By Dayo Sobowale

A spokesman for Myetti Allah  the  umbrella organization    of   cattle    sellers and rearers  recently asked government to stop the killing of Fulani herdsmen in  the South East by terrorists .  A     sitting    governor in the zone   also  asked   security  forces to distinguish  between agitation and criminality and arrest members of the secessionist IPOB  who  are known to be attacking  police stations and fomenting   trouble in the same South East . But  it  is well  known that  armed Fulani   herdsmen have been having  a field  day in the entire South West  of the nation destroying  farms and terrorizing  the area with impunity   while  government has wittingly or not turned a blind  eye to their atrocities  .  Indeed  Myetti Allah gloats  regularly   with  cheeky   impudence   if not   impunity as if it knows that it is a sacred cow that  government  cannot  touch  or punish in any way  whatsoever . Tribalism  has played a   large  part in government’s  aloofness  or inability to call both  the Myetti Allah and Fulani  herdsmen to order   because the President is  Fulani and has  once intoned   or reminisced publicly  that if he had not gone to school he would have been a Fulani herdsman . That  is the core of the matter we shall  discuss  today   taking into consideration events in Nigeria as we highlighted on the Fulani issue  and government ,   while  roping that to Election integrity in the US where  racism has become the whip to  cancel  dissent by the Biden Administration and  Britain where  the PM is  being accused of using campaign   donations illegally to fund the renovation of his apartment  in 10  Downing Street which is the official residence of the British Prime Minister .

I  will  start with some quotations from two  black  Americans who  are holding their  positions as the first  black  to do so. One is a black senator   Tim  Scott  who responded to President Joe Biden’s first State of the Nation’s address to the US Congress  .  The  other is  Mark   Robinson , the first  Black Lt Governor  of North  Carolina . According to reports,  Senator Scott went after race relations, corporate  cancel culture and what  he called the politics  of division in the US .  In    response   to Joe   Biden’s    address   Senator   Scot    roared    ’Hear  me clearly America is not a racist  country . Its  backward to fight discrimination  with another type  of discrimination  and its wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut  down  debates  in the present .’  What  this black senator is telling the Biden administration is that the Democrats  should  not get more catholic than  the Pope  and do as if they can identify racism against  the blackman  better  than  the blacks  who bear the pain and stigma of racial  discrimination   all  the time .

In similar  vein North  Carolina’s first  black  Lt Governor Mark  Robinson told  a House Judicial  Committee that  the  Democrats  should  not shed  crocodile tears over Georgia’s new election laws that asked for  identity requirement  for  voters involved in in mail and absentee  voting which the Democrats say  is meant   to prevent  blacks  from voting . According to the black  Lt Gov   the notion  that  black  people  must be protected from a free ID   to  secure the vote is  ‘ not just  insane  , it  is  insulting ‘  . He  went  on to   recall  that blacks went through slavery , the civil  rights movement    and  are at the highest  echelon of US government with an Obama Adminisration  haveng come and gone and yet the  Democrats are using  the slogan that there is systemic racism in the US  when  indeed they  are using  racism  to get more power and silence the opposition .’Really  if  black  leaders now see through  the ploy  to use racism  to  beat the opposition  to order and acquire  more  power then the issue  of election integrity of the US 2020  presidential  election  which  the US courts  swept  aside as lacking evidence  all the way  to the US Supreme  Court is still  very  much  alive . It  certainly  will  play  a large role  in the US mid term elections of 2022 and  the Republicans  who  question  the integrity  of the 2020  presidential elections will  be hoping that the Democrats will  meet  their waterloo and the Republicans will  gain control  of the senate   and House of Reps which  they lost in an election of questionable integrity in 2020 .

In   Britain too accountability and integrity were at  play  in the way  the opposition Labour Party  is asking the PM Boris Johnson to  account for where he got  money to furnish  his  official  apartment  . The  news was leaked  by a  former  aide he fired  recently  who  said he told him then that the idea was stupid  if not illegal . He  was called a liar in Parliament  and asked to explain himself . When  he sought protection from the Speaker to determine  if the question was in order , he found  himself  naked and had  to  answer the question and  an  inquiry  on the matter  has been set  up   .It  remains to be seen how Boris  Johnson will  survive this renovation misadventure  like  he and his fiancée survived the pandemic  narrowly  earlier on.  The  way  campaign funds are raised  and  utilized  is very  important  issue   more respected as a matter of election integrity and  accountability  in Britain .It  is   not that much  of an issue in the US  or  Nigeria . In  the US aside  the Georgia ID matter it is an open secret  that big Tech  companies funded the Biden Campaign  massively while big  media outfits simply blacked out news on any  financial accusation  of the Biden family  until after the   2020   presidential   elections  .

In  Nigeria election integrity is observed more in rigging than in observance  and voter  participation .While  the US  is planning for the 2022 US  mid  term elections Nigeria  too is getting set  for the 2023 presidential  elections .While charges of White  Supremacy  and Racism  dominate politics in  the US tribalism  or  ethnicity is  the Achilles   heel  of Nigeria’s  democracy . Insecurity  is  also  an issue  that  will  determine  the fate of Nigeria in the 2023  elections . If  the present trend of pervasive  insecurity  persists ,  one will  fear  for the conduct of a peaceful   election . Government should  therefore  move   in the direction of   making  the political  terrain ready  for a peaceful  election and a new transition of power since the president cannot  contest for a third term . Government  should show that a government is any government that successfully upholds a monopoly  to the exclusive  use of physical  force in maintaining  its rule within a given  territorial  area ,  which in this case is Nigeria .Government  should show its hands transparently  and bare its fangs powerfully  ,  to  call  to order  those challenging its    legitimate  authority    with   impunity  and  insolence ,   all over the place . That  really  is the meaning of government  in any democracy and we are  one ,the largest indeed in Africa ,  if not the world . Once  again From  the fury  of this pandemic Good Lord Deliver Nigeria

By Dayo Sobowale

Faith  is blind is a common saying but  it does not   mean  believers are blind. It  is their belief  that they  hold as sacrosanct and dare anyone not  sharing their faith to say otherwise at their peril . That  is the nature of religion and faith nowadays . Faith  in our world in the last decade has shown  that it is not domiciled in religion alone. It    has  migrated   clandestinely  in recent times   to other spheres  of human life   and activities,  most especially politics,  where   the quest for leadership and power  resides , with all its potentials  and   machinery  to make   or  mar   social  goals   and objectives  .  Politics  at  times makes accountability ,  transparency , and integrity ,    the   normallitmus test   of   good leadership and society  ,  so elusive that one wanders what the essence of constitutions are and  why  leadership  is   mostly  drifting from set purposes  and   political  expectations ,  like a rudderless   boat  carrying  hapless  , fleeing  migrants from Libya to Europe on the  Mediterranean sea as  is commonly reported  nowadays.

In  recent weeks,  the Lenten season ,  a period of fasting for Christians has  been swiftly followed  by the Ramadan ,   the fasting  period  for Muslims . Both  periods  are for soul searching and purifying oneself   to be a better human being either Christian or Muslims . That is  my understanding and I am a Christian  and   I  try  to do my best in that regard but  not necessarily with fasting which  makes  me dizzy and almost  suicidal any time I attempt it . I  however attended  Muslim Ramadan Lecture at the prestigious Yoruba Tennis Club    this week  with the theme  ‘ Fasting , A Panacea for Soul Cleansing and  raising Righteous Nations ‘ . The Lecture  was delivered by Imam Shakirudeen Abdul  Gafar [Mofeseaye ] as Guest Lecturer . The  lecturer ,   an   Islamic scholar   of the Lagos Central  Mosque  , obviously  well  known by his Mofeseaye sobriquet  , approached  the topic from the angle that only  a man who can claim to be righteous or seen as such,  at large , can stand  before God . He  went on to draw the logical  conclusion that a nation made up of righteous people can  be a great nation in all ramifications of good governance and citizenry . I   find  the  topic fascinating and went on to ask a question based on the topic of this  column ‘ New Cultures and Politics‘ .

I asked  the well  versed and brilliant Islamic scholar  how  fasting in Ramadan can  be used to explain the  emerging  Western Culture on gay rights and LGBT , and   the view that marriage is not necessarily  between a man and woman . Without  mincing words he reeled out relevant portions of the Koran that attest that marriage is between a  man and a woman  and there is no other way that Islam recognizes  other   than that  ,  which  I found satisfactory and convincing .

However while  I agree with the good Imam that fasting creates righteous humans I  do  not see any righteous  nations arising from that . This  is our focus today and I will illustrate  my viewpoint from  a look at the powerful  nations of today and how they are arrayed in their splendor  and   sovereignty   against each other globally in terms of believers and non believers.   And  how such faith in themselves and   malice towards those who do not share their faith ,  has created such rancor and suspicion that world  peace itself  is on tenterhooks  and  societies and  nations are  literally  at  the edge of a cliff ,  in the world at large .

Let  us start with a  handful   of the members  of  the UN  Security  Council   , the caretaker  or undertaker    of world peace as we know  it today . We  shall  look at the US ,  Russia ,  China , and   Britain  .  Of  course we  cannot behave like the proverbial  ostrich with its head buried in the sand by  neglecting Nigeria , which is a faith drunk  nation  which  has found it difficult  to produce  a  righteous nation but is awash with wealthy pastors , fiery jihadists and bandits who pillage  on account of their faiths .

We start  with the US ,   whose present faith is Black Lives Matter and where the sentencing of Derek  Chauvin , the white policeman who  killed Floyd George with his knee has been found guilty of all charges and  the USA as a nation breathed a sigh of relief that the verdict was that of guilty . But then before the verdict everyone knew a’ not guilty ‘verdict will set the US on fire . Yet  in the same US  a suspect is presumed innocent  until  proven otherwise . A  black  legislator asked  people  to take to the streets if the verdict is not guilty . She  should be vilified just as former President Donald Trump  was vilified for inciting the attack on the Capitol on January 6 2021 . Even  the president  ,   Joe  Biden  warned that the verdict  had better be right and it was . Undoubtedly the jury  was  frightened for its life and gave a quick desired verdict . But  the trial  judge,  a brave man, had criticized the legislative and executive interference in the judicial  process and hinted to the defence  lawyer  of the murderous  policeman that there is a ground for appeal or a  mistrial  on account of the   interference  .  Which  is unfortunate and  has given hope to Derek  Chauvin  that  he may yet escape justice when all  he deserved is to  spend the rest  of his life in jail for snuffing out life from a helpless Floyd George .For  now ,  anyway ,  justice  has been served .

Again , America , after or even  before the 2020  presidential election was divided between what a Fox News commentator called a white , conservative Christian elite  represented by the Republicans and  multicultural , secular and liberal elite,  typified  by the Democrats . So,   a huge political  battle line is drawn between the values and the beliefs of these two  forces who view  each other as enemies when they  are supposed to be sportsmen who should shake hands after  a game  win or lose .Which  in this  case   was  the 2020  presidential  elections which  has shaken Americans faith in their election integrity  to its very root .

We  go next   to Russia where the faith is in political stability and facing up  to the US  even though  a  nation that was an atheist one  since  Bolshevik  Revolution of 1917 ,  has  under its one man rule of Vladmir  Putin   accommodated the Russian Orthodox Church  which it banned under Communist rule . In  China too religion is feared rather than observed and faith  which is   totally  political ,  is resident in the Chinese Communist  Party which  calls the shot and  has China   in its  iron  grip . In  Britain  human rights is worshipped like a religion and multiculturalism used to be the favorite political swan songs but after some bombings and knives  attack,  Britain  is taking a second look at  multiculturalism which  has not produced positive integration of new citizens . It  has shown this  in the way and manner it has handled Black Lives Matter protests in Britain by supporting  the police  while stopping the calls for historical statues  to be removed . Britain also  worships its  monarchy and that is very apparent in the way and manner it showed grief and solidarity  with the Queen  on the death of her  husband Prince Phillip , the Duke  of Edinburgh recently .

We  end  up with Nigeria in the true spirit that charity  should begin at home . The  disturbing  thing is that a sitting Nigerian Minister was accused by a Professor of being the Imam of a University Mosque when  his son  was murdered on a fatwa given  by the Minister. I  read news reports that the Minister   still  gives regular daily Ramadan lectures  like  the one  attended recently at the Yoruba Tennis Club . If  this is true the Minister  should  just  resign and go home . It is up to the security agencies to believe or not ,  the professor  and father of the fatwa victim even  though the  father has said he has forgiven   those who killed  his son . Surely   the blood  of the son of the professor killed   by a fatwa  is crying out loud  and clear   for justice and justice  should not only be   done but be seen to have been done  This Minister should  simply  leave  the cabinet as the exercise of  his faith in the past is at  odds with the goals and objectives of any right thinking ,  decent  people and government  and we believe that  Nigerians and the Federal and state  governments are   such   decent  entities and  peoples  . Once again From the Fury of this pandemic Good Lord Deliver Nigeria .

By Dayo Sobowale

The opposition PDP in Nigeria is predictably happy about a US State Department report that corruption and insecurity is rampant in the Buhari Administration despite the war on corruption and the reputation for integrity of the Nigerian president that made the APC to win the last two presidential elections in Nigeria. That  really  is the duty of the opposition and I commend the PDP for its diligence in fulfilling its mandate  and in doing  that showing the world, that   after all  said and done,  Nigeria’s democracy is moving in the  right   direction in terms of the dictum of  democracy  that  says   while the majority may  have its   way,  as the APC  has  done, the minority must  have its say. Essentially  that is the only good thing about  the extravagant interest  of the   Americans  in our affairs because as   at now, the Democrats  in power in the US have  not been able to extend  the same courtesies on free speech and the right of dissent to the Republicans  as the APC    has   done to  the  PDP so  magnanimously   since President Joe Biden  came to power in the  US.

Indeed the state of lawlessness  and insecurity both in the US borders and the killings in US  cities rival  what  obtains  in Nigeria in terms of banditry, kidnapping and Fulani herdsmen killings  such  that  one can call the   US condemnation of Nigeria on insecurity and corruption a clear case of the pot calling the kettle  black. And I say clearly  to the ubiquitous,   meddlesome  and nosy  Americans,  as  well  as their  Nigerian  colleagues   in both the APC and  the  PDP that those  who live in glass houses should  not throw stones. This is the essence of our discussion today with illustrations from the EU, the US and of course Nigeria.

In  the EU there  is a cat and mouse game going on between a member -nation Poland, a yet-to-be member- nation, Turkey, and the rest of the EU over the issue of condemning domestic violence in a treaty  called the Istanbul Convention  which Turkey  signed and   later   withdrew from ,  and Poland has  replaced  with a new  proposal  entirely,   to the consternation of the rest of the EU which  is crying foul  loudly  and  very  stringently. In  the US where there is a new  president after the 2020 presidential  election over 40  states are amending   their electoral laws  and rules  purportedly to  ensure election integrity but  both  the Republicans and Democrats see this   differently. Yet,  to an outsider  it  is pertinent   to ask – if the elections were free and fair why  the rush to amend  laws to ensure electoral integrity  so  soon after  the elections during  which  the US courts   dismissed all  cases   and   irregularities brought  up  and   cited by the loser Donald Trump who charged that  the election was rigged?  That   is certainly   a good example   of getting wise after   the events.

With regard  to  the   criticism   of  the  present Nigerian    government   by the US,  it  is not as if one is  condoning  corruption or sanctioning insecurity but I object  to foreign  nations who do not have a  track  record of security  and   integrity  in terms of corruption and election integrity sanctioning other nations. That should stop and   I will show why I so resent such’ holier than thou ‘attitude of the Americans here today.

Let us go back to the culture war in the EU between Turkey Poland and the rest   of the EU on the Domestic Violence treaty also called the Istanbul Convention. That both Turkey and Poland are on the same side on the matter is not an accident. Turkey is an Islamic nation and Poland is staunchly Catholic. Both are deeply religious nations while   the rest of the EU is largely dismissive of the role or importance of the family and religion on this matter of domestic violence.  Poland’s government insists the Istanbul Convention does not respect religion and promotes controversial ideologies about   gender. Indeed the Convention signed in 2011 was to protect women against domestic violence but to Turkey and Poland it is as if the EU and its managers want to bring in the issue of gender recognition by the back door and both nations say No vehemently. In Poland the government has sent a bill to Parliament that says – ‘Yes to Family, No to gender’. In a way Poland and Turkey smelt a rat on the Istanbul Convention   implementation, and opted out because the rest of EU wanted to kill mischievously two birds with one stone. They,   the rest of the EU wanted to smuggle in gender recognition with domestic violence and women rights and these two nations    saw through their tricks and blew the whistle to say enough is enough.

Both nations like Nigeria and unlike the EU recognize that marriage is between a man and a woman and the family is the basis of society. Which is what the EU and US is trying to destroy with the LGBT and gay rights laws recently signed into law   by   President   Joe Biden in the US. The  same goes as well  for   transgender rights which are abhorrent to religious  nations like Poland  and Turkey which value family existence and respect for women  rights as well while also  condemning domestic  violence. The  EU  is trying  to portray  these  two religious  nations as against domestic violence and that is a lie because it is the rest  of the EU that  wants to smuggle in gender into the Istanbul  Convention and muscle the two  nations to  submission on  the gender issue they  are so much against.

Again it is in this light that I see the American criticism of Nigeria as lacking good faith and sincerity. It is on record that the US hates Nigeria because of its anti-gay law and non-recognition of LGBT rights. But that does not mean that Nigeria does not recognize women rights or that it condones domestic violence. No sane society can condone domestic violence and Nigeria is not an exception. But that should not mean that domestic violence is always against women. Some women in Nigeria are immensely more violent than their spouses and some are so verbally violent that they can bring a house down.

So, in a way, Nigeria, Poland and Turkey are on the same wavelength on the issue of family, anti-gay   laws, protection of women rights, and the stopping of domestic violence. The US and the Rest of the EU   are also together on promotion of gay, LGBT and transgender rights. So the stage is set as I predicted on starting this column that the US will muscle Nigeria on these issues. They reportedly did not sell weapons to us to fight Boko Haram even as they too were eliminating ISIS in the Middle East. That is how I see this latest criticism of our political system and leadership.

Yet, we know how deep a mess we are in as a nation and as a people and we know God, not the Americans are in control. Again I take  solace   as a  concerned  Nigerian   in my favourite Shakespeare play Henry V,  when the English King harangued   his  outnumbered  and   beleaguered  troops against  the  French  army with  the immortal and encouraging words -‘ We  are in God’s  Hand , Brother , Not  in Theirs ‘.  That is my message   to the Americans on this matter. Once again From the fury of this pandemic Good Lord Deliver Nigeria.

The discovery and distribution of vaccines the world over have come not only with great relief that the end of a dangerous pandemic is in sight , at long last , but   it has   come also with its own brand of politics on vaccine delivery and forced or imminent  forced vaccination. Excited airlines  have announced that passengers must show evidence of vaccination before boarding flights and  some employers are prodding their staff  to get vaccinated while making such  vaccination a prerequisite  for  new  employees  to be considered for much  needed jobs.  I   call all  these health  concern  vaccine politics and put them in the same boat as the   earlier  pandemic politics that emerged  at the outbreak of the pandemic which  led to forced lockdowns of economies, social distancing, and  mandatory  wearing of  face masks to contain  the spread  of the deadly  pandemic. Let  me remind  you  again,  that I promised not to call the pandemic by name at its outset , thinking it would be  ashort tragedy.  But it is over a year  now but I still keep  my resolve not to call it by name in the great hope  that vaccine arrivals will  soon make the dreaded virus  that  has gripped world  by the jugular, in a massive  death grip,  a thing of the past.

The  lockdown, social distancing and face  masks  created problems of their own which  led to protests that freedom of movement and   control were being politicized and used to the advantages of governments in power,  at the expense and to the detriment of  their opponents in the quest for  power in many nations and political  systems. Massive state spending to cushion the effect  of the  pandemic   turned  many  nations  both developed and developing into instant  welfare  states  with  socialist  trappings and paraphernalia. In  Africa  where the WHO predicted a lot of people will die, the statistics showed otherwise and the WHO  lamented wickedly at the low count  of deaths in Africa . Billy Gates  one of the best philanthropists  in the world  joined the WHO in wondering  at the low deaths in Africa . Now  that the vaccines have come and  are  being taken in many nations including Nigeria the time  has  come to  remind Africans that   Africans  have far  more low deaths  because of their  natural immunity  which  the virologists called herd immunity and some nations like Sweden  tried to  achieve without  lock downs and secured  less  deaths than  those which  locked  down their economies at the height  of the pandemic.

In  Nigeria  the Governor of Kogi  State Yahaya Bello   has  reportedly  said  he will  not take the pandemic vaccine  because  nothing is wrong with  him.  That  may  sound controversial or discouraging  to  those bent on vaccinating all Nigerians but the governor   is a man  or leader with a mind of his own. I  once read a reaction of his government signed by the Secretary to the Government in which  he took issues with the National Leadership  of the pandemic  health management  who  asked people not to go to his state because he was not following the pandemic protocols on lockdown. His  response was that he would  not be a copy cat and   mimic, the lockdowns  in advanced nations just  because they  have locked their economies because the pandemic was  in his  environ   was  not on the same high scale as those far away nations which   are in the eye of the storm in terms of high deaths arising from the pandemic.  It  is therefore logical  to expect someone with this mind set to be unwilling to take the pandemic vaccine. Anyway  the  IKogi  governor is said  to be in the good books of his people because he has reportedly  brought them security  and prosperity, sorely lacking in many parts of the nation today .

Let  me note that  I share the Kogi state governor’s concern   on   copy  cat lockdowns in Nigeria and have written  about it many times when the pandemic broke  out.  Even  the Oyo state Governor  once stated  that  he would not lock down his economy  because  millions of the citizens of the state go  out on a daily basis  to earn their living and the lockdown  would simply  make them die  of hunger. In  Lagos state more people are  without masks  than  those  with  them  and   the death  toll is nowhere near that of  the US  and  EU. The  reason is not far fetched. Nigerians  are used  to having malaria and respiratory   diseases  and the antidotes they  use to overcome these health hazards seem  to have fortified  them against this  pandemic. If  you  call  that immunity you could be right. That  is a positive  thing.  That  to me is what the Kogi state governor is trying to highlight   and   that  explains  his reluctance  to  be vaccinated as health wise   for   survival  on this pandemic,  you  do not change a winning team .

Along  the line,  all the same the Kogi  state  governor could change his  mind and get  vaccinated and he has a good  example  to follow in this regard. That is Donald  Trump  the former  US president   whose  experience  on the pandemic and the arrival of  the pandemic vaccine,  so soon after he lost power, is both sweet and sour. It  is now well  known  that the pandemic made Trump  to  lose the 2020  election .Just  as the pandemic helped Joe  Biden to win the election and succeed him. Biden  kept  to his  basement and had a low key campaign while  Trump  was derisive of the pandemic  protocol and did  not wear a  mask. Trump  later  caught the virus and took all  medicine thrown  at him including anti  malaria  tabs   and survived the pandemic. If  the pandemic  vaccine had come out during the campaigns  it would  have been a productive issue   for   him to assure his reelection . But  it came out after his loss. History  will  tell whether the vaccine arrival  was politicized and delayed  or not  by the  pharmaceutical  manufacturing  companies and scientists   to  hurt Trump’s  reelection chances.

Yet  ,  just  recently America’s  top pandemic scientist the famous Dr Fauci  who always picked issues with Trump’s  handling of the   pandemic  while  Trump was in office made an unbelievable statement. He  said  only Trump  could convince  his teeming millions of supporters  to take the vaccine they  were reluctant to take. More  surprisingly Trump  obliged   and  asked   his supporters   to   take the vaccine. It  will  be interesting to see who  will  make the Kogi governor to change his  mind  and get vaccinated and go  on to ask his people in the state  to do the same. Once  again , From the fury  of this pandemic Good Lord Deliver Nigeria.

By Dayo Sobowale

Civil and polite language has always been required in any human endeavor especially politics and diplomacy. When tempers flare up however it could be difficult to maintain decorum and restraint. Security issues in Nigeria have made tempers to flare up and the rhetoric of protests have thrown up words like sovereignty and terrorism and it is apparent that many are thinking of fending for themselves in terms of protecting the lives and property of the citizens in their areas of control. This   is not only in the Middle Belt and the South it is the language of the North West where the outspoken governor of Kaduna has said he would prefer priests and religious leaders to preach to bandits who kidnap and kill innocent citizens as that is not the duty of governments. The  trend  is towards regional  autonomy and  security and it  is not difficult  to  see why  this is so and  that  is the inability  of  the Federal Government to stem the tide of insecurity that has enveloped  the nation.

It  reminds one of the electronic security envelope that the West used over   Libya  that made Muammar Gaddafi impotent to use  his powerful and expensive  military jets because the envelope neutralized radar usage and Gaddafi’s  planes  were grounded and could  not fly . Indeed Gaddafi was apprehended and killed in a convoy of cars as he was escaping into the Sahara and into the Sahel which is where the Boko Haram has set up shop to make life miserable for the Nigerian army and people for some time now.

Nigeria is not at war but the language of regional leaders are like the bullets of hostility and their body language is that of people who are at daggers drawn. I think there is need for governments both at the state and federal level to assure Nigerians that they are safe in their nation. It  is not a conference issue but clear decisive action to deter those who have taken the law into their hands in Nigeria and are making security and terrorism  the looming death knell  of our security apparatus as well as our much  needed democracy, if care  is not  taken and urgently  too.

Certainly it   is not only in Nigeria that words are flying like bullets. Even in diplomacy or international relations, new US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladmir Putin a killer for interfering in the 2016 US election that brought his predecessor Donald Trump to power. Hitherto  I  had thought that talking from both sides of the mouth in  diplomacy was  a monopoly of both Donald Trump  and the N Korean leader who  called each other unprintable names before getting chummy  and sitting down  unbelievably  to talk about denuclearization albeit  unsuccessfully. But Biden is showing that he can be difficult  and would deal strongly  not only  with  Russia  but     with the  opposition  Republicans and I am not surprised. He  told Donald Trump – ‘shut up man  ‘ during  the presidential debate and showed that in terms of belligerent language  and   policies he can  hold  his own after 47 years   of  debating in the US senate as Trump  boasted  during   the debate  that he achieved more in 4 years as   president than   all   of  Biden’s   47   years  . Now Biden is in and Trump is out and Biden certainly can make up for lost time. He   has overturned all of Trump’s achievements with Executive Orders and he has opened US borders to migrants  without a thought on the security implications as long as that enables him to get even with his predecessor,   who  built walls at the borders to keep criminals and illegal aliens out of the US during his 4-year tenure.   Really,  I think  Biden’s  labeling  of Putin as a killer   is a hangover of   the       bitter  domestic    political  and legislative  war as it were in the US   political   system  between the Republicans and the Democrats  with the emergence of Joe Biden as the 46th US president. Yet, the US in not at war domestically nor should it provoke the world into an unnecessary   one with Russia which has recalled its Ambassador in the US because the American President called the Russian President ,   a killer. Which is most undiplomatic and quite uncalled for.

Similarly , Nigeria is not at war but  there are too many threats flying around on security especially  on bloody herders and farmers quarrels  and killings in many  parts of the nation .I recall  Henry V Shakespeare  play  which is about war , namely the Battle  of Agincourt   which the British won by defeating a larger French  army .Henry  urged his  outnumbered  men on by saying , ‘the fewer , the greater the share of honor. ‘He   rallied them by saying ‘be copy now to men of lesser blood and teach them how to war. ‘  Again   I  say  Nigeria is  not  war  and we should  not be seen as beating the drums  of war   in peace  time  .We  should  settle our  quarrels  as we  have been together  for a long time .

We should learn from the mistakes other nations have made in dealing with fellow citizens unfairly while denying the situation. China is punishing the Uyghurs, bonafide Chinese   citizens of NW China because they are Muslims and China is denying this. China is trying to make this Muslim ethnic group to forgo its religion and have faith in only the Chinese state and government but technology has shown what is going on in camps the Uyghurs are being oriented towards believing in only the Chinese state. This is not fair and the world has exposed the Chinese   design as people anywhere   including   China    should be allowed to practise the religion of their choice. Similarly  in some parts of India  interfaith  marriages  between Hindus  are  being banned because  some state governments believe Muslim men deliberately want to marry Hindu girls  to increase the population of Muslims . That  ban  too is uncivilized and to me is as bad as  trying   to   impose gay marriages which are un African on  those who  believe  marriage  should be between a man and a woman

Fortunately interfaith marriages are quite popular in Nigeria and have served to cement our unity and understanding of each other in spite of our diversity and differences. In the South west where the farmers and herders clash often, interfaith marriage is popular and families go to ceremonies at   churches and mosques to celebrate and mourn with each other as required. Many Northerners who are mainly Muslims are married to other tribes from many parts of the nation and so are   many   Southerners who are Christians. Indeed  interfaith  marriage  can be cited as a main  reason why Nigerians can  never go  to war  again  after  the last  civil war. Again  we  say it is the duty of government to provide security for all  Nigerians where ever they  live  We   believe   fervently  that once that is done, it   should stem  the tide of the false drums of war   or   is it auditory    hallucination , we seem to be hearing  every day on  insecurity ,   as people  air  their  grudges and frustrations as  if they are at their tethers end. Once again from the fury of this pandemic Good Lord Deliver Nigeria.

By  Dayo Sobowale

I start today painfully with a good example of bad leadership in Nigeria before going on to the issues we want to discuss. The UK has helped Nigeria to return 4.2m pounds stolen by a former governor of Delta state James Ibori who was tried and jailed in the UK in 2012. Ibori   was governor from1999 to   2007.   Although  there  have been  arguments over how the recovered loot should   be spent but that  to me  is up  to government  to decide,  as long as the recovered loot is not  looted again  or lost entirely,  as that is not impossible in Nigeria . What  interests  me keenly  was that after he was jailed,  Ibori  appealed and was  granted  one   pound  by the English  Court  which  is a way  of telling the crooked , jailed ex-governor that that was his worth  as  a leader. This is a contemptuous award and as Nigerians we   should thank   the English for their legal perspicuity and erudition. This is because as a former colony  of the former British Empire we  are  still in many ways tied to their apron strings  even though  we got our Independence in 1960  and  became  a republic in 1963, our  ties as a member of the British Commonwealth  are still strong and we still attend CHOGM – the Commonwealth Heads of Government  Meeting –  which  the Queen normally  attends and which we have hosted in Nigeria even after Independence .

It  is with this  in mind  that  I look at the concept of Africanism  which  as  colonial  subjects we used  to fight  the British as an African  nation as well  as  racism  which  somehow  has  raised its head in both the US and  the  European Union in a bizarre way  that  we as Africans and Nigerians cannot ignore because we are  Africans and know what it means to be discriminated  against  on account  of  our  colour,   both  by the colonialists  at  home on our soil and abroad when  we  have had occasions to travel  to study  or do business in Europe or the USA. It is difficult in this respect to ignore the attack of racism raised by a granddaughter in law   of the British monarch that I will not mention by name and her husband a grandson of the Queen against the British royal family. This revelation came to light from an interview in the US and that location matters because Americans are republicans by nature and have scant regard or respect for British royalty. It  is necessary  to point this out because unlike the Americans we as former colonial subjects know and respect  the British  monarchy in spite  of the cruelty and misgivings of colonialism and our pride as Nigerians who somehow still swoon   on   hearing ‘ God  Save Our Gracious Queen ‘ and   still   rely on the same British  to  help us recover government money looted by our elected leaders,  61 years  after Independence.

Similarly  on the issue  of Africanism and racism there is need for some clarification to show that the two concepts may  not have the same meaning for Africans, Black Americans and whites   in the way and context they are being used nowadays. I want to separate Pan Africanism  which  groups  all  Africans including black Americans and Africans in diaspora in the same category,  from Africanism,  which is the concept of African dignity, belief and culture which  was a weapon against colonial discrimination, humiliation and abuse of power and office. Nowadays racism is being used in Europe and the US to silence anyone perceived to have used racial language or slur even though there is no clear vocabulary guidance or thesaurus on the matter. To me when whites who are unrepentant colour snobs fight for coloured people in the spirit of Black Lives Matters, I get very suspicious and uncomfortable. It is as if such whites are getting more catholic than the Pope in exposing racism and are using it as weapon against perceived enemies or unsuspecting people who  then go on to apologise   but   are still  removed from office or discriminated against in the cancel  culture mode or are  never forgiven for their unintended  and exaggerated  error anyway.

Read Also: Who owns £4.2m repatriated loot linked to Ibori?

Let  me illustrate  what I  mean with apartheid S  Africa and the way Nelson Mandela handled leadership in  that  nation after the collapse of apartheid   by  collaborating with his former oppressors and  persecutors. I will also comment on the issue of racism in the British royal family as well as the American government insistence in the new Biden presidency to cancel biological sex and to stop using words like man or woman in the pursuit of gender neutrality and logging LGBT rights in the same category as racism.

During the apartheid  era Nigeria was at the fore front of fighting apartheid and during the late Murtala and later the Obasanjo military regimes,  Africa was the cornerstone of Nigeria’ foreign policy . When Mandela came to power he instituted the Truth   and   Reconciliation Commission to find out what went wrong. He did not    silence  his oppressors but  turned  S Africa  into a rainbow coalition of all  races and the economy  did  not  collapse as was  feared  because the black  majority  has  come to power through  the ballot  box and democracy. Although blacks in S Africa still lament high corruption and the   fact  that they  have not seen the dividends of democracy, there is real  progress  and stability after apartheid in S Africa with Africans in control well  after   Mandela .

In the case of the accusation of racism against the British royal family by the grandson and granddaughter in law of the Queen, I believe this is an exploitation by   the unruly couple, of the Black Lives Matter induced war on racism in the EU   and the US. I believe the couple have an axe to grind with the royal family and really wanted to embarrass the family. But the British respect their royalty as it is the bedrock of their political stability. There is a saying in politics that –  ‘with the Queen in Buckingham Palace  every  Briton sleeps well in his bed ‘ The  Palace reaction that the  royal  family  will  look at the charge of  racism privately will satisfy  most  Britons and the vindictive  couple will  soon discover  that they  have just  raised a storm in a tea cup that will soon be forgotten

I will  now use  the lumping of civil  rights with LGBT rights in the US and  EU  and now the treatment of racism  in that light,   to   show  that  this is un – African. This is because Africanism regards marriage as between a man and a woman and cannot accept gender neutrality as in the same category as racism. Africanism deals with racism and rejects it totally   as   un-civilised but   does not recognize gender neutrality. Even feminists in the US have started complaining about those who do not know their sex competing in women or girls sports as they may have undue advantage. Really it is un African    to seek to cancel biological sex identity in the pursuit of gender equality as the new US Administration is    bent   on doing. Africans who respect African dignity and beliefs should brace themselves to resist another form of sexual colonialism which is inherent clearly in the pursuit of gender neutrality which is a flagship of the Biden Administration. Once bitten twice shy. Once again from the fury of this raging pandemic, Good Lord Deliver Nigeria.

By Dayo Sobowale

It is becoming clear nowadays that democracy and its practice of governance predicated on its ideology of mass participation and majority rule nowadays is testing and taxing both the resources and patience of both the ruler and the ruled in many parts of the world. There  are simply too many battle fronts in sorting out issues and so many frayed nerves   between  governments and those  they  rule with   elected  mandate,  such that on most occasions  looming   descent into anarchy or  the failed  state  is always  around the corner.

Just look around you in the many states   and     nations of the world and you see issues collapsing into violence and mistrust and hostilities bursting at their seams. Many of these issues I have called or labeled Insurgency and some battle fronts. But  just as former   US President   Donald Trump earned the eternal  enmity of CNN by  calling that outfit -fake  news –  I will  show today that there  can be real  insurgencies and fake ones just as we  have real  and fake battle fronts too all  in the business of contemporary  politics and governance  of the world’s many governments and democracies

In  the midst  of all  these rancorous politics  however,  I salute the so called dictatorships of China and Russia for maintain order and stability even  though the former US Secretary of State  Pompei recently called the Communist Party   of China  as the most  dangerous threat to world  peace. Both China and Russia have stood up to the US   in terms of diplomacy and regional power and politics   and are increasingly more authoritative on world issues. They    did   this   decisively    and     strategically  while  the US dissipated energy on sex issues like LGBT rights   and   Climate  Change under Obama for 8  years and the US withdrew into its shell of ‘ America first ‘for 4 years under Trump. Even with the pandemic both have managed their nations better than the Americans.  And  now some   have called  the   new Biden presidency,  Obama’s    third    term   and is back   to square   one   with  the   LGBT   razzmatazz,  Climate  Change  and    the unique     basement   pandemic   style   of governance   of Joe  Biden  who  has not had  a press conference  since he was sworn in since Jan20  2021.   The    Americans    have allowed   the pandemic to derail their politics and governance totally such that it seems they are starting  anew  in building their economy and government policies from scratch as if they were the only one the pandemic hit ,  although  they  got the  morbid and dubious    prize of having the highest global  deaths    from the pandemic. Unfortunately their  2020 election threw  up a 50-50  senate which means that the two  parties are on tenterhooks  in getting legislations  passed  in the next four   years and the ensuing government or democracy  is a cat and mouse game which  can both be described as both  an insurgency  for the Republicans and both a battle front and insurgency for  majority   or  dissenting Democrats who break ranks and vote against their government on issues on some occasions. Pragmatically the two parties are on collision course for the next four years and are solidly on a battle front similar to the civil war from which Abe Lincoln fought successfully to save their unity ages ago.

In  Nigeria  too we  have our well known insurgencies  and the new ones  that have crept  up  like  the Sahel  from the desert sending herdsmen  down south to   look  for  grass  for their cattle and in the process destroying  farms which  somehow  has pitted the North against  the south in a fierce war  on several  battle fronts. Somehow  the   hostilities  crystallised into a food war  recently and there was scarcity  of meat  in the South leading to  meeting  with  government and a truce brokered by the  Kogi State  Governor   Yahaya Bello. Obviously the herdsmen organization stopped transportation of meat to the south and called off their strike after meeting the Chief of Staff to the president with the Kogi State   governor. It was reported that the group leading the herdsmen had demanded 4.75bn compensation and I wonder where the government will get such. Also what compensation will be paid to farmers whose crops were destroyed and some killed? Obviously  it seems that   cattle  people  have won a pyrrhic  victory in both the battle front  and insurgency  of food  security against  the south  and  I really  wonder where we go from here. Which really is a clear case of a successful prosecution of a war in which the North has used starvation as a potent weapon of war. You may call this a phony or fake insurgency but the facts are clear and it is clear who the winner is.

In the real   terrorist insurgency in the North East where Boko Haram holds sway against the Nigerian Army, the Borno State Governor at the heart of both the insurgency and battle front with Boko Haram reportedly told the Governors’ Forum of the North East that it appears the Federal Government is not interested in ending the insurgency in the area.  He therefore proposed bringing in mercenaries and forming a regional security outfit to tackle the challenges of the insurgency.  This is a clear case of lack of confidence in both the Nigerian Army and the FGN.

But  the governor Professor Babagana Zulum  certainly  knows what  he is saying because he knows  the battle  front  which  is his state and has on occasions  barely  escaped with his life on guided visits  to  the battle  fronts. He cannot be accused of shouting wolf where there is none because the insurgency of Boko Haram is literally holding his state hostage militarily and has destroyed economic activities in Borno State.   Both the army and the FGN should bail   out the Borno State governor and defeat Boko Haram with our regular Nigerian army. They  should not allow mercenaries  to defeat an insurgency  on Nigeria’s  territory as that questions  our territorial  integrity  the protection   of  which is the  constitutional duty of both the army and the FGN.

Bringing in mercenaries will certainly escalate and internationalise  both the insurgency and the battle fronts and may  separate the NE permanently  and inadvertently   from the rest of Nigeria   That  is an avoidable   and     undesirable   prospect  that  can  be nipped in the bud  by just  defeating Boko Haram  as the governor  has been advocating incessantly    since   getting elected as governor of Borno  State. We   as  a nation and  a federation  once fought a civil war  successfully with the slogan ‘Keeping Nigeria one is a task   that  must  be done ‘ We  should  send  Boko Haram packing with  the same  slogan and end the nightmare of   both the caring governor of Borno State and his  beleaguered  and  long suffering citizens of the state.