The Nation Newspaper

Category: Waheed Odusile

Road to Biafra?

Politics aside, it does seem that the Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan has no clue to the raging terrorism ravaging the northern part of the country. And the fact that the south has not been torched (yes, torched) yet by the terrorists is due largely to lack of capacity by Boko Haram, Ansaru et al and not any act of deterrence by our security forces.

It is not as if they are afraid of coming down here or love us more than our compatriots in the north, the truth is that they don’t have the wherewithal yet, when they are ready they will strike here and may be to a more devastating effect.

And at the rate at which the security situation in the country is deteriorating, these agents of death could sooner rather than later acquire what is required to cause mayhem in the south and thus throw the country into chaos and crises.

With things looking likely to fall apart security-wise for the country under President Jonathan’s watch, it remains to be seen how long the centre would continue to hold if things continue like this. But while we all hope and pray that Boko Haram and Ansaru don’t tear our country apart, I think it is about time we put our heads together to find a lasting solution to this menace. This federal government cannot do it, or if you like cannot do it alone. We all must get involved.

It doesn’t matter how many times Jonathan apologists haul abuses at those who dare to lay the blame squarely at his government’s doorstep, but the fact remains that if we leave our security solely in the hands of this President and his men, only God knows where this country would be tomorrow.

If I sound like an alarmist, pardon me, I don’t mean to, but I am worried that since three years or so ago that Boko Haram began to unleash its terror on Nigeria, we have neither been able to peg them back or eradicate their menace. The list of the orphans, widows and widowers of terror kept on increasing. After every attack and killing our President went on air to promise hell for the terrorists; he always ordered the security agencies to get to the root of the matter and bring the perpetrators and their sponsors to book, yet nothing tangible or sensible has been achieved in this regard.

Monday last week was a horrible day in the office for the people of Kano city, northwest Nigeria. A Lagos bound luxury bus with close to 70 passengers on board was heading out of the new luxury bus park at Sabongari area at about 5 pm when two suicide bombers drove in a Volkswagen Golf car. Pretending to be intending passengers, touts besieged the car asking the bombers their destination in order to direct them to the luxury bus next on line. But these agents of death had other destination in mind. They wanted to go to hell and were hell bent on taking as many innocent souls along with them as possible. As the loaded luxury bus was about leaving the park, they rammed their car into it and within seconds there was a loud bag and the area exploded into a ball of fire. The rest of the story you know.

This latest suicide bombing in the ancient city is no different from several others in the past that have left the bulk of Nigeria’s northeast in ruins and Kaduna and Kano in the northwest in chaos. But what is so significant about this Sabongari luxury bus park bombing is the fact that that area of Kano is inhabited by non-indigenes mostly from the south, particularly Ibo from the southeast. Although the ethnic configuration of the victims shows the diversity of the population of Kano, the fact that the bombers chose that park to strike was an indication that they meant to cause ethnic unrest between the Hausa/Fulani host community and the southerners, especially Ibo.

And anybody conversant with the history of Nigeria’s 30-month civil between 1967 and 1970 will recall that the ethnic massacre of Ibo in the north led to their massive exodus back home to the then Eastern region on the orders of the military governor Colonel Emeka Ojukwu. One thing led to another and Nigeria went into a civil war that cost millions of lives on both sides.

Do these terrorists want to send us into another civil war? Yes, I think and I quite agree with the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero on this score. The revered traditional ruler who recently escaped assassination by unknown gunmen, rightly suspects that this must be the motive of the bombers. But can Nigeria survive another civil war? NO. We can’t as a people and a nation. In fact no country, I think, has ever survived two civil wars. The more reason why we should all put our differences apart, especially as regards the incompetence of the Jonathan regime and work together to defeat these agents of terror that are bent on destroying our nation. We must avoid the road to Biafra and save Nigeria.

I strongly believe leaving the job to security agencies alone will not defeat Boko Haram or Ansaru and their likes. Intelligence plays a big role in identifying and apprehending the terrorists, and this can only be gathered if the people living with these terrorists give them up. One could recall that Lawrence Aninih that notorious armed robber that was terrorizing Benin City and environs, together with his gang in the 80s was only apprehended when the Binis got fed up and revealed his hideout to security agents.

Boko Haram and Ansaru operatives, I believe don’t have their own separate mosques, neither do they live in the open desert. They live and worship among the people in the north. So, who is shielding them? Until this area is addressed by both government and leaders in the north, we might just be wasting our time in the fight against terror. If truly they have any grievance(s) let’s listen to and talk to them. Might at times is not always right, so the government should also apply some carrots to get these people off the path of terror.

There is need for a change in tactic and strategy. We should also approach those countries that have traveled this road before and have come out of it to learn how they did it. Countries like Algeria, Turkey, and Colombia could have one or two things to teach us.

March 26, 2013
Before Alams blow

The race for the presidency in 2015 has already begun, and if you are in doubt you only need to take a look at what is happening inside the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and what President Goodluck Jonathan is doing with the presidency.

For a start the PDP is in disarray, no thanks to Jonathan’s ambition of a second (or is it third) term in office. Against common sense and good political acumen the President has picked quarrel with the soul of the PDP in the south west and is also at daggers drawn with party leaders and some state governors in the south-south region where he hails from and which is supposed to be his home base. His support in the north is tilting towards zero while nobody could say for sure on whose side the middle belt would be in 2015.

And as if these are not enough problems for Jonathan, the President is also picking quarrel with the international community over the stupid decision of the National Council of State to grant state pardon to those who stole public funds like his benefactor and former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

The United States in particular has spoken against the decision to pardon Alamieyeseigha, expressing deep disappointment at the decision describing it as a setback in Nigeria’s fight against corruption. The pardon announced last week and which covered alleged coup plotters against the military regime of one time Head of State, the late General Sani Abacha, also drew a lot of flak from the general public in line with the US criticism.

Jonathan or rather his presidency, displaying a new found nationalism saw the American position as an undue interference and meddlesomeness in the internal affairs of Nigeria, since our president was acting within the confines of Nigerian laws by the granting of the pardons. What a stupid argument. The Presidency even had to call in the US deputy Chief of Mission James P. MacAnulty to protest the US position which came via two short tweets published by the American embassy in Abuja.

Now the Americans with their zero tolerance for corruption and related activities, we are told, are considering a whole range of actions to be taken against the Jonathan government. These could include US visa denial to some key officials of the administration and may be their families too. This could spark tit for tat retaliation from Nigeria and before you know it, the cordial relationship between both countries could be put into jeopardy with the likelihood that Nigeria could become a pariah among countries that matter around the world if care was not taken. This could throw us back to the Abacha era when Nigeria was virtually ostracized because of the policies of the then Federal Military Government. Do we need to travel this route again?

If one may ask, why should Jonathan risk all the goodwill that Nigeria is beginning to garner around the world just to free his godfather and benefactor from a self inflicted injury? I am sure in the United Kingdom where Alamieyeseigha jumped bail the matter has not been forgotten. So if tomorrow the man finds himself in the UK or any country with extradition treaty with the British and he was apprehended and flown to London to face the law, what would be Nigeria’s reaction?

Jonathan may have satisfied and discharged his obligation to his kinsman but his action is a terrible blow to Nigeria’s quest to be among the best countries in the world where no one is above the law.

As expected, his court jesters have stoutly defended the action and one in particular likened it to the state pardon granted Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, both of blessed memories by the Federal Government. We all know why Awolowo went to jail and Ojukwu picked up arms against the Nigerian state. None of the two stole public funds or impoverished their people; Alamieyeseigha did, and the law court said so.

Now the argument that Alams as he is fondly called was instrumental to the bringing about of peace in the Niger Delta region is neither here nor there. The fact remains that he stole Bayelsa’s money, jumped bail in the UK and thus impoverished his people and also embarrassed Nigeria. These are criminal acts which I think all his efforts at helping in restoring peace to the Niger Delta are not enough to erase. He knew what he was into when he was filling his pockets with public funds and knew the repercussion. It is bad enough that Alamieyeseigha is not in jail like James Ibori, his co-traveller, but Jonathan has added salt to the injury by pardoning him, thus erasing all his sins and leaving him clean and fit to hold public office again in future if he so desires and his people approve.

Don’t be surprised if the President goes the whole hog in Alams rehabilitation project by appointing him a Minister of the Federal Republic, say Minister of Petroleum or Niger Delta Affairs for instance. The PDP Senate would surely confirm him, after all what would the Senators give as their reason for rejecting him if he was nominated by Jonathan. Could this be where Jonathan is headed? And if yes, what would be the reaction of the international community? I am sure the hawks in the Villa will tell him not to mind America and the rest of the western world, after all if the US and co say no, China and Russia are there to support us. But tell me which country had the support of these two nations and survived the onslaught of the rest of the civilized world if and when it comes?

Before the Alams blow and the hammer falls on Nigeria, somebody had better call Jonathan to order and rein in all childish and clannish tendencies because if and when it comes all of us will suffer for it.

But wait a minute. May be there is something we are all missing in this Alams pardon issue. Could this be a sign of a man unsure of his political tomorrow? Like a friend pointed out, may be Jonathan is beginning to see the handwriting on the wall that project 2015 might not be after all and now that he still has the power to pardon his benefactor who stole public funds and was so convicted, he had better do it, even if it is morally reprehensible, because no other Nigerian president, except may be another Jonathan (God forbid) would do it. Can you see what I am seeing?

March 19, 2013
The hand is Esau’s

Almost eleven years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on New York and Washington by global terrorism network, Al Qeada, the United States is not giving up on tracking down and punishing the perpetrators of one of mankind’s greatest tragedies.

Last week, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, the founder, leader and funder of Al Qeada, killed by US SEAL in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011, was arrested by American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), working in concert with Jordanian security, in Jordan and flown to New York on Thursday where he was due to appear in court a day later on a charge of conspiracy to kill Americans. The charge obviously relates to the 2001 attacks.

Though not directly or physically involved in the terror attacks, Abu Ghaith offence is linked to his appearing on video immediately after the attacks, speaking on behalf of Al Qeada.

In the run up to the September 11, 2001 attacks he had also held meetings with Al Qeada operatives where he urged them to swear allegiance to the cause as well as Osama bin Laden. He also appeared in video with his father-in-law threatening attacks on American and western targets around the world. So in essence, the man who had been hiding in Iran all these years after September 11, before being deported to Turkey and later Jordan, is being held and is to be punished for what he said, which in all intent and purpose could be linked to the 9/11 attacks.

Closer home in Kaduna last Saturday, the State Commissioner of Police led a team of armed policemen to the premises of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, in the city to arrest a serving senator and one time governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmad Sani, of the emerging opposition All Progressive Congress, APC for comments he made in the course of a live radio phone-in programme, deemed capable of causing the breach of the peace. And what did the senator say?

The man in response to a question whether there was any move by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to register the APC, and if that happened what would be the next line of action of the opposition, responded that if having met all legal requirements for registration as a political party and INEC still refused to grant APC registration, the opposition would march on the Eagle Square in Abuja in a peaceful protest. He added that the Tahrir Square protest in Egypt would be a child’s play to the protest at Eagle Square if the newly formed party was denied registration.

Now pray in what way is this simple and clear answer to a question likely to cause the breach of the peace such that the Commissioner of Police, on a Saturday, had to rush to the radio station, even before the end of the live programme to arrest the senator? In what way could this harmless comment be construed to be a threat to Nigeria’s security as in the way, for example, that Abu Ghaith’s pre and post 9/11 video comments on behalf of Al Qeada is being construed by the US? Agreed that both incidents appear unrelated but the inference being drawn here is that both are rooted in perceived threat to state security, in the eyes of the respective security services in the two countries, by the comments made by the people involved. The question here is whether what the senator said was enough to warrant his arrest and detention by the Commissioner of Police?

On the surface the CP’s action could be termed a pre-emptive move to prevent a possible breakdown of law and order, but a closer look could reveal the likelihood of a more sinister motive on the part of police. The police boss reportedly got a call from Abuja that Saturday morning as the senator was on air, ordering him to arrest the lawmaker. Who made the call? Force Headquarters or the Presidency? With Senator Sani’s comments posing no serious, if any, threat to the peace and security of the nation, one can only deduce form the Police’s action that it was part of the much expected grand plan by the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to destabilize and frustrate any attempt by the opposition to come under one umbrella to challenge the PDP in future elections. Shall we now say that the Nigeria Police as now an arm of the PDP, the same way INEC is being viewed by the opposition? If this later prove to be the case then our democracy is in grave danger.

I am sure if there was no indication of the likelihood of INEC not registering the APC, Senator Sani wouldn’t have made that comment and I think the man was merely warning or rather advising the electoral body and to a large extent, the Federal Government against doing anything inimical to the good health of this democracy.

And in what looked like a confirmation of the fears of the opposition, INEC has come out that a fledging political organisation named African People’s Congress (APC) had applied to it for registration as a political party. What a smart move. The hand here is definitely that of Esau while the voice is that of Jacob. One needs no soothsayer to know that the PDP and indeed Jonathan’s Federal Government is at work here.

The same way Jonathan sponsored a PDP Governors Forum mainly to frustrate the Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s led Nigeria Governors Forum following his inability to wrest control of the NGF from the Rivers State governor, is what he is attempting to do now with this other APC, to frustrate and disorganize the opposition ahead of the 2015 presidential election. If Professor Attahiru Jega’s INEC fail to see through this, then this democracy is in serious danger.

And there is more danger ahead if the police continue on the path set last Saturday by the Kaduna CP. It then means that we should expect more arrest of opposition politicians and other political elements, even within the PDP that are not on the same page with President Jonathan on his 2015 project. But the president is well advised to note that it is strong arm tactics like this, together with lack luster performance that can imperil this democracy and not what the opposition says.

The police should also remember that its unholy alliance with the Shehu Shagari led Federal Government of then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the second republic, especially as regards intimidating and witch hunting opponents and collaborating to rig elections led to the fall of that republic. We are in the 4th republic now and I hope the police have learnt their lessons.

The quick response of the Kaduna CP to the Abuja call to arrest Senator Sani is at odd with the character of the Nigeria Police that we know when it comes to response to distress or danger call. May be the Force is changing, but it better be for the good of the nation and not just a few.

One would have expected the Kaduna Police Command and not the military to have discovered the bomb making factory that was uncovered at the Kaduna home of an Abuja based politician last week. The discovery by men of the Intelligence Unit of the 1st Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna was shocking considering the number/volume of arms and ammunitions including IEDs involved. Where are we headed in this country if one may ask?

Not that it was a bad thing that the Army discovered this bomb factory, but internal security is the primary responsibility of the police and the earlier the Force steps up its activities in this area, instead of being a willing tool in the hands of politicians to fight their personal battles, the better. We have a greater battle on our hands, the battle against terrorism and the police should take the lead role.

March 12, 2013
Governors Forum: Why Jonathan is mistaken

When the dust finally settles on the on going face off between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s led Nigeria Governors Forum, the wind would have blown and the fowl’s backside would have been revealed.

If you don’t know what I am talking about then ask your neighbour as you are probably the only one around still in the dark about how the president’s rabid ambition to run a second term is tearing apart almost every known political structure and power blocs in the country including the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Jonathan in case you don’t know is hell bent on running for the presidency again in 2015 and an Abuja court last week cleared the way for him to do so if he so desires, and there is no denying that’s exactly what the man wants. And there is nothing wrong in that if his party believes so much in his ability to win the next presidential election and hands him the PDP ticket. But he will still need to contend with the opposition, now growing in strength and confidence, and the electorate who are more than disappointed with his performance.

But the man doesn’t seem to care about what the electorate think of him and his administration, all that matters to him is winning the PDP’s ticket by hook or crook and once again rigging his way to the presidency, and he appears to be well on the way to achieving that. Rightly or wrongly, he has identified the seeming obstacles to achieving this and has set about destroying them, but how far he can go remains to be seen.

The first major obstacle it seems is the PDP and the man has succeeded, or so it seems, in hijacking the party’s leadership with the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) firmly in his pocket and gunning for the soul of its National Executive Committee (NEC), the highest decision making body in the party. NEC comprises of all the national leaders of the party including the powerful state governors and their chairmen. And he seems to be facing difficulty here.

While he has pocketed Bamanga Tukur’s NWC with the sacking via the court of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s men, and succeeded in installing his Yes man, Tony Aninih as BoT chairman, getting the PDP governors and their state chairmen on his side has been an uphill task, and this is where Rotimi Amaechi and the Nigeria Governors Forum come in.

For lack of understanding of what the NGF is really is or absolute ignorance or both, President Goodluck Jonathan believes Governor Amaechi should be able to goad the NGF to do his (Jonathan’s) bidding, irrespective of the feelings of other governors, simply because Amaechi, as Governor of Rivers State is from the same south/south geopolitical zone as Jonathan, in essence, a paddy-paddy affair. Rubbish.

Those who know Governor Amaechi very well would tell you the man is made of better stuff. He would not do a thing unless he is convinced it is in the best interest of the people, your closeness to him or otherwise notwithstanding. Moreover, leading a team of equals as the NGF is, Amaechi knows that he has to say and do what his brother governors want lest he loses their confidence and gets thrown out.

Blaming Amaechi or trying to punish him for the president’s inability to get the governors behind his second term project is missing the point. Jonathan’s failure to rally the governors behind him is down to his lack lustre performance as President and Commander In Chief and has got nothing to do with Amaechi’s alleged refusal or reluctance to back him. And as just been revealed by the governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, Jonathan refusal or failure to honour the agreement he made with PDP governors in the run up to the last presidential election to serve just one term, is also at the root of his problems with the governors. So, bringing Amaechi into the picture is akin to hiding behind one finger.

The NGF as we have been made to believe and as shown by the utterances of its members is just a club of state governors and a forum for them to rub minds on issues of mutual interest. More often than not the Forum had been criticized for being too selfish, but that was exactly what it was supposed to do; selfish on the side of the states. And no state or state governor has come out to deny or back off what the Forum has been doing.

Because more often than not the issues that cut across the states’ interests have been against or in sharp contrast to Federal Government’s position, the governors are seen as being antagonistic to not just the federal government but also President Goodluck Jonathan, and because Governor Amaechi as their leader often speaks for them and rightly so, he is erroneously perceived as an enemy of President Jonathan. This is wrong. Amaechi as those who know him well will say is a man of strong character who will never let his people down, hence he continues to enjoy their support and confidence. He may disagree with them and make his point or position known to them, but once a decision was taken and he was part of it, as the leader, he is bound by it and he goes out to vent and defend it. So, if speaking the minds of the governors is his offence, then all the governors are guilty.

But is it not even stupid and unrealistic for the President and his men to think Governor Amaechi could swing the minds of all the 36 state governors from six different parties when the issues that bring them together are as diverse as Nigeria? I am sure the governors will be united and probably think one way as long as the issues at hand concern them equally, as we have seen with the issue of sovereign wealth fund, excess crude revenue and local government autonomy. When the Forum attempted to speak with one voice on the issue of state police we all saw what happened.

But I am sure if the issue of a second term for Jonathan were to come up for discussion whether within the newly formed PDP Governors Forum or the more respected Nigeria Governors Forum today, the answer would be NO. So, Jonathan, Amaechi is not your problem neither is it the NGF. Look at the mirror and you’ll see your problem

It is convenient for the federal government and the PDP to see the NGF as a trade union or pressure group that must be destroyed now simply because they can’t have their way with the governors. When the Forum intervened in the face off between Labour and Government to save the neck of the president and also sided with Federal government on fuel subsidy removal, it was a good body and Amaechi a good boy. But now that they can not pocket the group, NGF is a trade union and Amaechi an enemy. Ehn Mr. President? Time will tell whether what you are doing now is right or wrong but Nigerians surely know who their leaders are. They know who to trust and they will deliver their verdict at the right time. Chikena.

March 5, 2013
The Berende challenge

It is not often that personnel of Secret Service agencies around the world come out in the open to reveal their identities or what they are working on , let alone call a media conference to do so. But since the Boko Haram terrorism onslaught on Nigeria, the State Security Service has been more than willing to report breakthroughs and progress.

But while we have been inundated with efforts being made by SSS to crack Boko Haram, albeit with limited success, the revelation last week by the service that it had been able to burst an Iranian sponsored terrorist cell in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital could end up being a major breakthrough for the organisation.

Parading 50-year-old Abdullahi Berende as leader of an Iranian sponsored terrorist group in Nigeria before the public in Abuja Wednesday last week, SSS spokesman Marilyn Ogar named two others, Saheed Adewunmi and Sulaiman Saka as members of the terrorist cell being handled by Iranians to spy on Israel and American interests in the country. A fourth person, Bunyamin Yusuf is said to be at large.

In addition to spying on American and Israeli interests in the country for possible terrorist attack, the suspects were said to have also drawn up a list of prominent Nigerians that could be attacked and whose attack could set up a chain of reactions capable of destabilizing the country.

Of course Iran has denied ever running a terrorist cell in Nigeria or planning to do so and blamed enemies of the growing cordial relationship between the two countries for cooking up the story to not just cause disaffection between both nations but also permanent damage and enmity. And when Iran talks of enemies, the State of Israel and the United States of America come to mind.

When it comes to state security matters it is very difficult to know the actual truth as all the parties tend to exaggerate or “sex-up” the facts to present a convincing evidence to justify their respective and often different positions. Remember former US Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell presented to the whole world, at the UN, what America said was solid evidence of Iraq’s weapon of mass destruction to justify US and allied forces attack and decimation of Iraqi armed forces and to a large extent the country’s infrastructure all in a bid to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. Britain, in her own intelligence report even said attack on western targets in Europe by Iraq was just few weeks away and called for pre-emotive attack to destroy Saddam Hussein and his army. Of course they attacked and destroyed Iraq but no weapon of mass destruction was ever found because none existed in the first place. Virtually all the intelligences services in the west had similar report of Iraq’s weapon of mass destruction. So, were they deliberately misleading the world to justify their planned destruction of Iraq or they got their intelligence wrong?

Nobody could say which now, but because Iraq was such a bad guy nobody bothered to give the country the benefit of the doubt or even seriously blame the west after the fall of Saddam and destruction of Iraq and no weapon was found. The general conclusion was even if Iraq had no weapon of mass destruction, the world would be a better place without the Iraqi dictator.

The same could be said of Iran now as the country battles biting western economic sanctions over its nuclear programme. While the world is accusing Teheran of enriching uranium to produce nuclear war heads/bombs the Iranians are insisting that their nuclear programme is for peaceful purpose.

While it is very difficult to believe Iran on anything, we only have the words of Berende and the SSS on the alleged Iranian sponsored terrorist cell in Lagos. So, who do we believe?

Iran in the past had sponsored attacks against Israel’s interests, notably in South America and anywhere it considered the weakest link in the Jewish state’s seemingly impregnable security network. So, if truly the country had plans to attack Israel’s cultural centre in Lagos, it won’t be much of a surprise as it had done so elsewhere. And remember the previous Shia Muslim unrests in Nigeria had the hand of Teheran as the Islamic Republic appeared bent on having more than a mere economic footprint in Nigeria but also political/ideological and religious presence.

But if Iran is saying no, then could our SSS be lying or merely carrying out the wish of Israel and America, fighting western war against Iran by proxy? It is very difficult to fault our security service in this regard not only because one is not in a position to do so, but also because it would be unpatriotic to do so when there is no evidence to the contrary. It is also unthinkable that the SSS would be protecting any other interest apart from Nigeria’s. So from the evidence at hand Iran is guilty, but then what are the options open to Nigeria to seek redress. One is to strongly protest this clandestine operation by Iran within Nigeria’s territory to the authorities in Teheran and if we are truly convinced about it, we could summarily expel all or any Iranian diplomat here engaged or involved in one way or the other in this plan to carry out terrorist attacks in Lagos or anywhere else in Nigeria. We could also in addition to expelling the diplomat(s) recall our own envoy to Iran if we feel strongly about the alleged Iranian action. But are we on a strong footing on this matter? Because issues like this should not be taken lightly. So if our position is so strong, then let’s go ahead and do whatever we could to show our annoyance to Iran, after all we are a sovereign state.

But beyond this, the choice of Lagos should trouble every right thinking Nigerian, just as the alleged involvement of a Yoruba man from Ilorin, Kwara state in particular to cause destruction and mayhem in a largely Yoruba city/state of Lagos should worry every Nigerian. Aside Lagos being largely populated by Yoruba, it is also home to all the other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and remains the economic capital of the country. Apart from oil and gas that come from the Niger Delta region, Lagos accounts for virtually every other business and commercial, activities that drive Nigeria’s economy, so, any terrorist attack in the emerging mega city could be inimical to Nigeria’s shaky image of a stable country. An attack on Lagos could be seen by the rest of the world as a sign of insecurity in the country and this could scare foreign investors.

In addition any such attack could cause ethnic unrest that could ultimately lead to fratricidal conflicts across the federation, hence the need to take the Berende’ s Iranian terrorists plot very seriously. It is not enough to just parade the suspects, SSS should also endeavour to pursue not just the investigation to its logical conclusion but also charge the suspects to court and put a lie to the Iranian denial. It is about time our security services including the police and even Immigration intensify their surveillance of religious places and organisations to detect any foreign ideological infiltration that could harm our well being as a nation and a people. The Immigration Service in particular should monitor (but not unnecessarily interfere) the movement of Nigerians to such volatile countries that have the tendencies to indoctrinate young and often idle minds towards harmful causes to their nations and their people. Most important however is a commitment by the Nigerian government at all tiers to providing employment for our youths. Most of these unemployed youths are easy targets for evil minded people recruiting terrorists all over the place. The fact that Berende and co and heir minders have Lagos in mind shows that the city and indeed the entire southern Nigeria is not immune to terrorist attack. We should all be vigilant.

February 26, 2013
If Pope Benedict were to be a Nigerian

When I got the news flash on my BBM that the Pope Benedict XVI plans to quit the post of Bishop of Rome and spiritual head of the 1.2 billion catholic faithful around the globe by the end of February, my mind immediately pointed at fraudsters at work. What won’t this 419 people do, I asked?

With more than six weeks to April 1, the world acclaimed “Fools Day” I was in no doubt that this was no April fool and mischief makers are somewhere trying to pull our legs or planning to make money out of the Catholic Church. So, I ignored the message and moved on even though the sender of message is well known to me as a credible source.

The reporter in me told me to suspect the information first but go ahead to verify which I did some few hours later when I went on the net and was confronted with details of Pope Benedicts decision to quit the highest office in the Catholic church.

Whaaat! I screamed. This has never happened before, I told myself, but upon further research I discovered that in the year 1294, Pope Celestine V resigned because he could not cope with the physical demands of that office and wanted a simpler life. And as recent as 1415 Pope Gregory XII left office to save the Church from disgrace as there were two Cardinals laying claim to the papacy. So Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as he was before he became Pope Benedict in April 2005 at age 78 was after all not doing what no Pope had done before, as I had thought, just that he was the first in about 600 to quit the papacy.

So, why the decision to quit? I am sure you know the rest of the story but for the sake of emphasis and to quell all conspiracy theories, the Pope said his failing health at 85 would not allow him to, in good conscience, discharge his papal duties as he ought to and so he would be stepping down later this month, in time for a new Pope to be chosen and consecrated before Easter.

On reflection, I asked myself if this Pope were to be a Nigerian would he offer to quit such an exalted office even if he is unable to discharge his duties to God and the Church. An office in which he is expected to remain for life?

Well, without casting aspersions on the integrity of the Catholic Church in Nigeria and the Cardinals that have emerged from among the faithful here, this is a very difficult question to answer even by Nigerian Catholics. And the reason is not far fetched. Leaders find it very difficult here to quit office even when they are on tenured appointment. They look for one excuse or another to extend their tenure and the Church is no exception. And I am sure if one digs deep enough, one could find some Islamic leaders who would rather die in office instead of relinquishing their positions even when they are no longer up to it.

The argument here is not even about any sit tight religious leader but rather our political leaders who would want to hold on to their positions even when it was apparent their health was not good enough to continue in office. We all know the story of our late President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Governor Chime of Enugu State just came back home after several months outside the country to treat what we now know to be cancer of the nose. While he was on hospital bed wherever he went to seek cure for his ailment, Chime refused to hand over the reins of power as if it were a personal property. It took a lot of efforts and months to get the Taraba House of Assembly to empower the Deputy Governor of the State to act in the absence of Governor Suntai who is on a sick bed somewhere in Germany receiving treatment for injuries he sustained in a plane crash. A badly injured Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State had to be rushed back to office even when he had not fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in an auto crash, just to prevent his deputy from acting as governor, as the Nigerian constitution demands, while he treats his injuries. Nobody seems to be talking again about the long absence of Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State from office. The man has been away for some time now to treat himself of yet to be disclosed ailment and he is still holding on to power. Why did the constitution make provision for a deputy Governor or vice President if the boss so to speak, could hold on to power even when he is dying? You might want to ask. Even if the deputy is a ‘spare tyre’ as we are wont to say here, why would the driver continue with a punctured or flat tyre when the spare tyre is ok? The ride will definitely not be smooth. So why put everybody in the car through that horrible ride when the spare tyre could have come in handy?

For too long Nigeria has been unlucky to produce selfish leaders who see and parade themselves as messiahs. Obasanjo believed he is the only one that could lead this country well and onto the Promised Land such that even after eight years in office, he wanted to manipulate the constitution to get another term. Yar’Adua and his handlers including wife, Turai saw Nigeria as their personal property and could do as they wished. When the President was evidently dying they still held on to power until the man could no longer be sustained by life machine at a Saudi hospital. They tried to hoodwink us into believing that the ailing President had signed that year’s appropriation bill even when sources told us the man could hardly recognize anybody not even his wife. Nigerians were deceived for months and taken for a ride for so long until Yar’Adua died.

Pope Benedict and/or his handlers/close associates could have chosen to deceive the Catholic Church by manipulating the health certificate of the ailing Pontiff presenting to the faithful a picture of a healthy Pope, as Yar’Adua people did to us, and remain in office and enjoy the pecks of office until death takes their man away. But out of fear of God and love for the Church they chose not to. This is the way honourable people and people of conscience behave. Do we have such people in Nigeria?

Maybe the Catholic Church is lucky as their priests are not allowed to indulge in the affairs of the flesh, so the Pope has no wife to influence his decision or biological children to think of before acting. No wife or children that would want him to remain in office till death even when he is weak, tired and unable to continue, just to have access to the enormous wealth of the church and the privileges attached to the office.

We have seen most Pentecostal churches in Nigeria turned into a family business where the GO and his wife are sole signatories to the Church’s account and the wife taking over on the death of her husband. Was this the way Christ intended his Church?

Away from the Church, we have seen Presidents and their wives running the country as a family business, where the wife as First Lady assumes the powers of her husband the Commander-In-Chief and go about terrorizing the rest of us; spending state’s money on anything that catches their fancy. The same scenario is replicated at the state and even local government levels. With our leaders invested with so much power, power of life and death, unlimited access to loot our treasury and with impunity, none of them would want to leave office even if they are dying. None of them has the heart and conviction of Pope Benedict. The beautiful ones are not yet born.

February 19, 2013
Step out Dr Datti Ahmed…

Like most Nigerians, I did not give Coach Stephen Keshi led Super Eagles any chance at the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2013) in South Africa for obvious reasons.

For close to two decades our senior male national football team have not inspired confidence and pride in us no thanks to their fitful style of play that we are always forced us to go on our knees praying fervently and furiously for victory each time they entered the field to play even against some supposedly minnows.

The winning mentality and the can do Nigerian spirit that was always there in the Super Eagles have been missing for so long since Keshi captained the team to AFCON victory in 1994 in Tunisia, that we don”t even know how victory tastes again.

The Olympic Team at Atlanta in 1996 reminded us of our prowess in football by winning the gold medal in football, but that was under-23 stuff. We came close to reclaiming our greatness in football when we co-hosted AFCON with Ghana in 2000 but fell at the last hurdle. From then on the Super Eagles went into a free fall and we could not even command a place among the elite of African football not to talk of rubbing shoulders with the best in the world. This was disaster for a team that was once ranked fifth in the world after our superlative performance at the 1994 FIFA world cup in the United States of America.

The pains and disappointments of the past would now seem to have been erased by that lone goal victory by the Super Eagles over the Stallions of Burkina Fasso at the National Stadium in Johannesburg last Sunday. But as we celebrate that victory, it will be wrong to assume that the worst is over for our football and begin to see ourselves in the same league as Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina or even England. We still have a long way to go even though the Federal Government’s spin doctors will seek to portray the situation differently as they will certainly proclaim this as one of the good lucks that President Goodluck Jonathan has in stock for us. Well, they are entitled to say that if that will make them happy but Nigerians know the true state of their nation and no amount of sweet talk of Jonathan’s good luck would change that. But all the same let us all enjoy this rare moment of joy that the Super Eagles have brought to us and congratulate ourselves including our president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan and his dearest wife, Nigeria”s alternate President and Commander-In-Chief, Dame Patience Jonathan. I know what I am talking about.

Unfortunately some Nigerians will not be joining us in this joyful and victorious celebration following the cutting short of the lives of their loved ones in Kano last week by some demented gunmen. I am talking about the families of those health workers gunned down in Kano state by some religious terrorists as they were administering Polio vaccines on children. The victims of this dastardly act were on a mission to sustain and protect our future by ensuring that our next generation do not suffer from such childhood diseases as Polio, but these agents of the devil who do not want a healthy future for our children and do not mean well for us chose to kill them for trying to help us.

The perpetrators of this act would want us to believe they were fighting to protect the children from what they and their sponsors believe is a conspiracy by the western world to use the vaccine to either kill our children or make the females amongst them infertile in future so as to stem the increase in the population of black Africans. And they even have a religious angle to this madness by tracing their action to Islam. In fact some Islamic leaders in the North even support them on this. This is madness, there is nothing Islamic here. Islam is definitely not against medicine or science. In fact many of those scientific/medical feats being celebrated today are well documented in Islam even before the advent of modern medicine.

What is greatly troubling here is that some supposedly learned people who knew or should know the truth as regards this vaccination thing and Islam are the ones behind or giving support to those madmen crusading against Polio vaccination for our children in the North.

Remember one Dr Datti Ahmed, a medical doctor, who I learnt trained in Medicine in supposedly progressive Russia in the 60s and perhaps the first Kano indigene to qualify as a medical practitioner. His wife or one of his wives, (as the case may be) a Yoruba woman, was already a matron when he married her. The man in question has a daughter who is also a medical practitioner. So, medicine runs in his family. They are supposedly enlightened people. This Dr Ahmed heads one Islamic group in the North, as chairman of the Sharia Council and acts in that capacity purportedly in defence of and interest of Islam. Some years back he, for no scientific reason began his campaign against Polio vaccination in the North, especially in his native Kano and persuaded parents not to allow their children to be immunized. With the kind of religious society we have in the North and his position in the Sharia Council, his campaign gained ground and created tons of problem for the various state governments in the region, particularly Kano, which he practically held to ransom for years over the issue of immunization. Unable to convince the people otherwise, the state government had to sponsor overseas tests of the vaccines to convince the people that Dr Ahmed was wrong and that there is nothing harmful about immunization.

Although the issue later cooled off and appeared to be over, but the latest attack and killing of health workers carrying out immunization exercise on the children in Kano appears to indicate that Dr Ahmed was able to plant his doctrine of falsehood against immunization firmly in the minds of some people and the seed is beginning to germinate and in its most dangerous form. If he was able to stop the immunization then by his verbal campaign against it, his supporters or those that believe in his campaign are now prepared to go a step further. If the people refuse to heed the call not to submit their children for immunization, why not kill those administering the vaccine, they seem to have concluded, and they were probably taking their inspiration from Dr Datti Ahmed.

The question here is why would a man with all his training and knowledge chose to ignore scientific evidence, already proven, and mislead his people to accept and follow a path which his head tells him is wrong.

How I wish Dr Datti and his supporters could find out from those adults suffering the effect of Polio affliction in their childhood whether given a choice of a vaccine to cure them of their deformity now they would take it or remain the way they are. I am sure the answer will most certainly be yes, bring the medicine.

Dr Datti may not have intended his campaign against Polio vaccination to get this far but we are now suffering the consequence of his action and he must accept responsibility for this, apologise to his people and begin a fresh campaign in support of immunization against all forms of killer diseases for our children. In the true spirit of Islam, he should beg for forgiveness and atone for his sins against the people in this regard.

Islam places a huge responsibility on the shoulders of religious leaders, who because of their exalted position as servants of Almighty ALLAH (SWT) are supposed to be obeyed by their followers, so, they have been enjoined not to misrepresent Islam and mislead their people. The consequences of misleading their people is grave for them in the hereafter. Dr Datti Ahmed, I am sure knows this.

And for those who killed those health workers, they have questions to answer from Almighty ALLAH (SWT) on the day of judgment, but before then the earthly powers in Nigeria must fish them out and punish them for that crime. They have sinned against the rest of us.

While praying God to grant the families of the victims of that Kano killing the fortitude to bear their loss, the Kano State government must assist them to cushion the effect of that loss, especially their children. Adequate security should also be given to health workers on similar missions in future.

Having said that, let’s come together and celebrate our Super Eagles, THE CHAMPIONS OF AFRICA.

February 12, 2013
As Mali begins to pay off

It is early days yet to begin to count the gains of Nigeria’s decision to send troops and military equipment to Mali to help secure that country’s territorial integrity being breached by al Qeada inspired Tuareg rebels in the north. But it is very glaring from the unexpected offer of ceasefire by a faction of the terror group that has been troubling Nigeria for some time now, that at last, President Goodluck Jonathan has done one thing right.

With French fighter jets raining bombs on rebel targets in northern Mali and ground troops pursuing them deep into the desert, the terrorists collaborators in Nigeria under the aegis of Boko Haram suddenly announced last week they were ready for peace in their three-year long or so campaign of terror in most part of northern Nigeria.

Why now you may want to ask especially after series of failed attempts by the Federal government to dialogue with the murderous group? Simple. With Al Qeada in the Maghreb on its way out of northern Mali, Boko Haram’s base for ideological, military, as well as financial support is on the verge of destruction and the most sensible thing for the Nigerian terror group to do is to seek peace at home or be wiped out like their brothers in northern Mali.

So make no mistake about it, these guys are waving the olive branch now not because they are tired of killing more innocent souls or genuinely repentant but to save their necks from a brutal end that awaits them in the hands of Nigerian forces now that their main backers are on the run in northern Mali.

It is no secret that Mali, Senegal and some other countries in that region have been a source of instability to the area now called northern Nigeria way back in history. Those conversant with the history of West Africa and its great empires of Mali, Songhai and Ghana that preceded the partitioning of Africa by European powers in the 19th century would attest to the fact that the northern belt of West Africa, the Sahara region, was so fluid that it kept on changing hands depending on which empire was rising and which one was falling.

The Fulani from Senegal/Mali moved across the desert to destabilize the Hausa states in today’s northern Nigeria in the run up to the arrival of the British colonialists. The Trans Saharan trade of old had constantly linked the Sahara region of West Africa with the Arabs/Berbers of North Africa who largely influenced, for good or for bad, events in northern Nigeria.

Just as an average Yoruba man could move across the border to Benin Republic, Togo and even Ghana as if he was going to the next village, so is the case with movement across the border from northern Nigeria to the other parts of the Sahara region irrespective of the artificial borders created by the Europeans.

So spurred on by whatever was the reason for their taking up arms against the Nigerian state, Boko Haram operatives or recruits strolled across the border into Niger and Mali for training in terrorist activities and on graduation returned to Nigeria to cause havoc. It is that simple, yes. You only need to go to any of our land borders either in the east, west, north or south and witness what I am talking about. Because most of those living in the border communities most certainly have cousins, nephews and whatever relation across the border, it is often very difficult to regulate movement in those areas, so it is not a surprise that that Boko Haram could send people to northern Mali for terrorist training and they returned home even with arms undetected. So if we can’t get them here, doesn’t it make sense for us to go after them where they receive their training and indoctrination? I think that explains Jonathan’s decision to send our boys to Mali. And I think he got it right.

And with Mali too hot for Boko Haram’s minders what do we do with their offer of ceasefire back home here, even if it came from a splinter group? Two things, Nigeria can chose to ignore the offer and go after them militarily as it has been doing for some time now albeit with limited success, or embrace the splinter group and use it to get to the other factions either to negotiate or fight them.

While it is easier to say go after them forcefully now that the group appears to be weak it might not work out well at the end of the day especially if the group decides to damn the consequence and go for broke. I think the offer, minus the conditions attached is a window of opportunity to end this insurgence once and for all and save the nation, especially the north, from further unnecessary bloodshed.

With France leading the successful assault against terror in Mali, the rank of the Tuareg rebels aligned with al Qeada in the north seem to have been broken with some factions distancing themselves from the main al Qeada in the Maghreb and have offered to fight alongside France and the Nigerian led West African liberation troops to drive out the main terror group. And France has not said no, in fact, these repentant factions have joined the war against al Qeada. So, why can’t we do the same?

But in welcoming this ceasefire there is need for caution. There should be no lowering of guard and there should be no pre-conditions. If the Boko Haram faction genuinely and sincerely believes in ending their murderous ways and embrace peace it should not give any condition. It should rather engage in negotiation with the Federal Government and collaborate with the authorities to either bring the other factions on board or assist in defeating them militarily. Anything otherwise would indicate lack of sincerity in their ceasefire offer. And if the faction eventually agree to negotiate without condition, the Federal Government should also be flexible in their dealings with them and be ready to bend over backwards to accommodate them in a broader peace plan for the north. We’ve had too much bloodshed in this country that anything that could help stop it should be welcomed but not at the expense of the country.

February 5, 2013
As Nigerian troops deploy in Mali

There is a saying in Yoruba that if your neighbour is feeding on house rat and you fail to warn him, by the time he begins to cough at night you will not be able to sleep. Since the fall of the Moammer Ghadafi regime in Libya about two years ago the rest of North Africa has not been able to sleep due largely to the terrorist activities of armed supporters of the late dictator displaced by the Libyan revolution.

Working in concert with other terrorist groups aligned with al Qeada in the Maghreb region, the ex Ghadafi boys trained by the slain dictator are all over North Africa causing havoc and are beginning to show their hands in West Africa.

For the over three decades that Colonel Ghadafi was in charge in Libya he harboured and trained terrorists from other African countries who later returned home to destabilize their countries. Remember Charles Taylor and his NPFL rebels in Liberia including Yommie Johnson’s? They were all trained by Ghadafi in Libya and funded by him to cause the civil war that later engulfed the West African country. The Sierra Leonean civil war and the general instability in the Mano River region including Guinea and to some extent Cote D’Ivoire could all be traced back to Ghadafi and his band of terrorists. The Chadian civil war in the 80s had its roots in Libya.

Throughout his stay in the Presidential Villa in Tripoli, Ghadafi was never at peace with his Arab neighbours as well as he was once accused of sponsoring an assassination attempt on late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia at one Arab League summit. Yet with all his terrorist tendencies and destabilization activities in the continent and beyond well known, nobody in the defunct Organisation of African Unity (OAU) did call him to order. Citing a provision in OAU’s charter that forbids member States from interfering in the internal affairs of another member country, African leaders looked the other way as Ghadafi was causing trouble all over the place even when his activities amounted to interference in those countries he was destabilizing.

Shortly after his fall these band of terrorists spread across North Africa and some, especially the Touaregs of West Africa moved back into the region with all their arms and ammunitions and West Africa has known no peace ever since. After unsuccessful attempts at having a foot hold in Mauritania, these terrorists took a large chunk of Mali, especially the north, last year and were beginning to spread to the south on their way to overthrowing the government in Bamako when French forces intervened and drove them back.

France, acting under a United Nations resolution last week sent Special Forces and fighter jets to Mali to confront the rebels and their al-Qeada allies pending the arrival of a West African force to be led by Nigeria’s Major General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir. The Nigerian led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) will draw troops and equipments largely from Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin Republic.

Last week the Nigerian senate approved a request by President Goodluck Jonathan to deploy 1,200 Nigerian troops to Mali and over the weekend the Nigerian Air Force sent two fighter jets join the war.

Not a few Nigerians are worried about the deployment of our soldiers in Mali and their worries are well founded. In the 90s Nigeria was at the head of a West African intervention force called ECOMOG that was dispatched by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to intervene in the Liberian civil war. Our troops were also involved in Sierra Leone where another civil war was raging. In both instances we had bitter stories to tell. Though the wars were eventually halted and peace restored in the two countries, our soldiers were bruised and our efforts largely unappreciated especially by Charles Taylor who eventually became president of Liberia. The cost of the wars to Nigeria, especially Liberia’s was enormous both in terms of human and material resources. Many Nigerian civilians were massacred by Taylor and his NPFL rebels in Liberia just because our troops came to intervene in the war. Many of our soldiers were killed and millions of dollars spent (much of which was wasted) prosecuting the war which most Nigerians believed we had no business being part of. I doubt whether Nigeria has recovered fully, especially militarily from the effect of that war and now that we are getting involved in another West African war, the rule of engagement and the tenure of our involvement must be well spelt out to avoid a repeat of what we went through in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

While some might want to argue that Nigeria being far away from the theatre of war in Mali has no business sending soldiers there, the fact that some of the Boko Haram militants threatening the peace in northern Nigeria had reportedly confessed to receiving training in Mali is enough to convince that the Malian civil war is a threat to the Nigerian nation. The facts also that some elements of al-Qeada have been found to be offering support to Boko Haram and the weekend attack and killing of two members of Nigeria’s contingent to AFISMA by a hitherto unknown terrorist group somewhere in Kogi state are further justifications for our involvement in Mali.

But in sending our troops to Mali, care must be taken to ensure that all the necessary equipment and logistical support were provided for them, including their allowances. It is hoped that those being sent have been properly trained both in peace keeping and enforcement, and the rules of engagement properly spelt out. The scandals that accompanied our involvement in ECOMOG must be totally avoided in AFISMA. Our soldiers must behave well especially in their relationship with local civilians including the women.

Now that we are in Mali, the likelihood of the terrorists and their allies in Nigeria particularly Boko Haram targeting strategic places and even military installations in the country should not be ruled out hence the need to scale up security protection around such places. Areas with high civilian congregation should also be properly protected while some high profile individuals both within and outside government should also be given increased protection. Nobody could say for sure the reason behind the gun attack on the convoy of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero in Kano at the weekend. People like him could be vulnerable.

It will also not be out of place for the Foreign Affairs Ministry to issue a travel advice to Nigerians living in Mali in particular and neighbouring West African countries to be less visible and avoid volatile areas where they could be singled out for attack by the terrorists or their sympathizers.

January 22, 2013
Yet another pipeline fire

Given the dearth of accurate statistics in Nigeria, the number of lives lost to oil pipeline explosion/fire can only be estimated in hundreds considering the number of such disasters in the country in recent times, yet we don’t seem to be ready or in a haste to end this self inflicted tragedies.

For the umpteenth time oil thieves burst a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline at Arepo village in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, just a stone throw from Lagos State to scoop fuel for sale at the black market.

But since every day is for the thief and one day for the owner of the house, the seemingly unforgiving spirit of the petrol flowing in the pipeline decided enough was enough and fought back, blowing up in a loud explosion causing a huge ball of fire that consumed no fewer than 30 lives, according to initial reports in the media, with hundreds of others badly injured. The criminals and accomplices were believed to constitute the bulk of the dead while some innocent bystanders/villagers were also affected.

Another round of fuel shortage is expected in Lagos and surrounding states as a result as the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company, the arm of NNPC in charge of the pipelines has expectedly turned the tap off to stop the flow of petrol through the Arepo pipelines.

A day after the Arepo incident oil thieves struck at another NNPC pipeline at Oviadge, Oghara in Delta State and were lucky to escape with their lives as no fire was reported. As it is often the case among thieves, quarrel always occur not during the operation but during sharing of loot. The Arepo thieves were reportedly arguing over whom among them should scoop the fuel first after they had successfully burst the pipeline when suddenly one of them shot into the crowd and the bullet ignited the fire that consumed them.

The questions begging for answer here is why is it so easy to vandalise our oil pipelines and why are they so vulnerable to such attacks? What are the security agencies and the NNPC doing to safeguard this all important oil facility? I remember in the 70s, when these pipelines were being laid, as school children we were wondering what the engineers and technicians were doing, but when we were told they were laying pipes to take fuel to different parts of the country, we just accepted as one of those things government do, even when we couldn’t comprehend the import of that. But since they were located far away from human habitation and buried deep in the soil, we were always on the look out for danger (keep off) signs put up by NNPC near the pipelines on our way to school and tried to avoid igniting any fire or lit a match around the area so as not to cause explosion, as if the petrol was flowing on the ground. That was our mentality then as school children and we grew up as adults to respect and appreciate the economic importance of the pipelines to Nigeria. Call it economic patriotism if you like but we were proud of it, to us it was a great achievement.

I am sure those pipeline vandals are mostly youths and young adults and I wonder what they think of these pipelines; a passport or gateway to quick and easy wealth or what? What on earth would drive some one to burst a pipeline to scoop fuel illegally knowing the dangers involved; not even the possibility of arrest but the likelihood of losing his/her life to an explosion? Well it could be argued that a hungry and jobless person could do anything to put food on his/her table, but then at what cost both to himself and the larger society? Now these people because they wanted quick money went to burst these pipelines and now they are dead, putting their families in sorrow and anguish and the society at the risk of another harrowing fuel shortage. This is the kind of selfishness that is killing this country; nobody thinks about the interest of the other person it is self first and self alone and always. The oil thieves/pipeline vandals don’t care what happen to the rest of us as long as they make their money, and we also encourage them by buying the stolen fuel from them even when we know they don’t own or work in a filling station. Go to any of our villages and even suburbs of our towns and cities and you see people, Okada riders, grinding machine operators and owners of ‘I better pass my neighbour’ generators buying fuel from hawkers selling by roadside or even in front of their house, at home. Where do you think they get the fuel from?

Government must begin to think about our welfare as a people, how we get the fuel that we use. If the fuel is available everywhere at the right price, nobody will patronize the hawkers and the pipeline vandals will be put out of business. It is not as if they sell this fuel for cheap.

Again the argument over joblessness is not a justification to go into criminality. And to worsen the matter, some of these vandals and their collaborators could be gainfully employed if they so wish and live comfortably within their means. A medical doctor was arrested in Kogi State sometime ago for being a member of a syndicate that specialise in pipeline vandalisation and sale of stolen fuel. His argument was that the money he gets monthly from medical practice (N100, 000 or so) is too small to maintain himself, his aged parents and siblings. What a load of rubbish. It is true a lot of our professionals out there are just roaming the streets with nothing to do. It is also true that an idle hand is a devil’s workshop, but, these idle hands should not allow the devil to use them as the consequences are grave. The society, especially the government should also not push them into the hand of the devil.

Government owes it as a duty to the governed not only to provide employment but also create a conducive atmosphere for job creation. Most of our graduates are unemployable because they went to school to learn the wrong or old things that are not in tune with the demands of a modern economy. Government should look into that area and make our graduates not only employable but also competitive internationally.

Back to the issue of security of the pipelines; who protects them? Oil pipelines in the Niger Delta were recently farmed out to ex militants in the area to protect against vandalisation; who protects the pipelines here (Arepo et al) and other parts of the country? Should we engage OPC to do it since the government, going by the Niger Delta example has shown it is incapable of protecting this important economic facility?

On a more serious note, shouldn’t we revisit the issue of the setting up of a National Guard in this country as mooted by the Babangida administration then? May be it wasn’t a bad idea after all.

January 15, 2013