If President GEJ, the legislatures, and all policy makers in Nigeria are serious about moving Nigeria forward they must show credible interest in fighting public corruption and instill rule of law in the polity. The President and the legislatures must repeal the legal immunity that is designed to protect from prosecution criminally corrupt public officials that loot public coffer. This immunity 'curse' must be repealed and replaced with statute that bars public officials from foreign travel six month before and after leaving office.
Mr. President! Would you please repeal this immunity for public officials to steal public fund!! Remember that almost all Nigeria ills and abjectness across Nigeria are the results of public officials stealing the country to death. Good inauguration speech worth less than the paper it is written on if concrete actions are not taken to right the wrongs of public officials against the citizenry and against the independent fathers.
The greatest fear is exhibited by evil in the presence good. If IBB's murderous eight years of treasonable corrupt criminal dictatorship represents evil how can he or his likes, Atiku and Gusau grace a presidential inuaguration of Goodluck Jonathan whose leadership philosophy is an antithesis to that of IBB and Atiku’s with medieval understandings of leadership and public service? By default good and evil cannot abode together.
The President's inauguration speech would have been one of the best presidential inauguration speeches if not for the timing. This speech would appropriately befit a first presidential speech following the independence of Nigeria when hopes and aspirations of Nigerian would have been understandably high. Or perhaps the president’s speech is a futuristic presidential speech delivered too early. The President's speech is inspirational and motivational as against revolutionary, reactionary and policy blunt speech the president ought to have delivered. With its enormous natural resources and human capital Nigeria is among the 50 least developed countries in the world. Underdevelopment in Nigeria and almost all Nigerian ills are as result of public corruption and lack of rule of law. These two evils is killing and tearing Nigeria into pieces yet the president’s speech treaded lightly on corruption and said virtually nothing about inequality of the citizenry before the law. Until the criminals masked as public officials are made to understand that they are answerable to the law of the land just as ordinary citizens are these criminals will continue to act with impunity in their looting of public coffer. Unless past and present criminals veiled as public servants are brought before the law for their crimes against the state and the people future public officials will tread the route of the former, the route of the criminally corrupt.
It is a travesty, mockery of rule of law, and of accountability that corrupt public officials can only be prosecuted long after their brazen acts of looting public coffer has been known. What is this license to steal called immunity clause? Public corruption is responsible for more than 95% Nigeria ills. Just think about it, almost everything that is wrong with Nigerian is either directly or indirectly link to poverty, national and individual abjectness. Even the most ill informed knows the direct relations between public corruption, especially corruption of capital flight, to both national and individual poverties.
The crimes of public corruption should be treated as treason, crime against the state because this is what is. Public corruption is the worse type of crime and the most violent against a nation and people. Think about the nature, victims and extensiveness of crime of public corruption and compare this evil act to any other form of crime and see the cataclysmic nature of this evil. Three other high crimes in Nigerian are armed robbery, kidnapping and paid assassinations. These three crimes though horrendous, pale when intellectually and logically compare to the crime of public corruption. Assassins and armed bandits during their life span and duration of their banditry, say thirty years, may kill or maim a thousand people (number highly exaggerated). But in just less than two years a public official could steal enough public fund that directly or indirectly kills a nation, a state and hundreds of thousands of people.
Most of the people who engage in the crime of armed robbery are young people and some university graduates, these young people have lost hopes and ambitions in life due to the actions of corrupt public officials. Think of high infant mortality and high death rates, dead public schools, kidnappings, poor state and inexistent of public infrastructures, poor and inadequate medical facilities and services, ill trained, ill equiped and poorly paid police force, and general insecurity just but to name few of the ills of public corruption. There is no doubt that public corruption is the worse form of crime and should therefore be treated as such.
What the so called immunity clause does is allow criminals veiled as politicians to loot public wealth under the cover of this law that protect these criminals at the expense of the general citizenry . These criminals play hide and seek game with the law because they know that the law’s hands are made short by this immunity clause. True democracies like the united State protects public officials from the accesses of the chief executives but not from prosecution for criminal offenses. The immunity clause in itself is criminal. The only reason that the national legislatures would not abolish this immunity to steal statute is because many members of these two bodies do not have national interest at heart but like many state governors are partners or perpetrators of the crime of public fund embezzlement. But now that "a Jonathan Goodluck is in charge there should be hope that he will pressure the congress to abolish this legally sanctioned stealing of public wealth. Not only must Jonathan work to abolish this immunity 'curse' he must bring corrupt public officials to justice. Failure to prosecute corruption will not only make the president appear weak but complacence. Or bluntly, President's failure to prosecute corruption makes him and his administration corrupt.
Fellow Americans, the leader of free nation like ours ought to have wisdom. They call it change in positions I Mint Romney call it wisdom. Wisdom detects that one must be prepared to adjust former beliefs and positions so as to advance a common overriding good. If elected President of this great nation of ours, my paramount goal is to serve the American people with the best of my ability and I believe that all my beliefs and positions, past, present and even in the future must yield to this overriding goal. Principle and wisdom should never be in conflict; rather these two must recognize and know when to succumb to one another. It will be folly to cling steadfastly to former positions or even to present positions at the expense of my desire to serve the great people of this great nation in the capacity of a president.
Acting in the capacity of Massachusetts' Governor, individual mandate for health insurance coverage, LBGT full equality and woman’s right to choose were and are still matters of principle to me. But in a presidential campaign these social issues should be state issues. You can call it flip flop I call it political wisdom; the end must just the means. Without political wisdom it is impossible to be a good politician and it is impossible to lead in the absence of good politics. This time is ours to occupy White House and I must not loose this oppurtunity to political incorrectness.
Responding to "Profiling the northern enemy” and to the responses to this article
by I’ Shaq Modibbo Kawu in Vanguard daily of May 12, 2011
The Nigerian Issue
Is’haq’s opinionated article and the equally opinionated responses, for and against "Profiling the northern enemy” is exactly the fight the corrupt criminal leaders from south, north east and west want Nigerians to busy themselves with. As Long as ordinary citizens are fighting each other over cultural, ethnic and religious differences they would be too busy to realize the crime perpetrated against them even by their sectional leaders. Nigerians especially the youths must wakeup and take back this country before it is too late. Most people do not know the great value of a possession until they loose it. Most Nigerians do not see the great gift of a nation until Nigeria is no more. To reiterate, Nigeria problem lies at the fact that Nigerians are fighting the cheap, easy, lazy and unproductive ethnic war while ignoring the difficult but true and rewarding war of national interest. I am from the south and I care less about the president's ethnicity but about his or her honesty, vision, courage, intellect but above his or her love for the people and for the country. But my good friends and fellow Nigerians remember this; because leaders generally are inherently corrupt, good governance is assured by the governed and not by the governors. I am not ignorant nor naïve of the difficulties posed by the diversity of culture, ethnicity, and religious differences in the configuration called Nigeria. I also know that these differences if appropriately conceived are not by themselves the end but rather the necessary precursors for the construction of powerful great Nation. But only if Nigerians selflessly and lovely pursue this potential of Greatness for the general good shall Nigeria become a great nation. The two pillars of a great nation are numerousness and diversity of the people that appreciate and or respect one another under the law. Since the era of nation states no nation of few people or homogenous people has become great due to the fewness, homogeneousness, or healthiness of its citizens. But today like in the past great nation is synonymous to numerousness and diverseness of the ‘peopleness’ if you will.
There are two fundamental questions every Nigerian especially the ethnic groups must truthful answer. And the questions are: Do you for better and for worse belief in the configuration called Nigerian and if you do, are you willing to build, defend and protect this configuration? What contents you, smallness or Greatness since moderateness in nation status is a misnomer? I am a ‘tangiblenist’ if you will and objectivist and for me there exist two nation types, the small nations and greatness ones. I am a big fan of greatness and have no doubt that Nigerian was fashioned for greatness only if Nigerians can build and keep the union.
In the next national sovereign conference if there happens to be one, all ethnic groups must be present and all must plainly respond to these questions without deceit, pretense or fear. Only after all ethnic groupings have truthfully answered these two questions can we as a people begin the difficult but rewarding task of nation building or the xenophobic, cheap, easy but defeatist task of destroying that that was freely given in a platter of gold by the independent fathers? Yes, the colonist dictator for its benefit amalgamated the north and south of the Niger area to form this potential great nation called Nigeria. Truly, many call and regard this amalgamation an evil act and yes it was done for the benefit of the colonist. But no one can logically explain how the coming together of the oppressed people does not benefit the oppressed but only benefits the oppressors. In my opinion, the Niger area evil the colonist masters intended is only but a blessing in disguise only if the present Nigerians can unveil themselves the veils of ignorance, pettiness, ethno-phobia and “big-phobia” if you will. Many of the independent fathers saw the goodness in the dubious colonist intent hence the fathers fought for the independence of the whole people in the Niger area as one people who were one deprived and one oppressed people. Not even the notorious ignorant idol worshipers, Boko Haram religious sect, can deny the wisdom of the independent father when the fathers fought for the independence and preservation of the Niger area people as one people.
Free societies must respect single or collective aspirations of its citizens provided such inspirations does not restrict or impede the freedom of others. What Boko Haram sect is asking for is an Islamic Nigerian with Shariah legal system. Well the first mark of ignorance is when a person or a group rabidly seeks that which is humanly impossible. I have nothing against Islam and as matter of fact while in Europe I prayed with my North African Muslim brothers in their mosque. An Islamic Nigeria with shariah law is dream in many dreams. Yes, this sect is ignorant but they are human enough to understand that to seek that which have neither existed nor will ever exist is tempting the gods and therefore a sin. Boko Haram like other groups, person or persons violently seeking to Islamize Nigeria are not just by themselves an ethnic group but rather belong to an ethnic group. At the sovereign national conference these group and all other groups will within their ethnic representation present their case. At the Conference the sovereignty and integrity of Nigeria is not negotiable. But if a collection of groups closely band together, geographical situated and oriented and collectively make up a third the population of Nigeria seeks a separate society, then within ten years a referendum for independence can be conducted within the ethnic groups that seeks independence. A threshold of seventy five percent yes referendum vote for independence can start the process of granting the group semi autonomy and a full independence twenty five years latter with a second referendum. {At the end of this article are more conditions for independence for units seeking separation from the union}.
But as Nigerians wait for the conference for a perfect union there must be order and rule of law. Every citizen has the right to disagree with laws or policies of the government but no one have the right to disobey constitutionally enacted statutes. All laws however dislike but constitutionally passed must be obeyed by all even by the corrupt leaderships that have done nothing but ruined and liquidated the country. Citizens can protest, work to change the bad law but must never break the law they dislike as longer as that law have not been constitutionally repealed. Not only is Boko Haram sect breaking the law of the land they also seek to impose their will on the majority. To achieve their unattainable goal this sect is breaking local, international and universal law on the sanctity of human life. They kill in the name of their small god that lacks the power and the energy to do the least thing that even the least being could do, the taking of person’s life. The Lord is not God of confusion hence it makes no sense that the omnipotent God will subtly and indiscreetly order the ignorant, wobbling and pitiful man to destroy another God’s creature. Many religious people across the globe claim to know the mind of God, they know how to please and how to make God happy, by so thinking they equate God to human and this is the root cause of all religious evil in the world. How can a God infinitely happy and pleased in itself be made happier by the death of one of its sorry, pitiful creatures at the hands of another of the same? This is their god and not my and I new not their god because this god is so small and powerless that even a wooden god with so much carbon energy can consume this god.
But regardless of the nature of their god they must obey the law of the land. The governors and governments of the states where these religious ignoramus zealots cause pain and destruction must ensure law and order in the state. To get these governments more involved and responsible for the protection of lives and properties especially the lives and properties of the ethnic and religious minorities, these governments must at least be held financial responsible for the dastardly acts of the hoodlums in their states. The Federal government must look into the efforts the state governments make to stop violence and murder against minority, into ethnic and religious cleansing of the minority in the states. Henceforth the federal government must use the federal allocation for the culprit states to compensate the victims of ethnic and religious pogrom for human and material lose and other loses if a violence resulting to lose of lives and properties is ethnic and or religious in nature. Holding the governments of the violent states responsible for the violent acts of their wild citizens and making them financially responsible for the financial loses due to the actions of the hoodlums in their state will not only make these Government proactive in curbing this menace but it will force them to see that these vagabonds in their state are educated and tamed.
{In addition to the conditions already stated above, any section seeking independence from Nigerian must understand that it and the national government will jointly supervise the referendums. The referendums will be financed by the seceding unit without the infusion of foreign fund. From the day the date for the first referendum is scheduled the seceding unit will no longer receive federal fund allocations to the states. The national government will continue to run, maintain and manage all national security apparatus to include but not limited to police, military, customs, national intelligence, and state secret services that encompasses the seceding unit until after the second referendum. Loses and profits from jointly owned revenue sources, and costs to joint projects will be jointly shared between the national government and the seceding unit. Apart from the conditions stated here, during the entire period of quest for independence the relationship between the national government and the seceding unit must be as usual and the same as before the quest for separation until independence is achieved or defeated.}
Panel is ok if it is one of the many necessary steps and actions needed to stop this madness and barbaric act. The panel must look into the efforts the state governments take to dissuade, arrest violence, murder, ethnic and religious cleansing of the minority in their states. Henceforth the federal government must use the federal allocation of the culprit states to compensate the victims of ethnic and religious pogrom in human and material lose and loses if violence is ethnic and or religious in nature. Holding the governments of the violent states responsible for the violent acts of their wild citizens and making them financially responsible for the actions of the hoodlums in their state will not only make them proactive in curbing this menace but it will make these state governments to see that these vagabonds in their state are educated and tamed.
Responding to comments by the Leader of MASSOB Mr. Iwuzurike made Where He Threatened A Retaliatory Killing of Northerners In the East for the Igbos Being killed in the North Following the Presidential Vote.
Retaliatory killing of Northerners in the east or in any region of the country is not the solution to the mayhem and pogrom against ethnic and religious minorities in the north.If evil cannot beget good how then will the killing of Nigerians in the east make right the killing of Nigerians in the north? These ignorant barbaric elements in the north have no understanding of what civil society means because some elements of the northern political class or elites purposely bred and kept these vagabonds for selfish political advantage. These vagabonds or serfs need help from the civil society. Like the victims of their barbaric act these vagabonds are victims of some northern political class.
I strongly disagree that the solutions to this destruction of life and property of Ndigbo in the north is to destroy life and properties of Nigerians in the east. This prescription is not only barbaric and uncivilized but it defiles common sense. Killing Nigerians in any part of the country as pay back to these vagabonds will only justify the murderous behavior of these cage men in the north. This prescription is no different from the actions of the hoodlums that kill Ndigbo in the north. These vagabonds never step out and will never step out of their cages hence they will never travel to any other part of Nigeria. Like the southerners in the northern the northerners in the south are true Nigerians and we should wish that more people from the north are like them. If these Hoodlums in the north were like northerners living in the east I guarantee, Nigeria would have less trouble in the north. The only brothers southerners have in the north are those that come to the south and if this is true as it’sthen how can one kill one’s brother just because somebeasts in the north killed another of his or her brother? You see, Uwazuruike’s prescription is at best idiotic, barbaric and ignorant.
The governors of northerner states where these barbarians are killing innocent citizens must arrest the violence in their respective states and if they cannot then they must have failed in their primary responsibility which is the protection of life and property within their states. The federal government must then exercise federal authority by deploying the military to stop pogrom against religious and ethnic minorities in the north.
IBB responds to PDP threat to de-member him for his antiparty activities.
“Babangida described the threat of sanction from the PDP, according to report, as ridiculous and needless, stating that he was never cowed by such threat in any way.” Tribune daily news (online) April 25, 2011.
We say, IBB, you are absolutely right, having been praised, loved, eulogized, crowned, worshipped for stealing billions of dollars of public fund with great impunity how can the mere threat of party de-membership mean any thing to you. Beside, who says you are loyal to any party? IBB have only but one interest and that is, to be at the pinnacle of power and one loyalty, his loyalty to north’s caliphate hegemonic doctrine held by few cabals in the north. What PDP call antiparty activities IBB regard as self and northern interest activities. PDP is wrong and naïve to think that IBB, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and General Aliyu Gusau should put its or Nigerian interest above northern interest. Or perhaps PDP may have beaten IBB, the maradona in his own game. May be PDP knew what IBB's interest was and knew where his loyalty was in the just concluded general election but figured out that it was better to take advantage of IBB's mouthed support for PDP-Jonathan as against his inner desire for northern president. Now that the election is over PDP is asking IBB to for once in his life to say and do what he means. PDP is asking IBB to quit being in both sides of the divide. They want IBB, the maradona to decide on his political party affiliation. But we the true citizens of Nigeria, the victims of IBB's eight years of loot and dictatorship ask him to hide his primitive and greedy persona from the National stage.
Yet, we are not with the illusion that IBB will remove his ignorant self from the national discourse because doing that could amount to political suicide and physical harm. IBB correctly figured out that the only way he will remain ahead of the law for his eight years of corrupt murderous dictatorship, loot and treason against the nation is to remain in the national discourse, shape it and be for everything and for nothing; supports the ruling parties presidential candidate and while at the same time supports other candidates that could possible win the presidential vote especially a northern candidate like Buhari. IBB, the evil genius knows that as long as his is a contender and a serious presidential candidate his opponents will more than likely compromise and accommodate him thereby erasing the thought and idea of probing him for eight years of capital crime against Nigeria. It is for these compromise and accommodation that IBB continues to bring his primitive self into the national discourse. Even with his billions of dollars of stolen public wealth IBB knows that he cannot win a presidential election in Nigeria but can avert prosecution by remaining engaged in the national political conversation. PDP can dismiss IBB from the party but it should not be mad at IBB for his antiparty activities because IBB should do what he must do to remain a freeman knowing that for eight years he committed capital crimes against Nigerian. Who else in his right mind and survival instinct will not sit on both sides of the divides? IBB, the Maradona, how can he not support Jonathan even when he support his opponents? How can he not support Buhari?
IBB knew that there exist big chance for Buhari to win the presidency and not showing support to him may not only mean political death but a physical one, from a possible long prison time under Buhari administration irrespective of Buharis's selective amnesia of the looters of the Nigerian treasury. If politics was like soccer where each player must choose one side and one side only, heaven knows that IBB would have chosen Buhari for two reasons. First, if Buhari looses IBB knew he had nothing to loose, in fact IBB will be more at easy since he views Jonathan as that timid southern boy that lacks the courage, will and political mandate to probe or prosecute him. Second, because IBB understands that his support for any candidate or lack thereof would not decide the outcome of the presidential vote hence the wisest thing to do would be to support that potential President with vengeance, will and perceived courage to probe and prosecute him and to IBB that president would be a Buhari presidency.
Nearly twenty years after leaving the pinnacle of power that brought eight years of corrupt murderous dictatorship, loot and treason against the nation IBB have employed all tools, bribery, intimidation, threats, political camaraderie and prostitution to evade prosecution. Instead of calling him out for his crime against the nation, politicians seek friendship, material and financial support from IBB. Truth is that any administration that fails to probe IBB and other looters is in itself a corrupt administration and therefore must be probe because corruption is not only the act of looting but also a cowardly and wilful failure in recovering public wealth from the looters.
French under UN cover is killing Ivorians in Abidjan.This is not the first time French have killed Ivorians. Once more the French has shown that it still embarks in its imperialistic, neocolonialism and hegemonic control over its former colonies. Today, the utter disregard of the sovereignty of Ivory Coast by French is clear testament of a powerful country imposing its greedy, selfish and barbaric will on smaller and benign nations. The UN should be aware that the French is today orchestrating genocide in Africa, in Ivory Coast, the Rwanda type of genocide. The French sought and got UN endorsement to decide the winners and losers in Ivorian internal crisis that it orchestrated. Just like in many parts of the world the crisis and now civil war in Ivory Coast was planned and sponsored by the French. French have found it unacceptable for any of its former colonies to be truly independent from France and this is the root of the crisis in Ivory Coast once one of the most peacefully country in Africa. The crisis in Ivory Coast todaystarted when Gbogbo a nationalist like Patrice Lumumber decided to make Ivory Coast for Ivorians first and not for the French first. French rabid intervention in Libya was a prelude for what it’s doing in Ivory Coast today. Country like Nigerian and its naive president will not understand the French’s dubious motives in Ivory Coast. Like Mobotu, like Ben Ali, like Campoare, and so many other Africa stooges, Quaterra is only but a French puppet. Time will expose this French conspiracy and crime against the peace loving Ivorian People.
I am seriously appalled by the claim that power belongs to the North and they will always determine who they permit to rule. This is my father's land too! Why should a section of the country arrogate power to themselves at the expense of the other groups? That is recipe for disintegration. In 50 years of Nigeria independence the North ruled for 38 years! The South should demand their own 38 years to be fair. Out of the 38 years that should be given to the South OBJ wasted 10 years and Jonathan is on his second year. This means the South should hang on to power for the next 26 years! Yes, that is the way it should be to be fair. If I were Jonathan, I would contest again in 2015! Southern politicians are so self-serving and lack vision and principle- they cannot reason beyond their noses. Enough of this nonsense! If the North continues to reason and act like this may be we should divide the country so the South can rule their own place. PDP may have put zoning in their party constitution but any constitution that undermines anyone's right as specified in the Federal Constitution of Nigeria is a fraud, indefensible and therefore null and void. By the way, what does the North contributes to Nigeria? Corruption, Niger-Delta, Boko Haram, terrorism, insecurity of life and properties everywhere? See what is happening in Jos and Maiduguri for God's sake! In the 38 years they ruled with absolute power what was the benefit even to the north let alone to the whole of Nigeria? For 38 years of their rule they neglected Niger Delta, kill their prominent sons and daughters! For 38 years they even neglected their own people giving them no education, public amenities and economic power. They empowered a few and left their populace in abject poverty and misery! Sensible northerners should not listen to them. In fact only a southern president can repair the damage these crooks have unleashed on the north! Look at the so-called ACF! How is the Middle-Belt represented in this communique? Just think of the map drawn by the late Orkar and you will understand better! The ranting is from a section of the north and not from the whole North as they are claiming! Sensible northerners better queue behind Jonathan because Nigeria is moving forward and not backward. Jonathan's presidency is good for us for at least one thing- breaking the strangle hold of the anti-progressive oligarchy of the north! Jonathan's winning this election serves a purpose larger than Jonathan himself. Let's dare them! Jonathan needs to win without them in order to free this country from these never-do-well bigots. Let them not support him-- they are merely shooting themselves in the foot. Nigeria belongs to ALL of us and we collectively determine our destiny
No! power belongs to a united people. For years criminal leaderships in Nigeria have employed these tactics of 'divide and conquer’, appealing to our little difference instead of our larger and bigger commonalties, they have exploited our differences instead of our similarities for their selfish ends. Nigerian problems are not just the makings of the primitive leaderships but largely the willful and ignorant abdication of responsibilities on the part of the citizenry. Instead of demanding for a good leadership, sections of Nigeria demand sectional leaders comprise of their tribes. Yet all over Nigeria, north, south, east west, in all the ethnic groups majority of the people are abjectly poor. Good governance like respect, peace are neither gifts from the government nor from the most powerful to least but assured by willingness of the governed to demand and secure them once they are threatened. Nigerians are playing at the hands of the few primitive cabals masked as leaders when they fight one another not on principal and differing political ideology but over ethnic difference. This is exactly what these criminal leaders from south, north east and west want us to do. As Long as ordinary citizens are fighting each other over ethnic differences they would be too busy to realize the crime perpetrated against them even by their sectional leaders. Nigerians especially the youths must wakeup and take back this country before it is too late. Most people do not know the great value of a possession until they loose it. Most Nigerians do not see the great gift of a nation until Nigeria is no more.
To reiterate, Nigeria problem lies at the fact that Nigerians are fighting the cheap, easy and unproductive ethnic war while ignoring the difficult but true and rewarding war of national interest.
My reply to comments by Mr. A and others in Vanguard Newspaper
Mr. A, You are about 90 percent correct but do not forget that many governors from the south especially those from the South-East, the likes of Orji Uzokalu did more socio-economic harm to the people of Abia State than any president of northern descent ever did or will ever do a southern. Truth is that president of either northern or southern descent; it does not matter to that hungry Nigerian, to that Jobless Nigerian, to that sick Nigerian without access to adequate medical treatment, to that Nigeria family that lost loved one due to either insecurity in the nation or due to deplorable conditions of the nation’s road ways. It does not matter to the university students whose educations are always in limbo. It does not matter to that poorly trained and poorly equipped police force, nor does it matter to so many Nigerians whose aspirations and life ambitions are been choked either by southern or northern president, governor, minister, senator that criminally export public funds overseas for personal use. What matters most to Nigerians and what Nigerians need today is a true leader regardless of his or her ethnicity? Those who clamor that the south must produce the presidency are no less divisionary than those that clamor for a northern president, and this line of thought is guided only by politics and sectionalism but not reason and will only make worse the ethnic tension and division in the country. Obasonjo is a southern; his eight years of presidency and two years of dictatorship did not move Nigeria a bit forward.
I am from the south and I care less about the president's ethnicity but about his or her honesty, vision, courage, intellect but above his or her love for the people and for the country. I hope no one is suggesting that we give the south thirty eight years of presidency to further destroy Nigerian as some leaders beginning in late seventies to present have only but ruined the country.
But my good friends, and fellow Nigerians remember this; because leaders generally are inherently corrupt, good governance is assured by the governed and not by the governmenors.
Wireless communication and the new crime wave in Nigeria
In Nigeria telecommunication appears to have improved over the years but truth is that Nigerian has the most inefficient and ineffective telecommunication system in the world. Besides, this poorly managed and regulated communication system has aided the increased crime wave in Nigeria. Criminals now can plan, coordinate and execute their nefarious activity with else without the need of gathering which increases the chance of them being captured. No body here is advocating against improve and easy access to telecommunication nor is any body suggesting that government spy communications between or among citizens. The point here is that governments must devise a non intrusive method to create registry for wireless services at the provider’s level.
"No kingdom that cometh against itself stands" If Nigerian leaders liquidate the nation through the embezzlement of public funds and corrupt exportation of public fund overseas how then do any body expect development in any form to occur in Nigeria. It is self evident that these are not leaders but criminals that must be dragged before the law. These criminals leaders have kingdom of their own, the corrupt criminal kingdom and this kingdom cannot come against itself. So Nigerians must not expect any good from these primitive cabals. These criminals must be confronted just as their likes in Tunisia Egypt, Libya, and middle east are being confronted today. In all human history good governance is never assured by the governors but by governed. Nigerians should wakeup and take up the responsibility for the wellbeing of the nation; freedom is never free.
The Northern Mischief Makers, IBB, and the killings in the North; the Jonathan’s Test.
It is no surprise that since Jonathan assumed the presidency after the death of President Yar'Adua, assassinations, murder, mayhem and terrorism in the north have spiked. And today some northern politicians, the governor ofJigawa
State and IBB for examples, are speaking out and hopefully they are speaking out against the barbaric and senseless destruction of lives and properties in the north. Yes, hopefully these politicians are truly concerned about the insecurity situations in the north and throughout the country.
I pray that I am wrong but I do have doubts about the genuineness of IBB and some northern politicians’ stated concerns about the terrorisms in the north. I feel like that these wolves' cries by some northern politicians are nothing but a smoke screen and I hope I am wrong. I describe their concerns as smoke screen because in all their statement they tend to insinuate that the federal government is not doing enough to stop the madness in the north and are as such calling to question President Jonathan’s ability to secure the country. By their statements they also delegitimize the April’s presidential elections even before the poll is conducted. Their statements are very suggestive for some kind of intervention. If today were the eighties I guarantee, some of these northern politician’s publicly stated concerns would be coded words for the military to seize power.
Nigeria is a Federated states and if the state governors and state Governments cannot stop a ragtag, uneducated, uncivilized, unsophisticated, uncoordinated, cage men terrorizing innocent citizens of their state then such governors and governments should quit on the basis of their failure to deliver on the basic and primary responsibility of a government which is the assurance of security to lives and property within the state. What else is the function and responsibility of a state government if it cannot guarantee internal security to lives and property within the state? Shifting this states’ responsibility to the federal government is nothing but a political trap and President Jonathan should be mindful of these trapping by some mischievous northern politicians. Yes the state governments can seek the assistance of federal government and the army when absolutely necessary but not when ragtag criminal bandits are roaming the streets killing the innocents. The reasons these bandits are acting with impunity is because some state governors are not stepping up to take responsibilities, they have this mentality that arresting criminal activities in their states is the fed’s job but yet these governors are always quick to invoke federalism when the federal authority charge them of public corruption. Another possible reason these governors are not making efforts to bring about normalcy in their states could be because the chaos could be working for their political advantage.
Since the eighties the north has not known peace. There have been constant killing of innocent citizens in the north by some cave men that live among the civilized. In fact today the North is relatively peaceful compared to the recent past when Christians, Igbos and other ethnic minorities were regularly slaughtered in the north in the name of religion. How can any reasonable and civilized person or persons just for the approval of the god he sees not and portend to work for, hates the brethren that abode with him? This is craziness but a calculated madness that always had socio-political underpinning and implications with just minimal religious sentiments. The socio-political implication of the current mayhem in the north is that if come the presidential election and north is still in a calculated turmoil then poll either will not hold in the north or if held will be characterize as unfair, unpopular, hence the result and credibility of the election badly damaged especially if Jonathan appeared to have won the presidency. So the enemies of unity, particularly some elements in the north who are prepared to do anything to see to the dethroning of Jonathan will at best hope and wish the situation in the north remain tense come the presidential election in April. Regardless of what Mr. Jonathans does through federal authority to stop the northern mess and madness he will loose because the situation is programmed for a loss. If he uses federal power no matter how minimal to stop this mess in the north he will be accused for excessive use of force and pogrom against the north. If Jonathan fails to stop this political gamesmanship usually orchestrated by some northern political elements then he will be charged for being ineffective and hence unfit to lead.
Underpinning these pogroms by some elements in the north against ethnic and religious minorities is a deliberate breeding and indoctrination of some perpetual low class northern Muslims by some northern ignoramus political elites; for social upheaval, mischief making and destabilization of the country for selfish political advantage.
But then when should the federal government intervene in crisis situations in a state? In any situation where the lives and properties of the minority are threatened or the security of the nation in danger, the federal government ought to intervene especially if the state is unable to control the situation. Does it mean then that IBB is right in suggesting that the Fed should do more? Yes and no, it is appropriate for the Fed to intervene in the north to bring to an end once for all time these menace in the north. But more importantly, and for the Fed to be successful in tackling the anarchy in the north, the elders and northern political elites must be fully involve in educating and de-indoctrinating the citizen of their states on the need and goodness of coexistence among all Nigerians. Governors and governments of the states must hold regular interstate meetings to address these and other issues affecting the citizens of their states. Citizenship of a state should neither be conferred on the basis of ethnicity nor on the basis of place of birth but rather on the time period of residence in a state. Northerners, from the most influential to the least should be made to understand that all parts of Nigeria belong to all Nigerians regardless of ethnicity and religious affiliation. But above all northern states must educate their citizens, give them hope and make them societal stakeholders. Any solution to the North’s upheavals must be meaningful and enduring.
Since the eighties, IBB, many northern politicians like their southern counterpart had the opportunities to deliver a harmonious, prosperous society. Not only did these state detractors squander these opportunities to usher in prosperity but they deliberating planted seeds of corruption and divisiveness in the nation. They deliberately kept citizens poor, uneducated, divided and hence exploited and continue to exploit fellow citizens. The problems in Nigeria today are the makings of the barbarian that seized the country’s leadership since the eighties. Today these criminals are pointing fingers to current administration not knowing that for every finger they point out three points back to them. I am not Jonathan’s fan not sure that I support him in the upcoming presidential vote but now that his is by the hands of gods the leader of this country I must wish him well and success because if he succeeds Nigerian succeeds and if Nigeria succeeds I too then will be successful. Today Mr. Jonathan seems to be genuine, honest and promising but heaven knows that I will not hesitate not for a second to criticize him if he turns out to be a criminal like most of his predecessor dating back to the eighties.
And I do want to seize this opportunity to caution Mr. Jonathan against being a lap dog for the French president Mr. Nicolas Sarkozywho is meddling in the Ivorian internal matter. Mr. President, stay away from Ivorian internal matter. A wise and effective leader does not comment or reach conclusion until he or she have all the facts. There is reason the French is desperate to coronate Alassane Ouattaraas the president of Ivory Coast. The same reason they had in supporting the Tunisian dictator Ben Ali for over twenty years. The same reason they had in Vietnam that provoked a very bloody civil war that saw tens of thousand of Vietnamese killing each other. The same reason they have for supporting dictators like Murderer Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, Paul Biya of Cameroun, Jean Bedel Bokassa of CentralAfricanRepublic, and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, just but to name few of these primitive men from Africa. The interest the French have in Ivory Coast today is the same interest the French, Belgium and United States had in the Democratic Republic of Congo that led them to the murder of Patrice Lumumba in cold blood. The same interest the West have for abating corruption in Africa as they look the other way while African criminal leaders launder hundreds of billions of dollars of public fund in the western banks and financial institutions.
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The presidential power is like dynamite if intelligently applied and exercised is constructive otherwise it is destructive in the hand of fools. My opinion is that a president should be deliberative, and pragmatic. President must be facts oriented and must approach with caution on both domestic and international issues. In dealing with internal turmoil a president must define a mission and the strategy to accomplish the mission for a lasting solution. President should neither waver nor exhibit timidity in executing a thoughtful mission but should regularly reassess the situation for any necessary adjustments in strategy.
Yes, it is time for once and all time solution, a federal solution to the northern mayhem and pogrom but Con IBB and his likes should be the last persons to make this call because they had the opportunity to raise Nigeria but they deliberately chose to ruin the country; what a shame.
The Inescapable: The Doomed Predator and The Invincible but Timid Prey
They love life. They love life for the life itself or for nothingness. They are ready and in did are giving up everything for their love for life. But they love no peace. Or perhaps they misconstrue love of life as love of peace. Truth is that peace like respect is neither given nor guaranteed to anyone or to any society by the goodwill of the others. One’s peace is guarantee by one’s demonstration of the ability and determination to secure it once threatened. Peace, like respect guaranteed by forces without is doomed and the beneficiaries are no better than slaves and the guarantor the master.
Thinking that they are giving peace a chance a people left their homes, villages, towns and cities and went to foreign lands. In the foreign lands they endured insults, racism, discrimination, assaults and all manners of humiliation and tribulation comparable to that that they faced at their native homes. Despite all sorts of humiliation and difficulties they face in the foreign lands these exiles persist and many succeed in finding a perceptional good life and peace guaranteed in many of the nations that host them. Many of these exiles do not understand how their newly found life and peace are assured. They think that life and peace in their new homes are gifts from the host nations and its leaderships to the general citizenry. They neither see nor understand that the guarantee of life and peace in the host nations are the interplays of give and take among the citizens and that the outcome of these interplays is that none is giving nor taking. These exiles willfully fail to understand that the governments and the leaderships in the host nations are but umpires that serve to call out those that tend to tilt this interplay for selfish advantage. Many of these exiles know but choose not to acknowledge that many citizens of the host nations fought and many died and many are prepared to act to guarantee the mutual peaceful life that is manifest in their countries.
By willfully choosing not to acknowledge that peace is neither given nor received but guaranteed by the willingness of every individual to protect their peace these exiles not only demonstrate their lack of an understanding of life but also their willful and ignorant abdication of responsibilities. These exiles' love for live is only unintelligent and guided by the primitive human instinct. Intellect they in did have after all they are humans but to shield themselves from any responsibility they chose to use only the primitive survival instinct of the human mind. To them to live regardless of the quality is the ultimate end. They fail to understand that one can never live unless one first accepts to die. They fail to accept that to live must be to die otherwise life means nothing. They understand not that never died is never lived. They fail to understand that it is never how long but how well. They fail to understand that on that day before their maker the question will not be how peaceable and quietly one lived but the truth one spoke or broughtto bear, the evil that one called out and the peace and general good one guaranteed. The question on that day will not be how far away one ran from evil but how genuinely one confronted it. Canal and Spiritually it has always be about that fight between the good and the evil and not the peace between these two and this is the ultimate work-fight the creator have charged all with.
Yes by their own standard, many of these exiles found economic fortune in the new lands and stayed. While others understandably neither found economic fortune nor peace in the new lands but yet stayed. Naturally he that leaves home to seek fortune returns home to celebrate and enjoy his spoil and even he that finds no fortune returns home to soothe his disappointment. This is not true with many of the exiles that leave Africa for good life in the West. So contrarily to the belief that African immigrants are merely economic migrants, African immigrants are political refuges of their own making and Nigerians in Diasporas are no exception. With so much wealth, so many loaves how can Nigerians go on self exiles to feast on crumbs in foreign lands? Since the very late seventies Nigerians have been leaving the country in droves for greener pasture any where in the world. Truth be told, and everything remaining equal no pasture is greener than Nigerian pasture. Only that Nigerians believe that this pasture that is theirs’ is not within their reach and that pastures in foreign lands are more accessible; what an error in reasoning. What is behind this mind set is not reason rather cowardice, lack of knowledge, lack of understanding, shamelessness and willful rejection of moral responsibilities.
These responsibilities every Nigerian owns to the independent fathers, to future generations, every man owns to his wife, children, neighbor and even to conscience. Many of these exiles may not exercise intelligent recognition of the effect of this abdication of responsibilities and many yet deliberately chose not know the consequence of their cowardly dispositions. But every time in Nigeria a wife, son, daughter, sister, brothermother, father, neighbor is deprived abjectly, meaningfully education,adequate medical treatment, clean drinking water, nourishing food, freedom, civil or human right, justice, equal protection of the law then the willful abdication of responsibilities is made manifest; Every time a Nigerian is brutalized by the police or killed extra judicially; every time a Nigerian have to pay ransom to kidnappers to secure his or her freedom or life; every time a family buries a loved one murdered by kidnappers because the family could not pay ransom for the member's release; every time a Nigerian is extorted by the police, or by public official; all the times that police officers are poorly trained, poorly paid and poorly equipped; every time a public official or any individual becomes the law or above the law; every time a university student had to pay either in kind or cash for a passing grade; the dead public schools; every time a professor refuses to teach and ask for money in exchange for college credit; every time a public school teacher or a university professor is owned months in arrears for teaching services; all the time universities close for months and even years and students denied the opportunity to advance their education, every time there are two societies in one, two neighborhoods one for wealthy criminal leadership and the other for the rest; every time a public official steals public fund; every time an election is marred with fraud; every time an unelected person in uniform or in plain clothe seizes the affairs of the government and dictatorially imposes personal will on the people; every time a judge takes bribe and tilts justice in favor of the most influential or the rich; every time a judge willfully or cowardly misinterprets or ill applies the law; every time a public official, the sons, daughters, wife, concubines, and or relatives of a corrupt public official uses stolen public fund to attendivy-league colleges abroad or medical treatment abroad or live luxury life abroad; every time a governor launders pubic fund overseas; every time a president or his vice, a governor, a minister, a judge, a senior police official, a director of customs, or a senator exports public fund overseas for personal use; every time an election is rigged on half of an unelectable crook, every time a citizen is assassinated for differing politicalaffiliation or opinion; every time a woman had to sleep with an employer private or public for a job; every time a woman dies in labor or an infant dies due to inadequate medical facilities or services; every time a family looses a loved one in a senseless avoidable motor accident due to the deplorable conditions of the nation's road ways; every time a poverty driven ethnic clash occurs; every time public office becomes means for corrupt personal enrichment instead of means of serving the people then willful abdication of responsibilities is made manifest.
Nigerian is a nation blessed by the creator but ruined by ignorantly corrupt primitive leaders. By the very late 70s and horribly by the mid 80s to present, this potential great nation called Nigeria has been hijacked and ruined by barbarians who masked as leaders. The actions of these abhorrent criminal leaders have reduced Nigeria to a banana republic. The tools of trade of these barbarians are ethnic division, abuse of power and position, murder, assassinations, public and private corruption, theft, lawlessness, trampling of the law and the constitution. Over the years the barbaric leaders gingerly and stealthily deployed their tools. Today these corrupt leaders are brazen and shamelessly bold and their actions make medieval kings angelic. These officials serve none but selves and are gods into themselves. These people are gods of deconstruction, gods of chaos and children of perdition. They have called to questions the wisdom of the independent fathers who risked every thing, staked their lives with the conviction of securing and leaving for the future generations free, prosperous and democratic Nigeria. The behavior of these criminals is questioning the timing of Nigeria independent that the independent fathers labored so much for. Truth is that the independent fathers were right and these corrupt leaders are wrong and time will not only make these criminals face the strong arm of justice but they will be blunted from history and the period of their reign of terror declared the dark period, the period time stood still in Nigeria. History will hold the names of these criminals contravene to the constitution, to the law and to the universal morality. In the history book the names of these crooks will be prefixed with Con.
Faced with foreign forces armed to the tooth the independent fathers had little or no chance but they gave all that they had. From the lion’s mouth and with bare hands they wrestled and secured the promise of a free nation. Perhaps, it is not so correct to say that the independent fathers successfully fought for Nigeria independence with nothing. Veritably, the fathers had wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage, will, determination, conviction, unity but above all they had love for the people. These characteristic are mightier than any man made weapon system. The fathers too loved life the real life. They imagine, and dreamed of the real life, they saw the real life and went for it. They secured the real life and the better life not just for themselves but for all generations. They understood that life in bondage, servitude, adversity, deprivation is no better than life not lived. Like the freedom fighters around the globe the fathers understood that life, peace, freedom, and natural rights are not gifts from the powerful or the corrupt to the powerless naïveté but from the creator to all people.
The independent fathers were also religious and understood that on the sixth day God saw that every thing he made was good and complete and so he rested on the seventh day. The fathers understood that the work of the creator he did finished and the remaining work rest with man. The fathers knew to pick up the tools of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage, will, determination, conviction, unity but above all the tool of love, love for the people. May the good Lord bless the souls of these Compatriots. In return for the great gift what did the fathers ask of us? Not much, nothing for themselves but that we love one another and build a free, prosperous and democratic union.
Contrary to the lyrics of the national anthem the criminals masked as leaders that have led the nation since the mid eighties have let the country down and made in vain the work, the hard earned victory, the aspirations, and the love of the independent fathers. In the struggle for independence the fathers confronted the tyrannies of foreign invaders; the enemies without, today Nigerians are faced with the tyrannies of enemies within that bully and terrorize their way to power. These enemies within are no less dangerous than the ones before; in fact they have shown to be cataclysmically dangerous. To defeat these inside enemies Nigerians must employ no lesser than the tools the independent fathers used. These enemies can and must be defeated but make no mistake these enemies are primitively dangerous. Yes, these enemies are vicious and barbaric but they will be easily defeated by a united and determined people. They are thieves and outlaws who must act rabidly because law and time are never on their sides. These criminals know that they have no moral leverage and legitimacy to put a coherent and intelligent fight. And the question is whether Nigerians are prepared to stand, defend and protect that which the independent fathers staked theirs lives for. Would the present generation let the hard earned freedom on the back of the patriot be lost to the vultures that dastardly prey on their own? Would Nigerians especially those in Diasporas standby watch while very few primitive cabals destroyed the gift of great nation that the founding fathers gave us in a platter of gold? Do Nigerians think that these criminals who have for long hijacked power will out of goodwill and of goodness of heart give up power? No, nowhere in the history of man have power usurpers ever voluntarily given up power. Frederick Douglas rightly said that power is never conceded voluntarily but is only restored to the people through the revolution of the deprived and the oppressed: A peaceful revolution, Reverend Martin Luther King JR said those that strife to stop a peaceful revolution only invites a violent one. Do Nigerians think that the manner of good governance will fall from heaven. No, the work of the creator he did finish the remaining work is for the men. The French revolutionists were no less religious but they knew that the fight for good governance was not only right but Godly. The abolitionists in US were not less religious but they knew that faith without work is dead. The revolutionaries in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya and across the Middle East are not less religious but they understand that among men freedom is never free. Nigerians, it is troubling for one to willfully fail oneself and the present generation but it is apocalyptically deadly for one to cowardly and willfully fail the unborn generations whose survivals and future consist on our present actions and or inactions. Nigerians, failure is okay but not doing any thing to save the country from the claws of these barbarians is blasphemous and a sin that cries to heaven.
Nigerians in Diasporas have seen and know good governance, they have the resources, the number, the connections, and the influence but where is their will? They should remember that to whom much is given much is expected of him, no excuses will absolve us from the solemn responsibility to rescue the nation. For those of us in diasporas that have seen the benefits of truth and transparency in governance, know the great need for transparency in governance and understand the supremacy and the beauty of the rule of law but yet collude with the criminally minded leaderships or serve as accessory for the criminal exportation of public wealth overseas; those of us that engage in this mortal sin and crime will be exposed on the day of recompense. Nigerians in Diaspora at best have paid lip service to the deplorable situations in Nigeria because they think they have escaped abject poverty and lawless in the country. Events in Nigerian today have proven this 'escapecism' mentality as delusion. Today Nigerians in Diaspora while on trip to home land are the prime targets of the otherwise good citizens turned criminals by the actions of the criminal leaderships who have over the years hijacked power and liquidated the country. These barbaric leaders use the neglected Nigerian army and police force to protect selves and their neighborhoods while the general citizenry live at the mercy of armed bandits.
Truth is that there are so much Nigerians especially those in Diasporas, can do to make the country a better place for every Nigeria. But to realize a better Nigeria requires patriotic citizens; those citizens willing to scarify all for all and for the nation. Nigerians have had only but few patriots embodied in the independent fathers. Fortunately many citizens can easily become patriotic if only they can correctly answer the basic question of life: And that is, why are we here? For what purpose did the creator put us here on earth? Ignorance of this purpose is the reason many have failed to pursue cause larger than selves. Surprisingly, in every human endeavor, personal or public, legal or illegal, sinful or righteousness humans with the exception of few have unknowingly or misguidedly sought this creator's purpose.
Please send this email to any Nigerian you have his or her email address, by this doing you're part of this peaceful revolution that will usher in the promise of Free, prosperous and democratic Nigeria. Remember, that ocean you see can be made dry by removing one drop at time and that mighty thing made by adding one stuff at a time.
