The Nation Newspaper

Category: Dayo Sobowale

Security, governments and sovereign reputations

The breaking news on the internet last Thursday about Nigeria was that 30 gunmen had entered a fortified building in Katsina in Northern Nigeria and kidnapped a French engineer and according to the State Police Commissioner burnt the nearest Police station to prevent being chased by the Police. At home in Nigeria in the news media , the hot news was the details of the helicopter crash that killed the former governor of Kaduna State Patrick Yakowa and the former National Security Adviser retired General Owoeye Azazi over the last weekend on their way back from a funeral they had attended at the home state of the nation’s President Goodluck Jonathan.

Unfortunately such bad news was not peculiar to Nigeria and that really is the focus of our discussions today . We shall look at the way security issues are shaping the sovereign reputations of nations globally . Especially in a world in which information available from the internet have reshaped the way and manner that nations and governments have had to come to terms with security lapses of all shapes and sizes in a bid to protect their citizenry from the assault of well armed killers with inhuman and bizarre motives .

In the US, President Barak Obama wiped off a tear as he addressed Americans on the news of the killing of 20 school children aged between 5 and 10 by a man aged 20 in an elementary school. Later in the week the US president ordered his Vice President Joe Biden to look into ways to stop such senseless and random killings with guns which were becoming rampant in the US and make recommendations within weeks .Also in the same week the report of the Inquiry ordered by the US government on the killing of the American Ambassador in Benghazi this year came out blaming lax security for the disaster as security contractors were a poor match for the killers who were well armed and well trained.

These events and incidents in both the USA and Nigeria have political implications locally and globally for the image of the two nations in the comity of nations or the international community . We shall analyse them in that context.

We shall also look at an event that happened during the week that will shape future perceptions of leaders with regard to how they have used their power and responsibility to make or mar the sovereign reputation of their nation or part of the world . The event happened in Russia where President Vladmir Putin announced that he supports Russian legislators making laws stopping the adoption of Russian children by Americans but also used the occasion to explain why he cannot be branded a dictator or be said to be running an authoritarianism in Russia .

Starting with Nigeria again the two tragic and painful incidents are unfortunately in tune with Nigeria’s corporate or sovereign reputation in terms of terrorism , kidnapping and aviation disasters. The list of air crashes in Nigeria is legendary and the fear of air travel both for local and foreign destinations is not only mortal but is sickeningly morbid amongst Nigerians especially those whose businesses and jobs require travelling over the length and breadth of our nation.

In the case of the kidnapping in Katsina the news report had it that Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility and that Katsina has relatively been spared the horror of such kidnappings till now . But Kaduna State , whose leader and governor died in the helicopter crash in Bayelsa has had a running battle with Boko Haram over weekly Church bombings one of which took place recently in a church in a military barracks . Given the ease with which knowledge and information filter through virally on the internet , the Nigerian nation ‘s sovereign reputation is that of a nation where people cannot go to church for fear of being bombed . That however is not the situation on the ground as millions go to church without security fears in Lagos, the South West and the East without fear of being bombed or kidnapped.

Indeed the horror of the death of Kaduna state governor is that the Christians of Kaduna state have lost their Christian Governor , a rarity that occurred when the Vice President Mohammed Sambo was chosen as President Jonathan Goodluck’s running mate in the 2011 elections and the former’s deputy governor was sworn in as Governor of Kaduna state . It was rumored that Boko Haram’s fierce church bomb attacks on Kaduna were because of an incumbent Christian governor in a state that Boko Haram feels should be having Sharia Law.

Now the tragedy in Bayelsa has favored Boko Haram’s wish , as a Muslim governor in the person of Patrick Yakowa’s former deputy governor has been sworn in as Governor of Kaduna state . Now it remains to be seen whether the coming of a Muslim Governor in Kaduna state will stem the fury of church bombing by Boko Haram in Kaduna state , or exacerbate it for one to draw appropriate political conclusions , with the concomitant security and sovereign reputation implications for not only Kaduna , State but Nigeria as a whole .

In the US where a CNN report on Wednesday noted that 34 Americans are being killed by guns daily the sovereign reputation of that nation is that of a dangerous place to live in and that could be difficult to admit or defend for any citizen or government of the US . But in Connecticut where children of tender age were killed just like that one , or any citizen of the world , should think twice before making the US a destination at least in an ideal matter of choice situation What moved me most on the tragedy was the statement credited to the state governor that –Evil visited this community today .

I think that should sum up the correct civilized community reaction to the gruesome murders as the name of the terrorist should just be substituted with the word Evil and his real name obliterated from human memory forever thus denying him the ignominious and mad recognition that drive such devil incarnate to their heinous crimes . For now the US must amend its gun possession laws in way that does not make individual self protection rights infinitely mightier than the security of the larger society.

That is what common sense dictates , given the wasteful and high human costs of sustaining the present legal dispensation . Joe Biden, already at the behest of the US president , should drive the US legislature in that direction urgently to let the world know that Americans have respect for human lives – the opposite of which is the US sovereign reputation at present, globally.

In Russia’s case Vladmir Putin was getting even with the US on the adoption laws because the US had not allowed the Russians to investigate allegations that Americans who adopted Russian kids had not treated them well .But that is typical diplomatic brick bats between old enemies and sometimes friend s. What interests me is that in the same report the Russian president objected to being called a dictator or that his regime is authoritarian and his excuse for this was that he did not tamper with the Russian constitution which he felt should have been easier . He even went on to say that he became Prime Minister after two presidential terms . Which is quite interesting for someone who claims to be a democrat . The essence of term or tenure presidency in a transparent democracy is to avert a monopoly of power by any individual and it is that principle that Vladmir Putin has sidetracked and manipulated to now hold on to power in seeming perpetuity in Russia.

For him to say that he could have changed the constitution shows really that he is not at heart a true democrat but just another dictator bending the rules to remain in power as a monarch born to rule as it were or another dictator just like the ones just being ousted by the Arabs in the Middle East.

Really it is a matter of time before the Russian masses, seeing the Arabs and their street demonstrations on satellite TV and the internet, get wise to Putin’s crude machinations to stay in power by all means , while making a mockery of democracy and transparency in Russia.

December 22, 2012
Leaders, power and legacies

As mortality beckons the great Nelson Mandela I recall the Chinese saying that says-count no man lucky until his death. With Mandela, at this stage of his life, and even well before now, one can easily say he has been an extremely lucky man and he has really earned that luck, right before our eyes Today we discuss Mandela’s luck, an enduring one at that and compare it with those of other world leaders who are well, alive and very powerful but who must tremble at the prospect of the saying that no man can truly be said to be lucky until his death.

We look at events in Ghana where the incumbent president just won the presidential elections with just over 50% of the votes cast and the opposition is contesting the results and has gone to court. We examine the situation in Egypt where the president has kowtowed to protests on his seizing the powers of the courts, only to proceed on a referendum that will give him the powers he had seized and returned under duress – by the back door.

Of course the Egyptian people are still on the streets crying foul and saying they did not uproot one dictator planted by the army for years only for him to be replaced by another one they just elected through the ballot box. Which again puts nagging doubt on the desirability or otherwise of democracy in some nations and circumstances globally. We end up again with S Africa   where a unique transition of leadership is taking place again by the ballot box. In all these instances we have at the back of our mind the Chinese saying – count no man lucky until his death.

Let us go back to Mandela and his fight with mortality to which he must succumb as he is mortal. But Nelson Mandela, the world’s most famous prisoner is already destined for immortality in the way he fought for the liberation of his nation from the shackles of apartheid.

He was honored with the Nobel Prize for peace with his compatriot and president of S Africa de Klerk with whom he negotiated the exit of apartheid and the enthronement of democracy in what has become the Rainbow nation today. But it is in the way that he shunned power and served his nation for only one term of five years during which he forgave his jailors through The Truth and Reconciliation Committee headed by another Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, that Mandela secured his immortality as a reference point on selfless leadership, globally and eternally.

At that time Mandela would have been hailed as the Messiah if he had wanted to be a life president of S Africa. After him S Africa has had what I will call two and half presidents namely Thabo Mbeki who served for almost two terms and Kwagima Motlanthe the present Vice President who held fort briefly after Mbeki was defeated in a leadership contest of the ruling ANC   by President Jacob Zuma who had been sacked by Mbeki   as Vice President for corruption.

Now this week the ANC is having its national conference at which it will elect its leader who automatically becomes president of S Africa as the ANC is assured of 60% of the votes cast in any election in S Africa. This time however both the President and Vice President of S Africa   are vying for the leadership of the ANC although Zuma is favored to defeat his Vice. One thing that is certain is that S. Africans are disenchanted with the performance of Zuma as President. Mbeki this week said that S Africa is drifting as a nation and something needs to be done urgently. The Marikana Mine shooting of 34 miners by the Police recently is a great dent on the leadership credentials of the ANC under Jacob Zuma.

The horrible fact that the survivors of the Marikana shooting were first charged to court under an apartheid law still in the statute books before they were left off, showed that apartheid has not died a natural death when ANC took power democratically and till the Marikana   incident. Also,   Zuma’s traditional ruler life style of four wives and 21 children and a renovation of his country home with $24 m when miners were asking for pittance as wage increase showed that Zuma has become power drunk as the leader of a popular party in power in S/Africa namely the ANC. Worse still Zuma’s defence of his insensitive profligacy that he took mortgage on the renovation of his country home is like adding insult to injury. Zuma’s actions bear out vividly a good example of the dictatorship of the majority in any nation especially S Africa at this point in time.

If care is not taken, however, Egypt under its President Mohammed Morsi is headed in the same direction as the ANC in S/Africa. This is because the Muslim Brotherhood is well organized in Egypt and has proved its planning and organizational capabilities in the way it has survived several dictatorships in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood survived under Gamal Abdel Nasser and its member killed the late Anwar Sadat and survived the government clamp down that followed the assassination.

Now the Muslim Brotherhood has its own member as president from a free and fair democratic election in Egypt and who can really blame it for having things its way especially as democracy is intrinsically a game of numbers and it has the majority as well as organizational skills that the other opposition parties lack. This means that secular Egyptians and Christians are in for a tough time in Egypt’s new democracy under the Muslim Brotherhood and that really is the unfortunate truth.

In Ghana too the election results have divided the nation into two equal parts yet one can claim victory as there is no room for a run off election. The incumbent president who took over on the death of his boss has now been legitimately elected. The circumstances seem similar to that of Nigeria as well as the succession. Unlike Nigeria Ghanaian leaders have not gone to court in the last two elections in that nation. Now the losers have gone to court alleging irregularities, which is the Nigerian way.

But then a result that involves a victory of just over 50% can be painful for the losers because of its closeness. A way out would have been some form of power sharing or proportionate representation. That however will depend on the constitution which mostly as a document is blind until situations such as this arise   and legal gymnastics take over . I bet Nigerian lawyers are taking the next flights to Accra to participate in what they have perfected at the expense of our fledgling democracy, which is post election litigations. I really wish Ghanaian politicians the best of luck especially as oil too is flowing in Ghana now. Anyway I fervently   hope Ghana and Ghanaians do not swallow and follow the Nigerian example hook, line and sinker on elections and litigations.

December 15, 2012
Terrorism, politics and the law

The bombing of a church in a military barrack in Kaduna in Nigeria and the placement of a bounty of 50m naira   by the army on leaders of the terrorist group Boko Haram highlight Nigeria’s intractable and messy problem with terrorism. Unlike Nigeria, however Egypt faces a new problem from the use and misuse of power from its new president Mohammed Morsi, who recently issued presidential orders granting him powers that are not challengeable in any court in Egypt.

In Nigeria   again ,in a strange concoction of politics and finance, the nation’s Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, the Champion of Islamic banking in Nigeria asked the Federal government   to sack 50% of its civil servants because it is spending 70% of its revenue on paying the salaries of   these civil servants .In far away New York , the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon asked the UN Security Council to approve the sending of an ECOWAS force to Mali to rescue that nation from invaders both Tuaregs and religious militants but asked the UN body not to provide the funds said to be worth $50m.

The issues highlighted above raise issues of terrorism, authoritarianism, economic planning and finan ce; national, regional and global stability – and I intend to highlight these issues in that light and context today. Let me stress that it will require a huge   balancing act to do this and it is in that regard that I will make reference to an article by Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyii titled – ‘A Sense of Balance ‘   in The Economist which stressed that both peoples and nations will need to balance their acts to make the world a peaceful place to live in.

In that fine article Suu Kyii noted that the end of authoritarianism is not synonymous with the end of dissent or the demise of fundamentalism. The power impasse in Egypt is a clear vindication of that. Dissent she said should be channeled towards   concensus and compromise while she stressed that fundamentalism, which can be volatile in times of change and uncertainty, is   in reality the natural enemy of balance .Suu Kyii identified terrorists as those people lacking in self-respect who are incapable of compassion and restraint when they have an opportunity to deal with those who they think put them in a state of incapacity to attain what they perceive as their deserved niche. Such people who lack self respect are incapable of respecting others. The terrorist mentality she   concluded is spawned by intellectual and social influences that widen to an extreme ‘the gap‘ between the terrorist and others   – and this destroys the essential balance that promotes a common bond of humanity.

It is in the light of the wisdom of this Burmese   Nobel laureate that I take on the issues raised first on terrorism in Nigeria and the resurgence of authoritarianism in Egypt in the wake of President Mohammed Morsi’s surprising and bold move to concentrate power in his hands. In Nigeria, terrorism unfortunately is waxing stronger as terrorists recently week bombed the headquarters of the special police unit in Abuja    where terrorists were being kept, and some were said to have escaped. There have been reports that some suspected terrorists were found round the State House in Ekiti State while Members of the National Assembly are said to be apprehensive that the Assembly could be the target of Boko Haram terrorists.

It is my considered view that no government should allow terrorists to operate with such impunity as this weakens respect for constituted authority and casts aspersion on the sovereignty of the state. It is ironically to protect such sovereignty that President Mohammed Morsi   in Egypt seized the powers of the courts and decreed they could not be used to challenge him in his bid to control law and order in Egypt.

In Nigeria’s case it is apparent that the state is lax in tackling insecurity and terrorism for reasons best known to the authorities. But human lives should not be treated with levity and nonchalance by the rest of us because we have not had any relatives killed yet by terrorists. It is dehumanizing to see churches bombed on a weekly basis while Christians elsewhere and   those not directly involved just pause for a moment and move on while the state wrings its hands in futile admonitions and does nothing to deter the terrorist against the next attack. In Egypt where there is no such terror as in Nigeria, President Morsi has seized power ostensibly to forestall such state impotence in the face of expected terror.

Morsi is acting proactively in anticipation of spurious litigations that could hamstring the state – even though his anticipation and actions are decidedly undemocratic. The difference between the Nigerian and Egyptian situation is that the party of President Morsi, the Islamic Brotherhood is a Fundamentalist Party and secular Egyptians are afraid that Morsi and his party will use the power he has seized to introduce Sharia Law in Egypt, to the detriment of opposition parties and other religions in Egypt. Whereas in Nigeria the terrorist is rampant and running amok as it were.

Yet, there is still some caution and restraint in the way the stakeholders and politicians in the Egyptian state deal with each other. When the demonstrations against Morsi started, the Muslim Brotherhood planned its own counter one for   the next week. But it cancelled this to avert bloodshed when it saw the turn out of opposition demonstrators at Tahrir Square against the president’s usurpation of the power of the Egyptian Courts. This week the demonstrators in their thousands have piched camp in front of the Presidential palace in Cairo.

Unfortunately, Such restraint is barren in the way Boko Haram bombs Churches, killing and maiming   Christians and passers by in Nigeria. Worse still the business as usual stance of the security forces as well   as the ‘not my turn yet‘ attitude of the rest of us has portrayed Nigeria as a nation of people thick skinned to murder and mayhem in their midst. Which simply means that human life is cheap here as in the Hobbessian theory that says that in a state of terror, where might is right, human life is violent, brutish and short. Surely that is a sad and unfortunate image for any nation not enmeshed in America’s war on terror like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq,   nations where most unfortunately, suicide bombing has made a mockery of the sanctity of human lives.   Again, it is in that light that I consider the call   by the CBN governor to sack half the work force of our civil service as well as the posture of the UN not being ready to spend money on rescuing Mali. The CBN governor’s call reminds one of ‘the shoot the messenger‘ syndrome while the UN uncharacteristic frugality on Mali’s survival reminds one of the   proverbial cat that would eat fish without getting its paws wet.

What the CBN governor has said is the correct thing for any government spending 70% of its revenue on salaries to do, but even he knows that no politician   or government in Nigeria will do that and survive. Even the host governor at the venue where the CBN delivered his   stricture said it was not possible. So the CBN governor was just barking at the moon even though every one knows that sacking of civil servants was never part of his schedule of duties and that makes the civil servants happy as they plan his downfall in the full Nigerian retaliatory syndrome. Anyway, the CBN governor is as impervious to criticism as the politicians in the way he carried through his Islamic Banking agenda which is in tune with his Master’s degree in Islamic studies from the University of Khartoum. Really what is good for the goose should be good for the gander.

Lastly, Ban Ki Moon has shown that he or the UN does not understand the gravity of the situation in Mali. ECOWAS states alone cannot fund the reclamation of Northern Mali because they all have financial problems of their own. They mostly rely on Nigeria   as the Father Xmas of such military adventures. But Nigeria has problems of its own such as the one pointed out by the CBN governor, the oil subsidy theft, the huge allowances of its legislators as well as the fight against Boko Haram to which huge funds have been committed.

The UN should not turn the proposed Mali ECOWAS force into another laughing stock like the blue beret UN Congo troops who stood by and watched unconcerned as M23 rebels seized the town of Goma from government forces in the DRC recently. Mali is a member state of the UN that is in trouble because of regional problems stemming from the growth of militancy and fundamentalism on the northern part of all ECOWAS states and needs help, especially the financial type to maintain its stability and sovereignty.

If Mali falls there will be a wrong signal to militants in the Sahel that they can simulate the situation in Mali in any state in ECOWAS . That is one message that is lost to the UN Scribe for now . Not funding the military rescue of Mali can be counter productive and very costly for the UN in the short run not to talk of in the long. A word is enough for the wise.

December 8, 2012
Terrorism, politics and the law

The bombing of a church in a military barrack in Kaduna in Nigeria and the placement of a bounty of 50m naira by the army on leaders of the terrorist group Boko Haram highlight Nigeria’s intractable and messy problem with terrorism. Unlike Nigeria, however Egypt faces a new problem from the use and misuse of power from its new president Mohammed Morsi, who recently issued presidential orders granting him powers that are not challengeable in any court in Egypt.

In Nigeria again, in a strange concoction of politics and finance, the nation’s Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, the Champion of Islamic banking in Nigeria asked the Federal government to sack 50% of its civil servants because it is spending 70% of its revenue on paying the salaries of these civil servants. In far away New York, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon asked the UN Security Council to approve the sending of an ECOWAS force to Mali to rescue that nation from invaders both Tuaregs and religious militants but asked the UN body not to provide the funds said to be worth $50m.

The issues highlighted above raise issues of terrorism, authoritarianism, economic planning and finan ce, national, regional and global stability and I intend to highlight these issues in that light and context today. Let me stress that it will require a huge balancing act to do this and it is in that regard that I will make reference to an article by Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyii titled -‘A Sense of Balance‘in The Economist which stressed that both peoples and nations will need to balance their acts to make the world a peaceful place to live in.

In that fine article Suu Kyii noted that the end of authoritarianism is not synonymous with the end of dissent or the demise of fundamentalism. Dissent she said should be channeled towards concensus and compromise while she stressed that fundamentalism, which can be volatile in times of change and uncertainty, is in reality the natural enemy of balance. Suu Kyii identified terrorists as those people lacking in self respect who are incapable of compassion and restraint when they have an opportunity to deal with those who they think put them in a state of incapacity to attain what they perceive as their deserved niche. Such people who lack self respect are incapable of respecting others. The terrorist mentality she concluded is spawned by intellectual and social influences that widen to an extreme ‘the gap‘ between the terrorist and others – and this destroys the essential balance that promotes a common bond of humanity.

It is in the light of the wisdom of the Burmese and Nobel laureate that I take on the issues raised first on terrorism in Nigeria and the resurgence of authoritarianism in Egypt in the wake of President Mohammed Morsi,s surprising and bold move to concentrate power in his hands. In Nigeria terrorism is waxing stronger as terrorists this week bombed the headquarters of the special police unit in Abuja where terrorists are being kept and some were said to have escaped. There have been reports that some suspected terrorists were found round the State House in Ekiti State while Members of the National Assembly are said to be apprehensive that the Assembly could be the target of Boko Haram terrorists.

It is my considered view that no government should allow terrorists to operate with such impunity as this weakens respect for constituted authority and casts aspersion on the sovereignty of the state. It is ironically to protect such sovereignty that President Mohammed Morsi in Egypt seized the powers of the courts and decreed they could not be used to challenge him in his bid to control law and order in Egyp. In Nigeria’s case it is apparent that the state is lax in tackling insecurity and terrorism for reasons best known to the authorities. But human lives should not be treated with levity and nonchalance by the rest of us because we have not any relatives killed by terrorists. It is dehumanizing to see churches bombed on a weekly basis while Christians elsewhere and those not directly involved just pause for a moment and move on while the state wrings its hands in futile admonitions and does nothing to deter the terrorist against the next attack.

In Egypt where there is no such terror as in Nigeria, President Morsi has seized power ostensibly to forestall such state impotence in the face of expected terror. Morsi is acting proactively in anticipation of spurious litigations to hamstring the state even though his anticipation and actions are decidedly undemocratic. The difference between the Nigerian and Egyptian situation is that the party of President Morsi, the Islamic Brotherhood is a Fundamentalist Party and secular Egyptians are afraid that Morsi and his party will use the power he has seized to introduce Sharia Law in Egypt, to the detriment of opposition parties and other religions in Egypt. Whereas in Nigeria the terrorist is rampant and running amok as it were.

Yet, there is still some caution and restraint in the way the stakeholders and politicians in the Egyptian state deal with each other. When the demonstrations against Morsi started, the Muslim Brotherhood planned its own counter one for last Tuesday. But it cancelled this to avert bloodshed when it saw the turn out at Tahrir Square against the president’s usurpation of the power of the Egyptian Courts.

Such restraint is barren in the way Boko Haram bombs Churches killing and maiming Christians and passers by in Nigeria. Worse still the business as usual stance of the security forces as well as the ‘not my turn yet‘ attitude of the rest of us has portrayed Nigeria as a nation of people thick skinned to murder and mayhem in their midst. Which simply means that human life is cheap here as in the Hobbessian theory that says that in a state of terror, where might is right, human life is violent, brutish and short. Surely that is a sad and unfortunate image for any nation not enmeshed in America’s war on terror like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq where suicide bombing has made a mockery of the sanctity of human lives.

Again, it is in that light that I consider the call by the CBN governor to sack half the work force of our civil service as well as the posture of the UN not being ready to spend money on rescuing Mali. The CBN governor’s call reminds one of ‘the shoot the messenger‘ syndrome while the UN parsimony on Mali’s survival reminds one of the proverbial cat that would eat fish without getting its paws wet. What the CBN governor has said is the correct thing for any government spending 70% of its revenue on salaries to do but even he knows that no politician or government in Nigeria will do that and survive.

Even the host governor at the venue where the CBN delivered his stricture said it was not possible. So the CBN governor was just barking at the moon even though every one knows that sacking of civil servants was never part of his schedule of duties and that makes the civil servants happy as they plan his downfall in the full Nigerian retaliatory syndrome. Anyway, the CBN governor is as impervious to criticism as the politicians in the way he carried through his Islamic Banking agenda which is in tune with his Master’s degree in Islamic studies from the University of Khartoum. Really what is good for the goose should be good for the gander.

Lastly, Ban Ki Moon has shown that he or the UN does not understand the gravity of the situation in Mali. ECOWAS states alone cannot fund the reclamation of Northern Mali because they all have financial problems of their own .They mostly rely on Nigeria as the father Xmas of such military adventures. But Nigeria has problems of its own such as the one pointed out by the CBN governor, the oil subsidy theft, the huge allowances of its legislators as well as the fight against Boko Haram to which huge funds have been committed.

The UN should not turn the proposed Mali ECOWAS force into another laughing stock like the blue beret UN Congo troops who stood by and watched unconcerned as M23 rebels seized the town of Goma from government forces in the DRC recently. Mali is a member state of the UN that is in trouble because of regional problems stemming from the growth of militancy and fundamentalism on the northern part of all ECOWAS states and needs help, especially the financial type to maintain its stability and sovereignty.

If Mali falls there will be a wrong signal to militants in the Sahel that they can simulate the situation in Mali in any state in ECOWAS. That is one message that is lost to the UN Scribe for now. Not funding the military rescue of Mali can be counter productive and very costly for the UN in the short run not to talk of in the long. A word is enough for the wise.

December 1, 2012
New global strategies and economic realignment

Nothing illustrates what I have in mind today better than two diplomatic   shuttles involving the President of the US Barak Obama, his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton   and the continent of Asia in recent times. While US President Barak Obama was facing the heat of his election campaign and reelection, his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on a diplomatic shuttle in Asia and was very assertive in Burma. Immediately after President Obama secured his re – election   he followed his Secretary of State again to Asia to the Summit of South East Asian nations and still   to Burma where both removed their shoes as they worshipped in a temple with their hosts.

Around the same time as these shuttles, the Israeli air force was shelling Gaza, while Hamas was shooting rockets into Israel. Yet, it was only after Obama and Hillary had completed their assignment in Asia that Hillary headed to Israel and the Gaza Strip while the US president went back to the White House in Washington. Yet,   Israel has not changed as the cornerstone of the US Middle East Foreign Policy. A few years back, it would have been unthinkable for a US Secretary of State to be in the Pacific while Israel was being attacked and was indeed contemplating a land invasion not to talk of a US president talking business with China, Thailand and Japan while Israel was on a high security alert.

But times have changed and I can imagine Barack Obama chuckling   quietly to himself as he recalled the response of a former British PM Lord Palmerstone to his attackers in the House of Commons on the charge that he was creating colonies overseas for Britain at the start of what was to become the Colonial era for Britain. ’I have brought a new world into existence to redress the balance of the old‘ – was Lord Palmerstone’s historic response in the Commons and I think that would be a very apt retort by Obama and Hillary to any charge of having abandoned Israel   under attack; and I can bet there will be no shortage of such charges in the foreseeable future.

Undoubtedly the US president is changing US diplomatic landscape and policy and is doing it in a big way that even his opponents must concede has made a triumph of his first option of making diplomacy work. It is pertinent to recall that he was given the Nobel Prize for this just after he had only made the Cairo Speech just as he was elected for his first   term. I confess that I was one of those who thought he had not done enough then to earn the Nobel prize. But now after the Asian shuttle preceded by the Spring Revolution in N Africa and the exit of the Arab despots, Obama is really now earning his Nobel Prize.

Before going on to dilate on Obama’s Asian trip let me shed more light on the role of Lord Palmerstone in British diplomacy during the reign of Queen Victoria. Lord Palmerstone was disliked by the British monarch because Palmerstone thought Britain should use its power to expand its empire overseas and in pursuing this policy Palmerstone created embarrassing moments for the monarchy. This was because the monarchy believed the government should be more active in curbing the rebellious activities of those asking for republicanism in Europe as Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert were cousins to many of the ruling houses in Europe instead   of   expanding the Empire as Palmerstone was more interested in. But Lord Palmerstone was a popular politician of his time and the Queen found it difficult to sack him. Palmerstone became Secretary at War in 1809 and served for 20 years under five PMs and was also Foreign Secretary   which was when he made the famous quotation,   before he too became PM in 1855 at age 70.

Hillary Clinton to me is to the US President Barak Obama what Palmerstone was to Queen Victoria. The difference is that there is no hostility between the US duo unlike their British counterpart and the US and its business interests are the better for it. At a time when the EU, America’s natural and historic economic partner is comatose economically, Asia provides a life line for new business and investment for American firms and corporate business giants. Hence Obama’s swift visit to a meetng of the South East Asian nations involving nations like China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and so on in Canbodia. At the meeting President Obama met outgoing Chinese leader Wu Jia Bao and had a farewell meeting as it were with the Chinese leader who confirmed that US- Chinese business relations had never been better and that the good business will continue under China’s new leaders.

Hillary also had blazed a trail in getting the military in Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi the Burmese political icon who had been under house arrest for decades after winning the fairest election in the history of her nation. Suu Kyi is to Burma what the illustrious Nelson Mandela has been to S Africa, and the whole world, the epitome of freedom and the unbreakable spirit of human dignity.   Unbelievably the military junta released her and allowed her party to contest elections into parliament even though military appointees are in majority in the new Burmese parliament. Hillary’s diplomatic shuttle have been rewarded by the military who have relaxed some of their dictatorial policies in Burma and even though the military is still in control, Obama’s visit was to encourage the military to move towards democracy. However Suu Kyi herself warned that the journey is long and people must not be complacent or have a false sense of accomplishment now so as not to be deceived eventually.

Nigeria too is not to be left behind in the quest of seeking new partners and business realignments for national and global economic survival. President Goodluck Jonathan was on the front page of newspapers on Thursday showing his arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Pakistan‘s capital Islamabad, for a meeting of the D 8 nations hosted by Nigeria in 2010. According to the Nigerian president’s address on the internet, he thanked the host of the Summit President Asif Zardari of Pakistan to whom he handed over the Chairmanship in Abuja two years ago. According to President Jonathan, Nigeria values its membership of the D8 as a platform for economic cooperation and promotion of trade for sustainable development and welcomes investment in the country from member D 8 nations. President Jonathan noted that Nigeria has been very active in hosting many meetings of D 8   and values   the goals of solidarity and joint and joint trade and commerce inherent in the association. To build on these gains President Jonathan said that Nigeria and the Islamic Republic of Iran have jointly hosted the Working Group Meeting on Small and Medium Enterprises –SMEs –which are vital to the growth of the G8 economies.

The D 8 nations are made up of nations with a large Muslim population and include host Pakistan, last host Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran. Egypt is not attending as President Mohammed Morsi is staying put in Cairo to monitor the Israeli – Hamas feud over Gaza and the testy ceasefire that came into effect last Tuesday. Aside from this however Egypt just got a huge loan from the IMF for its migration to full blown democracy, stemming from the Arab Spring and the Tahrir Square Street revolution that overthrew the Housni Mubarak regime, and may not be that hungry for D 8 businesses.

In addition there is the danger of being seen as hobnobbing with Iran which has UN sanctions round its neck over its Nuclear Uranium enrichment program, a fact which does not seem to bother the Nigerian president very much. In addition Egypt does not support the Bashar Assad regime in Syria firmly supported by Iran in suppressing the popular uprising in Syria against the Assad dynasty. Surely political and diplomatic issues as well as regional differences still color pragmatic economic instincts by nations as they forge alliances and realign economic strategies to make ends meet in a fast changing world.

November 24, 2012
New global strategies and economic realignment

Nothing illustrates what I have in mind today better than two diplomatic   shuttles involving the President of the US Barak Obama, his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton   and the continent of Asia in recent times. While US President Barak Obama was facing the heat of his election campaign and reelection, his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on a diplomatic shuttle in Asia and was very assertive in Burma. Immediately after President Obama secured his re – election   he followed his Secretary of State again to Asia to the Summit of South East Asian nations and still   to Burma where both removed their shoes as they worshipped in a temple with their hosts.

Around the same time as these shuttles, the Israeli air force was shelling Gaza, while Hamas was shooting rockets into Israel. Yet, it was only after Obama and Hillary had completed their assignment in Asia that Hillary headed to Israel and the Gaza Strip while the US president went back to the White House in Washington. Yet,   Israel has not changed as the cornerstone of the US Middle East Foreign Policy. A few years back, it would have been unthinkable for a US Secretary of State to be in the Pacific while Israel was being attacked and was indeed contemplating a land invasion not to talk of a US president talking business with China, Thailand and Japan while Israel was on a high security alert.

But times have changed and I can imagine Barack Obama chuckling   quietly to himself as he recalled the response of a former British PM Lord Palmerstone to his attackers in the House of Commons on the charge that he was creating colonies overseas for Britain at the start of what was to become the Colonial era for Britain. ’I have brought a new world into existence to redress the balance of the old‘ – was Lord Palmerstone’s historic response in the Commons and I think that would be a very apt retort by Obama and Hillary to any charge of having abandoned Israel   under attack; and I can bet there will be no shortage of such charges in the foreseeable future.

Undoubtedly the US president is changing US diplomatic landscape and policy and is doing it in a big way that even his opponents must concede has made a triumph of his first option of making diplomacy work. It is pertinent to recall that he was given the Nobel Prize for this just after he had only made the Cairo Speech just as he was elected for his first   term. I confess that I was one of those who thought he had not done enough then to earn the Nobel prize. But now after the Asian shuttle preceded by the Spring Revolution in N Africa and the exit of the Arab despots, Obama is really now earning his Nobel Prize.

Before going on to dilate on Obama’s Asian trip let me shed more light on the role of Lord Palmerstone in British diplomacy during the reign of Queen Victoria. Lord Palmerstone was disliked by the British monarch because Palmerstone thought Britain should use its power to expand its empire overseas and in pursuing this policy Palmerstone created embarrassing moments for the monarchy. This was because the monarchy believed the government should be more active in curbing the rebellious activities of those asking for republicanism in Europe as Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert were cousins to many of the ruling houses in Europe instead   of   expanding the Empire as Palmerstone was more interested in. But Lord Palmerstone was a popular politician of his time and the Queen found it difficult to sack him. Palmerstone became Secretary at War in 1809 and served for 20 years under five PMs and was also Foreign Secretary   which was when he made the famous quotation,   before he too became PM in 1855 at age 70.

Hillary Clinton to me is to the US President Barak Obama what Palmerstone was to Queen Victoria. The difference is that there is no hostility between the US duo unlike their British counterpart and the US and its business interests are the better for it. At a time when the EU, America’s natural and historic economic partner is comatose economically, Asia provides a life line for new business and investment for American firms and corporate business giants. Hence Obama’s swift visit to a meetng of the South East Asian nations involving nations like China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and so on in Canbodia. At the meeting President Obama met outgoing Chinese leader Wu Jia Bao and had a farewell meeting as it were with the Chinese leader who confirmed that US- Chinese business relations had never been better and that the good business will continue under China’s new leaders.

Hillary also had blazed a trail in getting the military in Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi the Burmese political icon who had been under house arrest for decades after winning the fairest election in the history of her nation. Suu Kyi is to Burma what the illustrious Nelson Mandela has been to S Africa, and the whole world, the epitome of freedom and the unbreakable spirit of human dignity.   Unbelievably the military junta released her and allowed her party to contest elections into parliament even though military appointees are in majority in the new Burmese parliament. Hillary’s diplomatic shuttle have been rewarded by the military who have relaxed some of their dictatorial policies in Burma and even though the military is still in control, Obama’s visit was to encourage the military to move towards democracy. However Suu Kyi herself warned that the journey is long and people must not be complacent or have a false sense of accomplishment now so as not to be deceived eventually.

Nigeria too is not to be left behind in the quest of seeking new partners and business realignments for national and global economic survival. President Goodluck Jonathan was on the front page of newspapers on Thursday showing his arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Pakistan‘s capital Islamabad, for a meeting of the D 8 nations hosted by Nigeria in 2010. According to the Nigerian president’s address on the internet, he thanked the host of the Summit President Asif Zardari of Pakistan to whom he handed over the Chairmanship in Abuja two years ago. According to President Jonathan, Nigeria values its membership of the D8 as a platform for economic cooperation and promotion of trade for sustainable development and welcomes investment in the country from member D 8 nations. President Jonathan noted that Nigeria has been very active in hosting many meetings of D 8   and values   the goals of solidarity and joint and joint trade and commerce inherent in the association. To build on these gains President Jonathan said that Nigeria and the Islamic Republic of Iran have jointly hosted the Working Group Meeting on Small and Medium Enterprises –SMEs –which are vital to the growth of the G8 economies.

The D 8 nations are made up of nations with a large Muslim population and include host Pakistan, last host Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran. Egypt is not attending as President Mohammed Morsi is staying put in Cairo to monitor the Israeli – Hamas feud over Gaza and the testy ceasefire that came into effect last Tuesday. Aside from this however Egypt just got a huge loan from the IMF for its migration to full blown democracy, stemming from the Arab Spring and the Tahrir Square Street revolution that overthrew the Housni Mubarak regime, and may not be that hungry for D 8 businesses.

In addition there is the danger of being seen as hobnobbing with Iran which has UN sanctions round its neck over its Nuclear Uranium enrichment program, a fact which does not seem to bother the Nigerian president very much. In addition Egypt does not support the Bashar Assad regime in Syria firmly supported by Iran in suppressing the popular uprising in Syria against the Assad dynasty. Surely political and diplomatic issues as well as regional differences still color pragmatic economic instincts by nations as they forge alliances and realign economic strategies to make ends meet in a fast changing world.

November 24, 2012
Snatching hope from the jaws of defeat

The reelection of US President Barak Obama was the climax of a close fight between him and the defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney of the opposing Republican Party. To say that Obama fought furiously for his political life in this battle he won will be an understatement. To add that in terms of suspense and uncertainty, the election compares favorably with epoch, close, contemporary electoral battles in US history, like that of Kennedy/Nixon in 1960 or that of Bush /Al Gore in 2000 will be stating the obvious.

However, it is in Obama’s acceptance speech that he reached to the stars to excel in matchless oratory to lift the spirit of his nation and country men and women at his moment of victory. In that speech Barack Obama atoned for a poor economic performance record, showed sincere gratitude to an electorate that had amply rewarded such performance with his reelection, and gave America a new vision of shared destiny, based as he said so eloquently, on love, duty and patriotism. Barak Obama in his reelection virtually snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after a disastrous first debate that gave grit and confidence to an hesitant and fearful opponent who had come to battle initially with feet of clay. But the such is the stuff of history and grand political drama.

At the end, both the challenger and the victor at the re election of the 44th US president, strengthened the concept of popular democracy   as the ascendant democracy of our time and elections as the engine room of that ideology. Of course I am talking of free and fair election and that was what the US president was referring to in his inspiring speech when he said that in some climes, people and nations still struggle over elections that Americans have come to take for granted. Mitt Romney on his part conceded defeat graciously and thanked his wife who he said would have made an excellent   first lady.

He lamented his lack of opportunity to lead as Americans have elected a different leader. Obama too was magnanimous in defeat and thanked his wife Michelle, his Vice President and millions of his volunteer campaign workers, noting they made his victory happen. I confess to being carried away by Obama’s acceptance speech,   especially his redefinition of hope in the light of his reelection, as that stubborn human trait that makes you never to give up in the face of adversity and daunting odds. At that moment he paid homage to the twin virtues   of empathy and sharing, the very ‘secret‘ weapons that have ensured his reelection in a nation that has never rewarded poor economic record by any president with success at elections.

In practical terms too Obama ‘reset‘ his relations with the American people domestically over the stubborn economy and its travails for them even though ‘reset ‘and ‘engagement‘ are terms he had used to map out the direction of the US foreign policy at his first coming in 2008.

In diplomacy and international relations the world can heave a sigh of relief . Britain and Russia were the first to react. British PM David Cameron said he looked forward to continuing his talk on global trade with his friend Barak Obama, while Russian strong man and President Vladmir Putin expressed his happiness at Obama’s reelection. Obviously Mitt Romney had jagged a few powerful nerves globally on his utterances on Israel, Iran, China and other world issues. Initially, I had thought that a diplomatic challenge or foreign matter – like Israel attacking Iran and forcing the US to support Israel – will be the undoing of Obama’s reelection effort. Fortunately, that did not happen but a more dangerous natural disaster Super Storm Sandy threw spanner in the works at the home front in New York and New Jersey.

Ironically however the wild Hurricane   Sandy did a lot to bring out the best in the incumbent US president, to the joy and happiness of his party supporters and to the chagrin and vexation of Romney and his team, who could only wring their hands helplessly as the US president acted like the real angel of mercy elected by the American people to look after them in any crises, natural and man made. Brilliant and bipartisan management of Hurricane Sandy reminded Americans that they have a compassionate and committed leader that can salvage them in any crises – including the much advertised economic one, hence their reelection of Barak Obama on November 6.

It is in the light of Obama’s redefinition of hope that I look at events this week in Mali and Nigeria. In Mali the Islamist group Ansar Dine that has destroyed Islamic Shrines in Timbuctoo and which is in control of Northern Mali has agreed to allow aid agencies to bring relief materials and to negotiate as ECOWAS mass a 3000 man strong military contingent to drive out the invaders. In Nigeria there is some relief as the party of General Buhari deny that he knew of any plan to make him a negotiator nominated by Boko Haram, the terrorist group bombing churches on a weekly basis in Nigeria. In Nigeria too the Anglican Communion held a conference called Divinity Commonwealth Conference -DIVCOOMM-in Abuja in which it asked its members to confront the dangers facing it from within and without especially the bombing of Churches in the Northern part of the nation.

In Mali, Burkina Fasso‘s President Blaise Compraore is the ECOWAS leader in charge of the regional negotiation with the northern invaders. Compraore has experience in such matters having helped ECOWAS in nipping in the bud an earlier military coup in Guinea Conakry by seizing the coup leader on his way home after medical treatment in Morocco and marooning him in Ouagadougou the capital of Burkina Fasso while elections were being held in Guinea Conakry. The Ansar Dine have taken over northern Mali from the Tuaregs who defeated the Malian army sent to contain them, leading to a military coup on the ground that the civilian regime in Mali then, had not given sufficient ammunition to the army to contain the rebellion. ECOWAS leaders however put down their feet that the era of coups was over in the region and since Mali was landlocked, starved the military of fuel whereby they agreed to form a diarchy of sorts while ECOWAS gave a Coordinator’s role to the Nigerian Head of State President Goodluck Jonathan to get a force to rescue Mali from the Ansar Dine occupying the north.

The fact that Ansar Dine is ready to negotiate gives sign that the crisis may not be protracted as it is known that some militant groups have promised to launch a jihad from the Sahel on ECOWAS nations once the Islamists in Mali are attacked or dislodged from that nation by the ECOWAS force. This is to be taken seriously in the light of information gathered that Boko Haram group has connection and are being trained by the invaders of Mali.

Similarly the Anglican Church seem to have taken a stand on defending it devotees who have been subjected to the terror of Boko Haram which says it does not recognize western education and wants Christians to leave the north. At a welcome address to Anglican faithful attending the second Divcom Conference in Abuja the Anglican Primate Nicholas Okoh lamented the bombing of Churches as wicked. The theme of the conference is ‘Contending for the faith‘ and according to the Primate – ‘Contending for the faith handed   over to us is not a tea party. It takes sacrifice, denial, focus, even at the risk of taking one’s life‘. To me the Primate’s admonition is one of self- defence at a time when it has become fashionable for Boko Haram to bomb churches even during Holy Communion. The call   should also create a sort of adeterrence for Boko Haram to redress or abandon its impunity of killing Christians at will without any punishment from any quarters. It reminds me of the principles of mutual deterrence or balance of terror during the Cold War when knowledge of the arsenal of both the US and then USSR ensured mutual peace and respect   and strengthened global peace. The theme of this year’s Divcomm is a step in the right direction for peace in the north from Boko Haram terrorism.

Similarly the fact that General Muhammadu Buhari has been absolved by his party the Congress For Progressive Change -CPC – of collusion with the   Boko Haram, inherent in his purported nomination as a mediator with the Federal Government by Boko Haram showed that hope is not lost in containing terrorism in Nigeria especially in the North. The CPC was up in arms in righteous indignation at the suggestion and put the blame and mischief at the door step of the ruling PDP as being ever ready to embarrass the CPC leader. Reportedly, the President of the nation,   Goodluck Jonathan called the Boko Haram a barbaric organization for bombing churches and it is difficult to see the same government negotiating with a barbaric organisation. It is my belief that to dine with the devil one must have a long spoon and in killing innocent people Boko Haram should be dealt with summarily in the interest of peace in Nigeria, and before so called global Human Rights group,   who value the rights of terrorists more than the lives of their victims, turn Nigeria into another Somalia, right before our eyes.

November 10, 2012
Snatching hope from the jaws of defeat

The reelection of US President Barak Obama was the climax of a close fight between him and the defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney of the opposing Republican Party. To say that Obama fought furiously for his political life in this battle he won will be an understatement. To add that in terms of suspense and uncertainty, the election compares favorably with epoch, close, contemporary electoral battles in US history, like that of Kennedy/Nixon in 1960 or that of Bush /Al Gore in 2000 will be stating the obvious.

However, it is in Obama’s acceptance speech that he reached to the stars to excel in matchless oratory to lift the spirit of his nation and country men and women at his moment of victory. In that speech Barack Obama atoned for a poor economic performance record, showed sincere gratitude to an electorate that had amply rewarded such performance with his reelection, and gave America a new vision of shared destiny, based as he said so eloquently, on love, duty and patriotism. Barak Obama in his reelection virtually snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after a disastrous first debate that gave grit and confidence to an hesitant and fearful opponent who had come to battle initially with feet of clay. But the such is the stuff of history and grand political drama.

At the end, both the challenger and the victor at the re election of the 44th US president, strengthened the concept of popular democracy   as the ascendant democracy of our time and elections as the engine room of that ideology. Of course I am talking of free and fair election and that was what the US president was referring to in his inspiring speech when he said that in some climes, people and nations still struggle over elections that Americans have come to take for granted. Mitt Romney on his part conceded defeat graciously and thanked his wife who he said would have made an excellent   first lady.

He lamented his lack of opportunity to lead as Americans have elected a different leader. Obama too was magnanimous in defeat and thanked his wife Michelle, his Vice President and millions of his volunteer campaign workers, noting they made his victory happen. I confess to being carried away by Obama’s acceptance speech,   especially his redefinition of hope in the light of his reelection, as that stubborn human trait that makes you never to give up in the face of adversity and daunting odds. At that moment he paid homage to the twin virtues   of empathy and sharing, the very ‘secret‘ weapons that have ensured his reelection in a nation that has never rewarded poor economic record by any president with success at elections.

In practical terms too Obama ‘reset‘ his relations with the American people domestically over the stubborn economy and its travails for them even though ‘reset ‘and ‘engagement‘ are terms he had used to map out the direction of the US foreign policy at his first coming in 2008.

In diplomacy and international relations the world can heave a sigh of relief . Britain and Russia were the first to react. British PM David Cameron said he looked forward to continuing his talk on global trade with his friend Barak Obama, while Russian strong man and President Vladmir Putin expressed his happiness at Obama’s reelection. Obviously Mitt Romney had jagged a few powerful nerves globally on his utterances on Israel, Iran, China and other world issues. Initially, I had thought that a diplomatic challenge or foreign matter – like Israel attacking Iran and forcing the US to support Israel – will be the undoing of Obama’s reelection effort. Fortunately, that did not happen but a more dangerous natural disaster Super Storm Sandy threw spanner in the works at the home front in New York and New Jersey.

Ironically however the wild Hurricane   Sandy did a lot to bring out the best in the incumbent US president, to the joy and happiness of his party supporters and to the chagrin and vexation of Romney and his team, who could only wring their hands helplessly as the US president acted like the real angel of mercy elected by the American people to look after them in any crises, natural and man made. Brilliant and bipartisan management of Hurricane Sandy reminded Americans that they have a compassionate and committed leader that can salvage them in any crises – including the much advertised economic one, hence their reelection of Barak Obama on November 6.

It is in the light of Obama’s redefinition of hope that I look at events this week in Mali and Nigeria. In Mali the Islamist group Ansar Dine that has destroyed Islamic Shrines in Timbuctoo and which is in control of Northern Mali has agreed to allow aid agencies to bring relief materials and to negotiate as ECOWAS mass a 3000 man strong military contingent to drive out the invaders. In Nigeria there is some relief as the party of General Buhari deny that he knew of any plan to make him a negotiator nominated by Boko Haram, the terrorist group bombing churches on a weekly basis in Nigeria. In Nigeria too the Anglican Communion held a conference called Divinity Commonwealth Conference -DIVCOOMM-in Abuja in which it asked its members to confront the dangers facing it from within and without especially the bombing of Churches in the Northern part of the nation.

In Mali, Burkina Fasso‘s President Blaise Compraore is the ECOWAS leader in charge of the regional negotiation with the northern invaders. Compraore has experience in such matters having helped ECOWAS in nipping in the bud an earlier military coup in Guinea Conakry by seizing the coup leader on his way home after medical treatment in Morocco and marooning him in Ouagadougou the capital of Burkina Fasso while elections were being held in Guinea Conakry. The Ansar Dine have taken over northern Mali from the Tuaregs who defeated the Malian army sent to contain them, leading to a military coup on the ground that the civilian regime in Mali then, had not given sufficient ammunition to the army to contain the rebellion. ECOWAS leaders however put down their feet that the era of coups was over in the region and since Mali was landlocked, starved the military of fuel whereby they agreed to form a diarchy of sorts while ECOWAS gave a Coordinator’s role to the Nigerian Head of State President Goodluck Jonathan to get a force to rescue Mali from the Ansar Dine occupying the north.

The fact that Ansar Dine is ready to negotiate gives sign that the crisis may not be protracted as it is known that some militant groups have promised to launch a jihad from the Sahel on ECOWAS nations once the Islamists in Mali are attacked or dislodged from that nation by the ECOWAS force. This is to be taken seriously in the light of information gathered that Boko Haram group has connection and are being trained by the invaders of Mali.

Similarly the Anglican Church seem to have taken a stand on defending it devotees who have been subjected to the terror of Boko Haram which says it does not recognize western education and wants Christians to leave the north. At a welcome address to Anglican faithful attending the second Divcom Conference in Abuja the Anglican Primate Nicholas Okoh lamented the bombing of Churches as wicked. The theme of the conference is ‘Contending for the faith‘ and according to the Primate – ‘Contending for the faith handed   over to us is not a tea party. It takes sacrifice, denial, focus, even at the risk of taking one’s life‘. To me the Primate’s admonition is one of self- defence at a time when it has become fashionable for Boko Haram to bomb churches even during Holy Communion. The call   should also create a sort of adeterrence for Boko Haram to redress or abandon its impunity of killing Christians at will without any punishment from any quarters. It reminds me of the principles of mutual deterrence or balance of terror during the Cold War when knowledge of the arsenal of both the US and then USSR ensured mutual peace and respect   and strengthened global peace. The theme of this year’s Divcomm is a step in the right direction for peace in the north from Boko Haram terrorism.

Similarly the fact that General Muhammadu Buhari has been absolved by his party the Congress For Progressive Change -CPC – of collusion with the   Boko Haram, inherent in his purported nomination as a mediator with the Federal Government by Boko Haram showed that hope is not lost in containing terrorism in Nigeria especially in the North. The CPC was up in arms in righteous indignation at the suggestion and put the blame and mischief at the door step of the ruling PDP as being ever ready to embarrass the CPC leader. Reportedly, the President of the nation,   Goodluck Jonathan called the Boko Haram a barbaric organization for bombing churches and it is difficult to see the same government negotiating with a barbaric organisation. It is my belief that to dine with the devil one must have a long spoon and in killing innocent people Boko Haram should be dealt with summarily in the interest of peace in Nigeria, and before so called global Human Rights group,   who value the rights of terrorists more than the lives of their victims, turn Nigeria into another Somalia, right before our eyes.

November 10, 2012
Global power play – Between change and consolidation

Next week will see a sea change in the politics of power in the two most economically powerful nations on earth. The US presidential election holds on November 6 while the 10-yearly transfer of power conference of the Chinese Communist Party, the ruling party of China, starts two days later on November 8. In Russia, Vladmir Putin, the president and strongman of Russian politics cancelled some state engagements sparkling speculations that he could have a nagging injury but even then no one doubted his hold on power as the Czar of Modern Russia. In Nigeria , Primate Nicholas Okoh, head of the Nigeria Anglican Communion at a news conference on next week’s 2012 Divine Commonwealth Conference in Abuja asked that the British government should appoint an Archbishop of Canterbury who is ‘ biblically based and not someone with wide theologies‘.

Yet, before discussing the power plays already identified for this week let me acknowledge with awesome respect the natural fire power of Hurricane Sandy or Sandy Storm t in the US that brought life to a halt in New York and New Jersey this week. The storm halted, albeit briefly,   the acrimonious US presidential campaign   and allowed the US President Barak Obama a rare opportunity to use his incumbency maximally to his advantage in the elections, in the way he responded   like a father of the nation to the crisis.

Even the late George Washington and the founding fathers of the American nation must smile in their graves at the sight this US president in Airforce one charging down the plane’s doorsteps to bring succor and hope to those blighted by an inhuman storm that threw out even caskets from their graves in its fury and wanton, destruction of lives and property on its path. Hurricane Sandy showed very clearly that in terms of raw power and its display, science and man are yet to conquer nature and both are well advised to be extremely   cautious as to how they try to control the elements in their midst and in their various global environment. The fact that the US Metrological   Authorities could identify the path of the storm as well as its speed but could not stop it, is enough testimony to the fact that man is yet to be able to control his environment, in spite of the huge technological achievements of our age and time . Which really is a frightening truth to live with, in a world with enough man made horrors of its own.

In similar manner and undoubtedly then, the result of the forth coming US elections can bring new horrors of its own depending on who wins. Most Nigerians expect or pray that Obama should win .But Nigerians are not going to vote in the elections . From the utterances and campaigns of the two candidates Americans must make a choice come November 6. From what Mitt Romney has articulated so far, his administration will look after the rich and mighty and will not raise taxes from them but will want the poor and middle class to fend for themselves or perish in the process if they cannot. If Romney wins he will give full backing to the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu and will encourage an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities which he thinks are the most potent threat to world peace today. Iran on its own has said that it would wipe out Israel and there is no doubt that it is not about to make itself a sitting duck for any US – engineered, Israeli attack , on its nuclear facility. This, in addition to the violence in nearby Syria which is an ally of Iran whose plane drones are reported to have been sighted in Syria helping the Assad regime, is bound to complicate issues and make the world a dangerous place to live in indeed   in a Mitt Romney presidency.

Obama, on the other hand , is tested hand whose foreign policy of engagement with friends and enemies alike has made the world a safer place to live in so far. He has beheaded Al Qada in the killing of Bin Laden and his foreign policy has flowered the growth of democracy in the Middle East. Obama’s foreign policy in the Middle East has destroyed some old animosities and created new friends that make the prospect of a lasting peace in a combustible region possible after all. Hamas has moved away from Syria in protest at the killing of the Syrian people by their president. Hamas has lost sanctuary and funding from Syria but it has found a new friend in equally rich Qatar whose Prince visited Hamas territory recently and Qatar is an ally of the US, and Saudi Arabia,   great enemies of Syria.

In Lebanon the EU has refused to follow the US in categorizing Hizbollah, an ally of Iran, as a terrorist organization because of the humanitarian work it is doing for all parties concerned fleeing the carnage going on in Syria and becoming refugees in Lebanon. Such realignments and reappraisal of relations make diplomacy a potent tool for peace in the region as the prospects of war recedes in the face of pragmatic politics and emerging relationships. At home in spite of the ailing domestic economy Obama   has shown more empathy with the poor and down trodden of the US economy more than any US president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt-FDR -who led the US during the Great Depression of 1929 and the thirties. To me as a citizen of the world Obama is a safer option for world peace and stability and I wish him God’s speed on his reelection bid.

China too will be busy next week organizing its own orderly and party guided transfer of power. 2000 party faithfuls will be gathered in Beijing next Thursday to name Vice President Xi Jinping    to succeed outgoing President Hu Jintao while Vice Premier Li Keqiana will replace outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao . About 5 to 7 seats on the Chinese Communist Party Politbureau are expected to be filled at the closed shop conference which is unlike the hullaballoo that attend American presidential campaigns and elections. That is politics and democracy – Chinese style -as in the global interplay of power politics one man’s food is another man’s poison and as long as there is political stability and security , the end can always be used in any political system to justify the means. Already about 1.5m volunteers have been mobilized in Beijing to ensure stability during the Party Conference next week. So whoever wins the US elections already knows who to deal with on the Chinese side but the same cannot be   said of the Americans till after the elections of November 6. Really, I wonder which one is neater or preferable.

Russia’s Vladmir Putin’s postponement of state events may bother his guests but his absences are really of his own making and are indeed due to the fact that he has too much time on his hand in running Russia and has injured himself in the process. This is because in addition to dangerously flying planes along with migrating birds, Putin is a judo black belt who inspired the large haul of gold medals in judo for the Russian contingent at the just concluded 2012 London Olympics. That not with standing Putin must or should wear the ultimate ‘gold medal‘ in Russian politics for the way he organized his return to power in 2012 after ruling as   president for the mandatory two terms of four years from 2001 to 2008. He simply appointed a stooge who ruled as president of Russia for four years while he demoted himself as Prime Minister for four years only to get his presidency back in a stage managed election later. Now, Putin is expected to be in power till 2020. Who can challenge him for the gold medal of power in Russia? Definitely no one – so the postponement of state engagements are an inconsequential distraction that can be overlooked by the state; as Putin, indeed, is the state in Russia.

Nigeria’s Anglican Primate Nicholas Okoh’s advice to the British government to stop the politicization of the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury should be looked at in the context of the appointment as well as the performance of the   outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams;   as well as the personality and views of the appointing authority of the next Archbishop   of Canterbury who is the present British PM.

In simple terms former British PM Tony Blair appointed Rowan Williams while the present British PM David Cameron is to appoint his successor. This is what the Nigerian Anglican Prelate is objecting to. This to me is because David Cameron is on record as threatening to cut aid to African nations that have laws against homosexuality and lesbianism and Nigeria is unrepentantly one of such nations. Outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams turned a blind eye to the ordination of gay priests in the US and ignored the objections of African bishops during his tenure. This divided the global Anglican Communion deeply and created a Schism.

Rowan Williams played with words, philosophies and theological arguments to justify his nonchalance on gay priests in the Anglican Communion hence Primate Okoh’s advice to the British government to appoint a new Archbishop that knows the bible and respects it and not just another radical intellectual like Rowan Williams who fiddled like Roman Emperor Nero while the global Anglican Community burnt like Rome over the consecration of gay priests and bishops during his tenure.

I think Primate Okoh is trying to preserve the Commonwealth heritage of the Anglican Communion and the teachings of the bible in spite of the apparent swing of British politics and government in the direction of accommodation for gays and lesbians. It is really a complicated power play and pot pourri of religion and politics fit only for the high priests and princes of the Church to be watched only from a safe distance by a curious laity.

November 3, 2012
Terrorism, politics and the law

The bombing of a church in a military barrack in Kaduna

in Nigeria and the placement of a bounty of 50m naira by the army on leaders of the terrorist group Boko Haram highlight Nigeria’s intractable and messy problem with terrorism. Unlike Nigeria, however Egypt faces a new problem from the use and misuse of power from its new president Mohammed Morsi, who recently issued presidential orders granting him powers that are not challengeable in any court in Egypt.

In Nigeria again, in a strange concoction of politics and finance, the nation’s Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, the Champion of Islamic banking in Nigeria asked the Federal government to sack 50% of its civil servants because it is spending 70% of its revenue on paying the salaries of these civil servants. In far away New York, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon asked the UN Security Council to approve the sending of an ECOWAS force to Mali to rescue that nation from invaders both Tuaregs and religious militants but asked the UN body not to provide the funds said to be worth $50m.

The issues highlighted above raise issues of terrorism, authoritarianism, economic planning and finan ce, national, regional and global stability and I intend to highlight these issues in that light and context today. Let me stress that it will require a huge balancing act to do this and it is in that regard that I will make reference to an article by Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyii titled -‘A Sense of Balance‘in The Economist which stressed that both peoples and nations will need to balance their acts to make the world a peaceful place to live in.

In that fine article Suu Kyii noted that the end of authoritarianism is not synonymous with the end of dissent or the demise of fundamentalism. Dissent she said should be channeled towards concensus and compromise while she stressed that fundamentalism, which can be volatile in times of change and uncertainty, is in reality the natural enemy of balance. Suu Kyii identified terrorists as those people lacking in self respect who are incapable of compassion and restraint when they have an opportunity to deal with those who they think put them in a state of incapacity to attain what they perceive as their deserved niche. Such people who lack self respect are incapable of respecting others. The terrorist mentality she concluded is spawned by intellectual and social influences that widen to an extreme ‘the gap‘ between the terrorist and others – and this destroys the essential balance that promotes a common bond of humanity.

It is in the light of the wisdom of the Burmese and Nobel laureate that I take on the issues raised first on terrorism in Nigeria and the resurgence of authoritarianism in Egypt in the wake of President Mohammed Morsi,s surprising and bold move to concentrate power in his hands. In Nigeria terrorism is waxing stronger as terrorists this week bombed the headquarters of the special police unit in Abuja where terrorists are being kept and some were said to have escaped. There have been reports that some suspected terrorists were found round the State House in Ekiti State while Members of the National Assembly are said to be apprehensive that the Assembly could be the target of Boko Haram terrorists.

It is my considered view that no government should allow terrorists to operate with such impunity as this weakens respect for constituted authority and casts aspersion on the sovereignty of the state. It is ironically to protect such sovereignty that President Mohammed Morsi in Egypt seized the powers of the courts and decreed they could not be used to challenge him in his bid to control law and order in Egyp. In Nigeria’s case it is apparent that the state is lax in tackling insecurity and terrorism for reasons best known to the authorities. But human lives should not be treated with levity and nonchalance by the rest of us because we have not any relatives killed by terrorists. It is dehumanizing to see churches bombed on a weekly basis while Christians elsewhere and those not directly involved just pause for a moment and move on while the state wrings its hands in futile admonitions and does nothing to deter the terrorist against the next attack.

In Egypt where there is no such terror as in Nigeria, President Morsi has seized power ostensibly to forestall such state impotence in the face of expected terror. Morsi is acting proactively in anticipation of spurious litigations to hamstring the state even though his anticipation and actions are decidedly undemocratic. The difference between the Nigerian and Egyptian situation is that the party of President Morsi, the Islamic Brotherhood is a Fundamentalist Party and secular Egyptians are afraid that Morsi and his party will use the power he has seized to introduce Sharia Law in Egypt, to the detriment of opposition parties and other religions in Egypt. Whereas in Nigeria the terrorist is rampant and running amok as it were.

Yet, there is still some caution and restraint in the way the stakeholders and politicians in the Egyptian state deal with each other. When the demonstrations against Morsi started, the Muslim Brotherhood planned its own counter one for last Tuesday. But it cancelled this to avert bloodshed when it saw the turn out at Tahrir Square against the president’s usurpation of the power of the Egyptian Courts.

Such restraint is barren in the way Boko Haram bombs Churches killing and maiming Christians and passers by in Nigeria. Worse still the business as usual stance of the security forces as well as the ‘not my turn yet‘ attitude of the rest of us has portrayed Nigeria as a nation of people thick skinned to murder and mayhem in their midst. Which simply means that human life is cheap here as in the Hobbessian theory that says that in a state of terror, where might is right, human life is violent, brutish and short. Surely that is a sad and unfortunate image for any nation not enmeshed in America’s war on terror like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq where suicide bombing has made a mockery of the sanctity of human lives.

Again, it is in that light that I consider the call by the CBN governor to sack half the work force of our civil service as well as the posture of the UN not being ready to spend money on rescuing Mali. The CBN governor’s call reminds one of ‘the shoot the messenger‘ syndrome while the UN parsimony on Mali’s survival reminds one of the proverbial cat that would eat fish without getting its paws wet. What the CBN governor has said is the correct thing for any government spending 70% of its revenue on salaries to do but even he knows that no politician or government in Nigeria will do that and survive.

Even the host governor at the venue where the CBN delivered his stricture said it was not possible. So the CBN governor was just barking at the moon even though every one knows that sacking of civil servants was never part of his schedule of duties and that makes the civil servants happy as they plan his downfall in the full Nigerian retaliatory syndrome. Anyway, the CBN governor is as impervious to criticism as the politicians in the way he carried through his Islamic Banking agenda which is in tune with his Master’s degree in Islamic studies from the University of Khartoum. Really what is good for the goose should be good for the gander.

Lastly, Ban Ki Moon has shown that he or the UN does not understand the gravity of the situation in Mali. ECOWAS states alone cannot fund the reclamation of Northern Mali because they all have financial problems of their own .They mostly rely on Nigeria as the father Xmas of such military adventures. But Nigeria has problems of its own such as the one pointed out by the CBN governor, the oil subsidy theft, the huge allowances of its legislators as well as the fight against Boko Haram to which huge funds have been committed.

The UN should not turn the proposed Mali ECOWAS force into another laughing stock like the blue beret UN Congo troops who stood by and watched unconcerned as M23 rebels seized the town of Goma from government forces in the DRC recently. Mali is a member state of the UN that is in trouble because of regional problems stemming from the growth of militancy and fundamentalism on the northern part of all ECOWAS states and needs help, especially the financial type to maintain its stability and sovereignty.

If Mali falls there will be a wrong signal to militants in the Sahel that they can simulate the situation in Mali in any state in ECOWAS. That is one message that is lost to the UN Scribe for now. Not funding the military rescue of Mali can be counter productive and very costly for the UN in the short run not to talk of in the long. A word is enough for the wise.

November 1, 2012