Tag: Jonathan

Why the Igbo would be more pained by President Jonathan’s electoral loss than the Ijaw nation completely beats my imagination.

It will be worth our while, this last Sunday of the year of our Lord 2015, to recall some words that speak to the very depths of some of our country’s many demons. Before  that, however, let me, most profoundly, thank my very dedicated readers, beginning from those  with whom I started, gingerly, a decade ago in the COMET newspapers, and those who have since joined us on the voyage. Without mincing words, you have not only been wonderful, your being ever there has been a source of great encouragement to do this unfailingly, week in, week out. Certainly not as easy as it seems, and, not a few of you have, indeed, suggested that the offerings on these pages be committed into a book; something which, God willing, could see the light of day in 2016. If that happens, you will, of course, be a ringside guest at the public presentation. In its relatively short life, the column has never held back from talking truth to power, nor can I ever forget an entire Ekiti Council of Obas, under the then chairmanship of the Alaaye of Efon-Ekiti, calling an emergency meeting of the council a bare 48 hours after an article, critical of some of its members, appeared on these pages. Members  not only threatened fire  and brimstones, they were, in fact,  going to sue,  until a distinguished, learned member, indeed a former Chief Judge of the state, told them that would be an exercise in futility as  there was nothing to sue for in an article  in which  the author cleverly praised the entire council to high heavens. Of course, more critical articles were aimed at even the federal government. The interesting thing though, is that none of such articles was adversarial; rather they were intended to point some people in the path of rectitude. Although the column declared, unabashedly, long before he emerged APC’s presidential candidate that Nigeria needs Muhammadu Buhari more than the obverse, it will not think twice, if there is justified cause, to call the President’s attention to any faux pas. That will just be in the columnist’s character.

Here then are some of those words on marble

“A good politician needs not be an intellectual but he should be able to explain without seeking to seduce; he should humbly look for the truth of this world without claiming to be its professional owner; character and integrity should be more important to him than academic brilliance; he should alert people to the good qualities in themselves, including a sense of the values and interests which transcend the personal, without giving himself an air of superiority and imposing anything on his fellow humans; he should not yield to the dictate of public moods or of the mass media, while never hindering a constant scrutiny of his actions – Dr John Kayode Fayemi in:  Intellectuals in Politics-African perspectives (Accra, Ghana, July, 2015)

“* Incontrovertibly, Bishop Kukah has lost it. It is tragic that some people can’t purge themselves of their innate weaknesses. That a man is acknowledged as a good public speaker is not a licence to profess divisive tendencies. Barely six months into a new administration and with the sordid revelations, I expected Kukah, a member of the National peace Committee, to propose a more reasonable approach to the subject of human rights. Some people waited out the terrible marginalization of the Jonathan administration. The Yoruba, for instance, was pushed to the wall but survived it. This time  around, when all hands are on deck to reposition a nation that was brought down on its knees by  Kukah’s friends, he is now supporting someone who has given more hate speeches against non Igbo ethnic groups than was recorded in the build up to the Rwandan genocide.

One thing stands out here: the President’s resilience to allow democracy at its fullest. If this blackmail is about demands for appointments, it is another misguided adventure to destroy the Igbo political future. Very soon, the sponsors of the insurgence will be unmasked. Already, the Sultan and some Emirs have tried their best to ensure that there are no reprisal attacks after mosques were attacked and a Dangote vehicle destroyed somewhere in the East.  We expected Kukah to use that occasion to join in the plea for peaceful approach to individual or group agitations. Certainly, this Kukah has gone beyond Catholicism. He is now absolutely self serving. Since that Presidential debate, where he could not hide his disdain for Buhari, till now, it is obvious his motive is beyond Biblical traditions. His is now cassock ethnocentrism. The Catholic Church remains a vibrant institution for justice, peace and development. The Church has never compromised. More than any other religious institution, it has remained exemplary in terms of timely, appropriate and constructive engagements on issues of governance and peoples’ rights. This profile is  far too salutary than be permitted to  be stained  by anybody, even a Bishop –  Dr Sikiru Eniola on Bishop Matthew Kukah’s  support for  Kanu  on his  hate- spewing  agitation for a state of Biafra (December, 2015)

As if the  writer, a university don, were a prophet, the sponsors are already unmasking themselves as  some Igbo leaders, in a classical demonstration of  the quip that we  never learn  from history  except as tragedy,  showed  up this past week,  Ojukwu-like  again,  leading  a landlocked Igbo against its own best interests. Under  a retired Justice Eze Ozobu-led  governing council,  with Dr Dozie Ikedife, Brig. Gen. Joe Achuzia, yes, the same Achuzia of the Biafran war fame, Eze Iheanyi  Nwokenna and others as members,  rather than counsel their restless youth,  announced the formation  of  what they called a  CUSTOMARY GOVERNMENT of Indigenous People of Biafra  which they,  very disingenuously, conflates with the establishment of Sharia,  a religious tenet, in the North a few years ago. In this their government, they claim to have ministries and liaison offices in all parts of an indeterminate Biafra land – the current  Biafra map spreads as far as Igala land  and  includes the entire  South south despite the disclaimer by the Rivers State government.  Yet they claim not infringing on any Nigerian laws. Now that some Igbo elders are sowing the wind, one hopes that before the entire Igbo race again begins to reap the whirlwind, others, especially their elected officials, will point them in the path of rectitude. Why the Igbo would be more pained by President Jonathan’s electoral loss than the Ijaw nation completely beats my imagination. It, however, speaks more to self-love than any sympathy for the former President  – who has since responsibly settled down into  respectful international engagements –  as if these people were living on planet Mars when Igbos and their extracts  were ministers of the most powerful ministries and headed more than 90 per cent of Nigeria’s regulatory agencies.

“A country which cannot refine its own crude oil, produce electricity from gas which it flares or produce toothpick from wood, certainly does not deserve to have credit/debit cards that function outside its borders. It is that simple – A commentator on CBN’s Ban on the Use of Naira Credit and Debit Cards Abroad (December, 2015)

“We live in a society that hardly employs scientific methods in the advancement of its national well being. When Obama came to power he promised that the US would cease to be at the mercy of oil producers before the end of his tenure. Today, the US is a net exporter of oil. This was achieved through a scientific programme, driven by appropriate government policies  which led to the production of more fuel efficient vehicles, the development of technologies that  enhanced prospecting for hydrocarbons at deeper levels under the ground, and processing of sand oil that has hitherto been regarded as commercially unviable. Here in Nigeria, those in authority think only of sharing money, rather than using our resources to mobilise the productive and creative energies of our people for development. No wonder we are now falling on our faces in our dependence on a resource whose exploration and processing we have made no conscious effort to master. Compare, for instance, the NNPC with PETROBRAS, its Brazilian counterpart, and get a picture of the utter cluelessness of our political leadership – Ayo Omowumi on why Nigeria remains consigned to underdevelopment. (December, 2015)

Till we meet in 2016, God willing, here is wishing all a Happy New Year.