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Tag: Nyiam

  • Nyiam: An activist’s sudden volte face

    The most senior officer involved in the April 22, 1990 coup, which tried to topple the administration of former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Gabriel Anthony Nyiam was formerly of the Nigerian Army Engineering Corps.

    Known more for his involvement in the military coup, Nyiam hails from Cross Rivers State. He holds a Masters of Arts degree in Strategic Studies and International Security from the University of Aberdeen. He was dismissed from the Nigerian Army following his narrow escape from the country after the coup.

    A son of a soldier from Cross River State, the young Nyiam followed his father’s profession early in life when he enrolled into the Nigerian Military School, Zaria, and from there into the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna as part of the 9th Regular Combatant Course that began in January 1971.

    Following the completion of his studies at the NDA he was enlisted into the Army Corps of Engineers and from there proceeded on study leave obtaining a first degree in Quantity Surveying from Earthwork University in Scotland and subsequently, a masters degree in International Relations from the University of Aberdeen, also in Scotland.

    While studying, he was seconded to the British Army. Upon returning to Nigeria he was deployed to the army headquarters where he worked directly under General Babangida who was at that time Army Chief.

    His last posting was as a directing staff at the Command and Staff College, Jaji. Following the failed April, 22 1990 failed putsch, Nyiam relocated abroad and joined forces with the camp of pro-democracy enthusiasts that fought the Sani Abacha regime from abroad.

    And as if to shore up his rating as a pro-democracy activist, he wrote a book earlier this year titled “True Federal Democracy or Awaiting Implosion: an aide-memoire” which according to him, would be useful as a working document for making a new Nigeria constitution.

    While promoting the book as a must-read for pro-SNC activists, Nyiam reiterated his belief in the need for Nigerians to be allowed to decide how they wish to be governed.

    “In our own case, we pay lip service to things that are very fundamental because they are not bread and butter matters. What are important to us? Elections! They will come and go and we are still in square one and we yet we have no constitution that Nigerians consented to.

    You hear parliamentarians saying that because there is a government in place that there cannot be another conference. Rubbish. Right now in the UK which is a very old democracy, there have been national conferences.

    What I am trying to communicate is that elections come and go, 2015 would come and go. The fundamental is that we need to have a constitution that is owned by Nigerian people, and that constitution, would be what would guide us. Constitution is so vital in the life of any country.

    In the absence of a constitution, there is no basis of people being together. So, it is not any surprising why we are beating about the bush. So, constitution is so vital and important.

    As we speak, there is no constitution that the people of Nigeria determined. I am saying that we have elections; we go and vote then come back to square one, until we resolve this problem of allowing the people to form their own constitution,” he said back then.

    Asked what his fears were if the things he advocated are not done as soon as possible, he said:

    “It is not so much the country splitting apart, but there would be little splinter groups that would become so powerful that I fear that most middle class might be challenged by certain bodies, and that can lead to anarchy. Already, we see the signs.

    The kidnappings all over the place is one of the signs. The Boko Haram is another sign. So, we cannot just fold our arms and watch helplessly. Insecurity is becoming so bad and I fear that if we don’t get together and have this conference where we will discuss and try to restore ourselves to the principles, there would be trouble.

    Principles are very vital. Once those principles are breached, there would be problem. If you have federalism and fiscal federalism is not there, you don’t have federalism. All I am saying is that we have to go back to the basics and be truthful otherwise we would be going round in a circle.”

    But following his appointment as a member of the Confab Advisory Committee and his many verbal supports for the proposed “non-sovereign” national dialogue instead of the sovereign national conference he has been championing, Nyiam’s posturing as a pro-SNC agitator received some knocks.

    Though he has been in the forefront of the call for a sovereign national conference to discuss the future of the country, he has also not hidded his support and admiration for President Goodluck Jonathan since the later emerged as the leader of the country in 2009.

    His support for the President, according to some of his statements, may be borne out of his pro-south south sentiment, which he is not also known to hide. It is perhaps this love for the President that ensured Nyiam became an ardent promoter of Jonathan’s planned national dialogue.

    This became so much obvious after his shocking outburst against Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State that the Okurounmu-led committee allegedly requested that he resign as its member.

    His resignation, if it turned out to be true, would perhaps sadly end the story of a hitherto ardent pro-SNC agitator who, for reasons best known to him, made an about-face when it mattered most.

     

  • Nyiam’s show of shame

    Nyiam’s show of shame

    The retired Colonel’s unruly behaviour in Benin has called to question the real motive behind setting up the Okurounmu panel

    The show of shame put up by Col. Tony Nyiam as the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue sat in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, presumably to gauge the mood of the people, collate their views on the task of making recommendations on modalities for inaugurating the national conference is indeed a sad reminder that some non-democrats have been saddled with the task of ensuring that democracy is fully entrenched in Nigeria.

    At the October 28 sitting, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State had told the committee that he had reservations about the ability of the committee to do better than previous panels that played similar roles. He expressed skepticism that a national dialogue at this time could come up with a different outcome from what emerged from the Babangida Constituent Assembly of 1988, the Abacha 1994 National Constitutional Conference and the National Political Reform Conference set up and funded by the Obasanjo administration in 2005.

    “I will be surprised if anything changes. Sincerely, I have no business to deceive or mislead anyone. I believe that the outcome of this conference will not be different from that of other conferences we have had in the past”, the governor said. He added that” All I owe Nigeria now is to speak my mind. It could be error of my head but certainly not of my heart. As much as I wish you well, I just want to say that I have no faith in this process and I do not think it was necessary at all,” Indeed, the governor introduced a new dimension when he brought in the question of how this would affect foreign investors: “And I honestly think that in terms of the private sector, when a country keeps debating how we can live together that cannot be one of the basis on which the outside community will invest in Nigeria. They may well wait until we know how we want to live in Nigeria.”

    It was vintage Oshiomhole. You may agree with him; you may not, but that is his view which he is fully entitled to. He believed in his postulations and he spoke with passion. He argued that there was no need for further rigmarole and waste of public fund. There was no doubt that the governor spoke the mind of a section of the country, and his voice in the matter as the elected governor of the state should have interested the committee.

    Rather than see himself as a collator of views with a view to determining the aggregate views of Nigerians, starting with the desirability of the dialogue, Nyiam flew off the handle, jumped off his seat and made to launch at the governor. He led a group of people who attempted to shout down the chief representative of the people of Edo State.

    If what Nyiam did was antithetical to the kernel of democracy, what he did thereafter by refusing to apologise tended to suggest that he was programmed to act that way. He contended that he was irked by the manner Oshiomhole allegedly spoke irreverently of President Goodluck Jonathan. How was that the concern of Nyiam at such a forum? Didn’t he understand that the committee has a chairman who was there to moderate the process? Does the retired Army officer think he was sent on a personal mission by the President and would therefore brook no criticism of a man who should be the chief servant of the Nigerian people?

    The utterances and conduct of Nyiam ran contrary to the President’s public declaration when he inaugurated the committee. He charged the Okurounmu panel to see the assignment as “a National Project, a sincere and fundamental undertaking, aimed at realistically examining and genuinely resolving, longstanding impediments to our cohesion and harmonious development as a truly united nation.”

    He also urged it to realise that “no voice is too small and no opinion is irrelevant. Thus, the views of the sceptics and those of the enthusiasts must be accommodated as you formulate this all-important framework. This conversation is a people’s conversation and I urge you to formulate an all-inclusive process that protects the people’s interest.”

    So, we ask, where did Col. Nyiam derive his mandate from? Did he receive a private briefing to which Nigerians are not privy? How many other members of the committee share the same views but have kept them till the collation stage?

    It is our view that, by his conduct, the place of Col. Nyiam on the committee is no longer tenable. Had he apologised immediately after his shameful conduct, it could have been regarded as a mere emotional outburst, but insisting thereafter that he did no wrong is an indication that, faced with another trenchant criticism, he would repeat his response. Members of the committee should seek a replacement for the retired colonel if they want to retain the confidence of the people in the process and win over those skeptical of the assignment. Governor Oshiomhole has said nothing significantly new and even if he did, Col Nyiam as a member of the committee has no right to interrupt him, not to talk of attempt to confront him.

  • National Dialogue: Group calls for Nyiam’s arrest

    The Executive Director Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Reverend David Ugolor, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack and order the prosecution of Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd), a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue who shouted down the Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole while the latter was giving his remarks last Monday in Benin City, the state capital.

    In a statement issued over the weekend, the ANEEJ boss said it was sad that Nyiam could exhibit such an uncouth behaviour, especially the unguided comment towards the office of the governor.

    “If historical antecedents of Col. Tony Nyiam  is anything to go by, we recall his active participation in a coup d’état led by Gideon Gwarzo Okar which sought to topple the Ibrahim Babangida dictatorship in 1990, and later pardoned by the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime. It is, therefore, not surprising that such a character could jump up from his seat as an organising committee member of the consultation to shout down a serving state governor who was only expressing his personal opinion.

    “We condemn Col. Nyiam’s actions and we call on him to tender a public apology to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Nigerians of the South-South extraction for bungling the discussions in Benin City”, said ANEEJ.

    ANEEJ said after a critical examination of the incident on Monday, they observed that it was an act of God Almighty that the attitude of the retired colonel did not lead to a-free-for-all fights in the state.

    “The action of Col Nyiam against the Edo State Comrade Governor speaks volumes of the motives for the national dialogue. We now wonder what the planned conference seeks to achieve if people are expected to say only what the committee wants to hear. We are left with the impression that the planned national dialogue will not be different from others previously organised national jamborees where public funds are brazenly wasted on unprofitable ventures.

    “We therefore call on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Col.  Tony Nyiam (rtd) from the committee and prosecute him for violating the right of a citizen, a serving state governor for that matter, for expressing himself in an honest and frank manner.”

    ANEEJ said it is in the interest of President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest and prosecute Nyiam for attempt to cause public disorder or anarchy in Edo State so that such disciplinary action would serve as a deterrent to all Nigerians not to emulate Nyiam’s style of opposing a serving or any former governor’s views on issues.

  • Why I took on Oshiomhole, by Nyiam

    Why I took on Oshiomhole, by Nyiam

    Nyiam yesterday defended his attack on Oshiomhole, saying the governor made ‘’sarcastic remarks’’ against the proposed national dialogue.

    Speaking on the telephone, with a correspondent, he also accused the governor of “talking down on people.”Nyiam said he felt Oshiomhole, after “lecturing” members of the dialogue advisory panel on his reasons for opposing the conference, during their visit to him in his office, came to the venue and started the same lecture.

    His words: “Governors who have penchant for insulting the President or making sarcastic remarks against the sense of judgment of the President of Nigeria should be ready to tolerate response from Nigerian citizens to tell them no. The committee’s role is advisory, we need to consult with the people to advise us and we will then synthesise the people’s opinion and use that to advise the President because we believe that we need to work towards a people’s-driven constitution which we never had in our history.

    ‘’We thought we should start a bottom-up approach from the grassroots to the top. The attitude was that there should be no talking down on the people we are supposed to engage the people not to talk down on them. Based on this principle, the key feature of our consultation was to meet with the people but out of courtesy we pay courtesy calls on the governors or the king in the city.”

    He added: ‘’ So when people started booing the governor, I went to the chairman to remind him about the rules of our committee. The chairman said we should give him a chance to continue. He carried on with his derogatory remarks and it was at that point I then said ‘no, not again’. When I said that, by this time, his aides tried to come at me, but when I suspected that one was at my back I stood up. I sat down throughout.

    ‘’Not long after, a group of thugs came towards the table. It was then that the SSS people advised that my life was not safe and I was taken away for safety. The girector of the state SSS raises security around us. The Commissioner of Police came to see me and they brought security. The police drove us all through out of Edo State because of the fear of attack. So, contrary to what they said, that I mobilised thugs, it is not true, it is Edo people that protected me.”