Ojukwu to be born and I have combed the entire Igbo community I am yet to see an Odumegwu-Ojukwu. If Igbos must continue to be part of this contraption called Nigeria, then we need another Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

If You Ask Me About Nigeria…?

Charles Dickson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:10:39 +0000

A Nigerian map showing its many linguistics groups

If you ask me; na who I go ask? The matter wey we see so, e tay wey e start. No be me go talk am, e heavy for mouth. If you ask me…The matter for ground…Eh! Na who I go ask? – Omawumi

If you ask me; we were never really united, right from the word go. Mutual distrust and suspicions, a civil war, coups with several colorations, countless ethno-religious and socio-economic clashes, an almost clueless political class and a citizenry sailing by these wind make us Nigeria.

But the matter wey we see so e tay wey e start. It has gotten to a point where asking the question “how did we get here” has suddenly become stale. Despite all the cosmetic posturing, we are yet to get the right formula – for fear of sitting it out with each other on a table. If you ask me, I am sure many cannot recall how everything Chinese once inferior, is what we all go for, or how almost every disease can be cured in India. They planned and we watched and enjoyed our boom, it wasn’t the money but how to spend it.

The same too much money, that made our ivory towers top class, when they were few but were top notch. Now if you ask me; I don’t know how we got to this point that ASUU goes on strike for months without end, resume, set exams for students that have been watching British Barclays Premiership, prostituting part-time and engaging in political thuggery. And we are bothered that the graduates are not only half-baked but in many cases not even baked.

If you ask me, I recall on two or so occasions when we missed out of the continent’s soccer fiesta, the Nations’ Cup. But it’s reflective of where we are. Over the past 5 years, no Nigerian has been best in the continent. This year, we are practically out of all the FIFA organized tournaments, including our forte; female soccer.

Nations progress, a step at a time, slowly and steadily nay Nigeria has at best been stagnant or debatably retrogressive. If you ask me, we have lost steam, many still cherish our lost glory, others passively fear our potential. Sadly today, we are not at the forefront of anything really good.

Our neighbours like Ghana, now an educational hub for us. It’s scary that if we let them, electricity will come from there. Since if you ask me, I will tell you Niger Republic has a new refinery and we don’t.

There is the now heavy matter of Boko Haram. If you ask 10 commentators how it started, where, who, why and which, you will get at least some 6 versions. Is it like Egbesu, OPC or MASSOB, or different, how different? Are we all guilty or just a case of no one wanting to take the blame?

One thing is certain, e tey wey e start… As our population grew, the few infrastructures we had were left to decay; new ones that were started ended up in a zoo that contains only Elephant projects.

Today, who do we ask for explanation that Bayelsa gets 13% Derivation, generates billions for the nation but just joined the national electricity grid that in all purpose is no big effort because it barely has light. That Akwa Ibom gets 4-5 times more money than Nassarawa and Plateau put together from the federation account but is not any close to looking like Ghana simply because whether its Rivers, or Sokoto, Kano or Imo, we have dealers as leaders.

If you ask many, they say it was Jonathan they voted. How naïve to expect a crocodile to birth a dove? A nice man, he smiles a lot and gradually he will change Nigeria…that remains to be seen, if he changes Nigeria or Nigeria is actually changing him.

As a people we are tensed; Northerners are supposed to be afraid of palm oil from South, while Christians fear apple and oranges, Maiguard and shoe shiner. While there is believe that we can surmount this wicked tantrum that is getting out of hand, I dare ask, at what cost?

Let us forget the messenger and take the message. How easy when the messenger is part of the matter. If you ask me, this man had 8 years to bring change; instead he was as they all do, posturing, and blaming everything. So no be my mouth you go hear say former President Olusegun Obasanjo, stated that the country needs real leadership now more than ever.

Speaking as the guest lecturer during the 41st convocation lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), he said time is ripe for the nation’s leaders to holistically reform education, if indeed they are serious with the transformation agenda. If you ask me, he knows they are not serious; he was there too and was not serious.

He said: This country cannot continue to wobble along like a stalked and wounded lion, walking to its death. We have immense resources. No be my mouth we go hear that even the devil tells convenient truth. If you ask me, he did not write this and off course tells you what he thinks of his boy, Goodluck Jonathan…

In the words of Churchill, we will never, never, never give up. But it remains a choice; every day, we are close to breaking point. Let us talk on the way forward or else time will tell…

Why Nigeria Can’t Break Up

Chris Ngwodo — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:34:28 +0000

Map of Nigeria

No bad idea is regurgitated as constantly as the notion that the solution to chronic violence in Nigeria is for her to “break up.” The case for Nigeria’s disintegration surfaces routinely after tragic episodes of violence and has emerged following the recent increase in sectarian terrorism. Some perspective is necessary. Since the days before the Civil War, beating the drums of separatism has become a sort of pre-programmed response to national calamity. Rumours of our impending divorce attended the 1964 elections, the June 12 1993 crisis, the death of Moshood Abiola in 1998 and the Sharia controversy in 2001. In 1990, a gang of over-ambitious soldiers attempting to oust the Babangida regime even purported to evict five northern states from the federation. Thus, current debates about the durability of Nigeria are nothing new.

It is intellectually lazy and astonishingly parlous thinking to suggest that the solution to our national crisis is disintegration. It is true that much life has been expended on the Nigeria project to no apparent redemptive effect but what we owe the dead and the unborn as well as ourselves is clear-minded thinking on the fate of our union rather than just emotive polemics.

The usual suggestion is that Nigeria be divided between a “Muslim North” and “Christian South” or among its so-called big three – the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. Beyond these imprecise propositions, there is little specificity as to what shape post-Nigerian nations would look like except perhaps for the preposterous suggestion that every ethnic group should become a nation. These arguments are fallacious. Nigeria is not and has never been a country of monolithic religious halves. Christians and Muslims are scattered in substantial proportions and ethnic variety across the country. There are Fulani Christians and Igbo Muslims. Millions of Yoruba families contain adherents of both faiths. Nigeria is far more complex and diverse than the Hausa-Yoruba-Igbo tripod. Making each ethnic group a nation throws up problems. What would we make of Ijaw communities who hug the coastline stretching from the south to the south west? The sheer diversity and interlocking spread of hundreds of ethnic nationalities makes tidy disintegration a virtually impossible proposition.

A popular fallacy is that prior to the advent of the colonialists, Nigeria’s ethnic groups existed in self-contained cocoons of utopian bliss unburdened by the necessity of interaction with others. But many of the ethnic and regional identities which are now presumed “sacred” are in fact colonial creations. For instance, it was only after colonization, that the term “Yorubaland” began to be applied to the realms of all rulers who claim descent from Oduduwa, instead of only to the Oyo Kingdom. Before the British came, the Egba, Ijebu, Ekiti, Ijesha and Ilorin peoples fought costly interstate wars among themselves. The longest pre-colonial civil war was the sixteen year Kiriji war which was fought between Yoruba city states. Yoruba nationalism was forged by Obafemi Awolowo who rallied the descendants of Oduduwa as a political force in the new nation. Similarly, Igbos were organized into separate and autonomous republics. Many of them had scant contact with each other with some entirely oblivious of others before the advent of colonialism. Consequently, Igbos fought no wars as a collective. Igbo national consciousness was largely the handiwork of Nnamdi Azikiwe who at one point preached the manifest destiny of the Igbo in Africa. Hausa city-states co-existed through times of war and peace. Even when Uthman Dan Fodio’s jihad established the Sokoto Caliphate, the new emirates were never synonymous with “the North” which was a later British invention and was fortified as a political identity by Ahmadu Bello.

Significantly, pre-colonial societies were not based on ethnic units but rather on age groups, occupations, residence and settlements. Instead of monolithic tribal blocs competing for a share of the national cake, city-states, inclusive kingdoms and republics for the most part made up the area that was eventually christened Nigeria and experienced centuries-long commercial links and cultural cross-pollination.

Dissolving the Nigerian federation will not resolve the violence that bedevils places like Jos, the conflicts between the Ife and Modakeke in Osun, the Aguleri and Umuleri in Anambra or the Ezza and the Ezillo in Ebonyi, the Jukun and the Tiv or the Itsekiri and the Urhobo. Nor will it end conflicts between nomadic Fulani pastoralists and agrarian communities stretching from the north to the south. These are essentially either local or intra-ethnic conflicts.

Ethnic homogeneity cannot indemnify society against conflict. Somalia, the world’s poster child of failed statehood, has only one ethnic group, the Somali, only one language and is one hundred percent Islamic. South Sudan which only recently celebrated its divorce from Sudan is now embroiled in inter-ethnic conflict within its borders. Back home, we need only look at Bayelsa State and other ethnically homogeneous states to establish conclusively that ethnic homogeneity is not a predictor of peace, social justice or smart governance.

While prodigal political elites practise divisive politics, the Nigerian people themselves live in a socio-economic reality of interdependence and integration. The use of oil wealth from the Niger Delta in sustaining state bureaucracies all over the country may be the most obvious example of this. Less remarked is the dependence of southern urbanites on northern produce for food. The Fulanis are the main custodians of Nigeria’s livestock population, holding over ten million cattle, twenty million goats and millions of sheep. Their industry significantly accounts for protein consumption in the south. The north remains Nigeria’s food basket.

We are so captivated by the witchcraft of separatism that we fail to appreciate the fortuitous or providential alignments of ecological, geographical, cultural and economic factors that have fostered interdependence and integration. For example, if violence in the north was simply about anti-Igbo hatred then it would be saner for Igbos to stay home in the east. But the east is disadvantaged by its erosion-prone poor soil which cannot sustain the population density of the area and which accounts for the comparatively high level of migration of Igbos to other parts of Nigeria. Despite everything, Igbos (and other Nigerians) continue to migrate and mingle because human coexistence dictates it. No man is an Island. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man is from Kano but has most of his investments in the south and employs more southerners than northerners. Millions of Nigerians have become socio-cultural hybrids through intermarriage, cultural adoption and transplantation.

Nigeria’s problem is not her diversity but the failure of the state to affirm Nigerian citizenship as the ultimate identity superseding all other allegiances. It is our failure as citizens, intellectuals and politicians to articulate an all-embracing Nigerian ethos. Rather we waste valuable time and energy rebooting hackneyed definitions of Nigeria as an artificial creation or a mere geographical expression. Yet all nations, possibly except Australia, being creations of human political will, are artificial and begin as geographical novelties; they are not received from heaven. It falls on succeeding generations to transform them from mere geographies into socio-political moralities; to create transcendent solidarities where none existed before. This is what nation-building is about and this is what we have failed so spectacularly to do. Sectarian politics thrives largely because of the dazzling scale of ignorance that Nigerians demonstrate about their history, geography and each other.

It is foolhardy to believe that the failure to treat ourselves as citizens rather than as ethnic and religious partisans will disappear if we dissolve Nigeria. If we cannot treat each other humanely now that we are compatriots, how on earth are we going to do better if we become foreigners? Last year, the Abia state government fired thousands of Igbo-speaking “non-indigenes” from its employment to make room for equally Igbo “indigenes.” Significantly, most conflicts in Nigeria are between so-called “indigenes” and “settlers,” a dichotomy that at times seems to defy ethnic or religious solidarity. These petty bigotries and manifestations of apartheid will not disappear with the Nigerian union. The challenge of civic security is inescapable for there is no possible post-Nigerian construct that would not contain either religious or ethnic minorities. It is worth noting that Biafra, the most serious separatist effort in our history was undermined both by the superior power of the federal forces and the reluctance of ethnic minorities who feared for their own prospects as citizens of Biafra. The problem remains creating a just, fair and equal citizenship that shelters all of us regardless of creed, ethnicity, class or gender. Nothing suggests that new ethnic republics would in any way be more peaceful, stable or more prosperous than the current Nigerian reality. In short, it would require less effort to renew the Nigerian enterprise than to construct afresh new polities.

Having said all this, nations are not eternal but finite, expiring when they have outlived their usefulness to history and humanity. Nigeria is no different. Nigeria does not currently face immediate disintegration but a slow and steady erosion of federal authority by sundry paramilitaries, warlords and terrorist gangs, until the nation slips inexorably into failed statehood. Already we see signs of this in the brazen terrorism of pseudo-religious extremists who seek to establish alternate governments as well as the rise of oil-bunkering pirate gangs in our southern coastal waters.

It would be a pity if we were to let Nigeria fail. No one who has studied her history, encountered her acute humanity, sampled her cultural riches and researched the dreams of her founding fathers can fail to sense her ordination for higher purposes. For us to abort this purpose would be nothing short of cosmic treason. As Eme Awa once remarked, “If we were to dissolve the federation, a future generation of people will pass the verdict that the Nigerian elites committed suicide while of unsound mind.” Nigeria has not been tried and found wanting. We simply have not invested enough of our intellectual and moral energies into actualizing her promise.

On Babangida’s Doctrine of Nigeria’s Settled Issues

Nasiru Suwaid — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:40:10 +0000

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida

“This is what I referred to as Doctrine of Nigeria’s Settled Issues. Number one, I don’t want every one of us to tamper with anything to do with Nigerian unity. Number two, republican constitution is also a settled issue, more or less. Number three, the states are the federating units of this country and number four, we are a capitalist country.” – General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida

As I went out into the city of Kano, I could see in the eyes of its inhabitants a sense of fear, foreboding and a feeling of abandonment. For a population that has never witnessed the devastating ills of war, objects of wanton destruction like bombs are only seen but never heard, except, may be in the much maligned genre of American films. Thus, when such a people encountered an invasion by a group of faceless individuals, it virtually left the city on its knees, petulantly gasping for breath as to who or what is a Boko Haram.

Meanwhile, the streets became eerily quiet, as people like me who have never hidden their disdain for the extortion activities of the Nigerian police, for once, fervently prayed for such harassment to become my fate. Indeed, even the counter-productive permanence of Federal Road Safety Commission marshals, those seat belt enforcement warriors suddenly became invisible in the public space. As such, it is only in their barracks and roads leading to the fortresses, could I make the sighting of our constitutionally required protectors.

It is also within this period of extreme un-certainty, a consensus is seemingly coalescing into a tangible agreement, on the necessity and desirability of Nigerians finding a common forum for discussion, about the terms of our co-existence as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious entity, which is able to satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of its mutually contradictory populace. Perhaps, because of the evident reality staring everybody on the face, that the Nigeria project is glaringly not working, as every segment of the society is crying over the inadequacies of the imperilled union, from the fringe elements and individual groups barely acknowledging the legitimacy of Nigerian state, to those that question the legal existence of the much harangued amalgam with insurgency activities. Yet, even the establishment figures known to have benefited from the system and who would most likely be more comfortable with the maintenance of the status quo, have suddenly joined the bandwagon and could easily be mistaken for petulant reformist activist.

Indeed, it is within the premise of this expectation that I jumped for joy, when I heard that the Minna uphill General has finally accepted the necessity for a National Conference, on which he pledged his participation in the epoch opportunity for a holistic national discussion. However, as with everything with the only military president in the chequered history of Nigerian political leadership, he set up certain barriers upon which such talks must meet, appropriately calling them the Doctrine of Nigeria’s Settled Issues, which are areas that should not be questioned or examined in the conference, as the citizens of this country have already settled on those issues. Thus, areas like Nigerian unity, republican constitution, states as federating units and capitalism as the only viable economic model of governance, should not be subjected to an enquiry on their applicability in the Nigeria union.

Meanwhile, it is during the period a consensus seems to be forming within the country, calling for regionally combustible groups to take the option of a National Congregational Talks, to seek relief for their various causes, as the avenue of such an assembly should be adequate to satisfy the uncontrollable craving for a reform of the system.

It is on the premises of such a mindset, the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference seems imminent, with all the delegate parties being men and individuals of violence, adopting and maintaining absolutist positions, which is having my way or the nation should go to the blazes. For the Boko Haram, it is about the adoption of the supremacy of Sharia Legal System, from the arid fringes of Northern Nigeria down to the dense creeks of the Southern Nigeria.

The Niger-Delta militants believed in the essential context of derivation, which is a hundred percent fiscal devolution of powers to the regions, while the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, could not fathom the fulfilment of the dream of a South Easterner, within the expansive canopy of the Nigerian state. The Odua People’s Congress believes in the absolutist plot of the attainment of a true federation, where the centre would be a very weak entity as in the first republic, virtually deriving its functions and powers from varying disparate regions. Indeed this concept of federalism does not foresee the existence of states as the second tier of government. For my Middle-Belt brethren of the North-Central of Nigeria, their conference begins and ends with the minorities attaining full rights against ostracism.

But, the concept of a Sovereign National Conference, indeed, any Delegates conference proclaimed to provide an avenue, for a holistic discussion on the terms of existence of various component parts of a nation, requires an atmosphere of calmness, upon which each component unit makes its just demands on the union. While the other segment component units, try to agree or counter the demand proposal, which finally coalesce into either an agreement on a re-structured union or an agreement to disagree, on the need for the component units to continue to live as a single national entity.

Nigeria: A Country at War with Itself

Levi Obijiofor — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:20:07 +0000

In the past six months, many visitors to Nigeria have painted a gory picture of a country at war with itself. It is no exaggeration. I can confirm that image. In Nigeria, what you see is what you get. One of my colleagues in Australia sent an electronic mail to me the other day in which she wondered painfully why Nigeria is experiencing so much bloodshed and mayhem in recent times. It is not the kind of question anyone would like to answer easily because there is no straightforward response. She wrote in part: “Thank Allah /God and Buddha that you and your family are safe. You know, I really have been thinking about you a lot lately in my concern about the strife in Nigeria. I know nothing about Nigeria’s history and am only now learning about religious divisions there.”

Every outbreak of violence in any part of Nigeria sullies the image of the country in the international community. In the past, Nigeria has successfully warded off, even if artificially, ethno-religious conflicts, regional conflagration, and armed rebellion by groups seeking to create a new nation out of Nigeria. Over the years, the people and the leaders sat disconsolately and watched minor skirmishes blossom into full scale insurgency and banditry. Violence has become second nature to our country. We are now attuned to settling every minor dispute or misunderstanding by wielding machetes, amulets and exchanging gunshots.

In the religious sphere, the pastors, prophets, prophetesses and imams who taught us the virtues of peace have shifted their focus to tell us that those who kill and maim will go to heaven. This is the philosophy that underpins the new religion of violent behaviour. There is so much religious intolerance. There is so much inter-ethnic distrust. Everyone wants to retreat into their geographic cave.

Across the nation, one group wants to impose its religious precepts and practices on the rest of the country. One ethnic group has surveyed the Nigerian political landscape and insists it must produce the president or there will be no peace in our homeland. One region wants the largest share of the “national cake”, including plum positions in federal ministries and departments, on the basis that it is the producer of the country’s largest foreign exchange earner. Every ethnic nationality wants to carve out from Nigeria a geographic space to be appropriated as the emblem of its cultural identity.

Everywhere you look there are pockets of unofficial opposition groups with fully armed factions challenging the constitution of the federal republic or their right to remain within the Nigerian nation. All these create the image of a dysfunctional country in which order and security have taken flight.

It is easy to destroy the achievements of a nation but it takes a lot of energy, financial resources and human efforts to construct a peaceful nation of disparate people. In the north and the south, in the east and the west, many people no longer believe in the entity known as Nigeria. Paradoxically, these incompatible groups cannot even summon the courage to sit down and discuss how they want to continue in the present arrangement or disintegrate to go their separate ways. We are too garrulous. We believe we can resolve all misunderstandings through screaming. When we speak among ourselves, we scream. When we communicate over the telephone, we scream. When we meet to resolve industrial relations disputes, we shout even more because we believe that he or she who shouts most will emerge winner. We are quick to rush into the streets to protest government decisions. But we lack a strong, united civil society organisation led by credible, powerful, selfless and committed leaders.

In the past three weeks, I have seen so much destruction and anarchy in Nigeria that I am now left with an impression, engraved on my mind, that Nigeria is a war zone in which everyone seems to be in a battle with themselves and their fellow citizens, including the federal and state governments. In the streets, many people carry sad faces suggesting that they are bickering over many things or over nothing. The scramble to earn a living has become the defining element of the other side of life in Nigeria. The urge to cheat, to eliminate members of the other ethnic group or religious sect, is irresistible. Along with this struggle come all the schemes that are associated with dishonest practices. In the marketplace and in the commercial bus station, at the domestic airline departure and arrival terminals, in the banks and in deserted university lecture rooms, there is something that drives many people to seek to cheat and undermine their fellow citizens.

In the north, the fear of Boko Haram is real. Bombing is indiscriminate. Images of the dead and dying litter the streets. With widespread killings and destruction of property in various parts of the north, many southerners and people of other religious faiths have deserted cities and communities in which they grew up, lived and earned a living for the past 20 years or more. Murderous groups roam the streets in the day and at night. They attack innocent civilians as well as the police and other law enforcement agents. In the northern cities in which Boko Haram advocates have established a foothold, chaos has replaced order. Surely, these are not the hallmarks of a democratic country.

The fear of terror has turned life into a nightmare of sorts in parts of Nigeria. Why did the Boko Haram religious sect grow so quickly and beyond the control of security agencies? Why did Boko Haram disciples manage to infiltrate the hierarchy of many security agencies? President Goodluck Jonathan mentioned recently that the Boko Haram religious sect has penetrated the rank and file of security forces and intelligence agencies. This is an adverse vote of confidence on Nigeria’s intelligence community. A nation that cannot tackle internal insurrection by a religious sect has no business maintaining a security outfit. Boko Haram has proved problematic to the government because no one understands how it grew, the sponsors, the spiritual leaders and how it recruits its members.

Beyond Boko Haram, there are industrial relations challenges that confront the government at every front. Last week the nation heaved a sigh of relief when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and a coalition of civil society groups rescinded a national strike to protest the removal of the subsidy on petrol. The success of the national strike showed how the people have lost faith in the government they elected just eight months ago. The industrial strike was avoidable but the federal government chose to test the capacity of organised labour to resist the removal of the subsidy on petrol. In Anambra State, medical doctors have been on strike for as long as anyone remembers. Yet no one seems to care about the deleterious impact that doctors’ strike has had on the health and wellbeing of the people.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) went on strike over a range of issues two months ago, ahead of the nationwide strike by the NLC and the TUC. Yet weeks after the end of the national strike, the universities have remained locked owing to inability of the government to resolve outstanding issues with the ASUU leadership. These long-drawn out industrial relations matters reflect badly on the government. They convey the impression that the federal and state governments lack requisite skills to maintain industrial relations harmony across the country. When various labour unions go on strike owing to failure between the government and the unions to negotiate, the message is that government has failed to bargain in good faith. This is the image that is created in the public forum.

The atmosphere of disorder across the country has persisted because a majority of the citizens have lost confidence in the nation’s political leaders. While the government finds it prudent to urge austere lifestyle among the people, the same government officials and politicians continue to live ostentatious lifestyles. When government officials and political leaders preach the virtues of asceticism but live like kings and queens, the public loses confidence in the political leaders. A government that lacks credibility in the eyes of the people does not deserve the people’s respect.

Town Crier In The City Of The Deaf – Power Must Change Hands!

Olusegun Fakoya — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:45:38 +0000

President Goodlluck Jonathan

Just when I was thinking of expressing comradeship with the courageous men and women in Lagos State who were planning to continue the street protests that greeted the removal of petroleum subsidy in Nigeria, I was abruptly brought to a great sadness by the scale of human and material destruction that characterized Boko Haram attacks on the ancient city of Kano. Not that Boko Haram had ever brought good news to Nigeria. What happened in the city of Kano today (20th January 2012) was nothing short of the continuation of the terror that Boko Haram had unleashed on Nigeria. I am filled with grief at the alarming rate at which our dear nation is sliding into an ethno-religious civil war.

Today’s sustained attacks on Kano were typically Boko Haramish – horrendous, stupefying, brutal and sadistic. Boko Haram has grown so sophisticated that it challenges power bases, not just random attacks to cause mayhem, but police headquarters. Citizens of Kano were left, once again, at the mercy of an increasingly sophisticated and menacing organization that refused to refine its modus operandi. I commiserate with the poor citizens of Kano, those unprotected Nigerians who bore the brunt of the systemic failure of the Nigerian state. I commiserate with the families of those who lost their lives. It is precisely for ensuring that they did not die in vain that Lagosians, nay Nigerians in Lagos, would march against the soldiers of occupation unleashed on them by a confused government that failed to understand where these soldiers are most needed.

Every day, the story of Nigeria is turning out to be a paradox and an irony. It is the story of a supposedly independent state with an entrenched, structured leadership but one that has persistently fared no better than Somalia and Afghanistan. The irony is that in the macabre spectacle of carnage that Kano witnessed today, the moribund and gutless Nigerian leadership went dead quiet. Here is the same leadership that could easily and quickly draft soldiers to the streets of Lagos to forcibly stop peaceful protests against an obnoxious economic policy. However, when Kano was burning, the soldiers were surprisingly absent and Mr Jonathan went quiet – once again. Jonathan that had the guts to make series of announcements during the civil disobedience that greeted his pet project of making life more difficult for Nigerians. Yes, we all know, very soon, his Excellency would commiserate with Nigerians, urging them to accept the latest Boko Haram calamity and to learn to live with it. This is modern day governance Nigeria.

If anyone is in doubt about the level of anger and resentment pervading the land and amongst Nigerians, the series of calamities betiding the country are good indicators. Whilst the intention of Boko Haram remains suspect and its modus operandi reprehensible, the key fact is that its existence is also an expression of anger. That Boko Haram has been sustained to this day and growing in strength is a strong indication of anger and resentment against certain elements of the constituted federation. Nigerians went out to the streets in their millions to protest against Jonathan’s retrogressive pet policy. If this was not an expression of anger and frustration, then I wonder what else would count for such. That Nigerians laid down their lives in protesting against the fuel subsidy was a very strong signal of pent-up anger and frustration. It was a clear message that the rut cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged.

In this regard, I salute the courageous men and women who have continued to keep the spirit of the protest alive. This is in spite of the characteristic betrayal by organised labour movements. I salute Tunji Braithwaite, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Nike Ransome-Kuti and many others who felt it was worthwhile to challenge the guns, tear gas and batons rather than keep quiet in the face of continued oppression and suppression. That Tunji Braithwaite could still be on the streets protesting at his old age is a reflection of the depth of the sickness of the Nigerian nation. I salute the indefatigable and fiery pastor. Tunde Bakare would rather err in the pursuit of equality and social justice rather than keep quiet in the opulence of cowardice.

The path chosen by our present day social fighters and militants is not a cosy one by any nation’s standard. It is a path strewn with thorns, bumps and shards. It is a path that harbours death in the shadows. Yet, these courageous Nigerians have decided to give what it takes to make Nigeria a better place to be. I am very proud to associate with these truly patriotic Nigerians and to pledge my support and loyalty to their cause. I believe that together, we still stand a chance of creating a nation we can all be proud of. Whatever name that nation is to be called is a different story altogether. However, in this cause, may I invoke the spirits of those who laid down their lives so that this country may be better. Those who started the struggle to which we are still committed even 50 years after independence. May I pay homage to the memory of Professor Ayodele Awojobi, Tai Solarin, Aminu Kano, the indefatigable Gani Fawehinmi, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Beko Ransome Kuti, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and so many others who lived and fought to entrench equality and justice in our nation. I am convinced that their struggle would not be in vain.

And in the very distant lands wherein resides Nigerians, may I also pay homage to fellow country men and women who have continued to express their anger and frustration. Their protests have been tagged Occupy Nigeria. These compatriots have occupied whatever is occupy-able about Nigeria in the Diaspora – from consulates to the streets and to town halls. It is indeed a season of anomie, when countrymen have suddenly found a common voice to express anger at continued suppression and subjugation by insensitive and ridiculous governments. It is only those whom the gods have cursed and forsaken that would refuse to listen. Those who failed to listen do so at their own detriment, the gong will surely go full cycle. The hen would finally come home to roost. Some day, one day, the wish of the Nigerian people shall prevail and there would be no more hiding places for the corrupt cabal holding the nation at the jugular.

Friday, the 21st day of January is a special day in our collective struggle. I salute the courage of the men and women planning to gather at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Square at Ojota and those planning to take over the Admiralty Circle at the Lekki Expressway Toll Plaza. A plaza that is nothing but a monument to deception and corruption. A plaza that represents the might of an insensitive state over the wish of its citizens. A plaza that stands for nothing but hypocrisy in the art of governance. Anyway, Friday 21st January 2012 will further expose this hypocrisy that has been craftily entrenched in Lagos State but beautifully hidden from Nigerians. It would be sad if the Lagos State government failed to live up to its so-called “democratic credentials” on this day.

The events of today in Kano should not dampen the mood of tomorrow’s actions. In a way, we are all fighting the same cause but with vastly different strategies. We are all fighting for change. Some in a more purposeful and refined manner, others in a barbaric, unstructured manner with ill-defined motive. We all want a changed Nigeria. How that change could come about is another matter. The Boko Haram way or the Lagos style? Our perennial leaders need to make an attempt to answer these questions. Failure to do so may eventually lead to a more purposeful and structured Boko Haram insurrection all over the country. The mayhem has already started; the fire would be further stoked by the inaction of those who have the means to do so.

Like the town crier who would shout himself hoarse in the city of the deaf, I hereby repeat my call for the now urgent need to restructure the Nigerian federation. It cannot be business as usual. That era is gone. The imperative of calling for a Sovereign National Conference to discuss the Nigerian problem is ever more glaring. The time cannot be better than now. I maintain that the present contraption has never served any useful purpose and in particular, its life span appeared to be coming to a rapid end. The Yugoslavia path as envisioned by Boko Haram cannot be the desirable path but may be the only option sooner than later, if we are not careful.

As outrageous as it may seem, one cannot resist the temptation of imagining how glorious it would be if Boko Haram had been more of a sane and purposeful organization, devoid of psychotic religious flavour and more attuned to the wishes of the people. Its militancy would then have been directed at Nigeria’s oppressors. Those who have continued to re-circulate the paraphernalia of office amongst themselves. Those who imposed idiots and buffoons on us as rulers. A well defined Boko Haram would have been the nemesis comes to judgement. Alas, this is not the case and not likely to be. But the Nigerian people must not keep quiet. The tempo of the struggle must be sustained. Let us destroy the present foundation of Nigeria and lay new concrete blocks of brotherhood, love, justice and fairness in our attempt to build a better and more vibrant country. The struggle is the life and soul of Nigeria. We must not fail.

Body Language of My Brethren from the East

Nasiru Suwaid — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:15:42 +0000

South East Governors

The Nigerian people have a unique way of caricature depiction of the seeming and obvious cultural character difference trait of the population, thus a stage performance artist in the mould of a stand-up comedian, always has a stereotypical projection of the behavioural characteristics of members of the majority and the main ethnic groups.

As such, whenever an individual founds himself before a comical spellbinder, it is easily aggregated and agreed that the a depiction of an illiterate gate man straining to murder the essence of Victorian English represents my Hausa kindred, a loud person always shouting on top of his voice with the necessary uncouth behaviour of an obnoxious overlord represents a Yoruba man, while the portrayal of a serial money lover who wouldn’t mind to trade-off his soul for cash, exhibits the characteristic image of an Ndigbo of the South-East of Nigeria.

Indeed, such a congregation cannot literally claim success, unless and until a momentary projection of an essential Warri man is attempted, who is always seen as an exponent and supreme worshipper of cheap Ogogoro, appropriately called Sapele water, as a signifier of its importance to the life of a creek inhabitant, the grand assumption being the fact that the city and its dwellers represents the critical context of habitual character of the Niger-Deltan.

Thus, it is from these setting that I attempt a post mortem analysis on the forced revolt by Nigerian people, when the federal government with the full connivance of the state governments imposed further taxes on petroleum products, with the policy of full deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, upon which as predicted by everyone, the unilateral action of authorities galvanized and united the Nigerian people against the government.

Indeed, my famed brethren in Kano that have been known as an easy tinder box for the stoking of ethnic and religious conflicts, momentarily got wise to the fact that the enemy is not the neighbour, which he or she shares an abode with, in the desolate splendour of the city’s shanty areas.

In fact, such a monumental threat to the economic wellbeing and existence of all the collective creeds of the city, which is evidently blind of which of the eastern monolithic God you worship, forced upon them, a vow of self preservation to fight the common enemy, that is determined to leave them in a state of penitent penury, while their financially better peers living on the grace of state resources, are enjoying the life of their dreams, apparently blind of our differences as the same animals merely worshipping the same God, though in a different fashion.

In fact, while a lot of pessimist are re-examining their mental state of perpetual denial, on the eternal question of the Nigerian dream as a workable enterprise, the exigency of the time forced the communal spirit of signing a Covenant of understanding, between members of the Muslims faith and their Christian brethren, with a pact of co-operation and resolve to work and protect each other, upon any likely attack from individuals with ulterior motive and probably agents of the Nigerian state, who have from time immemorial benefited from a divided flock, which is a classic and characteristic representation of Nigerians citizens, as a confused population always after each others jugular vein.

Indeed, while such picturesque scenario was spreading and taking root in other parts of Nigeria. Came the news that the proverbial east of Nigeria, that part of the greater amalgam which the Late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu attempted to secede, is not partaking in the momentous and historical awakening, as they felt the pricing of Premium Motor Spirit is less of an issue for mass revolt, than the current subversive perfidy of the Boko Haram guerrilla rebellion.

That the Boko Haram are attacking the Ndigbo’s as a group is not an issue of debate, but, conveniently supporting an administration which trumpeted in no less a place than the vineyard of the Lord, that it is infested with members of such group, thus, it cannot be able to do much in checking their un-Godly activities is strategically a no brainer.

Some have alluded that one of the fundamental laws of self preservation is the support of our own, in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious contraption like Nigeria, thus an Azikiwe even though a non Ndigbo, would be the most likely individual to transfer power to the South-East, upon completion of his tenure, after all, it was him who made Lieutenant General Azubuike Onyeabor Ihejirika the first Chief of Army Staff from the Eastern region, as such, supporting him even through organized communal subterfuge is a worthwhile venture, even at the expense of the lives of our kith and kin in the greater diaspora.

Yet, taking a front seat in the Occupy Nigeria concept would have being a smarter option, as the fundamental ethos of the movement is about the reform of the greater Nigerian collective, into a state where none of its component parts would have to pay with the lives of its members, before getting access to the crumbs of presidential authority.

The Great Capitulation

Levi Obijiofor — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:49:27 +0000

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan is a dreamer. All dreamers are romanticists. As a dreamer, Jonathan once conjured an idea about how he would remove the subsidy on petrol without attracting too much fuss. But, like all dreamers, he did not bother to test his quaint idea in a public forum. Driven by his executive powers, he believed that every idea that originates from the presidency would succeed either through coercion or by popular consent. Emboldened by that bizarre philosophy, Jonathan announced in an arbitrary manner and at a most inopportune moment the removal of subsidy on petrol without allowing sufficient public debate on the subject. In industrial relations arena, Jonathan has carved out an ugly name as an executive bully.

Executive bullies don’t frown and they don’t shed tears. On Monday this week (16 January 2012), Jonathan wore an ashen face as a result of his decision to climb down from the high horse he mounted when he announced the removal of subsidy on petroleum products 20 days ago. That announcement marked the greatest capitulation by a president who underrated the capacity of the Nigerian people to express uninhibited outrage at the unpopular decision. Here is the great paradox about President Jonathan. He was elected to serve the people, not to torment them. Jonathan was elected to solve national problems, not to create problems for the people. The sudden removal of subsidy on petrol was clearly and unambiguously a burden that Jonathan and his officials imposed unnecessarily on the shoulders and wallets of the Nigerian people.

It is often said that a day makes a difference in politics. In the political life of President Jonathan, things can never be the same again since he took the ruthless decision to remove the subsidy on petrol. Everything he touches seems to offend everyone. The public rating of Jonathan, the man who was born to govern at state and national levels, has taken a nosedive. Different epithets are now used to describe the man. Some people refer to him unkindly as “Jonathan the destroyer”. Others prefer the simple expression “Jonathan the persecutor”. Either of these sobriquets must be hurtful.

The decision to remove the subsidy on petrol without sufficient deliberation by the public was reckless and ill advised. And so too was the timing. By rushing into that decision, Jonathan lost the first obligation of a president. A president should be responsible for the welfare, safety, wellbeing and security of the people. When a president introduces a drastic policy that aggravates more than eases the growing pains of the poor, the president has shown he is not in touch with the fundamental principles of economics and the predicaments of the common people.

Here was a president who enjoyed enormous goodwill prior to the last presidential election in 2011. Eight months on, Nigerians are now wondering why they voted for a man who have shown little regard for the basic needs of the people. The battle between the government and the coalition of organised labour and civil society groups over the removal of subsidy on petrol may have been suspended but the stoush has exposed the government’s lack of understanding of the enormity of the socioeconomic problems that Nigerians have had to suffer over the past months and years.

On Sunday, January 1, 2012, Jonathan astonished the nation with his own model of macabre dance when he welcomed everyone to a brand new year with the cruel news that the subsidy on petrol has been removed. To ensure that everyone understood the government’s firm position on the decision, he proceeded to gag public opposition to that absurd pronouncement when he ordered fully armed soldiers onto the streets of Lagos. It is mean to slap a child but it is even more brutal or cold-blooded to prevent the child from crying.

Nothing can be as silly as using soldiers to suppress public protests over a government decision. Lagos is only a part of Nigeria. It does not represent the whole of Nigeria. The decision to order soldiers on to Lagos streets showed that Jonathan, like former military dictators, firmly believes that soldiers represent the most effective solution to national problems.

Jonathan ought to understand that soldiers are not configured to fix every national catastrophe. In the history of this nation, soldiers have been sent on various national assignments and the outcomes have been less than successful. Here are some examples. The state of insecurity across the country has persisted essentially because soldiers were rushed in to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency without sufficient intelligence and without a clear understanding of the modus operandi of the sectarian group. Quite simply, soldiers have failed to put down the insurrection mounted by Boko Haram advocates in most parts of the north.

In the Niger Delta region, including the southeast and other parts of the country, soldiers have not been able to halt indiscriminate abductions and ceaseless massacres of innocent civilians by murderous groups who parade cities and villages, as well as other centres of violence. Soldiers have not been able to compel petrol dealers to sell at the official price fixed by the government. Even more, soldiers have not successfully forced down the spiralling market price of cement and other building materials. The impulsive use of soldiers in times of national emergency represents a panic reaction by a government that has grown insensitive to people’s needs. When governments become jittery, nervous or inconsistent in terms of policy flip flop, they use soldiers as a last resort to enforce peace. But peace can never be imposed through force.

Since his election in April last year, Jonathan has committed major blunders that cannot now be overlooked. Months after the inauguration of his government, he infuriated everyone when he rolled out his weird proposal for a seven-year, single term tenure for the president, a proposal that was largely seen as selfish and self-serving. No sooner was the idea tabled in the public domain than it was promptly shot down. Jonathan has also shown palpable inability to deal with the growing insecurity across the nation. In the north, for instance, bomb explosions and mindless killings by the Boko Haram religious sect have taken Nigeria perilously close to disintegration. Indeed, rising cases of religious intolerance and inter-ethnic hatred and discrimination have challenged the notion that Nigeria is a united, multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country. It is odd that, in light of these challenges, Jonathan found strength to open up another war front by removing the subsidy on petrol. How naive can a government be?

When Jonathan grabbed radio and television microphones in a moody frame to address an angry nation on Monday this week with the news that his government has agreed to fix the price of petrol at N97 a litre, he looked like a damaged leader. It is a measure of the confusion and indecision that has become an emblem of Jonathan’s government that one week after he talked endlessly and boldly about his unwillingness to negotiate or yield ground over the removal of subsidy, he turned around to eat the phlegm that he spat out a few days earlier. Jonathan has bitten the dust that was raised by his own government.

Government is meant to respond to the feelings of the people, not to be indifferent to the people’s impoverished conditions. If Jonathan needed something to occupy his thoughts on New Year’s day, he could have actively and productively engaged his mind by dwelling on how to end the security challenges that are threatening the unity and existence of Nigeria. Given the choice between tackling insecurity and removing the subsidy on petrol, a thoughtful government would have placed priority on national security on the basis that security is a precondition for economic development. No nation can advance economically and politically on the platform of instability.

The one-week national strike spawned by the industrial relations dispute between the government and organised labour and civil society organisations affected adversely every sector of the Nigerian society. The industrial action hurt the government and the economy more than anyone else. The banks were shut and so too were all avenues for business transactions, particularly in an economy in which most transactions are conducted in cash. Air travel was closed and many travellers were stranded at various airports. When commercial organisations, manufacturing industries, transport companies, food and beverage industries, as well as markets were closed in observance of the industrial strike, the economy took the greatest hit. When educational institutions were forced to close, all pathways for the advancement of knowledge, research and teaching were also locked down.

As the government takes stock of its blunders, it is important to stress how manifestly wrong and insensitive it was for the government to engage in such a major economic overhaul in the first week of a new year. Some people have argued that there is never a good time to remove the subsidy on petrol. I would argue that the timing of the removal of oil subsidy was wrong, as was the magnitude of the sudden change in the price of petrol.

Occupy Nigeria: What The ‘Amebos’ Are Saying

Charles Dickson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:23:34 +0000

Nigeria's Labour leaders and Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

A gossip is one given to tattling, idle talk or rumour especially about the personal or private affairs of others. A gossip is a busybody, chatterbox, and a parrot. In local parlance here in Nigeria, we call such persons an ‘amebo’.

What started out as a protest is today an ‘Occupy Nigeria’ movement. The issues have almost snow-balled while a docile leadership looks on, playing Tom and Jerry as the nation boils. Every Nigerian has become an expert in oil production, sales, consumption and export. We see all sorts of figures and mathematics. Everyone is an amebo, and even a carpenter is knowledgeable about refinery maintenance, turnaround and capacity. After all, there is a Google ‘how to do’ on almost everything on earth.

For Nigerians it’s all about Fuel Subsidy Removal and nothing else. You won’t blame us; it’s the reigning and hopefully not the last hottest issue around, still there will be a scar left behind. The government official amebo NTA has carried on like all is well. Not that one blames them, the television house is part of what is wrong with Nigeria; the taxpayers pay, and the government dictates the tune. We are grateful for the people’s amebo like this medium that has lived up to their responsibilities.

What have we not heard from amebos; like Dr. Levi resigned, or that Reuben found his conscience and left Mr. Jonathan. And while Mr. Attorney General was threatening workers and protesters, some amebo found millions in dollars in his account; he said the accounts were his, but “money wasn’t his’’.

Amebo is Sanusi, caught in between economics and realism, or could anyone miss Labaran Maku, the onetime deceived student activist earning his pay as the chief amebo in charge of misinformation. There is the ex-world Bank amebo that told us that FSR wasn’t her idea but that of the 36 amebo governors; other amebos said it was the beautiful amebo in petroleum. However, the fact remains that some amebos succeeded in ‘confusing’ my apologies, I mean convincing the amebo-in-chief.

While we occupied, amebo sources revealed that actually, unknown to many, we are where we are with this particular government because Mr. Jonathan had shoes but just won’t wear it. He had better options but won’t use it, because he just cannot see it. We have painfully and sadly been made to witness unavoidably deaths due to the only Police with force in the world. They tackle protesters with live bullets, shot into the air, and citizens are killed by accident and the government calls such extra-judicial killings of protesters just “passing away,” according to Ngozi Iweala.

Whether we finally get N65 or a bargain, the fact is that Nigerians know more today. The risk is higher; the nation is on the edge. Many amebos, lots of half-truths, misinformation, and propaganda, outright lies, thankfully the bitter truth too.

Truth such as this government has goofed; and sadly they have been doing that since inception, and most likely will do till the end of its time. One of the many things most people know now, including those that voted Jonathan and not PDP is that it makes no difference. Mr. President has made several speeches, watered talks; none addressing the issues, none of them firm, or convincing enough. How government of over 40 ministers, countless advisers cannot address or arrive at a solution to the FSR problem tells it all. How 1600 diesel buses and a 25% reduction in basic salary of the executive will solve a problem of over 150 million people tells you how unimaginative the government is.

Only amebos can really tell us how one compares a SIM card to fuel. After deregulation, Kerosene is on the increase, and almost unavailable all the time; and diesel still has not seen any significant improvement. Some amebos say the protests have been hijacked, but we must also recall according to Mr. Jonathan with Boko Haram in the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature, his government has equally been hijacked. Amebos inquire why this government has pumped in so much energy into the poison called FSR, but cannot do same for security and other sectors of the Nigerian state.

While we are occupying, ethno-religious themed killings continue in Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, and Edo, and in some cases government has been fingered. Amebos watched with pain as India celebrated one year without a polio case and Obama sought to merge government agencies for more effectiveness and cut costs. The Defence Minister said we should give them six months to turn Nigeria into London. The Petroleum Minister said the Port Harcourt refinery will be working by October/November. Why not let all this happen first and let Nigerians pay N500 per litre for PMS.

Amebo sources say Mr. Jonathan is the most abused President in the shortest period of time, in recent times. Abacha was cruel, but now we know, he stole but he was prudent too. Obasanjo was arrogant, vengeful but left us plenty money in the reserve and plenty problems too. Late Yar’adua was slow. Unfortunately today, Jonathan is not moving and do you blame a nation suffering from expectation fatigue.

While all I have said is subject to all sorts of debate, and argument. I end with the truth; first Nigeria is not a private or personal property of a few. The truth is that this government is at loss on many fronts. Nigerians are hatefully divided along different lines, despite all the tattling, rattling, gossiping and parroting. We cannot continue like this. Mr. Jonathan, it’s not about talk; it’s about action. Act and prove us wrong. We doubt if he can; we know he cannot. Time will tell.

Nigerians Should Beg the Cabal or ‘Occupy Jonathan’

Charles Dickson — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:09:32 +0000

#Occupy Nigeria protesters in Abuja today.

“Provision of road, electricity, water, health services etc are not palliatives, they are the duty of government”.

But no one knows; those that know, do not care and some care in very hypocritical manners. Sadly in the words of a cabal, the people are no better than we the politicians; and in truth, we get away with it because the people ‘allow’ us to, and they want us to so long as we spend the loot on them.

With those lines I take this week’s admonition, the first for the year 2012; one that has continued literally from the same point as 2011, with pain, insecurity and a government that lacks trust. I have painfully looked on as government officials lie through their teeth on the fuel subsidy. I have watched Mr. Jonathan say the nation is not broke but will go broke if subsidy is retained. He equally promised that Nigeria will be like UK in few months when the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy die down. While citizenry are peeling away from earth by reasons of avoidable deaths (fuel subsidy, simply put), reconstructing a cabal…the burden of a nation stands on the threshold of redrawing our socio-economic and political map.

It’s laughable how 1600 diesel buses would solve the transportation problem of 36 states and cater for some over 150 million Nigerians. Which roads would these buses ply? Same roads the cabal took money and refused to build and donated some back to the ruling party. Or is it the fact that, more accidents, more waste of Nigerian lives and chop for the cabal that supplied the buses?

For me, the problem with Nigeria is not fuel subsidy; it is corruption from top to bottom, confused leadership and a docile followership. A cabal, which like all things bad in Nigeria, has no return address. Having read the Subsidy Reinvestment And Empowerment Program (SURE) booklet. I can’t help but laugh more at Nigeria and our ways. I can recite the 20 pages off heart. The first page is a picture of Jonathan, the second, Namadi; I am sorry that Ngozi did not make it…two other pages detailing how they would share some billions amongst governors and LGA Chairmen…the last page is that of the map of Nigeria. It leaves us with 14 pages of how a yet to be available and fraudulent over 1 trillion would be spent on the existing cabal or a new cabal.

Explaining the SURE document, the president stated that, “A robust programme structure has been developed to ensure adequate oversight, accountability and implementation of the various projects”. I will pick just one project area…Component ‘D’, the rail transport projects. Interestingly, in the last month of last year, China launched a super-rapid test train, which is capable of travelling 500 kilometres per hour; this was despite serious problems on its high-speed network. The train, made by a subsidiary of CSR Corp Ltd, China’s largest train maker, is designed to resemble an ancient Chinese sword, the official Xinhua news agency had reported. In February 2011, the railways minister, Liu Zhijun, a key figure behind the boom in the sector, was dismissed over corruption charges that have not yet been tried in court.

How soon do we forget, Abacha brought the Chinese, millions went; Obasanjo brought the same Chinese billions disappeared. Death did not give Yar’adua time, and again Jonathan is talking Chinese. The fact is that like former Attorney General and Justice Minister said, the best we have done is to rehabilitate a Royal Niger Company Railway that should be in the museum with billions of dollars with nothing or very little to show.

Nigerians protesting against government's removal of fuel subsidy with posters carrying various inscriptions

No one is being punished, it was the ‘inner caucus’ during Obansanjo; Yar’adua had a small ‘kitchen cabinet’ and this group of self-serving leaders tell us they are faced with a cabal… Government says the subsidy administration is beset with inefficiencies, leakages and corruption. Tell me what is not beset with those three terms today, from health to education, security to agriculture. Previous governments have given the same rational for discontinuing subsidies, and no solution in sight…because of a cabal exploiting the leaks and getting away with it and citizens have to pay for it.

This government is promising 3,877km of railroad, 1,326km of roads and bridges, some incomprehensible safety net programmes that make no sense to the woman that sells bean-ball or the local tyre repair man. Monies will again go, to some new cabal or the existing ones, just like all the power projects money that disappeared. “There is simply no accounting for many decisions in our dear country and there never will be at this rate.” A politician said this to a friend and the truth is that, we are in no change mode yet.

I end my admonition stating categorically that I will take back my comments and apologize if we get to buy fuel at N65 or less by the end of December 2012, as a result of Mr. Jonathan’s well laid out IMF/World Bank pill.

Until then, the Yoruba’s say Ẹni tó tan ara-a rẹ̀ lòrìṣà òkè ńtàn: àpọń tí ò láya nílé, tó ní kí òrìṣà ó bùn un lọ́mọ. Meaning, it is the person who deceives himself that the gods above deceive: a bachelor who has no wife at home but implores the gods to grant him children. (It is self-deceit to expect the gods to do everything for one, when one has not lifted a finger on one’s behalf).

Mr. Jonathan ride on, and you cannot deal with the cabal with your-all-knowing lieutenants. I can only but ask Nigerians help themselves, lift a finger, beg the cabal or occupy peacefully for change, time will tell.