The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • On APC panel on restructuring

    When, lately, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for trivialising the agitations of Nigeria’s constituents for restructuring of the country, it only shows the extent of the reach of the clamour for the nation’s reorganisation, and the volume the call has gathered. In Soyinka’s words for instance, he said Nigeria was long overdue for reconfiguring, and noted that only dishonest citizens of the country would shy away from the need to decentralise the country.

    Although there are those who attribute the reaction from the Nobel Laureate to the age-long rift between him and the former President, yet, to a preponderance of Nigerian citizenry, the stance Obasanjo gave on the Channels Television that rather than the country’s restructuring, Nigerians need to restructure their mentality, mind, and understanding of the country instead, and the blunt declaration that he cannot be part of it didn’t go down well with most Nigerians.

    It was no surprise that Soyinka was raged by the standpoint of former President Obasanjo as he said he finds his stance very dishonest and cheap trivialising an issue of such great consequence. For Wole Soyinka, it is about ‘the protocols of association of the constitutive parts of a nation’. In his words, Nigeria is over-centralised.

    Soyinka is not alone on this. Many Nigerians across the ethnic divides are. The agitation continues to sprout shades of issues and discusses that raise fundamental questions. There is the question of what exactly is the meaning and essence of restructuring?

    For the purpose of this treatise,  we provide Wikipedia’s interpretation: ‘Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs’.

    Other reasons for restructuring include a change of ownership or ownership structure, demerger, or a response to a crisis or major change in the business such as bankruptcy, repositioning, or buyout.

    There is a striking take-home from the foregoing definition of restructuring. Of particular interest is the fact that restructuring is essentially necessitated by the purpose of making a structure more profitable or better organized for its present needs. Who then dare says the present political configuration of Nigeria isn’t an albatross on her neck. Not even the ruling All Progressives Congress dare denies it.  As a matter of fact, the party has reorganisation of the country as part of its manifestos, only unfortunate that it had to wait for this long until the call for it reaches an ugly crescendo.

    Now the APC has been constrained by the forceful and sweeping agitations arising from the need to restructure to constitute a panel and saddled with the charge to look into the agitation by making arrangements for public hearing on the theme, what it should have done much earlier. The party named the panel ‘Committee on True Federalism’, and it has been announced that the committee will hold public hearing in the six geopolitical zones of the country, starting from Benin, the Edo State capital. On this, we think it’s better late than never.

    It is good and propitious, except for pretenders who are out to cheapen the need for the all-important reorganisation. There are burning issues about creation/merger of states, derivation principle, devolution of powers, federating units, fiscal federalism and revenue allocation and form of government.

    There are also other issues as independent candidacy, land tenure system, local government autonomy, power sharing and rotation, resource control and type of legislature, all of which threatens the feet of the country if something urgent is not done. The reports of the various political conferences show that these issues are dire, consequential and urgent.

    The Governor Nasir El-Rufai committee which has been commissioned to deliver on the need for restructuring must be definite about it. There is the unspoken, yet palpable fear in the faces of Nigerians that the plan to tour the constituent geographical zones and allied decisions may end up the way of its kind – to have a report that will be swept under the carpet after a whole lot of time and taxpayers money must have been lavishly expended on the effort.

    Embarking on states tour to collate people’s opinions is key, yes, but Nigerians are virtually cynical about it because it’s a familiar bait. We fear that it appears what the ruling party itches to do is not only to kill the 2014 confab resolutions, but to also look for a way to waste Nigerians’ time and resources, only to do away with the restructuring in the end.

    I salute and agree with the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III and Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II CON, who have canvassed that some parts of the 2014 Confab report should be looked into as a way to settle the restructuring agitation.

    Every Nigerian must rise to this occasion by keeping watch on the panel and its activities to ensure that the nation is not rubbed the usual way. The committee on the other hand must be seen to be doing the purpose for which it is commissioned.  It must do only which the people of Nigeria yearns for and which is in the nation’s best interest, not the bidding of an ephemeral political grouping.

     

    • Dr. Ajulo is an Abuja-based legal practitioner.

  • Making Nigeria a better place

    Recently, I began a messaging process on Facebook and WhatsApp with the primary objective of changing the way we think as Nigerians before we can make any meaningful progress and realise our full potentials in different sectors. If we are able to reach the hearts of Nigerians in a well-coordinated worldwide positive messaging effort, there is every likelihood that it will influence the way we think and behave.

    Even the Holy Book tells us in the Book of Proverbs that, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is”. Every good or bad idea starts from the mind. Interestingly, I have been following similar posts on Facebook. One of them shows a striking photograph of a cat and a dog in a friendly pose, and the poser was: “If a cat and a dog can become friends, why not Nigerians?”

    There was another post by a group which calls itself “ANRP” with the over-arching message of “Healing Our Nation” which suggests that we can and should be united as Nigerians, regardless of where we come from. The post says, “We are not Hausas, we are not Igbos, we are not Yorubas; we are Nigerians”. Does this statement make any sense to you? Can it break the ice and lead us somewhere?

    I find these contributions by Nigerians who are thinking positively and differently very encouraging. The central theme of my posts is how we can make Nigeria a better place for all – including our unborn children. The key requirements to achieve this goal, in my view, include visionary leadership, mutual respect, trust, love, transparency, equity, justice and the fear of God. We need God’s love to unite us because of our diversity which is ordinarily supposed to be strength and change our individual and national orientation.

    The debate for achieving the Nigeria of our dreams is not exactly new but the recent agitations by different groups for what is evidently about self-interest and survival – even if the methods and tactics are not right – underpins the urgent need to discuss openly issues such as transparency, equity and fairness as we aim at charting a new course for Nigeria’s future. It is never too late to start a sincere conversation on the aforementioned issues because they are at the heart of the leadership crisis deeply troubling Nigeria.

    Every time, we point to Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore, Norway, China, and South Korea as exemplary models and template for re-building Nigeria, but, in truth, turning Nigeria into a paradise does not require any rocket science. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong in thinking and believing that the significant developments and quality of life achieved in those countries can also take place or should have taken place in Nigeria by now.

    I repeat, we need to modify our thinking and change our orientation. Nigerians, both at home and abroad, are doing great things to inspire monumental changes and development in Nigeria; so we have the people and the brains to lead this change for Nigeria to become “a land flowing with milk and honey’’ like any of the countries mentioned above. Dubai, a city that literally grew out of the desert, has become a model of development globally raking in significant revenue largely from destination marketing and not oil. It did not take too long for Dubai to achieve this feat which means it is not too late for Nigeria to re-set its development agenda.

    What is essentially holding us back is the way we think. We do not trust each because of tribe and religion made even more tragic because of what is now known as “identity politics”. This is why I agree with Professor Kingsley Moghalu when he wrote in his article recently that the current political class cannot lead us to the Promised Land which Nigeria should have attained a long time ago.

    When a country is led by politicians with very limited vision driven largely by a “me, myself and I’ mentality, there can be no progress. Nigerians desire progress on all fronts and a march to greatness where wealth is created and prosperity is guaranteed for all. Unfortunately, the tragedy is that the majority of Nigerians are still finding it difficult to understand that they hold the power to turn things around by voting out the “bad guys” because of the sobering statistics of underdevelopment that we are confronted with yearly. Elections can be rigged but we can also refuse to be used by politicians; it means election rigging and its twin cousin of violence can be avoided if we are thinking properly.

    Instead of politics of ideas, we have been held down by politics of patronage, identity, bitterness, acrimony and do-or-die which ensures that the same set of politicians – some of them stark illiterates and others who claim to be educated neither possessing knowledge or vision – are re-cycled every election season. We complain about our constitution, but according to Simon Kolawole’s theory which I subscribe to, the problem is with us, the operators of the constitution, and not the harmless document. The solution is to change the way we think and behave like Rotarians who ‘think above self”.

    Ideally, Nigerians should constantly feel a sense of outrage because they are always short-changed by those they voted into office; the history of poor outcomes dating back to 1999 ought to provoke a major outrage and national conversation for transparent leadership from their leaders at all levels.

    A good way to begin is to review Nigeria’s revenue since 1999 and match that with what we can see on the ground as development milestones in each state measured in terms of monthly allocations received from Abuja over the period. What did we do with all the money we earned from crude oil, not to mention non-oil receipts and internally generated revenue in all states? I’m not going to pretend as if I do not know what happened or what is happening, but our common humanity is not served by the way public funds are looted by those who have privileged access to power.

    This is the time to start thinking differently in order to make Nigeria a better place. I’d really like to know the logic behind looting public funds and taking same by the looters and their collaborators to other countries and then buying properties in those places. It does not stop there. Our looters also invest in expensive holidays with their families; medical tourism when we should be fixing our hospitals and in Ivy League schools around the world for their children.

    Instead of building a profitable national carrier like Ethiopian Airlines, our political leaders prefer to fly and show off in private jets. I’m still trying to make sense out of this up-side down thinking. How can a yam farmer with a rich barn of yams from his harvest go to the market to buy yam when he wants to eat pounded yam?

    There is no part of Nigeria that will not welcome good roads, clean running water, constant electricity, efficient public transportation system, eye popping infrastructure, all round quality education and well equipped hospitals that are not “mere consulting clinics”.

    We cannot depend on oil forever, so we need strategic thinkers – and we have plenty of them – in government to shift our focus to non-oil exports because there are several options on the table. In one of my Facebook posts, I said every state in Nigeria should identify an economic activity that will create wealth and prosperity for the state and its people, and the state will become known for that activity. For example, Edo State can become known nationally for home furnishing and Kebbi State as the rice capital of Nigeria. This is very possible and we can draw inspiration from California, USA that has built a prosperous economy noted globally largely from technology, agriculture, entertainment and hospitality sectors.

     

    • Braimah is a Lagos-based company executive.

     

  • Proxy war in South-east

    Until the fall of United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), it was common to see skirmishes in Africa, Asia and Latin America, were people furiously killed their neighbours over meaningless ideology, not knowing that they were puppets in the hands of either USSR or the United States of America. In that era, it was common for an incompetent USA or USSR head of government to order invasion of a harmless country to cover domestic challenges, create new conflict zones, and then sell arms.

    The superpowers built their economy and influence around war-making and reconstruction, with third-world countries as laboratories. With the fall of USSR, wars dimmed, and surviving super power, USA, and its capitalist allies, turned to democracy as the influencer, with liberal and free market economy as tonic. Within the emergent democracies long used to military governments and other autocracies often controlled by the dominant tribe, with winner takes all mentality, intra-national crisis is now the bane.

    The situation in Africa is made more precarious by corruption and poverty, the two-cyclic disease that exacerbate the already precarious situation. What is playing out in the South-east, is a proxy war between the unemployed, under-employed, and poverty-pulverised masses, belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) against the malignantly oppressive Nigerian state, conceived as represented by the federal government, whose face is the dominant tribe – the Hausa-Fulani.

    The crisis of confidence is compounded by President Muhammadu Buhari’s messianic style, particularly his avowal to punish those who did not vote for him. Like an old headmaster, Buhari has a religious perception of right and wrong, with no middle ground. He sees those who did not vote for him, as the unconverted and so he pushes the consequences to their face. It is the same underlining philosophical reasoning that makes him a champion of anti-corruption, with the determination to fight past wrong-doers, as he deems fit, even when his followers are also sinning.

    The IPOB, particularly its leadership, foolishly baits crisis, in the hands of a non-philosopher king. They also wrongly conceive the ordinary Hausa-Fulani, as the bane of their underdevelopment, poverty and insecurity in a failing Nigeria. As I have challenged those I know, sympathetic to the braggadocio of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu – how many history books on Biafra or similar ethnic conflagration have they read, to fully grasp the cause, rise and fall of Biafra?

    They misconceive the Igbo, relying on stereotype and propaganda as a secessionist race. Nothing can be farther from the truth, at least not in the first Biafra from which the new agitators claim inspiration. Not even now, as neither the philosophy nor psychology of the Igbo man show the predilection to separatism. So, while the ongoing uprising, led by IPOB is touting a separate country, the malignant tumour is ensconced in the contention for survival, equity and fairness in the oppressive Nigerian environment.

    The only reason eastern Nigerians fought the first Biafra war, was to stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Igbo and their related races. That was why the war caught them unawares, as pushing a separate country was not thinkable, less than a year, before the war started. Despite the dominant propaganda, war became the option after peace efforts to stop the genocide failed. So, what would Nnamdi Kanu and company give as their reason, for giving the failing Nigerian state an opportunity to turn their homeland once again to wasteland?

    Perhaps their reason would be that PMB’s government is acting out his much advertised 97/5 percent sharing of resources and opportunities between those who voted for him and those who didn’t? That in my opinion is not enough reason to give the federal government the opportunity to visit the East with war. Considering that this is a democracy, not a military government, the solution rather lies in politics, even agitation, but certainly not in war.

    After all, the resources and opportunity that PMB controls, even though enormous, is not the entire national resources. There are resources in the hands of governors, legislators, local government authorities and several agencies of government which are beyond the immediate control of the federal government. Again, even with PMB’s ethnic hubris, the constitution provides several platforms to tamper an ethnocentric presidency. Furthermore, I do not agree that the President intrinsically hates Igbos as touted. No. What is at stake is a challenged president, who is unable to stop himself and his followers, from promoting excessive ethnic preferential treatment.

    With two out of the four years gone or even eight years of PMB’s tenure, is there enough provocation to put the eastern Nigeria in a war footing? Not at all. A mobilization of the people by IPOB against marginalisation of the Igbos and other parts of Nigeria without the meaningless cant, like, Biafra Secret Service, and other silliness will be supported by any fair minded person. Of course, there are those who will remain deaf and dumb to the glaring acts of marginalization. Unfortunately, the Nigeria military, whose leadership is unconstitutionally rigged against the Igbo, hastily declared IPOB a terrorist organisation.

    I do not know under what laws, the Defence Headquarters is empowered to determine a terrorist organisation. The procedure to declare an organisation a terrorist organisation is provided in the Terrorism (Prevention) Act of 2011, as amended in 2013 and the military has no role in the process. So, the Defence Headquarters, instead of regurgitating the cants of the so-called Northern Youths, should investigate the disturbing videos showing incredible violation of human rights by the Army, against members of IPOB, in the operation Python Dance 11. Even the governors can only proscribe illegal actions.

    But the political leadership in the South-east and indeed across the country must take note that the youths of this country are warming-up to self-help, as the solution to the flagrant and criminal aggrandizement of the resources of the country, by bandit-leaders, who are supposed to administer same in thrust for the entire citizens. IPOB is borne out of deprivations and neglect, but they are yet to locate the entire enemies. They conceive the enemy as their fellow poverty stricken, Hausa-Fulani talakawas. They are yet to connect the dots that most of their governors, legislators, board members, top civil servants, and other executives are in the same binge with the elites from other ethnic groups.

    The irony of the Buhari presidency is that while he has the best anti-corruption credential to fight the greatest threat to our nation – corruption, his war machine, is bogged down by the vice of ethnic chauvinism. If our youths, can use compass to properly determine the biggest threat, and if Buhari could undress his ethnic regalia, then there is a chance that Nigeria can start the match to national consciousness and development. But as a General, PMB must first stop the proxy war against IPOB, and face the challenges of governance.

  • Wike and the United Nations SDG Award

    Looking for a prophet honoured at home and abroad? Then, you have found one. His name: Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the Rivers state governor whose acronym is NEW. Since hitting his political limelight as Chairman of Abio/Akpor local government area, Wike has moved up steadily and focused on his mission to be the real change.

    Love or hate him, Wike, since embracing politics and public life, has certain qualities nobody can ignore- courage and outspokenness. But what is more visible in the last two years is that he has clearly  been consistent in the pursuit of excellence while not allowing distraction, manufactured and sold to the public, by his traducers to distract from the goals he had set out for himself. For this reason, many elect to misunderstand him. For the same reason also, some global organizations which go after substance and reward efforts to make positive impact on society, chose him to receive it global prize for sustainable development.

    The group is none other than the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is waiting for October 31 to award Gov. Wike its prestigious ‘Global Human Settlements Sustainability Awards’ for 2017.

    According to the SDG office, Wike will be officially conferred with the award on the said day at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States of America.

    The award comes as a feather on Wike’s rising profile and a crown on his efforts to challenge the limits in the development of Rivers, which, arguably, in the eight years preceding his election as governor, did not witness much investments in the housing sector. Wike is showing his is a mind tied to the pains of the poor.

    The letter conveying the good news to Wike said in part that: “This Award is for the governor’s investments in the development of urban renewal programmes, housing and projects that improve the living conditions  of less -privileged  persons”.

    It also stated that, “Wike  is being recognised  for his great commitment and contribution to sustainable  cities in Rivers State”. The letter  also eulogised Wike for “developing infrastructure in settlements in different parts of the state and ensuring that people have access to basic amenities”.

    The above lines speak volumes about Wike’s leadership in the state as well as his desire to ensure that no one is left behind in the quest to guarantee shelter for Riverians and hand them a liveable modern city which infrastructure will meet global standards.

    The award is a further confirmation that despite a seeming nasty opposition, Wike has remained focused in pushing to deliver the promises he made to people of the state.

    This is not the first time Wike’s style of governance and feats would attract awards to him.

    Last year,  The Sun newspapers singled him out as winner of  The Sun  Governor of the Year, in its prestigious awards to distinguished Nigerians. He had also been similarly honoured by The Independent and The Authority newspapers, among others.

    While receiving the awards, he assured that they would spur him to achieve more.  And true to type it did. The outcome is the new recognition from a UN body.

    Although they may not say it, some  governors are  learning from Wike. They have begun urban renewal projects,  which seek  to transform towns in their states into modern cities. These ndicate that Wike’s activism on infrastructural development is catching on. I am sure that many other governors will seek his input on urban renewal strategies in their states.

    What makes the current honour to the Rivers state governor extraordinary and somewhat instructive is not just that it is coming from abroad, but that Wike could wring it out at a time the nation is facing huge economic challenge and most states are dogged  with negative stories of not just being able to execute projects but also owing their staff arrears of salaries.

    Certainly, many would expect that the award  would not just be  a crown but a challenge to Wike to further his campaign to alter the status quo and change the living condition of the poor. It is also a challenge that should keep  him focused in some of the promises he made to the people while campaigning to become governor of the state.

    During the campaigns in 2015, Wike was seen walking very dirty streets and markets. He visited shanties that are not considered good for human habitation by international standards. Such shanties made of corrugated iron sheets, dehumanize the human being and make life not worth the effort. Wike made a promise to positively impact on them.

    By pursuing an urban renewal programme therefore, Gov. Wike is holding himself accountable to the people and also making them realise that governance is not always about the elite. He has put the masses into his governance calculations and delivering impacts that will change the narrative on Rivers state.

    Truly that, indeed, should be the spine of governance. Those who govern ought to also look at themselves, embark on peer review and use lessons learnt to further whatever impacts they intend to deliver in helping lift a segment of society out of poverty. That is the lesson that Wike is delivering. That is also why, of the 36 state governors, he was spotted from the UN headquarters as someone whose time in office is positively impacting on the poor much more than it is doing on the elite.

    Interestingly, Wike is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a party which did not promise to deliver change, but is graciously doing better in that regard than All Progressives Congress (APC), which election mantra was change. It says to the rational mind, that those who boast much, often deliver little.

    People of Rivers state are witnesses to the fact that their governor has delivered to them the Iriebe Medium Housing Estate, Rivers Quarters at the NNS Pathfinder, Quarters for Junior Staff of the DSS and facilitating the improved investment in housing by private investors.

    Those are part of reasons Wike is singled out for honour. Beyond the above, the governor is acclaimed for investing in land reclamation/sand filling in Asari-Toru, Degema, Akuku-Toru and Port Harcourt Local Government Area.

    These may not seem huge to the regular critic, but when weighed against impacts they have made on the life of the people, then, the reality comes down clearly. It comes as indication that investment made by people of the state with their thumbs is paying off. Of course, it is still morning for Wike. The days ahead present him opportunity for more developments. He sure still has a lot in his kitty for the state.

    For his supporters , the strong message his achievements in the last two years have sent is that he will coast to his second term with less hassle.  His second term,  I believe, will, beyond being a stamp of approval and a thank You,  serve as  a green light to push the redevelopment of the state beyond opposition’s imagination.

  • Ajimobi, the constituted kingmaker

    Governor Abiola Isiaka Ajimobi of Oyo State carries on with aplomb, always dressed in resplendent native attire of complete ‘agbada’. That projects him as someone who respects culture and tradition. Events in recent times, however, show that the dressing is a façade. The man behind the mask of culturally-correct dressing has come to bury culture and tradition, at a go.  Enter the self-authorised coronet who installed 21 beaded crown monarchs in Ibadan on Sunday, August 27, thereby playing the judge, jury and the executioner on chieftaincy matters. It took his ‘Imperial Excellency’’, Isiaka Ajimobi – The First, just four days to gazette his decision on the Olubadan chieftaincy review, hand out letters of appointment and effect the coronation, thus establishing an Ajimobi patent on One-stop, quick fix Obaship bazaar !

    Well, I must give it to Ajimobi; he does not shy away from a fight. He doesn’t have a hunky frame, being on the shortish side, but what Allah denied him in height is more than compensated with a stocky body, which gives him a combined bulldog and wrestler physique. The advantage here, given his black, shinny and glossy body, is that such build enhances his physical slipperiness, making it difficult to wrestle him down in a pin fall, an attribute he has displayed in his political battles.  However, in the cultural terrain, it remains to be seen if his luck holds out.

    It was the famed American glamour boy of diplomacy, Dr. Henry Kissinger, (aka Dr. K) U.S. Secretary of State during the Richard Nixon presidency in the 1970s who described power as intoxicating aphrodisiac. I am not saying Ajimobi is drunk on power, but it would seem to me that he simply likes to project power and serves notice to all constituencies as to who is in charge in Oyo State, including the traditional institution. Remember those unruly students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso (LAUTECH) who staged a protest to him in Ibadan not too long ago on the lingering closure of their institution?  He told them off.  In a fit of anger, he decreed that the students must show respect and warned that they must remember he is the Constituted Authority in Oyo State! How could he have expected the aggrieved students to be on bended knees in obeisance? Apparently, he felt appealing to the students, who were justifiably angry, was below the dignity of a Constituted Authority, a manifestation of arrogance of power and poor public communication skill.

    Now, Governor Ajimobi has crossed the line to take on the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji with his unilateral appointment and installation of kings in Olubadan’s domain, displaying an affront to cultural norms where the Olubadan and the Olubadan-in-Council are the prescribed authorities in the elevation of baales to beaded crown monarchs. The ungainly rush to create a fait accompli with the coronation is indicative of a disdain for culture. But strong-willed Ajimobi will not be dissuaded from his chosen reform path, even if it means according himself the power to ‘manufacture’ kings, especially with regard to the High Chiefs.  The flurry of events which culminated in the crowning of 21 kings in Ibadan land – eight High Chiefs and 13 baales  – on Sunday, August 28 took an accelerated pace between June and July, with the Ajimobi machine launching a media war against the Olubadan with stories  planted in the media to fool the public that the Olubadan supported the Ibadan chieftaincy review. The old man had to repeatedly cry out that he was opposed to the review exercise.

    In the beginning, the Olubadan-in-Council, including the High Chiefs,  opposed the review only for the members to do a volte-face, apparently given the sweetener  of the High Chiefs’ elevation to kingship position. High Chief (Oba) Lekan Balogun, the Otun Olubadan, who is next in line to become Olubadan, had in a media report of July 6 explained: “Initially, we in Olubadan-in-Council thought the governor had an ulterior motive. But we later understood that he meant well. He didn’t force anybody to accept the review”. The following day, the Olubadan was reported to have reacted to Balogun’s statement: “What right does Otun have to speak for the Olubadan-in-Council when the chairman of the council has not directed him to do so?”  Oba Adetunji reaffirmed that he could “never support the review of the system that works” with reference to orderly ascension to the Olubadan throne as against the long interregnum to fill Obaship vacancies in many towns in Yorubaland due to litigations.

    In defending the review, Governor Ajimobi reiterated that the High Chiefs would still maintain the hierarchical ladder to Olubadan throne, thereby creating a cultural hybrid of one person being an Oba and a High Chief at the same time! Talk of Ajimobi Show – a form of Awada kerikeri.  A snipet of the show was the report that the Oluwo of Ibadanland  led all the new traditional rulers to an inner chamber (inner chamber in Mapo Hall!)  where all the traditional rites were performed. Such traditional rites are usually observed for weeks or months in seclusion but Ajimobi-made kings spent minutes! It is an assault on culture and tradition. It is also intriguing that Ajimobi and his High Chief Obas did not feel embarrassed by this cultural aberration.

    It would seem that Ajimobi’s Obaship offer apparently  appealed to the vanity of the High Chiefs. Where a case can be made for elevation of baales to third class monarchs, such must originate from the Olubadan. What is rather perturbing in the whole episode is the silence or connivance at this desecration of culture exhibited by Ibadan stakeholder groups, until a group of Mogajis rallied to Olubadan’s support in a protest on September 12. During the coronation, Governor Ajimobi had admonished the Olubadan on his ( Oba Adetunji) recent utterances which the governor said tended towards the political, cautioning that “Obas are not expected to play politics”. That is an inanity, because Obaship position is political, irrespective of the machinations of  usurper politicians to diminish the authority of traditional rulers. One would like to remind Ajimobi that he is holding a transient power as against the enduring power of the Olubadan. In less than two years, Ajimobi will revert to an ordinary subject of Olubadan.

     

    • Dr. Olawunmi, is a Senior Lecturer, Department of Mass Communication, Bowen University, Iwo.

  • HURIWA As IPOB’s NGO Arm

    There is bad, there is disaster and there is HURIWA, Human Rights Writers Association. HURIWA is alleging extralegal killings in the implementation of Operation Python Dance II in the southeast geo-political zone and thinks that this is a justification for decentralizing the nation’s military assets.

    Before attempting an understanding of the outlandish claims and even more outrageous suggestion, an appreciation of what or who HURIWA is perhaps necessary, for as Khalil Gibran wrote “And you who would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light?” When looked at in the fullness of light, HURIWA is an embodiment of the character driving it, one Emmanuel Onwubiko, who has run the so-called NGO as a sole proprietorship, tool for extortion, paid activism, ethnic propaganda mouthpiece and most recently as a terror organization’s NGO arm.
    Onwubiko of course applied the veneer of respectability to HURIWA by latching on the words “Human Rights” which should tickle the fancy at a time that the world is making the culture of political correctness into a cult following. The appellation would have suggested neutrality, objectivity and universal application of standards across board. Save for some coerced staffers with Islamic names used as decoys, HURIWA is capitally Igbo is in all it does. Igbo to an extent that the only thing that makes it bother about non-Igbo issues is when there is money to be made from the subject matter and at such times morality has no role to play.
    It is therefore not surprising that the only noticeable time Onwubiko/HURIWA had pursued any non-Igbo issue with conviction was when he got the contract to make the outlawed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) appear saintly. Then, like now, he could not help but stand logic on its head and must have thought this time around that since he has the experience of defending a quasi-terror group, albeit with a high degree of failure, he can help defend the latest terror group on the planet, IPOB, the Indigenous People of Biafra.
    Having established the pedigree of HURIWA and its owner as bigoted pieces of work, the perspective becomes clearer as to why Onwubiko never thought to call his brother, Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB leader to order for the series of misdeeds that were the foundation for the tension that he (Onwubiko) has suddenly found irksome today. If HURIWA were genuinely in the business of writing about ‘human rights’ then it would have known that use of offensive terms and derogatory association infringe on their recipients’ right to dignity. HURIWA and Onwubiko were around when Kanu and the IPOB rabble gleefully referred to Nigerians as ‘animals’ living in the ‘zoo’.
    The sole proprietorship was there when IPOB lock down the economy of some Nigerian states thereby denying some families the means of their (daily) livelihood for the duration of the so called ‘sit-at-home’ that people were not given the option of observing but were coerced by IPOB’s militants. Perhaps, Onwubiko was passed out in a beer parlour when Kanu declared in Ohafia that he was coming to Abuja to bring back the head of President Muhammadu Buhari – he should not have ever bragged about bringing back anyone’s head since the teenage girl recently caught in Imo with two human heads is enough proof that when certain people speak of cutting off human heads it is not to be taken slightly.
    Where was HURIWA’s censure when IPOB delivered the endless barrage of hate speech even as other groups continually raised the alarm for them to stop? The sick behaviour was defended as freedom of speech and some even went on to say that Igbos are given to metaphorical speech. Several IPOB members, within and outside the south-east geo-political zone, have openly admitted to stockpilling weapons in preparation to dealing with other Nigerians. The group also bragged about having a nuclear weapon that can destroy ten states in the north and Onwubiko did not think that the entire population of the north would have been left jittery, fearing for their life.
    What took the cake was HURIWA’s indifference to Kanu’s launch of Biafra Secret Service, BSS, a militia group in violation of Section 227 of the Constitution that categorically stated that “No association shall retain, organise, train or equip any person or group of persons for the purpose of enabling them to be employed for the use or display of physical force or coercion in promoting any political objective or interest or in such manner as to arouse reasonable apprehension that they are organised and trained or equipped for that purpose.”
    Phone records would show that Onwubiko was in touch with Kanu, or at least through proxies, before and after he inaugurated IPOB’s army so he shares the blame for not advising his client not to dare the state. Transaction records could also link him to Kanu or other IPOB sponsors, which would be most unfortunate since monetary gains should take secondary place where the stability of a country is concerned. Only that the agenda of HURIWA and IPOB are the same so the integrity of Nigeria is not of concern to Onwubiko here.
    It is therefore inconceivable that HURIWA/Onwubiko expected that the Army would conduct its operations differently when it knows it was dealing with an entity that has declared itself as a parallel army. This is more so that IPOB members pelted troops with various objects to trigger what was to later follow.
    Sadly, Onwubiko’s conclusions appeared to have been reliant on fake news and managed images and videos. For someone that is masquerading as being involved in human rights work, photo and video verification skill has become a prerequisite to ensure that reports are not based on lies and manipulated reality. He should have had the presence of mind to ask questions as to why the videos circulated by his clients have been cut to exclude portions that document their provocations. He should have also queried why gory pictures from other unfortunate incidents are being passed off as images from the military operation in south-east. Except of course he is ignorant of these manipulations, he is being mischievous or both in varying mixes.
    HURIWA’s other failings may be excusable but its call for military assets to be decentralized has set a new record in being irresponsible in making contribution to a public discourse. First, with the history of attempted secession five decades ago and the military coups that plagued the country afterwards, it is only logical that temptations are kept away from would be treasonable fellows. Secondly, if the military assets were kept within IPOB’s reach would the situation not have been worse than what we are currently dealing with since the terrorists would have simply overrun the facility and use the equipment against the Nigerian state?
    Those who truly understand what is at stake are warning against treating the IPOB issues with the same levity and ethnic sentiments that made Boko Haram into the one that got away. HURIWA was silent when the head of another insurrection group, Ombatse was killed during a security operation in Alakyo, Nasarawa state ion November 16, 2014; its voice was only heard when it was paid to harass Labaran Maku, the then information minister. Had Ombatse not been contained then through a timely deployment the situation would probably been a horror show by now.
    Someone must therefore help Onwubiko end his hallucination of trying to drag the international community into what remains, for now, Nigeria’s internal affairs. IPOB has been designated a terror group, anyone that belongs to it would be tracked down and brought to justice irrespective of ethnicity. Kanu has made his choice, he must have been fully conscious of what he was doing when he broke every law imaginable because he was confident of the backing of failed entities like HURIWA and characters like Onwubiko. HURIWA must similarly make its choice, a decision to either be a proper human rights NGO or to be the NGO arm of IPOB. Prevaricating between both possibilities would not serve its client, Kanu well.
    Otairu esq  writes from the Centre for International and Strategy Studies, Abuja.‎

  • Re: Buhari, Buratai, And The Python Panacea

    One Emmanuel Ugwu wrote and published the article “Buhari, Buratai, and the Python Panacea” that has been published on several online platforms. Ugwu should be commended for this piece not because it was a work of art or some remarkable masterpiece but because in that single rant he was able to lay bare what ails the southeast of Nigeria. From this writer it became apparent that the problem of the Igbo nationality is that too many great minds from that ethnic stock have taken the concept of being gentlemen too far to an extent that they have handed their fate and that of the entire geo-political zone over to frothing rabid fellows like the writer and the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

    The distortion of facts overseen by such characters take on an hallucinatory quality to an extent that one is constantly having to do double takes to be certain that one has either read or heard aright. While the lies, propaganda and fake news emanating from zealots like these have no impact on other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria it is alarming how the same hogwash is swallowed un-chewed by poorer strata of the southeast people, who have now been whipped into the kind of frenzy that makes group suicide not only possible but also easier to attain.
    Ugwu apparently has issues with Operation Python Dance II. He did not say if the first version of that military exercise deprived him of revenue as a bandit or kidnapper, since the disruption of these evil enterprises were major achievements of that drill in 2016. But he vehemently made it known he is not a fan of the ongoing second edition of it. To him the operation is meant to defeat the “Biafra consciousness” even though he could not satisfactorily articulate how a defunct republic is in danger of being defeated.
    He also posited that the southeast was a peaceful zone that didn’t require the emptying of the barracks to militarized. Could Ugwu be talking about a southeast that is different from the one where a teenage girl was caught with two human heads, different from one where worshippers where hastened by a hail of bullets to meet their creator during a Sunday church service, different from the one on which a priest was abducted and killed, different from the one where Kanu’s IPOB daily threatened to annihilate the rest of us, different from the one where a ragtag band of cutthroats outed themselves as members of the Biafra Secret Services?
    When a group of apparently mentally challenged people announce the formation of their own armed forces and someone thinks it is unconstitutional to send another army to quell them then it is not those that formed the impostor armed forces that are in need of psychiatric intervention. It takes a supreme level of mental incapacitation to expect that the police would be sent in to quell an insurrection in which the insurgents have boasted of having nuclear weapons and their leader had vowed a two week timeline for over running the country.
    And if anyone is in doubt as to what pushed Kanu to try burning the entire Igboland they need not look further than pseudo intellectuals and half baked analysts like Ugwu, who wallowed in the self deception that the army cannot use operation Python Dance II to get the Igbo heartland over a barrel. It may interest anyone with such shallow mindset that an enlarged support base for Kanu would make an already bad situation into a disaster, rendering the southeast into a wasteland that will not recover in the lifetime of the present generations. Nobody wants that.
    The erroneous impression that the western countries would rush to the rescue cannot be more badly conceived. It will take at least six weeks before useful international discussion would take place if the IPOB terrorists were to be dealt with the way they deserve and it took less than three days for Kanu to become a fugitive despite his Shekau-quality rants. When the western countries do intervene, it would be to send some genetically modified grains and food items with spermicidal quality to guaranty people from that area no longer procreate to breed terrorists. The world is in unison when it comes to the realization that humanity does not need another terror group.
    The insults heaped on President Buhari in the piece are consistent with the tempo set by Kanu, so that someone who should know better than the terrorist wrote in such fashion attests to the value they jointly share. It further gives credence to the stereotype held about the ability of a certain people to show respect and courtesy or otherwise. It is therefore pointless to take more out of that.
    If it was pointless responding to the insults on President Buhari it becomes even less relevant to bother about the invectives poured of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai. Had he been inefficient then the IPOB terrorists would not have had any reason to be worried. They are bitter only because he maneuvers in a way that perplexed sponsors and IPOB foot soldiers alike.
    It seems Ugwu has a morbid aversion for snakes, which is not surprising. Opposites attract while like polarizations repel so the one with the personality of a serpent becomes repulsed by snakes. Now that the writer has made his aversion known perhaps the operation cab be renamed Operation Lion Roar, Operation Eagle Flight, Operation Buffalo Gallops or Operation Snail Crawls so long as the objective of stopping a terror group in its cradle before it goes berserk is achieved.
    The operation would rid the area of terrorists and the likes of Ugwu should rethink alluding to civilian casualty when the IPOB militants that got themselves killed had earlier vowed “Biafra or Death”. They should rather be asking why Kanu fled and left them behind as human shield or why Ugwu is hiding behind his keyboard and not joining on the battlefield. At least in this regard the writer was truthful: “Kanu was a source of bombast” so why and how did some people’s brain go mushy to the point where they commit suicide to please him?
    It therefore fraudulent trying to sustain the lies of a collective hatred of the Igbos by other Nigerians, who had endured over 24 months of being called “animals” living in the “zoo” by Kanu, IPOB and the Ugwus of this country. The insults might have been tolerated but the nation would not brook the existence of a parallel army. It is called insurrection and countries of the world know how they deal with that.
    Kanu and Ugwu, being children of anger, may not understand this just as they are ignorant of where to channel their angst. One of their own, Senator Ike Ekweremadu is effectively the professional chairman of successive constitution review committees in the National Assembly but has never thought it wise to include a clause for referendum in the recommendations to plenary yet he prances around allowing youths from his geopolitical zone to chase shadows. Kanu and his IPOB terrorists have never taken it upon themselves to ask him why he has not done the needful to set the legislative framework in place for the breakaway of Igboland from Nigeria. Ekweremadu even attended the meeting that proscribed the terror group and the terrorists saw no sin on his part. The governors in the zone are “sons of the soil” yet they have not done much to improve the life of their people, IPOB has no issues with this. The leadership of the southeast is the real snake oil and pro-Biafra separatists have nothing against swallowing that bunkum.
    The larger population of Igbos, who are great people, should manage the rabble rousers among their people to a point where they will appreciate what the army is doing. Without Operation Python Dance II disparate Igbo groups would have turned on each other by now. The army is on ground to help and Igbos should support it to help stop the guaranteed self-destruction that separatist terrorists are resolute on inflicting.
    Idoko, a public affairs commentator sent in this piece from Kaduna, Kaduna State.

  • Why ALGON’s private sector partnership on agriculture should be sustained

    The importance of agriculture to the development of Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized.

    Previous administrations in the country as well as various stakeholders have at different for a harped on the significance of exploring the agricultural angle for the development of Nigeria, but the required blueprint to make it a reality has eluded the country leading to the current situation where a great potential has been reduced to a miserable reality.
    Nigeria is an agrarian society with agriculture contributing about 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
    With an estimated population of 160 million people, it is instructive to note that about 70 percent of this population, which is roughly about 112 million, live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for livelihood.
    The worrisome aspect of the entire scenario is that a sizeable number of this population, 7 percent to be precise, are undernourished.
    The Global Hunger Index (GHI) in the last two decades ranks Nigeria 84 out of 118 counties with a score of 25.5 (IFPRI, 2016). While ordinarily, this should be viewed in the positive light as it indicates a slight improvement on the rating and raises hope of a possible rise in the standard of living, the reality is that a dark cloud still hangs on the horizon for the Nigerian agriculture.
    The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) definitely piqued by this grim reality initiated an action aimed at developing the agricultural sector and setting Nigeria on the path of economic prosperity.
    Outgoing national president of ALGON, Hon. Ibrahim Ahmad Karaye, who has many times noted the significance of agriculture to the overall well-being of the country, had to think outside the box to churn out workable blueprint to achieving a boost in the sector, by moving the sector away from the over-reliance on government to bring in the private sector.
    It should be noted at this stage that one of ALGON’s goals is to help eliminate hunger through initiatives that help small scale farmers move from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture so as to ensure enhanced security for the farmers, increased and sustainable food supplies and measurable economic growth in developing nations.
    The ALGON President explained that “in the recent past, Nigerian agriculture has witnessed insufficient and wastefully expensive costs of procurement, stocking and distribution of agricultural products and is presently facing several challenges which has consequently undermined socio-economic growth thereby constituting threat to the Federal Government of Nigeria’s “Vision 2020”.
    After making a commitment that ALGON under his leadership is committed to addressing these challenges, he wrapped it up by adopting a bottom-up approach through a comprehensive local agriculture plan, now known as C-LAP.
    C-LAP is an integrated and participatory action plan for the development of LGAs in agriculture and allied sectors and is meant to prepare a Comprehensive Local Agriculture Plan (C-LAP) through participatory process involving various organizations and stakeholders.
    It also establishes linkages with the required institutional support services, like credit, technology transfer, ICT, research and evolve an action plan for achieving sustainable agricultural growth with food security and cropping system that will improve farmers’ income.

    The ALGON president stated recently that through the partnership, C-LAP will create 10,000 direct jobs and over a million indirect jobs in the next five years and will also generate over a trillion naira in wealth at the grassroot level thereby stemming the tide of rural to urban migration.
    C-LAP will also lead to the creation of a mega food park for agricultural processing in each state, a network of structured farmer’s market in each LGA for the sale of farm produce and a branded grocery retail chain that will be franchised across the country. According to Hon. Karaye the ultimate aim of ALGON is to take this mammoth agricultural enterprise to the Capital Market in 5 years.
    The plan which has since begun to show signs of fruitfulness involves the 774 LGAs in the 36 States of the federation for the five year period.
    The partner in the initiative, C-LAP on its part assesses current agricultural potential in each LGA by understanding its production patterns, marketing and other factors that will either constrain or provide opportunities for future growth of agriculture and advice ALGON based on that.
    Also due to fragmented food processing facilities in Nigeria, it evaluates the opportunities for value addition by establishing food processing industries in the LGAs and will design Food Mart Retail Chain Model to create a network that delivers the agricultural produce straight to the door step of the consumers as well as strengthen the entire value chain from seed to plate with a shorter value chain as well as ensuring the remunerative prices to the farmers and availability of quality food stuff at their door steps without any additional cost at competitive prices.
    Further details of the partnership indicates the project outcome would be achieved though project management consultancy, procurement of agricultural tools, equipments & tractors, involvement of international experts, liaison with other levels of government, international partners and other stakeholders and will be managed by 3 implementing agencies while each LGA will have a team of five agri-professionals.
    The major outcome will be agricultural sustainability, employment opportunities and 2000 direct job creation/LGA, women empowerment, demonstration of farm mechanization, establishment of integrated model farms, enhancing the quality of life and self reliance as well as export to neighboring countries.
    The outgoing ALGON president also explained at inception that the project will aggregate the produce from 774 farms across the country and will be the bigger producer and supplier of Nigeria with efficient supply chain and logistics and linking these farms to a national retail chain, wholesale markets and mega food parks will result in enhancing the net income.
    With these tangible results, it becomes clearer why the policy should be sustained.
    Luckily, the Nigeria Governors Forum under the leadership of the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulazzez Yari has keyed into initiative.
    Realizing the importance of involving the grassroots, the governors have lent their support to the project and this has gone a long way to drive the initiative to the point where it is able to impact positively on the economy. What is needed now is to sustain so that it would run its full course and impact its advantages at the maximum level on every sector of the economy.
    More so as it tallies with the focus of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to diversify the economy and move away from the over reliance on oil.
    Oteniya is a researcher and agriculturist from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.

  • Kanu: Avoiding the Doomsday in Igboland

    It has started. Save a miracle another self-inflicted destruction is upon Igboland only that this time it would be far worse than the mindless slaughter from the foolhardiness that began in 1967. The catalyst for this disaster this time around is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, who is exploiting people of limited thinking.

    As of the week of writing, baying mobs that identify as IPOB members attacked soldiers in Kanu’s hometown in Abia state while the Hausa Community bore the brunt of the group’s misdirected anger in Rivers state. In another part of Abia state a pickup truck of the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, was vandalized and the occupants brutalized even though they are of Igbo extraction and even called themselves Biafrans to save their skin, the unruly mob nonetheless attacked.
    The ethnically charged belligerence of hate speech has peaked with IPOB members now openly calling for full blown war. The hate speech is only rivaled by the kind of hate motivated actions on the streets like the attack on the NHIS truck and the attacks on Hausa in Rivers. There have been other incidents of IPOB aggression against other Nigerian ethnic nationalities with some unfortunate Igbos also caught in the crossfire of what is meant to harm other Nigerians.
    Had the other ethnic groups been of the mind to overlook the unenlightened attitude and behaviour of IPOB members as the product of collective ignorance worsened by brainwashing, the position so far taken by those we call our elites in Igboland have been nothing short of a catastrophe. Their positions, expressed as individuals, organisations, groups and even elected politicians, only reinforced the belief that Kanu with his IPOB speak and acts for the Igbo bloc in an accepted official capacity and that the south-east geo-political zone hate other Nigerians to an extent where they will soon poison the consumable that they sell to the other citizens simply to kill them off and take over their country.
    Irrespective of whatever other lies the elites of Igboland are telling other Nigerians and the federal government, their collective hatred of Nigerian and duplicity in representing the issues are well documented. Instead of calling Kanu and his IPOB mob to order the governors of the south-east states rather hosted him to a meeting that rather boosted his demented profile. Someone who lived his life and benefitted from the Nigerian state as a former Minister of Education, in the person of Professor Ben Nwabueze brokered the puerile meeting. Osita Chidoka, a former minister and one-time Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, threatened legal action against the army for holding its exercise in the region even though he cannot swear on what is left of his honour that the money he is using to run for governorship election in Anambra state did not come from the sweat of “Nigerians”.
    More disgusting is the Ohaneze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural Igbo group, which is now behaving like the House of Lords for the defunct Biafra Republic – it is curious that Ohaneze never found the kind of voice it has now for the 16 years the People’s Democratic Party held power at the centre. Of course, the whole Biafra business was the preserve of riff raffs for the duration of Jonathan presidency.
    On the disgraceful side are the those currently serving in the government who appear to clandestinely in touch with IPOB out of public scrutiny. They remained mute, making feeble defence of Nigeria’s unity at best, without making efforts to call their kinsmen to order.
    Also of note is the interventions of notable Igbo politicians on their various social media handles or walls. They talk (write) as trashy as the primary school dropouts that root for IPOB at Ariara market. Two things however stand this category out: One, they are beneficiary of the corruption that ruined this country; their children live abroad and often hold dual citizenship so they would not get to partake in the impending doom.
    The Igbo intelligentsia is no less dismal as those that should not have been added to this list fought their way unto it by divorcing the concept of universality while embracing the base agitation for the defunct Biafra. It is ridiculous that those who should by virtue of their education and enlightenment should be leading the way have submitted their natural position on the pecking order to IPOB touts. It is sadder still that such failures draw salaries from the federal government only to turn around and deploy the same resource to hurt the integrity of Nigeria.
    The worst category of people is the most innocuous. It is the group of the Igbos who think they are insulated from the disaster being prepared by Kanu on account that they live in Lagos, Kano, Abuja or any of the other large Nigerian cities. Unfortunately, with the kind of ethnic strife Kanu and IPOB are brooking, this class of Igbos is going to be the hardest hit if anything goes pear-shaped. Their silence would be their indictment for in the coming days, sitting on the wall would not form part of the equation.
    Finally, is the category of those that weep more than the bereaved. But their tears are not for nothing because in supporting evil they see an opportunity for escaping their demons. This pack has the likes of one-time Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, who remains under the illusion that the breakup of Nigeria automatically frees him from the corruption charges hanging over him or the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, who expects the break-up to free him from answering charges for the crimes he has committed against the Nigerian state for which he will answer once he ends his tenure and loses hi immunity.
    The whole assemblage of these groups is united by their ill intent for Nigeria without thoughts for the consequences. They fail to see that it is ridiculous for anyone to say he has declared war on the Federal Government of Nigeria. They are possibly seeing the short term of what they are supporting or tolerating in the southeast. They castigate the Nigerian Army for holding a military operation that can potentially halt the spate of crime in Igboland without censuring IPOB members for pelting the military convoy first. Not that any of the aforementioned groups had ever seen anything wrong in the barrage of hate speech from IPOB and other separatists.
    Until such a time that the arrangement becomes otherwise, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states remain part of Nigeria to which the army can deploy should the need arises. The growing criminality in the area justifies the launch of Operation Python Dance II. But it seems this deployment is being exploited to start off another civil war. This something the federal government must avoid at all costs.
    The imperative at this stage is to immediately explore the alternatives to bring the recalcitrant elements to heel. The rejection of the army deployment should be treated as rejection of the federal government by the all those mentioned. They, possibly, should be given a foretaste of what they are asking for – all federal presence, police, MDAs, health facilities, should be shuttered in the southeast. The portion of the allocation to state that represent security vote to state governors should be withheld since the governors are proving to be anti-Nigeria.
    On a personal level, Nigerians have to start sending a strong message to IPOB and IPOB sympathizers that they are not ‘animals’ living in the ‘zoo’ by boycotting Igbo businesses, products and services. Even the seemingly peaceful and neutral Igbo in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and other places are guilty of a conspiratorial silence and proxy financing. The profits they make from the patronage of other Nigerians is what they reptrate to Igboland, which in turn fund the jobless youths that make up the fighting mob of IPOB.
    This blockade of Igboland and boycott of Igbo businesses and products would be the most merciful thing to do as it will likely bring them to their senses without the need for bloodshed. It is the only way left for avoiding the doomsday that is impending in Igboland courtesy Kanu and IPOB.

    Mbani is National Co-ordinator, South East Restoration Group and writes from Nsukka Road, Opin, Enugu

  • FG’s Probe Panel On Armed Forces And Lopsided Trial Of Humanity

    A few days back, I almost broke down into tears, when I watched the absurd drama in Afraukwu Umuahia the country home of the loathsome leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. His supporters, some spotted in the black-coloured regalia of the “Biafra Security Service”, blocked the thoroughfare of soldiers on the “Operation Python Dance II”, of the Nigerian Army. And these Biafran youths pelted objects, hurled stones and sticks at an Armoured Personnel Carrier, APC propelled by soldiers.

    The video as released online had background noises of war-like chants from the youths. The soldiers displayed a lot of restraint as they made a detour and took another route. But the glaringly unprovoked attack on soldiers by the Biafran youths injured a female passerby and a soldier.

    That is the extent of our indulgence into extremity. The Biafran youths who launch the unwarranted attacks on soldiers, were perhaps, brainwashed by their leaders about certain “human rights” in “their native land” and they became bolstered and excited by the prospect of a wailing world, had the soldiers reacted in the commensurate manner they were tempted.

    Nigerians indiscernibly assume democratic liberties are limitless and do not discern when actions constitute a crime against individuals and the state. But we are profoundly excited because democracy allows certain liberties.

    This mentality has rudely invaded our minds and psyche on issues of human rights abuses too. We are only conscious of our personal human rights, prone to abuse, but joyfully forget the human rights of others gleefully abused by our actions or inactions. We stir the trouble and spread its tentacles, abusing everything sane to humanity. When repercussions come, we shout loudest about human rights violations and the fissure of other connected rights. These cursed souls and voices in aberration, flourish more under democracies. And security agents are often the targets of these bitter attacks.

    Today, Nigerian democracy is experiencing a barrage of unjustified criticisms of the Nigerian security architecture . It surfaces anytime personnel are deployed for civil engagements on salvage mission. And it springs from some of the same elements they seek to protect.

    I cannot be a friend of the military; I cannot even be a fan of soldiers. But let truth be told, Nigerians have a daring spirit and sometimes, they overstretch the boundaries. Provocation of soldiers or other security agents is done deliberately because there are a litany of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) or an array of human rights organisations to rise in defence, in the event of an unavoidable confrontation. Then, the voices of “crusaders” of human rights violations pierce the air. And in Nigeria, Amnesty International (AI) is usually the most vocal voice, making counterfeited allegations of human rights abuses.

    But Nigeria is not the only country in the world which loves its citizens. Like in other parts of the world, we are living with different strands of budding terrorism in the country. I do know that some of these sects have not concealed affiliations with international terrorists sects. But we show little concern about this festering heist on our souls and nation. We are more interested in protecting the human rights of human rights violators.

    Straightforwardly, I sensed a lot of wisdom in British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May’s proposal in June 2017 to tinker with human rights laws of Britain, after the May 22nd and June 3rd 2017 multiple London terrorists attacks. She was emphatic about tinkering with laws “if they get in the way” of Britain’s battles against terrorism.

    America is a super country in the world. I never heard the rest of the world scream blue murder, when former President Barack Obama deployed drones of the Naval SEAL, which extra-judicially sniffed life out of Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden and others in an Abbottabad cave in Pakistan. Even world leaders have read and interpreted the monster of terrorism as unworthy of clothing in liberal human rights laws on the path of the fight against it. Nigeria cannot continue to live in denial of the embryonic reality of terror sects.

    Unarguably, the Nigerian Army led by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai has proven overtime that he is presiding over a personnel imbued with a new orientation, discipline, and the ideals of civil/military relations and professionalism. The establishment of the Human Rights Desk at the Army headquarters, Abuja is further proof of the institution to eagerly checkmate the excesses of erring officers, without external prompting. It has earned it enviable reputation around the world from its numerous engagements in local conflicts and taming of insurgencies in Nigeria. But some forces are bent on damaging this hard earned reputation.

    It is reason Gen. Buratai constituted the seven-man Nigerian Army Special Board of Inquiry, chaired by Maj. Gen. Ahmed Jibrin to probe the overtly spurious allegations of human rights abuses leveled against its personnel, by some international Human Rights Organizations like AI and the Human Rights Watch with vested interests in promoting terror sects in the country. The Army came out unblemished.

    More aberrant voices canvassed for a Presidential Panel, as they brushed aside the Army Panel’s report even as the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) again responded to these outcries. And while President Muhammadu Buhari was on medical vacation in London, the then Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo constituted and inaugurated a Seven -member Presidential Panel on the same probe on August 11th 2017. Chaired by Justice Biobele Georgewill of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, it has 90 days to submit its report.

    As unusual with us, as soon as the Presidential Panel publicized the call for memorandum from the public, fresh criticisms and objections greeted its composition, as lacking independence and doubting its outcome. Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) declined appearance like they have always done.

    One is perplexed at the volley of rejections by interested parties in the incidents under probe. But to demonstrate a deliberate obfuscation of a lawful process and the preference of the triumph of terrorism against a helpless Nigeria, the Shiites in Nigeria sect (IMN) in a public statement signed by Professor Abdullahi Danladi disparaged the panel and shockingly claimed; “It would appear that the setting up of this panel may be related to a quick attempt at convincing (or deceiving) the United States (U.S.) government into selling weapons to the military”.

    But America far more sophisticated in discreetly prying into the affairs of other nations has sold the weapons to Nigeria to tackle terrorism. It means, America’s surreptitiously independent inquest has found nothing against Nigerian Army on human rights violations. But this mindset by IMN is representative of the real intentions of the series of objections and refusals to accept previous recommendations exonerating the Nigerian Army of any culpability by these groups.

    I have strong suspicions that these groups, which have indefensibly taken the Nigerian Army to the slaughter slab, are angry with soldiers of Nigeria today for courageously dealing a hard blow on terrorism in the country. I am not convinced of the breach of any human rights by soldiers yet, but the only official instrument at their disposal is the straw of human rights abuses. It is crafted to weaken the resolve and dampen the morale of soldiers in confronting terrorists, by instigating the international community to cry foul. The intent of these protests is clearly discerned now.

    The compliance with human rights obligations and rules of engagement is very necessary and Nigerians have ranked the Army high in the observance of these creeds in the asymmetric terrorism campaigns.

    Soldiers go the extra-mile most times to demonstrate their humanity. We have seen Nigerian troops in battle with terrorists conveying wounded Boko Haram terrorists to the hospital in the Northeast. A heart steeped in cruelty about humanity cannot condescend to this humanitarianism. Nigerian soldiers offer free Medicare to the sick in the Southeast and extend Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to host communities throughout the nation. These are not undertakings of hearts soaked with the vinegar of vengeance and inhumanity.

    They ought to be celebrated as patriots and heroes, as against the present vilification for no just cause. To seek to rubbish the professional integrity and dignity of the institution of the Nigerian Army as currently prosecuted by these groups amounts to persecution, which all men of conscience should resent.

    I keep saying, soldiers are also human beings, who have feelings and entitled to some professional rights in the line of duty. We have over time pleasured in abusing everything which confers any vestige of humanity on soldiers. We insult, denigrate, abuse, lampoon and fabricate all sorts of lies on their souls and that of other security agents. Hoodlums and armed miscreants without reason, attack our security agents on the line of duty and gruesomely murder security agents.

    Unfortunately, those who lament loudly the failure of the prompt response of security agents to threatening security situations are those who have rendered themselves to the services of criminal elements to blackmail our security agencies and smear their image. We easily forget the patriotism and the sacrifices they make on our behest, in taming these criminal monsters, including paying the supreme price of death. But these are men and women who have devoted their lives to save humanity. The only appreciation they get from some elements in the society is cruelty and condemnation, by raising platforms for their senseless persecution.

    Certainly, our nation-state and its constitution is on trial, if we continue this way. So, when we delight in persecuting soldiers and other security agents for protecting humanity, we are consciously digging the pit for chaos, anarchy and complete breakdown of public law and order.

    I ask, where is our own sense of humanity and commitment to the liberation of our country from evil forces, when all we do, is think of manufacturing or doctoring videos and pictures in crisis situations where soldiers are drafted to maintain peace? And thereafter, we present these video tapes as evidence of human rights violations against our officers? We must reflect on our common humanity now and know that what is good for the goose is good for gander.

    Madu writes from Badagry Leadership Institute, Lagos.