The Nation Newspaper

Category: Mobolaji Sanusi

  • Systemic greed and people’s wrath

    Systemic greed and people’s wrath

    Last week did not end without giving us something to chew for some time to come about the ingrained graft in President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. From the blues came the news that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had obtusely procured two black armoured steel BMW 760 Li HSS vehicles for the use, comfort and safety of Ms Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria…And Dr. Fola Akinkuotu, Director General of NCAA shamefully rubbed his salt on our injury. He said it was for the safety/use of ‘aviation-related foreign dignitaries’, at a face-saving media briefing that further exposed the entire despicable transaction to mockery.

    And as if greed in a purportedly good cause is still not ravenousness, he laboriously tried to defend this obvious act of conspicuous public consumption by erroneously stating that purchase of two cars at a scandalous price of N255, 155, 000 is not morally reprehensible for an organisation that bemoans its inability to meet all obligatory aviation needs of the country owing to ‘cash constraints’. The portrayal of these two luxury cars as ‘operational vehicles’ and the supposed official frowning at how their documents leaked to the media is bunkum and an insensate supercilious stance by a thoughtless NCAA management. Such defensive move by Akinkuotu is capable of inciting the already mourning public against the system that ludicrously looks helpless in the face of avoidable incessant air crashes. Don’t Nigerians have a right to know how NCAA spends public funds? May be the NCAA henchmen needs to be tutored by its legal department that an illegally procured document under the Evidence Act is admissible in the Temple of Justice.

    At a point when airports across the country need urgent rehabilitation, when major international airports in Kano and Lagos are begging for redemption and when most airports across the country are bereft of perimeter fence among others, it is sad that the Ministry of Aviation and its agencies wallow in the cesspit of depraved spending that is offensive to public economic reality. The American freedom crusader, Martin Luther-King Jr once said: ‘The prosperity of a country depends, not on the abundance of its revenues…but it consist in the number of its cultivated citizens; in its men of education, enlightenment and character.’ Whither the prosperity of this country when despite her intimidating revenues, she has been at the mercy of touted cultivated men without any iota of civilisation; expectedly educated men with perverse tricks and more worrisome, eloped character.

    It is annoying to note that when the news was broken by an internet-based medium, NCAA promptly denied the story. Equally, several attempts were made by the agency to wish it away to no avail until it was forced to come out with a statement that has further damaged its credibility. Also, some irritants from the agency tried to politicise the matter by attributing it to enemies of the minister. Even someone was quoted as saying in one of the internet publications that the minister was too rich to be burdened with public agitations against the decision to procure these highly expensive automobiles for her ‘operational use.’

    The questions to ask are: Who is after Oduah…and what for? If indeed the woman was rich to an extent where she could procure the best of automobiles of her desires before she was appointed a minister, did she have to use government money to get the BMW cars under contention? Does she not have better cars in her domestic garage if indeed she is very wealthy as the public was made to believe? The truth is that the woman, like most rich people before her in government, have proved not to be less greedy in the quest for material acquisition than probably the famished poor fellow that got newly appointed into public office. The fact is that the rich in power own everything because apart from holding the levers of power, they also control the corporations. As a result of their greed, they tried to pocket everybody in their selfish quest to get more for themselves and less for others.

    The systemic rot in the country has created very rich monsters that loathe a well-informed, well-educated population of citizens that is capable of critical thinking. Akinkuotu got it wrong if what all he thinks is to have breed a group of Nigerians that are dumb and apathetical to goings-on around them. Otherwise, why was he complaining about how the documents concerning the wasteful BMW automobile purchase leaked to the media? The whimper regarding the much-vaunted attempt by this administration to combat graft will come to naught if nothing is done to Oduah in the prevailing circumstance.

    The other time, a minister was accused of spending lavishly on aircraft charter on all her journeys running into billions of naira in a country where millions are hungry and poor and yet, the president never did anything-not even a probe into the allegation or official words of caution to the affected minister to allay the fears of Nigerians that are worried about the development. So far, the presidency in the Oduah case has pretended not to be aware of the scandal that this car purchase had become. In other climes with high value system, this kind of scandal would have led to the resignation of the minister.  Why not here even if our value system is warped. What the presidency’s silence in this regard means is consent and it is embarrassing to note that a government that is failing in its duty to pay state governments’ their correct monthly allocations is indirectly condoning mismanagement and greed in one of its parastatals. If this kind of obviously nauseating purchase could be made in NCAA, then worse things that are going on in other federal agencies of government and ministries can be better imagined.

    President Jonathan, his ministers and other aides should beware of the wrath of the poor people in the “grab it all” syndrome that has now become the hallmark of his government. The words of Orestes A. Brownson, that American Unitarian Catholic convert and founder of Workmen’s Party will suffice, where he said: ‘The most dreadful of all wars, the war of the poor against the rich, a war which, however long maybe delayed, will come and come with all its horrors.’

    In the same vein, our own immortal sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, once warned: “The rich and the highly-placed are running a dreadful risk in their callous neglect of the poor and the downtrodden.” This official debauchery must stop.

  • The paranoid presidency

    The paranoid presidency

    The proposed bait of national conference by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan would have to battle the crisis of integrity that besmears its path of creation. Though the presidency has inaugurated an advisory committee to fashion out modalities for the conference, the truth is that the move is drenched in doubts for two reasons: One is the lessons of historical trickery of past leadership of the country that once towed the same path: Second is the ab initio abhorrence of the current president to the idea of a sovereign national conference and now the chary timing of his abrupt u-turn that led to the embrace of the idea.

    So, when on October 1, the president, in his Independence Day broadcast, announced that an advisory committee to prepare a road-map for the convocation of a national conference was in the offing, the idea was received with mixed feelings. The polity is replete with nostalgic feelings of abandonment of reports of past conferences and therefore that it is the evolving Napoleonic inclination of the present president just because of his avowed ambition to do another term in office, despite mounting opposition against the move. A president with such a nebulous disposition could not be a harbinger of a true national conference that would satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of the people of this country.

    Most Nigerians expressed great caution against the viability of the newly proposed conference despite acknowledging the necessity for such dialogue. Opinion leaders, experts, ethnic groups, civil society organisations, politicians, notable individuals/professionals and even prominent newspaper columnists among others have acknowledged the need for a conference but have equally questioned the timing and sincerity of government to abide by the outcome of such a conference. This administration, like others before it, merely mouthed its highly distrustful rhetoric of being committed to delivering an acceptable conference to the nation. But who still believes whatever comes out of the Presidential Villa?

    It was in the midst of this that the Jagaban of Borgu land, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu returned to the country on October 5, after a relatively long medical trip abroad where he was keenly abreast of unfurling events in the land. He described the proposed conference as “a Greek gift and an act of public deception.” Asiwaju also queried the timing that he, like others, considered to be too close to year 2015 when a general election of which the president is obviously interested will take place in the nation. The former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also declared recently: “Though I remain an unrepentant supporter of a genuine Sovereign National Conference, I am suspicious of their present concoction because it is half-baked, and fully deceptive. Government’s sincerity is questionable; the timing is also suspect. Now that this government is sinking in a pool of political and economic hot water of its own making, it seizes hold of the national conference idea as if it were a life jacket.”

    Rather than prove Tinubu and others wrong, the presidency went paranoid, picking on the man and raining in the process, unpresidential abuses on him. The rottweilers of the presidency, especially Dr. Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Public Affairs went berserk through riposte that insults the sensibilities of Nigerians. He said: “While the Tinubus of this world focus only on the 2015 general elections, most patriotic ordinary Nigerians are more concerned with the emergence of a united country based on equity and justice.” Furthermore, he said: “It is therefore clear and unarguable that whatever position the APC leader holds on the issue of the national conference does not represent the views of the majority of Yoruba people in the South-West,” most especially those he calls the “authentic Yoruba leadership” in the South-West.

    It is manifesting that Tinubu did not claim on both occasions that he was speaking on behalf of any ethnic group because he is now a national/international figure. He reportedly made it clear that it was his personal opinion. Jagaban stated that he was not speaking for his party, the APC, adding that he would consult with his party later. Even as one of the prominent/leading Yoruba leaders of this epoch and also one of the foremost notable national figures in the country today, Tinubu has every right, like others, to make input into issues of national importance. Okupe mentioned something about authentic ‘Yoruba leaders’ without reeling out names of those qualified to be in that group.

    Definitely, Okupe is not qualified to be one of them if only for being part of the PDP rampaging team that raped the South-west in eight wasteful years of PDP’s infamous reign in the region. In just barely over two years, the reign of the ACN progressive governors that took over from Okupe’ party heists have been more beneficial to the people of the region. So, who could be more authentic Yoruba leader if not somebody that rescued Yoruba people from the tyranny of PDP and is leading a progressive team that is turning the entire South-west around for good. Even if it is difficult for Yoruba to reach consensus ad idem on who is the currently acceptable Yoruba leader, it is necessary to make it clear that Okupe, though a Yoruba and reactionary politician, is not qualified or competent to elect one for the most versatile and admirable ethnic group in the country.

    Yours sincerely would have excused the president from the excesses of his rottweilers but the superciliousness discernible from his own speeches cannot be ignored. In his Eid-el-Kabir message to the nation, the president said: “Those who continue to say that the initiative is diversionary or aimed at promoting certain political ambitions are in error.” How can Tinubu and others be in error for raising fundamental questions that touch on the sanctity of a confab initiative of this administration? It is the president that is in error for being less than truthful to the people.

    Most Nigerians, like Tinubu, have raised serious doubts about the genuineness of Mr. President’s intention on this proposed national confab, and his capability to conduct an acceptable election in 2015 when he could not effectively manage the intractable rancour in his party. The best official approach by the PDP-led administration would have been to allay these fears and not personalise it by turning it into a disgusting and needless phobia for Tinubu. Okupe has said that fears of ‘ulterior motive’ about the conference remain purely ‘conjectural and speculative.’ But the reality in this instance is that in true dialogue, both sides must be willing to change. Is Jonathan willing to accept true change for the country to move forward? Or could it be that Jonathan is nursing the fear of people already knowing what he is fearful of?

    The great philosopher, Cicero seems to have captured everything when he reasoned that it amounts to great delusion for any leadership to think that its advancement can only be ‘accomplished by crushing others.’ This presidential paranoid for Tinubu just because of 2015 elections must stop for such could further push the presidency into the abyss of contrived opprobrium.

  • Our philosopher President

    Our philosopher President

    All speech is vain and empty unless accompanied by action – Demosthenes

    Hitherto, President Goodluck Jonathan’s speeches were always dingy and humdrum, leaving listeners with virtually nothing to hold onto. But his speeches during the 53rd Independence anniversary of the country and in particular, the one delivered at the inauguration of the Senator Femi Okunrounmu-led Committee actually evinced deserved elevation in presidential speech making. With improved delivery, it points to the fact that our president is fast adjusting to presidential traditions and etiquette.

    Yours sincerely has taken time to read over, in particular, his speech at the committee’s inauguration earlier this week and marveled at its rigour, and indeed, the depth of intellectual input deployed. President Jonathan fondly went down historical lane without forgetting to espouse his theoretical understanding of politics, nationhood and electioneering principles to drive home his points on the need to convoke his new-found love – a national conference. He spoke about a new reality including the yearnings of the people as having informed his suspicious over-night favourable disposition to a confab.

    He tutored some of us that believe that there is no need for another conference since the country has an avalanche of reports/recommendations from the numerous previous conferences that this administration can tap from if indeed it is sincere about truly restructuring the country. In case we chose not to know or deliberately have forgotten, the erstwhile lecturer turned politician, lectured us that ‘each era and season had its own challenges and that leaders in a democracy must respond with the best available strategies to ensure that the ship of state remains focused in its voyage.’ He believes this is the path that he is toeing with this idea of a confab.

    But his purport becomes more confusing when he said: “I was one of those who exhibited scepticism on the need for another Conference or Dialogue. My scepticism was borne out of the nomenclature of such a conference, taking into cognisance existing democratic structures that were products of the will of the people.” The president could not clearly elucidate on what the nomenclature of his new envisaged conference will be and whether when eventually convoked, it will not, as erroneously believed by political conservatives like Mr President, affect existing democratic structures. He did not say that there would be no-go areas just as he was silent on whether there could still be such later.

    Moreover, his historical excursion in his review of past purported confabs is quite refreshing, but unconvincing. He said: “Let us remind ourselves of the gains from previous conferences and dialogues. The conferences that were held before 1960 were designed to produce a political system and a roadmap to Nigeria’s independence. …The Constitutional Conference of 1957 in London, for example, effectively prepared Nigeria for Independence. The Eastern and Western regions were granted self-government in 1957 while the Northern region got its own in 1959. The Office of the Prime Minister was created and it was also decided that the Federal Legislature would be Bi-cameral.” But he failed to add that the political system and roadmap were abridged by the military coup of 1966 and beyond and further messed up by the civilians. To buttress this fact, under the current democratic dispensation, the independence of the relics of these regions has been encumbered by the federal government’s unjust control of the police, resources from the states and larger chunk of revenues accruing there-from, among others. Where then is the self determination from these regions in Jonathan’s current epoch?

    Again, preparatory to the Second Republic, he reminded us: “Furthermore, the Constituent Assembly of 1978 gave us the 1979 Constitution and also created the current Presidential System with its attendant checks and balances and Fundamental Human Rights provisions.” The president should not have made any big deal out of this since the country had a constitution at independence and also another one that proclaimed her a republic in 1963.

    While trying to make something out of what happened in 1999, he retorted: “The 1999 Constitution we operate today is a successor to the 1979 Constitution and records show that the 1999 Constitution also benefited from reports and recommendations arising from the 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference.” However, the president failed to explain to what extent in this regard. He also failed to tell the nation whether his six geo-political zones mentioned in the speech being used for a supposed equitable distribution of projects and public offices in Nigeria today is the only meaningful decision from the 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference. What about other meaningful decisions of that conference?

    The President equally failed to let the public know why: “…a number of key recommendations that were sent to the 5th Assembly” being outputs from the 2005 National Political Reform Conference are yet to be perfected – even when according to him, he had reasoned since 2010 that the outstanding recommendations should be revisited. Again, how far has Mr President gone in lobbying the national assembly for the passage of the report (containing a number of bills) of the Justice Alfa Belgore Committee which he set up? A complacent president in the saddle or…?

    Mr President, in tandem with his foregoing historical analysis, is planning to pick one or two decisions of the confab when eventually convoked that suit his whims and caprices for implementation. That is what can be gleaned from his references to the previous conferences, especially those hypocritically allowed by the establishment from 1994 to 2006. But this is not acceptable to majority of the people that crave for total overhaul and definitive restructuring of the country. Okurounmu and other members of his committee, except the moles planted amongst them by government, will be disappointed at the subsequent turn of events. We are watching.

    However, President Jonathan’s two successive previous speeches reminded one of the days of the self-styled evil genius called Ibrahim Babangida as ruler of the country. Babangida was fond of churning out brilliantly crafted intellectual speeches that left the public, especially students of the social sciences, bemused for long only to turn out to do things that were drastically different from their contents – to the chagrin of the populace. This approach seems to be the new-found love of the president in his bid to distract the public from his controversial 2015 Presidential re-election ambition. Perhaps Babangida’s end and that of those adept at creating dubious conferences in the nation will suffice here.

    Demosthenes, an Athenian general and imaginative strategist during the Peloponnesian War in BC 424 once made a profound statement that: ‘All speech is vain and empty unless accompanied by action.’ Yours sincerely adds that not just any action but positively decisive ones. Jonathan’s committee inauguration speech is full of intellectual duplicitous truths. And this reminds of William Blake, the 19th century writer/poet of high standing who once said: “A truth that is told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.” The time to say NO to fake political philosopher president in Aso Rock Presidential Villa is now!

  • What’s Jonathan’s mens rea?

    In a national broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 53rd independence, President Goodluck Jonathan declared: “Fellow Nigerians, our administration has taken cognizance of suggestions over the years by well-meaning Nigerians on the need for a national dialogue on the future of our beloved country…When there are issues that constantly stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss.’’

    He further declared: “In demonstration of my avowed belief in the positive power of dialogue in charting the way forward, I have decided to set up an advisory committee whose mandate is to establish the modalities for a national dialogue or conference…The committee will also design a framework and come up with recommendations as to the form, structure and mechanism of the process.’’

    Ever since he made the broadcast, the public arena has been thrown into an unusual frenzy of discourse regarding people/groups’ (un)willing participation and about sincerity of government about the confab. The 13-man advisory committee has Dr. Femi Okurounmu, an Afenifere chieftain and protagonist of sovereign national conference, as its Chairperson and Dr. Akilu Indabawa as Secretary.

    The committee has one month to complete its assignment based on the following terms of reference including powers to : consult expeditiously with all relevant stakeholders with a view to drawing up a ‘feasible agenda’ for the proposed national dialogue/conference; make recommendations to government on structure and modalities for the proposed national dialogue/conference; make recommendations to government on how representation of various interest groups at the national dialogue/conference will be determined; advise on a timeframe for the national dialogue/conference; advise government on a legal framework for the national dialogue/conference; advise government on legal procedures and options for integrating decisions and outcomes of the national dialogue/ conference into the constitution and laws of the nation.

    Lastly, the committee is to advise government on other matters that may be related or incidental to the proposed national dialogue/conference.” The ecstasy that greeted the birth of that committee seems not to take cognizance of the fact that the presidency is not duty-bound to accept its recommendations or if accepted, it is compelled go ahead to convoke such widely desired national confab to discuss the future and cohabitation of the entities in the country called Nigeria. After all, it is ab initio inferred that if the committee does not come up with what the president deems to be ‘feasible agenda,’ the entire exercise is as good as a distractive and wasted effort. This is aptly where to locate what is called in Law, the insincere ‘mens rea’ (mind set) of President Jonathan about the whole idea.

    Upon reflection, it is necessary to ask why at the August 26 annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Calabar, Senate President David Mark completely disparaged the idea of a sovereign national conference but later detoured to now become a champion of the cause of a national conference? Has anything suddenly changed to warrant the senate number one man’s sudden change of position on the floor of the hallowed chamber during the opening of the new Senate’s session last month? Isn’t it surprising that barely over a month after this, the leader of the party of which Mark is a leading member, the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), is now throwing the kite of a national confab that he has talked down in previous presidential chats with the media?

    Due to the dice cleverly thrown on the Presidential Statement of Intent on the proposed doubtful national confab, other burning issues have regrettably been thrown to the back seat. Yet, the solutions to those issues even when clearly articulated have not been implemented by the President Jonathan administration. Let us recollect the Sheik Ahmed Lemu’s committee report on post-electoral crisis that is yet to be given official seal. The impact of the Oronsaye-led committee report on Civil Service Reforms is yet to be felt. What about the Nuhu Ribadu-led committee report on the state of the petroleum sector?  The Aig-Imhokhuede’s committee report on management of fuel subsidy money is perhaps gathering dust somewhere. The NEITI report may as well not see the light of the day. If these reports are not deemed to be good enough for implementation, why does this administration take delight in setting up more committees, wasting scarce public funds in the process? Will the Okurounmu committee report on national confab modus and agenda setting not go the same way of others before it?

    Historically, why is it that it is when there is tension of succession in the country that the government of the day suddenly realises the need for a national dialogue? Former military tyrant Ibrahim Babangida, in pursuit of a treacherous transition programme, instituted a dubious Constituent Assembly in 1989 which ended in fiasco. Also in 1994, late despot Sani Abacha, without conviction, inaugurated a constitutional conference meant to allow him gain the momentum necessary for his entrenchment in power. An autocrat called Olusegun Obasanjo, as president, equally inducted a National Reforms Conference in Abuja that later turned out a distractive ploy designed to allow him plot his evil third term agenda that ploughed him in global disgrace. These leaders were all recorded by history to have ended in avoidable opprobrium and yet, the present leadership in the land is adopting the same method.

    However, the current president was reportedly quoted as having said that: ‘Politics has its own high moral principles which abhor distracting and divisive rhetoric.’ Will Jonathan imbibe the virtue in this voluntarily made presidential statement by ensuring that his sudden love for his once dreaded national confab does not end up a ‘distracting and divisive rhetoric?’

    Before Nigeria’s officially touted January 1, 2014, centenarian celebration, consequent upon the documented amalgamation of the Protectorates of Southern and Northern Nigeria in 1914, it is important for a genuine confab to take place so that a concise appraisal of the journey so far can be done. But will Jonathan allow this to happen as he had promised and then become a historic icon? Let us wait and see even though yours sincerely believes that Mr President, being a poor student of history, is not one to be taken for his words, especially if such could possibly alter his plans to win, at all cost, in the coming election of 2015. Let us all be cautious of the poisoned banana in the garb of national confab thrown to the polity by Jonathan so that in the end, we would not all become fooled monkeys in his lustful field of captivity. Let me end this piece with the response of the late sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987) to Babangida’s political transition rigmarole in 1986, when he said: ‘Something within me tells me loud and clear that what we have embarked upon is a fruitless search…’

  • Asiwaju … not what they think

    Asiwaju … not what they think

    The Nigerian political terrain is replete with various shades of people. In my country, every Tom, Dick and Harry calls himself a politician, but one man stands out among the pack. Hate or love him, his place in history is already reserved. Through admirable political sagacity, open-heartedness and sheer political industry, he has been able to extend handshakes across the Niger. To the chagrin of his political adversaries, he is leading a team that is determined to re-engineer the entire national political landscape.

    To the progressives in the east, north, south and west, the man is one to be adored and “soaked” in panegyrics; but to the conservatives in these regions, the man is secretly revered but openly detested for being their nemesis. The conservatives and their kindred could not fathom why one single individual called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu, could successfully rally the whole country against the ruling party – a situation that is sending jitters down the spines of occupants of the Presidential Villa.

    No wonder they are secretly jubilating, albeit fleetingly, any time they remember the perceived prolonged overseas medical trip of Asiwaju. His absence from the nation’s political turf is not difficult to notice. Some politicians could afford to leave the scene without being noticed but not an Asiwaju, whose political clout and philanthropy, have defied ethnic/tribal boundary. His political adversaries recently went viral in the public domain with satanic speculations about his state of health. In market places, clubs, offices, Government Houses, homes, newspaper houses, newsstands, airports, government offices and public transportation among others, busy bodies at every opportunity talk about the Jagaban. Some idle talkers reportedly said the man could not walk; others maliciously concocted in hush tones – Parkinson, where none existed. God forbid!

    The truth is that Asiwaju is hale and hearty in London, where he is relaxing after a minor surgery on his leg in America. Yours sincerely, being an avid admirer of the great political leader, went searching for him during my on-going annual vacation in London. Any reasonable person would show admiration for the man for championing the ongoing political revolution in the southwest and Edo State. Sincerely, no one would have believed that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tyrannical grip and political tomfoolery, using the visionless platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), could end so soon and abysmally too. To me, Asiwaju deserves all encomiums and support for having assembled a steadfastly committed team, using his resources and vast contacts in the process, to rescue a sizeable part of the country from political exploiters…and at the moment, extending the frontiers of such revolutionary onslaught to the entire country through the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The journey to Asiwaju’s London residence began when l left Essex last Sunday with my elder brother and a junior one. I gave the address of his residence to my brother who inserted it into the satellite navigation of his car. The trip was smooth and in barely over 30 minutes, we were in the heart of West London. The ancient architectural splendor of that area’s buildings was a beauty to behold. The visit was unscheduled and behold, l was at the entrance of the building.

    My mind was wandering over all the lies of peddlers in Nigeria who derive joy in spreading negative things about their fellow being. At the entrance, I pressed the bell and the voice from the other end, surprisingly, was that of Jagaban himself. “Who is that?” He asked with bewitching humility. I answered: “I’m Mobolaji Sanusi from Nigeria sir.” Then, his reply: “Ooh, you are the one; push the door and come upstairs.”

    I ascended the stairs, knocked and opened the door to his apartment. Standing before me were Asiwaju and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. After greeting the duo, my host asked me to take my seat in one of the sitting rooms where I met some guests waiting to see him too. Later, Mr Dele Alake, the brilliant and highly revered information strategist of our era came in and went straight to where Asiwaju was seated with Ribadu.

    Jagaban donned a Tee shirt with blue sports shorts to match. On that day, yours sincerely watched with others, the Manchester town derby, where Manchester City devoured Jagaban’s favourite Manchester United Football Club team. In his boisterous mood, he admonished that no one should write off his darling team because it could be too early as the premiership is still open. Later, I sat alone with him to have general discussions before l left. He personally directed me to come back and I was there. In his routine morning exercise, he did seven miles on the bike. In the evening, he had another one-hour vigorous exercise that, honestly, made me green with envy.

    Afterwards, I commenced intense reflection on where peddlers of that unfounded rumour about Asiwaju’s health got it. The esteemed Asiwaju, on my first visit to his apartment, personally opened the door for me and was intermittently walking round the house to do one thing or the other with no sign of strain on his leg or any part of his body. Also on my second visit, I closely watched the political icon engage in intense exercise that any physical instructor of high stature would marvel at. His photograph with General Mohammadu Buhari at the train station was even published.

    I also sat with him alone, spending quality time in the process and could say that he is by the grace of God, as fit as a fiddle. His brain remains as sharp as before; his intellectual reflexes are still swift; his voice remained coherent and as loud as ever and his movement steady and balanced. He displayed in my presence, rare energy in hosting the deluge of very important guests from all over the world that visited him. H exuded coherence and mindfulness while receiving the avalanche of significant phone calls. He churned out specific instructions to his able aides, including Sunday Dare and youthful Oyefemi Oyatolu that are always with him round the clock.

    The Nigerian polity, because of lack of ideas by the ruling party, is fast becoming fertile field of damaging rumours and speculations. Most Nigerians, especially idle politicians, derive pleasure in peddling slander as news against the person of Asiwaju. But it is not what Jagaban’s visible and surreptitious adversaries are thinking by spreading rumours with bad intents about him. Their evil thoughts had been perished and the man is in good health condition and in very high spirit, waiting to come back into the country stronger than before in the next couple of days. My averment: Asiwaju, take heart because scandalous rumours were peddled against that great Nigerian nationalist, Nnamdi Azikiwe and he outlived his enemies for several decades. This is the price of leadership and greatness. May you live long, Asiwaju. Amen.

  • 2015: No longer family affairs

    Nobody can deny the apparently imminent implosion in the ruling People’s Democratic Party today. The truth of impermanence beckons with last weekend’s mini convention of the party that witnessed the break-away of a faction. Except for President Goodluck Jonathan and his minders, the discernible public rightly knows that from the ominous signs on the wall, the party needs urgent help, otherwise, an undertaker will soon do his job.

    Hear the president’s reported remarks at the mini convention: “Ours is not only the party of the present, but it is the party of the future. It is very clear that we are the party destined to take Nigeria to greatness. We are the party that holds the interest of Nigerians dearly at heart. We do not pursue divisible policies, we do not preach hate, we reject violence, we reject killings, we recognise Nigeria as one indivisible entity, we deplore ethnic distrust among our great people….Before I leave, let me ask our party men and women one fundamental question and I need the answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. As a party, have we changed our name? No. As a party, have we changed our logo? No. As a party, have we changed our slogan? No. As a party, have we changed our motto? No. As a party, have we changed our vision? No. No shaking.” He went ahead to list the achievements of the PDP-led government to include improvement in telecoms, agriculture, aviation, transportation, roads, water resources, and education.

    The truth is that may be in telecoms, the ruling party/government can be grudgingly scored fairly despite the poor services inflicted on Nigerians by the mobile telecommunication networks. In the agricultural sector, for the elitist minister, it has been all grammar and no progress. A more rigorous searchlight would very soon be beamed on that sector by yours sincerely after my vacation that commences next week. Since the transportation programme of this administration is manifestly zero, it would be wrong to think that such a government can have any meaningful road policy.

    If anyone is also in doubt, the decrepit condition of federal government-owned Lagos/Ibadan Expressroad among others, is a loud testimony of “progress” in a sector. In a country where the completion of a borehole project is still usually launched with official funfair and where virtually all residential homes dig own boreholes, it could not be said that there is progress in the area of water resources. The dilapidated state of airports across the country; official compromise of aviation rules and the sight of not well maintained aged aircrafts in the nation’s airspace could not have been what the president was referring to as achievements in that sector. The current doldrums in universities where lecturers for months have been on strike speaks volumes about the ruinous policy of President Jonathan on education in the country.

    So, despite the fact that PDP, in the president’s estimation, is laughably not ‘shaking’ because the party in 15 years has not changed its slogan, its motto and obviously blurred vision, it is increasingly becoming evident that the party should not be saddled with the country’s future because it thrives basically on the inordinate ambitions of its leaders and not necessarily the interests of Nigerians.

    The PDP in 15 years has become a party of broken promises; of hate/violence and one that was exasperatingly described by inimitable Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, as a ‘nest of killers.’ The other parties that have made transformation their routine acts because of the irrational polity created by PDP are making far-reaching impacts on the people of the various states in the land.

    It would be nice if the president and members of his party could come to terms with the reality that Nigerians are tired of their kleptocracy in governance. The ambition of the president to seek another fresh mandate come 2015 is threatening the already brittle peace of PDP.

    That Special Convention of PDP was meant to take essential decisions ahead of the 2015 elections but eventually turned to a platform of bile, venom, revulsion and breakaway by disenchanted members of the party. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, seven governors (including Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Abdulafatah Ahmed (Kwara); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); three former governors and federal legislators reportedly walked out of the convention. They subsequently proceeded to a media conference where they announced the sack (illegally) of the party’s embattled national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who was also installed in cloudy circumstances. Well, the ruling party is renowned for perpetuating illegalities.

    Tukur was ‘replaced’ by Alhaji Kawu Baraje who was at a time, acting national chairman of the party. At the last count, 57 out of the PDP-produced 204 Representatives and 20 senators from the same party are rooting for the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led New PDP. However, in 2011 general elections, the PDP won 23 out of the nation’s 36 gubernatorial seats. Now it has lost seven disenchanted governors and left with mere 16 state governors that are not totally reliable being politicians of the unpredictable Nigerian hue. And contrary to the president’s assertion, let him answer this question: Is PDP growing bigger and stronger under his care and leadership? Where is the derisory family bond holding these PDP election riggers and self-aggrandisers together?

    As inept President Jonathan continues to perfect his infamous plans on how to run for re-election in 2015, the polity is unnecessarily getting disgustingly overheated. Sincerely, the atmosphere in the ruling PDP has defied the usual ‘family affairs.’ It is now one that limits members’ wishes and also abridges the rights and needs of the party’s inordinately ambitious chieftains – just because of Jonathan’s presidential ambition – like it happened under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the tyrant in agbada. The life of PDP at the moment is like that of branches on a tree that are growing in different directions but with weak roots that are pretending to be healthy.

     

  • Slaves of power

    Slaves of power

    ‘Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed.’
    ————Mwai Kibaki

    Presumably, Benjamin Disraeli had the Taraba State of Nigeria’s situation in mind when he muttered his instructive aphorism: ‘Circumstances are beyond human control, but our conduct is in our own power.’ Disraeli, in February 1868, got his first shot as Prime Minister of Britain when Prime Minister Lord Derby became too ill to hold office. Derby voluntarily relinquished power to him, though Disraeli’s concluding term was brief because a new election voted out the Conservative Party in December of that year. However as far back as one and half century ago, the situation that played out then in Britain is playing out in our own country today as Disraeli’s dictum clearly captures the recalcitrant posture of obviously ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai. Unlike Lord Derby who voluntarily relinquished power at the peak of his ill-health, Suntai obstinately holds on to power despite his visible ill-health

    The consequences of Suntai’s action when he went outside his governorship duties to pilot a chopper is beyond his control but his subsequent conducts of forcing his retention of power since his return from overseas medical treatment, though within his power, bear manifestations of an over-kill. His questionable medical status points in this regard. The man piloted a plane that crashed near Yola, Adamawa State on October 25, 2012. He was rushed abroad for medical treatment where he spent 10 months in Germany and United States so that he could get healed of the injuries he sustained during that misadventure. But the questions are: Is this professional pharmacist-turned-politician now fully healed of the injuries? Is he now fit to take over the mantle of leadership of Taraba State from Alhaji Garba Umar, his deputy and acting governor, while he was away?

    This last question in particular seems belated in view of recent developments. Ailing Suntai, according to Hon. Joseph Albasu, Taraba House Majority Leader, had sent a letter he purportedly signed to intimate the honourable members of his readiness to resume work. But the House, from media reports, is divided on the issue. Albasu gave the governor the go-ahead without the Speaker and political head of the hallowed chamber, Haruna Tsokwa’s consent. Albasu, from the comfort of his office, even swore that Suntai was more than ready for work.

    What is laughable is that the majority leader, without the benefit of a verifiable medical certificate, certified Suntai physically and mentally fit to govern. This was the same Suntai beamed to the entire world where he was helped out of the aircraft by two hefty men and who till now has not deemed it fit to appear in any public place except through a brief doctored television address to the people that fervently prayed for him during his medical travails abroad. It is perhaps a sign of ingratitude for him not to physically appear, if only once in public, to dispel insinuations by doubting Thomasses, including yours sincerely, that believe that he is infirm and does not possess the mental wherewithal to rule that state again.

    From the avalanche of media reports from that state, the people are truly apprehensive that a certain cabal, like it happened during the inglorious handling of the medical situation of late President Umaru Yar’Adua, have taken over the levers of power in Taraba State. How long can they sustain this game of political perfidy is yet to be seen. If only they were good students of history, they would thread softly. After all, history repeats itself simply because people refused to learn from it – apologies to the great philosopher/thinker, Aristotle.

    The retinue of power bootlickers singing sweet nonsense into Suntai’s ears will leave his wife and children in the cold should anything bad happens to him – God forbid. They would jump into the ship of the next man after him because whatever they tell him now regarding his continuing to rule, even when he does not have the medical capability, is in their own selfish interests and nothing more. Where is the so-called cabal that compellingly ensured that YarÁdua died in power? Perhaps, the man would still be alive today but for the strain of that coveted office. What happened to Turai, wife of late YarÁdua and her children may not be too far from his doorstep except his wife plays the wise one by telling these people to leave her husband alone for him to have time to attend to her obviously fragile medical situation. Performance in office has nothing to do with human frailties; it is about bowing to nature when the demand arises.

    Suntai needs everybody’s help and prayers. Why are our politicians’ turning slaves to their tall dreams only to end up as pitiable objects of regrets? Their immoderate pursuits of power are wantonly dangerous, yet, alluring to them. They willingly circumvent the constitution, giving it interpretation that is a function of power and not truth. Yet, the people share the larger blame because without us (the people that the constitution vested with sovereign power), they could not have been as powerful as we make out of them. Through our fault, the value systems of those with access to power and of those of us far removed from such access have not always been the same. Power and position, unfortunately, attract more of evil than good to the holders. That is what is happening to Suntai at the moment. The earlier the wife, the man and other dependants realise this bitter truth, the better for them – and more importantly, for democracy in the state and Nigeria in general. Slavery to power must end in all parts of the country.

  • Profligacy in governance

    Nothing is more assured in the country today than a sense of empirically nauseating feeling of general public profligacy and corruption of etiquette. It is an evolving perilous quicksand-laid foundation that portends an ominous sign which if not halted, can accelerate the ripeness of the Nigerian society for political perdition. Our people yearned for a good form of government in a democracy – we got it but owing to bad leadership, the government has found it impossible to correct the putrid system that has been in place for some time. And to worsen the situation, the country’s constitution has become ineffectual in halting this avoidable systemic rot.

    The Nigerian Republic that was created through the lofty dreams of our great nationalists is falling to the lucre of graft and public consumption. Those in positions of authority are running a spendthrift economy. Rather than cuddle moderation in governance, they have imbibed profligacy and the society at large is bearing the brunt through official denial of good infrastructure and perquisites of admirable wellbeing.

    The foregoing clearly conjure the image and message that Oby Ezekwesili, a former minister in the ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s era and former vice-president of the World Bank in Africa was conveying when she said: “Since 2005, National Assembly members alone have been allocated N1trillion.” She made the remark during her keynote address at a recent one-day dialogue on the cost of governance in Nigeria that was jointly organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the Federal Public Administration Reform Programme, United Kingdom (UK).

    She reminded Nigerians of a highly deleterious habit of governance whereby 82 per cent of Nigeria’s budgetary cost goes for recurrent expenditure and that 69 per cent of our citizens, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, are befuddled by poverty. She restated the contents of The Economist magazine of London’s recent publication which the lawmakers and others in government at the moment never thought could ever be read by the populace because of the unaffordable cost of the magazine to the hoi polloi that are in the majority in the country. The magazine reportedly stated that federal legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid lawmakers in the world with a basic salary of $189,500 per annum (N30.6m). Could somebody imagine what the odious allowances and other perquisites of the post would be?

    The breakdown of the Statutory Transfers between 2005 and 2013 to the national assembly showing its spendthrift, which she claims she got from the Ministry of Finance are: 2005 (N54.79billion); 2006 (N54.79billion) 2007 (N66.4billion); 2008 (N114.39billion); 2009 (N158.92billion); 2010 (N 150billion); 2011 (N150billion); 2012 (N150billion); and 2013 (N150billion). Lest l forget; the national assembly has 109 senators and 360 representatives. Just 469 lawmakers, their retinue of aides and other staffers of the legislature are consuming these large sums which l prefer to term as senseless depletion of public till by most of these elected men and women that engage largely in grandstanding rather than legislative duties.

    These legislative noisemakers could not make a reasonable response to the challenge by Ezekwesili but merely described it as a “simplistic and escapist way of addressing a problem”. The national assembly reportedly draws its N150billion annual budget from the first line charge since 2010. But these mostly legislative noisemakers could not in all conscience say that such huge budget, in view of the rampant poverty and poor infrastructure in the country, is not a waste or mismanagement.

    It is true that those that live in glass houses should not throw stones. But in matters of state affairs, it is always in the best interest of the society that there should be conflict among the ruling class so that they expose the secrets with which they misgovern the nation. Yes, Ezekwesili truly needs to tell Nigerians how much it takes the country to maintain her and retinue of aides during her ministerial stewardship. The effrontery to do that shamefully eluded her during the vainglorious regime under which she served.

    Doing that, in my view, will confirm the reality that the executive arm is equally guilty of what Ezekwesili has accused the national assembly of, and that such financial recklessness cuts across successive administrations in the country. However, this should not forbid the federal lawmakers from coming out with accurate figures of what the nation spends on them and how they fleece the country through outrageous allowances and rake-ins. Even at the state level, this financial recklessness by legislators is the order of the day.

    The acerbic haul of the national assembly at Madam Ezekwesili, though evasively puerile, has now exposed the conspicuous public consumption of the executive arm of government under President Goodluck Jonathan. But for this, how would the public know that a minister appointed by this president had spent N2billion on air tickets? How could we have known that when the President recently visited China, she travelled as a member of the Presidential team to that country in a separate private jet at the cost of$300,000 to the nation? She reportedly repeated the same style in a private jet during Mr President’s trip to South Africa at the whopping cost of $300,000.

    This super minister is reported to be using private jets any time she goes on assignments. Even her alleged Easter break trip to Dubai with members of her family was in a private jet at the cost of $300,000. A parastatal under her ministry reportedly maintains a private jet, Challenger 850 Visa Jet, at a monthly cost of $500,000. The presidency has remained mum since this newspaper broke the story early this week. And it is not unlikely that other ministers might be engaging in this insensitive act of gross financial mismanagement and vain-gloriousness. In better managed climes, heads would have rolled since the break of the heart-rending story.

    Just like the federal legislature, the presidency does not have any meaningful thing to say on this issue because its hands are not clean. Can the presidency explain how the House Committee on Finance’ recovered N108b on remittances of the Federal Government share of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) are spent? Where are the IGR loots preceding this discovery?

    The president cannot defend the misnomer of reportedly spending an estimated N9.08bn annually on the Presidential Air Fleet of 10 aircraft. Even the estimated value of all the aircraft is put at $390.5m (N60.53bn). This is absolute insanity in a country where unemployment has reached an astronomical level while social safety net is non-existent. This is a country where the aged are on their own while pensions of retirees routinely get siphoned by individuals that still freely move around in our midst when they should be rotting in jail. What a gross conspicuous public consumption!

    This insensate spending cannot continue for long before the violent repercussions starts staring everybody in the face; and those that have something to lose are the people that have so massively looted the public till and are already used to opulent lifestyle and special treatment at the expense of taxpayers of this country. The day of reckoning beckons if this legislative and executive malady does not stop!

  • Obasanjo: ‘Statesman’ or rabble-rouser?

    Obasanjo: ‘Statesman’ or rabble-rouser?

    “He is not wise to me whoever is wise in words only, but he who is wise in deeds.”—— — Aristotle

    The presidency of any nation is the apogee of political attainment that any citizen can desire in life. Thus, for anyone to have assumed the leadership position of a nation is no mean task. And to have done that thrice is even a harder and more enviable. But the Eekerin of Egbaland and Balogun/Ebora of Owu land in Abeokuta, Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo, through divine grace, achieved those rare feats. He was military Head of State and twenty years after he relinquished power, he was elected civilian president in 1999 and re-elected in 2003 into the exalted position. And just by this grace, the man erroneously believes that every other living creature must worship at his feat.

    Obasanjo, at the 4th Annual Ibadan Sustainable Development Summit organised by the Centre for Sustainable Development (CESDEV), University of Ibadan (UI), held in collaboration with African Sustainable Development Network (ASUDNET), noted that the crop of younger generation of leaders in the country had failed the citizenry. The truth is that Obasanjo is not competent to give a talk on leadership and sustainable development because of his poor track record in that regard while he was in office. Hence, allocating such topic to him was a misnomer and an abuse of such an important platform.

    The ex-president seized the platform to unleash unstatesmanly bile on his erstwhile political allies and perceived opponents. He accused his former Vice, Atiku Abubakar, of betrayal, citing it as the major reason he did not hand over to him. Yes, Atiku’s presidential ambition might have actually turned him into a political harlot, but not many would easily forget how he betrayed the Action Congress (AC) that rescued him from Obasanjo’s tyranny as when the plot to impeach him was foiled through the political ingenuity of Asiwaju BolaTinubu, then governor of Lagos State. He returned to Lagos after his medical treatment abroad and was welcomed with fun-fare at a time that a presidential booby trap was already awaiting him in Abuja. But his political harlotry should not be justification for Obasanjo to label him a betrayer. Also, the fact that Atiku possibly alerted the world about his tenure elongation agenda should not be a good reason. Atiku was Obasanjo’s nemesis and both men are driven by nothing but their inordinate ambitions.

    Obasanjo also listed names of other leaders from his prejudiced failed younger generation. He mentioned Salisu Buhari, former House of Representatives Speaker; Deprieye Alamieyeseigha, former Bayelsa State Governor; Lucky Igbinedion, former Edo State Governor; James Ibori, former Delta State Governor and Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of Abia State. What Obasanjo didn’t tell the gathering at the lecture and the entire world that read the reports was that it was during his tenure as leader and Board of Trustees chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that his self-appraised failed leaders emerged. For the avoidance of doubt, Obasanjo should avail Nigerians of the truth about who granted Salisu Buhari state pardon despite the fact that he confessed to have forged a university degree. Let him tell us who gave Salisu his first Federal Board appointment, worse still, in an educational and research institute, after this disgraceful act.

    The ex-president who wants people to believe that he is the only saint in Nigeria’s public life should elucidate more on how the money for his first election was raised in 1999. Yours sincerely and many other Nigerians will be interested in knowing the truth about the contributions, in cash and kind, of Orji Uzor Kalu; and at what point did Obasanjo realise Kalu to be a failed leader? On Alamieyeseigha, Obasanjo probably forgot to tell the distinguished gathering that the man during his tenure as governor stood up in Aso-Rock Presidential Villa to challenge him. Obasanjo summoned all the governors for a meeting and in his imperial display of impunity and contempt for others started talking down on the governors. But Alamieyeseigha stood up and bluntly told him that he was not his surrogate, but a governor of his state, who was duly elected by his people like Obasanjo.

    Obasanjo didn’t like Alamieyeseigha’s effrontery that could set in his view among other governors that trembled before him. He merely waited to pay him back by masterminding his money-laundering problem in the United Kingdom and eventual impeachment, arraignment in court and subsequent conviction. The rest is now history, but the truth remains that Obasanjo’s acts in all these were not borne out of true leadership fervour but vindictive proclivity. On James Onanafe Ibori that he mentioned in his list of failed leaders, let him tell us how the money for late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s election was raised. The public needs to know the highest donor among the governors of that era when circumstances forced him (Obasanjo) to organise the 2007 general elections after the truncation of his disgraceful Third Term plan.

    Obasanjo in his vindictive self seems not to have forgiven Asiwaju Tinubu for promoting ideal democratic tenets, constitutionalism and for his advancing the values of ideal federalism. More importantly, the man is not happy that Tinubu’s name has eclipsed his own in the political reckoning of the southwest. This is why Obasanjo could still not forgive Tinubu for not allowing him to capture Lagos State, like he did in other states in the west in 2003 and 2007. Obasanjo hates being floored but Asiwaju actually defeated him at the Apex Court when he won the matter over the with-held monthly allocations of Local Governments in the state over the creation of Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). Also, Tinubu rescued, like he did to Atiku, Rashidi Ladoja, former governor of Oyo State, from Obasanjo’s tyranny.

    Tinubu gave Ladoja presidential treatments all through the period of his travails with Obasanjo and also got the best legal representation to challenge his impeachment. Unlike the vindictive Obasanjo, Tinubu is not begrudging Ladoja for pursuing his political aspiration in another party today.

    It is obvious from Obasanjo’s reference to Tinubu in his lecture that he goaded the Code of Conduct Tribunal to come after the latter. And Obasanjo is shamefully sad that nothing incriminating was found against the former governor. Tinubu has led a pack of reputable progressive leaders to rescue the southwest and Edo State from the claws of the ruling PDP and Obasanjo seems distressed about this fact. He should look elsewhere if he needs to vent his spleen on someone. The blame game on Asiwaju and others is nothing but a manifestation of Obasanjo’s loss of touch with contemporary reality. The public sees him more as a rabble-rouser or at best, a political jester; one that still believes in his primacy long after his magical wand had been extinguished.

    Yours sincerely is using this column to let Obasanjo know that effective leadership is not about making fabulously empty speeches or finding ill-motivated faults. This ex-president should ask himself if his actions, within and outside power, inspire other Nigerians to dream more, learn more and do more positively. Obasanjo is a failed leader because he could not mentor/produce effective younger leaders for the country. What he successfully did was to produce more deceitfully corrupt and incompetent followership. Most Nigerians, except the deceptive few, no longer believe him because his credibility and integrity have long taken flight

  • Ameerah’s burden

    Ameerah’s burden

    Ramadan being the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar had come and gone. Around the globe, this holy month seems to have changed nothing about the image of scandals that Islamic extremists have inflicted on our esteemed religion of peace. It takes strong will and serious faith in Almighty Allah before one can publicly proclaim his Islamic beliefs especially during visits to the western and other developed countries of the world. Due to incessant bombings, killings and other acts of violence by Islamic perverts around the world, most people from other religions now see the motto of Islam as a religion of peace in a metaphorical sense.

    The barbaric acts of unscrupulous people who hide under the cloak of Islam to make the world insecure for most of us to live in are wreaking serious havoc on the religion and the way reasonable adherents are mostly perceived in the public domain. Their inhuman activities have become a soil on the image of Islam. For instance, at the entry points of the United States of America, France, United Kingdom and other countries, the sight of passports with Muslim names, especially from certain countries of the world, evokes suspicion and palpable fears of violence. To immigration officials at such entry points, every Muslim, until proved otherwise, is a potential Al’Qaeda or Boko Haram- both organisations ruinous Islamic sects of global acclaim.

    The situation is admissibly becoming unbearable to all men of honour and reason from whatever parts and of whatever beliefs. Many Muslims with common sense and decorum are daily witnessing avoidable embarrassing situations. Even at the moment, most Muslim children drop their Islamic names for non-religious others given to them by their parents. Sometime ago when two black British youths of Nigerian origin and Christian background killed a British soldier hiding under their new found Islamic religion, a niece of mine, Ameerah Lawal, in a British primary school, complained to her mum about the irreverent way her classmates looked at her anytime the injurious acts of those Islamic perverts came up for discussions in class. Her mum, who is my sister, merely told her to ignore such cynical looks since she was a Muslim with no violent inclination.

    Ameerah’s mum, Risikat Omotunde Lawal told her to always be a proud Muslim and a positive pride to that religion of peace and the world around her. The promising girl, a British born, no doubt, has been my pride and that of her parents in her academic pursuits and conducts within and outside her school. At under 10 years of age, it is unfathomable that Ameerah is getting embarrassed by the stupid conducts of some new converts and even old Islamic fundamentalists. What my little niece witnessed in that British school is being daily witnessed by several others in Britain and other countries of the world. She once told me she was a proud Muslim and l encouraged her to always walk tall among her peers. The sky is Insha Allah and definitely, her limit.

    Ameerah’s plight, being obviously faced by other children and adults that bear Islamic names across the world, should not be a deterrent to the promotion of good Islamic causes. After all, it is not only in Islam that vices exist. It does in other religions too. There exist many horrific Christians and pagans but the global height to which some unscrupulous Muslims have taken violence is not only inimical but condemnable. Not even the avowed dislikes for western imperialism, evil and exploitations of lesser nations/citizens can be justifications for this large-scale religious extremism that is being inflicted on humanity. While those with prejudiced mindsets against Muslims should not be wholly blamed, Muslims that are peaceful and reasonable deserve to be treated with respect by believers of other religions and governments of these countries.

    Perhaps, the time has come to call on those who are giving Islam a bad name, especially in the spirit of the just concluded Ramadan, to sheathe their swords. They should realise that Ramadan is by nature a time of sacrifice. And that fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. If truly we fast in the way that Allah (SWT) likes and wants, then He will forgive all our sins. It was during this just concluded month, centuries ago, that Almighty Allah revealed the divine message in the Holy Quran to our Prophet (PBUH).

    History has also affirmed that Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was fasting when he received the first revelation. Thus, fasting during Ramadan is a spiritual effort aimed at preparing the hearts of true believers for the words of Allah. If indeed Ramadan is a period of fasting, reflection, devotion, generosity and sacrifice, can those engaging in cruelties under the guise of Islam tell the world if wickedness to fellow humans is generosity and sacrifice to humanity? Can it be proved that the feelings and lessons experienced during the just ended holy month are of any importance to them? If not, the true goal and test of Ramadan, as proffered by the Almighty Allah, to mankind, would have been lost.

    All of us who are good Muslims, different from the criminals giving the religion a bad name, must earnestly realise that Ramadan, being a very special time for Muslims, comes with gratifying spiritual feelings, renewal and lessons that we should allow to stay with us throughout our lifetime. The increased good habits and comportment, charity, brotherliness, strength of mind and sense of responsibility displayed during Ramadan must not cease among all Muslims. In the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book, Muslims are commanded to fast so that they may “learn self-restraint” (Qur’an 2:183). The restraint and devotion should be targeted more against bad habits and conducts. That, to yours sincerely, should be the true goal and test of Ramadan and of good Islamic fraternity and brotherliness.

    We all look up to Almighty Allah to accept our fasting; to guide us all to the straight path and for Him to forgive our sins. We look up to Allah to increase our blessings during and after this Ramadan; and also throughout our years. Again, for those who give Islam a bad name: Are they not taking for granted the mercy, forgiveness and peace of the Almighty Allah by their conducts? As for me and Ameerah, we remain peacefully proud Muslims with strong aversion for anything that could taint Islam. Millions of other Muslims around the world belong to this category too.