The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • The character of education

    The character of education

    W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the great 20th century American scholars, and “the most influential black intellectual of the twentieth century”, with a sharp intellect and critical mind, relocated to Africa, specifically Ghana, in 1960, became a Ghanaian citizen in 1963 and a few months later, he passed on to eternal glory at 95 and was buried just outside the Government House in Accra. A prolific writer, Dr. Du Bois left a legacy of education in service of humanity. Today, I reflect on one of his unique contributions on education as detailed in the 10 essays on “The Education of Black People” written over a period of 50 years. I focus especially on the address that Du Bois gave in 1908 at his Alma mater, Fisk University, 20 years after his graduation. The address was titled: “Galileo Galilei”.

    Galileo was the great scientist of the 16th century with tremendous accomplishments to his name. He “found the law of falling bodies; he invented the telescope; he discovered the moons of Jupiter; he explained the reflected light of planets; he laid down the laws of cohesion; he studied the law of the pendulum and applied it to the clock;” and above all he proved the correctness of “the Copernican doctrine that the sun and not the earth is the centre of our universe.” Among all his inventions and discoveries, however, this last one about the earth in relation to our universe was too much for the authorities of his time and age. The most fearful of those authorities was the Church and with his new theory, Galileo was a target of the Inquisition. How did he perform in light of his education and scholarship?

    “When the man who has a clear vision of Right, finds himself successfully approaching the goal, how shall he meet Jealousy, Error, Selfishness, and Ignorance?” This was how Du Bois characterised the dilemma of Galileo at his 1633 trial. Clearly it was a fight against ignorance, selfishness, error and jealousy, and with all of these attributes summed up in the most vicious authority of the time, the personification of these opponents is warranted.

    Yet, the question remains: how shall an educated man meet such a vicious enemy? What is the character of education? What does it prepare one for? Galileo’s choice at the critical moment in a life that was already full of tremendous achievements was to capitulate. He lied. As Du Bois puts it: Galileo, “deliberately and with full knowledge publicly and unequivocally, made one of the straightest and most uncompromising denials of what he knew to be the truth.” To save his life, the intellectual of the age recanted his theories and capitulated to the ignorance of the age.

    What is the character of education? What does it enable us to achieve? We have a useful comparison, thankfully, one of the rarest sources of pride, in our own corner of the earth. Galileo’s science was pitted against the 17th Century Church’s faith. Three centuries later, it was not science against faith; it was one ignorant conception of humanity against an enlightened theory of humanity. Nelson Mandela’s struggle for human dignity for all God’s creation collided with the apartheid theorists’ practice of subjugation and discrimination. At the trial of Rivonia, Mandela faced a dilemma similar to Galileo’s. What was his choice?

    Proudly and stubbornly, Mandela declared: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” That was on April 20, 1964. For 27 years, he paid with his freedom for his obdurate adherence to the principle of freedom for all. However in the end, Mandela was vindicated and lived to achieve his ideal of a democratic and free society.

    What did Galileo achieve with his capitulation to ignorance and selfishness at age 70? He was jailed and tortured for nine years before he finally died, having no other opportunity to make further contributions to knowledge. Imagine how history would have treated him if he had spoken truth to power at the trial? More importantly, imagine the difference it would have made for the world of science and humanity.

    It is true, of course, that hindsight is, but foresight is not, always 20/20. But if we are privileged to witness history in its most transparent form over and over again, the mark of a good education is to learn from it so we do not fall into the same error of judgment.

    It is for this reason that I am puzzled every time that I see the same ugly side of history repeated by educated men and women. The challenges we face as a people are not caused by the so-called lowly class. The proverbial hewers of wood and drawers of water do not spend their night times with Mr. President or His Excellency the Executive Governor. The dreg of society do not tweet obnoxious messages that mock a genuine cause for the release of innocent girls from the bloodied hands of killers and sadists just to promote a president’s ambition. How does a good education lead folks to do such terrible deeds?

    Education is a value; it is the development of one’s awareness for the appreciation of the human condition, and the determination to do something about it. Those that society has favored to receive good education therefore owe a reciprocal duty to give back and this may take various forms. If you find yourself in a position of authority as a result of your education, the worst you can do to yourself is to betray that sacred trust. And if you are in a position to advise those in a position of authority, the worst you can do is to fail to speak truth to power.

    Just as leaders and their advisors have their responsibility so do followers. Education is an eye opener, making transparent the origin, cause and course of oppression, and empowering the oppressed to seek liberation from their oppressors. A leadership that displays no evidence of having fire in the belly to lead cannot be trusted with the task of liberating the oppressed and to that extent cannot be trusted with occupying the sacred position of leadership. For a long time, “educated” folks have been the worst offenders of the crime of ethnic and sectarian politics. What is the character of an education that only perpetuates ignorance, prejudice and sycophancy?

    Nor must the blame for these and other misdeeds be laid at the doorstep of poverty. In the days before the flag independence of the country, when the colonial exploiters still ran the show, wealth wasn’t flowing around the nation. Yet our people pulled together to fight against the colonisers. They rallied to the cause of freedom and independence.

    We have clearly exchanged external colonialism for internal colonialism in various ways. But our education appeared to have been pathetically but voluntarily placed as instruments in the hands of the internal exploiters. Thus, under one banner or the other, we have seen youths in various stages of educational achievement voluntarily organising rallies supporting one side or another in what is clearly an act of self-degradation. We saw this before in “Youths Earnestly Seek Abacha” and it is as shameless now as it was then. What is the character of an education that capitulates to sycophantic adulation at the expense of what is known to be true?

  • Aba people’s ‘riot’

    This is a writer’s rejoinder to his own article; a response to readers’ response so to speak. Last week on this page, I had written two articles, a main one and a strap. The major piece (Gov Amosun’s plaintive cry) is about the ruinously acrimonious Ogun APC while the five-paragraph short attachment ponders the soft underbelly of Abia politics. Though both are related in the sense that they are about Nigeria’s retrograde godfather-godson politics, the small piece turned out the star attraction.

    As at the close of work last Friday alone, nearly 50 messages had streamed in while quite a number called. Most were purportedly from Aba, the commercial city of Abia State, and a good number were rather virulent. Many not content with messaging called and took me on. I debated a particular reader for nearly 15 minutes and though we parted half-friends, it occurred to me, in deference to the worries of my dear readers that I needed to do a rejoinder to my own article in order to provide more perspectives; I also hope to be able to run some of those SMS below as space permits.

    Numerous issues cropped up but let’s try making some meaning of them: First, let me apologise to Chief Arthur Eze who I have since learnt was grossly, if not deliberately misrepresented in the original report in Daily Sun. Many people who were at the function whom I have spoken to affirmed that Chief Eze never said that Abia stank. He only bemoaned the state of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway through which he rode to Umuahia. He could not have said that Abia stank because he did not traverse the state. He is a friend of the house who was invited to a state function; he could not have come to pull down the house with such a comment as credited to him. This is the fact of the matter.

    What this means is that The Sun owes him an apology for deliberately misrepresenting him and deploying him as a fodder in the cross-fire of state politics. What could have been: “Arthur Eze bemoans the state of federal roads in Abia” is slanted and given a dangerous spin to become: “Abia Stinks!”, says Arthur Eze. This is unprofessional, to say the least.

    This singular, calculated mis-information has continued to be traded as fact in numerous other publications and by various segments of the population. One instance is the attendant report on page 6 of The Guardian (08/09/2014), quoting the National Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Comrade Peter Ameh. Chief Orji Uzor Kalu has published under his name, a two-part treatise based on this falsehood.

    As was stated here last week, and by way of putting all this in perspective, discerning readers and Abians can tell the source of and motive behind this injurious reporting; it is all about the turf fight between former governor, Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK) and his successor and incumbent, Theodore Ahamefule Orji (TA). My friends and readers from Aba were full of abuses because I took a broad and detached view of the situation but many of them are, sorry to say, narrow-sighted and emotional.

    Let us try restating the facts: the story started in 1999 when OUK became governor of Abia State. It is a fact that he ruled for eight years up until 2007 and he installed and controlled TA for most of his first tenure, 2007 – 2011. It is also a fact that OUK’s was what could be described a voodoo government where cowboys held sway. The period was defined by chaos and disorderliness and there was hardly any structure to show for that era. It is true that roads in Aba are pretty bad as I have found out following the outcry of Aba people, but if they live by the truth, they will confess that none of the roads OUK built through out his 12-year reign lasted one rainy season. If he had been sincere with his people and worked in their overall interest, Aba and indeed Abia State would not be in such derelict state today.

    It is yet another incontrovertible fact that TA has effectively been in office in the last three and half years, yet many would want to heap upon him, all the woes of the State. Just because he is not a show man like OUK, people are full of hate and calumny irrespective of his modest efforts. Let us look at some more facts: 23 years after the creation of Abia yet the government still operates from some colonial sheds probably built by Lugard’s boys – it is perhaps the worst government house in the land. Somebody ruled for nearly 12 years; he didn’t deem it fit to leave such a legacy in the overall interest of Abia people, instead, what he built in one remote village called Igbere is bigger that Aso Rock Presidential Villa. This is a fact.

    It is also a fact that TA has in such a short period, built a befitting government house for Abians. It is also a fact that for 23 years, Abia civil servants were scattered in makeshift sheds and private houses. Today the state boasts of an imposing and befitting secretariat like every other state. Umuahia today has an international conference centre that would compete with the edifice in Abuja for conference and huge events revenues. TA’s rare feat of moving a major market out of the centre of the state capital to the outskirts is also a fact. But this is even a more salutary because he has not only created perhaps the biggest modern market in the southeast today with its huge revenues capabilities, he has freed up the hitherto ugly city centre for a befitting modern infrastructure.

    There are so many more facts of TA’s government today that every Abia man would be proud of and which wicked propaganda cannot obliterate. But perhaps most important is that he has brought order, civility, peace and security to the land. Before him, Abia was like a castrated man and indeed, no ‘big’ man dared to sleep in his country home and diokpas held traditional marriage rites in Lagos and Abuja. Today TA has liberated Abia from her dark past. These and more were done in less than four years. Love him or hate him, these are facts.

    A sample of voices from Aba?

    08032155670: I would have stopped reading your articles if not that I have known you these years otherwise how could you.. it is people like you who are confusing TA. What Arthur Eze said is true. 90 % of major roads in Aba are in total decay. Pls use your pen to save your fellow Igbo living in Aba.

    08026666901: Dear Steve, I read your submission on the comments made by Chief Arthur Eze. It is so disturbing that you who people hold in high esteem will come out to defend the indefensible. Have you taken a tour of Aba in recent times? Tell me one good street in Aba that is motorable.. Aba stinks, Aba is in a pitiable state. Steve you need to apologise to your fans. –Tob Anumaka

    08036700481: You seem to me like one of the problems of this country; people who call black white. What if Chief Arthur Eze had called TA to order in secret as you suggested and he did nothing, what do you expect Chief Eze to do? Pretend all is well? Abia indeed is an eyesore, go to Aba.

    08037959126: Steve, I read your piece on Arthur Eze’s comments and couldn’t help but shudder at your curious assertion that Gov. TA “has done more for Abia than all the past governors put together”

     08033716285: If you have visited Aba in the last two years, you will be a fool to defend TA Orji. Aba has the worst roads in the whole country. The governor is confused, history will judge him.

    08039165603: If Arthur Eze had attempted to come to Aba am sure he would have called for the stoning of Jonathan. All federal roads into Aba are impassable; the part of Umuahia he complained of is federal expressway. Please Eze tell Jonathan that we know that he hates Ndigbo but he should remember that Aba voted for him.

    Dimgba: fare thee well great soul

    If he were just a great journalist and a fine writer, perhaps his transition would be more tolerable; we might console ourselves that another professional has passed on. But Dimgba Igwe was a quintessential humanist. He seemed to have loved words the way he loved fellow humans and just like he loved the Word. Yes, he lived for his God, for humanity and for words. I never worked with him but each time we met at occasions, he was ever so respectable, so demure and so wise.

     There is no doubt that he worked so hard and lived well; that he gave life nearly all that was necessary, which was why he would make time to pound the road at dawn, seeking to further enrich life – his and others’. But as it has turned out yet again, we are in a killer country; an environment that extirpates with the audacity of the morning sun. Nigeria is like the ghoulish stalker who kills at dawn… here we are marinated in our daily blood-fest. They tell us that our GDP keeps increasing but that must mean Gross Death Products.

  • Details of Hajj

    Details of Hajj

    Preamble

    This article is not new. It was published in this column during Hajj period last year and the year before. Because of its relevance, it is being repeated with some alterations in response to readers’ popular demand. Here it goes:

    Hajj in the life of a Muslim is like pregnancy in the womb of an expectant mother. The experience varies from woman to woman. The foetus in the womb undergoes various stages before reaching the stage of delivery. But by the time the child is finally delivered the mother feels a relief of her life. And the child assumes a tabula rasa (clean slate) that makes him absolutely innocent. A pilgrim is spiritually like a newly born child if he strictly performs Hajj as prescribed by Allah. But if he returns into the world of vanity after Hajj, he automatically becomes like a person in snow-white attire who finds himself in a palm oil market. Unless he spiritually guides his loins, he may immediately become a tainted person both in body and in soul.

    Pilgrims who are going on Hajj must be prepared to go through series of rigour both spiritually and physically. The rigour of getting the legitimate money with which to perform Hajj; the rigour of getting the travelling documents including visa; the rigour of taking care of the home front before embarking on the Holy journey; the rigour of boarding the plane with a sense of high risk; the rigour of going through the security search at the embarkation point as well as the disembarkation point in Saudi Arabia when entering and departing; the rigour of performing the Tawaf and Sa’y; the rigour of moving from Makkah to Mina on the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah, then to Arafah on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah, and back to Mina via Muzdalifah on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah; the rigour of locating the tents at Arafah; the rigour of throwing the pebbles at the Jamrat in Mina on the three or four days known as Ayamu-t-Tashrik; the rigour of performing Tawaful Ifadah at the Sanctuary in Makkah after the first day of throwing pebbles; the rigour of shaving the head and slaughtering the rams, the rigour of performing the farewell circumambulation otherwise known as Tawaful Wida‘i – all in the midst of millions of people can be too much to forget so soon  after Hajj.

    Whoever is not bothered by the money spent on Hajj should at least be bothered by the various stages of the rigour involved including that of visiting Madinah. To lose all these to the forces of Satan after Hajj is like losing one’s travelling passport after obtaining visa.

    The prayer of every genuine pilgrim is to retain the validity of Hajj forever.

    Qualifications

    Performance of pilgrimage must be based on certain qualifications one of which is genuine intention and high spiritual standard. An intending pilgrim must have attained puberty. He must have been an ardent practitioner of the first four pillars of Islam: (Iman, Salat, Zakah, and Sawm) all of which are fervently based on faith (Iman) which is the first pillar. Hajj without these pre-requisites is like a tree without roots.

    Money is a major pre-requisite for Hajj but it is not absolute.

    Hajj, the last pillar of Islam shows very vividly, the similitude of what mankind will experience on the Day of Judgment. Looking at the unique way in which pilgrims dress for Hajj and how they assemble at Arafat leaving their luggage behind in Makkah, one will realize how euphemeral this world is.

    The various stages of preparation through which pilgrims pass before arriving at Arafat are symbolic of our peregrination in life as human beings. Like the Day of Judgment, Arafat is the climax of Hajj performance. Anybody who misses Arafat misses Hajj. But Arafat is not by physical appearance alone. It takes a combination of factors to participate effectively in that great assembly which serves as the climax of Hajj.

    Preparation

    For Hajj to serve its spiritual purpose in the life of a pilgrim, certain steps must be taken before leaving home. They are as follows:

    •   Fine-tuning the first four pillars of

    Islam very sincerely

    •   Packaging the intention to perform Hajj

    •   Ensuring the security of the way

    •  Providing for the family and                                       dependants at home

    •   Paying all the outstanding debts

    including promises

    •  Ascertaining the condition of health

    •   Perfecting immigration procedures and                  undergoing all necessary medical

    services including inoculation

    •   Assuming a mood of humility like that                    of a servant approaching his master.

    •    Readiness to endure hardship and to       tolerate fellow pilgrims’ attitudes.

    Admonishing Muslims on spiritual journey, including Hajj, Prophet Muhammad once said: “Actions shall be judged according to intentions. Whoever embarks on a spiritual journey for the sake of Allah will be adjudged on that basis. And whoever bases his/her intention for pilgrimage on marriage or material gains should not expect any reward beyond that for which the intention is based”. The steps to follow in the performance of Hajj are as follows:

    The Miqat

    Miqat is the specified place for the wearing of Ihram dress. There are five of such places in all. But the one earmarked for pilgrims from Nigeria (Qarnul Manazil) cannot be reached by pilgrims who are travelling by air. It is over-flown shortly after crossing the Red Sea. What most Nigerians do therefore is to wear their Ihram dress in Jeddah which has now been adjudged right through a Fatwah. Thus, Nigerian pilgrims can now wear their Ihram dress on arrival at the pilgrims’ airport in Jeddah.

    Tawaful Qudum

    Tawaf means circumambulation (walking round the Ka’bah). The very first Tawaf to be performed by any pilgrim on entering Makkah is Tawaful Qudum. It is performed before a pilgrim settles down in any residence. Tawaful Qudum is an obligatory Sunnah from which only residential pilgrims are exempted.

    Residence in Makkah or Madinah Most Nigerian pilgrims often seek their accommodations in Makkah or Madinah close to the Haram. This is to enable them walk to and back from the Haram conveniently at the times of Salat. To minimise pilgrim’s regular occurrence of missing their ways they are provided with hand bands bearing the addresses of their residences. Pilgrims are therefore advised to wear such bands at all times to enable them show it to either the Hajj guides or policemen when they miss the road. It is also important for pilgrims to always be with the identity cards provided for them by Nigerian Pilgrims’ Commission or private agents. This is to enable them to be identified in case of sickness, accident or even death.

    Movement to Mina

    Pilgrims must be ready to undergo some rigour in the process of moving to Mina from Makkah. The rigour which normally affects all pilgrims is engendered by limited time available for millions of pilgrims who must move to that spiritual camp before the sunset on the day preceding Arafah day (8th of Dhul Hijjah).

    Arafah

    At the Plain of Arafat, pilgrims are advised to stay under their tents and concentrate on the spiritual activities that take them to the place.

    They must reach Arafat by mid day when Salatu-d-Dhuhr and ‘Asr should be observed combined. Anybody who is not at Arafat by mid day is considered not to have taken part in the assembly and has therefore missed Hajj. Immediately after observing the combined Salatu-d-Dhuhr and ‘Asr the Imam who led the two Salat is expected to give a sermon.

    Listening to such sermon is as compulsory as giving it.

    The great assembly of Arafat terminates shortly before sunset (Magrib) and the pilgrims return to Mina via Muzdalifah.

    Muzdalifah

    At Muzdalifah, pilgrims are expected to halt their journey to observe Magrib and ‘Ishai combined. They are also expected to pass the night there and observe the Salat-s-Subh of the following day before proceeding to Mina. Muzdalifah is adjacent to Mina and is therefore a walking distance.

    Jamrat

    Stoning the symbolic devils (Rajmu Jamrat) begins a day after Arafat and continues for the next three days that the pilgrims are supposed to spend at Mina. This exercise is obligatory and without it Hajj is incomplete. There are three points at which stones are to be thrown. Seven pebbles are thrown at each point on every one of the three or four days to be spent in Mina.

    While going for the pebble-throwing exercise, pilgrims are advised to take their pebbles along with them. Except for the first day when seven pebbles are supposed to be thrown at only one spot, pilgrims are required to throw twenty one pebbles each day at the three spots provided while they remain in Mina.

    Picking such pebbles at the point of throwing them is forbidden. All pebbles must have been picked before leaving the tent for the ‘Jamrat’ or on the way.

    Majzarah (Abattoir)

    Slaughtering of all sacrificial animals is done at the abattoir in Mina. Pilgrims do not need to bother themselves by going to the abattoir for the purpose of carrying out this compulsory obligation.

    They can simply buy the guaranteed ticket sold by designated Saudi agents (Mu’assasah). The ticket is the evidence that one has performed that duty. The slaughtering is done on behalves of the pilgrims by some authorised artisans who are paid by the Saudi Hajj authorities from the money paid for those animals. The animals to be slaughtered at Jamrat range from rams to camels. A pilgrim should slaughter one ram or more while seven pilgrims may combine to slaughter one camel or five of them may jointly slaughter one cow.

    Tawaful Ifadah

    For pilgrims who can afford to go to Makkah after throwing the first seven pebbles, it is good to perform Tawaf-ul-Ifadah. For those who cannot, the exercise can be deferred till the end of Tashrik.

    Pilgrims who have performed Tawaful Ifadah are free to shave their heads and change from their Ihram dress into civil or traditional dresses.

    The only reason for any pilgrim to go to Makkah from Mina during the camping period is to perform Tawaf-ul-Ifadah. No pilgrim should break camping rule by going to Makkah without performing Tawaful Ifadah. And after performing Tawaful Ifadah, no pilgrim should remain in Makkah or elsewhere without returning to Mina before sunset.

    With the completion of the camping days in Mina and the arrival of all the pilgrims in Makkah, Hajj has been completed except for Tawaf Wida‘i  otherwise called Fare well Tawaf. That Tawaf is also compulsory.

    Visit to Madinah

    It is then left for pilgrims to decide whether or not to go to Madinah. Going to Madinah is not compulsory. It can neither validate nor vitiate Hajj. But it will be spiritually odd for any pilgrim to choose not to visit the Prophet’s Mosque during the period of Hajj.

    Throughout the Hajj exercise, what should be uppermost in the mind of  a pilgrim is the spiritual benefit. Hajj is made compulsory only once in a life’s time for those who have the wherewithal to undergo it and can satisfy the conditions attached to its performance.

    Returning Home

    On returning home finally, pilgrims are not supposed to start organising parties in celebration of a successful Hajj performance as ignorantly done by some Nigerians. Maintaining Hajj is a necessity for those who know its value. Whoever is privileged to perform Hajj once should therefore be grateful to Allah as no one is sure of getting another chance.

  • The Boko Haram scandal

    The Boko Haram scandal

    Truth is like gold which, in its raw form, may look like any ordinary mineral. It however stands out of the pack particularly after it has been melted. Taking it through the fire of a goldsmith, therefore, does not diminish its value. It rather enhances it.

    Besides truth, two other major phenomena of life are generally taken for granted by virtually all human beings. One is privacy which is natural and of necessity. The other is secrecy which is artificial and devilish. Professional journalists often report the one with caution and the other with passionate disdain. Thus, while privacy enjoys the protection of the law, secrecy often   incurs the wrath of the law.

    That is why any attempt to pry into other people’s privacy is often described as an invasion of privacy. In a nutshell, every secret tends to be a can of worms that is ardently guarded against exposure by its custodians.

    The above assertion is now vividly applicable to the evil carnage called Boko Haram in Nigeria which has become a frightening spectre to all citizens. The current restive situation in the country which makes the continuity of the entity called Nigeria seemingly uncertain is a confirmation of an Arab prophetic maxim rendered into a poem many centuries ago. It went thus:

    “This is the time we had been warned against in the admonitions of Ubayyi Bn Ka’b and Abdullah Bn Mas’ud; a time in which truth would be rejected in its totality while falsehood and evil machinations would be audaciously held aloft; should this situation be allowed to thrive without check; there may no longer be any cry over the death of a beloved person or joy over the birth of a new baby”.

    Given a landmark revelation, last week, about Boko Haram and its alleged sponsors, the time in reference in the above quoted poem seems to have come to quarantine Nigeria in the enclave of the Lucifer. The revelation was made through a popular television station in London by one Dr Stephen Davis, a 63 year old experienced Australian international negotiator who was allegedly hired officially by Nigerian government to negotiate with Boko Haram on the release of about 276 school girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Bornu State. The innocent girls were abducted in their school premises on April 14, 2014, the following day that some heartless evil agents of the same insurgents bombed the crowded Nyanyan motor park in Abuja sending 77 innocent citizens to early graves in ‘hot blood’.

    Frightening revelations

    Davis, a former Cardinal of the Anglican Church, decided to blow the whistle this time around when he discovered that his contracted mission had become frustrated after meeting a brick wall. And that answers the most likely question that Nigerians may ask about the revelation: ‘why now?’

    Advancing his reason for coming up with the revelation now, the father of three children (all girls) said he could not imagine any of his children going through the agony to which the abducted Chibok girls were being subjected by the Boko Haram insurgents. He said that feeling was one of the reasons for accepting the negotiation contract in the first place. (Let us accept that fact for the purpose of argument). He regretted the length of time which the innocent Chibok girl have unnecessarily spent in the devil’s gulag and blamed it on the initial lackadaisical attitude of the government to the dangerous trend.

    In his narrative, Davis who had spent about four months in Nigeria pursuing the sensitively dangerous assignment disclosed that his frustration began when his rescue success was truncated 15 minutes before realisation last April. He gave a vivid narration of what transpired between him and the insurgents saying he would have succeeded in rescuing the first batch of 60 of those girls if the devilish insurgency body called Boko Haram had been united in one camp at that time as it is now. But, according to him, the body was divided into three different uncoordinated camps each struggling to assume the leadership of the sect based on the power generated through funding and supply of weapons.

    By his narration, Davis had completed his negotiation with one of the camps reaching a final agreement to release the 60 girls in the custody of that camp. But just 15 minutes before the release, another camp fortuitously stormed the place where the girls were kept and wielded them away. The thought, according to him, was that he (Davis) would commence a new negotiation process with the invading camp with a view to benefitting from any money involved. At that point, Davis gave up the hope of any success of his mission and left the country with a hint to the government that no such mission could succeed unless the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency were arrested and tried with a view to cutting off the source of funding the group. It was shortly after he left Nigeria that the different camps of Boko Haram united into a single camp under a single leadership. And that is what gave it the power to dare the Nigerian troops and acquire territories now designated Caliphate.

    Bokoharamgate

    In what may be termed ‘Bokoharamgate’ Davis alleged that the group’s funding largely passes through the Central Bank of Nigeria  (CBN) which technically makes it a legitimate transaction since it evades any suspicion. He asserted that some politicians and military men were solidly behind the rebellious insurgency called Boko Haram in the Northeast of Nigeria and even mentioned some names including those of a former Governor and a former Chief of Army Staff as forces behind it. (An interesting aspect of his disclosure is his exoneration of a former Presidential aspirant, General Muhammad Buhari and a former Minister of the federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai. The duo had been labeled the godfathers of Boko Haram by fellow politicians).

    According to Davis, one of the biggest suppliers of arms and military uniforms to Boko Haram is a Nigerian who lives in Egypt and receives money sent by political sponsors from Nigeria. He emphasised that the legal transaction of the funds is carried out with the help of the CBN. He added that the said official is a relative of three suspects of April 14 Abuja bombings that took 77 lives of Nigerians. In his words: “Meanwhile, the CBN official who handles the funding is an uncle to three of those arrested in connection with the Nyanya bombings. The three boys lived with him. They were arrested by the SSS (Department of State Security) after the bombings but they do not seem to have been interrogated about their uncle in CBN. Or if they have given up information about their uncle then the SSS has not moved against him… Also, a senior official of CBN, who recently left the bank, was very close to Sodiq Aminu Ogwuche, the mastermind of the Nyanya bombings who also schooled in Sudan. Boko Haram commanders said Ogwuche’s wife used to visit the top official in his office, at the headquarters of the bank, in Abuja before the Nyanya bombings”.

    The powerful cartel

    Davis who holds a PhD in political geography believes that “the political sponsors of Boko Haram are very powerful because they supply the finances and the arms. Until they are cut off from the group, those girls will not be released. We are talking of about 200 Chibok schoolgirls, but there are over 300 other girls that have been kidnapped. There are many young men that they also kidnapped and turned against their families. They asked them to go and slaughter their family members and they are doing it. Nobody is talking about those ones. They are the new child soldiers.”

    The expert mentioned repeatedly that the first thing to do to enable the release of the abducted children was “to stop the bagman who supplies weapons and military uniforms. We know his name, location and associates. If the man is stopped, the slaughterers, the ritual arm of the group, would be demobilised. The girls can be released afterwards. This man controls those ritualists.”

    If the above narrative is considered startling, then one can imagine the revelation that he (Davis) had hinted Nigerian government of the involvement of a cabinet Minister, some years back, when a former President (not Yar’Adua) was in the saddle. He said he hinted that former President that a particular Minister from the South-South in his cabinet was involved in the funding of Boko Haram and advised him to investigate the man, get him arrested and tried in a court of law.

    But, according to Davis, the ex-President rejected the advice on the excuse that such a trial could bring down his government.

     

    Genesis of Boko Haram

    It would be recalled that Boko Haram (Western education is forbidden) is not the actual name of the group that is now rebelling against Nigeria in the name of Islam. Its real name is ‘Jam’atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lid-Da’wah wal Jihad’ meaning: ‘Sunnah Congregation for Preaching and Strife’. The Group became known as Boko Haram because of its condemnation of Western education which it claimed to be the main cause of corruption in Nigeria. The name Boko Haram was given to the group by members of the public who were amazed by its strange preaching.

    Founded as a splinter fundamentalist Sunni group in 2002, the first leader of the group was Muhammad Yusuf, a Yobe-born cleric who resided in Maiduguri, Bornu State, where the dreaded Islamic group was founded. For the first seven years of its existence, Boko Haram was peaceful and forthright in its clerical activities except that it did not enjoy the cooperation of some other Islamic organisations in the region due to its method of preaching which was deemed abhorrent to others. Its violence tendency began in July 2009 when it had an encounter with Nigeria Police. Due to frequent complaints about the preaching methodology of the group, the Nigerian security agents began to monitor it with an eye of suspicion. And on a particular occasion when the group was returning from a cemetery where it went to bury the remains of one of its members who just died, its members were accosted by the Police who accused the sect of staging a public procession without official permit. Some members of the sect were arrested including their leader (Muhammad Yusuf) who was later shot dead in Police custody. The spontaneous reaction of the other members of the group led to the killing of about 700 of them by the Police.

    Ever since, there has not been any respite in the relationship of Boko Haram and the Nigerian Police. With the death of Yusuf, Ibrahim Shekau, his deputy, assumed the leadership of the sect. And under his leadership, the group continuously improved on its operational capabilities killing and maiming innocent lives and destroying all factors of progress in north-eastern part of the country. It was for the purpose of stopping that spate of destruction that some well-meaning Nigerians including this columnist have severally called for negotiation and possible amnesty for the insurgents. But some elements who had vested interest in a hidden agenda felt otherwise and the President accepted their opinion. Today, we can all see the result.

    If the current regime had adopted the late President Yar’Adua’s method of amnesty, perhaps the situation would not have reached this stage and so many lives would not have been lost. If Davis’ revelation is shocking those who are familiar with Nigerian security system will discover more shocking news in the fact that the last time that Nigeria really upgraded her military arsenal was 1982 when President Sheu Aliyu Uthman Shagari was in power according to privileged information.

    And if this is true what has been happening to Nigeria’s annual defence huge budgets for the past 32 years?

    Since 2011, Boko Haram has consistently maintained a steady rate of attacks striking a wide range of targets. Its trained agents have attacked politicians, religious leaders, security forces, traditional rulers and civilian targets. The tactic of suicide bombings adopted in the two major attacks in the federal capital territory on the police and UN Headquarters was new to Nigerian security and alien to the familiar mercenary culture in the West African sub-region. In Africa as a whole, it was only in Somalia that such tactic had been used by As- Shabbab and to a far lesser extent.

    And since early 2013, Boko Haram has increasingly operated in Northern Cameroon as an extension of its skirmishes along the borders of Chad and Niger. Such operations have been linked to a number of kidnappings, often reportedly in association with a splinter group called Ansaru, thereby drawing wider international attention to them.

    Questions

    With the above revelations coming from a federal government’s contracted expert why has the government not swung into action? And with the current situation in which Boko Haram seems to be waxing stronger, what next is in the plan of the Nigerian government for taming the monstrous shrewd? For how long are the kidnapped innocent girls expected to remain in the custody of the brutal insurgents called Boko Haram? And by the way, when will Mr President visit the region as an encouragement to Nigerian armed forces who are fencing off the Boko Haram further incursions into Nigerian? Should their efforts as well as the lives of thousands of the victims of that  obnoxious insurgency be in vain? There may be other questions for the government to answer on this highly embarrassing situation. Some of such questions may be raised in this column in the near future. God save Nigeria.

  • Gov Amosun’s plaintive cry

    Gov Amosun’s plaintive cry

    Keen watchers of Nigeria’s political environment must have observed that the Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, has for sometime now been pressed between a rock and a hard place. Let’s call his situation a state of siege but that does not properly capture the governor’s agonies. In fact certain situations are better relayed in vernacular in order to grasp their full import. Yoruba would simply but quite profoundly describe Amosun’s ordeal as idamu and Igbo would call it nkpagbu! Having got on this stormy ride (oko idamu) almost from the first day in office, the matter may well be said to be coming to a head as election approaches.

    Having endured for so long, the governor raised a plaintive cry last weekend, granting interviews in nearly all national newspapers in the land. It is half lamentation and half testimony of his travails and triumphs in office these past three years plus. You cannot help but feel his pain; especially so knowing that his troubles are in-house – a fratricidal fight if you like. It is a deadlier, more delicate kind of fight. It is like a dangerous insect perched on your manhood, you would swath it with utmost caution lest you destroy your very essence.

    This column feels for Governor Amosun; he must live daily with the fear that the rug is being pulled from under his feet. His media performance during the weekend did not stop the internal haemorrhaging in his political family of the All Progressives Congress (APC). On Monday, it was reported that another member of his state’s House of Assembly, Adijat Adeleye-Oladapo, had defected from APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). There were reportedly, about 2,000 APC defectors during Adeleye Oladapo’s reception in Ijebu-Igbo. Her move brings to five the number of the 26-member House that has decamped from Amosun’s ruling house. Also, his three senators and several House members are said to have shown him their back sides.

    One has not had cause to visit Abeokuta since Amosun took power in Ogun State but the story emanating from there is that he is not by any means a laggard. Indeed he is lauded as a great governor who not only thinks on his feet but who is also quick to the trigger. Well I took all that with a pinch of salt until I visited Ota early in the year and I could not find my way around any longer in a place I was familiar with.

    The upgrade of Ota town is the type I have never seen done anywhere in Nigeria before. Hundreds of ancestral houses must have been bulldozed; the width of the roads, their aesthetics and quality are simply breath-taking. To think that just one road in Ota was fiddled with for over five years by the previous government; to think that hundreds of ancestral homes, including shrines could be cleared in a matter of months and an ancient town rebuilt in what seemed like the speed of light is a testimony to courage, acuity and vision. But for me, the beauty of a revamped Ota is not the aesthetics of the fresh, glistening dual carriage boulevards; the higher beauty is in the art of executing a beautiful job from thought to finish seemingly, at the speed of light.

    Amosun’s interview is interesting and thought-provoking; it reads like the lamentations of an unappreciated man. But of particular note is the question about Chief Olusegun Osoba, elder-statesman, chieftain of APC and two-time governor of the State. What is the relationship between him and Osoba, he is asked? Osoba is his leader and remains so and indeed, there is no contest between them, he surmises.

    Why is it difficult to carry Osoba along, Amosun is asked? “I don’t know what you mean by carrying him along he starts…”The Osoba people dominate the current APC executive in Ogun State. They constitute 71 per cent of our executive committee… I am a peace lover and I will continue to reach out to all those who feel aggrieved…” Amosun pleads.

    Amosun’s woes are typical of the power plays between godsons turned governors and overbearing godfathers. But the bitter truth is that a governor is the head and leader of a state and there can only be one at a time. And a godfather must learn to be both an elder and statesman. Chief Osoba must extract himself from his Oke Mosan fixation and play the field at the national level; he ought to be a stabilising hand of a fledgling APC especially at this critical time in the life of the party. Surely he doesn’t want to be remembered as the Abeokuta champion but one of the grandee democrats who helped to establish a quality alternative party for Nigerians. One feels diminished seeing such retrograde antics as setting up a counter party to APC, (Action Group!) and such other infantile act as Egbe matagbamole! (Awon agba na won gbodo f’ara won wo’le!) to harangue and beleaguer a sitting governor. Finally, when the child acts childish, the elder must act elderly; that’s a Yoruba adage.

  • Hurray, Arthur Eze regains his sense of smell!

    It is utterly discourteous and outright uncivil (if not uncouth) that you invite a man to celebrate with you and he chooses that moment of joy and felicity to cast aspersions on you – using a microphone! What it means is that such a fellow is full of ill-will and he is not worthy of the friendship and company of decent people. Why, if he were your friend, he could have passed his odious message in a thousand quiet ways and achieved even better result if he desired result and not an opportunity to malign.

    This was the scenario last week in Umuahia during the celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the creation of Abia State. At the grand occasion, a billionaire business tycoon was quoted on the front page of a national newspaper to have said that the state stinks. Hear him: “Abia is stinking… right from the Abia Tower in Umuahia, the rot hits you. Abia State is now the dirtiest in the country. Garbage everywhere, along with bad roads. The people are really suffering and you see it in their faces. Are there no elders in Abia again? What are the senators, the members of the House of Representatives and other elected people doing…?”

    It sounds implausible that Chief Arthur Eze, who is naturally taciturn would speak in this manner in a public gathering but the statement was yet to be rebutted at press time. For those who have visited Umuahia recently, it surely cannot be described as the dirtiest city in the country, far from it. Having returned from the city recently, the fact is that there is hardly any garbage or pot-holes to be found on the city’s roads.

    There is no doubt that this statement ascribed to Chief Eze must be one of such on-going propaganda designed to malign the  governor. Watchers of Abia politics would know the source of the barb. There is no doubt that there is no love lost between the Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, and his predecessor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu. It is a fact that Governor Orji has done much to move Abia State away from an inglorious past that is better forgotten. The truth is that he has done more for Abia than all past governors put together. His performance surely does not go down well with his estranged godfather.

    But if indeed Chief Eze made the remarks credited to him, one would consider it quite salutary and good for the people of the Southeast because one never knew the chief to have been capable of perceiving foul odors. Judging by his business and politics, one could have sworn he had no sense of smell. This may well be a sign of great things to happen to Ndigbo.

  • The Boko Haram scandal

    The Boko Haram scandal

    Truth is like gold which, in its raw form, may look like any ordinary mineral. It however stands out of the pack particularly after it has been melted. Taking it through the fire of a goldsmith, therefore, does not diminish its value. It rather enhances it.

    Besides truth, two other major phenomena of life are generally taken for granted by virtually all human beings. One is privacy which is natural and of necessity. The other is secrecy which is artificial and devilish. Professional journalists often report the one with caution and the other with passionate disdain. Thus, while privacy enjoys the protection of the law, secrecy often   incurs the wrath of the law.

    That is why any attempt to pry into other people’s privacy is often described as an invasion of privacy. In a nutshell, every secret tends to be a can of worms that is ardently guarded against exposure by its custodians.

    The above assertion is now vividly applicable to the evil carnage called Boko Haram in Nigeria which has become a frightening spectre to all citizens. The current restive situation in the country which makes the continuity of the entity called Nigeria seemingly uncertain is a confirmation of an Arab prophetic maxim rendered into a poem many centuries ago. It went thus:

    “This is the time we had been warned against in the admonitions of Ubayyi Bn Ka’b and Abdullah Bn Mas’ud; a time in which truth would be rejected in its totality while falsehood and evil machinations would be audaciously held aloft; should this situation be allowed to thrive without check; there may no longer be any cry over the death of a beloved person or joy over the birth of a new baby”.

    Given a landmark revelation, last week, about Boko Haram and its alleged sponsors, the time in reference in the above quoted poem seems to have come to quarantine Nigeria in the enclave of the Lucifer. The revelation was made through a popular television station in London by one Dr Stephen Davis, a 63 year old experienced Australian international negotiator who was allegedly hired officially by Nigerian government to negotiate with Boko Haram on the release of about 276 school girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Bornu State. The innocent girls were abducted in their school premises on April 14, 2014, the following day that some heartless evil agents of the same insurgents bombed the crowded Nyanyan motor park in Abuja sending 77 innocent citizens to early graves in ‘hot blood’.

     

    Frightening revelations

    Davis, a former Cardinal of the Anglican Church, decided to blow the whistle this time around when he discovered that his contracted mission had become frustrated after meeting a brick wall. And that answers the most likely question that Nigerians may ask about the revelation: ‘why now?’

    Advancing his reason for coming up with the revelation now, the father of three children (all girls) said he could not imagine any of his children going through the agony to which the abducted Chibok girls were being subjected by the Boko Haram insurgents. He said that feeling was one of the reasons for accepting the negotiation contract in the first place. (Let us accept that fact for the purpose of argument). He regretted the length of time which the innocent Chibok girl have unnecessarily spent in the devil’s gulag and blamed it on the initial lackadaisical attitude of the government to the dangerous trend.

    In his narrative, Davis who had spent about four months in Nigeria pursuing the sensitively dangerous assignment disclosed that his frustration began when his rescue success was truncated 15 minutes before realisation last April. He gave a vivid narration of what transpired between him and the insurgents saying he would have succeeded in rescuing the first batch of 60 of those girls if the devilish insurgency body called Boko Haram had been united in one camp at that time as it is now. But, according to him, the body was divided into three different uncoordinated camps each struggling to assume the leadership of the sect based on the power generated through funding and supply of weapons.

    By his narration, Davis had completed his negotiation with one of the camps reaching a final agreement to release the 60 girls in the custody of that camp. But just 15 minutes before the release, another camp fortuitously stormed the place where the girls were kept and wielded them away. The thought, according to him, was that he (Davis) would commence a new negotiation process with the invading camp with a view to benefitting from any money involved. At that point, Davis gave up the hope of any success of his mission and left the country with a hint to the government that no such mission could succeed unless the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency were arrested and tried with a view to cutting off the source of funding the group. It was shortly after he left Nigeria that the different camps of Boko Haram united into a single camp under a single leadership. And that is what gave it the power to dare the Nigerian troops and acquire territories now designated Caliphate.

     

    Bokoharamgate

    In what may be termed ‘Bokoharamgate’ Davis alleged that the group’s funding largely passes through the Central Bank of Nigeria  (CBN) which technically makes it a legitimate transaction since it evades any suspicion. He asserted that some politicians and military men were solidly behind the rebellious insurgency called Boko Haram in the Northeast of Nigeria and even mentioned some names including those of a former Governor and a former Chief of Army Staff as forces behind it. (An interesting aspect of his disclosure is his exoneration of a former Presidential aspirant, General Muhammad Buhari and a former Minister of the federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai. The duo had been labeled the godfathers of Boko Haram by fellow politicians).

    According to Davis, one of the biggest suppliers of arms and military uniforms to Boko Haram is a Nigerian who lives in Egypt and receives money sent by political sponsors from Nigeria. He emphasised that the legal transaction of the funds is carried out with the help of the CBN. He added that the said official is a relative of three suspects of April 14 Abuja bombings that took 77 lives of Nigerians. In his words: “Meanwhile, the CBN official who handles the funding is an uncle to three of those arrested in connection with the Nyanya bombings. The three boys lived with him. They were arrested by the SSS (Department of State Security) after the bombings but they do not seem to have been interrogated about their uncle in CBN. Or if they have given up information about their uncle then the SSS has not moved against him… Also, a senior official of CBN, who recently left the bank, was very close to Sodiq Aminu Ogwuche, the mastermind of the Nyanya bombings who also schooled in Sudan. Boko Haram commanders said Ogwuche’s wife used to visit the top official in his office, at the headquarters of the bank, in Abuja before the Nyanya bombings”.

     

    The powerful cartel

    Davis who holds a PhD in political geography believes that “the political sponsors of Boko Haram are very powerful because they supply the finances and the arms. Until they are cut off from the group, those girls will not be released. We are talking of about 200 Chibok schoolgirls, but there are over 300 other girls that have been kidnapped. There are many young men that they also kidnapped and turned against their families. They asked them to go and slaughter their family members and they are doing it. Nobody is talking about those ones. They are the new child soldiers.”

    The expert mentioned repeatedly that the first thing to do to enable the release of the abducted children was “to stop the bagman who supplies weapons and military uniforms. We know his name, location and associates. If the man is stopped, the slaughterers, the ritual arm of the group, would be demobilised. The girls can be released afterwards. This man controls those ritualists.”

    If the above narrative is considered startling, then one can imagine the revelation that he (Davis) had hinted Nigerian government of the involvement of a cabinet Minister, some years back, when a former President (not Yar’Adua) was in the saddle. He said he hinted that former President that a particular Minister from the South-South in his cabinet was involved in the funding of Boko Haram and advised him to investigate the man, get him arrested and tried in a court of law.

    But, according to Davis, the ex-President rejected the advice on the excuse that such a trial could bring down his government.

     

    Genesis of Boko Haram

    It would be recalled that Boko Haram (Western education is forbidden) is not the actual name of the group that is now rebelling against Nigeria in the name of Islam. Its real name is ‘Jam’atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lid-Da’wah wal Jihad’ meaning: ‘Sunnah Congregation for Preaching and Strife’. The Group became known as Boko Haram because of its condemnation of Western education which it claimed to be the main cause of corruption in Nigeria. The name Boko Haram was given to the group by members of the public who were amazed by its strange preaching.

    Founded as a splinter fundamentalist Sunni group in 2002, the first leader of the group was Muhammad Yusuf, a Yobe-born cleric who resided in Maiduguri, Bornu State, where the dreaded Islamic group was founded. For the first seven years of its existence, Boko Haram was peaceful and forthright in its clerical activities except that it did not enjoy the cooperation of some other Islamic organisations in the region due to its method of preaching which was deemed abhorrent to others. Its violence tendency began in July 2009 when it had an encounter with Nigeria Police. Due to frequent complaints about the preaching methodology of the group, the Nigerian security agents began to monitor it with an eye of suspicion. And on a particular occasion when the group was returning from a cemetery where it went to bury the remains of one of its members who just died, its members were accosted by the Police who accused the sect of staging a public procession without official permit. Some members of the sect were arrested including their leader (Muhammad Yusuf) who was later shot dead in Police custody. The spontaneous reaction of the other members of the group led to the killing of about 700 of them by the Police.

    Ever since, there has not been any respite in the relationship of Boko Haram and the Nigerian Police. With the death of Yusuf, Ibrahim Shekau, his deputy, assumed the leadership of the sect. And under his leadership, the group continuously improved on its operational capabilities killing and maiming innocent lives and destroying all factors of progress in north-eastern part of the country. It was for the purpose of stopping that spate of destruction that some well-meaning Nigerians including this columnist have severally called for negotiation and possible amnesty for the insurgents. But some elements who had vested interest in a hidden agenda felt otherwise and the President accepted their opinion. Today, we can all see the result.

    If the current regime had adopted the late President Yar’Adua’s method of amnesty, perhaps the situation would not have reached this stage and so many lives would not have been lost. If Davis’ revelation is shocking those who are familiar with Nigerian security system will discover more shocking news in the fact that the last time that Nigeria really upgraded her military arsenal was 1982 when President Sheu Aliyu Uthman Shagari was in power according to privileged information.

    And if this is true what has been happening to Nigeria’s annual defence huge budgets for the past 32 years?

    Since 2011, Boko Haram has consistently maintained a steady rate of attacks striking a wide range of targets. Its trained agents have attacked politicians, religious leaders, security forces, traditional rulers and civilian targets. The tactic of suicide bombings adopted in the two major attacks in the federal capital territory on the police and UN Headquarters was new to Nigerian security and alien to the familiar mercenary culture in the West African sub-region. In Africa as a whole, it was only in Somalia that such tactic had been used by As- Shabbab and to a far lesser extent.

    And since early 2013, Boko Haram has increasingly operated in Northern Cameroon as an extension of its skirmishes along the borders of Chad and Niger. Such operations have been linked to a number of kidnappings, often reportedly in association with a splinter group called Ansaru, thereby drawing wider international attention to them.

     

    Questions

    With the above revelations coming from a federal government’s contracted expert why has the government not swung into action? And with the current situation in which Boko Haram seems to be waxing stronger, what next is in the plan of the Nigerian government for taming the monstrous shrewd? For how long are the kidnapped innocent girls expected to remain in the custody of the brutal insurgents called Boko Haram? And by the way, when will Mr President visit the region as an encouragement to Nigerian armed forces who are fencing off the Boko Haram further incursions into Nigerian? Should their efforts as well as the lives of thousands of the victims of that  obnoxious insurgency be in vain? There may be other questions for the government to answer on this highly embarrassing situation. Some of such questions may be raised in this column in the near future. God save Nigeria.

  • Politics, peoples and principles

    In the name of politics, people act in ways that raise the question “what principles motivate their actions?’ Then, of course, there is a not-too-strange-for-our-clime reaction: “in politics who needs principles?” For which a reasonable response is available: human beings do; otherwise we are no different than brutes.

    What is depressing is that the majority refuses to ask questions and we are all still prisoners of primordial attachments and sectarian affiliations. Break loose and secure a semblance of the freedom of the mind, which in the end is the most prized object of our humanity, and you become a suspect subject to mental evaluation. Political correctness runs amok and the irrational loyalty of tribal jingoists and religious bigots are ever present distractions of readers’ comments on many topical stories on the websites of our media outlets.

    A case in point: Question the propriety of invading states with the intimidating force of the military and the aggravating scenario of having them masked and you are immediately underwhelmed with a variety of responses, not a few justifying the practice on nothing but an unsound recourse to “my side is always right and the other side is never right.” And when the Chairman of INEC himself came up against the practice, was there a rethink on the part of those folks who saw nothing wrong with the practice? No. It makes the stomach turn.

    The need for principles in our politics cannot be overstated because just like vision, without principles, the people and the nation perish. And there is a difference between principled approach to politics and its tactical counterpart, though it is easy to confuse them. Almost all voluntary actions are aimed at achieving one goal or another and tactic is the chosen path or method of getting there. Needless to say, if the goal is devilish, nothing can make the tactic or method angelic. Just as a good end does not justify an evil means so a good means does not justify an evil end. And much of what we have in our politics is the combination of evil means and evil ends.

    We need a constant reminder that the ultimate end, the fundamental assumption, the principle of politics, especially democratic politics, is the good of the people. When monarchs fight over territories, they play politics, but not necessarily for the good of the people. Our advancement from monarchical rule in favor of the republican ideal is an indication of our belief that the people’s interests are the sole justification of whatever we do and their voices are pivotal to the recognition and promotion of their interests. We err irredeemably if we act as if we know more than the people what those interests are and how they ought to be promoted.

    Elections are the means or method by which the people not only register their interests but also choose how they will have them promoted and through whose instrumentality they will have them satisfied. Let us concede that even in matters so fundamental and so intimately connected to the people, they can be mistaken in their judgment about how or by whom. But that is their prerogative: to be mistaken. We cannot therefore justify the imposition of our will on them by appeal to the possibility, even probability, of mistakes on their part.

    By and large, elections are the means by which the will of the people is frustrated, violated and undermined. And much as it may have been cast in that light, this is not just an inter-party issue, it is also an intra-party phenomenon. Witness the demand for internal democracy within political parties. With elections, tactics trump principles for a good number of our political players, and because it has happened very often, even otherwise decent and morally conscious people take it as the norm. Coming in a variety of forms and shapes, it is anything but normal.

    With the fierceness of our electoral competitions, where the stakes are high, political tactics come into their full focus. While principles underpinning elections are about fundamental ideals of government by consent of the governed, tactics are the means of brightening the electoral chances of particular candidates. These may include such mundane ones like securing the support of political heavyweights or, in the case of a party, fielding popular candidates. These appear innocuous though the devil is in the detail.

    There are far more insidious tactics, including the use of de facto political power to intimidate opponents (with troops and police), the use of state funds to buy voters and starve opponents of access to funds, and most objectionably, the politicisation of ethnic and religious sentiments to divide the people with the sole objective of manipulating the electorate and having an edge.

    This has gone on for far too long with impunity. Many would maintain that the political parties are equal opportunity offenders, but the most daring culprit has always been a party that controls the centre. We don’t have to quibble over this because the evidence is copious from the beginning of the republic. Unfortunately it is getting worse and it is time that reasonable stakeholders, people of goodwill, think seriously about the harm it does to the psyche of the electorate and our long term interest in the deepening of democracy.

    The effectiveness of such odious tactics has always been an issue but it depends on the integrity of citizens and how much they understand the evil that the actions of the politicians do to the system. If they have a good understanding, it also depends further on how much they personalise the actions as an insult to their dignity, itself a factor of education and wellbeing.

    In 2011, candidate Jonathan rode high on the goodwill of the electorate who saw in him a fresh start with a transformation agenda. They also saw him as a victim of a gang-up by a section of the political class. But the honeymoon didn’t last before the realities of federal ineptitude stared citizens in the face. Increased insecurity, increased mass poverty, increased corruption and the regionalisation and spiritualisation of disenchantment have marred the transformation agenda of the president. In the face of these developments, the ruling party has effectively severed the relationship between politics and principles in favour of crude political tactics. Included here are such tactics as the recourse to the politicisation of religion, the manipulation of ethnic sentiments and the deployment of security agents for partisan advantage. So much for transformation!

    The few examples I cited are not unknown to readers. But someone would object that having observed that all political parties are implicated, I chose to scapegoat the ruling party. It is no scapegoating and there is a good reason for taking my samples from the practice of the ruling party. The PDP has ruled the country since the return of civil rule. Since 1999, states and governors have been at the mercy of the centre. The various agencies of government, including the EFCC, Police, Military, etc, have acted under the direction of the President, the leader of the ruling party, or his designee. A truly transformational agenda would have nipped the repulsive practices in the bud. Instead, the proverbial witch has only continued to breed more offspring.

    I have alluded to the common belief that the parties aren’t different and there may be some truth to it. But at the inception of the political parties in 1998, what was true and still is to some extent was that PDP was the party of the military, peopled by characters with no moral scruple about politics and people. They didn’t care about the evil that was visited on the nation post-June 12, 1993; they were into militarised politics and they had a shareholder mentality about politics, including a cut-throat competition for power for material benefits, with no enduring agenda for the common people. Fifteen years later, this leopard has not changed its skin a bit.

    I grieve internally for some of the genuinely decent and humane persons now taking a decision of a lifetime to associate with this group of devourers.

  • Boko Haram: Questions America must answer

    Boko Haram: Questions America must answer

    Apocalypse 2015: Is there any chance whatsoever that the United States of America might want Nigeria damaged or dismembered? What would be the motive? What would it profit the U.S. to have one more humanitarian debacle, another blood festival in another corner of the world? The war theatres of Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, Iraq and Central African Republic must be enough to sate the thirst of even the worst vampires. Bringing this lumbering giant, Nigeria, to ruins in a fratricidal religious war will do the world no good, not the least America. So why does everything seem to point to the fact that by omission or commission, America seems to crave the demise of Nigeria as currently configured?

    Let us state upfront that it is naïve, if not cowardly, to admit and surrender to the notion that the destiny of one nation could rest solely under the authority of another. But history is replete with cases and Ukraine is current history. It is also a shame, a surrender of sovereignty and an admission of failure to accept and capitulate to the authority of another sovereign entity but that is Nigeria’s current reality. Is the U.S. taking advantage of Nigeria’s structural, institutional and leadership ferment? There are numerous questions craving answers.

    And the first is: a U.S. agency had suggested nearly a decade ago that this entity known as Nigeria may fail by 2015. Knowing that the U.S. and most other developed countries don’t live by the moment, we must ask now whether there wasn’t much more to that dire prognosis than the rest of the world knew.

    Sambisa forest:  hashtagbringout-theamericans: Now, it must be that the American experts who recently came to help us either got lost in the Sambisa forest or they were on a different covert mission of their own. Which provokes the suspicion that the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast of Nigeria seems to have gained more ground, garnered momentum and become more audacious after the Americans practically forced their way to the forest last June? Remember the unprecedented global orchestration of the kidnapped Chibok school girls’ affair; remember how the American political elite had found a common ground over Chibok and how eminent leaders like John Mccain and Hilary Clinton had railed against Nigeria’s leadership suggesting there is a vacuum? Recall that Nigerians, including President Goodluck Jonathan, were relieved when the Americans practically forced their way into the Sambisa fray? We still remember that they promised to send intelligence personnel and sophisticated surveillance equipment and planes to help pick out the rascals from that ‘small’ forest area and rescue the girls?

    Where on earth are the Americans and all the ‘allied’ nations that rushed purportedly to help Nigeria rescue the Chibok girls and stem the insurgency? All we heard was that the Americans and the Brits were here to offer superior intelligence and spy wares. Not another word after that except the rumour mill which buzzed that the Americans had to leave in frustration as they could not live with the numbing corruption in our system. Really? That does sound mighty fishy doesn’t it?

    As Boko Haram rolls out the tanks of warfare:Is it possible that our friends merely sought opportunity for reconnoiter and to plant coordinate surveillance devices for future strategic uses? Is it not worrisome that the so-called Boko Haram has suddenly transformed from daggers, rifles and IEDs to rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), rocket launchers and armored personnel carriers (APCs)? It will not be a terrifically smart deduction that BH will introduce stealth jetfighters and bombers to the war next. Is it not strange that since the Americans ‘joined’ this ‘war’, the BH ‘army’ has grown from under-cover attacks of boys’ schools and herding away of young girls at night to overrunning a crack mobile police academy, chasing a battalion of Nigerian soldiers across the border, 80 kilometres into the Cameroons and declaring a Caliphate Republic of Gwoza within the enclave of Nigeria. Is it by coincidence that since the Americans ‘joined’ this ‘war’ in June, this rag-tag BH army now seems to be imbued with better intelligence, to be better organised and have persistently out-gunned Nigerian soldiers?

  • Challenges to peace-building

    Challenges to peace-building

    The words of elders are words of wisdom. If they do not materialise in the morning they will surely materialize in the evening”.

    The above quotation is a Yoruba axiom that can only be faulted at one’s own peril. Now that reasoning seems to be finding its way back to Nigeria’s base of power especially in respect of insecurity problem and its possible solution, it becomes necessary to take a realistic recourse to that adage.

    The news that President Goodluck Jonathan belatedly met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abuja last Wednesday to discuss the way out of the Boko Haram insurgency problem is a confirmation of that adage. Hitherto, sheer ego and whim of power had prevented that meeting even when sensible advice and suggestions were offered to the government by well-meaning Nigerians. Among such advice was that of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar the Sultan of Sokoto.

    Voice of Reason

    As far back as October 3, 2011, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), had delivered a lecture entitled ‘Islam and Peace Building in West Africa’ at Harvard University. When the lecture was published in this column a few weeks thereafter, it was re-entitled ‘A Voice from Harvard’. In the 33 page lecture, His Eminence enumerated the causes and effects of violent crises in the West African sub region with particular reference to Nigeria. He blamed such crises on three major issues: (1) political struggle for supremacy between the elite and the poor masses (2) bad governance on the part of the ruling class and (3) primordial ethno-religious sentiments. The most prominent of these three issues is bad governance which engenders corruption, joblessness, poverty, exploitation, suspicion and general bitterness in the land. Three years after that lecture, Nigeria is still in rigmarole searching for a possible oasis in a self-inflicted wild desert.

    For the benefit of those who did not read it at that time the lecture is being brought here again because of its relevance and the possible solution it may proffer to the multifaceted problems confronting Nigeria. An excerpt from the lecture is as follows:

    Impression

    “….Many people (outside our country) consider Nigeria as a theatre of absurd conflicts and interminable crises.  They may be justified in holding this view; with the Jos crises festering for years, with post-election violence and suicide – bombings, it is difficult to think otherwise.  When we consider Nigeria’s population of more than 150 million, half the population of West Africa, its over 250 ethnic and language groups, its regional and geo-political configurations, its landmass and its diversity in religion and culture, we may be constrained to reach different conclusions. Nigeria may, after all, be a paragon of stability which, as God Almighty has willed, shall undergo all the trials allotted it early enough in its national history.

    But in all fairness, systemic ethno-political and religious crises, like the ones we witnessed in recent years or are witnessing currently, do not have a long history in Nigeria.  They all began in the late 1980s, following the intense competition for power and influence especially among the western educated elite; the Kafanchan crisis of 1987, in Southern Kaduna, was quickly followed by the Zangon Kataf and other crises; all in the same vicinity.  The democratic dispensation, which began in 1999 also came with its own set of problems, the most visible being the Shari’ah crisis and the first Jos crisis which led to the declaration of state of emergency in Plateau State.

    Primacy of Politics

    But these crises, varied as they were, reveal the multi-dimensional nature of Nigeria as a political entity. We witness the primacy of politics in almost all these conflicts.  In the struggle for power and political supremacy as politicians exercise no restraint in aggravating the socio-religious and ethnic cleavages, which characterise the geo-politics of the Nigerian state.  It should not be forgotten that the second Jos crisis of November 2008 was also ignited by a botched Chairmanship election in Jos North Local Government.

    The second dimension to these crises, especially in Kaduna and Plateau States, is the indigene/settler dichotomy, which is yet to be addressed properly by the Nigerian state.  Many ethnic groups in these conflict areas see the other ethnic groups as foreigners who should not enjoy the full rights of bona fide residents.  Most of these disenfranchised Nigerians also happen to be Muslims.  However, those who oppose this dichotomy argue that these so-called settlers had spent more than two hundred years in the areas they reside.  Moreover, as Nigerian citizens, they have the full right to reside wherever they wish and pursue their legitimate business without let or hindrance.

    After all, they cannot be settlers in their own country.

    The third dimension of Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises is their potential to become a systematic national crisis.  When a person is killed in any of the areas of conflict, his co-religionists, especially in the cities react violently and begin to kill anyone they think is related to the killer(s).  This often triggers further reprisals from other parts of the country where victims come from.  It took a lot of effort by the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) which I co-chair, and other state authorities, to treat each crisis independently and reduce the risk of systemic reprisals.

    The fourth dimension of Nigeria’s crises is poor leadership and the bad governance usually associated with its management.  Many of those charged with authority in the states where these conflicts occur are also parties to the crises.  They make feeble efforts to control the violence and do so only when much of the damage has been done…

    “….The issue of poor leadership and bad governance also explains how the Boko Haram movement has been able to transform itself from a small Hijrah group in Yobe State, escaping from the uncertainties and contradictions of the Nigerian state, to a militant movement able to wreak havoc and destruction once provoked.  Those in authority were prepared to court the leaders of this group when it suited them and to trample on them like flies when they were no longer useful…However, the recent bombing of the United Nations Office in Abuja has introduced an international dimension to terrorist’s activities, a development, which is hitherto entirely new to Nigeria.

     

    The promise of dialogue

    “….When I became the Sultan of Sokoto in November 2006, some of the major problems I found on ground were the after-effects of the riots, especially in Kaduna, Jos and some parts of the North East as well as a disturbing atmosphere of mistrust, fear and hostility, especially between the leaderships of Nigeria’s two major religions: Islam and Christianity. To resolve these knotty issues, we chose the path of positive engagement, which we thought would engender meaningful discourse, improve communication and understanding and change the dynamics of our operating environment to that of trust and confidence…

    Role of NIREC

    “….The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) provided the right platform for this engagement. The Council, itself a product of Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises, was composed of 25 members each from the two religions and co-chaired by myself, in my capacity as the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The approach of NIREC was simple and practical. Firstly, we affirmed the sanctity of human life, Muslim and Christian, and insisted that anybody who takes the law into his hands, regardless of the circumstances, must bear the full legal consequences of his action.

    You cannot believe it, but despite the frequency of these disturbances, only a few people have ever been punished for perpetrating any act of violence. The masterminds go scot-free.

    Secondly, while appreciating the fact that we are required to look after the interest of our co-religionists, we must pay attention to the other dimensions of our conflicts. As many were preparing to declare a religious war in Jos, for example, we laboured hard to draw attention to the other dimensions of the crisis. It was a conflict between Muslims and Christians quite alright, but it was not a conflict between Islam and Christianity. When Nigeria’s President called for a parley among stakeholders, we made bold to declare the Jos crisis a political crisis. Thirdly, we adopted a tactical approach to conflict resolution. Whenever, there is a break-out of violence, we work together to restore law and order and ask the quarrelsome questions later. We take this approach to minimise loss of life and to ensure that the crisis is contained in the primary area it occurred.

    Also, we devised a quarterly meeting schedule that took us to all parts of the country. It was heartening to many to see us working together and preaching peaceful co-existence and religious harmony even in areas, which never registered an ethno-religious conflict.

    Recommendation

    I must point out that it was also our view that inter-faith action should transcend conflict resolution. For it to be effective, it must affect the life of the common man. NIREC floated the Nigeria Inter-Faith Action Association (NIFAA) to take up this challenge and NIFAA has been very active in the control of the dreaded tropical disease: Malaria. We also find that we must act together to address issues related to electoral reform, good governance and anti-corruption. I am also glad to state that the goodwill and understanding which these activities were able to generate, have given impetus to the development of inter-faith dialogue to a new level. I always remember, with happiness, the seminar organised by the CAN in April 2010, on ‘Knowing Your Muslim Neighbour’, where I presented a paper on the topic. The Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) gracefully reciprocated by inviting CAN members to its formal meeting in Kaduna, where the CAN representative gave a lecture on Islam in the eyes of a Christian and both Muslim and Christian scholars, gave inspiring responses on the scriptural basis of mutual co-existence. Despite serious setbacks in recent months, many of us remain committed to this positive engagement and to the promise that dialogue offers the resolution to Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises.

    Looking ahead

    ‘’…Understanding the multifarious nature of Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises should strengthen our resolve and determination to deploy all the energies and resources at our disposal to see to their resolution.  Our inability and reluctance to take meaningful action go to challenge not only our common humanity but also our self-worth.  It is, therefore, important for us to appreciate, first and foremost, the importance of consensus building within the polity, with a view to ameliorating the current state of political polarization in it.  The Nigerian political class must be able to speak and understand one another as well as to develop a minimum national agenda to chart the way forward.  The political class must also be able to open dialogue on a variety of national issues, including the perennial problem of power rotation and willingly enter into agreements that they can honour with dignity….

    Governance

    “….Also, governance, at all levels, must translate into tangible benefits for all Nigerians, regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation.  Nigeria has the resources to make life more pleasant for its people.  It is equally imperative to address the poverty problem as well as the needs of the youth population both in all the geo-political areas of the country.  In a situation where over 50 per cent of our population is jobless at less than 19 years of age, we are definitely sitting on a time bomb much deadlier than that of Boko Haram unless we take urgent action to defuse it….

    “….Furthermore, there should be renewed determination to address both the Jos and Boko Haram sectarian crises.  The Federal Government must take seriously its security responsibilities and effectively contain these crises.  But beyond that, a genuine dialogue must be initiated, to begin healing festering wounds and to bring genuine understanding and reconciliation amongst the entire people of Plateau State and beyond.  The social dimension of the Boko Haram cannot also be resolved by the mere use of force.  This is the reason why I have consistently suggested dialogue and education to counteract its message, especially those aspects dealing with modern education.

    Millions of Muslim pupils are already outside the school system.

    Millions more will definitely follow if urgent intervention is not undertaken to enlighten the younger generations.  And the question I have always asked is What kind of society can we build in the 21st century when our youth turn their back on science and technology and are unable to produce the next generation of doctors, engineers and other specialisations necessary for sustaining the socio-economic development of the society?….

    Conclusion

    “….Finally, we should not neglect the impact of the international environment on Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises.  Happenings in the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Norway, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France are as current and relevant as events in Jos, Maiduguri and Abuja. We must preach international tolerance and moderation. The fight against extremist groups should never be perverted to become a fight against Islam and its doctrines.  We should all remember that in the final analysis, it is not what the perpetrators of violence do that really counts.  It is the actions we take, individually and collectively, that would (eventually) shape the fate of humanity….”

    Now, with this new development, in which a volunteer for negotiation is being granted governmental authority, the hope of redeeming Nigeria from impending disintegration may be rekindled if the motive is not political especially with the 2015 elections becoming fast-approaching.