The Nation Newspaper

Category: Dayo Sobowale

  • Language, terrorism, and global peace

    AN observation by a devout Muslim friend on the latest Manchester bombing after a youth concert that left 22 innocent people dead and 50 others wounded, provides the essence of today’s rumination on the above topic. Whilst condemning the horrible bombing and noting rightly that radical Islamists had penetrated British and Western society, he concluded loudly that Britain has not seen anything yet to which I asked him if he was celebrating the bombing.

    He flew into a rage and closed the conversation which somehow I am resuming here to day. The basis of that resumption of the closed argument is to show that the use of language matters in any discussion and undertaking. This is especially so in any discussion on suicide bombing and terrorism and strategies aimed at combatting and deterring both, if we must make the world safe for our peace of mind and the pursuit of prosperity, which is necessary for our collective welfare in the very shrunken global village we now live in.

    To say that the British have not seen anything yet implies in that context that they are getting what they deserve or reaping what they have sown. Which is not only unfair but is a merciless, cold blooded judgement of a nation reeling from mindless murder which happened in Manchester this week.

    That makes the question of whether the speaker was enjoying the spectacle pertinent even if deemed offensive or mischievous to the speaker. More directly today, however, we look at how various world leaders aside from my friend have reacted to terrorist bombings, killings and mayhem in recent times including of course the latest bombing incident in Manchester, UK. We shall look first then and again at Barak Obama’s speech in 2009 at Al Azhar University in Cairo and compare that with that of his successor Donald Trump in 2017 this week, to an audience of leaders, kings, and sheikhs of over 50 majority Muslim nations in Saudi Arabia. At home, we look at how the Lagos state Governor has made Lagos safe for road users and those doing business in Lagos by a decision stop daily road ‘terrorism’ on Lagos roads this week and its immediate effect. Let me say clearly at the beginning that I do not question the attitude of those who feel good in showing a brave face and doing business as usual after the gruesome killing of innocent people by terrorists.

    Indeed I appreciate their goal of not being seen as afraid of the terrorists or making the terrorists feel fulfilled that it has stopped their way of life or tarnished their values. Which really is the way of thinking in Europe and the US nowadays and which is distinctly different from the reaction of the Middle East nations including Saudi Arabia which is ‘an eye for an eye’ or in modern parlance, immediate and commensurate retaliation.

    Ironically, both the passive other cheek turning in Europe and the US as well as the retaliatory approach of the Arab states, home states of Islamic state terrorists, have not deterred both terrorists and suicide bombers. I must say here that I hold suicide bombers on a higher pedestal of terror from other terrorists because a person ready to die in the process of killing others is a far more dangerous prospect for humanity than a whole army fighting to overcome any opposing force. Let us now go back to both Barak Obama and Donald Trump and their speeches in the Middle East on terrorism and Islamic militancy eight years apart and their import on global peace.

    Barak Obama spoke at the beginning of his presidency in June 2009 just as Donald Trump is doing at the beginning of his in May 2017. Obama told his Arab audience in Cairo that the US and Islam are not in competition and that Islamic scholars have contributed historically to human knowledge through Algebra, the discovery of the magnetic compass and other sciences well before the Renaissance and Enlightenment in Europe. He admitted that he is a Christian, born of a Muslim father in Kenya, who attended mosques in Indonesia with his step father and knows that Islam and Christianity preach peace and that the Middle East should embrace peace and condemn violence by fundamentalists. Obama’s speech earned him the Nobel Peace prize for peace even before any reaction to it in the Middle East.

    When the reaction came eventually it was the Arab Spring of which removed dictatorships in Tunisia, and the whole of North Africa ending with the removal of Gaddafi in Libya and the toppling of Housni Mubarak in Egypt from the ensuing Tahrir Square of uprising. Obama‘s speech in 2009 galvanized a momentum for change to democracy in the Middle East and French President Sarkozy and the British PM then, David Cameron paid solidarity visits to the area to support demonstrators aiming to uproot dictators based on Obama’s Cairo speech. At the end of Obama’s two – term presidency however the Army had returned to power in Egypt and Islamic state terrorists had taken over Libya after fleeing the war in Syria and Obama was to lament that removing Gaddafi without making provision for the aftermath was the greatest failure of his administration.

    Which was similar to the removal of the Saddam Hussein regime by the Bush Administration and British PM Tony Blair without making an arrangement to replace him with a strong man. Instead Bush wanted to build a democratic state in a power vacuum and played into the hand of Iran whose Shia Muslim came to power in a democratic game of numbers only to be violently and fatally resisted till today by the minority Sunni minority with huge military skills and experience under the long Saddam Hussein regime. The result was the sectarian violence from the Middle East spreading all over the world during the Obama presidency to raise Boko Haram in Nigeria and the rise of a leader like Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential elections. Now what did Donald Trump say to 50 majority Muslim nations in the Holy Land of Islam? He called on them to do business with America and asked them to condemn Islamic Radicalisation by driving out extremists in their midst and funding a learning centre that teaches how to fight jihadism and radicalization.

    Talking of Islamic terrorists, especially Islamic state, he told his high profile Arab audience – drive them out of your communities, drive them out of your Holy Land, drive them out of this earth, drive them out. To me Trump spoke the correct language to the appropriate audience that can really call Islamic terrorists to order and what did he get in return?. First the approbation and approval of the Sunni Muslim world led by Saudi Arabia whose King Salman gave him the highest honor of Saudi Arabia. At home he got the derision and abuse of the US press which has not forgiven him for calling them fake news.

    To drive home the point of western and US media contempt for Trump, Obama was given a media award in Germany which he received on the same day that German Chancellor gave audience to the new US president during Trump’s trip to Europe. Of course a Nobel Prize proposal for Trump will be rubbished by the US media. Yet time will judge who really deserves this peace prize between the pacifist Obama who left more violence behind than he met, and a terrorist driving Trump who got a prize in the Islamic holy land by asking Muslim leaders to put their house in order first, in confronting and driving out the terror malcontents in their midst. We look next at the issue that I have branded road ‘terrorism’ in Lagos state which is not bloody like suicide bombing but is also as debilitating to those at the receiving end of it.

    The Lagos state Governor Akinwunmi Ambode stopped the state vehicle inspectors from stopping motorists in Lagos and the traffic flowed as if a blocked and cancerous artery has been pierced or removed from the human body bringing life – enhancing relief. The good Governor similarly asked the Federal Road Safety Corps to move to the surbubs and not stop motorists on the highways. This has prompted the FRSC boss to question the language of the Governor in asking the menace of FRSC staff to quit his legal domain of authority. But it is the FRSC boss who should mind his language and indeed keep quiet on the matter.

    This is because both the Vehicle Inspectors in their now hateful black and white attires and the FRSC in their brown and claret, have become at sight even from afar, dangerous signs of fear, disturbance and apprehension to Lagos road users who have learnt to have their vehicle particulars ready, but are not immune to the ‘go slow‘ traffic always created by these two group of vehicle inspectors who ambush Lagos motorists at areas which traffic go at its fastest, so they can create bottle necks and have their fill of vehicular inspection, for which offenders pay dearly into private pockets on a daily basis. It is therefore rather kind and responsive of the state governor in the overall public interest of road users and commuters who earn their living by moving on Lagos roads on a daily basis, to remove the ‘terror’ of the road which these two vehicle inspection outfits have made of themselves, to the chagrin and vexation of the Lagos road users and public transport commuters generally. Once again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Fighting terrorism with trade, development and energy

    TWO diplomatic shuttles, a trade conference and a new energy source under the sea, this week‘ fire our imagination and dictate our discussion today. The premise here is that the world is fighting for its life, security and safety against Islamic militant terrorism, and world new leaders as well as old, are evolving strategies to deal with the menace right before our eyes and once and for all. My task here, which I confess enjoying, is to break down the motives and goals of these strategies and evaluate them in terms of the interests of the global players as well as the overall welfare of the world at large. Rarely do such interests and global welfare and peace coincide , but one must appreciate the efforts of those nations and leaders who are looking for new ways and ideas to make the world safer and more secure for humanity which we all claim to be a significant and notable part of. Let me break the ice by stating the two diplomatic shuttles carried out this week in the best fashion of the old Kissingerian working diplomatic shuttle of the Middle East, during the Nixon era.

    France’ s new President Emmanuel Macron’s first visit was to Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor and thereafter to Mali to visit and cheer up France’s troops fighting Islamic insurgency in that African nation, and that means a lot for the global fight against Islamic terrorism. Next was Donald Trump’s first trip abroad to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican which analysts have described as a visit to the sources of the three major religions of the world namely Islam, Judaism and Christianity and also a visit tailored to nip the scourge of terrorism right in the bud. In China, the Chinese government hosted many nations to a trade conference premised on the theory that when nations trade they do not have time for war or terrorism. China revealed its plan to recreate the Old Silk Road that merchants used in ancient times to expend trade between Europe and China and China has a huge and expensive plan to build roads, railways, ports, bridges and modern infrastructure along the old routes starting with route along Pakistan, Tajikistan and Bangladesh. In addition there is the news that Chinese scientists have discovered an energy source called ‘flammable ice‘ in the ocean floor under the South China Seas and have found a way to activate it and make it the newest energy source of the future. Which gives China huge technological leap as well as a psychological boost over the US and EU nations in their historic quest to find new energy source to use to dominate the world and ultimately rout out global terrorism. We go back to the Macron diplomatic shuttle to Germany and Mali and the import of that to Macron’s presidency and the fight against global terrorism.

    While I commend the new French president for highlighting the importance of the fight against terrorism for his new Administration , the importance of Africa in that global fight is not original to him and is not an innovation . It was a path begun by the duo of Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande in a Franco- German collaboration that fizzled out when terrorists attacked Paris and French cities bringing Hollande’s focus home and costing him his presidency with those who accused him of foreign adventurism at the expense of French Homeland security. As for Germany, Chancellor Merkel went to Kenya on the rationale that once terrorism border states are economically viable to care for refugees and migrants fleeing wars and insurgency, migrants will not flee to Europe and across the Mediterranean in their thousands as they do at present. Both French and German leaders Hollande and Merkel have paid a steep political and electoral price for this economic development model to fight global terrorism. But the new French president was elected on a huge platform of change that gave him power as a political greenhorn on a scale that has been branded the second French Revolution and he has resumed where his successor and Germany left off.

    This can only send a clear message to the ISIS, the Tuaregs and Insurgents fleeing from the law in Libya, and crossing the Sahara desert with impunity to wreak havoc and terror across the north of West Africa and the Sahel that their time is up. Definitely such miscreants and nuisance terrorists include Nigeria’s Boko Haram which has resorted to the deadly use of 15 –year old girls as suicide bombers to spread havoc in the former North East, especially Maiduguri, and its environs which lie mainly in a large but sparsely populated Sahel of Northern Nigeria. Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia has a different implication to the Macron Mali visit.

    Trump is in Saudi Arabia for business and the Saudis are enchanted after they gave Obama the cold shoulder for the Iran Nuclear deal. America clearly shows with Trump’s visit that it is paying lip service to the global fight against terrorism and it is playing a game of divide and rule between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two nations leading the sectarian feud between Sunni and Shia Islam which are at logger heads with each other, with each claiming the other is the major supporter of global Islamic terrorism. Similarly the trips to Israel and the Vatican have no import for world peace or the fight against terrorism . Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu never had it easy with Obama but is at home with Trump whose son in law is a Jew and has been asked to negotiate between the Palestinians and Israel. He will certainly support Israel’s interests over and above that of the Palestinians thus fuelling unrests and insurgency in the Palestinian territories and war in the entire Middle East. Similarly, the visit to the Vatican is a futile exercise in reversing the trend of a Vatican approbation of gay rights secured by the Obama Administration which muscled the last Pope on the pervasive misdemeanor of American Catholic priests and Bishops on pedophilia on which the Catholic Church paid huge funds to make its priests escape prosecution.

    The present Pope is already facing resentment from his College of Cardinals on his liberal views on homosexualism and gay rights and he is not likely to be persuaded easily to change his mind, least of all by an American president whose views on migration are diametrically opposed to those of the present Catholic Pontiff. With regard to China it seems that unfolding global events are fortuitous enough to make China the next global power economically and technologically in succession to the US faster than expected. The emergence of Donald Trump and American obsession with Russian interference in her last presidential election has thrown the US political system into a political decay which has not allowed the US to have a workable and identifiable global foreign policy. In addition Donald Trump’s cancellation of the Asia Pacific Trade deal started by Obama has given China the grand opportunity to showcase its plan for taking over global trade through its resuscitation the Old Silk route linking China with Asia and Europe with the development of infrastructure along the Old Silk Route. Critics have branded China’s Old Silk Route plan as a new form of colonization.

    Some have even said China is acting out of desperation and need, because it has excess capacity in terms of engineering, construction, steel and cement. But there is no denying that these are growth and developmental assets that are the envy of the world and China is trying to make hay while the sun shines. It is taking the bull by the horn to promote trade and use that to take the leadership of the world, which is a workable and admirable strategy based on peace and not war or exploitation. Luckily Nigeria has benefitted already from the Chinese global plan on infrastructure development even though we are not on the Silk Route, old or new. The Chinese Construction and Engineering Company is busy on the ten lane Lagos Badagry Express Way with a railway line in toe. CCEC is linking Lagos Island with the Orile End of the Mainland for mass transport connection to relieve traffic congestion in the Mega City of Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria. That is a great relief for Lagosians whose state population is really the largest in Nigeria although our census figures repeatedly give a larger population to some Northern towns located in the arid Sahel zone of the North. Anyway Lagos has gained from the global view of the Chinese that trade discourages war and terrorism and that can only frighten Boko Haram the more. Once again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Misogyny, politics and religion

    TODAY, we seek refuge in history and religion to illuminate the past and shed light on the present state of global politics. Three events will dominate our thoughts and draw us to the logical conclusions. The first was the conference of leading women leaders in the US where Hillary Clinton who lost the 2016 US presidential election to Donald Trump, attributed her election loss to the intervention of the FBI boss James Comey and misogyny, the hatred of women. The second was a decision of the Russian Parliament or Duma to decriminalize domestic violence early this year and the role of the Russian Orthodox in that decision as well as the umbrage in the West over the legislation.

    The third was the lecture titled ‘The Challenges of the Church in the Current Climate in Nigeria ‘delivered this week by Professor Dapo Asaju, Vice Chancellor Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, to mark the 150TH Anniversary of Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, this week at Muson Center, Lagos. Let me make some initial comments on the three events as they will be the compass of my analysis and direction of arguments therein. First, Hillary’s attribution of her loss to the FBI boss in the timing of announcing new investigations on her e- mails is a correct, albeit indignant statement, and that has been aggravated by the insistence of the FBI boss this week at a Senate hearing that he had no regret on both the content and timing of the intervention a few days to voting in the presidential elections last year. The blame on misogyny too is correct in a way but that was a self – inflicted fatal wound on her presidential ambition. Next, the issue of domestic violence showed clearly that the Russians who had earlier succumbed to western pressure to criminalise domestic violence, changed their mind on the grounds of parents rights and authority and based on a Russian adage that if you beat your wife you love her, an anathema in present day Western civilization.

    On the 150th Anniversary lecture of Christ Church Marina Professor Asaju opened a Pandora box on the state of Nigerian Christianity, and Anglicanism and boldly called on Nigerian Christians to fight the onslaught of Islamisation of the entire nation by powerful forces in power. These then are the guiding lights of my discussion of the topic of the day. Starting with the misogyny charge laid at the doorsteps of the American electorate by Hillary and her applauding same sex audience, it is not only sheer crying over spilt milk but milk spilt through the arrogance of misguided sexual orientation, that put family values, well beneath feminism.

    The feminism spirit that gained ascendancy in the 20th century gathered more momentum in the 21st century especially with the emergence of a popular figure like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the powerful role of Germany in rescuing the EU nations after the global financial melt down of 2008. But that has its price as EU nations paid a steep price for German funded bailout in terms of lost sovereignty and national pride.

    The climax of EU anti – German frustration was the massive Angela Merkel- led migration quota to accommodate migrants fleeing wars in the Middle East which created the xenophobia against migrants in Europe leading to Brexit. Also there was the anti – Merkel, Trump presidential campaign that won the American race in an obvious backlash against the strident anti -Trump feminist attacks in the US media over his past escapades with women. In laying her charge of misogyny Hillary also confessed that unlike Trump she could not campaign that everything in Washington should be thrown overboard because she was committed to defending the Obama legacy, which included the land mark Supreme Court decision legalizing gay rights which Obama too boasted also as a major achievement of his administration.

    That too had its huge price exacted by the males in the American electorate as well as ardent Christians and even the large Latino Catholic voters who said that even though they hated Trump they voted for him because they know he will not go the way of the Obama Administration whose policies Hillary was sworn to follow and beholden to.

    These then are the reasons why Hillary’s charge of misogyny holds water albeit in a basket, because her sex had largely irritated and alarmed a large part of the US electorate with feminist rhetoric and tantrums for a large part of the presidential campaign. Compare this American feminism with the stance of the Russian Orthodox Church on domestic violence as well as the history of Eastern European civilization and you will eventually see a clash of civilisations between Eastern and Western Civilisation. This is obvious from the reasons given by the Russian Orthodox Church in supporting the Russian Parliament decriminalization of domestic violence.

    The Russian Church noted that Scripture and Russian tradition regard ‘the reasonable and loving use of physical punishment as an essential part of the rights given to parents by God himself. ‘The Church insists it was wrong for parents to face harsher charges for hitting their children than a neighbor would face on doing the same. According to Maria Mamikonyan of the All Russian Parents Resistance Movement – The family is a delicate environment where people should sort things out themselves .In addition a woman senator in the Russian Legislature Elena Mizulina argued for decriminalization on the grounds that a man who beats his wife does less harm than a woman who humiliates her husband and that the most important thing is to maintain‘ authority in the family ‘The Russian view point certainly tallies with what obtains in most Nigerian and African cultures yet it is the western and American version of human rights and feminism that was being introduced in Nigeria, before Hillary lost the election as some lawyers in Nigeria took to Motor Parks to lecture drivers on domestic violence.

    Even some old Nigerian wives suddenly showed up in Police stations accusing their husbands of forty years of life long beatings just to disgrace such husbands on the guise of human rights and feminism. According to reports many Nigerian husbands in the US have fled home to Nigeria abandoning estates and property to Nigerian wives who have used feminist rights in the US to criminalise domestic rifts and make their husbands culpable in such environments. Which really is a pity and may really be sufficient ground for Hillary’s claim of misogyny in losing her election, is such Nigerian men were Americans. Lastly, I take on Professor Asaju’s lecture on the current climate in Nigeria. The lecturer did not spare even the Anglican hierarchy as he made a sweeping condemnation of the state of things in the Nigeria’s political and religious environment. Indeed the opening prayer at the event said by former Provost of the Cathedral, Dr Yinka Omololu, was a sign of the thunder to come from the lectern of this brilliant Nigerian Bishop, educationist and theologian.

    Taking a cue from the title of the Opening hymn – Faith of Our Fathers – Dr Omololu asked for forgiveness for the Church for having abandoned the faith of the Church and its founding fathers for worldly things. He asked for God’s mercy on the crass materialism that has taken over the leadership of the Nigerian Anglican Church. Of course the lecturer took over the baton from there in a marathon, blistering, intellectual tirade on the poor performance and lack of leadership by emulative example that has been the bane of our economic development as a nation. He commended the concept of Anglicanism as excellent but its implementation as suspect and inefficient leading to migration from it to other denominations founded by former Anglicans.

    He asked the Church to improvise and be flexible and revert to some doctrine that allowed speaking in tongues .He resented, with contextual history, the allegation and question that the Anglican Church was founded on adultery and fornication. He recounted the role of Henry the Eigth in the historical saga of his divorce which the Pope rejected , leading to his forming the Church of England. Prof Asaju insisted that this was a dispute between the Church and the state and Henry the Eight was the state but this did not affect the doctrinal standard or liturgical direction of Church so formed then which was the forebear of the Anglican Church in Nigeria.

    The lecturer told Nigerian Anglicans to resist the Islamisation of Nigeria with prayers and all the means they can muster to protect the Anglican faith. In particular he was full of praise for the leadership of Christ Church Cathedral Marina which holds its Feast of Dedication, a sort of birthday of the Church tomorrow at its 9 30am matins. He praised the pioneering role of late Bishop Ajayi Crowther who brought Christianity to Nigeria especially the Eastern part of the nation and the Niger Delta. Yet Ajayi Crowther was discriminated against by the Anglican authorities in Lagos and was always posted out because he was a senor bishop to expatriate clergy in Nigeria. Asaju insisted that the burial site of Ajayi Crowther should be venerated and designated as a National treasure in Nigeria located as it is in the premises of the Cathedral in Marina.

    The professor brought the bible used in enthroning AjayI Crowther to the lecture, as well as the compass he used on his travels, and the pen he used in translating the bible to various Nigerian languages. The lecturer told the moving story of the Captain of the ship that rescued Ajay Crowther from a slave ship being present at his enthronement and giving him the bible he brought to the lecture. Of course it was difficult not to cry and the bible became a center of attraction as we all struggled to take pictures with it. In all, Prof Asaju said he had not brought any solution to solve Nigeria’s many problems. But in sensitizing our leaders to our collective shortcomings he blazed a trail in which direction we should look for solutions and that was more than enough. I doff my hat therefore to a preacher, a committed prelate and lecturer who has the gift of the garb and knows his onions so very well. Once again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Religion, Colonialism, and power

    To  say  that religion   is  the root cause of the present global  violence in the world  today  especially  in the Middle  East  where migrants are fleeing to Europe  for dear life is no exaggeration. To  insist  that colonialism  had  a hand in the origin  of this debacle  too  will   not   be  an understatement.  To  further  argue  that the leading world powers  are using   such  religious  violence   to further  their  own  political  agenda  to dominate the world in their  own  way  is also  a logical  deduction. Yet  in spite  of all   these   prognostics,  religion  has  been,  in the past   even  till   now,   an instrument of order,  peace  and  love as preached  by   its founders. Yet,   colonialism went hand in hand with religion in several parts of the world to mould and build    tribes  , fuse  and merge cultures,  to create  many of the different  and diverse nations of the world,  as we know  it today.

    For  the purposes  of today’s  topic  it is necessary to state   some home truths  before coming to the necessary  and inevitable  conclusions. Brexit, Donald  Trump  and  now  almost Frexit  came about because  of the early  forays  of the Europeans to get  power  to dominate  and civilize  the world their own way. Colonialsm made  citizens of colonies proxy  citizens who spoke the language of their colonial  masters and adopted  their  ways of life. That  is why migrants  are  fleeing  instinctly  to the land of their former  colonial  masters   today  mostly   and nowhere  else. The  fact  that such migrants  are coming   at a time  that ISIS has declared  war on the west and has vowed  to create  a global caliphate has  made it difficult for Europeans to accept these  migrants as mere  victims  of war. Europeans fear  these Muslim migrants  as potential  fifth columnists or a Trojan horse  that will slaughter Europeans for ISIS  once  they are granted asylum as they  had  no intention of integrating  or  assimilating in the first  instance. This  is what we  non Europeans have labeled  xenophobia and the more liberal  Europeans have condemned,  while  nationalists  and populists have argued that it is time to  take back   their  lands  from foreigners  and strangers.  This   again    is  what  has  degenerated  to  testy and vicious  voting across  Europe   in elections   and   referendum  like Brexit and  lately in  France  where the two  front runners  like  Emmanuel  Macron  and  Marine  Le  Pen  do not belong to the established  parties  and Macron  especially  has never  contested  for any election  before. This  has been called  a second French Revolution by the media and  it is really  a political earthquake.

    The  personalities of the two  French  presidential  candidates   and their  lifestyles  are what I will  use  to  illustrate  todays’  topic and  show the relationship  between contemporary religion, the  legacies  of colonialism  and power.  Emmanuel  Macron  the French presidential  candidate  is married  to  a woman 24  years  older  than  him. Marine  Le Pen  lives  with  her partner and they  are  not married in the way  we  know it in this part  of the world. Such  ways  of life  are  an abomination in our  part  of the  world where same  sex marriage  is a taboo. Yet  in  France if either Marine Le  Pen  wins  or Macron   does, either  will  be the first and most powerful  citizen  of  France. A  situation which    does  not bother  the   French but is certainly  unthinkable  in the US . Yet  the US  under  the Obama Administration tried  to muzzle some African  nations like Lesotho  and Uganda over their anti gay marriage and  legal  rights  by asking them  to cancel such  laws or  forfeit the foreign  aid they  had always given them.  It  is notable  that African  nations  like  Nigeria stood  their  ground  and when Obama snubbed  Nigeria on his only W African  visit   to  Senegal  the Senegalese told  him clearly that  they  have nothing to learn  from the Americans on gay relations as it is an anathema  to their way of life. This  then is where  the issue  of the Anglican  Church  of  Nigeria comes  to mind  in the way it objected  to the ordination of gay bishops by  American  Episcopal  Churches  while the Head  of the Anglican  Communion then  turned  a blind  eye  to the  occasion.  It was left  to the last  Nigerian  Primate but one,  Peter  Akinola  to do battle on behalf  of the   global   Anglican  communion  and  insist  till  now that  homosexuality is not  part of the teachings  of the bible.  To  a large  extent  that  view  has  prevailed  to the chagrin of the British, our  colonial  masters  who  have since  gone on to  legalise  gay rights in  their   nation   beset  with  huge problems of   failed   multiculturalism, radicalization, and now xenophobia resulting in  Brexit  and a greatly  divided nation.

    Yet  the same  British  colonialists taught  us the art of governance  as their colonial  subjects and even  though  since Independence in 1960  we have gone our separate  ways as sovereign nations   we  do  not for now have much  to show for their tutorship in good governance  and responsible   transparent  leadership.  Our  present existence as a nation remains  a loud legacy  of British Colonial  administration  and   a huge testament    to  how   successful  they  have been at  how  to  manage  our  affairs   as we  have  done  so  far  to  the detriment   and   suffering of  our  masses    who  are resigned  to  inhuman  and  unending  poverty  in  the midst   of  gigantic  oil  wealth  which  the rich and powerful   have  plundered  successfully  into  their  private   pockets It  is however  poor  consolation for us as Nigerians to say that the British  are  being punished  for misguiding  and  misleading us with   the new  problems  of  migration, radicalization and Brexit.  We  too as a people  since  independence  have  largely  been  the architect  of our  general  misfortune.

    Anyway   as the saying goes  there is no cloud without  a silver  lining   and  this  is the concluding part of our  story  today. The  150th Anniversary  Celebrations   have begun  Lagos   in  Lagos for  Cathedral  Church  of  Christ,  Marina,    where  I worship  and I  cannot  hide  my joy and that  of the clergy  and congregation of  that  ancient  Cathedral  at  the occasion.  The  Cathedral  at  Marina   is the  oldest  in  Nigeria  and has  been  a source  of joy  and pride  to Nigerian Anglicans  since  it was founded  in 1867.    The   foundation stone was laid by  the  Colonial Administrator then John   Hawley   Glover  who  noted  rather  casually  and  patronizingly then as  a colonial  Christian   and  master,   that the establishment of the  Church would  civilize  a people  ‘oppressed by superstition, robbery  and  violence ‘. That   was 150 years  ago    but    the world  has moved  on since.

    Nigeria  today  is a leading member  of the global  Anglican  Communion and great  Nigerian bishops,  and prelates  have preached sermons  globally   and  at  the illustrious  Christ Church  Cathedral, Marina,   which  has great choir  comparable   to   that  of  St  Paul’s  Cathedral Choir  in  London  just  as the quality of service, chanting of psalms and singing  of hymns  by the Cathedral  congregation  are  of no lesser  quality.  I use this opportunity  to  pay tribute  to great  Bishops  of   the  Cathedral   like Bishops  Irunsewe  Kale, Festus  Segun, Archbisop Abiodun Adetiloye, my favorite  Bishop,   and  Provost   Sope  Johnson, my friend and  favorite Provost, who  was in charge  of the Cathedral  for  25 years.  I  salute   the  present   Cathedral   Bishop  of Lagos  Adebola  Ademowo    and the new  Archbishop  Fape    from  Remo,  as  well  as our  new  Provost  Bola  Ojofeitimi.   Although  a relic of colonialism, the Anglican  Church  has  done more  than any other religious  institution in Nigeria  to make  education  the instrument  of economic  growth  and  development   and the Cathedral  on the  Marina  was   a starting  point  150 years  ago.    That   certainly   is highly  commendable and worthy of celebrations. Once again long  live the Federal Republic of  Nigeria and  long  live  the  Cathedral  Church  of Christ Marina Lagos  at 150.

  • New measures of strong leadership, stability and certainty

    Britain’s PM Theresa May stunned the British people and the world at large in our global village by calling for a most unexpected election on June 8 this year after having said earlier at a program long forgotten that she would not call for an election until 2020.

    Her announcement coming just after the power consolidation referendum won narrowly in Turkey by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the French presidential elections this weekend threw our mind back to the importance of elections in any democracy.

    Elections simply the all important democratic ritual needed to take or reclaim power or lose it totally in that simple political process of seeking power from the wishes of the voters or electorate and that really, is the essence of democracy. Theresa May has therefore thrown hat into the ring and is challenging all other political parties to accept the challenge to compete and grapple for power on June This is because she is confident the time and the mood of the British nation is ripe for her to consolidate a good majority for her party, the Conservative Party.

    She did not mince words in saying that the leadership of the major opposition Labor Party is in shambles and cannot lead Britain confidently into a post – Brexit future. However it is the language and words that she used in her new election announcement that shall command our attention today.

    In her speech at 10 Downing Street, she said Britain needed stability, certainty and strong leadership to see Brexit through and she needed a fresh mandate to provide the strong leadership to accomplish that. Which I found very brave and see as a sign that she believes her party and herself have done enough to be returned massively to power and Parliament in the June 8 elections.

    Which is also a great gamble but based on a very educated guess which I hope may not misfire as the Brexit vote did to her predecessor who had to relinquish power because of the failure of the Remain campaign on which he had based his political life and office.

    He lost both, and his successor is now making even a greater gamble based on her party’s reading of the mood of a rather moody British electorate now even edgier and more nervous after the harsh reality that Britain has indeed parted company with the EU.

    All the same I find Theresa May’s confidence of chances of renewal of power in a fresh mandate admirable and commendable. That to me is the stuff of leadership based on performance and delivery on promises made to the electorate.

    Certainly no leader or politician who has failed to live up to the expectations of the electorate will abandon the safety and security of tenure of office and power to risk such power in an election at which anything can happen. is in that light that we look today at the concepts of stability, certainty and strong leadership used by the British PM to sell her leadership and party to the British electorate in the forthcoming June 8 elections in Britain .

    We shall look at what these concepts mean nowadays and what they portend in the face of the contemporary challenges facing our world today. In short for Britain what do they mean in the context of migration, security and ultimately Brexit as well the long shadow of Donald Trump’s recent emergence as US president ?.

    In Turkey, what do they mean in the face of Turkey’s role stemming the flow of migration to Europe from the Middle East and that nation’s long application to join the EU . In Nigeria what are their import in the quest to defeat Boko Haram, fight corruption and keep the nation united and on the path of growth the face of a nagging recession ?.

    Also what do they mean for the French as they elect their president tomorrow and the polls show that Marine Pen would at least would qualify on the first ballot. Giving the jitters to Muslim French citizens that anti migration policies would take the front seat in French politics if she wins in a France that has largest Muslim population in Europe.

    Starting with ‘Britain Labor Leader Jeremy Corbyn has already taken on a quaint Trump disposition and mantle of being anti-establishment and has raised the spectre of political correctness that Trump used successfully to defeat Hillary. Corbyn has boasted he will win against the ‘rigged system ‘in favor of the rich on the simple reason that the Conservatives and the media don’t expect him to lead Labour to victory because he is not one of them.

    That doesn’t sound like a strong and confident leader certain of victory on June 8 or his leadership of his party thereafter. But Donald Trump looked and sounded like that at the outset of his campaign. For now that leaves Britain without a credible and alternative leadership in the elections and puts Scotland which is at odds with Brexit in a quandary on dealing with Theresa May’s stance on no going back on Brexit. It also firmly places the issues of migration, integration and multiculturalism on the laps of the Conservatives to deal with as they seem fit and that is something someone like the Mayor of London, a Muslim would never find palatable.

    Such problems need to be nipped in the bud in this coming election before they bring the British political system, anchored on political stability by its ageless constitutional monarchy with the saying that -with the Queen in Buckingham Palace, every Briton sleeps well I in his bed, to its knees. After last week’s victory, Turkey’s President Erdogan appears the quintessence strong leader of modern times trying to garner political stability for his nation.

    But he has used strong arm tactics to mobilise for power in a democracy and has no succession plan or second in command, in case anything happens to him. That means that Turkey’s political stability is personal to him being alive long enough. The military in Turkey however bears him a grudge on secularity and their eroded role as guardian of Turkey’s democracy. Erdogan must perpetually watch his back as he has murdered sleep in Turkey and cannot like Macbeth, sleep again. Turkey’s history is revealing on that score.

    The Turks took over the Muslim Caliphate even from the Arabs because they are a highly militaristic people. According Gibbons‘ Fall of the Ancient Roman Empire‘ the Turks took over the Ottoman Empire because as the Caliphate leadership became military and the Turks were militaristic in nature, they dominated and took over the leadership of the Ottoman Empire and Caliphate. That is some piece of history for Erdogan to ponder on as he reconsiders Turkey’s membership of the EU and hopes to return the death sentence, which EU membership forbids.

    For now he holds the ace on the EU, especially Germany on the threat of flooding Europe with desperate migrants if Turkey’s membership resolved immediately. But Turkey is still a member of Turkey’s generals hold important positions in that military and institution. It remains to be seen how they react to their new president while they retain their positions and all important military arrangement now threatened with political contrivance.

    For now Turkey may look stable, strong but its future under Erdogan is dicey with the moody the military casting a long shadow that is quite ominous least. In the French elections of tomorrow if Far Right Marine to the next round it would mean that France will eventually of Brexit and Trump. That would be sad for a France that of Liberty, Freedom and Equality and the French Revolution which taught the world a bitter lesson that the rich should poor too far behind if they hope to survive. But then the the U-turn would be obvious.

    The first is terrorism , then then lack of integration and the growing political power French citizens and most importantly unemployment. Both socialists and communists have proffered political solutions over but those have not deterred terrorists enough to guarantee and security of French citizens. Le Pen offers a strong leadership to control influx of foreigners to make France safe Trump promised and won on the promise to make again in the last US elections.

    The signs are very much there highly egalistic France has become so security conscious that seeking refuge in a xenophobic future and a strong state and Pen , albeit a woman , may be the choice of the French solution in this 2017 presidential elections starting tomorrow. Lastly we look at Nigeria in the context of these ideas so far in other lands. Undoubtedly Nigeria has a strong leader his earlier military leadership of the nation.

    Yet the nation fast enough on the path of stability and certainty. The reason difficult to see. Our President is sick and a sick president treated and healed to move the nation forward. That is not enough to say America’s FDR- Franklin Delano Roosevelt- on wheel chair when he led the US and the Allies to win World War. Even then, FDR was president from 1933 to had better health facilities even then than Nigeria today has no duplicate and our health facilities are poor Nigerian leaders have learnt to go abroad for treatment As late Bisi Onabanjo, a former governor said on a return overseas medical treatment, life has no duplicate. So we must president to be strong enough to finish Boko Haram enough to take on the Senate especially in the daily struggle separate powers between the executive and the legislature war on corruption afloat and going.

    The recent probe of NIA are signs that the Presidency is able and willing enough the war on corruption through. We wish the president the health because it is only when he is well that we can in our beds. Like the British have always said of their again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Our President is sick and a sick president needs to be treated and healed to move the nation forward.

    That is the truth. It is not enough to say America’s FDR- Franklin Delano Roosevelt- was on wheel chair when he led the US and the Allies to win the Second World War. Even then, FDR was president from 1933 to 1945, the US had better health facilities even then than Nigeria today and since life has no duplicate and our health facilities are poor and dormant Nigerian leaders have learnt to go abroad for treatment for dear life ’ ’ 08022467644

  • Flip – Flop diplomacy, security and democracy

    WHILE the US media is making merry with the embarrassment of the new American president’s double talk on his campaign promises and his actions on the diplomatic scene this week, a governor in Northern Nigeria Mallam Nasir el Rufai took his fight on transparency and accountability to new heights when he insisted that his state does not distribute public funds the way the National Assembly is famed for dealing with such funds.

    Tomorrow in Turkey, that nation goes to the polls in a referendum that will decide whether the Turkish people will continue with their Parliamentary system or change to a presidential one in which they already have a clear grasp of the flow of such political power and usage under President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan who is driving the change to executive presidency. Which was what Nigeria too was changed to by the military from our Parliamentary democracy at independence in 1960. Also in the greatest threat to world peace in recent times, North Korea through its leader got more hawkish in its threat to annihilate the US with nuclear weapons.

    The N Korean leader seem undeterred but even more belligerent as global media showed a US war ship on the high seas sailing ominously towards the vicinity of North Korea in the Pacific. Donald Trump, new US president met with the NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg this week and said that NATO was no longer obsolete as he has said during the presidential election of 2016 in the US. Earlier, he met with the Chinese President Xi and announced that China and the US are now getting along and later hailed the Chinese for stopping a consignment of coal import to China from N. Korea as a sign that China was teaming up with the US on sanctions to deter N. Korea from staging missile tests, one of which is scheduled to go on today. Just as the US Vice President Pence is due in the Pacific today for trade and security matters on the N Korean threat. Yet during the campaign Trump singled out China for underhand practices on world trade which he threatened to stop if elected.

    Donald Trump’s supposedly diplomatic hiccups are not as horrible as the US media has portrayed them in recent times but for the bias against his victory and new, if macabre diplomatic leadership style . When he started rolling out executive orders on Obama care and migration as he promised the same media jeered rather than cheer him and when the courts stopped his migration ban on 7 Muslim majority nations the media applauded to high heavens. It is therefore to be expected that any deviation from campaign promises will be derided massively by such quarters and that is what has happened on NATO and China. But one can still point out to such biased media and organizations that Trump is showing crass diplomatic pragmatism different from what we have been used to and such realistic diplomacy is more engaging and inclusive than the Engagement Diplomacy of Obama and Hillary which froze up relations with Russia and threw the Middle East into turmoil with the 2011 Arab Spring which ended up as a diplomatic tragedy for those seeking democracy at the instigation of Obama in those heady days. Any way, diplomacy’s major realistic dictum is that in diplomacy there are no permanent friends or enemies but permanent interests and Trump seems on a right path that is tested and well known with his so called diplomatic flip flops.

    Let us now go back to Kaduna State governor’s challenge and indictment of the use of security votes and its disclosure by both state and National Assemblies. The Governor is doing a salutary and civic duty on behalf of all Nigerians who clearly do not know how much their elected representatives earn and how much is spent on security by our rulers. Indeed the general belief is that security votes are sacrosanct and are not to be revealed. That was until the Buhari Administration came to power and investigations revealed that huge funds meant to fight Boko Haram had been diverted to fund the reelection campaign of the last Jonathan Administration. It is in the light of that, that Nigerians are following keenly the security vote disclosure and public funds usage challenges, between a sitting governor who has revealed his security budget and the National Assembly which has not followed suit, but is accusing the governor of insufficient disclosure. Which in this instance is not only diversionary but begging the issue.

    It is the duty of the National Assembly to debunk the challenge by the Kaduna State governor that his state does not swallow public funds like the National Assembly. It is an odium of lack of accountability and transparency that our revered legislators should cast aside by simply putting their earnings and emoluments in the domain of public opinion from which they rode to power in both the luscious red and green chambers of the National Assembly. Turkey’s referendum tomorrow is a romantic story of how democracy and popularity can be mobilized to consolidate party and personal power. Turkey’s President Erdogan has been PM before and his political party has won three back to back elections as a very Islamist party in a Turkey that is constitutionally secular with its secularity guaranteed by the military as decreed by Kemal Ataturk who founded modern Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. Erdogan has tamed the military and thrown former generals into jail.

    A failed coup last year gave him another opportunity to clean the politics of Turkey as he jailed security officers in the army and police, journalists and academics randomly for the botched coup. Now he is ready to consolidate his leadership and legitimize his presidency when he wins tomorrow the change of the constitution to a presidential one, which is most likely and one can only wish him and the Turkish people good luck as they aim after that to pursue their nation’s membership of the EU which has been elusive for almost 60 years now. One cannot but compare Turkey’s new steps in the direction of presidential system with those of Nigeria under military rule. The military in changing our constitution from parliamentary democracy to executive presidency then, wanted to consolidate power and make governance easier. It never however bargained for the extravagant tastes and accountability values of both the Nigerian politician and even the gullible electorate. Now our presidential system has become so corrupt and expensive that we all clamor for our past regional system of governance and parliamentary democracy which was more people oriented and open than our enigmatic and self serving presidential system which has made our leaders wealthier beyond their dreams and our people poor beyond redemption. Yet this is what the Turks will be voting for, all things being equal, tomorrow. Surely one man’s food is another man’s poison. Once again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Credibility, security and prosperity

    SOME Nigerian protesters in Abuja reportedly claimed that the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives should be allowed to do their work without hindrance by the executive arm of government which is the Buhari Administration which came to power in the 2015 presidential elections. Similarly in the British Parliament Opposition leader Corbyn railed against the visit of the British PM May to Saudi Arabia which he accused of using British arms and ammunition to commit mass killing against defenceless civilians in war- torn Yemen, leading to a humanitarian tragedy of gargantuan proportions.

    In the Middle East the new US President Donald Trump at last acknowledged that the US has sent missiles to the sources of chemical weapons used to kill Syrians by the government of Bashar Assad , thus emphatically reversing the Middle East policy of his predecessor whose red line for the Assad regime was violated while the former US President Barak Obama indulged in rhetoric and hand wringing to the consternation and anger of a keenly watching civilized world .Also in the US, the president Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi to dinner even though he has admitted expecting a difficult hosting of the Chinese strong arm because of what he called Chinese stealing of American jobs. On the surface these raised issues look normal and innocuous and should not lead to any raised eye brows. But that is not really the case.

    This is because they are issues bordering on the topic of the day namely credibility, security and trade. The topic provides their context as they cannot exist in a vacuum which nature diligently and naturally avoids. Elucidating on that fact therefore is the kernel of our discussion today. Starting with the pro National Assembly protests, to the British PM’s reply to the Opposition leader as well as the return of American arms to the battlefield in Syria, dominated on Assad’s side by the Russians and the missiles attack threat posed by North Korea to global peace, we shall show today that credibility matters in leadership and politics and that trade and prosperity can only blossom in an environment that is safe and very well secured.

    We go back to the pro-National Assembly protests and call them a massive and failed charade which is not shared by most Nigerians. This is because the National Assembly has feet of clay in terms of credibility and leadership and Nigerians have not lost their memory over how the present senate leadership evolved and the many charges for corruption that the senate president is facing and pursuing in the law courts.

    In spite of these, he has not resigned his position to clear himself of all charges as should be expected in any mature democracy. To claim now that the existence of the National Assembly is the only measure of our claim to be a functional democracy is a fallacy because the members of the National Assembly are tenured representatives of their various constituencies and have no locus as representatives of their own personal and selfish interests, which seems to be their rationale for representation in our funny and bizarre democracy today. That surely is not acceptable to most Nigerians who also concede that the senate must function but definitely at best like a disabled institution given the albatross of corruption charges on the neck of its leadership.

    The senate must do its work without hindrance from the executive but the legislature must know it has a credibility problem arising from the emergence of its leadership and learn to accept the dictum in law that he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Surely credibility matters in matters of state and governance and no pro legislature protests can change that in any democracy in any part of the world including our very own Nigeria. At the British House of Commons the Opposition leader Corbyn accused the PM Theresa May of ignoring the human rights record of Saudi Arabia and paying a visit to a regime that has no regard for human and feminine rights. The British PM, to me gave an eloquent reply by saying that she was going to Saudi Arabia to secure British business interests and to create more trade and prosperity for the UK as Britain cannot be on the sidelines of global business sniping like dog whilst the traffic of world trade passes it by.

    On her visit to Jordan she said that by helping Jordan through trade and improving its economy, Jordan would be enabled to take care of migrants fleeing to Europe and the UK and that too would mellow down the threat of lack of integration of Muslim migrants fleeing wars in the Middle East and exacerbating the security dangers that Europe and Britain are facing from the dangerous and unprecedented influx of refugees nowadays.

    That again appears like nipping the refugee problem in the bud and is comparable to the earlier visit of Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to some African nations bordering Somalia, like Ethiopia and Kenya, to help such nations’ economies so as to stem the tide of refugee influx to Europe at the source. Such moves are pragmatic, diplomatic innovations that can only make for a more secure world not only in Europe but also in the nations and societies that the mass of migrants are bolting from, for dear life. With regard to the US missile attack on the facility in Syria, – the Shayrat airbase – from which the plane that dropped chemical gas on Syrians took off , it seems to me that the US has restored its credibility with both friends and enemies in the Middle East.

    Especially with the opposition in Syria which applauded the strike and the Russians which called it an act of aggression against a sovereign nation Syria, which Russia fully supports. But then the Russians were told about the raid by the Americans but they did not send any plane to stop the Americans . The UK naturally has supported the American missile attack which is expected to deter the Assad regime in Damascus against future use of chemical weapons. The Trump presidency has thus restored credibility to American foreign policy and Middle East diplomacy which was highly fractured by the Obama’s foreign policy of highlighting American values over the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime and just doing nothing to deter a repeat.

    This is what the Trump government has done and I give it kudos for making the Middle East safe by just one act of punitive deterrence over the potential or real use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, or any government in the Middle East for that matter. Predictably when the US President Donald Trump hosted the Chinese President Xi he was at his best in public relations.

    This was in spite of the fact that he campaigned on dealing with China for its well known unfair trade deals. He went on to say he would look for reciprocity in dealing with the Chinese on world trade. But he should be cautious because the Chinese are the biggest global investors in US treasury bills or treasuries. If reciprocity means an eye for an eye, which is Moses’ law then the Chinese too can play the ball of reciprocity to the detriment of US business and economic interests. With regard to trade imbalance and stealing of American jobs the new US president needs to be tutored on the concept of outsourcing which he has labeled job stealing. It is American companies outsourcing jobs to China which has a huge population.

    Outsourcing is just about buying skills you don’t have and it is a hard nose business decision with the goals of efficiency and profitability driving it and that surely cannot be called job stealing. Anyway, the Chinese President Xi told his American counterpart during this week’s visit that –‘we have a thousand reasons get China- US relations right and not one reason to spoil China – US relations ‘The Chinese President later invited Trump to visit China. For now both Trump and Xi are credible world leaders popular in their nations and that is good for world trade and security. Better still, global peace will get a boost if both can use their new found amity to formulate a strong policy that will deter the rogue regime in North Korea that is, like ISIS, threatening the entire world with annihilation and disturbing our collective peace of mind. Once again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • ‘Re -traditionalisation‘, globalisation and politics

    The  topic  of today may  look like that   of a wordsmith or   a lexicographer both  of which  I   cannot  really  disown.  In    truth however  they  are  quite  royal  in origin conception  and  adaptation  for our analysis  today. The  copyright to  Re traditionalisation’  belong   to the illustrious Obi  of  Onitsha, HRM  Nnaemeka Alfred  Ugochukwu Achebe who  delivered a  public lecture   titled ‘  The  Traditional  Institution  in the Modern  Nigerian  Society ‘ at  the equally  illustrious Yoruba  Tennis  club at  Onikan, Lagos  this week . I  went  to the  lecture   as  a member  with  the utmost  suspicion  about the choice of the lecturer,  his ethnicity,  the   venue  as well  as the    relevance  of  the topic  to any  modern  society. My  skepticism  stemmed  from  the  notion in my head that even  though  culture matters,  progressive societies look  forward  to change  and  innovation  for human progress  and development  while  traditional  societies extol the past and customs  which  are  antithetical  to human progress. Well, it turned that the  Lecture opened  my  eyes  like  Saul  of  Tarsus  on  the way  to  Damascus. The only difference is that I am  resolved  not to be an  apostle  of tradition like  Saul  went on   prodigiously  about  the  gospels,  but   to  bring to  the  attention  of   Nigerians the  danger  they  are in by  the  ‘re- traditionalisation   of  our  polity‘.  The  Obi  used  the  word, innocuously  I presume,   to  show   that  the  traditional   institution   has  been  extolled   by  the  military   as an  instrument  of order, peace and stability  in our  nation  as far  back as 1994   by  late  General  Sanni  Abacha.  In  this regard  the military    has  contributed  immensely  to   the  number  of traditional  rulers nationwide. Which   to  me,  is  a  most  revealing  but    alarming  encirclement  of  our traditional  institutions,   politics  and society  by  the military  which   now  seems   to  have   simply  shed  its military fatigues  and braid  hat  to  take  over  our  politics  by  other  means, this  time  through traditional  rulers.  Which   is no exaggeration  as it is an open  secret  that our legislatures  at Federal  and state levels  are peopled mostly  by former  military  governors  who have  served two  terms  as civilian  governors  and gone further  in their political career  by turning up again  as  two  term  senators  in our powerful  senate with the red carpet of immunity  from prosecution,  well  laid  out for  them all  the way.

    The  professorial  Obi  of  Onitsha   at  the  lecture   affirmed  that  the  Traditional  institution  suffered at  the hands of the  military  in Nigeria more  than  with the elites before  independence who, he noted with the help  of hind sight, could  now be said to have been involved in a struggle  for   succession of power after the  exit of the  colonial masters even  though  the traditional  rulers  were portrayed  as unprogressive then.   The  Obi  said  this even  as a former military  governor of  Lagos state was  making his entrance during his speech .He  then went on to  read  a quotation very  appreciative of Nigerian  culture  and  asked  the  audience to  name the author while promising to reward the winner with,  wait  for it,  a hundred naira!. Even though the task was   unclearly unrewarding, the wordings of the quotation were progressive for social  development and I thought  the Nigerian  sage, late  Chief  Obafemi Awolowo could have easily  been  the answer.  But  I was  wrong  the  answer  was  unbelievably  the most  vilified  and  most corrupt  military  leader  in  our history, the late  General  Sanni  Abacha   who  spoke  at the at  the Inauguration  of the National  Constitutional  Conference in Abuja on 27 June  1994. The  Obi then  concluded quite  gladly  and very  satisfied –‘ thus  even  the armed  forces became converted  to appreciating   the place of the traditional  institution in the country  But  they  have gone  beyond appreciation  by offering some of their finest  officers  to occupy  some  of our most revered thrones  in the country  today. He  then  listed a frighteningly  majestic  list of the of the present  occupants of  our most  coveted palaces  and   temples  of culture nation wide, nine  of   them  in  Sokoto, Egbaland, Lagos, Twon Brass, Zuru, Okpe, Jos, Gwandu, and  Awka,    amongst  many  others.

    This  was the kernel  of the majestic intellectual  analysis  of the topic  of the day  by the Obi  of  Onitsha, a  former  Shell  Executive  Director comparable   in  every  sense  to the new US  Secretary  of  State who  was  the  boss  of  oil giant  Exxon  Mobil, and  who  is expected  to bring his wealth of experience  including his  friendship  with the new US no1  global  enemy  Russian President  Vladmir  Putin  into  play  to ease Russo  American  relations  which  nosedived during the Obama era. Indeed  the  Obi  of Onitsha brought  in  the term ‘globalization’  and  the  current  anti – globalisation mood   of the new  US  President  Donald  Trump  when  he  quoted  a 2010 perception  study  by Professor Sylvanus J S Cookey and  four  other academics  ,to  buttress  the fact  that the Nigerian traditional  institution is at the peak  of  popular  acceptance and  approbation compared with other periods since colonial  times. The relevance  and  acceptance were  found to be due to  ‘a  combination of factors such  as the counter reaction to globalization, the  declining confidence in our modern political  institutions,  and  the rising  caliber  and  leadership abilities of the  emerging traditional  rulers‘.  According  to the sagely  Obi, ‘the traditional  institution has  shown  resilience  by  being  adept  at  adapting   itself  to its changing   circumstances  while holding to its core custodianship of the  customs  and traditions. The institution has successfully  re- invented  and renewed  itself  at  every  critical  period  by  ‘running fast enough  to stand  still ‘ That may  sound  like the  strategic  management  vocabulary mockery on  lack  of change inherent  in the phrase – commotion  without  motion –  but   this  makes the ability to adapt and  survive in spite of all odds  the  real  meaning  of change. It  reminds me of the story  of the oak which  stood firm  against  a violent storm  and was  uprooted, whereas  the  feeble  reed  which bent  in the direction  of  the storm,  survived.  Surely  the phrase – running  fast enough to stand  still –  has  benefited the Nigerian  traditional institution  far  more  than the rest of society in the  stormy world  of  Nigerian politics.

    This  too was  well  illustrated  in the quality of education  of the present  crop of traditional  rulers in the nation. The  Obi of  Onitsha quoted  a statement  by  a member  of the Central  Council  of Ibadan Indigenes [CCII ]Chief  Adeniyi  Akintola SAN  that  said – ‘if  you  look at  the current  members  of the  Olubadan in Council, you  will  discover that they can make any  faculty of a university. They are  accomplished bankers, engineers, businessmen and  academics. That  is  the trend  now‘. Which  really  is a major institutional  change  that can only lead to social  progress and development.

    More  importantly  I  find  two  issues  the brilliant  lecturer   discussed  candidly  about the  past  and the present, very  educative  for  our federalism  and  the present  clamor  for the restructuring of our nation. The  first   was  the colonial  administrative  concept  of  indirect rule and  its legacy  on our  system  of governance. The  second  was the suggestion by the Obi  that it should be put in our constitution that traditional  rulers  should  not  be involved  in partisan  politics.

    The  Obi  to me  highlighted the fraud  in the colonial  policy  of indirect rule which  he said was somehow  successful in the North  before being  imported to the south  because of lack of Administrative manpower  on the part of the colonial administration. The Obi attributed  the success in the North to the fact  that there  was a highly  centralized traditional  institution on the grounds  that  fits the administrative  design  of the colonialists. I  add  to that the fact that religion  of the major  part of the North was and  still  is  Islam  and the traditional ruler  was both  the political  and religious  leader  and that made administration  quite easy  and unified. In    fact  the Obi characterized Indirect rule as a form of re- enactment of the well  known saying that  the hand is the hand of  Esau  but the voice is that  of  Jacob. He  noted  that this policy  failed in the West because  the traditional systems  there had  their  own political checks  and balances on their Obas  which the colonialists ignored  and which  the Obas  as native  authority  exploited for selfish  reasons  with the connivance of the Colonial  officers. In the  East which  was largely  republican and  diversified, Warrant  Officers were imposed who were  highhanded  and corrupt, again with the connivance of the colonial  masters . Which  really showed  that large  differences existed  in the culture of ethnic groups  in the nation at  amalgamation in 1914  which  really need to  be ironed  urgently  and  peacefully as  the  results  of the indirect rule  and policy of saying what is good  for the goose  is good  for  the gander is  creating more tension in our polity  than  the anticipated unity  of purpose in the infamous indirect rule policy of Lugard.

    The  Obi’s  recommendation  of keeping traditional  rulers  out of politics will  be controversial  to some  traditional  rulers who think  that they must  have a  say in telling their  people  who  to  vote for. But  the Obi’s  views  tally  with  those  of the  Awujale  of Ijebu Ode, Oba Sikiru  Adetona  who told  former President Goodluck  Jonathan on a  presidential campaign visit  that he is  father of all his people and he cannot tell  them who  to vote for. But  the  Obi insisted  that the traditional rulers  must  be insulated from  politics  by government  support. This should  come in the form of constitutional  provisions to protect  the traditional  rulers from ‘undue meddling and interference by the  political elites  and  moneyed  class  ‘This  is a pragmatic  suggestion  and  given  the caliber of the present set  of traditional  rulers in terms of education and social  achievements, this  is  something they  can see through themselves  for the benefit of both our culture  and  politics.  Lastly,    and  in  spite  of my friend  Bambo  Ademiluyi   calling me  a republican   at  the end  of  the lecture,  ostensibly     because   of his royal  background  and  bias  in favor  of   monarchies ,       I    thank  the  Obi  for an exhilarating    and  awakening lecture on our  emerging   political    culture  and    development    .  I      also  agree very much with him that  ‘ Lord  Lugard  and his band of colonialists  are having a rethink   in their  graves ‘  on the progress  of the traditional institution in modern  Nigerian society today . Once  again long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria .

  • Political culture, legality and terrorism

    The    spirit   and  practice of the laws governing  various  political  systems  as well  as the reaction of constitutional  institutions to  each other  in the interplay  of politics,  arrest  our  attention today. Whether  it is in the refusal of the  Nigerian Customs  boss to appear  before the  nation’s law  makers  or the judge stopping US President  Donald  Trump  from  carrying out his executive  orders on the ban on Muslim  majority  nation’s  citizens  entering the US   I   state  categorically  that the two  issues  are birds of the same feather even though they  occur  in different locations  but  are tempered  by the political  culture  of such environment. The  same  can  be said  of the very  British  approach  in terms of law  and order in the handling of this  week’s  lone terrorist crushing  of pedestrians on Westminster  Bridge and the stabbing of  a police  officer  on the premises of the oldest  Parliament of Democracy in the world in London. As well  as the testimony of the FBI  boss  James  Comey  in the US  Congress  that the  Russians  were loud  about  their cyber  hacking to influence  the  US  2016  presidential  elections  because  the Russian  president  hated Hillary Clinton  so much  and wanted her opponent  to  win  that election.

    Let  me  now usurp  as it were the much  respected powers of any  Supreme  Court  to announce judgments and give reasons or  whys  and wherefores  later,    by    stating   my stand  on these   issues   and    minimizing    your  suspense,   by   giving my reasons    later.

    Starting with  the Nigerian  Customs  boss I  postulate   that   it is  unthinkable  to  have a    boss  of a para military  establishment    like    the  Customs unwilling  to appear anywhere,  not even  before the Senate, without  his  uniform.  Next, the  legal  obstacles  that the new US president  faces are more  political than legal  and  cannot  stand in the face of unpredictable and unexpected security threats   such   as the US  lap  top ban  on    some  airways, joined  by the  UK where the latest  macabre terrorist attack  took place this week. That   attack  which  closed  the House  of Commons albeit  for  one day showed  the  clear   difference between the cool and calculating  way  the British  handle terrorism in sharp contrast to the noisy way  the Americans  do  similar  things   on  the excuse  of transparency  and freedom  of expression  at  the expense of security . Lastly   I  think  the  US FBI  boss  Comey   has spoken inadvertently  from  both  sides  of  his  mouth   and  in  the process  shaken  the credibility  of the US intelligence community and  made  it a laughing stock for  the Russian  president  Vladmir   Putin ,who was a spy, a  career KBG agent  in the former  USSR  before he became President  of  Russia. Let  me  now  proceed  with my analysis  of these events regardless  of how welcome or  annoying  my verdicts  on them  appear  to you  for  now.

    Starting  with  the refusal  of the Nigerian  Customs boss  to  appear in  uniform before the Nigerian  Senate, I  see  a clear  case of  abuse  of  office on the part of the Custom  boss  and a clean case of lack  of  respect for  revenue  collection  and border  monitoring  on the part  of government that  appointed  him. Customs  job  has always  been a uniform wearing profession that is paramilitary  because the personnel  bear arms  to desist  and arrest smugglers,  real and potential.  Such  a para military  force should not be led by a man with disdain and contempt  for their uniform  which  should be a source of pride for such men under  arms. To  seek  refuge now in a court  case is not only  funny  and   handy  for   not appearing in uniform   before  constituted   authority    and  indeed  as a matter  of courtesy  for the highest  office  in the Customs    profession,    it is also a clear case  of making not only an  ass of the law  but a   very  mischievous   and dubious monkey  of it. It  is very serious  breach  of public  discipline and mode of public  appointments and government should  find a way    to  regain   public respect and trust which  this event  has shaken  very  badly.  I recall  that  even in  the military regime when  M D Yusuf    was appointed the Inspector  General  of  Police  from  being head of the CID  where  he dressed in  mufti, a police  uniform  was found for him at  Dodan  Barracks  before  he  was sworn in  as the   new IGP   then  . How  come then that the head  of  Customs does  not only not have a uniform  but  is refusing to don one to appear  before an institution of the same state  with the requisite authority  to  make that very  warranted  request ? It  is quite unbelievable.

    We  go now  to  the legal  battles  to prevent the new US president  from carrying out his executive  orders on  the migrants  ban on some majority  Muslim  nations. It  is my  contention that the US president  is best placed to make a decision on  such  matters based on intelligence reports  as   he cannot operate in a vacuum. To use the law to stop him is to prevent him from carrying out his official  responsibility  on American  security. His  opponents should know  that the buck  stops on his table with regard to security  of  all Americans  and such  opponents should know that  their  freedom ends where  his nose  begins   on US  security  and  they should  know  where  politics ends  and  security  of their  nation begins.  The  fact  that both  the US  and  UK  are  collaborating on the lap top ban shows  that security   is a collective  responsibility  amongst  even  nations  not to talk of  citizens within  the  same nation  like the US .The  British  government, the people  and the news  media  showed  the Americans the way  to  deal  with  terrorism in the way the MPs  in Parliament,  and    the   British  government allowed  the Police to deal  with the latest  act of terror on  Westminster in Bridge  and Parliament ground  by  following Police statements  and directives  to  the letter  and  not allowing any speculation on the name and identity  of the culprit  until  the  Police officially  did so. All  the way the  British  government right  up to the PM  and  even the Queen,   a ceremonial  head of state ,  were full  of praises  for the capacity, real  or potential,  of the Metropolitan  Police  to handle  the situation. This   lone wolf  terrorist  action  brought out  the trust  and confidence the Britons   have  in their  security  apparatus   and is a far  cry  from  the way  the US opposition  establishment  is doing its utmost legally  to thwart  even  the capacity  or will  of  their new president to make laws  to protect  Americans as  he promised  before  he was elected  on the basis of such promise  to make  America  safe  again.

    Finally  the  revelation by the  FBI boss  Comey  that  Russian  President Vladmir  Putin hated Hillary  Clinton so  much  he wanted her  opponent  to  win is  so  trifle    and   laughable. That  is casting aspersion on the  victory  and legitimacy  of the newly  elected  US president. That   surely  is not the role of an intelligence outfit  like  the FBI.  For  now the FBI  boss  has  done more havoc to  US politics  and political  stability  than any  past  FBI  boss including  the  first   FBI   boss J Edgar   Hoover  who was  said  to use intelligence  to blackmail politicians  and top  government  officials including  the  Kennedys in  those  days.  To  most  democrats in the US the timing of the announcement on  Hillary ‘s emails’  fresh investigation   by  the  FBI    boss  cost  her the last US  presidential  elections . Now the same FBI boss  who  is to be seen and not heard  has  turned  himself  to an oracle  on  US  elections and  has used state intelligence publicly to  show  he is transparent  when  the protocol  and laws  governing his office are  those    of secrecy  and respect  for state  security. Now  the   FBI  boss  in the US has turned his office into  that of a political and security  clown and entertainer such  that the Russian  president  described the US intelligence  apparatus as amateurish nowadays  in spite of its deep  history of brilliance during the Cold War  when  even  the  Russian KGB  played  second  fiddle to it  on all  fronts. Surely  one  can say  or  lament   on  the state    of US intelligence  and  leadership   today  by  saying – How are  the mighty  fallen!. Once  again  long live  the Federal   Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Clash of power, populism and corruption

    We  have  heard about  the clash  of  civilization used  to describe the on going war on terrorism which  has pitched   western civilization  and Christianity against the religion of Islam, the main religion of the  Middle East the location of Al  Qada and  Islamic  state , which  aims to create a global  borderless Islamic  state.  Today  however  our interest   is  in  a  different type of clash between    political   institutions  as they  grapple  with  the results  of  elections which  dramatically  and unexpectedly change  power  and  reflect  the current  public  mood and popular  will.  It  is my contention here that any  attempt to thwart  the realization  of the people  and public  wish,  as reflected in such  results in  which  a ruling party or leader  loses  power, is as much  a sign  of political corruption  akin  and consonant  with the odium of theft  of public  funds  and embezzlement,  which  is always  quite easily  associated  with corruption.  This  is  because  elections are  the litmus test  of public mood  and peoples  judgement  of  leadership  and rulership and  once elections   are  free and  fair  whoever  has the peoples  mandate  of  power  must  be allowed to  rule.

    To  throw  spanner  in the works  to prevent  political  victors   at  such  elections from carrying  out their mandate or programs on which  they  were  elected into  power  and office,  is very  much  a political  fraud  and mischief  that is as undemocratic  and unacceptable   as  it  is condemnable  and morally  unacceptable  in any  civilized  society. After  all, the concept  of  democracy is based on the belief  that the voice  of the people  is the voice  of  God  and the dictum  that the majority  must  have its way  while  the majority  must  have  its say. To  do  otherwise is  to  turn  democracy  on its head  and that  is a political  fraud  akin  to  an organized  coup  de tat  against  the popular will, as  reflected in the peoples   wish  at  the polling booths.

    I  will  illustrate  my  views  today  with very interesting and  exciting events in the world this  week    that  I am sure   anyone  will  find   amusing. I   start  with    US  President  Donald  Trump’s  on going  battles  to  get  his  travel  ban ,  his second  revised one  which  again  faces  another  legal  obstacle   from  Hawaii, the  home state of  former US President  Barak  Obama   his  latest  foe on  allegations  of  wire  tapping, who  he also  once  alleged  was  not  born  in the US.   I  tie  this  to the  withdrawal  of  a former  US    Ambassador to Egypt    by the new  US  Defence  Secretary   former   General  Mattis    on  allegations  that the former  Ambassador  was  sympathetic to the  Islamic  Brotherhood    on  whose  platform Mohamme  Morsi,  who   won the only free  and fair  election in Egypt’s  history  after  the Arab  Spring of 2011.  Next  is the  situation  in  Nigeria where  the    Senate  for the second  time has refused  to  confirm  the  appointment  OF  Ibrahim  Magu,  the  boss  of  Nigeria’s main  anti  corruption institution, the  EFCC  and  the Presidential  Committee  on  Anti   Corruption Chairman, Professor  Itse  Sagay,  has  insisted  that  the  Presidency does not need to reconsider  or  change  the  rejected  nomination.   I  end  up with  the juicy  example  of  a popular  president    in  Turkey  throwing his weight  across  Europe  and  calling  nations harboring  his citizens names  because  they  refused  to  allow  him  to campaign  in their country  to  Turks so  that  he can  consolidate  his hold  on power in a coming  referendum  expected  to give him  more  executive  powers   than  any  other  president in the world   today.

    Let   me  start  with  the many  problems  of  Donald  Trump  in realizing  his electoral  goals for which  he  was given  the mandate  of authority   to rule  the US   in the  last  US  presidential  elections. Of  course  the travel  ban  has faced  more legal  obstacles  than  even  the controversial building  of the Mexican  Wall  to lock  out rapists  and  drug  addicts  which  he branded   citizens  of US neighbor  Mexico. Yet  Americans agreed  with  him  and voted  him in as their president in spite  of this.  What  amused  me in the second  legal  obstacle posed  to  Trump’s travel   ban  was the legal teaser by the judge in the Hawaii   State   objection  that  the reasons  given  by Trump’s  lawyers  in  removing Iraq  from the list  of  banned  nations is sufficient  to remove other nations on the list of nations whose citizens are  banned  from  entering  the US on  grounds  of terrorism  and    security. Yet  the  law  vests ultimate  authority  for US  security  in the  office  of the US president. Even  though the authority to wage  war  is vested in the  US  Congress  the  US president  can  declare  war  in some  instances  because  the buck  stops  on his table  on  security  and  he can  seek Congressional  ratification later.  Anyway   Donald  Trump  was  elected on his campaign  to  make  the US   safer  and its  borders  less  porous than  in the  Obama   era  and  he should  be allowed  to  live  up to that promise instead of throwing  legal  time bombs and incendiaries on his way  to achieve that promise and objective, on   which  he claimed  the US  presidency  in 2016.

    Interestingly  an    unexpected  casualty  of the fight  to tarnish the legitimacy  of the Trump  victory  with  the claim  of Russian  hacking connivance  or collusion was  the dropping of the Defence  Secretary Mattis nominee  to a top post  at the Pentagon. The  former  Ambassador,  Michelle  Flournoy, a lady   was said  to be  close  to the Islamic  Brotherhood  which  is being recommended  to be on a new  terrorist  list  being compiled by the US Foreign  Relations  Committee. But  the  circumstances  and  context  in which  the former  Ambassador  who  served in virtually all  the turbulent  Islamic  states of the Middle  East   operated  were  clearly  not taken  into consideration  or  respected  by  her  traducers  on terrorist  sympathies.  This former  Ambassador  was  helping Egyptians  to throw out  the dictatorial  regime of Housni  Mubarak  in the Uprising in  Egypt in 2011  that  saw  the collapse  of the Mubarak  dictatorship ,and   the election of Islamic  Brotherhood candidate   Mohammed  Morsi as  president  in Egypt’s first  democratic  elections.  The  Ambassador  was  following the US foreign  policy  under  the Obama Administration,  a policy  which later  abandoned the Egyptian  masses  to their fate  when the Army  took  over  and Morsi  was overthrown, tried  and jailed for treason  and is awaiting death in an Egyptian  prison.  While  ironically, Mubarak  is about  to  go home after  being freed  of all  charges  arising  from his misrule  by  an  army  that regards him  as one of them and that  Army is ruling Egypt  today  in a false  toga  of  democracy. How  can a former  Ambassador  be branded  a terrorist  sympathizer  for  carrying out  the script  of the government  of the day  that she served?  That  to me is another  example   of the sour grapes  that has bedeviled   the Trump  Administration  as it tries  to get the personnel  to carry  out the manifesto  for  which it was elected into  office by the American people  and that is just  not fair at all.

    Let  us now gyrate  to  Nigeria  where  the  Senate  has  refused  to approve  the  appointment  of EFCC boss  Ibrahim  Magu. The  rejection is a lawful oversight  constitutional  duty  of the   Senate and  the  presidency  should   simply   find  a replacement. That  Magu  has done a fine job  is  not  in  doubt.  He  has said  at  the  Senate that he was not  given  a fair  hearing by the  DSS  which  sent in the letter  that  destroyed  his reputation  and integrity  literally. But  the EFCC boss  should  know  that  he,     like   Caesar’s   wife  should  be above  reproach. Having  been  on suspension  before  in the same EFCC he  should  know  that those  who  live in glass  houses  should  not  throw  stones. I know  this is a huge blow  to the anti-corruption war  but  the   war is not lost  by the  loss  of the leadership of  Magu. The  presidency  should  appoint a new  boss of impeccable character  to  head  the EFCC.

    On   the surface this may look like  a clash  of powers  between  the Legislature  and Presidency in Nigeria but it is a legitimate  and democratic one. This  is because  President  Muhammed  Buhari was elected on a reputation  that hates corruption and  is still  popular  on  that  account.  That  however  does not mean that the Buhari  regime  is above the law  in the fight against  corruption.  Of  course  it should expect  obstacles  in the fight  against  corruption. The Senate ruling on Magu  is not one. What  the Presidency should  do is to abide by our constitution  and send in  a replacement  and  ignore  those saying that Magu is indispensable  in the fight against  corruption. Nobody  is.

    Now  we  round  with  the diplomatic escapades  of  Turkey’s President Yaccip  Erdogan  who  is the best  example  unlike   Donald  Trump  of a populist  leader having  his way  on all  fronts  both  within  and without  his country Turkey. Indeed  I dub  him today the  democratically  elected Sultan  of  Turkey  even  though Turkey’s  constitution  says  Turkey  is a secular state  like Nigeria. Erdogan  has won   three  back to back  democratic  elections in Turkey. He  metamorphosed  into a president  from  being   prime minister. Now  he has become  president  but wants to get  more  powers    to lead  Turkey  in  a referendum and he has called  Germans Nazis and  the Dutch  people genocide connivers  because  those  nations refused to allow  him to campaign to his citizens  living  abroad in these nations. In  addition  he  has used  the migration    issue  as a bargaining  issue and weapon by  threatening to open Turkeys borders to migrants  fleeing the war  in Syria  and  suffocate  Europe  with  them. That  is something  that frightens  all  EU  nations  not just Germany or the  Netherlands. I  am  sure that Erdogan  is dreaming of the old  Ottoman  Empire  and the time that it ruled Europe  and western  civilization trembled  under its suzerainty. Now  Erdogan  has Europe  by the balls  on  migration and  is using that to consolidate power as  he rules Turkey and indeed Europe  from his 1000 room presidential  house  in  Ankarra, Turkey.  A    really  true  story  of  a successful  romance  with  power  with  all  the credentials  of  democracy  that even the EU and  US, the  progenitors  of  democracy  cannot  deny.  What  an irony! Once  again  long live  the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.