The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Ortom: Throwing a bloodied victim back into the lion’s den!

    Ortom: Throwing a bloodied victim back into the lion’s den!

    By Mikky Attah

    Channels Television on Sunday December 6 sent out a tweet saying “…the domestic violence matter reported against one of our reporters is being investigated…”

    This they did in reaction to the viral video on social media where Ifeyinwa Angbo, wife of their correspondent, Pius Angbo which had called him out for wife- battery and assault. To quote Ifeyinwa, “I’m calling him out. I thought I got married to a fellow human being…”

    Six years of alleged battery, as well as marital infidelity and abuse led her to finally speak out.

    However, the issues raised are not for Angbo’s employers, Channels TV to handle, although their starting to do so is highly commendable. But these issues fall within the purview of law enforcement, however this can only happen if the victim or her sympathisers step up and lodge a formal complaint. This is where the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom comes in. The alleged perpetrator, Pius Angbo is an indigene of Benue State.

    Promptly after the release of the video, Ortom arranged for the couple to meet with him at Government House, Makurdi, Benue State. There the governor organised a public reconciliation!

    No, I am not saying that reconciliation in itself is bad. Unfortunately, it is such an awful coincidence that this reconciliation, no matter how well- meaning fell within the United Nations prescribed 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence Campaign, started on November 25.

    I must state here that domestic violence is not only about women victims; it occurs both ways- violent wives beat husbands and violent husbands beat their wives. Both are equally serious, and condemnable. However, this particular case is one of violence against a wife, and this period is  set apart by the world body to focus on Elimination of Violence Against Women.

    Pius Angbo did not once deny the allegations of six years of wife battery; he could not possibly deny the current incident either as his wife’s marked and bloodied face is there for all to see.

    Notwithstanding, he did something really chilling and it was even under the supervision of Governor Ortom: Angbo apologised to his wife and promised to make amends; before publicly hugging his wife.

    Nobody needs a PhD in psychology or criminology to decode these actions- even a layman knows this is the pattern of all abusers- beatings, apologies and (fake) vague promises to make amends. Instead, all that happens is that the beatings become increasingly savage, and lethal.

    If I could ask Dr Ifeyinwa one question it would be- in previous beatings, did he deliberately hit or target open wound sites like surgical incisions, or attempt to strangle you?

    I can bet that the cruelty has increased over the course of these six years.

    Much worse about this situation is the plight of the young innocent children- who also, unfortunately become victims.

    Ifeyinwa tells of how she is nursing a new baby born by caesarean section. She says all through the pregnancy, her husband regularly beat her, sat on her pregnant stomach and even tried to strangle her. As if this was not enough, she said that since having her baby, the man has sat on her surgical operation site, while hitting her! In addition to the frequent beatings, her husband has also tried to strangle her in the past. And as she is narrating her ordeal in the video, her little son comes over from playing and says- Sorry Mummy -before continuing to play!

    It is simply awful to think of the effect of this domestic violence on children being raised in that environment.

    The woman’s face, from temple to neck and including the eye region is covered in welts, marks and bruises.

    That spouse who was accused of assault and battery, upon appearing before the governor, ought to have been arrested on the spot and handed over to the police. The wife’s video / statement is sufficient evidence.

    The extent of the alleged wickedness, sitting on a fresh surgical operation wound is an offence before the law: causing grievous bodily harm.

    Amazingly, the governor responded to the case like one that was a mere shouting match between two parties. The governor said that the couple should ALWAYS settle their differences amicably and shun the temptation of engaging in violence.

    But in this case, the man in question has always, according to the wife, displayed violence at every turn, with assault and battery even when pregnant. This situation is way, far beyond shunning the temptation for violence- this is a life-threatening situation. Ifeyinwa has let everyone know that, on more than one occasion, this one included, Pius has tried to kill her.

    Ifeyinwa is only fortunate to be alive; and her traumatised look of utter sorrow during the public show of hugs, says it all. The governor, nevertheless is satisfied with the vague promises and cajoled apologies of the perpetrator. Governor Ortom, by his avuncular, even benign action has inadvertently thrown the victim right back into the lion’s den. The bloodied victim is even in a more vulnerable position now, for devouring. That woman’s life is potentially at risk.

    Removal from danger would be the first option. Let the fellow be made accountable for his deeds, to serve as a deterrent to others out there who are possibly even today, savagely beating their spouses at home. Governor Ortom- this is called tough love, and it is the only formula to be applied in the current situation, to obtain meaningful results. In the press video, Ifeyinwa was looking terribly uncomfortable, and she was even unable to stand properly!

    I end this by echoing the words of the renowned American actress, filmmaker, activist and  humanitarian Angelina Jolie when she spoke in November at the International Conference on Action with Women and Peace, in Seoul.

    In her speech on the increase in gender based violence, Jolie said, “It demands courage from people in positions of power or responsibility, and a willingness to be honest and humble about the work that lies ahead”.

    • Twitter – @mikky_princess
  • Still on Salami panel and Magu

    Still on Salami panel and Magu

    By Isah Tijjani

    The use of raw power to settle personal scores against ones perceived enemies, is a dastardly but palpable contemporary political reality. Our own nation’s political landscape has not been devoid of this aberrant behaviour. Even though, our democratic dispensation is still in its infancy, yet it could be seen as being fully replete with these clearly very unpleasant but ubiquitous phenomenon.

    Just when broad sections of our country are savouring the constitutional order and the rule of law which were being ushered by the dawn of democracy in our great nation, a very hard to bear devastating blow was dealt to these delightful longings through the open display of raw power by the well-connected powerful government officials, some of whom, are known to be occupying top echelon in the nation’s federal cabinet.

    Allow me to take our minds back to the well-orchestrated, dare-devil and commando-styled but widely reported arrest of the embattled and now suspended chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, which was clumsily carried out recently in the broad Abuja busy streets, by the security teams of the much dreaded Department of State Security and the Police Mobile Force.

    On that fateful day, Nigerians who had witnessed this power brinkmanship were so petrified by the sheer force exhibited in the course of its poor execution, just as they were being thoroughly scandalized all through the short duration the sordid encounter lasted.

    The traumatic reverberations left behind by this stormy blitzkrieg, had deeply scorched our city walls which had been well equipped and fortified with the latest soundproofs and are currently assuming their eery symmetry, ominous spread and a clearly terrifying national dimension with all the negative consequences that these imply.

    News about the raging internal skirmishes between the justice minister, who doubles as the Attorney General of the Federation on the one hand, and the nation’s anti-corruption bodies, such as, the EFCC, ICPC and PACP on the other, suddenly started filtering out to the unsuspecting public.

    No doubt, the bean was spilled by the duo of professors emeritus Sagay and Femi Odekunle, the nation’s renown academics and respected anti-corruption crusaders.

    These two very illustrious scholars had courageously informed the perplexed members of the Nigerian public, that, the rather rancorous relationship existing between the justice minister and the executives of his ministry’s parastatals was not unconnected with the apparent uncooperative attitudes and brazen acts of nonchalance being displayed by the supervising attorney general, who stayed aloof and also adamantly refused to show some supports or strong interests in the nation’s galvanized efforts to speedily combat the cankerworms of corruption from our now pestilence-infested national landscape.

    Unknown to many Nigerians, the Attorney General had deftly knit a web of calumniating subterfuges which were purposely and clearly designed to permanently sentence and dislodge especially the main protagonist of this suspense filled drama, the accused chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, to a perilous perdition.

    From day one, the chairman of the presidential investigation panel, retired Justice Ayo Salami, threw caution to the wind by flat-footedly denying Magu fair hearing and obdurately blocking him from access to his lawyers. It took the resultant public outcry provoked by this outrage, to extract a mild concession from this highly experienced retired Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal, who then looked every inch very hell-bent on carrying out a well-rehearsed premeditated witch-hunt.

    This strong suspicion was given credence by the panel chairman’s display of open bias and one sidedness in handling the whole of this sensitive assignment.

    It is rather curious, if not altogether strange, that a principal actor in this investigation saga, such as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation was completely shielded and frantically encouraged from skipping any appearance to answer pertinent questions raised by Magu’s lawyers at the panel.

    It is also amusing and a matter of national interest that side by side with the panel’s investigation, it was observed, that some actions quite prejudicial to these rather crucial investigations, were swiftly being undertaken by the office of the AGF, as if to ridicule the integrity of its authors, and cast aspersions on the credibility of their subsequent recommendations to President Buhari’s government.

    Otherwise, how could one understand the speed with which the AGF used his strong links and personal connections with the Aso Rock Villa, to obtain quick presidential support and even approval, for setting up another agency under his supervision that denuded the EFCC of most of its statutory functions?

    It is the culmination of these series of offensive actions clearly calculated to undermine any sense of fairness, justice and the rule of law in our country that detracted from the merit of the rehashed recommendations which have now been perfunctorily submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari by Justice Salami.

    It is however comforting, that, Nigerians who have been following this case with undiminished interest and raft attention, are equally reposing total confidence in the unstinting commitment of President Buhari to always uphold the cause of justice and are also reinforced in this, by his determination to sustain the raging anti-corruption crusade.

    Thus, they unfailingly will continue to remain optimistic, that he would deploy his legendary wisdom to see beyond the travesty and the smokescreen placed before him, fervently pray and also keep faith with his ability to consciously and patriotically avoid any association of his good name and well-built reputation with a blatant miscarriage of justice.

    Nigerians shall similarly continue to firmly believe that he will proceed to do the right thing, by courageously exonerating all those who are unfairly witch-hunted and condemned especially by the clever use of baseless allegations, trump up charges and the display of unrestrained desire to settle perceived personal scores and old grudges bordering on vendetta of deep seated animosity.

    • Comrade Tijjani, mni, is a Kano-based veteran labour leader.
  • Thoughts on Nigeria’s educational system

    Thoughts on Nigeria’s educational system

    By Segun Ogunlade

     

    MANY things have been said about many Nigerian students knowing the theoretical solutions to problem but never the practical solution. Yet, the latter supersedes the former in the order of importance. You could know all the theories and laws in the whole wide world but if you cannot demonstrate what you know by using it to solve real-life problems, your knowledge is as good as useless. Unfortunately, what the Nigerian educational system is best suited for is to make us know the theory of everything but rarely use those theory to solve the myriads of problems besetting our nation.

    The educational system that produces us is one that is based on what is and not what can be. We were trained, not to question things, but to accept them the way they are. But that is not the true essence of education. True education is supposed to help us experience our environment, question it deeply to find the different options that exist in it, and then choose the ones to embrace as a matter of urgency. But we don’t do any of these. To be educated in an ideal world means to upgrade one’s capability to solve complex problems. You cannot solve complex problems without first questioning your environment.

    Being educated also means availability to different options and not limiting oneself to only one option. Imagine you need a new phone and your prayer to God or whatever you believe in is to give you money so you could buy it. By praying that way, you have unintentionally locked yourself out of other options that exist. It means if you don’t make enough money, you will never buy a new phone. But buying is not the only way to possess. The end purpose of purchase is ownership but it is not the only way. That is why a truly educated person would have prayed instead that he needs a new phone and keeps options open. Whether he buys the phone with his money or someone buys it for him, the end result is the same – he has a new phone. That is the mistake we often make. We all believe the only way to own is to buy what other people have made. What if we produce for ourselves the things that we need? Nature has given us enough resources to make that happen, we just fail to see it.

    As you would have also noticed, our academic training is tilted towards getting a certificate and using it to get a job. That is why there are many unemployed graduates who still think the only way to live is to get a job. We were not trained to solve problems in our society but to buy our way over the problem without ever fixing it. That is why we are busy making money just so we could buy the products of inventions from other climes whereas they are busy using the products of their invention to take our money away. While we save money to buy the next big gadget in the market, they are thinking of how to make money by taking the next big gadget to the market for sale.

    By being good buyers in the world market, our money goes to solve some of the economic problems of the countries we buy from while our economy suffers a perpetual lack of money. If we had been producers, we would have retained a lot of money in our economy and that would have gone a long way in helping our economy develop. I am confident that when we start many of the things we need locally, we will also retain a large chunk of money in our economy and the federal government wouldn’t have to always pump money into the economy to sustain it.

    Our inability to question things, including the activities of our leaders, has made us people that produce what we couldn’t consume and consume what we couldn’t produce. When people gather in academic boardroom in advanced countries, they are thinking of how to make. But when they gather in our country, they are thinking of how to buy. That culture has made us the best buyers in the world. That inability has also eliminated our choices and we are left to think that the only way to be civilised is to be like the Europeans and the Americans. But the fact is that a man without options is like a slave. The two of them don’t control what happens to them, thereby lacking control over their necessary human experiences. By not experiencing and questioning our environment, we have locked ourselves out of options. That is why we have failed at everything people in other climes are successful in because we want to copy the options they exploited. That inability to understand what works best for us in relation to our peculiar problems is why we don’t seem like people that could ever grow beyond our problems.

    It is not as if the Europeans or the Americans are better than we are. If the circumstances surrounding us as Nigerians change, we could do the unthinkable. That is why many Nigerians thrive outside the shores of the country and become success at what they fail at back at home. Average kids in a public school in the U.K. or the U.S. where we like to copy things from learn in the best possible environment. His lessons are held in a classroom that is suited for learning and well ventilated. His desks and chairs are strong and not rickety. He has a school counsellor that could guide him in some of his decision. All these are not enjoyed by an average kid in a public school in Nigeria. Yet, we expect the same kid to compete with the kid from the U.K or the U.S.

    The fault of in our educational system is that of systemic failure that we are all victims of by being born as Nigerians. By being born a Nigerian, one is naturally disadvantaged because of the unavailability of some of the things that could aid his mental development. We suffer from lack of things that should have been made available to us by the government. We have to provide for ourselves what people in other countries get from their government. All these factors combine to affect our mental concentration that when we finally make little success, all we think about is to show people that we have left the struggling class by rushing off to buy things that we thought could make life easy for us. But we never sit down to think about producing some of those things so as to ease our struggle. The few amongst us that try to produce some of those things we buy from other countries are not supported because we are used to everything that is not produced within our borders.

    The problem is with the government as is it with the governed. We could blame the government for spending too little on education but that could raise the question of what has been achieved with the little that have been made available to stakeholders in the sector. Many countries that don’t have the resources we have in Nigeria have better educational system. That shows our problem is self-inflicted. The choices we make regarding the management of our resources will determine the type of our country we will have. The difference between thriving countries and struggling countries is the management of resources. If with all our education we couldn’t manage our resources, it is as good as not being educated at all. Education is supposed to help us solve our complex problems and to help us live our lives better. Anything contrary to this is an abuse of its purpose.

    We need to design a curriculum that is suitable to answering some of the questions we have. We need an educational system that would make us think as producers and not being contented with being buyers. We need an educational system that is aimed at promoting Science, Technology and Engineering because that it is the direction the world is tilting towards now. Very few countries still groom its citizens to take up jobs in government ministries and agencies before they could live a good life. To compete with the rest of the world, we need to design a new curriculum that is made for producers and not buyers by being scientific and technological-minded. The government has a lot to do in this regard by providing enough funds to conduct research in universities and other institutes. All our resources shouldn’t be used to service political offices and offsetting foreign debts. Stakeholders in the sector even have more work to do in redesigning the educational curriculum in line with modern requirements.

  • Nyesom Wike: Celebrating a trail blazer

    Nyesom Wike: Celebrating a trail blazer

    “The leader sets an example. Whether in the army or in civilian life; the other  people in the organization take their cue from the leader not from what the leader says, but what the leader does.”  – Collin Powell

     

    By Paulinus Nsirim 

     

    Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has no doubt become one of the most admired and referenced political figure in the country today.

    His charismatic mien and outspoken advocacy in the face of perceived marginalization  and criticism of even some activities in his own political party, have positioned him as a true champion of the people.

    Fearless, courageous, pragmatic,  articulate and very conscious of his rights and constitutional authority in every situation and circumstance, he has emerged over the years, as a modern leader whose all round capacity and dynamism has astounded many.

    His tactical audacity has often flummoxed adversaries, his strategic acumen has wrong-footed  opponents. He always seem to anticipate measures and counter measures before they unfold and his administrative astuteness has set him apart as a visionary leader whose navigational compass has already configured futuristic challenges.

    Today, he has put in motion, a developmental blueprint that is pointing Rivers State in the right direction and positioning her to embrace the future with assured preparedness.

    There is a saying that nothing good comes easy and the journey of life is not for the feeble-minded. It takes only men and women of great determination to reach and attain their goals and this succinctly defines Nyesom Wike’s academic and political accomplishments.

    Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike was born into the Christian family of Revd. and Deaconess (Mrs.) Nlemanya Wike, from Rumuepirikom community in Obio/ Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. He is a complete Ikwerre son and proud Rivers man and had his early education in Rivers State before proceeding to study Law at the Rivers State University. Today, he is a recognized legal luminary and a distinguished Life Bencher.

    In the political terrain, Nyesom Wike, after a brief working period in private legal practice, embraced his true leadership calling and started from the very scratch, when he contested the election as the Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, with the return of democracy in 1999.

    He won the election and was re-elected for a second term as a result of his phenomenal performance which was so remarkable that he transformed and positively re-positioned the Council into one of the most productive and dynamic local government Councils in the country.

    By the end of his tenure as Chairman, Obio-Akpor Local Government had fully and proudly taken its pride of place and transformed into a beehive of commerce and other post modern trappings, in what has been described by many as the golden years of the Council.

    He then moved up to the bigger political space from Local Government to the State level to play a key role in the post-Sir Peter Odili tenure.

    Those who understood and followed the politics of Rivers State at that time, were fully aware of the vision of Sir Peter Odili and what transpired in the succession battle to take over from him in 2007. Suffice it to say that when the electoral and legal dusts finally settled, the anticipated balance was eventually achieved and it is germane to note that Nyesom Wike played what many have come to accept as an unparalleled pivotal role in achieving political stability in Rivers State in that turbulent season of succession; a story which has still not been fully written for posterity.

    By virtue of his admirable administrative savvy in office and immense political stature, he was appointed Chief of Staff during the first tenure of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi’s government.

    Indeed, the unprecedented role and sacrifice Nyesom Wike made to resolve the 2007 governorship debacle, stabilize the leadership and sustain the Rivers political structure in the eight years that followed the election in the state, still remains largely unsung.

    It was arguably in recognition of his impressive efforts and contributions, both as a staunch party man and an unflinching stakeholder in the promotion of the Niger Delta political advocacy and also to have a trusted ally in the Federal cabinet, that President Goodluck Jonathan appointed him as the Minister of State(Education) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on July 14 , 2011.

    Wike became a full Minister, though initially in an acting capacity, of the Education Ministry, from September 2013, when the substantive Minister Prof. Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa’i, who was appointed on April 6, 2010, was relieved of her position. He discharged the duties of his new portfolio with great efficiency.

    However, the build up to the 2015 general elections and especially, the Governorship election in Rivers State with the attendant highly combustible succession situation that emerged, required greater courage and extraordinary tactical and strategic political brilliance to confront and surmount it.

    Bitterness, laced with provocative and acerbic language had already been injected into the once peaceful political ambience of Rivers State.

    In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, one time British Prime Minister: “One ought never to turn one’s back on threatened danger or try to run away from it. If you do that you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything”.

    The world will always stand still for those who take responsibilities and while those that take responsibilities will stand to be counted, those who choose to sit on the fence and do nothing will have their names consigned to the wilderness of history.

    With this driving mantra in mind, Nyesom Wike voluntarily resigned as the Minister of Education to contest for the Governorship of Rivers State under the PDP and take charge of the structure that would eventually save the State from the fate that would have befallen it, just like he did in 2007, to uphold the clarion call of “Rivers First” in all considerations.

    Nyesom Wike is loved by his people. That is why he has metamorphosed into an unstoppable movement and in the titanic electoral battles that was waged for the soul of Rivers State in 2015 and 2019 respectively, he came out triumphant in the governorship elections.

    It has rightly been pointed out by discerning analysts and Rivers commentators alike, that Governor Wike met an economy that had been bruised and battered, by the time he took over as governor on May 29, 2015, and all he has done since that day, has been to unlock the economic potentials of Rivers State and attract investors back to their once-beloved Garden City.

    He has set about his task with a single minded determination and firm leadership to re-organize the security architecture, which had so nearly been completely mortgaged, re-order the socio-political and infrastructural priorities and transform the landscape of Port Harcourt with marvelous infrastructural aesthetics befitting a state capital.

    Rivers State has gradually  been positioned in the last five years as a dynamic and competitive modern hub for the vissicitudes if the present and the challenges of the future.

    Governor Wike’s second term started with the same verve, zeal and committed focus which defined the first term and things were moving smoothly, until the deadly coronavirus broke out as a global pandemic that destabilized the whole world.

    Many leaders are still  grappling with this challenge but Governor Wike has displayed courageous, pragmatic and focused leadership, not only in the management of the Covid-19 situation, but particularly, with the numerous projects that are either ongoing or completed in the State.

    Five years into his tenure, the urban renewal programme in the capital city and indeed the interconnectivity across the length and breadth of the State is progressing amazingly.

    In addition, the brilliant economic module of strategically concessioning major government owned assets to willing and capable private investors, which had already started with the Afam Cassava processing plant, is a critical futuristic component that is already on stream and will create massive jobs for the youths and unemployed.

    By a combination of unshakable commitment and an unwavering visionary drive to ensure the delivery of excellent legacy projects, the infrastructural development of Rivers State is inclusively holistic.

    Contrary to the notions and misleading opinions of critics, who have not traversed the State to actually see things for themselves, a transformational and aesthetic metamorphosis is actually taking place all over  Rivers State, which will unravel fully with time.

    Governor Wike  has already confirmed that his administration will not leave any abandoned project when his tenure comes to and end in 2023.

    In the political arena, Governor Wike has also transformed Rivers State into the political headquarters of the South South geo-political zone. Port Harcourt, the capital city hosted two very successful Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Congresses and has been the home for the reconciliation of many internal party conflicts.

    He has also contained the opposition with deft and  political brinkmanship and the way he has astutely supervised the affairs of the PDP has ensured that all the elections and Congresses in the state have been smooth, peaceful and rancour free.

    There is definitely no contesting the fact that Governor Wike is a trail blazer who is building for the future and actually leading from the front. He is a promise keeper and he has kept his promises, worked hard and achieved so much more with far less resources, while providing first-class socio-economic infrastructure.

    He has also kept the State and businesses safe and secure, despite the unexpected outbreak of Covid-19 and the contrived attempts to frustrate and create diversionary situations, both by internal and external forces.

    His administration has remained firm and focused on this progressive trajectory, with a constant pledge to recommit to work harder and deliver greater development to Rivers people.

    Like Governor Wike himself said in his inaugural second term address to Rivers people on May 29, 2020: “We know it is not going to be easy given the very poor state of the national economy and the spinoff effects on ours. But, tough times like this call for unity of thought, unity of purpose and unity of actions; believing in ourselves and in our ability to overcome all the challenges that confront us as a State and as a people.”

    Indeed the story of Nyesom Wike, is the unfolding narrative of a man who, in the last half a century and counting, has not only become one of the iconic living legends of Rivers State, but is today, the Dike Ohna Ikwerre, a title reserved only for heroes, warriors and patriots of the great Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality.

    Governor Nyesom Wike is a devout Christian and is happily married to Her Excellency, Justice Eberechi Suzette Wike. They are blessed with children.

    There is no doubt that as he celebrates his birthday today, even his critics will agree that he is indeed a trail blazer in every sense of the word.

    Happy Birthday Your Excellency.

    Nsirim is the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Rivers State

     

     

  • Trump’s coup d’emotion

    Trump’s coup d’emotion

    By Bonnie Kristian

     

    Late Monday night, the official Twitter account of the Arizona Republican Party shared a tweet from Ali Alexander, a professional activist raising money on the lie that he will keep President-elect Joe Biden from being inaugurated. “I am willing to give my life for this fight,” Alexander wrote. “He is,” @AZGOP commented. “Are you?” A little while later the account posted another, similar tweet, which has since been deleted. “This is what we do, who we are. Live for nothing, or die for something,” it said, pairing a quote from the Rambo franchise with a brief video clip.

    The Arizona GOP is not alone in these theatrics. Radio host Eric Metaxas, once known as an evangelical public intellectual who interviewed serious thinkers, said in a late November show that he’d “be happy to die” in the “fight” for Trump’s retention of power, a fight in which he claimed God is on his side. It’s hard to say how common this sort of thing is among rank-and-file Trump supporters — some research suggests expressions of belief that Trump won are better understood as an enthusiastic show of support than a statement about reality — but this Jacobite make-believe clearly has an audience.

    It also has perceived validation in the “coup” language used by some of Trump’s critics. For diehard Trump fans desperate to believe they are “warriors” in an existential battle for the soul of the country or some similar pablum, seeing talk of a Trump’s “coup attempt” may help sustain the fantasy: We’re really doing it — even the other side has to admit it!

    That is not to suggest “coup” decriers are somehow responsible for these pantomimes of a willing walk to the firing squad so Trump can prevail. If the question is, “Who started it?” the answer is obviously Trump himself.

    Nor is it to say that the “coup” description lacks advantages. Though its suggestion of violence is imprecise, it’s not obvious English has a better option. In Turkish, as Zeynep Tufekci explained in a cogent piece at The Atlantic, there are “many different words for different types of coups, because our experience … demands it.” Turks speak of “memorandum coups” and “e-coups” and “postmodern coups,” each illustrated in their recent history. We have no comparable experience here, and therefore no comparable vocabulary. Insurgency, insurrection, mutiny, putsch, rebellion, revolt, revolution, sedition, treachery, treason — none are quite right.

    But also not quite right is denying, as Tufekci did, that words which can encourage these martyrdom daydreams are worthy of our attention. “Our focus should not be a debate about the proper terminology,” she said. “Instead, we should react to the frightening substance of what we’re facing, even if we also believe that the crassness and the incompetence of this attempt may well doom it.”

    The problem with this strategy is that, for Trump and his would-be cannon fodder alike, this whole exercise is substantially about feeling over fact.

    This is part of the feebleness of Trump’s campaign to un-lose the election. Tufekci collates the most noteworthy things the president and his allies have said or done in this project, and it’s almost entirely talk: He tweets and badgers local officials; they chant about locking people up, harangue in interviews and press conferences, and then file lawsuits making more conservative claims about voting irregularities which nevertheless go nowhere.

    Just two items on the list had any real consequence: the firing of Christopher Krebs, formerly director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, for declining to go along with Trump’s claims; and Trump’s call to two Michigan officials, who then sought to reverse their certification of votes from the county that includes Detroit. But Krebs’ unjust dismissal hasn’t impeded the presidential transition, and Michigan certified Biden’s win shortly after the attempted reversal.

    Trump and his backers say they’re trying to retake the White House (and maybe sincerely think there’s some chance they can). But what they’re actually getting here is emotional gratification (and money). Trump wants to be able to claim victory and whine about the supposed abuses he’s suffered even more, I suspect, than he wishes to have the responsibilities of the presidency for another four years. These supporters imagining themselves valiantly dying in a God-ordained fight for Trump’s reign are enjoying their delusion. They’re having fun play-acting heroism online; they don’t truly want to die.

    And if the feeling is an (unadmitted) end unto itself, and the terminology feeds the feeling, then the terminology does matter and could even contribute to a recurrence of this — well, whatever it is. A “Twitter sedition,” perhaps. A “felt putsch.” A “coup d’emotion.”

    The “frightening substance of what we’re facing” is significantly in what some large number of our fellow citizens want to feel. We’ve focused on possible institutional consequences of Trump’s failing legal challenges to the election, but millions of Americans’ enjoyment of this charade of heroics and intrigue is a threat to functional governance, too.

     

    • This article was first published in www.theweek.com

     

  • Kano’s comatose assets: Why PPP is the panacea

    Kano’s comatose assets: Why PPP is the panacea

    By Salihu Tanko Yakasai

     

    When His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, OFR assumed the mantle of governorship of the most populous state in the federation on 29th May, 2015, he was confronted with formidable development challenges in the forms of multi-billion naira abandoned projects, huge liabilities of over N400 billion and eye-sores of many decades-old rotten infrastructures such as the old Daula Hotel, KASCO, the structurally defective multi-storey carpark at Shahuchi, the Triumph Publishing Company shut down by his immediate predecessor due to political mischief because it was established by the late Abubakar Muhammadu Rimi, the promising Tiga Rock Castle Hotel built in preparation for the visit of the Queen of England, the uncompleted Magwan Water Restaurant and Hotel and the famous Kano Zoo now in the midst of well-developed residential areas thus posing serious threat to the inhabitants.

    Undaunted by these formidable challenges, some created purposely to frustrate Ganduje’s administration for political gain, the governor set out toward taking the state to the next level. For example, despite the financial crunch the three tiers of governments have been facing leading to the many months of recession in the country, the governor has succeeded in completing some multi-billion naira projects such as the two specialist hospitals at Giginyu and Zoo Road, the longest flyover bridge in the north named after Alhaji Aminu Dantata, and many other projects. The two independent power projects and some 5-kilometer roads abandoned by his immediate predecessor have now reached various levels of completion. Unlike his immediate predecessor, Gov. Ganduje has continued with all inherited projects that have positive impact on the lives of the teeming people of the state.

    In addition, the governor has initiated many money-guzzling projects such as the Madobi-Panshekara underpass, the Katsina Road underpass, and the vocational skills acquisition centre along Zaria Road named after Alhaji Aliko Dangote whose construction and equipping gulped over N5 billion, etc all now completed. This is apart from the payment of monthly salary and other workers’ entitlements running into billions of naira.

    But despite all these achievements, the ever-dwindling Kwankwasiyya elements loyal to the former governor of Kano State, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso have never acknowledged these glaring giant strides of the present administration; instead they have continued with their campaigns of calumny and propaganda just to cast the present administration of His Excellency, the Executive Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, OFR in bad light or to hoodwink gullible unsuspecting members of the public for the sect’s selfish political ends.

    Gov. Ganduje has not only succeeded in making true his promise to complete all inherited projects and initiate new ones in a bid to provide Kano State with befitting infrastructures for its sustainable development, but has vowed to put it on a viable economic pedestal in partnership with private investors as is the norm all over the world.

    One of the laudable policies the present administration has come up with is the resuscitation of some landmark but comatose landed property listed above most of which had passed their usefulness in view of their dilapidated and obsolete conditions. However, in their characteristic disposition to brandish empty propaganda through lies and half-truths, the Kwankwasiyya elements have taken to the social, print and broadcast media making wild and unsubstantiated claims that the Ganduje administration has sold up some choice properties to cronies and family members. To say the least, this is not true.

    What actually transpired is that the state government has entered into private public partnership (PPP) arrangements with some willing and interested private investors to either redevelop these rotten, under-performing and obsolete assets for the benefits of the two parties with Kano State government contributing land as its equity while the investors would sink their money and expertise into the development and management of the assets or completely demolish these properties and build new modern ones in their place. None of the assets has been sold contrary to the baseless allegations dished out by the prejudiced opposition elements who see no good in any government other than theirs.

    In the case of Daula Hotel, for example, the facility is a shadow of its former self and has been out of operation for many years due to dilapidation and out-datedness. With new modern hotels springing up in the state capital, Daula Hotel is no longer attractive and competitive enough; thus unable to attract patronage. The hotel has just become a safe haven for reptiles of all sorts most especially snakes. That is why the state government has entered into a PPP arrangement with a reputable private developer and the old hotel has been demolished and a new modern one, a mall and residential houses will be built after experts have given their professional inputs as to the viability of the projects.

    In respect of the premises of the Triumph Publishing Company, the story is the same. The company has been relocated after its resuscitation by the Ganduje administration and a private investor will construct a modern secured structure housing shops for the bureau de change operators. The facilities also contain many amenities apart from providing well-secured environment for foreign exchange transactions to bloom and flourish.

    With regards to the Shahuchi multi-storey carpark initiated by the Kwankwaso administration, the building is structurally defective and after receiving expert advice, the structure was demolished to safeguard the lives and property of the citizenry and would be converted into a shopping complex with modern facilities under a private public partnership arrangement and the state government’s equity is the land while the investor will bear the cost of the project in addition to other responsibilities.

    For over 20 years, the state-owned Kano State Agricultural Supply Company (KASCO) has been moribund and out of operation. But the present administration succeeded in resuscitating the highly potential company now operating in full capacity. A new modern fertilizer blending line has been added under a progressive management and the company is now profitable and is being patronized by the federal and some state governments. Nowadays, fertilizer and other farm inputs are readily affordable and available to farmers in and outside the state.

    Or take the issue of the ambitious Kano Economic City at Dangwauro, Zaria Road initiated by the Shekarau administration but abandoned by the succeeding Kwankwaso administration when it came on board in 2011 despite its high economic potentials to the development of the state. Upon coming into power, the Ganduje administration entered into a PPP arrangement with a private investor and now Kano Economic City has been revived and the investors have completed many shops ready for commissioning before the end of this year.

    The opposition has also wildly castigated the Ganduje administration for resorting to taking loans for developmental purposes. Unknown to them, even developed countries take loans for developmental purposes. For example, the United States of America (USA) with its GDP of $12 trillion is now indebted to the tune of $36 billion and one of the lenders is its arch-rival and adversary, China with its loan of about $3 trillion to the USA. If the opposition elements can become a book-worm, they will cease making unsubstantiated claims especially in respect of development issues.

    It is laughable that while their principal has not seen it worthwhile and important to complete inherited projects during his 8-year reign but instead initiated white elephant ones which he subsequently bequeathed to his successors, his supporters have not seen anything wrong with this political kamikaze. So blinded are they with political prejudice that they always oppose development efforts by the predecessors of their principal in the vain hope that he will assume political relevance again in the state or country at large. The earlier they realize that their political eclipse has become permanent, the better for them as some of the former die-hard members of the Kwankwasiyya sect have realized by dumping him and pitching their political camp with Gov. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, OFR.

     

    • Salihu Yakasai is the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor of Kano State. 

     

     

  • COVID-19: Young African filmmakers back UN Anti-misinformation initiative

    COVID-19: Young African filmmakers back UN Anti-misinformation initiative

     

     

    Seven short films aimed at combating COVID-19 misinformation have been produced by the 2020 cohort of the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy, putting the talent of young African filmmakers to work on one of the world’s current biggest challenges.

    The films are part of the United Nations’ Pause campaign, a wider behaviour change campaign that aims to create a new social media norm to help combat the rising impact of viral misinformation. The short films will air on MultiChoice channels between 9 and 31 December 2020. The MultiChoice Group is providing the airtime as part of its ongoing support of the campaign.

    The filmmakers, who are from Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, tackled the subject through a variety of approaches, often using humour and slang to deliver vital and punchy lifesaving messages that appeal to local viewers.

    “We recognise the transformative power of media and the critical role we play to educate audiences about the dangers of misinformation through these short films, which have enabled us to share hyperlocal information with our audiences,” says Caroline Oghuma, Executive Head: Corporate Affairs, MultiChoice Nigeria

    The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) is MultiChoice’s flagship shared-value initiative launched in 2018 to ignite Africa’s creative film and TV industries through training and skills development. The MTF Academy is a 12-month fully funded training programme aimed at upskilling the next generation of passionate young film creatives. As the first touchpoint of the shared-value initiative, the MTF Academy’s one-of-a-kind curriculum is expertly executed under the guidance of regional Academy Directors Njoki Muhoho (East Africa hub), Berry Lwando (Southern Africa hub), Femi Odugbemi (West Africa hub) and Bobby Heaney (South Africa hub).

    The Pause campaign is part of Verified, an initiative launched in May by the United Nations to communicate accessible science-backed health information in compelling formats and sharing stories of global solidarity around COVID-19. Pause is the first global behaviour change campaign on misinformation to mobilise experts and researchers, governments, influencers, civil society, businesses, regulators and the media under a single message. It is aimed at increasing media literacy to enable social media users to spot misinformation and stop themselves from passing it on.

    The campaign is based on research that indicates that a brief pause significantly lessens the inclination to share shocking or emotive material thereby slowing the spread of misinformation. It aims to reach a global audience of 1 billion globally, online and through partnerships, by the end of December.

    “We cannot successfully tackle the pandemic without also addressing online misinformation. We’re thrilled to be working with the talented young African filmmakers at the MultiChoice Talent Factory, who have brought such creativity and passion to this project. We hope young people across Africa will see themselves in these films and take action to help break the chain of misinformation by pausing before they share,” said Robert Skinner, UN Senior Adviser for Global Communications.

     

  • The media, power and the politics of it all

    The media, power and the politics of it all

    By Nnedinso Ogaziechi

    The power of the media in global politics cannot be over-emphasized. It is even more exciting with modern technology and the social media. It is therefore very interesting the varied value citizens put on the media.  Modern global politics has benefitted very much from the media even if individual politicians often berate the media when they are on the receiving end in terms of criticisms.

    Of all segments of the society, politicians seem to be the most beneficiaries of media as a tool for their trade. From campaign periods to governance and policy narratives to the people, the media  is a veritable tool between governments and the people. More often than not, the role of the media is underrated by politicians across the globe but one thing is clear, without the media, there will be no viable democracy.

    It is therefore obvious that very often, in other to seek some form of populism, many politicians shoot themselves on the foot by a wrong use of the media. One of this instance just manifested with the action of governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state when he recently called a press conference to supposedly ‘reconcile’ a couple after the viral video by the wife, one Dr. Ifeyinwa Angbo who narrated the abusive behavior of her husband, a Channels TV reporter, Pius Angbo over the six year period of their marriage.

    The governor displayed complete disregard for the social and global import of domestic violence by treating with levity a gross case of gender based violence in a state that is signatory to the VAPP law in  and he is equally a member of the governors’ forum that declared zero tolerance to domestic violence. At what point then did the urge to showcase his ‘peace and reconciliation’ skills did the governor do the right thing in the wrong way and at the wrong time? Why the precipitate media show of a ‘reconciliation’ that ought to have been preceded by other state backed processes of the abusive husband?

    The Roundtable Conversation had a chat with Dr. Gabriel Tivlumun Nyitse, a veteran journalist and a Mass Communications lecturer at Bingham University Nigeria. To him, the governor did the right thing but he would have rather he made it a private affair. In the African context, family arbitration is allowed when couples have issues in their marriages so it is not wrong that he intervened. Again it is not impossible that the governor was approached to intervene.

    However, Dr Nyitse believes that the governor’s intervention does not prevent government agencies in charge of handling such issues from doing their work. He believes that the governor’s intervention has nothing to do with the agencies carrying out their constitutional duties. The man ought to be invited if they feel he has broken any laws. However, no one should discountenance the fact that the Nigerian society seems to be tolerant of domestic violence which is deplorable.

    It is obvious that most cultures seem to take it as a given that physical abuse can be tolerated in marriages. The governor was acting the regular script of handling domestic abuse as a family affair that arbitration solves but it is not always the case. Most men that abuse women or vice versa never seem to stop except in cases where certain actions are taken by those involved either getting the security agencies involved, getting therapies or getting some form of restraining order on the violent party.

    Nyitse believes that the socio-cultural issues of how we raise our kids, the stigma on single, divorced and separated spouses often make individuals stay in violent relationships. Children must be deliberately raised to be respectful of each other and given no advantages based on their gender. The home must be the training ground as it has been established that kids that grew up experiencing violence are often more likely to be violent often getting into cult groups in schools to express themselves and logically carrying such attitudes into relationships.

    Asked  how  the violence against women to him affects the gender parity in Nigerian politics, he said that the Nigerian political space again is too hazardous for women. Women can come into politics through a deliberate policy of inclusiveness like giving them political appointments through which they can grow and garner experience and the financial muscle to contest elections. He particularly loves the idea of the 35% affirmative action  if adhered to because women can organize the men to vote for them. In politics, no one gives you power. Women must begin to build structures. Women should go out and contest with men.

    However, it is regrettable that most women do not have the resources for campaigns and election expenses. We are yet to get to the position where Nigerians begin to put value on ideas and then more women can be given a chance in elective positions given that most women have the capacity to lead. The physical violence in Nigerian politics should not however scare the women away as that could be a tactic for excusion.

    Aisha Yesufu is a business woman who teaches financial literacy to empower people to be financially independent and also have a voice to demand for good governance. She is an Active Nigerian Citizen who demands good governance, justice and equity. An Aisha is totally disappointed with the media glitz that a governor Ortom employed in a clear case of wife-battery. It did not help matters that his wife stood by him as he publicly ‘intervened’ in a clear case of a serial domestic violence perpetrator who never uttered a word in self defense or offered any apology.

    Governor Ortom virtually institutionalized battery by his media conference involving an abuser. The woman standing with the couple did not act as a protector of women. The victim was the one apologizing on behalf of the perpetrator of violence against her. What it shows is that we are a society that victimizes the victim. What they have done with that singular act is to give credence to every abuser. Every victim that was reason to speak out, to voice discontent was shut down by the media display by the governor and all those involved.

    The leader, meant to protect the victim victimizes the victim by that singular action  and it is almost an everyday act. It is important to let women come out from abusive relationship. Women must begin to own their humanity by standing up to abusive men because to Aisha, there is not so much of power- based violence as there is abuse of  every form of power. A man abuses his physical power by beating up a women but in cases of women with more physical ability, physical abuse is normally absent. If a women is financially stable or richer than a man, there is usually no financial abuse. So women must empower themselves to escape abuse of any sort.

    Aisha believes that even women seem to be enablers of violence because they are always the ones persuading abused women to go back to their abusers and in most cases the result is often homicide. She is however happy that the socio-religious conditioning for women to accept abuses and the men’s sense of entitlement seem to be waning with the modern generation. It cannot be business as usual.

    Women must realize that if they do not come into politics, nothing would get done. Women must stop asking men to bring them to the table. Do not play the woman card, be human and fight for power because it can never  be aerved a la carte. If you fail, try again. If the President could fight for twelve years to be president, then women should equally learn to fail and get up and re-contest after all he who is down need fear no fall. Women must begin to re-strategize.

    Aisha recounted an instructive experience when she was campaigning for an Oby Ezekwesili presidency and her longtime customer told her he would not vote for a woman president. She immediately terminated their commercial relationship and the man realized his folly but very late.

    She believes that women must shrug off the emotional blackmail from men who try to beat down women off the political space by calling female politicians prostitutes. To her, everyone must brace up to reject tags that are mere psychological abuse to tag women. Be ready to go for nocturnal meetings be ready to crate your own table.. Women must create our own tables. Do not seek for space, create your own space. The people must choose who to serve them. Aisha feels that affirmative action is very limiting.

    The men use the blackmail to scare women. When a man does something wrong, other women are tarred by that but men are handled on their own merit. That has stop. Women should realize that the men always want women to go take bullets for problems caused by men during protests but when it comes to political leadership they realize that women should be seen but not heard.

    Patriarchal instincts make the men to misinterprete the holy books in all religions and even the African traditional religion because the men benefit from such interpretations. It is high time the women begin to retrace their steps  from the socio-religious conditionings that empower just men to be in leadership and to abuse women . Women themselves Aisha insists  must show that the old ways must give room to new thinking .

    Women should seize this moment .The greatest tyrants we have is our parents who often insist on the old ways . So the woman in the viral video is already brutalizing the children by doing the video in their presence and the father beating the mother in their presence is an abuse too. The idea of saying you are staying in a relationship because of the children is wrong because you damage the children in the process.

    More women are the ones who persuade the victims of domestic abuse to return to the perpetrators. The governor that made a media show of a domestic abuse case must be the push women need to own their human space and fight to economically and politically empower themselves. That way, the abuse of power by the men would stop because presently they have everything to gain and may never voluntarily give up any of those powers.

     

    The dialogue continues…

  • 62 garlands for Hope of Imo

    62 garlands for Hope of Imo

    Oguwike Nwachuku

     

    “Men are marked from the moment of birth to rule or be ruled,” Aristotle said.

     

     

    Relate this statement to my principal, His Excellency, Dist. Governor Hope Uzodimma, and the circumstances that brought him into the office he occupies today, the battle from birth to keep his head up and remain relevant despite the vicissitudes of life, then, your guess is as good as mine.

    His destiny has not played games on him.

    Today, December 12, 2020, Governor Hope Odidika Uzodimma of Imo State marks his 62nd birthday.

    Many people may ask: What is the big deal about his birthday since it is not a landmark one? I will explain shortly.

    This birthday is important, if not more significant than the perceived landmark birthdays in the imagination of naysayers because of the time and circumstances under which it is being marked.

    By the way, Governor Hope Uzodimma has every reason to roll out the drums this day because by this time last year most of his political traducers and opponents would have roasted him alive, directly or indirectly, had he called himself Governor even if for the fun of it, regardless of his desire to retrieve his stolen mandate then.

    And if less mortals could find time to celebrate an addition to their years without any other achievement following it, how much more for someone who has got many achievements to his name in the past 62 years, and recently, as a Governor?

    No doubt, the only person who could have known he would wear an executive cap in addition to the legislative garb he adorned for unbroken eight years as a distinguished Senator is Governor Hope Uzodimma himself.

    That is if he had the premonition based on his personal relationship with his Creator, the Almighty God.

    Even at that, except everything was revealed to him, he could not have been too sure how the metamorphosis from Senator to Governor would have happened, notwithstanding how strong his intuitive perception may be, if God did not underline what he has destined Hope Uzodimma to become in life.

    We may be regaled with tales of prophets, seers, imams and other spiritual people bringing to the public space what was spiritually revealed to them about Hope Uzodimma, but that could only have been possible because they are simply instruments in the hands of God to fulfil His plan for Onwa Oyoko.

    I do not know what is going on in the mind of Governor Hope Uzodimma now in the presence of God as he remembers today 62 years ago, but I definitely know that part of his thought line is to devote a substantial part of today ruminating on God’s faithfulness to him.

    Governor Hope Uzodimma that I have come to know will stop at nothing today to reciprocate God’s faithfulness and love to a man born to the humble family of Igwe Michael Uzodimma and Ezinne Rose Uzodimma in a small community called Ozuh Omuma, in Oru East local government Area of Imo State.

    In the widest imagination of many, they probably would have thought, years back, how possible it could have been for the Uzodimma family to produce a Governor.

    Is it therefore out of place if Onwa Oyoko finds time to celebrate, or even for Imo people to celebrate on his behalf, having it at the back of their mind that the saying, “no condition is permanent”, has fully played out in the case of Hope Uzodimma?

    I have worked closely with him for 11 months and can confidently say that God Almighty does not make mistake.

    Depending on how you want to assess him, Governor Uzodimma symbolises what a good politician who craves service to the people and good governance should be. His passion for good governance for Imo people is legendry.

    He has shown himself to be a businessman of note, but not in the fashion of ruthless business people who think that morality has no relationship with their business interest. Money is not everything to Governor Hope Uzodimma. He does not worship money the way most people do.

    Governor Hope Uzodimma is not just a Christian because the Bible and the Rosary as a Catholic are at his disposal, rather he is one Christian who wears humility like a piece of cloth and understands the import of serving God humbly, in truth and in spirit.

    Talk of a man who has a penchant for hard work, and ready to live by example, then you want to be under the tutelage of Governor Hope Uzodimma. I do not know how many of his aides who are not grateful that God brought them closer to him to learn at his feet.

    Yours sincerely is definitely amassing wisdom and life experiences hitherto unknown to him from Governor Hope Uzodimma.

    You need to be close to him to fully appreciate why the love his people and anyone else who have come in contact with him is infectious. People love him dearly because he has shown himself to have first loved them unconditionally.

    He does not believe in hypocritical social status or class syndrome that is worshipped like a religion by many people who have achieved as much as himself or even less.

    Rather, he blends well with all facets of mankind, one habit that endears him to all and sundry. If you think you are humorous, wait until you come in contact with Onwa Oyoko.

    I am yet to see a man who remembers and cares for all his friends across life’s journey, from primary school through secondary school to tertiary institutions, and even into his journey in business and politics, working so hard to ensure that none is left unattended to.

    Part of what aides regard as a challenge to Hope Uzodimma as Governor is his ability to still treat people who troop into his office for one minor reason or another as though he is still that independent person or that Senator people can bump into at will to discuss their personal affairs.

    While many people may see that as a weakness, Governor Hope Uzodimma sees it as strength that must be harnessed. He believes the people who come around him regardless of their reason for doing so are the ones who will judge him correctly.

    Do unto others as you would want them do unto you seems to have long sat well in the inner chambers of Governor Hope Uzodimma’s mind.

    That is why he has a ready response to what anyone may regard as disturbance from those who congregate around him every day regardless of where they are coming from.

    He said: “The mighty ones are active, the lazy ones are passive … both mighty and lazy ones are all important. No one is useless in this life.

    ”We don’t have to discriminate against people wherever they reside in the country. Once you’re a citizen of this country, you’re qualified, you’re eligible, you’re free under the law to decide to settle in any party of the country and go about your businesses without fear of molestation.

    “I will rather that other people judge me. But I must say that so far, so good, as far as my political career is concerned, my greatest joy is that I have used my position …. to impact very positively on the lives of my people.”

    Governor Hope Uzodimma has probably read Jeffrey J. Fox’s book How to get to the top: Business lessons learned at the dinner table (2007) which encouraged him to take the above positions. Fox sees strength in everyone, particularly when all gather around the piece of a mahogany.

    “Work on the products customers buy, no matter how old and boring. Work on the people who are proven cash register ringers, no matter how difficult to manage. Work on strengths. Work on what is working or you won’t be,” says Fox.

    I sincerely do not think that Governor Hope Uzodimma’s birthday should be an opportunity to talk politics around him since we will have the opportunity to showcase his giant strides in office after one year in a few week’s time.

    However, it is important that we invite well-meaning people and those who desire good governance to continue to offer supplication to God for the life of our Governor so that the flame of his vision for our dear state will be fully aglow and realised.

    He himself has acknowledged that he is the most blackmailed politician in the country, and he is in a position to know.

    But to us, it is a deliberate ploy by competing political interests and forces to perpetually put

    him in bad light so that he does not get the opportunity to provide a type of leadership, particularly in Imo State, that is at variance with what we got over the years that caused so much pain and slowed down development.

    If only our people, Imolites, can discern and are patient to see through the conspiracy of past leaders and their collaborators in public service to destroy our common destiny by appropriating what belongs to everyone – a narrative Hope Uzodimma is working hard to change – they will pray for this Governor daily.

    Perception is everything and ignorance is a disease. Unless you come close to Hope Uzodimma you may not have a proper handle on his true persona.

    The gang up against him over the years by those who think the best way to stifle his vision for good governance in Imo State is by painting him negatively may have been dealt a deadly blow by the Unchangeable Changer – God.

    Even those who hitherto were ignorant about who truly Hope is are now beginning to see that there is hope in this Hope of Imo.

    Socrates said: “Most people, including ourselves, live in a world of relative ignorance. We are even comfortable with that ignorance, because it is all we know. When we first start facing truth, the process may be frightening, and many people run back to their old lives.

    “But if you continue to seek truth, you will eventually be able to handle it better. In fact, you want more! It’s true that many people around you now may think you are weird or even a danger to society, but you don’t care. Once you’ve tasted the truth, you won’t ever want to go back to being ignorant.”

    Many people who thought they knew Hope Uzodimma should be asking God now to forgive their ignorance of his true person. It is only now most of them are beginning to come to terms with his real self.

    When we celebrate seasons, like birthdays, we remind ourselves that no condition is ever permanent. We remind ourselves that we cannot be overjoyed in good fortune nor be scornful in misfortune.

    Seasons reinforce our hope that our destiny is in our hands and that if we work sincerely, steadfastly and prayerfully the rest will be God’s to crown our efforts.

    Seasons teach us not to settle for what we already know concerning ourselves. They tell us never to stop believing in the power of our ideas, our imagination, our hard work to change the world of our dream, even if it means the world is pregnant with our destiny.

    A closer peep into Hope Uzodinma’s career reveals a man who does not give in easily, not even to defeat. He fights until he wins. The best in him pops up when he is confronted by challenges than can devastate his traducers or opponents.

    And that is simply what happens to Hope Uzodimma who, by this time last year, was not Governor but today is the Governor of Imo State and 62. Happy birthday Onwa Oyoko, nay Onwa Imo. May your days be long and fruitful on earth.

     

    • Oguwike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to Governor Uzodimma, writes from Owerri.

  • Towards a president of Igbo extraction (2)

    Towards a president of Igbo extraction (2)

    Igboeli Arinze

     

    It is therefore not in doubt that with President Muhammadu Buhari’s completing his tenure in 2023, power will rotate to the South in tandem with the nation’s political convention that has seen power rotate between the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria, with exception of the Jonathanian era, which briefly and dishonorably interrupted such an arrangement put in place by our political wise men in order to preserve the nation and its democracy.

    It is also not in doubt that with such a rotation, power should without doubt go to the SouthEast zone of the federation; this argument stems from the fact that since the return of democracy to the nation’s shores, the SouthEast is the only zone within the Southern part of Nigeria that is yet to have one of its own at the center, the Yoruba got eight years in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan spent five years in power as a South South person, it is only NdiIgbo who are a major ethnic group of Nigeria and the single largest ethnic tribe in Nigeria that is yet to take a shot at the presidency, to deny the zone such a slot will not only be unjust but also give wind to certain misguided elements calling for the zone’s secession out of the Nigerian Federation.

    It is injustice that in 59 years of independence, the only zone that has contributed immensely to this nation’s growth, unity and development by virtue of how we have perceived Nigeria and our willingness to peacefully migrate to other zones and reside within such areas contributing our quota to that area’s development cannot boast of producing one of its own as president. Take for example, I was born and bred in Surulere, Lagos, had my primary and secondary education in the Southwest. My father worked in Lagos same with my mum, building a house in Lagos and raising five of my other siblings and a host of other relations there too. The situation earlier painted is wide spread within the Igbo people unlike the other ethnic groups who are more at home with their areas or areas contiguous with theirs.

    A number of antagonists might as well throw up our secessionist history in the argument that amongst the ethnic groups and tribes that make up Nigeria, none has contributed to the growth of this nation than NdiIgbo. They are sure to point to the Biafran War as well as recent eruptions of Biafran irredentism as examples of how the Igbos have not committed to the unity of the federation. These antagonists forget that the civil war was forced on the Igbos and their counterparts in the Eastern Region; after a bloody counter coup and two pogroms was Gowon expecting the Eastern Region to look at those who had lost their loved ones as well as their limbs to believe in the entity called Nigeria at that point in time? A Nigeria that had failed to protect them? The antagonists forget also that at Aburi, which held the nation’s last hope for peace was scuttled by Gowon and his set of advisers, but for Biafra’s defeat, General Gowon like King George III is blamed for losing the American Colony should be taking the rap for the war. Even at that, near 50 years after the end of the Biafran war are we still fighting a war? If so then I would rather pitch my tents with the secessionists than do so with my country men who are yet to understand that wars fought are for a while, and while we look at the scars and the toll of war, we must also look to the future, knowing that no nation fights a civil war twice and survives!

    However, NdiIgbo must know that power isn’t given but taken, the zone which has unfortunately played spoiler roles to its political interests must quietly get its acts together and begin a rapprochement with other ethnic groups whose support will be key to achieving such goal. 2015 showed us that no zone in Nigeria can solely make anyone President in Nigeria; NdiIgbo to this extent needs the support of every zone to take a shot at the presidency, this is the time to start courting such support.

    The  zone’s political class must also behave itself, they should jettison the” pull him syndrome “ much associated with them since 1999, unity to this cause should be their battle cry and not the “ If it is not me, then it should be no other person”, for there is much at stake here.

    A president of Igbo extraction come 2023 will solidify this nation’s unity and beat back the agitations for the dismemberment of this country, it will do much good if this carrot approach is followed for the stick this time won’t work.