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April 30, 2006

Why the North Must Not Return to Power

by Lawrence Chinedu Nwobu (Dundalk, Republic of Ireland) --- There has been a consistent pattern of policies and demonstrated intentions by the Caliphate North since the pre-independence era, that has sufficiently exposed their domineering and unprogressive agenda. Consequently the prospect of their return to power is at best a nightmare, and is something that must be prevented at all cost, by any means necessary.

In 1957 when Chief Anthony Enahoro famously moved the motion for independence, The North opposed it, and made certain ridiculous demands which subsequently delayed Nigeria’s independence until 1960.
British colonialists believing they had found a willing ally in the North, because of their earlier opposition to independence, moved to subtly design and aid Northern dominance over other regions. They started by inflating Census numbers in favour of the North, and consolidating on a redrawn map of Nigeria, that gave the North a vastly superior landmass. Ignoring the natural North and South boundaries as demarcated by the River Niger. Thus began the monumental fraud that has largely dogged the nation to-date.

Little wonder that at independence, the nationalists like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Dr Nnamidi Azikiwe that actively fought for independence, were cleverly schemed out of power. Not too surprisingly, the North that actively worked against independence mounted the saddle of power (Courtesy of the British).Tafawa Balewa a hardly educated Northern politician, bereft of any ideas for strategic economic, and social development, became the Prime Minister and head of government. His regime was marked by inter-regional wrangling, rigging of elections and population census results in favour of the Feudal North, and massive social unrest that led to daily massacres in the Western region (We-tie).
Beyond all logic, his regime technically ignored the crisis in the Western region, leading to an escalation in the crisis, and the subsequent frame up and arrest of Chief Obafemi Awolowo for complicity in a phantom coup plot. He was subsequently tried and jailed by the Tafawa Balewa administration.

Consequent upon the continuing social unrest, public opinion and the press turned against the Prime minister Tafawa Balewa regime, such that they were open calls for a coup. Long before the jan.1966 coup, there were already rumours of an impending coup which was directly linked to the social crisis at the time.The Jan.1966 coup itself was initially very popular as people jubilated openly in the streets, before it was conveniently reclassified an Igbo coup.
In July 1966 there was a so called counter coup by the North, against the General Aguiyi Ironsi’s regime that had succeeded Prime minister Tafawa Balewa’s government. The Northern coup was not in any way like any known or conventional coup. Rather than concentrating on eliminating Igbo political and military leaders (since it was supposedly a counter coup against the Igbo leadership) Northern military officers and civilians went into town and started the wholesale slaughter and massacre of Igbo and other Eastern Nigerians. At the last count up to 50,000 civilians were slaughtered.

The scale and scope of the massacres, made it more of a genocidal attempt, than a coup. I am yet to see anywhere in the world where coups are done by killing tens of thousands of civilians.
The Northern mutineers probably appreciated the consequences and implications of their actions, which necessitated their declaring the unconventional counter coup, a secessionist coup (Araba).Their stated intention was to secede from the rest of Nigeria. Lt Col. Yakubu Gowon had preparatory to the planned Northern secession famously announced that “there was no basis for Nigerian unity”.
The Northern somersault from a planned secession, to a policy of “keeping Nigeria one at all cost” led to the civil war, which was occasioned by the unprecedented large scale massacre of Eastern civilians. It is highly predictable, that had the North concentrated their counter coup on the elimination of Igbo political leaders, and the subsequent seizure of power there would have been no war.

The North succeeded in forming a coalition against the Eastern region in the prosecution of the Civil war. Undoubtedly other Nigerians were misled into believing that the North had a genuine and sincere motive for the quest to preserve a united Nigeria. However the end of the war, and it’s aftermath have largely unmasked and revealed the true intentions of the North. Basking in the glory of the civil war victory, they designed a pattern of marginalisation and containment of the Igbo,which has continued to date, and gradually extended the marginalisation to their erstwhile allies. The North ensured that they dominated all strategic positions in the military, and federal government parastatals,occasionally giving some insignificant positions to their civil war allies. The mindset of the North as regards the absolute control of power,is in line with their belief, that they are “Born to rule”.
With the exception of Gen.Olusegun Obasanjo, who accidentally became head of state, after the unexpected assassination of General Murtala Muhammed.The long list of heads of states since independence have been Northerners.

Their determination to prevent any Southerner from getting to power became more manifest, when the June 12 elections acclaimed to be the freest and fairest was cancelled, in spite of the fact that Chief Moshood Abiola himself a Muslim, was running on a Muslim, Muslim ticket.
Following the heat generated by the cancellation of the June 12 elections, the North began a frantic search for a Southerner they can control and trust to return “their power back to them” after a few years, so that they can continue their unbroken run on power unfettered.
Their search settled on President Olusegun Obasanjo, not because they loved him, but because they felt they could trust him having delivered the first time around.
There are reports that President Olusegun Obasanjo was asked to sign certain documents, probably to guarantee retention of the status quo.

Northern rule which lasted for 36 out of the 45 years of independence is a classical study in mismanagement, incompetence, corruption, tyranny, ethnic and religious intolerance. The unitary system of government, which ironically was one of the reasons the July 1966 counter coupists claimed they had to strike, was maintained and strengthened in outright disregard of Nigeria’s diversity. Ethnic and religious killings of Southern Christians resumed in the North less than 10 years after the civil war, and has continued to date. There is abundant evidence that Northern Politicians and religious leaders sponsor the riots, but to date no single Northerner has faced trial for such ritual periodic killings.
It is instructive to note that no senior Northern politician has ever condemned the periodic killings of Christians in the North.

Neither the Arewa consultative forum, nor Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, nor Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, nor Vice president Atiku Abubakar,amongst others has ever condemned such killings, or taken any major initiatives to put a final stop to such killings. This aptly demonstrates their tacit support for such heinous and barbaric crimes. Indeed there is hardly any surprise, considering that the Northern leadership under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida successfully smuggled Nigeria into the “Organisation of Islamic countries” OIC, in blatant disregard of Nigeria’s religious diversity.

Political experts have variously proposed a return to regionalism, and devolution of power’s as the best formula for the management of Nigeria’s diversity, within the framework of a negotiated constitution. But the North have consistently remained the greatest opposition to a restructured, equitable, and just Nigeria. The insistence on maintaining a lopsided status quo that is gradually sending the nation to an early grave, just because it favours them, is a clear demonstration of arrogance and insensitivity.
On one hand the North is loudest about maintaining a united Nigeria, on the other hand, they are the most intolerant of other Nigerians, which technically amounts to eating their cake, and still having it.

We do not need a crystal ball to realise, that the North’s present quest to return to power come 2007, is not because they have any positive agenda. The North is not and will probably never be repentant. Simply speaking their only agenda is to reconstitute the caliphate Army, and resume this time an unbroken run on power, with all the attendant negative consequences, I foresee Nigeria becoming like Sudan if the North by any act of omission is allowed to return to power. Nigerians are presently trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea, torn between the risk of power returning to the North, and President Olusegun Obasanjo’s 3rd term agenda. I dare say President Olusegun Obasanjo is a lesser evil. Most Nigerians prefer and are actually working towards Obasanjo’s handover to a technocrat from the South-south or Southeast, this would in any case be the greatest boost for our nascent democracy.
But if circumstances make this scenario impossible, I would rather President Obasanjo remains in office, rather than handing over to the caliphate North.
We must not forget so soon that the present unjust, unitary structure, exploitative, and miserably poor Nigeria we have today, bereft of electricity, pipe borne water, quality healthcare, and education is largely the making of the caliphate North. The North’s return to power would send us progressively back into the stone age. And withought any doubt, no Southerner will ever be allowed to smell the Aso rock seat again.

Lawrence Chinedu Nwobu
Dundalk, Republic of Ireland
Email:[email protected]

Posted by Administrator at 06:28 AM | Comments (3)

Bleeding Heart: Bahamas

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- There is always this feeling that hits me every time I meet peoples of African descent. These rather unique feelings of mine wells-up, each time that I meet Africans, other than, continental Africans.

I think it is an indescribable feeling of loss and nostalgia. And yet it is a feeling that I cannot quite describe precisely. These are very strong feelings all the same.

When I look into the eyes of people of African descent, when I gaze at the complexions of people who are clearly Africans, but for, the brutal history of slave trade and slavery, I feel a mixture of reacquainting and loss.

I often cry quiet, painful tears when I meet African Americans. I sob equally as when I traveled through Jamaica’s different Parishes. What I saw in Kingston was not different from what I had seen in Negril, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay etc.

When I visit the West Indies or the Island Nations of the Caribbean, I meet people who are clearly my long-lost cousins, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and all other members of my extended African family of yesteryears. Africans inside and outside of the African continent possess unmistakable gaits about them. There are these seen and unseen indelible African-ness about people of African descent wherever they are located on God’s good earth. Despite the forced-dispersal from the continent almost a millennium ago, our African siblings remain authentically and genuinely replicas and representatives our collective forbears.


Here I am in Bahamas and every person I meet, gives me the soulful embrace and reminder of the fact that they are the blood of my blood, the bone of my bone and that we are kit and kin. Our collective origins are unmistakable. It is always so obvious!

This was made clear starting from the moment that I arrived at airport in Nassau Bahamas and unto stations of the immigration officials and their customs counterparts, to the taxi operators and the hotel concierge. The lady who delivered Domino Pizza to my Wyndham Hotels lobby with her right-hand-steered car, during one of the afternoons, when I felt an urge for pizza. Different shades of chocolate skins. Africans, all!

Everyone, of them had an attribute, a quality and a manner that established them as one of my own. My eyes conducted instant DNA analyses per second and they were all perfect match each and every time.

It is as if a bolt of lightening hits me with joy! Joy, for the opportunity to meet these, long lost family members again. My family members long-lost lost to the twin-evils, of slavery and colonialism. Then almost simultaneously, I am hit with a ferocious sadness, in the realization that the presence of people of African descent outside of Africa had not been of their own free-will. African descendants’ presences outside of Africa were the outcomes of man’s inhumanity to man of the worst type. Africans in the West Indies or Caribbean which Bahamas is part, did not emigrate here! They were bundled here, they were herded here, literarily, kicking and screaming! The forced migrations of Africans during slavery were without the benefits of Chaucer like pilgrims’ tale or the Mayflower Pilgrims in the Americas. African slaves were before the Mayflower and before all others

The evils, the brutalities and the gores of slavery and the colonialism, that followed in all of Africa are not spoken of or written of enough. And equally, our African descendants that were dispersed to all the continents and corners of the world through the same process are not spoken of or written of enough. There is a common thread, a common causal connection between the plights and predicaments of peoples of African descent.

Revisionists are quick to minimize the effects and after effects, of the evils, horrors, brutalities and gores of slavery. We must never forget! How can we forget the far reaching consequences and ramifications of slavery? Slavery as a phenomenon had a process that entailed unimaginable and unfathomable horrors, so many unknowns and unknowable. Including the sudden shocks of uprooting Africans from their families and friends and all familiar of their lives before the snatchings, kidnappings, branding and sale in manners reserved for animals with less dignity compared with farm animals. Africans were hauled to strange-lands and to strangers of the unknowns.


Africa is certainly not under-peopled. The current challenges on the African continent, therefore does not have depopulation as a factor. But we must remember or restate and emphasize that humans are a part of the resources of any society. The snatchings, kidnappings and mass exportations of Africa’s human resources were gross deprivations.

Additionally, there were other profound adverse effects on peoples of African descent which were and still remain consequences of slavery. Africans were on the continent and off, deprived of languages, culture, religion, foods, songs and dance and lives and loves.


Peoples of African descent are found in Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Jamaica, Haiti, St Kitts & Nieves, Panama, Puerto Rico, New Guinea, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Australia’s Aborigines etc. Even now, the economies are similarly plagued by the lopsidedness of globalization, pretentious free-trade and all tenets of capitalism.

I saw a movie titled “Life & Debt” a tale about the economic ravages of Jamaica caused primarily by the preachments of free market, which in effect is a one way benefits in favor of America and Europe who are too willing to subsidize their farmers and industrial producers, who are then able to dump their products in developing nations, at the expense of local aspiring entrepreneurs and their enterprises or business endeavors. Depressed markets now abound in Africa and the Caribbean. Devalued currencies are now our lot.

While here at the Wyndham Hotels Resorts, the Prime Minister of Bahamas and the Governor General attended an event which I attended as well, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarian Association. The Prime of Bahamas touched on the dramatic effects of economic decisions by Europeans. In particular, he referred to how the mainstay of St. Kitts and Dominica, Sugar Cane, were sent tumbling down as Europeans continue to subsidize their farmers.

He described what happened to these Caribbean economies, as a drop into the abyss. He recounted how only Trinidad & Tobago which relies on petroleum oil production as major income earner, and some other Island nations with heavy traffic of tourist, earned enough to retain and maintain good quality of life. African peoples in the continent and in the Diaspora continue to be affected immensely by external factors and actions by Americans and Europe.

A delegate from Guyana made the point succinctly. African peoples are connected in every way and we essentially face the same challenges. She made that point as she presented a pendant to a South African delegate. She made reference to struggles by peoples of African descent and the recent struggles by South Africans against apartheid. We are all connected in good times and in not so good times.

There were, there are, for the Africans therefore, a multifaceted series of losses. Tangible and intangible losses; Physical and psychological injuries and wounds that remains.

Here in Bahamas, as I look into every eye of every person of African descent that I meet, I see myself, my family that are 500 years plus removed and all, and I ask myself repeatedly, how can any human do this to another human, for profit or whatever excuse?
Our peoples were snatched, kidnapped and dispersed. Our peoples were yanked and taken thousands of miles across the earth and now, we are part of the gorgeous mosaic of the earth, pervasive economic travails and all, in all the seven continents of the earth!

My one week of business, politics and recreation in the Bahamas is almost at an end, and I rededicate my passion and love for all Nigerians, all Africans and all peoples of African descent, wherever they are located on earth! We are one people eternally linked.

As my one week stay here in the Bahamas Islands comes to an end, I sob silently, I bleed quietly. I am in a sense, crying a millennium of tears for the hardships and sufferings that peoples of African descent have endured our lot on earth. I am elated that I have met all these long-lost family members from our continent and I wonder what they feel when they see me. In their eyes, I see me.

And now, as I set to leave this gorgeous Island nation, I am ambivalently joyous and saddened.

Paul I. Adujie
[email protected]
New York, United States

Posted by Administrator at 06:18 AM | Comments (0)

How to become any Ethnic Africana

by Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa --- Ethnicity is the word we used today to delineate ourselves into local groups, regions, tribes, sometimes into countries and races with little meaning, just that others can be grouped as aliens from space for immigration purposes.

But then, if you go into space, you will find Nigerians. They adapt to everywhere! Whether we like it or not, ethnicity is a reality today in the different environments we find ourselves. How we assimilate depends on our approach to the host community in most cases.

It becomes more difficult if you are white trying to pass for black or vice versa. There is that one drop of black blood rule among whites and behavior rule among Africans even when you are African. The amount of tolerance among Africans is unprecedented compared to anywhere else, which has been blamed for the ease by which we were taken slaves. Those who know how to adapt sincerely to local African culture gain their reward by their assimilation. Whites, who submitted themselves to African culture, were accorded African hospitality than Africans in Diaspora who have taken acceptance for granted. Is that the case for spouses?

Hastily, I have to add that this is not the same as economic advantages in Africa where foreigners are not there with their hearts but for their pockets to make money in a jiffy. If Africans are so generous in accepting others into their local culture, we may ask, how come we have all these Ethnic conflicts all over the Continent? Greed.

In this day of ethnic patriotism, it is not unseemly for an American President to visit his ancestral home in Ireland or wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, for Mexican President to visit Spain or Canadian Prime Minister to visit France. In Nigeria, we call for Ibibio, Ijaw, Igbo, Hausa and Nupe Presidents too. This visceral magnet can be combustible to a point. It was only yesterday that the father of President Kennedy wondered aloud why an Irishman and a Catholic was not American enough to become the President of United States. This ethnic pull can be so strong; it may deprive us of being a Roman in Rome.

Yet, there are many Nigerians who are lost in Europe and America. As hard as it is to become French, some Nigerians find their way into their bosoms. I read a story about Africans trying to pass for Black Americans in Japan because of the respect anticipated. Believe it or not, in spite of the riots in Nigeria, there are Southerners that are not seen as such in the North because no one can tell the difference. The same is true in the South and between the localities where their ethnicity melts into the host culture.

This is an impossible feat for the rest of us. Even when we want to, that ethnic magnet resists. There were cases where someone that had just submitted to being a Roman, would ask those there, generations before him, where he came from. In the States, it is not unlikely for a new European immigrant in his heavy accent, to ask an African who had been there before Columbus, where he came from.

The first time I brought my son home, he was about nine years old. I made the mistake of not getting him a visa, do not try it these days. (A friend of mine who did witnessed the dollar dance.) As we got to the Airport we ran into problems. While we were arguing about deportation, one of the immigration Officers asked him what he is. He exclaimed – I am an African! A few days later, I took him to Bar Beach for the first time, he asked me what those many white people were doing there. I was surprised because some of those whites were Africans and he just got into Africa, claiming the place to himself.

Nevertheless, there are so much ethnic conflicts about turf in Africa. If we know what to do and how to fit into foreign lands, it takes less effort to fit into our host communities in Nigeria or Africa. That will mean respecting host culture and custom to become part of them but retaining the story of our sojourn for our children. There is a lesson in the recent demonstrations in the US. By carrying the flag of Mexico in your face, as it seemed, the silent majority was repulsed. As the tactic changed to white tee shirts and American flags, all colors joined. We noticed a change of minds in public opinions. It is called submission and inclusion of the host community. It is not, who had the land then, but who has it now!

There is that fear in us as we grow older about who would inherit our primordial culture if we give it up completely for that of host community or if we can perpetuate it on the host community. The balance between the two or how far one should swing is the problem we have in Nigeria. The extreme solution would make us indistinguishable from Kanuri in Kano, Igbo in Oweri or Yoruba in Ibadan. That may kill diversity and secular beliefs but some habits have to give way to gain the confidence of the host community.

During the Back to Africa days of Marcus Garvey, many blacks developed a sense of worthiness and gained enough confidence to establish their own businesses including a shipping line. This flowed into the days of Macauley, Nkruma, Azikiwe, Awolowo, Kenyatta etc influencing many blacks back to Africa. Those were the latest waves of Africans that came home and they were assimilated into the local cultures as a result of which, one can hardly distinguished them today apart from history from their children. That their parents were West Indians or Americans did not retard their progress. Stockley Carmichaels went from a Trinidadian to American Civil Rights worker to New Guinean.

Before them were the freed slaves returning home from Americas and Europe. Some of them eventually returned to their local homelands while others settled anywhere as in Liberia which was the cause of another conflict still ranging today. It started between the indigenes and the returned slaves who see themselves as Americans back to wrestle away leadership, but were actually arrogant Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa that missed road. Others did not need DNA to come back to their localities. They spoke the language or dialect and remember their names with their European or Arabic names given to them. Their assimilation into the culture they left behind was not as incongruent as in Liberia. Those that never made it back knew for sure what localities they came from. They spoke, wrote and invoke their culture in their struggle abroad.

One of them was Mohammad Ali Ben Nicholas Said, a Kanuri from Bornu in Nigeria. He traveled to many European and American Countries as a free man speaking and writing in different languages. He was a Sergeant in the Abolitionist Army in Boston, a Professor who established schools of learning for blacks in Alabama. He wrote his autobiography in 1873 that has now been resurrected by Rasheeda Muhammad and Allan Austin’s book.

Gustav Vassa Olaudah Equiano was a well known Igbo slave who gained his freedom in1766. He was a writer of many books. He wrote a vivid description of his Africa home,
and the way slaves were maltreated. He was a war hero who petitioned the Queen of England in 1788 and published his popular autobiography a year later. From his days as slave going through the tribulations, ups and down of living and making it outside his continent to his prosperous days, he encountered obstacles that would destroy many of us today. He was briefly part of the Igboland in Virginia. He died before he could complete his mission to Sierra Leone or made his way back home.

Samuel Ajayi Crowder was captured in Osogun, Oyo State in 1821. He made his way back to Sierra Leone and later returned to Abeokuta where he became the first African Bishop. Like the other two Abolitionists above, he spoke many languages. Furthermore he taught in Hausa, Igbo and other “Native” languages. He translated the Bible into Yoruba, wrote the first primer in Igbo in 1857and Nupe in1860.

Lady Phyllis Wheatley from Gambia was the first black poet whose writing became a big deal in Boston in the 1760s. In 1791 an escaped slave Boukman invoked Voodoo in the name of Ogun, the god of iron and war among his followers to liberate his people in Haiti from oppression of slavery. There are so many African survivals stories in all localities.

These Abolitionists, despite all odds were able to fit into each of their local communities and rose above injustice, hatred and love of their hosts teaching the rest of us lessons of life. We can learn a great deal from others in Nigeria, in Africa today on how to adapt to and excel in any community we find ourselves. So why can’t we respect our hosts' customs, culture and adapt in friendly localities that spread welcome mats?

I entered a Cuban store in the US some years ago and noticed that the music was in a deep Yoruba dialect. Then a Cuban Babalawo was invited to give a lecture I attended. I was moved that Yoruba, Igbo, Ibibio and Hausa languages are still spoken by those who had not been to Africa for some generations. Without DNA, they know exactly their own localities. Those who do not are tracing their family trees back.

I always say that my name hardly identify me as an African. That is why my oriki, Omo Aresa is used after my name. It is an indelible mark like an ethnic mark on the face that most Yoruba recognize as the son of the soil originating from Ife to Oyo to Isale Eko. The Awori, Saro, Brazilian and American slave descendants in my family have married and succumbed into Yoruba culture of Lagos. If most Africans embrace their local communities as many of us did, the amount of conflict we have in our Country and in Africa in general will be greatly reduced.

Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa

[email protected]

Posted by Administrator at 05:55 AM | Comments (1)

April 17, 2006

Otunba Nicholas Tofowomo Interview: On INEC, EVM, Third Term Agenda

by Otunba Nicholas Tofowomo (London, UK) --- Otunba Nicholas Tofowomo is the Director of Publicity and Organisation AD Europe, Ondo State Chapter and the current Chairman of Isedale Yoruba in the Diaspora. In this interview on the Internet with Prince Olu Adegboro of Oodua Voice an Akure, Ondo State based weekly newspaper; he speaks on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the controversial Electronic Voting Machine (EMV) and Third Term Agenda (TTA).

Nigerians should say no to Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)
-
Tofowomo.

1. What is your general perception about Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and do you see it as an independent body?

Independent National Electoral Commission should be an Independent body operating without any undue interference from outside agencies including political parties and government. But activities of Independent National Electoral Commission do not befit the name it’s called, because I do not see INEC as an independent organisation. This is a body that had earlier recognised Chief Bisi Akande as the chairman of Alliance for Democracy after witnessing a well organised and attended national convention in Lagos, subsequently; this same body withdrew its decision, without any meaningful reason. Any organisation that makes inconsistent decision because of undue influence is not credible. An Independent body should be competent and credible in their decisions and activities. I don’t think INEC has these qualities. I am of the opinion that INEC is an invisible quasi extension of presidency. It is a known fact that 2003 election was massively rigged all over the country where marked ballot papers and boxes were openly substituted for cast votes at polling centres, with the aid of security agents and without any form of protest from INEC.

An organisation that cannot organise and conduct a free and fair election is not competent and credible, and cannot be trusted; therefore there is an urgent need for electoral reforms that would reorganise INEC in order to rebuild its image without delay. The massive rigging of 2003 was a big embarrassment to the nation and we cannot continue like this, because it is getting to an unbearable point. The present registration of new political parties does not accord INEC any credibility or transparency because the principal game plan is the election process of 2007 and not the registration of political parties, which politicians in opposition must be vigilant about, or else we will be fooled again. Past election malpractices is clear evidence that INEC is not independent because they could not challenge election malpractices of the ruling party. The chairman of INEC and all its directors are appointed by presidency, which makes it, subordinate. Other political parties do not have a say in its composition, therefore it is a caricature of electoral processes and its unfair.

2. Why are you concerned about its composition?

The appointment of INEC chairman and its directors is made by presidency, which is unfair. A body that controls the heart beat of all the political parties should not be left to government controlled by PDP to solely appoint its principal officers. It would have been fair if other political parties have a say in the appointment of the chairman and its directors through a proportional representation process. It is obvious that favouritism and foul play could not be ruled out when government controlled by PDP appoints all INEC directors and its chairman, and their main responsibility is to conduct election that involves all political parties including the ruling party, which I think its laughable and a mockery of free and fair election. The composition of INEC directors must be reviewed without delay through electoral reforms because there is no trust in the current process, therefore INEC could not be seen as a transparent body.

3. Are you saying because of its composition INEC could not be seen to conduct a free and fair election?

It will be unfair to completely rubbish INEC because of its composition, but we have to be realistic and practical in our approach. INEC must be restructured before a free and fair election could be guaranteed. Unfortunately, INEC’s past records at conducting free and fair election is not really encouraging, but there is always a learning process to everything. I will assume the past election experience was a learning curve where INEC ballot papers and boxes, which should not be found with any individual or any political party were freely available to politicians, and used to rig elections. In view of the fact that the government controlled by PDP solely appoint top officials to manage the affairs of INEC, makes it difficult for other political parties to receive fair treatment, because it will be easy to manipulate INEC to the disadvantage of other political parties.

A collective responsibility and full involvement of all political parties through a workable electoral reforms would sanitise and assist INEC in conducting a free and fair election, because no political party would find it easy to manipulate election results. It is unfortunate that our politicians don’t normally like vacating office voluntarily except when forced out; therefore they would always want to influence a free and fair election to their own advantage, which translate to influencing INEC decisions. Not until this unfairness is resolved, I cannot see INEC conducting a free and fair election. For instance the introduction of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to conduct 2007 election, which I refer to as rigging made easy devise want to be imposed on the electorates for obvious reasons. If Nigerians don’t wake up and probe into the use of EVM openly, we would not only have ourselves to blame, but we would be fooled electronically.

4. INEC is proposing an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) for 2007 general election. Are you saying that e-voting system would not aid free and fair election?

The last election was fraudulent and disastrous, some of the electoral petitions are still pending in the court of law, three years after 2003 general elections, which does not give INEC a good image. Hardly do you hear of election petition in England, because election is very straightforward without any form of manipulation. The use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) will make the opposition and electorates look like a fool and its process would be difficult to challenge in the court of law, because court will only rely on documentary evidence, and probing into its manipulation would be very difficult to substantiate. INEC that could not conduct a free and fair manually, now they want to graduate to conducting elections electronically. Do INEC think we are fools?

Electronic Voting Machine is rigging made easy devise, it can be re-configured easily with sophisticated software to produce unrealistic results. Electronic experts would confirm that machines of this nature could be re-configured from any part of the world if they are chipped, these chips would be so tiny to detect. If we allow Electronic Voting Machine in Nigeria, we don’t need a prophet to predict the results, it will be more than land slide victory for the ruling party and it will be devastating and embarrassing. Electronic Voting Machine would actualise the game plan of turning Nigeria into a one party state if this devise is approved. It is obvious; the ruling party in conjunction with INEC are working together to determine the political formula of 2007, and how other political parties would be caged electronically. That is why INEC is not bothered registering every tom, dick and harry as a political party, because they know it’s meaningless to the game plan on ground. The National Assembly should not approve the Electronic Voting Machine because of its implication on our political future. This machine is part of the agenda to see President Obasanjo actualise his ambition without any opposition, because there will be no need for a serious campaign, considering the fact that Electronic Voting Machine will follow detailed and programmed instructions. Nigerians should reject the machine and let us adopt a more transparent form of conducting elections that would be acceptable and uncontroversial. EVM is expensive, unfriendly considering the country’s literacy level and very easy to manipulate.

5. What voting method would you propose to INEC for 2007 elections?

In Nigeria we get easily carried away with imported technology without considering its implications and applications. INEC want to use electronic voting machine when they have not conducted a hitch free election manually. In England where democracy is institutionalised, election is held manually and counted manually without any complications. All election results are declared within 24 hours because of its straightforwardness. INEC does not have any transparent electoral legacy to build upon; therefore trying to introduce electronic voting system when majority of Nigerians are not electronically inclined is suspicious and questionable. There is definitely a game plan to impose electronic voting on the electorates, which I suggest we must resist.

The only credible election held in this country was held in June 12 1993 during General Babangida’s regime when option A 4 was used, where statistics indicated Late M.K.O Abiola won. It was peacefully conducted because of its advantages. Option A4 is election friendly and not complicated because of its swiftness and transparency. The only way forward for Nigeria polity is to organise a free and fair election. I will advise INEC to use option A4 to conduct the next election because millions of naira will be saved from importing EVM, and they will spend less on logistics. Also option A4 will reduce election litigation significantly. INEC would also not waste time and resources training officers how to operate EVM. Option A4 does not require electricity, solar power or battery compared to EVM.

6. What is your opinion about the third term agenda, which may give opportunity to Mr President and governors contest in 2007?

President Obasanjo has really made his mark, considering the fact that the country was in a mess when he became the president in 1999. I congratulate him for sustaining democracy for 7 years, which is a record in the history of Nigeria polity. Mr President has tackled corruption to a remarkable level, our foreign relations have improved significantly, and foreign reserves have increased too. The banking industry has been completely sanitised. Nigeria is now moving in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go in the areas of electricity power supply, water supply, policing and internal security, health care, education and employment.

The third term agenda is unnecessary because anybody who is opportune to serve this country as a President for 8 years without any major embarrassment should thank God, and allow other capable Nigerian to continue his good work in order to inject better ideas into the system. President Obasanjo could not pretend that he’s not part of the agenda. It’s laughable when everybody is shifting blame on Mr President’s sycophants. If Mr President were not interested he would have stopped the crusade at its inception. Mr President doesn’t waste time in stamping his authority immediately when he doesn’t agree with a course. For example he hates corrupt officers and he’s using EFCC and ICPC to wage war against them day and night, not minding criticisms from various quarters about the witch hunting approach used. I am convinced if Mr President is not interested in a third term he will not play along the way he’s dancing round the third term agenda by keeping quiet.

I believe those who are clamouring for a third term on behalf of Mr President and the Governors have the blessing of the president. I am convinced President Obasanjo is using every available strategy to make it look as if he’s not the engineer of the agenda, but its obvious that he’s the driving force behind constitutional amendments for a third term and the galvanising of people’s support for his continuation in office, which would be enough consideration for him to put his name forward on the platform of his party to contest the next election. I believe if this arrangement should go according to plan, the likes of Gen. Babangida, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, Gen. Buba Marwa, Gov Orji Kalu and other aspirants in his party will be pressurised to drop their aspiration for Mr President.

This dream could not be achieved without the help of sycophants who are ready to use all available means to actualise Mr President’s ambition. It is very unfortunate that ideology has no place in our political system anymore, because our political managers have compromised what they used to stand for by joining the third term agenda crusade. These days ideologist turn to sycophants overnight because of money and contracts. Most of the people and agencies clamouring for a third term are enemies of Nigeria and they should be stopped with every reasonable means before they derail Nigeria democratic structure. Also I see these sycophants as the worst enemy of Mr President because they are not being sincere with him. I think he should have a second thought about this unnecessary agenda before its too late.

Mr President is tactically pursing a dangerous political path that will destroy his credibility; legacies and good image if he thinks Nigerians can be taken for granted, anyway, let us wait and see. The third term agenda is a selfish idea and those who are orchestrating this greedy concept to fuel Mr President’s ambition are threading on a container load of gunpowder, and when it explodes, the consequence will be devastating. I hope Mr President would not be giving flimsy excuses that its God’s intervention or that 4 year, 2 terms is not enough to execute his programme, but if he should give any of these excuses, I would conclude that he has not mapped out his programme effectively and put a workable structure in place, therefore, extending his term for another 4 years would only create more burden.

7. Don’t you think some people want Mr President to continue because there is no immediate replacement?

Those people who are claiming that President Obasanjo has no immediate replacement are members of his political party, who are making fortune from his administration and they know that Mr President’s continuation in office would also prolong their selfish interest. These people are insulting Nigerians and they should be stopped immediately. Anybody who is claiming that there is no immediate replacement for Mr President, apart from the fact that they are myopic in their thinking about the qualities of leaders we have, I think they need help, because Nigerians are recognised all over the world for their talents and qualities they possess. I don’t pray for any bad thing to happen to Mr President, but if anything should go wrong, are we going to turn to the western world to provide a replacement because we don’t have capable people? These sycophants who are claiming there is no immediate replacement owe Nigerians apology because they are insulting our integrity whenever they express this unfortunate view.

Most of the people who are championing the third term agenda are in PDP, therefore they are telling the nation that President Obasanjo is the best their party could produce, which is laughable and embarrassing. There are endemic problems in this country, which needs urgent attention. The level of poverty is skyrocketing daily, which this administration could not tackle effective, unemployment is increasing daily, Nigeria has the highest number of graduate unemployment in the world. Our educational system is in shambles, universities are under funded, our health care is a disgrace, and regular interrupted electricity power supply is still a major problem, which is paralysing many businesses daily. It is not an overstatement that our economic resources have not been utilised properly to alleviate these endemic problems, therefore if we fail to address all these problems and allow presidential sycophants to glorify President Obasanjo as the messiah and allow him another 4 years in office, I think we may end up causing political mayhem, which may derail our democracy completely.

8. What is your advise to Mr President?

I know Mr President has made up his mind to either complete his two terms with dignity and retire or ignore what people like me says, because Mr President has a choice, but my prayer is that God should minister to him so that he could weigh the implications of extending his tenure through kangaroo constitutional amendment that will give him an opportunity to contest 2007 election, and winning with the help of Electronic Voting Machine, or allow a credible successor to build on his achievements and legacy. I don’t think Mr President see himself as the luckiest Nigerian, because nobody has had it good like him either as a military officer or as a politician.

Mr President should not allow paraphernalia of office derail his unique principle and distaste for people clinging onto power more than necessary. He should focus on the remaining one-year of his administration and disband his sycophants at all levels with immediate effect. Mr President should make a public statement without delay to quell the tension third term agenda is causing in the country, because I would like to believe that President Obasanjo would like his legacies to continue, than clinging onto power unnecessarily. Our president should make history by handing over to an elected president in 2007 and let his name be written on a platter of Gold. He should weigh the consequences of bulldozing his way for a third term, which may end up as a political catastrophe. President Obasanjo should not emulate some African presidents who change their constitution indiscriminately to suit their selfish end, because Nigerians could not be taken for granted. Mr President should emulate Nelson Mandela and his good friend President Tabo Mbeki of South Africa and consolidate his international statesmanship.

Posted by Administrator at 01:04 AM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2006

A Celebration of Life's Beauties

by Henry Chukwuemeka Onyeama (Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria) --- For once, dear readers, I decided to momentarily put behind me the troubles of our world. Actually, we can never forget them – they are always there till we get rid of them or they get rid of us – but there are certain beauties of life which we tend to overlook.

Well, maybe not exactly over overlook; more like understate. An occasional celebration of those who continue to wind the clock of my life is one of them, especially when I remember there are times I feel like completely shutting down the clock.

There is good old Mummy, Josephine Chinyere Onyeama. Back in April Mothers’ Sunday was celebrated in my country, Nigeria. To my shame I never got to travel home or even phone. That would have bathed Mum’s lovely face with smiles. My brother, the smart guy, who lives even further away from home got around to phoning. All the same, Mummy never held it against me. She, more than anyone else, knows and understands the powerful cords that bind our hearts together from one Mothers’ Sunday to another.

‘Mother is Gold’ is as old as Genesis, yet newer than the latest election results from USA in 2008. But for me, what is so special, so unique about this woman who God gave the assignment of nurturing a guy like me – not the easiest job on earth, I assure you – is her warm adjustment to the various facets of motherhood. Many mothers find it hard to accept that yesterday’s toddler is today’s teenager, let alone tomorrow’s adult. I used to be mad at such mums, but as I made my way through this crazy but beautiful world my attitude changed: it is not easy to let go. Especially in a society that is changing so fast, where identities, faiths and philosophies are as unpredictable as hemlines and hairstyles. The dangers are so many and we know mothers never stop worrying. But then everyone has to find his or her own feet, and the strains of love can be occasionally unbearable. Blessed is the mother who understands her role at each phase of the child’s life. At thirty, I know her door is always open but she does not compel me to come calling, even when motherly instincts threaten to get out of hand.

What does it mean to be deprived of a mother? I use the word ‘deprive’ with concern - I am not referring to mothers who shuffle off the mortal coil naturally, though that is painful enough, or get tired of the sweet burden of mothering and throw in the towel. If Chika Unigwe’s ‘The Secret’ is anything to go by, such mothers are rare commodities in Africa. I am referring to conflict-riddled societies, which pluck mothers from their children’s trees. From Darfur, Sudan to Iraq there are generations who have not enjoyed the presence of these earthly angels. Do these men and women (some who, amazingly, are mothers) know what they are doing to the children? The pulsating and universal bond evoked by motherhood brought all attention to a heart-rending standstill in the wake of the London terrorist bombings when a Nigerian mother, Mrs. Marie Fatayi-Williams, sought to know why her son fell to the killers’ bombs. She may never know, but for that brief few minutes in which the world focused on the agony of a mother, all of us (including terrorists, I hope) felt the power of motherhood.

Daddy, the sturdy, gracefully maturing – I refuse to use the word ageing – oak is one hell of a guy. Like most fathers, Martin Onyeama tends to take a backseat. All over the world fathers are less celebrated than mothers. But you will never know what a father means till you wake up one morning and don’t see him. I do not care how old you are; it takes something out of you, no matter how great or lousy your relationship was with the old man. It is even more poignant if, like me, you are a first son in an African setting. For me, the special thing about Daddy is that he gave me the freedom to be what I wanted to be. He rarely belaboured my backside as a child but I always felt more deeply hurt if he knew about my misdeeds.

Our relationship is notches better than that of Cain and Abel but my siblings, Charles, Julie and Amauche, are diamonds on some days and dross on others. At least, when we were much younger. Now the challenges of adulthood have turned us into great friends. Each sibling has a unique spice that flavours our fraternal stew: Charles’ humour and commonsense, Julie’s sharp but kind tongue, and Amauche’s boldness.
Friends are great, and just as there are eggs and eggs, there are friends and friends. Ikenna Odife is right out of the top drawer. We first met in 1998 when I was a third year undergraduate, he a fresh-faced lecturer. Coming from an academic terrain where even part-time lecturers were dreaded oracles you had to appease with sacrifices; Ikenna Odife was a breath of fresh air. Although he has moved up in the world since then he remains the same old guy who can dine with both the Jacobins and the Bourbons without losing his essence. There isn’t enough space to talk about how Odife kept my flags flying at a time I nearly handed in my surrender. What stands out in my mind about this man is that he is a walking poster for tolerance in a fractured society. An ardent adherent of the Grail Message, his doors and heart are open to all shades of men and his quest for the truth, irrespective of source, is unflagging. Non-conformist, but then we need a recipe to satisfactorily cook the soup of group living.

Posted by Administrator at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)

Atiku Must Stop Dining with Snake Charmers and Pharisees

by D. Akinsanya Juliuson (Great Britain) --- When one thing starts to go wrong, it soon appears as if everything is problematic. We start finding fault with situation we have previously been quite happy about.

We start lining up the factors and arrangements in our lives, and accusing them all of being to blame for our difficulties. Through this mechanism, we turn small troubles into big ones and unpick perfectly good stitches from the tapestry of our existence. Before we make major changes, in life, we must try to isolate the issue that is unnerving or upsetting us. Once that is fixed it may all be fine. However it’s not what we do; it is the way we do it. It’s not what we’ve got. It is the way we make use of what we’ve got. It is not what we don’t do; it is the reason why we don’t do it. It is not what we haven’t got; it is the way we feel about not having it. We can be surrounded by everything we might ever need, but if we don’t understand what it is we really need, our opulence will bring us no comfort.

We can be in a terribly tight spot but as long as we seek wisdom, we will always find a way out of it. A sense of perspective is all Vice President Atiku need now. They say,’ you should learn to walk before you can run! It is true. We should. Often though, we end up feeling as if there just isn’t time to practice. So instead of walking – or running – we just crawl as fast as we can and wear out our knees in the process. Our Vice President is in a hurry now. He wants something to happen as fast as possible. That’s understandable. But regardless of the pressure he faces, he needs to remember that, five minutes with a MAP, in a calm frame of mind, could save him hours of wandering round in circles and end up no where.

My advice for the Vice President now is to be a poker player, if it’s not too late. By hiding his fears and his feelings, by playing his cards, close to his chest. If he doesn’t like the look of his hand, he needs to be cautious. When you are in a hole, stop digging they say! We all know this is good advice but often we say something seemingly helpful such as,” Here is a much sharper spade” or” why don’t you try digging over there instead?! Indeed, whenever we see someone starting to create a deep hole, we all peer fascinatingly down, making it even harder for them to stop. The Vice President must never mind how much pressure he faces or how soft the earth below him seems now, he should stop digging, and stop dining with snake charmers, canters and quacks. Atiku must never trust those individuals who swear friendship to him over the cup of drunkenness.

He must beware lest the sweetened words of the hypocrite and the deceiver betray him into danger. True friends are hard to find he needs to be extremely careful. If they could betray someone very close to him, imagine what the vultures from hell would do to the Vice President himself and still feel cool about it, this to them is life as they live it here. IBB, MKO, Abacha and even President Obasanjo had been victims of these snake charmers and Holy Willies. Why then is it very difficult for Atiku to learn from the very best before it’s too late.

ATIKU NEED TO REACH FOR COMPROMISE NOW NOT CONFRONTATION

There’s only one way to win an argument, and that’s to avoid getting drawn into it in the first place. As soon as we rise to the bait, we fall into the trap. We lose our equilibrium. We compromise our objectivity. Our impartiality goes out of the window. Even if we win we lose. Of course, people rarely point that out to us. Most prefer to encourage one another to remain in a state of conflict. After all the more impassioned and irrational we all are, the easier it is to take advantage of us. If we want to go further forward in this life of ours, we must learn to stand further back. No one wins an argument by shouting the loudest or being the one who sticks most rigidly to their principles. Nor for that matter, do you lose by being outtalked – or placed in a position from which you can exert no further influence. You win by being willing to lose. You lose by being determined to win. There may be kudos from succeeding in a competitive sport or race of human conflict. I believe all disputes have something to feel ashamed of.

My strongest advice to our Vice President now is to reach for compromise, not confrontation. Sometimes we desperately put ourselves in awkward positions. We take on tasks that we know we are going to find onerous. We allow relationships to develop even though we suspect from the outset that they will be difficult. We may do this out of bravado or we may just feel we have no other choice. It is interesting how lack of choice so often seems to lead to more lack of choice. Of course none of us is wise. If we aspire to wisdom with all our might and all our hearts, we might just reach a point where we are wise enough to recognise how unwise we really are. We all want to be clever in life. We surely can be. All it requires is a willingness to accept that we don’t know everything there is to know and we never will. Therefore, there’s a limit to what we can foresee. If that’s true, there must also be a limit to what we want to control. In which case, we really might as well take it easy. We are who we are. We have every right to be proud of this. But are we all that we can be? In what way are we compromising the integrity of our own identity? Or selling ourselves short – or doing we and our nation a disservice? What is it that we are denying to ourselves? What is it that could easily help us develop more talents and confidence?

We must learn to be our own best friend today. We must look at what it is that we really need and then help ourselves to find a way to get it. In addition to honest, selfless, courageous and reliable lawmakers, we need mature and trustworthy governors and patriotic ambassadors. All we really require now is more love, care, support and sense of security. If we are thoughtful, selfless, caring, God-fearing and loyal, we will get them.

LAWMAKING SHOULD UPHOLD THE RIGHTS FUNDAMENTAL TO DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP

Democracy as rule of the people, pre-suppose agreement on who constitutes what is called “the people”. The grassroots level people. Such agreement must necessarily distinguish between those who enjoy the rights of citizenship and the parasites that see themselves as gods of the poor. There should be mutual respect between the different communities or identities that make up the nation; and all citizens must enjoy effective equal rights under the law of the land. How Nigeria manages the potential tensions between the requirements of equal citizenship and the distinctiveness of its different communities and between internal inclusiveness and external exclusivity is an important indicator of the quality of Nigeria’s democracy. Of democratic significance are Nigeria’s procedures for resolving disagreement about its constitutional arrangements, and how inclusive these are.

The idea of the rule of law is a long standing one, predating the advent of democracy. It expresses the powerful idea that law, not the arbitrary will of particular people or region, whether in government or not, should rule society. The idea of the rule of law surely comprises some distinct elements including the following:

1. No one should be punished without a specific charge and a fair hearing before a duly-constituted court. 2. The Nigerian judiciary should be institutionally and personally independent of both the executive and the legislature, so that it can interpret and enforce the law without fear or favour. 3. All Nigerian law should be certain, and its provisions and penalties known in advance. 4. No one should be above the law, whatsoever on earth their position or social standing, and everyone should be equal before it. 5. All Nigerian public officials should be subject to the law, and act within the terms of legally prescribed duties, powers and procedures. 6. Parliamentary law making should itself conform to constitutionally defined procedures and limits. It should uphold the rights fundamental to democratic citizenship. 7. Nigerian police should enforce the law effectively and fairly. 8. No one should be denied the protection due them under the civil or criminal law because they can’t afford the cost or because of gross delays in the administration of justice. 9. Nigerian government must understand that democracy can not work without effective civil and political rights. 10. Nigerians must be able to join together in associations and meet freely to discuss “ONLY” their aspirations and needs, their concerns and possible remedies. 11. Nigerians must be able to express their views freely. 12. In Nigeria, open government is essential underpinnings of these rights. 13. Serial blackmailers, rogue journalists and jobless character assassins should be put behind bars. 14. Moreover minorities of all kinds must feel secure in their freedom to practise their own religion and culture (Excluding heathens and Idol worshippers). Otherwise there can be no political equality to ensure that the needs and views of all sections of society are given voice and taken into account. 15. Above all, Nigerians must be free from intimidation, violence and the fear and threat of violence.

These ideas form the cornerstone of democratic government. However, we must learn not to claim any more power than we have to take. We must not at the same time give away any more power than we need to, in order to share. Honesty, though, doesn’t always involve telling everyone everything. Nor does it involve sharing every emotion no matter how transient or trivial.

THERE’S A BIG QUESTION MARK HANGING OVER EVERYONE’S FUTURE

There are certain things that need not be said. If we want to be sure of getting our most important message across, we should always avoid complicating it with extraneous additional information. We must always resist the temptation to say more than we need to or not say less than we need to either. But we must be aware that sometimes, people hear what they want to hear, not what is actually being communicated. “It’s not the winning that counts, it’s the taking part”. That’s what they tell us when we are losing. When we are winning they cheer us on loudly whilst secretly wondering how long our luck is going to last and whether we are starting to get too big for our boots. We live in a competitive society, where snake charmers are prepared to tell us only what we want to hear, yet success makes us lonely – and failure makes us frustrated. Somehow, though, it fails to dawn on us that competition is futile and facile. This life of ours is full of things that we don’t especially want to think about or deal with.

Indeed, life itself is one of those things. We can’t look closely at the subject for very long before we find ourselves having to acknowledge and remember that it doesn’t last forever. There is a very big question mark hanging over everyone’s future. None of us really want to think about that or deal with this. Reality, though, doesn’t disappear when we ignore it. The only way to overcome a fear is to face it. With courage and honesty, we all can work miracles. However, by the time the future arrives, the world will have changed. We will feel differently about many matters that currently concern us. We won’t be quite the same person we are now, nor will we be in quite the same situation. That’s why there is rarely any point in worrying about tomorrow, because it belongs to the Lord. When we let some fear of a forthcoming event get the better of us, we bring it into the present. We cause it to hang over our life like a dark cloud and experience unnecessary angst. Right now, we must adopt the policy of “When we get there we will deal with it, let’s just tackle today”. The Most High will surely bless us with peace of mind.

D.AKINSANYA JULIUSON

Posted by Administrator at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)

This Amala State Must Die!

by SpinCity Spinoza --- There isn’t an amala intellectual or scientist who does not know the meaning of the current ‘problem’ in Nigeria and how we can rid ourselves of it.

But there is this wired understanding among them that if we can play along together in their amala intellectualism, without questioning their motives, then there will be one united Nigeria at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, the current animal state must die for a new objective/non-amala state to emerge for all Nigerians. How does this constitute the current Nigeria problem?

To understand this question properly, we must first understand the meaning of amala/animal state and how it differs from an objective state of affairs. But to be able to place the issues in proper perspective, we must first deal with a more general question, usually posed by normal scientists: What is a ‘problem’?

According to non-amala scientists, a useful definition of the word ‘problem’ consists of three parts. The first part is a well-defined original state. The second component is an objective state, which is the goal of the whole exercise. The third and final part is the missing gap between the original state and the objective state.

Now, true scientists caution of potential mistakes that may becloud your judgment and help to render the original task unworkable and fruitless. According to non-amala scientists, you must notice something conspicuously wanting in the preceding definition. Nowhere does the definition say that the original state must love or hate the other components or that a given component must dance according the tunes dictated by the other two parts. Second, non-amala scientists warn that if you are trying to solve a problem and no solution seems to exist, then you must look at your definitions of the original and objective states; there must be something wrong with formulations.

If the definitions are truncated or biased or laden with unnecessary words and ideological brambles, then you may be dealing with the wrong missing gap. So, you will have to go back to the formulations and try as hard as possible to come up with other well-formulated definitions. Once the original state and the objective state are properly identified and defined, then the right solution will appear.

Now, let’s return to our overriding question: What is the Nigeria problem? According to normal/rational scientists, the problem of Nigeria is not discoverable in the original and objective states, but in what must be done to locate the missing gap. If you know the original state and the objective state without a certain understanding of what constitutes the missing gap, you will not be able to discover a solution.

Therefore, the missing gap is your original quandary, your original problem. In fact, real scientists equate the word ‘problem’ with the missing gap. If you discover the missing gap, your ‘problem’ would have been resolved, because it will lead you from the original state to the objective state. In a sense, the missing gap is your overall problem, the reason why an imbalance existed in the first place.

Therefore, the Nigeria problem is not Obasanjo. It is not Buhari or Kalu or Atiku or IBB either. It is not the constitution of Nigeria or Mantu or members of the House or Senate. It is not even the members of the terrorist SSS or the tons of money squandered in bribing many dishonest/unpatriotic goons. To discover the missing gap, think of the current amala/animal state (the original state) and the objective state of law and order. The missing gap is what must be done to bridge the gap between this current amala state and the objective stable state. Once this task or group of tasks is performed, the amala state dies. It must die, by necessity and by the very scientific definition of what constitute the Nigeria problem, for Nigerians to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Posted by Administrator at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)

General Obasanjo: You are an Autocrat, not a Democrat

by SpinCity Spinoza --- In two separate media interviews in the United States, General Obasanjo told Americans and the world that he is not a manipulator, but a democrat.

The exact statement by General Obasanjo is as follows: “I am not a manoeuverer, I am not a manipulator. I am a democrat.” General Obasanjo must be thinking that the world is as dumb as he is. Misappropriating the meaning of a democrat to disguise his actions and policies in Nigeria must be meant to buy the influence and approval of his real masters. General Obasanjo must be in the opinion that he can deceive the entire world the way he deceives his own people in Nigeria. General Obasanjo, you are not a democrat, but an autocrat, simply because your words, actions, and policies at home are inconsistent with the ideals of democracy. Explain to your hosts how your utterances in Nigeria fall within the parameters of democracy. Or explain to them how your actions in public matters fall within the realm of democracy.

General Obasanjo, I seriously doubt if you really know the definition of a democrat. If your hosts in the media outlets had requested for a definition of a democrat, I am 100% certain that you would have struggled with the definition as you struggled with the definition of genocide in connection to Sudan. Your distorted ideas and concepts have led to thousands of unnecessary deaths in Nigeria exactly the same way your truncated understanding of genocide has led to thousands of deaths in Sudan. Since this essay is not about Sudan, let’s concentrate on Nigeria.

Recall your words to the families who lost their loved ones in Lagos military explosion. Even though the families were in distress, you were callous to their pains. Recall your reference to Adedibu as a force to reckon with in Oyo politics. Although the man was involved in the deaths of three innocent Nigerians in Ibadan, you refused to demand accountability for the lost lives. Remember your words when Anambara crisis began. You referred to the illegality as a crisis in morality. Each of these crises called for a democratic empathy, but you chose to show autocratic wickedness. Each crisis was manufactured by lawless thugs, but you showed your calculated coldness to the dead simply because the illegal activities were designed and implemented by your lawless agents. Your agents responsible for these crimes are yet to be prosecuted because of your intransigent and autocratic manipulations. Your words in connection to their illegal activities were careful distortions meant to subvert the ideals of democracy for Nigerians. But you are telling your hosts that you are neither a manipulator nor an autocrat. Why lie? Why deceive your masters? Why not tell them the truth about your true nature? Did you lie to them too about your actions in connection to your ferocious third-term activities in Nigeria?

No true democrat has ever openly condoned or praised the rubbishing of the rule of law in his nation. A true democrat does not withhold national security information from his citizens while at the same time sharing the information with foreigners. A true democrat, in the same strategic era as you are and with the same strategic opportunity as you have, would have used the historical opportunity to define the strategic direction of his nation via the use of legal institutions. A true democrat would have considered the actions of Uba and Adedibu as serious threats to democracy; he would have swiftly used the established courts to deal with such blatant disregard for an orderly social arrangement.

Instead, you freely and conscientiously chose to become enmeshed in destructive utterances that helped to inflam the situations. And by doing so, you had hoped to position yourself for the illegal services obtainable from the repugnant characters involved. By allowing your ego to overshadow your reason, you became caught up in self-serving ideas and manipulations, mutually harmful to you and to all Nigerians under your care.

Your distorted conceptions about democracy are also consistent with your actions in and out of Nigeria. No democrat takes a refuge in rubbishing the rule of law in his nation because democracy can not exist in his nation without the rule of law. Your refusal to obey the rulings of the Supreme Court of Nigeria is undemocratic and manipulative. Your involvement in the current attempt to rubbish the constitution of Nigeria by Mantu’s committee is undemocratic and manipulative. In both verifiable instances, your motivation was not the interests of the nation, but simply to service your narrow personal interests at the expense of the wider national interests. Your actions and inactions in and out of Nigeria have immensely contributed to the destruction of democratic ideals for Nigeria.

You cannot deny the above charges by shifting blames to Mantu or by blaming the members of the court because you are responsible for providing the strategic direction of the nation. Your strategic direction for Nigeria has been slouching towards one man’s autocratic rule in which your thugs control the strategic political events at your own personal service. This was why you reinstalled Chris Uba in a strategic position in PDP to continue his illegal activities against the will of the people of Nigeria. Similarly, you praised Adedibu to high heavens because doing so will enlist his illegal activities in your next fraudulent election schemes. But no true democrat employs such criminals as agents of political change.

Also, no democrat arbitrarily enacts policies to benefit his friends and family members at the expense of the majority of his people. You single-handedly liquidated the Nigerian Airways and employed your in-laws from Britain in your Virgin Atlantic policy. This policy obviously harms the interests of Nigerians and benefits your in-laws in Britain.

Further, you claim to be a productive farmer, with your farm reportedly earning $25,000 per month. Yet, Nigerians are starving to death due to lack of affordable food items. A true democrat would have used his productive farming techniques and experiences to feed his own citizens because no hungry man can reasonably engage in productive thoughts.

Your self-induced crises in Oyo and Anambara state, your airline policy, and your agricultural activities show an autocrat who makes all policy decisions that harm the interests of Nigerians. Yet, you want the world to believe that you are a democrat. You employ criminal thugs to extract obedience from your masses by force, intimidation, and murder. Yet, you inform the outside world that you are a democrat.

General Obasanjo, you may be a democrat to your masters, but you are not a democrat in your own home. A dignified democrat does not seek conformity and approval from outside his boundaries for policies within his home. A self-respecting democrat does not seek consensus from foreigners to enslave his own citizens.

A true democrat tries to gain consensus by listening to all sides in his native land under his own laws. A true democrat listens to his home opponents, to his home enemies, to his home citizens, to his home legislators, to his home judiciary, to his home courts, to his native laws and public opinion. A patriotic democrat does not consider honest disagreements in his home land as disloyalty to democratic processes.

To a tyrant, every productive opposition is a threat to the throne that must be fought by digging deeper and deeper into a detached enclave of lawlessness. But a patriotic democrat seeks answers from all sides at home before selling his soul to foreign lands for foreign crumbs. A patriotic democrat will never go out of his way to seek the wrong answers from imperialistic corners of the globe to justify predetermined decisions intended to achieve predetermined personal ambitions, especially when the predetermined decisions would plunge his nation into a deadly civil war.

Posted by Administrator at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)

Nigeria may Become Somalia, Ivory Coast, then Iraq

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- Several centrifugal forces are pulling at Nigeria to different directions of precipices. The political opposition and opponents of President Obasanjo have ratcheted up their do or die battle for power, in order to end their political orphanages;

And in their obvious search for the plums that are usually found in public political offices. As government remains the sole growth industry outsider of profiteering religions in Nigeria.

At another angle, Nigeria is being pulled by the so-called Biafrans, with their errant MASSOB and the plethora of dreamers that are awaiting the rebirth of the defunct or stillborn Biafra. MASSOB had sought to interfere in the just concluded census exercise in Nigeria and there are sputtering news of their frequent distributions of worthless paper currency that they dub the Biafra pound in market square from Aba to Onitsha.

Then there is the Odua Peoples Congress or the OPC, a group that has been known as a violent ethnic militia with daggers drawn at the throat differing ethnic groups and at war with the federal government of Nigeria.

Additionally, there is MEND the Niger Delta group that has resorted to kidnappings and hostages takings during the past several months. MEND appear to be most daring, the most organized and as well as the one possessing the most sophisticated weapons.

It therefore looks as if there are now arrays of different pockets of violent agitations in every region of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Added to all that is the ever combustible and fiery fire mixes of religious flare ups that have occurred too frequently in recent pasts. There are now violent militias along ethnic lines.

These are all the incendiary ingredients that appear now to have coalesced into some ominous axis of evil, which is very discomforting, to say the least.

A valid comparison can now be made between these gathering storms in the various parts of Nigeria. They are spread across the major regions and ethnic groups and the similarities between these disagreements and the disagreements in Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Congo, Darfur Sudan, Haiti and of course, Iraq.

I honestly assumed that most Nigerians have watched listened and learned from the unsavory experiences of the countries just above mentioned? I thought too, that most Nigerians are also aware that there a vultures, openly waiting in the wings to devour us and leave our carcasses dry in the wind. We appear to be currently oblivious of all these, in our mutually induced zeal to annihilate each other. The vulture sees the oil, the loots to be had, without the requirements of invasion and occupation or re-colonization, because we are taking care of that in a self-destructive way. But are we willing to be dead rather than see the other Nigerian live? Are we as unthinking as that? Are we now Zombies

I have an eerie feeling, it is almost weird and sinister, a foreboding or harbinger of something unwanted, preventable and yet catastrophic and cataclysmic that is about to happen in Nigeria. If our negative passions are not put in check

Whatever this is, whatever it might be, it is all completely preventable. But some Nigerians appear to marching willingly towards the precipices, as if in acts to cut their noses to spite their own faces. Intelligent and discerning Nigerians, who are capable of doing right, are not doing so, but instead, they concentrate on parochial or myopic gripes which they hold on behalf of their subdivisions within Nigerian political arrangements. ACF is engaging in apparent political blackmail in the North, which it calls power shift. Then OPC is in the West, with numerous agitations that is not clearly defined, but distracting nevertheless.

Then MASSOB in the East, with a sort of an ambivalent and head spinning demands, the East demand the chance to realize genuine political aspirations of producing Nigerian president in 2007, while elements in the East also demand a Biafra republic, which of the demands from the East is valid and possible in the circumstances? Can a foreign citizen (a Biafran be president of Nigeria? No!)

MEND introduced itself with drum-rolls and bangs! MEND have made demands regarding needed development, environmental degradation, enhancement of life and means of livelihood. All these are reasonable and reachable. But MEND has also made completely outrageous and outlandish demands. The nullifications of impeachment against DSP Alamie the former governor of Bayelsa, who they argue should be reinstated. MEND want Nigeria to overlook Alamie's money laundering charges in Nigeria and England. These demands are nonstarters!

Now, when all these are added together, it tends to look very ominously dangerous. It is as dangerous as, say, a room full of gun powder, petrol and a lighted fireplace. In the case of Nigeria, it as if the owner of the room is aware of the gunpowder, the owner of the petrol is aware of the gunpowder and the owner of the fireplace is equally aware of all the other equally dangerous elements that will combine to produce a volcanic eruptions that will produce toxic ashes covering more than 150 million people. But all are beclouded by passionate bile.

It appears that everyone is aware of this literal seismic fault; it does appear as everyone is aware that this could be the mother lode of all earthquakes. An earthquake that could measure 9.9 on the Richter scale and yet, everyone is preoccupied with their individual and group righteous indignations about their rights as owners, separately, of the room, the gunpowder and the fireplace. Even as it is obvious, that such insistence will consume and destroy everyone and everything

At the end of these pent up anger, these righteous indignations on the part of each owner, there will be no properties left to own and there might even be no owners alive to engage in any petty squabbles or quarrels about right to own room, gunpowder and the fireplace. As wrath produced a schism culminated in the shock and awe, volcanic eruptions which puts a permanent and yet undesirable end to the family quarrels over how to proceed and whose rights were first in time and turn. No one benefits in the end results.

Some Nigerians do not want anarchy and disintegration of Nigeria, but on the contrary, some other Nigerians believe that the only end to their sufferings and bondages is when anarchy and disintegration befalls Nigeria.

In Nigeria currently, it is as if, too many are too consumed in, consumed with their parochial interests defined by negative common denominators, such as region, religion and ethnicities. So that each and everyone, of them, are working separately to bring about, very possibly, annihilating volcanic eruptions of an indescribable magnitude while insisting on their aversion for tragedy and catastrophe.

But why are there, these coalitions of unlikely bedfellows? Why are too many Nigerians fixated on gathering these combustible incendiary elements or devices? Why do some choose gunpowder, fireplace in rooms without ventilations?

Why can't the groups in Nigeria, with vested interests in what happens to Nigeria, with vested interest in the final eventual outcome of Nigeria, manage to eschew bitterness and therefore, avoid these magnified precipices? Why do they all seem, unwittingly, but most willingly, joyously walking off the cliff? Why are they engaging in what clearly appear as if an adventure in mutually assured destruction? There can be no benefits in assuring mutual defeat.

Why can't some Nigerians see the benefits in our diversities, our size and our uniqueness? Nigeria must not self-destruct. We must accentuate the positive

Paul I. Adujie
[email protected]
New York, United States

Posted by Administrator at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2006

Where are Candidates, Manifestoes, or Alternatives to President Obasanjo?

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- Nigeria is just about one year away from a presidential and general elections in 2007. As an optimist, I will have to believe that the planned elections will occur and there will presidential inauguration come May 29, 2007.

But where are the candidates? Where are the presidential and gubernatorial elections campaigns? Why are none of the registered political parties, other than the People’s Democratic Party or PDP not campaigning and explaining their manifestoes through their chosen platforms and presidential candidates?

Does rabid hatred for President Obasanjo make a manifesto? Is that sufficient in Nigeria?

Where are the alternatives, outside of President Obasanjo and the PDP, for Nigerian voters to choose from? Why is no one canvassing ideas with the Nigerian electorate as to what their political party and platform would do for Nigeria differently, compared and contrasted against what the PDP and President Obasanjo are doing right now?

And why are more Nigerians, especially public intellectuals and commentators, not raising these pertinent issues? Is it the case that a majority of Nigerians have agreed on something that I am unaware of? Is there a fait accompli that has dawn on some Nigerians?

Is Governor Orji Kalu of Abia State the choice by consensus of the opposition political parties in Nigeria? But I thought that everyone could see that Governor Kalu is too flippant and too unreliable for anyone to take seriously? Governor Kalu, often makes grave allegations without supplying required proofs, and the first hints of pressure and demands for proofs, Governor Kalu recants and apologies!

Nigerians should see Governor Kalu for what he really is: A flip-flopper in-chief! Governor Kalu does not possess the sturdiness of character and integrity to be president of Nigeria.

Apart from the indomitable Dr. Reuben Abati of The Guardian Newspapers of Nigeria, no one else to my knowledge has asked what he asked several weeks ago, when he asked in one of his articles, a poignant question, which was: “Where Are The Presidential Candidates?”

It appears to me, that Dr. Abati and I, are the only Nigerians who did not attend a meeting by Nigerians, at which it was agreed, that Nigerians political parties, other than the PDP, must not present presidential, gubernatorial and other candidates for the elections in 2007

But before anyone pounces on me, I must announce that I am aware of the arguments, ludicrous arguments that are proffered, as excuses, as those that have been made by all other political parties outside of the PDP. Their poor excuse is that they are afraid to announce their parties’ nominees to serve as their flag bearer presidential candidates for fear of vendetta from President Obasanjo.

The word on the street therefore, goes like this, potential presidential candidates are fearful for their lives, for their safety and for their freedom and they have become political risks averse.

The warped excuses are as twisted as any conspiracy theory that you have ever heard! All Nigerian political parties and their leaders across the length and breadth of Nigeria are so fearfully scared of President Obasanjo and his omnipresent and omniscient PDP and government apparatuses, with their irrepressible political operatives; and, as such, these political opposition parties reckon that it was better not to feature presidential candidates or to announce a manifesto or manifestoes.

Having or nurturing a presidential ambition in Nigeria these warped and twisted logic now goes, is tantamount to having a death wish. Or at minimum, a wish to languish in jail, courtesy of the EFCC they insist. But it is nigh past time to make haste!


Members of these bandwagons of illogical Nigerians, and politicos are quick to point their fingers at the retired general Marwa, “friend” of President Obasanjo, who soon got arrested, detained and questioned about corruption, “only” because and as a result of his announcing that he nursed presidential ambition and these Nigerians also insists, that there are others, whose legal troubles stems “primarily” from having political ambitions or political perspectives that are different from those of President Obasanjo and his PDP!

Going by the current trend in Nigeria, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida may have made his preemptive strike against probes and any legal troubles declaring his interests in 2007. Because, if and when IBB is accosted now, to account for his wealth and his checkered stewardship, he can now, with a straight face, say, this is selective prosecution-persecution, and it is occurring “only because” of his interest in 2007!

These conspiracy theorists, have argued further, that the impeachment and removal of the former governor of Bayelsa State, the looting governor DSP Alamieseigha met his fate, not because he was more corrupt that your average state governor in Nigeria, but, instead, because he was “almost” a card-carrying member of The Turaki Vanguard, the Vice President Atiku organization, which is said to be Atiku’s tentative flight of fancy to Aso Rock proper. The same “reasons” are adduced for looting Governor Joshua Dariye’s legal troubles.

But how come these same political parties and avowed opponents of President Obasanjo and the PDP are quick to write open letters to the president and the PDP in Nigerian newspapers and other media forums stating their most acerbic and vehement opposition to the president and his PDP? Why is it that these opponents and oppositions can indulge in these obnoxious and cantankerous paid announcements newspapers, in which they ridicule the president and the PDP, but somehow, they are too scared to advertise their candidates and their manifestoes? Why won’t these opponents and opposition political parties, similarly state and advertise their propose programs, their “superior” candidates and their equally “superior” manifestoes?

Surprisingly, these conspiracy theorists, never argue the innocence of Alamieseigha or Dariye!

What is worse, these band of illogical political hacks, never manage to explain why these so-called prosecutions, that they call persecutions and political vendetta could therefore have applied to former inspector general, and now ex-jailbird Barrister Tafa Balogun?
Instead, we were first told that Tafa Balogun is above the law, he is friend of the president, and oh, he is a Yoruba. And then, we were told that he is the brain of PDP rigging in 2003 and that an arrest or jailing of Tafa Balogun, will be a death wish or suicide for President Obasanjo, as Tafa Balogun was bound to tell-all about the PDP shenanigans of 2003 elections.

Tafa Balogun was dismissed from Nigeria’s Police, arrested and jailed. And some of us are still waiting for apologies, from those who told us, pointedly and boastfully, that the eventual waterloo that Tafa Balogun met, were impossible in Nigeria, particularly, under President Obasanjo. Oh, when was the last time in Nigeria, nay Africa that such had happened? It would never happen, they swore cock-surely. We are all wiser now?





I want to believe that Nigerians are all agreed on the all-important matters of making all our public officials accountable, transparent and corruption-free. The rule is: If you are running for public office, you must declare your assets, prove that the sources were crime and corruption-free and genuine. Establish that you have had honest business and profited from hard work; Otherwise, you are disqualified.

But why is it then a surprise to any Nigerian that the EFCC, the ICPC or the Nigerian Police and all of Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies want to know or determine the sources of wealth of potential public office holders? Who are the financiers of your political campaigns? Are your donor foreign interests that are inconsistent with Nigeria’s national interests? Are you campaign donor domestic and local criminal gangs and crooks? Are you the candidate an erstwhile public official who corruptly enriched himself and now wishes to use your loot as a means and vehicle to public office? Why should all Nigerians not want to know these things for the sake of accountability, probity and transparency?

In the United States for instance, political candidates have to go through rigorous checks, criminal background, even previous engagements in immorality or even simple inappropriate conducts or behaviors are quick to become campaign issues! Did you kick a dog or cat or some other domestic pet in your previous life, Americans want to know, now that you are running for public office. Did you park in a parking space reserved for disabled or the physically challenged or did you engage in drunk driving? And did you smoke Marijuana when you attended college or university? Americans want to know the most microscopic details of your entire life, to determine your suitableness for office. But in Nigeria, some will call an EFCC or ICPC investigations to determine these, a vendetta, a vindictive and a selective pursuit of political enemies by President Obasanjo and the PDP! Haba! President Obasanjo and the PDP are damned if they do and if they don’t?

I personally want to know what the poor excuse is, for the dearth of presidential aspirants or presidential candidates for Nigeria’s 2007 presidential elections. What are the excuses?
If the real reasons, sorry, excuses, are those that have been adduced by political opponents, and opposing political parties is just limited to their timorous timidities, of fear of death, fear of probe, fear of intimidation, fear of vendetta by President Obasanjo and the PDP operatives? I will say to them, have some balls! Have some guts!

How is it that the nearly thirty other political parties in Nigeria, other than the PDP, are not ready for prime time? What are their excuses for not selecting or announcing their selections of presidential candidates or aspirants? I am not a member of any political party in Nigeria, but if I were, I would be feeling colossal and monumental slew of embarrassments at the present time. How could anyone explain the lack of boldness and courage on the part of these numerous political parties? I am sure there a persons of courage in all these parties. President Obasanjo and PDP are the only ones with courage or sturdiness? Are members of the opposition just lazy or lacking in strategies?

Is it really a matter of lacking in courage or, is it that these other political parties are bereft of ideas? Are they suffering from collective bankruptcies of ideas? Is it the case that these other political parties have nothing to sell to the Nigerian electorate? Is that they have no manifestoes that will surpass President Obasanjo’s and PDP’s economic and political reforms agenda; President Obasanjo reforms that includes his prodigious efforts to rid Nigeria of billions of dollars of foreign debts?

Is it equally, possibly because President Obasanjo and the PDP, with all their faults, have empanelled EFCC and ICPC and such other Nigerian government organs, agencies and machineries to fight and eliminate corruption from Nigeria public space?

Some Nigerians have not be bitten by the reform bugs. These institutionalized reforms are eliminating old habits and negative old ways of easy-riches, easy money or illicit wealth. The president is hated for closing some of the old ways of doing things. He is resented for closing old negative avenues, hence the anger among the lazy-easy-money class of old?

I do believe that a vigorous and vibrant opposition are essential ingredients to a true democracy. This is so, just as free and fair elections; right to dissent, robust and vibrant opposition are to a democracy and strengthens it. But where is the Nigerian political opposition to the PDP? Imagine if the PDP actually had party discipline and internal cohesion? Imagine if the PDP did not suffer from self-inflicted wounds in Bayelsa, Anambra, Oyo and Plateau States etc? All other political parties in Nigeria would have been extinct by now!

It has become increasingly tempting to conclude that the opposing political parties in Nigeria, tens of them, lack ideas, lack men and women of substance, character and integrity. And so, they rely on distractions as cover for their bankruptcies of ideas!

Or could someone tell me why these several tens of other political parties in Nigeria have not announced their presidential aspirant-candidates? Where are the nominees for state governorships and other potential candidates for sundry public offices across Nigeria?

Nigerian political opponents are so afraid of President Obasanjo and the vicious PDP apparatuses, machineries and instruments when it comes to promoting their own candidates and manifestoes? But these same political parties, opponents of President Obasanjo and the PDP, seem to have no fear and no qualms in calling the president unprintable names as they ridicule his person, his family and the PDP?

The current vacuum left by Nigerian opposition political parties constitutes the best argument or reason for a third term, if indeed, President Obasanjo needed one. The vacuum by the opposition, the dearth of their vigor and the bankruptcies of their ideas, the absence of their candidates and manifestoes, in sum, should emboldens President Obasanjo and the PDP as they angles for the opportunities to anchor, consolidate and have their policies completely embedded in strong institutions and streamlined processes.

The opposition political parties claim they are fearful of advocating and agitating their economic and political positions in manifestoes, they say they are afraid of President Obasanjo and the PDP, sufficiently to be cowered? They are afraid to stand for what is right, legal and proper? But they are quick to engage in useless personal insults, useless personal attacks as they engage in the equally useless and completely distracting talk about third term!

The opposition political parties in Nigeria must show us their candidates and their manifestoes and what they will do better, better than President Obasanjo and the PDP, or the opposing political parties should forever hold their peace.

Paul I. Adujie
[email protected]
New York, United States

Posted by Administrator at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

A Brief Glance at Illegal Immigration

by Chuma Okeke (USA) --- It looks as if the US congress is finally ready to do something about illegal immigration. On one end of the discursive spectrum are people advocating for more stringent measures against illegal immigration. This side of the debate—populated by republican, traditionalist, values-vaunting, white Christians—would make it a criminal offence to be discovered in the US as an illegal alien.

Furthermore, any support given to illegal immigrants would be viewed as an actionable offense by people in this corner. They would want the government to deport the over two million illegal immigrants in the country. This is backed by other measures such as increasingly patrolling the border or erecting an over 2000 mile-long wall at the border to check the heavy influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Needless to say, the people of this ideological persuasion mean serious business.

On the other end of the spectrum are laissez faire, politically detached romanticists who cannot be made to understand nor appreciate the pestilential effects of unbridled illegal immigration on a country's limitable resources.. They propose automatic citizenship for illegal aliens. If you pressed them with facts, then they may grudgingly modify their stance to suggest that the government should grant citizenship to illegal immigrants who have been in the country for a while. They are persuaded that borders serve no meaningful purpose.

This is an understandably difficult issue. How best should this problem be tackled? Should amnesty be granted to people who filter in from war-ravaged countries? Should special considerations be made for people who swam past dangerous waters to flee home-grown communism or other forms of tyranny? Should special considerations be made for people who have been in the country for over 15 years, who work and pay taxes and who also happen to have born children with American citizenship? Should these illegal immigrants be made to pay a token sum after which they would then be granted proper status? What of their children--do they automatically become properties of the State? How should illegal immigration from Canada be handled without provoking the displeasure of prestige-protecting Canadian government and citizenry?

All these and more questions needed to be resolved. President Bush's position seems to be a cautious, between-the-extremes approach. While he is not in support of some gun-toting, house-by-house raid to rid the country of illegal immigrants, he is also not going for some Santaesque scheme to indiscriminately grant citizenship to illegal immigrants. His proposition is studiously simple. He wants to establish a guest-worker program. Yeah, how does that work?

Let's say Juan Fernando is an illegal alien working in one of the fruit fields in South Texas. Let's also say that Juan has no peace of mind as he is constantly worried that he may be caught and tossed out of the country on his ear. Let us also say that he is not entitled to any medical or insurance benefits, neither is he free to drive or own property.

In Juan's case, all he needs to do is to go to the appropriate authorities with valid proof that he works, earns some wages and pays some form of taxes to the government. He will then be issued a guest-worker permit which would automatically take care of all the conditions listed above. The only catch is that at the expiration of his guest-worker permit, he should and is expected to willingly return back to his country with all the dollars he saved while working in the US. No ifs and buts. Besides, he can reapply if he wants.

Like I said, this solution is simple and straightforward. It acknowledges that the US economy—indeed the United States as a whole—was founded on the strength of immigrant labor. Much as some right-wingers may refuse to acknowledge this, there are some jobs out there that no citizen of the US wants or is willing to do for the pay it attracts. It also seeks to reward the illegal immigrant who has thus far refrained from constituting him/herself an acrid strain on both local and state economies and infrastructure.

Also, this proposal helps to put the names of these illegal immigrants into the system thus drastically improving the ability of local or federal law enforcement in tracking down otherwise faceless, illegal immigrants. The MS-13 gang comes to mind. Lastly, this eliminates or seriously limits the booming multi-million dollar yearly racket from ID card, Driving License, or other document forgeries.

This is by no means a cure-all. As a matter of fact, it is debatable whether the illegal immigrants can be persuaded to submit themselves to any arrangement fashioned at getting a guest-worker status or ID card. It is also not very certain that these new and properly identified guest-laborers might be eligible for health benefit packages neither is it clear that such guest-workers might indeed qualify for child daycare support or even welfare if their income level is abysmally low. Besides, if this is not a fast track toward citizenship or legal permanent residency, what incentive is there in it to persuade assimilated illegal immigrants to expose their undocumented status? It is not terribly clear why any illegal immigrant would want to trade the possibility of staying in the US, under the radar, for many years to embrace Bush's plan. Furthermore, it is open to speculation whether these congressmen and women will really compromise their future elective appeal by adopting a needlessly xenophobic posture. Can all the illegal immigrants in this country really be ascertained and ( i dunno) forcefully evicted? While Bush's plan appears uncomplicated and consequently open to doubt and conjecture, I am equally convinced, on the other hand, that illegal immigrants would not favor desultory but sustained harassment at the hands of overzealous minutemen nor the subsequent deportation by the State.

So now, you are asking "How is this any business of mine?" Well, hopefully, you have never given succor to any illegal immigrant (that is, if you are not an illegal immigrant yourself for these could become grave crimes), or you now have all your nuclear and extended family residing LEGALLY in the States. To you, I wish to say "Good day and Goodbye." If you are not in this category though, then you should be heavily invested in the outcome of the political wrangling on this issue. Its outcome could radically influence your future. The time to speak up on this matter is now. Oh yes, if you are not articulate enough, why not form or join a (peaceful) rally? While conscientious people are mindful of not rewarding illegal immigration given the fact that some malicious, terrorist types have now become a sad geopolitical reality, meticulous care must be taken to shift the discussion away from the familiar terrain of reactionary isolationist xenophobes with an exaggerated sense of patriotism.



The author is a US based freelance writer. He can be reached at [email protected]

Posted by Administrator at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

April 09, 2006

Conversation with the Master: The Personal Legend

Notes on Conversations with J., 1982 to 1990. by Paulo Coelho, the Alchemist (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) --- (Here I continue to reproduce excerpts from talks with my master, from 1982 to 1990)

- What is the Personal Legend?

- It is your blessing, the path God has chosen for you here on Earth. Whenever a man does that which gives him enthusiasm, he is following his Legend. However, not everyone has the courage to face up to his own dreams.

- Why is that?

- There are four obstacles. The first: he has heard, right from childhood, that everything he wishes to live is impossible. He grows up with this idea, and as he acquires age, he also accumulates layers of prejudices, fears, guilt. There comes a time when his Personal Legend is so deeply buried within his soul, he can no longer see it. But it is still there.

“If he has the courage to unearth his dreams, he then faces a second obstacle: love. He now knows what he desires to do, but he thinks he will harm those around him, if he gives everything up to follow his dreams. He does not understand that love is an additional impulse, not something which hinders one from going forward. He does not understand that those who truly wish him well are longing for his happiness, and are ready to accompany him on this adventure.

“After accepting love as a stimulus, a man faces the third obstacle: the fear of the defeats he will encounter along the way. A man who fights for his dream suffers far more when something doesn’t go well, because he cannot use the famous excuse: “oh, well in fact that wasn’t exactly what I wanted anyway...” He does want it, and knows he is putting everything into it, and also that the Personal Legend is just as difficult as any other path – the difference being that your heart is present on this journey. So, a warrior of the light must be prepared to be patient at difficult times, and know that the Universe is conspiring in his favor, even if he does not understand how.

- Are the defeats necessary?

- Whether necessary or not, they occur. When he begins fighting for his dreams, man has no experience, and makes many mistakes. But the secret in life is to fall seven times, and rise up eight times.

- Why is it important to live the Personal Legend, if we are to suffer just as much as others?

- Because after having overcome the defeats – and we always overcome them – we feel much more euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know we are worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the Good Combat. We begin to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Very intense and unexpected suffering begins passing faster than apparently tolerable suffering: that drags on for years, eroding our soul without us noticing what is happening – until one day we can no longer free ourselves of the bitterness, and it accompanies us for the rest of our lives.

- And what is the fourth obstacle?

- After unearthing your dream, using the power of love for support, spending many years with the scars, a man realizes – from one day to the next – that everything he always wanted is right there, waiting for him, perhaps the very next day. Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream he has fought for all his life.

- That makes no sense.

- Oscar Wilde said that we always destroy the thing we love the most. And it is true. The simple possibility of achieving that which we desire causes the soul of the common man to be filled with guilt. He looks around, and sees many others who have not succeeded, and so he thinks he does not deserve it. He forgets everything he overcame, all he suffered, everything he had to renounce in order to come this far. I know many people who, when they are within reach of their Personal Legend, make a series of silly mistakes and do not attain their objective – when it was just one step away.

“This is the most dangerous of the obstacles, because it has a certain aura of sanctity about it: to renounce to joy and the conquest. But if the man is worthy of that which he has fought so hard for, he then becomes an instrument of God, aids the Soul of the World, and understands why he is there.”

Posted by Administrator at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)

Nigerian African Policy Needs Revisions-Reassessments

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- African is the centerpiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy and this is rightly so. This philosophy and disposition accepts in wholesale manner, the mantra, to the effect that charity begins at home; what is the value, benefit or point in being very benevolent to strangers as your family suffers unforgivable neglect? Africa as centerpiece made sense.

In my most expansive mood, Africa as centerpiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy should include all peoples of African descent, whether they Americans, Brazilians, Cubans, West Indians of the Caribbean or the Aborigines of Australia. They are Africans.

The challenge is, to delicately balance Nigeria’s national interests with such worldview. In dialogues in championing peace in the West Africa sub region and the entire continent of Africa. Isolationism is not a good substitute, but it has become a very temping option. Can Nigeria now ignore the imperative of Nigeria’s role in West Africa, Africa and the world? Particularly, regarding our continent and its descendants worldwide?

Nigeria ought not, in view of size in every sense! Bearing in mind the size of our national resources, population, vigor and enthusiasm etc, regarding African affairs. Nigeria is so ordained to play these roles.

It is however the case that uneasy, lies the head that wear the crown of leadership
Nigeria as chief architect and chief negotiator of peace has bled Nigeria too much!

Nigeria, Kenya and then Ghana were the main operators of the engine room of African independence movement in the 1950s and 1960 pre-independence Africa. The era of Azikiwe, Awolowo, Kenyantta, Nkrumah etc

Thereafter, Nigeria spearheaded the anti Apartheid and Liberation Movements for the then colonized countries in Southern Africa, namely, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Fact, Nigeria led the world boldly and courageously in these matters at the time.

Nigeria’s hot-pursuit of an Africa-centered foreign policy in the 1960s and 1970s was vibrant, vigorous and robust. Nigeria in words and actions, led the demand for freedom, political independence and equality for Black Africans in Southern African region.

Nigeria advocated economic, political and diplomatic sanctions against the Apartheid regime that rule South Africa at the time. Nigeria as well, demanded the termination of minority white regimes in Rhodesia now Zimbabwe, ditto Angola, Mozambique, Namibia etc. Nigeria led all sorts of boycotts against apartheid and minority regimes.
These actions by Nigeria did not endear Nigeria to some.

It will be recalled that America and European countries were slow to accept Nigeria’s point of view, and leadership in the agitations and advocacies to end apartheid and minority regimes in Southern Africa. President Reagan of the United States and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were, in particular, vehemently opposed to the end of Apartheid.

America and most of Western Europe were therefore slow to impose United Nations mandated economic, political and diplomatic sanctions against these white minorities regimes on the African continent in the aforementioned countries.

American and some Western Europeans countries variously proffered excuses and the illogic of their supports for obnoxious oppressive and brutal white regimes in Southern Africa, America and Europe labeled and castigated Africans who sought majority rule, democracy and equality. America and Europe at the time prevaricated over these fine ideals, because it concerned Africans who were lumped together as communists, communist sympathizers and even terrorists!

It must be emphasized that in leading the process of these advocacies and agitations to end the brutal reign of terror by these white minority regimes in Southern Africa, Nigeria incurred the wrath of America and Europe for daring to be so audacious in advocating democracy, majority and the end of Apartheid.

Nigeria therefore, attracted punitive efforts from America and Europe, efforts geared at crippling Nigeria for daring to advocate, agitate and lead the world in demands for majority rule by Black Africans on African soil.

Nigeria’s political and economic troubles were initiated then by those in America and Europe, who saw it as an affront, Nigeria’s vociferous and strident advocacy on behalf of the oppressed majority in these Southern African countries (already mentioned)

Clearly, there were these plans to punish Nigeria and to teach Nigeria lessons, for daring to have the audacity to challenge the status quo of America and Europe. Nevertheless, Nigeria demanded that America and Europe stopped being the milk, honey and lubricant of Apartheid South Africa, and the other viciously monstrous minority regimes, then in all of Southern Africa.

The viciousness and violence visited on Nigeria for daring to challenge those who provided support and succor to the Apartheid and the white minority regimes culminated in the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, who was at the time, the leader of Nigeria, whose administration courageously drove the determined and very focused policy efforts to end Apartheid and minority white regimes on the African continent.

In essence, the sum of Nigeria’s experience in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s has not changed. Africa has remained the centerpiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy, even through the 1980s, the 1990s and in this new millennium! The 1990s and the first few years of this millennium have seen Nigeria in her continued efforts to douse every political fires and intractable internecine fractiousness in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Congo, Togo, Sao Tome & Principe and more recently, Darfur in the Sudan.

Over several decades, Nigeria has performed consistently well and creditably well. All these have come at great expense to Nigeria. These costs have been borne by Nigeria in both human costs of the supreme sacrifice types and in billions of dollars in cash, peace keeping and all. But Nigeria and Nigerians have never been applauded or praised, rewarded or even recognized for Nigeria and Nigerians’ humongous efforts in these directions. Nigerians have been the bulwark of peace keeping in every part of Africa.

Nigeria has never sought to impose her political or economic will on these countries where Nigeria has helped to broker peace at great costs to Nigeria. Unlike the United States, Britain and France, who frequently seek reconstruction contracts, economic, military and strategic benefits everywhere the Americans and Europeans have intervened Nigeria have always intervened in these crises, perhaps naively, for purely humanitarian, altruistic and benevolent reasons.

Nigeria, has never sought to influence local economic, political or other policies in any Southern or West African countries where Nigeria has interned for regional and continental peace, or stability, unlike America, Britain and France, who are quick to seek advantages for themselves, either by way of markets for goods from America, Britain or France or by the sudden establishments of Military Formations, Barracks and some other military establishments in the countries where they have intervened.

It is generally believed that the average Southern Africans resent Nigerians on their soil. In various ways, it is generally established that Nigerians who are legitimately in South Africa are visited with utter and utmost contempt by South Africans. South Africans, who it seems, have quickly forgotten Nigeria’s efforts on her behalf.

Even Professor Soyinka was not spared of these sorts of contempt and indignities said to be especially reserved for Nigerians by the South Africans! How soon they forget Nigeria’s efforts and the sacrifices Nigeria contributed to their worthy cause?

It is said to be the same in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Contempt and indignities are as well reserved for Nigerians in these countries. This, even though Nigerian soldiers were killed in trying to save Liberia and Sierra Leone! Nigerian Journalists were as well killed in these wars of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria, over a fifteen years period, spent tens of billions of dollars to prevent these countries from becoming extinct.

But guess what happened as soon as the situation in Sierra Leone was stabilized and British troops could now come into Freetown? The British became instant heroes who Sierra Leoneans now celebrated and profusely thanked for “wonderful work” even though the Nigerians have been the ones minding the store for almost twenty years!

The same can be said of Liberia, see how fast and speedily President Madam Sirleaf jetted to the United States and how she was in a hurry to distance herself from Nigeria! See how frequently, every opportunity she got in the United States, she lambasted Nigeria without exceptions and without reserve! She in my view was in a hurry to establish her credentials as a puppet of someone in Washington DC and she worked too hard at it, during her first visit to America following her inauguration as president of Liberia. She was quick to announce what she thought Nigeria’s responsibilities and duties were, regarding former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor was in asylum in Nigeria as part of a comprehensive peace deal negotiated and spearheaded by Nigeria

In the end, everyone in willful amnesia, now seem to be blaming Nigeria!

What an effrontery! What nerve she and other have? What ingratitude are these? Nigeria’s selfless efforts on behalf of Africans have been of no economic or political benefits to Nigeria. These Africans do not even defer to Nigeria in West African, continental and international affairs. Nigeria gets no deference or respect from them!

Despite and in spite, or as if to spite, all Nigeria’s efforts in their behalf, the beneficiary countries have done little or nothing to demonstrate a recognition of Nigeria’s efforts, roles and humongous sacrifices for their benefits. And the Charles Taylor imbroglio makes me want to ask the question, what is in it for Nigeria? Blame and more blame?
Why should Nigeria bother next time? Liberia? No economic, political or strategic value.

It now appears, the Africans whose rescues Nigeria has been engaged in, over and over again and at considerable or great expense, have preferences of people other than Nigerians. These Africans appear to be selective in their gratitude, in favor of Americans and Europeans. Nigeria has no legal or even moral duty or responsibility to them!

Let the United States, Britain and France with their selfish agenda driven manipulative tendencies, take care of these Africans the next time they have crises. America, Britain and France are after all, the ones these Africans respect and worship. Perhaps it time for Nigeria to concentrate our resources and our crises management skills on ourselves. An economically successful and advanced Nigeria will command respect from all, whether they like or not.

It is time to stop wasting precious Nigerian lives, precious Nigerian monies and other resources on those who are quick to forget. Nigeria must not waste anymore resources on all those who are quick to be ungrateful and disrespectful to Nigeria.

Paul I. Adujie
[email protected]
New York, United States

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